Author: Karagyozian Lena

Agence France Presse — English
December 14, 2004 Tuesday 6:18 PM GMT
Britain’s Straw meets Azerbaijani president
LONDON
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev Tuesday in the Central Asian leader’s first official visit to
Britain since taking office last year.
Straw said the two discussed oil, the major industry for
petroleum-rich Azerbaijan, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
project intended to provide a major export route for oil from the
Caspian region.
“We fully support Azerbaijan’s commitment to political and economic
reform and to deepening relations with the European Union,” Straw
said, adding that Britain would continue to urge the state to make
greater democratic and human rights reforms.
Aliyev took over from his father Heidar, a former KGB general who
ruled the former Soviet republic with an iron fist for more than
three decades.
After the elder Aliyev died from heart failure in December at the age
of 80, his son, a former oil company executive, succeeded him,
creating the first family dynasty in the post-Soviet Union.
Straw said he had thanked Aliyev for Azerbaijan’s contribution of
soldiers to the US-led multinational force in Iraq, and to forces in
Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Azerbaijan is the only majority Muslim country to send combat troops
to help the US-led coalition in Iraq. But as in Iraq, the majority of
Azerbaijan’s eight million people are Shiite Muslims.
“I assured President Aliyev of our support for efforts to find a
peaceful, lasting settlement to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,”
Straw said, referring to the disputed territory now under control of
neighboring Armenia.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
14 Dic 2004
UE: TURCHIA; BARNIER, GENOCIDIO ARMENO,NON E’ UNA CONDIZIONE ;
GIURIDICAMENTE IMPOSSIBILE CHIEDERE RICONOSCIMENTO AD ANKARA
(ANSA-AFP) – PARIGI, 14 DIC – Il riconoscimento del genocidio
armeno da parte della Turchia “non e’ una condizione che noi
poniamo per l’apertura di negoziati” di adesione di Ankara
all’Unione europea: lo ha detto oggi alla tv France 2 il
ministro degli esteri francese Michel Barnier.

“Non e’ una condizione che la Francia pone, in particolare
non una condizione per l’aperturta di negoziati. Giuridicamente
non sarebbe possibile” ha spiegato il ministro.

Il riconsocimento del genocidio armeno sotto l’impero
Ottomano – dal 1915 al 1917 – da parte della Turchia “e una
questione che noi porremo nel corso del negoziato, e abbiamo una
decina di anni per porla”, ha concluso Barnier. (ANSA-AFP).

Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada)
December 8, 2004 Wednesday FINAL EDITION
Jurors convict man of slayings
by Carri Geer Thevenot
Jurors deliberated less than an hour Tuesday before convicting a
man of first-degree murder and robbery charges in the beating deaths
of two elderly women at a downtown Las Vegas jewelry store.
The panel is scheduled to return to court this afternoon to start
hearing evidence in the trial’s penalty phase. Prosecutors are
seeking a death sentence for the defendant, 46-year-old Avetis
Archanian.
‘We’re pleased that a guilty verdict came back,’ said John Del Prado,
whose mother and grandmother died in the attack. ‘The evidence was
very strong against him, and the detectives were positive that he was
the one who committed this horrible crime.’
Del Prado said he plans to testify during the penalty phase in
District Judge Donald Mosley’s courtroom.
As for the sentence Del Prado would like Archanian to receive, he
said only, ‘It’s in the jury’s hands.’
‘As brutal as he was with my mother and my grandmother — he showed
them no mercy, and he deserves whatever he gets,’ he said.
The Del Prado family has operated the World Merchants-Importers store
in downtown Las Vegas since 1975. Archanian had been hired as a
part-time jewelry repairman several weeks before the killings.
District Attorney David Roger argued that Archanian was the man
captured on a surveillance video in the store on the morning of the
crimes.
Roger said Archanian used a hammer and ring sizer to bludgeon Juana
Quiroga, 86, and her 68-year-old daughter, Elisa Del Prado, before
the store opened on Sept. 2, 2003. Quiroga died at the scene, and her
daughter died from her injuries in March.
During his closing argument Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Greg
Knapp placed all of the physical evidence in a line before the jury.
‘This trail leads to one place: right to this man here,’ the
prosecutor said, pointing to Archanian.
Roger said the evidence indicated that the victims knew their killer.
The surveillance video showed Elisa Del Prado allowing a man to enter
the store and walk into the jewelry repair room.
A short time later, Quiroga is observed on the video rushing to the
room, then trying to scurry back out. The assailant then drags her
down from behind.
Roger said the killer showed knowledge of the store’s merchandise as
he went through the jewelry cases and chose the most expensive items
to steal.
Las Vegas homicide detectives interviewed Archanian at the scene and
allowed him to leave. Archanian told the detectives he arrived at the
store at 10 a.m., when it was scheduled to open, and saw the bodies.
Knapp said the killer removed a videotape from a surveillance system
in the store, assuming he was removing the video evidence.
‘But he was wrong because they had a secret recording device that
worked off of a hard drive that he didn’t know about,’ Knapp told the
jury.
Roger said it was no coincidence that the man on the video was the
same size as Archanian, had his receding hairline and was wearing
similar shoes and clothing.
The prosecutor said Elisa Del Prado’s blood was found on Archanian’s
shirt and in his vehicle, and Quiroga’s blood was found on a pair of
pants hidden in Archanian’s residence. Some $250,000 in jewelry
stolen from the store was recovered from Archanian’s vehicle.
‘Ladies and gentleman, this is not a difficult case,’ Roger told the
jury.
Defense attorney Mace Yampolsky said his client is Armenian and moved
to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1977. The
attorney described Archanian as a helping and caring person who had
no prior criminal record.
Archanian wore headphones Tuesday as he listened to closing arguments
with the aid of an Armenian interpreter.
Yampolsky, wearing an American flag tie, offered jurors little to
refute the physical evidence against his client.
‘DNA is not infallible,’ he argued.
The attorney questioned why Archanian had spots of blood on the tops
of his shoes but none on the bottoms. Authorities determined that the
blood on Archanian’s shoes came from a woman, but they did not have a
large enough sample to determine her identity.
Yampolsky said the defendant’s wife, sister and brother attended
Tuesday’s proceedings. The attorney said he plans to present
testimony during the penalty phase from Archanian’s relatives ‘to
really say what he means to them.’
Grethel Jerbic, Elisa Del Prado’s daughter, said members of her
family want to thank those who stood beside them in their time of
need.
‘We thank them for their love, prayers and support,’ she said.

The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, Va.)
December 5, 2004 Sunday The Virginian-Pilot Edition
>From tolerance to hatred in a crumbling empire
BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS
LOUIS De BERNIERES
Knopf. 554 Pages. $25.95.
By RAY LOCKER
THE FIRST SIGN that life in the village of Eskibahce wasn’t as
tranquil as it seemed came when its residents dragged the wife of its
leading citizen into the town square and tried to stone her to death
for adultery.
A few weeks later, they stood by when the local drunk assaulted the
town’s Armenian shopkeeper, all the while shouting ethnic slurs at
him.
In “Birds Without Wings,” author Louis de Bernieres, whose previous
novel was the best seller “Corelli’s Mandolin,” has used this town on
the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the setting for his account of
the final days of the Ottoman Empire and the upheaval that
accompanied the creation of modern Turkey. He shows how easily people
can cross the delicate line between diversity and tolerance to casual
cruelty and rabid hatred when prodded by the twin evils of
nationalism and religious intolerance.
Here, de Bernieres is working familiar territory, often too familiar.
His books deal with ordinary people pushed by currents unleashed by
crackpots and misguided visionaries, be they communist
revolutionaries, fascist dictators or fanatic nationalists.
His first three novels, a trilogy about the Andean village of
Cochadebajo, channeled the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
while “Corelli’s Mandolin” bared the soul of the Greek island of
Cephalonia during its occupation by German and Italian invaders in
World War II. All showed people trying to keep their lives together
while the zealots around them exploited human differences for their
own gain.
A sort of prequel to “Corelli’s Mandolin” – the books share some
common characters – “Birds Without Wings” is set in the crumbling,
polyglot Ottoman Empire. The Muslims, Greek Christians and Armenians
of Eskibahce live in peace, aware of their differences but content to
either gloss over or accommodate them without outside agitation.
But, as it always does in de Bernieres’ novels, war stirs the
village’s inner demons. Young Muslim men are drafted, while their
Christian neighbors are shunted aside. The town’s Armenians are
forced from their homes and driven east on a genocidal death march.
The empire’s Muslim rulers peddle a shallow jihad to keep their
power, stripping away what had been a shared sense of nationhood and
community and stirring what de Bernieres calls “the hell’s broth of
religious and nationalist hatred.”
As a result, thousands of Ottoman soldiers, as well as those from
Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand, died in the trenches at
Gallipoli, one of the war’s most violent and senseless battles. Here,
de Bernieres writes powerfully of the savagery of war, as soldiers
die almost as often from the disease of the battlefield as from being
shot, bombed or gassed.
Unfortunately, de Bernieres’ powerful prose serves a book that reads
almost more like a history than a novel. Unlike “Corelli’s Mandolin,
which was supported by a long-running love story, “Birds Without
Wings” has many different stories but little that pulls them
together. De Bernieres has said he writes his novels in pieces and
then puts them together later. Here, some of the pieces must have
fallen on the floor during construction.
That lack of focus ultimately keeps “Birds Without Wings” from
reaching his usual high standard. At times, he also seems to repeat
himself: “Corelli’s Mandolin” had an Italian officer who liked music;
so does “Birds Without Wings.”
De Bernieres tells all of this with the rich prose and vivid
descriptions that are his gift, but he often uses them to push a
story we keep thinking will get somewhere but never quite does.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Dec 11 2004
Then there were three
Ropfogel joins City Clerk race; says he’ll drop out if candidate
emerges within clerk’s office.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE – Glendale businessman and community activist Steve Ropfogel
took a cautious step into uncharted waters on Friday, announcing that
he will run for Glendale city clerk in April. But Ropfogel said he
will drop out of the race if a candidate with experience working in a
city clerk’s office decided to run.
“It’s no secret that city government is really a passion of mine,”
Ropfogel said. “With my experience, not only with the organizations
that I’m involved with, but with my involvement with so many
departments and things in the city, I think I’m the best person for
the job.
“But if (Asst. City Clerk) Rita (Buchanan) or some other qualified
person from within our City Clerk’s office, or from a city that was
similar in size, if somebody came along that was going to run and was
a professional in the field, I would back out.”
For the first time in 75 years, the election for City Clerk is an
open race. In the past, the position has been handed down, with
clerks retiring mid-term and the City Council appointing a
replacement. The appointed clerk would then run as an incumbent, and
an incumbent hasn’t lost a city clerk election in Glendale during
that 75-year span.
City Clerk Doris Twedt chose to retire at the end of her term,
leaving an open race for her successor. Ardashes Kassakhian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee’s Western
Region, and Lorna Vartanian, office manager for a law firm, are also
running for the position.
“I’m in this race because I know I can do the job and I can represent
all of the people of Glendale,” Kassakhian said.
Vartanian does not think experience inside a city clerk’s office
would make a candidate more qualified for the position.
“It is an administrative position, and I think that a candidate with
a strong administrative background could go in there and run the
office,” Vartanian said. “It really boils down to a matter of
experience, and I don’t think that one would necessarily have to have
worked in a clerk’s office to be able to properly manage an office.”

ArmenPress
Dec 10 2004
CONVICTS TO RECOVER HEALTH AT MODERN HOSPITAL
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: A senior clergyman of Armenian
Apostolic Church blessed today a new hospital built for convicts. The
ceremony was attended by prime minister Andranik Margarian, justice
and health ministers, parliament members and other officials.
The prime minister said around 700 million drams are earmarked for
major construction and repair works at correctional facilities in
order to improve the conditions in which the prison population is
kept and also to provide bigger security.
The repair of prisons is part of a broader judicial reform, funded
by the government and international donor organizations. Margarian
said the new hospital will be essential in terms of recovering the
convicts’ health condition.
Justice minister David Harutunian said the government alone is not
able to provide all necessary funds and welcomed the assistance of
other governments and organizations.
“Our major principle is to celebrate at least one victory a year,”
the minister said meaning reconstruction of a prison a year.

ARKADY GHOUKASSIAN AWARDS ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER FROM CANADA HRAIR (BAZE)
KHACHERIAN WITH NKR MEDAL “YERAKHTAGITUTYUN”
STEPANAKERT, December 8 (Noyan Tapan). On December 8, NKR President
Arkady Ghoukassian awarded well-known Canadian photographer of Armenian
origin Hrair (Baze) Khacherian with the NKR medal “Yerakhtagitutyun”
(“Gratitude”). He was awarded with this medal for contribution to
the development of the NKR culture and in connection with the 15th
anniversary of the national-liberation movement in Artsakh.
Hrair Khacherian expressed deep gratitude to the head of the Karabakh
state for such a high assessment of his work. According to him,
Artsakh is a source of creative inspiration not only for himself but
for all the culural and art workers of the Armenian Diaspora.
According to the Head Information System attached to the NKR President,
on his behalf the Canadian photographer presented Arkady Ghoukassian
with one of his works.

Le Monde, France
mardi 7 Décembre 2004
Europe, UMP, Raffarin : les trois hypothèques qui pèsent sur Chirac
Le “oui” du PS à la Constitution européenne et l’élection de Nicolas
Sarkozy à la présidence du parti majoritaire n’ont pas dégagé
l’horizon du chef de l’Etat : le référendum n’est pas gagné, une
crise est possible avec son ex-ministre des finances, et un
remaniement début 2005 toujours à l’étude.
Le mot d’ordre à l’Elysée, après une semaine capitale qui a vu
Nicolas Sarkozy accéder à la tête de l’UMP, les militants du PS
approuver la Constitution européenne et la justice ménager l’avenir
d’Alain Juppé ? “La vie continue.” C’est sans doute une manière de
dire que les soucis aussi. Ceux du chef de l’Etat concernent en
particulier le référendum, l’avenir du gouvernement et du premier
ministre, les rapports avec l’UMP.
Si Jacques Chirac a pu se réjouir du “oui” des socialistes – “une
bonne nouvelle pour l’Europe”, a-t-il dit le 2 décembre à Lübeck
(Allemagne) -, il ne considère pas la partie gagnée. “Il faut voir
maintenant comment François Hollande va gérer ça, s’il a la capacité
d’entraîner”, observe un conseiller du chef de l’Etat, notant que les
partisans du “non” n’ont pas désarmé. En outre, l’entourage
présidentiel juge fragiles les sondages qui indiquent, pour
l’instant, une majorité favorable au “oui”. D’autant que “l’os turc”,
selon l’expression d’un chiraquien du premier cer-cle, ne serait
toujours pas passé.
Espérant toujours qu’un “découplage” entre la question de l’adhésion
turque à l’Union européenne et l’adoption de la future Constitution
s’effectuera au Conseil européen du 17 décembre, l’Elysée plaide
qu’il s’agit d’un “préalable” : “La question turque se posera un
jour, y dit-on ; il n’y a pas lieu de la préempter maintenant par un
vote d’humeur sur la Constitution.” Mais il n’est pas certain que la
promesse d’un référendum dans dix ou quinze ans sur le statut de la
Turquie – telle que M. Chirac l’a formulée (Le Monde du 4 octobre) –
suffise à convaincre.
UNE ÉPINE
M. Chirac n’a même pas réglé la question au sein du couple
franco-allemand. Gerhard Schröder ne veut pas du scénario alternatif
d’un “partenariat privilégié” avec la Turquie – comme l’a recommandé,
dimanche, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Fidèle de M. Sarkozy, le ministre
délégué à l’industrie, Patrick Devedjian, a mis l’accent sur la
reconnaissance du génocide arménien par la Turquie, dimanche sur
Radio J. Quant à l’élargissement de l’Union à 25 pays, l’Elysée
considère avec optimisme qu’il ne s’agit plus que d’une “question
technique”.
Autant dire que l’Europe reste une épine pour M. Chirac, tant que le
référendum annoncé pour 2005 n’est pas gagné. Son entourage
s’empresse néanmoins d’assurer qu’un “non” des Français à la
Constitution européenne ne signifierait aucun rejet personnel du
président de la République. Ses conseillers soulignent d’ailleurs que
M. Chirac a toujours déploré la personnalisation de l’enjeu
référendaire, affirmant régulièrement que “De Gaulle n’a pas rendu
service au référendum en démissionnant en 1969” – après l’échec de
son référendum sur le Sénat et la régionalisation.
M. Raffarin pourra-t-il conduire, avec le chef de l’Etat, la campagne
référendaire ? A la rentrée, certains chiraquiens rejetaient
catégoriquement cette hypothèse, jugeant le premier ministre trop
affaibli. Le vent semble tourner. “Si le “oui” l’emportait au PS,
Chirac laissait Raffarin faire la campagne. C’était le deal”, assure
un ministre proche du chef de l’Etat. ” Raffarin sera changé après la
campagne”, approuve un expert qui conseille l’Elysée, ajoutant : “Je
ne vois pas en quoi son impopularité change quelque chose au
référendum. C’est une vision de court terme.” A quoi un député
chiraquien ajoute : “S’il n’y a pas de mouvement social fort, Chirac
ne fera rien sur la seule base de sondages défavorables à Raffarin.”
Si le président a naturellement réfléchi au remplacement de son
premier ministre – songeant à Dominique de Villepin, Jean-Louis
Borloo ou Michèle Alliot-Marie -, il semble peu pressé de renoncer au
confort que lui offre encore M. Raffarin. Le départ de M. Sarkozy du
gouvernement donne à ce dernier une bouffée d’air que M. Chirac
souhaiterait lui laisser. Quitte à opérer un remaniement plus large –
sans changer de premier ministre – avant de commencer la campagne.
“Pour l’instant, il n’y a pas remaniement, il y a gouvernement”,
résume-t-on à l’Elysée.
L’UMP suscite davantage d’incertitudes. M. Sarkozy joue avec habileté
la partition de la réconciliation. Evoquant l’élection présidentielle
de 2007, le nouveau chef du parti majoritaire a assuré, au cours de
l’émission “Vivement Dimanche”, sur France 2 : “Si c’était Jacques
Chirac qui était en situation d’être le meilleur, eh bien, le rôle du
président de l’UMP, ce serait de le soutenir et tout autre
comportement serait irresponsable.” Mais n’en déplaise à ceux de ses
partisans qui appellent déjà à sa candidature, M. Chirac ne semble
pas, pour l’heure, vouloir évoquer 2007 autrement qu’en plaisantant.
Il pense qu’une crise politique n’est pas à exclure avec l’UMP, si la
critique du gouvernement par le parti majoritaire devenait trop forte
– ce que le président de l’Assemblée, Jean-Louis Debré, a dit
plusieurs fois publiquement. “Il faut faire confiance.
Attentivement”, dit un ami du président en parlant de l’UMP, laissant
deviner qu’il y aura plus d’attention que de confiance.
Béatrice Gurrey
–Boundary_(ID_+qZfIFY7F9/GUgz2C0QW0w)–

CHILDREN WITH CHRISTIAN NAMES NOT GIVEN BIRTH CERTIFICATES IN AZERBAIJAN
PanArmenian News
Dec 6 2004
06.12.2004 17:24
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There are no children with Christian names in
Azerbaijan, as the authorities ban to issue birth certificates for
them, Gazetasng.ru reports. Baptist Novrus Eyvazov, for instance,
was refused to register son named Luca. According to the source,
this is not the first case when people, who want to give their
children a Christian, are refused registration. At the same time
Islamic rhetoric and activation of Islamic culture can be observed
in Azerbaijan. Aggressive Islamic rhetoric is frequently used in
anti-Armenian propaganda and in the calls for the resumption of
military operations in Karabakh.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
venerdì 3 dicembre 2004
UE:TURCHIA;VANZO, CONSIGLIO EUROPEO AFFRONTI QUESTIONE CIPRO ;
KEMAL ATATURK ERA UNO STERMINATORE, MA SULLA STORIA C’E’ CENSURA
ROMA
(ANSA) – ROMA, 3 DIC – “Se c’e una incognita Cipro, come ha
affermato il ministro degli Esteri, allora che il prossimo
consiglio europeo affronti la questione cipriota prima di un
devastante dibattito sull’entrata nell’Ue di un paese con 80
milioni di islamici”. Lo ha affermato il senatore della Lega
Antonio Vanzo, commentando il dibattito dopo le dichiarazioni
del ministro Fini in aula alla Camera.

“L’Europa in passato ha coperto piu’ volte le nefandezze
compiute da un paese che da sempre si distingue per le violenze
ai danni delle minoranze. Quanti sanno – chiede – che Kemal
Ataturk, padre della Turchia moderna ed eroe nazionale, era uno
sterminatore di greci ed armeni (ne furono ammazzati piu’ di 3
milioni)? Pochi, sicuramente, visto che i libri di scuola
italiani non ne hanno mai parlato a causa di una censura
governativa che non e’ caduta nemmeno dopo le revisioni di
programma del ministro diessino Berlinguer”.

“Tutti sapevano e tutti tacevano: la Turchia e’ la base
avanzata della Nato in Medio Oriente e degli interessi di tante
multinazionali. Per di piu’ – sottolinea il senatore della Lega
– Roma e Ankara hanno grandi interessi economici in comune e non
sono pochi quelli che attendono di spartirsi i miliardi legati
all’ arrivo degli oleodotti turchi a Trieste. I turchi, con la
scusa di Saddam, hanno usato e imbarcato i poveri curdi che
arrivavano sulle nostre coste incolpando gli iracheni da usare
come capro espiatorio”. (ANSA).