Author: Emil Lazarian

Lebanon Armenians Fire Turkish Flag and Insult Turkish PM
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 15 2005
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will visit Lebanon today.
Erdogan will attend the Arab Economy Summit in the capital Beirut.
The Turkish Prime Minister will make the opening speech at the
summit as an honorary guest. Leaders from 30 Arab countries will
also be attending the meetings. “Make democratic reforms,” is the
recommendation that Erdogan plans to make to the Arab World.
Before Erdogan’s visit the Armenian radical groups organized offensive
protest campaigns. The Tashnaks burnt Turkish flag and insulted
Turkish leader. One of the slogans of the Armenian militants was
“Animals are not Welcome”. About 1.500 Armenian militants accused
Turkey of committing genocide in 1915. Tashnak leaders are against
any rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. Dr. Nilgun Gulcan
from ISRI says “the diaspora is against peace and stability in the
Caucasus. The diaspora seeks to continue the problems between Turks
and Armenians”. According to Dr. Gulcan, the diaspora Armenian identity
is based on the 1915 legacy.
Dr. Sedat Laciner, expert on Caucasus studies, argued that the
diaspora’s and Armenia’s interests are contrary:
“The diaspora sabotage any rapprochement attempt between Turkey
and Armenia. The Lebanon Armenians are among the most radicals. The
Tashnaks in particular try to undermine dialogue efforts. The diaspora
try to make Turkey angry and aggressive. They say ‘animal’ to Turkish
leader, and then they accuse Turkey of not being constructive. The
diaspora politics is nourished by the problems. If the problems between
Turkey and Armenia are solved, the diaspora will lose its identity and
influence. They abuse the 1915 events for their own interests. They,
I mean, sacrifice Armenia for their own aims. If Turkey and Armenia
could solve the disputes on historical issues, both countries may
be good allies in the region. An economic and political integration
in the Caucasus is not a utopia. Turkey is the gate to the West for
Armenians. Armenia could not survive by just attacking the 100 million
Turks in the region”.
ERDOGAN TO RECOMMEND ARABS, ‘DEMOCRATIC REFORM’
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan turns his travels to the
Middle East following his five-day US visit last week. The reason for
choosing Lebanon as the host country is that it is known as one of the
“most powerful” countries of the region in terms of economics even
though it has long been associated with Syria, which has experienced
internal conflicts and has been under US-isolation for years. The Arab
Economy Summit is regarded as an important opportunity for Turkey to
send the messages regarding the region. On various occasions, Erdogan
earlier proposed democratic openings to leaders of the countries
with mostly Muslim populations. This time, he is expected to make
similar recommendations again during his Lebanon visit. According to
information received by Zaman from sources close to the Prime Minister,
he will ask the leaders of the Arab world to “Develop your democracy
in order to integrate with the international community and make the
necessary reforms as early as possible” both at the summit and during
his other contacts in Lebanon.
The Lebanese summit also seems important in terms of Turkey explaining
its own economic potential. Turkey, has so far had very limited
commercial contact with rich Arab countries and it is possible to
further penetrate into the region. With this in mind, Erdogan will
advise Arabs in general that foreign investors are welcome in Turkey
and no legal obstacles or objections are being raised anymore; and
in particular, he will suggest that the entrepreneurs of Turkey and
Lebanon look at the possibility of joint investments in different
countries.
Erdogan will first meet with his Lebanese counterpart, Najib Miqati.
Both leaders will exchange opinions on providing regional peace.
Turkish Prime Minister will highlight the importance of democracy in
the prevention of clashes in Lebanon flaring up. The Prime Minister
will later visit the grave of the former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in a suicide car bomb explosion
on February 14.

ChristianToday, UK
June 15 2005
Gospel Reaching People in Iran via Mass-media
Posted: Wednesday, June 15 , 2005, 17:47 (UK)
Iran is a country which has a population that is 99% Muslim,
specifically Shiite Muslims, with the remaining 1% consisting of
Bahai, Jews and Christian faiths. Most of the Christian in the
country are Armenians and Assyrians.
The country is full of unrest among its people and it has proved
extremely difficult and dangerous to reach out to the Christian
believers and make Christ known among the rest of population. The
government is not supportive for church planting, and as a result
many violations against religious freedom and human rights have been
reported. Officials in the country believe that unrest in the
neighbouring Iraq may also have encouraged actions from local Muslim
extremists.
The religious minorities are facing many persecutions, and it has
been reported that all activities of religious minorities are being
monitored by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance. Non-Muslims are not
allowed to proselytise and those who convert to Christianity may face
the death penalty for apostasy.
Most Christian churches are allowed just to hold services in Armenian
or Assyrian and pastors of the churches are pressed to sign documents
stating they will not proselytise Muslims or allow them to attend the
church and services.
As the result, many of the churches went “underground”; however, they
have faced huge persecution and punishment from the government.
Using mass media in the spreading of the gospel seems to be an
opportunity used by many Christian evangelists and ministries in the
country. Through the radio and TV the good news is able to reach
those who are in situations making it difficult for them to be
reached.
Evangelist Sammy Tippit explains that the country’s young population
of under 35’s are marked at 67 million. Many of these young people
are disenchanted by the violence and this is has proved to make them
more responsive to something else.
Recently, Ministries of Joyce Meyer also announced cooperation with
the International Antioch Ministries (IAM). Broadcasting of Enjoying
Everyday Life television programs to Iran will be provided in Farsi
(Iranian language).
Pastor Hormoz Shariat, PhD, founder and president of IAM said: “These
programs are being very well received by Iranian viewers. Many
viewers have told us that they appreciate Joyce Meyer’s down-to-earth
and practical teachings, as well as her sense of humour.”
Millions of Iranian Muslims and thousands of new converts can receive
the strength and encouragement in their faith often desperately
needed in their situations, where so many oppressions are being
facing.
Donald Fareed, founder of Persian Ministries International describes
the situation in Iran: “As soon as people convert, [the authorities]
catch them and put them in jail. So we need democracy there. We need
freedom.”
Still, Fareed acknowledges that spiritual change must take precedence
over social or political change. “Freedom without Christ is going to
bring corruption, of course,” he says. “So the first thing is the
gospel and the second thing is democracy.”
On Friday 17th June the presidential election in Iran will take
place. However, the election is not considered free and democratic
since many candidates were disqualified and the voices of many,
especially among students, have called for a boycott of the
elections.

Contra Costa Times, CA
June 15 2005
Relish? Bun? Casing? Where’s a wiener’s soul?
JOHN BIRDSALL: ALWAYS HUNGRY
There’s a dented poignancy about hot dogs, a scrappy rust-belt charm.
A hot dog can be the perfect food to celebrate summer’s quiet
nostalgia, evocative as the mosquito hum of a portable radio tuned
to baseball, the feel of a scarred redwood picnic table against your
elbows or the smell of a vinyl patio umbrella in the sun.
Drive down Oakland’s Third Street near Market — close to the port —
and you can see what’s left of a once-thriving community of wiener
stands, carried off by the rising tide of condo lofts and retail.
But on a recent afternoon, only two carts shelter along the shady
side of Third Street. At the corner of Martin Luther King, in front
of Markus Supply hardware store, Frenchie’s flaunts a faded poster
for Vienna Beef franks. Further on, just around the corner from the
entrance to the Charles P. Howard docks, West Hot Dog is a cart of
tarnished quilted stainless steel, partly obscured by potato chip bags
clipped to display trees, racks of chewing gum and plastic ice chests
packed with soda cans. A medium hot dog with everything (including
pickled jalapenos and a thick smear of mayonnaise) is smoky and very
tender, intensely gooey, sweet and tart.
Tasty, but you have to look elsewhere for the East Bay’s hot dog soul.
It’s hard to imagine anyplace more richly nostalgic than a barbershop
that’s become a hot dog stand, but Sam’s Dog House on San Pablo Dam
Road in El Sobrante looks brand new, thanks to an open-ended renovation
that has remade the place with stark white walls, a ketchup-and-mustard
color scheme and plastic picnic tables.
It’s been more than 20 years since barber Sam Lesti put away his
clippers and took up a pair of spring-loaded tongs, remaking Sam’s
Barber Shop as Sam’s Dog House. Mike and Renee Rowland bought the
business in 1997 when Lesti retired, but longtime employees Donna
Fellman and Pat Tulley have been assembling dogs at Sam’s almost
since the beginning.
The place has the feel of an informal community center. On a recent
afternoon, a customer stopped in for a Chili Dog, chatting with
Fellman across the room about his daughter’s graduation from junior
high. “That’s why I’m still here,” says Fellman of the customers
she’s come to know. “They’re all like family to me.”
A Sam’s Chili Cheese Dog is a rich confection on a Melamine plastic
plate: A Millers brand wiener plastered with mustard, under a ladle
of canned chili con carne, diced onion and a thick welter of grated
sharp cheddar. You eat it with a fork and knife, the bun soaking
up the chili’s gravy the way shortcake soaks up strawberry juice,
while little strings of melted cheese collect on your chin. It’s
sloppy and delicious.
But even after two decades of dousing dogs with chili, Sam’s feels
like a newcomer. There’s a deeper strain of East Bay hot dog culture,
tarnished and charming as a set of 1940s cufflinks.
No place exudes such a heady whiff of weenie tradition as Glenn’s
Hot Dog, quite literally in the shadow of the filigree metal arch
marking the entrance along MacArthur Boulevard of Oakland’s Laurel
neighborhood. It’s a tiny diner whose roof turns up along the street
facade like some well-loved ball cap’s bill; inside it’s varnished
knotty pine, boomerang-pattern Formica and a pop fountain dispensing
RC Cola and Tahitian Treat punch. Glenn’s is pure, concentrated,
grilled-onion-and-fry-oil-scented nostalgia.
But with a price tag of $3.50, the Jumbo Dog is pure 21st century —
it’s a thick Millers wiener, with mustard, relish, a drift of white
onion and a couple of ripe, soft tomato slices tucked in. Too bad
the bun is stale: A killing lapse.
A big part of the East Bay’s wiener nostalgia is tangled up in the
contentious history of an Oakland family. In the 1920s, Armenian
immigrant Kasper Koojoolian was hawking frankfurters in a Chicago
park; in 1930, he moved to Oakland and set up a wiener stand in north
Oakland. By 1939, Koojoolian was churning out Oakland weenie stands
as fast as a sausage grinder spits out forcemeat. But just as in the
opening act of some Shakespeare tragedy, family bickering compelled
the wiener king to split his realm in three: Koojoolian’s original
Kasper’s, a spin-off spelled “Casper’s” and a rogue stepdaughter’s
brazen play for authenticity named the Original Kasper’s. Even in
the 1940s, hot dog joints were elbowing each other for the crown of
wiener nostalgia.
These days, the unoriginal Original Kasper’s at 44th and Telegraph
(the little triangle-shaped stand, with its neon chef trailing a
string of franks) is a holy relic of the old-time urban wiener —
and a moldering one. It’s been closed since 2002 (a note on its
Web site promises a reopening after unspecified repairs that don’t
appear to have begun). It’s safe to pronounce the Original Kasper’s
unofficially defunct.
But the Kasper’s that traces its lineage straight back to Koojoolian
— the one on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland (filled with cops and
seniors on a recent afternoon) — keeps the wiener magic alive. Built
in 1961, it’s a gem of mid-20th century design. It’s got big jawbreaker
chandeliers, caramel-colored terrazzo floors and juicy striped
wallpaper in lemon, pink grapefruit and tangerine. The place is corny
and sophisticated, elegant and shabby — and the wieners are perfect.
They’re made of beef, with natural sheep casings; the taste is smoky,
salty and garlicky. A regular hot dog with everything is a Chicago
frank simplified: mustard and sweet relish, and slices of tomato and
white onion wedged between dog and bun like garden edging. The bun
is soft and scant, just right.
The weedy sourness of the unripe tomato (and the peppery fragrance of
its seeds) works on the wiener like a squeeze of lemon on an oyster,
taming its salt, giving it an aromatic presence, even over the brash
acidity of yellow mustard.
Kasper’s cousin Casper’s has had a parallel evolution, with onion and
tomato slices, mustard and relish, and buns as soft and collapsible
as a slice of steamed sponge cake. The decor in several of Caspers’
11 restaurants has a faded midcentury classicism that reminds you of
its homonym, with multi-colored vinyl stools in Froot Loops pastels
and signs with big ’60s-style graphic icons (a pot of mustard,
a slice of onion, a whimsical curving wiener).
The big difference at Casper’s is that wiener, which contains pork
as well as beef. It’s pale, with a tender, almost creamy texture and
pork’s nutty sweetness. It’s striking, old-fashioned and delicious —
as different from the traditional Chicago-style dog at Walnut Creek’s
Stadium Pub as you could imagine.
Owner Richard Sherman seeks to be the East Bay’s wiener proselytizer,
spreading the news of the authentic Chicago hot dog. In his Stadium
Pub sports bar, amid a tangle of high tables, TV sets flashing with
a confusion of games, in an atmosphere of mismatched bar stool
authenticity, a Chicago Dog looks just right in its red plastic
basket. It bristles with relish and diced onion, with tomato and
cucumber slices, under a thick pickle spear.
The Vienna Beef dog (flown in from Chicago along with the poppy seed
buns) is fat, with a thick, crisp skin. It nearly drips with rich,
heavy juice when you bite into it, and it’s powerfully saline (thanks
in part to a sprinkling of celery salt). That bun is so soft that
handling it compresses it into a kind of compact sheath.
It’s terrific — but unless you grew up in Chicago, crowding into
Demon Dogs under the Red Line El tracks near DePaul University, or
hanging out on the concrete picnic tables out front of Jansen’s on
the South Side, it’s all wrong, exotic rather than evocative.
Nostalgia is the most personal of self-indulgences. Especially when
it’s smeared with mustard.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
June 15 2005
Armenian Lobby Pushes Resolution in US Congress
The New Anatolian / Washington
The Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress is preparing to push a new
resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives this month.
Democratic California Congressman Adam Schiff, who is known as a
friend of the lobby, announced yesterday that a new resolution to
recognize the so-called Armenian genocide will be presented to the
U.S. House of Representatives within two weeks.
The resolution is expected to be discussed by a subcommittee of the
U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee.
Diplomatic sources think that the Armenian resolution will be
approved by the subcommittee, but it’s not certain whether the full
committee will considerit.
Diplomatic sources also claim that even if the resolution passes the
International Relations Committee, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert
would prevent it from reaching the House floor.
In October 2000, Hastert withdrew a similar resolution at the behest
of then U.S. President Clinton.
Pro-Armenian congressman stymied
Last week, pro-Armenian Congressman Schiff tried to add two
amendments concerning the controversial Armenian problem during
International Relations Committee hearings on a State Department
authorization bill.
The amendments would have required the U.S. government to analyze
diplomatic responses
to the Armenian “genocide” and urge Turkey to open its border with
Armenia. The amendments’ failure coincided with Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the U.S. and pressure from
the Turkish Embassy in Washington. Schiff’s efforts to add the
amendments were unsuccessful.
GB-Turk Dialogue Committee works to block resolution
In related news, the Britain-Turkey Dialogue Committee is preparing
to block discussions of a Armenian resolution by the Edinburgh City
Council on June 30. The committee will visit the mayor of Edinburgh
to persuade him not to discuss the measure in the City Council.

MEMORANDUM WITH IRAN
A1plus
| 13:16:33 | 15-06-2005 | Official |
Today RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan received the Irani Islamic
Republic Education Minister Morteza Haji and his delegation.
Finding the enhancing of two-party and regional cooperation with our
neighbor and friend Iran, Andranik Margaryan underlined that different
visits, as well as the efficient work of the Armenian-Irani of Economic
Cooperation inter governmental Commission considerably contribute to
those relations.
Andranik Margaryan and Morteza Haji also found the activating of the
relations between the regions near the borders of the two countries
extremely important. The Prime Minister voiced confidence that the
visit of Morteza Haji will become a new impetus to the development
of cooperation and traditional friendship of the two countries and
nations. He especially mentioned the education and science fields.
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and Minister Morteza Haji mentioned
that as a result of this visit of the Minister as agreement has been
reached about the signing of the “Mutual Understanding Memorandum”
in the educational field. And the educational institutions to be
opened in Yerevan and Tehran soon will contribute to the establishment
of horizontal links between the higher educational institutions in
particular and to the further enhancing of the relations between the
two countries in general.

Arizona Republic, AZ
June 15 2005
Armenians build new sanctuary
City must OK design so building can start
Diana Balazs
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
Jerry Avakian displayed the portable altar that is wheeled out for
Sunday services at the Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona in
Scottsdale.
It is kept in a storage room and takes center stage on an actual
stage. The only Armenian church in Arizona has been holding its
services, known as divine liturgy, in the same cultural center where
it holds its non-religious functions.
That will soon change. The church, at 8849 E. Cholla St., plans to
build a main sanctuary, with groundbreaking set for early 2006, said
Avakian, chairman of the parish council. It would take eight to nine
months to build the church. advertisement
Funds are being raised for the $1.5 million project. Church member
and architect Artin Knadjian has designed a building with a stone
façade that is patterned after a church in Armenia. The church must
receive design approval from Scottsdale before construction can
begin.
The sanctuary will be the latest in a number of diverse houses of
worship in the city.
Scottsdale is also home to a Coptic Orthodox church and a Hindu
temple, both in the southern part of the city. The city’s first
mosque and Islamic cultural center is under construction in northeast
Scottsdale.
Scottsdale has become a melting pot of sorts for a number of faiths,
Avakian said.
“From a selfish standpoint,” he said, “diversity gives the
opportunity for a church like mine to exist in a very nice situation
of free Arizona, free America, etc. And I believe that people should
be able to develop their lives according to what their wishes are.”
–Boundary_(ID_YyRUooLVcDHhmzlXMJXByw)–

Iran, Armenia keen to expand educational, research cooperation
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
June 15 2005
Moscow, June 15, IRNA — Iran’s Minister of Education Morteza Haji in
a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian in Yerevan
on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with multi-faceted expansion of
mutual ties and stressed the need to bolster cooperation in the field
of education and research.
Currently on a three-day visit to the Armenian capital of Yerevan,
Haji referred to the significance of closer communication between
pupils and students as well as scientific, educational and research
centers of both countries.
Turning to the Iranology Center in Armenia, the minister reiterated
the need to broaden its activities.
For his part, Markarian regretted the recent terrorist acts in Iran
and expressed grief over the death of a number of Iranian citizens
in several blasts.
He underlined that the background of amicable relations between the
two nations, close cooperation of the two governments since Armenia
gained independence and the growing trend of mutual ties paved the
way for consolidating relations.
Markarian pointed to the significance of Iran-Armenia collaboration
in the domain of science and education, and called for expansion of
such exchanges and closer communication between various institutes
active in the field.
“Given the growing economic cooperation between the two states, the
positive outcome of implementing major projects will be evident at
the regional level,” he added.
In another meeting with the Head of Armenia’s Presidential Office
Artash Tumanyan and the Armenian head of joint economic commission,
Haji placed special focus on closer interactions between the two
nations.
He stressed the role of the Iran-Armenia Economic Commission in
mutual relations.
Tumanyan referred to the importance of Haji’s visit to his country
and assessed the growing trend of bilateral ties as positive.
He urged the need to expand collaboration in the domain of science
and research with the framework of the joint economic commission.
The official pointed out that Iran’s significant regional status is
of great importance in Armenia’s foreign relations.
“Given that a considerable number of Iranian students are currently
studying in Armenian universities, special attention should be paid
to broadening cooperation in the field,” concluded Tumanyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IRAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN DIPLOMAS
Pan Armenian News
15.06.2005 04:06
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian met in
Yerevan with Iranian Minister of Education Morteza Haji. Andranik
Margarian condoled with the families of those killed and wounded in
explosions in Tehran and Khuzestan and expressed assurance that it will
not tell on the presidential election on June 17. Noting the importance
of multilateral and regional cooperation with Iran Andranik Margarian
said that mutual visits at different levels as well as efficient
work of the Iranian-Armenian intergovernmental commission contribute
to it. The parties also noted the increase of the commodity turnover
between Armenia and Iran. The RA Premier expressed assurance that the
visit will become a stimulus in the development of cooperation and
further cooperation in the educational and scientific fields. They
also highlighted the signing of memorandum on mutual understanding
~SOn mutual acknowledgement of diplomas and certificates of Armenia
and Iran as well as the opening of scientific centers in Yerevan and
Tehran, what will contribute to the establishment of ties between
the institutes of higher education of both states.

“NATIONAL REFERENDUM” CONTINUES
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
13 June 05
Naira Melkumian believes that by supporting Artsakh Armenian people
once again say “YES” to the independence of Artsakh. For any
country a strong economy is the precondition for country’s
development. Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which is still very young, is
considered to be an area of risk for investments and business.
However, all the conditions are there, owing to which the country
will have a strong economy in the future. The all-Armenian foundation
“Hayastan” has a considerable contribution to the
rehabilitation and development of the economy of Artsakh. In the
recent years the foundation has been focusing on Artsakh mainly. The
construction of the highway “North – South” referred to as
the spine of Artsakh will be soon completed on the means of this
organization which unites the Armenians spread all over the world.
Next the Programme of Revival of Artsakh will be launched. Our talk
with the executive director of the all-Armenian foundation
“Hayastan” Naira Melkumian was about the Programme of Revival
of Artsakh and her vision of the future plans of the foundation.
CHRISTINE MNATSAKANIAN: “Mrs. Melkumian, would you comment on the
name of the programme “Revival of Artsakh”?” NAIRA
MELKUMIAN: “First of all, the idea of the programme belongs to
the NKR president. And the board of trustees, which is, in one way,
the entire Armenian nation, also wishes to see Artsakh reconstructed.
Therefore, the programme we are implementing was named “Revival
of Artsakh”. And in order for Artsakh to revive, first of all the
development of the regions which have more economic potential should
be spurred. Last year NKR President Arkady Ghukassian set forth the
issue of developing the regions separately. The region of Martakert
was considered first. The strategic plan consists of three stages
and, besides Martakert, involves the regions of Hadrut and Martuni as
well. Thus, in the near future the regions of Martuni, Hadrut and
Martakert will be revived.” C.M.: “By which principle were
you guided in making a choice? Why did you decide to start with
Martakert?” N.M.: “This region is one of those which suffered
more during the war and there is urgent need for reconstruction of
infrastructures, educational, health and other institutions, houses.
Besides, it was taken into consideration that Martakert possesses
more economic opportunities, the development of which may change the
economic situation in Artsakh. Considering the natural resources,
including minerals, as well as the agricultural potential, we think
that Martakert has all the opportunities to become the leading region
of Artsakh. Besides, by this programme we also envisage solving the
problem of unemployment. The region of Martakert can employ much more
people in their own country preventing them from leaving the country
to work abroad.” C.M.: “What particular steps will be taken
in this direction?” N.M.: “This is, indeed, a complex
programme. It is going to be a so-called regional development
programme, that is to say, we will take into consideration the
interrelated problems of Martakert. We are not going to solve
separate problems, but together with the NKR government we will
decide on which villages the focus of the programme will be. In the
framework of the programme we will reconstruct schools, medical
stations, water pipelines. At the same time there will be special
focus on the development of agriculture, considering the fact that
today agriculture is business. The implementation of the programme is
necessary to prevent emigration. We will take into consideration
human resources in Karabakh. The ability of the people of Karabakh to
work as a team will be put at the heart of the programme. Our goal is
not only prevention of emigration but also promotion of
re-settlement. For this reason we have to provide opportunities for
the people of Artsakh to feel full citizens and to be able to run
agriculture as a form of business.” C.M.: “Which is the
political role of the programme?” N.M.: “I believe that the
new programme will support the consciousness of the independent
state. A country and people are truly independent if they can solve
their political issues independently. At present the political issue
of Karabakh is settled on the economic plane, and the development of
Artsakh makes the political reality that today we have as Nagorno
Karabakh Republic irreversible. I am sure that the economic revival
of Artsakh will enable putting forward the issue of international
recognition of Artsakh as an independent republic.” C.M.:
“How long will the economic revival of Artsakh take?” N.M.:
“Within a year we will find the necessary financial resources,
after which the implementation of the programme proper will begin. If
we manage to raise the necessary sum within a year, the programme
will be completed in three years. We do not have time to spend 5-6
years on every project and we must always keep this in our minds. All
these programmes should be a call for alertness for all of us. I hope
that like in the previous year, this year too, the people of Armenia
will take part actively in the telethon. This is extremely important.
I think, in a way this is a referendum and people answer the question
“Do we need Artsakh, or not?” And if Armenia donates 1
million dollars, it means that the Armenian people in this way vote
for the settlement of the issue.” C.M.: “What innovations
will there be in Telethon 2005, which may promote donations?”
N.M.: “Actually, it is early to speak about innovations because,
as you already know, the telethon will be held in November. At the
moment I only can say that in this telethon we will replace the
phrase “national tribute” by “national donation”. We
withdraw the principle of duty and introduce the idea of donation
because a person cannot be obliged to make a donation but he should
do it with an inner urge. Although I want to mention that so far no
one has made their donation under obligation. It was a gift, a
donation to their people and country.” C.M.: “The previous
telethons showed that the Armenians living in Russia were passive in
making donations. What will be done this year to involve them in this
action?” N.M.: “Certain representatives of the Armenian
community of Russia play an active role indeed. They made and
continue making a significant contribution to the economic
development of Artsakh. It is another question that we do not have a
local body there yet. This problem is being solved currently. There
are many businessmen in Russia who come from Karabakh, and I hope
that the foundation will become a link through which they will
support the development programme of Martakert. In the long run, I am
sure, that the idea of supporting this invaluable programme will
unite the Armenians all over the world.”
CHRISTINE MNATSAKANIAN.
13-06-2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TABLE-Ukraine sunoil exports up in April
KIEV, June 13 (Reuters) – Ukraine, among the world’s leading sunflower
oil exporters, increased its sunoil exports to 62,000 tonnes in April
from 60,500 in March, analysts said on Monday. ProAgro agriculture
consultancy said Ukraine exported sunoil mostly to Britain, Spain,
Switzerland, Russia, Italy and France.
Ukraine exported 411,600 tonnes of sunoil in October-April 2004/05
compared with 612,700 in the same period in 2003/04. Analysts have
said the country’s sunoil exports are likely to total 700,000 tonnes
this season, down from 971,900 in
2003/04.
UKRAINE SUNOIL/SUNSEED EXPORTS IN APRIL ’05 (FINAL DATA)
SUNOIL
COUNTRY VOLUME PRICE
(tonnes) ($/T)
TOTAL 62,000 670.31
UK 12,100 585.09
Spain 9,000 632.38
Switzerland 8,800 618.14
Russia 8,700 906.93
Italy 7,900 618.23
France 7,600 628.98
Belarus 2,700 746.25
Hungary 1,100 650.12
Greece 1,000 624.15
Turkey 1,000 653.01
Other 2,100 855.79
SUNSEED
TOTAL 4,500 320.64
Hungary 3,600 256.43
Poland 300 358.43
Lithuania 100 308.18
Germany 100 450.84
Georgia 100 353.97
Estonia 100 569.50
Other 100 1,672.47
SUNFLOWER MEAL
TOTAL 86,600 99.74
Belarus 23,000 103.45
Israel 11,400 97.28
Poland 10,200 103.43
Morocco 9,900 81.00
Latvia 9,000 103.39
Turkey 6,700 89.23
Lithuania 3,900 76.57
Netherlands 3,500 145.61
Denmark 2,800 117.58
Greece 2,200 93.34
Azerbaijan 1,100 95.00
Switzerland 1,000 99.80
Armenia 800 102.57
Estonia 400 87.31
Other 900 n/a
06/13/05 11:21 ET
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress