Author: Emil Lazarian

TRIAL ON MURDER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER BY AZERI SERVICEMAN TO RESUME IN BUDAPEST TODAY
PanArmenian News
Feb 8 2005
08.02.2005 13:22
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Trial on murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian
by Azeri serviceman Ramil Safarov will resume in Budapest today,
Armenpress news agency reported. In the course of the sitting the
second Azeri serviceman and a Lithuanian officer, who lived in
the same room with Armenian officer Hayk Makuchian, as well as a
psychologist physician and experts will testify. Lawyer Gabriela
Caspar will represent the interests of the plaintiff. Along with
lawyer Nazeli Vardanian representative of a specially formed group
on the case Hayk Demoyan has left for Hungary.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Feb 8 2005
FOREIGN WORKERS IN MOSCOW INCREASING
MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – “An estimated 500,000-800,000
immigrants are in Moscow now. In 2004, our department issued 96,761
work permits to foreign workers,” Vladimir Troitsky, chief of the
Immigration Section of the Interior Ministry’s Moscow Department,
told the media Tuesday.
According to Mr. Troitsky, Chinese citizens are the most numerous
among “far-abroad” immigrants. Official data set their number at
about 22,000, with roughly 16,000 Vietnamese ranking second in
Moscow, then Turks, numbering about 2,000. As far as CIS member-state
citizens are concerned, Ukrainians are most numerous at almost 7,000,
Moldavians number about 4,000, Armenians at about 2,000 and Tajiks at
almost 2,500.
Mr. Troitsky said also that in 2004 his personnel issued immigrants
with almost 1.5 times more work permits than in 2003.
“We expect the number of employers eager to register their foreign
workforce to increase considerably because the administrative
punishment for employing illegal aliens has become far more severe.
Criminal responsibility for such breaches of law is also supposed to
be introduced,” Mr. Troitsky said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Player to Watch: American Eskandarian makes papa proud
FIFAWorldCup.com
25 January 2005
With only one cap to his name, steadily improving striker Alecko
Eskandarian is primed for a big future with the U.S. national team. The
23 year-old D.C. United man may not be the biggest or the fastest,
but his understanding, eye for goal and undeniable pedigree have him
in frame for a fine run on the international stage.
After three years at the University of Virginia – a side brought to
prominence by current national team boss Bruce Arena – Eskandarian went
into Major League Soccer as the U.S.’ top collegiate player in 2003.
After coming into the league highly touted, he scored only three
goals for D.C. United in an unremarkable start to his professional
career. The squat forward looked sadly out of his depth. But willing
to pay his dues, the remarkably down-to-earth Alecko learned his
lessons well and 2004 proved another story altogether as he brought
the capital club back to greatness with a championship run.
In the run-up to the 2004 campaign, 14-year-old wunderkind and league
record-signing Freddy Adu was grabbing all the headlines. But it was
his teammate, Eskandarian, who got the job done for United once the
ball got rolling. The player capped off his fine run of form with
two goals in the MLS championship match against Kansas City.
D.C. United coach, former Poland captain and one of the finest-ever
MLS players, Peter Nowak, was amazed with the vast improvements on
display in Alecko’s sophomore season.
“Now when I ask him ‘how many goals will you score today?’ he has more
confidence and asks ‘how many do you want?'” the coach commented. Twice
Eskandarian was named player of the week and became the first D.C.
United player to score more than ten goals in a season since 2001. He
finished the year as the team’s top scorer, helping them to earn a
spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
“It’s pretty sweet to go to everybody that was doubting me and just
show them the trophy (MLS Cup) and just be like, ‘Shut up. I did it,'”
Eskandarian said of his triumphant 2004.
Family ties, football ties
The Eskandarian saga is a compelling and peculiarly ‘American’ tale,
screaming of long, arduous journeys and the intermingling of cultures.
Originally of Armenian origins, the Eskandarian clan was forced
to flee Europe for Iran to escape the horror of early 20th century
genocide. Alecko’s father Andarik went on to make his name playing
football in the mid-east. The hard-nosed, no nonsense defender lined
up for Iran at the 1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina, and his performances
were so impressive he was named to a Cup all-star team. And after
playing an exhibition match at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, USA,
his ample talents were noticed by the then managers of the New York
Cosmos. Almost at once, the player relocated to the East Coast of
the U.S. where he lined up alongside such icons as Pele and Franz
Beckenbauer for the legendary Cosmos of the North American Soccer
League (NASL) – the ill-fated precursor to MLS.
Andarik’s son Alecko was born in the ethnic hotbed of Montvale,
New Jersey in July of 1982 and almost at once showed an aptitude
for football. His father – who now owns a sporting goods store –
did all he could to nurture that talent.
“I have been playing soccer ever since I can remember,” Alecko recalls
fondly. “And my first soccer memory is kicking the ball around with
my brother and my dad in our backyard and going nuts when I scored
a goal.”
It did not take long for the stocky poacher to climb the ladder of
the American game, scoring goals with a predatory instinct. What he
lacked in size and speed, he more than made up for with creativity
and an uncanny nose for goal.
He was only 16 when the powers that be in U.S. Soccer noticed the
clever, cocksure Alecko. In 1999 he was called in to play with the
under-17 national team, went on to play four games with the under-20s
at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina in 2001, and led
the U-23 (Olympic) side in scoring in 2002.
It was only a matter of time before he got his chance with the big
boys in the senior squad. And it came on 26 May 2003, when he came
off the bench in a friendly against Wales.
Though he failed to score, it is surely just the beginning for the
young striker. With Bruce Arena alerted to Eskandarian’s substantial
ability, he has been called into the training camp for the final
six-team ‘Hexagonal’ of North, Central American and Caribbean Zone
FIFA World Cup qualifying.
The U.S. will take on Trinidad & Tobago on 9 February in their first
match of the final round.

Federal News Service, Inc.
FNS DAYBOOK
February 8, 2005 Tuesday
DISCUSSION – THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PAUL H. NITZE SCHOOL OF
ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (SAIS)
SUBJECT: The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of
Advanced International Studies (SAIS) holds a discussion, “Track II
Diplomacy and the Prospects of Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation.”[AGENDA] Speakers’ comments are not for attribution
LOCATION: SAIS, Nitze Building, Kenney Auditorium, 1740 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. — February 8, 2005
PARTICIPANTS: David Phillips, deputy director, Center for Prevention
Action, Council on Foreign Relations and Matt Bryza, National
Security Council deputy director of Europe and the Caucasus
CONTACT: Members of the public should RSVP to 202.265.4300; e-mail,
[email protected]; Felisa Neuringer Klubes, 202-663-5626;
e-mail, [email protected]; or
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Amir receives letter from Armenian President
Bahrain News Agency
February 7, 2005 Monday 12:21 PM EST
Manama, February 07
The Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah received a letter
Monday from the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian.
The letter was delivered by the Armenian National Assmebly Speaker,
Arthur Baghdasaryan during his meeting with the Prime Minister,
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Press, Turkey
Feb 7 2005
A Very Important Visit
BYEGM: 2/7/2005
BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be in the world
media spotlight over the next four years as both the architect and
advocate of Pax Americana. Her visit to Ankara aimed to determine the
extent of US cooperation with Turkey over the coming months. Speaking
at a press conference following his meeting with Rice at Esenboga
Airport, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Washington a
strategic ally. This definition means that Turkey will support the
US’ Iran and Syria policies, because our bilateral ties are at a
turning point.
Rice’s visit was meant to put pressure on Syria and Iran to cease
their support of terrorist groups and quest to produce nuclear
weapons. If these efforts don’t bear fruit, the US will start
concrete action. Will Turkey hold up its end of the strategic
alliance? The US will arrange its policy accordingly. If Ankara
doesn’t support it, Washington will move closer to northern Iraq’s
Kurds as well as Armenia. The US is expecting understanding from such
key Arab countries as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Otherwise it will try
to bring democracy to them, as they seem unable to do so on their
own.

Agence France Presse
4 février 2005 vendredi 11:29 PM GMT
Patriarche arménien: la question du génocide doit être réglée par
historiens
ISTANBUL 4 fév
Le patriarche arménien Mesrob II a estimé vendredi à Istanbul que la
question du génocide arménien devait “être réglée par les historiens”
et n’était “pas une affaire politique”, a indiqué sa porte-parole
Luiz Bakar.
“Nous n’avons absolument rien à dire sur la loi française”, a ajouté
la porte-parole en rapportant les propos du Patriarche à l’issue de
son entretien avec la délégation française conduite par le président
de l’Assemblée nationale Jean-Louis Debré.
En 2001, la reconnaissance du génocide arménien en 1915 a été votée
par l’Assemblée nationale française.
“Nous sommes Arméniens, mais nous vivons en Turquie. Nous avons vécu
un évènement tragique, mais nous préférons regarder vers l’avenir”, a
poursuivi le patriarche, selon Mme Bakar.
En recevant, M. Debré, qui était accompagné des présidents des
groupes représentés à l’Assemblée, Bernard Accoyer (UMP), Jean-Marc
Ayrault (PS), Alain Bocquet (PCF) et Hervé Morin (UDF), Mesrob II a
affirmé en outre, selon M. Accoyer, que lui-même n’employait pas le
mot “génocide”, même “s’il l’avait fait lors de ses voeux et pensait
que ces évènements méritaient ce qualificatif”. Pour autant, a
poursuivi M. Accoyer, “il n’y a pas de sa part une exigence
sémantique”.
“Cette question est difficile mais les positions des uns et des
autres sont en train d’évoluer”, a relevé M. Debré.
Le patriarche “ne fait pas de la reconnaissance du génocide” par son
pays “un préalable”, a ajouté M. Ayrault, en indiquant qu’il avait
fait la veille une “ouverture” en proposant au Premier ministre turc
Recep Tayyip Erdogan la constitution d’une “commission internationale
d’historiens sous l’égide des Nations unies” pour régler cette
question.
“Nous aurons peut-être nous même besoin de cela concernant notre
passé colonial”, a-t-il poursuivi, en insistant sur le devoir de
vérité des nations face à leur passé.
Affirmant ne “pas regretter” son vote sur la reconnaissance du
génocide, M. Bocquet a insisté également sur la nécessité de
“rechercher une solution pour surmonter ce blocage”.
Le patriarche a par ailleurs affirmé son soutien à l’entrée de son
pays dans l’Union européenne. Il a fait valoir de plus, selon sa
porte-parole, que si la Turquie entrait dans l’UE “les gens ne se
seraient plus tentés d’y aller car ils y seront déjà”.

EMPLOYEE OF ZHVANIA STAFF FOUND DEAD
TBILISI, FEBRUARY 5. ARMINFO. The employee of the staff of late
Georgian PM Zurab Zhvania Georgy Khelashvili has committed a suicide,
reports RIA Novosti referring to the spokesman of the police and
public security ministry Guram Donadze.
Khelashvili, 32, was found dead in his house Friday evening. He is
believed to have shot himself from a gun he had taken from his
neighbor, says Donadze.
Meanwhile, the father of Raul Yusupov, deputy governor of Kvemo Kartli
region, found dead in the same house with Zurab Zhvania Thursday, does
not believe in the official version of his son’s death. “I want to
know the truth. My son did not die in that house,” he says noting that
he is going to contact Zhvania’s family to learn what really happened.
Mze TV company reports that Yusupov never lived in that house and
never rented it while the official sources say that a month before the
tragedy he rented the house and three days before changed his gas
heater (which officially caused the two’s death), reports Interfax.-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
February 05, 2005, Saturday
Five share victory in Gib
By Malcolm Pein
FIVE players shared first at the Gibtelecom Masters organised by the
BCF at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. Kiril Georgiev of Macedonia and
Lev Aronian of Armenia both won their last-round games to join the
leaders on 7.5/10. The trio on seven points at start of play —
Alexey Shirov, Emil Sutovsky and Zahar Efimenko — all drew.
Danny Gormally drew with a second Armenian international, Gabriel
Sargissian, and gained nearly 30 rating points while ending as the
best-placed British player on 6.5/10. Peter Wells, who defeated Jon
Speelman, and Colin McNab, who overcame Juan Bellon, also scored 6.5,
but their results do not compare with Gormally’s, who was inspired
and faced six of the world’s top-ranked players and lost only once.
There were 120 players in the competition.
