Category: News

VAHRAM PAPAZIAN THEATRICAL GROUP OF BEIRUT TO PERFORM “STRANGE MISSIS
SAVAGE” PLAY IN YEREVAN ON AUGUST 17
YEREVAN, August 16 (Noyan Tapan). Vahram Papazian theatrical group of
the Armenian Youth Association of Beirut also participates in the “One
Nation, One Culture” first Pan-Armenian cultural festival. Trdat
Avetikian, Chairman of the theatrical group, told NT’s correspondent
that they will perform John Patrick’s “Peaceful Cloister, or Strange
Missis Savage” play, which was staged by RA People’s Artist Yervand
Ghazanchian, at the Yerevan Theater of Musical Comedy after Hakob
Paronian on August 17 in Yerevan. Trdat Avetikian said that within the
framework of the festival the theatrical group will perform with the
same play at the Gyumri Theater after Vardan Achemian on August
18. Vahram Papazian theatrical group was established in 1959. During
its 45-year activities the group had tours not only in different areas
of Lebanon, but in a number of countries of the world. It is the
fourth year in succession that Yervand Ghazanchian, Director of the
Yerevan Theater of Musical Comedy after Hakob Paronian, Chairman of
the Armenian Theatrical Workers’ Union, works with the theatrical
group of Beirut.

VERDICT ON INCIDENT IN “TRIUMPH” CAFE TO BE PRONOUNCED ON AUGUST 17
YEREVAN, August 16 (Noyan Tapan). Proceedings started and rapidly
completed on the incident, which took place on March 12, 2004, in
Yerevan’s cafe “Triumph”, at the court of the first instance of the
Kentron and Nork-Marash Communities of Yereva non August 16. The court
presided over by Judge Mnatsakan Martirosian went to the consultation
room to pass the vedict. Those present at the trial were informed that
the verdict will be pronounced on August 17. Defendant Hayk Aramian,
the son of former RA Minister of Urban Development Ara Aramian,
together with his friend Khachatur Khachatrian started an unreasonable
fight with security service employee Artur Gevorgian in the cafe yard
that day. H. Aramian is accused of shooting, deliberately and at the
risk of many other people’s lives, from the illegally kept “Mauser”
revolver and inflicting bodily injuries of medium gravity to three
persons: Aghvan Matevosian, Armen Arsenian and Levon Vardanian. Artur
Gevorgian, another defendant of the case, is accused of starting an
unreasonable fight and stabbing Hayk Aramian and Khachatur
Khachatrian, inflicting to them medium and high gravity bodily
injuries, respectively. Both defendants admitted their guilt, refused
to give evidence asking that their preliminary evidences be considered
as the basis. Although, according to the Criminal Code, in case of a
refusal to give evidence the defendants’ preliminary evidences may be
pronounced in the court, medidation for their announcenent was not
submitted and the defendants were not asked questions. By the way, the
defendants themselves conducted their defense in the court. The
evidences of the victims who did not attend the hearing but who asked
that their preliminary evidences be considered as the basis were not
announced either. Prosecutor Koryun Piloyan in his speech of the
prosecution solicited that Hayk Aramian be sentenced to 6 years, Artur
Gevorgian – to 3.5 years of imprisonment. At the same time, the
prosecutor mediated for the reduction of imprisonment by using a
three-year probation.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/16/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ARF Rep. Markarian Concludes Visit to Egypt 2) Martirosyan Gets US Boxing's Second Win 3) Vatican Stirs Debate on Turkish EU Membership 4) Putin To Meet Ukrainian and Armenian Presidents in Sochi 5) Opening of "One Nation, One Culture" Pan-Armenian Cultural Festival 6) Two Dead As Georgia Ceasefire Crumbles 1) ARF Rep. Markarian Concludes Visit to Egypt CAIROOn Wednesday, August 11, ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian concluded a four day trip to Cairo. During the visit, Markarian had the opportunity to address the community and meet with local ARF representatives. He also announced plans for the establishment of a Middle East Hai Tahd office, which will work with the offices located in the United States, Russia and Europe. 2) Martirosyan Gets US Boxing's Second Win ATHENS (AP)--Vanes Martirosyan erased any doubts about the legitimacy of his spot in Athens, battering Algeria's Benamar Meskine in a 45-20 victory in the preliminaries Sunday to earn a second-round match with Cuba's Lorenzo Aragon. "I finished like a champion,"said Martirosyan, an Armenian-born 18-year-old from Glendale, Calif. "I could have won another four rounds, to tell you the truth. I felt so good out there.'' Martirosyan showed the power and flair of a contender, dictating the fight's pace with a stiff jab and opportunistic combinations. He also counterpunched effectively while landing more shots to the head than almost any competitor so far at the busy boxing venue, which hosts more than 20 fights every day of the preliminaries. Tougher fights still loom for a team that's thought to be among the weakest in the United States' superb Olympic boxing history, but the boxers believe they can improve on their mediocre four-medal haul four years ago in Sydney. "We're a great team, we're in great shape and we're going to bring a lot of medals home,"Martirosyan said. Martirosyan was one fight from elimination at the US team trials in February in Tunica, Miss., but the two top contenders were disqualified when Andre Berto threw Juan McPherson to the canvas, injuring McPherson's neck. McPherson was medically disqualified, and Berto was banned for his actions. Though he caught a lucky break, Martirosyan made the most of it by earning an Olympic spot in the ensuing qualifying tournaments. Berto, from Winter Haven, Fla., made the Olympics anyway on Haiti's team--but Martirosyan beat Berto in a subsequent tourney. "A lot of boxing fans and people in our organization were very well aware of Vanes,"US coach Basheer Abdullah said. "There were a lot of predictions that he was going to make this team. He was very, very aggressive today. He dictated what was happening in the fight.'' Martirosyan was cheered at Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall by his father, Norik, a former amateur fighter who moved his family to California when Vanes was 4; his younger brother, Vatche; his uncle and his cousin--and a bunch of fans from Glendale who showed up unannounced, waving Armenian and American flags. Aragon, whose victory over Greece's Theodoros Kotakos was stopped on points in the third round, will be a stiff test for Martirosyan on Thursday. The 1996 Olympic featherweight is a two-time world champion as a welterweight, and he beat Martirosyan in the Athens Test Event in May. But Martirosyan was slugging point-for-point with Aragon until the fourth round, when Martirosyan says he got overexcited by the prospect of an upset. "We're Armenian. We have this thing where we get a little bit out of control in the ring,"Martirosyan said. "I love this sport so much. The coaches have told me to calm down, just think about points instead of trying to get the guy out of there." After a slow first minute against Meskine, Martirosyan landed the first of many shots to the Algerian's head. Martirosyan then staggered him with a beautiful left hand early in the third round. That punch effectively ended the fight. Meskine retreated to full-scale defense while Martirosyan chased. Martirosyan scored 16 points in the final round, putting his whole body behind his blows in a vain effort to flatten Meskine. Perhaps that Armenian instinct hasn't completely been coached out of him--and it will serve him well as a professional. But first things first: Martirosyan finished third in the Athens Test Event, and he isn't keen on keeping that prize. "I brought that bronze medal back so I could take the gold,"he said. 3) Vatican Stirs Debate on Turkish EU Membership (EU OBSERVER)--Negative comments by a high-ranking Cardinal in the Vatican about Turkish membership of the EU have once more stirred the controversial debate. In an interview last week with Le Figaro magazine, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that Turkey is "in permanent contrast to Europe" and that linking it to Europe would be a mistake. To make his point he spoke of the Ottoman Empire's incursions into the heart of Europe in past centuries. Cultural riches should not be sacrificed for the sake of economic riches, The Cardinal is quoted as saying in Turkish media. The German, who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that Turkey, which is a predominantly Muslim secular republic, should seek political union with Arab states and not with European countries. He suggests it "could try to set up a cultural continent with neighboring Arab countries and become the leading figure of a culture with its own identity." Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the Cardinal's comments. "The Vatican is a religious state. We are speaking to and making evaluations with EU member countries," said Erdogan, according to Zaman. All of these comments come ahead of some crucial decision in the EU about Ankara's bid to join the bloc. The European Commission will publish a report in October on Turkey's readiness to join. On the basis of this report, EU leaders will make a decision in December. But Turkey already has support from some influential countries in the EU-including the UK and Germany. 4) Putin To Meet Ukrainian and Armenian Presidents in Sochi MOSCOW (AFP)--Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with his Ukrainian and Armenian counterparts this week in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where he is currently on holiday, the Kremlin said Monday. Putin is due to hold talks Wednesday with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Friday with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, a Kremlin spokeswoman told AFP Monday. Putin's meeting with Kuchma comes on the heels of a decision by Ukraine to sign a three-year contract with the Russian-British oil company TNK-BP to carry Siberian oil through the Odessa-Brody pipeline. The move thwarted European hopes that the pipeline would export oil from Central Asia and the Caspian Sea to Europe, but was welcomed by the Kremlin. Analysts said the move was the latest in a series that have seen the former Soviet republic lurch back toward Moscow, after spending most of the post-Soviet years reaching out toward the West, ahead of presidential elections in October 31. 5) Opening of "One Nation, One Culture" Pan-Armenian Cultural Festival YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)--On August 15, the opening of the "One Nation, One Culture" Pan-Armenian cultural festival took place in the National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. President Robert Kocharian, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Hovik Hoveyan, and other officials were present at the ceremony. Greeting the participants, Oskanian called the festival a historic event and emphasized: "Every generation living in its homeland or the diaspora should reveal the depth and wealth of one united culture of the national originality of his origin, should be newly filled with aesthetic and moral spirit of national and human real values." Among the performers were the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia and the "Barekamutiun" ensemble, dudukist Jivan Gasparian, singers Hasmik Papian, Hasmik Hatsagortsian, Svetlana Navasardian, Ruben Matevosian, actors Vladimir Abajian, Hovhannes Babakhanian, Zhenia Avetisian, as well as other well-known Armenian artists. 6) Two dead as Georgia ceasefire crumbles TBILISI (AFP)Two Georgian servicemen were killed and other casualties were reported, officials said, in clashes that left a three-day-old ceasefire in the breakaway region of South Ossetia in tatters. A spokesman for the Georgian interior ministry said the soldiers died after coming under mortar and automatic weapons fire from irregular forces from the South Ossetian territory. The spokesman, Guram Donadze, also claimed that 15 Ossetian fighters were killed in return fire from Georgian forces, but a South Ossetian spokeswoman denied any fatalities. "Fortunately, no one was killed," in the overnight fighting, South Ossetia spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. She added however that three civilians had been hurt. RIA Novosti and other Russian news agencies confirmed the deaths on the Georgian side and said that Georgian forces had also fired shells into a district of South Ossetia's main city, Tskhinvali, as well as three other nearby villages. A spokesman for the joint Georgian-Russian-Ossetian peacekeeping force in South Ossetia was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying that the firing "came from both sides and involved machine guns, mortars and grenade launchers." The violence came three days after a ceasefire signed by the conflicting parties as well as Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe went into effect in a renewed drive to defuse the crisis in the region. "We can say that the ceasefire has been practically violated," said Konstantin Kochiyev, an adviser to South Ossetia's self-styled president. Tensions have soared and clashes have repeatedly broken out in the area over the past two months as Georgia has stepped up pressure to bring separatist regions back under its thumb. In June, President Mikhail Shaakashvili won a local election in Adjara which returned control over the renegade region to Georgia. Inhabited mainly by ethnic Ossetians, South Ossetia has enjoyed de facto independence after an armed conflict with Tbilisi following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Leaders in South Ossetia have demanded either their own state or else separation from Georgia and direct governance from Moscow. Speaking to reporters in Tbilisi, Georgian Defense Minister Georgy Baramidze warned that the conflict could worsen. "There is unfortunately a real danger of war breaking out in the region," he said. Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said Georgia was calling on the international community to step in and help break the deadlock. Georgia wanted the OSCE executive to hold an urgent meeting in the coming days on the situation in South Ossetia and President Mikhail Saakashvili would talk with other leaders about organizing an international conference on the conflict, he said. "We are looking for a peaceful resolution," Zhvania said, adding that he was prepared to sit down for talks with South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity. Georgian and Ossetian forces had already traded gunfire and shelling during the night both Saturday and Sunday, when Tbilisi reported seven Georgian soldiers had been wounded in the clashes. 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) 2004 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.

Capital News 9, NY
Aug 15 2004
Church holds Armenian Festival
It was a festival of tradition and culture in Watervliet Sunday.
St. Peter’s Armenian Church held its annual Armenian Festival. The
church has been a staple of the community for more than 100 years and
enjoys sharing their food, music and heritage with the Capital
Region.
Bob Meeson, Parish Council Chairman, said, “We all come together to
enjoy Armenian food, dance and music, and for a good cause — it
helps us keep our church growing and alive.”
A Penny Social Auction was also held to raise funds. Local merchants
and members of the parish donated items that were auctioned off to
those in attendance. The proceeds are going toward building a new
addition to the church.

ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games
Boxing
Men’s Light Welter (64kg) & Welter (69kg) 15 Aug. 2004
ATHENS, 15 August – It may be an indoor venue, but at the Peristeri Boxing
Hall today the stars shone brightly in the hotly contested Welter Weight
(69kg) category.
Making his return to Olympic competition after an eight year absence, Cuba’s
double World Champion Lorenzo ARAGON ARMENTEROS was devastating in his
destruction of local hope Theodoros KOTAKOS (GRE), the referee stopping the
contest midway through round three when KOTAKOS appeared defenceless, and
the Cuban led 34-14.
Vanes MARTIROSYAN (USA) made a solid start for his medal campaign, beating
Benamar MESKINE (ALG) 45-20 to set up what should be a fascinating clash
with ARAGON ARMENTEROS in the round of sixteen on Thursday, 19 August.
MARTIROSYAN will need to be at his very best to beat the Cuban, but going
into this tournament the Armenian born American was confident he could win
the gold medal.
Another Welter Weight to impress was Ruslan KHAIROV (AZE) who showed his
power against Canadian Adam TRUPISH.
A solid right cross at the start of round three opened a nasty cut on the
bridge of TRUPISH’s nose, and on the advice of the ring side doctor, the
referee stopped the fight.
World Championship silver medallist Sherzod HUSANOV started slowly against
Jean Carlos PRADA (VEN), but knocked the Venezuelan to the canvas twice on
his way to a 33-20 points decison.
Oleg SAITOV (RUS), who is chasing his third Olympic gold medal, was his
usual methodical self against Miloud AIT HAMMI (MAR).
He started slowly, but his experience told in the end and he scored a
comfortable points decision.
In the Light Welter Weight (64kg) division, the stand out performance of the
afternoon session came from stylish Bulgarian Boris GEORGIEV, who totally
outclassed Nasserredine FILLALI (ALG).
When the referee stopped the contest late in round two, GEORGIEV had taken a
20 point lead over the Algerian, enough to book a contest against Rock ALLEN
(USA) in the next round.
In the evening session Alexander MALETIN (RUS) was devastating in his
demolition of Saleh KHOULEF (EGY) and must be the boxer everyone in the
Light Welter Weight division fears most.
Willy BLAIN (FRA) was sharp and effective in disposing of Mohamed Ali SASSI
(TUN), but the Frenchman will have a more difficult job in his next round
clash with the ‘Russian Tank’ MALETIN.
Ukrainian hard man Viktor POLYAKOV has also come into medal contention,
after his slugging contest against Gerard O’MAHONY (AUS).
ONS nb/sad
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SportsLine.com wire reports
Aug. 15, 2004
Martirosyan batters Algerian for U.S. boxing’s second victory

ATHENS, Greece — Seven months ago, Vanes Martirosyan was America’s
14th-ranked amateur welterweight — not a typical starting point for
an Olympic boxer.
Martirosyan has turned out to be a whole lot better than almost
anybody expected. With a few more victories, the same might soon be
said about the entire U.S. boxing team.
Martirosyan erased any doubts about the legitimacy of his spot in
Athens, battering Algeria’s Benamar Meskine in a 45-20 victory in the
preliminaries Sunday to earn a second-round match with Cuba’s Lorenzo
Aragon.
“I finished like a champion,” said Martirosyan, an Armenian-born
18-year-old from Glendale, Calif. “I could have won another four
rounds, to tell you the truth. I felt so good out there.”
Martirosyan showed the power and flair of a contender, dictating the
fight’s pace with a stiff jab and opportunistic combinations. He also
counterpunched effectively while landing more shots to the head than
almost any competitor so far at the busy boxing venue, which hosts
more than 20 fights every day of the preliminaries.
Middleweight Andre Dirrell got the United States off to a good start
Saturday with a win in his preliminary bout. Two Americans received
first-round byes, and five more will fight in the next three days
before the second round begins Wednesday.
Tougher fights still loom for a team that’s thought to be among the
weakest in the United States’ superb Olympic boxing history, but the
boxers believe they can improve on their mediocre four-medal haul
four years ago in Sydney.
“We’re a great team, we’re in great shape and we’re going to bring a
lot of medals home,” Martirosyan said.
Martirosyan was one fight from elimination at the U.S. team trials in
February in Tunica, Miss., but the two top contenders were
disqualified when Andre Berto threw Juan McPherson to the canvas,
injuring McPherson’s neck. McPherson was medically disqualified, and
Berto was banned for his actions.
Though he caught a lucky break, Martirosyan made the most of it by
earning an Olympic spot in the ensuing qualifying tournaments. Berto,
from Winter Haven, Fla., made the Olympics anyway on Haiti’s team —
but Martirosyan beat Berto in a subsequent tourney.
“A lot of boxing fans and people in our organization were very well
aware of Vanes,” U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah said. “There were a lot
of predictions that he was going to make this team. … He was very,
very aggressive today. He dictated what was happening in the fight.”
Martirosyan hoped to meet Berto later in the draw, but Berto was
beaten 36-34 in the evening session by France’s Xavier Noel, a former
world champion. Berto, whose parents are Haitian, fought well and
nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth round, but
Noel apparently hung on. The decision was loudly jeered by fans.

Tehran Times
Aug 15 2004
Iran’s Akhoundzadeh Finishes Fifth At Olympic Judo Meet
Tehran Times Sports Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) – Iran’s under-60kg judoka, Massoud Haji Akhoundzadeh,
who had a good start conceded two losses in his last fights, standing
fifth in 2004 Olympic Games in the Greek capital, Athens, Saturday.
He lost to his Georgian opponent in the quarterfinal and was stunned
by a South Korean player, who won by technical fall and ippon in just
one minute.
The Iranian won his opening fight against Jean Claude from Cameroon.
Akhoundzadeh, who rested in the first round won 3-1, sending the
Cameroonian packing.
He snatched his second victory by victimizing Armenian player Armen
Nazarian in the third round later on the day.
Akhoundzadeh disposed of his Greek opponent, booking a berth in the
quarterfinals. MIR-ESMAEILI FAREWELL
World judo champion Arash Mir-Esmaeili pulled out of 2004 Olympic
Games in the Greek capital as he was drawn with an Israeli player,
Ehud Vaks, Thursday.
Iran’s under-66 kg judoka was scheduled to meet a representative from
Israel in the opening round on August 15.
The unlucky Mir-Esmaeili said, “Although I have trained for months
and now enjoy an in-form build, I refused to face my Israeli rival in
sympathy with the oppressed Palestinian people. “I am not upset for
the decision I have made.”
Vice-president of the Iranian Judo Federation Seyed Abdoljalil Razavi
who expressed his deep regret over Mir-Esmaeili’s elimination said
the draw was for the Games is done by computer and nobody can
manipulate it.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 16 2004
Azeri, Armenian journalist teams may play in Moscow
The sixth international football tournament among journalist teams
dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the sports journalism figure Lev
Filatov will be held in Moscow, Russia on September 9-12, the
tournament organizer Alexander Lagutenkov said.
Teams from Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia are
expected to take part in the competition.
The matches will be played on the special pitches on the Luzhniki
Olympics complex.
Best goalkeeper, defender, forward and scoring player will be awarded
and the winning team will receive a special prize named after Lev
Filatov.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Toronto Star
August 15, 2004 Sunday
Starting from the bottom, Armenian man always reached for very top
You know what would be nice? Having a big building named after you.
Imagine it: The (Your Name Here) Building.
Sounds good, eh? But how do you get there? What path can you follow
to someday see your name carved over the door?
Well, it helps to be war hero, prominent politician or arts icon.
But there is another road. A long, hard route paved with ingenuity,
perseverance and generosity. You might call it the Kololian Way.
Here’s how it goes …
We begin in a North York factory office in the summer of 1963, where
Kev Kololian is cooling his heels in the waiting room.
For two months now, he’s been knocking on 10 doors a day, trying to
persuade manufacturers to give him work for the small precision tool
shop he’s set up in a vacant Weston garage.
But, even when he manages to get an audience with the boss, it’s
always the same story. “Nothing right now,” they say. “But we’ll keep
you in mind. We’ll call you …”
Frustrating. But if there’s one thing Kev has learned in his 34
years, it’s to never give up.
Even as a kid in Cairo, this child of refugees from the 1915 Armenian
genocide in Turkey was developing a will to succeed, to reach for the
good things in life.
“I looked around at successful people,” he recalls, “and I asked
myself: ‘Why shouldn’t I do well, too?'”
Bold words for a dollar-a-day shop assistant forced to quit school at
14 to help support his parents, sister and extended family.
But it wasn’t just talk. When the store closed for the day, Kev’s
work continued. Seven hours a night he laboured over his
correspondence school books, hoping to become a radio engineer.
Not that he was a total goody-goody. Like any hot-blooded teen, he’d
get into scraps, try to settle disputes with his fists. Seeing the
wounds and bruises, his father, a school caretaker, had a suggestion:
“Kevork,” he said. “This is not the way. Better you should persuade
people with your words. Win them over with love, patience and
forgiveness.” Kev never forgot that advice.
But he forgot about radio engineering when he took a trip to Germany
at age 20. There, he saw something they didn’t have in Egypt: an
automatic lathe that could transform blocks of metal into precision
machine parts.
Which got him thinking … about his parents’ kitchen cooker. Like
nearly everyone in that part of the world, they had a Swedish-made
Primus gas stove.
And, like everyone else, they needed to replace the burned-out fuel
jet every two or three weeks.
What if Kev could get his own lathe, learn to manufacture the jets at
home and sell them far more cheaply than the imported parts?
Starting with his meagre $1,000 in savings, many 12-hour days and an
overload of enthusiasm, that’s just what he did. By the mid-1950s, he
was happily married, living well and employing 28 staff to operate 20
precision lathes.
A dream fulfilled. What could possibly go wrong?
Remember the Suez crises? Political revolution, coupled with street
riots and overt hostility to Christian Armenians in Cairo forcefully
reminded Kev of the 1915 terrors that had claimed the lives of both
his grandfathers and perhaps 1.5 million of his people.
Which explains how, after giving up his Egyptian home and business at
sacrifice prices, the ex-tycoon finds himself trying to make ends
meet in the summer of 1962 in a $115-per-month apartment at Lawrence
and Dufferin in North York. Pretty rough, eh?
“Not at all,” he laughs. “It was a wonderful time. No money, but no
worries. We were just so happy to be here, to be secure and free.
‘God has blessed this country,’ I said. ‘And we are going to share in
these blessings.'”
Alas, not everyone was willing to share.
Making the rounds to sell his services, Kev got the brush-off from
many secretaries put off by his “foreign” looks and accent.
Buzzing the boss, they’d say: “There’s a guy with a funny name here,
says he makes machine parts.” Which brings us to that waiting room at
Motorola Canada Ltd., where the receptionist is telling Kev: “Mr.
King, our purchasing agent, will see you now.”
So here we go, same old story. Mr. King listens patiently, nods
sympathetically then begins to deliver a familiar message: “We’ll
keep you in mind …”
In that moment, something snaps in Kev. Before he can stop himself,
he demands: “Whazza matter, Mr. King? You don’t have the guts to give
a man like me a chance?”
Gord King looks ready to explode. “Sit down!” he growls, and stomps
from the room.
Minutes later, he’s back with specifications for appliance
components. “Make me 100 of these, 200 of these. We’ll see if you’re
as good as you say you are.”
Kev dashes to his Pellatt Ave. shop and works through the night. Next
day, he’s back at Motorola with the cadmium-plated components. King
can hardly believe it, especially after his quality inspectors
declare the parts perfect.
“Mr. Kololian,” he smiles. “I believe we can do some business.”
Weeks later, Kev tries a new wrinkle. Instead of going hat-in-hand to
the purchasing agent’s office at de Havilland Aircraft, he calls
company president Phil Garrett directly.
Though friendly and courteous, Garrett suggests Kev really should see
one of his mid-management people.
“Okay if I tell him you referred me?” asks Kev.
“Of course,” replies Garrett.
The executive in question, thinking this cheery, energetic fellow is
somehow connected with the boss, gives him an opportunity that leads
to a lucrative contract.
Boom! Kev is on his way.
Over the next decade, as his business and family expand, he leaves
that Dufferin-Lawrence apartment and tiny workshop far behind. Still,
he feels things are not quite right.
Sure, he’s delighted with his financial success.
But what about some payback to this wonderful country that made it
possible?
For starters, he’d like to employ more Canadians in his growing
business.
But where are the home-grown tool-and-die makers and machinists? Why
must so much skilled labour be imported from Europe?
Just as he did at de Havilland, he goes right to the top. Overtures
are made in the 1970s to provincial and federal leaders, including
federal Labour Minister Robert Andras and Ontario Premier Bill Davis.
In time, the seeds Kev plants with the politicians blossom into an
extensive apprenticeship program, which he helps set up in community
colleges such as Seneca, George Brown and Humber, sending hundreds of
skilled, well-paid machinists into the workforce.
Yes, creating jobs is a nice way to salute your country. But after
impulsively buying a handmade Armenian wall rug embroidered with the
lyrics to “O Canada,” Kev finds another.
Why not give it to the nation as a symbolic gift from his people, he
wonders. But who should receive it? Why not go to the top?
Sure enough, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau agrees to meet with Kev
and a delegation from Toronto’s Armenian community. Their
get-together, scheduled for 10 minutes, stretches to nearly an hour.
Long way from that dollar-a-day job in Cairo.
Today, from his handsome home bordering the 11th hole of a
prestigious golf course, the one-time shop assistant oversees a
thriving family and 125 employees supplying sophisticated components
to the aerospace industry.
Still, when you get to be 76, wealth is no longer a goal. “I’d like
to be remembered,” he muses. “Not as a businessman, but as a
humanitarian.”
But who will remember? For more than a quarter-century now, thousands
of children have passed through the portals of a building at the
Armenian Community Centre, which was envisioned, substantially funded
and inspired by a never-say-die guy forced to quit school in Grade 6.
As long as they live, wherever they go, and whatever they do, those
generations will never forget their first school. And the name is
right up there on the wall for all to see:
KOLOLIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
No! It can’t be. But it IS: 50 years since Marilyn Bell, Toronto’s
swimming sweetheart, conquered Lake Ontario.
What was happening in your life on Sept. 9, 1954? And how did
Marilyn’s feat touch you? Send your stories to MARILYN, c/o
Gamester’s People, George Gamester, Toronto Star, One Yonge St.,
Toronto, Ont. M5E 1E6. Fax: 869-4322. E-mail: ggamest @ thestar.ca,
or call 416-869-4874 anytime.
‘God has blessed this country. And we are going to share
in these blessings.’
GRAPHIC: Refugee Kev Kolonian, far left, rose from dollar-a-day shop
assistant to a great businessman and leader in T.O.’s Armenian
community. He presents former prime minister Pierre Trudeau with a
handmade Armenian wall rug embroidered with the lyrics to “O Canada.”

The New York Times
August 15, 2004 Sunday
Threat of Civil War Is Turning the Abkhaz Into Russians
By C. J. CHIVERS
SUKHUMI, Georgia, Aug. 10
The men on the seashore announced their citizenship one by one. The
first man, who did not appear Slavic, said he was Russian. Then the
second, then the third. Another produced a new passport bearing the
Russian seal. ”I am Russian, too,” he said.
It was the same among all the men sipping coffee under the oleander
and palm, just as it is throughout this city, the partly abandoned
capital of Abkhazia, a tiny self-declared state.
”You can ask any person here, and they will have the passport of the
Russian Federation,” said Apollon Shinkuba, a retired general in the
military of a nation that officially does not exist.
Abkhazia, a breakaway Georgian republic the size of Delaware, has
been swept by a paper revolution.
As latent civil war with Georgia threatens to flare anew, the Abkhaz
have become Russian citizens by the tens of thousands, declaring
allegiance to Moscow, which they hope will defend them if fighting
breaks out. It is a policy resembling voluntary annexation — not by
force or referendum but by the mass assumption of the citizenship of
a neighboring state.
The Abkhaz have been applying under a provision of Russian law that
grants citizenship under certain circumstances to residents of the
former Soviet Union. They hope their new allegiance will prove to be
insurance in the event of war, although there is no clear guarantee.
”The president of the Russian Federation is the guarantor of
protection of the citizens of the Russian Federation, no matter where
they live,” said Valery Arshba, Abkhazia’s vice president, himself a
Russian citizen. He added, ”Political protection implies military
protection.”
The status of Abkhazia — a republic on the Black Sea that is
adjacent to Russia and has a deep affinity for it but is within the
internationally recognized borders of Georgia — is one of the last
of the sovereignty disputes that followed the dissolution of the
Soviet Union.
The Georgians and the Abkhaz were held together under Soviet rule. In
1992, not long after Soviet rule ended, civil war broke out, ending
in 1993 with the expulsion of the Georgian Army followed by a line of
demarcation that is still patrolled by a United Nations observers.
What remains beyond that line is a place of astonishing beauty and
often eerie stillness, a republic in a state of unsettled suspension.
Abkhazia has been independent for 11 years, able to claim
self-government, but at a cost of isolation and at a high economic
and social price.
No nation recognizes it. Its factories are idle. Its infrastructure
is run down. Its government claims to have a budget of $15 million a
year.
There is little traffic, no postal service, no state currency
(rubles, not Georgian lari, circulate here) and a marginal economy.
Its hospitals depend on aid organizations. Minefields litter its
byways.
Village after village in the former Georgian zone of Gali, near the
Inguri River, across which Georgian civilians fled as their army
collapsed and Abkhaz fighters advanced, remain depopulated and
sacked. Weeds grow from rooftops; horses wander the grounds of gutted
factories; people are few.
And tensions have risen again. Georgia has never given up its claim
to Abkhazia, and the new Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, has
pledged to bring the renegade republic into the national fold, as he
is also trying to do with another separatist region, South Ossetia.
At a briefing for journalists and political analysts this week near
Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, Mr. Saakashvili said he would be patient,
but spoke with an air of inevitability.
Abkhazia, in his view, will return to Georgia. ”We can do just about
anything short of full independence,” he said, and referred to
possible federalist models for reintegration.
The political rhetoric has been leveraged with force. Late last
month, the Georgian Coast Guard fired on a cargo ship calling at
Sukhumi, asserting that ships sailing for Abkhazia without Georgian
permission violate Georgia’s territorial integrity and international
law.
Here on the western side of the Inguri River, the Abkhaz people, a
tiny ethnic minority whose roots reach to ancient times, see
themselves as besieged. The government suspended talks with Tbilisi,
vowed to remain firm on national status and said it would use force
to counter actions it regarded as hostile.
”Right now we have our forces ready, and if necessary we will
fight,” said the acting foreign minister, Georgi Otyrba, who became
a Russian citizen three months ago.
Abkhazia maintains an army seasoned by civil war. Officials here say
it has more than 20,000 fighters and is organized in the manner of
the Swiss, with reservists who keep automatic rifles at home,
prepared to gather swiftly at predetermined locations for local
defense.
An exercise held last month to test military readiness was a success,
Abkhaz officials said. Several of them added that Mr. Saakashvili,
whom they regard as young and rash, has chosen a course that could
quickly slip from his control.
”The idea of the new president of Georgia will lead to a new war,”
said Nugzar Ashuba, speaker of Abkhazia’s 35-member parliament. ”It
is absolutely so.”
He added that although Abkhazia regarded its military as a defensive
force, it had aircraft, artillery and tanks, and if the Georgians
continued to test the borders, it might strike first. He said, as an
example, that fighter planes or helicopter gunships could be sent to
sea. ”We can destroy the Georgian ships; we have all the means,” he
said. ”But we don’t want a scandal. Of course, if they keep doing
this, we will reconsider.”
Little prospect for negotiation exists for now. The Abkhaz president,
Vladislav Ardzinba, has been ill and is not visibly in command of the
government. An election to replace him is set for October. The new
president will serve a five-year term.
One Western diplomat, citing the delicacy of the subject and speaking
anonymously, said it was difficult to assess prospects for peace
talks. ”It is really hard to discuss it seriously until after the
Abkhaz presidential election,” he said.
In the interim, residents here have been becoming Russian in waves,
with encouragement of the de facto state. Mr. Arshba, the vice
president, said 170,000 of Abkhazia’s 320,000 residents had become
citizens of Russia, and 70,000 others had applications pending. The
shift started in the late 1990’s. More than 50,000 Abkhaz people had
become Russian by 2002, he said, when a government campaign induced
roughly 117,000 more people to adopt Russian citizenship. The latest
push began this summer.
Numbers here are malleable and impossible to confirm. Mr. Otyrba said
that he had seen new, unpublished census data and that 80 percent of
what he said were 362,000 residents of Abkhazia were Russian.
Mr. Saakashvili insisted that the population is of Abkhazia was much
smaller than Abkhaz officials contended — fewer than 200,000, about
half of whom are Abkhaz and the rest principally Armenian and
Georgian.
One point is clear: given that to obtain Russian citizenship an
Abkhaz applicant must be at least 16 years old, on paper the
Russification of Abkhazia is almost complete.
”We’re at about 80 percent now,” said Gennadi Nikitchenko, chief of
the Abkhaz office of the Congress of Russian Communities, which has
been assisting residents with applications and forwarding bundles of
the documents to the office of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Sochi.
What wartime protections these new citizens might enjoy is anything
but certain. The Western diplomat suggested that their status was not
ironclad. A document, he said, ”doesn’t make them Russian.”
Russia has been ambiguous as well. The Russian defense minister,
Sergei B. Ivanov, told the Interfax news service this week that ”the
protection of the interests of Russian citizens in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia should be done by political and diplomatic methods.”
President Vladimir V. Putin has remained silent on the matter.
As the impasse continues, a sense of lost opportunities pervades.
Abkhazia, subtropical and inexpensive, gorgeous and little known,
seems like a coastal boom waiting to happen.
The republic is breathtaking, a narrow land in which mountains 12,000
feet high tumble in forested hills to the Black Sea. Its farmland is
rich in tangerines and tea.
The republic’s famed beaches at Sukhumi, Gagra and Pitsunda were
formerly vacation destinations for the Soviet elite. Stalin kept
dachas here. Before the Bolsheviks took state holidays, czars lounged
on Abkhazia’s beaches.
Yet for all of its beauty and access to the sea, Abkhazia suffers
from its isolation and reputation as a land that is locked in
struggle. Sukhumi, the seat of the separatist government, remains 60
percent destroyed and is full of gutted buildings and glassless
windows.
Abkhazia still attracts upward of 350,000 tourists a year, almost all
Russian, according to Mr. Otyrba, the acting foreign minister, but
that is down from several million tourists before the war.Those who
visit create weirdly incongruous scenes, like that at the Elbrus
Club, a bustling discotheque between the beach and the skeletons of
buildings destroyed in the last war. On summer evenings, when music
thumps at the Elbrus and beer flows from its taps, Sukhumi seems one
part Grozny, one part Miami Beach.