Author: Dabaghian Diana

OSCE chairman Rupel to conclude Caucasus tour in Azerbaijan
STA news agency, Ljubljana
1 Apr 05
BAKU
Slovene Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman Dimitrij Rupel is paying a
visit Saturday [2 April] to Azerbaijan, the last stop on his Caucasus
tour, during which he has also visited Kyrgyzstan.
Rupel is scheduled to meet in Baku President Ilham Aliyev, Prime
Minister Artur Rasizade, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and
representatives of the opposition and NGOs.
The issue expected to top the talks’ agenda will be the simmering
conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave in
Azerbaijan, which also dominated Rupel’s talks with Armenian officials
in Yerevan. [Passage omitted – background]

Worcester Telegram, MA
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Religion digest
Lunch at Armenian Church of Martyrs
WORCESTER – The Armenian Congregational Church of the Martyrs, 22 Ormond
St., will hold its monthly public luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. April 7 at
the church. The menu will feature Lu-leh kebab. The donation is $3.

AZERBAIJANI SIDE ENGAGED IN PROPAGANDA AND FABRICATES FACTS TO ACHIEVE
ITS OWN GOALS: AMBASSADOR OF POLAND TO ARMENIA
YEREVAN, APRIL 1. ARMINFO. The Azerbaijani side is engaged in
propaganda and fabricates facts to achieve its own goals in the issue
of Karabakh conflict. Polish Ambassador to Armenia Tomasz Knothe made
this statement talking to ARMINFO commenting on the information spread
by Azerbaijani Mass Media that Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski
allegedly stated that during his meeting with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev.
Tomasz Knothe says that Polish and Azerbaijani presidents during their
meeting in Warsaw just discussed the topic of Nagorny Karabakh. Being
well-aware of the complication and delicacy of the given issue for all
the parties, President Alexander Kwasniewski did not make such
statements, and relevant information of Azerbaijani Mass Media
contains no single true word, the Ambassador says.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA
Capitol Notes, 4/1/05
Friday, April 01, 2005
HOUSE RESOLUTION OF THE WEEK. Get out your calendars: April 24 is now
“Pennsylvania’s Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.”
For those who don’t know, we’re talking about the 1.5 million Armenian men,
women and children who were “victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by
the Turkish Ottoman Empire,” according to House Resolution 172.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: TENDENCY OF RECOGNIZING NKR PEOPLES’ RIGHT TO
SELF-DETERMINATION IS OBSERVED IN THE WORLD
YEREVAN, MARCH 29. ARMINFO. A tendency of recognizing the NKR peoples’
right to self-determination is observed in the world, stated
Vice-Speaker of Armenian National Assembly, Head of Armenian
delegation to PACE Tigran Torosyan at today’s parliamentary hearings.
He stressed that NKR get its independence exactly on the base of a
referendum held in accordance with standards of international law.
Hence, the idea of NKR’s independence is acceptable for PACE.
Torosyan stressed that on the first stage the Armenian party should
agree on NKR’s independence. “However, it does not mean that we do not
aspire to see Karabakh associate to Armenia later”, he said. Torosyan
also noted that the Karabakh conflict differs from all other ones and
a varied approach should be applied regarding it.
He stated that an absolutely new situation is formed around the
Karabakh conflict at present. In his words, increase of interest of
international community to this problem, public discussions of ways of
conflict’s settlement in Armenia and Azerbaijan, frequented political
speculations in both countries, and the change of Azeri strategy in
Karabakh issue prove it. Torosyan noted that Azerbaijan plays a double
game in this issue: in international structures it represents itself
as a victim to gain sympathies of international community, and, at the
same time, it makes military and agressive statements directed
exceptionally to the internal use to strengthen positions of Ilham
Aliev in inter-clannish quarrels developed in Azerbaijan. -r-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sportinglife.com, UK
March 29 2005
ENGLAND BEAT AZERIS BUT WALES LOSE
James Milner was the inspiration for England, who remain on course to
qualify for the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship finals after a
comfortable 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan at Middlesbrough’s Riverside
Stadium.
First half goals from Liverpool midfielder John Welsh and Norwich
striker Dean Ashton were sufficient to settle the issue in favour of
Peter Taylor’s side.
Taylor will be able to look back with satisfaction at his first
campaign back at the helm after replacing David Platt last summer.
A haul of 14 points from six matches leaves England three points
clear of Germany, who have a match in hand, heading into next
autumn’s conclusion of their qualifying group.
In the same group Wales had Craig Morgan sent off but still emerged
with their pride intact despite a 2-0 defeat to Austria.
Wrexham centre-back Morgan can consider himself unlucky to have been
shown a red card for an aerial challenge with Alex Pollhuber, referee
Ararat Tchagharyan stunned the Wales camp with the speed of his red
card.
Unfortunately for the Welsh, the Armenian official was not as quick
to punish two fouls on the impressive Craig Davies – both of which
warranted penalties.
Austria were ahead early on through Roman Kienast and grabbed a
second through Jurgen Samuel 10 minutes from time, when Wales’ 10 men
were tiring.
But in between the goals Wales were the better, neater side and were
unlucky to leave without something to show for their efforts.

The Australian
March 29 2005
UN withdraws legal funds for oil-deal chief
David Nason, New York correspondent
March 30, 2005
THE UN has reversed its decision to pay the legal fees of former
oil-for-food chief Benon Sevan, saying it would be inappropriate to
reimburse the Armenian diplomat given the allegations of serious
misconduct against him over the scandal-ridden, multi-billion-dollar
program.
UN spokesman Fred Eckhard announced the turnaround as 59 former
American diplomats signed a letter urging the US Senate to reject
George W.Bush’s controversial nomination of John Bolton as the
nation’s next UN ambassador.
Writing to Senate foreign relations committee chairman Richard Lugar,
the ex-diplomats said the UN-bashing Mr Bolton could not be an
“effective promoter” of US interests at the world body and accused
him of undermining US efforts to improve national security through
arms control.
The bipartisan signatories included Arthur Hartman, who served the
Nixon, Carter and Reagan administrations; James Leonard, who was
deputy UN ambassador during the Ford and Carter presidencies; and
Princeton Lyman, who served the Reagan, Bush Sr and Clinton
administrations.
But the letter was overshadowed by the UN’s decision to withdraw all
legal funding for Mr Sevan, who has been accused of using his
position as head of the $67billion oil-for-food program to improperly
lobby for lucrative oil contracts on behalf of an associate.
The allegations were made on February 3 in an interim report of the
Paul Volcker-led inquiry into allegations of widespread corruption in
oil-for-food, a program that operated from 1996 to 2003 and allowed
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to sell oil under UN supervision in exchange
for humanitarian goods.
At the time Mr Volcker, a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve,
said investigations would continue into Mr Sevan’s personal finances.
These are believed to include at least four expensive properties he
owns in New York city and upstate New York, along with some large
cash payments that Mr Sevan claims were gifts from an aunt in Cyprus,
who died after falling down a lift shaft before she could be
questioned.
Just last week Mr Eckhard said Mr Sevan’s legal fees up to February 3
would be reimbursed using funds from the $US1billion ($1.3billion)
management fee the UN took for running the program.
But it caused an outcry, with critics pointing out Mr Sevan’s legal
bills were being paid with funds from the same UN program he was
accused of rorting.
So yesterday Mr Eckhard, citing advice from the UN legal department,
did a turnaround.
It means Mr Sevan will receive no UN assistance except in the event
he is cleared of the allegations against him.
Mr Volcker was overnight due to release his second interim report
into oil-for-food, looking at the involvement of UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and his son Kojo with a Swiss company contracted by the UN
to monitor humanitarian aid arriving in Iraq.
Mr Sevan could not be reached for comment last night. Mr Bolton, who
by convention is unable to speak until his UN nomination is endorsed
by the US Senate, did not return emails.

Ko’mm Percussion Performs at Strathmore’s “Art After Hours” series

MUSIC

The Washington Post
Saturday, March 26, 2005
By Andrew Lindemann Malone
We don’t get enough all-percussion concerts, despite the fact that
today’s wide-ranging percussion ensembles can provide hypnotic melodies
in addition to hard grooves and explosive outbursts. So it was
enterprising of Strathmore’s Art After Hours series to host a concert by
Ko’mm Percussion in the mansion on Wednesday night. The group,
consisting of local percussionists Leon Khoja-Eynatyan, Richard
McCandless, Rich O’Meara and Joseph Jay McIntyre, presented works by the
latter three.

Three of the eight works Ko’mm played stood out. The mesmerizing
minimalist-style marimba arpeggios of O’Meara’s “Island Spinning”
wobbled dangerously after some subtle metrical twists, but the piece
righted itself like a top given an extra spin. O’Meara followed that
with “301,” a work commemorating the official conversion of Armenia to
Christianity, in which Khoja-Eynatyan played breathtakingly quiet
ruminations on the marimba as his daughter Tatevik rang an Armenian hymn
on hand bells. The concert ended with a piece by McCandless called “Pile
Driver,” which he introduced with the half-boast “This piece is not
subtle,” but the poetry McCandless found in the cacophony made “Pile
Driver” absorbing.

Yet even the less successful pieces were interesting; for example, the
world premiere of McIntyre’s “Negative” found the composer using real
mallets to strike a nonexistent drum, cuing two bass drums behind him to
stop rumbling and thus “playing” silence. The reverberations of the
drums prevented the silence from cutting sharply through sound, but it
was fun to see the idea tried. And as the members of Ko’mm worked hard
to make the music sound good, they proved that the sheer athletic
spectacle of a percussion concert can be a lot of fun to watch.

UEFA.com
March 26 2005
Armenians made to work
Saturday, 26 March 2005
A second-half goal from Romik Khachatryan was enough to seal victory
for Armenia in the basement encounter with Andorra in FIFA World Cup
qualifying Group 1.

Photo: Armenia’s Artavazd Karamyan battles with Andorra’s Oscar
Sonejee Masand

Good heart
It was Armenia’s first win in the group and, after taking a point
from their last match with Romania, Bernard Casoni’s men will travel
to the Netherlands for their next test on Wednesday night in great
heart having overtaken Andorra on head-to-head record to go sixth.
The performance at the Republican stadium in Yerevan was particularly
impressive as Armenia were missing captain Harutyun Vardanyan and
top-scorer Artur Petrosyan through injury.
Expected goal
It was all Armenia in the first half and it was no surprise when they
took a 32nd-minute lead as FC Stal Alchevsk forward Ara Hakobyan beat
Andorra goalkeeper Koldo Alvarez. The home side then missed a good
chance to extend their lead nine minutes later as midfield player
Artavadz Karamyan’s header just shaved the post. Andorra had only
managed a single shot on target in the first period so it came as
something of a shock when they levelled the score in the 57th minute.
Long-range winner
Justo Ruiz’s powerful free kick hit the post and bounced back to
create havoc in the home penalty area. Fernando Silva was alert to
the opportunity and was first to reach the ball, heading past keeper
Roman Berezovsky. But Armenia were not to be denied and OFI Crete FC
midfield player Khachatryan scored the winner with a spectacular
long-range drive in the 73rd minute. Andorra are next in action on
Wednesday when they play host to the Czech Republic.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Houston Chronicle, TX
March 27 2005
Kremlin worried over latest uprising
Kyrgyzstan president’s ouster could spell trouble for authoritarian
Soviet republics
By ALEX RODRIGUEZ
Knight Ridder Tribune News
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN – The latest democratic uprising to claim a
former Soviet republic had Moscow buzzing with trepidation: How many
more dominoes can fall?
ADVERTISEMENT
With Kremlin ally Askar Akayev ousted from power in Kyrgyzstan, a
debate in Russia has ensued over whether the fever for democracy can
take root in the rest of Central Asia or reach harsh, autocratic
regimes such as Alexander Lukashenko’s in Belarus.
Analysts say the Kremlin is finding itself increasingly powerless to
stanch the creep of democracy into former Soviet republics it still
covets. “It’s unfortunate that yet again in the post-Soviet space,
political problems in a country are resolved illegally and are
accompanied by pogroms and human victims,” Russian President Vladimir
Putin said in a visit to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.
For the United States, the Kyrgyz uprising could potentially provide
an anchor of democratic stability in the volatile Central Asia
region.
In a little less than a year and a half, three former Soviet
republics ~W Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan ~W have undergone
revolutions seeded by anger over rigged or flawed elections.
Experts say the thirst for genuine civil society in the remaining
former Soviet republics is powerful and enduring.
“I think there are strong chances that the opposition might succeed
in countries neighboring Kyrgyzstan,” said Zeyno Baran, a Central
Asia affairs analyst for the Washington-based Nixon Center.
In the former Soviet republics, dissent is often silenced with
torture or imprisonment.
In Turkmenistan, where Saparmurad Niyazov has declared himself
president for life, political opposition virtually does not exist.
Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, heads a virtual police state
with a history of jailing political opponents and suppressing
religious freedoms.
Oil-rich Kazakhstan is an unlikely venue for change: Though regarded
as authoritarian, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has made strides
improving his country’s economy.