‘Kash’ moves on from L.B.
By Jim Kashishian

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA
Feb 28 2005

When asked where I come from, my answer is “California,” followed by
“Long Beach,” if I am pressed further. I get asked that quite often as
I have been a resident of Madrid for the last 38 years. Not only am I
a native of Long Beach (born in 1941 at Long Beach Memorial Hospital),
but my father, Edwin George Kashishian (better known as Kash), was
born in Long Beach. His mother and father were originally from an
Armenian neighborhood in Kayseri, Turkey, and settled in Long Beach
around 1910. George Sarkes Kashishian and his wife, Pearl, became a
bit of a legend in Long Beach by eventually living in a home styled
with a Turkish dome on the top of it.

Anyone who has spent any time at all in Long Beach should now begin
to put two and two together and come up with the name: Kashishian
Oriental Rug Company on East Carson between Long Beach Boulevard and
Atlantic Avenue.

As my grandfather was in the construction business, he built the
domed rug company building (where his family also lived) for his wife
to have a place of business for the career she learned as a child
in Kayseri. G.S. Kashishian, contractor, will also be remembered as
the name imprinted every few yards on many, many of the sidewalks in
Long Beach in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. I remember my school friends,
as we walked to Burbank Elementary School, spitting on the name when
I pointed out that it was mine! I can laugh about it now!

Pearl became well-known in the city for her expertise in Oriental rugs
and my dad, Kash, carried on the tradition, expanding the business
into rug and carpet cleaning. During a recent visit in the Bixby
Knolls area, I asked him if he had cleaned carpets in many of the
homes we were passing. He answered with “an approximate 90 percent,”
which may be exaggerated somewhat, but probably isn’t far off.

The rug company building still stands, although it is now a private
home. My sister and I were very pleased that it was purchased by a
family that wanted to keep it in its original state when the company
was recently terminated.

My father turned 90 on Feb. 16. Myself, my Irish wife, Orla, and
my sister, Gracia and her husband, Tom McDairmant, joined Dad for a
small birthday party with a few relatives and friends.

We all were amazed at arriving in Avalon in less than an hour,
remembering the steamboat that used to take over three hours when
we were kids. The Belmont Shore area has come alive with shops and
people, and nearby Naples is really a beautiful area.

It is amazing to recognize street names and know exactly where you
are but not recognize a single building in the area. Some places never
change, though. The Art Theater still stands on Fourth Street … the
Villa Riviera still pokes its head up high (although the area around
the beach side doesn’t look right to me, as the hill should drop
steeply and the road should go onto the planks that were Rainbow Pier).

I ended up in Madrid due to my music, which began in the Long Beach
school system at Burbank Elementary, Franklin Junior High and later
Poly High, and was nurtured further by being a member of the Long
Beach Junior Concert Band for about 10 years. The U.S. Air Force
became my next stop in music after several years playing jazz in and
around Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, and I was eventually assigned
to a band in Spain. I later decided to stay on to become a part of
the recording studio and jazz scene here.

The Press-Telegram had a lot to do with my upbringing in Long Beach.
Also, as I had newspaper routes for years and eventually had a “corner”
of my own, which involved passing out the papers to the various boys
for their routes and managing their “collections” from the subscribers.

The purpose of writing down all of this history is brought on by the
fact that we are moving my father to be close to my sister and her
extended family in Warsaw. Dad’s wife, Ruth, died last May and there
is no family left in the area now. Time moves on, I know, but I find
it a little sad that almost 100 years of Long Beach history with the
Kashishian family comes to an end as Kash leaves the area.

It is a beautiful city, with wonderful opportunities and wonderful
weather, and should be appreciated by those who live in it. I wish
to thank all those Long Beach residents who supported me as I grew
up and a farewell to all who were friends of the Kashishian family.

— Jim Kashishian, a Long Beach native, lives in Madrid.

–Boundary_(ID_rqNqTir/kZG+XKRD/udzxQ)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Today.Az, Azerabaijan
Feb 28 2005

US State Department disappointed by the words of its own Ambassador
to Armenia

27 February 2005 [08:52] – Today.Az

Some news agencies based on armenian sources quoted US Ambassador to
Amernia as saying “Karabakh can not be given to Azerbaijan”.

He said this while speaking in Berkley University, CA to the members
of Armenian Diaspora. It is strange to hear these words from the
representative of US Administartion that has always made clear its
support to territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and never recognized
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state.

The words of Ambassador John Evans should be considered as a “private
comment at a private party” said State Department official Steve
Pike, commenting on the odd statement of its Ambassador to Armenia.
“They do not reflect US official position on this issue. US policy on
Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged”, he added.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to US Hafiz Pashayev discussed this incident
with US officials, as well as with Laura Kenndey, Deputy Assistant
Secretary on Caucasus, Central Asia and Southeast Europe. According
to Hafiz Pashayev, from his conversations with US officials he
concluded that American side was disappointed with John Evans’s
statement. US officials once again reassured Azerbaijani Ambassador
that the United States supports the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and doesn’t recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent
state, nor it recognizes its authorities. (AzerTadj)

“This is an irresponsible statement to make on the eve of the next
meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia. John
Evans should give an explanation to his statement”, Azerbaijani
Ambassador added. “Every Ambassador tries to be particularly careful
in the statements and not use a word that might undermine an official
stance of his country in a certain issue. It seems, that an
atmosphere of two week long meetings in different states with
Armenian Diaspora influenced Ambassador Evans in such an extent, that
he didn’t adhere to this basic principle of diplomacy”.

URL:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US envoy says Armenian “genocide” remarks his personal opinion

Mediamax news agency
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: The United States embassy in Armenia today
disseminated a statement of Ambassador John Evans regarding his remarks
about the Armenian genocide and the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict made during his recent meetings with the Armenian communities
in the United States.

“Although I told my audiences that the United States’ policy on
the Armenian genocide has not changed, I used the term ‘genocide’
speaking in what I characterized as my personal capacity. This was
inappropriate,” the statement by John Evans reads.

[Passage omitted: details of Evans’ speech in USA]

The statement of John Evans disseminated in Yerevan today reads that
“the US president’s annual statement on Armenian Remembrance Day
articulates US policy on this matter”.

“My government acknowledges the tragedy that befell the Armenian
community in Anatolia during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. We
have been actively encouraging scholarly, civil society and diplomatic
discussion of the forced killing and exile of Armenians in 1915. We
have also encouraged economic and political dialogue between the
governments of Armenia and Turkey in order to help all parties come
to terms with these horrific events,” the statement reads.

US envoy regrets misunderstanding caused by Karabakh remarks

Mediamax news agency
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: The United States embassy in Armenia today
disseminated a statement of Ambassador John Evans which says that
his recent remarks on Nagornyy Karabakh status “may have created
misunderstanding of US policy”.

During his meeting with American Armenians in University of California
Berkeley on 19 February, John Evans said that although the USA
follows a policy of supporting the territorial integrity of nations,
“everybody realizes that Karabakh cannot be given back to Azerbaijan
since that would be a disastrous step”.

The statement disseminated in Yerevan today reads that “the US
government supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds
that the future status of Nagornyy Karabakh is a matter of negotiation
between Armenia and Azerbaijan”.

“The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful settlement
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict through the [OSCE] Minsk Group
process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks between the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan under the auspice of the Minsk
Group co-chairs,” ambassador Evans noted, saying “I deeply regret
any misunderstanding caused by my comments”.

Norwegian envoy says alterations to Azeri church “tantamount to vandalism”

525 Qazet, Baku
26 Feb 05

Excerpt from unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper 525 Qazet
on 26 February headlined “The Norwegian ambassador does not justify
Armenians’ archaeological excavations in Susa” and subheaded “Steinar
Gil: It is not appropriate that archaeological excavations are carried
out in the conflict zone while the conflict remains unresolved”

The Azerbaijani public are seriously concerned about archaeological
excavations in the Armenian occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

International organizations have failed to react to the excavations
carried out in Susa. So have the foreign embassies in Baku.

The Norwegian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Steinar Gil, has said in
his interview with APA news agency that he has no information on
the excavations.

“I do not have specific information about that. However, I think that
this will not have a positive effect on the peace process. It is not
right to carry out archaeological excavations in the conflict zone
while the problem remains unresolved,” Gil said.

An Albanian church has been renovated in the Udi-populated village
of Nij in Qabala District [northern Azerbaijan], and a Norwegian
humanitarian organization [Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise, NHE]
financed the project. The NHE stopped funding the renovation after
some inscriptions, which were presumed to be in Armenian, were
erased. Ambassador Gil also commented on this.

“Any historical monument should be protected. One should take care
of historical monuments despite political relations. I visited that
village in November last year and saw the Armenian inscriptions. I
regret that the inscriptions have been erased. It would be better if
they had been preserved. This was a chance for Azerbaijan to set an
example for the whole world,” Gil said.

A letter signed by over 100 villagers, who supported the removal of
the inscriptions, has not changed the ambassador’s mind either. Gil
believes that historical monuments should be preserved and any
alteration to them is tantamount to vandalism. By this move the
Azerbaijani side has violated international conventions and gone back
on the promise it had given before the renovation started, he said.

[Passage omitted: minor details]
From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
Kanach Foundation
38 Moscovian St., apt.10
375002 Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Jeffrey Tufenkian
Tel: (3741) 54 15 29, 58 20 39
Tel/Fax: (3741) 58 20 39
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 28, 2005

Kanach Foundation Publishes New Adventure Guidebook
About Hiking and Climbing in Armenia

YEREVAN–A newly published travel guide, called
“Adventure Armenia: Hiking and Rock Climbing”
documenting hiking trails and rock climbing sites, has
just been released.

The book–the first of its kind to focus on adventure
sports in Armenia–describes interesting climbing and
hiking opportunities that have only been known by very
few individuals even within the country. All
documented sites are clearly organized, featuring
detailed descriptions, directions and topographical
maps for each site.

It features precisely traced routes of hiking and
climbing sites as well as information regarding
elevation changes and distance. Additionally, most
sites can be tracked by GPS as respective coordinates
have been provided for many sites. Hiking trails are
rated by level of difficulty, and the length of time
for completion of a hike is also documented.

“I am really pleased to see that this information
about hiking and climbing sites in Armenia is finally
being made available to anyone interested in outdoor
adventure,” said Jeffrey Tufenkian, co-author of
“Adventure Armenia.” “This guidebook is something that
was in definite need for several years, especially to
hikers and climbers from the West who are looking to
explore places off the beaten track.”

A country of rugged mountains and spectacular scenery,
Armenia offers some of the most challenging as well as
alluring hiking treks and rock climbing opportunities
in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The
nation has a rich cultural legacy, dating back nearly
3000 years. The Armenian people were the first to be
documented as accepting Christianity as a state
religion, and there are hundreds of historic sites
with ruins of Armenian monasteries as well as
churches, some of which are still functioning. Armenia
also offers prehistoric sites of interest, including
the “Armenian Stonehenge” and ancient Roman
architectural structures.

“With this guidebook, we anticipate that more and more
people who have a strong interest in outdoor
adventure, especially from the United States and
Europe, will visit Armenia, thereby boosting the
tourism industry,” Mr. Tufenkian explains. “Armenia’s
natural landscape is rich for attracting hikers and
climbers. It really lends itself to eco-friendly
tourism.”

A summary of Armenia’s history from ancient to modern
times is provided as well as information regarding
current environmental-related issues there. Some
valuable resources are offered at the end of the
guidebook, including a listing of inns in the
countryside for those interested in meeting the local
population and tasting regional cuisine, important
transportation information and even a short
transliteration glossary of common terms focusing on
how to get around.

“Adventure Armenia: Hiking and Rock Climbing” is the
first offering in the Eco-Adventure Series of
guidebooks issued by the Kanach Foundation, an
organization whose aim is to develop and promote
innovative environmental projects, concepts and
entrepreneurial activities that support sustainable
development in Armenia.

Plans are already underway to offer translations of
the guidebook, and an Armenian version has just been
released.

To learn more about “Adventure Armenia: Hiking and
Rock Climbing” visit or send an email
to [email protected].

###

INDIA’S AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: INDIA IS INTERESTED IN TRANSIT OF ITS
GOODS THROUGH TERRITORY OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26. ARMINFO. The international transport corridor
“North-South” is very important for Armenia, Ambassador of India to
Armenia Dipak Vohra told journalists. He stressed the necessity of
activation of movement of goods through the corridor, as the transit
India-Iran-Armenia-Russia-Europe costs cheaper than the sea way from
India to Russia or Europe. “India is interested in transit of its
goods through the territory of Armenia, where the roads are excellent,
Vohra said. In this connected the Ambassador stressed the necessity of
investment in road infrastructures of Iran and Georgia, where unlike
Armenia the roads are of lower quality. The diplomat also stressed the
necessity of using both Armenian and Azerbaijani routes, as India is
interested in presence of alternative ways within the framework of
International Transport Corridor “North-South”.

RESULTS OF OSCE MONITORING OVER TERRITORIES UNDER ARMENIA’S CONTROL TO
BE EXAMINES IN VIENNA ON FEB 28

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26. ARMINFO. On Feb 28, in Vienna experts of OSCE
Mission on examination of the situation in the districts, controlled
by the Armenian side, will discuss the results of the monitoring over
these territories.

The cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as Special
Representative of OSCE Chairman for Nagorny Karabakh Adrzej Kasprzyk
will take part in the discussions. After the summing up of the results
of the meeting the ministers of foreign affairs of Armenia and
Azerbaijan will be acquainted with the final results of the
discussions. According to Azerbaijani mass media, in connection with
the cases of violation of the cease-fire regime A.Kasprzyk intends to
propose to increase the number of OSCE monitorings on the contact line
of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to the
resource, regarding this issue Kasprzyk has sent a letter to the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, OSCE chairman and
cochairmen of OSCE MG.

It should be noted that recently the French Cochairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group Bernar Fassier, who was taking part in the mission of the
OSCE expert group in the territories controlled by the Armenian side,
stated that the Armenian party is not conducted planned state policy
of re-settlement of the districts under its control. “If Armenians
live in these territories, they are mainly refugees from Azerbaijan”,
the French cochairman mentioned.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE COUNTRY WILL “EXHAUST ITSELF” ALREADY BY 2007
WITHOUT SCIENCE

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26. ARMINFO. If no policy of innovation development
of economy in Armenia is not elaborated and implemented within the
nearest future, the economic growth in the country will “exhaust
itself” already by 2007. Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic
Development of Armenia Gagik Vardanyan says at an International
Economic Forum “Bridge 2005” in the Armenian resort town of
Tsakhkadzor, today.

He says that by that time the policy of “restoration” of the
quantitative potential of economy of Soviet Armenia will exhaust. In
this connection he points out the necessity of changing over to the
innovation stage of economic development. In this connection, the
government elaborates a new policy of economic development. Besides,
Vardanyan touches upon the problems of lack of credit funds in the
country stating that the banking system of Armenia is crediting
business project not actively enough. “Armenia needs formation of
financial system maximum guaranteeing risked business-projects,”
Adviser of CB Chairman of Armenian Suren Vardumyan says. Besides, he
points out the necessity of forming a secondary securities market
which is currently exist only on paper.

The forum participants also discussed a number of transport and
banking problems. In particular, tasks of integration of Armenia into
the International Transport Corridor “North-South” and into the
process of the use of train-ferry Poti-Port Caucasus.

NO RAILROAD PROJECT HAS SO FAR BYPASSED ARMENIA

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26. ARMINFO. No single railroad project has bypassed
Armenia so far, Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan says in an
interview to the readers of Golos Armenia.

Different projects are being considered at present but they require
huge expenses while Armenia’s railroads need no big spendings they are
just frozen because of politics and can be restarted at any
moment. This is a big advantage. There is simply no other road via
North-South corridor other than Armenia. “I see no tragedy if they are
laid – our route will be quite competitive,” says Kocharyan.