Author: Hambardsumian Paul

Le Télégramme
20 juillet 2004

Le Pavillon arménien

L’ensemble Bert d’Erevan en Arménie, a envahi la scène du Pavillon
dimanche soir.

L’ensemble Bert d’Erevan en Arménie, a envahi la scène du Pavillon
dimanche soir. Le public, bien que peu nombreux, a assisté à un
spectacle bien rodé et d’une élégance rare.

Au Pavillon, on pouvait voir les regards d’un public émerveillé par
la grce des danseuses et danseurs arméniens. Cependant, la salle
n’était qu’à moitié pleine pour ce groupe d’Arméniens à la réputation
internationale.

Un spectacle étonnant

Le spectacle représentait bien cette culture. Le public pouvait
sentir, par l’interprétation de cette troupe, à la fois la souffrance
d’un peuple et l’amour de celui-ci pour la vie. Les danses fougueuses
et aguichantes amenaient le public dans un folklore inconnu et
pourtant si rassurant.

Un public réduit

Un petit bémol est, cependant, à noter. Le public ne s’est pas
déplacé en masse pour applaudir ces artistes de classe
internationale.

Seulement 500 personnes étaient en effet présentes dans ce Pavillon,
qui pour la première fois depuis le début du festival, paraissait
bien vide.

GRAPHIQUE: Photo, Legende: Les artistes arméniens, de la troupe Bert
D’Erevan se sont produits devant un public restreint, mais ravi de la
représentation.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
July 22 2004

Erdogan Urges Armenians to Give up Genocide Claims

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said while on
an official visit to France that his country is willing to open its
gates to Armenia, but added that the main precondition for this is
the Armenians’ giving up the genocide claims.

“The Armenian Diaspora is making a mistake by keeping the so-called
Armenian genocide issue on the agenda,” Erdogan said in response to a
question from a member of the French Parliament about what Turkey
thinks of the Armenian issue.

“Progress in the relationship will be difficult to achieve as long as
the [genocide] campaigns continue. The border gates will not be
opened unless the campaigns are ended,” Turkey’s daily newspaper
Zaman quoted Erdogan as saying.

The Turkish premier suggested leaving the issues of the past to
historians and looking into ways to boost cooperation between the two
countries.

`We are well aware what situation Armenia is in,’ Erdogan said,
adding that a betterment of the Turkish-Armenian relations would be
in the interests of the latter.

Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press
July 21, 2004

INTELLIGENT PEOPLE, UNITE! — That Was Vladimir Putin’s Appeal During
His Visit to Kazakhstan. By Yelena Lashkina. Rossiiskaya gazeta, June
19, 2004, pp. 1, 3. Excerpts:

Astana — . . . Delegations from seven countries [arrived] in
Kazakhstan’s capital for summits of the Eurasian Economic Community
[EurAsEC] and the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO]. . .
. The first event was the opening of an international forum titled
“Eurasian Integration: Current Trends and the Challenges of
Globalization.”

As the host, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev delivered the
first welcoming speech. “It’s extremely important that we jointly
develop and consistently implement a uniform policy for entering
world markets that works to everyone’s advantage,” he said. . . .

[In his remarks,] Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn’t [avoid
commenting] on the forum’s program. “I have the impression that
enemies of President Nazarbayev infiltrated the group of organizers,”
the Russian head of state said. “Here’s a session on security in the
Eurasian space where the main topic is defined as: ‘The Geopolitical
Interests of Outside Forces: The US, China, the EU, Japan and
Russia,’ ” said the Russian president, quoting from the forum’s
program. . . .

“All you have to do is open a map to see that Russia is situated in
the very heart of Eurasia,” . . . Vladimir Putin remarked.

“And on the subject of security in the Eurasian space, I think the
vast majority of people would agree that not only in the Eurasian
space, but worldwide these problems can hardly be addressed without
taking into account the role that Russia plays in the modern world.”

