BESIEGED BY DEATH, YOUNG IRAQIS LOSE HOPE
By Sabrina Tavernise The New York Times
International Herald Tribune, France
Oct 8 2006
BAGHDAD In a dimly lighted living room in central Baghdad, Noor is a
lonely teenage prisoner. Many of his friends have left the country,
and some who have stayed have strange new habits: A Shiite acts
holier-than-thou; a Sunni joins an armed gang.
At 19, Noor is neither working nor in college. He is not even allowed
outdoors.
Three and a half years after the U.S.- led invasion, the relentless
violence that has disfigured much of Iraqi society is hitting
young Iraqis in new ways. Young people from five different Baghdad
neighborhoods say that their lives have shrunk to the size of their
bedrooms and that their dreams have been packed away and largely
forgotten. Life is lived in moments. It is no longer possible to
make plans.
“I can’t go outside; I can’t go to college,” said Noor, sitting in
the kitchen waiting for tea to boil. “If I’m killed, it doesn’t even
matter because I’m dead right now.”
The U.S. military is trying to address the problem. In August, it began
the most systematic series of sweeps of Baghdad since the war began,
trying to make the worst neighborhoods safe for a return to normal
life. It appears to be bearing some fruit, with deaths in the city
down about 17 percent in August from July, according to a UN report
based on morgue statistics.
But violence between the sects here continues at a frantic pace,
wiping out ever more of what middle ground remains. Young Iraqis
trying to resist its pull are frozen in an impossible present with
no good future in sight.
The speed of the descent has been breathtaking. A few months ago,
Noor was taking final exams, squabbling with his little brother and
hanging out at home with his friends. But violence touched the family’s
outer edge. His father’s business partner was killed on a desert road
far from Baghdad because he was a Shiite, and things began to unravel.
Fearing that the man may have divulged details about them, Noor’s
parents accelerated their plans for Noor and his younger brother to
leave Iraq. His brother was moved to the safety of northern Iraq,
but Noor was forced to return after the British authorities rejected
his student-visa application.
Since coming back, he spends most days in his living room on the
computer, listening to the sounds of life outside his gate. He wants
to enroll in college here and even had one of his friends sneak him
an application, but his parents will not let him go. Campuses are
volatile mixes of sects and ethnicities, and sectarian killings of
students are no longer rare.
Before the epidemic of neighborhood assassinations began last year,
it was a rare middle-class Iraqi who had a peer involved in sectarian
killing. But as the killing spread, larger portions of the population
have been radicalized.
For Noor, a secular Sunni who is solidly middle class, the sectarian
killing has broken squarely into his circle of friends. A friend
from Adhamiya, a Sunni Arab center in Baghdad, joined a neighborhood
militia after his father was shot to death in front of their home.
Noor heard through friends that he had set up a roadside bomb to kill
Iraqi troops.
“He hates the Shia because they killed his father,” said Noor, speaking
in fluent English. “He became a different person. He became a monster.”
It is that radicalization that most frightens Noor’s mother. Most of
the casualties and the perpetrators in the sectarian killing are young
men. With few jobs and no hope for justice through the government,
armed gangs and militias are extremely alluring to them.
“I’m afraid he’ll be drawn to certain currents,” she said. “There is
a lot of anger inside.”
A few of Noor’s Shiite friends feel a new passion for their identity,
and he now finds it difficult to relate to them.
“I can’t tell them my true feelings,” he said. “I started to expect
something bad from them.”
As little as a year ago, most Iraqis dismissed fears of sectarian
war. Iraqis of different sects had always mixed, they argued, and no
amount of bombing would change that. But as the texture of the violence
changed from spectacular car bombs set by Sunnis to quiet killings
in neighborhoods of both sects, few still cling to that belief.
Another young man, Safe, 21, stands guard with a machine gun three
nights a week to protect his block in the ravaged neighborhood of
Dora. As a Sunni, he fears Shiite death squads and policemen. Seven
of his friends have been detained and beaten. He has attended more
than a dozen funerals for murdered Sunnis in recent months.
“Sectarian stuff has come into our life from all doors,” Safe said,
speaking in quick bursts. “I am afraid of these checkpoints. They
tell you five minutes, and keep you for a month.”
The constant battle has left a bad taste in his mouth for Shiites
who strongly assert their identity.
Safe got into a fistfight with a Shiite student at the medical school
where he is a student. His campus is in heavily Shiite eastern
Baghdad. A professor referred to the healing powers of a Shiite
imam during a physiology lecture this year, to the fury of the Sunni
students. Even the typical Shiite jewelry, silver rings with smooth
round stones, he finds irritating.
“When you see them, you want to throw up,” Safe said, referring to
chauvinist Shiites.
Dora, once a mixed middle-class neighborhood, has been among the most
lethal for Shiites over the past two years. Shiite residents report
brutal killings for offenses as minor as pinning up posters of Shiite
saints in shops. Now few Shiites remain.
Safe acknowledged that Shiites were singled out, but said insurgents
only went after those working with Americans. Other Shiites received
threats for spying on mosques, he said.
Safe’s father died when he was young and his mother died of cancer
last year. His neighborhood watch group helps him to have a sense
of purpose, to feel connected, at a time when young Iraqis are more
isolated than they have ever been.
As Baghdad grows increasingly divided into a Shiite east and a Sunni
west along the Tigris River, neighborhood life is becoming equally
as homogeneous for young Shiites.
Every morning, Ali Wahid, 27, rides his motorbike past a dusty soccer
park in the capital’s largest Shiite district, Sadr City, to work in
southeastern Baghdad. He holds tightly to his job, a water project
that is part of the U.S. effort here, but would never agree to go
west of the Tigris, where Sunni neighborhoods are deadly for Shiites.
A friend, Hamza Daraji, who does odd jobs in Sadr City, said he had
not left the district in two years.
Wahid, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his modest two-story house,
says his life has improved since the invasion. His job has allowed
him to pay off debts, buy a house with his brothers and even afford
to marry. There are fewer Sunnis in his life now than there were
when Saddam Hussein ruled. In some ways, relations then were easier,
he said, because as the ruling class, the Sunnis were less likely to
lash out.
“Before I could joke with Sunnis about Saddam,” he said. “Now if I
talk against him, I’m afraid they might hurt me later in a secret way.”
The Sharqiya Secondary School in Baghdad began the day one recent
Thursday with a prayer. The new headmaster, a religious Shiite, took
the unusual step of telling the entire student body, several hundred
girls, that “the first way we hail the Iraqi flag is by giving prayers
to Muhammad and his family,” referring to the Prophet Muhammad and
his family members, whom Shiites consider to be holy.
Three Armenian Christians raised the flag.
“We feel desperate, desperate, desperate,” said Sena Hussein, an
assistant principal whose daughter is a high school senior. The
school, once known citywide for its basketball team, no longer has
after-school sports, as parents considered it too risky. Trophies
in a dusty glass cabinet stand a short way from the entrance to the
principal’s office. Even enrollment is down. The school used to get
150 new students a year. This year it has about 60.
Prospects for higher education for women coming of age in the capital
have also dimmed.
Sara, a graceful 10th grader with perfect English and straight A’s,
will not be allowed to go to college in Iraq by her parents, who fear
killings en route and on campus. The caution will cut out the mixing
of young Iraqi men and women, as college is the first chance they
get to be together. High schools in Iraq are single-sex institutions.
“The future is totally unclear for me now,” she said, standing in the
courtyard of the school as girls buzzed behind her, busily cleaning
classrooms. “I don’t know what would happen to me in college. Maybe
I would get killed.”
Hosham Hussein, Omar al-Neami and Khalid al-Ansary contributed
reporting.
BAGHDAD In a dimly lighted living room in central Baghdad, Noor is a
lonely teenage prisoner. Many of his friends have left the country,
and some who have stayed have strange new habits: A Shiite acts
holier-than-thou; a Sunni joins an armed gang.
At 19, Noor is neither working nor in college. He is not even allowed
outdoors.
Three and a half years after the U.S.- led invasion, the relentless
violence that has disfigured much of Iraqi society is hitting
young Iraqis in new ways. Young people from five different Baghdad
neighborhoods say that their lives have shrunk to the size of their
bedrooms and that their dreams have been packed away and largely
forgotten. Life is lived in moments. It is no longer possible to
make plans.
“I can’t go outside; I can’t go to college,” said Noor, sitting in
the kitchen waiting for tea to boil. “If I’m killed, it doesn’t even
matter because I’m dead right now.”
The U.S. military is trying to address the problem. In August, it began
the most systematic series of sweeps of Baghdad since the war began,
trying to make the worst neighborhoods safe for a return to normal
life. It appears to be bearing some fruit, with deaths in the city
down about 17 percent in August from July, according to a UN report
based on morgue statistics.
But violence between the sects here continues at a frantic pace,
wiping out ever more of what middle ground remains. Young Iraqis
trying to resist its pull are frozen in an impossible present with
no good future in sight.
The speed of the descent has been breathtaking. A few months ago,
Noor was taking final exams, squabbling with his little brother and
hanging out at home with his friends. But violence touched the family’s
outer edge. His father’s business partner was killed on a desert road
far from Baghdad because he was a Shiite, and things began to unravel.
Fearing that the man may have divulged details about them, Noor’s
parents accelerated their plans for Noor and his younger brother to
leave Iraq. His brother was moved to the safety of northern Iraq,
but Noor was forced to return after the British authorities rejected
his student-visa application.
Since coming back, he spends most days in his living room on the
computer, listening to the sounds of life outside his gate. He wants
to enroll in college here and even had one of his friends sneak him
an application, but his parents will not let him go. Campuses are
volatile mixes of sects and ethnicities, and sectarian killings of
students are no longer rare.
Before the epidemic of neighborhood assassinations began last year,
it was a rare middle-class Iraqi who had a peer involved in sectarian
killing. But as the killing spread, larger portions of the population
have been radicalized.
For Noor, a secular Sunni who is solidly middle class, the sectarian
killing has broken squarely into his circle of friends. A friend
from Adhamiya, a Sunni Arab center in Baghdad, joined a neighborhood
militia after his father was shot to death in front of their home.
Noor heard through friends that he had set up a roadside bomb to kill
Iraqi troops.
“He hates the Shia because they killed his father,” said Noor, speaking
in fluent English. “He became a different person. He became a monster.”
It is that radicalization that most frightens Noor’s mother. Most of
the casualties and the perpetrators in the sectarian killing are young
men. With few jobs and no hope for justice through the government,
armed gangs and militias are extremely alluring to them.
“I’m afraid he’ll be drawn to certain currents,” she said. “There is
a lot of anger inside.”
A few of Noor’s Shiite friends feel a new passion for their identity,
and he now finds it difficult to relate to them.
“I can’t tell them my true feelings,” he said. “I started to expect
something bad from them.”
As little as a year ago, most Iraqis dismissed fears of sectarian
war. Iraqis of different sects had always mixed, they argued, and no
amount of bombing would change that. But as the texture of the violence
changed from spectacular car bombs set by Sunnis to quiet killings
in neighborhoods of both sects, few still cling to that belief.
Another young man, Safe, 21, stands guard with a machine gun three
nights a week to protect his block in the ravaged neighborhood of
Dora. As a Sunni, he fears Shiite death squads and policemen. Seven
of his friends have been detained and beaten. He has attended more
than a dozen funerals for murdered Sunnis in recent months.
“Sectarian stuff has come into our life from all doors,” Safe said,
speaking in quick bursts. “I am afraid of these checkpoints. They
tell you five minutes, and keep you for a month.”
The constant battle has left a bad taste in his mouth for Shiites
who strongly assert their identity.
Safe got into a fistfight with a Shiite student at the medical school
where he is a student. His campus is in heavily Shiite eastern
Baghdad. A professor referred to the healing powers of a Shiite
imam during a physiology lecture this year, to the fury of the Sunni
students. Even the typical Shiite jewelry, silver rings with smooth
round stones, he finds irritating.
“When you see them, you want to throw up,” Safe said, referring to
chauvinist Shiites.
Dora, once a mixed middle-class neighborhood, has been among the most
lethal for Shiites over the past two years. Shiite residents report
brutal killings for offenses as minor as pinning up posters of Shiite
saints in shops. Now few Shiites remain.
Safe acknowledged that Shiites were singled out, but said insurgents
only went after those working with Americans. Other Shiites received
threats for spying on mosques, he said.
Safe’s father died when he was young and his mother died of cancer
last year. His neighborhood watch group helps him to have a sense
of purpose, to feel connected, at a time when young Iraqis are more
isolated than they have ever been.
As Baghdad grows increasingly divided into a Shiite east and a Sunni
west along the Tigris River, neighborhood life is becoming equally
as homogeneous for young Shiites.
Every morning, Ali Wahid, 27, rides his motorbike past a dusty soccer
park in the capital’s largest Shiite district, Sadr City, to work in
southeastern Baghdad. He holds tightly to his job, a water project
that is part of the U.S. effort here, but would never agree to go
west of the Tigris, where Sunni neighborhoods are deadly for Shiites.
A friend, Hamza Daraji, who does odd jobs in Sadr City, said he had
not left the district in two years.
Wahid, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his modest two-story house,
says his life has improved since the invasion. His job has allowed
him to pay off debts, buy a house with his brothers and even afford
to marry. There are fewer Sunnis in his life now than there were
when Saddam Hussein ruled. In some ways, relations then were easier,
he said, because as the ruling class, the Sunnis were less likely to
lash out.
“Before I could joke with Sunnis about Saddam,” he said. “Now if I
talk against him, I’m afraid they might hurt me later in a secret way.”
The Sharqiya Secondary School in Baghdad began the day one recent
Thursday with a prayer. The new headmaster, a religious Shiite, took
the unusual step of telling the entire student body, several hundred
girls, that “the first way we hail the Iraqi flag is by giving prayers
to Muhammad and his family,” referring to the Prophet Muhammad and
his family members, whom Shiites consider to be holy.
Three Armenian Christians raised the flag.
“We feel desperate, desperate, desperate,” said Sena Hussein, an
assistant principal whose daughter is a high school senior. The
school, once known citywide for its basketball team, no longer has
after-school sports, as parents considered it too risky. Trophies
in a dusty glass cabinet stand a short way from the entrance to the
principal’s office. Even enrollment is down. The school used to get
150 new students a year. This year it has about 60.
Prospects for higher education for women coming of age in the capital
have also dimmed.
Sara, a graceful 10th grader with perfect English and straight A’s,
will not be allowed to go to college in Iraq by her parents, who fear
killings en route and on campus. The caution will cut out the mixing
of young Iraqi men and women, as college is the first chance they
get to be together. High schools in Iraq are single-sex institutions.
“The future is totally unclear for me now,” she said, standing in the
courtyard of the school as girls buzzed behind her, busily cleaning
classrooms. “I don’t know what would happen to me in college. Maybe
I would get killed.”
Hosham Hussein, Omar al-Neami and Khalid al-Ansary contributed
reporting.

WORLDLY TRAVELLER’S TALES PLAYED OUT ON MANY A FIELD FAR FROM HOME
Sunday Herald, UK
Oct 8 2006
Stewart Fisher catches up with Ian Porterfield long enough to hear
the much on-the-move former Aberdeen boss sing the praises of his
Armenian national squad
IAN Porterfield must be approaching life membership of the managerial
mercenaries’ club.
After following in the football footsteps of Dr David Livingstone
to Zambia and Zimbabwe, diverse international detours to Trinidad &
Tobago and Oman, and significant if short-lived club stints at Saudi
Arabian giants Al-Ittihad and South Korean club side Busan Icons, the
60-year-old former Aberdeen and Chelsea manager alighted at another of
football’s less-heralded outposts, Armenia, this August. One suspects
that Anghel Iordanescu, Bora Milutinovic and even our very own Stuart
Baxter would be nodding with approval right now.
Porterfield’s winning goal for Sunderland against Leeds in 1973 FA
Cup final is usually referred to as his 15 minutes in the limelight,
but there have been no shortage of memorable moments in the 12 years
he has been away from these islands. His 20 months in Zimbabwe included
dealing with Robert Mugabe’s nephew Leo as FA president, not to mention
taking his team to play South Africa in a tribute match on they day
of Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. Yet, if anything, his time there
pales against the earlier spell at Zambia, which started with him
being forced to rebuild a national squad after the first team were
lost in a plane crash in 1993, and ended after his rebuilding was
endorsed by an appearance in the African Cup of Nations final and
him being given the freedom of the country.
“When I got my first opportunity to go to a foreign country it was
Zambia,” Porterfield told the Sunday Herald . “I was a bit apprehensive
because I had just left Chelsea but I decided to go and, amazingly,
since then things have gone really well. Things went well for that team
so I started to get a bit of recognition outside of my own country and
people started to give me work elsewhere. I work hard at my job. It
is my life and my hobby .”
Then came Trinidad and Tobago, for a World Cup qualifying near miss
which preceeded this summer’s success. His time there included
giving debuts to players such as Luton’s Carlos Edwards , not to
mention handing a young blood called Marvin Andrews the captaincy,
and gaining himself a Trinidadian wife. “It was really wonderful to
see them qualify for the World Cup,” Porterfield said, “even if it
was because they changed the ruling and got in on the play-off. I
had blooded many of the young boys who played in that tournament and
brought them in.”
The boundaries of modern day Armenia are thought to include the
site of the Garden of Eden, and the little state nestling between
Europe and Asia can lay at least partial claim to such luminaries
as David Dickinson and Garry Kasparov . The football team, however,
suffers from a shortage of big names, a problem when you are stuck in
a European Championship qualifying group along with Belgium, Serbia,
Portugal and Finland, and with a poverty-stricken domestic league.
They went into yesterday’s home tie with the Finns with a 1-0 defeat
from Belgium in their only game of the section to date.
“We lost 1-0 against Belgium but I worked with the players for 10
days and it was smashing to be able to do that,” he said. “Belgium
have got a lot of good players from good European teams, but we only
lost 1-0 to a long throw scored by the big boy from Bayern Munich
[Daniel van Buyten]. The performance was excellent.
“Armenian football is relatively new, and we have only eight teams
in the league, but three are trying to set up soccer academies. So I
think the future, although maybe not the immediate future, is bright
. It would be an unbelievable feat for us to finish in the top two,
but I would like us to be respectable.”
Porterfield’s time at Aberdeen, coming hot on the heels of Sir Alex
Ferguson’s departure in 1986, elicits mixed memories from almost all
those involved. His was a surprise appointment in the first place,
and a cup final defeat and successive qualifications for Europe were
not exactly what the fans had bargained for, not to mention that the
job found him in the midst of a turbulent period away from the pitch.
“I think if you look at the facts I think I lost nine games at Aberdeen
in all the time I was there,” Porterfield said. “I was following up
not only the best manager that Aberdeen ever had, but maybe the best
manager Manchester United ever had . They had such great success when
Sir Alex was there, but things were changing. I also went to Aberdeen
at what was a fairly difficult time in my life and sometimes things
happen for a reason.”
In my heart I am Scottish and I am proud of it, and I think I have
created goodwill and a good image for Scotland in coaching and
different things, but some things up there disappointed me. I feel
that some people let me down , the press cut me to ribbons and 90%
of it had no foundation .”
One man sticks in Porterfield’s memory, that of former Aberdeen
chairman Dick Donald. “I have been all over the world, and worked with
many different people – including Nelson Mandela on the day of his
inauguration, but one of the best men I ever met was Mr Dick Donald –
he epitomised what Aberdeen was all about.”
Porterfield, who has a home in Surrey and a flat in Yerevan, feels
he has around four or five years of travelling left. Unless, that is,
he gets a better offer.

FRENCH REACTION TO SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
Turkish Press
Oct 8 2006
BURSA – Turkish-French Trade Association Chairman Yves-Marie Laouenan
said on Thursday that they have built a website to initiate a signature
campaign against the bill on so-called Armenian genocide.
Answering the questions of the press after his meeting with
deputy-chairman of the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BSTO)
Ali Hazir, Laouenan said they believed that Turkey could not promote
itself enough and they aimed at taking steps on the accurate promotion
of Turkey.
Stressing that as a chamber having approximately 450 members they
can`t understand the recent developments in France and it was
disturbing them.
“If the bill becomes a law on September 12th, we will come to the
conclusion that law replaced the historians. These developments
are taking place at the same time when Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
offers a hand to Armenia. The timing is really disturbing” underscored
Laouenan.
The website for the signature campaign will be activated tomorrow.

TUZMEN MEETS FRENCH MINISTER FOR FOREIGN TRADE LEGARDE
Turkish Press
Oct 8 2006
PARIS/ANKARA – “Approval of a bill (to be debated on Oct 12th) which
considers denial of so-called Armenian genocide claims a crime will
have a negative impact on Turkish-French relations,” Turkish State
Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Thursday.
Tuzmen, currently in Paris to attend “Turkish Week” activities of
the Turkish Industrialists` and Businessmen`s Association (TUSIAD),
met French Minister of Foreign Trade Christine Lagarde.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tuzmen said bilateral trade
volume between Turkey and France would exceed 10 billion USD this year.
Tuzmen said, “in case the bill which considers denial of so-called
Armenian genocide claims is approved, several problems will erupt. I
have explained sensitivity of the Turkish public on this issue.”
Tuzmen said such initiatives would have a negative impact on relations.

ARMENIA FEARS RUSSIA BLOCKADE OF GEORGIA
By Avet Demourian
Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
Oct 8 2006
Arkady Sarkisian has made his living by shipping containers full of
ripe peaches and fish to Russia.
But after Moscow severed all transportation links this past week with
Georgia, the main transit country for Armenian goods, Sarkisian has
had to pay more to transport his containers by a less direct route.
Armenia’s prime minister, whose country is a close ally of Russia,
insists that so far the Caucasus nation hasn’t suffered any financial
losses. Sarkisian, though, angrily disagrees.
“And what about me?” he said. “What about dozens like me?”
Russia and Georgia have been locked in a bitter dispute since the
arrests of four Russian officers by Georgia on Sept. 27 on charges of
spying. Despite their release, Moscow has imposed a range of sanctions
on its ex-Soviet republic neighbor to the south and tightened controls
on Georgians living in Russia.
Politicians and analysts warn that Russia’s transport and postal
blockade may end up economically isolating Armenia, Georgia’s
landlocked southern neighbor.
Lawmaker Grair Karapetian said Armenian entrepreneurs were suffering
“terrible losses” with the new restrictions. He estimated that
transporting some 20 tons, essentially bypassing Georgia, carried an
added expense of some $2,500.
Russia is the main trading partner for Armenia, where the average
monthly salary is equivalent to $90.
Most of Armenia’s goods travel to Russia via Georgia since neighboring
Turkey and Azerbaijan have closed their borders in protest of the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian territory inside
Azerbaijan, which the two countries dispute.
Some, like Sarkisian, have had to transport their goods to a Georgian
port, then ferry them to a Ukrainian port and only then take them to
Russia. Others have had to rely on cargo planes or could not afford
the new costly routes.
And the dispute could deal another blow to Armenia if Moscow cuts
its natural gas supplies to Georgia, effectively blocking supplies to
Armenia. Several Russian politicians already have raised that prospect.
Opposition leader Khachatur Kokobalian has warned that such measures
would be devastating for Armenia.
“I am sure that our republic is in for tough times, because the
blockade of Georgia can lead to the most serious consequences for us
in the transport, gas and energy sectors,” Kokobalian said.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained since Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power following the 2003 Rose
Revolution, vowing to take the country out of Russia’s orbit and join
NATO. Georgia also accuses Moscow of backing two breakaway Georgian
provinces – an allegation Russia denies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the conflict on Georgia
and spurned Western calls to lift the sanctions, saying Georgian
conduct was “aimed at escalating tension.”
In addition to the sanctions, Russian authorities also have raided
a number of Georgian-owned firms and closed down several popular
restaurants in Moscow. Russian media reported that similar raids have
been launched in several Russian provinces.
Moscow police also have asked schools to provide lists of children with
Georgian last names in order to detect illegal migrants, education
officials said. On Friday, 132 Georgians were deported after being
detained as alleged illegal migrants.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday protested Russia’s crackdown,
denouncing the move as “repressive measures against Georgian citizens
and ethnic Georgians,” and calling on the international community to
comment on Russia’s actions.
Meanwhile, the head of Georgia’s airline, Airzena, said his company
and two other Georgian airlines operating flights to and from Russia
plan to contest Russia’s decision to suspend air links between the
two countries.
Police also detained more than a dozen activists rallying Saturday
in support of Georgia outside the country’s embassy.
—
Associated Press Writer Maria Danilova contributed to this report
from Moscow

Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Oct 6 2006
Subcommittee Meeting on Nagorni Garabagh Held
07.10.2006
In the course of PACE autumn session meeting of subcommittee on
Nagorni Garabagh was held. Head of Milli Mejlis delegation, committee
member, Samad Seidov, told AzerTaj correspondent about meeting:
– During the meeting Azerbaijani part raised the issues connected
with the most crucial problems troubling our country, – fires at
occupied territories, destinies of missing people. Armenian part also
expressed its position on certain problems. The most crucial problem
for us is to observe resolution adopted two years ago. It clearly
shows who is aggressor, what events took place in what form and who
commits ethnic cleaning. Observation of this resolution is very
important for us.
We do not regulate Nagorni Garabagh problem within the format of
Council of Europe. It is the task of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and
they make proposals. However, we create necessary opinion complying
with interests of Azerbaijan.
We came to decision that during January session delegations of
Azerbaijan and Armenia should hold meeting jointly with Chairman of
the Committee, lord Russell Johnston, and exchange of views on
observation of the said resolution. It is very important for us.
Azerbaijan may present necessary documents. Council of Europe will
govern the course of observation of all regulations. We will maintain
Nagorni-Garabagh issue high on the agenda. During all sessions we
will draw attention of Council of Europe to this issue. In order to
control this issue, it is necessary systematically to organize these
hearings in the committee and bring position of Azerbaijan to the
notice.
As for visit of chairman of the committee, lord Russell Johnston, I
should tell that committee is completely ready to organize it. That
is, in connection with winter season visits to Azerbaijan, Armenia
and Nagorni Garabagh are postponed. We’ve come to the conclusion that
visit to region will be paid after winter session meeting.
–Boundary_(ID_ch8cjVNT1I4SwasCx8GINQ)–

Justice minister: Article 301 may be changed
The New Anatolian
Oct 7 2006
The New Anatolian / Ankara
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek on Friday signaled that controversial
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) may be changed.
“We’re not saying that Article 301 can’t be changed, as it may be,”
said Cicek. “But we have yet to decide how.”
Article 301 of the TCK has been the legal basis for a number of court
cases filed against intellectuals, writers and journalists, on charges
of insulting the state organs, Parliament and Turkish identity. The
article is also one of the controversies between the European Union
and Turkey.
Cicek on Friday denied claims that the government has failed to reach
a consensus on the article, adding that the public’s views regarding
changing the article should also be taken into account. “What will we
say if the public asks us whether we’re ashamed to be Turks?” asked
the justice minister.
Cicek also criticized the European Commission for its pressure on
the government to remove the article. “They’ve asked us to change the
article and we replied that we may, but asked them what they will do
about the bill in French Parliament on the so-called Armenian genocide
claims,” Cicek explained.
The justice minister also asserted that the EU’s attitude regarding
terrorism in Turkey is causing a crisis of confidence among the public.

Astrakhan Region
// GENERAL INFORMATION
Today is Oct. 7, 2006 3:23 PM (GMT +0400) Moscow
Endless steppes and the green banks of the Volga; the ice of the
Northern Caspian and flowering lotus fields-Astrakhan Region located
in the Caspian Lowlands of southwestern Russia is all of these
things. Its rich historical past, the unique beauty of its natural
landscapes, and age-old traditions of hospitality have attracted
tourists for a long time. The region was formed as part of the
Russian Federation on December 27, 1943 by decree of the Supreme
Soviet Presidium of the USSR, although Astrakhan Province was
actually formed by Peter the Great in November 1717. It has an
exceptionally favorable geographical location as a link between the
Northern Caucasus and southern Russia and between Kazakhstan and
Central Asia. It also connects Russia with Iran via the Caspian Sea.
Astrakhan Region extends 120 km from west to east between Kalmykia
and Kazakhstan and 375 km from north to south along the Volga and
Akhtuba rivers to the Caspian Sea. It covers an area of 44 100 km2 or
0.3% of the area of the Russian Federation and borders on Kazakhstan
in the east, Volgograd Region in the north and northwest, and the
Republic of Kalmykia in the west.
Despite the region’s nearness to the sea, it has a severe dry
continental climate, with annual precipitation ranging from 180-200
mm in the south to 280-290 mm in the north; most of the precipitation
(70-75%) falls in the warm season. Winter precipitation is in the
form of snow, wet snow, and rain. In summer, torrential rains are
accompanied by thunderstorms and sometimes hail. The average yearly
temperature is from 8.5 to 10 °C with a maximum of +42 °C and a
minimum of -30 °C. About 70% of the region is desert or semidesert.
The topography is flat with salt dome uplifts.
Astrakhan Region has been Russia’s “fish plant” for the past 400
years. It is known for sterlet soup, sturgeon, and black caviar and
is the capital of the Caspian fisheries. Fish are not only caught
here, but are also processed into high-quality products. Astrakhan’s
processing plants dry and smoke Caspian roach (also called vobla) and
prepare balyk [cured steaks of sturgeon and other similar fish],
Caspian herring, and various canned fish.
The region is made up of 11 rural districts, 6 cities (the largest
are Astrakhan, Akhtubinsk, Kamyzyak, Znamensk, and Kharabali), and
442 villages and other small communities. The capital is the old
Russian city of Astrakhan situated on the scenic banks of the Volga
River. The city lies 1534 km southeast of Moscow on islands of the
Volga delta and is known for its large number of bridges over the
branches and channels of the Volga that pass through it.
The first written mentions of Astrakhan date from the 13th century
when the Astrakhan Khanate was formed in the Lower Volga after the
collapse of the Golden Horde. For several centuries, Astrakhan was
the crossroads of trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Today, Astrakhan (pop. about 484 000) is an important industrial and
cultural center and a major cargo transfer point from rail to sea and
river transport and vice versa. The city’s main industrial sectors
are shipbuilding, the light and food industries, and engineering and
metalworking. Znamensk is a city of missile specialists. It is a
relatively young city that grew up from mud huts and tents, and its
history is inseparably linked with the Kapustin Yar test range.
Through the efforts of its residents, the streets of Kapustin Yar
gradually became green. Thousands of trees were planted in parks and
around houses, barracks, and soldiers’ messes. Everyone from generals
to soldiers and pensioners to first-grade pupils had their own
“personal trees” to care for.
Akhtubinsk (pop. 50 800) is a regionally administered district center
292 km north of Astrakhan. Two railway stations (Vladimirovka and
Akhtuba) on the Volgograd-Astrakhan line and a river wharf are
located in the city, and the Moscow-Astrakhan and the
Volgograd-Astrakhan highways pass through it on the right and left
banks of the Volga, respectively.
The city of Akhtubinsk was formed in 1959 from the communities of
Vladmirovka, Petropavlovka, and Akhtuba and a military housing
complex. Its industries include a shipbuilding and repair yard, a
brickyard, a canning plant, a dairy, a meat-packing plant, and a
bakery. Akhtubinsk is also the transfer point from which the Bassol
Company ships salt extracted from Lake Baskunchak. The institutions
of higher education include a branch of the Moscow Aviation Institute
(MAI). The city’s main point of interest in the memorial complex
dedicated to aviation and the test pilots who perished.
Kamyzyak (pop. 15 800) is a district center 35 km south of Astrakhan.
The city was founded in 1973 on the Volga delta in the Caspian
Lowlands. It is close to the Astrakhan I railway station, and the
highway to Astrakhan passes through it. Present-day Kamyzyak is the
center of an agricultural district with food-industry companies. A
research institute for irrigated vegetable and melon cultivation is
also located here.
Narimanov (pop. 11 600) is a district center 48 km northwest of
Astrakhan in the Caspian Lowlands on the right bank of the Volga. It
is 40 km from the Trusovo railway station on the Astrakhan-Gudermes
line and is just off the Astrakhan-Volgograd highway. The city was
formed from the town of Nizhnevolzhsk in 1984 and named in honor of
the Soviet political and party figure N.N. Narimanov. Narimanov is
the site of the Lotus (Lotos) plant, which produces superstructure
modules of floating drilling units.
Kharabali (pop. 19 100) is a district center 142 k from Astrakhan in
the Caspian Lowlands on the left bank of the Akhtuba River (an arm of
the Volga). The Astrakhan-Saratov railway line runs through the city.
It has been a city since 1974, and during this time, a vegetable
canning plant and dairy have been built and are in operation here and
a local history museum has been established.
Archeological monuments include the 13th-century city of Sarai-Batu,
the former capital of the Golden Horde, discovered 40 km southeast of
Kharabali, and a Kalmyk Buddhist monastery (khurul) built after 1812,
discovered 70 km south of the city.
The first inhabitants of what is now Astrakhan Region were Sarmatian
tribes. Their descendents, the Ases, who received a charter (tarkhan)
from Batu Khan, gave their name to the city of Astrakhan. The
Astrakhan Khanate that formed was a typical feudal state with a
population of nomadic cattle herders. Astrakhan was considered a
major commercial center where trade was conducted or through which
merchants from Venice, Khorezem, Bukhara, Kazan, the Crimea, and
Russia transported goods to other countries. The territory’s
remoteness and the demand for labor attracted large numbers of
Russian migrants, who quickly populated Astrakhan and formed the
settlements of Sianova, Bezrodnaya, Terebilovka, Soldatskaya, and
Yamgurcheeva around it. Tatars and Armenians who had settled near the
city likewise formed their own Tatarskaya and Armyanskaya
settlements.
Today, the region’s ethnic mix includes nearly 130 nationalities.
Russians make up most of the population (72%) followed by Kazakhs
(13%), mainly in Volodarsky and Krasnoyarsky districts. Next come
Tatars (7.2%), mainly in Privolzhsky and Narimanovsky districts;
Ukrainians (2%); Chechens (1%); Kalmyks (0.8%); Azerbaijanis (0.5%);
Belarussians and Nogais (0.4% each); Armenians and Dargins (0.3%
each); Gypsies, Turkmen, and Jews (0.2% each); and others (1.5%).
After centuries of coexistence, the boundaries between nations and
their languages, customs, and cultures have disappeared. Astrakhan
Region is considered one of Russia’s most multinational regions,
mainly as a result of migration from former Soviet republics and many
other parts of the country. Most migrants come from Kazakhstan, which
shows in the large number of Kazakhs in the region’s total
population.
At the same time, however, the demographic situation in Astrakhan
Region is deteriorating just as it is in the rest of Russia. Figures
showing a decrease in the resident population for the past 20 years
are disturbing.
The number of births is less than the number of deaths in all of the
region’s population centers except Krasnoyarsky District and the city
of Znamensk; in other districts (Ikryaninsky, Volodarsky,
Kharabalinsky, Narimanovsky, and Akhtubinsky), the social demographic
situation is considered difficult. The number of deaths over the
number of births is increasing, and birthrates are falling even as
the number of women of childbearing age is increasing.
The average age of people living in the region is 35.7 years and the
population distribution by age group is as follows: children from 0
to 15 years, 24.2%; men and women from 16 up to pension age [60 for
men and 55 for women], 57%; and men and women of pension age, 18.8%.
The number of registered marriages among young people between 18 and
25 is decreasing, while the number of divorces is increasing. Over
the last several years, the number of pensioners has remained almost
unchanged at the same time as the proportion of the population of
working age and under has been decreasing, leading to gradual aging
of the region’s population. About 240 000 pensioners are registered
at social welfare agencies and receive monetary and food aid along
with pensions.
Out of the total population of Astrakhan Region, 67% live in urban
areas and only 33% in rural areas.
HISTORY
Astrakhan is an old, hospitable city under the dazzling southern sun,
the pearl of the Lower Volga long known as a major industrial center
not only in Russia, but also in Europe. Astrakhan has been called the
“Fishing Capital”, the “Gateway to the Caspian”; and the “Venice of
the Volga”. All of these names reflect the geographical and economic
position of this outpost and transit center at the mouth of a great
river where vital water and land routes intersect.
The region’s position at the meeting point of East and West has
determined its historical and cultural development. The Lower Volga
and Northern Caspian regions have a unique history as areas where the
tides of different civilizations mingled and new cities were born,
including the capitals of once powerful states like Itil, the center
of the Khazar Kingdom in the 9th century, and Sarai-Batu, the capital
of the Mongolian state known as the Golden Horde.
In 1242, Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, made the Lower
Volga the center of his great state. Sarai-Batu was a city of
splendid palaces and mosques and a center of skilled tradesmen that
stood at the historical crossroads of the Great Volga caravan route
and the Great Silk Road leading from China to Europe and Rome. The
history of Astrakhan itself goes back to the heyday of the Golden
Horde.
After the Astrakhan Khanate was annexed to Russia in 1556, the city
was moved from the right bank of the Volga to the left, where a
Russian fortress (Kremlin) was built in 1558. The Artilleriyskaya (or
Pytochnaya), Krymskaya, and Zhitnaya towers are the oldest ones in
the Kremlin. Altogether, seven of the Kremlin’s guard towers have
been preserved, two of which (Krasnaya and Artilleriyskaya) have been
turned into museums. The buildings of Uspensky Cathedral built in
1710 and the Troitsky Monastery with its late-17th century refectory
halls are splendid examples of old Russian architecture that add to
the beauty of the Kremlin complex, which has become an open-air
museum. The Kremlin’s 80-m-high bell tower ornamented on top with old
chiming tower clocks nearly 3 m in diameter will amaze you with its
grandeur and beauty.
With the annexation of Astrakhan Territory, Russia gained an outlet
to the Caspian Sea for trade with eastern countries. Beginning in the
17th century, Astrakhan won an international reputation as a supplier
of prized fish products, such as black caviar and various kinds of
sturgeon.
Astrakhan acquired the status of a provincial city in 1717; and Peter
the Great established a naval fleet, shipyards, and a port to expand
the Great Volga trade route when he visited Astrakhan in 1722. This
had considerable influence on the city’s subsequent development, and
it became one of the main seaports and shipbuilding centers of
southern Russia.
The names of the best Russian architects of the 18th and 19th
centuries are associated with the Venice of the Volga, and it is not
by chance that Astrakhan is numbered among Russia’s most historically
important cities. The Astrakhan Historical Museum founded in 1837 is
housed in a building constructed in 1911 right in the city center.
Its huge collection of 400 000 items includes unique archeological
and numismatic collections, a rare set of Russian porcelain and
glass, and the Gold Storeroom, where gold and silver jewelry and
weapons of the Scythian and Sarmatian periods (1st millennium B.C.)
are exhibited. Another rare exhibit is the skeleton of a mammoth
three m high with tusks more than five m long, which inhabited the
Lower Volga more than 100 000 years ago. The museum’s collection of
the flora and fauna of Astrakhan Territory is also of continuing
interest.
Despite its long and turbulent history, Astrakhan has retained its
distinctiveness. As in the past, the 16th century Kremlin in the city
center defines its appearance. It long ago became the symbol of
Astrakhan, from which the old streets and quarters of the city opened
out like a fan. The Volga River as a symbol of Russia and its
greatest transport corridor and cultural axis uniting different
peoples and cultures is also part of the Astrakhan lands.
RESOURCES
Astrakhan Region is rightly considered the pearl of the Caspian. Due
to its location in the delta of the Volga River, which flows for more
than 400 km through the region, the territory has an abundance of
water resources. The Caspian Sea and the great Volga are its greatest
assets. Water occupies about 10% of the region; there are nearly 900
rivers in the Volga delta, the deepest being the Bakhtemir, Staraya
Volga, Kizan, Bolda, and Kigach rivers. The region also has no equal
in the world in its abundance and variety of valuable fish species.
Fish are the region’s main resource base: more than 70 species of
fish are found in the Volga and Caspian Sea alone, including a unique
shoal of sturgeon varieties (Russian sturgeon, beluga, and stellate
sturgeon). Most of the black caviar and sturgeon supplied to the
world market comes from Astrakhan Region. Eight fish hatcheries in
the region breed sturgeon and salmon and more than 25 million young
bream and sazan [a member of the carp family] are raised annually.
Astrakhan is a territory of numerous islands, steppes, and a large
number of salt lakes. Sagebrush-saltwort deserts and dry
(desertified) steppes divided by a wide belt of meadows and shrubs
along the main channels of the Volga occupy about 70% of the region.
There are also more than 700 salt lakes and 1300 salt marshes, many
with huge salt reserves. The largest lake is Lake Baskunchak, which
has an area of 115 km2. The Baskunchakskoe deposit produces nearly
80% of all the salt in Russia, and production of bromine salts from
the deposit is currently being set up. The huge lake in the hot
desert and the solitary mountain has attracted people since ancient
times, and figured in many legends and tales of the early nomads.
Soils in the region vary from light chestnut soil in northern
districts, brown semidesert soils in more southerly districts, and
floodplain soils in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga delta.
Alkali and saline soils are found among all types.
Astrakhan Region is the only place in Russia where the vegetation
ranges from shoreline to desert plants. It includes fodder,
industrial, food, and medicinal plants. The combination of these
varieties has created unique plant communities in which 750-850
species of higher plants and more than 700 species of lower plants
such as algae have been identified. More than 400 species of vascular
plants are found in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga delta.
These mainly belong to six families, which make up half the flora of
the Volga delta. Certain rare species are also encountered, including
20 that are vanishing from the region like the dwarf iris, water
chestnut, and sacred lotus. Occurrences of rare ferns are of special
interest.
Forests cover only slightly more than 1% of Astrakhan Region. Typical
species include hardwoods (oak, ash, and elm), softwoods (willow,
poplar), and shrubs (rose willow, oleaster). The forests protect
water bodies in the region and are a favorite place for recreation.
The wildlife of this beautiful territory is rich and surprising.
Slow-moving camels and swift saigas [an Asian antelope] graze on the
boundless steppes, and whole rookeries of Caspian seals can be seen
on the icefields of the Northern Caspian. Wild boars, raccoon dogs,
and ermines inhabit the forests of the Lower Volga; and beavers,
muskrats, and otters live along the numerous rivers and canals.
Nearly 2000 species of insects have been counted. The Lower Volga and
its delta are among the world’s richest bird habitats and nesting
sites. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here, of which
60 are permanent residents and 23 are listed in the Red Book.
Waterfowl hunting is popular in the region. The region’s wildlife, as
a valuable asset, is under government protection.
Astrakhan Region is distinguished by its rich natural resources,
which include a large number of important economic minerals such as
oil, gas, sulfur, salt, bromine, and iodine. The region’s oil fields
are the second largest in European Russia in terms of reserves; and
the Astrakhan gas condensate field, with its deep gas reservoirs and
high hydrogen sulfide content, is considered to be the largest in
Europe. The region also has the necessary raw material base for
producing building materials. For example, cement materials such as
argillaceous chalk, marl, and limestone are found on the
Baskunchak-Kharabali Plain. Deposits of building sand and sandstone
have also been found in the region, and deposits of brick earth and
glass sand are being worked. Large deposits of gypsum, clay-gypsum,
mineral pigments, and gaize [a fine-grained sandstone] are being
explored and developed.
Conditions in Astrakhan Region are favorable for the development of
recreation and health centers for the population. Mineral waters and
the therapeutic sulfurous silty muds of Astrakhan Region’s mineral
lakes form the basis of the region’s recreational resources. One of
the best known lakes is Lake Tinaki located 30 km from Astrakhan. Its
brines have sulfide-chloride and sodium-magnesium contents of 127 to
310 g/l. The lake has an area of 90 km2 and has 23 000 tons of usable
mud reserves. Tinakskaya mineral water is also produced here.
The region has many historical monuments and unique nature preserves
with organized tours.
ECONOMY
Astrakhan Region is part of the Volga economic district. The region’s
favorable geographical location has had a strong influence on its
economic development. The Volga River is a major artery for water
routes from countries on the Caspian Sea to the Black, Mediterranean,
Baltic, and North seas. Astrakhan is a natural through trade center
and important transportation hub at the meeting place of Europe and
Asia with their profitable transportation routes. An international
airport has been opened and airplanes now fly to almost everywhere in
the world. An international seaport that will be Russia’s
second-largest port in terms of size and traffic is under
construction. Despite the political and economic crises that followed
the collapse of the Soviet Union, Astrakhan Region made a successful
recovery and is now one of Russia’s most upcoming regions.
A diversified structure and high potential characterize the region’s
industry. The region has abundant natural resources that include
fish, minerals, land, oil, gas, and gas condensate. There are five
oil and gas fields and one high-sulfur gas condensate field. Experts
estimate that the gas condensate field alone has enough reserves for
many centuries; there are currently 80 producing wells and a stock of
130 operating wells. In addition, five gas pretreatment units have
been put into operation. According to existing data, Astrakhan’s oil
fields are approximately the fifth largest in the world.
Production of economic minerals is the basis of the regional economy.
Other sectors such as the fish processing, food, light, chemical, and
engineering industries and water transport are actively developing.
Production of stable gas condensate ensures fuel self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, over the past ten years the share of the fuel and energy
sector in the regional economy has been increasing, and considering
the prospects for development, this trend is expected to continue.
The fishing industry is one of the oldest industries in Astrakhan
Region. Fish canning plants and fish processing factory ships process
the catch.
The engineering industry mainly specializes in ship building and
repair for the fishing industry, metal-cutting machinery,
compressors, and a variety of other devices and equipment.
Economic development is impossible if the region cannot attract
investments; therefore, the government of Astrakhan Region is
implementing measures aimed at creating the conditions for active
capital investment, as well as creating a legislative basis to
protect invested funds.
The efforts of the Astrakhan City Administration and City Council to
stabilize the city’s socioeconomic development are producing results.
For example, an upward trend has been noted in the fuel and energy
complex and operation of the food and construction industries has
stabilized. Moreover, in the last few years, Astrakhan Region has led
the country in housing construction growth rates. Foreign investors
from Bulgaria have participated in solving this problem.
The banking sector and financial institutions are expanding, and
currency and share markets have started operating. Twenty-six banks
and branches of other Russian banks operate in Astrakhan, and
favorable conditions for investors are being created.
The region’s first financial and industrial group, Astrakhan
Shipbuilder (FPG Astrakhansky korabel), has been set up and includes
large shipbuilding companies, the Volga-Caspian Joint Stock Bank
(Volgo-Kaspiysky AB), and investment and finance companies.
The Astrakhan Chamber of Commerce and Industry represents the
interests of the business community and its associations. It takes an
active part in ensuring effective cooperation between businessmen and
government agencies, defends the interests of the region’s
businesses, and participates in business development programs. The
Chamber unites more than 100 companies, organizations, firms, banks,
unions, and associations in the region and acts in accordance with
the Law of the Russian Federation “On Chambers of Commerce and
Industry in the Russian Federation.”
The companies and organizations of Astrakhan and Astrakhan Region
have noticeably expanded the scope of their export-import operations
in recent years. Once they have incorporated, enterprises actively
search for new sales markets for their products and find reliable
customers, including foreign customers.
The Astrakhan Paint Factory (Astrakhansky lakokrasochny zavod) was
one of the finalists in the All-Russian competition “The 100 Best
Goods in Russia.” This once again confirms the stability of a company
that even in 1995 had acquired the name of “Russian Economic Leader”
and become one of the country’s 5000 leading companies. Its products,
which include varnish, paint, household chemical goods, and packaging
paper, long ago found their market niche for goods produced by
domestic industry.
Salt has been produced at Lake Baskunchak for nearly 150 years. The
largest producer of salt for industry and agriculture today is AO
Bassol.
Astrakhan shipbuilders have been working with various European firms
for five years. Astrakhan’s AO 3rd International Shipyard (
Astrakhansky sudostroitelny zavod im. III Internatsionala) has
received a lucrative order from Holland for the construction of three
dry cargo ships. The Astrakhan Shipbuilder financial and industrial
group has concluded another contract for the construction of three
sea-going dry cargo ships for Hungary. The general contractor is AO
Marine Shipbuilding Yard (Morskoi sudostroitelny zavod).
The management of AO Astrakhan Glass Fiber (Astrakhanskoe
steklovolokno) worked successfully with a Czech firm to deliver its
products and has now concluded a profitable contract with the
Romanian firm Stizomat to supply fiberglass thread and glass fiber.
The city is pinning great hopes on partnerships. Two agreements have
been concluded with twin cities in America and the cities of
Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Ruse (Bulgaria). Astrakhan also has close
ties with neighboring Russian cities such as Rostov-on-Don, Saratov,
Stavropol, and Volgograd.
AUTHORITIES
The Administration of Astrakhan Region headed by the Governor is the
highest executive body. The Governor is Astrakhan Region’s highest
official.
The executive branch of the government develops and implements
* financial and investment policy in Astrakhan Region;
* government measures to develop the social sphere, improve the
well-being of the population, and protect the work and health of
the people.
It also adopts measures to
* uphold the law and protect the rights and freedoms of the
citizens of Astrakhan Region;
* develop entrepreneurship and restrict monopolistic activity.
District and city administrations and the regional Administration
exercise executive authority in the region.
The Astrakhan Regional Representative Assembly in the highest
legislative body.
The Astrakhan Regional Court, district (city) courts, and the
Arbitration Court of Astrakhan Region exercise judicial authority in
Astrakhan Region.
CULTURE AND ART
Astrakhan Region is considered the industrial center of the Lower
Volga, but it is also the home of many leading cultural and artistic
figures. Cultural points of interest include theaters, a
conservatory, a philharmonic, a combined historical and architectural
museum preserve, the Kustodiev Art Gallery, a large number of
museums, and of course the Kremlin.
The Kustodiev Gallery founded in 1918 is the pride of Astrakhan. Its
exhibits include paintings by Boris Kustodiev himself and other
masters of Russian painting. History lovers will be interested in
visiting the Kremlin, which houses exhibits of the Astrakhan Museum
of History and Architecture. Its collection includes more than 250
000 items that reflect the rich history of the Lower Volga from
Mesolithic times to the present. Numerous art schools, the Vlasov Art
College, and cultural institutions train professionals in eight
different cultural specialties. The teaching staff includes many
honored cultural workers and artists.
The Valeriya Barsova and Mariya Maksakova festivals that attract both
Russian and foreign performers are held in Astrakhan.
The Mussorgsky Music School (the oldest music school in the Volga
region), the Astrakhan Conservatory, the Astrakhan Regional
Philharmonic, and a new music theater preserve and advance
Astrakhan’s rich musical culture.
Astrakhan is also the home of many famous talented Russians,
including film producer Vladimir Menshov [best known for the film
Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears], actor Vladimir Steklov, pop singer
Igor Nadzhiev, and poet Velimir Khlebnikov.
The works of Khlebnikov, who loved the broad expanses of the Volga
River and the beauty of the Caspian Sea, are filled with love for the
people. He said, “One of the secrets of creative work is to visualize
the people you are writing for and find words in the center of life
of these people.”
Official site of the Administration of Astrakhan Region:
© 1991-2006 ZAO “Kommersant. Publishing House”.
–Boundary_(ID_WdC2muKjUbF6TNv+ckWi5 g)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Genocide armenien: Accoyer (UMP) “regrette” que le PS legifère sur l’histoire
Agence France Presse
6 octobre 2006 vendredi 2:23 PM GMT
Le president du groupe UMP a l’Assemblee nationale, Bernard Accoyer,
a declare vendredi a l’AFP “regretter” que le PS veuille “legiferer a
nouveau sur l’histoire”, a propos de la proposition de loi PS reprimant
la negation du genocide armenien.
“Le president de la Republique a rappele lors de sa visite en Armenie
que la France avait reconnu officiellement le genocide armenien et
oeuvrait pour une meilleure entente entre les Etats de la region”,
a declare M. Accoyer.
“En tant que president de groupe, je regrette que le groupe PS de
l’Assemblee ait juge utile de proposer au Parlement de legiferer a
nouveau sur l’histoire”, a-t-il ajoute.
En visite a Erevan, Jacques Chirac avait juge samedi dernier que la
Turquie devait reconnaître le genocide armenien avant de pouvoir
adherer a l’Union europeenne. Il avait en outre estime que la
proposition de loi socialiste faisant de la negation du genocide un
delit “relève de la polemique”.
La Turquie a averti vendredi la France que les relations bilaterales
allaient souffrir en cas de vote, jeudi prochain, de la proposition
de loi PS visant a penaliser la negation du genocide armenien de 1915.
–Boundary_(ID_x33v+12dCTuF45qA6lRAoA)–

SOAD Lead Singer Welcomes Blocking Hoagland Confirmation
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2006 17:50 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serj Tankian, lead singer for the Grammy
Award-winning band System of a Down, has welcomed the “hold” placed
by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on the confirmation of Richard
Hoagland as U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia until the Bush Administration ends its denial
of the Armenian Genocide, Armenian National Committee of America
reported. “His principled stand represents a powerful contribution
to the worldwide effort to end the denial of justice for this crime,
and break forever the worldwide cycle of genocide,” said Serj Tankian.
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) placed a “hold” on the confirmation
of Richard E. Hoagland as the next U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia. In blocking the Hoagland nomination,
Sen. Menendez stressed that, “as a leader and defender of democracy,
it is our nation’s responsibility to speak out against injustice and
support equality and human rights. But if the Bush Administration
continues to refuse to acknowledge the atrocities of the Armenian
Genocide, then there is certainly cause for great alarm, which is
why I am placing a hold on this nominee.”