Open-Olympic champion Massu falls to Sargsian

Reuters
Sept 3 2004

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Olympic champion Nicolas Massu emerged
on the wrong end of a five-set battle on Thursday as his U.S. Open
hopes were ended in the second round by Armenian Sargis Sargsian.

In a pulsating match on court 11, the 10th-seeded Chilean held a
matchpoint in the fourth-set tiebreak but finally bowed out 6-7 6-4
3-6 7-6 6-4 in five hours, 10 minutes, the second longest match in
U.S. Open history.

“It’s a huge win for me,” Sargsian said. “I haven’t had a very good
year, so to pull out a match like this, is huge.

“I would quite like it if it rains tomorrow and I can have an extra
day off, but I’ll be okay.”

Twice Sargsian fought back from a set down, but in an 80-minute fourth
set, Massu was on the verge of victory when he held matchpoint at
6-5 in the tiebreak only for Sargsian to save it, win the next two
points and force a decider.

The Chilean, who had already been warned for his behaviour, was then
penalised a point in the first game of the decider, handing Sargsian
a 1-0 lead.

The two stayed together until 4-4 when Massu dumped a forehand in
the net to give Sargsian the break.

With the crowd cheering him on, Sargsian held to 15 to clinch victory.

Reuters AlertNet
Sept 3 2004

Tavush storm response improves living conditions for 21,000 people

World Vision International

World Vision International (WVI) – Australia
Website:

More than 21,000 people in Armenia’s Tavush region are benefiting
from 50 restoration projects, as World Vision helps rebuild
communities devastated by the storm that hit the country in March
this year.

The storm wreaked enormous damage in towns and villages across the
World Vision US-funded Tavush Area Development Programme (ADP) in
north-east Armenia, tearing roofs off residential buildings and
damaging water supply facilities.

Funding from World Vision in the United States and Hong Kong has
enabled World Vision Armenia to address the needs of the communities
affected by the disaster.

In Azatamut community, the storm damaged the roofs of many apartment
buildings, and frequent rains created serious problems for residents.

“It rains almost every day and the walls and ceiling in our apartment
are damp and mouldy. My two-year-old granddaughter, Ani, catches
colds very often,” said Greta Tamrazyan, one of 169 residents of a
five-story building.

“We tried to cover the holes in the roof, but the wind keeps ripping
off pieces of old roofing,” said Lilit Atabekyan, another resident.

Together with the local community and with funding from World Vision
US, the Tavush ADP is renovating the roofs of some 21 apartment
buildings in Azatamut. World Vision supplied roofing and other
construction materials and the community provided construction
workers.

With funding from World Vision Hong Kong, more than 860 people will
benefit from the renovation of roofs in six residential buildings in
the town of Ijevan. World Vision Armenia has already completed the
renovation of the roof of a nine-story residential building.

“I used to wake up at the sound of rain and start placing buckets and
basins under the water pouring off the ceiling. Thanks to World
Vision I don’t have to do that anymore,” said Nektak Yeritsyan, a
resident.

“My son worked on the construction. Many people wanted to help,” she
added.

“These projects are very important not only because they are helping
to improve living conditions for many poor families. By working
together, people are realising that only their active participation
and cooperation makes projects like these possible,” said Varoujan
Nersisyan, the Mayor of Ijevan.

For more on World Vision’s activities in Armenia, visit
For more information on World Vision
International visit , or contact us at
[email protected]

MARATHON MAN
By BRIAN LEWIS

New York Post, NY
Sept 3 2004

September 3, 2004 — Sargis Sargsian dropped to his knees and
covered his moist eyes, overcome with a mixture of exhaustion and
emotion. He draped an Armenian flag over his shoulders and celebrated
the second-longest win in U.S. Open history — and the most dramatic
of this summer’s classic.

He had just upset two-time Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu 6-7
(8), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a marathon that lasted five hours and
nine minutes, a tilt that saw the 10th-seeded Chilean lose first his
poise, then the hotly-contested match on Court 11.

“I lost the match and I’m so [peeved] about it,” Massu said. “I can’t
believe they…what happened on the court is too much. It’s too much
for five hours to believe in everything, to fight…to accept that
you lost the match. It’s difficult.”

It was the second-longest match ever at the U.S. Open, behind only
Stefan Edberg’s 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 win over Michael Chang that
lasted five hours and 26 minutes in 1992.

Sargsian kept his cool, with his serve getting better and better as the
match went on. Meanwhile, Massu showed precious little sportsmanship or
Olympic spirit with an on-court tantrum. “I was too tired to notice,”
Sargsian said. “My legs were [going to give out], so I was just trying
to hold on.”

After spraying a return shot long, Massu dropped his racquet to the
court and yelled at it, as if it were to blame. He battered the U.S.
Open sign with his racquet and got warnings in the first two sets,
and lost a point, dropping the second set 6-4. In the fourth set, he
argued a call with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. He slammed his racquet
down so hard, it bounced up over his head.

Destroying a racquet is an automatic penalty, so Sargsian was awarded
the first game of the fifth set. Massu appealed to famed Wimbledon ref
Alan Mills — serving as Grand Slam ref — but his backhand deserted
him in the fifth set, and Sargsian went on earn a third-round date
with Paul Henri-Mathieu, who beat Taylor Dent.

“I didn’t lose the match because of that, but it’s hard to believe
this guy didn’t use his head. All the players throw the racquet,”
said Massu, who spent close to an hour after the match griping to
Open officials. “I play for five hours, I fight, and this guy comes
and gives me three warnings.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines
Sept 3 2004

Armenian outlasts Massu in 5-set marathon at US Open

Updated 01:49pm (Mla time) Sept 03, 2004
Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK , New York, United States of America — Olympic double gold
medallist Nicolas Massu was eliminated from the US Open on Thursday
in a historic five-set marathon with Sargis Sargsian of Armenia.
Sargsian fired 20 aces and won 184 of 337 points to beat Massu 6-7
(6/8), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

The match lasted five hours, nine minutes and is second longest on
record behind the 1992 men’s semi-final where Stefan Edberg beat
Michael Chang in five hours and 26 minutes.

The previous second-longest match was also in 1992 when Ivan Lendl
beat Boris Becker in five hours, one minute in the round of 16.

“So many things happened in that match,” Sargsian said. “It is just
amazing to come through.

“I wouldn’t put it on top of my list but it is in the top three. Now
I am just go to take my vitamins, get a massage and pray for rain,”
he said.

He has one day to rest before his third round match against France’s
Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Sargsian won the war of attrition but he paid for it as after four
hours on the court both players started to suffer from leg cramps.

“I couldn’t feel my legs,” Sargsian said of the end of the match.

Sargsian’s family and friends would have had to stay up to 4 a.m.
Armenian time to watch the entire match.

Massu came into the US Open after the best week of his career, having
won gold medals in singles and doubles at the Athens Games.

The Chilean lost his composure on several occasions, breaking his
racket in the first set.

He argued several times with chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, and vowed to
never play in front of Ramos again.

“I lost because of my mistake. But this umpire have not to umpire
anymore,” Massu said. “He is unbelievable. He is never going to
umpire me again.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Some 350 wounded in Russian school chaos

Agence France Presse
Sept 3 2004

BESLAN – Around 350 local residents and former hostages have been
taken to hospital after being wounded in the hostage siege in Russia,
Inferfax reported.

A source in the local health ministry told the agency that some have
been hospitalised in the regional capital Vladikavkaz, while others
have gone to the two hospitals in Beslan, the southern Russian town
where the hostage drama took place.

One hundred and fifty-eight children are among those taken to
hospital in Beslan, a source close to the regional president told
Moscow Echo radio.

The children ensnared in the three-day hostage drama in North Ossetia
will probably suffer major psychological damage and some may never
get over their ordeal completely, a French expert has warned.

Gilbert Vila, a paediatrician who specialises in child trauma at
Paris’s Necker Hospital, said a child subjected to a deep shock of
this kind was likely to show a long range of symptoms, including
anxiety, depression, turbulence at school and problems in his family
relationships.

“This case is of the gravest kind,” he told AFP. “The psychological
problems will be major.”

Vila has authored several studies into the psychological impact
on children who suffer a catastrophic shock, including a group of
primary-school children taken hostage at their school in the Paris
suburb of Neuilly in 1993.

Detailed research into Cambodian children who were tortured under
the Pol Pot regime and Armenian children who survived an earthquake
shows that, for most victims, the big symptoms will gradually ease
but for a minority the problems will be lifelong, Vila said.

In those cases, 90% of the children showed significant trauma symptoms
during the first few weeks after their trauma.

That figure fell to 50% after six months, and to around 15% two or
three years later. Some, though, were never completely cured.

In the Cambodian study, “some children who were aged between eight
and 12 years at the time of their ordeal were still experiencing
problems at the age of 30,” he said.

More than half of the children in this category had problems that
seriously hampered their daily life.

As for very young children and babies, “we still lack data” on the
long-term repercussions, said Vila, noting however that there had been
cases of children younger than four “who showed the same post-trauma
symptoms as (US) Vietnam vets.”

The latest news reports by RIA Novosti news agency say that a fire has
broken out at the southern Russian school where troops and militants
with hundreds of hostages fought a three-hour battle.

Firefighters had trouble approaching the building to extinguish the
blaze due to continuing gunfire there, the agency reported.

The report said the blaze triggered an explosion in the school.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 3 2004

VISIT OF AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV TO NAKHCHIVAN AUTONOMOUS
REPUBLIC
[September 03, 2004, 18:48:57]

The ceremony of opening of the Civil Defense Center of Nakhchivan was
held on 2 September, AzerTAj correspondent reports.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony.

***

On the same day, a swimming center was opened in the city of
Nakhchivan.

Head of Azerbaijan State attended the ceremony and made a speech.

***

After familiarization tour, Head of State answered questions of media
representatives.

Q. Mr. President, Your first arrival to Nakhchivan was taken with
great interests, this is the second one…

A: If you remember, staying here in May this year, we did visit the
school to learn how the work was going on and decided that I would
arrive here again to attend its opening. I always keep my word, as
you know, and now I am here. Taking the chance I’ve also visited
other large objects in Nakhchivan including the Swimming and Civil
Defense Centers. After midnight we’ll hold a meeting at the Supreme
Majlis. I’ve made sure once again that Nakhchivan had become more
beautiful and developed. Nakhchivan is an ancient Azerbaijan’s land,
a strategic area of Azerbaijan, and everybody must take every effort
to strengthen Nakhchivan both from military and economic standpoints
for the people here to live better.

Q. Mr. President, your visit to Paris is expected in the next few
days. May we have the date of the visit, and are bilateral meetings
expected there?

A: This will be a working visit. The bilateral meetings are expected
during the first ten days of September.

Q. Mr. President, in the last days, Russia, Moscow is overwhelmed by
the wave of terror. What do think about it?

A: I have expressed sympathy to Head of Russia Mr. Putin. This is a
great trouble, great menace. Azerbaijan itself used to suffer from
terrorism. We are well aware what it is. It’s very difficult to fight
terror. Fighting terrorist attacks around the world needs
consolidation of all forces, all countries. We most resolutely
condemn the terror acts committed in the last days in Russia. We hope
the crisis will be settled soon, and the hostages released.

Q. You will have to meet with Armenian President. Armenia is
conducting military exercises. There is an opinion in our public that
the negotiations are useless. How do see the prospects of the
upcoming talks?

A: Since I haven’t yet rejected the talks, then I hope for them to
bring results. If you remember, I stated more than once that I was
not going to just imitate the negotiations. As soon as I am sure the
talks are ineffective and that I don’t believe in their future, then
Azerbaijan will be the first to reject the negotiations. What I can
say now is that there is a need to continue the talks. The talks are
going on, foreign ministers meet. Of course, sometimes you are
unsatisfied with their answers to your questions on the matter, but
it is normal as the negotiations are confidential. We have not yet
come to a certain result. But the talks cover concrete issues. I want
to hope that they will be effective. Azerbaijan’s lands will be
released and its territorial integrity restored.

Q. Mr. President, the judge passed the sentence on the members of the
Organization of Karabakh Liberation. Do you agree with the verdict
not as a President but a citizen Ilham Aliyev?

A: Good question. As a President I cannot and don’t want to interfere
in the court’s decision. But as a citizen, I consider the sentence
passed is not adequate to their actions. It ‘s too hard penalty; as a
citizen I can’t back up the decision. I would recommend addressing
the Court of Appeal, and I hope the issue will be resolved. At the
same time, the Law is for everybody. One should not idealize any
organization or person. Authorized structures and persons in
Azerbaijan are working hard on the resolution of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The president, foreign
minister, defense minister and other relevant structures know their
jobs well. They know well when and what step they should take. So,
the public has to have adequate attitude to such organizations. We
should not make an image of hero for anybody. Of course, every
organization has its own position, but everything should be exercised
within the limits of Law. We are building a legal state and stand for
supremacy of Law. So, every citizen must honor the Law. But I want to
repeat that the verdict brought in is too severe, and as a citizen, I
don’t agree with that. I hope the problem will be fairly solved.

Q. Mr. President, the other day You appointed ambassadors to four
countries. What would you comment on this?

A: I consider this decision as very important, Azerbaijan should take
more active part in the international community, defend its stance.
Azerbaijan has few representative offices abroad, so it had been
planned to open more embassies.

Q. Mr. President, is a new decree on pardon expected in the near
future.

A: Yes, it is.

Q. Mr. President, during the upcoming CIS Heads of State summit in
Astana, Russia intends to raise the question on the double standards
at OSCE. May we have your opinion on the issue?

A: Our opinion was expressed during the July summit when Azerbaijan
didn’t sign the statement. There were reasons for doing so then. We,
as a country, are pursuing independent policy, and this independence
is most important for us. We can also make claims on OSCE. I
personally expressed them our claims quite sharply, they are
reflected in official documents. But these issues concern us only.
The question is of political character and Azerbaijan does not intend
to interfere with that. We are pursuing our policy independently, it
was not accidental that I didn’t sign the statement in July, and
won’t this time.

Q. Mr. President, is the Council of Europe going to discuss
Azerbaijan related issue?

A: Hope the discussion will be constructive. There is not any problem
between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe. At the moment, our
relations with the Council of Europe are being developed; the
organization meets the political and economic reforms in Azerbaijan
with approval. I am very pleased of this. I expect that the issue of
honoring commitments will be discussed along the way; there may be
some recommendations or certain criticism, but that is quite normal.

Q. Mr. President, Nakhchivan has been living under blockade for 12
years. Nevertheless, considerable accomplishments have been gained.
Don’t you think the time has come to give the rank of city-hero to
Nakhchivan?

A: You know, it’s an obsolete practice. We should abandon the Soviet
experience. The ranks would reflect nothing then. Heroism must be
reflected in people’s attitude to their city and country. Our
national leader Heydar Aliyev paid special attention to Nakhchivan
not because he had been born here but because he realized very well
how important Nakhchivan is for Azerbaijan. We continue to follow
this policy, and I am very happy the good job done by local
authorities brings yields.

Q. Mr. President, after the meeting with President Khatami, you did
not presented detailed information on the North-South corridor. Was
the issue generally discussed?

A: Of course, it was. We don’t have any difference of opinion. Both
Iran and we have concern in the functioning of the corridor,
Azerbaijan’s joining it, and certain steps have been taken and talks
held with this respect. It is very important for us. Maybe this issue
was not reflected in a document but was seriously discussed. If all
these agreements are realized, Nakhchivan will be completely supplied
with electricity and gas in two years.

Thank you.

***

On September 2, President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev held an
enlarged meeting at the Supreme Majlis of the Nakhchivan Autonomous
Republic. He addressed the meeting with an opening remark. The
President noted in particular that Nakhchivan is now rapidly
developing and that good job in municipal improvements has been done
in the republic. He also mentioned the strengthening of the
republic’s infrastructure. As I mentioned earlier today, he said, 70
thousand new jobs have been opened here since the presidential
elections; all these facts show that we are on the right way.

The Head of State further touched upon the energy problems in
Nakhchivan. Nakhchivan has been living under blockade for many years.
Supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan is impossible, while
electricity supply does not fully meet the demands. However,
appropriate measures have been taken to completely supply Nakhchivan
with natural gas and electricity, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Following the presidential remarks, the meeting participants have
held a comprehensive opinions exchange on the mentioned issues.

***

In the evening on the same day, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
returned to Baku.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Diamanda Galás

Portland Tribune, OR
Sept 3 2004

Don’t be put off by Diamanda Galás’ image as a real-life Cruella
de Ville, a diva (a word she hates) ever ready with a withering
put-down. She’s a lot of fun on the phone, cursing her way through a
series of topics from the trivial to the grim. Galás, who lives in
New York’s East Village, will perform “Defixiones: Will and
Testament,” which is about genocide everywhere, with particular
reference to Turkish atrocities against the Armenians and Anatolians
in 1915 and 1922, and “La Serpenta Canta,” her more user-friendly
collection of blues and folk covers.
Screaming Jay Hawkins is easy to get, but the audience will
benefit from reading the English translation of the amazing texts
that make up “Defixiones.” (They are in the liner notes and on her
Web site, )
“It’s a mass, and masses have been described as bloodthirsty, they
are the protests of large groups of people,” she says. “Mine are not
passive masses; they are for people who have not been able to find
peace or apology.”
Having said that, she accepts her responsibility to communicate
though music and foreign language, as is standard in opera.
Galás is a classically trained pianist who as a teenager played
with her Greek Orthodox father in a hotel bar band. (She says that
when you’ve played the Carpenters’ “On Top of the World” 15 times a
night, you have a right to reinterpret it). She’s not afraid to drag
her operatic voice through the mud in the spirit of making the crowd
feel something.
And she loves Portland. “I feel like I am coming home whenever I
play there,” she says. “The freaks are genuine freaks.”
— Joseph Gallivan

“Defixiones: Will and Testament,” 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, Newmark
Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway
“La Serpenta Canta,” 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, Newmark Theatre,
1111 S.W. Broadway
For both shows, advance reservations are required for pass
holders; call PICA, 503-242-1419.

Addis Tribune (Addis Ababa)
Sept 3 2004

Ethiopia’s Links With the Outside World, 1

Visit The Publisher’s Site

ANALYSIS
Richard Pankhurst

Early Ties with Russia

In this page we attempt at times to look at Ethiopia’s contacts with
the Outside World. We have seen that ever since the Middle Ages many
of Ethiopia’s rulers were preoccupied with their country’s
technological backwardness, particularly in the military field. We
have seen further that this was more especially true after the advent
of fire-arms. We have seen Ethiopian rulers seeking to innovate by
obtaining assistance from Western Christendom. They thus imported, or
attempted to import, cannons and rifles from the monarchs of the
West, and asked the latter for men who could make gunpowder, or train
Ethiopian warriors in the use of fire-arms.

Ethiopian rulers, however, also requested their Western
co-religionaries for help in two other significant fields: palace and
royal church building on the one hand, and medicine and surgery on
the other.

And now Russia

Contacts between Ethiopia and Russia – and indeed Armenia! – they
were apparently less materially-oriented. Like those with the West,
they had begun in Medieval times with meetings in Jerusalem between
ecclesiastics from the two countries. Perhaps because Russian
technological backwardness, however, they do not seem to have
included any Ethiopian request for military or other assistance.

This was also true of the next historic highlight in
Ethiopian-Russian relations: the arrival at Peter the Great’s court,
in St. Petersburg, early in the

18th. century, of Avram Petrovich Hannibal. He was a slave of
presumed Ethiopian origin, whom the Tsar sent to Paris for education,
and who became posthumously famous as the great-grandfather of the
Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. There is no record of Avram taking
any serious interest in Ethiopia – or for that matter any other part
of Africa.

It is, however, worth noting that Peter, whether on account of his
ex-slave or not we do not know, considered sending an expedition to
Ethiopia in 1718-19. Nothing, however, came of the idea.

19th. century Russian interest in Ethiopia did not really begin until
the early part of the century. It started with the foundation in 1845
of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Two years later one of
its members, Colonel E.P. Kovalensky, visited the country, and wrote
a two-volume account of his travels.

More influential, however, was the work of a Russian Orthodox monk,
Porfiry Uspensky, who travelled to Jerusalem in 1848.There he
befriended the Ethiopian community. Interestiing himself
ininternational affairs, he urged his fellow Russians to support
their co-religionaries in Christian Ethiopia. This, he argued, would
help to weaken Russia’s major enemy, the Ottoman Empire, and also the
British, who had given it their support.

Tewodros

Ethiopian interest in Russia emerged shortly afterwards. It was
initiated by Ethiopia’s pioneer modernising ruler, Emperor Tewodros
II. Confronted with the aggressive ambitions of the Ottoman Empire,
he tried to open up relations with the Russians who he recognised as
itsenemies. Nothing came of his initiative either. It was, howeverm
significant that he called the largest of his weapons, the huge
mortar “Sevastopol”, after the battle in the Crimean war.

And for a new replica of this famous mortar take a drive up Addis
Ababa’ Churchill Road!

Yohannes Emperor Yohannes IV (who duly succeeded Tewodros) was also
threatened by Ottoman expansion, and likewise sought an alliance with
Russia, besides other Christian powers of Europe. The Russian
response, as his distinguished Ethiopian biographer, Dejazmach Zewde
Gabre-Sellassie, notes, was, however,”particularly unhelpful”

Awareness of Ethiopia on the part of the Russians nevertheless
escalatein the latter part of the 19th. century. A Cossack leader,
Nikolai Ivanovich Ashinov, visited Emperor Yohannes IV’s military
commander Ras Alula, and landed, early in 1889, at Sagallo, on the
arid Gulf of Aden coast of Africa.

Ashinov hoped, unrealistically in view of the torrid climate, to
found aRussian Orthodox colony and monastery, called “New Moscow”.
The project, not surprisingly, was a failure, but generated much
publicity in Russia. This was important as it bore fruit in years to
come.

Menilek

Really important relations between Ethiopia and Russia had their
roots towards the end of the 19th. century. They owed much to Menilek
the founder of the modern Ethiopian State. He believed that his
country’s age-old independence could be preserved only through
European-style technological innovation.

He was passionately interested, like many of his medieval
predecessors, in the acquisition of fire-arms, but was also anxious
to foster innovation in other areas, notably the traditional ones of
medicine and surgery

Menilek was confronted by the threatened expansion of his three
European colonial neighbours: Italy, Britain and France. Together
they surrounded his country on all sides, thereby preventing direct
access to the sea. Each of the three Powers at one time or another
sought to expand their territories at Ethiopia’s expense. Menilek,
however, realised that he needed European technology to ensure
Ethiopia’s survival: he required European assistance of Europe to
save his country from European expansion.

The Wechale Treaty with Italy

Menilek’s relations with Europe became crucially important towards
the end of 1889 when the Italian Government claimed a Protectorate
over his country. This claim was based on Article XVII of the Wechale
Treaty, which he had earlier signed with Italy, on 2 May 1889.

The agreement, as is now widely known, had two texts, one in Amharic;
the other in Italian. Though otherwise identical, these two differed
materially in the said article. The Amharic text stated that Menilek
could avail himself of the services of the Italians (who had by then
seized the Red Sea port of Massawa) for all communications with other
Powers. The Italian version, on the other hand, made it obligatory.
This text theoretically isolated Menilek from direct contact with
other countries (for example Russia), but, more importantly, was used
by the Italian Government to claim a Protectorate over Ethiopia. This
claim, though dubious in validity, was recognised by virtually all
the European colonial powers

Menilek’s Diplomacy

Menilek, in the years which followed, conducted his diplomacy – and
sought military and other assistance, at two distinct levels. On the
one hand, and most directly, by playing off the three adjacent (and
potentially-threatening) Colonial Powers, Britain, France and Italy,
against each other; and, on the other hand, by devloping diplomatic
and commercial relations with more distant (and hence seemingly less
dangerous) countries, of which there were noless than seven, i.e.
Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Austrian and Ottoman
Empires, and the United States.

Land of the Tsars

Russia, the land of the Tsars, was for a time the most country
Menilek most favoured. There were perhaps reasons for this:

Firstly, Russia was a far-off, relatively technologically advanced
country without colonial ambitions, and a potential rival to at least
one of the surrounding colonial powers, i.e. Britain.

Secondly, Russia was a fellow Orthodox Christian country, and as such
at odds with Ethiopia’s then principal enemy, Roman Catholic Italy

Thirdly, Russia had, like Ethiopia (but unlike Republican France), a
monarchical form of government: this was significant in selecting a
country whither Ethiopian students should be sent for further study.

The faith of Orthodox Russia was, however, significantly different
from that of Orthodox Ethiopia. Russia and the Russians were
accordingly regarded with no small suspicion by the Ethiopian
priesthood.

Mashkov

Ethiopian contacts with Russia began only a few months after the
Wechale Treaty, with the arrival of a Russian adventurer, Lieutenant
Vasilij Mashkov. Entering Ethiopia in October 1889, he was the only
non-Italian European then in the country. He was warmly received by
Menilek, who graciously referred to him as the envoy of “my brother,
the King of Muscovy”

Relations between the two countries developed rapidly. The Russian
Government firmly rejected Italy’s interpretation of the Wechale
Treaty. When the Italian Foreign Minister, Alberto Blanc, told the
Russian ambassador in Rome, in 1894, that he did not believe that the
Tsarist government could regard the whims of “African chiefs” as on a
par with the policy of Italy, a European Power, the Russians replied
that the rulers of Ethiopia were “powerful kings – one of whom
[Emperor Tewodros] had even made war with Britain”. He added that
they sent and received embassies, were Christian, and belonged to a
country with which Russia “had long maintained relations” –
interesting testimony from an outside source!

In the Spring of the following year, 1895 Menilek despatched an
Embassy to Russia. On that occasion his court chronicler, Gabra
Selassie, wrote of the “friendship between the Ethiopian and Russian
Empires”. The monarch’s Swiss adviser and confident Alfred Ilg
shortly afterwards observed, in July, that the Italians and English
were both “furious” at Ethiopia’s opening up of relations with
Russia, and went further, declaring that Italy was in consequence
“contemplating war”.

Turkish F.M. Leaves For Netherlands

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Sept 3 2004

ANKARA – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul left on Friday for the
Netherlands to attend the European Union (EU) Informal Ministerial
meeting.

Before he flew to the Netherlands, Gul told reporters that the draft
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) had not been given its final shape and
presented to the parliament, and refrained from commenting on the
amendments made to the draft which considered adultery as a crime.

Gul expressed thought that the matter was not reflected correctly to
Turkish public opinion.

“Every country can have some sensitivities peculiar to itself.
Turkish society can have some sensitivities and different views and
feelings about several matters as how Ireland has some sensitivities
about birth control and abortion, and some other countries have
similar sensitivities. I am sure that we will reach a conclusion in
a civilized way,” Gul added.

GUL: I DON’T KNOW HOW CORRECT IT IS TO LINK PUTIN’S VISIT WITH
TERRORIST ACT IN NORTH OSSETIA

Gul said, “I don’t know how correct it is to link (Russian President
Vladimir) Putin’s visit (to Turkey) with the terrorist act in North
Ossetia.”

Gul told reporters, “it is a reality that Russia is facing such
terrorist attacks for a long time. Therefore, I don’t know how correct
it is to link the recent terrorist act with this visit.”

Gul said that nobody could reach anywhere by terrorism, and those who
used terrorism as a tool to reach their targets would be considered
unjust although they had a rightful cause.

“Terror on innocent people, and violence against defenseless people
are wrong,” Gul stated, and said that Turkey condemned all those acts.

When he was recalled about the statement of Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey would fulfil its responsibilities
regarding the terrorist act in North Ossetia, Gul said, “if they ask
us to settle the matter peacefully, we will exert every effort we can.”

When a reporter recalled British press reports that some Chechen
leaders including Aslan Mashadov were in Turkey, Gul said those press
reports were inaccurate and noted, “Russian officials also know that
these claims are not correct.” He added that Russia had not asked
Turkey any questions about these claims.

-TURKEY-IRAQ-

Answering a question about Turks abducted and killed in Iraq, Gul
said that Turkey had taken and implemented some measures regarding
the matter. “But, unfortunately our citizens who travel to Iraq don’t
take our recommendations seriously.”

Therefore, Gul stated, they decided to tighten their measures.

Gul added, “who are behind these acts? Organs who will analyze this
matter attended our meeting (at the Foreign Ministry). What can the
reason (of these acts) be? Turkey is a friend of Iraqi people. It has
proven its friendship with its stance after the Iraq war. We need to
find the reasons of these attacks against Turks that are staged in
a period when Turkey is being sympathized in the Middle East as it
has never been sympathized before. We search for the reasons.”

Recalling that Turkey did not have any military forces in Iraq, Gul
said, “we are in Iraq to help (Iraqi people), to meet humanitarian
needs, and to serve (Iraqi people.) We need to well analyze the reason
of these attacks since this is our sole aim.”

-KERRY’S STATEMENT-

When recalled the statements of U.S. President candidate John Kerry
who said if he is elected as President, he will recognize so-called
Armenian genocide, Gul said, “this issue is important for Turkey.
Thus, we follow it closely.”

“However” Gul added, “such statements have made in the United States
previously during election milieu.”

When asked whether a Turkish diplomat on ambassador level will
be appointed to Jerusalem Consulate General and recalled that this
appointment does not take place in recent ambassadors decree, Gul said,
“the ambassadors decree which is published in news reports and the
appointment are separate issues.”

-MEETING IN THE NETHERLANDS-

Gul said, “the issues which will be discussed in the meeting in the
Netherlands are important for Turkey.” He added, “we will discuss
international issues and especially Iraq and international terrorism.”

Noting, “I will have bilateral meetings within the scope of the meeting
in the Netherlands,” Gul said, “the most important issue which will
be discussed is Cyprus.”

