Author: Emil Lazarian

Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
The Mercury, Australia
Advertiser, Australia
Sunday Times, Australia
26 Oct. 2004
On this day
27oct04
1999 – Up to five gunmen seize Armenia’s parliament in a torrent of
automatic weapons fire, killing the prime minister and seven others
before taking dozens hostage. The gunmen surrender the next day.
1505 – Ivan III, Ivan the Great, Tsar of Russia, who strengthened the
authority of the monarchy and laid the foundations for a centralised
state, dies.
1523 – English expedition to France fails.
1651 – Limerick, Ireland, surrenders to British after lengthy siege.
1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for Stg400,000.
1676 – Peace of Zurawna between Poland and Turkey.
1789 – French attempt to invade Ireland fails.
1795 – US and Spain sign the Treaty of San Lorenzo (also known as
Pinckney’s Treaty), providing free navigation of the Mississippi River.
1806 – France’s Napoleon Bonaparte occupies Berlin.
1807 – Spain and France agree to conquer Portugal.
1870 – French troops surrender Metz, France, to Prussians.
1871 – Britain annexes diamond fields of Kimberley, South Africa.
1900 – After four years of work, the first section of the New York
subway is opened.
1901 – The first known use of a getaway car occurs in Paris when
thieves drove off after holding up a shop.
1918 – Kaiser Wilhelm II accepts the resignation of General Erich
Ludendorff after the failure of the German offensive on the Western
Front.
1922 – Southern Rhodesia referendum rejects joining Union of South
Africa; The Italian government resigns under increasing pressure from
the fascist movement of Benito Mussolini.
1927 – Criminals Squizzy Taylor and Snowy Cutmore die in shootout at
Carlton, Melbourne.
1938 – Du Pont announces a name for its new synthetic yarn: nylon.
1942 – An indecisive two-day air and sea battle around the Solomon
Islands ends with severe damage to both US and Japanese fleets in WWII.
1951 – Egyptians abrogate 1936 alliance treaty with Britain and 1899
agreement over Sudan.
1954 – Walt Disney’s first television program, titled Disneyland after
his yet-to-be completed theme park, premieres on American ABC.
1961 – Mongolia and Mauritania are admitted as members of the United
Nations.
1964 – Eric Cooke, the “Moonstruck Murderer”, is hanged in Perth for
multiple killings.
1966 – The UN General Assembly votes to end South Africa’s mandate over
South West Africa – now Namibia.
1971 – Government of Congo announces the country will change its name
to the Republic of Zaire.
1973 – United Nations peacekeeping force arrives in Cairo to attempt to
set up lasting ceasefire between Israeli and Arab forces.
1977 – President Jimmy Carter rules out any US embargo on trade with
South Africa or any ban on US investment in that nation to protest its
racial policies.
1978 – Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister
Menachem Begin are awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1986 – The Big Bang takes place on the London Stock Exchange with the
introduction of computerised dealing and deregulation of many controls.
1987 – South Korean voters overwhelmingly approve new constitution
clearing way for first direct presidential elections in 16 years.
1988 – Czech authorities arrest dozens of dissidents and impose strict
security on Prague.
1989 – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announces end to ceasefire
with US-backed anti-Sandinista rebels.
1990 – American journalist Terry Anderson turns 43, spending his sixth
birthday as hostage in Lebanon; New Zealand’s voters oust the Labour
Party of Mike Moore giving the National Party under James Bolger the
biggest election victory in more than 50 years.
1991 – European Community condemns Yugoslav army’s siege of Dubrovnik
and calls on forces to abide by October 18 ceasefire; Turkmenistan’s
Supreme Soviet passes a law establishing its independence from the
Soviet Union.
1992 – Israeli jets bomb Southern Lebanon avenging the deaths of six
Israelis, but the Israeli government resists calls to withdraw from
Middle East peace talks; Six people are shot dead on NSW central coast.
1993 – Brush fires in southern California destroy at least 800 homes.
1994 – In extraordinary talks in Syria, US President Bill Clinton says
President Hafez Assad “went beyond anything he said before” on making
peace with Israel.
1995 – France sets off the third in a series of nuclear tests in the
south Pacific at Mururoa atoll; After eluding a massive manhunt for
three days, a North Korean spy is fatally shot when he tries to break
through a cordon of South Korean commandos on a mountain near the
border.
1996 – A 12-storey apartment building in suburban Cairo collapses,
killing at least 15 people and trapping dozens inside.
1997 – The Dow Jones index fell 554.26 points, its largest one-day
decline ever in points terms; the decline of 7.18 per cent was the
biggest since the drop of 23 per cent in 1987.
1998 – A second deadline for Serb troop withdrawal from Kosovo passes
without NATO resorting to airstrikes, but NATO says that the use of
force is still an option.
1999 – Up to five gunmen seize Armenia’s parliament in a torrent of
automatic weapons fire, killing the prime minister and seven others
before taking dozens hostage. The gunmen surrender the next day.
1999 – The dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr
President” to President John F Kennedy is sold for $US1,267,500 – a
record for an item of clothing at auction.
2000 – Stormy seas prevent divers from entering the nuclear submarine
Kursk a day after naval officials reveal evidence that more than 23
seamen had survived the initial explosions that sank the vessel.
2000 – Canadian authorities arrest the men they say masterminded the
1985 bombing of an Air India jumbo jet near Ireland that claimed the
lives of all 329 people aboard.
2001 – In Washington, the search for deadly anthrax widens to thousands
of businesses and 30 mail distribution centres.
2001 – Britain announces it will provide up to 600 special forces for
operations in Afghanistan in a sign that allied forces are preparing
for a sustained campaign of raids.
2002 – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wins Brazil’s presidential runoff
election, becoming the nation’s first leftist and working-class
president.
2003 – Five coordinated suicide bombing attacks kill at least 35 people
in Baghdad, and wounded more than 200 others. The attacks all occurred
within a 45-minute period and the targets were located no more than 16
km apart, with the deadliest attack at the Red Cross headquarters.
–Boundary_(ID_cITyxErQFwtJ9OLAsWWU5Q)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Opposition party intends to hold sanctioned protest actions
Assa Irada
27 Oct 2004
The opposition Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (WAPFP) has
postponed the picket it originally intended to hold outside the
Turkish embassy on Tuesday.
The picket comes as a protest against the Armenian parliamentarians’
planned participation in the 58th “Rose Roth” seminar of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly due in Baku in November.
Commenting on the matter, the WAPFP press spokesman told AssA-Irada
that the party intends to continue sanctioned protest actions.
WAPFP has organized more than 10 unsanctioned actions in protest
against the planned visits by Armenian officers and parliament members
to Baku so far.
The WAPFP Managerial Board in its recent meeting decided to sue the
Mayor’s Office of Baku for violating the party members’ rights for
free gatherings.*

Armenian premier and UN official discuss cooperation
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
25 Oct 04
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan has received UN Deputy
Secretary General and UN Development Programme [UNDP] regional
director in charge of the CIS states and Europe Kalman Mizsei. During
the meeting the prime minister noted that the development programmes
worth 16m dollars are being implemented in Armenia. These means are
being mainly channelled into the implementation of the Millennium
Challenge programme and poverty reduction till 2015.
Congratulating the prime minister on Armenia’s indices for last year,
Kalman Mizsei suggested that the profit from the economic growth be
directed to the regions, where there are many social problems which
need to be resolved.
The programme will also assist the development of small and
medium-sized business, high technologies and the struggle against
corruption.
During a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan,
Kalman Mizsei spoke highly of Armenia’s efforts in the struggle against
corruption. Vardan Oskanyan expressed satisfaction with the work of the
Yerevan office of the UNDP which is especially aimed at developing the
economy and has a positive impact on the county’s economy and peoples’
social conditions.
[Video showed the meeting]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741. .562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
25 October 2004
Foreign Minister Oskanian receives Kalman Mizsei, Assistant
Administrator and Regional Director of Bureau for Europe and the CIS
of the UNDP
On October 25th, Foreign Minister Oskanian received Kalman Mizsei,
Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of Bureau for Europe
and the CIS of the United Nations Development Program.
During the course of the talks, Minister Oskanian stressed the
importance of the role of that the UNDP plays in the newly independent
states. He also expressed his satisfaction with the activity of
their office in Armenia, which is directed to the development of the
private sector. It also positively affects the economic progress of
the country and the social situation of its people.
Kalvin Mizsei expressed gratitude to the Armenian government for its
cooperation. He highly appreciated latter’s great effort against
corruption, as well as its work for improvement of efficiency of
governance and cooperation between the private business and the
governmental circles.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the perspectives
of the development of regional cooperation in the South Caucasus and
the circumstances hindering it. Both sides stressed the importance
of the private sector in the region, which could potentially be a
source of success.
The purpose of the visit of Kalman Mizsei to Armenia is to discuss the
Prime Minister’s national campaign on the UN Millennium Development
Goals, as well as the presentation of new regional initiatives of the
UNDP in the South Caucasus. On this issue, Kalman Mizsei will hold
meetings with the Prime Minister A. Markarian and other high ranking
officials. The UN official will also participate in the festivities,
dedicated to the day of the UNO in the Karakert village.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Bombay Express
Sunday, October 24, 2004
India lose to leader Ukraine
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Posted online: Sunday, October 24, 2004 at 0043 hours IST
MALLORCA, OCTOBER 22: The Indian men succumbed to their first defeat
against Ukraine going down by a minimal margin of 1.5-2.5 in a keenly
contested match of the seventh round of the Chess Olympiad here.
For India, Viswanathan Anand drew with Vassily Ivanchuk, Sasikrian
held former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov to a draw, P Harikrishna
missed his winning chances before signing peace with Pavel Eljanov
while Abhijit Kunte was humbled by Sergey Karjakin.
In the biggest sensational result of the Olympiad, ninth seed
Bulgaria defeated top seed and Russia 2.5-1.5 to change the equations
dramatically.
As things stand now at the half-way stage in the biggest chess event,
Ukraine moved to 21.5 points after their triumph over India and
also stretched its lead to 2 points. Anand had come well-armed for
this important match and for the first time Ivanchuk was in serious
troubles in this Olympiad.
Eves hold US
Indian eves held third seed United States to a creditable draw
in the seventh round of the women’s section. It turned out to be
an all-drawn encounter for the Indian girls as all three — Koneru
Humpy, S Vijayalakshmi and Dronavalli Harika settled for truce with
Zsuzsa Polgar, IM Irina Krush and WGN Anna Zatonskih without any
real troubles.
The Indian girls next in the standing list along with US, Russia,
France, Ukraine, Sweden, Bulgaria, Armenia and Kazakhstan who all
have 13.5 points.

Zoo cries foul after elephant deaths
By the BBC’s Habib Beary
BBC News
October 25, 2004
Komala was a darling of one of India’s oldest zoos.
But the seven-year-old elephant calf died in agony after what officials
at Msyore zoo in southern India are calling a conspiracy by insiders.
They suspect she could be the latest victim of poisoning by disgruntled
employees, and, perhaps, a persistent campaign to discredit the zoo for
reasons unknown.
Two elephants and an endangered lion-tailed macaque died in similar
circumstances in August.
“This is shocking,” the zoo’s director, Manoj Kumar, told BBC News
Online, as officials began an inquiry on Monday.
‘Negligence’
Karnataka state’s Chief Minister, Dharam Singh, said he wanted a
detailed investigation.
We suspect foul play. All the deaths could be due to poisoning Zoo
director Manoj Kumar
“The truth should come out. Officials have to be alert. There seems to
be negligence.”
The 110-year-old zoo in Mysore is home to 1,100 animals.
Komala, described as attractive and playful, was due to have flown to
Armenia as a gift from Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam – she had been
handpicked for her pleasing features, officials say.
Doctors battled for hours to save her on Friday, but in vain.
“It is really unfortunate. The elephant was to fly out on 14 October but
we could not get a confirmed cargo booking,” said Mr Kumar.
“The next date fixed was 30 October but destiny had other plans.
“We suspect foul play. All the deaths could be due to poisoning. We have
taken the help of the police to catch the guilty.”
He said Komala had died despite tight security arrangements following
the deaths of the two other elephants, Ganesha and Roopa, and the
lion-tailed macaque in August.
The latter was a “breeder” on loan from a zoo in Madras as part of the
lion-tail monkey conservation programme.
Zoo authorities called in the police after preliminary investigations
revealed foul play.
Officials say Ganesha and Roopa had acute haemorrhagic enteritis and
respiratory distress caused by zinc phosphide, normally used as poison
for rodents.
Security revamp
This is not the first time animals have died mysteriously in captivity
in Mysore, leading some to believe there is a plot to damage the
state-run zoo’s reputation – although it is not clear why anyone would
want to do so.
An inquiry last year found foul play in injuries suffered by Meena, a
popular chimpanzee.
She died after an unsuccessful operation on her arm, which had been
crushed by a sliding door.
Two emus from Australia also died in suspicious circumstances.
Closed circuit television is among the measures planned by the zoo
authorities to monitor the movement of its feeding staff.
“Security is being revamped but I will not reveal the details,” said Mr
Kumar.
Story from BBC NEWS:

Wales recognizes “Armenian genocide” of 1915 – Azeri agency
Assa-Irada
25 Oct 04
Baku, 25 October: The Cardiff County Council in Wales announced last
week that it recognized the so-called “Armenian genocide” [of 1915
in Ottoman Turkey]. Rodney Berman, member of the council and of
the Armenia-Wales friendship society, who reported this, said that a
monument would be erected in the city to the genocide victims in 2005.
Berman said that in the past three years the Armenia-Wales friendship
society had directed all its efforts to obtain the recognition of
the “Armenian genocide”. Members of the society assess this step
as a preliminary stage in the recognition of the so-called genocide
by Britain.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Times of India, India
Oct 24 2004
Another elephant dies at Mysore Zoo
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2004 02:35:11 AM ]

MYSORE: Six weeks after the death of three animals in Mysore Zoo that
kicked up a storm, an eightyear-old female elephant was found dead on
Friday. The elephant, which was to have been India’s goodwill
ambassador to Armenia, is suspected to have been poisoned, much like
the other three.
The death of the elephant, Komala, comes as a shocker especially
since it had been provided round-the-clock security just to ward off
mischievous elements. Sources said the elephant refused food on
Thursday night. The next morning, she collapsed all of a sudden and
died. A post-mortem was conducted in the evening. Speaking to the
Sunday Times of India, Zoo executive director Manoj Kumar suspected
foul play. “It could have died due to the same reason as the other
two jumbos.” The hint is at poisoning.
Laboratory tests conducted on the elephants, Ganesha and Roopa, which
died in September, confirmed poisoning and the needle of suspicion
was pointed towards animal keepers. Came close on its heels was the
death of Lingam, an endangered lion-tailed macaque. All these three
deaths occurred within the space of a week and days after the
incumbent assumed office.
Sources expressed shock how Komala could have been poisoned despite
it being provided security, which indicates a telling lapse on the
part of those manning the cage. A complaint in this regard has been
lodged.
Following a request by the Central Zoo Authority to locate a female
elephant to partner a tusker in a zoo in the Armenian capital of
Yerevan, Mysore Zoo zeroed in on Komala that was born here. This
followed a direction from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who wanted
to gift a female elephant to Armenia as a goodwill gesture.
After a visit by officials of the CZA and Armenian embassy, Komala
was separated from her parents and accorded a special treatment. She
was to have left for Armenia by month-end. But that union and journey
were not to be.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
October 23, 2004, Saturday
Where a sauna saved a church
By CHRISTOPHER HOWSE
WE EACH spend on average pounds 3,000 a year on the National Health
Service. But a mere 20p a head each year would double the amount
devoted by the public body English Heritage to the repair of
churches.
Britain has an astonishing richness of church architecture. Of
course, France and Spain and other European countries have marvellous
churches too. But many were smashed up, in the French revolution, or
burnt in various “liberal” convulsions in 19th and 20th-century
Spain. Our own convulsions left their marks in the 16th and 17th
centuries, and the dangers to church fabric since then have been
principally decay and traffic schemes.
The British love for church was convincingly confirmed last month
when The Daily Telegraph invited nominations for readers’ favourite
churches. Three or four thousand people wrote in, and the results
will be published later this year.
That figure of 20p each representing a doubling of public spending on
churches comes from Building Faith in Our Future, a report from the
Church Heritage Forum. Although the report occasionally lapses into
dull committee-speak, its subject is is churches – church buildings –
and how they can be “catalysts for regeneration”.
I’m not sure “catalyst” is exactly the right metaphor, since a
catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical
reaction without itself undergoing change. Churches, on the contrary,
are completely part of their village or suburb, as much as pubs and
post offices, more than betting shops, and certainly more than the
casinos that the Government is planning.
The Diocese of Lincoln makes tourism an ally in promoting the work of
its churches. The cathedral provides information about nine plum
churches of architectural and historic interest. These churches try
to have someone around so that when visitors call, they can find out
about 44 further churches in the area worth looking at. In these 44
churches visitors can be put in touch with 300 more.
At St Paul’s, Old Ford, in east London, tourism was not a likely
prospect. Although the church, built in 1878, was a Grade II-listed
building of historic importance, it was closed a decade ago for
safety reasons. But local people were very fond of it, and the new
vicar, the Rev Philippa Boardman, worked away with her parochial
church council to try to renovate it.
The result has been the construction of an extraordinary wooden “pod”
on steel stilts inside the nave space, housing an art gallery, a room
for projects, a room for counselling and, for some reason, a sauna.
The structure has been nicknamed “The Ark”. The old church has a part
dedicated for worship and a part used as a cafe.
Money for this came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Mercers’
Company, the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, and other public,
church and private sources. The church opened up again in May this
year.
I have reservations about a church being used as a cafe, let alone a
sauna. But the world is littered with ruined churches. Ancient
Armenian churches stand crumbling in Anatolia; the basilicas of St
Augustine’s day have crumbled into the dust of north Africa. But we
get so used to saying that a church is not just the building that it
is easy to neglect the glory of the very structures.
“The achievement on the part of tens of thousands of volunteers is
hugely impressive,” says The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard
Chartres.
“Churches are probably better cared for now than at any time in the
past 100 years.” He is surely right that churches are good for
communities. And because of voluntary support, they spend what little
public money they get more productively that the poor old NHS. They
should get more.
How We Saw It: 150 Years of The Daily Telegraph 1855-2005 (Ebury
Press) by Christopher Howse, with a foreword by W F Deedes, is
available for pounds 20 (plus pounds 1.25 p&p) from Telegraph Books
Direct 0870 155 7222.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Associated Press Worldstream
October 23, 2004 Saturday
Armenian opposition party says its lawmakers will continue boycott of
parliament
YEREVAN, Armenia
Armenia’s largest opposition party said Saturday that its lawmakers
would continue to boycott parliamentary sessions in this ex-Soviet
republic.
Two dozen lawmakers have refused to attend parliament since February
to protest last year’s re-election of President Robert Kocharian, a
vote the opposition charges was marred by widespread irregularities.
The protesting lawmakers want to change the law on referendums so a
vote can be held asking Armenians if they have confidence in
Kocharian, who critics say has violently cracked down on dissent,
allowed corruption to flourish and done little to improve the lot of
impoverished Armenia’s 3.3 million people.
“Everyone who tries to resist the authorities’ illegal activity, who
fights for justice and welfare is subjected to beatings, repression
and arrest,” said Stepan Demirchian, who leads the opposition
National Party of Armenia. “Under such conditions, we can’t
participate in the work of the National Assembly.”
Speaking at his party’s national congress on Saturday, Demirchian
said that “a dialogue with authorities is possible only when they act
within the framework of the law.” He pledged that the parliamentary
boycott would continue.
Thirteen of the lawmakers boycotting parliamentary sessions are from
a bloc of opposition parties which includes Demirchians’ party; the
others represent other opposition groups.
Demirchian took over the leadership of the National Party in October
1999 after its founder, his father Karen Demirchian, was killed when
gunmen attacked parliament in what some suspect was a politically
motivated killing.
The younger Demirchian ran for president last year but lost in the
second round.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress