Category: News

Edicom, Suisse
25 Avril 2004
L’Arménie commémore le 89e anniversaire du génocide de 1915
EREVAN, Arménie (AP) – Des centaines de milliers d’Arméniens ont
convergé samedi vers un mémorial dressé sur une colline d’Erevan, la
capitale arménienne, pour commémorer le 89e anniversaire du génocide
arménien de 1915 à l’époque de l’empire ottoman.
L’arrestation de l’élite intellectuelle et politique arménienne
d’Istanbul, le 24 avril 1915, et sa déportation en Anatolie, marquent
le début des premières rafles et déportations suivies de massacres de
la population arménienne de l’empire ottoman. Les tueries dureront
jusqu’en 1917 et feront au moins un million de morts selon les
historiens.
L’Arménie affirme que la campagne menée entre 1915 et 1919 pour
chasser les Arméniens de l’est de l’Anatolie a causé la mort de 1,5
millions de personnes et qu’elle constitue un génocide planifié sous
l’égide de l’empire ottoman.
Des affirmations sont niées par la Turquie pour qui ces chiffres sont
exagérés. Ankara rejette la thèse du «génocide» prémédité et évoque
des massacres dans le contexte troublé de la première guerre mondiale
qui auraient fait des victimes des deux côtés.

New York Post
April 23 2004
DICK’S LION’S SHARE
By ERICA COPULSKY
April 23, 2004 — Sony isn’t the only one circling The Lion.
Time Warner is once again talking to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian about
buying legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – and this time
it may be bringing in a private-equity partner, The Post has learned.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the media giant has
in recent days discussed teaming up with buyout kingpin Thomas H. Lee
Partners to kick the tires on a possible deal for the last remaining
independent major film studio.
Time Warner is holding exploratory meetings with MGM, after
expressing renewed interest in the asset.
It’s unclear how serious Time Warner’s interest is or whether a deal
will materialize, sources warned.
Press officials from Time Warner, MGM and Thomas H. Lee declined
comment.
Time Warner had been in early-stage talks with MGM late last year.
But those talks broke down in early January after the parties failed
to agree on price or structure.

This time, rather than doing an outright purchase on its own, Time
Warner is considering bringing in private equity to help finance the
deal.
Such a deal would give Time Warner, the world’s biggest media
company, exclusive distribution rights to one of Hollywood’s most
valuable film libraries.
It would also give Thomas H. Lee – at the right price – a chance to
put money to work in the DVD business, which is perceived to be
attractive because it generates a lot of cash and there is very
little risk in the business.
“Unlike the theatrical production business, the exploitation of DVD
product is relatively predictable,” said one industry insider. “And
since the MGM library encompasses titles with all media rights –
including home entertainment, television, theatrical – investors
would be protected in the event that video-on-demand becomes a
predominant distribution model.”
Time Warner executives are understood to have developed a good
relationship with the partners at Thomas H. Lee through their work on
the Warner Music transaction just a few months ago.
The Time Warner-led talks are taking place while MGM entertains
discussions to be sold to an investor group led by Japanese
conglomerate Sony Corp.
On Wednesday, word leaked out that Sony and two private-equity firms
– Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners – were
discussing a complex deal in which the group would acquire MGM in a
leveraged buyout, shut down most of the studio’s new production
operations and have Sony distribute the “James Bond” series and other
films from the MGM library on behalf of the new standalone entity.
“This would be a very smart deal for Sony – if it could pull it off,”
noted the industry insider.
“Sony doesn’t have to buy the cow, but still gets the milk for free.”
Meanwhile, talks among Sony’s consortium over structure and valuation
are at a delicate stage and could collapse, sources said.
Other buyout firms including Leon Black’s Apollo Advisors and Bain
Capital have expressed interest about participating in a possible
deal.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CENN – APRIL 23, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Archeological Researches Underway on BTC Pipeline Territories
2. Ambassador Mann Discusses BTC with Saakashvili
3. Baku-Ceyhan to Start Pumping by Mid 2005
4. OSI-AF/Azerbaijan and BP are Pleased to Announce That They Have
Signed an Agreement
5. OSCE Office in Baku marks Earth Day
6. Assistance with Forest Inventory and Forest Management Planning in
the Forests Development Project -Working Group meeting
7. EU Enlargement and Biodiversity
1. ARCHEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES UNDERWAY ON BTC PIPELINE TERRITORIES
Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, AzerTag,
April 21, 2004
In accordance with the plan of archeological researches on the
territories, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline lays, archeological digs
are carried out on the ancient settlement of Saidlar of Samukh region,
early March, AzerTAj correspondent learnt from the research officer of
the Institute of Archeology and ethnography of Azerbaijan National
Academy of Sciences, PhD of historical sciences Safar Ashurov. It was
ascertained that ancient parking refers to II- I B.C.
The archaeologist noted that Moslem graves have been also revealed with
adornments – gold ear- rings, about 400 beads as a result of digs
carried out in the environs of Gushgara River. The graves are
presupposed refers to VII-VI B.C.
2. AMBASSADOR MANN DISCUSSES BTC WITH SAAKASHVILI
Source: The Messenger, April 23, 2004
US Ambassador Steve Mann met with the President of Georgia Mr.
Saakashvili on April 20, 2004 together with US Ambassador Miles where
they discussed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, reports the US Embassy.
As the senior US official dealing with Caspian energy issues, Ambassador
Mann is involved in realizing the BTC pipeline in the launch of the
Caspian Consortium (CPC) line, and a range of other Eurasian energy
responsibilities while acting as Special Negotiator. In 2003 Ambassador
Mann joined the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq where he worked
to manage transition of the UN Oil-For-Food Program.
3. BAKU-CEYHAN TO START PUMPING BY MID 2005
Source: The Messenger, April 23, 2004
According to the Ekho Baku, USD 2 billion has already been spent on the
project to construct the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. David
Woodward, President of BP Azerbaijan, stated that the first oil to be
shipped through BTC pipeline might take place in June next year.
According to him the process filling the pipeline is planned to be
started only after the reception of the first oil from the oilfield
`Central Azeri’ (CA) and the conclusion of all technical works connected
to its delivery onto the shore.
It is also planed to transport mixed oil from CA as well as from the
staging platform `Chirag’. `We decided not to start the infill of BTC
before the reception of the first oil from `Chirag’, but as for the
launching of the oil plant at the Sangachal terminal we expect to use
the oil from `Chirag’ stated the president of BP Azerbaijan. Mr.
Woodward also said that costs on using the BTC will total more than USD
4 million per 24 hours. The building of the pipeline requires USD 2.95
billion and USD 3.6 billion is the entire cost of the project, including
the infill of the pipeline and the interest on loans used to finance the
construction.
`It is enough for the construction on the pipeline to be finished by the
end of the first quarter of next year,’ noted Mr. Woodward. He also said
that USD 1 billion from already received credits is being directed to
the return of extra investments deposited by stockholders. `This year we
held negotiations with our contractors and they decided to recruit
additional employees for this process and acquire equipment needed to
complete the construction of the pipeline schedule’, stated Mr.
Woodward.
Regarding concerns with the Georgian parliament, Mr. Woodward said, `In
the near future we intend to present a document in which our actions in
connection with the project will be fixed, and we think that this
information will be satisfactory for them and that there will be no
problems.’
A for Turkey, Mr. Woodward said that the Turkish Company BOTAS agreed to
open one more work site in Turkey near the Georgian boarder and to work
out an integrated plan in connection with the pump stations for
providing the timely completion of the project.
4. OSI-AF/AZERBAIJAN AND BP ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THEY HAVE
SIGNED AN AGREEMENT
OSI-AF/Azerbaijan and BP are pleased to announce that they have signed
an agreement under which OSI-AF will co-ordinate monitoring of the BTC
pipeline construction by NGOs in Azerbaijan. For more information,
please find the press release below.
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rovshan Bagirov: (99412) 986933, 412722
PRESS RELEASE
BAKU, April 22, 2004. OSI-AF and BP are pleased to announce that they
have signed an agreement under which OSI will co-ordinate monitoring of
the BTC pipeline construction by NGOs in Azerbaijan.
Under the agreement, which lasts until construction of the pipeline is
complete, OSI-AF will act as facilitator between the participating NGOs,
and as the principal liaison point between the NGOs and BP.
Over the coming weeks OSI-AF will work with the NGOs on themes,
timescale and processes for their monitoring activities. The NGOs taking
part in the monitoring will receive information about the pipeline
project and about BTC health, safety, environmental and social
standards. External experts will provide them with training in
monitoring and evaluation techniques and report writing.
OSI-AF will contribute financially to the NGO monitoring activities,
while BP will pay for the training costs.
The monitoring process is aiming to increase public awareness about BTC
project development, about challenges and concerns raised during
construction period and also serve for the establishment of healthy
cooperation between all stakeholders to develop a good practice of civic
involvement.
5. OSCE OFFICE IN BAKU MARKS EARTH DAY
On April 22, 2004 a series of events and outdoor activities for
Azerbaijani children, aimed at teaching them to understand the global
environmental challenges and to be more responsible towards nature were
held throughout the country as part of a campaign dedicated to Earth
Day.
`It is the duty of the government and the people to make sure that the
land is preserved, the air is clean and the water is pure,” said
Ambassador Peter Burkhard, Head of the OSCE Office in Baku. “Our Office
is ready to provide assistance and support to ensure that Azerbaijan can
effectively address the environmental challenges it faces”.
Several non-governmental organizations, including Ecosphere, Gulum (My
flower) and Green Patrol, are leading a campaign, supported by the OSCE
Office in Baku, under the educational and awareness raising programmes
of the Aarhus Centre. Among the activities are seminars, opinion polls
on environmental awareness, cleanups of public parks and areas around
schools, as well as tree planting and water testing events.
Commenting on the results of the project, Firuza Sultanzadeh, Chair of
Ecosphere said: `Although Earth Day is celebrated once a year, we want
to encourage people to be more active in preserving the environment, and
making the world a better place to live. When people learn to care for
the Earth, we will have a healthier planet.’
Earth Day has been commemorated since 22 April 1970, when some 20
million people held peaceful demonstrations in cities across the United
States of America to draw attention to increasing environmental problems
in their neighborhoods and around the world.
For further information, please contact:
Ulvi Akhundlu
Media and Political Assistant
OSCE Office in Baku
4 Magomayev Lane 2nd floor Icheri Sheher
37004, Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel.: +994-12 97 23 73
Fax: +994-12 97 23 77
E-mail: [email protected]
6. ASSISTANCE WITH FOREST INVENTORY AND FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING IN
THE FORESTS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT -WORKING GROUP MEETING
Tbilisi, Georgia — The second meeting of the working group of the
Forest Inventory and Forest Management Planning in the Forests
Development Project has been carried out in Tbilisi in April 21, 2004.
The meeting was dedicated to the preparation of the stakeholder meeting
in the Borjomi area.
Another preparatory meeting will take place on April 28, 2004.
Irina Kitiashvili, CENN
7. EU ENLARGEMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
Source: IUCN, April 22, 2004
On May 1, 2004, all eyes will be on the European Union and the
additional 75 million people who will be joining. Although it is
undoubtedly for the benefit of all Europeans, the environment is among
the most complicated issues to be dealt with during the process of
enlargement of the European Union. The enlargement presents some
long-term challenges for the rich natural heritage of the new member
states. Accession countries are enriching the EU through the
biodiversity they are bringing, as they represent a large proportion of
Europe’s remaining natural wealth. However, the greatest challenge for
the new EU member states today is to retain their natural resources
while offering their citizens opportunities for improving their well
being. IUCN – The World Conservation Union takes stock of the
biodiversity assets of the new member states and highlights
opportunities and challenges for biodiversity conservation in an
enlarged EU.
—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

German envoy sees Armenian nuclear station closure in 2004 as “unrealistic”
Arminfo
5 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The European Union (EU) does not insist that the Armenian Nuclear
Power Station (ANPS) should be closed in 2004, the German ambassador
to Armenia, Hans-Wulf Bartels, told a briefing today.
He said that Germany is representing the EU in Armenia and the ANPS
closure in 2004 is unrealistic. The ambassador noted that the EU had
not put forward any specific conditions for the conservation of the
station.

U.N. Chief Rebuts Critics of the Iraq “Oil for Food” Program
April 23, 2004
By WARREN HOGE
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 – Secretary General Kofi Annan struck back
Thursday at critics of the United Nations and his leadership, saying
they were treating unproven charges as facts and ignoring the good
that the “oil for food” program brought Iraqis despite its
scandal-ridden management.
The allegations of corruption have battered the United Nations just as
it is being given the lead role in shaping an interim government in
Iraq. Mr. Annan has responded by appointing a panel of three to
investigate the charges, headed by Paul A. Volcker, a former chairman
of the United States Federal Reserve.
Several Congressional committees, saying they distrust the United
Nations’ willingness to examine itself, are looking into the
case. United Nations detractors have seized on the reports to call
into question the organization’s work in the Iraqi transition and
Mr. Annan’s fitness to remain in office.
“I think it is unfortunate that there have been so many allegations,
and some of it is being handled as if they were facts, and that is why
we need to have this investigation done,” Mr. Annan said Thursday.
“And in all this, ” he added, “what has been lost is the fact that
the oil-for-food program did provide relief to the Iraqi
population. Every household was touched.”
The Security Council began the program in 1996 to enable Iraq to sell
oil and devote the proceeds to humanitarian purchases as a way of
easing the effects of the sanctions imposed after the Persian Gulf war
of 1991. According to the General Accounting Office, the investigative
arm of the United States Congress, Saddam Hussein’s government skimmed
$10.1 billion from the $67 billion program.
Mr. Annan said that he had met Wednesday with Benon V. Sevan, the
former head of the program, and that Mr. Sevan had promised to
cooperate with the investigation. Mr. Sevan’s name was reportedly
discovered on an Iraqi Trade Ministry document saying he had received
an illegal oil allotment himself worth up to $3.5 million. Mr. Annan
said Mr. Sevan had repeated his past denials of the charge.
The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday
endorsing the inquiry.
Joining Mr. Volcker, 76, on the panel are Richard J. Goldstone, 65, a
South African judge who served as prosecutor for the International
Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, and Mark
Pieth, 50, a Swiss law professor with expertise in tracking money
laundering.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Youth Federation
Western United States
104 N. Belmont St. Suite 206
Glendale, CA 91206
Contact: Raffi Semerdjian
Tel: 818.507.1933
Fax: 818.240.3442
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Protest Attracts 5000 at Turkish Consulate
Los Angeles, CA – The Armenian Youth Federation Western United States Garo
Madenlian Public Affairs Office announced that close to 5000 protestors
gathered at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon
demanding Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The youthful crowd of protestors picketed across two blocks of Wilshire
Blvd. With such signs as `Genocide Unpunished is Genocide Encouraged,’ and
`Turkey stop historical Revisionism.’
“The Canadian government officially recognized the Armenian Genocide earlier
this week,” said Sevag Garabetian, Director of the Protest. “We are thankful
for their ability to classify truth and justice above special interests and
are hopeful that our government, here in the US, will follow suit shortly,’
explained Garabetian.
About two hours after marching on Wilshire Blvd. the protestors gathered in
front of the Turkish Consulate, where Vicken Sosikian, chairman of the AYF
Western Region addressed the crowd from atop of a cargo truck, make shift
stage.
Emphasizing on the fact that over 80% of the gathered protestors were youth,
Sosikian said that this generation, along with future generations of
Armenian American youth will continue its demands for the return of Western
Armenia, proper reparations, and justice.
The protest, which has been organized for the last thirty years attracted
all major broadcast and print media and concluded with the singing of the
Armenian National Anthem.
The success of the protest can be credited to a committee of about 10 AYF
members planning the protest for over five months and over 100 AYF members
helping with crowd control,’ said Marie Minassian, chairperson of the
Protest Organizing Committee. `The protest is one of many forms of political
activism organized by the AYF throughout the course of the year,’ explained
Minassian.
The Armenian Youth Federation Western United States serves Armenian American
communities west of the Mississippi through education, athletics, political
activism, cultural activities and social settings. To learn more about the
AYF please log on to
#####

Armenians Remember
Fresno Bee
B Section
April 25, 2004
About 800 people turned out Saturday for a ceremonial raising of the
Armenian flag over Fresno City Hall. The event was part of the weekend
observance commemorating the Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million
Armenians were killed in Turkey from 1915 to 1923. Also Saturday, an
Armenian Martyrs Day Commemoration ecumenical service was held at Holy
Trinity Apostolic Church with
Rabbi Kenneth Segal as speaker. At 1 p.m. today there will be an observance
at Soghomon Tehlirian’s monument in Ararat Masis Cemetery.
(Picture Caption) Veraim Krikorian, 77, sings the Armenian National anthem
as the flag goes up.
(Picture Caption) A gust of wind unfurls the flag as it is raised be Sevag
Jierian, member of the Homenetmen Armenian Scouts, Troop 12. Other Scouts
pictured are Aleen Postoyan, and Jenya Bakanian.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 26 2004
Legal experts, MPs dust off neglected draft laws
Proposals often circulate for years
By Nada Raad
Daily Star staff
Monday, April 26, 2004
A proposal to encourage companies and the private sector to hire
university graduates in return for tax reductions was just one of
several ideas put forward during a seminar organized by the Lebanese
Legislation Monitor (LLM).
The brainchild of the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace,
the LMM is a three-year program designed to make sure the draft laws
and proposals studied by Parliament, the Cabinet and public
administrations are in conformity with the rules of the state,
constitutional norms and human rights.
During Saturday’s seminar, several MPs, lawyers and professors
examined draft proposals and laws that are still stuck in Parliament
and attempted to identify the best ways to push them forward.
Lawyer and university professor Antoine Sfeir proposed a law that
would promote an increase in youth employment after they graduate.
Sfeir, who was speaking about the difficulties of renewing laws here,
said that the proposal is already implemented in developed countries
to facilitate the hiring of young graduates who don’t have real world
experience.
“The law would stipulate a reduction of taxes paid by companies and
the private sector according to the number of fresh graduates they
hire per year,” Sfeir said.
Sfeir’s proposal was welcomed by Beirut MP Walid Eido, Baabda MP
Salah Honein and Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush, who said that they would
be the first to agree on the proposal once it was handed to
Parliament.
However, proposals and draft laws sometimes need several years before
they are passed by Parliament’s committees as well as the Cabinet.
“Many side talks are done by MPs when discussing a certain draft law
and politicians often interfere to stop the discussion of a certain
draft law,” said Minyeh MP Ahmad Fatfat, who is a member of
Parliament’s Administration and Justice committee.
University professor Tony Atallah said that 123 pages of draft laws
and law proposals are currently discussed by Parliament’s committees
or revised by the Cabinet.
Atallah, who spent more than two months searching for the drafts laws
and proposals due to the lack of an organized archive for such
documents, succeeded, at the end, in summarizing them into 16 pages.
He said that currently the municipal draft law is discussed by
Parliament’s committees. Atallah noticed in his research that until
now there are no law proposals regarding parliamentary elections,
which are scheduled to be held in the spring of 2005.
Beirut MP Serge Toursarkissian, who was present at the seminar, said
that one of his proposals stipulates the formation of a 14-member MP
committee to take charge of relations with Lebanon’s expatriate
population.
Kesrouan MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr said that he had already proposed a
similar law enabling Lebanese living abroad to be represented in
Parliament by 12 separate MPs.
Toursarkissian made it clear during the seminar that his increase of
the number of MPs from 12 to 14 was to allow the Armenian community
to be represented among the MPs representing the Lebanese abroad.
Also discussed during the seminar, was the draft of the rent law
currently under discussion by a parliamentary committee. It gives
landlords the right to evict tenants by paying 20 percent of the
salable value of the property. As it currently stands, Parliament’s
Joint Committee has extended the rent law, which was endorsed in
1992, until June 2004 to allow the Finance and Budget Committee to
finish studying the new draft.
There are also draft laws and law proposals put forward by different
MPs to revise the military service. Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem,
one of the MPs proposing such an amendment, said that the military
service law should be amended because many Lebanese living abroad are
currently not registering their newborn children as Lebanese to avoid
making them go through the military service.
Other draft laws and law proposals currently under consideration
include one that calls for Lebanon to join the Islamic Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), a draft law
stipulating the general health safety of Lebanese citizens, and a
quota for women’s representation in politics.
Lawyer and lecturer at Sagesse University Paul Morcos said that,
although the elected parliamentary bodies in 1992, 1996 and 2000 left
a large amount of legislation outstanding, the question that should
be asked is whether these pieces of legislation respect the
principles of codification, democracy and human rights, or if its
production is nothing more than “legislative inflation?”
Morcos then highlighted the flaws present in Lebanon’s laws, which he
said are mainly caused by the “translation” of the Lebanese laws from
“old French laws” – something which he said did not go hand-in-hand
with the Lebanese reality.
For her part, Professor of Law at Lebanese University Amirah Abu Mrad
said that although Article 7 of the Constitution stipulates that all
Lebanese are equal, such a statement is a “lie.”
She said that if citizens here are equal, then the government should
have implemented the civil marriage law which is a critical part of
achieving gender equality.
According to Abu Mrad, a statute dating from 1936 stipulates the
implementation of a marriage law, which until now is still absent.
“The government should allow civil marriage and apologize to its
citizens for a delay of more than 65 years in implementation,” she
said.

Great Reporter
April 26 2004
Armenians struggling to find a foothold
Posted on Sunday, April 25 2004
By Onnik Krikorian
For visitors to post-Soviet Armenia, first impressions of its capital
resemble any other place in Europe, but travel just 10 minutes from
the centre and you enter another world…
Like Baku and Tbilisi, new hotels, restaurants and boutiques have
sprung up where once stood communal markets and grey, drab shops
selling wares that the majority could afford.
But venture further and roads have deteriorated, buildings are in
disrepair and some have even collapsed. The centre of the city is
illuminated by hundreds of neon signs and billboards but when the sun
goes down, the rest of the capital and much of the country instead
descends into darkness. Poverty here is endemic.
According to official government statistics, half of Armernia’s
population lives below the national poverty line with 17 per cent
living in extreme poverty. Salaries average just $50 a month while
pensions are even lower at $10. According to the National Statistics
Service, 70 per cent of the population lives on a staple diet of
bread, potatoes and macaroni.
As a result, the United Nations concludes that the issue of survival
is still vital for many Armenians.
“When we talk about poverty in Armenia,” says Ashot Yesayan, First
Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Social Security, “we are talking
about people who cannot even afford to eat. Among potential claimants
[for social benefits] are families with young children who have no
money for even bread.”
Living on the edge
In a small room of a derelict house situated half an hour away from
Yerevan, one such family burns plastic and rubber to stay warm during
the winter months. The walls of the room should be white but, like
the three children that resemble paupers from a Dickensian novel,
they are black and covered in soot.
A social worker stands calmly as the children’s Uncle articulates his
anger. The government’s National Commission for Minors has decided
that the children must be removed for their own safety and placed in
a children’s home.
An international organisation has been called in to do the dirty work
for them.
Without the children, the family will find it impossible to survive.
Every day, they beg for scraps and change in the nearby village.
Faced with the prospect of his only source of income being taken
away, the Uncle waves a knife in the air before emotion finally
overcomes him. His legs give way and he collapses into a heap on the
floor.
Families like this are representative of the poorest of the poor in
Armenia. They are unable to feed or clothe themselves; their children
rarely attend school and in some cases, are not even officially
registered as having been born. With no official documents, they are
unable to receive social benefits or medical assistance.
An underclass is forming in Armenia, a world away from the image that
the government would like to portray to its large and influential
Diaspora. It is, however, one closer to the reality than that
depicted in a hundred coffee-table books and postcards of monasteries
and churches photographed against scenic landscapes.
Some even rationalise the situation by arguing that conditions are
only bad in the regions of the republic, but there are just as
serious concerns with poverty in the cities. In fact, the United
Nations considers that urban poverty is far more desperate than that
which faces villagers who can at least live off the land.
In one of the capital’s poorest residential districts, approximately
200 families inhabit a dilapidated hostel complex that once
accommodated workers from the nearby chemical factory. The condition
of the building should be enough to raise alarm in most civilised
countries but the local council says that it is none of their
concern. There are no windows left on the stairwell now exposed to
the elements, and the elevators no longer work after residents
cannibalised their innards long ago.
A four-year-old child pushed another on this stairwell last summer
and one-and-a-half-year-old Isabella fell through a hole in the
railings seven floors to her death. Her mother, Jenik, shrugs off her
loss although from time to time, tears still swell in her eyes when
she remembers.
Jenik has four other children to bring up in two tiny rooms furnished
only by three rusting, metal bed frames and a divan covered with rags
that serve as bedclothes. They’ve lived in this apartment for over a
decade now and don’t even have running water. Her children instead
collect water from those more fortunate living below.
Now, her children no longer beg on the streets after Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF) included them in their Prevention program but that’s
not to say that their situation has improved.
Somewhat ironically, although most of the inhabitants of the hostel
are living in abject poverty, only two fall within the remit of the
international medical organisation.
“I agree that many families in this building live in very difficult
conditions,” admits Samuel Hanryon, MSF’s Country Director, “but
their situation is not the same. For example, we can only work with
two of these families because there is a problem with violence. The
needs are enormous in Armenia but we are not the government.”
Which is probably just as well.
Across the road, two former officials have erected large and opulent
mansions, an arrogant display of wealth to contrast against the
extreme poverty opposite.
Children in a difficult situation
Two floors up, a father of six removes copper wire from electrical
appliances and automobile parts to sell for a few hundred drams. Like
Jenik, Hampartsum’s family is also included in MSF’s Prevention
Program but their situation could be considered even worse.
Hampartsum’s only son is in prison for theft after he stole in order
to buy food for the family. But unlike those in government who are
believed to have stolen significantly more, the courts threw the book
at him. Recently, Hampartsum’s son wrote a letter to his father. He
can be released from prison if he pays $100. For Hampartsum, however,
it might just as well be $100,000.
Last September, his daughter, Gohar, became the face on hundreds of
posters that were displayed throughout Yerevan highlighting the
plight of vulnerable children in Armenia. “I want to live with my
family,” read the poster.
Now, Gohar and two of her four sisters are temporarily residing in a
children’s home in Gyumri. And to make matters worse, Hampartsum’s
eldest daughter lives with her grandmother, unwilling to tolerate her
father’s drinking. When Hampartsum was supplied with a bag of cement
to fix up his apartment he allegedly sold it in order to buy vodka.
In and out of hospital for alcoholism, when he drinks, he beats his
wife.
But Hampartsum is not a bad man; it’s just that times are hard. His
wife found work in a local kiosk but left after three days when the
owner refused to pay her the 3,000 dram ($6) she was owed. Meanwhile,
both Margarita and her husband can’t even scrape 500 dram together to
pay for the photographs required for their passport applications.
They’re not planning to leave the country, of course; just that they
need some official papers to receive benefits and other assistance.
Still, they have it better than others.
On the ground floor, an extended family of 14 inhabits a tiny room
that can barely accommodate two. Along the corridor, water gushes
from the communal toilet and the washroom, seeping into the floor.
Last year, according to the residents but not confirmed by other
sources, four people died of tuberculosis on the ground floor alone.
MSF admit that tuberculosis is fast becoming a serious concern in
Armenia. “The problem is a serious issue in Yerevan – especially with
regards to Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis,” says Hanryon.
“Nowadays, anyone suffering from MDR in Armenia is sentenced to
death.”
But although journalists, international organisations and film crews
visit the families living in this hostel on a regular basis, and
seemingly with good intentions, everyone complains that nothing
changes.
Perhaps they have a point.
Although the Armenian Government finalised its long-awaited Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in August 2003, it will take until
2015 before poverty in Armenia is reduced to the post-earthquake 1989
level of 20 percent.
But at least the World Bank and the United Nations consider that such
goals are achievable.
Key to the success of the PRSP will be increasing social benefits and
salaries while waging an effective struggle against endemic
corruption and a shadow economy that by some estimates accounts for
the lion’s share of all business in the republic.
It is envisaged that poverty in Armenia should fall to below 45 per
cent of the population in 2004.

;file=article&sid=248

New Yorker, NY
April 26 2004
DEPT. OF STYLE
WORD PROBLEM
Issue of 2004-05-03
Among the many peculiarities of Times house style – such as the
tradition, in the Book Review, that the word `odyssey’ refer only to
a journey that begins and ends in the same place – one of the more
nettlesome has been the long-standing practice that writers are not
supposed to call the Armenian genocide of 1915 a genocide. Reporters
at the paper have used considerable ingenuity to avoid the word
(`Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915,’ `the tragedy’) and have
sometimes added evenhanded explanations that pleased many Turks but
drove Armenian readers to distraction: `Armenians say vast numbers of
their countrymen were massacred. The Turks argue that the killings
occurred in partisan fighting as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.’
The quirk was not strictly policed, and a small number of writers,
intentionally or otherwise, managed to get the phrase into the paper.
Ben Ratliff wrote, in 2001, that the Armenian-American metal band
System of a Down `wrote an enraged song about the Armenian genocide
of 1915.’ Another writer who slipped it in was Bill Keller, in a 1988
piece from Yerevan, during his time at the paper’s Moscow bureau:
`Like the Israelis, the Armenians are united by a vivid sense of
victimization, stemming from the 1915 Turkish massacre of 1.5 million
Armenians. Armenians are brought up on this story of genocide.’
Keller, who became the paper’s executive editor last July, finally
changed the policy earlier this month. During a telephone
conversation the other day, he said that his reporting in Armenia and
Azerbaijan `made me wary of reciting the word `genocide’ as a casual
accusation, because in the various ethnic conflicts that arose as the
Soviet Union came apart everyone was screaming genocide at everyone
else.’ He said, `You could portray a fair bit of the horror of 1915
without using the word `genocide.’ It’s one of those heavy-artillery
words that can get diminished if you use them too much.’
Most scholars use the United Nations definition of genocide, from the
1948 Genocide Convention: killing or harming people `with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or
religious group.’ But, Keller says, `we were using a dictionary
definition that was the purist definition – to eliminate all of a race
of people from the face of the earth.’ The Times’ position was based
on the notion that the systematic killing that began in 1915 applied
mainly to Armenians inside the Ottoman Empire.
Last July, the Boston Globe started using the term, which, Keller
says, `made me think, this seems like a relic we could dispense
with.’ In January, the Times ran a story about the release in Turkey
of `Ararat,’ Atom Egoyan’s 2002 movie about the events of 1915. The
piece, which referred to `widely differing’ Turkish and Armenian
positions, prompted Peter Balakian, a professor of humanities at
Colgate, and Samantha Power, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning
book `A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,’ to write
a stinging letter to the editor. Balakian also got in touch with
Daniel Okrent, the paper’s new public editor, asking if he and Power
could come in and talk to the Times about the genocide style problem.
Okrent found the issue `intellectually interesting and provocative
enough that I thought Keller and Siegal’ – Allan M. Siegal, the paper’s
standards editor – `might be interested.’ Balakian and Power, joined by
Robert Melson, a Holocaust survivor and Purdue professor, met Keller
in his office on March 16th. Before the meeting started, Keller told
the group that he was going to make the change. `A lot of reputable
scholarship has expanded that definition to include a broader range
of crimes,’ Keller said later. `I don’t feel I’m particularly
qualified to judge exactly what a precise functional definition of
genocide is, but it seemed a no-brainer that killing a million people
because they were Armenians fit the definition.’
Siegal drew up new guidelines. `It was a nerdy decision on the
merits,’ he said. Writers can now use the word `genocide,’ but they
don’t have to. As the guidelines say, `While we may of course report
Turkish denials on those occasions where they are relevant, we should
not couple them with the historians’ findings, as if they had equal
weight.’ Okrent pointed out that `the pursuit of balance can create
imbalance, because sometimes something is true.’ Although the word
`genocide’ was not coined until 1944, a Times reporter in Washington
in 1915 described State Department reports showing that `the Turk has
undertaken a war of extermination on Armenians.’ You might say it has
been a kind of odyssey.
– Gary Bass