Author: Tvankchian Parkev

MILAN LIKELY TO HOST ITALIAN-ARMENIAN BUSINESS FORUM NEXT AUTUMN

Armenpress
Oct 06, 2005

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to Italy, Ruben
Shugarian, told an Armenian-Italian business forum in Yerevan today
that Italy’s industrial and financial center, Milan, is likely to
host in 2006 autumn an Italian-Armenian business forum, which may be
attended also by businessmen from Spain and Portugal.

Italian industrial activities minister Adolpho Urso said he had
outlined several initiatives during a meeting with Armenian trade and
economic development minister Karen Chshmaritian. He also expressed
hope that this conference will lay the foundation of establishment of
an Italian-Armenian trade chamber. Italian ambassador, Marco Clemente,
said Italy’s foreign trade representation in Moscow will open a branch
in Yerevan in several months.

According to official statistics, there are now 33 joint
Armenian-Italian ventures in Armenia, which have invested a total of
$13 million in Armenia’s economy.

NOT THE AUTHORITIES ARE STRONG, BUT THE OPPOSITION IS WEAK

A1+
| 20:54:28 | 05-10-2005 | Politics |

“Once Robert Kocharyan said that not the opposition is weak, but
the authorities are strong. I will say just the vice versa – not the
authorities are strong but the opposition is weak today”, announced
Vagharshak Haroutyunyan during the meeting with the members of the
party “National Renaissance”.

He noted that the opposition has made mistakes that in order to achieve
success it must accept its mistakes. Vagharshak Haroutyunyan announced
that unity alone is not enough to be successful in the opposition
field, as a plan of joint actions is also needed.

In this respect Albert Bazeyan said that for making decisions one
must be able to evaluation the situation in order not to give empty
promises.

As for the Constitutional referendum Vagharshak Haroutyunyan said that
Armenia took up the commitment of amending the existing constitution 4
years ago and there were no obstacles to processing a good constitution
during all those years and put it to referendum.

REPORT: MANY DISABLED CHILDREN ABANDONED
By Bradley S. Klapper

The Associated Press
10/05/05 15:20 EDT

GENEVA (AP) – Many disabled children in the former communist countries
of eastern Europe and Central Asia are being put in institutions,
perpetuating the old Soviet practice of “child abandonment,” according
to a UNICEF report released Wednesday.

Instead of integrating the children into general schools, these
countries still employ a policy of “defectology,” a leftover Soviet
discipline in which disabled children are put in institutions that
separate them from society and their families, said the study by U.N.

Children’s Fund’s Innocenti Research Center in Florence, Italy.

“These children want to be given a chance to grow up in a family,”
said Maria Calivis, UNICEF’s regional director.

Attitudes toward disabled young people are getting better in these
formerly communist regions, but improvements in state support are
lagging behind, the 64-page study said.

As of 2002, some 317,000 children in these countries lived in such
separated institutions, a number largely unchanged since the fall
of the Iron Curtain, the report found. By contrast, the rate of
institutionalization in Western countries is up to three times lower.

“The prospect for these children is to graduate to an institution
for adults and to face a pattern of denial of human rights,” the
study said.

The countries studied included eight former communist states that
have since become members of the European Union – Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia –
and two others scheduled to join soon – Bulgaria and Romania.

The study also included Balkan states Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, as well as former
Soviet republics Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and
Uzbekistan.

“Although children with disabilities have become more visible since
the beginning of (the post-communist) transition and attitudes towards
them and their families are changing, many of them are simply ‘written
off’ from society,” said Innocenti director Marta Santos Pais.

Santos Pais said the “high rates of child abandonment” could be
explained by these countries’ outdated medical approaches and lack
of alternative methods for dealing with disabilities.

UNICEF is calling for an end to the segregation of disabled children,
suggesting instead an increase in social benefits to affected families
and greater participation of parents in decisions affecting their
children.

“The reality is many parents feel they have no choice but to give
up their children,” Santos Pais said. “What these families need is
strong social and economic support.”

Some 1.5 million children in these 27 countries were registered as
disabled in 2000, triple the number in 1990, the report said.

However, the surge was largely the result of better recognition and
registration of disabilities, rather than any actual increase in the
number of children disabled.

There may be another 1 million disabled children in the region,
but authorities often lump them together with the chronically ill or
ignore them if they are from ethnic minorities, Santos Pais said.

