Author: Hakobian Adrine

Agence France Presse
22 mai 2005 dimanche 6:48 PM GMT

Rassemblement arménien pour report des négociations d’adhésion de la
Turquie

PARIS 22 mai 2005

Environ 500 personnes selon la police se sont rassemblées dimanche à
Paris à l’appel d’organisations arméniennes pour demander à Jacques
Chirac de faire pression pour repousser les négociations d’adhésion
de la Turquie, sans quoi les Arméniens voteront non au référendum.

Ce rassemblement a eu lieu à l’appel de trois partis politiques
arméniens, l’ADL Ramgavar (droite libérale), le PSD Hentchakian
(Social démocrate) et le FRA Sachnaktsoutioun (socialiste), soutenus
par le le Conseil de coordination des organisations arméniennes de
France (CCAF).

Les organisateurs ont expliqué dans un communiqué qu’ils exigeaient
“du Président Jacques Chirac qu’il demande le report de l’ouverture
des négociations d’adhésion” de la Turquie à l’Union européenne,
“alors que les Français d’origine arménienne glissent vers le +non+”
au référendum du 29 mai.

New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
May 22 2005

System Of A Down: Mezmerize

by Rebecca Barry
(Herald rating: * * * * *)

Listening to Mezmerize makes you think of a Matrix film – it’s faster
and more violent than most, and although the thrills are primitive,
the underlying messages are not. Let’s hope that unlike the films,
when fourth album Hypnotize is released in six months it will live
up to its predecessor – this is their best yet.

SOAD haven’t strayed from the staccato-riffery of Toxicity, or from the
schizo-comedy that sees them chopping and changing time signatures,
or singer Serj Tankian giving a hammy performance. But they’ve cut
the fat and taken more liberties.

Take BYOB (Bring Your Own Bombs), a heavy protest against the Iraq
war that breaks into a cheerily sarcastic singalong: “Dancing in the
desert, blowing up the sunshine.” Or Question!, which weaves elements
of their Armenian heritage into a bombardment of guitars.

Tankian’s views haven’t softened. In Violent Pornography: “Everybody
sucks, everybody dies.”

Too much anger is directed at obvious themes – Hollywood, for instance
– but creative delivery makes up for it. Like a certain blockbuster,
you’ll be on the edge of your seat throughout.

TERRY DAVIS IS WRONG

A1plus
| 18:53:42 | 20-05-2005 | Politics |

NKR Foreign Minister Arman Meliqyan has commented on the announcements
about the settlement of the Karabahk conflict made in Warsaw. The
information has been submitted by the NKR Foreign Ministry press
service.

– Recently Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis has
stated that Nagorno Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. How
would You comment on this statement?

– I must note that Mr. Davis is himself mistaken and automatically
deceives the international community. That’s why it is useful to remind
that Nagorno Karabakh has never been in the structure of independent
Azerbaijan and, correspondingly, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is
not its integral part. Once Nagorno Karabakh was in the structure
of the joint Soviet state and in the process of the collapse of the
USSR it proclaimed its independence in the strick correspondence
with international norms. As for the international recognition of
the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, in my opinion,
it’s only an issue of time.

– How much is the statement of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov as if Armenia agreed to free 7 former administrative
regions of Azerbaijan, motivated and what consequences can it have?

– One shouldn’t have any illusions in this issue. The statements of
the Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs can create a false idea
in certain international circles on the real frames of responsibility
of the participants of the negotiations. All the issues related to
the territories which are under the NKR control must be regulated
only on the base of resolutions adopted by the people of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic and its elected authorities.

LOS ANGELES NEW PRIZE IN HISPANIC EMPOWERMENT
BY DANIEL B. WOOD

M ay 19, 2005

LOS ANGELES — The election this week of Antonio Villaraigosa as
mayor of Los Angeles is the latest exclamation point in a story of
Hispanic political empowerment that has been unfolding nationwide
for more than three decades.

Villaraigosa, 52, defeated Mayor James Hahn by an unexpectedly wide
margin, 59 percent to 41 percent, in the nation’s second-largest city.

“I’ve said to people, ‘I’m an American of Mexican descent and I
intend to be a mayor for all Los Angeles,”‘ he said Wednesday. “In
this diverse city, that’s the only way it can work.”

The high-profile ascent of Villaraigosa, a high-school dropout who
once had a “Born to Raise Hell” tattoo, builds on gains by Hispanics
in municipal, county, state, and national governments over the last
25 years.

The new look

Political analysts mark those gains by comparing the political
landscapes of Henry Cisneros, who was elected mayor of San Antonio
in 1981, and that of two U.S. senators, Mel Martinez of Florida and
Ken Salazar of Colorado, elected in 2004.

Between those political bookends, the number of elected Hispanics
has grown 30 percent in the last eight years, from 3,743 in 1996 to
4,853 in 2004.

Latino political gains reflect the nation’s changing ethnic makeup —
and Hispanics’ growing ability to appeal to a range of ethnic groups.
Many such groups of newer immigrants — Koreans, Pacific Islanders,
Armenians, Iranians, Russians, Filipinos — embrace the new Hispanic
politicians because they sense fresh openness to their own struggles,
observers say.

“The new political face of America is looking South and West for its
emerging identity rather than to Eastern Europe as it did in the
country’s first big wave of immigration,” says Antonio Gonzales,
president of the William C . Velasquez Institute, a Latino-based
think tank.

National trend

“Many of the emerging immigrant populations see Hispanics as accessible
and open to them in the way more traditional American politicians
have not been,” he said.

The Hispanic gains also reflect America’s demographic evolution —
and not just in Los Angeles. While the number of Hispanic Americans
has grown nationwide (to 35 million — surpassing African Americans
as the nation’s largest minority) the number of Hispanic voters has
doubled (from 5 million to 10 million) in the last 10 years.

That has brought emerging Latino populations — and politicians — to
states outside the Southwest, including Illinois, which has seen a rise
of 95 percent in the number of statewide elected Hispanic officials.

Christian Science Monitor, with AP contributing

The Sun-Times Company

Russian party leader on fact-finding visit to Azerbaijan

Assa-Irada
18 May 05

Baku, 18 May: The leader of Russia’s Our Choice Party, Irina Khakamada,
is visiting Baku. The aim of the visit of Khakamada, who started
her tour of the post-Soviet space from Azerbaijan, is to familiarize
herself with the current relations between the two countries.

“This is my first visit to the independent country. I am trying to
assess similarities and differences between Russia and Azerbaijan,”
she said at a meeting with Azerbaijani parliament members.

Deputy Speaker Govhar Baxsaliyeva briefed the guest on the processes
going on in the country and the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Khakamada said in turn that unlike the Azerbaijani parliament,
democratic forces are not represented in the Russian State Duma.
People from the Caucasus are now facing major problems in Russia due
to their appearance [they tend to be darker than Russians], she said.

Khakamada also voiced her regret that they can get no information
from members of the diaspora in Russia about the problems that
Azerbaijanis have.

Nine opposition candidates declared winners of uncontested Beirut seats before election
By SAM F. GHATTAS

AP Worldstream
May 19, 2005

Nine opposition candidates on the 19-member ticket of the son of a
slain former premier have already won uncontested parliament seats in
Beirut, the government said Thursday, giving the anti-Syrian group
a head start in crucial balloting later this month that is expected
to end the pro-Syrian control of the legislature.

The Interior Ministry, which organizes the election, said seven of
the candidates on Saad Hariri’s list were declared winners after
opponents in their districts withdrew their candidacy before the
midnight Wednesday deadline. Two others were unopposed.

The 10 seats still up for grabs in Beirut will be contested by 27
candidates, including 10 on Hariri’s list.

Elections beginning in Beirut May 29 and in other regions the three
Sundays after that will be the first balloting free of Syrian forces,
which completed their withdrawal last month.

The media and political pundits expect Saad Hariri’s list to
easily win, as his father swept all of Beirut’s 19 seats in the 2000
elections. The late Rafik Hariri is credited with rebuilding the city
from the destruction of the 1975-90 civil war.

Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive explosion in Beirut on Feb. 14,
sparking huge anti-Syrian protests, brought down the pro-Syrian
government and intensified international calls that forced Syria to
withdraw its army from the country and end 29 years of dominance of
its smaller Arab neighbor.

The opposition, which blamed Syrian and Lebanese security agencies
for involvement in the assassination of Hariri, is hoping to break
Syria’s hold on Parliament in the election.

A Syrian-era election law adopted in 2000, which demarcated electoral
districts, was left to stand after Parliament failed to draft a new
law. That has discouraged some from participating, including Tashnag,
the main political party of the Armenian community, which has announced
it will boycott the Beirut election.

Four of the nine candidates who won uncontested were Armenians on
the Hariri list. They are legislators, members of the Hariri bloc,
and do not belong to Tashnag.

Hariri, speaking to reporters after meeting with Armenian Catholic
clergy in Beirut, dismissed suggestions of voter apathy and predicted
a heavy turnout by Beirutis out of loyalty for his father and “against
the criminals” who planned, financed and carried out the murder.

Michel Pharaon, an opposition lawmaker on the Hariri list who was
re-elected for the Greek Catholic seat, said in a television interview
that the number of uncontested seats did not mean a boycott of the
election but rather satisfaction with the candidates.

The 128 seats in the legislature are split equally among Muslims and
Christians under Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system, which
allots most of the 17 sects a slice. In Beirut, nine of the 19 seats
are for Muslims and 10 for Christians and others, broken down by sect.

The younger Hariri is running for one of the six Sunni Muslim seats.

Head of pressure group says Azeri positions in Karabakh talks “weakening”

Bilik Dunyasi news agency
19 May 05

Baku, 19 May: “Even if Armenia does return several districts to
Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan will lose Nagornyy Karabakh forever,” the
chairman of the Karabakh Liberation Organization, Akif Nagi, has told
a meeting marking the anniversary of the occupation of Lacin.

“Azerbaijan is living in the anticipation of betrayal. Our positions
have started weakening in the process of negotiations. New false
models have started emerging. Everything being said about the 5+1+1
[the number of occupied districts to be returned] formula is a lie,”
he said.

He is convinced that even if Azerbaijan, Armenia and international
organizations sign the document and Armenia returns several districts
to Azerbaijan, we will have to come to terms with the loss of Nagornyy
Karabakh.

His opinion is shared by the former acting prime minister (1992-1993),
Rahim Huseynov, who is sure that Armenia will not return the
territories without putting forward counter demands.

Erdogan Dismisses Foreign Pressure on Armenian Issue

The New Anatolian
19 May 2005

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Ankara
rejects outsiders’ “lobbying efforts” on the so-called Armenian
genocide, and said other countries should open their archives on
the period.

Erdogan’s comments at the 46-nation Council of Europe summit came after
Armenia’s president, Robert Kocharian, speaking at the same gathering
on Monday, had underlined his country’s call for the killings to be
recognized as genocide.

Erdogan belittled Kocharian’s speech, describing his words as,
“Playing for the tribunes and self-satisfaction.”

“We do not appreciate any lobbying efforts that do not have their
basis in documents,” Erdogan said. “Taking action in other parliam
ents will not have positive effects on the issue.”

Erdogan recently sent a letter to the Armenian president inviting
Armenia to set up a committee of historians to jointly research the
killings. “We are opening up our military archives and we ask for
Armenia to do the same,” he said yesterday. “If other countries have
pertinent information, let them open their archives.”

Several countries, including Argentina, Canada, France, and Russia,
have declared the killings as genocide, and there is strong pressure
from Armenians worldwide for the U.S. Congress to recognize the
killings as genocide as well.

Erdogan reacted to the international pressure by threatening to pass
a similar decision in the Turkish Parliament. “If they go further in
their attempt to pressure Turkey, we will pass a similar decision
from our Parliament against countries that have committed genocide
in history,” he said during the press conference after the meeting.

Calling on world leaders to build the future on love and peace,
rather than hatred and enmity, Erdogan criticized the countries
whose parliaments have formally accepted the events of the early
1900s as genocide.

“You should understand this: These kinds of decisions will never
bind us,” Erdogan said. “We convey our thoughts very sincerely to
Kocharian. And they reply to us with a document containing a more
positive approach compared to that of the past. We hope that they
will improve this approach in a positive way.”

Asked about a possible decision by the Belgian Parliament to crimalize
denying the Armenian genocide, Erdogan was highly critical.

“I could not place these kind of decisions anywhere within the legal
platform,” he said. “I think that any decision of an unrelated country
on this issue would be unlawful.”

Stressing that Turkey has taken some positive steps towards normalizing
its relations with Armenia such as opening its airspace to Armenian
planes and the restoration of the Armenian church at Van, Erdogan
added, “We’re sending out these signals. If they don’t receive them,
I will only leave them to the appreciation of humanity.”

Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC)
Date: 18 May 2005

Overall analysis
To help the Armenian Red Cross achieve its objectives, as laid down in the
appeal 2004, the Federation raised CHF 1,226,269. The main donors were the
Norwegian Government, the Norwegian Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross and the
Federation’s Capacity Building Fund. The big advantage was that there were
funds available – 631 per cent of the appeal budget – from the beginning of
the year to start most of the planned activities. Additional funds – CHF
70,000 – arrived from the Federation’s Capacity Building Fund in April 2004.
The Norwegian Red Cross allocated another CHF 376,000 in June 2004. In
December 2004, a further contribution of CHF 93,500 arrived2 increasing the
appeal coverage to 157 per cent.
This was more than the Federation appealed for 2004. The income exceeded the
total appeal budget. There are two issues, however, that should be
considered: firstly, the funding was not evenly distributed among all the
projects; while some received over 100 per cent of what was required,
others – the integrated management of childhood illnesses, first aid and
population movement, for instance – did not have any income. These projects
have not received support from partners. As a result some of the important
activities were not implemented. The Armenian Red Cross has been trying to
fill the gap through bilateral partnerships, establishing contacts with
in-country organisations, national agencies and businesses, but the funds
raised locally have not been sufficient to cover the needs.
Secondly, the excessive contribution has been accepted with the provision
that the balance, CHF 412,983, will be carried forward to 2005 to cover the
continuation of activities until the end of May 2005. Hence, the percentage
of the expenditure, if calculated against the income, is low (66 per cent)
although the implementation and consequently, spending, in general, followed
the plan of action as designed from the outset. If we look at the
expenditure vis-à-vis the budget, it stands at 104 per cent.
Table 1. Appeal budget, income and expenditure per each project
Programmes/ProjectsAppeal budget (CHF)Total income (CHF)Appeal coverage
(%)Expenditure (CHF)Expenditure (% of the income)Expenditure (% of the
budget)Balance (CHF)
Health and Care programme186,793236,055126.3171,79072.89264,263
Prevention of HIV/AIDS40,54955,27613630,486557524,790
Prevention of TB14,46530,08020712,986438517,0933
Social services for vulnerable people131,779150,699114128,318859722,380
Disaster Management programme207,668168,34581119,063715749,281
Disaster preparedness and response142,361168,345118119,063718449,281
First Aid30,265000000
Population Movement35,042000000
Humanitarian values programme20,00151,35225732,3146316219,0374
Humanitarian Values20,00151,35225632,3146316219,037
Organisatio nal development programme365,716686,400188411,94961113274,449
Bran ch development194,478356,265183215,97361111140,291
Fi nancial management and development39,02069,94817944,2786311325,670
Youth development132,218260,187197151,69858115108,488
Field Management-84,114-78,16593-5,948
Total780,1821,226 ,269157813,28666104412,983

Despite funding gaps, the Armenia n Red Cross had remarkable achievements in
2004: about 30,000 children (10,000 more than in 2003) were reached with
messages on HIV/AIDS. Another 60,000 children and their teachers were
educated on disaster preparedness. Over 31,000 lone pensioners, refugees and
orphans were provided with social and health care.
Progress has been made in strengthening the National Society capacities too.
The Red Cross is better prepared now for disasters. Its response teams have
demonstrated that they can be quick and effective. The teams responded to a
number of alarm calls, many of which were about car accidents and fire.
National Society regional branches work better as well. They have stronger
links with the local population and have implemented responsive and relevant
programmes. Measures have been taken to improve volunteer management too.
The Red Cross has a viable plan on how to reorganise its structure so that
it can recruit more volunteers, better manage and retain them. Financial
management has also improved because procedures are now clearer and more
transparent.
Challenges, however, remain. The most acute one is how to ensure
sustainability in the environment of dwindling international support. The
national society has to continue to provide better services and explore more
local funding sources to break with the recent tradition of external support
that is set to decrease. It needs to priorit ise its work according to
pressing needs and the capacity of the Red Cross, strengthen links with the
communities, and improve planning and marketing. These are the issues that
emerged in a recent self-assessment. The National Society has started
addressing them, but more needs to be done. The Federation is committed to
support the Armenian Red Cross in achieving its objectives. Its support
strategy for 2005 has been designed to help the member national society
confront the remaining challenges in a consistent way (for more details ,
see the Federation’s Appeal 2005 at

Footnotes:
1 CHF 490,115, the balance from the 2003 operation, was carried over to
support the continuation of projects in 2004.
2 According to the internal procedures in the Federation, CHF 93,500, a
donation from the Norwegian Red Cross, was channelled through the 2004
accounts, although the amount was earmarked to support the projects in 2005.
Hence, the amount was registered as an income of the 2004 appeal increasing
the appeal coverage. If we deduct the December income from the equation, the
appeal coverage would stand at 145 per cent.
3 The amount will be reallocated to PAM 537, prevention of HIV/TB project.
4 The amount will be reallocated to PAM 540, the population movement and
PAM016, branch development projects to support the publication of a brochure
on the Red Cross work and public awareness campaign on human-trafficking.
For further information please contact:
Anna Eghiazaryan, secretary general of the Armenian Red Cross, email:
[email protected], phone: +374 1 538367, fax: + 374 1 583630.
Gun Raikkonen, Federation representative in Armenia, email:
[email protected], phone: + 374 1 539443; + 374 1 539217; fax: + 374 1
539217.
Sylvie Chevalley, regional officer, Europe department, Federation
Secretariat, Geneva email: [email protected] phone: 41 22 730 4276;
fax: 41 22 733 03 95.
The International Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable
people by mobilizing the power of humanity. The Federation is the world’s
largest humanitarian organization, and its millions of volunteers are active
in over 181 countries. All international assistance to support vulnerable
communities seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, according to the SPHERE
Project. Please access the Federation’s website at
Full report (pdf* format – 530 KB)

–Boundary_(ID_JeXiacefPKWcvbC5q+DCig)–

MEGHRI HPS CONSTRUCTION VERSION TO BE CHOSEN IN NEXT TWO MONTHS

YEREVAN, MAY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting of the Armenian-Iranian
Technical Committee on Meghri Hydro Power Station (HPS) Construction
was recently held in Tehran. According to RA Deputy Minister
of Energy Ara Simonian, the process of conducting feasibility
study on HPS construction was discussed at the meeting. It is
envisaged to finish the work within the next two months, after
which the document will be submitted to Energy Ministers of the two
countries. A. Simonian said that a number of construction versions
are under consideration. According to one, Meghri HPS must have a
capacity of 130 megawatts, for which 130 mln USD is needed. To recap,
Director General of the Elecric Power System Operator cjsc Karen
Sargsian is Armenian Co-Chairman of the Armenian-Iranian Committee
on Meghri HPS Construction.