Author: Kanayan Tamar

Azerbaijan, Armenia hold key talks on Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
Agence France Presse — English
September 15, 2004 Wednesday 5:26 PM GMT
ASTANA Sept 15 — The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday
held talks in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin that could
make or break the fragile peace process between the warring neighbours.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azeri counterpart Ilham
Aliyev held two-way talks before joining Putin to discuss the enclave
of Nagorno-Karabakh, over which they fought a five-year war in the
early 1990s.
“I am happy to see that you have not lost your optimism… and are
continuing the dialogue at the highest level,” Putin said as the talks
began, on the sidelines of a summit of former Soviet republics here.
Though a fragile ceasefire is in force in Nagorno-Karabakh, the two
sides are still officially in a state of war. Azerbaijan had threatened
to renew hostilities unless peace talks produce results soon.
“Hopes are very high, despite the complexity of the problem,” Putin
said, adding that “whatever the result, a meeting of three leaders
is always a step forwards.”
Aliyev thanked Russia for taking part in the summit talks.
“Our neighbour Russia, co-president of the Minsk Group, plays a key
part in the settlement,” he said. The Minsk Group, comprising France,
Russia and the United States, has been mediating between the two
states for the past decade.
Some 35,000 people were killed and about one million displaced by
the conflict, which erupted during the break up of the Soviet Union.
The war ended with Armenian forces in control of Nagorno-Karabakh,
but the enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan’s
territory.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Antelias Mourns the Passing of Archbishop Vartan Demirdjian
Antelias, Lebanon – His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, members of
the Brotherhood of Cilicia, announce with deepest sadness the passing of His
Eminence Archbishop Vartan Demirdjian. Archbishop Vartan died suddenly in
Antelias, Lebanon, on Thursday, September 9. He was 65 years old.
The Extreme Unction and Burial services will take place on Saturday,
September 11, 2004, at 11 a.m. at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in
Antelias. Interment will follow in the Mausoleum of the Holy See of Cilicia.
His Holiness Aram I will preside over the services.
Archbishop Demirdjian, a member of the Cilician Brotherhood, was born in
Lebanon in 1939. He was ordained a celibate priest in 1957 and was
consecrated a Bishop in 1977. He has served the Armenian Church in various
capacities including several years of service in Iran and Greece, as a
teacher at the Cilician See’s Theological Seminary, and Director of the
Printing House. At the time of his death he was the Librarian at the
Catholicosate’s Library.
##
View printable pictures here:
******
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt
Sept 9 2004
The limits of loyalty
Amending Lebanon’s constitution by Syrian dictate has thrown the
country into political turmoil, writes Mohalhel Fakih
Lebanon’s government is in crisis after four ministers tendered their
resignation in protest over a vote in parliament that amended the
constitution to extend President Emile Lahoud’s mandate for another
three years. The legislative move changed Lebanon’s political
landscape and intensified domestic and international pressure on
Syria, putting both Beirut and Damascus on a collision course with
the United Nations Security Council, the United States and Europe.
But Syria’s allies, especially President Lahoud, made clear they will
only deepen ties with Damascus and warned that the Lebanese face the
choice of either supporting Syria at this “dangerous” period or
backing US plans in the Middle East.
“I tendered my resignation,” Environment Minister Fares Boueiz told
reporters after a Monday meeting with Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He
had voted on Friday against a bill in parliament to amend the
constitution and extend the former Lebanese Army commander’s mandate,
a poll that the US charged was a result of a campaign of “threats”
and intimidation by Syria and “its agents”, drawing immediate denials
from Syria’s Information Minister Ahmed Al-Hassan. He told a news
conference in Damascus that “the most important thing of all is that
brotherly Syrian and Lebanese relations take the path of more
cooperation, coordination and congruity.”
Hariri, a long time rival of Lahoud, had sent clear signals that he
would not stay in office if the president remained. But after a
meeting with senior Syrian officials, Hariri himself proposed an
amendment of the constitution to annul elections, citing Middle East
tensions. Now, the fate of Hariri’s government looks uncertain.
“We are quitting the government,” Economy and Trade Minister Marwan
Hamadeh told a gathering. Hamadeh and two of his colleagues,
representing Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt, had voiced vocal
dissatisfaction with the parliamentary vote. Jumblatt, an ally of
Syria, had rejected the decision to extend Lahoud’s term, claiming
the country was moving closer to military rule.
Hariri, an ally of Jumblatt, who conceived and implemented plans to
reconstruct Lebanon following the 1975-1990 Civil War, confirmed on
Monday that consultations will soon be held “on the fate of Boueiz’s
resignation and other resignations that could occur, as well as the
general situation of the government after returning from a series of
visits that will end on the 17th of this month.” Hariri is scheduled
to visit Cairo, Madrid and Brussels, but has reportedly cancelled a
trip to New York.
His bloc in parliament voted in favour of amending the constitution,
despite earlier condemnations. One of the deputies, Ghattas Khoury,
cast a ballot against electing Lahoud. His colleague MP Nabil de
Freij supported the amendment but said Khoury did not want to give in
to threats that he had been allegedly receiving. De Freij described
the parliamentary session as a “sad masquerade” but justified his
vote as a sign that he would not “give up on [Hariri]”.
Fresh from a resounding victory, Lahoud promised to launch new
development programmes across the country and give an added push to
the agriculture sector, clearly sending a signal as to who is in
charge. Beirut is rife with reports that Lahoud is planning to form a
mixed government of technocrats and politicians. The post-war
constitution, which distributed power on confessional basis, gave the
prime minister executive authority, but Hariri has on several
occasions complained that Lahoud was blocking his policies including
internationally backed privatisation plans.
The president should expect tough opposition not only from a
fragmented Christian community that opposes Syria’s military presence
in Lebanon, but also from some Muslim politicians and Druze leader
Jumblatt, whose 16 allies in parliament, along with the Christian
opposition Qornet Shehwan gathering, voted against amending the
constitution. Nevertheless, Lahoud told hundreds of visitors at the
Baabda Palace, congratulating him on staying in office, that: “this
sort of arrangement [ties with Syria] will continue with the aim of
achieving just and complete and lasting peace, which spreads the
stability which Lebanon and Syria enjoy over other countries in the
region.”
The head of state received unequivocal support from Hizbullah.
Casting ballots for Lahoud in the 96-20 vote, with three not
attending the parliamentary session, were a large array of deputies
and legislators belonging to Hizbullah. The Shia group warned the
Lebanese that the next 30 days set out by a UN Security Council’s
resolution, which was passed hours before parliament voted to keep
the president, were fraught with “danger”. Hizbullah Secretary-
General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, a top ally of Syria, said Syrian
troops, who entered Lebanon at the onset of the Civil War, should
remain, crediting Damascus for stability and unity in the country.
Nasrallah was a target of the US-French backed resolution calling for
the withdrawal of “foreign troops”, in reference to Syria, disarming
“militias” and sending Lebanese Army soldiers to the south. He
rejected the Security Council decision, as did Lebanon and Syria, and
accused the UN body of “lying” about wanting to protect Lebanon’s
sovereignty and independence, citing Israel’s almost daily breaches
of Lebanese airspace and its previous military invasions. Nasrallah
told a rally in Beirut’s southern suburbs that army garrisons were
sent to the south following Israel’s May 2000 pullout, but the aim of
the resolution was to protect US and Israeli interests, and to
permanently settle Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Hizbullah remains the only armed group following the end of the
Lebanon war on grounds that it continues to fight Israel’s occupation
of the Shebaa Farms region, a region the UN ruled was Syrian, but
Beirut and Damascus insist is Lebanese. Hizbullah has been branded a
terrorist group by Washington, which blames Syria for the influence
it holds. The organisation is hailed throughout the Arab world as a
resistance force to Israeli aggression.
This regional angle of Hizbullah and a Syrian struggle with the US
and France, and eventually the United Nations, turned the extension
of the former Army General’s mandate into a regional power tussle,
with Syria declaring victory. Syrian officials have said the fact
that Washington and Paris had to water down the Security Council
resolution that they drafted, not mentioning Syria by name, and a
nine-vote minimum possible approval at the world body, showed that
the US “failed”. But the resolution warning against intervention in
Lebanon’s presidential election also gave UN chief Kofi Annan 30 days
to ensure implementation and warns of “additional measures”.
Hizbullah’s leader urged the Lebanese to rally behind Lahoud.
Meanwhile, Syria’s strong ally and Maronite political heavyweight,
Health Minister Sleiman Franjieh, said Lebanon was now “either with
Syria or against Syria”. Franjieh had initially opposed extending
Lahoud’s mandate but told a news conference he agreed with the
official justification that regional tensions and Israeli “threats”
were behind amending the constitution, a decision that the US dubbed
“crude mockery” by Syria.
Hizbullah Deputy Mohamed Raad, who leads the nine-member bloc of
Hizbullah in parliament, said they voted to amend the constitution
“to support Lahoud and to reject the policies of the American
administration in the region”.
There were many who disagreed with Raad and Franjieh, including the
Maronite Church, to which the health minister and the president
belong. And the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Jumblatt,
backed the Church’s condemnation of the amendment although he was
cautious not to publicly attack Syria.
“Syria gives orders, appoints leaders, organises parliamentary and
other elections, brings in whoever it wants and drops whoever it
wants and interferes in all aspects of life: in the administration,
the judiciary, the economy and particularly politics, through its
representatives here and its aides,” Maronite bishops, led by
Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, said. They added that Damascus
“compromises Lebanese interests in international forums and protects
the corrupt and the corrupters, while some of its nationals and some
Lebanese share the spoils and trade in power.”
The amendment provoked several campaigns to oppose an extension of
Lahoud’s mandate and Syria’s role in Lebanon, including from a
multi-confessional gathering of some 200 leading intellectuals and
opposition groups participating in what they called the “Petition to
Defend the Republic and the Constitution”. They lashed out at
Damascus for “imposing” its will on Lebanon and “endangering” both
countries.
At the same time, representatives of some 25 political factions and
parties, including Hizbullah, the Baath Party, Armenian Tashnak
Party, and House Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, converged on
the United Nations headquarters and protested against an alleged
French-US effort “to separate the Syrian- Lebanese attachment” which
they said “is impossible”. They warned that international pressure
only “endangers civil peace”.
The current divisions were described as menacing by the highest
authority of Shia Muslims in Lebanon Sheikh Abdul-Amir Qabalan and
were blamed by top Sunni religious leaders, headed by the Mufti of
the Republic Sheikh Mohamed Rashid Qabbani, on the US, while
attributing stability in Lebanon to Damascus. Both clerics had
reportedly earlier rejected an amendment of the constitution though
their statements were withdrawn. They have now said in one statement
that they support the amendment, “to stand up against Israeli threats
and the American diktat”.
US moves had put those opposing Syria in a corner. They insist that
they do not support foreign intervention in Lebanon but that Lahoud
should have gone. Sunni Muslim MP Mosbah Ahdab declared allegiance to
strong strategic ties with Syria but said he opposed an extension of
the president’s mandate, which would in his words “extend the crisis
for another three years”. Furthermore, he raised charges of threats
made against him to modify his position.
Ahdab appeared to be referring to a power struggle between Lahoud and
Hariri that virtually paralysed the state due to their economic
policy differences. Hariri refused to form a government when Lahoud
first came to office in 1998, and stayed in the opposition ranks
until he and his allies scored an unprecedented parliamentary victory
in 2000.
“There is no winner and no loser,” Lahoud declared. He said the
differences of opinion that emerged following the constitution’s
amendment were at the core of Lebanon’s democracy. He called for
opening a new page. Yet although Lebanon is accustomed to rancorous
politics, and despite calling US and French condemnations of amending
the constitution “interference in internal affairs”, Lahoud and the
Lebanese have to face up to the fact that Washington appears to have
its eyes focussed on the country.
“We are gravely concerned that the will of the people has been
circumvented by Syrian actions that led to this vote,” Tom Casey,
State Department spokesman told reporters.

Armenian, Polish defence ministers discuss cooperation
PAP news agency
6 Sep 04
Warsaw, 6 September: Security in the Caucasus, Iraq and Afghanistan and
military cooperation dominated Monday’s [6 September] talks in Warsaw between
Armenian and Polish defence ministers Serge Sargsyan and Jerzy Szmajdzinski.
Szmajdzinski described Poland’s experience with NATO and UN peace missions in
the Mideast and the Balkans, both politicians also discussed a defence
cooperation agreement sealed today in the presence of both countries’ presidents.
Sargsyan also announced the inclusion of a 50-strong Armenian military unit
in the Polish led stabilization force in Iraq.

Armenian President Arrives In Poland After Promising Troops To Iraq
Agence France Presse
Sept 5 2004
WARSAW, Sept 5 (AFP) – The president of Armenia, which is to contribute
troops to the Polish-led multinational force patrolling central and
southern Iraq, arrived in Poland on Sunday for a three-day official
visit.
During the visit by President Robert Kocharian, Armenia and Poland
are expected to sign a bilateral military cooperation agreement.
Polish Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski announced on Friday that
the former Soviet republic of Armenia was to send 50 soldiers to the
6,500-strong multinational force that Poland commands in Iraq.
Armenia is to send “several dozen military personnel, specialists in
logistics, bomb disposal experts and doctors” to Iraq in late November
or early December, Polish deputy chief of staff, General Mieczyslaw
Cieniuch, said on Friday.
The Polish government has been a key US ally in Iraq but it has faced
strong domestic public opposition to the deployment of its troops
in Iraq and is now planning to significantly reduce its 2,500-strong
contingent there.
Kocharian was met in the northern port city of Gdansk on Sunday by
his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski. The two heads of
state visited the historic part of the city before travelling to
Kwasniewski’s residence in Jurata, a resort on the Baltic coast.

The Cincinnati Post
Gold medalist out at U.S. Open
By Diane Pucin
Los Angeles Times
EZRA SHAW/Getty Images
Sargis Sargsian celebrates after defeating Nicolas Massu in five sets.
NEW YORK — All day, all night, all around the grounds of the United States
Tennis Center, emotions overflowed.
An Olympic gold medalist howled in despair.
Nicolas Massu, who played a four-hour, five-set match against Mardy Fish in
Athens, Greece, to win that gold, played the second-longest match in U.S.
Open history and lost Thursday night.
On Court 11, packed with cheering Chilean fans for him and noisy Armenian
fans against him, the 10th-seeded Massu was upset by 31-year-old Sargis
Sargsian, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4. It took 5 hours 9 minutes, and at
the end Massu bent over, exhausted and disgusted. Sargsian was serenaded by
rooters who had chanted in Armenian all during the match. Only once, in a
1992 semifinal, had a match here gone longer when Stefan Edberg took 5:26 to
beat Michael Chang 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4.
Massu broke rackets and carried on a 10-minute argument with chair umpire
Carlos Ramos after being penalized a game in the fifth set for his third
broken racket, one that was bounced so hard it caromed as high as his head.
Massu’s rant to Ramos was profane. His tirade an hour after the match was
angry.
“I can’t believe I lost the match,” Massu said. “It’s hard to believe that
this guy (Ramos) didn’t use the head a little bit. This guy come here, put
to me two, three warnings. If I have to pay something I pay, no problem. But
the third one? Unbelievable.”
The first warning for equipment abuse had come to Massu at 4-4 in the first
set after he wrecked a racket. Ramos gave Massu a point penalty in the 10th
game of the second set before taking away a game from him to start the fifth
set.
In a statement, tournament referee Brian Earley explained why Massu was
penalized a game. “There were three code violations for racket abuse,”
Earley said. “Following the Grand Slam code of conduct, the first code
violation resulted in a warning. The second violation resulted in a point
penalty. The third violation resulted in a game penalty.”
Three crushed rackets had been discarded by Massu, stark proof of his anger.
The Olympic silver medalist didn’t have a good day either. Fish, seeded
26th, quarreled about line calls and hung his head after bad shots instead
of fighting to hit better ones until he left a 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 loser
to Czech qualifier Michal Tabara.
French Open champions grumbled and groaned as well.
Anastasia Myskina, seeded fourth, was dismissed, 7-6 (3), 6-3, in the second
round by a fellow Russian, 17-year-old Anna Chakvetadze who is ranked 175th.
And Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, seeded ninth, was a mostly passive
participant in his 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Thomas Johansson of Sweden.
Myskina considered the performance “a pretty bad match for me,” then said
she was all done in. “I’m really empty right now,” the 23-year-old said. “I
didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to run. I didn’t want to do anything.”
Paying customers should love hearing that.
Gaudio, too, just shrugged and muttered, “Too bad,” as he walked away from
the court.
But there were sounds of joy around the grounds.
Shikha Uberoi, an Indian American with an infectious laugh, embraced the
gargantuan Arthur Ashe Stadium court, clapped for herself and for her
opponent Venus Williams after good shots for both, giggled with glee when
Williams ended an enthralling rally with a winning passing shot and later
spoke with awe about the way the lights made her racket sparkle.
Uberoi, ranked 275th, fought hard against 11th-seeded Williams before losing
a second-round match, 7-5, 6-1.
Publication Date: 09-03-2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Diamanda Galás
Portland Tribune, OR
Sept 3 2004
Don’t be put off by Diamanda Galás’ image as a real-life Cruella
de Ville, a diva (a word she hates) ever ready with a withering
put-down. She’s a lot of fun on the phone, cursing her way through a
series of topics from the trivial to the grim. Galás, who lives in
New York’s East Village, will perform “Defixiones: Will and
Testament,” which is about genocide everywhere, with particular
reference to Turkish atrocities against the Armenians and Anatolians
in 1915 and 1922, and “La Serpenta Canta,” her more user-friendly
collection of blues and folk covers.
Screaming Jay Hawkins is easy to get, but the audience will
benefit from reading the English translation of the amazing texts
that make up “Defixiones.” (They are in the liner notes and on her
Web site, )
“It’s a mass, and masses have been described as bloodthirsty, they
are the protests of large groups of people,” she says. “Mine are not
passive masses; they are for people who have not been able to find
peace or apology.”
Having said that, she accepts her responsibility to communicate
though music and foreign language, as is standard in opera.
Galás is a classically trained pianist who as a teenager played
with her Greek Orthodox father in a hotel bar band. (She says that
when you’ve played the Carpenters’ “On Top of the World” 15 times a
night, you have a right to reinterpret it). She’s not afraid to drag
her operatic voice through the mud in the spirit of making the crowd
feel something.
And she loves Portland. “I feel like I am coming home whenever I
play there,” she says. “The freaks are genuine freaks.”
— Joseph Gallivan
“Defixiones: Will and Testament,” 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, Newmark
Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway
“La Serpenta Canta,” 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, Newmark Theatre,
1111 S.W. Broadway
For both shows, advance reservations are required for pass
holders; call PICA, 503-242-1419.

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TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Armenian Genocide To Be Observed in Israel 2) US Plans to Increase Aid to Georgia 3) Karabagh To Celebrate 13th Anniversary 1) Armenian Genocide To Be Observed in Israel YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Yuri Stern, a member of the Armenian Caucus in the Israeli Knesset, said that the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide should be observed in Israel. A government sponsored celebration dedicated to Komitas will be held jointly with local Armenian organizations in the country. 2) US Plans to Increase Aid to Georgia YEREVAN (Yerkir)--US Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to sign an agreement with Georgia on increasing financial aid to the country. The increased resources will be spent on destroying weapons of mass destructions, particularly biological weapons. Lugar, who is currently on a working visit to Georgia, is expected to meet with top government officials including President Mikhail Saakashvili, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, and Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili, among others. 3) Karabagh To Celebrate 13th Anniversary STEPANAKERT (Noyan Tapan)--In celebration of the 13th anniversary of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR), a number of festive events are scheduled to take place in Stepanakert and various regions of the country on September 2. MKR was established on September 2, 1991 and declared its independence on January 6, 1992. According to Karabagh's Foreign Ministry, government officials, as well as guests from Armenia and Russia will visit the Stepanakert Memorial Complex. Famous musicians from Armenia will be performing. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. --Boundary_(ID_Oyg3T8fNwh9sUyIKjyOWdA)--

Armenia to host NATO exercises in 2006
Mediamax news agency
27 Aug 04

YEREVAN
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said today that “most likely
Armenia will not host exercises within the framework of NATO’s
Partnership for Peace programme in 2005”.
Serzh Sarkisyan said that “to all appearances, we shall start
preparations in order to host exercises on our territory in 2006”.
Addressing the Summit of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in
Istanbul on 29 June, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said
that Armenia offered NATO to host Cooperative Partner 2005 military
exercises within the framework of the Partnership for Peace programme.

Agence France Presse
Aug 26 2004
In Equatorial Guinea Coup Trial, Armenian Accused Give Evidence
MALABO, Aug 26 (AFP) – The trial of 18 men charged with plotting to
oust Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema went into a
fourth day Thursday, with an Armenian pilot accused of being a hired
gun for the coup bid giving evidence.
Samuel Darbinyan, 41, told the court in Malabo that he did not know
why he had been held in prison since March along with five other
Armenian crew members and eight South Africans.
A German suspect died in detention, officially of cerebral malaria,
but with rights groups saying he was tortured to death.
The 14 foreign suspects are on trial alongside four Equato-Guineans,
all accused of complicity in a plot to topple Obiang, who has been in
power in the tiny, oil-rich central African country since 1979.
Obiang announced their arrests on March 9, saying: “A group of
mercenaries entered the country and was studying plans to carry out a
coup d`etat.”
Without going into details, Obiang said interrogation of the suspects
revealed they were financed by multinational companies and “countries
that do not like us.”
The arrests came days before some 70 men were detained when their
plane stopped off in Zimbabwe, allegedly en route to Equatorial
Guinea for the coup.
The Equato-Guinean attorney general has called for the death penalty
for the alleged ringleader of the group on trial here, South African
Nick du Toit.
Du Toit is so far the only one of the 18 defendants on trial in
Equatorial Guinea to admit any involvement in a coup plot.