Author: Boshkezenian Garik

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENIAN INSURANCE SETTLEMENT FUND BOARD
Post Office Box 5053
Portland, OR 97208-5053
U.S.A.
1-866-422-0124
_www.ArmenianInsuranceSettlement.com_
(http://www.ArmenianIn suranceSsettlement.com)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 1, 2005
DEADLINE NEARS FOR ARMENIAN INSURANCE
SETTLEMENT FUND CLAIMS
Paul Krekorian, a member of the Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund
Board, announced that March 16 is the absolute deadline to submit
a claim for payment under the class action settlement in Marootian
v. New York Life Insurance Co.
The Marootian case was a class action suit filed in United States
District Court by the heirs of Armenians who had purchased life
insurance from New York Life in the Ottoman Empire between 1875 and
1915. The heirs contend that upon the deaths of the policyholders,
many of whom were murdered by Turks during the Armenian Genocide, New
York Life did not pay the benefits on these policies. Last year, New
York Life agreed to settle the class action suit by paying a total
of $20 million, including up to $11 million for the heirs of the
policyholders and at least $3 million for specified Armenian charities.
“The beneficiaries of these policies have waited 90 years
for justice,” said Settlement Fund Board member Krekorian,
an attorney who also serves as Vice President of the Board of
Education of Burbank, California. “It would be a great tragedy if
their efforts were frustrated now because they missed a simple
deadline and waived their legitimate legal rights,” Krekorian
said. The heirs of policyholders may be considered for a share
of benefits under this settlement only if they submit a Notice
of Claim form by March 16. The form may be obtained by calling
the toll free information line at 1-866-422-0124 or visiting the
settlement fund website at _www.armenianinsurancesettlement.com_
() . Claims may come
from anywhere in the world, and it is not necessary that complete
documentation be included with the Notice of Claim form. After the
Settlement Fund Board receives the Notice of Claim form, the claimant
will be informed about other steps that are required in the process.
The settlement fund website includes a partial list of New York Life
policyholders from the relevant era, and those who believe they may be
heirs can search for their ancestors on this list. However, it is not
necessary that their ancestor appear on the list in order to submit
a claim. A claim might still be approved if the heir has some other
evidence that their ancestor was a policyholder and payment was not
made, even if the ancestor does not appear on the list.
The Settlement Fund Board is an independent panel of three Armenian
community leaders appointed by California State Insurance Commissioner
John Garamendi. The Settlement Fund Board is not affiliated in
any way with the lawyers who handled the class action suit, and
the Board members were not involved in negotiating the terms of the
settlement. The Settlement Fund Board is an entirely independent panel
that will evaluate all of the claims of individual heirs and award the
funds to those who meet the qualifications of the agreement. The three
members of the Board are Paul Krekorian; attorney and law professor
Berj Boyajian; and physician and health care activist Viken Manjikian.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, $3 million has already
been distributed in equal shares to the AGBU, the Armenian Relief
Society, the Armenian Education Foundation, the Armenian Missionary
Association, the Armenian Catholic Church, both the Eastern and
Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church of North America, and both
the Eastern and Western Prelacies of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Frankfurter Rundschau, Deutschland
26. Februar 2005
Gedenken an Armenier ;
Union will an Massaker von 1915 erinnern / Antrag im Bundestag
Die CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion will Mitte April der Vertreibung und
Ermordung von mehr als einer Million Armeniern in der Türkei gedenken
und dafür auch die übrigen Parteien gewinnen. Am 24. April 1915
begannen die Deportationen in der Türkei.
VON KARL-HEINZ BAUM
Berlin · 25. Februar · Die Union sei trotz des eigenen Vorstoßes für
einen gemeinsamen Antrag der Fraktionen offen, sagte ihr
außenpolitische Sprecher Friedbert Pflüger am Freitag in Berlin.
Die Resolution vermeide “bewusst das Wort Völkermord” und spreche von
Vertreibung und Massakern, Man wolle jedoch niemanden anklagen. Der
Antrag stehe auch nicht im Zusammenhang mit den
Beitrittsverhandlungen zwischen EU und der Türkei.
Eine entsprechende Passage habe man ausdrücklich gestrichen, ergänzte
der Initiator des Antrags, der frühere Ministerpräsident von
Sachsen-Anhalt und CDU-Bundestagsabgeordnete Christoph Bergner. Die
Resolution werde auch von Beitrittsbefürwortern unterstützt. Es gehe
darum, die Türkei in die europäische Gedächtniskultur einzubeziehen.
Dazu gehöre, sich auch den dunklen Seiten der Geschichte zu stellen.
Das Thema müsse enttabuisiert, das bisherige Schweigen gebrochen
werden.
Der Resolutionstext der Union beleuchtet auch die zwielichtige Rolle
des Deutschen Reiches als Hauptverbündeter der Türkei im Ersten
Weltkrieg. Die Führung sei über Verfolgung und Ermordung der Armenier
“von Anfang an genauestens informiert” gewesen. Das Auswärtige Amt
habe Erkenntnisse “über die organisierte Vernichtung der Armenier”
besessen, aber nichts dagegen getan. Die Deutschen stünden in einer
besonderen Verantwortung. Der Bundestag solle daher nicht nur den
Opfern gedenken, sondern auch das Verhalten der damaligen Führung
bedauern. Die Bundesregierung soll ferner dafür eintreten, dass sich
die Türkei mit ihrer Vergangenheit vorbehaltlos auseinander setzt und
ihre Beziehungen zu Armenien umgehend normalisiert. Im Gegensatz zu
anderen Ländern hat Deutschland den Völkermord bislang nicht
offiziell als solchen anerkannt.
In der CDU/CSU-Formulierung wird bedauert, dass die Türkei noch immer
die Planmäßigkeit der damaligen Vorgänge bestreite. Dies stehe im
Widerspruch zur Idee der Versöhnung in der EU-Wertegemeinschaft,
deren Mitglied sie werden wolle.
–Boundary_(ID_3+IpcAlBLWOOWO36T57GCg)–

Turkey condemns German parties on Armenia
Expatica, Netherlands
Feb 28 2005
28 February 2005
BERLIN – Turkey’s ambassador to Germany, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, has
angrily denounced a parliamentary resolution by the German
conservative opposition on the alleged mass expulsion and murder of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago.
In a statement, the ambassador accused the opposition Christian
Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) of having made
itself into a “spokesman for fanatical Armenian nationalism”.
He called the resolution, put forth by the CDU/CSU faction in the
German parliament on 22 February, a one-sided portrayal and said the
matter should be left to the historians.
“We would hope that our
friends in the Union parties, through their clumsy slander of Turkish
history, are not aiming to insult in particular our citizens living
here and in this manner to damage the manifold relations between
Turkey and Germany,” he said.
The CDU/CSU resolution was put forward to mark the upcoming 90th
anniversary of the events in the former Turkish Ottoman Empire
involving the Turks’ treatment of the ethnic Armenian minority.
In the resolution, the CDU said that on 24 April 1915, the order was
given by the Ottoman Turks to arrest and deport the Armenian cultural
and political elites, leading to the murder of most of them. It said
1.2 to 1.5 million Armenians were victims.
The resolution said that to this day, Turkey as the legal successor
to the Ottoman empire is still denying that the events were planned
and massacres carried out.
“This position of rejection stands in contradiction to the idea of
reconciliation which guides the community of values in the European
Union which Turkey wants to join,” the CDU/CSU resolution said.
In his statement, Irtemcelik said the CDU/CSU needed to explain why
it has waited so long, including the period when it was in power in
Germany to put such a sensitive topic on the agenda. The CDU/CSU was
in power in Bonn and then Berlin between 1982 and 1998.
He said the Union parties in the past had always opposed initiatives
which had sought to instrumentalise the German parliament.
Over two million Turks live in Germany, making up by far the largest
foreign ethnic group in the country.
In January, the eastern German state of Brandenburg, bowing to
diplomatic pressure from Turkey, struck the subject of the Turkish
genocide against Armenians from its classroom curriculum.
But then this move was partially rescinded, after pressure by
Armenian representatives, so that the genocide against Armenians is
taught in the classroom as being one of several examples of genocide
in the 20th Century.
DPA

WatertownTAB
Friday, February 25, 2005
Grigoryan wins $1,000 scholarship
Ilona Grigoryan of Watertown is one of four area high school students
to be awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Armenian Women’s Educational
Club.
In order to receive an award, students must be a U.S. citizen or have a
Resident Alien Card; must be of Armenian heritage; must be a senior
graduating from a greater Boston high school; and must be accepted to a
four-year college or university. The selection is made by the committee
based on academic achievement and economic status.
Applications are available from the high school guidance counselors, or
from Chairwoman Rachel Dohanian, 36 Elizabeth Road, Belmont, MA 02478.
Applications must be in the hands of the chairwoman by Saturday, April 30,
to be considered.

Kommersant
Feb. 27, 2005 12:19 PM (GMT +0300) Moscow
Republic of Ingushetia
The Ingush Republic (Ingushetia) is located on the northern slopes of the
Greater Caucasus foothills. Nature in Ingushetia is a striking combination
of emerald vegetation, yellow and violet cliffs, and the pearly gleam of
far-off snow-covered peaks.
Emblem
The republic has a continental climate with an average January temperature
ranging from -3 to -10°C, and average July temperatures from +21 to +23°C.
Annual precipitation averages 450-650 mm but ranges up to 1200 mm.
Ingushetia has an area of 3600 km2 and extends 144 km from north to south
and 72 km from west to east. The republic borders on the Chechen Republic,
Georgia, and the Republic of North Ossetia.
Flag
The Ingush Republic was formed on June 4, 1992. It has 4 administrative
districts (Nazranovsky, Malgobeksky, Sunzhensky, and Dzhairakhsky) and 45
population centers, including 4 cities. Two cities, Nazran and Malgobek, are
under republican jurisdiction. The capital of Ingushetia is the city of
Magas, which despite the skeptics’ predictions, is being built up and
becoming greener. The Sunzha is the main river.
Ingushetia has a population of 314 900 people, most of whom are native
Ingushes, although Chechens and Russians also live in the republic. The
population density is 85 people per km2.
The Ingushes are one of the most ancient peoples of the North Caucasus.
Mountainous Ingushetia (Dzhairakha, Galgaiche, Armkhi, and Guloi-khi gorges
and the Targim Basin) is the homeland of the Ingush people and the center of
their distinctive culture.
Many architectural complexes that are genuine masterpieces of native art are
preserved in the valleys of the Armkhi, Guloi-khi, and Assa rivers.
The unsurpassed beauty of the mountain landscapes, rich plant and animal
life, mountain rivers, and rare and unique historical and cultural monuments
of this part of the North Caucasus have always attracted large numbers of
travelers, explorers, and tourists. For this reason, development of the
tourist business would be a promising means of acquainting the curious with
this unique territory and replenishing the republican treasury.
HISTORY
The ancestors of the Ingushes were the native North Caucasian tribes known
as the Nakhcho, who are first mentioned in Armenian sources dating from the
7th century A.D. They originally lived the mountains and began migrating
onto the plains to the Terek and Sunzha river valleys only in the 15th and
16th centuries. The territories inhabited by the Nakhcho were subjected to
devastating Tatar raids in the 13th century and invasions by Tamerlane’s
forces in the late 14th century. Islam began to spread from Dagestan in the
late 16th century. In the 18th century, the Nakhcho tribes split up into the
Chechens and Ingushes.
In 1810, the Ingushes voluntarily joined the Russian Empire. They supported
the Bolsheviks during the Civil War, preventing General Denikin [a leader of
the “White” anti-Bolshevik forces] from entering Vladikavkaz. On January 20,
1921, the Mountain (Gorskaya) Republic within Russia was formed by a
decision of the All-Union Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) and the Ingush
territories were included in it as Narzansky District. The Ingush Autonomous
Region within Russia was subsequently formed on July 7, 1924, with the
administration located in the city of Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz). The
city was then simultaneously the capital of both the North Ossetian and
Ingush autonomous regions. The Ingush and Chechen autonomous regions were
united into the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Region on January 15, 1934, and
then reorganized into the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist
Republic (ASSR) on December 5, 1936.
In 1942-1943, German forces occupied part of the Ingush territory.
Accusations of collaborating with the Germans were used as grounds for
deporting the Ingushes to Central Asia, where hundreds of thousands of
people died in exile. The Chechen-Ingush ASSR was liquidated and the
territory divided among Russia, Georgia, Dagestan, and North Ossetia.
The republic was restored in 1957, and Grozny once again became its capital.
However, Prigorodny District comprising nearly half of the territory of
Lowland Ingushetia remained part of the North Ossetian ASSR. In November
1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR passed a Declaration of
the republic’s national sovereignty; and in May 1991, the republic was
renamed the Chechen-Ingush Republic. Finally, in December 1992, the 7th
Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation passed a resolution
reorganizing the Chechen-Ingush Republic into separate Ingush and Chechen
republics within the Russian Federation.
RESOURCES
The republic’s elevated relief is made up of mountain ranges divided by
valleys and gorges. The highest point is Stolovaya Mountain (elevation 2993
m above sea level). The Caucasus Mountains extend for about 150 km through
Ingushetia. The Terek and Assa rivers cross the republic from south to
north, and the Sunzha River, from west to east. The soils are mainly fertile
black earths (chernozems). Winters are generally mild and summers are hot,
but the temperature varies with altitude, which is typical of mountainous
regions. The natural and climatic conditions are favorable for agriculture;
thus, 60% of the republic’s territory is designated as agricultural land,
about half of which is cropland.
Forests cover 140 000 hectares of Ingushetia’s territory and are an
important natural resource. They consist mainly of mixed deciduous tracts,
including valuable species such as beech, oak, and plane.
The mountain rivers of Ingushetia are a significant source of hydroelectric
power.
Mineral resources investigated to date consist of high-quality oil (probable
reserves of more than 60 million tons) and gas fields and deposits of marble
and marble-like building materials, dolomite, shell limestone, high-quality
brick earth, thermal therapeutic water, and mineral water similar to
Borjomi. Geologists have also discovered subsurface deposits of rare metals.
Reserves of the minerals listed above are sufficient for an average of
100-150 years.
Explored commercial oil reserves are estimated at 11 million tons. Oil
production could reach 500 000 tons per year given sufficiently large
capital investments, although actual production is 125 000 tons. The state
company Ingushneftegazprom is developing the fields. Funds were raised in
1997-1998 to complete drilling operations at the Yandyrskaya well and to
sink a new well in the promising Karabulak-Achaluk field.
ECONOMY
The main crops grown in Ingushetia are corn, wheat, oats, barley, sugar
beets, sunflowers, and potatoes. Cattle, sheep (primarily fine-fleeced
breeds), and pig farming are also well developed.
Sections of the North Caucasus Railway and the federal Rostov-Baku highway
pass through the Ingush Republic. The total length of all roads is about 900
km, including 651 km of paved roads and 250 km of gravel roads. The
Ingushetia domestic airport is operating, and construction is continuing at
the present time. Ingushetia has a telephone network that includes an
automatic intercity network, as well as radio and television that cover the
territory of the republic and North Ossetia.
The chemical, oil refining, engineering, building material, light, and food
industries are the leading industrial sectors in the Ingush Republic.
AUTHORITIES
Ingushetia is a presidential republic within the Russian Federation. The
republic’s present Constitution was adopted in 1994. The highest legislative
body is a unicameral parliament, the National Assembly. Prior to this, the
People’s Congress of Ingushetia consisting of 140 deputies functioned as the
parliament. The Council of Ministers exercises direct leadership of the
republic.
CULTURE AND ART
Over a period of millennia, this nation has been fated to endure many
trials. The culture of the Ingushes is noted for its distinctive character,
which is reflected in the rare and unique historical and cultural monuments
located in the republic. The Dzhairakha-Assa state historical and
architectural museum preserve protects these valuable sites. In this magical
setting, majestic tower complexes of a people with a centuries-old culture
blend smoothly into a single whole with the mountain landscape.
The architecture of the 13th to 18th centuries has a defensive function due
to the constant threat of nomad attacks from the north. A large complex of
stone battle towers and dwellings, burial crypts, pagan sanctuaries, and
Christian churches has been preserved along the Armkhi, Guloi-khi, and Assa
rivers. The towers were built in inaccessible places and were not only a
reliable defense, but also a symbol of a clan’s power and its military
invulnerability.
Between the 9th and 12th centuries, architecture came under the influence of
Christianity, and Christian churches were built in collaboration with
Georgian architects. A striking example is the church of Tkhaba-Erdy (Holy
Two Thousand), one of the most important churches in the North Caucasus and
clear evidence of the close economic, military, and cultural ties between
the Ingushes and the people of Georgia.
However, the region has more than just a wealth of historical and cultural
monuments. Native handicrafts and trades flourished in the highlands
isolated from the outside world. These trades were an important part of the
Ingush economy. The armourer’s trade was especially advanced because of the
constant threat of attack from outside. Offensive and defensive weapons
employed included bows, crossbows, spears, pikes and javelins, swords,
broadswords and sabers, knives, and axes. Warriors used armor, hauberks,
helmets, shields, elbow guards, and chain mail gauntlets as protection.
Leather working was another widespread trade. Hunters and shepherds wore
traditional shoes made of plaited tanned leather thongs. Various boots,
shoes, and slippers served as outdoor footwear. Leather was also used to
make tobacco pouches, casings, belts, holsters, and other similar items.
Although leather working was practiced in every village, by the late 19th
century, factory-made shoes started being imported.
Other well-developed crafts among the Ingushes were the production of felt
carpets brightly decorated with plant and other motifs and woodworking.
Almost all household utensils and furniture were made of wood. The
manufacture of wooden and iron farm implements also occupied an important
place in the economy. Potters produced grain storage vessels, pitchers, and
cups decorated with wavelike patterns. The Ingush settlements of Shali,
Duba-Yurt, Stary-Yurt, and Novy-Yurt were centers of the pottery trade.
Blacksmiths made sheep-shearing shears, household knives, chains, cauldrons,
sickles, and other household articles. Stonemasons created unique grave
markers and religious monuments, archways, and floors that required special
skill to shape the stone properly. Jewelers crafted a wide variety of metal
earrings and pendants differing in sophistication of form and intricacy of
work. They made gold and silver crescent-shaped, eight-bladed pendants
resembling the headbands worn by Vyatkans. Egikal, Tsori, Erzi, and Evloi
were among the jewelry-making centers of Ingushetia.
The Ingushes have a rich and varied folklore of traditions, legends, epics,
tales, songs, proverbs, and sayings. Folksongs are highly esteemed. Music
and dance have grown out of ancient traditions. Popular musical instruments
include the dekhch-pandr [a kind of balalaika], kekhat pondur [accordion], a
three-stringed violin, zurna [a type of clarinet], tambourine, and drums.
Girls generally play the accordion. The lezghinka [a Caucasian dance
performed in pairs] is a favorite dance at festivals. The intellectual
culture of the Ingushes includes a large store of values accumulated over
the centuries, such as a calendar, counting, measurement system, and
knowledge of the land, animals, weather, astronomy, etc.
Islam is the second-largest religious denomination in the Russian
Federation, which has a Muslim population larger than that of any eastern
country. Islam is the religion of more than 30 Russian native peoples who
lived here even before the appearance of the Russian state. In 642, ten
years after the death of the prophet Muhammad, Islam reached the city of
Derbent in Dagestan after its capture by forces of the Arab caliphate. Islam
spread from Dagestan to neighboring territories, although the highlanders
adopted it much later. Islam spread to Ingushetia from Chechnya, first to
the plains and foothills in 16th-18th centuries and then to the mountains in
the early 19th century. The faith was firmly established among the Ingushes
in the first half of the 19th century. The last Ingush village (aul) to
adopt Islam (1861) was Gvileti, located in the upper Daryal Gorge.
Official Server of the Ingush Republic:
Ingush Informational Server:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #035,
26/02/2005
Exhibition
‘I DIDN’T THINK OF THE SIN WHEN PAINTING’
The theme of Adam and Eve has been widely used by artists of every times and
every nation. The exhibition entitled “Adam and Eve” opened in the “Bacchus”
art gallery aimed to represent the story of the first human beings from
quite a different viewpoint. Adam and Eve are represented in a unique way,
embodying eternal love or treason. 40 Armenian artists exhibited 85 pieces.
The majority of these pieces is created recently, especially for the
exhibition. Noushik Mikaelian, deputy director of “Bacchus ” art gallery,
stated that Adam and Eve committed the first sin, influencing the
development of the humanity. But one shouldn’t forget that they were the
first human beings of the world and were quite unaware of the norms of
morality. “Today, there are so many sins that we decided to concentrate at
Adam and Eve again and tried to begin everything again,” Noushik Mikaelian
said. The exhibition hall was decorated with apples. The initiators of the
exhibition said that they wanted to create a small paradise in the
exhibition hall and see who will again be tempted and try the fruit of
wisdom. One of the visitors couldn’t stand the temptation and tasted the
apple, but this time without Eve. Samvel Movsisian depicted Adam and Eve on
the same layer. “They can’t be separated,” the painter said. While Zaruhi
Manucharian represented the story of Adam and Eve as a love story. “When
painting, I didn’t think of the sin. Their love is more important,” she
said.
By Arevik Badalian

ArmenPress
Feb 25 2005
GERMAN CDU TO DEMAND TURKEY ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: Germany’s main opposition
parties, which oppose Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, plan
to submit a motion to parliament calling on Turkey to acknowledge
responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
in 1915, Bloomberg reported.
The Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the
Christian Social Union, said the Turkish government arrested the
Armenian political elite in Istanbul in 1915, marking the start of
mass deportations and murders in which as many as 1.5 million
Armenians are estimated to have died.
The Turkish government’s refusal to accept responsibility for the
crimes committed 90 years ago “stands in contrast to the idea of
reconciliation that spearheads the shared values of the European
Union, which Turkey aims to join,” said the draft motion, a copy of
which was e-mailed to Bloomberg News.
CDU leader Angela Merkel and CSU head Edmund Stoiber have called
for Turkey to be allowed a “privileged partnership” with the
25-nation bloc. EU leaders including German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder agreed two months ago that Turkey should start membership
talks in October this year.
Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper today called the motion an attempt by
Merkel to block the country from joining the EU. The CDU leader has
said Turkey isn’t European enough in terms of its culture and history
to join the union.
“It isn’t true that we want to bar Turkey from EU entry with this
proposal, but still we think it’s important to honor the memory of
the Armenian victims,” the CDU’s Christoph Bergner, one of the
legislators who signed the motion, said in a telephone interview.
Germany has a part in the crimes because the government at the
time didn’t act to prevent the killings in spite of detailed evidence
documented by German ambassadors in Turkey, Bergner said.
Not all CDU lawmakers back the motion.
“I reject this proposal and didn’t vote for it,” said Volker
Ruehe, the chairman of the all-party parliamentary foreign- affairs
committee, in an interview. “I think it will be modified eventually.
We’ve no right to thrust this demand” on Turkey. The Turkish
government denies accusations of genocide over the deaths. It says
the Armenians were killed during civil conflicts in which many Turks
also died.

Russian FM heads to Armenia for official visit
Bahrain News Agency
February 16, 2005 Wednesday 8:44 AM EST
Manama, February 16 — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due
in Armenia Wednesday on a two day official visit aimed at boosting
bilateral ties and means to end the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenian news agency added today that Lavrov will meet with Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, his Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanyan
and other senior officials.
The Russian official paid a similar visit to Azerbaijan last week and
discussed the Nagorno Karabakh region issue with Azerbaijani officials.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741. .562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
February 16, 2005
Foreign Ministry’s Press Secretary Hamlet Gasparian Comments on Azimov’s
Statement to REGNUM News Agency
Question: In his interview to Azeri ATV, Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign
minister A. Azimov announced that “The government of Azerbaijan rules
out any chance of discussions about a corridor between Armenia and
Nagorno Karabagh”. If this is the position of Baku, how can we ensure
that one of our main negotiation points, i.e. exclusion of Nagorno
Karabagh’s enclave status, be met? On the other hand, does this mean
that Azerbaijan’s communication routes with Nakhichevan and Armenia’s
communication routes with Nagorno Karabagh are discussed within the
same negotiations framework?
Answer: It is true that the Azeri party has recently been coming
up with various far-fetched schemes, often voiced by Araz Azimov,
intended to complicate and confuse the issues on the negotiations
agenda. In this specific case, they are probably concerned by
preliminary findings of the fact-finding mission, already covered
by the media. These findings by no means suit Azerbaijan’s claims,
hence their attempts to throw in all kinds of unrealistic speculations.
While this and other misleading statements by the Azeri party should
not be taken too seriously, they may still cause confusion among our
society. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that Nakhichevan, which
does not have any communications problems to start with, cannot be
viewed within the same framework with Nagorno Karabagh. Nakhichevan’s
communications with its neighbor states are not constrained in any
way. The issue is about Nagorno Karabagh and the consequences of the
conflict, and in this sense the status of Lachin corridor cannot be
juxtaposed to any other such issue.

Reuters, UK
Feb 11 2005
NEWSMAKER – U.N. envoy in Iraq scandal larger-than-life figure
Fri Feb 11, 2005 08:34 AM ET
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Veteran U.N. official Benon Sevan,
embroiled in the Iraq oil-for-food-scandal, is a larger-than-life
figure who calls himself the most “politically incorrect person in
the U.N.”
Sevan, a Cypriot of Armenian descent, was chosen to direct the $67
billion program after a distinguished 40-year career with the world
body in which he was involved in some of the most intractable, and
often dangerous, world crises.
Sevan, 67, a big man with white hair and dark eyebrows, is admired by
colleagues for an ability to solve problems fast, his blunt retorts
and a store of anecdotes for all occasions, told in rapid-fire
heavily accented English.
“He has a heart as big as a cathedral” said one veteran U.N.
official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
All that made the sharp criticism against him this month by a
U.N.-appointed independent committee all the more painful for the
U.N. employees who knew him in the many jobs he held.
Sevan is accused by an investigation headed by Paul Volcker, the
former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, of steering an oil contract to
a small Panama-registered trading firm in what the report called “a
grave and continuing conflict of interest.”
The inquiry, still investigating how Saddam Hussein subverted the
U.N. program, is also probing whether Sevan benefited personally from
the trade, which netted the firm involved $1.5 million.
Sevan, who had retired but is on a $1 year contract while the inquiry
continues, denies the allegations, saying he never “took a penny” and
was made a scapegoat in the anti-U.N. political climate in
Washington.
“I think I’m not the only who was shocked by what we read in the
report,” U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. “He has been here
working with many of us for quite a time and we had not expected
anything of the sort.”
Raised by an aunt in Cyprus, Sevan, who is married and has one
daughter, studied ancient Greek philosophy at New York’s Columbia
University before joining the United Nations in 1965.
In his long U.N. career he served in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi,
Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and Lebanon and in myriad jobs at U.N.
headquarters in New York, including security coordinator and Security
Council administrator.
SURVIVED BOMBING
In Iraq, he narrowly survived the bombing of U.N. headquarters in
August 2003, leaving the office of Brazilian Sergio Vieira de Mello,
the mission chief, to smoke a cigar minutes before the blast, which
killed 22 people.
It was left to Sevan to recite Vieira de Mello’s dying words —
“Don’t pull the mission out” — as his body was carried aboard a
Brazilian presidential plane at Baghdad airport for his last journey
home.
Sevan’s 1988-92 term in Afghanistan included the pullout of Russian
troops in 1989. He persuaded Najibullah, president of the
Soviet-backed government, to step down in exchange for safe exit out
of the country.
But Sevan was turned back by soldiers when he tried to take the
former president to the airport. Najibullah sought refuge in the U.N.
compound for four years until the Taliban broke in and hanged him
from a lamppost.
Sevan was named by Annan in October 1997 to run the oil-for-food
program under which Iraq, squeezed by international sanctions imposed
for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, was allowed to sell oil to buy goods
for its people.
“He was considered tough and unsentimental and knew the political
game,” said one envoy. Key Security Council members, like the United
States, went along with the appointment.
“People took it as a given he would do his duty,” said Samir Sanbar,
a retired U.N. assistant secretary-general.
But Sanbar said the scandal was a great disappointment for those who
had devoted their lives to the world body. “The only thing the U.N.
has is its credibility. What else do we have?”