PRIME MINISTER SAYS SOME DOUBTS STILL REMAIN
ArmenPress
27 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian said today fighting against terrorism is “the sacred duty”
of all governments, adding also that Armenia has voiced its readiness
to join international efforts. Speaking to reporters after visiting
Yerablour cemetery in a Yerevan outskirts, where some of eight top
government officials, shot down by terrorists in 1999 October 27
parliament shooting rest, the prime minister said the 1999 attack
threw Armenia back for several years.
Speaking also about the five-year-old attack the prime minister said
its perpetrators were arrested and sentenced, but added that there
remain still some doubts about whether they were the sole masterminds
of the attack. He said many people still believe there were other
people, or third forces, either in Armenia or outside it, who might
have been involved in the plot. The prime minister went on saying
that the trial gave answers to some of the questions only.
Foreign minister Vartan Oskanian who also was at the cemetery said
Armenia should reinforce its borders to prevent the country from
becoming a transit route for terrorists.

BRITISH MP SAYS VISIT TO KARABAGH WAS FACT-FINDING
ArmenPress
27 Oct 2004
BAKU, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Members of a British parliamentary
delegation that visited Nagorno Karabagh last week did not discuss
there a possible recognition of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic because
the British government’s position on this issue remains unchanged,
Gordon Marsden, a member of the British House of Commons, who headed
the delegation of the British interparliamentary cooperation group,
was quoted by Azeri Space TV as saying in Baku.
Marsden said he regretted Azerbaijan’s negative reaction to the
delegation’s visit to Nagorno Karabagh. He said that the British
government and the British embassy in Baku had put it clearly that
this was solely a fact-finding visit. If Azerbaijanis wanted to voice
their position, we would have been happy to listen to them, he said.
As for the fact that they went to Karabagh via Armenia, the British
MP said that Azerbaijan was unable to organize visits to Nagorno
Karabagh via its territory.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, however, that British MPs have
never appealed to Azerbaijan for assistance to visit Nagorno Karabagh
and this is what caused Baku’s discontent.
Another Azeri mass media outlet, the daily Ekho quoted also a senior
member of the British embassy in Azerbaijan, as saying that the visit
was a private initiative by Baroness Caroline Cox, who is the deputy
speaker of the British House of Lords. The official, Sean Melbourne,
who is an embassy’s secretary for political issues, said during a
meeting with members of the Karabagh Liberation Organization (KLO)
that the British Foreign Office had stated prior to the visit that
such trips ran counter to the British government’s interests and that
the government did not encourage them.
He said the government of British respects Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity, however, KLO members accused the UK of adopting double
standards in what is related to the Karabagh conflict.

PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL ON MAKING CHANGES TO LAW ON ALTERNATIVE MILITARY SERVICE
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian parliament approved
October 25 in the first reading a bill on making changes to the Law
on Alternative Military Service. The bill, designed by a group of
lawmakers, specifies, as deputy parliament chairman Vahan Hovhanesian
said, “the concept of alternative military service.” Under the bill
Armenians males who refuse serving in the regular armed forces have
to choose between alternative military service and alternative labor
service. Those who choose the first will perform it in the military
units and the second in hospitals, old people homes and alike.
The bill also specifies those bodies that are authorized to make
relevant decisions. Applications for alternative military service
are first considered by regional commissions and then by the national
commission.
The bill also defines exactly alternative servicemen’s duties,
responsibilities and the way their social security is ensured.

TRIAL OF ARMENIAN PILOTS IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA TO RESUME NOVEMBER 16
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: The trial of a group of alleged
mercenaries, that includes also six Armenian pilots, who are charged
with trying to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea, will
resume on November 16. A spokesman for Armenian foreign affairs
ministry, Hamlet Gasparian, told Armenpress that the trial was set
to resume late in October, but was again postponed due to technical
reasons. He said a former Armenian ambassador to Egypt Sergey
Manaserian and another government official are in Malabo now, the
capital of Equatorial Guinea, seeking a meeting with Armenian pilots
and the officials of the country.
Armenian pilots denied their involvement in the alleged plot.

KOCHARIAN VISITS TWO PLANTS
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian visited
today two plants, Neo Lita, specializing in processing of stones and
Armenian Molybdenum Production. Later speaking to reporters he said
both plants were an evidence of rather extensive investments in these
sectors. The president said he had met personally with the investor
in the stone processing factory, that can boasts of modern equipment
and high manufacturing culture. He said “we shall do everything to
create favorable conditions for establishing new industries.”
Speaking about the success of the molybdenum plant the president said
“we are in the process that can be described as revival of molybdenum
industry.” He said he had discussed with the plant’s managers its
future operation in connection with the pending privatization of the
biggest Zangezur molybdenum plant in south Armenia. The molybdenum
plant together with another one, Makur Yerkat, are included in the
Zangezur privatization package.
Armenian molybdenum plants are supposed to stop exporting molybdenum
concentrate from next year, instead they will sell the finished
product-fero-molybdenum, part of which will be in the form of pure
molybdenum.

CONFERENCE ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE STARTS IN YEREVAN
ArmenPress
27 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Association of English
Language Studies started today a three-day international conference at
Yerevan State University that will look into problems facing English
language teachers. Also round table discussions on most advanced
language teaching methodologies, its role in the modern world and so
on will be organized.
British ambassador to Armenia, Thorda Abbot-Watt, addressed the
present pointing out the growing attention given today to English
language study in Armenia. The US ambassador John Evans spoke about
English as a means to bridge different nations.

The Star Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
October 26, 2004 Tuesday
Final Edition
Genocide: A crime against humanity: Millions have died in unchecked
crimes around the world
by Michael Lawson, The Canadian Press
Several thousand people died on Sept. 11, 2001, in terrorist attacks on
the United States that instantly became global news. Shocking as it
was, that day of horror pales in comparison to what was then — and is
now — occurring, occasionally beyond the scope of the media’s eye.
It’s something that has come to be known as genocide.
Since the beginnings of recorded history, entire peoples have been
wiped into oblivion in a concerted effort at ethnic, religious or
political cleansing. Millions upon millions have perished in the 20th
century alone. Yet the international community has often been slow to
react — sometimes not reacting at all — and the atrocities persist.
Just as the Sept. 11 attacks gave rise to a new and now globally
recognized term — “9-11” — the word “genocide” is relatively is
relatively recent, formulated by a Polish expert in international law,
Raphael Lemkin, in 1944 during the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi
Germany. Derived from Greek and Latin roots, the word means the
eradication of a race. The United Nations has since expanded the
definition to include the destruction of any national, ethnic, racial
or religious group.
The most extreme example in modern times, if only in terms of sheer
numbers, was the Holocaust, in which some six million Jews were gassed,
shot, worked to death as slave labourers or subjected to inhumane
surgical and other so-called medical experimentation, often fatal. Tens
of thousands of Roma — or Gypsies — as well as homosexuals and other
“undesirables” were similarly victimized.
Most recently and still ongoing is the carnage in Darfur, the
western-most region of the African country Sudan. An estimated one
million blacks have been uprooted from their land, whole masses raped
and massacred, their villages razed and their crops and livestock
plundered. As many as 200,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad,
itself pressed for resources; many more Sudanese face death by
starvation or disease.
The Darfur crisis did not develop overnight. In a country impoverished
and drought-stricken, Arab herdsmen from the north moved into the
western region to reap what they could from the meagre natural
resources of Darfur — water and scrubby grasslands. In the face of
uprisings from the desperate locals, mounted Arab militias known as
Janjaweed moved in to conduct a campaign of slaughter and forced
relocation, the latter a virtual death sentence for many.
Humanitarian groups such as Medecins sans frontieres (Doctors Without
Borders), the United Nations children’s organization UNICEF and some
western governments have claimed that the Sudanese government in the
capital, Khartoum, supports the Janjaweed. The government denies the
charges. The Bush administration in Washington has, as of last month,
declared the Darfur situation a genocide.
Again in recent memory is the politically charged genocide in Rwanda,
also in Africa, in which opposing Hutu and minority Tutsi peoples
clashed at the cost of an estimated 500,000 lives, with many more
displaced. Most of those killed were Tutsis. The year was 1994; the
initial carnage occurred over mere months, and then continued. It
wasn’t until 1996 that a Canadian-led international force moved in to
try to stem the bloody unrest.
Just this past August, in a small-scale mirror image of the Rwandan
infamy, some 200 Tutsi men, women and children were shot or hacked to
death in a UN refugee camp in neighbouring Burundi. Hutu rebels
justified the action as a weeding-out of the opposing Burundi army and
Congolese militia.
The grim reality of genocide has been most apparent since the advent of
modern media technology, bringing the horrors of the Third World into
western homes nightly. World leaders tune in to the same thing. So why
does it continue?
Politics and semantics are two factors. When the United Nations was
formed with scores of countries in 1945 following the horrors of the
Second World War, the multinational grouping combined diverse mind-sets
in the quest for peace, security and international co-operation. The UN
did adopt a covenant on genocide, but the term itself became a focus of
debate. Should, for instance, the extermination of a political group be
counted as genocide? Some UN members argued against it.
Then there was the matter of sovereignty. One state’s right to govern
within its borders became — and remains — an issue. As recently as
this past August, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the question
of military intervention into the Darfur crisis, said: “This is not a
simple military solution. This is a matter for the Sudanese government
to handle.”
Political solutions take time, but time is a luxury the victims of mass
oppression can’t afford.
EXAMPLES OF GENOCIDE FROM THE LAST 100 YEARS
The stain on humanity that has come to be known as genocide has a long
history. Here are a few events from the last 100 years that have been
labelled genocides:
OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1915)
More than one million Christian Armenians were forced from their homes
into the Syrian desert by the Muslim government of the then-Ottoman
empire, along the way to face slaughter and starvation. Decades later,
Third Reich dictator Adolf Hitler is said to have been inspired by the
events. He was quoted as saying: “Who, after all, speaks today of the
annihilation of the Armenians?”
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (1917-21)
Amid political upheaval that saw the fall of the czarist regime and the
rise of communism, organized mobs waged pogroms against Jewish
communities at the cost of more than 60,000 lives.
Stalinist Soviet Union (1931-33)
Under the banner of communism, landholdings and crops of prosperous
Ukrainian farmers were seized. Up to 10 million in Ukraine were driven
out to starve to death.
NAZI GERMANY (1939-45)
Hitler’s “Final Solution” in the quest for a pure Aryan nation
accounted for the deaths of some six million Jews and tens of thousands
of other “undesirables.” Many were gassed and then incinerated in death
camp furnaces.
CAMBODIA (1975-79)
The Khmer Rouge communist party was responsible for the deaths of more
than 1.5 million Cambodians through execution, slave labour and
starvation. The country recently agreed to a UN-supported plan to bring
surviving leaders to trial.
BOSNIA (1992-95)
The breakup of Yugoslavia, as individual republics — Croatia,
Slovenia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina — sought independence,
brought the wrath of the Serbian government, leading to widespread
exterminations. Some 18,000 victims have been discovered in mass
graves. Ex-Serb president Slobodan Milosevic is currently before an
international war-crimes tribunal on charges including genocide. Other
military aides have been indicted.
RWANDA (1994)
Some 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutu
extremists in political strife. More Tutsis were massacred this summer
in a UN refugee camp in neighbouring Burundi.
SUDAN (CURRENT)
An estimated 300,000 people will die by year’s end as residents of
western Darfur region are forced from their lands. Many have been
slaughtered; many more face starvation and disease. The Arab-led
central government has been blamed for supporting the genocide.
GRAPHIC: Colour Photo: Ben Curtis, Associated Press; Women sit on a
wadi (dry riverbed) at a makeshift camp for internally displaced people
in Sudan’s West Darfur province. The camp is home to thousands of
Sudanese who have fled their towns and villages due to fighting and
unrest.;
Colour Photo: Ben Curtis, Associated Press; A camp near Seleah village
in Sudan’s West Darfur province.;
Photo: Associated Press; (See hard copy for graphic/diagram).;
Graphic/Diagram: Associated Press; (See hard copy for graphic/diagram).

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 26, 2004, Tuesday
15:55:43 Central European Time
List of Lebanon’s new cabinet ministers
Beirut
Here is a list of the new 30-member cabinet which was formed Tuesday
by Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh. 1 – Omar Karameh, Prime
Minister, Sunni Moslem (new). 2 – Issam Fares, Deputy Prime Minister,
Christian Greek Orthodox. 3 – Elias Saaba, Finance Minister, Christian
Greek Orthodox (new). 4 – Mahmoud Hammoud, Foreign Affairs Minister ,
Moslem Shiite. (change of portfolio). 5 – Suleiman Franjieh, Interior
Minister, Christian Maronite. (change of portfolio). 6 – Abdel Raheem
Murad, Defense Minister, Moslem Sunni. (change of portfolio). 7 –
Elie Ferzli, Information Minister, Christian Greek Orthodox(new). 8 –
Jean-Louis Kordachi, Telecommunication Minister, Christian Maronite. 9
– Yassin Jaber, Public Works Minister, Moslem Shiite (new). 10 –
Adnan Adoum, Justice Minister, Moslem Sunni (new). 11 – Elie Skaff,
Agriculture Minister, Christian Greek Orthodox. 12 – Farid Khazen,
Tourism Minister, Christian Maronite. 13 – Ghazi Zaater, Social Affairs
Minister, Moslem Shiite. 14 – Assem Kanso, Labour Minister, Moslem
Shiite. 15 – Adnan Kasser, Economy Minister, Moslem Sunni. 16 – Talal
Arslane, Minister of Displaced, Druze. 17 – Mahmoud Abdel Khalek, State
Minister, Druze. 18 – Wi”am Wahaab, Environment Minister, Druze. 19 –
Karam Karam, State Minister, Christian Greek Orthodox. 20 – Albert
Mansour, State Minister, Christian Greek Orthodox. 21 – Leila al Solh,
Industry Minister, Moslem Sunni (Woman). 22 – Sami Minakara, Education
Minister , Moslem Sunni (new). 23 – Wafaa Hamzah, State Minister,
Moslem Shiite (Woman). 24 – Youssef Salameh, State Minister, Christian
Maronite (new). 25 – Alain Taburian, State Minister, Armenian (new). 26
– Ibrahim Daher, State Minister for Adminstrative Reforms, Christian
Maronite(new). 27 – Sebouh Hovnanian, Youth and Sports Minister,
Armenian. 28 – Maurice Sehnawi, Energy Minister, Christian Catholic
(new). 29 – Nagi Bustani, Culture Minister, Christian Maronite (new).
30 – Mohammed Khalef, Health Minister, Moslem Shiite (new). dpa wh sr

Calgary Sun (Alberta, Canada)
October 27, 2004 Wednesday Final Edition
ATTACKS BLASTED
JERUSALEM
An Israeli chief rabbi held an unprecedented meeting yesterday with
Christian clergy in Jerusalem in an effort to ease tensions after an
Orthodox Jew spat at an Armenian bishop. Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger
denounced any attacks on religious clergy in Israel. The Oct. 10
incident saw a Jewish seminary student spit on an Armenian archbishop
carrying a cross in Jerusalem, sparking a fist fight that damaged
the cleric’s medallion.

Armenian govt puts off changing ArmenTel’s license to Nov 7
Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
October 26, 2004
YEREVAN, Oct 26 (Prime-Tass) — The Armenian government has postponed
the introduction of amendments to the license of Armenian national
telecommunications company ArmenTel that aim to limit the company’s
monopolistic status to November 7 from October 28, a representative
of the governmental press service told Prime-Tass on Tuesday.
The amendments to the license were initially expected to come into
force on June 30 but were postponed several times due to legal
proceedings related to the case at the London Court of International
Arbitration. The London Court of International Arbitration is currently
hearing two suits, the Armenian government vs the Greek company
Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE), which holds 90%
in ArmenTel, and ArmenTel vs the Armenian government.
While the exact text of the amendments has not yet been released,
Armenian Justice Minister David Arutyunyan said on October 11 that
the government wants ArmenTel to vacate some of its GSM 900 channels
for the use of the country’s second mobile operator that is yet to
be created. The government also wants to allow the new company to
use ArmenTel’s fiber-optic communications line.
In 1997, Greek company Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA
(OTE) paid U.S. USD 142.470 million to gain control of the 90% stake
in ArmenTel that was formerly held both by the Armenian government
(41% stake) and Trans-World Telecom (49%).
According to the agreement between OTE and the Armenian government,
ArmenTel was granted the right to a monopoly for 15 years, but
in September 2003 the government initiated a procedure to amend
ArmenTel’s license.