Category: News

Heirs kept in dark, lawyer says
Notice of genocide settlement at issue
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
May 28 2004
An attorney in New York Life’s $20 million settlement with descendants
of Armenian Genocide victims says the company is failing to notify
possible heirs.
Ben Nutley, a Beverly Hills attorney representing three claimants in
the class-action case, has asked the judge to order the company to
include the word Armenian Genocide in public notices of the settlement
and to broaden its advertising of the deal.
“We’re saying the notice wasn’t disseminated widely, correctly or
accurately,” Nutley said. “You are obligated to make your best effort
to have a notice that will attract the attention of potential claimants
of the settlement.”
Any unclaimed money goes into a fund to be distributed to Armenian
charitable organizations identified in the agreement, he said.
Nutley said legal notices published in newspapers leave out the term
“Armenian Genocide.”
“It’s denialist language,” he said. “For these claimants who have
objected to the notice so far, it’s about justice for all Armenians
and this is something they’re committed to.”
But New York Life officials maintain they have carefully followed
the court’s instructions.
“The terms of the settlement, including the notice provisions, were
negotiated by attorneys on both sides and subject to court approval,”
said William Werfelman, a spokesman for New York Life. “We’re confident
they provide the best possible notice to those who may be entitled
to benefits under the settlement.”
The insurance company reached a $20 million settlement in January with
descendants of Armenian policyholders who perished in the genocide
of 1915. After attorney fees, administrative costs and donations to
charitable organizations, the settlement leaves $11 million to pay
the holders of more than 2,000 policies.
Notices were placed in newspapers for about six weeks in an effort
to find descendants of policy holders.
Claimants must object to the terms of the settlement by June 15 and
a final approval hearing is scheduled for July 30.
Naush Boghossian, (818) 546-3306 [email protected]

Strike at Melkonian over accusations of poor standards
By Jean Christou
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
May 28 2004
Teachers say they’re being used as scapegoats
STAFF AND students at the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) in
Nicosia staged a six-hour strike yesterday to protest against the
planned closure of the school in June next year.
Teachers said they would also refuse to give year-end grades after
the school’s governing body insinuated that education standards were
not up to scratch at the 78-year old Armenian school.
The loss-making MEI, which is sitting on an estimated £40 million
worth of real estate in the capital’s commercial district has been
slated to close next year by the New York-based Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU).
Carrying banners that read: ‘Save Our School’, ‘AGBU American Gangsters
and Bandits Unlimited’ and ‘Watergate, Irangate, Melkoniangate’, both
teachers and pupils demonstrated all morning outside the entrance to
the school.
When the strike ended the teachers held a news conference to explain
their position with regard to the claims by the AGBU that standards
were not up to scratch. “This is one of the key issues in the dispute
that we have,” said geography teacher Keith Lawson. “What they said
is unfair and we dispute that.”
Lawson said that despite teachers’ efforts to engage in a dialogue
with the AGBU on the future of the school, they had received no
response. Neither had any inspectors been to evaluate standards at
the school, he said questioning how the AGBU had managed to come up
with its conclusions.
“This is deeply offensive to us as professionals,” said Lawson.
“Results bear testimony to rising rather than falling standards. We
are just the scapegoats for an ulterior motive – which is financial –
and we want a retraction. We are not prepared to be maligned any more
in public over standards.”
Physics teacher Demetris Aristides, who has been at MEI for 29 years,
making him the longest serving teacher at the school, said the people
of Cyprus have to know that the “murder of an educational institute”
is taking place on the island.
Aristides said the school’s closure is not only devastating for
Armenian and other pupils from Cyprus but a catastrophe for Armenian
children from the Diaspora, and especially from countries like Bulgaria
and Albania. “It’s a crime against education and against the Armenian
language,” he said adding that the support the MEI has received in
Cyprus has been “fantastic”.
Lawson said parents have now been left in a quandary over what to do
about the school year 2004/2005. Teachers said that during the last
few days members of the administration staff, entrusted by the AGBU,
have been quietly ringing students’ parents to discourage them from
sending their children to the MEI next year. “There is chaos over
what is going to happen in the coming school year and we are not
being told anything,” said Lawson.
He said all the teachers have been told by the AGBU is that the school
would close and a letter of platitudes praising them for working hard
but that the school would still be shut.
The AGBU, which oversees 22 Armenian schools worldwide, said last
November that the school was not for sale but then changed tack and
announced the closure.
The teachers said last year the school’s population was reduced from
260 to 210 after the AGBU unilaterally decided to reduce scholarships
to underprivileged children from the Armenian Diaspora.
Staff say there is no doubt that the AGBU is trying to use the teaching
staff as a scapegoat for their decision to close the school to sell
the land on which it stands and that they are using devious methods
to reduce the student population of the school in order to turn it
into a non-viable school and ultimately to close it. The AGBU is
working on a preconceived plan, they said.

Azerbaijan to integrate into world and European structures
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 28 2004
BAKU, May 27 (Itar-Tass) — Azerbaijan sees its future in integrating
into the world and European structures, Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev
said in Baku on Thursday evening at the reception devoted to the
Republic’s Day observed in Azarbaijan on May 28.
“This is our strategic choice and we adhere to it”, the Azeri president
said. He noted that the processes taking place in Azerbaijan evoke
a positive response in the world. This strengthens Azerbaijan’s
positions in the international arena, the president said.
The Azeri leader expressed satisfaction with the fact that
international organizations had increased attention to the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict of late. “We are sure that it is only with
active participation of the world public that the conflict can be
resolved”, Ilkham Alilyev said.
He said he is glad the negotiationg process resumed after a long
intermission and expressed the hope that it will be possible to
achieve a peace treaty on the Karabakh problem through talks. “This
agreement must be based on international law and the restoration of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity”, the president said.
He also noted he hopes for an early settlement of the conflict with
the participation of the Minsk Group of the OSCE on Nagorno-Karabakh
acting as a mediator, and of other international structures.
Ilkham Aliyev also said Azergbaijan implements successfully measures
to reinforce the army. Much attention is given to this area, he said.
“It is a duty of every citizen to help the army and to support lt”,
he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
05/27/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Norwegian City Honors Unsung Hero, Relief Worker during Armenian Genocide 2) 'National Heroes' Aznavour and Kerkorian 3) Yerkir Media Set to Hit Armenia's Airwaves 4) HORIZON TV SPECIAL BROADCASTS 5) What Now? A Present and Future Plugged in With the Past 6) Don't Be a Menace to Society by Making Promises You Can't Keep EDITOR'S NOTE: In observance of Armenia's Independence Day and Memorial Day, Asbarez offices will close on May 28th and 31st;  the next issue of Asbarez Online will appear on Tuesday, June 1st. 1) Norwegian City Honors Unsung Hero, Relief Worker during Armenian Genocide BRUSSELS (EAFJD)--On the initiative of the Armenian community of Aleppo, Syria, the Norwegian city of Kragero (11,000 inhabitants) has erected a statue honoring Bodil Catharina Biørn, who spent 30 years of her life providing relief to the Armenians of Turkey before, during, and after the Armenian Genocide. The statue will be unveiled on Saturday, May 29. After studying nursing in Germany, Bodil Biørn, the daughter of a wealthy ship owner, left her native Kragerø in 1905 to go to Turkey. There, as part of benevolent evangelical missions, she provided aid to the Christian populations, and especially to the Armenians, who endured oppression under the Ottomans and were regularly victims of extortion. Stationed in various regions of the Ottoman Empire (Van, Cilicia), she was in Mush in 1915 when the Genocide began. She poured her energy into providing assistance to survivors there and later in Armenia, during the First Republic (1918-1920). After the Sovietization of Armenia, she continued her philanthropic work in the Armenian orphanages of Syria and Lebanon, where she adopted an orphan she named Fridjof. She finally left the region to return to her country in 1936. "It is a moral duty for Armenians to pay homage to the many honorable, just people--often women--often Scandinavians, who provided relief to the victims of the barbarity committed by the Young Turks. With this commemoration, Bodil Biørn finally emerges from anonymity and takes her place beside Maria Jacobsen, Karen Jeppe, Alma Johansson, or Amalia Lange, her sisters in compassion," declared European Armenian Federation executive director Laurent Leylekian. "In these times of questioning Europe's borders, we are here to testify that Europe is foremost a matter of values and identity. In this regard, Norway, which is not a member of the Union is undeniably part of our European family. This is not the case of Turkey, however, which has a long and enduring record of fascism," concluded Leylekian. 2) 'National Heroes' Aznavour and Kerkorian YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--US billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and French singer Charles Aznavour, two of the world's most famous Armenians, were granted Armenia's highest state award in recognition of their long-standing support for Armenia. President Robert Kocharian bestowed the titles of "national hero" on the two men on Thursday in separate decrees signed ahead of Friday's official holiday marking the 86th anniversary of the first independent Republic of Armenia. A statement by Kocharian's office paid tribute to Krikorian's "exceptional services," and Aznavour's role in "presenting Armenia to the world." The decrees were made possible by recent amendments to an Armenian law which made foreign citizens eligible for the top state honor. Kerkorian, 86, has by far been Armenia's largest Diaspora benefactor since independence, having donated about $180 million through his charity the Lincy Foundation. The bulk of the money has been allocated and spent since 2001 on various infrastructure projects. Those include the repair of 420 kilometers of major highways and the construction of 3,700 new apartments in the country's northwestern regions hit hard by the 1988 catastrophic earthquake. Lincy chairman, Jim Aljian, and his deputy Harut Sassounian were awarded Armenian Anania Shirakatsi medals for their role in the projects. Kerkorian is the owner of the Nevada-based Tracinda Corporation. Among its biggest holdings are the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer entertainment group and the MGM-Mirage casino and operator. Kerkorian is also a major shareholder in the US-German Daimler-Chrysler auto giant. Aznavour was also at the forefront of Diaspora efforts to help victims of the Armenian earthquake and has developed a close personal relationship with Kocharian in recent years. Kocharian was in Paris earlier this month to attend the crooner's concert devoted his 80th birth anniversary. 3) Yerkir Media Set to Hit Armenia's Airwaves YEREVAN--The new TV station Yerkir Media will be launched in Armenia with test broadcasts on May 28. The station plans full-fledged programming by the end of June. "We will provide objective, truthful, and serious information," its director, Rubina Ghazarian, told reporters. "We will have programs that will interest people of various ages and social backgrounds." 4) HORIZON TV SPECIAL BROADCASTS A special broadcast dedicated to Armenian Independence Day will air on Friday, May 28 (6-9:30 PM PST & Saturday 7-10 PM PST). In Honor of General Dro's 120th birthday anniversary, a special 2 hour broadcast will air 7-9 PM PST. Heartfelt congratulations to Mrs. Gayane Kanayan on her 104th birthday! 5) What Now? A Present and Future Plugged in With the Past BY VAHE HABESHIAN [Editor's note: The following is based on a speech delivered in Armenian, on April 24, in Washington, during the local community's commemoration of the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.] "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Matthew 7:3 When I was thinking what it is that I could possibly say tonight, something that hasn't been repeated for decades already…I became dispirited. Was there anything new to say? So I decided to listen to some music for some inspiration, and from the pile of CDs I chose the one called "Unplugged" by singer-songwriter and physicist Armen Movsisian. "Interesting…an unplugged physicist," I thought to myself. The first song to come on was called…"My Muse." And I thought, "So far, so good." But the full name, I realized, was "My Muse, or Uncertainty." I thought, "Figures…just my Armenian luck." While I scratched my head, Armen waxed poetic about uncertainty, about the woman he loved and the dance (staged by nature) that she didn't attend; he sang a lullaby to his child and a dirge to his poet self; he conjured up the imaginary starship of his childhood and his grandfather from Moush; he recalled the soliloquies of drunken men and silent memories of sleepless nights; he dreamt about the mountains of Western Armenia and summoned the peasant songs of the plains; he sang about boys killed in Karabagh and those who migrated from Armenia; and he sang the ancient song of the plow in a new way… its essence intact. Although I had not yet written my speech, I had understood what ought to be said. And whether I will be able to say what should be said, I'm not certain. I will make the attempt. Forgive me if its style is reminiscent of English; I can assure you, however, that at its core it is Armenian. What took place 89 years ago? We all know the answer, of course, first from the immediate, personal, and emotional viewpoint of our grandparents: Your little brother came barefoot over our mountain, Your little sisters drank tears from our sea, The soldier burned our land--remember it well, child. The soldier extinguished our hearth--remember that time, child. We also know the answer in the form of historical fact, seen from the distances of space and time: at least half the indigenous population of the Armenian Plateau was eradicated; an entire culture was annihilated (with, among other aspects, hundreds of its dialects--a horrifying loss for humanity, let alone for a small nation). An entire nation was plucked from its cradle, and as a result what had for millennia been called the Armenian Plateau became Anatolia. Very well, we know what happened, and we also know who did it and why. Then what? What now? For a moment let's put aside the "what" that others, great or small, would suggest we do now. What answers do we, Armenians, have to give? Some, with an extreme emotionality, say that we must take revenge from the Turkan eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And others, with an extreme rationality, say that the past must remain in the past, that the time has come to put the past aside and think about the future. Many are unsure about which is the correct answer. (Uncertainty, or my muse…) And some among them, rejecting the false logic of choosing one or the other, see a certain amount of meaningand even wisdomin both extremes. At the same time. At one time, I didn't understand what some people, who judged themselves intelligent and rational, meant when they referred to a "victim or slave mentality" from which some Armenians--those who assigned too much importance to the Armenocide as a factor in current reality--supposedly suffered. I didn't understand, because, after all, I hadn't noticed a victim mentality in me; I didn't feel like a victim, had never seen and still didn't see a reason to moan and groan; and the people closest to me, my family members and friends, didn't exhibit such a mentality either…. Therefore, at one time, when I was young, I thought: "Maybe we're different. Maybe those Armenians who are not from Musa Dagh or are not Dashnaks or Dashnak sympathizers and therefore have not in the same defiant way fought against the Turk--maybe they in fact do suffer from a victim mentality." There is, probably, a small amount of truth in that approach, but I think that the real issue is this: In psychology, there is the concept of "projection"; that is, an individual projects his/her thoughts, motivations, desires, and feelings--including psychological shortcomings and complexes--onto another person; and it is there, in the other person, that he/she perceives those motivations, shortcomings, etc. In other words, those who preach leaving the past in the past…those Armenians who consider themselves more realistic, more rational, and more judicious than their countrymen, they are the ones who suffer from a slavish, victim mentality. But, through projection, they instead perceive that mentality in their fellow Armenians while they themselves identify with those more powerful--let's say with the Americans or the Russians. In other words, the victim wishes to be like the master. And when the master counsels that the Armenians not be emotional, that they be conciliatory, sensible, realistic… some Armenians take upon themselves the responsibility to educate their more emotional countrymen--and, why not, to also lead them. All of us, as individuals, yearn to be accepted and recognized--to belong and be considered worthy. The question is… to belong to or be worthy of what or whom? To those more powerful, who are representative of erstwhile ruling nations? Or to one's own people and nation and homeland? Meanwhile, in some of us, that yearning to become acceptable to those more powerful presents itself as an insatiable desire… and is the expression of their victim mentality--in short, of their inferiority complex. Those fellow Armenians who suffer from that complex are correct when they say that the consequences of the Genocide are with us still. But they are wrong when they behold the manifestation of those consequences--a victim mentality--where there is, instead, an insistence on justice, a demand for the restoration of national rights, where there is a spirit of struggle and nonconformity. On the contrary, our countrymen should seek the beam of a self-hating conformist mentality in their own eyes: for example, in the likes of the so-called Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, where there are Armenians more American than Armenian, more Russian than Armenian, and more cosmopolitan than citizen of Armeniawho, as the puppets of their powerful masters, have pretensions of leading our nation and homeland toward a future severed from its past and history. The syndrome of being the lackey of the powerful Other is nothing new for a nation like the Armenians who have been subjected to foreign rule for centuries; it has been an unfortunate reality for millennia. However, what matter most is that we recognize it, be able to diagnose it by recognizing its symptoms, so that recovery can become possible. We must be able to see how those symptoms find expression today in our reality, so that we may minimize their negative influence. For example, let's consider the symptom of suppressing emotion and taking reason to an extreme. Of course, not only Armenians suffer from this disorder. But when the children of a small nation that has been suppressed for centuries, though now independent, begin to equate emotion, conscience, and morality with weakness, and equate cool, calculating reason with strength… the result for such a nation can be tragic. Our countrymen who have deified reason have, unfortunately, not understood that although reason is a splendid servant, it is a cruel and merciless master, which, if it gains supremacy, suppresses and crushes emotion and the creator that is in us--in a word, our soul. "So what if sated? They have long been empty"--that is how the singer describes such people: their bodies full of sustenance and their minds full of knowledge, but their souls vacant; new, for the sake of novelty; merely form, without substance. And when a man's spirit is hollow and his mind is enslaved by reason, he turns into a computer, a little man led by petty calculations… whose calculations often go awry--he is human, after all, no matter how pretentiously he believes that his views are based on learning, logic, and science and so concludes that he must be right. We all witnessed, for example, the fate of scientific socialism. And we must admit that today our psyches bear the mark not only of the Genocide and the Ottoman Empire but also of Soviet rule, and the two often reveal themselves in very similar ways. When, for example, certain Western historians, having in mind the model of the European nation-state, consider the concept of nation a mere artificial construct built on subjective foundations…and some ethnic Armenian historians simply imitate their colleagues' approach--relevant to Western states in existence for a few hundred years--and attempt to apply their ideas to the millennia-old Armenian nation…they often reach absurd conclusions, without seeing that they are glaringly hollow. After all, they have arrived at those conclusions through rigorous historiographical logic. And should we be surprised when a historian president (even though a Musa Daghtsi, but also the son of a Bolshevik) terms nation-based policies "spurious?" Should we be surprised, when so many of our newly independent country's politicians consider themselves (as Eastern Armenians) immune to the consequences of the mentality arising from the Genocide and the Ottoman rule--without understanding that the present-day Armenia they lead is a mere fragment, with all the attendant vulnerabilities of that fragmented-ness, largely as a result of the same historical and political processes that resulted in the Genocide and in Sovietization. In other words, do they understand that our present, both theirs and ours, with its arrangement of circumstances and its objective realities, is the extension of the same historical trajectory? I don't think so. Instead, both government and opposition, two faces of the same coin, are interested mainly in their reign over the people and in petty business calculations--feudal lords and princely houses have been transformed into present--day kleptocrats and "business" clans. The ones who suffer are the same: the people. This or that wing of the ruling elite genuflects toward the East or West or North, repeats like a puppet what it is expected of it, and exploits its own people for the sake of economic or political calculations. Again, it is the slave mentality that expresses itself when the current elite rules--with the previous master's arrogance--over its own people. And the idea of serving the people… is literally foreign to it. On the contrary, like the foreign rulers whose behavior they repeat, our present-day rulers expect the people of an independent Armenia to be satisfied with the crumbs--both of bread and democracy--permitted them. In the name of fairness, it must be noted that the Diaspora, too, has tasted, and too often still tastes, the bitter pill of the disease that is that leadership style. Too often we are satisfied with too little. We do not pursue that which deserve both as individuals and as a nation. The reason is the same: we suffer from an inferiority complex and do not consider ourselves worthy of something better. The latest example is the inadequate settlement between New York Life and the heirs of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire who had purchased life insurance from the company. The fear of losing what we have, however minimal it may be, often results in our not receiving much more: what is rightly ours. I recall, 10-15 years ago, some people argued, with weighty analysis and reasoning, that we not demand Karabaghbecause in the process we could lose Armenia. Some say the same today about Javakhk, and Nakhichevan, and Western Armenia. After all, we would be labeled pariah and expansionist! But why are not Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey--which occupy Armenian lands--not pariahs or expansionists? If we want to keep what we have, we must continue to demand, shed sweat, and struggle. There has been, and still is, no other way. And if we understand the logic of that simple fact, victories will come our way. Yesterday the Boston Globe, then the New York Times, and now Canada's Parliament…finally acquiesced to our demands--and yielded to justice. We were able to gain those victories after the decades-long, stubborn efforts of a small, defiant segment of our nation. Imagine what we could accomplish if as a people and a country we jointly rid ourselves of the chains of our slavish victim mentality that would have us abandon our rights. All that we need is faith, in our own strength and potential; hope, that come what may truth and justice will be victorious; and love, toward each other and the Armenian people; and also, why not, both hardnosed calculation and a political vision, at the same time. In other words, wisdom. And extending that message of faith, hope, and love, it's appropriate that I end my talk with a prayer…that is, with a fragment of the singer's song titled "Prayer": No divine intervention can save you. Puppet and master, console each other; vice-saviors, climb onto the throne; walk, mobs of serfs; sing, devil genius. What difference who is deceiving whom: the king his serfs, the whore the male…The defiant songs did not bring spring, they did not bring spring; but as God is witness, the messengers of resurrection will come. No divine intervention can save you. Puppet and master, console each other; vice-saviors, climb onto the throne. Whereas I, I will pray for our soul. 6)  Don't Be a Menace to Society by Making Promises You Can't Keep BY SKEPTIK SINKIKIAN The famous Greek comic and dramatist of the 5th century BC, Aristophanes, once observed that "Under every stone lurks a politician."  I've read volumes--essay after essay, article upon article--all on politicians and politics, and have yet to come across anyone who has been able to describe politicians as accurately as good ol' Aristophanes.  Why did I remember this quote, you ask? Well, it seems as though a politician that had crawled back under his rock 4 years ago has decided to reemerge having shed his old skin for one more slippery. The political serpent I want to draw your attention to is one Dennis Hastert currently serving as Speaker of the US House of Representatives. In August of 2000, Dennis "the Menace" Hastert met with Armenian community leaders in Glendale and pledged to bring the Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res. 398 at the time) to the House floor for a vote.  I was hesitant to take Hastert at his word considering the only reason he was even meeting with Armenians was because his protégé, Congressman James Rogan, who will be best remembered for his role as a prosecuting manager in the House Impeachment hearings against President Clinton, was up for reelection and in the race of his life. Every eye in the nation was on the Armenians to see who they would support. Hastert's visit was politically motivated but he did "promise" he'd bring the bill up for a vote, I thought.  Even I got caught up with the moment, thinking that finally our Congress had the guts to flex its muscles against Turkey and put this bully of a nation in its place. Two months later, Armenians were abandoned and left hanging in the wind.  Before we recall how the bill died, I want you to read the statement by Hastert at this meeting that I found on the Armenian National Committee's website. "We have paved the way. It is our intent to carry it to the floor," said Hastert. "I voted for this resolution in the 100th Congress…We are working to move this legislation forward now," he continued. Here's an excerpt from another press release from the ANC two months later.  "Citing Clinton Administration claims that its consideration would threaten American lives, Speaker Hastert withdraws measure only moments before adoption by the House of Representatives." Devious serpent, Hastert be thy name!  Citing Clinton claims? What's that supposed to mean? This was the same guy that wouldn't believe the President on whether he had sex or oral sex or whatever else kind of sex. He criticized every single Clinton policy under the sun. And now he was taking Clinton's advice?  So, Dennis, let me get this straight. You and President Clinton disagree on everything from what the definition of "is" is to whether men have to be straight in order to shoot straight in the US army, but when it comes to the issue of the Armenian Genocide and its recognition, somehow, you two kids seem to get along just fine?  Ok, Ok, calm down, Skeptik. You know that when you get like this, your blood pressure goes up and you can't finish your column with something cute or clever. Count backwards from 10.  Das, eeneh, oot… Folks, I'm writing this article to give credit to the Fresno Armenians for doing something that nobody else is doing. They are planning to protest Speaker Dennis Hastert's visit to Fresno at a fundraiser for a local Republican Congressional Candidate.  I read it in an email that a friend sent to me and even though I won't be there in person, I want to encourage everyone who will not be in Fresno, to call Speaker Hastert's office and leave so many messages that the machine shuts down. We need to let Hastert know that we were not born yesterday and that he should crawl back under the rock from whence he came.  Call Hastert right after you're done reading this article. I'll make it easier for you-- Here's the phone number--(202) 225-2976. Don't email. No one reads emails anymore.  They'll just delete it as spam especially if it has a heading like "Recognize Genocide Now--from [email protected]." Call them up and talk their ears off. If Hastert isn't going to bring the current Genocide Resolution up for a vote and if he's going to come to Fresno, where Soghomon Tehlirian is buried, Antranig Pasha called home, and where the Asbarez was founded--then by God, we're going to give it to him from both barrels.  Keep on fighting for justice and never give up! * Skeptik Sinikian is deathly afraid of snakes, spiders, and other slimy creatures like politicians who make promises they can't keep. He lives in Glendale, but every Armenian community in the world is his home. He can be reached at [email protected] 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.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
May 27 2004
AMERICA-AZERBAIJAN MILITARY CO-OP TO ENHANCE
[May 27, 2004, 18:12:35]
This was stated at the meeting of defense minister of Azerbaijan
Republic colonel-general Safar Abiyev with the delegation led by Vice
Chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee,
co-chair of the Congress-Milli Majlis working group, congressman
Curt Weldon.
Speaking of strengthening of the links and strategic partnership
between Azerbaijan and the United States, colonel-general Safar
Abiyev reminded that President Ilham Aliyev has presented the “Plan
of individual partnership activity” to the Secretary General of NATO
during his recent visit to Brussels. The defense minister dwelt on
joint combat against international terrorism between Azerbaijani
and US in the frame of “PfP” program. The Azerbaijan-US economic
partnership also develops successfully, he underlined.
Touching upon the current state of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorny
Karabakh conflict, the Minister said that Armenia keeps under
occupation the Azerbaijani lands and ignores the UN Security Council’s
four Resolutions on unconditional withdrawal of its armed forces
from eh area. “We are concerned that the world community still has
not recognized Armenian as an aggressor state.”
Congressman Curt Weldon presented the delegation he led saying “we
highly appreciate existence of Azerbaijan servicemen shoulder by
shoulder with the American soldiers in combat against international
terrorism. They are high-level militaries. We are thankful for this
to the people of Azerbaijan.” Speaking of the goals of his visit
to Azerbaijan republic, he said that we are going to expand the
Azerbaijan-US military cooperation. During the negotiations in the
Russian Federation, we recalled what significant role Azerbaijan
plays in security issues.
Dwelling on the Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorny Karabakh conflict, Mr.
Curt Weldon said that the United States is going to increase its
efforts in this direction. US will continue its links with Azerbaijan
as a strategic ally, he emphasized.
Congressmen attending the meeting expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan
state and people for support of the United States in combat against
international terrorism. Azerbaijan and the United States have great
and all-round cooperation in the years coming, they noted.
Defense minister Safar Abiyev expressed gratitude to the Congressmen
for kind words underlining that Azerbaijan draws attention of the
leading world countries with its geographic-strategic position.
Azerbaijan from the first day of its independence prefers integration
to the West, including the United States. This choice gave birth to
large economic projects and Azerbaijan strictly adheres this position.
Updating the visitors on the military-political situation in the
South Caucasus, Minister Abiyev said the key goal is to strengthen
Azerbaijan’s independence, also responded to the questions the guests
interested in.
Ambassador of the United States Mr. Reno Harnish attended the meeting.

Construction of railway line in Azerbaijan’s interests
Azer News, Azerbaijan
May 27 2004
Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov told journalists on Wednesday
with regard to Georgian President Saakashvili’s proposal to build
the Turkey-Georgia Gars-Akhalkalaki railway line that the project
represents importance for Azerbaijan’s economy.
He said that opening of this railway corridor meets the interests of
Baku. The implementation of the project will allow the establishment
of another railway line connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey.
It is for this reason that Yerevan considers this an attempt to put
Armenia in a blockade. Mammadov dismissed Armenia’s position on the
issue as groundless.

Enlarged EU to expand role in south Caucasus ‘neighbourhood’
EUbusiness, UK
May 27 2004
The newly-enlarged European Union is to expand its political, economic
and security co-operation with the south Caucasus region as part of its
new “neighbourhood policy,” an EU envoy to the region said Thursday.
Anthonius Devries, the EU’s special ambassador to Azerbaijan, said an
action plan was being drawn up to “strengthen the activities of the
EU on co-operation and integration,” with the three south Caucasus
states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“New forms of co-operation will appear,” the envoy told a press
conference.
“Greater attention will be paid to the energy sector. You can expect
new joint agreements. Co-operation on the fight against terrorism,
on science, education and culture, will be strengthened.”
He added that the EU was ready to take a bigger role in international
efforts to resolve the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“If the sides approach us with a request to make more active efforts,
we can look at the options,” said Devries. “We do not rule out that
the EU could have a positive influence on the search for peace.”
The envoy said the specifics of the new relations between the EU and
the south Caucasus would be hammered out over the next few months.
After its historic enlargement on May 1 from 15 member states to 25,
the EU inaugurated its “neighbourhood policy” to foster links with
dozens of countries on the eastern and southern fringes of the new
Europe and prevent the appearance of “new dividing lines.”
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, during a visit to Brussels
earlier this month, urged European Commission President Romano Prodi
to take a more active role in the search for a peace settlement over
Nagorno-Karabakh.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Abelyan turns up the heat ahead of fight with Harrison
ic Lanarkshire.co.uk, UK
May 27 2004
WILLIAM Abelyan has turned up the heat ahead of his WBO World
Featherweight title fight with Cambuslang’s Scott Harrison.
They are set to meet on June 19 at the Braehead Arena, and the
tough Armenian is riled by comments he read on the internet from the
champion, stating that he would give Abelyan a “hammering”.
The WBO mandatory challenger, speaking from his training camp in Las
Vegas, said: “Harrison’s got a big mouth and I’m going to shut it
for him.
“I’ve read what he’s been saying on the internet and he’s talking a
lot of garbage.
“He’s scared – that’s why he’s talking big but I’ll be over there
for the fight soon and we’ll see if he talks just as big when he’s
face to face with me.”
The 25-year-old claims his training has not been disrupted despite
the second postponement of the fight following Harrison’s injury.
“I’m ready to fight Harrison right now,” he said.
“If my team said to me ‘William we’re going to Scotland tomorrow to
fight Harrison’ I would be straight on the plane. I have never been
up for a fight more than this one.”
Originally from Yerevan in Armenia, Abelyan moved to America when he
was nine years old and now lives in California.
He says it’s the glory of being world champion, not the money, that
is motivating him to dethrone Harrison.
“It’s the world title and the fame I want, not the money,” he said.
“After I win the title, I will return to Armenia a hero.
“I have never been back since I moved to America because I wanted to
achieve something spectacular before I returned. I will be the first
world champion boxer to ever come out of the country.”
Abelyan added: “The boxing ring is my house and Harrison is not
welcome.”
Tickets purchased for the original date of May 29 will remain valid
for the rescheduled date of June 19.
Tickets, priced at £30, £50, £75 and £125, are available from Keith
Prowse Ticketing on 0870 906 3839, Braehead Arena Box Office on 0870
444 6062 and online at

STATE REGISTRY LAUNCHES OWN INTERNET PAGE
ArmenPress
May 27 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS: Armenian justice ministry and USAID signed
a memorandum of understanding in 2002, envisaging to strengthen state
registry and making it more simple and predictable. As part of the
memorandum, yesterday presentation of state registry internet page
was held.
Armenian justice minister Davit Harutunian said that in a rule of
law country it is necessary that steps taken by state structures be
predictable for citizens. “Today we can state that most of project
responsibilities are met,” the minister said.
Presenting the difficult way that the state registry has passed,
he said that today the system is rather transparent. Most of the
registration procedures are simplified.
Internet project has two main components, one of which is electronic
communication system which creates a single database on more that
130,000 legal entities and entrepreneurs. The data is accessible to
8 territorial and 10 regional departments.
Later an attempt will be made to register legal entities and companies
through Internet. According to the minister, this is important
especially as an anti-corruption strategy. He said that most of the
corruption cases occur when the citizen has direct contact with the
executive body. Reducing or formalizing these contacts will eliminate
corruption in this field totally.

RINGSIDE; ARMENIAN FRIGHT NIGHT FOR BOSS MALONEY
BY JIM BLACK
The Express
May 27, 2004
FRANK MALONEY watched a tape of Armenian William Abelyan for a bit
of light relief following his team’s FA Cup Final defeat – and ended
up seeing a horror movie.
Millwall fan Maloney was gutted after the Lions lost 3-0 to Manchester
United, but he was even more upset after watching Scott Harrison’s
next opponent in action.
The Scot’s manager revealed: “I wanted to cheer myself up by watching
tapes of Abelyan and looking to see what a devastating job Scott was
going to do on this kid.
Instead, it depressed me.
“What I saw was a fighter who could give Scott the toughest fight
of his life. If Harrison is not in sparkling form the title will be
changing hands.
“Abelyan knows how to box and force the pace.
He can also punch hard and spoil a fight. His unorthodox style will
give Scott problems and may take some working out.”
But despite Maloney reckoning that Harrison is in for the toughest
fight of his career when he comes face-to-face with Abelyan at Braehead
Arena on June 19, he is also convinced the WBO featherweight champion
will show the heart and class of a true star.
“I have said it before, Scott Harrison is the best fighter I have
ever managed and worked with, ” said Maloney. “He is special.
“Scott’s commitment, desire and strength is amazing and he will
destroy any man who gets inhis way. The challenge Abelyan represents
will certainly be motivating Harrison to do a real job on him.”
Maloney also believes the patriotic Scottish crowd will lift Harrison
on the night, when he makes the second defence of the title he regained
from Manuel Medina last November.
The fight boss added:
“Even though Scott will be in the ring on his own he will be lifted
by the support of thousands of loyal fans.
“When he hears them sing Flower of Scotland that really gets him going,
and if that happens we will see Scott at his destructive best like
he was against Julio Pablo Chacon and Wayne McCullough.”
Meanwhile, promoters Sports Network have confirmed that tickets bought
for the original May 29 date are valid for the rescheduled showdown.