Author: Chmshkian Vicken

Barbaric act committed in Sochi
15.08.2005 13:07
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Ten tombs were found vandalized on August 13 at
the cemetery of the Razdolnoye village near the south Russian city
of Sochi.
Unidentified vandals have inscribed the word “schizophrenia” by chalk
or on a piece of paper attached to the strained tombs — 7 of belonged
to Russians and 3 to Armenians.
Local police speculate that the incident is a replication of a similar
act committed at a cemetery of a nearby village where 29 graves were
vandalized on July 29. A criminal investigation has been launched
into the case.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACHES GREAT IMPORTANCE TO CONDUCTING PROPER
ELECTIONS IN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES
ARKA News Agency
Aug 12 2005
YEREVAN, August 15. /ARKA/. Armenian Government attaches great
importance to conducting proper elections in local self-government
bodies, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan said at his
meeting with members of Union of Communities of Armenia. In his
opinion, these elections will become a touchstone that will lay the
ground for parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008.
In his words, these elections will also be the first test for amended
Election Code and “if some problems arise, we’ll have time to put
the things right”. The Premier stressed the importance of ensuring
transparent, fair and democratic elections without irregularities.
“Even slight fault can undo what has been done”, the PM said. He also
emphasized that heads of communities will be elected regardless their
party membership. “Every head of community will work with the republic
authorities regardless their party belonging and party membership
shouldn’t cast shed on the course of election”, Margaryan said. “I’ll
do my best to support my fellow partisans, but only in the frames of
the law, not at any price”, the Armenian PM said. M.V. -0–

History News Network, WA
Aug 14 2005
Series: What America Needs to Do to Achieve Its Foreign Policy Goals
.. Dealing with Terrorism (4).
By William R. Polk
Mr. Polk taught at Harvard from 1955 to 1961 when he was appointed a
member of the Policy Planning Council of the US State Department. In
1965 he became professor of history at the University of Chicago
and founded its Middle Eastern Studies Center. Subsequently, he also
became president of the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International
Affairs. Among his books are The United States and the Arab World,
The Elusive Peace: The Middle East in the Twentieth Century,
Neighbors and Strangers: the Fundamentals of Foreign Affairs and
the just-published Understanding Iraq. Other of his writings can be
accessed on
What is now being done about terrorism has proven ineffective. We
begin with misunderstanding what “terrorism” is.1 It is not a thing,
a place or a group. To speak of waging war on it is vacuous. It is
simply a tactic which is used in desperation by those who do not
have power comparable to those they regard as their enemies. It is
the weapon of the weak.
There are several reasons for our failure to develop a strategy to
counter it. The fundamental reason is that large numbers of people
believe that it is their only means of action. Most believe themselves
to be under alien occupation and are fighting desperately to liberate
themselves. In Iraq the struggle is against our occupation. In what
is left of Palestine it is against the Israeli occupiers (who most
non-Americans see as American surrogates) . In Cecnya it is against the
Russians. This form of nationalist struggle is age old. Our ancestors
used terrorism in the mainly guerrilla war we call the American
Revolution; the Armenians used it against the Ottoman Empire in the
first decade of the 20 th century; the Irish used it for centuries
against the British; various underground resistance movements in
Europe used it against the Germans during the Second World War. In
recent times, it has been played out against the British ( Kenya
and elsewhere), Belgians (The Congo), French ( Algeria) and Chinese
( Tibet and Sinkiang or ” Turkistan”). When we approved the cause of
any one of these groups, we regarded them as “freedom fighters.” When
we did not, we called them “terrorists.”
A second kind of motivation arises when groups of people regard
their governments as corrupt, anti-national and/or unreligious. The
predominant current example is the collection of different ethnic
groups we lump together as al-Qa cida and believe to be controlled
by Usama bin Ladin. These groups target us because they believe that
we are the upholders of regimes they regard as tyrannical. Having
despaired of secular nationalism, these people have espoused religious
fundamentalism – they think of their movement as salafiya.
The word means both to “return” and to “advance.” It is roughly the
mindset of the European and American Puritan movement which similarly
adopted the notion that they were delegated by God to cleanse the
world. Its beliefs are strikingly similar, with the change of a few
names and dates, to religious fundamentalism among Hindus, Buddhists,
Jews and Christians.
The nature of the groups that participate in this form of violent
theology and/or violent politics is complex. In my study of all the
major examples of guerrilla warfare since the Second World War, I
concluded that in every episode, it was possible and useful to identify
five major groups. The first, obviously, was made up of combatants or,
as the French called them in occupied France and colonial Algeria,
resistants. They are necessarily few in number. In the Algerian war,
they never numbered over about 13,000 at any given time; in occupied
France that was about the number before the German collapse; in Iraq,
the number is about the same today. In the Palestine Mandate, they
are far fewer. They are the people the great practitioner of guerrilla
warfare, Mao Zedong, referred to as the “fish.”
Supporting them are people Mao called “the sea.” While they carry
on their normal functions in society, they supply, hide and give
information to the combatants. They also are the recruiting ground
from which killed or captured combatants are replaced. This group
numbers many times the actual fighting force. Its numbers vary with
the intensity of the conflict but usually can be estimated to at
least 20 times the number of combatants.
The third group is an opportunistic criminal element which is
given scope by the breakdown of public order that is an inevitable
consequence of guerrilla warfare. It is usually quite small but
overlaps with and is tolerated or encouraged by the combatants both
because it distracts their enemies and because it often is a source
of funds. Occasionally, it merges into the ranks of the combatants.
Armenian terrorists in Istanbul occasionally robbed banks; the IRA has
done the same; and, in Iraq today, criminal gangs kidnap people from
whom ransoms can be collected. In Afghanistan, Cecnya and Colombia,
drug dealing plays a similar role.
The fourth and largest group is made up of those who simply want
to be left alone. They can be radicalized by the policies of the
occupying power, by nationalism or by religion but, as a group, they
are generally passive victims. The fifth group is made up of those
who support the regime. In the American Revolution, these people
were called “Loyalists” and in Algeria they formed the basis for the
French-empowered harkis (auxiliary or light troops). In the defeat
of the dominant regime, they are usually forced into exile as the
Loyalists were to Canada and the harkis and others were to France.
It does not appear that the American government fully understands
what motivates these separate groups or how they interact.
In Iraq, the major American thrust has been against the combatants.
This tactic has never worked. As individuals are put out of action,
jailed or killed, others replace them. Consequently, terrorism or
guerrilla warfare can last for centuries (as it did in Ireland and
has in Cecnya). America and other powers have been operating at the
wrong end of the challenge. Even if the repression is absolutely
brutal, as practiced by the British in Kenya, the French in Algeria,
the Russians in Cecnya ( Chechnya) and the Israelis in Palestine,
the more hatred is generated and the more people move from the group
that is passive to the group that is supportive of the combatants.
History shows that the only way to stop the fighting is to dry up
the “sea.” That is, when enough of the society believes that it has
achieved a satisfactory result of the struggle, it ceases to support
the combatants. That is not the result of such gimmicks as “civic
action” or even of genuine aid projects but only when the irritant,
the outside power, leaves. The sequence is: sovereignty comes before
security, not, as we are attempting in Iraq, to achieve security
before according sovereignty. That is what happened in Ireland in 1921,
in what became Israel in 1948, in Algeria in 1962. Northern Ireland,
in Cecnya, Occupied Palestine and Iraq illustrate what happens when
the dominant power attempts to reverse the order: the war continues.
In short, it is evident that terrorism or guerrilla warfare arises
from political motivations and therefore must be addressed in
those terms. Unless the dominant power is willing to engage in
genocide, as the Romans did against the Britons, (occasioning
Tacitus’s famous remark that the Romans “create a desolation and
call it peace”) it cannot be defeated by military means. Indeed,
the more powerful and pervasive the military suppression, the more
members of the “sea” become “fish.” We see this in Iraq. There,
virtually the entire non-Kurdish population is made up of people who
have lost relatives, friends, neighbors and their property in the
counter-guerrilla/terrorist war. The numbers illustrate the point. In
2003, American intelligence estimated the active combatants at a few
hundred; in early 2004, the estimates had risen to a few thousand;
today they stand at 15-20 thousand.
The longer the clash lasts, the more profound its aftereffects. A
prolonged clash inevitably distorts, wounds and dehumanizes both the
dominant power and its opponents. The chaos it creates breeds warlords,
gangsters and thugs as we see so clearly today in Afghanistan and
Cecnya. Algeria still has not recovered from the brutal war it fought
against colonial France from 1830 to 1962.
Worse, in fighting the inevitably dirty war, the dominant power engages
in tactics that corrupt its own values. The very civilization of France
was nearly ruined by the Algerian war; the early Zionists would be
horrified by what is happening to the Israelis in their occupation of
the Palestinians; and I shudder to think of the effect of American
tactics (and individual fear) on the young Americans engaged in
Iraq. Humiliating actions, torture, even murder become habitual.
The American government, forgetting our own “freedom fighters,”
proclaims terrorism irredeemably evil. But, understandably, it does not
always and everywhere oppose terrorism. We and the British supported
attempts at terrorism against the occupying Nazi forces in various
parts of Europe during the Second World War. We were intimately
involved with terrorist groups in Central America during the Reagan
Administration. More recently, it appears the US government is giving
covert arms assistance to a Colombian anti-FARQ paramilitary group
which it has labeled terrorist.2 This is dangerously short-sighted
as was our condonance of the Nicaraguan Contra rebels and Guatemalan
death squads.
What America needs to do is to align its policies in accord with
President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation on self-determination of
peoples. We live in a world of states but there are many nations
that have not achieved statehood. That is, they are communities
which are linked by culture, ethnicity and neighborhood but live in
states where they are regarded and regard themselves as alien. Most
of the tumult so evident in our times is a result of this anomaly:
the politically deprived groups struggle to achieve self-determination.
The histories of the Kurds, Palestinians, Cecens are only the more
familiar of the experiences of dozens of unfulfilled nations. Once,
America was a beacon of hope for them. We should aspire to become
that again. But, above all, we must avoid actions that others will
see as an attack on their sense of nationhood. That is where we must
begin the “war on terrorism.”
1 Although partly for reasons different from mine, this is the point
made by the former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke
in Against All Enemies ( New York: Free Press, 2004).
2 Frank Smyth, “US Arms for Terrorists?” (The Nation, June 13, 2005.)

CIS MILITARY REPRESENTATIVES TO DISCUSS AIR SECURITY ISSUES
09.08.2005 04:13
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today a conference of CIS MOD representatives on
issues of use and enhancement of a joint system of radar recognition
of air, above-water and ground objects is opening in Moscow. As
reported by the CIS Military Headquarters, the joint radar recognition
secures air force flights of CIS member states, rules out cases of
uncontrolled presence of trespasser objects in the air space, as well
as unintentional hitting of own objects by means of own arms. Providing
the armed forces with a reliable radar recognition of air, above-water
and ground objects is a component of military security of states and a
priority military efficiency enhancement task, CIS Headquarters
representatives consider. Issues demanding working out joint views of
on implementation of intergovernmental agreements are included in the
agenda of the four-day meeting. Military representatives of Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Ukraine are expected to take part in the event,
reported Kazinform.

The Gazette (Montreal)
August 8, 2005 Monday
Final Edition
Taking care of business in time of crisis: When Zaven Darakjian, who
has owned the Pitstop garage for 34 years, was diagnosed with
leukemia, his wife Araxy, a broadcaster by training, stepped in to
run the shop
by STEPHANIE WHITTAKER, Freelance
Araxy Darakjian smiles wistfully at the suggestion that she’s
handling a tough situation with grace and courage.
“Do I have any choice?” she asks. “This is our livelihood.”
Darakjian is sitting in the office chair normally occupied by her
husband, Zaven Darakjian, who, for the past 34 years, has run the
Pitstop, a garage on lower Peel St. that specializes in the repair
and maintenance of antique and foreign cars and racing cars. It’s an
eclectic place, the kind of business in which you’ll spot an open
copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War on a bookshelf in the bathroom
beside a volume of Armenian poetry and a calendar sporting a 1956
Ford Comet. If you’re a customer, you might sip green tea while your
vintage British sports car is being repaired.
A broadcaster by training, Araxy, 52, stepped in to run the business
a month ago when her husband was diagnosed with leukemia and
hospitalized. It’s the kind of scenario that most owners of small
businesses hope they’ll never have to face. The person who is the
nerve centre of the operation is suddenly not there and family
members must pick up the slack.
“At first, I was calling Zaven while he was in the hospital 12 times
a day to ask him about the running of the business,” Araxy said from
the office that overlooks the service area of the Pitstop. “I would
need his expertise on where to get hard-to-find car parts. His brain
works like a computer.”
The couple’s problems began last winter. “Zaven wasn’t feeling well
throughout the winter,” Araxy said. “But he thought it was the flu.
You have a few flu-like symptoms when you have cancer. Then it got
worse in May. Sometimes, he would fall asleep in his office chair. He
would complain about being tired all the time, but he was still
working and very dedicated to his community work as a basketball
coach. He would push himself.”
In early June, Zaven injured his toe and the wound wouldn’t heal. “He
knew he wasn’t getting better and on June 17, we went to the
emergency department at the Jewish General Hospital,” Araxy said.
Blood tests confirmed that he was in the early stages of acute
myeloid leukemia, a diagnosis that stunned the couple. “I said to the
doctor: ‘Surely, you’re not talking about that dirty word, cancer,’ ”
Araxy said. “But he was. We couldn’t believe it. But I trusted the
doctors. And then the specialists began visiting one by one.”
Zaven was moved into the hospital’s intensive care ward and began
receiving chemotherapy treatments. He also underwent surgery to
reduce the effects of swelling in his neck.
But his concern was what to do about his garage, where he employs one
other mechanic. “The day after I took him to the hospital, I came to
the garage and the phones were ringing,” Araxy said. “Customers
wanted to speak to Zaven. What was worse, I didn’t know how to
retrieve the phone messages from his voice mail. I didn’t know what
had hit me and then I just knew I had to come to my senses, that this
was real life.”
Unable to speak because of the tubes that were keeping his airway
open, Zaven began writing notes to his wife about the operation of
the business whenever she visited the hospital. “I’d bring the notes
to the garage the next day,” Araxy said. “He was worried about his
family (the couple have two teenage children) and the business. He
received excellent care and I told him to have faith in the doctors
so he could take care of getting better and I would take care of the
business.”
Araxy has a degree in English literature and history that led her
into a broadcasting career in Australia. Her experience of her
husband’s business had been limited to helping out with bookkeeping
and office management. She also works part-time at the Montreal
Children’s Hospital as an interpreter of Arabic and Armenian. “I
don’t know much about the technical aspects of cars,” she said. “So I
rely on our mechanic, Jean Tremblay, who does his job so well.
Meanwhile, I deal with the customers’ questions. I order parts and do
the billing. The most overwhelming part of the work was the
paperwork. This is a family-friendly garage. Customers come to have a
cup of coffee and some drop by to say hello even when they’re not
bringing their cars in for repairs. Some of Zaven’s clients who have
moved to Ontario or B.C. have sent us customers.”
Araxy said she has started to organize the office for her husband’s
return to work in two months time.
He’s home now, recuperating, but spends many hours each day sleeping
while his body recovers.
Araxy exudes the air of a woman who sets self pity aside to do what
needs to be done during a crisis. “Sometimes, I’d be sitting here in
the office and my eyes would get wet and I’d tell myself to collect
myself. You have to be tough. If you’re weak, you’ll go under.”
Zaven said he’s been impressed with how his wife has filled his shoes
in his absence. “There was so much information about the work that
she was not familiar with,” he said in a telephone interview from his
home. “I told her to be brave and I would guide her through it.
Sometimes, she’d call me a dozen times during the day with
questions.”
Araxy says she’ll stay on the job to continue helping once her
husband returns to work.
Says Zaven: “We’re a strong team. We have total faith in each other.”
GRAPHIC:
Photo: MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER, THE GAZETTE; At the Pitstop garage,
Araxy Darakjian is running the family business while her husband,
Zaven (on computer screen), recuperates from chemotherapy.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/05/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) EU Warns Turkey on Religious Freedom 2) Ankara Postpones Deiss Visit to Turkey 3) Armenia Rejects Azeri Charge of Anti-government Plot 4) US Congressman Submits Resolution Urging Turkey to Recognize Cyprus 5) Critics~R Forum 6) A Successful Connection 7) A RECYCLED RANT FROM AN ANGRY ARMENIAN BOURGEOIS 1) EU Warns Turkey on Religious Freedom BRUSSELS (Reuters)--The European Commission said on Thursday it had written to Turkey complaining about legislation on religious foundations that did not meet EU standards for the rights of non-Muslim communities. But the European Union's executive stressed that the mid-June complaint, which it said Turkey had promised to address in October, did not threaten a planned October 3 start for entry talks. "Today, Turkey is far from fulfilling all the criteria to be a member of the European Union. Freedom of religion is the highest priority for us and it would be an essential point in the negotiations," Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told a news briefing. Turkey is working on a new law meant to ease property restrictions on its non-Muslim minorities, including Orthodox Christians, though EU diplomats have said the current draft does not go far enough. Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew, ecumenical head of the Orthodox Church, has long complained that his church suffers from numerous petty bureaucratic regulations that prevent it from freely using property it owns. His calls for the reopening of the church's Halki seminary on an island near Istanbul have not brought results, and he is worried there will be no home-grown clergy left to minister to the declining Greek Orthodox faithful in a few years' time. The EU spokesman said Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn had contacted chief Turkish negotiator Ali Babacan on Wednesday. Ankara had already revised the draft bill once, but had not made sufficient changes in the Commission's view. "The Turkish authorities are well aware of the importance of this issue, which will be addressed once Turkish parliament resumes its activities in October," the spokesman said. He did not detail the objections, but a partial text of the letter seen by Reuters spoke of "serious problems in relation to the management of the religious communities' foundations, their property rights and the legal personality of communities." In a Reuters interview last year, the Orthodox Patriarch said: "We have the freedom to perform all our religious services but we have no right to administer our ecclesiastical foundations--churches, monasteries, cemeteries, schools etc." The German daily Handelsblatt was first to report the recent Commission letter amid growing pressure on Turkey to recognize Cyprus before the start of the EU talks, something Ankara refuses to do. 2) Ankara Postpones Deiss Visit to Turkey (Swissinfo)--The Turkish authorities have postponed a visit to Turkey next month by Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss. They have cited agenda problems of his Turkish counterpart, although it is widely considered in Switzerland that the real cause for the postponement is the Armenian genocide issue. It is the second time that Ankara has made such a delaying move. In September 2003, Turkish authorities cancelled a visit by the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey. She eventually visited the country in March. The Swiss authorities confirmed reports in Friday's edition of the Zurich newspaper Tages Anzeiger and Geneva's Le Temps that Switzerland's ambassador to Turkey had received an official note canceling Deiss's trip. It said that the Turkish economics minister, Kursad Tuzmen, was unavailable on the dates that had been scheduled. As a result, the planned trip could not take place in September. The Turkish embassy in Bern, however, said the visit had only been postponed and denied any link to a criminal investigation into a Turkish party leader in Switzerland. "Mr. Deiss's visit is to be worked out through mutual contacts on both sides in the period ahead," said Sibel Gal, press secretary at the Turkish embassy. The snub is the latest episode in tensions between Ankara and Bern, provoked indirectly by the commemoration two weeks ago of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which defined the borders of modern Turkey. Ankara has criticized Swiss authorities for opening an investigation into Dogu Perincek, head of the Turkish Workers' Party, who denied the Armenian genocide at a news conference in canton Zurich. Under Swiss law, any act of denying, belittling or justifying genocide is a violation of the country's anti-racism laws. Perincek, who appeared before the public prosecutor of Winterhur, is also the subject of investigation for the same reason in canton Vaud. A similar investigation in Winterthur has been opened in the case of Turkish historian Yusuf Halacoglu. The Turkish government, which has strongly condemned the Swiss action, considers that the investigations are contrary to international law and has demanded they be stopped. Diplomatic spat In a diplomatic spat, the ambassador of Switzerland in Turkey was last week summoned to explain Switzerland's position, while Turkey's envoy in Bern visited the Swiss foreign ministry a day later. The Swiss economics ministry has expressed regret at Ankara's decision, hoping that the visit could take place at a later date. The trip was a working visit with a delegation of Swiss business leaders. Such trips take place about once every four years with countries that represent an important market for Switzerland. The ministry commented that if the real reason for the postponement were due to the investigations, it would regret that because Switzerland practiced "the separation of powers which is an essential value of its democracy". It said the House of Representatives was the only federal institution that has officially recognized genocide against the Armenians. 3) Armenia Rejects Azeri Charge of Anti-government Plot YEREVAN (AFP)--Armenia rejected Friday accusations from Azerbaijan that its secret police were involved in an alleged plot to overthrow the government in Baku. Azeri prosecutors said Thursday that a youth opposition leader had been arrested for planning to overthrow the government in a plot allegedly hatched by a prominent US non-governmental organization, Armenia's secret police and local opposition groups. "It is funny and bears no relation to reality," said Lieutenant-General Gorik Akopyan, director of Armenia's national security service. He said the charge looked like an effort by security officials in Baku to solve domestic political problems "with long-forgotten methods used in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s." The arrest of Ruslan Bashirli came after a member of the Yeni Fikir youth movement that he leads informed authorities that Bashirli had received 2,000 dollars (1,600 euros) in a secret meeting with Armenian agents. The arrest was denounced by opposition leaders as an attempt by Azeri authorities to smear their groups. An Azeri youth movement denounced the arrest of its leader as a government smear campaign ahead of elections. "The authorities are trying to link the youth movement to Armenian operatives in order to crush it," said Fikret Farmazogly, the deputy leader of Yeni Fikir. "This is slander." The arrest came amid increasing government pressure on opposition political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in November. "This is an attempt by the authorities to discredit the youth movement," said Ali Kerimli, who leads the National Front party. "They are trying to prevent the youth from fighting for democratic freedoms." Azerbaijan recently relaxed a crackdown on the opposition after heavy Western pressure, allowing anti-government groups to openly demonstrate this summer for the first time since 2003. The new arrest raises concerns that the oil-rich state will clamp down on opposition activity again ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for November. 4) US Congressman Submits Resolution Urging Turkey to Recognize Cyprus Nicosia (CNA)--New Jersey Democratic Congressman Robert Menendez has submitted a resolution to the US Congress calling on Turkey to fully recognize all European Union members, including Cyprus. The resolution, supported by ten members of Congress both from the Democratic and the Republican Party, calls for the removal of Turkish occupation forces from the northern third of Cyprus in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 353 and says that Turkey should recognize the fundamental rights of all Cypriots with respect to the right to own property, the right of free movement, the right of free settlement and the right of return for refugees. The resolution expresses the view that the Republic of Turkey should continue to demonstrate that it was meeting the criteria set forth in the Copenhagen European Council for accession to the EU and should do so prior to the start of accession negotiations. It calls on Turkey to continue to adhere to all criteria for accession to the EU and to extend its customs union to all EU members and to fully recognize all EU members, including Cyprus. Furthermore, it calls on Turkey to respect EU laws and demonstrate that it was willing to abide by such laws and urged Ankara, in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 353, to abandon all insistence of the right to intervene in or invade Cyprus. It urges Turkey to work and cooperate with the UN and Cyprus toward the discovery of the fate of every missing person and to pledge to uphold and safeguard human rights without compromise. The resolution encourages Turkey to continue the advancement of processes and programs to modernize and democratize its own society. The resolution was referred to the Committee on International Relations, which will decide if it will forward it to the plenary for final adoption. 5) Critics' Forum Visual Arts Good Art, Bad Art: Where Is the Armenian Avant-Garde? By Adriana Tchalian Question: What do a pickled shark, a cow's head, and a golden statue of Michael Jackson have in common? Answer: They are all sensationalist examples of the avant-garde. Take the famous pickled tiger shark in a tank of formaldehyde by contemporary British artist, Damien Hirst. Entitled "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" (1991), the piece is an attempt to bring the viewer face to face with the concept of death by allowing him to get up close and personal with a dead shark. Another of Hirst's works, "Rotting Cow Head and Flies in a Pool of Blood" (1990), said to be worth upwards of a million dollars, has become a classic in contemporary art parlors. Jeff Koons, a former Wall Street commodities broker turned artist, is also known for garnering millions for his shocking renditions. One of his more infamous contributions to Postmodernism is a porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, his beloved pet monkey, from his 1988 Banality series. Koons depicts both ape and the artist in the same flashy attire and gives them both the same skin tone, as a wry commentary on celebrity life. But for many Armenian visual artists, Postmodernism constitutes nothing more than bad art. It seems that for them, Postmodern art offers little more than pickled sharks and statues of troubled celebrities. Perhaps for this reason, many Armenian visual artists, particularly in the Diaspora, choose to work under the rubric of Modernism, in the vein of, say, Arshile Gorky. So the question begs to be asked: Where is the Armenian avant-garde? Why is it that most Armenian visual artists have yet to venture beyond Modernism, a movement that began in the late nineteenth century? In attempting to answer this question, we should look briefly at how Postmodernism challenges certain fundamental assumptions in Modernism. Postmodernism was born in the counter-culture of the 1960s, as part of larger challenges to traditional authority, such as the civil rights movement, the women's movement, and the gay rights movements. It is possible to push the beginnings of Postmodernism even further back, to the work of Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp, a French-American artist, began as early as 1910 to confront Modernist values by challenging earlier assumptions about the value and validity of art. His famous "Fountain" (1917) and "Bottle Rack" (1914), both found objects, shift the emphasis away form the work of art itself to the concept it conveys and question the very possibility of creating art. The "Fountain," interestingly, is nothing more than a urinal, which brings us full circle to the work of Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. This is perhaps why Koons actually hires people to produce works of art in his name, preferring to be the "idea man" behind them. But why should Armenians care about Postmodernism? Is it not enough that Armenian art and culture is undergoing a rebirth of sortswith countless art exhibits, theater productions, and poetry readings? According to Caroline Lais-Tufenkian, Armenian diasporan artists possess a "hybrid" identity--an amalgam of cultures, customs, and practices. I would add that understanding and managing this so-called "hybrid" identity is in itself a Postmodern phenomenon. Therefore, Armenian artists do not have to look hard to find Postmodernism, because they are already living it. There is a catch, however. The Armenian artist, and particularly the male Armenian artist, will now have to directly confront the difficult issues at the heart of Postmodernismcivil rights, feminism, gay-lesbian rights. These topics have to be addressed in the arts if Armenians are to contribute in the greater dialogue taking place around them. Otherwise, the arts will become no more than another ghetto in the midst of a changing world. And where are the Armenian diasporan artists? If they do not step forward, then the next great rebirth in Armenian art will be ushered in by (mostly female) Armenian college studentsthe only ones who, at the moment, seem interested in creating postmodern art. These include Nina Katchadourian, Tina Bastajian, Seta Injeyan, Joanne Julian, Ani Kupelian, Seta Manoukian, Eileen Shahbazian, among others. Of course, embracing Postmodernism does not mean embracing profane or absurdist art, though some artists may choose to express themselves in that way. It is more important to be inspired by the ideas behind Postmodern art, as the movement itself tries to instill in its audiences. We as Armenians have so much to offer the world by way of avant-garde art. We would do well to answer the call of our own identity. Adriana Tchalian holds a Masters in Art History and has managed several art galleries in Los Angeles. You can reach her or any of the other contributors to Critics' Forum at [email protected]. 6) A Successful Connection By Alidz Oshagan "It's a great way to meet people, whether it's friends or something else." Garo Bargamian is talking about ArmenianDatingService.com (ADS), an online dating service through which Armenians, or anyone interested in getting to know Armenians, can post a profile describing him or herself and be able to access anyone else's profile. If the profile seems interesting, the user can send a message to the other person's profile. Users can then send messages to each other and a friendship or, as Bargamian put it, "something else," can form. All this, but at no cost to the user. For him, the "something else" formed with Larissa Balakdjian, whom he met through ADS. Bargamian says he was attracted to Balakdjian because she had written that "being Armenian is an honor and staying Armenian is a responsibility" as a part of her profile. Before long, the two were sending messages to one another and talking online. The relationship advanced when the pair began visiting each other--internationally. Larissa is originally from Sao Paolo, Brazil, while Bargamian has lived in North Providence, RI, his entire life. Bargamian and Balakdjian were married in a civil service on February 27, 2004, and held their church ceremony on June 27, 2004. They are now happily married and live in North Providence, RI. The profiles that are on ADS can show a lot about a user. At the top of the profile there is a space for pictures, which can be of the user or whatever the user desires to include. In the middle, a general information section describes the user's height, hair color, and level of education, among others. Near the bottom of the profile exists a section for habits, indicating whether or not the user smokes or drinks. A favorites section is near the bottom, which lists the user's favorite books, movies, and foods. At the very bottom is a comment box, with which the user can describe oneself in 200 words or less. When someone reads an interesting ADS profile, he or she can send either a comment or a message to the other person. If a person is having trouble surfing the site or is a first-time user uncomfortable about using the dating site, he or she can go to the "advice" page. On this page, different tips are included, such as not to give out your telephone number in an early message and to relax on the first date. People use dating sites for different reasons. In Bargamian's case, he said he logged on to ADS because it allowed him to meet many different people from around the country and the world. Bargamian, 36, said that it was difficult to meet people at Armenian events, where the sea of teenagers and young adults can make it difficult for older adults to get to know each other and interact. Using the ADS made it easier to meet people, he said. But, unlike meeting someone at church or at events, talking to someone through an online dating service site poses the risk of embarrassment--what might other people think? Not so for Bargamian. "It's a little embarrassing telling people because online dating isn't very wide-spread," said Bargamian. "But I knew in my heart I wanted to meet an Armenian and, for me, this was the best way to do that." Sometimes, after sending messages by computer, Bargamian would meet with people around the country in person, only to find out that they were not compatible. Other times, he would be interested in someone who lived across the country, but they were not willing to make the journey to see him. "With the Internet, you have to be an optimist, or else it won't work," he said. Bargamian did not lose hope. "I took the opportunity and forgot about distance for Larissa," he said. With an estimated one million Armenians living in the United States, and more than seven million in the diaspora, the sheer size of the communities is fueling much of the rapid response to online dating service sites. "These services allow people restrained by religious or familial responsibilities to find more people with their backgrounds," said Judith Meskill, editorial director of Weblogs Inc., the largest online publisher of weblogs, or blogs, which are online journals. Julie Albright, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California (USC), said the sites also help those facing the same issues as larger society--including busy schedules and few places to gather--to meet in an easy and relatively inexpensive way. "It opens a wide pool of availables to you while dating. You can walk to the local Armenian cafe and meet one person, but online you can meet 30. It increases your odds for a love match," said Albright, who researched attraction online and is studying attraction and deception on the Internet. "What's beautiful about the Internet for these ethnic communities is it enables people to sort through a lot of people and focus in on those types of qualities they desire," she said. That's the philosophy of Said Amin, CEO and founder of World Singles, the leading online dating company for ethnic communities that runs IranianPersonals.com, HyeSingles.com, and ArabLounge.com. Since its founding four years ago, the company has expanded to include 14 niche sites. And membership is growing. IranianPersonals now has more than 120,000 members, nearly a quarter of them from the Los Angeles area; HyeSingles has 16,000 members, nearly two-thirds of them from the Los Angeles area. "Birds of a feather flock together. As the database grows, it will draw more people," said the 32-year-old Amin. One 24-year-old Armenian woman who used HyeSingles.com said that the site appealed to her because she was able to discern more specific traits about a potential match. She said the site's open-ended questions like "When raising a family, how important is it that your kids learn how to speak Armenian?" gave her a glimpse into her potential partner's character and outlook on life. HyeSingles.com, unlike ADS, incorporates a paid membership. Those using the site's free service can build a profile and send pre-fabricated messages called "flirts," but only paid members can send original messages, see who has viewed their profile, and send video, voice and text messages. Unpaid members are able to send one reply to each message they receive, and can use the chatting services if they are contacted by a paid member. The initial price of a 30-day membership is $29.95, and 24.95 per month thereafter; a 90-day membership is $59.95, and 14.95 per month thereafter. The site touts the 360-day membership as the "best value," for an initial cost of $119.95, and 7.95 thereafter. Using ADS or HyeSingles.com may not be for everyone, but Bargamian insists it's worth a try. "I encourage any Armenian who is single to use ADS. It's worth trying the system. I'm living proof, here I am, married to Larissa, it's not like it can't happen," he says. "Whoever invented that Web site is a godsend for all Armenians. I have a lot of gratitude towards them, whoever they may be." Apparently, the couple should direct their thank you letters to Arthur Chaparyan and Ara Mahdessian of BlueMediaSolutions.com, who wrote the program for the original version of ADS, according to information on the Web site. Most of the revisions were completed by Chaparyan who, the website says, left ADS in March 2004. Naush Boghossian contributed to this report. 7) A RECYCLED RANT FROM AN ANGRY ARMENIAN BOURGEOIS BY SKEPTIK SINIKIAN Note: This column was supposed to appear last week but was delayed for reasons that were out of the Skepster's control. Next week, I'll be addressing this Atomic Bomb of a story that appeared in Vanity Fair this month. If you haven't read about it yet, do so right now. Put my column down, go get the September Vanity Fair and read it. I won't be mad at you. And like a clingy emotionally depraved ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, I'll still be here when you get back. We'll talk about Vanity Fair next week children. Now on to the show! I don't know if there's a Heaven or a Hell. But I do know that if Hell is any hotter than LA has been all week, then that's enough of a reason for me to lead a better life and renounce my sinful ways. We've had record heat, hurricanes up the wazoo, and apparently the glaciers in the far north are melting away faster Paris Hilton's 15 minutes of fame and no one seems to care or worry. Global warming? What's that? In fact, during the course of writing this paragraph, I witnessed no less than nine Sports Utility Vehicles drive by the coffee shop, at least three of them driven by Armenian fake-blonde trophy wives on their way, no doubt, to the Galleria. Last month, Americans spent 4 billion dollars more on gas than they normally do. FOUR BILLION!! This all goes to show you that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Our economy is suffering but you'd never believe me because the White House and its spin doctors keep telling the public that everything is "OK." The price of gas keeps rising in spite of the fact that we have successfully invaded/liberated and occupied the most oil rich nation in the world (hint hint for the slow readers, it rhymes with Chirac). Yet folks are still driving around in SUVs, spending money on unnecessary material possessions and seeking new ways to impress their friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers. God forbid they don't sport the latest fashion or trend, and then what will other people think? (If you missed my article from a few weeks back on the "What will other people think" mentality of Armenians, then I suggest you go back and read it in the Asbarez archives). We have become a generation of obese, gluttonous, wasteful wastes of space. Why are our lives driven by what we watch on TV while eating mass quantities of processed junk food. In contrast, I look at my grandmother who is the last person in the world who would litter or waste food, or take an elevator instead of the stairs and wonder where the subsequent generations of Armenian Americans lost their way? My grandparents are the most frugal people you'll ever meet. They're also the most unintentionally environmentally conscious folks I know. They aren't cheap or stingy but they know how to survive on just the basics, as well as know the appropriate time or occasion to splurge. When I was younger, I always found it embarrassing when my grandmother would bring over a jar of her famous homemade eggplant dip (ikrah) stored in an old Jiffy peanut butter jar. I feel guilty when I remember my disappointment at opening the colorful jars of mass produced crap food only to find a mysterious odd colored paste wafting with the smells of spices and ingredients from a land forgotten that reminded me of grandma's house. As I've grown older and my tastes are more refined, I can't wait until the next delivery of Armenian delicacies to be delivered. Will it be roasted red peppers or ikrah or will it be something sweet like pumpkin preserves? Now my disappointment is greater when I hastily open the jar of Jiffy peanut paste in the fridge only to find that it is actually peanut paste. Yuck! I don't know if it's age as much as it's maturity that has changed my perceptions. Today, I find even her recycling habits very endearing and admirable. If either of my grandparents ever saw me throw even a scrap of paper or a sunflower seed shell on the ground outdoors, they would give me a long lecture about the merits of being civilized and not "vayreni" (wild like an animal). On the same note, if they ever saw me waste food, it would be followed by a similar lecture about how I shouldn't waste food and be grateful for what I do have. Theirs was a different generation. A generation whose parents had witnessed unspeakable horrors during the Genocide, World War II, Stalinism, the Great Depression, and they had learned a few things along the way. Last week, I went over to my grandma's and slumped into the couch as I bit into a fresh summer peach from the bowl on the coffee table. As the juices dribbled down my chin, she looked at me with a motherly admiration and asked me about my day. I automatically went into my rehearsed rant as I told her that the weather was unbearable and how tired I was from work. Grandma sighed and nodded her head in agreement. She then went on to tell me about how when she was younger, the family had lost everything to the Turks after the Genocide, she went to work in the fields picking everything from eggplants to tomatoes in scorching heat. She smiled as she told me about the days when they would search the field workers on their way home to make sure nobody was stealing a tomato or two to take to their hungry families. She spoke of waiting in line for hours for bread that had the consistency of mud. She told the story not to make me feel like a lazy bum in comparison to her but in order to empathize with my "fatigue." As she continued to describe the blisters and scars her hands and arms would receive for hours on hours of work in a scorching hot field, I began to realize that here was a woman who represented a generation like which we will never see again in our lifetime. Today's parents teach their children that if someone is cheating to get ahead, you better cheat also just to keep up. I've heard it with my own ears and seen it with my own eyes. They teach their children that it's ok to throw trash out of the window of their SUV while speeding down Glenoaks Blvd. (I saw that last one with my own eyes as well). They don't teach their children an ounce of respect towards adults and they spoil their children with ridiculous amounts of jewelry, plastic surgery, SUV, or whatever car of luxury. Then we sit back and wonder why the next generation is so spoiled and so uneducated. Our organizations wonder how they will survive when their average membership is comprised of silver and white haired dadigs and babigs. On any given Sunday, drive to church and look at who is filling the pews and then drive down the street to the Glendale Galleria and count how many young Armenians are just walking around aimlessly and spending their parents' hard-earned money. The bottom line is that our youth is delusional, lost, misguided, spoiled and if we rely on them to keep alive the essence of our culture and heritage, then we're all pretty much up the creek without a paddle. Maybe it's all this unbearable heat that's getting to me. Maybe my readers are right and I'm just at total jerk with no compassion left in my heart or the ability to understand today's modern Armenian. Maybe I'm just hungry and need some more ikrah. I'm going to see if there's any left in the Cool Whip container in the refrigerator and after I'm done eating, I'll stick my head in the freezer to cool off. Skeptik Sinikian is the founding president of the Anti-Modern Armenian Society (a.k.a. AMAN Society) which meets once a week at Maple Park in Glendale, California to play backgammon, sort various plastic grocery bags into color coded piles, and wash out jars of jam and peanut butter for reuse. You can join by emailing him at [email protected] or visit his ridiculously outdated blog at All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Armenian president urges tax service to intensify fight against shadow
economy
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
29 Jul 05
[Presenter] Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today held a working
meeting with the leadership of the State Tax Service. The Armenian
president pointed out that the tax service has achieved significant
results in the implementation of the state budget.
The Armenian president also said that the main tasks of the tax
service are to solve current problems, improve tax administration and
fight the shadow economy. Kocharyan pointed out that progress has been
made in the process of improving tax administration, but the shadow
economy still exists.
The Armenian president instructed them to strengthen the struggle
against the shadow economy in order to ensure equal tax conditions for
everyone. The chief of the State Tax Service, Feliks Tsolagyan,
pointed out that the tax service has started fighting the shadow
economy and favouritism within its ranks.
[Correspondent] The Armenian tax service presented the Armenian
president with its six-month report on ensuring budget revenues,
improving tax administration and fighting the shadow economy.
[Kocharyan] First, the revenue part of the budget should be completely
implemented. We cannot say to the people – wait because we cannot pay
your wages for the time being since the tax service is carrying out
reforms at the moment. These are the main problems and you have to
solve them.
[Correspondent] The Armenian president considers that the second task
of the tax service is to improve tax administration. It is possible to
introduce in the tax service modern methods used by the foreign
counties and carry out civilized administration.
[Kocharyan] I think there is certain progress in this direction, but
it is not at the appropriate level and does not meet the current
requirements of the Armenian economy. And the third task is to fight
the shadow economy and favouritism. I think this issue is more
complicated than other issues and is related to the second issue, and
all these issues are the main tasks of the tax service.
[Correspondent] Kocharyan believes that macroeconomic indices testify
that there is some progress on improving tax administration, but a
survey carried out by the presidential supervisory service shows that
there is still a lot of work to do.
[Kocharyan] If we take macroeconomic indices as a basis, then you can
say that you have achieved something. We had a 10-per-cent economic
growth in the first six month and tax revenues increased by 24 per
cent. This means that this difference of 14 per cent is due to the
shadow economy. But when my supervisory service starts monitoring
various spheres, it finds out that there are more reserves, and the
measures you are taking in this direction do not meet current
requirements. These measures could ensure higher budget revenues.
[Correspondent] Kocharyan pointed out that monitoring carried out in
the transport sphere has found out that there is a shadow economy in
this sphere as well. Although a 40-per-cent growth has been registered
in the construction sphere, incomes have risen only by 12-13 per cent.
[Kocharyan] The survey showed that there is not a single sphere where
my supervisory service did not discover a shadow economy after
carrying out inspections with your participation. The shadow economy
and favouritism are our main enemies.
[Correspondent] Kocharyan instructed them to strengthen the fight
against the shadow economy and ensure equal tax conditions for
everyone.
The chief of the State Tax Service, Feliks Tsolagyan, presented the
Armenian president with a report on the first six months and with a
list of measures that were taken to solve the service’s problems.
[Passage omitted: repeating the same details]
Tsolagyan pointed out that the survey carried out by the presidential
supervisory service and employees of the tax service found out that
200 employees of the tax system have links with business. The head of
the tax service said that similar monitoring will be held in the
future as well.
[Video showed the meeting]

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Czech Republic
July 30 2005
Iran: Tehran Struggles To Push Ahead With India Pipeline
By Bill Samii

Officials in Iran are eager to get under way with a proposed gas
pipeline to Pakistan and India that has been the subject of talks for
more than a decade. Initial discussions among the participating
countries concerning a 2,600-kilometer, overland natural-gas pipeline
from Iran through Pakistan to India began in the early 1990s.
Iran sits on the world’s second-largest natural-gas reserves — an
estimated 26.6 trillion cubic meters, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Work on the project has yet to commence, however, and mid-July
statements from Indian officials cast doubt on the deal, particularly
in light of Washington’s recent agreement to cooperate with the
Indian nuclear program.
New Delhi Expresses Doubts
India is a huge and growing natural-gas market, with consumption
nearly 25 billion cubic meters in 2002 and projected to reach 34
billion cubic meters in 2010 and 45.3 billion cubic meters in 2015.
With its increasing energy requirements, India has entered
discussions about pipeline construction with Bangladesh, Iran,
Myanmar (Burma), and Qatar. Recent meetings among officials from
India, Iran, and Pakistan suggested that the pipeline project
connecting the three countries would get under way in the near future
despite pricing disagreements (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 7 March and
23 March 2005).
Indian officials recently stressed their eagerness to go ahead with
the Iranian pipeline project. Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar
Aiyar said in Lahore on 4 June that India would not give in to U.S.
pressure to abandon the project because of concerns that Iran might
use the revenues to develop nuclear or other banned weapons, Press
Trust of India (PTI) reported. The next day, Aiyar was in Pakistan
for talks with his counterpart, Amanullah Khan Jadoon.
The two sides created a Joint Working Group to accelerate work on the
pipeline. Diplomats in the Indian capital noted that Iran is absent
from the Joint Working Group, the Hindi “Navbharat Times” reported on
8 June, and they suggested that this was a conscious decision in
order to allay U.S. concerns.
In mid-June, India agreed to purchase $22 billion worth of natural
gas from Iran. Starting in 2009-10, an Indian consortium will
purchase 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually over
a 25-year period. This was less than the initial agreement, reached
in January, for the purchase of 7.5 million tons.The pipeline project
directly involves Iran, Pakistan, and India, and it has the potential
to improve troubled Islamabad-New Delhi relations. Washington would
welcome such a development, but it is reluctant to see the project go
ahead.
The next month, Pakistani officials were in New Delhi to discuss the
pipeline. Indian Petroleum Minister Aiyar told reporters that the
discussions would address commercial, financial, legal, and technical
issues. According to AFP on 12 July, when asked about Washington’s
opposition to the project, Pakistani Oil Secretary Ahmad Waqar said,
“Our president and prime minister have stated on a number of
occasions that we will proceed with this project based on our
national interests.”
Given these developments, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s
announcement on 21 July in Washington that he was unsure whether the
pipeline would get funding might have come as an unpleasant surprise
to observers in Tehran and Islamabad.
“I am realistic enough to realize that there are many risks, because
considering all the uncertainties of the situation there in Iran, I
don’t know if any international consortium of bankers would
underwrite this,” Singh said, according to the PTI news agency.
Islamabad Is Eager
Talks between Pakistan and Iran in early July also suggested that all
was well.
Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh visited Islamabad
and met with Pakistani Petroleum Minister Jadoon in the first week of
July. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding that called
for continued discussions, and Namdar-Zanganeh said he hoped a final
agreement would be signed by April. He noted that after 10 years of
talks, this was the first “written document.” Namdar-Zanganeh also
met with Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz, according to media reports.
Jadoon emphasized that his country would need natural gas for
consumer and industrial consumption by 2010. The country’s demand for
natural gas is expected to rise approximately 50 percent by 2006,
according to the EIA. Moreover, gas is expected to become the “fuel
of choice” for electricity-generation projects in the future.
In light of such requirements, and possibly because of the
approximately $600 million in transit fees Pakistan stands to earn,
Islamabad tried to allay concerns prompted by Singh’s late-July
comments. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Naim Khan
announced on 25 July that even if India gave in to U.S. pressure,
Islamabad would build a natural-gas pipeline from Iran, AFP reported.
“We would welcome Indian association with this project but if it is
not feasible with India, we are going to go ahead with the project in
any case,” Khan said in the Pakistani capital. He said Pakistan
needed the gas.
Pakistani Petroleum Minister Jadoon said in Islamabad on 23 July that
his country could handle all the pipeline security requirements, IRNA
reported. “We, like India, are in need of gas and we know how to take
care of the interstate projects and we are committed to its
security,” he said.
“Business Recorder,” a Pakistani financial daily, reported on 28 July
that Islamabad had begun a search for investment banks that could
serve as “financial adviser/consultant” for the pipeline. Pakistan
wants to hasten completion of the paperwork for the project, and it
is aiming for a December 2005 deadline. Despite recent cautionary
statements from Indian officials, the Pakistanis believe India’s
energy requirements will force the issue. Pakistan is also willing to
pursue the issue bilaterally.
The Nuclear Alternative
The pipeline project directly involves Iran, Pakistan, and India, and
it has the potential to improve troubled Islamabad-New Delhi
relations. Washington would welcome such a development, but it is
reluctant to see the project go ahead. U.S. State Department official
Stephen Rademaker warned that Iran could fund terrorism and weapons
of mass destruction with the money it made from natural-gas sales,
the international edition of “The Wall Street Journal” reported on 24
June. U.S. officials have warned the Indians and Pakistanis that
their companies could be sanctioned if they go ahead with the
project.
If India forsakes natural gas from Iran, then it might have to turn
to nuclear power as an alternative. U.S. President George W. Bush
announced on 18 July that India is “a responsible state” that “should
acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such states,”
ft.com reported. Bush went on to say that he would encourage Congress
to make the legal adjustments necessary for such cooperation with the
Indian nuclear program to take place. In exchange for such
cooperation, India agreed to allow international agencies to oversee
its nuclear program.
Potential Blow To Iran
The collapse of the Indian natural-gas deal would be a sharp blow to
Iran. Such a development could have an impact in three areas. One
possibility is that Iran could try to salvage the deal by offering
India a lower price for its gas. Pricing disagreements were one of
the main sticking points in March.
Another possibility is that Iran’s efforts to diversify beyond oil
might collapse. That being said, Armenia and Turkey are already
customers for Iranian gas; Tehran has signed agreements with Oman and
Kuwait; and it has signed gas-related memorandums — or at least
discussed the topic — with Austria, Bulgaria, China, Greece, Italy,
South Korea, and Taiwan.
The third possibility, probably much more remote, is that Iran would
renounce activities that concern the international community,
including support for terrorism, interference in neighboring states’
affairs, and the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
Failing that, Iran would find it very difficult to compete with the
United States in terms of bargaining power. If the Indian model —
even without nuclear concessions — were applied successfully in more
cases where Iran was trying to do business with other countries, then
Iran would find itself increasingly isolated.

Armenia has over 20,000 registered drug addicts
Noyan Tapan news agency
28 Jul 05
YEREVAN
According to official information, there are 20-25,000 drug addicts in
Armenia, 95 per cent of them are using hemp and five per cent
intravenous drugs.
Most of the drug addicts are men between 25 and 40 years old. Grigor
Malinyants, co-chairman on the Armenian side of the anti-drug
programme, implemented in the region under the auspices of the United
Nations Development Programme and financed by the European Union, said
this at the opening of a workshop on auricular acupuncture on 28 July.
Malinyants said that specialists invited from abroad will conduct the
training within the framework of the programme. The practical part of
the course will be held at the narcological clinic and a closed-type
joint stock company Psychiatric medical centre of the Armenian Health
Ministry, between 28 July and 2 August.
It was noted that the aim of the programme, which has been underway
since 2000, is to coordinate the activities of the programme’s
participant countries, as well as Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani
law-enforcement bodies, and to prevent the spread of drug abuse and
illegal drug trafficking from the South Caucasus to EU member states.

CRAFTSMEN WILLING TO ENTER LEGAL FIELD
Azg/arm
29 July 05
The State Promises to Support
In case of developed workmanship it will be possible to export
additional goods of $300 million as hand-made goods are highly valued
in developed countries in particular, deputy trade and economy
minister, Gagik Vardanian, said yesterday, presenting the agenda of
workmanship development in Armenia.
The agenda will be realized in two stages. Firstly, legal field has to
be created and only then infrastructures in the second stage. An
authorized state organ will support development of craftsmanship, will
systemize all arrangements and information and will create favorable
conditions to export Armenian production. The deputy trade minister
thinks that developed craftsmanship will add more goods in the home
market, will provide employment, thus settling socio-economic issues.
Gagik Vardanian noted that most of the craftsmen are not registered
that’s why their real number is unknown. Deputy minister stated that
the aim to bring the craftsmen into legal field is to give them state
support in order to unite them and find easier ways to the
market. Mr. Vardanian said that except the income tax no other tax
will be levied on the craftsmen.
By Ara Martirosian