AZERI DEFENCE MINISTER, US MEDIATOR DISCUSS KARABAKH
Azeri press Agency
4 Oct 06
3 October, Baku: Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev received
the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, yesterday [2
October], a source at the Defence Ministry has told APA. Abiyev said
that the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks over the Karabakh settlement,
which have been continuing for many years, were fruitless. He said
that the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group yielded no positive
results so far. The defence minister said that the non-resolution
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was a major obstacle to the
development of strategic Azerbaijani-US relations and recalled that
Azerbaijani territories were occupied by Armenia.
“Yerevan should understand that the policy conducted by Armenia is
putting it on the edge of a precipice. Armenia is on the sidelines
from all regional economic projects. Azerbaijan is developing in
the economic sphere and increasing its military capacity. Armenia’s
destructive position, the occupation of our territories and the
presence of unregistered arms and ammunition in these territories
urge us to do this. We again state that Azerbaijan will not cede an
inch of its territories. The conflict should be resolved within the
framework of international laws and territorial integrity of the
states. Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity by other
means if the peace talks yield no results,” Abiyev said.
Bryza said that Azerbaijan was ahead of Armenia in all spheres and
called on Azerbaijan to be patient. The co-chair informed the minister
about his activities and added that along with co-chairmanship in the
OSCE Minsk group, he was also involved in Europe’s energy security and
the development of US-Azerbaijani friendly relations. He said that
Azerbaijan was an important country to the USA and it supported the
USA in the fight against international terrorism. Bryza said that
the international community supported a solution to the conflict
through talks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LESSONS IN LIFE IN THE WILDERNESS
Birmingham Evening Mail, UK
October 4, 2006, Wednesday
Worcs Edition
TV Choice FAMILY BRAT CAMP (C4, 9pm)
IN PREVIOUS series of this programme, troublesome teens were taken to
strict American camps in the middle of nowhere to see if a spell of
roughing it would give them a chance to think about the consequences
of their bad behaviour and instil some much-needed discipline.
Generally, the experiment seemed to work, but some viewers may have
wondered what happened when the youngsters got back to Blighty –
if their home environment hadn’t changed, wouldn’t they simply slip
back into old bad habits?
It shouldn’t be a problem for the brats taking part in the new version
of the show, as this time they aren’t the only ones who’ll be getting
the short, sharp shock treatment – their parents are going along too.
The dysfunctional families are being shipped off to the Idaho desert
to see if living in virtually Stone Age conditions will force the
mums and dads to accept they are at least partly responsible for
their offspring’s out-of-control antics.
But will the harsh regime bring the troubled clans closer together
or simply force them further apart?
In the first episode, both generations find sleeping in the wilderness
a shock to the system.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? (BBC1, 9pm)
BARGAIN Hunt presenter David Dickinson may be extremely knowledgeable
about the history of antiques, but it seems he’s less well informed
about his own past.
In the latest edition of this fascinating series, the flamboyant
celebrity goes in search of his roots – a process that’s particularly
poignant for him because he was adopted at birth.
David only discovered this by chance at the age of 11, but his
adoptive parents did tell him the name of his biological mother,
Eugenie Gulessarian, a local woman of Armenian heritage, and it’s
this part of his family tree he wants to concentrate on.
He says: “I think as a little boy, having found out that I came from
this Armenian stock, I’ve always wanted to know more about it. As I
got into my twenties and thirties I did find out more, but eventually
that came to a stop. So I’m hoping that this programme will take me
the full journey.”
It seems he’s achieved his aim when he meets a long-lost relative
who can shed more light on his family, and David also discovers some
surprising similarities between himself and his ancestors.
GRAPHIC: HISTORICAL… David Dickinson explores his heritage.’
BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS… families head to the Idaho desert in a
back-to-basics attempt to curb their tearaway teenagers’ out-of-control
behaviour – and get the parents to take responsibility.

YOURLIFE: WE LOVE TELLY! – DOCUMENTARY WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
By Jane Simon
The Mirror, UK
October 4, 2006 Wednesday
3 Star Edition
DAVID DICKINSON BBC1, 9PM
“WHAT can you say when you find out your grandmother was a bit of
a tart?” muses David Dickinson as he trips over one more unexpected
skeleton in his family’s closet.
Adopted as a baby, Dickinson only found out the truth about his
biological parents when he was 11, and his search for his own heritage
uncovers a sentimental side to the jovial Bargain Hunt presenter that
viewers won’t have guessed at.
Although he wrote to his mother, Eugenie Gulessarian for 20 years,
she refused to ever meet him. Tonight, he begins to understand why
and he also discovers that he has more in common with his Armenian
ancestors than he ever imagined, as his quest takes him to Istanbul,
and a house that looks unchanged since the day when his great
grandfather lived in it.

THE MOST EMOTIONAL HUNT OF HIS LIFE
The Herald (Glasgow)
October 4, 2006
David Dickinson is led to Armenia in the search for his natural mother
during tonight’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, 9pm
Who Do You Think You Are?
BBC1, 9pm David Dickinson, the man who found a career in the detritus
of an antiques showroom, is not the product of a meeting between a
Malteser, a road surface and a large steamroller, though his skin
colour might suggest otherwise. He searches for his natural mother in
a complicated but touching story that reveals his links to Armenian
traders.

FAMILY ROOTS IN THE BAZAARS OF ISTANBUL
The Sentinel (Stoke), UK
October 4, 2006 Wednesday
David Dickinson, the only man in Britain to wash his face with Brasso,
goes in search of his roots, the main surprise being that he doesn’t
end up at the foot of a mahogany tree.
Dickinson’s parents, Jim and Joyce, adopted him as a baby, something
he didn’t find out until he was 11. But he confesses he had always
felt different.
His birth mother was an Armenian called Eugenie Gulessarian who had
lived locally. In his 20s, Dickinson tracked her down. Although they
corresponded by letter and talked on the phone, they never actually
met. She died in 1989.
When Dickinson later acquired some photographs of Eugenie, and her
parents, Hrant and Marie-Adelaide, he was struck by how much they
resembled him.
And the similarities didn’t end there. Hrant, like Dickinson, had
been a successful textiles entrepreneur in Manchester, having arrived
from Constantinople in 1904. Remarkably, it turns out Hrant’s home
was only 20 minutes away from his own.
Dickinson admits a fascination for his grandfather. “I have always
felt I had been close to him as a little boy,” he says. “And I
think I feel a lot of understanding for him. I can see the slight
old-fashioned-ness. I can see the slight toughness. It is in me, and
I think I’ve always looked towards him and, as a teenager, I always –
rather silly I suppose – modelled myself on him.”
Dickinson travels to Istanbul to trace Hrant’s ancestors, stumbling
across a story of massacre and persecution.
Towards the end of his visit a gentleman called Hacik Guleser gets
in contact. He turns out to be Dickinson’s third cousin.

DISPLEASURE OVER END OF GEORGIAN CHILDREN STUDY IN RUS SCHOOLS
by Eka Mekhuzla
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 4, 2006 Wednesday 01:12 PM EST
Georgian Education Minister Kakha Lomaya expressed displeasure over
the decision to end the studies of children, Georgian citizens, in
Russian schools belonging to the Russian Defence Ministry in Tbilisi,
Batumi and Akhalkalaki.
Lomaya told reporters that children, Georgian citizens, who attended
schools belonging to the Russian Defence Ministry in Georgia would
go to nearby schools in charge of the Georgian Ministry of Education.
Lomaya also said that teachers, Georgian citizens, who worked in those
Russian schools and who can work there no longer would be employed
in schools of the Georgian Ministry of Education.
>From Wednesday, children of Georgian citizens no longer attend three
Russian schools belonging to the Russian Defence Ministry in Tbilisi,
Batumi and Akhalkalaki, Itar-Tass learned from the Russian troops
group in the Transcaucasia.
Representative of the Russian troops group said such was the decision
of the Russian Defence Ministry. “From now on children of Georgian
citizens should study in other schools in Georgian territory.
This decision has no national connection. It equally applies to all
children of Georgian citizens – Georgian, Russian, Armenian – and of
people of various other nationalities who studied in these schools,
Itar-Tass was told.
The decision may be connected with the gradual decrease of the number
of pupils. Fewer children continue going to these schools with the
stage-by-stage withdrawal of Russian servicemen from Georgia. The
Russian military base at Akhalkalaki will be closed before October 1,
2007. (Heavy equipment and armaments have already been withdrawn from
the base.)
The base at Batumi and the headquarters of the Russian troops group
in Tbilisi will end functioning in 2008. These schools will be closed
upon the Russian servicemen’s withdrawal.
Some 3,000 schools of the Georgian Ministry of Education now function
in Georgia. Most of them are Georgian schools, and there are also
some 100 Russian schools and several hundred Armenian and Azerbaijani
schools.

RUSSIAN DM-RUN SCHOOLS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO GEORGIAN CITIZENS
by Tengiz Pachkoria
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 4, 2006 Wednesday
Starting from Wednesday children of Georgia’s citizens will
be deprived of the opportunity to study at any of the three
Russian-language schools of Russia’s Defence Ministry in Tbilisi,
Batumi and Akhalkalaki, a source at the headquarters of the group of
Russian troops in Transcaucasia told Itar-Tass.
“That’s the decision made by Russia’s Defence Ministry,” the source
said.
“It is not ethnically motivated. It applies to the children of all
Georgian citizens – Russians, Armenians, Georgians and other ethnic
groups. From now on they will have to attend classes elsewhere,”
the source said.
To a certain extent this decision was prompted by the gradual reduction
in the number of school students, as Russian troops leave Georgia. The
Russian military base in Akhalkalaki will be closed down before
October 1, 2007, and that in Batumi, as well as the Tbilisi-based
headquarters of the group of Russian troops in Transcaucasia will
stop operating during 2008.
After the withdrawal is completed, Russia’s Defence Ministry will
close all schools it runs altogether.
Currently, Georgia has a total of 3,000 schools. Instruction in most
of them is in the official language. Along with Georgian schools,
there are about 100 Russian language ones and several hundreds of
Armenian and Azerbaijani schools.

RANKINGS OF FOURTH-GRADERS’ SKILLS
Raleigh News & Observer
Scripps Howard News Service
October 04, 2006, Wednesday 12:13 PM EST
Few Americans know the rankings by their formal name, but most people
know that the math skills of children from the United States don’t
stack up well when compared with other countries.
The rankings are called TIMSS – Trends in International Mathematics
and Science Study, and they are published every four years out of
Boston College.
Rankings of fourth-graders’ skills in 2003, the most recent year
available, produced the following results:
1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. Japan
4. Chinese Taipei
5. Belgium-Flemish
6. Netherlands
7. Latvia
8. Lithuania
9. Russian Federation
10. England
11. Hungary
12. United States
13. Cyprus
14. Republic of Moldova
15. Italy
16. Austria
17. New Zealand
18. Scotland
19. Slovenia
20. Armenia
21. Norway
22. Iran
23. Philippines
24. Morocco
25. Tunisia
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, )
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LE PREMIER MINISTRE ARMENIEN RECU PAR JEAN-LOUIS DEBRE
Agence France Presse
4 octobre 2006 mercredi 4:18 PM GMT
Le Premier ministre armenien, Andranik Markarian, sera recu a l’Hôtel
de Lassay le 17 octobre par le president de l’Assemblee nationale,
Jean-Louis Debre, a-t-on appris mercredi de source parlementaire.
Cette visite interviendra moins d’une semaine après l’examen, le 12
octobre, d’une proposition de loi socialiste reprimant la negation
du genocide armenien.
Le texte, qui divise les partis au-dela du clivage droite/gauche,
prevoit de punir d’un an d’emprisonnement et de 45.000 euros d’amende
la negation du genocide armenien.
Il avait deja ete discute le 18 mai mais son examen avait ete
interrompu faute de temps. Les deputes UMP et le gouvernement avaient
multiplie les incidents de procedure pour retarder les debats. Le
vote n’avait pu avoir lieu.
La Turquie avait menace la France de retorsions commerciales.
Le texte a ete reinscrit par le groupe socialiste le 12 octobre dans sa
“niche” (seance d’initiative parlementaire).
En visite a Erevan, le 30 septembre, le president de la Republique
Jacques Chirac avait estime que la proposition de loi socialiste
“relève de la polemique”.
–Boundary_(ID_wzIiNIBsxN0k2Qx21 qDl9Q)–

CHRISTOPH BLOCHER SE REND EN TURQUIE DANS UN CONTEXTE FRAGILE
Le Temps, Suisse
4 octobre 2006
RELATIONS BILATERALES. Le ministre de Justice et police sera a Ankara
juste après une visite du secretaire d’Etat Michael Ambuhl. La question
armenienne risque d’etre abordee.
Un curieux ballet diplomatique suisse se deploie ces jours a Ankara.
Christoph Blocher se rend ce mercredi en Turquie alors que le
secretaire d’Etat aux Affaires etrangères Michael Ambuhl vient d’y
faire un saut et qu’une delegation du Seco s’y trouve deja.
Officiellement, ce chasse-croise tient du hasard du calendrier. Mais
dans un contexte plutôt tendu – les relations entre la Suisse et la
Turquie ont connu des episodes houleux ces dernières annees -, ces
visites successives n’ont rien d’anodin. Et il y a fort a parier que
Christoph Blocher sera amene a devoir expliquer une nouvelle fois la
position de la Suisse par rapport a la delicate question armenienne.
Christoph Blocher se rend a Ankara sur invitation de son homologue
Cemil Cicek. Il prononcera un discours lors de la ceremonie d’ouverture
d’un symposium marquant les 80 ans du Code civil turc, fortement
inspire du code suisse, avant un tete-a-tete avec le ministre de
la Justice turc. Le conseiller federal UDC s’entretiendra egalement
avec le premier ministre et ministre de l’Interieur Abdulakadir Asku,
puis avec la presidente de la Cour constitutionnelle. Enfin, il ira
deposer une couronne de fleurs au mausolee de Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
fondateur de la Turquie moderne.
Voila pour le programme officiel.
Mais si Christoph Blocher doit s’attendre a ce que Cemil Cicek
aborde le sujet qui fâche les Turcs, celui du “genocide armenien”,
Michael Ambuhl lui aura en quelque sorte prepare le terrain. Le numero
deux des Affaires etrangères a rencontre lundi Ali Tinaz Tuygan, le
sous-secretaire d’Etat turc aux Affaires etrangères, pour une troisième
session de consultations politiques. Les deux hommes ont “procede a
un tour d’horizon de tous les aspects des relations bilaterales et
aborde des sujets regionaux et internationaux d’interet commun, ainsi
que le processus d’integration europeenne”, souligne un communique
commun des deux ministères.
Selon nos informations, la question armenienne a bien ete abordee.
Michael Ambuhl a rappele une nouvelle fois que, contrairement au
National, le Conseil federal ne reconnaît pas le “genocide” et reste
d’avis qu’il appartient aux historiens de faire la lumière sur la
nature des evenements de 1915. Et que, s’agissant des poursuites
penales contre deux intellectuels turcs pour negationnisme, la Suisse
connaît une stricte separation des pouvoirs. Mais le communique
prefère souligner que les deux parties ont une volonte commune
“d’approfondir et diversifier leur dialogue et d’intensifier la
cooperation bilaterale”.
Voila un ton pacificateur qui tranche avec celui d’autres communiques
divulgues ces derniers mois. En automne 2003, les autorites turques
decident d’annuler le voyage de Micheline Calmy-Rey, furieuses que
le Grand Conseil vaudois ait accepte, le 23 septembre, un postulat
reconnaissant le genocide armenien. Peu de temps après, en decembre
2003, c’est le Conseil national qui reconnaît le genocide. Ce qui ne
contribue pas a apaiser les tensions. Micheline Calmy-Rey n’effectuera
finalement son voyage turc qu’en mars 2005. Son homologue Abdullah
Gul se montre alors relativement ouvert: il va jusqu’a dire etre
pret a mettre sur pied une commission independante d’experts “pour
elucider les evenements de 1915”.
La detente sera de courte duree. Un nouvel accroc survient en
mai 2005: l’enquete ouverte par un procureur de Winterthour contre
l’historien Yusuf Halacoglu, qui a publiquement minimise le genocide
sur territoire suisse, irrite fortement Ankara. Trois mois plus tard,
le nationaliste de gauche Dogu Perincek est a son tour poursuivi
pour avoir une nouvelle fois qualifie le genocide de “mensonge des
imperialistes”. Cette fois, c’est Joseph Deiss, alors en charge du
Departement federal de l’economie, qui fait les frais de la colère
turque: sa visite est annulee. Les tentatives diplomatiques menees
a Berne et a Ankara pour tenter de calmer le jeu n’y auront rien fait.
Nouvel eclat en avril 2006: le Ministère de la defense turc exclut
sans explications l’avionneur Pilatus base a Stans d’un appel d’offres
pour de nouveaux avions d’entraînement. A Berne, personne ne veut
faire de lien avec la question armenienne. Mais des fonctionnaires
turcs se chargeront de le faire via des medias locaux.
Autre point de friction entre Berne et Ankara, celui touchant la
minorite kurde. Ankara deplore que la Suisse ne reconnaisse pas,
comme le font les Etats-Unis et l’UE, le Parti des travailleurs du
Kurdistan (PKK, rebaptise Kongra-Gel) comme entite terroriste. Voila
encore un point que Cemil Cicek pourrait etre tente d’aborder avec
Christoph Blocher. Et sur lequel le ministre UDC se contentera de
rappeler poliment la position officielle du Conseil federal.
–Boundary_(ID_bBFvrhOo68HoLSFwhCDTbQ)–