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Border must be impregnable, says Ukrainian border official

Den, Kiev
11 Aug 04

Europe is helping Ukraine protect its border with Russia, but leaves
Kiev to keep up western borders, Maj-Gen Volodymyr Karas, the chief of
the Western regional directorate of the State Border Service, has
said. Speaking in an interview, he said travelling West has reached
the levels seen before the recent introduction of visa regime by
Ukraine’s western neighbours. Karas said funds allocated by the EU to
beef up Ukraine’s borders and curb illegal migration are being put to
good use, but added he hopes Europe will keep its promises to do
more. The following is the text of the interview with Karas by Iryna
Yehorova, published in the Ukrainian newspaper Den on 11 August under
the title “The border. Correction to Europe”; subheadings are as in
the original:

The last expansion of the European Union to the east came right up to
the borders of Ukraine. The topic of this interview with the chief of
the Western regional directorate of the State Border Service, Maj-Gen
Volodymyr Karas, was how the border is getting along with the EU.

Europe can help Ukraine protect the border with Russia

Yehorova General Karas, how has the change in the status of the
western border practically influenced the work of your directorate?

Karas The current situation developed under the influence of processes
of integration. Now there are visa regimes along practically the
entire western border. (The latest one was introduced in June by
Romania.) However, as we see, there is no commotion on the borders, we
have worked out all issues in concert with our neighbours in defending
state borders. If you look at the flow of passenger and cargo traffic,
we have practically reached the level we had before the visa regimes
took effect .

As far as foreign citizens crossing our borders, their overall volume
has unarguably increased. We are trying to work in a way that will
make for as little discomfort and complaint in crossing the state
border as possible. Of course, not everything is ideal, but I should
note the number of statements and complaints about the tactless
behaviour or illegal actions on the part of border troops has sharply
fallen. We are very strict with those people who do not want to carry
out their responsibilities. And we constantly rotate staff. This year,
we completely rotated staff at the Krakovets crossing point and about
50 per cent at Rava-Ruska. Similar work is being done at other
crossing points, significantly lowering the possibility of abuse of
service position and attempts to carry out corrupt activities.

Yehorova Is staff going to be cut within your department?

Karas The border troops department has just gone through the stage of
reform – on the basis of the border troops, the State Border Service
of Ukraine has been established. So the issue of cutting back staff is
not logical at this stage. According to the law of Ukraine “On the
State Border Service of Ukraine”, the limit on staffing from 1 January
2005 is 50,000 people, of them 42,000 are military servicemen. And
that is the maximum allowable number, while the real, that is factual,
number is less and it has not changed for practically the last five
years. We are placing special emphasis on reaching quality
indicators. We very carefully choose people to fill vacancies in top
posts, giving special attention to the level of their professional
preparation, competency, legal preparation, knowledge of foreign
languages and so on.

Overall, the increase in the number of border troops at the end of the
1990s is connected to building Ukraine’s eastern border. We are now
also expecting an increase in the number of border crossing points on
western borders shared with the EU.

The EU is paying great attention to its borders, investing large sums
into developing them… ellipsis as published I can relate the
following example: for one small segment – 97 km of border with
Slovakia – the EU allocated 50m euros for two years. There are
comparable programmes for developing the border in other EU
countries. Serious funding is being allocated for equipping the
borders with technical means. Everywhere there is night vision
equipment, something we, unfortunately, do not yet have.

The EU is helping our neighbours, but we are basically working by
ourselves. However, in most cases, Europe is aiding in strengthening
our eastern, northern and southern borders. Literally just days ago 90
pieces of equipment including vehicles, radio stations and office
equipment were purchased for the Sumy border patrol unit with funds
from the EU. The same help is expected for the Kharkiv, Luhansk and
Donetsk border patrols for securing the border with Russia. As far as
the western borders, almost everything is pinned on our own
abilities. Although, on the other hand, if the European Union is
helping secure our borders on the east, state funding is freed for
supporting the western borders. The main task the State Border
Service’s western directorate is to ensure that we are not worse than
our neighbours.

The minuses of a transit geography

Yehorova Are you handling it?

Karas Look at the results of our work. Units in the western regional
directorate have detained 3,386 people breaking the law on the state
border. Compared to last year 2003 , this indicator is up 22 per
cent. Eighty per cent of all illegal migrants detained by the State
Border Service are detained by us.

Most of the illegal migrants are from countries in south-east Asia
(China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq). They account for 82
per cent. A significant portion (15 per cent) are from the countries
of the CIS (Chechnya, Armenia and Georgia). Compared to the same
period last year 2003 the number of CIS citizens detained is up 400
per cent.

Nearly 97 per cent of the illegal migrants detained were in organized
groups. The Ukrainian-Slovak section of the border is especially
“active”. This is explained by the attractiveness of Slovak
legislation on granting the status of refugee. A negative role is also
played by the easiness of staying in our border regions. After all,
most migrants coming from the Caucasus and Moldova are in Ukraine
officially, and then they freely move across our territory. Just six
months have passed and we already have detained over 1,000 people from
the Caucasus, 400 per cent more than in all of 2003.

Yehorova The European community has given its new members huge
resources to fight illegal migration. The EU does not want to see them
on its territory and that means someone has to catch them, and then
hold them for a time, feed them and pay to deport them… ellipsis as
published Until 1 May, that was done by Poland, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic and Romania. Now it turns out Ukraine has to do all that
dirty work?

Karas After our neighbours joined the EU, Europe has demanded we take
all detained illegal migrants, who have passed through us, and
determine their fate ourselves. Yes, we do have a certain agreement
from 1993 on accepting persons who pass through a common state
border. The main idea of all these agreements is that we have
responsibility for those who pass across a common border with Ukraine,
and not circumventing us. Today they are trying to give us all the
illegals caught in Poland and especially in Slovakia. However, there
has to be some proof, we cannot accept them all. That would be such a
burden for the country! So we try every time to insist on joint
investigations, joint questioning and often prove – that one is not
ours!

Sometimes, illegals are held in our country for up to six months. It
takes time after all to determine who they are. Their documents are
often taken by those who are involved in smuggling them. Such
“channels” are operating from Beijing to Berlin. It is a trial
sometimes waiting to know what language the interpreter needs to know
to talk with them.

Yehorova According to the State Committee on Nationalities and
Migration, the EU spends 10 per cent from its budget to combat illegal
migration, while Ukraine spends 90. Of course, this is not a question
for you really, but you also spend in the same way, giving people a
roof for a time, feeding them from your stores. On average over 1,000
dollars is spent to deport one migrant. And the money does not always
come out of the migrant’s pocket… ellipsis as published

Karas Two years ago Ukraine opened the first shelter for people
detained by the border guards. It belongs to the Transcarpathian
Region. Of course, it is not enough, such places for keeping illegal
migrants need to be set up in other regions. Funds are needed for
deportation. This year for the first time, the state has set aside
funds for this. Europe has promised a lot and there is hope it may
keep its promise. Migrants making it to Ukraine are only using it as a
place to transit. Their goal is more developed countries – Germany,
France, Luxembourg, Great Britain… ellipsis as published The
European community should understand that.

>From barbed wire to modern technology

Yehorova Civilized Europe will understand, but a grandmother living
near the border does not understand what harm she does the state by
letting illegal migrants sleep in her barn. It costs 50 dollars per
person per night there. And that reasoning (almost two monthly pension
allowances!) is stronger for her. How do border troops work in light
of this, do they find a common tongue with the local population?

Karas Of course we look for one. And we punish in accordance with the
law. Over six months of the current year, 1,786 people were brought
to administrative responsibility, fines were levied to a total amount
of 121,044 hryvnyas.

It is not easy to make the local population our helpers, but it is
possible. People should understand that this is their state and that
it will care of them and then they will take care of the state.

Now we are cooperate on this with the special services of Ukraine, the
Interior Ministry and the western regional customs service. We share
information and carry out joint search activities. By the way, we are
creating civil formations of our helpers – that is that positive
experience which we need to return t o.

Yehorova And what about citizens who do not break the law – why should
they suffer? Everyone knows about the agreement between Poland and
Ukraine on how many cars should be let through a day. Customs and
border services carry out joint inspections to decrease the time in
crossing the border. And still there are queues on the border. Today,
after I made a cursory count, about 100 cars were lined up… ellipsis
as published

Karas The main reason for the queues on the Polish-Ukrainian border is
the un-rhythmic nature of our neighbours’ work. In my opinion, the
intensity of the work of border services on the Polish side should be
higher. In particular, they do not want to recognize a “green line”,
that is, a simplified system of crossing the border, explaining that
those involved in contraband often use “green lines”. According to our
data, it is the other way around. They almost never use those
lines. They go in normal order. By the way, we are not catching crows
here, in the past six months Ukrainian border service units together
with customs agents have detained goods worth more than 22.1m
hryvnyas. That is 240 per cent more than in the same period last year
2003 . Still, we would like the differences in the way Poland and we
look at simplified systems for crossing the border to be eliminated.

There is one more very serious problem – the number of existing
crossing points is not enough. And so three more are planned to be
built in the coming years: Budomyzh-Hrushev, Nyzhankovychy and
Boberka. In order to start construction on these crossing points, a
decision is needed by the cabinet and diplomatic notes exchanged by
the Foreign Ministry. Certain agreements from the Polish side already
exist. And so it is just a matter of time.

Yehorova Please tell us – are there sections of the border where
Ukraine is separated from other states by barbed wire?

Karas Yes, there still are. In far removed places, in the
mountains. Does that bother someone? In time, everything will fall
down on its own, we can’t buy new barbed wire after all. We are moving
towards modern methods. For example, we check the authenticity of
people’s documents and find counterfeits with light of various
wavelengths and magnification to 30 times. Tiny video cameras have
been installed to monitor places that are hard to reach, technical
equipment is in place to find people in remote spaces. Seventeen
international points have been equipped with automated border control
devices which help in investigating persons and transport vehicles. In
just minutes all needed information is sent from the administration of
the State Border Service to the border crossing point. You can quickly
uncover documents that are no good, people denied entry to Ukraine,
criminals being searched for. This year an subsystem was put into use
that can automatically read license plates of transport vehicles at
the Rava-Ruska and Krakovets border crossings and a subsystem for
video monitoring. In the future there are prospects for putting such
systems into place at all international crossing points by 2006.

Our borders have always been tight and now they must become completely
impossible for transgressors to violate. That is what the EU demands
and moreover, our professional and civil duty.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri pundit warns of growing radicalism threat

Yeni Musavat, Baku
12 Aug 04

Azerbaijan may become another Iraq for America one day, Azerbaijani
analyst Vafa Quluzada has told Yeni Musavat daily. Unsatisfied by the
American and Russian position on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,
Azerbaijan may turn to Iran and become a “religious regime”, he
said. Azerbaijan has not yet opened its embassy in Israel, which is a
sign of Iran’s influence on the Azerbaijani government, he said. The
following is an excerpt from Zahid Safaroglu’s report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Yeni Musavat on 12 August headlined “‘Azerbaijan is in a
disastrous state'” and subheaded “Vafa Quluzada: A process of building
a strong foundation for a religious regime is under way in
Azerbaijan”; subheadings inserted editorially:

The South Caucasus remains the focus of attention of regional and
global powers. Important processes capable of influencing the future
of the region have started after a democratic government came to power
in Georgia. Russia and Iran have stepped up their activity. In turn,
the USA does not hide its intention to reinforce its main foothold in
the Caucasus – Georgia – and continues to support the Saakashvili
government in all ways.

Unfortunately, in this turbulent and momentous period, the Azerbaijani
government is seen as the weakest link. What will be the impact of the
processes related with the conflict of geostrategic and geopolitical
interests of those powers? We have tried to clarify this and other
issues in our conversation with political analyst and ex-presidential
aide Vafa Quluzada.

Iran’s clout in Azerbaijan

Correspondent In the wake of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami’s
visit, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld unexpectedly arrived in
Azerbaijan. The unscheduled visit of Rumsfeld is being explained as
the manifestation of the White House’s concern at closer relationship
between Baku and Tehran. Do you think that Iran is actually capable of
threatening US interests in Azerbaijan?

Quluzada It cannot be a serious threat. However, Iran can demand that
Baku should not undermine the security of its borders and it should
not let US servicemen pose a threat to Iran. In the event the Baku
government does not agree to that, the Tehran regime has some levers
to influence it and may use them.

Correspondent What are those levers?

Quluzada I would not talk of them. A person who has worked in
government does not disclose all the issues. I will only name just one
point. Azerbaijan has yet to open an embassy in Israel. Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have done so, but not Azerbaijan. Why? It
looks like Iran has a lever which it uses in order not to let
Azerbaijan take this step. Second, those who observed Khatami’s visit
well must have noticed how confident and satisfied he was. In my
opinion, it is because Tehran has wielded its levers vis-a-vis
Azerbaijan. Iran will either try to curtail US-Azerbaijani military
cooperation or will set forth other demands.

Correspondent Are Iran’s levers connected with Azerbaijan or only with
its political regime and some of the officials? That is, are these
levers connected with our perennial national interests regardless of
who is in office or are they purely subjective motives?

Quluzada (Laughing) It goes without saying that levers are not
connected with land, geopolitical territories or space. They are
connected with people.

Correspondent So, it has to do with the political regime.

Quluzada Perhaps. Iran is a country which has worked against and
closely monitored and studied Azerbaijan since we were part of the
USSR. One should never forget that. However, I reckon that the border
between the two countries will always remain peaceful.

Correspondent When the late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev
visited Iran, the sides signed an agreement to prevent the use of
their territories against each other. Why is Tehran still concerned?

Quluzada Let them sign a hundred documents. Hitler and Stalin, Molotov
and Ribbentrop also had a treaty not to attack each other. What was
the result? I mean that no documents work in certain political
situations.

Correspondent Next week Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
will pay yet another visit to Russia, the “big brother”. Does
development of relations between Iran and Azerbaijan and Tehran’s
interests here clash with Russia’s interests in Azerbaijan?

Quluzada Albeit Russia and Iran are strategic opponents, they are
tactical allies. They are strategic enemies because both the Kremlin
and Iran want to rule in the Caucasus. However, they are tactical
allies to prevent closer relations between the Caucasus countries and
America. They cooperate in this aspect.

Iran believes that Russia today is not a tsarist or Soviet empire, and
is heading for a demise. Tehran wants to take over Russia’s sphere of
influence. This is a real issue and Moscow is concerned about this.

Azerbaijan may turn to Iran

Correspondent You said that the USA may lose Azerbaijan as its
strategic partner. Could you elaborate on this? What did you mean?

Quluzada The USA has to know that if it adopts a just position on the
Karabakh issue, then it will earn the respect of the Azerbaijani
people. If it becomes a guarantor of our territorial integrity, then
it can turn into our permanent ally. However, if it is misled by the
Russians and endorses a plan drafted by the Kremlin, then there can be
no talk of any sympathy. Because the Azerbaijani people know that
without America’s approval, the lands cannot be given to Armenia.
Otherwise, Azerbaijan will turn away from both America and Russia. It
will turn towards Iran.

Correspondent What do you mean?

Quluzada Can you imagine a religious regime in Azerbaijan? My
observations show that a process of building a strong foundation for
this is under way in Azerbaijan.

Radical Islamic organizations

Correspondent Is the process going on its own or it is under foreign
influence?

Quluzada Both on its own and under influence, this is a two-way
process.

Could it be otherwise? Where else can the hot-blooded Azerbaijanis see
an exit but in creating radical Islamic organizations?

One day Azerbaijan may turn into an Iraq for the Americans. Washington
has to be aware of this. It should not play with the destiny and
territory of Azerbaijan. It is in America’s national interest to
protect our territorial integrity. Washington has demonstrated in
Georgia that it can do so easily.

At this moment Tbilisi can talk the way it likes with Moscow because
it is backed by the USA. America now wields so much power that despite
screaming Russians it brought under its control Yugoslavia, placed its
military bases in Central Asia and seized Afghanistan, again despite
Russia’s protests. When it comes to Azerbaijan, however, America
becomes timid, cannot name the aggressor and declares that let the
sides reach an agreement.

This is an anti-Azerbaijan stance on part of the USA. Because Russia,
which renders military and political assistance to Armenia, shares the
same view. What is the difference then? It has come to the point when
both Armenians and Russians have become our brothers. Then let us give
up those lands, once and for all… Ellipses as published

Russia’s prospects in Azerbaijan

Correspondent Here is another question about our region. Relations
between Georgia and Russia are increasingly tense. What are the
prospects and how will this affect the region?

Quluzada I reckon that Russia is being pushed out of Georgia. This is
a very unpleasant outcome for Russia and this is what generates the
tension.

Passage omitted: Quluzada about Russia’s mentality

Correspondent What impact can the exit of Russia from Georgia have on
Azerbaijan?

Quluzada Moscow will then cling to Azerbaijan. It will expand its
influence and will do its utmost to keep Azerbaijan within its sphere
of influence.

Correspondent Hence, it is pointless to talk about any constructive
position on the Karabakh issue?

Quluzada Moscow will then use the Karabakh issue in a perfidious
way. The objective will be to entrench itself in Azerbaijan for
ever. It will liberate our lands, inch by inch, in 50 or 100 years, on
the eve of elections. A pro-Russian and puppet regime will be
installed in Azerbaijan, and Russia will liberate a district when
necessary to strengthen the regime’s position. In a nutshell, Russia
will liberate our lands when Azerbaijan is completely under its
control and becomes a colony, like Armenia. This is Russia’s strategy.

However, Azerbaijan is in such a disastrous state that it is unable to
properly assess this strategy and to devise its own strategy in
response.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

18 ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPIAD IN ATHENS

YEREVAN, August 12 (Noyan Tapan). The 28th Olympic Games will be held
in Athens, the capital of Greece, on August 13-29. Armenian
representatives will be also among sportsmen from 200 countries of the
world. 18 Armenian sportsmen will participate in the Olympic Games:
weight-lifters Armen Ghazarian, Gevorg Alexanian, Tigran Martirosian,
Ashot Danielian, free-style wrestlers Martin Berberian, Zhirair
Hovhannisian, Mamed Aghaev, Ara Gevorgian, Graeco-Roman wrestlers
Vaghinak Galstian, Levon Geghamian, Haikaz Galstian, boxer Alexan
Nalbandian, judoist Armen Nazarian, field and track athletes Armen
Martirosian and Marine Ghazarian, swimmer Varduhi Avetisian, shot
Norair Bakhtamian and tennis-player Sargis Sargsian. Shot
N. Bakhtamian and judoist A. Nazarian will participate first in the
competitions on August 14. According to specialists, sportsmen from
Armenia excellently prepared for the Olympic Games. Ishkhan Zakarian,
Chairman of the RA State Sport Committee and the National Olympic
Committee, thinks that the winning of two-three medals is real. By the
decision of the RA government, sportsmen winning gold, silver and
bronze medals will be awarded with 40,000 30,000 and 20,000 dollars,
respectively. Well-known sportsman Albert Azarian, a triple Olympic
champion, will carry the banner of the Armenian delegation at the
August 13 ceremony of the opening of the Olympic Games.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BRANCHES OF ARMENIAN CHESS FEDERATION AND CHESS ACADEMY OPENED IN
TAVUSH

IJEVAN, August 12 (Noyan Tapan). Gagik Gevorgian, Deputy Chairman of
the Armenian Chess Federation (ACF), and international grand master
Smbat Lputian, Chairman of the Chess Academy, were in the Tavush
region on August 12. They participated in the opening of the branches
of the Armenian Chess Federation and the Chess Academy. Armen
Ghularian, Governor of the Tavush region, was elected Head of the ACF
regional branch. The same day, Smbat Lputian held synchronous game
with 21 chess-players of Tavush.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FOX Sports

Tszyu leans towards US

August 12, 2004

THE United States rather than Australia is leading the race to host
Kostya Tszyu’s long-awaited boxing world title bout against Sharmba
Mitchell in November.

Tszyu and his manager Matt Watt have spent almost a week in the United
States where they watched International Boxing Federation interim
light welterweight champion Mitchell defeat Moises Pedroza in a
non-title bout in Connecticut.

The 34-year-old Australian fighter resumes training in Sydney on
Sunday before heading to his customary two week pre-fight camp at the
Australian Institute of Sport on August 30.

Although Moscow was originally slated to host Russian-born Tszyu’s IBF
title defence against Mitchell last February it is out of the running
for the rescheduled November 6 bout.

“It’s going to be Australia or the United States, I’d have to say it’s
leaning towards the latter, but which city is not known,” Watt said
from Los Angeles.

“Kostya, the promoter and the television network will determine
between themselves as to where it will be,” added Watt, who expects a
decision to be made within a week.

He said New York’s famous Madison Square Garden was “extremely keen”
to stage the fight but there was a question mark over its availability
on the date locked in with American cable television network Showtime.

Meanwhile, Anthony Mundine has decided his September 8 rematch with
New Zealander Sean Sullivan will be staged at the EG Whitlam Centre in
Sydney.

While Mundine explored the possibility of fighting in Perth, his
manager Khoder Nasser said the fight would go ahead in Sydney because
of “logistics”, and “The Man” had decided against fighting at Burswood
Casino.

Australia’s next world title challenger, flyweight Vic Darchinyan will
head to the United States on Monday in preparation for his September 3
challenge to Columbia’s IBF world champion Irene Pacheco.

Armenian born Darchinyan has been sparring with three of his world
ranked stablemates, fellow flyweight Hussein Hussein, super
bantamweight Nedal Hussein and light welterweight Lovemore Ndou.

“The last couple of weeks Vic has been sensational, as good as anybody
I’ve ever worked with,” Darchinyan’s trainer Jeff Fenech said.

AAP

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 12 August, 2004, 09:49 GMT 10:49 UK

Madrid victims granted residency

The bombs were placed on commuter trains from the Madrid suburbs
The Spanish government has given residence permits to nearly 700 immigrants
who were either victims or related to victims of the Madrid bombs.

The explosions on four Madrid commuter trains on 11 March left 191 dead and
hundreds more injured.

Police said more than 2,000 other immigrants in Spain had made residence
applications, on grounds that they had been directly affected by the
attacks.

The government decided to grant permits to victims as an act of solidarity.

Following the attacks, Spanish MPs agreed that the attacks “resulted in a
huge human catastrophe, without consideration for nationality or origin”.

They agreed these were exceptional circumstances and that granting residency
to immigrants involved would help the victims and “ease their settlement” in
Spain.

Of the 673 residence permits granted to date, 355 were obtained by victims
and 318 by their relatives. Hundreds of other applications are still being
considered.

A large number of Latin Americans were among the victims of the bombings,
but people of many other nationalities were also involved.

Official figures show permits were granted to 264 Romanians, 179
Ecuadorians, 70 Colombians, 28 Moroccans, 19 Bolivians, 15 Argentinians, 19
Bulgarians, eight Cubans, six Brazilians, five Paraguayans, 13 Peruvians, 12
Poles, 18 Ukrainians and three Venezuelans, two from Cape Verde, two
Moldavians, two Chileans, one Congolese, one American, one Honduran, one
Armenian, one Nigerian, one Dominican, one Senegalese and one Malian.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax
Aug 12 2004

Mining industry output down 4.7% in Armenia in H1

Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenian mining enterprises produced product
worth 62.14 billion dram ($120 million) in the first half of 2004,
4.7% less year-on-year, the country’s Trade and Economic Development
Ministry told Interfax.

This drop was attributable to the aluminum foil plant Armenal, a
major sector producer, being idle since the start of the year.

Mining enterprises sold 60.586 billion dram worth of product in the
reporting period, 62% more year-on-year and reflecting high world
metal prices. Armenian product exports increased 50.7% to 47.455
billion dram. The sector employs 7,737 workers.

AAP NEWSFEED
August 12, 2004, Thursday 9:52 AM Eastern Time

Chakhoyan hard to find; weightlifting hard to understand

By Glenn Cullen

ATHENS

Sergo Chakhoyan can be a difficult man to find.

The great hope of Australian weightlifting at the Olympics has been
locked away training in Armenia for much of the year in the hope he
can win his adopted country its first gold medal at a Games since
Dean Lukin in 1984.

In the 85kg division he will be challenged by hometown favourite and
triple Olympic gold medallist Pyrros Dimas and a handful of other
competitors for the top prize but must be considered a show given his
No.1 ranking and third place at last year’s world championships.

Chakhoyan’s mobile phone in Armenia is typically answered by his
brother, or Australian coach Luke Borreggine.

The 34-year-old, who arrives in Athens on Saturday for competition on
August 21, is invariably training, eating or sleeping.

Such is the life of a weightlifter.

The Australian Olympic Committee had some trouble getting hold of him
too.

Chakhoyan, who received a two-year suspension for the use of
stanozolol after winning the Goodwill Games with a world
record-breaking lift in 2001, has been in Armenia all year.

AOC president John Coates said there “were some issues concerning the
provision of his whereabouts information” during his three and a half
month absence.

His place on the Australian Olympic team was withheld until results
of a drugs test on July 8 was made known.

He returned a negative result and was nominated as Australia’s sole
men’s weightlifting representative.

But events before his testing also raised questions about
weightlifting in Australia.

Apparently available for May’s Oceania Championships Chakhoyan was
not selected and remained in Armenia.

Without the world No.1 and another top lifter in Alex Karapetyn,
Australia lost the overall title to Nauru – population about 12,000 –
and in the process sacrificed its second men’s spot at the Olympics.

The bungle exasperated many in weightlifting circles but
accountability or definitive reasons for the mistake have yet to be
made public.

Sam Coffa, president of the Australian Weightlifting Federation since
1983 said the issue was “sorted out” internally but said no-one was
sanctioned from the AWF.

“What happened in Fiji wasn’t entirely the fault of the coaches,
managers, whatever,” said Coffa.

“It’s not an individual’s fault, rather our own stupidity with our
selection criteria.”

For former national executive director and Los Angeles Olympics
silver medallist Robert Kabbas it’s a lot more than that.

“It’s the biggest blunder I can recall here and people want to see
someone pay for that blunder,” Kabbas said.

“There’s a lot of frustration and anger within the Australian
weightlifting community for that very reason.”

Despite simmering discontent with his former employer, Kabbas – who
said he left the AWF a year ago because of his “limited influence on
the sport” – said drug taking is not institutionalised in the sport.

“I guess it’s human nature to think that way,” said Kabbas who was
surprised by Chakhoyan’s 2001 positive.

“But I don’t think (drug taking) is institutionalised or a regime or
program that exists within the sport here, if it did you would
probably have less people testing positive.

“I genuinely believe (his non-selection for the Oceania
Championships) was just a stupid mistake.”

For his part, Chakhoyan is no Robinson Crusoe when it comes to
weightlifters and drugs in Australia.

Between 1990 and June 2004 there were 19 positive tests in Australia
and a further four lifters who refused to submit to testing and were
subsequently banned.

The figure ranks it only behind cycling in terms of positive tests
from a sport in Australia during that period.

There have been three positive tests of Australians and two failures
to comply in the last 12 months, including the bizarre incident of
Caroline Pileggi, who was originally nominated as Australia’s sole
women’s representative for Athens.

Pileggi received a two-year ban after running away from testers while
training for the Olympics in Fiji in May.

It was at a gym run by Coffa’s brother Paul.

If the tests from Australians this year were accrued in international
competition and not domestically, the International Weightlifting
Federation – of which Coffa is vice president – would have had the
power to suspend Australia from all competition for a period of up to
two years.

Coffa says, he’s just pleased that people are getting picked up if
they are taking drugs.

“It’s a concern but one positive means one less cheat,” he said.

Ultimately Kabbas just sees a sport he is passionate about, in
decline.

“I think the weightlifting scene over the last few years has been
less than ideal,” Kabbas said.

“The late 70s and 80s were seen as the golden period of Australian
weightlifting and while that may be flattering for those of us who
lifted during that period it’s not a comforting thought to know that
the golden age of your sport was some 20 years ago.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Xinhua News Agency – Spanish
August 12, 2004 Thursday 5:01 PM EST

Azerbaiyán busca ayuda de EEUU para recuperar control en áreas
perdidas con Armenia

MOSCU

Azerbaiyán está buscando la ayuda de Estados Unidos para recuperar el
control de Nagorno-Karabakh y de siete distritos vecinos que perdió
en un sangriento conflicto con Armenia en los 1990’s.

Al hablar hoy en una conferencia de prensa durante la visita a
Azerbaiyán del secretario de Defensa de EEUU, Donald Rumsfeld, el
ministro de Defensa azerbaiyano, Safar Abiyev, dijo que su país pidió
a EEUU apoyar su objetivo de recuperar el control de Nagorno-
Karabakh, un enclave poblado por armenios que se separó luego de la
desintegración de la ex Unión Soviética.

Dijo que Baku quiere que EEUU “pida a Armenia que retire sus fuerzas
de ocupación de tierra azerbaiyana”, según la agencia de noticias
Interfax.

Rumsfeld dijo que EEUU apoyó la integridad territorial de Azerbaiyán
y que espera que el conflicto sea resuelto y que Azerbaiyán mantenga
su integridad territorial.

Agregó que Washington contribuyó a desarrollar relaciones con
Azerbaiyán –un país rico en petróleo– que debe comenzar a enviar
petróleo el proximo año a occidente mediante un oleoducto que
atraviesa Georgia y Turquía.

El presidente azerbaiyano, Ilham Aliyev, dijo a Rumsfeld que
Azerbaiyán está dispuesta a fortalecer las relaciones bilaterales con
EEUU en todas las áreas.

“Nuestra cooperación se está volviendo más fuerte y creo que
continuaremos fortaleciéndo las relaciones en el futuro”, dijo Aliyev
según Interfax.

“Le damos gran importancia a las relaciones con Estados Unidos”,
señaló.

Rumsfeld, que llegó a Baku luego de una visita de un día a
Afganistán, agradeció a Azerbaiyán su apoyo en la lucha contra el
terrorismo y su ayuda a los esfuerzos de estabilización en Irak y
Afganistán.

Alrededor de 150 tropas de Azerbaiyán están laborando en el sur de
Irak como parte de la fuerza internacional en ese país.

Rumsfeld dijo en la conferencia de prensa que los programas nucleares
iraquíes son una amenaza para la región y el mundo entero. También
dijo que había discutido su preocupación acerca del programa nuclear
de Irán con Aliyev, que recientemente recibió la visita del
presidente iraní, Mohammad Khatami.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

San Antonio Express-News (Texas)
August 11, 2004, Wednesday , METRO

Cry for help over atrocities in Sudan must not be ignored

by Cary Clack

Forty years ago, the name of Kitty Genovese became synonymous with
looking the other way while someone suffered.

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, in a middle-class
neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, Catherine
“Kitty” Genovese was attacked three times in 32 minutes. The
assailant stalked, raped and stabbed her to death.

During the attacks, Genovese screamed, “Please help me! Please help
me!”

A subsequent police investigation revealed that at least 38 people,
in the comfort of their homes, saw or heard the attacks, but no one
came to Genovese’s aid. The one call to the police came after the
murderer had completed his crimes.

Many times, people don’t act in a time of crisis or don’t do anything
to save lives because they’re unaware of the problem. When they are
aware and still do nothing, it can be attributed to physical or moral
cowardice, sheer callousness or the bystander effect, where people
see someone in need but assume someone else will intervene to help.

Doing nothing and assuming someone else will assume responsibility is
a reason why so many crimes flourish in communities throughout this
nation.

Doing nothing and assuming someone else will assume responsibility is
a reason why millions of people in countries around the world suffer
with little hope that they will be emancipated from their pain.

In the 20th century and these infant years of the 21st, there have
been many regions of the world that were the Kitty Genoveses of the
international community; places where cries of “Please help me!
Please help me!” went unheeded or were answered inexcusably late by
nations in a position to help.

Whether the Armenian genocide in 1915-1916, the Holocaust of World
War II, Bosnia during the 1990s or the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994,
reaction to the worst of brutalities was slow.

This column space is rarely filled with topics of foreign affairs but
replace the word “foreign” with “human” and it’s appropriate.

What is happening in Darfur, in the western region of the Sudan, has
been called by the United Nations and human rights organizations the
greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and merits at least a few
words of attention.

The word “genocide” has been aptly used to describe the plight of
black Africans at the hands of Arab militias, the “Janjaweed,” who
are supported by the Sudan’s monstrous blood-soaked government.

More than a million people have been driven off their lands, women
and girls are routinely raped, more than 30,000 have died and the
U.S. Agency for International Development says that hunger and
disease will kill an additional 300,000 before the year is done.

A U.N. resolution gives the government until Aug. 30 to disarm the
militias. A Human Rights Watch report out today says the Sudanese
government’s pledge to stop the atrocities isn’t credible.

People in this and other nations can do what besieged Sudanese
farmers cannot, and that’s to appeal to their elected representatives
to do something and to contribute to agencies providing food and
medicine.

A people’s pain, no matter how close or far away, can’t be ignored.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress