Author: Nadirian Emma

Council of Europe, Europe’s oldest political organization, seeking to
redefine its role at Warsaw summit

AP Worldstream
May 15, 2005

JAN SLIVA

The Council of Europe will seek to redefine its role in the face of an
ever-widening enlargement of the European Union when government
leaders and heads of state meet here at a two-day summit starting
Monday.

With democracy and the rule of law firmly established in the 25-member
EU and improving rapidly in the countries waiting at its doorstep, the
continent’s first pan-European political organization now acts mostly
as a human rights watchdog.

But with the European Union planning to establish its own human rights
agency, the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe is asking
political leaders to clarify its mandate.

“There must be no double standards, no new dividing lines in
Europe. The European Union should not duplicate our work but use the
experience, institutions and instruments of the Council of Europe,”
said Rene van den Linden, chairman of the Council’s Parliamentary
Assembly.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among
the 46 leaders _ each representing a Council of Europe member state _
taking part in the summit at Warsaw’s Royal Castle.

France will be represented by Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, a
replacement for Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who canceled his
attendance due to illness; Britain is sending Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is attending for
Russia.

The Council of Europe was created in 1949 _ originally to oversee the
democratization of western Europe after the end of World War II and to
standardize member states’ social and legal practices.

It is still the only European body where former Soviet countries such
as Moldova or Azerbaijan can be heard, and is best known for working
to expose breaches of civil liberties and ensuring that international
human rights treaties are being adhered to across the continent.

However, the EU is planning to launch a human rights agency of its own
by 2007 by expanding the mandate of its anti-racism center.

The Vienna-based European Monitoring Center of Racism and Xenophobia
keeps track of some human rights abuses, and the new agency would have
a wider role and make recommendations on how to protect and promote
human rights.

But with another body, the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe, also partly fulfilling that role, the Council of Europe is
worried its own role will be diminished.

“There’s a lot of overlapping,” Council of Europe Secretary General
Terry Davis told journalists recently. “We need to establish who does
what.”

Also on the summit’s agenda will be the massive backlog of cases at
the European Court of Human Rights, which is directly supervised by
the Council, and the signing of three new treaties on fighting
terrorism and human trafficking.

The treaty on the prevention of terrorism calls on all European
countries to stop terror groups from recruiting new members, to
improve extradition and mutual assistance arrangements, and to ensure
that victims of terrorist attacks receive government compensation.

A second treaty on the financing of terrorism urges member states to
curb money laundering and ensure quick access to information on assets
held by criminal organizations, including terrorist groups.

The third treaty aims to combat human trafficking and ensure the
protection of victims’ rights.

“With these conventions, we are better armed to fight the evils of
human trafficking and terrorism across Europe,” Davis said. “I call on
all our member and observer states to sign and ratify them … in
order to ensure their speedy entry into force. We cannot wait for more
victims of terrorism and trafficking.”

On the sidelines, the leaders of Turkey and Armenia are expected to
discuss efforts to promote dialogue between the neighboring nations,
which do not have diplomatic relations.

The two countries sharply disagree over the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks during World War I, which Armenians say was genocide.

Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian also is expected to meet with
Azeri President Ilkham Aliev to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Gamblers (Les Mauvais Joueurs)

Screendaily
Grant Rosenberg in Paris
May 9, 2005

Director: Frederic Balekdjian
Country: France
Year: 2005
85 mins.

Taking place entirely in a garment district of Paris, Gamblers is a French
Mean Streets, a messy, gratifying film about life in an ethnically-mixed
neighbourhood and the art of making a living however one can. The first
feature by the promising Frederic Balekdjian, it makes for an assured,
exciting drama with an eye for big themes and small details.

It has already had little trouble finding a small but committed French
audience and, depending on the marketing and release pattern, could have a
strong international showing as well – possibly along the lines of Stephen
Frears’ similar big city exploration of illegals and working-class
minorities in Dirty Pretty Things.

The at-times brutal story is anchored by Vahe (Elbe), a thirtysomething
Frenchman of Armenian descent working for his father’s failing rug shop and
surrounding himself with his brother and other small time hustlers as well
as modest, hardworking people just trying to get by. His Chinese girlfriend
has just moved out of his apartment, and despite – or because of – his
heartbreak, he takes her illegal immigrant brother under his wing while
trying to get her back.

With its comprehensive understanding of the Sentier neighbourhood it
explores, Gamblers is both a cool gangster movie and a wise study of human
nature, an update-of-sorts of the tragic, streetwise French classics by
Jacques Becker and Jean-Pierre Melville.

Though perhaps featuring one too many drunken brawls, the screenplay has
many smartly written scenes that shift back and forth between drama and
light-heartedness, all in the same moment. At a slender 85 minutes, a little
more time spent delving further into the lives of several supporting
characters would have been welcomed.

Regardless, this film is the type of engaging drama that pleases high-brow
critics and average filmgoers alike; those attracted to realistic,
way-of-life movies that are at once bleak and exciting, where guns are drawn
by people who know how to use them, and also by those who don’t.

At the same time, the film dramatises the demographic shifting of one
neighbourhood in transition, as is it moves from Armenian to Chinese.

In the spirit of the aforementioned Mean Streets as well as Do The Right
Thing, Gamblers succeeds because it presents in an entertaining and
compelling way several days in the lives of complicated, interesting
characters of one neighbourhood.

Like the young Vito Corleone scenes in The Godfather, Part II, Balekdjian
convincingly shows the symbiotic relationships on the merchant-heavy streets
as well as the politics and power brokering that go on in a societal
microcosm.

All the actors are strong, bringing an authenticity to their characters that
do justice to their difficult lives. Simon Akarian (The Truth About Charlie,
Ararat) stands out as the film’s heavy. And lead actor Pascal Elbe shows
great promise, with a tender charisma that belies his character’s hardened
appearance. The kinetic cinematography bolsters the film’s intensity, with
handheld cameras that get at the intimacy of the characters, giving an
almost documentary feel to its street scenes.

Similarly, Balekdjian’s judicious use of mostly American rock n’ roll
(including popular new bands like TV On The Radio), perfectly complement the
visuals.

Prod cos: Pyramide Prods, France 3 Cinema
Int’l sales: Pyramide Int’l
Fr dist: Pyramide Distribution
Exec prod: Laurent Champoussin
Prod: Fabienne Vonier
Scr: Frederic Balekdjian
Cine: Pierre Milon
Ed: Mike Fromentin
Prod des: Catherine Keller
Main cast: Pascal Elbe, Simon Abkarian, Isaac Sharry, Linh-Dan Pham, Teng
Fei Xiang

So, which Samuelian will tout freeway?
by Bill McEwen THE FRESNO BEE

Fresno Bee (California)
May 5, 2005, Thursday FINAL EDITION

Now that lobbyist Steve Samuelian is being paid to whisper in Gov.
Schwarzenegger’s ear about Freeway 99 for two months, it would be
nice to know what taxpayers will get for their $4,000.

Will it be Samuelian the First, who built a reputation as a savvy,
hardworking public servant until he got lost on his way to the
Farm Bureau?

Samuelian the Second, the butt of jokes about getting lost on the
way to the Farm Bureau?

Or Samuelian the Third, who spent two years in the state Assembly
being ignored?

I’m hoping it’s Samuelian the First, because overtaxed, underfunded
Freeway 99 isn’t getting smoother, wider or safer, and might benefit
from conversion to an interstate.

Samuelian the Second is of little interest to me — although he could
raise his stock by admitting to cruising an area known for hookers
two years ago instead of sticking to that story about being lost.

The man has a right to make a living, and heaven knows Fresno has
forgiven and forgotten much worse.

But I fear that the agency responsible for planning Fresno’s
transportation system has hired Samuelian the Third. That would be
the guy who disappeared in the Assembly.

Fresno Mayor Alan Autry cited Samuelian’s contacts while touting him
to the Council of Fresno County Governments last week.

If Samuelian has juice in the capital, his record doesn’t show it. He
introduced 23 pieces of legislation; six were approved.

Two named stretches of Freeway 99 for law enforcement officers
killed in the line of duty. The others added laid-off local and
state firefighters to a state hiring list, provided oversight of
veterans benefits, created a Hmong-American Veterans Memorial Day
and recognized the contributions of Sikh Americans to California.

None of those accomplishments suggests that Samuelian carries weight.
In fact, Schwarzenegger vetoed a Samuelian bill last year that would
have guaranteed $120,000 a year for a volunteer firefighter awards
program.

Reality is, Autry — with his higher profile and established
relationships in Sacramento — is more likely to sway the governor
than Samuelian, who isn’t even popular among fellow Republicans.

Maybe it will be Samuelian’s job to write up talking points, massage
the concerns of in- terstate foes and arrange a meeting between Autry
and Schwarzenegger. Samuelian will have to walk a careful line because
he is barred by law from lobbying the Legislature until December.

This is certain: Samuelian has put himself into a no-lose situation.
If Schwarzenegger supports the interstate effort, Samuelian enhances
his reputation as a Sacramento in- sider. If the governor doesn’t,
Samuelian can use the excuse that it takes more than 60 days to move
an Austrian oak.

Samuelian also has lobbying contracts with several small Fresno County
cities trying to attract business and the governor’s attention. Those
are tall orders for someone who failed to persuade colleagues to
support a resolution asking Congress to designate April 24, 2004,
a day of remembrance for the Armenian genocide.

The columnist can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6632.

Bush ignores the tragic price of silence on genocide
By ROSE RUSSELL

Toledo Blade, OH
May 7 2005

THIS year marks at least a few milestones that stand as stains on
recent world history.

It is the 90th anniversary of the genocide of at least 1.5 million
Armenians.

It is the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World
War II, during which 6 million Jews were killed.

It is the 11th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, where nearly
1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon told some 20,000 at Auschwitz in Poland to “always remember
the victims and never forget the murderers.”

He added, “I am certain that all my colleagues – world leaders –
remember how the world stood by in silence. Do not let them forget –
remember the silence of the world.”

His remarks are applicable to anyone who suspects the systematic
murder of a people. The same sentiment was relayed in March when Sen.
Jon S. Corzine (D., N.J.) – cosponsor of the Darfur Accountability
Act with Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) – spoke about Darfur on the
Senate floor.

” ‘Never again’ is the rallying cry for all who believe that mankind
must speak out against genocide,” he said. “Man’s horrific treatment
of his fellow man cannot be tolerated. We have no right to stand by
while human life is being taken.”

The measure calls for world involvement to stop the crisis in Sudan,
where more than 180,000 been killed, and at least 2 million are
displaced.

The conflict started in early 2003 when rebels began an open revolt
that centers on Arabs who oppose non-Arab blacks, nomads against
farmers, but also Muslims against Muslims.

Yet despite calls to denounce this tragedy, the silence is deafening
in this country. Meanwhile, the U.N. secretary general may want to
send an international peacekeeping force to Sudan; some European
Union nations support a stronger EU role in the region; Canada is
discussing sending 100 military advisors to Darfur and increasing
its $56 million monetary aid by another $70 million, and Japan is
considering sending food and medicine.

Although the Bush Administration planned during the next two years
to spend nearly $1.8 billion for reconstruction, development, and
humanitarian aid in Sudan, it has had little regard for the bipartisan
Darfur Accountability Act.

The bipartisan measure had passed the Senate but did not survive as an
amendment in the final version of the Iraq-Afghanistan Supplemental
Appropriations bill Tuesday night. House Republicans and the White
House opposed the bill, which would have mandated freezing assets
and sanctions against those responsible for the genocide.

An April 30 edition of the Mail and Guardian, Africa’s first online
newspaper, helps explain Washington’s tepid response to calls for
decisive action in Sudan, when it reported “Sudan’s Islamist regime,
once shunned by Washington for providing a haven for Osama bin Laden
as well as for human rights abuses during decades of civil war, has
become an ally in the Bush Administration’s ‘war on terror.’ Only
months after the U.S. accused Kartoum of carrying out genocide in
Darfur, Sudan has become a crucial intelligence asset to the CIA. In
the Middle East and Africa, Sudan’s agents have penetrated networks
that would not normally be accessible to America, one former U.S.
intelligence official told the Guardian.”

Apparently, then, the Bush White House’s perspective on the issue is,
well, if it’s convenient for the administration.

Today, Azerbaijan
May 6 2005

Heike Talvitie: “European Union considers it very important to solve
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict soon”

06 May 2005 [16:00] – Today.Az

“European Union considers it very important to solve the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict soon. The problems around this conflict present
obstacle for the development of the Southern Caucasus.”

These were told by special representative of European Union Heike
Talvitie who is on a visit in Armenia in the press conference in
Yerevan.

He stressed the importance of continuation of the negotiations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the level of Foreign Ministers.
According to H.Talvitie that plays a great role in the process of
negotiations: “OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen can’t achieve any results
without the dialogue between the sides”.

URL:

FEDERATION EURO-ARMENIENNE
pour la Justice et la Démocratie
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel: +32 2 732 70 26
Tel/Fax: +32 2 732 70 27
Email : [email protected]

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
pour diffusion immédiate
5 mail 2005
Contact :Talline Tachdjian
Tel/Fax :+32 2 732 70 27

LA PENALISATION DE LA NEGATION DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN EN JEU EN BELGIQUE

— L’évocation du projet de loi de la Chambre demandée in extremis par 15
sénateurs devrait permettre l’examen de l’amendement Roelants du Vivier
étendant la pénalisation du négationnisme au génocide arménien —

Bruxelles, Belgique РLe S̩nat belge ̩voquera finalement le projet de loi
n°1284 votée par la Chambre le 21 avril dernier et modifiant la loi du 23
mars 1995 tendant à réprimer la négation, la minimisation, la justification
ou l’approbation du génocide commis par le régime national-socialiste
allemand pendant la seconde guerre mondiale.

La Fédération Euro-Arménienne rappelle que la modification de cette loi
avait été inscrite à l’ordre du jour par le gouvernement fédéral afin de
mettre le droit belge en conformité avec le protocole additionnel du Conseil
de l’Europe sur la cybercriminalité, protocole signé par la Belgique le 28
janvier 2003.

Ce protocole prévoit d’étendre la qualification de délit à la négation de
génocides ou de crimes contre l’Humanité reconnus « par tout tribunal
international établi par des instruments internationaux pertinents et dont
la juridiction a été reconnue » par les Etats signataires. Cette définition,
transcrite dans un sens restrictif par le projet de loi n°1284 exclut de
facto le génocide des Arméniens qui est survenu avant la mise en place de
telles juridictions internationales et qu’il a précisément inspirées.

Le vote de la Chambre a provoqué un grand émoi dans les milieux associatifs
et dans les milieux arméniens, notamment en raison des attaques violentes de
négationnistes notoires dont certains sont des élus belges d’origine turque.
Plusieurs associations de Droits de l’Homme et des personnalités belges ont
alors interpellé le Sénat pour qu’il se saisisse de ce projet de loi dans le
délai imparti qui échoit le 9 mai.

La Fédération Euro-Arménienne a pour sa part fourni un dossier argumenté et
des propositions d’amendements aux sénateurs. Elle a par la suite examiné
avec des experts juridiques du Sénat les implications de leur adoption.

Confrontés à cette large mobilisation, quinze sénateurs de l’opposition (3
CDH, 2 Ecolo, 9 CD&V et 1 indépendant) ont demandé dans la soirée du 4 mai
« l’évocation » (l’examen) de ce projet de loi. Cette procédure devrait
permettre le vote d’un amendement préparé par ailleurs par M. Roelants du
Vivier (MR-FDF) et prévoyant la pénalisation de génocides ou de crimes
contre l’humanité, « tels que définis par le droit international et reconnus
comme tels par une décision passée en force de chose jugée de tout tribunal
international dont la juridiction a été reconnue par la Belgique, par le
Conseil de Sécurité ou l’Assemblée générale de l’Organisation des Nations
Unies, par le Parlement européen, par une loi d’un Etat membre de l’Union
européenne ou par une décision passée en force de chose jugée d’une
juridiction belge ou d’un autre Etat membre de l’Union européenne. »

Cette définition inclurait notamment le génocide des Arméniens qui est
reconnu à la fois par le Parlement européen et par la loi française.

Cependant, le lobby négationniste turc, incarné notamment par l’Association
Belge pour la Pensée d’Ataturk (BADD), a effectué d’énormes pressions
contraires sur le Sénat de sorte que l’issue de l’évocation par le Sénat
reste incertaine. Ainsi, les sénateurs PS, membres de la majorité
gouvernementale, ne se sont pour l’instant pas associés à cette évocation
tandis que les élus turcs du MR et du CDH, s’estimant victimes d’une «
chasse aux sorcières » prévoient de se réunir le mardi 10 mai,
vraisemblablement pour débattre de la conduite à tenir.

« Le combat en cours ne vise pas une minorité ou une communauté mais une
idéologie inacceptable dans nos démocraties européennes : le négationnisme n
‘est pas une opinion, c’est la continuation du crime de génocide » a indiqué
Laurent Leylekian, directeur de la Fédération Euro-Arménienne.

« En l’état, le projet de la Chambre tombe à côté de son objectif en
excluant de son champ d’application l’un des négationnismes les plus
virulents qui soient, celui du génocide des Arméniens. L’évocation de ce
projet et l’examen par le Sénat de l’amendement de M. Roelants du Viver
mettent donc en jeu la crédibilité et la sincérité de l’engagement de la
Belgique à lutter, non pas contre des négationnismes théoriques, mais contre
un authentique négationnisme combattant. » a poursuivi Laurent Leylekian.

« En la matière, il appartient aux élus de montrer avec courage la force de
nos démocraties et non pas de couvrir les agissements de groupuscules
négationnistes sous contrôle de puissances étrangères » a conclu le
directeur de la Fédération Euro-Arménienne.

####

–Boundary_(ID_LCksZzb0xETZt7mAADMbOw)–

Abused killer gets four years
By Lana Yadgari

Manchester Evening News, UK
May 5 2005

A MOTHER of three who stabbed her violent husband to death and then
set fire to his body has been jailed four years.

Lana Yadgari, 32, lost control and killed her husband after he
forced her into the family car and drove to a secluded spot where he
threatened to kill her.

A judge at Manchester Crown Court accepted the Armenian-born mum
had been the victim of domestic abuse and posed “no danger to the
public”. But he said she must face a prison term.

The court heard that Yadgari had been diagnosed by psychiatrists as
suffering from the effects of domestic abuse.

Her counsel, Rock Tansey QC, said the couple married in 1990 and her
husband became violent the following year after the birth of their
first child.

They came to Britain in 2002 and began living in Northridge Road,
Blackley, Manchester. But he continued to abuse her and finally beat
her so badly she spent she spent nine days in hospital just weeks
before his death.

On the day of the killing, last October, her husband forced her into
his car and drove to a secluded spot. During the journey she spotted a
knife and a petrol container in the car and, believing she was going
to be murdered, fought back.

Wrestled

The court heard that although Yadgari could not remember everything
that happened, she admitted struggling with her husband and setting
him alight after he was doused in petrol.

Prosecutor Michael Shorrock said Yadgari’s husband tried to put out
the flames by rolling around on a grass verge, then he threatened her
with the knife. But she wrestled it off him and stabbed him 19 times.

The court heard that Yadgari got a taxi home and the body was found
after the fire brigade was alerted by a bus driver who saw the blazing
car. At first, Yadgari told police she had not seen her husband for
several weeks, but later admitted the killing.

Yadgari denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the ground of
diminished responsibility.

Mr Justice Cooke said that although he accepted Yadgari suffered
from domestic abuse when she killed her husband, the offence was so
serious she had go to jail.

He said: “You represent no danger to the public but the circumstances
show you killed your husband in a brutal fashion.”

Yadgari will now have to spend another 17 months in jail before she
can be paroled.

The sentence was condemned by women’s rights campaigners. Jill Page,
of Justice For Women, said: “Lana suffered violence over many years
and was defending herself. I don’t think she deserves to go to prison.”

Azeri and Turkish parliaments to fight with Armenian propaganda

Today, Azerbaijan
May 5 2005

05 May 2005 [20:01] – Today.Az

The Azerbaijani parliament and the Great National Assembly of Turkey
held a joint struggle to unmask the “Armenian genocide” worldwide`,
Arif Rahimzade, the Azerbaijani Vice Speaker, stated in a meeting
with the Turkish parliamentarians, Emin Shahin and Husseyn Mumtaz,
Trend repots.

Rahimzade underlined the importance of further development of the
Azerbaijani-Turkish relationships. He also noted that the importance
of increasing efforts of the Azerbaijani and Turkish parliaments
in fighting with Armenian policy directed at the recognition of the
so-called ‘Armenian genocide’.

In his turn Tuyrkish MP Emin Sherin underlined the role of unshakeable
relationships between the two fraternal nations and the significance of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline in the consolidation
of the Azerbaijani-Turkish relationships.

“The Azerbaijani parliament revealed a number of facts unmasking the
Armenian policy. Uniting the efforts we should resist and unmask the
Armenian propaganda,” Sherin underlined.

He also noted that returning to Turkey he will put forward the issue
at the Great National Assembly.

URL:

GEORGIA READY TO NEUTRALIZE ‘GROUPS ENGAGED IN ANTI-GEORGIAN PROPAGANDA’ IN AKHALKALAKI

AZG Armenian Daily #081, 05/05/2005

Neighbors

Irakli Okruashvili, Georgian defense minister, informed ITAR Tass
that his country is ready to neutralize “the groups engaged in the
anti-Georgian propaganda in Akhalkalaki.” “The Georgian government
will not stand the idea of another hotbed of separatism and will do
everything to secure with jobs all the residents of the region after
the withdrawal of the Russian military forces,” the Liberty Radio
cited Okruashvili.

It~Rs worth mentioning that Okruashvili made this statement about the
Akhalkalaki Armenians in the context of the conversation about the
efficiency of the Georgian army.” By the end of this year Georgia will
have its strongest army ever for the last 8 centuries. The current
authorities pay great attention to the establishment of the army,
they have greatly increased the budget allocations for the army,
while the servicemen are being educated according to the highest
contemporary criteria,” he said.

After the meeting of the high-ranking Georgian and Russian officials,
Georgian foreign minister informed BBC that the withdrawal of the
Russian military stations from Akhalkalaki and Batumi will begin
in late 2005 and complete in 2008. Both Okruashvili and Salome
Zurabishvili stated that the Akhalkalaki Armenians who are in the
Russian Army will be given jobs. Saakashvili also stated that the
Armenians of the region will not be unemployed.

FORMER OWNERS OF DALMA ORCHARDS APPLY TO YEREVAN MAYOR FOR SANCTIONED RALLY

AZG Armenian Daily #081, 05/05/2005

Concern

Larisa Alaverdian, RA ombudswoman, called to publish the name of Edik
Simonian, illegal owner of Dalma Orchards, in her annual report. They
purchased the land in an illegal auction without informing the former
owners. Thus, 27 families of freedom fighters and disabled in Karabakh
war are deprived of the only source for earning their living. Even
the fact that they applied to RA ombudswoman doesn’t help to restore
their violated rights. PM Andranik Margarian also strictly criticized
the fact and promised the former owners to settle the issue. But still
these poor families are being threatened by the representatives of Edik
Simonian. Moreover, Simonian instituted a suit against disabled Samvel
Markosian and next Friday the case will be investigated at the court.

The people losing any hope protest either in front of the Yerevan
Municipality or in front to the government building and the
Presidential Residence.

The former owners applied to the Yerevan Municipality for a sanctioned
procession.

It’s worth mentioning that Dalma Orchards is a unique territory
where rare sorts of wine and other trees grow. Many animals included
in the Red Book live in this territory.

Here, the Dalma and Etchmiadzin water supply systems that have
preserved since the times of Urartu and are 3000 years old are
in this territory. Dalma Orchards, rich in ecological and ethnic
valuable samples can be turned into an open-air museum, instead of
making that an area for unauthorized construction.

By Karine Danielian