Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
August 4, 2006 Friday 2:52 PM MSK
Breakaway republics should hold referenda after refugees return –
Chubinishvili
MOSCOW Aug 4
Abkhazia and South Ossetia should hold referenda on their
self-determination only after Georgian refugees have returned there,
Georgian Ambassador to Russia Irakli Chubinishvili said.
“We have nothing against the referenda, but one has to understand
that over 300,000 Georgians have been driven out of Abkhazia,”
Chubinishvili told a news conference in Moscow on Friday.
“Let them return to their homes and then hold any referendum you
like, and the same goes for South Ossetia,” he said.
“We want refugees of all nationalities: Ossetians, Abkhaz, Greeks,
Georgians, Russians and Armenians to return and restore the status
quo of the population which existed before the conflict,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Thursday, August 03, 2006
************************************************
We like to bend reality in our favor, but reality being much older and more “cunning” (Hegel) than us, has its own ideas. Had he lived long enough to witness Stalinism, Marx would have been the most disappointed man on earth. It is said of Elias Canetti that he was disappointed to realize that his book, CROWDS AND POWER, failed to prevent a single war. And think of Napoleon spending his last years in exile in a rat-infested villa on the island of St. Helena in the middle of the Atlantic and at the mercy of a sadistic English governor. And then there is Einstein: when told he had helped invent the atom bomb, he is quoted as having said, “If only I had known, I should have become a plumber.”
*
We like to portray ourselves as innocent victims of Turkish atrocities, but in our relations with one another our first priority seems to be to verbally abuse, humiliate and insult anyone who dares to disagree with us, and we do this without any sense of guilt or doubt as if we were on a mission from god. I shiver to think what may happen to the rest of the world on the day and by some satanic miracle we become an imperial power.
*
To be able to smile once a day is worth a small fortune.
*
The decency of a people can be judged by the way they treat their pets and poets.
*
The encounter of the ruthless with the inept: our history in a nutshell.
#
Friday, August 04, 2006
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Is friendship between Armenians and Turks possible? I am not sure. Some day in the distant future we may be able to bury the hatchet, but I suspect we will never forget where we buried it.
*
To say all our misfortunes are due to our geography is to imply that Armenia is a good place to die.
*
Never argue with a man whose most powerful argument is his bad breath.
*
The certainty of being right is what’s wrong with most people. All crimes against humanity begin with the conviction on the part of the perpetrators that they are right and their victims wrong.
*
As a rule, fanatics who say God is on their side are not in the habit of wasting any time worrying whether or not they are on His.
*
The more ignorant they are, the more patriotic they pretend to be, as if to say, “We may know less, but we love the flag more.”
*
A small group of thoughtful, committed men can change the world; but an even smaller group of thoughtless fanatics can destroy it.
*
Dying is easy. Writing for Armenians is hard.
*
There is more truth in the advertisements of our partisan weeklies than in their commentaries and editorials, and I have never even been remotely tempted to buy anything they advertise.
*
As children we are brought up to trust our fellow Armenians and to suspect odars. As adults we learn to trust crooked odars more than honest Armenians.
#
Saturday, August 05, 2006
******************************************
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to be contradicted by someone who makes sense – I may learn something. And nothing annoys me more than to be contradicted by someone who recycles the kind of nonsense I was taught as a child.
*
Unanimity is easily achieved among moral morons and mental midgets.
*
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Armenian translation: Scream at the top of your lungs and carry a toothpick.
*
Hating is easy – any child can hate. What’s difficult is understanding.
*
We begin to think only on the day we learn to think against ourselves.
*
Our partisan weeklies print 99% anti-Turkish propaganda and 1% nonsense and they tell me I am consistently negative. In their eyes all talk of Turks, massacres, hatred and intolerance is positive, understanding and truth negative.
*
I chose Armenian literature for the same reason that some people choose suicide.
*
Because the dead cannot speak, our “betters” say, “We did what’s best for the people.”
*
Never trust the judgment of a nation whose perennial best sellers are cookbooks.
#

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug 4, 2006
Former President Suleyman Demirel: ‘The BTC is an engineering
masterpiece and a political success’
Gokhan Kazbek – EkoTurk News Agency / Ankara
The idea of transferring Azeri oil to Turkey through a pipeline dates
back to 1991 when the USSR collapsed. For 15 years there was heated
debate surrounding the project. In 1992 when the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) project for Azerbaijan oil was officially proposed, it included
Iran on the transit route and was announced to the world as the
Azerbaijan-Iran, Nakhchivan-Turkey pipeline. But the route wasn’t
approved of by the U.S., which was explicit about its attitude
towards the regime in Iran and maintained an economic and commercial
embargo on the country.
Afterwards, the alternative route to Turkey through Georgia was
offered. In response, other lines were suggested supported by Russia,
ones stretching to the Black Sea, ignoring Turkey’s concern over the
Straits, and yet others which bypassed the Straits and had little
economic value. A midway was devised in the 1999 Organization of
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Istanbul with the
contribution of the United States and the leaders of the countries
involved.
In the presence of U.S. President Bill Clinton, Turkish President
Suleyman Demirel, Azeri President Haydar Aliyev, and Georgian
President Eduard Shevardnadze – Aliyev has since passed away, and the
others are no longer in office – signed the package deals that
involved Azeri oil being brought to Ceyhan. Clinton also signed the
agreement as the observer. In accordance with the terms of 1999
agreement, basic engineering groundwork was initiated at the end of
2000. The construction actually began in 2003. The first drops of oil
reached Ceyhan in late May, and the first tankers were loaded in
early June.
Turkey’s former President Suleyman Demirel told EkoTurk News Agency
about the process of the BTC oil pipeline.
EKOTURK: Mister President, there have been many media stories about
the BTC. You were one of the main actors of this project. Could you
tell us a little about its foundations?
DEMÝREL: A new period began in 1989 across the world with the
collapse of the Berlin Wall. After the fall of the wall, the Mikhail
Gorbachev administration emerged in Russia with two important
concepts of Glasnost and Perestroika (i.e. transparency and
efficiency), the principles that they wished to introduce to the
management of the state. Actually both were signs of the collapse of
the Soviet system. They proved to be complementary. The Soviet system
collapsed in 1989-1991 and new independent republics emerged in
Central Asia and the Caucasus. Countries in the Balkans, in Central
and Eastern Europe that were under the influence of the Soviet rule
shed this system. That brought along a new and very significant
change in political geography of the world. A point to stress here is
that the change wasn’t anticipated at all. History had not hitherto
witnessed an empire that collapsed without any bloodshed or strife.
The Soviet Empire was truly an empire, a giant country s! preading
over 22 million square kilometers on which 250 million people lived
and spoke 104 languages. It was an industrial country with immense
military might. It also possessed vast economic power. However, while
half of Europe, Western Europe, attained a per capita income level of
some $20,000 , the Soviet system could not go over $3,000. Hence it
was evident that the Marxist and Communist rule that rested beneath
the Soviet system didn’t suffice to take a country forward despite
having achieved certain things. And people began to talk about new
things: “a new world order” was to be built. It became clear later on
that this new world order would be built on democracy, human rights,
and the market economy. That was the system that made Europe rich.
Both the new republics and the republics that came out of Soviet
influence embraced democracy and the market economy to astonishing
degrees and turned their faces to the West with their old guard even
before the! y built their new institutions. As these developments
were un! derway, Turkey embraced the Eurasian region for its part.
Most of Eurasia were countries that rested on 11 million square
kilometers of territory, with a population of 200 million, most of
which spoke Turkic languages and were Muslim. Turkey had seen these
countries and peoples as captivated countries and captivated peoples.
Ataturk had an almost prophetic vision: “We cannot do anything for
these places at the moment. But the time will come when the Soviet
system will collapse just like the Ottoman Empire did. We should be
taking care of them on that day.” In early 1991, the day came. All,
or at least most of these kin countries that spoke Turkish, countries
whose destinies we could not figure out for many years and which we
didn’t know very well even during the Czarist period that was
undermined by 80 years of Communist rule, were now rid of the
oppression.
At the elections of fall 1991, the True Path Party (DYP) that I was
heading won the elections and I was told for the seventh time to form
a Cabinet. So I established a coalition government together with the
Social Democratic Populist Party and started my post. At about the
time the republics that we term Eurasian countries were just
declaring independence. As soon as they declared independence, Turkey
took a close interest in these countries. I received the post to
establish the government on Nov. 7, 1991 and as our government had
not been given the vote of confidence on Nov. 9, 1991, the Cabinet
preceding ours recognized Azerbaijan. Our government began its post
as the 49th Cabinet on Nov. 20, 1991 and recognized all of the
republics that emerged out of the Soviet system. These included
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On
the other side Yugoslavia also collapsed and Turkey recognized the
countries that were born out of that as well. The gover! nment that
we established in 1991 recognized all the countries out of the
collapsed Soviet empire and the countries in the Caucasus, including
Georgia and Armenia, with the world context in mind. New countries
and a new commonwealth emerged, and we had moral and ethical duties
to these countries, that’s what we felt. Actually, these countries
didn’t know us very well and vice versa. But we were in a position to
get to know them. We formed strong relationships with Azerbaijan on
Jan. 14, 1992. I visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and
Azerbaijan as the premier on April 27-May 2, 1992.
‘Newly independent countries didn’t want a new big brother’
These were very young republics at the time and had nothing at hand.
They had founded a state but the state had no institutions. These
states would be founded on democratic principles but they had no
knowledge of democracy. The state would acknowledge the market
economy but they had neither the institutions nor the entrepreneurs
to get the market economy going. Most important of all, they had no
legislation either. In terms of development, 50 percent of the Soviet
economy actually rested on military industries but military industry
had lost its appeal too. They didn’t know what to do. We advised
these countries what to do for democratic rule and a market economy
and we delivered files to each of the country leaders with
information on what to do about things. All of these countries were
gravely in need of certain things as their markets and their current
systems had come to a total halt. They needed everything, from food
to medicine. Besides, there was no party that co! uld make
investments, and other countries were unwilling to invest under hazy
circumstances as well. I committed during my visit to lend these
young republics $1 billion in the name of the Republic of Turkey. The
credits were opened and later used. With the exception of Kyrgyzstan,
all were repaid. I also opted to invite students from these countries
during the visit. The first group would number around 3,000 people
and the figure would later climb to 15,000 people. Hence we would be
building bridges with these countries, incoming students would study
at Turkish universities, would learn the Anatolian dialect of
Turkish, would see Turkey and be able to compare Turkey’s development
with the development attained by communism in their countries. They
would see that there was development outside communism and the
comfort and the liberty in Turkey. This was a very successful
program. These countries only knew of Moscow as the window to the
outside world. Their connection to! Moscow needed to be severed, or
rather, diversified. New act! ors needed to be involved alongside
Moscow. We connected their television and telephone administrations
to Turkey at a time when all their affairs were dependent on Moscow.
Turkey was a window to the world for these countries.
These countries had extraordinary natural resources. Hence I advised
themý: “Unless you can process these natural resources and bring them
to light, the prosperity of your people will not be a possibility.”
The nations needed prosperity. We told them that they needed to
develop the industries that would meet the needs of their people and
we would help them out for that and consequently we did so. In the
following 10 years Turks undertook 80 percent of the public work and
construction projects in the region. Among the natural resources
energy and mining were forerunners. And among these the most
significant resources were oil and gas resources. Gas was the
resource of Turkmenistan and oil was that of Kazakhstan and
Azerbaijan as well. At the time, the amount of global oil reserves
was known to be 1 billion barrels. Some 66 percent of that was in the
Persian Gulf. Iran was part of that. Twenty percent was in the
Caspian basin, and 20 percent was in other countries ! of the world.
Turkey was situated at such a location that, while it didn’t hold oil
and gas, it was neighboring it. Turkey could just as well cooperate
with its neighbors to process this oil and gas and help these
countries prosper while it would become an energy corridor or energy
terminal itself. Turkey built the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline for that
matter and before that had brought its own oil from Batman to
Ýskenderun and built a pipeline from Ceyhan to Kýrýkkale. Therefore,
it had some experience with pipelines. It could undertake these as
well. Turkey, at the end of the day, had built the pipeline that
received gas from Russia (the Blue Stream project was nonexistent at
the time). Nevertheless, it wasn’t clear how much oil Azerbaijan
possessed. The amount of oil processed in Azerbaijan was a mere 8-10
million tons. Azerbaijan has had oil for a very long time but the
amount of it had fallen to very low levels. Russia bought and
processed all of the gas in Turkme! nistan. Kazakhstan began to
search for oil particularly in th! e Tengiz region. Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev took a quite bold step and opened his country to
the world. Oil depends on global capital and global experience
anyway. The world’s oil industrialists came and found vast resources
in Tengiz and new resources elsewhere later on. The relations between
Turkey and Azerbaijan started out very positive as these
Turkic-speaking countries are actually people of the same nation in
terms of language, traditions and customs but among all of them
Azerbaijan is the closest to Anatolian Turkishness. In terms of both
language and traditions, Azerbaijan was seen as the second state of
the same nation. The intimate relations served the cooperation
between Azerbaijan and Turkey to a great extent. We signed an
agreement with Azerbaijan administrators in Ankara on March 9, 1993.
I put my signature underneath as prime minister and Hikmet Cetin
signed as the foreign minister and Sabit Bagirov as the oil minister
of Azerbaijan. This is ! how the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline started
officially. The rest is just chatter, before this point is just
chatter, whoever might talk about it, including myself, it is just
chatter. We say we should do it, and I have outlined all of these to
indicate why we should do it. Unless you know these, the rest is
dross. Turkey had some concerns. First of all we started out with
great enthusiasm and as a Eurasian state in the heart of Eurasia, but
how do we cooperate with the Turkic world in Eurasia in terms of
trade, culture and education without provoking concerns over
Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism? These newly independent countries
didn’t want a new big brother. We were to engage in cooperation in
equal terms but become more interdependent. One of the ways of
boosting interdependence is to step up individual relationships. I
think that holds more water than the trade part. This is about
bringing the Turkic world closer together. In every step taken here
we need to seek to brin! g the Turkic world closer outside of the
conditions of Pan-Tu! rkism and Pan-Islamism.
Turkey had another concern: Since the time of the Soviet Union, oil
transfers were blocking the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits in
Turkey and causing accidents. The city of Istanbul was facing fire
hazards. The more we could transfer the oil that we got from Russia,
the Caucasus and Central Asia from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean
without using the Straits, the greater Turkey would benefit.
Therefore at the preliminary agreement we signed on March 9, 1993 we
committed in principle to bring down Baku oil as part of Caspian oil
to the Mediterranean. I had discussed the same issue with Mr.
Elchibey prior to that date, and so had (late President) Turgut Ozal.
And yes, we should bring Caspian oil down to the Mediterranean and
save the Straits and in the meantime improve our relations with these
countries, we should bring the gas in Turkmenistan to Turkey, each of
these were part of our considerations and we needed to materialize
those considerations but first of all that re! quired some presence
of oil in Azerbaijan. But there was no oil in Azerbaijan. I would
like to mention at this point an occasion that turned out to be a
landmark.
Aliyev opened oil areas in the Caspian Basin to the world
Haydar Aliyev received the post of president of the Republic in
Azerbaijan in 1993. Aliyev was a knowledgeable and great statesman
who knew the world very well. Aliyev opened to the world the oil
areas reserved for them in the Caspian Basin. He opened them to
global companies with an agreement called the Production and Sharing
of Azerbaijan Oil. That is a major event. He called that the
“contract of the century” himself. A corporation was founded between
Azerbaijan state company SOCAR and foreign firms, and Turkish TPAO
was a shareholder with 1.75 percent. By the way, I’d like to stress
this one point: I went to Davos in 1992. Russia was melting down and
new countries were emerging. I had just been around Central Asia, and
I said in Davos: “A new political geography is appearing after the
Cold War. This is not a conflict zone or a new area of penetration;
to the contrary, it should be a safe haven for peace and prosperity
whereby conflicts will be rep! laced by a spirit of cooperation and
coexistence.” I declared these points to all nations in Davos.
After this international corporation was founded in 1994 there were
new efforts. Another 5 percent was added to the share given to Turkey
in 1995. In the meantime, there were ongoing negotiations, debate as
to where the pipeline should pass. There was conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia on Karabakh. There was considerable debate on
whether it should pass through Iran or Georgia and eventually
resolved that technically speaking, the right thing to do was to pass
it through Georgia. But that was disputed: Some said that as there is
the Baku-Supsa line, it could very well be expanded and used to
transfer the oil in Azerbaijan and so there was no need for a
Baku-Ceyhan line. Russia was an opponent at the end of the day. Mr.
Aliyev and I responded to those and insisted that the Baku-Ceyhan
line be built and the right thing to do was to pass it through
Georgia. But what would Georgia do about this? I find the role of
Shevardnadze here to be very significant. Shevardnadze thoug! ht this
line would be very important not only in economic terms but also to
connect the Caucasus and Caspian countries to Turkey and supported
the idea to the very end. The route of the line was now clear, but
there were many other issues concerning nationalization. None of
these countries had any experience with that. Such a widespread
movement was never seen in this region. But both Aliyev and
Shevardnadze handled the nationalization issues very well. Aliyev
went to Tbilisi to give Shevardnadze a boost and increased their
share. So the template was now on the table.
Then the 75th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic was celebrated. The
presidents of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Georgia as well
as U.S. energy secretary attended the celebrations and we signed an
agreement with them on Oct. 29, 1998. Here we issued a declaration
and hence the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project took another
leap forward. Now the real issue was actually this: On Nov. 18, 1999
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting
was held in Istanbul and intergovernmental agreements were made on
that occasion. Aliyev signed the agreement for Azerbaijan,
Shevardnadze for Georgia and myself for Turkey. U.S. President Bill
Clinton was the witness. Host country agreement, turnkey contracting
agreement and the governmental guarantees agreement were signed on
that date. The matter was well on track, the issue now was to find
the money, run the tenders and manage the construction. The
construction project and other tasks were completed! by Sept. 18,
2002 and then the foundation was laid with a ceremony by the
presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Oil was transferred for
the first time on May 25, 2005 and the pipeline was opened with a
ceremony on July 13, 2006.
The annual revenues of the project for Turkey are $300 million. The
project should not be assessed based solely on this but other
benefits of the project concerning the Straits and connecting Eurasia
should be taken into consideration as well. However, Turkey will in
any case be making significant amount of money from this project
within a time frame of 40 years. Many people contributed to the
materialization of this project. The late President Turgut Ozal
supported the project in the beginning, and in the aftermath these
figures should be cited: Aliyev, Clinton, Bush – father and son both
– Nazarbayev, Shevardnadze, and myself as the president of the
Republic of Turkey. Of course, all the relevant institutions of
Turkey, and Botas first of all, contributed to the project to a major
extent. And hence this giant project, “the project of the century,”
came to life.
This is how I put it across in the OSCE meeting in 1999: “Today we
are not only connecting the Caspian and the Mediterranean, but also
bonding our destinies together. Today we are making our common dreams
come true. The agreements that we have just signed will serve peace
and prosperity. We are not only declaring our resoluteness to
transfer the oil and natural gas resources of the Caspian basin to
world markets in an economic and environmentally friendly way, but
also responding to the call of history.”
EKOTURK: How would you define the BTC project?
DEMÝREL: In my opinion this project is an engineering masterpiece and
a political success, a diplomatic triumph at the same time. It is a
diplomatic triumph to surpass Russia and to bring this project thus
far is a diplomatic. It is a great political achievement to bring the
ex-Soviet republics together and to add Turkey and the U.S. on and to
bring such a project to fruition.
The point is that the project is undertaken and completed. The
questions of who opened it and the like are just details. In fact,
the remembrance and the consideration of those that have served in
the materialization of this project is just for the sake of those who
will serve after this point. What matters for those who have served
is that the work is complete. To thank those who served will
encourage those who will serve, that is the reason why they should be
remembered.
EKOTURK: Looking at the implementation and the achieved results, can
we say that the project reached its goal?
DEMÝREL: Yes, we can. The pending task is to provide oil to the
world. The project sources will be enriched in that new oil resources
will be discovered and that will help those countries to a great
extent. If the Kirkuk pipeline continues to operate there will be
150-200 million tons of oil. That is a significant figure for Turkey,
so much so that Turkey is almost becoming an oil country, even though
the oil does not belong to itself and the oil in the country belong
to others.
EKOTURK: What is the benefit of this pipeline for the United States?
DEMÝREL: Some of the companies are American companies and part of the
capital is American capital, but the main point is that the United
States as a superpower would always wish to enhance its prowess in
this region. Of course, the construction of such a pipeline would
increase the influence of the U.S. and the U.S. would wish to
maintain the power it acquires in the coming term rather than
preserving the power it has accumulated thus far. Therefore it would
aim to stay on good terms with the countries in the region. The U.S.
has given a lot of support to the project. If they had not supported
the project, we would have faced significant difficulty in finding
money and overcoming the political obstacles.
EKOTURK: How did you feel at the opening ceremony on July 13?
DEMÝREL: I was very pleased, very gratified. My country has gained a
new facility. A major part of the things that I envisioned has come
true. Many things that seem to be a dream for others have become
reality for me, and this is one of them. My country has boosted its
power.
EKOTURK: Thank you for talking with us.
DEMÝREL: Thank you.
–Boundary_(ID_PzGDEr23hhwBv0KFC8UErQ)–

Agence France Presse
4 août 2006 vendredi 4:15 AM GMT
Calouste Gulbenkian, un magnat du petrole philanthrope (MAGAZINE)
LISBONNE 4 août 2006
Bien que ne possedant pas de gisement de petrole, l’or noir a joue un
rôle cle dans le developpement culturel et scientifique au Portugal
grâce a la Fondation privee Calouste Gulbenkian qui celèbre cette
annee son cinquantième anniversaire.
Pour beaucoup, la Fondation Gulbenkian, la sixième plus riche
d’Europe, a joue le rôle d’un veritable “ministère de la Culture”
portugais au cours de ces dernières decennies.
“Cette institution a ete une coup de chance extraordinaire dans
l’histoire de ce pays”, soulignait le mois dernier le sociologue
Antonio Barreto, qui travaille actuellement a l’ecriture d’un livre
sur l’impact de la Gulbenkian dans l’un des pays les plus pauvres
d’Europe.
Cette institution portugaise de droit prive, reconnue d’utilite
publique, oeuvre dans les domaines des arts, qui represente plus de
40% du budget global, de l’education, des sciences et de la
bienfaisance. Veritable moteur de la scène culturelle portugaise, la
Fondation gère egalement un orchestre et un choeur de renommee
internationale.
Les actifs financiers de la Gulbenkian s’elèvent aujourd’hui a
environ trois milliards d’euros, ce qui correspond a près de 2% du
PIB portugais.
“Cela nous apporte une grande solidite financière qui nous assure
l’independance et les conditions necessaires a la continuite” de la
Fondation, a indique recemment son president Rui Vilar.
Le budget de la Fondation s’est eleve cette annee a 113 millions
d’euros et dispose de moyens plus importants que certains ministères
portugais. Plus de 80% de cette somme est depensee au Portugal et
dans les anciennes colonies africaines lusophones.
La Fondation a ete creee en 1956 par volonte testamentaire de l’homme
d’affaires d’origine armenienne Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, decede un
an plus tôt dans la capitale portugaise où il a vecu les treize
dernières annees de sa vie. A 73 ans, en pleine seconde guerre
mondiale, il decide de quitter la France, alors sous occupation
allemande, pour se refugier au Portugal.
Ce richissime homme d’affaires, qui avait obtenu la citoyennete
britannique, est ne en 1869 a Istanbul dans une famille de negociants
armeniens aises.
A la fois pionnier du developpement petrolier au Moyen-Orient et un
negociateur avise, celui qui avait ete surnomme “Monsieur cinq pour
cent” en reference a la participation qu’il detenait dans une
compagnie petrolière, joua un rôle majeur dans la constitution des
premiers grands acteurs de l’industrie internationale du petrole qui
commencait a prendre forme au debut du XXe siècle.
Sous la dictature salazariste, la Fondation, qui a distribue plus de
65.000 bourses depuis ses debuts, a beaucoup contribue au
developpement de la culture au Portugal grâce a la mise en place d’un
reseau de bibliobus.
Cette initiative a permis d’apporter la culture dans les regions les
plus reculees a une epoque où les bibliothèques publiques etaient
très peu nombreuses et où le taux d’illetrisme etait très eleve.
“Des initiatives comme celle-ci ont touche profondement l’intrerieur
du Portugal pendant la seconde moitie du XXe siècle”, a recemment
rappele le president portugais Anibal Cavaco Silva lors d’un hommage
a Calouste Gulbenkian.
Grand amateur d’art, M. Gulbenkian a en outre legue sa vaste
collection d’oeuvres d’art afin de remercier le Portugal de l’avoir
accueilli. Son imposante collection, qui comprend des sculptures
egyptiennes, des ceramiques orientales ou encore des medailles
grecques et de nombreux tableaux, est exposee dans un musee lisboète
qui porte son nom, inaugure en 1969.
La Fondation est egalement presente a l’etranger. L’institution
dispose notamment d’une antenne a Londres et d’un centre culturel a
Paris.
–Boundary_(ID_AykSObSfV05ZOxythHUECA)–

Barbarian Annihilation of Civilians Being Carried Out in Lebanon
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.08.2006 21:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Demolition of Lebanon and annihilation of its
population is a recurrent step of aggression against Syria and
Iran. The initial stage of this plan was the occupation of Afghanistan
and Iraq, Armenian political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, Israel and the U.S. do not even
try to conceal their purpose. “Though the military power of Israel
is sufficient in case with Lebanon, the immediate participation of
the U.S. will become necessary at the final stage. Nevertheless Iran
will be too tough for them,” he said.
At the same time he remarked that a barbarian annihilation of civilians
that cannot be justified is being carried out in Lebanon. “Not
only Israel but the whole international community is to blame for
it. A country with centuries-old civilization and a unique system
of co-existence of various confessions and ethnic groups is being
demolished. The developments in Lebanon cannot be assessed from a
political standpoint without taking into account the humanitarian
constituent of the problem,” the Armenian political scientist said.

Israel Aims to Annihilate Lebanon
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.08.2006 21:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Israel’s aim is to annihilate Lebanon. Civic
constructions and state infrastructure are being demolished, Lebanese
Ambassador to Armenia Gebrail Jaaray said. In his words, last night
3 bridges were destroyed in the north of Lebanon and restoration of
each will demand $50 million. “During 22 days of Israel’s operation the
damage caused to Lebanon reached $5 billion this figure increases day
by day. 15 thousand of flats were completely destructed, the number
of displaced persons reached a million. Numerous visits of high rank
officials have been fruitless so far. The war is going on,” he said.
The Ambassador also remarked that 8 Lebanese and some 10 thousand
Palestinians are kept in hostage in Israeli jails. “The Near East is an
explosive and conflict zone. It’s a long way for peace here,” he said.
The Ambassador presented the decision of the Lebanese government
consisting of seven items that should be fulfilled to stop the
war. These are the exchange of war prisoners and hostages, withdrawal
of the Israeli troops beyond the Lebanese border, deployment of
Lebanese army throughout the country, deployment of U.N. peacekeepers
in the south Lebanon, observation of the agreement of 1949 on ceasefire
between Israel and Lebanon, proclamation of Lebanon a calamity zone
and rendering humanitarian assistance to it. “Lebanon receives major
part of assistance from Saudi Arabia and France. We also highly
appreciate the aid rendered by the Armenian government. This proves
that our nations are bound with fraternal friendship ties,” he said.
The Chief of Mission also remarked that two days ago the spiritual
leaders of all the confessions in Lebanon including His Holiness Aram I
of Cilicia issued a statement in support of the government’s decision.

998 COMPANIES TRANSFER AMD 11.18BLN OF MANDATORY SOCIAL INSURANCE TO ARMENIAN
STATE BUDGET
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug 4 2006
YEREVAN, August 4. /ARKA/. Since January 2006, 998 Armenian companies
transferred a total of AMD 11.18bln to the state budget, the Armenian
State Tax Service reported.
The leading companies are the Electric Networks of Armenia – AMD
533.5mln, and then follow ArmenTel Telecommunication Company – AMD
350mln, and also ArmRosgasprom and the Zangezur copper and molybdenum
plant – 235mln each.
Besides this, among these companies are International Airports –
Armenia -AMD 81.5mln, Yerevan Brandy Factory – AMD 54mln, RUSAL-ArmenAl
– AMD 53.8mln, Armavia air company – AMD 53.1mln, Synopsys-Armenia –
AMD 41.1mln. ($1 – AMD 417.77). R.O. –0–

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 4, 2006 Friday
ANOTHER TRAIN WITH RUSSIAN ARMAMENT AND MILITARY PROPERTY WILL LEAVE
GEORGIAN TERRITORY
Another train with armament and property of the Russian military
bases withdrawn from Georgia was prepared for departure at the
railway station Tsalka. Colonel Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander
of the group of Russian forces in Transcaucasia, reported, “Departure
of the train is scheduled for Tuesday morning. It will bring to
Russia ten tanks and two combat infantry vehicles, as well as about
100 tons of armored property of the 62nd military base deployed in
Akhalkalaki.” According to Kuparadze, this will be the 19th train
with Russian military property shipped in 2006 from Georgia.
Kuparadze added, “Sixty-six tons of ammunition will also be shipped
from Akhalkalaki on Wednesday by 14 trucks to the 102nd Russian base
in Gyumri (Armenia).” According to the staff of the group of Russian
forces in Transcaucasia, by the end of 2006, it is planned to ship
six trains more from Georgia to Russia.
Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, August 01, 2006, p. 3
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/04/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. ARS Central Executive Issues Urgent Appeal on Lebanon Crisis 2. ANC Leaders Meet with Reps. Watson, Doolittle 3. Aram I Receives St. John's University Award 4. Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes 5. Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry's "Walk of Life" Draws 500 1. ARS Central Executive Issues Urgent Appeal on Lebanon Crisis WATERTOWN--The Armenian Relief Society Inc. Central Executive issued an urgent appeal to Armenians around the world regarding the worsening humanitarian situation in Lebanon. Below is the text of the appeal. Urgent Need for Food and Medicine in Lebanon Since our July 20 appeal, the ruthless violence victimizing the people and cities of Lebanon continues with renewed impetus, in full view of the world community, creating an extremely precarious situation for the traumatized communities of the beleaguered country. Already, one full quarter of Lebanon's entire population has been turned into a mass of homeless refugees, in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Faced with deteriorating conditions, in order to meet the multiplying needs of the people, an interdenominational Board of Assistance was formed in Beirut, headquartered in the offices of the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon. In view of the depletion of the country's indispensable provisionsparticularly those of food and medicinethe ARS Central Executive Board has already sent $20,000 to the Board of Assistance, to help cover the purchase of immediate needs. Now, we appeal to all our communities, around the world, to extend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters, the elderly and the children who find themselves on the verge of total disaster, facing an uncertain future, in a hostile environment. Fellow Armenians, since our first Appeal, the hundreds of displaced persons who had taken refuge in the Armenian school buildings and athletic fields of Bourdj Hammoud, today can be counted in the tens of thousands, creating a critical situation, getting worse by the hour. In response to this heightening tragedy, we ask you to rush your generous contributions to the offices of your local ARS office, with checks made out to ARS Lebanese Relief. 2. ANC Leaders Meet with Reps. Watson, Doolittle GLENDALELeaders of local Armenian National Committee chapters this week met with representatives Diane Watson (D-33) and John Doolittle (R-4) to discuss pertinent issues of interest to the Armenian-American community. A Hollywood ANC delegation led by its chairman Garo Ispenjian met with Rep. Diane Watson this week in her Los Angeles district office to discuss issues of concern to the local Armenian American community. During the meeting, the ANCA-WR expressed appreciation for the Congresswoman's record of support for Armenian American issues. Numerous topics were discussed including Armenian Genocide legislation, the railway projects in the Caucasus, Armenia's growing economy, and the recall of US Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans. Ispendjian, who is also a constituent of Rep. Watson, briefed the Congresswoman about the firing of Ambassador Evans and the delay of Ambassador-designate Richard Hoagland's confirmation as ambassador to Armenia. Congresswoman Watson agreed to join her colleagues in writing a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking the State Department to respond to a series of questions, including specific inquiries about reports that Ambassador Evans had been recalled due to accurately describing the Armenian Genocide as a genocide. "Congresswoman Diane Watson has always been a strong supporter of the Armenian American community. She is always ready to listen to the concerns of the community, understand the issues, and properly represent her constituents in Congress," said Ispendjian. Since taking office in 2002, Rep. Watson has been a member of the Armenian Caucus and has cosponsored numerous resolutions in favor of Armenian Genocide recognition, economic support of Armenia through trade, and ending Turkey's blockade of Armenia. Three of the most recent pieces of legislation that she has supported are the Armenian Genocide resolutions, H.Res. 316 and H.Con.Res. 195, and South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act, H.R. 3361. ANC of Sacramento representatives Ohannes and Silva Boghossian met with Rep. John Doolittle in his Santa Barbara district office earlier this week while the Congressman was in town during the Congressional August Recess. During their meeting, the Boghossians thanked Congressman Doolittle for his support of Armenian American issues, most notably for his co-sponsorship of H. Res. 316, a resolution which calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign of the United States reflects understanding and sensitivity of issues such as the Armenian Genocide. Numerous issues of concern to the Armenian American community were discussed. Boghossian asked Representative Doolittle to urge House Speaker Dennis Hastert to bring the Armenian Genocide resolutions to a House floor vote, which he has thus far failed to do. The Congressman expressed his commitment on this issue and pledged to actively support the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh and expressed concern over Turkey's blockade of Armenia. "The Armenian American community is grateful for Congressman Doolittle's support," said Boghossian. "We look forward to the Congressman's leadership in advancing our issues on Capitol Hill." Congressman John Doolittle represents California's 4th district, where a large number of Armenians reside. The district stretches from the eastern Sacramento Region to Lake Tahoe on the south and runs up the Sierra Nevada range to the high desert of Modoc County on the Oregon border. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is a native of Glendale. The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues. 3. Aram I Receives St. John's University Award ANTELLIAS, LebanonHis Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia received the 2006 Pax Christi Award from St. John's University, Minnesota, said the Catholicosate. In a letter addressed to Aram I, Dr. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John's, praised the life and ministry of Aram I stating, "Particularly notable is your support for Ecumenical and Inter-religious relations, dialogue and cooperation. Through your prolific writings, public lectures and interventions, and your leadership in the World Council of Churches, you have played a significant role in promoting common values, mutual understanding, and peaceful co-existence among people of faith throughout the world." The Pax Christi Award is the highest honor bestowed by St. John's University. The conferral ceremony will take place on December 6 at a special event at St. John's University. During the recent crisis in Lebanon, Aram I has been an influential figure in coordinating efforts between Muslim and Christian leaders to respond to the needs of the country. 4. Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes BY JIM LOBE WASHINGTONIn systematically failing to distinguish between Hezbollah fighters and civilian population in its three-and-a-half-week-old military campaign in Lebanon, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have committed war crimes, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch Wednesday. The 50-page report, "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon," detailed nearly two dozen cases of IDF attacks in which a total of 153 civilians, including 63 children, were killed in homes or motor vehicles. In none of the cases did HRW researchers find evidence that there was a significant enough military objective to justify the attack, given the risks to civilian lives, while, in many cases, there was no identifiable military target. In still other cases cited in the report, Israeli forces appear to have deliberately targeted civilians. "By consistently failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, Israel has violated one of the most fundamental tenets of the laws of war: the duty to carry out attacks on only military targets," according to the report. "The pattern of attacks during the Israeli offensive in Lebanon suggests that the failures cannot be explained or dismissed as mere accidents; the extent of the pattern and the seriousness of the consequences indicate the commission of war crimes," it concluded. The report, which was based on interviews with victims and independent witnesses of attacks, as well as investigation of the sites where the attacks occurred, called for the United States to immediately suspend transfers to Israel of arms, ammunition, and other material credibly alleged to have been used in such attacks until they cease. In addition, it called on United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to establish a formal commission to investigate the alleged war crimes with a view to holding accountable those responsible for their commission. Such a commission should also investigate Hezbollah's rocket attacks against Israel which have been the subject of previous HRW reports. Since the onset of the latest round of fighting July 12, Hezbollah has launched some 2,000 rockets into predominantly civilian areas in Israel, killing at least 19 Israeli civilians and wounding more than 300 others. Given the inherently indiscriminate nature of the rockets, these attacks also constitute war crimes, according to the New York-based group. The report, whose main conclusions about Israel's failure to discriminate between civilian and military targets echo a statement by Amnesty International two days ago, was issued just hours after HRW released the preliminary results of its investigation of the July 30 Israeli air strike on an apartment building in Qana in southern Lebanon, which was initially reported to have killed 54 people, most of them children, who had taken refuge in the basement. HRW, which took testimony from some of the nine survivors it identified, said that it had confirmed the deaths of 28 people, including 16 children, in the building and that 13 others remained missing and were believed to be buried in the rubble. It said that at least 22 people survived the attack and escaped the basement. One of the survivors, Muhammad Mahmud Shalhub, as well as a Qana villager who helped in the rescue effort, strongly denied initial Israeli claims that any Hezbollah fighters or rocket launchers were present in or around the home when the attack took place.. HRW said its own on-site investigation, which took place July 31, as well as interviews with dozens of international journalists, rescue workers and international observers who visited Qana July 30 and 31, also yielded no evidence of any Hezbollah military presence in or around the building. "The deaths in Qana were the predictable result of Israel's indiscriminate bombing campaign in Lebanon," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa Division, who called for international investigation to determine what took place. Israel has insisted that it has tried hard to avoid civilian casualties, although the great majority of the more than 500 Lebanese who have reportedly been killed by Israeli fire have been civilians. Israel has claimed that Hezbollah's alleged practice of shielding its fighters and arms by locating them in civilian homes or areas and firing off missiles in populated areas allegations which HRW said are the subject of ongoing investigations has made civilian casualties unavoidable. But the rights group said its own investigations of specific Israeli attacks, which included interviews with victims and witnesses, on-site visits, as well as corroboration, where available, by accounts by independent journalists and aid workers, had failed to uncover any evidence that Hezbollah was operating in or around the area during or before each attack. "Hezbollah fighters must not hide behind civilians that's an absolute but the image that Israel has promoted of such shielding as the cause of so high a civilian death toll is wrong," according to HRW's executive director, Kenneth Roth. "In the many cases of civilian deaths examined by (us), the location of Hezbollah troops and arms had nothing to do with the deaths because there was no Hezbollah around." He cited a July 13 attack which destroyed the home of a cleric known to be a Hezbollah sympathizer but with no record of having taken part in hostilities. The strike killed the cleric's wife, their ten children, the family;s Sri Lankan maid, as well as the cleric himself, according to the report. In a July 16 attack on a home in Aitaroun, an Israeli aircraft killed 11 members of the al-Akhrass family, including seven Canadian-Lebanese dual nationals who were vacationing in the village at the time. HRW said it interviewed three villagers independently, all of whom denied that the family had any connection to Hezbollah. Among the victims were four children under the age of eight. The report also assailed statements by Israeli officials and IDF commanders that only people associated with Hezbollah remain in southern Lebanon, so all are legitimate targets of attack. Israel has dropped leaflets in the region and even telephoned residents warning them that if they do not flee, they will be subject to attack. But the report stressed that many civilians have been unable to leave because they are sick, wounded, or lack the means, such as money or gasoline, or are providing essential services to the civilian population that remains there. Still others have said they are afraid to leave because the roads have come under attack by Israeli warplanes and artillery. Indeed, the report documents 27 deaths of civilians who were trying to flee the fighting by car and notes that the actual number of killings is "surely higher". In addition, the report cites air strikes against three clearly marked humanitarian aid vehicles. "The pattern of attacks shows the Israeli military's disturbing disregard for the lives of Lebanese civilians," said Roth. "Israeli warnings of imminent attacks do not turn civilians into military targets," he added, noting that, according to the IDF's logic, "Palestinian militant groups might 'warn' Israeli settlers to leave their settlements and then feel justified in attacking those who remained." Amnesty accused Israel of trying to convert southern Lebanon into a "free-fire zone" which it said Monday was "incompatible with international humanitarian law." 5. Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry's "Walk of Life" Draws 500 LOS ANGELESArmenians and non-Armenians alike rallied together on Saturday, July 29 in the First Annual 5k/10k Walk/Run around the Pasadena Rose Bowl to help raise awareness in support of further expanding the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry's critical life-saving mission to recruit more Armenian bone marrow donors. In addition to raising needed funds and awareness through the Walk of Life, 100 new donors signed up. "We are thrilled with the spirit of giving and life expressed through the overwhelming participation in our first annual 'Walk of Life'," said Dr. Freida Jordan, President of the ABMDR based in Los Angeles. "We are also greatly appreciative of all our sponsors and the organizational and individual support that made the first Walk a resounding success and will enhance our ability to fulfill our life-saving mission." Corporate sponsors included Glendale Memorial Hospital, St. Josephs Hospital, Closet World, Next Day Color Printing, Glendale Water and Power, City of Los Angeles and GNC. A key method of treating leukemia patients or people with other life-threatening blood diseases is through bone marrow/stem cell transplants. In order to treat Armenian patients, bone marrow transplants require compatible tissue types that match the genetic makeup of the patient which is most likely to come from other Armenian donors. There are currently 630 patients throughout the Diaspora and Armenia who are desperately waiting to find a matching donor to help save their lives. On average, it takes 200 donors to find a precise match for one patient. The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry has a goal to increase its registry from the current 11,000 donors to 126,000 in order to meet the critical need. The ABMDR partners closely with Glendale Memorial Hospital and St. Josephs Hospital in addition to being a member of global organizations such as the World Marrow Donor Association and World Marrow Donor Worldwide "By simply walking today, you are helping save a life" said Steve Artinian, chairman of the Walk of Life organizing committee. "With this Walk we hope you will spread the message that by taking the simple step of signing up with the registry every Armenian can give the most precious gift of a second chance to another fellow Armenian who is fighting for their life against these destructive diseases." Special guests included Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, Father Dajad Yardemian, representative of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, Dr. Sevak Avagyan Executive Director of ABMDR in Armenia and Varant Melkonian, CEO of Closet World and treasurer of the ABMDR. There was also entertainment at the end of the walk. Welcoming the participants at the finish line was the band Element and singer Mariette Soujian. "The Walk of Life is a huge success today because of all the hard work and dedication of our volunteers," said master of ceremonies and director of operations for the Walk Taleen Khatchadourian at the post-Walk event. "If we join together like this for our common mission we can make a big difference in the lives of Armenian patients in need." During the short program after the Walk, the family of Biurad Moghadasian, who is an eight-year old Armenian patient currently at Los Angeles' Children's Hospital being treated for leukemia, approached organizers to stress the urgency of the ABMDR's mission using their son's plight as an example. The family made a plea to all present to recruit additional bone marrow donors which is the only way her son and others like him will have a chance at beating the disease. Biurad is currently looking for a matching donor to help save his life. The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry encourages all Armenians to call and join the registry with the hope of saving another life. The registration process is very simple and non-intrusive and only takes a few minutes. ABMDR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and welcomes donations of any size which are tax-deductible. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
USC Institute of Armenian Studies
Te: 213-821-3943
E-mail [email protected]
Armenian Bar Association: 323-666-6288
E-mail [email protected]
USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
And
ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION
Invite you to an
ARMENIAN-AMERICAN JUDGES’ FEDERAL FORUM
Featuring
Honorable Dickran Tevrizian
U. S. District Court, Central District of California
Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan
U. S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Honorable Jacqueline Chooljian
U. S. Magistrate Judge, Central District of California
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Presentations 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Reception Following
University of Southern California
Davidson Conference Center – Embassy Room
Corner of Jefferson and Figueroa
Los Angeles, CA
This unprecedented event will cover:
Questions of Law and the Legal Profession
A Day in a Federal Judge’s Life
Opportunities in the Legal Profession
Legal Issues Facing the Armenian Community:
Immigration, Organized Crime, Gangs, Social Security, Retirement,
Housing, Health Care, and Elder Abuse
This event is a rare opportunity for the Armenian-American community
to meet these distinguished Jurists who occupy leading positions in
the judicial profession.
Space is limited.
Please RSVP by August 7, 2006
USC Institute of Armenian Studies: 213-821-3943
E-mail [email protected]
Armenian Bar Association: 323-666-6288
E-mail [email protected]