ARMENIANS TO SHARE $17M PAYOUT FOR OTTOMAN MASSACRE
By Stephen Castle in Brussels
The Independent, UK
Oct 14 2005
Descendants of some of the 1.5 million Armenians killed during the
collapse of Ottoman rule in 1915 will share a $17m (£9.7m) payout
after a settlement with the French insurance giant AXA. The relatives
lodged their legal case in California, home to one of the world’s
largest Armenian communities, claiming for life insurance benefits
that were never paid. The settlement is likely to be approved in
November in the US District Court in California.
Armenians are stepping up their campaign to win formal classification
of the murders as an act of genocide. Turkey has always denied there
was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians,
saying they were casualties of partisan fighting and of a political
vacuum during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
Ankara says that as many as 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many
Turks, died during civil strife in eastern Turkey during the First
World War. Last month the authorities finally allowed the issue to be
debated on Turkish soil by historians at an academic conference. But
the organisers had to side-step two legal orders banning it by
rearranging the venue.
The California settlement will be administered in France, which also
has many expatriate Armenian communities and which was one of the first
countries to recognise the murders as genocide. AXA’s headquarters
are in France and the company operates in the US through subsidiaries.
Under the settlement, AXA agreed to donate several million dollars to
various France-based Armenian charities. It will also contribute $11m
toward a fund to pay valid claims of heirs of policyholders with AXA
Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
before 1915.
The AXA case was the second lawsuit of its kind to be settled in
US courts, although the United States, along with Turkey, does not
officially recognise the deaths as genocide. In February, New York
Life agreed to pay $20m to descendants of its Armenian policyholders
killed in 1915.
Mark Geragos, an Armenian descendant who was a lawyer for the
plaintiffs, said: “The AXA and New York Life settlements are important
building blocks not only toward seeking financial recovery for the
losses resulting from the Armenian genocide but also in our ultimate
goal, which is for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the
genocide.”
This month, Turkey launched EU membership talks which are expected
to last at least a decade. Despite criticism of the stance taken by
Ankara on the issue, EU member states did not seek to make recognition
of the Armenian case as genocide a condition of beginning negotiations
on joining the bloc.
The failure to acknowledge the genocide has also bedevilled Turkey’s
relations with its neighbour, Armenia. Turkey shut its border with
Armenia in 1993, angry at the Armenian separatist forces fighting
for independence from Azerbaijan in the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
For Armenians, the behaviour of the Young Turks, the dominant party in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915, in systematically arranging the deportation
and killing of 1.5 million Armenians, is central to their national
self image. They say persecutions continued with varying intensity
until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced
by the Republic of Turkey.
Ankara angrily rejects the claim of a planned genocide, but some EU
politicians still want Turkey to recognise the killings as genocide
before Ankara is allowed to join the EU.
Descendants of some of the 1.5 million Armenians killed during the
collapse of Ottoman rule in 1915 will share a $17m (£9.7m) payout
after a settlement with the French insurance giant AXA. The relatives
lodged their legal case in California, home to one of the world’s
largest Armenian communities, claiming for life insurance benefits
that were never paid. The settlement is likely to be approved in
November in the US District Court in California.
Armenians are stepping up their campaign to win formal classification
of the murders as an act of genocide. Turkey has always denied there
was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians,
saying they were casualties of partisan fighting and of a political
vacuum during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
Ankara says that as many as 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many
Turks, died during civil strife in eastern Turkey during the First
World War. Last month the authorities finally allowed the issue to be
debated on Turkish soil by historians at an academic conference. But
the organisers had to side-step two legal orders banning it by
rearranging the venue.
The California settlement will be administered in France, which also
has many expatriate Armenian communities and which was one of the first
countries to recognise the murders as genocide. AXA’s headquarters
are in France and the company operates in the US through subsidiaries.
Under the settlement, AXA agreed to donate several million dollars to
various France-based Armenian charities. It will also contribute $11m
toward a fund to pay valid claims of heirs of policyholders with AXA
Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
before 1915.
The AXA case was the second lawsuit of its kind to be settled in
US courts, although the United States, along with Turkey, does not
officially recognise the deaths as genocide. In February, New York
Life agreed to pay $20m to descendants of its Armenian policyholders
killed in 1915.
Mark Geragos, an Armenian descendant who was a lawyer for the
plaintiffs, said: “The AXA and New York Life settlements are important
building blocks not only toward seeking financial recovery for the
losses resulting from the Armenian genocide but also in our ultimate
goal, which is for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the
genocide.”
This month, Turkey launched EU membership talks which are expected
to last at least a decade. Despite criticism of the stance taken by
Ankara on the issue, EU member states did not seek to make recognition
of the Armenian case as genocide a condition of beginning negotiations
on joining the bloc.
The failure to acknowledge the genocide has also bedevilled Turkey’s
relations with its neighbour, Armenia. Turkey shut its border with
Armenia in 1993, angry at the Armenian separatist forces fighting
for independence from Azerbaijan in the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
For Armenians, the behaviour of the Young Turks, the dominant party in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915, in systematically arranging the deportation
and killing of 1.5 million Armenians, is central to their national
self image. They say persecutions continued with varying intensity
until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced
by the Republic of Turkey.
Ankara angrily rejects the claim of a planned genocide, but some EU
politicians still want Turkey to recognise the killings as genocide
before Ankara is allowed to join the EU.
–Boundary_(ID_w5yTcrfJaPFUOcjPl4Bi0g)–

THE USA PROMOTES THE RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Oct 14 2005
On October 13, RA NA President and Robin Phillips, Mission Director
in Armenia of the US Agency for International Development (US/AID)
signed a mutual understanding memorandum between the RA National
Assembly and the US Agency for International Development in Armenia.
The NA President Artur Bahgdasaryan noted that the signing of
the mutual understanding memorandum is an important event, and the
memorandum in act will promote the increase of the role of the National
Assembly, activation of the people-parliament ties. It was highlighted
that the NA has already become more public, and representatives of
different social groups visit the parliament. It was also noted that
the program is worth of 2mln USD, it will serve for retraining the NA
specialists, technical upgrading and international exchanges. Artur
Baghdasaryan gave thanks to the US authorities for the regular
assistance to Armenia.
By the estimation of Robin Phillips, Mission Director in Armenia of the
US Agency for International Development, the National Assembly plays
a vital role in democratic management, adopting laws and monitoring
their implementation. In that sense it is especially important to
promote the technical upgrading of the parliament, retraining of the
staff, making closer the ties with the people. Mr.
Phillips estimated the signed new memorandum as a cooperation
cornerstone of National Assembly-US Agency for International
Development.
After signing the memorandum RA NA President Artur Bahgdasaryan and
Robin Phillips, Mission Director in Armenia of the US Agency for
International Development had a briefing with the journalists.

SEVAN-HRAZDAN CASCADE FIGURES RELEASED
International Water Power and Dam Construction, UK
Oct 14 2005
The Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade in Armenia generated 475MkWh of
hydroelectricity in the first nine months of this year, unchanged
as compared with the same period in 2004, according to the Interfax
news agency.
Full-year production this year is expected to reach 510MkWh, as
compared with 532.5MkWh in 2004.
Armenia’s public services commission is considering a request by the
International Energy Corporation (IEC) to acquire a US$24M loan from
Germany’s KfW bank for the modernisation of the Yerevan hydro electric
pant, which is part of the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade.
The IEC, which is part of Russia’s Unified Energy Systems (UES), must
receive permission from the public services commission to receive
the loan under Armenia’s energy legislation.
The IEC was established in May 2003 to operate the Sevan-Hrazdan
Cascade. The Cascade, which has a total installed capacity of 556MW,
comprises six hydroelectric power plants built in the 1930-1962 period.
;storyCode=2031823
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WITH THE DEVELOPMENT GOAL OF ARMENIAN-UKRAINIAN TIES
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Oct 14 2005
On October 13 RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan received Oleksandr
Bozhko, the newly appointed Ambassador plenipotentiary and
extraordinary of the Republic of Ukraine to Armenia.
During the meeting the development issues of Armenian-Ukrainian
inter-parliamentary and interstate relations were discussed. Mr.
Bozhko expressed his gladness on the occasion of being re-appointed
an ambassador in Armenia and noted that the development of the
ties between two parliaments will be in the basis of his diplomacy
mission. By the Ambassador’s estimation the two countries have chosen
the way of Euro Integration and have a great impetus for mutual
promotion, especially the legislative experience of Armenia can
be useful for Ukraine on its way to become a member of World Trade
Organization. The Ukrainian experience will help Armenia in the sense
of the constitutional reforms. The cooperation was also mutually
highlighted in the sense of deepening the trade-economic ties. The
Ambassador presented the Parliament President the inter-political
situation of Ukraine.
During the meeting they touched upon the constitutional reforms of
Armenia, Mr. Bozhko highlighted the adoption of the reforms, as a
response, the NA President noted that the referendum day is already
fixed on November 27,and there are all preconditions that through
pan-democratic agreement Armenia will make a step forward on the
way of deepening the democracy and Euro-Integration. The Parliament
President highlighted the strengthening of the ties of the Supreme
Rada with the National Assembly and the cooperation at new level –
already at the inter-parliamentary level.
During the meeting they also touched upon other issues of mutual
interest.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANTI-PLAN WORKING WELL FOR SYSTEM OF A DOWN
By Ross Raihala Knight Ridder Newspapers
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA
Oct 13 2005
“We’ve really never approached anything from the typical angle. We
came into the music scene in L.A. from left field. We always did our
own thing, taking everyone’s career advice and then not following it.”
Vocalist Serj Tankian of System of a Down
With its innovative, complex music and surreal lyrics, System of a Down
isn’t just the most unusual band in metal (that’s the closest genre
that fits the virtually unclassifiable band). It’s quite possibly
the weirdest million-seller on the charts.
“I love that,” vocalist Serj Tankian said during a phone interview
from Manhattan. “We’ve really never approached anything from the
typical angle. We came into the music scene in L.A. from left field.
“We always did our own thing, taking everyone’s career advice and
then not following it.”
So far, the anti-plan has worked.
The Armenian-American quartet is having its most successful year to
date. The band launched “Mezmerize” in the spring with an instantly
sold-out guerrilla club tour. Follow-up disc “Hypnotize” hits stores
in November and is already one of the fall’s most hotly anticipated
releases.
“‘Mezmerize’ and ‘Hypnotize’ are really one record divided into two,”
Tankian said. “It’s not a concept album in terms of completing a story,
but it is kind of like completing a circle.”
Critics have long praised System of a Down’s unbridled creativity,
which brings a Frank Zappa-esque sense of the surreal to pounding,
operatic and politically charged metal.
But it’s the kids who fill the mosh pits at SOAD shows and have
snatched up more than 10 million copies of the band’s albums worldwide.
Does Tankian ever worry his young fans might be missing some of System
of a Down’s more subtle commentary in favor of merely rocking out?
“No, no – rocking out is the reason why we’re doing this,” he said.
“I think as long as people instinctively feel our music, they don’t
have to psychologically analyze it.
“A lot of people do come up with all sorts of theories and
understandings from the lyrics. A lot of people don’t, too, and that’s
OK. We just want people to connect to our music in some way.”
Tankian points to the song “B.Y.O.B.”
As far as SOAD goes, it’s a fairly straightforward protest song with
pointed lyrics: “Why don’t presidents fight the war? Why do they
always send the poor?”
“You may not be anti-war yourself,” he said, “but you will definitely
feel the power of the sarcasm in that song. You don’t have to theorize
about it – you just feel it.”
But there’s also a satirical side to System of a Down that often gets
overlooked amid all the anger.
“There has been such a focus on the political aspect of the band or
the heritage aspect of the band,” Tankian said.
“But I think people are starting to get now that humor is a huge part
of what we do, too.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EVENT TO BENEFIT EVACUEES
By Alyssa Fry The Shorthorn staff
The Shorthorn, TX
Oct 14 2005
The Music Department will hold free concert, but donations will be
taken for Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.
In an effort to raise more money for hurricane evacuees, the Music
Department will present a benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in
Irons Recital Hall.
The event is free, but donations will be accepted. Half the proceeds
will be given to the Red Cross and half will go to Habitat for
Humanity.
Jeffrey Howard, visiting violin assistant professor, initiated the idea
of the performance to the department. He said he wanted to do something
to help because the impact of the recent hurricanes was so great.
“It’s important for the Music Department to have a response and to
do our best to support the people who have lost everything,” he said.
Another reason for wanting to help evacuees was his wife, he said.
Anna Soukiassian, who will perform at the benefit, survived a severe
earthquake in 1998 in her hometown of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
The earthquake hit while she was practicing the piano in the apartment
where she lived with her mother. After seeing the reflection of her
closet door open up behind her, she stood up, but fell to the floor.
“I sat in the window, and people were running out [of the apartment
building],” she said. “It lasted a good two minutes.”
The town of Spitlak, about two hours from where she lived, was where
the earthquake’s epicenter was located.
“The whole town was underground,” Soukiassian said. “There was nobody
to rescue. It was very tragic, I’m sure thousands died.”
This experience is the driving force behind her participation in this
concert, aside from supporting her husband, she said.
“I’ve been through and seen a lot of damages from natural disasters,”
she said. “And I know hurricanes are another kind of natural disaster,
but I have heard stories that remind me of the earthquake.
I am doing this without hesitation.”
Associate professor Elizabeth Morrow will also perform in the
concert. The last part of the performance, the “Adagio for Strings,”
was chosen because it’s very expressive, she said.
“We had to look for a piece that looked at the contemplative side
when we’re confronted with things that humble us,” she said.
Music, she said, is something the department can share with the public
while helping evacuees.
“It’s an opportunity to share our relationship with music which is
a personal thing,” she said. “And with this concert we share this
relationship on a public level.”

STUDENTS DO NOT WANT TO BE SUBORDINATED TO PARTIES
A1+
| 20:43:21 | 13-10-2005 | Politics |
Today the students of the Yerevan State University and the
State University of Economy gathered in front of the government
building. They urge to declare invalid the decision of June 23 on the
order of formation of the administration council of higher education
institutions.
“According to the order, the council may include people, who are not
engaged in the educational field”, a four-year student said.
It is hard to say how the government will react to the protest. It is
known that the order came into force 13 days ago. Some students also
informed that tutors are afraid to take part in the protest actions,
however the students are encouraged by scientists. Chairman of the
Armenian Association of political scientists Arman Vardanyan said
that the protest action will bear a lasting character.

NSDU’S “YES” WILL BECOME “NO” IF…
A1+
| 20:20:03 | 13-10-2005 | Politics |
The National Self-Determination Union, who spoke out for the
constitutional amendments is not going to join any other party with
analogous position.
“They should join us, since we are the initiators” NSDU leader Paruyr
Hayrikyan considers.
Till the end of the next week is going to hold talks with all the
political forces, which we treat seriously. “If we reach consent with
those who adopted the NSDU idea on formation of alternative national
power with enthusiasm and they will vote against the amendments we
will support them.
If it does not happen will give ok to the amendments”
To note, P. Hayrikyan said that he and Stepan Demirchyan agree on
creation a state with strong presidential system. “Strong presidential
system implies strong parliament and the U.S. is a bright example of
it”, he stated.

PRE-ELECTION VIOLATIONS IN STEPANAVAN
A1+
| 17:44:00 | 13-10-2005 | Politics |
October 16 the election of the Mayor of Stepanavan will be held. Two
candidates – the incumbent Mayor Sargis Karakeshishyan and 29-year-old
Artak Alexanyan. Several days are left before the election but the
situation is becoming more and more tensed.
October 3 election posters of Artak Alexanyan were stuck to the walls
of the town buildings. The nest morning the posters were found torn.
8 members of the election commissions took part in Sargis
Karakeshishyan’s election campaign. Artak Alexanyan’s staff produced
a complaint to the Stepanavan central commission, then to the Couth
of First Instance on Vanadzor. Violations by the passport departments
were as well fixed.
October 11 Artak Alexanyan’s made some video shots, which show how
the potential voters receive bribe on the form of wheat. There are
also rumors that on the initiative of Karakeshishyan money is being
delivered (10 000 AMD for each vote).
This information was provided by the election headquarters of Artak
Alexanyan. A1+ did not succeed in finding out the originality of the
material. However we possess some data that the incumbent Mayor not
only gives bribes but also exerts pressure upon the voters saying
that he is supported by Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsyan.

HAYRIKYAN SAYS “YES” TO SPITE OPPOSITION
A1+
| 17:40:06 | 13-10-2005 | Politics |
The National Self-Determination Union will declare its finite position
on the constitutional amendments on October 15, NSDU leader Paruyr
Hayrikyan stated during today’s press conference.
“As you see we are not adherents to fanatic approach towards
the issue. We prefer practical approach”, P. Hayrikyan said. The
NSDU leader supposes that the constitutional amendments provide
for progress. In his opinion, the draft gives the parliament the
possibility to discuss and make decisions.
“Dual citizenship is a strategically important for Armenia. Some
politicians say they will vote against the amendments over this
clause. I think that they did not come to understand the core of the
issue”, he noted.
In his opinion, dual citizenship first of all refers to those2-3
million people and their descendants who left Armenia during recent
15 years and now being Russian citizens are forced to relinquish from
Armenia “thanks” to our constitution. “There are over 100 million
people of Armenian origin throughout the globe. And we wish to reduce
this number”, he said.
The NSDU named all the positive sides of the constitutional amendments
including the dual citizenship, parliament formation, availability of
the Constitutional Court, formation of the Justice Council. Paruyr
Hayrikyan does not share the opinion that the President’s immunity
is a negative clause. “A President should be immune not only during
the office but after it as well”, Hayrikyan considers.