Month: April 2007

ARMINCO FINED IN AMOUNT OF 2 MILLION DRAMS, BEING ACCUSED OF PROVIDING
IP SERVICES

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Arminco company – an Internet service
provider in Armenia, has been fined by the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission in the amount of 2 million drams (about 5.5
thousand USD) for provision of IP voice services. Director of
Arminco’s Technical Unit Grigor Saghian told NT correspondent that
ArmenTel company presented to the commission some facts as evidence
that Arminco connected phone calls made to th city of Vanadzor.

Taking into account the arguments put forward by Arminco, according to
which the room with phones with these phone number is not used, its
doors and windows are locked, the commission made a decision to reduce
the initial amount of the fine – 4 million drams to 2 million
drams. Armonco does not admit its guilt and proposed ArmenTel creating
a joint commission to clear the problem, but the latter has not
responded to this proposal. G. Saghian said that in the opinion of
ArmenTel’s representative, "Arminco proposed creating a commission
instead of rejecting the accusation, so in this way Arminco admits its
mistake." In the words of G. Saghian, the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission has no opportunity to perform any investigative
functions, so it was guided by ArmenTel’s arguments and imposed the
fine. "We do not provide IP voice services and will take the
respective steps to protect our rights," the director of Arminco’s
technical unit stated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

World music awards are announced

Story from BBC NEWS:
ainment/6514573.stm

Published: 2007/03/31 17:12:15 GMT

The winners of the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music have been announced at
a ceremony in London.
Malian singer and guitarist Ali Farka Toure took album of the year with
Savane while Somali hip-hop artist K’naan won best newcomer.
French vocalist Camille came out top in the Europe category while Lebanese
singer Ghade Shbeir winning the Middle East and North Africa section.
The poll-winners concert will be at the Barbican on 27 May.

Other winners were Debashish Bhattacharya (Asia/Pacific), Gogol Bordello
(Americas), Gotan Project (Club Global) and Maurice El Medioni & Roberto
Rodriguez (Culture Crossing).
The winners were revealed on BBC Radio 3’s World Routes which was broadcast
from the Pigalle Club.
The event which saw performances from Mahmoud Ahmed – winner in the Africa
category – and Arto Tuncboyaçiyan who won of the 2006 Audience Award withthe
Armenian Navy Band.

Relocation plan for Kirkuk Arabs endorsed
STEVEN R. HURST, AP Worldstream
Published: Mar 31, 2007

BAGHDAD _ Tackling one of the most complex and controversial issues
facing the country, the government has endorsed plans to relocate
thousands of Arabs who were moved to oil-rich Kirkuk as part of Saddam
Hussein’s Arabization campaign to displace ethnic Kurds, a Cabinet
minister said on Saturday.

At least 30 people were killed in series of bombings and attacks,
around the country, including nine construction workers who died when
gunmen opened fire on their bus south of Kirkuk. The violence capped a
week in which more than 500 people have died in sectarian violence.

Opposition politicians blasted the Kirkuk plan and Turkey already had
warned that the city and its sizable Turkish minority must never
become part of the Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq, a likely
next step.

Iraq’s constitution sets an end-of-the year deadline for a referendum
on Kirkuk’s status. Since Saddam’s fall four years ago, thousands of
Kurds who once lived in the city have resettled there. It is now
believed Kurds are a majority of the population and that a referendum
on attaching Kirkuk to the Kurdish autonomous zone would pass by a
wide margin.

Kirkuk, an ancient city that once was part of the Ottoman Empire, has
a large minority of ethnic Turks as well as Christians, Shiite and
Sunni Arabs, Armenians and Assyrians. The city is just south of the
Kurdish autonomous zone stretching across three provinces of
northeastern Iraq.

There were fears that scheduling a referendum that was likely to put
Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, under Kurdish
control could open a new front in the violence that has ravaged Iraq
since shortly after the U.S.-led invasion four years ago. On March 19,
several bombs struck targets in Kirkuk and killed at least 26 people.

Justice Minister Hashim al-Shebli said the Cabinet agreed on Thursday
to a study group’s recommendation that Arabs who had moved to Kirkuk
from other parts of Iraq after July 14, 1968, should be returned to
their original towns and paid for their trouble.

Al-Shebli, who had overseen the committee on Kirkuk’s status, said
relocation would be voluntary. Those who choose to leave will be paid
20 million Iraqi dinars (about US$15,000) and given land in their
former hometowns.

