Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 9, 2006 Friday
AFTERWARD TO THE JUBILEE MEETING OF THE CIS COUNCIL OF DEFENSE
MINISTERS;
Moscow is prepared to strengthen its positions in the post-Soviet
republics
Russian Defense Minister held the 50th meeting of the CIS Council of
defense ministers in Baku last week.
Unfortunately, the majority of the CIS defense ministers failed to
attend the meeting. No one was surprised that representatives of
Georgia, Moldova and Turkmenistan did not arrive they always ignore
such meetings. However, it’s unknown why the defense ministers of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan refused to attend the meeting.
They sent their representatives. The Ukrainian defense minister
participated as an observer. The delegation from Armenia did not
arrive, though this country is an active participant in military
cooperation within the framework of the CIS. Armenian representatives
feared that Azerbaijan would not ensure their security. This is a
reasonable argument. There was a tragic precedent: an Armenian
officer sent to a course in English in Budapest was murdered by an
Azerbaijanian officer. Azerbaijan declared the murderer person of the
year in 2005…
Only four ministers (from Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan)
participated. However, the meeting proved to be very fruitful. They
discussed the progress of realization of the Conception of military
cooperation within the CIS until 2010. The ministers focused on the
joint anti-aircraft system and the CIS coordinating committee in
charge of anti-aircraft issues. In particular, they considered issues
linked with funding the anti-aircraft system in 2007. There are plans
to allocate around 240 million roubles for its development.
The ministers analyzed the performance of the CIS coordinating
committee of meteorological services and determined its tasks until
2010. In addition, they passed joint requirements to the
communications system and discussed planning of joint operational
exercises in 2007.
The ministers analyzed the performance of the peacekeeping contingent
in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazia conflict and decided to extend
its commander’s term in office for six months.
Sergei Ivanov made a range of important statements about Moscow’s
policy in the post-Soviet republics after the end of the summit.
He noted that 1,500 peacekeepers stationed in the Trans-Dniester
territory prevent military conflicts between Moldova and the
Trans-Dniester territory. Several hundred servicemen guard ammunition
depots of the former 14th army.
The minister said that Russia has withdrawn heavy weapons from the
Trans-Dniester territory in compliance with the conventional arms
agreement. However, he noted that Russian servicemen must remain in
this region in order to prevent terrorists from obtaining the
remaining ammunition in the Trans-Dniester territory.
The Russian minister noted, “We will be protecting these ammunition
depots until a political solution to the Trans-Dniester problem has
been found.”
To all appearances, this means that Moscow has begun to defend its
interests in the post-Soviet republics. It’s no secret that many
Russian politicians reproach the government for being too diplomatic
in solving some problems, for instance with Georgia and Ukraine.
The demonstration of such serious a position is probably linked with
the fact that the OSCE chairman, who arrived in Moldova, stated that
the OSCE is prepared to allocate EUR10 million for the withdrawal of
Russian weapons from the Trans-Dniester territory. The OSCE chairman
said that his organization intends to make Russia withdraw troops
from Moldova.
Sergei Ivanov again noted that the West uses double standards for
evaluating Russia’s and the US’ military presence abroad. In
particular, he focused on the agreement reached by the US and
Bulgaria to create an US military base in this country. The strength
of the base (2,500 servicemen) can be doubled in critical situations.
In addition, the US will be able to store heavy military vehicles at
the base. The US states that this is “insubstantial military
presence”. At the same time, the US demands that Russian withdraw
peacekeepers from the Trans-Dniester territory.
Sergei Ivanov stated that at a conference in Vienna, Russia noted
that the mechanism of control over conventional arms in Europe won’t
work. This makes Russia worry because Moscow meets its commitments,
including in the North-Caucasus.
It should be noted that the OSCE chairman informed the Moldovan
reintegration minister that Kosovo and Montenegro can serve as a
precedent for the Trans-Dniester conflict. The Trans-Dniester
territory disagrees. Its president Igor Smirnov stated that the
Trans-Dniester territory will organize a referendum concerning its
independence by October. He noted that the Trans-Dniester territory
may join the CIS. The Abkhazian leader has similar plans.
Ukrainian defense Minister Anatoly Gritsenko met with his
Azerbaijanian counterpart Safar Abiyev in Baku. The Ukrainian
minister announced the idea of creating a peacekeeping unit within
the framework of GUAM.
Some media called this statement a sensation. GUAM allegedly will
weaken Russia’s positions. It’s not new that GUAM competes with
Moscow and its allies. In principle, such a turn of events cannot be
ruled out. However, many political analysts state that the political
union of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova died long ago.
Such statements encourage Russia to more active moves. Sergei Ivanov
noted in Baku that in the prospects peacekeeping units will be sent
to Nagorny Karabakh because this problem cannot be solved. It should
be noted that Russia previously made similar statements. This is why
it’s possible that Moscow will soon initiate the issue of sending a
peacekeeping group to this region. The Russian Ground Force has a
peacekeeping brigade consisting of contract servicemen. One of its
battalions is deployed in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict.
The Russian defense minister held a meeting with his Ukrainian
counterpart Anatoly Gritsenko. They determined the destiny of the
An-70 project – Russia will not build this transport plane. The Black
Sea fleet became the main topic of negotiations.
Anatoly Gritsenko said that Sergei Ivanov plans to visit Ukraine in
summer in order to discuss this issue with the Ukrainian military
leadership.
Ukraine was stirred up by preparations for the Sea Breeze
international exercise in which Ukraine has been participating since
1997. Ukrainian residents protest against the exercise. They state
that the Ukrainian leadership seeks to join NATO and deploy a
military base of the alliance in the Crimea. The Crimean local
government bodies support the protesters.
In other words, the summit and statements made by some defense
ministers in Baku testify that military problems remain one of the
main issues in the relations between the former Soviet republics.
Russia has a lot of problems with some CIS nations. These problems
aggravate. Anyway, Moscow seeks to react to these problems.
Meanwhile, Moscow will probably have to make more decisive moves in
order to solve these problems and defend its interests in the
post-Soviet republics.
Source: WPS observer

Irish Independent
June 9, 2006 Friday
THE CHIC OF CHESS, THE COOL OF POOL AND THE NAKED HIGH-JUMPER
After this week’s grand-master punch-up over a dancing queen, MYLES
McWEENEY reports onthe sportswomen who have become as famousfor their
style and looks as their performances
To be honest, you don’t expect chess players to walk on the wild side
of life. Think chess and you conjure up images of bespectacled high
IQ nerds hunched over tables, chins resting on their hands and their
brows furrowed with concentration as they try to work out their next
killer move.
But British chess grandmaster Danny Gormally used an unusual opening
gambit when he spotted the world Number 3 player, Armenia’s Levon
Aronlan, on the dance-floor with Arianne Caoili, an attractive
19-year-old Australian player.
Danny, who is thought to be somewhat fond of Ms Caoili, marched up to
his rival and made his move. He decked the Armenian with a neat
uppercut.
The blow-up, which took place at the Chess Olympiad in Turin in the
appropriately named Hiroshima Mon Amour night club, has the chess
world in a tizz. And it has since come to light that there is even a
bizarre website dedicated to the physical charms of the best female
players, ‘Top Ten Women’s Chess Beauty Contest’.
Miss Caoili, whose ambition is to become a pop singer, is currently
No 7 on that list, which is topped by the Russian grandmaster, Vera
Nebolsina. Others on the top ten list include Serbian grandmaster
Maria Manakova, who has posed nude for magazines and often wears
distractingly skimpy outfits at tournaments, and France’s Aurelie
Dacalor.
But chess is not the only game with stars who have become more rich
and famous for their looks than their sporting prowess. The Russian
tennis player Anna Kournikova naturally springs to mind first – but
there are many more.
Check out Tatiana Grigorieva, the Australian pole-vaulter of
exceptional talent and genuine supermodel looks. The 6ft-tall athlete
was born in St Petersburg in Russia and emigrated to Australia in
1997 and now competes for her adopted country. In the 2002
Commonwealth Games, she won the gold medal and set a record.
While she is ultra-competitive in her sports career – she’s ranked No
2 in the Commonwealth – she has also embarked on a successful
modelling career, and has appeared in TV commercials and magazine
photo shoots. Her eccentric fashion sense has turned heads as she
often vaults in fur-trimmed outfits.
One sports star who shed her sheer Lycra outfits for the au naturel
look is US high jumper Amy Acuff, who has posed in the nude for a
number of magazines, including Playboy and Esquire.
The eye-catching 6ft 2ins tall Amy is an exceptional athlete and has
represented the US in the Olympics three times, coming fourth in her
event in Athens in 2004. She’s got brains too, having earned a degree
in biology and is now a licensed acupuncturist in LA as well as
training for the Beijing games in 2008.
Katerina Witt, the great former East German figure skater, has also
done a shoot for Russia’s edition of Playboy.
Born in East Germany, Katerina, a two-time Olympic gold medalist,
dominated the figure skating world in the ’80s, winning more titles
than anyone else before her. She often scandalised the prudish World
Skating Federation authorities with her daring and provocative
costumes.
Pool, the small-table version of billiards that’s hugely popular in
America, doesn’t have a glamorous image because of its association
with smoky bars and dim pool halls. That was until the arrival of
Jeanette Lee, a first generation Korean American who has become
famous for bringing glamour to the green baize.
Nicknamed The Black Widow because of her penchant for all-black
outfits, Jeanette is one of the best female pool and snooker players
in the world, despite having had a steel rod implanted in her back at
the age of 13 to cure scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.
And, of course, tennis has always been celebrated for its glamorous
players. These days, Anna Kournikova is the most famous one for being
more successful off-court than on – although she did quite well as a
doubles player, partnering Martina Hingis to a number of titles. The
pair laughingly referred to themselves as the Spice Girls of tennis.
Anna made world headlines (and a small fortune) through her sexy
Berlei Shock Absorber sports bra advertisements, which had the
unforgettable tag line “only the ball should bounce.” She is
currently retired from the game because of back injuries.
It takes exceptional physical prowess to be a successful triathlon
athlete – you have to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, jump on a bicycle
and hammer out 112 miles and then, without pause, run 26.2 miles.
At the age of 18, Lokelani McMichael became the youngest woman to
finish the Hawaii Ironman contest, a record she still holds. She has
competed in the Ironman contest for seven consecutive years, winning
the women’s section each time.
Having been told her muscles were too big for modeling, she proved
the experts wrong and her Polynesian beauty won her successful
spreads for Elle, Self, Shape, Esquire and Nike’s latest ad campaign.
A future as a sports TV presenter beckons.
One of the sexiest sports of all, from the male spectator’s point of
view, has to be women’s Beach Volleyball.
You only have to see a video of Gabrielle Reece in action to know why
it has such attraction to couch potatoes whose most strenuous
exercise is popping the tab on a beer can and ripping open a packet
of crisps.
She’s 6ft 3ins tall, possesses a stunning figure and moves with
amazing grace and athleticism. She’s been described as the
ultra-beauty jock, having broadened her fan base by drag-racing,
sky-diving, kayaking and riding monster waves in Hawaii.
What all these glamorous and successful women in sport have proved is
that you don’t have to be an over-muscled female jock to make
headlines on both the sports pages and those of fashion magazines.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
June 8, 2006 Thursday
ARRESTING GOVERNORS AND SENATORS: A WAR OR A SPECIAL OPERATION?
by Maria Rogacheva, Alexander Sazonov, Valery Kornev
A review of corruption allegations against senior state officials; On
June 6, former prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov said his goodbyes
to his subordinates. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption campaign is
expanding inexorably. News reports from the regions and the
Federation Council resemble reports from battlefields.
On June 6, former prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov said his
goodbyes to his subordinates. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption campaign
– launched by the president, not the prosecutor general – is
expanding inexorably. News reports from the regions and the
Federation Council resemble reports from battlefields. Charges have
been issued against a group of Federal Customs Service officials,
Governor Alexei Barinov of the Nenets autonomous district, and
Volgograd Mayor Yevgeny Ishchenko. They may be joined by Levon
Chakhmakhchyan, Federation Council member for Kalmykia. New details
about their extravagant lifestyles and extraneous business activities
surprise the public every day. Russia’s political elite is bracing
itself for further revelations and high-profile dismissals in bodies
including the federal government. The elite senses that this war on
corruption is serious and set to last a long time.
Mayor buys a yacht for himself and a fountain for the city
Reports yesterday listed assets allegedly acquired by Volgograd Mayor
Yevgeny Ishchenko. The list is based on a property division lawsuit
filed by Ishchenko’s common law wife, Yevgenia Att. She denies
writing the document.
Nevertheless, according to our source at the Volgograd regional
prosecutor’s office, shortly before his arrest Ishchenko was
negotiating to buy an island in the Maldives. He planned to build a
hotel and entertainment center there. He didn’t have time to complete
those negotiations, but he did spend 3 million euros on a yacht,
which is in the port of Monaco. The yacht’s official owner is a
company described by prosecutors as a dummy company. Also registered
is a luxury dacha property, built on the site of a children’s
sanatorium. Realtors estimate that a 200-square-meter apartment in
central Volgograd is currently worth 8-10 million rubles, or up to 15
million if it’s in good condition.
According to the municipal administration, the mayor’s official
salary was 50,000 rubles per month. Still, Ishchenko wasn’t greedy.
In autumn 2005, he made a gift to the city: a fountain called “He and
She,” imported from Italy. It was announced that Ishchenko had paid
for the fountain himself. The value of the gift was never stated.
Around the same time, there were renewed rumors in Volgograd that
Ishchenko and Att planned to marry.
Senator burned by a case full of dollars
The case of Levon Chakhmachyan, Federation Council member for
Kalmykia, is developing rapidly. On June 3, Federation Council
Speaker Sergei Mironov sent the regional legislature of Kalmykia an
instruction to recall Chakhmachyan.
At first, representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office said
that Chakhmachyan was simply present at detention of Igor Arushanov,
chief accountant of the Association of Russian-Armenian Business
Cooperation. A sum of $300,000 marked with special paint was
confiscated from Arushanov. According to the Prosecutor General’s
Office, Arushanov and Chakhmachyan’s son-in-law Armen Oganesyan who
was also detained demanded $1.5 million from head of Transaero
Alexander Pleshakov for deleting negative information from the
Auditing Chamber’s audit report. Auditing Chamber Chairman Sergei
Stepashin explained that three weeks ago Pleshakov reported to him
about address of representatives of the Auditing Chamber through
intermediaries. Inspection was underway in Transaero then and
Pleshakov was offered to change the final report in his favor for
$1.5 million. After the meeting with Pleshakov, Stepashin approached
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Nikolai Patrushev. Arushanov
and Oganesyan were soon arrested on fraud charges.
Yesterday, acting Prosecutor General Yury Biryukov requested the
Supreme Court to decide whether there is evidence of similar crimes
in the actions of Levon Chakhmachyan. Sources in the Federation
Council say that Chakhmachyan may be arrested as soon as June 23. The
procedure for recalling him from the Federation Council is planned
for that day.
The anti-corruption campaign is also gaining pace in Khakassia. Law
enforcement agency officials from Moscow have arrived in that region.
A few days later criminal proceedings were instituted against Vasily
Tsyganok, former senior deputy to Governor Alexei Lebed. The criminal
proceedings were instituted according to the fact of taking of a
bribe worth 717,000 rubles in the form of property benefit.
Renovations to Tsyganok’s apartment cost a similar sum.
According to available information, hard times begin for Lebed. To
forestall them Lebed gathered a press conference and called on the
Prosecutor General’s office to prevent criminals from evading
punishment.
One of the most prominent scandals related to corruption in the
law-enforcement agencies reached its conclusion in the Lefortovo
detention center, at a hearing of the Moscow military court.
Pleadings began on Monday in the criminal affair against General of
the Emergency Situations Ministry Vladimir Ganeev and six senior
officers of the Moscow criminal police (Yury Samolkin, Yevgeny
Taratorin, Nikolai Demin, Igor Ostrovsky, Vadim Vladimirov and
Alexander Breshanov). All of them are accused of a series of gross
crimes including organization of a criminal group with use of service
positions, service power embezzlement with use of violence and
extortion. According to documents of the criminal case, expensive
cars and houses in Russia and abroad were bought with money obtained
by a criminal way. About $3 million was confiscated from the bank
safes. The accused were arrested in June of 2003. Legal proceedings
have lasted for 18 months and about 100 people were interrogated as
witnesses and victims. For some of the crimes the accused may be put
into prison for ten to twenty years.
Source: Izvestia, June 8, 2006, p. 3
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

RosBusinessConsulting Database
June 8, 2006 Thursday 8:27 AM EST
MegaFon silent on ArmenTel bid
MegaFon has not submitted a bid for the acquisition of Armenian
telecommunications provider ArmenTel, but considers the asset of
interest, MegaFon’s press secretary Marina Belasheva told RBC.
According to her, Armenia appeals to the company as an area for the
expansion of its network, but so do other countries in the CIS.
However, Belasheva could neither confirm nor comment on allegations
of MegaFon’s participation in the tender.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 8, 2006 Thursday 08:54 PM EST
Quarter of issues remain unresolved in Nagorno Karabakh talks
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said on Thursday the talks
on the basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh settlement have 25-30
percent of contradicting issues, which the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan are trying to resolve.
“At present there are proposals of co-chairs on the principles of
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and, given the political
will, they may be accepted”, he told the Shant TV channel.
Oskanyan said Armenia agreed to discuss earlier unacceptable topics
only after the issue of self-determination of the people of Nagorno
Karabakh was included into the agenda.
“We can discuss other issues only after the right of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination is fixed,” the minister
said.
He said he may meet his Azerbaijani counterpart already next week and
the mediators from the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno Karabakh are
already arranging the meeting.
Oskanyan said he and his Azerbaijani counterpart will work to bring
positions closer, and if they succeed, a new Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit will become possible.
“For the sake of the settlement Armenia has done the maximum and
agreed to very serious compromises. But there is a limit, which the
Armenian side cannot overstep,” the minister said.
He added “the problem of Nagorno Karabakh has no military solution
and there is no other way out than to continue negotiations. We shall
work for the settlement through compromises,” Oskanyan said.

Agence France Presse — English
June 9, 2006 Friday 10:42 AM GMT
UN anti-racism monitor heading to Russia
A UN anti-racism monitor is heading to Russia at the invitation of
authorities there, amid concerns over a wave of attacks and a rising
climate of intolerance in the country, officials said Friday.
Doudou Diene, the UN special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia,
will visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg and meet with officials from
June 12 to 17, said Jose Diaz, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights.
“There has been a very serious rise in the number of racist attacks
in the Russian Federation, including murders, especially Moscow and
Saint Petersburg,” Diaz told journalists.
While that would be the main focus of Diene’s visit, the UN expert
will also take up wider problems related to intolerance, said Diaz.
Recognisable Russian ethnic minorities — especially Chechens and
other Caucasians — as well as Armenians, Roma gypsies and Jews, and
foreign nationals such as Africans and Asians have increasingly been
targeted in racist attacks.
Although a string of murders by skinheads has grabbed headlines,
human rights campaigners also accuse Russian security forces and
semi-official law enforcement militias of routine abuses and point to
a climate of near-impunity.

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, June 9, 2006
Contact: Maral Habeshian
Armenian Community Condemns Anti-Armenian Attacks during California
Democratic Primary Election
Community Reaches New Milestone in Empowerment
GLENDALE, California–On Wednesday, June 7, the Armenian National
Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA) organized a post-election
press conference with a broad cross-section of Armenian American
community organizations to recognize the new milestone in political
empowerment and address the anti-Armenian campaign attacks intended to
derail Paul Krekorian’s election as the democratic nominee for the
43rd California Assembly seat.
“This is a historic day in achieving a new level of political presence
in California for the Armenian community which is a symbol of our
increasing political and collective strength–this is something we
achieved together as a community,” said Zanku Armenian, Board Member
of the ANCA-WR. “It is our hope that this will usher in a new era of
unprecedented cooperation, bringing together all of our strength so
that we may lead the Armenian community to new levels of achievement.”
Community leadership representing organizations throughout the
southern California Armenian American community also uniformly
delivered a clear message by condemning the mailer and calling
campaign sponsored by the California Latino Leadership Fund but widely
believed to have been orchestrated by Frank Quintero’s campaign and
his political advisors. During the last several weeks of the campaign
Paul Krekorian, the ANCA and the Armenian community were characterized
as `terrorists’ or terrorist sympathizers. In addition, the Quintero
campaign, through several mail pieces, demonized the Armenian
community’s participation in the democratic process by making
allegations of wide-spread voter fraud.
“Unfortunately, during this campaign, ugly, anti-Armenian racist acts
were committed against Paul Krekorian, the ANC, and our community,’
said Armenian. `Together, we are standing before you today to say
that this is unacceptable, we are outraged and we will hold all those
individuals, organizations and institutions involved in this
accountable.”
During the press conference each of the Armenian American
organizations and Armenian American public officials pledged to stand
together to fight the racist attacks and to declare that those
responsible for these unethical and vicious attacks against the
community will be held fully accountable.
In closing the press conference, Armenian said “Let me close with this
symbolic statement: On June 6th we took our people’s ladle and dipped
it into the pot of ‘Herriseh’ to get our just share… and this time
our ladle was made of steel.”
Below are excerpts of statements delivered during the press
conference:
ARCHBISHOP MOUSHEGH MARDIROSSIAN
Prelate, Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
`Faith without toil is dead, and during this campaign we transformed
faith into work, and embodied faith to successfully carry-out that
which is kind and worthy. At times, this campaign departed the
acceptable norms for a competitive environment, resorting instead to
mudslinging in an attempt to shake our honor and unity, and to divide
us. But we, as law-abiding citizens did what we had to with clear
intent and knowledge. What has happened to us is unacceptable and
must be pursued to secure justice and accountability.’
ARCHBISHOP VATCHE HOVSEPIAN
Representing Prelate Hovan Derderian, Primate, Western Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of North America
`We, as Armenians, have a mission to carry-out in this community. We
are not intimidated by anyone because we are legal and long-time
citizens of this country. We are here today under one name. We are
Armenian and will not allow anyone to tamper with our pride.’
REVERAND JOE MATOSSIAN
Minister to the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America
`There is no doubt that we are shaken by these hurtful announcements
against us… when attempts to divide us are thrown our way, we will
make them fail with our commitment to stand as one. We are an
outstanding nationality, God-fearing and one. We will fight for
justice.’
FR. ANTON SAROYAN
Armenian Catholic Exarchate of North America
`We are amazed that the guarantee to the right of freedom of
expression in the Unites States is manipulated by certain individuals
in an attempt to gain political victory, with excuses that are based
solely on deceit and selfishness.
We urge all Armenians to stand in support of all our national, social
and religious organizations and institutions, specifically the
Armenian National Committee, which work with dedication, sacrifice and
persistence to protect our just rights and national identity.’
RAFI MANOUKIAN
Glendale City Councilmember
`There are acceptable norms to conducting campaigns, but Paul
Krekorian’s opponents not only crossed the line, but dared to do the
unthinkable by attacking his wife, family, and nationality. In an
attempt to inject fear into the community, they even accused Armenians
of being `terrorists.’
Believe me, this matter is not over; now comes the matter of
accountability, which we will demand from all those who created this
environment.’
BOB YOUSEFIAN
Glendale City Councilmember
`This victory is for what is honorable, what is right. The people
unanimously rejected horrible accusations by a candidate, and rejected
Quintero’s attempt to divide and conquer. We were tested, but sent a
message that we are together and it did not work.’
ARA NAJARIAN
Glendale City Councilmember
`June 6th brought heights of elation for me, but also a deep
wound… The attack was not just on Paul but also on the ANC, and was
totally baseless. Imagine attacking the work of the ANC which is to
educate children; to educate and get justice for the Armenian
Genocide. This is a continuation of the genocide, where the victim is
demonized one more time; it’s reprehensible.
And I pledge never to forget; I will fight like I’ve never fought
before. Look who we have gathered here. We are united and one force.’
LEONARD MANOUKIAN
Chairman Armenian National Committee-Political Action Committee
`The ANC-PAC selected Paul Krekorian not because he is Armenian but
because he is the right man. He proved himself; his popularity grew,
and when his opponents discerned this, they resorted to tactics that
are an abomination, and disrespectful to the community.
The ANC-PAC appealed to the community, the Armenian electorate to
stand up – not for the organization but for what is right – to bring
participation to the political arena, and they did.
We now have a community that is well-aware of their ability, energy
and talent, whereas before they only saw the mere potential of its
strength.’
Organziations and representatives at press conference:
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, Western Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America; representing Primate Hovan
Derderian, Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church of North America; Joe Matossian Minister to the
Armenian Evangelical Union of North America; representing Fr. Anton
Saroyan Armenian Catholic Exarchate of North America, Antoine
Karamalian; Glendale City Council Members Rafi Manoukian, Ara
Najarian, Bob Yousefian; Dr. Armine Hacopian, Vice President of
Glendale Community College Board of Trustees; Angela Savoyan,
Chairwoman ARS Western Region Board; Hrair Sherikian, Hamazkayin
Western Region Chairman; Parsegh Kartalian representing AGBU; Nora
Khatchadourian, Armenian Society of Los Angeles; Vahig Zadourian,
Davidian & Mariamian Educational Foundation; Sari Shirinian, AYF; Vahe
Shahinian, ANC Burbank; Khatchik Khalatian, Homenetmen Ararat Chapter;
Zanku Armenian and Steve Artinian, ANCA Western Region Board
representatives;
Leonard Manoukian, ANC-PAC; Alina Azizian, Glendale ANC.

BusinessWorld
June 9, 2006 Friday
CHESS PIECE;
Armenia is champion
by Bobby Ang
2006 Turin Chess Olympiad
Men’s Olympiad
20 May – 04 June 2006
Top Final Standings
1. Armenia, 36.0/52
2. China, 34.0/52
3-4. USA, Israel, 33.0/52
5. Hungary, 32.5/52
6-10. Russia, France, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain, 32.0/52
Total of 150 teams participating
Armenia closed out with a quick 2-2 draw with Hungary to officially
claim supremacy over the chess world until 2008 at least. The silver
medals went to the Chinese who beat the Netherlands while Israel (a
surprise 3-1 victor over Russia) and the USA (by virtue of a 3.5-0.5
massacre over Norway) finished in a dead heat for third place. The
Buccholz tie-break system gave the bronze medal to the Americans.
The Armenians were without a doubt deserving champions, not only did
they win the most matches, 10, but they also finished undefeated,
something no other country was able to do. Also, for someone like me
who has seen his fair share of intra-team rivalries and petty
jealousies, it was gratifying to see that these guys from the
Caucasus know something about team play – their individual players
sacrificed personal ambition for the sake of the team. Several rounds
before the end Akopian, who had a performance of 2928 in his first
eight games, could ensure an individual medal in board 2 and
Sargissian in board 5 as well by the simple expedient of sidelining
themselves in favor of their reserves. But they continued playing, at
the expense of some possible draws or losses that could hamper their
individual standings.
What happened to the Philippines?
In the last two rounds we needed five points to have a chance at a
decent finish, but instead we drew with Switzerland (2-2) and lost to
Brazil (1.5-2.5). As a result, our final placing was 44th – the worst
finish in recent history.
What excuse can we give now, that we were unlucky? I am afraid we
cannot even say that. We only won four matches drew five and lost
four. Two years ago in Calvia we won eight matches! The only bright
spot in this year’s campaign was the 3.5-0.5 whitewash we
administered Iceland, but is it really that big a deal? Iceland used
to be a very strong country, but many of its top players are either
fully or semi-retired. They finished in 45th place, so what are we so
joyful about?
Can we use our favorite excuse “no money?” I always hate it when I
hear that. Our SEA Games team was properly funded, and yet came away
with not a single gold medal. This Olympiad team was also funded well
– what happened to it?
One day, the chess-powers-that-be will realize that smiling at our
chess players, paying for their living expenses, giving them nice
rooms to stay in one week before departure, and encouraging them to
“do their best” will NOT get us medals.
Our best performances were achieved with starving and freezing teams.
Get them all to train properly – all this “we will train at home just
give us the money to buy books” nonsense must stop.
Our players have to learn to train on the Internet. Accounts have to
be created for them in the Internet Chess Club. They have to be
encouraged to work on their openings for a few hours, and then try
out the fruits of their research in online combat, and someone must
be going over their games (Internet games are saved automatically, of
course) to review what is going on.
If you want to give them special coaches, then fine. But make sure
these are professional coaches, and not retired players who need the
money and therefore “I am a coach.” If you think they need special
openings analysts, then excellent! But get real experts, and not
players who need the job and therefore “I am an analyst.”
I know most people do not like unsolicited advice, so as much as
possible I avoid giving it. But there are too many hangers-on now. It
is about time someone gave Messrs. Go Teng Kok and Rep. Pichay good
advice.
GORMALLYGATE. Arianne Caoili played top board for our women’s team in
the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad. She was only 14 at that time and by now
has blossomed to be quite a beauty. A few years ago her parents
separated and she left for Australia with her mom.
Arianne went to Turin as board 3 for the land from down under. Our
Australian correspondent Amiel Rosario wrote about quite an
interesting incident during the Bermuda dinner socials held after the
10th round of Turin Olympiad.
Apparently the English board 4, GM Daniel Gormally, wanted to dance
with Arianne, but was quite annoyed that GM Levon Aronian had beaten
him to it. I am sure that ELO rating had nothing to do with this, of
course, nor the fact that Levon is the world no. 3. Anyway Gormally
went up to the dancing couple, punched Aronian in the face and shoved
him to the floor.
This incident was reported to the English delegation and by the next
morning their team captain apologized for his behavior to his
counterpart on the Armenian side (Times of London reports that he
also happens to be the Defense Minister of his country). Aronian is
treated like a god in Armenia, and all hopes that his followers were
appeased by this apology disappeared when some of them attacked
Gormally when he went out for coffee with friends. So as to avoid
further incident the Englishman was asked to take the next available
flight home.
Well, I was Arianne’s team captain during the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad
and noticed the impact she makes by simply walking into a room. On or
off the board she is a knockout!
VLADIMIR KRAMNIK. OK, back to chess. Kramnik wound up his first
appearance after medical treatment for arthritis by producing the
best performance in the Olympiad. He played nine games against
opposition with an average rating of 2681 and scored four wins and
five draws. The quality of the games was very high. We presented his
beautiful victory over Naiditsch in our first report, now let us see
another of his productions:
Kramnik, Vladimir (2729) – Bruzon Bautista, Lazaro (2652) [D52]
37th Olympiad Turin ITA (12), 03.06.2006
1.Nf3
In his quest to bring more aggression back into his play Kramnik
dabbled with 1.e4 last year. Now, on his comeback, he goes back to
his tried and true 1.Nf3.
1…d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5
The Cambridge Springs Defense. The main idea of that opening is to
immediately put pressure on White’s pinned Nc3. Sometimes Black can
also profit from insecure position of White’s Bg5.
7.cxd5
The most ambitious move. Another common line here is 7.Nd2 Bb4 8.Qc2
0n0 9.Be2 c5.
7…Nxd5 8.Qd2 Bb4 9.Rc1 h6 10.Bh4 0n0 11.a3 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Qxa3
Kramnik has given up a pawn for the bishop pair and attacking
prospects on the kingside. By the way, we are still in the books at
this point.
13.e4 Ne7 14.Bd3 Ng6 15.Bg3 e5
Otherwise Black would be passive forever.
16.0-0!
Here I can make a flip comment like “when in doubt, castle”, but it
would not be appropriate. Kramnik’s move is very deep; instead of
trying to recover his pawn investment right away he unhurriedly
completes his development – he has already seen how he is going to
lay out his troops.
16…Re8 17.Rfe1 Qa5 18.Qb2 Qd8 19.Bb1!
A great move. The bishop will be relocated to the a2-g8 diagonal.
19…a5 20.Rcd1 a4 21.Ba2 Qe7 22.Qc1 Ra5 23.Qd2
I really like the way Kramnik is conducting this phase – he seems to
be moving in slow motion, but at the same time Black is finding his
moves harder and harder to come by.
23…exd4?
Black was probably a bit frustrated with his planless situation and
strikes out rashly. It would have been better for him simply to
shuffle his pieces back and forth and wait for white to attack.
24.Nxd4
Now the white knight gets to f5 and the position becomes critical.
24…Qc5 25.Bc7!
This is not only an attack on the rook. You will see the real point
later.
25…Ra8? 26.Bxf7+! Kxf7 27.Qa2+ Kf8
We will see one point of Bc7 if Black plays 27…Kf6 because now
white has 28.Bd8+!! Rxd8 29.Qe6+ Kg5 30.Nf3+ Kf4 (30…Kh5 31.g4#)
31.g3+ Kxf3 32.Rd3+ mate next move.
28.Ne6+ Rxe6 29.Qxe6
Another point of Bc7: If White’s bishop was still on g3 Black could
now defend with …Nge5, but with the bishop on c7 this move is
impossible because of Bd6+.
29…Ne7 30.Re3 Ke8 31.Rf3 Qh5 32.Bd6 1-0
A beauty.

Agence France Presse
8 juin 2006 jeudi 5:16 PM GMT
Un journaliste turc acquitté au nom de la liberté d’expression
Un tribunal turc a acquitté jeudi un éminent journaliste turc, dans
une affaire de liberté d’expression liée à la question du massacre
d’Arméniens à l’époque de l’Empire ottoman, a rapporté l’agence de
presse Anatolia.
Le tribunal a estimé que Murat Belge, un chroniqueur du quotidien
Radikal, n’avait pas fait injure à l’institution judiciaire en
critiquant la décision d’une cour qui, en septembre, avait empêché
dans un premier temps l’ouverture d’une conférence très attendue sur
la question arménienne. Ce sujet est longtemps resté tabou en Turquie
où le débat ne fait que commencer, notamment sous pression de l’Union
européenne (UE) à laquelle le pays souhaite adhérer à terme.
Le juge a abandonné des charges similaires retenues à l’encontre de
M. Belge pour un second article sur le même sujet, invoquant la
prescription, a précisé Anatolia.
Le journaliste encourait une peine de dix ans de prison pour les deux
articles.
L’UE a averti à maintes reprises Ankara que les poursuites
judiciaires contre des intellectuels usant de leur droit à la liberté
d’expression compromettaient la demande d’adhésion de la Turquie.
Des charges retenues contre quatre autres journalistes, inculpés avec
M. Belge dans la même affaire, avaient été abandonnées en avril,
également pour raison de prescription.
La conférence avait finalement pu se tenir, dans un autre lieu de
réunion que celui prévu. Son interdiction avait été réclamée par des
ultra-nationalistes turcs qui refusent la reconnaissance du génocide
arménien.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 9, 2006 Friday 04:15 AM EST
Kalmyk parliament terminates senator’s powers
by Fedor Zavyalov
ELISTA
Narodny Khural (parliament) of Kalmykia has passed a resolution on
Friday, terminating the powers of Kalmyk senator to the Federation
Council Levon Chakhmakhchian suspected of accepting a bribe. A
resolution on termination of the senator’s powers was backed by
eighteen deputies with one vote against.
After the Kalmyk parliament gave its consent to the senator’s
dismissal the Upper Chamber of the Russian parliament can raise the
question of early termination of powers of the Kalmyk senator at its
regular meeting due on June 23. Earlier, Chairman of the Federation
Council Sergei Mironov said that a senator’s personal statement for
early termination of powers as a member of the Federation Council was
unnecessary.
Sergei Mironov sent a document to the Kalmyk parliament on June 3,
notifying about a decision on early termination of powers of senator
from Kalmykia Levon Chakhmakhchian and consequently, stripping him of
immunity status. The Speaker was informed that FSB agents found
300,000 dollars in the Kalmyk deputy’s case during a secret
operation. The banknotes had earlier been marked by a fluorescent
reagent. The banknotes where found during checks made by security
agents into facts of bribery practiced by some senior officials for
withholding certain facts found out during inspections made by the
Russian Audit Chamber. The overall sum paid “in gratitude” totaled
approximately 1.5 million dollars.
Chief accountant of the Association of Russo-Armenian business
cooperation Igor Arushanov and assistant auditor of the Audit Chamber
Armen Oganesyan are under investigation on the same criminal case.
Both were detained in Moscow on charges of bribery on June 2.
Chakhmakhchian was elected senator of the Federation Council from
Kalmykia in 2004. He occupied the post of Deputy Chairman of the
Committee for problems of local governments.