Author: Ara Felekian

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
THE WORDS “GENOCIDE” AND “TURK” APPEAR IN THE NEW INSCRIPTIONS OF
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT IN BIKFAYA
As part of the commemorations of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, the Catholicosate of Cilicia installed new inscriptions
on the Armenian Genocide monument located in the St. Asdvadzadzine
Monastery in Bikfaya.
Constructed in 1969 due to the efforts of all the Armenians, the
monument initially had inscriptions in two languages, Armenian and
Arabic. The inscriptions lacked the words “Genocide” and “Turk”,
because the Lebanese government had at the time prevented their usage,
giving way to pressures by Turkey.
On the initiative of His Holiness Aram I, a new plaque bearing
inscriptions in Armenian, Arabic and English was prepared and installed
on the monument. The plaque also bears the words “Genocide”, as an
unrelenting call for justice and “Turk” as a nation, who has committed
Genocide against the Armenians and humanity.
The Armenian Genocide monument in Bikfaya was constructed by
Lebanese-Armenian artist Zaven Khedeshian. The monument was bombed
in 1978 and was fully reconstructed in 1996.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about
the history and the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may
refer to the web page of the Catholicosate,
The Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church
is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Los Angeles Times
May 5, 2005
THE NATION
L.A. Billionaire Takes Stake in GM
By John O’Dell and Tom Petruno, Times Staff Writers
Billionaire Los Angeles investor Kirk Kerkorian said Wednesday that he
had taken a large stake in General Motors Corp. and wanted to buy more,
a move viewed by Wall Street as a potential catalyst for a turnaround at
the world’s biggest automaker.
Kerkorian, who shook up Chrysler Corp. with a hostile takeover bid a
decade ago, said he owned nearly 4% of GM shares and planned to spend
$868 million to more than double that investment. The announcement drove
up GM’s stock by 18%, its biggest one-day gain in decades.
Kerkorian’s involvement comes as GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner is
trying to end a prolonged slump that has led to the company’s smallest
U.S. market share in almost 80 years. GM, which last month reported a
$1.1-billion first-quarter loss, is trying to shore up its finances in
part by winning large healthcare concessions from union workers.
The move by the 87-year-old Kerkorian essentially is a major bet that
GM’s stock has hit bottom, but it also probably signals new pressure on
the company to slash costs, many Wall Street analysts and other GM
investors said. They noted that Kerkorian, with a fortune estimated at
$8.9 billion, has a history of getting actively involved in companies in
which he invests.
“This has the potential for significantly altering the course at GM,”
said auto industry analyst Sean Egan of Philadelphia-based bond-rating
firm Egan-Jones Ratings Co.
Indeed, many industry experts say Kerkorian’s presence may spur GM’s
management, and give it a bargaining advantage, in its efforts to
extract financial sacrifices from the company’s unions, particularly on
healthcare costs.
“Boy oh boy, is this the stick they need,” said Diane Jaffee, a fund
manager at TCW Group Inc. in New York.
In turn, benefit cuts at GM could have a ripple effect in U.S. industry,
encouraging other companies to squeeze such costs.
GM, which has been losing market share to Asian automakers for decades,
is negotiating with the United Auto Workers to trim the $5.6 billion it
expects to pay for employee health costs this year. The company also
faces $87 billion in pension liabilities. Some analysts have raised the
possibility that GM could file for bankruptcy as a radical way to
buttress its eroding finances.
Kerkorian’s investment company, Tracinda Corp., characterized his GM
stake as “definitely a passive investment.” Kerkorian “values GM for its
strong asset position, its strong cash position ¦ and believes it can
use those assets to get healthy again,” Tracinda attorney Terry
Christensen said.
GM said it “typically does not express a view on specific investor
activity.” The UAW, which represents 120,000 GM workers in the United
States who would be affected by any dramatic shake-up at the company,
declined to comment about Kerkorian.
Brokerage giant Merrill Lynch & Co., which had recommended that clients
sell GM shares, upgraded its rating to “neutral” on Wednesday, citing
the likelihood that Kerkorian would prompt management to “unlock value”
in GM’s noncore businesses. One possibility: the automaker’s huge GMAC
financial services business.
Some analysts say GMAC’s nonautomotive financial businesses could fetch
$14 billion through a restructuring, asset sale or other steps. That’s
nearly equal to what GM’s entire stock market value had been before
Wednesday’s move by Kerkorian.
New York money manager Guy Wyser-Pratte, a longtime investor in takeover
fights, has known Kerkorian since the 1960s.
“Kirk is a very smooth guy and a very good manager, but he doesn’t take
no for an answer,” Wyser-Pratte said. “He may be able to spark some
brains” at GM into understanding that the automaker must “retool.”
Kerkorian announced that he owned 22 million shares, acquired at an
average cost of $26.33 apiece. He offered to buy as many as 28 million
more shares at $31 each in a tender offer, meaning investors could sell
their shares directly to Tracinda at that price.
GM shares closed at $32.80 on the New York Stock Exchange, up $5.03 and
$1.80 above Kerkorian’s offer price. It isn’t clear how many investors
would sell to him at the offer price, but Kerkorian’s interest was
viewed as at least putting a floor of $31 under the stock for the time
being. The jump in the share price boosted the value of Kerkorian’s
existing stake by $111 million.
In mid-April, GM shares plunged to a 12-year low of $25.60 as investors
focused on the company’s sinking vehicle sales and high operating costs.
The nation’s major bond-rating firms also warned that they might soon
downgrade GM’s huge bond debt to “junk” status.
John Kornitzer, head of Kornitzer Capital Management in Shawnee Mission,
Kan., and a GM shareholder, said Kerkorian must believe that GM could
reduce its costs to boost profit and lift the stock.
“He’s not buying at $31 because he thinks he’s only going to get $31 for
it” later, Kornitzer said.
But another camp on Wall Street is suspicious of Kerkorian, who has long
been a savvy wheeler-dealer with investments. One concern: He might be
looking for GM to pay him to go away, a practice known as greenmail.
At 87, “Kerkorian is no spring chicken,” said Barry Ritholtz, chief
market strategist at brokerage Maxim Group in New York. “Is he planning
to oversee a five-year turnaround plan?”
One major task for the company is to halt a steady decline in auto sales
in the United States, the world’s biggest market. At the end of April,
GM’s share was down to 25.6%, about half of what it was 40 years ago.
Yet after decades of downsizing ‘ GM has cut its auto employment by 40%
since 1992 ‘ it still has too much manufacturing capacity, enough to
supply 35% of the market, analysts say.
The sales slide has continued as Japanese rivals have seen their market
share rise. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have generated a lot
of buzz with their popular, gas-stingy hybrid-powered vehicles. Although
GM remains a powerhouse in pickup trucks, sales of its big gas-guzzling
vehicles are sliding as fuel prices rise.
“Toyota has three brands in the U.S. and is very successful; GM has
eight brands” and is losing money and market share, analyst Egan said.
Another problem is that GM’s annual healthcare costs have reached a
“crisis” stage, Wagoner has said. Although the company is talking with
the UAW about finding a resolution, new contract talks won’t come up
until 2007. Healthcare costs add $1,500 to the price of each GM vehicle,
Wagoner said, versus about $300 for Toyota in this country.
Whatever Kerkorian’s ultimate plan, his move on GM flies in the face of
conventional Wall Street wisdom that automakers are poor investments.
“Someone as rich and smart as Kerkorian doesn’t throw his money around
without expecting a return,” said David Cole, president of the Center
for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “He’s saying with his offer
that he believes GM has a tremendously undervalued set of assets.”
Most investors Kerkorian’s age are making inheritance and estate plans
rather than massive new investments in major American companies.
Kerkorian, the son of an Armenian immigrant rancher in the San Joaquin
Valley, built his fortune buying struggling casinos and airlines and
riding their soaring stock values as he rejuvenated them. In 1967, he
parlayed his $3-million investment in Trans International Airways into
$149 million when he sold it to Transamerica Corp. He bought his first
property in Las Vegas in 1967 and built the 1,500-room International
Hotel.
Today, Tracinda is majority owner of MGM Mirage Inc., one of the largest
hotel and casino owners in Las Vegas. Kerkorian also bought ‘ and sold ‘
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. three times. The most recent sale, for $4.9
billion to a consortium led by Sony Corp., closed last month.
Kerkorian got into the auto business in 1990 by investing in a faltering
Chrysler Corp. In 1995, he teamed with former Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca
in a hostile takeover bid for the company that failed when he was unable
to raise the financing.
But Kerkorian wound up as one of Chrysler’s biggest shareholders and
continued to push for changes. In 1998 he supported the merger of
Chrysler and German automaker Daimler-Benz. Two years later he sued,
saying the deal wasn’t really a merger of equals, as had been
advertised, but a takeover of Chrysler. Testimony in the suit revealed
that Kerkorian made about $2.7 billion on his Chrysler investment. Last
month, a U.S. District Court in Delaware ruled against Kerkorian in his
suit; Tracinda is appealing.
A key difference between Kerkorian’s current GM stake and his Chrysler
bid is that he teamed with an insider. Iacocca knew Chrysler intimately
and had credibility with investors when he suggested ways to fix its
problems, said Karen H. Wruck, associate finance professor at Ohio State
University.
Although Christensen, the Tracinda attorney, said Kerkorian had no
agenda with GM, many observers were dubious.
“You don’t take a position of this size without wanting a seat on the
board sooner or later,” Wruck said.
________________________________________________________________________
Times staff writer Thomas S. Mulligan in New York contributed to this
report.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Kirk Kerkorian: Dealing through the years
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1969: Kerkorian buys control of the studio and installs a new president.
1981: Merges United Artists with MGM.
1986: Sells MGM/UA to Ted Turner and months later buys back most of it.
1990: Sells MGM/UA to an Italian financier.
1996: Buys MGM for a third time, and several top executives leave as
overhead costs are targeted.
1999: Puts in a new management team.
September: Announces he will sell MGM to Sony for $4.9 billion.
Chrysler
1990: Buys 22 million shares of Chrysler stock.
1991: Buys 6 million more shares in a new Chrysler offering.
1994: Prods the company to boost its dividend and change its shareholder
rights plan.
1995: With other investors, unsuccessfully tries to take over Chrysler.
Under pressure, the automaker doubles a stock buyback plan, and
Kerkorian forces out a prominent board member at the company.
1996: Chrysler gives a board seat to a Kerkorian ally and changes its
corporate governance policy in exchange for his agreeing not to wage
another takeover fight for five years.
1998: He gives his support to the merger with Daimler-Benz.
2001: Reduces his stake in DaimlerChrysler by almost a third.
April: Judge rules for DaimlerChrysler in Kerkorian’s lawsuit over the
company’s 1998 merger.
Gaming and hotels
1969: Kerkorian acquires the Flamingo hotel-casino in Las Vegas and
builds the International Hotel.
1970-71: Sells the two Las Vegas properties to Hilton Hotels.
1973: Builds the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
1980: Spins off MGM’s casino operations into separate public companies
but retains control.
1985: Buys the 30% of MGM Grand Hotels he doesn’t own and months later
sells its Las Vegas and Reno hotels.
1987: Agrees to buy the Desert Inn and Sands hotels in Las Vegas.
1993: Opens the $1-billion MGM Grand Hotel, Casino & Theme Park in Las
Vegas.
2000: MGM Grand buys Mirage Resorts for $4.4 billion.
June: MGM Mirage announces that it will buy Mandalay Resort Group,
dramatically increasing Kerkorian’s investment on the Las Vegas Strip.
Other
1948: Kerkorian founds a charter airline, which becomes Trans
International Airlines.
1962: Sells airline to automaker Studebaker.
1964: Buys the airline back.
1968: Sells the carrier to Transamerica. Acquires a controlling stake in
Western Airlines.
1976: Sells his remaining stake in Western Airlines.
1984: Makes abortive effort to acquire control of Walt Disney
Productions.
1987: Starts luxury airline MGM Grand Air. Tries to take over Pan
American World Airways.
1991: Makes a failed bid for Trans World Airlines.
1992: Shuts down MGM Grand Air.
Source: Times research
Los Angeles Times
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ILHAM ALIYEV WILL MISS CIS SUMMIT IN MOSCOW
Pan Armenian News
03.05.2005 02:08
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri President Ilham Aliyev will not participate
in the summit of leaders of the CIS states in Moscow May 8,
however he will take part in an event on the Victory Day Mary 9,
says a statement of the Azeri leader’s Press Service, reported
Interfax-Azerbaijan. Celebrities marking the 60-th anniversary of
the Victory over the fascism in the Great Patriotic War will be
held in Moscow May 9, while a summit of CIS leaders is scheduled May
8. Thereupon the Press Service of the Azeri President reported that I.
Aliyev will not take part in the event to be held May 8. On the day
of seizure of a genuinely Azeri land – the city of Shushi, which has
become part of the historical memory of our people, the President of
the Azerbaijani Republic considers impossible his participation in an
event, in which President of the aggressor state – Armenia – will take
part,” the release underscores. AT the same time the Press Service
reported I. Aliyev would take part in the Victory Day in Moscow May 9.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Today, Azerbaijan
April 26 2005
Azeris in Brussels held protest action against the fake “Armenian
genocide” campaign

Protest action was held against the fake “Armenian genocide” campaign
in Brussels on Saturday.

APA was informed of it by Eldaniz Yusibov-deputy chairman of Europe
Union of Azerbaijani Political Migrants (EUAPM).
According to him, the protest action organized by Azerbaijan Diaspora
organizations functioning in Benelux countries involved a great
number of our compatriots. The action which held in Franklin
Roosevelt street 29 of the city lasted for 2 hours.
Choosing this address for the starting point of the action namely is
not accidental. Turkish diplomat Dursan Aksoy was murdered by
Armenian terrorists in this address. There were slogans written in
different languages, posters, photos of Turkish diplomats murdered by
Armenian terrorists last century in the hands of the protestors
exposing the real nature of Armenian terror in the action organized
by Azerbaijan organizations and circles. Those addressing to the
action expressed opinions on exposure of the real nature of the
Armenian terror, the fake “Armenian genocide” claims, called on the
Turkish nation to unite for exposing the fake campaign.
Representatives of EUAPM Eldaniz Yusibov and Elman Mustafazadeh
talked about the crimes against Turkish nation as well as the nation
of Azerbaijan committed by Armenians, advised them to spread the
documents exposing these crimes. After the protest action a press
conference on the above mentioned topic was held in the hall “Damla”
in the center of Brussels. Presentation ceremony of the book “The
power of lobby” written by historian-political scientist Mustafa
Ozturk who lives in Belgium and honorary President of Coordinating
council of Belgium-Azerbaijan Organizations, first secretary of
Azerbaijan Embassy on Benelux countries Fuad Humbatov was held in the
conference. This is the first book in Europe published in French on
the bases of documentary materials about the genocide crimes
committed by Armenians against Anatolia and Azerbaijani Turks.
It must be noted that, both events have been organized by the support
of the Embassy of Azerbaijan on Benelux countries, Azerbaijan and
Turkish Diaspora functioning in Belgium.

URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Walesa says Turkey should admit to genocide to join
Agence France Presse
April 21 2005
Polish Nobel laureate and former president Lech Walesa on Thursday
said Armenians had the right to demand that the European Union bar
Turkey from joining the bloc until it admits to committing genocide
against Armenians during World War I.
“It is a just claim of the Armenians that Turkey’s entrance into the
European Union should come after admitting genocide,” the former trade
union leader credited with helping trigger the fall of communism in
Eastern Europe said.
Armenia marks on Sunday the 90th anniversary of mass killings in
Ottoman Turkey which Armenia and many other countries consider to
have been genocide but which Turkey denies ever took place.
Walesa’s comments come at a key time for Turkey as it prepares to
launch membership negotiations with the European Union in October.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of modern Turkey, was falling apart.
“The slaughter in Turkey was the first genocide of the 20th century,”
Walesa said.
Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in “civil strife” during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
The Armenian claims have been damaging to Turkey’s EU bid as it now
faces growing pressure from within the bloc to address the genocide
allegations in what Ankara sees as a politically motivated campaign
to damage its reputation ahead of talks.
On Tuesday Poland joined a list of 15 countries that have officially
acknowledged the killings as genocide when its parliament passed a
resolution condemning the Armenian massacres.
The decision has already drawn protest form Ankara where officials
called it “irresponsible,” and said it would hurt relations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian FM says Genocide recognition is a security issue for Armenia
13.04.2005 14:24
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a
security issue for Armenia, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
told a news conference on Wednesday.
We have a country as our neighbor that not only denies it had
attempted to destroy a whole nation but also accuses us; we cannot
have a considerable feeling of security with such a neighbor, Oskanian
went on saying, adding that Turkey, in addition, is openly backing
Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Oskanian also mentioned that in a situation when Turkey is trying to
join the European Union, a body that is based on the human rights,
Armenia should step up its work towards the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
04/07/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Colorado Legislature Passes Armenian Genocide Legislation 2) ARF Delegation Meets with Lebanon's Aoun 3) French-Armenian Author Jean-Jacques Varoujean Dies 4) Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey Agree on Rail Link Construction 1) Colorado Legislature Passes Armenian Genocide Legislation DENVER--The Colorado State Legislature unanimously passed on April 6, a joint resolution commemorating the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923. During this period, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were annihilated--accounting for more than half the Armenian population. Senator Lois Tochtrop and Speaker Andrew Romanoff were the co-sponsors of the lengthy resolution describing the Armenian atrocities and continued denial of the events by the current Turkish government. A portion of the resolution reads: "Whereas, Armenian-Americans living in Colorado have greatly enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, 1. That this legislative body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide to be recognized at a memorial service on Sunday, April 24, 2005, at the Armenian Genocide memorial plaque located in the northeast quadrant on the State Capitol grounds; 2. That we, the members of the General Assembly, hereby acknowledge April 24, 2005, and every year hereafter, as "Colorado Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide;" 3. That the State of Colorado respectfully urges the United States Congress to likewise commemorate the Armenian Genocide." "This year marks the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and it is fitting that the Colorado Legislature continue its tradition of designating April 24 as Colorado Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide," said Kim Christianian, chairperson of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee for Armenians of Colorado, a non-profit cultural organization. The 90th Anniversary of the Armenian genocide Commemorative events in Colorado begins on April 21. The Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society's ACC Chapter, with co-sponsor Armenians of Colorado, will host The Greatest Crimes of the 20th Century: Genocide/Holocaust Commemoration. Ken Allikian, an Armenian/American whose parents survived the genocide, will be the guest speaker, as well as Walter Plywaski, a Holocaust survivor and scholar. Phi Theta Kappa chapter president Simon Maghakyan will present briefly on the cultural genocide that destroyed thousands of Armenian churches and historical monuments in historic Armenia, at the Arapahoe Community College Waring Theatre. On Sunday, April 24, Armenians of Colorado will host the Commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian genocide at the Memorial Plaque located in the N.E. Quadrant of State Capitol grounds. Guest speakers will include State Senator Lois Tochtrop and Speaker Andrew Romanoff. The community is invited to participate in a joint commemorative church service at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church beginning at 2PM. There will be clergy from both the Armenian Apostolic Church of Denver and from the Armenian Apostolic Church of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. There will also be a talk with Tatul Sonentz-Papazian, long-time Armenian National Committee activist and Armenian Relief Society International Office Publications Director and Editor of "Hai Sird," the multi-lingual periodical of the ARS. Papazian is the recipient of the St. Mesrop Mashtots Medal by Catholicos Aram I, for meritorious contributions to the promotion of Armenian culture in the diaspora. The talk will be held in the church cultural center 4610 E. Alameda Avenue Denver, Colorado 80246. For directions and more information please visit <; Armenians of Colorado Inc. was established in June 1980, as a 501( c) (3) non-profit, cultural organization. Its purpose is to create a cohesive Armenian community and to further the understanding of Armenian history, culture, and heritage. AOC actively supports issues and concerns of the Armenian/American community here in Colorado, as well as those identified within the Armenian Diaspora throughout the world. AOC represents the interests of over 1000 Colorado Armenian residents accounting for over 300 Armenian families throughout the state. 2) ARF Delegation Meets with Lebanon's Aoun BEIRUT (ARF Press Offices)--An ARF Lebanon delegation composed of central committee representative Hovig Mkitarian, and Lebanon's Minister of Youth and Sports Sebouh Hovnanian, met with former Lebanese Prime Minister, Army commander, and opposition leader Minister General Michel Aoun on April 6, at his office in Paris. The ARF presented its position on recent developments in Lebanon and means to resolve the building political tension, proposing that dialogue is the only viable option and that the country's various sides must participate in the formation of a government. The ARF delegation also conveyed their support for the implementation of the 1989 Taif Agreement that constitutes a compromise among the Lebanese deputies, political groups, and parties, militias and leaders, in an attempt to tackle the structure of the political system and the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. They also spoke of the election process and the country's election laws. For his part, Aoun said that after his recent meetings with the leadership of the ARF, he fully grasps the party's stance on issues, and conveyed his vision of what will unfold in Lebanon. The Armenian leaders said they seek Aoun's return to Lebanon to participate in the political process. Aoun said that it is vital to continue meetings with the ARF, and envisioned future cooperation with the party in a variety of areas. 3) French-Armenian Author Jean-Jacques Varoujean Dies PARIS--French-Armenian author and intellectual Jean-Jacques Varoujean passed away on April 2, in his home in Paris. The author of such plays as A plus, La Voleuse d'histoires, and A L'autre Bout Du Pont, Varoujean was born Varoujean Ouzounian in Marseilles in 1927, to immigrant Armenian parents. Varoujean is undoubtedly one of the rare French Armenian authors; Armenians know little about his work and even less about the man. Jean-Jacques Varoujean had said, "There is in me a great contradiction: I am an anti-nationalist, but I wish that justice is returned to the Armenian nation." Like so many other artists or intellectuals, he did not hesitate to give an opinion in a clear and committed way about Armenian political problems. A great admirer of Levon Shant, Varoujean translated and adapted his masterpiece, the Former Gods (Heen Asdvadzner). "The theater plays an essential role to awaken the conscience, to help to keep the eyes about good and evil. >>From the very start of the century, with the Former Gods, an Armenian author
dared to announce something as it is,” Varoujean had written.
4) Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey Agree on Rail Link Construction
TBILISI (Civil Georgia)–The Georgian, Azeri and Turkish sides signed a
protocol in Baku on April 6, over the construction of a railway link between
the eastern Turkish city of Gars and southern Georgian town of Akhalkalak,
which will also enable Azerbaijan to gain access to its strategic partner
Turkey via Georgia.
According to the Georgian Railway Department, a joint Azeri-Georgian-Turkish
venture will be set up with headquarters in Istanbul to implement this
project.
According to the preliminary estimates, the price tag will be $400 million.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Road to revolution
PhD? I’d rather be a terrorist
by Philip Marsden
The Times (London)
Weekend Review, Saturday March 12, 2005
>>From Berkeley graduate to Armenian freedom fighter is a small step
when history is on your side
I was too late. He was already dead. It was the summer of 1993 and I
had come to the Armenian front line to interview Monte Melkonian. But
a week or so earlier he had been caught in a skirmish near Agdam
and died instantly from a shrapnel wound. At his headquarters, his
men were in shock. In the canteen I sat down next to his aide. “Not
there,” he said reverently, “that was Monte.s place.”
During the previous four years Melkonian had become a legendary
commander in the Armenians’ post-Soviet war with the Azeris. What
interested me about him was that, unlike the 4,000 fighters he
commanded, he had not lived for 70 years under Soviet rule. He was
from California, a third-generation Armenian, brought up in the most
liberal state in the Union.
In recent years our idea of political radicalism has been overshadowed
by the chilling logic of the suicide bomber. Even with the changes in
the Middle East, it is unlikely that the divisions and destitution
that breed such extremism will disappear overnight. Disenfranchised
in Iraq’s Sunni triangle or imprisoned in the hellish slums of Gaza,
those who strap explosives to their bodies or drive a four-wheel bomb
into a crowd have, by definition, nothing on this earth left to lose
but their lives.
But there have always been other radicals, those who do have a choice,
who are fewer in number but of much greater influence – those who
throw away privilege or a good education for the life of political
outlaw. Che Guevara swapped medical training for peasant-based
revolution and died for it. The maverick Marxist Carlos the Jackal
was born into a wealthy Venezuelan family but became an effective
KGB-trained killer. George Habash passed out top of his class in
paediatric medicine, but went underground to set up the guerrilla group
PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). And how different
the world would look if Osama bin Laden, with a degree in civil
engineering, had accepted a steady job in the family’s property empire.
Monte Melkonian, too, had had professional options. In the late
1970s he graduated from Berkeley. He was a brilliant pupil who spoke
several languages. His thesis on Urartian rock-tombs attracted the
attention of Oxford University’s archaeology department and earned
him a place there to do his PhD. Instead he jumped on a plane for the
Middle East. There began a 15-year odyssey that ended, cheek-down,
on a dusty road in Armenian-occupied Azerbaijan.
Melkonian’s career also reveals the profound shift in radical
ideology – from revolutionary Marxism to nationalism, from the
invocation of class struggle to the invocation of history or God. Like
post-modernists everywhere, freedom fighters have rediscovered the
power of tradition.
In My Brother.s Road, Melkonian’s elder sibling charts Monte’s bloody
passage through this period. He began as an agitator, organising
strikes in Iran to help to topple the Shah. He then travelled north
to Iranian Kurdistan and witnessed the disciplined Kurdish peshmerga
rebels. But it was in the large Armenian quarter of Beirut that
his involvement began to shift away from internationalism: in the
free-for-all of the Lebanese civil war he first took up arms to defend
his fellow Armenians.
I first heard about Melkonian in Beirut in the winter of 1991. The
stories of his years there in the late 1970s seemed redolent of that
era, a time of flared hipsters, radical chic, Patti Hearst and the
Baader-Meinhof Gang. Gradually, Melkonian was being pulled towards
a more particular cause, the one that haunts all Armenians. In 1915
decades of persecution had ended with the entire Armenian population
of eastern Turkey being deported or murdered. More than a million
died. Many of Melkonian.s family were refugees from this time. It was
a wound that did not heal with the passing years. In fact, faced by
Turkish denial that it happened at all, resentment grew more intense.
During the 1980s, living the life of a tramp guerrilla, Melkonian wrote
many articles and monographs. In these you can sense his ideology
coming into conflict with a growing nationalism. With ever greater
difficulty, he squeezed the Armenian question into the context of
left-wing orthodoxy, believing for instance that Armenia.s independence
from the Soviet Union would be a terrible error.
Meanwhile, amid the anarchy of warring Lebanon, Melkonian.s
actions grew increasingly militant. He learnt to use aliases, false
passports and a spectacular range of weapons. He crossed the path
of Abu Nidal and Black September. He attended the joint training
camps of the Bekaa Valley where the region’s dispossessed – Kurds,
Palestinians and Armenians – wriggled under barbed wire and dreamt
of killing Turks and Israelis. In time Melkonian became involved with
the vicious Armenian terrorist group ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for
the Liberation of Armenia). He set off a bomb in Milan. In Athens he
leant into the car of a Turkish diplomat and shot him and, by mistake,
his 14-year-old daughter (this was to become his greatest regret). He
trained the Armenians who occupied the Turkish Embassy in Paris.
In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union was collapsing and the Armenians
and Azeris of the south Caucasus were unpacking decades of mutual
animosity. War was breaking out over the mountainous region of
Karabakh and Melkonian travelled to Soviet Armenia for the first
time. There he was confronted with the reality of failed socialism. In
the mountains, Armenian villagers took up hunting rifles to defend
their homes and attack their Azeri neighbours. By the end of 1991,
the hunting rifles were being replaced with heavier weapons as a
full-scale war erupted, the first in a pattern of post-Soviet wars
in the Caucasus and the Balkans.
Melkonian found his guerrilla training invaluable. In lecturing
his fighters on the wider context of the fighting he turned not to
ideology but to history. “Lose Karabakh,” he said, “and you will be
turning the last page of Armenian history.” He feared that, squeezed
between Turkey and Turkic Azerbaijan, Armenians would be driven from
their last pieces of territory and the work of 1915 would be completed.
His drawing on the grievances of the past was finding echoes throughout
the old Soviet bloc and in the Middle East. In the north Caucasus in
the 1990s, the Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev was stirring his people
with talk of the “300-year war with the Russians”, a war that began
when Peter the Great landed in Dagestan in the 18th century. Milosevic
had already woken the Serbs by invoking the Battle of Kosovo Polje
600 years earlier.
More recently, bin Laden has talked of the Crusades as having never
ended while in Israel the old Zionism of kibbutzes and secularism has
been eclipsed by the militant Jewish settlers of the West Bank. They,
too, have a loss to correct, referring to the lands of Israel and
Judah in the Time of the Kings, a full 3,000 years ago.
My Brother’s Road; An American.s Fateful Journey to Armenia by Markar
Melkonian (IB Tauris, 18.95)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Civil Georgia, Georgia
March 4 2005
STOP NOW – New Anti-Trafficking Initiative
On March 1, 2005 the Georgian NGO Human Rights Information and
Documentation Center held a presentation of the new STOP NOW
anti-trafficking project. The project was launched this February and
is being implemented in partnership with the Center of Research and
Action on Peace (KEDE) (Greece).
The project is financed by the International Economic Relations and
Development Co-operation (YDAS-Hellenic Aid) – General Secretariat of
the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Besides Georgia, this
project is being implemented in Moldova, Belarus and Armenia.
The goal of STOP NOW is to confront, prevent and combat human
trafficking, specifically women trafficking for the purposes of
sexual and labor exploitation. It also aims at supporting the victims
of trafficking as well as raising public awareness regarding the
issue.
Initially the project was launched by a Greek Organization Center of
Research and Action on Peace (KEDE) in December 2001 in Greece,
Ukraine and Albania. The main goal of the project was to prevent
trafficking and ensure support for the victims of trafficking in
order to facilitate their reintegration into the society. (Please see
detailed information on the web-site )
Under the aegis of the project the following activities will be
implemented in Georgia:
· Information meetings and round tables for the
representatives of governmental as well as non-governmental
organizations working on trafficking issues;
· Trainings for socially excluded women, students, journalists
and representatives of NGO sector;
· Legal consultations and assistance;
· Publishing and distributing booklets and other information
materials;
· Establishment of information database and launching a
web-site.
Human Rights Information and Documentation Center is ready to
cooperate with the governmental and non-governmental organizations
working in the field of trafficking.
According to Ucha Nanuashvili, director of HRIDC, NGOs are going to
monitor the implementation of the 2005-2006 Action Plan to Combat
Trafficking, as well as to lobby the ratification of the
international conventions on trafficking by the Parliament.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC), Russia
March 2 2005
Jewish community of Astrakhan
Wednesday, March 2 2005

Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia, which lies on
the Volga River, close to where it empties into the Caspian Sea.
While Astrakhan’s Kremlin dates back to the 1580s, the city was
likely settled under the Tatar dynasties of the 13th century. Ivan IV
conquered the city in 1556, thus opening the entire Volga River to
Russian traffic, and it became an important trade center.
Situated 1534 kilometers south-east of Moscow, the city spreads over
eleven islands, occupying 500 square kilometers. The country’s main
waterway, the Volga River, flows through Astrakhan and connects it
with the Black Sea. The region borders on Kalmykia to the west,
Volgograd Region to the north and Kazakhstan to the east.
As a frontier city at Russia’s southern gates, Astrakhan is situated
on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, making it a commercial and
transport center. Both a large river and seaport, it was an essential
stop on the Great Silk Way and played a key role connecting West and
East.
Today, the Astrakhan Region has large oil deposit and is also
occupied in the gas industry. Apart from this, the most important
economic branch is shipbuilding and ship maintenance to meet the
needs of fish, gas and oil industries, followed by the fish and
caviar industry and agriculture.
