Civil Georgia
April 29 2005

ELEVENTH UNITED NATIONS CONGRESS ON CRIME PREVENTION WRAPPED ITS
SESSON
[April 29, 2005, 15:59:24]

Greatly concerned by the expansion and dimensions of transnational
organized cime, terrorism and any existing links between them and by
the increasing sophistication and diversification of the activities
of organized criminal groups, the Eleventh United Nations Congress on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on April 25 unanimously adopted
the `Bangkok Declaration’, addressing those matters, as well as
issues such as trafficking in human beings, money-laundering,
corruption, `cybercrime’, restorative justice, and the root causes of
crime.

According to that Declaration, entitled `Synergies and Responses:
Strategic Alliances in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice’, Member
States reaffirmed their readiness to seek to improve international
cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism at the
multilateral, regional and bilateral levels, in areas including
extradition and mutual legal assistance. They also sought to ensure
national capacity to engage in international cooperation, in
particular in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and
adjudication of transnational organized crime and terrorism and in
discovering any existing links between them.

The Congress also called on all States that had not yet done so to
ratify and implement the provisions of the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols and the
United Nations Convention against Corruption. It further called upon
donor States and financial institutions to continue to make adequate
voluntary contributions for the provision of technical assistance to
developing countries and countries with economies in transition in
order to help them build capacity to prevent and tackle crime, to
apply the United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and
criminal justice and implement the aforementioned conventions and the
international drug control conventions.

The Azerbaijani delegation led by minister of justice Fikret Mammadov
has partake in the session. Speaking at the Congress Fikret Mammadov
has informed on crime prevention in Azerbaijan, fighting drug
trafficking and corruption. He has also talks about the Armenian
terrorism and it’s terror act against Azerbaijan’s population, as
well as aggression by Armenia in result which had been occupying 20
percent of Azerbaijan’s territories and about violation of
Azerbaijani refugee’s rights by the aggressor.

Text of minister’s speech was disseminated amongst the Congress
participants.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Civil Georgia
April 29 2005

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE UN FAO
[April 29, 2005, 15:58:41]

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received today
Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization Jacques Diouf and accompanying delegation.

He expressed satisfaction with FAO’s expanding activities in
Azerbaijan, and confidence that the visit by the organization’s
delegation to Baku would serve enhancing of bilateral cooperation.

Touching on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the Azerbaijani leader
highly appreciated the aid provided by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization to over a million refugees and IDPs from the conflict
with Armenia.

UN FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf has confirmed that the
organization has expanded its activities in Azerbaijan taking
concrete steps towards rendering aid to the refugees and IDPs. He let
the President know that his organization is preparing a plan of
actions to assist Azerbaijan in development of other spheres
including agriculture and farming. Mr. Diouf finally expressed
confidence in further deepening of cooperation between Azerbaijan and
the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Turkish Press
April 29 2005

Press Review
AKSAM

TUZMEN: `IF ARMENIA ENDS ITS AZERBAIJAN OCCUPATION AND GENOCIDE
CLAIMS, THEN WE CAN TRADE WITH IT’

State Minister Kursat Tuzmen and Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said
yesterday that if Armenia wants to establish trade ties, then first
it should end its occupation in Azerbaijan and its genocide claims.
Speaking at a ceremony for the modernization of the Cilvegozu Border
Gate into Syria, Tuzmen said that if Armenia pulls its troops out of
Azerbaijan then the border gate between Turkey and Armenia could be
opened. /Aksam/

Turkish Press
April 29 2005

The Double Standard

BY SAMI KOHEN

MILLIYET- Hurriyet’s headline yesterday read: `The Paris Criteria.’
Below the headline was a detailed account of how the French police
attacked and beat a group of high school students two weeks ago. The
French press almost succeeded in covering up the beatings, but thanks
to Choc magazine, the scandal was made public. Strangely enough,
neither France nor the European Union has made any explanation of the
incident. However, when the Turkish police beat several demonstrators
in Istanbul back on March 6, the EU wasted no time criticizing
Turkey. The difference between how the EU reacted to the incident in
Istanbul and how it reacted to Paris shows clearly the double
standard applied to Turkey by the EU. It’s our right to criticize
such a scandal, but we should also work hard to prevent such things
from happening in our own country.

Turkey’s Secretary-General for EU Relations Murat Sungar yesterday
made interesting remarks at a conference on Turkish-EU relations
organized by Dogus University. Sungar said that Turkey’s membership
talks aren’t always centered on the Armenian and Cyprus issues, that
there are other things discussed in the negotiation process, such as
educational, financial, and environmental reforms.

If we don’t want to stray from our path to EU membership, we must
focus on how we can perform all these in addition to political
reforms.

Turkish Press
April 29 2005

Kocharian’s Letter And The So-called Genocide

BY MUSTAFA KARAALIOGLU

YENI SAFAK- No problem can be resolved by ignoring it. All foreign
policy problems have a shelf life. Just as a resolution is now
inevitable on Cyprus after 30 years of deadlock, Turkey will also
have to face up to the Armenians sooner or later.

Facing up doesn’t necessarily mean accepting, approving or submitting
to the other side’s demands. In this case, facing up refers to
finding a solution to a problem which could block Turkey’s way to the
European Union.

Let’s take a glance at the thorny issues between the two countries:
Yerevan’s so-called genocide allegations, and Armenia’s occupation of
Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Official contacts between Ankara and Yerevan are so few that the
recent correspondence between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
Armenian President Robert Kocharian might be seen as diplomatic
sparring. Kocharian responded to Erdogan’s letter, which offered to
establish a joint commission to debate Armenia’s so-called genocide
allegations.

In brief, Kocharian proposed establishing relations between the two
countries without any preconditions. However, his letter said nothing
about the genocide allegations.

To Yerevan, establishing diplomatic relations with Ankara and opening
its border gate are very important. Turkey is a profitable getaway
for this isolated country. So, Armenia’s demand for trade with Turkey
can be used as a trump card during possible negotiations on the
so-called genocide claims. However, this can’t be as useful as we
hope. As a matter of fact, the Armenian public relations campaign has
superiority in the international community. In other words, they have
managed to convince nearly all countries that there was a `genocide.’
Therefore, they can’t and won’t retreat from this position.
Accordingly, for Yerevan, it wouldn’t be reasonable to discuss the
issue with historians.

To Ankara, establishing relations with Armenia wouldn’t be as easy as
it hopes because this issue is directly related to the cost of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project. We’ll be in trouble if we
establish contact with Yerevan despite the fact that Azerbaijan’s
territories are occupied by Armenia.

Nonetheless, if Turkey manages to improve its relations with Armenia,
this would of course blunt the impact of the Armenian anti-Turkish
propaganda, paving the way for a more advantageous EU platform.
However, the first step that Yerevan must take is to withdraw its
troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words, Armenian should make
the first move if it really wants to boost its relations with Turkey.
And the only country that could force Yerevan to make this move is
the United States, not the European Union or any other bloc.

Turkish Press
April 29 2005

Nationalist hysteria covers-up US cooperation

29/04/2005 Bianet.org

In spite of discrepancies regarding US occupation of Iraq, Ankara
inks military agreement of USD 1.1 billion value with Washington for
upgrading 117 war planes. “Ankara covers up collaboration with the
aggressor with manipulated nationalism” critics say.

BIA (Istanbul) – Military agreement with the US of USD 1.1 billion
dollar value for the modernization of 117 Turkish air force F-16 war
planes, sparks public debate regarding Turkey’s strategic relations.

Filiz Koçali, head of the Socialist Democracy Party skeptically
points out the coincidence of the recent surge of nationalist
hysteria and the military agreements concluded with the US.

`Whilst public attention was channeled into the ongoing nationalism
frenzy, first the government decree providing broader US use of the
southern Incirlik air base is was issued to be followed by the F-16
upgrading agreement.

`A mutual trade-off: Bush refrains from pronouncing the word
`Armenian genocide’, and gets Incirlik and 1,1 billion in return’.

