Public objects to Armenian’s planned visit

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 14 2004

Azerbaijani people have not shared the presently-observed unity of
views for many years. Regardless of party affiliation, positions
held or views adhered to, the Azeri public has voiced a joint protest
against the planned arrival of Armenian officers to attend the NATO
exercises, which started in Baku on September 13.

The protest actions, which started early this month, are still
underway.

Some 400 members of non-government organizations (NGOs) held an
unsanctioned march on September 11 which ended in signing a joint
declaration by over 250 NGOs. On the same day, another march, started
by the Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) from the Cemetery
of Martyrs, was prevented by the police. Employees of the ANS TV
channel also visited the Cemetery. Then, ANS TV and Radio suspended
their broadcastings for two hours, and showed films displaying the
atrocities and numerous crimes committed by Armenian soldiers against
the Azeri people.

On September 12, representatives of socio-political organizations and
other individuals held a sanctioned rally outside the Khatai cultural
palace in protest against the Armenians’ planned arrival.

The protesters held slogans “Keep away Armenian murderers”, “Death
to aggressor”, “Down with NATO’s double standard”, “Not train with
Armenians, but fight them”. In conclusion, a resolution was read out.

Parliament members have also expressed acute protests against the
Armenian officers’ intended visit. Seven MPs refused to attend a
parliamentary session on September 7 in this connection. Speaker
Murtuz Alasgarov said he agreed with the objections voiced by the MPs.

On September 10 Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said he strongly
objects to Armenians’ intended arrival, since there are no diplomatic
relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He also mentioned that
Azerbaijan refused to attend NATO exercises held in Armenia last
year. On September 11, President Ilham Aliyev, during his meeting
with the refugees living in Barda, expressed his disagreement with
Armenian’s intended participation in NATO exercises in Azerbaijan.*

NATO exercises in Baku cancelled

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 14 2004

The NATO Commander on Europe has made a decision to cancel the
‘Cooperative Best Effort-2004’ exercises, initially scheduled for
September 14-26 in Baku.

NATO explained the step by the non-observance to the principle of
accessibility of the exercises for all countries cooperating with
NATO within the Partnership for Peace program.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia earlier denied entry visas to
Armenian officers.

‘Cooperative Best Effort-2004’ exercises have already been held in
Georgia and Armenia.*

Armenia’s speaker urges opposition to end parliamentary boycott

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
13 Sep 04

[Correspondent over video of parliament] Before the beginning of
the autumn session of the Armenian National Assembly, the speaker
of the National Assembly confirmed his readiness to resolve the
issue of chronic absence. He said that it is necessary to give a
legal definition of what is understood by a boycott and how long it
can continue.

[Artur Bagdasaryan, captioned] What is a boycott? Parliamentary
elections will be held in Armenia in 2007. Can one political force
say that I am having a four-year boycott just after the elections? But
it will not stop them getting a salary, not stop them taking part in
the work of the National Assembly when they wish. All this has to be
resolved seriously.

[Correspondent] The session, which started on Monday [13 September],
contains most important draft laws for the country and Artur
Bagdasaryan suggested that they be adopted with the opposition’s
participation. He also noted that they must not hurry to strip deputies
of their mandates, as all this should be discussed and decided jointly
by the political forces in the coalition and opposition deputies.

Speaking about the scandal around the Armenian officers’ visit to Baku,
Artur Bagdasaryan said that Armenia has to continue its unchangeable
regional policy despite Baku’s morbid announcements.

[Artur Bagdasaryan] Armenia has to continue regional cooperation
within the framework of NATO and other international organizations,
because issues concerning the region’s peace and security urge us to
have a constructive position.

Nune Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Haig Misakyan
Chair, Support Committee for Armenia’s cosmic Ray Division – Canada
Nortool Automotive Warehousing Inc.
438 Limestone Cresc.
North York, Ontario M3J 2S4 Canada
Tel. 416-667-1083
[email protected]
September 12, 2004

SCACRD-Canada Joins the Cosmic Ray Division Family

On September 3, 2004, an enthusiastic group of Canadian-Armenians
gathered at the home of Virginia and Haig Misakyan to listen to a
presentation about the Cosmic Ray Division (CRD) of the Yerevan Physics
Institute in Armenia. Anahid Yeremian, the chairperson of the Support
Committee for Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division (SCACRD), with chapters
in California, Michigan, and New England, explained the vision of
Prof. Chilingarian, the head of the CRD. “Prof. Chilingarian feels
that Armenia has the ability to be an international leader in certain
aspects of science and cosmic ray physics and space weather forecasting
is one of those areas”, she emphasized to a fascinated audience.

“Indeed every time I have the opportunity to talk about the CRD, I am
myself awed at the accelerated progress this group of outstanding and
dedicated scientists, technicians, students and support personnel
makes under the leadership of Prof. Chilingarian”, says Anahid.
During the 5-year partnership of the Diaspora (through SCACRD)
with the CRD we have witnessed unbounded accomplishments by them.
Today because of the CRD, Armenia leads the world in the ground based
research aspect of Space Weather forecasting, winning international
recognition at the United Nations’ World Summit for Information
Society in December of 2003.

Cosmic Ray Physicists try to understand the phenomena associated
with the birth, life, and death of stars and other celestial bodies.
This research has led the CRD into a very exciting and interesting
new direction – the forecasting of Space Weather due to outbursts
from our star, the sun. Scientific journals, such as New Scientist
magazine which is published in England, and Science Magazine in the
U.S., as well as other publications such as the New York Times and
National Geographic Magazine, have published feature articles on
space weather and space weather forecasting. The articles in the
New Scientist and Science Magazine featured reports on the impressive
work being done by the CRD in Armenia.

The ground based research at the CRD in Armenia complements the
research based on data from detectors on the SOHO, ACE, and RHESSI
satellites in space and is vital part of understanding and forecasting
Space Weather. In fact, as it happened with SOHO in the summer
of 2003, sometimes the satellite used for research malfunctions
itself, requiring very costly, and sometimes, fatal attempts to fix
it in space. Thus the ground based research can be more robust and
at times act as a back up for the space based research.

The most severe solar outbursts are accompanied by few, yet very high
energy particles which reach the earth at nearly the speed of light.
Though too few to be reliably detected by the relatively small
detectors on satellites, they can be and are detected by large area
detectors on he ground. The high energy particles act as precursors to
alert us that a stream of many more particles which are less energetic
and slower are on their way towards earth. This large stream of
particles is particularly dangerous. Correlating the information
from the ground based detectors with X-rays and other satellite data
can lead to more timely and reliable Space Weather alerts.

The cosmic ray station at 10,500 ft elevation on Mt. Aragats in Armenia
was founded in 1943 by the visionary physicists, Artem and Abaraham
Alikhanian. Later a second station at 6500 ft was constructed.
The stations have an extensive infrastructure and are manned year
round. The Aragats Space Environmental Center (ASEC), also headed
by Prof. Chilingarian, was established at these cosmic ray stations
in 2001. ASEC is a valuable partner in the world-wide network of
space weather research organizations such as the European Space
Agency, the U. S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency, the
international network of neutron monitors and solar neutron telescopes.
CRD’s strategic geographic location (latitude and altitude) maximizes
the chance for the detection of those few very high energy, early
arriving particles which warn of the onset of severe space weather.
This information is a very important piece of the space weather puzzle.

Space weather is one of the most important problems of the 21-st
century, which we must understand and forecasted. It is exciting
for us, Armenians, that the CRD leads the world in the ground based
aspect of the research and development in this field. It is doubly
exciting for the SCACRD and the Diaspora friends who have and continue
their unwavering support of the CRD, financial and otherwise.

“We welcome the SCACRD – Canada chapter and the Canadian Diaspora
to our fold. We also thank the US SCACRD chapters in California,
Michigan, and New England for their continued activity. We thank the
Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA, 417 West Arden
Ave., #112C, Glendale, CA 91203), AESA -MI section (P.O. Box 4867,
Troy, MI 48099) and the Bay Area Friends of Armenia (BAFA, PO Box 3584,
Daly City, CA 94015) for accepting contributions specially designated
for the CRD. We also thank other Diaspora organizations who have
or continue to support the CRD in various ways: AAA, ANC, all AESA
chapters, ARS, ATG, FAR, KoV, UAF, various churches and schools, and
the Hairenik Bookstore in Watertown. We thank you, the individual
Diaspora members who have caught the vision of Prof. Chilingarian
and continue to stay with us on this exciting ride. Most of all we
thank the 80 dedicated scientists, technicians and students of the
CRD who stay in Armenia and contribute to!
our
motherland’s accelerated development with their talents”, gratefully
acknowledges Anahid.

For more information about the CRD, their research, and how you can
help, please visit frequently, as the sight is
updated frequently.

Photo: SCACRD – Canada members with Anahid. From left to right front
row: Haig Misakyan, Virginia Misakyan, Anahid Dian Yeremian, Joseph
Yeremian, Aram Isnar, Abraham Kandaharian. Second row: Talar Misakyan,
Dr. Andre Nazarian, France Kandaharian, Tili Isnar, Seza Nazarian.
Third row, left to right: George Yeremian, Maral Minassian, Janet
Yeremian. Fourth row, left to right: Dr. Berge Minassian, Migirdic
Migirdicyan. Missing from the picture: Dr. Zareh & Lena Ouzounian,
Dr. Garo and Viviane Topjian, Ani Migirdicyan,

Intense Galas goes for the jugular
By SCOTT D. LEWIS

Oregonian, OR
Sept 14 2004

Diamanda Galas’ two weekend shows as part of PICA’s Time-Based Art
Festival were a study in contrasts. The contrast between intense,
and really intense, that is.

Friday night’s show nearly filled the Newmark Theatre and was
decidedly the more intense of her riveting performances, with Galas
plowing through her recently released “DEFIXIONES: Will & Testament”
double album. The piece, dedicated “to the forgotten and erased of the
Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides that occurred in Asia Minor,
Pontos and Thrace between 1914 and 1923,” was performed with Galas
clawing at a black grand piano, transfixed at two side pulpits or
clenching her microphones and prowling on a runway toward the audience.

The stage was blackened, three candelabras glowed at the back, and
Galas, cloaked in layered black gauze, appeared both bewitching and
as though caught in a spell.

That spell, which proved itself to be more a case of passionate
possession, quickly enveloped the theater’s three levels and left
nearly all in a sustained, cerebral trance.

Armed with a 31/2-octave vocal range, “six languages and gibberish” and
methodically researched and dissected subject matter, Galas shrieked,
screeched, growled, hissed and howled the cases of souls slaughtered
and forgotten.

And even if her texts are foreign, her pieces are difficult, and
her singular, dervish-banshee singing can be unsettling. When Galas
performs, her intent is definite, and her delivery is inescapable
and unforgettable.

Sunday’s show was sold out — and stunning.

Seated at the piano for the evening, Galas turned toward her dark
bluesy side and paced through a gripping set of standards, murder
ballads and original songs.

In Galas’ hands and throat, the somewhat chipper “My World Is Empty
Without You,” became turbulent and tortured, sounding as if the world
in question was really the underworld.

With her husky, seasoned voice, unique arrangements and absolute
focus, Galas sounded like the vampiric lovechild of Tom Waits and
Nina Simone, throwing in a few rounds of seizure-inducing screeching
for good measure.

Her take on Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” could leave
Elvis stirred and shaken, and her version of Shel Silverstein’s
“25 Minutes to Go” peeled back the campfire favorite to reveal the
silly tune for what it really is — the panic of a person on the way
to be executed.

After multiple standing ovations and encores, Galas ended her stellar
show with an otherworldly version of “Gloomy Sunday” and made her
way to the lobby for a casual meet-and-greet with fans both old and
certainly new.

DALLAIRE EVENT OFFERS MESSAGE OF TOLERANCE
BY BESSIE BORWEIN, SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS

London Free Press (Ontario, Canada)
September 13, 2004 Monday Final Edition

There was an event of great importance in London in August, namely,
the Gen. Romeo Dallaire Summer Institute on Teaching the Holocaust
and Genocide.

It ran for five days in a room at the Ivey School of Business at the
University of Western Ontario. About 40 teachers were there to learn
ways of teaching the centrality of tolerance for the preservation of
our democratic society and its human rights.

The event was planned by the London Association for the Elimination
of Hate, with the collaboration of the Holocaust Literature Research
Institute at UWO founded by Alain Goldschlager and the London Jewish
Federation.

A major topic was genocide, what it is and what it is not. Genocide
is essentially the deliberate, organized, systematically planned
murder of a people, targeted for who they are with the intent to
wipe them out. It is not a term to be used casually and carelessly.
Genocide always involves hatred and is preceded by the indoctrination
of hatred of the targeted people, delegitimizing them as humans by
calling them cockroaches, pigs, apes, or caterpillars. Genocide is
a political ideological tool.

In the last 100 years, there have been, among others, the Rwandan
and Armenian genocides and the Holocaust. The study of these formed
a crucial component of the Dallaire summer institute. Other terrible
slaughters in that time have included those in Cambodia, the former
Yugoslavia, the Congo, the Iraqi gassing of the Kurds and the millions
killed by the former Soviet Union (the Gulag), in the Chinese Cultural
Revolution, and by the Japanese in China and Southeast Asia, and in
the rape of Nanking. A terrible century.

In Rwanda, there were at least four years of preparation by extremist
Hutus for the genocide of the Tsutsis, by the indoctrination of hate
by hate-filled language (the radio was important in this) and the
stockpiling of half a million machetes.

In the genocide, not only were more than 800,000 Tsutsis killed in
100 days (a greater rate of killing even than that at Auschwitz)
but they also murdered moderate Hutus (bystanders). They planned to
leave no witnesses and no evidence.

As he watched the horror unfolding, Dallaire, in Rwanda with a
UN peacekeeping mission, pleaded with Kofi Annan for permission to
intervene and for additional help. Dallaire disobeyed Annan and saved
40,000 Rwandans.

Canadian Maj. Brett Beardsley, who was Dallaire’s right-hand man
in Rwanda, gave a powerful address to the institute. He described
watching the unfolding of the horror of the well-planned genocide,
the impotence of the UN, and its unwillingness to give Dallaire the
authority and the means to stop the killing. He also referred to the
embedded corruption at the UN.

A few years ago, Londoners Elaine Pensa and Laila Norman persuaded
London city council to set up an informal committee to address the
presence here of hate-language, and assaults on persons, properties
and identifiable groups. From the deliberations of that committee
resulted the establishment of the Association for the Elimination of
Hate, supported by city council.

I would like to pay a tribute to Rich Hitchens and Debbie Lee for
their work in getting the institute going. It is hoped that it will
be a model for other Canadian cities.

The Dallaire summer institute will be held annually and there are
plans to build in London a tolerance education centre.

Teaching of tolerance is the best way to protect our liberty, democracy
and civil society. We cannot tolerate the teaching of intolerance,
which threatens our precious human rights and our freedom.

Ferry repairs suspend cargo exchanges between Russia, Armenia
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 13, 2004 Monday

YEREVAN, September 13 — All haulage of cargo between Russia and
Armenia by motor vehicles has been suspended as Bulgaria’s Meridien
Company that operates the Burgas-Poti-Novorossisk navigation line
linking Bulgaria to Georgia to Russia has notified its partners that
it suspends operations until September 27 because the ferry needs
repairs, CEO of Yerevan-based Apaven Company Gagik Agadzhanian told
Itar-Tass on Monday.

“The suspension of the operation of the Bulgarian ferry is giving rise
to new problems for the Armenian national economy. Armenia has no
common border with Russia and the two countries’ exchanges of goods
have to use first the Black Sea routes and then rely on transit via
Georgia,” he said.

At present, 25 heavy trucks with goods from Russia are en route to
Armenia. It is not clear when they will be able to reach destination.

Plea for funds to help boy injured by landmine
by Fiona Tyrrell

The Irish Times
September 13, 2004

A Co Clare man is fronting an appeal to help finance plastic surgery
for a child survivor of a landmine accident in Abkhazia, on the
borders of Russia and Georgia.

Anri Nachkebia (10), lost part of his face, an eye, a hand and a foot
two years ago when he picked up an anti-personnel mine and started
playing with it.

He is having problems breathing through his nose and he needs surgery
to relieve this as well as a prosthetic eye.

Clare-born Mr David McMahon, a programme manager based in Georgia
with the Halo Trust, a non-profit organisation which specialises in
the removal of mines, yesterday appealed for help for Anri.

A native of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Mr McMahon has been working with
Halo since 1999 and has worked on de-mining projects in Cambodia,
Kosovo, Afghanistan and Nagorno Karabak.

It is estimated that some 20,000 mines were planted in Abkhazia during
the 1992-93 war with Georgia.

Mr McMahon came across Anri during a rehabilitation camp for the
child survivors of landmine accidents this summer.

Anri has received a prosthetic leg from the Red Cross but his bones
are growing and he will need another operation on his leg soon,
Mr McMahon said.

“We were all touched by this boy, who had such severe injuries. We
need about $5,000 to send him to Armenia where he can be operated on.”

Staff of Halo Abkhazia plan to contribute $1,000 towards the cost of
the operation. Over 360 people have been killed or injured in mine
accidents since the war ended.

Aside from this, the mines were planted in the most fertile areas
and deny people the fundamental right to use their land, he explained.

“This is the war that the world has forgotten about,” Mr McMahon added.

“Ireland is doing really well at the moment, but there are a lot less
fortunate people living on the periphery of the EU.

“You don’t have to go to Africa to see extreme poverty,” said Mr
McMahon.

Donations can be made to The Anri Fund, Halo Trust, PO Box 7905,
Thornhill, DG3 5WA, United Kingdom.

A donation to the fund can also be made on-line at
“”>

Armenia aims at serious cooperation with NATO – president
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 14, 2004

YEREVAN, September 14 — Armenia aims at serious cooperation with
NATO, and “the scale of partnership may be broadened,” President
Robert Kocharyan told a delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
on Tuesday.

The delegation is visiting Armenia to attend a roundtable meeting at
the national parliament.

The president said he was satisfied with the current level of
cooperation with NATO, a source in the presidential press service told
Itar-Tass. He said Armenia is taking part in a number of NATO programs.

Kocharyan dwelt on regional cooperation, the Armenian Armed Forces
reform and Armenian peacekeepers in Kosovo by request of the
delegation.

Armenia is ready to develop relations with Turkey without any
preliminary conditions, Kocharyan said. Yerevan thinks that these
relations cannot be conditioned on Armenian relations with a third
country, he said implying the Turkish unwillingness to normalize
relations with Armenia as long as the latter supports Nagorno-Karabakh
in its conflict with Azerbaijan.

Regional cooperation can create favorable conditions for the settlement
of conflicts, Kocharyan said. He noted that Armenia had proposed the
formula of conflicts settlement through cooperation many times but
Azerbaijan rejected the proposal.

Putin to bring together Azerbaijani, Armenian leaders in Astana
By Viktoria Sokolova

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 14, 2004

MOSCOW, September 15 — President Vladimir Putin will hold a tripartite
meeting in Astana on Wednesday evening with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan and Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev.

“The format of such a meeting has proven to be correct,” presidential
aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass.

The Kremlin assumes that the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
“should reach an accord between themselves,” while Russia “can make
its contribution to the development and deepening of dialogue,”
Prikhodko said.

The new tripartite meeting will be held on Moscow’s proposal, a source
in the presidential administration told Itar-Tass. The Kremlin does
not rule out that Kocharyan and Aliyev will have a one-on-one meeting
in Astana.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress