THREE MYTHS UNDERMINED BY TWO REVOLUTIONS
By Celia CHAUFFOUR in Warsaw
Translated by Simone KOSHIMIZU (Proofread by Lili DI PUPPO)
Caucaz, Georgia
June 21 2006
Georgian “Rose Revolution” in 2003 and Ukrainian “Orange Revolution”
in 2004 have undermined some of the preconceptions or even myths on
the region. Interview with Dov Lynch, researcher at the Institute
for Security Studies (ISS-EU) and specialist on Russia-EU relations
and on security issues in Russia and in the ex-USSR.
What were these preconceptions about?
I will mention three of them. The first one was based on Georgia
itself. In 2002-2003, it was said that the country was a hopeless
case. At that time, reports from the American State Department,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission
(September 2003) concluded that Georgia was a country in failure,
less and less capable of following one public direction. The country
had been so much corrupted and torn within, that the notion of public
estate barely existed. Not to mention that the country did not control
either its territory or its frontiers. It was and it is still known
that if there is illicit traffic, it is not restricted to Ossetia
and Abkhazia.
It was hence observed that the country was dysfunctional.
Organisations and international authorities concluded that they needed
to react. And reaction came through financial aids for the country,
but which were largely stolen away.
The second one was based on the region. Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia
and more generally, South Caucasus had fallen into a post soviet
stagnation apparently characterised by a deep social apathy, by
intense poverty at economic level and by deindustrialisation. In the
beginning of the year 2000, none of these countries had reached their
GDP of 1992. Politically, they were marked by an endemic corruption.
There was hence an impression of a post soviet order that had been
established, but which nobody wished for.
In the 1990’s, economic and democratic transition was the paradigm used
to interpret this region. And yet, in the beginning of the year 2000,
it was observed that these countries had not taken the good direction
as Poland and Hungary had. Some very pessimistic analysis even stated
that there was no transition anymore, that these countries had reached
the end of the road and somewhere dark in Europe.
Did not anybody notice the wind of change in Georgia where a popular
democratic feeling had been deeply established?
What actually made a difference in Ukraine and Georgia was the fact
that there was a real civil society that had been developed and that
represented a diversity of opinion.
You have mentioned three preconceptions. You talked about the two
first, what about the third one?
It was a European perspective, where South Caucasus, a politically
and geographically distant region that, nonetheless, carries vital
and strategic interests in the European Union was treated with
disdain. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were not seen as direct
neighbours or as part of Europe yet. Also, the fact that South Caucasus
had not been part of the European Commission’s first communication
on neighbouring (Wider Europe) is not surprising.
After 2003-2004, didn’t these changes in perception concern more the
region of the Black Sea than South Caucasus?
For the moment, Armenia and Azerbaijan go their own way. There were
great expectations on the resolution of the High Karabakh conflict
this year. It has been confirmed that it will not happen – which is
a serious disillusionment.
For Georgia and the region of the Black Sea, the order has considerably
changed. First of all, it reassured us of what we used to think in the
1990’s that the region was able to embark on an economic and democratic
transition. In 2003, Georgia reminded us that democracy can exist in
these countries and that it can be founded by the people. Today it
can be affirmed that even if problems are excessive -and inevitable
at the same time- Georgia has come back in the good direction.
The “Rose Revolution” has also reminded that Georgia was a European
country. Followed by the Ukrainian revolution, the Georgian revolution
proved that the united and free Europe who signed the “Final Act”
in Helsinki in 1975 was not a reality yet. After the enlargement of
Europe in 2004, it was thought that this bet had been won. Admittedly,
there were still the Balkans, but perspectives of membership were
open. And yet, the Georgian revolution and then the Ukrainian one
reminded us that there are other European countries and that the
frontiers of a united and free Europe are not complete yet.
So why keeping quiet about the consensus on Azerbaijan and its
political situation?
I think that European countries have very little time to think about
South Caucasus. And when they do, they think, first of all, about the
“opportunities”. They start knocking doors that are already open.
Compared to other strategic dossiers such as the Balkans or Iran,
South Caucasus has minor importance in the ordinary everyday life of
decision makers of European foreign affairs.
Emphasis has lately been given to Azerbaijan and Armenia on the
High-Karabakh conflict. It was a door to be open so that others such
as those of human rights, party development or even stabilisation of
a national speech could also be open.
At the same time, as far as Europe is concerned, Armenia is a
horse that runs really fast. Yerevan is a good pupil concerning the
European Union’s new neighbourhood policies. Compared to Georgians,
Armenians respond more easily to the demands established by the
European Commission. They are better pupils in terms of negotiation and
determination to adopt a Plan of Action. It is a dossier to be followed
closely. Possibly in two years, Armenia will take over Georgia in this
field. But it is also a matter of geopolitical option. Georgians are
obsessed by the NATO. Armenians are not.

US CONGRESSWOMAN URGES EU TO PRESS TURKEY ON ARMENIAN CLAIMS
Kezban Iyiyurek (JTW)
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 21 2006
US Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) has urged the European
Union (EU) to press Turkey to recognize the Armenian historical
claims. Armenians argue that the 1915 events was genocide while the
Turks argue the reverse.
The US does not recognise Armenian claims, and the American presidents
have never mentioned the word ‘genocide’ in their regarding speeches.
A Turkish diplomat told the JTW that the American congresmen should be
more constructive in Turkey-Armenia relations instead of provocating
the sides. “We should focus on the current problems. An EU member
Turkey would be a golden opportunity for the neigbouring Armenia”
the diplomat added.
The United States has called upon Turkey to restore economic, political
and social ties with Armenia, while the European Parliament has
adopted a resolution urging Ankara to open its border with Armenia,
and recognize the genocide, as a precondition to membership to the EU.

OSCE MISSION TO HOLD MONITORING ON FRONTIER ZONE BETWEEN NKR AND AZERBAIJAN
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
June 21 2006
June 28, 2006 the OSCE Mission schedules to hold monitoring on the
frontier zone between the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the
Aghdam direction, the NKR MFA Press Service reports.
As it has already been informed, June 15, 2006 the NKR MFA appealed to
the Office of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative
to hold crisis monitoring on the territory adjacent to Azerbaijan to
really gauge the situation on the spot and refute the Azeri party’s
forced accusations of arsons that have allegedly taken place on the
territories controlled by the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.
The NKR MFA expressed readiness to render assistance to the OSCE
Mission to hold the monitoring.

MAMMADYAROV HELD PRESS CONFERENCE ON ICO FMS COUNCILS’ 33RD SESSION
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 21 2006
Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov held press conference
dedicated to Islamic Conference Organization (ICO) foreign ministers
councils’33rd session. (APA).
The minister gave information about the adopted documents, attitude
to Nagorno Garabagh conflict in the speeches of session participants’
and stated adoption of document related to the conflict. According to
the minister, it is stated in that document that occupied territories
of Azerbaijan should be freed in a short period of time, conflict
should be solved in peaceful way. In the document addressed to world
community, it is stated that as a result of the conflict, hundred
thousands of peoples’ rights violated, as well as ecology, economy
damaged of the war.
Responding the questions, Elmar Mammadyarov said that next year
conference on role of media related to inter-civilization dialogue
will be held in Baku. In that conference, together with Islamic
Conference Organization representatives as well as well- known media
of the world will take part there.
ICO Secretary General Ikmaladdin Ihsanoghlu said Baku Conference to
be an important event, assembling Muslim countries together, stated
it as a good chance for discussing the problems. He said that though
Azerbaijan is new member of ICO, but it is one of the active members,
highly appreciated the participation of Russia having of observation
status in ICO. The Secretary General stated adoption of 10 year
activity plan of the organization in the session, allocation of 1 mln
dollars by Saudi Arabia to Muslim countries to liquidate poverty,
brought to the attention of participation of OSCE and Council of
Europe representatives. Ihsanoghlu added that in Oman the capital of
Jordaia Islamic Conference Academy will be founded. Decision on it
was adopted in Baku. Ihsanoglu said that 1/5 of world population is
Muslims and representation of Muslim countries in an international
organization is very important.

CONDEMN TERRORISM, NOT MEDIA FOR REPORTING ON IT
by George Jonas, CanWest News Service
Pembroke Observer (Ontario)
June 20, 2006 Tuesday
Editorial
The question of homegrown terrorism is acute, but it isn’t new. Last
week, some news sources reported the arrest of 17 Muslim Canadians
alleged to have plotted terrorist acts in this country as if it were a
historic first. It isn’t a first, not by a long chalk – which doesn’t
make it less pernicious.
When I was asked to comment on this aspect of multicultural
Canada some 20 years ago, terrorist suspects came from the ranks
of militant Armenians and Sikhs. The issues were similar, though,
and so were my views. It seemed to me that expecting immigrants to
stop concerning themselves with the affairs of their former homelands
would be unreasonable. Not only immigrants, but in many instances
even their children and grandchildren maintain some emotional ties
to their ancestral countries. This is as natural as it is wholesome,
to use an old-fashioned word. Nothing should be done to discourage
it. Probably nothing could be done. Roots go deep; that’s their point.
However, Canadians of whatever background, be they naturalized,
native-born, or third generation, owe their first allegiance to the
country of their citizenship. This requirement is both reasonable and
practical. It puts no stress on human rights or human nature. It’s
simply Canada’s due.
The majority of individual immigrants from all ethnic groups have
always recognized this. They or their ancestors came to Canada for the
very purpose of becoming Canadians. Far from disputing the need for
such loyalty, immigrants have been among its most ardent supporters.
On the whole, this is probably as true today as it has ever been.
Still, there have been disturbing signs in recent years indicating
an unwelcome change. Individuals from various ethnic or religious
communities have committed violent acts in Canada, or used Canada
as a staging area for committing violent acts elsewhere, to protest
or avenge grievances in their ancestral lands. As a result, Canadian
lives have been lost or endangered.
When immigrants or their descendants use Canada’s territory for
the commission or preparation of political violence, they commit
(in addition to every other objection one might raise to terrorism)
a specific act of treachery. They abuse the country that took them in.
Such acts usually involve only a handful of people. The rest of their
community keeps a meticulous distance from them. Even when they share
the terrorists’ political views or sense of grievance, most Canadian
Sikhs, Armenians, Muslims, Tamils, etc., wouldn’t dream of plotting
to blow up Toronto subway stations or behead Canadian prime ministers.
Periodically, representatives from these groups, sensing – accurately
– the loathing and horror that terrorist violence engenders in this
country, and sensing – again accurately – that such acts lower the
esteem in which their community is held by other Canadians, set about
to repair their image. However, instead of starting by dissociating
themselves from the terrorists and unequivocally condemning their acts,
many of these (usually self- appointed) community representatives
have gone on the offensive.
For at least 20 years now, journalists and politicians have been
receiving newsletters explaining and justifying the aims, causes and
grievances that have served as a basis for terrorist acts. Community
spokes people have been giving statements to the press or appearing
on television with similar messages. Complaints have been lodged
with editors, broadcast executives, press councils and human rights
commissions about the identification of a given ethnic or religious
community with terrorism. Lawyers have been consulted to see if the
press could be persuaded – or maybe even forced – not to identify a
suspected or convicted perpetrator of political violence as a member
of a given group – a Sikh, say, or a Muslim.
These statements, pamphlets or requests have condemned terrorism only
fleetingly, if at all. Their authors’ chief concern appears to be
explaining their causes (riding, as it were, on the coattails of the
terrorists) while voicing their indignation about their communities’
poor image that causes their children to be taunted in school.
True, no child should be taunted in school because someone of his
religion put a bomb on a plane. For Canada’s Muslims or Sikhs, the
best way to achieve this is to dissuade their co-religionists from
putting bombs on planes – and to disavow those they can’t dissuade.
For any community, the answer lies in not raising terrorist sons and
daughters, NOT in trying to tell the media how to report. Maybe,
just maybe, some Muslim spokes people in Canada are beginning to
learn this lesson.

HOW THE PELTEKIANS DISAPPEARED FROM DORTYOL
by Dorothee Forma, Amsterdam
humanistischeomroep, The Netherlands
June 20, 2006 Tuesday
The adventures of an Armenian family in Cilicia
Descriptions of the village of Dortyol at the end of the nineteenth
century are decidedly idyllic. Looking in the direction of Dortyol
and the surrounding villages from the Amanus mountains, one saw a
bouquet of flowers among green orange groves. Every village had its
own colour and in the centre lay proud Tschok-Merzimen, as Dortyol
was called by the Armenians. The Turkish word Dortyol means: four
roads. It was situated in the bay of Alexandrette only a few miles
from the Mediterranean and when there was a gale you could hear the
waves pounding the rocks. In spring, the sweet smell of the orange
blossoms permeated everything.
Dortyol had a mixed Turkish-Armenian population. The post office
was administered and run by Armenians and there were four Armenian
schools and three churches. Some nearby villages, such as Nadjarli and
Ozerli, had a mainly Armenian population. The Turkish authorities had
relatively little influence there, because the Armenians elected their
own local town councillors. In Ozerli the Armenian family Peltekian
was the largest landowner. Their possessions extended over several
villages, and Bedros Peltekian even bore the title of Pasha.
The descendants of the Peltekians, who are now living in France,
still possess a suitcase full of original Ottoman title deeds.
However, they themselves can no longer read the Arabic writing.
The ‘chef de la famille’ of this French branch of the survivors
was a son of Bedros, called Khatchik Peltekian. Much of Khatchik’s
correspondence has remained intact. There are eleven sheets of squared
paper (A3) on which all the possessions of the Peltekians and their
exact locations are recorded in his meticulous handwriting, first in
Ottoman and then in the French translation.
The orchards, field, houses, shops and farmland stretched roughly all
along the coast from Adana to Dortyol. The list is not dated, but
was probably drawn up after 1915. The orange groves alone produced
around a million oranges every year, Katchik tells us. Oranges from
Dortyol were very famous and were exported all the way into Russia.
In the margin of the list there are some scribbled remarks. About
a house in Ozerli: “it had three floors and contained 16 rooms and
was unique in the sandjak (district, DF), it was burnt down by the
Turks”. What exactly happened to the rich Peltekian dynasty from
Dortyol?
In 1918 a short book appeared in the Netherlands ‘Marteling der
Armeniërs in Turkije, naar berichten van ooggetuigen’ (Ordeals
of the Armenians in Turkey as reported by eye-witnesses). It had
been published by the Nederlandsch Comite tot Hulpbetoon aan de
noodlijdende Armenians, (Netherlands Committee for Assistance to the
Destitute Armenians) in which several members of the Dutch nobility
were represented. The booklet describes the misfortunes of the Armenian
minority in Turkey in 1915. Coupons found in the front could be filled
in and returned, together with a nice sum of money, to Miss E.J. van
der Hoop in The Hague. The money was used to send relief supplies to
Armenians who had survived the deportations. The book describes in
detail, village by village and region by region, what took place in
Anatolia in 1915. A harrowingly systematic procedure emerges. About
Dortyol the following:
Dort-Jol.
At the time when the deportation from Zeitoen was already underway,
the Turks commenced in Dort-Jol (Tschok Merzimen), a village situated
in the Issus plain on the Gulf of Alexandrette.
When some five Armenians from Dort-Jol had been publicly hanged,
the male members of the population of the populous little town were
forced to perform a variety of services on behalf of the Turks.
Before long the news spread that the defenceless workers were being
murdered by the armed Mohammedans that had been introduced to them
as comrades, with the result that the men of Dort-Jol henceforward
refused to work alongside Mohammedans.
The Government thereupon sent troops that were charged with the
deportation of the male population to the environs of Hadjin, in
order to carry out public works there.
Only one single Armenian resisted; he was irate to such a degree with
the Turkish gendarmes that he killed one of them. As a punishment
for this act of violence, six Armenians were apprehended and executed.
Since then nothing was heard of the male population taken to Hadjin.
It is feared that they were put to death collectively. As soon as the
deportation of the men was completed, it was the turn of the women
and children. They were taken by force to Deir-es-Sor, with the result
that the once so prosperous village of Dort-Jol as good as expired.
Did the inhabitants perhaps have to suffer so much because at one
time, in the days of the massacres under Abdul Hamid, the little town
had defended itself successfully against the Turkish hordes? (end
of quotation)
Was it the Peltekians who were hanged in the centre of Dortyol? Was
it perhaps Panos Peltkekian, Khatchik’s brother, who attacked the
gendarmes in his rage? We do not know. Khatchik, too, must for a long
time have been ignorant of what had happened to his relatives.
When the First World War broke out and Turkey went into an alliance
with Germany, Khatchik was living in Istanbul where he was finishing
his law studies. He may well have been among the group of Armenian
dignitaries who were first to be deported in that night of 24 April
1915.
In 1926 Khatchik wrote to the French High Commissioner in Beirut: “They
deported me to Anatolia where I endured a thousand deprivations. (j’ai
endure mille souffrances)” In another letter he wrote: “my family is
among those hardest hit.
(Ma famille fut l’un de celles qui ont ete le plus outrages). During
the deportations several of my family members perished, including my
father and my brother”.
Khatchik Peltekian, then, did survive his deportation. When the French,
after 1918, occupied Cilicia, the area around Adana, and there was a
possibility of Armenian self-government, Khatchik hurried to the region
to assess the situation. He immediately offered his services to the
French army, since he spoke fluent Turkish, Arabic and French, and knew
every inhabitant of the region, every village and every goat track.
Not all the deported Armenians from Dortyol, however, died in the
Syrian Desert. A number of them – possibly including Peltekians –
returned after the war together with the Allies. Those Armenians
managed to escape from the deportation caravans, usually by bribing
their guards, and managed to reach Aleppo along secret routes. Many
of them survived hunger and epidemics in wretched circumstances
(and with the help of committees such as that in the Netherlands).
When Armenians returned with the French in 1919, Turks had settled
in the meantime in their houses and on their land. A situation that
could not but lead to endless skirmishes with casualties on both
sides. The Armenians saw the French as their rescuers, under whose
protection they could reclaim their possessions, the Turks regarded
the Armenians as collaborators.
Khatchik, too, possessed an estate in the village Hamzali where he
kept cattle and grew cereals. With the proceeds he supported the
remaining members of his family.
In June 1920 the estate was plundered. The harvest and the cattle were
stolen away and the buildings set on fire. The overseer, an uncle of
Khatchik, was killed. The damage amounted to 400,000 Francs.
Khatchik knew exactly who the offenders were – “des bandits notoires
turcs” – and mentions them by name in his letters, as well as the
villages they came from: Karakisse, Tchaili, Rabat, Sugud… He begged
the French for indemnification. He was the only remaining breadwinner
for the Peltekians. The looting of his farm, as he keeps insisting,
is the result of his cooperation with the French: “..it has increased
the Turks’ irritation towards me”.
The French delayed the settlement of the claim for years and finally
didn’t pay him a penny.
They were, however, generous with glowing references and superlative
words of praise about his unflagging dedication and devotion to
the French cause. But that was all. In the meantime, Khatchik’s
capacities as an interpreter, and his intimate knowledge of the area
were intensively exploited. More than once he risked his life for his
French patrons. Once one of the richest men in the region he now had
to support his family on a meagre translator’s salary. He signed off
his appeals with “votre très humble en très obeissant serviteur…”
As a result of the Turkish struggle for independence the French
had to withdraw from the province of Hatay and the plans to make
Cilicia into a safe haven for Armenians foundered. The Allies no
longer laid down the law in Turkey, because a new Turkish leader had
emerged: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Armenians left in a hurry with the
French, again leaving their possessions behind. Khatchik settled in
Alexandrette (the present Iskenderun) with his sister-in-law Zarouhi,
a widow with four children and a few other young Peltekians. Dortyol,
the cradle of the Peltekians, was only 30 km away, but was no longer
part of the French protectorate.
In the political games preceding the Second World War the French
decided to withdraw from Hatay in 1939. Hatay became part of the
Turkish republic; a massive exodus of Armenians was the result.
Khatchik Peltekian left together with the French and was placed in
Syria – until the outbreak of the Second World War when the Peltekians
ended up in Beirut. Everything he had built up in Alexandrette in
the years gone by had to be left behind yet again.
After 1945 Khatchik was finally naturalised by the French and went
to live in Paris with his sister-in-law Zarouhi (who called herself
Rose by then) and her daughter Alice. Rose’s sons Pierre and Alexandre
Peltekian were then officers in the French army and would rather not
be reminded of their Armenian identity. They were more French than
the French. Khatchik died in 1972 and was buried in Père Lachèse.
Alice Peltekian sometimes mused: “Je suis la comtesse de Dortyol…”
She died a solitary death, in poverty, in a top floor in Paris in 1984.
And Dortyol?
Dortyol is now a sleepy, conservative little town where there is
little to remind us of the Armenians. The orange groves are still
there, but the old varieties, famous for their taste and juiciness
have been replaced by modern, genetically manipulated oranges. A
gigantic industrial area with blast-furnaces stretches along the
coast and causes permanent air pollution.
The houses of the Armenians have been taken over by the children and
grandchildren of ethnic Turks that were exchanged by Greece for ethnic
Greeks living in Turkey during the so-called mubadele in 1923.
The Greek Turks had been promised the land and the empty houses of
the Armenians. On arrival they found that many of the houses had been
devastated. Result: uprooted people and a great deal of unhappiness….
But that is another, Turkish tragedy.
Dorothee Forma March 2006
Postscript to the Documentary: In ‘The Story of my Name’ Alex Peltekian
searches for the background of his Armenian surname. Alex Peltekian’s
mother is Dutch. She worked in Paris as an au pair once and met
one Alexandre Peltekian. From their union Alex was born in 1955,
who grew up in The Hague in the Netherlands without much knowledge
of his father’s family, because his mother married a Dutchman who
took care of little Alex.
Father Alexandre Peltekian was born in Dortyol in south Turkey in
1912; his mother was called Rose (Zarouhi) and his father was Panos
Peltekian, Khatchik’s eldest brother. Alex is therefore a great-nephew
of ‘Oncle Khatchik’ and Alice Peltekian is his aunt.
Photos:
uman/hos/html/varia/news.jsp?news=46641
–Boundar y_(ID_ziibDaZ5tOCJBtLohzfhOA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TRANSEURO SIGNS LOI FOR EXPLORATION DRILLING RIG
Canadian Corporate Newswire
June 19, 2006 Monday 9:30 AM EST
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(CCNMatthews – June 19, 2006) – Transeuro
Energy Corp. (“Transeuro” or the “Company”)(TSX VENTURE:TSU) is
pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”)
with High Arctic Energy Services (“HAES”) (TSX:HWO.UN)(OSE:HWO.UN)
for the provision of a drilling rig plus associated equipment to
drill three exploration wells in Armenia.
Transeuro has completed the initial study phase of the exploration
operations in Armenia and has collated and interpreted all the
historical data. The company has contracted AESP, the local seismic
acquisition company to provide an additional 131 km of 2D seismic
in the Oktemberian region in the west of the country, where 2 gas
prospects have been identified. The survey is expected to start later
this month. The old seismic data in the area has been reprocessed
and will be integrated with the new data to update the structural
interpretation over the prospects and to finalise the drilling
locations for the first 2 wells in the programme.
Under the provisions of the LOI, HAES has committed to providing the
drilling rig in country, ready to commence drilling on the first
location by 1st February 2007. The first well is located on the
Kamir prospect and is planned to drill down to around 2,500m to test
the Lower Sand Clay (LSC) and Lower Multi-coloured Suite (LMS) where
previous wells have produced gas to surface and have shown hydrocarbon
saturations on wireline logs. Underbalance drilling techniques will
be used to minimize drilling damage and to maximize production rates.
The second well will test the Southwest Oktemberian prospect located
updip of the known gas in the Karmir structure. The structure is
delineated by 7 shallow wells drilled over an area of 8 square
kilometers during the 60’s and 70’s. An independent petrophysical
review of the well logs suggests numerous possible gas reservoirs
in the LSC from 320 – 860m with over 40m of net pay that were never
tested, and additional untested reservoirs in the LMS. The well will
be drilled down to 2,500m to test these and deeper sands that are
identified as potentially hydrocarbon bearing in offset wells.
Following success in the initial seismic programme with AESP, Transeuro
intends to survey the Shorakhpur area where previous wells are reported
to have recovered oil and indicated hydrocarbon saturations on wireline
logs. A third well is planned, either on the oil prospect or in the
Oktemberian region.
Program expenditures will be finalized under the formal drilling
contract to be entered into between the parties.
Transeuro Energy Corp. is involved in the acquisition of petroleum and
natural gas rights, the exploration for, and development and production
of crude oil, condensate and natural gas. The Company’s properties
are located in Canada, Armenia, Papua New Guinea and Ukraine.
Harold Hemmerich, President and CEO
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation
of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The
securities have not been and will not be registered under the United
States Securities Act 1933, as amended (the “U.S.
Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered
or sold within the United States or to a U.S. Person unless registered
under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws
or an exemption from such registration is available.
The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
targeted results. The Company relies upon litigation protection for
forward-looking statements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Transeuro Energy Corp.
Ryan King (604) 681 3939 The TSX Venture
Exchange has not reviewed, and does not accept responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

GET YOUR PAWNS OFF OF MY QUEEN
By Nancy Macdonald
Maclean’s, Canada
June 19, 2006
The ‘Anna Kournikova of chess’ has sparked a violent love triangle
British chess ace Danny Gormally and Armenian Levon Aronian — the
world’s third-ranked player — were out partying earlier this month
during the World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Gormally, apparently
drunk, became so jealous when Aronian started hitting on the Aussie
teen sensation Arianne Caoili — known as the “Anna Kournikova of
chess” — that he knocked his rival to the ground. Gormally had
recently struck up an email relationship with the chess beauty, and
didn’t like the moves Aronian was making on the dance floor. Fists
flew again the next morning, when the Armenian team exacted revenge
on Gormally while he was out for coffee. Dubbed “Gormallygate” by
chess fans, this international incident is providing the rest of the
world its closest glimpse of the game since the historic Cold War-era
match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. And with it,
the image of chess as the gentleman’s sport is coming undone.
You might expect this kind of behaviour from college football stars,
but grandmasters? This is the philosopher’s sport, after all — the
ultimate intellectual pursuit. But chess stars, it appears, are no
better adjusted than your average first-round draft pick. Not that
there haven’t been signs of that before. This esoterics-only club’s
most famous alumnus is Chicago-born Bobby Fischer — the raving,
Jew-hating recluse who now calls Reykjavik home. And the sport attracts
Fischer-like obsessive misfits — the type happy to spend Sundays
watching planes land. At its highest level, the game requires — no,
demands — that sort of compulsive concentration. Matches often exceed
five hours. And aside from pushing chess pieces and hitting the clock,
the only movement during the long silent hours of a match is the rise
and fall of players’ chests.
Stone-faced, players churn through thousands of possible moves in their
head at every turn, in an effort to outmanoeuvre their opponent. Chess
lingo — to capture, to crush, to destroy — suggests that in chess,
as with any sport, there’s no second place. Russian great Viktor
Korchnoi has always said that winning at chess requires hating your
opponent. There’s violence in this — a struggle to the end. And
while usually the killer instinct doesn’t manifest itself physically,
as it does in, say, hockey, there have been physical altercations:
in the late 1970s, organizers of a world championship match had to
put a board under the table so rivals Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov
couldn’t kick each other.
Like in any sport, there are also brittle egos in the world of chess,
and Gormally may be more fragile than others, in part, due to his
recent slide in the ranking. While Aronian, 23, is now recognized
as a future world champion, Gormally, 30, who stumbled in Turin, has
slipped off the charts. Caoili (whose nickname is a reference to the
sexy tennis queen), has been painted as the vixen — perhaps fairly.
“It is my weakness to sometimes start a random friction between myself
and another to test reactions,” wrote the 19-year-old on her website
after the scrap.
Regardless of whether it’s deserved (Caoili is ranked third among
females in chess-poor Australia), the Kournikova tag is becoming
sportswriting’s most tired cliche. And Caoili isn’t even the only
grandmaster to get Kournikovaed — she shares the honour with Russian
chess star Alexandra Kosteniuk. That young, sexy women are excelling
at chess — now common, according to the Chess Federation of Canada’s
Robert Hamilton — should be assumed. Male or female, eccentric,
even, yep, foxy, grandmasters want to win. Chess, according to the
late great Emanuel Lasker, the longest-reigning world champ, has
falsely been elevated to a science, or an art. In Lasker’s opinion
chess is neither. Instead, he once said, it’s what human nature most
freely indulges in: a fight.
GRAPHIC: Photos 1 through 3, CAOILI has two grandmasters — Gormally
and Aronian — fighting for her.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATING NORMALLY WHEN IT CRASHED – CLAIM
Airline Industry Information
June 20, 2006
Airline Industry Information-©1997-2006 M2 Communications LTD
It has been found that the Armavia Airbus A320 aircraft that crashed
into the Black Sea in May was intact and its engines were operating
normally.
The aircraft also had enough fuel to land, according to a Russian
transport ministry commission. The commission, which is investigating
the crash, said that the Armenian aircraft was under manual control
of its pilots up to the moment of impact.
The commission has not attributed any blame for the crash after
examining the aircraft’s flight recorders.
The crash of the aircraft killed all 113 people on board.
–Boundary_(ID_SZMbwW2DPa4fTvuRPiLhJw)–

LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH TURKEY WORSENED BY PART RESOLUTION, PLEDGING SUPPORT ON ITS PATH TO EU
Baltic News Service
June 20, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM EET
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus is trying to improve relations
with Turkey that have worsened after the Lithuanian parliament passed
a resolution, pledging assistance for the country on its path to the
European Union.
After a meeting with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Ankara
on Tuesday, Adamkus said that the resolution passed by the Lithuanian
parliament would definitely not change Lithuania’s foreign policy.
Passed by the Lithuanian parliament at the end of last year, the
resolution urged Turkey to admit having committed genocide of the
Armenian nation almost 100 years ago. In response to the resolution,
Turkey made a diplomatic demarche. Lithuanian Ambassador to Ankara
Vytautas Nauduzas was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and was
warned that the resolution would worsen bilateral relations between
Lithuania and Turkey.
In the Armenians’ words, about 1.5 million Armenians were killed
during the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.
Turkey, which is seeking EU membership, denies the fact of genocide,
saying that Armenians fell victims to the war that claimed the lives
of many Turks as well.
The Turkish president, in his turn, said it was agreed during the
meeting to avoid actions that would harm the development of relations
between the two countries. He also presented Adamkus with copies
of letters of Lithuania’s interwar President Antanas Smetona to the
first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The Lithuanian leader told his Turkish counterpart that he could
not imagine the EU without Turkey, pledging assistance for Turkey’s
integration in the European community.
Lithuania became a member of the EU in 2004 after over a decade of
efforts to join the European family.
The Turkish president said he appreciated Lithuania’s support for
Turkey’s bid to join the EU.
Turkey started detailed EU accession negotiations last week, after
25 EU member states managed to find a way out of the deadlock over
Cyprus. The EU is pressing Turkey to open its ports and airports to
ships and planes of Cyprus, a member of the EU, and recognize the
Greek government of Cyprus.
If Turkey joined the EU, it would be the largest member of the bloc
in terms of area and population.
During their meeting, the Turkish and Lithuanian presidents also
discussed bilateral cooperation issues in political, economic and
cultural fields, prospects of Turkey’s integration into the EU,
relations with neighboring countries, possibilities of cooperation in
the field of energy, the Lithuanian president’s press service reported.
Adamkus thanked the Turkish leader for a mission performed by Turkish
servicemen. Turkish airmen have been deployed in Zokniai, Lithuania,
to perform the Baltic air policing mission.
Discussing regional cooperation, it was noted that South Caucasus
countries and Turkey were becoming very important in creating
alternative power supply possibilities.
In the Lithuanian president’s words, Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan
are an excellent example of neighborly relations. He said Turkey’s
relations with Georgia were improving as well, adding that these
close ties were useful not only to the cooperating countries but
also to the entire region. In Adamkus’ words, joint projects of the
countries, such as an oil pipeline and a gas pipeline, may become
very significant in strengthening energy independence and security
of European countries. The president said Lithuania was interested
in expanding these projects to the Baltic Sea.