Strafverfahren gegen =?UNKNOWN?Q?Perin=E7ek?=

12 :34, ergänzt 14:37 — Tages-Anzeiger Online

Strafverfahren gegen Perinçek

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Winterthur/Unterland ermittelt gegen den
Vorsitzenden der türkischen Arbeiterpartei, Dogu Perinçek. Er hat
wiederholt den Genozid an den Armenieren geleugnet, zuletzt an einer
Medienkonferenz in Glattbrugg.

Wie andere westliche Länder hat der Nationalrat die Vertreibung und
die Massaker an über einer Million Armeniern von 1915 als Genozid
anerkannt. Die offizielle Türkei leugnet dies, was bereits auch zu
Verstimmungen zwischen der Türkei und der Schweiz führte. So reagierte
man in der Türkei harsch,weil die Winterthurer Staatsanwaltschaft
gegen den türkischen Historiker Yusuf Halacoglu wegen Leugnung des
Völkermords ermittelt. Mitte Juli reichte die Gesellschaft
Schweiz-Armenien Klage gegen Perinçek ein. Er hatte den Völkermord im
Frühling in Lausanne geleugnet.

Am Freitag reiste Perinçek mit 300 Landsleuten in die Schweiz, um den
Vertrag von Lausanne zu feiern, mit dem 1923 der türkische Staat
gegründet wurde. Die Feiern finden vor dem Hintergrund der
Beitrittsverhandlungen der Türkei mit der EU statt, die im Oktober
beginnen sollen.

Türkische Nationalisten befürchten, dass ihr Staat der EU in der Frage
der Minderheiten zuviele Konzessionen machen könnte. Dies äusserten
diverseRedner am Freitag an einer Medienkonferenz in Glattbrugg, bei
der kaum Medien, aber viele Türken anwesend waren. OffizialdeliktBei
der von der KantonspolizeiZürich aufgezeichneten Veranstaltung stellte
Perinçek den Genozid als «Lüge von Imperialisten» dar. Weil es sich
dabei um einen Verstoss gegen die Antirassismusstrafnorm und um ein
Offizialdelikt handelt, ermittle die Staatsanwaltschaft
Winterthur/Unterland nun gegen Perinçek, wie die Kantonspolizei am
Sonntag mitteilte.

Der türkische Politiker wurde am Samstag am Rande einer
Podiumsveranstaltung in Winterthur während über zwei Stunden vom
Staatsanwalt befragt, wie ein Kapo-Sprecher auf Anfrage der
Nachrichtenagentur sda sagte. Perinçek sei freiwillig mitgegangen und
habe sich danach wieder seiner Gruppe angeschlossen. Türkische
Regierung: «Inakzeptabel»Nach einer Meldung der deutschen
Nachrichtenagentur dpa kritisierte die türkische Regierung die
Befragung Perinçeks als «inakzeptabel». Sie sei «mit dem Grundsatz der
Meinungsfreiheit völlig unvereinbar», sagte der türkische
Aussenminister Abdullah Gül am Sonntag in Ankara.

Ob die in Winterthur in türkischer Sprache gemachten Aussagen
ebenfalls gegen die Antirassismusstrafnorm verstossen, ist laut dem
Kapo-Sprecher noch nicht klar. Die Auswertungen seien noch nicht
abgeschlossen. Am Freitag jedenfalls sei Perinçeks Aussage der einzige
Verstoss gewesen. (mu/sda)

http://www.tagi.ch/dyn/news/zuerich/522488.html

Conclusion of Venice Commish on Armenia’s Const Reforms Not Positive

CONCLUSION OF VENICE COMMISSION ON ARMENIA’s CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS BY
NO MEANS POSITIVE: SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN

YEREVAN, JULY 26. ARMINFO. “Authors of the draft constitutional
amendments have not fulfilled all the Jun 23 understandings between
the Venice commission and representatives of Armenia’s ruling
coalition”, stated deputy from opposition “Justice” bloc Shavarsh
Kocharyan at today’s press-conference.

In particular, he considers unfulfilled an offer on introducing
“constructive” vote of no-confidence to government. As against
vice-speaker Tigran Torossyan, Kocharyan and its colleagues mean the
nomination of prime-minister’s candidature by parliament,
simultaneously expressing vote of no-confidence. “If the mechanism of
constructive distrust is to be absent and president is to be given a
right to dissolve Armenia’s National Assembly in case of double denial
of an offered prime-minister’s candidature, he will use it as a chance
to get rid of disagreeable parliament”, he stressed.

Besides, Kocharyan demanded from the ruling coalition to respond to
the offer of Venice commission on determining government’s structure
at legislative level. He expressed satisfaction with commission’s
recommendations concerning the formation of judicial branch of power,
at the same calling not to forget about the CE former resolutions
saying on the necessity to give right to Constitutional Court to
clinch arguments between various branches concerned with distribution
of authority.

He also noted that “Justice” bloc may discuss the possibility of its
participation at Aug 29 parliamentary discussions on constitutional
amendments (with participation of Venice commission representatives)
only after receiving a response from coalition concerning the
fulfillment of the noticed demands.

CENN Daily Digest – July 27, 2005

CENN – JUly 27, 2005 Daily Digest
Table of Contents:1. Visit to Armenia2. Constriction Project
of Iran-Armenia Gas Pipeline is Main Component for Providing Armenia’s
Energy Security3. Banks – Participants of Renewable Energy
Development Program to be Announced in Late Autumn4. Low Quality
of Service Hinders Tourism Development in Armenia5. Lost Riches of
the Mtkvari – Legend or Reality?6. Akhurian Water Reservoir
Pollution Rises Concerns7. EBRD Provides $3M Finance to Armenian
Bank8. Open Science Conference: Global Change in Mountain Regions
1. Visit to Armenia

On July 22, 2005 employees of Bolnisi Public Environmental Informational
Center visited their Armenian colleagues. In the office of Akhtala
Center in the framework of the project “Local Capacity and Regional
Confidence Building and Networking for Promotion of Integrated Water
Management in the South Caucasus Countries (watersheds of the Debed and
Khrami Rivers)” was held meeting. Besides the employees of Bolnisi and
Akhtala Centers the meeting attended representatives of NGO “Ecological
survival” (Yerevan), Foundation Eurasia, representatives of local and
regional governmental structures, also invited specialists.

The main objectives of the meeting were:

1. disforestation and ecological problems connected
with this process;

2. river pollution with industrial wastes

Employee of Alaverdi enterprise industrial complex mentioned that in
their complex was installed the new system for water pumping as a result
of this pollution of river Debed was stopped. For current time the main
ecological problem is surge of atmosphere by sulphuric gas.

Georgian participants familiarized the participants of the meeting with
the process privatization of “Madneuli” Ltd. It was mentioned that CENN
carries an active negotiations with the ministry of Economical
Development and Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, also
with the heads of “Madneuli” Ltd. The aim of CENN activity is to
introduce the environmental issues in privatization terms.

Such meetings that are aiming the exchange of information and
experience will be held in future too.

Prepared by CENN

Public Environmental Informational Center of Bolnisi 2.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT OF IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE IS MAIN COMPONENT FOR
PROVIDING ARMENIA’s ENERGY SECURITY Source: ARMINFO, July 19, 2005 The
construction project of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is the main component
for Armenia’s energy security, Armenia’s deputy energy minister Areg
Galstyan stated at today’s seminar on “Armenia’s energy security”. In
his words, this project has been involved into Armenia’s energy
development strategy till 2025 ratified recently by country’s
government. Galstyan noted that active construction works are being
continued at present at the first section from Meghri to Kajaran. He
assured that the project will be realized completely in late 2006. Two
agreements were signed between the Yerevan TPS and Iranian national
company on gas export within the framework of Iranian petroleum and gas
minister Bizhan Zangane to Yerevan on May 13-14, 2004. The first
concerned the direct purchasing of the Iranian gas, the second – the
payment of Iranian “pale blue fuel” with supplies of Armenian electric
power from the Yerevan TPS – 3 kw-hour per one cubic meter of gas. These
documents determine that the program will start from January 1, 2007.
Later on, next two agreements were signed during a September visit of
Iranian president Mohammad Khattami to Armenia. One of them concerned
the allotment of $30 mln by the Iranian Bank of reconstruction and
export for the construction of the Meghri-Kajaran first section of the
gas pipeline. An agreement between “High-voltage network” CJSC and
Iranian “Sanir” company on the construction of 42-km gas pipeline
section in Armenia’s territory was signed on the base of this document.
The Iranian party, in its turn, undertook to construct a 110 km pipeline
section from Tavriz to Meghri. “However, the realization of this part of
the project will not allow to fulfill the terms of the contract as the
Iranian party undertook to provide Armenia with no less than 1 bln cubic
meter of gas, which the capacities of the first section do not allow,
Simonyan noted adding that is why it is necessary to continue the gas
pipeline construction on two directions – 55.4 km Kajaran-Sisian and
99.7 km Jermuk-Ararat. At present, construction works on the first
section in direction of Meghri-Kajaran in Armenia and Tavriz-Nordus in
Iran have been started. “Sanir” company – a general contractor of the
project, conducted a tender and signed an agreement with a subcontracted
Iranian company. Specialists of “ArmRosgasprom” CJSC participate at the
gas pipeline construction in Armenia’s territory, Simonyan noted. 3.
BANKS – PARTICIPANTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO BE
AMMOUNCED IN LATE AUTUMN

Source: NOYAN TAPAN, July 22, 2005

Staring late 2005, the KFW Bank (Germany) will implement in Armenia a
program on renewable energy development to be financed by the German
government. The program envisages credits for the operating, half
completed and new hydroelectric power stations. According to the
Armenian representative of KFW Karapet Gevorgian, the program advisors
will arrive in Armenia in November to develop jointly with the Central
Bank of Armenia (CBA) the criteria for choosing banks – participants of
the program and organize the competition of banks. K. Gevorgian said
that KFW Bank will allocate a total of 7.5 mln euros for the purpose of
providing long-term credits for small hydro power stations. Out of the
indicated sum, 6 mln euros will be given as a concessional loan
(carrying a 0.75% interest rate and repayable over 40 years), and 1.5
mln euros – as a grant. With the aim of implementing the program, the
German-Armenian Fund-2 will be set up to re-credit the selected
banks-participants with these resources. K. Gevorgian assured that the
repayment terms of the loans provided within the framework of the
program will be longer and their interest rates – lower compared with
those of loans given to other spheres. The hydro power station together
with its infrastructures, as well as other property of the owner may be
put in pledge. However, in order to get a loan, the recipient’s
investment must make up at least 30% of the amount required for
restoration. According to K. Gevorgian, as it is a new crediting sphere
for Armenian banks, initially they will work with the operating hydro
power stations that have guaranteed cash flows.

4. LOW QUALITY OF SERVICES HINDERS TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN
ARMENIA

Source: NOYAN TAPAN, July 22, 2005

The development of tourism in Armenia is mainly hindered by a low
quality of services. According to the rector of the Armenian Institute
of Tourism Robert Minasian, low-quality services are conditioned by the
fact that most employees of the sphere lack the necessary special
education. In his opinion, in order to solve this problem, the
government should establish definite rules to be applied in the tourism
sphere and supervise their fulfilment. R. Minasian said that the
tourism-related legislation field is not regulated. The current law on
tourism has been in effect since 1993 and, according to the rector, is
of a declarative character. According to R. Minasian, if not enough
funds are allocated for tourism development from the state budget, the
tourist rent and tourist tax must be introduced, which will allow to
obtain additional resources to be used for the formation of
infrastructures. It was also noted that adventure and medical tourism
have prospects for development in the country.

5. Lost Riches of the Mtkvari – Legend or Reality?

Source: “24 Saati”(“24 Hours”), July 25, 2005

Certainly, the banks of the River Mtkvari are not the same today. The
ecological conditions in some places are really shocking. I make my way
through garbage, empty bottles and dirty cellophane bags. And what an
amazing paradox: I look up and see beautiful green trees and bushes, the
light blue Tbilisi sky with running white and smoke-colored clouds. A
fish is splashing in the flooded Mtkvari water… the contrast of two
parallel realities is striking.

In the shadow of a young almond-tree sits an elderly fisherman with a
younger friend. They are watching a 16-year-old boy who is standing in
the water, his eyes fixed on his fishing rod. I come nearer and sit down
on a piece of foam plastic. The’ elderly man, whose name is Tristan, has
been a professional fisherman for more than forty years. His friend
Igor, who is about 40 years old, is also a very experienced fisherman.
Fishing has a specific sense for them (sometimes strange for us). So
they start a conversation. These men are very educated in what they do,
and they immediately give me plenty information and literature on the
theme. I am greatly interested in the burning topic of poachers.
According to the law, the total weight of fish caught shouldn’t exceed 5
kilograms per day. These people catch 100 and sometimes even 200 kg. But
the worst thing is that they kill fish with electric current.

They were first noticed in 1988 -people on boats, killing fish with 220
volts from a transformer. This doesn’t just kill the caviar, but
sometimes eating such fish poses serious health risks. And an
interesting point: poachers were given counterfeit licenses by GruzFish
in the early 1990s. Now the police catch these people, who mainly work
in the upper Mtkvari: Mtskheta, ‘Zahes’, Rustavi boundaries, killing all
varieties of fish.

Tristan says, `Such illegal fishing has led to the birth of second and
third category fish, which is more adapted to the dangerous life in
Mtkvari River, eating very valuable and useful caviar of such fish as,
mountain barbel, zanthe, etc. These fish breeds have almost
disappeared’.

As we can see, Georgia’s ecology, professional, sportsmen and amateur
fishermen, and all Tbilisi residents suffer from this fact. As L.
Sabaneev mentions in his work, `Fish suffer greatly from the
interference of man and industry’. We already can see the facts.
Specialists state that in 10 years Georgian ecological river system will
pass the point of no return. Certainly, it’s not only the poachers who
are to blame. In the 1980s, the Soviets established the `Shamkhori Hes’
on Azerbaijan territory, which causes serious harm to Mtkvari fish,
preventing migration, which is the main way by which these fish live and
spawn.

The spawning starts early in June, and the actions of the poachers are
even more dangerous during this period. The fishing season runs from
September to May. In summer, when the caviar starts growing, fishermen
can only fish with rods and other simple instruments.

I was very curious to know if the fish caught in Mtkvari was safe to
eat. Igor told me, ‘Tristan can confirm that in the 40 years he has been
working he has never had any problems with the fish he has caught. You
risk poisoning from fish only if you eat caviar during the spawning. It
is certain that the pollution and toxic substances in the river upsets
the natural balance, but it is very important for everyone to abandon
the idea that Mtkvari fish are dangerous because they feeds on sewerage
faults. People are misled when they are told that there is no Mtkvari
fish in restaurant menus. There certainly is – and what’s more, it is
completely safe to eat’.

The average price of Mtkvari fish varies from 5 to 10 GEL per kilogram.
An ordinary riverside fisherman catches at best about five kilograms of
fish, which is the legally permissible standard to maintain a positive
ecological balance. They conscientiously sell their catch at specially
made markets at the quay, where there are peculiar unwritten rules for
the fishermen. But let us imagine how much money a man using electric
current, catching from 50 to 200 kg per night. By catching about 100 kg,
they damage the river balance two and even three times more by using
electric current. This doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world – and
this is just wild!’ says Igor. In 2003, some ecological delegations and
TIbilisi Municipality became engaged in this issue and the progress
became more and more noticeable. However, this didn’t last for long, and
the professional fishermen often still see poachers at night.

So how is it possible to identify them? Fish poachers `work’ mainly in
the darkness of the night. They are usually two men in a boat. One of
them rows and other holds a net that is connected to an electric
transformer with 220 Volts. He has a lamp fixed on his head like miners
use. He switches it on very rarely – just at certain times when they are
ready to catch. It is not very difficult to spot or catch these
criminals, and the patrol police do so. But there is another problem to
solve: holding them responsible before the law.

Igor and Tristan on behalf of all their friends-professional and amateur
fishermen state: We see them (the poachers) very often. Sometimes they
even wave to us. But we don’t return their greeting. They’re harming the
river that feeds most of us. We can understand them – they are just
trying to earn money to keep their families from starving, but it is not
an honest way. It kills the fish and river wildlife, including many fish
that are already in the Red Book. All of us – Tbilisi residents,
representatives of the government police, ecological movements and
certainly fishermen, must struggle to restore the ecological balance and
the previous bounty of really unique fish, which by right belong to the
Mtkvari’.

6. AKHURIAN WATER RESERVOIR POLLUTION RAISES CONCERNS

Source: ARMENPRESS, July 25, 2005

Findings of an extensive study of Armenia’s biggest Akhurian
water-reservoir in the north-eastern province of Shirak close to
Turkish-Armenian border indicate that though the water from the
reservoir is still fit for irrigation, the level of its pollution (the
water contains a number of heavy metals) makes consumption of its water
hazardous.

These findings were compiled in a book that was presented in Gyumri. It
was published with the assistance of the World Council of Churches,
Swiss EFO and other organizations. The three-year study was conducted by
Armenian GeoFon organization. The reservoir’s capacity is 525 million
cubic meters of water. It irrigates around 104,000

hectares of agricultural lands.

According to Levon Martirosian, who coordinated the studies, the
reservoir water is likely to be polluted by a Turkish leather factory
across the border that pours out its waste waters into Akhurian River
that feeds the reservoir. He says to prevent further pollution

extensive studies should be conducted also in the Turkish section, as
the reservoir is used equally by Armenia and Turkey. Martirosian said
their effort to get a permission of the Turkish authorities t conduct
such studies was rejected.

7. EBRD PROVIDES $3M FINANCE TO ARMENIAN BANK

Source: Press Release – European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, July 25, 2005

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a $3
million financing to the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia
(ACBA). The loan is the first in Armenia of a new type of EBRD
instrument, the Medium-Sized Loan Co-Financing Facility (MCFF).

The MCFF is one of several instruments offered in Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the
Bank’s seven lowest-income countries of operation, under the Early
Transition Countries (ETC) initiative. This

iitiative, launched by the EBRD in 2004, aims to stimulate market
activity by using a streamlined approach to financing more and smaller
projects, mobilizing more investment, and encouraging economic reform.
The initiative is part of an international effort to address poverty in
these members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former
Soviet Union). The Bank will accept higher risk in the projects it
finances in the ETCs, while still respecting the principles of sound
banking.

The MCFF is available to banks with strong credit policies and
procedures, but which are limited in the loans they can provide to local
corporate clients. It allows ACBA to co-finance, with the EBRD, bigger
sub-loans to its clients and share with the EBRD any risks involved with
such lending. While ACBA’s internal credit procedures have until now
limited any credit exposure per single borrower to a maximum of
$180,000, with the help of the MCFF it will be able to offer its most
trusted and financially viable clients from $400,000 to $1 million.

ACBA was created in 1996 to help farmers find finance after Armenia
privatised state-held land. It was modelled on France’s Credit Agricole.
Its structure — with collective ownership based on village cooperative
associations, and coffers swelled at the grassroots by more than 20,000
farmers’ sign-up fees of $10 – is unique in the former Soviet space.
ACBA has since developed business outside agriculture in almost all
areas of the economy. The EBRD is delighted to make this co-financing
available to ACBA, which is now Armenia’s largest bank by
capitalisation, and generates solid profits, said Michael Weinstein,
head of the EBRD’s Armenia Resident Office.

8. Open Science Conference: Global Change in Mountain Regions

Open Science Conference: Global Change in Mountain Regions will be held
on October 2-6, 2005 in Perth, Scotland, UK.

Outcomes:

1. communication of new results between scientists and researchers
working in the mountains of both industrialized and developing countries
around the world

2. a framework for long-term research on global change that can be
implemented in Mountain Biosphere Reserves and other mountain locations
in both industrialized and developing countries.

Format:

· Plenary Presentation

· Concurrent Sessions for contributed papers (chosen from 310
submissions)

· Poster session and reception

· Synthesis: a global change strategy for mountain regions

· Fieldtrip (October 2)

Additional information available at:

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:

www.mountain.conf.uhi.ac.uk
www.cenn.org

Antelias: HH Aram I and Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Inaugurate…

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I AND THE PATRIARCH OF THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
INAUGURATE THE NEW ETHIOPIAN CHURCH

The spiritual leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abouna
Paoulos, arrived in Lebanon on July 23 with a large delegation. The
Patriarch was welcomed in the airport by His Holiness Aram I, Bishop Kegham
Khatcherian, the Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, the Ambassador of
Ethiopia to Lebanon, and representatives from the Ethiopian community of
Lebanon.

The Catholicos and the Patriarch moved straight from the airport to the Ain
Aar region in Metn, where the new Ethiopian church is being constructed. The
two spiritual leaders inaugurated the construction of the church.

Bishop Saliba, the primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Beirut, the
representatives of Bishop Aoude, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in
Beirut, representatives from the Ethiopian community, architects Vahe
Kalindjian and Miss Kalindjian and philanthropists also attended the
inauguration.

The inaugural service was carried out in Armenian, Ethiopian, and Greek, and
the two spiritual leaders placed the first stone of the church. Patriarch
Paoulos expressed his gratitude to His Holiness Aram I, who, upon his
request, had accepted to be the caretaker of the more than 20 thousand
Ethiopians living in Lebanon.

“Due to certain circumstances, a large number of the children of our nation
today live in this country and enjoy the love and care of Armenians thanks
to our spiritual brother His Holiness Aram I,” said the Patriarch.

His Holiness emphasized the brotherhood between the two churches and
considered the construction of the Ethiopian Church a new phase in their
historical cooperation.

“This church is a new expression of the close cooperation between our two
churches. It will gather the sons of Ethiopia living in this country in the
House of God,” said His Holiness Aram I.

The two spiritual leaders then went to the St. Asdvadzadzine Monastery in
Bikfaya, where Patriarch Paoulos will stay during his visit to Lebanon.

The Catholicosate of Cilicia has conducted all the negotiations for buying
the church’s land and has handled the necessary legal work.

##

View pictures here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

http://www.cathcil.org/
http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Armenian.htm
http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Photos/Pictures41.htm
http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Photos/Pictures42.htm
http://www.cathcil.org/

Georgia president cautions citizens against stoking ethnic tensions

Georgia president cautions citizens against stoking ethnic tensions

By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI
.c The Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) – President Mikhail Saakashvili warned Georgians
against stoking ethnic tensions as authorities continue investigating
the man who confessed to throwing a live grenade during a rally where
U.S. President George W. Bush spoke.

Speaking in a meeting with law enforcement officials Tuesday evening,
Saakashvili scolded Georgian media for focusing on the ethnicity of
Vladimir Arutyunian, a Georgian citizen of Armenian ancestry who has
admitted throwing the grenade during the May rally in Tbilisi where
Bush and Saakashvili spoke.

Saakashvili said media and politicians were overemphasizing
Arutyunian’s Armenian background.

“For me, it makes no difference what nationality the children of our
homeland are,” he said.

“If someone doesn’t love Armenians, then I am an Armenian. And if
it’s Ossetians, then I am an Ossetian,” he said, “because Georgian
patriotism is valued not by blood, but by the deeds of such people.”

Arutyunian’s lawyer said Tuesday that the man had intended to kill
Bush, but not other Georgians.

Georgian authorities, working with the FBI, were still trying to
figure out Arutyunian’s exact motives. The Interior Ministry said that
Arutyunian, who was formally charged with terrorism on Tuesday, was
believed to have been a member of a political party that supports the
former leader of a region largely outside central government control.

Last week, Arutyunian was shown on local television admitting to
throwing the grenade, which landed about 100 feet (30 meters) away
from the stage where Saakashvili and Bush were standing behind a
bulletproof barrier. It did not explode, and investigators later said
it apparently had malfunctioned. No one was harmed in the incident.

Saakashvili also warned against overemphasizing the fact that three
men detained on suspicion of carrying out a Feb. 1 car bombing that
killed three policemen and wounded 26 in the town of Gori were
Ossetians.

“Yesterday, all I heard all day on television was ‘Ossetians,
Ossetians,”’ he said.

He said Ossetians had served with honor in Georgia’s air force and its
police agencies.

Relations between Georgians and Ossetians have long been tense; South
Ossetia broke away from central government control during a war in the
1990s.

Tensions spiked earlier this month in a mostly ethnic Armenian region
when a Georgian-language school was vandalized and a group of Georgian
university students were beaten up.

Residents of the region are angered over the planned withdrawal of a
Russian military base, which is a mainstay of the local
economy. Ethnic Armenians make up more than 5 percent of Georgia’s 4.7
million people.

07/27/05 05:38 EDT

BAKU: Azeri opposition head back from Turkey after talks

Azeri opposition head back from Turkey after talks with “high-level” officials

Yeni Musavat, Baku
26 Jul 05

Excerpt from report by Tuncay in the Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni
Musavat on 26 July headlined “Isa Qambar returned to his home country”

Musavat Party Chairman Isa Qambar, who arrived in Turkey yesterday
morning [25 July], held several meetings there on that day.

We have learnt that the Musavat chairman held high-level meetings not
with officials from Turkey, but from other states. They had important
discussions about the November parliamentary poll in Azerbaijan and
the country’s future.

The Musavat Party has not officially disclosed details of Isa bay’s
[form of address] visit to Turkey and of his meetings there.

Isa Qambar returned to Azerbaijan this morning after his meetings in
Turkey.

[Passage omitted: details of the visit to be covered in forthcoming
issues]

Yerevan Municipality introduces restrictions on music sound volume

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 25 2005

THE MUNICIPALITY OF YEREVAN INTRODUCES RESTRICTIONS ON MUSIC SOUND
VOLUME IN PUBLIC PLACES FROM 00:00 TO 08:00 A.M

YEREVAN, July 25. /ARKA/. The Municipality of Yerevan introduced
restrictions on music sound volume in public places from 00:00 to
08:00 a.m., according to the Deputy Mayor Arman Sahakyan. In his
words, by the RA President’s decree the issue is under strict control
of the Police and Municipality of Yerevan. According to Sahakyan, the
municipality developed a series of measures to toughen control over
the activity of entertainment establishments, “and the results are
already evident”. “We received no complaint from citizens during last
week”, he said. According to him, the Municipality of Yerevan warned
137 entertainment establishments, 38 of them were fined in the amount
of AMD 30-50 thsd for violation of public order at night hours.
A.H.–0–

Eliminate the dictate of monopolies

Eliminate the dictate of monopolies

Yerkir
July 22, 2005

By Mher Ohanian

We can state that the international experts, donors and financial
organizations as well as various officials assess Armenia’s experience
of transition to the market economy rather positively.

Armenia is listed among countries that have successfully implemented
economic reforms. Nevertheless, among negative consequences of such
reforms experts mention the tendency of convergence of power and
property ownership.

Looking back at the privatization process

At the outset of the economic and political reforms the problem of
delineation between political power and property ownership was
obvious. This situation is common for all societies undergoing
transition to free market economy. The privatization policies
implemented in Armenia partially solved this problem. However, the
Armenian-style privatization had certain negative consequences.

Many people will agree that the privatization processes in the
post-Soviet countries could well be called a `great criminal
revolution’. The case of Armenia fits this characterization. In
Armenia this revolution was made possible as a result of mutually
beneficial deals made between the ex-nomenklatura guys that appeared
on stage on the wave of the national movement.

So in the first years of independence the new nomenklatura that
pretended to be implementing liberal reforms started to expropriate
national property instead of creating a healthy functioning
competitive market. Many people call the decade of `reforms’ a period
of `initial accumulation of capital’.

The dictate of monopolies

As a result of the above mentioned developments, the private sector of
the economy was consolidated mainly through arbitrary processes that
very often derived from political considerations.

This is why we can say that today there are more obstacles on the way
of development of the private sector than there are favorable factors
contributing to its development. We still have a long way to go before
we will understand and apply the conventional norm of equality of all
before the law, a norm that has been practiced in the civilized world
for centuries. If we could adhere to that norm we wouldn’t have such
large scale corruption and shadow economy.

It turns out that the corrupt state apparatus so devotedly
implementing `reforms’ is itself the result of reforms and the main
obstacle to them. Corruption is both a general and specific problem on
the way of development of the private sector. Monopoly and unfair
competition are the other side of corruption.

Ever since Armenia became independent, monopolies have always been
derivatives from political power. Both the well established and the
newly emerged monopolies have been outside of the domain of taxation,
thus they were outside of the domain of fair economic competition.

All this distorts economic competition, alters efficient
redistribution of recourses in the economy and hinders introduction of
new progressive technologies. It is obvious that further convergence
of power and property ownership is unacceptable since it can deter
economic progress and limit the potential for economic growth.

The solution to this problem lies in the political-legal domain `
serious constitutional amendments are needed and laws regulating
property ownership relations and economic competition must be amended
to solve this problem.

Pasadena: Church’s new sanctuary to tower over Colorado Boulevard

Pasadena Star-News, CA
July 26 2005

Church’s new sanctuary to tower over Colorado Boulevard

By Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer

PASADENA — The steel-framed sanctuary of St. Gregory The Illuminator
Armenian Church is rising high above East Colorado Boulevard, its
dome soaring above the traffic on the city’s main street.
The new sanctuary will replace one adjacent to it that has been in
use 40 years. Pasadena’s growing Armenian population and increased
parish activities made it clear a bigger church was needed,
parishioners say.

The church has been in Pasadena since 1948, first on Michigan Avenue
and then at the Colorado location on the corner of Craig Avenue.

The architect is John Byram of Pasadena, working with consultant Mike
Geragos.

Gary Gagik Pogosian , the general contractor with Badamyan
Construction, said the new sanctuary will be a traditional Armenian
church, built in the shape of a cross with a dome in the center. The
sanctuary also will have a bell tower over the main entrance.

“It will be in traditional Armenian style, covered with traditional
Armenian materials imported from Armenia, and built by Armenian
craftsmen,’ said Nicholas Lambajian , the sanctuary building
chairman.

He said it will be the largest Armenian church in Southern California
and that the dome, topped by a seven-foot cross, will be more than 94
feet tall, making it the tallest church on Colorado Boulevard.

The rear of the church will face Colorado while the front will face a
parking lot.

Pogosian said the building will enclose more than 16,000 square feet
and include the sanctuary, which will seat more than 600 worshippers,
plus a bridal room, trustees room, choir room and a balcony.

A full basement will house a kitchen, bathrooms, conference and
storage rooms.

The church has a core membership of several hundred members, but for
special annual celebrations visitors from San Bernardino and as far
away as Fresno can swell that number to between 1,500 and 2,000
people, Pogosian said.

The church’s original budget was around $2.2 million, but with
additions and changes the final cost will be close to $3 million, he
said. The church is scheduled for completion by year’s end.

The foundation stones for the church were laid April 25 last year
during an elaborate ceremony presided over by the denomination’s
primate, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian .

“The consecration of the corner stones for the new church is also the
consecration of our spiritual lives … a rebirth in our spiritual
lives,’ Derderian said at the ceremony.

Shoghig Giragosian , the parish council vice chairman, said the
Armenian Church is 1,700 years old and has survived several periods
of persecution.

“The rebuilding of this church shows that at this day and age, not
only has our nation and people survived, but so has our church, and
it came back stronger and better,’ she said.

Let’s think this through – Islamic Terrorism

Opinion Editorials, VA
July 26 2005

Let’s think this through – Islamic Terrorism
Steve Rumsey

Some in the western world have been calling on Muslim leaders to
speak out more about the terrorist attacks going on around the world.
Some see this as the answer to terrorism. I would like to point out
some other facts that may put another angle on this issue. There is
much more to the terrorism problem than getting some Muslim leaders
to speak out against terrorism. Additionally, can we please get past
the point of thinking that a politician holds the answers about
Islam?

First, let’s look at the issue of violence as a means to an end.
Within my home, I often tell my kids that you may get angry about
something, which is ok, but how you deal with that anger is something
different. You can use words to tell me how you feel and discuss the
matter – That is acceptable. You may not, as a hypothetical example,
throw a chair through the window – That is unacceptable behavior.

I apply this to all of life, which includes religion. For a 21st
century Jew, if they hold to an Orthodox view of the Torah, and the
dietary laws set by Moses, they may not eat pork, for example,
whereas a more Liberal Jew may. A Christian who holds an Orthodox
view of the scriptures will share their faith with others through
proselytizing, due to the `Great Commission’ set about by Jesus,
whereas a more liberal Christian may not see that as a command. An
Orthodox Muslim may bow towards Mecca five times per day to pray,
while a more liberal or secular Muslim may not. All of these actions
are acceptable and are carried out every day around the world.
However, if a Holy Book sanctions unacceptable behavior, now we have
a problem. Terrorism is that unacceptable behavior. The problem isn’t
that hundreds of millions may participate in this behavior, but that
many tens of thousands will – and are.

The Koran says Allah’s will is for the world to be under Islamic
rule. When Ayatollah Khomeini said, `Holy War means the conquest of
all non-Muslim territories,’ he didn’t pull that out of thin air.
Notice which words he used – `conquest’ and `non-Muslim.’

Throughout it’s history, Islam was spread by military conquest. And
before anyone says, `What about the Crusades?’ please remember that
they were started after 500 years of Jihad. The Islamic Jihad, or, in
Ayatollah Khomeini’s words, `war of conquest,’ has been waged since
the 7th century, with relatively few pauses. Here is just a sampling
of Islamic Jihads and the well-known people and places involved: An
Islamic expedition raid was launched on Cyprus in 649 A.D., which, by
the way, became part of the `Barbary Coast pirates’ who terrorized
Mediterranean Europe until 1830. Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain
defeated the Muslims in 1492, in which Christopher Columbus was at
the turning over of power ceremony. A young John Smith, of Pocahontas
fame, helped fight against the Muslims in 1600. In North Africa,
Napoleon fought against Jihads in Egypt from 1798 to 1830. In 1804,
our Lt. Stephen Decatur launched a rescue of the USS Philadelphia,
which had been captured by Barbary Coast Muslims. Lawrence of Arabia
aided and advised the Arabs to attack Muslim Turkish strong points in
Arabia. When the Muslim Turks ransacked Smyrna, terrorizing its Greek
and Armenian residents, Ernest Hemingway was there, as a reporter for
the Toronto Star. In 1941, the Bosnian Muslims raised a Waffen SS
Division of 21,000 men known as the Handzar Division, named after the
fearsome scimitar weapon of former wars. During WWII, the Grand Mufti
of Jerusalem preached a holy war against the Jews and their British
allies. He later was photographed while doing the Nazi salute, while
reviewing the Handzar Division troops. One of his infamous radio
addresses on March 1, 1944 contained this memorable section, `…kill
the Jews wherever you find them…for this pleases God, history and
religion.’ See Paul Fregosi’s book on Jihad for more examples.

So, when Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of Dutch
filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, says, `I was motivated by the law that
commands me to cut off the head of anyone who insults Allah and his
prophet,’ we don’t need a further explanation. Since there are plenty
of verses in the Koran that he and other extremists pull from, why do
we need to look further?

After the London bombings, Inayat Bungalwala of the Muslim Council of
Britain said, `The scale of disenchantment amongst Muslim youth is
very clear to see…Various factors are at play: underachievement in
education; a high rate of unemployment; discrimination in the
workplace; social exclusion, and also the government’s own policies,
especially in Iraq.’ Ironically, many minority groups all over the
world experience those same problems, but they don’t resort to
blowing up innocent people. When investigating the Iqra Learning
Centre in the UK, the shop owner, speaking about the suicide bombers
and a DVD he once viewed, said that the Muslim persecutions around
the world was probably the fuel that drove them to kill innocent
people in the UK. Interestingly enough, Christians have those same
types of DVDs showing Christian persecution in Africa, China and a
host of other places. I never hear of Christian Jihad’s in those
countries. Remember, Christians killed by lions in the Roman Empire
are called Martyrs, while Islamic extremists that blow up innocents
are also called Martyrs. Also, when the Taliban blew up ancient
Buddha statues in Afghanistan, I don’t remember reading about
Buddhist Jihads launched against the Taliban.

There is something different about the responses to persecution.
Fundamentalist Christians don’t launch Jihads and world domination
military conquests for several reasons, but two primary ones: One,
Jesus never commanded that of his followers and actually preached the
opposite. Two, the Christian Scriptures plainly state that Christians
will never be the majority in the world. Herein lies the problem: The
extremist Muslim’s view of their scared writings says the exact
opposite: One, Muslims are commanded to launch Jihads, wage military
wars of conquest, and to use violence if necessary to carry out
Allah’s will and two, it is Allah’s will that one day the whole world
be under Islamic rule.

I thank God that the vast majority of Muslims do not believe that
part of their sacred writings. Liberal or Secular Muslims are most
interested in fitting in to society, making a good life for their
families and being tolerant of other faiths. However, the Muslim
extremists are not `hijacking’ Islam nor twisting their sacred
writings to say what they want. No, they are simply taking, in
context, certain sections of their writings and putting primary focus
on them. Unfortunately, the Islamic texts that they’re focusing on
are those same texts that justify killing infidels.

The answer isn’t getting more Muslim leaders to stand up and denounce
bombings, hijackings, murders and `Muslim wars for independence’
being fought all over the world. No, the logical first step would be
for Muslim leaders to admit the violent Jihad sacred texts exist,
they are not being taken out of context by Bin Laden and others, and
that those sections of texts are to be banned or flatly repudiated by
all Muslim scholars. Can we please look at the facts and deal with
the problem on that level? Can we also commit to the idea that no
high-ranking politician is ever going to say these things? Can we
actually have scholars from both sides of the issue debate these
points in public, with radio or television coverage? Can we have
truthful, unbiased, non-politically correct coverage of these issues
by the media? After all, our lives and our family’s lives are at
stake.

Steve Rumsey, MBA is an investment advisor and resides in Southern
California.

http://www.opinioneditorials.com/freedomwriters/srumsey_20050726.html