Category: News

XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
April 4, 2004, Sunday

Olympic boxing qualifying results

SOFIA, April 4

Following are the results of Sunday’s finals in the Strandja Cup
Olympic boxing qualification tournament for the Athens Games (all
finalists qualify for Athens)in Plovdi, Bulgaria.

Light-flyweight (48kg):

Alexan Nalbandyan, Armenia, bt Redouane Asloum, France, on
points 42-23

Bantamweight (54kg):

Zsolt Bedak, Hungary, bt Maxim Tretyak, Ukraine, 40-30
Lightweight (60kg):

Amir Khan, Britain, bt Rovshan Hysynov, Azerbaijan

Welterweight (69kg):

Vilmos Balog, Hungary, bt Viktor Polyakov, Ukraine (referee
stops in 2nd round)

Light-heavyweight (81kg):

Yildirim Tarhan, Turkey, bt Clemente Russo, Italy 29-18

Super-heavyweight (91kg):

Sebastian Kober, Germany, bt Alexander Apanasionuk, Belarus, 21-
16

XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
April 4, 2004, Sunday

Olympic boxing qualifying results

SOFIA, April 3

Following are the results of Saturday’s semifinals in the Strandja
Cup Olympic boxing qualification tournament for the Athens Games:

Light-flyweight (48 kilograms):

Redouane Asloun, France, bt Siarhey, Belarus, on points 45-27

Nalbandyan Alexan, Armenia, bt Mumin Veli, Maceonia, 45-21
Bantamweight (54kg):

Maksym Tretyak, Ukraine, bt Wilhelm Gratschow, Germany, RSCO
2nd round

Zsolt Bedak, Hungary, bt Waldemar Cucereanu, Romania, 60-36
Lightweight (60kg):

Amir Khan, Britain, bt Adrian Alexandru, Romania, 46-27

Rovshan Hysynov, Azerbaijan, bt Mariusz Kopersk, Poland, 28-7
Welterweight (69kg):

Viktor Polaykov, Ukraine, bt Hrachya Hovhannisyan, Armenia, 45-
23

Vilmos Balog, Hungary, bt Bulent Ulusoy, Turkey, 27-23
Light-heavyweight (81kg):

Clemente Russo, Italy, bt Daugirdas Semiotas, Lithuania, 29-14

Yildirim Tarhan, Turkey, bt Tervel Pulev, Bulgaria, 19-11
Super-heavyweight (91kg):

Alexander Apanasionok, Belarus, bt Milan Vasiljevic, Serbia and
Montenegro, 26-8

Sebastian Kober, Germany, bt Mariusz Wach, Poland, 24-7

Notes: All winning semifinalists qualify for Athens.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 5, 2004 Monday

Armenian opposition stages acts of disobedience

YEREVAN, April 5
– The Armenian opposition has declared that it is launching mass acts
of disobedience with the aim to topple the Armenian president,
opposition leaders Artashes Gegamyan and Stepan Demirchyan declared
on Monday.

The aim of the mass acts of disobedience is to topple Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan, the opposition declared in a statement
circulated on Monday.

A rally has been scheduled in Yerevan for Friday that will call to
overthrow “the illegitimate regime and restore constitutional law and
order” in Armenia.

The opposition claims that the presidential and parliamentary
elections held in Armenia last year were falsified, and insists on a
referendum on confidence in the authorities as was recommended by the
Armenian Constitutional court.

The Herald (Glasgow)
April 5, 2004

Briefing: Mount Ararat

Noah’s Ark finally found dry land on the mountain’s summit on this
day in 2348 BC.

Q: Says who?

A: Experts in the field of hermeneutics, the branch of knowledge that
deals with interpreting the Bible and other works of literature.

Q: Where is Mount Ararat?

A: There are actually two: Great Ararat (16,854ft), and Little Ararat
(12,782ft). They’re both products of volcanic eruptions in the
distant past and are to be found in the extreme east of Turkey. It’s
Great Ararat that’s associated with the mountain on which Noah’s Ark
came to rest at the end of the flood.

Q: Where does the name come from?

A: As it appears in the Bible, it’s the Hebrew equivalent of Urartu,
a kingdom that flourished between the ninth and seventh centuries BC.
Ararat is sacred to the Armenians.

Q: Oh?

A: They believe they were the first race of humans to appear in the
world after the Deluge. Persian legend refers to Ararat as the cradle
of the human race. According to local tradition, Noah, the Old
Testament hero of the book of Genesis who introduced winemaking to
the world, planted the first vineyard in a village, since vanished,
on the slopes of Ararat.

Q: What happened to the village?

A: Along with the monastery commemorating St Jacob, who is said to
have tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to reach the summit, it was
destroyed by an avalanche in 1840.

Q: Who first scaled the mountain?

A: Johann Jacob von Parrot, a German, made the first recorded
successful ascent in 1829. Since then, it’s been climbed by several
mountaineers, some of whom claim to have sighted remains of the Ark.
Locals believe the Ark’s still there, but that God decided no-one
should see it.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 5, 2004 Monday

Transport corridor North-South actively operating, developing

By Dmitry Vinitsky

MOSCOW

The transport corridor North-South “is actively developing and
already the operational project,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Viktor Kolyuzhny said on Monday. Russia and Iran initiated the
creation of the corridor.

“The project is operational, evokes great interest, but additional
efforts to create the fleet of ferry boats and unify the tariff
policy of states concerned will be needed,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile the deputy minister noted that many countries wish to join
the project. “Russia has already considered and put forth a proposal
to include Azerbaijan and Armenia in the project,” the diplomat
pointed out.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 5, 2004, Monday

WAR IS SAID TO AGAIN BE POSSIBLE IN THE TRANSCAUCASIA

As far back as March 27, Gegam Arutyunyan, former deputy defense
minister of Armenia, now member of the political council of the
Republic oppositional party, urged the opposition to carry out a
“democratic revolution.” On April 1, he was supported by the National
Unity party and the Justice bloc. The unified opposition informed the
public of launching its struggle for shifting the power in the
country and even announced the specified terms of the protests –
April 5 to 13.

Speaking at the parliament, Viktor Dallakyan, a leader of the Justice
bloc, said: “Armenia found itself in a deep crisis, dismissal of
President Robert Kocharyan being the only way out.” He told the
deputies that, as reported by the unified opposition headquarters,
Armenian leaders are getting ready for the upcoming actions of
protest and intends to use the army against the demonstration. Serzh
Sarkisyan, defense minister and secretary of the National Security
Council said the situation in the republic is in a strain. However,
(…) he flatly denied the rumors saying that the Defense Ministry is
forming detachments to suppress the wave of opposition. (…)

Meanwhile, Mikael Danielyan, chairman of the Helsinki Association of
Armenia is sure that “under conditions of the current political
crisis, for Kocharyan war remains the only method to pacify the
opposition.” He doesn’t rule out that an armed conflict may arise
between Azerbaijan and Armenia because of Nagorny Karabakh already in
April. Danielyan says this could be the reason why military exercises
are conducted in Armenia now. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar
Aliyev doesn’t rule out that an armed conflict may be resumed between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. He said on March 31 that “a war against
Armenia might occur any day now.”

Source: Novye Izvestia, April 2, 2004, p. 3

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 5, 2004, Monday

IRAN’S AMBITIONS

SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 2, 2004, p. 9

by Ilan Berman, head of the strategic policy sector of the US Council
for foreign policy

U.S. EXPERT ILAN BERMAN ON THREATS COMING FROM IRAN

This year Iran has become the focus of international attention in
connection with its fully-fledged nuclear program and convincing
signs, which show that Iran has ballistic missiles. In addition,
Teheran has become very active in the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea
and the Caucasus where the Islamic Republic of Iran is realizing a
multilayer strategy aimed at changing the current situation in the
region in its favor.

(…)

Judging from official statements, Iran finished tests of the Shahab-3
ballistic missile (the range of fire is 1,300 kilometers) in June
2003. That successful test confirmed Iran’s ability to hit targets on
the territory of Washington’s allies and US bases in the Persian
Gulf. Iran has added the new missile to arsenals of Pasdaran
revolutionary guards. As is known, Pasdaran is the main channel of
contacts with Hezbollah and HAMAS, and Iran’s achievements in the
missile sector may help terrorists realize their plans.

The opposition stated that Iran’s official missile program is a
curtain of a secret program, which includes the creation of the
Shahab-5 missile (the range of fire is 4,000 kilometers) and the
Kovsar intercontinental ballistic missile.

(…)

A new strategic doctrine took root in Iran after the defeat of Saddam
Hussein’s regime. The Iranian foreign minister stated that the new
national security doctrine was passed to counter “new threats to
Iran’s national security, including foreign aggression, wars,
incidents on the border, espionage, sabotage, regional crises,
terrorism and discrimination linked with production of weapons of
mass destruction”. In reality this means that Iran will strengthen
its military potential and presence in two vitally important zones –
the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus.

Weapons, which Iran has purchased over the past years, have let
Teheran gain control over important sea routes in the Persian Gulf
and oil deliveries in the region. Iran has activated diplomatic
effort in the region aimed at creating a security system, which would
not depend on the US.

The Iranian foreign minister visited several countries located in the
Caucasus, seeking to reach an agreement with Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey to create a joint security system as an
alternative to cooperation with exterior forces. The reaction to that
proposal was rather cold, and Iran decided to use other methods. Iran
started a full-scale exercise in the north-western region (near
Azerbaijan) in October 2003. Iran concentrated troops on the border
with Azerbaijan – that was a demonstration of its military might
aimed at discouraging Azerbaijan from expanding its cooperation with
the US. In addition, Iran strengthened its military potential in the
Caspian Sea as a reaction to military relations of Kazakhstan and
Azerbaijan with Washington.

The Iranian leadership thinks that Teheran must play a very important
role on the international arena. The defeat of the Taliban movement
and Saddam Hussein’s regime prompted some Iranian high-ranking
officials that Iran is destined to become “the most powerful
geopolitical center” in the post-Saddam Middle East.

Agence France Presse
April 5, 2004 Monday

More than 3,000 anti-government protesters rally in Armenia

YEREVAN

More than 3,000 Armenians took to the streets of Yerevan Monday to
protest against President Robert Kocharian and demand a referendum on
his contested rule in the impoverished, landlocked Caucasus nation.

The demonstrators brandished portraits of Artaches Guegamian, leader
of the opposition National Unity party, and posters calling on
Kocharian to step down. He was re-elected in March 2003 in a poll the
opposition says was rigged.

“We will wage a protest movement to remove this illegal government,”
Guegamian told the crowd, calling for a referendum on April 16 and
vowing fresh rallies later this week.

During his speech before the protestors in the centre of the Armenian
capital, eggs and stones were thrown from nearby balconies but the
rally continued.

Meanwhile, unknown people grabbed two television cameras and two
cameras from journalists covering the demonstration, smashing them to
pieces in front of police, who did not intervene.

On Friday, Armenian journalists held a rally to protest against the
threat to freedom of expression in this former Soviet republic, which
has been criticized by the Council of Europe for cracking down on
independent media.

Los Angeles Times
April 5, 2004 Monday
Home Edition

DANCE REVIEW;
8 Troupes celebrate agility and passion

by Victoria Looseleaf, Special to The Times

If dancers are the new athletes, there was much to laud in the
strongly performed “Celebration of Dance” on Saturday night at the
Alex Theatre in Glendale. The second annual offering, produced by
Ballet of the Foothills’ Jill Sanzo, showcased eight companies in a
diverse program of mostly new — and engaging — works.

Females dominated, with Djanbazian Dance Company premiering its
powerful “Can Shadows Dance?” Choreographed by Anna Djanbazian, the
opus paid homage to Armenian women brutalized in 1915.

Set to a haunting score by Komitas, seven women in bleach-colored
caftans created tableaux in which chest-pounding angst gave way to
astonishing backbends, and ferocious leapers morphed into crumbled
heaps on the floor. The work ended in silence, a specter of death.

On a different note: Denise Leitner’s new “Pathways #10,” performed
by her company, a Dancer’s Voice, blended quicksilver jazz gyrations,
threaded with high kicks and feral energy, as the female quintet
bobbed to the Creatures’ propulsive score.

Four plucky Bela Fleck arrangements (including some full-tilt Bach)
made the perfect sonic accompaniment to Backhausdance’s latest,
“Sitting on January.” Choreographed by Jennifer Backhaus McIvor, the
work featured six women and a lone male (William Lu), gamboling with
chairs. All sweetness and charm, there was a Paul Taylor feel to the
work, with technical finesse equal to the spirited footwork.

Nuevo flamenco reared its passionate head in Deborah Greenfield’s
new, “Juego Flamenco,” dramatically danced by the choreographer’s
company, Rosa Negra Flamenco. Split kicks, unexpected partnering and
saucy shoulder dips rocked, although Greenfield’s costuming —
unfortunate leggings and tunics for the gals, bland pants and white
shirts over muscle tees for the guys — screamed for help. Even
worse, Greenfield’s solo was overpowered by an onstage pair of
amplified musicians.

Completing the program: the previously reviewed “Light,”
choreographed by San Pedro City Ballet’s Patrick David Bradley; and
Jazz Antiqua Dance and Music Ensemble’s deft performance of Pat
Taylor’s take on excerpts from John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency
April 5 2004

Armenian opposition fights for constitutional regime, not for
ministerial portfolios

Political powers of Armenia must go for mutual compromises

Armenian revolutionary Federation Dashnaktutyun calls opposition to
political consent

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION FIGHTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME, NOT FOR
MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS

YEREVAN, April 5. /ARKA/. Armenian opposition fights for
constitutional regime, not for ministerial portfolios, the Leader of
Justice Bloc Stepan Demirchian stated today at the press conference.
`We understand concern of Dashnaktsutyun party, indeed situation in
the country is tense, but our goals are long-term’, he said. He added
that opposition has political will for conduction of free and fair
elections. L.D. –0 –

*********************************************************************

POLITICAL POWERS OF ARMENIA MUST GO FOR MUTUAL COMPROMISES

YEREVAN, April 5. /ARKA/. Political powers of Armenia must go for
mutual compromises, representative of Supreme Body of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Party Armen Rustamian stated today. `It is necessary
to use given situation effectively. Otherwise all responsibility for
collision will lay on those who lost given opportunity’, he said.
Rustamian expressed confidence that situation that will be created in
the future will force political powers to go for compromises. L.D.
–0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN REVOLUTIONARY FEDERATION DASHNAKTUTYUN CALLS OPPOSITION TO
POLITICAL CONSENT

YEREVAN, April 5. /ARKA/. Armenian revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktutyun made a political statement today. As said by Armen
Rustamyan, Chairman of the supreme body of the party, the political
tension in Armenia is approaching a dangerous verge of clear
collision. The further worsening of the situation may lead to
destabilization of the country, shake reputation and image of the
country, as well as suspend the normal course of development’. He
also mentioned that the public discontent stipulated by social and
economic difficulties are exploited politically, being targeted at
political crisis and rapid power change. `The strategy of causing
political upheavals, formation of intolerance atmosphere bears
unallowable political relations inside the country’, said the
official. In hi swords, the current political tension is caused by
extremely intolerable stance of the opposition leading to political
disobedience thru negation of legitimacy of the current authorities
on one hand and the circumstance that the opposition is not
guaranteed full participation of solution of the most important
problems of the country, on the other hand. `Today we demand
prevention of the possible collision, the best way for which is
achieving a political consent thru constructive dialogue based on the
Constitution and the functioning laws’, Rustamyan stated. T.M. -0–