Author: Hovhannisian John

Dutch coach to train Armenian national soccer squad
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 20, 2005 Friday 6:32 PM Eastern Time
YEREVAN, May 21 — Armenia’s national soccer squad has a new chief
coach. He is 48-year-old Dutch specialist Henk Wisman, the president
of Armenia’s football federation FFA, member of parliament Ruben
Airapetian has said.
The contract with the coach has been signed for “seven months plus
two years.”
Alongside the national soccer squad Wisman will train Yerevan’s
Pyunik soccer club and coordinate efforts by coaches of children’s
and youth teams.
Wisman is from Amsterdam. In 1967-1975 he played for Ajax’s youth
and farm teams and for the junior and youth Dutch teams.
In 1975-1979 he played for Amsterdam, and in 1979-1980, for Amersfort.
His career as a coach began in 1981.
The position of the Armenian national soccer team’s chief coach
has been vacant since April 5, when Bernard Casoni, of France, was
dismissed. Under Casoni Armenia lost five 2006 world cup qualification
matches, drew one and had only one win.
The FFA’s president is certain that the national team must be
coached by a foreign specialist, who should work in close contact
with Armenia’s base club Pyunik.
Airapetian says Armenia has many outstanding footballers, but what
it lacks is a skilled coach.
The FFA chief is not at all confused a fourth coach is being replaced
during the period he has run the federation.
“Argentina’s Oscar Lopez, Romania’s Mihai Stoichita and Bernad Casoni
are all excellent personalities. However, coaches will continue to
be replaced until Armenia has a normal team,” Airapetian said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TAB & Press, MA
May 20 2005
Armenian dance troupe looking for new members
Friday, May 20, 2005
As the Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston gears up for another busy
year of rehearsals, activities, socials and performances, the troupe
is looking for Armenian youth to join into the family-like, energetic
environment of dance and camaraderie.
Interested individuals should not feel intimidated to join the company,
because no dance experience is necessary.
Since over 60 percent of dancers currently are women, there’s plenty
of room for male dancers to join. The atmosphere is comfortable and
the dress code is casual (sweats and sneakers) for beginners’ classes.
Dance classes for beginners are free and have already begun.
They are held at the Abaka Armenian School for Performing Arts,
101 Bigelow Ave., from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Classes are held every Sunday
and are designed to teach inexperienced dancers the basic steps of
Armenian dance, along with correct posture and stance. Once they
master these basic steps, they will be ready to join in the regular
group rehearsals of Sayat Nova, held on Sundays from 7 to 9:30 p.m.,
at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center, 47 Nichols Ave.
(next to Abaka). Interested individuals must be over the age of 16
or a junior in high school.
For more information, log on to

CMAQ, Canada
May 20 2005
Canada-Tibet Committee:Vigil for the Panchen Lama, the youngest
political prisoner in the world!
Anonyme, mardi, 17/05/2005 – 22:00
Heure:
Début:vendredi, 20/05/2005 – 18:00
Fin:vendredi, 20/05/2005 – 20:00
Lieu:
Montreal ( Plateau )
This Friday, May 20th
>>From 6 to 8 pm
In front of Metro Mont-Royal
( 470 Mont Royal Est, corner of Berri )
Take part in a worldwide movement dedicated to freeing the young
Panchen Lama and promoting religious freedom and human rights in
Tibet!
Wear your Tibetan colours: Traditional dress, flags, etc.
We will provide the candles.
Also present:
– Kalsang Dolma, from the film ” What remains of us ” will perform a
traditional Tibetan song.
– Lousnak, eclectic artist and founder of cultural event ~S Let’s Talk
Genocides ” will perform an Armenian song .
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was recognized at age six by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama as one of Tibet’s most important religious leaders.
Determined to control religion in Tibet, the Chinese authorities
kidnapped this young boy and his family on May 17, 1995 just days
after he was recognised as the 11th Panchen Lama.
Despite repeated appeals to gain access to him, no international
agency or human rights organization has been granted contact with the
young Panchen Lama or his family. To date, their well-being and
whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
–Boundary_(ID_n9/1R1MRBhNpeHifxBOZYg)–

TABLE-MIG risk ratings for investors in Europe
LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) – The following table gives a rating of the
risk factors that cause businesses investing in the markets of Europe
and the former Soviet Union to underperform or fail, as devised by
strategic risk consultancy, Merchant International Group.
MIG’s Grey Area Dynamics (GAD) concept was created in 1994 as
an alternative to traditional forms of country risk analysis.
GAD indicators cover 10 risk factors, with up to 10 marks awarded to
each category which cover a range of political, trade and business
risks. The higher the score, the higher the risk to investment.
The ratings are compiled quarterly from intelligence gathered and
analysed by MIG.
Detailed figures on the underlying data analysed by MIG is available
from the firm at
Armenia 72.5
Austria 51.5
Azerbaijan 75.5
Belarus 83
Belgium 39.5
Bosnia – Herzegovina 74.5
Bulgaria 65
Croatia 66.5
Czech Republic 62
Denmark 35.5
Estonia 41
Finland 29.5
France 58
Georgia 79
Germany 52
Greece 59.5
Hungary 58.5
Iceland 31
Ireland 49
Italy 61
Kazakhstan 73
Kyrgyzstan 67.5
Latvia 54
Lithuania 50.5
Luxembourg 31.5
Macedonia 69.5
Malta 38.5
Moldova 77
Netherlands 47.5
Norway 35
Poland 66
Portugal 51
Romania 67
Russia 80
Serbia and Montenegro 72
Slovakia 59.5
Slovenia 46
Spain 59.5
Sweden 35
Switzerland 41.5
Tajikistan 75
Turkmenistan 75.5
UK 50
Ukraine 75.5
Uzbekistan 81
05/19/05 18:41 ET

Germany expands Holocaust reparation
The Jerusalem Post
May 19, 2005
The German government has recognized Jews held in labor camps in Africa
as a new category of Holocaust survivor eligible for compensation
payments, the Jewish Claims Conference said Thursday.
The German government also agreed to provide US $11.5 million to help
provide home care for increasingly elderly Holocaust survivors. Last
year it paid 6 million for the purpose, which was allocated to 43
agencies serving Jewish victims in 17 countries, the organization said.
According to the deal worked out with the German Finance Ministry,
Jews held for at least six months in certain labor camps in Tunisia,
Morocco, Algeria, and also in Hungary, are now eligible for payments
from the Finance Ministry’s pension program fund, providing they also
meet the other German requirements.
The Finance Ministry did not immediately return calls for comment on
the agreement.
The Claims Conference, which represents Jews around the world in
negotiating for compensation and restitution for Nazi persecution,
said in a statement that it would continue to press for the inclusion
of other categories of survivors into compensation programs. Those
include Jews who were in forced military labor battalions and “in
concentration camps not currently recognized as such by Germany.”
During the negotiations, the German government also agreed to increase
the amounts paid to recipients of the pension program who live in new
European Union countries to recognize their increased cost of living.
Under the new scheme, recipients in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia will now get 175
(US$222) monthly, up from 135 (US$171).
— Associated Press

Mediators working on new stage of Karabakh talks – Armenian spokesman
Arminfo
18 May 05
Yerevan, 18 May: The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group have started
preparing for a new round of negotiations between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents to resolve the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the
press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan,
has told Arminfo.
Gasparyan said the 15 May meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents in Warsaw was a step towards resolving the Karabakh
conflict. He said the meeting had laid the foundation for further
discussions of the Karabakh issue within the framework of the Prague
process between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers,
Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov.
Gasparyan added that the Armenian side, the international community
and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs rated highly the meeting.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHARLES AZNAVOUR TO PARTICIPATE IN DANCING ROUND ARAGATS, AS WELL
YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Charles Aznavour will also participate
in the Dancing Round Aragats in connection with May 28, Day of First
Republic. Noyan Tapan was informed from the office on organization
of this event that the singer has personally informed about his
participation lately. In spite of the fact that participation of
160 people was envisaged, the office has already received more than
200 bids, there are Armenians from the US, Beirut, France among the
applicants. More than 100 thousand trees have been already planted
along the Ashtarak-Talin-Gyumri highway within the framework of the
event, the hymn and dance of the day have been chosen. Representatives
of the respective commission of Ginnes Book will be present at the
event. 1600 fires will be made in the evening of May 27 and 28 on
the mountainside and a salute will be fired from the peak of Aragats
mountain. The dance itself is to begin on May 28 at 15:00. It will
last 15 minutes. It was also mentioned that in connection with the
1600th anniversary of invention of the Armenian alphabet a park
from 39 stone-letters of Armenian alphabet will be created in the
Ashtarak-Artashavan road sector with a length of 20 km.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Report by OSCE rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh might be included in agenda of PA PACE session
17 May 2005 [12:07] – Today.Az
Inclusion of a report by Goran Lenmarker, OSCE rapporteur on Nagorno
Karabakh, in the agenda of an annual session of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the OSCE, to be held in Washington in July, is still
questionable, Trend reports quoting Eldar Ibrahimov, the vice chairman
of the parliamentary delegation to the PA OSCE.
According to Ibrahimov, it is linked with incompleteness of the
report on Nagorno-Karabakh. “They explain it with Lenmarker’s tours of
other countries. As soon the document is ready it will be submitted
to the Bureau of PA OSCE. After the Azerbaijani and Armenian will
get familiar with their contents. However, the delay of the process
excites concerns, so the Milli Majlis [parliament] gave appropriate
instructions to the international relations department,” Ibrahimov
underlined.
He also noted that the agenda of the annual session of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE will be adopted late this May or
early June n a meeting of the OSCE Bureau based in Kopenhagen, Denmark.
“A report by Lenmarker might not be included in the agenda of the
session. In compliance with the internal rules, the parliamentarians
possess a right of including the proposals on discussion of the issues
of interest in the agenda. Thus, the discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh
might be in the agenda. The most important will be Lenmarker’s
readiness for that period,” Ibrahimov.

CE SECRETARY GENERAL NOT GOING TO DETERMINE RELATIONS BETWEEN CAUCASIAN STATES
Pan Armenian News
18.05.2005 04:24
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When touching upon the conflicts available
in the Caucasus Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis
stated that he is not going to determine relations between the CoE
member-states. “I am not going to defend the interests of any state in
a single-sided way either. As CoE Secretary General I reiterate that
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are the essentials of Georgia, the Chechen
Republic is a part of Russia and Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan”,
he said. He also commented on the withdrawal of the Russian troops
from Georgia. “It is necessary to withdraw the Russian troops from
Georgia. The settlement is covered by the OSCE reference”, he noted,
APA Azeri news agency reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEW OPERATOR OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION IN ARMENIA TO START HIS WORK THIS SUMMER
YEREVAN, MAY 17. ARMINFO. The new operator of mobile communication
in Armenia – K-Telecom – will start its activities this summer,
says K-Telecom Director General Ralph Yerikian.
After long negotiations Armentel and K-Telecom signed Monday an
agreement on coupling their cellular communication networks.
For commercial reasons Yerikian refuses to say for how much his
company will lease a communication channel from ArmenTel and how
much it will charge for its services. Now the company is actively
engaged in administrative, commercial and technical preparations and
will official announce its tariffs as soon as it enters the market.
Yerikian says that K-Telecom will provide two types of services:
post-paid and pre-paid.
K-Telecom belongs to a Lebanese holding and provides services in
Karabakh. The company’s president and owner is Piere Fathuch.