800 ARMENIANS FROM KARABAKH STILL REPORTED MISSING
ARMENPRESS
Aug 30 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: A state commission in Nagorno-Karabakh,
set up to deal with prisoners of war, missing persons and hostages
said some 800 residents of Nagorno-Karabakh are deemed still missing
since the war with Azerbaijan in early 1990-s.
Viktor Kocharian, head of the commission, said to Armenpress that was
not the exact number as there is little information about how many
Armenians from the Shahumian region of Azerbaijan are missing. He
said members of the commission are meeting with former residents of
that region to learn if they have missing family members.
Deputy foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Masis Mailian told
Armenpress no prisoners of war are held in Karabakh. He said sometimes
Azeri soldiers cross the line of contact into Armenian-controlled
territory. But he said the International Committee of Red Cross
is notified about this sort of incidents which helps to repatriate
soldiers.
A senior official of the Council of Europe, Leo Platvoit, who deals
with PoWs and missing persons and heads a PACE ad hoc committee is due
to visit Karabakh in September. The official visited already Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan and is expected to have his report prepared
early next year.

MODERN DRUNKARD
by Fern Siegel
MediPost Publications, New York
Aug. 30, 2006
Admit it–if you walked by a newsstand, you’d pick it up. So would
Carrie Nation. Even Lynne Cheney might give it a glance. That’s what
catchy titles are all about–so outrageous, you can’t turn away.
True, much of the pro-drinking prose results in a literary hangover,
but who could resist the cover line “Inebriated in Iran”? So throw a
few cubes into your highball–if it was good enough for Nick Charles,
it’s good enough for you–and down Modern Drunkard. (And if you
don’t know Nick Charles, you’re in for a treat. Rent “The Thin Man,”
in which William Powell plays Nick Charles, the suave, cheeky 1930s
PI with panache–aided by enough gin, scotch and bourbon to keep the
Titanic afloat.)
Now, we’re not suggesting that excess is laudable–or that MD appeals
to anyone other than males 18-to-25 who consider alcohol a second
career. True, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill produced great art,
but talent played a bigger role than Tanqueray. Yet MD capitalizes on
a renegade motif, film-noir design and a novel line when soliciting
subscriptions: “it’s hip, it’s dangerous, it’ll fill your family with
dread.” Especially if you’re applying to law school.
Yet for a magazine that shows up on a New York newsstand, the ads
are parochial–all Denver-based. That’s because the editorial staff,
which proudly claims a bar in the office, is on a perennial Rocky
Mountain high. Apparently, so is the sales team, whose inventory
extends to local pubs and the occasional attorney, no doubt suing
on behalf of the injured party in a bar brawl. Strangely, what you
won’t find are liquor ads. What you will find is a poetry editor.
Submissions show up in “Postcards from Skid Row,” where one
enterprising entrant wrote a haiku to Jack Daniels. It’s Sylvia Plath
for barflies.
But first, it’s necessary to plow through the frat-boy groaners, like
“The Wingman’s Handbook,” a salute to men who help their pal get the
girl. The wingman’s job is to distract her friend so his buddy can
score. Of course, nine times out of 10 wingman and company aren’t
wading in the deep end of the gene pool. And the women, far from
distractible, are tripping over each other in their race to the exit.
It’s one thing to imagine a hot babe, a couple of Stolis and a night
of bliss. But it only counts if you don’t have to put money on the
dresser.
However, MD understands brand identity, clearly reinforced with
merchandise, graphics and stories. Each piece has an alcohol link,
whether the subject is political, historic or cultural. For instance,
“FDR: Portrait of a Drinking President,” salutes our most-esteemed
commander-in-chief for beating the Nazis, spearheading The New Deal
and repealing Prohibition, though MD would put axing Prohibition
ahead of Hitler. Yes, its priorities are screwy, but that’s the point:
It’s all about the booze.
Which is why MD notes FDR’s love of hooch in detail. Many biographers
have written about his–and his sons’–drinking, so it’s not a reach.
The article notes the real reason FDR legalized drink: the revenue.
Alcohol generated big bucks in state and federal tax dollars,
something Depression-era America desperately needed. Never mind that
after reading the newspaper–then and now–it’s easy to see why gin
is considered a vitamin.
Similarly, “The Rise of the Dives” takes a socio-cultural look at
the working-class bar and its psychological significance to patrons
of all classes. The article quotes Jim Atkinson, who, in the book
The View from Nowhere, describes dives as a place of “transcendent
egalitarianism.” Or, it could be a reaction to the Botox-obsessed,
hit-the-gym, fast-track lifestyle. Whatever else a dive is, it isn’t
a place where fitness and drive reign. It is, in an odd way, authentic.
Still, one takes MD’s wino wisdom, et. al. with a chaser, though I
agree with its purist approach to martinis: Gin. Vermouth. Olive.
Forget the peach gin or apple martinis or lemongrass vermouth. It would
be like Ann Coulter embracing Hillary Clinton; it’s just not done.
Nor, despite evidence to the contrary, would a sane person touch
alcohol in Iran. The mullahs decreed that anyone caught drinking would
be subject to 40 lashes. It may be, as the writer of “Inebriated
in Iran” suggests, that the Armenian Christian minority and even a
few Muslims have their liquor connections. But is a Tuborg worth a
flogging? MD sticks to its credo, but fellas, there are limits. How
drunk do you have to be before the concept of whipped into shape
kicks in?
Fern Siegel is Deputy Editor of MediaPost.

MEPS PREPARE CRITICAL REPORT ON TURKEY
By Honor Mahony
EUobserver.com, Belgium
Aug. 30, 2006
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Almost a year after Turkey officially opened
EU membership talks with Brussels, MEPs are preparing a report strongly
critical of the country’s progress on human rights issues.
The 11-page draft report, drawn up by Dutch centre-right MEP Camiel
Eurlings, says the the European Parliament “deplores the fact that
only limited progress has been reported over the last year as regards
fundamental rights and freedoms” and “deplores the absence of progress
in the area of freedom of religion since parliament’s last report.”
It notes in the preamble that “freedom of expression is far from
satisfactory” and that “corruption remains a serious problem.”
The resolution also stresses that EU member states’ negotiations with
the country, opened last year in October, represent an “open-ended
process and does not lead a priori and automatically to accession.”
Managing Turkey Tapping into a hot discussion held earlier this
year on whether the EU will manage to take on board the huge and
poor country, the draft also states the “EU’s capacity to absorb
Turkey while maintaining the momentum of integration is an important
consideration…”.
The key topic of Ankara’s non-recognition of Cyprus also features with
the report reminding Turkey that changing this remains a “necessary
component of the accession process.”
However, it does also note some positive aspects of Turkey’s EU efforts
saying that it “welcomes the adoption of the law on internally placed
people” and “recognises the improvements in legislation … as regards
the policy of zero tolerance towards torture.”
The report, which appears annually, is causing the usual ripples
in the EU assembly with MEPs proposing 343 amendments – around 115
pages. Currently, they are trying to forge agreement on eight pages of
“compromise amendments.”
MEPs from across the political spectrum are trying to get their view
point into the report with comments on the new anti-terror laws in
Turkey, on honour killings, on the genocide in Armenia and on changing
the electoral threshold for representation in the parliament.
The Cyprus issue The report is due to be voted on in the foreign
affairs committee on Monday (4 September) and will then be put before
the whole of the parliament, probably in late September.
The parliament is keen to get its vote and opinion on the table as
quickly as possible so it can influence the European Commission’s
annual report on Turkey’s accession progress – due out on 26 October.
For its part, the commission’s report is set to be highly critical of
Ankara’s continued refusal to implement the Ankara protocol with the EU
having repeatedly urged Turkey to lift its embargo on Cypriot-flagged
vessels and aircraft as part of the country’s membership negotiations.
Turkey’s signature of the protocol extending a customs accord with
the EU to the bloc’s 10 new states – including Cyprus – should result
in the embargo being lifted.
Ankara has indicated that any concessions to Nicosia would be
dependent on moves by the EU to end the economic isolation of the
Turkish-populated north of Cyprus – a stance Brussels has rejected.
A critical report by Brussels and continued resistance by Ankara on
the Cyprus issue is set to bring the whole issue to a political head
later this autumn.

DARCHINYAN TURNING TO TYSON FOR ROUNDED EDUCATION
Peter Kogoy
The Australian, Australia
Aug. 30, 2006
VIC DARCHINYAN, the “Raging Bull” of the world’s flyweight division,
is turning to Mike Tyson to round off his ringcraft education before
his next title defence in Las Vegas.
The unbeaten Darchinyan, 30, and holder of the IBO and IBF belts, will
spar with former heavyweight world champion Tyson at his American
training base over the next month before tackling Filipino Glenn
Gonzales Donaire on October 7.
The southpaw, who represented his native Armenia at the Sydney
Olympics, is hoping working out with Tyson will increase his already
awesome punching power. Darchinyan’s bout with Donaire at the 50.8kg
limit, will be a co-featured fight on the Showboat-televised card
headlined between lightweight world champion Diego Corrales and
Joel Casamayor.
“Tyson was one of the most explosive punchers in boxing history,”
Darchinyan said.
“I know I’m going over there (to America) to learn.
“I believe Tyson will make a very good teacher, working alongside
Jeff Fenech and Billy Hussein.
“My own punching power is very good, but I want to make it even
stronger, that’s why both Jeff and Billy believe that Tyson will be
a big help.”
Darchinyan, the winner of two world titles in his career, boasts a
perfect unbeaten record of 30 wins, 21 by knockout.
The Sydney-based fighter turned to Donaire after undefeated WBO
champion Omar Narvaez of Argentina declined a unification bout of
the flyweight ranks.
“If Narvaez doesn’t want to fight me, I can’t force him,” Darchinyan
said. “He is running scared.
“He doesn’t want to lose his world title to me.
“But I know Donaire will enter the ring wanting to fight me.
“I’ve watched him on film this week. He is a hard puncher, his right
uppercut is probably his best punch.
“I’m going back to America to show that I am a worthy champion and
to keep my record in one piece. I’m going back over to show that they
will see that I am the best flyweight.”
Donaire, 26, boasts an overall record of 16 wins, two draws and one
loss. He’s also won won three out of the past four times he’s stepped
into the ring.
Darchinyan’s co-trainer Hussein is expecting a much tougher test
of Darchinyan’s ringcraft compared to his past two fights against
Diosdado Gabi in March and Luis Maldonado in June this year.
Both fights finished to the good of Darchinyan and were stopped well
inside the distance.
“I have no doubt Donaire will be a tougher opponent than either Gabi
or Maldonado,” Hussein said. “He saw Vic beat up his mate Gabi and
asked for a shot at him.
“He’s dangerous and I know he will come to fight on the night.”
When asked why Darchinyan is forced to go overseas to fight, Hussein
said: “He wants to fight here, but unfortunately there isn’t a promoter
in this country prepared to take a chance with Vic.
“The last couple of times he has fought here (in Australia) we didn’t
get a big crowd and financially it was difficult.
“But he’s making a big name for himself in America and that’s where
he’s got to go.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARCHBISHOP: IRAN ENTITLED TO PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
Sari, Mazandaran prov
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Aug. 30, 2006
Head of Iranian Catholic Armenians’ Prelacy Council Archbishop Nishan
Karakahayan said on Wednesday that Iran is entitled to peaceful use
of nuclear energy.
Archbishop Karakahayan told director general of the provincial
branch of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-
Esmail Imamzadeh that Iran’s right is supported by all the Catholic
church leaders and all true Christians worldwide.
Karakahayan criticized western and European statesmen, the so- called
followers of Christianity, for denying citizenship rights of religious
minorities and for abusing human rights and Christianity.
He, however, praised the Islamic Republic of Iran for well treating
the minorities, saying the country provides the best haven for
religious minorities.
“Iranian Armenians are fully thankful for the great blessing of the
Islamic Republic, which has officially recognized their rights and
provided them with the best condition of living.”
The religious figure condemned Zionists’ crimes, saying the US’
support for the regime is contrary to all the teachings of Jesus and
of all the divine religions.
Imamzadeh said for his part that divine religions, especially Islam
and Christianity, have had a great share in promotion of spirituality
and ethics and in campaign against tyranny and arrogance of the
satanic powers.
He called on the world freedom lovers and Muslims as well as the
Christian leaders and archbishops to confront the ambitious powers, the
Zionist regime’s state terrorism and imperialism,. He said the Catholic
church should fulfill its historical mission in that connection.
He went on to say that Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran provide
the most suitable atmosphere for peaceful coexistence of human beings,
of divine religions and of the religious and ethnic groups.
The Iranian official said that while minorities are provided with all
the citizenship rights and are represented at Majlis, the European
and western states violate the UN’s human rights charter, deprive
Muslims from their most basic citizenship rights and do not even
allow Muslim girls to attend classes with an ordinary dress.
He then outlined religious fundamentals of the Islamic Republic of
Iran and also the blatant injustices that the so-called pro-democracy
states have been committing in Iran for a period of 27 years after
triumph of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He called on arch Bishop Karakahayan, who is archbishop of 15
countries, to do his best to present real image of Iran’s Islamic
establishment to the world public opinion.

BURIAL PLACE OF APOSTLE MATTHEW ‘FOUND’ IN KYRGYZSTAN
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Aug. 30, 2006
(RFE/RL) August 30, 2006 — A Kyrgyz archaeologist believes he may
have located the burial place of the Apostle Matthew.
Vladimir Ploskikh told a news briefing in Bishkek today that his team
this summer uncovered on the northeastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul
what he believes are the remains of the Christian monastery that
a 14th-century map indicates is the site where the Apostle Matthew
was buried.
According to legends, Apostle Matthew died on his way to India and
established several Christian communities during the course of his
journey.
The document, which is kept in Venice and is known as the Catalan map,
mentions a place named “Issicol,” where it says there is “a cloister
of the Armenian Brothers where the body of the Apostle and Evangelist
Saint Matthew is.”
Ploskikh, however, cautioned that further investigation is needed.
Four years ago, a Russian-born U.S. photographer, Sergei Melnikoff,
said he had found Apostle Matthew’s grave near Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyz
scientists dismissed his claims.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING TO DECIDE PRESIDENTS’ MEETING
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 30, 2006
“It is premature to talk about Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents’
meeting,” Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s press secretary Victor
Sogogmonyan told a press conference today in Yerevan, APA reports.
He said the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers
has been agreed.
“The Ministers will try to pave the way for the Presidents’ meeting.
Their meeting will be held depending on the result of the Ministers’
meeting,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR DECREASING DEFENSE EXPENDITURE IN AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 30, 2006
In an unusually strongly worded speech, delivered at a conference
in Slovenia on August 28, the EU’s external relations commissioner,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, observed that “defense expenditure in Georgia
and Azerbaijan is going through the roof.” APA reports quoting
RFE/Radio Liberty.
Ferrero-Waldner noted in her speech that increases in defense
expenditure send a negative message in terms of resolving the region’s
conflicts. The commissioner also says such increases are unjustifiable
in countries that are “in desperate need of investment in education,
health, and small businesses.”
The commissioner also criticized leaders in the region for their
“inflammatory rhetoric.” She also noted there has been “little or no
progress” toward settling the conflicts in the region, including the
Nagorno-Garabagh conflict.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told the APA it is not informed about
Ferrero-Waldner’s statement. The Ministry official said such statement
might be regarded as interference with the interior affairs of an
independent state.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE HENCHAGIAN AND ARF PARTIES
The Lebanese chapter of the Social Democratic Henchagian Party in Lebanon
visited His Holiness Aram I on August 28. The delegation included Armenian
Member of Parliament Dr. Yeghig Djeredjian and member of the party’s central
committee, Dr. Matsag Poladian.
The discussions focused on the current situation in Lebanon, the possibility
of reviving the structures of the Armenian community of Lebanon and the
participation of Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces in the country.
On August 27 His Holiness received the central committee of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation accompanied by Member of Parliament Hagop
Pakradouni. The two sides discussed the efforts for improving the internal
political situation in Lebanon, the issue of Turkish participation in the
international peacekeeping forces in South Lebanon and the necessity to
revitalize the life of the Armenian community of Lebanon and its
pan-Diaspora role.
During both meetings His Holiness praised the work carried out by the
parties. He also stressed the importance of organizing the Armenian national
structures and particularly saving Armenian schools from the financial
difficulties they face while opening their doors widely to Armenian
students. “The Armenian school is the heart of the Armenian community.
Therefore, every effort should be exerted to keep the heart of the community
healthy. We are confident that our communities in the Diaspora will support
and help the Armenians of Lebanon in their efforts to preserve the
activeness of their educational and cultural structures,” said Aram I.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
IN HIS LETTER TO THE LEBANESE PRESIDENT
AND GOVERNMENT
“HOW CAN AN OCCUPYING FORCE TAKE PART
IN A PEACEKEEPING MISSION?”
ASKS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
In a letter sent to the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Gen. Emile
Lahoud His Holiness Aram I questions the potential participation of Turkey
in the peacekeeping forces in South Lebanon. “How will a country, the
distant and recent past of which is full of massacres and bloody pages,
participate in a peacekeeping mission? How will a country, that occupies
part of Cyprus, contribute to a peace process? How will a country, that has
a military alliance with Israel, dedicate itself to the mission of securing
Lebanon’s borders? Finally, how will a country that ignores the human rights
of its own people become part of a mission indebted to defend international
conventions and laws?” writes His Holiness Aram I.
“Now that a new and hopeful page is being opened in the history of Lebanon,
with the latter exerting every effort to restore its territorial integrity
and sovereignty and re-establish its unique place and role in the
international community, we demand and expect that such issues are
considered with a correct viewpoint and through a wider perspective with the
full commitment of pursuing Lebanon’s supreme interests,” adds His Holiness.
His Holiness stresses that “based on these facts, the presence of Turkey in
the United Nations peacekeeping forces will never be beneficial to Lebanon.
The Armenian community of Lebanon with all its spiritual and communal
structures, political and civil organizations, strongly believes in this.
Also, such is the belief of all the communities of the Armenian Diaspora
that are under the jurisdiction of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.”
Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, visited the
presidential palace in Baabda on Monday 28 August, personally delivering the
Pontiff’s letter to President Gen. Emile Lahoud. The Bishop asked that the
President pass the letter on to the government.
His Holiness Aram I had also expressed his concern about this issue during a
meeting with the representative of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora recently.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.