Author: Chmshkian Vicken

BOXING NEWS: RAGING BULL CHARGES ON
Gary Todd
The Sweet Science
August 26, 2005
SYDNEY, Australia (August 24, 2005) – As the bell rang for the first
round in last night’s IBF World championship bout in Sydney, you
just knew who was going to win. Armenian born Vic “The Raging Bull”
Darchinyan was defending his world title and was desperate to make
an impression with the Australian boxing fans, and also stake his
claim as the best flyweight on the planet.
Last night, I think he achieved both, by battering the tough and
experienced Colombian, Jair Jimenez (22-5-1) in five rounds to retain
his title in what could only be described as an awesome display of
sheer power and aggression.
Known as “The Raging Bull” to his fans, Darchinyan charged the
smaller-looking Jimenez and sent out a fast, piston like-jab to
establish his range, before opening up from his awkward southpaw
stance to land some huge, debilitating left hooks to the Colombians
mid-section, before finishing his accurate combinations to his
challenger’s teak tough head.
Jimenez never had a chance and had never experienced this kind of
onslaught in his entire career, and it was clear from the first body
shot landed by the Sydney 2000 Olympian, that this fight was going
to be over sooner rather than later.
Round 1. Darchinyan stalks Jimenez around the ring, jabbing out
consistently before unleashing his power shots catching the Colombian
to the body with seconds to go.
Round 2. Huge body shot to begin the round has Jimenez struggling
for breath. The brave challenger sucks it up, but is throwing nothing
but arm punches. Darchinyan continues to target the body with great
results.
Round 3. Brilliant right-left combination stuns Jimenez, stopping
him on his feet, but he regains his composure to survive the round,
but only just. Big shots from the champion in the last seconds of
the round, and the Colombian’s legs are gone.
Round 4. This is the beginning of the end for Jimenez. After a huge
head and body combination flurry from Darchinyan, the referee gives
Jimenez a standing eight-count, and still punch after punch continues
to rain down on the hard-as-nails Jair Jimenez.
Round 5. Just before Darchinyan came out for the fifth, his trainer,
Jeff Fenech, calls out, “Finish him and lets go home.” Darchinyan gives
a wicked little smile, shrugs his shoulders and does what he has been
told. Darchinyan is battering the Colombian at will and is landing
to the head with big lefts; Jimenez looks like he is going to cry. At
2:23 seconds of the round, Jimenez is saved by the referee. TKO.
Vic Darchinyan decided to make the move to Australia after the 2000
Games in Sydney, and after a lot of setbacks in his five year career,
he is now on top of the world. Darchinyan is champion and is where he
deserves to be. This quiet, often funny little man trains as hard as
any boxer I’ve seen in the gym, and will spar anyone. Fighting out
of triple world champion Jeff Fenech’s acclaimed gym, Darchinyan
pushes himself to the extremes and after all the sacrifices he
has made to get to the top, god help anyone who wants what is his.
Interviewing him after the fight, he said “my goal has always been to
win the world title then unify. I want the WBA champ, Lorenzo Parra,
then WBC champion, Pongsaklek Wongjongkam. If I get these fights,
I’ll be happy. Jimenez was tough, but no-one can take my power.”
Now a world champion, Darchinyan and his people only want the big
fights, and are desperate to attract a following with the Aussie
fight fans, and capture their hearts like another famous immigrant
boxer did, all those years ago in 1991. That man was Kostya Tszyu.
While it is unlikely that he will ever make as much money or attract
the same household status as the rat-tailed “Thunder From Down Under,”
he could achieve the same hall of fame achievements in the ring,
by becoming an undisputed champion.

La Croix , France
24 août 2005
SOCIAL.
Semaine noire à Romans. Avec la fin de Kélian et de Charles Jourdan,
la capitale de la chaussure de luxe perd deux de ses fleurons. ROMANS
(Drôme), reportage de notre envoyée spéciale.
par DAMGE Mathilde
A l’entrée de la ville, un panneau annonce: “Capitale de la chaussure
de luxe”. Sur un autre, on peut lire: “Destockage”. “Cela va devenir
notre spécialité locale”, affirme, sans rire, Sylvie, vendeuse dans
un magasin du centre-ville. Comme la plupart des habitants, elle se
déclare solidaire des 143 employés de Kélian, mis en liquidation
judiciaire, lundi, et des 432 salariés de Charles Jourdan, qui a
officiellement déposé son bilan hier. “On connaît tous des gens qui
travaillaient là-bas. Mais c’était inéluctable, depuis le temps que
les rumeurs couraient… Cela n’empêchera pas les magasins de vendre.
Au contraire, ce sera certainement encore moins cher.” Un avis
partagé par Gérard Kélian, le frère du fondateur de l’entreprise,
Stéphane Kélian, revendue en décembre 2002 à l’homme d’affaires Alain
Duménil, propriétaires des marques Francesco Smalto et Jean-Louis
Scherrer. “Les vitrines de Romans seront remplies de chaussures
réalisées en Chine ou en Espagne. Tout ce qui restera d’authentique
ici, ce sera le musée”, dit-il. Tout un symbole. Depuis le XIXe
siècle, Romans était le fleuron de ce qui se fait de mieux en matière
de chaussures.
À l’origine, Kélian s’appelait Keloglanian, le nom de trois fils
d’une famille arménienne immigrée, que le benjamin Stéphane fera
connaître bien au-delà des frontières de la Drôme. Gérard, qui les a
créés avec Georges (aujourd’hui décédé), se souvient: “C’était une
des plus belles réussites françaises. On fabriquait les meilleures
chaussures pour le monde entier et notamment les fameux modèles
tressés qui ont fait notre renommée. Après, il y a eu des difficultés
financières, mais la mondialisation n’explique pas tout.” Plus
directement, il accuse: “Il y a deux ans, quand nous avons déposé le
bilan pour la première fois, nous avions proposé de racheter la
société avec d’anciens cadres de l’usine. Mais le tribunal n’a pas
voulu et a préféré la laisser à un groupe de rapaces, qui l’a dépecée
en séparant l’entité commerciale et la marque de l’unité de
production. C’est le nom qui les intéressait, pas les chaussures, ni
le savoir-faire des ouvriers.” Et il soupire: “On vit dans un monde
de voyous.”
Voyou, un terme qu’utiliserait volontiers Martine Fruchet, déléguée
CGT et secrétaire du CE de Charles Jourdan. “Avec 48 ans de moyenne
d’ge et une tendinite au bras, est-ce que vous croyez encore qu’on
peut postuler pour des boulots de vendeuse ou de commercial? C’est
tout ce qui reste.” Mobilisée, elle avoue cependant ne plus trop y
croire: “Quand on voyait repartir les camions de fournisseurs parce
qu’ils n’étaient pas payés, on se disait bien qu’il y avait un
problème.”
Chez Jourdan, la direction avait relocalisé toute la production à
Romans, il y a plus d’un an, à la suite du rachat par des
investisseurs luxembourgeois. Peine perdue, l’entreprise a vu ses
ventes stagner alors que les prix de production baissent à
l’étranger. Jourdan, Kélian, une fin inéluctable? “Pas du tout,
s’insurge Henri Bertholet, maire socialiste de Romans. Il y a eu une
vraie stratégie pour se débarrasser du site de production. Aux
fondateurs ont succédé des financiers dont la logique ne prend pas en
compte la situation locale. Aujourd’hui, nous avons 17% de chômage et
ces deux événements coup sur coup sont une catastrophe pour la
région.” Choqués par “la brutalité de la situation et la désinvolture
des patrons”, Henri Bertholet et les élus locaux comptent sonner à
toutes les portes pour demander de l’aide. Mais il prévient: “S’il y
a des repreneurs pour Charles Jourdan, il faut que l’État conditionne
ses aides à des engagements fermes de la part des entrepreneurs.”
Sans s’avouer vaincu, le maire reconnaît que la réputation de la
ville en prendra un coup: “Même Clergerie, le dernier à faire encore
des chaussures à Romans, n’est pas à l’abri…”
Les élus ne s’avouent cependant pas vaincus. Ils comptent sur le
nucléaire, fortement implanté dans le bassin, et l’agroalimentaire en
développement constant.
MATHILDE DAMGÉ
Chaussures françaises contre chaussures chinoises
Depuis 1994, la production française de chaussures a été divisée par
trois. La France, qui produisait 155 millions de paires en 1994, n’en
fabriquait plus que 53,3 millions dix ans plus tard, selon des
statistiques de la fédération française. La France est aujourd’hui le
quatrième producteur européen derrière l’Italie, l’Espagne et le
Portugal. Dans le même temps, les effectifs du secteur ont fondu: 13
380 employés (-13% par rapport à 2003) réparties dans 141
entreprises, contre 30 800 en 1994. Parallèlement, 127 millions de
paires de chaussures chinoises ont été importées en France l’an
dernier contre 83 millions en 1994. Et ce n’est pas fini. Les
arrivées chinoises ont progressé de 40% depuis le 1er janvier, avec
des prix en recul de 35%. Difficile de résister dans ses conditions,
en dépit de la délocalisation d’une partie de la production. La
fédération invoque ainsi les écarts de salaires qui serait de 1 à 13
entre la France et la Lituanie et de 1 à 33 entre la France et la
Chine. La France n’est d’ailleurs pas le seul pays touché. L’ensemble
de l’Union européenne est inondé de chaussures chinoises. Au total,
l’ensemble de la production européenne annuelle correspond ainsi à…
six semaines de production chinoise.

Chicago Daily Southtown, IL
Aug 24 2005
One on one with … the Fire’s John Thorrington
Position: Midfielder
Hometown: Palos Verdes, Calif.
2005 stats: Thorrington had been battling a hamstring injury for much
of the season, but has started the Fire’s last two games and scored
his first goal Aug. 13 against Los Angeles.
Bio: Thorrington, 25, has been playing pro soccer since he was 17
years old. He had played for three English clubs, including
Manchester United, and the German Bundesliga’s Bayern Munich before
signing with the Fire last offseason.
You’ve got kind of an international past, right?
I was born in South Africa and lived there for two years, but I don’t
really remember much of it. My parents both grew up there. Then, for
my dad’s work, he got moved to Los Angeles. I moved there when I was
2 and I grew up there ’til I was 17. Then I got the opportunity to go
to England when I was 17, I was there for two years, then Germany for
a year and since then I’ve been back here.
What’s it like traveling that much and seeing the world?
I think we are fortunate enough to do work where we get to see
different parts of the world and what have you, but it’s definitely
not leisure travel. There are quite a number of the places I’ve been
to that I’ve seen a stadium and then a practice facility, but it’s
been nice seeing other parts of the world. I come from a family with
international background, so it’s just a nice experience. I feel like
it kind of rounded me off as an individual.
What’s your international family background?
My dad’s English, born in England, grew up in South Africa. My mom’s
Armenian, born in Greece and grew up in South Africa. So it’s a
fairly diverse background.
The holidays must have been interesting then.
Like Christmas? Unfortunately, most of our extended family, or all of
it, is basically still in South Africa. It’s as diverse as it sounds,
but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. We don’t do any freakish
celebration or anything.
So how do you spend your free time?
I’m finishing up my degree I started in England, so I have two
classes left. That was partially a personal fulfillment thing and
also the fulfillment of a promise I made to my parents when I left.
Two classes and that’s pretty arduous work, so a lot of my time is
spent doing that.
What’s the degree in?
International studies. I guess that kind of was my destiny.
What would you be doing if you weren’t playing soccer?
In an ideal world I’d like to work for some – my dad’s involved with
a charity organization that is pretty in line with what I believe in
and what I think about how to make a difference in the world – stuff
like that. I’m looking into getting involved with that.
So you’re a do-gooder?
I’d like to think so, yeah. I’m no Mother Theresa, but I like to make
a difference where I can.

NEWS IN BRIEF.
Interenergo, part of Russia’s UES electricity monopoly, has bought
power distributor Electricheskiye Syet Armenia for $73m. UES’ other
electricity assets in the country include the Sevan-Razdansky
hydro-power plant and Razdansky thermal power plant. The World Bank
has complained about a lack of transparency in the sale.

ARGENTINEAN SENATE RE-CONDEMNS TURKEY FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN 1915
YEREVAN, August 22. /ARKA/. On July 27, 2005, the Argentinean
National Senate re-adopted a statement condemning Turkey for the
Armenian Genocide committed in 1915, the press and information
department, RA Foreign Office, reports. On April 20, 2005, the
Argentinean Senate condemned the Turkish authorities for persistent
denial of the irrefutable fact of the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish
Foreign Office sent a note of protest, regarding the Argentinean
Senate’s statement as “irresponsible.” On May 5, 2005, the country’s
Senate declined the protest as ungrounded. P.T. -0–

DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA IS ONLY OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRESS,
CHAIRMAN OF US DEMOCRATIC PARTY SURE
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The development of democracy in
Armenia is the only opportunity for progress, which the US is always
ready to assist. Howard Dean, the Chairman of the US Democratic Party
who is on a visit to Armenia, mentioned this at the August 19 meeting
with Artur Baghdasarian, the RA NA Chairman. According to the
information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA NA Public Relations
Department, he invited the RA NA Chairman to the Congress, within the
framework of his forthcoming visit to the USA, to discuss jointly
further issues of the cooperation. In his turn, A.Baghdasarian
mentioned that the US carries out a great mission in the world in the
issue of strengthening democracy, assists development of political
diversity. He attached importance to the 1.5 bl dollars assistance
allocated to Armenia during the years of independence, which greatly
supported the development of the country. It was mentioned that
Armenia is facing new and inportant reforms and in this sense, it is
very important for the country to be correctly undrestood on the
international arena. Within solution of the regional problems, the
South Caucasian Parliamentary Assembly’s creation was attached
importance to, which, with the means of a parliamentary diplomacy, may
become a good mechanism for discussion of common problems and finding
solutions for them.

Armenia confirms capture of Azeri officer
Regnum, Moscow
19 Aug 05
[No dateline as received] The Armenian side has taken captive
Azerbaijani warrant officer Ramil Xudaverdiyev, the press secretary
of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Col Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, has told
Regnum news agency.
Shakhsuvaryan said that Azerbaijani sources reported earlier that an
Azerbaijani soldier had been taken captive, which is not true. He
clarified that according to verified information, the Azerbaijani
warrant officer was really taken captive about two weeks ago.
Azerbaijani sources said that the captive is held in a remand
centre in Yerevan. His health and the conditions in which he is
held are satisfactory. Representatives of the Yerevan office of the
International Committee of the Red Cross are permitted to visit and
register him.
[The Armenian news agency Arminfo on 18 August quoted Shakhsuvaryan as
denying Azerbaijani reports that Xudaverdiyev had been taken captive.]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian Official visits Akhalkalaki to introduce program on
resettlement of Meskhetian Turks
Caucaz.com, Georgia
Aug 17 2005
Akhalkalaki, August 16 – Georgian state minister for conflict
resolution and the head of the Georgian president-affiliated state
commission on Meskhetian Turks re-settlement Georgi Khaindrava
visited August 14 Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia with predominantly
Armenian population to introduce the state program for re-settlement
of Meskhetian Turks to Georgia.
A-INFO news agency reported that during the meeting with
representatives of Javakhq NGOs G. Khaindrava noted that Georgia
has assumed a commitment on the implementation of the program for
re-settlement of the Meskhetian Turks and added that after becoming
Georgian citizens they may live in any part of Georgia.
Representatives of the Javakhq NGOs noted that Turks did not live in
today’s Armenian populated regions of Georgia – Akhalkalak, Ninotsminda
and Akhaltskha. They said no Javakhq resident will allow a Turk to
appear in there territory. If the country has assumed commitment to
re-settle the Turks they may settle them on the territory where they
used to live.

National Post (Canada)
August 13, 2005 Saturday
Toronto Edition
Poverty, confusion and melancholy in 1950s Istanbul
Dan Rowe, Weekend Post
ISTANBUL: MEMORIES AND THE CITY
By Orhan Pamuk
Knopf
400 pp., $35.95
– – –
It’s a commonplace that a memoir by an established fiction author
will reveal a surprising or celebratory element of the writer’s past.
In the case of Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City, there
are no such revelations or celebrations about his Turkish upbringing,
but the book does serve as a reminder of Pamuk’s considerable skill
and intelligence.
Turkey’s best-known novelist, Pamuk is the author of several books,
including The White Castle, My Name is Red (which in 2003 won the
IMPAC, the world’s richest literary prize) and Snow, released in an
English translation last year to wide acclaim. This fall, at the
Frankfurt Book Fair, Pamuk will collect the German book trade’s Peace
Prize.
Pamuk is also very outspoken. In February, he told a Swiss newspaper:
“Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in Turkey.
Almost no one dares speak but me, and the nationalists hate me for
that.” The comment earned him criminal charges in his homeland, not
to mention the scorn of Turkish officialdom.
In Istanbul, published in Turkey in 2003, Pamuk is considerably more
artful in his approach, making no direct reference to the Armenian
genocide. The book weaves the story of young Orhan — who wanted to
be a painter until his late teens — and his secular upper-class
family with evocative descriptions of the city’s dismal alleys and
vast waterways. It’s also the story of various writers and artists,
Turkish and Western, who travelled to Istanbul at the end of the
Ottoman Empire.
Pamuk is clearly a thorn in the side of the Turkish establishment.
Having lived for a time in New York City, he has many qualities that
might be described as Western, so his allegiances are not easy to pin
down. Throughout Istanbul, he longs for the city’s glory days at the
height of Ottoman rule. This yearning is especially evident in the
passages where he recalls watching as large homes burn along the
Bosphorus Strait. He also dabbles in Islam, even though his family
and their upper-class counterparts don’t approve.
Born in 1952, Pamuk lived at a time in Istanbul’s history when the
collective memory was fading and the current economic rebound, stoked
by the possibility of joining the European Union, was a long way off.
The prevailing mood in the city, he says, is one of melancholy —
huzun in Turkish — a mood that’s compounded by the architectural and
artistic glories of Istanbul.
“The people of Istanbul simply carry on with their lives amid the
ruins,” Pamuk writes. “Many Western writers and travellers find this
charming … These ruins are reminders that the present city is so
poor and confused that it can never again dream of rising to its
former heights of wealth, power and culture. It is no more possible
to take pride in these neglected dwellings … than it is to rejoice
in the beautiful old houses that as a child I watched burn down one
by one.”
Pamuk returns to these themes throughout Istanbul and, with the help
of more than 200 well-chosen black-and-white photographs and a fine
translation by Maureen Freely, evokes this feeling with great skill.
Like Snow, this book builds slowly and steadily to an ending that is
not particularly shocking or revealing but wholly satisfying. And it
leaves you pleased that Pamuk chose writing instead of painting.
GRAPHIC: Black & White
Photo: BOOK COVER: ISTANBUL: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk;
Colour Photo: Simon Hayter, The Ottawa Citizen / “The people of
Istanbul simply carry on with their lives amid the ruins,” says the
author, who longs for the city’s glory days.

STEPANAVAN PROSECUTOR OFFICE INVESTIGATES INTO ILLEGAL MASS FELLING OF PINES IN THE REGION
YEREVAN, AUGUST 15. ARMINFO. The prosecutor office of Stepanavan
is investigating into the reported cases of illegal mass felling of
pines in the nearby Gulagarak reserve.
The chief of Armenia’s forest inspection Hrachik Chibukhchyan says
that the cases have been detected exclusively by the local forest
inspection and the prosecutor office already knows 80% of the names of
the illegal wood cutters. Chibukhchyan notes that in the Lori region
the index has dropped as against last year.
To remind, Aug 5 the Lore NGO ecologists asked the Stepanavan police
to find and punish illegal pine cutters near Stepanavan. They said
that big pines were being cut very actively there. Meanwhile relict
forests are irreparable. The law on compensation for damaging flora
and fauna fines $45 for a rare tree with up to 30 cm diameter and +
$3 for each cm of a tree with over 30 cm diameter.