A LESSON FROM ROMAN HISTORY: AN EARLIER EMPIRE’S WAR ON IRAQ
By Gary Leupp

CounterPunch, CA
Oct 4 2005

The Roman emperor Trajan reigned from 98 to 117 and brought the empire
to its maximum extent. He is generally considered to be one of the
“good emperors” who ruled from 96 to 180, and indeed his administration
was marked by relative tolerance (towards Christians, for example)
and efficiency. Among his mistakes, however, was an attack on the
Parthian Empire beginning in 115 or 116. He personally led his troops
into Mesopotamia (what we now call Iraq) capturing the capital of
Ctesiphon on the Tigris near modern Baghdad. He reached the Persian
Gulf and in Edward Gibbon’s words, “enjoyed the honour of being the
first, as he was the last, of the Roman generals, who ever navigated
that remote sea.” A man of boundless ambition, he dreamed of sailing
from there to far-off India.

Iraq was Persian (Iranian) territory then. We call its people “Arabs”
today because they speak the Arabic language, just as we call Moroccans
and Egyptians and Syrians “Arabs” for the same reason. But the original
Arabs inhabited the Arabian Peninsula and what today is the kingdom
of Jordan. Trajan had annexed the later (then called Arabia Petraea)
about 106, bringing a large Arab population into the empire for
the first time. Meanwhile he drew other Semites into the fold. By
conquering Mesopotamia, with a population of perhaps a million Jews,
he brought almost all the world’s Jews under Roman rule. (See Norman
F. Cantor, The Sacred Chain: The History of the Jews, 1994).) (We
tend to assume that the Jews were all concentrated in Judea, but there
were according to Philo one million Jews in Alexandria, Egypt in the
early first century, while Josephus writing later in the same century
wrote that the Syrian cities of Antioch and Damascus had huge Jewish
populations. At the time there were at least 10,000, and perhaps as
many as 40,000 Jews in Rome itself.)

These Middle East conquests did not turn out well for Trajan. The
Mesopotamians rose up in rebellion; a nephew of the king (who had fled
beyond the Zagros Mountains) organized Parthian resistance, attacking
Roman garrisons. According to F. A. Lepper (Trajan’s Parthian War,
1948) “traders and middlemen of all kinds” opposed the invasion. Local
Jews who had been comfortable under Parthian rule constituted a key
component of the uprising. Meanwhile Jews in Roman Judea, having
revolted in 66-70, were again rebelling in what historians call the
Kitos War (115-17).

Elsewhere too Semitic monotheism attached itself to political
upheaval. In Cyrene (in what is now Libya) Jews revolted under the
leadership of a self-styled messiah, Lukuas, in 115. His forces
destroyed the Roman temples and government buildings in Cyrene,
slaughtering Greeks and Romans, and advanced on Alexandria where
they destroyed more pagan temples and the tomb of Pompey. Jews on the
island of Cyprus rebelled as well, under one Artemion. (New Testament
readers will recall reference to Jews in these far-flung locales:
Simone of Cyrene who carries Jesus’ cross, and Paul’s traveling
companion Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus.)

Religious-based terrorism became the order of the day, if we’re to
believe the third century Greek historian Dio Cassius, who records
(no doubt with some exaggeration) that Jewish rebels killed 220,000
in Cyrene and 240,000 on Cyprus. Rome, having invaded Mesopotamia, was
unable to contain the fighting to that one front. The war exacerbated
simmering anti-Roman resentments, fanned religious fanaticism and
intolerance, and produced terror as far away as Northern Africa. But
with great effort Trajan’s forces suppressed the several Jewish
revolts, although some fighting continued about a year after the
emperor’s death. (As a result of this episode, according to Dio,
Jews were expelled from Cyprus entirely.)

Trajan had not gone in to the war intending to provoke rebellions or
terrorism. His ostensible reason was to punish Parthia for political
interference in the kingdom of Armenia, which Rome considered part
of its sphere of influence. But Dio Cassius called this a “pretext”
and declared that Trajan simply wanted “to win renown.” Julian Bennett
in his recent biography of Trajan agrees with this assessment (Trajan,
Optimus Princeps: A Life and Times, 1997).

In 117 the proud emperor wisely elected to withdraw from Mesopotamia,
and died in retreat in Cilicia. His adopted son and successor,
Hadrian, returned Mesopotamia to Parthia the following year. “Thus
it was,” wrote Dio, “that the Romans, in conquering Armenia, most
of Mesopotamia, and the Parthians, had undergone severe hardships
and dangers for naught.” But as historian B. W. Henderson put it,
“it was very wise to abandon what could not be kept.” Mesopotamia
resumed its former status as a prosperous part of Persia. The citizens
of Rome didn’t suffer from the loss of a couple of briefly-held
eastern provinces, or the revival of Parthian power up until that
empire’s fall over a century later. Nor did it suffer when Hadrian,
on the island of Britain at the other end of the empire, elected to
build his famous barrier between Rome and “barbarian” Celtic tribes.

Hadrian’s Wall, marking the boundary of Roman Britain, denoted the
realistic recognition of the limits of imperial power.

* * *

Ibn Khaldun, that fine fourteenth century North African Arab Muslim
scholar, one of the greatest historical thinkers of all time,
cautioned against judging “by comparison and by analogy.” Many, he
observed, “draw analogies between the events of the past and those
that take place around them, judging the past by what they know of
the present. Yet the difference between the two periods may be great,
thus leading to gross error.”

Point well taken. I draw no analogies here. The current empire is
mired in Iraq, drawn there by an emperor using a pretext to win
renown, producing by his invasion widespread outrage conditioned by
religious fanaticism. The empire’s troops face what the Romans faced in
Mesopotamia—in Gibbon’s words, the legionnaires were “fainting with
heat and thirst, could neither hope for victory if they preserved their
ranks, nor break their ranks without exposing themselves to the most
immanent danger. In this situation they were gradually encompassed
by the encompassing numbers, harassed by the rapid evolutions, and
destroyed by the arrows of the barbarian cavalry. ”

Yes, there are parallels. But if America is comparable to Rome,
George Bush is surely no Trajan, and to draw an analogy between the
two would indeed produce gross error.

Gary Leupp is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct
Professor of Comparative Religion. He is the author of Servants,
Shophands and Laborers in the Cities of Tokugawa Japan; Male Colors:
The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan; and Interracial
Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900. He is
also a contributor to CounterPunch’s merciless chronicle of the wars
on Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, Imperial Crusades.

US POLICY TOWARDS KARABAKH SETTLEMENT HAS NOT CHANGED

Pan Armenian
04.10.2005 10:32

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US policy towards settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict has not changed, stated US State Department official
representative Sean McCormack. He stated it when answering to a
question whether the letter sent to George Bush by 59 Congressmen on
protection of NK right to self-determination could evidence change of
the US policy. “Of course, we welcome Congressmen’s interest toward
various foreign policy issues, including this one. The US policy
towards NK and efforts aimed at its settlement have not changed,”
the State Department representative said.

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Oct 2 2005

Sezer: Turkey Will Contribute To E.U. With Its Sound Economy

ANKARA – Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has indicated, ”it is
obvious that Turkey will contribute to the European Union (EU) with
its sound economy. We hope EU countries to take into consideration
this fact.”
The new parliamentary term started with the opening remarks of Sezer
in the parliament today.

Sezer stressed, ”Turkish parliament is one of the most important
guaranties of the Republic today, as it was in the past.”

-EU-

Sezer said that Europe-Atlantic link constituted an important
dimension of Turkish foreign policy, noting, ”within this framework,
Turkey’s EU process, the country’s relations with the United States
and our position in NATO are primary items of the country’s foreign
policy agenda.”

Noting that it was foreseen that Turkey would start officially
membership negotiations with the EU two days later, Sezer said that
there were still some uncertainties on some points, although there
was little time left for start of membership talks (scheduled to
start on October 3rd). He indicated that it was not easy to reach
this stage, adding that it was obvious that the following process
would not be easy, either.

Sezer said that Turkish nation would not accept additional
conditions, noting, ”the process has started and no backward step
should be taken. Turkey is determined to be a full member of the EU
and it will complete this process by protecting its national
interests and national honor. If this process is delayed, Europe will
lose much more than Turkey. Because Turkey is determined to upgrade
living standards of its people.”

”Turkey which adopted contemporary and universal values fulfilled
its responsibilities on its road to the EU. No one will benefit from
prejudices,” he stressed.

Sezer stated that Turkey aimed to reach EU criteria also in
education, noting that the period of obligatory education should be
increased to 12 years.

-”TERROR DOES NOT HAVE RELIGION OR NATIONALITY”-

Stressing that terrorism with its global dimension became primary
threat against world peace and stability, Sezer said, ”terror does
not have geography, religion or nationality.”

Sezer said that there was a global fight against terrorism, stating
that there should be international cooperation in fight against it.
He underlined that Turkey was against every kind of terror.

Sezer indicated that presence of terrorist organization PKK in the
north of Iraq was an unacceptable situation for Turkey, stating that
they thought that this situation was known by Iraqi and the U.S.
administrations.

”We are determined to take necessary measures in our borders. Its
(terrorist organization’s) components in Iraq should also be cleared
to eliminate terrorist organization completely. We expect relevant
parties to take into consideration our concerns on this issue,”
Sezer underlined.

-ECONOMY-

Noting that there have been pleasing developments in Turkish economy
recently, Sezer stated that growth rate became 9.9 percent last year
and gross national product per capita increased to 4.172 USD.

Sezer underlined that positive developments in the economy also
continued in 2005, adding that yet unemployment was still a problem.
He stressed that measures should be taken to increase employment
opportunities as soon as possible.

Sezer said that new technology, new investment and new employment
opportunities should be created during privatization process.

-UNITED STATES-

Sezer said, ”another issue which we attach importance besides EU is
relations with the United States. Relations with the EU and the
United States are completing each other. Turkey-U.S. relations
include all elements which a strong partnership necessitates. The two
countries act with common understanding in many issues like fight
against terrorism, solution of Arab-Israel clash, settlement of
stability in Caucasia and Central Asia as well as solution of Cyprus
question. NATO is also an important corner stone in cooperation
between Turkey and the U.S.”

-GREECE-

”The basis in relations with neighbors is stability and harmony. We
have the will to develop our relations with Greece on the basis of
mutual respect, confidence and friendship. We wish Greece to continue
its efforts to show the same will and to protect dialogue milieu.
Developments in relations ease solution of bilateral problems. Such a
development is beneficial not only for Turkey and Greece but also for
the region,” said Sezer.

-CYPRUS-

Sezer noted, ”regarding Cyprus issue, Turkish side exerted efforts
for solution. However, Greek Cypriot side, under the directions of
their administrators, rejected lasting solution as well as Annan
Plan. Greek Cypriot side is allowed to use EU membership as a force
of sanction against Turkey, and also isolation over Turkish Cypriots
continues, and these are not just. We see that Greek Cypriot side is
not willing for solution. The only reason for this is that Greek
Cypriot administration is not forced for solution. Its EU membership
is the most tangible example of that.”

-BALKANS-

”Turkey attaches great importance to protection of stability in the
Balkans. We will continue to support reconstruction and development
activities of some Balkan countries and to protect peace in the
region. Also, we hope Greek government will act with responsibility
for solution of problems of our kinsmen in western Thrace,” said
Sezer.

-RUSSIA-

Sezer noted, ”Russian Federation is one of the key countries of
Eurasian region. Relations between Turkey and Russian Federation,
which are two important countries of Black Sea region, have developed
in recent period. Potential in mutual commerce and tourism is
significant. Our relations are further deepened through high-level
visits as well as bilateral, regional and international policies.”

-EURASIA-

”Eurasia is also important in Turkey’s multilateral foreign policy.
Unity of Europe and Asia through energy and transportation corridors
as well as creating a new momentum for economic growth are basis of
Turkey’s stance towards Eurasia. Turkey has close relations with
Azerbaijan and Georgia,” said Sezer.

-ARMENIA-

Sezer said, ”Armenia’s stance towards its relations with neighbors
(…) –despite the basic principles of international law and good
neighborhood– has become an obstacle to develop our relations with
Armenia. Upper Karabakh and Abkhazia problems are main obstacles
before peace and stability of southern Caucasia. Peaceful solution to
these problems will contribute to settlement of political stability
in the region. Turkey tries to make every type of contribution to
this issue. Upper Karabakh problem which emerged after Armenia’s
occupation of Azerbaijani land should be solved. Turkey is ready to
support a solution which will be accepted by both sides regarding
Upper Karabakh problem.”

-IRAQ-

”We believe that only an equal government structure without making
any discrimination among different religions, sects and ethnic in
Iraq can be successful in Iraq,” said Sezer. Turkey’s intense
dialogue with all sections of Iraq would continue in order to
contribute to preparation of the Iraqi constitution, he added.

-KIRKUK-

Sezer said that Iraqis, themselves, should determine the future of
Kirkuk city in Iraq, stressing that if any group tries to claim
ownership over the city this would lead to an ethnic chaos and
regional instability. Turkey could not stay indifferent in that
respect, Sezer said.

-LASTING PEACE IN MIDDLE EAST-

President Sezer stressed that Turkey was ready to extend all sorts of
aid to conflicting sides in the region particularly for settlement of
Palestine-Israeli conflict.

-AFGHANISTAN HAS SPECIAL IMPORTANCE-

Turkey also attributed importance to Central Asian countries, Sezer
said noting that ”Afghanistan has special importance for Turkey due
to historical ties.” Turkey extended full support to Afghanistan’s
reconstruction and it also commanded ISAF twice, he noted.

-RELATIONS WITH ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES-

President Sezer also referred to the importance of developing
relations with Asia-Pacific countries particularly with Japan and
China and stressed that Turkey’s function would be very critical in
respect of connection of Asia and Europe by energy corridors,
railways and highways and for creating new regional dynamics.

-TURKEY’S GOALS-

Sezer also mentioned some of the goals of Turkey:”being a member of
the European Union (EU), strengthening the position of being a
regional power and also becoming a global power, being among the ten
biggest economies of the world with a sustainable development,
becoming an information society, being among the leading countries of
the world in science and technology and protecting the power of the
Turkish Armed Forces.”

Referring to some difficulties on the way to reach these goals, Sezer
said that ”we must increase our sensitivity towards the chaos and
tension caused by separatist terrorism and fundamentalism in the
society and don’t allow them to threaten the internal peace. We
should deal with this problem by having a national security
understanding.”

Sezer added that Turkey wanted to improve its relations with all of
its neighbours in a positive way.

Bob Lutz says Kerkorian not a ‘rapacious raider’

Detroit Free Press
Thursday, September 29, 2005

BY MICHAEL ELLIS, FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

MILFORD — Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian is not the `rapacious raider’
that he is often portrayed to be, and the Las Vegas investor has taken
a 9.5 percent stake in the automaker because he believes the company
is ready for a turnaround, General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz
said Thursday.

Kerkorian’s investment company, Tracinda Corp. said last week it may
seek one or more seats on GM’s board of directors, but Lutz disputed
any assertion that Kerkorian was making demands.

`We are seeing so far, it would be fair to say, none of the behavior
that the press ascribed to Kirk Kerkorian,’ Lutz told reporters after
a press conference at GM’s proving ground in Milford.

Tracinda, which said last week it may increase its stake in GM to not
more than 9.9 percent, has maintained that Kerkorian is interested in
GM for investment purposes. “Mr. Kerkorian has made a long-term
value-driven investment because he has confidence in the company, the
American auto industry and the U.S. economy as a whole,” a spokeswoman
for Kerkorian said earlier this month.

Lutz affirmed that position.

`He smells turnaround,’ Lutz said. `He has an infallible instinct for
getting in at the right time.’

Contact MICHAEL ELLIS at 313-222-8784 or
[email protected].

Glendale News Press
October 01, 2005

WRITING THE RIGHT
Film festival is a chance for understanding

ANI AMIRKHANIAN
The Arpa International Film Festival will be arriving in Los Angeles this
week. For those who are unfamiliar with this event, Arpa Film Festival is
intended to promote cultural understanding and global empathy by presenting
a dynamic compilation of international films that explore the issues of
diaspora, exile and multiculturalism.
This film festival, in addition, provides filmmakers the opportunity to
share their understanding of the social and political climate of the world
through their artistic vision.
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It is fortunate that the community, with residents from near and far, have
the chance to celebrate art, culture and social consciousness.
Among the diverse entries is a 90-minute documentary called “Armenians of
Lebanon.” The title is misleading, because the documentary not only
discusses the history of the diasporan Armenians of Lebanon, it also expands
to include the diasporans of other countries in Western Asia, including
Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and even Armenia.
This documentary is a comprehensive history lesson with black and white
footage of the Armenian Genocide. It is narrated in Arabic, some Armenian
and French with English subtitles.
The various interviews conducted by the filmmakers indicate clearly that
Armenians throughout Western Asia are attempting to understand their
identity. It’s as though many are conflicted when it comes to identifying
with their Armenian heritage and the cultures they have assimilated into as
diasporans.
After watching this documentary, I pondered: How does one define themselves
as Armenian? What makes someone an Armenian? What does it mean to be
Armenian?
Is it the language one speaks? Do people identify themselves as Armenians
because of the stories they were told about their Armenian ancestors? Is one
considered an Armenian if they socialize with what is known as the Armenian
culture or integrate themselves into the community?
There are many more questions that can be asked when it comes to finding
one’s cultural identity.
The documentary attempts to explore the identity of the Armenians. During
interviews, Armenians in Syria, for example are asked what they know about
their Armenian heritage.
One Syrian-Armenian woman, who speaks Arabic and no Armenian, holds in her
hand a picture of her grandmother who died during the genocide. The woman,
who is also dressed in traditional Syrian garb, says she knows her
grandmother’s name and where she lived before she was killed.
Her husband also reveals his Armenian heritage by telling the history of his
ancestors. When asked what their names are they respond with both their
Armenian and Arabic surnames.
The subjects of the documentary are a small minority who identify themselves
both with the Arab and Armenian cultures, although their traditions, customs
and habits reflect more the Arabic culture and way of life.
So can people call themselves Armenian even if the only indication of an
Armenian identity is a picture of a relative?
Another issue is that of language. The people who were interviewed spoke no
Armenian dialect.
Does lacking the language skills make people less inclined to identify with
a culture?
For diaspora Armenians, cultural identity is not clearly defined. Culture
according on the documentary, is learned and established through
socialization and really defined by historical events, facts and social
conditions.
Is there more to calling oneself an Armenian than just through history or
learned characteristics, behaviors or traditions? Does Armenian society
dictate and define Armenian cultural identity?
I was left to wonder.
ANI AMIRKHANIAN is a news assistant. She may be reached at (818) 637-3230 or
by e-mail at ani.amirkhanianlatimes.com.

PRESS RELEASE
September 30, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

High-Level Armenian Government Delegation Visits Washington

A high-level Armenian Government delegation visited Washington, D.C. on
September 24-28 in order to participate in bilateral economic discussions
with U.S. government counterparts and in the annual Governor’s Meeting of
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Armenian delegation
included Minister of Finance & Economy Vardan Khachatrian, Chief Economic
Adviser to the President Vahram Nercissiantz, Trade and Economic Development
Minister Karen Tchshmaritian, Agriculture Minister Davit Lokian, Central
Bank Chairman Tigran Sargsian, Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian,
Ambassador Tatoul Markarian, and officials from the Ministries of Finance
and Economy and Foreign Affairs.

During the World Bank and IMF annual meetings, the Armenian delegation had
meetings with World Bank Executive Director Ad Melkert, Country Director for
Armenia Donna Dowsett-Coirolo, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF Augustin
Carstens, and IMF Executive Director Jeroen Kremers.

On September 27, the Armenian delegation visited the headquarters of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation to discuss the evaluation phase of Armenia’s
MCA draft program with MCC leadership. Expressing satisfaction with the
level of political and technical cooperation between MCC and the Armenian
Government officials, both sides agreed to continue to work together toward
finalization and preparation of the MCA compact.

The eleventh session of the U.S.-Armenia intergovernmental task force on
economic cooperation (USATF) convened on September 26. The USATF is
co-chaired by Minister Vardan Khachatrian and Ambassador Thomas Adams,
Coordinator of Assistance Programs in Eurasia at the State Department. The
agenda for the USATF meeting included issues such as Armenia’s economic
growth and democratic reforms, the current status of the Millenium Challenge
Account programs’ process in Armenia, economic policy and prospects for
long-term development, promoting investments and further improving Armenia’s
business environment, WTO standards enforcement and trade issues, legal
reforms, as well as bilateral cooperation in the area of education and
science, energy, and agriculture.

In addition, the Armenian delegation met with heads of foreign delegations
at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting, including Finance Minister of The
Netherlands Gerrit Zalm and Iranian Finance Minister Daud Davash Jafari.

On September 26, the Embassy of Armenia hosted a reception in honor of the
Armenian delegation, with participation of officials from U.S. Government,
including the State Department, Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, and
Agriculture, US Agency for International Development, and the Millennium
Challenge Corporation, as well as representatives of the Armenian-American
organizations.

Gunman shoots plaintiff in Moscow court

RTR Russia TV, Moscow, in Russian
28 Sep 05

About two hours ago a man opened indiscriminate fire from a
Kalashnikov assault rifle inside the court building on Domodedovo
Ulitsa [Street].

At that time the court was hearing a civil case. Interfax news agency
reports that the defendant in this case shot the plaintiff and his
lawyer several times. Both were seriously wounded.

The criminal, who is from Armenia, was immediately detained. The
court building has now been cordoned off and investigators are
working at the scene.