Author: Chatinian Lara

Qatar News Agency
February 8, 2005 Tuesday 1:33 PM EST
BAHRAIN-ARMENIA
by Qatar News Agency
Doha, February 08
KING OF BAHRAIN HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA HAS RECEIVED A LETTER FROM
PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA ROBERT KOCHARIAN DEALING WITH BILATERAL
RELATIONS AND MEANS OF COORDINATING EXISTING COOPERATION BETWEEN THE
TWO COUNTRIES.
THE SPEAKER OF THE ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT DELIVERED THE LETTER DURING A
MEETING ON TUESDAY WITH THE BAHRAINI KING.(

Seminar “Iran and the Caucasus” at CSIS
Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington)
February 8, 2005
Seminar: “Iran and the Caucasus”
Featured Speakers: Alex Vatanka and Richard Giragosian
Date: Monday, February 14, 2005
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Despite the renewed focus on Iran in recent months, there has been
little attention devoted to the Iranian bid for regional influence in
the South Caucasus. The trend for Iranian influence among its northern
neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the recent visit to Tehran
by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the launch of the long delayed
Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline, will be discussed. The engagement by
the Bush Administration and the European Union to manage the Iranian
challenge and the implications for security in the Caucasus will also be
examined.
Alex Vatanka is an editor and analyst with the Jane’s Information Group
in London, overseeing “Jane’s Sentinel Russia and CIS Security
Assessment” series, and is Jane’s resident expert on Iran.
Richard Giragosian, a Washington-based analyst with Abt Associates,
Inc., is a regular contributor to Jane’s Information Group as well as
other publications including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Please RSVP to Anastasia Handy by February 11, 2005.
Anastasia Handy
Research Assistant
Russia and Eurasia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Phone: (202) 775-7322
Fax: (202) 775-3199

Anadolu Agency
Feb 8 2005
Aliyev: Turkey And Azerbaijan Are The Closest Allies Of Each Other
Anadolu Agency: 2/7/2005
BAKU – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that Turkey and
Azerbaijan are the closest allies of each other. ”Turkey has always
stood by Azerbaijan,” said Aliyev.
Aliyev hosted Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and his
delegation at the Presidential Palace.
In a speech delivered at the palace, Aliyev stressed that relations
in all areas are developing rapidly between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
”It is pleasing to see the developments between our two countries in
the areas of economy and politics. The Turkish investments in
Azerbaijan are very prominent for the future of Azerbaijan,” told
Aliyev.
According to Aliyev, Turkey stands by Azerbaijan in the issue of
Upper Karabakh. ”We always feel Turkey’s support to Azerbaijan,”
expressed Aliyev.
Aliyev thanked Arinc for Turkey’s support that led to the adoption of
a decision by the European Council that describes Armenia’s actions
in Karabakh as ”an occupation of Azeri territory”.
Aliyev indicated that the understanding of ”one nation, two
governments” will always exist between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Arinc expressed a desire to see the end of Armenian occupation of
Karabakh. ”We want the Armenian occupation to end soon and no longer
wish to see tyranny in Karabakh,” said Arinc.
Aliyev will host a dinner tonight in honor of Arinc and his
delegation.

Armenian defence minister goes to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders
Noyan Tapan news agency
7 Feb 05
Yerevan, 7 February: A delegation led by the secretary of the Security
Council of the Armenian president and Armenian defence minister,
Serzh Sarkisyan, left for Iran on 7 February at the invitation of
the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Hasan Rowhani.
Within the framework of the visit, the members of the Armenian
delegation will meet the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry
department for CIS countries, Mehdi Safari, and the former Iranian
ambassador to Armenia, Farhad Koleyni, the press secretary of the
Armenian Defence Ministry, Col Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, told Noyan Tapan
news agency.
On the morning of 8 February, the Armenian delegation will visit
the Sa’adabad complex where they will meet the secretary of the
Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Hasan Rowhani. After that, they will meet Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami and the chairman of the Iranian Expediency Council, Akbar
Hashemi-Rafsanjani.
On the same day, the delegation will visit Tehran’s Armenian eparchy
and the Armenian embassy in Tehran.
The delegation will return to Yerevan on 9 February.

PanArmenian News
Feb 7 2005
ARMENIA-LADA PRESIDENT KILLED IN TOLYATTI RUSSIAN TOWN
07.02.2005 17:10
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Lada Company President Rafael Shahmuradian
was killed in the Russian town of Tolyatti. Let us remind that his
life was once attempted on May 24 night last year. At that time saved
by a miracle Shahmuradian stated he has grave suspicions that his
murder was ordered by Armenian Minister of Transport and
Communications, Armenia-Lada stockholder Andranik Manukian.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
February 4, 2005
ANTONIA ARSLAN PRESENTA ‘DOVE SI POSO’ L’ARCA, L’ARMENIA’ ;
(NOTIZIARIO LIBRI)
(ANSA) VENEZIA, 4 FEB – FLAVIA RANDI E SILVIO LUGINBUHL,
‘DOVE SI PSO’ L’ARCA – L’ARMENIA’ (ADLE EDIZIONI).

Ha un’introduzione di Antonia Arslan,il libro “Dove si poso
l’Arca, l’Armenia”, che sintetizza con semplicita’ i misteri
del popolo armeno, conducendo il lettore dalla mitologia alla
religione alla storia del paese dove, sulla cima del Monte
Ararat, la Genesi racconta si poso’ l’Arca di Noe.
Una guida all’armenita’, lo definisce Arslan. Un libro che
parte in sordina, dagli aspetti geografici, raccontando di aspre
montagne e fertili pianure, di melograni e caravanserragli dove
sostavano la notte le carovane dei mercanti sulla via della
seta. Pagine che raccontano del mito del dio Vahagn che vince il
drago Vishap e arrivano ad un cristianesimo che si differenzia,
tra l’altro, per il rito della confessione collettiva.
Un territorio, quello armeno, compreso tra Turchia, Caucaso e
Medio Oriente, teatro delle incursioni di Sciti, Medi, Persiani,
Bizantini, Mongoli, Arabi e Turchi e in epoca piu’ recente i
Russi, fino agli avvenimenti che hanno sconvolto l’Armenia
durante la prima guerra mondiale, quando in quella che gli
autori definiscono la “Auschwitz armena” un milione e mezzo di
persone furono uccise.

“Le comunita’ armene della diaspora rivivono – afferma
Antonia Arslan – e hanno soprattutto tre scopi, primo l’ aiutare
in tutti i modi la piccola Repubblica d’Armenia, nata dal crollo
dell’Unione Sovietica e bisognosa di tutto”. In secondo luogo,
“arrivare finalmente al completo riconoscimento internazionale
del genocidio, collocandolo nel suo preciso contesto storico,
nel quadro complessivo di tutti i genocidi del Ventesimo secolo;
e infine riuscire a non perdere la propria identita’,
rivalutandola in armonia con il paese d’accoglienza”.
“Dove si poso’ l’Arca, l’Armenia” si sviluppa anche con
testimonianze, leggende, racconti dei maggiori intellettuali
armeni. “Bruciate le loro case e le loro chiese – scrive uno di
loro – e noterete che rideranno, canteranno e pregheranno
nuovamente, perche quando due di loro si incontreranno in
qualche parte del mondo vedrete se non creeranno una nuova
Armenia”. Venezia, in particolare, li accolse a partire dalla
fine del Seicento, ed oggi offre ineguagliabile itinerario
storico dei luoghi armeni, che parte dall’isola di San Lazzaro
degli Armeni, con la sua biblioteca di oltre centomila volumi,
molti dei quali manoscritti medioevali con preziose miniature.
Con la diaspora, dopo i genocidi del 1915, gli armeni fuggono
tra l’altro in Francia, in America, in Giordania, Siria, Libano,
Iraq, Israele, Egitto, Iran. “Ancora oggi – scrivono gli autori
– il genocidio armeno non ha un riconoscimento internazionale e
ufficiale a causa d’opportunita’ politiche di alcuni stati e del
persistente negazionismo turco che solo negli ultimi anni
qualche intellettuale ha cominciato a contestare”. (ANSA).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
February 3, 2005 Thursday 9:05 AM Eastern Time
Armenia to send group of medics to Indonesia
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Armenian government is sending a group of doctors to Indonesia to
provide medical aid to the population of the country hit by a recent
devastating tsunami.
The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday under the
chairmanship of President Robert Kocharyan.
In the next three days Armenia will send to Jakarta a traumatologist,
two infection disease doctors and an epidemiologist.
The Armenia has allotted 14,000 U.S. dollars for the dispatch of the
specialists.

PanArmenian News
Feb 1 2005
OSCE SPECIAL MISSION MEMBERS PUT ON CANDLES IN ANCIENT ARMENIAN
CHURCH IN KARVACHAR
01.02.2005 17:23
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azg newspaper reports the details of yesterday’s
visit of the OSCE fact-finding mission in the security belt
territories around Nagorno Karabakh. As reported by the newspaper, on
they way back in the evening the group members visited the medieval
Armenian Monastery of Dadivank, situated in the territory of
Karvachar (Kelbajar is one of the territories of the security belt),
where they put on candles. The Dadivank Monastery, where according to
the legend, relics of St. apostle Thaddeus are kept, is one of the
numerous monuments of the Christian culture, which are situated
within the territories of the security belt and preserve the memory
of the Armenian civilization, which had once prospered here and fell
into decay after these lands being inhabited by Muslim
cattle-breeding tribes. According to the newspaper correspondent’s
impression, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who were also present at
the work of the commission do not display special enthusiasm on the
mission main goal, considering that those steps will hardly bring to
the solution of the conflict.

EiTB24.com, Spain
Feb 3 2005
Festivals of San Blas
On February 3, the traditional procession of San Blas is held in the
Basque Country, in honour of the Christian martyr who is attributed
with the miraculous healing of throat ailments.

People in the Basque Country hold every February 3 the procession of
San Blas. This procession is a tribute to San Blas, a Christian
martyr who is attributed with the miraculous healing of throat
ailments.
In the main squares of Basque towns and cities, stalls are set up
where you can buy the traditional doughnuts and coloured cords of San
Blas. The Basques bless the cord before the image of the Saint in
some churches. Afterwards, according to tradition, the faithful wear
the cord around their neck for nine days, after which it must be
burnt. If the process is carried out correctly, San Blas will protect
the throat of the wearer for the whole year.
Blas was an Armenian doctor and bishop who lived in the third century
A.C. He was a victim of the persecutions to the Christians by the
Emperor Diocleciano, so he hid in a cave in the mountain Argeo and
lived like a hermit there. In the year 313, the emperor Constantino
stopped the persecutions so Blas could come back to his diocese. Two
years after, the emperor Linicio resumed the persecutions. February
3rd 316 Blas was beheaded and his body torn to pieces with iron
hooks. Some people say San Blas healed miraculously a child who had a
fish bone put across his throat. This is why it is believed that this
saint protects us from the throat ailments.

Sean Connery offered role in Kurdish film
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

FEATURE
The unforgettable spy of the James Bond series, Sean Connery, has been
offered a role in a movie to be shot in Turkey that tells the story of
the Brukan clan
ANKARA ` Turkish Daily News
  The story of the Brukan clan, comprising 500,000 members in 117
villages of Van, will be retold in a movie titled ?Brukan: Exodus.?
The film, which depicts the migration of the clan from Diyarbakır’s
KaracadagË` to the Caucasus and Iran in 1609, will be produced by
Gültekin Movie Productions and directed by Engin Alap.
  Producer Kasım Gültekin, director Alap and General Coordinator
Sema Efe visited Van’s DogË`angün village to scout out places for
construction of the film set. The crew said they would start
shooting on March 15.
  
Sean Connery as S¸emdin Bey?
  Alap also noted that they had offered a starring role to Sean
Connery, the unforgettable spy of the famous James Bond. Alap said
they offered the role to Connery through an agency and that the famous
actor was warm to the offer. If he accepts the role, he will bring
the leader of the clan, S¸emdin Bey, to life.
  Alap emphasized that the film would be shot in Kurdish and
dubbed in English, saying, ?This film will reflect the culture of a
tribe.?
  Gültekin said the soundtrack would include Kurdish songs and
that they would try to promote their local music to the world by
means of this film.
  Gültekin, who says 2 billion euros are in place for the making
of the film, also said: ?This amount will be increased to 3 million
along the way. We don’t have any economic concerns about this
job. Three thousand character actors will appear in the film, and
it will be an international movie.?
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