Peculiarities Of The Information War

PECULIARITIES OF THE INFORMATION WAR

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
21 March 05

About 11 years have passed since the ceasefire agreement which put an
end to the military actions in Nagorni Karabakh. It should be mentioned
that the agreement achieved by Azerbaijan, Nagorni Karabakh and Armenia
in May 1994 was more or less maintained. However, this does not mean
that the conflict sides have at least a little approached the final
settlement of the problem. It is quite the opposite; the armistice
may create political, legal, military, economic and informational
conditions for the resumption of military actions. What is more, the
military actions may be wider in scale than they were at the beginning
of the 1990s. In other words, at present the war is going on at the
level of politics, international law, economy, military building and
information. One of the peculiarities of the information war is that
its consequences are graver than those of armed conflict. Destroyed
buildings and communication can be restored soon, whereas uprooting
of hatred for a neighbouring nation may take decades. Therefore, it is
absolutely unacceptable to provoke nationalistic hysteria through the
mass media and instill hatred for a neighbouring nation. Unfortunately,
we have to admit that another peculiarity of the information war
is the atmosphere in which a nation does not tolerate the opposite
side of the conflict. First of all, this refers to the Azerbaijani
machine of propaganda which has from the very beginning chosen the
entire Armenian nation as its target. The evidence to this is the
letter of a group of Azerbaijani scientists to the president of
the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia
Victor Hambardzumian in 1988. Signed by about 240 representatives of
the Azerbaijani intelligentsia the letter ran, “We appeal to your
conscience; for the third time in less than a hundred years the
Armenians are instigating violence between the brotherly nations.
Appeal to your intelligentsia, stop the violence of your citizens!
How can you claim the land which does not belong to you? Azerbaijan
is not a pie to bite off a titbit of it. Who if not you can stop
the ferocious mop? Cruelty is favourable for the foreign Armenian
extremists only. Our internationalist duty is to warn you about
this.” If we clean the dust of the empty words “internationalist duty”
and “brotherly nations” which were then an obligatory homage paid by
the authors of the letter to the Soviet system, we will see that the
content of the letter of the Azerbaijani scientists is impregnated
with hatred for the Armenian nation which is called “instigators of
conflicts” and “extremists” in the letter. Thereby the nature of the
problem of Nagorni Karabakh is falsified as territorial claims of
the Armenian nation to Azerbaijan. What is more (yet this is another
peculiarity of the information war waged by Azerbaijan) the Soviet
authorities connived in the provocation of anti-Armenian hysteria
through the Azerbaijani mass media. And not accidentally because the
Baku authorities could not allow the conflict to be recognized as the
fair protest of the Armenians of Nagorni Karabakh against the policy
of discrimination implemented by the Azerbaijani government, whereas
discrimination was the cause for the protest of the people of Nagorni
Karabakh. Unfortunately, the strategy of the Azerbaijani propaganda
to discredit the Armenian nation is carried on by post-Soviet
Azerbaijan as well, which is the main obstacle on the way of creating
an atmosphere of confidence between the conflict parties. As always,
the role of the flagman in blackening the Armenians is played by the
Azerbaijani mass media. In September 1997 the foreign ministry of
NKR informed the OSCE Minsk Group about the anti-Armenian activity
of the newspaper “Bakinski Rabochi” founded by the administration of
the president of Azerbaijan. The memorandum of the NKR MFA which was
extended to the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group contained citations
from different articles published in the periodical, which are vivid
examples of the determined intolerance to the Armenian nation kindled
by the government of Azerbaijan. The following is quoted from the
news of the state news agency “Azer Taj” about the visit of Heidar
Aliev to the USA published in one of the July 1997 issues of the
newspaper “Bakinski Rabochi”. “The real face of the Armenians was
exposed; this abject nation lost the very little respect it had gained
through money, official posts of criminal gangs.” What is more, one
of the positive results of Heidar Aliev’s visit is, according to the
news, that Azerbaijan and the peaceful policy of its president fully
revealed the foul nature of the Armenians. As to the Armenian sides of
the conflict, their mass media have always attempted to prove to the
world the right of the people of NK for self-determination. Therefore,
from the very beginning the mass media of Armenia and Nagorni Karabakh
criticized the authorities and not the people of Azerbaijan. This
is one more peculiarity of the propaganda war going on between
the sides of the Nagorni Karabakh conflict. In his article “Truth
Precious of All” published in the Yerevan-based newspaper “Communist”
in 1988 the chairman of the Scientific Council on Ethnic Processes
under the presidium of the Armenia SSR Academy of Sciences, Doctor
Khikar Barseghian, responding to the director of the Institute of
the History of the Communist Party Daniel Guliev arguing that there
is no problem of Karabakh because Nagorni Karabakh had belonged to
Azerbaijan from the beginning, literally wrote, “The people (i.e.
of Azerbaijan ” A.G.) anticipates from him (i.e. from D. Guliev ”
A.G.) only the truth, believes in him. And what is he doing? Can’t
he see that by falsifying the history of the region he is helping the
opponents of socialism torpedoing the policy of perestroika. And who
is this favourable for? The sooner this pseudo-historian gets rid of
the lamentable heritage of Heidar Aliev, the better it will be for
the common cause, restoration of peace between nations.” As you see,
the criticism of the Armenian scientist which reflected the viewpoint
of the authorities of Armenia then does not attack the Azerbaijanis,
although we should confess that it is rich in non-correct word
stock. The criticism is addressed to a concrete addressee, the
Azerbaijani scientist and ruler and not the entire Azerbaijani
nation. This tendency in the mass media of Armenia and Karabakh is
continuing nowadays too (occasional publications of irresponsible
authors in non-governmental mass media do not count). As a result,
there is no anti-Azerbaijani hysteria in the Armenian society, which
allows the governments of Armenia and Nagorni Karabakh to be flexible
in the peace process, which is not the case with Azerbaijan. However,
we think the latter circumstance is not preferable either. It is
not preferable because it is unilateral. Imagine during the military
actions one of the sides stops fighting hoping that the opposite side
will act similarly. Is this kind of scenario realistic? Of course,
no. Then why do we think that unilateral pacifism is possible in the
information war? If the ceasefire is not supported by an armistice in
the information war, it means that the conflict sides (or one of them)
do not want to transform the ceasefire into real peace. Thus, if the
Azerbaijani side does not put an end to the propaganda war (which
is waged not only against the people of Nagorni Karabakh but also
against the whole of the Armenian nation), it means that it make use
of the armistice to create conditions which will enable them to take a
military revenge. One of the components of these conditions is the use
of the mass media to provoke common intolerance to the Armenians which
had allegedly challenged the international law thereby obstructing
peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus. This is for the so-called
external use. And as the Azerbaijani soldier will never fight for
the international law, they instill in them hatred for the Armenians
who allegedly encroach on the land belonging to his country. And
this is for internal use. And where is the way out? We think it is
necessary to sign an agreement on cessation of the information war
by both sides. And if the international mediators really seek for a
peaceful settlement, they also should direct their efforts at this
purpose. The side that refuses to sign the agreement must undergo
international obstruction. If after achieving the armistice in the
information war it is maintained by at least the state mass media, it
will already be positive. And the Western organizations may work with
the influential independent mass media and organs of political parties
denying the disobedient “information soldiers” grants and other forms
of help. In the absence of a similar agreement the unilateral pacifism
of the mass media of Armenia and Nagorni Karabakh is inadmissible as it
may affect the moral and psychological state of the Armenian society
for a due counterattack against the enemy in case military actions
are resumed. Consequently, unilateral pacifism in the information
policy is more dangerous in the sense of resumption of military
actions than at peace. This is, perhaps, the chief peculiarity of
the present information war in the Nagorni Karabakh conflict.

ALEXANDER GRIGORIAN. 21-03-2005

Russian peacekeepers detained in Georgia-Abkhazia conflict zone

RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS DETAINED IN GEORGIA-ABKHAZIA CONFLICT ZONE

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 21 2005

TBILISI, March 21 (RIA Novosti) – The Georgian law-enforcement
agencies have detained four armed Russian peacekeepers in the zone
of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

The Russian peacekeepers, among which are one Armenian, two Russians
and one Kabardinian, had no identification papers about them, the
local police of the Samegrelo region has told RIA Novosti.

“They did not obey the demands of the Georgian police to surrender
arms and produce the papers. The rapid deployment squad had to fire
in the air as a warning and they surrendered”, the police said.

Peacekeepers say that they were found outside the 30-kilometer security
zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict by chance and were looking for
the lost horse.

At the present moment, the detained are kept in the headquarters of
the rapid deployment squad of the Georgian Interior Ministry and are
being interrogated by the Georgian police.

The officer and the thee men, attached to a post in the Gali district
of Abkhazia, were discovered in the territory of the Zugdidi district
controlled by the Georgian side, the Novosti-Georgia news agency has
been told at the regional security service.

The peacekeeper command has been notified of the fact. The detained
will be passed to the command today.

AAA: Rep. Kennedy Calls On Administration To Confront Turkey’s Denia

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

REP. KENNEDY CALLS ON ADMINISTRATION TO CONFRONT TURKEY’S DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today praised Rep. Patrick
Kennedy (D-RI), a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, for calling on the Bush Administration to openly deal with
Turkey’s continued policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide and to
support a congressional resolution reaffirming this crime against
humanity.

Kennedy, in a statement issued last week before Congress, said the
Administration’s reluctance to address the issue stems from its
refusal to alienate Turkey at a time when Washington is seeking to
repair relations with Ankara.

“This approach sends absolutely the wrong signal to Turkey and to
the rest of the world,” Kennedy stated. “As we promote relations
based upon shared values, the United States must never forget the
essential value of facing history directly.”

Kennedy also added that the present day Turkish government must stop
its shameful policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide.

“The Turkish government spends millions of dollars annually to lobby
other governments to advance its revisionist cause, claiming that
the subject is sensitive and that acknowledgement would undermine
relations with Turkey,” Kennedy said.

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed calls
for further study of the Armenian Genocide, telling Reuters “If there
is a need for a political settling of accounts with history after
such a study, we, the government and the opposition, are ready to do
just that.”

Assembly leaders, for their part, joined Armenia’s Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian in calling the study pointless given the scholarly
community’s publicly stated conclusions confirming the events as
Genocide.

“Periodic calls by various Turkish administrations for historical
debate simply delay the process of reconciling the truth,” Oskanian
recently said in a speech before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
“The facts are clear. The historical record is clear. We know well
what happened to our forebears.”

The Assembly in recent weeks has pointed to such public affirmations,
as well as those of leading U.S. public officials such as Ambassador
to Armenia John Evans, as part of its campaign to urge President Bush
to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his statement of remembrance
next month.

For information on joining the Assembly campaign to reaffirm the
U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide, log on to the Assembly Web site
at or send an email to the Assembly’s grassroots branch
ARAMAC at [email protected].

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

### NR#2005-029

Editor’s Note: Attached is the full text of Congressman Kennedy’s
statement for the record as submitted to the House of Representatives.

SPEECH OF
HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY
OF RHODE ISLAND
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2005

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the
continued reluctance by the Bush Administration to openly deal with
the government of Turkey’s continued policy of denial of the Armenian
Genocide. In the words of scholars and writers, genocide denial is the
last stage of genocide, what Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel has called a
“double killing.” The perpetrators first plan and commit the crime,
then refuse to acknowledge responsibility. Finally, their political
successors deny this crime against humanity. The present-day Turkish
government must stop this shameful policy of denial.

The award-winning writer and Harvard Professor Samantha Power in
her recent book on genocide recounted how the United States and the
world’s other powers have too often been bystanders to Genocide,
most recently in Rwanda and as you hear these words, once again in
Sudan. Power argued that “The Armenian Genocide of 1915 set the stage
for a gruesome 20th century.” The international community’s failure
to properly condemn the attempted annihilation of the Armenians
led Hitler to famously declare “Who, after all, speaks today of the
annihilation of the Armenians?”

The Turkish government spends millions of dollars annually to lobby
other governments to advance its revisionist cause, claiming that
the subject is “sensitive” and that acknowledgment would undermine
relations with Turkey. To compound this assault on the truth, Turkish
leaders and media accuse U.S. and Israel of genocide, respectively
in Iraq and Palestine. These policies are abhorrent and must be
confronted.

Mr. Speaker, while President Bush has issued annual statements on
April 24, the day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, he has
refrained from using the proper word. Moreover, as the leadership of
the House confirmed last year, the Administration remains opposed to
a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide due to Turkish
objections. This approach sends absolutely the wrong signal to Turkey
and to the rest of the world. As we promote relations based upon
shared values, the United States must never forget the essential
value of facing history directly.

-30-

–Boundary_(ID_thovdAY6BU4cQNRvH9DERg)–

www.armenianassembly.org
www.aaainc.org

Epygi and Content Directions Break New Ground to Launch World’s ….

PRNewswire
United Business Media

Epygi and Content Directions Break New Ground to Launch World’s First
Interactive, Multilink-Driven Ad

New Ad Unit from Content Directions Promises Superior User Experience,
Superior Advertiser Results

NEW YORK and DALLAS, March 21 /PRNewswire/ — Epygi Technologies, a
leader
in SIP based VoIP technology and manufacturer of Quadro telecom products for
the small to medium sized business market, has become the first advertiser
to
deploy Content Directions Inc.’s next generation online ad based on the
Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Placed initially on the telecom portal
TMCnet.com, the ad provides customers with immediate access to all of
Epygi’s
current product information from within a single, rich MultiLink(TM)
dropdown
menu, without having to leave the page on which the ad is displayed and then
navigate through the Epygi website hunting for product information. (See
and roll your mouse
over the banner ad at the top or on the right side of the screen.) The
MultiLink menu is automatically refreshed with current product info via a
central update process managed by Content Directions based on Epygi’s ever-
current product and distribution channel data.
Epygi CEO/President, Jeff Kirchner, explains, “CDI’s implementation of
DOI
technology allows Epygi to syndicate our marketing and sales information
globally in real time ads and information updates all over the Web. We can
instantly update information in every channel, keeping pace with an
accelerating business. Knowing that public information and channel
information is updated automatically via CDI’s MultiLink creation and
maintenance process represents a breakthrough in sales support and channel
development for Epygi. The same MultiLink can also be disseminated as a
contextual link within product reviews, white papers, news articles,
electronic feeds, blog entries, and downloadable marketing brochures. It is
a
permanent link that always brings customers back to our most current product
information.”
Hugh Brownstone, CEO of Content Directions, adds, “We are delighted to
help Epygi maximize the effectiveness of its online ad budget. We believe
DOI-enabled ads represent a breakthrough in interactive advertising. Our
custom-tailored MultiLinks allow advertisers to define the boundaries of a
highly flexible, tuned ad campaign which remains a user-driven interaction.
Our technology and the superior user experience it enables yield
improvements
in click-throughs and conversion rates at levels beyond anything else
currently available.”

To view other examples of MultiLinks for Epygi products, see:

— IP PBXs

00000002 — Gateways

00000003 —
Conference
Servers

— Vonage
Services

About Epygi
Epygi Technologies, Ltd. Is a privately held US company headquartered in
Plano, Texas (North Dallas). Founded in 2000, Epygi designs and
manufactures
the expanding product line that includes IP PBXs, conference servers and
voice
gateways. Epygi products benefit from extensive knowledge in
telecommunications, DSP voice processing and data networking.
With over 200 employees worldwide, Epygi is building a global
distribution
network of distributors and resellers. Sales and Development offices are
in
the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom,
Armenia and Japan. The company utilizes a sales organization of
distributors
and resellers. Epygi products operate as standalone products, interoperate
with a large number of existing analog and IP products and provide reliable
service to carriers offering IP voice services. The products are positioned
to serve the large SMB and SOHO markets, teleworkers, and branch offices of
large corporations and organizations.

About Content Directions, Inc. (CDI)
CDI helps companies maximize the commercial effectiveness of their web
presence by applying next generation web navigation tools and techniques.
It
is the industry leader in Digital Object Identifier (DOI) technology, the
next
generation in Web navigation developed by the primary inventor of the
Internet
and recent recipient of the Turing Award, Dr. Robert Kahn. More information
about CDI’s products and services can be found at
, including live customer examples and
numerous ROI studies which have documented how CDI’s unique, patent-pending
implementation of the DOI standard radically accelerates its customers’ top-
line revenue growth.

For more information, click on the DOI for this press release
() or contact:

Epygi Technologies, Ltd.
6900 North Dallas Parkway
Two Town Center, Suite 850
Plano, Texas 75024

Anthony Knape
Mobile Phone: 214-680-6942
Phone: 972-692-1166 x33
Email: [email protected]

Epygi / Sales Force Europe
General Castanos 9-2D
Madrid 28004 Spain
Jennifer Sundquist
Phone: +34 666 751 344
Email: [email protected]

or

Tina Aridas
Deputy Manager, Marketing & Press Relations
CONTENT DIRECTIONS, INC.
phone: 718-965-8490 or 917-514-5364
fax: 718-768-7542
email: [email protected]

http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/selecting-voip-solutions/
http://dx.doi.org/10.2120/0001-EPYGI-0000000000-0000000001
http://dx.doi.org/10.2120/0001-EPYGI-0000000000-00
http://dx.doi.org/10.2120/0001-EPYGI-0000000000-00
http://dx.doi.org/10.2120/0001-EPYGI-0000000000-0000000004
http://www.contentdirections.com
http://dx.doi.org/10.1220/pr37
http://www.epygi.com

Longing to Be Heard

Christianity Today
April 2005

Longing to Be Heard

It’s dangerous and lonely to be an Iraqi Christian~Wat home or in exile.

by Dale Gavlak | posted 03/21/2005 09:00 a.m.

Nearly 40,000 Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan and Syria are unlikely to
return home any time soon, despite the recent national elections. Lack of
safety is their biggest concern. “We voted, but we don’t know whether
elections will change the situation. If security is restored, then we may
return to Iraq. But if there is no improvement, we won’t go back,”
18-year-old Boutros Chamoun told Christianity Today after Sunday mass at the
Church of St. Terese of Little Jesus in the famed Old City sector of
Damascus, Syria.

Chamoun fled with his widowed mother and his three siblings to Syria after
militants blew up the laundry they ran in Baghdad. Among their clients were
U.S. soldiers. The teenager’s dark eyes looked anxious as he spoke about the
future. “I don’t think anyone ruling Iraq will consider the interests of
Christians in or out of the country.”

He’s not alone in his grim assessment. Record numbers of Christians have
fled Iraq, prompting worries that their 2,000-year-old presence is being
seriously eroded. About 400,000 Iraqi refugees are now in Syria, according
to reliable estimates. Only 4,000 are registered with the United Nations. Of
the estimated 40,000 Christians who have left Iraq, the greatest number fled
after a series of church bombings last August, according to church leaders
in Syria and Jordan.

Today there are some 750,000 Christians in Iraq~Wabout 3 percent of the
nation’s 26 million people. Before the war, the Christian community numbered
1 million. In 1987, there were 1.4 million Christians.

Most of Iraq’s Christians are Chaldean Eastern Rite Catholics (though
autonomous from Rome, they recognize papal primacy). Other Christian
denominations in Iraq include Roman and Syrian Catholics, Assyrians,
Presbyterians, Anglicans, evangelicals, and Greek, Syrian, and Armenian
Orthodox.

Yohanna, an Iraqi university professor, escaped to Damascus with his family
because as a Christian and a professional he was a tempting double target.
“I don’t expect the newly elected politicians in Iraq’s first free elections
in half a century to help our tiny minority, because to do so would weaken
their own position,” he explained.

“It breaks our hearts to leave our country. But circumstances have overcome
us and we were forced to leave,” he said, shaking his head in grief.
“Although I aided my Muslim colleagues, they identified me as a crusader
because of the American presence.”

Asylum at Risk
Less than 150 miles south of Damascus, Iraqi Christian refugees in Amman,
Jordan, dream of a fresh start outside Iraq. But that may be thwarted by
politics. Chaldean Catholic worshipers in the drab working-class district of
Hashimi Shamali told Christianity Today some of their own religious leaders
inside Iraq are telling foreign embassies to refuse requests for political
asylum from Iraqi Christians. The motive is unclear, but refugees speculate
these religious leaders want to maintain the strongest possible Christian
influence inside Iraq.

“They are trying to imprison us,” one Christian refugee complained, “but
they won’t help ensure our safety.” Boulos, a businessman from Baghdad, said
he and his extended family fled to Amman only after terrorists targeted a
relative. “Insurgents kidnapped my 18-year-old nephew, Girguis, in Baghdad.
They beat him very badly and cut him with knives all over his body,” Boulos
said, the horror plainly written across his face.

“While he was in captivity, they showed him tapes of insurgents killing
Christians. They warned him, ‘If you go to church again, we will cut off
your head!’ We had no other choice but to leave Iraq.”

Boulos told CT some Sunni Muslim preachers are telling their followers not
to buy homes that Christians are selling, because “soon they will leave them
to us for free.”

The Baghdad businessman, during my interview, repeated an oft-used phrase:
“Sunday comes after Saturday.” To Iraqi Christians, it means they may face
the same fate as the 100,000 Iraqi Jews forced out of the country in 1951.

Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has
condemned the assaults on churches as “hideous crimes.” But few if any
Muslim leaders have criticized the killings of Christians who work for the
U.S. military or sell alcoholic beverages in Iraq.

Abduction and Rape
Militant Muslims are not targeting just Christians. Iraqi Mandaeans (an
ancient sect that reveres John the Baptist) argue that their plight is also
precarious because Muslims do not put Mandaeans on a par with Jews and
Christians as “People of the Book” (the Bible). Mandaeans, who have historic
ties to Judaism, estimate their community numbers around 15,000 people.

Militants target Mandaeans with few consequences. “They normally focus on
kidnapping Mandaean girls,” said 23-year-old Shayma, herself a victim of
abduction and rape in Baghdad last May. Shayma, a Baghdad Mandaean, said
gunmen abducted her on May 24 last year as she walked to the grocery store
in her Zayoona neighborhood. They took her to a rural area where they
repeatedly raped and tortured her for eight days. The kidnappers demanded
that her family pay a ransom of $10,000 for her release.

“When they tortured me, they shouted, ‘You are infidels! Your lives,
belongings, and possessions are all permitted for us to take,'” Shayma said
weeping.

“I felt like my life was over,” she said. “I would stay awake wondering if I
would ever see my family again in this life.” Although her father paid the
ransom, her abductors continued to torment her. When she was released, they
told her, “We will come again to kill your brothers and blow up your house.”
She and her family fled in fear to Jordan and hope to win religious asylum
in Australia.

Staying the Course
In stark contrast, several Christian congregations in Iraq are growing,
especially ones that worship in buildings without traditional steeples and
crosses.

One new fellowship has outgrown its meeting place in Baghdad and aspires to
plant a satellite ministry in a nearby suburb. Some Pentecostal Christians
report five-fold church growth, topping several hundred new worshipers since
the end of the war. An Iraqi Christian family returned to Baghdad from
Jordan six months ago to start a Bible study with women from a Catholic
church that was targeted in the August bombings.

Most Iraqi Christians believe their concerns are overlooked in the global
war against terror. A Baghdad native named Barbara, now approaching 70,
asked during my interview, “Is there any country that will provide sanctuary
to the Iraqi Christians?

“It seems like Christians in the West have forgotten the Christians in Iraq.
It’s necessary for them to help us. We don’t want financial aid. We want
them to save our lives.” Last year, Iraqi leaders approved an interim
constitution, including article 53D, which recognizes Chaldo-Assyrian
Christians and guarantees creation of a region that Chaldo-Assyrians would
govern themselves. In late November, 11 humanitarian groups appealed to the
interim government to implement article 53D for creation of an autonomous
safe haven north of Mosul in an area known as the Nineveh Plain.

A young seminarian named Shan, who now lives in Amman, said he hopes the
elections will help deal a blow to the insurgency. “Perhaps the resistance
will be weakened because the Iraqis have been empowered by voting in a new
government.” Six Christians will serve in the new National Assembly.

“For me,” he said, “it doesn’t matter whether a Christian or a Muslim is at
Iraq’s helm. What matters is whether the Christian voice there is being
heard.”

Dale Gavlak, a journalist based in Amman, Jordan, has covered the Middle
East for 15 years.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today.
April 2005, Vol. 49, No. 4, Page 84

–Boundary_(ID_ScwQEw3HhllleVUViw80Cw)–

Jerusalem authorities fear Catholic-Orthodox clashes during Holy Wee

Jerusalem authorities fear Catholic-Orthodox clashes during Holy Week

Catholic World News

Jerusalem, Mar. 21 (CWNews.com) – Public officials in Jerusalem are
bracing for Eastertide conflicts between Orthodox and Catholic clerics
at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, according to the London Daily
Telegraph .

Local officials have reportedly called in Catholic and Orthodox leaders
for discussions in recent days, hoping to ward off a repetition
of an ugly fight that occurred last September, when Orthodox monks
charged and battered first Franciscan friars, then local police at
the basilica. The Telegraph reports that a videotape of that incident
shows the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos instructing monks “to
close the door of the Franciscan chapel by force.”

Custody of the Church of Holy Sepulcher has been shared among the
Catholic, Orthodox, and Armenian churches for generations, on the
basis of a complex agreement that has been enforced by successive
governments in Jerusalem. Disputes among the monks who administer the
basilica are commonplace, but the arrival of a new Orthodox patriarch
has brought tensions to a new height.

“We had good relations with the Greeks before now,” one Catholic
cleric told the Telegraph. But he said that Patriarch Irineos had
been “a lightning-rod for trouble.” This year, the Orthodox leader
has announced plans for an Easter procession that would pass through
the chapel that is in the custody of the Franciscans.

Franciscans are appealing to the Israeli government for help, saying
that the Orthodox procession should follow the traditional route, not
impinging on the parts of the basilica controlled by Catholics. The
Franciscans’ case is complicated, however, by the Israeli courts’
reluctance to become involved in religious disputes.

The access of Catholic institutions to Israeli secular courts is
one of the key questions being discussed by representatives of the
Holy See and the Israeli government in the negotiations designed
to produce a long-awaited agreement establishing the juridical and
economic rights of Catholic institutions in Israel.

Hosts China in Sudirman Cup group with Indonesia

Reuters
Know.Now

Hosts China in Sudirman Cup group with Indonesia
Mon Mar 21, 2005 01:35 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Hosts China, bidding to regain the Sudirman Cup
badminton title they have won on four previous occasions, will be in
the same group as Indonesia, Hong Kong and Sweden in the May 10-15
finals in Beijing. Holders South Korea are in the same group as
Denmark, England and Thailand.

The draw for world badminton’s top mixed team event was made in
Beijing on Monday and was attended by seven local television stations
and over 100 media representatives.

The two leading groups first stage a round-robin tournament and the
group winners then battle each other for the Cup.

The remaining 34 nations are positioned in groups according to their
rankings from the previous competition two years ago. They will be
fighting for promotion from five lower divisions.

Malaysia will once again be pushing to earn a place back in the top
flight following their relegation to Group 2 after the 1999 edition
of the event in Copenhagen.

Sudirman Cup debutants Turkmenistan and Mongolia find themselves
against Sri Lanka and Armenia in Group 6.

Only three nations have won the Cup since its 1989 inauguration —
China, Indonesia and South Korea.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

–Boundary_(ID_0vIxJTR2NjfCJMkHdmd7jA)–

ASBAREZ Online [03-21-2005]

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/21/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) Karabagh Status Most Important, Lennmarker Says
2) Armenia Asks OSCE to Send Fact-Finding Mission to Formerly
Armenian-Populated Regions
3) Armenia Names New Ambassador to US
4) German Politicians Increase Pressure on Turkey over EU Reforms
5) Rumsfeld Puts Heat on Turkey
6) Azerbaijan’s Leader Pardons 114 Prisoners
7) Desert Nights: An Interview with Ara Manoogian
8) Alpha Epsilon Omega Wristband Campaign Seeks to Raise Genocide Awareness
9) Disabled Armenian Athlete Completes LA Marathon
10) Antonovich Appoints John Krikorian to Small Business Commission

1) Karabagh Status Most Important, Lennmarker Says

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OCSE) rapporteur on Karabagh Goran Lennmarker, reaffirmed that the region’s
status is of utmost importance, National Assembly Vice Speaker Vahan
Hovhannissian told a news conference on Monday.
According to Hovhannisian, Lennmarker also said that Azeri arguments
regarding
the refugees and territories are secondary.
Leading a two-member delegation to Brussels last week to discuss with Azeri
counterparts Lenmarker~Rs report, Hovhannissian said the draft report was not
discussed because of several questionable points. He described the preliminary
report as ~Sbalanced,~T speculating that it might have been the cause of Azeri
parliament members~R anger. Its final version, he said, would be presented
to an
OSCE annual meeting in Washington in July.
The Brussels meetings were held to discuss the Karabagh conflict, as well as
specify both nations~R approaches towards conflict resolution in the context of
eventual European integration as part of EU~Rs Wider Europe new initiative. He
said discussions were held with senior officials of the European Commission,
European Parliament, and EU Committee of Ministers.
~SIn general, the Armenian delegation managed to present its views and
persuade
Lenmarker to address that the major problem towards finding a solution is
Nagorno Karabagh~Rs status and that all problems presented by Azeris are its
derivatives~Ewithout the resolved issue of the status all other issues
cannot be
resolved,~T he said.
He also indicated that during the discussion of the issue, the Azeris
unsuccessfully attempted to include “Atkinson~Rs provisions” in the report, as
well as tried to set the next meeting in London, in hopes of gaining backing
from the British. This proposal was also denied, Hovhannisian said.

2) Armenia Asks OSCE to Send Fact-Finding Mission to Formerly
Armenian-Populated Regions

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–During a televised appearance over the weekend, Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian said that Armenia has officially asked the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to send a
fact-finding mission to Mountainous Karabagh~Rs northern Martakert, Shahumian,
and eastern Martuni regions–once densely populated by Armenians who had fled
their homes to escape Azeri massacres.
Oskanian told Armenian Public TV that the OSCE fact-finding mission’s report
indicates that the issue of refugees has two sides. ~SAzeris say only they have
refugees; however, the majority of those living now in several
Armenian-controlled regions around Karabagh are Armenian refugees from
northern
Martakert and Shahumian who say they are ready to return to their homes.~T
“After the OSCE fact-finding mission’s report, there are no obstacles and the
talks should resume,” Oskanian said.

3) Armenia Names New Ambassador to US

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian has appointed Tatul Markarian, a
deputy foreign minister who has represented him in peace talks with
Azerbaijan,
as Armenia~Rs new ambassador to the United States.
Markarian, 40, will replace Arman Kirakossian who has headed the Armenian
diplomatic mission in Washington since October 1999.
A graduate of Washington~Rs Johns Hopkins University, Markarian began his
diplomatic career at the Armenian embassy in the U.S. where he held various
positions from 1994-98. He had previously worked as a top aide to Gagik
Harutiunian, Armenia~Rs former vice-president and prime minister who now heads
the Constitutional Court.
Markarian became deputy foreign minister in 2000 and his influence grew two
years later when he was named Kocharian~Rs personal representative in
internationally sponsored negotiations on Mountainous Karabagh. He met
regularly with his Azeri counterpart Araz Azimov, between 2002 and 2003.

4) German Politicians Increase Pressure on Turkey over EU Reforms

BERLIN (Reuters)–Turkey needs to reinvigorate its reform drive if it wants to
start European Union entry talks as planned on October 3, two leading German
politicians say.
“At the moment, I do not see any movement. If that remains the case, there
will be no start to entry negotiations,” Martin Schulz, the Socialist
leader of
the European Parliament, told Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Sunday.
“We must say clearly: If Turkey wants negotiations, further things need to
happen,” he told Sunday’s edition of Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
newspaper.
Guenter Gloser, the European spokesman of Germany’s ruling Social Democrats,
told the same newspaper he feared Turkey was in a “weak phase of fatigue”
after
a string of reforms encouraged EU leaders in December to offer Ankara a date
for talks.
The EU might have to delay the start of talks if Turkey did not act, he said.
The German lawmakers’ comments partly echo those of EU envoy Hansjorg
Kretschmer, who said earlier this month Turkey was showing “slippage” in its
reform drive.
Television footage showing police beating and kicking mainly women
demonstrators at a rally on March 6 shocked many in Europe and drew sharp
criticism from EU officials. Turkey has pledged a full probe and six police
officers have so far been suspended.
The Istanbul incident revived concerns that Turkey is not fully
implementing a
range of EU-inspired human rights reforms.

5) Rumsfeld Puts Heat on Turkey

By Geoff Elliott

The weekend’s second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq proved to be
another bloody one but US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has sheeted
home at
least some of the blame for the troubles to Turkey.
Rumsfeld yesterday hailed Iraq’s liberation and January elections but said
the
insurgents’ success was a result of the Government in Ankara blocking US
troops
from entering Iraq from Turkey, to the north.
“Given the level of the insurgency today, two years later, clearly if we had
been able to get the 4th Infantry Division in from the north, in through
Turkey, more of the Iraqi, Saddam Hussein, Baathist regime would have been
captured or killed,” Rumsfeld told Fox News. “The insurgency today would be
less.”
Coalition troops were forced to use southern Iraq corridors, which the US
military says allowed insurgents to evade capture in the north.
The US-Turkey standoff occurred partly in the context of Ankara’s concerns
that any move to autonomy for Iraq’s northern Kurdish population would enliven
its own ethnic Kurds in their drive to independence.
Rumsfeld said that by the time Baghdad was taken, Saddam’s military and
intelligence personnel had escaped to the northern cities and were, “in a
number of instances, still active.”
But he was confident the Iraqi security forces were taking more
responsibility
for the insurgency and that it would gradually diminish.
At least 45 people were killed in weekend violence in Iraq, including a US
soldier. In one of at least six deadly incidents, in the northern city of
Mosul
a suicide bomber blew himself up in a provincial anti-corruption department.
The department’s chief, General Walid Kachmoula, died, as did two guards.
With more than 1500 US soldiers killed and about 11,000 wounded, many
Americans are asking how much longer the occupation–involving about
152,000 US
troops–will continue. Asked on the ABC network whether the US commitment
could
be reduced soon, Rumsfeld indicated that was possible. “We’re planning to
bring
the 152,000 down to about 135,000 or 137,000 or 140,000 over the coming weeks,
now that the election is behind us.”
Washington expects Iraq’s security forces to reach 200,000 members by the
northern summer.

6) Azerbaijan’s Leader Pardons 114 Prisoners

BAKU (AP)–Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev pardoned more than 100
prisoners
on Sunday, including dozens of opposition politicians whose release had been
demanded by Europe’s top human rights body.
Fifty-three of the 114 people pardoned were on a list of political prisoners
that the Council of Europe demanded be released, Aliyev’s office said in a
statement.
Aliyev’s decree came just four days after the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe warned Azerbaijan that it must free its political prisoners
or face punitive measures, including a review in the former Soviet republic’s
membership on the 46-nation council.
Council officials were pressing for the prisoners to be released by April to
ensure parliamentary elections scheduled for November are free and fair.
Among those pardoned Sunday were seven top opposition leaders convicted for
taking part in protests following a 2003 presidential vote and sentenced to
prison terms of up to five years.
Aliyev was declared the winner of the 2003 poll to succeed his father Heydar.
Western observers said the election was marred by fraud, and several thousand
protesters marched through Baku, smashing cars and shop windows after the
vote.

Like his father, the longtime ruler in this oil-rich Caspian state, Aliyev is
accused of stifling political dissent and media independence, and opposition
members mounted large protests earlier this month after the killing of a
prominent journalist whose death they blamed on the authorities.

7) Desert Nights: An Interview with Ara Manoogian

Ara Manoogian is an American-Armenian living and working in the self-declared
Republic of Nagorno Karabagh. He is the grandson of Shahan Natalie, a famous
Armenian writer and activist, and works for the foundation established in his
grandfather~Rs name.

Through the Shahan Natalie Foundation, Inc. he has conducted a number of
high-profile investigations into corruption and human rights related issues in
both Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.

His most recent was conducted in collaboration with Edik Baghdasarian,
Editor-in-Chief of Hetq Online, who investigated the trafficking of women and
children from Armenia to the United Arab Emirates.

ONNIK KRIKORIAN: You~Rve recently returned from your third and final trip to
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where you were involved in an
investigation into the problem of trafficking from Armenia. When did this
investigation start?

ARA MANOOGIAN: Edik Baghdasarian and I started this investigation at the
beginning of 2004 although we had discussed this problem on many occasions
prior to that. From reading many reports from international organizations in
Armenia, we knew that there was a problem and so, at the beginning of 2004, we
decided to examine the situation on the ground to determine whether those
reports were accurate.
On our first trip to Dubai in February or March 2004, we very quickly
discovered where the Armenian girls were although we spoke with only one girl
at first. When we noticed the sad look on her face, we considered that she was
a possible victim. She reminded me very much of girls from Nagorno Karabagh
and
as it turned out, she was a refugee from Azerbaijan.
She was twenty or twenty-one years old and was divorced from her childhood
sweetheart who left for Russia because of the harsh economic condition in the
country leaving her alone to bring up her daughter. Because she had been
unable
to find employment that would pay her a decent living wage, and as she was a
very beautiful girl, she said there were only a few options available to her.
She could either work in a store in Armenia for 30,000 drams (about $60) a
month and be expected to sleep with her boss or she could go “elsewhere” to
work. In a sense then, she was in Dubai voluntarily and we discovered that she
partially knew what she was getting herself into. However, she did admit that
she wasn~Rt expecting Dubai and other Arab countries to be so rough and
dangerous, especially for girls.

OK: Do you consider that she was a victim in the sense that as a single
mother
unable to support her family in Armenia she had no choice but to find this
type
of work abroad?
AM: Yes, that~Rs what she felt. Incidentally, on our third trip we tried to
find her again but her phone had been disconnected.

OK: Were most of the girls at least partially deceived into working abroad as
prostitutes?

AM: I would say that a large number of girls from Armenia are tricked into
coming by being offered an opportunity to find employment outside Armenia.
Speaking to these girls, most seemed very naive and uneducated. Many came from
broken homes.
However, we also visited a hotel in Dubai called the St. George that
accommodated a couple of hundred Armenian girls, most of whom appeared to have
come to Dubai voluntarily. Even there, however, we found a few girls that had
been tricked into coming by friends already working in Dubai.
Because we knew that we had to get inside this ring to collect
information, we
also managed to discover which girls were truly the victims of trafficking and
which were not. As a result, those that had been tricked wanted to expose
those
responsible for their situation.

OK: That sounds a little risky. I would imagine that those responsible for
trafficking are not people you want to mess with. All you needed was one girl
to tell her trafficker what you were doing…
AM: We think that there was one girl like that and on my last week I was
followed everywhere so yes, that risk did exist. However, the girls we trusted
were quite reliable for the most part and nothing serious happened.

OK: How old were the girls?
AM: We heard that there were fourteen year olds in Dubai but the youngest I
personally saw was sixteen. The oldest was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight
years old.

OK: How did these girls manage to enter a country such as the United Arab
Emirates which has very strict rules of entry, especially for young women and
girls traveling alone?
AM: From what we were told and from what we saw in the form of documents, the
girls were first taken to Russia where false passports are prepared. Usually,
the first names of the girls are kept the same, and sometimes even their
surnames, but their date of birth is changed to make them over thirty.
However,
because they still appear to be, and actually are, younger it appears that the
authorities in the UAE are therefore involved. These girls are not even
questioned about their passports when they enter the country.

OK: What you~Rre saying is that nobody bothers to question these young girls
traveling on passports indicating that they are, in some cases, twice as
old as
they actually are when entering the UAE?
AM: Actually, the passports they~Rre traveling on are the old red [Soviet]
passports which, I think, are not recognized anywhere else in the world apart
from in the UAE.

OK: Presumably, the same is true when the girls leave Russia?
AM: From what these girls told us, they actually have two passports. They
leave Russia on their Armenian passport but then, when they board their
flight,
they hide it in one of their shoes and enter the UAE on their Russian
passport.

OK: When they arrive in Dubai, do they still retain their passports?

AM: No. The trafficker takes all of their documents when they arrive and
gives
them a Xerox of their fake passport and visa which is sufficient for them to
travel around and stay in hotels.

OK: What happens then? After working for the traffickers, can they eventually
buy back their passports?
AM: Yes, they can buy back their freedom. The way this works is that the
trafficker decides their “debt” which varies between $6-12,000. I~Rm not sure
how the debt is determined but anyway, the girls work and give all their
income
to the trafficker who sends a minimum of $100 a month to their families in
Armenia who presumably think that they are working in Russia, Greece, Spain or
some other country. After the “debt” is “settled,” their documents are then
returned and the girls are given the option to continue to work in the UAE
under the protection of the trafficker who takes a percentage of the money
they
earn.

OK: How many Armenian girls are working as prostitutes in the UAE?
AM: We can~Rt put a concrete figure on this but initial figures from various
organizations estimate that there are approximately five hundred. However, I
personally saw over two hundred girls in only four or five locations but
others
are known to be working in other places. Edik went to other locations that I
didn~Rt, for example, and reported that there were also a large number of girls
from Armenia there. Therefore, based on what we saw and from speaking to the
girls themselves, I~Rd say that there are as many as two thousand Armenian
girls
working in the UAE. I would say that this is a realistic and believable
figure.

OK: Is there enough evidence to take legal action against anyone involved in
the trafficking of women and children from Armenia to the UAE?
AM: Yes, and we will be pursuing the matter once our film is ready. We would
expect some arrests to be made later and maybe even prior to the completion of
the film. Many of the articles we have already published are accompanied by
pictures of people involved in trafficking and one woman wanted by Interpol is
currently in jail in Armenia. However, she is only serving a light sentence.

OK: I remember this case from one of your articles. You suggest that this
particular woman returned to Armenia knowing full well she would be imprisoned
for a short period of time in order to clear her name off Interpol~Rs list.
AM: Yes, and if the law worked, she would be facing additional charges.

OK: Is this the problem, then? Is the law not functioning correctly or are
sentences for trafficking simply too light?
AM: The law contains provisions to hand down heavy sentences to traffickers
but the legal system is not functioning correctly. I was present at the trial
of five traffickers in Armenia last August and as far as I am concerned, Judge
Ohanian and the prosecutor failed to do their jobs properly. These individuals
should have received sentences of at least ten years but when Gulnara
Shahinian, an expert on trafficking, presented the judge with details of
Armenia~Rs international obligations to prosecute those guilty of trafficking,
he instead insisted on prosecuting them with old Soviet laws that carried
lighter sentences of only two years.

OK: Why do you think that was?
AM: The evidence we collected on three trips suggests that there are
officials
in Armenia and the UAE that are directly involved in trafficking. There is not
a single doubt in my mind that they are directly involved.

OK: If that~Rs the case, and after talking about possible risks in Dubai,
isn~Rt
it potentially dangerous to expose those responsible for trafficking in
Armenia?
AM: We~Rre in the homeland.

OK: That gives you protection?
AM: Yes. In fact, it gives me a great deal of protection because my family
has
conducted this kind of work for many, many years and my grandfather as well as
the foundation established in his name is very well respected by the Minister
of Defense and the military. As a result, I~Rm not concerned at all and anyway,
I~Rm a true believer in fate. When someone~Rs time comes, that~Rs their time. I~Rm
not a person who lives in fear and it is for that reason that I do what I do.
It has to be done.

OK: Now that Hetq Online has examined the problem of trafficking from Armenia
to the UAE, what do you think the Armenian Government~Rs response should be?
AM: The Armenian Government~Rs response should be to denounce this as not
being
culturally cohesive and as being wrong. However, the Government has known
about
this problem for a number of years and I~Rm still unable to comprehend why it
has not yet issued any additional statement on the matter.
Regardless, the Armenian Government, as well as the Church and the Diaspora,
needs to take a strong position on this problem. What we have discovered, and
what we have published up until now, is irrefutable. The evidence is there and
it~Rs unreasonable for people to go into denial.

OK: However, do you think that it~Rs considered culturally taboo to talk about
such issues?
AM: Absolutely, and what I~Rve noticed from my own internet blog where quite a
few of the articles have been republished is that few readers want to publicly
comment on the findings of our investigation. Of course, I~Rve received some
private emails which have been very positive and there have also been some
financial commitments from readers for future investigative work but only on
the provision that these donations are made anonymously. Otherwise, it would
appear that many Armenians in the Diaspora, and even here in Armenia, are in
shock.

OK: It~Rs also interesting to point out that one of those responsible for
funding this investigation is a prominent Diasporan who also prefers to remain
anonymous. It~Rs good that they supported this project, of course, but very
interesting to note that they don~Rt want their name to be known. Ironically,
however, you would have thought that it is precisely these people that should
be acknowledged and appreciated.

AM: There were also some donations from a number of other individuals that
wanted to remain anonymous. However, a number of others who said that they
understood the importance of this work declined. Presumably this was because
they were afraid of the possible fallout.

OK: There~Rs also a sizeable Armenian Community in the UAE. Were they willing
and able to assist in your investigation, albeit anonymously?
AM: No. You have to understand that unless you are born in the UAE, almost
everyone is on a residency visa and because the Government is directly
involved
with trafficking, the Armenians living and working there chose not to be
involved in any shape, form or fashion even though I~Rm sure that many would
have liked to have been. Because we understood that situation we pretty much
left the Armenian community alone.

OK: What about the Diaspora in the United States and Europe. They don~Rt face
any risk so what do you think they should do?
AM: I~Rve received emails from Armenians in the Diaspora who say that they
found this investigation very “interesting.” Unfortunately, the problem of
trafficking is not “interesting.” It~Rs very sad and shouldn~Rt be looked
upon as
just another human interest story. It is instead an issue that affects all of
us regardless of whether these girls went to the UAE voluntarily or not. The
reason why this phenomenon exists today is economic and therefore, it is
resolvable. However, it will take commitment but until then, Armenia is in a
situation that I would describe as being out of control.

OK: Do you think that the Diaspora should speak out about such issues?
AM: Absolutely. The Diaspora, or at least those who have a sense of
belonging,
has a responsibility to do so. Unfortunately, the Armenian Government does not
understand the concept of civil service or the fact that they are civil
servants. This has to change and Armenians in the Diaspora can assert a
certain
amount of pressure on the Government to do so. However, so far they~Rre not.
Instead, there~Rs a certain mentality that~Rs probably very damaging for this
nation. It~Rs the idea of something being “amot (shameful).” I~Rve heard this
over and over again and the notion that it~Rs shameful to talk about problems
such as trafficking. It~Rs much easier to ignore the problem but, in my
opinion,
there~Rs nothing shameful in talking about such problems if the situation
can be
changed as a result. The Armenian Diaspora can play a role in that and perhaps
I~Rm evidence of that.

OK: However, you~Rre just one person out of six million.
AM: Yes, I~Rm one of six million but my voice has been heard time and time
again and I~Rve achieved results. If properly coordinated, I believe that other
individuals and organizations can also have a positive impact in determining
the future of our nation. In my opinion, it~Rs time for the Diaspora to wake
up.
When people remain silent, they can only contribute to perpetuating such
problems.

OK: Of course, some people, especially in the Diaspora, might instead
criticize you for concentrating only on the negative aspects of life in
Armenia. How would you respond to those that accuse you of dirtying the
country~Rs image abroad?
AM: I would say that unless we address the problems that threaten the future
of this nation, there can be no moving forward. However, I~Rd also add that I
think of myself as an optimist and believe that Armenia has a promising future
if these problems are resolved.


Edik Baghdasarian and Ara Manoogian~Rs investigation into the trafficking of
women and children from Armenia can be read online at
<; Ara Manoogian~Rs blog from Armenia and
Nagorno Karabagh, Martuni or Bust, can be read online at
<;

8) Alpha Epsilon Omega Wristband Campaign Seeks to Raise Genocide Awareness

LOS ANGELES–Alpha Epsilon Omega, The Armenian Fraternity, has launched the
`Never Again’ awareness wristband campaign to bring greater awareness to the
Armenian Genocide and the struggle for recognition. They will serve as a
symbol
that recognition of the Armenian genocide is a crucial part in preventing
future genocides. The wristbands are a reflection of the spirit of the
Armenian
culture which has endured the constant pose of denial from the government of
Turkey. The wristbands represent the constant reminder to ourselves that
history, if not accounted for, is in danger of repeating itself.
The awareness wristbands are in black and have ~QNEVER AGAIN~R embossed on one
side. Available for purchase from the website, the wristbands are for youth
and
adults of all ages. All proceeds, including donations generated by the NEVER
AGAIN campaign, will go to the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial, the
Zoryan Institute, and other organizations actively involved in pursuing
recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial being part of ANI (Armenian National
Institute) is in the forefront of research in the area of the Armenian
genocide
and the prevention of future genocides. The Zoryan institute funding the
International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies is also making
opportunities for scholars to research and publish in the field of genocide
and
human rights studies. For more information regarding these organizations,
please visit the following websites: <; and
<;
If you would like to become a sponsor, or would like to know how you or your
organization can contribute to this campaign, please visit
<; or send an email to
[email protected].

9) Disabled Armenian Athlete Completes LA Marathon

GLENDALE–Pyunic athlete Greta Khandzrtyan, an above the knee double amputee
from Armenia, completed the 26-mile wheelchair division of the Los Angeles
Marathon on Sunday, March 6, in 3 hours and 19 minutes.
~SI am thrilled to have finished my second Los Angeles Marathon and proud
to be
able to show that a person can accomplish any goal regardless of their
physical
disabilities,~T said Khandzrtyan, 18.
Khandzrtyan’s determination was put to the test after passing the 5-mile
marker. She fell out of her racing wheelchair when her waist strap came apart.
After recovering from the fall, she was assisted back into her wheelchair by
spectators. However, Khandzrtyan was not able to race at full speed as part of
her chair’s wheel frame had bent.
At the 22nd mile mark, Lorig Sivazlian, a Pyunic-LA member, briefly joined
the
race. Seeing Khandzrtyan approach, Sivazlian moved from the sidewalk and ran
alongside the racer shouting words of encouragement. ~SI received an extra
burst
of energy by seeing Lorig and the three other Pyunic supporters,~T added
Khandzrtyan.
Founded in 1989 to help the disabled children of the 1988 earthquake in
Armenia, Pyunic is the leading non-governmental organization shaping public
awareness for the disabled. Pyunic provides humanitarian aid, social services,
career training and summer/winter teaching camps. Pyunic athletes have
competed
in numerous worldwide athletic competitions, including the Los Angeles
Marathon
and both summer and winter Paralympics since 1994.
For more information about Pyunic, please contact Sarkis Ghazarian at (818)
785-3468 or visit <;

10) Antonovich Appoints John Krikorian to Small Business Commission

LOS ANGELES–Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich recently
appointed John Krikorian to the Los Angeles County Small Business
Commission–which serves to provide ongoing advice and support to the Board of
Supervisors to help small business grow in Los Angeles County.
A resident of Glendale, Krikorian is a publisher/consultant for Cal-Conn
Enterprises, Inc., publisher of Business Life and Senior Living Magazines,
along with Krikorian Marketing Group. He is also a member of the Glendale
Adventist Medical Center Civic Advisory Board, Pasadena~Rs Mayor Disability
Committee, Woodbury University President~Rs Executive Council, County of Los
Angeles Human Relations Corporate Advisory Council, and County of Los Angeles
Area Agency for Aging.
Krikorian and his son Greg Krikorian (serving as President on the Glendale
Unified School Board) founded in 1989 Business Life Magazine–a four-color
business lifestyle magazine that serves readers and advertisers in Los Angeles
County. Readers include business owners–small and large–movers and
shakers in
cities served, professionals and various members of multicultural chamber and
business associations, Hispanic, Armenian, Asian, Filipino, Black, etc. Senior
Living Magazine serves the over 55 market in Los Angeles County and delivers
quality journalism in a four-color format.
Business Life Magazine has received many awards over the past years,
including
the State of California ~SMedia Advocate~T award from the US Small Business
Administration, as well as Soroptimist International~Rs prestigious ~SImproving
the Status of Women~T award.
In the mid-90~Rs, with the emerging ethnic market, they saw the need to
develop
a multicultural agency. Krikorian Marketing Group (KMG) was born to serve the
needs of the multicultural market located in Los Angeles County and in
California. The concentration was on emerging multicultural populations that
included a large and growing number of Armenians and extended to connect with
the Russian, Arabic, and Iranian communities.
For additional information call (818) 240-7088, Fax (818) 240-7380, or visit
<;

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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BAKU: FM to make official position known toward OSCE fact-findinggro

Azerbaijan News Service
March 21 2005

FOREIGN MINISTRY TO MAKE OFFICIAL POSITION KNOWN TOWARD OSCE FACT
FINDING GROUP REPORT
2005-03-21 17:53

Head of foreign policy of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov satisfied of the
report prepared by the OSCE fact finding group on illegal settlement
of Armenian families in occupied regions of Azerbaijan around Daqliq
Qarabaq. Mr. Mammadyarov told in his interview with ANS that official
Baku will release statement regarding the report on March 22. Foreign
minister considers the report as objective in general at the same time
outlining some contradicting points. There are some issues that we can
not accept. The report says that official Yerevan is not engaged in
illegal settlement policy. But we have information about it. That’s
hwy the fact finding group needs to carry on its activity and prove
Yerevan’s hand. As to regular breach of the ceasefire recently on
the front line Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov doesn’t rule out that it serves
interests of Armenia. We have already made our position known. We are
accepting ceasefire violation as a provoking attempt by Armenia while
there are peaceful negotiations. Mr. Mammadyarov hardly believes
that such provocative attempts may affect negotiation process.

Russia Seeks To Restore Contacts With Armenian Defense Enterprises

RUSSIA SEEKS TO RESTORE CONTACTS WITH ARMENIAN DEFENSE ENTERPRISES

Novosti
2005-03-21 20:26

MOSCOW, March 21. (RIA Novosti) – Russia should pay special attention
to restoring and maintaining contacts between Russian and Armenian
defense companies, Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor
Khristenko told RIA Novosti.

He recalled that Armenian defense factories specialized on producing
radio electronic devices and equipment necessary for Russian defense
enterprises in the aviation, space, ammunition, ship-building and
radio sectors.

“At present Russian defense enterprises are interested in supplies
of products necessary for producing Su airplanes, Mi helicopters,
air defense systems, anti-tank guided missiles, guard ships and
hovercraft, as well as other types and weapons and military equipment,”
the minister pointed out.

When describing the cooperation between the two countries’ defense
enterprises, he said that scientific, industrial and business
communities of Russia and Armenia should pay special attention to
growth of innovations.

“We should be competitive on the international level. This can be
achieved only if we develop innovations,” he said.

Besides, Mr. Khristenko pointed to the importance of developing
specific mechanisms of interaction between Russian managing companies
and Armenian enterprises owned by the Russian Federation, as well
as a package of state-supported measures on the part of both Russia
and Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress