Author: Frangulian Shushan

The Times (UK)
June 06, 2006

How dare you take my queen?

By Rajeev Syal and Raymond Keene

Battle of the chess grandmasters as leading England player ‘attacks’
rival over dancefloor move

[Picture]Arianna Caoili, Australia No 3 – described as the Anna
Kournikova of chess.

FOR one British grandmaster, his rival had made a move too far. Danny
Gormally, one of Britain’s leading chess players, allegedly attacked the
world No 3 at an international tournament for dancing with a beautiful
Australian player.

Levon Aronian, leading light of the Armenian chess scene, was apparently
punched and shoved, and ended up on the floor during a party at the
recent Chess Olympiad in Turin.

He had been spotted jiving with Arianne Caoili, 19, an Australian
grandmaster known as the Anna Kournikova of the chess world. Mr Gormally
was known by team-mates to be fond of her.

But the next day, after the England captain apologised to the Armenian
team, the repercussions continued. When Mr Gormally went out for a
coffee with friends, he was attacked by a group of young Armenian
players seemingly bent on revenge for their star player.

The unseemly events are expected to lead to an urgent inquiry by the
English Chess Federation into Mr Gormally’s behaviour. He was advised to
leave the tournament early to avoid further confrontation.

Allan Beardsworth, the England captain, said that drink appeared to play
a part. “Danny seems to have punched Aronian for innocently dancing with
a girl that he liked. The following day, there was a retaliatory
incident. It is a shame, and something that we will have to look into
properly,” he said.

The Olympiad is held every two years between 150 international teams and
brings together the world’s best players. While the tournament went
badly for Mr Gormally and the England team, the Armenians eventually won.

The party was held four days ago at a nightclub called “Hiroshima Mon
Amour”. Mr Gormally, 30, from Durham, spotted Ms Caoili, with whom he
had struck up an e-mail relationship, according to colleagues. They are
also known to have met in London.

Ms Caoili, a child prodigy of Filipino descent who has ambitions of
becoming a professional singer, was dancing “energetically” with Mr
Aronian. She is ranked No 3 in Australia. Mr Aronian, 23, often referred
to as a future world champion, is adored in his country where chess is
the national sport.

For Mr Gormally, the sight of the pair dancing was apparently too much –
but his actions were unjustified, according to Mr Beardsworth. “I have
spoken to several people who were there, and there is no doubt that
Danny was in the wrong. Aronian is a lovely guy and at the very peak of
his national sport. I have been told that he is treated like David
Beckham at home,” he said.

The England team’s management was informed of the incident and held an
impromptu meeting. By 11am the next day, it had apologised to the
Armenian team leader, who also happens to be the country’s defence
minister. There is no suggestion of any criminal inquiry.

Mr Gormally was informed, and hoped that the incident was over. However,
when he went out with friends for a coffee, he was spotted by young
chess players from Armenia. “They set upon Danny – he was hit several
times. Luckily, one of the team-mates with Danny could speak Russian and
managed to calm them down,” Mr Beardsworth said.

Denis Jessop, president of the Australian Chess Federation, said that he
may launch his own inquiry. “I have heard that an incident took place
and that Aronian was thumped and that it was over Arianne.”

“I am not surprised at anything that chess players do. It is not the
first time that there’s been an argument at a chess tournament and
people have hit each other,” he said.

Mr Gormally, 30, a professional player, declined to comment from his
home, where he lives with his parents. On asked why he had been sent
home, he replied: “It’s personal. It’s nothing to do with you.”

BLACK SEA SUMMIT OPENS IN BUCHAREST

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 5 2006

A summit of Black Sea states opened in Bucharest today.

Speaking at the opening of the summit, Romanian Foreign Minister
Mihai Razvan Ungureanu said, “We should all work to define a new
vision for the Black Sea region, a new vision that would reflect the
new realities and create better conditions for its development.”

The presidents of Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and
Azerbaijan will explore setting up new energy routes to ensure supply
stability between Central Asia and Europe.

The EU wants to diversify energy supplies after a pricing dispute
between Ukraine and Russia cut supplies to Europe in January.

Also on the agenda are talks about the dispute between Armenia and
Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is
an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan but under de facto
control of ethnic Armenian separatists.

Officials attending today’s summit in the Romanian capital include
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Moldovan President Vladimir
Voronin, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Armenian Robert
Kocharian, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

RALLY IN ARMENIA OPPOSITE THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY

A1+
[05:38 pm] 05 June, 2006

10 NGOs together with about 50 citizens organized a rally of protest
opposite the Russian Embassy with posters saying “STOP”. They condemned
the activities of the racist groupings in Russia, in particular the
skinheads and demanded the RF authorities to resort to strict measures
to arrest and punish the murderers.

“What is taking place in Russia against Armenian is intolerable. The
Russian authorities do not carry out the necessary investigations
in order to punish the organizers of the murders. We think that the
idleness of the Russian authorities is a way of encouraging,” Arsen
Kharatyan, member of the initiative group “For the Development of
Science” complains.

Head of the Armenian Helsinki Committee Avetiq Ishkhanyan who joint
the rally said, “I am sure that if the Armenian authorities had
a stricter attitude towards the events, there wouldn’t be such a
continuation. If they sent a serious note to the Russian authorities
after the desecration of the Armenian cemetery in Krasnodar, I think
something would be done in that direction”.

The participants of the rally handed their statement to the Russian
Ambassador after which headed for the RA Foreign Ministry saying that
their complaint is not only against the Russian authorities.

“One of the aims of the action is to invite the attention of the
Armenian authorities to the matter.

We must send lawyers from Armenia to Russia to follow the trial,
as it was done in Hungary”, Avetiq Ishkhanyan thinks.

PRESS RELEASE
Hamazkayin GB
Navasartian Centre
223 Northfield Avenue
London W13 9QU
Tel: 0044 208 5672277
Email: [email protected]

Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian in London

Hamazkayin London premiers the film: Isabel Bayrakdarian:
‘A Long Journey Home’
A stunning music documentary directed and produced by Stormy Nights
Productions of Toronto, Canada. [email protected]

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

The Navasartian Centre was packed with members of the London Armenian
community of all ages and genders who had come to see not only the
stunning film of Isabel’s emotional and musical first trip to Armenia
in 2004, but to also meet the Armenian-Canadian Soprano in person.

They were not disappointed: Canada’s most promising young Armenian
soprano captivated the audience with her beauty as well as her golden
voice, singing folksongs of Komitas and sacred church music: Dele
Yaman, Andouni, Sourp- sourp and many others.

Accompanying Isabel were her husband Serouj Krajian (pianist) and the
Directors/Producers of the film.

The Chairman of Hamazkayin London, Hayasdan Vartanian, introduced
Isabel to the audience: Born in Lebanon, of proud Armenian heritage,
and presently a loyal citizen of Canada. She is a First Prize winner
of the prestigious Placido Domingo “Operalia” Competion in 2000 and
recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee medal. Isabel has
made a splash on the international stages of the opera world. She has
performed with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Chicago Lyne
Opera, Teatro alla Scala, L’|Opera de Paris and at the Salzburg
Festival to name but a few.

Her first CD, ‘Joyous Light’ is a disc of Armenian songs. In addition
to her recorded albums, Ms Bayrakdarian’s voice can be heard on the
Grammy Award-winning sound-track of The Two Towers, the second
installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as in the
award-winning film ARARAT.

Following the screening of the film, a Questions & Answers session was
held with the Star and her entourage. The evening ended with a
cocktail reception with Armenian delicacy.

Attending and seeing this beautiful 80-minute documentary was like a
virtual journey to Armenia. Isabel Bayrakdarian is the God’s gift to
the Armenians, but we have to share this gift with all the nations of
the world.

The film ‘A Long Journey Home’ is available on DVD from Stormy Nights.

Isabel is currently in London for another important debut, at Covent
Garden, where she will perform Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of
Figaro.

Panorama.am

14:40 01/06/06

500-1000 BUSINESSMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN ARMENIA-DIASPORA SECOND
ECONOMIC CONFERENCE

Armenia-Diaspora second economic conference will launch on September
20, this year by the decision of the Armenian government. The Armenian
Trade and Economic Development Deputy Minister Tigran Davtyan told a
press conference today that the conference is organized within the
framework of events dedicated to 15th anniversary of Armenia and third
Armenia-Diaspora conference. This will attract many businessmen, the
deputy minister is sure. Approximate estimates show that 500-1000
businessmen will participate.

The first conference took place in 2003 with the participation of 1000
businessmen. According to ministry estimates, 55-65 percent of
investment is related with the Diaspora in 1998-2004, with 25-30
percent of investment directly flowing from Diaspora. The deputy
minister also said they are expecting guests not only of Armenian
national in the conference.

Within the framework of the conference Pan-Armenian EXPO-2006 will be
open. All the interested parties can register on-line. An internet
site is opened to organize the conference –
The participation fee has reduced from 100 Euro to 50 Euro. This
discount will be effective only for those participants who will
register by September 1. The conference is not state subsidized
because the fees and international assistance cover the costs.
/Panorama.am/

EU: NORTHERN CYPRUS AND KARABAKH CONFLICTS SHOULD NOT BE PUT INTO SAME POSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.06.2006 13:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Northern Cyprus issue and the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict should not be put into the same position, because
these problems are totally different,” said Emma Udwin, Special
Representative of the European Union (EU) New Neighborhood Policy
Programme Commissioner. Saying that the Northern Cyprus conflict is
now at the stage of discussions, Udwin has noted its delicacy and
urgency. “It is not right to parallel these two conflicts,” she said.

Andreas Herdina, EU New Neighborhood Policy Sectors Coordinator, has
talked for parallel negotiations with each of South Caucasian countries
in the framework of New Neighborhood Policy. “We want cooperation to
be made with all of the three countries and we find no reasonable
cause for discrimination between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia,”
he said, reports APA.

MONITORING ON YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY HELD

Panorama.am
14:27 31/05/06

Liberalization Processes Monitoring National Center (LPMNC) is engaged
in public work to promote transparency of municipal activities. The
monitoring is conducted with “Yerevan municipality public monitoring”
project which has won a tender organized by the presidential order,
costing AMD 3 mln. The monitoring specialists are surprised with open
and welcoming attitude of the municipality employees “The opinion
that municipality is a close structure does not meet the reality,”
Lusine Margaryan LPMNC head told a press conference today.

The monitoring is conducted in 4 main fields. It answers to the
following questions: how are auctions on land conducted; how does the
system of “one window” work; what is the state of state subsidies in
health care; what takes place in the educational system. The project
responsible persons have held meetings with health care and education
employees. They have discovered that school councils fail to meet
their functions at school. They have also unveiled money fraud and
corruption at schools.

More miserable situation is observed at health care policlinics. The
quality of health care has sharply gone down despite of increased
state subsidies.

The monitoring specialists have also studied “one window” system
newly introduced at the municipality.

“Until yesterday the municipality web page posted only one news. This
is a new structure and should be supported,” Lusine Margaryan says.

The monitoring responsibles failed to receive information on
auctions of land. They have been told that it is huge pile of
information.

ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED IN FIRE FROM AZERBAIJAN: YEREVAN

Agence France Presse — English
May 29, 2006 Monday 4:51 PM GMT

An Armenian soldier was killed in cross-border fire from Azerbaijan,
the Armenian defence ministry said Monday, in violation of a ceasefire
observed by the two estranged countries.

The soldier, who died from his injuries on his way to hospital, was
shot late on Saturday in northeast Armenia, in violation of the 1994
ceasefire, it said.

But the report was denied by Azerbaijan.

The Russian Ria-Novosti news agency quoted the authorities
in Azerbaijan as saying that Azerbaijani soldiers had not fired,
but that one of their soldiers had been shot by Armenian forces,
according to the defence ministry.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-year war over the Armenian-majority
enclave of Nagorno Karabakh, which seceded from Azerbaijan in the
early 1980s.

The conflict claimed 25,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands
of people, ending in a 1994 ceasefire.

Since then, tensions have remained high between the two countries
and incidents occur regularly, with each side blaming the other.

International Herald Tribune, France
May 30 2006

Faded Black Sea port putting on a fresh face
By Andrew E. Kramer The New York Times

TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2006

BATUMI, Georgia Welcome to Georgia’s new beach town.

Two years after this city was wrested from a separatist leader in one
of the former Soviet Union’s obscure little conflicts, Batumi is on a
crash development program as a resort.

The 19th-century port built by French architects is a place where the
palm and grapevine covered foothills of the Caucasus Mountains
cascade onto gray pebble beaches, where stately hotels like the
London are getting a fresh coat of paint, and where the coffee is
served in the Turkish style, mixed with grounds.

But try getting a room in one of the beachfront hotels, and you will
learn there has not been a vacancy here since 1993: the hotels are
occupied by refugees, who, with no home to return to, checked in and
never left.

In its second beach season since central authority was restored,
Batumi is still ironing out some kinks. Since the breakup of the
Soviet Union, the leader of the Adjaria region, Aslan Abashidza, shut
Batumi from the world and used the port for smuggling guns and
alcohol, frightening away tourists, until he was ousted on May 5,
2004, by Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia who assumed
power in 2003, vowing to rein in the country’s three separatist
conflicts – two in former beach resorts.

The refugees come from a different and still unresolved conflict in
Abkhazia, also on the Black Sea coast – and therein lies the secret
of the money pouring into Batumi’s mini-tourism boom. Georgian
officials are hoping this town will become a shining example of
development and international investment that comes when a separatist
region becomes part of a recognized state.

The city, they say, is becoming a showcase of how quickly one of the
so- called “frozen conflicts” of the former Soviet Union –
Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia
and Transnistria in Moldova – can thaw out.

“We should communicate to them that they have a future,” Saakashvili
said of residents of nearby Abkhazia, in an interview. “It will take
two or three years, but they will notice. When we have yachts in the
harbor, they will see.”

Like Beirut on the Mediterranean Sea, another cosmopolitan seafront
town that dropped off the map because of war, Batumi on the Black Sea
is now shaking out of its stupor and hanging out a welcome sign.

Adjaria is ethnically Georgian though distinct from the rest of the
country for a minority Muslim population, but still, most experts
say, harbored no deep-seated ethnic tension. Georgia’s other two
separatist enclaves are far thornier social, ethnic and political
challenges.

Still, Levan Varshalomidze, the 34- year-old new governor of Adjaria,
is hopeful the tourists trickling back to the eastern Black Sea will
soften his separatist neighbors.

“When people make money they find a common language,” he said.

The transformation is fast.

French consultants suggested the Goni Russian tank base, being
vacated, be converted to a golf course. On a bluff over the Black
Sea, it recalls the rolling green fairways overlooking the Pacific at
Pebble Beach in California. Two years after Abashidza fled to Moscow,
Novotel, the French hotel chain, has signed a contract to open a
hotel.

Under Abashidza, 14 kilometers, or about 10 miles, or roads were
paved. In the past two years the new government laid down 120
kilometers of fresh asphalt.

In one of his last acts as strongman, Abashidze mined a bridge
leading into town. An amusement park that is being dubbed Georgia’s
Disneyland is going up near the spot this summer.

In the largest investment to date, the TuranAlem bank of Kazakhstan
bought 21 hotels, which also came with the refugees. As part of the
investment, the bank will pay each refugee family $7,000 to move out,
enough for a modest apartment in an outlying district.

The deal is seen as an important and positive sign that money from
oil-rich former Soviet states is being invested in their poorer
neighbors.

When the refugees are gone, the Kazakh investors will raze and
rebuild some hotels and refurbish others. The hotels are now home to
1,912 families, or about 6,000 people.

At present, the Meskheti hotel is more fire-trap than tourist
attraction. A large puddle has formed in the lobby from a dripping
ceiling. Scruffy men in track suits lounge in the shade drawing on
cheap cigarettes. Marina Gahukidze, 42, has lived in a 10th floor
single room with a view of the beach since 1993. She and her husband
raised three children in the room. On a recent visit, two boys were
unloading backpacks and settling into homework.

“We didn’t expect to live here so long,” she says of the only home
her children have known.

About 15 kilometers south of town is a Byzantine castle with a
crenellated wall, now guarding a courtyard of citrus trees, also
making a debut to the modern world as a tourist attraction; it was in
a closed border zone and off limits in Soviet times. The detritus of
stone Roman waterworks are scattered beside a magnolia; the smell of
mandarin trees in bloom waft over the old rocks.

The now abandoned castle is emblematic of the potential of tourism in
Georgia, where the landscape resembles northern California.

“It will be a key part of economic growth,” Irakli Chogovadze, the
minister of economy of Georgia, said in an interview, while attending
the ribbon cutting at the Intourist Palace hotel in Batumi on May 24.
“Wherever you put your finger on the Georgian map, you have
potential.”

Beside a bubbling fountain in the hotel foyer, waitresses in pressed
white shirts weaved through a crowd of diplomats with trays of
Champagne flutes and caviar canapés.

The Georgian economy grew 9 percent last year, with foreign visits up
14 percent. Most of the visitors are coming from the former Soviet
Union, Turkey and Iran. The Iranians began slipping over last summer
for a few days of freedom, including booze and girl watching.

Armenpress

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TO CELEBRATE CHILD PROTECTION
DAY STARTS IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS: A three-day
international scientific symposium aimed at fostering
a discussion of modern practices and issues of child
protection opened today in Yerevan at the hall of
sessions of the Armenian government building. First of
its type in Armenia, this event was organized by World
Vision Armenia in cooperation with the USAID and
UNICEF.
Among the participants are leading specialists in
the sphere of child protection, special pedagogy and
inclusive education, experts from Russia, Georgia,
Switzerland, Serbia, and other countries, as well as
representatives of Ministries, international and local
NGOs, charity foundations, educational and healthcare
institutions.
The Symposium is supposed to introduce new and
effective methodologies, discuss state policies and
strategies related to child protection, and foster
productive dialogue and cooperation among different
entities operating in this sphere.