The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
June 2, 2006 Friday
China threaten Armenia
by Malcolm Pein
AN astonishing 4-0 whitewash of Georgia has moved China to within a
point of the leaders Armenia with four rounds to play of the 37th
Chess Olympiad in Turin.
Armenia overcame Ukraine 2.5-1.5 while Russia’s misfortunes continued
as they lost to France with the world champion, Vladimir Kramnik,
comfortably held to a draw by Etienne Bacrot.
Ian Gourlay starred as Scotland held Peru to a 2-2 draw after
Jonathan Rowson had lost to Julio Granda Zuniga on top board. England
had another disaster as Jon Speelman misplayed the opening and missed
a tactical shot, but wins from Michael Adams, who had to work very
hard, and Nick Pert, who did not, produced a minimal 2.5-1.5 win over
Mexico.
I Gourlay – Cr Cruz
37th Olympiad Turin (9)
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.c4 d4 4.b4 (gaining queenside space but also
intending to pressure d4 with Bb2 when Nc6 can be met by b4-b5)
4…c5 (now the game is a Benko Gambit in reverse, usually reached by
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5) 5.Bg2 Qc7 (5…cxb4 6.a3 bxa3 7.Bxa3 Nc6
8.d3 gives pressure on the queenside files after White plays Nbd2,
0-0, Qa4 and Rfb1) 6.e3!? (very enterprising) 6…cxb4 (6…dxe3
7.fxe3 cxb4 8.0-0 Qxc4 9.Ne5 Qe6 10.d4 with reasonable compensation)
7.Nxd4 e5 (7…Qxc4 is not bad but Black thinks he can do better)
8.Nf3 e4 9.Nd4 Qxc4 10.Bb2 Nc6 (Black stands well after the
conservative 10…Be7 11.a3 0-0 12.axb4 Nc6 but this involves giving
back the extra pawn for a while; 10…Bg4!? 11.d3 Qa6) 11.d3! (White
takes his chance to activate his pieces. Another pawn is of no
consequence) 11…exd3 12.Nd2 Qa6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Bxf6 (White always
has chances after this, the Black king cannot find total safety)
14…gxf6 15.Qf3 Bb7 16.0-0! (16.Qxf6 Rg8 17.0-0 Rg6) 16…Be7
17.Rfc1 Rd8 (17…Qb5!? 18.Nb3 0-0 19.Nd4 Qe5 20.Qg4+ Kh8 21.Qd7 Rab8
22.Nxc6 Bxc6 23.Bxc6 Rfd8 and the d pawn is very strong) 18.Nb3 Ba8
(unpinning the bishop in order to play c6-c5) 19.Qg4 Qb6? (19…Kf8!)
20.Qg7 Rf8 21.Qxh7 a5 (21…c5 22.Bxa8 Rxa8 23.Qxd3) 22.Nd4 c5
(22…Rxd4 23.exd4 Qxd4 24.Rd1 d2 25.Qc2) 23.Bxa8 Rxa8 (23…cxd4
24.Bc6+ Rd7 25.Qxd3) 24.Qe4! Ra7 25.Nf5 d2 (25…Rd7 26.Rd1 Qa6
27.Rac1 and Black will lose the d pawn with the c pawn to follow)
26.Rd1 Rd7 27.Rxd2! 1-0 in view of 27…Rxd2 28.Qxe7 mate.
Cruz
Gourlay
Position after 27.Rxd2! and if 27…Rxd2 28.Qxe7 mate. Or 27…Qa7
28.Qxe7+! Rxe7 29.Ng7 mat

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 2, 2006 Friday
PARDON THE EXPRESSION
by Arkady Dubnov
A MEETING OF THE CIS COUNCIL OF DEFENSE MINISTERS IN BAKU ENDORSED
PRIORITIES AND PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN REALIZING THE CONCEPT OF MILITARY
COOPERATION BETWEEN CIS COUNTRIES; At the meeting of the CIS Council
of Defense Ministers in Baku, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said:
“Peace, security, and law in the Caspian Sea should be maintained by
the coastal states.” This was how Moscow responded to rumors that
Washington wants an American radar installation in the region.
Defense ministers voted to extend the powers of Major-General Sergei
Cheban, current commander of the Collective Peacekeeping Force in the
Georgian-Abkhazian conflict area, for another six months. When it was
over, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov called the meeting “another step to advancement of military
cooperation and facilitation of trust and mutual understanding
between CIS countries.”
Ivanov’s phrase of “trust and mutual understanding” was certainly
made to sound quixotic by the absence of the Armenian military from
the Baku conference. The Azeris did not invite them to the meeting,
because they view the Armenian military as personae non grata and
their country as an “occupier.”
Ivanov made an even more interesting statement in Baku. “As for
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said, “I don’t rule out the possibility that
peacekeepers may appear there soon – in order to guarantee
realization of the political agreements that I’m sure will be signed
sooner or later.”
“This so-so situation – if you’ll pardon the expression – cannot
last,” Ivanov said.
This mention of Nagorno-Karabakh will probably require a
clarification because the matter concerns the Azeri-Armenian conflict
area, actually Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan around the
enclave.
But this wasn’t what attracted observers’ attention. Ivanov made his
statement in Baku, the same day that Ukrainian and Azeri defense
ministers Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Safar Abiyev discussed establishing
a GUAM peacekeeping contingent (both countries are GUAM members).
Moscow is not going to like it if and when initiators of the idea
offer their services in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.
Ivanov said, “Peace, security, and law in the Caspian Sea should be
maintained by the coastal states.” This was how Moscow responded to
rumors that Washington wants an American radar installation in the
region. Ivanov was diplomatic enough to add that he “doesn’t know
anything of any such plans.”
Armenian President Robert Kocharjan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
are expected to meet under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group in
Bucharest on June 5. Moscow is already troubled. Even if Yerevan and
Baku find a compromise, not everyone will agree with participation of
the Russian military in the international peacekeeping contingent
(probably under the UN aegis) in the conflict area.
Azeri Foreign Ministry called Ivanov’s statement on peacekeepers
“considerate” and took it as an indication of Moscow’s eagerness to
see the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolved. Ex-president of
Azerbaijan Ajaz Mutalibov called the statement “positive” as well.
Radio Echo of Moscow quoted Mutalibov as accepting “the possibility
that Russia is just the peacekeepers neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia
will have any objections to.”
Official Yerevan’s reaction to the news from Baku is not known at
this point. Alexander Iskanderjan, a prominent political scientist,
in the meantime is quite skeptical of Ivanov’s words concerning
deployment of peacekeepers and his confidence that “the situation…
cannot last.” “On the contrary, the status quo may last long yet,”
Iskanderjan said. “In any case, no serious politician in Yerevan is
going to propose a compromise with Baku before the parliamentary
election scheduled for 2007 and presidential scheduled for 2008.”
“Moreover, Moscow itself needs resolution of the conflict postponed
for as long as possible because the advantages this resolution will
give either side will inevitably weaken Russia’s influence with the
southern part of the Caucasus,” Iskanderjan said.
Source: Vremya Novostei, June 1, 2006, p. 3
Translated by A. Ignatkin

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 2, 2006 Friday
RUSSIAN SERVICEMEN ON THE ARMENIAN BORDER
by Alexei Ventslovsky
RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS HELP THEIR ARMENIAN COUNTERPARTS PROTECT THE
BORDER WITH TURKEY AND IRAN; Lieutenant-General Sergei Bondarev,
chief of the Russian border guard department in Armenia, said that
Russian servicemen solve their tasks on the border with Turkey (355
km) and Iran (48 km).
As is known, the Russian border guard service helps several CIS
nations ensure the security of their border. Russia’s border guard
posts are located on Armenia’s border with Turkey and Iran.
(…)
Lieutenant-General Sergei Bondarev, chief of the Russian border guard
department in Armenia, said that Russian servicemen solve their tasks
on the border with Turkey (355 km) and Iran (48 km). He noted: “Last
year we detained 187 violators of the border and 1,293 people with
improper documents. We banned over 300 people from crossing the
border. The Armenian customs office confiscated smuggling worth of
$30,000 and 80 units of cold steel. We prevented over 100 attempts to
violate the border.”
(…)
Russia and Armenia fund the border guard department together. Russia
allocates 70% of the budget, including wages. Armenia solves social
issues.
It should be noted that our border guards managed to cut the number
of young officers who leave the army. Only two out of 100 graduates
from military high schools have resigned over the past two years. The
share of contract servicemen is 39%. We do not have problems with
junior commanders.
(…)
Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, May 27, 2006, p. 2

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 2, 2006 Friday
RUSSIA’S FLAG OVER THE ARMENIAN MOUNTAINS;
The specific features of service on the border does not reduce the
102nd military base’s combat readiness
by Nikolai Pankratov
AN INTERVIEW WITH COLONEL ANDREI KHOLZAKOV, COMMANDER OF THE 102ND
MILITARY BASE; Colonel Andrei Kholzakov, commander of the 102nd
military base stationed in Armenia, answers the newspaper’s
questions.
Question: What are the tasks and status of the 102nd military base?
Answer: The 102nd base was created on the basis of the agreement
between Russia and Armenia. A former motorized infantry division is
the core of the base. As far as our tasks are concerned, we must
retain combat readiness and fulfill any order.
(…) Armenia has signed 45 international agreements in the military
sector with Russia. Our Defense Ministries signed the plan of
bilateral cooperation in 2006.
Question: What weapons does the base have?
Answer: We use standard weapons, like any other military unit
stationed in Russia. (…)
Question: The situation in the world may become unstable in
connection with the situation in Iran. What do you think about the
situation in the region?
Answer: I think that the situation is stable. Armenia’s attitude to
Russian servicemen is friendly.
(…)
Question: Combat training at the base is rather specific. What are
the priority tasks? What is the ratio of contract servicemen and
draftees?
Answer: We have both contract servicemen and draftees. We need
different approaches to their training. The priority task of combat
training is to teach servicemen to operate in the mountains. We have
very good firing ranges in the mountains. (…)
Question: How many Armenians do serve at the base?
Answer: Locals account for 30% of servicemen. (…) Around 10% of
officers are originally from Armenia. However, they are Russian
citizens. (…)
Question: What are Russia’s interests in this region? What are the
prospects of relations between Russia and Armenia?
Answer: There are no talks about the withdrawal of the base yet. It
will remain in Armenia during 15 years. Last summer we organized a
joint exercise with Armenia within the framework of the Collective
security treaty organization. We organize joint wargames.
(…)
Question: The press stated that part of military hardware withdrawn
from Georgia will be sent to the 102nd base. What can you say about
it?
Answer: This is a normal process. We have weapons, which need to be
replaced due to their deterioration.
Question: (…) What are the most topical problems? Do you have
enough contract servicemen?
Answer: (…) We are not involved in the federal program aimed at
implementing the contract system of recruitment yet. The share of
contract servicemen is around 25%. This is not much. These are
specialists who determine our combat readiness: drivers, technicians
and more. We have contract sergeants.
(…)
Question: What is the ratio of officers and graduates from military
sub-faculties of civil high schools?
Answer: The ratio is 50 to 50. Around 20% of them prolong their
contracts after two-year military service. (…)
Source: Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer, No. 19, May 24-30, 2006, p. 7

Australian Associated Press Pty. Ltd.
AAP Newsfeed
June 2, 2006 Friday 6:14 PM AEST
Box: Darchinyan going for knockout against champ
by Adrian Warren
Australia’s flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan plans to wow a
worldwide audience this weekend by knocking out Mexican Luis
Maldonado in his first fight in Las Vegas.
The big punching 30-year-old Sydneysider has the opportunity to
boost his burgeoning profile in front of a massive global television
audience in the main preliminary fight to the third clash between
World Boxing Council lightweight champion Diego Corrales and Jose
Luis Castillo.
International Boxing Federation and International Boxing
Organisation flyweight world champion Darchinyan boasts an impressive
record of 25-0 (20 KOs).
Darchinyan has won all four of his world title fights inside the
distance and stopped his last seven opponents. While he has fought in
the US twice before, and visited Las Vegas on several occasions, the
bout at the Thomas and Mack Centre on Sunday (AEST) represents his
debut in the famous fight city.
“For my career this is a very good opportunity for me, to show
people how good I am,” Darchinyan said from Las Vegas.
“I’m fighting with an undefeated Mexican, who has been a
professional boxer longer than me. When I knock him out, I believe
people will start recognising me and start talking about me and they
will give me much respect.
“It’s an incredible opportunity. If you can fight in Vegas, you
can fight anywhere in America. The main support on a big show
promises many things for me.”
Darchinyan’s American promoter Gary Shaw is believed to have
provisionally arranged for him to appear on another big Vegas
promotion in August.
Honed by what Darchinyan and his trainer Jeff Fenech believe is
his best preparation ever, the Armenian-born champion claimed he was
punching harder than ever.
“Every fight I’m becoming more powerful, my punch is becoming
stronger,” Darchinyan said. “I believe I will knock him out and I
will show my power because I can feel my power now. I’m getting
stronger and stronger.
“From my sparring and preparation I feel very good, I don’t have
any sore or hurting places on my body.
“I came to America very fit, I did sparring in Phoenix in 40
degree heat and I can feel my fitness is good.”
Maldonado 28, has an impressive record of 33 wins (25 KOs) no
losses and one draw.
However, he has fought only once outside Mexico and does not
appear to have met the same calibre of opposition as Darchinyan.
“He’s a typical Mexican fighter, but I think he’s a little smarter
than most,” Fenech said.
“He doesn’t always try to knock people out, but he wears them
down, but I’m very confident.”
Maldonado is a switch hitter and will enjoy a height advantage
over Darchinyan, who relishes the prospect of fighting a taller
adversary.
“I love it when someone is bigger than me, taller than me, in my
weight division. I’m already big (for a flyweight),” Darchinyan said.
“If he stays in front of me and fights with me I will love it.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
June 2, 2006 Friday 2:16 PM GMT
Black Sea summit on cooperation snubbed by Moscow
by Mihaela Rodina
BUCHAREST, June 2 2006
A summit on cooperation opening Monday in Bucharest will bring
together five heads of state and several high officials from
countries bordering the Black Sea, but none from Moscow.
“This Forum for Dialogue and Partnership aims to create a cooperation
reflex in the region. It will be a meeting between equals, an
opportunity for all the bordering countries to express their
opinions,” Romanian Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu told AFP.
The presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine,
joined by their Romanian counterpart, as well as the Bulgarian
foreign minister and a Turkish deputy prime minister, have confirmed
they will attend the summit.
But no official will make the trip from Moscow, Russia having chosen
to be represented by its ambassador to Romania instead.
“The doors of this meeting were opened to the Russian Federation and
we hope our Russian partners will endorse the Forum’s conclusions,”
Ungureanu said.
“There is indeed an initial reluctance on Moscow’s part, but this
will not undermine the success of this meeting,” he said.
Announcing the Forum, Ungureanu had emphasised the need to “bridge an
image gap” in the region, which “suffers from a lack of confidence
between neighbours.”
According to organisers, those taking part in the summit will be
encouraged to table issues that concern them, whether it is organised
crime, energy or protection of the environment.
But with no leading Russian official present at the meeting,
discussions on energy security are likely to be less incisive than
participants, many of whom worry about their dependence on Russian
gas, would like them to be.
Following the January gas crisis between Kiev and Moscow, Europeans
have started to doubt Moscow’s reliability in terms of gas supplies,
and the need to diversify energy sources and find a way around Russia
for the supply of gas from the Caspian Sea for instance, is
increasingly being brought up.
The summit in Bucharest should also allow the presidents of Armenia,
Robert Kocharian, and of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to meet again to
discuss the thorny issue of Nagorno Karabakh, an enclave with a
majority Armenian population, which seceded from Azerbaijan after a
bloody conflict in the early 1990s.
The last meeting between the two leaders in February, in the French
town of Rambouillet, had ended without any progress being made.
A statement by Kocharian’s office issued Friday said the foreign
ministers of the two countries would have talks first with their
Belgian counterpart Karel de Gucht, current head of the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, before the two presidents met
face to face.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the five heads of state will also meet
at Cotroceni palace with Romanian President Traian Basescu, who has
made the Black Sea region into a major foreign policy issue.
With its “frozen conflicts” in Nagorno Karabakh, Transdniestr,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, four separatist regions that emerged from
the shadows of the former Soviet Union, “the larger area of the Black
Sea has a high risk potential,” Basescu has said more than once,
adding that the region is “a hub for the traffic of drugs, human
beings and arms.”

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 2, 2006
___________________
GENOCIDE MEMORIAL AND PARISH ANNIVERSARY FILL WEEKEND IN HOUSTON
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), was in Houston, TX, from April 21 to 23, 2006, to
commemorate the Genocide and mark the 25th anniversary of the consecration
of the St. Kevork Church.
The celebration-filled weekend began Friday with a service of repose for the
souls of Genocide victims. The ecumenical service included remarks from the
Rev. Dr. George Bithos, executive director of the Texas Conference of
Churches; Hubert Vo, Texas state representative; and Annise Parker, the
Houston City Controller.
Saturday morning the Primate met with students and teachers at the parish’s
thriving Armenian School.
“It was exciting to see so many young people learning the language and
customs of their heritage,” the Primate said. “Especially on this weekend,
when we mark the huge losses of the Armenian community, to see young people
carrying our culture forward, it fills one’s heart.”
Saturday evening the Primate blessed young choir members, ordained several
new tbirs, and ordained two sub-deacons: Jeff Burke and Vicken Asadourian.
The blessed choir members are: Sonique Visser, Corinna Visser, Sevan
Dekmezian, Sofia Mnjoyan, Karoun Charkoudian, and Talin Asadourian. The new
tbirs are: Shant Abrilian, Kevork Kasparian, Neena Aivazian, Nairi
Kasparian, Alec Ohanian, Vahe Ouzounian, Michael Kolandjian, Sassoun
Haroutunian, and Garine Abrilian.
On Sunday, more than 300 people filled the church as the Primate celebrated
the Divine Liturgy. During the service he ordained Jeff Burke as a deacon.
The service was followed by the blessing of a new statue of Gomidas
Vartabed. The faithful continued outside to the parish’s khatchkar, where a
requiem service was held in memory of the victims of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide.
The commemoration was followed by a celebration of hope, as the parish
marked its 25th anniversary with a banquet featuring a presentation by
Genocide scholar Sam Totten.
“The day commemorated a dark episode in history, but also illustrated the
sense of hope, the powerful faith, and the indestructible spirit of the
Armenian people,” Archbishop Barsamian said. “We must remember that the
true target of the Turks was the entire Armenian people. They contemplated
the destruction of a whole nation, and they came close to succeeding. Our
commemoration of the Genocide each year is our way of remembering that every
Armenian living in the world today has passed very close to death, through
the experience of a parent or grandparent, and through the experience of our
entire people.”
— 6/2/06

Hartford Courant (Connecticut)
June 2, 2006 Friday
2 WEST CENTRAL EDITION
PRIEST’S ATTORNEY: ALLEGATIONS `MALICIOUS’
by HILDA MUNOZ; Courant Staff Writer
Allegations that the pastor of a local church sexually molested a
12-year-old girl from his congregation are “false and malicious,”
the man’s attorney said Thursday.
The Rev. Krikoris Keshishian, the longtime priest at St. Stephen’s
Apostolic Armenian Church on Tremont Street, was arrested in May and
charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and illegal sexual contact.
Keshishian was in Superior Court in New Britain Thursday, when Judge
Elpedio N. Vitale ordered that he not contact the girl and that he
have no unsupervised contact with children under 16. Keshishian is
scheduled to return June 16.
His attorney, Hubert Santos of Hamden, made a brief statement outside
the courthouse. Six priests and several of St. Stephen’s parishioners
stood behind Santos as he spoke to show their support for Keshishian.
Santos said his client is honorable and asked that prosecutors
continue investigating the allegations.
“We ask the state of Connecticut to re-examine the charges. … We
look forward to vindication,” Santos said.
Keshishian has been free on a promise to appear since his arrest.
Police said Keshishian, of 21 Garry Drive in New Britain,
inappropriately touched the girl at the church.
The charges stem from a single incident in May 2005, but there may be
more counts involving the same girl, police said. The girl reported
the alleged abuse to a family member, who called police.
Fourth-degree sexual assault is a felony punishable by one to five
years in prison.
Parishioners at St. Stephen’s have come out strongly in support of
Keshishian, who has celebrated Mass at the church since his arrest.
“I think he’s innocent. I don’t believe he’s done something wrong,”
said Manusak Terdjanian, a congregant at St. Stephen’s who attended
Keshishian’s court proceeding.
The girl, who used to attend Sunday school at St. Stephen’s while her
grandfather went to Mass, told police that Keshishian rubbed her
buttocks while hugging her, an arrest warrant affidavit states.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
June 2, 2006 Friday 10:40 AM MSK
Azerbaijan cannot participate in same CIS military bodies as Armenia
– ministry
Azerbaijan is not planning to take part in the work of any military
organization within the CIS, except for the Council of Defense
Ministers, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Ilger Verdiyev told
Interfax.
Verdiyev explained that Azerbaijan cannot work in the same military
association as Armenia, a country with which it is formally at war.
“As for military cooperation within the CIS in general, Azerbaijan,
despite its participation in the Council of Defense Ministers’ work,
gives preference to interaction with the CIS member-states on a
bilateral basis,” Verdiyev said.
Baku hosted the 50th meeting of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers
on Wednesday.

The Daily Star – Lebanon
June 3 2006
Turkish novelist speaks out over Armenian issue – again
Saturday, June 03, 2006
MOSCOW: Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk made a plea Thursday for freedom
of expression in Turkey on the mass killings of Armenians carried out
under the Ottoman Empire, calling on his country to become “free and
more open.” “Whatever happened to Ottoman Armenians, we in Turkey
should be able to talk about. It is first a Turkish issue, an issue
of freedom of speech, democracy and liberal society rather than an
international political issue,” Pamuk said in Moscow.
The Turkish writer – a winner of numerous international awards for
his writings – was in Moscow to promote the Russian translation of
his book “Istanbul: Memories and the City.”
“I hope my country will be free and more open, that we can talk about
this issue without having any anxiety. But I don’t know when,” he
said. “There should be no limits to freedom of speech.”
Last year, prosecutors charged Pamuk with “public denigration of the
Turkish identity” for remarks on the massacres of Armenians made in
an interview with a Swiss newspaper.

“One million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me
dares to talk about it,” Pamuk was quoted as saying in the interview.
The charges, which could have jailed Pamuk for up to three years,
were later dropped.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated
killings nine decades ago during the last years of the Ottoman
Empire, the precursor of modern Turkey.
Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians
rose up against their Ottoman rulers.
Born in 1952 in Istanbul, Pamuk became famous for works such as “The
White Castle,” “My Name is Red” and “Snow.” His works have been
translated into 40 languages. – AFP