A joint US-Turkish military installation in the Incirlik district of
the Southern town of Adana, Incirlik air base has been a major US
facility during the Cold War. Its operation for major military
undertakings, by a 1979 `Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement’
(DECA) between the US and Turkey, is conditioned with special Turkish
parliament decisions. Turkish parliament in March 2002 refused
involvement in the US war on Iraq, thus closing Incirlik base for US
air force flights directed at Iraq.

A recent Turkish government decree, introducing a more liberal
interpretation of the DECA, provides legal framework for broader
usage of the base for US forces operating in Iraq.

Some analysts, like Koçali, are of the opinion that, the abrupt
upsurge of nationalist hysteria across the country, particularly
after official denouncement by Chief of Staff General Hilmi Özkök of
burning of a Turkish flag during, the Kurdish New Year, Newroz
celebrations by kids in the Mediterranean port city of Mersin has
distracted public attention from fundamental issues.

Military analyst Serdar Sen is of the opinion that the recent
tightening of ties with the US should be interpreted within the Bush
government’s scheme of `Cooperation for a Mutual Future and Progress
for the Extended Middle East and the North Africa’ (CMFPEMENA).

Formerly dubbed as `Greater Middle East’ project the initiative was
designated by the Bush government as a reply to the 9/11 events for
`introducing peace and democracy’ to the Muslim world, then
reassessed to include North Africa as well.

Meanwhile, Cengiz Aktar an expert on the European Union integration
process, says that the relations between Turkey and the US cannot be
viewed in the same context since the beginning of negotiations with
the European Union for membership.

Strategic attitudes never changed!

Recalling that the Turkish Armed Forces’ modernization continues for
some time now, Sen believes that a recent speech by Gen. Özkök at the
Military Academy provides significant insight for Ankara’s attitudes.
Sen affirms that Turkey assumes a vital role in the `Greater Middle
East’ scheme and the claims that Turkey was giving the cold shoulder
to the US is nullified with Özkök’s latest speech.

`When we levy the main theme of the speech, we can say that Turkey is
moving ahead towards globalization through regionalism. This firmly
fits the US strategy of the Greater Middle East project. The US,
through this strategy via the military reinvents its historical
relations with Turkey once more.

If Turkey is to become the `fairy tale land’…

For Turkey to become a strong country asserting its might in the
Middle East and Caucasus, `its military infrastructure must be
complete and made comprehensive’ says Sen, and adds, `If Turkey is
going to be the fairy tale land anticipated in the project, it will
require such mighty infantry’.

Sen points out that CMFPEMENA project is not totally `peaceful’, but
foresees a certain dose of conflict. He views this dose as mostly
`armed deterrence’, but not war. According to Sen’s point of view,
Turkey is the most suitable candidate for warding off possible
threats in the framework of its new defense plan, which the US
formulates as a remedy for combating terrorism and security issues.

Underlining Turkey’s role in the process of integrating Syria and
Iran to the world market, Sen says that `If this course of action
cannot succeed as planned, the use of force might come into the
agenda. Hence, the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces might
have critical importance in intervening to a possible chaos arising
in the Caucasus and the Caspian region’.

There are no problems between the US and Turkey

The leader of the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP) Filiz Koçali states
that the `The course of events shows that, just as the Chief of Staff
Özkök says, we do not have any problems in our relations with the
United States.

`First the government decree on Incirlik is issued, and now the F-16
issue is on the agenda. This is mutual trade-off. In return for
opting out of saying the word `Armenian genocide’, Bush gets Incirlik
base and 1,1 billion dollars’.

In Koçali’s perspective, Turkey does not stick to peaceful policies
in neither its domestic nor foreign policy.

`There are secret agreements between Turkey and the US. For example,
the Incirlik decree will not be published in the Official Gazette.
Among the topics these secret handshakes concern, there is not only
Armenian question, but the Kurdish one as well. We demand such
clandestine agreements become public’.

Turkey cannot step back from the EU path

“The relations between Turkey and the US, which commenced in 1918,
could not continue along the same trail, as negotiations with the
European Union began in 1999.

If Turkey would retain its position a prime US ally, it would not
have gained the support of the European countries. The EU would not
tolerate another Britain within its boundaries’ analyzes the European
Union integration process expert Cengiz Aktar.

Articulating that Turkey must have another look at its foreign policy
priorities, Aktar appraises that the US is not a country that one can
ignore. However, Turkey must maintain fine balances between the two
foremost sources of global power he believes.

In Aktar’s opinion, the new circumstances arising out of Incirlik and
the modernization of F-16’s, are of a `tactical’ not a `strategic’
nature. Turkey does not have strong arguments for shifting towards
any other target than the European Union membership, he told bianet.

In reply to the question regarding Turkey’ presumed role in the
Greater Middle East project and prospective increase in its military
strength, Aktar says: `Could Turkey ever have uphold its political
and economical stability by such policies in its history? How can it
do so now? The Turkish Armed Forces and successive governments must
have realized this reality by now’.

Arms purchases from Israel

In the wake of the F-16 modernization agreement of USD 1,1 billion
dollar value with the US, Turkey is reported to conclude a USD 200
million dollar accord with Israel for purchasing unmanned war planes.
The agreement will reportedly be signed by Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan in May when he pays an official visit to this country.
(AK/EÜ/EK/SAÖ/YE)

BIA News Center

National Review Online, NY
April 29 2005

April Diary
Holding a grudge, the joys of computing, etc.

Holding paper. News item: `Hundreds of Armenian-Americans gathered in
Times Square yesterday to observe the 90th anniversary of the 1915
Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million people died at the hands of
the Ottoman Turkish empire. They demanded that the mass
extermination, which they say served as a model for Hitler’s `final
solution,’ finally be acknowledged by Turkey.’

That, as readers of The Corner will know, is called `holding paper.’
The Armenians are certainly entitled to hold paper on the Turks in re
the appalling 1915 massacres, as are the Irish on the British, the
Chinese on the Japanese, and so on. Paper-holding-wise, though, this
is penny-ante stuff. For really tenacious holding of paper, nobody
can come close to the Jews. In the course of an e-conversation on the
topic, Noah Millman sent me this:

Parshat Zachor is read the Sabbath before Purim each year (which this
year is in late March). The section ends as follows: `Deuteronomy
25:17-19 `17. Remember what Amalek did to you by the way, when you
came forth out of Egypt;
`18. How he met you by the way, and struck at your rear, all who were
feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and they did not
fear God.

`19. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest
from all your enemies around, in the land which the Lord your God
gives you for an inheritance to possess, that you shall blot out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget it.’

Amalek was a tribe that dwelt in the Sinai and Negev desert during
Mosaic times (about 3500 years ago according to the traditional
dating). So we’re already talking about holding a grudge for a very,
very long time.

But the interesting thing is that 2000 years ago or so the rabbis
concluded that the mitzvah of wiping the nation of Amalek off the
earth was no longer operative because Amalek no longer existed as
such; all the nations of ancient Canaan were, they said, mixed
together during the Babylonian exile of 2500 years ago, and so now
there was no way to distinguish Amalek from anyone else – or even
from Israel! NONETHELESS, even though it is impossible to perform the
mitzvah, the mitzvah remains, and we are obliged to remember never to
forget to blot out the name of Amalek, because of what they did to us
in the desert.

So the Jews bear the following distinction: We are under a RELIGIOUS
OBLIGATION to hold a 3500 year-old grudge against a group of people
WHO DON’T EVEN EXIST ANYMORE.

Now that is holding paper.

PRESS RELEASE

April 29, 2005

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576

Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]

AUA Hosts Human Rights Legal Expert Dr. Alfred de Zayas

Yerevan – On April 22, 2005, AUA’s School of Political Science and
International Affairs hosted a public lecture by Dr. Alfred de Zayas,
historian and prominent expert in international and human rights law,
entitled “International Law and the Armenian Genocide.’

Dr. Alfred de Zayas, who has had a distinguished career spanning 20 years in
the United Nations, and in his most recent position was the Senior Human
Rights Officer at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights from
2000 to 2003, has published an in-depth report on the applicability of the
United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide to the Armenian Genocide.

According to Zayas, a determination of the crime of Genocide by the
International Court of Justice would facilitate the settlement of claims for
restitution, including the identification of cultural and other properties
confiscated and destroyed…that should be returned to their legal owners, the
Armenian people and the Armenian Church.

`A first step is the necessary recognition by Turkey of the historical
reality of the Genocide and of its responsibility as the successor state to
the Ottoman Empire. For as long as Turkey persists in its policy of
negation, it has no place in the community of European States ‘ said Zayas.
`Laws do not get implemented by themselves. You need state organs to
implement them. In the International Court of Justice, those organs are the
European Union, the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, and
the United Nations.’ Dr. Zayas is currently a visiting professor of law at
universities in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Spain.

AUA’s Graduate School of Political Science and International Affairs offers
students a variety of courses dealing with the political environment of the
21st Century. The School’s primary focus is to provide analytical, reasoning
and problem solving skills through the study of international, comparative,
and domestic governmental institutions and processes. The Master of
Political Science and International Affairs aims to provide students with
the knowledge and perspectives needed to function effectively in public
service, the private sector and as responsible citizens.

*******************

The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit

Photo: Dr. Alfred de Zayas speaks at AUA.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Rockingham News, NH
April 29 2005

Gifts that shine

By Nancy Shuffleton
rockinghamnews@seacoastonline
Complete Business Index

PLAISTOW – Rafik Papalian didn’t want to be a jeweler when he was 9
years old and learning the trade by helping his father repair jewelry
in the basement of the Tehran, Iran, home where the Armenian
immigrant family had settled.
Fast forward 35 years through some dogged determination and
professional detours, and Papalian, a proud American citizen since
1983, is an example of the American dream as owner-operator of
Papalian’s Jewelry in Plaistow.

Papalian’s is a self-described full-service jeweler whose products
include diamond engagement rings; wedding rings; diamond earrings and
tennis bracelets; mother’s rings; men’s jewelry; fine gold jewelry;
and precious and semi-precious stone jewelry. One of his specialties
is custom jewelry and he can even create a piece from a photograph.
He also sells children’s jewelry, anniversary gifts and gifts
imported from Italy, as well as selling and repairing watches.

A certified gemologist, Papalian also does on-site jewelry repairs
and appraisals for estates and insurance. He can reset stones in new
or old rings, size rings and do engraving. Papalian also buys
jewelry, such as estate pieces, and works with customers who want to
trade in jewelry to upgrade. He either melts the pieces down and
remakes them into other pieces or sells them to customers or other
dealers.

Papalian estimates that about 50 percent of his business is in
engagement and wedding rings – many to professional athletes, with
about 20 percent in gifts, 20 percent in repairs, and 10 percent in
watch sales.

Papalian said that he works with manufacturers in New York City on
his custom pieces. He said that he has 4,000 to 5,000 jewelry molds
that he has designed, assigned an identification number, and placed
with New York manufacturers. He tweaks the various designs, adding or
subtracting details or stones, and then orders them. He usually
inserts the stones himself unless he feels another expert can do it
better.

For his diamond business, Papalian works with one factory in Israel
that he has worked with for 22 years. He said he makes “sure that
they all come with papers,” adding that 80 percent “could be
certified” and he “knows the cutters and where they come from.”

Papalian said he is proud that he has loyal, long-time customers who
he knows by name and that he is known for his service and his
honesty. He advises people shopping for jewelry to “make sure the
person behind the counter has knowledge … You are buying my
expertise at my store … Tell me what you want and I’ll go find it.”

The 1,250 square-foot shop includes a showroom in front, with a
workshop and offices in the back, all protected by an alarm system.

The shop is run by Papalian and three part-time employees, with some
help from his children around the Christmas holidays. Papalian said
he works in the shop about 40 hours a week, including specific
appointments, and balances the jewelry shop business with his family
and his growing real estate development success.

Papalian’s biography is the stuff of movies. He has come a long way
since he left his family in Iran, lived in Bombay, India, and London,
and entered the United States with an Iranian student visa and
backpack on July 2, 1977, at the age of 17. He recalls warmly the
older customs worker who processed him and asked where his baggage
was. Speaking very little English, Papalian answered nervously that
all he had was his backpack. The agent shook his hand and said,
“Welcome to the United States.”

He managed to complete high school in Haverhill, Mass., by paying his
tuition through pizza shop jobs and worked his way to an electrical
engineering degree from Lowell University. Several years later, an
uncle moved to California from Armenia to start a jewelry business.
Papalian moved there with his future wife to help. They married,
started their family of four children, and moved back to New
Hampshire four years later.

He opened a jewelry store in Haverhill but closed when it was robbed
several days later. He opened a variety store in Plaistow and started
doing jewelry repairs on the side. Eventually he rented the present
store and “we’ve had nothing but success since then.” Papalian said
that he opened in a “bad economy,” but that doesn’t “stop people who
buy jewelry … When we have 6 percent unemployment, that means 94
percent are working. I keep my expenses at a level where I’m
comfortable. I control my budget.”

Papalian said that the United States “is a wonderful country to come
to. I am first generation. I thank the country for the great
experience I have had. There have been some rocky roads, but I’m here
and I’m proud of what I’ve done.”

CollegeSports.com, NY
April 29 2005

Coming to America was a ‘culture shock’ to a few Cats

By Jennifer Jones Kentucky Kernel
Lexington, KY (U-WIRE) — Word definitely travels far.

Over the years, UK tennis players have carried the school’s
reputation across the world. And it is paying off now.

Diversity has become a major contribution to the men’s and women’s
tennis teams’ recent success, as there are now five international
players on the tennis team from all over the world.

UK men’s tennis head coach Dennis Emery said past tennis players
recommended the international players to him.

“I heard about them through word of mouth, followed them up, and
pursued them,” he said.

And he managed to persuade many to come to Lexington.

“They have filled some holes and made the team deeper,” he said.

Tigran Martirosyan is a senior from Yereven, Armenia, who transferred
from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He came to UK
because of the competitiveness of the Southeastern Conference and
because UK provides a good level of athletics.

“I wanted a successful career and to better my tennis skills,” he
said.

Martirosyan almost went to USC, but his coach from Loyola suggested
UK because of our facilities, academics and coaches.

“Moving to Kentucky was a culture shock for me. There was an Armenian
culture in Los Angeles, so I felt comfortable there,” he said.

Martirosyan also said that the move was nothing too big to overcome,
and he is glad he came for the experience.

This season, Martirosyan has teamed with doubles partner Jesse
Witten, and the two have been ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation
by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He and Witten knocked off
three top-10 opponents in the same week earlier this season.

Marcus Sundh, a freshman from Stockholm, Sweden, came to UK because
it is a good school for athletics and academics. He was offered other
scholarships to Utah and to Southern Methodist University in Dallas,
but Emery talked him into coming to Lexington.”The transition was not
too difficult because I left my family when I was sixteen to go to
tennis school, and I do get to go home for the summer,” Sundh said.

Aibika Kalsarieva, a senior from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, led the UK
women’s tennis team to its first SEC Championship this season. She
has also been named the school’s first SEC Player of the Year.

She said it was UK head coach Mark Guilbeau that drew her to campus.
He stayed interested in her while others turned away, and it got her
attention.

When she finally cleared all the academic hurdles to enroll in a
Division I school, he still wanted her, and she listened.

Kalsarieva said Guilbeau has been a positive influence, as he has
pushed her more than any other she has had in the past.

She has not been back to Kyrgyzstan since she came to America in
2000, and she said she still misses it.

Two other international players on the women’s team are Liis Sober, a
sophomore from Tallinn, Estonia, and Kim Coventry, a sophomore from
Melbourne, Australia.

Coventry came to UK because of the coaching staff, and because she
wanted to play on a team that had the potential to be in the top 10
in the nation.

“It was a difficult transition moving here, but I have great support
from my teammates and coaches, and I’m really enjoying it now,”
Coventry said.