A1+
| 17:31:19 | 28-09-2005 | Official |
EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE WITH INTERPOL
Today Robert Kocharyan has received the Interpol Secretary General Ronald
Kenneth Noble. Finding the role of Interpol extremely important in the
combat against international criminality, Kocharyan voiced hope that the
visit of the Secretary General will contribute to the further enhancing of
our cooperation with the organization.
Robert Kocharyan found the combat against criminality important especially
in the conditions of globalization and growing challenges. The Interpol
Secretary General highly appreciated the professionalism of the Armenian
police and mentioned that they are actively participating in the works of
Interpol.

A1+
| 17:25:03 | 28-09-2005 | Official |
RUSHAYLO WORKING IN ARMENIA
Today RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan received the CIS Executive
Committee head, executive secretary Vladimir Rushaylo who is in Yerevan on a
working visit.
The sides spoke about the results of the CIS Summit in Kazan, underlining
the interest of the member countries in the future development of CIS.
During the conversation the sides also referred to the course of the CIS
reforms, events organized in the margins of the CIS and the participation of
Armenia in them. The executive secretary represented the present state of
the organization and the issues about the formation of the budget and the
system.
Finding the humanitarian cooperation in the margins of the CIS extremely
important, the sides also referred to the upcoming plans in that respect.

Zaman, Turkey
Sept 28 2005
EP: Negotiations may Halt if Turkey does not Recognize Greek Cypriots
By Emre Demir
The European Parliament (EP) demanded Turkey recognize South Cyprus
as soon as possible in a draft resolution issued on Tuesday.
EP publicized its “common solution proposal” resolution draft that
will be voted on Wednesday.
Negotiations can be halted, the draft underlines, if Turkey does not
recognize South Cyprus and describes Ankara’s withdrawal of troops
from the island as a “necessity.”
MEPs called Turkey to once again adopt a constructive attitude within
the framework of the Annan plan as they invited the European Council
to lift the sanctions on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC).
The draft was approved by The Group of the European People’s Party
(Christian Democrats) and European Democrats in the European
Parliament (EPP/ED), Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES),
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), Greens,
European United Left and Nordic Left (GUE-NGL), and Union for a
Europe of Nations (UEN).
The draft demands Turkey to recognize Cypriot Greek Administration as
the sole representative of the island so that relations can be
stabilized.
When Turkey issued a declaration following the signature of the
Supplementary Protocol on July 29 and underlined not to recognize the
Greek administration in the island, the course of events followed a
rocky turn.
Turkey ‘s declaration would not settle the problems, noted in the
draft. “EP parliamentarians call Turkey and Turkish authorities to
carry on the constructive conduct so that the Cyprus problem receives
a permanent solution within the framework of the Annan plan.”
The resolution draft also stressed Turkey should lift the ban applied
on Greek Cypriot ships and planes.
MEPs called the European Council to make efforts in the direction of
lifting isolation on the TRNC and finding a consensus on the subject
aid packages.
Turkey has fulfilled all the conditions required to begin the
negotiations on October 3, the draft acknowledges, but criticizes
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s prosecution for his statements on the
Armenian “genocide.”
The negotiation process will be open-ended the document wrote.
Ankara’s adaptation efforts to the acquis communautaire should not be
hindered by the decision about the permanent restrictions on Turkish
workers entering the free circulation, which was examined in the 2004
summit.
The Supplementary Protocol envisages the extension of the scope of
the Customs Union to the new members of the EU will be voted in the
European Union (EU) joint meeting to be held on Wednesday in the EP
general assembly.
EP deputies will discuss the report on Turkey. British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw will attend the meeting in the name of the
European Council. EP President Josep Borrell said on Tuesday the EP
would take an historical decision about Turkey.

Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
Sept 28 2005
Halonen in Armenia asked for recognition of Turkish massacre
President avoids question by focusing on future

During her visit to Armenia on Tuesday, President Tarja Halonen found
herself in the middle of a discussion on the sensitive issue of the
Turkish massacre of more than a million Armenians during the First
World War and shortly thereafter.
The discussion took place soon after the Finnish President had
laid a wreath at a monument to the victims of the genocide in the
Armenian capital Yerevan.
Armenian journalists asked the Finnish President if she would
publicly recognise the events as a genocide. A number of countries,
including France, have already done so.
Turkey has refused to andmit that a genocide had taken
place,and this refusal is one factor which has helped inflame
relations between Armenia and Turkey; their border is closed off, and
there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries.

President Halonen avoided a direct response to the questions, saying
instead “We are building a common future with Armenia”.
According to the President, Finland is not in the habit of
giving recognition to historical events. She said that every
generation has the right to re-examine history, and every country has
a right to its own history. She added that countries should not
become prisoners of history.
The laying of the wreath at the monument could be seen as a
recognition of sorts. However, many other state visitors to Armenia
do the same.
The protocol also calls for the planting of a tree at the
memorial. Halonen’s silver fir went up near trees planted by Vladimir
Putin and Lech Walesa.

“Where’s the minister?” Halonen asked in the middle of the
tree-planting, calling on the Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri
Pekkarinen to grab the shovel and start digging.
Earlier during the trip Pekkarinen had complained that he had
little to do in the President’s entourage. On Tuesday there was no
such problem, because Halonen kept him busy all day.
For instance, in the middle of a press conference of the
Finnish and Armenian leaders, Halonen unexpectedly asked Pekkarinen
to brief the journalists on prospects for economic cooperation
between the two countries.
Two sectors seen by Pekkarinen as worthy of development were
mining and tourism.

Finnish package tours to Armenia have already begun this year.
Currently, a fifth fairly small group of Finnish tourists are in
Yerevan.
On Tuesday President Halonen held talks with Armenian President
Robert Kochharian and other politicians on trade, Armenian-Turkish
relations, the dispute over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well
as Turkey’s possible membership in the European Union.
The same issues came up when Halonen, who received an honorary
doctorate, spoke to students at Yerevan State University.
The Finnish President defended Turkish EU membership, which
Armenia opposes, because of Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. She said that Turkish EU membership would
benefit the whole region, including Armenia.
On the question of Nagorno-Karabakh – an ethnically Armenian
enclave inside Azerbaijan – Halonen offered the autonomous status of
Finland’s Åland Islands as a model. A fiery-eyed student responded:
“Azerbaijan is not Sweden”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency, Iran
Sept 28 2005
Tjeknavorian Commemorates Mozart in Iran
Photo: Loris Tjeknavorian is appointed to commemorate the 250th
anniversary of Mozart in Iran.
Tehran 28 September 2005 (CHN) — Loris Tjeknavorian is appointed by
Peter Marboe, secretary of the International Mozart Festival to
perform for the 250th anniversary of the great Austrian composer,
Mozart, in Tehran.
27th of January 2006 is the 250th birthday of Mozart. Every year his
birthday is celebrated with concerts, operas, and special festivals
around the world. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 –
December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly
popular composers of European classical music. His enormous output
includes works that are widely acknowledged as pinnacles of
symphonic, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Mozart himself
is universally recognized as a musical genius, having learnt to
compose at the age five and showing an encyclopedic grasp of every
musical form of his time despite having lived only for 35 years.
For his 2006 birthday, Loris Tjeknavorian, world-renown Iranian
musician, has been appointed by Peter Marboe, secretary of the Mozart
Foundation and his International Festival, to perform in
commemoration of Mozart in Tehran, Iran.
`With the cooperation of Iran- Austria Cultural Center and the
Roodaki Center in Iran, we, alongside other countries of the world,
will perform a concert in Vahdat Hall for the commemoration of the
250th celebration of this great composer,’ said Tjeknavorian to CHN.
However, as Tjeknavorian explained, since the birthday of this
musician coincides with the mournful days of Imam Hossein (the third
Imam of Shiite Muslims)’s martyrdom, the ceremony will be held on the
day of Mozart’s death, 5th of December, in Iran.
Loris Tjeknavorian was born in Iran in 1937. After studying violin
and piano at the Tehran Conservatory of Music, he studied composition
at the Vienna Music Academy where, in 1961, he graduated with honors.
Shortly after his graduation four of his piano compositions and his
ballet Fantastique were published by Doeblinger in Vienna.
>From 1961 to 1963 Tjeknavorian taught music theory at the Tehran
Conservatory of Music. At the same time, he was appointed director of
the National Music Archives in Tehran and was in charge of collecting
and researching traditional Iranian folk -music and national
instruments. In 1963, back in Austria, Prof. Carl Orff granted him a
scholarship, which allowed him to reside in Salzburg and to complete
his opera “Rostam and Sohrab”.
Tjeknavorian has conducted international orchestras throughout the
world: in Austria, UK, USA, Canada, Hungary, Copenhagen, Iran,
Finland, USSR, Armenia, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Denmark,
Israel, etc. His own compositions have been performed by major
orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, the Philharmonic
Orchestra Helsinki, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, the
Tehran Symphony Orchestra, the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, the
Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the London
Percussion Virtuosies, the Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble and English
Chamber Orchestra, etc.
;section=2

A1+
| 18:34:22 | 28-09-2005 | Politics |
RUSSIA MUST BE INVOLVED
The non-governmental and political organizations of Javakhq are demanding
sovereignty from the Georgian Government. According to politician Andranik
Mihranyan, this was to be expected, especially on the background of the
ousting of the Russian military bases from Javakh.
The military bases were the main source for income for the majority of the
residents of Javakhq. The politician thinks that Kocharyan and Sahakashvili
have by all means discussed the issue during their meetings.
`To my mind this is a problem which must be included into the Armenian
political reality and into the agenda of the Armenian-Georgian relations in
order to avoid tension between the two countries’, he said adding that the
decision must be three-party including Armenia, Georgia and Russia.
According to the politician tension in general is better than the frozen
state, as sometimes tension becomes impetus for making decisions.

A1+
| 18:08:42 | 28-09-2005 | Social |
WHO NEEDS FINANCING?
The President of Equatorial Guinea has already made friends with the head of
the Union of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan and will soon arrive in
Moscow as his personal guest.
This is the last thing Ara Abrahamyan is doing in return to the setting free
of the Armenian pilots imprisoned in Guinea. Before that an investment of 2
million USD was made for the construction of the Guinea irrigation system.
In the margins of the program `Days of the Union of Armenians of Russia in
Armenia and Artsakh’ a delegation of 500 people has arrived in Yerevan –
writers, scientists, pupils, etc. The Union of Armenians of Russia is
celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. In the press conference rendered
today Ara Abrahamyan said that as a non-governmental organization «they did
what they could for the past 5 years».
According to him, they gave the Armenians of Russia the most important thing
– hope, alongside with financial aid and advice. And in Armenia they
realized several programs.
Asked the question of Ara Abrahamyan is going to actively participate in the
political life in Armenia he said, «I do not have the right, besides, there
are too many people involved in politics in Armenia». Nevertheless, he did
not exclude the possibility of indirect participation, that is – financing
of a political power in case of need.

Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Sept 28 2005
EU warns Turkey on penal code ahead of entry talks
STRASBOURG, France – The European Commission told Turkey on Wednesday
it would have to change its reformed penal code again if hardline
prosecutors can still try a top novelist for his views on the 1915
killing of Armenians.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn made the remark in
a heated debate in the European Parliament five days before Ankara is
due to open membership talks with the EU.
Leading conservative lawmakers used the debate to vent deep
misgivings about the prospect of admitting Turkey to the 25-nation
bloc, citing its record on human rights and religious freedom and its
refusal to recognise EU member Cyprus.
Some also questioned the EU’s ability to absorb the poor, populous,
mainly Muslim country financially and institutionally.
Greens party leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit caused uproar by accusing some
right-wing critics of Turkey of `surfing on a wave of racism’.
A non-binding resolution backed by all the major political groups
endorsed the EU’s decision to open accession talks next Monday but
demanded strict monitoring of Turkey’s performance.
`The case of author Orhan Pamuk is emblematic of the difficulties to
ensure effective and uniform implementation of these reforms, and
also of the struggle between reformers and conservatives in Turkey,’
Rehn told parliament.
An Istanbul judge is prosecuting the writer for `denigrating Turkish
identity’ on accusations he endorsed allegations that Armenians
suffered genocide at Ottoman Turkish hands in 1915.
Pamuk faces up to three years in jail if convicted. Turkey denies the
mass killings were genocide and the issue is acutely politically
sensitive.
Rehn said Brussels’ assessment of the new penal code, adopted to meet
EU criteria, would depend on how such provisions were implemented,
citing also recent cases of journalists being prosecuted for
expressing peaceful opinions.
Strategic case
`If this is indeed the direction by the judiciary in Turkey, then the
Turkish penal code will have to be amended in such a way that freedom
of expression is not subject to the very particular beliefs of some
autistic judge any more, but simply follows European standards as we
know them on the basis of the European Convention of Human Rights,’
he said.
However, the commissioner said that on balance, Turkey had made
sufficient progress on human rights to justify opening talks, saying
the negotiations would give the EU crucial leverage over the
direction of Turkish reforms.
He said the talks would give a boost to Turkish reformers and that
the EU’s negotiating mandate, still to be finally agreed by member
states, was the most rigorous ever adopted for talks with a candidate
country.
Austria wants to include the prospect of a `privileged partnership’
falling short of membership but Ankara reaffirmed on Wednesday it
would only accept full membership as the goal.
`Any deviation from full membership is completely unacceptable,’ a
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
British Europe Minister Douglas Alexander, speaking on behalf of the
EU presidency, underscored the strategic case for Turkey’s accession.
It could boost Europe’s security, stability and prosperity and show
the world there was no contradiction between Islam and democracy, he
argued.
Opinion polls show a majority of EU citizens, especially in France,
Germany and Austria, oppose Turkish membership.
Reflecting those divisions, the largest faction in the EU
legislature, the conservative European People’s Party, gave its
members a free vote and they spoke on both sides of the debate.
EPP leader Hans-Gert Poettering said if Turkey did not improve its
human rights record within a certain period after starting talks,
`then we should be prepared to suspend the negotiations’.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x137
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, September 29, 2005
AGBU MANOOGIAN-DEMIRDJIAN SCHOOL DONATES OVER $12,000 TO RED CROSS FOR
HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS
Van Nuys, CA – On September 22, 2005, the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian
School Student Council Executive Committee and School Business Manager
Levon Keshishian hand delivered a check in the amount of $12,035.50 to
the American Red Cross San Fernando Valley Headquarters in support of
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
In quick response to one of the most destructive natural disasters in
U.S. history, the School’s Student Council organized a two-week
fundraising campaign. Reinforcing the value and importance of
charitable giving, the entire School community, including
administration, faculty, Parent Teacher Association and students, came
together to support the Student Council’s fundraising efforts.
Upon receipt of the donation, Jennifer Bailey, American Red Cross Van
Nuys Service Center Program Manager, thanked the Student Council
Executive Committee for their generous work extending her
congratulations on their achievement.
Founded in 1976, AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School is a
pre-kindergarten through 12th grade co-educational private school
located in Canoga Park, CA providing instruction to approximately 1000
students. For more information on AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School,
please visit or call (818) 883-2428.
In response to the natural disaster in the Gulf States, the AGBU
Central Board, through special relief contributions, has donated
$100,000 to the American Red Cross in support of Hurricane Katrina
emergency efforts. AGBU encourages its worldwide membership to
continue donating to charitable organizations that are providing
Katrina relief efforts. For more information on AGBU, please visit

Timeline: Azerbaijan
BBC News Online
29 September 2005
A chronology of key events:
1828 – Turkmanchay treaty between Russia, Persia divides
Azerbaijan. Territory of present-day Azerbaijan becomes part of
Russian empire while southern Azerbaijan is part of Persia.
1848-49 – World’s first oil well is drilled south of Baku.
1879 – Nobel brothers set up oil-production company.
1918 – Independent Azerbaijani Republic declared.
1920 – Red Army invades; Azerbaijan is declared a Soviet Socialist
Republic.
Soviet rule
1922 – Azerbaijan, part of Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic,
becomes founder member of Soviet Union.
1936 – Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Republic dissolved ;
Azerbaijan becomes full republic of Soviet Union.
1967 – Heydar Aliyev becomes head of Azerbaijani KGB; becomes head of
Azerbaijani Communist Party in 1969.
1982 – Heydar Aliyev becomes full member of Soviet Politburo and first
deputy chairman of USSR Council of Ministers.
1987 – Heydar Aliyev leaves Politburo and Council of Ministers.
Soviet era ends in violence
1988 – Nagorno-Karabakh region seeks to become part of Armenia. Ethnic
Azerbaijanis begin to leave Karabakh and Armenia and ethnic Armenians
leave Azerbaijan. At least 26 ethnic Armenians and six Azerbaijanis
are killed in violence in Azerbaijani town of Sumqayit.
1990 – Ethnic strife between Armenians and Azeris escalates. Azeri
nationalist Popular Front rallies support amid growing disorder.
Trouble flares along border between Nakhichevan exclave and Iran as
rioters destroy border installations. Tension eases after Soviet and
Iranian authorities agree to ease restrictions on crossing between the
two countries.
Dozens die in interethnic violence in Baku. Popular Front
demonstrators demand resignation of communist authorities. Soviet
troops use force to end unrest, killing at least 100 people. Azeri
nationalists put death toll at several hundred.
Ayaz Mutallibov becomes Azeri Communist Party leader.
Communist Party later retains power in multiparty elections but
parliament has an opposition for the first time.
1991 – After failed coup attempt in Moscow, Azeri parliament votes to
restore independence. In elections boycotted by opposition, Mutallibov
becomes president.
Heydar Aliyev becomes leader of the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan.
Leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region an independent
republic. Inter-ethnic hostilities escalate.
War over Karabakh, political unrest
1992 – Hostilities develop into full-scale war over Karabakh. More
than 600 Azerbaijanis are killed as they flee an Armenian attack on
Karabakh town of Khodzhaly. Ethnic Armenian forces break through
Azerbaijani territory to create a corridor linking Armenia to
Karabakh, President Ayaz Mutallibov resigns. Abulfaz Elchibey, leader
of nationalist People’s Front, becomes president in Azerbaijan’s first
contested elections.
1993 – Armenia launches offensive into Azerbaijani territory around
Karabakh.
Rebel army commander Col Surat Huseynov takes control of Azerbaijan’s
second city, Gyandzha, and marches on Baku. President Elchibey invites
Aliyev to return to the capital and subsequently flees.
Aliyev assumes leadership. Huseynov becomes prime minister and is
placed in charge of defence and security forces. Referendum indicates
massive loss of public confidence in Elchibey. Aliyev wins
presidential elections boycotted by Elchibey’s People’s Front.
1994 – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire
accord. Ethnic Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of
Azerbaijani territory around it.
Aliyev cracks down hard on People’s Front. Azeri forces mount Karabakh
counteroffensive.
Nineteen people killed in two Baku underground station explosions
described by authorities as terrorism.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire. Ethnic
Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of Azerbaijani
territory around it.
Three members of the special police force are arrested after the
assassinations of the deputy head of parliament and Aliyev’s security
chief. Special police units led by Rovshan Javadov storm the
Prosecutor’s Office and their colleagues are released.
President Aliyev describes the incident as a coup attempt and declares
a state of emergency. In a separate incident, rebel forces capture key
buildings in second city Gyandzha but are driven out by Aliyev’s
forces.
Despite his denial of involvement in rebel activity, PM Huseynov is
dismissed and flees to Russia.
“Contract of the century”
1994 – Azerbaijan signs what it calls the “contract of the century”
with a consortium of international oil companies for the exploration
and exploitation of three offshore oil fields.
1995 – Government troops crush rebellion by Rovshan Jovadov’s special
police. He and dozens of other rebels are killed.
Nagorno-Karabakh, now acting as an independent republic, holds
legislative elections. Robert Kocharyan, formerly head of Karabakh’s
State Defence Committee, becomes executive president.
The New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Aliyev, wins the majority
of seats in independent Azerbaijan’s first multi-party elections,
which, observers say, fail to meet international
standards. Azerbaijan’s new constitution is approved in a referendum.
1996 – Incumbent President Robert Kocharyan retains his post in direct
presidential elections in Karabakh.
1997 – Robert Kocharyan leaves Karabakh to become prime minister in
Armenia. Foreign Minister Arkadiy Gukasyan is elected Karabakh
president.
Former PM Surat Huseynov is extradited from Russia. Following a
lengthy trial for high treason he is eventually sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Levon Ter-Petrossian agree to OSCE
proposal for staged Karabakh solution. The Armenian leader is
criticized at home for making too many concessions and subsequently
resigns.
The first oil is produced by the Azerbaijani International Operating
Company under the “contract of the century”.
1998 – Opposition activists arrested at protests against what they say
are unfair elections in which Heydar Aliyev is returned as
president. International observers report irregularities.
Death penalty abolished.
Into the new millennium
2000 – Assassination attempt on Karabakh President Arkadiy Gukasyan
fails. Samvel Babayan, Karabakh’s former defence minister, is jailed
for 14 years for masterminding attack.
2001 – Azerbaijan becomes full member of Council of Europe, though
council officials criticise it over human rights record.
US-brokered talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, held between Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents, end without result.
US lifts aid ban, imposed during Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, after
Azerbaijan provides airspace and intelligence after 11 September
attacks.
Talks between five Caspian countries on ownership of the sea continue
all year but are inconclusive. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey reach
agreement on oil and gas pipelines linking Caspian fields with Turkey.
Azerbaijan officially shifts to the Latin alphabet for the Azeri
language, the fourth alphabet change in a century.
2002 May – Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to Azerbaijan and
appeals for an end to religious wars.
2002 August – Referendum on amendments to constitution said to get
strong support from voters. Critics allege irregularities, say poll is
ruse to allow president to hand over power to his son.
2002 September – Construction work starts on multi-billion-dollar
pipeline to carry Caspian oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.
Political succession
2003 August – Aliyev appoints his son, Ilham, as prime minister.
2003 October – Ilham Aliyev wins landslide victory in presidential
poll said by observers not to reach international
standards. Opposition protests met with police violence; hundreds
arrested.
2003 December – Heydar Aliyev dies in a US hospital, aged 80. He was
being treated for heart and kidney problems.
2005 March – Thousands mourn after journalist Elmar Huseynov, an
outspoken critic of the authorities, shot dead in Baku.
2005 May – Western diplomats voice concern after police use force to
prevent opposition rally in Baku on eve of opening ceremony for
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipleine.
2005 September – Police use force to break up opposition demonstration
in Baku just weeks before parliamentary elections.
International consortium in huge oil deal; takes the oath of office,
swears to serve the people with dignity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress