Author: Karakhanian Suren

The Santa Fe New Mexican (New Mexico)
August 2, 2004 Monday
‘THROUGH STRENGTH, YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR DESTINY’
by JEFF TOLLEFSON
Raffi Papazian once spent a year and a half doing double duty, or
close to it, almost 1,000 feet under the Nevada desert.
Each day, he took the same ride down a mine shaft to work on the same
nuclear test, dubbed Ledoux after a small town in New Mexico. He was
six years into his career at the Nevada Test Site and 30 years into
his life as an American citizen.
Given his childhood experiences in Egypt and Lebanon, a career in the
United States’ nuclear-weapons program must have seemed a bit
surreal. But somehow it all made sense.
His grandparents fled to Egypt to escape the Turkish slaughter of
Armenians in 1915. He was born in Egypt at a time when Christians
were under persecution there, and he remembers sitting on the balcony
of his boyhood home worrying and waiting for his father to come home.
The family left for Lebanon in 1966, when Raffi was 10. They waited
four years for a ticket into the United States, during which time
Raffi and his sister went to an English-speaking school.
“Believe it or not, that left a tremendous impression on me,” he
said. “When I left college, I always wanted to work in the national
defense industry, because I wanted to make sure my kids never had
that feeling. … That might sound hokey to you, but it’s not.”
Papazian is a mechanical engineer who worked his way up through the
ranks at Los Alamos National Laboratory, substituting post-graduate
studies with under-the-ground experience designing nuclear tests. His
job was to ensure the physicists got what they needed when the ground
shook.
The lab detonated Ledoux in 1990, on the tail end of nuclear testing.
Two years later, the testing moratorium went into effect, and things
changed at the Nevada Test Site. All three of the major
nuclear-weapons laboratories still have operations there, and
Papazian is among a small group of Los Alamos employees who make the
commute each week.
Papazian’s work on the nuclear-weapons program might have made sense
to him, but he says his two daughters have had their doubts. Over the
years, Papazian has spent a lot of time explaining what the lab does,
and why, and how he feels about it.
“At some level, if you look at history, wars have been minimized by
nuclear weapons,” he said. “I’m one of the people who believes
there’s a lot of validity in being strong. Through strength, you can
control your destiny.”

PAN-DIASPORAN EDUCATIONAL FORUM TO BE HELD IN ANTELIAS ON AUGUST 5-7
YEREVAN, August 4 (Noyan Tapan). The pan-Diasporan educational forum
will be held in Antelias on August 5-7 with the support of Catholicos
of the Great Cilician House Aram I. The forum will be dedicated to
problems of education in Armenian spirit. Hrach Tadevosian, Chief of
the Diaspora Department of the RA Ministry of Education and Science,
told NT’s correspondent that about 70 delegates will participate in
the forum from the different colonies of the Diaspora.
Levon Ananian, Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Armenian, is already
in Lebanon with the purpose of participation in the forum from
Armenia. According to Hrach Tadevosian, the issue of other
participants will be specified today.
According to Hrach Tadevosian, issues put before the gymnasias of the
Diaspora will be discussed during the forum, a number of issues
available in the colonies will be also discussed. “The problems of the
education of the Armenian children are exposed to danger, and the
number of Armenian students decreased in the colonies in general,
which worries everybody. I think this issue should be first of all put
to the agenda of the forum,” stressed H. Tadevosian. The Chief of the
Department, speaking about the issue of the closing of the Melgonian
Gymnasia, mentioned that though the decision on the closing of the
gymnasia has already been made, parents of the graduates and students
of the gymnasia carry out work in order that the educational
establishment having 78-year history will continue serving the
Armenian Community.

ARMENIAN CHESS-PLAYERS AMONG LEADERS IN EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
HELD IN TURKEY
YEREVAN, August 3 (Noyan Tapan). 670 young chess-players from
different countries of the world participate in European Junior
Championship held in the Turkish city of Urgup. 14 Armenian
chess-players are among them, they perform in all five age
groups. Robert Aghasarian and Khachatur Yeranian successfully perform
in the 10-year group. They earned four points each after four rounds.
12-year-old Areg Arakelian earned 3.5 points. Five Armenian
chess-players earned three points each and lead the tournament table
in their age groups. Five rounds are left until the end of the
championship.

RA PRIME MINISTER AND NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF IRAN TO ARMENIA
EMPHASIZE IMPORTANCE OF TREATY ON CONSTRUCTION OF IRAN-ARMENIA GAS
PIPELINE CONCLUDED IN MAY
YEREVAN, August 2 (Noyan Tapan). Armenia attaches great importance to
bilateral relations with Iran, as well as the widening of multilateral
relations. Contacts on high level and mutual visits contribute to it
essentially. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian said about it on
July 30, receiving newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Iran to Armenia Ali Reza Haqiqian. Congratulating
the Ambassador with the beginning of his diplomatic mission, Andranik
Margarian, in particular, expressed hope that the tradition of the
successful Armenian-Iranian relations will also continue in the period
of his tenure in Armenia. The sides stressed the importance of the
visit of President Mohammed Khatami to Armenia scheduled for September
8-9, 2004. According to the RA government’s press service, Andranik
Margarian and Ali Reza Haqiqian stressed that multilateral cooperation
between Iran and Armenia meets the interests of the two peoples, as
well as it is advantageous for the region on the whole. The Ambassador
of Iran emphasized that both the peace in the region and
intra-political stability and the economic development of neighboring
Armenia is of great importance to his country. The interlocutors
stressed the great importance of, in particular, the signing of the
treaty on the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, the joint
construction of the Kajaran tunnel and an HPP on the Arax river. They
highly estimated the work of the 4th joint sitting of the
Inter-Governmental Economic Commission held in Tehran on December
9-11, 2002, and the importance of the documents signed at the sitting.
Andranik Margarian wished the new Ambassador every success in his
mission in Armenia and promised to contribute to his work.

BBC News, UK
Aug 1 2004
Iraqi Christians’ long history

Iraq’s Christians comprise many rites
Christians have inhabited what is modern day Iraq for some two
thousand years, tracing their ancestry to ancient Mesopotamia and
surrounding lands.
Theirs is a long and complex history.
Before the Gulf War in 1991, they numbered about one million, but
that figures is now put at 650,000 and falling.
Under Saddam Hussein, in overwhelmingly Muslim Iraq, some Christians
rose to the top, notably the Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, and
the Baathist regime kept a lid on anti-Christian violence.
Biblical city
In the wake of the 1991 Gulf War and the imposition of sanctions,
many Iraqi Christians, who had lived in relative harmony with their
Muslim neighbours for decades, left to join family in the West.
The secular government of Saddam Hussein largely suppressed
anti-Christian attacks, but it also subjected some communities to its
“relocation programmes”.
For Christians this was particularly marked in the oil-rich areas,
where the authorities tried to create Arab majorities near the
strategic oilfields.
Christians live in the capital, Baghdad, and are also concentrated in
the northern cities of Kirkuk, Irbil and Mosul – once a major
Mesopotamian trading hub known as Nineveh in the Bible.
Most Iraqi Christians are Chaldeans, Eastern-rite Catholics who are
autonomous from Rome but who recognise the Pope’s authority.
Chaldeans are an ancient people, many of whom still speak Aramaic,
the language of Jesus.
Monasteries
The other significant community are Assyrians, the descendants of the
ancient empires of Assyria and Babylonia.
After their empires collapsed in the 6th and 7th Centuries BC, the
Assyrians scattered across the Middle East.
They embraced Christianity in the 1st Century AD, with their Ancient
Church of the East believed to be the oldest in Iraq.
Assyrians also belong to the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Chaldean
Church, and various Protestant denominations.
When Iraq became independent in 1932, the Iraqi military carried out
large-scale massacres of the Assyrians in retaliation for their
collaboration with Britain, the former colonial power.
Their villages were destroyed, and churches and monasteries torn
down.
In recent years, however, some places of worship were rebuilt.
Other ancient Churches include Syrian Catholics, Armenian Orthodox
and Armenian Catholic Christians, who fled from massacres in Turkey
in the early 20th Century.
There are also small Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities,
as well as Anglicans and Evangelicals.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 30 2004
Opposition party’s protest actions not sanctioned
Mayor’s Office of Baku has not sanctioned the protest actions of the
opposition Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (WAPFP) scheduled to
be held outside the embassies of NATO member-states in Baku,
ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
The party chairman, MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev says the issue will be
considered at the WAPFP board meeting on Monday.
The WAPFP plans to hold up to 10 pickets starting August 2 in protest
against the participation of Armenian officers in NATO training
sessions due in Baku in September.*

Maltamedia Daily News, Malta
July 30 2004
Women’s team to fight for bronze medal in Promotion Cup
By MM Sports

Malta will be playing for the bronze medal in the FIBA European
Promotion Cup for Women which is being held in Andorra.
On Thursday, Malta managed to beat Scotland 57-39. The Maltese won
the four sessions 16-15, 13-8, 12-9 and 16-7.
This win gave Malta the right to play in the qualifying phase for the
2006 Commonwealth Games to be held in Melbourne. The qualifying phase
will be held next year in the form of a triangular tournament between
Malta, England and the best placed team between Cyprus and Scotland
in this year’s Promotion Cup. The two best placed teams in the
qualifying phase will earn the right to play in the final phase to be
held in Melbourne in March 2006.
On Friday, the Maltese team was again in action but this time, Malta
was on the losing end as Iceland won 84-58. The top scorers for Malta
were Josephine Grima 18, Sandra Schembri Wismayer 16 and Dorianne
Galea 10.
This was the first loss during the Santino Coppa reign as coach, the
first one in two years. The Icelandic players found the Maltese on a
very bad day collectively especially in the first two sessions. The
Maltese performance improved in the second half but the contest
proved to be more than over.
Malta will now meet Armenia on Saturday in the match for the bronze
medal. But no matter the result, Malta is surely to obtain its best
ever placing in the Promotion Cup.

AGGREGATE ASSETS OF ARMENIA’S BANKING SYSTEM DECREASED TO 310.9 MLN
DRAMS IN SECOND QUARTER OF 2004
YEREVAN, JULY 28. ARMINFO. Aggregate assets of Armenia’s banking
system decreased by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2004, totaling 310.9
mln drams. The press-service of the Armenian CB told ARMINFO that it
was accounted for by a decline in the investments in other securities
by 81.4%, which totaled 3.4 bln drams on July 1, 2004. Besides, other
assets decreased by 14.6% in the quarter under review, totaling 2.6
bln drams. Demands to banks and other financial orgnaizations also
decreased by 14%, totaling 28.3 bln drams. In the structure of assets,
a 15.4% and 10.2% growth was registered in the crediting of natural
persons and legal entities, which made up 41.7 bln drams and 70.9 bln
drams respectively. A 7.6% growth was registered in investments in
state securities (36.3 bln drams), a 6.8% growth in correspondent
accounts at banks (63.4 bln drams), a 5.3% growth on the calculated
interests (1.9 bln drams).
In the second quarter of 2004 in the crediting portfolio, a 23.4%
growth was registered in investments in the sphere of transport and
communications (crediting totaling 1.02 bln drams on June 30), a 7.7%
growth in the trade sector (24.9 bln drams), 7.4% (8.9 bln drams)in
the agricultural sphere, a 12.3% (32.9 bln drams) in the financial
sector, a 18% growth (32,9 bln drams) in the volume of consumer
credits. At the same time, a 4.7% decline was registered in the
construction sector (5.1 bln drams).
Credits and receivables classified on risk groups decreased by 1.3% in
the second quarter of 2004, totaling 213.3 bln drams. As a result, on
June 30, “standard” credits totaled 97.7% or 208.5 bln drams,
“controlled” credits – 1.4% or 2.9 bln drams, “nonstandard” credits –
0.7% or 1.5 bln drams and “doubtful” credits – 0.2% or 379.9 mln
drams. In the quarter under review, some decline was fixed on all the
groups, with the most significant being on “doubtful” credits (64.7%).
According to the ranking of Armenian’s commercial banks drawn up by
ARMINFO news agency, in the first half of 2004 the general assets of
13 commercial banks increased, the highest growth was fixed on 3
banks, including Artsakhbank (40%). As to the remaining 6 banks, their
assets decreased, with one bank showing the lowest indicator (37.6%).
According to data of the Armenian CB, by June 30, 2004, 20 banks and
221 branches operated in the territory of Armenia, with one operating
in the special administrative regime of the Armenian CB. The results
of the activity of the country’s banking system were summed up on July
1, 2004 on the basis of data of 19 normally operating commercial
banks.

Le Télégramme
28 juillet 2004
Jazz à Vannes démarre en fanfare
Le festival de jazz semble vouloir mettre le paquet pour fêter ses 25
ans.
Le festival de jazz semble vouloir mettre le paquet pour fêter ses 25
ans.
La soirée de lundi a été superbe sur la place de l’Hôtel de ville,
avec notamment le groupe Captain Mercier qui a fait longuement danser
le public venu nombreux. La fête s’est finie tard dans la nuit, sur
le port avec les fanfares. La première soirée à l’Hôtel de Limur hier
était consacrée au blues, avec la prestation du grand Buddy Guy. Ce
soir, place au prodige arménien Tigran Hamasyan et un hommage à
Claude Nougaro qui promet d’être émouvant.
La 25 e édition de Jazz à Vannes est bien partie pour être
inoubliable.

Times of India
July 27 2004
You ain’t well? Suffer and die
SHIVANI SINGH & AMIT MUKHERJEE
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2004 08:55:08 PM ]

NEW DELHI: Here is a shocking nugget of information: in terms of
public spending on health, India ranks 171st out of 175 countries for
which data is available in Human Development Report 2004.
In contrast, it ranks an impressive 18th in terms of private spending
on health. It is hardly surprising then that the doctor ki dukan is
thriving. Nor should it be a secret any longer why the poor have not
bought the argument that reforms are about pulling public money out
of unproductive investments and deploying it in the social sector.
Public spending on health in India is a mere 0.9 per cent of the GDP.
There are only four countries – Nigeria, Indonesia, Sudan and Myanmar
— which spend less. In China, with which India is often compared,
the government spends two per cent of GDP on health and even Nepal
(1.5%) and Bangladesh (1.6%) spend more on health. Only Pakistan (1%)
in this region does almost as badly as India.
The picture is quite different when it comes to private spending on
health. Only in 17 countries does private expenditure as a percentage
of GDP exceed the 4.2 per cent figure for India. Those who spend more
than Indian include the US, Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil, Kenya,
Cambodia, El Salvador, Armenia, Bosnia and Cyprus.