La Communaute De Sant’Egidio
http:// a.htm
_EN.htm
Karekine II
Catholicos of All Armenians
Dear Spiritual Brothers and Sisters,
We offer thanksgiving to God, Who granted us the opportunity through
the invitation of His Eminence Cardinal Barbarin, to stand in prayer
with you in this International Prayer for Peace gathering organized by
the initiative of the community of Saint Egidio, under the
incense-filled arches of this sanctuary, with the mighty and merciful
intercession of the Holy Mother of God. We have come from Armenia, the
biblical land of Ararat, and we bring with us blessings from the first
sanctuary built by the state in the first Christian country seventeen
centuries ago Holy Etchmiadzin. On behalf of the Armenian nation, we
greet you and offer our prayers to heaven, asking that peace become a
reality and bloom in all corners of the world, in the life of all men
and people.
The paths of peace have often gone astray in the history of mankind,
however peace has been and remains today the aspiration of all peoples
and all faiths. For us Christians, to be peacemakers means to witness
Christ. With the praising call of Peace on earth and goodwill towards
men, the Son of God our Savior and our Lord, came into the world and
called upon men to love and be reconciled with one another, as
testament to our love and reconciliation with God.
Have peace, one to another (Mark 9:50) is the message Christ gives to
us. Loving God means making peace, creating peace. The mystery of a
reconciled soul with God is peace among men, and its fruit is the love
of life and work done for the sake of mankind. If we have faith in
God, then we also have a responsibility to be peacemakers, by
teaching, doing righteous works, defending rights, and by choosing the
good. Within peace is the blessing of God, within peace is the hope
for the future the progress and happiness of life. On the path of
peace, all works are great. This is our conviction and our teaching.
>From the inception of the Meeting of Prayer of the Community of Saint
Egidio, many realities have changed; specifically, new relationships
between states are being shaped and developed, characterized by even
closer cooperation. Nevertheless, today the world is troubled by
inter-state, national and religious disputes. Present are many social,
health, environmental and other issues. Today also there are the evils
of poverty and lawlessness. Violence, bloodshed, terrorism and wars
darken the life of societies. The need is felt for universal concern
and universal efforts to improve our common home. Times have changed
and will continue to change, the knowledge and possibilities of
mankind will continue to grow, and the urgency will always be timely,
that the most important and eminent factors be the societal
comprehension sustained by the spiritual-moral source. The spiritual
as the vital unending strength and pure beginning of knowing God will
assist in the reparation of the life of mankind to its true nature,
call and purpose. We are different peoples, different individuals, but
we are all children of the one God, called to have peace, one to
another. We all live in the house of the Lord, and we are not the ones
that established life, however we are collaborators with the Creator,
so that it blossoms and is filled with happiness and glory.
Finding the paths of peace is not easy, but always possible if we
truly have the desire for peace, as a value and expression of true
humanitarianism. Peace, freedom, justice and love go hand-in-hand and
reinforce one another. Europe, which bears and testifies the Christian
faith and culture, shall continue to be the guardian of those values
of humanitarianism and human rights, for which it has struggled and
sacrificed. With difficulty, through the constant efforts of the
people of France as well, the standards of freedom and rights of men
and nations were brought to life and recorded in the international
legislative realm, so that they serve the common good of humanity and
its hopes for a peaceful, creative life and new day.
The Armenian people as well, throughout the crossroads of its
difficult history, never ceased hoping in the bright dawning of a
century of peace, rights and justice; and this year raises prayers for
peace on earth and the security of human life, commemorating the
solemn 90th Anniversary of the Genocide of the Armenians which was
implemented in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians living in many countries are
the participants and witnesses to dialogue between cultures, and
believe that through the will and efforts of men, the words of the
prophet will come true, when nations will no longer learn warfare and
will no more lift up sword against each other. (Isaiah 2:4)
>From this holy sanctuary of our sister Catholic Church, where our hope
in peace is strengthened, we extend our greetings of brotherly love to
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and the spiritual leaders of sister
Churches and religious communities. May our prayers be combined,
giving thanks and praise to the Most High and to ask with humility
from His All-provident Strength:
Creator and sustainer of all that exists, listen to our plea, through
which we appeal to You, first help those in want and danger, console
the grieving and grant peace to regions suffering in conflicts and
wars.
Beneficent, Merciful and Grace-Bestower, may Your heavenly peace
descend upon the world. May our human souls be illuminated with Your
Creators love, to find the paths of reconciliation in all places, to
do works of peace and to create peace. Strengthen us O God in our
mission and bless all efforts directed toward peace and the
brotherhood of peoples, for the sake of life, for the sake of hope,
today and always. Amen.
INTERVENTION DE SA SAINTETE KAREKINE II
PATRIARCHE SUPREME ET CATHOLICOS DE TOUS LES ARMENIENS
BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME DE FOURVIERE
DIMANCHE 11 SEPTEMBRE 2005
19EME RENCONTRE INTERNATIONALE POUR LA PAIX
ORGANISEE PAR LA COMMUNAUTE DE SANT’EGIDIO
Chers frères et s`urs en Christ,
Nous rendons grce à Dieu de l’occasion qui nous est donnée de prier avec
vous en ce jour à l’invitation de son éminence le cardinal Philippe Barbarin et
de la communauté de sant’ Egidio qui a organisé cette assemblée consacrée à la
Paix, en ce sanctuaire dans lequel nous vivons intensément l’intercession de la
très sainte Mère de Dieu. Nous venons d’Arménie pour vous apporter la
bénédiction de saint Etchmiadzin, depuis cette terre biblique du “pays
d’Ararat” où, il y a plus de 17 siècles, la première des cathédrales a été
btie au c`ur du premier état chrétien de l’histoire. Au nom du peuple de nos
fidèles, nous voulons vous saluer et élever avec vous nos prières pour demander
que la Paix se répande sur la terre tout entière, sur tous les hommes et tous
les peuples.
Tout au long de l’Histoire, la recherche de la Paix a souvent été
difficile mais elle est toujours demeurée un idéal pour tous les peuples et
toutes les religions. Pour le chrétien, aimer la paix, “être artisan de paix”,
signifie tout d’abord témoigner au nom du Christ. “Paix sur la terre parmi les
hommes de bonne volonté”. C’est par ces mots qu’a été annoncé notre Seigneur et
Sauveur, le fils de Dieu, venu nous inviter à l’amour et à la concorde au nom
d’une alliance renouvelée avec le Père.
Le Christ nous le demande: “Soyez en paix les uns avec les autres” (Marc
10, 49). Œuvrer pour la paix, contribuer à sa construction, c’est donc avant
tout aimer Dieu. Celui qui, du fait de cette alliance, est en paix avec Dieu,
l’est avec son prochain et avec tout homme. L’`uvre entreprise au nom de
l’Homme et de la Vie est le fruit de cette alliance. Si nous croyons en Dieu,
nous devons alors aimer la Paix, la proclamer, travailler avec rectitude et
zèle à son avènement, défendre le Droit, choisir le Bien. La Paix est une
bénédiction de Dieu comme tous les autres bienfaits de la Vie. Dans cette quête
de la Paix il n’est ni de grandes, ni de petites tches, toutes sont importantes
car toutes nos espérances d’avenir se trouvent dans la Paix. C’est notre
conviction et c’est ce que nous proclamons sans cesse et partout.
Beaucoup de choses ont changé depuis la naissance de la communauté de sant’
Egidio, d’autres changements se produiront encore dans les années à venir, les
plus significatifs de ces changements concernent les relations entre les états
qui sont désormais marquées par une collaboration plus étroite. Néanmoins, de
nombreux antagonismes opposants des états, des peuples, voire des religions,
continuent de meurtrir le monde. Des questions importantes comme les grands
problèmes sociaux, la recherche médicale, l’écologie, restent encore sans
solution. La pauvreté, les innombrables violations du Droit, les conflits et
les guerres et bien d’autres méfaits comme le terrorisme continuent de ronger
des sociétés entières. Un besoin impérieux et la volonté d’`uvrer ensemble pour
aménager notre “maison commune” ont émergé. Les temps changent, la science ne
cesse de se développer et avec elle les nouveaux moyens qu’elle génère. Plus
que jamais, le primat d’une conscience morale fondée sur la spiritualité et
l’éthique demeure d’actualité. Dans ce contexte, la spiritualité apparaît comme
la source unique d’une énergie vitale et inépuisable venue de Dieu qui permet à
l’homme de se renouveler dans le respect de sa nature, de sa vocation,
conformément aux desseins de Dieu. Nous vivons tous dans la maison du Seigneur.
Nous n’avons certes pas créé la vie mais nous sommes des “collaborateurs”, des
“assistants” du Créateur qui oeuvrent pour que cette vie se développe en
procurant joie et bonheur. Nous sommes autant de personnes et autant de peuples
mais tous enfants du même Dieu appelés à travailler les uns avec les autres, les
uns pour les autres, tous “artisans de paix”.
La quête de la Paix n’est pas chose facile mais elle est toujours
fructueuse dès lors qu’existe un authentique désir de l’atteindre. La Paix, la
Liberté et l’amour de la Justice sont intimement unis en un triptyque et se
confortent mutuellement. L’Europe en tant que fondateur et témoin de la Foi
chrétienne et de sa culture doit continuer de promouvoir les valeurs humanistes
et le Droit pour lesquelles elle a combattu et consenti de si lourds sacrifices.
De la même manière, c’est au prix d’efforts importants et opinitres que le
peuple français a réussi à inscrire dans les normes du Droit international les
“droits de l’Homme” et ceux des peuples, contribuant par là-même au bien de
toute l’humanité et à la réalisation de ses idéaux.
Malgré d’innombrables vicissitudes historiques, le peuple arménien n’a lui
aussi jamais cessé d’espérer en l’avènement de la Paix, du Droit et de la
Justice. En cette année 2005 durant laquelle nous commémorons le 90ème
anniversaire du génocide des Arméniens de l’Empire ottoman, nous voulons aussi
prier pour la Paix et pour la sécurité des personnes. De nombreux arméniens à
travers le monde sont aujourd’hui des acteurs agissants du dialogue
interculturel et de véritables témoins, convaincus comme le prophète Isaïe
“qu’aucune nation ne tirera plus l’épée contre une autre et que l’on
n’apprendra plus la guerre” (Isaïe 2, 4).
Alors que nous nous trouvons en ce sanctuaire de Fourvière, où nos espoirs
de Paix se sont aujourd’hui renforcés, nous voulons adresser notre salut
affectueux et fraternel à sa sainteté le Pape Benoît XVI ainsi qu’à l’ensemble
des chefs spirituels des Eglises-s`urs et des diverses communautés religieuses.
Que nos prières s’unissent afin de rendre grce et de glorifier le Très-Haut en
lui demandant humblement d’étendre sur nous sa bienveillante protection.
Seigneur,
Toi qui est le créateur de tout et le dispensateur de toute vie,
entends notre supplique:
protège en tout premier lieu ceux qui sont dans la peine et le danger,
console les affligés et accorde la Paix aux régions meurtries
par les conflits et les guerres.
Toi qui est bienveillant, miséricordieux et empli de Grce,
fais abonder ta paix céleste sur notre monde.
Que ton amour créateur illumine nos mes
afin qu’elles retrouvent en tous lieux les chemins de la concorde
et que nous oeuvrions ensemble pour la Paix.
Renforce-nous Seigneur dans notre engagement et bénis
les efforts que nous faisons au nom de la Paix et de la concorde,
au nom de la Vie et de l’Epérance, maintenant et toujours.
Amen.

A1+
| 16:19:06 | 24-09-2005 | Politics |
WHO SHOULD FORM NCTR?
April 2, 2002 the «independent» Commission on TV and Radio deprived
independent A1+ TV Company of air. Taking into account the fact that all 9
members of the commission were appointed by the President the event could
not be rated as unexpected. How should the body regulating the activities of
broadcasting media be formed? We addressed this question to 100 Yerevan
residents.
15% of the respondents consider that the members of the NCTR should be
appointed by the President. 44% voiced opinion that NCTR members should be
appointed by the National Assembly. 32% stated that the commission should be
appointed by the President and the National Assembly. 9% found it hard to
answer.
It should be also noted that all the survey participants were unanimous in
the opinion that the formation of this regulating body should be fixed in
the Constitution.
The correspondent item of the draft constitution says: «To secure freedom,
independence and variety of the broadcasting mass media an independent body
appointed by the President and the National Assembly for a term of 6 years
should be formed. The national assembly elects the members of the above
mentioned body with the majority of votes.»
However after the referendum on the constitutional amendments the NCTR
headed by Grigor Amalyan will not be dissolved, since Article 83.2 of the
draft says, «Members of the independent body preserve their posts until the
term provided by the law expires. Afterwards the President and the National
Assembly in turns appoint the commission members.»
To note, NCTR Chairman Grigor Amalya refrained from expressing his opinion
on the issue. He refused to give interview.
Karine Asatryan

A1+
| 15:32:54 | 24-09-2005 | Politics |
PIECE OF PAPER INSTEAD OF DOCUMENT
The parliamentary opposition states that no single independent commission
functions presently for the sake of the nation.
Name one commission the decision of which improved the living conditions of
the people», National Unity factor secretary Alexan Karapetyan said.
In his turn Justice faction secretary Victor Dallakyan characterized the
situation that was created within the so-called independent commissions with
a well known phrase «Òhe one, who pays, establishes the rules». In the
opinion of the oppositionists, the draft constitutional amendments do not
guarantee independence of the commissions. «How can a commission appointed
by the President be independent?» Victor Dallakyan says. Alexan Karapetyan
fully shares this opinion. «Unfortunately, any commission formed at the
incumbent authorities will be dependent regardless of the amendments
adopted», he notes.
Oppositionists have some remarks on the formation of the independent
commissions. Fisrt of all, they say, the law should rule. «We lack the habit
of obeying to the law. Today we face the problem of formation of traditions
and civic institutes», Justice faction representative says.
There is no doubt that the correct formation order is the most important
factor for the independence of the commission. Victor Dallakyan offers to
use the experience of other states. «While forming the NCTR 3 nominations
are proposed by the NA, 3 – by the President and 3 – by public
organizations. For example, in France 6 candidatures are appointed by the
National Assembly and 3 – by the President,» he says.
Alexan Karapetyan has a different proposal, though, in his words, it is not
finite. «The commission members can be elected like deputies. Or the
composition of the commission can be appointed by the NA.
The real independence of the commission depends on one more important
factor: what state body should they be subordinated to? «These commissions
should be subordinated to the parliament. Annually each commission should
submit its report to the NA. If the parliament does not approve the report,
the commission members should resign’, Justice faction members consider.
Representatives of National Unity insist the report be presented to the
people as well.
Lena Badeyan

After summit and speeches, U.N. must now turn words into action
By EDITH M. LEDERER
.c The Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – After the world’s largest-ever gathering of
world leaders and a week of follow-up ministerial speeches, the 191
U.N. member states now have the tough job of turning words into action
to reduce poverty, fight terrorism and start reforming the United
Nations to meet 21st century challenges.
Speaker after speaker in the General Assembly, where all nations have
a voice, said their people would be watching to see whether the
leaders deliver on their promises in a 35-page document approved at
the end of their three-day summit last week.
In his speech before banging the gavel Friday evening to end the
week-long ministerial debate, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson
said the world body must move quickly on follow-up and implementation
so “the political energy” generated during the negotiations, summit,
and ministerial session isn’t lost.
“The world will be watching us closely,” Eliasson said. “The extent
to which we – all of us in this assembly – can muster a spirit of
urgency and common purpose in the coming days and weeks will
ultimately determine whether the World Summit goes down in history as
a missed opportunity for the United Nations, or – as I hope – as the
start of the most substantial reform program in the history of the
organization.”
He said he plans to make proposals on follow-up and implementation by
the end of next week and to start work quickly after consultations.
For the majority of the world’s nations, the final document’s 16-page
section on achieving U.N. Millennium Development Goals is crucial.
Some were pessimistic about meeting the goals which include cutting
extreme poverty by half, achieving universal primary education, and
stemming the AIDS pandemic, all by 2015.
“The 2005 World Summit has clearly demonstrated that, in five years,
we have not given poverty eradication the highest priority in our
international agenda,” Belize’s Foreign Minister Godfrey Smith told
the assembly on Friday. “In too many countries, it is clear that the
Millennium Development Goals will not be realized; in some, the
situation is worse than five years ago.”
Smith argued that “the most effective and consuming terrorism of our
age is the terrorism of abject poverty” and there will be no security
unless it is tackled. “Global security cannot be built on a minefield
of poverty and disease,” he warned.
The only way to assure the marginalized people of the world that its
leaders are serious about achieving the Millenium Development Goals is
“by showing them there is a global political will” to use the
35-page blueprint “as a platform for action.”
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said those suffering from
extreme poverty need increased international aid, debt relief and
improved trading prospects if the goals are to be met – and meeting
them “is critical to all, and not just to those directly affected.”
The final document was continuously watered down during intense
negotiations to win support from all 191 U.N. member states,
eliminating a call for all rich nations earmark 0.7 percent of their
GNP to development aid because of U.S. opposition.
Its major achievements were the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission
to help countries emerging from conflict, and agreement that there is
a collective responsibility to protect people from genocide, war
crimes and ethnic cleansing.
But the document failed to give Secretary-General Kofi Annan the
authority to move jobs and make management changes that the United
States, the European Union and others sought. It didn’t define
terrorism, and it dropped the entire section on disarmament and
nonproliferation.
While it resolved to create a Human Rights Council to replace the
discredited Human Rights Commission, it left the details to the deeply
divided General Assembly.
Annan, speaking in Washington on Friday, said leaders didn’t deliver
everything he hoped for but he said the gains in the final document
“are significant enough to say that the glass is at least half full,
perhaps more.”
The European Union was the strongest supporter of Annan’s original,
ambitious proposal to make the world body more relevant in the new
millennium.
France’s European Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said at a
briefing Friday that the final document could be seen as “a
half-empty bottle or half full, and we decided that we’ll say that
it’s half full.”
“It is a first result, and the key question is, can we keep the
momentum?,” she said. “How can we manage to keep filling in the
bottle so it becomes a full bottle – and not a half-full bottle?”
“Everyone must have the political will to do so, every big country in
the U.N., and every group. Europe has it. We want to go on and play an
active role. I think we can do it. We have to find partners,” Colonna
said.
09/23/05 20:27 EDT

A1+
| 22:36:12 | 23-09-2005 | Politics |
FULL STOP
The candidate for the post of the Kentron community head, member of the
People’s Party Rouzan Khachatryan decided to put the full stop to her
pre-election campaign in the area near the Matenadaran. Her meeting with the
electors was organized there. Deputies of the Justice bloc Shavarsh
Kocharyan, Tatoul Manaseryan and Vardan Lazarian were present at the
meeting.
Member of the Heritage party administration Anahit Bakhshyan also supported
Mrs. Khachatryan.
During the meeting the candidate did not try to convince everyone to elect
her. She just tries to «awaken» the feeling of necessity to fulfill your
civic duty, «You must by all means participate in the elections. Do not let
others to use your voice for their aims. If you are against everyone, say
so».
The main reason for Rouzan Khachatryan to put forward her candidacy in the
elections is that «The Yerevan Center has lost its face».
The politicians supporting Rouzan Khachatryan mentioned that in the
atmosphere of oppression and loss of faith the elections of the local
governing bodies can improve the situation. «We are convinced that the
Kentron community will mark the beginning of democracy», they claimed.

IWPR.NET
24 Sept 2005
Armenia: Can Lake Sevan Rise to the Challenge?
Trees and summerhouses disappear from view as lake waters rise. Photo by
Ruben Mangasaryan/patkerphoto.
Ecologists fear a rare environmental triumph is in danger of going wrong.
By Arevhat Grigorian in Sevan and Yerevan
Buildings and beaches around Lake Sevan are rapidly disappearing under water
as efforts by scientists and environmentalists to reverse the decline of
this huge freshwater reservoir pay off more quickly than expected.
Despite the fact the encroaching waters could soon be lapping at their
windows, many who live and work around the Armenian lake are delighted to
see it returning to former levels.
“I’d like to see the water rise as much as possible, and if necessary, we’ll
just move the building to another place,” said Norik Simonian, a bookkeeper
at a motel located on the lake.
Azat, who rents part of the beach, where he has set up cafes and other
visitor attractions, agreed, “What would happen if the water level did not
rise, and the lake turned into a swamp? There’d be no business then anyway.”
Lake Sevan, one of the highest altitude lakes in the world, began dwindling
in the 1930s under a ruthless plan to use its waters for irrigation and
hydroelectricity. A paradise of beach resorts and holiday villas sprang up
along the lake’s edge.
But as the water levels began to fall, changes in temperature and oxygen
supply depleted fish reserves. In particular, several varieties of trout
vanished and other species are on the verge of extinction. Birds also
abandoned the area as the nests they had once built close to the water’s
edge were left stranded far from the newly exposed shoreline. The lake
itself was used as a waste dump.
Faced with this ecological disaster, environmentalists have been campaigning
for years to get the government to take action to restore the water to its
former levels.
The government stopped using Sevan for energy in 1999 and two years later
parliament passed a law decreeing the water should be raised to 1,903 metres
above sea level, the height at which experts say it will be possible to
regulate the temperature and oxygen levels and restore the ecological
balance.
“Beginning in the 1930s we ‘borrowed’ 26 billion cubic metres of water from
Lake Sevan in order to satisfy our energy and food production needs,” said
Vladimir Movsisian, vice-president of the Expert Commission on Lake Sevan
and a member of the National Council of Water. “We should now return at
least eight billion to the lake so that we can take water from it in the
future if the needs arises.”
Water is now flowing in through tunnels from the Arpa and Vorotan rivers,
and 410 hectares of land have already disappeared.
By the time the lake hits its target level, ten times that amount will be
under water – 4,427 hectares, of which 3,130 are forest and the rest
resorts, private mansions, arable land and 30 kilometres of highways.
But this rare Armenian environmental triumph is in danger of going wrong.
Scientists had predicted it would take 30 years to refill the lake, but now
forecast that could happen in just 15, as water pours in faster than
expected, helped by unexpectedly high levels of precipitation.
Though they don’t know if the water will continue to rise at this rate, it
seems likely that money will have to be found sooner than expected to carry
out crucial preparatory work along the shoreline.
This could be a problem as the government has only a fraction of the
estimated 30 million US dollars needed to remove trees, shrubs and buildings
from areas that will eventually be flooded.
So far, just 150,000 dollars have been allocated to clear an area of 100
hectares already under water, with work scheduled to begin in November.
Early estimates suggest another 200,000 dollars will be needed next year.
Environmental campaigners are worried that if money isn’t found to sweep up
the rest of the rapidly disappearing land, the flooded forests will begin to
rot and poison the lake.
“We’ve seen this since Soviet times when water reservoirs were filled
without a prior clean-up,” said Karine Danielian, chairperson of the
non-government organisation For Sustainable Human Development.
“The water became toxic and the reservoirs became useless for drinking
water. It’s those who are responsible for clearing the land, but who don’t
want to take responsibility for it, who say the damage will be minimal.”
Movsisian is also concerned.
“The rotting of the forest mass is not a danger to the lake now. But if no
measures are taken in the future and 3,700 hectares of forest go under
water, then it will become a problem,” he told IWPR.
Boris Gabrielian, deputy director of the Institute of Hydro-Ecology and
Ichthyology at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, agrees that
additional organic matter could harm the lake and cause swamps to form.
However, he points out, “the raised water level would improve the quality of
the water, and the benefit from this will be greater than any damage caused
by the forests going under water”.
Artashes Ziroian, head of the governmental Agency for the Preservation of
Biological Resources, appeared relaxed about the situation in an interview
with IWPR, suggesting there is no need to begin clearing trees immediately.
“Next year the water level might not go up by so much, and the forests will
have been cut prematurely,” said Ziroian.
Armenia’s environment minister, Vardan Aivazian, is also wary of ecological
doommongers, suggesting the flooded shoreline poses no current threat.
Environmentalists, however, are suspicious of Aivazian who raised concerns
in June when he said that new “scientific substantiation of the
environmental impact of the increase of water in Lake Sevan should be given”.
Some speculated this meant the government wanted to stop the water rising as
it couldn’t afford to clear the shore.
“To demand new scientific research today for Lake Sevan is like treachery
for the simple reason that the problem has been painstakingly studied over a
period of many years by many specialists in all the relevant scientific
establishments, not only in Armenia but in the Soviet Union before that,”
said Hakob Sanasarian, chairman of the Union of Greens of Armenia. “Huge
amounts of government money were spent on this and they all reached the same
conclusion – that the water levels of Lake Sevan must be raised.”
The former chairman of the environmental committee of the National Assembly
of Armenia, now permanent member of the European Commission for the Fight
Against Desertification, Gagik Tadevosian, told IWPR, “The survival of
Armenia depends on Sevan. Where there is Sevan, there is Armenia.”
Back on the lakeshore, Flamingo Beach has lost half its territory in two
years. Parts of the aquatic park are now under water though manager Artur
Avetisian dismantled all metal structures as the water rose.
He is now cautious about re-erecting them elsewhere as he has no idea how
fast, or how far, the water is going to rise.
Vardan Aivazian told IWPR that the Armenian government will compensate all
those who own property which may be flooded, though he has received no
requests so far. He added that the silence could be because some of the
buildings were put up illegally.
“The increase in the water level of Sevan is more valuable than a few
peoples’ houses,” said Aivazian. To bring his message home, he quoted one of
Armenia’s richest businessmen, Gagik Tsarukian, who told Aivazian that he
would be ready to move his house to another location, “if only, God willing,
the water level of Lake Sevan increases”.
Arevhat Grigorian is a reporter for the Hetq online newspaper in Yerevan.

The Persian Journal
Iran builds powerplant in Armenia
Sep 24, 2005
Armenian energy minister said on Friday Iran has invested 150 million
dollars in construction of the fifth unit of the thermal powerplant of
“Razdan”.
Speaking to reporters, Armen Movsisian said, according to the contract, the
Iranian side will finish the construction operation in two years and the
Armenian side will pay back the investment by delivering electricity to Iran
for a ten-year period.
He added Iran and Armenia will construct the third transferring high voltage
electricity line with a capacity of 1,200 mega watts.
Movsisian said the Armenian government, after considering many options,
chose the Iranian company as a contractor for the fifth unit of Razdan
powerplant.
Concerning Iran’s gas pipeline to Armenia, movsisian said the construction
operation is underway and it will be finished four to five months before due
time.
The gas pipeline was scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2006.

A1+
| 22:35:55 | 23-09-2005 | Politics |
NEW ELECTIONS IN QANAQER-ZEYTOUN
The September 19 elections of the community head in Qanaqer-Zeytoun have
been announced invalid. The Qanaqer-Zeytoun Local Electoral Committee
session has just been over which announced the elections invalid and fixed
the new elections on October 2.
According to the Central Electoral Committee information service, the votes
have been distributed the following way: Arayik Qotanjyan – 7486, Valeri
Haroutyunyan – 7428, Robert Sinoyan – 6158, Petros Soghoyan – 311. There
have been 96 mistakes. 11 electoral areas have been opened.

A1+
| 22:35:36 | 23-09-2005 | Politics |
THE «YES» IS NOT UNEQUIVOCAL
The head of Robert Kocharyan’s working group Artashes Toumanyan does not
rush to make announcements about the Constitutional Referendum. In any case
he is sure that «the result of the referendum is not an end in itself –
either happy future, or nothing».
«If the Constitutional reforms are adopted, there is still much to be done»,
Mr. Toumanyan is convinced. However, unlike other pro-governmental
politicians, he is not sure that the referendum will say «Yes» to the
amended Constitution.
«He who claims the referendum will say yes, is exaggerating his power», says
Artashes Toumanyan.
THE NEW PARTY IS INEVITABLE
The head of Robert Kocharyan’s working group Artashes Toumanyan avoids
direct answers, but he does not deny the information that he is going to
found a new party. At present he is negotiating with his co-thinkers.
Artashes Toumanyan claims that if his party is created, the people will see
new people there. The future leader of the party-to-be-created thinks the
political power must not be created at the expense of the reputation of
individuals. That is – ideology is primary.
«If the party is created, we will participate in the 2007 Parliamentary
elections. Plain and pragmatic aims», says the head of Robert Kocharyan’s
working group.
As for the name of the party-to-be-created, it is still secret. «It will be
beautiful and harmonious».

ANTIWAR.COM
September 24, 2005
America’s Inheritance in the Caucasus
by Christopher Deliso
balkanalysis.com
While intervention is never praiseworthy, the one thing that can be said
about international involvement in the Caucasus is that it has at least been
fairly cosmopolitan, marked by a wide variety of voices and nations, and
less prone to polarizing truisms than in, say, the Balkans, where the
unchallenged ascendancy of the “Milosevic is guilty for everything” line has
basically eliminated the possibility of a more nuanced discourse and
contributed so much to the domination of US/EU single-track ideological
rule.
Indeed, as the Christian Science Monitor recently put it, “the region is a
patchwork quilt of warring ethnic groups and rival religions that makes
Europe’s other tangled knot, the Balkans, look tame by comparison.”
At least with the Caucasus, one encounters more reasoned analyses and a
wider variety of organizations, governments and individuals championing a
much more complex bundle of interests. Cut-and-dried conclusions appear less
frequently, and when war and ethnic cleansing is brought up, there is guilt
enough to go around on all sides. The Western mass media, despite its
unfortunate adulation of Georgia’s “Rose Revolution,” has been fairly
even-handed, though perhaps unintentionally. This is because a large part of
their “objectivity” owes to the region’s great distance, mentally and
geographically, from the average Western reader; whereas the Balkans was
more or less in Europe’s backyard, the Caucasus is on the edge of the
property – or maybe even on the other side.
Turbulence in the North
Meanwhile, on the other side of the other side, in the North Caucasus,
tensions have been rising as a murky web of secessionists, Islamists and
common criminals provoke an already tense situation with renewed violence.
The goal, boasts a Chechen commander, is to provoke a region-wide war that
would see the definitive exodus of Russia from the Caucasus. In an interview
with a Polish newspaper posted on the pro-Chechen site Kavkazcenter Chechen
“President” Abdul Sadulayev stated:
“We cannot doubt our victory. It is enough to look at the situation which is
taking shape in Chechnya for that. The Russians started this war, hoping to
make a ‘local conflict’ out of it. They have been pursuing their ‘wise
policy’ here, and as a result Dagestan has turned into a military front, as
has the whole of the Caucasus. A Caucasus front has been organized including
all the areas (sectors) of Ingushetia, Kabarda-Balkaria,
Karachay-Cherkessia, Adygeya, Stavropol Territory, Krasnodar Territory and
North Ossetia.”
Unrestricted Attacks, Expanding Fronts
While Sadulayev’s familiar if disingenuous logic of blaming everything on
Russia should be taken with a grain of salt, it is true that the violence
has been spreading.
Last week, four explosions hit Ingushetia, targeting a cargo train, court
building, bus stop and military column. While damage was small, the bombings
rattled an already tense republic whose Muslim population has been aiding
the fighters of neighboring Chechnya. And, since the terrorist attack on a
school in Beslan a year ago, tensions have dramatically increased between
the Ingush Muslims and Orthodox Christians of North Ossetia to the west,
where Beslan is located. The two republics fought a brief war shortly after
the break-up of the USSR and it cannot be ruled out that they will not clash
again. According to Russian police, the four bombings were the Muslim
terrorists’ choice of “revenge” against the government, which had “recently
conducted successful operations against several groups of local militants.”
Meanwhile, a police officer in the truly multiethnic (over 30 indigenous
groups) Dagestan was shot, and several Russian troops have been killed in
fighting as well, reports the BBC. Another recent article, reporting an
attack on a Russian oil pipeline in North Ossetia, claims that “Moscow
controls this area in name only. In reality the news has admitted that a lot
of the violence is not even being reported. Police and troops die daily
across the North Caucasus to the Caspian… The area is completely up for
grabs.”
Finally, according to the CSM, Ingush President Murat Zyazikov, who
“narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of a suicide car-bomber and a
sniper,” is being targeted by Islamic militants loyal to Basayev, who last
year briefly captured the capital, Nazran, “killing almost 100 police
officers and government officials” in the process. While Zyazikov put out a
brave face for the newspaper, claiming that things are basically peaceful,
locals aren’t so sure: “‘everyone here is always talking about getting ready
for war with the Ingush, to get even with them,’ says Madina Pedatova, a
teacher at Beslan’s spanking new School No. 8. ‘I’m terrified of it, but I’m
sure it’s coming.'”
Internal Fractures as Well
“Our forecasts say that Tatarstan and Bashkortostan will rise up next,
because Russia’s policy there is aimed at suppressing Muslims, and this
cannot fail to end in an explosion of emotions among the masses,” adds
Sadulayev in the Polish interview. “The role of Islam in the Caucasus is
huge. The Muslim population is in the majority here. Since we Chechens are
surrounded by friendly Muslim people, there are friendly traditions and
kinship links between us.”
However, not all involved see the conflict in such terms. As the situation
deteriorates further, infighting between the sides continues. According to
Interfax on Sept. 17, Chechen leader Akhmad Avdorkhanov, “a one-time aide to
the late Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov and the commander of the
so-called Eastern Front of Ichkeria” was killed by militants loyal to rival
group leader Shamil Basayev.
Chechnya’s First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov described the slain
Avdorkhanov as a moderate; he was allegedly “among the most influential
field commanders, was notable for his particular courage, was categorically
against Wahhabis (radical Muslims), and did not recognize Basayev.” Indeed,
Sadulayev praises Basayev as “a disciplined amir and mojahed.”
However, according to the deputy premier, while Basayev viewed Avdorkhanov
as a threat to be dealt with, “the immediate motive behind the murder is the
1.5 million US dollars recently received by the Chechen separatists. ‘The
incident that led to Avdorkhanov’s death was prompted by Basayev’s attempts
to lay his hands on this money… the leaders of illegal armed groups,
primarily Basayev, have no ideals, but only the desire to make money, kill,
and please their foreign patrons, despite numerous victims among the Chechen
people,’ the official noted.”
Neocons in the Midst
Who are these “foreign patrons” of the Chechen cause? Without doubt, wealthy
Islamic fundamentalists from the Arabic world rank high on the list.
However, moral support for the Chechen militants can be found closer to
home. Less motivated by lucre than by a bizarre obsession with reviving the
Cold War, Washington hawks have taken a prominent position on the Chechnya
issue, it seems, solely with the aim of weakening Russia. Unfortunately, a
powerful and influential bloc in Washington – some neoconservative, all
predatorial – would like to shape events in a way that could have disastrous
long-term effects for America, guided by a desire to cling to archaic
antagonisms and to seek vindictive “victories” through extremely
short-sighted tactics.
A prime nesting ground for these hawks has been the American Committee for
Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) Writing a year ago, in the wake of the Beslan
tragedy, John Laughland stated:
“The list of the self-styled ‘distinguished Americans’ who are its members
is a roll call of the most prominent neoconservatives who so
enthusiastically support the ‘war on terror.’
“They include Richard Perle, the notorious Pentagon adviser; Elliott Abrams
of Iran-Contra fame; Kenneth Adelman, the former US ambassador to the UN who
egged on the invasion of Iraq by predicting it would be ‘a cakewalk’; Midge
Decter, biographer of Donald Rumsfeld and a director of the rightwing
Heritage Foundation; Frank Gaffney of the militarist Centre for Security
Policy; Bruce Jackson, former US military intelligence officer and one-time
vice-president of Lockheed Martin, now president of the US Committee on
Nato; Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute, a former admirer
of Italian fascism and now a leading proponent of regime change in Iran; and
R James Woolsey, the former CIA director who is one of the leading
cheerleaders behind George Bush’s plans to re-model the Muslim world along
pro-US lines.”
Unfortunately, the braintrust that brought us the twin “liberations” of Iraq
and Afghanistan seems to have similar plans for Russia. Their plans proceed
along two fronts: one, replace Vladimir Putin with a malleable “pro-Western
reformist” such as the celebrated businessman and former Yukos boss Mikhail
Khodorkovsky; and two, humiliate the country through its dissolution,
starting with its Caucasus possessions.
Richard Perle’s championing of the Khodorkovsky cause is well-known; less
clear is the degree and type of support his bunch provides the Chechens.
Does it end with providing asylum to Chechen terrorists in America and
Britain, or are the neocons trying to “give Russia their Vietnam” (as
cold-warrior extraordinaire and current ACPC Chairman Zbigniew Brzezinski
once put it) for the second time, and again through more direct support?
There’s little definite proof, but the one thing that is sure is that the
most fervent supporters of the “war on terror” exhibit a predictable
schizophrenia in supporting “good” Muslims, as was the case in the Bosnia
and Kosovo interventions: “In Chechnya, the conflict has created a cultural
and demographic crisis rivaling the tragedies witnessed in Bosnia and
Kosovo.” Of course, there’s no mention of the very real terrorist attacks
carried out by foreign-backed Chechen and other Islamic fighters, who would
like to replace Russian rule with “a single Islamist state stretching from
the Caspian to the Black Sea.”
Indeed, in an unpredictable era of shadowy enemies and “non-state actors,”
Brzezinski’s celebrated 1998 quote now seems even more foolish than ever:
“What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the
collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of
Central Europe and the end of the cold war?”
Preconceptions, Simplifications and Hard Realities
Yet apparently the Cold War is not yet over. If Brzezinski and his crew have
their way, America’s inheritance in Russia’s final lost provinces of the
Caucasus will be just as auspicious as it has been in Afghanistan.
The Cold Warriors’ presuppositions seem to rest on the following false
assumptions: that Russia is the enemy, and harming it in any way is thus in
America’s interests; that Iran is evil and uncontrollable; that the Caucasus
can be divided into a north and south, meaning that one can be stabilized to
the detriment or enhancement of the other; and, finally, that America has
the resources and capabilities to control everything in the world.
However, the opposite is clear in every case. Russia is not the enemy; it
has no extra-territorial ambitions, and its delapidated military poses no
threat. On the other hand, NATO’s expanding remit, American bases in Central
Asia, and the increasingly anti-Russian attitudes of US and EU client states
in Eastern Europe have pretty much finished off the Russian bear. Much to
the ire of Perle and Co., the only trump cards Putin’s vast nation still
enjoys are nuclear weapons and a huge supply of oil. However, the Russian
leader is not averse to involving foreign oil companies, as his recent
meetings in America indicated. And considering that the US has declared the
possibility of Russian nukes falling into the wrong hands, there seem to be
few reasonable arguments for accelerating the country’s decline. Expediting
dissolution in the North Caucasus only increases the risk of Russian nuclear
materials and other weapons coming into the possession of terrorists.
Indeed, while the neocons might be gloating when they see Russia fall apart,
it is hardly likely that successor “republics” such as Chechnya aspires to
be would be more Jeffersonian than Islamic. No one in Chechnya is going to
thank a Washington thinktank for championing their cause when it comes time
to establishing the mores of social life and the rules of the political that
will govern them. But given the narcissistic delusions of the war/democracy
party, which have reached glorious fulfillment in Iraq, they are no doubt
expecting to be embraced as benevolent role models by the Chechens, the
Ingush and whoever else comes next.
As for Iran, the destabilization of this charter member of the “Axis of
Evil,” whether under democratic or security pretenses via Iraq, would only
harm the fragile balance of power in the Caucasus. This perceptive article
discusses in detail why Iran “has acted as a moderate and balanced player in
the region by placing the geopolitical, economic, and security aspects of
its national interests over ideological or religious motives.” Yet
disinterested in seeing the complete picture of rival religious and ethnic
interests in the Caucasus, an arrogant American leadership has labored under
the pretense that its multi-colored revolutions and its oil pipelines can be
the only guarantors of regional “stability.” They seldom consider the
complex web of religious and ethnic relations that go into forming the
policies of neighboring states which seem “outside” the equation, such as
Iran. They thus fail to consider how the destabilization of such states
would have wider ramifications for areas where they had believed everything
was under control.
In the present context, this area under control would be what conventional
wisdom deceptively calls the “South” Caucasus. Despite their very real
internal antagonisms and frozen conflicts, the countries of Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia are relatively quiet now, more or less pacified by
Western largess and (except for the last) a desire to break out of the
Russian sphere of influence. Contrasting this situation of relative
tranquility to Russia’s ongoing woes on the northern side of the mountains,
the Bush administration quietly gloats over the Pax Caucasia it has brought
with the elevation of Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia, and the recent
completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
However, such a north-south distinction cannot realistically be supported.
Throughout history, the Caucasus has been characterized by its singularity,
its wealth of disparate ethnic and religious groups, and by its geography –
simultaneously impassable and yet everywhere vulnerable to intrusion. For
the most part, the region’s formidable mountains make a joke out of all
attempts to impose state controls. Clan and ethnic groups straddle national
and sub-national boundaries, adding to this tendency to make the latter
irrelevent. Terrorist groups “safely” ensconced in Chechnya can and do spill
over into Georgia. Ossetians view their national territory – memorably
described by the Economist as “a smuggling racket with a patch of land
attached” – as unfairly divided between Russia and Georgia, and support the
former in its own interventionist policies against Georgia. Meanwhile,
foreign Islamic groups trained in Chechnya and Dagestan have penetrated
“pro-Western” Azerbaijan, and are starting to agitate for the overthrowing
of the state. And the list goes on.
That said, America’s pride and joy for “regional stability” – the BTC
pipeline – has a better chance of emerging as a gigantic target for various
groups of malcontents. In an appropriately titled article called “The
Pipeline from Hell,” Antiwar.com’s Justin Raimondo draws a likely conclusion
of this “strategic investment”:
“If American oil companies are due to make mega-profits in the Caspian
region, then the U.S. military will be doing guard duty along every inch of
the BTC pipeline, ensuring ‘stability’ in a land of nomadic herders and
exporting ‘democracy’ to a region formerly ruled by pashas, sultans, and
various and sundry dictators.”
Yet while it is true that this new asset will increase the US military
commitment to the region, it is also probable that the job of providing
“security” for the pipeline will also be taken over by various local lords
and chieftans along the route – some of whom, like the recently reactivated
Kurdish rebels in Turkey, might ask a price for their cooperation that is
exceedingly high. Unfortunately, the “or else” clause is likely to become a
part of the vocabulary of all such local security providers. America and its
Western co-investors are likely to be in for an expensive and all-consuming
headache, rather than a neat global solution to their energy and security
needs.
And this is just considering the largely subjugated “South” Caucasus. How
much more can these headaches be compounded, if you consider a post-Russian
“North” Caucasus, characterized by tiny and volatile statelets run by
dueling local chieftans, most of them under some variant of Islamic law? Are
the democracy proliferators of the ACPC prepared for what they are about to
get in a post-Russia Caucasus? While they hate Russia’s perceived
interventionism in the Caucasus, they fail to consider what the ensuing
power vacuum will look like, deprived of all counterbalancing forces.
A Sobering Conclusion
In the end, there is a comparison to be made here with another
neocon-inspired war. Back in March 2003, when America’s invasion of Iraq
began, syndicated columnist Charley Reese drolly congratulated the American
people on their imminent “adoption” of 22 million Iraqi citizens. We’ve now
seen just how much the Iraqi inheritance has benefited America. The worst
thing about the situation in the Caucasus is that no one, not even the
enthusiastic expansionist leadership, is aware of what they will be
inheriting there.
Yet as Gabriel Kolko predicted in Another Century of War?, America’s
resources are not unlimited. Heavily in debt, with foreign nations funding
43 percent of its wars, and unable to react to simple natural disasters at
home, it is clear that the imperial ambitions of the neocons are simply
neither sustainable nor realistic. The desire to replace Russia as imperial
power in the Caucasus is a case in point.
In short, there are no indications that America has the resources, will or
intelligence to “manage” this convoluted region any better than the Russians
have. In fact, they will likely do much worse – Russia, at least, had the
benefits of geographical proximity, thousands of years of intermingled
cultures, a long-term institutional presence, etc. America has none of
these. Its pretensions to rulership are largely based on the airy platitudes
of armchair strategists in Washington, who have little or no appreciation
for the local realities on the ground, counting on abstract values to see
them through.
In the end, the American supporters of expanding the empire to the Caucasus
should be careful what they wish for. They have yet to show an interest in
reading Russia’s will, though the document is right in front of their eyes.
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