ARKA News Agency
April 26 2005

Discussions on National program on child’s rights to be held in
Armenia

Azerbaijan intensifies sniping of Ijevan-Noyemberdyan highway

Speaker of RA na to pay working visit to Georgia

Echmiadzin Holy See implements `Written language and covenant’
program

Representatives of Armenian Apostolic Church leave for Jerusalem

Eastern, western AAC dioceses in USA to hold meetings on Apr 28

NKR Union of Journalists announces annual contest in three
nominations

RA President has a working meeting with the Governor of Syunik Region
(Armenia)

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DISCUSSIONS ON NATIONAL PROGRAM ON CHILD’S RIGHTS TO BE HELD IN
ARMENIA

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Discussions on National program on
child’s rights will be held in Yerevan on April 29, 2005. As
UNICEF-Armenia told ARKA News Agency, representatives of Ra Foreign
Ministry, Ministries of Justice, Health, Education and Science,
Culture and Youth Affairs, the RA Police and donor organizations will
participate in the discussions.
The discussions are initiated by the Armenian UNICEF Office and RA
Ministry of Labor and Social Issues. L.V.’0′

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AZERBAIJAN INTENSIFIES SNIPING OF IJEVAN-NOYEMBERDYAN HIGHWAY

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Azerbaijan has intensified sniping of a
section of the Ijevan-Noyemberyan highway, Governor of the Tavush
region Armen Ghularyan stated at a briefing attended by the field
assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Imre Palatinus, Alexander Samarsky, and Peter
Key, as well as by military commanders. Responding to Imre
Palatinus’ question as to the reason for Azerbaijan’s aggressive
behavior, Ghularyan said that the Azerbaijani side is unable to
control its armed forces, which is unlikely, or it is the result of
the Azerbaijani authorities’ bellicose statements. After the
briefing, the group visited the monitoring site, where the OSCE
representatives in Armenia and Azerbaijan held radio monitoring. As a
result, the commanders of the military units on both sides gave
security guarantees.
On April 26, under the mandate of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
monitoring was held at the Ijevan-Ghazakh contact line on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. P.T. `0–

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SPEAKER OF RA NA TO PAY WORKING VISIT TO GEORGIA

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Tomorrow, Speaker of the RA National
Assembly Artur Baghdasaryan is to leave for a working visit to
Georgia at the invitation of Speaker of the Georgian parliament Nino
Burjanadze. The public relations department, RA National Assembly,
reports that Artur Baghdasaryan is to hold meetings with Georgian
President Mikhail Sahakashvili, Speaker of the Parliament Nino
Burjanadze, Prime Minister Zurab Nogaidely, Patriarch Ilya II, as
well as with representatives of the Armenian community in Georgia.
On his way to Georgia, the Speaker of the RA Parliament is to hold a
public meeting in Alaverdy, Lori region. On April 30, Artur
Baghdasaryan is to hold a public meeting with residents of
Noyemberyan, Ijevan and Dilijan, Tavush region.P.T. `0–

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ECHMIADZIN HOLY SEE IMPLEMENTS `WRITTEN LANGUAGE AND COVENANT’
PROGRAM

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Echmiadzin Holy See is implementing
`Written language and Covenant’ program, dedicated to 1600th
anniversary of Armenian written language creation. As the Press
Chancellery of Echmiadzin Holy See told ARKA News Agency today,
pupils of 9 and 10 grades of Yerevan and regional schools will visit
Echmiadzin from April 20 ` May 6. They will have the opportunity to
see the treasures of Echmiadzin Patriarchate museum `Armenian
Alphabet’ and `Saint Cross’ made of gold, as well as tapestries
`Armenian Alphabet’ and `Vardanank’.
200 schoolchildren from Yerevan and 320 schoolchildren from Armenian
regions have already visited Echmiadzin Holy See. With the blessing
of Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, St. Echmiadzin has issued
`Written Language and Covenant’ brochure distributed to the
visitors. L.V.’0–

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REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH LEAVE FOR JERUSALEM

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Today, representatives of Armenian
Apostolic Church let today for Jerusalem, with the blessing of
Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. As the Press Chancellery of
Echmiadzin Holy See told ARKA News Agency, the Artsakh diocese
leader, Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, celibate priests Sahak
Shakaryan, Kuregh Vardanyana and Norayr Simonyan left for Armenian
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, where the Blessed Holiday of Resurrection
of Christ will be celebrated on May 1 by the Old Style.
Spiritual directors will participate in the Holy Easter ceremonies
and will pass the exhortations and blessings of Catholicos of All
Armenians. L.V.’0–

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EASTERN, WESTERN AAC DIOCESES IN USA TO HOLD MEETINGS ON APR 28

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. The eastern and western dioceses of the
Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) in the USA are to hold diocesan
meetings on April 28. The press office of Holy Echmiadzin reports
that the meetings will be preceded by annual congresses of diocesan
clergymen. By the order of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II,
celibate priest Hovhakim Manugyan and priest Yesaya Artenyan are to
take part in the workings of the Eastern diocese and the priest Adam
Margaryan and Andreas Isahakyan are to participate in the workings of
the Western diocese.P.T. `0–

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

NKR UNION OF JOURNALISTS ANNOUNCES ANNUAL CONTEST IN THREE
NOMINATIONS

STEPANAKERT, April 27. /ARKA/. The Union of Journalists of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has announced an annual contest in
three nominations: `For best public-political analysis’, `For
best article on military subject’, and `Young journalist of the
year’. The prize `For best public and political analysis’ is
warded for analytical articles dealing with domestic and foreign
policy, as well as with social problems of the NKR The prize `For
best article on military subject’ is warded for articles covering
the everyday life of the NKR Defense Army and related problems.
The prize `Best Young Journalist of Year’ is warded for
journalistic activity displayed during the year and is aimed to
encourage young journalists. The winners will receive certificates
and 40,000 AMD. All journalists working in the NKR can take part in
the contest.P.T. `0

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

RA PRESIDENT HAS A WORKING MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR OF SYUNIK REGION
(ARMENIA)

YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan had a
working meeting with the governor of Syunik region (Armenia) Souren
Khachatryan. According to the President’s Press Service, in the
course of the meeting the parties discussed issues connected with the
course of implementation of programs in Syunik that total worth of
which makes AMD 1,5 bln. They also touched upon the problems of rural
schools, drinking water supply and irrigation, as well as building a
new road Meghri `Kapan.
According to the press-release, in the course of the meeting RA
President gave orders mainly concerning acceleration of the work
being done and improvement of their quality. A.H.’0-

Agence France Presse — English
April 27, 2005 Wednesday 12:22 PM GMT

Turkey parliament calls off meetings with Poland after genocide
resolution

ANKARA

The Turkish parliament has unilaterally called off a series of
meetings with lawmakers from the Polish parliament next month in
protest at the latter’s acknowledgement as genocide of the kilings of
Armenians during World War I, a Turkish source said Wednesday.

Turkish parliament speaker Bulent Arinc also sent a letter to his
Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz on Wednesday to denounce
the resolution adopted on April 19, which condemned the Armenian
genocide between 1915 and 1917.

“We learned with great regret and disappointment of the (Polish)
resolution,” Arinc said in his letter.

“The resolution has outraged members of the Turkish parliament. The
Turkish people are deeply saddened by a friendly country unilaterally
interpreting tragic incidents affecting both peoples,” he added.

The cancelled events were a meeting in Ankara of the friendship
comittees of both parliaments, a visit to Turkey by the president of
the Polish parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a visit to
Warsaw by a Turkish parliamentary delegation.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated
killings during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey categorically denies genocide claims and argues that 300,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks were killed in civil strife
during World War I when the Armenians, backed by Russia, rose against
their Ottoman rulers.

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
April 27, 2005 Wednesday

Armenian Christians mark a painful past, joyful future

WAVENEY ANN MOORE

A day of sadness is also a time of great expectations in Pinellas
Park.

PINELLAS PARK – Armenians throughout the Tampa Bay area crowded into
a tiny chapel Sunday to remember ancestors who were massacred,
starved to death or otherwise persecuted by the tens of thousands
early in the last century.

The gathering at St. Hagop Armenian Church, 7050 90th Ave. N, was one
of many around the country to mark the 90th anniversary of what is
referred to as the Armenian Genocide.

But the day was more than a requiem for the 1.5-million men, women
and children who perished under the weight of the Ottoman Turks, said
St. Hagop’s priest, the Rev. Nersess Jebejian.

That thriving Armenian communities and churches exist today is a
victory, he said.

“One and a half million-plus were massacred and they were sacrificed,
but we’re living today, not only for them but for our future,”
Jebejian said.

At St. Hagop’s, where more than 100 people crammed into the chapel or
stood just outside its sliding glass doors Sunday, that future is
full of hope. In a few months, the congregation of about 400 families
hopes to begin building a church and multipurpose building to carry
on the centuries-old legacy of Armenian Christianity and culture.

The new church is a long-deferred dream. It was almost 20 years ago
that founding members began talking about forming a community for
local Armenian Orthodox Christians. They held their first service in
a borrowed building. They bought the now prime property at 90th
Avenue and Belcher Road with proceeds from paper and aluminum can
drives, dinners, garage sales, festivals and individual donations.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1997. Early in 2002, Archbishop
Khajag Barsamian, primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America, visited to consecrate the cornerstone and launch a
fundraising campaign for a project that would eventually include a
church, multipurpose center and cultural hall.

The church and multipurpose building are expected to begin in
September and be complete in seven to nine months, St. Hagop’s priest
said.

St. Hagop’s is part of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which
traces its origin to the first century, when the apostles Thaddeus
and Bartholomew preached in Armenia and were martyred.

For Dr. Hagop “Jack” Mashikian, a retired psychiatrist and vice
chairman of the church’s parish council, the new buildings will be a
testament to more than perseverance of a congregation that draws
worshipers from the Tampa Bay area and beyond.

“It’s a vindication of the spirit of survival of our forebears,” he
said.

Last weekend’s requiem, which followed the customary Sunday Divine
Liturgy, was offered for the 1.5-million Armenians killed between
1915 and 1923 by the Central Committee of the Young Turk Party of the
Ottoman Empire. Then, Armenians were a Christian minority in a Muslim
community.

In 1915, thousands were deported and sent to starvation and death in
the Syrian desert. Along the way, they were attacked and killed by
bands of Turks. Mashikian, the parish council member, said that many
young women were forced into harems or to marry their abductors.

“The intent of the Ottoman Empire was to annihilate the Armenians,”
Mashikian said.

Armenians lived in what is now eastern Turkey, he said. They also
were in the southeastern part of the country, which now is mostly
occupied by Kurds.

In the United States, Armenians are concentrated in the Boston area,
Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Michigan, New York and New
Jersey. Most are descendants of survivors of what is called the first
genocide of the 20th century.

“There is hardly any Armenian over the age of 60 here who does not
have an immediate member of his family as a victim of genocide,” said
Mashikian, who lost his maternal grandfather, paternal grandparents
and an uncle in the brutality.

Lani Silver, a genocide historian who worked with Steven Spielberg as
a consultant on his oral history of Holocaust survivors, said the
trauma of genocide lasts for generations.

“There’s a hole in your heart forever. You’ve been a people that have
been hated enough to be killed,” said Silver, who was in St.
Petersburg this week to give a talk, “Making the Link: The Holocaust,
Genocide and Racism,” at the University of South Florida St.
Petersburg.

“This speaks to the beauty and strength of the Armenian people that
they have continued on despite such a murderous crime,” Silver said.

What’s sad, she added, is that “very few people really remember the
Armenian genocide.”

On Sunday, though, Armenian Martyrs’ Day, St. Hagop’s tiny chapel
could not hold all who wanted to remember.

“After 90 years of crying, of lamenting, of hoping, this little
community is showing its survival,” Mashikian told those gathered.

“Our brothers and sisters perished with hope for days like today.”

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: All Things Considered 8:00 AM EST NPR
April 26, 2005 Tuesday

Turkey’s entry into the European Union could hinge on whether it
accepts responsibility for Ottoman Empire’s treatment of Armenians 90
years ago

ANCHORS: ROBERT SIEGEL

REPORTERS: IVAN WATSON

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

It has been 90 years since the Ottoman Empire’s mass deportation and
massacre of ethnic Armenians during World War I. Armenians marked the
anniversary over the weekend of what they call a genocide. They say
one and a half million of their people were killed. That’s a charge
that modern-day Turkey has long denied. And now that it is on the
verge of beginning negotiations to join the European Union, Turkey
once again finds itself on the defensive in this historical
controversy. NPR’s Ivan Watson reports from Istanbul.

IVAN WATSON reporting:

On a day when Armenians held solemn ceremonies of remembrance in
Yerevan, Paris and New York, in Turkey, the day honoring Armenian
victims was virtually ignored. Nearly a century after the fact, the
official Armenian and Turkish versions of what took place in the
final years of the Ottoman Empire are still miles apart. Ilter Turan
is a professor at Istanbul’s Yildiz University.

Professor ILTER TURAN (Yildiz University): What happened in 1915 and
during that period was a mutual battle between poorly organized
people trying to retain territory as a multinational empire was
crumbling.

WATSON: The Turkish government contends that a half-million Turkish
Muslims were killed after Armenians revolted against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I. Armenians reject this claim. Karan
Karakoshlai(ph) is a founder of the Augos Armenian newspaper in
Istanbul.

Ms. KARAN KARAKOSHLAI (Founder, Augos): In summary, what happened was
that a great nation of 4,000 years was exterminated, was cut off the
roots.

WATSON: Both sides agree that the Ottomans forcibly deported huge
numbers of Armenians from what is now eastern Turkey. And today
Turkey’s Armenian Christian community has dwindled to just 60,000
people. Though Turkey has offered to conduct a joint historical probe
with neighboring Armenia, many Turks continue to be defensive about
what they call `the Armenian issue.’ This year nationalists filed
lawsuits against Turkey’s most famous author when he told a Swiss
newspaper, quote, “One million Armenians were murdered here, and no
one dares to mention that.’ Professor Turan, a former member of a
Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission, says until recently the
subject was taboo here.

Prof. TURAN: The Turkish educational system for a long time
concentrated on nation-building. And the arguments or ideas that were
thought to undermine it were not discussed in primary or high school
curriculums.

WATSON: But there are signs that the taboo is beginning to break
down. Only a few Armenians are left in the southeastern Turkish city
of Diyarbakir, where schoolchildren play in the ruins of a large
Armenian cathedral that stands as an unofficial monument to what was
once a thriving community.

(Soundbite of banging noises)

WATSON: Younger generations here, mostly ethnic Kurds, are beginning
to talk about their great-grandparents’ role in the massacres.

Unidentified Man: They were Muslim Kurdish people, Muslim. And they
killed Armenian people.

WATSON: At a university, a Kurdish student named Zoloh(ph) and
several classmates recounted stories passed down by long-dead
relatives of atrocities against their Armenian neighbors. This
Kurdish woman, who preferred not to give her name, said some of her
ancestors were, in fact, Armenians who had been forced to convert to
Islam.

Unidentified Woman: (Through Translator) We couldn’t admit to our
neighbors that my great-grandmother was Armenian and that was she was
forced to marry my great-grandfather. At school they didn’t tell us
about the genocide, but I heard the stories, some from my relatives
at home. And I always had one question: Why did they kill the
Armenians? What did they do?

WATSON: International pressure is building on Turkey on this issue.
Over the past year the European Parliament and France have joined
Armenian diaspora groups demanding that Turkey accept responsibility
for the genocide before it can become a member of the European Union.
But Karan Karakoshlai of the Armenian Augos newspaper says blocking
Turkey’s EU bid would be a step backwards for Turkey and the
Armenians still living here.

Ms. KARAKOSHLAI: This is a genocide again to the ancestors a second
time because a tragic historical pain is used as a political
material.

WATSON: Ivan Watson, NPR News, Istanbul.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
April 27, 2005, Wednesday

MOVING OUT

SOURCE: Izvestia, April 27, 2005, p. 1 EV

by Dmitri Litovkin, Natalia Ratiani

“We have reached an agreement that withdrawal of Russian military
bases will take place gradually, and may be launched by the end of
this year,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday after talks
with Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili. The start of
2008 has been set as the deadline for withdrawal. Simultaneously, a
joint counter-terrorism center will be set up; it will use the
infrastructure of a Russian base.

Russia has declared its intention two days after presidents of
Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan called OSCE member nations
to apply its utmost effort so that Russia fulfilled its commitments
on withdrawal of troops and arms from Georgia and Moldova in
Chisinau.

Not all problems linked to the withdrawal have been settled. However,
Lavrov’s statement means that Russian military bases in Georgia must
move into withdrawal mode. The military hardware, other assets, and
personnel are allowed to be there for withdrawal; nothing new can be
brought in, and no personnel rotations will be possible either.

For instance, the new commander of the Russian Group of Forces in the
Caucasus was forced to be in command of the grouping from Armenia
after an entry visa to Georgia wasn’t issued in his name. According
to experts, the majority of Russian military hardware from Armenia
will be relocated to Armenia.

Withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia was among the most
urgent problems in Moscow-Tbilisi relations. Washington took an
active part in the problem insisting that Russia must carry out its
commitments under the Istanbul Agreement of 1999 as soon as possible.
However, Washington has “forgotten” for some reason that Moscow had
executed those commitments ahead of schedule – by withdrawing the
heavy military hardware from the territory of Georgia by January 31,
2000. Russia shut down its Vaziani and Gudauta bases by July 1, 2001,
which OSCE inspectors could be observing. As for the 12th Military
Base stationed in Batumi and the 62nd Military Base of Akhalkalaki,
under the Istanbul Agreement Georgia and Russia should have agreed
the withdrawal terms reciprocally. They’ve almost reached an
agreement, very symbolically: by the May 9 celebrations, which the US
president will attend and before the summit of CIS presidents in
Moscow.

Until recently, Russia linked the problem of the withdrawal to the
payment issues (according to Sergei Ivanov’s calculations, something
about $500 million required to set up new bases in Russia) and quite
long withdrawal terms: either seven or three years, but only starting
from 2008. Georgia objected to the amount of pay and the long period
of withdrawal. Moscow was uncompromising in its standing. “No
situation will be reiterated with withdrawal of the Soviet Army from
Germany, when divisions with the military hardware, ammunition,
soldiers, officers and their families were thrown out into a clear
field,” Ivanov promised. Zourabichvili confirmed in Moscow on Monday
that Georgia is ready to finance withdrawal of the military hardware
and the personnel, but until its own border. The very same day Prime
Minister Zurab Noghaideli of Georgia confirmed that jointly with
Russia Georgia “is ready to seek potential sources of funding for
withdrawal of the bases.” The USA, the EU and possibly the OSCE could
be used as such.

In the event that talks on the bases failed, Tbilisi had worked out a
plan under which the Russian bases should be declared illegal. The
Georgian security structures intended to set up tight control over
the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases (some 2,500 servicemen) and prohibit
the Russian military to travel the republic. Georgia also intended to
ban the Russian military from conducting war games on its territory.
But a miracle has happened – Moscow has surrendered, quietly and
without a fight.

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 27, 2005 Wednesday 6:54 AM Eastern Time

Georgia adequate compensation for evacuated bases unlikely – MP

MOSCOW

Moscow should not expect an adequate compensation by Georgia for the
infrastructure of Russian military bases that are to be evacuated
from Georgia, the deputy chief of the State Duma’s defence committee,
Sergei Grigoryev told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

Commenting of result of Tuesday’s Russian-Georgian talks in Moscow he
said “ill thought-out decisions could be made under pressure of
Georgia’s central authorities on accelerated evaluation of our bases
that traditionally play the role of a stabilising factor in the
Armenian-populated Akhalkalaki and Adzharian Batumi”.

The example of Iraq shows that “regardless of rhetoric of initiators
of this ‘demilitarisation’, a slightest vacuum of order and forces
that keep it on border of different cultures, religions and
ethnicities, can be used be extremists of different kinds for the
realisation of their far from peaceful plans”, the parliamentarian
said.

He added that the evacuation of the bases would “cost the Russian
defence ministry 300 million dollars as a minimum”.

Moscow can hardly expect an adequate compensation by Georgia for the
infrastructure left behind the bases, he said.

Grigoryev stressed that “it must not be allowed that Russian military
servicemen are again re-based in slapdash fashion to unprepared areas
al ensuing consequences for the sake of somebody’s caprices”.

The hasty pullout of Russian military bases from Georgia can “upset a
fragile equilibrium in the explosive multiethnic region, in which
interests of a whole number of neighbouring, Western European and
trans-oceanic states intersect and collide,” Grigoryev said.

Moscow has admitted a possibility of beginning the withdraw of the
military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki in 2005.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after his talks with
Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili on Tuesday that the
withdrawal “will be gradual and could begin as early as this year in
case accord is reached”.

Zurabishvili had said in interview with the mss media that the
Russian bases must be evacuated by January 1, 2008.

The UCLA Daily Bruin, CA
April 27 2005

Turkish people upset by Schwarzenegger remarks

ANKARA, Turkey ? A Turkish group uniting hundreds of businesses and
organizations demanded Tuesday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies be
banned from Turkish television to protest the California governor’s
use of the term “genocide” to describe the massacre of Armenians by
Turks during World War I.

Schwarzenegger, a former actor best known for his role in “The
Terminator,” declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide.” California has one of the largest populations of diaspora
Armenians.

Other California governors have issued annual proclamations referring
to the killings as a genocide, but last week Schwarzenegger also
signed legislation to permanently mark the day.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Nation (Thailand)
April 27, 2005, Wednesday

OBITUARY: K-Tech’s Bob Kevorkian dies, aged 65

The Nation.

The Thai business community yesterday mourned the passing of Bob
Kevorkian, managing director of K-Tech Construction & Engineering and
a key player in the country’s real estate sector.

Kevorkian, a British national of Armenian origin, died early
yesterday morning, aged 65, said Pritpal Singh Gill, who heads urban
projects at Golden Land.

“His death came as a shock to us all,” said Gill, whose friendship
with Kevorkian goes back 16 years to when they worked together on the
President Park residential site.

“Bob was a self-taught, self-made man,” said Gill, who recalled how
the builder founded “from scratch” the Thai Bauer construction firm
in the late 80s, before joining Philip Holzman.

A large, jovial, rotund man, Kevorkian was a powerful player in the
local construction scene over the past two decades, when the real
estate market expanded to staggering new heights, before collapsing
during the 1997 financial crash.

“Remarkably, it was during the worst period of the property fallout
in 1997 that Bob was able to form K-Tech with a formidable team of
professionals,” said Gill.

Today, the firm is involved with several major projects, including
the Northshore condominium project in Pattaya and the Central Group’s
new office tower.

Nigel Cornick, chief executive of Raimon Land, said Kevorkian’s death
was a “big loss” as he had been a key player in the real estate
scene.

Cornick, whose ties to Kevorkian go back 10 years, said K-Tech had
been instrumental in finishing his firm’s luxury condominium – The
Lakes – last year. Kevorkian was also constructing Raimon’s
Northshore project, due to be completed at the end of this year.

His passing should not affect K-Tech’s contracts, however, as
Kevorkian was a good organiser who was able to place capable managers
to oversee respective sites, said Cornick and Gill.

When asked to describe Kevorkian’s key trait, Cornick said: “His
presence and his ability to stick to his commitments.”

Gill said: “Bob was an affable man” whose warm character could
quickly gain the confidence of partners and customers.

Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, managing director of CB Richard Ellis
Thailand, was also shocked by the news of his passing.

“I will always remember him as a kind and nice man,” she said. “Bob
ran a professional show.”

Gill said Kevorkian had been committed to his work and was a devoted
husband to his British wife, Linda. They have two sons, a daughter
and an adopted Thai son.

Apart from his huge portfolio of projects – which include the new
Bt6-billion Royal Phuket Marina project on the eastern coast of
Phuket – Kevorkian also spent much of his time on charity work.

He set up an Aids home in Bangkok and another in Armenia.

“When the tsunami struck in late December, Bob mobilised his men to
help in the rescue effort and to clean up the beaches at no cost,”
said Gill.

“He also contributed about Bt4 million in donations, along with money
from Royal Phuket Marina, to tsunami victims.

“It was his wish to be buried in Armenia,” Gill added.

“As his death came suddenly, the arrangements for his funeral are
still being organised”, he said. “But there will be a Thai service,
as he has touched so many people here.”

UNION OF ARMENIANS OF TRANSDNIESTRIA CREATED

YEREVAN, APRIL 27. ARMINFO. A Union of Armenians of Transdniestria
(UAT) was established on April 24 in the town of Grigoriopole.
Rerpesetnatives of the Armenian communities of the towns of
Grigoriopole, Tiraspole (capital of Transdniestria) and Dubossari were
included in it. The press-service of the newly establishment UAT
informs Regnum NA that the communities of the towns of Benderi,
Rubnitsa and Kamenka are to be included in the union in future. A
Tiraspole businessman Gegham Gevorgyan has been elected Chairman of
the UAT Board. Besides, a Community Council has been established,
which will convene sittings twice in a year on April 24 (Day of
Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide) and on October 13
(Day of Holy Gregory the Enlightener).

According to the source, at April 24 sitting, the Armenian community
of Transdniestria observed a minute of silence in memory of the
Armenian Genocide Victims in the Ottoman Empire as well as laid
wreaths on the old Armenian cemetery of Grigoriopole.

According to different data, at least 1,000 Armenians life in
Transdniestria. The first Armenian settlement occurred there on July
25 1792 when in conformity with the decree of the Empress Yekaterina
II the town was founded with participation of Armenian emigrants. The
settlement was given the name Grigoriopole in honor of the first
Catholicos of All Armenians Gregory the Enlightener.

Daily Post (Liverpool)
April 27, 2005, Wednesday

TURKISH FURY AT TERMINATOR STAR

HUNDREDS of Turkish businesses and organisations have demanded ban on
Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in protest at the California governor’s
use of the term genocide to describe the massacre of Armenians by
Turks during the First World War.

Schwarzenegger, below , best known for his role in The Terminator,
declared April 24 a ‘Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress