ANTI-IRANIAN ATTACKS TO HINDER IMPORTING MIDDLE EAST OIL

Azg/arm
8 March 05

If the American forces attack Iran, the import of the Middle East oil
from all the Persian Gulf countries will suffer. Mohsen Rezay, Iranian
high-ranking official, presidential candidate, made such statement.

He reminded that the 40% of the international import of oil is carried
out through the Persian Gulf. The gulf is being controlled by the
Iranian Armed forces from one side. Besides, Tehran can surround the
gulf with its rockets.

The World Tribune newspaper cites Mohsen Rezanâ~@~Ys statement saying
that in case the West unfolds a war against Iran the price per 1
barrel of oil will amount to $70, meanwhile, it is $53-55, at present.

The observers think that such a statement is the response of the
Iranian authorities to the steps made by the US and Israel that are
openly preparing to begin air attacks of the Iranian nuclear objects.

Besides, on March 3, the International Atomic Energy Agency accused
Iran of hiding nuclear fuel and other components of mass destruction
weapon in the undergrounds.

The new report on Iranâ~@~Ysâ~@~Y nuclear program made by the
International Atomic Energy Agency includes information about the
underground plant in Isfahan that is believed to protect the nuclear
materials from the attacks of the air forces. RIA agency informed that
the underground stretches for several hundred meters and is made of
concrete and other special materials.

By Petros Keshishian

–Boundary_(ID_mptmhn6ZTGaF/97cPIZrbg)–

The Aghassi of our times
By Hovhannes Yeranian

Yerki/arm
March 04, 2005

On March 1, in the Writers Union in an atmosphere of concealed
emotions and speechless admiration, the 50th birthday of Samvel
Shahmuradian was celebrated.

Shahmuradian was a member of the Writers Union, a Supreme Council
deputy, writer, journalist and publicist who went to the war and was
martyred. The school on Tsarav Aghbyur street that has been renamed
after Samvel Shahmuradian serves as the house-museum of the
writerâ~@~Ys literary and military biography.

On the same day Shahmuradianâ~@~Ys collection of articles titled Our
Sweet Land was presented to the public. Editor of the collection
Grigor Janikian called the author â~@~a soldier of his
homelandâ~@~]. â~@~What remains is the land and the people who live
on that land,â~@~] Shahmuradian once wrote.

This is why president of the Writers Union Levon Ananian called the
Homeland as the best place for commemoration of the writer. Alice
Hovhannissian called the collection of articles â~@~a book of
soldier ascetismâ~@~]. â~@~We would like to see the
soldier-writerâ~@~Ys frontline chronicles published,â~@~]
Hovhannissian added.

Shahmuradianâ~@~Ys unpublished diaries are currently being edited for
publication. Publicist Margo Ghukassian emphasized the modern
resonance of Samvel Shahmuradianâ~@~Ys articles. â~@~Whatever he
wrote, he wrote it for the modern timesâ~@~].

Academic Vladimir Barkhudarian described the writerâ~@~Ys life as a
brilliant example of healthy attitude towards the dictate of the
homeland. He should have been the hero of our times, and he will be
the hero, and the writerâ~@~Ys colleagues and critics agreed in this.
And this is why the patriot writer was called Aghassi of our times.

Theater critic Khachatur Avagian and writer Hrachya Matevossian
emphasized the importance of naming one of the streets in Yerevan
after Samvel Shahmuradian. Alice Hovhannissian noted that
Shahmuradianâ~@~Ys biography should be included in the literature
textbooks studied at schools as an example of unconditional devotion
to the homeland to be transferred to the next generations.

The commitment to remember the writer and soldier born on the first
day of spring, to tell about him and emphasize the importance of the
heritage he left unified many people that attended the celebration
and all of them wanted to share words of consolation and
glorification with Shahmuradianâ~@~Ys mother, his wife and children.

–Boundary_(ID_SHXEXtBK9WhemfzfzRLtDQ)–

Lebanon’s many mansions
 
Salim Mansur
National Post

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

A Lebanese demonstrator makes his desires clear during an anti-Syrian
demonstration on Monday in Beirut.

After the Valentine’s Day murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri, there was a stunning display of patriotism on the
streets of Beirut. Tens of thousands of ordinary Lebanese people
demonstrated to protest the presence of Syrian forces in their
country. Though the nation became a byword for civil war in the 1970s
and ’80s, the plethora of Lebanese flags on parade suggests many
citizens now share an overarching national identity.

But Tuesday’s massive pro-Syrian counterdemonstration showed that
large fissures remain in Lebanon’s body politic. Once Syria
withdraws, will the country move forward on the path to democracy? Or
will it slide into the infernal politics of warlordism, leading to a
sort of Levantine Somalia?

As Kamal Salibi wrote in his authoritative 1988 book, A House Of Many
Mansions, Lebanon is a nation divided by allegiance to faith, tribe
and clan. The main divide is Christian-Muslim, but that cleavage is
complicated by further subgroupings of Christian Maronites, Greek
Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenians; as well as Sunni, Shiite and
Druze Muslims — the many mansions of Salibi’s metaphor.

The state of Lebanon is a creature of the 20th century. After the
First World War, the French obtained the mandate to rule the Syrian
provinces of the former Ottoman empire. They expanded an autonomous
Maronite-dominated province into other parts of Syria, in large part
so that the Maronites — an ancient community with longstanding
connections to France and the Roman Catholic Church — could protect
their culture. To this day, Damascus does not accept Lebanon’s
separate statehood.

The inclusion of so many Syrian Muslims presented the Maronites with
a demographic problem: They were in danger of becoming a minority
within Lebanon. Looking ahead, the Maronite leadership in 1943
reached an agreement, known as the National Pact, under which the
president is a Maronite, the prime minister is a Sunni, and MPs are
fixed in a ratio of six Christians to every five Muslims, thereby
making Lebanon a uniquely confessional state.

The National Pact first came under serious strain in the 1950s, when
a tide of Arab nationalism swept the Middle East. The Maronites
turned to the United States, and in 1958 Dwight Eisenhower dispatched
the Marines at the invitation of a Maronite president. The U.S.
intervention illustrated how Lebanon’s delicate arrangement was
viable only if a foreign power propped it up.

In 1970, Hafez Assad became the new strongman in Damascus, and
claimed the mantle of Arab nationalism. Like his predecessors in
Syria, he did not see his country as an outside power where Lebanon
was concerned.

Assad got his chance to safeguard — or dominate — his neighbour in
1975, when an alliance of Sunni nationalists, Druze radicals,
dispossessed Shiites and Palestinian fighters joined to reconfigure
Lebanon’s political status quo at the expense of the Maronites.
Syrian troops poured in and became embroiled in the nation’s civil
war.

In 1989, Saudi Arabia brokered the Taif Agreement, which led to the
war’s end and mandated an incremental withdrawal of Syrian forces.
But Assad dragged his feet for years, justifying himself by pointing
to the continuing presence in southern Lebanon of Israeli troops,
who’d invaded the country in 1982 to expel the PLO. When the Israelis
withdrew in 2000, the remaining justification was the claim that
Syria’s forces were there at Lebanon’s request. The pro-Syrian puppet
government in Beirut did in fact support the occupation, but a
growing number of Lebanese people did not.

In September, 2004, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1559,
demanding the withdrawal of all “foreign forces” from Lebanon, and
“the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese
militias.”Without naming Syria, the resolution was clearly aimed at
that country, and at the Hezbollah militia backed by both Syria and
Iran. Bashar Assad, who assumed power in Damascus when his father
died in 2000, ignored the resolution. He did not realize his position
was untenable until the outrage that followed the murder of
Hariri.Behind the inspiring display of national pride in Beirut lies
a disturbing reminder of traditional differences. The country’s
Christian and Druze leaders have been leading the anti-Syrian
protests, while Hezbollah and other Shiite groups lead the pro-Syrian
demonstrations . The dispute over Syria’s presence has become a proxy
struggle between those Lebanese who see their destiny tied with the
West and those who see their place within the fold of Damascus and
Tehran.Rafik Hariri was an influential power-broker who sought to
bridge differences between these two sides, and help Lebanon create a
new political identity that doesn’t need propping up by Syria or any
other outside power.His dream was noble. But his murder has exposed
vulnerabilities that no amount of patriotism or sunny talk of a
“cedar revolution” can disguise. Once Syria has fully withdrawn,
Lebanon may well disintegrate — as it did 30 years ago — into a war
among its various mansions.

–Boundary_(ID_51OIAbodKxKUecbf4xXPlA)–

Venice Commission discusses Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia,
Italy and Serbia

Strasbourg, 9 March 2005 – The constitutional situation in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the powers of the High Representative, judicial
reform in Georgia and the status of South Ossetia, media freedom in
Italy – these are among the items on the agenda of the plenary
session of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission which will take
place on 11 and 12 March in Venice, in the Scuola Grande di San
Giovanni Evangelista.

The efficiency and rationality of current constitutional arrangements
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting from the Dayton Peace Agreement,
are the subject of a comprehensive document to be adopted by the
Commission. This opinion will outline major changes required if the
country wants to make further progress, and examine whether the
present practice of decisions by the High Representative is
compatible with European standards. A further opinion on Bosnia and
Herzegovina concerns the responsibility of the United Nations for the
dismissal of former police officers.

The Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia, Mr Konstantin
Vardzelashvili, will inform the Commission on further developments on
the status of South Ossetia, following the recent visit of the
Commission to Georgia. In addition, the Commission will adopt its
opinion on the latest draft constitutional amendments relating to the
reform of the judiciary in Georgia.

The laws on the conflict of interest and on principles governing the
broadcasting system of Italy and the draft law on religious
organisations of Serbia are also on the agenda of the 62nd plenary of
the Venice Commission. It will also express its opinion on the law on
public meetings and on draft amendments to the electoral code of
Armenia.

All adopted opinions will be available on the website of the Venice
Commission shortly after the session:

Press contacts:
Ms Tatyana Mychelova, External Relations Officer, Venice Commission:

in Strasbourg (until 10 March 2005, 12:00) : + 33 388 41 38 68 / +33
67672 0402
in Venice (11-12 March 2005) +39 340 15 77 931

1

1

Press Release
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 115a05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:

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[email protected]

A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works
to promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also
develops common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in
its 46 member states.

Turk PM urges probe of Armenia genocide claims

ANKARA, March 8 (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
called on Tuesday for an impartial study by historians of Armenian
claims that their people suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman
Turkish troops during and after World War One.

Turkey has always denied the genocide claims but has been irked
by growing calls, especially from within the European Union which
it aspires to join, that it recognise a genocide occurred as an
historic fact.

Some EU politicians have even suggested that Turkey should not be
allowed to start entry talks to join the bloc on Oct. 3 unless it
accepts the genocide claims.

“We have opened our archives to those people who claim there was
genocide. If they are sincere they should also open their archives,”
Erdogan told a news conference.

“Teams of historians from both sides should conduct studies in these
archives. We are ready to take steps on this issue.

“We do not want future generations to have a difficult life because
of hatred and resentment,” he added.

Armenia says 1.5 million of its people died between 1915 and 1923
on Ottoman territory in a systematic genocide and says the decision
to carry it out was taken by the political party then in power in
Istanbul, popularly known as the Young Turks.

Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of
a partisan war which also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey
accuses Armenians of carrying out massacres while siding with invading
Russian troops.

In an unusual gesture that underlined the sensitivity of the issue
in Turkey, opposition leader Deniz Baykal joined Erdogan at the news
conference to stress his party’s full backing for an independent
inquiry into the claims.

“We are facing a political campaign (against Turkey),” said Baykal,
leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Several foreign parliaments, including those of Canada, France and
Switzerland, have approved resolutions recognising an Armenian genocide
as fact, much to Turkey’s irritation.

Armenians will mark the 90th anniversary of the killings on April 24.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with its tiny neighbour Armenia and
its border has been closed since 1993 in protest against the former
Soviet republic’s occupation of part of the territory of Ankara’s
regional ally Azerbaijan.

03/08/05 11:52 ET

AZERBAIJAN EXPECTS ARMENIA TO COMMIT TERRORIST ACTS AT
BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE

09.03.2005 03:09

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), Baku-Novorossiysk
and Baku-Supsa pipelines are â~@~under the threat of terrorist acts
possible to be committed by Armenians and the Azerbaijani government
should undertake measures to prevent themâ~@~], Azeri Vice Premier,
chairman of the state commission for emergency situations Abid
Shafarov stated during a seminar on controlling emergency situations
in civic defense organized by the French Embassy in Baku, IA Regnum
reports. According to Sharifov, it is difficult to imagine what
kind of complications the government will face in case it does not
possess sufficient material and technical basis and human resources
for liquidation of the consequences.

–Boundary_(ID_OwtiMuvXxVhqoOoziVILpg)–

Chicago Tribune

AROUND THE WORLD

Study of Armenian deaths is urged

Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published March 9, 2005

ANKARA, TURKEY — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday
called for an impartial study by historians of claims that more than
1 million Armenians were slaughtered by Turkish troops in a genocide
during and after World War I.

“We have opened our official archives to those people who claim there
was genocide,” the Turkish leader said.

Armenians say 1.5 million of their kin perished between 1915 and 1923
at the hands of Ottoman Turks.

latimes.com
March 9, 2005

Hundreds of Students in Brawl at Grant High

>>From Times Staff and Wire Reports

A brawl involving nearly 500 students erupted Tuesday at Grant High
School, officials said.

One school police officer and five students were treated for minor
injuries. “They’ve had Hispanic and Armenian strife going on for
a while now, and this is possibly related,” said school police
Sgt. Hector Rodriguez.

Officers arrived on campus during the melee about 11:45 a.m. and
restored order in about 15 minutes, he said.

Armenian Leaders Look to Future
By DAVID ZHOU, Contributing Writer

The Harvard Crimson
Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Analyzing the current economic situation in Armenia with an emphasis
on future growth strategies, government officials from Armenia
and executive board members of an Armenian diaspora organization
participated in an all-day summit at the Kennedy School of Government
yesterday.Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School
Michael E. Porter also spoke at the event, entitled â~@~The Global
Summit on the Future of Armenia.â~@~] The Foreign Minister of Armenia,
Vartan Oskanian, was scheduled to speak, but did not attend after
contracting pneumonia, according to Belfer Center Communications
Officer Sharon R. Wilke.

Vahram Nercissiantz, the chief economic advisor to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, spoke with The Crimson after the summit to discuss
a number of the countryâ~@~Ys important political and economic
issues. Three board members from Armenia 2020â~@~Tan organization that
studies development in Armeniaâ~@~Talso participated in an interview.

â~@~[The summit] presents a visionary review and analysis of the
Armenian political and economic transition,â~@~] Nercissiantz said.
â~@~Lots of analytical work was done on what are policy options
and strategic directions.â~@~]

The summit, which touched on domestic issues that confront todayâ~@~Ys
Armenian leaders, was hosted by the Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs. The event was co-sponsored by Armenia 2020
and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, which sets up programs to
promote Armenian culture.

The press conference following the summit also focused on tensions
with Turkey, which Nercissiantz said stem in large part from the
Turkish governmentâ~@~Ys continuing refusal to recognize the genocide
perpetrated against Armenians after the First World War.

â~@~We have a rage for that genocide which is still with us,â~@~]
Nercissiantz said. â~@~The Turks have a responsibility to face
their own history.â~@~]

Noubar B. Afeyan, an Armenia 2020 executive board member, said that
Turkeyâ~@~Ys economic sanctions are â~@~because of Armenian pressure
for recognition of the genocide.â~@~]

Nercissiantz said fears of another genocide prompted the conflict
with Azerbaijan, a neighboring nation that has been involved in a
dispute over territory with Armenia.

â~@~This fits into the pattern of an ideology which has existed
in the region called Pan-Turkism,â~@~] he said. â~@~It is very
similar to Nazi ideology where they wish to eliminate all non-Turkish
elements.â~@~]

Nercissiantz said that genuine peace between the three countries
depends on the development of liberal democracy because â~@~citizens
never vote to eliminate an element of their society.â~@~]

While Turkey is widely hailed as a triumph of democracy in the region,
Nercissiantz said, the government must do more to protect minority
rights.

Armenia has been moving toward both a liberalized political system
and economy, he said. The country has enjoyed high rates of growth
throughout the 1990s and joined the World Trade Organization in 2003.

The countryâ~@~Ys economy collapsed along with the former Soviet
Union, has been playing catch-up ever since, and is now approximately
back to its 1989 level, said Andrew Lazarian, another executive
board member of Armenia 2020.

â~@~Our approach has been growth with equity, assist a good business
environment and invest in people,â~@~] Nercissiantz said. â~@~We
do have considerable progress, but we have a long way to go.â~@~]

–Boundary_(ID_nlfyU+X06DWeUoo74XjVGA)–

WOMEN IN FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS CELEBRATE MARCH 8 HOLIDAY

2005-03-08

MOSCOW, March 8 (RIA Novosti) – Women residing on post-Soviet space
still consider March 8, the International Women’s Day, their holiday.

The history of the International Women’s Day is traditionally tied
to the name of famous female revolutionary Clara Zetkin. In 1910,
during the Copenhagen International Women’s Conference, she announced
the idea of celebrating March 8 every year as the “birthday of female
proletariat.”

Kiev

March 8 is proclaimed a public holiday in Ukraine. According to the
majority of Ukrainians, the State Customs Service gave Ukrainian women
the biggest “present” by introducing new customs duty evaluation
standards on imported flowers. As a result, retail prices for the
largest Latin American roses may go up from $2.5 per flower to $10-$11.

No official March 8 celebrations with participation of state leaders
are planned in Kiev, although the president and other state officials
will congratulate Ukrainian women on the occasion of the holiday.

Worth notice is the trend among Ukrainian male population to increase
the amount of money are willing (or forced) to spend on presents for
women. If a couple of years ago a present worth $2-3 was considered
moderate, today it might offend women.

Although, the majority of women still claim that the price of a present
does not matter; what is really important is who gives them presents.

Minsk

March 8 is officially celebrated on a large scale. Following
the tradition, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko addressed
Belarussian women with a congratulatory statement. On occasion of
the holiday, Belarussian manufacturers of cosmetics, confectionery
and perfumes increased the volumes of supplies to the retail outlets
of the republic.

In addition, hot-bed flower farms specialized in decorative flowers
supplied retail chains with a record amount of flowers.

Chisinau

This year, March 8, celebrated in Moldova as “a red date of the
calendar,” has its specifics. It nearly coincides with March 6
parliamentary elections in the country; therefore, the majority of
men in Moldova, including the president, started to congratulate
their female colleagues in advance.

There is no doubt that the celebration of March 8 holiday sharply
increased the rating of men’s affection toward women, judging by empty
flower sales stalls and happy female faces on the streets of Chisinau.

In addition, there is another important occasion to celebrate. In
January 2005, Moldavian women gave birth to 2,962 babies – 6.5% more
than in January 2004, which means that Love – the major party of life
— rules in Moldavia on that day, despite parliamentary elections
and related public unrest.

Baku

Azerbaijan officially celebrates March 8 as the International
Women’s Day.

On this day, men give women various presents. Flowers are the most
popular among them. According to local tradition, which is not really
popular among men, prices for flowers, especially roses, are twice
higher on the eve and during the holiday than on regular days.

Women also receive jewelry, souvenirs and perfumes as presents.
Contrary to flower prices, those for perfumes decrease during the
holidays.

Yerevan

In 1991, the new Armenian leadership – the All-Armenian National
Movement – decided to throw anything that relates to Communist and
Soviet past of the country to the gutters of history and immediately
abolished March 8 as the International Women’s Day, announcing April
7 as the Day of Motherhood and Beauty, instead.

Women only benefited from that decision, because they continued to
celebrate both holidays. Men were at a loss, though. They could not
figure out what was better – to forget about March 8, or to ignore
April 7. As a result, since then, the Armenians celebrate two holidays,
one as a tradition and another as an official holiday.

Tbilisi

The Georgian Parliament proclaimed the International Women’s Day, on
March 8, a stateholiday and an official day-off only on March 2, 2002.

At the beginning of its independence, first Georgian President Zviad
Gamsakhurdia decided to substitute the International Women’s Day
with a new holiday – the Mother’s Day – on March 3. However, despite
the official abolishment of the holiday, Georgian women continued to
celebrate the International Women’s Day, and on March 8 men always
presented women with flowers and souvenirs.

Since 2002, Georgia has been celebrating both holidays – the Mother’s
Day and the International Women’s Day.

Astana

Kazakhstan celebrates March 8 as the International Women’s Day. It
is an official holiday in the republic.

Traditionally, on the eve of the International Women’s Day, Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbaev holds an official reception at his
residence in the capital, inviting women from all regions of the
republic.

More than 150 non-governmental women’s organizations conduct their
activities on the territory of the republic. Kazakstan has joined
international conventions on the protection of family, women’s and
children’s rights.

Tashkent

On March 6, a solemn meeting of female veterans of the Great Patriotic
War, dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of the Great Victory and the
International Women’s Day was held in Tashkent.

Head of representative office of the Russian Center for international
scientific and cultural cooperation under the Russian Foreign Ministry
Tatyana Mishukovskaya told RIA Novosti correspondent, “the meeting
is part of a series of events dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of
the Great Victory.”

About 100 female veterans gathered at the meeting. Women were invited
to attend a concert specifically dedicated to the International
Women’s Day after the conclusion of the official part of the meeting.