Author: Hakobian Adrine

ArmenPress
Oct 20 2004

KOCHARIAN TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO TBILISI ON OCTOBER 22

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian will
pay an official three-day visit to the neighboring Georgia on October
22. Kocharian’s press service said the welcoming ceremony will be
held at Bagratashen village on the Armenian-Georgian border. In the
capital city Tbilisi Kocharian will have a conversation with his
counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili, which will be followed by enlarged
talks between the two countries’ delegations. The two presidents will
also meet with journalists.
Kocharian will also meet with parliament chairwoman Nino
Burjanadze, prime minister Zurab Zhvania and will also be welcomed by
the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia
II. Kocharian will lay a wreath at the monument to fighters for
united Georgia and participate in Tbilisoba- a festival dedicated to
Tbilisi. He is also scheduled to meet with members of the local
Armenian community. Kocharian will come back to Yerevan on October
24.
According to 2002 census, Georgia’s population was 4 mln 371,000
people, 250,000 of whom were Armenian. However, according to
unofficial figures, some 400,000 Armenians live in Georgia. They are
mainly concentrated in Tbilisi, Javakhk, Tsalka and Marneuli regions,
as well as in Ajaria and Abkhazia. Georgian Armenians take an active
part in social, political and cultural life of the country.
According to Armenian president press services, Armenian language
newspaper Vrastan (Georgia) has been published since 1920. In 1991,
it was published as the official newspaper of the Georgian
parliament, in 1992 it was given the status of an independent
newspaper, though it receives some funds from the state budget. The
number of copies during the Soviet times reached 45,000. At present,
it is a weekly with 2,500-3,000 print-run.
Once in a month, Paros, Arshaluis and Aghbiur newspapers publish
in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda regions as well as Ajaria. Under the
aegis of the Armenian Youth Union in Georgia another newspaper, New
Generation, publishes.
The Armenian government continues shipment of textbooks to some
154 Armenian-language schools in Tbilisi, Javakhk, Batumi, Kvemo
Kartli and Tsalka which have 28,000 students. The Sunday school in
Rustavi supported by the Armenian embassy in Georgia also receives
textbooks.
The reconstruction of the Armenian Drama Theater after Petros
Adamian in Tbilisi has finished recently. Georgian Armenian play an
important role in Armenian-Georgian cultural cooperation. They
organize theatre tours, concerts and exhibitions between the two
countries.
There are 13 Armenian acting churches in Georgia, particularly St
George and St Etchmiadzin churches in Tbilisi, St. Saver in Ajaria,
St. Sargis in Bogdanovka village of Ninotsminda and others.
There are several non-governmental organizations in Georgia,
including Union of Georgian Armenians, Armenian Youth Union, Union of
Tbilisi Armenians, Sayat-Nova cultural and educational union, Union
of Ajaria Armenians, Charles Anznavour union, Javakhk and some
others.

New York Times, NY
Oct 19 2004

Home of 3 Faiths, Rubbing One Another the Wrong Way
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Published: October 19, 2004

ERUSALEM, Oct. 18 – To all the depredations and brutality meted out
in the name of religion in the holy city, add a little spit.

When a young yeshiva student spat at the cross-carrying Armenian
archbishop of Jerusalem, Nourhan Manougian, the archbishop struck
back, a fistfight broke out, the police were called and a new debate
started spinning about the nature of intolerance among the faithful.

Jerusalem may have the world’s highest diversity of religious belief
per square meter but here, it seems, diversity does not produce a lot
of tolerance.

In fact, it is almost the reverse, suggests Rabbi David Rosen, based
in Jerusalem as head of inter-religious affairs for the American
Jewish Committee. “It’s the paradox of Jerusalem,” Mr. Rosen said.
The competition among true believers of all faiths creates tension,
not ecumenicism.

“Here, the vast majority of Muslims, Christians and Jews live with a
pre-modern mentality, a linear truth,” he said. “And since I possess
it, they think, why should I come together with you? Diversity is not
seen here as positive, as in the Western world, or dialogue
enriching.”

The spitting incident occurred a week ago, during a procession for
the Feast of the Holy Cross, which commemorates the return of the
true cross to Jerusalem by the Romans after they defeated the
Persians, who had apparently stolen it. In the post-spittle struggle,
the archbishop’s medallion, dating from the 17th century, was
damaged, and so, too, some worried, was Israel’s reputation for
tolerance and fair administration of the disputed capital.

Though the target was important, this was hardly an isolated
incident. Spitting on Christian clergy by ultra-Orthodox Jews, while
not an everyday occurrence, happens often enough to have become a
sensitive topic among Christians in the Old City, said Wadie
Abunassar, an Israeli Arab Roman Catholic who worked as a spokesman
here for the Latin Patriarch, a leader of the Eastern Orthodox
Church.

“Jerusalem is supposed to be a city for ecumenicism – it’s supposed
to be,” Mr. Abunassar said. “But Jerusalem is a very nervous city.
You feel the denominational and sectarian tension there, not just
between Christians and Jews, or Jews and Muslims, but among
Christians, too.

“Everybody, every sect tries to claim that we are the cleanest, the
purest, the best,” he added.

Rabbi Rosen said the matter has to be understood in an ultra-Orthodox
context. “Ultra-Orthodox Jews don’t by definition live in the modern
world,” Rabbi Rosen said. Many, to varying degrees, see Christianity
as idol worship. “For them, the cross is a symbol of idolatry and of
hatred of Judaism,” he said.

For the ultra-Orthodox, Mr. Abunassar said, “Jesus is not just a bad
Jew, but almost Satan’s messenger.

“They avoid writing his name,” he said. “Some won’t wear neckties, to
avoid making a cross around their neck, or use shoelaces. In math,
instead of the plus sign, a cross, they use an upside-down T.”

Some ultra-Orthodox also spit at women in skirts deemed too short,
and there have been cases when a driver on the Sabbath is stopped, as
if for directions, and when he or she rolls down a window, is spat
upon.

In this case, the student who spat, Natan Zvi Rosenthal, was
arrested. He told the police he had been brought up to see
Christianity as idol worship, forbidden by the Torah, and spat at the
cross as its symbol. He was ordered to stay away from the Old City
for 75 days, and may yet be indicted. On Monday, he made a formal
apology in the company of his teachers, rabbis from the Har Hamor
Yeshiva in Jerusalem. They said they tried to educate their students
to be courteous.

Archbishop Manougian accepted the apology. But he said there had been
many such incidents since Israel took control of east Jerusalem in
1967. “Sometimes they spit, sometimes they cut through the
procession,” he said. “They have thrown garbage in front of the
churches and broken the crosses on tombstones.” The police, he said,
did little or nothing.

This time the government responded. The interior minister, Avraham
Poraz, condemned spitting at clergy, which he called repulsive, and
vowed to crack down. He ordered the police to prevent further such
occurrences, presumably by putting more officers in the Christian
quarter of the Old City. Because of the intifada, many Orthodox Jews
who want to visit the Western Wall skirt the Muslim quarter and pass
through the Armenian one, leading to more confrontations.

A former chief rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, condemned the incidents as
“spitting in the face of Judaism.” They are a “desecration of the
Divine Name” and could contribute to anti-Semitism, he said, while
violating Israel’s sacred trust over the holy places. “Protection of
everything sacred to other religions is one of the justifications for
Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem,” he said.

The Jerusalem office of the Anti-Defamation League called on Israel’s
two chief rabbis to come out “quickly and firmly against this clear
violation of Jewish ethical teaching.” The office director, Laura
Kam Issacharoff, said: “It’s all about intolerance and lack of
education – or miseducation. There is no respect for another
religion; there is no education for tolerance in the yeshiva. It has
to come from the top, to pound into the heads of these kids that this
sort of behavior is offensive and un-Jewish.”

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, head of Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Muslim
quarter and an ultra-Orthodox leader, said he had not known of the
controversy. But when it was described to him, he called Mr.
Rosenthal’s behavior impolite.

“You can disagree with another religion, but it’s not a reason to
spit,” he said. “I’m a spiritual enemy of Christianity, because the
hands of Christians are full of our blood, and it’s not so simple to
forget it. But it’s a spiritual fight, not a spitting fight.”

Agence France Presse
14 octobre 2004 jeudi

Barnier annonce un nouveau débat à l’Assemblée après sommet du 17 décembre

PARIS 14 oct 2004

Le ministre des Affaires étrangères, Michel Barnier, a annoncé jeudi
à l’Assemblée qu’un nouveau débat parlementaire sur la candidature de
la Turquie à l’Union européenne serait organisé après le Sommet
européen du 17 décembre qui doit se prononcer sur l’ouverture de
négociations avec Ankara.

Répondant à un “souhait” formulé par l’ancien Premier ministre
Edouard Balladur, lors du débat organisé jeudi à l’Assemblée, M.
Barnier a déclaré qu'”il y aura après le Conseil européen du 17
décembre un débat durant lequel le gouvernement rendra compte de ce
qui s’est précisément passé”.

M. Barnier n’a cependant pas évoqué l’hypothèse d’un vote, demandé
par M. Balladur.

Le ministre a ajouté qu’il devait “y avoir à chaque étape de cette
négociation, si elle est ouverte, une information régulière du
Parlement”. En revanche, il ne s’est pas “engagé sur le contenu de la
question référendaire” qui devrait être posée aux Français à l’issue
de la négociation, précisant qu’elle “dépendra de son résultat”.

Défendant l’ouverture des négociations avec la Turquie, M. Barnier a
déclaré qu’on “ancrera ce pays dans le camp européen (…) en lui
donnant la possibilité de prouver qu’il sera un jour capable de
partager avec nous ce projet de démocratie et de civilisation qu’est
le projet européen”.

Le ministre a toutefois souligné que “la question de la présence des
forces turques dans le nord de Chypre devra être réglée” au cours de
ces négociations. Concernant le génocide arménien, il a estimé que
“la Turquie devra faire son travail de mémoire à l’égard de sa propre
histoire”.

Enfin, réagissant à des propos de l’ambassadeur de Turquie à Paris
parus dans la presse, M. Barnier a dit que ce dernier avait “tort de
considérer qu’il y aurait chez nous une sorte de délire”, ajoutant
qu’il y avait “simplement le désir de parler, de comprendre, de
débattre” et, “pour notre peuple, de décider lui-même de l’avenir et
des limites de l’Union européenne”.

A spit in the face
By AVIAD HACOHEN

Jerusalem Post, Israel
Oct 15 2004

Why has the assault on an Armenian clergyman in the Old City met with
rabbinical silence?

One fool spits and 10 wise men cannot dry it up. The Jerusalem yeshiva
boy who, a few days ago, spat at the Armenian archbishop of Jerusalem,
Nourhan Manougian, and at the crucifix he was carrying in an Old City
procession, was probably expressing the secret wish of more than a
few extreme fundamentalists who dwell among us.

There’s never been a shortage of lunatics in Jerusalem. Some of them
– ram’s horn-carrying messiahs or saviors bedecked with crowns of
thorns – suffer from Jerusalem Syndrome, which has provided fodder
for mental health researchers and psychiatrists throughout the world.

We need not be overly troubled by sufferers of Jerusalem Syndrome.

The ones we should worry about are the silent majority of Orthodox
Jews, led by the rabbis and yeshiva heads, who said nothing about
this disgrace against the Armenian archbishop.

Except for a strong condemnation by MK Rabbi Michael Melchior,
the leader of Meimad, religious leaders remained silent in the
face of this act of folly. Not the yeshiva heads nor the rabbis
nor the representatives of the religious denominations rushed to the
microphones and the cameras to express revulsion over this desecration
of the holy name.

Instead of crying out against the act of the young Jerusalemite, they
kept mum. Thereby, they became unwitting partners in the act. The
foolish act, whether done out of mischief or malice, madness or
mindlessness, will from now on serve as further justification (as
if there weren’t enough already) for talk about the need for the
internationalization of Jerusalem, for incitement against Israel
charging that we are desecrating the holy symbols of Islam and
Christianity, and for the murky wave of anti-Semitic attacks on Jews
and on Jewish religious institutions throughout the world.

RELATIONS BETWEEN Jews and Christians have experienced many
vicissitudes – the Christian Bible’s description of the Crucifixion,
the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the silence of the Holy See during
the Holocaust.

More recently, it seemed as if Christian-Jewish relations were
improving. The belated recognition by the Catholic Church, and the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State
of Israel, marked a new era in the history of the relations between
the faiths. The widely covered and moving visit by Pope John Paul to
Israel unfolded seamlessly, despite fears. As hundreds of millions
of amazed Christians watched in a live broadcast around the world,
the pope kissed the stones of the Western Wall with the Israeli flag
waving over it, shed a tear at Yad Vashem, and breathed new hope into
the world.

But it turns out that in Jerusalem, that is not enough.

The fragile fabric of religious communities in Jerusalem has for
hundreds of years been comprised of a colorful mosaic: Jews –
Ashkenazim and Sephardim, haredim, hassidim, and Lithuanians;
Christians – Copts and Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and Ethiopians;
and Muslims.

As a result, the slightest move – of a key in an Old City church,
for instance – can set off violence.

The world watches what happens on the Temple Mount, and even the
progress by which the government handles the appointment of Greek
Orthodox Church Patriarch Irineos.

The Armenian archbishop who was attacked, Nourhan Manougian, is well
aware of these sensitivities. During Easter 2002 tension was high
within the walls of the Old City in the wake of charges that the Greek
Orthodox patriarch had been pushed in the Holy Sepulcher compound
on his way out to pass on the holy fire. The Armenian patriarch
Turkoum Manougian, it was claimed at the time, took advantage of the
opportunity to take the fire on his own to his followers who were
waiting outside.

This led to a fist fight between thousands of worshipers who were
in the compound. Only thanks to the resourcefulness of hundreds of
Israeli policemen deployed at the site were the rivals separated,
the riot quelled, and the dispute put to rest.

Various Christian traditions have lived with this sort of tension for
hundreds of years. In 1808 a fire broke out in the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, and the different denominations blamed each other for it.

On the “Sabbath of Light” in 1834, Ibrahim Peha, the son of Muhammad
Ali the ruler of Egypt, visited the compound and during his visit
100 pilgrims were killed inside the building.

Just two years ago, a Greek priest discovered that a carpet laid by the
Copts in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher exceeded the area designated
for the Copts by three centimeters, which led to an escalation of
the conflict between them.

Last year a dispute erupted between the Copts and the Ethiopians
following an argument over whether one was allowed to place a chair
at the entrance to the roof.

THE RECENT attack is another unfortunate result of long-standing
hostility. The barbarian demon of spitting to express revulsion and
loathing suddenly made a visit from some God-forsaken Jewish village
in Eastern Europe.

Needless to say, that custom never entered the mainstream of halachic
literature. Even if they did not accept the doctrine of Rabbi Menahem
Hameiri – one of the greatest Jewish scholars of Provence in the 14th
century – that today’s Christians who show courtesy are not idolators,
halachic scholars knew to distinguish ancient idol worshipers from
the Christians among whom they lived.

In spite of the great suffering Jews endured, the rabbis knew that
spitting at any person created in the image of God was equal to
spitting in the face of God Himself.

Therefore, the silence of the leaders of the Jewish religion in
light of the latest incident is all the more unfortunate. Instead of
mobilizing religion to ease the tensions and create an atmosphere
of conciliation, they mobilize religion and its values to increase
animosity and hostility between the different denominations.

The latest spitting incident is a mark of shame on Israeli society in
the 21st century. A mark of moral and, no less, religious shame. That
Jerusalem hooligan really did spit in someone’s face. But not in
the face of the archbishop alone. Rather, he spit in the face of the
Jewish people of Israel.

The writer is a lecturer on Jewish Law and Constitutional Law at
Shaarey Mishpat law college and Hebrew University Law School and is
head of Mosaica- Research center for Religion, State & Society.

NEW SCHOOL

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
13 Oct 04

The school of the village of Shosh is 120 years old. Throughout
centuries the village went through many hardships. At the beginning
of the Artsakh war the village became the target of the Azerbaijani
emplacements. On October 10 the school of Shosh at last moved to
a new building. At the opening ceremony were present NKR president
Arkady Ghukassian, the head of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church archbishop Parghev Martirossian, the executive
director of the foundation “Hayastan” Naira Melkumian, members of
the NKR government, guests from Canada, the chairman of the Toronto
branch of the foundation “Hayastan” Mkrtich Mkrtichian.

LAURA GRIGORIAN.
13-10-2004

A1 Plus | 21:48:22 | 07-10-2004 | Politics | PACE FALL SESSION |

ARMENIAN MPS JOINED BUT COULDN’T HELP NKR

For the first time the representatives of Armenian Authorities and
Opposition made speeches in CE without contradicting each
other. Before referring to the main subject, all the Armenian MPs
dwelt on the speeches of Azeri MPs.

“Yes, we have many unsettled issues. But Azerbaijan is not the one to
point at solution to them. Azerbaijan conditions all the problems it
has by Armenia. It remains only that they blame us for their political
prisoners”, Armen Rustamyan said.

Mr. Rustamyan reminded CE members about the Sumgayit events and added
though a truce was declared in 1994, Azerbaijan keeps waging a war
till now, holding a blockade etc.

Shavarsh Kocharyan called upon Azerbaijanians not to draw parallels
between Beslan and NKR. “People in Karabakh fight for living freely on
their land. Before committing the recent terror acts, Shamil Basaev
had sent his men to Karabakh to carry war against Armenians. Dear
Azerbaijanians, don’t throw stones at the house of your neighbour
while yours is made of glass”, Shavarsh Kocharyan stated.

Azeri MPs reminded CE leadership about Robert Kocharyan’s speech in
Strasburg and announced that it runs counter to CE principles and
standards. “What can one expect from an invader country? The president
of that country publicly announced here that he is proud of having
participated in occupation of our territories. After such a statement
Armenia can’t be a CE member. That state represents a danger to both
Azerbaijan and Europe”, Azeri MP Molazade said.

Armenian MP Gurgen Arsenyan counterattacked Mr. Molazade: “I just
learnt that my country represents a danger to Europe. Maybe to China,
too? I remind from this rostrum that my president had said he was
proud of participation in defence for his homeland. Mr. Arsenyan
assured CE members: “Armenian people accept that democracy has no
alternative and must be guided by those principles”.

The 11th of the changes being discussed at this sitting concerned NKR
issue. In case of accepting the suggestion NKR could be enrolled in
the negotiation process. “No essential progress occurs in NKR
negotiations because Karabakh doesn’t partake in the talks”.

Though the speeches of our MPs were successful, CE didn’t involve the
change in the report. It was rejected by 14 pros, 32 cons and 2
abstaining.

The Jakarta Post
October 09, 2004

Megawati installs four new ambassadors

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Outgoing President Megawati Soekarnoputri Thursday named four new Indonesian
ambassadors for Thailand, Germany, Tanzania and Ukraine.

Senior diplomat Makmur Widodo, current director general of multilateral
relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as Indonesian
ambassador to Germany.

Before being appointed director general of multilateral relations in 2002,
Makmur was deputy permanent representative to the United Nations
headquarters in New York.

Senior diplomat Ibrahim Yusuf was appointed as Indonesia’s ambassador to
Thailand. His previous position was head of the ministry’s research,
training and development agency.

Trijono Marjono was appointed Indonesia’s ambassador to Tanzania. Prior to
his appointment he was secretary to the director general for America and
Europe.

Former charge d’affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, the
Philippines, Manuel Alexander Laturiuw was appointed ambassador to Ukraine,
Georgia and Armenia. He will be based in Kiev.

Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yuri Thamrin said on Thursday
that the four had gone through the selection process at the House of
Representatives in June, along with 10 other ambassadors.

Of the 14 ambassadorial candidates, six had been installed earlier, while
the remaining four would be installed next Thursday.

“The last four are still waiting for agreement letters from their designated
countries such as for Portugal and Italy,” Yuri told The Jakarta Post.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda was absent in the 30-minute
ceremony as he was attending the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Hanoi
on behalf of the President.

Megawati, who was defeated by her rival Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the
presidential election, decided not to attend the summit. No explanation was
given

120 FAMILIES INHABITED IN KARABAKH

Azg/am
29 Sept 04

120 families, overall 623 people, inhabited in Nagorno Karabakh since January
to August of 2004, Serzh Amirghanian, head of the Administration for
Migration, Refugees and Resettlement, informed Azat Artsakh (free Artsakh)
newspaper.

According to a state project, the number of resettled should reach 70 thousand
by 2010.

“It won’t be easy to carry out only by means of the state budget. It
will cost $110 million. Whereas we receive only 440 million AMD
annually. By this money we will reach that number only in 120 years”,
Amirghanian said. He also noted that Diaspora’s active involvement
is needed to resettle 68 thousand people by 2010.

“We often say that we will have a winning card in the social and economic
field of Karabakh if its population reaches 300 thousand. The world community
should see that we really have 500 thousand refugees from Azerbaijan”, Serzh
Amirghanian said.

Turkish F.M. Gul Holds A Press Conference On His Meetings In New York

Turkish Press.com
28 sept 04

NEW YORK – Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul said that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told him
that “Turkey became a model for the world thanks to the reforms it
accomplished.” He stated that this transformation in Turkey gave a
positive signal to the world.

Gul, who attended the 59th session of the United Nations General
Assembly, held a press conference on Monday.

“I had meetings with foreign ministers of Iran, Sudan, Thailand,
China, Ukraine, Armenia and Pakistan and met UN Secretary General
today. A meeting of D-8 countries’ foreign ministers was also held. I
attended this meeting and took the floor. All those meetings were
very fruitful,” Gul said.

Stating that Annan and himself discussed Cyprus and Iraq, Gul said
that he told Annan that the number of Turkish citizens working for
the UN is very low.

Answering a question, Gul said that Greek Cypriot press reports
saying that Annan would undertake a new initiative on Cyprus were
not discussed during the meeting.

“On the contrary, I told him that we support his plan. Turkish
Cypriots voted in favor of it. Turkish Cypriots said (yes), while the
other side said (no). I told him ‘thus, Turkish Cypriot side should
be awarded now’, noting that we expect him to lead on this issue. He
said that he mentioned clearly those things in his report and he will
do what is necessary.”

-CHINA-

Gul said that Chinese Foreign Minister and himself discussed bilateral
relations in their meeting.

Stating that there was a great gap in trade between Turkey and China,
Gul said that trade volume between the two countries amounted to 2.6
billion U.S. dollars. He noted that China exports goods worth of 2
billion U.S. dollars while Turkey exports goods worth the remaining
600 million U.S. dollars.

“I said in the meeting that this gap should be closed. I also
said that China should give Turkish businessmen more opportunity,”
he noted.

“I also asked Chinese Foreign Minister that China should announce
Turkey as a destination for Chinese tourists. They said that they
will work on the matter,” he noted.

-IRAN-

Gul also had a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazzi.

“As you know, Iranian President Khatami postponed his visit to
Turkey. He phoned (Turkish) President and Prime Minister and said that
he wants to pay a visit to Turkey as soon as possible. We considered
this normal,” Gul said.

Stating that Iran’s nuclear studies were discussed in the meeting,
Gul said, “Kharrazzi informed me on the issue. He said that they were
carrying out those studies for peaceful aims. He also noted that they
support the idea to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.”

“I told him that their cooperation with International Atom Energy
Agency and (Iran’s) compliance with international agreements will be
good for them,” he noted.

Answering a question, Gul said that there was a good relationship
between Turkey and Iran.”

-SUDAN-

Informing reporters on his meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister
Mustafa Othman Ismail, Gul said, “Darfur is one of the most important
matters on the international agenda. Thus, peaceful solution of this
problem is very important. Some tragedies of humanity have been
taking place there.”

Recalling that they sent an aid convoy to Darfur in recent weeks,
Gul said, “the minister thanked me. I told him that we will deal
with the issue. Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) should be
active on this issue. After Prof. Ekmelleddin Ihsanoglu undertakes
the office as secretary general of OIC, the organization will be more
active on this issue.”

-ARMENIA-

Gul said that Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian informed
him on the on-going talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, stating,
“presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met last month. He informed me
on this issue. Foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met four
times in Prague. He also talked about results of those meetings. I
said that we will continue to play the role of catalyst between the
two countries.”

Le Monde, France
25 septembre 2004

Les échecs en quête d’un roi

Le match qui va opposer en Suisse, à partir du samedi 25 septembre,
le Russe Vladimir Kramnik à son challenger hongrois Peter Leko marque
le début d’un processus de réunification du titre mondial

par Pierre Barthélémy

C’EST LA FIN d’une ère. Pour la première fois depuis 1984, un
championnat du monde d’échecs va se disputer sans le Russe Garry
Kasparov. Du 25 septembre au 18 octobre, la petite ville suisse de
Brissago, sur les rives du lac Majeur, attirera les regards de tous
les amateurs d’échecs, qui suivront la joute mentale que se livreront
le tenant du titre, le Russe Vladimir Kramnik, et son challenger, le
Hongrois Peter Leko. Ce match qui, à défaut d’opposer deux champions
spectaculaires, verra s’affronter les deux joueurs les plus
difficiles à battre de la planète constitue la première grande étape
vers la réunification du monde des échecs.

Depuis 1993, celui-ci est en effet coupé en deux, après que Garry
Kasparov, détenteur de la couronne mondiale à l’époque, a claqué la
porte de la Fédération internationale des échecs (FIDE) pour fonder
une organisation concurrente, la Professional Chess Association
(PCA). La PCA a fait long feu mais la plaie ne s’est toujours pas
refermée, ce d’autant plus que la FIDE, pilotée par le président de
la petite république russe de Kalmoukie, Kirsan Ilioumjinov, n’a pas
su prendre le tournant du professionnalisme tout en cumulant de
graves erreurs ( Le Monde du 12 mai). La dernière en date est d’avoir
monté son propre championnat du monde cet été à Tripoli, dans la
Libye du colonel Kadhafi, une compétition dont étaient exclus les
Israéliens et que la plupart des grands joueurs ont boycottée…

L’ACCORD DES « POIDS LOURDS »

Conscients que la désorganisation du haut niveau ne pouvait que leur
être nuisible, les poids lourds des échecs – Kirsan Ilioumjinov,
Garry Kasparov, toujours numéro un mondial au classement par points,
et Vladimir Kramnik – avaient pourtant signé, dès 2002 à Prague, un
accord visant à la réunification du titre. Schématiquement, ce texte
prévoyait que Vladimir Kramnik remette sa couronne en jeu contre un
challenger, tandis que, de son côté, la FIDE, qui dispose de son
propre champion (aujour-d’hui l’Ouzbek Roustam Kazimdjanov) était
censée opposer celui-ci à… Garry Kasparov, qualifié d’office en
raison de son classement.

Le Russe, qui rêve d’un glorieux chant du cygne, n’est donc pas
encore complètement sorti du paysage. Selon l’accord de Prague, les
vainqueurs des deux matches se seraient rencontrés ensuite pour
réunifier le titre, à l’instar de ce qui arrive fréquemment en boxe.

Mais, deux ans plus tard, rien de tout cela ne s’est passé. Pour la
communauté échiquéenne, l’enjeu du match de Brissago dépasse donc le
seul intérêt sportif puisqu’il lance réellement le processus de
réunification. Par ailleurs, comme le fait remarquer le grand maître
français Joël Lautier, qui préside le comité d’organisation de la
rencontre, celle-ci est « sponsorisée par une compagnie privée
parfaitement connue, Dannemann [marque suisse de cigares], et non par
des entités obscures telles celles auxquelles Ilioumjinov a fait
appel par le passé, ou même la société Braingames, qui avait été
créée ad hoc pour organiser le match Kasparov-Kramnik en 2000. C’est
un changement de tendance important. »

La FIDE a d’ailleurs compris où se trouvait son intérêt puisque,
après son championnat du monde de Tripoli, elle a rapidement lancé un
appel d’offres pour le match Kazimdjanov-Kasparov, qui pourrait se
jouer dès le début de 2005.

En attendant, pendant un peu plus de trois semaines, deux
intelligences vont s’opposer au-dessus de l’échiquier sur les bords
du lac Majeur et la confrontation s’an- nonce serrée. Respectivement
numéros 3 et 5 au classement mondial, Vladimir Kramnik et Peter Leko
ont, de l’avis de Joël Lautier, « la faculté de ne perdre que très
peu de parties dans une saison entière ».

Tous deux sont bien préparés : le premier a recruté une équipe
composée de ses amis grands maîtres Peter Svidler (russe, 9e joueur
mondial), Evgueni Bareïev (russe, 13e) et Miguel Illescas (espagnol,
87e), tandis que le second s’est entouré de son entraîneur et
beau-père, le grand maître arménien Arshak Petrossian, et de deux
autres confrères, Vladimir Akopian (arménien, 17e) et Vladislav
Tkatchiev (russe, 94e).

La clé du match pourrait bien être psychologique. Même si sa dernière
victoire contre Vladimir Kramnik date de 1998, Peter Leko constitue
la bête noire du champion russe, contre lequel il est le seul joueur
du top mondial à détenir un score positif. En revanche, une de leurs
dernières confrontations, en février au tournoi de Linares (Espagne),
a tourné à l’avantage du Moscovite, au cours d’une partie qui a fait
le tour de la planète échiquéenne. Vladimir Kramnik, qui menait les
Noirs, est venu à bout de Peter Leko après un fantastique sacrifice –
parfaitement calculé – de fou puis de tour. Le Russe a-t-il pour
autant vaincu le signe indien ? Lui qui a toujours eu du mal à
assumer le rôle de favori, va-t-il enfin prendre les risques que son
talent lui autorise ?

Quant à Peter Leko, qui n’a rien à perdre et dont tout le parcours
est tendu vers ce match, point culminant de sa carrière, pourra-
t-il, en seulement quatorze parties, triompher de celui que Garry
Kasparov, en 2000, n’avait pas réussi à battre une seule fois en
quinze rencontres ? Premiers éléments de réponse samedi 25 septembre,
lorsque le Hongrois, avec les Blancs, jouera son premier coup.