Category: News

Azerbaijan, Armenia Hold Talks On Nagorno-Karabakh
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Sept 16 2004
15 September 2004 — The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks
today on the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham
Aliyev held two-way talks before joining Russian President Vladimir
Putin to discuss the ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan over which
the two neighboring states fought a five-year war in the early 1990s.
The talks were held on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries in the
Kazakh capital Astana.
The OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by Russia, France, and the
United States, has been mediating between Armenia and Azerbaijan in
the past decade.
Some 35,000 people were killed and about 1 million displaced by the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which erupted during the breakup of
the Soviet Union.

Khatami calls three-nation tour, ECO summit positive
Tehran Times, Iran
Sept 16 2004
TEHRAN (IRNA) — President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday evening
assessed the outcomes of his visit to Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan
and his presence at the ECO summit as positive.
Talking to reporters at Mehrabad International Airport upon his
arrival, Khatami said the three countries are Iran’s friends which
have had good relations with Tehran since their independence.
“Attempts have been made that ties with the three states be directed
towards progress and development with more speed,” he said.
He added during his visit to Armenia, which took place at the
invitation of his Armenian counterpart, the two countries signed seven
documents for cooperation, adding the document on transfer of Iran’s
gas to Armenia was the most important one.
In the visit to Armenia, the sides discussed bilateral, regional and
international issues, the president noted.
Pointing to natural and industrial resources of Belarus, he said
Tehran and Minsk inked five documents.
Khatami said the commission of Iran’s potentials in Belarus will be
set up, adding a factory will also be established in Belarus for joint
production of paper. He referred to the deep-rooted cultural ties
with Tajikistan and said, “Iran’s trade exchanges with Tajikistan
have been increased during recent years by three times but there
still exist some potentials for further promotion of ties.”
Khatami noted that Iran and Tajikistan signed six documents, including
construction of Anzab tunnel and Sangtudeh power plant in participation
of Iran, Russia and Tajikistan.
Pointing to the ECO summit, held in Tajikistan on Tuesday,
the president stated that in today’s complicated world regional
organizations can play an effective role, adding regarding potentials
of the region and common history and culture of ECO nations, the
Economic Cooperation Organization can take many useful measures.
He stressed that Iran’s two proposals on reforming the trend of ECO
decision-making and establishing ECO free trade zone were approved
during the organization’s summit.
It is expected that the ECO would achieve its goal regarding the
setting up of the free trade zone by 2015, Khatami said.
He added that he held separate meetings with his Tajik, Afghan and
Kyrgyz counterparts as well as the prime ministers of Pakistan and
Turkey on the sidelines of the ECO summit.
President Mohammad Khatami arrived in Tehran on Tuesday evening,
ending his three-nation tour which took him to Armenia, Belarus
and Tajikistan.

Russian president praises Armenian, Azeri leaders’ optimism
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
15 Sep 04
Astana, 15 September: Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it is
important to maintain the dialogue on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem
between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“No matter what you agree on today, personal meetings between leaders
is always a step forward,” Vladimir Putin said opening a trilateral
meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.
Vladimir Putin noted Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan’s enthusiasm
to continue the dialogue to resolve the Karabakh problem.
“I am pleased to note that despite the difficulty of the problem,
you are continuing the dialogue,” the Russian leader said. He stressed
that he considered “it is important that the dialogue and negotiations
at the highest level are being maintained”.
The Russian president expressed confidence that “the meeting will not
be worthless and will contribute to the settlement of the problem”. He
thanked the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for their readiness
to hold today’s meeting. “We understand that expectations are high
and the problem is an extremely difficult one,” Putin said. “I am
pleased to note that you remain optimistic and have the desire to
resolve the problem.”
The Russian leader stressed that “today’s meeting was part of efforts
of the OSCE Minsk Group”. He stressed that today, before the trilateral
meeting, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan had held a one-to-one
meeting and before that a meeting with the co-chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group. “All the people involved in this process (the Karabakh
settlement) sincerely sympathize with you,” Putin said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he wanted “peace to come
to our region soon”. Ilham Aliyev thanked Vladimir Putin for his
involvement in the settlement of the Karabakh problem. “Thank you
for the involvement in this issue. As our neighbour and a co-chair
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia plays a very important role in the
settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” he said. “I am
grateful to you for your participation and involvement,” he added.
In turn, Robert Kocharyan said that he had “interesting talks with
the Azerbaijani president”. Kocharyan said that it was his third
meeting with Ilham Aliyev. “We had three meetings, one of them
was a familiarization one, the second one was more detailed,” he
said. Kocharyan believes that “the work was more effective at the
ministerial level” when preparations were made for the presidents’
meeting.
From: Baghdasarian

BizReport
Sept 15 2004
Kerkorian and MGM, Off Again
On Monday, Kirk Kerkorian sold Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. for the third
time. As a Hollywood reconciliation story, that means Kerkorian has
bought and sold the venerable movie studio more times than Elizabeth
Taylor married Richard Burton.
by Frank Ahrens
The 87-year-old billionaire has been many things in his life:
streetwise boyhood sharpie, wiry pug boxer, daring World War II
pilot, airline chief, Las Vegas casino owner, friend of Hollywood’s
Rat Pack and movie studio mogul. Now, he returns his full attention
to Vegas, where he is merging his MGM Mirage casino with Mandalay
Resort Group in a $7.9 billion deal, giving him control of half of
the action on the Strip.
Kirk Kerkorian is listed by Forbes magazine as the 65th-richest
person in the world. (Mike Mergen — Bloomberg News)
Why has he lobbed the MGM back and forth like a tennis ball in his
beloved game, which he still plays often and at which he beats
younger opponents? It has less to do with sentimentality and more to
do with situational dealmaking and targets of opportunity, which have
defined Kerkorian’s career, say those who have worked with him.
Asked to explain his on-again, off-again love affair with the studio
known for its roaring lion logo, Terry N. Christensen — who met
Kerkorian when he was buying MGM for the first time in 1969 and has
been his personal lawyer for many years since — paused, laughed and
said, “You could ask me a lot of questions, but that’s one I can’t
answer.”
Is it the storied history of the studio, which produced the “The
Wizard of Oz,” “Ben-Hur” and the “Tarzan” films? Unlikely, since MGM
held a fire sale on Kerkorian’s watch in 1970, selling its studio lot
and many props, including Dorothy’s ruby slippers.
Is it the access to Hollywood’s glam life? Probably not. He is known
for his lack of pretense. When MGM’s “A Fish Called Wanda” came out,
Kerkorian told studio head Alan Ladd Jr. that he enjoyed the movie
even though he was twice turned away from sold-out theaters. “Kirk,
we’d show it to you anytime you want to see it,” a flabbergasted Ladd
told Kerkorian. “Oh, no, no. I wouldn’t do that,” Ladd said Kerkorian
replied.
Instead, Kerkorian has treated the famous studio as he has every
other property he’s owned — as a business asset he buys low with the
intention of building, but will sell high at the right price.
Kerkorian acquired the studio for the third time at auction in 1996,
when it was hemorrhaging millions. He transferred Alex Yemenidjian —
who was buying and selling companies for Tracinda Corp., Kerkorian’s
holding company — from Las Vegas to Hollywood and told him to fix
MGM. Yemenidjian hired Christopher J. McGurk from Universal Pictures
to run the finances.
Kerkorian picked the right time to re-enter the movie business. The
media sector was surging. By 1999, MGM reported its first profit in
11 years. Time Inc. and Warner Bros. merged. In 2000, AOL bought Time
Warner Inc. Shortly after, Vivendi and Universal combined. Kerkorian
and Yemenidjian expanded MGM, adding distribution and co-production
deals with other studios, buying a piece of a cable company,
launching cable television channels overseas and hitting Broadway
with shows featuring MGM characters.
One year ago, MGM thought it was about to add the missing piece to
its plan — Universal’s movie and television studios and cable
channels, which failing conglomerate Vivendi Universal SA was selling
off. But at the last minute, General Electric Co.’s NBC swooped in
and stole the prize.
Stifled in their attempt to grow big enough to rival giants such as
Time Warner and the Walt Disney Co., Kerkorian and Yemenidjian looked
elsewhere. “We found ourselves with the ability to do an acquisition,
but there was nothing to buy,” Yemenidjian said.
MGM’s high-cash bid for Universal, a sign of its solvency, was like
bait for other companies. Time Warner, Sony Corp. and NBC all
expressed interest in the studio and its 4,000-film library, the
industry’s largest, a perpetual treasure trove of DVD sales, which
includes the James Bond and Pink Panther series. Kerkorian wasn’t
looking to sell, Yemenidjian and others said, but the time was
propitious and he recognized it.
So Kerkorian put MGM on the market, and Sony snatched it for $2.9
billion. Kerkorian’s team paid $1.3 billion for the studio in 1996;
his cut alone from the Sony sale is worth more than $1.7 billion.
He now turns his attention back to Vegas, which he discovered in
1947, ferrying California celebrities and gamblers back and forth to
Los Angeles on his self-funded Los Angeles Air Service. Kerkorian is
revered in aviation circles; he flew bombers from Canada to Europe
during World War II and hunted salvage planes and resold them after
the war. In 1965, he took his growing airline public; a few years
later, he sold to TransAmerica Corp. for $100 million. He began
building casinos, becoming a friend of Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin and other Vegas headliners.
Kerkorian’s scrappy business style — honed from a variety of jobs as
a poor Los Angeles youth, up through his career as a bouncer and
boxer — is described as simple and straightforward.
“He is utterly stand-up,” said Barry Diller, chairman of
IAC/InterActiveCorp and a director of The Washington Post Co. “I
would take a commitment from him without a piece of paper and truly
count on it.”
If he has a blind spot in his business acumen, however, it may be
expecting the same from those he has employed.
“I think he does give discretion and leeway to senior management,”
said Christensen. “If you’re not micromanaging those people, they do
have the opportunity to take advantage of you. . . . These things
happen in Hollywood.”
Poor MGM performance during Kerkorian’s second run, from 1986-90,
spurred his decision to sell the studio for a second time and buy a
big chunk of Chrysler.
Though Kerkorian lives in Beverly Hills, Vegas may be his spiritual
home.
Kerkorian does not gamble in his casinos, but when he wagers
elsewhere, he tends to be a one-off gambler, say those who have seen
him but declined to be identified so not to draw the billionaire’s
ire. They say he will not sit at a blackjack or craps table for
hours. Instead, he will walk by a gaming table, place one large bet
and, win or lose, walk away.
As he has for more than three decades, Kerkorian declined to comment.
The world’s 65th-richest person — worth $6 billion, according to
Forbes magazine — is not reclusive but private, say friends and
associates.
“What does he need the press for?” asked Jerry Weintraub, MGM’s chief
executive in the mid-1980s and now a producer. “Me, I need the press.
I sell product.” Weintraub said he called Kerkorian to ask permission
to be interviewed for this story; even though Kerkorian will not
speak on the record, he is not uninvolved in the formation of his
public image.
When Variety editor Peter Bart was finishing his manuscript of “Fade
Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM,” which came out in 1990, he
received a call during an island vacation. It was Kerkorian on the
line. Though Kerkorian would not be quoted for the book, he told Bart
that he would be happy to review the manuscript and offer
suggestions, which he did, Bart said, relating the story last summer
in Los Angeles.
Kerkorian’s aversion to the press hasn’t kept his private life
completely out of the public eye. In 1999, he went through a
nasty-even-by-Hollywood-standards divorce from his third wife, Lisa
Bonder, a former tennis pro 49 years his junior. (His first marriage
lasted 10 years; his second, to a Vegas showgirl, lasted 29 and
produced two children, Tracy and Linda, whose names he combined to
create his company name — Tracinda. His charity is called the Lincy
Foundation.)
Details of the marriage played out publicly through thousands of
pages of court filings and testimony, offering up irresistible and
embarrassing details that included sperm counts, a child Bonder
falsely claimed Kerkorian fathered and her demands for child support
— $320,000 per month. Kerkorian settled with Bonder for $50,000 a
month in child support.
Less public is his charitable work. Following the devastating 1988
earthquake in Armenia, where Kerkorian’s parents were born, he began
sending one cargo jet per month of medical and other supplies, a
practice he continues. His foundation recently gave a $200 million
grant to repair infrastructure in the capital city of Yerevan and
build 3,800 homes. He refuses to have his foundation’s recipients
name buildings for him.
Kerkorian can be personally generous, as well, Ladd said.
“He’ll tip the maitre d’ $100 for a check that was $50,” said Ladd,
who is suing MGM for a percentage of the adjusted gross income of the
three most recent Bond films.
Now Kerkorian is focused on Vegas. But is it too much of a young
man’s town for an 87-year-old? Doubtful, Yemenidjian said.
“I think his genes are better than yours or mine,” he said.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Sept 15 2004
Beirut to host Arab film festival
By Nurah Tape
The festival addresses several issues affecting Middle-East
More than 100 films and documentaries showcasing the work of young
and independent filmmakers from across the Middle-East are to be
screened at the third bi-annual Ayyam Beirut al-Cinemaiya Arab film
festival.
Providing an overview of Arab film production in the past two years,
the festival, which begins on Wednesday, will run from 15 to 26
September in the Lebanese capital.
“We tried to select quality films that were representative of what’s
happening in the region’s cinema,” Elaine Rahib, co-director of the
festival, which is organised by Beirut Development and Cinema (BDC),
is quoted as saying.
BDC is a cultural cooperative association, established in 1999, which
promotes and defends independent Arab cinema.
Rahib said more than 300 films were viewed before the final 130 were
selected for screening.
Thirteen features, 40 documentaries, 45 short films, video art as
well as experimental and student films will be showcased.
Rahib said the documentary is “the genre that’s shaping the identity
of Arabic cinema right now”.
‘Crisis’
“Filmmakers in this region are in a crisis now …They see the
Western media representing the people of the Middle East as heroes,
victims or terrorists and it is impossible to ignore”
Elaine Rahib,
Co-director of the festival
Egyptian director Yusri Nasr Allah’s film, Bab al-Shams (Door of the
Sun), which focuses upon the experiences of a group of refugees
fleeing from Palestine to Lebanon, will be screened on the opening
night of the festival. The film, an adaptation of the novel by Ilyas
Khury, was screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
“Filmmakers in this region are in a crisis now”, Rahib is quoted as
saying.
“They see the Western media representing the people of the Middle
East as heroes, victims or terrorists and it is impossible to ignore.
If they take up these topics themselves it’s because they’re trying
to position themselves relative to these issues. They’re in a crisis,
but trying to find a solution.”
Palestine
As in the past, Palestine is a recurring feature of the festival.
More than 20 films on the subject, directed by Palestinian, Arab and
foreign filmmakers will be screened. These include Suraida – A Woman
>>From Palestine, by Tahani Rashid, Writers on the Borders by Samir Abd
Allah, Ijtia by Nizar Hasan, Like Twenty Impossibilities by
Anne-Marie Jacir, In the Ninth Month by Ali Nasar and Private
Investigation by Ula Tabari.
The Sabra and Shatila massacres
are highlighted in one of the films
Bab al-Shams, in memory of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, will also
be showcased in the Shatila refugee camp in an open-air screening on
the opening night.
Another director of the festival, Hania Mroue said the independent
films that have been chosen are “films that have been made relatively
free of the constraints of distributors and producers”.
One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a special section of
foreign films, which take a look at the Arab world.
An example is a film called 2000 Terrorists, about four of the
plaintiffs living in Sabra and Shatila, who filed a lawsuit against
Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon in a Belgium.
Alternating images of their daily lives in the refugee camps and the
tribunal in Brussels on the other, the film is a story about the
never ending struggle for justice.
Vodka Lemon, a film set in Armenia by Iraqi Kurd Hinner Selim, is
another.
Discussions
Apart from discussions taking place after each film, several
roundtables and debates are scheduled for the festival. One
discussion will focus on identity as shown in the Arab cinema today.
Some films focus on women as well, such as Women beyond borders, by
Lebanese documentary veteran Jean Chamun and When Women Sing by
Mustafa Hasnawi and Hala Galal’s Women Chat.
While not being competitive, the festival will award a prize to the
best Lebanese film (short or documentary) based on audience votes, to
enourage the winning director to produce a second film.
For further information, email: [email protected]

Nuncio says poverty, resources, instability make Caucasus volatile
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service
Sept 15 2004
ROME (CNS) — The poverty, political instability and major energy
resources found in the Caucasus region have combined to make it a
potential “powder keg” for violence on an international scale, said
the nuncio to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Ethnic and religious differences, independence movements and the fight
for territorial control have sparked “a confrontation without limits
and without morality,” said Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the nuncio.
An interview the archbishop gave to a Catholic newspaper in Trent,
Italy, was republished in early September by SIR, the news agency of
the Italian bishops’ conference.
He spoke after the deaths of more than 300 children and adults in a
school in Beslan in Russia’s North Ossetia province.
The main suspects were from the neighboring province of Chechnya,
where battles have raged in a fight for independence from Russia. On a
smaller scale, South Ossetia, which is part of Georgia, has experienced
violence by residents fighting for independence or for reunification
with Russia.
The Caucasus region, Archbishop Gugerotti said, is a mix of East and
West and has vast gas and petroleum reserves. It generally includes
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and parts of southern Russia.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1990, he said, “instability
generated poverty, which was aggravated by a series of population
shifts and an influx of refugees, which make the Caucasus an ideal
basin for terrorism and subversion in general.”
“To avoid letting this transform into a situation like that of
the Balkans (in the early 1990s), it is indispensable that the
international community not abandon us. Not even Russia, acting
alone, can get out of this crisis because the hotspots of tensions
are infinite,” Archbishop Gugerotti said.
The archbishop said that the old communist structures that provided
security have eroded and there has been difficulty in establishing
new structures throughout the region.
Many of the region’s people “do not feel protected by any functioning
system,” he said. “Then there also is the painful perception that
people find themselves facing an almost inevitable escalation” of
insecurity and danger.
A political solution is needed to resolve the conflicting aspirations
of the various communities present in the region, the archbishop said.
“New formulas to pacify the region” must be found, he said; otherwise
there is risk of “a generalized explosion.”
Archbishop Gugerotti said religious leaders in the region have
a serious responsibility to educate their communities for peace,
dialogue and respect for others.
“The situation requires a movement of contact between religious leaders
to reinforce positive values … and curb the risks of manipulating
religion, which some try to do, finding easy success amid ignorance
and poverty,” he said.

Azeri ruling party official criticizes NATO for cancelling Baku war games
Sarq, Baku
15 Sep 04
Text of Yadigar’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Sarq on 15 September
headlined “NATO has shown disrespect for the Azerbaijani public” and
subheaded “Ali Ahmadov: The cancellation of exercises is a glaring
example of the fact that NATO practices double standards”
The executive secretary of the NAP [ruling New Azerbaijan Party], MP
Ali Ahmadov, has described as disrespect for the Azerbaijani public
the cancellation of the NATO exercises, which were scheduled to take
place in Azerbaijan, because of Armenian servicemen.
“One would think that as a body interested in cooperation with
Azerbaijan and simultaneously in maintaining peace and security in
the world, NATO would decide to hold this event without Armenian
officers showing respect for the opinion of the Azerbaijani
people. Unfortunately, a different thing happened.”
Ahmadov thinks that this is a glaring example showing that NATO sticks
to double standards. As for this decision’s great damages to the sides,
Ahmadov said that “NATO is expanding its borders and undoubtedly this
body is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan”.
“Azerbaijan is also interested in cooperation with NATO. I think
there was no need to take hasty steps to prevent cooperation built
up on the basis of mutual interests. Truly, NATO has repeatedly
stated that Azerbaijan expects certain assistance from NATO in the
Nagornyy Karabakh settlement. This might be linked to NATO’s internal
regulations and tasks. But I would like to clarify one issue. If an
act of aggression takes place and any organization, including NATO,
does not mention this and name the aggressor country, then this means
to some extent support for aggression and the aggressor. Unfortunately,
NATO has demonstrated that it does not want to play an active role in
the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement and does not admit who the aggressor
is. This means support for the aggressor,” he said.
The MP thinks that the future will show whether the taken step was
correct.
“However, I do not believe that this step will seriously influence
ties between NATO and Azerbaijan. I assume that the arising situation
will be investigated by the sides and the necessary steps will be
taken to develop cooperation.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Immigrant Autobiographies Recount Turbulent Lives
Mike O’Sullivan
Voice of America, DC
Sept 15 2004
Los Angeles – The United States is a nation of immigrants and each one
has a story. Many of their stories are compelling. Mike O’Sullivan
spoke to two immigrants who have published their autobiographies to
share their personal tales of hardship and triumph.
Susanne Reyto (VOA photo – M. O’Sullivan) Susanne Reyto was born in
Nazi-occupied Hungary near the end of World War II. Her Jewish family
survived the Holocaust with the help of two diplomats, Raoul Wallenberg
of Sweden and Carl Lutz of Switzerland, who issued diplomatic papers
to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazi death camps. But no
sooner were the Nazis gone when a Soviet-backed regime was installed
to replace it.
Her father was a successful businessman who suffered persecution
again under the communists, losing his home and business. The family
would spend 29 months in a prison camp, then witness the failed 1956
Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union. In 1957, the family
escaped Hungary and made its way to Australia, and later came to the
United States, settling in Los Angeles.
Ms. Reyto says her grandson, who was studying World War II, asked
her to talk about her experiences with his school class. She did,
and later repeated the talk.
“I spoke to all of the eighth grade classes at that time, and I
realized how much of a transformation the children experienced,
especially a few days later when I received their ‘thank you’ notes,”
she said. ” And one of the little girls said, ‘Mrs. Reyto, I think
you should write a book so everybody else can listen to your stories,
not only us.'”
That suggestion and a later visit to Hungary cemented her decision
to put her story in writing.
On a trip to Budapest, she visited a museum called the House of
Terror. Located in a former prison and secret police headquarters, it
documented the events of Ms. Reyto’s childhood: the persecution under
the Nazis, the confiscation of her home by the communist government,
and the prison camps.
With the help of those documents, and recollections of her mother,
she published her story this year in a book called Pursuit of Freedom.
Yervand Markarian (VOA photo – M. O’Sullivan) Yervand Markarian, 84,
has a very different story, with a similar happy ending. Mr. Markarian
was born to an Armenian family in the Chinese city of Harbin. Located
near the border of the newly formed Soviet Union, in 1920 the Chinese
city was home to expatriate white Russians who were fleeing the
Bolsheviks, and Armenians who had fled persecution in Turkey.
As a young man, he would join the French army to fight against the
Nazis. To his surprise, he ended up in French Indochina, modern-day
Vietnam, fighting communist insurgents for the French Foreign Legion.
After the war, he worked as a policeman in the French concession
of Shanghai, then joined his father-in-law running two Russian
restaurants.
After the war, the restaurants thrived, but survived only briefly
after the communists took power in 1949. Mr. Markarian recounts,
it was soon apparent the new regime would not be good for business.
Officials visited to ensure that none of the married customers were
having romantic liaisons.
“Or they would come up to a couple that would say, yes, we are
married. [The officials would ask] do you come often to such a
restaurant? Well, two or three times a week. How much do you spend?
So much. How much do you make a week? So much. Well, we think you
can afford another 10 percent of your salary to the state,” he said.
Branded as capitalists, some of Mr. Markarian’s business acquaintances
committed suicide. Others like him eked out a living until they were
able to leave. In 1951, he settled with five family members in Brazil.
Unable to speak Portuguese, he faced new hardships, but he finally
found work in the Ford Motor Company’s Brazilian operation. Eventually
he took his family to the United States, were he also worked for Ford.
Mr. Markarian would build a successful business on Hollywood’s Sunset
Boulevard, where he recreated his Shanghai restaurant called Kavkaz.
It soon became popular with film stars and directors.
“Roman Polanski, Dan Duryea, Simone Signore, Peter Ustinov,” he cited.
Celebrity patrons also included the actor Omar Sharif, oil magnate
Armand Hammer, and singer Barbra Streisand.
Mr. Markarian recounts his tale in a self-published book called Kavkaz,
named after his popular restaurants.
The two immigrants say that despite their early hardships, they have
kept their optimism. They are both effusive about the opportunities
and freedom they have found in their new country. Mrs. Reyto adds
that she is sharing a message.
“My message or theme is inspiration, the power of positive thinking,
and hope and dream for a better tomorrow,” she explained. “And
without that, we just can’t survive. And in the worst of times,
there are always decent people in the world.”
There is always, she says, light at the end of the tunnel.
The author says she has learned to take control of difficult situations
because it is always possible to change them.

Khatami assesses outcomes of his three-nation tour as positive
IRNA< Iran Sept 15 2004 Tehran, Sept 15, IRNA -- President Mohammad Khatami here Tuesday evening assessed the outcomes of his visit to Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan and his presence at the ECO summit as positive. Talking to reporters at Mehrabad International Airport upon his arrival, Khatami said the three countries are Iran`s friends which have had good relations with Tehran since their independence. "Attempts have been made that ties with the three states be directed towards progress and development with more speed," he said. He added during his visit to Armenia, which took place at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart, the two countries signed seven documents for cooperation, adding the document on transfer of Iran`s gas to Armenia was the most important one. In the visit to Armenia, the sides discussed bilateral, regional and international issues, the president noted. Pointing to natural and industrial resources of Belarus, he said Tehran and Minsk inked five documents. Khatami said the commission of Iran`s potentials in Belarus will be set up, adding a factory will also be established in Belarus for joint production of paper. He referred to the deep-rooted cultural ties with Tajikistan and said, "Iran`s trade exchanges with Tajikistan have been increased during recent years by three times but there still exist some potentials for further promotion of ties." Khatami noted that Iran and Tajikistan signed six documents, including construction of Anzab tunnel and Sangtudeh power plant in participation of Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. Pointing to the ECO summit, held in Tajikistan on Tuesday, the president stated that in today`s complicated world regional organizations can play an effective role, adding regarding potentials of the region and common history and culture of ECO nations, the Economic Cooperation Organization can take many useful measures. He stressed that Iran`s two proposals on reforming the trend of ECO decision-making and establishing ECO free trade zone were approved during the organization`s summit. It is expected that the ECO would achieve its goal regarding the setting up of the free trade zone by 2015, Khatami said. He added that he held separate meetings with his Tajik, Afghan and Kyrgyz counterparts as well as the prime ministers of Pakistan and Turkey on the sidelines of the ECO summit. President Mohammad Khatami arrived in Tehran on Tuesday evening, ending his three-nation tour which took him to Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan.

Prodi to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia
IRNA< Iran Sept 15 2004 Brussels, Sept 15, IRNA -- European Commission President Romano Prodi Thursday begins a four-day tour of the Southern Caucasus that will take him to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. "This first-ever visit by a European Commission President highlights the EU`s interest in the region following the inclusion of all three countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy,`` said Prodi in press statements. Prodi said he will urge his counterparts to push ahead with reforms and conflict settlement. The visits follow the EU Council`s decision of 14 June to include the three Southern Caucasus countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy. "My visit is intended to send the important message that the EU is fully committed to supporting the Southern Caucasus countries as they work to build stable societies based on democratic values and to affording these countries real prospects of strong ties with the European Union," he said. In Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Prodi will meet the Presidents, the Prime Ministers, the Speakers of these countries` Parliaments and their religious leaders. In the three countries he will take the opportunity to address a wider audience of civil society representatives on the European Neighbourhood Policy and its significance for the Southern Caucasus, noted a Commission statement.