Gul said, “as you know, there is a decision which was taken by
Council of Europe about Cyprus and a report which was prepared by
the EU Commission.” He added, “we closely follow these issues.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GIBRAHAYER
e-newsletter
[email protected]
http: //gibrahayer.cyprusnewsletter.com

BOMBS AND PRAYERS IN OCCUPIED ST. MAMMAS CHURCH

Friday September 3, 2004, Gibrahayer – The Holy Church of Ayios Mammas
became the center of religion and politics during the course of last
week, as one week after it was bombed and burned by “Grey Wolves”
extremists in the Turkish occupied north, it welcomed thousands
of Greek Cypriot pilgrims who crossed to the north for the first
religious ceremony in thirty years.

During the celebrations, Turkish and Greek Cypriots gathered not far
from the Church to voice their desire for peace and reunification
in a peace rally. Earlier in the week, Turkish extremists had held
demonstrations against the opening of the Church saying that “they
did not want to hear the bells of the Church ever again”.

Greek Cypriots are still in search for a unified political line in
post-referendum and post-EU Cyprus where regional real politic and
European democratic norms clash against the reality of 40,000 Turkish
troops, a Turkish pseudo-state seeking recognition, 200,000 refugees
and more than 1,000 people missing in action since the Turkish invasion
of 1974.

MELKONIAN ALUMNI HIRE CALIFORNIA LAWYERS TO FIGHT SCHOOL’S CLOSURE

Wednesday September 1: Cyprus Mail- THE worldwide alumni of the
Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) have hired a group of California
lawyers to challenge the closure of the Nicosia-based secondary school,
they said yesterday.

Under their recently established umbrella body, the Melkonian Alumni
and Friends, a non-profit US foundation, the alumni have hired legal
counsel MacCarley & Rosen of Los Angeles to oppose the planned closure
of the 78-year old Armenian school in June 2005.

This alumni is working in parallel with the local Melkonian Alumni
Associations in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Canada, the US, Armenia,
Lebanon, Australia and elsewhere.

Similar legal actions are also expected to be filed in Cyprus, as
well as other jurisdictions, a statement issued yesterday said.

The loss making MEI, which is sitting on 40 acres of prime real
estate worth around £40 million in the capital’s commercial district,
has been slated to close next year by the New York based Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which administers 22 Armenian
schools worldwide.

The AGBU said last November that the school was not for sale but then
changed tack and announced the closure three months later.

Teachers at the Melkonian have said that last year the school’s
population was reduced from 260 to 210 after the AGBU unilaterally
decided to reduce scholarships to underprivileged children from the
Armenian Diaspora.

By claiming that standards are not up so scratch, staff say the AGBU
is trying to use the them as a scapegoat for their decision to close
the school in order to sell the land and that they are using devious
methods to reduce the student population of the school in order to
turn it into a non-viable school and ultimately to close it.

“The MEI has educated and nurtured more than three generations
of Armenian professionals and leaders and is a unique educational
institution in the Armenian Diaspora,” the alumni statement said
yesterday.

“It provides superior academic training with Western standards to
a diverse group of Armenian boys and girls from different countries
and social backgrounds.”

NO MEDALS FOR ARMENIAN OLYMPIC TEAM

Armenia This Week [email protected] – Armenia’s 18-person team won
no medals, as the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece concluded over the
weekend. Diaspora Armenians fared better winning at least one gold,
one silver and several bronze medals.

Armen Ghazaryan placed fourth in weightlifting, shy of a medal by only
about a pound of his own weight, and Norair Bakhtamyan also placed
fourth in shooting. Four wrestlers, two weightlifters and one boxer
from the Armenia team finished in the top ten of their respective
competitions. Armenia won one gold and one silver medal in 1996 and
one bronze in the 2000 Olympics. 

Baku-born Karina Aznavourian won a team fencing gold for Russia,
her second in as many Olympics. Three Gyumri natives, Ara Abrahamian,
Artiom Kiureghian and Mkhitar Manukian, won silver and bronze medals
in wrestling for Sweden, Greece and Kazakhstan, respectively. Another
wrestler, Masis-born Armen Nazarian secured a bronze medal for
Bulgaria.

ARMENIAN AND CYPRIOT PLAYERS HAVING AN IMPRESSIVE RUN AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS
CHAMPIONSHIPS

LATEST RESULTS FROM THE US OPEN

Sargis Sargsian beat Alex Corretja 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1
David Nalbandian Dennis Ven Scheppingen 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri 7-6, 6-4, 6-2

Ex-world number 1 Junior Champion Marcos Baghdatis fought bravely in
the second round against world number 1 Roger Federer but lost 6-2,
6-7, 6-3, 6-1, after defeating in round one the 2004 French Open
quarter finalist Olivier Mutis 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.

POKHAN KHMPAKRAGANI
Dear friends,

I enclose herewith my latest copyrighted article entitled Dreaming
West & Moving East? that focuses on the European Union & Turkey as it
tackles the problems of accession. This three-page article has been
submitted to the Spectator magazine in London, and will also be posted
on the customary hyperlinks. Fyi, and as from mid-September 2004,
I shall have my own website too. dr harry bv hagopian, LL.D, KOG-KSL
In calm water, every ship has a good captain!  (Swedish proverb)

Gibrahayer is posting Dr.Harry Hagopian’s conclusions, pokhan
khmpakragani ! You can read the complete article by clicking here

  There are those who profess that Turkey’s membership to the EU would
put a stop to its rampant nationalism and curb the stranglehold of
the military establishment on democracy, human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Others also use the ‘religious card’ as an argument in
favour of accession. Turkey must be admitted to the EU, they say, to
prove that Europe is not a Christian club. From a more subjective
perspective, some Armenians also add that such a step would force
Turkey to remove its blockade of Armenia and that EU citizenship
would provide Armenian Turks with freedom of movement.

Notwithstanding those arguments, which could ostensibly be either right
or wrong, the trenchant fact remains that Turkey has not fulfilled
the criteria that would allow its admission into the EU club. I am
not yet convinced that a credible argument could be made today for
Turkey’s EU accession. Moreover, I reject the expedient religious
card since it is tantamount to stating that Israel must be admitted
into the Arab League to prove that it is not a Muslim club.

Four months shy of the cut-off date of December 2004, I recognise that
the political and socio-economic stakes are high, and therefore the
bars must correspondingly be high too. However, I do not live in a
political dreamland either, and I realise that the ultimate decision
for or against accession will be made in the uncompromisingly
introverted political corridors of power – not at the European
Parliament or in the intellectual corridors of a think tank.

Might I therefore suggest two litmus tests? The burden of proof
should rest on Turkey to prove unequivocally that it meets all
the Copenhagen criteria in order to ensure that its accession would
enhance rather than impede the EU. Turkey should also lift the fog of
untruth that surrounds its denial to the Armenian Genocide by assuming
responsibility for the aggregate crimes perpetrated against Armenian
Turks by its predecessor regime.

If this were to happen in a transparent and verifiable way, and
reciprocity establishes its relevance in Armenian-Turkish relations,
I re-iterate a promise I made to a Turkish journalist friend last
week that I would personally welcome Turkey into the EU. But Merhaba
is a sign of welcome that comes with trust and definition. It is not
a giveaway greeting ..! © hbv-H @ 28 August 2004

JUNIOR EUROVISION 2004
Cyprus is choosing its Junior team to represent us in Junior Eurovision 2004.
The contest which will decide our young music ambassadors, will take place on
Tuesday September 7, 2004 from CyBC.
Anna Loizou from Pyla and Rafael Georgiou (Somakian) will be singing “Dosde
ta kheria”.
The winners will be decided by an island-wide televote.
You can vote for Anna and Rafael by participating in the televote and calling
for number 7.
Hachoghoutiun !

NEWS IN BRIEF
– The Azerbaijani Football Federation has sent letters to the UEFA and FIFA,
protesting against holding a football championship in Nagorno Karabakh.

– A court in Azerbaijan sentenced six protesters – who had stormed a
conference of NATO officials in Baku – to terms ranging from three to five
years. They
were demonstrating against the presence of two Armenian officers in the
conference.

– The AGBU, responding to the request of the Karabakh government, has agreed
to sponsor a Chamber Orchestra in Karabakh.

– Hungarian defense ministry deputy state secretary Vanperne Balok Agnesh,
participated in the ceremonial opening of a monument honoring Hungarian war
prisoners who died in Armenia and Armenian soldiers killed in Hungary during
World
War II.

– AGBU leaders, members and friends worldwide will come together this October
in their ancestral homeland on the occasion of AGBU’s 83rd Biennial General
Assembly to review current programs, exchange ideas and discuss new
initiatives.

g i b r a h a y    c a l e n d a r

* The Annual General Meeting of The Hamazkayin Cultural and Educational
Association “Oshakan” Cyprus Chapter will take place on Tuesday September 14,
2004
at 8:00 p.m. at A.Y.M.A.

* BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY AT AYMA – Saturday September 11, 2004 at 9:00 p.m.
Entrance 5:00 including two drinks. Music dancing and a lot of fun, just in
time
before the schools begin!
* Armenian Radio Hour on The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation can be heard via
real audio on . Broadcast times 17:00-18:00 local Cyprus time
(14:00-15:00 GMT) News bulletins at 17:15 local time on Sundays, Tuesdays,
Fridays. Armenian Cypriots can also tune in on the following radio frequencies
91.1 FM (Mount Olympus – for Nicosia listeners) 94.2 FM
(Paralimni/Protaras/Agia Napa) 92.4 FM (Larnaca) 96.5 FM (Paphos).

* Every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. (Cyprus time +2 GMT) on CyBC’s Trito, Puzant
Nadjarian presents the “History of the Blues” together with Robert Camassa.
The programme which is now in its second year can also be heard on Real Audio
from the Internet edition of CyBC on . A repeat programme can
also be heard seven hours later at 2:00 a.m. local time.

* AYMA announces that the weekly practices of the football team begin in the
second week of September. Contact the AYMA Sports Committee for more details.

* The Armenian Prelature announces that the next permit for the Armenian
Cemetery visitation at Ayios Dhometios on the Green line, is scheduled for
Sunday
5 September, 2004.

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