Azeri official comments on cease-fire breaches on border

ANS TV, Baku
19 Jun 04

Presenter Baku has commented on reports about intense cease-fire
violations on the border. Novruz Mammadov, head of the international
relations department of the Presidential Executive Staff, said the
firefights with the Armenian armed forces on the Azerbaijani border was
a result of Yerevan’s harmful policy. The official did not rule out
that the Armenian community of Karabakh will be brought to book for the
conduct of the unlawful municipal elections on Azerbaijani territory.

Correspondent over Karabakh villages The campaign to nominate
candidates for the municipal elections by the Armenian community of
Nagornyy Karabakh kicked off today. The nomination campaign will end
on 24 June and the process of registering the candidates will continue
until 19 July. The election campaign will start on the same day. Let
us remind you that the municipal elections will be held by the Armenian
community in Nagornyy Karabakh on 8 August. Baku is not planing to turn
a blind eye to this move of the Armenian separatists. Statements have
already been sent to a number of international organizations urging
them to prevent such illegal measures from taking place in the occupied
territory of Azerbaijan.

Novruz Mammadov, head of the international relations department of
the Presidential Executive Staff, said that the issue of the illegal
municipal elections in Nagornyy Karabakh will be put on the agenda
of the Council of Europe first of all.

Mammadov, shown speaking from his office This act is undoubtedly
illegal. The appropriate bodies of Azerbaijan have spoken against
it and will continue to do so. The Milli Maclis and the Azerbaijani
parliamentarians in the Council of Europe will air their views in
the upcoming sessions. All this is illegal and lacks international
support. I would like to reiterate that all this is nothing less than
an attempt by the separatists to hearten themselves.

Correspondent Mammadov believes that international organizations are
currently actively trying to resolve the conflict. And very often
their approaches are in harmony with Azerbaijan’s position. The world
supports Azerbaijan’s demand that the conflict be resolved reasonably.

Mammadov From this point of view, both the Karabakh separatists and
the Armenian leadership are finding themselves isolated from the world
community. To alleviate such treatment and to parry these blows, they
resort to such measures. The crux of the matter is that the Armenian
separatists want to create certain institutions in the occupied
territory of Azerbaijan. They resort to such methods from time to
time, i.e. violate all laws by holding the so-called presidential
and municipal elections in the self-styled NKR.

Correspondent Obviously Nagornyy Karabakh has not been recognized and
will not be recognized in the future as well, Mammadov said, adding
that the municipal elections have no legal basis. The conduct of
such measures once again proves that the separatist Armenian regime
does not want to resolve the conflict. The separatist regime’s
plans to conduct the unlawful election in Nagornyy Karabakh, which
is an integral part of Azerbaijan, is not their first or their last
illegal action. The Armenian side, which often violates the cease-fire
regime on the border with Azerbaijan and along the contact line,
once again proved that it is not ready for a constructive solution
to the conflict. The recent and intense breaches of the cease-fire
regime are not accidental, Mammadov said. The opposite side is taking
well-planned and well-considered steps.

Mammadov Armenian President Kocharyan is no longer trusted by his
people because of his failure to fulfill his election promises. The
resistance against him within the country is strengthening. By
violating the cease-fire regime, the Armenian leadership wants to
soften pressure and divert the attention from them to something else.

The second reason is also very important and is connected with the
first one: the Armenian leadership wants to decrease the external
pressure. Mammadov is sure that Armenia has never and will never
benefit from such an adventurist policy. Therefore, the Armenian
leadership should without fail put an end to this.

Mammadov Now the cease-fire regime has been breached in Qazax District,
some 200-300 kilometers from Nagornyy Karabakh. This was a result
of Armenia’s false and notorious policy. I would like to reiterate
that we have informed all interested states and organizations, such
as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, of this.

Correspondent Azerbaijan’s position on the problem is constructive. It
is ready for negotiations. Mammadov said that Yerevan should not have
breached the cease-fire regime.

Ayaz Mirzayev, Ibrahim Telmanoglu for ANS.

The Halifax Daily News (Nova Scotia)
June 20, 2004 Sunday

New faces, new Halifax;

With the multicultural fest in full swing, The Daily News’s Shaune
MacKinlay looks at our city’s changing face

More than 40,000 people are expected to visit Dartmouth’s waterfront
before today is done to take in performances by Armenian folk dancers
and Middle Eastern belly dancers, eat Ugandan goat stew or Jamaican
patties or enjoy a beer with people from around the globe who now
call Halifax home.

On this 20th anniversary of the Nova Scotia Multicultural Festival,
Halifax is a city whose face is changing.

“What we are mostly now seeing is immigration from Asia, Africa, the
Caribbean, South America, all what we call visible minorities, so we
will be seeing more diversity by just looking at people, not even
hearing them,” said Multicultural Association of Nova Scotia
president Barbara Campbell.

Arabic speakers now outnumber French speakers, Campbell said.

Yet despite the growing number of cultures represented, Halifax is
not the international mosaic it could be.

A look back at Halifax immigration numbers over the past 30 years
reveals a fairly flat line, with a burst of activity in the 1990s.
Between 1991 and 2001, 7,505 immigrants came to the city, compared
with 4,470 between 1981 and 1990, according to Statistics Canada.

Unlike Toronto, where 43.7 per cent of the population identified
themselves as foreign-born in the last census, only 6.9 per cent of
Haligonians were immigrants.

Despite Nova Scotia’s reputation for warm welcomes, people in the
province don’t always greet visible-minority immigrants with open
arms, Campbell said.

“People are afraid to open up; they really don’t know much about
them,” she said.

Jerald Premanath, 40, came to Nova Scotia in 1984. After a short
return to his native Sri Lanka and a two-year stint in Toronto,
Premanath now proudly

“Now, a lot of people on the street you see are from different
countries,” he said Friday at the festival, sporting an I Am Canadian
hat and a Halifax T-shirt.

Premanath’s friends thought he was “crazy” to come to Nova Scotia, he
said.

“We have to do some publicity about this area, and bring some people
over here,” he said. “Once they get here I know they will never go
back.”

Tana Mutasigh, 28, from Uganda, moved with his family to Halifax more
than a decade ago.

“I don’t think there’s enough support for people coming here from
different places, so they always end up going to Toronto,” he said.
“I’ve known a lot of newcomers here who can’t find jobs, but they go
to Toronto and find jobs.”

It’s not easy to draw immigrants. Without a critical mass, Halifax
can’t support the kinds of ethnic communities that make Toronto such
a draw. Indeed, our only China Town is a restaurant.

It takes people to draw people, said Ron Heisler, a federal
immigration director for the Atlantic region. Heisler is on loan to
the province this year to help draft a plan to attract immigrants to
Nova Scotia and make them want to stay.

“There hasn’t been a real concerted and co-ordinated effort on how to
deal with immigration,” Heisler said.

“They recognized that, and they want to develop options for cabinet
on how to do this.”

It’s about more than enhancing the province’s cultural life: Nova
Scotia needs immigrants.

By as early as 2006, Heisler said, deaths will begin to exceed births
in the province.

“Without in-migration from other provinces, or immigration from
outside, our population is going to continue to decline, but it’s
also going to continue to get older,” he said.

With fewer young people and more elderly Nova Scotians, Heisler said,
all indications are that the province will face serious labour
shortages, which will be felt sooner in Halifax.

Anyone who thinks new immigrants are a drain on the province needs
only talk to Heisler.

“Our statistics show that the Nova Scotia immigrant population has a
lower unemployment rate, they earn more, they earn less of their
money in government transfers or payouts, they have higher degrees of
university education, much higher levels of entrepreneurship and have
management skill occupations,” he said.

It will take more than one level of government to make the province a
place where newcomers want to put down roots, he said. They need
meaningful employment, help learning English, and welcoming schools.
Campbell agreed.

“It’s a matter of us, the residents here, taking time to speak, to
reach out, to talk to them, to find out who they are, what they’re
all about,” Campbell said. “It’s up to us to make the first step, to
welcome them.”

[email protected]

WHERE HALIGONIANS HAVE COME FROM CALLS HALIFAX HOME. This city is
home to 26,335 immigrants and non-permanent residents from more than
130 countries. Here’s where they come from:

United Kingdom – 5,875
United States – 3,655
Lebanon – 1,165
Germany – 1,010
China – 990
India – 920
Kuwait – 785
Netherlands – 590
Poland – 590
Greece – 585
Viet Nam – 475
Hong Kong – 445
Italy – 410
Philippines – 405
South Korea – 335
France – 305
Saudi Arabia – 290
Egypt – 260
Yugoslavia – 260
Ireland, Republic of – 240
Iran – 225
Russian Federation – 220
United Arab Emirates – 215
Pakistan – 200
Iraq – 190
Sri Lanka – 185
Portugal – 180
Palestine/West Bank/Gaza Strip – 170
Trinidad and Tobago – 155
Syria – 150
Taiwan – 150
Australia – 145
Guyana – 140
Japan – 140
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 130
Nigeria – 125
Czech Republic – 120
New Zealand – 120
Croatia – 115
Turkey – 115
Denmark – 110
Jordan – 110
South Africa – 110
Belgium – 105
Hungary – 105
Sierra Leone – 105
Jamaica – 100
Ethiopia – 95
Kenya – 95
Brazil – 90
Cuba – 90
Malaysia – 90
Mexico – 90
Romania – 90
Barbados – 85
Honduras – 85
Austria – 80
Bermuda – 75
Sudan – 75
Sweden – 70
Afghanistan – 65
Thailand – 60
Zimbabwe – 60
Ukraine – 55
Antigua and Barbuda – 50
Congo – 50
Colombia – 45
Ghana – 45
Norway – 45
Saint Lucia – 45
Spain – 45
Saint Pierre and Miquelon – 40
Slovakia – 40
Qatar – 40
Czechoslovakia (former) – 35
Singapore – 35
Switzerland – 35
Chile – 30
Dominican Republic – 30
Estonia – 30
Israel – 30
Oman – 30
Peru – 30
Uganda – 30
Bulgaria – 25
El Salvador – 25
Guatemala – 25
Haiti – 25
Latvia – 25
Liberia – 25
Zambia – 25
Argentina – 20
Bahamas – 20
Bahrain – 20
Myanmar – 20
Slovenia – 20
Somalia – 20
Tanzania – 20
Venezuela – 20
Yemen – 20
Algeria – 15
Cambodia – 15
Finland – 15
Indonesia – 15
Libya – 15
Nicaragua – 15
Albania – 10
Angola – 10
Anguilla – 10
Bangladesh – 10
Bolivia – 10
Botswana – 10
Burundi – 10
Chad – 10
Cyprus – 10
Dominica – 10
Eritrea – 10
Grenada – 10
Kazakhstan – 10
Lithuania – 10
Madagascar – 10
Mauritius – 10
Moldova – 10
Montserrat – 10
Morocco – 10
Namibia – 10
Netherlands Antilles – 10
North Korea – 10
Saint Vincent, Grenadines – 10
Togo – 10
Tunisia – 10
Uruguay – 10
U.S.S.R. (former) – 10
*source: 2001 census data
GRAPHIC: TASTING NEW CULTURES: English-language students (from left)
yo Yeon Park from Korea, Hae Ryen Lee, from Korea, Elsa Pacheco Luis
from Mexico, and Kwang Hee Lee, from Korea, enjoy Korean food at the
multicultural festival in Dartmouth. The group members study English
together at a language school just across from Alderney Landing in
Dartmouth.; STEWS UP! Tana Mutasigh serves up Uganda style goat stew
at the multicultural festival in Dartmouth.

Kabardino-Balkaria marks Aznavour’s 80th birthday
By Marina Chernysheva

ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 20, 2004 Sunday 1:27 PM Eastern Time

NALCHIK, June 20 — The Culture Fund of Kabardino-Balkaria had a
party marking the 80th birthday of singer Charles Aznavour on Sunday.

Representatives of 12 cultural and ethnic associations of the republic
were invited to attend the party by the republican organization of
the Russian Armenian Union.

More than 5,000 Armenians live in Kabardino-Balkaria nowadays, head
of the Armenian community of Kabardino-Balkaria Zherar Ioannesyan said.

Strongest players, Iranian underdogs take wins in opening round of FIDE championships
by MAHMOUD KASSEM; Associated Press Writer

Associated Press Worldstream
June 19, 2004 Saturday

TRIPOLI, Libya — The two strongest players in the World Chess
Federation championships glided through the first games of round
one Saturday with solid wins, while two Iranian underdogs clinched
surprise victories against well-respected grandmasters.

Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov, seeded No. 1 in the tournament and fifth
in the world, beat Libyan outsider Tarik Abulhul, ranked 128 in the
tournament, in 41 moves.

England’s Michael Adams, world No. 8 and second seed in the tournament,
thrashed his Libyan opponent, Hussein Asabri, in an Anti-Berlin line
in 35 moves.

However, the biggest upset of the event came from the Iranian
contingent. Morteza Mahjoob, ranked 115 in the tournament, beat Zurab
Azmaiparashvili of Georgia even though the 44-year-old grandmaster
was playing his favorite line, the Pirc defense.

Azmaiparashvili was ranked 14 in the tournament.

“Today I am so happy,” Mahjoob told reporters after his match. “My
game was hard. I won in a hard position. … He made some not so
good moves.”

Mahjoob’s compatriot Ehsan Ghaem Maghami also displayed unexpected
prowess against Armenia’s Rafael Vaganian in a Queen’s Indian Defense
after offering his opponent a draw, which was declined.

Vanganian is ranked 37 in the tournament.

“The game was normal was for first 18 moves. I offered my opponent
draw but he tried to win and did some bad moves,” said Maghami,
ranked 92 out of the tournament’s 124 players.

The World Chess Federation, known by its French initials FIDE, kicked
off its Tripoli championship Saturday despite Libya’s refusal to
allow players from Israel and the absence of many top players.

Only two of FIDE’s top 10 were participating, apparently because many
players were angry that Garry Kasparov of Russia was to be allowed
to play the winner without having to go through qualifying rounds.

Libya, which is putting up the US$1.5 million in prize money for the
tournament, has been struggling to shake off its reputation as a rogue
state that sponsors terrorism and foments trouble around the world.

Welcoming the chess tournament and making a failed bid to host the
2010 soccer World Cup were seen as part of a campaign to clean up its
international image, but its refusal to bend on Israel show old ways
die hard.

Libya has been one of Israel’s harshest critics in the Arab world,
once hosting military bases for radical Palestinian groups. In the
mid-1990s, Libya expelled thousands of Palestinians in protest after
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat entered peace talks with Israel.

GEORGIAN-OSETIAN CRISIS

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 18, 2004

After the settlement of the Adzharian problem at the end of May Mikhail
Sahakashvili, pursuing his plan of restoring territorial integrity
of the country, undertook steps directed at the settlement of the
South-Osetian problem. Russian forces were deployed in the territory of
South Osia, according to the authorities, for the aim of prevention
of smuggling. And the minister of home affairs of Georgia Georgy
Bayramidzeh announced that the actions of the Russian peacemakers are
the evidence to the fact that not only the Tskhinvali separatists
but also the Russian “blue helmets” profit from smuggling. In his
turn the head public prosecutor of Georgia Irakli Okruashvili stated
that the times when Russian peacemakers dictated their will have
passed already. At the same time Mikhail Sahakashvili mentioned that
the government of Georgia has established good relationships with
Russia. Mentioning about his telephone talk with Putin president
Sahakashvili said, “We cooperate in a number of spheres, including
struggle against terrorism,” and emphasized that he considers the
present situation as willful actions of the local soldiers. At the
same time he added that after they had received guarantees that they
would not touch their block-posts he decided to withdraw the main units
and return to Tbilisi. The Osetian side gives a different evaluation
to the situation. According to the president of South Osia Edward
Kokoyti, the Georgian party undertakes wide-scale actions directed
at destabilization of the situation in South Osia. “Connected with
the reluctance of Georgia to negotiate and implement the agreements
achieved, the South-Osetian party announces about breaking all types
of relationships with Georgia except for work in the joint working
group and the joint group of experts,” stated Kokoyti. He mentioned
that the relationships would not be resumed until Georgia provided
a number of conditions: adoption of the law on restitution, that is
restoring the rights of Georgian refugees. Second, the parliament of
Georgia must give a political evaluation to the events of 1989-1991
and recognize the genocide of the South-Osetian population. Third,
the Georgian party must pay indemnity which totals 34 billion roubles
by the prices of 1991, said Kokoyti. Russia also gave its official
opinion on these events. The department of information and press of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia mentions that the Georgian
party did not implement all the arrangements made during the meeting
of the co-chairman of the Joint Control Commission in Tskhinvali on
June 2. So far the Georgian military units have not been withdrawn
from the Georgian-Osetian conflict area which are there without the
consent of the Joint Control Commission. The Russian party as well,
in the face of the first vice minister of Russia Valeria Loshinina
expressed serious anxiety to the ambassador of the USA in Russia in
reference to the fact that during the diversionary actions in South
Osia the military units trained within the framework of the American
programs of military cooperation with Georgia were used. It should be
mentioned that as formerly for Mikhail Sahakashvili the relationships
with Russia are very important. He announced that Georgia does not
intend taking hasty actions for the region of Tskhinvali (South Osia)
in this context and does not plan any concrete steps for the upcoming
month. In the conflict area against the background of deployment
of Georgian forces, which aggravated the situation, the visits of
ministers and officials of other ranks to South Osia have become
rather frequent. The governor personally took building materials to
that country, the vice minister of building wearing a white shirt
and a tie builds a road, the minister of education himself brings
computers, and the minister of sport brings football players to
play with the “village team”, writes the Russian news agency Regnum.
Accusations are made by the Georgian party as well. The head of the
committee on defence and national security of the Georgian parliament
Givi Targamadzeh announced that Russia brought 150 cars with forces,
weapon and ammunition to the territory of South Osia. According to him,
among them 120 are citizens of South Osia. In his turn the leader
of South Osia denied these news. At the same time Edward Kokoyti
arrived in Moscow with the request to join the Republic of South
Osia to the Russian Federation. The leader of Osia intends extending
the document to the Federal Duma of Russia and president Putin. The
message contains an appeal of creating unified Osia within the Russian
Federation. By the way, after the aggravation of the situation in
South Osia the leaders of this republic openly declare that there are
forces, especially in the other non-recognized republics, which will
aid Osia in case of threat of military aggression. It was mentioned
that there are certain agreements among these republics. In this
announcement the names of Abkhazia and Transdnestrie are mentioned
but not of Karabakh. The minister of foreign affairs of South Osia
Murad Jioev mentioned in his interview to the agency Regnum, “We are
in close cooperation with Karabakh, mainly in the political sphere,
which is first of all manifested in the relationships between the
foreign ministries of our republics. Being separate from the point
of view of territory hinders economic cooperation although we have
common economic interests with Karabakh. Unfortunately no top level
meetings have been organized between our republics but there is always
assistance through letters, telephone and other means, exchange of
delegations takes place.”

NAIRA HAYRUMIAN

Fortune
Jun. 28, 2004 Issue

PERSONAL FORTUNE: TRAVEL
Insider’s City Guide: Sony Pictures’s Amy Pascal on L.A.
The chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group has
lived in L.A. all her life.

“The best roast chicken is at Zankou Chicken [5065 West Sunset
Boulevard, 323-665-7842]. It’s a little Armenian place in a strip
mall in a really funky part of town – in deep, dark Hollywood, the
part where most people don’t roam. But it has the greatest chicken
ever. And I’ve had roast chicken everywhere, including restaurants all
over Paris. It’s so spicy. Make sure you order it with extra garlic
sauce – whipped sauce in those little paper cups. The chicken comes
in a plastic basket with pita bread and the best hummus.

“The best coffee place around is Urth Café [8565 Melrose Avenue,
310-659-0628] in West Hollywood. They have the thickest, thickest,
thickest milky foam on their cappuccino. It’s the kind of place where
you’ll run into Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal and their dogs. It’s
really crowded, but you can sit outside for hours and read.”
From: Baghdasarian

* Harrison stays focused on Abelyan, not record books
* Boxing: Harrison faces easy fight before brutal talks
* Harrison Too Hot For Abelyan
* Harrison Retains Title In Three
* World Championship Boxing: Harrison V Abelyan, Braehead Top Man Watt
* Harrison retains WBO title
* Harrison retains title
* Three and easy for Harrison
* Harrison blows away challenger

***************************************************************************
Harrison stays focused on Abelyan, not record books
STEPHEN HALLIDAY

The Scotsman – United Kingdom
Jun 19, 2004

HISTORY beckons Scott Harrison at the Braehead Arena tonight. The priority
for Scotland’s WBO featherweight champion, however, is simply to ensure his
ambition to become his country’s most successful boxer of all time does not become
a thing of the past.

There is undoubted danger in Harrison’s mandatory defence of his title
against William Abelyan. Promoters Sports Network, who have packaged the fight as
‘Risky Business’, have made no secret of the fact they would have preferred to
avoid the American southpaw as they attempt to steer Harrison towards more
lucrative and career-defining contests.

With no rematch clause in the contract, the Cambuslang man simply cannot
afford to suffer another loss in the manner of his shock points defeat to Manuel
Medina last July which he was able to emphatically avenge four months later.

Since then, Harrison has stopped Colombian Walter Estrada, a late replacement
for Abelyan who called off injured from the originally-scheduled meeting in
March, to score his fourth victory in five world-title fights. If he can
overcome his Armenian-born challenger tonight, Harrison will join Jim Watt in the
record books for the most successful world championship contests by a Scottish
boxer.

Watt, who lifted the WBC lightweight title with a 12th-round stoppage of
Alfredo Pitalua in April 1979 and defended the belt four times before losing to
the brilliant Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello in June 1981, will be ringside tonight
in his role as Sky Sports’ most cogent boxing analyst.

He is willing his compatriot to succeed, unfazed by the apparent resentment
towards him from both the champion and his father and trainer Peter Harrison in
the wake of Watt’s criticism of the performance last time out against
Estrada.

Despite Harrison becoming the first man to stop the tricky Colombian
southpaw, an achievement this correspondent believes did not earn him enough credit,
Watt felt there were dangerous flaws in the 26-year-old’s display which could
be exploited by a better opponent.

“I know the Harrison family aren’t too happy with me,” says Watt, “but my
honest view was that it was a bad performance against Estrada. Although Scott was
never in danger of losing, he got hit with far too many silly punches in the
first three rounds.

“I’m sorry if Scott and his dad are upset at what I said, but my job is to
call it as I see it. I can’t sit at ringside and ignore the evidence of my own
eyes just because Scott is Scottish. No-one has given him more praise than I
have since he started boxing on Sky and no-one wants him to keep winning more
than I do.”

To keep winning tonight, Harrison must solve the puzzle that is 25-year-old
Abelyan, the North American champion who has lost just four of his 28 fights
since turning professional six years ago. He is unbeaten since suffering a
first-round loss to Victor Polo in January 2000, when he cited a stomach bug as the
reason.

Nonetheless, as Polo later lost to Julio Pablo Chacon, the Argentine
dethroned by Harrison when he became champion in October 2002, it would appear to be
an encouraging form line for the Scot.

However, in reeling off 13 consecutive wins since the Polo defeat, including
an impressive points success over former WBC champion Guty Espadas, Abelyan
has earned his world-title shot and a reputation as someone capable of making
the best fighters look bad.

Jim Brady, the acerbic American correspondent of Boxing News, said after
Abelyan’s points win over veteran former WBA super-bantamweight champion Jesus
Salud in April 2002 that he “moved so much, they should have had a lap counter in
the ring”.

It is an indication of Abelyan’s elusive style, one which Brady claims is
“death at the box office”. When he knocked out Orlando Soto in Las Vegas to win
the North American title four months later, Brady was moved to observe “he has
a style only a mother could love, but then she probably doesn’t have to pay to
get in”.

Harrison, who weighed in four ounces inside the nine stone limit yesterday,
two ounces heavier than Abelyan, has no doubts his challenger will be unable to
avoid him for 12 rounds.

“He’s awkward, he jumps in and out,” said Harrison, “but I’m in perfect shape
and I will get to him. He doesn’t like to get hit to the body and there are
other weaknesses we have noticed. I just want to get this guy out of the way,
then move on to unify the belts.”

Watt, while anticipating a difficult night for Harrison, is confident he will
be joined in the record books by his fellow Glaswegian by the end of the
night. “Abelyan’s a good fighter, can adopt different styles and will try and mess
Scott about,” said Watt. “Scott has all the physical advantages, though and
as long as he controls the pace of the fight, I see him winning well on
points.”

I believe Harrison, as intensely motivated as he has ever been, will force a
stoppage somewhere around the tenth round.

* Willie Limond weighed in four ounces inside the super-featherweight limit
for his clash with French champion Youssef Djibaba for the vacant European
Union title. Live coverage of both fights from Braehead begins at 8pm on Sky
Sports 2.

* Audley Harrison defends his WBF heavyweight title tonight against Poland’s
Tomasz Bonin at Alexandra Palace in the last fight of his contract with the
BBC.

***************************************************************************
Boxing: Harrison faces easy fight before brutal talks
By JOHN RAWLING

The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jun 19, 2004

Audley Harrison is expected to record the 17th win of his undefeated
professional career against Poland’s Tomasz Bonin at the Alexandra Palace tonight,
then resume negotiations with the promoter Frank Warren over a challenge against
the British and Commonwealth champion Matt Skelton.

Harrison hopes for an equal split in the profits, and has said: “I want to
win the British title. Matt Skelton is a York Hall [Bethnal Green] fighter, but
Audley Harrison brings more to the table than that. I am asking for 50-50,
which I think is fair and reasonable.”

In a letter to Warren, Harrison suggested a joint operation between his own
A-Force promotions and Warren’s Sports Network, but Warren angrily rejected the
offer last night.

“With respect, who the hell does Audley Harrison think he is?” he said. “He
has just been dropped by the BBC and he has no television deal with Sky or any
other company.

“I have the TV contract and Matt Skelton is the champion. Sky have no
interest in signing Harrison so if he wants the fight he can take it on Matt
Skelton’s terms. I am in the business of looking after him, not Harrison.”

Harrison, 32, has a huge height and reach advantage over Bonin, 26. The
Pole’s record, undefeated in 26 fights, seems impressive, but closer inspection
shows his opponents have been dismal and Harrison should retain the
little-regarded WBF title with few problems.

An altogether more meaningful contest at the Braehead Arena in Renfrew pits
the WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison against his mandatory challenger,
William Abelyan, a US-based Armenian. The size and strength of Harrison, the
Scottish title-holder, could be decisive.

The world light-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu has been stripped of his
WBA belt after saying he would fight Sharmba Mitchell for the IBF belt in
November instead of the WBA challenger Vivien Harris. Harris could now face
Britain’s Ricky Hatton with the WBA title at stake.

***************************************************************************
HARRISON TOO HOT FOR ABELYAN

SkySports, UK
June 19, 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO featherweight title with a ruthless
third round stoppage of Armenian William Abelyan at the Braehead
Arena in Glasgow.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, was relentless
from the first bell and pursued the WBO number one -ranked challenger
all around the ring.

The first couple of rounds allowed Harrison to find his range against
the Armenian who never showed the confidence inside the ring that he
had displayed in the pre-fight hype.

In the third round Harrison stunned the challenger with a ferocious
right hand and from then on there was no way back for Abelyan who
dropped to the canvas.

The Cambuslang fighter had the challenger down on the floor twice
more before the referee stepped in to save him from further
punishment.

The 22nd win from 25 contests was arguably the most impressive
display of the 26-year-old’s career and sets him up for a big-money
fight against one of the leading men in the division.

***************************************************************************
HARRISON RETAINS TITLE IN THREE

sportinglife.com, UK
June 19, 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO world featherweight title in
impressive style with a third-round stoppage over American-based
Armenian William Abelyan at Braehead Arena.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, came out with all
guns blazing right from the first bell and devastated the challenger
with a stunning display of powerful and aggressive boxing.

After he had dropped Abelyan for the third time in the third round
with some terrific rights and lefts the referee had no option but to
step in and prevent Abelyan from taking any further punishment.

It was a terrific victory for the Cambuslang fighter who silenced the
challenger after being criticised heavily by him during the normal
pre-fight hype.

The signs that Harrison was in the mood to do a job on the challenger
came right from the first bell as he emerged from his stool and
connected with a couple of good left hooks and a right uppercut which
had Abelyan already struggling.

The challenger composed himself by the end of the first round but the
second bell again saw Harrison come out aggressively.

A flurry of punches midway through the round almost had Abelyan in
trouble against the ropes but to his credit the Armenian again worked
himself out of trouble and began to throw the occasional left hook.

But the third round was just a devastating display of boxing by the
Scotsman. A right hand from Harrison had Abelyan on the floor and
having to take a standing count of eight.

Harrison followed up with a concentrated attack which again had
Abelyan down on the canvas.

The Armenian was somehow allowed to get up for a third time and have
a go but when Harrison continued his savage attack the referee could
only step in and save Abelyan from further punishment.

It was a terrific way to end the fight for Harrison who again put on
a terrific display for his loyal fans who cheered him from the
rafters as he held his belt aloft.

The challenger looked stunned as he sat on his stool before making an
ignominious exit from the ring.

***************************************************************************
World Championship Boxing: Harrison V Abelyan, Braehead Top Man Watt
by EWING GRAHAME

The Mirror
June 19, 2004, Saturday

CREDIT: Scott Harrison has come in for praise from Scottish legend
Jim Watt

VICTORY for Scott Harrison tonight will see him equal boxing legend
Jim Watt’s record of five successful world title fights, a feat which
has stood unchallenged for 24 years.

Watt, who succeeded Hall of Famer Roberto Duran as the WBC
lightweight champion, retired after his first unsuccessful defence, a
points loss to the great Alexis Arguello, and is currently Sky TV’s
top ringside analyst.

He’ll be at the Braehead Arena tonight to see if the Cambuslang man
can see off William Abelyan and take his place alongside him in the
history books.

Watt was at the receiving end from Team Harrison after criticising
the WBO featherweight champion for a below-par start to his last bout
against Walter Estrada but he insists he won’t be pulling any punches
tonight if Scott falls below the standards he’s set for himself.

“He must be doing something right to have got to this stage,” said
the 55-year-old. “Sadly for Scott there have been so many changes in
boxing since my time. Back then five defences would have established
you as the world’s No.1, whereas now you’re just one of four.

“He has proved he’s one of the best in one of the toughest divisions
around and, assuming he gets past Abelyan, his promoters should be
looking for the real big fights for him.

“This is a business as well as a sport but it was interesting to hear
Scott and Abelyan talk the other day. All Abelyan spoke about was
money, while Scott talked about the glory involved in being champion
and I believe he’s genuinely interested in that as well and that
could tip the scales in his favour here.

“Don’t forget that this is a proper world title, the one Naz held
(Prince Naseem Hamed made 15 successful defences). This is a good
match-up because Abelyan is good, but Scott doesn’t duck anyone.

“Abelyan can do different things. He’ll adapt to Scott’s style and
try to mess him about.”

However, assuming Harrison hasn’t been distracted by his disrupted
build-up to this particular bout – originally scheduled for May 29,
it was postponed when the Scot suffered an arm injury in training and
he then spent two days in court before being found not guilty on an
assault charge – he should prove too much for the Armenian.

While Abelyan has moved up to reach this division, Harrison is
already speaking about exiting it and heading to super-featherweight
or lightweight.

“Abelyan could make super- bantamweight,” Watt pointed out, “while
Scott will probably be around 10 stones (light-welterweight) on the
night of the fight. Much will depend on whether Scott dictates the
tempo of the bout because if he does I can’t see Abelyan lasting if
the pace is as intense as Scott has been known to make it.”

Watt, as you might expect, remains unfazed and unapologetic about the
furore his negative comments on Harrison’s performance against
Estrada caused in the Scot’s camp.

As far as he’s concerned, his role nowadays is as commentator, not
cheerleader, and he mounted a stout rebuttal of Harrison’s
complaints.

“For me it was a bad Harrison performance against Estrada, it’s as
simple as that,” he said. “I know the Harrison family weren’t happy
with what I said but no-one has given Scott more praise than I have
over the years.

“When I’m at ringside I say what I see and, for my money, Scott was
in a lot of trouble for the first three rounds against Estrada. Don’t
get me wrong – he was never in danger of losing but he took a lot of
punches he shouldn’t have.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t make those
observations. Anyway, if Scott was to sit down with me and watch
videos of his last six fights then I’m sure he’d agree that his
display against Estrada was his worst.

“I want him to do well, though, like everyone else.”

HEAD TO HEAD

Harrison record in World bouts

OCT 19, 2002 v Juan Pablo Chacon

(W points)

MAR 22, 2003 v Wayne McCullough (W points)

JULY 12, 2003 v Manuel Medina (L points)

NOV 29, 03 v Medina (W, rd 11)

MAR 6, 04 v Walter Estrada (W tko)

JUNE 19, 04 v William Abelyan (?)Watt record in World bouts

APRIL 17, 1979 v Alfredo Pitalua (W, rsf rd 12)

NOV 3, 1979 v Roberto Vasquez (W, rsf rd 9)

MARCH 14, 1980 v Charlie Nash (W, rsf rd 4)

JUNE 7, 1980 v Howard Davis (W, pts)

NOV 1, 1980 v Sean O’Grady (W, rsf rd 12)FIGHT ODDS: Harrison 4-9,
Abelyan 13-4, Draw 20-1TV TIMES Sky Sports 2 (8pm)

***************************************************************************
Harrison retains WBO title

Ireland Online, Ireland
June 19 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO world featherweight title with an
impressive third round win over William Abelyan at Braehead Arena.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, was relentless
from the first bell and pursued the challenger all around the ring.

The first couple of rounds allowed Harrison to find his range against
the Armenian who never showed the confidence inside the ring that he
had displayed in the pre-fight hype.

In the third round Harrison stunned the challenger with a ferocious
right hand and from then on there was no way back for Abelyan who
dropped to the canvas.

Harrison had the challenger down on the floor twice more before the
referee stepped in to save him from further punishment.

***************************************************************************
Harrison retains title

BBC Sport, UK
June 20 2004

Harrison had little trouble beating Abelyan on Saturday
Scott Harrison successfully defended his WBO world featherweight
title with a third-round stoppage over American-based Armenian
William Abelyan.
The Scotsman came out with all guns blazing from the first bell at
Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

After dropping Abelyan for the third time in the third round, the
referee stepped in to prevent his challenger from taking any further
punishment.

It was the Cambuslang fighter’s sixth defence of his title.

A euphoric Harrison hailed the win as his greatest performance.

It just came off for me on the night

Scott Harrison
“It was the best I’ve boxed so far,” said Harrison.

“After I caught him with the right hand the first time, it was just a
matter of time before it was stopped.

“Scotland aren’t doing too well in sport at the moment so I’m going
to try and go as far as I can and put on a show for them time and
again.”

Harrison, who had refused to predict a knockout or stoppage during
the pre-fight hype, admitted he was unconcerned about how he retained
his title.

He said: “I knew it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds but you didn’t know
if it was going to go three rounds or 12 rounds or whatever.

“Sometimes it takes time but in this fight he went early but that’s
boxing for you. It just came off for me on the night.”

***************************************************************************
Three and easy for Harrison

Sunday Herald, UK
June 20 2004

Stewart Fisher watches as the fired-up Scot dispatches challenger
with minimum of fuss

THIS was one early stoppage about which the crowd could have no
complaints. Scott Harrison’s mandatory second defence of his second
spell as WBO featherweight champion had been billed “Risky Business”,
in recognition of the fact his opponent, William Abelyan, arrived in
Glasgow as the organisation’s No 1 challenger, but the only risk at
Braehead Arena last night was the one to Abelyan’s health had this
contest been allowed to go any further.
Harrison, who only two weeks ago was fretting over allegations of
assaulting a man in a toilet cubicle of the Tower Bar in East
Kilbride, made good on his promise to take that aggression with him
into the ring. A flurry of vicious right-hand shots saw his
American/Armenian opponent subjected to two standing eight counts –
although WBO organisation rules make no provision for a standing
eight count – before the Brooklyn-based referee intervened to stop
the contest with just 1min 45secs of the third round having
transpired.

There was a fitting symmetry in the fact that on the night when
Harrison equalled Jim Watt’s record of six appearances in world title
bouts, and five victories, he should also finally put to rest
criticism which has followed him ever since his sluggish performance
against last-minute call-up Walter Estrada in March, the first
occasion when this twice delayed bout had been set to take place.

His opponent seemed to have a significant disadvantage in terms of
both height and build, and played to the Scot’s strengths with a
willingness to come out and fight, but this was surely the finest
stoppage of Harrison’s career. “I think this is the best of them
all,” the 26-year-old from Cambuslang said afterwards.

“Once I had caught him with that right hand it was just a matter of
time. I don’t really know if that is the best punch I have ever
thrown but it certainly felt good. Everything that has happened in
the last week has just made me more determined. I knew that if I
defended my title in brilliant fashion there was nothing that the
press could say about me.”

Harrison’s preparations for the fight had certainly been nothing if
not eventful. A new diet which allows him to take frosted cereal for
breakfast and sweets after training under the supervision of muscle
specialist Dr Niall Ferguson, of Glasgow University, had been
adopted, but he still boasted a fat content of 5.2%, as he weighed in
just two ounces more than the challenger. That was impressive enough,
given the fact that he had required to shuffle his workouts either
side of courtroom appearances. Having been subsequently found not
guilty, Harrison entered the ring in a state of righteous
indignation.

Abelyan, meanwhile, who left Yerevan at the age of eight to make a
new life in the US, came into the fight with 23 wins from his 28
bouts, and a hope that Harrison would have as much difficulties
against his southpaw stance as he had in the opening rounds of his
clash with Estrada. He had also been working with Manuel Medina, the
Mexican who stripped Harrison of his title and then lost it again,
but hadn’t fought for 14 months – as he cautiously preserved his
status as No 1 challenger.

Harrison took the early initiative – only once getting caught off
guard by a right hand from his opponent, and the second round also
belonged to Harrison. The third, on the other hand, is likely to give
Abelyan nightmares for a while now. A combination of jabs put Abelyan
on the canvas early on, before a thunderous right hook which made the
challenger’s knees turn to jelly made the outcome a formality.
Abelyan was game enough to insist on getting back into the action,
but in retrospect it was a mistake. By that point, the fight had
become a mismatch.

Earlier on in the night, Willie Limond’s gradual, painstaking return
from being stopped by Alex Arthur for the British superfeatherweight
title last July was put to an examination by French champion Youssef
Djibaba. For the first seven rounds of the contest for the vacant EU
belt, the man from Marseille spoiled the 25-year-old Glasgow
fighter’s momentum enough to suggest that only the second defeat on
his record was not a complete impossibility, but the eighth round saw
Limond in an altogether better light, as a couple of clubbing right
hands had the Frenchman in real trouble.

Although a cut above Limond’s left eye had developed by the time of
the final bell, he coasted the rest of the way to win a comfortable,
unanimous points decision.

The highlight on the rest of the undercard was another energetic
workout from Edinburgh light-welterweight Gary Young. The 21-year-old
duly reached double figures on his unbeaten record, with a clear-cut
points decision over Sutton-in-Ashfield’s David Kirk. Barry
“Braveheart” Hughes, of Glasgow, stopped Nottingham’s Nigel Senior in
the third round of a lightweight contest, and it took only two rounds
for Glasgow welterweight Colin McNeil to knock Andre Ivanov – who,
despite the name, is another Nottingham fighter – through the ropes.
There was no such joy for Scott Flynn, who in his first professional
fight, was dumped on the canvas three times and suffered a punctured
eardrum after a battering from Pontypridd bantamweight Henry Janes.

Great Scott
Harrison ‘best in Britain’ after emphatic third-round knockout

SCOTT Harrison retained his WBO World Featherweight title at
Glasgow’s Braehead Arena in emphatic fashion last night and in the
process wrote his name into the history books alongside the legendary
Jim Watt.
The 26-year-old stopped challenger William Abelyan in the third round
to equal Watt’s record of five successful world title fights.
Harrison put the American-based Armenian on the canvas twice in the
round, before the referee stepped in to end the onslaught.

“I believe I’m the best featherweight in the world right now, it is
just about proving it. That was all about controlled aggression,”
said the Cambuslang fighter after retaining his belt in front of his
adoring fans.

“I’m looking for a unification fight, I’m ready for anyone. I want
another title at this weight and then I’ll move up a weight and claim
another world title.”

Frank Maloney immediately declared his fighter was not only the best
boxer in Scotland, but now No 1 in Britain. “He has gone to the top
of the pile. Tonight Scott made a statement to the rest of the
world,” said the manager who will now size up the options to make
Harrison’s dream come true.

“I think a fight between Scott and Injin Chi would be great and the
fans would love it,” said Maloney, pointing to a possible match-up
with the WBC champion.

Wherever Harrison’s career takes him now, he will travel with the
confidence of coming through one of the most difficult periods of his
career and producing his best performance at the end of it.

It is less than a fortnight since the Cambuslang-based boxer was in
court facing assault charges which could have ended his career. When
he was found not guilty of assaulting his fiancee’s former boyfriend
he immediately promised to channel his frustrations and energies into
last night’s mandatory defence.

And Abelyan was no mug. Even the normally bullish Maloney had
conceded before the fight that the dangerous southpaw was an opponent
he would rather Harrison had avoided.

But last night any worries were soon laid to rest. Harrison started
brightly against the WBO’s No 1 contender, his greater strength
evident as he caught the smaller man several times in the opening
exchanges. But Abelyan responded in the second round, outboxing the
champ-ion with fast, neat jabs which suggested the contest might
extend deep into the scheduled 12 rounds.

However Harrison was having none of that and the third round
demonstrated the power which has already made a two-times world
champion at the nine-stone weight limit. With one minute 45 seconds
on the clock, and Abelyan having already crumpled to the canvas twice
under the weight of the Scot’s punches, the referee stepped in to
spark wild scenes of celebration.

“I worked long and hard on my straight right in training and it came
off tonight,” said the man with the broadest smile of all, the WBO
belt still safely in his possession.

***************************************************************************
Harrison blows away challenger
BY MARTIN HANNAN, AT BRAEHEAD

The Scotsman, UK
June 20 2004

WITH a quite awesome performance which the fighter himself confirmed
as his best ever, Scott Harrison last night retained his WBO
featherweight championship of the world by stopping dangerous
opponent William Abelyan in the third round.

Harrison entered the ring with an intensity in his eyes that showed
he was desperate to exorcise the demons of the past few months in
which the fight has twice been postponed and the champion himself
faced an assault charge of which he was cleared only ten days ago.

How Abelyan paid for all that frustration as he crumpled under a
withering attack from a boxer who moved on to a different level last
night. Make no mistake, this victory sends out a message to the
boxing world that Scotland’s world champion deserves to be ranked
among the finest fighters in the world.

He took on the No.1 contender in a mandatory defence and reduced him
to a shambling wreck inside seven minutes, 45 seconds of controlled
boxing.

Abelyan did threaten briefly in the second, and his southpaw stance
did appear awkward but when the first right hook of Harrison handed
flush on the challenger’s chin early in the third, it was not a
question of if but when the fight would be over.

Braehead Arena was not sold out last night, and coupled with
Harrison’s own magnificent performance, his promoter, Frank Warren,
and manager, Frank Maloney, now have no excuse but to give the
Glasgow boxing crowd the mega fight they and Harrison so clearly
deserve. It is likely to be against the WBC title holder, Injin Chi,
of Korea, the conqueror of Michael Brodie.

The fight began after the usual preliminaries which involved a
rousing chorus of Flower of Scotland, and as referee Samuel Veruet of
Brooklyn in New York gave his traditional lecture to the boxers, it
was already clear that Harrison was in a mood to take no prisoners.
He promptly proved that with a low blow which landed on Abelyan’s
belt after just a few seconds of the fight. The Armenian-born North
American champion gave one back, but it was Harrison who did all the
early scoring, with his range-finding senses in operation from the
off. The challenger is renowned as a skilful boxer but for some
reason he came to Glasgow intent on having a war with Harrison but
that simply played into the champion’s hands. Harrison admitted
afterwards that he was worried he might have to chase Abelyan all
night, but the contest did not turn out like that.

Harrison clearly won the first, but the second was much closer, and
you do not fight as many Mexicans as Abelyan has without learning
something, so it was no surprise that he caught Harrison with a
couple of rights.

Towards the end of the round, however, Harrison caught Abelyan with a
body shot, and the challenger, to his credit, responded with some
scoring punches.

Harrison made an explosive start to the third round. He cut down the
ring, which Abelyan had largely controlled in the second, and let go
a right hook that caught Abelyan square, and a further left-right
combination put the stunned American on the floor. The challenger did
well to rise quickly but took a full standing count of eight from the
referee.

Abelyan calls himself William the Conqueror but frankly at this point
he resembled King Canute trying to turn back the tide as Harrison
poured on the pressure. The challenger bravely tried to resist but
Harrison was in total command and let fly a series of hooks to head
and body which sent Abelyan back against the ropes. Harrison leapt
forward and a pinpoint straight left to the side of the jaw sent the
challenger hurtling face down on to the canvas.

There was no doubting his bravery as Abelyan rose to his feet but as
Harrison continued to inflict serious punishment referee Veruet took
a close look into Abelyan’s eyes before calling off the action.

An ecstatic crowd acclaimed the champion, and the statistics showed
that he had landed 48 punches, 38 of them to the head of Abelyan. It
was a remarkable amount of punishment to hand out in such a short
space of time and justified manager Maloney’s claim afterwards that
Harrison is the best fighter in Britain at the moment, better even
than Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe. “That was the best so far,” said
Harrison. “Once I caught him with the right hand it was just a matter
of time. I just couldn’t wait to go into the ring tonight, I was
choking to get in there and do a job. I was just pleased to do it for
the fans to have supported me.”

Earlier in the evening, Glasgow’s Willie Limond captured the vacant
European Union super featherweight championship with a controlled
performance against the awkward Frenchman, Yousef Djibaba. It was a
case of a slugger versus boxer, and Limond always had too much skill
for a fighter who was brave, fit, but very uncultured.

The two-times featherweight champion of France was cut in the second
round by Limond’s accurate jabs and as early as the fourth there was
an air of desperation about the Frenchman’s headlong rushes. They
were meat and drink to Limond who did nearly all the scoring from the
early rounds onwards and though Limond was often dragged down to
Djibaba’s level, he suddenly found a different gear in the eighth and
really rattled his opponent. In the penultimate round, Djibaba threw
caution to the wind and did bloody Limond’s nose but the Scot
survived the inaccurate bombs to pick off his opponent with accurate
jabs until the end of the tenth and final round.

All three judges scored the fight heavily in Limond’s favour.

Limond will surely now fight for the full European or even British
title, and also getting near the title stakes is Edinburgh’s Gary
Young, who convincingly out-pointed Englishman David Kirk in their
light welterweight contest. There were victories over English
opposition too for Glasgow lightweight Barry Hughes and welterweight
Collin McNeil.

It was a night when Scottish boxing was done proud above all by
Harrison. There is simply no limit now to what the man from
Cambuslang can achieve in the ring.

***************************************************************************
This compilation was contributed to by:
Katia Peltekian
Mihran Keheyian

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 19 2004

ARMENIANS EYE SOUTHERN OSETIA
[June 19, 2004, 15:44:25]

The Armenian society “Ararat” has been established in the center of
Southern Ossetia region of Georgia – Tskhenvali, AzerTAj correspondent
reported. According to leader of the society Stepan Yaralov, their
major goal is to popularize the Armenian language and expand cultural
ties.

S. Yaralov claims that the ruler of Armenia, representative of arshaks
house – tsar Asfagur, had founded Tsenvali in II century. The ancient
Armenian streets and churches evidence it.

He expressed his regret those new generations of Ossetins and Armenians
do not speak Armenian language. Because of Georgia-South Ossetia
conflict, economic crisis and information blockade many Armenians
quitted Tskhenvali. The main goal is to restore Armenian community
here and popularize Armenian language.

Be very afraid: There’s a term for every fear
By PAULA LaROCQUE / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News , TX
June 19 2004

The horror genre has a concept that seems far more laughable than
horrifying – the concept of the “Invisible Man.” I mean: An empty
suit – how scary is that? Yet terrified folks flee, shrieking:
Aiieee! There’s nothing there! Literally, running from nothing.

Only those afraid of everything would run from nothing, if you follow
me. And there is in fact such a fear – pantophobia, which means fear
of everything. Fear of nothing – unless it’s the kind of “nothing”
presented by the Invisible Man – also has a name. It’s hypophobia,
or the absence of fear.

Fear of everything and fear of nothing are equally irrational,
of course. And there’s a difference between a simple fear and
a full-blown phobia. But judging from the huge number of “phobia”
words, there’s much to fear.

A few better-known terrors are claustrophobia, agoraphobia,
ochlophobia, ophidiophobia, musophobia and brontophobia – more
commonly known as fear of closed spaces, open spaces, crowds, snakes,
mice and thunder.

Certain fears are so prevalent that popular culture capitalizes on
them. The 1990 film Arachnophobia took fear of spiders to a comic
extreme, for example. Acrophobia, or fear of heights, was a central
theme in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 movie Vertigo. Fear of heights
also afflicted British TV’s beloved Inspector Morse. Aviatophobia
lent novelist Erica Jong the richly symbolic title of her 1973 book,
Fear of Flying.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists many odd, even outlandish phobia
words. Such words also can be found in the Insomniac’s Dictionary of
the Outrageous, Odd, and Unusual by Paul Hellweg; Crazy English by
Richard Lederer; and Words at Play by O.V. Michaelsen.

For some, apparently, hell really is other people. Anthropophobia
is fear of people; androphobia is fear of men; gynephobia, fear of
women; pediophobia, children; parthenophobia; young girls; xenophobia,
strangers or foreigners.

But do we really need a word such as armenophobia? Is fear of Armenians
a viable category?

Some fears are understandable even if you don’t share them
– dentophobia, for example, fear of going to the dentist. Or
agrizoophobia (fear of wild animals), algophobia (pain), poinephobia
(punishment), pyrophobia (fire) and hematophobia (blood).

And a biggie, thanatophobia – fear of death.

One can understand policophobia (fear of the police) in certain
circumstances, and even more readily politicophobia (fear of
politicians). But blennophobia, alliumphobia and arachibutyrophobia ?
Fear of slime, of garlic, of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof
of the mouth?

There’s no shortage of curious phobias. Tridecaphobia, fear of the
number 13, is well-known. I was surprised to find we need such a word
as porphyrophobia – fear of the color purple – until I discovered
chromophobia, fear of color in general. There’s a word for those who
can’t stand prosperity – chrematophobia, fear of wealth – and another
for those afraid of getting good news – euphobia.

One group of phobias makes you wonder if folks have been reading too
much DaVinci Code. Paterophobia, for example – fear of the Fathers of
the early Church. Ecclesiophobia means fear of church; hagiophobia,
fear of holy things; and homilophobia, fear of sermons.

Hard on the heels of those phobias may be hadephobia, fear of hell.

Could Franklin D. Roosevelt have had phobophobia in mind when he said,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”? Phobophobia is fear
of fearing.

Wordsmiths have fears, too. Metrophobia, for example, is fear of
poetry. And don’t mention “Madam I’m Adam” to sufferers of aibohphobia,
fear of palindromes. (A palindrome is something that reads the same
backward as forward. Notice that the cleverly named aibohphobia is
a palindrome).

There’s even phobologophobia – a malady that could make reading this
column a nightmare. It means fear of phobia words.

Paula LaRocque, former Dallas Morning News writing coach, is author
of “The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well” and
“Championship Writing.” Send e-mail to plarocque @sbcglobal.net.

Live Music to Shatter Silence in Classical Iranian Film

Mehr News Agency, Iran
June 19 2004

TEHRAN, June 19 (MNA) — One of the earliest Iranian silent movies,
“Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” directed by the late filmmaker Avaness
Oganians, will be screened July 7 at the Film Museum of Iran. A
musical ensemble conducted by the renowned Iranian Armenian musician
Loris Tjeknavorian will play the background music. The screening is
being held as part of the seasonal exhibition of the museum entitled
“Christians in Iranian Cinema” and an Armenian pianist will also
perform during the program.

Produced in 1933, “Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” was the second film by
Oganians, who was an Armenian-Russian immigrant who later converted to
Islam. “Aabi & Rabi” starring Mohammad Zarrabi and Gholamali Sohrabi
was his first movie.

“Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” is the only film that has survived from the
early period of Iranian cinema. It was copied in 1977 by the director
of the Film Museum of Iran Jamal Omid. A screenplay of the film was
published on the centenary anniversary of Iranian cinema in 2000.
From: Baghdasarian