The Astor Broadcast Group Grows With One Leg in the Inland Empire

Inland Empire Business Journal (California)
February 2005

by Joe Lyons

The history of the Astor Broadcast Group is the history of Art Astor. He
was born into an Armenian immigrant family. After a tour in the Army Air
Corps (earning him the Air Medal with four clusters) he took a
communications degree from USC in 1949 on the G.I. Bill.

His loyalty to the school remains apparent as he wears the cardinal and
gold colors at least once a week and carries the football and basketball
broadcasts on KSPA, his Ontario station. But that’s getting ahead of the
story.

Degree in hand, he started in TV as what he describes as `the Armenian
Dick Clark,’ but that was 50 years ago. Since then his efforts have
mostly been off the air in radio sales and management. He has been
involved in the Southern California broadcast industry ever since. Among
other positions he has held, he headed the sales department at Los
Angeles station KHJ during the great `Boss Radio’ days of the early sixties.

Back then, before MTV and iPod’s and CDs it was possible for one AM
radio station to have 40 percent of the listening audience.

In the 1970s, while general manager of KDAY, he got the legendary
Wolfman Jack to come across the border from Mexico to come to work in
L.A. Many of those radio tapes still exist and can be heard on the air
on AM 1510 here in the Inland Empire today. But again we are getting
ahead of things.

By the late seventies, he was in partnership which owned KIK-FM, a
country station out of Orange County. By 1982, he had bought out his
partners and, with the purchase of an AM/FM operation in the Bay Area,
he became the proud owner of the Astor Broadcast Group.

Radio companies are a lot like Disneyland. They are never quite
complete. The Astor Group has been just that way. Stations have been
acquired. Stations have been sold.

An FM and two AM signals in the San Diego area were added. The FM was
sold last year. KIK-FM was sold off just before that.

In 1999, Hank Stickney, owner of the Quakes, sold his Rancho Cucamonga
radio station, known as The Muscle, to the Astor group. The calls became
KMXN with the name AM 1510 applied to it to let people know where it is.
The name has stuck, but the call letters are now KSPA.

In one unusual move, when it was decided to remodel the transmitter site
at 9th and Vineyard, the station made a temporary move to the corporate
offices in Anaheim. That was over a year ago.

The signal remains the same. The official city of license is still
Ontario, but the studios are still down in Orange County. Oddly enough,
those studios are also the site of an incredible collection knows as
Astor Classics.

It seems that back in the seventies, Astor fell in love with a 1967
Jaguar 4.2 sedan. That car became the start of a remarkable collection.
Nearly 200 `rolling sculpture’ are now the heart of an amazing fleet
– from a 1925 Dodge Bros. car to one of the largest private collections
of Packards in the area.

Each car is as original as possible and all are drivable. In fact they
all get out on the road sooner or later. Many famous names are attached
to these cars including Orson Welles, Cary Grant, Admiral Nimitz and
even Howard Hughes.

The collection also includes rare console model radios, early TVs,
including a prototype from the 1939 Worlds Fair. Slot machines,
telephones, prewar toys, juke boxes, autographed photos of Hollywood
greats are also all part of the collection. As a boy Astor had wanted a
good watch but his family couldn’t afford ones. Now he owns almost 200,
including rare and expensive ones, Hopalong Cassidy watches and pocket
watches.

Soon the Astor Group will be opening a multipurpose event center which
will put the entire collection on proper display as a special attraction
for groups looking to hold their functions in a most unusual atmosphere.

As for AM 1510, it too has developed a penchant for collectibles. The
grand traditions of Astor’s Alma Mater, USC, can be heard, including the
recent BCS championship game. Broadcast legend George Putnam airs `One
Reporters Opinion’ at noon each day. And the late, great Wolfman Jack
holds sway every night at 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. to midnight on
Saturdays). The rest of the day the music of people like Frank Sinatra
and Dean Martin add to the sound.

In this age of corporate broadcasting, where programming people in New
York issue memos every day on what to air to people like us 3,000 miles
away, the Astor Broadcast Group remains one of the last of the
independent entrepreneurships in our area.

Today, AM 1510 is one-third of the broadcast part of the company. KCEO,
and a rarity on the AM band, and classical music, KFSD 80, are located
in North County San Diego.

At nearly 80, Art Astor can still be found in one of his offices every
day. Of course which office he can be found in depends on whether he’s
working on plans for the event center, getting ready for a major car
show, developing the international syndication of the Wolfman Jack shows
or planning new ideas for Ontario’s AM 1510.

Last year the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce presented Art Astor with a
lifetime achievement award. They may have been premature.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Understanding Lebanese Armenians
ANI AMIRKHANIAN

Third in a three-part series.

Glendale News-Press
February 19, 2005

In the past weeks I have been looking at the relationships between
Armenian sub-groups. Now, I want to turn my attention to the Lebanese
Armenians, the last sub-group I will be discussing in this series.
Like the other two Armenian sub-groups, the Lebanese Armenian
community is isolated in its own enclave and members tend to group
with their “own kind.”

Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic, in my opinion, about
Lebanese Armenians or “Arevmedahyes,” as they are known, is their very
distinctive dialect. Although the other groups speak in their own
dialects, the Lebanese Armenian dialect varies the most from the other
two.

I cannot remember a time when the three groups ever came together for
a mutual goal. There has always been a divide among the sub-groups
regarding their actions and understanding.

Lebanese-Armenians have always seemed to me to be the more “patriotic”
and most proud Armenians of their culture. That is not to say that the
other two groups are not proud of their heritage, but the
Lebanese-Armenian community has always been involved with activism and
progressive politics.

I recently spoke with a Lebanese Armenian college friend of mine named
Natalie who shared with me some of her observations about the
sub-groups and their relationship to each other.

“I always thought that Arevmedahyes and Barskahyes [Iranian-Armenians]
which are both Spurkahyes [Diaspora Armenians] got along but were both
doing their own thing to benefit the Armenians acculturating as
opposed to assimilating in the U.S.,” Natalie said.

She said “own thing” referring to both groups working separately but
for the same cause. Natalie also said that the different dialects and
cultural differences of the two groups has fueled these Armenians to
go about upholding the Armenian culture in their own way —
separately.

Historically, Barskahyes and Lebanese-Armenians have had a positive
relationship even though they have gone about their own ways —
knowing they were striving to succeed for a common cause.

I do agree with Natalie’s thoughts about these sub-groups, but what
strikes me the most is that they still remain apart and have yet to
establish long-term relationships outside of community and cultural
activism. What keeps them apart in particular is their language or
dialectical disparity.

The dialects of the Barskahye and Arevmedahye sub-groups are on two
separate ends of the spectrum. I also asked Natalie what she thinks
about the relationship between Lebanese-Armenians and Hayastansis. She
said it is one where they intermingle and get along, but what sets
them apart from Lebanese-Armenians and even Barskahyes is their
mind-set.

The former groups are “more westernized in their train of thought,
since they did not grow up under the controlled government of
communism, as Hayastansis did,” Natalie said.

Another Lebanese-Armenian I spoke with, my cousin-in-law Hrant, also
agreed that the sub-groups are more cooperative and have just got used
to each other. Hrant said he had difficulty in the past understanding
the Barskahye dialect.

“I remember when I first came to the U.S. my only real problem was
understanding my sister’s Barskahye friends,” Hrant said. “But then I
mostly figured out their dialect.”

He also said that as a Lebanese-Armenian, he has noticed that the
sub-groups intermarry a lot more. For example, more Barskahye women
are marrying Lebanese-Armenian men.

Despite greater interaction between all three sub-groups, there is yet
still a divide when it comes to “intimate socializing,” he said.

“Most people still prefer to be with their own group,” said
Hrant. “Language, happens to be a prominent reason why Armenians in
general stick with their ‘own kind.'”

There is no denying that to coexist, language plays an important role
with the Armenian sub-groups. The only time when language is not an
issue is when Armenians of any sub-group speak in English, which in
turn the subject of disparity among the sub-groups fades out.

It seems unusual that when Armenian sub-groups speak another language
other than their own, they all become “Armenian” as one group. The
disparity becomes irrelevant.

So then does belonging to a sub-group give people a sense of a more
focused identity?

According to Hrant, “Time still tends to blend everything together
… ”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Silent Cancer We Must Fight – Tooth and Nail

The Yerevan Times (weekly)
Monday, February 21, 2005, No. 6 (50)

By Hasmik Grigoryan

“An Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience: Selected
Studies” is a book recently published by the Campaign against
“Corruption-Friendly” Legal and Social Settings in Armenia under the
auspices of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. It
was presented on February 14 at the Yerevan offices of the European
Commission Delegation to Georgia and Armenia.

As Armen Aivazian, the Team Leader of the Campaign, compiler and
editor of the Anthology explained, “We are not so naïve as to believe
that a book on anti-corruption will put an end to it in Armenia. The
effective fight against corruption will only be possible when both the
government and the civil society start to jointly fight corruption.”
The book gives examples of international practice including that of
Singapore, which showed that it is possible for a very corrupted
country, as Singapore was in the 1960s, to turn into a one that is
among the least corrupt today.

Q: Why does Singapore appear as a key case story in your Anthology?

True, the book sets out anti-corruption experience in the fields of
justice, education, energy, the private sector, agriculture and public
finance, and specifically includes a chapter by Lee Kuan Yew,
Singapore’s legendary former prime minister, on the fight against
corruption in his country. The reason is that in the late 1950s-early
1960s Singapore shared many important similarities with Armenia such
as: painful nation-building process in a difficult geopolitical
environment, corrupt civil service, extremely tense relations between
the government and opposition. Things were made even more complicated
by the fact that, unlike Armenia, Singapore was a multi-ethnic
society. Singapore is a good model for Armenia to study and, in my
opinion, adjust its certain components to local needs and conditions.

Q: Is this project the first of its type to be carried out by the
Centre for Counter-Terrorism Assistance? Yes, this is our first major
project. The CCTA was established only recently – during
2003. Although it has other programmes and intentions, we decided to
start with a comprehensive anti-corruption project, having in mind
terrorism’s direct and indirect relationships with corruption.

Q: I gather that you have completed seven of the 16 TV programmes as
part of the project. Have you had any feedback from this?

Yes, a lot of people have called and visited us, voicing their support
as well as presenting their problems stemming, in their view, directly
from corruption. We feel rewarded that the message gets across. Since
one of ourgoals is to revive the resolve of society to fight
corruption and to create an atmosphere of zero-tolerance toward it. Of
course, achieving this will not be easy. It will require dozens of
other active and independent groups to engage in the fight against
corruption as well as, most importantly, the constructive
collaboration between groups from civil society and state bodies.

Q: What are the preliminary conclusions of the study? Will it have any
impact on combating corruption in Armenia – and how can this be
measured?

The success and effectiveness of any social technology depends on how
well it fits with the attitudes and expectations of any given
society. We intend to conduct a survey in Yerevan to measure the
impact of the Campaign and to create a mathematical model for the
generation of anti-corruption strategies. The survey is aimed to
measure to what extent the anti-corruption strategies meet the demands
and expectations of Yerevan’s population. It is well known that
Yerevan is the vanguard of social changes in Armenia. The survey will
also indicate how successfully the objectives of this programme are
achieved. 200 copies of the survey results will be published. The
government has still to prove that it really is intent on fighting
corruption, and society has to get rid of the belief that fighting
corruption is an exclusive function of the state.

Q: And what does Armen Aivazian feels about all this?

Members of the Campaign are often asked whether they believe that by
publishing a book on anti-corruption experience and organizing a
series of TV-programmes they will be able to defeat corruption. The
question itself shows how deeply sceptical people are of any positive
movement – and how wrongly they perceive their own place in the fight
against corruption. I believe in Armenian society’s capacity to
improve its governance and to reduce drastically the shadow economy
and levels of corruption. This belief is based, not the least, on
recognition of Armenia’s perilous geopolitical situation: to put it
bluntly, we have no other choice!

The Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience was compiled
and introduced by Armen Aivazian, a Doctor of Political Sciences and
the project’s Team Leader. His other studies include “Essential
Elements for Armenia’s National Security Doctrine”, “The History of
Armenia as Presented in American Historiography: A Critical Survey”,
“Mother Tongue and The Origins of Nationalism: A Comparative Study of
the Armenian and European Primary Sources”, “The Code of Honour of the
Armenian Military, 4-5th centuries”, “The Armenian Rebellion of the
1720s and the Threat of Genocidal Reprisal” and others. For his
articles and interviews visit

Corruption in Armenia

Many consider corruption in Armenia as being ubiquitous. It is an
increasingly pressing issue – and one that has to be addressed in a
time when accountability and transparency are prerequisites for proper
governance andbusiness ethics.

Organisations such as Transparency International monitor country
performance worldwide and, as The Yerevan Times has pointed out,
Armenia’s record leaves room for improvement. Transparency
International (which rated Armenia 82nd out of 146 countries in 2004)
notes that since the establishment of a state anti-corruption
commission in 2004, progress on the development of a national
anti-corruption programme has been slow – and less than
transparent. Opposition politicians have voiced similar sentiments, as
well. True, Armenia lies above neighbouring Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran
as well as Russia in the Transparency International’s rating index,
but it clearly has some room to make up.

It is in this context that the European Commission’s Initiative for
Democracy and Human Rights in Armenia supported a Campaign against
“Corruption-Friendly” Legal and Social Settings in order to generate
publicintolerance and provide methodological frameworks for the fight
against corruption. An Armenian NGO, the Centre for Counter-Terrorism
Assistance (CCTA), proposed the Campaign.

The CCTA identifies the major causes for corruption in Armenia and the
main difficulties in the fight against it as follows:

” The alienation of civil society from the policy-forming,
decision-making and decision-implementing activities in governance or,
in other words, the absence of popular participation in governance; ”
Armenian society’s disbelief in the possibilities for real and
effective participation in governance; ” Armenian society’s
inclination to see and relegate the fight against corruption as the
exclusive responsibility of state structures; ” The Armenian law’s
nominal stipulation for public participation in governance, when the
ostensibly democratic provisions concerning the exercise of public
authority are not supported by working and effective mechanisms; ”
Particular Armenian laws are directly copied from European or CIS
analogues, placed without their adequate/required localization to
Armenian co nditions, and applied with disregard to the national
mind-set. ” The specific “corruption-friendly” elements that exist
in the relationships between state officials and citizens, which
hamper the supremacy of law.

The Campaign’s main purpose is to strengthen society’s resistance to
corruption and to provide frameworks for combating it. Its principal
target groups include the ruling elite, civil society (NGOs,
professionals, students, etc.), as well as the public at large.

The campaign was conducted in two interrelated formats. First, An
Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience has been
published in Armenian, with an introduction and commentary by Armen
Aivazian.

Secondly, an anti-corruption campaign is being conducted in the media,
especially the TV, as well as in the press and the Internet.

Eventually, the project envisages the analysis of the Campaign results
so as to provide for an alternative concept for the anti-corruption
programme in Armenia. A survey is to be conducted in Yerevan to
measure the impact of the Campaign and to create a mathematical model
for the generation of anti-corruption strategies.

AGAINST ROUGH BRIBERY

A1+
21-02-2005

The meeting of the Armenian Progressive Party decided today that they
will do everything to make Turkey confess the Genocide in 1915 and to
make everyone consider Kharabak as an integral part of Armenia. But
they did not mention HOW they are going to carry out the plan.

Tigran Urikhanyan, head of the APP, said, «Revolution is possible in
Armenia», and then commented. «Revolution of wheat, revolution of
science, education, culture, revolution of abilities, revolution of
the new generation, of best customs, revolution of honesty and
kindness, and not that of authorities».

According to Urikhanyan, this is a new revolution, which happens every
day, every moment, step by step, with every new productive company.

The leader of APP thinks that it must be done very quickly, with
radical measures, but without shatters.

Mr. Urikhanyan thinks that people will take into consideration that
country the citizen of which realizes that the seat belts of a car are
not for the policeman but for his own safety. «They will sign
agreements only with the countries which can format both Balzac and
Dostoyevsky, both Raffi and Chirvanzade, both Socrates and Seneca,
both Narekatsi and David Anhakht in the soul of a person».

By the way, Tigran Urikhanyan blames neither the authorities nor the
opposition. «They combat against corruption but they are unable to do
anything against it as we have no corruption in our country, we have
downright, rough bribery».

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENTEL RESUMES ISSUE OF EASY CARDS

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21. ARMINFO. Under the mobile communication
development program, ArmenTel resumed the sell of mobile communication
cards “Easy Cards” on 21 February through its service points. The
company’s press-service informs ARMINFO.

According to the source, at the first stage, Easy Cards will be issued
to the natural persons who applied to the company on January 19,20, 21
2004. The press- service notes that the purchased cards must be
activated before May 1 2004. Otherwise, they will be cancelled. The
company promised to inform of satisfaction of additional applications
if there are so.

Earlier, Commercial Director of ArmenTel Zakarias Kotsimpos said that
starting from the end of February 2005 the company would start issuing
Easy Cards in the unlimited quantity. It should be noted that the
second operator of mobile communication in Armenia, K-Telecom, intends
to start provision of cellular communication services in Armenia
already in May 2005. At present, the number of mobile communication
subscribers of ArmenTel is some 200,000 people.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEXT PRESIDENT – ALI KERIMLI?

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

The question headlining this article will be answered in the course of
time. However, if we follow attentively the home political developments
in Baku, we shall notice an important circumstance: the West seems to
have decided to rely on the leader of the political party Popular
Front of Azerbaijan (Popular Front of Azerbaijan – `reformers’) Ali
Kerimli. Butcan he an Azerbaijani Saakashvili or Yushchenko? We have
doubts in this reference which we will share with the reader later.
And now let us try to see why Ali Kerimli appeals to Western
political scientists and technologists. Compared with the leaders of
the other leading oppositionist parties the indisputable advantage of
Ali Kerimli is his pragmatism and consideration of new actualities.
These very characteristic features became the reason why after the
death of the leader of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan Abulfaz
Elchibey his first assistant Ali Kerimli divided the political party
into two separate parties one of which was called Popular Front of
Azerbaijan (`reformers’) the other Popular Front of Azerbaijan (`
classics’). The `classics’ were headed by anti-Armenian, supporter of
the line of Abulfaz Elchibey Mirmahmud Fataev. He is known to us the
people of Karabakhby the fact that he advised his fellow countrymen to
cut the ears of those representatives of Nagorni Karabakh (in
particular, the chairman of the NK committee of `Helsinki Undertaking
92′) who will decide to visit Azerbaijan. Ali Kerimli became the
leader of the `reformers’ getting rid ofthe politically blunt who
appeared in the camp of the `classics’. It is clear that this
circumstance could not but be commended by the western countries
accreditedin Baku, first of all the embassies of the USA, Great
Britain, France, Germany and Turkey. The other advantage of Ali
Kerimli is his attempt to bring together the right-wing radical
nationalist oppositionist forces in his struggle againstthe Aliev
regime: the musavatists of Isa Ghambar, `democrats’ of ex-speaker
Rasul Guliev, the National Independence Party till recently led by not
unknown Etibar Mamedov, the `grey wolves’ of Iskender Hamidov and
other influential political parties. In this direction Ali Kerimli was
especially active in autumn of 2003, on the eve of the latest
presidential election in Azerbaijan. However, his presumptuous false
supporters (particularly Isa Ghambar) did not allow the unification of
anti-Aliev forces. As a result Ilham Aliev who won the election
defeated the supporters of Gambar who were on the verge of raising
protest the next day. After such a blow the musavatists, as well as
all the left-wing and right-wing forces have been unable to recover.
That the efforts of Ali Kerimli to unify the Azerbaijani opposition
were approved by the West is asserted by the fact that the official
representatives of embassies of many leading countries in Azerbaijan
participated in the June 1 plenary meeting of the Popular Front of
Azerbaijan (`reformers’). It is also important that Ali Kerimli is
supported by such western authoritative organizations as the National
Democratic Institute (USA), the International Institute of Republicans
(USA) Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Germany), etc. Meanwhile, new
elections await the citizens of Azerbaijan, this time to the
parliament, which will take place in autumn. Ali Kerimli, as it could
be expected, is again actively seeking to bring together the
opposition. `Overcoming the stress the society underwent after the
presidential election in 2003 after long reflections I came to the
conclusion that an essential stimulus is needed to get out of the
current situation,’ shared his thoughts Ali Kerimli. `Such a stimulus
can become the new unification and cooperation of the Azerbaijani
opposition on a healthy basis. If we manage to form an alliance of all
those forces which want to see changes and reforms in the country, it
will first of all strengthen people’s belief in themselves and belief
in the prospect of changes.’ `The unification of forces,’ Kerimli went
on, `will also guarantee that after the parliamentary election people
will defend their votes if needed.’ Pay attention to the last phrase
`people will defend their votes’. Doesn’t it smell like the events in
Georgia and Ukraine in Azerbaijan? Quite possible. Also it is not
excluded that the West already works with the leader of the Popular
Front of Azerbaijan (`reformers’) in this direction. The evidence to
this is the recent visit of Ali Kerimli to a number of European
countries (Norway, Sweden and France), as well as the USA. Whatis
more, in this country he met with not secondary politicians. Thus, in
France he even met with the foreign minister, discussed the public and
political situation in Azerbaijan. In this reference it is significant
to mention thewords of the foreign minister that the international
organizations should start discussions with the Azerbaijani government
for creating a democratic atmosphere on the eve of the parliamentary
election. The other high officials he met with also spoke about the
vital interest of the West in conducting free and fair parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the leader of the `reformist’
popular front is mustering courage day by day. `Despite 2003 when we
behaved quite properly, this year we shall be tougher,’ stated Kerimli
in his interview to one of the popular newspapers of Baku. `We will
appealto the society to give a peculiar punishment to the leader who
will hinder unification. I believe in unification. We cannot make the
same mistake twice. We will not allow 2003 to repeat.’ Behind these
words it should be understood that Ali Kerimli’s intention is to stand
for elections with a unified candidate in each of the 124
constituencies. The election to Mili Mejlis (the parliament) of
Azerbaijan will be conducted by the majority system because election
by party tickets is forbidden by the authorities in this country.

Thus, in the upcoming parliamentary elections Ali Kerimli will rely on
the West and the unification of the opposition. Because there is no
doubt that the authorities will falsify the election results by all
means. Ali Kerimli also hopes that the unification of the opposition
backed by the West may cause the people to protest and not only
achieve the reconsideration of the election results but also demand
Ilham Aliev’s resignation. The same happened in Georgia once. However,
let us come back to the question set forth above: will Ali Kerimli
become an Azerbaijani Saakashvili or Yushchenko? Such a scenario seems
more than problematic to us. The thing is that Ali Kerimli has already
been in the government. It was during the governance of the popular
front which discredited itself. At the age of 27 he was appointed
state secretary of Azerbaijan by Abulfaz Elchibey. His fast move into
big politics is also interesting. In the summer of 1991 when the
national liberation movement of Karabakh had already underwent the
massacres of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad (Ganja) and other
places in Azerbaijan, when the military action `Koltso’ of violent
displacement of Armenians from Karabakh implemented together by the
forces of the USSR Ministry of Home Affairs andthe Azerbaijani omon,
the special militia forces, was gathering momentum, Ali Amirhusein
oghli Kerimov, not yet `Kerimli’, was just graduating from the
department of law of Azerbaijani State University after Kirov at the
age of25. He intruded into politics through establishing the
non-official youth organization ` Yurd’ (`Fatherland’) which became a
peculiar `komsomol’ for the movement of ` popular front’. Thus, Ali
Kerimli came to power at the expense of the blood of innocent people,
unlike Saakashvili or Yushchenko. Second, we do not think that the
Azerbaijani opposition will agree to such a union in which Ali Kerimli
will order everybody. By the way, this was stated by the leader of
`Musavat’ Isa Gambar who advised the local journalists not to hurry in
making conclusions on the unification of oppositionist forces. Third,
the Azerbaijani authorities will do their best to prevent
unification. The Azerbaijani mentality which has got used to honouring
power will allow Ilham Aliev, as formerly allowed his father, to
achieve his aim. Thus, today already various coalitions are emerging
in Azerbaijan as mushrooms after rain which will hardly ally with Ali
Kerimli. Among these are the alliance `Solidarity and Confidence’ and
the union of the political parties `Civil Solidarity’, `Adalat’
(`Justice’), and ` Svoboda’ (`Freedom’). Undoubtedly, in the period
before the election the top government of Azerbaijan directly
encourages establishment of as many political alliances as
possible. Probably, the National Independence Party will play its
traditional game. The pro-Russian democrats together with their allies
from the `Vahdat’ and Islamic parties also will hardly resort
toalliance with the radical nationalist opposition. There is no need
even to speak about the communists. And fourth, the West itself may
refuse to support Ali Kerimli at a crucial moment because of his
militarist moods for the question of Karabakh. The West is for the
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem through compromise. It is
true that these days Ali Kerimli seeks to speak less about Karabakh
and more about democratization of Azerbaijan. However, this does not
mean that after coming to power he will deny his words. This
circumstance is, indeed,taken into account by the West. Therefore,
getting close with Ali Kerimli, at the same time the West will not
forget about Ilham Aliev who may in the future,on the whole, come to
the liking of the Europeans and Americans because they are aware that
the notions of `democracy’ and `Azerbaijan’ will hardly be compatible
in the near future.

ALEXANDER GRIGORIAN.
21-02-2005

VARTAN OSKANIAN FLIES TO EQUATORIAL GUINEA TO SEEK RELEASE OF ARMENIAN
PILOTS

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian few last Saturday to Equatorial Guinea in an effort to
persuade the government of the West African country that six Armenian
pilots jailed by its court for lengthy prison term on charges of
involvement in a coup to topple its president are innocent.

A spokesman for the ministry, Hamlet Gasparian, said the minister
will have a series of meetings with Equatorial Guinea officials to
press for the pilots’ release.

The Armenian pilots were flying an Armenian transport plane that
was hired by a German airfreight company a year ago to ship cargo to
Equatorial Guinea. They were arrested in last March and sentenced to
between 14 and 24 years’ imprisonment on November 26 on charges of
involvement in a plot to topple Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president
of the that country.

The pilots were convicted along with five South Africans accused of
being an advance party of foreign mercenaries arrested in Zimbabwe
almost a year ago.

All Armenian pilots pleaded not guilty to the accusations
throughout their trial which was described by Amnesty International, a
leading global human rights group, as “grossly unfair.”

Armenian President Robert Kocharian wrote to Obiang last year,
suggesting that the two countries sign an extradition agreement that
allow the repatriation of the Armenians.

Also Armenian ambassador to Egypt, Sergey Manaserian and a senior
diplomat from Armenian foreign ministry traveled twice to Malabo, the
capital of Equatorial Guinea to learn the conditions in which
Armenians are being keptand attend the trial.

GURGEN MARGARIAN AWARDED POSTHUMOUSLY MEDAL OF BRAVERY

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian officer
GurgenMargarian who was brutally killed by an Azeri counterpart on
February 19, 2004 in Budapest, was awarded the Medal of Bravery
posthumously last Saturday by Armenian president Robert Kocharian. The
first anniversary of his tragic death was marked last Saturday in
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.

Armenian prime minister Andranik Margarian had said earlier that:
“We hope that the Budapest city court will pass a fair sentence on the
murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian.”

Gurgen Margarian, was hacked to death by Azerbaijani officer
RamilSafarov on 19 February last year when attending an English
language course under the aegis of NATO at a Hungarian military
academy.

An Armenian lawyer who represents Margarian’s family’s interests at
the court told after a visit to Budapest that the results of the
forensic examination clearly show that Ramil Safarov had committed the
murder deliberately, in cold blood and in a mentally healthy
condition. She said all the attempts of the Azerbaijani side to spin
out the trial on various pretexts, transfer it into the political
sphere and declare Safarov a hero in Azerbaijan will fail.

CENTRAL BANK LAUNCHES DEPOSIT COMPENSATION FUND

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Central Bank called a
special news conference on Friday to announce the inception of a
special bank fund that will recompense individual clients’ deposits in
case a bank goes bankrupt. The fund’s board of trustees comprises two
deputy finance and economy ministers, Central Bank chairman, a member
of the Union of Banks, as well as a parliament member. A competition
will be announced for the position of the fund’s executive manager.

Central Bank chairman Tigran Sarkisian said the fund is established
to raise the reliability of deposits’ return.

The fund will have a special account in the Central Bank and each
of commercial banks will have to contribute to it a sum equal to 0.2
percent of all its deposits. If a bank goes bankrupt the fund will
compensate all dram accounts not exceeding 2 million and also accounts
in US Dollar equal to 1 million drams. The difference is to foster
clients to keep their deposits in the national currency.

At present the fund has on its account 2 million US Dollar worth
drams and another 3.5 million euros are expected to come from the
government of Germany.

The aggregate amount of individual deposits in all commercial banks
amounts now to 110 billion drams, the majority of accounts-95
percent-are in US Dollars.

PRESS RELEASE
Cafesjian Museum Foundation
3 Tamanian Street, #31
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia 375012
Contacts:
USA: John Waters, [email protected]
Armenia: Madlene Minassian <[email protected]>
Phone: 374-1-56-72-62
Fax: 374-1-56-15-89

Yerevan, Armenia
February 21, 2005

Design for Cafesjian Art Museum Receives Government Approval

Architect David Hotson’s Innovative Plans Welcomed with Eager
Anticipation Minneapolis, MN and Yerevan, Armenia

The Cafesjian Museum Foundation is pleased to announce that the
architectural design for the Gerard L. Cafesjian Museum of Art has
been approved by the City of Yerevan. Construction of the Museum is
anticipated to begin in this Spring.

`I am very happy that the project has passed this important step in
the development process. David Hotson’s design adds something exciting
and new to Yerevan and is wonderfully incorporated into the existing
site. I am very grateful to RA President Kocharian for his continued
support of this project, to Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian, Chief
Architect Samvel Danielian, and the staff of the City of Yerevan for
their active assistance in the approval process. This is an exciting
day for all Armenians,’ said Mr.Cafesjian upon hearing the news.

`I would like to express my appreciation that our capital will have a
new and impressive structure. Our ongoing cooperation with the
Cafesjian Museum Foundation will result in the continued prosperity of
our city. We are full of hope that this newly-built museum will
complement the city’s architecture and will further energize our
capital’s cultural life’, – saidYerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharyan.

`It is a privilege to have the opportunity to respond to this
remarkable site. To be able to interact with the symbolic landmarks of
Armenia visible from the site, complete an urban circulation path, and
to develop a home for such an important art collection, is an
exceptional opportunity.’ Said Architect David Hotson.

The design treats the principal Museum building as an extension of the
Cascade, completing an animated pathway linking Tamanyan Park to the
Monument Terrace by exterior stairways and interior escalators. The
Museum and Art Center will provide a public plaza, ornamental pool,
sculpture courts, a café and an exterior cinema, consisting of over
12,000 square meters of public space, all accessible to passers-by as
well as visitors to the Museum itself. A prominent glass tower,
housing the Cafesjian Art Collection , creates a vivid emblem for the
Museum on the skyline and compositionally balances the cinema screen
while preserving the central visual access of the Cascade. The museum
building will provide more than 12,000 square meters of interior space
and 5,000 square meters of exhibition space.

About CMF

The Cafesjian Museum Foundation was founded in April of 2002 by the
Republic of Armenia and Gerard Cafesjian for the purpose of developing
a world-class international museum of art and a cultural center for
Yerevan.

About David Hotson

David Hotson is the Principle Architect of David Hotson Architects of
New York City, USA. His high profile clients include the United
Nations, Eyebeam Atelier, Architect Santiago Calatrava, and United
States President Bill Clinton.

More information is available at the Cafesjian Museum Foundation
website: