Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

Sparks fly between Harrison and Abelyan
By STEPHEN HALLIDAY
The Scotsman, UK
June 18 2004
THERE is often far more heat than light generated at the traditional
head-to-head media conferences held in advance of championship boxing
fights, but it was certainly illuminating yesterday to witness Scott
Harrison’s brooding state of mind ahead of his WBO featherweight
title defence against William Abelyan tomorrow night.
As has been well documented over the past week, the Cambuslang boxer
is nursing a powerful sense of grievance over the court case which
eventually saw him cleared of an assault charge. Harrison’s contest
with mandatory contender Abelyan at the Braehead Arena offers him the
opportunity to express his frustration in the way he knows best and
to reinforce a positive public image after seeing his name painted
in such an unflattering manner.
Abelyan, the dangerous and awkward Armenian-born Californian southpaw
who claims the best featherweights in the United States have been
avoiding him, has done little to douse the smouldering attitude
Harrison will take into the ring with him tomorrow night.
Yesterday’s press gathering saw Harrison and Abelyan square up
aggressively as the champion reacted to the challenger’s comments
earlier this week. Abelyan was critical of Harrison’s performances
in his two-fight series with Manuel Medina last year, labelling
the Mexican an ‘old man’ and claiming he had knocked him down twice
in sparring.
“You are being disrespectful,” Harrison told Abelyan. “Medina is a
five-time world champion, a legend in boxing, and to call him an old
man and say things like that about him is definitely disrespectful.
You will get your day on Saturday.”
Don House, Abelyan’s trainer, had sparked Harrison into his unusually
animated verbal outburst when he interrupted the champion moments
earlier.
“I’m not going to predict a round, but I can’t see it going 12 rounds,”
said Harrison. House, the man who guided Frankie Liles to the WBA
super- middleweight title in the 1990s, interjected with a taunt of
“You got that right, you ain’t going 12 rounds.”
Frank Maloney, Harrison’s manager, sat between the combatants with
a contented grin. Ticket sales for the fight were initially slow, so
this was the kind of publicity the promoters were hoping for. Perhaps
the biggest threat to Harrison will be if, in unleashing his fury and
pent-up resentment, he sacrifices levels of control and concentration
which are likely to be required to subdue Abelyan.
“I’m very angry about this fight,” agreed Harrison, “and what has
happened over the past few weeks has really fired me up. It’s going
to spur me on in the ring on Saturday.”
Abelyan, who has not fought since a third-round knockout of journeyman
Alejandro Mona on the Lennox Lewis-Vitali Klitschko undercard in Los
Angeles last June, maintains his inactivity will not be a factor.
“I train and spar with good fighters, with champions in the gym,” he
said. “People don’t want to fight me, what can I do? Listen, I’m in
my house when I’m in that ring, I’m a warrior. I’m going to destroy
the featherweight class once I win this belt from Harrison. He hasn’t
fought anyone like me before.”
Maloney, however, is convinced that ring rust will count against
Abelyan with Harrison having fought three times in the past 11
months. “Basically, I believe Abelyan and his people were scared of
losing the No 1 contender position and that’s why he’s not fought for
a year,” said Maloney. “He was holding out for the pay day but it will
be decisive on Saturday because Scott will be razor sharp in there.
“I know Abelyan says he isn’t worried about fighting away from home
but this is his first time outside the States and, if the Braehead
crowd get behind Scott like they have in the past, then Abelyan is
going to know exactly what passionate and hostile fans are like.”
The chief supporting contest tomorrow is an intriguing match for the
vacant EU super-featherweight title between popular Glaswegian Willie
Limond and French champion Youssef Djibaba.
The Scot, whose only loss in 21 contests was his British title defeat
at the hands of Alex Arthur a year ago, said: “That was a wake-up
call for me and I’ve learned from it.”

