ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER TO VISIT ESTONIA
Baltic News Service
September 7, 2005
Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan is scheduled to arrive
in Estonia today on what will be the first ever visit by a defense
minister of Armenia here.
In the course of the visit a cooperation memorandum between the
two countries will be signed, spokespeople for the Estonian Defense
Ministry said.
Sargsyan and his Estonian counterpart, Jaak Joeruut, are to discuss
developments related to the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan
(IPAP) for Armenia and opportunities for bilateral defense cooperation
in the future.
Also to be dealt with are the reforms of defense forces under way
in the two countries and Armenia’s and Estonia’s participation in
international peacekeeping operations. Other topics include regional
cooperation, spokespeople for the Estonian ministry said.
On Thursday morning, Sargsyan will meet with Estonia’s Chief of Staff
Alar Laneman, after which he will proceed to the southern city of
Tartu to visit the Baltic Defense College and meet its chief Algis
Vaiceliunas.
The memorandum of understanding dealing with defense cooperation
between Estonia and Armenia will be signed at the Estonian Defense
Ministry Friday morning, to be followed by a meeting with the chairman
of the Estonian parliament’s defense committee, Toivo Tootsen.
The Armenian minister will also visit the Armenian church in Tallinn
to meet with representatives of Estonia’s ethnic Armenian community.
He will leave Estonia Friday afternoon.
In 2005, Estonia is the chairman of the forum of countries providing
defense assistance to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Sargsyan and Latvian Defense Minister Einars Repse signed an
agreement about defense cooperation between Armenia and Latvia in
Riga on Tuesday.

ASHULUK SETS RECORDS
by Major Andrei Sobolevsky
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 7, 2005, Wednesday
SOURCE: Vo Slavu Rodiny (the newspaper of the Belarusian Defense
Ministry), September 3, 2005, p. EV
COMBAT TRAINING
(…) The exercise conducted by Belarus units during Combat
Commonwealth-2003 was more spectacular. Tajik and Armenian units did
not cope with their tasks and Belarus missile units had to intercept
their targets. (…) The first missile hit the Strizh target. The
second hit its burning fragments in a second. The 302nd missile
brigade produced an impression on observers – it shot down targets,
which simulated cruise missiles, from the Osa anti-aircraft complex.
This year the exercise was not as spectacular. The exercise was
conducted without surprises. The crews detected their targets and
destroyed them. No emergencies happened because servicemen prepared
for the exercise properly. (…)
Belarus crews did not have problems at all, which testifies to
high professionalism of defenders of the sky. They shared their
experience with their counterparts from the CIS. Officers of the
battalion commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Fedotov (the 115th
anti-aircraft missile brigade) trained the Tajik crew of the S-125
anti-aircraft complex. It should be noted that Armenian crews coped
with combat tasks using military hardware prepared by specialists of
the 15th missile brigade.
(…) This contributed to the prestige of the Belarus anti-aircraft
school. Belarus crews did the major part of preparatory work.
There was one more aspect. The crews conducted an exercise with combat
shooting on the eve of tactical episodes of the third stage of the
CIS anti-aircraft system. Russian counterparts proposed Belarus crews
to intercept the Pishal target. The target was created on the basis of
the S-125 missile. It simulates a ground-to-ground operational-tactical
missile. It should be noted that before the crews intercepted only 40%
of such targets (the crews used the S-300P anti-aircraft complex).
There was a risk to miss the target. However, Lieutenant-General
Oleg Paferov, Commander-in-Chief of the Air and Anti-Aircraft Force,
decided to shoot. (…) The experimental exercise would help the
crews uncover their weak points.
The first missile was launched at the Pishal target by the battalion
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Zhikharevich. By the way, the
battalion failed to intercept the first target because of a technical
problem. (…) The unit had to intercept a more difficult target in
order to rehabilitate itself. The battalion coped with this task.
The unit coped with the task thanks to its experience and regular
training. In particular, Russian pilots who checked the reliability
of Belarus units on duty simulated a real air attack. Colonel Sergei
Lemeshevsky, commander of the exercise, said that there were around
40 targets in the air. Many targets flew at a low altitude. This was
the most difficult attack in the history of Belarusian anti-aircraft
units. Belarusian servicemen passed this test!
Lieutenant-General Oleg Paferov, Comander-in-Chief of the Auir and
Anti-Aircraft Force, noted that he is satisfied with the results of
the exercise. (…) Belarusian anti-aircraft units will have to pass
a more difficult test in 2006. They will participate in an exercise
of the operational-tactical command involving aviation.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO SET UP A COMMITTEE TO OBSERVE TRIAL OF PAMUK
Turkish Press, MI
Aug 7 2005
STRASBOURG – The European Parliament will set up a committee to
observe trial of Orhan Pamuk, a prominent Turkish writer.
The proposal was made by MPs, who are members of the European wing
of the Joint Parliamentary Commission, the consultative organ between
the European Parliament and the Turkish parliament.
The committee to be formed by European MPs will observe trial of Pamuk,
and convey its views to the European Parliament with a report.
Pamuk is accused of denigrating Turkey and Turkish people as he said
in an interview with a Swiss journalist that 1 million Armenians and
30 thousand Kurds were killed.
If convicted, Pamuk can face 6 months up to 3 years in prison.
The trial will start at the Basic Criminal Court no: 2 in Istanbul
on December 16th, 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARINC SENDS LETTERS TO 16 PARLIAMENT SPEAKERS
Turkish Press, MI
Aug 7 2005
ANKARA – Turkish Parliament Bulent Arinc sent letters to his
counterparts in 16 countries which has adopted resolutions on the
so-called Armenian genocide allegations.
In the letters he sent to the speakers of parliaments of Switzerland,
Poland, Slovakia, Lebanon, Canada, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, France,
the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Uruguay, Sweden, Russian Federation
and Venezuela, Arinc said, “we have nothing to hide or be ashamed in
our history.”
He expressed sorrow and disappointment about adoption of resolutions
accusing Turkey of carrying out a genocide, and said, “it is
unacceptable that the history be used as a tool for political
intentions that can cause prejudice against Turkey and Turkish nation.”
“Turkey has always argued that disputable chapters of history should
be assessed by historians, and therefore, has opened its archives
to all researchers. Recently, Turkey has proposed Armenia to form a
group composed by Turkish and Armenian historians who can examine
developments and incidents happened in 1915 within the related
archives. Turkey also proposed that this group should make public
the results of its researches,” indicated Arinc.
Arinc stated that national parliaments were not the places where
decisions on historical events can be taken, and added that parliaments
should in fact exert efforts to create and improve atmosphere of
friendship and cooperation among countries and peoples.

BRILLIANT SUCCESS ACHIEVED BY VAHE MUSOYAN IN THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIAD IN INFORMATICS
Azad-Hye, United Arab Emirates
Sept 7 2005
The 17th annual International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) took place
in Poland in August 2005 with the participation of about 270 school
children from 72 countries. According to the regulations students up
to 20 years old (who have been in school at least for the last six
months) can participate.
During its 10 years of participation Armenia for the first time
achieved gold medal. Vahe Musoyan was the star of the team and he
succeeded in gathering 511 units out of a total of 600.
Is one medal enough? Based on the regulations some 12 percent of the
participants get gold medals, which amounts to a total of 24 medals.
Each country has the right to participate with four contestants,
regardless of its size. There are countries, such as China, USA,
Russia and Republic of Korea, etc, that aspire to get gold medals for
all their four participants. In those countries favorable conditions
have been set to meet the requirements of the contestants, through
organizing training sessions, granting University admissions and the
least to say by enjoying facilities, such as training locations and
the opportunity to meet other people and to diversify their knowledge
and abilities.
Having in mind the above mentioned basic requirements we can consider
Vahe Musoyan’s gold medal as a great achievement.
Does this medal reflect the level of the Informatics as a subject
taught in Armenian schools? Armen Andreasyan, the head of the Armenian
delegation answers in one word: NO. Read More
He says to , “the medal is the result of the talent,
abilities and the efforts of Vahe Musoyan himself. He has aimed to get
this medal through had work for the last four years, getting every year
better in solving algorithmic problems. He has already participated
in the Olympiads for the last three times acquiring two bronze medals”
(see last year’s correspondence in our website).
Mr. Armen Andreasyan has been training the Armenian team in the
special school call Kvant for the last 3 and half years. He says that
unfortunately the subject of Informatics is neglected in Armenian
schools. The number of teachers is not enough and the knowledge base
of the existing ones is not sufficient. Informatics is not one of the
subjects required to enter University. Therefore it has been pushed
away from the main stream subjects.
On the question, why the other participants did not get medals, Mr.
Andreasyan admits that results of the other members of the team were
below the expectations and they should be considered to be low. Vahe
Gulyan for example gathered 240 units, which were not enough to get
a bronze medal. Armen Mnatsakanyan scored 228 units. The reason seems
to be the level of the preparation. In many countries special summer
sessions take place to develop the abilities of the students. There are
Olympiad centers, summer and winter courses, internet training sites,
but in Armenia these conditions are available only in few places.
There is another problem. The participants of the International
Olympiad of Informatics in Armenia have two choices: either to
prepare themselves to University entry level general examinations or
to devote their time to IOI trainings. It is becoming hard to achieve
good results in both. Therefore those who are opting for the first
one are not finding enough time to train for the Olympiad and are
consequently scoring humble results.
We congratulate the Armenian team and their training teacher and hope
that this year’s achievement will inspire them all to have better
results next year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHICH DIRECTOR WOULD MAKE THE BETTER GODFATHER?: EGOYAN V. CRONENBERG
by J. Kelly Nestruck, National Post
National Post (Canada)
September 8, 2005 Thursday
Toronto Edition
At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, two of Canada’s
top directing dynamos are facing off. Atom Egoyan’s Where the Truth
Lies and David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence are both getting gala
presentations, and the men behind them are vying for the (unofficial)
title of Greatest Canadian Director at the Festival After Deepa Mehta.
The timid critics are quiet as to who is the better filmmaker, but
the Canadian people aren’t shy about saying what’s what. Each day
during the festival, we will show three filmgoers pictures of Atom
and David and ask them to choose. In the end, there will only be one
dude standing (behind Deepa).
Today’s question: Which of these two men would you rather be the
godfather to your child?
Location: Outside the SilverCity movie theatre at Yonge and Eglinton.
– Meghan, a 24-year-old publicist, chose Atom. “He looks younger. His
hair isn’t going grey, and he looks more friendly. This other guy
looks kind of scary. Skeleton-like.”
– Edie, a psychologist, chose David. “Probably it’s because he’s
older, and older people tend to be godfather types. I don’t think
I’d pick either one, really. You think about godfather attributes,
like caring and responsible. I think they’re very creative, but …”
– Beata, mother of Patrick, 2, and Eryk, 9 months, chose Atom. “He
looks younger. He looks like he would be bigger fun to play with for
my children.”
Winner of Round 1: Atom Egoyan. The lean, mean Armenian takes an
early lead thanks to youthful good looks and a fun-lovin’ attitude
that bowl the ladies over. Lock him up, Arsinee, or he may end up
with a gaggle of “god”children!
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GREEK PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT RECALLING 1955 RIOTS ATTACKED IN ISTANBUL
Agence France Presse — English
September 6, 2005 Tuesday 9:24 PM GMT
Ultra-nationalist Turkish militants attacked an exhibit in Istanbul
of rare photographs of violent anti-Greek incidents that occurred in
the city 50 years ago, ripping photos off the walls and throwing eggs
at the display.
Shouting “Turkey is Turkish and will stay that way,” the assailants
burst into the exhibit on its opening night, scuffling with the guests.
Riot police arrived and roughly rounded up the militants, arresting
three of them, police said.
“I’m merely defending my country,” one militant told AFP.
Serious riots that broke out in Istanbul on the night of September 6,
1955, led to looting in Greek neighborhoods and the destruction of
many of the city’s churches and synagogues.
More than 5,000 shops belonging to the Greek minority were looted
by an emotional crowd of several thousand people reacting to rumors
of a bomb attack at the birthplace of the founder of modern Turkey,
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Salonika, northern Greece.
The army had to intervene to quell the violence.
Turkey is officially 99 percent Muslim. Its 45,000 Armenians, 35,000
Jews, 20,000 Syrians and 4,000 Greek Orthodox faithful live primarily
in Istanbul.
Known as Constantinople under Greece’s last great empire, Istanbul
remains the seat of the Eastern Orthodox patriarchate, the highest
authority in the Orthodox world.

CZECHS CRUISE PAST ARMENIA 6:0
Reuters
Aug 8 2005
Jan Polak scored twice to lead the Czech Republic to a 4-1 win over
Armenia in their World Cup Group One qualifier overnight.
The Czechs, who have 24 points from 10 games, leapfrogged Romania
(22 points) into second place in the table.
Marek Heinz opened the scoring for the Czechs in the 47th minute
when his shot from 18 metres took a deflection off Armenia defender
Sargis Hovsepjan.
Polak struck five minutes later when his 25-metre drive took another
ricochet before finding the back of the net.
Milan Baros made it 3-0 when he swept home Jan Koller’s rebound in
the 58th minute before Polak notched his second with 14 minutes left.
Ara Hakobian pulled a goal back for Armenia in the 85th minute.
“We only started to play after the break. In the first half, we were
like Sleeping Beauty,” Czech coach Karel Bruckner told reporters.
The Czechs needed maximum points after a 2-0 defeat by Romania on
Saturday.
“If we could have got ahead, the Czechs would have had a very
difficult task. But after they scored the second goal, it was pretty
well decided,” said Armenia’s Dutch coach Henk Wisman.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CZECH REPUBLIC 4 ARMENIA 1
Sportinglife.com, UK
Aug 8 2005
Czech Republic maintained the pressure on Group One leaders Holland
on Wednesday night with an emphatic defeat of Armenia in Olomouc.
The Czechs ran out comfortable winners despite a poor first-half
performance.
They picked up the tempo after the break though and cruised into
a 4-0 lead thanks to goals from Marek Heinz and Milan Baros and a
double from Jan Polak.
Ara Hakobyan grabbed a late consolation but the Czechs had already
done enough.
Without influential playmaker Tomas Rosicky through injury, the home
side struggled to find any fluency in the early stages with several
passes going astray.
They still dominated possession, Heinz forcing visiting keeper Roman
Berezovsky into an early save and Baros mis-hitting his effort from
in front of goal.
But Armenia held their own for the opening half-hour and even had
the best chance of the first period.
Hakobyan robbed Tomas Galasek on the halfway line and ran unopposed
to the Czech penalty area only for home keeper Jaromir Blazek to
block his shot with his legs.
It was a rare foray forward for Armenia and their attacking threat
dried up completely after the break with substitute Vladimir Smicer
proving dangerous down the right following his introduction.
Smicer almost made an immediate impact but Berezovsky blocked his shot
while Tomas Ujfalusi came close to giving the hosts the lead with a
clever lob which Robert Arzumanyan did well to head off his own line.
The Czechs finally made the breakthrough after 48 minutes, Heinz’s
volley deflecting off Armenia skipper Sargis Hovsepjan and into
the net.
Luck deserted the visitors again four minutes later when Berezovsky
was undone by another deflection, this time off Karen Dokhoyan,
which allowed Polak’s shot to find the net.
Baros made it 3-0 after 58 minutes, tapping in after Berezovsky saved
a Jan Koller header, and Polak capped a fine individual display by
hammering home from long range 18 minutes later.
Hakobyan netted from close range with five minutes to go.
Teams
Czech Republic: Blazek, Grygera, Polak, Galasek, Poborsky, Koller,
Skacel (Smicer 46), Baros (Jun 80), Heinz, Ujfalusi, Rozehnal
(Sivok 70).
Subs Not Used: Kinsky, Zelenka, Hubschman, Pospech.
Goals: Heinz 47, Polak 52, Baros 58, Polak 76.
Armenia: Berezovsky, Hovsepyan, Arzumanian, Dokhoyan, Tadevosian
(Melikian 64), Valeri Aleksanian, Khachatryan (Tigranyan 71),
Karen Aleksanian, Mkrtchian, Aram Hakobian (Artur Petrosian 57),
Ara Hakobian.
Subs Not Used: Kasparov, Baghdarasian, Voskanian, Voskanyan.
Booked: Tadevosian, Hovsepyan.
Goals: Ara Hakobian 86.
Att: 12,015
Ref: Martin Hansson (Holmsjo).

CBA STARTED WORKING ON SOVEREIGN RATING OF ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency
Sept 7 2005
YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA)
started working on the sovereign rating of the country, Chairman of
the CBA Tigran Sargsyan told journalists. He reported that receiving
of the sovereign rating will create a new environment in Armenia not
only for local, but also for foreign investors. To reach this goal
the CBA has already applied to the IMF for technical assistance. “We
should conduct joint work to make it possible for Armenia to receive
a sovereign rating, which will create more favorable conditions for
the Armenian commercial banks, which also will be able to receive
their ratings” , Sargsyan said. He also reported that currently the
Armenian banks have some problems in cooperation with foreign partners
due to the lack of such international rating. A.A. -0–