Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Kuwait News Agency, Kuwait
Aug 18 2005
One Azeri soldier dies in mine blast
MIL-AZERBAIJAN-MINE-BLAST
One Azeri soldier dies in mine blast
BAKU, Aug 17 (KUNA) — An Azeri soldier was killed and another suffered
injuries in a landmine blast in a frontier region with neighboring
Armenia, the defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement said the incident occurred in the region of Tirtir,
adding that this region had witnessed a series of identical incidents
in the past, taking lives of troops and Azeri shepherds.
Separately, the ministry reported that Azeri Defense Minister Safar
Abiev, currently on a visit to Latvia, signed an agreement for military
cooperation between the two countries.
The accord stipulates exchange of information, expertise and
habilitation of cadets, in addition to cooperation in the military
technology and sciences. (end) nk.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES OUTGOING INDIAN AMBASSADOR
Armenpress
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Robert Kocharian
received today the outgoing Indian ambassador to Armenia Deepak Vohra
who ended his mission in Armenia.
During the meeting Kocharian pointed out the high level of the
Armenian-Indian cooperation and thanked the ambassador for his active
and effective work. On his part, the Indian ambassador said that in
early September Indian Vice President is expected to visit Armenia
and it will be an additional impetus for the development of bilateral
partnership.
He thanked the Armenian authorities for the support they displayed
during his mission in Armenia and pointed out that it was great honor
for him to work in Armenia where he gained many friends. He said he
will continue his diplomatic mission in Sudan.

LOCAL POPULATION CONCERNED OVER VISIT OF GEORGIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY
EMPLOYEES TO JAVAKHK
AKHALKALAK, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The employees of
the Foodstuffs Accumulation Department of the Ministry of Defence of
Georgia paid a visit to Akhalkalak on August 10-12. The purpose of the
visit was to reach preliminary agreements about purchasing foodstuffs
for the Georgian army from Javakhk. However, according to the agency
A-Info, the tour of the 20 employees of Georgia’s Defence Ministry in
4 cars about Akhalkalak caused concern among the local citizens. The
problem is that despite a proposal to set up an office on registration
of foogstuffs orders from the army employees (in the building of the
Akhalkalak regional administration), no practical meeting on this
issue was held. The report about the withdrawal of the equipment
from the Russian military bases, which was broadcast by the Georgian
television “Imedi”on August 10, also had a negative impact on the
population’s psychology. This report was immediately followed by the
announcement of the abovementioned visit of the Georgian servicemen
to Javakhk, which was interpreted by the Armenians of Javakhk as a
prelude to the process of replacing the Russian military bases with
the Georgian ones. Whereas, according to the local residents, the
presence of the Georgian army in Javakhk not only does not guarantee
their physical security but also may cause unnecessary problems. To
recap, the Georgian Defence Minister will soon pay a visit to Javakhk.

SWEDEN INTERESTED IN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IN TRANSCAUCASUS
YEREVAN, August 12. /ARKA/. Sweden is interested in conflict
settlement in the Transcaucasus, Lars Danielson Gunnar, State
Secretary of the Swedish Prime Minister’s Staff, stated at his meeting
with RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. In this context he stressed
the importance Sweden’s willingness to render political and economic
assistance to both parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in
reaching settlement agreements.
The sides pointed out the necessity of further cooperation, as well as
the importance of mutual visits. Oskanyan emphasized the importance of
Swedish assistance to Armenia in its integration into new neighborhood
policy of the European Union. He also pointed out successful
implementation of technical programs implemented and funded by the
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) since 1995. At the
guest’s instance Minister Oskanyan presented the programs of Armenia’s
cooperation with EU and NATO and addressed issues of Armenian-Turkish
relations. P.T. -0–

ARMENIAN FM MEETS WITH NEW HEAD OF UNDP ARMENIA OFFICE
YEREVAN, August 12. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has
held a meeting with the newly appointed Head of the UNDP Armenia
office Consuella Vidal Bruce. Minister Oskanyan congratulated
Consuella Vidal Bruce on the appointment and wished her success in her
mission. He pointed out that Armenia is actively involved in UN
programs and cooperates with various UN structures. Oskanyan pointed
out Armenia’s readiness to contribute to the establishment of
democracy, rule-of-law state and human rights protection. In her turn,
C. V. Bruce thanked Minister Oskanyan for a warm reception, pointing
out the effectiveness of UN programs being implemented in Armenia, as
well as the Armenian authorities’ assistance in this process.
C. V. Bruce was born in Peru, in 1959. She graduated from the
University of Sussex, England, and specialized in policy of
technologies. She speaks Spanish and English. From 2002 up to now she
has worked UN Deputy Resident Representative to Macedonia. P.T. -0–

Azeri police clash with pickets outside opposition party HQ
ANS TV, Baku
8 Aug 05
[Presenter] Another stand-off took place outside the headquarters of
the PFAP [People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party] today. Even blunt
objects were used in the confrontation. Several people on both sides
have been injured.
[Correspondent] Another stand-off took place outside the PFAP
headquarters today. The unauthorized action of protest staged by
representatives of several public organizations outside the PFAP
office condemning [recently arrested leader of the Yeni Fikir youth
movement] Ruslan Basirli’s establishment of secret cooperation with
Armenian secret services resulted in breach of public order.
The pickets, who initially gathered outside the Sahriyar culture
centre [central Baku] and proceeded towards the party headquarters
along Rasid Behbudov Street, were met by PFAP members at the
intersection of Rasid Behbudov and Xaqani streets. At first, the sides
chanted different slogans.
This, however, did not last long. The war of words quickly developed
into a war of plastic bottles and eggs. It was not long before the
sides started hurling stones at each other.
The attempts by the hugely outnumbered policemen of the Sabayil
district were initially in vain, but reinforcements were deployed in
the area quite soon, which prevented the sides from getting still
closer to each other.
But that was not easy at all. Since party members did not want to
return to their headquarters before the pickets have dispersed, a
minor scuffle took place between them and the police. Only one hour
later was the police able to restore order in the area.
Vahid Mammadli, Ibrahim Telmanoglu, ANS.
[Video showed one crowd of people holding placards condemning Ruslan
Basirli and another crowd chanting the name of the PFAP leader, Ali
Karimli; the crowds are separated by the police. The first crowd
chanted “Down with Ali Karimli!” and the other “Ali bay (form of
address) [Karimli]!”]

Hovnanian buys Florida homebuilder

By John Spence
MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:04 PM ET Aug. 8, 2005

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said Monday it
acquired the assets of First Home Builders of Florida for an
undisclosed amount of cash.
Hovnanian, based in Red Bank, N.J., said the purchase of the privately
held homebuilder will augment its presence in western Florida.
Last year, First Home Builders delivered 1,819 homes and revenue of
$308 million, Hovnanian said. At the end of July, the Cape Coral,
Fla., homebuilder had a backlog of about 4,350 homes with a sales
value of $925 million.
Last week, Hovnanian said it acquired nearly all the homebuilding
assets of Ohio-based Oster Homes.
Earlier in the year, Hovnanian also acquired two other privately held
homebuilders with operations in Florida: Cambridge Homes and Town &
Country Homes.
“We have targeted further investment in Florida because the regulatory
process in the state is lengthening, which is constricting the supply
of land available for homebuilding,” said Ara Hovnanian, chief
executive.
“At the same time, population growth and job growth in Florida are
creating sustained demand for new homes,” Hovnanian added.
The company said it anticipates the acquisition of First Home Builders
will add about 5 cents a share to fiscal 2005 earnings.
Shares of Hovnanian lost 5.5% to $62 on Monday.
John Spence is a reporter for MarketWatch in Boston.

Man convicted in alleged plot to kill Armenian leaders
AP Worldstream
Aug 06, 2005
A man accused of helping plot the assassination of several top Armenian
officials last year was convicted Saturday and received a five-year
suspended sentence.
Gagik Grigorian was found guilty of helping plan an abortive attempt to
kill the Caucasus Mountain nation’s prime minister, defense minister,
Constitutional Court chairman and other officials at a hunting lodge
last year.
Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of more than seven years,
but the court gave Grigorian a lighter sentence because they said he
acknowledged guilt, apologized and cooperated with investigators in
the former Soviet republic.
The man prosecutors say organized the alleged plot, former
Communications Minister Eduard Madatian, fled the country shortly
before the killings were supposed to have taken place and is said to
be living in Russia, where he has citizenship.
Prosecutors claim the alleged plotters planned to later kill President
Robert Kocharian.
Grigorian was arrested after an alleged co-conspirator, Misha
Khudaverdian, told authorities of the alleged plot. Khudaverdian,
who served as a witness in the trial, said Grigorian gave him money
to buy an anti-tank mine and detonator.
Politics are tense and occasionally violent in Armenia. In 1999,
the country was shocked by an attack in which gunmen burst into
parliament and killed the prime minister, parliament speaker and six
other officials and lawmakers.

Massaker an Armeniern wieder auf dem Lehrplan in Brandenburg
von Johannes Frewel
Agence France Presse — German
Freitag, 5. August 2005
Potsdam, 5. August
Wenn in Brandenburg in der kommenden Woche das neue Schuljahr
beginnt, werden die Schüler der 9. und 10. Klassen sich auch mit
einem Thema beschäftigen, dem ansonsten in deutschen Klassenzimmern
wenig Aufmerksamkeit zuteil wird: den Massakern der Türken an den
Armeniern, denen 1915 und 1916 zwischen 800.000 und 1,5 Millionen
Menschen zum Opfer gefallen waren. Brandenburg ist das einzige
Bundesland, das die von einem Großteil der internationalen
Öffentlichkeit als Völkermord eingestuften Massaker in den Lehrplan
aufgenommen hat – gemeinsam mit weiteren Genoziden wie jenen an den
Herero im früheren Deutsch-Süd-West-Afrika und den Tutsi in Ruanda.
Zu dieser salomonischen Lösung rang sich die Potsdamer
Landesregierung nach einer heftigen diplomatischen Schlingerfahrt
schließlich durch.
Eigentlich haben die Massaker im damaligen Osmanischen Reich schon
seit 2002 ihren Platz im Lehrplan der Brandenburger Schulen. Zu
verdanken war dies dem damaligen Bildungsminister Steffen Reiche
(SPD), der sich mit dem Schicksal der Armenier beschäftigt hatte.
Doch ausgerechnet kurz vor dem 90. Jahrestag des Völkermord in diesem
Frühjahr wies Ministerpräsident Matthias Platzeck (SPD) nach einer
Intervention des türkischen Botschafters Reiches Nachfolger Holger
Rupprecht (SPD) an, die beanstandete Stelle aus dem Lehrplan zu
nehmen – und löste damit eine Welle der Empörung aus.
Offiziell hatte sich die Kritik der Regierung in Ankara daran
entzündet, dass die Schüler an Brandenburgs Schulen neben dem
Holocaust lediglich das Schicksal der Armenier und sonst keinen
weiteren Völkermord im Unterricht behandeln. Anstatt den Lehrplan nun
in diesem Punkt zu ergänzen, schlug Platzeck den vermeintlich
leichteren Weg einer vollständigen Streichung der politisch
schwierigen Passage ein. Aufgeflogen war der klammheimliche
politische Kniefall des SPD-Politikers schließlich dadurch, dass die
entsprechende Passage auch in der Internetausgabe der Handreichung
für Lehrer plötzlich fehlte.
Nach einem Treffen mit der armenischen Botschafterin Karine Kazinian
und Vertretern der armenischen Gemeinde in Deutschland kündigte
Platzeck schließlich an, die Massaker gemeinsam mit weiteren
Völkermorden wieder in den Lehrplan aufzunehmen. Dazu verfasste das
Landesinstitut für Schule und Medien eine dicke Broschüre
“Völkermorde und staatliche Gewaltverbrechen im 20. Jahrhundert”. Dem
Völkermord an den Armeniern wird darin 18 Seiten und damit der
breiteste Raum zugebilligt. Thematisiert werden aber auch etwa die
Verbrechen Stalins oder der Roten Khmer im Kambodscha. Jeder
Geschichtslehrer kann frei entscheiden, welchen der aufgeführten
Völkermorde er seinen Schülern ergänzend zum Holocaust vermitteln
möchte.
Was Platzeck damals motiviert hatte, dem Drängen des türkischen
Botschafters nachzugeben, ist bis heute unklar. Seit mehr als zehn
Jahren gehört der gebürtige Potsdamer zu den Unterstützern eines
Wiederaufbaus der verfallenen Lepsius-Villa. Der evangelische Pfarrer
Johannes Lepsius hatte zahlreiche Armenier vor dem Tod gerettet und
den Völkermord, in den durch die Unterstützung türkischer Militärs
indirekt auch Deutschland verwickelt war, für die Nachwelt
dokumentiert. Sein ehemaliges Haus in Potsdam soll nun Heimstatt für
ein Dokumentationszentrum für den Genozid werden.
–Boundary_(ID_lQdVmRVDuqT3q5jQzC1TRw)–

Chessbase News, Germany
Aug 3 2005
“No scalp is too big” for Lobron’s belt
Chess Classic Mainz: Once again many world class players will play
the FiNet Chess960 and Ordix Open. Chess movies and children’s club.
By Hartmut Metz
(Translation Eric van Reem)
Once again, the Open tournaments during the Chess Classic Mainz (9-14
August) will be the strongest worldwide in their categories. The FiNet
Open in Chess960 (11-12 August) , in which the starting positions of
the pieces will be known only a few minutes before the start of the
game, is the only one of this sort worldwide on this level. One day
later the Ordix Open will start and once again many top players will
play their games in the Rheingoldhalle. The first 32 grandmasters
of the starting list have an average ELO of over 2600! Far more
than 100 FIDE title holders are expected to come to Mainz this
year. Almost all grandmasters who will play the traditional Ordix
Open will participate in the Chess960 Open tournament as well, with
a few exceptions: Ulf Andersson (Sweden) and the German grandmasters
Leonid Kritz and Raj Tischbierek. Two reasons can be found for the
fact that so many top players like to play both Open tournaments:
not only the price fund of 36.000 Euro, with many rating prices for
all classes, is very attractive, but Chess960 has been accepted by
most chess players nowadays.
Is there a player this year who can win both Open tournaments? The
winner would receive no less than 8000 Euro and has the opportunity
to challenge the winner of the Chess960 world championship match
between Zoltan Almasi and Peter Svidler next year. There is a
long list of favourites for both Opens. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu,
the European Champion, thinks that the highest rated player Levon
Aronian has excellent chances to win one of the tourneys this year:
“He played very well in Warsaw during the European Championship and
I was very impressed about his play in the play-off.” The Armenian,
who is now living in the Eastern part of Germany, is climbing higher
and higher on the rating list and has even entered the top 10 of the
world! Aronian, who does not like to invest too much time in opening
preparation, might therefore have an advantage in the Chess960
tournament and maybe he can repeat his victory of 2003. Last year
he could not defend his title because he played his Chess960 world
championship match against Peter Svidler, which he lost after some
exciting games with the narrowest margin. Two more spectacular players
are expected to play an important role in Mainz: Alexander Morozevich
(Russia) and Alexei Shirov (Spain). Last year, the Russian star almost
won the Ordix Open, while Shirov battled it out in a match against
Indian superstar Vishy Anand.
Some more prominent starters are Alexei Dreev (19), who has played
many times in the Chess Classic tournaments, Ivan Sokolov (20), who
is now living in the Netherlands, Teimur Radjabov (22) and Nisipeanu
(24). The European Champ will probably make a giant leap forward in
the next rating list and Radjabov, the former prodigy from Azerbaijan
who became grandmaster at age 14, is still regarded as a player who
can be the number 1 of the world in the near future. In Warsaw, the
number one of the junior rating list showed his enormous abilities
and ended on second place behind Nisipeanu, but one place ahead of
Aronian. So, the three medal winners from the European Championship
will all be present in Mainz this year!
But there are some more grandmasters that are able to win one of
the Open tournaments. Michael Krasenkov from Poland, a former top 10
player, is always playing well in Mainz, or the rapid chess specialist
Vadim Zvjaginsev from Russia. Not to forget the next Indian star
Penteala Harikrishna or the strong Armenian grandmasters Gabriel
Sargissian and Rafal Vaganjan. Artur Yussupov has another favourite,
a man who has often played in the Rheingoldhalle: ” I think Vadim
Milov has good chances this year”, the always modest European
champion in rapid chess says. Yussupov himself hopes to score +4,
which means that he would score 7,5 points out of 11 rounds in both
Open tournaments. With that score of 15 points he would have a fair
chance to win the combined competition, which is his main goal this
year. Jussupov will also be one of the live commentators during
the evening matches between Vishy Anand and Alexander Grischuk and
also between Peter Svidler and Zoltan Almasi, together with GM Eric
Lobron. They will entertain the audience with their commentary:
Yussupov, the modest and experienced former candidate for the world
title and the optimistic German GM from Wiesbaden, who entertains
his listeners with his comments. Lobron will also play in the Open
tournaments: “There is no clear favourite in Mainz. In the past years
you could see that it is possible for almost everybody to play at
the top, particularly in rapid chess and Chess960. And I am looking
forward to shock some of the higher rated top players, like I often
did in the past: no scalp is too big for my belt”, the self confident
ELO shocker Lobron says. Another German player who will have a good
portion of self confidence must be Arkadi Naiditsch, who unexpectedly
won the renowned chess tournament in Dortmund in July. Of course, the
young German hope for the future will play both tournaments in Mainz.
In Chess960 the advantage for players who do a lot of homework on
openings is reduced to a minimum. “Therefore I think that this variant
has good chances to become a serious alternative in the long run”,
Lobron explains. Therefore, it is not really necessary to train
Chess960 before the tournament. However, Alexandra Kosteniuk has
trained Chess960 positions and is looking forward to play the FiNet
Open. She likes the chess variant and enjoys playing Chess960. And
the prospect, not only for women but also for players in different
age categories to play a Chess960 world championship match next year,
will motivate all players in Mainz. Hans-Walter Schmitt, the chief
organiser of the Chess Classic Mainz, plans more Chess960 world
championship matches next year, to boost Chess960 even further.
Kosteniuk will not be the only beautiful and talented female chess
player in Mainz. World champion Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) ,
her Russian friend Natalia Zhukova, or the German number two, Ketino
Kachiani-Gersinska are also hot candidates. And let´s not forget
Viktorija Cmilyte (Latvia). Last year, the wife of Alexei Shirov
played two excellent tournaments in the Chess Classic. This year Maja
Chiburdanidze from Georgia, once the youngest world champion ever,
is expected to play an important role. She dominated women´s chess
in the eighties and early nineties.
The FiNet Chess960 Open and the Ordix Open are extremely attractive for
players and audience alike. However, in the evening, after the Opens,
more highlights are planned: the new number one of the rating list,
Vishy Anand faces his challenger Alexander Grischuk from Russia,
number 11 of the world. From August 11-14, every night at 18.30
and 20.00, they will play eight rapid chess games. The 21-year old
Russian earned this match for the Grenke Leasing Championship after
his impressive victories in the Ordix Open tournaments of 2003 and
2004, in which he did not lose a single game. Naturally, the players
involved do not really want to make a prognosis and therefore we have
to ask other players about their expectations. Peter Svidler thinks
that Anand is the clear favourite – “but I am convinced that the two
will play a highly interesting match”. European champion Nisipeanu
thinks that blitz games will bring the decision played after the 4-4
in the regular match. Yussupov expects Anand to win 5-3, and the other
commentator Eric Lobron thinks that Grischuk will have no chance at
all: he expects an clear 6-2 victory for the Indian star.
At the same time the FiNet Chess960 world championship match will
be played between Zoltan Almasi and Peter Svidler and the Russian
expects a tight match. “I have spoken to several players about
Almasi´s results in Chess960 last year and they were all impressed
by his play. Therefore I take my opponent seriously and expect a
difficult battle, in which it is impossible to say who has the best
chances. Some of his grandmaster colleagues think that Svidler has
good chances to defend his title: Lobron thinks that the 29 year old
Russian will win the match 5-3. Yussupov thinks that the from St.
Petersburg will win with a smaller margin: 4,5-3,5. However, Nisipeanu
thinks that the 28 year old Hungarian is able to win the match 4,5-3,5.
One of the highlights in Mainz this year is the Unzicker-Gala.
Schmitt wanted to organise a party for the 80-year old German
grandmaster from Munich and invited the illustrious guests Anatoly
Karpov, Viktor Korchnoi and Boris Spassky. The four legends will play
a double round robin on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 and 10 August. Other
heroes of the past will also be present at that time to celebrate,
like Lajos Portisch, Wolfgang Uhlmann and Vlastimil Hort. Not to
forget Lothar Schmid, who is not only known as a strong grandmaster,
but came to fame as referee in various matches of Bobby Fischer, like
the world championship in 1972 against Boris Spassky. Only recently
Schmid was elected as the “chess referee of the century”!
There are some more events in Mainz that will attract chess players
and audiences alike: Alexander Grischuk will play a simultaneous
exhibition on 40 boards on 10 August at 15.30. It is still possible
to get one of the boards for at least 50 Euro on
World champion Antoaneta Stefanova will play blitz games and if you are
interested, you can also go to the website to get more information. One
of the most interesting computer chess events of the past 10 years
will be played on 11 and 12 August. The Livingston Chess 960 computer
chess world championship with the best computer chess program of the
world, Shredder by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen, will set new standards. The
organisers Mark Vogelgesang and the Dutch computer chess expert Eric
van Reem expect that about 20 programs from all over the world will
come to Mainz. The tournament is a breakthrough for computerized
Chess960. The renowned Professor Ingo Althofer from the University
of Jena will act as tournament director.
Not only the chess events are important in Mainz, the organisers have
also improved several service facilities for participants and audience
alike. During the tournaments, parents can bring their children to the
Chess Classic Children’s corner, in which trained experts will keep
the kids busy. For sponsors, the “Gourmet Club” is a nice opportunity
to follow the games in an exclusive atmosphere with business partners,
and if people just want to relax a bit between the rounds, they can
watch one of the chess movies or documentaries in the Chess Classic
Cinema. However, watching the games of the Chess Classic Mainz 2005
“live” is definitely most exciting!
–Boundary_(ID_q7i8ioRM5DngNwMLAOKrpA)–