Council Of Europe Monitor Ends Fact-Finding Trip To Armenia
By Gevorg Stamboltsian 15/06/2004 01:47
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
June 15 2004
A representative of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE) met Monday with President Robert Kocharian and a string of
other senior Armenian officials to wrap up a fact-finding trip aimed
at assessing Yerevan’s compliance with democratic standards set by
the organization.
Jerzy Jaskiernia, the Armenia rapporteur of the PACE’s Monitoring
Committee, is to draft a report on whether the Kocharian’s
administration is following the recommendations contained in the
assembly’s April 28 resolution on the Armenian political crisis. He
left no indications that the report will be as critical of the
Armenian authorities as the resolution. “We will present our findings
in our report. We don’t like to make any comments during the visit,”
Jaskiernia told reporters when asked to comment on his findings.
But in separate comments on Saturday, the official hinted that the
document’s content is likely to be positive for the authorities. “I
think there is an intention by the government to fulfill that
resolution. Several of its elements have already been fulfilled,”
he said, pointing to the release of all senior members of opposition
parties involved in the three-month campaign against Kocharian.
The PACE resolution deplored the government crackdown launched in
response to that campaign. It warned that the Armenian government must
immediately free all individuals arrested for their participation
in the opposition protests and investigate “human rights abuses”
or face the possibility of PACE sanctions next September.
However, the main focus of Jaskiernia’s meetings in Yerevan was the
idea of a referendum of confidence in Kocharian which was floated by
the Armenian Constitutional Court in the wake of last year’s disputed
presidential election. Government officials reiterated their view that
the proposal was not binding for the executive branch and did not stem
from the country’s constitution. Jaskiernia seemed to agree with them.
The opposition leaders, already enraged by Jaskiernia’s repeated
statements that serious fraud reported during the presidential election
did not affect its outcome, reacted with irritation. “Decisions of
the Constitutional Court are not subject to discussion by Armenian
politicians, let alone Jaskiernia,” one of them, Aram Sarkisian,
told RFE/RL.
Artashes Geghamian, another opposition leader who met with Jaskiernia,
complained that the PACE mainly met with various-level government
officials while in Yerevan, arguing that he could have familiarized
himself with their position without leaving Strasbourg. “I warned
him that if yet another subjective monitoring [of the situation] is
carried out, it will further deepen the socioeconomic and political
crisis in Armenia,” Geghamian said.
The opposition also renewed its allegations that the publication
earlier this month in Yerevan of Jaskiernia’s book about the PACE,
which was sponsored by the Armenian parliament, amounted to a political
kickback which was meant to influence the content of his upcoming
report to the Strasbourg assembly. “I don’t think the Armenian public
couldn’t wait to read the book by the PACE rapporteur,” said Victor
Dallakian of the Artarutyun alliance. “I consider that an example
of corruption.”
Jaskiernia has denied any conflict of interest between his PACE
position and the promotion of his writings. He argues that he had no
material gains from the book’s translation to the Armenian language.

Opposition figure released as rights monitors arrive in Armenia
Associated Press Worldstream
June 12, 2004 Saturday
YEREVAN, Armenia — Authorities in Armenia have released an opposition
leader from jail after European human rights envoys arrived in the
former Soviet republic, a lawyer said Saturday.
Former Defense Minister Vagarshak Arutyunian was released late Friday,
but the case against him has not been closed and he is barred from
leaving the capital Yerevan, his lawyer Robert Grigorian said.
Grigorian said the release came after an appeal from the nation’s
human rights ombudsman, but he noted that it occurred the same day
that two representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe, or PACE, arrived in Armenia for talks on the political
situation and judicial reform.
Arutyunian was arrested during an April 12 protest in which
demonstrators called for the resignation of President Robert Kocharian,
and is accused of attempting to seize power and calling for change
in the country’s constitutional order. Six people arrested during
opposition protests remain jailed, Grigorian said.
Opposition leaders in the small, poverty-plagued Caucasus Mountain
country have organized a series of protests this spring aimed at
forcing the resignation of Kocharian, who won a second term last year
in an election they claim was marred by fraud. The April 12 protest
was forcefully broken up by police.

Trilateral transport consortium may be based in Baku
Azer News, Azerbaijan
June 10 2004
The Azerbaijan State Railway Office told AssA-Irada that the
headquaters of the Azerbaijan-Russia-Iran consortium on the
Gazvin-Rasht-Astara railway may be based in Baku. The railway will
be part of the North-South transport corridor.
Working groups from the three countries are expected to establish the
consortium’s charter fund and work schedule by July 1. The location of
the entity’s headquarters may be determined in a meeting scheduled for
July in Baku. Funds totaling $15 million are required for Azerbaijan
to join the North-South transport corridor. The funds will be spent
on the construction of a 6-km railway connecting Azerbaijan with Iran
and a railway bridge over the Astarachay River.
Construction of the Tehran-Baku railway, which is to link up with
Russia’s railroads, may commence early in 2005. According to the
initial appraisal, $102 million is required for the implementation of
the project, under which 340 kilometers of railway lines in Iran and
Azerbaijan will be built and upgraded. Armenia may enter the project
on the construction of a new railway linking Russia, Azerbaijan and
Iran within the North-South international transport corridor. This
opinion was revealed by Vice Speaker of the Armenian parliament Vaan
Ovannisian, the co-chair of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary
commission. Ovannisian said that along with Azerbaijan, India and
Oman are participating in the project. “It is common knowledge that
Azerbaijan is trying to make Armenia withdraw from all transport
and economic programs of regional importance. However, at present,
our partners Russia, Iran and India don’t plan to do so and Armenia
is likely to enter the program,” he noted.

JUDGE COLLABORATES WITH SKINHEADS
A1 Plus | 14:40:40 | 10-06-2004 | Social |
The first instance court of Center, Nork-Marash began considering
case on assault on journalists on Thursday.
The case has been instigated into the incident occurred at the rally
staged by National Unity leader Artashes Geghamyan on April 2, when
skinheads beat media representatives and broke their cameras.
As many as 50 skinheads were present at Thursday’s court session. About
20 of them stood on foyer barring journalists from entering the
courtroom and insulting them. They made insulting remarks toward
Noyan Tapan news agency correspondent Sona Mashouryan and widely
smiling promised “to smash her head”.
Before letting Aykakan Zhamanak newspaper’s editor-in-chief Nikol
Pashinyan and the same newspaper’s correspondent Hayk Grigoryan enter,
the skinheads questioned them who they are and why came here.
When the newspaper representatives passed the first barrier and
eventually entered the courtroom, one skinhead start questioning them
here and asked the judge whether to let them sit down or not.
Nikol Pashinyan said he has nothing to do in the court where skinheads
decide everything and went out.
Many journalists failed to get in session room to hear the case on
the assault on their colleagues and remained outdoors.

UKRAINE IS FOR RESTORATION OF AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
ArmenPress
June 4 2004
KIEV, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS: The president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma,
endorsed Thursday Azerbaijan’s efforts to restore its territorial
integrity and bring Nagorno Karabagh back as soon as possible. At
a joint news conference in Kiev after concluding talks with the
visiting president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Kuchma said there
were no disagreements in how his government and Azerbaijan evaluate
the situation in the South Caucasus.
“A spade should be called spade. It is a huge tragedy when 750,000
Azeris are forced out of their homes,” he said, adding that Ukraine
has always supported the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. Kuchma went on to argue that the OSCE Minsk group should
step up its work to help find a peaceful solution to the dispute.
Thanking Kuchma for his support, Aliyev said: “The truth is that
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory is under Armenian occupation.
Unfortunately, some circles in different countries either do not wish
to notice this truth or wish to render it to oblivion.” He said the
conflict must be resolved based on international laws.

SEPARATIST LEADER SAYS USE OF GEORGIA’S EXPERIENCE IMPOSSIBLE IN KARABAKH
Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
3 Jun 04
Stepanakert, 3 June: “Azerbaijan will sooner or later be forced to
conduct negotiations with Nagornyy Karabakh despite its attempts
to avoid this,” the president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic,
Arkadiy Gukasyan, has told a briefing.
According to Gukasyan, the repetition of the Georgian scenario
for the settlement of conflicts is impossible in Artsakh (Nagornyy
Karabakh). He expressed his hope that the Azerbaijani authorities
will sooner or later become politically mature for talks with Artsakh.

Book Review: Learn to speak fenugreek
New York Daily News
June 2 2004
Armenian cuisine – which combines the flavors of the Mediterranean with
Persian and Russian cooking – is the subject of an intriguing new book
by Victoria Jenanyan Wise, “The Armenian Table” (St. Martin’s Press,
$29.95). The signature ingredients for this style of cooking are herbs
such as fenu­greek and tarragon, and such seasonings as orange flower
water. To get to know them, the author takes us on a comprehensive
tour of the typical Armenian pantry. First, though, there’s an
interesting chapter on the homelands of the Armenian people, maps and
all, followed by shopping hints and descriptions of frequently used
foods. Wise discusses the assorted extracts, spices, herbs and fresh
produce she uses in her kitchen to turn out such dishes as mussels
in tomato-onion broth, spicy meatballs in tomato-cilantro sauce and
bulgur pilaf with chickpeas and spring onions. A chapter on yogurt
includes instructions on how to make yogurt, called madzoon, and a
variety of drinks such as jajik (yogurt with cucumber), yogurt cheese,
yogurt bechamel and tanabour, a yogurt and barley soup with mint and
parsley. There are some fine recipes here that you’re not likely to
find elsewhere, including a fresh fava bean salad with string cheese
and chive oil, Armenian moussaka with lamb, potatoes and a yogurt
bechamel, and an Armenian rata­touille that’s generously seasoned
with fresh marjoram and paprika. If you’re looking for a new cuisine
to explore, this is very satisfying.

ARMENIAN MPS WILL RETRAIN IN OSCE
A1 Plus | 15:17:03 | 01-06-2004 | Politics |
For the first time in Southern Caucasus OSCE Yerevan Office jointly
with OSCE PA are holding retraining courses for the members and
employees of Armenian, Azeri and Georgian Parliaments.
During presentation of program for retraining the expert staff
of Armenian Parliament OSCE Yerevan Office head Vladimir Pryakhin
informed the aim of the project is to manage the law-making process
in Armenia more efficiently and transparently.
Courses for the experts of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign
Relations, Committee on State and Legal Issues and Committee on
Defense, National Security and Home Affairs are envisaged within
retraining. The courses will be held as interactive seminars.
According to Pryakhin, OSCE experts will focus on reforms of Armenian
Electoral Code and Armenian Constitution.

Haglund Murder: Police, embassy not giving up information in killing of US citizen
By Julia Hakobyan and John Hughes, ArmeniaNow reporters
ArmeniaNow
28 May 2004
After a week of investigation, police are not saying if a motive
has been uncovered in the killing of United States citizen Joshua
Haglund. Police are, however, calling the crime “premeditated murder”.
Haglund, 33, was found with stab wounds in the backyard of his
Yerevan apartment in the evening of May 17. He died of the wounds
while awaiting emergency medical aid. He is believed to be the first
American to be murdered in Armenia.
The U.S. Embassy has not released any information about Haglund,
who was in Yerevan to teach at the Brusov Linguistic University as
part of a U.S. State Department language fellow program.
He was a native of Minnesota, and was scheduled to return there
next month.
Police are investigating Haglund’s personal life, but investigators
and the embassy are being tight lipped about the crime. Meanwhile
rumors swirl, including speculation of a “contract killing”, put
out by someone jealous of Haglund’s attention toward a certain
girl. Others speculate that it was a “hate crime”, carried out by
a person or persons who objected to aspects of Haglund’s personal
life. One rumor even has Haglund as a CIA operative and that the
murder took place on the eve of a departure to Iraq.
In any case, ArmeniaNow has learned that the fatal wounds were
consistent with those often inflicted in so-called “crimes of
passion”. Typically, that means that the attack is more brutal,
suggesting that the perpetrator has been enraged by some conflict
between the two parties.
A theory that Haglund knew his attacker(s) is supported by evidence
from his apartment, where police found three glasses and a recently
opened bottle of wine. Blood stains were also found in the apartment,
suggesting that the confrontation either started or was entirely
centered in Haglund’s home.
Marietta Yeranosyan, who lives in front of the apartment Haglund was
renting, says that the day before the murder there was party at his
home. And when she heard the noises on the day of murder she thought
another party was in progress.
Residents of the building also say that Haglund (who was not fluent
in Armenian) socialized mostly with English-speaking acquaintances.
“We heard several men’s loud voices but it was not clear if it was
a quarrel or just talk, as they were speaking English,” Yeranosyan
said. “Then his door opened as if people left.”
Yeranosyan says her husband was coming home around that time and saw
two men quickly running in different directions.
Yeranosyan believes that Haglund might have been pursuing his
attacker(s) when he collapsed in the yard, around 10:30 p.m.
Elmira Harutyunyan, a neighbor, says Haglund was alive when she and
others found him.
“He was trying to say something, but no one understood it, because he
was speaking English. Then it seemed he showed ‘three’ with fingers
and died,” she says.
Though known in the expatriate community, Haglund’s American
acquaintances are not commenting publicly on the murder, saying
that they are under obligation to restrict comments to the police
investigation.
It is believed that in the hours before his murder, Haglund visited
the Wheel Club, a restaurant and bar popular among expats on the
opposite end of the street where Haglund’s apartment was located.
Haglund’s social life in Armenia included association with members of
Armenia’s gay community. One theory being advanced is that he became
a victim of a “hate crime” based on that association.
Last Sunday, about 100 mourners attended a memorial service for
Haglund at the American University of Armenia.
“I was fascinated with his sensibility and sense of humor. We share
everything, good and bad,” said Amelia Weir, a friend who spoke to
the assembly. “Something that struck me – he was fully present in
this life. He wanted us to be dedicated to what we do.”
Haglund had finished the semester’s lectures at Brusov on the morning
of his murder. His students (though reluctant to give their full names)
characterize him as a kind and respected professor.
“We all were shocked when we learned what happened,” says Silva,
a third-year student of the University. “We completed his course
‘Speaking Skills’. We said goodbye to each other and a few days later
learned he was killed.”
“He was a very qualified professor,” says Arevik, another student. “His
lessons were interesting, he was polite with everyone and never
offended any of us.”
His hometown newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune
() reported that Haglund had lived for extended
periods in Japan, India and Puerto Rico.
His mother, Maxine Haglund-Blommer, told the newspaper that her son
had been offered a job in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and that
he would relocate there after visiting Minnesota.
She said Haglund told her he would take the job in UAE, after which
he would move back to the States to live near his family.