There are over 150 minorities and ethnic groups in Astrakhan and 14
different religious confessions. The total population as of the 2002
census is 502,800 people, of whom there are an estimated 3000 Jews.
Today, Chief Rabbi of Astrakhan Shlomo Zalman Goldenberg and
community Chairman Yuri Feldman head the local Jewish community.
Jewish History
The first signs of Jewish life in this region may be connected to an
epoch that left almost no evidence except for broken crockery and a
coin with the Magen David star, both of which were found about 14
kilometers from the city of Astrakhan. This is all that remains from
the city Itil, the capital of the Khazar Khanate, an empire that
which existed until the 16th century.
In 1791, Empress Catherine the Great granted permission to Jews to
reside in Astrakhan. The first Jews settled here in 1804 – two
members of the Davidov family, both merchants representing the
Chernorechensk Winery.
By 1835, there were 49 Jews residing in Astrakhan. None of them were
registered to a community and were basically occupied with their
craftsmanship. In that year, Tsar Nikolai I introduced the concept of
the ‘Jewish pale’ and excluded Astrakhan from the cities on this
list. His decree to evict all Jews from the city came in spite of
appeals from the Governor of Astrakhan Region, who argued that Jews
did not disturb the city’s Russian population. Nevertheless, the
Governor did not defy orders given by the Minister of Finance, who
had taken control of the eviction process.
Upon retiring from the military, Cantonists came to live in Astrakhan
in 1827. None of them had converted to Christianity and kept their
faith. Eventually two rabbis, Rabbi Shraiber and Rabbi Schwarz, came
to Astrakhan to work with these Cantonists. Technically employed by
the military, these rabbis received salaries from the state treasury.
In 1862, the Cantonists received permission to summon their families
and even servants to join them in Astrakhan.
Among the local Jewish population were both Ashkenazi and Sephardi
Jews, both natives of the Caucasus region. The Jewish community
purchased a building for use as their first Synagogue. They also
started to construct a new building as a second Synagogue. By the
beginning of the 20th century, the city had two Synagogues: one
Ashkenazi, one Sephardi. The Ashkenazi Synagogue gave rise to the
so-called ‘Craftsmen’s” Synagogue’.
A Karaite Jewish community used to exist just north of the city, but
its members eventually left the Astrakhan Region.
In the early 19th century, there was also a large group of Gers.
These were Molokan Subbotniks (sectarian Bible-centered Christian
peasants who refused the Russian Orthodox Church and came to adopt
Jewish practices) who eventually converted to Judaism.
The Gers owned a mill and lived prosperously in comparison with most
of the local population. By 1880, there were about 800 native Jews in
the regions and about 2000 Gers. In 1905, Gers established a prayer
house and a mikvah.
Many Jews were employed in the fishery sector. Owners were interested
in hiring Jews, who “wouldn’t dare drink alcohol and are able to push
off old stock”, as quoted from one archival document. It is no wonder
that some enterprising and energetic Jews eventually became owners of
fishing companies. Many did this by entrusting other persons to act
on their behalf, since Jews had no legal right to own a business.
In the early 20th century, Astrakhan’s fourth synagogue was built on
Gryaznaya Street. With the influx of refugees that came to Astrakhan
during World War One, the number of local Jews grew to 4000.
Many Jews were summoned to take part in the civil war, including
students of Astrakhan University’s Medical Faculty, virtually all of
whom were Jewish. They all died in a battle near the village of
Granikh. One archival document indicates the Jewish community’s
thanks to someone named Burdi, for having delivered the bodies of
those killed to a Jewish cemetery.
With the Communist revolution, the Craftsmen’s Synagogue was the
first one to be closed, being converted for use as a library. At that
time, a Jewish communal farm was opened near Astrakhan.
Under the New Economic Policy, 1921-1925, the life of the Jewish
community was normalized for a short time, with weddings and other
religious services held in synagogues. It was not long, however,
until the Soviet authorities closed the Choral Synagogue, downgrading
it to a Jewish ‘Club’, which operated until 1941.
The Sephardi Synagogue only barely managed to survive such politics,
since Jewish leaders managed to convince authorities that young Jews
never visit the synagogue and that this practice would very soon
disappear altogether. Within it also survived 44 rare Torah scrolls,
one of which was a gift from the library of the Armenian Seminary,
dating back to Khazar epoch. Though the relics survived these
turbulent years of war and the Soviet regime, they were stolen from
the Synagogue in the 1990s.
In the late 1940s, many Gers suffered from the state repression and
their prayer house was closed in the 1950s. The Gers reside in the
village of Liman until this very day and sometimes visit the
Ashkenazi Synagogue. Despite their relative poverty, they always
bring gifts for the synagogue.
Since the city was not occupied by Nazi forces during World War Two,
Astrakhan once again experienced an influx of Jewish refugees.
In 1970, there was still a significant number of well-educated Jews,
who had completed studies at cheders and yeshivas. The minyan met on
a daily basis until 1972. The community operated a ‘Chevra Kadisha’
Burial Society and the cemetery was in excellent condition. Financial
aid was available to Jewish families in need and the community ran a
huge library with some 2000 volumes.
Since the Soviet regime did not allow Jewish practice and observance,
Jewish traditions gradually died out. By the end of 1980s many
well-educated Jews had died and the community was close to
non-existent.
Jewish Community Today
The revival of Jewish community and religious life in Astrakhan began
in the 1990s. Just months after the opening of the reconstructed
Synagogue in April 2003, the community welcomed Rabbi Shlomo Zalman
Goldenberg, the first rabbi to serve the city in seventy years. Rabbi
Goldenberg works closely with Yuri Feldman, the Chairman of
Astrakhan’s Jewish community, on all questions concerning the
community’s development.
The local Jewish community celebrated it 200th anniversary in 2004.
There is a Jewish library available to community members. There are a
Jewish dance ensemble and the ‘Sameach’ Choir.
Local Jews play an active part in the community through involvement
in the Family Club, Women’s Club, and the ‘Golden Age’ Club. These
clubs’ activities are generally of a fun yet educational nature,
including lectures, interactive presentations and group discussions
on Jewish traditions and holidays, as well as festive meals.
Given the strong desire of many Jewish residents of Astrakhan to
raise their children in the Jewish spirit, community leaders have
been working towards the establishment of a new Jewish School and
Kindergarten. Their dream to open a Jewish Kindergarten was realized
in September 2004, and the next step is for the community to
establish a school.
Jewish leaders have requested the allocation of a building in the
city center for use as a Jewish school, kindergarten and community
center. Governor Guzhvin assured Jewish leaders of his support in
resolving the issue, and Mayor Igor Bezrukavnikov has also been
approached on the subject. Local leaders have also brought up the
question of transferring ownership of property previously owned by
the Jewish community.
Another priority issue for the Jewish community is the poor condition
of the Jewish cemetery, which existed undisturbed for 150 years,
until the first pogrom occurred in 1993. Since there are no security
guards to guarantee the safety of the cemetery, it has suffered from
five attacks over the past decade, all of them occurring on Hitler’s
birthday or on Rosh Hashanah.
Regional authorities have promised support with respect to the
struggle against anti-Semitism in the region. Governor Guzhvin has
promised the Jewish community to strengthen the cemetery’s security
during Jewish holidays to prevent vandals’ attacks, while the City
Administration has been providing support with respect to the removal
of extremist graffiti and the abolition of anti-Semitic leaflets that
sometimes appear in the city.
The local Jewish community is recognized at all level as playing a
vital role in strengthening friendship and mutual understanding
between the different religions represented in the region.
Religion
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Goldberg is the spiritual leader of the Jewish
community in Astrakhan and Astrakhan Region. A native of Vilnius,
Lithuania, he graduated from the Moscow Rabbinical College. Upon
being appointed as a Chabad Lubavitch emissary, he and his wife Rivka
moved to Astrakhan in September 2003. He is supported by an ongoing
grant by the Rohr Family Foundation of New York, which also supports
hundreds of other Rabbis throughout the Former Soviet Union.
Rabbi Goldenberg oversees the operation the city’s Synagogue and
community center and conducts all religious ceremonies in the region.
Together with the ‘Chevra Kadisha’ Burial Society, Rabbi Goldenberg
oversees the maintenance of the Jewish cemetery.
After decades of neglect, much of the synagogue building’s decrepit
structure was devastated by a fire in 1996 and required a complete
overhaul. In addition to removing the Synagogue’s brick facade and
preserving the original wooden walls, the Synagogue’s reconstruction
involved the rebuilding of the ladies section and the installation of
modern sanitary facilities. Regular prayer services are now held and
the various clubs run by the Jewish community, as well as other local
Jewish organizations, use the building for their meetings.
Rabbi Goldenberg also leads services and prayers related to Jewish
holidays, as well as working with Yuri Feldman and lay leaders to
organize communal celebrations. The growing enthusiasm of local Jews
is attested to by the healthy turnout for holiday celebrations,
commemorative events, and community concerts. In March 2004, the
community celebrated the first Bar Mitzvah held here in decades.
As the Chief Rabbi of Astrakhan Region, Rabbi Goldenberg serves both
Jews of Astrakhan and surrounding communities. Through his
leadership, Jewish life is also developing in neighboring
communities, where many ethnic Jews have become estranged to Jewish
traditions, beliefs and holidays.
Through his work, Rabbi Goldenberg is providing local Jews with
greater exposure to Jewish traditions and beliefs. Apart from leading
regular community activities, he has promoted knowledge about Judaism
by appearing on local television to discuss such themes as Passover,
Kashrut, Shabbat, the Torah, and Jewish faith in general. He also
drew public attention to the development of the local Jewish
community and the condition of the Jewish cemetery.
Youth & Students
The Jewish community operates a Jewish Youth Club, which offers
teenagers and youth the opportunity to learn more about Jewish
culture and traditions, gain a contemporary outlook on Jewish
tradition, become more aware of their Jewish self-identity and learn
about what it means to be a Jew today. Club members also regularly
participate in all community celebrations, usually putting on skits
and other performances.
Club members also take part in various seminars, concerts,
competitions, and dance workshops involving youth from communities
within the Volga Region. In addition to giving them the opportunity
to meet like-minded friends, this and other community activities
involving youth demonstrate to participants and their peers that
Jewish heritage has a place in modern life.
Some of the more active youth also participate in summer educational
programs in Israel, such as ‘Mekorot’ and ‘Birthright’, as well as
follow-up activities for alumni.
While boys may pursue Jewish studies at a handful of institutions,
several local Jewish girls have undergone preparatory training and
are now studying at the ‘Machon Chamesh-Chaya Mushka’ Women’s
University in Moscow.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress