Author: Zakarian Garnik

Zaman Online, Turkey
Oct 13 2006

Turkish Businessmen Boycott French Companies
By Isa Sezen, Istanbul
Friday, October 13, 2006
zaman.com

The passing of the controversial Armenian genocide denial bill in the
French parliament has prompted strong reactions in Turkish business
circles.

Several businessmen announced they would suspend business
partnerships with French companies.

However, no reaction came from Turkey’s Army Pension Fund (OYAK),
which is a partner with French giants in the steel, automotive and
insurance industries.

Associations Also Call for Boycott

Omer Bolat, chairman of the Independent Industrialists and
Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD), said the law penalizing the
denial of the alleged Armenian genocide passed by the French
parliament aimed at obstructing Turkey’s accession to the European
Union and called for the commercial boycott against France to be a
long-term and collective one.

MUSIAD called its members to stop commercial relationships with
French companies.

Erhan Ozmen, the chairman of Turkish Young Businessmen Confederation,
thinks the passing of the law will have permanent effects on the
relationship between the two countries.

However, Ozmen said boycotts and embargos would damage Turkey as much
as France, and added that the $5 million French capital in Turkey
should not be forgotten.

The Economic Development Foundation also thinks France will correct
its `mistake.’

Milsoft, a leading software company in Turkey’s defense industry,
decided not to join the Euronaval 2006, an international fair on
defense, to be held in Paris in the upcoming weeks.

Two Turkish companies applied for participation in Euronaval, one of
the world’s leading naval armament fairs.

However, Yonca-Onuk, a comopany well-known for its Kaan-class
fast-patrol boats, is joining the fair.

`We must show a joint reaction against this unlucky and biased
decision. Therefore, we decided not to join the fair,’ Milsoft
Marketing Director Cem Koc said.

Yonca-Onuk’s boss Ekber Onuk does not agree with Koc.

`We have been taking part in this fair for the last four or five
years. There will be a gap unless we join it this year. This gap in
the defense industry will negatively affect our company and our
country. We should be there for the Turkish defense industry,’ Onuk
said.

Currently in Brussels, Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan said, `As
Turkey supports freedom of thought and expression, France’s decision
to restrict the freedom of thought is contrary to the European
Union’s basic values.’

Babacan added that the decision made by the French parliament did not
represent the majority of France. `We will continue with the reform
process in the same way. We will take steps to set a good example for
our own people, for the rest of the EU member countries and for
neighboring states.’

As OYAK keeps silent on the law penalizing the denial of the alleged
Armenian genocide, several Turkish businessmen are withdrawing their
orders from France.

Agaoglu Insaat, a leading company in the construction industry,
cancelled its agreement with the French company Carrefour to open a
supermarket in its MyCountry project in Cekmekoy Istanbul.

Businessman Turgay Ciner, owner of Sabah Daily and channel ATV,
suspended the order of an airplane from France as a reaction against
the genocide bill.

Clup Irem Tour owner Saadettin Ulubay suspended a helicopter order
from a French company.

Ulubay said they had concerns about the cancellation of reservation
in tours to France during the Ramadan holiday.

Some French companies operating in Turkey include Total, Elf,
Carrefour, Danone, Tefal, Michelin, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen,
Lacoste, L’Oreal, Lancome, Christian Dior, Avon, Onduline, Lafarge,
Chryso, Air France, BIC, Cartier, Sheaffer, Le coq sportif, Alcatel,
AXA, Gunes Insurance, Basak Insurance, Basak Emeklilik Societe
General Bank, Turkish Economy Bank, Sanofi and Servier.

TUSIAD: Let us Reply with Reforms

TUSIAD called the French bill `a big mistake.’

`A proper reply to be given to France would be to accelerate
political reforms to include freedom of expression particularly and
proceed toward our goal of full [EU] membership as a country holding
memberships talks with the European Union,’ the association stated.

TOBB: They won’t be Invited for Bids

Rifat Hisarciklioglu, chairman for the Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), said public administrations in Turkey
would not invite French companies to bids after the passing of the
bill.

`The French National Parliament made a mistake. Responsibility for
this process falls on it,’ Hisarciklioglu said. The TOBB chairman
thinks France failed in the test of law and conscience and described
the developments as a black page in its history.

Sabah, Turkey
Oct 13 2006

France passes the law despite all warnings

The French parliament has approved the bill making it a crime to deny
that Armenians suffered from a genocide in 1915. Both the government
and the press did everything in their power up until the very last
moment to prevent the law from passing, however the motion was
carried by 106 votes to 19.

Ignoring Turkish protests, the French parliament approved a bill on
Thursday making it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered from a
genocide in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. The bill still
needs to be ratified by both the upper house Senate and the French
president to become a law, but Turkey has already warned that
Thursday’s vote would damage ties between the two NATO allies.
The legislation establishes a one-year prison term and 45,000 euro
($56,570) fine for anyone denying that genocide occurred — exactly
the same sanctions as those imposed for denying the Nazi genocide of
Jews during World War Two. The French government did not support the
motion, saying it was up to historians and not the parliament to
judge the past, but the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP)
gave its lawmakers a free hand in the vote, ensuring it would pass.

Sofia News Agency, Bulgaria
Oct 13 2006

Tennis Sisters of Bulgaria with Star of Fame

Photo: Katerina, Manuela and Magdalena (from R to L) pose in front of
the star of Maleeva Sisters, which was officially inaugurated Friday
on the Walk of Fame in Sofia. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia
Photo Agency)

The three Maleeva sisters – Katerina, Manuela and Magdalena –
received their glory star on the Walk of Fame in Sofia.

The solemn ceremony was organised a few months after the youngest
among them, Magdalena, put end to her tennis career.

The recognition honoured several decades of numerous victories of the
three sisters in the world of tennis, mentored by their mother and
individual coach Yulia Berberyan.

The red-carpet ceremony took place in front of the Arena movie
theatre on Friday evening.

The stars already shining on the Walk of Fame belong to football star
Hristo Stoitchkov, folk singer Valya Balkanska, pop singer Lili
Ivanova, violin virtuoso Vasko Vassilev, Bulgaria’s first cosmonaut
Georgi Ivanov and clarinet player Ivo Papazov.

Maleeva’s mother Yulia Berberyan came from a prominent Armenian
family, which found refuge in Bulgaria after the 1896 Armenian
massacres in the Ottoman Empire. She was the best Bulgarian tennis
player in the 1960s.

After retiring from professional tennis in the 1970s, Berberyan
started on a coaching career. She trained all of her three daughters,
Magdalena, Katerina and Manuela, each of whom eventually became WTA
top six players.

Manuela, Katerina and Magdalena earned their place in the Top 6 of
the world rankings and set numerous records that will remain in the
sport’s history.

>From the first success of the 12-year-old Manuela at the 1979 "Orange
Bowl" to the present victories of Magdalena, there is at least one
Maleeva in the world’s tennis elite for over a quarter of a century
now.

In October 2005, Magdalena Maleeva retired from professional tennis,
after 16 seasons in the tennis elite, ending the era of the Maleeva
Sisters.
.php?id=71139

October 12, 2006

As American as Vartan, Luis and Na
By CINDY CHANG

LOS ANGELES

TO the people who suggest it might be easier if he calls himself
Victor, Vartan Zhamkochyan has a simple answer: no way. And though his
last name ismore of a tongue twister than his first name, that, too,
is nonnegotiable.

Mr. Zhamkochyan and his wife, Naira Mnatsakanyan, shunned the
time-honored immigrant tradition of anglicizing their names when they
became United States citizens last month. Both are determined to keep
using their full Armenian names, despite the obvious inconveniences.

`They can’t say my first name or my last name,’ said Ms. Mnatsakanyan
(whose full name is pronounced NIGH-rah meh-naht-sah-KHAN-yahn), 35,
an accounting student from Burbank, outside Los Angeles. `It’s really
hard for them. But I love for them to try and say it, since it’s my
name, it’s my father’s name.’

Hayedeh or Heidi? Estuardo or Steve? Simhe Kohnovalsky or Sam Cohn?
>From the ragtag Polish farmer at Ellis Island to the wealthy
businessman who arrives on a first-class flight from Tehran,
immigrants with names likely to trip up the average American have to
confront questions about one of the most defining pieces of a person’s
identity.

Plenty of immigrants still change their names to something easier for
their new compatriots to pronounce. But unlike their Ellis Island
predecessors, modern immigrants live in a multicultural society where
assimilation no longer means having to sever all ties to where they
are from.

Today’s anglicizations are less likely to be forced by bosses or
teachers and more likely to be the product of careful consideration
about the tradeoff between fitting in and giving up a part of one’s
heritage, immigrants and cultural experts say.

Increasing acceptance of nonmainstream names seems an inevitable next
step, as immigrant pride finds a prominent place on the national stage
– witness the millions of Spanish speakers chanting `SÃ-, se puede’
(`Yes, we can’) in the streets last spring – and new Americans
maintain a firm grip on their native languages, foods and customs.

Only 16 percent of the nearly 700,000 people who became naturalized
citizens in the last year requested a name change, according to
statistics from the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services. The rest decided to stick with given names like Quirino,
Takero, Wenyi and Erendira.

`Obviously, early in the 20th century, with the whole Americanization
movement, people were encouraging the immigrant community to be more
American,’ said Marian Smith, the _immigration_
( ence/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refuge es/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier)
services historian. `If you fast forward 50 years, you find an America
where people say that’s something you really have to think about, how
much of your identity is your name. To even suggest to someone that
they change their name is to suggest there’s something wrong with
their name as it is.’ While many choose American first names for
their offspring, that is also changing. Angel was the most popular
name for Hispanic boys born in New York City in 2005, according to its
Health and Mental Hygiene Department, with José and Luis also among
the top 20. There were 162 Carloses, 95 Giovannis, 41 Guadalupes, 25
Anjalis and 17 Yukis born to New Yorkers last year.

In a country where falafel and pad thai are now nearly as commonplace
as Chinese takeout, some children of immigrants are even reclaiming
their ethnic names, suddenly announcing that they will no longer use
the American first names their parents gave them but will henceforth
be known as Aiko or Ying-hui.

`We feel much more accepted into American society now,’ said Hongxia
Liu, who came to the United States from Beijing in 1986 and has kept
her Chinese name, which means rainbow. `Why not keep our own identity,
our cultural heritage, including the name, especially the name coming
from your parents?’ Ms. Liu, the director of an international legal
assistance center in Washington, says that friends puzzle over how to
pronounce her name, especially the ` x.’ She tells them to think of it
like the `sh’ sound.

She and her husband, Jianye Wang, named their daughter and son Lumay
and Jayon – derivatives of the Chinese names Lumei and Jiyang. The
Wangchildren, now teenagers, love their names.

`We wanted to keep the Chinese identity but in the meantime make them
easy to pronounce and remember,’ Ms. Liu said.

Tina Cordova, who owns a construction company in Albuquerque, grew up
in an era when many Hispanic parents avoided speaking Spanish at home
in the hope that their children would grow up to be wholly
American. Her father, Anastasio Antonio Cordova, always went by Tony,
and he named his four children Tina, Tammy, Matthew and William.

Now, all of Ms. Cordova’s immigrant employees go by names like
Santiago and Alejandro. Her grandchildren, Marcus Philimon and
Demetrius Anthony, have names that, if not traditionally Mexican, are
a departure from the `Leave It to Beaver’ names of her
generation.

`Everyone was trying back then to fit in, hence me and my brothers and
sister have very American names,’ said Ms. Cordova, 47. `Now there’s a
tendency toward not feeling so uncomfortable naming your children
something that sounds ethnic.’ Based on data compiled from birth
certificates, Stanley Lieberson, a _Harvard_
( /timestopics/organizations/h/harvard_university/in dex.html?inline=3Dnyt-org)
sociology professor, concluded that until the 1980’s, immigrants
quickly conformed to prevailing normsin naming their children. But he
also noticed that African-American names diverged increasingly from
the mainstream in a pattern that correlated with growingsocial status
and racial pride. A similar trend may be developing among immigrants
today.

`Declaring I am whatever it is I am is cool now, where it might
nothave been earlier, partly because of a greater tolerance to
nonassimilation,’ Professor Lieberson said. `There is a shift
over time toward ethnic assertiveness.’ Frank and Na Hong, like many
other Asian immigrants, gave their two children American first names
and Korean middle names. Their son, Timothy Seung-Ho Hong, often
fended off ethnic slurs while growing up in Seattle and New Orleans.

But in college, Mr. Hong took ethnic studies classes and joined
Asian-American advocacy groups. When he moved back to New Orleans six
yearsago, Mr. Hong started going by Seung-Ho, later shortening it to
Seung after people had trouble pronouncing the full name.

The transition has mostly gone smoothly, though his father still slips
up and addresses him as Timmy. People routinely butcher the name,
calling him Shawn or Sang – it is pronounced `Sung’ – and are more
likely to assume that he is a foreigner. But for Mr. Hong the
inconvenience is worth it.

`I wanted to more strongly connect with my history, my culture and
having my name be kind of like a reminder of who I am,’ said Mr. Hong,
30, who is the legislative director for a New Orleans city
councilwoman.

Some Asian-Americans who started out using their ethnic first names
switched to more traditional American names, only to reclaim their
original names as adults. After moving to Indiana from Southern
California, Fumiko China’s parents decided she would have a tough
enough time being half Japanese in the Midwest without having a
foreign-sounding name. From then on, she was known by her middle name,
Catherine.

Ms. Chino is now using her Japanese name again, and three of her four
siblings have also reverted.

`I love the fact that it’s an old Japanese name,’ said Ms. Chino, 29,
who until recently worked in the art department of an anime film
company in Houston. `People who are Fumikos are in their 70’s. It’s
unique, and I like that.

It also helps clarify who I am. I hate getting the question,
`What are you?’ ‘

In Hollywood, too, where name changes are as common as nose jobs, the
tide may be turning, as Asian actresses like Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li
star in big-budget productions.

The actress Ming-Na tried going by Maggie and Doris as a teenager, an
attempt to fit in better at a school in the Pittsburgh area, where she
was the only Asian student. But she said none of those names felt
right, and she stuck with her given name as she tried to forge a
career in Hollywood, even rejecting advice from Wayne Wang, the
director of `The Joy Luck Club,’ that she anglicize it.

She went on to become one of Hollywood’s best-known Asian-American
actresses.

At her suggestion, the Chinese-American doctor she played on `ER’
underwent a name change from Deb to Jing-Mei.

`What’s great is that as you grow up, you have a stronger idea of who
you are and pride about your heritage,’ she said. `It becomes more of,
`No, no, you guys have got to come around to learn how to
pronounce our names.’ NYTimes.com

FLOOD AND EMERGENCY SITUATION IN GREECE
By Petros Keshishian

AZG Armenian Daily
11/10/2006

The government of Greece has announced emergency situation in the
Northern regions country because of heavy flood there. The heavy rain,
which lasted for 12 hours, surpassed any monthly limits. The Associated
Press agency informed that one person is missing; many houses, roads
and electric lines are destroyed.

The bridge that unites Thessalonica and Cavalla towns is destroyed
as well. The roads are totally flooded.

The Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis visited the destroyed regions
and assured that the residents will get compensations for their lost
or damaged property.

According to the government experts, the loses amount to million
dollars already.

OSCE MISSION MONITORING POSTPONED AT REQUEST OF KARABAKH SIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.10.2006 13:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We regret that the OSCE did not create the necessary
conditions for the inclusion of the NKR representatives in the group
of the OSCE Mission on the assessment of the ecological situation
on the territories suffered from the fires. However, it does not
exclude the possibility of the participation of Karabakh experts in
the realization of the monitoring, especially when in connection with
the necessity of joining of NKR representatives to the Mission its
conducting is postponed for a day".

NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgy Petrossian stated answering the
question of journalists on the actions of the official Stepanakert
in connection with the departure of the OSCE expert group from Baku
to the fire zone.

Georgy Petrossian also informed that the NKR MFA had sent a note to
the OSCE in which the position of the republic’s leadership on the
issue of the participation of experts from the NKR in the monitoring
was expressed. "One part of the territories on which the assessment
is to be conducted, is under the jurisdiction of the NKR and it is
a serious argument for our participation in the monitoring realized
by the Mission on the opposite side", the Minister stressed.

According to the information of the NKR authorities, an alarming
ecological situation is formed on the territories occupied by
Azerbaijan: a mass cutting down of wood in the Shahoumian region
is carried out, the ecological balance is seriously affected in the
eastern part of the Martouni region where the structure of soil and
micro flora are damaged, reported the NKR MFA press service.

On October 5 morning the OSCE Mission with the participation of the NKR
experts began its activity on assessment of the ecological situation
on the territories of the Azerbaijani Republic and Nagorno Karabakh
Republic armed forces contact-line. Currently the monitoring is being
carried out on the territories of the Azerbaijani side.

THESE BOOKS ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST
By Holly E. Newton

Columbia Daily Tribune, MO
Oct 5 2006

September began my eighth year of reviewing children’s books –
including seven years for the Tribune. I thought it would be
appropriate to go back over my many reviews and select my favorites.

This was difficult, as I only pick the best books to review anyway.

However, after much deliberation, I came up with a good mix of genres.

"Dolphin Adventure" by Wayne Grover is a small chapter book about
an exciting adventure that actually happened to the author. After
deep-sea diving, Grover encounters a family of dolphins. What awaits
him will take your breath away.

"Lincoln – A Photobiography" by Jim Murphy takes you through President
Abrham Lincoln’s life, especially during his presidency.

The photos throughout are amazing, especially the pictures showing
the stress on the president’s face during the Civil War.

All of the "Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling. Rarely have I come
across a writer better able to weave a mystery inside a fantasy that
is also rich in language for all to enjoy.

"Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman begins with one child planting a seed
in an overgrown and dumpy area in a city. What you soon discover
is that each chapter, even though they are about different tenants,
become intertwined, like the seeds they plant.

"Holes" by Louis Sacchar is such an outstanding mystery. Too bad they
made a movie based on it because now many won’t want to read it.

"Insectlopedia," written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, is an
ingenious poetry book where many of the poems become the shape of
the insect.

"A Picnic in October" by Eve Bunting is a beautiful picture book
about a family coming to Ellis Island each October to commemorate
their ancestors’ arrival to America.

"Forgotten Fire" by Adam Bagdasarian is about the author’s relatives
and his struggle with a little-known chapter of history, the
extermination of the Armenians in Turkey during World War II.

"Guts" by Gary Paulsen is an autobiographical account of this famous
adventurer/author and his incredible experiences, of which he wrote
about in many of his books.

"Shipwreck At the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong is
a non-fiction account of Ernest Shackleton in 1914, and the ship
Endurance, and how he and his crew barely survived while trying to
be the first to circumnavigate the South Pole.

"Inkheart" by Cornelia Funk is another mystery fantasy by an author
comparable with Rowling. This story not only celebrates reading, but
it also has the characters come to life as well as main characters
falling inside the pages.

"The Water Hole" by Graeme Base is an extraordinary picture book that
begins with a large African pool of water that’s cut out in the book.

Each page has animals from different environments drinking, and the
hole becomes smaller and smaller as you read the book.

"Rocks in His Head" by Carol Ois Hurst is based on her father’s life.

This is an inspiring picture book about how a man who lost
everything during the Great Depression rose above and beyond anyone’s
expectations.

"Hachiko Waits" by Leslea Newman tells the true story of a dog who
waits for seven years in a train station for his owner to return –
even after the owner dies.

"Dinosaur – Encyclopedia Prehistorica" by Robert Sabuda and Matthew
Reinhart is one of the best pop-out books ever published. There are
more pop-outs and information on every page than you can imagine.

Holly E. Newton, M.A., has taught kindergarten through seventh
grades. She has five children and is working on reading every great
book for kids. See her Web site at

NEW NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS WORRY GEORGIAN GREENS
By M. Alkhazashvili
Translated by Diana Dundua

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 4 2006

Russia’s Federal Atomic Agency, or RosAtom, has decided to build a
nuclear power station in the south of Russia, said RosAtom Director,
Sergei Kirienko, at a press conference on September 28. The new nuclear
power station will serve the Russian North Caucasus republics and the
Krasnodar region will be located close to the Georgia-Russian border.

Chairman of the Georgian Green Party, Giorgi Gachechiladze, suggests
that Russia’s decision to construct a new nuclear power station
could be an attempt to make them less reliant on oil and natural gas,
freeing more of their reserve. This way, he asserts, more supply is
available to export and they can continue to influence Eastern and
Central Europe, which relies on their energy resources.

The Turkish government have also recently announced plans to build
an atomic plant in the vicinity of Georgia’s borders in the port of
Sinop. According to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
construction will begin this year and the plant will be finished
by 2012.

A Soviet-era nuclear power plant is located 100 kilometres south of
the Georgian border in Metsamor, Armenia. Georgia could soon have
nuclear power stations surrounding it on all sides.

Furthermore, Georgia has recently been mulling over the possibility
of building its own nuclear power station. The possibility was very
publicly discussed by Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze and the
president’s economic adviser Mart Laar recently.

Gachechiladze claims Georgia’s hydro electric potential could generate
80 million megawatts of power, so it won’t be easy to justify building
a nuclear power station in Georgia.

FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER UPBEAT ON KARABAKH RESOLUTION

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan,
2 Oct 06

Yerevan, 2 October: Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who
heads the delegation of the EU Troika, said in Yerevan today that
"the European Union entirely backs the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group
and believes that the window of possibilities for the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict remains open".

Erkki Tuomioja said at a news conference in Yerevan today that the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, who will start their visit to the
region on 3 October [they will be in Armenia on 3 October], visited
Helsinki last week and briefed the Finnish presidency of the EU on
the situation in the negotiating process, Mediamax reports.

"We believe that the window of possibilities for the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict remains open and call on the sides to take
advantage of this opportunity," Tuomioja said.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? 9PM BBC1

The Independent (London)
September 30, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition

PICK OF THE DAY

David Dickinson has a more interesting background than most – his
mother was Armenian and he was adopted at the age of 11.

As he delves into his family tree and heritage, the antiques expert
is surprised to learn how many characteristics he has inherited.

The Daily Politics Conference Special 2pm BBC2

It’s the turn of the man waiting in the wings. David Cameron steps
up to the platform for the annual gathering of Tories in Bournemouth.

3-Minute Wonder: Riba Stirling Prize 2006 7.55pm C4

Kevin McCloud presents another two finalists under consideration
by a panel convened under the auspices of the Royal Institution for
British Architecture. As seems to be the way these days, there’s an
opportunity for viewers to phone in for their favourite building of
the six shortlisted.

Ghetto Britain: 30 Years of Race 9pm More4

Dr Robert Beckford conducts an informal audit of race relations in
Britain, 30 years after the Race Relations Act and more than 25 years
after the Brixton riots.