Quince primer

Don’t know much about this fruit? It’s laden with history and has a
unique spot in local ag.

By Joan Obra / The Fresno Bee

(Updated Wednesday, September 21, 2005, 9:45 AM)

Many local folks don’t recognize the quince, a hard and often tart
fruit that looks like a funny-shaped apple.

But a handful of growers know it well. Most of the quince’s commercial
production in the United States rests on a few hundred acres in Fresno
and Tulare counties. Harvest begins around Labor Day and typically
ends in mid-November, says John Kaprielian, a Reedley farmer who tends
three varieties of this fruit: pineapple quince, Smyrna quince and
golden quince.

It’s a fruit that has fascinated local growers for more than a
century. George C. Roeding, the horticulturist and parks commissioner
who lent his name to Roeding Park, is credited with importing the
Smyrna quince from Turkey in the late 1800s.

Despite the strong Valley connection to the fruit, shoppers may have a
hard time finding fresh quince in supermarkets and farmers
markets. Whole Foods in Fig Garden Village already is selling it, and
it could appear on more market shelves as the harvest season
progresses. But much of the quince grown here heads to Los Angeles,
where ethnic groups such as Hispanics and Armenians buy the fruit. Or
it’s sent to the Middle East, where it’s widely eaten.

Quince still is popular among “all the cultures that still place a
high value on food,” says Brian Keavy, who markets quince for
Ballantine Produce in Reedley. “Our culture races toward
convenience. One of our greatest challenges is to get people to slow
down.”

Quince was the original fruit used in marmalades. “The Portuguese word
for quince is marmelo, and the quince jam in Portugal was called
marmalada,” states the 1987-88 catalog of the Southmeadow Fruit
Gardens, a specialty fruit-tree nursery in Baroda, Mich.

In Armenia, cooks turn the quince into preserves, jellies and
juice. In Iran, quince often is paired with meats such as lamb. And in
Spain and Latin America, a quince paste called dulce de membrillo
often is eaten with various cheeses, including the Spanish manchego
and tetilla, or the Mexican cotija.

In the Valley, quince paste is easier than the fresh fruit to find in
stores. The El Mexicano brand is sold at some stores that cater to
Hispanics. At La Paella, a Spanish restaurant at Champlain Drive and
Perrin Avenue, diners can order a dessert of Spanish dulce de
membrillo with tetilla cheese and a glass of port or sherry.

“People had the [quince] trees at home,” says Frank Vidal, the owner
of La Paella and a native of the Spainish province of Galicia. “We
used to make the membrillo at home.”

Making the paste was a lengthy process, he adds.

Quince is widely perceived as a difficult fruit. Its tart, chewy
texture means it’s rarely eaten raw. And cooking it requires
preparation. The skin has a light fuzz that must be removed. Its core
is particularly hard to cut. Cooking turns its pale flesh into a
beautiful red, ruby color ‘ but it typically takes a couple of hours
of cooking for this transformation.

Still, cooking with quince isn’t rocket science.

“Everyone says quince is hard to work with,” says Barbara Ghazarian, a
Monterey author whose cookbook, “Simply Armenian: Naturally Healthy
Ethnic Cooking Made Easy,” contains a chapter about quince. “But if
you’re a home cook who’s willing to cook with apples, then you’re a
home cook who’s willing to work with quince.”

Commercial quince already is defuzzed, she points out. And if you
happen to get the fruit from a backyard tree, rubbing it with a dish
towel should take care of the pesky fuzz.

Most of the time, you can use a knife to cut through the quince. If it
proves too hard, a food processor easily will slice it.

Like apples, the quince browns quickly, so plunge the slices into a
bowl of water with a little lemon juice.

If you’re looking for a quick dish, simply cook the fruit in cobblers
or as you would an apple pie. The quince may not turn that deep red
color, but it’ll still taste good.

If, however, you’re looking for the ruby hue, let the fruit simmer for
a couple of hours to make preserves, Ghazarian says.

The color and cooking time depend on the variety. The Smyrna won’t
start to jell until it turns a deep red, she says. But the golden
quince will start to set up once the flesh has turned a golden color.

You can identify the Smyrna by its irregular shape. The smoother
golden quince, by contrast, “is just a really buff fruit. Huge and
buff,” Ghazarian says. “If the fruit was a guy, it would be Matt
Damon, and I would marry it.”

For recipes such as stuffed quinces, the Smyrna would be a good
choice.

“The Smyrna really holds its shape,” Kaprielian says. “It won’t get
mushy or fall apart.”

Kaprielian also offers a tip for ripening the quince: Simply let it
sit at room temperature until it turns yellow and gives off an
aromatic scent, a process that can take several weeks.

“A lot of times, a quince will get better after harvest,” Kaprielian
says. “It keeps ripening.”

Once it is ripe, store it in a plastic container with a damp paper
towel. Cover the container, but leave the lid slightly ajar. Kept
this way, it will stay fresh for a couple of months in the
refrigerator.

Kaprielian and Ghazarian, who are both Armenian, have ancestral ties
to the quince. This ancient fruit was born in the Caucasus ‘ the
mountainous region between the Black and Caspian seas that now
includes Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The quince has biblical, mythical and historical significance. It is
said to be the apple that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. The
Babylonians cultivated it. The Persians took it south, and the Greeks
took it to the east.

It is the fruit that started the Trojan War, the conflict launched by
a rivalry between three goddesses. Each hoped to win a quince destined
for the fairest one. Their judge: Paris, the prince of Troy.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, made Paris an irresistible offer. If
he awarded her the quince, she would have the most beautiful woman in
the world fall in love with him. Aphrodite won the fruit, and Paris
won the heart of Helen, who already was married to the king of Sparta.

Helen left her husband for Paris, and her husband waged the Trojan War
to bring her back.

Other peoples, such as the Romans, traveled with the quince,
introducing it to areas such as the British Isles.

And when early European settlers came to America, they carried the
quince, Ghazarian says. The first quince tree she tended likely was
planted by settlers in Whitinsville, Mass.

“My family history with the fruit goes back to when my aunt and her
family purchased a home with a fruit-bearing quince tree in the yard,”
Ghazarian writes in “Simply Armenian.” “But it was my grandmother who
cared for the trees. She watched the fruit for signs of ripening
during the final days of September and labored in the kitchen for days
afterwards, making her royal red quince preserves and jelly.”

Ghazarian has noticed rising interest in the fruit, which has prompted
her to collect more recipes and historical information for a cookbook
devoted to quince.

“Quince is the up-and- coming thing,” she says. The reporter can be
reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6365.

THE CLICKABLE CHAMBER MUSIC NEWSLETTER FROM THE SOUTH BAY
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 – Wednesday, September 28, 2005 No.243
Next issue: Wednesday, September 28, 2005

INAUGURAL CONCERT – DILIJAN CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES

N E W S L E T T E R B E G I N S
*********************************
GREETINGS, MUSIC AFICIONADOS,

[ stuff omitted ]

B. Inaugural Concert
DILIJAN CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
MARTIN CHALIFOUR, VARTY MANOUELIAN, and MOVSES POGOSSIAN violins,
PAUL COLETTI and GINA WARNICK violas, PETER STUMPF cello
Sunday, September 25, 2005 – 3:00PM – Zipper Concert Hall

This is the inaugural concert of a major new chamber music series in
the superb Zipper Concert Hall. Aficionados will immediately recognize
this town’s finest artists in the ensemble — Los Angeles Philharmonic
concertmaster MARTIN CHALIFOUR, violinist VARTY MANOUELIAN, and
principal cellist PETER STUMPF, and Colburn and UCLA distinguished
faculty member PAUL COLETTI. Violinist and Dilijan Artistic Director
MOVSES POGOSSIAN is a prizewinner of the 1986 Tchaikovsky
International Competition and the youngest-ever first-prize winner of
the USSR National Violin Competition. He made his American debut
performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Boston Pops in
1990. Read about the artists for this and upcoming concerts by clicking:

The Dilijan series’ six concerts of the 2005-06 season will encompass
both traditional pieces of the genre, along with fine examples of
Armenian classical chamber music. An important component of Dilijan is
its commitment to commission and premiere two to three compositions
each season. The inaugural concert, for example, will feature the
world premiere of “Serenade with a Dandelion” by Vache Sharafyan,
whose compositions have been championed by cellist YO-YO MA and his
Silk Road Ensemble.

Program
Edward Mirzoyan: String Quartet (1947)
Vache Sharafyan: Serenade with a Dandelion for two violins (World Premiere)
Zoltán Kodály: Serenade for two violins and viola, Op.12
Brahms: String Quintet No.2 in G Major, Op.111

For full concert information, see No.34 in the listings below, or click:

C. USC Thornton School of Music – Free
SZYMANOWSKI PROJECT – Songs of the Mad Muezzin
a theatrical multimedia fantasy
Saturday, September 24, 2005 – 7:00PM
Sunday, September 25, 2005 – 3:00PM
USC Schoenberg Institute Recital Hall

A dangerous and esoteric world of mystical-erotic desire found in the
song-cycle “Songs of the Mad Muezzin” by the Polish composer KAROL
SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937) is explored in a collective project between
students of USC’s Schools of Music, Theatre and Cinema & Television,
and the Polish Music Center. Film installation, projected slides,
abstract paintings, and classical music are combined to create an
experimental alternative to the traditional recital presentation of
the classical voice cycle.

The SZYMANOWSKI PROJECT was conceived by Russian-born tenor TIMUR
BEKBOSUNOV, a graduate student at USC studying voice with GARY
GLAZE. Read about Timur and the other USC artists involved with the
Szymanowski Project by clicking:

Admission is free, but reservations are required. For full concert
information, see No.16 in the listings below, or click:

Newsletter Contact: Jim Eninger <[email protected]>

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 21 2005

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER APPRECIATES UAE’S BALANCED FOREIGN POLICY

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The delegation
headed by Doctor Sultan ben Mohammad al-Kasimi, the emir sheikh of
Sharzha and a member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), was received on September 20 by the RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian.

Expressing satisfaction at Armenia’s current relations with many Arab
states, including the UAE, the sides pointed out such achievements
registered in recent years as the activization of high-level mutual
visits, the signing of several dozens of agreements on cooperation in
various spheres, the existing mutually beneficial cooperation within
the framework of international organizations, and the holding of
regular diplomatic consultations. They underlined that the friendship
and cultural and trade links between the Armenian and Arab peoples
that have deep historical roots are greatly conducive to the
development of bilateral relations and international contacts.

A. Margarian appreciated the balanced foreign policy conducted by the
UAE at both the regional and international levels.

The interlocuters indicated education, science, culture, tourism, and
the export of agricultural products as the most perspective spheres
regarding the relations between the two countries. The Prime Minister
expressed a confidence that the current visit of Sultan al-Kasimi, as
well as Sharzha Culture Days being held now in Armenia will become a
new stimulus for developing the cooperation and promoting the
cultural, scientific and educational contacts between the two
countries and allowing their peoples to better understand each other.
A. Margarian attached importance to the establishment of the Arab
Cultural Center in Armenia, expressing gratitude to Sultan al-Kasimi
for his willingness to participate in its financing. He also thanked
the emir of Sharzha for allocating a land area in Sharzha in 1995 for
the purpose of building an Armenian church, which has been the only
one in the UAE so far.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, the
sides also addressed the issue of opening the UAE’s embassy in
Armenia. Noting that Armenia opened its embassy in Abu Dhabi as far
back as 2000, A. Margarian expressed a hope that the UAE’s government
will also establish its embassy in Yerevan in the near futiure,
especially as a land plot has already been allocated for this purpose
by the Armenian side.

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 21 2005

ARPI VARDANIAN: OUR DUTY AS AMERICAN CITIZENS IS TO MAKE OUR
GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The American
people’s perception and understanding of problems related to
genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, is continuously
increasing thanks to the activities carried out by the Armenian
organizations in the US. Arpi Vardanian, Regional Director for
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh of the Armenian Assembly of America
(AAA), told this to NT correspondent, while commenting on the
adoption on September 15 of a resolution on the Armenian Genocide by
the Commission of Internatinal Relations of the US House of
Representatives.

She underlined that progress has been registered in the adoption of
the resolution on the Armenian Genocide by the US Congress. The above
mentioned commission approved the resolution by 40 votes to 7 – such
a result has not been registered since 2000 when 24 commission
members voted in favor and 11 ones – against.

Arpi Vardanian found it difficult to say when the House of
Representatives will hold a discussion on the resolution, since the
process involves several stages. According to her, it is envisaged to
finish the discussions of all drafts by late 2005, and it is not
ruled out that the process will be completed in October, but taking
into consideration the experience of the previous years, it is quite
possible the terms will be extended.

Arpi Vardanian was appreciative of the American Greek community’s
position on the issue. She reminded that a few years ago, the AAA
initiated the creation of the Central and East European Coalition tha
involves 15 organizations representing national minorities and unites
20 mln Americans. “Today there exists an understanding on the
Armenian Genocide issue, the minorities should help each other.”

Arpi Vardanian pointed out that in the event the resolution is not
adopted, the AAA will continue its work until the Armenian Genocide
is recognized and approved by the US government. “It is our duty to
our ancestors, and as American citizens to make out government
recognize the truth, one should never be afraid of truth,” Arpi
Vardanian stressed.

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network

(CENN)

Weekly Digest

September 21, 2005

NEWS FROM GEORGIA

Action On Struggle Against Poverty

Source: PrimeNews Agency, September 10, 2005

Activists of the movement “Future without Poverty” will hold an action in
Tbilisi on Saturday within the frameworks of the international day “White
belt”. <;
more

US SIGNS $295.3M COMPACT WITH GEORGIA AS PART OF MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE

Source: “Sarke”, September 13, 2005

A compact on disbursing $295.3 million to Georgia as part of the Millennium
Challenge program was signed yesterday as
<; more

GEORGIA HOPES TO RECEIVE $600M FROM INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Source: Information Agency “Sarke”, September 14, 2005

Apart from $295.3 million, the US has disbursed to Georgia under the
Millennium Challenge program the Georgian government hopes to receive up to
$600 million in loan from international financial institutions.
<; more

Officials Laud Millennium Challenge Aid Agreement

Source: The Messenger, September 14, 2005

The signing of the Millennium Challenge agreement for USD 295.3 million in
aid to Georgia underlines the continuing and strengthening relationship
between Georgia and the United States, officials from both countries said
Monday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony for the new aid agreement, U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said the agreement, the largest so far from the
new U.S. aid program, “represents America’s long-term commitment to
Georgia’s future success.”

“Our partnership will only continue to grow stronger
<; more

NEWS FROM Azerbaijan

HEALTH MINISTRY OF AZERBAIJAN: “THERE WAS NEVER BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPON IN
AZERBAIJAN”

Source: “Azertag”, September 7, 2005

Health Ministry of the Azerbaijan Republic is rather surprised upon the
information disseminated in mass media on allegedly presentation by
Azerbaijan to the United States of the samples of bacteriological weapon,
the Ministry’s spokesman told AzerTAc.
<; more

AZERBAIJAN TO CELEBRATE WORLD TOURISM DAY

Source: “Azertag”, September 13, 2005

Within the frameworks of the World Tourism Day, an exhibition dealing with
domestic tourism will be held in Baku October 1. Over 50 travel agencies and
hotel owners will take part in the exhibition to be held at the Baku
Business Center
<; more

news from Armenia

SEVAN THREATENING THE TREES

Source: A1plus, September 7, 2005

Today the session of the RA Forests Repair and Development Fund Trustee
Council took place which was presided over by the President of the Council,
RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.
<; more

GERMANY ALLOCATES 2.2 Million EUR TO ARMENIA FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT
“BIO-DIVERSITY AND NATURE PROTECTION IN SOUTH CAUCASUS REGION”

Source: ARMINFO, September 9, 2005

German Government has approved 2.2 million EUR to Armenia for implementation
of a program “Bio-diversity in the South-West of Armenia” and “Protection of
bio-diversity in Javakheti through transboundary cooperation.”

A relevant agreement was signed today by Ministry of Nature Protection of
Armenia Vardan Ayvazyan and Representative of German KfW bank in Armenia
Karapet Gevorgyan.
<; more

ATTENTION TO AGRICULTURE

Source: Armenian News Agency “A1plus”, September 14, 2005

Today in New York UN General Assembly 60th session high-level meeting
started. Heads of Governments of more than 170 countries participate in the
summit, including the RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

On September 13 Andranik Margaryan met the <Millennium Challenges
Corporation> (MCC) heads temporary executive director
<; more

International News

UN agencies team up to promote eco-friendly, development-oriented tourism

Source: UN Dispatch, September 7, 2005

With massive growth in tourism predicted in the coming years, two United
Nations agencies have teamed up to produce a set of guidelines to help
governments around the world to promote a sustainable tourism that spreads
prosperity while avoiding harm to the environment and local communities.

For the first time, the UN World Tourism Organization (
<; WTO) and the UN Environment Programme (
<; UNEP) have
<;
combined their efforts
< ly_digest_21_9_05_en.html> more

The environment matters

Source: WWF News, By Claude Martin, September 9, 2005

Many of us in the conservation world are concerned that the natural
environment – as the fundamental provider of life on this planet – seems to
have dropped off the international community’s radar screen in the lead up
to the UN-hosted World Summit.

This is an alarming realization as natural resources and the environment are
being degraded and destroyed at record pace.
<; more

Flood-Water Sampling Chemical Data Available

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 11, 2005

The Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality today posted data from New Orleans flood
water chemical samples collected
<; more

Europe’s environmental future demands more action in key sectors

Source: European Environmental Agency, 11 September, 2005

Policy makers must better integrate environmental issues across EU policies

Existing policies alone will not be enough to save Europe’s environment from
extensive environmental change in the long term, according to a new report
released today by the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen.
<; more

EU bio-fuel target ‘incompatible with biodiversity targets’

Source: Eco-portal news, 12 September, 2005

Delegates at last week’s European Conference on Climate Change and
Biodiversity, organized in Oxford shire by English Nature, were told that
the EU’s target of 5.75% bio-fuels for transport
<; more

New funding to sustain rivers and wetlands

Source: Environmental News Agency, September 12, 2005

The Environment Agency published (on September 9) proposals to increase the
cost of licenses to abstract water from rivers and groundwater in England
and Wales. The increase would create a fund to enable the Agency to revoke
historical rights to water which need to be revoked or limited to prevent
damage to the environment and compensate abstractors whose rights are
revoked. It will also meet the costs of new responsibilities assumed by the
Environment Agency under the Water Act 2003.
<; more

US Agency Approves Private Nuclear-Waste Facility

Source: Planet Ark, September 12, 2005

Washington – US regulators Friday approved a private firm’s plan to store
tens of thousands of tons nuclear waste above the ground on an American
Indian reservation in Utah.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the license to Private Fuel
Storage to store the radioactive waste on the reservation of the Skull
Valley Band of Goshute Indians, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
<; more

Canada Doesn’t see Breakthrough at Post-Kyoto Meet

Source: Planet Ark, September 13, 2005

Ottawa – A major Montreal meeting charged with starting to draft a successor
to the Kyoto climate change accord is unlikely to produce a breakthrough, a
senior Canadian official said on Monday.
<; more

Clean Air agreement with nation’s largest hazardous waste operator

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 13, 2005

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today
announced a settlement with Clean Harbors Environmental Services that is
expected to enhance calculating and reporting on benzene emissions from
North America’s largest operator of hazardous waste treatment and disposal
facilities. This settlement involves ten facilities in eight states. It
confirms the proper industry standard for compliance
<; more

Environment: Why Is the Ozone Hole Growing?

Source: Inter Press Service News Agency, September 13, 2005

A huge ozone hole has developed over Antarctica for the second year running,
exposing southern Argentina and Chile to high levels of damaging ultraviolet
radiation from the Sun.
<; more

Black Sea turns cleaner

Source: Bulgarians News Network, September 13, 2005

Sofia – The Black Sea has gradually become cleaner in the past few years,
according to observations of the Oceanology Institute of the Bulgarian
Science Academy, state TV informed Tuesday.
<; more

Environmental effect on diseases could be underestimated

Source: European Environmental Agency, 13 September, 2005

The current way of analyzing connections between environment and health
attributes only 2-5% of European mortality and morbidity to environmental
factors. However, this so-called “burden of disease” approach is likely to
be flawed, according to EEA executive director Professor Jacqueline McGlade
who spoke today at the 2005 conference of the UK Health Protection Agency at
Warwick University.
<; more

Two for the price of one: save water, serve people

Source: WWF News, 13 September, 2005

Gland, Switzerland – As Heads of State meet in New York for the World
Summit, a new report from WWF shows a strong link between environmental
improvement and economic development that can no longer be ignored.

The report – Freshwater and poverty reduction: Serving people, saving nature
– analyses projects in Brazil, Colombia, China, and South Africa,
demonstrating dramatic improvements in the livelihoods of poor local
communities where WWF-supported conservation projects are in place. The
projects show that
<; more

World’s Largest Hippo Population Almost Gone – WWF

Source: Planet Ark, September 13, 2005

Johannesburg – An aerial survey shows what was once the world’s largest
hippo population in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being poached to
extinction, conservationist group WWF International said on Monday.
<; more

Two Decades of Protecting the Ozone Layer to be Marked

Source: UNEP’s press release, September 13, 2005

International Ozone Day to mark the signing of Montreal Protocol on 16
September

Vienna Convention to Celebrate Two Decades of Protecting the Ozone Layer on
21 September

“An extraordinary success story – but saving ozone layer an unfinished
business,” says UNEP.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and governments around the
world are preparing to celebrate two key milestones
<; more

Oil Leasing Proposed for Remote Chukchi Sea

Source: Planet Ark, September 15, 2005

Anchorage – New expressions of industry interest have prompted the US
government to propose oil and gas leasing in the Chukchi Sea, a remote but
potentially energy-rich area between northwestern Alaska and northeastern
Siberia, officials said Tuesday.

The Minerals Management Service, an agency of the Interior Department, said
it will start planning for a Chukchi lease sale to be held in late 2007 or
early 2008. It would be the first lease sale in the region since 1991.
<; more

REGIONAL FORUM ON COMBATING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME FORMED

Source: Planet Ark, September 15, 2005

Experts from a range of international agencies, meeting in Bangkok, have
agreed to set up a Regional Forum to be facilitated by UNEP ROAP to help
curb the trade of environmentally hazardous chemicals as well as natural
resources and endangered species in the region. The Forum allows access to
information
<; more

NGO News

NGOS MARK GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST WASTE AND INCINERATION

Source: IISD Reporting Services, September 9, 2005

A group of NGOs has organized a week of awareness-raising activities on
waste issues. The network challenges governments to adopt and implement
policies that will prevent waste
<; more

NGOs Oppose Veterinary Department Chief

Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005

Some Georgian environmentalists are concerned over the shutdown of state-run
veterinary services across Georgia. They blame Jambul Maghlakelidze,
Chairman of the Veterinary Department of Georgia, of withholding information
about the process. Maghlakelidze, who signed the order to liquidate the
services on July 1, 2005, dismisses these charges as `groundless’.

According to a protest letter from the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN), the order to shut down state-owned veterinary bodies
<; more

Legal News

Environmental laws fall by the wayside

Source: the Daily Star: By Raed El Rafei September 14, 2005

Many companies ignore the need for EIA studies or pay lip service to their
implementation.

One need only take a look at the over-urbanized slopes crunched by quarries
or take a dip in the sea where water and waste co-exist to realize
protecting the environment is not a priority in the land of the cedars. The
continuous proliferation of projects that do not respect environmental
standards makes one wonder why laws drafted for the protection of the
environment in 2002 have not yet been implemented.
<; more

New Publication

European Environment Outlook – EEA Report No 4/2005

Source: European Environmental Agency, 11 September, 2005

Protecting our environment is a key element in ensuring sustainable
livelihoods for today’s and future generations. Indeed, the most recent Euro
barometer surveys show
<; more

Fundraising Opportunity

The CEE Fundraising Achievement Award 2005

The Civil Society Development Foundation Hungary (CSDF Hungary) and
Fundraising Competence Group GmbH introduce a new award for celebrating
fundraising success stories of the recent years and promoting best practices
of the emerging nonprofit sectors in Central and Eastern Europe.
<; more

Announcement

TACIS FUNDED PROJECT intends to recruit 2 experts to assist the EU

Source: “24 Saati” (“24 Hours”), September 15, 2005

“Legal Advice in Support of Reform of the Social Protection and Health Care
Sectors”

The recruited experts will be responsible for preparing analysis according
to the defined project objectives and criteria. (in years)
<; more

Tender Announcement – Invitation for Bids

Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005

Specific Procurement Notice

Georgia

Municipal Development and Decentralization Project II

Improvement of Gori Water Supply System

Loan/Credit No. 3701-GE Contract/ Bid No. GOR/201

This invitation for bids follows the general procurement notice for this
project that appeared in Development Business No. 657 of June 30, 2005.

Georgia has received a credit from the International Development Association
(IDA) toward the cost of the Municipal Development and Decentralization
Project II, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this credit
<; more

ANNOUNCEMENT – Partner to finance a Project

Source: The Georgian Times, September 19, 2005

LTD ‘IKATO’ seeks a partner to finance a project (G-689 Natural
Biopreparation from Georgian Plants). The project has been subject to
expertise at the ISTC.
<; more

************************************************* ***********************

Subscribing Information

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All the published digests and bulletins issued in both English and Russian
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the reader the whole picture of the environmental process taking place
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To subscribe or unsubscribe from CENN mailing list service, please send an
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around the world, please send your information at the following email:
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For more information about the program, please visit CENN web-page:
<;

CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04
Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Pan Armenian News

DAYS OF BELARUSIAN CULTURE TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 29 – OCTOBER 3

21.09.2005 02:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Days of Belarusian Culture will be held in the Republic of
Armenia September 29 – October 3 and next year the Days of Armenia will be
held in Minsk, RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belarus
Suren Harutyunian stated during a press conference on September 20. In
Harutyunian’s words, the opening ceremony will take place in the State
Theater of Opera and Ballet. Pesnyary company, a chamber orchestra, National
Dances group will present their art to the Armenian audience. An exhibition
will be as well organized. The Belarusian delegation will be headed by
Minister of Culture Leonid Gulyako, reported IA Regnum.

Kurdish Info, Germany
Sept 21 2005

Boycott to Swiss goods by Labor Party

ADANA (DIHA) – The province administration board of Labor Party in
Adana started a campaign calling for boycotting the Swiss goods as
the Parliament of Switzerland accepted the ‘Armenian Massacre’.

The province chairman of the party Sedat Memili gave a speech in
front of Bilka CO. which delivers the products of Nestle. He said
they will continue their boycott not to use the Swiss products until
the parliament declares off the decision and called the public to
support their boycott.

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
The Jamestown Foundation
Sept 21 2005

RUSSIAN ELECTRICITY GIANT CLOSE TO COMPLETING ARMENIAN POWER GRID
PURCHASE

By Emil Danielyan

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Russia’s state-run power monopoly, Unified Energy Systems (UES), is
close to formalizing its effective purchase of Armenia’s electricity
grid, giving Moscow near total control over the Armenian energy
sector. The government in Yerevan indicated on September 15 that it
would green light a deal that has generated serious concern among
Armenia’s leading Western donors. The latter have for years opposed
Russian attempts to take over the Electricity Networks of Armenia
(ENA) but now appear to have come to terms with the change of
ownership.

UES has already been the de facto owner of ENA since announcing last
June a $73 million “management contract” with Midland Resources
Holding, a British-registered company that controversially privatized
ENA three years ago. UES initially claimed to have purchased the
Armenian utility, but later clarified that it paid the lump sum only
for the right to run ENA and use its profits. The Russians argued
that the deal therefore falls short of a formal acquisition, which
has to be approved by the Armenian authorities.

But it was obvious that Midland Resources now owns ENA only on paper.
The Armenian government remained suspiciously silent on the issue
until facing strong criticism from the World Bank and the U.S.
government’s Agency for International Development (USAID). The two
institutions, which have invested heavily in the decade-long reform
of the Armenian energy sector, warned that the lack of transparency
could force them to reconsider their further assistance to the
country.

Armenia’s Public Service Regulatory Commission, a supposedly
independent body, claimed to have investigated the legality of the
deal and found no evidence of wrongdoing. It argued in late August
that Midland did not have to seek government approval because it
remains the legal owner of ENA. However, the authorities apparently
concluded that having the Russians follow all legal rules and
formally buy the network would spare them greater trouble. The
calculation seems to have proved correct.

On September 8, Midland Resources submitted letters to the government
and the Regulatory Commission asking for permission to sell ENA
shares to an obscure UES subsidiary called Interenergo BV. The
Armenian cabinet granted the request in principle at a meeting on
September 15, which was chaired by President Robert Kocharian. A
government statement said the Energy Ministry was given three days to
clarify all details of the Russian takeover, notably “some issues
relating to obligations” of the new owner. The deal’s clearance now
seems a forgone conclusion.

Western donor agencies and governments are evidently resigned to this
development. The head of the World Bank office in Yerevan, Roger
Robinson, welcomed on September 13 the fact that the process is now
proceeding “in compliance with the law of Armenia.” “I am personally
pleased to see what I think are the rules now being followed,”
Robinson told journalists. “That’s what we asked everybody to do
anyway and that is exactly what has happened,” he added.

Yet the result of all this will be the tightening of Russia’s grip on
the Armenian energy sector. UES alone controls several big power
plants that account for 80% of Armenia’s electricity output. Armenian
Energy Minister Armen Movsisian publicly spoke out against the
Russian giant’s ownership of ENA last March, arguing that it would
run counter to a key goal of the energy sector reform: separation of
units generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity. The
structural change helped Armenia to end its crippling power shortages
of the 1990s and start exporting electricity to neighboring Georgia
and Iran.

But Robinson believes that there is nothing wrong with a single
company producing and distributing energy, saying that this is a
normal practice in Western countries like France. The important
thing, said the World Bank official, is not so much who owns the
power distribution networks as the existence of an independent state
regulator. “We have great confidence in the regulator here in
Armenia,” he said.

The Public Service Regulatory Commission (PSRC) was also praised by
USAID. “A transparent and robust decision-making process, managed by
a strong regulator, is key to protecting the interests of energy
consumers,” USAID said in a statement. “USAID is happy to continue
assistance to the PSRC and others to ensure the design and
implementation of such a process.”

However, the head of PSRC, Yerevan’s former presidentially appointed
mayor, Robert Nazarian, is known for anything but independence and
respect of law. In his capacity as Yerevan mayor, Nazarian had
personally sanctioned (usually at the orders of top Kocharian aides)
massive land allocations in the city center to businesses owned by
senior government officials and their cronies. Local investigative
journalists say the process contained enough material for writing a
textbook on government corruption in Armenia.

The Western donor agencies should be aware of this, but are clearly
unwilling or unable to stop UES expanding its presence in Armenia.
The Armenian and Russian governments may have well decided that
expansion. Observers note the fact that Movsisian voiced his
objections shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s last
visit to Yerevan. Russian-Armenian cooperation on energy was
reportedly high on the agenda of Putin’s talks with Kocharian.

(Haykakan Zhamanak, September 16; Armenian government statement,
September 15; USAID statement, September 15; RFE/RL Armenia Report,
September 13)

RTE Interactive, Ireland
Sept 21 2005
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian <[email protected]>
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN

Tehran’s ambassador to Ireland is arrested

21 September 2005 14:17
Tehran’s ambassador to Ireland has been arrested in Iran on charges
of financial mismanagement, according to Iranian judicial and foreign
ministry sources.

Judiciary Minister Jamal Karimirad told reporters on Monday an
Iranian envoy had been arrested and was in jail after failing to meet
bail.

Foreign Ministry sources today named the man as Hamid Reza Nikkar,
ambassador to Ireland. There was no indication of how Nikkar pleaded.

‘One of our ambassadors has been arrested for financial
mismanagement,’ Karimirad said on Monday. ‘Ten percent of a
16million deal has been mismanaged,’ he added.

It was unclear whether the charge, which one source said involved a
construction project, related to a crime committed in Iran or abroad.

Nikkar took up his posting in Dublin in June and foreign ministry
sources said the charges were likely to relate to an alleged offence
before his arrival in Ireland.

Press reports at the time of Nikkar’s appointment said he had served
as ambassador to Armenia and mayor of the central city of Isfahan
before taking up his Dublin post.

The Irish ambassador in Tehran declined to comment on the case.

Pan Armenian News

AZERI MOD DENIES INFORMATION ON SHOTS AND OSCE MONITORING

21.09.2005 02:55

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Monitoring was not held at the contact line of the
Karabakh and Azeri forces on September 20, Azeri MOD spokesman Ramiz Melikov
stated. In his words, the information saying that during the monitoring held
by OSCE Special Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk the Azeri side violated the
ceasefire `does not correspond to reality’. `If the monitoring were held an
observer would have taken part in it from the Azeri party. Spreading of such
information is a recurrent provocation by our enemy. The Azeri MOD does not
possess information regarding any monitoring of the contact line’, Ramiz
Melikov said, IA Regnum reports. At the same time Day.az Azeri news agency
with a reference to the Azeri MOD informed that a monitoring was scheduled
near the Karakhanbeily settlement of Fizuli region. As PanARMENIAN.Net came
to know form the NKR MOD press office, September 20 the OSCE mission
launched the planned monitoring. However at the very beginning the Azeri
party fired a shot, directed at the observation mission. This was registered
by the OSCE representatives. By instructions of Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk,
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CiO), who headed
the mission at the Azeri side, the monitoring was interrupted due to
security considerations.