Author: Hunanian Jack

Associated Press Worldstream
November 17, 2004 Wednesday 1:14 PM Eastern Time
Armenia holds Romania to 1-1 draw in World Cup qualifier
YEREVAN, Armenia
Karen Dokhoian knocked home a powerful shot in the 62nd minute
Wednesday to help Armenia hold Romania to a 1-1 draw in a World Cup
qualifying match.
Romania striker Ciprian Marica put the visitors in the lead in the
29th minute, beating the offsides trap and Armenia goalkeeper Apoula
Edel.
Marica nearly scored another early in the match, but his powerful
drive from the edge of the box was blocked by Edel.
Armenia had its first opportunity in the 26th minute. Hamlet
Mkhitarian took a shot from inside the penalty box but it was cleared
by Romania goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea.
Aram Voskanian had another chance for the hosts in the 38th, but
Stelea kicked off his lobbing shot for a corner.
“The draw has disappointed us and may cause serious problems for us
in the future,” Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu said.
Romania won its first three World Cup qualifiers against Finland,
Macedonia and Andorra, but then lost to the Czech Republic in
October.
Romania has 10 points from five matches at the top of Group 1.
Finland has nine points.
Armenia: Apoula Edel; Karen Dokhoian, Harutyun Vardanian, Sargis
Hovsepian, Rafael Nazarian, Hamlet Mkhitarian, Alexander Tateosian,
Davit Grigorian (Aghvan Mkrtchian, 73), Armen Shangeldian (Karen
Aleksanian, 87), Aram Voskanian (Arman Karamian, 74), Edgar
Manucharian.
Romania: Bogdan Stelea; Flavius Stoican, Cristian Dancia, Flavius
Moldovan, Mihai Tararache, Cosmin Barcauan, Gabriel Caramarin
(Nicolae Dica, 46), Sorin Paraschiv (Florin Bratu, 74), Ciprian
Marica, Florin Cernat, Adrian Neaga.

Agence France Presse
14 novembre 2004 dimanche 7:54 PM GMT
Manifestation contre la position de Chirac sur l’adhésion de la Turquie
MARSEILLE 14 nov 2004
Une vingtaine de militants de la cause arménienne ont été évacués par
la police des abords de la bibliothèque marseillaise de l’Alcazar où
devait se rendre Jacques Chirac, à qui ils reprochent sa position sur
l’entrée de la Turquie dans l’Union européenne, a-t-on appris de
source policière.
Cette intervention s’est déroulée sans incident, selon la police.
Mais Patrick Mennucci, vice-président PS du conseil régional de PACA,
qui a assisté à la scène, a déclaré à l’AFP qu'”ils ont été frappés
avec une extrême violence”. Il a déploré cette intervention à l’égard
de “représentants connus d’associations arméniennes de Marseille”.
Dans la soirée, le conseil de coordination des organisations
arméniennes de France a dénoncé dans un communiqué une “atteinte à la
liberté d’expression”.
“Un collectif arménien s’est fait éconduire manu militari alors que
celui-ci protestait pacifiquement contre l’entrée de la Turquie dans
l’Europe sans la reconnaissance du génocide des Arméniens”, a
expliqué le conseil.
De son côté, Vartan Arzoumanian, président du comité de défense de la
cause arménienne Marseille Provence, a expliqué que la police était
“intervenue avec une violence disproportionnée, les manifestants ont
été brutalisés”.
Les militants scandaient “Chirac, négationniste” et brandissaient une
pancarte où était inscrit: “Turquie, Chirac révisionniste”. Ils
exigent que la Turquie reconnaisse le génocide arménien avant de voir
s’ouvrir des négociations pour son entrée dans l’UE.
Ils ont été conduits au commissariat voisin pour un contrôle
d’identité, a-t-on précisé de source policière, ajoutant que “les
injures à l’égard du chef de l’Etat ne sont pas tolérables”. Le
préfet de la région PACA et des Bouches-du-Rhône, Christian Frémont,
a indiqué à l’AFP avoir essayé en vain de discuter avec les
manifestants.
Les chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement européens doivent se prononcer
mi-décembre sur l’ouverture ou pas de négociations avec la Turquie.
Le président français a estimé dimanche à Marseille, dans le cadre
d’un débat de la “Cité de la Réussite”, que l’adhésion éventuelle de
la Turquie constituait “une chance extraordinaire pour l’Europe de se
renforcer”.

Eurasianet Organization
Nov 13 2004
NATO CHIEF AFFIRMS EXPANSION OF SECURITY FORCE IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN
Nikola Krastev 11/13/04
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said November 11 that
the current situation in Afghanistan makes it logistically viable
for the alliance to expand its operations there.
“We have lived up to our promises, and at the moment the signs are
good that NATO is going to expand ISAF — the International Security
Assistance Force — into the west of Afghanistan,” de Hoop Scheffer
said. “We have covered the north now with a number of so-called
Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We will now go west, setting up
what we call a ‘forward support base’ in Herat, and then we want to
move counterclockwise to the south and the southeast of Afghanistan,
as well.”
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO’s forces in the country have, in
general, been received well by the Afghan people. Asked why NATO,
originally created to provide security for Western Europe, is now
operating in Afghanistan, the secretary-general said the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001 brought about a major shift in NATO
policy.
“What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Defending values at the Hindu
Kush in the present day international climate,” Scheffer said. “We
have to fight terrorism wherever it emerges. If we don’t do it at
the Hindu Kush, it will end up at our doorstep. In other words, this
perception gap in the long run must be closed and must be healed —
that is, for NATO’s future, of the utmost importance.”
Another priority for NATO in Afghanistan, he said, will be providing
additional security during parliamentary elections, scheduled for
April. The secretary-general said that extra NATO battalions will
be committed.
De Hoop Scheffer described NATO’s operations in Afghanistan as a
“moderate success.” But he warned that without deeper involvement
by the international community in the fight against drug production
and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, NATO’s ability to ensure the
country’s stability will be limited.
Referring to Afghanistan’s neighbors, de Hoop Scheffer underlined
the strategic role the Central Asian states play in the fight against
terrorism. Having just returned from a trip to Central Asia and the
Caucasus, de Hoop Scheffer said he envisions closer cooperation with
these states.
“We need, by the way, Central Asian nations, and the Caucasian nations
[to] play an important role in supporting the ISAF operation because
we need the lines of communication — to say in military terms —
[and] transit agreements with the Central Asians, to see that we can
adequately run the ISAF operation in Afghanistan,” Scheffer said.
De Hoop Scheffer said Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have all
expressed interest in closer cooperation with NATO in its Partnership
for Peace program.
“They all want to extend their partnership with NATO. Even Armenia has
now applied for the so-called Individual Partnership Action Program,
which means that we are going to develop a tailored, Armenia-tailored
partnership program with that country, with Yerevan,” Scheffer
said. “That goes for the Central Asian nations, as well. So that
partnership is developing very well.”
De Hoop Scheffer stressed that Turkey is playing a particularly active
role in the Partnership for Peace program.

Foreign ministers of CIS security organization start meeting in Moscow
ITAR-TASS news agency
12 Nov 04
Moscow. 12 November: Countering international terrorism will be the
central issue at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization [CSTO], which began in Moscow today. The
organization comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan.
According to Aleksandr Yakovenko, official spokesman of the Russian
Foreign Minister, “this issue, along with fight against extremism,
the illegal circulation of narcotics, illegal migration and organized
crime is becoming increasingly prominent in the CSTO.”
“The organization is open to cooperation and interaction with the UN
and other international organizations, including NATO,” the diplomat
noted. “Proposals for building dialogue and cooperation are being
considered by the leadership of the alliance.” Yakovenko thinks that a
no less important direction of work is “creating a single information
field, which should facilitate the effective functioning of the system
of collective security”. “The first step,” he noted, “was the holding
of the International Antiterrorist Media Forum in April”.
“The unanimous approval of a draft resolution on giving the
organization the status of an observer at the UN General Assembly,”
the diplomat stressed, “attests to the growing prestige of the CSTO”.

Gazprom interested in privatization of Georgian pipelines
RosBusinessConsulting Database
November 11, 2004 Thursday 9:54 am, EST
Gazprom has confirmed its plans to take part in the privatization of
backbone gas pipelines and gas distributing organizations in Georgia.
According to Sergey Kuznets, the chief of the Division of Legal
Support for International Operations of Gazprom’s Legal Department,
the Georgian government is now preparing a list of properties to
be privatized. Kuznets pointed out that Gazprom was interested in
privatizing gas pipelines in Georgia, as gas supplied to Armenia
goes via this country. Georgian gas pipelines are often used rather
inefficiently, and Gazprom is facing problems with gas transportation
in this connection, Kuznets explained.
As for the possibility of Gazprom’s participation in laying a gas
pipeline from Iran to Armenia, Kuznets said the gas company was
interested in that project. Gazprom plans to supply fuel to Armenian
power plants and than export electrical power to Iran, the company’s
representative added.

French charity operating in Upper Garabagh
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 9 2004
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement in October concerning operation
of 68 foreign companies in Upper Garabagh. The companies active in
Upper Garabagh are supposed to be in great number and carrying out
illegal activity.
A well-informed source told AssA-Irada that the French “Chen” charity
organization, which is engaged in agricultural and construction
activity in Upper Garabagh, has delivered 200 new computers to the
region within a program on computerization of secondary schools in
Shusha and Asgaran districts.
The French company also financed courses on information science held
for teachers and schoolchildren in 2004.*

NO SHIFT IN ARMENIA’S POLICY FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION, MF SPOKESMAN SAYS
ArmenPress
Nov 9 2004
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: A spokesman for Armenian foreign
ministry said Armenia’s policy for international recognition of the
1915 genocide has not changed and remains one of its foreign policy
priorities. His comment came in response to Azeri and Turkish media
reports that Yerevan may be considering a shift in its policy to help
normalization of ties with Turkey. The reports claimed the shift may
be indicated by lack of a regular reference to the genocide in next
year’s draft budget sent to parliament for approval.
The spokesman, Hamlet Gasparian, told Armenpress that the draft budget
has no relation to Armenia’s consistency and decisiveness to continue
the campaign for international recognition of the genocide. (By the
way, no previous budget has ever had a special clause earmarking
such expenditures).
“The international recognition of the Armenian genocide does not refer
to Armenia or Armenians alone, it refers to the entire humanity and
it cannot be placed within a budget or other financial calculations,”
Gasparian said.

SANA, Syrian Arab News Agency
Nov 9 2004
Archbishop / Fast Breaking Banquet
Aleppo, Nov.9 (SANA)
The Archbishop of the Armenian-Orthodox in Aleppo Shahan Sarkisian
held on Tuesday an Eftar ( fast breaking ) banquet celebrating the
Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Governor of Aleppo Ossama Adi said that the banquet is an example of
the religious tolerance among Syrian citizens with all different
sects, adding that Syria is a home of the religious tolerance and
coexistence.
Mufti of Aleppo Dr. Ahmad Hassoun and the Archbishop Sarkisian also
stressed that Aleppo was and is still, throughout history, an example
of tolerance among all heavenly messages.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 16:03:26 | 09-11-2004 | Social |
AYB-FE NEWS AGENCY DENIED ACCESS TO NEWS CONFERENCE
A news conference focused on the isolated case of the masterminds of
October 27 terrorist act committed in 1999 in the Armenian parliament
is to be held on Tuesday in the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office.
However, not every journalist will given access to the event, despite
this contradicts Armenian law.
Chief of the office’s unit on public relations Gurgen Ambaryan
empowered himself to decide personally which media outlet to be given
entry and which not.
Ayb-Fe news agency correspondent was denied entry “because of lack
of space in the hall”.
Despite that, information about the news conference will be placed
on our site today.

FRENCH MP ON TURKEY BECOMING EU MEMBER
YEREVAN, November 6 (RIA Novosti’s Gamlet Matevosyan) — Chairman of
the Armenian-French Friendship Group at the National Assembly of
France Francois Rochebloin believes that Turkey cannot become a member
of the European Union until it admits its responsibility for the
genocide against Armenians in 1915 during the Ottoman Empire rule. The
French deputy made this statement during a meeting with Speaker of the
Armenian Parliament Artur Bagdasaryan.
According to the public relations department of the Armenian National
Assembly, Mr. Rochebloin has also emphasized the necessity to lift the
Turkish blockade of Armenia because, in his opinion, it affects
negatively the economic development of the republic.
Both sides touched upon issues of the strengthening of
interparliamentary ties between the two countries, cooperation between
delegations of Armenia and France at PACE, and the perspectives of
French-Armenian relations.
Armenia and Turkey have not established diplomatic relations, yet. The
major obstacle is the refusal of Turkey to recognize the genocide
campaign against Armenians in 1915 during the Ottoman Empire rule.
The Armenian community in France is one of the largest in the
world. It numbers about 300,000 people. Armenian diasporas popped up
in various regions of the world after the 1915 tragedy. Other large
Armenian communities are in Russia (according to some estimates – a
million people), in the United States (about 600,000 people) and in
Iran (about 250,000 people).