Author: Emil Lazarian

IranMania News, Iran
Jan 26 2005
Mazandaran delegation in Armenia: IRNA

LONDON, Jan 26 (IranMania) – Deputy Governor General of Mazandaran
province Ali Akbar Mirlouhi met in Yerevan with Head of Armenian
Presidential Office Artashes Toumanian to discuss issues of mutual
interest, IRNA reported.
At the meeting, Toumanian, who is also the Armenian head of the
Iran-Armenia Economic Commission, expressed satisfaction over
establishment of ties and cooperation with the northern Iranian
province and underlined the need to expand cooperation in
agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and tourism sectors.
Elaborating on potentials and abilities of Mazandaran province,
Mirlouhi expressed the province readiness to expand cooperation with
Armenia in various fields.
Mirlouhi also met the Head of Merchants and Industrialists Union
Arsen Ghazarian on Monday evening.
The two sides called for promoting and expanding private sectors’
ties for effective cooperation. Mirlouhi is visiting Armenia at the
head of an economic and commercial delegation from Mazandaran.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RFE/RL Analysis: Council Of Europe Calls For Talks Between Azerbaijan,
Karabakh Leadership
Wednesday, 26 January 2005
By Liz Fuller
In the late summer of 2004, British parliamentarian David Atkinson, who
succeeded Terry Davis as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe’s (PACE) rapporteur for Nagorno-Karabakh, was tasked with
completing a report begun by Davis for the assembly on the situation in
the disputed region.
Even though such reports, when adopted, are only recommendations, ever
since that draft was unveiled two months ago, legislators and political
commentators in both Armenia and Azerbaijan have evaluated, and lobbied
to amend, criticisms they consider unwarranted and terminology they
consider inappropriate or misleading.
Specifically, the Armenian side objected from the outset to the
assertion that “considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan are
still occupied by Armenian forces, and separatist forces are still in
control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.” The Armenian PACE delegation
sought to substitute “supporters of democracy” for the term “separatist
forces,” presumably in order to underscore that the elections that have
taken place in the disputed republic were free and democratic, in
contrast to those in Azerbaijan that the OSCE has consistently
criticized as not meeting international standards for free and fair
elections. The Armenian side also considered inappropriate the use of
the term “ethnic cleansing” in connection with the exodus from the
region of its minority Azerbaijani population.
The Davis/Atkinson report was the subject of a three-hour debate on 25
January during the PACE winter session. The Armenian delegation’s
efforts to tone down wording that it considered unfair proved largely
unsuccessful, partly, delegation head Tigran Torosian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service on 20 January, due to lack of Russian support.
According to zerkalo.az on 26 January, most speakers expressed support
for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and for the withdrawal of
Armenian forces from areas bordering on Karabakh. The report was finally
approved by a vote of 123 in favor and seven against. Moreover, the
final version of the report terms the occupation of the territory of one
Council of Europe member state by another “a grave violation” and
stresses that the independence and secession of a territory may be
achieved only through a lawful and peaceful process and not in the wake
of an armed conflict leading to the expulsion of part of the region’s
population. It calls for compliance with four UN Security Council
resolutions adopted in 1993 calling for the withdrawal of unnamed
occupying forces from districts of Azerbaijan bordering on
Nagorno-Karabakh. And it calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
to expedite a formal agreement on cessation of the conflict that would
“eliminate the major consequences of the conflict for all parties” and
pave the way for the so-called Minsk Conference that would address the
region’s future status vis-a-vis Azerbaijan.
That approach is tantamount to endorsement of the so-called “phased”
approach to resolving the conflict, and it would apparently require the
withdrawal of Karabakh Armenian forces from the seven districts of
Azerbaijan bordering on Nagorno-Karabakh that they currently control,
and the return to their abandoned homes of the region’s Azerbaijani
minority, prior to the beginning of any formal discussion of the
region’s political status and of the measure of self-rule to which it
would be entitled as part of Azerbaijan. The Armenian government
considers this approach anathema, insofar as it would deprive the
Armenian side of its sole bargaining chip (the occupied territories)
before talks on Karabakh’s status got under way.
Azerbaijani commentators on 26 January termed the final wording of the
report a major defeat for Armenia. But the report also contained at
least one recommendation that is not acceptable to Azerbaijan: the
Armenian delegation succeeded in having it amended to include a call on
the Azerbaijani leadership to embark immediately and unconditionally on
talks with the leadership of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
on the region’s future status. Moreover, addressing the Assembly on 25
January, Atkinson argued that Azerbaijan should be expelled from the
Council of Europe if it attempts to restore its hegemony over
Nagorno-Karabakh by military means, Turan reported. Atkinson reminded
PACE that he visited Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s, and added that
he “will never forget” the Azerbaijani bombing of Stepanakert.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COLLISION OF IDEAS IN OSCE
A1+
25-01-2005
The Armenian delegation to the Council of Europe finds the resolution
about the Karabakh conflict adopted today extremely negative. As Armen
Roustamyan mentioned in his report, the Report only does not
correspond to its aim – to avoid the use of force, but moreover –
it sets Azerbaijan free.
According to Roustamyan, the report will create new difficulties in
the conflict and will no how contribute to its settlement. During the
discussion of the report, when 4 members of the Armenian delegation
made speech – Shavarsh Kocharyan, Armen Roustamyan, Tigran Torosyan,
and Artashes Gegamyan, two tendencies were noticeable. The Armenian
party tried to stress the right of self-determination, proving that
the insertion Karabakh into Azerbaijan by force will cause new
tensions and bloodshed.
The Azerbaijani delegation did everything in order not to introduce
any changes in the draft resolution and it succeeded. François
Rogeblois from the European National party, representative of the
French delegation, indirectly supported the Armenian point of
view. `The borders are the heritageof the past’, said the French
delegate, `stability in the region must be founded on the right of
self-determination’. Besides, several delegates from France, Greece,
and Italy underlined that the participation of the Karabakh
representatives is necessary in the negotiation process, for the
settlement of the conflict is impossible without the participation of
the people.
It is also worth mentioning that the delegates of Russia did not make
speech.
However, the majority of the delegates thought that the David
Atkinson’s report is a `balanced’ approach to the problem. The
resolution is adopted, which can be ground for the Armenian party to
reconsider the strategy in the field of foreign policy.

Resolution 1416 (2005)[1]
A1+
25-01-2005
The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE
Minsk Conference 1. The Parliamentary Assembly regrets that, more than
a decade after the armed hostilities started, the conflict over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region remains unsolved. Hundreds of thousands of
people are still displaced and live in miserable
conditions. Considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan are
still occupied by Armenian forces and separatist forces are still in
control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
2. The Assembly expresses its concern that the military action, and
the widespread ethnic hostilities which preceded it,led to large-scale
ethnic expulsion and the creation of mono-ethnic areas which resemble
the terrible concept of ethnic cleansing. The Assembly reaffirms that
independence and secession ofa regional territory from a state may
only be achieved through a lawful and peaceful process based on
democratic support by the inhabitants of such territory and not in the
wake of an armed conflict leading to ethnic expulsion and the de facto
annexation of such territory to another state. The Assembly reiterates
that the occupation of foreign territory by a member state constitutes
a grave violation of that state’s obligations as a member of the
Council of Europe and reaffirms the right of displaced persons from
the area of conflict to return to their homes safely and with dignity.
3. The Assembly recalls Resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993)
and 884 (1993) of the United Nations Security Council and urges the
parties concerned to comply with them, in particular by refraining
from any armed hostilities and by withdrawing military forces from any
occupied territories. The Assembly also aligns itself with the demand
expressed in Resolution 853 (1993) of the United Nations Security
Council and thus urges all member states to refrain from the supply of
any weapons and munitions which might lead to an intensification of
the conflict or the continued occupation of territory.
4. The Assembly recalls that both Armenia and Azerbaijan committed
themselves upon their accession to the Council of Europe in January
2001 to use only peaceful means for settling the conflict, by
refraining from any threat of using force against their neighbours. At
the same time, Armenia committed itself to use its considerable
influence over Nagorno-Karabakh to foster a solution to the
conflict. The Assembly urges both Governments to comply with these
commitments and refrain from using armed forces against each other as
well as from propagating military action.
5. The Assembly recalls that the Council of Ministers of the
Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) agreed in
Helsinki in March 1992to hold a conference in Minsk in order to
provide for a forum for negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the
conflict. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the former Czech and Slovak
Federal Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation,
Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America agreed at that time to
participate in this Conference. The Assembly calls on these states to
step up their efforts to achieve the peaceful resolution of the
conflict and invites their national delegations to the Assembly to
report annually to the Assembly on the action of their governments in
this respect. For this purpose, the Assembly asks its Bureau to create
an Ad hoc Committee with inter alia the heads of these national
delegations.
6. The Assembly pays tribute to the tireless efforts of the Co-Chairs
of the Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office,in particular for having achieved a cease-fire in
May 1994 and having monitored the observance of this cease-fire since
then. The Assembly calls on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to take
immediate steps to conduct speedy negotiations for the conclusion of a
political agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict, the
implementation of which will eliminate major consequences of the
conflict for all parties and permit the convening of the Minsk
Conference. The Assembly calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to make use
of the OSCE Minsk Process and actively submit to each other via the
Minsk Group their constructive proposals for the peaceful settlement
of the conflict in accordance with the relevant norms and principles
of international law.
7. The Assembly recalls that Armenia and Azerbaijan are signatory
parties to the Charter of the United Nations and, in accordance with
Article 93, paragraph 1 of the Charter, ipso facto parties to the
Statute of the International Court of Justice. Therefore, the Assembly
suggests that if the negotiationsunder the auspices of the Co-Chairs
of the Minsk Group fail, Armenia and Azerbaijan should consider using
the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article 36,
paragraph 1 of the Court’s Statute.
8. The Assembly calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to foster political
reconciliation among themselves by stepping up bilateral
inter-parliamentary co-operation within the Assembly as well as in
other forums such as the meetings of the Speakers of the Parliaments
of the Caucasian Four. It recommends that both delegations should meet
during each part-session of the Assembly to review progress on such
reconciliation.
9. The Assembly calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to
establishcontacts without preconditions with the
politicalrepresentatives of both communitiesfrom the Nagorno-Karabakh
region regarding the future status of the region. It is prepared to
provide facilities for such contacts in Strasbourg, recalling that it
did so in the form of a hearing on previous occasions with Armenian
participation.
10. Recalling its Recommendation 1570 (2002) on the situation of
refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the
Assembly calls on all member and observer states to provide
humanitarian aid and assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people
displaced as a consequence of the armed hostilities and the expulsion
of ethnic Armenians from Azerbaijan and ethnic Azerbaijanis from
Armenia.
11. The Assembly condemns any expression of hatred portrayed in the
media of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Assembly calls on Armenia and
Azerbaijan to foster reconciliation, confidence-building and mutual
understanding among their peoples through schools, universities and
the media. Without such reconciliation, hatred and mistrust will
prevent stability in the region and may lead to new violence. Any
sustainable settlement must be preceded by and embedded in such
reconciliation processes.
12. The Assembly calls on the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe to draw up an action plan for specific support to Armenia and
Azerbaijan targeted at mutual reconciliation processes and to take
this resolution into accountin deciding on action concerning Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
13. The Assembly calls on the Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of the Council of Europe to assist locally elected
representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan in establishing mutual
contacts and inter-regional co-operation.
14. The Assembly resolves to analyse the conflict settlement
mechanisms existing within the Council of Europe, in particular the
European Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, in order
to provide its member states with better mechanisms for the peaceful
settlement of bilateral conflicts as well as internal disputes
involving local or regional territorial communities or authorities
which may endanger human rights, stability and peace.
15. The Assembly resolves to continue monitoring on a regular basis
the peaceful resolution of this conflict and decides to revert to
considering this issue at its first part-session in 2006.
[1] Assembly debate on 25 January 2005 (2nd Sitting) (see Doc. 10364,
report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr
Atkinson). Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 January 2005 (2nd
Sitting).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
January 25, 2005 Tuesday 1:59 PM Eastern Time
Conflicts in South Caucasus affect regional cooperation – EU
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Conflicts in the South Caucasus prevent the European Union from using
its potential in that region, EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Heikki Talvitie said on Tuesday when summing up results of
his visit to Armenia.
Regional cooperation is a EU priority in the South Caucasus, but it
cannot be developed because of conflicts, he said.
The European Commission report on Armenia will be ready in March, and
a program based on the European Neighborhood Policy will be developed
before the yearend, he said. The program will regulate relations with
Armenia, whereas the EU-Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
of 1999 is in effect now, the diplomat said.
Progress in the settlement of conflicts will have good effect on the
program, he said. The mandate of the EU special representative for
the South Caucasus includes support to efforts of the OSCE Minsk
Group for Nagorno-Karabakh. Talvitie welcomed Prague consultations
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.

Las Vegas Sun, NV
Jan 25 2005
Girls’ plight sparks community support
By Timothy Pratt

LAS VEGAS SUN
Friends and family of Emma and Mariam Sarkisian — two Armenian teens
who have lived most of their lives in Las Vegas and are threatened
with deportation — rallied in support of the girls Monday, as their
attorney filed additional arguments to a federal judge in favor of
releasing them from a Los Angeles cell.
Meanwhile, Emma, who is 18, expressed frustration in a call from her
cell at being detained under what she described as “gross,
disgusting” conditions and being kept in the dark about their case.
The rally of about 30 people was held outside George Federal Building
in downtown Las Vegas on Monday afternoon. Some of the Sarkisians’
supporters had come from Los Angeles, holding signs with messages
such as, “To become American is not a crime.”
One of them was Grayr Nikogosyan, a neighbor of the Sarkisian family
when they lived in the Los Angeles area during the mid-1990s who has
maintained a friendship with them since then.
“The girls don’t deserve all this,” Nikogosyan said, referring to
their detention since Jan. 14 and possible deportation to Armenia.
The case began in July when Rouben Sarkisian, father of the girls,
was surprised at the Las Vegas office of immigration authorities by
the news that his daughters had no legal status in the United States.
Rouben Sarkisian is a U.S. resident, the step below citizenship, and
thought the girls were also residents. He has three other daughters
who were born in the United States.
Instead, they were told the girls were under orders to be deported
since 1993, according to their attorney, Jeremiah Wolf Stuchiner.
A twist got added to the case when the Republic of Armenia didn’t
recognize the girls, since they left the country when it was still a
Soviet republic, making them Soviet, not Armenian, citizens.
But by Jan. 14, Armenia changed its position on the issue. The girls
were sent to Los Angeles the same day. Since then, their legal team
has twice had to make 11th hour moves to keep the teens from being
placed onto flights to Moscow. The maneuvers bought time to argue
before a federal judge that the girls should be allowed to stay for
humanitarian reasons.
The girls are in the middle of something they shouldn’t have to
endure, their friends and family said Monday.
“They are just trying to lives their lives as normal teenaged girls,”
Nikogosyan said.
Nikogosyan also said that his daughter, Mari, who attends Clark
Magnet School in Glendale, Calif., had rallied hundreds of friends to
send letters to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., about the case.
Mari said her school and other schools in Glendale are taking up the
cause, since most of the students at those schools are Armenians or
children of Armenians.
“Everybody’s sending e-mails about this,” she said.
Alisa Petrossian, a news editor at Horizon TV, an Armenian station in
Los Angeles, said her station had broadcast news of the Sarkisian
girls three times over the weekend to an estimated 250,000 viewers
nationwide.
The Los Angeles area is home to about 150,000 Armenians, according to
the U.S. Census.
The girls are being detained during the day in a federal holding cell
in Los Angeles and are taken at night to a Best Western hotel that
immigration authorities rent out for children and families awaiting
deportation, Emma said.
Emma said the girls did not obtain soap and shampoo until three days
after arriving to Los Angeles.
When she had a headache during the first couple of days, she said she
asked for Tylenol and was told she would have to be taken to the
hospital.
“I didn’t want to be separated from my little sister,” she said,
referring to 17-year-old Mariam.
There has been no nurse or doctor to see them to inquire of their
health during the 10 days they have been detained, she said.
A sergeant and two officers guard them at all times, including when
they sleep, she said.
Emma described the cell as having a phone that uses pre-paid cards, a
window that guards use to observe them, a television that is usually
tuned to the news, benches and a toilet that is “filthy.”
She said that only the benches had been cleaned since the two have
been detained.
An immigration services spokesman this morning said he was not
immediately able to comment on the allegations.
The sisters are able to call their parents with cards they buy with
$190 their parents gave them before being taken into custody. They
have $120 left, she said.
Attorney Jeremiah Wolf Stuchiner, part of the legal team for the
Sarkisians, filed arguments to a Las Vegas federal judge Monday
arguing for their release. He said that parental rights and
international law favors his motion.
The idea is to bring the girls back to Las Vegas while the federal
judge rules on Stuchiner’s underlying argument — that the girls
should be given humanitarian consideration and allowed to remain in
the United States a few months longer while their father finally
becomes a citizen.
At that point, their father can petition for them to become
residents.
Meanwhile, Stuchiner said, they should be home and not in a cell.
“They’re not exactly a flight risk. Why should they be away from
their family?” he said.

Mehr News Agency, Iran
Jan 25 2005
Iran, Armenia sign MOU on exchange of technical, vocational training

TEHRAN, Jan. 25 (MNA) – Iran and Armenia signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on the exchange of information, technical and
vocational expertise, social supports and handicaps’ rehabilitation,
a news report said here on Tuesday.
`Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Naser Khaleqi and the
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Aghvan Vartanian who is visiting Iran on an official invitation,
signed an 11-para MOU regarding issues such as providing grounds for
the development of small and medium-sized manufacturing plants’,
Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported.
According to the report, the two sides also, agreed on concluding
agreements on the exchange of expertise in the social support system
with the aim of removing obstacles in the way of productive
employment as well as sharing their achievements in the field of
manufacturing rehabilitation equipments used by handicaps.
Also, exchange of information regarding the modern industrial
relations including the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH),
prevention and reduction in the work related accidents, upgrading the
work inspection and management, personal equipments and tools,
unemployment compensations and insurance system as well as the role
played by the workers and employers’ unions are among the most
important items of the agreement between the two countries, the
report further explained.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Tehran Times, Iran
Jan 25 2005
Iran garners four taekwondo golds at Women’s Games
TEHRAN (IRNA) — Iran collected four gold medals at taekwondo
competitions in the first Islamic and Muslim Capitals’ Women’s Games
here Monday.
Neda Zare’, Farzaneh Kalhor, Shokoufeh Karimi, and Shohreh
Khalajzadeh stood top in the first, third, fifth, and seventh weights
categories respectively.
In the first weight class, Zare’ handed Tehran the gold medal while
Nazila Nezami from Tehran Municipality won the silver and the bronze
went to Leila Hosseini from Afghanistan.
In the third weight, Kalhor from Municipality stole the show and
Hakimeh Khashei from Afghanistan snatched the bronze medal. Zeinab
Heidari from Tehran and Iraqi player Ra’na Abbassi tied at No. 3,
jointly bagging bronze.
In the fifth weight, Tehran’s Karimi took the gold medal, Kenarik
Gregorian from Armenia won the silver, and Nasrin Shazdeh-Ahmadi from
Tehran and Fatemeh Hamidi from Afghanistan jointly received the
bronze medal.
In the seventh weight, Khalajzadeh from Tehran stood on the highest
podium and Municipality’s Mahrouz Saei finished runner-up.
Just the duo competed in this weight category. Zare’ was named as
“Technical Player of the Games.”
The event was officially inaugurated in the presence of sports
officials and Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel in the
12,000-seater hall of Azadi Sports Complex in western Tehran Sunday.
Haddad-Adel vowed that Parliament will use all its power to boost
women’s sports.
The speaker added the Islamic Republic is determined to promote
sports associated with Islamic values among women. “We want to show
to the world that Muslim women can be active in sporting fields while
observing morals. We want to prove that the Islamic Republic can
develop women’s sports without making a copy of other nations’
programs since it has the capacity to promote sports among women and
observe the Islamic dress code at the same time.”
The ranking official noted that loyalty to the values is not
tantamount to struggle against other cultures but the Islamic
Republic is moving toward strengthening the Islamic entity.
He said the sporting event will help Muslim women befriend as the
message of sports is peace and friendship in the world.
Sports is a must for a healthy society, said the Majlis speaker
underlining that sports is very important to women, who are would-be
mothers.
Women’s Games is a major stride toward helping Muslim women gain
their status, said Haddad-Adel. The 2005 event is held in 2005, the
Year of Sports and Health, recalled the speaker and added, “The
Islamic Republic prides itself on holding the first edition of
Women’s Games.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU envoy urges Armenia, Georgia to put forward joint regional initiatives
Mediamax news agency
25 Jan 05
YEREVAN
Issues relating to the preparation of an Individual Action Plan as
part of the European [Union’s] New Neighbourhood Policy were discussed
in Yerevan today by the Armenian deputy foreign minister, Ruben
Shugaryan, and the special representative of the European Union in the
South Caucasus, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie.
Heikki Talvitie expressed his confidence that work on the Individual
Action Plan would be completed this year so that it could be adopted
in 2006, the press service of the Foreign Ministry has told Mediamax.
Shugaryan and Talvitie said the document, together with the
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), would serve as an
effective framework for Armenia’s integration into the European Union.
Ambassador Talvitie suggested that Armenia capitalize on the
opportunities presented by the New Neighbourhood Policy by putting
forward new programmes involving regional cooperation. Namely, the EU
representative said it might be a good idea to initiate some joint
Armenian-Georgian programmes in the first stage. He said their
successful implementation could facilitate the development of new
regional initiatives.
Ruben Shugaryan and Heikki Talvitie also exchanged opinions on
regional problems and discussed ways of securing a negotiated
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

FIDE to Kasparov: one more week
20.01.2005 The world chess organisation has reacted to _Garry Kasparov’s
withdrawal_ () from the
reunification cycle, stating that the bank guarantees Kasparov had demanded would
have been in place on January 25. It is impossible, says FIDE, to secure
high prize funds without the necessary time, and when the participants demand
excessive financial guarantees.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE: _
() ) regrets Garry Kasparov’s announcement to withdraw from playing the World
Chess Championship match against Rustam Kasimdzhanov at the scheduled dates
of April 25th to May 14th 2005.
During the latest FIDE congress in Spain, the Turkish Chess Federation
expressed its strong desire to organize this match. FIDE informed the General
Assembly that the Turkish bid was actively supported by the former world champion
Garry Kasparov who urged FIDE to ‘give somebody else the authority to act
unless FIDE already has the money from the Dubai organizer’. On 2 December
2004, FIDE entered discussions with the Turkish Chess Federation and requested
the necessary bank guarantees before signing any agreement or issuing player’s
contracts. Garry Kasparov had made it clear several times that he would not
sign anything before he receives ‘acceptable’ financial guarantees.
During the negotiations with the Turkish Chess Federation Garry Kasparov and
World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov were kept fully informed about all
developments. They knew that:
a) FIDE authorized the Turkish Chess Federation on December 7 to secure the
necessary funds in order to organize this match in Turkey with an initial
deadline of 29 December.
b) On 3 January 2005 the Deputy Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic, Mr
Mehmet Ali Sahin, informed FIDE in writing that Turkey is ready to provide all
necessary guarantees for the organization of the match, including the prize
fund of 1.000.000 USD, organizational costs, etc.
c) Following this letter of the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, FIDE gave the
Turkish Chess Federation a new deadline of 18 January for the issue of bank
guarantees of 200.000 USD for each player and 50.000 USD for FIDE. The total
amount of 1.272.000 USD would have to be transferred to FIDE’s bank account
no later than 25 March 2005.
Meanwhile, both players agreed that the match would begin on 25 April 2005.
A few days ago, the representative lawyer of the Turkish Chess Federation, Mr
Cemal Dursun, informed Garry Kasparov that no bank guarantees could be
issued before 25 January. After receiving this information, Garry Kasparovsent an
email to FIDE on 18 January announcing that he is no longer available to
participate in this match for the dates that had been agreed (25 April â=80` 14
May).
It is obvious that we are facing again a stalemate situation concerning the
realization of the Prague Agreement, a situation for which FIDE cannot be held
accountable. The official letter of the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
represents for FIDE a strong guarantee in order to provide the Turkish organizers
with the necessary time to deal with the formal procedures concerning the
issuance of the required financial guarantees.
Garry Kasparov, who for a long time has sincerely co-operated towards the
realization of the Prague Agreement, should have at least shown his respectto
his opponent Rustam Kasimdzhanov and his appreciation for the efforts of the
Turkish Chess Federation and the Turkish Government before announcing his
unilateral decision to withdraw from this match.
It has to be clear to everyone that it is impossible to secure such high
prize funds from legitimate sponsors, acceptable to FIDE and the IOC, without
providing the candidate organizers with the necessary time to complete their
efforts, especially when the government of a country is the guarantor for the
organization of the match. It is even more difficult to secure these prize
funds when the participants demand excessive financial guarantees before
committing themselves in writing.
FIDE continues to seek solutions concerning the funding of the World Chess
Championship, in co-operation with its national federations and in close
contact with all interested parties.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE: _
() ) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the supreme
body responsible globally for the game of chess and its championships. FIDE
organizes the World Chess Championship as well as all World Championships for
women, junior and youth categories, the bi-annual Chess Olympiad and it also
publishes the official FIDE Rating List (currently No.1 is Garry Kasparov of
Russia). FIDE has a membership of 160 national chess federations and it
retains offices in Greece and Russia.
For more information contact:
Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE)
Mr George Mastrokoukos
tel.: (+30) 2109212047, fax: (+30) 2109212859, email: office(at)fide.com
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress