Month: August 2008

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN CONGRATULATES AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV ON VICTORY OF AZERBAIJANI WRESTLER OVER ARMENIAN

Today.Az
12 August 2008
Azerbaijan

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva
watched Greco-roman wrestling semifinals at the Summer Olympics in
Beijing on Tuesday as Azerbaijani wrestler Vitaliy Rahimov (60 kg)
beat 10:2 Bulgarian rival of Armenian origin, two-fold Olympic champion
Armen Nazarian and Rovshan Bayramov (55 kg) outclassed 11:3 Armenian
wrestler Roman Amoyan.

After Rovshan Bayramov`s win, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
congratulated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Officials of the international Wrestling Federation, Head of the
Russian Physical Culture and Sport Agency, Olympic Champion Vyacheslav
Fetisov also congratulated Azerbaijani leader.

THOUSANDS OF ARMENIANS EVACUATED FROM GEORGIA

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Tuesday , 12 August 2008
Turkey

Hundreds of Armenians vacationing in Georgia’s Black Sea resort towns
of Batumi and Kobuleti are being evacuated back to Armenia, RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service has reported.

In Batumi, some 1,200 Armenian vacationers have left because of the
fighting between Russian and Georgian forces and have returned to their
homes in Armenia. An RFE/RL correspondent in Armenia’s northwestern
Shirak region, which borders Georgia, said hundreds of vehicles were
lined up waiting to cross into Armenia.

The Armenian consul-general in Batumi, Hakob Haji Hakobian, told
RFE/RL that the evacuation will continue, as many Armenians fear
Russian warplanes could bomb Batumi — the largest Georgian seaport —
as they have Poti and other Georgian cities.

Batumi and Kobuleti have in recent years become one of the most
popular destinations for Armenian holidaymakers.

On August 9, Russian planes bombed another Georgian seaport, Poti,
causing havoc among the civilian population fleeing the town.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry warned its citizens the same day not
to travel to Georgia. There are still an estimated 3,500 Armenian
citizens in Georgia that it plans to evacuate to Armenia.

The ministry also said that 850 foreigners, including diplomats
stationed in Georgia and their family members, were also evacuated
to Armenia. It said 130 Americans and 180 Poles have fled to Armenia
and some 130 Italians are expected to arrive in Armenia on August 10.

OQTAY SADIKHZADE: "RUSSIA HAS FULLY TAKEN SEPARATISTS’ SIDE AND SUPPORTS SEPARATIST REGIMES IN THE POST-SOVIET AREA"

Today.Az
12 August 2008
Azerbaijan

"The events in Georgia are the result of Russia’s rude interference
with the internal affairs of an independent state", said famous
Azerbaijani political scientist Oqtay Sadikhzade commenting on the
developments in Georgia. According to him the world society should
demonstrate sharp response to the actions of the Kremlin. Russia’s
intervention into Georgian cities outside the South Ossetia prove
Moscow’s plan on expanding the area of tensions.

The political scientist said that the Georgian leadership risked the
worsening of the situation in an attempt to restore the territorial
integrity of the country and it will soon appeal for NATO accession.

"International law is fully on Georgia’s side. In line with the UN
charter, each independent state has a right to restore constitutional
order in its territory.

Russia’s steps again prove that this country has fully taken
separatists’ side and supports separatist regimes in the post-Soviet
area.

This case can serve a lesson to us, considering the unsettled Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. Developments around South Ossetia show that
Azerbaijan should modernize and consolidate its army and military
and industrial complex, said he adding that most will depend on the
reaction of the world society on events in Georgia.

"It will become a ground for further possible actions of official
Baku on the Karabakh problem, where the situation will undoubtedly
deteriorate following the events in Georgia.

Asked whether the possible recognition of independence of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia may influence Karabakh conflict he said that
Moscow adhere to different positions on these issues.

"Moscow’s attitude to Karabakh and Transdniestria differs much from
its negative position on the conflicts in Georgia. I think Russia
will not risk further worsening of relations with Azerbaijan and
Moldova. Moscow does not need to increase the number of countries,
which have a negative attitude to it, it does not comply with the
interests of Russian diplomacy, especially when the point is the
neighbor countries.

He also noted that Russia’s image as a peacekeeping country will be
damaged by Moscow personally.

"After it Tbilisi is likely to annul mandate of Russian peacekeeping
forces in South Ossetia. It is unclear on which grounds they will
remain there. Deployment of Russian troops in the conflict area is
envisioned by the Dagomys and Moscow treaties of 1992 and 1994. There
are no other international documents on this issue. Georgia will
deprive Russian servicemen of this mandate in the unilateral order",
said Sadikhzade, voicing hope for toughening positions by the world
society and strengthening of pressure on Moscow, especially by the
US and EU.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TRAIN TO THE WESTERN WALL
Danny Adino Ababa

Ynetnews
Israel News
08.12.08, 12:17
Israel

Jerusalem Municipality holds secret meeting in which plans are unveiled
for extension of city’s light train to Dung Gate, just minute’s walk
from holy site; tunnel through Mt. Zion also proposed

Jerusalem’s new light train may reach the Western Wall, according to
a meeting held by the capital’s municipality, in the civil engineer’s
office. The meeting, which took place on June 25, was kept under
wraps for fear that its subject would enrage representatives of the
three faiths in the city.

Jerusalem’s leaders fear that the close proximity of the train’s path
to the Old City and the cemetery nearby may destabilize the delicate
balance between the religions, and invoke a protest fueled by local
aggravation.

The proposal for the train’s new path was offered as a solution to the
Old City’s chronic traffic congestion, specifically near the Western
Wall. Jerusalem Municipality’s transportation department prepared a
plan for the limitation of traffic within the Old City, in addition
to a plan for the improvement of public transport in the area.

However it didn’t take long to rule out all options other than the
train, which would circle the city’s walls until reaching the Dung
Gate, which is just one minute’s walk from the Western Wall. Architects
have planned for the train to pass through Mt. Zion, and an underground
tunnel has been planned for this purpose.

Construction on the new plan, which is to extend the route of the
already approved tracks, may last two to three years, and some of the
residents living close to the route may have to evacuate the area in
return for compensation.

The meeting was kept secret, but participants planned to announce
its conclusions before the media once the plans had been completed
and approved, in a press conference with the participation of
representatives of the Old City’s four quarters – Jewish, Muslim,
Christian, and Armenian.

RAMIN MUSAYEV SAYS AFFA IS TO PASS DECISION ON RASIM KARA

Azeri Press Agency
12 Aug 2008 15:47
Azerbaijan

Baku. Mehman Suleymanov – APA-SPORT. "Rasim Kara was at the
technical zone in the visit match against Karvan as a head coach
of Khazar-Lankaran on our approval. Garabagh, the club that still
has contract with Kara, is aware of that", Azerbaijan Professional
Football League president Ramin Musayev told APA-SPORT.

He stated that the issue on Rasim Kara is still under the
investigation.

"WE asked FIFA and UEFA to help us to make a decision. Rasim Kara
changed Garabagh to Khazar-Lankaran as a coach. We have no article in
the regulations on such a case. We should wait for some time. AFFA
Department is carrying out the investigation on the issue. We
considered it expedient to allow Kara to attend the matches. However,
he is a head coach of Khazar-Lankaran", he said.

FINNISH EVACUEES TO ARRIVE IN ESTONIA FROM GEORGIA

Newsroom Finland
12.8.2008 at 9:55
Finland

A total of seven Finns who have been evacuated from Georgia are to
arrive by plane in Tallinn, Estonia, on Tuesday morning and then
continue on to Finland, the Finnish foreign ministry told the Finnish
News Agency (STT) on Monday evening.

Estonia’s embassy in Georgia evacuated the Finns to the Armenian
capital Yerevan where they were put on a special flight for Estonian
citizens headed for Tallinn.

Finland does not have its own embassy in Georgia.

According to the Finnish foreign ministry, a couple of Finns left
Georgia on their own steam already during the weekend to escape the
conflict. Eight Finns have chosen to remain in the country, three
of them working for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), of which Finland currently holds the chairmanship.

INTEL BRIEF: CHINESE REPRESSION OF UIGHURS
by Diane Chido

ISN
11/08/08
Switzerland

While China lays out the welcome mat for the world, millions of ethnic
Chinese have made themselves at home uninvited in the land of the
Uighur, Diane Chido writes for ISN Security Watch.

Despite historical, ideological and practical differences with Russia,
China is mirroring one of its more problematic policies, an action
unnoticed by the international community: the relocation of ethnic
Chinese into Uighur-dominated Xinjiang.

Just as oil-rich Kazakhstan was settled by massive influxes of ethnic
Russians during the Soviet period, which by the 1990s numbered nearly
60 percent of that nation’s population, ethnic Chinese are settling
in Xinjiang, an autonomous northeastern province in China inhabited
mostly by Uighur Muslims, at a rate of 7,000 per day.

The area, also known as East Turkestan, borders Pakistan, Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as well as Russia.

When China officially annexed Xinjiang in 1949, there were 300,000
ethnic Chinese in the region. But in 2006, official Chinese statistics
indicated that the region’s population comprised 8.7 million Uighurs
and 7.5 million ethnic Chinese.

Increasing repression by the Chinese state has driven the traditionally
peaceful and secular Uighur Muslims to identify deeper with their
faith: It has also driven them to poverty and possible rebellion. Many
observers predict a violent reaction in the wake of China’s relocation
policy in the region.

War on terror or war on Uighurs?

Under the banner of anti-terrorism and anti-separatism, China has
embarked on a policy of suppressing religious freedom.

Government regulations intended to "manage religion and guide it in
being subordinate to the central task of economic construction, the
unification of the motherland, and the objective of national unity"
were instituted in 2000.

During the past decade, "re-education" camps have appeared in the
region, containing thousands of Uighurs suspected of "separatism"
and "extremism." Crimes that can land one in such a prison or justify
torture or execution include teaching religious practices to minors;
holding unauthorized religious ceremonies or celebrating holidays;
dressing in an "Islamic" fashion; wearing a beard; or reading banned
versions of the Koran.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US and subsequent events in Spain
and the UK have enabled China to cloak these repressive actions as
part of their cooperative efforts in the global war on terror, which
has in turn enabled them to go uncontested in the West.

Access to natural resources important factor Xinjiang is known to
contain vast gas and oil fields as well as huge deposits of gold,
coal and iron ore. Access to oil and its necessary transit routes
also provide impetus for Chinese repression. According to Sun Longde,
president of the PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company in Xinjiang,
a subsidiary of state-owned PetroChina, "The Tarim River Basin [in
Xinjiang] alone is expected to produce about 750 million barrels of
oil by 2010." Longde notes that this is almost equal to China’s total
2006 oil imports.

Virtually all the workers in the Xinjiang oil industry are imported
Han Chinese, another frustration for Uighurs as they watch nearly 85
percent of oil revenues from their province flow to Beijing. Local
government officials state that 65 percent of these funds flow back
in the form of transfers for building local infrastructure, but the
roads and bridges are mainly used for transporting local resources out
and for construction of an oil pipeline to Shanghai that is scheduled
to be fully operational by 2010.

Soil conditions in the region are ideal for growing cotton, a
traditional Uighur crop. Even though many cotton farms are still
owned by Uighur farmers, ethnic Chinese are increasingly taking
them over. They also have greater access to the Chinese commodities
market and state management agencies and are beginning to dominate
this industry.

The Uighurs, as Turkic-speaking Muslims, have always had a wide
cultural, linguistic and geographic divide from their Chinese
counterparts. However, the area’s natural resources, so necessary for
China’s continued industrial growth, have made the region a far more
valuable conquest target in recent years. These historical differences
are likely to greatly diminish in coming generations with the Chinese
relocation policy at the expense of the Uighur national identity.

Traditionally, nationalist groups such as the East Turkestan
Independence Movement (ETIM) have focused on stemming the loss of
Uighur culture. However, al-Qaida’s funding and training of such
groups for the past decade has provided an impetus to begin emphasizing
Islamic elements in their ideology to attract more aid. This enables
China to label ETIM members and the Uighurs at large "terrorists." It
also allows the US to ignore their struggles.

The US government is aware of the situation in Xinjiang. However,
unlike the Uighurs’ next door neighbor Tibet, for which the US Congress
passed the Tibetan Policy Act, the US has taken no concrete actions in
support of the Uighurs. Congress has held half a dozen hearings on the
Uighur issue in the past five years and US President George W Bush has
met once with an Uighur human rights activist and Nobel Prize nominee.

There is great concern in China that the ETIM will use the 2008
Beijing Olympics as an ideal occasion to bring their struggle to
international attention. Although it would be insurmountably difficult
to transport significant arms caches to the capital, an attack on
the oil infrastructure while the spotlight is on China would bring
attention to the movement.

In June 2007, a large supply of explosives and arms was discovered
in Xinjiang with clear ties to the ETIM. As a result, detentions and
crackdowns on even small public gatherings have increased over the
past year.

History in danger of repeating itself China’s conduct toward its Uighur
population is clearly akin to treatment of Jews in post-WW I Germany
and Armenians during the Ottoman Empire. The obvious similarities
are the Uighurs’ minority religion, language and culture as well as
their non-Asiatic, Turkic appearance. Historically, however, their
victimization may reach back, like the Jews and the Armenians, to
the Uighurs’ traditional role as the region’s moneylenders in China
at the height of the Silk Road’s prominence in AD 600-900 (Thubron,
Colin. "Shadow of the Silk Road." HarperCollins Publishers. New York,
NY: 2007).

Despite the lessons of history, it is highly likely that China will
continue its counterproductive policies and drive increasing numbers
of moderate, peaceful Uighurs into self-radicalization and affiliation
with groups that promise the equipment and training to deliver them
from the perceived Chinese threat to their economy and their national
and cultural identity.

Mercyhurst-ISN intelligence briefs offer foresight into issues that are
likely to dominate news headlines and policy agendas. The briefs are a
joint initiative of the ISN and Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence
Studies and are composed and referenced using open sources.

FOOD AND PUPPETS PULL HEART STRINGS
By Fazile Zahir

Asia Times Online
Aug 13, 2008
Hong Kong

FETHIYE, Turkey – Despite the gradual improvement in relations between
Greece and Turkey over the past decade, it seems that there is still
much to squabble about.

Both countries are laying claim to the origins of the shadow theater
show known as Karagoz (or in Greek Karagiozis) after the name of
its main character. Newspapers reported this week that the Turkish
Ministry for Culture and Tourism will be making a wholesale effort
to repel Greek efforts to appropriate the traditional Turkish drama
which was popularized during the Ottoman period.

Their efforts will be part of their attempt to register Karagoz on the

planned 2009 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible
Cultural Heritage. They are planning a large range of actions
including preparing a dossier of historical research proving that
Karagoz originated in Turkey, naming office buildings, parks and public
squares after him and encouraging TV producers to make program about
him and his sidekicks.

They will also be trying to revive the tradition of touring shadow
theatre companies performing across the nation by employing actors and
training them in the art of puppetry. A Karagoz Research Institute
will be founded, a book of Karagoz images published and his stories
will be reprinted.

Karagoz – the puppet that everyone wants a piece of – has six or seven
centuries of history behind him; the Ottoman equivalent of Mr Punch
(though somewhat less violent) of the duo of England’s Punch and
Judy. The plays are popularly thought to be based on the lives of
two garrulous laborers – Karagoz and Hacivat – whose comic chatter
slowed down the work on a mosque construction in Bursa, after their
execution they became folk heroes.

Karagoz is the not-too-bright representative of the common man
and Hacivat is a low-ranking official of sorts. Generally, whatever
scheme the two come up with during the course of a play, Karagoz ends
up ruining it through his buffoonery and Hacivat ends up as a long
suffering Oliver Hardy dealing with the incompetent Stan Laurel.

The shows were incredibly popular in Turkey, but the advent
of television has almost wiped them out (except at cultural
festivals). However the cinematic release of the popular costume
drama Who Killed Hacivat and Karagoz? in 2006 sparked a new interest
in Turkey and across the sea in Greece.

Three months after the film came out, Turkish papers were reporting
that Karagiozi was playing to packed houses in Athens houses telling
the story of Greek suffering under the Ottomans. Turkish theater
artist Emin Senyer said that the Turkish governments unwillingness to
invest in keeping traditions alive was allowing the more active Greek
government to present this particular shadow puppet to the world as
if it was their own.

In Greece, some are happy to accept that Karagiozis made his way to
the county via the Turks but there are also alternative theories
that Greek merchants brought shadow theatre from China or that a
Greek created the folkloric art during Ottoman rule to entertain the
sultan. Despite these differences, experts agree on two things, first,
that in the 1880s the stories and adventures were adapted for a newly
independent Greek society by inventing numerous local characters,
and were mostly completed by 1910.

Karagiozis flourished from 1915 until 1950, a time of major
tribulations for the nation in the form of wars and social
unrest. The puppet hero was a continuous inspiration for the poor,
an uncompromising protagonist who tried in vain to change his fate
and protest against social injustice. The character is still regarded
with great affection.

Of course these are not the only elements of culture that the two
nations and their peoples joust over. The comments under the recent
news story make that very clear: Enis Ilhan Icten (Let’s not wake
up to the danger too late, we need to be ever vigilant) … they’ve
taken yoghurt, taken feta and baklava, we lost doner and helva too,
none of these are known as ours anymore."

Should UNESCO choose to get involved in the intangible area of cuisine
they may never extricate themselves from the arguments. Several dishes
are fiercely contested: Dolma/sarma – the Turkish word dolma means
stuffed and can be used to describe any vegetable with a mince and rice
filling, whereas sarma is used for vine leaf or cabbage leaf version
(sarma means wrapped). Called dolmades by the Greeks it’s probably
OK to infer that if the word actually means something in Turkish the
dish originated here. There are variations of dolma throughout the
Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Baklava – the Lebanese, Armenians and Greeks all claim they invented
this sweet sticky pastry and they probably derived the early
variants. But the form we know today, with its syrupy nutty filling,
was devised in the kitchens of the Ottoman court and the word means
"diamond shaped" in Turkish.

On May 16, 2006, Turkish baklava producers held a demonstration
and press conference in Istanbul supported by the state minister
for finance and European Union chief negotiator, Ali Babacan. They
were protesting Greek Cypriot claims that baklava was their national
creation. Their placards read "Baklava is Turkish, we will not allow
the Greek Cypriots to feed it to the world."

Feta – the Greeks won this battle, not just over Turkey but against
the whole of the EU. Under a European Court of Justice ruling feta,
like Champagne and Parma ham is protected. As of 2007, producers of
this crumbly white cheese who do not actually make it in Greece cannot
call it feta or even feta-style cheese. Turks call their version of
this beyaz peynir – white cheese.

According to cookery expert and chef Hulya Erdal, "Feta cheese can
only be the creation of Greece and any other cheese that remotely
resembles this delightful fare is really only an imitation and cannot
be called anything other than white cheese."

Yoghurt – also known worldwide as Greek yoghurt – was probably a
spontaneous appearance caused by wild bacteria in animals’ skin bags
used for carrying milk. There are records of 11th century consumption
by nomadic Turks in the Diwan Lughat al-Turk.

The Greeks call it yiaourti. The name may be derived from the
Turkish yogurmak which means "to knead", but the etymological link is
tenuous. Hulya Erdal has her own view, "If you know anything about food
then you’ll know that yoghurt was without a doubt invented, cooked up,
made, produced, however you want to call it, from Turkey. Forget what
anyone else tells you, it’s an original Turkish food product and always
will be. Of course, that’s not to say that ‘Greek-style yoghurt’ or
‘French-style yoghurt’ isn’t original but notice the clever use of
words, let’s make sure that we all understand, it’s just a variation
on an old tried and tested Turkish recipe."

Doner – Outside of Turkey and Greece this roasted spitted meat
dish seems to be equally well known as a Turkish and Greek dish. In
Britain and Ireland it is predominantly recognized as Turkish; in
Sydney, Australia, they are Turkish doner but 800 kilometers away
in Melbourne they are Greek souvlaki and in Adelaide they are gyros
(this means "rotating" as does the word doner).

In America they are mainly called gyros but in Canada doner. In the
Netherlands they call the Greek dish gyros ( pronounced geeros with
a Dutch, throat-searing "g") and the Turkish dish doner. In Moscow,
it’s a sheverma.

Whomever first made the food – or created the puppet – seems by and
large irrelevant provided we can all enjoy them. It’s not like putting
meat (or a puppet figure) on a stick ranks up there with the discovery
of the Theory of Relativity.

Still, the debate rages on. Take, for example, the cuisine of Cyprus:
despite the two ethnic groups here having had a long history in
close proximity to each other’s kitchens each side still tries to
distinguish one food or another as their own.

According to chef Hulay Erdal, it’s more complicated than that. "There
are some food items that sit on a fence, cross a very fine line
and can cause nations to come to blows over their ownership," Hulay
Erdal said. "Cyprus, an island with a troubled history and full of
fascinating stories, has a culinary culture not unlike a vast fruit
bowl. It is extremely colorful and tasty, with recipes originating
from far and wide. The food derives from a blend of the Middle East,
Greece, Turkey, Italy and Africa."

The chef mentioned recipes such as molohiya, a green leafy herb,
long known to only grow in Cyprus and on the banks of the River Nile
in Egypt. Or the dish kolokas, a stew of a large brown-skinned yam
that probably started out in Sudan or thereabouts.

"The food of Cyprus cannot be laid bare for one nation or another to
lay a claim on. In fact, this is a cuisine that mixes old and new,
and what makes it truly unique is the fact that the recipes are
available in both Greek, Turkish and English," Hulay Erdal said.

Perhaps the best solution to some of these culinary quandaries is how
the European Union plans to handle the long-running Cypriot cheese
debate. Last year Nuno Miguel Vicente, in charge of Cyprus at the EU
Directorate General of Agriculture, made a statement declaring the
best-case scenario for everyone would be the bilingual registry as
both hellim and halloumi.

Fazile Zahir is of Turkish descent, born and brought up in London. She
moved to live in Turkey in 2005 and has been writing full time
since then.

ROSS IS AVENUE OF DEVELOPMENT, DIVERSITY – AND NOW DEBATE
By Eric Aasen and Michael E. Young, [email protected]; [email protected]

Dallas Morning News
August 12, 2008
TX

Three-and-a-half miles long and 150 years old, Ross Avenue traces the
evolution of Dallas from hardscrabble frontier town to multiethnic
metropolis, sophisticated and down-home and ever more diverse.

Used car lots on Ross fly the flags of the U.S. and Mexico. The avenue
runs through both a largely Hispanic neighborhood and the West End. It
is dotted with churches, museums, lavanderias; even Stephan Pyles’
restaurant. It’s home to chef Stephan Pyles’ namesake restaurant and
Tacos y Mas; skyscrapers and lavanderias; museums, concert halls and
tired old buildings where enterprising newcomers shape their dreams.

And it is at the center of an intense debate between a community
that feels ignored and others who claim a stake on this street,
with personal, financial, even historic investments.

The eastern stretch of Ross Avenue runs through a largely Hispanic
neighborhood, and leaders, snubbed in efforts to have Industrial
Boulevard renamed in honor of César Chávez, have turned their
name-changing efforts toward Ross. Others agree with the sentiment
but not the location.

To developer John Sughrue, part of the team building the 42-story
Museum Tower condo project in the Dallas Arts District, Ross Avenue
is more than a street. It’s a brand.

GUY REYNOLDS/DMN Javier Tapia (right) quickly gets the attention
of his friend Pedro Puebla after spotting a potential employer
slowing on North Carroll Avenue near the de facto day-labor center
on Ross. Mr. Tapia said he’s been coming to Texas on and off for 20
years from his home state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. "Ross Avenue
in Dallas is much like Park Avenue in New York or Michigan Avenue in
Chicago," Mr. Sughrue said. "You change the brand, you risk changing
the enterprise."

But Dallas City Council member Steve Salazar, a key name-change
proponent, has received favorable feedback on the Chávez idea from
property owners along Ross.

"A lot of people say, ‘I have memories on Ross,’ " Mr. Salazar said. "I
don’t think the memories are about Ross, but the things that occurred
around that street."

It’s their business

On an avenue lined with dozens of office towers and hundreds of
individual businesses, changing the street’s name means changing
business cards, stationery and store signs. For some, it might mean
changing their names.

Consider the Ross Avenue Wedding Chapel.

"I do a lot of [Hispanic] weddings because the [Catholic] cathedral
can’t take any more," said owner Michael Cotten. "But I can’t imagine
that many of my other clients would be thrilled going to the César
Chávez Wedding Chapel."

Dora Medina’s family came from Mexico, and her parents now own Ross
Discount Tire, where she works. And though Ross Avenue might get a
new name, the tire store won’t.

"I don’t believe the name change would affect business," she said of
the 20-year-old shop. "If we were a new business, this would affect
our clientele a lot more."

But others say a change means major headaches.

Danna Moon of Texas Paint & Wallpaper, a fixture on Ross since the
late ’60s, said she respects the desire to pay homage to a major
civil-rights figure but doesn’t understand why that has to happen on
a street with scores of businesses.

Ross Avenue is "just part of our family, and it’s a part of our store,"
she said. "We know that we have to change with the times. This is
just one area, I guess, that we don’t see needs changing."

Family histories are a key part of the street’s history, and a part
of the city’s. Changing one affects all the rest, locals say.

The street is named after brothers William and Andrew Ross, prominent
Dallas residents during the Civil War.

A.H. Belo built the Belo Mansion on Ross in the late 1800s.

Four decades later, thousands lined up at the mansion, by then a
funeral home, to view the body of Clyde Barrow.

"To want to change the name of a street that honors one of the early
founders of Dallas after someone who is not from Dallas, not from
Texas … it’s a travesty," said Ellen Amirkhan, president of the
Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. on Ross since 1920.

Some Ross residents don’t care for a name change, either.

"Ross Avenue has a history all of its own," said Bobbie Kraft, 71,
who has lived in a duplex on Ross since 2005. "I think we ought to
leave some things alone."

Recognition

Proponents say the name change recognizes Dallas’ changing makeup.

The street is home to the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe
and headquarters of the Dallas Independent School District, which
has a significant Hispanic student population.

And an immigration march up Ross Avenue in 2006 attracted up to
500,000 people.

"We need to express our respect to the Latino community, and we believe
they should have a prominent venue," said John Fiedler, senior pastor
of First United Methodist Church at Ross and Akard Street.

"But I think of Ross Avenue as our Fifth Avenue … and in New York,
Fifth Avenue was a transcendent stage shared by everyone."

A City Council committee recommended last week that Ross be
renamed. The Dallas Plan Commission will take up the issue in about
60 days, Mr. Salazar said, before the council considers the matter.

Mr. Salazar and the council’s two other Hispanic members, Mayor
Pro Tem Elba Garcia and Pauline Medrano – whose district includes a
section of Ross Avenue – support renaming the street.

Angela Hunt, whose district includes the downtown portion of Ross
Avenue, has said she has concerns about changing a street name tied
to Dallas history. But, she said, the process needs to play out.

Renaming a historic street puts the City Council in a no-win situation,
said Robert V. Kemper, an urban anthropology professor at Southern
Methodist University.

The unscientific poll to rename Industrial Boulevard was the beginning
of the crisis, Dr. Kemper said, and when a road for César Chávez
emerged as the unexpected winner, city officials turned it down.

"That was the flashpoint for what has happened since, and now the
politicians are trying to escape the consequences," he said. "There’s
no easy exit."

At the eastern edge of Ross, Carl Bell looks at the future and
considers the past.

Somewhere else?

Mr. Bell led the deacons at Ross Avenue Baptist Church when it was
largely destroyed by fire in 2002.

"There’s a legacy of places that were once on Ross Avenue, such as
Merchants State Bank and Sears and even [used-car dealer] Goss on
Ross," he said.

Mr. Bell said he understands the impact the Latino community has in
Dallas and admires Mr. Chávez for helping migrant workers.

"We should honor Chávez now, whichever street or boulevard it is,"
he said.But many on Ross would prefer that street be somewhere else.

Some mention Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff or Northwest Highway
or Columbia Avenue.

Ms. Amirkhan of the Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. said there are less
divisive ways to honor Mr. Chávez. She suggested renaming the Dallas
Farmers Market.

"We are aware of immigrants; we’re aware of their contributions," said
Ms. Amirkhan, whose grandfather fled the Armenian genocide in Turkey.

"We understand that people want to honor their culture and their
history. We want to do the same.

"But we have to do it in a way that brings everyone in the city
together."

–Boundary_(ID_7yvCgDaejXB/F fYZgBicUQ)–

FCO ADVISES AGAINST ALL TRAVEL TO GEORGIA

Wanderlust
12 Aug 2008 09:15
UK

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has again upgraded its
travel advice for the troubled state of Georgia, now advising against
all travel to the country.

Fighting continues in South Ossetia and the FCO continues to advise
foreign nationals still in Georgia to leave as soon as possible.

Although the availability and security of air travel is now uncertain,
land borders with Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan remain open.

The FCO also reports that the British Embassy in the capital of
Tbilisi is organising coach transport from Tbilisi to the Armenian
city of Yerevan to assist British nationals.

A visa for Armenia can be obtained at the border.

The separatist regions where conflict has been reported are South
Ossetia, Abkhazia and also the upper Kodori Valley (also known as
upper Abkhazia).

Media reports indicate that Russian forces control access roads and
bridges in these areas and travel on all roads west from Tbilisi
should be avoided.

The British Embassy contact phone numbers are (00995) 188 687 or
(00995) 119 693.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress