Category: News

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
July 18 2004
Third man held over woman’s murder
By Stefanos Evripidou
A 33-year-old Armenian man was remanded in custody for eight days
yesterday in connection with the murder of Lyudmila Zipir, 34, from
Ukraine, who was found dead in her apartment in Limassol last Sunday.
He is the third man to be arrested in connection with the case. The
33-year-old was arrested on Friday night after police had searched
his house for evidence. Various items have been sent for forensic
testing. According to reports, police found his fingerprints at the
scene of the crime. The same reports say he used to live in the same
block as Zipir and was on friendly relations with the other two
suspects. He has denied any involvement in the murder.
Zipir was found by police last Sunday after her employer had called
concerned at her failure to turn up for work. She had lived in Cyprus
for three years and worked in a bar in Limassol. Pathologist Panicos
Stavrianos said the girl’s bruised naked body was found on her bed in
a pool of blood.
Police first arrested two men who lived next door to Zipir the day
after the body was found. Armen Grigorian, 25 from Armenia, and
Dionysis Tokalides, 26 from Georgia, were remanded in court for eight
days on Monday.
Zipir’s employer told police the victim had repeatedly complained
that the two men used to harass her with sexual innuendoes. He had
even visited the men on several occasions to ask them to leave her
alone.
When police arrested the two suspects, they appeared to have
scratches on their bodies as well as streaks of blood. Blood was also
found in the apartment building.
Police noticed there had been no forced entry into the apartment via
the front door, but that the balcony door connecting the victim’s
apartment with that of the suspects was closed but not locked.
The two suspects deny any involvement in the murder, but cannot give
a clear story or confirm where they were at the time of the murder.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Chicago Tribune , IL
July 18 2004
Ties between Turkey, Israel grow strained
Middle Eastern allies disagree over Israel’s handling of
Palestinians, reports of training Kurdish commandos
By Catherine Collins
Special to the Tribune
Published July 18, 2004
ISTANBUL — When Israel’s deputy prime minister arrived in Turkey
last week on a fence-mending mission, he found that Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was away on vacation.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Erdogan’s holiday had been planned
long before the visit. Yet it came at a time when relations between
the two allies have frayed over Israel’s actions against Palestinians
and published reports alleging that Israeli military officers are
training Kurdish commandos who want to establish an independent
nation.
As the only secular democracies in the Middle East, Turkey and Israel
have forged a friendship of mutual need and support. Both define
themselves as more Western–culturally, politically and
economically–than Middle Eastern.
Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel in
1948, and ties between the two countries have blossomed in recent
years.
But in recent weeks Erdogan has been sharply critical of Israel’s
tactics against the Palestinians. He condemned the Sharon
government’s policies as “inhumane” and accused Israel of
“state-sponsored terrorism.”
In a recent briefing to members of his ruling Justice and Development
Party, Erdogan said: “We have no problem with the Israeli people, but
unfortunately, what the Israeli government has been doing is leading
to an increase in anti-Semitism in the world.”
Turkey’s foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, echoed Erdogan’s sentiments
last week as he warned that Israel’s actions could damage relations.
Turkish and Israeli diplomats are quick to say that ties between the
two countries remain strong. But Erdogan’s tough talk has raised
concerns.
“This is not the way that friendly nations speak to each other,” said
Barry Jacobs, director of strategic studies at the American Jewish
Committee in Washington, during a recent trip to Turkey. “But as
Archie Bunker said, `stifle.’ This relationship is too important to
allow it to be held hostage to momentary anger.”
The visiting Israeli official, Ehud Olmert, shrugged off Erdogan’s
absence and statements.
“We cannot assess policy by just one statement,” Olmert said during
an interview on CNN-Turk television when asked about Erdogan’s
comments.
Turkey and Israel have maintained strong, if not cordial, relations
for decades. Whether Erdogan’s criticism signals a substantive change
in the relationship is a matter of debate.
Turkish government officials and the public are increasingly
alienated by what they see as Israel’s severe steps against Muslims
in the West Bank and Gaza. At the same time, Turkey is trying to
rekindle relations with its Arab neighbors and improve ties with the
European Union, which is also critical of Israel’s government.
`The right context’
Turkish officials, meanwhile, have tried to avoid going too far in
angering Israel and its main ally, the United States. A spokesman for
the Foreign Ministry said the relationship with Israel has not
changed and remains important.
“The remarks by both our prime minister and foreign minister should
be put into the right context,” the spokesman said.
“They spoke out during developments in Palestinian and Israeli
relations that resulted in condemnations from many countries, even
the United Nations. Turkish reaction should be seen as part of a
general reaction, no more than that,” he said.
Ties between the nations include Turkey’s spending $3 billion on
Israeli military hardware since 1996. They conduct regular joint
military exercises, and Turkey allows Israeli fighter pilots to train
in its airspace.
Most of their bilateral trade is in the private sector and reached a
record $1.25 billion last year. Trade is expected to increase again
this year to $1.5 billion. And Turkey is considered the favorite
destination for Israeli tourists.
In exchange for the economic and military ties, Turkey has
supplemented its notoriously weak lobbying effort in the U.S. by
relying on the influential Jewish lobby.
Most prominently, Jewish-American groups have helped Turkey battle
against efforts by Armenian-Americans to declare the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Turkish Armenians in the early 20th Century
a genocide.
Analysts and diplomats say it is unclear how to interpret Erdogan’s
criticism of Israel.
Alon Liel, a former director general of the Israeli Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and author of a book about the Turkish prime
minister, said he believes that Erdogan’s comments were not a
political ploy but an instinctive reaction to events, beginning with
Israel’s assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, a Hamas spiritual
leader, in March.
“Erdogan saw Sheik Ahmed Yassin as a religious and political leader,”
Liel said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv. “And he was disturbed
by the fact that the assassination occurred as Yassin left the
mosque. And that Yassin was in a wheelchair. It was an instinctive
reaction, not something that he planned to please the Arab world.”
Playing to EU
Liel and others also see Erdogan playing to the European Union, which
is expected to decide in December whether to give Turkey a date to
start negotiations that could lead to its eventual membership.
“If there is anyone Erdogan wants to please, it’s the EU countries,”
Liel said. “I see this as an attempt to say to them, `Look we care
about human rights issues too.'”
Others think Erdogan’s comments could strike a sympathetic chord with
Arab nations, which have not considered the country “Muslim enough”
since it became a secular democracy in 1923.
But analysts cautioned that Turkey would run risks if it moves too
far from its U.S.-Israel alliance.
“While Erdogan and his party may think that the EU and the Middle
East might prefer such a Turkey, if the U.S.-Israel side does not
stand behind Turkey, then it will have no chance in the EU,” said
Zeyno Baran, director of international security and energy programs
at the Nixon Center in Washington.
Turkey’s concerns about Israel’s actions increased earlier this month
after The New Yorker magazine reported that Israeli military officers
were training large numbers of Kurdish commandos just across Turkey’s
southern border in northern Iraq.
Ankara is worried about the possibility of a renewed Kurdish
insurgency on its southern flank and the report raised alarms.
Turkish intelligence officials said they have detected a small number
of Israelis conducting training exercises in the region, but a senior
Israeli diplomat in the country denied that the Israeli military was
involved in northern Iraq.
“It is against common wisdom that Israel would conduct such
activities against the interests of a friendly state like Turkey,”
said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If we had
any intention, the Turks would be the first to know and the first
with whom we would coordinate.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Allentown Morning Call, PA
July 18 2004
The transformation of Turkey
The moderate, modern Muslim country, if assimilated into the European
Union, would be an attractive role model for other countries
Eli Schwartz
In Victorian England, there was a common reference to “the
unspeakable Turks.” Much has changed. Today, Turkey is an
independent, modernized country of about 70 million inhabitants. It
is a charter member of NATO and is currently knocking on the door for
admission to the European Union.
In fact, columnist George F. Will noted last week, it is to this
country’s advantage to have Turkey in the EU. Its economy has a long
way to go, in comparison with others in Europe, but it is a nation
that is democratic, secular — and Muslim.
Turkey was not alway democratic and secular, of course, and I believe
that its story is helpful to us today, especially in light of
President Bush’s dream of seeing democracy spread throughout the
Middle East.
The modern history of Turkey starts from the defeat of the Turkish
Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. In 1920, the victorious
allies sat down to dispose of the Arab territories and carve up Asia
Minor.
Of the Arab countries, the French were given a League of Nations
mandate over Lebanon and Syria; the British received mandates for
Mesopotamia (Iraq), Palestine, and some adjoining territories.
Turkey, in Asia Minor, was divided into Italian and French spheres of
influence, an autonomous Kurdish area, a section given to an Armenian
Republic in Causasia, and a Greek enclave starting out from the city
of Smyrna (now Izmir) on the Aegean Sea. A small area encompassing
the city of Constantinople and an oval on the Asiatic side enclosing
the sea of Marmora and the straits to the Black Sea was left to the
Sultan of Turkey. The whole was endorsed by the Treaty of Sevres,
signed by the Sultan in Constantinople.
In the meantime, a nationalist reform party lead by Mustafa Kemal
(later to become Kemal Ataturk) coalesced around the city of Ankara
in central Turkey. In 1920, the dissident assembly declared Turkey a
republic, and an army formed around Mustafa Kemal launched a series
of attacks on the Kurds, the Armenians, and on the Greek army
occupying the area coming out of Izmir. The campaigns were undeniably
victorious, marred by internecine warfare and by what is now
sardonically called “ethnic cleansing”; much of this has never been
clearly expiated to this day.
Suffice it to say, the war ended with the victorious Turkish Army
taking Smyrna in 1922. The abortive Sevres treaty was dropped and the
new treaty of Lausanne in 1923 assigned to the new republic of
Turkey, the territory it currently holds in Asia Minor, and in
Europe, the cosmopolitan city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and
the strategic straits between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
No one reigns completely alone, but the foundation of modern Turkey
rests with Mustafa Kemal, given the honorific name Kemal Ataturk
(Noble Father of the Turks), who as president ruled with a hard hand
from 1923 until his death in 1938. Kemal’s main goal was to wrest
Turkey into the modern world.
One by one, the edicts came down. The Sultan and his family were
exiled, the Caliphate was abolished, the Sharia, Islamic law, was
replaced by the Swiss Code as the basic law of the state, and the
Italian Penal Code and the German Commerce Code were adopted. This
essentially made Turkey a secular state.
Kemal made the wearing of the fez (traditional male headdress)
illegal, and he discouraged the wearing of the female head scarf. The
Islamic clergy were paid a stipend by the government, but the weekly
sermon was set by the state. The call to prayer was changed from
Arabic to Turkish.
Perhaps Kemal’s most revolutionary move was to enforce a change from
the Arabic script to the Latin alphabet. All the citizens from six to
40 years old were made to attend school to learn the new letters.
After four years, it was made illegal to use the old Arabic script. A
consistent increase in literacy followed.
There was a massive importation of typewriters and, under the law of
unintended consequences, the increased demand for stenographers led
to the increased employment of women and helped in the emancipation
of Turkish womanhood.
Even those quite critical of his methods acknowledge that Ataturk
left a legacy that has served as an obstacle to the rise of
anti-Western Islamists in Turkey.
Kemal Ataturk succeeded in modernizing Turkey, whereas operating at
the Eastern end of the Golden Crescent, the Pahlavi family (the
Shahs) failed in the avowed task of modernizing Iran.
Now, 66 years after Kemal Ataturk’s death, comes perhaps the final
test of the Turkish transition. In December of this year, the Turks
hope to start negotiations on the entry to the European Union. Many
questions arise.
Turkey is a poor country. It is not an undeveloped country, but it
ranks in the bottom rung of the class of developed countries. The per
capita GDP is about one third of the average for the EU. On the other
hand, the recent real growth rate of 4 percent to 6 percent per annum
exceeds that of the EU, and a recent report by The Economist magazine
shows Turkey with an astounding increase of 15 percent in the last
quarter in manufacturing and mining output, well above any other
country listed.
Trade with the European Union has been growing; since 1996; the
amount of exports to the EU has more than doubled from $10 billion to
$25 billion and imports have gone from $20 billion to $32 billion.
One third of new television sets sold in the EU last year came from
Turkey.
The inflation rate which had been running at a double digit rate for
35 years finally fell to a single digit level this February. The
government deficit of 10 percent of the GDP far exceeds the EU target
of 3 percent. Be that as it may, the stated economic criteria for
admission to the European Union is not perfection but the existence
of a “functioning market economy.”
Some political and social sticking points remain. The average
literacy rate is 87 percent with a significantly higher rate of 94
percent for males as against only 88 percent for females. However,
elementary school education is now compulsory for children of both
sexes. Average life expectancy at birth of 72 years is only slightly
below the developed world average, but the rate of 42 infant deaths
per 1,000 live births is shamefully high.
Of course, the main problem is the unrest and unease among the
minority Kurds, who constitute 20 percent of the population. The
current administration has eased relations with the Kurds, allowing
the public use of the Kurdish language and the development of Kurdish
culture. At any rate, Turkey would not be the sole EU member with a
minority problem; Spain has the Basques, Slovakia has the Gypsies,
and Great Britain has the IRA of Northern Ireland. The social,
political criteria for entrance to the EU is phrased as a “union of
values.”
>From my readings and experience of visiting the Middle East and
Turkey, I believe the admission of Turkey to the European Union would
be a worthwhile accomplishment. Certainly, it would help the Turkish
economy. But perhaps, more importantly, the successful assimilation
of a moderate, modern Muslim country into a vital democratic,
economic society would provide an attractive role model for other
countries to follow.
Eli Schwartz of Allentown is professor emeritus of business and
economics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.
,0,6258142.story?coll=all-newsopinion-hed

Doghouse Boxing, Canada
July 18 2004
Nader Hamdan Fight Postponed

Australian boxer Nader `Lionheart’ Hamdan is shattered that his
scheduled July 24 WBA International middleweight title fight against
unbeaten Arthur Abraham has been postponed after the Armenian-born
German was forced to withdraw due to injury.
A disappointed Hamdan told DoghouseBoxing: `I got a phone call about
two hours ago. The fight’s been postponed until September 4th.
Abraham got injured in training so the fight won’t be going ahead as
scheduled.
`I was ready. My weight was perfect, my training has been excellent.
Everything was good and we were ready to take off tomorrow. It’s
shattering for me.’
Hamdan was originally slated to fight Brett Culey last Friday night
for the IBF Pan Pacific super middleweight title, but he withdrew
from that bout to pursue the WBA International title.
While 24-year-old Abraham has stopped all twelve of his opponents
within the distance, he is yet to fight an opponent of Hamdan’s
calibre. But with Germany having earned itself an odious reputation
in recent years for dubious decisions, Hamdan isn’t expecting any
favours from the judges come September.
`I’ll try to take it out of the judges hands. I’ll go over and do my
best. I don’t know, I can’t really say yes or no because I’ve seen
how other people have been treated over there. I want to try and take
it out of the German’s hands and take care of it myself. That’s what
it’s about for me’ said Hamdan, 36-1 (17).
`I won’t be happy if I’m standing up at the end of the fight waiting
to hear the decision. It’s safer for me to knock him out or be
knocked out, you know, destroy or be destroyed. That’s how it is
going to Europe or people’s backyard.’
30-year-old Hamdan has recently spoken publicly about his desire to
quit boxing if the big fights don’t come his way by the end of the
year. The postponement of his fight against Abraham has only added to
his frustration.
`I’m very serious,’ said Hamdan about retiring from boxing. `I’m
about to pull the pin right now, but I need to sit down and relax a
bit and take a couple of deep breaths. But I’m very serious about
that. I’ve been around a long time. I was the WBC #2 junior
middleweight and we tried to fight in a couple of eliminators with
different fighters but nothing ever came through. And from what I’ve
seen, that’s boxing, and I not really in it for that, you know. I’m
in it to do my best.’
In recent times the former junior middleweight has fought as high as
light heavyweight, but he says that his body is suited to the 160lb
division.
`Actually middleweight feels pretty good,’ he said. `I never really
thought about going back to junior middleweight because I struggled
so long and hard to make weight and I didn’t want to do that anymore.
Even though I was a middleweight, I went up to super middleweight and
I fought at light heavyweight. But I feel comfortable at
middleweight. But wherever an opportunity comes along, I’ll fight
anybody. All they have to do is call Angelo Hyder, my matchmaker, and
offer me a fight. I’ll fight anybody and I’ll always give it my best
shot.’
Throughout his seven year professional career Hamdan has enjoyed
great fan support and admits he feels an obligation to deliver
exciting fights.
`I’ve always given them `fights of the year’ ever couple of years,’
he said. `That’s what I’m about. I love to fight. They come in and
pay their money for good fights and I like to give them entertaining
fights. I like to win and I love to fight. But I’ve been doing it for
so long and I don’t want to be one of those guys who hangs around for
too long. I’m in it for only one reason and if I can’t achieve that
reason, I’m not going to hang around. I’ve got a family, I’ve got a
future, boxing’s been good to me and I’ve looked after myself in
terms of life after boxing.’
While Hamdan clearly has one eye on life after boxing, he wanted his
fans to know that he will be giving nothing less than his best when
he steps into the ring to battle Abraham in September.
`I look forward to September 4th in Germany,’ he said. `I hope by
then mentally everything will be back to normal. I’m a bit upset
right now but in September I’ll be 110% again and ready, and we will
come back with that WBA International middleweight title.’

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
July 18 2004
Journalist Found Stabbed To Death In Moscow
18 July 2004 — A journalist was found stabbed to death in Moscow
yesterday, a week after a U.S.-born magazine editor was shot dead
outside his Moscow office.
Police said the body of Pail Peloyan was found yesterday on the side
of a highway. He was the editor of “Armyanski Pereulok” (“Armenian
Lane”), a Russian-language culture magazine.
On 9 July, the editor of the Russian edition of “Forbes” magazine,
Paul Klebnikov, was shot to death in Moscow. After the killing, the
U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on Russian
President Vladimir Putin to change what the group called “the climate
of lawlessness” that has enabled attacks against journalists in
Russia.

Cihan News, Turkey
July 18 2004
Turkish P.M. Erdogan Due In France Tomorrow
ANKARA (CIHAN) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay
three-day official visit to France to promote Turkey’s EU membership
drive. The Turkish Prime Minister will head Paris tomorrow.
The Turkish Prime Minister will meet with his French counterpart
Jean-Pierre Raffarin and with Turkish citizens living in France on
the first day of visit,
Erdogan will attend a conference on July 20 where he will deliver a
speech named Turkey -France: New Perspective for Affective
Partnership. The Turkish Prime Minister is to meet the French
President Jaques Chirac on same day and ask for support for Turkey’s
EU membership bid.
The Turkish Prime Minister will carry out talks with French political
party leaders on July 21st. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is
expected to meet François Hollande and UMP leader Alain Juppé who
also opposes Turkey’s EU membership.
The bilateral relations, Turkey-EU relations and international
developments including the latest developments in Cyprus, Middle
East, Iraq, Northern Africa Project and Afghanistan will be taken up
in the official government meetings.
Turkey is hoping to open entry talks with the European Union (EU) by
the end of 2004, and has adopted a series of EU harmonization
packages, including political and economic criteria, to meet
membership requirements. The Turkish Parliament has adopted seven EU
harmonization packages in the last two years, and has also abolished
capital punishment in order to comply with EU standards.
EU leaders are due to meet in December to decide whether Turkey, a
candidate country since 1999, has made enough progress on human
rights and political freedoms for the initiation of the long-delayed
accession talks.
Meanwhile, Armenian associations in the French cities of Paris and
Marseille will hold demonstrations against the Turkish Prime
Minister.

Sydney Morning Herald
July 18 2004
Editor’s murder adds to slaughter of journalists in Russia
Moscow: The editor of a Russian arts magazine has been found stabbed
to death, police said at the weekend.
“The body of journalist Pail Peloyan, with knife wounds to his chest
and bruises on his face, was found on Saturday,” the RIA Novosti news
agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.
He was found on the side of the MKAD highway that encircles the
Russian capital, police said.
Peloyan was the editor of Armyanski Pereulok (Armenian Lane), a
Russian-language magazine of literature and the arts.
His death follows that of Paul Klebnikov, an American citizen and
editor of the Russian Forbes magazine, who was shot dead as he left
his northern Moscow office on July 9.
Following that murder, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists
called on President Vladimir Putin to move against a “climate of
lawlessness” in which 15 journalists have been killed in Russia
during the past four years.
“Klebnikov is the 15th journalist killed in connection with his work
during your tenure,” the committee said in a statement.
“No one has been brought to justice in any of the slayings, creating
a sense of impunity that endangers all journalists and undermines
your democracy.”
The failure to solve any of the journalists’ murders over the past
four years is “a testament to the ongoing lawlessness in Russia and
your failure to reform the country’s weak and politicised criminal
justice system”, it added.
Klebnikov, 41, had arrived in Moscow with a spirit of civic reform.
His killing has raised troubling questions for Russia.
“The country can build skyscrapers and solve international conflicts
and even win tennis tournaments,” said Peter Klebnikov, one of his
brothers. “But so long as it’s considered completely normal to
resolve disputes and kill a person who is interfering with the way
you want to live, this country is ailing.”
Klebnikov’s work – informed and sometimes brazen – inserted him
squarely into the worlds of Russian business, crime, power and
wealth.
A foreign investor interviewed for two stories by Klebnikov, William
Browder, said: “If somebody feels safe enough to kill the editor of a
major Western magazine, we have anarchy in Russia.
“It makes Putin look like a weak man,” he added.

Equatorial Guinea pledges fair verdict on jailed Armenian pilots
Arminfo
17 Jul 04

YEREVAN
A delegation of the Armenian Foreign Ministry has returned from
Equatorial Guinea.
The Armenian ambassador to Egypt, Sergey Manasaryan, and the head of
the state protocol service, Gevorg Petrosyan, were on a two-week
mission to Equatorial Guinea from 30 June to 13 July, the Armenian
Foreign Ministry press service told Arminfo. The aim of the visit was
to conduct negotiations on the release of the detained Armenian
pilots.
The members of the delegation had meetings with Equatorial Guinea’s
justice and health ministers, prosecutor-general and state secretary
of foreign affairs. Manasaryan and Petrosyan also met the Armenian
pilots.
Following the negotiations, the conditions of detention were improved
and the necessary medicines were given to them. The pilots were also
given an opportunity to contact their relatives in Yerevan by
telephone.
The top officials of Equatorial Guinea assured the Armenian delegation
that the case of the pilots will be considered impartially and a fair
verdict will be delivered.
The pilots are in a satisfactory physical and moral state. After the
delegation returned to Yerevan, Manasaryan met the pilots’ relatives.

Armenia hands over facilities, land to Russian military base
Arminfo
17 Jul 04

YEREVAN
Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan, chief of the general staff of the Armenian
armed forces, and Igor Gromyko, adviser to the Russian ambassador to
Armenia, today signed a document on the activities of the Russian
military base in Armenia. The agreement on the deployment of the
Russian military base in Armenia for a period of 25 years was signed
in 1992.
In line with the document, Armenia is handing over to Russia
facilities and plots of land required by the 102nd Russian military
base and Russia will own them for a limited period of time. Armenia
will get back the plots of land that the Russian military base no
longer needs.
It is still difficult to say how long the Russian base will stay in
Armenia, for 25 year, or for a shorter or longer period, Arutyunyan
said. The two countries will decide this, he said. Armenia needs the
Russian military base today and the base should be strong and
efficient. It is difficult to remember the West ever protesting
against the Russian military bases in Armenia, he said.
He added that five Armenian officers will take part in NATO’s
forthcoming exercises in Azerbaijan and will occupy various positions
in the manoeuvres. Armenia’s involvement in the exercises must be of
full value – Armenia’s flag must be raised and national anthem played,
Arutyunyan said.
In turn, Gromyko said that there is no need to guess how long the
Russian base will stay in Armenia. It will stay in Armenia as long as
it suits Armenia and Russia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ra¤ola keeps Armenian GM within reach
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Jul 19, 2004
Standings after round 4:
4.0 pts.-GM Karen Movsziszian (Armenia); 3.5-NM Yves Ra¤ola (Philippines), GM
Aleksander Delchev (Bulgaria), GM Vladim Burmakin (Russia), GM Mikhail Suba
(Romania), IM Yuri Gonzales (Italy), IM Fernando Braga (Italy), IM Ioan Cosma
(Romania), IM Petr Velicha (Czech Republic), IM Herman Van Riemsdijk (Brazil),
IM Bernd Kohlweyer (Germany); 3.0-GM Lazaro Bruzon (Cuba), IM Ronald Bancod
(RP), IM Jayson Gonzales (RP).
FILIPINO National Master Yves Ra¤ola outplayed Spain’s Jose Luis Ramon Perez
in the third round and then halved the point with Cuban International Master
Yuri Gonzales in the fourth to share second place with 10 others yesterday in
the Balaguer International Open chess tournament in Spain.
Ra¤ola, the former national junior champion who is eyeing his third and final
IM norm in the event, pushed his output to 3.5 points, half a point behind
undefeated pacesetter Grandmaster Karen Movsziszian of Armenia.
Ra¤ola shared second place with super GM Aleksander Delchev of Bulgaria, GM
Vladim Burmakin of Russia, GM Mihkail Suba of Romania, IM Fernando Braga of
Italy, Ioan Cosma of Romania, IM Petr Velicha of Czech Republic, IM Herman Van
Riemsdijk of Brazil and IM Bernd Kohlweyer of Germany.
The bunch stood another half point in front of a big group that includes
Filipino IMs Jayson Gonzales, who drew his third- and fourth-round matches,and
Ronald Bancod, who lost his fourth-round match to Delchev.
Filipina Winona Tan shared 56th place with 37 others at 2.0 points.Marlon
Bernardino