ARKADY GHUKASIAN CONTROLS SITUATION
Azg/AM
16 July 2004
Co-Chairs State in Stepanakert
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs arrived in Stepanakert on July 13. After a
break of six months this visit could hardly be a new step for the
settlement of the problem. The fact that the Co-Chairs met with NGO
representatives as well was the news about this visit.
After the meeting with Ashot Ghulian, NKR Foreign Minister, the
Co-Chairs met with NGO representatives. Hery Jackolin, French
Co-Chair, stated that the probability of a war is bigger, unless the
problem of the occupied territories exists.
Touching upon “New Neighbours” program, he said that if Armenia and
Azerbaijan fail to find the mutually acceptable settlement, they
wouldnâ=80=99t be included in that program. Minsk Group doesn’t have
the power to settle the conflict, so their goal is to contribute to
achieving the settlement that will be in the interests of both
sides. According to him, this can be achieved as a resultof mutual
concessions. The observation made by the head of NKR Refugee
Committee, that said that the status of the Armenians fled from
Azerbaijan and dwelling in NKR is always forgotten.
The Co-Chairs met with NKR President Arkady Ghukasian. During the
press conference after the meeting with the president the Co- Chairs
expressed satisfaction, emphasizing that Arkady Ghukasian controls the
situation verywell and the discussion with him was very fruitful. The
Co-Chairs said that Armenia and Azerbaijan becoming CE members have
undertaken certain commitments and the interest of the European
countries can be considered only within these frameworks. They said
that the EU has no special mission in the settlement issue, except
assisting Armenia and Azerbaijan, unless they miss the “New Neighbors”
program. As for the OSCE, the Minsk Group was founded under its
support and, naturally, it is interested in the settlement.
The journalist asked Stiven Mann about the reason of his appointment
as Co-Chair. He said that though he was engaged in the Caspian issues,
it doesn’t mean that the U.S. emphasizes the importance of oil factor
in the context of the settlement. Besides, he worked as a diplomat in
the USSR and Armenia and this experience conditioned his appointment
as a Co- Chair. The Co- Chairs said that there are no separate
American, Russian and French position and they act unanimously and all
the ideas are achieved by them all.
Yuri Merzliakov answered the question about NKR’s participation in the
negotiation process that there is a point in the OSCE decision that
allows the parties that ave signed the cease-fire agreement to
participate in the negotiations. On this ground NKR participated in
the negotiations till1997.The fact that NKR was left aside from the
negotiation process is not the fault of the Minsk group.
BY Kim Gabrielian, Stepanakert

“ARMENIA CONDUCTS DYNAMIC FOREIGN POLICY AND IS A SUCCESS”
Azg/AM
16 July 2004
The Employee of the Eurasian Center for Strategic Researches Testifies
to That
Azg informed in its previous issue under the title “Turkey Doesn’t
Intend to Reconsider Its Hostile Policy Towards Armenia” that the
Turkish government refused to be a presiding country at PACE in
2007. the information was based on the massage send by Harut
Sassounian, publisher of the Californian Currier that was published in
our newspaper.
Sasunian, considering the abovementioned decision of the Turkish
governmenta victory of the Armenian diplomats, conditions it by the
statement made by RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian on June 14 in
Washington, saying that Armenia will exercise its right for veto
against Turkey’s candidacy. He comes to the conclusion that “This
unexpected step means that the U.S. and Turkey have failed in their
attempts to exert pressure on Armenia.”
Let’s remind that Oskanian explained his statement saying that “We
can’t allow the chairmanship of a country at PACE that is a mediator
in the Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement, as the Chair has certain
rights and privileges that can be used against Armenia.” He not only
repeated this explanation but also added that “The country presiding
at PACE should have diplomatic relations with all the member-
countries,” on June 8 during the meeting with Yanesh Potochnik, EU
representative in Armenia.
It’s worth mentioning that these conclusions are affirmed in the
article by Hatem Jabbarlu, employee of Eurasian Center for Strategic
Researches, issued in Haberanaliz Internet newspaper on July 13
entitled “Armenian Obstacle for Turkey’s Presiding at PACE”. As the
Turkish leading newspapers didn’t comment on Oskanian’s statement, and
the center represented by Jabbarlu is a state structure, we want to
introduce the short variant of the article to your attention.
By Hakob Chaqrian
“Turkey was a candidate for chairmanship at PACE in 2007. The positive
changes made in the Turkish foreign police in the early 2000
contributed tothe creation of all the preconditions for that. But in
2004 articles on Armenia’s right for exercising veto against Turkey’s
candidacy appeared in the Armenian and Diaspora Press in the early
2004. RA Government and the state press didnâ=80=99t comment on that
issue, that is why the government tool advantage of the possibilities
of the independent press, being well aware that the comments of the
state bodies on the “veto” will cause a number of complications in the
foreign policy.
But on June 28-29 in the course of NATO Istanbul Summit Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian, meeting with the U.S. representatives, had
found the intention to exercise veto against Turkey’s candidacy for
PACE Chairmanship quite possible and conditioned that by the Turkish
policy conducted against Armenia.
This shows that besides the short-term and mid-term projects in the
foreign policy Armenia has elaborated long-term projects as well
against Turkey. The time showed that the people who in the 80-ies when
ASALA began acting spokeof the failure of this terrorist
structure. The main goal of ASALA was to state “Armenian Genocide” in
the agenda of the international publicity that was achieved, as a
result.
Moreover, when in 1987, when the issue of Turkey’s membership to
EUwasn’t even considered, the Armenian Diaspora managed to make the
European Parliament adopt a decision on the Armenian Genocide in
Turkey. At present, RA Government and the Armenian Diaspora,
cooperation, particularly with the French Socialistic Party, will
spare no efforts to prevent Turkey’s membership to EU, putting forward
the issue of the so-called genocide as a precondition for that.
Notwithstanding the fact that the population and the area of Armenia
is small in the South Caucasus, its serious economic problems, it
condacts more dynamic policy and acheives success against Turkey and
Azerbaijan, in particular. Armenia is capable of unfolding propaganda
against Turkey and Azerbaijan.”

ARMENIAN STUDENT DONATES BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT TO ITALIAN CHILD
YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS: A five-year Italian child with
leukemia was saved after her genetic make up matched with that of a 22
year old Armenian student, Vahe Vardanian, who donated a bone marrow
transplant to the child.The operation was performed on July 6 in
Italy, but the experts say the result will be evident only in a year.
Vahe joined the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry last year Its
mission is to save precious Armenian lives by creating a bone marrow
donor registry which, with the volunteer recruitment of Armenian
donors worldwide, will increase the pool of existing international
donors and thus give a chance of survival to patients with leukemia or
other blood related diseases. Although Armenians are considered
Caucasian, their unique genetic make up makes it very hard for them to
find matches for transplantation.
Vahe was selected after the Italian bone marrow registry asked
their Armenian counterparts to find a suitable match. The registry has
now 8,000 members.

ARMENIAN PM MEETS WITH MOSCOW MAYOR
YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS: Before wrapping up an official
visitto Moscow, Armenian prime minister Andranik Margarian met today
with Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, who said that the trade between the
two countries was not satisfactory, despite some progress in that
area. The Russian mayor briefedthe Armenian prime minister on Moscow
government plans concerning Armenia, which he said would mark a
significant progress if implemented.
Luzhkov, particulalry, expounded about construction of Yerevan
Trade Center in Moscow, which is set to be built by Armenian companies
and is expected to be over in 2005. His other proposal was about
building a center for wholesale of Armenia-made products. Luzhkov also
proposed that a joint commission, made of Armenian government and
Moscow officials be formed to promote mutually beneficial ideas. The
Moscow mayor also promised to assist Armenia to secure reasonable and
fixed fee for hiring a pavilion at all-Russian exhibition center.
Armenian prime minister asked Luzhkov to consider the issue of
providing quotas for Armenian builders in Moscow so that they face no
problems when working there.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCH OF TURKEY SPEAKS IN FAVOR OF TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP TO EU
ISTANBUL, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Patriarch of Turkey,
Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian, met recently with the senior consul of the
French consulate in Istanbul, Jean Christopher Possel, who was eager
to learn Mutafian’s views concerning Turkey’s drive towards EU
membership.
Mutafian said it would not be correct to look at the entire
Armenian community of Turkey as a homogeneous body. “Those French
Armenians who resist Turkish EU membership represent only part of
Armenians. Along with Diaspora Armenians who advocate against Turkey’s
accession to EU there are also Armenians who realize the benefits that
can come for Turkish-Armenian relations together with Turkey’s
membership and therefore they support that process,” he said.
Mutafian said he too, as the Armenian Patriarch, speaks often in
favor of Turkey’s membership. “In the event of meeting all
requirements of becoming an EU member country, the membership will
have a very positive effect on the state of Turkish citizens, national
minorities, in terms of improving Armenian-Armenian relations and
securing regional stability,” he said.

Pasadena Star News
Article Published: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 – 10:10:37 PM PST
Chess players poised for a strategic move
By Naush Boghossian , Staff Writer
GLENDALE — Chess enthusiasts are getting ready to move from their normal
haunts in local cafes to the city’s new $540,000 chess park, which opens
Saturday evening.
More than three years in the making, the free park offers 16 boards amid
towering chess piece sculpted in a converted passageway along Brand
Boulevard.
“We’re definitely excited because there are a lot of kids who like to play
at their leisure and don’t have a permanent place to play,’ said Harout
Akopyan, 23, a coach for the All American Association Chess Club, which runs
chess schools for youngsters in Glendale, Reseda and Hollywood. “This park
is good for everybody.’
Glendale is something of a chess hub, since the game is very popular among
Armenians, who make up more than 70,000 of Glendale’s 200,000 residents.
In Armenia, people begin playing chess when they’re young, and the schools
there encourage competitions from a very young age. Akopyan’s club, which
serves about 150 children, continuously produces national champion chess
players.
Akopyan has 13 national championship titles himself.
The concept for a park came from local chess clubs, who encouraged the City
Council to maximize the potential of the little-used passageway.
“We’ve taken a piece of property that was underutilized and created an urban
park that is not only aesthetically attractive but serves the community,’
senior project manager Emil Tatevosian said. “We’ve realized that we have a
large chess community in the city, and this is a good venue for all of them
to come together.’
The new park is divided into zones, each accented with a chess piece King,
Queen, Bishop and Rook and has tables with inlaid game boards and benches.
And chess-themed light towers also will allow for nighttime games.
“There is potential to create a hub of activity there with the Alex Theater
and Brand Books, which is open until midnight,’ Tatevosian said.
The concept of having an area for chess players to gather and play is very
popular in other countries, said president of the L.A. Chess Club Mick
Bighamian.
But in Southern California where the only other chess park is in Santa
Monica players tend to gather at coffee shops, where the unwritten rule is
you have to spend money to be able to stay and play.
“I think this is a great movement as far as keeping the youngsters and
senior citizens to have something leisurely to do at no cost to them,’
Bighamian said. “And the park helps the promotion of chess to get the image
it truly deserves as a fun and challenging game.’
Naush Boghossian can be reached at (818) 546-3306 or by e-mail at
[email protected] .

Soundtrack Has Developed In Iran: Musician
15 July 2004
Tehran Times Art Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) — Prominent musician Loris Tjeknavorian is convinced
that soundtrack in Iran has been developed in recent years.
Participant at the Christian Film Week underway at Film Museum of Iran
in Tehran, Tjeknavorian said there was less facilities in the past to
combine cinema with music and that the musicians could not make use of
many musical instruments.
`Iranian and eastern music enjoy high potentials which I love the
most,’ he further noted. Tjeknavorian who is an Iranian-Armenian
musician continued that Iranian people had served Armenians, `I made
the symphony `Rustam and Sohrab’ to appreciate the Iranian nation.’
Other participant Shahin Farhat also stated that in the 50th decade
soundtrack was melody rather than soundtrack, but later in the 60th,
it turned into professional soundtrack in Iran, and `Struggle in
Moonlightâ=80=9D was the first Iranian film made with professional
soundtrack.
Musician Farhat is convinced that Majid Vafadar and Mahdi Khaledi are
the first musicians who played a major role in Iranian soundtrack.
Christian Film Week entitled `Christians in Iranian Cinema’opened
Saturday evening at the Film Museum of Iran in Tehran. Intent on
commemorating Christian contribution to Iranian cinema, organizers
have allocated nights to Christians working in the fields of music,
Iranian arts as well as those who are engaged in short film cinema and
performance during the week-long event.

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS LAUNCH IN MOSCOW
ArCNews
MOSCOW, 15.07.04. The delegation led by Andranik Margarian, RA Prime
Minister, is in Moscow by the invitation of Mikhail Fradkov, RF Prime
Minister. Andranik Margarian and Mikhail Fradkov met July 13. The
members of the Armenian delegation and RF government were also present
at the meeting. Mikhail Fradkov stated that the current year is full
of events, high level visits from the viewpoint of bilateral
agreement. Fradkov emphasized that the dialogue between the two
countries is developing in all the directions. He spoke with
satisfaction about the trade turnover that keeps growing, taking into
account the current potential and the possibilities, he expressed hope
that the visit of RA Prime Minister will also contribute to the growth
of cooperation.
The Prime Ministers discussed issues related to the process of
complying with the commitments undertaken by `Equity for Debt`
agreement. RA Prime Minister emphasized that the Armenian party is
interested in the renovation and re-equipment of the Armenian firms
handed to Russia. Fradkov also stated that the Russian side is
interested in that and they are ready for long-term cooperation. At
the same time he said that it is envisaged to appoint RF Transport
Minister Igor Lebedin the head of the Armenian-Russian
intergovernmental commission. Fradkov expressed hope that it will be
possible to hold the sitting of the commission by the end of the year.
The Prime Ministers signed an agreement referring to the educational
sphere. After the meeting the Prime Ministers spoke in a press
conference.
By Marieta Makarian
AZG Armenian Daily
2004-07-15 17:21:00

Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Prelate Western Prelacy
6252 Honolulu Avenue, Suite # 100
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: 818-248-7737
Fax: 818-248-7745
E-Mail: [email protected]
BLESSING OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN PRELACY’S ST. DERTAD AND
ST. ASHKHEN CHAPEL
The Western Prelacy marked an important milestone on Sunday, July 11,
2004, by the blessing of the foundations of the Prelacy chapel that
signaled the beginning of the construction of the chapel and the
renovation of the Prelacy building.
Many faithful had gathered at the Prelacy in La Crescenta to
participate in the ceremony and witness this important event.
The ceremony was conducted by His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, the Prelate, accompanied by the Clergy of the Prelacy,
and in the presence of the Prelacy benefactors, sponsors of the
Chapel, the Altar, the baptismal font, the 16 pillars and various
parts of the Prelacy. Present were the representatives of the Central
Executives of the Holy See of the Catholicosate of the Great House of
Cilicia, the Executive Council of the Prelacy, as well as the
representatives of the Prelacy Committees and Parishes, and a
congregation of supporters.
As the prayers and scripture readings proceeded, His Eminence the
Prelate conducted the washing of the Vemkar (the foundation stone) of
the Alter andthe 16 pillars of the chapel with wine and water. The
stones were engraved with Crosses. The 16 pillars are dedicated to the
Disciples of Christ, the Evangelists and St. Gregory the Illuminator,
the founder of the Armenian Church.
Later on, he anointed each stone with Holy Oil -Muron_ and handed them
to the godfathers to be placed at the foundations of the chapel.
After the ceremony, the Prelate delivered a message to express his
contentment for the achievement of this important milestone with the
grace of God. He also declared that the new chapel would be named
after the first Christian king and queen of Armenia, St. Dertad and
St. Ashkhen. He reminded the faithful that His Holiness Aram I
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia had declared the year 2004 as
the Year of the Armenian Family, therefore it wasmost appropriate to
name the chapel after the first Christian family of our nation.
On this joyous occasion, the Prelate once more thanked all sponsors
and the benefactors of the Prelacy, and specially the Bedrosian, the
Carolan and the Pilavjian families, who had provided both moral and
financial support not only to the project of the Prelacy Building, but
to the Prelacy as a wholein order to carry on its mission of serving
our mother church and the Armenian Community at large.

U.N. Ranking Highlights Africa AIDS
Thu Jul 15, 2:42 PM ET
By PAUL AMES, Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium – The U.N.’s annual ranking of the global rich and poor
Thursday showed that AIDS (news – web sites) was pushing African nations
further into misery while the most the world crept toward higher
development.
Of the 177 nations included in the U.N. Development Index, African nations
occupied all but three of the last 30 places. After decades of edging
forward in step with other regions, 13 African nations have seen their
development rating decline since 1990.
“The picture that emerges is increasingly one of two very different groups
of countries: those that have benefited from development and those that have
been left behind,” the report said.
Last on the list for the seventh straight year was Sierra Leone, which is
still struggling to recover from years of civil war. Just above it were the
West African neighbors – Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
According to the report, which is based on 2002 data, a citizen of Sierra
Leone can expect to live to just over 34 years. At the other end of the
ranking, Japanese have an average life expectancy of 81, Swedes 80.
For the fourth year running, Norway topped the overall ranking – which takes
in life expectancy, income and educational attainment. It was followed by
Sweden and Australia.
Of the top 20 nations, only Australia at third, Japan at ninth and New
Zealand at 18th were outside Europe or North America. The United States was
ranked eighth, a fall of one place from last year.
The world’s newest nation, East Timor (news – web sites), was included for
the first time and ranked at 158, the lowest outside Africa. The other
lowest non-African nations were Haiti at 153 and Yemen at 149.
Israel was the highest-ranked Middle Eastern nation at 22, followed by
Bahrain at 40. The Palestinian Territories were ranked 102.
About 30 nations were not included because of insufficient data, including
Afghanistan (news – web sites), Iraq (news – web sites) and Liberia (news –
web sites).
Just two mainland African nations made the top 100 – Libya at 58 and Tunisia
at 92.
The biggest increase from the 2003 list was recorded by Albania, which has
been recovering from an economic crisis in the late 1990s. A 30-place surge
to 65th position hoisted Albania almost 50 places ahead of Europe’s poorest
nation – Moldova which languished in 113th position.
Also upwardly mobile were Armenia, up 18 places to 82, and St. Kitts and
Nevis, one of the world’s smallest countries which climbed 12 spots to 39.
Other former British territories in the Caribbean fared less well. Belize
suffered the biggest drop, 32 places to 99, followed by Dominica which
slipped to 95th place, down 27.
The report found that nearly 1 billion people face some form of
discrimination, and the United Nations (news – web sites) appealed for
governments to do more to respect minority rights.
“Some 900 million people, about one in seven of the world’s population,
belong to groups that believe themselves to be discriminated against or
disadvantaged,” said Mark Malloch Brown, administrator of the U.N.
Development Program.
Basing its data on research by the University of Maryland, the United
Nations pointed to more than 200 groups “that face political disadvantage or
discrimination based on ethnic, linguistic or religious identities.”
It said 130 million faced direct discrimination as a result of public
policy. “The rest are discriminated against because of social customs in the
country or the lingering effects of historic discrimination,” the report
added.
In data released Wednesday, the United Nations blamed AIDS for pushing down
African development levels. “AIDS is reversing the hard-won gains of recent
decades,” Elizabeth Lwanga, deputy director of the UNDP’s Africa office,
said at the international AIDS conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malloch Brown said AIDS was not the only factor holding Africa back. He
called for Europe and North America to open their markets to African
agricultural exports and said richer nations should invest more in health,
education and transport networks in Africa.