Azg Armenian Daily
Sept 6 2004

GROUP OF SPECIALISTS FROM EQUATORIAL GUINEA IN ARMENIA TO FIND TRACES
OF ARMENIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE COUP

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA TO VISIT POLAND

TWO CIVILIZATIONS MEET

AZERBAIJAN’S “FREE” MASS MEDIA TO BE ALIYEV’S HOSTAGE OF
ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICY

SCIENTISTS TIRED OF GOVERNMENT’S PROMISES

“IF THE SCIENTISTS UNITED THE ISSUE OF OUR BUILDING WOULD HAVE OTHER
SOLUTION”

PETER BALAKIAN VISITS YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY

ANOTHER FESTIVAL IN ARMENIA

*********************************************************************

GROUP OF SPECIALISTS FROM EQUATORIAL GUINEA IN ARMENIA TO FIND
TRACES OF ARMENIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE COUP

The Prosecutor’s Office of Equatorial Guinea sent a group of
specialists to Armenia to examine the implication of Armenian pilots
in a coup against the president of the country Teodoro Obiang Nguema,
France-Presse informs.

Hamlet Gasparian, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
told Azg Daily that the information is unknown to him. Gasparian said
that the Armenian ambassador to Egypt together with an official from
State Ceremony Department of Armenia returned to Yerevan on Sunday.
They visited the Armenian pilots in the Black Beach prison in Malabo
for the second time.

The France-Presse notes that another group of specialists left for
the South African Republic to question Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark
Thatcher. The later is accused of financing the coup against the
president Nguema and was released on bail of 300 thousand dollars.

The six Armenian pilots and the Russian “Antonov” plane were hired by
a German company. The company’s representative in Malabo Gerhard
Eugen Herz was among the arrested and died in prison apparently of
tortures.

The France-Presse reminds that the Armenian pilots arrived in
Equatorial Guinea in January and had one flight on behalf of a South
African company. The owner of the company Nick du Toit confessed at
the court to a coup that was sponsored by Mark Thatcher.

The trail over the organizers of an assumed coup will continue in
October.

By Tatoul Hakobian

*********************************************************************

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA TO VISIT POLAND

The 7-th of September is the last day of Robert Kocharian’s official
visit to Poland, on invitation of Alexander Kvashnevski, president of
Poland.

President Kocharian was to meet with the president of Poland, the
prime minister and the heads of Seym and the Senate.

The main purpose of the visit was to stimulate development of
intergovernmental ties, outline the economical issues that the two
countries need to consider and also speak of urgent international
issues.

History of Armenian-Polish Relations

Armenia established diplomatic relations with Poland on February 26
of 1992. Today Armenian-Polish relations are dynamically developing.

Armenia considers Poland a strategic partner in the Eastern Europe.
Poland became a EU member on May 1. Poland, with its rich experience
of democratic reforms and European integration, may play an important
role for Armenia on his way to the EU. From this perspective
Armenian-Polish relations need to be developed not only in the
political and economical spheres but also in the sphere of culture.
Official visits of representative of both countries became regular in
the course of time.

1998 – embassy of Armenian opened in Warsaw.

1999 July 13-15 – official visit of Robert Kocharian to Poland. A
business forum was held during the visit. President Kocharian made a
speech in the Center of Eastern Researches in Warsaw.

2001 January 27 – embassy of Poland opened in Yerevan.

2001 November 13-16 – Alexander Kvashnevski’s official visit to
Armenia. Another business forum held in Armenia.

Taking into consideration Poland’s achievements in attracting
overseas investments, Armenia needs learn from Polish experience.
Though the Armenian-Polish relations are not on a very high level
today, the two states have enough potential for partnership.

*********************************************************************

TWO CIVILIZATIONS MEET

A new page in the relations of two great and neighboring
civilizations is going to open on September 8, 2004. The president of
Iran Islamic Republic Mohammad Khatami will visit Armenia on
invitation of the president of Armenia Robert Kocharian. The
president’s visit besides being important for Armenian-Iranian
relations has also a regional and international importance.

The Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline building, hydro-electric powers,
the Qadjaran tunnel construction and many other issues of great
mutual importance will top the agenda.

Who is Mohammad Khatami?

Mohammad Khatami is the 7-th president of Iran Islamic Republic. He
was elected president 8 years ago. Though the enemies of Iran are
constantly declaring that Iranian regime doesn’t protect the
country’s population, 20 million Iranians voted for the follower and
defender of Imam Khomeini’s ideas, Mohammad Khatami.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has turned a new page in many spheres
due to president Khatami’s religious democracy and the policy of
dialogue and tolerance.

While taking political decisions Khatami considers peoples’ rights,
views and demands within the Islamic principles. On the international
arena the president leads the policy of stopping confrontations and
conflicts.

The idea of a dialogue between civilizations drawn forward by Khatami
at the General Assembly of the UN gained an international support.
That’s why the year of 2001 was declared a year of dialogue by the
UN. Khatami’s idea of dialogue is perhaps the best alternate against
the so-called theory of clash of the civilizations.

Mohammad Khatami was elected for the second term receiving the great
majority of the vote. He is one of the great thinkers of his time, an
eminent theorist and author of many books on Islamic philosophy. The
Armenian nation is looking forward to the visit of friendly Iran’s
president.

*********************************************************************

AZERBAIJAN’S “FREE” MASS MEDIA TO BE ALIYEV’S HOSTAGE OF
ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICY

The Azeri mass media protests against the participation of Armenian
officers in the NATO’s “Cooperative Best Effort” exercises taking
place on September 12, 2004, in Baku. The Azeri authorities, i.e.
president Aliyev are backing the protest. The latter is taking every
step to reduce contacts with Armenians to minimum after his father’s
death. One year ago when Ilham Aliyev was the prime minister of
Azerbaijan he urged the Azeri NGOs to put an end to any contact with
Armenians. Anti-Armenian moods gained governmental support during the
last year.

This is not the first anti-Armenian rally of the Azeri government. In
his April visit to Ankara Ilham Aliyev drew forward two main issues:
Turkish-Azeri relations and the Karabakh issue. Here Aliyev appealed
to Turkish authorities not to open the Turkish-Armenian border-gate,
as it will bring the Karabakh issue to a deadlock.

The Azeri mass media was always anti-Armenian after the Karabakh war.
But in 1998-2001 due to Armenian and Azeri NGOs mass media workers
had the chance to visit each other’s countries, a kind of “thaw”
began.

Ilham Aliyev’s appearance as a president of Azerbaijan changed
everything. President Aliyev soon understood that the world community
doesn’t approve of his belligerent statements and fell silent letting
the mass media talk. But the official mass media is still keeping
silent as though everything said and published has nothing to do with
official Baku’s position.

The Armenian servicemen are to leave for Baku on September 12.
Armenian officers were not permitted on board the plane leaving from
Istanbul to Baku in January. The organizer of the exercises, NATO,
didn’t publicly condemn Azeri authorities but hinted that steps like
this are not allowed within its frameworks.

A month later in Budapest during the NATO-organized English classes
an Azeri officer Ramil Safarov murdered his Armenian classmate. The
NATO condemned the heinous deed whereas Azerbaijan made Safarov a
national hero.

The second NATO conference took place in Baku. Two Armenian officers
managed to reach the Azeri capital. The so-called Organization of
Karabakh Liberation tried to penetrate the conference hall and kill
Armenians. Five activists of this organization were sentenced to 2
years imprisonment for making troubles recently.

The mass media aroused a new wave of anti-Armenian hysteria: how can
you arrest the potential Karabakh warriors? Ilham Aliyev noted that
though he finds the sentence too heavy he can do nothing about it as
the court in Azerbaijan is free.

Meanwhile the Armenian officers are getting ready to leave for Baku
to participate in the exercises taking place from September 13 to 26.
The time will show how will the Azeri mass media react to this event.

To conclude, we should say that Azerbaijan declined its participation
in the NATO exercises of 2003 in Yerevan justifying it by the
unsolved Karabakh issue and the occupied territories.

By Tatoul Hakobian

*********************************************************************

SCIENTISTS TIRED OF GOVERNMENT’S PROMISES

“We have to register that this budget is not meant for preservation
of the science, as the authorities declare, but it is slowly killing
the science. This policy can make fatal harm to the Armenian Studies
that should be one of the priority directions of the national policy.
We demand that our authorities should meet the requirements of the
law on science and keep their promises given to the scientists, i.e.
to secure at least minimal conditions for scientific researches,”
says the open letter of the directors of the Institutes of the
Armenian and Social Studies attached to Ra National Academy of
Sciences. The letter is addressed to RA President, Ra National
Assembly and RA Government.

The scientists disappointed from the obvious ignoring attitude of our
statesmen to the Armenian studies gathered at RA Academy to put
forward the issues they are constantly discussing. The meeting was
led by Vladimir Barkhudarian, Deputy Chairman of the Academy.

He explained their decision to take urgent measures by the fact that
our authorities discharge the importance of the Armenian Studies. The
Government raised the average salaries of the scientists from 16
thousand to only 22 thousand AMD, though they promised to raise the
salaries for tenfold.

Academician Vladimir Khojabekian believes that it is not the fault of
RA Education and Science Ministry, they were instructed to liquidate
the Academy of Sciences with time. This instruction was made by
former RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian. While the authorities of the
country, particularly, the country’s president should care for the
science and be responsible for its development.

Ashot Melkonian, director of the History Institute, emphasized that
they complain not only about poor salaries but also about the state
policy concerning the Armenian Studies and the science. “Armenian
Studies are important not only for the scientists but it is a
national issue, and we alarm against the lack of the special position
of the states concerning the matter,” he said.

Nikolai Hovhannisian, Director of the Institute of the Oriental
Studies, emphasized that they are aimed to create a progressive and
developed Armenian state. “It is already out of question that we
can’t create such a state, having conducting such a policy and
approach to the science, that exists in Armenia today. Sometimes we
are blamed that we can’t secure grants for our researches. There is
no country in the world that develops its science based on the
grants, solely. The Armenian Studies isn’t an international science,
but a national one and the state should be responsible for that.”

Aram Kalantarian, Director of the Institutes for the Ancient and
Ethnic Studies, Azat Eghiazarian, Director of the Literature and Arts
Institute, Lavrenti Hovhannisian, deputy Director of the Institute of
Linguistics, also held speeches, expressing their indignation about
the position of the authorities to the Armenian Studies.

By the end of their speeches, Mr. Barkhudarian said that RA
Government decided to raise the salaries of the scientists by 5000
AMD for the candidates of science and 10000 AMD for the Doctors.

RA Government tried to take the first step to sooth the anger of the
scientists, but that wasn’t the key one.

By Ruzan Poghosian

*********************************************************************

“IF THE SCIENTISTS UNITED THE ISSUE OF OUR BUILDING WOULD HAVE OTHER
SOLUTION”

Lavrenti Hovhannisian, Director of the Institute of Linguistics, said
that their complaints and protests against handing the edifice of the
Institutes of Economy and Linguistics attached to RA National
Assembly to Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin yielded no good results. “We
expect that one beautiful day we will be withdrawn from the building.
If we, the scientists united in the issue of our building, it would
have other solution. “He assured as a warning that in future all the
other buildings of RA National Academy of Science will be taken away,
as this practice is likely to grow in future.” He offered the
scientists clear out whether this approach of the authorities is
caused from their ignorance or this is a special approach. “If the
authorities don’t understand this state is based on the Armenian
Studies, we should make them understand. In the first way this
approach can be corrected, but the second case is much more
dangerous,” he said.

By Ruzan Poghosian

*********************************************************************

PETER BALAKIAN VISITS YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Peter Balakian, American-Armenian writer, was invited to visit the
students of Yerevan State University on September 3. Press Service of
the University informed that Levon Ananian, Chairman of RA Union of
Writers, represented the creative life of Peter Balakian, talked of
his pieces. Afterwards, Peter Balakian held a speech. He emphasized
that that was a great pleasure for him to meet with the students. He
thanked the Armenian General Benevolence Union, RA Union of Writers,
as they invited him to Armenia. He was also grateful to the Yerevan
State University for the meeting with the students. Then he
represented his book “Black Dog of Fate”. He touched upon the
generations’ gap occurred after the Genocide.

Radik Martirosian, Rector of Yerevan State University, emphasized the
importance of such meetings and awarded Mr. Balakian YSU Golden
Medal, supreme order of the Yerevan State University. By the end of
the meeting a number of students represented several poems by
Balakian.

By Tamar Minasian

*********************************************************************

ANOTHER FESTIVAL IN ARMENIA

Three festivals were held in Armenia in three months, another 2
international festivals are envisaged to be held in coming two
months. Razmik Abrahamian, head of Art and Folk Art Department of RA
Ministry of Culture, believes that we still need more festivals.

“Golden Apricot”, “One Nation, One Culture,” and “Pomegranate Seed”
festivals can be considered established. At present, we are aimed to
support “Armmono” and “Haifest” international festivals, Razmik
Abrahamian said.

Over 100 artists participated in “Golden Apricot” festival, over 1000
artists were invited to take part in “One Nation, One Culture”.
Though this year only local artists participated “Pomegranate Seed”
youth festival, the organizers assure that next year foreign artists
will be invited to Armenia.

If “One Nation, One Culture” contributed to strengthening the
relations between Armenia and Diaspora, “Armmono” and “Haifest” can
easily become international festivals. Both festivals are carried out
for the second time. “Armmono” will be held on September 14-20 and 30
actors from 14 countries will represent 29 mono-performances. Mariam
Ghazarian, organizer of the festival, assured that the actors were
chosen according to stricter criteria. “Haifest” will be carried out
in October.

“These festivals contribute to the development of theatre and cinema,
as well as to the establishment of mutual acquaintances,” Razmik
Abrahamian said.

By Arevik Badalian

ARKA News Agency
Sept 6 2004

Armenia to send 50 military men in Iraq

Armenia to send donor blood and medicines in North Osetia

Catholicos of All Armenians awarded “St. Sahak – St. Mesrob” order to
American writer of Armenian origin Peter Balakian

Armenian and Iranian Presidents to meet in Yerevan on Sept 8

Armenian PM sends his condolences to Head of Russian Government on
occasion of tragic events in Beslan

The days from September 6 to 7 are declared as mourning days in
Russia in the memory of the victims perished as a result of the
terrorist attack in Beslan

The fifth graduating class of the Financial Banking College
Foundation of Armenia gets diplomas

The USA is interested in the stability and safety of the South
Caucasus region

*********************************************************************

ARMENIA TO SEND 50 MILITARY MEN IN IRAQ

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. Armenia will send 50 military men in
Iraq, who will join coalition forces under Polish command. According
to Reuters Agency, Armenian contingent will be sent in the frames of
agreement on cooperation in the sphere of security between two
countries, signed by RA President Robert Kocharian and the Head of
Poland Alexander Kwasnevski on Monday. According to RA Minister of
Defense, the Government decided to send soldiers in Iraq, and
“despite of the size of our country and the distance till Europe
Armenia feels itself a part of Europe”. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIA TO SEND DONOR BLOOD AND MEDICINES IN NORTH OSETIA

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. Armenia will send donor blood and
medicines in North Osetia, RA Deputy Minister of Healthcare Haik
Darbinian stated today. Besides, Yerevan hospitals are ready to
receive unlimited number of victims of terrorist act in Beslan.
In result of terrorist attack of school #1 in North Osetia about 335
people died, including 156 children. L.D. –0—

*********************************************************************

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS AWARDED “ST. SAHAK – ST. MESROB” ORDER TO
AMERICAN WRITER OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN PETER BALAKIAN

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. Catholicos of All Armenians His
Holiness Garegin II awarded “St. Sahak – St. Mesrob” order to
American writer of Armenian origin Peter Balakian. As St. Echmiadzin
Holy See Chancellery told ARKA, during the ceremony the Head of the
Armenian Church highly appreciated the achievements of the writer,
wishing him inspired pen and fruitful days. In his words, it is not
occasional that Peter Balakian devoted his two books “Black Dog of
Fate” and “The Burning Tigris” to the Armenian Genocide. “It seemed
that the call of ancestors reflected in his soul and was embodied in
these books”, Garegin II mentioned, adding that “currently the
blessing comes down under these archs due to your service and work
that contains respect and prayer in memory of innumerable victims”.
As it is mentioned in the press release the event was attended by
monks of Holy See of St. Echmiadzin, the Chairman of Union of Writers
of Armenia Levon Ananyan and Director of Armenian office of Armenian
General Benevolent Union Ashot Ghazaryan. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN AND IRANIAN PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN YEREVAN ON SEPT 8

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. On Sept 8 the Armenian and Iranian
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Seyyed Mohammad Khatami to have
vis-a-vis meeting in Yerevan. As the Armenian President Press Service
told ARKA, after the meeting the Armenian and Iranian sides to lead
enlarged format negotiations. Also the sides plans signing bilateral
documents and holding press conference.
As it is mentioned in the press release, during his visit to Armenia,
the Iranian President to hold speech in front of Armenian MPs. Also,
the Iranian President plans to meet the Catholicos of All Armenians
His Holiness Garegin II, lecturers and students of Yerevan State
University. Also, as it is mentioned in the press release, Mohammad
Khatami to lay wreath to the 1915 Armenian Genocide Museum as well as
to visit the Blue Mosque and to meet Iranian citizens working in
Armenia.
The President of Islamic Republic of Iran to visit Armenia on
September 8-9 by invitation of the Armenian President. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN PM SENDS HIS CONDOLENCES TO HEAD OF RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ON
OCCASION OF TRAGIC EVENTS IN BESLAN

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. Armenian PM Andranik Margarian sent his
condolences to Head of the Russian Government Mikhail Fradkov on
occasion of tragic events in Russia. As the Armenian Government
Public and Press Relations Department told ARKA, the message contains
deep condolences related to death of large number of people during
monstrous terrorist seizure in town of Beslan, “Stunned by tragic
death of people, the considerable part of which are children, we are
sending the words of condolences and sincere sympathy and support to
all those who encountered this horrible tragedy”, the message of the
Armenian PM said. The press release also mentions that “in these hard
days for Russian people and mourning with you, we are asking you to
send our condolences and sympathy to families of victims and their
loved”. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

THE DAYS FROM SEPTEMBER 6 TO 7 ARE DECLARED AS MOURNING DAYS IN
RUSSIA IN THE MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS PERISHED AS A RESULT OF THE
TERRORIST ATTACK IN BESLAN

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. According to the RF President V.
Putin’s decree, the days from Sep 6 to Sep7 are declared as mourning
days in Russia in the memory of the victims perished as a result of
the terrorist attack on September 1-3 in Beslan (North Osetia –
Alania). As ARKA was informed, a book for condolences is opened in
the Embassy of RF in Armenia from 11.00 a.m. to 17.00 p.m. on
September 6-7.
335 people died, including 156 children as a result of the terrorist
attack of school N1 in Beslan North Osetian city. The terrorists
cruelly shot children-hostages, their parents and relatives, who came
to see the ceremonial grand school line on the occasion of the Day of
Knowledge. A.H.–0–

*********************************************************************

THE FIFTH GRADUATING CLASS OF THE FINANCIAL BANKING COLLEGE
FOUNDATION OF ARMENIA GETS DIPLOMAS

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. The fifth graduating class of the
Financial Banking College Foundation of Armenia was given diplomas.
As the director of the College Armen Saroyan stated on the ceremony
of awarding diplomas, 6 out of 39 graduates of the College already
have jobs, and three medallists expect a reply regarding their
employment in the banking sector of the country. He noted that during
the whole period of the operation of the College, 30 out of 200
graduates work in financial-banking sector of Armenia. Saroyan
emphasized that the students are specialized in two areas: “banking”
and “junior financier”, and within two years they gain knowledge and
skills necessary for working in the financial- banking sector of the
country. “The students do practice work in 17 Armenian banks
acquiring the necessary skills and the perspective of employment in
one of them”, he said. In her turn the member of CBA Board Karine
Minasyan noted that the graduates of the College would find their
places in the banking sector. “The future of the college will depend
on their work, and the way they demonstrate their skills”, she said.
In 1995 RA and German Governments signed an agreement on “technical
co-operation”, in the frames of which GTZ organization financed the
program on training cadres with an average economic education in
Armenia. The program aimed to train specialists for the banking
sector. In particular, in the frames of the Armenian-German
Intergovernmental program “the average special banking education in
Armenia”, the Financial Banking College was established in 1998 by
the RA Ministry of Science and Education, CBA and RA Union of Banks.
A.H.–0–

*********************************************************************

THE USA IS INTERESTED IN THE STABILITY AND SAFETY OF THE SOUTH
CAUCASUS REGION

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. The USA is interested in the stability
and safety of the South Caucasus region. According to the RA
President’s Press Service Department, this was stated by the newly
appointed US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia
John Evans, who handed his credentials to RA President Robert
Kocharyan. Congratulating the diplomat on the occasion of
appointment, Kocharyan expressed his satisfaction with the present
level of Armenian –American bilateral relations development. He also
expressed his gratitude to the American Government for their
constituent support in overcoming the problems of the transition
period aimed at strengthening democracy and economic reforms in the
country. In the course of the meeting the parties touched upon the
issues of bilateral economic development, and interrelations in the
frames of the program of the Fund “Millennium Challenge”. Regarding
the bilateral relations, Kocharyan attached special importance to the
Armenian community in the USA.
Having discussed the terrorist attack in North Osetia, the parties
noted that the issues of security acquired special importance in the
light of the present challenges. In the course of the meeting the
parties also discussed the issues of the Karabakh conflict
settlement, regional safety and further co-operation. A.H. –0–

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO COMBAT MIGRATION: WE CAN COMBAT THE REASONS CAUSING MIGRATION

ARKA News Agency – Interview
Sept 6 2004

Gagik Yeghanyan’s An Exclusive Interview of the Head of the
Department of Migration and Refugees adjunct to the RA Government to
ARKA News Agency.

ARKA – For the last two years the structure of migration processes
changed in Armenia. If before the migration balance was negative,
then now this indicator equals to zero. So, how is the situation at
present?

G. Yeghanyan – In June 2004 we recorded a positive migration balance:
the number of people who returned to Armenia exceed by 11400 people
the number of those leaving the country. At the same time, according
to the data for the first half a year of 2004, the migration balance
is negative in Armenia. However, those leaving the country cannot be
defined as emigrants, and those coming to Armenia– as immigrants. All
of them are passengers crossing the border. Serious studies are
necessary to find out the reasons these people return to the republic
or leave it. The data of our department– is a nice raw material, on
the base of which one can draw a conclusion that if, for example, the
number of people leaving the republic keeps growing, then dominating
emigration –like disposition is observed. In order to see the
regularity in migration processes, one should follow them during
quite a long period. At that, migration has some sluggishness: even
if today the reasons for migration disappear, the process of
migration will not stop at once.

ARKA – What do fluctuations in migration balance depend on?

G. Yeghanyan – Migration in Armenia is of seasonal character. Thus,
during the first months of spring the number of people leaving
Armenia grows, as people usually leave in the quest of seasonal jobs.
In June almost always our department records positive balance: the
reason is that in connection with the summer holidays most people
want their children to spend holidays in their motherland. In autumn,
on the contrary, the negative balance grows, since those who came to
spend their holidays in Armenia go back. In the end of autumn again
positive balance is recorded: seasonal workers come back from abroad.
By New Year the number of people coming to Armenia exceeds those
leaving it, as most people want to spend their favorite festival with
their families.
In 2000 the negative migration balance amounted to about 60 thsd
people in the country. This figure didn’t change in 2001. The studies
show that from 1992 to 2001 a definite negative balance was recorded
in Armenia. At that, in 1992-1994 mass migration amounted to about
150 thsd people yearly. For the last three years the migration
balance is almost zero. Thus, we can assume that in 2002-2003 the
factors causing such migration significantly reduced. One of the main
factors causing migration in Armenia, is the lack of work, according
to a sociological survey: the lack of work as such, the lack of
specialized work or work paid well, and difficulties connected with
entrepreneurship. Classically it’s called economic migration and not
emigration. The geography of migration from Armenia changes – these
are CIS, while 90% of people leave for Russia. There is a simple
explanation of it: Armenia has no visa regime with Russia, there are
no obstacles connected with the language, and there are trade
relations.
I want to emphasize, that it’s impossible to combat migration. It’s a
natural process. We can combat only the reasons causing migration.
The so-called ethnic factor also matters. For example, the life
standard of an Armenian farmer in Ararat valley is much better than
that of a farmer in steppe regions of Russia. However, it will never
occur to people living in the regions of Russia to leave their
country. Unfortunately, the affection of Armenians towards their land
is weak.
ARKA – How many citizens have applied for being provided with a
shelter in Armenia?

G. Yeghanyan –This number grows annually. This year, for example this
number doubled. During the first half a year the number of people
looking for a shelter in Armenia made over 100 people, whereas during
the whole year of 2003 their number made 110 people. This year the
number of people willing to find shelter in Armenia grew, mainly,
because of the events in Iraq, where many Iraqi people of Armenian
origin came to Armenia from. Besides Iraq, a small number of refugees
came from Iran and Afghanistan.
It’s already two years that Armenia has made it possible through the
legislation to provide shelter to citizens who were forced to leave
their countries because of war. Such people have the status of “a
person under temporary protection”.

ARKA – How many refugees from Azerbaijan live in Armenia at present?

G. Yeghanyan – Unfortunately, we have old data: as of 1997 about 300
thsd refugees lived in Armenia. We do our best to have more precise
data about it.

ARKA – Have many Azerbaijani refugees have become the citizens of
Armenia?

G. Yeghanyan – The speed of becoming citizens of Armenia has reduced
a little. At present, about 66 thsd. refugees from Azerbaijan living
in Armenia became citizens of RA. Submission of applications for
becoming citizens of Armenia is not just handing in the old passport,
but also the result of a refugee-society relations. From this
standpoint the expectations of refugees were very high in the light
of the lack of adequate understanding on the part of the society. For
the last two –three years, for example, the cases of driving refugees
out of hostels are not rare. Yet, there is some progress: if only 5
thd refugees wanted to become citizens of Armenia till 2000, then for
the last 4 years their number amounted to 61-62 thsd. At that, 11
thsd refugees still have no housing. However, there is progress here
as well: already in May 2004 the Government of the republic approved
a program worth $20 mln., according to which it obliged to provide
apartments to 3470 families of refugees within 2-3 years. This is an
unexampled action on the part of the Government, especially taking
into consideration the financial problems of the republic.

ARKA – How is the situation with the illegal migration? What does
your Department do in regard with the frightening scale of this
phenomenon?

G. Yeghanyan – The number of illegal migrants is, of course,
approximate. I can firmly say that about 100 thsd. illegally
emigrated Armenians live in Russia. In that country, where there is a
system of special privileges for foreigners, the majority of
Armenians who have immigrated to that country yet are not in line
with immigration laws. The majority of them are refugees from
Azerbaijan, who still have Soviet passports and are actually beyond
the protection of the law.
The Department for Migration and Refugees combats illegal migration
actively. We do it by means of increasing the awareness among
citizens of what problems they can come across in other countries, if
they stay there illegally. We have a hot telephone line and shoot
cognitive films. Besides, at the expense of the Danish Council, our
Department publishes a reference book for those returning to Armenia.
The reference book introduces the social-economic and other
conditions in Armenia in a plain way easy to understand.

ARKA – How will the adoption of law on dual citizenship influence the
speed of migration?

G. Yeghanyan – First of all let’s ask ourselves such a question:
which are our goals we want to achieve by adopting the law on dual
citizenship? Lets’ leave apart the economic aspect, i.e. do we
experience a moral satisfaction with the fact that we have in our
pockets two passports, one of which is Armenian? It’s expected that
the law on dual citizenship will contribute to returning the
Armenians of Diaspora to Armenia. However, I object and state that
it’s enough to adopt a corresponding law simplifying the visa regime
for ethnic Armenians. The goal to stimulate investments by Armenians
abroad also not to be discussed in the context of dual citizenship,
as it’s directly connected with the regulation of the legal field, in
particular, granting Armenians from Diaspora many privileges.
Dual citizenship is an anomaly: as a rule, it make complex the rights
and commitments of citizen to states. Though, the international
experience shows that these issues are settled; but there is also the
international convention standing for the reduction of cases with
dual citizenship. With regard to Armenia, the dual citizenship may
imply obstacles and danger. For example, what will Armenians living
in some other country do being citizens of RA if that country wages
war against Armenia? I do not want my words be definitely against
granting dual citizenship, I just want to say that this process is
very complex. A.H.–0–

After school carnage, Europe mourns with Russia

Agence France Presse — English
September 6, 2004 Monday 8:10 PM GMT

ROME Sept 6 — >>From silent marches to flags at half-mast and candles
flickering in the window, across Europe people of all ages honoured
Monday the victims of the bloody Russian school siege.

Up to 150,000 people joined a torchlit procession through the Italian
capital in a silent tribute to the hundreds of men, women and children
killed in Beslan in North Ossetia.

A group of children led the way under a banner reading “Rome with
the children of Beslan. They will not murder our future”, filing in
absolute silence from the Capitol to the Colosseum, two of the city’s
ancient landmarks.

“From Rome comes a message of great hope after the horror and
atrocities,” mayor Walter Veltroni, one of a group of politicians
who called for the march, said as it got under way.

On Capitol square, candles were laid in the shape of two giant hearts,
with between them the inscription “Good Bye Angels”.

The flags of Russia and the 44 other members of the Council of
Europe were lowered in the French city of Strasbourg where Russia’s
ambassador, Alexander Orlov, was among those who joined a minute’s
silence.

He used the occasion to reject criticism of Moscow for the savage
climax to the three-day hostage-taking siege which left at least 335
dead, according to an official toll.

“The slanderous allegations are offensive to the memory of the victims,
to the memory of those who saved the lives of children at the cost
of their own,” he said.

Speaking at the same ceremony, European Commissioner for Human Rights
Alvaro Gil-Robles said that “when terror tries to destroy our values,
we must be firm, not on the basis of revenge but of justice.”

Elsewhere across Europe, the messages of solidarity were less political
and more spontaneous.

In Brussels, the European Commission observed a minute’s silence in
memory of the dead. So did the Hungarian parliament, where Speaker
Katalin Szili said the events at the school in Beslan, southern Russia,
had “shaken our faith in humanity”.

In Berlin, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer led some 220 German
ambassadors and officials starting a four-day diplomatic conference
in Berlin in a similar tribute.

The victims in Beslan included more than 150 children, who had been
herded into the school gymnasium with their parents and teachers
by armed gunmen who demanded independence for the nearby republic
of Chechnya.

In Chechnya itself, up to 400 employees of the pro-Russian
administration gathered in the capital Grozny in a tribute to the
victims.

The deputy head of the Chechen administration, Taus Jabrailov, said
his staff had agreed to donate a day’s salary to the families bereaved
by the tragedy.

Children throughout Poland, many dressed in black, stood in silence
for one minute before school classes began, following instructions
from the education ministry.

Polish radio stations fell silent for a minute. Prime Minister Marek
Belka told a radio interviewer: “On this day of tragedy in North
Ossetia, we are all Russians, we are all Ossetians.”

He added that “terrorism is a scourge, gangrene eating away our world,
and we must all fight it”.

Many Poles at the weekend lit candles outside the Russian embassy in
Warsaw and at Russian consulates. Passers-by also placed flowers and
candles outside the Russian embassy in Berlin.

The first ladies of Armenia and Poland together laid wreathes of
flowers and lit candles outside the embassy, as Armenian President
Robert Kocharian held talks with his Polish counterpart Aleksander
Kwasniewksi.

Candles were also placed in the windows of thousands of homes across
Italy, in response to a text-message chain passed by mobile telephone,
while the city of Naples flew flags at half-mast.

In France, children and teenagers chatting online on the MSN network,
also responding to a message, put a red rose next to their name.

On Saturday, the Saint Petersburg Philarmonic Orchestra dedicated
a concert it gave in the Swiss city of Lucerne to victims of the
tragedy. The organisers said the musicians were donating their
evening’s wages to the families.

Elsewhere Israeli military radio reported that the nation’s flower
growers had donated 500 wreaths to be flown to Beslan, now burying
its dead.

IRAN’S PRESIDENT COMES TO ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 8

ArmenPress
Sept 6 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: As reported earlier, the president of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Khatami is arriving in Armenia
on September 8 on a two-day official visit at the invitation of his
Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian.

Kocharian’s press office said the Iranian delegation will include
foreign, finance and economy, trade ministers, other government
officials and journalists.

After welcoming Khatami at the presidential palace on September 8
he and Kocharian will have a face-to-face conversation, which will
be followed by enlarged talks with their participation. Bilateral
documents are expected to be signed and the two presidents will meet
with journalists.

The Iranian president will address members of the Armenian National
Assembly and will meet with the prime minister of Armenia. He then will
be hosted by students and professors of Yerevan State University and
will travel to Etchmiadzin to be received by Catholicos Karekin II,
the head of Armenian Church.

The itinerary of the Iranian delegation includes also laying a
wreath to the Genocide Monument Genocide in Yerevan, a visit to Blue
Mosque. He will also meet with Iranian citizens working in Armenia.
Khatami will depart home on September 9.

Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, the fifth president of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, was born in Ardakan, in the central
province of Yazd in 1943. Son of respected Ayatollah Ruhollah Khatami,
President Khatami finished his early school years in his homeland. Then
he attended Qom Theology School in 1961. Later, he got his BA in
philosophy from Isfahan University, accomplishing religious studies
in senior level at Qom Seminary. In 1970 he entered the University
of Tehran and graduated with an MA, he returned to Qom later to his
philosophical studies at Qom Seminary.

President Khatami was involved in political activities and anti-Shah
campaign. He began his political activities at the Association of
Muslim Students of Isfahan University, worked closely with Ayatollah
Khomeini’s late son, Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Khomeini and Martyr Mohammad
Montazeri and organized religious and political debates.

After the revolution in 1979 he replaced Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti as
Head of Hamburg Islamic Center in Germany. He represented Ardakan
and Meibod constituencies in the first term of Majlis in 1980. He
was also appointed as the head of Kayhan newspaper institute by late
Ayatollah Khomeini in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed as the minister
of culture and Islamic guidance. During the 1980-1988 war with Iraq,
he served different responsibilities including deputy and head of the
Joint Command of the Armed Forces and chairman of the War Propaganda
Headquarters.

He was once again appointed as the minister of culture and Islamic
guidance by President Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1989. Khatami was appointed
as cultural advisor to President Rafsanjani. In 1996 he was appointed
as a member of High Council for Cultural Revolution by the Leader of
Iran. As President he is the head of the council. President Khatami
speaks English, German and Arabic in addition to Persian.

He got married in 1974 and has two daughters and a son. President
Khatami was elected as the fifth president of the Islamic Republic
of Iran in May 1997 elections by gaining 20,078,178 votes, almost 70
percent of the votes cast.

Reactions to my article Is there something the world needs to learn from the latest tragedy?

Pravda Ru
Opinion

09/06/2004 18:37

I got some great letters regarding my article about the radical
Moslems who seem to enjoy spreading terror around the world, and
lately, radical Moslems from Chechnya who slaughtered, in cold blood,
innocent children.

I did have two very nasty notes from two individuals, apparently
Moslem. One of them strongly advised me to stop spreading hate.
What hate, I ask?

Hatred for people who are so deranged that even al-Rashed, general
manager of Al-Arabiya television, said: “Most perpetrators of suicide
operations in buses, schools and residential buildings around the
world for the past 10 years have been Muslims”. Al-Rashed continued
and went on to say:” Muslims will be unable to cleanse their image
unless we admit the scandalous facts, rather than offer condemnations
or justifications”.

Ahmed Bahgat, an Egyptian Islamist, and columnist wrote: “If all
the enemies of Islam united together and decided to harm it … they
wouldn’t have ruined and harmed its image as much as the sons of Islam
have done by their stupidity, miscalculations, and misunderstanding
of the nature of this age”.

Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, was quoted as saying: “You are
taking Islam as a cover and it is a deceptive cover; those who carry
out the kidnappings are criminals.”.

But there are outspoken mullahs who demand more death, more bombs
and more horror.

Let us look at your own holy book, the Koran.

Quran Surah 2: The Cow

12. Kill disbelievers wherever you find them. If they attack you,
then kill them. Such is the reward of disbelievers

Quran Surah 4: Women

8. Have no unbelieving friends. Kill the unbelievers wherever you
find them.

Surah 9: Repentance

4. Give tiding of a painful doom to Christians and Jews

I could go on, but the point is, these are the words of your own
people, and of your Koran. And, you think I”m spreading hatred?
What is the world supposed to believe – your words and actions or
your words and actions?

Why should the world not judge all of Islam by the actions and
deeds of her own sons and daughters? If you as a people condone,
aid and support radicals, then you too are a radicals sharing in the
collective goal of killing anyone and everyone.

One Moslem wrote in and condemned me for not using the word Jews and
Christians in my articles. Young man, apparently you have not been
reading my articles so why don”t you take a valium and stand down.
Get the message?

Even in the Arab and Moslem press, your kind express hatred, rabid
hatred, for the United States. You call us the great Satan and a
whole lot of other adjectives that are best spoken by a stable boy.
You don”t separate the US Government from the American people.
You say America. You don”t separate Bush from the rest of America. You
say America.

Why the duel standards? What exactly are the word games you are
playing?

Let”s talk about Armenia – the entire population of Armenia were shot
and killed by the Moslem country of Turkey. Turkey”s actions deeply
impressed the later coming Adolph Hitler.

Anwar Sadat – the most progressive and forward thinking of all Moslem
leaders was assassinated by devout Moslems.

We need to look at a few other things while we are at it. Arafat is
a very wealth man, his wife is supposed to own an entire floor of
some Paris hotel.
Look at the squalor his people live in. Those poor people live in
conditions not even fit for a dog. Don”t blame Israel for that,
look at Arafat who has taken the relief money sent to him to
make his people”s world better and where did that money end up?
Arafat”s pocket, that”s where.

Moslems, who are seeking US citizenship, danced in the streets just
after 9/11. What gives here – they come to this country to have a
better life and they dance when Moslem terrorists take three planes
and slam them into three buildings? Killing innocent people so that
the terrorists could go to heaven, get 72 virgins and deflower every
one of them? Or, was the killing done for the sake of killing –
nothing more, nothing less?

Iraq – a low life dictator, who professed the teachings of Islam,
systematically tortured and killed Moslems. He used poison gas on the
Kurdish population – a population of Moslems. One of his sons took a
fancy to a newly married Moslem woman – shot her new Moslem husband,
raped her, and then shot her.

Look at what Radical Moslems have done in Russia – Russia has been
hit so many times by radical Moslems; I can”t even begin to count.
Now, radical Moslems have stooped lower than even the Nazis and
butchered children. You want to hear that word again? CHILDREN.

Why should the world not judge Islam by the actions and words of
Moslems?

With the killing of innocent children, the radical Moslems have
signed a death warrant on all of Islam. Read what world leaders
are saying – they are expressing much stronger sentiments than I am.
Killing innocent children went too far in the eyes of a world whose
patience is already taxed.

Michael Berglin

Poland, Armenia strengthen bilateral ties

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 6, 2004, Monday

Warsaw — The presidents of Poland and Armenia vowed Monday to continue
bilateral cooperation aimed at fostering western-oriented economic
and political development in the former Soviet Caucusus republic.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski termed bilateral political
relations with Armenia “excellent”, following talks with Armenian
President Robert Kocharian. Asked whether Armenia’s membership of the
European Union could one day become a reality, Kwasniewski said he
was unable to “prophesize” about the prospect. However, he proposed
that as an E.U. member Poland was prepared to share its near 15 years
experience in transformation from dictatorship to democracy and from
a communist command to a capitalist market economy. Kocharian noted
that the most important task facing the southern Caucasus region
was achieving “predictable progress” in carrying out the political
and economic reforms needed to attract business and European Union
investment. Both leaders also expressed the hope that a solution
would be found to the long-standing dispute between Armenia and
neighbouring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The
Armenian leader also vowed to send 50 soldiers including medical
personnel to join the Polish-led multi-national contingent stationed
in south-central Iraq. The contingent is unlikely to be deployed
before the end of this year. Bilateral Polish-Armenian agreements on
fighting international organised crime, as well as military, economic,
and industrial cooperation were finalized Monday in Warsaw, Poland’s
Kwasniewski confirmed. The Armenian president was due to meet with
Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka and the leaders of the upper and
lower houses of the Polish Parliament later on Monday. dpa sib bg

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SAUDI ARABIA TO RENDER MORE AID TO REFUGEES
[September 06, 2004, 22:55:58]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 6 2004

With the aim to promote solving the tasks set in the “State Program
on Improvement of Living Conditions and Employment Opportunities of
Refugees and Internally Displaced People”, Ambassador of Azerbaijan
to Saudi Arabia Elman Arasly met with Secretary General of the
League of Islamic World Abdulla Turki and Secretary General of the
Islamic Charity Organization “Nijat” Adnan Pasha, the Embassy press
service said.

Ambassador Elman Arasly informed the Saudi side on the hard
consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
negotiations between Azerbaijan President and heads of the world’s
leading states and prestigious international organizations concerning
peaceful resolution of the problem. He stressed that aggressor Armenia
and has been occupying 20% of the Azerbaijani lands for over ten
years, and holds non-constructive position in the peace process. As a
result of the aggression, he said, more than one million Azerbaijani
citizens have become refugees and IDPs and are still living under
very hard conditions. The diplomat handed the Azerbaijani side’s
request to increase the volume of aid rendered by the government and
humanitarian organizations of Saudi Arabia to refugees and IDP to
Mr. Abdulla Turki and Mr. Adnan Pasha.

The latter stated for their part that governed by the King Fahd
bin Abdul Aziz instructions on providing necessary assistance to
Azerbaijan in its fight for elimination of the Armenian aggression
consequences, the government and donor organizations are ready to
increase the volume of aid.

Guardian, UK
Sept 6 2004

Putin warns of security backlash

Pressure for action rises

Jonathan Steele in Moscow
Monday September 6, 2004
The Guardian

Vladimir Putin’s solemn weekend broadcast to the Russian people struck
many popular chords and will have satisfied most of his compatriots,
but it left unclear what concrete changes in policy will come in the
wake of the catastrophe of Beslan.

The president appealed to nostalgic Soviet patriots and Russia’s
ancient sense of encirclement when he said the collapse of the USSR
left the country “without defences either to the east or west”. He
criticised the mistakes of the security forces, saying: “We could
have been more effective if we had acted professionally and at the
right moment.”

He conjured up a frightening external threat, indirectly accusing
the US of supporting terrorists and trying to disarm Russia as a
nuclear power and pull territory away from it. “Some would like to
cut a juicy piece of our pie. Others help them,” he said. “Terrorism
is just one instrument they use.”

He called for unity as the best form of strength because in the past
“we showed ourselves to be weak and the weak get beaten”.

Mr Putin signalled that he intends to re-establish control over
security across Russia. But how can he do it? He faces enormous
challenges in all areas of domestic, military and foreign policies.

Domestic

In putting all the blame on international terrorism, the president
avoided using the word “Chechnya” at all. The measures he talked
about in broad terms – to strengthen Russia’s unity, create a new
system of control over the northern Caucasus and set up an effective
anti-crisis management system – need to be fleshed out.

The speech also left the suspicion that Mr Putin was exploiting the
shock of Beslan to accelerate efforts to create a more authoritarian
and centralised form of rule, and using the notion of a terrorist war
on Russia to divert attention from rising social and economic tensions.

All the indicators show an increase in the gap between rich and poor,
as well as stubbornly high rates of joblessness, particularly in
parts of the northern Caucasus. The high world price for oil has given
the government a cushion at least to pay wages and pensions on time,
unlike a few years ago, but Mr Putin’s neo-liberal economic strategy
caused the biggest street protests of his presidency this summer.

Other shocks are in store, including a rise in the domestic price of
oil and gas, which will hit people’s utility bills. Medicine is being
privatised, leaving thousands defenceless. The closure of kindergartens
and even schools is hitting families hard in smaller towns, many in
the northern Caucasus – precisely the areas where tension can turn
to violence.

In central Russia discontent often turns to apathy. In Muslim regions
it can lead people to Islamism. The oddest line in the president’s
speech was his suggestion that Russians cannot “live in as carefree a
manner as before” – as though his compatriots have not endured some
of the harshest ordeals in Eu rope in the last century, including
civil war, dictatorship, foreign invasion, and the recent collapse
in living standards and security which he himself mentioned.

Military

Mr Putin has few options militarily. The war in Chechnya is going
badly, and Russian deaths continue at a rate of 15 a week. The
resistance fighters are not as strong as they were during the first
Chechen war but the struggle is essentially at a stalemate.

The president has gradually been restoring the power of the KGB,
now renamed the FSB. It was weakened under President Yeltsin, but Mr
Putin recently put the border guards back under FSB control. Handling
terrorism is in the hands of a dozen different ministries and he may
create a Russian version of the US department of home land security,
essentially a strengthened FSB.

Other ideas which were already under discussion before the Beslan
atrocity were to raise the profile of Russia’s security council.
Under Igor Ivanov it has little clout and the key discussions on
security take place weekly in what is sometimes called “the little
Politburo”. It is chaired by Mr Putin and includes all the “power”
ministers: defence, interior, foreign affairs, as well as the
prosecutor general.

Sergei Ivanov, the defence minister and a friend of the president,
who is tipped as his successor, might be appointed to chair the
security council. Other suggestions are that the job of vice-president
be re-established.

Mr Putin’s call for strengthening the unity of the country might
mean a further boost for the restoration of “vertical” rule. He has
already changed parliament’s upper house, the federation council, so
that regional governors and legislative leaders no longer sit in it.
Now there is talk of the president appointing governors, rather than
them being elected. This would bring Russia back towards the Soviet
system of hierarchical one-party rule from Moscow.

Foreign policy

The president’s emphasis on a powerful external threat will cut into
his foreign policy options. In the Caucasus, Russia’s bargaining
position has weakened over the last year. The new nationalist
government in Georgia is unlikely to help seal its frontier with Russia
when it is trying to remove the Russian troops from the disputed
territory of South Ossetia, which was within Georgia’s borders in
Soviet times.

Azerbaijan may be unwilling to help clamp down on its Chechen diaspora
while Russia has failed to get Armenian troops out of the large areas
of Azerbaijan which they occupy.

The US and Russia are struggling for influence in the southern
Caucasus, and Mr Putin will not want any American interference in
the northern Caucasus, including Chechnya, as well. His claim that
Washington is exploiting the disruption caused by terrorism is a
warning that, even though both sides claim to be allies against an
invisible international enemy, the rules of the game have strict
limits.

Strangers on a (Private) Plane, Agassi and Sargsian Bonded
By SELENA ROBERTS

New York Times, NY
Sept 6 2004

David Duprey/Associated Press, left; Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Sargis Sargsian, 31, left, will face one of his heroes, Andre Agassi,
34, Monday at the United States Open.

IT was late Saturday night, with the grandstand girders finally still
after nearly five hours of stamping, with the roars that had
sustained Sargis Sargsian over, when a Connecticut family returned to
its home near New Haven.

The Mansourians were Sargsian’s family, too, the one once found for
him through the Yale alumni directory.

The Mansourians had just watched Sargsian, a 31-year-old Armenian,
summon the spirit of youth in his legs as he finished off his second
five-set match in two rounds at the United States Open, ending more
than 10 hours of court time in three days by lying on his back across
the baseline, staring up at the sky, overjoyed with his unlikely
entrance into the fourth round.

“I can’t put into words what it was like to see it,” Catherine
Mansourian said. “I was drenched in sweat, head to toe. We drove all
the way back home, walked in the door and threw our clothes into the
wash.”

A decade later, and here the Mansourians were, a vital part of
Sargsian’s journey to providence via random acts of kindness.

In 1997, the famous Andre Agassi didn’t know Sargsian when he offered
him an impromptu ride on his private plane, wanting the two of them
to hit together in San Francisco before an event they were both
expected to play.

Suddenly, Sargsian was in a sleek jet with four captain’s chairs,
traveling with the icon to Armenians, Andre Agassi, a national hero
of Iranian descent.

“I’d heard he was a generous person,” Sargsian said in an interview
yesterday. “I was surprised how simple and normal he was.”

He also knew how Agassi’s star had plummeted into a confused funk by
1997. That fall, Sargsian faced Agassi in a satellite event in
Burbank, Calif. At the time, Agassi was ranked No. 122 in the world,
up from his low of 141. In front of 1,000 fans on three-step risers
around an inglorious court, Agassi, as Sargsian admitted, “demolished
me.”

“I was with him a lot during his slide,” Sargsian said. “I remember
his plan to come back to No. 1. And, I admit this, it was one of the
few times in my life I’ve doubted him. He didn’t only come back; he
dominated. He is a great player, a great person. He means so much to
me.”

Sargsian will face his hero today, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the
Mansourians in the stands and Agassi across the court in a moment
borne of the generosity of strangers.

No doubt Agassi will exit tennis with a legacy of giving. The lucky
superstars get to choose the circumstance of their departure. A year
ago, Pete Sampras left with his statistics to tell the story of his
career in terms of majors won, aces served, volleys struck.

Agassi’s ghost will have more layers as a man who spent his fame on
creating a charter school in Las Vegas, on raising millions for AIDS
research, on mentoring players as young and famous as Andy Roddick or
as obscure and struggling as Sargsian.

“He has always helped me, for many years,” Sargsian said of Agassi.
“He tells me everything. I haven’t asked how to beat him, but maybe I
should before we play. He is an amazing person.”

In an isolationist American star culture, Agassi reached out. In a
self-involved American society, the Mansourians answered a call in
the summer of 1993.

With a national team of Armenians on the way to Yale and nowhere to
put them, the Yale women’s coach, Becky Chase, began searching the
names of the university directory, looking for anyone with a name
ending in ian.

Mansourian, that sounded Armenian.

“I happened to be home,” Catherine Mansourian said.

The conversation began with a friendly, “Are you interested in
tennis?” and ended with Catherine explaining how her father-in-law
had been an Iranian champion in the 40’s.

A few minutes later, Catherine was zipping through a grocery store
aisle, whisking two turkeys from a cooler and preparing to receive 20
guests for dinner.

One of them was Sargsian. He had two ragged rackets and talent that
amazed the Mansourian family as they followed him to New Jersey to
see him player later that week.

“I said, ‘This kid is so talented, he can’t go back,’ ” Catherine
recalled. ” ‘Can we keep him for the winter?’ ”

Soon, Sargsian and another Armenian player moved into the
Mansourians’ home, with two of their four children still under the
roof.

“Sargis thought he was going to have to sleep on the floor,”
Catherine said. “I showed him his bedroom, and he looked at me and
said, ‘Five stars.’ He was wonderful.”

He was 18, from a country where his father was an engineer but earned
less than the equivalent of $10 a month.

Now he had American shelter with Vazrick Mansourian, a physician, and
his wife, Catherine, a physician’s assistant.

They treated Sargsian as one of their own. They gave him a 19th
birthday party by rolling up the carpet, turning on the music and
dancing all night to take part in Armenian culture.

They were there for the nine-hour drives to tennis events in Buffalo,
and for the wonder Sargsian revealed watching MTV and seeing the size
of American grocery stores.

As a teenager, Sargsian could eat through $24 in fruit a day, and 24
hard rolls, too.

“I think he knew we loved him,” Catherine said. “We told him from Day
1, we’d always look out for him.”

But why? Why didn’t Catherine Mansourian tell Becky Chase, “Sorry,
not interested” when she called? Why did Agassi take Sargsian under
his wing?

“People ask me, but I don’t know why we did it,” Catherine said. “It
was such a spontaneous thing.”

Sometimes, destiny needs allies.