"There will be no coercion and the decision will not be implemented by
force," al-Shebli told The Associated Press.

In discussing the Kirkuk issue, al-Shebli, a Sunni Arab, also
confirmed he had offered his resignation on the same day that the
Cabinet signed off on the plan. He cited differences with the
government and his own political group, the secular Iraqi List, which
joined Sunni Arab lawmakers Saturday in opposing the Kirkuk decision.

He said he would continue in office until the Cabinet approved his
resignation.

"I have differences with the government on one side and with the my
parliamentary bloc on another," al-Shebli said, without elaborating.

The Iraqi List is led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular
Shiite. The group holds 25 seats in the 275-seat parliament.

Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said
al-Shebli quit before he could be fired in a coming government
reshuffle. Neither al-Dabbagh nor al-Shebli would say if the minister
had resigned over the Kirkuk issue.

In late February Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told
Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi that Baghdad should delay the
Kirkuk referendum because the Kirkuk was not secure.

Turkey fears Iraq’s Kurds want Kirkuk’s oil revenues to fund an
eventual bid for independence that could encourage separatist Kurdish
guerrillas in Turkey, who have been fighting for autonomy since
1984. That conflict has claimed the lives of 37,000 people.

Al-Shebli said local authorities in Kirkuk, would begin distributing
forms soon to Arab families to determine who would participate in the
relocation program. He said he could not predict how long the process
would take.

Planning Minister Ali Baban said the Cabinet decision in favor of the
relocation recommendations was adopted over the opposition of Sunni
Arab members of the Shiite-led government, members of the Iraqi List
and at least one Cabinet minister loyal to radical Shiite cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr.

"We demanded that the question of Kirkuk be resolved through dialogue
between the political blocs and not through the committee," he told
the AP earlier this week. "They say the repatriation is voluntary, but
we have our doubts."

He said the Sunni opposition was based on the fact that the
constitution is under review, with the clause relevant to Kirkuk
likely to be debated in that review, and no action should be taken
while the issue remains disputed.

The Shiites and Kurds had agreed to consider amendments when the
constitution was put to a referendum in 2005 in hopes of winning
support from Sunni politicians. The Sunnis now heatedly complain that
the constitutional review has never taken place, even though it was to
have occurred within four months of being adopted.

"We will continue to oppose the recommendations and try to persuade
other parties to see our point of view," Baban said. "We feel that
this poses a danger to the unity of Iraq and could have consequences."

Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni lawmaker with the Iraqi List, also denounced
the decision, saying it fails to address many key issues, including
how to deal with property claims.

"There are more than 13,000 unsolved cases before the commission in
charge of this point and it just solved no more than 250 of them," he
said of the property claims. "The other thing is the huge demographic
change in Kirkuk as more than 650,000 Kurds have been brought in
illegally over the past four years. We contest these resolutions and
we will raise to the parliament to be discussed."

Tens of thousands of Kurds and non-Arabs fled Kirkuk in the 1980s and
1990s when Saddam’s government implemented its "Arabization"
policy. Kurds and non-Arabs were replaced with pro-government Arabs
from the mainly Shiite impoverished south.

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Kirkuk was widely
seen as a tinderbox as Kurds and other non-Arabs streamed back with
their house, keys in hand, only to find their homes were either sold
or given to Arabs.

The returning Kurds became displaced in their own hometown as they
found nowhere to live except in parks and abandoned government
buildings. At the same time, many Arabs were forced to leave the city,
despite Sunni and Shiite Arab leaders pleading with them not to.

Adil Abdul-Hussein Alami, a 62-year-old Shiite who moved to the city
23 years ago in return for US$1,000 and a free piece of land, said he
would find it hard to leave.

"Kirkuk is an Iraqi city and I’m Iraqi," said the father of nine. "We
came here as one family and now we are four. Our blood is mixed with
Kurds and Turkmen."

But Ahmed Salih Zowbaa, a 52-year old Shiite father of six who moved
to the city from Kufa in 1987, agreed with the government’s
decision. "We gave our votes to this government and constitution and
as long as the government will compensate us, then there is no
injustice at all," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arab American News, MI
March 31 2007

Searching for the Arab American story
By: Ali Moossavi / The Arab American News
2007-03-31

Most Americans view people of Middle Eastern descent as either
terrorists or buffoons, thanks to the media and entertainment
industry. Yet there’s a real history of Arabs in America that goes
back to the nation’s founding. And most people are also ignorant of
the contributions Arab Americans have made – and continue to make –
to the fabric of the United States.

It’s these facts that the Chief Executive Officer of Verasoni
Worldwide Communications and Syrian-American Abe Kasbo seeks to
correct through his documentary film in progress, "The Arab American
Experience."

Kasbo’s goal is to ensure that the contributions of Arab Americans
are viewed as part of the American experience. "When I looked around,
I saw Irish, the Italians, you know, the Mexicans, they all have one
of these," he said. "They all have a film about how they contributed
to the American fabric."

"And certainly, Arab Americans have been contributing to the American
fabric for about 200 years, so somebody had to tell their story and
we’re doing it."

The "we" Kasbo talks about includes Arab Americans and non Arab
Americans alike, including Kenn Bell, a filmmaker who won the 2003
Sacramento Film Festival short film entry, with "Tedtrip." Aside from
Bell, however, making this movie has been an arduous – and non-profit
– "labor of love," Kasbo says.

Among the unknown contributions Arab Americans have made to the
United States that Kasbo’s team has found, is military service. The
first Arab American to die in combat was Syrian immigrant Private
Nathan Badeen, who died on May 23, 1776, a month and a half before
the United States came into existence.

Since then, according to the website, ,
Arab Americans have fought in every war the U.S. has engaged in. The
most significant contribution occurred during World War I, when 10
percent of the Syrian-American population – 15,000 men – went off to
fight.

"In WWII, for example, there were at least 10,000 people of Arab
American origin who signed up to fight on the side of the United
States," Kasbo said.

The inspiration for making this movie stems from his own experiences
as a Syrian immigrant. Born in the city of Aleppo and of Armenian
descent, Kasbo came to the Paterson, New Jersey area at the age of 10
in 1980, right in time for the Iranian hostage crisis and the first
wave of American prejudice against Middle Eastern immigrants.

"People were confusing Syria with Iran, so at the time it wasn’t a
most hospitable place," he said.

Like all immigrants, he found a niche to win acceptance, and that
niche was sports. Since then, he became an adjunct professor at Seton
Hall University, teaching marketing and public relations at the
Graduate Center for Public Service. In 2005, he founded Verasoni and
is listed in NJBiz’s "Forty Under 40" 2006 Class, which recognizes
exceptional business leaders under the age of 40.

Other contributions from exceptional Arab Americans include those in
the entertainment industry, which includes Danny Thomas, Kathy Najimi
and Tony Shalhoub; and Congressman Charles Boustany and Ralph Nader
in politics. It’s this hidden history that Kasbo is trying to
illuminate.

"I want this film to show the important contributions Arab Americans
have made to the fabric of the United States," he said, highlighting
it as his first goal.

His second goal for the movie is to build bridges between the
perceptions Americans have of their Arab counterparts and the reality
of being an Arab American. His third goal is to show that there’s no
difference between Arab American experience and the experience of
other immigrants.

Since the project is non-profit, with no major financial backing, the
project relies on the contributions of ordinary people. So far, Kasbo
says, the Arab American Institute and American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee have helped out, but with 40 hours of
footage shot, Kasbo says his team will need 200 more in order to
finish. And, he and his team will be coming out to Detroit and Ohio,
so more support will be critical to the project’s success.

"Right now, we have a website, you go to
and you can actually see some of the
interviews," he said. "People can share their stories with us right
on the blog and certainly they can donate to the effort and any
donation is very much appreciated."

For more information on "The Arab American Experience," go to

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 31 2007

Turkish Ambassador Says Armenian Anxiety concerning Reconstruction of
Akhtamar Church Illogical

Azerbaijan, Baku/ Trend , corr. S. Ilhamgizi/ Hussein Avni Karslioglu
has said today that Armenian anxiety concerning the reconstruction of
Akhtamar Church situated nearby the Van Lake yields to no logic.

He expressed an opinion concerning the statements of the Armenian
mass media that the restoration of Akhtamar Church was allegedly an
attempt to wipe all steps of Armenians from there, The Turkish
Ambassador said that Turkey had always respectfully and carefully
treated the past and its ancient history, and preserved it as it was.
` Turkey does care about which nations built ancient monuments
situated on its territory, and whom they belong to. There are
monuments in Turkey built by Georgians, Armenians, Arabs, Greeks, and
representatives of other nations. But all of them are the subject of
our history. Contrary to different claims made by Armenians, the
Turks are proud of their ancient history. The monuments belong to
non-Muslims, churches, synagogues have always reconstructed at the
expense of the Turkish State,’ said the Ambassador.

The Turkish diplomat added that representatives of the Armenian
nation destroyed tens of ancient monuments on the territory of
Azerbaijan in 1918, as well as during the Karabakh War battles in
early 1990s.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 31 2007

‘Stability will continue for the next five years’

Saturday , 31 March 2007

The 2007 presidential elections will not cause instability in the
country, according to Alarko Holding board of directors Chairman
Ýshak Alaton.
Critical of rumors that the presidential elections will create chaos,
Alaton said, "There are so many rumors that the country will
experience a crisis because of the elections, and that truly tires
me," adding that people need to avoid such debates and focus on
getting the job done.

In an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman, the chairman of one of
the leading industrial groups in Turkey, Alaton provided his personal
assessments on northern Iraq, Armenia and the economic effects of the
presidential elections. "I still believe that the minds responsible
for serving this country will provide a rational solution," he said
and noted that he does not expect a crisis to erupt after the
elections. "Stability will continue. That is what I believe, I hope
and I expect. Turkey will find a solution to maintain stability," the
chairman emphasized. Alaton expects stability to continue for another
five years because he believes a one-party government will win in the
coming elections.

Alaton described the initiatives of nongovernmental organizations to
meet with politicians as a positive step. "As members of civil
society, we will discuss with the prime minister what we can do to
improve the image of Turkey," Alaton said and added that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has provided sincere and valuable
support to the business world.

According to Alaton, politicians must be aware of the public’s
interest at all times. `Politicians should be able to understand
public interests without middlemen. In other words, politicians need
to meet directly with the public,’ Alaton said, describing Erdoðan’s
steps in this regard as `modern’ and `very smart.’

`Every party must be able to communicate and take responsibility for
their actions. But unfortunately, some parties do not. They just make
critiques. They try to find flaws, but then they go overboard. My
question is, what do they plan to do when and if they become the
leading party? The opposition parties have yet to answer this
question,’ Alaton said.

`Both Democrats and Republicans in America joined hand-in-hand to
overcome the Iraqi problem. Here in Turkey, we have the Southeast
problem. Why can’t we manage to cooperate?’ Critical of the lack of
concrete information regarding developments in Iraq, the businessman
said: `The formation of a Kurdistan in northern Iraq is a reality. We
all know and see this. We say there isn’t a Kurdistan, but in reality
there is. In fact, there has been a Kurdistan since 1991. Kurdistan
was born the day America told Saddam Hussein that he could not move
past the 36th parallel. Turkey should have been able to say, `Yes a
Kurdistan was formed that day.’ Turkey should have been able to
announce its own policy. But no. Those who spoke of Kurdistan were
imprisoned. Although Kurdistan has been formed, this is a reality we
still refuse to accept. We refuse to receive the president of Iraq in
Ankara. We warn the prime minister not to meet with him. So you see,
we have this odd understanding of administration and government. I
still can’t make sense of it.’ Alaton also highlighted the need to
acknowledge the economic aspect of relations with Iraq and said, `The
engine of politics is economic realities.’

Referring to the tense relations with Armenia and Turkey’s relations
with Azerbaijan, the top man from Alarko Holding said Turkey must
pursue balanced policies. `To evaluate the sincerity of Armenian
relations, Turkey should open entry points. This would foster
economic relations between the two countries. There are people on the
other side who are hopeful that entry points will open and business
relations will be developed. I think they are right. With the
policies to pressure our neighbors, our own citizens are forced to
live in poverty. We don’t have the right to do this. The bureaucracy
in Ankara does not have the right to make those people poor.’

Asked to comment on the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges’ (TOBB) program to bring together Israeli and Palestinian
businessmen in America for the Erez Industrial Zone, Alaton said:
`I’ve always believed that businessmen are peace leaders. I think
this is a valid conclusion. If peace is on the way, then businessmen
are the first to arrive.’ Nevertheless, Turkish businessmen have an
important role. They should develop employment opportunities for
Palestinians in the Erez region and prevent tension between Israel
and Palestine, he said.

Alaton told Today’s Zaman that he would visit Israel with a 55-member
delegation from a pro-Israeli lobby, the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC). `The delegation will arrive in Istanbul
and then head to Tel Aviv. This is a visit to evaluate the
developments first hand. The delegation expects to submit a report
before April 24 to the US congress.’