Round 10 results: 2 Kotronias (6=) = — = Efimenko (7); 3 Georgiev
(6=) 1 — 0 Erenburg (6=); 4 Sargissian (6=) = — = Gormally (6=); 5
Rogers (6) 0 — 1 Aronian (6=); 6 Spraggett (6) = — = Dreev (6) ; 7
Areshchenko (6) 1 — 0 Sasikiran (6) ; 8 Nakamura (6) 1 — 0 N Pert
(6) ; 9 Wells (5=) 1 — 0 Speelman(6) ; 10 Lahno (5=) 0 — 1 Avrukh
(5=); 11 Tregubov (5=) = — = Radziewicz (5=); 12 Postny (5=) = —
Skripchenko (5=); 13 Hamdouchi (5=) = — = Tissir (5=); 14 Hebden
(5=) = — = Thorfinnsson (5=); 15 Rendle (5=) = — = Ward (5=); 16
Arakhamia (5=) = — = Al Sayed (5=); 17 Bellon (5) 0 — 1 McNab (5=).
SHIROV mates his opponent after opening lines with a pawn sacrifice;
see if you can spot the finish in the diagram below.
A.Shirov — K.Spraggett
Gibraltar Masters (9)
Sicilian Defence
1 e4c5 2Nf3e6
3 d4cxd4 4Nxd4a6
5 Bd3Nf6 60-0d6
7 c4Qc7 8Nc3Be7
9 b3b510Bb2b4
11 Nce2Nbd712Ng3Nc5
13 Bc2Bb714Qe10-0
15 Rd1Rfe816f4d5
17 cxd5exd518e5Nfe4
19 Ndf5Bf820Rc1Qd7
21 Qe3Rac822Rfd1Qe6
23 Nd4Qb624Nde2Qb5
25 f5Nd726Bd3Rxc1
27 Rxc1Qa528e6!fxe6
29 fxe6Rxe630Nf4Re8
31 Nxe4dxe432Bc4+Kh8
1-0
Spraggett
Shirov
Final position after 32…Kh8 and Black resigned: why? Answer on
Monday.
THE Bermuda International is a top-class event, with a double-round
all-play-all that includes six of the world’s top 100 players.
Scores after five rounds: 1-3 Vescovi (Brazil) 2645, Gelfand (Israel)
2696, Harikrishna (India) 2632 3/5; 4 Dominguez, (Cuba) 2661 2.5; 5
Volokitin (Ukraine) 2; 6 Macieja (Poland) 2618 1.5.

Cyprus Press and Information Office, Occupied Northern Cyprus
Feb 5 2005
French Parliament Speaker reminded the Turks about the Turkish
occupation of Cyprus and the Armenian genocide
Ankara Anatolia news agency (03.02.05) reported from Ankara that the
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and the President of the
French National Assembly Jean Louis Debre held a joint news
conference on Thursday.
When asked, ”do you think that a negative result will emerge in the
referendum which will be held in France about Turkey’s EU membership
and how do you interpret such a result?” Arinc said: ”Turkey is not
after a privilege about EU membership. However, we oppose to any
discrimination to be made against Turkey. EU should apply the same
procedure it applied on other candidates.
”A referendum for Turkey will be held in the future, not today.
Throughout this period, I believe there will be positive developments
in Turkey and France. I think a positive result will emerge from the
referendum.”
Replying to the same question, Debre said: ”It is a tradition to
hold a referendum (in France) when a situation is in question
regarding borders and structure of the EU. When time has come, French
people will make its decision.”
Meanwhile, Arinc said that they have taken up Turkey-EU relations
during meetings between Turkish and French delegations. He noted:
”We informed the French delegation about the details of the reforms
Turkey implemented.”
On the other hand, Debre said: ”It is impossible to stay indifferent
to the request of a country with a population of 71 million habitants
to join the EU. We should listen to each other. Of course, some
questions emerge in the French public opinion. Because, we want to
build a Europe we have questions to ask. Is the Turkish society ready
to adopt the reforms which will change the structure of their
society? There are also other questions like Cyprus, human rights and
Armenian issue, to be solved.”
Regarding the Cyprus problem and Armenian issues, Debre said: ”We
have discussed these issues with Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. I told him that Cyprus and Armenian issues are considered as
problems in France. Everything works more comfortably as long as
people are in peace with their own histories.”