Author: Chatinian Lara

Krasnodar, Russia: New repressions against anarchists

Posted by Reverend Chuck

Infoshop News
May 15 2004

Lyosha Cherepanov, one of the most active militants of Autonomous
Action of Krasnodar got drugs planted on him on Wednesday. Lyosha does
not use drugs, not even grass which freely flourishes in every other
yard of Kuban. He is freed from army for health reasons, but got a
letter from draft commission to come to “re-register” in Wednesday. In
middle of the road, he was arrested by police. He was allowed to make
few phonecalls, so he was able to inform that he was planted drugs and
sentenced to “9 days of administrative arrest” for “a refusal to follow
orders of Gosnarkokontrol”, which is a new ATF-analogue in Russia.

Whole thing seems not to have a slightest legal pretext,
Gosnarkokontrol is a new structure, which does not even have any laws
regulating its powers yet . Cops often frame random people for drugs
in order to have their quotas fulfilled in Russia, but they do not do
that in middle of the road, and they do not send letters from call-up
commission in order to get victims. So this thing has a strong FSB
flavour in it. Seems like they decided to finish off at once with the
group of Autonomous Action in Krasnodar, which already has severely
suffered from repression, Dimitri Ryabinin from the same group was
sentenced for half years after another framed-up case 4 months ago.

Lyosha has now a lawyer, but it is difficult to do something during
week-end. We will try to have police phone numbers posted soon to make
pressure, I think they are now just trying ice, how far they may go,
and if not given red light they will make something more serious.

Also a bit more old news… Stanislav Markelov was assaulted
in Moscow metro 16th of April, beaten up, mugged and stolen many
documents, including lawyer’s license. Markelov is not an anarchist,
but has been a friend and close to anarchist scene for more than a
decade and given priceless legal help in many difficult situations.
Last year Markelov was a national celebrity when he was for a short
while working around gase of Yuri Budanov, a Russian colonel accused
of raping and murdering a teenage Chechen girl. He was defending
interests of the family of murdered Elza Kungaevo for a short while
before he got ousted from the process. I did not wrote before about
attack on Markelov since it was unclear to me if it was connected
to his professional activities, but currently Stas seems to suspect
that it might have been. Such intimidation tactics are quite often
used against lawyers, journalists and human rights activists in Russia.

I would also like to use opportunity to correct some details from
the last Moscow ABC bulletin (#2), after people protested them in
a Russian list… at first, attempt to burn Armenian children did
not happened in Kolomna but in Kostroma. Also, circumstances around
death of a punk in Minsk are unclear, but many believe that fascists
were not involved. I was also informed that punk killed by nazis in
Yekaterinburg was member of National Bolshevik Party.

Relations btw Armenia, Iran at high point, say officials
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 13, 2004 Thursday

YEREVAN, May 13 — Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and Iran’s
visiting Oil and Gas Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Thursday
political relations between the two countries were at a high point.

Zanganeh arrived here to sign an agreement on building a gas pipeline
from his country to Armenia.

They stressed the significance of increasing Armenian-Iranian ties
for the situation in the entire region.

“Cooperation in the energy sector is a thrust force that can stimulate
relations in other sectors,” Kocharian said.

“Its deepening has a profound meaning for Armenia, since we’re
interested in a successful completion of the pipeline project,”
he indicated.

The pipeline will help double the volume of Armenian-Iranian trade and
is destined to play a crucial role in a broader regional cooperation,
Kocharian and Zanganeh said.

CENN – May 13, 2004 Daily Digest

1. EIA Report of the ” Project on Processing of the Samshvilde Dacite,
Tetritskaro Region” By The “Georgian Geological and Mining National Company”
Ltd
2. CEE Environmental Health conference announcement
3. ANKARA: Gonul: 135 Million Tons Of Oil Were Transported Through
Turkish Straits
4. Ecology Problems Endanger Security Of Armenia
5. Dogs Won’t Be Killed
6. Armenia Tree Project Press Release — US Ambassador’s Roundtable
Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd
7. AAA: MCC Selects Armenia for Direct Grant Program
8. Armenia, Global Day of Action
9. Growing demand for solar stand-alone systems in developing and
threshold countries
10. Greenpeace challenges Head of the World Bank to expand funding of
renewable energy projects
11. The World’s Largest Democratic Environmental Forum to Assemble in
Thailand in November 2004

1. EIA REPORT of the ” Project on Processing of the Samshvilde
Dacite, Tetritskaro Region” BY THE “Georgian Geological and Mining National
Company” Ltd

Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), May 11, 2004

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Georgian Geological and Mining
National Company” Ltd. submitted EIA report to the Ministry of Environment
of Georgia to obtain an environmental permit for the activity of second
category Project on Processing of the Samshvilde Dacite, Tetritskaro Region.

EIA report is available at the press-center of the Ministry of Environment
(68, Kostava str., VI floor) and at the Department of Environmental Permits
and State Ecological Expertise (87, Paliashvili Str., Tel: 25 02 19).
Interested stakeholders can analyze the document and present their comments
and considerations until June 24, 2004.

Public hearing will be held on June 24, 2004 at 12:00, at the conference
hall of the Ministry of Environment.

2. CEE Environmental Health conference announcement

First Biennial Central and Eastern European Environmental Health Conference

The Central and Eastern European Environmental Health Conference will have
four primary objectives:
a. To gather scientists and students from the U.S. and Central and
Eastern Europe to discuss environmental health issues of common interest;
b. To discuss improved methods for assessing exposure and predicting
dose;
c. To discuss specific health effects associated with exposure to
chemicals at waste sites with a focus on developmental and reproductive
health; and,
d. To explore the latest advances in risk management technologies,
tools, and techniques.

The improvement of Environmental Health in the U.S. and CEE countries is
dependent on education and training of young scientists. Thus, a major focus
of this conference is to encourage collaborations between engineers,
toxicologists, environmental health practitioners, and other disciplines
with their academic counterparts. Scholarships are available.

Key dates

May 15 Abstracts, first round
June 30 Deadline, early registration
July 15 Abstracts, second round
September 30 Deadline, early registration for students

Sponsors include the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and the World Health
Organization (WHO)

3. ANKARA: Gonul: 135 Million Tons Of Oil Were Transported
Through Turkish Straits

Source: Anadolu Agency, Turkey, May 10, 2004

Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul has said, ”135 million tons
of oil were transported through Turkish Straits last year. This amount is
expected to increase by nearly 50 percent in 2010.”

Speaking at a panel discussion on ”Security in Black Sea Region” under the
21st International Workshop on Global Security Conference in German capital
Berlin, Mr. Gonul highlighted important of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline project, saying that the project would enable them to transport 50
million tons of oil annually.

Expressing Turkey’s satisfaction with co-operation in efforts to provide
peace and stability in the Black Sea region despite ongoing crises in
Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Gonul said that trade in the region had
accelerated, stability had been provided and relations between regional
nations had been improved since 1992.

Stressing that Turkey attributed great importance to regional and
international co-operation and solidarity, Gonul recalled that Turkey had
been actively supporting the Balkan Stability Pact, Southeast European
Defense Ministers’ Initiative and the Black Sea Economic Co-operation
(BSEC).

Noting that Turkey had further improved its bilateral relations with the
regional countries after the Cold War era ended, Gonul said that 23 separate
conventions and protocols were signed with the Black Sea littoral countries
to this end.

Recalling that co-operation agreements were signed with Russia and Ukraine,
Gonul noted, ”Turkey’s bilateral relations with Bulgaria, Romania and
Georgia have further improved following the Cold War era. Another
significant security dimension of the Black Sea stems from its strategic
position as a transit corridor for energy resources. Besides Russian oil,
Caspian oil has also been transported through the Black Sea. Meanwhile,
Turkey is seriously concerned over increasing vessel traffic in the Black
Sea and in the Turkish Straits.”

Referring to political problems in the Black Sea region, Gonul said,
”Southern Caucasus has begun gaining more importance due to transportation
of oil, natural gas and foodstuff. Any instability in the region would have
negative impacts not only on the region, but on the whole Europe and
Atlantic.”

Listing autonomous Republic of Adzharia and the Upper Karabakh disputes as
the most important sources of instability in the region, Gonul called on the
regional countries to exert more efforts to resolve these crises.

Gonul added, ”the Black Sea countries should also take some further steps
in fight against international terrorism, organized crimes and weapons of
mass destruction. I believe that improvement of bilateral relations in the
region would make a valuable contribution to efforts to provide peace and
stability in the region.”

4. Ecology Problems Endanger Security Of Armenia

Source: A1 Plus, May 10, 2004

The ecology crisis may abet the political instability. Settlement of
ecological problems helps to lessen the political tension. There are
numerous unsolved issues in the ecology sphere of Armenia, which may
endanger safety of the country.

The members of OSCE and UNEP told this during the discussion over
“Assessment of “Hot Spots” in Ecology and Security Spheres of Armenia”.

The aim of this program is to find the reasons of deterioration of the
environment in South Caucasus states and to apply measures to prevent them.

According to OSCE Economy and Ecology Councilor Gianluca Rampolla, drinking
water pollution, the waste, the old industrial establishments, which may
cause accidents during natural disasters, are the problems endangering
Armenia.

Mr. Gianluca informed that program would be introduced in Azerbaijan the
following week.

5. Dogs Won’t Be Killed

Source: A1 Plus, May 10, 2004

Yerevan Vice-Mayor Arman Sahakyan has today met journalists at a press
conference. He announced there are about 10.000 stray animals in Yerevan.
According to him, the stray dogs won’t be killed. They will be injected,
sterilized, cleansed and released.

“500-1000 animals in Yerevan can be sterilized daily”, Sahakyan says.

Armenian Government has allotted 20 million drams to solve the problem of
stray animals. But Vice-Mayor thinks it is not much.

He also informed that the cemeteries located intolerably near the dwelling
zones of Yerevan will be moved to new areas.

6. Armenia Tree Project Press Release — US Ambassador’s
Roundtable Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd

Armenia Tree Project
Yerevan 375025, Aygestan 9th Str., #6
Tel./Fax (374 1) 569910
Internet:
E-mail: [email protected]

Press Release
May 10, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

US Ambassador’s Roundtable Participants Plant Evergreen at Tsitsernakaberd

Thursday, May 06 – John Ordway, the US Ambassador to Armenia, presided
during a special tree planting ceremony at Tsitsernakaberd on May 6, 2004 as
part of the Spring 2004 meetings of the semi-annual “U.S. Ambassador’s
Diaspora Roundtable.” After laying flowers in front of the Eternal Flame,
Roundtable participants planted a tree with the Ambassador in the alley of
evergreens. Armenia Tree Project (ATP) arranged the tree planting. Susan
Yacubian Klein, ATP Country Director, who also participated in the
Ambassador’s Diaspora Roundtable, accompanied the Ambassador during this act
of respect.

For further information, please contact Karen Sarkavagyan at the Armenia
Tree Project, phone numbers 569910 and 553069, [email protected]

The Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 during Armenia’s darkest and
coldest years with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by protecting
Armenia’s environment. Funded by contributions from Diasporan Armenians, ATP
has planted and rejuvenated over 500,000 trees at more than 450 sites
ranging from Gumri to Goris.

7. AAA: MCC Selects Armenia for Direct Grant Program

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2004
Contact: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]

MCC SELECTS ARMENIA FOR DIRECT GRANT PROGRAM

Washington, DC – Armenia and 15 other countries were recognized by the
United States as “good partners” who can apply for financial assistance
through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) created by the U.S.
government to help select countries of the world, MCC Chief Executive
Officer Paul V. Applegarth said at a news conference last week.

“Being selected as a country eligible for funding through the MCC’s
Millennium Challenge Account means that the United States considers the
selected country a good partner and that it clearly deserves further
encouragement. But this partnership is based on accountability,” Applegarth
told reporters.

“The Armenian Assembly welcomes the U.S. decision which is yet another
window of opportunity for Armenia to reinforce sound political, economic and
social policies that promote economic growth. We congratulate the
government and people of Armenia for winning this global competition for
additional American support,” Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian said.

In making its determination, the Board of Directors of the MCC considered
both the past and current policy performance of the candidate countries in
the areas of “governing justly, investing in their own people and promoting
economic freedom.”

“It is very encouraging to see that Armenia has cleared the first major
hurdle and is now eligible to apply for funding through the billion dollar
MCC aid program set up by the Bush Administration to support policies that
promote good government. Assuming that Armenia’s proposals are ultimately
funded, this will mark the first direct grant from the U.S. to the
government of Armenia,” Hovnanian said.

The other selected countries are: Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia,
Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua,
Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.

Applegarth, who was nominated to the post as MCC Chief Executive Officer,
and confirmed by the Senate this week, said: “Our mission – encouraging and
rewarding good policies that produce sustainable economic growth – holds
profound implications for freedom and security across the globe. Today’s
decision demonstrates the clear commitment of the U.S. to reducing poverty
and human suffering. This is a new approach to foreign aid. We want to
encourage partnership, and we want to promote good government.”

Applegarth said it was now up to the selected countries, including Armenia,
to present their “specific plans and proposals” for further scrutiny and
evaluation before any determination is made on the amount of aid each
country will get.

“Let us not take anything for granted. Being on the list of selected
countries does not mean an automatic qualification for assistance from
Millennium Challenge Account,” he said.

Applegarth said the next and more important step now included a hands-on
evaluation by an MCC technical group to each of the selected countries and
the submission of specific and compact proposals by the countries
themselves.

“The money is in place, and it is up to the selected countries to move fast
and get their specific requests in. But we have to underline one important
factor: We expect accountability and there is no such thing as a perpetual
qualification. Any country could be dropped if it fails to meet
expectations,” Applegarth said.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

8. Armenia, Global Day of Action

“Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” NGO calls environmental
organizations and mass media to celebrate the Stockholm Convention on POPs
entry into force on 17th May.

The world has taken one bigger step today in halting and reversing the
poisoning of global ecosystems and peoples. Armenia is one of more than 50
countries that have agreed to be bound by the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants. This is the first world-wide agreement aimed
at stopping the production and use of some of the world’s most toxic
substances. The convention officially comes into force on May the 17th,
triggering obligations on the part of the countries that belong to the
convention.

It obliges countries to begin working toward ending the production and use
of the twelve chemicals listed under the convention: The list includes
pesticides such as aldrin, cholordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor,
hexachlorobenzene, mirex and toxaphene. Industrial chemicals in the list
include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and unintended byproducts, which
include dioxins, and furans. These POPs are highly toxic, and persist in the
environment, lasting for years or even decades before degrading into less
dangerous forms. They evaporate and travel long distances through the air
and through water, and they accumulate in fatty tissue.

So this is a time to celebrate, secure in the knowledge that better health
and a better environment for all has not been bought at the expense of
poorer nations. However, we celebrate cautiously.

Pesticides usage in Armenia has been always widespread both in agriculture
and in public health. Obsolete and banned pesticides, lack of inventory,
storage and disposal are especially important and urgent issue among
environmental problems in Armenia. Among the POPs problems the stockpile of
obsolete pesticides is one of the major concerns. The situation is
complicated by the fact that the burial place is located just in the
mudflows area on the top of the hill. The major environmental treated
represent PCB, contained in old and out of order equipment, such as
refrigerators, transformers and condensers. Huge number of enterprises in
Soviet Armenia was considered sources of dioxins, furans and biphenyls. Some
of them still exist.

The list has already been started by scientists working in the fields of
health and the environment. Some are older chemicals that should really have
been on the original Stockholm Convention list, such as Lindane. This is a
pesticide that has been showing up at disturbing levels in some parts of the
world. Lindane has a bad effect of peoples’ nervous and immune systems, and
has been identified as a potential cause of cancer.

Researchers are also beginning to see startling levels of some newer
chemicals building up in people and animals. Brominated flame retardants,
chemicals used to make materials more fire-proof, are showing up in the
breast milk of people around the world. More than 200,000 tonnes of this
chemical are produced each year. It is not yet clear what effects these
chemicals have, but they are of concern because they have been shown to
accumulate in the bodies of people and animals.

The process to get these substances, and others, added to the substances
controlled by the Stockholm convention is not very easy. The substances have
first to be proposed for addition by at least one country, which has then to
supply information on the chemical, its properties and effects or likely
effects on the environment and people. There is then a series of reviews of
the information, until finally; all the countries which have ratified the
Convention get to decide on whether or not to include the new chemical in
the Convention. Governments tend to only undertake this sort of action if
they are convinced that it is required by their people.

For the Stockholm Convention to be effective, it must be an active
Convention, continually responding to the challenges of a changing world.
For that to happen our governments must understand that we will continue to
watch, and to push for them to ensure that the good start made by this
convention does not falter.

9. Growing demand for solar stand-alone systems in developing and
threshold countries
Industry Forum Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification

Freiburg, 06.05.2004. Intersolar, Europe’s largest solar technology trade
fair (24 to 26 June 2004), will offer a prestigious platform to
international companies and representatives from the world of research and
science. This year’s programme will feature an English-language industry
forum on Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification, organized by the Club for
Rural Electrification (CLE). Hand in hand with plant connected to the grid,
stand-alone systems are now becoming increasingly important for sustained
energy development, explains Rafael Wiese, Managing Director of CLE. The
event is aimed at international decision-makers in economics and politics,
financial services providers and NGOs.

The electrification of areas not connected to the grid in developing or
threshold countries is essential to the development of infrastructure in
rural zones. Photovoltaic technology is ideal for providing a sustained and
economically viable basic power supply in the sunny regions of developing
and threshold countries. Stand-alone systems generated some 100 MW in 2003.
Experts estimate that around 2 million of these systems are used around the
world to provide a basic supply of electricity for light, radio and TV. In
Europe, stand-alone systems provide a degree of independence from national
grids, and are especially popular for camping and leisure activities.

The Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification industry forum at Intersolar
2004 offers information on export markets with opportunities for
decentralised power supply facilities. The organiser, the Club for Rural
Electrification is an association of companies and institutes which has set
itself the objective of improving the competitive situation for medium-sized
German PV companies and facilitating market access for these operators.
Member companies will be presenting their ideas and products at Intersolar.
Those who attend the forum will be able to swap ideas in one-to-one
discussions with the speakers. All presentations will be in English.

This year’s Intersolar is expected to attract some 11,000 visitors. A
wide-ranging programme featuring over 20 separate events will cover the
entire spectrum of international solar industry operations. Intersolar
fringe events will include a review of the latest product developments in
the solar sector. Excursions around the Freiburg solar region will also be
available.

For the latest information please see or

Further information:
Solar Promotion GmbH
Mr. Horst Dufner
P.O. Box 100 170
D-75101 Pforzheim
Tel.:+49 (0) 7231 / 35 13 80
Fax:+49 (0) 7231 / 35 13 81

[email protected]

10. Greenpeace challenges Head of the World Bank to expand
funding of renewable energy projects

Issued Wednesday 12th May, 2004: Greenpeace is set to challenge James
Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, to establish a new direction for
World Bank lending on energy and to immediately increase lending on
renewable energy projects to equal lending on fossil fuels. Greenpeace would
welcome the opportunity to work with the World Bank to implement clean
energy projects in the developing world if such a re-balancing in its energy
portfolio took place.

It is estimated that 2 billion people in the world currently don’t have
access to electricity. The World Bank, which was set up with the aim of
alleviating poverty and is funded by taxpayers in supporting countries, has
over the past decade spent 18 times more on fossil fuels and the
conventional energy sector than on renewable energy (2).

Greenpeace UK Executive Director Stephen Tindale said, “By shifting funding
to renewable energy the World Bank could dramatically improve the
livelihoods and prospects of billions of people in the developed and
developing worlds while protecting the climate.”

He continued, “Climate change poses the most significant environmental
challenge facing the world today and its impact will be felt
disproportionately by the billion plus people in the developing world who
live on less than a dollar a day. They are the ones who are particularly
vulnerable to extreme weather events, reductions in rainfall and changes in
disease vectors.”

He added “There is an environmental, economic and social imperative to help
the countries in the South develop without compromising their future or
exploiting their resources in an unsustainable way. Renewable energy is one
of the key ways to achieve this.”

The renewable energy industry needs public support from institutions like
the World Bank to ramp up investment significantly and promote its product,
especially in the rapidly growing economies of the developing world.

There is a precedent for a shift in the focus of World Bank lending. In the
1990s, projected demand for refrigeration in the rapidly growing economies
of the developing world – and especially China – demonstrated that the
problem of ozone depletion was set to become much worse.

The World Bank, along with Greenpeace, worked with the Chinese government
and one of the biggest manufacturer of refrigerators in the world to produce
a refrigerator that met the needs of the increasingly prosperous Chinese
population without making a clearly identified environmental problem even
worse.

Backing the Greenpeace proposal Wei Lin of the Chinese Renewable Energy
Industries Association said, “Renewable energy can play an important role in
China’s future. Support from the World Bank for China’s renewable energy
efforts would be a significant boost to the country’s plans. With the World
Bank’s help, China could deliver considerable renewable energy capacity,
foster the industry and develop skills to harness renewables. For example,
for wind energy alone there is the potential to develop 20GW by 2020, the
equivalent of more than 7 nuclear power stations the size of the UK’s
Sizewell B plant”.

The call will be made at the Greenpeace Business lecture (1) in central
London tomorrow (13th May).

The new initiative from Greenpeace comes as the World Bank considers the
results of the Extractive Industries Review (EIR) conducted on behalf of the
World Bank by Professor Emil Salim of Indonesia (2). The EIR found that
funding extractive industry projects was not a suitable use of public money
in the vast majority of cases and does not promote sustainable development.
It recommends that the Bank re-allocate funding towards renewable energy.

Greenpeace is one of 300 organisations that have written to Wolfensohn
calling on him to radically reform the way the World Bank supports oil and
mining industries. Others include Oxfam, Amnesty International, Friends of
the Earth as well as investors representing over $400 billion. Four Nobel
laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu have also urged the Bank to
adopt the review’s recommendations.

In the letter to Wolfensohn, Tutu and the other Nobel Laureates said, “War,
poverty, climate change, greed, corruption, and ongoing violations of human
rights…these scourges are linked to the oil and mining industries. Your
efforts to create a world without poverty need not exacerbate these
problems.

“The Review provides you an extraordinary opportunity to direct the
resources of the World Bank Group in a way that is truly oriented towards a
better future for all humanity.”

Editor’s Notes:

For more information contact Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255.

(1) The Greenpeace Business Lecture is taking place at the Royal Society of
Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2 on 13 May 2004. Registration begins at
5.45pm and the lecture starts at 6.30pm prompt. Media spaces are strictly
limited and must be organised in advance. To check if spaces are left
contact Louise Edge, at Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255.

(2) For more information on the EIR, view

11. THE WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRATIC ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM TO ASSEMBLE IN
THAILAND IN NOVEMBER 2004

Source: IUCN, May 12, 2004

How can our planet meet the needs of growing populations and expanding
markets without sacrificing nature? This question will be at the heart of
the debate at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress, which will open on
17 November in Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme: “People and Nature – only
one world”. The Congress is the governing body of IUCN – The World
Conservation Union. It is held every four years and represents the world’s
largest democratic environmental forum where governments and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) jointly establish conservation
priorities, guide the Union’s policy and approve its Programme. IUCN’s six
specialist Commissions draw on the expertise of some 12,000 of the world’s
leading scientists, practitioners, economists, lawyers, and educators.

CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

A new way to serve
By Ngoc Huynh, Staff writer

Syracuse Post Standard, NY
May 11 2004

Janet Munro, of Cazenovia, is a minority among the thousands of Peace
Corps volunteers.

The average age of a Peace Corps volunteer is 28; Munro is 69. Before
she retired as a teacher at East Syracuse-Minoa High School last year,
Munro knew she wanted to do more, give something back.

“I’ve always known that I will reach the stage of my life where I
have no responsibility,” she said, “and shed my garments and I can
completely forget about me and help other people.”

This mother of five and grandmother of 13 has been reading about
Armenia in southwestern Asia, where the Peace Corps stationed her.
She is scheduled to leave in June. She will be trained for three
months and then serve for two years.

Her daughter Nancy Chase, of Manlius, is proud of her mom.

“This (Peace Corps) will allow her to help people and use her talent,”
Chase said. “She pushes herself to do a lot and she’s an inspiration.

“We’re going to miss her,” Chase added. “That’s the only hard part
of the whole thing.”

Munro was an English teacher for 28 years, and she has been selected
to train Armenian English teachers in methodologies and curriculum
building.

She will train for three months in Dilijan, a resort town about 68
miles from the capital, Yerevan. After her training, Munro does not
know where in Armenia she will be placed.

Munro said she does not plan to duplicate her comfortable American
life in Armenia. She knows bucket baths are common and not all toilets
are modern.

Barbara Crossett, Munro’s colleague and a former student, said Munro
has a thirst for knowledge.

“She’s like a walking encyclopedia. She knows a lot about a lot
of different

subjects. She’s very smart,” said Crossett, now an English teacher
at ES-M High School.

Crossett’s children also had Munro as a teacher.

Armenia is about the size of Maryland, with a population of about 3
million. It prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt
Christianity, in the early fourth century.

Munro read that Armenia is about 2,700 years old. She said she is
looking forward to learning about its culture, history and people.

Early last month, Munro contacted a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia
named Dawn Sheppard for advice and suggestions.

Sheppard’s first e-mail to Munro said, “You are going to love
Armenia. I have never known friendlier people. They will give you
all they have which isn’t much.”

Munro wanted to know whether shorts – which she wears when she jogs
four times a week – would be acceptable for a woman her age. “No
Armenians wear shorts, men or women,” came the reply.

To prepare for her trip, Munro has bought a Swiss army knife, books
and a sleeping bag for temperatures of minus 20 degrees. Temperatures
in Armenia are similar to those in New York state, but not all homes
have modern heating systems.

“I’m not terribly nervous,” Munro said, “but I’m beginning to feel
separation pain.”

There are 7,533 Peace Corps volunteers, according to Bart Kendrick,
regional public affairs specialist. He said about 6 percent are over
age 50. He added that people who participate usually change their
lives upon returning to the United States.

Some even seek employment with the Peace Corps, Kendrick said.

“I think it’s one of those kinds of experiences that aren’t easily
erased,” Kendrick said.

A1 Plus | 17:54:40 | 28-04-2004 | Politics | PACE SPRING SESSION |

SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN IS PLEASED WITH THE REPORT ON ARMENIA

As to the draft for the report on Armenia in PACE, Armenian delegation
member Shavarsh Kocharyan considers that it has numerous positive aspects,
there are facts that weren’t included and there are demands which were
necessary.

The rest must be settled by suggestions. The members of the Armenian
delegation have made the suggestions separately. Tigran Torosyan and Armen
Rustamyan made 7 offers each, and Artashes Geghamyan and Shavarsh Kocharyan
made 7 jointly.

Under the order, 5 signatures are necessary to collect for each suggestion.

Karabakh sceptical about Azeri pressure group’s peace march

Arminfo, Yerevan
26 Apr 04

STEPANAKERT

People in the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] are very sceptical
about the Azerbaijani Karabakh Liberation Organization’s intention to
march to Nagornyy Karabakh and to end it in the town of Susa
[Armenian-occupied Shushi] on 8 May.

David Babayan, an employee of the NKR presidential office, told
Arminfo news agency that this action is mainly aimed at fermenting
public opinion and drawing attention to the Karabakh problem against
the background of diminishing interest on the part of ordinary
Azerbaijanis who are now more concerned about social and domestic
issues. By this escapade the organizers of the action aim to divert
the attention of the people from the domestic problems. At the same
time they intend to draw attention to themselves and to show their
political importance.

For his part, the deputy of the NKR National Assembly, Maxim Mirzoyan,
said that the Azerbaijani organization’s intention is pure adventurism
and political intrigue. There are many other ways of attracting the
attention of the international community to the Karabakh problem. “If
Baku really strives for a peaceful settlement of the problem, I am
sure the optimum way would have been found ,” Maxim Mirzoyan said.

Member of the board of the youth organization [?Ayk Generation]
Yervand Gadzhiyan said that this action is a populist one. It aims to
revive the flagging spirit of military [as published] patriotism of
Azerbaijani society ahead of new peaceful efforts aimed at settling
the Karabakh issue and to make the Azerbaijanis less flexible on the
issue.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE PASSING OF ARCHBISHOP ZAREH AZNAVORIAN

Antelias, Lebanon – His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, members of
the Brotherhood of Cilicia, announce with deepest sadness the passing of His
Eminence Archbishop Zareh Aznavorian, on Friday, April 30, 2004, in
Antelias. His Eminence was 57 years old.

Archbishop Zareh faithfully served the Armenian Apostolic Church as an
ordained celibate priest for 38 years, most of which was spent at the
Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, except for
two years in Rome where he pursued higher education and three years as the
Prelate of Cyprus.

Archbishop Aznavorian served as professor of biblical studies in the
Theological Seminary and the Hamazkaine Institute of Armenology. He has been
the editor of “Klatsor” (yearbook of the Seminary), and “HASK” (official
periodical of the Catholicosate), and conductor of “Shenorhali” choir of the
Catholicosate.

Archbishop Zareh was the Director of Christian Education Department of the
Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. He was the chairman of the Religious
Council of the Catholicosate of Cilicia. He was a noted composer of both
religious and secular music, a gifted scholar, a Biblical translator, and an
author of textbooks and commentaries. He was considered to be one of the
most noted Biblical scholars within the Armenian Church.

The Extreme Unction will take place during the Divine Liturgy service at the
Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Antelias, on Monday, May 3.
Interment will follow in the Mausoleum of the Holy See of Cilicia.

##

View printable pictures here:

*************
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.

Fresno Bee (California)
April 22, 2004, Thursday FINAL EDITION

Fresno, say hello to Carol Channing

by Donald Munro THE FRESNO BEE

She offers a scoop of trademark gravel with her first cheery greeting
over the phone.

That voice — recognizable to generations of Broadway musical-comedy
fans, along with a sizable contingent of 1970s-era television
watchers who never quite figured out why she kept popping up on “The
Love Boat” — is raspy.

It’s distinctive. It’s endearing. It’s like taking a shower in
itty-bitty pebbles. It’s an aural national landmark, as much a part
of the cultural consciousness as Ethel Merman belting out “There’s No
Business Like Show Business” or Richard Nixon croaking “I am not a
crook.”

And today, over the phone, that voice is preoccupied at the moment
with Carol Channing’s new favorite topic: reuniting with her first
love.

“I always liked the sound of my name,” the 83-year-old Channing says
in that chirpy, gravelly growl. “But I think Carol Kullijian is just
as euphonious.”

She isn’t giving up the Channing moniker, of course. But these days
she also considers herself Mrs. Harry Kullijian.

Last year she married Kullijian, 84, her sweetheart from junior high
school. They’d lost touch for a whopping 67 years.

If that isn’t a story that would make Dolly Levi — the czarina of
all the matchmakers and the character that molded Channing into a
cultural icon — oh-so-proud, then what would?

It’s also a story that explains why Channing is coming to the Tower
Theatre on Sunday for two performances of “Hello, Fresno” to benefit
the Armenian Home for the Aged.

Kullijian’s sister, Lucille Pilibos, lives in Fresno. Kullijian has
long been involved in charitable Armenian causes.

Channing fondly recalls her early teen years with Kullijian at Aptos
Middle School in San Francisco.

But they lost touch when he went off to a military academy and she, a
precocious young talent determined for a career in show business,
went to Bennington College in Vermont at the age of 16.

She says she often thought of him, particularly during those tough
early times in her career when she was looking for jobs in New York.

“I often thought that if I could have just talked to Harry, he’d have
me straightened out,” she says.

But she managed just fine on her own, it turns out. A lot happened in
the nearly seven decades it took for them to reconnect.

She starred in two of Broadway’s biggest smashes (“Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes” and “Hello, Dolly!”) and many other plays, cabaret shows,
recordings and movies.

She played opposite Clint Eastwood in her first movie, 1956’s “The
First Traveling Saleslady,” and later would receive an Oscar
nomination for 1967’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

She hobnobbed with hundreds of show-biz greats, from Ethel Merman and
Tallulah Bankhead to George Burns and Yul Brenner. She met Queen
Elizabeth. She was married three times and became a cancer survivor.

He, in the meantime, got married, became a prominent Modesto
real-estate entrepreneur, was elected city council member and became
a widower.

After so many years, they each thought the other was dead.

But then came “Just Lucky, I Guess,” Channing’s amiable memoir heavy
on breezy show-biz anecdotes and light on the celebrity dirt that
usually sells such books.

(She does dish a little at Barbra Streisand for stealing her “baby,”
the starring role in the movie version of “Hello, Dolly!”)

In it, she wrote fondly of Kullijian.

“Everyone writes about their first love,” she says. “I wrote absolute
poetry about him. I thought he was gone by then.”

But he wasn’t gone. Far from it.

One of his friends, Mervin Morris (of Mervyn’s department stores)
read the book and urged him to call Channing.

They arranged a meeting at her condominium in Rancho Mirage.

“He walked through my front gate, and we just continued the
conversation we’d started nearly 70 years ago,” Channing says. “Two
weeks later, we were engaged.”

They were married at Morris’ Atherton home. The couple is one month
shy of their one-year anniversary.

Her marriage coincided with something of a career renaissance that
was sparked by her memoir.

Kullijian is handling her business affairs now, booking her new show
in venues across the country. (It most recently played at San
Francisco’s Geary Theatre over Easter weekend.)

The ultimate goal: a regular run in New York.

“We never stop,” Kullijian says. “But we’re having a ball. I’m so
pleased with the resurgence of her career, even if we are busy. You
know, if I was an old, old guy, I don’t think I could handle this.”

The show she’s bringing to Fresno is mostly ad-libbed.

“I get to talk as myself,” she says. “If you’re lucky enough to be in
two smash-hit shows, the traffic of the world goes through your
dressing room. I might tell what it was like to know Yul Brenner and
Lena Horne, Sophie Tucker, Gertrude Lawrence.”

Also scheduled is a cameo appearance by Fresno native Mike Connors,
with whom Channing has had a long friendship.

When she performed the show in New York for a trial run as part of
the Singular Sensations series at the Village Theater, she did
imitations of Merman, Tucker and Ann Miller.

She also sang what she calls her “Battle Hymn of the Republic” — the
anthem “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” the signature number
performed by Lorelei Lee, the gold digger from Little Rock, Ark., in
“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”

In an enthusiastic New York Times review of the show in November,
Margo Jefferson wrote: “Let’s hope she just goes on talking — and
singing — anytime, anyplace and everywhere.”

Channing might have “retired” from Broadway in the 1990s with a last
revival of “Hello Dolly!” after more than 5,000 performances.

But she isn’t annoyed when people identify her so closely with that
show’s meddling, assertive, kind-hearted, take-charge character.

The play is about a woman making a conscious decision to change her
life.

There’s no doubt she did that, she says, when she hooked up again
with Kullijian.

She told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that her favorite part of
“Dolly” every night was Dolly talking to her late husband Ephraim,
telling him she plans to marry Horace Vandergelder.

Dolly asks Ephraim to let her go. She’s waited long enough.

“And God knows I waited a long time for Harry,” Channing says.

In her new life in Modesto, she lives in an Armenian farmhouse
surrounded by orchards of black figs, white figs, peaches and
apricots.

“For a person who spent her whole life going from a hotel room to a
backstage dressing room, it’s unbelievable to be able to live in a
farmhouse,” she says.

She even got talked into joining the Modesto Chamber of Commerce,
though she says it’s hard to make the meetings because of her busy
schedule.

There’s a wistful lilt to her voice now on the phone. (Jefferson, the
critic writing in the Times, describes her impeccable enunciation:
“She handles each vowel, each consonant, each syllable with the care
and relentless glee Lorelei bestows on diamonds.”) When Channing
talks about getting a second chance at love, you can’t help but feel
as if the very telephone lines are tingling just a little more than
normal.

In any of the cities to which her show travels, you’ll get a big dose
of show-business memories. But the Fresno show will be special
because, well, it’ll be like family.

“I fell in love with Armenians when I was 12 years old and met
Harry,” Channing says. “Now after marrying him all these years later,
all of a sudden I have 32 Armenian cousins in Fresno. All these
relatives — I can’t tell you what it means to me at my age.”

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6373.

INFOBOX

IF YOU GO

What: Carol Channing in “Hello, Fresno.”

When: 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Tower Theatre.

Tickets: $40 matinee, $45 evening.

Info: Patrick’s Music, (559) 224-7287; Tower Theatre, (559) 485-9050.

Channing will make a special appearance at Gottschalks at Manchester
Center at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. She will answer questions and sign
autographs.

GRAPHIC: Carol Channing
ASSOCIATED PRESS Carol Channing appears in “Hello, Dolly!” — a
musical that’s part of the entertainer’s legend. Her memoir spurred a
recent career renaissance.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 26 2004

Legal experts, MPs dust off neglected draft laws
Proposals often circulate for years

By Nada Raad
Daily Star staff
Monday, April 26, 2004

A proposal to encourage companies and the private sector to hire
university graduates in return for tax reductions was just one of
several ideas put forward during a seminar organized by the Lebanese
Legislation Monitor (LLM).

The brainchild of the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace,
the LMM is a three-year program designed to make sure the draft laws
and proposals studied by Parliament, the Cabinet and public
administrations are in conformity with the rules of the state,
constitutional norms and human rights.

During Saturday’s seminar, several MPs, lawyers and professors
examined draft proposals and laws that are still stuck in Parliament
and attempted to identify the best ways to push them forward.

Lawyer and university professor Antoine Sfeir proposed a law that
would promote an increase in youth employment after they graduate.
Sfeir, who was speaking about the difficulties of renewing laws here,
said that the proposal is already implemented in developed countries
to facilitate the hiring of young graduates who don’t have real world
experience.

“The law would stipulate a reduction of taxes paid by companies and
the private sector according to the number of fresh graduates they
hire per year,” Sfeir said.

Sfeir’s proposal was welcomed by Beirut MP Walid Eido, Baabda MP
Salah Honein and Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush, who said that they would
be the first to agree on the proposal once it was handed to
Parliament.

However, proposals and draft laws sometimes need several years before
they are passed by Parliament’s committees as well as the Cabinet.

“Many side talks are done by MPs when discussing a certain draft law
and politicians often interfere to stop the discussion of a certain
draft law,” said Minyeh MP Ahmad Fatfat, who is a member of
Parliament’s Administration and Justice committee.

University professor Tony Atallah said that 123 pages of draft laws
and law proposals are currently discussed by Parliament’s committees
or revised by the Cabinet.

Atallah, who spent more than two months searching for the drafts laws
and proposals due to the lack of an organized archive for such
documents, succeeded, at the end, in summarizing them into 16 pages.

He said that currently the municipal draft law is discussed by
Parliament’s committees. Atallah noticed in his research that until
now there are no law proposals regarding parliamentary elections,
which are scheduled to be held in the spring of 2005.

Beirut MP Serge Toursarkissian, who was present at the seminar, said
that one of his proposals stipulates the formation of a 14-member MP
committee to take charge of relations with Lebanon’s expatriate
population.

Kesrouan MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr said that he had already proposed a
similar law enabling Lebanese living abroad to be represented in
Parliament by 12 separate MPs.

Toursarkissian made it clear during the seminar that his increase of
the number of MPs from 12 to 14 was to allow the Armenian community
to be represented among the MPs representing the Lebanese abroad.

Also discussed during the seminar, was the draft of the rent law
currently under discussion by a parliamentary committee. It gives
landlords the right to evict tenants by paying 20 percent of the
salable value of the property. As it currently stands, Parliament’s
Joint Committee has extended the rent law, which was endorsed in
1992, until June 2004 to allow the Finance and Budget Committee to
finish studying the new draft.

There are also draft laws and law proposals put forward by different
MPs to revise the military service. Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem,
one of the MPs proposing such an amendment, said that the military
service law should be amended because many Lebanese living abroad are
currently not registering their newborn children as Lebanese to avoid
making them go through the military service.

Other draft laws and law proposals currently under consideration
include one that calls for Lebanon to join the Islamic Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), a draft law
stipulating the general health safety of Lebanese citizens, and a
quota for women’s representation in politics.

Lawyer and lecturer at Sagesse University Paul Morcos said that,
although the elected parliamentary bodies in 1992, 1996 and 2000 left
a large amount of legislation outstanding, the question that should
be asked is whether these pieces of legislation respect the
principles of codification, democracy and human rights, or if its
production is nothing more than “legislative inflation?”

Morcos then highlighted the flaws present in Lebanon’s laws, which he
said are mainly caused by the “translation” of the Lebanese laws from
“old French laws” – something which he said did not go hand-in-hand
with the Lebanese reality.

For her part, Professor of Law at Lebanese University Amirah Abu Mrad
said that although Article 7 of the Constitution stipulates that all
Lebanese are equal, such a statement is a “lie.”

She said that if citizens here are equal, then the government should
have implemented the civil marriage law which is a critical part of
achieving gender equality.

According to Abu Mrad, a statute dating from 1936 stipulates the
implementation of a marriage law, which until now is still absent.
“The government should allow civil marriage and apologize to its
citizens for a delay of more than 65 years in implementation,” she
said.

Agency WPS
The Russian Oil and Gas Report (Russia)
April 23, 2004, Friday

YEREVAN NEGOTIATES WITH TEHRAN ON CONSTRUCTION OF THE IRAN-ARMENIA
GAS PIPELINE FOR MEETING OF DOMESTIC NEEDS

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan reports that Yerevan is
negotiating with Tehran on construction of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline for meeting of domestic needs. The President stresses, “We
are discussing the project only in the framework of strengthening of
the energy security of Armenia.” He adds that construction of the
second power transmission line continues and this line will not only
allow Armenia to increase the flow of electric energy but also to
exchange electric energy for Iranian gas. Signing of the final
agreement on construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is
expected in late May during the visit of Iranian Oil Minister Bijan
Zanganeh to Yerevan.

The project is estimated at $120 million. It is planned that at the
first stage Armenia will receive 700 million cubic meters of gas a
year through the new pipeline with further increase of supplies to
1.5 billion cubic meters. Armenia is going to pay for gas with
supplies of electric energy (3 kilowatt-hours for 1 cubic meter of
gas). Meanwhile, at the beginning of February Boris Aleshin, who was
Deputy Prime Minister of Russian government then, spoke on his visit
to Yerevan about Russia’s interest in construction of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. According to Aleshin, in the future
Gazprom may become operator of a part of the pipeline that is to be
built in the territory of Armenia. Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the
European Union and China also demonstrate their interest in the
project.

Source: Vremya Novostey, April 22, 2004