The delegation will also make contact with business tycoons in
Istanbul, meetings to which Alaton has been invited. `The goal is to
eliminate the possibility of the Armenian genocide legislation
passing the Senate,’ Alaton said, explaining that the legislation,
which would accept that World War I events constituted genocide,
would benefit no one. Referring to the Hrant Dink murder, he said:
`It was a big loss, everyone knows this. The murder of Hrant Dink was
like a bullet against Turkey. Turkey lost a very important figure.
Not only did the murder imply that Turkey could not protect its
civilians, but it struck a severe blow to Turkey’s image. … Turks
took a stance because he was a different person. He was a person who
truly wanted the best for Turkey and sincerely loved Turkey. He had
announced that he would not accept the genocide, and the diaspora
took a stance against him.’

Alaton was critical of the lengthy process of the court and said the
justice system works on very limited resources. Alaton said officials
are underpaid and that that leads to corruption. The search for
reform in Turkey begins with the judicial system. The judicial system
will have to win the trust and respect of the citizens. The Turkish
businessman also said Article 301 must be removed if Turkey wants to
mend its image in foreign countries. He said `the mentality that
refuses to debate the article and that refuses to ban it must change.
They need to stop saying that similar articles can be found in just
about every country.’ Alaton believes the Constitution needs a
make-over but that Ankara’s atmosphere is dominated by fears. We need
to eliminate these fears.

Alaton also criticized policies disfavoring foreign capital flow.
`Turkey could have been today’s China 50 years ago. China does not
export manpower, it imports foreign capital. We could have been
smarter 50 years ago. If in the 1960s our bureaucracy had been more
rational, Anatolia would have been an EU member today. But
unfortunately, that fanatic style of bureaucracy has made us suffer.
… Ankara’s bureaucracy is disconnected from the public. It has a
mentality that is afraid to give anything. We have a bureaucracy that
dreams only of land. It overlooks human needs and perceives the
private sector as an advantage. However, the real goal of life is to
make people happy, not to own land. My people our poor but my land is
big.’

———————————————– —

Turkey can win the Southeast by developing it

Ýshak Alaton believes the problem in the Southeast can be resolved
through the economy. Development in Turkey is unbalanced, Alaton says
and adds: `While there are rich people in the country, Anatolia is
very poor. This is because we have encouraged people to move to Izmir
and Istanbul. We haven’t encouraged investment in the emptied
Southeast region. They say a hungry dog will break into a bakery.
People want bread. We can’t leave them hungry. These people need to
be fed.’

31.03.2007

TURHAN BOZKURT ÝSTANBUL

The Russian-Germans in Tajikistan
( 174)

Posted by J. Otto Pohl | in _History_
( D34) | on March 29th, 2007
Author Archive: _J. Otto Pohl_ ()

Neweurasia.net, Europe

Editor’s Note: What follows is part of _a cross-blog survey_
() that sheds light at the rich ethnic tapestry of Central
Asia. This post is cross-posted at _Otto’s Random Thoughts_
( an-germans-in-tajikistan.html)
By 1999 almost all of the 30,000 Russian-Germans that had been recorded as
living in Tajikistan in 1989 had left. Although large scale German settlement
in the Russian Empire dates back to 1764, the migration to Tajikistan took
place much later. It is almost entirely a product of events that took place near
the end of World War II.
Tajikistan unlike other eastern areas of the USSR such as Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Altai Krai and Omsk Oblast did not receive any appreciable voluntary
settlement by ethnic Germans from the Volga, Ukraine and northern Caucasus in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Nor did Tajikistan serve as a destination for Russian-Germans deported to
special settlements during the collectivization of agriculture or the cleansing
of the Soviet border regions during the 1930s. The 1939 Soviet census lists
only 2,022 ethnic Germans in Tajikistan, the smallest concentration of any
Soviet republic except Armenia with only 433 Germans.
The growth of the Russian-German population in Tajikistan prior to this date
is difficult to track. The 1937 census did not count Russian-Germans in the
four Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and
Tajikistan. The 1926 census gives a combined figure of 4,646 for both Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan. The separation of the Tajik ASSR from the Uzbek SSR and the
upgrading of this territory to the Tajik SSR only occurred in 1929.
The vast majority of the Russian-German population, however, must have been
in Uzbekistan proper. This larger republic had a Russian-German population of
10,049 in 1939. The Russian-German population of Tajikistan thus remained
quite small until the events of World War II. (For comparative census dataon
Russian-Germans from 1926, 1937 and 1939 see Krieger, table 1, p. 133).
Tajikistan also did not serve as a major destination for the Russian-Germans
deported from the European areas of the USSR during the fall of 1941. The
NKVD initially sent almost all of these deportees to Kazakhstan and Siberia. The
official report from 25 December 1941 lists a total of 856,168
Russian-Germans deported to Kazakhstan and Siberia by rail. On 1 January 1942, the NKVD
officials in these regions reported that 799,459 Russian-Germans had arrived in
these regions.
The vast majority of the missing 56,709 deportees presumably died during
transit to their new destinations from typhus, gastro-intestinal diseases and
other illnesses. The poor sanitary conditions in the train wagons used to
relocate the Russian-Germans made this massive mortality inevitable. Out ofthe
nearly 800,000 Russian-Germans deported east of the Urals in 1941, the NKVD
authorities reported that 385,785 had arrived in Kazakhstan by 1 January 1942.
Already by 25 November 1941, their counterparts in Altai Krai, Krasnoiarsk
Krai, Novosibirsk Oblast and Omsk Oblast had recorded the arrival of 396,093
Russian-German deportees. Thus nearly all the surviving Russian-Germans
deported in 1941 ended up in either Kazakhstan or Siberia. (For statistical
information on the 1941 deportations see Bugai, docs. 43 and 44, pp. 74-75and
Milova, doc. 9, pp. 63-69 and doc. 47, pp. 147-148).
The Russian-Germans in Tajikistan did not arrive in this impoverished corner
of Asia until 1945-1946. During 1941, the rapid advance of the Wehrmacht into
the USSR saved some 350,000 Russian-Germans from deportation to Kazakhstan
and Siberia. The vast majority of these people spared from Stalin’s ethnic
cleansing in 1941 lived in Ukraine. During 1942-1944, the German military
evacuated most of these Russian-Germans westward.
At the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union rounded up those
Russian-Germans that had escaped deportation in 1941 and sent them to work under
special settlement restrictions in the Urals, Siberia, Soviet Far East and
Tajikistan. In total the Soviet Union received 203,796 Russian-Germans including
69,782 minors under 17 repatriated from areas formerly under Nazi rule. Soviet
forces apprehended 195,191 of these men women and children in Germany.
American and British soldiers forcibly turned over many of these displaced
Russian-Germans to Soviet forces in accordance with the Yalta Accords. Only
about 100,000 Russian-Germans in Germany avoided repatriation to the USSR.
Tajikistan for the first time became a center for the exile of Russian-German
special settlers due to the forced repatriations. (For the number of
Russian-German repatriates see Bugai, doc. 45, pp. 75 and 76 and Berdinskikh, doc. 8,
pp. 339-343.)
The Stalin regime sent the repatriated Russian-Germans judged physically
incapable of heavy labor to cotton kolkhozes in Tajikistan. Here they suffered
from a lack of proper housing, food, sanitation and medical care. A report from
Peoples Commissar of Health Miterev to Malenkov on 24 January 1946 noted
that extremely poor material conditions for special settlers in Kurgan-Tiubin
Oblast Tajikistan had led to excessive mortality.
They lived in appalling sanitary conditions and suffered from famine like
food shortages. Each person received only 200 grams of wheat or barley a day,
their accommodations lacked floor coverings and roofs and they completely
lacked soap and linen. The unhealthy conditions of work in the cotton fields also
contributed to the health problems of the Russian-Germans in Tajikistan.
The dust and pollen caused numerous infections of the lungs, eyes and cuts
and scrapes especially among children. Trachoma, a debilitating eye disease
that can cause blindness, became especially wide spread among the
Russian-Germans assigned to cotton farms in Tajikistan. These miserable conditions
afflicted tens of thousands of Russian-Germans.
By 1948 the number of Russian-Germans special settlers in Tajikistan had
reached 18,184 people. This number had grown to 27,879 of which 17,770 consisted
of repatriates by the summer of 1950. Thus a little less than ten percent of
the Russian-Germans forcibly repatriated back to the USSR ended up in
Tajikistan. (For a reproduction of the report from Miterev to Malenkov seeBekirova,
chapter 2, p. 3, for a personal account from a Russian-German repatriated
from Germany to Tajikistan see Daes, pp. 141-150, for statistical data on the
number of Russian-Germans in Tajikistan see Eisfeld and Herdt, doc. 312, p.319
and doc. 341, p. 361).
During 1954 to 1956, the Soviet government dismantled the special settlement
regime, officially releasing deported and repatriated Russian-German adults
from this legal disability on 13 December 1955. The Russian-German population
in Tajikistan grew slowly after this date reaching a high of 38,853 in 1979.
It then shrunk down to 32,678 from 1979 to 1989 and completely collapsed due
to emigration from 1989 to 1999. A significant Russian-German population only
lived in Tajikistan for about a half a century.
The Russian-German population in Tajikistan consisted mostly of people
forcibly repatriated back to the USSR after being evacuated to Germany from
Ukraine by the German military during World War II. Their initial years of life in
Tajikistan involved great physical hardship and persecution. They lived as
special settlers on cotton kolkhozes and lacked both material necessities and
human rights. In the 1990s the survivors of the repatriations and their
descendents almost all left Tajikistan due to that country’s civil war.

Waukegan News Sun, IL
March 31 2007

Hometown boy Waukegan native Rob Paravonian brings his comedy act
back to Lake County

March 31, 2007
By DAN MORAN [email protected]

You can take the boy out of Waukegan, but you apparently can’t take
Waukegan out of the boy if he ends up in Brooklyn.

Rob Paravonian, stand-up comedian and Waukegan West High School Class
of 1987, said he has now lived in the New York City borough for a
decade, and he feels both at home and like a visitor at the same
time.

Rob Paravonian will perform two shows tonight at Zanies in Vernon
Hills, 230 Hawthorne Village Commons. Tickets are $22 (with a two
drink/food minimum). For more information, call (847) 549-6030.

"I live there just because New York is the place to be for stand-up
comics, and Manhattan’s too expensive for a writer or an artist," he
said, on his cell while heading to a gig at Susquehana University in
Pennsylvania. "What I like about (Brooklyn) is that it’s very
neighborhood-y, it’s more like Chicago or Waukegan.

"But I do feel like a Midwestern exile, like a Waukegan exile, in New
York. I don’t know — there’s a different demeanor to Midwesterners,
maybe not as brash."

Those who have caught Paravonian’s act either live — Saturday finds
him wrapping up a week of appearances at Zanies in both Chicago and
Vernon Hills — or on cable shows like Comedy Central’s "Premium
Blend" can attest that his style has a certain distance from the East
Coast-freneticism of, say, Denis Leary or Dane Cook.

Employing a guitar, which he taught himself to play while performing
as a cellist for the Waukegan High School Symphony, Paravonian will
offer original comic compositions and riffs on classic material, like
a "Pachebel Rant" that is a current feature on YouTube.

His sense of humor is also steeped in non sequiturs that play off of
"Jeopardy" intellect, such as when he explains his Armenian heritage
for visitors to his Web page ( ): "Other prominent
Armenians you may have heard of: Actor/writer Eric Bogosian, former
Governor of California George Deukmejian, and administrator of Bespin
City Lando Calrissian."

It is a style that has taken the humble Washington Elementary School
graduate literally across the globe. Two years ago this summer,
Paravonian, whose tour schedule usually takes him from one American
college campus to the other, traveled to Afghanistan to perform for
U.S. troops.

"It was a great experience. A friend of mine who’s a comedian in
Chicago asked me if I wanted to do it, and I said yes," he said. "We
played seven different bases, and it was usually on a stage, but
sometimes it was just in a conference room or a dining hall with no
sound system, doing a show for just a hundred guys."

But no matter where he goes, Paravonian has one answer when people
ask him where home is. Well, maybe two answers: Waukegan, a.k.a.
"Rockegan."

"Oh, that’s from when I was in a band," he said, explaining the
hometown description on his MySpace Comedy page (where he also
describes himself as 77 years old). "When we would introduce
ourselves, we were all from Waukegan, so one of my friends would just
say, ‘We’re from Rockegan.’"

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.c om/newssun/entertainment/321267,5_5_WA31_MAINROB_S 1.article

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EastsideBoxing.com
March 31 2007

Kentikian Destroys Anchorena

(Susianna Kentikian, shown on left tagging Anchorena) 30.03.07 – By
Fritz Drexel: Earlier tonight, WBA female flyweight champion Susianna
Kentikian (16-0, 13 KO’s) stopped Maria Jose Nunez Anchorena (7-2, 6
KO’s) in the 3rd round of their scheduled 10-round bout at the Köln
Arena, in Germany. Kentikian, 19, originally from Yerevan, Armenia
and now living in Germany, making the first defense of her WBA
flyweight boxing title, was much too quick and powerful for her
overmatched opponent from Uraguay, controlling the bout all the way
through until the bitter end in the 3rd.

In the 1st round, both fighters started out slowly, with Nunez mostly
staying to the outside, harmlessly flicking wild jabs that missed the
mark badly. Kentikian, boxing out of a crouch, quickly closed the
distance, shooting out left-right combination thrown with mean
intentions. As the round neared the end, Kentikian landed two
consecutive left hooks to the head of Anchorena, 33, snapping her
back violently. The punches were beautifully thrown, looking like a
textbook example of how to throw a left hook. Superb! As Kentikian
walked back to her corner, she grinned impishly, looking like he had
just her a good joke.

Kentikian came out fast in the 2nd round, landing a quick flurry that
backed Anchorena up near her corner, where Kentikian then unleashed a
long right shot that exploded off Anchorena’s face, sending her down
to the canvas. She quickly got up, appearing more embarrassed than
actually hurt. Kentikian immediately followed up with a series of
left-right combinations, but Anchorena took the shots well, and
responded with a couple of shots of her own. None of the shots had
any effect on Kentikian, who continued her steady attack on
Anchorena. Near the end of the round, Kentikian landed another right
hand shot that shook Anchorena, causing her legs to buckle slightly.
However, she was able to make it out of the round without getting
blasted again by another right hand.

In the 3rd round, Kentikian, looking as if she wanted to end fight,
immediately pounced on Anchorena at the center of the ring, landing a
quick left-right combination, again, thrown with beautiful form. She
followed with a jab, and then another left-right combination, which
badly hurt Anchorena, sending her in retreat against the ropes.
Kentikian calmly followed her and landed a final four punch
combination that caused the referee to halt the bout one minute into
the 3rd round.

mp;more=1

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Dailyrecord.com, NJ
March 31 2007

Energy healer Kandarjian tells how to overcome stress
BY LORRAINE ASH
DAILY RECORD
Saturday, March 31, 2007

Robert Kandarjian, a Morristown energy healer, told 20 people at the
Rockaway Township Free Public Library Tuesday night they could add 10
years to their lives by stopping the mental chatter in their heads at
least a few minutes daily.

His free presentation was "Five Ways to Address Daily Stress."

The 52-year-old Kandarjian, originally from Lebanon, speaks three
languages — Armenian, Arabic and English. He practiced chiropractic
for years but grew frustrated trying to help people solve physical
problems with psychospiritual causes. Like stress.

So 12 years ago Kandarjian, who also earned a degree in English
literature because he loves it, decided to bring his "spiritual bent
to the surface." He trained in healing touch with the American
Holistic Nurses Association and today that’s what he practices. He
helps people, one on one and in gatherings like this, learn how to
calm down.

Why? Because somebody has to do it, he said, and because hardly
anyone in American culture is invested in this type of education. The
kind that reaches caregivers, spouses, workers, mortgage-payers,
parents, average citizens such as those who showed up Tuesday.

Kandarjian told a story about his favorite Manhattan diner where he
savored his omelets in the quiet until the owner installed a
television in each corner.

"I was being forced to watch the news while I ate my eggs,"
Kandarjian said. "The culture is active and aggressive. It is in your
face. We don’t know how to be alone. We don’t know how to slow down.
We don’t know how to be still."

Stop that head chatter, he said, and the voice of intuition,
stillness, God — it goes by many names — will surface in the center
of the self. And it will speak wisdom. Having been raised Christian
in a Muslim district of Beirut, Kandarjian concerns himself with
transcending definitions like Christian or Muslim.

"What my faith helps me know is there is a divine will that operates
in all people," he said. That is the will that counteracts stress.
That is the place to go to make life decisions.

"Be in your head when necessary," he said. But some of the time, he
advised, listen to Mozart, behold the ocean. He led the group in
quiet time. Lynne Mandeville of Flanders said it was difficult.

"My brain is trained to react faster than my center," she said.

The presentation was about retraining. In another exercise Kandarjian
directed the 20 to envision an empty/full gauge in their mind to
represent their energy level. Silently they asked what they could do
to up their energy and then waited for an answer to rise within them.
It was different for everyone.

Dottie Martin of Rockaway Township responded to Kandarjian’s
preference: going to the woods and listening to birds. "That is an
excellent sound," she said.

Other countercultural ideas presented:

– "Being disconnected from your purpose in life automatically creates
stress."

– "If you don’t have faith in a spiritual force, you’re going to play
God all the time and create stress."

Robert Kandarjian can be contacted through his Web site,
He will present a workshop noon-6 p.m.
April 14 at Six Degrees of Wellness, 25 Bloomfield Ave., Denville.