HARRISON RETAINS TITLE IN THREE

Sportinglife.com, UK
March 11 2005

Scott Harrison retained his WBO world featherweight title in impressive
style with a third-round stoppage over American-based Armenian William
Abelyan at Braehead Arena.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, came out with all
guns blazing right from the first bell and devastated the challenger
with a stunning display of powerful and aggressive boxing.

After he had dropped Abelyan for the third time in the third round
with some terrific rights and lefts the referee had no option but to
step in and prevent Abelyan from taking any further punishment.

It was a terrific victory for the Cambuslang fighter who silenced the
challenger after being criticised heavily by him during the normal
pre-fight hype.

The signs that Harrison was in the mood to do a job on the challenger
came right from the first bell as he emerged from his stool and
connected with a couple of good left hooks and a right uppercut which
had Abelyan already struggling.

The challenger composed himself by the end of the first round but
the second bell again saw Harrison come out aggressively.

A flurry of punches midway through the round almost had Abelyan in
trouble against the ropes but to his credit the Armenian again worked
himself out of trouble and began to throw the occasional left hook.

But the third round was just a devastating display of boxing by the
Scotsman. A right hand from Harrison had Abelyan on the floor and
having to take a standing count of eight.

Harrison followed up with a concentrated attack which again had
Abelyan down on the canvas.

The Armenian was somehow allowed to get up for a third time and have
a go but when Harrison continued his savage attack the referee could
only step in and save Abelyan from further punishment.

It was a terrific way to end the fight for Harrison who again put
on a terrific display for his loyal fans who cheered him from the
rafters as he held his belt aloft.

The challenger looked stunned as he sat on his stool before making
an ignominious exit from the ring.

Afterwards a euphoric Harrison claimed it was the best performance
of his career to date and dedicated the fight to the fans who cheered
him on during a dramatic three rounds of boxing.

He said: “It was the best I’ve boxed so far, it was three rounds and
after I caught him with the right hand the first time it was just a
matter of time before it was stopped.

“I don’t know if it was the best punch I’ve thrown, I’ll have to have
a look at it on tape and see but I’ll tell you what, it felt good.

“I just couldn’t wait to get into the ring and do a job and I’m glad
I did so well for all the fans because you can’t beat the support in
the Braehead Arena.

“Scotland aren’t doing too well in sport at the moment so I’m going to
try and go as far as I can and put on a show for them time and again.”

Harrison, who had refused to predict a knockout or stoppage during
the pre-fight hype, admitted he was unconcerned about how he retained
his title.

He said: “I knew it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds but you didn’t know
if it was going to go three rounds or 12 rounds or whatever.

“Sometimes it takes time but in this fight he went early but that’s
boxing for you. It just came off for me on the night.”

OSCE envoy to visit Yerevan to discuss ceasefire breaches

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 11 2005

Baku, March 10, AssA-Irada

The OSCE chairman’s special envoy Anzhei Kaspshik is expected to leave
for Yerevan on Friday. During the visit, Kaspshik will extensively
discuss with Armenian officials ways of eliminating the tensions
caused by the persistent ceasefire violations on the contact line of
Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Kaspshik recalled the commitments on
ceasefire assumed by the conflicting sides according to the Bishkek
protocol, saying that regular ceasefire breaches are unacceptable. He
voiced his concerns over the frequent ceasefire violations, considering
the intensifying peace talks. The OSCE chairman’s envoy added that
he had notified the OSCE Vienna office of the problem.

Armenia has frequently violated ceasefire on the frontline over the
last 20 days.*

Ceasefire violations persist

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 11 2005

Baku, March 10, AssA-Irada

Armenian forces have violated ceasefire several times in different
regions over the last day. The most lengthy shooting took place in
the Aghdam District – from 2.30 until 6.00 a.m. on Wednesday. No
casualties are reported.

At 11.10 a.m. on Wednesday and 8.55 a.m. on Thursday, Armenian forces,
from their positions 1 km north-east of the Seyuidsulan village of
the occupied Terter District, fired at the Azeri positions in the
District~Rs Gapanly village. Several soldiers were wounded in the
shooting, the Ministry of Defense said. From 12.20 till 12.30 p.m. on
Wednesday, Armenian forces, from their positions 1 km north-east
of the town of Berkamesh, Ijevan District, opened fire at the Azeri
troops in Gazakh District~Rs Gyzylagajly village.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian football team is visiting Dubai to play a friendly match against Kuwait

Azad-Hye, Dubai
March 10 2005

UEFA’s website reports that Armenia will play its first international
match of 2005 against Kuwait in Dubai on 16 March 2005 and have also
agreed to play two friendly matches with Jordan on 30 August in Amman
and on 4 October in Yerevan.

For the Kuwait game, Armenia’s coach Bernard Casoni is expected to
try out his reserves and home-based players, as many of the Armenian
internationals who are preparing for the coming season with their
clubs. In addition, captain Harutyun Vardanyan and playmaker Artur
Petrosyan are both injured.

Armenia will resume its 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign at the
end of March when it will meet the team of the tiny State of Andorra
in Yerevan and the Netherlands team away in the space of four days.

Currently the Armenian team is in the seventh position (bottom)
of the European Group 1, with only one point from five matches.

In the latest FIFA ranking of national teams, Kuwait occupies 56th
position and Armenia comes 120 (on a list of 205 countries).

Football Federation of Armenia was founded in 1992.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 10 2005

President in Saudi Arabia

Baku, March 9, AssA-Irada

The meeting of President Ilham Aliyev, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on
Tuesday, and this country’s Foreign Minister Amir Saud al-Faisal was
due to the latter’s poor health condition.

On Wednesday, President Aliyev gave interviews to the “Ar-Riyadh”
newspaper and the Saudi state television. He also met with chairman
of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ishan al-Yamani and
Saudi business people to discuss economic, industrial and trade
relations between the two countries.

President Aliyev expressed his satisfaction with the position of
Saudi Arabia on the Upper Garabagh conflict, emphasizing that Riyadh
refused to establish any relations with Armenia, including diplomatic
ties.

Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia signed agreements on allocation of a $18
million loan to finance the Valvalachay-Tahtakorpu canal construction
project and on mutual protection and encouragement of investments.
Afterwards, Aliyev left Riyadh for Jeddah, west Saudi Arabia, to
visit the holy city of Mecca.

On Thursday, President Aliyev is scheduled to meet with Secretary
General of the Islamic Conference Organization Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
and the Islamic Development Bank President Ahmed Mohamed Ali.

Aliyev will also visit Medina to pay tribute to Prophet Muhammad. He
will wrap up his official visit to Saudi Arabia late on the same day.

President Aliyev met with Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and
Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud on Tuesday. Aliyev presented
the Saudi King and Prince with Azerbaijan’s highest award, the
Istiglal (“Independence) Order. The Saudi King, in turn, presented to
the Azerbaijani President his country’s highest award, the Order of
King Abdulaziz.

The parties exchanged views on developing relations between the two
countries. President Aliyev’s private meeting with the Saudi King and
Prince was followed by an open meeting attended by delegations of the
two countries.*

Journal of Turkish Daily
8 Mar 2005

List of Humanitarian Crimes Do Not Mention Western War Crimes, but
the Armenian
Kemalettin TASHKIRAN

‘The latest genocide and bloody events list’ published by the
“Conscience Committee” of the Genocide Commemoration Museum in the
United States (US) claims that Turkey killed 1.5 million Armenians in
Turkey in 1915 though there was no country with name ‘Turkey’ at that
time. Turkish politicians and diplomats argued that the list is
political and biased. Turkey was founded in 1923.

According to the list, seven million people had been murdered in
Ukraine by the former Russian leader Joseph Stalin in 1932-33, the
Japanese killed 300,000 Chinese in the Nanjing massacre, six million
Jews had been murdered in Nazi Germany between 1938-1945, two million
people under the Pol Pot regime had been killed in Kampuchea in
1975-79, 200,000 people in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995, and 800,000
people in Rwanda in 1994 had been murdered. Strangely the list does
not mention Western war crimes except the Nazis. For instance the
Algerian Massacre (if not genocide) or the American war crimes are
not mentioned by the list. More than 900,000 civilian Algerians were
massacred by the French Army.

Turkey has never accepted the Armenian claims. According to the
Armenian lobby groups 1,5 million Armenians were killed by the
Ottoman officers. However the archive documents clearly show that the
number of the whole Armenian population in the Ottoman territories
was less than 1,3 million. Armenian armed groups rioted against the
Ottoman authorities during the First World War and many Armenians
joined the Russian Army. The Istanbul Government decided to relocate
the Armenian population in the Eastern provinces, while the rest of
the Armenians were not affected by the decision.

Thousands of armed Armenian groups killed about 500,000 Muslim
(Turkish and Kurdish) and Jewish Ottoman citizens. Many Armenians
were killed in the ethnic conflicts. However more died due to the bad
weather, epidemic diseases and war circumstances.

The extreme Armenian nationalists made co-operation with the French
and other occupying forces against the Turkish War of Independence
and killed thousands of Kurds and Turks in the Eastern Anatolian
provinces. With the written agreements the modern Turkish-Armenian
borders were drawn. However the extreme Armenian nationalists
(Tashnaks) established a terror-network (NEMESIS) and started to
assassin the former Ottoman ministers. During the 1970s and 80s, more
than 40 Turkish diplomats and many Turkish and foreigners were killed
by the Armenian terrorists.

There are strong Armenian lobbies in US, France and Canada, and the
influential Armenian lobbying groups manipulate the Western media and
politics. The anti-Turkish groups in the West in particular abuse the
problem.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
March 11 2005

Georgia: Russia Calls Parliamentary Resolution On Bases
‘Counterproductive’
By Valentinas Mite

The Russian Defense Ministry has criticized as “counterproductive” a
unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament pressuring Moscow to close
two Russian military bases in Georgia. The nonbinding resolution,
passed yesterday, demands that Russia agree a timetable by 15 May for
vacating the bases and withdrawing some 4,000 troops. Should Russia
fail to do that, the Georgian lawmakers have vowed to outlaw any
Russian military presence in their country from 1 January 2006. The
dispute is at the heart of ongoing bilateral negotiations. But the
Georgian side appears convinced that the Kremlin’s heart is not
really in those talks.

Prague, 11 March 2005 (RFE/RL) — The Georgian parliament is trying
to force Russia to remove its bases from the country.

Yesterday’s move carries a threat of sharp curbs on Russian troop
movements from January. Those steps would effectively render the
Russian bases in western and southern Georgia nonfunctional.

Georgian lawmaker Giga Bokeria said after the parliamentary vote
yesterday: “In this statement, we are giving more time for diplomacy
despite the fact that Russian diplomacy has proved time and time
again that there is not yet the political will in Russia to withdraw
its bases — which remain here as an echo of Soviet rule and which
are here against the will of the Georgian people.”

Georgian parliamentarians say that if Russia fails to meet the
deadline, its bases will be declared illegal and the Georgian
government will stop issuing entry visas to Russian troops. The
measures also include strict curbs on the movement of vehicles and
equipment.

Moscow had warned that the resolution would obstruct discussions
aimed at forging a compromise on the pullout. Once it passed, the
Russian Defense Ministry described the Georgian resolution as
counterproductive. Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov told ITAR-TASS
that the “Georgian parliamentary deputies lost their sense of
reality.” He added that the problem cannot be resolved through
“ultimatums.”

Konstantin Zatulin, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s CIS Affairs
Committee, took a tougher stance. He said Russia would respond by
pressing Georgia to pay higher prices for energy supplies and
“toughening its position regarding the Georgian-Ossetian and
Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts,” where the Georgian government is facing
local pressure for independence or autonomy.

So why are Russian troops still in Georgia, more than a decade after
that country gained independence from the Soviet Union?

Aleksandr Goltz, a Russian military expert, explained: “To tell the
truth, these two basis in Georgia are more designed to safeguard
[weapons]. Different kinds of military equipment are stocked there,
and [the equipment] is rather outdated, I must stress. Some 4,000
soldiers are based there. Their main task is to somehow safeguard
that equipment.”

Goltz said the Soviet withdrawal from Eastern Europe was an economic
disaster — with soldiers having no place to return to live in
Russia. That was accompanied by the widespread theft of military
equipment. He said eliminating the bases in Georgia would be easy in
technical terms, since many people who serve on the bases are locals,
and the biggest task would be transporting the military equipment to
Russia.

Goltz said the main problem is not a logistical one but a political
one. The Kremlin, he suggests, is simply not sufficiently interested
in removing its military presence in Georgia. “The main thing here is
Russia’s desire to show its military might, a wish to show that it is
ready and able to act — especially in such a complicated place as
the Caucasus,” he said.

On the other hand, Goltz said, there is no doubt that, for Russia,
the ethnically mixed and restive Caucasus region is a headache.
Moscow clearly wants to avoid armed conflict in the Caucasus. A war
in Chechnya, which borders Georgia, has contributed significantly to
Moscow’s concerns in the region.

Goltz stressed, however, that Russia should seek permission from
Georgia to further its goals when related actions concern Georgian
territory.

Russia agreed to remove its Soviet-era military bases in 1998. But
since then, Moscow has repeatedly extended the deadline, saying it
needs years and millions of dollars to remove its troops.

Moscow has come under increased pressure recently — not only from
Tbilisi but also from Washington, which supports Georgia’s demand for
a Russian withdrawal.

Russia has military bases in Armenia, but Armenia’s ongoing conflict
with neighboring Azerbaijan has meant that the country welcomes the
Russian military presence.

MTV.com –
8 Mar 2005

System Of A Down Want Your Bombs, Plan Third Souls Concert
03.08.2005 4:13 PM EST

Band’s single ‘B.Y.O.B.’ arrives at radio stations this week.
System of a Down’s Daron Malakian (file)
Photo: MTV News

System of a Down don’t want your booze, or your beer.

The band’s new single is titled “B.Y.O.B.,” but the acronym is short
for “Bring Your Own Bombs.”

The track features a soulful groove and questions the business behind
war.

Lyrics include “Why don’t presidents fight the war?/ Why do they
always send the poor?” and “Everybody’s going to the party/ Have a
real good time/ Dancing in the desert/ Blowing up the sunshine.”

“B.Y.O.B.,” which arrives at radio stations this week, offers a
glimpse of how System have evolved on their double album Mezmerize/
Hypnotize, the first half of which is due May 17 (see “For System Of
A Down, Sometimes A ‘Cigaro’ Is Just A ‘Cigaro’ “). Hypnotize will
follow in the fall.

“There are guitars on there that people think aren’t guitars,”
guitarist Daron Malakian said of some of the sonic experiments.
“People think they’re some other kind of instrument, but you gotta
manipulate it a little way and you get a different vibe.”

Mezmerize/ Hypnotize will also differ vocally from past System
releases. “It’s the first time that [Daron] is actually singing lead,
as well as harmony in most cases,” frontman Serj Tankian said. “I
love those harmonies. I love those pushing vocals going against each
other. Our tonality is just so different that when you put them
together it’s like one.”

System will preview some of the new tracks live at their third annual
Souls concert, a benefit for the Armenian National Committee of
America ~W which is lobbying the U.S. Congress to officially recognize
the Armenian genocide (see “System Of A Down Plan Benefit For
Genocide Awareness”) ~W as well as other organizations that work to
eradicate genocide across the globe.

As with last year’s show (see “System Of A Down Mark Genocide By
Playing, Not Preaching”), Souls will be held April 24, the day
Armenians commemorate the Armenian genocide. This year marks the 90th
anniversary of the slaying of more than 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks.

“That night [last year] didn’t feel like a show, it felt like we did
something for ourselves and for our people,” bassist Shavo Odadjian
said. “There was energy around the whole place and it was just an
amazing night.”

“I remember being very frustrated at the time because we had to
rehearse a bunch of old songs and we were so into the phase of doing
the new stuff, but the show was bad ass,” Malakian said. “It was
probably the most emotional show we have ever played with the band.”

Souls 2005 will be held at the Universal Amphitheatre near Los
Angeles, with supporting acts to be announced soon. Fans can find out
more information on the band’s Web site (systemofadown.com), which
relaunched Monday with new Mezmerize/ Hypnotize artwork painted by
Vartan Malakian, Daron’s father.

“There is no computer-generated graphics, we didn’t take the easy way
out,” Odadjian said. “The man really worked hard and he is a genius.”

“My dad’s my biggest inspiration,” Daron explained. “We saw some work
from some other people first and I just was like, ‘Why am I going
outside when it’s right there, it’s always been right there in front
of my eyes?’ And I knew he was going to be the best person for the
job and he ended up coming through and doing something really cool.
Simple, yet cool. I mean, if we completely left it up to him, he
would have gone way off the board.”

Along with having special artwork, Mezmerize/ Hypnotize will also
feature packaging that will allow the two albums to link together.

For more on System of a Down and Mezmerize/ Hypnotize, check out the
feature “System of a Down: Doubleheader.”

~W Corey Moss

USACC, DC
8 Mar 2005

U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce :: :: President Approves Budget
of State Oil Fund

President Approves Budget of State Oil Fund

03/11/2005

On March 2, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev approved the
State Oil Fund’s (SOFAZ) budget for 2005 with revenues estimated at
1.078 trillion manat ($220 million) and expenditures of 1.073
trillion manat ($219 million).

SOFAZ along with the National Bank of Azerbaijan holds the currency
reserves of Azerbaijan, which exceeded $1.7 billion in January 2005,
of which $970.5 million were at SOFAZ, some $155 million higher than
at the beginning of 2004.

In 2004, the fund’s revenues were $329.6 million against expenditures
of $174.7 million.

In 2005, SOFAZ plans to receive 849.6 billion manat ($173.4 million)
from sales of Azerbaijan’s quota of profit oil from the
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore fields, 43.4 billion manat ($8.8
million) from acreage payments, 73.9 billion manat ($16.2 million)
from oil transit through the Baku-Supsa pipeline, and 110.7 billion
($22.5 million) from asset management.

Within its expenditures, 202 billion manat ($41.2 million) will be
allocated to refugees and IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)
affected by the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Armenia, 105 billion
manat ($21.4 million) will go towards financing Azerbaijan’s stake in
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and 750 billion manat ($153
million) will be transferred to the state coffers.

Source: Caspian Business News

Armenian “genocide” in The Washington Post
Published: 3/8/2005
BY YILMAZ OZTUNA

Turkish Press
8 Mar 2005

TURKIYE – The Washington Post is one of the world’s best-known
newspapers. It became particularly famous back in 1974, when it
forced President Richard Nixon to resign. Nixon’s crime was that he
had secretly taped conversations and denied knowledge of a matter
which he actually knew full well about. Actually such things are
considered common functions of the government in most countries.

Sunday’s Washington Post published a list of ‘mass murder of
civilians in acts of genocide.’ Near the top of this list was
the Holocaust. However, the article’s assertion that 1.5 million
Armenians were killed during the Ottoman reign is a political lie.
It’s an example of hostility against Turks, and it’s purposeful.

In 1915, the total number of Armenians living under Ottoman rule was
1 million. During that time, Armenians living in Istanbul and western
Anatolia were barely touched. Those living in the east, southeast and
central parts of Anatolia were exiled to other regions of the empire
such as Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. During their departure, Kurdish
tribes, who had suffered great losses because of them, constantly
attacked the Armenians. The number of Turkish soldiers assigned to
guard the Armenians on their way was inadequate. Therefore, they could
not prevent Kurdish assaults on the Armenians. Some 10,000-15,000
Armenians died during those attacks. No more than that. However,
the death toll reached 200,000 with losses due to epidemics and
poor conditions. The rest of the Armenians settled in Arab lands.
After World War I, they emigrated to France, America and the rest
of the world. If all of them had been killed, there wouldn’t be any
Armenians in these countries now.

Turkey has never had a governmental policy of ridding itself of any
religion, sect, race or group. But our country treats people who
challenge the state, assault its security forces and kill innocent
citizens the same as any civilized country. True, 200,000 Armenians
died during the exile. But the number of Turks, Circassians and
especially Kurds that lost their lives was even greater. You don’t
come across events in our history similar to what the US did to its
Japanese citizens during World War II, how Eisenhower treated the
surrendering German Army, or what France did in Algeria.

Looking over the last 90 years, the West has a great deal more
slaughter, brutality and destruction to be ashamed of. If only we
could prevent such tragedies from happening again~E

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress