RF WILL GIVE MONEY
A1+
[12:48 pm] 15 June, 2006
RF was to assign money for the reconstruction of the old building
of the Gyumri Pedagogical Institute in 2005 in the framework of the
intergovernmental program. But according to Vardyevan Grigoryan, Rector
of the Institute the construction was delayed as there are certain
problems connected with the documents. On this score a special group
of experts has recently come to Gyumri from Moscow to observe the site.
A new building is not constructed, and the foremost issue they counter
today is to preserve the old building of the Institute. The necessary
financial support will be provided by the Russian Federation. In case
the problem is not solved in this way, Rector Vardyevan Grigoryan
intends to apply to the National Assembly.
TV Company “Tsayg,” Gyumri

LITHUANIA PROPOSING BIGGER DEFENSE ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA
Baltic News Service
June 15, 2006 Thursday 3:06 PM EET
Lithuania has proposed bigger assistance to Armenia in the field
of defense.
The possibility was discussed at a meeting between Lithuanian and
Armenian defense ministers, Gediminas Kirkilas and Serzh Sargsian,
in Vilnius on Thursday.
“Lithuania is ready to assist Armenia in the implementation of goals
stipulated in the Individual Partnership Action Plan,” said the acting
Lithuanian defense minister, applauding the progress made by Armenia
in the cooperation with NATO.
At the meeting, Kirkilas assured Sargsian that Lithuania would continue
financing the studies of Armenian military officers in the Lithuanian
Academy of War and the Baltic Defense College.
Kirkilas also suggested a possibility of internships at the Defense
Ministry and the Defense Staff for Armenian officers to learn about
the integrated system of officers and civilians in Lithuania.
Furthermore, the Lithuanian minister informed about appointment of an
adviser to the Armenian council of foreign advisers that will assist in
the assessment of the National Security Strategy worked out by Armenia.
Acting Commander of Field Forces Brigadier General Arvydas Pocius who
was present at the meeting suggested that Armenia may send officers
to the school of petty officers in Kaunas and participate in the
peacekeeping war games Amber Hope 2007 in Lithuania next year.
Armenia had an observer at Amber Hope 2005.

THE SHIRAK RESIDENTS ARE BEING INOCULATED
A1+
[01:20 pm] 15 June, 2006
Measures to prevent the bird flu are being taken in Shirak marz though
no case of the disease has been registered in the region so far.
The region has received about 10 thousand dose inoculums and has
inoculated the inhabitants free of charge.
Chief of the Regional Antiepidemic Board Karine Tairyan claims that in
case they are ordered to stop the measures immediately by the central
headquarters they will resume them in September – October as the flu
and other contagious diseases spreading through air, like respiratory
infaction grow acute especially in that period.
TV Company “Ttagy,” Gyumri

ARMENIAN WRESTLERS LEFT FOR KHASAVYURT
A1+
[02:26 pm] 15 June, 2006
Armenian team of free-style wrestling left for Khasavyurt at the
head of chief coach Hrant Enoqyan to participate in the international
tournament which is to start on June 18.
According to the data of the Armenian Wrestling Federation the
following participants are involved in the team; Eduard Atayan (56kg),
Mihran Yavouryan (56kg), Armen Karapetyan (60kg), Sevak Bazeyan
(60kg), Jirayr Hovhannesyan (66kg), Arshak Hayrapetyan (66kg),
Garsevan Vardanyan (74kg) and Hapetnak Kourikhanyan (84kg).
The winners of the European Championship held in Moscow in April and
the Armenian Wrestlers who participated in the Championship are not
included in the team. The coaches of the team probably decided to try
and encourage other wrestlers as well and then to put the team into
full shape before participating in the forthcoming World Championship.

LAST ARMENIAN OF TURKISH KONYA LAID TO REST
Armenpress
Jun 14 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS: The last Armenian resident of the
Turkish city of Konya, Grigor Ozararat, was laid to rest recently,
the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.
It said his relations and friends from Canada and France came to bid
their last farewell to him. Among them was Samson Ozararat, who is
known for his efforts to prompt normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations.
Hurriyet said Ali Tuygan, an aide to Turkish foreign minister, sent
a wreath. Grigor Ozararat was buried in the Armenian cemetery in Konya.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH DIABETES GROWS 4% ANNUALLY
Armenpress
Jun 15 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: The number of people in Armenia with
diabetes grows 4 percent every year.
Ashot Mamikonian, chief endocrinologist of the health ministry,
said this is a common trend worldwide.
About 35,000 people in Armenia have diabetes. The number of children
with this diseases also grows due to soaring rates of obesity in
children, a major reason accounting for the growth . They acquire the
so-called type 2 diabetes, a disease that used to be seen primarily
in adults over age 45. Mamikonian said diabetes is a disease that
wreaks havoc on just about every part of the body, including the
eyes. While many of the health problems associated with diabetes are
well publicized, many people are unaware that the disease causes severe
vision problems that can lead to blindness. Persons with diabetes
are also at increased risk of developing cataracts or glaucoma.
While type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, it only accounts for about
5% to 10% of all cases. The rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes,
especially among children, adolescents has caused a huge increase
in total cases. Mamikonian says there are simple ways to avoid this
disease-to maintain a healthy weight, increase physical activity,
watch and control blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
Seven thousand people with diabetes out of the 35,000 in Armenia are
insulin dependent, others use pills to reduce the amount of sugar in
blood. All insulin dependant patients receive it free.

RUSSIAN DM CONCERNED BY GEORGIA’S RECORD HIGH INCREASE OF ARMS SPENDING
Armenpress
Jun 14 2006
ST. PETERSBURG, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS: Russia’s defense minister said
Tuesday he was concerned over large purchases of weapons by Georgia
in Eastern Europe.
“It is alarming that in the last year or two Georgia has been buying
great amounts of Soviet armaments from East European countries,”
Sergey Ivanov told journalists. “I don’t know Georgia’s military
budget, but this very fact causes unquestionable concern,” he said.
But Ivanov said the increase in Georgia’s military spending did not
mean that Tbilisi had decided to resolve the problem with its breakaway
South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions by military means. The Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest
yearbook that the biggest increase worldwide was in the ex-Soviet state
of Georgia, which surged by more than 140 percent to $146 million.
Armenia increased arms spending nearly 23 percent, while Georgia
increased its military budget 143 percent and Azerbaijan 51
percent. The institute said that the official explanation for Georgia’s
large rise in spending was a wish to join NATO, while others argued
that Tbilisi wanted to regain control over the renegade regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Several states, including Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Algeria and Russia,
have used a sharp rise in oil prices to boost military spending,
it said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR PREDICTS ‘BRIGHT’ OPPOSITION FUTURE FOR EX-PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN
Armenpress
Jun 15 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: A professor of mathematics and chairman
of a tiny party predicted a dramatic change in Armenia’s opposition
landscape today saying two major opposition forces, the National
Unity of Artashes Geghamian and the People’s Party of Armenia of
Stepan Demirchian would be shoved to the background by the Orinats
Yerkir party of ex-parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian.
Aram Harutunian, who apart from teaching mathematics at Yerevan
University also heads a tiny party called the National Accord, argued
during a news conference that Baghdasarian’s decision to opt his party
out from the governing coalition and move to the opposition camp has
wreaked havoc to the country’s opposition forces.
The professor went on to argue that while the National Unity and
the People’s Party will continue their course of action separately
the Orinats Yerkir will transform into what he called ‘accumulation
point’ and may win over the Zharangutyun (Heritage) of ex -foreign
minister Raffi Hovhanesian and the radical Hanrapetutyun (Republic)
of Aram Sarkisian and other forces.
Harutunian said he was sure that the chairman of the Orinats Yerkir,
Arthur Baghdasarian, whom he described as ‘a skilled and seasoned
politician’ would be able to materialize this plan and welcomed the
party’s ability to purge itself from undesired elements, meaning a
mass defection of its businessmen members.

BRIDE THEFT RAMPANT IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA
By Gulo Kokhodze and Tamuna Uchidze in Akhaltsikhe
IWPR contributors
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
June 15 2006
The ancient tradition of bride-stealing undergoes a revival despite
tougher legislation and efforts by women’s rights groups.
Maia was kidnapped by her future husband three times. She managed
to escape twice, but the third time she just gave up and accepted
her fate.
Now, she says, “Gia is a remarkable husband. I’m happy to live with
such a man.” This is despite the fact that Gia and his friends forcibly
abducted her, leaving her no option but to marry him.
The couple now have three children. Everybody knows Maia in her home
village in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia, so she
asked for her real name not to be used.
The story of how Maia began her marriage 14 years ago is typical of
what many people in Samtskhe-Javakheti, a region with a mixed Georgian
and Armenian population, see as accepted tradition. The practice of
“bride kidnapping” has seen a resurgence in the Caucasus since the
end of Soviet rule.
Local women’s groups say bride theft is a backward, deeply ingrained
form of male violence, and they are starting to try to highlight the
issue and help protect women from being “stolen”.
Activists in Samtskhe-Javakheti say it is difficult to give any
hard statistics on how widespread the custom is, but they believe
hundreds of women in this region are forced to marry against their
will every year.
Women say that very few take their complaints to the police because,
once they have been kidnapped, great social stigma attaches to the
suspicion of lost virginity.
Maia described how Gia – whom she knew – made repeated attempts to
abduct her.
“I met Gia when I was in ninth grade,” she recalled. “After finishing
school, I continued my education at a theological college. Gia often
called on me at the convent. I suspected I was more than just a friend
for him. But at the time I was in love with another guy.”
Gia’s friends helped him with all three attempts to abduct Maia. The
first time, she said, “They tricked me into getting into their car. I
was very frightened. I cried and begged them to turn the car around.
Seeing that my tears and entreaties produced no effect, I opened the
door, stuck my legs out and said I’d jump out. Passing cars slowed
down. Everybody was looking at us.”
Gia relented and let her go, but on a subsequent occasion his friends
chased her down a muddy slope before some bystanders intervened and
took her into a local church. “I was dirty all over, my clothes were
torn. In tears I approached the icon of the Savior, kneeled before
it and whispered, ‘Lord, I don’t love him, but let it be the way You
want it to be’,” she said.
The third time around, she said, “Someone put his hand over my mouth to
stop me from crying out. I managed to run away, but it was dark outside
and I fell down into a ditch, hurting my back. I still have the scar.”
“A terrible feeling seized me after the abduction,” continued Maia.
“Even today, I cannot help shivering as I recall it. I didn’t know what
to do. Everybody knew that I’d been abducted. I was thinking about my
brothers. I thought that if I left, people would say I wasn’t a virgin.
“That is why I decided to stay.”
Some locals estimate half of all marriages involve the bride being
kidnapped. In many cases, the abduction is in fact not real, but part
of a pre-arranged courtship tradition. There are also cases where
a young couple stage the kidnapping so as to avoid getting parental
permission for the marriage.
But many of the abductions are all too real, and anything but
voluntary.
“In any village, nine out of every ten women will have been abducted,”
said a resident of Akhalkalaki, Ofelia Petrosian. “I have a daughter
in eighth grade, and I’m afraid to dress her well, as she will then
look pretty and could be abducted.”
Petrosian believes the custom continues only because social attitudes
are so backward. “It’s all down to the ignorance of young people,”
she said. “Their only interest is in getting married. Women are so
worried about feeding their families that nothing else bothers them
and they’re prepared to live like slaves.”
Teenagers in the leafy central park in Samtskhe-Javakheti’s biggest
town, Akhaltsikhe, wear the fashionable clothes and lace their
conversations with the latest slang. But their views are typically
very traditional.
“I will never marry a girl who’s been abducted once, even if she was
returned home on the same day, as her name will be stained forever,”
said one young man, Nika Beridze. “Why would I need a woman who’s
been abducted by someone else? If I love a girl, I may well want to
abduct her too.”
Historians disagree about the origins of the tradition. Some say it
appeared while Samtskhe-Javakheti was under Ottoman rule or that it
came from the east. Others argue that it is indigenous to the Caucasus.
“This is the Caucasus – abduction is in the blood, and no one can
change a thing about it,” said Samtskhe-Javakheti resident Nina
Nakhatakian. “I’m 70 years old, and all my life I’ve been seeing
families start from abductions. It’s bad for the woman, while a man
can always abduct someone else.”
Technically at least, Georgian law is tough on bride-kidnapping.
Article 23 of the criminal code covering “crimes against human rights
and freedoms” stipulates a sentence of four to eight years imprisonment
for the offence, and if it is found to be a premeditated act by a
group of people, the prison term can go up to 12 years.
This reflects a change in legislation a few years ago, when a new
law was drafted to define bride-snatching as “kidnapping with the
goal of marriage”. Until then, it had been viewed as a minor offence
which was punished lightly if at all.
Activists and legal experts here say that the legal changes and
prospects of severe punishment have had some deterrent effect. But
they say it not nearly enough.
“Of the very many abduction cases in Javakheti, only two or three
have been officially recorded,” said Akhalkalaki-based lawyer Anaida
Oganesian, an expert on bride kidnapping.
“Why is a woman never asked whether she loves the man or not?” she
said. “She does not even know that she has rights which she can
defend in court. Mothers say to their daughters, ‘What will people
say? You’ll have to put up with it, as I did in my time.'”
Oganesian recently worked on the only case ever to come before a
judge in Akhalkalaki. “I was defending the girl’s interests and did
my best to get the abductor convicted,” she recalled. “But at the last
moment she refused, saying, ‘let him leave me alone, and I won’t seek
a conviction’.
“The man got away with it. The girl is now in depression and never
goes out of her house.”
The lawyer says the abductors operate with impunity because the
victims are treated with opprobrium rather than sympathy, “Women are
socially vulnerable. In my experience, there haven’t been any cases
where a culprit has been punished. A girl who’s been abducted gets
no understanding even from her own family; her relatives see it as
a disgrace if she returns home.
“The way generations are being brought up is wrong. People using
violence against women are not held accountable.”
Oganesian concluded, “It’s just like the 16th century.”
Several non-governmental organisations, NGOs, in Samtskhe-Javakheti
are trying to teach young women what their rights are and how they
can protect themselves against violence. But they say that changing
mindsets even among young people is proving very difficult.
“We meet women of whom a majority have been abducted. They have
families and live happily. At least that’s what they say,” said
Marina Modebadze, leader of the Woman Democrats in Samtskhe-Javakheti
group. “It’s hard to change their mentality. We don’t harbour illusions
that everything can be changed immediately, but little by little
results will be achieved.”
Modebadze’s group has published information booklets and set up a
hot line, and plans to set up a safe house for victims of attempted
kidnappings.
Maia, who says she started to love her husband only after more than
a year after she was bride kidnapped, shrugs off such activism.
“All shall be as God wills,” said Maia. “The first year of my marriage
was difficult, but with God’s help we overcame all the difficulties
together. Now I have a daughter growing up, and her future is my major
concern. If she ever gets abducted, that will be God’s will, too.”
As for her two sons, she said, “One day they may do what their father
did – abduct the one they love.
“There’s no escaping the tradition.”

POLITICS ASIDE: MCCLOSKEY, A LIFELONG DEMOCRAT, URGES PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR PAPARIAN FOR CONGRESS TO END THE WAR AND GET RID OF BUSH
By Kevin Uhrich
Pasadena Weekly, CA
June 15 2006
ALL SYSTEMS GREEN: Congressional candidates Bill Paparian of the
Green Party and Democrat Bob McCloskey.
It may not seem like much, but Bob McCloskey believes his 18 percent
showing in last week’s primary election for the 29th Congressional
District seat currently held by Democrat Adam Schiff was pretty
significant.
In the 29th District, which includes Pasadena, Altadena, Glendale,
Burbank, Alhambra, South Pasadena, Temple City and the 55-year-old
McCloskey’s hometown of Monterey Park, 18 percent translates into
more than 6,000 votes; votes cast by party faithful who have turned
against the well-liked, well-financed and politically entrenched
Schiff, a former federal prosecutor who has been one of the leading
voices in the House of Representatives supporting the war in Iraq
and the president’s war on terror.
When one considers that McCloskey, a longtime union organizer and a
lifelong Democrat, only had three months to raise money, to become
known to the public and to knock on doors, capturing more than 6,000
votes from the popular Schiff was not only a major accomplishment but
validation of McCloskey’s belief that the war is wrong and that Bush
should be impeached.
It is for those reasons that McCloskey is doing the unthinkable:
Turning against his own party member and supporting Green Party
candidate Bill Paparian and his race against Schiff in November’s
general election.
Paparian, a lawyer and former Pasadena City Councilman who registered
as Green in order to run against Schiff on an anti-war, anti-Bush
platform, is hardly surprised by McCloskey’s support.
The two appeared at rallies together throughout the campaign this
spring and shared similar sentiments about the war, Bush and other
hot-button issues. Paparian’s wife, Sona, even ran a club called
Armenian Americans for McCloskey and, in fact, Paparian said he
would have dropped out of the running had McCloskey won last week’s
primary. But that didn’t happen.
Nevertheless, Paparian, who didn’t face an opponent in the primary but
has won what he calls “strategic support” from a handful of prominent
Democrats, among them developer and publisher Danny Bakewell and
actor Ed Begley Jr., said he is “deeply honored” to have McCloskey
backing his campaign.
“I think this is a historic moment. I don’t know of any time in the
past when someone with a long history of active involvement with the
Democratic Party who has reached a point that he is now going to be
supporting a Green, not because I’m a Green but because I have the
same stand on the issues as the progressive Democrats,” Paparian said.
“The fact is people recognize that the crisis that confronts us is a
crisis that confronts us as Americans. It crosses party lines and this
isn’t a time to be bound by the strict confidences of the Republican
Party or the Democratic Party or the Green Party or the Peace and
Freedom Party or the Libertarian Party. And as Americans we have
to respond to it. We have to say no to this president. We have say
no to this administration. We have to say no to the perpetual war,
this perpetual war economy.”
In a brief post-election interview conducted on Thursday, the same
day that the remains of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were being
ghoulishly displayed on television screens and newspaper front
pages around the country, McCloskey spoke with the Weekly about the
campaign against Schiff and the reasons why he is for the Greens in
the November election.
Pasadena Weekly: What was your feeling about the outcome of the
election? I mean, you had to feel a certain measure of success at
some level.
Bob McCloskey: I think the outcome was good considering we only had
three months to run a campaign and we didn’t spend a whole lot of
money. We did the best we could in trying to reach out to voters. I
think if we had gotten to more households and mailed to more voters,
obviously we would have gotten a bigger response. But I think the 18
percent that I did get is indicative of the frustration and anger with
our current congressman. The problem wasn’t my platform. The problem
wasn’t my positions. The problem was not having the finances to reach
out to more voters and really having more time to go door-to-door
and trying to reach more voters.
So, now you are supporting Bill.
I remain in the Democratic Party and I remain a Democrat, but I
have always had an inside-outside strategy. I support candidates,
progressive Democrats, and I have voted outside the party before. … I
am supporting Bill. I want to help him win. I think the voters in
this district, from what our experience has been going door-to-door,
8 out of 10 voters at the door agree with us that it’s time to pull
the troops out of Iraq, it’s time to hold our president accountable.
… In fact, many people support impeachment.
Well, today is a big event in Iraq. They are showing this image on
television and everywhere else. Is this a good thing for us?
It’s immoral to celebrate the death of any human being, no matter
how despised they are by the public or the media or the Bush
administration. Zarqawi is a creation of our US foreign policy, and
really the only ones you can blame for an increase of terrorist acts
around the world is the Bush-Cheney administration for their continued
one-sided support for the occupation of Palestine, their adventurous
murder in Iraq, their threats against Iran. Now we have journalists
like Seymour Hersch saying an attack on Iran is inevitable and he
would not be surprised if the US staged some terrorist attacks to make
that happen. I think it’s time for us to really address the issue of
terrorism by looking at our foreign policy, ending the occupation of
Iraq, supporting a fair-minded policy in Israel and Palestine …
But you are still adamantly a Democrat, and the party isn’t really
following that line. Wouldn’t you be better off as a Green?
There are many races around the country in which progressive democrats
are running … there are 61 members of Congress right now, members of
the progressive caucus, who are calling for an immediate withdrawal
of the troops. There is a minority of progressive Democrats in the
House who I am fundamentally in agreement with on not only the war
in Iraq but on other issues, like universal health care, putting a
lot more federal dollars into education, expanding Medicare … so
there are some good positions being taken by a minority of Democrats,
and I support them.
It just seems unusual having a Democrat supporting a Green.
I stand on principle. I went into this race trying to bring more
attention to the issue of the war, trying to stop this war. I went
into this race on a platform of clean government and protecting
our civil liberties. I was surprised to see Mr. Schiff receiving
more and more money from defense contractors, more than he’s ever
received, so the problem only gets worse. And in good conscience, I
cannot tacitly support Mr. Schiff by not supporting Bill Paparian. I
support Bill Paparian because I support peace and justice in this
country and the issue of the war, the issue of our civil liberties,
the issue of clean government goes far beyond party affiliation.
So you are going to be campaigning for Bill over the next three or
four months?
Definitely. I will be doing all I can to help Bill. The main thing
is to get out and talk to people door to door.