A1 Plus | 11:31:28 28-03-2005 | Social |

ON APRIL 2

The TV company “A1+” has been deprived of ether for 1090 days already.
April 2 is the 3rd anniversary of the illegal decision of the National
Committee of TV and Radio.

On the initiative of several non-governmental organizations on April 2
at 12 a.m. an act of complaint will start from the address Grigor
Lusavorich 15.

If the democratic values are important to you, defend you right of
expressing yourself and getting information.

For information write to [email protected]

Thank you for your support.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 29 2005

No plans to resume war – Yerevan

Baku, March 28, AssA-Irada

`The chances for resuming the Armenia-Azerbaijan war are slim.
Official Yerevan has no plans to resume military action’, says
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian. He said that Armenia does
not recognize the independence of the `Upper Garabagh Republic’ to
avoid negatively affecting the ongoing processes.
Margarian said Armenia allocates loans to the separatist regime and
that normal social conditions cannot be provided for the population
in Garabagh without these loans.
Allocation of loans is legalized by the Armenian government, which
means that Armenia de-facto recognizes the independence of Upper
Garabagh.*
From: Baghdasarian

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 29 2005

Documents on Ottoman Empire developments to be sent to UN

Baku, March 28, AssA-Irada

Historical documents on the developments in the Ottoman Empire in
1915-1919 will be presented to the United Nations shortly to condemn
Armenians’ claims on the fake `genocide’ through historical evidence,
says chairman of the Turkish History Committee Yusif Hallac.
Hallac said that the number of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire
and exiled during World War I, as well as that of Armenians and Turks
killed in armed clashes, are based on the documents of the Empire and
the Armenian Church.
`The official documents prove again that the claims on the false
`Armenian genocide’ are not based on any historic facts and are much
ado about nothing,’ said Hallac.
On Monday, Turkey uncovered about one million unknown archive
documents of the Ottoman Empire, which are currently kept at the
Turkish Senior Department on State Archives.
The archive materials include official documents of the `Yildiz
Sarayi’ (the chancellery of Ottoman sultans), as well as those of
State Council, Interior and Foreign Ministries. Archive materials of
the Ottoman Empire, England, Germany, France and USA are among the
disclosed documents that will be available for employees of history
institutes, analytical centers and scientists.
According to historic facts, about 100,000 Armenians were killed in
armed clashes and died of various diseases in the Ottoman Empire in
1915.
519,000 Turks were killed by Armenian armed groups in the territory
of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 till 1919.
644,900 Armenians, who were exiled during World War I, returned to
Turkey in 1921, while most of them went to Syria, France, USA,
Greece, Russia and Iran.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 29 2005

Azeris in Austria appeal to UNESCO

Baku, March 28, AssA-Irada

The Azerbaijani communities in Austria have adopted an appeal to
UNESCO over Armenians’ attempts to conduct geological excavations in
Shusha, an ancient Azerbaijani city currently occupied by Armenia.
The document indicates that the attempts at finding `the trace of
Armenians’ around the town of Shusha are groundless, the State
Committee on Azerbaijanis Living in Foreign Countries said.
`The research conducted over many years did not discover any facts on
Armenians’ alleged affiliation to the Upper Garabagh indigenous
population. On the contrary, it was indicated that Azerbaijanis are
the indigenous population of these territories’, the appeal said.
The Azeri communities thereby called on international organizations,
including UNESCO, to condemn Armenian researchers’ attempts to
distort history.
`This contradicts numerous international conventions, including the
1954 Hague Convention passed by UNESCO `for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict’, the appeal said.
Azerbaijanis living in Austria also forwarded an appeal to
international organizations over March 31, Day of Azerbaijanis’
Massacre, indicating the facts of carnage and deportation policy
pursued by Armenians for many years.
In March 1918, 50,000 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed in Baku,
Shamakhi, Mughan, Guba, Nakhchivan and Lankaran, and 10,000 Azeris
ousted from their native land. In Baku alone, the number of people
killed by Armenian terrorists made up 30,000.
58 villages were wiped out in Shamakhi, while 122 in Guba, 150 in the
mountainous part of Garabagh, 115 in Zangazur, 211 in the Iravan
province and 92 villages in the Gars province. 7,000 people were
killed in Shamakhi alone, including 1,653 women and 965 children.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 29 2005

`Major results in conflict settlement not expected soon’

Baku, March 28, AssA-Irada
The positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the Upper Garabagh
conflict settlement have not drawn closer thus far and no major
results should not be expected in this area soon, the Armenian
President’s adviser on national security Garnik Isagulian told
Interfax news agency.
Isagulian said Azerbaijan sees the conflict resolution in the context
of its territorial integrity, while Armenia insists on Upper
Garabagh’s gaining independence.
`The truce agreement was signed by three parties: Azerbaijan,
Garabagh and Armenia, with the latter signing the document as a
guarantor of Garabagh’s security’, Isagulian alleged.
The next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers,
which is a continuation of the `Prague talks’ on settling the Upper
Garabagh conflict, which started in 2004, is scheduled for April.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 29 2005

American Jews may put Garabagh conflict on Congress agenda

Baku, March 28, AssA-Irada

The Jewish Diaspora in America may put the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper Garabagh on discussions at the US Congress, says
President of the Weinberg Foundation of Jews in America Shale
Stiller, who has arrived in Baku to study the Garabagh conflict.
Stiller said he will appeal to the US Congress on the issue.
`Detailed information on the conflict should be collected in order to
put it on discussion at the US Congress and international
organizations.’
While in Baku, Stiller is expected to meet with President Ilham
Aliyev and representatives of Jewish communities, as well as refugees
and displaced persons.*

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

A DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE LEBANESE OPPOSITION
VISTS HIS HOLINESS

A delegation representing the Lebanese opposition met with his Holiness Aram
I on March 25. The delegates informed His Holiness about the recent
developments in the internal political life of Lebanon.

Catholicos Aram I emphasized the importance of preserving national unity
through dialogue and bringing the country of out its current stalemate. He
stressed that it is important to form a new government, draft a new
electoral law and then hold elections. He assured that the Armenian
Community will actively participate in this process.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

FIFA World Cup 2006

March 29 2005

Tough missions for European trio

There are awkward-looking away trips for France, Portugal and Spain
on Wednesday when the campaign to book places at the 2006 FIFA World
Cup Germany’ continues.

With the exception of Italy and Sweden – who are not scheduled to
play – most of the continent’s heavyweights will be contesting their
second match in five days, and they will all be eager to leave a
strong statement of intent before the action resumes again on 4 June.

STANDINGS / MATCHES

In Group 1, the two frontrunners are sure to try and rack up high
scores against teams at the bottom. For the Netherlands (12 goals in
five games), that will mean attempting to add a hefty goal difference
to their one-point lead when they welcome Armenia. Their opponents
have already conceded 13 times, with only four goals scored, but the
home side’s task has not been made any easier by an injury to Arjen
Robben. The Czech Republic are still without a key player of their
own in Jan Koller, but Karel Bruckner’s side will nonetheless be
confident of finding other routes to goal when they travel to face
Andorra, who succumbed 2-1 against Armenia on Saturday. Meanwhile,
Romania will try to pick themselves back up in FYR Macedonia after a
damaging defeat by the Dutch at the weekend.

Having sat out the last round of matches, Ukraine will need to find
their rhythm quickly against Denmark if they are to secure a better
result than September’s 1-1 draw between the two sides. Oleg
Blokhin’s side have a three-point lead to defend in Group 2, and will
be expecting closest rivals Greece to keep up the pressure at home to
Albania, following their 3-1 victory over Georgia on Saturday. Also
in action are Turkey – level on nine points with Denmark – who have
not given up hope yet, and can stay within two points of Greece if
they come back from Georgia with the right result.

Slovakia v Portugal under the spotlight

One of the day’s most intriguing encounters takes place in Group 3,
where Slovakia (13 points, +13) host co-leaders Portugal (13 pts,
+17) in a contest for supremacy at the top. The visitors will be
bringing the two highest scorers in qualification so far in Pauleta
(six goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five goals), but the Slovaks
promise to cause problems of their own if they can set up star
striker Marek Mintal, the leading marksman in the Bundesliga. Three
points behind the top two, Russia know they have to win in Estonia if
they are to stand any chance of staying in the hunt. And, finally,
Latvia will look to improve on what has been a disappointing campaign
when they entertain a Luxembourg team who have leaked 24 goals in six
straight defeats.

The situation remains a lot more complicated in Group 4, where four
sides can still claim the automatic qualifying spot thanks to a
record number of draws (14). Seemingly incapable of winning at the
moment, France must at least make sure they do not lose in Israel,
where the Republic of Ireland were pegged back by a last-gasp
equaliser on Saturday. For their part, Switzerland cannot afford to
drop any points against Cyprus as they aim to keep pace with the
three sides out in front.

With Italy in friendly action, second-placed Norway can bring
themselves to within two points of the Group 5 leaders ahead of the
sides’ meeting in Oslo on 4 June. The Norwegians journey to Moldova
to take on the team currently propping up the table with a single
point, and will no doubt also have one eye on the result in Slovenia.
Positioned third on goal difference alone, the Slovenians welcome
Belarus knowing a convincing victory could see them leapfrog Norway
in the standings.

Croatia poised to go top

The fixture list in Group 6 ought to leave the table looking much the
same after Wednesday, as the top three sides meet the bottom three
and England and Poland exchange opponents. Sven-Göran Eriksson
celebrated his 50th match as England coach at the weekend, and he
looks certain to field an attacking formation for the visit of
Azerbaijan, who were breached eight times in Warsaw. Meanwhile, the
high-scoring Poles host a Northern Ireland team still stinging from
their 4-0 loss to Eriksson’s men. In the remaining game ,
third-placed Austria will seek to inflict another defeat on Wales
after Saturday’s victory in Cardiff.

The evening’s other headline match pits Spain away to Group 7
pacesetters Serbia and Montenegro. Luis Aragonés’s charges currently
lag two points behind their hosts, and a win would definitely ease
the pressure after the two stalemates they have already conceded on
foreign soil. Defeat would hardly be disastrous, though, with games
at home to Lithuania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serbians still to
come. Elsewhere, Lithuania will be vying to stay in the reckoning
when they travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Belgium have a good
chance of continuing their recovery away to San Marino.

Finally, with no match planned for Sweden, Croatia ought to take over
at the top of Group 8 with the same number of games played when they
host Malta, while third-placed Bulgaria may not find it easy in
Hungary as they look to bounce back from Saturday’s home defeat by
the Swedes.

Asia Times Online, Hong Kong

Middle East

Mar 29, 2005

Fear in the real capital of Lebanon

By Lucy Ashton

ANJAR, Lebanon – Outside a villa in Anjar, a small Lebanese town near the
Syrian border 58 kilometers east of Beirut, seven armed guards hover by a
portrait of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. A burly man with a slug of a
moustache and a leather jacket stands hard beside me, he is Mukhabarat – a
member of Syrian intelligence. “Mamnour, Mamnour” (forbidden) was all he
said and pointed me away. His chief, Major General Rostum Ghazali, obviously
did not want to talk. The villa’s doors, great metal slabs that look like
meat safes, remained firmly locked.

Anjar is the control center of Lebanon, the base of General Ghazali, head of
Syrian intelligence, the man who allegedly threatened former Lebanese
premier Rafik Hariri just before his death in a bomb explosion in Beirut
last month.

This town is not ethnically Lebanese at all, but populated by Armenians,
2,600 of them, and about 1,000 Syrians – mostly soldiers and intelligence
men. The Armenians settled beneath these snow-striped gullies in 1939, all
the signs are written in both Arabic and Armenian script.

Stopping at a grocer’s to buy a cool drink, no one wants to speak. At the
mention of the Syrian troops the owner drops his eyes and concentrates hard
on wiping the already clean counter top with a rag.

On Araks Street, Joseph Palasian and his family are gathering to celebrate
Easter, they will exchange eggs and go to Serb Boros Church. His wife is
hesitant, but Joseph and his sons want to speak. “We are no friends of the
Syrians,” he says, smiling beneath a picture of Jesus Christ. “They are not
like the Hezbollah, who have a purpose and keep out the Israelis for us. The
Syrians do no good for us Lebanese.”

Joseph has ceased to respect the Syrian intelligence agents. Every day he
goes to their houses and bangs on the doors. “Time to leave!” he shouts.
Joseph is not afraid of retribution, because the Tashna – Armenian – militia
will protect him.

Or the Lebanese army, he hopes. On Easter Sunday, the town requested the
Lebanese soldiers to come and secure the churches for celebrations. What are
they afraid will happen? It’s hard for Joseph to say. The town is suspicious
that the Syrians will cause trouble, that they will plant bombs at the
churches. The two explosions in Christian areas of Beirut last week were
warnings from Damascus, Joseph thinks. Why? Because they want to prove that
Lebanon cannot remain safe without the brotherly guns of Assad to enforce
the peace.

So far no Syrian troops have withdrawn from Anjar and the checkpoints in the
hills remain in place. A week ago some Syrian soldiers arrived from the
direction of Beirut, rested two days, and climbed over the mountain. Joseph
suspects they are not far away, waiting out of sight, just in case.

Bartan, Joseph’s 18-year-old son, wants to drive with us, a couple of
minutes away, to a Syrian camp. His mother is freaking out, pleading with
him from the balcony as he jumps down the stairs. We stop five kilometers
west of the Syrian border, but Lebanese do not pass east of here much.
Neither Bartan nor our driver wants to leave the car. They are too scared.

A young Syrian soldier, gun slung from his shoulder, wanders from the pink
blossom trees to meet us. For an occupiers’ camp it is terribly relaxed,
there are no gun emplacements or sand bags and not even a gate. The trucks
are parked in a jumble, as though some families have stopped for a weekend
picnic. There is a notable absence of armory. A senior officer appears. He
leads us back to the road, to his general.

Ten minutes have passed since Joseph told us he wanted the Syrians out. “We
are very good friends with the Christians,” promises General Mohammed Aziz.
He is a cheerful man in fatigues and white basketball boots. He walks with a
slight limp, as if there is a thorn in his foot. “They need us here to keep
the peace. But if the Christians want us to leave, we are ready to go, but
when that will happen I don’t know.” General Aziz has lived in Anjar two
years, his family is in Damascus, he would quite like to go home, he says.

Back at the car Bartan would like to move. He has decided he is afraid now.
The Syrians do have a habit of arresting Armenians and accusing them of
being fighters in the Tashna militia. Then what happens to them, Bartan does
not know, or more likely will not say.

As we leave, I ask our Muslim driver if the residents of Anjar are just
being cautious. Zouheir replies, “No we are all really very worried.”

This fear – Christian or Muslim – does not mean that war is imminent. Rather
it is the apprehension of a nation that has seen the bloody chaos of civil
war from 1975-1991 and lived in wary co-existence ever since. The fear comes
from the knowledge it could all easily happen again.

Lucy Ashton is a freelance journalist based in Amman, Jordan.

(Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd.

FOX SPORTS, Australia

France faces World Cup test

>From Luke Phillips in Paris
March 29, 2005

THE pressure mounts in the European qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup this
week, with faltering France facing a tricky away tie in Israel and Spain
playing Serbia-Montenegro in Belgrade on Wednesday.

In the knowledge they have little room for error with just one automatic
group qualifying spot up for grabs, the top three in a strong Group 1 will
all look for wins.

The Netherlands, topping the group with 13 points from five games, host
Armenia, while second-placed Czech Republic travel to basement dwellers
Andorra and Romania play in Macedonia.

The Dutch however will be without Chelsea striker Arjen Robben after he
picked up an ankle injury in Saturday’s 2-0 win in Romania.

“It is difficult to say how many weeks I will be out, but it is clear that
it (the injury) is not good,” Robben said, also ruling himself out of his
club’s Champions League quarter-final game against Bayern Munich on April 6.

In Group 2, leaders Ukraine host third-placed Denmark while European
champions Greece, who notched up a crucial 3-1 win in Georgia on Saturday,
are visited by neighbouring Albania.

Turkey, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists who failed to qualify for Euro
2004, travel to Georgia looking to push themselves into contention for at
least a play-off spot.

Group 3 could get a shake-down when Portugal and Slovakia, both level on 13
points with four wins and a draw from five games, meet in Bratislava.

Third-placed Russia, after recording an unimpressive 2-1 win over
Liechtenstein on the weekend, play in Estonia, and Latvia host winless
Luxembourg.

In Group 4, Ireland, France and Israel are all locked in top place on nine
points.

Former champions France, who have only beaten the Faroe Islands and Cyprus
so far and notched up only four goals in five games, face a tricky trip to
Israel, who held Ireland to a last-gasp 1-1 draw on the weekend.

“We must do all we can to win” in Israel, said France striker David
Trezeguet.

“The situation is delicate but there is quality in the France side … I’m
not worried. Motivated more like.”

Switzerland, who battled to hold a misfiring France to a 0-0 draw on
Saturday, host Cyprus, with only a draw to their credit in their five games
so far, and a win would up the pressure on the top three.

“I feel it is likely to go to the last weekend to decide first and second
places in the group and we need to be in there when that comes about,” said
Ireland manager Brian Kerr. Ireland play China in a friendly on Tuesday.

Group 5 frontrunners Italy, with 12 points from five games, sit out
Wednesday’s round of matches.

But Norway and Slovenia, joint second-placed on seven points, play Belarus
and Moldova respectively with an eye of gaining ground on the pace-setting
Azzurri.

England remain in pole position in Group 6 on 13 points after handing out a
4-0 weekend thrashing to Northern Ireland, without a competitive win since
October 2001.

England play Azerbaijan in Newcastle on Wednesday, and Chelsea midfielder
Frank Lampard said he believed the side are now developing a potent
combination of self-confidence and a killer edge that could help them make a
major impact on next year’s finals in Germany.

Second-placed Poland, just a point behind England, hammered Azerbaijan 8-0
on Saturday and now host Northern Ireland.

Austria, in third place, are looking for a second win over Wales in five
days in their push to the top of the group.

After notching up their first win of the campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina
in Group 7, Belgium will be looking to record a second victory against
winless San Marino.

But the game of the group will be between table-toppers Serbia and
Montenegro and second-placed Spain.

Ilija Petkovic, coach of Serbia and Montenegro, who have had a dream start
with three victories and a draw from four games without conceding a goal,
expressed his concern that his side might be a little rusty.

Spain will hope record goalscorer Raul has his shooting boots with him when
they head for the lions’ den of Belgrade.

The Real Madrid marksman missed Saturday’s 3-0 friendly waltz over China
with a foot injury, but will return for a crucial tie that Spain dare not
lose if they are to harbour hopes of wresting top spot from their hosts.

Goal-happy Group 8 leaders Sweden have the night off while second-placed
Croatia, with a game in hand over the Scandinavians, host winless Malta.

In the other match, Hungary play Bulgaria in a tussle for third spot.

Agence France-Presse