Author: Emil Lazarian

SAMAD SEYIDOV: WE’LL TRY TO RAISE THE ARMENIAN ARSONS IN OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI LANDS AT PACE AUTUMN SESSION
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 17, 2006
“We’ll try to raise the Armenian-committed arsons in the occupied
Azerbaijani lands at the autumn session of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly,” Samad Seyidov, head of Azerbaijani
parliamentary delegation to PACE told journalists, APA reports.
He said as these arsons are part of the occupation, the Azerbaijani
delegation’s priority is to keep Armenia’s aggressive policy on
focus and fuel the work of the PACE Subcommittee for Nagorno Garabagh
problem.
“We are doing out utmost regarding all problems, including the Nagorno
Garabagh problem and the arsons and trying to bring these matters to
the Council of Europe’s attention,” Mr.Seyidov said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZIMOV: “EXPERTS SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE MONITORING OF ARMENIAN ARSONS ON THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES”
Today, Azerbaijan
.html
Aug. 17, 2006
“I was not informed of Andrzej Kasprzyk’s visit to Armenia to
investigate the causes of Armenian-committed arsons on the occupied
territories.”
“On the other hand, Kasprzyk can hold monitoring under his mandate,”
Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov told journalists,
APA reports. The deputy minister said experts should be involved in
the monitoring of the affected areas.
He noted that personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Kasprzyk is not an ecologist, and Azerbaijan has already appealed to
the UN and OSCE authorities for the monitoring.
Mr.Azimov did not rule out international experts group’s visiting
the areas affected by the arsons.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THEATER CRITIC’S CHOICE: “LITTLE ARMENIA”
LA City Beat, CA
Aug. 17, 2006
In the neighborhood surrounding the Fountain Theatre, an immigrant
couple frets that their daughter wants to marry an outsider – an
Icelandic American. Meanwhile, an Armenian American teenager falls
in with a shady garbage collector, and two women worry about losing
their waitress jobs if a restaurant moves to Glendale. These are
among the narrative strands that intertwine in this research-based
play by three authors: Lory Bedikian, Aram Kouyoumdjian and Shahe
Mankerian. It sounds like a recipe for sprawl, but Armina LaMann’s
staging is remarkably concise and consistent in tone. The text balances
warm emotion with a few less than flattering perspectives and a wealth
of local color – the narrator’s home is on a street only a half-block
from the theater.
-Don Shirley
The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood, (323) 663-1525.
Thurs.-Sats. at 8 p.m.; Suns. at 2 p.m. Closes Sept. 3.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CANADA MISSES AZERBAIJAN BUSINESS BOAT
By Scott Taylor – Business Edge
Business Edge, Canada
Aug. 17, 2006
But opportunities still abound for entrepreneurs, adventurers
Since its independence was granted from the former Soviet Union in
1991, Azerbaijan has set its sights on increasing connections with
the West and divesting itself of the country’s former communist
infrastructure.
The development of lucrative new oil resources in the Caspian Sea
in conjunction with British Petroleum has helped fund that process,
but a tentative war with Armenia, domestic political instability and
rampant corruption have proven to be major speed bumps on the road
to cultural transition.
However, Azerbaijan is now enjoying an oil-fuelled economic boom
and is looking to do more business with the West, but is failing to
attract interest from Canada.
“It is regrettable that we have achieved the lowest of co-operation
from Canada among all of the world’s developed nations,” says Novruz
Mammadov, special adviser to President Ilham Aliyev. “It is frustrating
for us when we see so little interest (on the part of the Canadian
government) in something which holds so much potential.”
Photo by Scott Taylor, for Business Edge Baku is the scene of a massive
construction boom Canada is alone among the G-8 nations to have no
diplomatic representation in Baku, and the nearest consular-visa
functions are conducted either in Ankara, Turkey, or Moscow.
“In the 15 years since independence, Canada has sent just two official
delegations to visit our country,” says Mammadov. “One from your
foreign ministry in 2005 and some members of Parliament back in 2003.”
The Azeris, on the other hand, maintain a full embassy in Ottawa and
are keen to encourage Canadian trade. After years of Soviet communism
and post-collapse instability, the Azerbaijan infrastructure is in
need of just about every commodity conceivable. Add to this the vast
oil revenue and continuing development in the region and the Azeri
government is in a cash-rich position to acquire its needs.
“You have to remember that we are starting from absolute zero –
we need just about everything,” says Mammadov. “There are still
tremendous opportunities for international companies in the energy
field, telecommunications, diamonds, agricultures, electronics –
the list is endless. And we have the revenue to pay for it.”
Rodney Moore, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada, says: “Since Azerbaijan gained its independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991, Canada did not recognize the necessity
of opening an embassy there, given the level of relations between
the two countries and the amount of available resources within the
ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Kirk Purdy, president of Sword Energy Ltd., a private oil and gas
company located in Calgary, says: “Canada’s lack of participation
in the development of Azerbaijan’s energy industry will be costly,
both in opportunity and gross national product. We are a world
leader in energy-related extraction and processing technologies
and it’s unfortunate that we don’t have the support of our Canadian
government to share these skills with Azerbaijan’s industrial and
political community.”
Others, meanwhile, are taking advantage of business opportunities
in Azerbaijan.
“It’s getting too bloody soft around here for my liking,” says Terry,
a 46-year-old ex-British paratrooper who now runs a bar in Baku, and
who did not want to give his last name. “It used to be the case that
the sight of a foreigner in Azerbaijan was so rare that the locals
would stop and gawk at you when you walked down the street.”
Missing a front tooth and sporting a shaved head, the barrel-chested
combat veteran with a gap-toothed smile and tattooed muscular arms
would likely still create a stir in most civil societies. However,
over the past decade the renewed oil boom has brought an entire cast of
such characters into this previously isolated former Soviet Republic.
In 1994 the newly independent Azerbaijani government signed what was
termed the “deal of the century” with a number of Western companies to
develop and export the vast untapped offshore oil and gas reserves in
the Caspian Sea. British Petroleum is the key player in this region,
having already had established pipelines through Kazakhstan.
Photo by Scott Taylor, for Business Edge The wearing of the traditional
hijab The experience gained in its North Sea oil projects has given BP
a tremendous advantage in the international race to develop the Caspian
Sea reserves. As a result, Azerbaijan has kept well ahead of the
other four nations that share a border on this newly discovered wealth.
“The Russians, Iranians, Kazakhs and Turkmen have no idea how much oil
we are already pumping through (BP’s) oil rigs,” explained Terry, who
spent 10 years in the region as a BP employee before opening his pub,
The Garage, which caters strictly to foreign oil workers. “Our gap
on the competition in terms of technology would need to be measured
in light years.”
The outer-space analogy is an apt one, as a patron in The Garage
describes the ex-pat bars in Baku as being similar to the intergalactic
nightclubs depicted in the Star Wars movies, “only instead of strange
individuals from foreign planets, they are bizarre representations
from across the globe.”
The original bars and clubs were deliberately rough around the edges
to appeal to the mostly ex-military types who blazed the trail through
this heretofore non-westernized territory.
However, as the boom in the Azerbaijan economy – 25-per-cent growth
last year in GDP alone – spreads into sectors outside the oil industry,
the hospitality business has begun to cater to a much greater variety
of foreign tastes.
“First it was McDonalds, then a whole bunch of fancy restaurants,
and now we’ve even got expensive wine bars,” bemoaned The Garage owner.
“Baku will never be the same.”
This recent wave of change will not be the first time that outside
forces have left an indelible imprint on Azeri society and culture.
As descendants of central Asian Turkic tribes, the Azeris are
essentially Muslim Turkmen.
However, in 1920, the Russian Bolsheviks occupied the oil-rich
territory of the present Republic of Azerbaijan. The subsequent seven
decades of communism and Russian influence drastically diminished
the religious Islamic influence in this region.
Throughout my weeklong visit, I spotted just one Azeri woman wearing a
traditional hijab, while the vast majority dressed in Western-style,
MTV-inspired fashions. Although minarets and mosques still dot the
cityscape, unlike non-secular Islamic nations, the call to prayers
is not broadcast via loudspeakers five times a day.
In terms of architecture, the capital Baku is a bipolar hybrid of
Turkish ornate and Soviet bland, while on the extreme ends of the
spectrum there remains the presence of the ancient walled city and
an ever increasing number of modern glass and steel skyscrapers.
Culturally, the long period of Soviet control has left a continuing
legacy of authoritarianism ingrained in the public mindset.
Journalists are still escorted about the city by official handlers
wearing dark suits and driving old black Volga automobiles – once
considered a “Mercedes equivalent” in the Soviet Union.
On the plus side, many of the hosted luncheons were capped off by
the Russian tradition of exchanging elaborate toasts with over-proof
vodka. Certainly not something one would expect from a member nation
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
On the other hand, the Azeris align themselves closely with their
‘brothers’ in Turkey. Not only do they share a similar (albeit
distinct) dialect with the Turks, they also share an affinity to
recognize a ‘father figure’ for their newly founded nation.
Whereas the Turks have enshrined Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as the founder
of modern Turkey, in Azerbaijan it is Heydar Aliyev (the first
president at the time of independence) who carries this torch. Since
his death in 2003 Aliyev has been commemorated extensively throughout
the country.
>>From the time one arrives at Heydar Aliyev International Airport
his image can be seen on billboards and statues all across the country.
In government offices, one is more likely to see a portrait of Heydar
Aliyev than of his son Ilham who is the current president.
The impact of the sudden economic boom in Azerbaijan is clearly
illustrated by the fact that two separate currencies are in
circulation. The worn-out dirty old Manats are valued at 4,800 to
a single U.S. dollar, while the crisp new (Yeni) Manat trade in at
about $1.20 US each.
One of the initial drawbacks to foreign investment and trade
partnerships is that in the immediate post-Soviet climate, corruption
was rife. Every level of government – right down to the policeman on
the street – wanted a piece of the estimated $150-billion US windfall
that was projected in the “deal of the century.”
A display ad in a Baku English-language daily newspaper calls upon
the foreign corporations to form an investor forum to collectively
combat the corruption. “It’s not easy doing business in Azerbaijan,”
reads the headline. “Corruption? Unfair practices? Vague regulations?
Unjust courts? Monopolies? Unseen traps for investors? Together let’s
try to change things!” Another sign that the flow of new money is
having an impact is that the police are no longer as aggressive in
their encounters with foreign nationals.
“One night the local police stopped a BP employee on his way home
from the bar. When he refused to pay them the usual ‘We’ll let you
go this time’ bribe, they locked him in jail,” said Hermann Lehmann,
a six-year veteran on the Azerbaijan oil scene.
“The next day, when he informed his bosses at BP, they immediately
demanded justice and heads rolled at the police station. Believe me,
money talks in Baku.”
(Scott Taylor is the publisher/editor-in-chief of Esprit de Corps
magazine and can be reached at [email protected]) .ca/article.cfm/newsID/13240.cfm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN STUDIES GROUP MARKS ITS 50TH
Cambridge Chronicle, MA
Aug. 17, 2006
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research presents a banquet and symposium
Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. The event will be
the culmination of a year of observances of NAASR’s half century of
pioneering programs in Armenian studies, research and publication.
The event begins with a symposium on “Armenian-Turkish Dialogue and
the Direction of Armenian Studies, ” from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The banquet begins with a 5:30 p.m. reception. Following dinner
will be a keynote address, a retrospective video, music and dancing,
and surprise announcements.
NAASR banquet and symposium, Saturday, Sept. 30, Royal Sonesta
Hotel. 617-489-4610, fax 617-484-1759, [email protected] or write to NAASR,
395 Concord Ave., Belmont, 02478.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

USD 70,000 PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN ARMENIA UNDER US DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S SMALL RENOVATION PROGRAMS
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 17, 2006
YEREVAN, August 16. /ARKA/. Seven projects worth $70,000 have been
implemented in Armenia in 2006 under the US Department of State’s
project “Small renovation programs”, Jerry Oberndorfer, Director of
Humanitarian Programs for Europe and Eurasia, US Department of State,
told ARKA.
He reported that the programs are mostly implemented by two
organizations – International Relief and Development and Corporate
Corp.
He pointed out that the programs are aimed at improving the living
conditions of socially vulnerable sections of Armenia’s population.
This year, an outpatient’s clinic, a scout school, an old people’s
home and boarding-schools have been renovated.
Oberndorfer also added that the project in implemented in all the
CIS countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BOSS IAN: ARM BACK
The Sun (England)
August 17, 2006 Thursday
IAN PORTERFIELD was yesterday named as the new coach of Armenia.
The Scot, 60, replaces Dutchman Henk Wisman, who was fired four months
ago following a string of poor results.
Porterfield, who played for Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Raith
Rovers, has extensive managerial experience.
He has been in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, Aberdeen and Chelsea
plus the national teams of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Trinidad & Tobago.
Armenia begin their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign at home to Belgium
on September 6.
Porterfield said: “There is never enough time in football. The work
will start immediately and I hope it will be successful.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

31 STUDENTS AND UNIVERSITY GRADUATES LEAVE FOR USA TO STUDY
Armenpress
Aug 17 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS: Around 31 students and university
graduates have left for the USA by the programs of International
Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) to study at the American
universities. About 15 first and second year students left for USA by
“UGRAD” program and 16 university graduates left by “MASKIE” program.
The places intended for the students and graduates of universities
of the CIS countries are being decreased annually as a result of
reduction of the financing of the USA State Department.
Zhanetta Khachatrian, an official from the IREX, said that annually
they receive about 300 applications mainly from students and graduates
of Brusov State Linguistic University, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
University and Yerevan State University. The Armenian students who
leave to study at USA universities mainly prefer the departments of
economy, business management and international relations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM
by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Denver, Colorado
Yorktown Patriot, CO
Aug. 17, 2006
Over the past few decades, studies have shown again and again that
Americans tend to have a poor grasp of history. In fact, the scholar
Christopher Lasch once wrote that Americans love nostalgia, because
we see it as a form of entertainment. But we dislike real history,
because real historical facts are inconvenient. Yesterday helps
shape today. Real history places annoying obligations of truth on
our present and future, and gets in the way of re-inventing ourselves.
As a result, quipped a teacher friend, “history is whatever we say
it is, as long as we can get away with it.”
I remembered her words recently as I read a news story. The story
reported an Islamic leader as suggesting that it was European
Christians, never Muslims, who tried to root out those who didn’t
agree with them.
Perhaps the reporter misunderstood the speaker. Perhaps the speaker
made an honest mistake. Both Muslims and Christians have committed
many sins against each other over the centuries. In the United States,
we have an opportunity to overcome that difficult history and learn
to live with each other in mutual acceptance. But respect can’t emerge
from falsehood.
Catholics who do know history may remember the following: Islam has
embraced armed military expansion for religious purposes since its
earliest decades. In contrast, Christianity struggled in its divided
attitudes toward military force and state power for its first 300
years. No “theology of Crusade” existed in Western Christian thought
until the 11th century. In fact, the Christian Byzantine Empire had
already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years
before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade – as a defensive response
to generations of armed jihad.
Much of the modern Middle East was once heavily Christian. Muslim
armies changed that by imposing Islamic rule. Surviving Christian
communities have endured centuries of marginalization, discrimination,
violence, slavery and outright persecution – not always and not
everywhere; but as a constant, recurring and central theme of Muslim
domination.
That same Christian suffering continues down to the present. In the
early years of the 20th century, the Muslim Ottoman Empire murdered
more than 1 million Armenian Christians for ethnic, economic, but also
religious reasons. Many Turks and other Muslims continue to deny that
massive crime even today. Coptic Christians in Egypt – who, even after
13 centuries of Muslim prejudice and harassment, cling to the faith –
continue to experience systematic discrimination and violence at the
hands of Islamic militants.
Harassment and violence against Christians continue in many places
throughout the Islamic world, from Bangladesh, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan
and Iraq, to Nigeria, Indonesia and even Muslim-dominated areas of the
heavily Catholic Philippines. In Saudi Arabia, all public expressions
of Christian faith are forbidden. The on-going Christian flight from
Lebanon has helped to transform it, in just half a century, from a
majority Christian Arab nation to a majority Muslim population.
These are facts. The Muslim-Christian conflict is a very long one,
rooted in deep religious differences, and Muslims have their own long
list of real and perceived grievances. But especially in an era of
religiously inspired terrorism and war in the Middle East, peace is
not served by ignoring, subverting or rewriting history, but rather
by facing it humbly as it really happened and healing its wounds.
That requires honesty and repentance from both Christians and
Muslims. Comments like those reported in the recent news story I read –
claiming that historically, it was European Christians, never Muslims,
who tried to root out those who disagreed with them – are both false
and do nothing to help.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A SONG FOR PEACE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Waleg.com, Tunisia
Aug. 17, 2006
~U Under the management of director Gilbert Al Ghabri, Lebanese
singer Karina completed the recording of her new song ‘Alsalam’
-peace-. The lyrics of the song are in different languages; Arabic,
English, French, Spanish, Armenian & Wuluf, the African Language of
the country where Karina was born.
The song calls for peace, unity & the respect of human rights.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress