Author: Toneyan Mark

REDUCING POVERTY
A1 Plus | 13:43:40 | 24-11-2004 | Social |
Under UNO data, 42% of population in Armenia is poor. The extremely
poor make 17%. “We will sharply reduce the figure and then pass
on to the poor”, Ashot Esayan, Armenian Deputy Minister of Social
Welfare says.
>From November 24 to 26 the international seminar on “Consolidation
of Potential for Social Monitoring in CIS States: Strategic Programs
on Poverty Reduction and Millennium Development Goals” will be held in
“Marriott-Armenia” Hotel of Yerevan.
Representatives of both local and international organizations, UNO
various agencies, New York, Geneva, Bratislava Offices and experts from
Poland, Tanzania, Albania, Kazakhstan and other states partake in it.
The seminar organizer – UNDP aims to exchange the experience
accumulated in social monitoring sphere through participants.
Armenia has been passing the way for poverty reduction program for 1
year and established the system of social monitoring and analysis as
the “instrument of fast response”. “Since Armenia was the first to set
up the system CIS experts will study it within the 3-day-long seminar
“to apply some things in their own countries”, Ashot Esayan says.
Deputy Minister informed Government will expand the system to control
and coordinate the activity of central, district and commune state
agencies, which mainly run independently of one another.

AGGRESSIVE PETROSIAN SURPRISES BERKES
by Stan Rayan
The Hindu, India
November 22, 2004
He is named after one of the legends of the 64-square game. On Sunday,
Armenian Tigran Petrosian lived up to the name by stunning the boys’
top seed Ferenc Berkes in the World junior chess championship at the
Casino Hotel here.
The attacking 40-move victory, in Tarrasch Defence, gave the
fourth-seeded Petrosian the lead after the fourth round. With
four points, he has only India’s P. Harikrishna, the second seed,
for company.
“I was born just a month after the former world champion Tigran
Petrosian’s death. That’s how I got this name,” said the Armenian
Grandmaster. But unlike his famous namesake, he plays a very aggressive
game.
Playing black, Petrosian turned down the offer of a draw on the 23rd
move and triumphed with a powerful king-side attack. Hungarian Berkes
had lost the edge earlier with a pawn blunder on the 15th move.
Petrosian was very cautious about his chances against Harikrishna,
his next big rival. “To play Hari in India is very difficult. But
nothing is impossible,” he said.
Harikrishna, also playing black, was in fine nick today, winning
against Swede Hans Tikkanen comfortably in 40 moves of Bogo Indian.
Former Asian junior champion Deepan Chakravarthy was another impressive
Indian, surprising seventh-seeded Uzbek Grandmaster Timur Gareyev
with a lethal king-side attack.
While the boys’ section produced decisive results on all the top ten
boards, three of the top five boards in the girls section ended in
draws. Four players – Poland’s Joanna Madjan, China’s Zhang Jilin
and Woman GMs Elisabeth Paehtz (Germany) and Anna Ushenina (Ukraine)
were at the top of the pack after fourth round.
The results (fourth round, Indians unless stated):
Boys: Ferenc Berkes (Hun, 3 pts) lost to Tigran Petrosian (Arm, 4);
Hans Tikkanen (Swe, 3) lost to P. Harikrishna (4); Evgeny Alekseev
Vladimirovich (Rus, 3.5) bt Yunieski Quezada Perez (Cub, 2.5);
Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Pol, 3.5) bt Jianu Vlad-Cristian (Rom, 2.5);
Abhijeet Gupta (2.5) lost to Mark Paragua (Phi, 3.5); Zhe Quan
(Can, 2.5) lost to Erwin l’Ami (Ned, 3.5); Deepan Chakravarthy (3)
bt Timur Gareev (Uzb, 2); Artem Iljin (Rus, 3) bt Poobesh Anand (Ind,
2); Zhao Jun (Chn, 3) bt Lorin A. R. D’costa (Eng 2);
Koneru Humpy (3) bt Johannes Manyedi (RSA, 2); Stanislav Cifka (Cze,
2) lost to M. R. Venkatesh (3); David Smerdon (Aus, 3) bt C. V.
Balaji Raghuram (2); Jan Smeets (Ned) lost to Leandro Perdomo (Arg,
3); Elshan Moradiabadi (Ira, 2.5) bt G. N. Gopal (1.5); Deep Sengupta
(2.5) bt Anastasios Mihailidis (Gre, 1.5).
Girls: Joanna Majdan (Pol, 3.5) drew with Anna Ushenina (Ukr, 3.5);
Zhang Jilin (Chn, 3.5) bt N. Vinuthna (2.5); Alina Motoc (Rom, 2)
lost to Elisabeth Paehtz (Ger, 3.5); Ekaterina Korbut (Rus, 2.5)
drew with Siti Zulaikha (Mas, 2.5); J. E. Kavitha (2.5) drew with
Eesha Karavade (2.5); Aleksandra Mijovic (SCG, 2) lost to Anastasiya
Gutsko (Ukr, 3); Dana Aketayeva (Kaz, 3) bt Meenu Rajendran (2);
Tania Sachdev (2.5) bt Shaesteh Pour Ghader (Ira, 2); Marties Bensdorp
(Ned, 1.5) lost to Kruttika Nadig (2.5); Arlette Van Weersel (Ned,
2.5) bt I. Ramyakrishna (1.5); Koneru Chandra Hawsa (2.5) bt Nimmy
George (1.5); Paloma Gutierrez (Esp, 1.5) drew with C. Delphin (2);
N. Raghavi (2) bt Alexandra Stiri (Gre, 1); P. Sivasankari (1) lost
to Saheli Nath (2); N. Sandhya (.5) lost to Shobana L. Iswarya (2).

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Nov 19 2004
Getting versed in theater
Glendale resident turns Armenian poetry into English play for
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE – Anahid Keshishian is quick to point out that her latest
stage venture is not a poetry reading, even though the actors will be
reading poetry.
“It’s very theatrical, it’s very visual,” said Keshishian, the
creator and director of “They Were Poets,” a play featuring Armenian
poetry translated into English. “It’s a risky thing to do, taking
poems and making them into theater, because it’s an emotional roller
coaster. They go from the jubilee of a wedding to a funeral, and then
to erotic love songs. The themes are chained together.”
“They Were Poets” debuted at Hollywood’s Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
earlier this month. Another performance is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Saturday at the theater, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., and the show could be
extended another week or two.
Keshishian, a Glendale resident, teaches Armenian Language and
Literature at UCLA. Three years ago, she recruited a group of her
students to form Arena Productions, a Glendale-based nonprofit group
that aims to bring innovative performances to the Los Angeles area.
“They Were Poets” includes a cast of 13, mostly Armenians and
students or former students.
“It was something that has never been done before, and I don’t know
if it’ll ever be done again,” said Ashot Tadevosian, a member of the
cast. “Armenian culture remains among Armenians. It really never gets
out and is never presented to other nationalities. For it to be
recognized, this is the best way to do it – to translate it into a
language like English. A lot of people speak English.”
The play includes 22 poems with many from well-known Armenian poets,
but Keshishian did not necessarily pick their best-known works.
“It was a really interesting concept in that they did take these
amazing poems and translate them into English and put them to music,”
said Teni Khachaturian, who saw the play Nov. 13. “The combination of
the two things was really powerful.”
Tickets are $20 and are available by calling 818-240-7080, or by
e-mail at [email protected].

AZG Armenian Daily
Nov 18 2004
ARMENIA WILL QUIT NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS
YEREVAN, 18.11.04. On November 16, RA Foreign Minister stated at the
parliament that the situation will totally change if Baku continues
its attempts to get adopted the formula on Nagorno Karabakh
settlement submitted to the UN and if the formula is adopted. In
fact, Azerbaijan will have to negotiate with Nagorno Karabakh, Vartan
Oskanian said.
According to `Regnum` agency, Oskanian said that either Armenia will
continue negotiations with Azerbaijan within the framework of the
OSCE Minsk group and in the context of the achieved agreements, or
Azerbaijan should conduct negotiations with Karabakh or with Armenia
with the participation of Karabakh`s side. Answering the question
whether a dead-end situation can occur in the negotiation process as
a result of the issue`s discussion at the UN, Oskanian said that
there can be unpredictable results.
Two days ago, RA President said no progress is observed because
Nagorno Karabakh representatives don`t participate in the negotiation
process and Baku wants to conduct negotiations with Armenia only.
That`s why he has to represent also the position of Karabakh in the
negotiation process. Kocharian emphasized that that is a wrong
negotiation format and doesn`t express the essence of the conflict.
Last time Nagorno Karabakh participated in the negotiation process
was in April of 1997 in Moscow (of course, if we don`t take into
consideration the periodical visits of the co-chairs to Stepanakert).
After that, the negotiation format changed and Stepanakert didn`t
participate in any negotiation. Recently, Yuri Merzliakov, Russian
co-chair of the OSCE Minks group, found it necessary that Nagorno
Karabakh should participate in the negotiations together with Turkey.
Bruce Jackson, Chairman of US Committee to Expand NATO, said: `I
don`t understand why Nagorno Karabakh doesn`t participate in the
conflict settlement talks.`
Armenia also finds it necessary for Karabakh to participate in the
negotiation, our country is even ready to quit the negotiation
process, but only in the case Baku tries to transfer the settlement
to other instances. If the negotiation process remains within the
framework of OSCE Minsk group, i.e. the so-called Prague process
begun as a result of Key West arrangements is continuing, the
participation of Karabakh is no primary.
Vladimir Kazimirov, Russia`s former representative in the settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh issue, in his last article dedicated to the UN
Formula N4 on Karabakh issue, adopted in 1993, strictly criticized
Azerbaijan that tries to pick up separate points from the settlement
package and seeks for their settlement at the UN, leaving aside the
essence of the conflict — Karabakh`s status. Kazimirov also
criticizes Armenia that replaces Nagorno Karabakh in the settlement
process and violates the true configuration of the conflict by that.
David Babayan, expert on Nagorno Karabakh settlement, noticed in the
interview that when the negotiation process is conducted by Armenia
only, it turns Nagorno Karabakh conflict into a territorial one and
`in this context we have very few opportunities to prove the
international community that we are right.` According to Babayan,
President Kocharian undertook the obligation to represent Karabakh
side, as the negotiations should be continued, but one can continue
them for the preservation of the process for some period, for a short
period and never forever.
`I believe that the only effective format that can give a push to the
settlement process, is when Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh conduct
negotiations. If the two sides don`t negotiate directly, then no
advance can be expected, as, finally, Karabakh should carry out the
arrangements,` the expert said.
Vahram Atanesian, chairman of NKR National Assembly`s Committee of
External Relations, as well as Babayan, is sure that the format that
existed before 1997 was not acceptable for Stepanakert and no
progress will be fixed, if they again apply it. It`s worth reminding
that before the April negotiations of 1997 Karabakh was included in
the negotiations as an interested side, according to the OSCE mandate
elaborated in Budapest. According to Azerbaijan, the representative
of the so-called Karabakh`s Azeri community also participated in the
negotiations as an interested side then.
`If we observe the issue in that aspect Armenia, Azerbaijan and NKR
should negotiate in a trilateral format when each of the sides will
have equal plenipotentiaries and obligations, this will be the most
desired version. As far as I know Baku doesn`t reject Karabakh`s
participation with the precondition that the so-called representative
of Karabakh`s Azeri community is included in the negotiation as well.
This format can create no full negotiation atmosphere, i.e. NKR`s
participation in the negotiations can`t be observed as an end in
itself. If the negotiation format is on the level of the presidents
of the sides in conflict, NKR president should participate in that
too,` Atanesian said.

Forbes, NY
Nov 18 2004

International Investing
Did you see those returns for overseas markets in 2003? Armenia up
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increases, these sites are starting to charge for their data.– Leigh
Gallagher

ARKA News Agency
Nov 15 2004
Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to Ashot Kochartan,
the Press Secretary of RA President in connection with the decease of
his mother
Members of Ago Group meet the Armenian delegation in PACE
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPRESSED CONDOLENCES TO ASHOT KOCHARTAN,
THE PRESS SECRETARY OF RA PRESIDENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE DECEASE OF
HIS MOTHER
YEREVAN, November 15. /ARKA/. The RA Foreign Ministry expressed
condolences to Ashot Kocharyan, the Press Secretary of RA President
on the part of the managerial personnel of RA Foreign Ministry and
diplomatic representations of Armenia abroad in connection with the
decease of his mother, Lora Kocharyan, according to the Department of
Information and Press of RA Foreign Ministry. The press release
states that Lora Kocharyan died of a serious illness on the night of
November 15. L.V.-0 –
*********************************************************************
MEMBERS OF AGO GROUP MEET THE ARMENIAN DELEGATION IN PACE
YEREVAN, November 15. /ARKA/. The monitoring group of the European
Council Committee of Ministers, `Ago Group’ at the head of the German
Ambassador in the Council of Europe Roland Vegener met the Armenian
delegation to PACE in RA NA on November 13. According to RA NA Press
Service Department, the delegation included the Ambassadors of
Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey to the Council of Europe. The resident
representative of Armenia in the Council of Europe Christian
Ter-Stepanian participated in the meeting.
The Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE, Vice -Speaker of RA NA
Tigran Torosyan introduced the procedure of compliance with the
commitments in details, as well as the schedule of adoption of some
laws. It was noted that the Election Code was adopted in the first
reading, and joint conclusions of experts from Venetian commission
and those from OSCE were received. All of 30 suggestions, contained
in the conclusion, are admissible for Armenia, according to Torosyan.
At the beginning of December, discussions of draft laws with the
participation of experts from Venetian commission and OSCE are
planned to be held in Yerevan. After that, the draft laws will be
discussed in the Parliament in the second reading.
Speaking of the process of constitutional reforms, Torosyan noted
that three drafts of the Constitution are under consideration. All of
the drafts are sent to the Venetian Commission for expertise.
Irrespective of the package of constitutional amendments submitted to
the referendum in 2003, the present package of amendments will
undergo three readings in the Parliament. The new referendum on
constitutional amendments is supposed to be held in June 2005.
“Ago Group” noted the importance of cooperation between the
opposition and the coalition around two main documents. Expressing
his consent about it, Torosyan noted that the political majority
stated of their readiness to approve constitutional reforms and the
Election Code by consensus, which is rejected by the opposition.
Nevertheless, according to the participants of the meeting, it’s not
late to begin cooperation in the framework of two documents of
special importance for the country.
`Ago Group’ was founded in Jan 2001 simultaneously with Armenia’s
becoming a member of the Council of Europe. Ago Group is engaged in
monitoring of the procedure of Armenia’s complying with the
commitments to the Council of Europe and it operates in the framework
of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The group is
coordinated by the Ambassador of Italy to the Council of Europe
Pietro Ercole Ago. The last visit of Ago Group to Armenia was in
February 2004. A.H. -0–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROBERT KOCHARIAN TOUCHES UPON ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS UPON REQUEST
OF AGO GROUP
YEREVAN, November 15 (Noyan Tapan). “Armenia treats fulfilment of the
obligations assumed by it before CE with full responsibility and is
successive in the approaches it adopted,” RA President Robert
Kocharian said this during his meeting with the special delegation on
control over Armenia’s obligations acting within the framework of CE
Committee of Ministers. RA President’s Press Service informed Noyan
Tapan that issues connected with constitutional reforms, improvement
of the Electoral Code were discussed. It was mentioned that the
Electoral Code has been already adopted in the first reading, the
proposals of the Venice Commission have already been received. These
proposals will be taken into consideration during the second reading
of the bill. The sides also touched upon the process of improvement of
some laws concerning court and legal system included into the CE
obligations. Upon the request of the guests President Kocharian
touched upon the process of Karabakh settlement and Armenian-Turkish
relations.

The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 15 2004
Unlimited electricity for Tbilisi
Deputy Minister of Energy Aleko Khetaguri stated at a press
conference on Friday that Tbilisi will receive electricity without
limitations, and that the ministry will take all measures to continue
importing electricity from Russia and Armenia.
Meanwhile, Director General of Telasi Dangiras Mikolayunas applied to
the National Energy Regulation Commission (GNERC) to return the
license to import electricity from Armenia which was stripped from
Telasi two weeks ago. Mikolayunas told GNERC at a meeting on Friday
that they should study a letter from Energy Ombudsman David Ebrelidze
to the General Prosecutor’s Office, which blames Telasi of concluding
an “unfavorable” agreement with Armenia.
Mikolyunas said the Commission must decide whether to give the
license to Telasi or not after studying this letter.

PRESS RELEASE
Zoryan Institute of Canada, Inc.
4211 Yonge Street, Suite 230
Toronto, ON, Canada M2P 2A9
Tel: 416-250-9807
Fax: 416-512-1736
E-mail: [email protected]
CONTACT: George Shirinian
DATE: November 12, 2004
Extensive Coverage of the Armenian Genocide in the New Encyclopedia on
Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
NEW YORK – The prominent publisher of encyclopedias, Macmillan Reference
USA, has just come out with a three-volume compendium covering a
comprehensive range of topics related to genocide and crimes against
humanity. Its four editors are Howard Adelman, Princeton University; Frank
Chalk, Concordia University, Montreal; Alexandra Kiss, French National
Centre, Paris; and William Schabas, National University of Ireland, Centre
for Human Rights. The Editor in Chief is Dinah L. Shelton, George Washington
University Law School.
The Armenian Genocide is given broad scope in terms of its origin, distinct
features, consequences, and its place in modern history. By the same token,
two Turkish leaders are likewise depicted in the terms of their relationship
to the organization of that genocide, on the one hand, and its outcome, on
the other. Additionally, there are a few entries tackling specific features
of the Armenian Genocide such as poetry (Peter Balakian), art (Stephen
Feinstein), Armenians in Russia (Dennis Papazian), Films
(J. Michael Hagopian and Atom Egoyan), Enver (Alfred de Zayas) and J.M
McCollum on music and Komitas. Moreover, several legal scholars and
historians in their entries touch and briefly comment on the judicial and
precedential aspects of the Armenian Genocide, such as John and Matthew
McManus on the Turkish prosecution of the authors of the Armenian Genocide,
and particularly M.C. Bassiouni on the political expediency with which the
victorious Allies discarded the Sèvres Treaty and with it freed Turkey from
any and all responsibilities regarding the wartime genocide, and William
Schabas on Crimes Against Humanity. Also notable are J. Costellino’s
discussion of Armenian death marches. M. Imbleau’s piece on denial, Samuel
Totten on diaries, A. Feinberg on the documentation of the Armenian
Genocide, Noruan Naimark on ethnic cleansing, A. Aranburu’s coverage of the
Turkish courts-martial, C. Simpson’s piece on Lepsius, D. Schilling’s on
Memoirs on Survivors, Lynne Fallwell on medical killings of Armenians, M.
Midlarsky on Realpolitik involving the Armenian Genocide, Roger W. Smith on
the Special Organization, and L. LeBlanc on U.S. Policy on the Armenian
Genocide.
But the central analysis of the Armenian Genocide is entrusted to Prof.
Vahakn Dadrian, the Zoryan Institute’s Director of Genocide Research, who is
not only mentioned and frequently cited in the entries described above, but
who has four separate entries dealing with the subject. One of them examines
the role of Talaat as the chief organizer of the mass murder, his conviction
to death by a Turkish Military Tribunal, and the outcome of the Tehlirian
trial, i.e., his acquittal by a jury in Berlin’s Criminal Court no.3. A
second entry discusses Atatürk’s ambivalent role in handling the aftermath
of the Armenian Genocide. First he condemned the crime in an editorial in a
Turkish newspaper he had co-founded. Then, he embraced and used many of the
arch-perpetrators in his War of Liberation in the 1920-22 period. And four
years later, he executed most of them through hanging, following the
discovery of a conspiratorial plot bent on assassinating him. Dr. Dadrian’s
third entry is an original contribution on Impunity, a concept which he
helped develop and integrate in the general literature on genocide. In his
article, Dadrian argues that the impunity attending the series of Turkish
massacres in the decades preceding WWI played a major role in the decision
of Talaat and Company to proceed with the plan to exterminate the Armenians.
The last entry was hailed by the editors of the Encyclopedia as the most
thorough and at the same time compact analysis ever written on the Armenian
Genocide. Titled “Armenians in Ottoman Turkey and the Armenian Genocide,”
the extensive ten page article is organized around the following subjects:
origins of the Armenian people; socio-cultural evolution of the Armenian
people – historical background; Ottoman theocracy and its unsettling impact
on Armenians; Hamit and the ensuing series of Armenian massacres (1894-96);
advent of the Young Turk Regime and the 1909 two-tier Adana massacres;
recourse to genocide; bibliography. Putting it in a historical context,
Prof. Dadrian examines, step by step, the origin and evolution of the
Armenian nation as a perennially vulnerable people never managing to achieve
mastery over its destiny and ultimately experiencing genocide, the ultimate
crime.

Grand Junction Sentinel, CO
Nov 13 2004
Family buys time i n asylum attempt
By GARY HARMON
The Daily Sentinel
Four members of an Armenian family hoping to avoid deportation have
filed for visas as victims of trafficking, a move that forestalled
any immediate action to return them to their native country.
The four, however, remain in custody in a federal holding center in
Aurora, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau.
The four members of the Sargsyan family — Hayk, a senior at Ridgway
High School; his brother, Gevork, a chemical-engineering student at
the University of Colorado; their sister Meri; and father, Ruben —
were taken into custody last week after an immigration hearing in
Denver.
The eldest sister of the family, Nvart Indinyan, said she feared that
her brothers were due to be deported immediately because their
photographs had been taken while they have been in custody.
The applications for so-called “T visas” freezes the process until a
decision is made, said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
Decisions on T visas are made out of the agency’s Vermont service
center, said Sharon Rummery of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, another Homeland Security agency, and there is no deadline
for them to act.
T visas were established in 2000 for victims of human trafficking;
they allow victims to remain in the United States if they are deemed
to be in danger of extreme hardship or severe harm if they’re
returned to their home countries.
They also are expected to cooperate with investigations into the
trafficking that resulted in their arrival in the United States.
Victims of human trafficking may apply for permanent residency after
three years.
Indinyan said she feared her family would be harmed in Armenia by
people there who were defrauded by her ex-husband.
Other avenues for the Sargsyan family have been exhausted, Kice said.
They arrived in the United States on student visas and no longer have
the right to remain in the country, she said.
Taking the family members into custody was necessary, she said. There
are 350,000 to 400,000 people in the country who simply ignored their
final-removal orders, Kice said.
“It’s a serious problem,” she said.
The Sargsyan family’s popularity in Ouray County is admirable, but
not a factor in whether they should be allowed to remain, Kice said.
“This is not a popularity contest,” she said. “No one is above the
law. Everyone wants to see the law enforced, except when it comes to
someone they know.”
Other Armenians have waited a long time to get to the United States
by legal means, Kice said, and those cases also should be remembered,
she said.
Ridgway High School students planned to demonstrate today in Denver
in support of the their classmate and his family.