Author: Emil Lazarian

MURDER AS STRUGGLE
By Ruben Hayrapetian in Moscow
AZG Armenian Daily
26/04/2006
“The Fuehrer’s successors conquer Russian cities swifter than the
Nazi troops in the autumn of 1941,” one of Moscow’s newspapers gives
alarm on occasion of the murder of 17 years old Armenian student
Vahan Abrahamiants.
What strikes one in this heinous crime is its unspeakable impudence
that is certainly the result of assurance of staying unpunished. The
headlines of Russian papers evidence to it: “Student Slain In Front of
A Dozen of People”, “Killing and Leaving by Train”, “Hitler Conquers
Moscow” etc.
It’s merely unbelievable how the murderer could escape the police after
stabbing the Armenian student to death at Pushkinskaya subway station –
one of the central stations in Moscow – that was heavily guarded by
the police for Easter celebrations. All tragedy is that people are
being killed in Russia today for a darker skin and for narrower eyes.
One has an impression that the Russians, particularly lower orders,
instinctively feel that something is happening to them, that they
are losing their national identity, spiritual charge, moral ground
and are turning into faceless and invertebrate creatures. And they
turn to the most primitive most animal way of struggle…
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE STATE VEHICLE INSPECTOR REPLACED BY A CAMERA
A1+
[05:17 pm] 25 April, 2006
The phase of making changes in the state vehicle inspectorate
was started in Gyumri. The road violations will be controlled by
speedometers and cameras.
The state vehicle inspectorate department of Gyumri presented
the corresponding bodies the list of the city streets where the
speedometers and cameras will be located. According to the chief of
the Gyumri state vehicle inspectorate Gurgen Derdzyan 70 cameras,
14 speedometers and traffic lights will be given to Gyumri.
The people responsible for this act are sure that the new system will
contribute to curtail of accidents, crashes and will help reveal a
number of road violations quickly.
“Tsayg” TV channel of Gyumri
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS TOOK PLACE IN NAGORNO KARABAKH
A1+
[07:39 pm] 25 April, 2006
Hearings on subject “Karabakh problem: settlement perspectives” took
place in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic National Assembly. Besides
NKR NA deputies, a parliamentary delegation from Armenia headed by
Chairman of the Permanent Commission on Foreign Relations of the RA
National Assembly Armen Roustamian, a number of Armenian political
scientists and experts, representatives of the NKR non-governmental
sector took part in the hearings.
The hearings were opened by Chairman of the NKR NA Permanent Commission
on Foreign Relations Vahram Atanesian. Chairman of the Parliament
Ashot Ghoulian greeted the participants.
The Speaker, in particular, noted that Artsakh had always been and
remained in the centre of the Armenian world’s attention. At the same
time, he noted the importance of defining the positions and opinions of
the groups and factions represented in the Parliament, the political
forces of the NKR on the process of the Karabakh conflict settlement,
possible developments in the context of the Karabakh problem. According
to Ashot Ghoulian, the hearings will become an important prerequisite
for organizing similar discussions on the key issues of the Karabakh
settlement in future.
“For the people and authorities of the NKR, the solution of the
problem starts from the results of the 1991 referendum, according to
which the Armenians of Artsakh unambiguously said “yes” to the idea
of independence accepting building of an independent statehood as
a strategy. Naturally, the activity of the whole political system
including that of the NKR National Assembly is directed to the
achievement of this aim”, Ashot Ghoulian said.
In his speech, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic Georgy Petrossian noted that the disrespect for the right of
the Nagorno Karabakh people lay in the base of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. In this context, he stressed that when the Karabakh
people claimed its right on self-determination the political demand
transferred into ethnic cleanings by Azerbaijan. At the same time,
the Minister noted that “independence is not an end in itself for
the NKR but a possibility to live and develop on its own land”.
Georgy Petrossian noted that when the political process did not
consider the right of a people, a collision of interests of the parties
took place. At the same time, the Minister stressed that Baku had
actually transferred the solution of the problem from the political
field into the field of military confrontation. He expressed pity that
the mediators ignored the results of the referendum on independence
in Nagorno Karabakh.
The head of the Karabakh Foreign Ministry spoke for signing an
agreement by the parties on giving up force usage.
Answering the questions of the hearings participants, the Minister
noted that the Karabakh party was always aware of the contents of
the negotiations between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. At
the same time, Georgy Petrossian stressed that it did not mean that
the Karabakh party agreed with all the issues.
The Minister stressed the inadmissibility of using “the Karabakh card”
with any personal or corporative views.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“ASHLID” TRIES TO TAKE THE PLACE OF “ARMRUSGASARD”
A1+
[12:51 pm] 26 April, 2006
The workers of the company “Ashlid” have been visiting the buildings
of the capital for the last few days and persuading the subscribers to
sign a contract of gas service with them. Nevertheless, this right is
given to “ArmRusGasArd” only, and all those citizens who have already
paid “Ashlid” and signed a contract, will have to make payment to
“ArmRusGasArd” too.
On December 9, 2005 the Committee Regulating Social Services decided
that “ArmRusGasArd” is given the monopoly of house service of gas
consumers. Before that there were a number of companies in the
republic which engaged in getting payments from the people, 3000
AMD per person. By the decision of the Committee new tariffs were
established for the service. The annual payment for subscribers with
one gas consuming device is 2400 AMD, for two – 5700 AMD and for
three – 6900 AMD.
The inspectors of “Ashlid” visit different people and seduce the
people with low tariffs. Several suchlike cases have been recorded in
the Yerevan Ajapnyak district. A number of consumers of this district
have signed contracts with “Ashlid” and paid them after which they
have been visited by the “ArmRusGasArd” inspectors and warned not to
make payments to other companies as in that case they will have to
pay twice.
It is noteworthy that the main office of “ArmRusGasArd” was not aware
of the incidents.
Informational representative of the company Shushan Sardaryan informed
that they have not received any information from their consumers or
branches. But still, we have facts. In particular, last week one
of the inspectors of “Ashlid” visited the Kievyan 12, 14 and 14A
buildings and signed several contracts.
Regardless of the fact with which company the consumers sign a contract
they will have to do the same with “ArmRusGasArd”, otherwise they
will not be supplied with gas.

MANY CROWS DIED IN GYUMRI
A1+
[05:57 pm] 25 April, 2006
There are many cases of birds, especially of crows deaths in the places
“Lits” and “Avtokajan” in Gyumri.
There are many crow nests in these areas, and as it turned out the
death of the crows was determined by pecking.
Preventive measures against bird flu are being taken in Shirak
marz. The chief of the Shirak hygienic and anti-epidemic board Karine
Tairyan claims that they have been controlling the customs offices
since December.
According to the Shirak State Veterinary Department Board chief Gagik
Sargsyan they hold a thorough observation of each bird they find. So
far there have been no cases of bird flu. The food and goods sold in
the region markets are checked every day. The board only checks the
goods and food the owners of which have contracts with the veterinary
service. But there are places where illegal goods are sold, let us
take “the corridor of Lachin” for instance. Gagik Sargsyan deems it an
illegal territory which remains aside from their everyday checks.
TV channel of Gyumri
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UNDERSTANDING OBL THROUGH THE LENSES OF THE PAST
By Habib Siddiqui
Al-Jazeerah.info, GA
April 25 2006
For more than four years, America has been searching for Osama bin
Laden (OBL), offering tens of millions of dollars in exchange for
leads as to his whereabouts. But no one has claimed the reward and
probably will never do.
OBL and his organization Al-Qaeda remind me of the Hashishyyin
(Assassins) or ‘hashish smokers’ of the Middle Ages and their
charismatic leader. The grand master of the latter group was Hasan-e
Sabbah, an Iranian who was born around 1048 CE in the city of Rayy
(not too far from today’s Tehran). He studied at Nishapur and in the
Dar-ul-Hikmat in Cairo. He was a very cultured and gifted man who
loved poetry. Legends of dubious origin claim that he was a companion
of the young poet Omar Khayyam (1028-87 CE).
In those days, the Isma’ili Shi’ite doctrine, to which Hasan Ibn
al-Sabbah belonged, was a dominant power in many parts of Muslim Asia
and Egypt. Iran was ruled by a Shi’ite dynasty of the Buwayhids who
were strong enough to bully the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad. Soon,
however, when Sabbah was in his youth, the situation reversed
dramatically. The Seljuks, upholders of Sunni orthodoxy, took control
of the vast territories to which Shi’ism had once ruled unrivalled.
With the changing political landscape, the Sabah family would pack up
and move around 1071 to settle in Egypt, the last bastion of Shi’ism,
ruled by the Fatimid Isma’ili (Batini) Shi’ites.
There, however, the young Ibn al-Sabbah discovered the painful fact of
impotency and vassal statehood of the Fatimid regime. The aged monarch
al-Muntasir was nothing more than a Seljuk puppet who dared not to
leave the palace without the permission of his Armenian vizier Badr
al-Jamali. In Cairo, Ibn al-Sabbah befriended many radical Isma’ili
Shi’ites who wanted to reform the Fatimid regime from its vassal
status and take revenge on the Seljuks.
With the active cooperation of the Fatimid Prince Nizar, in 1990 a
movement took shape with the idea of reviving the Shi’ite glory. Ibn
al-Sabbah, in essence, became its chief architect. With the intention
of establishing a base, he and some of his trusted comrades returned
to Iran and captured the hill fortress of Alamut, near Qazvin in
northern Iran. After capturing this center, situated in a practically
inaccessible region of the Elbruz Mountains near the Caspian Sea,
he set about establishing a highly disciplined politico-religious
organization, not hitherto seen in the history of the Near and
Middle East. All members underwent intensive training from religious
indoctrination to military training. They were ranked according to
their loyalty, reliability, knowledge and courage. Assassination of
people affiliated with the ruling Seljuk and Abbasid Empire became
their primary tactic to sow terror among their foes.
Their first assassination victim was Nizam-ul-Mulk (Order of the
Realm), the grand vizier of the Seljuk Empire. [He was responsible for
everything good and glorious with the Seljuk history, and conversely,
the downfall of the Isma’ili Shi’ite power. He was essentially the
pillar of the empire.] On October 14, 1092 he was killed with a stroke
of a sword. [His murder was a death-blow to the Seljuk Empire which
disintegrated soon.]
Soon after the murder, Ibn al-Sabbah’s comrades went underground.
Al-Afdal, the new vizier in Egypt, who had succeeded his father Badr
al-Jamali, mercilessly crushed the associates of Prince Nizar. The
latter himself was also killed.
Realizing that their goal to reviving a Fatimid empire would take time,
Ibn al-Sabbah’s surviving Nizari comrades revised their strategy,
and returned to the hill fortress of Alamut. From this center Ibn
al-Sabbah commanded a network of strongholds all over Iran and Iraq
wherefrom his zealous followers carried out deadly assaults against
the Abbasids and the Seljuks. Most of these activities were almost
suicidal in the sense that the perpetrators, called the Fidayeen,
carried the risk of being apprehended and executed. The ‘suicide’
squads comprised of 1 to 3 people, who disguised themselves mostly
as local merchants or ascetics. They liked publicity. As such,
their favorite venues were often mosques (especially on Fridays and
religious festivities), generally in the afternoons.
Marco Polo and other travelers related (a claim not confirmed by any
known Isma’ili source) that before setting out with their suicidal
attacks, the sect would take hashish, and hence the name Hashishyyin
(which was distorted into ‘assassin’) to induce visions of paradise.
I believe the calmness with which the sect carried out their deadly
attacks earned them that ill repute.
In the early 12th century, soon after the Crusaders had established
their control over Jerusalem, the activities of the Hashishyyin
extended to Syria and today’s Lebanon. Syria was then divided into
many city states. Ibn al-Sabbah sent a Batini preacher, an enigmatic
‘physician-astrologer’ in Aleppo who managed to win the unwavering
trust of its King Ridwan. The latter allowed Ibn al-Sabbah’s
adherents to converge on the city, to set up cells and preach their
doctrine. After the death of this mysterious envoy in 1103, the sect
immediately sent Abu Tahir, an Iranian goldsmith. His influence on
Ridwan was overwhelming, which greatly benefited the sect putting
it into prominence in public life. It was precisely because of such
power-wielding that the sect was hated by most Aleppans.
Ibn al-Khashab, the Shi’ite Qadi (judge) of Aleppo, became their
greatest critic and demanded an end to their meddling in official
matters. He also hated them for their sympathy for the Crusaders. [It
seems that the sect took the age-old doctrine of ‘the enemy of my enemy
is my friend’ to its heart. Since the Seljuks were their enemies,
the Crusaders became their friends. Ridwan was despicably appeasing
to the Crusaders at the behest of his Hashishyyin advisors.
To Ibn al-Khashab, such support amounted to treason.]
When Ridwan died in 1113, the Aleppans had enough of the Batini sect,
and killed nearly 200 members, including Abu Tahir. Other sect members
managed to flee and took shelter among the Crusaders or dispersed
in countryside.
Drawing lessons from their failure, the sect altered its tactics.
Under Ibn al-Sabbah’s new envoy to Syria – an Iranian propagandist by
the name of Bahram – the sect decided to halt all external spectacular
actions and become a secret organization. They lived in the greatest
secrecy and seclusion, changing dress and appearance so cleverly that
no one suspected their identity.
One of the sect members killed Qadi Ibn al-Khashab in the summer of
1125 when he was leaving the great mosque of Aleppo after Zuhr (midday)
prayer. It is worth noting that the Qadi not only had saved the city
from the Christian Crusaders but also prepared the way for leaders
like Salahuddin Ayyubi (R) to emerge later against the invaders.[1]
He had been the most intransigent opponents of the sect.
The next year, the sect killed Imam Abu Sa’ad al-Harawi, the splendor
of Islam, the qadi of qadis of Baghdad. As one of the leading Imams of
the Muslim world, he led the first manifestation of popular outrage
against the Crusaders in August of 1099. The Hashishyyin had stabbed
him to death in the great mosque of Hamadan and fled immediately,
leaving no clue behind.
On 26 November 1126 al-Borsoki, the powerful master of Aleppo and
Mosul, was killed by the Hashishyyin. He had gone to the great mosque
in Mosul to say his Friday prayers. The assassins, dressed up as
ascetics, were waiting in a corner without arousing any suspicion.
Suddenly they leapt upon him and struck him in the throat with knife
thrusts. His murderers were soon arrested and put to death. A few
months later, they killed al-Borsoki’s son, who had succeeded him.
The situation turned so bad that the city became insecure and
eventually fell to the Crusaders.
The situation in Damascus was no better. The Atabeg Thugtigin was
weak, aging and sick. He could not control the Hashishyyin, who had
their own armed militia. Even the city administration was in their
hands and the vizier their client. The latter was in close contact
with the Crusaders.
Hasan-e Sabbah died in Alamut retreat in 1142. Unfortunately, his
death did not stop the sect’s criminal activities. They assassinated
any notable authority who opposed their doctrine. The terror they
inflicted was so overwhelming that no one dared to criticize them
publicly, neither Amir, nor vizier, not Sultan, not even Imams.
>>From Masyaf, Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan, the Syrian grand master of
the Hashishyyin, more commonly known as the shaykh al-jabal, ruled
virtually independently of the sect’s headquarters at Alamut. His
commandos terrorized the entire territory.
The terrorism of the Hashishyyin sect continued until 1256 when
the Mongols under Hulagu Khan captured their fortresses in Iran
one by another, including their headquarters in Alamut. The Syrian
fortresses were gradually subjugated by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars
I and put under Mamluk governors. From then on, the sect ceased to
exist as a terrorist group and languished as a minor Shi’ite heresy.[2]
—-
The Muslim world is in a dire state of its existence because of
a plethora of reasons – some foreign and some home-grown. It is,
therefore, not difficult to understand the broad appeal of OBL who
reminds Muslims of the neo-Crusaders who are waging war against
Islam. “His most important ally is American foreign policy,” says
Michael Scheuer, former chief of the Central Intelligence Agency’s
bin Laden unit.[3]
As long as the West continues to prove him right through its illegal
interventions in Muslim countries, its criminal blockading of the
Muslim world through alliances, its vicious attack on the Prophet
of Islam, its threats of attacking Iran and its double-standards
in matters of democracy, freedom, equality and human rights, OBL’s
appeal would resonate loud and clear. His crowd becomes Spartacus –
each clamoring: “I am Spartacus.”
As Richard Rodriguez, one of the best essayists in America, once
said, “A historical figure ascends to myth when his life matches
some common pride or grievance or sorrow. Then history is subsumed
into myth. Spartacus, Joaquin, Che, Gandhi, Osama. America’s search
for Osama bin Laden in these mountain passes and crowded bazaars may
be necessary militarily and for reasons of vengeance and justice and
national pride, but it may also be beside the point. Dead or alive,
Osama bin Laden already is mythic. The grievances of millions of people
in the Middle East are joined to his name, and his name surely will
outlast his death.”[4]
How can an Empire that has no clothes fight someone like OBL when his
life is sung, and matches some common pride, grievance and sorrow of
hundreds of millions of people in the Muslim world?
NOTES
———————————— ——————————————–
[1] Amin Maalouf, The Crusades through Arab eyes, pp. 98-105, al-Saqi
Books. [Most of the information on Hasan-e Sabbah’s sect in this
essay is based on this book, which is gratefully acknowledged here.]
[2] The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 1 (1989).
[3] Ben Laden Says West is Waging War Against Islam, NY Times, April
24, 2006.
[4] Villains or Heroes: Essay by Richard Rodriguez, PBS TV, January
14, 2003.
Dr. Habib Siddiqui, ([email protected]).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHITE HOUSE OFFERS CONDOLENCES ON ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Agence France Presse — English
April 24, 2006 Monday 10:59 PM GMT
WASHINGTON, April 24 2006
US President George W. Bush on Monday remembered the exile and killing
beginning 91 years ago of some 1.5 million Armenians as “one of the
horrible tragedies of the 20th century.”
“This was a tragedy for all humanity and one that we and the world
must never forget,” the US president said in a statement released by
the White House.
“We mourn this terrible chapter of history and recognize that it
remains a source of pain for people in Armenia and for all those who
believe in freedom, tolerance, and the dignity and value of every
human life,” Bush said.
His remarks came on the 91st anniversary of what is considered the
beginning of the genocide carried out under the Ottoman empire.
Armenians claim some 1.5 million people died in the waning years of
the empire, from 1915-1922, while Turkey, which refused to recognize
the killings as genocide, puts the death toll at between 300,000
and 500,000.
Bush called for continued dialogue and “shared understading” between
the two sides, praising “the individuals in Armenia and Turkey who
have sought to examine the historical events of this time with honesty
and sensitivity.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: GENOCIDE RECOGNITION IS A QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE
ArmRadio.am
25.04.2006 18:08
“For a long time the question of international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide was the captive of the ideological division in the
world, and Armenia did not have statehood and corresponding tools,
which would allow to attain international recognition,” declared RA
President Robert Kocharyan during the joint press conference with
the President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus.
Robert Kocharyan expressed his gratitude to the Parliament of Lithuania
for recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2005 and underlined that
the international recognition of the tragic events of 1915 is a
“question of principle.”
In Robert Kocharyan’s words, there are no more such obstacles today,
and together with the Diaspora independent Armenia is struggling for
the international recognition of the 1915 events.
“At the same time we do not intend to become the captive of the
past. Our efforts of international recognition of the Genocide are
directed today at having a more favorable and stable situation in
our region,” Robert Kocharyan declared.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA-ARMENIAN AGREEMENT TO FOCUS ON TRAFFIC
Author: Mammadov
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 25 2006
A new Geo-Armenian agreement on traffic communications will be inked
April 25.
The Armenian delegation led by the Minister of Transportation Andranik
Manukian arrives in Tbilisi Tuesday morning.
The Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia reported to
InterpressNews that the new project is meant to increase the rate of
cargo transportation between the two republics and strengthen the
tendencies of economic cooperation. Irakli Chogovadze, Minister of
Economic Development of Georgia and the Minister of Transportation
of Armenia, Andranik Manukian will sign the draft agreement.
According to the new agreement the permission quotas set for cargo
transportation will be lifted and the taxes for the Road Fund of
Armenia will be abolished. This will make the transportation process
much more convenient not only for truck owners but also for the owners
of passenger vehicles.
The Road Fund Taxes have been abolished in Georgia since year 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KOCHARIAN THANKS LITHUANIA FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
By Anna Saghabalian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
April 25 2006
President Robert Kocharian thanked Lithuania for its parliament’s
recent recognition of the Armenian genocide as he received his visiting
Lithuanian counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, on Tuesday.
In a resolution overwhelmingly approved last December, the Baltic
state’s legislature, Sejmas, urged Turkey to “recognize historical
facts” and drop its insistence that the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire did not constitute a genocide. The
Turkish government denounced the move.
“The issue is very important for us and it is not just historical
in nature as today our relations with Turkey are burdened by
this historical reality,” Kocharian told reporters after talks
with Adamkus. “I think that recognizing the genocide and coming
to terms with history is extremely important for normalizing our
[Turkish-Armenian] relations.”
He said Yerevan will continue to seek worldwide recognition of
the genocide in collaboration with leaders of Armenian Diaspora
communities.
Adamkus arrived in Yerevan on a official visit which appears to
have focused on ways of restoring economic ties that used to exist
between the two former Soviet republics. They announced plans to hold
a Lithuanian-Armenian business forum in the near future.
A statement by Kocharian’s office said Armenia’s relations with the
European Union, which Lithuania joined two years ago, were also on
the agenda of the talks. Kocharian again stated that his country is
interested in learning from Lithuania’s as well as neighboring Latvia’s
and Estonia’s successful transition to democracy and the free market.
The Lithuanian president, for his part, made a case for political and
economic integration in the South Caucasus. “We have discussed common
regional policies,” he said. “I think it is about time our regions —
the South Caucasus and the Baltic states — joined forces to build a
better future. This is what we call a three-plus-three formula which
I think will become reality after this meeting.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress