Category: News

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
June 24, 2004
URUGUAY: DONNA SI SUICIDA CON BARBITURICI E COLTELLATE
(ANSA-AFP) – MONTEVIDEO, 24 GIU – Una donna di 48 anni malata
di depressione, in cura da tempo presso psichiatri, si e
suicidata nella sua abitazione di Montevideo ingerendo
barbiturici e conficcandosi in corpo cinque coltelli. Lo ha
annunciato la polizia uruguaiana.

La donna, di nazionalita’ armena e di cui sono state fornite
solo le iniziali – A.H.K. – aveva mandato la sua collaboratrice
familiare a fare la spesa per restare sola in casa.

All’arrivo dei soccorritori, la donna era ancora viva, ma
presentava “ferite multiple d’arma bianca al collo e all’
addome”, che ne hanno poi causato la morte.

La suicida ha lasciato scritto di aver ingerito una notevole
quantita’ di barbiturici. “Pensiero, parola, azione (…)
perdonatemi tutti ma non ce la faccio piu’ (…) non voglio piu
vivere. Mio figlio e la mia famiglia non c’entrano. Non voglio
che nessuno soffra”, afferma il suo ultimo messaggio. (ANSA-
AFP).

Hucknall Today, UK
June 24 2004
Ten-day Byron Festival set to be best yet
ONE of the world’s most famous Byronists is due to visit Hucknall.
Former Labour Party leader Michael Foot is expected to attend a
final-day event at the seventh International Byron Festival.
This will be a service at Hucknall Parish Church to dedicate a
monument to the memory of former rector, Canon Fred Green.
The monument is made from a broken khatchkhar, an Armenian Christian
symbol.
Canon Green, affectionately known as Father Fred, gave strong
personal support to a friendship agreement between Hucknall’s Holgate
Comprehensive School and the Lord Byron School in Armenia.
The festival, described as ten days of family and community events in
tribute to Lord Byron, will run from next Friday (July 2) to Sunday
July 11.
Festival co-ordinator John Wilkinson said it was the most ambitious
so far with 35 attractions ranging from dancing to dinners, film to
flowers and talks to tours.
In a bid for greater involvement of young people, a six-hour open-air
rock concert will be held on Hucknall Market Place
Those festival stalwarts, writer Bill Studdiford and actor Ian Frost,
will present the world premiere of a play entitled ‘Extraordinary
Friends Byron and Shelley’, putting on two performances.
The new Nottingham Express Transit (NET) tram system will play a part
in the festival, with the offer of a trip to Basford for a Thai meal,
while another innovation will be a charity fashion show.
At the annual Byron dinner, the guest speaker will be Edward Enfield,
father of comedian Harry Enfield, with a talk on ‘Byron And The Elgin
Marbles.’
While Hucknall Community Centre will be the scene of a ‘Fawlty Towers
Murder Mystery Night’ of the type once held at Newstead Abbey’s
former White Lady restaurant.
One of last year’s festival hits was an open-air production by the
Common Players on Hucknall Titchfield Park. They are back again to
perform ‘Robin Hood And The Sherwood Experience’ on the park and it
promises to be a family highlight, with the audience encouraged to
take picnics.
The famous 1949 movie, ‘The Bad Lord Byron’, which was filmed partly
in Hucknall and at Newstead Abbey, featuring Dennis Price in the
title role, will be shown at the new-look Byron Cineplex cinema
during the festival.
The festival is set to score a bullseye when a Byron Festival open
darts championship will be held for the first time, the venue being
the town’s Royal British Legion Social Club.
The very last event will be a ceremony to mark the official renaming
of Hucknall Community Centre in Ogle Street as the Lovelace Centre.
“We want a new name but we could not call it the Byron Centre because
that name has already been given to the nearby former Co-operative
building,” said Mr Wilkinson.
“As the community centre already houses the theatre, which is named
after Byron’s daughter, Ada, Countess of Lovelace, it is felt that
this would be an excellent alternative.”
THE FULL PROGRAMME
FRIDAY JULY 2
9.30 am – Traditional opening of the festival as a town crier strolls
through Hucknall town centre, including the Market Place.
7.30 pm – ‘Extraordinary Friends Byron and Shelley’, world premiere
of a play by Bill Studdiford, starring Ian Frost. What happened in
the six years Byron and Shelley knew each other? Lovelace Theatre,
Hucknall Community Centre £5/£4. For tickets and further information,
contact Maureen Crisp on 0115 9664367.
7.30 pm – ‘Nothing To Wear’, fashion show and sale of quality
clothing at crazy prices (in aid of Hope Lea Project), Central
Methodist Church, £3. Tickets from 150 Watnall Road or the committee.
SATURDAY JULY 3
12 midday – Bellringers of Hucknall Parish Church will ring a peal.
12 midday – Poached salmon and real ale lunch, including a glass of a
selection of festival ales, £4. Bookings in advance only by ringing
0115 9529303.
12 midday to 6 pm – Open-air rock concert, featuring some of the best
local bands, Hucknall Market Place. Free of charge.
7.30 pm – International concert. An evening of culture for all the
family, Hucknall Parish Church. Free of charge.
SUNDAY JULY 4
Annual open golf tournament for the Byron Cup, presented by Maureen
Crisp, at Leen Valley Golf Centre. For entry details, contact the
centre on 0115 9642037.
2.30 pm – ‘Chance To Dance’, a spectacular showcase from the students
of Hucknall-based Sarah Adamson School Of Dance, Lovelace Theatre,
£3.
2.30 pm – ‘Beppo’, a Venetian love story by Bill Studdiford, starring
Ian Frost. A chance to hear the delights of amorous adventures in
Venice, Newstead Abbey, £5/£4. For tickets and further information,
contact Maureen Crisp on 0115 9664367.
6 pm – ‘Robin Hood And The Sherwood Experience’. Return of the Common
Players to Hucknall Titchfield Park after their first open-air show
last year. Take a picnic. Free of charge.
MONDAY JULY 5
1.30 pm – ‘The Bad Lord Byron’, a rare chance to see the 1949 film,
starring Dennis Price, Byron Cineplex Cinema, £3.
2 pm – ‘With Great Pleasure’, music and poetry presented by Gwenda
Watkins and Gillian Berry, Gallery Restaurant and Millennium Garden,
Nottingham University, £6.50 (including afternoon tea). For tickets
and further information, contact Maureen Crisp on 0115 9664367.
6 pm – ‘Newstead And Its Owners’, a talk by Denis Hill that traces
the history of Newstead Abbey and its owners from its foundation to
the 20th century, Hucknall Community Centre, £3.
7.30 pm – ‘Italian Night’, an evening of Italian food, wine and
music, Hucknall Community Centre, £4. Bookings in advance only by
ringing 0115 9529303.
TUESDAY JULY 6
2.30 pm – ‘Strawberry Fayre’. The fruits of summer to be enjoyed in a
delicious afternoon of pleasure, Hucknall Community Centre, £3.
Bookings in advance only by ringing 0115 9529303.
2 pm to 4 pm – Heritage Bus Tour, taking a look at the heritage of
Hucknall and surrounding villages, starting from Hucknall Community
Centre. No charge but booking essential by ringing 0115 9529303.
7.15 pm – The Byron Dinner, including a talk by Edward Enfield,
entitled ‘Byron And The Elgin Marbles’, Hucknall Community Centre,
£10.50. For tickets and further information, contact Maureen Crisp on
0115 9664367.
WEDNESDAY JULY 7
10 am – Festival Health Walk, part of Hucknall’s Taking Steps
project. Meet at Hucknall Community Centre. Free of charge.
11 am – Evergreen Arts Group. Creative and visual performing by young
adults with learning difficulties, Watnall Road Baptist Church. Free
of charge.
2 pm to 4 pm – Arts And Crafts, exhibitions, demonstrations and
have-a-go, Watnall Road Community Centre. Free of charge.
7.30 pm – ‘Fawlty Towers Murder Mystery Night,’ including two-course
supper, presented by Ken Purslow, Hucknall Community Centre. Advance
bookings only. Tickets and further information from Maureen Crisp on
0115 9664367.
THURSDAY JULY 8
Visit to Southwell Minster. Contact Hucknall Community Centre on 0115
9529303 for further details.
10 am – Heritage Walk, a chance to look at Hucknall’s town centre
heritage, including some well-known places and others not quite so
well known. Meet outside Hucknall Library. Free of charge.
7.30 pm – ‘Extraordinary Friends Byron And Shelley.’ A second chance
to see this new play by Bill Studdiford, starring Ian Frost, the
Great Hall of Southwell Minster, £5/£4. A pre-performance supper also
available. For tickets and further information, contact Maureen Crisp
on 0115 9664367.
FRIDAY JULY 9
6.30 pm to 8.30 pm – Heritage Bus Tour. A repeat of this popular
tour, starting from Hucknall Community Centre. Free of charge but
booking essential by ringing 0115 9529303.
12 midday – ‘A Tram Trip And A Thai’, a trip by tram to a location in
Basford providing wonderful Thai food. From Hucknall tram stop, £7.50
including tram fare. Bookings in advance only by ringing 0115
9529303.
7.30 pm – ‘A Poem And A Pint’, traditional Friday night festival
event. Go along and listen to or recite your favourite poems. Themes
this year include friendship, family and, of course, love, Hucknall
Community Centre, £3.
SATURDAY JULY 10
>From 10 am – Flower Festival, Seymour Road Baptist Church. A welcome
return after the success of last year’s festival, includes stalls.
Lunches available.
7.30 pm – Concert For Armenia, Hucknall Parish Church. Tribute to the
friendship agreement between the Lord Byron School and Holgate
Comprehensive School, including performances by Armenian dancer
Shake, Newstead Welfare Brass Band, Holgate and Lord Byron School
pupils, supported by Hucknall Rotary Club. At Hucknall Parish Church,
£5.
SUNDAY JULY 11
10 am – Boatswain Walk, a pleasant Sunday stroll for yourself and
your dog in memory of Byron’s dog, starting from Hucknall Community
Centre. Free of charge.
>From 10 am – Flower Festival, Seymour Road Baptist Church. Final day.
Free of charge.
11.30 am – Byron Festival Open Darts Championship, competing for the
Byron Trophy, donated by Coun John Wilmott (Lab), of Hucknall, at
Royal British Legion Social Club, Beardall Street. To enter and for
further details, contact Les Berridge on 0115 9528658.
3 pm – Dedication, Service And Concert. Dedication of a khatchkhar in
memory of the late Canon Fred Green, followed by a service and
concert of music and poetry from members of the Byron Society and
students from Holgate Comprehensive School and the Lord Byron School
in Armenia. Free of charge.
4 pm – Naming Ceremony. The official renaming of Hucknall Community
Centre in Ogle Street. Free of charge.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Festivals Past, exhibition at Hucknall Library throughout the
festival.
nExhibitions at Newstead Abbey. Ring 01623 455900 for further
details.
Tours of Hucknall Parish Church, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 12
midday and 2 pm to 4 pm.
Festival lunches at Red Lion pub in Hucknall High Street.
Byron Festival Radio on air from June 28 to July 11. Frequency 97.5
FM.
Dispatch coverage every Friday to July 16

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 24 2004
AZERBAIJANI DEPUTY URGES COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS TO BE ACTIVE
[June 24, 2004, 20:20:13]
Newly appointed chairman of the COE Committee of Ministers, Foreign
Minister of Norway Jan Petersen delivered a summary report on the
PACE session, June 22. According to existing rules, following the
summary report chairman of the Committee of Ministers is questioned.
These questions are presented to the secretariat for a day and then
published. In the course of the session, following chairman’s answer
deputy who asked the first question is enabled to question once more.
18 European deputies questioned J. Peterson this time. The first
question was asked by Azerbaijani deputy Rafael Huseynov. The
question says: how may the contribution of the Council of Europe to
the resolution of conflicts be evaluated? What steps can be taken to
settle conflicts existing in the Caucasus region?
Mr. Jan Petersen stressed in responce that the Caucasian region is
always in the focus of attention of the Council of Europe and noted
that he would handle problems of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia and
visit the region.
Taking the opportunity, the Azerbaijani deputy drew the Chairman’s
attention to Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan. R. Huseynov
noted that whenever the issue of COE’s active participation in the
resolution of the conflict is raised, it points to lack of mandate to
settle the conflict since the OSCE Minsk Group is directly involved
in the issue. When asked about the approach and efforts towards
information exchange between COE and OSCE, in particular, Minsk
Group, and conflict resolution J. Petersen stated that he would do
his best for the settlement of the conflict.

UEFA.com
June 24 2004
Stoichita steps into Farul role
Former Armenia coach Mihai Stoichita has joined Romanian First
Division side FC Farul Constanta on a two-year deal.
Intertoto aim
Farul finished ninth last season and the club’s main shareholder,
Gheorghe Bosinceanu, hopes that the appointment of Stoichita will
lead to a top-five position in the league next season and
qualification for the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Armenian champion
The 50-year-old Stoichita was in charge of the Armenian national team
and club side FC Pyunik last season – whom he guided to the Armenian
league title – but felt that the time was right for a move. He
replaces Ion Marin, who has left Constanta by mutual consent.
Good record
Stoichita has an impressive CV as he has won the Romanian Cup with FC
Steaua Bucuresti, the Moldovan league with FC Sheriff and has coached
in Turkey with MKE Ankaragücü.

Eurasianet Organization
June 24 2004
A NEW VISION FOR ARMENIA?
Cory Welt: 6/24/04
A EurasiaNet Commentary
As the United States and the European Union step up their engagement
with the South Caucasus in the wake of Georgia’s “Rose Revolution,”
Armenia is taking steps not to be left behind.
During a recent visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
outlined a bold vision for political reform, regional security, and
cooperation with neighbors Azerbaijan and Turkey. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive]. His June 14 speech at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) provided a welcome change
to the disheartening news that has come out of Armenia of late.
The Armenian government’s brutal crackdown against opposition
protests this April, its attacks on journalists, the ransacking of
opposition headquarters, and political arrests were a blatant
contradiction of democratic standards. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. Two subsequent court decisions provided
further evidence of Armenia’s ambiguous commitment to rule of law – a
demonstrator who struck a police officer with a plastic bottle
received an 18-month prison sentence, while gang members who
intimidated and assaulted protestors and journalists at an April
demonstration were fined less than $200.
In his public address, Oskanian acknowledged the need for Armenia’s
political climate to improve and expressed a barely concealed hope
that the US government’s Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), an
initiative that will provide $1 billion in aid to 16 developing
countries in 2004, would be a mechanism for doing so. Oskanian
asserted that Armenia’s inclusion in the program has made the country
“more focused” on matters of governance, democracy, rule of law, and
human rights. He conceded that progress in democracy building
“require[s] further political will” on the part of the government and
the opposition.
Armenia’s inclusion in the MCA had initially raised eyebrows. But
Oskanian’s remarks appeared to be more than mere PR pitches. The
minister also laid out means for allowing Armenia’s opposition to
reconcile its differences with the government — and for Yerevan to
meet the criteria to maintain MCA funding.
While chiding Armenia’s political opposition for “its aggressive
attitude” towards the authorities, Oskanian revealed a standing
government offer to give opposition deputies – who hold some 20 percent
of the National Assembly’s 131 seats – veto rights on three issues:
amendments to the election code, constitutional reform, and
anti-corruption legislation. These veto rights, Oskanian declared,
would “force” the majority to work with the opposition to make “the
necessary changes that will benefit Armenia.”
Whether the government in Yerevan will seize the opportunity to
implement this plan for political dialogue remains in doubt, however.
At remarks before the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE) on June 24, Prime Minister Robert Kocharian rebuffed that
body’s earlier criticism of his government’s heavy-handed crackdown
on opposition protests in March and April of this year, saying that
the Council of Europe is “not the best place” to settle arguments
with political opponents. ” Unlike Georgia, a neighbor whose November
2003 “Rose Revolution” serves as a model for the Armenian opposition,
Armenia, Kocharian argued, ” is developing dynamically, its
government is quite efficient and its democratic achievements are
propped up by institutional structures, including police, which are
able to maintain public order,”
Such a stance promises to reinforce doubts in Washington about
Armenia’s entry into the MCA. Two of the key criteria for the MCA
selection process are countries’ commitment to political freedom and
good governance.
Commenting on Armenia’s entry into the MCA, Carlos Pascual, the State
Department’s Coordinator for Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, has
noted that the awarding of funding to Armenia would take into
consideration the quality of the proposals submitted by the
government as well as its record on defense of civil liberties. “The
expectation, in order to be able to move forward with the program, is
that there would be progress on these issues and not movement
backwards,” Pascua told a May 18 news conference in Yerevan.
That message was further underlined by Paul Applegarth, the chief
executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the body
charged by Congress with administering MCA funds. During a visit to
Armenia and Georgia earlier this month, Applegarth stated that the
proposal review process would consider not only whether proposals
would promote economic growth – the MCA’s main objective – but also
whether governments rely on an “inclusive” decision-making process to
draw up their proposals and outline steps for improving the
political, economic, and social indicators used to determine their
eligibility for MCA funding.
Opposition leaders have declared the “first stage” of their efforts
to unseat the incumbent government finished after failing to
galvanize large numbers of supporters. Returning to parliament with
concessions akin to the ones Oskanian described would be a
face-saving maneuver for Armenia’s opposition, whose popularity has
sagged since the failure of this spring’s protests. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
It could also help Armenia stay on track for receiving MCA funds, a
key mechanism for the United States to continue prodding the Armenian
government to adopt valuable reform. While the opposition’s failure
to mount a serious challenge might give Armenian authorities
confidence to further inhibit official respect for rule of law, the
government’s newfound security could, combined with the influence of
Millennium Challenge conditionality, also encourage it to move in a
positive direction.
Other incentives exist as well. Armenia has recently modified its
approach to national security, seeking to complement a longstanding
alliance with Russia with military engagement with the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. Yet though such a
dialogue could provide an opening for additional democratic reform,
the U.S. and its NATO allies lack pressing strategic imperatives for
providing what Oskanian termed “a better [security] shield for
Armenia.” To justify a more intensive engagement with Armenia, the US
and NATO are more likely to look for advances in democracy building
and rule of law than in military policy.
Another stumbling block to the establishment of a healthy
NATO-Armenia relationship is Armenia’s lack of diplomatic relations
with its NATO neighbor, Turkey. But, here, too, Oskanian suggested an
opportunity for change. In his speech, Oskanian exhorted Turkey to
“take the lead” in furthering Euro-Atlantic engagement with the South
Caucasus by normalizing relations with Armenia and opening its
lengthy border.
Oskanian disputed claims that normalization would require Turkish
concessions, specifically the recognition of the 1915 Armenian
genocide and border adjustments. The foreign minister declared that
while it is Armenia’s “moral obligation” to raise the genocide issue,
“recognition is not a precondition” for diplomatic relations. When
asked about potential Armenian irredentist claims, Oskanian noted
that all such issues could be adequately addressed in the protocols
that accompany the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Turkey, however, insists that Armenia make progress in resolving its
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh before any
normalization of its relations with Yerevan occurs. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
On this, the long-standing bug-bear of Armenian foreign policy,
Oskanian offered cautious cooperation at best. Oblique references
were made to existing efforts with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, with whom Oskanian met in Prague on June 22, to devise a
two-track conflict resolution plan that would simultaneously define
Nagorno-Karabagh’s political status and set out a clear timetable for
Armenia to withdraw from occupied Azerbaijani territories and for the
resettlement of Azerbaijani internally displaced persons.
Without specifying the exact political status Armenia seeks for
Nagorno-Karabagh, Oskanian instead referred to the “principles”
established in negotiations between Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and the late Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev in Key
West, Florida in 2001. Armenia insists these involve Azerbaijan’s
surrender of sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabagh in exchange for
Armenia’s withdrawal from most of the occupied territories and the
establishment of a road link across Armenia connecting the
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan.
Oskanian attributed Azerbaijani denials that any such principles had
been established to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev’s fragile hold
on power.
For Oskanian’s vision to come to pass, however, a tremendous amount
of effort from Armenia’s friends, and, even, adversaries and
political opponents, must be made. Most importantly, his vision of
dialogue, development, and peace must be promoted, not only by the
Foreign Ministry, but by the powers that rule Armenia today.
Editor’s Note: Cory Welt is a Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia
Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Catholic world news
June 24 2004
Turkish bishops in historic meeting with premier
Ankara, Jun. 24 (FIDES/CWNews.com) – In a historic first, Turkey’s
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with the country’s
Catholic bishops, raising hopes for an eventual legal recognition of
the Catholic Church in that country, the Fides news service reports.
Erdogan met on June 21 with the bishops of the several Catholic
groups in Turkey, representing the Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and
Syrian rites. The prelates asked the prime minister to consider
juridical recognition of the Catholic Church in Turkey.
The unprecedented meeting is a “milestone” for the life of the
Catholic Church in Turkey, Father George Marovich told Fides. Father
Marovich, a spokesman for the bishops’ conference, reported that
Prime Minister Erdogan sought the bishops’ help in securing Turkish
entry into the European Union, and expressed satisfaction when he was
reminded that the Turkish bishops have already joined with the
Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, a group bringing together
the Catholic bishops of the European Union nations.
Turkey has a population of 66 million, of whom 98 percent are Muslim.
Many Christians hide their faith, since Christians are not allowed to
sit in parliament or enter the military.
Among the country’s Christians, most are Orthodox, led by the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople– who is acknowledged as the
leading prelate of the Orthodox world, although his own flock is
relatively small.

PRESS RELEASE
June 24, 2004
ARMENPAC
421 East Airport Freeway, Suite 201
Irving, Texas 75062
CONTACT: Bryan Ardouny
Phone: (406) 546-5250
E-mail: [email protected]
ARMENPAC CO-CHAIR ANNIE TOTAH BRIEFS SENATE LEADERS
Attends historic evening honoring Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Irving, TX — ARMENPAC Co-Chair Annie Totah attended a historic
evening honoring Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Dean of the
U.S. Senate women. During the event, held at the National Aquarium in
Baltimore, Maryland, Senator Mikulski introduced Totah `as one of the
top leaders of the Armenian community. In addition to Senator
Mikulski, Totah also met with Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria
Cantwell (D-WA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Patty Murray
(D-WA).
Totah emphasized the importance of strengthening U.S.-Armenia trade
relations and timely passage of S. 1557, which would extend permanent
normal trade relations to Armenia. This important legislation was
introduced by Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and
continues to gain momentum with the support of the Bush Administration
as well as 21 Senators. Totah also urged support of S. Res. 164,
which affirms the Armenian Genocide. Introduced by Senator John Ensign
(R-NV), S. Res. 164 is currently pending further action in the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
“On behalf of the ARMENPAC Board of Directors, I was pleased to attend
this landmark event to honor my home-town Senator,” said ARMENPAC
Co-Chair Annie Totah. “Each and every Senator was receptive to our
issues and I look forward to working with them throughout the
remainder of the 108th Congress and beyond.”
ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee and
was established to shape public policy by raising awareness of and
advocating for Armenian-American issues. ARMENPAC provides financial
support to federal officeholders, candidates, political action
committees and organizations that actively support issues of
importance to Armenian-Americans.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UCLA Armenian Students Association
405 Hilgard Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90095
PRESS RELEASE ~ June 21, 2004
Contact: Raffi Kassabian [email protected]
UCLA ASA Ushers In New Leadership With Annual Banquet

Pasadena, CA– A crowd of over 400 Armenian-American students and
professionals gathered at the Pasadena Armenian Center on Friday June
18, 2004 to celebrate UCLA Armenian Students Association’s annual End
of the Year Banquet. Guests included various executives from ASA’s
and ASO’s from all over Southern California, including, USC, UC
Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona, and Shant Students Association.
Entertainment was provided by singer Harout Pamboukjian and DJ
Soundillusionz.
The program included UCLA’s traditional “Passing the Torch” Ceremony
MC-ed by former ASA Social Director Elen Asatryan. The newly elected
executive board honored the current executive and showed their
appreciation for their diligence and efforts with a small gift
presentation. In addition, the current executive board honored Maral
Karacussian, this year’s recipient for the 2003-2004 “Most Dedicated
Member” award for her hard work and dedication to this year’s ASA
Cultural Committee. “We need to come together and further the cause”
proclaimed Karacussian. “Social events are great, but it is also
important that we spread cultural and educational awareness throughout
our respective college campuses.”
The night was filled with great food, drinks, and quality music. More
importantly, it brought together Armenian-American students from all
over California for a night of fun and dancing. “It’s events like
these that serve as a conduit for students and executives from
different ASA’s to network with one another to further the Armenian
Cause” asserted newly elected UCLA ASA President Raffi Kassabian.
The UCLA ASA is one of the oldest Armenian-American student groups in
the United States, celebrating its 60th year in existence. The
organization’s purpose is to cultivate a true understanding and
appreciation of Armenian history, heritage, and culture through
cultural, social, and recreational activities.

New York Times
June 25 2004
Separatist Revives Movement in Quebec
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
MONTREAL, June 24 – Until a few months ago, Gilles Duceppe was a shaky
leader of the fading separatist movement in Quebec, seemingly
destined to be an odd footnote in Canadian history.
But in an turn of fortunes that has more to do with the collapse of
the governing Liberal Party than his own skills, Mr. Duceppe is
emerging as the big winner of the parliamentary election campaign
that will choose a new prime minister on Monday.

Mr. Duceppe has no chance of replacing Prime Minister Paul Martin,
because his party is competing just in Quebec. Because of widespread
disgust in the second most populous Canadian province over Liberals’
scandals, Mr. Duceppe’s Bloc Québécois is poised to sweep Quebec and
carry a large delegation to the next House of Commons. If recent
polls hold, the bloc will emerge for the first time as a vital power
broker in Ottawa whose support may well be necessary for the next
federal Liberal or Conservative government to survive in power.
The son of a famous actor, Mr. Duceppe was a Maoist union organizer
in his youth and appears an unlikely politician to become a leading
national force. His generally stiff speaking style makes him anything
but an inspiring political leader. He was the laughingstock of a
campaign seven years ago, when he was photographed wearing a hygienic
hairnet at a cheese factory that made him look like he was coming out
of the bath wearing a shower cap.
For a rebel leader, Mr. Duceppe appears to be a portrait of caution
and paradox. At age 56, he campaigns without a tie in a charcoal-gray
suit held up over his slight frame by a belt and suspenders. On his
campaign bus, he relaxes with high-volume Janis Joplin and Maria
Callas.
A year ago, Mr. Duceppe’s Bloc Québécois and the entire separatist
movement were waning into the fringes of politics. The bloc’s
provincial cousins, the Parti Québécois, lost control of the
provincial legislature and government in a landslide defeat in April
2003 to the Liberal Party led by Jean Charest, a passionate advocate
for a united Canada.
Since that vote, Mr. Charest has fallen quickly in the polls after
unfulfilled promises to cut taxes and improve health care and day
care.
A government audit found that the federal government had furtively
passed out tens of millions of dollars to friendly advertising
companies involved in antiseparatist publicity efforts deeply
offended Quebecers.
“The Liberals tried to buy Quebecers, and there is a lot of
indignation about that,” Mr. Duceppe said in an interview. He
modestly noted that a recent poll by Leger Marketing showed that
roughly half the people who planned to vote for the bloc’s
parliamentary candidates were not trying to win sovereignty but
merely trying to punish Mr. Martin and the governing party.
“Duceppe is riding the biggest surfing wave of his life,” Michel C.
Auger, political columnist of the Journal de Montréal, said. “He
didn’t create the wave, but he saw it and knew what to do with it.”
Mr. Duceppe’s campaign is tightly controlled to avoid any more
hairnet incidents. A day of campaigning in and around Montreal this
week was carefully choreographed to make him appear as liberal and
unthreatening as possible to fence-sitting voters, especially ethnic
minorities who usually vote Liberal and oppose separation from
Canada.
While appearing on a youth music television station to discuss his
support for environmental protection and the need to clean up
politics, he spoke of the importance of Black History Month and
Jackie Robinson’s playing for a minor league team here as a sign that
he is receptive to minorities. At a news conference, he courted
minority votes by speaking of the Jewish Holocaust and Armenian
genocide.
He attended a barbecue here for an underdog bloc candidate, Maria
Mourani, who is of Lebanese descent, where he was filmed and
photographed surrounded by Muslim, Chinese and Russian voters.
“There’s no difference between Quebecers who are immigrants and
Québécois de souche,” he said sitting beside Ms. Mourani, referring
to Quebecers whose ancestors were French settlers before the
18th-century British conquest.
It was a pitch before the cameras with future elections in mind.
Although Liberal candidates in some Quebec districts have thrown in
the towel and halted campaigning, separatist leaders around the
province plan to build on the expected victory to retake the
provincial government in 2007. Mr. Duceppe may well use his campaign
this year to set up a campaign as leader of the Parti Québécois
against Mr. Charest, followed by a push for a referendum a year or
two after that.
The separatist forces lost two referendums, in 1980 and 1995, the
second defeat by an extremely narrow margin. Polls show support for
sovereignty at 40 to 45 percent.
Mr. Duceppe is careful to repeat at almost every campaign stop that
the election on Monday is not about sovereignty and that he is ready
to work in Ottawa to influence policies like opposing any missile
defense agreement with the United States and pressing for more
federal money for health care and unemployment insurance.
In two television debates, Mr. Duceppe projected the most poise of
the four major party leaders, surpassing expectations.
At the same time, he makes no effort to hide his long-term
intentions.
“Quebec is a nation that will someday be a country,” he said at a
press conference on Tuesday. “I want to create a new society with
social justice, without racism or sexism.”
Prime Minister Martin, who represents a Montreal district in the
House of Commons, had hoped to appeal to Quebec nationalists by
appointing Jean Lapierre, a former founder of the Bloc Québécois, to
be his chief Quebec spokesman. But Mr. Lapierre proved to be a clumsy
advocate, leading Mr. Martin in the last week to turn to Liberal
hard-line antiseparatists to shore up the traditional Liberal base.
“Let’s not play with fire,” Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew warned
this week. “By voting for the bloc, you give them momentum. You give
them the taste of victory that they had lost recently.”

Brownsville Herald, TX
June 25 2004
Olympian visits Brownsville
By Criselda Valdez Villarreal
The Brownsville Herald
June 25, 2004 – Vanes Martirosyan lives and breathes the adage that
`winners never quit and quitters never win.’
Martirosyan – the No. 1-ranked welterweight boxer in the United
States – traveled to Brownsville on Thursday to visit with
participants in the 2004 U.S. Junior Olympic National Championship
games.
The now Glendale, Calif., resident moved from Armenia to the United
States when he was 4. Nearly four years later, Martirosyan’s father
Noviq encouraged his active son to “do something positive and go to
the gym,” Martirosyan, now 18, said Thursday at the Jacob Brown
Auditorium.
At the urging of his father, Martirosyan put on his first set of
boxing gloves and learned the sport. Eventually, his older brother
Vahe and his younger brother Vatche also started boxing.
When the time came that he wanted to play basketball, the Martirosyan
patriarch wouldn’t let him leave. Perhaps his father saw his second
born had Olympic potential.
His father was right.
In a few weeks, Martirosyan will travel to Athens, Greece for the
second time this summer to participate in the 2004 Olympics Games as
part of the boxing team.
The trip from his home in California to the island is just a plane
ride over, but the journey to the U.S. Olympic team was a little more
difficult.
There are seven Olympic team-qualifying games, according to Julie
Goldsticker, USA Boxing director of media and public relations.
The last two were the Everlast U.S. Championships in Colorado and the
Western trials in Bakersfield, Calif. – and the only two that
Martirosyan fought in.
The championships in January ended in disqualification after
Martirosyan threw a `body shot,’ Goldsticker said.
With only one chance left at the Western trials in early February,
Martirosyan said his father and Uncle Serg Martirosyan encouraged him
to have fun. After all, they told him, he had nothing to lose.
Walking into the trials as a relative unknown and definite underdog,
Martirosyan’s first fight was against the U.S. No. 2-ranked boxer in
the welterweight division Timothy Bradley.
`I beat him,’ he said quietly.
After winning the championships, Martirosyan moved on to the Olympic
Team Trials in Tunica, Miss., just two weeks later. According to
Goldsticker, the winners are determined by double elimination and the
winner of a `box-off’ – which features the winner of the weight-class
and the winner of the consolation weight-class – in Cleveland.
Martirosyan walked into the `box-off’ the champion and after winning
that game, became an Olympian.
He had just one more trial ahead before being named to the team –
Gold Rush games in Tijuana, Mexico. To be on the team, Martirosyan
explained, boxers have to win an international game.
Andre Berto, formerly ranked first in the United States before
leaving for his native home in Haiti, proved to be his biggest
competitor.
Martirosyan won in a decision match after four rounds.
`I had to beat him to prove to everyone that I (deserved) to go,’ he
said.
He knows that had it not been for his father encouraging him to stay
with boxing, he wouldn’t be going to Athens.
`I’m going for the gold,’ he said.
Martirosyan and two other members of the U.S. Olympic boxing team
will be at the former Amigoland Mall at 7 p.m. today for the first
Boxing on the Border fund-raiser for the Foundation for Brownsville
Sports.
The fund-raiser will feature auctions, and attendees will have the
chance to meet the three boxing Olympians.
To purchase tickets or for more information on the Boxing on the
Border Fundraiser, call Dr. Rose Gowen’s office at 504-6880.