Putin ticked off other items on the program and let the organizers
have it with both barrels. “If I were permitted to take part in the
forum session titled ‘Conceptual Problems Pertaining to the
Activities of Integration Associations,’ I could briefly summarize
those problems in literally three or four phrases. They are
great-power chauvinism, nationalism, the personal ambitions of
political decision-makers and just plain stupidity, primitive
stupidity,” Vladimir Putin added quite earnestly.

Addressing the forum’s participants, President Putin said: “But
we’re intelligent people.” And so he concluded his participation in
the forum with the exhortation: “Intelligent people of the world,
unite!”

The heads of state proceeded from the forum to a meeting of
EurAsEC’s interstate council, where the parties signed an agreement
on the basic principles of that organization’s legislation, as well
as a decision on cooperation in the securities market. . . .

The heads of EurAsEC’s member states also agreed to coordinate
their efforts to gain admission to the World Trade Organization.

After the EurAsEC summit, the five members of that organization
were joined by the president of Armenia. The six then held a meeting
of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO’s member states. The
CSTO summit was held behind closed doors. But that’s perfectly
understandable: After all, the heads of the member states were
discussing the actual operations of their militaries. In particular,
according to an RG Kremlin source, they discussed joint actions in
the sphere of air defense. “To some extent, this was a continuation
of the discussion held in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, but with greater emphasis on the CSTO space and the
fulfillment of obligations, including financial commitments, in the
military realm. . . .

Ria Novosti, Russia
July 20 2004

GOLOS ROSSII RADIO STATION STARTS BROADCASTING IN GEORGIA, ARMENIA

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) – The Golos Rossii (Russia’s Voice)
Russian State radio company has started broadcasting in Georgia and
Armenia. Golos Rossii programs are broadcasted in FM format six hours
a day in Yerevan and Tbilisi.

In Yerevan programs of the Sodruzhestvo (Commonwealth) channel are
broadcasted from 8.00 till 10.00, and from 20.00 till 22.00 at 103
FM. From 11.45 till 19.00 Golos Rossii information reviews are
broadcasted in the last 15 minutes of every hour.

Programs of the Russian International Radio and Sodruzhestvo channel
are broadcasted in Tbilisi from 10.00 till 13.00 and from 19.00 till
22.00 at 99.8 FM.

“Now Golos Rossii is considering the possibility of similar
cooperation with Azerbaijan,” the radio company said.

Since April Golos Rossii programs have been broadcasted in Lithuania
and the Crimea.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
July 19 2004

Alasgarov: Some Countries Use Double Standard Regarding Upper
Karabakh Issue

BAKU – Murtuz Alasgarov, the Chairman of the National Assembly of
Azerbaijan, said on Monday that some countries and international
organizations were using double standard regarding the Upper Karabakh
issue.

Meeting Turkish parliamentary delegation headed by Haluk Ipek, the
Chairman of Turkish-Azerbaijani Interparliamentary Friendship Group,
Alasgarov said that Armenia, who occupied a part of Azerbaijani
territory, should be qualified as ”aggressive”.

Recalling that co-chairmen of Minsk Group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who had undertaken the
role of mediation in settlement of Upper Karabakh issue, completed
their visit to the region a few days ago, Alasgarov said, ”they are
making meaningless speeches. We are not pleased with the position of
the co-chairmen.”

Alasgarov stated that the co-chairmen did not tried to find a
realistic solution to the issue and stood unjustly beside Armenia.
Defining this attitude as a double standard, the Azerbaijani National
Assembly Chairman said that his country would fight for justice
whatever it costs.

Noting that his nation lost its patience and demand that Azerbaijani
territory should be gained back by other means, Alasgarov said, ”we
will do this if UN doesn’t adopt serious measures to find a
solution.”

Alasgarov defined bilateral relations between Turkish and Azerbaijani
parliaments as perfect, but said that they were working to further
improve these relations.

Haluk Ipek, in his part, said, ”Upper Karabakh is always on Turkey’s
list of topics” and noted that according to international law Upper
Karabakh was Azerbaijani territory.

Ipek said, ”This is a globally accepted fact. Today’s situation is
temporary.”

CanadianChristianity.com, Canada
July 15 2004

Scott remembered as advocate for the powerless

By Solange de Santis
Anglican Journal

ARCHBISHOP Edward (Ted) Scott’s life and work as an advocate for the
powerless were celebrated July 13 at memorial services at Anglican
cathedrals across Canada, with Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop
Desmond Tutu remarking in Toronto that the former primate of the
Anglican Church of Canada “was committed and courageous but gentle.”
Archbishop Tutu challenged the Canadian church — “a church for which
he lived and for which he died” — to be a memorial to Archbishop
Scott. “Instead of bickering about human sexuality — to be concerned
about poverty, about AIDS, about wars that are frequently totally
unnecessary and immoral, about spending huge sums on defense — what
a memorial to Ted,” he said. Archbishop Scott was killed at the age
of 85 on June 21 in an automobile accident. About 900 people packed
Toronto’s St. James Cathedral on a humid morning for a sung
eucharist, with an overflow crowd of about 600 outside. Invited
guests included Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, federal Minister
of External Affairs Bill Graham, former prime minister Joe Clark and
representatives of religious denominations from around the world.

About 30 active and retired Canadian Anglican bishops attended, as
did Archbishop Scott’s successor as primate, Archbishop Michael
Peers, who read the prayers of the people. The current primate,
Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, presided. Members of the Scott family
and the archbishop’s close friend, Sonja Bird, also attended.
Archbishop Tutu, in his sermon, recalled that Archbishop Scott “was
highly controversial” as he “espoused unpopular causes.” He “stood up
for aboriginal people” and supported gays and lesbians and the
ordination of women, said the retired South African archbishop, who
won the Peace Prize for his fight against apartheid.

Archbishop Scott, who served as primate from 1971 to 1986, also was a
well-known foe of apartheid. In 1985, he was appointed by
then-Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney to the Eminent Persons
Group, a committee of prominent members of the British Commonwealth
charged with helping to bring about a peaceful end to apartheid.

“It is such an incredible privilege to say on behalf of our people
how deeply thankful we are for Ted’s support and your support,” said
Archbishop Tutu. “There is a hall in a parish church in Soweto named
after Ted Scott.” A letter from Nelson Mandela that was read aloud
paid tribute to “his intimate and incisive role (in ending
apartheid), one that helped change the course of history.”

After the service, Mr. Clark recalled in an interview with the
Anglican Journal that he was foreign minister when Archbishop Scott
served on the Eminent Persons Group. “He was very forthright. He
would let me know when we needed to move Canadian government foreign
policy,” said Mr. Clark, who read the first lesson at the service.
The two became friends and often had dinner together, recalled Mr.
Clark.

In his sermon, Archbishop Tutu recalled Archbishop Scott’s dislike of
ecclesiastical formality. “He said, ‘Just call me Ted.’ Some of us
lesser mortals need the high-faluting titles such as ‘Your Grace,’
but he let who he was do the talking and how eloquent he turned out
to be,” said Archbishop Tutu.

Archbishop Scott’s eight years as moderator of the central committee
of the World Council of Churches were also recalled. “He was a world
leader of the ecumenical movement at a time when the World Council of
Churches was castigated for grants to liberation movements,”
Archbishop Tutu said. That role was reflected in a letter read at the
service from Catholicos Aram I, international leader of the Armenian
Orthodox Church and current moderator of the WCC central committee,
who called Archbishop Scott “a gifted minister.” About 60 current and
former members of the Canadian church’s national staff also attended
the memorial. Just four days before he died, Archbishop Scott had led
a eucharist at the national office in Toronto, marking a move to new
quarters. In his sermon, he recalled the days when he worked in the
building, a time when the hiring of non-Anglicans at the national
office was questioned and women were not allowed to be priests; he
challenged the church to continue to be a place of inclusion. Two of
the readings at the cathedral service were also those used at the
office service. Three other cathedrals in Canada held services on
July 13. In Halifax, a memorial service at All Saints Cathedral was
led by Bishop Susan Moxley, suffragan (assistant) bishop of Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In Regina, diocese of Qu’Appelle, a
service was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. In Vancouver, diocese of
New Westminster, a service of celebration took place at Christ Church
Cathedral “to commemorate the day of his memorial service in
Toronto,” according to an announcement from the cathedral. St. Paul’s
Cathedral in London, Ont., diocese of Huron, held a memorial service
on June 28.

NEW BUILDING OF YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY BEING BUILT

YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: Some 1,500 students of the Yerevan
State University majoring in linguistics, philosophy, psychology and
journalism will have their classes in a new building of the University
the construction of which is supposed to be completed in 2005,
according to the schedule. The cost of the new building is $1.5
million, 25 percent of which was provided by benefactors, 35 percent
by the government and the rest were the funds of the University.

The new three-storey building occupies 5,000 square meters and will
comply with all requirements for students majoring in Humanities.

In another education-related development, Bishop Abraham Mkrtchian,
the prelate of the Syunik diocese of the Armenian church, told
Armenpress that the construction of Gitelik (Knowledge) University in
Yeghegnadzor, the regional center of Vayots Dzor province, is ending
and soon it will enroll students to major in 8 departments.

zawya

Zaitounah Museum new addition to Tunisian heritage

By Naceur M’tir

SOUSSE, Tunisia, July 12 (KUNA) — The Zaitounah (olive) Museum which was
opened recently in the eastern city of Sousse is considered a new addition
to the Tunisian cultural heritage due to the pivotal role the olive tree
plays in the lives of Tunisians and the population of the Medieterranean
region.

The two-storey building is bulit accoring to the ancient Islamic
architecture and depicts the various historic stages through which the olive
tree has gone in Tunisia thousands of years ago.

Visitors of the museum will see life-size photos and designs of people and
tools used in the planting of olive trees, harvesting, cleaning and storage
of olives before extracting oil from it.

The museum, the first of its kind, also shows visitors a complete picture of
the role of olive oil and its daily uses, be that in diets or in treatment.

On motives behind establishing this museum, its rector Aly Gadira told KUNA
that the oilve tree is not only a source of economic wealth, but also a
symbol of peace and vital part of the Tunisian society since ancient times.

Gadira said that it also aims at preserving the heritage of this “blessed”
tree for future generations, noting that this tree remained steadfast before
the various civilizations which ruled Tunisia over some 3000 years like the
Berbers, Phoenicians, Byzantines, Arabs, Spaniards and Turks.

He said that the most ancient documented sources available report that the
olive tree was brought into Palestine from Armenia 4000 BC and then taken by
the Phoenicians to Greece and later to North Africa, particularly Tunisia.

Since the ancient times, olive oil was the choice of the elite and notables
in Tunisia and other countries of the region. It was used in religious
rituals, as a massage oil, producing perfumes and for other medical
purposes.

According to the latest figures, there are an estimated 55 million olive
trees stretching from the country’s north to south and covering an area of
nearly 1.6 million hectares or 30 percent of Tunisia’s farmlands.

Tunisia is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of olive oil
after EU states, mainly Italy and Spain.

Article originally published by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) 12-Jul-04

Azeri paper reports Armenia-organized media trip to front

Ekho, Baku
8 Jul 04

Text of R. Orucov’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 8 July
headlined “Media landing force was deployed to Armenian-Azerbaijani
border by Armenian Defence Ministry to expose ‘insinuations’ by Azeri
side”

The Armenian Ministry of Defence has organized a trip for a group of
70 journalists to the northwestern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border, which separates the Tavushkaya Area of Armenia from Qazax
District of Azerbaijan. This report was disseminated yesterday [7
July] by the Regnum news agency. It is noted in the report that
precisely in this area, near the villages of Berkaber (Armenia) and
Mizamlu (Azerbaijan), local exchanges of fire took place in early June
this year in which, according to the Armenian side, one officer and
one warrant officer of the Armenian Armed Forces and seven Azeri
military personnel died. The Armenian side claims that the Azeris were
trying to seize a water-pumping facility and a water reservoir, which
would pose a threat to the security of the nearby villages.

Representatives of the Armenian defence department also noted that the
“Azeri forces have failed to seize even one centimetre of land, and
reports that the Armenians side presumably left six border villages
are totally groundless.”

Commenting on these reports, Head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry
Information Department Ramiz Malikov underscored that the Azeri side
had never distributed the information that the Armenian side had left
six border villages. “If this had happened, I, as the head of the
press service, would have been the first person to report on
this. There have never been such reports.”

“Throughout June, the Armenians have been breaking the cease-fire and
then invented the pretext that, presumably, the Azeris were trying to
seize some water pumping facility,” Ramiz Malikov said. “Nothing of
this sort has happened on our part; it was actually the Armenians who
violated our borders, tried to move ahead, but were repelled by us.”

According to Malikov, neither the Armenian nor Azeri troops have moved
an inch from the positions they held. “The Armenians moved only along
the border,” Malikov said. He thinks that the Armenian Ministry of
Defence intends to “mislead public opinion and distract the attention
of the Armenians from the internal political situation and pressing
issues” by spreading this kind of disinformation.

Ekho’s informed source in military circles who wishes to remain
unidentified said, in turn, that it was no secret to anyone that both
sides launch active operations on the frontline by late May of every
year. “The fact that there are losses on both sides precisely at this
time only proves this pattern.” According to the source, both sides
indeed make attempts at this time of year to take more advantageous
positions on the terrain at the expense of the enemy.

“According to the information I possess, in reality none of the sides
were able to carry out successful offensive operations,” the source
said. “In other words, the positions that they hold have not changed.”
There were no advances of either side’s troops. “This is for
certain. Simply, there is always so-called “no man’s land” between the
positions, which each of the sides tries to bring under its
control. There are places where there are only a few tens of metres
between the sides, and there are other places where the distance
between them is more than 500 metres. There are incidents when the
Armenians or Azeris try to ‘advance’ their trenches deeper into that
territory. And it is natural that this always causes the irritation of
the opposite side.”

As for casualties, he said that they can be accounted for by the fact
that, during the advancement of troops, “armed skirmishes simply
cannot be avoided – automatic weapons are usually fired, although
heavy hardware is not used.” These incidents became more frequent
this year, the officer said. “Perhaps everyone noticed that far too
many inspections of the frontline situation by the OSCE monitoring
service have taken place over the last six months. What does this
mean? It means that, to our great regret, both sides carry out
nuisance operations,” the military expert concluded.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
July 9, 2004, Friday

SOURCE: Novye Izvestia, July 7, 2004, p. 4

by Oleg Kasimov

MOSCOW IS NOT TO BE PASSED OVER BY TURKEY AS THE MAJOR MEDIATOR IN
THE ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

His negotiations with Armenian opposite number Vardan Oskanjan over,
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow was
not to be passed over by Turkey as the major go-between in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

“Russia may become guarantor of the mutually acceptable agreement,”
Lavrov said receiving Oskanjan in Moscow (this was his first official
visit to the capital of Russia). Lavrov emphasized as well that
Armenia remains Russia’s major military-political ally in the
Caucasus.

Lavrov’s statements are supposed to cool down politicians in Ankara
and NATO strategists who tried to seize the initiative in settlement
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict at the recent NATO summit in
Istanbul. Official Yerevan in the meantime did not object to the
signals from Istanbul. “Turkey may become a link connecting the
Caucasus and Europe,” Oskanjan said. “This is the only NATO country
bordering on all three republics of the southern part of the
Caucasus.”

The Kremlin is aware of the advances towards NATO made by Armenia, a
member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty. Yerevan agreed to
participate in the NATO exercise in Azerbaijan this autumn and
suggested the territory of Armenia for Exercise Cooperative
Associate’2005.

The negotiations between Lavrov and Oskanjan became a warning to Baku
as well. Foreign minister of Russia pointed out the absence of
“alternatives to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.”
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev frequently says lately that
“Azerbaijan’s patience is running out” and that “Azerbaijan does not
rule out a military solution to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh.” The
Kremlin sends a message that Russia keeps the military situation in
the region in check and will not permit the existing parity being
wrecked.