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02/08/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Armenian Genocide Back in German School Curriculum 2) OSCE Minsk co-chairs View Return of Refugees as 'Unrealistic' 3) Kurdish Leader Barzani Vows to Never Forsake Kirkuk 4) Minsk Envoys Meet Oskanian after Karabagh Mission 1) Armenian Genocide Back in German School Curriculum BERLIN (DPA)--Defusing a possible fiasco after Turkish pressure forced the removal of the Armenian genocide from German public school curriculums, a state premier said on Tuesday the 1915 killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians would be again be taught in history classes. Brandenburg's Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck admitted it had been a mistake to remove all mention of the genocide from his state's education ministry website curriculum planner. The Armenian genocide--which had been used as the only example in history classes other than the Holocaust--will now be returned to high schools along with other cases of 20th century genocide, he said. Platzeck denied media reports that he ordered removal of the Armenian genocide from his schools after strong pressure from a Turkish diplomat. "None of that happened," said Platzeck. Platzeck made his announcement after a meeting with Armenia's ambassador to Germany, Karine Kazinian, who expressed deep anger over the move. "The key point is that the genocide and everything that happened back then is being clearly addressed," said Ambassador Kazinian. The row began last month after Turkey's Consul in Berlin, Aydin Durusay, raised the issue of the Armenian genocide in connection to Brandenburg--which is so far the only one of Germany's 16 federal states, which described the killings as "genocide" in its official public school curriculum. Most European and US historians agree, however, that up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically massacred and deported by the Ottoman Turks during World War I. Eight European Union (EU) parliaments including France and the Netherlands--but not Germany--have passed resolutions declaring the deaths genocide. With about two million resident ethnic Turks, Germany is cautious about any issue which could disturb ties with its biggest minority. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is a firm supporter of Turkey's bid to join the EU. Platzeck is a rising star in Chancellor's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and is tipped by some as a possible successor to Schroeder. 2) OSCE Minsk co-chairs View Return of Refugees as 'Unrealistic' YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Speaking with the Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, Yuri Merzliakov, the Russian co-chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, said the issue of refugees cannot be viewed separately from the entire conflict. Referring to the region's instability, Merzliakov said, "I could not imagine how Armenians would be able to return to [Azeri-occupied] Shahumian." He added that their security must not only be guaranteed, but the issue must also remain a component in reaching a settlement. Minsk Group French co-chair Bernard Fassier--who served as the French ambassador to Georgia in 1990s--said he witnessed firsthand the unorganized return of refugees to the Gali region of Georgia--and the consequences involved when the situation is not fully scrutinized. Both Merzliakov and Fassier just wrapped up an OSCE fact-finding mission around Mountainous Karabagh to investigate Azeri claims that they were being populated by "illegal Armenian settlers." Fassier commented that the mission proved useful for understanding the situation. 3) Kurdish Leader Barzani Vows to Never Forsake Kirkuk (Combined Sources)--Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKPD) leader Massoud Barzani declared on Tuesday that no matter the circumstances, he would never relinquish the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. "No power or no state in the world will make us forsake Kirkuk," he stated. Speaking to Zaman froom his compound in Erbil on Feburary 3, Barzani said that the establishment of an independent Kurdish state was the Kurds' right, but that neighboring states firmly opposed this. "We want to unify Kurdistan, he said, adding that Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria must understand the reality of the situation. Stressing that their first priority at the moment is a federal Kurdish state, Barzani said, "We cannot agree with Turkey on two issues. One is the Kirkuk issue, and the other is the situation of a federative Kurdistan within Iraq." The Kurdish leader stressed that Ankara should not intervene in the region, and that Turkish military intervention might be tragic for both parties. Referring to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh remarks about the Iraqi elections and Kirkuk, the Kurdish leader argued that such statements by Turkish authorities regarding northern Iraq are based on "some problems stemming from internal affairs." He added that Erdogan should know what the will of the people means. Countering claims that the elections in Kirkuk were illegitimate, Barzani reiterated, "Those who voted in Kirkuk are all residents of Kirkuk. There is not a single non-Kirkuk resident among those who voted." When asked how they will direct their relations with Turkey, Barzani answered: "The Turkmen are our brothers. We will protect their rights as much as they [protect] their own rights. We protected their rights in the past and will do so today as well. I hope relations with Turkey will be better from now on." Barzani, emphasizing that relations between Kurdistan and the US are strong and deeply rooted, said that the US should not withdraw from the region until terrorism is eliminated. 4) Minsk Envoys Meet Oskanian after Karabagh Mission YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The Russian and French Minsk Group co-chairs met with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian on Tuesday to discuss details of the upcoming round of Armenian-Azeri peace talks which they said could mark further progress toward the conflict's resolution. Yuri Merzlyakov and Bernard Fassier arrived in Yerevan from Karabagh where they accompanied officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on a fact-finding trip to Armenian-controlled territories. The OSCE mission led by a senior German diplomat, Emily Haber, spent more than a week touring Armenian occupied regions around Karabagh. Haber and members of her team were tasked with investigating Azeri claims that the lands have been illegally populated by Armenians. The OSCE representatives were still in the Armenian capital as of late Tuesday, and are due to submit a report on their findings to the OSCE's Minsk Group on Karabagh which is co-chaired by Merzlyakov, Fassier, and their US counterpart, Stephen Mann. "It is still early to speak of conclusions to be made by the report," the Russian co-chair said after the meeting with Oskanian. "It is not yet ready. Members of the mission are still working on it." "We simply informed the minister that, logistically, the mission went very well," he said, praising the authorities in Stepanakert for cooperating with the OSCE officials. The Russian and French envoys said they also discussed with Oskanian preparations for yet another meeting in Prague of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers. Azerbaijani media reports have said the meeting is tentatively scheduled for March, but Merzlyakov said no final dates have been set yet. Oskanian and Azeri counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov announced no far-reaching agreements after their most recent Prague talks held last month. Asked whether a breakthrough can be expected this year, Merzlyakov said, "I can not make forecasts on time frames. We hope that there will be is progress, if not breakthrough." "We hope that there will be progress," Fassier said for his part. "But progress is not yet a breakthrough." All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

BBC News
Last Updated: Monday, 7 February, 2005, 05:49 GMT
European press review
Monday’s European papers’ ‘dish of the day’ is undoubtedly Rice. Condoleezza
that is.
Several German dailies criticise an opposition leader for blaming the rise
of the far right on the government.
And a Spanish daily would like to see the IRA change bullets into ballots.
Rice with French fries, sauerkraut and caviar
France’s Liberation looks forward to the arrival in Paris on Tuesday of US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ahead of President Bush’s coming visit.
Ms Rice, the paper says, “will stamp the seal” on the US “wish to turn over
a new leaf”.
Paris, it adds, “has for the past few months held out its hand to a
Washington which has been slow to grasp it”.
But now “is a good time”, the paper believes, “because the new Bush
administration wants to succeed where the old one failed”, and “break out of
its international isolation”.
“Still,” the paper concludes with more than a hint of irony, “Miss Rice is
coming to Paris with her smile, a veritable dove of peace from the home of
the brave – and besides there never was any war.”
Switzerland’s Le Temps points out that this is the same Condoleezza Rice
who, as the paper puts it, “chose to ignore the Germans” and “promised to
punish the French” as the president’s national security adviser during Mr
Bush’s first term, is now “wafting through Old Europe like a breeze with
invitations to join the US-British coalition”.
Germany’s Die Welt notes that the secretary of state has had “almost nothing
but praise for Old Europe” since she began her current tour of European
capitals and the Middle East.
“Clearly,” it believes, “her boss in the White House is preparing to mend
and reactivate the transatlantic alliance, especially with Germany and
France.”
Austria’s Die Presse praises her “wise move” in starting her approach to
Europe with what it calls “verbal disarmament”.
Moscow’s Kommersant hits a disgruntled note.
The secretary of state’s “lightning visit”, it says, “means that the
decisive word on the eve of the Palestinian-Israeli talks belongs, as ever,
to Washington, while Moscow’s positions have not been consolidated at all”.
“This means that America’s role will remain unchanged”, the paper warns,
“and the influence of the other members of the (Middle East) quartet – the
EU, the UN and Russia – will be reduced to zero.”
Blaming Gerhard
In Germany, in an interview with the Sunday paper Welt AM Sonntag, Bavaria’s
regional Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber said the rise of unemployment under
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has provided a “breeding ground” for extremism.
Mr Stoiber, who is also the leader of the opposition Christian Social Union,
CSU, went on to call unemployment “the main reason for the resurgence” of
the far-right National Democratic Party, NPD.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung believes the remarks are misguided.
It acknowledges that mass unemployment can lead to radicalisation on the
Left as well as the Right, and that the NPD recently scored an “electoral
success” in the eastern state of Saxony.
“But CSU chairman Stoiber is playing a dangerous game,” it says, “in
retrospectively making an irrational electoral decision look rational by
presenting it as a natural consequence of the government’s policies.”
“In this way the voters who went astray will certainly not be tempted back
to the path of democracy,” the paper warns.
The Berliner Zeitung agrees.
The Frankfurter Rundschau is particularly scathing in its verdict.
“So Schroeder is to blame for the Nazis,” the paper says. It goes on to
point out that the man it terms “the Bavarian”, is “the first to come up
with such nonsense”.
Edmund Stoiber has demonstrated, it adds, “that his aversion to Schroeder
makes him lose all political decency”.
Little Turkish delight left
With France’s ruling UMP party at odds with its most prominent member –
President Jacques Chirac – on the prospect of Turkey’s full EU membership,
Paris’s Le Monde ponders one of the contentious issues raised during a visit
to Turkey by a delegation led by the president of the French parliament,
Jean-Louis Debre.
The paper quotes Mr Debre as telling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
that “Turkey’s attitude to the Armenian genocide” of 1915 “poses a real
problem for France”.
To which Mr Erdogan replied, it notes, that he was “disappointed” with
Paris’s position” and “did not know that 400,000 (dead) Armenians could
decide the referendum” Paris intends to hold on Ankara’s membership bid.
“Despite this lively exchange,” the paper adds, “Mr Debre believes he ‘may
have done some useful work’ on the Armenian question, since the Turkish
authorities say they are willing to ‘consider’ a proposal to give access to
its archives to an international commission of historians”.
IRA
Writing from the only western European country sharing with the UK the
problem of violent separatism, Spain’s El Pais thinks it “unlikely” that the
IRA will return to what the paper calls “sectarian violence” even though it
has withdrawn from the Northern Ireland peace process.
“Experience teaches us”, it says, “that the recycling of the professionals
of the gun and the dynamite” is “a complex and drawn out process”.
“The disarming of the sectarian group,” it argues, “would lay down the
foundations for the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland and signal the
start of a normality desired by all but a handful of people.”
The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet
editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2005
TRADITIONAL FRIENDLY AND FRATERNAL RELATIONS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND
TURKEY DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES DELEGATION HEADED BY
CHAIRMAN OF GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY BULENT ARINC
[February 07, 2005, 23:14:02]
President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev has received the
delegation headed by Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey (GNAT) Bulent Arinc, February 7.
Warmly greeting the guests, Head of the Azerbaijan State said:
“Esteemed Mr. Chairman,
“Dear guests,
Dear friends,
I cordially welcome all of you and say: “ Welcome to Azerbaijan”.
Visit of your delegation to Azerbaijan testifies to very high level
of our bilateral relations. We perfectly cooperate in all areas.
Friendly, brotherly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan every day
develop and become stronger. We very much want that these links were
shown in all spheres, developed more actively, more dynamically. We
carry out successful enough cooperation in political, economic and
humanitarian areas, and our traditionally friendly, brotherly
connections rapidly develop.
Certainly, in this case I would like to emphasize especially also my
official visit to Turkey and its results. The visit was extremely
successful and we met within the framework of this visit. I have
carried out meetings, and have acted also in Grand National Assembly
of Turkey. This visit and other events once again testify to
development of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. We are the
closest allies. It is very glad, that the relations develop both in
economic and political spheres.
Lately numerous Turkish delegations of various level have come to
Azerbaijan. Besides, the Turkish-Azerbaijan business-forum has been
conducted, and I have joined the action and was convinced of as far
as the level of mutual interest is high.
We welcome the arrival here of the Turkish businessmen. Opportunities
existing here are open for them, and we aspire to the further
strengthening of our relations in economic, political and other
areas.
Also deserved are the links between Great National Assembly of Turkey
and Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, mutual visits are carried out. I
repeatedly met here the Turkish deputies and I welcome these visits.
I especially welcome your visit. I want to thank once again you for
hospitality rendered to me in Turkey. It is confident that your visit
to Azerbaijan will be very successful. Azerbaijan is your country,
your native land. In turn, I also wish that you felt like at home.
That all our friends, brothers have carried out here fruitful days.
Once again I warmly welcome you”.
Expressing to President Ilham Aliyev deep gratitude for warm
reception and kind words, Chairman of the Great National Assembly of
Turkey Bulent Arinc has told:
“Dear President, I am very grateful to You for pleasant words, for
rendered reception. Many thanks.
We are in this remarkable, brotherly country on the invitation of the
Chairman of Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, esteemed Murtuz Alaskarov. We
are very glad to this. We have arrived in Azerbaijan with five
deputies of our Assembly. We have met esteemed Chairman of
parliament, members of group of friendship. And now we are on your
reception. We have arrived in Azerbaijan – to our friends and
brothers, therefore, we do not feel like on the foreign land”.
Further, Mr. Bulent Arinc said: “We are very grateful to You for the
work done in Azerbaijan, for your merits, that have achieved the
highest development of relations with Turkey. With feeling of deep
respect I want to honor memory of your father, the outstanding
statesman of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Everything that has been made
by him today gives fruits. You, as his son and as the President of
Azerbaijan, also serve this country. Our Assembly, our Prime
Minister, and all our friends convey You greetings and love.
We were very glad when in April last year during your visit to Turkey
you came to our Assembly and have made speech. All our friends till
now with deep excitement, feeling of boundless pride recollect your
speech in Assembly on April 14. Today, we have really felt eternal
brotherhood and friendship of Azerbaijan”.
Then, having presented members of delegation, Mr. Bulent Arinc has
conveyed to the President of Azerbaijan greetings of 550 deputies of
the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and has told: “Turkey and
Azerbaijan are eternal friends. Wit our culture, belief, cohesion,
going back into centuries, we were support for each other, gave each
other force.”
Mr. Bulent Arinc said as the fist state to recognize independence of
Azerbaijan we feel boundless pride. And we support the fair cause of
Azerbaijan. WE wish Azerbaijan rapidly release its lands under form
occupation. Our states and governments back each other on the
international organizations. We have joint goals in the world policy.
We are confident that under your strong will the Nagorno- Karabakh
problem will find its just resolution.
Speaking of the Turkish businessmen and investors, the GNAT Chairman
said they make every effort to improve welfare of the Azerbaijani
people. Then, the Turkish Speaker expressed gratitude for provided
conditions for the Turkish businessmen.
Addressing the guest, President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham
Aliyev requested to pass his heartfelt greetings to the President and
Premier of Turkey. The Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have acquired a
strategic partnership level, he underlined. We are always together.
We meet and we have close relations. And, of course we often discuss
the most painful problem of Azerbaijan – the Armenian-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and share our views on world policy. We
every time feel this support by Turkey, President Ilham Aliyev
stressed.
President of Azerbaijan reminded of cooperation between the two
countries in regional and international level, noting the leading
role of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the region. ”We are one nation, two
states. Turkey and Azerbaijan are one and the same in all
internationals actions. And we shall further support each other.”
***
Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Turkey Mammad Aliyev, ambassador of
Turkey in Baku Turan Morali and other officials took part at the
reception.
–Boundary_(ID_5ftvLROHz4HXJ2KoBcuIHg)–

California Courier Online, February 10, 2005
1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Book Reveals
Initiative’s Anti-Armenian Intent
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – Hovnanian Enterprises Listed 5th
By Forbes as Best Big Company
3 – Southern California Armenian Man Pledges
To Raise $1 Million for US Troops’ Families
4 – United Human Rights Council
Campaigns Against Turkish Goods
5 – Djabourian Runs for
Pico Rivera City Council
6 – Tashjian Opens Exhibit
In New Mexico Senate
7 – Numismatic Society Needs
Donations to Publish Book
8 – Surmelian’s Play to be Performed at
L.A. Public Library, Feb. 2-March 11
*************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Book Reveals
Initiative’s Anti-Armenian Intent
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
David Phillips, the moderator of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission, is about to publish a book that discloses the true motives of
those who initiated and supported TARC.
Based on an advanced copy of Phillips’s book, “Unsilencing the Past: Track
Two Diplomacy and Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation,” analyst Emil Danielyan
wrote two lengthy reports last week for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Here are some of the highlights of Phillips’s interesting revelations, as
reported by Danielyan:
— Phillips confirms that the US government was the driving force behind
TARC. The idea was suggested to him by Undersecretary of State for
Political Affairs Marc Grossman, the number three figure in the State
Department under the Clinton and Bush administrations. TARC held its first
meeting in Vienna in early 2001.
— Phillips acknowledges that the State Department provided “some of TARC’s
direct costs.” All of the sources of TARC’s funds and their uses have not
been made public.
— Phillips accuses Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian of reneging on his
pledge to support TARC. Apparently, he would have preferred that Oskanian
continue backing TARC, even after it became clear that TARC was a clever
ploy to undermine the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
— Phillips bitterly complains: “Instead of standing by its commitments,
the Kocharian government ran for cover.” This made Phillips so furious that
he slammed the Kocharian regime in an op-ed column in the Wall Street
Journal by calling it “corrupt and inept,” and accusing Pres. Kocharian of
“running a mafia state.”
— Phillips attributes Oskanian’s change of mind on TARC to criticism from
Armenian “nationalist circles.” Once TARC’s anti-Armenian intent became
clear, just about everyone in Armenia and the Diaspora opposed this
sinister initiative. Shortly after TARC’s creation, one of its Turkish
members, Ozdem Sanberk, even gave an interview acknowledging that the
purpose of this initiative was to block the international recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.
— Gunduz Aktan, a Turkish member of TARC, who repeatedly and aggressively
denies the Armenian Genocide, put his foot in his mouth by suggesting that
an independent panel of experts review the facts of the Genocide. TARC
engaged the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) for that
purpose. Aktan boasted that he would “destroy” the ICTJ experts with his
legal arguments during his testimony. Phillips says that Aktan appeared
“nervous” after making his presentation. Aktan had good reason to be
nervous. The ICTJ qualified the events of 1915 as genocide.
— Trying to give importance to his own efforts, Phillips claims that
Turkey came within an inch of opening its border with Armenia in the summer
of 2003. Showing his political naiveté, Phillips says in his book: “I had
hoped that Ankara would quietly open its border sometime during the dead of
summer, when everyone was on holiday and not paying attention.”
— Phillips writes that when Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul came to
Washington in July 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice President
Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and National Security
Advisor Condoleezza Rice reminded him at every meeting that “the issue of
genocide recognition was not going away. He was told that real progress was
the best way of deflecting pressure.” Not surprisingly, the US officials’
real intent for pressuring Turkey into opening its border with Armenia was
not the improvement of Armenia’s economy, but the removal of the nettlesome
Armenian Genocide issue from the agenda of the Congress.
— As further evidence of the sinister intent of the Bush Administration,
Phillips writes that Vice President Cheney personally intervened by
lobbying against a congressional resolution that barely mentioned the
Armenian Genocide. “Cheney worked the phones and was assured by [House
Speaker] Dennis Hastert that [the resolution] would be kept from the House
floor,” Phillips says.
— In an interesting revelation, Phillips reports that Pres. Kocharian was
highly infuriated when the Armenian Genocide resolution was blocked by
Pres. Clinton and Speaker Hastert. A month later, when Pres. Kocharian
received Stephen Sestanovich, an assistant secretary of state in the
Clinton administration, the Armenian President was “in a foul mood and
railed against Clinton’s betrayal,” Phillips says. This is yet another
indication that Armenian officials, not just the Diaspora, care deeply
about the Genocide issue.
— Phillips reveals that he helped arrange the controversial February 2001
interview between Pres. Kocharian and prominent Turkish journalist Mehmet
Ali Birand that “helped mollify [Turkish] concerns about Armenia’s
intentions.” Apparently, Phillips promised Pres. Kocharian that should he
make conciliatory statements during the interview, the Turks would then
open the border with Armenia. Pres. Kocharian kept his end of the bargain.
Phillips did not or could not, since the border remained closed!
— Phillips wrongly blames “Armenian nationalists” for both of his failures
– inability to have Turkey lift its blockade of Armenia and collapse of the
reconciliation efforts. Phillips refuses to acknowledge that his profound
ignorance of Armenian-Turkish issues played a much greater role in his
failures than anything said or done by so-called Armenian nationalists.
More on Phillips’s escapades, once we get hold of his book!
**************************************************************************
2 – Hovnanian Enterprises Listed 5th
By Forbes as Best Big Company
RED BANK, N.J., (PRNewswire-FirstCall) — Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., a
leading national homebuilder, announced last week that for the fourth
consecutive year it has been named to Forbes Platinum 400, an annual
listing of “America’s Best Big Companies.” Hovnanian ranked fifth on the
list based on five-year annualized total return.
To make the list, a firm must have revenue of more than $1 billion and rank
in the upper half of one of 26 industry groups in Forbes’ composite scoring
for return on capital, sales growth and earnings growth. Forbes also
considers a company’s accounting and corporate governance practices.
“In 2004, we once again achieved significant returns on capital, as well as
revenue and earnings growth, and we are honored that Forbes has recognized
this outstanding performance and acknowledged us as one of America’s Best
Big Companies,” said Ara K. Hovnanian, President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Company. “Our achievements are a direct result of the
efforts of our operating management teams and talented associates across
the Company. We expect to continue our strong performance in 2005 as we
build on our solid market position and implement further improvements to
our operating processes.”
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. founded in 1959 by Kevork S. Hovnanian,
Chairman, is headquartered in Red Bank, New Jersey. The Company is one of
the nation’s largest homebuilders with operations in Arizona,
California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Michigan,
Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
Virginia and West Virginia. As the developer of K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons
communities, the Company is also one of the nation’s largest builders of
active adult homes.
***************************************************************************
3 – Southern California Armenian Man Pledges
To Raise $1 Million for US Troops’ Families
CAMARILLO, CA – Armen Eloyan of Camarillo, Calif., has promised to raise
over a million dollars to help the US military families left behind cope
with everyday problems. Eloyan has volunteered his own
money and time to launching a “One Nation” wristband campaign for Operation
Homefront.
As American troops are being asked to shoulder more responsibility and
danger, their families also feel the
burden. Often it is financial. Many troops leave behind young families for
whom the daily task of life can become overwhelming hardships.
Operation Homefront was established in the aftermath of the September 11th
disaster to channel volunteer and monetary aid to the families of troops
stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The program has successfully
helped thousands of military families deal with everything from car repair
to extremes like homelessness. Their recent pairing with the entrepreneur
is reaping thousands of dollars of aid to families in need, although much
more is needed to meet the climbing demand.
As an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Eloyan is grateful to
American troops for ensuring the rights of all people around the world.
The wristband campaign consisting of selling red silicone “One Nation”
wristbands, similar to those popularized by the Lance Armstrong Foundation,
with 100 percent of proceeds going directly to Operation Homefront.
So far the campaign has netted thousands of dollars for families and Eloyan
is optimistic about reaching his one million dollar goal within the year.
The wristbands can be purchased on the Operation Homefront website as well
as on For more information and to find out how
you can help the families of American troops, contact: Mamie Maywhort,
Homefront Foundation Comptroller, email: [email protected]
phone: (949) 248-9468.
**************************************************************************
4 – United Human Rights Council
Campaigns Against Turkish Goods
GLENDALE – On Jan. 29, the United Human Rights Council (UHRC) held its
first large-scale fact strip distribution of they year. Members visited
Armenian grocery stores in both Glendale and Pasadena, providing them with
informative flyers about human rights abuses committed by the Turkish
government. Store clerks and managers were urged to place the flyers on
their checkout counters for customers to pick up.
According to Ani Garibyan, one of the organizers of Saturday’s action, the
UHRC regularly carries out such fact strip distributions in order to “raise
the awareness of Armenian consumers” about buying Turkish products.
“We figure that if we want to stop Armenians from buying Turkish products,
the best thing to do is to directly go to the stores where they shop,”
stated Garibyan.
Many of those who took part in the distribution explained that most store
managers were receptive to their campaign. Several clerks even insisted on
putting the fact strips in the grocery bags of customers.
In addition, the UHRC members conducted a survey of Armenian shoppers at
the stores they visited. Customers were asked a series of questions
regarding Turkish products being sold in Armenian stores, including whether
or not they realized that the Turkish government receives tax revenue from
companies exporting such products to the U.S. The results of the survey
will be used to help structure future campaigns aimed towards ridding
Turkish products from Southern California stores.
The United Human Rights Council (UHRC), by means of action on a grassroots
level, works toward correcting the human rights violations of those
governments who distort, deny, and delude their own history to disguise
past and present genocides, massacres, and human rights violations. The
UHRC is a collective of concerned citizens, including a diverse spectrum of
members and supporters from various community- based organizations and
student associations of universities and colleges.
**************************************************************************
5 – Djabourian Runs for
Pico Rivera City Council
PICO RIVERA, Calif. – Surprising local political scene observers,
19-year-old Natalie Djabourian entered the political race for one of the
two open seats in the Pico Rivera City Council. Elections are set for March
8 in the suburb southeast of Los Angeles.
Currently on the Dean’s Honor List as a student at the University of
California, Irvine, Djabourian graduated from Mesrobian Armenian School in
June of 2004 as a valedictorian. Six months earlier, she graduated Cum
Laude from East Los Angeles College, receiving an Associate in Arts.
Despite her young age, Djabourian has not stayed away from performing her
civic duty, by volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier, the
YMCA Headstart Program in Montebello and at the Admitting Department of
Beverly Hospital, also in Montebello.
Currently, she majors in English and minors in Political Science and
Philosophy at UCI, while tutoring graduate students in ESL.
Her political platform includes increasing public safety along with
after-school programs to keep youth and adolescent off the streets. She
also plans to better the appearance of the city by instituting
graffiti-fighting programs and help eliminate the image of Pico Rivera and
its perceived association with crime.
On the business side, she hopes to bring new businesses into the city to
increase the tax-base in the city and to preclude residents from long
drives for their shopping needs.
Djabourian can be contacted at her e-mail:[email protected].
**************************************************************************
6 – Tashjian Opens Exhibit
In New Mexico Senate
SANTA FE, New Mexico – An exhibition of paintings by Richard Tashjian
opened Jan. 23, in the office of the President Pro-Tempore of the New
Mexico Senate, Den Altamirano. The exhibition will be open until March 20,
through the Legislative session.
Tashjian, a former resident of Watertown, Mass., is now residing in Santa
Fe, where he is being represented by a Taos gallery and a Santa Fe gallery.
The exhibition was made possible by New Millenniun Fine Art Gallery of
Santa Fe.
Tashjian has successfully captured on canvas colorful scenes from Santa Fe
and Taos, representing the true colors of the American Southwest.
Recent works of oil and acrylic paintings depict the cliff’s O’Keefe
painted in Ghost Ranch near Abiqiu, Taos in the Fall, cliffs near Gallup,
and snow-covered Ortiz Mountains near Madrid, New Mexico.
Senator Altamirano welcomed Tashjian and the exhibition warmly on opening
day.
For further information, contact Tashjian at (505) 955-1578.
**************************************************************************
7 – Numismatic Society Needs
Donations to Publish Book
PICO RIVERA, Calif. – The Armenian Numismatic Society, based in Pico
Rivera, Calif., is soliciting donations from members and the public at
large to help publish Y.T. Nercessian’s “Silver Coinage of the Artaxiad
Dynasty in Armenia.”
The book is an extended and upgraded compilation of three study works that
were published in the “Armenian Numismatic Journal.”
The book is expected to encompass 200 pages of text and 96 plates to
include about 600 coins, far more than the original few hundred though to
have been struck during the reign of Tigranes II. According to Nercessian’s
extensive research into auction catalogues, books, museums and collectors,
832 coins have been classified.
Nercessian expects to have the book ready for printing in late 2005.
According to preliminary bids, the publishing expense is expected to be
near $15,000.
The Executive Board of the Armenian Numismatic Society decided to create a
“Table of Gratuity,” in the book, acknowledging the donors. All donors will
have their names published in alphabetical order. Each donor of $100 or
more will receive a free copy of the publication. As before, the names and
the amount of funds accumulated will be published in the “Armenian
Numismatic Journal.”
Donations can be sent to the Society, attention of M. W. Gewenian,
Treasurer, 8511 Beverly Park Place, Pico Rivera, CA 90660-1920.
**************************************************************************
8 – Surmelian’s Play to be Performed at
L.A. Public Library, Feb. 2-March 11
LOS ANGELES – The Cornerstone Theater Company will present Leon Z.
Surmelian’s “I Ask You, Ladies & Gentlemen,” at the Los Angeles Public
Library’s Central Library. Eighteen weekday performances have been
scheduled, starting Feb. 2 through March 11.
The two-hour program is free for students and begins at 10:30 a.m. The
performances are appropriate for seventh-12th grade students. The text
contains explicit language relating to war and death.
Adapted by Yehuda Hyman and directed by Christopher Liam Moore, the play is
the true story of an Armenian orphan boy whose brace and poetic spirit
guides him through a tragic odyssey in his war-torn country and propels him
into a new life in America.
The Cornerstone Theater’s mission is to promote reading, inspire writing,
increase critical thinking and introduce theater to young people. After
each performance, students participate in a post-show discussion and poetry
writing exercise.
Teachers will receive a resource guide. Pre-show discussion questions are
available online at , or will be faxed to
teachers prior to the performance.
For reservations and information, call Pesha Rudnick at (213) 613-1700 ext.
38.
***************************************************************************
The California Courier On-Line is a service provided by the California
Courier. Subscriptions or changes of address should not be transmitted
through this service. Information in that regard should be telephoned
to (818) 409-0949; faxed to: (818) 409-9207, or e-mailed to:
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–Boundary_(ID_qDZkCpQTHN6QDEB0H6cUIg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Moscow alienating its near abroad
By Molly Corso
Asia Times Online, Hong Kong
Feb 7 2005
Russia has seen its influence in the Caucasus – and the rest of the
former Soviet Union – wane significantly since the November 2003 Rose
Revolution in Georgia. Although economics play a part in the drive
to become closer to the United States and the European Union, Moscow
largely blames post-revolution Georgia for the Orange Revolution in
the Ukraine and its perceived loss of influence there.
While Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko were in Strasburg for a Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin
made no secret of meeting separatist leaders in Moscow, including
the newly elected president of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, and the
defeated Ukrainian presidential candidate Victor Yanukovych. Russian
policies have become increasingly anti-Georgian since Saakashvili
came to power, which regional experts feel is Moscow’s response to
Saakashvili’s decidedly Western bent. But its decision to punish
Georgia and other opposition leaders in the former republics may be
working against long-term Russian interests.
Abkhazia
The first major blow to Russia’s influence in its own background
was not the election in the Ukraine but the October elections in
Abkhazia. Abkhazia is officially a part of Georgia, but gained de facto
independence from Tbilisi after Georgia lost control of the republic
following a war in the mid 1990s, a fact that is largely credited to
Russian interference. The ruling regime in Abkhazia is supported by
Russia. Russian peacekeepers monitor its borders with Georgia, the
Russian ruble is the local currency and any economic development is
limited to Russian investors. Moscow also pays Abkhaz pensions and
has widely issued Russian passports throughout the Abkhaz population.
Candidate Raul Khajimba actively campaigned on a pro-Russian platform,
promising an increase in investments from Russia and stronger
relations with Moscow. Sergei Bagapsh, known in the Russian media
as the opposition candidate, also pledged to foster greater ties
with Russia. Neither candidate spoke favorably of Georgia or the
possibility of improving Abkhaz-Georgian relations. Tbilisi distanced
itself from the whole election; only Russia recognizes Abkhazian
independence and, therefore, the election. The Russian media were
the only source of international coverage. Despite support from the
Kremlin and other Russian politicians, Khajimba officially lost the
election on October 3, an event that nearly resulted in civil war
when he refused to accept the Central Election Committees final count
in favor of Bagapsh. Events came to a head in December, when Bagapsh
refused to give up plans for his inauguration.
In response to the unexpected turmoil in a republic fully dependent
on Russian support, Russia closed its borders and cut off trade
with Abkhazia, in effect squashing the main source of income for
most Abkhaz, the citrus trade. While that show of strength helped
convince Bagapsh to bow to Russian pressures, it also underscored
what analysts say caused his victory in the first place. The only real
difference between the two candidates was Bagapsh’s calls for a truly
independent Abkhazia, recognized by the international community. In its
current state, both Tbilisi and Sukhumi refuse to have relations and
Georgia refuses to allow any trade to Abkhazia to cross its borders,
even to the extent that Saakashvili ordered Turkish boats heading to
Abkhazia bombed over the summer. That limits Sukhumi to relations with
Moscow. While it is unlikely that any country in the international
community will recognize Abkhazian independence, Bagapsh’s strong
stance in that direction was perceived as a threat to the current
status quo.
Thanks to the immediate embargo on Abkhazian goods, Moscow was able
to convenience Bagapsh to accept a compromise between the two former
rivals. Days before the planned inauguration, Bagapsh agreed to a
revote and ran with Khajimba as his vice presidential candidate.
Under the current agreement, Khajimba wields an unusually large
amount of power, including a reported 40%of the state budget. Since
his election on January 12, Bagapsh has stepped up rhetoric against
Georgia and made open overtures to strengthen Abkhaz-Russian ties.
Moscow was able to reel the wayside republic back in, but it took a
last ditch show of strength to do it.
The Orange Revolution
Despite a much stronger Russian effort during the Ukrainian election
in November, the Russian-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych could
not defeat opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. Analysts have debated
on what Yushchenko’s victory will really mean for Ukrainian-Russian
relations, but regardless of Yushchenko’s Western-looking policies,
Ukraine remains a major Russian trading partner. Historically,
religiously and ethnically Russia and Ukraine have close ties. The
new president’s first international trip was to Moscow, albeit quickly
followed by the address at Strasburg.
The real question remains what this growing trend of peaceful
uprisings will mean for the remaining Russian-supported presidents
in other former republics. However insulting Yushchenko’s victory
is for Moscow, in the long run it will only truly adversely affect
Russian-Ukrainian affairs if Putin decides to punish Yushchenko like he
is currently castigating Georgian president Saakashvili. The Ukrainian
vote for Yushchenko was more a vote against rampant corruption and the
questionable election than a vote against Russia. Yushchenko has gone
out of his way to pacify Russians in the eastern part of the country,
even defending the role of the Russian language in Ukraine. His drive
toward the West is less a statement of anti-Russian sentiment than
as an accepted desire to improve conditions in his country. But that
can change if Russia is not willing to actively work with Yushchenko.
Yushchenko has roughly a year to prove to his divided country that
Ukraine will benefit from better relations with Western states. If
Russia tries to openly sabotage his effects – like it is in Abkhazia
and Georgia – Putin risks a much more serious backlash during the
upcoming parliamentary elections. By supporting Yushchenko, Russia
can help strengthen Ukraine, which will result in a deeper alliance
between the two countries and increase stability in the region. Any
effort by Moscow to further antagonize the country, especially the
western half, could have the opposite effect.
New ethnic discord will only weaken Russia’s chance to increase
its influence in the region as both current leaders and opposition
forces throughout the former Soviet Union are watching Ukrainian
developments closely. If it becomes apparent that Moscow will not
tolerate any action perceived to weaken its influence in the region,
economic and military aid from the West will seem more desirable.
While existing leaders might welcome Russia’s brand of friendship,
the opposition will work more strongly to free their respective
countries from Moscow’s influence if it becomes evident Russia sees
them not as sovereign states but as internal problems.
Special relationship with Georgia
Moscow’s continued interference with ethnic problems within Georgia
has not strengthened its role in the Caucasus. Even before the Rose
Revolution, Russia’s efforts to destabilize the region and bring
it into submission with military force backfired. In 2002, Moscow
accused Tbilisi of harboring terrorists in the lawless Pankisi Gorge
that borders Chechnya. Instead of resulting in an increase of Russian
military personnel to Georgia, the accusations led to stronger ties
between Georgia and the US and the US-led “train and equip” program
for the Georgian army. Since Saakashvili came to power, Georgia has
made every effort to strengthen ties with the US and Europe.
Russia’s continued support for separatist leaders in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia is meant to deter stability – and therefore foreign investment
– in Georgia. However, in reality Russia’s obvious interference
has helped the Georgian leadership turn to the West for support and
resolution. During his speech in Strasburg, Saakashvili clearly stated
that Russia is not capable of leading Georgia to a peaceful resolution
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Venetian Commission’s decision to
actively participate in the development of a peace settlement even
further decreases Russia’s influence in its own near abroad.
Moscow’s newest tactic – vetoing the continuation of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) border patrol on the
Chechen, Ingushetia and Dagestani borders – has been more successful.
Under its current policy, Russia will guarantee no international
observers will be monitoring the borders by late spring. When the
snow melts, Chechen rebels will have easy passage into Georgia and –
according to Russia – Moscow will have ample cause to bomb the Pankisi
Gorge, or force Georgia into accepting more Russian peacekeepers inside
the Georgian border. Those troops would be in addition to the soldiers
already in place along the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
as well as the two Russian army bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki.
But this could also backfire. Saakashvili and his administration
have actively been searching for willing replacements to the OSCE
monitoring group and the EU has tentatively expressed interest. While
the EU’s monitors are far from certain at this point, any move to
place independent international monitors would work against Russia.
Under the OSCE, Russia had a say and a role in the monitoring. If it
becomes the duty of the EU – or a mixture of observers from various
countries – Moscow’s say would be diminished and its claims that the
Georgian government is not strong enough to protect its own borders
would be disproved.
Tbilisi and its allies are also becoming more adamant about the
remaining two Russian army bases in Georgia. In January, Saakashvili
attacked the role of Russian peacekeepers inside Georgian territory.
Georgia has proposed creating joint anti-terrorist centers with
Russia on the current army bases. So far Russia has shown no real
interest, but if it continues alienating itself from the international
community with coercive tactics, Georgia will gain more support from
the international community and could garner the necessary support
to force Russian troops out of the country all together.
Problems in Armenia
Another potential defeat for Russian influence is waiting in Armenia.
In the past, Armenia has been a bastion of Russian support in
the Caucasus. Russia has long supported the country militarily
and economically – for example, Armenia receives all of its gas
from Russia. While only an estimated 20% of Armenia’s exports are
purchased in Russia, a reported 2 million Armenians live there and
their families at home depend on the financial support they send.
Russia supported Armenia during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with
Azerbaijan and still stands firmly behind Yerevan during peace talks
about the contested territories. During the civil unrest in Georgia
leading up to the Rose Revolution in 2003, both Russia and Armenia
made public statements about their mutually strong and beneficial
relationship. Russia strengthened its already strong military presence
in Armenia, increased arms sales and even moved some soldiers from
bases in Georgia to Armenia during the protests in Tbilisi.
Nevertheless, Armenia’s support for Russian influence is not as strong
as it was a year ago. While the opposition was emboldened due to the
success of the Rose Revolution, another important negative development
for Russia came in September 2004, following the terrorist attacks
at Beslan. When Russia closed its borders with Georgia following
the attack, hundreds of Armenian trucks and buses were stranded for
a month, unable to go to either Russia or back to Armenia. While
there are no concrete figures for how much Armenian businesses
lost during that month, Armenians felt slighted by their ally and
insulted at Russia’s reaction to punish them along with the rest of
the Caucasus. That added to dissatisfaction with Russia’s continued
support of President Robert Kocharian, whose victory in 2003 is widely
disputed by opposition parties and the public.
Russian diplomats were slow to react to the situation, and statements
from Moscow largely consisted in recommending different routes
into Russia. The US, however, was not slow to act. Since the Rose
Revolution, Washington has been paying more attention to Armenia.
Sensing a weakness in Russian-Armenian relations over the past year,
America has picked up the pace. A new consulate is planned for Yerevan
which reportedly will be the biggest in the region. In addition,
American-driven aid projects have been on the rise.
A third party could further weaken Russian influence in Armenia.
Yerevan and Iran have held intense talks about a proposed gas
pipeline. While there are no investors yet, the pipeline has the
potential to free Armenia from its current state of dependence on
Russian gas.
Conclusion
Due to shortsighted policies, Russia has already lost considerable
influence in Georgia. Moscow’s erroneous politics in Abkhazia and
Ukraine resulted in embarrassment and more strained relationships
within Russia’s sphere of influence. If Putin does not reverse this
trend, Russia could lose support during the next Armenian elections
and further encourage the currently weak opposition parties in
Central Asia. Although opposition presidents are well aware of the
importance of good relations with Putin, political games force them
to increasingly turn to Europe and the US for aid and support in an
effort to balance more evenly between Russia and the West. If Moscow
does not start realizing that coercive tactics in its near abroad are
causing a loss of support from these states, it will continue to see
its interests in the region weaken.
Published with permission of the Power and Interest News Report, an
analysis-based publication that seeks to provide insight into various
conflicts, regions and points of interest around the globe. All
comments should be directed to [email protected]

Greater Kashmir, India
Feb 7 2005
No ideology of hate
No bloody borders, as Huntington sees, the whole affair needs to be
seen from an objective perspective, writes
ASHFAK BUKHARI
How and why 9/11 occurred, shattered the myth of America’s supremacy
of power for a while, and provided a raison d’etre for the renewal of
‘crusades’ against Islam, as a religion and society, is a theme that
has seized the attention of western intelligentsia since the event
and led to a flood of books on the subject in the market. But the way
this sensitive subject has been treated and the explanations offered
in most of the essays, 20 in all, in this outstanding work by a
Pakistani economist who teaches in an American university, is
inspiring.
The question commonly asked is: Is there an Islamic problem behind
this unthinkable tragedy? The answer the author gives is: there is no
Islamic problem – and, if any, it is a problem of temporary
disruption in the West’s legacy of plunder, conquest and massacres to
subjugate the rest of the world. Two opposite visions dominate
American scholarship on Islam and Islamic societies. One represents
Islam as an enemy that must be destroyed, or otherwise it will
destroy the West. Its prominent advocates are Bernard Lewis, Daniel
Pipes, Charles Krauthammer and Martin Kramer.
The second vision tends to accommodate Islam and argues that since
political Islamists do not reject modernity, they must be given a
chance to run Islamic societies as this will, ultimately, either
discredit them or bring them into political mainstream of western
orientation. The upholders of the first vision, whom the author calls
“anti-Islam warriors”, consider Islamic societies lagging in economic
development, deficit in democracy, and having “bloody borders” – a
phrase coined by Samuel Huntington.
The author, Shahid Alam, says the evidence fails to support these
charges. Although the Islamic countries do face numerous serious
economic problems, they are not worse or much worse than others.
Judging from the 1999 living standards, according to the World
Development Report, 2000, one can see Muslims have not done too
badly: Malaysia is well ahead of Thailand, Iran fares better than
Venezuela, Egypt is modestly ahead of Ukraine, Turkey is slightly
behind Russia, Tunisia is well ahead of Georgia and Armenia, etc.
Regarding bloody borders, Jonathan Fox has shown that Islam was
involved in 23.2 per cent of all inter-civilizational conflicts
during 1945-1989 period and 24.7 per cent of these conflicts during
1990 to 1998. This is not too far above Islam’s share in the world
population, nor is there any dramatic rise in this share since the
end of the cold war. Hence, Huntington’s claim of “Muslim
bellicosity” does not qualify as a fact. Islamic societies have not
suffered from democracy deficit either. Incredible as it may appear,
Tunisia, Egypt and Iran were in the process of making a transition to
constitutional monarchies during the 19th century but their attempts
were foiled by the West. In 1881, the Egyptian nationalists had
succeeded in convening an elected parliament but the British
disbanded it when they occupied the country a year later. Tunisia
promulgated a constitution in 1860, setting up a supreme council with
an intention to limit the powers of monarchy. Ironically, the French
suppressed this council in 1864 when they discovered that it
interfered with their ambitions in Tunisia.
Turkey elected its first parliament in 1877; it was dissolved by the
Caliph a year later. A second parliament was convened in 1908. In
1906, Iran’s first elected parliament adopted a constitutional
monarchy limiting the powers of the monarch but in 1911, with the
support of Russia and Britain, the pro-monarch forces defeated the
constitutionalists and the parliament was dissolved.
And in recent period, it has been oil, Israel and the old antipathy
to Islam that have kept democracy away from the Arab world. It is
interesting to note that the western donors have, especially after
the end of the cold war, used their financial leverage to encourage
democratization in client countries. But not so in the case of Arab
countries because democracy there could bring Islamists to power.
They do get enough support of various kinds so long as they come to
terms with Israel and are willing to suppress Islamist opposition.
When Iraq violated this understanding in 1990, it faced endless war
and crippling sanctions. Then, Algeria shows the fate a Muslim
country can face if the Islamists seek to capture power.
The author takes note of an essay written by a well-known physicist
and activist, Pervez Hoodbhoy, in December 2001 in which he argues
that a deadening obscurantism has paralyzed Islamic civilization
since the 12th century and that the Muslims can end this paralysis
only if they decide to “replace Islam with secular humanism which
alone offers the hope of providing everybody on this globe with the
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. This suggests,
the author says, Hoodbhoy has been raised “on a pure diet of
Orientalism and its falsification of Islamic history”.
Shahid Alam refutes the claim of Eurocentrists and their Muslim
acolytes quite forcefully that religion and culture are the principal
source of backwardness of Islamic societies and its so-called
antipathy to science, rationality and modernity. He quotes a
historical fact, often ignored by the western scholars, that had the
Egyptian bid to industrialize – initiated by Muhammad Ali Pasha in
1810 – not been dismantled by the European powers, the Middle East
would have been industrially transformed. But since an industrialized
Middle East would have renewed the “old threat of Islam”, the
European powers united to abort Pasha’s great initiative. In
contrast, when Japan made a similar industrial drive some 60 years
later, Europe did not block it.
Referring to Hoodbhoy’s advice to the Muslims to “give up the false
notions” of Islam, the author asks them instead to give up false
Orientalist notions of an Islam that has been misrepresented as
“irrational, fatalist and fanatical”. Rational thinking, he says, did
not begin with the Enlightenment as the West claims. In fact, several
Enlightenment thinkers turned to Islam to advance their own struggle
against medieval obscurantism. Shahid Alam concludes his first
chapter, which is the core essay lending its name to the book, by
suggesting that the Muslims, a fourth of the world’s peoples, are
today seeking their identity within a stream of history that flows
from the Quran. The Quranic impulse towards truth, justice, sincerity
and beauty will find expression again, not in combat, but in a new
Arabesque of creative minds.
The book is divided into three parts: Islamic societies and the West,
Arabs and the United States, and Palestine and Israel. Each chapter
begins with a verse from the Quran , relevant to the subject-matter.
The author has devoted one chapter to Huntington’s thesis “Clash of
Civilizations”, calls it utter nonsense and demolishes his
philosophy. Another chapter takes to task Bernard Lewis, the doyen of
the Orientalists, who has actually been serving the Zionist interests
for 50 years.
“Why 9/11 and why now” is a fascinating essay in which he says the
tragic event, irrespective of whoever engineered it, has incidentally
enabled the quartet of American Likudniks, Corporate America, the
Zionists and the Christian coalition to launch their project of a
‘new American century’.
–Boundary_(ID_Joy5q+94Wnpv1FnkxNhraA)–

OSCE FACT-FINDING TEAM ENDS INSPECTING ARMENIAN-CONTROLLED REGIONS OF AZERBAIJAN
ArmenPress
Feb 7 2005
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS: Officials from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have ended today
a first-ever international inspection of Armenian-controlled
Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabagh to investigate
Azerbaijan’s allegations that they are being illegally populated with
Armenians. The last region they visited was Lachin. They went back
to Karabagh capital Stepanakert and were expected to leave today.
The fact-finding team was led by a senior German Foreign Ministry
official, Emily Habber, and accompanied by the French, Russian and
U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE’s Minsk Group. The US co-chairmen, Steven
Mann, had to fly to Washington on the third day of the mission.
Mission members spoke with Armenian refugees in Lachin but refused
to talk to journalists. They are expected to sum up what they have
seen and present a report in spring.

AEN FAILS TO MEET ITS 2004 INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS
ArmenPress
Feb 7 2005
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Public Services
Regulatory Commission told Armenpress that it has asked the Armenian
Electricity Network (AEN) to explain why it failed to fulfill its
2004 investment programs. Shiraz Kirakosian, a commission member,
said the company fulfilled only 34 percent of its 2004 investment
commitments.
But Kirakosian forestalled the AEN explanations saying one of the
reasons was that the process of approval of the company’s investment
plans began in early 2004 and was approved in mid-2004. The company
pledged to invest last year 5.8 billion drams to improve electricity
supplies.
Kirakosian said the AEN is not going to raise electricity prices
in 2005, “provided no radical changes take place influenced by
external factors.” The AEN plans to invest 19 billion drams in
2005-2007, around 8 billion drams in 2005 alone. Kirakosian said the
bulk of investments will be directed at upgrading of electricity
distributing networks.
AEN is owned by Midland Resources Holding, a company registered in
the British Channel Islands.

Azerbaijan to raise Upper Garabagh issue at PACE session
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2005
Azerbaijan intends to raise the Upper Garabagh problem at the winter
session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
in Vienna on February 23-24. The agenda of the forthcoming session
has been approved, chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission
on economic policy Sattar Safarov has said.
Safarov said that Azerbaijani parliamentarians will attend the meetings
of the Assembly’s three committees.
The agenda of the PACE final session of 2005 due in Washington on
July 5-9 will also be approved at the winter session, during which
the Azerbaijani delegation will propose that the report on the Upper
Garabagh conflict, prepared by Goran Lennmarker, the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly (PA) rapporteur, be included in the session agenda.
Preliminary discussions on the report were held during Lennmarker’s
visit to the region in November 2004. The initial version of the
report will be presented to Azerbaijani MPs at the winter session of
the OSCE PA.*

Ukraine posts highest CIS growth in 2004
Interfax
Feb 7 2005
MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) – Ukraine posted the highest economic growth
among CIS nations in 2004, with GDP rising 12%, the CIS Interstate
Statistical Committee said.
Russia and Kyrgyzstan had the lowest growth of 7.1% in both cases,
the committee said.
GDP grew 11% in Belarus, 10.6% in Tajikistan, 10.2% in Azerbaijan,
10.1% in Armenia, 9.4% in Kazakhstan, 8.4% in Georgia and 7.3% in
Moldova, the committee said.
The committee did not give GDP growth figures for Turkmenistan or
Uzbekistan.
GDP grew 8% in the CIS as a whole in 2004, as in 2003. Industrial
output was up 7%, compared with 8% in 2003, retail grew 13%, compared
with 10%, and capital investments increased 14%, compared with 16%.