Author: Jidarian Alex

Article Last Updated: 9/13/2005 10:07 PM
Slain woman’s auto is found

Boyfriend called a suspect after dogs track scent

By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer

LA Daily News GLENDALE – A slain Glendale woman’s car was discovered
parked on a Glendale street Tuesday, and police announced her missing
boyfriend is a suspect in her slaying.

Odet Tsaturyan’s Honda Accord was found by a patrolling Glendale
police officer at 4 p.m. in the 600 block of Paula Avenue near the
Walt Disney Imagineering buildings. Until Tuesday, her missing
boyfriend, Artur Khanzadyan, 24, was considered only a “person of
interest” in the case.

However, bloodhounds on Tuesday tracked a scent from the Honda to
Khanzadyan’s home two miles away.

“As a result of the scent tracking and other information the
detectives have gleaned from this case, they are now considering Artur
a suspect in the homicide death of Odet,” said Sgt. Tom Lorenz, a
spokesman for the Glendale Police Department.

Tsaturyan, 24, was found dead Friday in the trunk of her boyfriend’s
car in Azusa. An autopsy has been completed, but the Coroner’s Office
is awaiting the results of toxicology tests before determining the
cause of death.

Khanzadyan and Tsaturyan both left their parents’ homes on Sept. 6 and
were reported missing. Tsaturyan never arrived at a party where she
was expected that evening.

Tsaturyan’s family had told police her boyfriend had been violent with
her, and they tried to keep her away from him.

The missing man’s father issued a tearful plea Monday for his son to
turn himself in, saying his son is not violent. Khanzadyan has no
criminal record, police said.

Neighbors told police that the Honda Accord had been parked in the 600
block of Paula since Saturday.

Monica Alvizures, a preschool teacher, watched as police looked around
the car for evidence.

“I’ve been here 11 years; I’ve never seen anything like this here so
close to home,” she said.

Police were still looking for Khanzadyan and they had not arrested any
of his family members, Lorenz said.

Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 [email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected])

ASBAREZ ONLINE
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09/14/2005
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1) Armenia Warns Against Revival of Pro-Azeri UN Resolution
2) EU Fails to Approve Declaration Tied to Turkey Talks
3) Greek Americans Call for Adoption of Armenian Genocide Legislation
4) Record Numbers Set to Watch Webcast of Armenian Genocide Vote

1) Armenia Warns Against Revival of Pro-Azeri UN Resolution

NEW YORK (RFE/RL)–Armenia warned Azerbaijan against attempting to revive a
draft of a pro-Azerbaijani resolution on Mountainous Karabagh at an annual
session of the United Nations General Assembly that opened in New York on
Wednesday.
The resolution that was put forward a year ago is formally on the agenda of
the three-day UN summit that brought together more than 160 presidents, prime
ministers, and kings. It seeks to reaffirm Baku’s sovereignty over Karabagh
and
expresses “grave concern at the continuing Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani
lands.”
A General Assembly vote on the document was put off indefinitely last
November
after Armenia agreed to an inspection of territories around Karabagh by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. A fact-finding OSCE
mission toured those lands last February to investigate Azerbaijan’s
allegations that Yerevan is actively resettling them with Armenian families.
The mission effectively denied those claims, concluding in a report that it
found “no evidence of direct involvement by the authorities of Armenia in the
territories.”
According to Armenia’s permanent representative at the UN, Armen Martirosian,
Baku and Yerevan agreed this month to include the document on the General
Assembly agenda, but to avoid any discussions or votes on it. He said the
Azeri
leadership needed a face-saving solution ahead of the upcoming parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan.
“We agreed that Azerbaijan will not take any active steps and Armenia will
not
prevent the issue from being included on the agenda,” Martirosian said.
“If Azerbaijan takes any active step within the UN framework, the Republic of
Armenia will pull out of the Prague process of negotiations,” the diplomat
warned. “Our main argument is that there is the [OSCE] Minsk Group which has
been mediating the negotiations for more than ten years and that the UN is not
the place where the Karabagh problem must be discussed.”
Martirosian said Yerevan’s position is backed by the Minsk Group’s French,
Russian, and US co-chairs. Addressing the UN assembly in November 2004, the
co-chairs spoke out against the passage of the draft resolution, saying
that it
would undermine “confidence between the parties.”
The pro-Azerbaijan document reached the UN assembly with the help of several
Muslim nations, notably Turkey, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. In a retaliatory
move, Armenia openly opposed Kazakhstan’s efforts to assume the OSCE’s
rotating
presidency during a summit of former Soviet republics this year.

2) EU Fails to Approve Declaration Tied to Turkey Talks

(Bloomberg)–European Union governments failed for the third time this month
to overcome a split over Turkey’s refusal to recognize Cyprus, imperiling
plans
to start membership talks on October 3.
Diplomats from the EU’s 25 nations remained deadlocked over a response to
Turkey’s diplomatic boycott of Cyprus, which joined the bloc last year. The
dispute is distracting EU attention from a negotiating plan for Turkey that
needs the backing of all member nations.
“There was a wide-ranging and difficult discussion,” Stavros Papagianneas, a
spokesman for the Cypriot mission to the EU, said by telephone in Brussels
today. Other EU nations “showed understanding for the Cypriot positions.”
The Turkish government in July said its signature of a protocol extending a
European trade accord to Cyprus didn’t amount to recognition of the
Mediterranean island, whose northern tier Turkey has occupied since 1974.
Signing the protocol was a condition set by the EU last December for starting
decade-long membership talks.
The Turkish declaration increased skepticism in European capitals about
offering entry to Turkey, which would be one of the two most populous EU
nations along with Germany, and the bloc’s first mainly Muslim member that
would widen the EU’s borders to Iraq.

SKEPTICISM

Opposition to enlargement in nations like France has grown since 10
countries,
including Cyprus, joined last year and French and Dutch voters rejected the
European constitution — meant to help the EU function better with more
members–three and a half months ago.
EU diplomats are divided over the wording of a declaration that would urge
Turkey to ensure free trade with Cyprus while seeking a normalization of
political ties. Earlier efforts to approve a text failed on September 2 and
7.
“We have not yet reached a consensus,” said Jonathan Allen, a spokesman for
the British government, current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency.
Negotiations will resume September 21, he said.
The EU is moving closer to an accord, according to the UK and Cyprus. “We
hope
to reach an agreement soon,” said Papagianneas of the Cypriot mission.
Cyprus joined the EU without the Turkish-speaking north because voters in the
Greek-speaking southern republic rejected a United Nations-backed unification
plan.

CONDITIONS

The Turkish government wants to prevent the EU from imposing new entry
conditions and has threatened to withdraw its membership bid should the
bloc do
so. Turkey, a nation of 72 million people, is counting on the accession talks
to attract record foreign investment to its $300 billion economy.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm in Brussels, pressed for the
start of membership talks with Turkey yesterday.
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said national governments would have
dozens
of veto chances later on and entry negotiations would encourage a
settlement of
the Cyprus problem as well as economic reforms in Turkey.

3) Greek Americans Call for Adoption of Armenian Genocide Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) urged House
International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) on Tuesday to
work
for committee approval of Armenian genocide legislation, set to be considered
by the panel on September 15.
In a September 13 letter to Chairman Hyde, AHI Executive Director Nick
Larigakis explained that “Americans of Hellenic origin, and I believe most
Americans, have long held that the US Congress should be on record as
recognizing the Armenian genocide, commemorating this crime against all
humanity, and applying its lessons to help prevent future atrocities and
genocides.” He went on to note that “Sadly, due to the powerful pressure
brought to bear by the Turkish lobby’s threats and intimidation, legislation
along these lines has been blocked from passage.”
“We want to thank Nick Larigakis and all our friends at the American Hellenic
Institute for their steadfast support for US recognition of the Armenian
Genocide,” said Armenian National Committee’s (ANCA) Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. “The assistance of our Greek American allies for this legislation
means a great deal to us–here in Washington, DC, and in communities around
the
country.”
The American Hellenic Institute strengthens United States relations with
Greece and Cyprus and within the American Hellenic community.
Congressional support for Armenian Genocide legislation (HR316 and
HConRes195)
continued to grow this week, with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
joining Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) in pledging
support for HR316.

4) Record Numbers Set to Watch Webcast of Armenian Genocide Vote

Thousands of Armenians from the United States and throughout the world are
expected to watch the live internet Webcast this Thursday of a key
Congressional panel’s consideration of Armenian Genocide legislation.
For the first time in nearly five years, the influential US House
International Relations Committee is scheduled to discuss and vote on the
issue. In October of 2000, the panel voted 24 to 11 to approve the Armenian
Genocide Resolution, but the measure was eventually withdrawn from
consideration only minutes before it was to go before the full House of
Representatives.
“We have been tremendously encouraged by the growing number of Armenians who
are taking advantage of webcast technology to watch–in real time–the
Committee’s consideration of legislation on the Armenian Genocide,” said
ANCA’s
Hamparian. “We join with Armenians throughout the United States in looking
forward to this opportunity to watch the legislative process in action.”
The Committee meeting will be held at 10:30 am in room 2172 of the Rayburn
House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Among the other issues which are set to
be considered by the panel during its September 15 meeting are the following:

-HConRes238: Honoring the victims of the Cambodian Genocide that took place
from April 1975 to January 1979;

-HRes38: Expressing support for the accession of Israel to the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);

-HRes388: Regarding the July 2005 measures of extreme repression on the part
of the Cuban Government against members of Cuba’s pro-democracy movement;

-HRes409: Condemning the Government of Zimbabwe’s “Operation Murambatsvina”;

-HConRes237: Welcoming President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan to the US on
September 20, 2005.

To watch the live Webcast (Thursday, September 15–10:30am Eastern Time)
visit the website of the US House International Relations Committee and click
on “Live webcast of meeting.”

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KARABAKH CONFLICT TO BE DISCUSSED IN PARIS

Pan Armenian News
12.09.2005 02:52

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The special PACE ad hoc sub-committee on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict will hold its second sitting in Paris today.
Representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan, members of the OSCE Minsk
Group and an EU representative will discuss the latest situation
in the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. It is already
known that the discussion will not be open to the press. According
to the revised draft program, the works will start at 9.30 a.m. with
the opening speech of Lord Russell-Johnston, Chairman of the Ad-hoc
Committee. First the historical background of the conflict will be
represented by the Executive Director of the London Information
Network on Conflicts and State-Building (LINKS). Within the
framework of the discussions Armenia will be represented by Varuzhan
Nersissian, Head of Department on OSCE, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
and Azerbaijan will be represented by Araz Azimov, Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. Besides the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs, Mr. Goran Lenmarker, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special
Representative on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and Mr. Heikki Talvitie,
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus will participate in
the discussion. According to the agenda, the work of the Committee
will last a day, Trend news agency reported.

The Australian, Australia
Sept 2 2005

Turkey’s EU bid hurt by charge
Emma-Kate Symons, Paris
September 03, 2005

TURKEY faces a new stumbling block in its bid for EU membership after
it sparked a free-speech row by charging its most celebrated
contemporary writer with “denigrating national identity”.

Best-selling author Orhan Pamuk, whose novel Snow told of a Turkish
poet’s struggles against Islamist radicals forcing girls to wear
Muslim garb in a remote town, could be jailed for three years for
attacking the Ottoman massacre of Armenians after World War I.

Turkey has consistently denied murdering Armenians between 1915 and
1923. Pamuk has been condemned in the Turkish press and received
death threats since he told a Swiss newspaper last year that “30,000
Kurds and 1million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody
but me dares to talk about it”.

At a meeting of Europe’s foreign ministers in Wales yesterday, former
Europe minister Denis MacShane, a British Labour MP, said: “It is a
sickening blow to all pro-Turks in Britain and Europe … that the
Turkish authorities seek to persecute this great European writer.

“I will continue to support and argue for (Turkey’s) right to start
EU membership talks. But if the authorities persist with this attack
on a great European writer, then many of us who are strong supporters
of Turkey will be forced to change our minds.”

Turkey is pressing for full EU membership but is confronted by
mounting anger over its treatment of Pamuk, who has gone into hiding,
and continuing questions over its refusal to recognise Cyprus, an EU
member.

Turkey invaded the island state in 1974 and Cyprus is now divided
into Turkish and Cypriot zones.

Pamuk’s English translator, Maureen Freely, said Ankara had “shot
itself in the foot” with the move.

“This is a man who loves his country deeply, defends it fiercely,
especially when abroad, and who cannot imagine living anywhere else,”
Ms Freely said. “There is no doubt that it (Pamuk’s trial) will raise
questions about the wisdom of Turkey’s EU membership bid.”

UNEMPLOYMENT LEVEL IN ARMENIA MADE UP 8.5% IN LATE JULY, 2005

YEREVAN, AUGUST 31. ARMINFO. The unemployment level in Armenia
calculated as the ratio between the number of registered unemployed
people and the economically active population, made up 8.5% by late
July, 2005.

According to the National Statistical Service, 126,500 people were
registered by Armenia’s employment services by the end of July of
the current year. 93.4% or 118,200 people of them are the unemployed.
94,500 people received the status of the unemployed.

In Jan-July, 2005, the average number of economically active population
was 1,212,600 people, out of which 1,109,800 (91.5%) of them were
employed or had other social occupations, and 102,800 (8.5%) had no
permanent jobs, were registered by the Republican Employment Service
and had the unemployment status.

RUSSIA, ARMENIA AMEND VISA-FREE TRAVEL AGREEMENT – RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

RIA Novosti, Russa
Sept 1 2005

MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and Armenia have cut down
the number of documents needed for their citizens to cross the border
visa-free, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Starting from September 24, 2005, Russian and Armenian citizens will be
able to cross the border using only diplomatic and business passports,
foreign passports, or sailors’ IDs, the ministry said.

Turkish author Pamuk risks jail time over remarks on Armenian massacres

Middle East Times, Egypt
Sept 1 2005

September 1, 2005

ISTANBUL — Prominent Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk is set to be
tried in December over his controversial remarks about the Armenian
massacres and could end up serving three years in jail, his publisher
said on Wednesday.

Pamuk, the widely translated author of such internationally renowned
works as The White Castle and Snow, triggered a public outcry when
he said in an interview with a Swiss newspaper in February that “1
million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares
to talk about it”.

As a result, Pamuk, who earlier this year won the prestigious peace
price of the Association of German Publishers and Booksellers,
received several death threats and a local official ordered the
seizure and destruction of his works.

The reclusive author has since refused to speak to the press at all.

A prosecutor in Istanbul has indicted 53-year-old Pamuk on the grounds
that his remarks amounted to public denigration of the Turkish identity
and has demanded a prison term of between six months and three years,
Iletisim publishing house said in a statement.

The trial is expected to start on December 16, it added.

The massacre of Armenians during World War I is one of the most
controversial episodes in Turkish history.

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in
orchestrated killings nine decades ago during the last years of the
Ottoman Empire, the precursor of modern Turkey.

Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed
in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN AT THE DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL IN UK
Review by Andre Simonian

_http://www.systemofadown.com_ ()

Like every year, I packed my bags and set off to my yearly
spiritual destination (apart from Armenia) which is the Download
Festival. Download is a heavy metal festival which attracts about
100,000 people each year, but has still managed to keep it underground
and healthy, unlike, let’s say Glastonbury or Reading Festivals,
which have become increasingly commercial. This year’s Download
Festival took place in Donington Park near Derby on the 9th, 10th
and 11th of June. There were 108 bands appearing on four different
stages during the three days. Each night the last band on each stage
is the headliner of that stage, and obviously the headliner on the
main stage is the most important band. Moreover, the headliner of the
main stage on the final night, is the Main Headliner of the whole
Download Festival. This year that Main Headlining band happened to
be four Armenian boys under the name of System of A Down….

The fact that Ozzy Osborne’s Black Sabbath (The godfathers of Heavy
Metal) were headlining the second night and SOAD headlining the final
night goes to prove how important and vital SOAD are at the moment. To
cut a long story short, after two days of witnessing amazing bands and
three nights of sleeping in a tent, and a number of strange incidents,
(like getting a big emotional hug from a fat drunk guy on the second
night just because I was from the same country as SOAD!), I woke up
feeling excited and ready for their show. Even my sister drove up
from London to see them.

The third day was packed with big names like Nightwish, Slayer,
Killswitch Engage. The band Slipknot were the co-headliners. When they
were playing, a nasty wind started blowing & it started raining. I
wasn’t surprised, since it had been cloudy and grey all day. When
Slipknot finished their set, and the crew started changing the
stage-set for SOAD, music on the other stages gradually ended and all
100,000 people gathered to witness the mighty SOAD. At the same time
the rain stopped & the sky cleared up and turned to a nice orange
colour behind the stage.

When Daron Malekian’s guitar intro to “Soldier Side” started, the
crowd went crazy. “B.Y.O.B” (their new single) followed, with the
crowd singing every word of the amazingly strange lyrics. It was an
amazing spectrum to see 100,000 people chanting “why do they always
send the poor” referring to the American policy of sending the poor
to fight their wars. Then a set of hits followed. We got “Aerials”,
“Chop Suey”, “Toxicity”, “Cigaro”, “war?” (a song dedicated to the
Armenian Genocide), and “Mr. Jack”, “Forest”.

Watching SOAD for the eighth time, six years after seeing them play
their debut gig in UK, supporting Slayer at the tiny London Astoria,
was an emotional experience. How these four boys have improved
musically is just incredible. They are a much tighter band now. John
Dolmaian has improved so much as a drummer in mixing Metal, R’n’B,
and Hip-Hop grooves. Singer Serj Tankian can now play piano and guitar
whilst hypnotising us with his beautiful voice. Shavo Odadjan is an
amazing and fast bass player.

The driving force behind this band, Daron Malekian (the guitarist),
who has written most of the songs and the lyrics on the latest SOAD
album is simply genius. I love the fact that he doesn’t really obey
any musical rules when it comes to song writing or playing guitar,
and that is the definition of a true musician to me.

For me, the highlight of the set was when they played “Psycho”… it
is not my favourite SOAD song but the fact that Serj replaces some
of the lyrics with famous Armenian poetry “yes im anush Haiastani
arevaham barn em sirum” is just amazing. The 100,000 crowd looked
puzzled, since this is the only line during SOAD’s set that they
don’t recall having heard before.

SOAD bring the Download Festival 2005 to a beautiful end, knowing the
fact that their time is now… The crowd goes back to their tents
“Mezmorised” and “Hypnotised”, talking about nothing but SOAD. I
drive home longing for a hot shower, wondering why weren’t there any
Armenian flags in the crowd, and by now, kind of understanding why
that fat guy hugged me… coz we armoes are really special….

BELGIUM BLACKLISTS SEVEN AFRICAN CARGO FIRMS

Misna news agency web site, Rome
30 Aug 05

Text of report in English by Italian-based Missionary Service News
Agency (Misna) web site

Belgium cites seven African cargo companies of nine in its “black
list” as demanded by the EU, which will not be allowed to operate in
the country.

They are: Africa Lines (Central African Republic) Memphis (Egypt),
Central Air Express (DRCongo), ICTTPW (Libya), International Air
Tour Limited (Nigeria), Johnsons’ Air Ltd (Ghana), Silverback Cargo
Freighters (Rwanda).

Moreover, Armenia’s Air Van airlines and Ukrainian South airlines
also don’t make the cut. However, the Belgian minister of transport
said that even though “absent form the list, this does not imply a
company necessarily meets international air safety norms,” said the
Belgian minister of transport.

The EU will discuss this week the possibility of issuing a single
blacklist and asked all 25 member states to hand over their lists.

VENICE COMMISSION WILL NOT PRESENT OFFICIAL RESOLUTION ON 2ND READING OF DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS OF ARMENIA

STRASBOURG, AUGUST 29. ARMINFO. Experts of Venice Commission will
not present any official resolution on the 2nd reading of the draft
Constitutional reforms. External Relations Officer, Venice Commission,
Tatyana Mychelova informs ARMINFO.

She thinks the draft has already received the approval by the Venice
Commission experts, further assessments can be made if the Armenian
authorities apply for it to the Venice Commission Task Group. It should
be noted that Venice Commission expert Giovanni Buchichio planned
to speak at the extraordinary sitting of the Armenian Parliament
today. However, because of delay of his flight at Frankfurt airport,
G.Buchichio missed the flight from Vienna to Yerevan. Myshelova says
G.Buchichio returns to Strasbourg.