Category: News

ArmenPress
Nov. 4, 2004
OSCE DID NOT SEND A LETTER TO KOCHARIAN, PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN SAYS
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: A spokesman for Armenian president
denied today allegations by a local daily Haykakan Zhamanak, which
claimed in its November 3 issue that the Vienna-based Secretariat of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent
separate letters to the presidents of Armenia and several other CIS
countries, who signed under a statement last June that was criticizing
the OSCE for double standards which it uses when assessing democratic
processes in the former Soviet and Western countries.
The Armenian daily alleged that the OSCE letter told president
Kocharian that it was appalled by defense minister Serzh Sarkisian’s
last year’s remarks in the wake of presidential election that Armenians
and Europeans have different mentality and different ideas of
democracy.
“I would like to disillusion the daily’s correspondent, as no such
letter was ever sent to president Kocharian,” the spokesman, Ashot
Kocharian, told Armenpress today. “Unfortunately, this was just another
misinformation, spread by this newspaper,” he said.

ArmenPress
Nov. 4, 2004
US NOT TO REVISE ITS POLICY ON ARMENIA
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Kiro Manoyan, the head of the
Armenian Cause office, closely affiliated with the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, downplayed today concerns that the re-elected
president George W. Bush may revise the US policy on Armenia as the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and other American
organizations voted for John Kerry. He said defending a candidate in US
elections does implicate hostility.
“At any rate if the US’s Armenian policy is revised following the
outcome of this election I think it will be revised for the better, as
all those policy- makers who saw the decisiveness and consistency of
ANCA and the Armenian community will try to win its support,” he told
Armenpress. He added many American Armenians voted, however, in favor
of Bush.

ArmenPress
Nov. 4, 2004
IMF TO RELEASE ANOTHER $13 MILLION TO ARMENIA
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) office in Yerevan said today the Fund’s Executive Board is going
to approve in early December the release of $13 million to Armenian
Central Bank as the last tranche of an $87 million credit, which is
part of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Program.
The IMF Resident Representative James McHugh told a news conference
the money would arrive in Armenia in a couple of days after the
Executive Board approves the release. He said the money will be
directed to maintain the sufficient level of forex reserves.
McHugh said the Armenian government and the Fund are working now on
prospects for implementation of new joint projects, expressing also
hopes that the relevant talks will start in 2005 January or February.
He said it was so far difficult to define the direction of new
projects, but added that they would most likely apply to tax reforms
and administration improvement.

ArmenPress
Nov. 4, 2004
COMMERCIAL BANKS REPORT 6 PERCENT STOCK GROWTH
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Nineteen Armenian commercial banks,
monitored by the Central Bank, reported a 6.1 percent growth in their
stock in the third quarter over the previous three months, which they
said amounted to 59.150 billion drams.
According to the Central Bank, 19 of 20 commercial banks increased
their overall liabilities by 10.3 percent in the third quarter, which
stood at 281.5 billion drams, while their aggregate assets rose by 9.6
percent making 340.7 billion drams. The share of cash in the 19 banks
assets was almost 28 billion drams, a 44.4 percent growth over the
second quarter.
As of September 30 the gross income of these 19 banks was 40.8
billion drams, expenditures -31.6 billion drams and net profits
amounted to 7.4 billion drams. The local commercial banks also reported
more loans, by 9 percent, released to resident clients, which made 132
billion drams. Some 35.5 billion of them were channeled into industry,
7.6 billion into agriculture, 6 billion into construction and 29
billion into trade.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
11/04/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Any US Policy Shift Positive for Armenia Says Manoyan 2) Kocharian Congratulates Bush Reeelction 3) ANCA Congratulates President Bush 4) French Minister Addresses Precondition to Turkey EU Entry 5) Moscow Fails to Solve Abkhaz Crisis 1) Any US Policy Shift Positive for Armenia Says Manoyan YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Referring to worries that the US will adopt a negative policy toward Armenia because of the Armenian National Committee of America's (ANCA) endorsement of Presidential candidate John Kerry, ARF Bureau Political and Armenian National Committee Director Giro Manoyan, called such concerns "baseless." "I believe any shift in US policy toward Armenia will be positive because the activism of the ANCA and the Armenian community became even more apparent [during 2004 elections]," explained Manoyan, who stressed that in the US, support for one candidate doesn't necessarily bring about hostilities. The three main Armenian political parties in the US also backed Kerry in a joint appeal to the community, released last month. ANCA-backed Congressional candidates from both parties fared much better, with 199 of the 202 endorsed winning their races. As for ANCA's plans to work with the new Administration, Manoyan said that the goals are defined based on the organization's mission to work with the US to strengthen Armenia, secure a proper resolution to the Mountainous Karabagh conflict, as well as, among other things, ensure appropriate commemoration of the Armenian genocide. "This is our agenda regardless who is in office," stressed Manoyan. 2) Kocharian Congratulates Bush YEREVAN--President Robert Kocharian congratulated President George W. Bush on his reelection to office, in a letter to Bush released by his office on Thursday. "Accept my warmest congratulations in connection with your reelection as president of the United States of America," Kocharian said, "I anticipate a further strengthening of the already extensive relations between our countries in the next four years." Kocharian thanked the US for its continuing economic assistance to Armenia, particularly the Bush administration's decision to include the country in the Millennium Challenge Account program that has made it eligible for additional assistance. He also noted Washington's active involvement in international efforts to resolve the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. "We hope to register serious progress in that process during your second term in office," Kocharian said. 3) ANCA Congratulates President Bush --Urges administration to pursue a more constructive approach to Armenian American issues in second term "If Armenian history has taught us anything, it is that we may not win every battle, but the surest way to lose every one is to sit on the sidelines." --ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian WASHINGTON, DC--The Armenian National Committee Of America (ANCA) congratulated President Bush on his election victory on Tuesday, thanked Senator Kerry for a hard fought election campaign, and praised the Armenian American community for an unprecedented level of activism in this season's electoral contests. "Throughout the course of this highly competitive election season, George W. Bush fought to advance his ideals, John Kerry fought for what he believes in, and so did we--out there on the front lines of American politics, fighting hard for the values and interests of the Armenian American community," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "As a result of our unprecedented electoral involvement, we have emerged from this contest having earned the respect of both parties, and of political insiders across the spectrum, as a vibrant, extremely well organized, and highly motivated electoral constituency at the presidential election level." Commenting on the outcome of the election, Hachikian noted, "While, of course, we would have liked to see a different outcome having endorsed Senator Kerry, we understand that for our community the fundamental truth for Armenian Americans remains that the key to this election--like all elections--is to recognize that our future rests in our hands. Sometimes the candidates we support will win, other times they won't. But we--the ANCA--will always be out there--on the front lines, working with all sides to advance our issues across the American political landscape." He closed by noting, "If Armenian history has taught us anything, it is that we may not win every battle, but the sure way to lose every one is to sit on the sidelines." 4) French Minister Addresses Precondition to Turkey EU Entry PARIS (Combined Sources)--Armenia's National Assembly Chairman Arthur Baghdasarian met with a representative of France's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Renaud Muselier, on the sidelines of a meeting of South Caucasus Parliament heads in Paris. Baghdasarian and Muselier's representative discussed Armenia-France relations, as well as recent developments in France concerning Turkey's aspirations to join the European Union. Though French President Jacques Chirac has indicated his support for a start to talks with Turkey, many in his ruling party, the opposition, and the general French public are against Turkey's EU membership. Asked about Muselier's position, his representative revealed the minister believes Turkey must first recognize the genocide of Armenians before entry into the EU. Just last week, France's Armenian community said it would appeal to President Chirac to prevent negotiations on Turkish membership into the EU until Turkey acknowledged responsibility for its 1915 genocide of Armenians. In January 2001, the French parliament passed legislation recognizing the Armenian genocide. In the aftermath of that decision, relations with Turkey became strained. 5) Moscow Fails to Solve Abkhaz Crisis --Opposition leader Sergey Bagapsh says Moscow mounted pressure on him (Civil Georgia)--Despite two days of talks in the Russian capital of Moscow, the two main rivals for the Abkhaz presidency keep pursuing uncompromising stances--opposition candidate Sergey Bagapsh is preparing for his presidential inauguration on December 7, while pro-government candidate Raul Khajimba insists on a reelection. Some details of the talks between the two men and Russian officials became known on November 3, after the return of Khajimba and Bagapsh to Sokhumi. Bagapsh told reporters in the Abkhaz capital that he held talks with Secretary of the Russian National Security Council Igor Ivanov and with chief of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolay Patrushev while visiting Moscow on November 1-2, according to Russian news agencies. Speaking with his supporters in Sokhumi on November 3, Bagapsh made it clear that the Russian officials, who support pro-government candidate Raul Khajimba, mounted pressure on him by threatening economic sanctions against Abkhazia. "We accept the advice and respect the position of the Russian authorities, but we can not accept pressure. Someone tried to threaten us by warning that they might close down the Russian-Abkhazian border at the river of Psou if we do not agree to hold a reelection. But if they think that it is possible to intimidate us by these threats, they are making a mistake," stated Bagapsh on November 4, according to the Russian Kommersant daily. "Representatives of the Russian National Security Council and Raul Khajimba had similar positions and I was alone. But I told them that I am not an enemy and am not representing myself, but the Abkhaz voters who cast their ballots for the opposition," he added. According to the Kommersant daily, Bagapsh is ready to offer a cabinet position to Khajimba in the case that he agrees to halt his campaign for the presidency. Bagapsh has indicated that he will offer either the Security of Defense Ministerial post, but not the Prime Ministerial position. Bagapsh also ruled out the possibility of holding a reelection and said that he will prepare for his official inauguration in December. On the other hand, Khajimba stated at a November 3 news conference that reelections in Abkhazia will be held in December. "At least we hope," Khajimba added. He said that outgoing Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba has already issued an order regarding the reelection. "This order should be fulfilled," Khajimba said. Ardzinba issued the ordered on October 29, following a controversial ruling by the Supreme Court, which annulled the Central Election Commission's decision to declare Bagapsh the president-elect, and instead ordered repeat elections. But later, a presiding judge, Giorgi Akaba, admitted that he was under pressure by Khajimba's supporters to pass forth the ruling. Due to the conflicting rulings, little room has been left for a legal solution. But Bagapsh said on November 3 that he will defend his victory only through legal means, adding that there are two ways of peacefully solving the current crisis. "The first one is to solve [the problem] in the Parliament. And if the Parliament fails to adopt a decision, we will convene an all-Abkhaz National gathering," he noted. Meanwhile, reports state that the Parliament building remains blocked by Khajimba's supporters. Bagapsh's supporters say the legislative body is "paralyzed," while the only television building in Abkhazia remains under opposition control. 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.

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
November 4, 2004
Armenian govt approves ending ArmenTel’s GSM monopoly
YEREVAN, Nov 4 (Prime-Tass) — The Armenian government has approved the
removal of Armenian national telecom company ArmenTel’s exclusive right
to provide GSM, mobile satellite and mobile radio communication
services by amending the company’s license, Armenia’s Justice Minister
David Arutyunyan told reporters Thursday.
Arutyunyan added that the company would keep its monopoly on IP
telephony voice transmission services.
Arutyunyan said that the government decision was subject to the
president’s confirmation. It was not clear when Armenia’s President
Robert Kocharian might consider the issue.
In 1997, Greek company Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA
(OTE) paid U.S. USD 142.470 million to gain control of a 90% stake in
ArmenTel. It bought a 41% stake from the Armenian government and a 49%
stake from Trans-World Telecom.
According to the agreement between OTE and the Armenian government,
ArmenTel was granted the right to a monopoly for 15 years, but in
September 2003 the government initiated a procedure to amend ArmenTel’s
license due to the allegedly low-quality services it provided.
Arutyunyan said earlier that Armenia’s government deemed necessary to
set up conditions for creation of the country’s second mobile operator.
End

South China Morning Post
November 4, 2004
Mario’s home goes against the grain
Paggie Leung
While most people are happy to buy plastic furniture, Mario Joao
DeSouza refuses to have such items in his house.
The 40-year-old partner in a furniture shop is in love with the beauty
of wood.
“History,” he says when explaining why he is so fond of classy old
furniture. “It’s because I’m from a refugee family.”
Mr DeSouza speaks fluent Cantonese and says he is an Armenian, although
he was born in Macau and holds a Portuguese passport. His family had
been running for their lives from country to country, first migrating
from Armenia to Mexico, and then moving from Shanghai to Macau “because
of communism”.
When he was five, he moved to Hong Kong, where he has spent most of his
life. “Refugee families need their homes, their temporary homes.
Whenever they go it’s never their original homes, never where they came
from, so you lose a lot of history and miss stories of the past and the
faces,” he says.
“With old furniture in your house or even new furniture that you
cherish, you can rebuild the history. I guess that’s important,
especially for the new generation.”
So when he got a chance to renovate his house about two years ago, he
looked for old Chinese or rustic Indonesian furniture – items he
believes that can last for hundreds of years.
He consulted his friend Jonathan Chong, who sells furniture made from
recycled and old wood. Attracted by the beauty and longevity of the
traditional pieces at the shop, he joined with Mr Chong to develop the
furniture business.
“There’s no way you can own all of them but there’s a way to get in
contact with them – that is to join the business,” he says.
Mr DeSouza has no plastic furniture in his home and is very much
concerned about environmental protection and energy conservation. He
says he tries to recycle as much as possible – glass, plastic, paper –
and criticises Hong Kong people for being too wasteful.
“The throw-away culture is very strong. It’s a very fashion-conscious
city, constantly trying to obtain new things to outdo the people around
them, and this creates a lot of waste,” he says, adding that other than
Japanese, Hongkongers are the only people in the world who change their
mobile phones every six months.
Pointing out that pollution in Hong Kong is getting worse, Mr DeSouza
says the government should take the lead in protecting the environment,
and promote the use of alternative energies.
“I will definitely leave this city if the pollution problems go on,” he
says, although Hong Kong is the place he likes most. “I don’t want to
suffer from that.”
GRAPHIC: (Photo: Jonathan Wong); After his family’s rootlessness, Mario
Joao DeSouza has come to value old furniture for the permanency it
gives to a home.

The Jerusalem Post
November 4, 2004, Thursday
The Local Scene
Lionel Gaffen, Jerusalem Post Sports Staff
Shooters 4th in World Cup Finals
Israeli Olympic shooters Alex Danilov and Guy Starik each narrowly
missed medals last week at the International Shooting Sport Federation
year-end event, the World Cup Final, held this year in Bangkok.
The pair were each invited to take part in the prestigious 12-man
competitions due to their performances this year on the World Cup
circuit.
Starik, whose specialty is the 50-meter Men’s Prone Rifle, finished
with a combined score of 699.4, leaving him 0.5 short of a medal,
behind Sergei Martynov of Belarus. Germany’s Christian Lusch took gold
with 702.1, while silver went to another Belarusian, Yury
Scherbatsevich, with 700.6. Starik, who was ranked second in the world
prior to the Olympics, placed a disappointing 16th of 47 riflemen in
Athens.
Danilov came even closer in the Men’s 50-meter pistol, finishing with a
combined 660.5 total, just 0.1 behind the bronze medalist Zonglian Tan
of China. Martin Tenk of the Czech Republic took top honors with 664.1,
followed by China’s Xinglong Shi in second with 661.6. Danilov placed
15th of 47 shooters in Athens.* Lionel Gaffen
Friedman gets NIS 285,000 from OCI
The Olympic Committee of Israel financially rewarded the county’s top
athletes and their coaches for their 2004 performances at a ceremony in
Caesarea on Wednesday night.
Olympic gold medalist Gal Friedman leads the list of recipients with
NIS 285,000 – NIS 240,000 for the gold plus NIS 45,000 as the inaugural
winner of the Yoram Oberkovich Athlete of the Year award.
Sailing coach Gur Steinberg, who guided Friedman and Lee Korzits in
Athens, was presented with NIS 150,000. Israel’s other Olympic
medalist, judoka Arik Ze’evi, received NIS 110,000 – NIS 80,000 for his
Olympic bronze and NIS 30,000 for his European championship title.
Tigers 1-hit Eilat before showdown
Ilan Spira and Elyaeed Moore combined to strike out nine batters as the
Tigers geared up for next week’s matchup with fellow unbeatens Penticon
by one-hitting Otsma Eilat for a 10-6 win in the Israel Softball
Association fall tournament. Eilat’s only hit was a double by Yoni
Weiss.
Eilat also lost to Tri United 8-3. Ari Shapiro broke a 3-3 tie with a
single and then made a beautiful catch in the outfield as the Tri-U
defense came up big on several occasions. Stu Schrader homered and Mark
Chass had three hits for the winners. Guy Liyani had three hits
including a triple, and Yoni Weiss had three hits and a home run for
Otsma.
Triple T rode a nine-run second inning to a 17-9 defeat of Elmhurst
Dairy. Roni Bossin scored four runs and David Rubinstein drove in four
with a pair of homers to lead the Triple T offense. Yosi Ajzenwaser
pitched two fine innings in his return to the mound. Binyamin Kamilar
had two hits and two runs for Elmhurst.
Magic Homes forfeited to Penticon.
The fall tournament comes to a close this week as Penticon and the
Tigers meet to decide first place and Triple T and Tri United will lock
horns over third place.
Fifth place finish for chess masters
An Israel draw with Cuba combined with Armenian and American 3.5-0.5
wins over Georgia and Norway, respectively, saw Israeli fall to fifth
place on the final day of the Chess Olympics that came to a close on
Sunday in Majorca, Spain.
Israel’s team, consisting of Boris Gelfand, Emil Sutovsky, Ilia Smirin,
Boris Avrukh, Alexander Huzman, and Michael Roiz, won seven, drew five,
and lost just two matches at the three-week tourney, while totaling
34.5 points. Third place Armenia (8-4-2) tallied 36.5 points, while the
Americans (7-4-3) finished with 35.
Ukraine, the only team to go undefeated of the 129 in the competition,
earned 39.5 points with its 10-4-0 mark. Russia (11-0-3), which also
had 36.5 points, edged Armenia for second based on its better record.
Israel was among the teams that managed a draw against the Ukrainians,
but a draw against Moldova, which placed 36th, and defeats against
Russia and Armenia proved costly in the end.
Please submit items for The Local Sceneby e-mail, [email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Associated Press Worldstream
November 4, 2004 Thursday 11:41 AM Eastern Time
Six activists detained in Azerbaijan capital protesting upcoming NATO
seminar
BAKU, Azerbaijan
Police detained six activists on Thursday for holding an unauthorized
demonstration outside Azerbaijan’s parliament to protest the presence
of Armenian officers at a NATO seminar scheduled for later this month.
About 40 activists of the Organization of Karabakh Freedom gathered
outside the legislature carrying signs “Armenian criminals, get out of
here!” Other signs called on NATO to refrain from inviting Armenian
officers to Baku and urged Azerbaijanis to protest Armenian
representatives’ participation.
The seminar of NATO’s parliamentary assembly is to take place in Baku
on November 26-28.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are at odds over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave,
which ethnic Armenian forces seized from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s
in a war that killed 30,000 people and left about one million homeless.
A 1994 cease-fire has largely held, but no final settlement has been
reached.
Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan is a NATO member, but both former Soviet
republics participate in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.

Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc.
State Department
November 4, 2004
Mideast, European and Asian Students Observe American Democracy;
Exchange students visit polls, study American electoral process
by Phyllis McIntosh, Washington File Special Correspondent
TEXT: Washington — Thirty-three exchange students from 16 countries
across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central, South and
Southeast Asia spent Election Day in the United States, November 2,
learning how the country elects its leaders and witnessing democracy in
action at a polling place in Washington.
After a State Department briefing about the U.S. electoral process, the
students walked to nearby Jefferson Junior High School where they
observed neighborhood people voting, studied a sample ballot, and asked
questions of local election officials.
The students, aged 15-17, are spending a year living and studying in
the United States through the Department of State’s Youth Exchange and
Study (YES) program for students from predominantly Muslim countries,
and the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, which enrolls students
from countries of the former Soviet Union.
The 33 students who participated in the Election Day visit come from
Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon,
Moldova, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Syria, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, the West Bank, and Yemen. All are living with host families
and attending schools in the Washington metropolitan area.
Election Day provided the students “a unique opportunity to observe the
workings of the American political process up close,” said Robert
Persiko, chief of the Youth Programs Division of the State Department’s
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
He challenged the teenagers to find ways to interpret what they
observed about American democracy in action to their friends and
families in their home countries.
Students from a number of countries — from Afghanistan to Yemen,
Armenia to Syria — reported considerable interest in this election
among people at home. “People do care about it because we have a
relationship with the United States, and we have to work together,”
said a YES student from Pakistan.
Some saw the impact of the election in global terms. “America is such a
powerful nation so it [the U.S. presidential election] is important not
just for America but for every country,” said a girl from Armenia, a
participant in the FLEX program.
“The whole world is watching this election,” declared a YES student
from the Philippines. “This election will determine not only the fate
of the United States but also the fate of the world.”
Several students from Afghanistan said they were especially excited to
be witnessing the American election, which comes less than a month
after the first democratic election ever held in their country. They
expressed some regret at not being home for that historic event, but
one boy said he was pleased to “observe that American people are
excited for voting and selecting the new leader of America.”
An Afghan girl was concerned how the outcome of the U.S. election might
affect further progress in her country, where the U.S. was instrumental
in overthrowing the repressive Taliban regime. “Women now have the
right of studying, of voting, of working,” she said. “What happens in
America will be very important for Afghanistan.”
The students said they were closely following the presidential
campaign. Most had watched the televised debates between President Bush
and challenger John Kerry, and they frequently discussed the campaign
with their host families and friends at school. Like Americans, many
expressed a strong preference for one candidate over the other and were
eagerly looking forward to watching the election returns on television.
They marveled how American teenagers and even younger children have
been captivated by the campaign. “It’s not like in our country, where
people like elders do care about elections but younger teenagers don’t
care and aren’t aware of them,” said a young man from Pakistan. “Here
the teenagers are so enthusiastic, wearing badges on their jackets and
stickers on the back of their cars. I see conflict in school between
supporters of the two parties, with students talking about politics and
arguing with each other.”
During their visit to the polling place, the students were especially
interested in how the U.S. protects against frauds, such as duplicate
voting. Election officials explained how individual polling places
check registration records and require voters to sign a card or book
before they vote and how votes cast on new computerized touch-screen
machines are backed up by a paper record.
The students rounded out their Election Day activities with a visit to
the Voice of America (VOA) studios in Washington, where several Afghan
students were thrilled to meet reporters whose voices they recognized
from broadcasts back home. The students’ voices will soon be heard in
their homeland as well, because VOA staff took the opportunity to
interview them about their experiences in the United States.
At the end of the day, some of the students sensed that they had had an
opportunity to experience history in the making. “I’m so proud to be
here,” declared the boy from Pakistan. “This election is so important.
I can say some time in my future life, a [tilde]I was there on that
Election Day in Washington, D.C.'”
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)