Author: Chatinian Lara

ABS CBN News, Philippines
Feb 1, 2005
Sargissian assumes control in Gibraltar
By MANNY BENITEZ
TODAY Chess Columnist
Armenian Grandmaster Gabriel Sargissian (2602) outfought Asian
champion Krishnan Sasikiran (2657) of India in a sixth-round, 64-move
marathon to seize the solo lead in the Gibtele.com Masters chess
championship in the British colony of Gibraltar off Spain.
Playing White, Sargissian, who turns 22 on Thursday, had 5.0 points
from six games, just half a point ahead of nine other big stars that
included the top seed, world No. 10 Alexei Shirov of Spain, and new
US champion Hikaru Nakamura, 17.
Among the other runners-up were two former world junior champions,
Emil Sutovsky of Israel, who won the under-20 crown in 1996, and
Sargissian’s compatriot, Lev Aronian, who did it in 2002.
With his loss, Sasikiran, 24, one of the early favorites, slid down
to a tie for 11th to 29th with 18 others who each had 4.0 points.
Sargissian employed the Fianchetto variation against Sasikiran’s
Gruenfeld Defense, and managed to advance his a-pawn to the sixth
rank early on.
Gaining a big plus in mid-game complications, Sargissian soon was the
exchange up and when the end came, he had a king plus rook and pawn
against the Asian champion’s king with bishop plus two pawns.
Sasikiran resigned when he realized he could not stop White’s rook
from gobbling up his a7 pawn to clear the way for a new queen.
Meanwhile, former Cuban champion Lenier Dominguez and former world
title candidate Boris Gelfand of Israel won their first games to take
the lead in the Bermuda International, a yearly event in the former
British colony miles off the US East Coast.
Reigning world junior champion Pent Harikrishna held Giovani Vescovi
of Brazil to a draw with Black in 43 moves of a Ruy Lopez in the
third pair of the six-GM field.
Dominguez had White in downing Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine in 46
moves of a Sicilian Paulsen, while Gelfand had Black in beating
Bartlomiej Macieja of Poland.

OSCE mission visits occupied Azeri district, meets residents – Armenian
report
Mediamax news agency
31 Jan 05
YEREVAN
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen and members of the OSCE fact-finding
mission today visited the centre and several villages of Kalbacar
which is controlled by the defence army of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic.
A special Mediamax correspondent reports that the members of the
mission are holding meetings with the district residents and asking
them to fill in questionnaires to establish where they were settled
before.
The co-chairmen and the OSCE fact-finding mission are planning to
visit Fuzuli and Cabrayil Districts. The visit of the OSCE mission [to
all seven occupied districts of Azerbaijan] is expected to last from
seven to 10 days.

News-Star.com
Story last updated at 1:48 a.m. Saturday, January 29, 2005
Emmanuel to observe service of Candlemas
On Wednesday evening, Emmanuel Episcopal Church will celebrate Candlemas, a
worship experience that also will honor the feast day of Saint Blaise. The
service begins at 6 p.m. at the church, Broadway and Highland in Shawnee,
and a light meal will be served at 5:30 p.m.
Candlemas will feature the Order for Evening with Holy Eucharist, and it is
a candlelight service marking the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.
The story is from Luke 2, where light is an important theme because Jesus is
acknowledged as the light that will enlighten the Gentiles. The Feast of the
Presentation relates to a requirement of Jewish law that a firstborn child
had to be “bought back” from God, to whom it automatically belongs as
firstborn. In the temple, St. Simeon and St. Anna the Prophetess encounter
Jesus and Mary and bless them, acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, and warn Mary
that Jesus will be a sign of contradiction for humanity and that a sword
will pierce her Sacred Heart.
Wednesday’s service also will mark the Feb. 3 feast day of Saint Blaise, who
is considered the patron saint of throats for saving someone from choking.
The Blessing of the Throats will conclude the service with a prayer of
health for each person. Blaise was the bishop of the diocese of Sebaste in
Armenia, and is said to have miraculously saved the life of a young child
who was choking on a fish bone. Hence, his intercessions have been sought
for the sick, especially those with throat trouble. He is one of the 14
Auxiliary Saints (commonly called the Fourteen Holy Helpers) who were
venerated for the efficacy of their prayers on behalf of human necessities.
Blaise was martyred in the fourth century C.E.
Visitors are always welcome at Emmanuel. For more information about the
church’s services and activities, call the office at 273-1374 or go online
to
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Council of Europe resolution unacceptable to Karabakh – leader
Arminfo
28 Jan 05
YEREVAN
The resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
PACE contains provisions that are unacceptable to Nagornyy Karabakh,
the president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic NKR , Arkadiy
Gukasyan, has told journalists in Yerevan.
The NKR president pointed out that he does not think that the
resolution can be of some fateful importance to Karabakh. At the same
time, Arkadiy Gukasyan said that the diplomacy of the Armenian side
should be more active in order to avoid such statements and
approaches.
“I think that David Atkinson’s speech was very subjective and
inconsistent with the current situation,” Gukasyan stressed, adding
that it is necessary to take political steps to neutralize such
approaches. He also said that he had appealed to the leadership of the
Council of Europe and David Atkinson, demanding that the presence of
Nagornyy Karabakh representatives be ensured when the report was
discussed.
Gukasyan said that the absence of NKR representatives from the
discussion of the Karabakh issue is absolutely not
understandable. “This was also a very subjective approach. There are
examples when the NKR leadership took part in sittings of the Council
of Europe in 1994 and 1998 and defended its approaches,” the president
recalled.

Social and economic reforms on right path, Karabakh premier says
Arminfo, Yerevan
27 Jan 05
STEPANAKERT
The prime minister of the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic], Anushavan
Danielyan, has noted a stable tendency for the development of the
economy and an increase in microeconomic indicators. Speaking at the
first sitting of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic government in 2005, he
said that social and economic reforms “are on the right path”.
Danielyan noted that the economic growth rate will almost double in
2006, an Arminfo correspondent in Stepanakert said. The prime minister
said also that GDP should reach 60bl drams [124.740m dollars], and
that a new goal of 100bl drams [207.9m dollars] has been set for 2010.
The prime minister noted that because of the high rates of growth a
need has emerged to reconsider the social and economic programme of
the republic for 2010.

PACE REPORT COULD NEVER BE FAVORABLE FOR ARMENIANS
Azg/arm
28 Jan 05
But, Armenian Delegation Is Still to Be Hold Responsible
The formula adopted at the PACE on January 25 could not be favorable
for the Armenians for the simple reason that the Karabakh side won the
war. Thus, in this case, the PACE has fixed the situation. Certainly,
the formula includes many mistakes and statements unfavorable for us.
Atkinson was the first PACE MP to visit Nagorno Karabakh in 1992. He
reminded of that in his January 25 speech: “I will never forget the
Azeri bombs falling on Stepanakert, the capital.”
In 1992, the delegation led by Atkinson fixed the following: “The
latest attacks of the Azeris totally ruined villages, killed peaceful
residents, children became victims of violence in Nagorno Karabakh. We
have the impression that few weeks are left before the fall of
Karabakh, if not less time. It is obvious that genocide and exile will
follow the current events.”
Yes, these statements could be included in the PACE formula, if the
Armenian side lost the war. On the other hand, one can never approve
the activities the Armenian delegation unfolded at PACE. Our
delegation was not only split, they also used the PACE session for
their personal or party interests. Moreover, they are deprived of
mental, lingual, diplomatic and lobbyist abilities, in general.
Tigran Torosian doesn’t speak any foreign language, while the speeches
of Armen Roustamian included the idea of the Armenian Cause more than
diplomacy. The English speaking Shavarsh Kocharian was more concerned
about the human rights issues, while Karen Karapetian, “the democratic
deputy,” could not be more than a brother of an entrepreneur.
The delegation has also the second staff, including Gurgen Arsenian,
Grigor Margarian, Artashes Geghamian and Hermine Naghdalian. This
group of our delegates can be proud of the success they made in
business but they still have to work hard to achieve any success in
diplomacy. It’s worth mentioning that all the eight members of our
delegation always leave for Strasbourg, as all the expenses of their
stay are paid from the state budget.
Armenia is likely to have strategic allies, but the deputies of these
countries are mainly supporting Azerbaijan during the voting. At least
50 of the 315 PACE delegates represent the countries that are
Armenia’s strategicallies. But, on January 25 only 23 and 25
delegates voted for the two suggestions the Armenian delegation made
for Atkinson’s report.
Chairman of RA National Assembly is traveling in the capitals of
Europe for days. He and his party members highly emphasize the
importance of parliamentary diplomacy. Artur Baghdasarian managed to
be in a number of important European capitals namely Rome, Paris,
Moscow, etc. Meanwhile, the colleagues of Grizlov who considers
Armenia Russia’s outpost voted against Armenia. There are 18 Russian
delegates at PACE. Italy and France that are supposed to be Armenia’s
friends have 18 delegates each, while Greece has 7 and Cyprus 3 MPs at
PACE.
In fact, also thanks to the passiveness of RA National Assembly,
Armenia was called an aggressor, while Nagorno Karabakh was called
separatist in the PACE formula. Armenia was called an aggressor at the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly held in Venice on November 12-16, 2004 (in
“The Stability in Three South Caucasus States. 10 Years after the
Independence. The Progress and the Challenges” report).
It’s worth mentioning that Mher Shahgeldian, head of the Armenian
delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, tried to hide this
report from the public, but failed. Instead, the Armenian Ambassador
to Italy appeared in an extremely unpleasant situation thanks to the
efforts to this representativeof Orinats Yerkir party. Shahgeldian was
again emphasizing the importance of parliamentary diplomacy over TV
few days ago.
By Tatoul Hakobian

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 27 2005
Armenia criticizes Bush administration

Statements made by the US Assistant Secretary for European and
Eurasian Affairs Elizabeth Jones in a video conference with
English-speaking Moscow Times newspaper on January 14, have sparked
indignation from Yerevan.
“Russia should be interested in maintaining stability in
Upper Garabagh, North Ossetia, Abkhazia and Dnestr, fighting
corruption there and driving ‘criminal elements’ out of power”, said
Jones.
“These utterances came as support for Azerbaijan’s militarist
statements”, said Armen Rustamian, chairman of the Armenian
“Dashnak-Tsutiun” party and head of the country’s permanent
parliamentary commission on foreign relations.
“US officials should be aware that the Upper Garabagh problem differs
greatly from the conflicts over Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Dnestr.
Jones’s comments favor certain politicians in Azerbaijan who plan to
push for military action in 2005, threaten war and issue ultimatums.”
Last Wednesday, the office of the Armenian diaspora organization “Ay
Dat”, condemned Jones’s statements, saying that it would demand a
retraction from the Bush administration.
On the same day, representatives of numerous Armenian youth and
student organizations held a protest action near the US embassy in
Yerevan. The protesters held posters saying “Shame on Elizabeth
Jones” in Armenian and English, MediaMax news agency reported.
Jones also criticized Russia for the lack of action on its part in
pressuring separatists for a peace conflict settlement. She also said
that US and Russian presidents George Bush and Vladimir Putin will
discuss the Upper Garabagh issue in Bratislava, Slovakia on February
24.
Washington immediately responded to these statements by reaffirming
its position on the Upper Garabagh conflict.
“The US policy on the Upper Garabagh conflict remains unchanged. The
US does not recognize Upper Garabagh as a separate state. Its
leadership has not been recognized either by the international
community or the United States. The US supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity and believes the future status of Upper
Garabagh should be determined through talks among the parties. The US
remains committed to achieving a peace settlement of the Upper
Garabagh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group. We welcome the
ongoing negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers”.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) special envoy on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict Goran Lennmarker also made a statement
regarding the organization’s position on the settlement issue.
“Changing the format of talks on Upper Garabagh is out of the
question. But additional forces should be drawn from the conflicting
sides to assist in the negotiating process, these should be drawn
from specialists and parliamentary members.”
He also mentioned, with regret, the ongoing refugee issue, in both
countries due to the protracted nature of the conflict At the same
time, he voiced a hope that stepping up peace talks will accelerate
achieving stability in the region. The report also indicated that the
OSCE is interested “in fostering the spirit of talks” between
Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We are ready to provide any kind of
assistance in continuing the dialogue”, it said.
Lennmarker pointed out that the involvement of international
mediators, including OSCE, “is only of an influencing nature” and
that resolution ultimately depends on the attitudes of Azerbaijan and
Armenia. Lennmarker has repeatedly proposed to hold a meeting between
parliament members of Azerbaijan and Armenia, but as yet to no avail.
His report will be discussed at a session of the OSCE PA in mid-2005.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Jan 26 2005
Arguments flare over Lebanese electoral law
Hariri to have 2 lists in Beirut
By Nayla Assaf and Nada Raad
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s draft electoral law has created furious rows
between the country’s opposition and government loyalists.
As was widely predicted, the new law envisages the division of the
capital into three electoral districts.
Under the proposal the country will be divided into 26 districts.
It also introduces two popular amendments: the lowering of the voting
age to 18 and more controversially, it proposes allocating 30 percent
of seats in Parliament to women.
The Cabinet expected to formally discuss the law later this week, but
Premier Omar Karami refuted criticisms, insisting the law could still
be amended.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh’s remarks earlier this
week in which he warned the Christian opposition against aligning
itself with former premier Rafik Hariri in Beirut continue to cause
controversy.
Speaking on Sunday night, Franjieh threatened revoke the proposal to
partition Beirut into three districts, which is largely deemed
favorable to Christians.
He said: “If the state feels that its stake in the electoral battle
is under threat, it will seek its own interests and redistribute the
cards in Beirut.”
He also said that he finally decided, in his proposal, to split Sidon
and the Zahrani into two separate districts, following the demand of
Speaker Nabih Berri.
Franjieh said: “His demand was very logical. He is demanding that the
1960 law be applied as is concerning the Sidon-Zahrani area.”
In an unusual nod to Jumblatt, Franjieh had also said that his law
proposal did not restrict Jumblatt’s power.
Franjieh’s comments were sharply criticised by Karami, who said: “I
do not agree with [Franjieh’s] comments, because we say that we have
constitutional institutions, which judge such issues.”
Jbeil MP Fares Soueid, a prominent member of the Christian
opposition, lashed out at Franjieh and demanded the Cabinet’s
resignation.
“The words of Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh yesterday were
extremely dangerous and confirm the authorities’ plans to sabotage
opposition lists,” he said.
Speaking to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International,
Soueid said: “How alliances are forged is not the business of the
interior minister. His task should be limited to producing an
electoral law and guaranteeing the impartiality of the state.”

Speaking after a meeting of the Democratic Gathering, Chouf MP Walid
Jumblatt’s parliamentary coalition, Baabda MP Bassem Sabaa said
Franjieh “is trying to announce the [election] results in advance.
The opposition will remain unified and that victory will be on its
side despite the falsification attempts and the attempts to pressure
public opinion.”
He added the draft electoral law was “an attempt to bribe Lebanese
public opinion through the introduction of a quota for women and the
lowering of the voting age to 18”.
He said: “Our position concerning the lowering of the voting age is
well known even if the authorities introduced it in order to get more
votes.”
Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party has been requesting that the
voting age be lowered for several years.
Sabaa also confirmed earlier claims by Jumblatt that the opposition
will ask the United Nations to intervene in case of violations in the
electoral process.
Meanwhile, contrary to government expectations, former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri announced he will run in Beirut’s third electoral
district, and not in the first district, which includes a majority of
Sunni voters.
Sources close to Hariri said he will have two complete lists in
Beirut.
The first one in the third district, which has nine seats, is mostly
Shiite and Armenian, and the second is in the six-seat mostly Sunni
first district.
But Hariri will not present a list for Achrafieh, which he will leave
to his allies in the Christian opposition.
lso, amid the rising tensions, President Emile Lahoud defended the
authorities’ performance, reiterating that the new electoral law will
be fair and just and treating all regions equally.
Lahoud also vowed the government will provide a suitable climate to
allow elections to be held freely and in the most honest and
transparent manner.
He said that discussions of the draft electoral law should not resort
to terms that spark sectarian rife and encourage domestic divisions.
Information Minister Elie Ferzli said Tuesday that the Syrian
authorities have chosen not to interfere in the coming parliamentary
elections.

LasVegas Sun, NV
Jan 26 2005
Armenian sisters in ‘unusual’ case are called flight risks
By Timothy Pratt

LAS VEGAS SUN
Federal immigration officials on Tuesday said the case of the
teenaged Armenian sisters threatened with deportation is “highly
unusual” and said the teens haven’t been released to their father
because they are considered a flight risk.
The Sarkisian sisters’ case is one of only several dozen of the more
than 10,000 cases in a year at the Los Angeles regional office that
are drawn out due to a federal court-issued stay, said Virginia Kice,
spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gloria Kee, Los Angeles field office director for the immigration
office’s detention and removal section, also said the girls have not
been released to their father, Rouben, in Las Vegas, while the court
case is pending because they are considered “a flight risk.”
Although the girls’ father is a legal U.S. resident and runs
Tropicana Pizza in Henderson, the teens’ mother is in the country
illegally and “is an absconder,” Kee said.
“There is quite honestly a concern — will the family actually
cooperate in bringing them back?”
In the vast majority of cases in which deportation orders are issued,
immigrants are usually sent out of the United States immediately,
Kice said.
But Tuesday was the 12th day Emma, 18, and Mariam Sarkisian, 17, were
held in Los Angeles by federal authorities, pending a Las Vegas
federal magistrate’s decision on arguments for and against their
deportation.
During that time, as publicity about the case has spread, public
support has grown and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, sent a
letter dated Jan. 24 to the federal office urging “strong,
humanitarian consideration for deferred action” in the case.
The magistrate’s decision may uphold the federal government’s order
to send the girls to Armenia, a country that is so foreign to them
they don’t even speak its language, having been brought to the United
States when they were under 5 years old.
Kee said the Sarkisian family knew the day would come when the
sisters would be sent back to their birthplace since an order for
their deportation was issued in 1993.
Rouben and Anoush Sarkisian arrived to the United States in 1991.
Three more daughters were born in this country. They were divorced,
and Rouben gained the status of a legal resident — the step below
citizenship — when he married a U.S. citizen. That marriage later
broke apart.
Anoush never obtained legal U.S. status, Kee said.
During the 1990s each parent attempted to gain legal status for their
two older daughters, Kee said.
“On two occasions, the family came close to obtaining some sort of
benefit. But it was discovered that they could not once it was
revealed they had earlier orders of deportation,” she said.
Rouben has said in recent days that he thought otherwise and
attempted to obtain proof of the girls’ status in July, only to be
told of the deportation order. It took until some time shortly before
Jan. 14 for immigration authorities to obtain travel permits for the
girls from the Armenian Consulate in Los Angeles, at which point the
girls were detained.
But the family’s lawyers won a stay against their departure while a
federal magistrate reviews the team’s arguments and those of the
federal government.
The government filed its argument Tuesday.
The family’s lawyers are hoping the government will allow Rouben
several months to become a citizen, at which point he could petition
for his daughters to become residents.
Another reason the case is unusual, officials said, is Emma is an
adult, while Mariam is a minor. This means Mariam is not what is
known as an “unaccompanied minor,” and an agreement forged in April
between immigration authorities and the Department of Health and
Human Services regarding the care of such minors does not apply, they
said.
That agreement includes provisions for the medical care of a minor
and their educational and other needs, according to Gregory Chen,
director of policy analysis and research at the U.S. Committee for
Refugees and Immigrants.
Kee said that although the detention of the girls “was meant to be
temporary,” a nurse is available to them if they have any health
problems. She said that immigrants awaiting resolution of their cases
are examined within 14 days of the date they are detained.
But, Kee said, the system typically doesn’t wind up having to spend
so much time taking care of people who have been ordered deported.

Lincolnshire Echo, UK
January 25, 2005
Six holocausts of the modern age
The Holocaust is not an isolated event in history. Throughout the
20th century millions of people were killed in the name of religion
and ideology.
In 1915 1.5 million Armenians were killed under the orders of Turkish
ministers Enver and Talat Pasha.
>From 1929 to 1953, Stalin executed 42.7 million Soviet people.
Under the rule of Chairman Mao from 1923 to 1976, 37.8 million
Chinese perished.
Hitler ordered the death of 20.9 million Jews and other peoples from
1933 to 1945.
>From 1975 to 1979, 2.4 million Cambodians died under Pol Pot.
In 1994, 0.8 million Rwandan Tutsis were massacred under Jean
Kambada.