Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base francais
20 août 2004

Visite de parlementaires suisses en Turquie Les questions arménienne
et kurde seront abordées fin août

sn uc

Berne (ats) La Commission de politique extérieure (CPE) du Conseil
des Etats se rendra le 30 août pour une visite de 4 jours en Turquie.
Outre le soin des relations parlementaires bilatérales, une rencontre
est prévue avec le ministre des affaires étrangères Abdullah Gül.

Les relations bilatérales et économiques entre la Suisse et la
Turquie figureront au centre des discussions, a indiqué vendredi à
l’ats le secrétaire de la Commission Paolo Janke.

La candidature turque à l’Union européenne (UE), les questions
arménienne et kurde, les droits de l’homme et la sécurité doivent
également être abordées. Les entretiens porteront aussi sur la
situation au Proche-Orient et en Irak.

Outre les rencontres politiques à Ankara, le programme prévoit
également des visites auprès de personnalités politiques locales,
d’ONG ainsi que de représentants de l’UE à Erzurum et Istanbul.

Pas de calendrier pour Calmy-Rey

La délégation des six membres du Conseil des Etats, la première à se
rendre en Turquie, sera conduite par le président de la CPE Peter
Briner (PRD/SH), a déclaré M. Janke. Elle a répondu à une invitation
des parlementaires turcs.

Ce voyage de la CPE avait été auparavant repoussé pour des raisons
politiques, suite à l’annulation de la visite de la conseillère
fédérale Micheline Calmy-Rey en septembre 2003 par Ankara.

Cet incident avait été provoqué par la décision du Grand conseil
vaudois de reconnaître le massacre en 1915 des arméniens par l’empire
ottoman comme génocide, avaient expliqué à l’époque les cercles
diplomatiques à Ankara.

Une majorité du Conseil national avait transmis par ailleurs en
décembre dernier un postulat au Conseil fédéral, dans lequel elle
reconnaissait le génocide arménien. Aucun nouveau calendrier n’a
encore été arrêté pour une visite de Mme Calmy-Rey à Ankara, a
indiqué vendredi le Département fédéral des affaires étrangères
(DFAE).

From: Loucia Isaac Seropian

By Cilina Nasser
Daily Star staff

August 20, 2004

Friends host dinner to bid farewell to Lucia Seropian

BEIRUT: Around 25 friends and journalists said goodbye to Public
Relations Director at Haigazian University Lucia Seropian at a
farewell dinner at Place de L’Etoile in downtown Beirut Wednesday.

Seropian is leaving to Qatar with her family to join Promoseven, an
international communications company in the Middle east and North
Africa.

Among those saying goodbye were UN Secretary-General’s Personal
representative to Southern Lebanon Staffan de Mistura and the head of
the World Health Organization in Lebanon, Habib Latiri.

Seropian thanked the reporters, who represented different Lebanese
media institutions, for “their dedication in highlighting educational
activities in Lebanon” and wished them all the best, saying she hoped
she would continue cooperating with them in her new job in Qatar.
###

DESPITE BAN, FISHING CONTINUES IN SEVAN

IJEVAN, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). Despite the fact that now, at the
time of spawning, fishing on lake Sevan is prohibited, this ban, like
in the previous years, is not functioning. Thus, the residents of the
Tsovagiugh village of the Gegharkunik marz continue selling the sig
fish. According to NT’s correspondent, the liveliest trade takes place
at the entrance of the motor car tunnel Sevan-Dilijan.

Cubans, Russian continue to dominate in Olympic boxing

.c The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Experienced teams from Cuba and Russia continued
to impress in Olympic boxing Saturday, with each country sending three
more fighters to the quarterfinals.

Cuba now has 10 boxers in the final eight, while Russia has nine.

Yan Bhartelemy Varela, Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano and Yordani Despaigne
Herrera all won Saturday for Cuba, while Sergey Kazakov, Georgy
Balakshin and Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov advanced for Russia.

Despaigne will next face Andre Dirrell of the United States in the
75-kilogram category.

Though Americans haven’t fared well against Cuban boxers in the past,
Dirrell owns a win over Despaigne in the Olympic test event in Athens
in May.

“It doesn’t matter who I get in there with,” Dirrell said. “I just
follow my game plan.”

Also, Iraqi boxer Najah Ali lost his 48-kg bout to Aleksan Nalbandyan
of Armenia, ending the improbable run of Iraq’s only Olympic boxer
after just one victory.

Ali was outpointed 24-11 in the second-round match, but he still
provided a dramatic conclusion to his 10-month journey from a job in a
Baghdad furniture factory to the bright lights of Athens, where he
carried the flag of the reconstituted Iraq team.

The diminutive Ali struggled to reach his taller opponent while
falling behind in the first 2 1/2 rounds, but he then cut Nalbandyan’s
mouth with a punch. He spent the final round frantically attempting to
open the cut wide enough to get the Armenian fighter disqualified, but
was unsuccessful despite an exciting chase.

“I only needed one punch – one punch,” Ali said with a shake of his
head.

08/21/04 16:32 EDT

Edmonton Sun (Alberta, Canada)
August 21, 2004 Saturday Final Edition

HISTORY CHANNELLING;
THAT’S THE GRECIAN FORMULA FOR THESE OLYMPIC GAMES

BY DAVE ‘CRASH’ CAMERON, EDMONTON SUN

The Olympics are all about history.

The first to be documented was held in ancient Greece in 776 BC.

Coroebus, a cook from Elis, won the sole event – a run of
approximately 192 metres (210 yards).

The competitors were naked. But it is not known whether Coroebus also
cooked in the nude.

The Olympics were shut down in AD 393 by a Roman emperor because he
didn’t like its “pagan influences.”

This is the first case of political meddling messing up the Games.

The first “modern” Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, revived by a
French aristocrat named Pierre de Coubertin.

Born in 1863, he was only seven when France was overrun by the
Germans during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Some historians
believe that de Coubertin attributed the defeat of France not to its
military skills, but rather to the French soldiers’ “lack of vigour.”

This would not be the last time that the French were to be labelled
“weenies.”

Approximately 300 athletes – all male, all clothed – competed in
1896. (Susan Nattrass didn’t qualify for the Canadian team because of
her gender.)

There were nine events: swimming, cycling, track, fencing, shooting,
weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling and lawn tennis.

CBC’s Don Whittman had to cover all nine events by himself.

Our man Terry Jones filed his first-ever column.

He dubbed it “the greatest Olympics ever.”

– – –

I’m just kidding, of course.

Jonesy didn’t cover his first Olys until Paris in 1900.

– – –

It is an honour and a pinnacle for athletes to make the Olympics. The
same is true for members of the media.

While this is Jonesy’s 13th Olympics (not kidding), TSN’s Farhan
Lalji is working his first.

“I just got married a month ago and now I’ll be gone for a month,” he
told me before boarding the 12 hours worth of flights to Athens. “My
wife’s loving that.

“But I’m looking forward to it. This is why you want to work for a
national network – to get the opportunity to do something like this.

“A lot of people have concerns about terrorism. For me, honestly,
that’s one thing I’m not concerned about. I’m more concerned about
the heat and the logistical headaches.

“I don’t do well in the heat,” said the B.C. boy.

“It’s events like this that define you as a reporter. I know for me,
the best job next to mine, outside of sports, is to be an
international correspondent.

“The Olympics are always going to be a big deal regardless of the
politics and the socioeconomic conditions around it.

“The Olympics are still the Olympics, and it’s still going to be
centre stage. There’s not another event I’d rather cover.”

– – –

My new pal James Sharman, host of the most excellent Sportsworld on
The Score (Ch. 80, weekdays at 3:30 and 5 p.m.), isn’t in Athens, but
the native of England has a strong perspective since he covers many
of these sports more than the once-every-four-years.

“I think internationally the Olympics still enjoy that ‘romantic
appeal.’

“Certainly in Europe and Australasia the so-called ‘pure sports’ such
as track and field have a massive following. The Golden League events
in Europe are capacity-filled, atmosphere-rich spectacles, and,
indeed, the top stars are household names.

“It seems in North America only the record holders at the ‘glory’
events are known.

“I think this has as much to do with the marketing of sports in North
America. It is truly a big-league continent.The amount of money
ploughed into the marketing of the NBA, MLB, NFL, and, to a lesser
extent, the NHL, brings those athletes into our living rooms every
time we turn the TV on.

“Team sports are where it’s at over here.

“You can sell a million L.A. Lakers jerseys, but try selling a Haille
Gebreselassie vest”

– – –

In his column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (the Star-Trombone as
he calls it), Karl Weiner appears impressed by the sense of history
in Greece after visiting the narrow Panathinaiko stadium, the site of
the 1896 Games on a spot where a previous stadium stood in 334 BC.

You may have seen Panathinaiko when it was used for the celebration
in June following Greece’s underdog win of the Euro 2004 soccer
tournament. It is also where the Games’ marathon run will end.

“It is the world’s Fenway Park, the globe’s Rose Bowl, the friendly
confines of ancient dreams and echoes,” Weiner said.

“I’ve been to Yankee Stadium, the Los Angeles Coliseum, Notre Dame’s
football stadium, the tiny gem of a football stadium at St. John’s
and the old Maple Leaf Gardens.

“Panathinaiko is as good as it gets.”

– – –

Why not? The first athletes were naked.

Overcome with Olympic fervour I bought my first issue of Playboy in
years. Not since Hugh Hefner … well, actually, Hef hasn’t changed,
has he?

But times have. If these athletes had posed like this years ago …
oh, the scandal. Likely, their tickets to Athens would have been
cancelled.

But I bought the magazine for the articles. Honest.

– – –

Think our team sucks?

Armenia hasn’t won a medal since AD 388.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
August 21, 2004, Saturday
19:56:17 Central European Time

Kazakov moves into last eight, Jongjohor loses to Gamboa

The quarter-final lineup for the light flyweight Olympic boxing
tournament was completed Saturday, with the likes of world champion
Sergey Kazakov of Russia and Yan Bhartelemy Varela qualifying easily.

Earlier, world flyweight champion Somjit Jongjohor crashed out on
points after a desperate final round that included a point deduction
for holding.

Kazakov had little trouble dispatching the last Mexican boxer in the
tournament, Raul Castaneda, winning easily on points by 40 points to
16.

Next up for Kazakov is Namibia’s Joseph Jermia, victor over
Australia’s Peter Wakefield.

Zou Shiming of China also had no problems reaching the last eight,
defeating Endalkachew Kebede 31-8 on points but will need to be at
his best against Aleksan Nalbandyan of Armenia if he is to have any
hope of a medal.

In other action, Korea’s Hong Moo Won caused a surprise by beating
world championship bronze medallist Harry Tanamor of the Phillippines
42-25 on points while gold medal hope Varela beat Thailand’s Suban
Pannon 23-14.

Earlier, world flyweight champion Somjit Jongjohor fell to Cuba’s
Yuriorkis Gamboa while middleweight Andre Dirrell gave the U.S.
reason for cheer with a stoppage win over Nabil Kassel of Algeria.

The U.S. boxing team had lost four of its last five fights before
Dirrell exploded into action, caused an early standing-eight count
for Kassel, and building up a 12-3 lead at the end of the first
round. The referee stopped the contest after the second round ended
as Dirrell had built up a 20-point lead.

“I knew he was slow and I knew I had him where I wanted him after
that first left hand landed,” said Direll, who now takes on Cuba’s
Yordanis Despaigne in his quarter-final bout.

Earlier, compatriot Ron Siler lost on points 36-17 to Azbekistan’s
Tulashboy Doniyorov in the flyweight division.

Jongjohur also crashed out after appearing to be on course for a
place in the last eight as he led going into his final round against
Yuriorkis Gamboa.

But the counterpunching Cuban outscored him 10-2 in the final round
as Jongjohor was docked a point after three cautions for holding.

“I did not begin well. My tactics were not right and I was not
fighting the proper way,” said Gamboa afterwards. “But I won and that
is what matters.”

Gamboa now meets twice European champion and world championship
bronze medallist Georgy Balakshin of Russia, who defeated
Kazakhstan’s Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov on a point score of 29:20.

Germany’s Rustamhodza Rahimov had to survive a fierce last round
onslaught from Colombia’s Oscar Escandon, when he was twice knocked
to the floor, before prevailing 25-15 on points.

Waiting for Rahimov in the last eight will be Paulus Ambunda of
Namibia, an easy 39-19 points winner over Venezuela’s Jonny Mendoza,
who had to take two standing eight counts.

Sydney bronze medallist Jerome Thomas of France eased past Juan
Carlos Payano of the Dominican Republic and the former world champion
now meets Azbekistan’s Tulashboy Doniyorov, a 36-17 victor over U.S.
boxer Ron Silver as the Americans’ misery in the ring continued.

Fuad Aslanov of Azerbaijan was made fight all the way by Georgia’s
Nikoloz Izoria and now meets Poland’s Andrzej Rzany who overwhelmed
Hicham Mesbahi of Morocco. dpa gb ms sc

The Times (London)
August 21, 2004, Saturday

Round the world in a caravan

by Hugh de Wet

In the Sixties, motor caravanning took off, with basic camping
equipment fitted into converted VW vans being very popular. These
days motor caravans come complete with luxury touches and the
benefits of modern engines, but few people have been as adventurous
as Alan Johnston was …

Mr Alan Johnston, aged 44, a teacher who sold his old house to buy a
new one in Wimbledon, found himself with about £5,000 to spare.
Uncertain about how the money could best be used, he bought a
motorised caravan and set off, with his wife and three small adopted
children, on a trip around the world.

The Johnstons have just returned to Britain after three years. They
covered more than 80,000 miles by road, plus about 15,000 miles by
sea, visiting 19 countries from Belgium, through Europe to Russia and
on through Iran, Afghanistan, India, Malaysia and Thailand to Japan,
then crossing to the United States and Canada, before recrossing by
sea to France and returning home.

Mr Johnston still has a substantial part of the £5,000 to spare.

In the summer of 1965 Mr Johnston, then teaching at the Bishop Bell
county primary school at Crawley, West Sussex, bought the compact
motorised caravan -a van with built-in eating and sleeping
accommodation -for £1,100, and £200 worth of spares.

“During the trip we lived for less than £50 a month,” he told me.
“Somebody has estimated that we did the trip for less than a dollar a
person a day.”

Shipping their vehicle between continents turned out to be the only
major item of expenditure. The vehicle, weighing some three and a
half tons fully loaded, and powered by a 1600cc engine, traversed
some of the world’s highest mountain passes and completed the trip
without any major overhaul. It broke down only once in the United
States when the coil failed.

When they set off, Mr Johnston was 41, his wife, Josephine Maria, 36,
and their three Anglo-Indian children, Anna, Tim and Lee, whom they
adopted through the Dr Barnardo’s organization, five, four and two
respectively.

“Some people were appalled when they heard that we intended taking
our children into places like Afghanistan and Iran,” Mr Johnston
said. “But we found the entire trip extremely pleasant. Not once was
there a dangerous incident.”

They spent about a month in Russia and then found that they could not
cross from Armenia into Iran because of a cholera epidemic.

“The border had been sealed because the Russians were afraid of the
epidemic spreading across into their country,” Mr Johnston said.

“We spent about a week waiting in Armenia. The Russians were
wonderfully hospitable. Then we were told we could cross into Iran.

“Although it was a Sunday, a Russian bank manager appeared and
changed our surplus roubles into Iranian money. Then we were given an
escort of Russian Army officers up to the border crossing-point at
Djoulfa. On the other side of the padlocked gates a group of Iranian
officers was waiting to receive us.

“The Russians were affable; they delivered speeches, shook hands with
the Iranians, and then both parties unlocked the gates
simultaneously; it appeared that the crossing-point was seldom used.”

In Iran the family weathered the cholera epidemic with the aid of
giant antibiotic capsules which they were forced to take in copious
quantities.

“We know of people who have been robbed and even murdered while
travelling in the Far East, but I think that in most cases these
people behaved imprudently,” Mr Johnston said. “In Iran and Pakistan
we slept in police stations or airport buildings and were quite safe.
In India we used the rest houses.

India is an extremely gentle country, and we spent about a year
there. “In Pakistan, after negotiating the Khyber Pass, the Johnstons
were invited to dinner at the imam’s home at Peshawar.

“The Imam’s stately home was full of animals,” Mrs Johnston said.
“They believe in keeping close to nature, and we had chickens and
goats running about and huge tame storks peering over our shoulders.
We called the place ‘the Stork club’ after that.”

After the dinner, Mr Johnston found his van crammed with women and
children from the palace, all eager to be taken for a drive. He
eventually took them on a jaunt through Peshawar, under strict
instructions that the vehicle’s curtains remained drawn and that no
lights should be used, as the women were in purdah.

The Johnstons have returned to their home at Wimbledon which they let
while on their tour. Mr Johnston takes up a teaching post at a
Wandsworth secondary school with the satisfaction of knowing that his
children -the eldest is now eight – have a flying start over their
contemporaries when it comes to geography, languages, and general
knowledge.

Associated Press Worldstream
August 21, 2004 Saturday 4:13 PM Eastern Time

Olympic boxing results

ATHENS, Greece

Results Saturday from the Olympic boxing competition:

48 Kg
Round of 16

Joseph Jermia, Namibia, def. Peter Wakefield, Australia, 29-20.

Sergey Kazakov, Russia, def. Raul Castaneda, Mexico, 41-16.

Alfonso Pinto, Italy, def. Carlos Jose Tamara Paternina, Colombia,
49-35.

Atagun Yalcinkaya, Turkey, def. Jeyhun Abiyev, Azerbaijan, 23-20.

Zou Shimming, China, def. Endalkachew Kebede, Ethiopia, 31-8.

Aleksan Nalbandyan, Armenia, def. Najah Ali, Iraq, 24-11.

Hong Moo-won, South Korea, def. Harry Tanamor, Philippines, 42-25.

Yan Bhartelemy Varela, Cuba, def. Suban Pannon, Thailand, 23-14.

The Associated Press
August 21, 2004, Saturday, BC cycle

Olympics Weightlifting Results

ATHENS, Greece

Final results Saturday of the weightlifting event from the Summer
Olympics:

Men
85Kg

1. George Asanidze, Georgia, (2, 177.50-391; 3, 205.00-452), 382.50
kg. -843 pounds.

2. Andrei Rybakou, Belarus, (1, 180.00-397; 8, 200.00-441),
380.00-838.

3. Pyrros Dimas, Greece, (3, 175.00-386; 4, 202.50-447), 377.50-832.

4. Georgios Markoulas, Greece, (7, 167.50-369; 1, 205.00-452),
372.50-821.

5. Yuan Aijun, China, (8, 167.50-369; 2, 205.00-452), 372.50-821.

6. Aliaksandr Anishchanka, Belarus, (5, 170.00-375; 6, 200.00-441),
370.00-816.

7. Tigran Martirosyan, Armenia, (6, 167.50-369; 5, 200.00-441),
367.50-810.

8. Song Jong Shik, South Korea, (10, 160.00-353; 7, 200.00-441),
360.00-794. U.S. finisher

10. Oscar Chaplin III, Savannah, Ga., (12, 160.00-353; 11,
190.00-419), 350.00-772.

Washington Times
Aug 22 2004

Week in Review

By David W. Jones

Chemical attack?

There was something curiously understated about the report of an
apparent chemical attack on villagers in the Sudanese province of
Darfur, which ran on Tuesday’s front page.

For one thing, the word “chemical” was never used by any of the
villagers. They simply described in matter-of-fact terms how one day,
instead of the usual bombs, the planes dropped plastic sacks filled
with a flourlike substance that made them sick and killed their
livestock.
“I came across the story just talking to the villagers in Shegek
Karo about their experiences during the bombing,” reporter Levon
Sevunts explained in a subsequent e-mail.
“They didn’t even realize what they were telling me was extremely
important. For them, it was just another of many ways the Sudanese
government had tried to kill them.”
Mr. Sevunt’s report was the first we had seen since the Darfur
story broke into the headlines this year to suggest the Sudanese were
using chemical weapons in the conflict.
That made it a big story, but also one on which we wanted to be
very careful of our facts – especially because Mr. Sevunts, a
freelance correspondent in the region for the Toronto Star, had filed
to us only a couple of times before.
But the innocent quality of the villagers’ stories gave the story
the ring of truth, and we were impressed by the fact that Mr. Sevunts
had carefully avoided making any unsubstantiated charges. He simply
recounted the stories the villagers had told him.
We had staff reporter David R. Sands in Washington make some
additional phone calls.
He learned that the British Broadcasting Corp. had reported the
use of chemical weapons in southern Darfur in 1999, and was told by a
specialist at the International Crisis Group (ICG) that there had
been unconfirmed reports of chemical-weapon use in Sudan for a
decade.
The ICG specialist, John Prendergast, also called for an
international investigation of all such charges. At that point, we
felt we had not only solid grounds for the story, but perhaps even an
obligation to run it.

Security concerns
One thing that troubled us: Mr. Sevunts, in his original story,
said representatives of Human Rights Watch had been to the village
and taken a sample of the powder to be analyzed. But when we called
Human Rights Watch from Washington, their spokesman was not aware of
the incident.
This might just be a case of poor communications between
headquarters and the field, common enough in situations like this.
When we queried Mr. Sevunts, he provided the name of the person who
took the sample and suggested another explanation.
“I think the HRW are denying it for the same reasons I had to
hold it for several days – security,” he wrote.
“But I couldn’t hold the story any more,” he said. On his way
back, he had run into reporters from competing organizations
traveling to the same village “and I wasn’t sure whether they got the
story, too.”
“So I filed at the first opportunity I got to recharge batteries
on my laptop and close enough to the Chadian border that I knew I
could make a run for it if the Sudanese came after us.”
We also did a bit of research on Mr. Sevunts – an easy enough
matter, thanks to Google. We knew he had worked several years for the
well-regarded Montreal Gazette, but not much more.
The Google search showed that he was Russian-born, that he had
lived in Armenia for a while, and that he had some remarkable
adventures during the fighting in Afghanistan at the end of 2001.
Mr. Sevunts “was once a soldier in the former Soviet Union,” says
a “blog” from that period by Kevin Sites, a freelance television
reporter for NBC and CNN. “That is probably why he is alive today. He
knows about war. Has been shot at before.”
That sounds like just the kind of guy we like to have reporting
from a conflict zone.

-David W. Jones is the foreign editor of The Washington Times.
His e-mail address is [email protected].

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress