Darchinyan retains flyweight title, looks to unify
By Anthony Cocks, Site Editor
Doghouse Boxing, Canada
Aug 25 2005
Pint-sized powerhouse Vic Darchinyan retained his IBF and IBO world
flyweight titles with an impressive 5th round stoppage of Columbian
Jair Jimenez at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night
on a d-Rush promoted card.
“I want to keep defending my title in Australia,” said Darchinyan, 24-0
(19), after the fight. “I do not want to fight overseas. Australia
is now my country and I need boxing fans to support me. We picked
Jimenez as a challenger because he is strong. I will defend my title
against top IBF challenger Damien Kelly in three months.”
Southpaw Darchinyan applied the pressure from the opening bell,
stalking Jimenez around the ring and throwing powerful shots to
the body and head. As the fight progressed it became more and more
one-sided, with the 29-year-old Armenian-born Australian punching
holes in Jimenez’s defence.
The beginning of the end came at the start of the 4th round when
a fusillade of Darchinyan punches punctuated by a left cross sent
Jimenez to the canvas. The 26-year-old challenger, who was making his
second attempt at a world crown after losing a majority decision to
Adonis Rivas for the WBO interim championship in 2002, never seemed
to fully recover but managed to survive the round.
The two-fisted assault continued in the 5th as Darchinyan set about
finishing off his foe. When Jimenez turned his back on Darchinyan
late in the round it was obvious that he didn’t want to continue,
prompting referee John Wright to wisely call a halt to the action at
2:23 of the round.
At the time of the stoppage Darchinyan was leading by five points on
two of the judges’ scorecards and six points on the other.
With the loss Jimenez falls to 22-5-1- (16).
This was Darchinyan’s second successful defence of his IBF title,
which he won by 11th round TKO of formerly undefeated Columbian Irene
Pacheco in December last year. In March Darchinyan annexed the IBO
title with an 8th round stoppage of South African Mzukisi Sikali.
Darchinyan’s next fight will be a mandatory defence of his IBF title
against Ireland’s Damaen Kelly. Providing he is successful, Darchinyan
plans on unifying against Venezuelan WBA champion Lorenzo Parra early
next year.
In the main support bout Billy Dib made short work of Ugandan Michael
Kizza, dropping him for the count at 2:29 of the 2nd round with a
solid right cross. Dib raises his record to 7-0 (5) and retains his IBO
Asia Pacific junior lightweight title, while Kizza falls to 19-6 (14).
Ahmed Elomar, 9-0 (3), dispatched Thailand’s Denchai Sor Tiebkoon,
1-1 (0), in the 2nd round at the official time of 2:17 to win the
vacant IBO Asia Pacific featherweight title.
Talented heavyweight Lawrence Tauasa, 21-4-1 (9), barely had a chance
to showcase his skills as he knocked out Fijian Fatu Tuimanono, 5-2
(4), at 1:24 of the 1st round.
Cruiserweight Adam Lovelock, 2-1 (0), outclassed Jarrad Treloar, 0-2
(0), to win a clear cut decision over four rounds by scores of 40-36
twice and 40-37.

DARCHINYAN VICTORY A SHOW OF PURE ‘CLASS’
By Adrian Warren
Sydney
The Age, Australia
August 26, 2005
JEFF Fenech yesterday rated Vic Darchinyan’s ruthless demolition of
challenger Jair Jiminez as the best performance of the world champion
flyweight’s career.
The Fenech camp is also confident Darchinyan’s mandatory defence
against Irishman Damaen Kelly will be held in Australia. Darchinyan’s
manager, Robert Joske, said the IBF had set an October 27 deadline
for the fight with the Belfast-based boxer.
The 29-year-old champion improved his professional record to 24-0
by taking just five rounds to demoralise Colombian Jiminez, the
ninth-ranked contender.
Trainer Fenech, who convinced Darchinyan to relocate to Australia
after representing Armenia at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, described
Wednesday night’s effort from his IBF and IBO champion as perfect.
“He was great … people don’t realise how good his opponent was,
and just how easy he handled him,” Fenech said. “He made the guy do
everything that he wanted. That’s a show of real class.
“I was very worried. I thought it was going to be our toughest fight.
I think it was his best one by far, especially because of the guy
that he fought. He didn’t rush. A lot of times he was behind the jab
and he brought him onto punches instead of doing what he always does.”
Advertisement AdvertisementAfter taking a two-week holiday in Armenia,
Darchinyan will resume training for his fight with Kelly, who has a
21-2 professional record. With the top two spots vacant, third-ranked
Kelly is the highest-ranked contender.
Kelly was the initial choice of opponent for Wednesday night’s fight,
but could not agree to terms with promoter William Takataka. “He
wanted too much money, he wanted more than the champion, so that’s
why we didn’t go ahead with that fight,” Takataka said.
Fenech and Takataka expect the fight will go to a purse bid and each
is confident the contest will take place in Australia. “I don’t think
they’ve got the money to take the fight there, I’m confident of having
it here,” Fenech said.
In Sydney tonight, world-ranked Nedal Hussein fights Australian
light-welterweight champion Mick Shaw for the vacant IBO
Intercontinental super-featherweight title and world-rated
light-heavyweight Jason DeLisle has an IBF Pan Pacific
light-heavyweight title defence against Argentinian Fernando Vera.

ARMENIA HANDS OVER AZERI CAPTIVE
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 25 2005
Armenia has released Azerbaijani serviceman it previously captured.
22-year-old warrant officer Ramin Khudaverdiyev was handed over
to Azerbaijan in the Gazakh district with the mediation of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday.
Khudaverdiyev, who immediately underwent a medical examination, is
currently in satisfactory condition, the Azerbaijan State Commission
on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons told AssA-Irada.
The Azeri officer was taken captive on August 3 after losing his way
in the Dashkasan district and accidentally entering a zone controlled
by Armenian forces.

PROGRESS IN TALKS PROVIDES NO GUARANTEES FOR PEACE ACCORD – ALIYEV
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Aug 25 2005
President Ilham Aliyev has made an unexpected statement concerning
the next round of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks on the Upper Garabagh
conflict resolution. “Peace talks have been fruitless. Therefore,
we should be ready for anything”, Aliyev said while visiting the
western Oghuz district on Thursday.
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are due to meet in Kazan, Russia
August 26. President Aliyev said that this situation prompts Azerbaijan
to further raise military expenses and thus increase its military
power compared to Armenia. Aliyev said, however, that Azerbaijan will
continue peace talks with Armenia. “As long as there is hope, we should
continue the negotiations.” The President said that the progress in
talks achieved thus far is important but provides no guarantees for
peace, as the parties ‘still have serious differences’. Aliyev noted
that the gist of the ‘Prague process’ is the stage-by-stage conflict
resolution, which envisions liberation of occupied land first and then
an accord between the two sides. “In the conditions of globalization
and enlargement of Europe, separatism cannot exist. Armenia will
face difficulties to live in a modern world with this burden.”
The President said that Armenia cites the safety of Armenian residents
of Upper Garabagh as the key issue in the talks, ‘but this cannot be at
the expense of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity’. Political scholar
Rasim Musabayov said that positive results are unlikely to be achieved
at the upcoming meeting of the two presidents in Russia. “The meeting
will not be any more important than the previous ones”, he said.
“I believe the chances for results at Kazan meeting are 50-50. It may
be fruitful or fruitless. The previous experience shows that the sides
tend to take final steps backward instead of forward when they reach a
turning point. Therefore, I can’t say ahead of time that the meeting
will be beneficial.” Musabayov said the current positions of the
conflicting sides are contradictory, as Azerbaijan calls for withdrawal
of Armenian forces from the occupied territories, while Armenia –
determination of the Upper Garabagh status. “From this viewpoint,
the positions of the sides are not getting any closer. If a compromise
alternative is found, the issue can be moved forward from the current
deadlock.” As for the liberation of seven occupied districts around
Upper Garabagh, the analyst said freeing them simultaneously will be
difficult. “Liberation of the occupied regions based on the ‘5+1+1’
formula seems real,” he said. The formula envisions freeing five
Azeri regions from under Armenian occupation first, followed by
signing of a peace accord and liberation of the other two regions.
Musabayov went on to say that the general situation with the Upper
Garabagh conflict has changed in favor of Azerbaijan over the recent
period. Russia’s positions in the South Caucasus are weakening and
this country’s military bases are being withdrawn from Georgia, while
Armenia is losing communication links with Russia, which is in favor of
Azerbaijan, he said. Armenia is concerned over this, said Musabayov.
“Russia, which is the eternal ally of Armenia, understands too
that it will lose its positions in the Caucasus by prolonging the
conflict resolution.” Musabayov said that another factor stipulating
Azerbaijan’s prevalent position is the country’s increasing financial
potential. Whereas military spending of Armenia makes up $200 million
per year, the figure is $300 million in Azerbaijan. The political
analyst pointed out that Azerbaijan’s potential will allow spending
$500 million for the military in 2006 and bringing the figure to $1
billion in two years. Armenia would have to commit its entire budget
for defense in order to withstand competition, which is impossible,
he said. “Armenians therefore think they should take a step today
rather than be forced to accept peace in a few years. These are the
factors giving a positive impetus to peace. But it is difficult to say
whether this will be enough for Armenia to give up its persistence.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI, ARMENIAN FMS DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT IN MOSCOW
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 25 2005
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Vardan
Oskanian met in Moscow on Wednesday.
The meeting, attended by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, was held in preparation for
the August 27 talks of Azeri and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Robert Kocharian in Kazan, Russia.
Lavrov told reporters following the meeting that the two ministers
tried to outline the future directions of talks. “As organizer of the
meeting, we tried to make sure its participants work conveniently”,
he said.
Minister Mammadyarov said that the format of the presidents’ meeting
has already been determined. “I hope the conflict will be finally
settled to bring peace and stability to the South Caucasus region”,
he said.
Armenian Minister Oskanian said that ‘it is too early to discuss
details of the peace accord at this point’.

NOVEMBER ELECTIONS WILL BE A TEST CASE FOR AZERBAIJAN, SAYS PACE PRESIDENT
Caucaz.com, Georgia
Aug 25 2005
Strasbourg, August 25 – Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
President (PACE) Rene van der Linden yesterday, on August 24, completed
his visit to Azerbaijan and with it his week-long visit to the South
Caucasus.
In Azerbaijan he discussed principally the issues of the November
Parliamentary elections, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and political
prisoners, with a range of actors including President Aliyev, the
Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Internal
and Foreign Affairs, governmental, independent and opposition members
of parliament, NGO and media representatives, and the leaders of the
Muslim, orthodox and Jewish religious communities.
The President stressed that the November elections would be a test
case for Azerbaijan and an important opportunity for the international
community to see that the government was doing its utmost to ensure
free and fair elections. He mentioned a few of the basic issues; these
included a full investigation into electoral fraud committed during
the 2003 elections. The President was reassured by President Aliyev’s
promise that this process would be completed by November. NGOs should
not be prevented from monitoring the elections only because of foreign
funding, provided their finances were transparent.
The President noted the importance of election monitoring and reminded
the authorities that in January the Assembly would consider the report
of its own 40 strong election observation mission. The authorities
should reinforce and guarantee media independence and pluralism,
including by bringing the capital’s public television station into
operation. The President was glad to hear from President Aliyev that
this would take place in the immediate future. The President urged
all political parties to approach the elections in a positive and
constructive spirit of democracy.
The President considered that the issues of political prisoners and
the murder of Elmar Huseynov, were also important for the elections.
He called on the authorities to take all the necessary action to
ensure that neither the opposition nor the media would continue to
feel at risk as a result of their lawful and democratic activities.
The Council of Europe did not favour parties or individuals, but was
interested only in the democratic process.
In addition, the President was particularly concerned about the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh which he had discussed in detail with those he
met previously in Armenia. The Council of Europe was a value community
and would work for a peaceful settlement through impartial political
pressure and encouragement.
The President warmly welcomed the ongoing Presidential negotiations,
whilst stressing that although there could be conditions to a peaceful
settlement, there should be no pre-conditions on negotiations for
peace.
In all three countries, the President had met religious leaders and
noted with great satisfaction the active and positive role they had
played together in the reconciliation process. There would be no
sustainable development or prosperity and no future for the region’s
children without a peaceful settlement; all those involved had a
strong interest in peace.
At this important time for Azerbaijan, the President was careful to
stress that the Council of Europe did not want to punish Azerbaijan
for its problems, but to accompany and assist it along the same
European road. Press release selected from Council of Europe website
by Celia CHAUFFOUR.

PACE PRESIDENT: ELECTION ‘REAL OPPORTUNITY’ TO PROVE ADHERENCE TO DEMOCRACY
AzerNews, Azerbaijan Aug 25 2005
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) Rene van Der Linden has cited the importance of Azerbaijan’s
observing its commitments to ensure democratic situation on the
eve of the November parliament poll. “The upcoming elections
are a real opportunity for Azerbaijan to show its adherence to
democratic principles”, he told a news conference on the results
of his visit to Baku on Tuesday. Linden, who has met with Azeri
officials, representatives of political parties and non-governmental
organizations, said the election was in focus at his meetings. He
said that to ensure the transparency of elections, all NGOs should be
allowed to observe their conduct. Azerbaijan’s laws ban NGOs with
over 30% foreign capital from monitoring the vote. “I sensed that
the government agrees with allowing all NGOs ensuring transparency
of their funding to monitor the poll. The Council of Europe is ready
to provide its assistance in this area”, Linden said.
Linden said that one of the key objectives is to punish those
who gave way to violations of law during the 2003 presidential
elections in Azerbaijan. “The issue should be solved prior to the
elections to raise public trust on the poll.” He emphasized that
the independence of media should be ensured and favorable conditions
provided for opposition’s access to television. The PACE president
said the Azerbaijani government may not accept the CE proposals
on democratization of the pre-election climate. “In every country,
the way elections are held and their rules are determined not by the
CE, but the government, political parties and NGOs. The Council of
Europe, on its end, assesses the extent of their compliance with its
principles… In any case, we will voice our harsh position if the
elections fall short of international standards.” Touching upon the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh, the PACE president
said that it should be resolved peacefully. “Peace is the only
option. If Azerbaijan wants to enter the European family, it must
resolve the conflict peacefully.” Linden said that he discussed
issues relating to the conflict settlement both in Azerbaijan and
Armenia during his visit to the region. He said that during talks
with Armenian officials, he stated that ‘living in isolation’
from Azerbaijan and Turkey, the two powerful regional countries,
is unacceptable. Linden said that if either Azerbaijan or Armenia
consider resorting to ways other than peace talks to settle the
conflict, the international community will come out strongly against
the decision, as both countries assumed commitment to a peaceful
resolution upon their admission to the Council of Europe. The PACE
president said that the international community should intensify
pressures on both sides to resolve the conflict. He voiced a hope that
the ongoing negotiations will complete successfully. Upon arrival
in Baku, Linden told journalists that favorable conditions have been
created to settle the Garabagh conflict. “We should take advantage
of this and find a way to resolve the conflict.”

TURKMEN CRISIS IN THE IRAQI CONSTITUTION ON THE WAY
by Mahir Nakip
Zaman, Turkey
Aug 24 2005
According to Arab, Turkish and Western sources, Muslim convert Turkmen
breaking away from Central Asia started to immigrate to Iraq during
the last decades of the Abbasids and settled in central and northern
Iraq as tribes during the Seljuk era in 1055.
The Kizilbash (literally “redhead”) Turkmen were attached to these
settlements during the Safavi dynasty and they composed the basis of
today’s Shiite Turkmen society in the region. According to Kerkuk
(Kirkuk) demographic records prepared by Matrakci Nasuh, clerk
of Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent when the Ottoman army
was returning from the Bagdat (Baghdad) conquest through Kirkuk,
Turkmen living on the Baghdad-Kirkuk route were Kizilbash and those
living in the Kirkuk Castle were Sunni. Immigration from Anatolia
to northern Iraq has been low since it began after Ottoman Sultan
Murad IV’s re-conquest of Baghdad. Those emigrating from Anatolia
to northern Iraq settled in Musul (Mosul), Erbil (Arbil), Kirkuk,
and Baghdad. Thus, current Turkmen settlements begin with Tel Afar,
which is near the Iraq-Syria-Turkey border, go through Mosul and Arbil,
and intensify in Altunkopru, Kirkuk, Dakuk, and Tuzhurmati. They lose
density in Hanekin and Mendeli close to the Iranian border of central
Iraq. The geographical band created by the Turkmen population includes
a buffer zone clearly separating the Kurdish region from the Arab
region. Turkmen live intermingled with Kurdish and Arab societies in
settlements near this band.
Turkey’s Turkmen policy
British control dominant in the region in 1918 perceived Turkmen as
descendants of the Ottoman Empire and the young Republic of Turkey
after 1924. Yet, it did not ban the use of Turkish as the official
language in Turkmen public offices, schools, courts, and press because
of a necessity felt for it. Treatment during the period of the kingdom
was no different to this. However, the Iraqi Communist Party trying to
seize power after proclaiming of a republic on 14 July 1958 reached an
agreement with some Kurdish political groups, who were their equivalent
and viewed Turkmen as potential spies working on behalf of Turkey. They
also accused them of being Turanists (ultra-nationalists) and Turkey
followers. Former Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes had ensured
Turkey’s acceptance as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
member by pursuing a pro-American policy against the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR). Accusations directed against Turkmen at
that time can be seen as the outcome of Turkey’s pro-American policy.
The main reason of the Turkmen’s exile from Kirkuk to the south firstly
by the Baath Party in 1968 and secondly by Saddam Hussein in 1979 was
to banish them from oil resources and Turkey’s borders. As a matter
of fact, when Saddam ordered the execution of four prominent Turkmen
in 1980, Turkey was disturbed by these executions. If Turkey still had
citizens in Iraq from the Ottoman times, it should come and take them;
said Saddam during a television broadcast after hearing that Turkey
was disturbed by the executions.
Developments after the March 2003 war confirmed the above opinion. It
was observed that Turkmen, who were rapidly becoming organized, had
brought their Iraqi identity to the foreground in all their political
formations. All statements by these political formations aimed at
Iraq’s territorial integrity and the Iraqi people’s brotherhood. They
did not lower Iraqi flags, loot state buildings, and start fires
around in Kirkuk, Tuzhurmatu, and Tel Afar, where their population
density is high. As a result, there was almost no Turkmen among those
captured for petty offences and imprisoned during this period. Indeed,
Turkmen also neither resisted nor took up arms against the Baghdad
administration in earlier political periods. They never organized
secret organizations either for independence or to bind them to
another country. It has not even been recorded in various histories
that Turkmen killed either an Arab or a Kurd for political reasons,
although they have been subjected to many massacres by other societies
in Iraq. That is to say, although others have violated their rights,
Turkmen have never violated the rights of Arabs or Kurds. Turkmen
are known as pacifists, intellectuals and the learned society in
Iraq. They have never taken part in fanatic political streams during
the last 100 years. For instance, as Arabs and Kurds have acquired a
communist party, Turkmen have never had a communist party. They have
also never become a member of the Iraqi Communist Party, which has
displayed considerable political activity in Iraq.
Today, there are only a few Islamic Turkmen parties and they have
never been seen being involved in fanatic political acts.
Currently, three different Turkmen political masses are marked on
the Iraqi political terrain. They are nationalists, Shiite-inclined
groups and those having close relations with Kurdish political
groups. These groups have a total of 15 seats in the Iraqi National
Assembly today. When observed their political programs, declarations
and rhetoric, and significant differences of opinion are visible, but
none of them has the notion or the inclination to separate from Iraq.
Turkmen within Iraq have not been able to form an official political
party before 2003 as Baghdad governments have refused to permit it.
Still, the Turkmen Brotherhood Hearth formed with the permission of
Baghdad in 1960, and Mosul and Arbil offices of this hearth contributed
to Turkmen uniting under the same roof and carrying out their cultural
existence. As Turkmen tried to preserve their national identity,
they also showed a unique example of democracy in Iraq.
This institution elected its president, executive boards and sub study
commissions in a democratic way until 1977. This platform even set the
stage for groups with a different understanding of public service to
encourage competition between them. The institution was handed over
to a controlled team forcefully and the anti-democratic method used
by Saddam’s order in 1977 prevented Turkmen from conducting activities
in a democratic environment.
No place for Turkmen in the new Iraqi constitution
When we collect all the significant data, we see that Turkmen
voluntarily respect Iraqi territorial integrity, and are far from
racist and fanatic or aggressive in their views; but are a democratic
society that is peaceful, cultivated, having no dispute with anyone.
In this case, Turkmen may be perceived as a plaster that may bond
Arabs and Kurds, smothering their extreme activities and fill the
emptiness and gaps between them. As they did in their former regions,
Turkmen may take the political role of a strong, impartial and just
bridge between the two societies. Turkmen may be accepted as a good
balancing element; moreover, they may arbitrate in some ways to the
controversial issues since half Turkmen are Shiites and the other
half are Sunni. The differences of the sects never divided the Turkmen.
Upon the current situation, what do Iraqi policy-makers or policy
engineers, in fact, think about Turkmen? The first draft of the
permanent Iraqi Constitution will be handed around; however, the
rights of Turkmen remained extremely under the rights given at the
interim Iraqi Administration Constitution that came into force two
years ago. I wonder why Turkmen are always excluded from the system.
Does their exclusion derive from all segments or is it the doing of
a certain segment? Undoubtedly, we know there are serious conflicts
between Arabs and Kurds and even among Arabs themselves. Sunni Arabs
already object to the inclusion of ethnicity in the constitution.
Shiite Arabs, on the other hand, oppose nationalism as a sect;
however, they look at Turkmen being registered as the third nation
affirmatively in order to oppose the Kurds. Since there are so many
controversial issues between Arabs and Kurds, most of them do not want
to become involved in a new controversial topic. Furthermore, as far
as it is seen, since Kurds and Shiites share many common interests,
both parties demand the adoption of a decision by compromise. Let
us get to the Kurds… It is obvious that the Barzani group looks
at Turkmen with a hostile attitude. The most delicate part of that
is the knot in the Kirkuk issue. If Kurds were not the majority in
Kirkuk, many hindrances for their acceptance as the third nation
would be removed today. According to Barzani’s team, if Turkmen are
considered as the third nation, Kurdistan’s annexation of Kirkuk will
be toughened. Since Turkmen will be perceived as an asset, they will
be required to sit at the table to reach a conclusion on Kirkuk’s
future. Turkmen’s fate seems mostly to be indexed to Kirkuk. Turkmen
should be regarded as a separate entity from the Kirkuk issue in
order to gain their rights. Turkmen being considered the same as
Keldoashuris, Armenians, Subbis and Yezidis whose total population
barely reach one million is also the messenger of a new conflict.
Then, instead of waving at least 2.5 million Turkmen aside by
underestimating or announcing them as a minority, and perceive them
as the third major element and oblige them to a mission and a duty it
may result in more beneficial consequences in terms of Iraq’s future
while settling democracy and providing permanent peace in Iraq. The
most legitimate ground for this will be the Iraqi Constitution that
is being prepared. Approving Turkmen as the third largest element in
the new Iraqi Constitution will provide all Turkmen the chance to say
“YES” in the referendum and will prevent their opposition after being
dragged into the equation without a doubt.
*Professor Mahir Nakip is Erciyes University Faculty Member

UAE PLAYERS GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
By A Correspondent
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Aug 25 2005
ABU DHABI – Though UAE players failed to attain any title norms or
gain ELO rating during the Abu Dhabi Chess Festival which concluded on
Tuesday, they have gained valuable experience and honed their skills,
Hussain Khouri, manager of the festival made these observations.
He said: “We need to enhance our preparations for these championships
and adopt a proficient approach for our players to use the opportunity
to gain norms”.
Zughair Ahmad, chief arbiter also said: “The quality of games in
the Masters section was excellent and even in the final round many
masters took risks”.
Grandmaster Anastasian Ashot of Armenia emerged as undisputed winner
with seven points after the ninth and final round in the Masters.
Anastasian nudged to the title after a draw with Grandmaster Federov
Alexei of Byelorussia. Ashot said: “I played the best tournament of
my career and I was able to raise my level in crucial games”
International master Kayumov Sergey of Uzbekistan defeated
Grandmaster Iuldachev Saidali of Uzbekistan and tied for the
runner-up position with Grandmaster Bocharov Dmitry of Russia with
6.5 points apiece. Kayumov Sergey will attain a GM norm based on his
ELO performance.

OBSERVERS FROM CAUCASUS, CENTRAL ASIA INVITED TO MONITOR NORWAY’S ELECTIONS
The Associated Press
08/25/05 10:37 EDT
OSLO, Norway (AP) – The watched will become the watchers next month
when election observers from eight former Soviet republics monitor
Norway’s national elections, officials said Thursday.
Observers from countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe have
been invited to monitor the Sept. 12 vote in Norway, which has a long
tradition of nurturing democracy worldwide.
Helge Blakkisrud, of the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Affairs,
said it would be the largest international observer team – with 26
members – ever invited to a Norwegian election. It would also be one
of the first cases of observers from the former Soviet republics,
many of which are still struggling with the transition to democracy,
monitoring an election in the West.
Countries represented on the team would be Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan,
he said.
“It is unusual that election observers would come from those areas,”
said Blakkisrud.
He said in some of the countries there is a feeling that the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which often sends
election observers, has singled out the former Soviet bloc countries
for scrutiny.
“We wanted them to see that it is a two-way street,” he said. “We
also wanted them to see the Norwegian election culture. Many of them
come from countries with a fundamental lack of confidence in the
electoral process.”
Norway, like the other Nordic countries, has a highly developed
democracy and a strong tradition of free and fair elections.
Blakkisrud said they had wanted the OSCE to organize the election
monitoring, but the group did not have the capacity to do it. So they
decided to invite observers themselves to monitor that the election
meets OSCE standards, and then file a report.
The observers will be deployed in the Oslo region, and in Norway’s
second largest city Bergen, on the west coast.
Blakkisrud said many of the observers have experience monitoring
elections in their own region.