Author: Chatinian Lara

Tribnet.com
Saturday, April 10, 2004
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: Officials defend display referring to
U.S. ‘genocide’ The Associated Press
A display praising the merits of peacekeeping that cited the killing
of native North Americans as the world’s worst genocide shouldn’t be
considered a jab at the United States, Belgian defense officials said
Thursday.
The display, shown at the monument of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels
this week, was meant to honor Belgian soldiers who died in
humanitarian missions.
It included a panel listing North America as having the world’s worst
genocide with a death toll of 15 million, starting with Columbus’ 1492
arrival in the New World but giving no end date.
The daily De Standaard called the display insulting to Washington.
The newspaper complained about a list of genocides that mentioned Nazi
Germany, Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia and other countries – but ignored
killings in the Stalin’s Soviet Union and Europe’s colonial past,
including the Belgian Congo.
(Published 1:00AM, April 9th, 2004)

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
April 7 2004
Georgia: Officials Blame Nation’s ‘Enemies’ For Tbilisi Bomb Blast
By Jean-Christophe Peuch

Prague, 7 April 2004 (RFE/RL) — Georgian law-enforcement agencies
have launched an investigation into yesterday’s bomb attack that
purportedly targeted the commander of the Russian armed forces in the
Transcaucasus.
General Aleksandr Studenikin was slightly injured last night as he
was walking from the Russian forces’ headquarters in Tbilisi to his
home near the base.
Studenikin’s deputy, General Andrei Popov, said Studenikin sustained
only minor injuries to his arm, leg, and face. “The life of the
Russian forces’ commander is not under threat. He successfully
underwent surgery, and he is currently recovering at [the Russian]
military hospital,” Popov said.
Studenikin was reportedly hit by pieces of concrete as a
remote-controlled bomb tore off the wall of a building he was walking
by. The 49-year-old Studenikin has been in charge of Russian forces
in the Transcaucasus since September 2003. Prior to that date, he
fought in Chechnya.
This is the first time since Georgia regained its independence in
1991 that Russian troops stationed in the country have been the
target of an apparent politically motivated attack. The kidnapping
and murder of Russian Colonel Igor Zaitsev in 2002 has been generally
linked to shady business dealings.
Russia’s Georgian-based forces are garrisoned in the autonomous
republic of Adjaria and in the predominantly ethnic Armenian region
of Samtskhe-Djavakheti. Tbilisi has been demanding that Moscow comply
with a 1999 international agreement and vacates the Batumi and
Akhalkalaki bases as soon as possible.
The election of Mikheil Saakashvili as Georgia’s new leader in
January gave new impetus to negotiations on a possible time frame for
the Russian withdrawal. Georgian officials say they are optimistic an
agreement can be reached soon.
The Russian Defense Ministry on 29 March said it has halved its
presence in Georgia to 2,000 troops over the past few months. These
figures, however, are impossible to verify.
Georgian and Russian media today are speculating on the possible
motives for the purported attack against Studenikin. The most widely
cited possible reasons include the tense situation in Adjaria, the
ongoing Russian-Georgian cooperation against transnational crime, and
the war in neighboring Chechnya.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. However,
Georgian Security Council Secretary Vano Merabishvili yesterday
pointed to alleged “enemies of Georgia” opposed to a rapprochement
with Russia. “This act is a provocation organized by forces who do
not want the [political] situation in the country to remain stable
and Russia and Georgian to normalize their relations,” Merabishvili
said.
Merabishvili described the blast as an “act of terrorism,” although
he said the perpetrators probably did not intend to kill Studenikin.
“Everyone believes the aim of this act was not to kill but rather to
sow fear,” he said. “But that doesn’t change anything. We’re happy
nobody was killed. But this incident in itself is very serious, and
we take it very seriously.”
Merabishvili said Saakashvili, who is currently on a visit to
Brussels, ordered him to personally supervise the investigation.
Echoing Merabishvili’s comments, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Aleksandr Yakovenko today said the attack was aimed at disrupting the
ongoing rapprochement between Tbilisi and Moscow. “This criminal act,
perpetrated in the center of [Tbilisi], fills us with deep
indignation,” he said. “There is no doubt its aim is to undermine the
development of Russian-Georgian relations. We demand that an
exhaustive investigation be conducted so that the culprits are
searched for and sentenced.”
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Baramidze, who is currently on a
working visit to Moscow, today said the investigation has already
brought “concrete results.” Pointing at the situation in Adjaria,
Baramidze blamed the attacks on “forces eager to destabilize the
political situation in Georgia.” He gave no evidence to back up his
claims.

Police Block Entry into Armenian Capital
Russia, Saint-Petersburg
Date: 2004.04.05 16:46
YEREVAN, April 5. All main roads leading into Yerevan were blocked off
Monday by police, according to a high-ranking law enforcement official who
wished to remain anonymous. As reported by a Rosbalt correspondent, the
official maintained that roads leading into the city were cordoned off to
prevent people from attending a meeting of the opposition party National
Unity.
In addition to roads, railway lines were also blocked. The reports have been
confirmed by the television station A1+. The opposition had earlier named
April 9 as the start of a campaign to remove the incumbent government.
————————————————————————
©2001-2002 Rosbalt News Agency

Armenian defence minister discusses transport, security issues in Georgia
Georgian State Television Channel 1, Tbilisi
1 Apr 04
Presenter The secretary of the Security Council under the Armenian
president and the Armenian defence minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, is
visiting Tbilisi today. The main purpose of the visit is to outline
the prospects for Georgian-Armenian cooperation in security issues.
The possible reopening of the Abkhaz section of the Sochi-Tbilisi
railway line and a possible reduction in railway tariffs will also be
discussed. Today Serzh Sarkisyan had meetings with National Security
Council Secretary Vano Merabishvili, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and
the chief of the General Staff of the Georgian armed forces, Givi
Iukuridze.
Correspondent Georgia’s and Armenia’s political and military
orientations are different, but this does not hinder friendly
relations between the two countries. Western-oriented Georgia is
asking Armenia, which maintains good relations with Russia, to act as
a mediator with respect to Russia in resolving the Abkhazia issue in
exchange for the reopening of the Sochi-Tbilisi railway line. Passage
omitted
Serzh Sarkisyan, interviewed, in Russian We cannot make demands on our
brothers and neighbours. We have a favour to ask, so that the railway
line and traffic are restored, because it is very, very important for
Armenia.
Vano Merabishvili, in Georgian Both the Armenian side, the Russian
side and the Georgian side are interested in this process. Therefore,
we have asked the Armenian side to activate its work, to use its
influence with Russia to resolve this issue in a manner which would be
in the interests of Georgia and, respectively, in the interests of
Armenia as well. Passage omitted
Correspondent Merabishvili apologized to the Armenian side for the
complicated situation in Ajaria. Passage omitted
Merabishvili We have apologized to the Armenian side because there
were restrictions on certain freight during the recent economic
blockade of Ajaria . Generally, the issue that freight is being
transported through the territory of Ajaria without control, changes
tack – and the central authorities’ efforts to take control over this
territory may cause some changes in the plans of Armenian entrepreneurs
and Armenian freight forwarders. Therefore, the Armenian side met our
proposals with understanding, and we promised every kind of
assistance. Passage omitted

PRESS RELEASE
Analysis Research & Planning for Armenia (ARPA)
18106 Miranda Street
Tarzana, CA 91356
Contact: Hagop Panossian
Tel: (818) 586-9660
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America
417 W. Arden Ave., Suite 112C
Glendale, CA 91203
Tel:818-547-3372
ARPA Institute and AESA Present the lecture/Seminar “Today’s
Semiconductor Technology Challenges” on Friday, April 16, 2004 at 7:30
PM in the Merdinian School Auditorium. The presenter is Dr. Yervant
Zorian.
The address is 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.
Directios: On the 101 FY Exit on Woodman, Go North and Turn Right on
Riverside Dr.
Abstract:
The semiconductor technology is the backbone of the electronics
industry. Every new generation of this technology allows the creation
of chips with further miniaturization and higher performance. This
potentially increases the functions that an electronic product could
offer to the end-user. Although adding such new functions do benefit
the end-user, but they also necessitate finer and denser semiconductor
fabrication processes. This densification makes chips more susceptible
to defects. The challenges with today’s very deep-submicron
semiconductor technologies are that we are reaching defect
susceptibility levels that result in lowering the manufacturing yield
and field reliability. This lecture will present an introduction to
modern semiconductors, as well as the basic trends and the main
challenges in semiconductor technology. It will also discuss the
increasing requirements for more reliable electronics products and the
necessary optimization approaches to improve manufact! urability.
Presenter:
Sr. Yervant Zorian is the Vice President and Chief Scientist of Virage
Logic Corp. Previously, he was Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Chief Technology Advisor of
LogicVision, Inc. He serves on the board of directors and technical
advisory boards of several private and publicly traded companies. His
scientific activities cover the areas of embedded IP cores, SOC and
System-in-Package design & test methodologies. Zorian received an MSc
degree from the University of Southern California, and a PhD from
McGill University.
He is currently the Vice President of IEEE Computer Society and the
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of IEEE Design & Test of Computers
Magazine. He has chaired the IEEE Test Technology Technical Council
and founded several IEEE conferences and workshops. He is the founder
and chair of the IEEE P1500 Working Group for standardization of
embedded core test. He has published three books, several book
chapters and over 300 papers. He has been granted a dozen US patents
in the domain of embedded test and repair and has received a number of
Best Paper Awards. He was recently selected among the top thirteen
influencers on semiconductor technology worldwide. He is an honorary
doctor of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and a Fellow of
the IEEE.
For Information Please call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660 or
e-mail at [email protected]

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 1 2004
Georgia calls to resume law enforcement cooperation with neighbors
BAKU, April 1 (Itar-Tass) – Georgian Interior Minister Georgi
Baramidze called to resume contacts between police of Caucasian
countries and Russia within the framework of the Borjomi Four.
`Meetings of interior ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and
Russia should be resumed because they promote anti-crime fight,’ he
said at a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ramil Usobov
Thursday. The parties expressed concern over intensification of drugs
and arms smuggling, as well as mounted activity of criminal groups in
the region.
`Fighting this evil is a matter of high priority in the cooperation
of police forces of Georgia and Azerbaijan,’ Baramidze said. He also
stressed the necessity to intensify interaction of police in struggle
against terrorism. `We should be wary and act jointly to protect our
countries from terrorists,’ he said.
The Georgian Interior Ministry in strengthening the protection of the
state border with Azerbaijan `to prevent criminals from penetrating
Georgia from Azerbaijan and vice versa, as well as to bar the ties
between criminal groups of both countries.’

ANSA English Media Service
March 30, 2004
NATO: ALLIANCE REACHES THE BLACK SEA
VIENNA
By Gaetano Stellacci

(ANSA) – VIENNA, March 30 – The enlargement of NATO to 26
states after the accession of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia,
Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria has moved the
alliance’s eastern border hundreds of kilometres from the Baltic
to the Black Sea.

The thousand kilometre-long line between the 25th and 30th
meridians from the Baltic to the Black Sea, two thirds of which
now wash the shores of NATO physically separates western Europe
from the rest of the Eurasian continent.

Apart from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova on the east,
NATO’s southern borders reach the states of central Asia,
including Iran, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq and Syria. Italy is no
longer the western NATO border, which has moved southeast to
Slovenia. The former Yugoslav states have also shown their
interest in joining the North Atlantic Pact.

The new southern border means a border of poverty both for
NATO and the EU. Unemployment in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova
has reached 70 percent. Problems and despair more often force
people to drug abuse and alcoholism to whuich are added the
recurrence of tuberculosis and the growing problem of the
AIDS/HIV virus.

NATO will become responsible for the air security of the
Baltic states from Tuesday. Belgium has already sent its first
team of four patrol aircraft. Italy has taken over the
protection of the air space of Slovenia, which has remained
without an airforce since its separation from Yugoslavia.

The danger of increased tension with Russia which borders
Lithuania and Estonia will be diffused by NATO and was not a
subject for NATO’s new Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
despite alarms raised in Moscow.

NATO aircraft are capable of flying the distance between
Estonia and St Petersburg in seven minutes, Russian Defence
Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

Russian leaders seem to dislike even more the enlargement of
the EU which will include Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary and the Baltic states in May, all of them former Soviet
satellites which have retained their economic relations with
Russia after the fall of communism.

Their accession to the common European market will make these
relations with Russia weaker. Economic experts in Moscow believe
this will cause damage worth 150 million euro a year.

Initially the seven new NATO members will contribute about
175,000 soldiers from their regular forces and 3,000 tanks, most
of them obsolete. The seven former communist states, however,
are also the most faithful adherents of the U.S. military
doctrine and when Europe split over the Iraqi crisis all of them
supported Washington. (ANSA)

ArmenPress
March 26 2004
RICHARD ARMITAGE RECEIVED BY ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: US Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage, who arrived today in Yerevan for a short visit from
Kiev, Ukraine, was received by Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian to discuss the full scope of prospects and possibilities for
regional development and the current situation in the South Caucasus.
The Armenian foreign ministry said the two men exchanged also
ideas on resolution of the Karabagh conflict and expressed their
satisfaction over the current level of bilateral relations, sharing
the same view that diverse and well-developed bilateral contacts must
be boosted by a deeper political dialogue. Later in the day he is
scheduled to meet with Armenian president Robert Kocharian.
Armitage’s visit to Yerevan is part of a regional visit and today
he will leave Yerevan for Baku, Azerbaijan.
In Baku Armitage will discuss the interaction in fighting with
terrorism with president Ilham Aliyev and other top official of the
country, apart from discussing regional security, development of
bilateral relations, political and economic reforms in Azerbaijan,
implementation of large-scale projects in the energy sector, and the
settlement of the Karabagh problem. Armitage also plans to meet with
some leaders of opposition parties.

Baku Today
March 26 2004
Richard Armitage visiting Azerbaijan
U.S. Deputy State Secretary Richard Armitage is visiting Azerbaijan
today and tomorrow.
Armitage will consider the issues of anti- terror partnership, energy
issues and the reforms in political and economic spheres during his
visit to Azerbaijan, according to Azertaj News Agency.
Armitage and Azeri president Ilham Aliyev will focus on Karabakh
issue during their meeting, the agency said.
The senior U.S. official Armitage has been traveling Ukraine and
Armenia since March 24, 2004.
His visits to Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan intend discussing
broader prospects of current relations with the three countries.

Armenian president, party leaders discuss government’s activities
Arminfo
24 Mar 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and the leaders of the member
parties of the ruling political coalition discussed mechanisms of
increasing the effectiveness of the legislative activities of the
Armenian government and National Assembly during a working meeting
today.
The press service of the Armenian president told Arminfo news agency
that the participants in the meeting noted the importance of
discussing the draft laws envisaged in the government’s work schedule
for 2004. The leaders of the parties made their remarks on and spoke
about their impressions of visits to the regions of the republic and
meetings with citizens.
The interlocutors stressed the need to continue and improve such
events.