Author: Emil Lazarian

CSTO, NATO reach agreement on contacts in anti-terror fight – CIS
security chief
AKIpress news agency web site 6 Aug 04
Bishkek, 6 August: The Collective Security Treaty Organization
comprising six countries – Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – and NATO have reached an agreement to
establish contacts in order to jointly counter international
terrorism, CSTO Secretary-General Nikolay Bordyuzha has told a news
conference in Kyrgyzstan on the results of the Rubezh-2004 exercises.
The Rubezh-2004 exercises were held in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in
two stages, and over 2,000 servicemen were involved in them.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Kyrgyz president hails cooperation within CIS security body
Interfax news agency, Moscow
5 Aug 04
Cholpon Ata, 5 August: Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev is satisfied with the
level of military cooperation within the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO).
“Servicemen implement adopted decisions very quickly in contrast to us,
civilians,” Akayev said during a meeting with the defence ministers of CSTO member
states in Cholpon Ata today.
“The Collective Rapid Deployment Forces were set up in the region within a
short time. It became possible to create a powerful bastion such as Kant (the
Russian air base in Kyrgyzstan -Interfax-Kazakhstan) within a short period of
time,” the president said.
Commenting on the Rubezh-2004 coalition exercises taking place in Kyrgyzstan,
Akayev emphasized that these manoeuvres were of a large-scale nature. “These
are large-scale exercises, involving aircraft,” he said.
The president said: “The participation of the assault helicopter Black Shark
in them is adding special colour to the manoeuvres.”
He expressed his confidence that “the exercises will be successful since all
problems connected with their preparation have been settled”.
An Interfax-AVN news agency correspondent reports that Akayev met the defence
ministers of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and the
chief of staff of the Armenian armed forces.
The final phase of the Rubezh-2004 exercises will be held at the Kyrgyz
firing range Edelveys Edelweiss on 6 August.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Aug 5 2004
Syrian-Armenian Committee / Concluding
Erivan, Aug 5 ( SANA )

The Syrian-Armenian joint Committee for scientific , trade and
economic cooperation, chaired by Economic and Trade Minister Ghassan
al-Refaee and the Armenian Minister of Agriculture Davit Lokain,
Thursday ended its 3rd session in the Armenian capital Erivan.
The two sides discussed aspects of cooperation in the trade,
investment , banking and finance fields, and means of enhancing the
trade exchange between Syria and Armenia in the transport, industry,
petroleum and agrarian fields.
They signed a number of agreements on health, medical sciences,
communications, tourism and information services.

Le Figaro
03 août 2004
Promotion de deux danseurs;
DANSE Mathilde Froustey et Josua Hoffalt couronnés
René SIRVIN
Deux jeunes coryphées du corps de ballet de l’Opéra de Paris ont
triomphé jeudi soir au concours international de Varna (Bulgarie),
l’un des plus importants du monde. Mathilde Froustey, 19 ans, la plus
jeune des 126 concurrents, a remporté la médaille d’or catégorie
senior, et son partenaire Josua Hoffalt, 20 ans, la médaille d’argent
(la médaille d’or a été décernée au jeune Arménien Arman Grigoryan,
19 ans).
Bien que se produisant ensemble dans des pas de deux, Mathilde et
Josua concouraient séparément. Après avoir passé les premières
épreuves dans le « Grand Pas classique d’Auber », le deuxième acte de
« Giselle », et « Yondering » de Neumeier, ils l’ont remporté grce à
« Delibes Suite », une chorégraphie du danseur étoile José Martinez
et « Le Rire de la lyre » de José Montalvo.
Le jury, qui comprenait la première danseuse de l’Opéra Karin Averty
(grand prix junior du concours de Varna 1980), était présidé par
Youri Grigorovitch, ancien directeur du Ballet du Bolchoï.
Née le 8 juin 1985 à Bordeaux, Mathilde Froustey était aussi douée
pour le tennis, l’équitation, le violon et la danse. C’est sa mère
qui décida de lui faire prendre ses premières leçons de danse à neuf
ans. A douze ans, refusée à l’Ecole de l’Opéra de Paris, elle entre à
celle de Marseille que dirige Pietragalla, et un an plus tard se
présente de nouveau à Paris où elle entre en troisième division. Au
spectacle 2002 de l’Ecole, Claude Bessy la choisit pour danser le
rôle titre de « La Fille mal gardée » et Mathilde est engagée à 17
ans dans le corps de ballet de l’Opéra. Le 23 décembre dernier, elle
était promue coryphée au concours de fin d’année, après ses
brillantes interprétations de « Giselle » et de « Paquita ».
Mathilde a eu la chance d’être remarquée par Youri Grigorovitch, venu
remonter son ballet « Ivan le Terrible » à l’Opéra Bastille. Avec
Brigitte Lefèvre, il décida de confier pour une représentation (le 6
janvier 2004) les trois rôles vedettes à trois jeunes artistes, dont
Mathilde. Son charme, son jeu spontané, son aisance en scène et sa
confiance en ses partenaires en firent immédiatement un des grands
espoirs de l’Opéra, plébiscitée par le public. Le 30 mars, au gala
d’adieu de Claude Bessy au Palais Garnier, elle a dansé le pas de
deux de « La Fille mal gardée » avec Josua Hoffalt et en mai dernier
à l’Opéra Bastille elle était le délicieux Cupidon du « Don Quichotte
» de Noureev.
Josua Hoffalt, né au Pertuis le 19 mai 1984, a commencé la danse à
huit ans. A dix il travaillait à Marseille sous la direction de
Colette Armand et en 1998 était admis à l’Ecole de danse de l’Opéra
de Paris. Lui aussi était choisi par Claude Bessy pour danser « La
Fille mal gardée » à l’Ecole en 2002 et engagé en septembre dans le
corps de Ballet de l’Opéra. Grand et beau prince d’un mètre
quatre-vingts, il a été promu coryphée au concours de fin d’année
2003. Il a également participé aux soirées Jeunes Danseurs en mai
2003 où on a admiré la perfection de son style classique.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA NOT TO DEPLOY FOREIGN BASES ON ITS TERRITORY – ENVOY
Interfax news agency
3 Aug 04
Moscow, 3 August: The Armenian ambassador to Russia, Armen Smbatyan,
has confirmed that his country has no plans to allow the establishment
of foreign military bases on its territory.
“The possibility of deploying third countries’ bases in Armenia is out
of the question. There is simply no such issue on Armenia’s foreign
policy agenda,” Smbatyan told Interfax on Tuesday (3 August).
Commenting on observers’ opinions on the rivalry between Russia and
the United States in former Soviet republics, including the Caucasus,
the ambassador said that these allegations lack any sound grounds.
“In my opinion, remarks about a collision of the interests of Russia,
the United States and Europe on the former Soviet territory are
exaggerated. Caucasian countries are primarily guided by their own
interests while developing their policy,” the diplomat said.
Yerevan’s foreign policy is driven by “Armenia’s current interests” as
well, he said.
Commenting on the situation in the CIS, Smbatyan suggested that
integration processes within this organization have been proceeding
slowly, particularly in the economic sphere. “A revision of values
needs to take place. It is necessary to take a new approach to
building relations between the CIS countries, as well as to accelerate
the development of economic relations,” he said.
Smbatyan said he shares Russia’s opinion that “it is necessary to
centre efforts on raising the level of relations between the CIS
nations”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Mother Jones, CA
Aug 3 2004
Christians Leaving Iraq
The religious leaders of Iraq’s small Christian community have
long-downplayed the fact that many Iraqi-Christians are leaving Iraq.
But Sunday’s coordinated attacks in Baghdad and Mosul on five
churches — which, unlike mosques, have not previously been targeted
— will no doubt strengthen the resolve of Iraqi-Christians thinking
of leaving Iraq and convince others of the necessity of doing so.
Iraq’s Christians — Chaldean Catholics; Assyrians; Roman and Syriac
Catholics; Greek, Syriac and Armenian Orthodox; Angicans and others
— make up 3 percent of the population, and are concentrated in the
cities. Of course, the lack of security has been a problem for all
Iraqis, whatever their religion, but the country’s Christians feel
particularly vulnerable to attack. For one, many within the
insurgency view the American-led coalition as a Christian crusade and
Iraq’s Christian community as its supporters and collaborators. Shops
selling alcohol, many of them owned by Christians, have been
attacked, their merchandise destroyed, and their owners beaten and
even murdered. As the BBC reported last month, the Iraqi police
blamed the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army for the
attacks: “His men are no longer fighting American and interim Iraqi
government troops, and some suspect they are now channelling their
energies into a moral battle instead.”
Iraq’s national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie held Egyptian
militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi responsible for Sunday’s attacks on the
churches, which occurred during mass, killing 11 people and injuring
47: “Zarqawi and his extremists are basically trying to drive a wedge
between Muslims and Christians in Iraq. It’s clear they want to drive
Christians out of the country.” But as the Christian Science Monitor
reported last month:
“Not all Christians are killed by Islamic militants. Issaq [director
of international relations for the Assyrian Democratic Movement] has
compiled a list of 102 Christians killed since April 9, 2003. Some
were killed for selling alcohol; others for working with Americans as
translators or laundresses. (About 10 percent were killed by
coalition troops, casualties of postwar violence.) Many were
kidnapped and killed for money, a fate that befalls Muslims, too.
But sometimes it’s hard to separate kidnappings from religious
murders. Among Iraqis, there’s a widespread belief that Christians
are wealthy. This stereotype, too, can kill.”
Iraq’s Christians had their churches destroyed and themselves
forcibly relocated under Saddam Hussein, but they didn’t experience
the sort of persecution that the majority Shia, not to say the Kurds,
have been subjected to. Considered less politically threatening by
the Baath Party than Islamic minorities and the Shia majority,
Christians were granted a greater degree of religious freedom in
return for their political obedience. Relations between Muslims and
Christians have generally been placid.
Today, Iraqi Christians are upset about what they say is inadequate
representation in the current government (a claim echoed by every
group) and they fear the creation of an Islamist state. Some
Christian leaders say that a separate Christian province is necessary
to protect the country’s minority. Aside from the obvious failure of
coalition troops to provide security, the United States is blamed by
some Christians for promoting Islamic rule in Iraq, where Christians
date their presence to the first century. As one Assyrian-Iraqi told
UPI in early June:
“The American-funded TV station, Al Iraqia, broadcasts Muslim
programs four times every day and for two hours each Friday but
nothing for the other religions. The recent inauguration of the new
government was opened by a Muslim mullah reciting a long passage and
a prayer from the Koran, but none of our priests were invited. Why do
they do this? Why do the Americans promote Muslims? They need to
promote equality and democracy and freedom, not Muslim dictatorship.”
Among the Iraqi-Christians who have emigrated, some have settled in
neighboring countries like Syria, while others have received asylum
in Australia, North America, and Europe. Australia’s Iraqi-born
population, which includes the various Christian dominations as well
as Kurds and Jews, has grown dramatically since Gulf War. In 1991,
there were 5,186 Iraqi-born persons in Australia, but in 2001, the
last year for which census figures are available there were 24,819.
Among Iraqi-Armenians, who make up one of the smaller Christian
communities, some have emigrated to the Republic of Armenia.
The number of Christians seeking to emigrate is unknown, but the
estimated 800,000 that live in Iraq today represent a marked decline
from the 1987 census that registered 1.4 million Iraqi-Christians.
Shmael Benjamin a member of the political bureau of the Assyrian
Democratic Movement told Reuters: “We’re the Red Indians of Iraq. We
were the majority, today we’re the minority, our percentage is
reducing day by day in this country.” Perhaps, as Slate puts it,
“with Iraq’s Shiites and Kurds having earlier been targeted by
bombings, it was probably only a matter of time before the country’s
Christians would get their turn.” But given the previous attacks on
Christians, the continuing lack of security for everyone, and fears
of a future Islamist state, Iraqi’s Christians are more likely to
draw the conclusion that it is time to pack their bags.
— Nonna Gorilovskaya

20% OF EXPECTED HARVEST OF VEGETABLES ALREADY GATHERED IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, August 3 (Noyan Tapan). About 106.2 thousand tons of
vegetables, or 20% of expected harvest, have already been gathered in
Armenia as of July 30, which is more by 7,000 tons in comparison with
the index of the same period of last year. According to the operative
data, the main volumes of harvest were gathered in the Armavir region
(55,000 tons) and the Ararat region (42,000 tons). According to the
Plant Growing Department of the RA Ministry of Agriculture, it is
expected that 553,150 thousand tons of vegetables will be harvested
this year, which is less by 16,000 tons than the same index of last
year.
11,000 tons of vegetable crops, or 10% of the expected harvest, were
gathered as of the same day. It was mentioned that 5,350 thousand tons
of fruits, which is less by 3.5 thousand tons than the index of the
same period of last year, have already been harvested. It is expected
that a total of 131.3 thousand tons of fruits will be harvested this
year, which is more by 30,000 tons than the index of 2003.

ArmenPress
Aug 3 2004
PUPPET SHOWS FOR ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN AND AZERI CHILDREN
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS: Save the Children is implementing
Children Tolerance Programs in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In
all three countries half hour 36 puppet shows will be developed. In
Armenia they will be aired on H2. The scenarios will be translated in
all three languages and puppets will be in national clothes.
According to Armenian office head Irina Saghoian, the shows are
not involved with politics and have educational nature teaching to be
honest, forgiving, also teaches how to involve in negotiations and
effectively communication with people of different culture. The
program will continue for one year.
Save the Children has representation in 40 countries of the world.
The Armenian office opened in 1993. By now a total of 420 project
have been implemented covering 40 percent of the republic’s
territory.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agassi, Moya win; Schuettler, Pavel eliminated in Cincinnati
.c The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) – Former two-time champion Andre Agassi advanced to
the second round of the Cincinnati Masters when Mardy Fish retired in
the third set with a back injury on Monday.
Agassi, the last back-to-back winner in 1995-96, was leading 4-6, 7-6
(3), 4-1 when Fish quit.
Agassi isn’t sure whether this will be his final year on the tour and
is hoping to be back in form in time for the U.S. Open. Seeded 11th,
he has recovered from a sore hip that bothered him this summer.
His goal in Cincinnati is to build up confidence.
“I need all these matches now to do that,” Agassi said. “I’ve got
to string a few together now. So it would be really nice to see my
game elevate as the tournament progresses.”
In other matches, 2002 champion Carlos Moya, French Open winner Gaston
Gaudio and 14th-seeded Marat Safin also progressed, but No. 8 Rainer
Schuettler, No. 16 Andrei Pavel and 2000 champion Thomas Enqvist were
eliminated.
Fish was the beaten finalist last year to Andy Roddick, and had won
his only previous match against Agassi in the San Jose semifinals in
February.
He broke 10th-seeded Agassi in the ninth game and completed the first
set on his fourth ace. In the second-set tiebreak, Agassi broke for
2-1 and the 7-3 clincher. But at 1-1 in the third, Agassi won three
straight games before Fish’s injury worsened.
Carlos Moya, who beat No. 1-seeded Lleyton Hewitt in the 2002 final,
overcame British qualifier Arvind Parmar 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 by winning the
final four games of the match, and No. 9-seeded Gaudio dispatched
U.S. wild card Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-2.
Safin crushed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-0 for his first
tour win in two months since the French Open. Safin had lost his last
three first-round matches, including at Wimbledon.
Tommy Haas broke in the last game to beat German countryman Schuettler
6-3, 1-6, 6-4 for the first time in five career meetings.
“I finally got a win,” Haas said. “It certainly wasn’t a pretty
match. In the end, it came down to a couple of points here and
there.”
Schuettler, also ranked No. 8, lost his sixth consecutive match on
hard courts since February.
Haas next faces Sargis Sargsian of Armenia, who beat Swiss qualifier
Michel Kratochvil 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Wayne Arthurs of Australia, a late replacement in the draw for David
Sanchez of Spain, upset 16th-seeded Pavel of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-3. The
first-round loss was Pavel’s fourth in five appearances in the
tournament.
Sweden’s Enqvist was ousted by Britain’s Greg Rusedski 3-6, 6-3 6-2.
Rusedski had to qualify, and he’ll play Gaudio next.
Argentines Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, set to be seeded
Nos. 3 and 6, withdrew with respective shoulder and elbow injuries.
08/02/04 18:44 EDT
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“KARABAKH” FILM OF GEORGIAN AND ABKHAZIAN DOCUMENTALISTS SHOWN IN
ARTSAKH
STEPANAKERT, August 2 (Noyan Tapan). Lately the “Karabakh” 60-minute
documental film of Georgian and Abkhazian cinematographic workers has
been shown in Shushi and Stepanakert. The film, the main heroes of
which are refugees, represents the consequences of the Karabakh
conflict for both sides. At the discussion of the film Mamuka
Kubaradze, the Georgian co-author of the film, mentioned that they
wanted to show the fates of people, which are very much alike, and to
help the sides in making right conclusions. According to Svetlana
Gorsaya, an Abkhazian cinematographic worker, the authors of the film
restrained themselves from proposing any concrete solutions of
settlement of the conflict, their main goal was to etablish peace by
means of acquaintance and mutual understanding of the sides.