Assyrian International News Agency, Iraq
July 9 2004
New Iraqi Census Officially Recognizes ChaldoAssyrians
With the handover of sovereignty by the Coalition Provisional
Authority (CPA) now complete, the new interim government in Iraq has
begun to prepare the groundwork for nationwide elections now set for
2005. Reports have surfaced that in preparation for a nationwide
census, a new draft census form including the various Iraqi
constituent groups has been prepared. The draft survey form
reportedly includes Arabs, Turkoman, Armenians, Kurds, and Assyrians.
The inclusion of Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs)
marks a historic milestone in that under the former regime Assyrians
were deliberately classified as Arabs, despite their protestations.
As a direct result, past Iraqi censuses have resulted in Assyrian
under representation.
The initial draft version of the census form caused some concern and
confusion within the Assyrian community. Reportedly, the new draft
form originally included the term “Ashori” — the Arabic version of
Assyrian. For Iraqi Assyrians, the preferred term for official
governmental business is “ChaldoAssyrian.” This term was
overwhelmingly adopted by Iraqi Assyrians during the Chaldean Syriac
Assyrian General Conference in Baghdad in October of 2003. The
Baghdad conference, sponsored by the Assyrian Democratic Movement
(ADM) and the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), was
unimaginable just a few months earlier under the past Baathist
regime. During a very critical period, the ChaldoAssyrian community
of Iraq convened the meeting to formally adopt the official name to
be included in any future Iraqi constitution as well as to press for
recognition of an Assyrian self-administered area in the Nineveh
Plain. The adoption of ChaldoAssyrian is broadly seen as the best way
to avoid external threats to exacerbate internal tensions over the
name issue that might otherwise result in fragmentation of the third
largest demographic group in Iraq.
Formal complaints by various groups within the community to the
census bureau have, according to insiders, led to the census bureau
acknowledging that ChaldoAssyrian will indeed be the term utilized in
the census form. Prior to the anticipated reversal, Assyrian leaders
had feared that the draft version represented an affront to the
Assyrian community’s political expression as well as potential
fragmentation of the community in the upcoming census. As one leader
noted, “there was concern that the resulting tension and confusion
might lead to another undercounting of our people in Iraq.” Another
analyst added, “It remains critical at this time to not deviate from
the agreed upon formula of the Baghdad conference in order to not
hand our adversaries the victory of under representation of our
people there once again.”
The inclusion of “Ashori” in any form has itself been seen as highly
significant on another count as well. During the previous regime,
there was a deliberate distinction made in Arabic between “Ashoris”
and “Athoris.” As part of the Arabization campaign of the Baath
regime, Ashori referred to ancient Assyrians while Athori referred to
today’s Assyrians as a Christian Arab religious minority. By making
such a distinction, the government deemed today’s Assyrians unrelated
to the ancient Assyrians in order to deny Assyrians their legitimate
ethnic, historical, cultural and indigenous status within Iraq. In
the Assyrian language (Syriac), there is no distinction between the
two terms and both are used interchangeably. Appropriately, the new
proposed census form uses the term Ashori (or ChaldoAshori)
acknowledging the historical continuity of the Assyrians of Iraq.
One of the greatest challenges facing Assyrians in Iraq today remains
a proper accounting of numbers. Community estimates outside Iraq have
put the numbers at between 6-10%, while in Iraq Assyrians are given
only 4% representation. No real hard facts are known since Assyrians
have never been included in official Iraqi censuses, they were
fragmented as separate religious minorities along Church
denominations. One Assyrian observer bitterly noted “We constituted
just over 10% of the casualties of the Iran-Iraq War. How is it,
then, that we are ‘allowed’ to die for our country proportionately,
but not allowed to be represented politically fairly to the same
extent?”
Some of the responsibility of seeing that all Assyrians are counted
in the upcoming census will fall on the shoulders of the new
ChaldoAssyrian Minister of Immigration and Refugees, Ms. Pascale
Warda Eshoo. Although Assyrians continue to protest only one
ministerial position, the new ministerial level appointment of Ms.
Eshoo is seen as highly significant because through that position she
may be able to contend with the two most vexing issues for Assyrians
in Iraq. First, she will be able to assist with displaced Assyrians
within Iraq. Secondly, from the perspective of representation, she
will be able to assist with properly registering Assyrians in the
diaspora. One analyst noted, “In the US alone, 80-90% of
Iraqi-Americans are Assyrian. Even if , pending a fair census, we are
only 1.5 million in Iraq, there are at least hundreds of thousands
outside Iraq that need to be counted.” Another observer explained the
discrepancy of 6-10% of a nation’s population contributing 80-90% of
its diaspora by simply summarizing “disproportionate persecution has
led to disproportionate emigration.”
Despite the climate of fear and intimidation that the horrendous
security situation has engendered, there have been some recent
hopeful signs for Assyrians. The new Iraqi interim President recently
acknowledged the importance of the Assyrian diaspora community.
Speaking in Washington to an audience of Iraqi expatriates, Sheikh
Ghazi al-Yawer stated that the Assyrians are the indigenous people of
Iraq and are an important and integral part of government. Their fair
representation will be ensured in the new political makeup inside and
outside of Iraq, where they represent a majority of the Iraqi
Diaspora communities.

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
July 9 2004
EU wants Armenia to close its nuclear power plant
RBC, 09.07.2004, Yerevan 09:43:33.The European Union is
planning to collect funds to close the Armenian nuclear power plant,
Janez Potocnik, a junior EU commissioner working with enlargement
commissioner Guenter Verheugen, declared at a briefing in Yerevan,
Armenia. According to him, the EU is ready to allocate up to EUR100m
for this purpose and attract its partners to this project, the ARKA
news agency reported.
The closing of the nuclear facility is necessary for
technological and seismic safety reasons, the commissioner specified
noting that Bulgaria and Baltic states also faced such problems.
At the same time, Potocnik admitted that this was a pretty
complicated process, since new sources of energy were to be found.
According to Armenian experts, some EUR1bn is necessary to create
other energy generating facilities that would replace the capacity of
the Armenian nuclear power plant.
The facility was put into operation in January 1980. Due to
some political circumstances it was closed in 1989. A second rector
of the plant resumed generating energy in 1995. The capacity of each
reactor is 407.5 megawatts. Experts believe that the power plant can
operate until 2018.
Financial flows of the Armenian nuclear power plant are managed
by Inter RAO UES, which is a subsidiary of RAO UES (60 percent) and
Rosenergoatom (40 percent).

MosNews, Russia
July 9 2004
Russia, CIS Accuse OSCE of Double Standards
Russia and eight other ex-Soviet states accused Europe’s biggest
security and human rights watchdog on Thursday of failing to respect
their sovereignty, Reuters reported.
`In part (the OSCE) does not respect such fundamental principles …
as non-interference in internal affairs and respect of national
sovereignty,’ Reuters quoted a statement signed by Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and
Uzbekistan.
The 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), based in Vienna, whose activities include monitoring
elections, has repeatedly accused former Soviet states of holding
elections that failed to live up to democratic standards.
In response, Russia has complained of double standards at the OSCE,
which it says criticizes human rights and democracy failings in
Eastern Europe, but does not denounce similar shortcomings to the
West.
Of the OSCE’s 18 field activities, 12 are in the former Soviet Union.
`It is of concern that OSCE field missions focus not on their
mandated role to help the authorities of the receiving state…, but
exclusively on monitoring human rights and democratic institutions,’
the CIS statement added.
The European Union issued a statement expressing its `serious
concern’ at some of the CIS states’ comments, Reuters reported.

Orlando Sentinel , FL
July 9 2004
Here’s a race we can still comment on

We’ll do Big Brother-Amazing Race updates every week (except for the
weeks we don’t do them), and we’ll try to keep them short because we
know all of you don’t watch the TV.
The reality shows, beacons in the vast wasteland of summer, both
began Tuesday night on CBS, introducing the players, two of whom
we’ve already bid bye-bye to on The Amazing Race (David Duchovny
lookalike Dennis and Erika).
I’m in an office pool for TAR, and I have Charla and Mirna, two wild
and crazy cousins (though not identical cousins). They came in fifth
out of 11 teams Tuesday. Charla is famous for being the first
little-person contestant on TAR. Each woman is 27 and of Armenian
descent. Charla manages/co-owns sportswear stores in the Phoenix
area; Mirna is a lawyer in Maryland.
So already I can’t stand Marsha, who shunned Charla and Mirna when
they pitched a cooperation suggestion. Marsha, a law student at UF,
is in the game with her military man dad Jim. They came in 10th out
of 11. Let’s hope they stay in 10th.
Charla and Mirna talked one other time about how no one was helping
them, and it reminded me of a tour group I was part of in Italy years
ago and how others in the group were very rude to this one couple. It
was like being back in freakin’ high school. I reckon you just got to
accept that some people are creeps and there’s no changing them.
Anyhow, a couple of weeks after I got home from Italy, I received the
loveliest note from Nancy, the wife of the couple: “It’s someone like
you and [names of a few others on the trip] who helped make our trip
memorable. We enjoyed the laughs and good conversations.” I kept the
note because it was so unexpected and so sweet. You never know when
simple kindness will reap rewards, you know.
Also creepy on Amazing Race: brothers Lance and Marshall, pizza shop
owners from Dallas, and the Christian pair wearing their religion on
their sleeves (we’re sure God has favorites in this race and is
looking out for them only).
On Big Brother, I already picked a favorite, Jennifer, because she’s
not your generic bimbo (although she does prefer to be called
Nokomis!). On the show site, she says she is “artistic, stubborn and
odd,” which is good enough for me. There are already guys I can’t
stand, the so-called Alpha males, Scott with his stupid soul patch
and dumb-jock mentality and Jase (gag on that name alone!). They both
wear fancy headbands. There’s also a goober with really, really bad
teeth.
TAR is the best show on TV, at least this summer: travelogue (most of
Tuesday’s show in Uruguay, of all places), competition, lessons in
human nature.

Interfax
July 9 2004
IAEA invites Armenia to build new nuclear plant
Yerevan. (Interfax) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
has developed two plans for advancing Armenia’s energy sector through
2020, one of which includes building a new nuclear power station,
chief of the Armenian nuclear oversight authorities Ashot Martirosian
told Interfax.
He said Armenia hopes to build either a new nuclear plant or develop
other generating capacities.
He said the IAEA believes a nuclear station would be preferable from
the environmental point of view because thermal stations, which are
considered the main alternative to a nuclear facility, would increase
carbon dioxide emissions.
Martirosian said that since 1994 the IAEA has been helping Armenia
improve safety at its nuclear plant.

Los Angeles Times
July 9 2004
Gang Member Sentenced in Killing

The victim was fatally stabbed in a fight outside Hoover High in
Glendale in 2000
By Arlene Martínez, Times Staff Writer
An admitted gang member pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a
17-year-old youth four years ago outside a Glendale high school in an
attack prosecutors said was gang-related.
Karen Terteryan, 21, was sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior
Court to 23 years and eight months in prison on single counts of
voluntary manslaughter and street terrorism, according to the
district attorney’s office.

Terteryan admitted stabbing Raul Aguirre during a fight that broke
out between a small group of Latinos and Armenians on May 5, 2000,
outside Hoover High School. As part of his plea agreement, Terteryan
said the crime was committed to further a street gang.
Officials said Aguirre, who was not a gang member, tried to intervene
in defense of a friend and alleged gang member, Jimmy Orozco, in the
deadly fight.
Aguirre, just days shy of his 18th birthday, would have graduated the
following month.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Darrell Mavis said the plea bargain was reached in
accordance with the wishes of the Aguirre family. “We wanted
[Terteryan] to acknowledge guilt in the killing and he did that,”
Mavis said.
“The plea agreement reflects what we’ve said all along – this was not
a murder,” said Shepard Kopp, Terteryan’s lawyer. “It was a dispute
that turned into a physical fight that was caused by ethnic tension.”
Terteryan, Anait Msryan and Rafael Gevorgyan, all under the age of 18
at the time, were arrested shortly after the attack. All were charged
as adults.
Gevorgyan said the three were sitting in a car outside Hoover High
when Orozco yelled ethnic slurs and began flashing gang signs.
Terteryan and Gevorgyan began fighting with Orozco, who was not
seriously injured.
Msryan, 14 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty last year to
attempted murder. As part of a plea agreement, she will serve her
seven-year term in the California Youth Authority.
A jury last year found Terteryan and Gevorgyan guilty of assault with
a deadly weapon but deadlocked on murder charges. A retrial was
scheduled for both.
Following Terteryan’s plea, the district attorney’s office dropped
the murder charges against Gevorgyan, 19. He faces one count of
manslaughter in the retrial set to begin Monday.
Andrew Flier, who represents Gevorgyan, said his client did not
intend to strike a similar deal. “Just like the victim went to the
aid of someone, that’s what my client did,” he said.
Gevorgyan testified that he had a tire iron during the fight but did
not use it. He said he was unaware Terteryan had a knife.
Mavis maintains that Gevorgyan hit Aguirre with the tire iron and
said evidence would show he aided and abetted Terteryan in the
killing.

GEO Pakistan
July 9 2004
Pakistan, Azerbaijan sign four accords
BAKU: Pakistan and Azerbaijan have signed four agreements for
enhancing cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev ensured support to Pakistan for
seeking just resolution of the Kashmir issue.
President Musharraf and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev signed a
joint declaration for boosting cooperation in various fields.
During the formal talks, the two sides explored ways of broadening
their economic relations. They signed four agreements at Presidential
Palace in Baku including cooperation in anti terrorism drive,
eradication of drugs, customs related issues and agreements for
enhancing relations in culture and politics.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Liaquat Jatoi,
Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Nauraiz Shakoor and Foreign Secretary
Riaz Khokhar signed agreements for Pakistan. Azeri Minister of
Interior, head of the customs committee and minister for youth
affairs and culture signed agreements on behalf of their country.
Azeri President Aliyev in a banquet in the honor of President
Musharraf said the visit would promote mutual cooperation and
bilateral relations between the two countries. He also ensured
support to Pakistan for just resolution of the Kashmir issue.
President Musharraf said “In international questions our positions
are close and on issues of the Islamic world, like the Palestine
question, questions of Iraq and Afghanistan, we have agreed to
coordinate our actions in the future.”
General Musharraf reciprocated Azerbaijan’s backing for Pakistan over
Kashmir by saying that his country backed Baku’s efforts to regain
control over Karabakh, which is under Armenian control.
After talks between the Pakistani and Azeri heads of state, the two
leaders and their officials signed a series of agreements covering
tourism, customs and combating the drugs trade and international
terrorism.
Earlier, the two leaders held one-to-one meeting during which they
expressed the desire to strengthen Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations.
They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of
common interest.

PRESS RELEASE
Haigazian University
Beirut Lebanon
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Vartoug Balekjian
Public Relations
Haigazian University
Haigazian University’s 44th Commencement
June 30, 2004
Beirut
Haigazian University- Beirut: Clad in gowns and caps, 88 graduates (35
students with the BA degree in the Faculty of Business Administration &
Economics, 21 with the BA in the Faculties of Humanities and Social &
Behavioral Sciences, 31 students with the BS degree in the Faculty of
Sciences, and one student with the MA in Education – School Administration)
of Haigazian University marched, following their instructors, to the
platform to receive their degrees from the hands of Haigazian University
President, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, then marched out of the University, as
the President put it, “as potential business leaders, as educators and
teachers, as social workers and as lab scientists.” Eight students
graduated with honors and one with high honors.
Rev. Nishan Bakalian, the Campus Minister, offered the invocation. Then
President Haidostian welcomed the almost 1,300 invitees – politicians,
diplomats, officials representing President of the Lebanese Republic
General Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Mr. Rafik Hariri, House Speaker Mr.
Nabih Berry and Army Commander General Michel Sleiman, clergy, community
leaders, parents, relatives and friends of Haigazian University.
“Haigazian University promises to continue its academic activities
believing that a wholesome educational system is a unit that includes
mental, spiritual, social and physical education,” said the President, and
added that Haigazian is convinced that Lebanon not only needs educated
people, but also people who are mature, honest, fair and servant-spirited,
and that in this precise sense Haigazian will continue to serve Lebanon and
humanity.
The keynote speaker was the Personal Representative of the UN
Secretary-General for Southern Lebanon, Mr. Staffan De Mistura.
Mr. De Mistura’s previous assignments have taken him to “where human-made
or natural disasters have hit nations and countries,” thus exposing
essential but invisible human needs besides those of safety and
nourishment. The distinguished guest speaker, based on firsthand, personal
experiences in Kosovo, Croatia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan, and
Chad, seasoned his speech with anecdotes, and highlighted three fundamental
human needs: dignity, truth and positive thinking. His words were a
heartwarming blend of academics and human needs. Mr. De Mistura challenged
the graduates to steadfastly cherish their human dignity by being useful,
to always have truth as an ally and to nurture positive thinking – filling
the white space of a sheet of paper rather than focusing the one black dot
in its center.
Deans Dr. Fadi Asrawi and Dr. Arda Ekmekji presented the candidates for the
degrees in the Faculty of Business Administration and Faculties of
Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences and Sciences respectively, and
President Haidostian handed them their degrees.
The program also included a valedictorian address. Mireille Bogharian, a
Business Administration major, thanked the faculty & staff of Haigazian
University and the parents for assisting them to reach graduation day.
Speaking both in Arabic & English, Ms. Bogharian urged her classmates to be
aware of the emigration allure and instead of waiting for opportunities of
success, she challenged them to create such opportunities with
self-confidence and all that Haigazian gave them.
After singing of the Alma Mater, the President of Union of Armenian
Evangelical Churches in the Near East, Rev. Megrditch Karagoezian, asked
God’s blessings upon the graduates. Finally, everybody joined in to
congratulate the happy and proud students in the Mugar Garden of Haigazian
University.
Prior to the Commencement Exercises, a Baccalaureate Service was held in
the First Evangelical Church, on Sunday, June 27, to thank God for His
grace and goodness throughout the academic year 2003-2004. The sermon was
delivered by Dr. Mary Mikhael, the President of the Near East School of
Theology. Then two students passed on the light they received from
President Haidostian to their classmates and pledged, on behalf of all the
graduates, to “hold high the light of truth, to defend the light of freedom
and to spread the light of service” to their communities.
Haigazian University
Public Relations Office
Lebanon
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian citizens affected by sharp increase in fruit and veg prices
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
8 Jul 04

[Presenter] High prices in the Armenian fruit and vegetable markets,
unusual in the summer, continue to shock citizens. Fruit prices
increased 20 per cent in the republic last month. The cheapest price
for one kilo of apricots is 1000 drams [about 2 dollars]. The
government has no means of halting the jump in prices. It is
impossible to stop the frost and hailstorms which are the reasons for
the high prices.
[Correspondent over video of market] The sensational price of apricots
this year in the fields is 1000 drams, in the shops 3000 drams.
[Unidentified woman, captioned in the market] I think that we won’t be
able to make jam this year.
[Correspondent] There are people in the motherland of apricots who
have not yet tasted apricots because of the high prices, let alone can
think of making winter preserves. It is better value to enrich the
ration with oranges and bananas, which are imported to Armenia, than
with the expensive apricot. About 215 tonnes of apricot which were
cultivated this year were exported, and when the fruits of the
mountainous areas ripen this will also have an influence on market
prices.
[Agriculture Minister David Lokyan, captioned] We have created
opportunities for the farmers to sell their products at high prices,
this is regarding cherries and other fruits, and even grain. This
satisfies me.
[Correspondent] The main reason for the high prices in the
agricultural markets was the frost and hail at the beginning of the
year. The prices in the markets in the morning are more expensive than
in the evening. You can learn from the farmers who are selling their
products not in the markets but outside, the reasons why they are
selling their products at such expensive prices. They are complaining
about the high prices of fuel, the parking prices near the markets and
bribes. It is impossible to regulate the price policy in the markets.
In cases where ecologically-pure agricultural products are exported
abroad at high prices the same products cannot be sold cheaply inside
the country.
[David Lokyan] The farmer must produce and sell in his village, in his
field at high prices. Special trade organizations or people must work
on this problem.
[Correspondent] The cheapest produce in the agricultural markets today
are green vegetables and potatoes.
Hermine Bagdasaryan, “Aylur”.

Azeri paper reports Armenia-organized media trip to front
Ekho, Baku
8 Jul 04
Text of R. Orucov’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 8 July
headlined “Media landing force was deployed to Armenian-Azerbaijani
border by Armenian Defence Ministry to expose ‘insinuations’ by Azeri
side”
The Armenian Ministry of Defence has organized a trip for a group of
70 journalists to the northwestern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border, which separates the Tavushkaya Area of Armenia from Qazax
District of Azerbaijan. This report was disseminated yesterday [7
July] by the Regnum news agency. It is noted in the report that
precisely in this area, near the villages of Berkaber (Armenia) and
Mizamlu (Azerbaijan), local exchanges of fire took place in early June
this year in which, according to the Armenian side, one officer and
one warrant officer of the Armenian Armed Forces and seven Azeri
military personnel died. The Armenian side claims that the Azeris were
trying to seize a water-pumping facility and a water reservoir, which
would pose a threat to the security of the nearby villages.
Representatives of the Armenian defence department also noted that the
“Azeri forces have failed to seize even one centimetre of land, and
reports that the Armenians side presumably left six border villages
are totally groundless.”
Commenting on these reports, Head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry
Information Department Ramiz Malikov underscored that the Azeri side
had never distributed the information that the Armenian side had left
six border villages. “If this had happened, I, as the head of the
press service, would have been the first person to report on
this. There have never been such reports.”
“Throughout June, the Armenians have been breaking the cease-fire and
then invented the pretext that, presumably, the Azeris were trying to
seize some water pumping facility,” Ramiz Malikov said. “Nothing of
this sort has happened on our part; it was actually the Armenians who
violated our borders, tried to move ahead, but were repelled by us.”
According to Malikov, neither the Armenian nor Azeri troops have moved
an inch from the positions they held. “The Armenians moved only along
the border,” Malikov said. He thinks that the Armenian Ministry of
Defence intends to “mislead public opinion and distract the attention
of the Armenians from the internal political situation and pressing
issues” by spreading this kind of disinformation.
Ekho’s informed source in military circles who wishes to remain
unidentified said, in turn, that it was no secret to anyone that both
sides launch active operations on the frontline by late May of every
year. “The fact that there are losses on both sides precisely at this
time only proves this pattern.” According to the source, both sides
indeed make attempts at this time of year to take more advantageous
positions on the terrain at the expense of the enemy.
“According to the information I possess, in reality none of the sides
were able to carry out successful offensive operations,” the source
said. “In other words, the positions that they hold have not changed.”
There were no advances of either side’s troops. “This is for
certain. Simply, there is always so-called “no man’s land” between the
positions, which each of the sides tries to bring under its
control. There are places where there are only a few tens of metres
between the sides, and there are other places where the distance
between them is more than 500 metres. There are incidents when the
Armenians or Azeris try to ‘advance’ their trenches deeper into that
territory. And it is natural that this always causes the irritation of
the opposite side.”
As for casualties, he said that they can be accounted for by the fact
that, during the advancement of troops, “armed skirmishes simply
cannot be avoided – automatic weapons are usually fired, although
heavy hardware is not used.” These incidents became more frequent
this year, the officer said. “Perhaps everyone noticed that far too
many inspections of the frontline situation by the OSCE monitoring
service have taken place over the last six months. What does this
mean? It means that, to our great regret, both sides carry out
nuisance operations,” the military expert concluded.