ACCORDING TO GEORGIAN OFFICIALS, APPOINTMENT OF NEW AMBASSADOR TO
ARMENIA DELAYS DUE TO ABSENCE OF SPECIALIST
AKHALKALAKI, August 10 (Noyan Tapan). At the joint session of the
Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Integration into
Europe, Deputy of the Georgian parliament Van Bayburdian drew
attention of the Deputy Minister and MPs to the fact that Georgia has
no Ambassador to neighboring Armenia for 8-9 months. No new Ambassador
was appointed after the tenure of Ambassador Nikolos Nikolozishvili
expired. According to the “A-Info” Agency, the Armenian MP undrelined
the fact that if a state is considered friendly, the appointment of
the Ambassador should not be delayed for a long time. Deputy Foreign
Minister Lasha Shvania, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Georgian parliament Kote Kabashvili and Chairman of the
Committee on Issues of European Integration David Bakradze considered
this comment as relevant, but noted that the appointment of the new
Ambassador to Armenia has been delayed due to the absence of the
needed specialist. At the same time, the Georgian officials expressed
hope that this problem will be settled soon.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

POPULATION OF ARMENIA CONSIDERS THAT RESUMPTION OF WAR WITH AZERBAIJAN
IS MAIN MILITARY THREAT
YEREVAN, August 10 (Noyan Tapan). 2,021 respondents and 50 experts
participated in the public opinion and expert polls conducted by the
Armenian Center of National and International Studies (ACNIS).
According to the results of the polls made public during the ACNIS
seminar, 44% of experts considers that the resumption of the war with
Azerbaijan is a main military threat for upcoming 5-10 years. 47.5% of
the respondents of the public opinion polls holds the same opinion. On
the question “Whom do you consider the enemy of Armenia?” 76% of
experts answered “Azerbaijan”, 64% of experts answered “Turkey”.
According to the results of the public opinion polls, 90.9% of
respondents considers Azerbaijan as an enemy state, 78.2% considers
Turkey as an enemy state. 66% of experts and 90% of participants of
the public opinion polls consider Russia as a friendly state. 64% of
experts and 46.8% of the population expressed positive attitude
towards Russia. But the assessments of experts and population
concerning the issue of the deepening of the relations with Russia and
the US are quite different. 76% of experts is for the deepening of the
relations with the United States and only 30% of them considers that
the further deepening of the relations with Russia is necessary. As
for the results of the public opinion polls, 35.6% of respondents
considers that one should deepen the Armenian-American relations and
51% considers that one should retain their present level. Almost 77%
of respondents is for the further deepening of relations with
Russia. 36% of experts and only 2.2% of the population are for the
restriction of relations with Russia.
According to respondents of both the expert and public opinion polls,
the confrontation of the authorities and the population, as well as
the consequences of the faked-up elections represent a danger among
the domestic problems.

TRILATERAL AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN SPHERE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT
SIGNED BETWEEN ARMENIA, RUSSIA AND UN
YEREVAN, August 10 (Noyan Tapan). According to the press service of
the Ministry of Urban Development, the trilateral agreement was signed
between the RA Ministry of Urban Development, the Federal Agency on
Construction and Housing Economy of Russia and the UN “Habitad
Executive Bureau” during the recent visit of RA Minister of Urban
Development Aram Harutiunian to Moscow. During his visit Aram
Harutiunian met with Sergey Kruglikov, Director of the Department on
Construction and Housing Economy of the Ministry of Energy and
Industry of Russia, and Minister of Energy and Industry Viktor
Khristenko besides the meeting with Vladimir Averchenko, Head of the
Federal Agency on Construction and Housing Economy of Russia.
Prospects of cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of
urban development, as well as the possibilities of the realization of
the provisions of the agreement signed between the RA Ministry of
Urban Development and the State Construction of Russia in 1997 were
discussed during the meetings. Viktor Khristenko also promised to
contribute to the matter of the opening of the representation of the
RA Ministry of Urban Development in Russia.

18 ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN ATHENIAN OLYMPIC GAMES
YEREVAN, August 10 (Noyan Tapan). “You should know that behind of you
there is the country, the people expecting successes of you.” With
such words RA President Robert Kocharian turned to Armenian sportsmen
and coaches leaving for Athens to participate in the Olympic Games.
he President noticed that the great hopes are pined on them. According
to Ishkhan Zakarian, Chairman of the Armenian Olympic Committee, 18
sportsmen in 9 sports will represent Armenia in the Olympic Games.
Part of them is already in Athens. It is expected that the Armenian
sportsmen will occupy honorary places especially in the competitions
on weight-lifting, wrestling, boxing. It was noticed that Olympic
champion Albert Azarian will be given the honor of carrying the
Armenian banner during the solemn ceremony of the opening of the Games
to be held on August 13. It was also mentioned that 4 disabled
sportsmen will participate in the Para-Olympic Games starting in
Athens on September 19. They will participate in the competitions on
swimming, athletics, weight-lifting and archery. RA President Robert
Kocharian will be also within the delegation leaving for Athens with
the purpose of rendering moral support to Armenian sportsmen.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/11/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) "Yerkir" Editor Calls Azeri War Statements Absurd 2) Armenian, Azeri, and Turk Delegations Clash at Youth Festival 3) Longtime ARF Activist Avedis Ispenjian Passes Away 4) Shelling Clouds Russia, Georgia Talks On Separatist Row 5) Local Public Official Urges Leaders of His Own Party to Support Schiff Amendment 1) "Yerkir" Editor Calls Azeri War Statements Absurd YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Responding to the recent hostile statements made by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, ARF Armenia Supreme Body member and Editor in Chief of "Yerkir" newspaper Spartak Seiranian said the appeal "to declare war on Armenia and liberate Karabagh" was made to incite the public. On August 5, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported that the chief spokesman for Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, Colonel Ramiz Melikov, publicly stated that "within the next 25 years there will exist no state of Armenia in the South Caucasus." He added: "Modern Armenia is built on historical Azerbaijani lands...I think that in 25-30 years' time, its territory will again come under Azerbaijan's jurisdiction." Seiranian called such statements "absurd," adding it is meant for the uneducated people. According to Seiranian, if Azeris believe they have such military force that can fight and win, one should not forget that the Armenian fighters are also ready to die for their homeland. "The Azeri warrior isn't ready to die for Karabagh, as he knows very well that Karabagh isn't his land; on the contrary, the Armenian fighter knows that he defends his homeland, and that's why he will go to all lengths," he said. Seiranian, recalling the victory of Armenian troops in the Karabagh war, stated confidently that if the situation recurs in the future, the outcome would not be any different. 2) Armenian, Azeri, and Turk Delegations Clash at Youth Festival BARCELONA--The 3rd World Youth Festival is currently underway in Barcelona, Spain with the participation of 10,000 young people from around the world. The Festival--the only event completely designed by and for youth organizations from all over the world--provides a unique opportunity for regional youth platforms and organizations from all over the world to share ideas and projects. The ARF Youth delegation is participating as well, with two representatives from Lebanon's Zavarian Student Association. Aware of the festival's purpose and confident that today's youth will work together to bring about new perspectives and justice on various issues, the ARF Youth delegation used their designated poster board to inform the festival participants about the Armenian genocide. The Turkish and Azeri delegation angrily demanded that the pictures and information on the genocide be removed from the poster board; however, the ARF Youth delegation refused, resulting in commotion. The festival's organizing committee, composed of various international youth organizations including the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) of which the ARF Youth is a member of, devoted a considerable amount of time to the situation during their August 10 meeting. The IUSY representative supported the Armenian delegation and their work during the meeting, describing it as a basic human right to express their views and opinions. The end result was that the Azeri and Turk demand would not be met as doing so would defeat the purpose of the festival. In response to the decision, and in addition to appealing to their embassies to mediate the situation, the Azeri and Turk delegates prepared their own display boards and placed them next to the ARF Youth's poster board as a sign of protest. The ARF Bureau Youth office officially appealed to the festival's organizing committee stating, "The ARF Youth is confident that participating in the World Youth Festival would provide a unique platform to be 'seen and heard' as stated in the festival's goals...the latest developments, however, show otherwise, as certain groups or delegations try to pressure our representatives from being 'seen and heard.'" Referring to the latest statements by Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry asserting that "in 25-30 years' times its territory will again come under Azerbaijan's jurisdiction," as well as the killing of an Armenian officer by an Azeri during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest, the ARF Bureau Youth Office demanded that the organizing committee guarantee the safety of the Armenian youth delegation. The ARF Bureau Youth Office expressed gratitude to the IUSY representative for being resolute on the issue and supporting the Armenian youth. As of August 11, the situation remained calm as the ARF Youth representatives carries on its work without any hindrances. 3) Longtime ARF Activist Avedis Ispenjian Passes Away The family of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Western Region sustained a tremendous loss on the morning of Wednesday, August 11 when longtime party activist Avedis Ispenjian passed away at the age of 75. A devoted member of the ARF, Ispenjian had served on the party's Central Committee's both in Lebanon and the United States. Ispenjian played an active role during the Lebanese civil war, when he represented the ARF during political negotiations. Avedis Ispenjian's memory will not fade, and his life's work will serve as a source of inspiration to future generations. 4) Shelling Clouds Russia, Georgia Talks On Separatist Row MOSCOW (AFP)--Georgian troops and separatist forces in South Ossetia exchanged sporadic shelling and gunfire Wednesday, clouding talks between Russia and Georgia on calming disputes on the status of the pro-Russian region. "The situation is worrying," said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov after signing a joint communique with his Georgia counterpart Georgy Baramidze, RIA Novosti reported. Baramidze said during a following press briefing that "Russia and Georgia must become predictable neighbors." But he conceded the two sides discussed "uneasy matters" while his top deputy in Tbilisi accused the Russian of opening fire on Georgian troops. Officials said six people were injured in the cross-border shooting which has grown more frequent as Georgia's new president, Mikhail Saakashvili, tries to win back control over his fractured republic. "The attack came from armored personnel carries that carried the emblem of Russian peacekeepers" in the region, he said. All three sides accused each other of launching the attacks first. "We held negotiations to cease fire, and fighting would stop for 20 minutes, but then it would resume again with greater force," Russian defense ministry spokesman Nikolai Baranov told Rossia television. The Caucasus republic, once the Soviet Union's richest, fell into pieces after the superpower's breakup in 1991, with three regions--Ajaria, South Ossetia and Abkhazia--seeking either independence or rule from Moscow. Saakashvili has won back Ajaria, a key pocket on the Black Sea that oversees oil trade, with its leader leaving for self-imposed exile in Moscow in May. But his strategy for the other two regions, which have few ethnic links with Georgia, is unclear. Military threats from Georgia have been followed by vows to resolve the situation through dialogue, while Moscow issues increasingly aggressive statements as it grows more sensitive to Saakashvili's drive for military and economic assistance from the United States. 5) Local Public Official Urges Leaders of His Own Party to Support Schiff Amendment LOS ANGELES--Prominent Los Angeles attorney and Rolling Hills Estates City Councilmember Frank Zerunyan has issued an open letter to Congressional leaders urging them to end their opposition to the Schiff Amendment. The letter also strongly encourages the leadership to bring House Resolution 193 to a vote. "[Mr. Speaker] let the American people through their Representatives decide the fate of the resolution. Demonstrated to our allies the true meaning of Democracy. I expect this of you and the leadership in Congress," wrote Zerunyan. The Schiff Amendment, which was passed voice vote on July 15, 2004, would prevent the Republic of Turkey from spending US foreign aid dollars to lobby against legislation pending in Congress that recognizes the Armenian Genocide. One day after the Schiff amendment was successfully offered to the House Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2005, House Republican leaders issued a statement demanding that the [Schiff amendment] be dropped in conference. The leadership also threatened not to bring House Resolution 193 to a vote despite its popularity in the House of Representatives. The Resolution has more than 110 co-sponsors and was successfully voted out of the House Judiciary Committee on May 21, 2003. "Councilman Zerunyan's open letter to Congressional leaders provides a thoughtful foundation for these very leaders to end their opposition to the Schiff amendment and House Resolution 193," commented ANCA-WR Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian. "The Councilman's words provide a compelling case for our many Republican friends in Congress to convince Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader DeLay to support the Schiff amendment and a vote on the resolution." The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ha’aretz, Israel
Aug 12 2004
Armenian lobbyists are facing a lost cause

By Nathan Guttman

Activists again failed to obtain U.S. congressional recognition of
the Armenian genocide. The obstacles they face include America’s ties
with Turkey and the Jewish lobby.

WASHINGTON – For a moment it seemed to Armenian activists in the U.S.
that they had made progress toward obtaining U.S. congressional
recognition of the massacre perpetrated by the Turks against the
Armenian people 98 years ago. U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, a
California Democrat, succeeded on July 15 in getting approval from
the House of Representatives for an amendment to the Foreign
Operations Appropriations bill, which would bar Turkey from using the
annual American aid it receives to hire political lobbyists in
Washington to lobby against the decision recognizing the Armenian
genocide. Ostensibly, a marginal amendment and not terribly
important, but in the eyes of supporters of the Armenian cause in the
U.S., even approval of a minor amendment is considered an
achievement.

The battle to gain recognition of the Armenian genocide by the U.S.
Congress is transformed annually into a fight between the small group
of Armenian supporters in Congress and the rest of the world – the
Turkish representatives and the lobbyists working on their behalf,
the administration, the supports of the administration in Congress,
and also several of the large Jewish organizations. When the U.S.
tries to maintain good relations with Turkey, the price is paid by
those who want to see the American Congress include the Armenian
genocide in the decision denouncing such actions, Resolution 193,
which also recognizes the Armenian genocide as such, approval of
which has been delayed.
The minor achievement in Congress, which is now referred to as the
Schiff Amendment, did not last long. Republican leaders in the House
of Representatives – Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt – issued an especially
sharply worded statement the day after the amendment was approved, in
which they made it clear that the amendment was unacceptable to them
and that they would seek to annul it when the Foreign Operations
Appropriations bill came before the conference committee that
attempts to bridge the gap between the Senate and House of
Representatives positions, before a bill is sent to the president for
his signature. When the House leadership mobilizes to kill a bill,
chances are the effort will be successful and therefore it seems that
despite the Schiff Amendment, no one will deduct from U.S. aid to
Turkey the sums it uses to finance activities against the resolution
recognizing the Armenian genocide.
`The resolution is dead’
Even the chances of House Resolution 193 now seem slimmer than ever,
given that at the conclusion of their statement, the House majority
leaders declared that “Furthermore, we have no intention of
scheduling H.Res. 193, as reported out of the Judiciary Committee in
April, during the remainder of this Congress.” The practical
significance of that is the resolution is a lost cause. Elizabeth
Chouldjian, of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
believes there is a still a chance for getting the amendment passed.
The organization is currently urging its supporters to call and write
to the House of Representatives in order to overturn the decision of
the House leadership and nevertheless schedule a vote on the
resolution. “We’re getting good response in the House of
Representatives and have 40 co-sponsors on a similar resolution in
the Senate,” she said, but history teaches that even interest groups
that are stronger than the Armenian lobby have no chance when the
administration and the Congressional leadership are working against
them. Another Armenian activist openly admitted that “the resolution
is dead” and this year again there is no chance of passing the
resolution that recognizes the Armenian genocide.
Don’t upset Turkey
The main obstacle facing supporters of the Armenian cause in the U.S.
and their attempts to gain recognition for the Armenian genocide is
the administration’s basic position and that of many others, whereby
friendship with Turkey is more important than anything else. The
Turkish government, via its diplomatic representatives and lobbyists,
has made it very clear to the Americans that any recognition of the
Armenian genocide will be perceived in Ankara as a slap in the face
and will adversely affect ties between the two countries.
So, for example, when France was considering a similar law, the Turks
threatened a series of sanctions and in the end recalled their
ambassador from Paris for six months. In the U.S., the situation is
much more sensitive – the Americans need Turkey as a crucial ally in
its region, as a base for U.S. forces and primarily, to maintain
relative quiet in northern Iraq. “Our relationship with Turkey is too
important to us to allow it to be in any way damaged by a poorly
crafted and ultimately meaningless amendment,” said senior House
leaders in their reaction to the Schiff Amendment. The administration
maintains a similar position. The debate does not revolve around the
question of whether there was an Armenian genocide or its scope, but
around contemporary politics and Turkey’s possible reaction if
someone upsets them with regard to this issue.
The Jewish community in the U.S. and the Israel issue are also
entwined in the pressure campaign preventing approval of the
resolution. “The community is certainly a player on this issue,” said
a key Jewish activist in Washington, who like many others involved in
the issue, asked to remain off the record. Representatives of Jewish
organizations reported “a sense of discomfort,” as one described it,
when coming to explain their position on the Armenian resolution; on
one hand, the Jews as a community are sensitive to the tragedy
experienced by the Armenian people, but on the other hand, there are
Israel-Turkey relations to consider. “We have always had a level of
uncertainty regarding the balance that should be kept between the
moral factors and the strategic interests,” one Jewish organization
official cautiously explained.
Last year, Jewish organizations, primarily the American Jewish
Committee (AJC), have been more active in thwarting the resolution
acknowledging the Armenian genocide. This year the politicians
managed of their own accord and the resolution will be postponed even
without the involvement of Jewish organizations. But a central
activists in a Jewish organization involved in this matter clarified
that if necessary, he would not hesitate to again exert pressure to
ensure the resolution is not passed and the Turks remain satisfied.
The same activist said he had received numerous requests in the past
to work against the Armenian cause in Congress. “The State Department
asked us, other people in the administration did, even the Turkish
Jewish community asked us to act on this issue,” he said. The
prevailing opinion among the large Jewish organizations is that
“Turkey’s relations with the United States and Israel are too
important for us to deal with this subject,” according to one
community activist who was involved in blocking Resolution 193 last
year. The more expansive explanation, offered in meetings and
discussions, is that “the Armenian genocide is a matter for
historians, not for legislators.”
Even though ties between Israel and Turkey are the determining factor
in decision-making in the Jewish community, there is also some weight
to the matter of definition. The American term proposed in the
resolution refers to “genocide” of the Armenians, while the Nazis’
acts against the Jews during World War II are defined as “Holocaust.”
The distinction does indeed exist, but according to many Jewish
activists, there are some who feel discomfort over the mention of the
Armenian genocide alongside the Jewish Holocaust, for fear of
cheapening the concept of a holocaust.
The Jewish community’s involvement in the issue of the Armenian
genocide is affected by the status of Israel-Turkey relations. One
senior organizational official related that during the honeymoon
years of Turkish-Israeli ties, the Jewish organizations were more
enthusiastic about openly helping Turkey thwart previous
Armenian-related resolutions in Congress. Now, he adds, since ties
have cooled off somewhat, many Jewish activists are trying to lower
their profile in this matter. The organized Jewish community in the
U.S. has close ties with the Turkish government and one of Turkish
Prime Minister Racep Tayep Erdogan’s senior advisers even promised
recently at a Washington meeting with a Jewish audience that
Erdogan’s criticism of Israel was misunderstood and that Turkey will
do everything to restore ties to the way they were.
Armenians for Kerry
The insistence of the administration and Congressional Republicans to
bar the resolution on Armenian genocide does not make President
George Bush very popular among Armenians on the eve of elections. One
of the large Armenian organizations in the U.S. has already publicly
endorsed Kerry and the Democrats have two groups of Armenians for
Kerry working for them. So far, no Armenian group has voiced support
for Bush. But the Armenian community’s electoral power is not
significant. There an currently an estimate 1-1.5 million Americans
of Armenian descent, but most are second, third or fourth-generation
immigrants and therefore, not all of them vote based on the
candidates’ views on faraway Armenia. “There are those who base their
decision on the Armenian issue, those who vote only based on their
political views and those who vote based on different reasons
altogether,” explained Ross Vartian, the executive director of the
Armenian Assembly of America.
However, the Armenian community has also kept track of President
Bush’s record. He promised in his 2000 election campaign to recognize
the Armenian genocide and after his election worked to thwart such
resolutions; he allocated a smaller amount of foreign aid to Armenia
than he had recommended to Congress and favored issues relating to
Azerbaijan over Armenian ones; and the Armenians in the U.S. were
insulted when Bush’s administration announced that Armenians residing
in the U.S. would be required to register at the offices of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, as foreigners from Arab and
Muslim countries were required to do after September 11. Following
pressure from the community, the decision was retracted after 48
hours.
Next year, the world will mark the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide. Activists in the U.S. hope the international pressure and
perhaps also the results of the U.S. election will enable them to
obtain approval of the resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide
in the next session of Congress. Past experience shows that the
chances of that happening are slim.

San Antonio Express , TX
Aug 11 2004
Past Summer Olympics at a glance
About 776 B.C.: A speed demon from the Greek city of Elis was the
first Olympic champion. Of course, the first Olympics were limited to
one event, a sprint under 200 meters called the stadion, and to
Greeks only.
708 B.C.: The pentathlon became part of the Olympics, with five
events: The stadion, the diaulos (a sprint covering two lengths of
the stadium), the dolichos (a longer race of varying length), the
long jump and the discus.
692 B.C.: Pantakles of Athens claimed the first repeat championship,
earning his second prized olive wreath in the stadion .
512 B.C.: The longest winning streak in Olympics history is snapped,
as wrestler Milton of Kronon is beaten. Milton won the youth division
of the wrestling in 540 B.C., then five adult titles in a row,
through 516 B.C.
396 B.C.: Kyniska, daughter of the king of Sparta, was the first
woman to be listed as an Olympic champion. Her victory in the
four-horse chariot race was notable because married women were not
allowed to even watch the games, much less participate. She beat the
rule on a technicality – the winner’s wreath went to the owner of the
chariot, not the driver.
A.D. 369: The last recorded champion of the ancient Olympics was
boxer Varasdates, the prince of Armenia. In 393, the emperor of Rome
abolished the games, calling them a pagan ritual.
1896: The first modern Olympic Games, brainchild of the Frenchman
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, were held in Athens.
1900: Holding the Olympics as part of the Paris world’s fair turned
out to be a disaster, as the events were lost amid the fair and
spread out over five months.
1904: The next games were little better, scattered over 41/2 months
as part of the St. Louis world’s fair.
1908: London put on the games with only 10 months’ lead time,
erecting a multipurpose stadium that included tracks for running and
cycling, a soccer field, a swimming pool and a platform for wrestling
and gymnastics.
1912: Stockholm raised the bar for future Olympics, introducing
electronic timing and public-address systems. U.S. athlete Jim Thorpe
was so dominant in the decathlon that his gold-medal score in 1912
would have been good enough for a medal 36 years later.
1920: After the 1916 Games, scheduled for Berlin, were canceled,
Antwerp was awarded the 1920 Games as compensation for being turned
into a mess during World War I.
1924: Baron de Coubertin, scheduled to retire as head of the
International Olympic Committee in 1925, finally got the games to
come back to Paris.
1928: A tradition was established in Amsterdam, as the host nation
marched into the opening ceremonies first and Greece last.
1932: Los Angeles proved the games could be profitable, even during
the Great Depression. The 16-day event made $1 million.
1936: The Nazis tried to turn the event into a propaganda device but
U.S. runner Jesse Owens would have none of it, winning four gold
medals.
1948: Japan had other business on its mind in 1940 and the games were
canceled, as were the 1944 Olympics scheduled for London. The 1948
Games went to London.
1952: Finland’s efficient job of hosting the Olympics caused many to
suggest all future games be held in Scandinavia.
1956: The first summer Olympics held in November and December (summer
in the Southern Hemisphere) came off without a hitch in Melbourne –
and without any horses, prevented from entering Australia by strict
quarantine laws.
1960: Rome got its second chance at hosting the games, and put on an
event filled with history (the wrestling was held in a 2,000-year-old
stadium) and drama (the marathon finished under the Arch of
Constantine).
1964: Japan also got its second chance at the games, and the first
Olympics held in Asia were filled with close races and world records.
1968: Holding the games in Mexico City – more than a mile above sea
level – was a controversial choice. Distance runners suffered, but
longstanding world records were set in the long jump (Bob Beamon’s
leap of 29-21/2, which lasted for 22 years) and the men’s 1,600-meter
relay (2:56.16, which stood for 24 years).
1972: The Munich Games were marked by tragedy – the death of 11
Israeli athletes in a terrorist attack – and triumph – Mark Spitz’s
seven gold medals in swimming.
1976: Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci posted the first perfect score
in Olympics history, then went on to do it six more times – and earn
three gold medals.
1980: In protest of the Soviets’ invasion of Afghanistan, the United
States boycotted the games in Moscow, along with 64 other nations.
1984: After the 1972 terrorist attack and the financial losses
incurred by Montreal in 1976, only one city – Los Angeles – even bid
for the 1984 Games. It was the first Olympics since 1896 to be staged
without government funding, and it became a model after it made a
$225 million profit.
1988: South Korea got the second games in Asia off to a dramatic
start, with 1936 marathon winner Sohn Kee-chung running the torch
into the stadium. Sohn had been forced to compete under a Japanese
name in 1936, since Korea had been occupied by Japan.
1992: Basketball’s “Dream Team” made its debut in Barcelona, and the
professionals averaged 117 points a game and never called a time-out.
1996: The centennial games were awarded to Atlanta instead of Athens,
and Carl Lewis made history by winning his fourth gold medal in the
long jump.
2000: Sydney was the site for the largest games in history, with
10,649 athletes and 300 events. Athletes from 80 nations claimed
medals.
David King
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

San Antonio Express , TX
Aug 11 2004
Cary Clack: Cry for help over atrocities in Sudan must not be ignored
Forty years ago, the name of Kitty Genovese became synonymous with
looking the other way while someone suffered.
In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, in a middle-class
neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, Catherine
“Kitty” Genovese was attacked three times in 32 minutes. The
assailant stalked, raped and stabbed her to death.
During the attacks, Genovese screamed, “Please help me! Please help
me!”
A subsequent police investigation revealed that at least 38 people,
in the comfort of their homes, saw or heard the attacks, but no one
came to Genovese’s aid. The one call to the police came after the
murderer had completed his crimes.
Many times, people don’t act in a time of crisis or don’t do anything
to save lives because they’re unaware of the problem. When they are
aware and still do nothing, it can be attributed to physical or moral
cowardice, sheer callousness or the bystander effect, where people
see someone in need but assume someone else will intervene to help.
Doing nothing and assuming someone else will assume responsibility is
a reason why so many crimes flourish in communities throughout this
nation.
Doing nothing and assuming someone else will assume responsibility is
a reason why millions of people in countries around the world suffer
with little hope that they will be emancipated from their pain.
In the 20th century and these infant years of the 21st, there have
been many regions of the world that were the Kitty Genoveses of the
international community; places where cries of “Please help me!
Please help me!” went unheeded or were answered inexcusably late by
nations in a position to help.
Whether the Armenian genocide in 1915-1916, the Holocaust of World
War II, Bosnia during the 1990s or the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994,
reaction to the worst of brutalities was slow.
This column space is rarely filled with topics of foreign affairs but
replace the word “foreign” with “human” and it’s appropriate.
What is happening in Darfur, in the western region of the Sudan, has
been called by the United Nations and human rights organizations the
greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and merits at least a few
words of attention.
The word “genocide” has been aptly used to describe the plight of
black Africans at the hands of Arab militias, the “Janjaweed,” who
are supported by the Sudan’s monstrous blood-soaked government.
More than a million people have been driven off their lands, women
and girls are routinely raped, more than 30,000 have died and the
U.S. Agency for International Development says that hunger and
disease will kill an additional 300,000 before the year is done.
A U.N. resolution gives the government until Aug. 30 to disarm the
militias. A Human Rights Watch report out today says the Sudanese
government’s pledge to stop the atrocities isn’t credible.
People in this and other nations can do what besieged Sudanese
farmers cannot, and that’s to appeal to their elected representatives
to do something and to contribute to agencies providing food and
medicine.
A people’s pain, no matter how close or far away, can’t be ignored.

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Aug 11 2004
YMCA to aid in listening to hotline calls
Help provided in Armenian
By Naush Boghossian
Staff Writer
GLENDALE — The Glendale YWCA has long served English-language
speakers who have called Los Angeles County’s Domestic Violence
Hotline, but it is now reaching out to Armenians across the county
who need their help.
Anybody in the county who calls the hotline — (800) 978-3600 — and
chooses to receive assistance in Armenian will be routed to the YWCA.
The 24-hour hotline, which is administered by the District Attorney’s
Office, struck a partnership with the Glendale YWCA to take calls in
Armenian in an effort to expand the number of languages the hotline
serves.
“We don’t want language to be a barrier when somebody wants
assistance. We want them to be able to contact the hotline regardless
of the language they speak and be able to talk to somebody live who
can help them find safety and shelter,” said Mark Delgado, field
deputy for the district attorney’s bureau of crime prevention and
youth services.
The YWCA was selected because the city of Glendale has the largest
Armenian population in the United States.
The hotline also began serving callers Monday in Tagalog, Khmer,
Japanese and Thai, but translators for those languages will be based
in other areas.
Lida Soulikhan, the program coordinator for the YWCA’s domestic
violence outreach, said the hotline’s service is very important,
because the lack of English skills is a barrier for immigrants
seeking help.
“When people talk in your own language, it’s a key to your heart —
especially for Armenians — and you trust them better and start
opening up to them,” she said.
And there are many Armenians in Los Angeles County who are not
getting the help they need, Soulikhan said.
“We know that there is a huge amount of domestic violence, but we
have to bring down that cultural wall,” she said. “The cultural
belief for Armenians stops them from sharing what’s happening within
their four walls. They don’t know these services, but when it’s
explained to them in Armenian it makes a huge difference.”
The hotline has served callers in English, Spanish, Korean,
Vietnamese Mandarin and Cantonese seven days a week, receiving an
average of 394 calls a month during its first year. Last year, the
hotline received more than 1,350 calls a month.
The annual cost of operating the hotline is $10,000, which is funded
by private donations. Donations can be made payable to the California
Community Foundation, attention D.A. Victim and Crime Prevention
Initiatives, 445 S. Figueroa St., 34th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

Burbank Leader , CA
LATimes.com
Aug 11 2004
Giving it all for their art

Contestants go for the gold at the World Championships of Performing
Arts this week at Hilton Burbank.
By Jackie Conley, The Leader
MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH – Scattered around the Hilton Burbank Airport
and Convention Center on Tuesday morning, vocal competitors and
aspiring actors patiently sat waiting for their turn to represent
their country and impress the judges in the second day of the
competition at the World Championships of Performing Arts.
“The primary thing to do is to develop competitive material,” said
CSM Words and Music producer Shele Sondheim, a judge for the
competition. “The highest high is to come prepared and be really on
top of your game.”
Sondheim said he hopes this competition will spark international
interest in the arts and encourage people to embrace performers like
they do the athletes in the Olympics.
“Music and art is an international language,” Sondheim said.
Ilhama Gulkiyeva has participated in more than 200 competitions
internationally and is a popular singer in her native Azerbaijan,
located between Iran and Russia. But for her, the World Championships
of Performing Arts could bring a significant change in the way the
arts are perceived in her country.
“My president said if we do well here, he will have big prizes
waiting for us when we return,” she said.
Gulkiyeva said the president of her country encourages the performing
arts, and she hopes this will reflect a positive change in the way
artists are viewed around the world.
“It seems like everything is done for athletes and not enough for
performers,” said Griff O’Neil, founder and director of the World
Championships of Performing Arts.
Gospel rap artist Emmanuel Edili, of Nigeria, said out of all the
competitions he’s been in, this one is important because it’s global.
“It helps you to appreciate different artistic styles,” he said.
Edili, 29, said the hardest thing for him in competition is the few
moments before going on stage.
“Because it’s in that moment there that you make a decision whether
or not you’re going to go out there and get through it,” he said.
“But you realize this is the opportunity to show them what you’re
made of.”
Singer Andrey Hovnanyan knows all about these types of opportunities.
At 25, he said he has already performed in several international
competitions in Germany, Japan and Belgium, and has performed in
front of crowds of 8,000 people.
This is the first time the Armenian singer will compete in the World
Championships, and he said he hopes to break into the American
market.
“There’s something special about America,” Hovnanyan said. “It has a
strong influence around the world.”