Author: Lilit Nahapetian

AZERBAIJANI INTELLIGENTSIA READY TO NEGOTIATE WITH ARMENIANS

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 30 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. S.Ilhamgizi / Azerbaijani intelligentsia
demonstrated readiness to negotiate with Armenians by visiting Armenia
and the occupied Nagorno Karabakh, Kamal Abdulla, the Rector of the
Baku Slavonic University, said to Trend agency.

The Armenian Prime Minister Serj Sarkisan stated that Armenia apart
the Azerbaijani Government is ready for negotiations between the
countries. According to Sarkisan, only the Azerbaijani Ambassador to
Russia Polad Bulbuloglu has courage in the negotiation process.

Abdulla said that Sarkisan made such statements in order to confuse
world community again.

"Azerbaijani intelligentsia would not visit Armenia if the Azerbaijani
Government escapes peace negotiations. As a representatives of
Azerbaijan, we intelligentsia, visited Khankandi and Yerevan, and
held a range of negotiations with Armenian officials. Sarkisan making
such statements attempts to form negative opinion about Azerbaijan,"
Abdulla said.

Azerbaijani and Armenian intelligentsias should continue negotiations.

The chairman of the Azerbaijani Intelligentsia Movement Eldaniz Guliyev
said to Trend agency that the negotiations between Azerbaijani and
Armenian intelligentsias should be continued.

"If the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments cannot settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh then population should associate," Guliyev said.

YOUTH VISIT JAVAKHK

Panorama.am
22:44 30/10/2007

In recent days, a delegation led by Youth and Sport vice-minister
Artur Poghosyan made a visit to Javakhk.

The delegation consisted of university youth advisors, representatives
from social organizations, and singers.

During an interview with a Panorama.am journalist, Lilit Grigoryan,
of the organizing committee, said, "The purpose of the visit was to
strengthen Armenian cultural life in Javakhk, and to integrate the
cultures of Javakhk and Armenia."

During the course of the visit, a group of youth volunteers cleaned
the area south of the Holy Cross church of Akhalkalak, as well as
holding a round table discussion with area youth.

We note that the delegation met with Akhalkalak authorities, visited
Armenian schools, where literary works were gifted.

PKK’S COOPERATION WITH THE GREEKS
Ali Kulebi, [email protected]

Turkish Daily News
Monday, September 10, 2007

A possible withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Cyprus will
not only facilitate the goals of imperialist Western nations, but
it will also jeopardize the future of our kinsmen and strengthen PKK
terrorists on the island.

European Union is a union that always gives importance to human
rights. But ironically, one of two EU member states, Greek Cyprus, is
basically founded by so-called leaders with acknowledged backgrounds in
terrorism. The other one is Greece, whose spoiled acts and support of
terrorism ironically do not disturb the so-called Western civilization
either. This is the Greece that surpassed European states in practicing
double-standards, injustice and atrocities by prohibiting our kinsmen
living in Western Trace to be called ‘Turk’ and establishing their
own associations under the name ‘Turk’ in spite of the decisions
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and appointing Muftis
(religious leaders) from Athens forcibly and not letting the Turks
to choose their own Muftis.

Our relations with Greeks and Greek Cypriots, who are protected
by hypocritical West, are managed despite their hostile efforts to
collaborate with the Armenians to spread libelous and false news and
engage in defamation campaigns.

Hypocritical Western world cannot answer this issue, which best
exemplifies its injustices: "Why could Czech and Slovak communities,
which are very similar in terms of ethnicity, religion, language,
history and culture, secede from Czechoslovakia in one night and
this was welcomed. Or why Yugoslavia was allowed to split into seven
peoples and seven republics, while two hostile societies [in Cyprus],
which do not have any relations and do not have any common aspects
in terms of ethnicity, religion, culture and history, are tried to
be hold together forcibly?"

What are the goals of Western nations in this compulsion? Hypocritical
Western states have to explain why they disregard the support of
Greece and Greek Cyprus for terrorism, while they always express
their disapproval of terrorism.

As a matter of fact, it would be naïve to expect those, mostly NATO
member EU nations, which support the terrorism of the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) militarily, politically and economically in
various degrees, to condemn Greece and Greek Cyprus about such support.

Greece’s support for the PKK:

It is obvious that the PKK is supported by Greece, considering the
PKK’s historical development with major support from Greece. Greece
has always intended to damage Turkey in every way and seize a portion
of our land as a part of its ‘great idea’, "Megali Idea".

To this end, Greece initially helped the establishment and assistance
of ASALA, the Armenian Terror Organization, with the agony she
experienced after our 1974 Peace Operation in Cyprus. Following our
state’s strike against ASALA, Greece changed her tactics and started
to play its cards on Kurds.

In this context, first it initiated the "Lavrion Camp" near
Athens. Ayfer Kaya with the code name Rozarin, who was responsible for
military training at the Lavrion Refugee Camp that was once used to
treat foreign refugees, told in an interview with the Time Magazine
that Kurdish young men coming to the camp receive military training
under the auspices of Greek officers. They are then they sent to
Turkey for terrorist activities.

It was known that until the 1990s, Lavrion was one of PKK’s most
important training bases along with Bekaa Valley. Those activities
in Lavrion, which is still known to function, are continuing right
in front of the secret services of our so-called NATO allies.

This point, and the fact that our allies are trying to take advantage
of the PKK card for their intentions about Turkey, is more obvious
when the origins of the guns captured from the PKK are considered.

It is an acknowledged fact, that Lavrion and the support given to the
PKK is a national policy of Greece and it is backed by every Greek
government and the deputies of PASOK, DIKKI and the YDP.

Following developments and information about the PKK’s active presence
in Greece as a result of Greeks’ and Greeks Cypriot’s vengeance pursuit
for their defeat in 1974 are presented in various media agencies:

Stelyos Papathemelis, who was a member of the Greek Parliament, was a
PASOK member who nourished and directed ASALA’s and PKK’s activities
against Turkey.

In 1978-1979, he joined and represented his party in the conventions
organized by ASALA in various European countries, and made speeches
such as: "Turks are enemies of all of us. They only understand
violence, so their blood has to be shed in order to bring them to
their knees." During his two terms of Public Order Ministry in the
PASOK government, Papathemelis supported terrorism against Turkey
in Greek Cyprus. In October 29, 1994, while Turks in northern Cyprus
were celebrating their "Republic Day Festival", Public Order Minister
of Greece came to the island and participated in a convention in
Lefkoşa (Nicosia). In the convention, he got together with
representatives of the PKK, ASALA and a Greek terrorist organization
functioning in Cyprus under the name of "Committee of Solidarity
with Kurdistan". In the convention, the future terrorist activities
in Turkey for the year 1995 were discussed and decisions were made.

Another person who was helping the terrorist activities of the PKK was
a PASOK politician Panayotis Sguridis, who was the vice president for
the president of the Greek Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis. He was
a fan of terrorist chief Abdullah Ocalan, who killed 35,000 innocent
people. Sguridis paid countless visits to PKK camps in Syria and
Lebanon and met Ocalan there.

Among the other Greek politicians who supported the PKK terrorist
organization, were PASOK deputy Dimitrios Vunatsos, Greek Parliament
President Apostos Kaklamanis, ex-Minister of Education Dimitrios
Arsenis, ex-Minister of National Defense Tsohazopoulos, ex-Minister of
Foreign Affairs Pangalos. During the first term of the Prime Minister
Andreas Papandreou, PKK’s activities in Greece, which used to be an
important educational and logistical base for the PKK, were moved to
Greek Cyprus as a result of pressure from Turkey and reactions from the
world. As Greek Cyprus started to reach some of it goals in accessing
the EU in the mid-1990s, it got encouraged and intensified the support
for the PKK that it once gave to ASALA as a so-called state policy,
in accord with hostility toward Turkey and the goal of capturing the
whole island to itself.

In this context:

· In 1990, offices of Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK)
and Kurdish Democratic People’s Unions (YDK) opened in Lefkoşa.

· Following this, Kurdistan Culture Association Office was opened
in Limassol.

· Trodos, Mashera and Stavrovoru terrorist camps were built in order
to train PKK members and send them to Turkey to commit terrorist
activities. The camp in Trodos was built on the land that belongs to
the Greek National Church.

· Moreover, two offices in Limasol and Lefkoşa that belonged
directly to PKK were opened with special help from Cypriot Greeks.

· It was confirmed that in the March of 1996 Greek Orthodox Church
invited the head terrorist Ocalan to city of Baf (Paphos) and gave
him a significant amount of money.

· It was known that in 1990s, the PKK was smuggling arms over Lazkiye
Harbor while trafficking drugs to Europe through Greek Cyprus.

· It is was also known that Greek Cyprus was a first stop for the
guns that the PKK acquired from several countries. The allegations
about transportation of the arms that the PKK purchased from Russia,
which included $7 million-worth of guns and 8 SAM-7 ground-to-air
anti-aircraft missiles, by a Greek Cypriot flagged ship called Nissos
to Greek Cyprus and then to the PKK over Syria exemplify this point.

· There are more allegations that Greek Cyprus carried out those
activities more secretly after its accession to the EU.

· It is known that in the early 2000s, about 500 PKK militants took
shelter in Greek Cyprus and took payment from the Greek Cypriots
under the name of social assistance.

· It is known that institutes and terrorists of PKK extensions received
support from European and Greek Non-governmental Organizations (NGO)
and in addition to this, the Greek Administration supported those
extensions in terms of material and political assistance.

· In line with Greek Cypriot National Policy, the Democratic Center
Union Party’s (EDEK) and Greek Communist Party’s (AKEL) common policy
was that "Turkey is the common enemy of the Kurds and Greeks" and
therefore the PKK should be supported in every way. This particular
point shapes the Greek-PKK relations.

· It is known that wounded PKK terrorists in our southern borders
were most of the times treated in Greek Cypriot hospitals.

· The most solid example of Greek’s hostile policies against Turkey is
the fact that when terrorist Abdullah Ocalan was apprehended in Kenya
on February 16, 1999, he had a Greek Cypriot passport arranged in
the name of Lazaros Mavros, who was a columnist in the Fileleftheros
Newspaper, published in Greek Cyprus, and the head terrorist is taken
from the Embassy of Greece in Kenya.

· It is rather meaningful that right after this incident,
Representatives House of the Greek Cyprus has taken decisions
that condemned the arrest of the head terrorist and declared the
continuation for the support given to the PKK.

It is obvious that enemies of Turks, who clearly have common goals
about Turkey, are going to take advantage of Greek Cyprus, which is in
a strategically important location because of its proximity to Turkey,
Syria and the Middle East. This is important because as the PKK cannot
continue its activities in Syria and Lebanon freely it will use the
island as a base thanks to special efforts and support from the Greeks.

Escalation of PKK Activities in KKTC

It is especially attention attracting that since the gates opened in
Cyprus on April 23, 2003, Greek agents and PKK elements, who can freely
enter northern Cyprus, increased their terrorism serving activities in
northern Cyprus. It is also striking that PKK-related associations and
institutes in Greek Cyprus have increased their propaganda aimed for
Kurdish-descendant students and citizens in northern Cyprus and have
started to provide those students with financial assistance. The PKK
militants among the Kurdish construction workers on both sides of the
island have intensified PKK propaganda and recruitment efforts under
the Greek Administration’s watch and support, facilitated by the free
passage through the borders and the present indifferent policies of
the northern Cyprus administration. Another important point is that
all anti-Turkish activities in the world are controlled and directed
from Greece, and PKK militants take their orders from their so-called
commanders in Greece.

Efforts for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the island

The common and most important aim of PKK militants and some similar
groups in northern Cyprus and Greek Cypriots as well is the ‘withdrawal
of the Turkish troops from the island’.

Our kinsmen in Cyprus are intensely propagated, and they are tried to
be deceived about this issue by false and very unfair news. However,
there is a historical fact that has to be remembered: the massacres
Greek Cypriots committed against our kinsmen in 1963 and in 1967,
which were performed according to the Akritas Plan. However, the
Turkish Armed Forces saved our kinsmen from almost being totally
massacred in 1974 after a Greek coup, which was a part of a second
plan called Ifestos. Therefore, it is necessary to mention that a
possible withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the island will not
only facilitate the goals of imperialist Western nations, but it will
also jeopardize the future of our kinsmen and will help to strengthen
the presence of PKK terrorists on the island.

–Boundary_(ID_hHiTiGJVbRzZrlF3k3HMIQ)–

START OF EXTENSIONS
Armen Tsaturyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily Newspaper
23 Aug 2007
Armenia

"Fresh Blood" Transfused to Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party

The only revelation in Armenia’s internal political life during
the summer holidays is the preliminary agreement on the unification
of Samvel Babayan’s "Dashink" union and Albert Bazeyan’s "National
Renaissance" party with Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party.

In our view this process will somehow contribute to the extension of
Armenian political parties and the future clarification of Armenian
political domain. De-idealization and internal exhaustion processes
faced by almost all the subjects in the political domain jeopardize
the reputation of politics and political activity.

The ended parliamentary elections displayed that the pro-opposition
parties that have chosen this path simply scatter the few votes given
to them by the people.

The political experience of the three united parties displays that
their choice of joining Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party is properly
calculated.

But for the difficulties faced by Ramkavar Liberal Party recently,
as a traditional party, together with sister party functioning in
Armenia (Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party), they have rich history,
clear ideology and traditions. There is no need to start from zero or
‘invent a bicycle" for strengthening such party structures. Simply
as any organism parties having rich history also need to transfuse
"fresh blood".

After all the traditional thesis of Ramkavar Liberal Party to
synchronize liberalization with national values can theoretically
"cover" an important sector of the political domain. But practically
to put into effect this thesis Armenian Liberal Ramkavar party has
always been in need of a skillful independent individual with an
experience gained from Armenia and Artsakh.

So it is quite comprehensible why the party functioning in Diaspora
improves the step taken by its sister Armenian Liberal Ramkavar
Party. Thus the party can strengthen their noticeably distorted
position both in Armenia and Diaspora, recover their national-patriotic
image. And only Samvel Babayan’s character is enough to give national
coloring to the liberal image of Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party.

In his turn, Albert Bazeyan with his image of an irreconcilable
pro-opposition figure can give inexorability to the party that is
traditionally considered "soft power". It comes out that with the
unification with "Dashink" union and "National Renaissance" party
Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party indents to fill those two gaps.

The leaders of the parties that unified with Armenian Liberal Ramkavar
Party in their turn get the opportunity to have a new role in Armenia’s
political domain, appearing as the representatives of a traditional
party famous for its pan-Armenian coverage. This means the number
and, why not, the financial means of this extended political unit
will definitely grow.

Thus regardless of the political stance adopted by the innovated and
strengthened Armenian Liberal Ramkavar Party towards the forthcoming
political elections, other participants of the political game can’t
ignore such a party.

In our view the present attempt of strengthening Armenian Liberal
Ramkavar party can serve as an example for other parties functioning
in Armenia that have recently started to think about making bigger
parties, for unifying and becoming serious political factors.

AN INTERVIEW WITH HRAG YEDALIAN
By Khatchig Mouradian

Yerkir
August 4, 2007

The Director of ‘The People’s Advocate’ Talks about his Debut Film

Criminal defense and civil rights attorney Charles R. Garry is
associated with numerous high profile cases in the ’60s, making him
one of the leading attorneys of the 20th century. In his career, which
abruptly came to an end when one of his clients, Rev. Jim Jones, led
900 of his followers to mass suicide, Garry defended Black Panther
Party chairman Bobby Seale and the anti-Vietnam war activists known
as the Oakland 7, among others. He died in 1991, at the age of 82.

In his autobiography Seize the Time Bobby Seale wrote, "We don’t
know every detail of Charles’ life, but we can see that he is a
man who is dedicated to the survival and the existence of the right
to self-determination of human beings. We need a lot more history
on Charles R. Garry so we can understand what motivates a man to be
such a defender of the people’s human rights." In the documentary The
People’s Advocate: The Life and Times of Charles R. Garry, director
Hrag Yedalian attempts to find out what motivated the Armenian-born
Garry (Garabedian) to embark on that road.

Yedalian studies film at the American Film Institute Conservatory. The
people’s advocate is his first documentary. In this phone-interview,
conducted on July 30, he said, "[Garry’s] opening and closing
statements often include reference to his own people."

K.M.–Why did you decide to do a documentary on Charles Garry?

H.Y.–I was this young person trying to get involved with different
causes and all of that was pretty much motivated by my origin,
by the fact that my grandfather was a survivor of the genocide. I
wanted to take that motivation and channel it in a positive way. And
quite frankly, I was born in the U.S, I grew up in the U.S., I went
to school here. It’s pretty important for me to get involved with
what’s going on here. Charles Garry’s story was fascinating for a
number of reasons. Despite the fact that he was probably one of the
most sought after civil rights attorneys during the ’60s, here was
this guy of Armenian descent, and he was defending all these people
who were seen as the poster boys and girls for the "Revolution." I
wanted to look into the story but most importantly, I want to use
the story as an example.

As an AYF member, I used to interact with literally dozens if not
hundreds of youth my age, and I wanted them to see that in addition
to Genocide recognition, there are so many profound issues that
affect us. I felt that Garry’s example would serve as a positive
influence. Garry was an individual of Armenian descent who went out
of his way, became an attorney and defended human rights.

I’m sure Garry has been criticized for changing his name, etc. I’m sure
Armenians of the time felt that he wasn’t "Armenian enough." But if you
look into his trial transcripts of any of the Panther cases, or any of
the anti-Vietnam war cases, his opening and closing statements often
include reference to his own people. When defending the oppressed,
his essential argument for the jury was: These people are being
oppressed, segregated in this country today. Throughout history,
we’ve seen what has happened to, for example, the Armenian people,
and we can’t allow our government to be oppressive in the same ways
that other governments have been in the past. And that was his main
thrust, that was the central focus, and he understood it. So addition
to being an Armenian who was discriminated against in the Fresno area,
he lived through the Depression, he knew how difficult it is for the
poor to get by in the U.S.

So it was the dynamic of all this that attracted me to his story and
I really wanted to present it to the public in general and people my
age in particular.

K.M.–Talk about the sources you used.

H.Y.–At Berkley, I took this history class titled "Rethinking the
Sixties." The purpose of the class was to work on a substantial paper
that dealt with any topic of the ’60s. After the first class I was
already thinking of Charles Garry. I approached the Professor and
told him that I’m very interested in writing about Garry, but because
there isn’t a lot of printed material I want to go and interview
people. After she gave me the OK, I called Roxanne and asked for
her advice. She e-mailed me the contact information of people she
had spoken to and interacted with, and that’s where it started. I
started talking to people.

Roxanne had the benefit of dealing directly with Garry. I never had
that benefit because Gary passed away in 1991. So I had to tell a
story about Gary without Gary, basically. Obviously the best way to
do that was to interview the people who were closest to him. So if you
see the interviewee list, it includes everyone from, let’s say, Bobby
Seal, the co-founder of the Panthers, to his longtime girlfriend,
to his two brothers, who both passed away since. So you have all
this oral testimony that’s actually quite fascinating. I wanted to
intentionally make a film that was not the duplicate of Roxanne’s
film. At the end, I wanted for someone who was really interested in
Garry to get different pieces from each of the movies.

The only interviewee that appears in both is Bobby Seal.

In addition to that, the main sources come from the archival footage
that I found from local television stations in San Francisco. That’s
where the gold was. I think I’ve used archival footage from at least
six or seven sources if not more. Also, an important part of the film
was Garry’s legal documents; they are all at UC Berkley and I spent
a few months going through them. There are copies of paperwork and
legal files that I was fortunate enough to obtain and go over. So it’s
really the mix of four or five different types of sources in the film.

K.M.–Can you tell us briefly about your background? You mentioned
your work in the AYF, but give us a more general background, your
education, etc.

H.Y.–Well I went to two Armenian private schools. After I graduated
from high school, what I really wanted to do was get firmly involved in
the political process. During high school and after, I was involved
with local political campaigns here in Los Angeles to get people
registered to vote. I was fortunate enough to be a part of that
process. And as I got more and more immersed, I decided to sort of
take a different route. I got interested in organizational work, in
international human rights work, and I wanted to go to law school so
that I could try to do similar things. Garry’s a good example of what
civil rights/human rights attorneys can do with their careers. After
graduating Berkley, I started law school. I registered at UCLA Law, but
a few weeks into it, because I was so involved with this documentary,
I decided that it wasn’t the route to go. So I left law school for
film school, and that’s sort of the route that I’ve decided on at
this point–making films and hopefully trying to influence a few
people through that work.

K.M.–So you’re still studying?

H.Y.–I’m still studying, yes. I’m going to start my second year
in September.

K.M.–Let’s talk about the people you interviewed. Can you tell us how
you made the selection, and about your experiences with interviewees
like Howard Zinn?

H.Y.–To be in my position and to talk to these people was sort of an
unreal experience because most of them are people who have influenced
history. To have the privilege to talk to these people was a big deal
for me.

You mentioned Howard Zinn. I’ll start with him. I’ve always been
fascinated with his work, and I called him and told him that I was
looking for a narrator for a film on Garry and whether he would
be interested.

Immediately, without hesitation–and I was actually shocked by it–he
said he would definitely be interested in doing that.

I caught him at a very busy time in his life. He was going across
the country, and if he was to do the narration, he would have had
to spend a lot of time writing it. So we agreed to take a different
route: He would be in the film, and he would provide the historic
context. So, for example, when we’re talking about the anti-communist
hunts during the 1950’s or the Vietnam War, he provides a brief
context. There are four Panthers in the movie. There’s Bobby Seal,
who was an obvious choice, and the other three are very interesting
and important choices. One has to realize that although Charles Garry
was defending Bobby Seal or others in court, he wasn’t constantly
interacting with them because these were men in prison. He would visit
them but he wasn’t interacting with them on a constant basis. He was
interacting with the other people involved in the party. In fact, he
was probably closest to David Hilliard, who was the chief of staff of
the Panther Party. David talks about this on the phone. He and Charles
Garry, they were partners during the late ’60s. They would go around
college campuses and David would represent the party, and Garry would
talk about the legal aspects. And they would literally go on tours
and raise money for these causes and talk about these cases. And then
there is Ericka Huggins, who is an extremely sensitive person and truly
admired Garry. I also interviewed Kathleen Cleaver because she knew the
party inside and out, and she was very active with the first Panther
trial. In addition to knowing Garry pretty well, she provides the
historic background to most of these cases. Most of the interviewees
were incredibly generous in lending their time and support to the film.

K.M.–Talk about Garry’s brothers, Harvey and Haig Garabedian.

H.Y.–Actually, the first interview I conducted was with both of the
brothers in 2003. They were living in Fresno and I called them up,
and we basically developed this friendship, and they would talk
literally for hours.

They definitely didn’t know the details about, let’s say, his
involvement with the Panthers, or his decision to take on this case
or that case. They didn’t know any of that. What they did know, was
about their roots, what Garry was going through as a child growing
up in Fresno… That was the most important part.

Unfortunately, the brothers never saw my film. In fact, I don’t
think Garry ever saw the final cut of Roxanne’s film, so it’s pretty
unfortunate actually.

STANDARD MECHANISMS OF TOBACCO ADDICTION TREATMENT TO BE WORKED OUT IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 05 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 5, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia recently presented the first
national report on implementation of the World Health Organization’s
Frame Concention on Fight against Smoking, which took effect
in the country in 2005. Alexandr Bazarchian, coordinator of the
Antismoking Program of the RA Ministry of Health, told this to NT
correspondent. According to him, the report contains respective
legislative amendments, as well as information about the work
implemented and to be done.

He said that in particular, cigarette advertising will gradually
stop in the next 5 years, while starting from 2008, the warning
about danger of smoking to human health will cover no less than 30%
of packs of cigarettes produced in Armenia. Besides, the report
contains statistical data on tobacco addiction in Armenia. According
to this data, 28.5% of the country’s population are smokers. 60% of
men and 2.7% of women are smokers. In 1998, these indices made 31%,
63% and 1.5% respectively.

The difference in the number of smoker and non-smoker women in Yerevan
and marzes is quite big. In Yerevan, smokers make up 5% among women
aged 25-34, 6% among women aged 35-44, and 9% – among women aged 55-64,
while in Armenian marzes these indices make 0.5%, 1.5% and 3%.

A. Bazarchian said that it is envisaged to work out standard mechanisms
of tobacco addiction treatment in the country. New registration forms
will be used at hospitals with the aim of determining the impact of
smoking on such diseases as lung cancer and heart attack. That is,
in registering a new case of the above mentioned diseases, it must be
indicated in the form if the given patient is a smoker or non-smoker,
how long he/she has been a smoker, etc.

BOOK REVIEW: HISTORIES OF TWO FAMILIES COLLIDE IN ‘ISTANBUL’
By Kevin O’Kelly

Boston Globe, MA
Feb 27 2007

The Bastard of Istanbul, By Elif Shafak, Viking, 357 pp

Asya Kazanci, the title character in "The Bastard of Istanbul," is
19, headstrong, and sick of her family. Too bad she lives with them:
her mother Zeliha, the sexy, brassy owner of a tattoo parlor; her aunt
Banu, a psychic who mixes belief in folk magic with Islamic piety; her
aunt Cevriye, a humorless teacher of Turkish history who’s a walking
fountain of nationalist propaganda; her grandmother, Gulsum , who’s
perpetually furious at Zeliha’s failure to be anything approaching a
good Muslim; her great-grandmother, Petite-Ma , who’s succumbing to
Alzheimer’s; and lastly her aunt Feride, who’s . . .

well, just plain nuts.

With the bohemian regulars at a local bar and the music of Johnny
Cash , Asya takes refuge from her rage at being illegitimate and her
frustrations with her family.

Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian lives in Arizona and San Francisco. She’s
21, headstrong, and sick of her family. Her over protective mother
Rose is a native Kentuckian who lives in Tucson. Her good-natured
father Barsam Tchakhmakhchian is an Armenian-American who lives in
San Francisco. If Rose had her way, Armanoush (whom she calls Amy)
would never be out of her sight. If Barsam’s mother and sisters had
their heart’s desire, Armanoush would never have anything to do with
her odan (that’s Armenian for outsider) mother again. In the meantime,
the best they can do is fight over her, smother her with attention,
and (on the Armenian side of the family) push her to find a man.

Armanoush spends time online in an Armenian-American chatroom and
reads novels to find refuge from her identity conflicts and her
frustrations with her family.

Asya and Armanoush have something else in common besides difficult
families and angst: a family member. Around the time Asya was born, her
uncle Mustafa went to Arizona for college, where he met Rose shortly
after her divorce from Armanoush’s father. And they got married —
Rose knowing full well one of the best ways to horrify her Armenian
ex-in-laws would be to get involved with a Turk.

And when Armanoush has had enough — of her mother, of her father’s
family, and of not knowing who she is — she decides she needs to get
away. And she needs to know what it means to be Armenian. And to do
that she needs to go to Istanbul, where her family lived before the
1915 massacre of Armenians by the Turks. So she writes to the Kazanci
family, introduces herself as Mustafa’s stepdaughter, and says she’s
flying to Istanbul and could she stay with them?

Armanoush’s visit is the tip of an emotional domino: and by the time
all the pieces have fallen, one after the other, we’ve learned how
the Kazanci and Tchakhmakhchian families are connected by the 1915
genocide and the identity of Asya’s father.

I don’t have enough space to describe everything I loved about this
book. The scenes in the Kazanci and Tchakhmakhchian households — the
family dynamics, the voices, the distinctive cultural atmospheres —
are nothing short of wonderful. "Bastard" is a great novel for female
characters — even the ones who make the briefest appearances are
rounded and whole. Reading the passages about them leaves you with
the sense of having eavesdropped on real people in their homes. But
this book is also a meditation on the importance and the burden of the
past — how to live with it and when to walk away from it. Above all,
"Bastard" is a novel about Istanbul, about loving a place until its
rhythms , smells , and colors are under your skin.

NUMBER OF ENTRANTS FOR SOME PROFESSIONS OF MIDDLE PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS NOT SURPASS 30-35% OF GIVEN PLACES
Noyan Tapan
Aug 16 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Entrance exams at 81 middle
professional and 287 vocational state educational institutions which
have started from July 20 will continue till late August. As Samvel
Pipoyan, the Chief of the Middle Professional and Vocational Education
Department of the RA Ministry of Education and Science informed
the Noyan Tapan correspondent, 2018 places for free education and
7000 places for paid education were given to the sphere of middle
professional education this year, and 2065 places for free education
were given to vocational education department. S.Pipoyan mentioned
that the number of entrants to some professions does not surpass
till now 30-35% of the envisaged total number. It was mentioned
that even free places were left vacant at some departments of music
and art education institutions. The Department Chief mentioned that
entrants do not take entrance exams for places of paid education at
middle professional educational institutions, besides departments of
medical and art professions.

Sydney MX (Australia)
May 4, 2006 Thursday
SYD Edition
TAKE IT ON DARCHINYAN
So good is Australia’s latest boxing import that his rivals are
running scared to higher weight divisions, as BEN BLASCHKE reports
Vic Darchinyan stands less than 167cm and smiles like an astronaut
in outer space, but walk into his left hand and there’s no doubt who
will be seeing stars.
The Armenian-born world champion is today’s version of the smiling
assassin – a lean, mean punching machine with a ruthless streak that
belies his otherwise amicable nature.
“I read the other day that I’m the hardest puncher pound for pound
and I love it,” he said this week in his best broken English.
“I know I can hit hard. It’s not (just) pleasure knocking people
out – I love it. I love entering the ring. I feel a bit sorry for
my opponent.
“The last one (Diosdado Gabi) – in one punch I broke his chin, one
punch knockout. It’s good.”
Did he have any contact with Gabi afterwards?
“No I didn’t have any contact with him,” Darchinyan said.
“The next day I saw him and his chin was already (indicates swollen
face) … I feel sorry for him, but what can I do? If I don’t punch
him he’ll punch me back.”
Clearly, Darchinyan – the IBF world flyweight champion makes no
apologies for the havoc he wreaks.
Unbeaten in 25 fights – 20 by knockout – he will be looking to add
to his already imposing record when he faces Mexican slugger Luis
Maldonado in Las Vegas next month. And he has the same fate planned
for the veteran Maldonado.
“He is undefeated and has 25 knockouts, but I know I will do the job
and I know I will knock him out,” Darchinyan said.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Kostya Tszyu, who
emigrated to Australia from Russia in 1991 and went on to unite the
belts in the junior welterweight division, Darchinyan is quickly
forging a fierce reputation in the name of his new homeland after
becoming Australia’s sole world champion two years ago.
Trained by three-time world champ Jeff Fenech, he has obliterated
all before him since returning permanently after the Sydney Olympics
and is already tipped to go down as one of the greatest of all Aussie
fighters.
“Without doubt he’s the best flyweight in the world right now and
soon he’ll unify the titles,” Fenech predicted, looking ahead to
potential bouts with WBA champ Lorenzo Parra and WBC holder Pongsaklek
Wonjongkam.
“He can punch up three or four weight divisions – he’s right up with
the best of them.”
Of more concern to Darchinyan is where to go from here.
A recent trip to Mexico to take on highly rated local Jorge Arce was
supposed to set him up for a run through the division, but instead
exposed Darchinyan’s greatest hurdle – fear.
“I challenged him, but he didn’t take my fight – he moved up a weight
division. He doesn’t want to fight me,” Darchinyan said.
“I don’t think people are running scared – I know they’re scared.
Why don’t they want to fight me?
I’m not the challenger, I am champion. They have to fight me to get
my belt, but they still won’t fight me.
“I’ll challenge (Arce) again and if he still doesn’t want to fight
me I’ll jump up too because no one wants to fight me in my weight
division.
“I want to go up, I want to show everyone I am strong – in any weight
division.”

USA BELIEVES IN DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN ARMENIA: STATE DEPARTMENT REP.
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA – “Novosty-Armenia”/. The USA believes in
the democratization process in Armenia, Deputy Assistant of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza told reporters.
“Armenia now is in the process of democratization. We believe in
this process, otherwise, we would not propose to include Armenia in
‘Millennium Challenge Account’ program,” he said.
According to him, as any other process, democratization requires
big work.
“Political will of the authorities is necessary to spread this idea
among the people,” Bryza said.
According to him, regular citizens should also take part in building
democracy through civil society and participation in elections.
“Political parties, including oppositional ones, should be active
and constructive,” Bryza said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress