Author: Emma Nadirian

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
===============================================Monday 10 January 2005
AZERBAIJAN: WILL CHRISTIAN CHILDREN NOW GET BIRTH CERTIFICATES?
Having repeatedly refused to register 18-month old Luka Eyvazov’s birth,
because his parents gave him a Christian name, the authorities have at last
given him a birth certificate, after Forum 18 News Service reported his
case. Unusually, the authorities also apologised to Luka’s parents
“for making us wait and suffer for so long,” Luka’s mother
Gurayat Eyvazov told Forum 18. Without a birth certificate, Luka was not
able to go to kindergarten or to school, get treatment in a hospital, or
travel abroad. Luka’s case was the last known case of a series of Baptist
parents in the mainly-Muslim town who were refused birth certificates for
their children because they had chosen Christian, not Muslim first names.
However, Mrs Eyvazov said it was unclear if the next time Baptist parents
try to register a child’s birth with a Christian name they will face
similar refusals. “Officials said nothing on this.”
AZERBAIJAN: WILL CHRISTIAN CHILDREN NOW GET BIRTH CERTIFICATES?
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
At the age of nearly 18 months, Luka Eyvazov has finally received his birth
certificate just weeks after Forum 18 News Service reported the
authorities’ repeated refusals to issue a birth certificate because they
did not wish to register him with a Christian name. Luka’s parents, who are
ethnic-Georgian Baptists, live in the small town of Aliabad in the
north-western region of Zakatala [Zaqatala] close to the border with
Georgia. “The town administration phoned my husband on 17 December to
say the birth certificate would be there and he collected it on 20
December,” Luka’s mother Gurayat Eyvazov told Forum 18 from Aliabad on
10 January. “They said they had no permission earlier to issue the
birth certificate and even apologised to us for making us wait and suffer
for so long.”
Luka Eyvazov is the fourth child of Novruz Eyvazov, the leader of one of
three Baptist congregations in Aliabad. His is the last known case of a
series of Baptist parents in the mainly-Muslim town who were refused birth
certificates for their children because they had chosen Christian, not
Muslim first names. However, Gurayat Eyvazov said it was unclear if the
next time Baptist parents try to register a child’s birth with a Christian
name they will face similar refusals. “Officials said nothing on
this,” she told Forum 18.
Children’s births in Azerbaijan are generally registered at the place where
their parents are registered to live. As Azerbaijani citizens and
registered residents of Aliabad, the Eyvazov couple originally tried to
register Luka’s birth at the local town administration, which is where they
first encountered a refusal. Without a birth certificate, Luka was not able
to go to kindergarten or to school, get treatment in a hospital, or travel
abroad.
Luka’s parents failed too at the regional level in Zakatala, where civil
registration official Aybeniz Kalashova wrote to the Eyvazovs last May
complaining of foreign Baptist missionaries who had come to Azerbaijan in
the early 1990s “spreading the Christian faith of the Baptist sect
among the population”, and who “tried to change surnames and
first names, changing them into Georgian and Christian names”. The
Eyvazovs even took their case to Mehman Soltanov of the Justice Ministry’s
civil registration department in the capital Baku, but this too failed to
break the logjam (see F18News 1 December 2004
).
Other members of Azerbaijan’s ethnic Georgian minority have told Forum 18
that the difficulty of registering children with Georgian Christian names
is particularly acute in the Zakatala region, though it occurs from time to
time in neighbouring regions with an ethnic Georgian minority.
One ethnic Georgian told Forum 18 on 10 January from Kakh [Qax] region
south of Zakatala region that Ingilos – ethnic Georgians who were
converted to Islam several centuries ago and are considered to be
Georgian-speaking Azeris by the Azerbaijani authorities, such as the
Baptists in Aliabad – face great difficulties trying to change their
surnames back to the Georgian form and registering children’s births with
Georgian names. However, the Georgian told Forum 18 that in most of these
cases the motivation for the parents’ desire for Georgian first names is
national, not religious.
Georgian Orthodox priest Fr Ioan Abesashvili confirmed to Forum 18 in Kakh
last November that his parishioners had no problems registering the births
of their children with Georgian Christian names.
Meanwhile, Zaur Balayev, pastor of another Baptist congregation in Aliabad,
told Forum 18 on 4 January that the town authorities have finally agreed to
allow him to open a grocery shop. He said the earlier refusals were part of
systematic local official opposition to Baptists in the town and an attempt
to drive them out by economic means by depriving them of the means to earn
a living (see F18News 9 December 2004
).
Two of the three Baptist congregations in Aliabad have repeatedly tried to
register with the authorities to gain legal status but, despite meeting all
the criteria, have got nowhere with their applications (see F18 News 8
December 2004 ). The third
congregation does not wish to register. Church members have been detained,
fined, threatened and their homes have even been shot at over the past
decade.
Najiba Mamedova, the notary of Zakatala region, angrily refused to discuss
with Forum 18 on 10 January why she is still refusing to notarise the
signatures on the Baptist congregations’ registration applications
necessary for the applications to go further. “You are asking about
such trivial matters when 25 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory is occupied
by Armenian bandits and the country is flooded with refugees,” she
declared, refusing to say why this was relevant to why she would not
notarise the Baptists’ signatures. She then put the phone down. Mamedova
has a record of behaving angrily towards enquirers, having shouted “We
don’t need Baptists here” at Forum 18 (see F18News 8 December 2004
).
For more background information see Forum 18’s Azerbaijan religious freedom
survey at ‘
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
;amp;Rootmap=azerba
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 24, 2004, Friday
POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION LESSONS FROM ILHAM ALIYEV[]
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, December 21, 2004, p. 5
by Rauf Mirtadyrov
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV IMPLIES THAT THE
RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN COOPERATION INTERFERES WITH KARABAKH CONFLICT
SETTLEMENT
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is critical of the role Russia
is playing in the Karabakh conflict settlement. Commenting on the
state of the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on the subject, Aliyev
praised the progress in the relations between Baku and Yerevan made
in the course of the talks of their foreign ministers in Prague.
Foreign ministers Elmar Mamedjarov (Azerbaijan) and Vardan Oskanjan
(Armenia) chose Prague as the site of their regular talks. Four
meetings resulted in accords on fundamental principles of settlement.
Aliyev is convinced that progress is undeniable. What counts is that
Armenia and Azerbaijan “agree on the principles of settlement” and
this agreement was reached in the course of Prague consultations, he
said. “Should the negotiations remain constructive and should Armenia
stick to the accords as it already did more than once in the past, we
will make progress.”
At the same time, Aliyev is convinced that the Russian-Armenian close
cooperation may interfere with the process. Commenting on Duma
Chairman Boris Gryzlov’s visit to Yerevan last week, he said. “Duma
chairman called Armenia Russia’s bulwark in the southern part of the
Caucasus, the other day… We have always regarded Armenia as a
state. It turns out that this is but a bulwark.” Aliyev continued,
“So, who are we supposed to discuss things with now – the bulwark or
its master?” Aliyev is convinced that Yerevan must decide for itself
and only that will set favorable conditions for continuation of the
talks. “Armenia’s conduct as an independent state will enable us to
reach an accord in the near future,” Aliyev said.
It was the opinion of Azerbaijani experts that disgusted with the
Russian diplomacy’s fiasco in Ukraine, Aliyev would certainly
distance himself from Moscow, and pointedly turn to the West and
first and foremost to the United States. “Nobody expected it to
happen so fast,” independent political scientist Metin Yasharogly
said. “And nobody expected Aliyev to begin talking about Russia’s
destructive role in the Karabakh settlement.”
Comments on Aliyev’s statements in Yerevan were made on the level of
the president of Armenia. President Robert Kocharjan at a press
conference in Lori advised his Azerbaijani counterpart not “to
concern himself” with the Armenian-Russian relations. “The impression
is that Azerbaijan is constantly irked by the high level of our
relations with Russia,” Kocharjan said. “This jealousy is out of
place because there is nothing to prevent the Azerbaijanis from
building up similar relations with Russia.”
It seems, however, that Aliyev has chosen another way. Local experts
say that when Aliyev preached his political indoctrination lessons
for the benefit of Yerevan and Moscow, he sided up with the
pro-Western part of the Azerbaijani opposition that blames Russia’s
clout with Armenia for interfering with Karabakh settlement.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 15 2004
Two railways to be built between Armenia and Iran

Armenia is going to restore its railway communication with Iran.
Armenia’s Minister for Transport and Communications Andranik Manukian
told the Associated Press agency on Monday that the Armenian
government has prepared a project on construction of two railways
from Iran to Mehri settlement of Armenia.
Manukian said that $760 million is required for the construction of
the first railway and $900 million for the second one, adding that
the Armenian side will not be able to pay the required sum.
The Associated Press agency quoted an Armenian government official on
conditions of anonymity as saying that Iranian and European
organizations will allocate funds for the construction of both
railways.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Delaware County Times, PA
Dec 10 2004
Gil Spencer: In this instance, CIS is running the asylum
Garegin and Nadia Ambartsoumian have been in this country for eight
years, raising their three children and working hard. Nadia works
six, sometimes seven days a week, cleaning houses and offices.
Garegin, a house painter, works long hours, too. After three years on
his own, his business is starting to take off.
Their girls, Karina and Rimma, are honor students at Upper Darby High
School. Their son, George, goes to the Armenian Sisters Academy in
Radnor.
They live in row house in Drexel Hill — but not for long, if the
Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has anything to
say about it. And it does.
The CIS wants the Ambartsoumian family to go back where it came from,
namely Georgia or Ukraine. One of those places in the former Soviet
Union. It doesn’t really matter which one. As the bartender says at
closing time, “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”
Well, George can. He’s a natural-born American citizen. So he can
stay on, but without his parents and sisters. He’s 8.
The Ambartsoumians applied for refugee status soon after they arrived
here in 1996. They fled the Soviet Union four years earlier after
years of what they claim was religious and ethnic persecution.
Nadia is a Baptist. Her father was a Baptist minister. Under the old
communist regime, religion was frowned upon.
“In communist country,” Nadia said in her still-thick Eastern
European accent, “they don’t let people to believe in God.”
For practicing his beliefs, Nadia’s father was sent to Siberia.
Overall, he spent 25 years of his life there. When she was old
enough, Nadia went to live with him.
“I was three years with my father in Siberia,” she said. But her
mother stayed in Ukraine with her sisters.
After returning home to Odessa, Nadia met Garegin. He’d come from
Georgia to work construction. She was working in a hotel. They
married and had two children.
But life was tough for the mixed couple. She is Ukrainian. He was
born in Georgia but is Armenian by ancestry. In the cauldron of
ethnic tribalism that passed for the former Soviet Union, Gari and
Nadia increasingly found themselves the targets of ethnic and
religious harassment.
When they decided it was time to get out, they headed first to Canada
and then to New York.
They arrived June 5, 1996, declaring themselves refugees and
requesting political asylum. Nadia gave birth to George five months
later.
They moved to the Overbrook section of Philadelphia and then to
Drexel Hill a couple of years later. They’ve been in Delco ever
since.
Though she speaks five languages, the only work Nadia could get was
cleaning houses.
“I just housekeeper,” she says.
But she’s a good one, according to the people she works for. More
than that, they say, she’s a special human being.
“She is just the most lovely person,” said Ginny Brookins, who lives
in Wayne.
In 1997, Brookins was battling cancer when Nadia came to work for
her. Today Nadia is more than an employee.
“She really has become a dear friend. She would do anything for you,”
Brookins said.
George Aman, an attorney who lives in Radnor, is another of Nadia’s
clients.
“She is a very nice woman, a fine woman, who works very hard,” he
said. “It would be a terrible shame to have her deported.”
Though she has her own lawyer, Aman has taken an interest in Nadia’s
case. He’s written letters on her behalf and called newspapers too.
“All of (her clients) want her to stay,” he said, “for economic as
well as personal reasons.”
But none more than Brookins, who Nadia helped through one of the
toughest times of her life.
“This is the type of family we need in the United States: Generous,
hard working, just the kind of people you want to know,” she said.
Unfortunately, when it comes to winning asylum, the U.S. government
isn’t swayed by such testimonials.
“We have people who have been illegally present for years who develop
equities in the community,” said Bill Strassberger, a CIS spokesman.
“But they have to have a basis to qualify for asylum.”
In 1999, an immigration judge decided that Garegin and Nadia had
failed to establish that they were sufficiently persecuted in their
home countries.
Though both of them described numerous incidents of their being
harassed, threatened and beaten, the judge found insufficient
evidence that they had a “well-founded fear of future persecution.”
Their second appeal was heard last month by a three-judge panel, and
the original decision was upheld. They were given 30 days to leave
the country, since extended until the end of the school year.
Unless someone intervenes on their behalf, this could be their last
Christmas in America.
Happy holidays.
(More about the Ambartsoumians and their situation Sunday.)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 21:46:26 | 10-12-2004 | Social |
PRIZES FOR HIGHLIGHTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Authors of the best environmental articles were awarded prizes on Friday
at the contest announced by OSCE Yerevan office and Orhus center.{BR}
40 TV and printed profiles were presented.
Concrete Civilization Edik Baghdasryan’s film and Professionalism Cut in
Forest Susanna Shahnazaryan’s article were found the best.
A special prize was given to Hrachya Papinyan for his film highlighting
problems related to water and forests pollution.
The majority of contenders are from Armenia’s regions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIANS OF MARSEILLES TO HOLD RALLY AGAINST TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP IN EUROPEAN
UNION ON DECEMBER 16
MARSEILLES, December 6 (Noyan Tapan). About 500 Armenians from
the French city of Marseilles held an action of protest before the
building of the Prosecutor’s Office on November 28 in connection with
the attack of the Turks on the five Armenians collecting signatures
before the building of the Mayor’s Office in Valance. The “Azg”
(“Nation”) newspaper reported about it quoting the Parisian “Armennews”
as a source. In response to the appeal of Ramkavar Azatakan, ARF
Dashnaktsutyun and other parties the Armenians of Marseilles demand
that the French authorities should punish the Turks with all the
strictness of the law. A delegation of the local Jewish Community also
participated in the rally besides the French political figures. During
the rally the Armenian organizations called on the Armenians of France
to participate in the rally to be held in Marseilles on December
16. Its purpose is to cease the process of Turkey’s joining the
European Union. This issue will be solved in Strasbourg on December 17.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA OREANDA
Economic Press Review
November 29, 2004 Monday
New Kalmykia Senator Promises Economic Prosperity for his Republic
Elista. Appeared in Russian in Moscow’s NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA. At its
eighth session on November 26, the People’s Parliament of the
Republic of Kalmykia elected Levon Chakhmachian as the senator to the
Council of the Federation of Russia’s Federal Assembly from Kalmykia.
Levon Chakhmachian is the leader of the political party Russian Party
of Self-government of the Working People, first vice president of the
Association for Russo-Armenian Business Partnership, and cochairman
of the Patriots of Russia political coalition. In his speech,
Kalmykia’s Parliament Speaker Viacheslav Bembetov emphasized that the
party he chairs is not only consistent in supporting the constructive
policy pursued by the republic’s leadership, but is also unraveling
an economic program to develop and support small and medium
businesses by creating public enterprises whose stock will belong to
the personnel. The decision to elect Levon Chakhmachian senator to
the Council of the Federation was approved by secret ballot: 19 ayes
versus 5 nays with one abstention. In his activity the new senator
will pay special attention to the federal targeted programs on
Kalmykia’s, funding of republican projects aimed at developing cattle
breeding, meet processing, gasification, and water supply to
villages, creating jobs, expanding oil and gas prospecting projects,
upgrading the key sectors of industry, and addressing social
problems. Copyright (c) 1997-2004 RIA “OREANDA”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ACTIVITIES OF TOTALITARIAN SECTS CONTRADICT NATIONAL AND STATE INTERESTS OF
ARMENIAN PEOPLE
ETCHMIADZIN, November 18 (Noyan Tapan). The meeting of the Supreme
Spiritual Council, which was held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
under the chairmanship of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II,
touched upon the activities of the sectarian organizations and the
problems of the recent official registration of the “Jehovah’s
Witnesses” sect in Armenia. After getting acquaintance with the
conducted researches and after exchanging views, the Supreme Spiritual
Council decided to make a statement:
“The Armenian Apostolic Church recognizes the right to the liberty
of conscience as a basic value of Christianity. At the same time,
it considers the fact that the religious organizations registered
in Armenia, whose activities are directed at the hunt for soles,
by all possible means violate this right to liberty of conscience as
inadmissible,” the statement reads.
The Armenian Church expresses its anxiety in connection with the fact
that the religious organizations are registered by the corresponding
state bodies as a result of not adequate explorations and not too
zealous attitude towards the law. “The activities of the totalitarian
sects, including the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”, contradict the national and
state interests and the aspirations of our people, saving teaching of
Christianity and seriously contradicts the international lawfulness,
the RA Constitution, those principles of the RA law “On Liberty of
Conscience and Religious Organizations” that consolidate the issues
of state security, public customs, morality, people’s health, the
protection of others’ rights, etc.,” the Supreme Spiritual Council
announces.
The Supreme Spiritual Council emphasizes that the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”
sect is registered as a “Christian” sect, whereas it connects with
the Christianity by no means and isn’t recognized by the traditional
Christian Church, the World Council of Churches, the Union of European
Churches, as well as other organizations. “It is interesting that the
“Jehovah’s Witnesses” organization under cover of Christianity comes
up only in the midst of the Christians and in the Christian countries
and never in the Moslem ones,” the document reads.
Such situation, according to the Supreme Spiritual Council, can’t
contribute to the health of public consciousness, implicit obedience to
spiritual moral values in the country, especially when the Motherland
and the people face the various economic and social difficulties and
are in the process of reforms now.”
“The Armenian Holy Apostolic Church devoted to its mission and
realizing its duty before its sons is in the mood to defend its flock
from any infringements of their integrity and security. The Supreme
Spiritual Council expects that the corresponding state bodies will
start the reconsideration and settlement of these problems. It is
necessary that the RA law “On Liberty of Conscience and Religious
Organizations” should be re-examined to contribute to the regulation of
the activities of the religious organizations and serve the protection
of liberty of conscience, regardless of anarchy and uncontrol,”
the Supreme Spiritual Council states.
The Supreme Council calls on the people to remain loyal to the heritage
of our ancestors – our Holy Apostolic faith.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Nov 11 2004
Armenian Job Sharks Do Brisk Business
Much of Armenia’s job market remains in the shadows as an unofficial
labour exchange continues to flourish.
By Karine Ter-Saakian in Yerevan (CRS No. 261, 10-Nov-04)
Yerevan’s “black employment exchange” in the heart of the city pulses
with life early in the morning. Middle-aged men carrying materials
for the painting and building trades rub shoulders with younger men
who are busily making deals.
These young men are the brokers who run most of the business in the
market, getting here by six or seven in the morning. By eight, most
of the qualified workers have been snapped up and it is only the
unskilled labour that remains.
The market has existed since Soviet times, when the authorities
tolerated its presence even though it was strictly illegal. That
remains the situation now, with the Armenian government turning a
blind eye to a market that continues to do business because
unemployment is high.
Job-seekers say they came here because looking for work through the
official labour exchanges can be very hard.
Onik, 40, lost his job 15 years ago and is a regular at the “black
exchange”. “I’ve got a degree in civil engineering, and I worked as a
construction foreman until I lost my job,” he told IWPR. “I go to the
exchange to find work such as renovating flats or helping out on a
building site.”
According to a recent report from the Armenian National Statistics
Agency, nine per cent of working-age Armenians – 112,000 people – are
unemployed.
But Eduard Agajanov, an independent economist who used to head the
state statistics agency, warned IWPR, “This cannot be true. That’s
the unemployment level of a highly industrialised economy.
“The real figure is about two and a half times higher. Some analysts
actually put it at four or five times [the official number], which
translates into half of Armenia’s population being unemployed.”
Agajanov said these higher unemployment estimates included people who
did have jobs but should be counted as unemployed since they were
neither on a payroll nor paying taxes .
Experts say the shadow labour market is fed by people who are
frustrated with the bureaucracy of the official labour exchange, and
deterred by the high fees charged by recruitment agencies.
A source at Armenia’s welfare ministry insisted that it was not
difficult to find a job, but accepted that doing so through the
official route was difficult. “It’s true there are big queues at the
official employment exchange, especially if you are a qualified
professional. I believe the real unemployment level is at least
double the official figure,” said this source, declining to be named.
Onik agrees it is useless to expect the government to find you a job,
while private firms are too costly.
“One can go to an official job exchange, sign up and everything, but
they will ask you to bring reams of paperwork regarding your marital
status, your work career, residence and so on,” he said. “Then you
wait for many months. They will pay you unemployment benefit, but you
are likely to spend most of it on getting the paperwork they require
from you.
“On the other hand, a private recruitment firm will charge you half
your first monthly salary; that’s too much. At the black exchange,
the brokers charge 20 to 30 dollars, so it’s well worth the trip.”
The “black exchange” operates peacefully, with arguments between
brokers and prospective workers rare. The place is divided up, and no
one trespasses on anyone else’s patch.
The clientele ebbs and flows according to season, and is influenced
by the general situation in the South Caucasus.
Many of the job-seekers have recently returned from Russia and are
looking for work again.
“I left Armenia in 1992 and found a job right away in the Saratov
region [Russia] building houses and roads,” Ruben, 40, told IWPR.
“Then they started treating us badly and I decided to leave. The
money I had brought back is all gone. I’ve already found one job
here, renovating a private home. I hope I get lucky again.”
Many car mechanics and truck drivers have recently turned up looking
for work. The drivers have been hit hard by the recent closure of the
Georgian-Russian border, following the Beslan tragedy in North
Ossetia in September.
“Nowadays I consider myself lucky if I get to ship some potatoes or
cabbages from Tashir [in northern Armenia] or Javakhk [in southern
Georgia] once a week.” said Levon, a professional driver.
“Security is very expensive, but if you are driving to Russia, you
aren’t going to make it without a security escort. Guards have to be
hired from a professional security firm. They charge a lot, but it’s
worth it,” said another truck driver.
Ashot Mhitarian, an official at Armenia’s central tax office, said
there was an urgent need to regulate the recruitment firms exploiting
the job market. “Some of them get incorporated as a public
organisation or some kind of small business, in order to pay as
little tax as possible,” he said. “And then they go and rip off their
clients.”
Mhitarian is positive the “black employment exchange” will continue
for a long time to come. “When the unemployment rate really drops to
nine per cent like the government says it is, there won’t be any need
for this kind of unofficial job forum. But for the time being, all
the money that’s being made here is going to stay in the shadows,
where the government cannot tax it.”
At the job market, one community is managing to get jobs at a rate
quite disproportionate to its size.
These are the Molokans, a small Russian Christian community whose
ancestors settled in Armenia in the 19th century. There are just
2,000 of them in Yerevan.
“They work faster; they are neater and more responsible,” explained
Georgy Harutiunov, a Yerevan resident looking for workers to renovate
his flat. “Although they charge more than Armenian labourers, they
provide better quality.”
Major banks and corporations prefer to hire Molokan women to clean
their offices. “I’m not saying Armenians can’t do cleaning, but the
Molokans do it better,” one bank manager told IWPR.
Ashot Manukian, a foreman at a Yerevan construction site, agreed, “At
the exchange, you never know who you’re hiring. The majority of
private repair jobs are done by the Molokans these days. They are
rock-solid. You can leave them in your house, come back hours later,
and nothing will have been stolen. Great workers, too.”
Onik, competing for jobs at the unofficial labour exchange, thinks
the Molokans are a sort of mafia that claims all the best jobs.
“But I have nothing against them,” he added. “We’re all earning a
living as we can. But sometimes I wonder: are Armenian builders all
that bad? How come the Molokans get to do everything?”
A group of Molokans was standing nearby, keeping away from the rest
of the job-hunters. “They do that. Keep their distance. They’ll only
talk if it’s unrelated to their work. Theirs is a very different
life.”
Karine Ter-Saakian is a freelance journalist in Yerevan.
–Boundary_(ID_dvkFnyrQIS2rVKMDIBXJ8A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
11/08/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Ghukasian Open to Start Negotiations with Azerbaijan 2) Kocharian Names New National Security Service Chief 3) Safarov Trial Set to Begin 4) Akhtamar Church Targeted for Shooting Practice, Treasure Hunts 5) Erdogan Says Human Rights Report Never Disclosed to the Prime Ministry 6) Armenia Tightens Control over Radioactive Materials 1) Ghukasian Open to Start Negotiations with Azerbaijan YEREVAN (Combined Sources)Referring to the two resolution strategies"step-by-step" and "package" accordthat have been proposed by the conflicting sides, Mountainous Karabagh Republic President Arkady Ghukasian stated on November 8 that "Karabagh is ready to conduct negotiations with Azerbaijan within the context of any formatwith or without Armenia." "We are ready to discuss any issue with Azerbaijan," noted the president while elaborating on his government's stance, which he considers to be "very productive." Ghukasian stated that Azerbaijan's ability to settle the conflict is currently inhibited, however, by its "hostile political stance," adding that Azerbaijan's policies will not impact the position of the OSCE Minsk Group chairmen, who will be able to realistically gauge the proposals offered by each side. 2) Kocharian Names New National Security Service Chief YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Gorik Hakopian, the former Deputy Director of Armenia's National Security Service, has been appointed by President Kocharian as the new chief of Armenia's National Security Service. Hakopian, 58, who took one of the most powerful government positions in Armenia, was born in Gyumri. He has graduated from the Higher Courses of Soviet KGB. A statement from Kocharian's office says, "Hakopian worked in the security system from 1970...Since December, 2002 Hakopian worked as Deputy Director of National Security Service." 3) Safarov Trial Set to Begin YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The trial of Ramil Safarov, accused of killing Gurgen Margarian in Hungary on February 19, 2004, is set to begin on November 23. Both were officers participating in an English-language course at the Hungarian University of National Defense as part of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. The Armenian officer Margarian, 26, was axed to death in his sleep by Safarov, who is an Azeri. Safarov is accused of premeditated murder with unusual cruelty and may face a sentence 15 years to life imprisonment. Attorney Nazeli Vardanian will represent the Margarian family. The Armenian International Union of Lawyers has created a team of lawyers to assist Vardanian in the case. 4) Akhtamar Church Targeted for Shooting Practice, Treasure Hunts VAN--The Istanbul-based Marmara Armenian newspaper reports that sculptures on the Akhtamar Church, located on Akhtamar Island, in Western Armenia, are being used as targets for shooting practice by visitors. A photo accompanying the article in the Turkish Newspaper Milliyet reveals the pierced images. Reporting from Van, writer Cukran Bakan says that a guard is posted at the historical site only during visiting hours, and only during the summer season. Though visitors routinely arrive to the island to practice their shooting, visitors have also begun to dig underneath the church for hidden treasure. A professor of Ancient Studies at Van's Yuzuncu Yil University says that people have the notion that there are treasures buried in Van. A guard at the Akhtamar Church was even caught and arrested for digging for treasure. Marmara also laments a reference in the first paragraph of the Milliyet article that refers to the Akhtamar Church as a 1,000 year-old sacred site for Christians and Jews. "There is nothing left for us to say," writes the Armenian paper. 5) Erdogan Says Human Rights Report Never Disclosed to the Prime Ministry ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)--Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a minority report released by the Human Rights Advisory Board had been drafted without instructions from him. "It was unethical to disclose the report to the press before informing us, that is, the Prime Ministry," Erdogan said. The report broadened the definition of minorities in Turkey and criticized the government's policy towards minorities, which has drawn criticism from various circles. Erdogan responded to questions at a press conference in the Black Sea province of Rize on Saturday. He emphasized that the minority report should have been submitted to the prime minister or the deputy prime minister before it was released to the press. "After the public debate, the report was again discussed by the board and amended. Later it was sent to the Prime Ministry. This [sequence of events] is ethically wrong," said Erdogan. Asked about criticism alleging that he had signed the European Union Constitution in Rome on Oct. 29 without reading it, Erdogan said those who released such news were not aware of the content of the constitution and how it was drafted. Drawing attention to the fact that the Inter-parliamentary Conference had drafted the constitution, Erdogan said: "Turkey participated in studies on the drafting of the constitution, which is not legally binding on Turkey. It will be binding on us when we become a full member of the EU." The report on ethnic minorities in Turkey, released by an advisory body linked to the office of the Turkish Prime Minister, has led to debates in Turkey. Issued in Late October, the report recommends greater recognition be given to ethnic minorities in Turkey. Currently, only three ethnic minorities--the Jews, Armenians, and Greeks--are officially recognized. Chairman of the Human Rights Advisory Board Ibrahim Kaboglu, said the report had been submitted to the Prime Ministry, but government officials denied having anything to do with it. 6) Armenia Tightens Control over Radioactive Materials YEREVAN--The Armenian government approved the licensing order of radioactive materials to prevent illegal shipments of materials and equipment containing them, reported RIA-Novosti. Armenian authorities arrested a man last month carrying radioactive cesium-137 in the trunk of his car. The highly toxic material is capable of contaminating large areas if used as a dirty bomb. Yerevan resident Gagik Tovmasian was arrested on charges of illegal trade in radioactive materials. It was unclear how the man obtained the material which is used in Armenia in density gauges and for machine calibration. Devices containing cesium-137 can cause serious radiation exposure if broken and held. Depending on the amount and form, experts say a dirty bomb made with cesium-137 could spread intense radioactivity over a section of a city, making it uninhabitable. The AP reported that a powerful source of radiation was found last February on the Armenian-Iranian border, amid scrap metal headed for Iran. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. 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