DELEGATION HEADED BY IOSIF KOBZON TO PARTICIPATE IN CELEBRATIONS DEDICATED TO
13TH ANNIVERSARY OF NKR INDEPENDENCE

STEPANAKERT, August 31 (Noyan Tapan). A Russian delegation headed by
Iosif Kobzon, People’s Artist of Russia, will arrive in Stepanakert
on September 1. 70 art workers are within the delegation. Vladik
Mikayelian, Chief of the Culture Department of the NKR Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sport, told NT’s correspondent that the Russian
artists will participate in the solemn arrangement dedicated to the
13th anniversary of the NKR independence on September 2.
From: Baghdasarian

The Azeri spokesman brings a false quotation

Noyan Tapan News Agency

August 30th, 2004

By Haroutiun Khachatrian

I am not fond of reading carefully the propagandist declaration of any
state officials, and for this reason, I had not read the notorious
declarations of Col. Ramiz Melikov, the head of the press service of
the Ministry of Defense of Azerbiajan.

These declarations have, by the way, got coverage in media and
reaction of different state officials (to my opinion, these reactions
were much more than deserved). In particular, we have placed the
article of Harut Sasunian in California Courier (See The Noyan Tapan
Highlights, issue of August 17). Last week, even the members of the
Armenian Caucus of the U.S. Congress have sent a letter of protest to
the State Department (see page 2). But when a friend of mine wrote
that the interview of Mr. Melikov contains a reference to MY NAME, I
had to read the above-mentioned statements, in which, to recap, he
expressed the belief that Armenia as a state will be eliminated in
25-30 years. In his interview to the Zerkalo newspaper of Baku, dated
August 14, he said the following (below is my translation from
Russian, the original text is available at ).

“Arutiun Khachaturian, (this is the adopted spelling of my name in
Russian, H.K.), an expert on political and economic issues, in his
article in the issue of 16 July, 2004 of The Washington Post newspaper
wrote that in 1988-1994, as a result of the Karabakh war, 16 thousand
people left Armenia. Again, according to his calculations, during the
subsequent 10 years, 1 million citizens left Armenia. … i.e.,
Khachaturian claims that on average, 100 thousand people leave Armenia
each year”. I have no honor to have articles published in The
Washington Post. Nevertheless, I decided to find the article of
question to see who is that Khachaturian, “the expert on political and
economic issues”, who has published such strange data in that
respected edition? Owned to the kind assistance of the staff of the
library of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia I discovered that NO article of
any person named Khachaturian was published in The Washington Post in
June-July of 2004. Moreover, there are only two articles having
relation to Armenia in that newspaper in the same period. These
articles, written by Susan B. Glasser, were published on July 11 and
12. They contained no reference on any person named Khachaturian, as
well as nothing reminiscent on the numbers presented by Melikov.

Hence, what Mr. Melikov has said in his interview is a lie. Not only
in its content, but simply as a fact. And, subsequently, it might seem
that there is no reason to attach the mythic “Arutiun Khachaturian”
with my name. The problem is, however, that I DO have publications
about the problem of emigration from Armenia, and some people, who had
read them, may believe that I could well have the publication
mentioned by the forger from the Azeri Defense Ministry. No one would
trouble himself to check the archives of The Washington Post as I
did. For this reason, I have to mention the following:

First, in none of my publications did I write that only 16,000 left
Armenia before 1994, and 1 million afterwards. Quite the opposite, the
bulk of the “exodus” took place during the wartime (at least 500,000
people left the country then).

Second, my last publication about the migration in Armenia was as
early as in December, 2002 (available at ). Hence, I
had no chance so far to cover these problems during the last two
years, where the situation has been quite different compared to that
in 90s.

Returning to the statements of Mr. Melikov, to say it frankly, the lie
I discovered was unexpected, but not surprising for me. This is the
usual style of the official Baku propaganda, and even in the same
interview, several more examples of lie and falsification can easily
be shown. It is very sad that this has become the style of the
official propaganda of Azerbaijan, which, ultimately, serves to only
one purpose, namely, keeping the anti-Armenian mood high among the
Azeris. I share the opinion of many people, both in Armenia and in
Azerbaijan, that due to this propaganda, the two nations cannot return
to normal relations, even after some settlement of the Karabakh
conflict is achieved. Not to say that these moods are direct obstacles
to the possible settlement.

The Noyan Tapan Highlights, August 30th, 2004

POSSIBLE CHANGE OF PLACE OF CONSTRUCION OF SECTOR OF
BAKU-TBILISI-JEIHAN OIL PIPELINE AROUSES DIFFICULTIES IN TSALKA REGION

AKHALKALAKI, August 31 (Noyan Tapan) – A-INFO. According to the experts
of the “British Petroleum” company, a sector of the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeihan
oil pipeline constructed in the vicinity of the village of Ashkala of
the Tsalka region doesn’t correspond to the current standards, and the
place of the construction should be changed immediately. It aroused new
difficulties in the Tsalka region. Though people receive compensations
for the used lands of this region, the reason for difficulties is
that arable lands (by the way, which are barren) become more not used.

World’s oldest sewer system found in Van

The find revealed a far more advanced understanding of architecture and
plumbing that had hitherto been known

NTVMSNBC.com
August 23, 2004

August 23 – What is believed to be the world’s oldest first toilet
and sewer system, dating to prehistoric times, has been unearthed in
the eastern Turkish province of Van.

The sewerage system was found by archaeologists working on excavations
at the site of a Urartian castle in Gurpinar region of eastern Turkey.

According to Professor Dr. Oktay Belli, the director of Istanbul
University’s Eurasian Archaeology Institute, the find was of
particular significance. The discovery of a toilet in the western
part of Cavustepe Castle built by Urartian King Sarduri II in 764 BC
pushed back the dating for such systems, he said in an interview with
the Anatolian news agency.

“We revealed that Urartian architects had formed a sewer system before
building the castle. The toilet and sewer system in the castle is
similar to today’s toilets,” the professor said.

The Urartu Kingdom gave great importance to architecture,” Belli said.
“Their architects used the most developed techniques of the prehistoric
period. They had built their castles in strategic areas after carrying
out ground studies. We believe that Urartu Kingdom was the first
civilisation to use toilet and sewer systems.”

The Urartu Kingdom was formed in eastern Anatolia at the beginning
of the first millennium BC after the fall of the Hittite empire and
survived for three centuries.

A1 Plus | 19:58:41 | 01-09-2004 | Social |

THE CASE AGAINST A PPA MEMBER SUSPENDED

Today the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebuni-Nubarashen Commune has made
a decision to suspend the criminal case instituted against PPA member
Grisha Virabyan and to stop the criminal pursuit against him.

Virabyan was accused of resorting violence to a power representative.
“Liberty” Radio Station informs this.

The Modesto Bee

State grass, yes; Redskin mascot, no

By ERIC STERN
BEE CAPITOL BUREAU

Last Updated: August 31, 2004, 06:08:38 AM PDT

SACRAMENTO — Worried about a dry lawn under the new water-meter mandate?
Try planting some drought-resistant purple needlegrass — named the official
state grass last week as lawmakers finished up their work for the year early
Saturday.

In the closing hours of the legislative session, dozens of bills that affect
San Joaquin Valley residents made their way to the governor’s desk, from tax
breaks for survivors of the Armenian genocide in 1915 to tax breaks for
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta farmers who were flooded when a levee broke in
June.

Gov. Schwarzenegger has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bills.

Here’s a look at how some local proposals fared:

Schools

Area lawmakers brought home $20 million to open the doors of the University
of California at Merced by fall 2005.

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, carried a bill on behalf of Ceres school
officials to untangle a technicality in the school-funding formula that
restores their in-school suspension program.

Students at Gustine High and Calaveras High will have to choose a new mascot
other than Redskins, while a bill by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, to
enforce dress-code policies never got out of committee, despite a push by
Stanislaus County school and law enforcement officials.

Jobs and business growth

The search for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the valley might get tougher if
Schwarzenegger signs a bill that requires a detailed economic impact study
on how a proposed big-box retail development would affect traffic and other
businesses.

Meanwhile, a bill by Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews

D-Tracy, that would have let Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties counter
problems with Bay Area growth by creating “jobs-housing opportunity zones”
with tax incentives, has failed.

Crime

Legislators took aim at sex offenders, passing a bill to block Cary Verse
from moving to Merced. They also agreed to pay for increased police patrols
and lighting when a sexually violent predator such as Verse is released from
a state treatment facility into a community.

Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, saw legislation go to the governor
that would give law enforcement officials notice when a teenage sex offender
moves into a neighborhood group home.

But two big funding measures died on the last day of session — for the
Scott Peterson case and for the 17-day manhunt in Merced for a suspected
cop-killer.

Transportation

Money for road projects to relieve traffic congestion on Bay Area routes
such as Interstates 205 and 580 and on Highway 99 was restored in the
budget, while a statewide vote on a high-speed rail line from San Francisco
to Los Angeles that cuts through the valley was delayed until 2006.

Legislators also revived a proposal to issue driver’s licenses to illegal
immigrants, which is all-but-certain to be vetoed by Schwarzenegger.

A Westley rest stop off I-5 will be renamed for Larry Combs, a state
Department of Transportation worker, under a resolution by Denham.

Agriculture

The mad cow disease scare got lawmakers talking, and they passed a law
requiring state health officials to notify the public which retailers have
received contaminated meat that has been subject to a recall.

But a bill by Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, to create a broader testing
program for bad meat died in committee.

Two pesticide-related measures went to the governor. One prohibits grape
pickers from taste-testing grapes in the field; the other holds pesticide
sprayers liable for medical damages if people get sick from drifting
chemical clouds.

Legislators also agreed to raise vehicle license fees by $2 and tire
disposal fees to $1.50 to pay for more air pollution programs, including
state grants to upgrade farm and school bus engines.

Water

Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, helped get state aid for repair work on the
Middle River levee breach and tax relief to flooded farmers in the delta.

The end of flat rates for unlimited water use is coming. A
water-conservation bill on Schwarzenegger’s desk would require metered water
bills in all homes and businesses by 2025.

Machado’s bill about purple needlegrass — a tall wispy grass found in
coastal grassland and in the Sierra foothills — was signed into law Aug.
23.

Bee Capitol Bureau reporter Eric Stern can be reached at 916-326-5544 or
[email protected].

Melkonian alumni hire California lawyers to fight school’s closure
By Staff Reporter

Cyprus Mail
1 Sept 04

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 capitalâ’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,” 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.”

A1 Plus | 18:44:56 | 01-09-2004 | Politics |

PPA WON’T CHANGE THE WAYS OF STRUGGLE

People’s Party of Armenia will hold its 5th congress on October
23. Issues regarding party strategy were discussed and further actions
were clarified at today’s sitting of PPA political board.

By the way, Opposition stance saying it is necessary to work out new
methods of struggle was criticized at PPA sitting.

“There is no new method of struggle in the world”, Ruzan Khachatryan,
head of PPA information service said in conversation with us.

Political board thinks the rally method of struggle doesn’t serve
the purpose properly and it is necessary to activate the public with
meetings in halls first.

According to Mrs. Khachatryan, PPA has always worried about the
problems of society.

PPA political board is indignant over the disgraceful failure of
the Armenian sportsmen. “And the trouble is that the sport sphere is
always in the focus of Robert Kocharyan, he is always proud of sport
achievements, and such a failure is just a result of an inefficient
governing”, Ruzan Khachatryan says.

PPA political board has commended the Bloc decision to boycott the
Parliament activity. It also shared Bloc stance over the constitutional
reforms and the draft on Electoral Code. As known, Bloc is against
the constitutional reforms in general.

As to the Electoral Code, Bloc has its version and has introduced it
to the parliamentary majority.

A1 Plus | 14:30:36 01-09-2004 | Social |

DEAR READERS!

We are back again! 🙂

The holiday is over and we start working as before. From now on you
can find the latest Armenian news on our website anytime. Thanks for
staying with us!

A1+ Staff

—

How to make friends at Tufts: start with a smile
By Julia Lifschultz, Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts Daily, MA
Sept 1 2004

Out of all of the adjustments that come with starting college, one
of the most overwhelming is the need to meet people and forge new
relationships with them. Whether mourning the loss of a tight group of
high school friends, a significant other far away, or the comfort of
family life, every person goes through this process in their own way.

Some decide to skip the entire process and resign themselves to a
college life of studying a lot and racking up frequent flier miles
home. Others approach college with a laissez-faire attitude: everything
will work out, and they’ll meet people they mesh with.

In another approach, some people decide that they will duplicate the
security of home and forge the fastest group of best friends ever.
Unfortunately, by day eight they frequently find out that these
friends aren’t quite what they expected.

Every year, the incoming class of Tufts freshmen goes through
a similar experience, and every year they land on their feet. And
though partaking in pre-Orientation and Orientation events, joining
campus clubs, and mingling with other students in class are the
conventional means of forming freshman friendships, the quest for
meaningful college friendships is not limited to those areas.

Nor is it a solo voyage: many students even got a little help from
some pushy parents. Senior Alicia Faneuil has her mom to thank for
a friendship that has remained to this day.

“The first day moving in freshman year, my mom clicked with Liz
[Glassman]’s mom,” Faneuil said. “She saw her from afar and was like,
‘She looks nice and cute!’ They introduced themselves and realized
that their daughters were in the same suite in Haskell.”

“My mom bugged me every day after that to introduce myself to Liz:
‘Have you met that girl Liz yet? I know you girls would like each
other. I just know it. Why don’t you just go into her room and say
hello? You’re right next door!'”

Even though her mom was trying to be helpful, Faneuil was having none
of it. “I kept trying to tell my mom that I would make friends myself
and that I didn’t need her help” she said.

However, when Faneuil finally took her mom’s advice, she hit it
off with Glassman, also a senior. They have been best friends and
roommates ever since. “It’s so annoying when parents say they know
best,” Faneuil said, “but it’s even more annoying when they do.”

Other students find they have to battle preconceived notions more
often than jitters about meeting people. Senior Caitlin McGarty did
not know what to expect when she first learned that her roommate would
be coming from Turkey. “I had no idea what to expect,” she said. “I
think I learned more from living with her than I did from any of my
classes that year.”

Having a diverse group of students in her hall made the Massachusetts
native much more aware of the world around her. “It was very
interesting to listen to [my roommate], the Israeli kid, and the
Armenian kid who lived in my dorm all discuss history and politics,”
she said. “I realized how America-centric our schooling is, and how
people view things differently in other countries.”

Senior Ethan Wishnick learned that college co-eds can be more
than just objects of desire. “I had seen this hot girl around and
lived in her dorm, so one night we went up to her room to say hi,”
Wishnick said. “In the end, her roommate and I ended up hitting it
off, and three years later, we’re still close. I even still talk to
the hot girl.”

Senior Hilary Wentz also had some luck with members of the opposite
sex- with the help of her mom. “My mom forced the kid living next
door to me to build a shelf for me,” Wentz said. “[She] proceeded
to talk to him about his entire life while I rolled my eyes. We went
out together that night and later became really good friends.”

Graduate Frank Bruzese (LA ’04) was able to use his charms to win
over many of his current friends – and win an extra bed. “I was pretty
good about just introducing myself to people,” he said. “Then I just
invited myself to sleep in two of my friends’ rooms and that pretty
much cemented it.”

Students don’t shun more conventional ways of getting to know each
other, though. “One thing that really made my freshman year a great
experience socially was being part of an athletic team,” senior
Lauren Ungerleider said. “It was great to see people on a regular
basis at practice, and this obviously led to getting to know them
well. It made sense that when the weekend came and everyone had the
same restrictions in terms of weekend competitions that you did,
the people on your team were the most fun to hang out with.”

“The best way to meet people was through participating in as many
activities as you can,” senior Erin Connolly said. “Through going
out at night, to playing a sport, to joining the Greek system, to
trying out different clubs, the opportunities are endless to meet
many different unique people. It is nice to have a large group of
friends and really gives you the opportunity to be friends with many
different cliques in the end.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Yerevan Considers Meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijan Ministers Successful

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 1 2004

The meeting of Ministers of Armenian and Azerbaijan foreign affairs
Vardan Oskanian and Elmar Mamedyarov, held 30 August in Prague was
“successful and positive”, informed press service of Armenian MFA.
TURAN-ARMINFO-BT — According to the same source, this meeting, like
previous ones had no specific agenda. The Ministers of foreign affairs
of Armenia and Azerbaijan discussed various aspects and prospects of
settlement of Karabakh conflict.

Co-chairmen of Minsk group of OSCE as well as Personal representative
of OSCE chairman were also present at the meeting. Before the meeting,
Armenian MFA head stated in interview with “Radio Liberty” that main
purpose of the meeting is putting of basement for continuation of
negotiations of peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict.

Such meetings are useful and help specifying the positions of
parties of the conflict. He also said, for achievement of progress
in settlement of conflict Karabakh party is to be included into
negotiation process, just as well.

The representatives of official Baku have not yet commented results
of Prague meeting.