Month: June 2005

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT NOTED ACTIVATION OF RUSSIAN INVESTMENT IN ARMENIAN ECONOMY
Pan Armenian News
31.05.2005 07:11
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
with head of the Russian President’s Administration Dmitri Medvedev,
reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. In the course of
the meeting the parties discussed a number of questions referring
to the Armenian-Russian cooperation, specifically, the economic
relations. Mr. Kocharian noted that the Armenian-Russian relations
develop dynamically, specifically, activation of Russian investments
into the Armenian economy is observed lately. D. Medvedev conveyed
Russian President V. Putin’s regards to R. Kocharian and informed that
certain work has been carried out toward the implementation of the
agreements, reached in the course of the meeting of the Presidents
of the two countries this March.

THE BRIDGE The Black Top Ten: Evidence of Racism
By Darryl James
Eurweb.com, CA
May 31 2005
It’s been a while since I’ve done a top ten list and I have a few of
them rolling around in my head. This one stands out because racists
have placed their program on remote control after convincing many of
us that racism no longer exists. Many of the myths perpetuated about
Black people are now being perpetuated by us, and many of the ills
plaguing us, are now blamed on us by us.
Some of us who are comfortable and who do not “see” racism on a
regular basis have acquired the habit of denying that racism exists.
When one of us talks about racism, another soul, deluded, may sling
accusations of “whining.”
We don’t know what God looks like and yet, we believe. We believe
because we know that the flowers grow from the rain, we know that the
rain comes from the clouds and babies smile for no reason apparent to
us. We know that there is something bigger than us and we can find
evidence of things unseen. Racism is also easy to trace, because we
can feel its effects. There may not be a gang of crazy racists chasing
you down or preventing you from using the lunch counter, but racism
is still alive and well–just wearing some new clothing. Sometimes,
the clothing is Black skin.
In another Black Top Ten list, here are ten pieces of evidence that
racism still exists.
Drugs and guns in the Black community
Brothers and Sisters, if we take a look at the dropping of drugs and
automatic weaponry in the Black community, which began at the same
time that jobs began to dry up, we can see racism. Why not? There were
no drugs and guns dropped in Beverly Hills, California or in Skokie,
Illinois, or in any other affluent neighborhood with very few Blacks.
AIDS in the global Black community
How did this disease come of nowhere and metamorphose from a gay
white male disease to a Black disease, disproportionately affecting
Africa and female African Americans? If it were a Black disease,
we would have been dying from it before the 1980’s.
Evaporation of after school programs
If we take a close look at the after school programs that began
to evaporate in the early 90’s under Bill Clinton’s watch, while
Affirmative Action, scholarship programs and other educational
financial aid programs for poor Blacks were under attack, we see
racism because the direct result is fewer Black men in college.
More prisons/Less gang prevention
We can see racism in the building of more prisons and less gang
prevention over the past ten plus years, because the direct result
is more Black men and women in prison.
Military, financial aid to the middle east/pittance to Africa.
The recent tsunami affected Asia as well as portions of Africa, yet a
disproportionate amount of the assistance went to Asia. I know many
of you love Bill Clinton, some even calling him a Black president,
but he’s a good old boy, too and we see it now as he rolls around
with George Bush helping the Tsunami victims with an overwhelming
focus on Asia. We see the same program when it comes to providing
assistance for the poor and downtrodden in Africa as well as the
poor and downtrodden in the south parts of nearly every major city in
America. This nation shows it’s racist stance when it directs billions
to the Middle East, billions to nations with “strategic alliance,”
and billions in corporate bailout programs, while snubbing the poor
of color right here in the good old U.S. of A.
Paucity of Black leadership
Black leaders have been chosen for us over the past three decades.
Generally, they are harmless Negroes who bark loud, but are
toothless. The real leaders, found in thinkers like Cornell West
and Michael Eric Dyson, or Black men and women who CHOOSE to become
teachers to make a difference in our children, or single parents who
place their children first are seldom recognized, but the NAACP can
give an “Image” award to many of today’s modern House Niggers. We
have been programmed to reject any of us who are maligned in the
media and to embrace any of us who are celebrated.
Diminishing of slavery’s modern impact/Embellishment of other peoples’
oppression Even the Armenians have an annual commemoration of past
horrors visited upon their culture. At every turn, we are urged to
remember the oppression of other cultures-remember the Holocaust,
remember the Armenians, etc. We even remember the Alamo, but we are
always urged to forget about slavery.
Ghetto is now a Black word
Go to any major city and you will see Chinatown, Little Italy,
Koreatown, etc, but when it comes to where Blacks live and congregate,
it’s the Ghetto or the ‘Hood.
Ghetto, a German word originally depicting Jewish areas in Germany,
has become so deeply ensconced in the Black culture, that we have
converted it to an adjective-now that’s just Ghetto.
Black wealth/White wealth
Ignorant well-off Negroes can talk about the “growing Black middle
class” all day, but miss me with the propaganda because we have nothing
to show or prove that lie. What we do have is perpetual poverty, aided
and abetted by poverty pimps such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton;
mega-churches with millions in the coffer, but no real outreach in
the community; the NAACP and other chicken dinner eating, hundred
dollar a plate banquet throwing, media opportunists who do no real
good, yet claim to represent “us.” Here’s the true story of Black
wealth in America: In 1897, 98% of African Americans were working
for white people–In 1997, 98% of African Americans were working for
white people.
The effectiveness of Black self-blame
We have some serious problems and while we are perpetuating much of
it, the real shame comes in refusing to understand the root of many
difficulties for African descendants in America, who never had it
very good, but now claim that we are to blame for everything that is
currently affecting us.
We can still see racism today, and sadly, we can even see it amongst
our own people. It’s the American way to disparage and dislike
Black people. It is institutionalized and far too many of us are
good Americans.
Darryl James is an award-winning author and the founder of
Rap Sheet, the only Black owned rap music publication. James’
latest book, “Bridging The Black Gender Gap,” is the basis of his
lectures and seminars. Previous installments of the column can
now be viewed at James can be reached at
[email protected].

ANOTHER 37 SCHOOLS TO HAVE COMPUTER LABS
Armenpress
YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS; Another 37 secondary schools in
Armenia will have computer labs before the start of a new academic
year. Introduction of computer labs is part of a World Bank US$19
million equivalent credit for the Armenia Education Quality and
Relevance Project.
The International Development Association (IDA) Credit was approved
last year to assist the government in its efforts to improve the
quality and relevance of the Armenian school system to meet the
challenges of the knowledge society. This is the first phase of a
three-phase, ten-year commitment by the World Bank to supporting
educational change in Armenia.
So far 130 schools were furnished with computer labs as part of this
project. The Education Quality and Relevance project has four main
components: National Curriculum and Assessment System, Educational
Technologies in Schools, Teacher Professional Development, and System
Management and Efficiency.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSPERSON AGREES WITH VENICE COMMISSION
Pan Armenian News
31.05.2005 07:21
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “I took the response of the Venice Commission
over the draft of the new Constitution of Armenia as a normal
response to a rather ambiguous behavior of people in charge of the
passing of a proper bill of the Constitution,” Armenian Ombudsperson
Larisa Alaverdian stated in the course of an on-line interview with
OpenArmenia.com. In her words, it should be noted that before the
response of the Venice Commission, the society had the same opinion
on the bill. “Unfortunately, the National Assembly in the person of
those, who voted exactly for that project, did not respond to the
previous proposals of the Venice Commission,” she emphasized.

ARMENIAN AND NKR SPEAKERS DISCUSSED OUTCOMES OF JOINT EFFORTS
Pan Armenian News
31.05.2005 07:17
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On May 31, in Yerevan, heads of the Parliaments of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Artur Baghdasarian and Oleg Yessayan
discussed the results of the joint efforts within the past years,
reported the Press Service of the NKR Foreign Ministry. The Chairman of
the Karabakh Parliament informed on the current pre-election processes
in Nagorno Karabakh. Oleg Yessayan assured that the elections would
be conducted within the legal framework, noting that over fifty
international observers would watch them. According to him, the NKR
Parliament of the third summoning adopted twice more laws than the
previous parliaments.

Miami Herald, FL
May 31 2005
Politics aside, `Boom!’ers seek a new image
System of a Down downplays politics, stresses varied image with new
CD.
BY NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
System of a Down wants you to know they are not a political band.
Yes, they came out against the war in Iraq. And yes, they hand-picked
ultraliberal gadfly Michael Moore to direct their 2003 protest video,
Boom! And yes, their latest single, the frenetic, guitar-crunching
B.Y.O.B., contains angry rants like “Why don’t presidents fight the
war? Why do they always send the poor?”
But still, Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian — one half of the
eclectic metal quartet — fiercely resist when people try to define
them as the band with the left-leaning agenda.
“The fact that journalists have so made us into a political band,
it’s forcing us to be apolitical in some ways as a reaction to it,”
says Tankian, who on this day is the antithesis of his wild-man stage
persona — soft-spoken and drinking herbal tea to soothe a sore
throat.
“I mean, we do say things that are on our minds, but most of what we
say is from a social perspective more than a political perspective,”
he adds. “Even though we have things that we touch upon, you know,
social issues or political issues, it’s a small percentage of what we
do, compared to personal narratives, songs about life, theories, sex,
humor.”
Besides the politically charged first single — which Tankian won’t
even admit is an anti-war song, despite the soldier-themed video —
there’s plenty of material on their latest album, Mezmerize, to back
up Tankian’s contention. The CD, part of an outpouring of material
that will continue in the form of a second album, Hypnotize, in the
fall, is at times mournful, romantic, hysterical, and bizarre — and
may be the best synopsis of System of a Down in the band’s 10-year
history.
“There was a time when they had to write songs very specifically to
define who they were,” says longtime producer Rick Rubin, who worked
with the band on their latest album. “Now, we know who they are, so
now they can write their best songs, and they don’t have to fit in
such narrow guideline. It seems like people are more willing to go
along the trip with them.”
Not that they didn’t have plenty on board for their first trip on the
charts.
HARD TO CLASSIFY
Since the group’s self-titled debut CD in 1998, they’ve sold millions
of albums with their amped-up metal sound anchored by bursts of
melody and Tankian’s voice, which ranges from soaring to screeching
(the other band members are bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John
Dolmayan). The new album, like previous System of a Down efforts, is
hard to classify or describe: Middle Eastern-musical influences mix
with almost operatic melodies and guitars thrashing at breakneck
speed.
“It’s rare to hear such emotional vocal harmony going on over such
heavy music. It’s very unusual,” says Rubin (the band is on his
label, American Recordings, with Columbia Records). “They’re kind of
a throwback to the time when heavy music could be interesting in the
’60s and ’70s. I think they’re a true metal band but metal has
changed and gone away from the days of Black Sabbath and become
really cookie-cutter. Everyone is competing to be the hardest, but no
one is really writing songs.”
Unlike some other metal bands, System of a Down’s lyrical content has
always been as integral to the band as its musical component, dealing
with serious subjects ranging from drug addiction to government
domination. System of a Down has always been vocal about their social
causes or concerns, whether it be Tankian playing benefits to draw
awareness to the Armenian holocaust of years ago (he and Malakian are
of Armenian descent) to Malakian’s concerns about the war in Iraq (he
has family there).
Malakian, the band’s lead guitarist and songwriter (along with
Tankian) says the band’s tilt toward the political is only one part
of what they stand for.
`MULTIDIMENSIAL BAND’
“It’s funny, you’ll write a few songs about politics and that’s what
people will focus on. All we’re doing is expressing the world around
us,” he says. “Politics is a part of that. If we didn’t sing about
it then we’d be leaving something else out.”
“I think they just don’t like being pigeonholed. I think yes they
sing a lot of political lyrics but they’re not purely a political
band,” Rubin says. “They don’t like being made smaller than they
are creatively.”
Tankian says fans truly know the band know they are more than that,
anyway.
“We’re a multidimensional band artistically that embrace politics as
much as embracing sexual innuendo or jokes,” Tankian added.
The humor element is certainly evident on the new record — Cigaro
features unprintable lyrics about male genitalia, while Old School
Hollywood, which Malakian wrote after feeling a little left out at a
celebrity softball game, features lines like: “Tony Danza cuts in
line / Old school Hollywood, washed up Hollywood / Standing in the
sun I’m wasting my time / Old school Hollywood washed up Hollywood.”
‘Even in our most serious songs there’s like absolutely hilarious
antics going on and that comes from us just thinking, `Hey, we can’t
take ourselves seriously, otherwise we miss the point, and no one
should either,’ ” Tankian jokes.
While Malakian as always written most of the band’s music, this time
around, he wrote more of the lyrics and shares more in the vocal
duties, trading rants with Tankian.
Malakian’s singing “changes our sound and that’s really important,”
Tankian says. “I don’t think any of us ever want to recreate the
same record again.” That was part of the goal of Mezmerize, the
band’s first since 2002’s Steal This Album.
“You want to push yourself and not recreate the same song over
again,” Malakian says. “That by itself brings out new things. When
you try to do new things, you find that you start failing at it.”

Russian ambassador of OSCE Minsk group satisfied with talks in Baku
Today, Azerbaijan
May 31 2005
31 May 2005 [14:32] – Today.Az
Russian Ambassador Yuriy Merzlyakov, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair,
is satisfied with the results of OSCE Mink Group co-chairs to
the region and talks held under the peaceable resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his exclusive interview for Trend Merzlyakov said that he had very
good impression and talks with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister were
too constrictive. “At least, we defined approximate date of the next
meeting of the Foreign Ministers with the participation of the OSCE
Minsk Group c-chairs. Now the prospects are clear,” the diplomat said.
Merzlyakov attributed the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, held at the initiative of Azerbaijan, as important. “Our
current tour of the region was not a traditional and usual visit,
that the co-chairs do, as it targeted meeting with the Foreign
Minister. “We are very grateful to the President, who found time to
receive the mediators after a difficult period of preparations for the
opening ceremony of the Azerbaijani section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
main export oil pipeline. We had interesting, important and makes us
hopeful for further constructive development of talks,” the Russian
Ambassador stressed.
In two days the exact date of the meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs with the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanian,
approximately scheduled for early June 2005, will be determined. Late
in June it is planned to hold a meeting in the format of OSCE Minsk
co-chairs and Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers. Besides,
the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs are planning to pay a visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict region.
URL:

Armament of Armenia to make negative impact on peace process in a Caucasus
Today, Azerbaijan
May 31 2005
31 May 2005 [14:27] – Today.Az
“Azerbaijan’s position calls on the regional countries to avoid any
military actions promoting the tension in the region and appearance
of military spirits, Khalaf Khalafov, the Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign
Minister, to journalists on Monday.
He was commenting on Russia’s plans on dislocation of part of its
arms from Georgia to Armenia.
“While the Armenian occupation in regard to Azerbaijan continues,
delivery of arms and ammunitions to Armenia will indeed have negative
impact on peace processes and establishment of stability and security
in the region,” Khalafov underscored.
He noted that despite the good level of the Azerbaijani-Russian
relationships, the Azerbaijani government had repeatedly informed
Russia on its conñerns in this respect. The replacement of the
additional arms in the territory of Armenia contradict the interests
of Azerbaijan, as well the region. “So, the regional countries should
understand their responsibility,” the Deputy FM said.
He noted that the South Caucasus countries enter Europe, where
the Treaty on ordinary armed forces in Europe is applied, and the
European security system. “Taking into consideration all factors,
all actions damaging the stability and security, should be cancelled,
and prevented further,” Khalafov underlined.
URL:
–Boundary_(ID_CPpRTVwgXqgMWwZY1Aj6TQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Zaman, Turkey
May 31 2005
Ankara Expects Steps from Yerevan
By Suleyman Kurt
Published: Tuesday 31, 2005
zaman.com
The letter exchange process between Turkey and Armenia after the
debates over the so-called Armenian genocide allegations became heated
has been endangered by the Yerevan administration for not showing an
expected approach.
Ankara will not write a response letter to Armenian President Robert
Kocharian if the present conditions continue.
Kocharian responded with, “Firstly, let’s establish a diplomatic
relationship and then an inter-governmental commission to handle the
issues” to a letter from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offering
“Let a group, comprised of historians and other experts, to research
the events in 1915” and Kocharian’s response even though it does
not fully meet the expectations of Ankara, it was considered in a
positive perspective.
However, the expected approach has not shown by the Yerevan
administration over the last month. Since Erdogan and Kocharian did
not meet in Warsaw and Kocharian’s harsh attitude at the European
Council summit have complicated the answer to the letter.
Diplomatic sources have drawn attention to the steps Turkey has taken
and that this could be interpreted, as “trust building” in recent
times are not truly transferred to the Armenian public opinion.
Sources say, “Yerevan-Turkey flights continue. Those vehicles,
carrying goods between the two countries, can come and go through
Georgia. Thousands of Armenian citizens can work in Turkey, including
Ankara. However, those facts are not explained to the Armenian public
by their government.”
On the other side, the single positive piece of news to reach Ankara
from Yerevan lately is that the Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian’s former statement related to the “Kars Treaty” that said,
“As being inherent of the Soviet Union, all of those treaties signed
by the Soviet Union are assumed to be approved unless the opposite
is stated” has been published on the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s
web site. However, Ankara expects to receive this statement through
“official” channels.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
May 31 2005
BRIEFING AT THE AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY
[May 31, 2005, 17:01:17]
Araz Azimov, deputy foreign minister of the Azerbaijan Republic and
special representative of the Azerbaijan President on the Karabakh
issue has held a briefing on May 30 dedicated to the course of the
talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Araz Azimov told about the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in Warsaw, calling it
productive and significant from the point of view of holding useful
discussions. Deputy Foreign Minister reminded that after the Warsaw
talks the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs arrived in Azerbaijan and held
meetings with President Ilham Aliyev and foreign minister Elmar
Mammadyarov.
According to Araz Azimov, a meeting of Azerbaijan and Armenian foreign
ministers is scheduled in mid-June. In his opinion Azerbaijan position
over the Karabakh issue at the international arena is being specified
in more detail. The most important thing is that the number of those,
who support Azerbaijan’ stand increases, he stated. Azerbaijan has a
specific concept on the peace talks, its principles and details are
based on the international law principles.
In Araz Azimov’s words, “release of the occupied Azerbaijan’s
territories, return of forced migrants to their houses, the status
of Nagorno Karabakh, security guarantees to representatives of both
communities of the region, restoration of the communication system and
other questions” are subject to negotiations. The Azeri Deputy Foreign
Minister said that Azerbaijan has chosen the way of integration and
successfully proceeds along that way.
Mr. Azimov said “after the liberation of the occupied territories and
the solution of these problems, normal relations will to all appearance
be established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” He also stated that
“the occupied Azerbaijani territories are uncontrolled and there is
a danger thereupon that certain arms are concealed there”.