ARMENIA CUTS BY HALF ITS CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION TO BLACK SEA BANK OF
TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

YEREVAN, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). Armenia cuts its capital
contribution to the Black Sea Bank of Trade and Economic Development
(BSBTED) from 2% to 1%, or 10 mln SDR. According to the RA Ministry of
Finances and Economy, regardless of the fact that the Black Sea Bank
of Trade and Economic Development has great authority, it was
inexpedient for Armenia to put up great means to the capital of the
bank. It was noticed that other similar international organizations
implement more programs in the republic under the conditions of the
same participation of Armenia in them. The establishment of the
Financial Service jointly with the “Izmirian” Foundation was the
BSBTED only investment in Armenia. A credit line of 4 mln dollars for
direct crediting of the small and medium enterprises in Armenia was
opened by the Fund founders in February 2003. But only several credits
have been given up to now. The Black Sea Bank of Trade and Economic
Development was established by Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia,
Moldova, Romania, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Ukraine in
1999. The capital of the bank makes about 1 bln SDR (1.325 bln
dollars). The bank contributes to the economic development of the
countries-members and to the deepening of the regional cooperation. It
should be noticed that during the annual meeting of the Council of
Bank Founders, which was held in Tirana (Albania) this year, Armenia
undertook obligations of the chairman for a year, Russia and Moldova
took obligations of co-chairmen (Azerbaijan refused from
chairmanship). At the meeting the representative of Armenia suggested
that the bank should also implement a joint regional program, and it
was apprehended positively. The next similar meeting will be held in
Armenia on June 5, 2005. The “Business Day” with the participation of
foreign investors and representatives of great corporations will be
held within the framework of this meeting.

“TEACHERS OF ARMENIA AND SPYURK AREN’T COMPLETELY PROTECTED,” HRANUSH
HAKOBIAN DECLARES

YEREVAN, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). Both in Armenia and in Spyurk
teachers aren’t completely protected, but the state undertakes certain
steps in the direction of this. Hranush Hakobian, the Chairwoman of
the RA NA Standing Commission on Issues of Education, Science, Culture
and Youth, mentioned this at the August 20 meeting with 50 teachers
from the Diaspora participating in the retraining courses in
Yerevan. She mentioned that compared with the previous year the
teachers’ salary has doubled in 2004 reaching from $30 to $60 and in
2005 it’s envisaged to increase the salary till 51 thousand drams
(about $100). Touching upon the issue of introduction of a joint
system of education H.Hakobian mentioned that each pupil living in
Armenia should also learn Western Armenian. The MP found it difficult
to speak about the terms of introduction of this system, but she
didn’t exclude that the RA government will make the corresponding
decision in the future. H.Hakobian also emphasized the necessity of
legislative stipulation of the right of double citizenship, which has
already been included into the package of Constitutional reforms.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN ARMENIA EDUCATION IS AHEAD OF ECONOMY BY DEVELOPMENT RATES

YEREVAN, August 20 (Noyan Tapan). In Armenia education by its
development rates is ahead of economy, and for this reason
unemployment in the country makes 9%. Hranush Hakobian, Chairwoman of
the RA NA Standing Commission on Education, Science, Culture and Youth
Issues, told about it at the August 20 meeting with 51 Diasporan
teachers participating in the training courses in Yerevan.

According to her, this situation can only be regulated if the
development of the economy reaches a level at which it is possible to
provide all the higher schools graduates with jobs. At the same time,
H. Hakobian noted that there is a problem of supply and demand in
Armenia’s labor market.

However, according to her, higher schools have not been restructured
so that they train specialists needed for the labor market. H. Hakobian
reported that today 1,482 comprehensive schools function in the
republic, and about 80,000 students study at 6 state-owned and 81
private higher schools.

ARKA News Agency
Aug 20 2004

Teachers from Armenian Diaspora and Armenia should have single
educational system

Armenian Government holds regular sitting of Water Users Association
council

Organizers of the first pan-Armenian programmers open contest highly
estimate the results

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

TEACHERS FROM ARMENIAN DIASPORA AND ARMENIA SHOULD HAVE SINGLE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

YEREVAN, August 20. /ARKA/. Teachers from the Armenian Diaspora and
Armenia should have single educational system, as Hranush Hakobyan,
the Chairman of Armenian Parliamentary Commission on Science,
Education, and Youth Affairs stated when receiving 50 teachers from
the Armenian Diaspora. She said that Armenia hold educational reforms
and the Diaspora also should be aware of them. Hakobyan proposed
introducing disciplines of Grabar (Ancient Armenian) as well as
Western Armenian in order to remove difficulties of communication
among Armenians from the Diaspora and Armenia. `This is complicated
but a solvable issue’, she considers. Hakobyan reported that the
State undertook responsibility of training those teachers from the
Diaspora who teach history, language, culture. `It is hard to
preserve tradition without Motherland’, she said. 50 teachers from
various countries attend professional training courses in Yerevan on
August 4-27. 160 teachers have been trained in Armenia during five
years. T.M . – 0–

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

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT HOLDS REGULAR SITTING OF WATER USERS ASSOCIATION
COUNCIL

YEREVAN, August 20. /ARKA/. The Armenian Government held regular
sitting of Water Users Association Council. As Armenian Government
Public and Press Relations Department told ARKA, the sitting was led
by Hovik Arahamyan, Armenian Minister for Regional Administration and
Infrastructure Coordination who is simultaneously is the Chairman of
the Council regulating the activity of the Water Users Association.
The sitting particularly examined the reports of the Association of
Ararat and Armavir marzes of Armenia. The Heads of Associations
presented the situation with water supply in marzes and the problems
in the sphere, among them collection of payments against the water
supply, their efficient use, reduction of excessive expense on
irrigation water etc. In this regard, Abrahamyan made instructions to
relevant state authorities and Water User Association. T.M. -0–

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

ORGANIZERS OF THE FIRST PAN-ARMENIAN PROGRAMMERS OPEN CONTEST HIGHLY
ESTIMATE THE RESULTS

YEREVAN, August 20. /ARKA/. The organizers of the first pan-Armenian
programmers open contest give high estimates to its results.
According to Arman Valesyan, the Executive Director of UITE, 297
participants took part in the contest. It was held in three stages –
qualification stage, where winner became a 15-year- old teenager,
then the individual stage for the best 40 programmers and team
contest for 30 specialists. Valesyan mentioned that specialists form
nine marzes of Armenia and two participants fro Syria took part in
the contest. He hopes that during the second pan-Armenian programmers
open contest, more specialists from the Diaspora will participate.
In his turn, Hovhannes Avoyan, the President of Union of Information
Technology Enterprises, Director Executive of Lycos-Armenia added
that there is a big demand for quality IT specialists in Armenia.
`The main objective of the contests – search for gifted specialists
and their involvement in IT companies’, he said. In particular, he
mentioned that only in Lycos-Armenia Company exist 15 vacancies and
the company cannot fill these vacancies in course of several months.
The first pan-Armenian programmers open contest was held on June
1-18, 2004. Specialists under 30 from Armenia, Diaspora possessing
one of the programming languages (C++, Visual C++, Visual Basic,
Java, Pascal) took part in the contest. L.V. -0–

Indianapolis Star, IN
Aug 21 2004

Call for greater police firepower grows
Training, public safety are top concerns as officials consider ways
to upgrade weaponry.

By Richard D. Walton
[email protected]
August 21, 2004

To Linda Jackson, news of a fellow Indianapolis police officer killed
with a military-style rifle stirred painful memories of the day she
was wounded with a similar weapon two years ago.

And with the memories came frustration.

Jackson wants to know how many dead police it will take before IPD
arms its officers with the same kind of firepower that Kenneth C.
Anderson used to kill Patrolman Timothy “Jake” Laird early Wednesday.
Anderson also wounded four other officers before being killed by a
SWAT team member who, unlike regular patrol officers, has access to
high-powered weapons.

Jackson, a bullet fragment still lodged in her body from her
encounter with a mentally ill man using a rapid-fire rifle, said IPD
no longer can delay handing out to officers more than 200
high-powered AR-15 rifles the department acquired about a year ago.
Those weapons still are in boxes, awaiting the department’s decision
on where to train police in their use.

“There’s no looking into it,” Jackson said. “This just needs to
happen.”

But protecting officers can’t mean endangering the public, police
officials say. And stray shots from the powerful weapons could do
just that in crowded neighborhoods or if training is conducted in an
unsuitable place.

About two years ago, workers were doing repairs on a Westside gas
station just south of the IPD firing range when they found bullet
fragments on the roof.

If rounds from the handguns fired could escape the range, ones from
the high-powered AR-15s certainly would, too, said IPD Sgt. Steve
Staletovich. In considering a training site, he said, “we were afraid
that the bullets would eventually go right through the berm.”

The firepower Anderson had in his Southside rampage was put on
display Friday by IPD. It included an Armenian-built SKS-style rifle.
The brown-stocked weapon is capable of firing up to 1,000 yards. A
round travels at a speed of 2,800 to 3,200 feet per second, almost
three times the velocity of a hollow-point bullet fired from the
standard handgun carried by IPD street officers, the .40-caliber
Glock pistol.

A shot fired from the SKS-style rifle could penetrate a car door or a
board two to three times as thick as a 2-by-4, said David J.
Brundage, a firearms examiner with the Indianapolis-Marion County
Forensic Services Agency.

Vince Huber, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police, has
criticized IPD for not issuing patrol officers heavier weapons after
the September 2001 shooting death of Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy
Jason Baker, killed with the same type of rifle Anderson used.

“It’s not been an isolated incident,” Huber said after Laird’s death.
“We’ve seen a pattern of criminals having a better weapon.”

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi also believes IPD officers need
more firepower, although he’s careful not to suggest it would have
made any difference in this week’s shooting spree.

“I don’t know and no one knows whether . . . any life could have been
saved.” But Brizzi said more weaponry might save someone next time.
“Because there will be a next time,” he said.

In some communities, however, the call has been for less firepower,
not more.

In Cincinnati, for example, officers carry just a handgun, a
semi-automatic 9 mm Smith & Wesson pistol. Each squad car has a
12-gauge shotgun. But only SWAT team members have the powerful
rifles.

Unlike the emotion-charged demands for more heavy weaponry being made
here, in the Ohio city there have been concerns that police had too
much firepower. Some citizens complained when, in the past, officers
carried .357 Magnums, said Lt. Kurt Byrd of the Cincinnati Police
Department.

Police agencies across Indiana and the nation reassessed their
firepower after a bank robbery and shootout in 1997 in California.
Los Angeles police, armed with pistols and shotguns, traded gunfire
with two men clad in body armor and firing automatic weapons.
Overmatched police ran into a nearby gun store for rifles. Now Los
Angeles police have more powerful rifles.

That incident “opened a lot of eyes” about the mismatch with the
criminals, said Maj. Randy Werden, chief of the enforcement division
of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. So much so that the
department, which had been issuing shotguns to its street officers,
began equipping them with Ruger rifles.

Each officer is issued at least 25 rounds with the rapid-fire weapon.
Basically “as fast as you can pull the trigger, it will discharge a
round,” Werden said.

A possible training site for IPD officers would be Camp Atterbury in
Johnson County, but Staletovich said the cost of getting more than
200 officers to that site must be considered.

But IPD could get a cost break from the Indiana Law Enforcement
Academy. Not only would the range on the 300-acre site in Plainfield
safely accommodate training with high-powered weapons, Indianapolis
police also could take training as in-kind compensation for training
IPD has provided the academy, said Scott Mellinger, the academy’s
executive director.

Officer Jackson, who survived her confrontation with a high-powered
rifle, says it’s only right that the department get the extra guns
out on the street.

Do it in memory of Officer Laird, she said. “It’s the very least they
can do.”

Indian Express, India
Aug 21 2004

Harikrishna, Ramesh face-off in Abu Dhabi chess

Press Trust of India

Abu Dhabi, August 20: Grandmaster P Harikrishna has a tough challenge
on hand as he plays with black pieces against compatriot GM R B
Ramesh in the sixth round of the Master’s section of the 14th Abu
Dhabi chess festival here.

In the nine-round tournament, Harikrishna, Ramesh and their fellow GM
Tejas Bakre share the joint sixth spot along with top seed GM Evgeny
Vladimirov of Kazakhstan, GM Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan, GM
Artashes Minasian of Armenia and IM Imad Hakki of Syria.

The lead is shared by GMs Ashot Anastasian of Armenia, Ghaem Maghami
Ehsan of Iran, Pavel Kotsur of Kazkhstan and Russians Mikhail Kobalia
and Evgeny Gleizerov who all have four points from five games played
so far. Yesterday was the only rest day and the battle starts again
later this evening for the $16,000 prize money tournament.

Former Asian junior girls champion Tania Sachdev is gunning for her
second women Grandmaster norm and plays IM Neelotpal Das in the next
round.

San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Aug 21 2004

Mexico deports 2 detainees to US
They were among 8 in group originally from Armenia, Iran

By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

MEXICALI – Mexican immigration authorities said yesterday they
deported two men to the United States after detaining a group of
eight people who are originally from Armenia and Iran.

The two men – identified by Mexican authorities as Kirakos Gary and
Gurgen Koshnudyan – are U.S. citizens, according to a press release
issued by the Mexican immigration agency.

A spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said she
hadn’t received official word of the transfer but that U.S.
authorities are interested in getting access to the group’s members.

Baja California state preventive police and Mexican immigration
agents detained the group Thursday in a Mexicali hotel after getting
information from their U.S. counterparts.

Lauren Mack, ICE spokeswoman, said that information was the result of
a coordinated investigation by the Border Patrol, ICE and the FBI.

“U.S. authorities received information that there were a number of
Middle Easterners in the Mexicali area and relayed that to the
appropriate office in Mexicali,” Mack said.

The information “specifically identified the Motel Colonia on Las
Fuentes in Mexicali,” according to a news release from the FBI.

After detaining the group, Mexican authorities initially announced
that some were from Iraq, but yesterday none of the eight were
identified as from that country.

The other six people, including an Iranian man with legal residency
in the United States, have been sent or are being sent to Mexico City
for further investigation and possible deportation, according to
Mexican authorities.

Gary is originally from Armenia, and Koshnudyan is originally from
Iran, according to Mexican authorities.

Middle Easterners are among many groups of people that enter the
United States through Baja California, sometimes to seek asylum. The
United States and Mexico have been working together to prevent the
entry of terrorists into the United States. There is no indication
that any of the eight are suspected terrorists.

Reuters
Aug 21 2004

Olympics-Boxing-Iraq’s Ali Dreams On

By Patrick Vignal

ATHENS (Reuters) – Just taking part in the Olympics was a victory for
Iraqi boxer Najah Ali and he could yet write another chapter to his
fairytale adventure by winning a medal.

Ali, who started with a fine win in the first round, will be back in
action at the Peristeri Hall on Saturday in a bid to defy the odds
again.

It seems unlikely that he will beat seasoned Armenian light flyweight
Aleksan Nalbandyan, but if he did he would be in the quarter-finals,
just one win away from a medal.

“I believe that if he gets it right, he can beat anybody,” said Ali’s
American coach Maurice “Termite” Watkins.

“He’s that good.”

Watkins, a former world title contender who went to Iraq to kill bugs
and ended up taking over the national boxing team, says he is not the
only one to highly rate his boxer.

“It’s not just me,” he said.

“Some very good judges who have seen the kid fight think he has a
really good chance of winning a medal.”

Not only Ali could give Iraq something to celebrate, the national
soccer team having reached the last eight of the men’s tournament and
take on Australia on Saturday.

Iraq have won only one Olympic medal, a weightlifting bronze in Rome
in 1960, the year the more famous Ali, then called Cassius Clay, made
the boxing world take notice with a gold.

The Iraqi Ali, a pocket-sized 24-year-old with a boyish face and
wide, dark eyes, may not have the skills of “The Greatest” but he has
come a long way already.

“I’m a symbol for the Iraqi people, who want freedom and peace,” he
said after winning his first bout on Wednesday.
For Watkins, the Iraqi athletes, who once risked torture for failure
at the hands of former Olympic chief Uday Hussein, son of Saddam, are
on a mission to restore their people’s pride.

The 47-year-old Texan first tried to draw together a real team but
none of his boxers managed to qualify and he needed a wild card from
the International Olympic Committee to travel to Athens with just
Ali, who was told to stop eating ice cream.

Each training session began with a team dance and a chant of “Iraq is
back,” a phrase that became a rallying cry and is printed on the back
of Ali’s shirt when he steps into the ring.

Watkins, who fought for the world light-welterweight title on the
same bill that saw Larry Holmes defeat Muhammad Ali in 1980, has
received several offers to turn his life into a film.

Iraq’s Ali had seemed condemned to play a bit part but, with a couple
more wins in Athens, he could end up with the star.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia laying fresh territorial claims to Azerbaijan – daily

Ekho, Baku
21 Aug 04

Yerevan is laying fresh territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Now the
official Armenian press has raised the issue of returning to Armenia
another 506 sq.km. of “land that has belonged to Armenia since time
immemorial along with” Karabakh and Naxcivan [Azerbaijani exclave].

[Passage omitted: report from the Armenian newspaper Golos Armenii;
comments by an Azerbaijani historian]

It is clear that the political leadership of Azerbaijan and our
Foreign Ministry should at least pay attention to the fact that the
official newspaper of the neighbouring state lays open territorial
claims to the lands of independent Azerbaijan. In fact, this is a
trump card that Armenia is carelessly giving to Azerbaijan. It is
necessary to benefit from this at the international level, i.e. to
draw the attention of influential international organizations and
states to the fact that the neighbouring aggressor country is not only
going to liberate the occupied lands, but on the contrary, is laying
additional open claims to Azerbaijani territory. This fact could be
the basis of Baku’s refusal to conduct talks with Yerevan.

[Passage omitted: Ekho failed to contact the Foreign Ministry]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Chinese official upbeat on military cooperation with Azerbaijan

Ekspress, Baku
21 Aug 04

Text of Alakbar Raufoglu’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on
21 August headlined “Our military students will be trained in China”
and subheaded “Chinese Gen Qian Lihua: ‘As far as I know, conflicts
are usually settled militarily'”

“The Chinese government hopes that Azerbaijan and Armenia will not
miss chances for peace in settling the Karabakh conflict,” Deputy
Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chinese National Defence
Ministry Qian Lihua told Ekspress newspaper yesterday. China is ready
to help settle the conflict at any level, but on condition that
“discussions are directed towards peace”.

“As far as I know, conflicts are usually settled militarily. But I
hope that this option will not be applied to the Karabakh issue,” he
said. Lihua added: “First of all, the sides themselves must believe in
the need for a speedy settlement to this conflict. There is no other
way out. If the Karabakh issue is not settled, one cannot talk about
lasting stability and cooperation in the South Caucasus.”

Lihua said that China had an interest in expanding military
cooperation with Azerbaijan. He said that there were prospects for
this, “but no efforts”.

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev met a Chinese delegation led
by Lihua yesterday. The Chinese ambassador to Azerbaijan, Zhang Xiyun,
attended the meeting as well.

“We had successful discussions. We mostly talked about the expansion
of military cooperation,” Lihua said after the meeting. At the
meeting, the sides reached an important agreement on developing ties
in the sphere of security and “discussions of this type make it
possible to develop allied relations in the future as well”.

Lihua yesterday visited the training centre of the Internal Troops. At
a meeting with the centre’s leadership the sides signed a relevant
agreement on the education of Azerbaijani military students in China.