Library acquires Saroyan items
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Thursday, July 1, 2004, 9:16 AM)
The Fresno County Library has acquired a variety of William Saroyan items,
notably unpublished manuscripts and a collection of more than 300 letters,
cards and postcards sent from Saroyan to his daughter Lucy from 1953-72.
The library plans to show the collection at a press conference this morning.
Genealogy Room Librarian William Secrest Jr. says the addition gives the
Fresno library one of the pre-eminent research collections devoted to the
life and works of Saroyan, the internationally acclaimed author and Fresno
native.

The Moscow Times
Friday, July 2, 2004. Page 8. Before VCRs, There Was Armenian Radio
By Michele A. Berdy
Àðìÿíñêîå ðàäèî ñïðàøèàþò: A question for Armenian radio (the opening line
in a series of Soviet-era jokes). A guy walks into a bar … .” As soon as Americans hear these words, they get
ready for a laugh (or at least a joke). For Russians, getting ready to hear
or tell a joke is one of the greatest pleasures of the culture. In the bad
old days, before VCRs, multiplex cinemas, fitness clubs and other
recreational diversions, an entertaining evening was spent with friends
sitting in the kitchen, talking about life, and, if there was a good
joke-teller (ðàññêàç÷èê) in the crowd, laughing to the point of tears over
the latest joke (àíåêäîò). Jokes are miserable (and sometimes impossible) to translate, and can be hard
even to understand. Since there’s nothing worse than sitting with a blank
expression while your friends roar with laughter, here’s a short guide to
some of the standard personages that populate Russian jokes. Many Russian jokes are based on recognizable ethnic or religious
stereotypes: the rich Georgian (of Soviet times, now replaced by the New
Russian), the slow-witted Estonian (ãîðÿ÷èé ýñòîíñêèé ïàðåíü — hot-blooded
Estonian), the greedy and slovenly Ukrainian. In one series, a Frenchman, an
American, a German and a Russian (or sometimes a Jew, Englishman or
Ukrainian) find themselves in some situation where their various national
characteristics come to light. In the Russian tradition, ×óê÷à (Chukcha, from the Far East region of
Chukotka) is equivalent to the “dumb Pollack” — definitely not politically
correct in any language. Speaking in broken Russian, he finds himself in
Moscow, far from the taiga, puzzled by modern civilization. In one joke, he
is riding a tram. îäèòåëü: Ñëåäóþùàÿ îñòàíîêà — 8-ãî Ìàðòà. ×óê÷à: À
ðàíüøå íèêàê íåëüçÿ? (Conductor: Next stop — 8th of March. Chukcha: Is
there no way we can stop any earlier?)
Jokes about the íîûé ðóññêèé (the New Russian) have petered out (probably
because they’re just not funny anymore), but during the peak period of New
Russian jokes in the ’90s, it seemed a week didn’t go by without a new
variation. New Russians are dim-witted, dedicated to shows of affluence, and
eager to spend as much money as they can. Äà íîûõ ðóññêèõ ñòðå÷àþòñÿ. Îäèí ïîêàçûàåò äðóãîìó íîûé ãàëñòóê. “Òîëüêî ÷òî êóïèë çà $3,000.” “Äóðàê! Ìîæíî áûëî êóïèòü çà óãëîì çà $4,000!” (Two New Russians meet. One shows the
other his new tie. “I bought it for $3,000.” “You idiot! You could have
bought it around the corner for $4,000!”)
In the late ’90s, there were also a series of gruesome jokes connected with
contract killings. Äà êèëëåðà ñèäÿò ïîäúåçäå, æäóò áèçíåñìåíà. Æäóò ÷àñ,
äà, òðè … äðóã îäèí ãîîðèò, “Ñëóøàé, ÿ íà÷èíàþ îëíîàòüñÿ. Íå
ñëó÷èëîñü ëè ÷òî-íèáóäü?” (Two hit men are waiting in an apartment building
entryway for a businessman. They wait an hour, two hours, three. Finally one
says to the other, “Hey, I’m getting worried. Do you think something
happened to him?”)
My favorite series of the Soviet period were “questions to Armenian Radio.”
These appeared in the 1960s, apparently the continuation of àðìÿíñêèå
çàãàäêè (literally “Armenian riddles,” something like knock-knock jokes). There were many themes (including those playing on the competitive relations
between Georgians and Armenians), but the most famous are the anti-Soviet
jokes. Àðìÿíñêîå ðàäèî ñïðàøèàþò: Ìîæíî ëè ïîñòðîèòü êîììóíèçì Àðìåíèè? Ìîæíî, íî ëó÷øå ñíà÷àëà Ãðóçèè. (A question for Armenian radio: Can
communism be built in Armenia? Yes, but it would be better to do it in
Georgia first.) Àðìÿíñêîå ðàäèî ñïðàøèàþò: Ìîæíî ëè ïîñòðîèòü êîììóíèçì? Äà, ìîæíî — íî ûæèòü ïðè í¸ì — íåëüçÿ. (A question for Armenian radio:
Can communism be built Yes, it can — but no one can survive it.) Or the
all-time classic: Êàêîé ñàìûé êîðîòêèé àíåêäîò? Îòåò: Êîììóíèçì. (What’s
the shortest joke? Answer: Communism.)
In the bad old days, that always got a laugh. Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator.

Armenian acid spill kills one, injures seven
YEREVAN, June 30 (Reuters) – An explosion at an Armenian power station
released 9.5 tonnes of toxic sulphuric acid on Wednesday, killing one
person and injuring seven, an Emergencies Ministry official said.
The explosion struck an acid storage tank at the power station at 1540
GMT. It was unclear how much damage the acid had done to the area or
the facility, partly owned by Russian power company Unified Energy
System (EESR.RTS).
The official said people who lived near the Hrazdan power station in
the tiny mountainous south Caucasus country were not being evacuated.
06/30/04 14:38 ET

PRESS RELEASE
Department of Armenian Studies, Haigazian University
Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: Ara Sanjian
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:
HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
invites to a lecture on
The Armenian Community of Abkhazia Today
(in Armenian)
by
Hratch Tchilingirian
(Judge Institute, Cambridge University)
Thursday, July 15, 2004 – 7:30 p.m.
Haigazian University Auditorium – Kantari, Beirut
N.B. Please accept this message as a personal invitation.
Haigazian University is a liberal arts institution of higher learning,
established in Beirut in 1955. For more information about its activities
you are welcome to visit its web-site at <; . For additional information on the activities of its Department of Armenian Studies, contact Ara Sanjian at

BBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, 30 June, 2004, 12:03 GMT 13:03 UK
Analysis: Defining genocide
Black Africans say they are being driven from their homes in Darfur
Human rights campaigners accuse Sudan’s pro-government Arab militia of
carrying out genocide against black African residents of the Darfur region.
They are accused of forcing some one million people from their homes and
killing at least 10,000.
Many thousands more are at risk of starving due to a lack of food in the
camps where they have fled.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has refused to use the term genocide, which
would carry a legal obligation to act.
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell said: “We see indicators and elements
that would start to move you toward a genocidal conclusion but we’re not
there yet.”
But what is genocide and when can it be applied? Some argue that the
definition is too narrow and others that the term is devalued by misuse.
UN definition
The term was coined in 1943 by the Jewish-Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin who
combined the Greek word “genos” (race or tribe) with the Latin word “cide”
(to kill).
After witnessing the horrors of the Holocaust – in which every member of his
family except his brother and himself was killed – Dr Lemkin campaigned to
have genocide recognised as a crime under international law.
Genocide is… both the gravest and greatest of the crimes against
humanity
Alain Destexhe
His efforts gave way to the adoption of the UN Convention on Genocide in
December 1948, which came into effect in January 1951.
Article Two of the convention defines genocide as “any of the following acts
committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Killing members of the group
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring
about its physical destruction in whole or in part
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
The convention also imposes a general duty on states that are signatories to
“prevent and to punish” genocide.
Ever since its adoption, the UN treaty has come under fire from different
sides, mostly by people frustrated with the difficulty of applying it to
different cases.
‘Too narrow’
Some analysts argue that the definition is so narrow that none of the mass
killings perpetrated since the treaty’s adoption would fall under it.
The objections most frequently raised against the treaty include:
The convention excludes targeted political and social groups
The definition is limited to direct acts against people, and excludes acts
against the environment which sustains them or their cultural
distinctiveness
Proving intention beyond reasonable doubt is extremely difficult
UN member states are hesitant to single out other members or intervene, as
was the case in Rwanda
There is no body of international law to clarify the parameters of the
convention (though this is changing as UN war crimes tribunals issue
indictments)
The difficulty of defining or measuring “in part”, and establishing how many
deaths equal genocide
But in spite of these criticisms, there are many who say genocide is
recognisable.
In his book Rwanda and Genocide in the 20th Century, former
secretary-general of Doctors Without Borders, Alain Destexhe says: “Genocide
is distinguishable from all other crimes by the motivation behind it.
“Genocide is a crime on a different scale to all other crimes against
humanity and implies an intention to completely exterminate the chosen
group.
“Genocide is therefore both the gravest and greatest of the crimes against
humanity.”
Loss of meaning
Mr Destexhe believes the word genocide has fallen victim to “a sort of
verbal inflation, in much the same way as happened with the word fascist”.
The slaughter in Rwanda shocked the world
Because of that, he says, the term has progressively lost its initial
meaning and is becoming “dangerously commonplace”.
Michael Ignatieff, director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy at
Harvard University, agrees.
“Those who should use the word genocide never let it slip their mouths.
Those who unfortunately do use it, banalise it into a validation of every
kind of victimhood,” he said in a lecture about Raphael Lemkin.
“Slavery for example, is called genocide when – whatever it was, and it was
an infamy – it was a system to exploit, rather than to exterminate the
living.”
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a renegade commander said he captured
the town of Bukavu earlier this month to prevent a genocide of Congolese
Tutsis – the Banyamulenge.
It later transpired that fewer than 100 people had died.
The differences over how genocide should be defined, lead also to
disagreement on how many genocides actually occurred during the 20th
Century.
History of genocide
Some say there was only one genocide in the last century – the Holocaust.
Other experts give a long list of what they consider cases of genocide,
including the Soviet man-made famine of Ukraine (1932-33), the Indonesian
invasion of East Timor (1975), and the Khmer Rouge killings in Cambodia in
the 1970s.
Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic is on trial in The Hague, charged
with genocide in Bosnia from 1992-5.
However, some say there have been at least three genocides under the 1948 UN
convention:
The mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915-1920 – an
accusation that the Turks deny
The Holocaust, during which more than six million Jews were killed
Rwanda, where an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in the
1994 genocide
In the case of Bosnia, many believe that massacres occurred as part of a
pattern of genocide, though some doubt that intent can be proved in the case
of Mr Milosevic
The first case to put into practice the convention on genocide was that of
Jean Paul Akayesu, the Hutu mayor of the Rwandan town of Taba at the time of
the killings.
In a landmark ruling, a special international tribunal convicted him of
genocide and crimes against humanity on 2 September 1998.
Twenty-one ringleaders of the Rwandan genocide have now been convicted by
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Milosevic denies committing genocide
Earlier this year, the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia widened
the definition of what constitutes genocide.
General Radislav Krstic had appealed against his conviction for his role in
the killing of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.
But the court rejected his argument that the numbers were “too
insignificant” to be genocide – a decision likely to set an international
legal precedent.
On Darfur, Mr Powell says: “We can find the right label for it later, we
have got to deal with it now.”
But US envoy for war crimes Pierre Prosper has already started to compile a
list of those associated with the Janjaweed Arab militia.
For the moment, these are threatened with sanctions but in the future, they
may be charged with genocide, like those in Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia.

CENN – June 30, 2004 Daily Digest
Table of Contents:
1. $2bn already invested in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
2. Will Caspian Sea become another Aral?
3. Contest for Journalists – “Environment and Health”
4. Invitation to comment on the Municipal and environmental
infrastructure policy
5. Armenia Tree Project Celebrating 10th Anniversary
6. Commission selects Two bids for Privatization of Zangezour Smelter
7. Armrosgazprom to Bid for Laying Iran-Armenia Gas Pipeline
8. Development Approaches: Convergence of Different Paths
1. $2bn already invested in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
Source: RBC, June 28, 2004
Some $2bn have been spent on the project of constructing the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Trend news agency reported citing
Nagit Aliyev, the President of the Azerbaijani State Oil Company (GNKAR). On
the whole, according to him, shareholders in the project will invest about
$3bn.
The current pace of construction is about 1 kilometer of a pipeline a day.
Aliyev noted that the oil pipeline would be ready for operation by the time
oil production started in the central part of the Azeri field.
The GNKAR head also declared that many European companies were interested in
the project of laying the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline. Moreover, he
mentioned that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had
decided to allocate a $170m credit to GNKAR to finance its share in Phase-1
of the Shakh-Deniz project and $1m on reorganizing the state company.
The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is planned to be
finished by the end of 2004. The capacity of the 1,760-kilometer pipelineÕ
is 50m tons of oil per year. The cost of the construction is estimated at
$2.95bn. Among shareholders in the project are BP (30.1 percent), GNKAR (25
percent), Unocal (8.9 percent), Statoil (8.71 percent), TPAO (6.53 percent),
Eni (5 percent), Total (5 percent), Itochu (3.4 percent), In³ex (2.5
percent), ConocoPhilli³s (2.5 percent) and Amerada
2. Will Caspian Sea become another Aral?
Source: United Press International, June 28, 2004
The Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water on Earth, is in danger of
turning into an environmental dead zone, a development whose impacts would
be felt throughout Central Asia and Eastern Europe, scientists told United
Press International.
Five countries — Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan —
surround the Caspian but wastes from Russia’s industrial facilities carried
down the Volga River provide the sea with the most pollution.
The region’s oil reserves are estimated at more than 200 billion barrels,
which puts it in second place after the Middle East. Exploration and
exploitation of oil fields account for another major component of the
pollution.
In terms of oil, and from an environmental standpoint, Azerbaijan’s oil
facilities are among the worst in the world, Bahman Aghai Diba, a consultant
on international law for the World Resources Company in McLean, Va., told
UPI. Azerbaijan has been using oil resources both within and close to the
Caspian for about 80 years.
A rise in the sea’s level also has been causing problems. For example,
between 1978 and 1995, between 700 and 1,200 oil wells have been flooded in
Kazakhstan, said Alexander Bolshov, a consultant for the Atyrau branch
office of the Kazakh agency for applied ecology.
“Nobody knows an exact number of flooded oil wells,” Bolshov told UPI. Oil
is leaking out of some wells, he added.
Oil pollution levels in different parts of the Caspian are between 1.5 times
and 11.8 times the maximum permissible concentration, Bolshov said.
Copper in the northern Caspian exceeds the maximum permissible level by 3.9
times. The zinc concentration, at a short distance away from the Cheleken
Peninsula in Turkmenistan, exceeds the MPC by 7.2 times, he said.
Although copper and zinc are used as nutritional supplements, they are heavy
metals that can damage living creatures at certain concentrations and tend
to accumulate in the food chain.
Along with seals, sturgeons — fish used for food and the eggs necessary for
the caviar industry — are dying in the Caspian in large quantities. The
reason, Bolshov said, is migration of toxic substances up the food chain —
a process that tends to concentrate those substances in creatures at the
top.
“Irreversible processes will start if water pollution reaches a critical
level,” he said.
The more money that has been invested in the oil industry in Kazakhstan’s
western Atyrau province — on the northern shore of the Caspian — the
higher sickness rates have become, said Muftach Diarov, director of the
Scientific Center for Regional Ecological Problems of the Atyrau Institute
of Oil And Gas.
“The main issue is the enforcement of the existing laws,” Aghai Diba said.
“The lack of agreement on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea is hampering
the legal and enforcement efforts.”
Illegal and unregulated fishing has reduced the sturgeon stocks by more than
80 percent in the Caspian, according to Aghai Diba. The U.S. government is
considering declaring some types of the caviar producing fish as endangered
species, he added.
“Convention for the Protection of the Caspian Sea was adopted recently by
all Caspian countries but adoption itself is far from implementation,”
Ljubomir Jeftic, an environmental management expert from Croatia, told UPI.
Jeftic has evaluated two projects of the Global Environment Facility on the
Caspian for the United Nations Environment Program and for the World Bank.
Jeftic cited a lack of planned coastal development and the ability of
governments surrounding the Caspian as contributing the most damage to the
ecosystem.
“Money is a big problem,” he added.
People will finally kill the Caspian if the present pollution trend
continues, said Hamid Amirebrahimi, director of the South Caspian
Institution for Environmental Services in Tonekabon, Iran, and public
participation adviser for the Caspian Environment Program, which is governed
by a committee of representatives from the five coastal Caspian states.
“In a polluted environment, human life is also under threat,” Amirebrahimi
told UPI.
“The pollution will affect the whole area,” Aghai Diba said. “The littoral
(coastal) states must be responsible for the extent of pollution that they
cause. The Caspian Sea must get out of the status of a free garbage dump.”
Amirebrahimi considers the activity of the Caspian Environment Program and
The Framework Convention on Environment of the Caspian Sea, signed by all
Caspian littoral states in November 2003, the only hope.
“Nothing should be done, but stop the Caspian pollution,” said Ramiz
Mamedov, head of the Center for the Problems of the Caspian Sea and deputy
head of the Institute of Geography in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The waters of the Caspian would not be able to self-purify for 40 years, he
told UPI.
3. Contest for Journalists – “Environment and Health”
Source: , June 28, 2004
On Sunday, June 27 the Award Ceremony of the first contest among
journalistic works dedicated to environmental problems was held in “Mini
Golf Club”.
The competition was held under Caucasian Environmental Regional Center’s
(GRC Caucasus) project – “Media and Public Participation”. Georgian national
team of environmental journalists selected the topic of the competition –
“Environment and Health”. The jury viewed the publications published from
May 8 till June 15, 2004 and evaluated them according to three criteria.
According to competition’s conditions, three journalistic works were
presented to GRC Caucasus:
– “Garbage – Real Danger”- Otar Kiria; Newspaper “24 Hours”, 14.06.2004;
– “Georgia Faces Bioterorism” – Keti Janelidze; Magazine “Akhali Zhurnali”
(New Magazine), 12-18.06.2004
– “Malaria and Dead Forest” – Keti Bezhiashvili; TV Project “Crossroads –
Map”, 12.05.2004;
After the jury’s marks were summed up it became evident that out of maximum
30 points the three works got 25,2 points each. That’s why the authors got
equal prize money, each of them got $100. Besides, Head of Information and
Public Participation of GRC Caucasus, Eka Zghuladze gave some presents to
the contestants, including t-shirts and different paraphernalia associated
with the project.
“At the June 27 meeting Georgian Journalists’ team selected the second
competition’s topic – “Environment and Safety” under this regional project,
which is taking place in the three countries of South Caucasus” – Giorgi
Gakheladze, Project Consultant in Georgia, said.
4. Invitation to comment on the Municipal and environmental
infrastructure policy
The EBRD has started work on the revision of its Municipal and environmental
infrastructure policy. In compliance with the Bank’s Public Information
Policy comments are invited to help the Bank in revising its policy.
The document sets out the general specific and operational role of the Bank
in this sector and establishes the overall framework for the Bank’s
activities over the strategy period from 2004 – 2008. It succeeds the
Operations Policy approved by the Board on 16/17 June 1998.
Comments should refer to the current draft policy available at:
Please send your comments to the Bank at [email protected] no
later than 12 August 2004 so that they can be taken into account.
Outreach and NGO Relations Team. European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development
5. Armenia Tree Project Celebrating 10th Anniversary
Armenia Tree Project office, Yerevan
Tel: 553069 or 569910
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Armenia Tree Project Celebrates its 10th Anniversary with an Open Air Gala
Concert at Garni Temple
The Armenia Tree Project (ATP) and the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia
(NCOA) under the direction of Aram Gharabekian are pleased to announce an
Open Air Evening Gala Concert at the historic site of Garni Temple, one of
the oldest historical landmarks in Armenia, built in the 1st Century BC. The
upcoming concert is in celebration of ATP’s 10th Anniversary of regreening
Armenia. President Robert Kocharian, U.S. Ambassador John Ordway and other
high-ranking government officials, ambassadors and foreign officials have
been invited to the event. Representatives from dozens of local and
international organizations who partner with ATP will be present at the
concert.
The Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 during Armenia’s darkest and
coldest years with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by protecting
Armenia’s environment. Funded by contributions from Diasporan Armenians, ATP
has planted and rejuvenated 530,000 trees at approximately 500 sites ranging
from Gumri to Goris. Two state-of-the-art nurseries, founded in the refugee
villages of Karin (Ashtarak area) and Khachpar (Masis Area) not only provide
40,000 – 50,000 trees annually for community tree planting all over Armenia,
but are also a major source of eployment for these refugee villages. Another
vast nursery has been established this year for providing over one million
trees annually for reforestation of the devastated landscape in Vanadzor.
Although we have accomplished much since 1994, our work in protecting and
restoring Armenia’s forests has just begun.
In 2003 ATP launched a Sustainable Mountain Development Project in the
refugee village of Aygut in the Getik River Valley in Gegharkounik Marz.. In
this program of mountainous reforestation, ATP is creating a model of
partnering with the villagers and with other international and local
organizations to combat the linked problems of poverty and natural resource
degradation. Among the contributors to date are USDA/MAP, World Food
Program, Heifer International, Project Harmony, ORRAN, Boghosian Education
Center, the Peace Corps and Satsil. ATP is expanding to all 13 villages in
the Getik River Valley, this year including the second village in the
Valley, Dzoravanq. The sub-projects being implemented include the Backyard
Nursery Project, through which villagers generate income by growing
seedlings in their backyards for reforestation, the Milk Collector Project,
Backyard Orchard Rejuvenation and Ecological Education Programs in the
schools.
Never before in history have Armenia’s forests been so close to extinction.
With only 8 % of forest cover left, down from 12% in 1990 and 25% at the
beginning of the 20th century, the World Bank estimates that the last of our
trees will be gone in only 20 years at the current rate of cutting. 81.9% of
Armenia’s land faces the danger of desertification (National Report on the
State of the Environment 2002). The future of Armenia’s forests, climate and
biodiversity rest in our hands. The actions we take now for combating
deforestation will save Armenia from the path it is on toward
desertification. The Armenia Tree Project is energizing the nation’s youth,
educating the Armenian public and the Diaspora about the nature of the
problem and possible solutions and joining forces with like minded
organizations and individuals to meet the common goal of greening Armenia
and reversing the dangerous and destabilizing trend of environmental
degradation.
6. Commission selects two bids for privatization of Zangezour
smelter
Source: ArmenPress, June 29, 2004
An inter-agency commission, set up to handle the privatization of Zangezour
smelter, has examined today privatization bids, received from potential
buyers, Armenian trade and economic development ministry said, adding that
two of proposed bids met all requirements set by the government. The
ministry said it will consider both and has demanded additional information
from both companies to submitted within ten days. Both selected companies
say they are ready to pay $25 million in advance before starting takeover
talks.
Plans for privatization of the plant were announced by the government last
March and were officially presented to over 40 potential buyers at a special
conference held in London late March.
The government expects to net at least $450 million in cash and investment
commitments from the sale of Armenia’s largest copper and molybdenum mines.
A prospective buyer will be expected to pay $100 million for the Kajaran
plant’s shares and pledge to invest more than $350 million in modernizing
its obsolete technological lines.
7. Armrosgazprom to bid for laying Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
Source: RosBusinessConsulting, June 29, 2004
The company Armrosgazprom is planning to take part in a tender on
constructing and maintaining an Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, the press service
of the company reported. The customer of the gas pipeline is the Armenian
government. A basic agreement on laying the pipeline was signed in Yerevan
(Armenia) on May 13, 2004. According to the document, the gas pipeline will
be put into operation by January 1, 2007. Armenia will get some 1.1bn cubic
meters of gas annually through this pipeline. Each country is to finance the
laying of a pipeline on its territory. Armenia is expected to spend about
$90m to $100m and Iran some $120m on constructing the pipeline.
Armrosgazprom was created in 1997 in compliance with a Russian-Armenian
government agreement and it is the exclusive wholesale buyer and supplier of
gas in Armenia. The Armenian government and Gazprom have a 45-percent stake
each in the company; Itera has a 10-percent block of shares. Armrosgazprom
owns the whole gas distributing network in the republic.
8. Development Approaches: Convergence of Different Paths
Source: IUCN, June 29, 2004
The 4th Regional Session of the Global Biodiversity Forum in Asia was held
in Manila, Philippines 21-23 June, 2004. The key findings of the forum were
that development planning and sustainable development strategies do not have
much meaning for local communities. Communities strive for the betterment of
livelihoods irrespective of whether Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
(PRSPs) will help achieve their aims or whether Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) serve as frameworks. Only global organizations and national
governments use these approaches combined with national plans for
conservation. Since communities do not understand these terms and processes,
ownership of the communities in achieving these goals are often lacking.
With more than 60 people from 11 countries participating, the delegates
deliberated on the need to make conservation and development work together
for local people rather than to fulfill global obligations.
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Christian Science Monitor
July 1 2004
Beware Russia’s pocket empire
By Daniel C. Twining
WASHINGTON – Last weekend, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
visited Moldova, a country where the cold war never ended. His trip
highlighted the threat to Western values and interests posed by
Russia’s ambition to retain control over strategic European enclaves
it once ruled as part of the Soviet empire.
It is a reminder that despite the success of NATO’s Istanbul summit,
the West has not completed its grand geopolitical project of building
a Europe of secure democracies extending to the borders of Russia.
Russia’s nostalgia for its imperial past is evident in the pocket
empire it maintains among neighboring nations. These imperial
aspirations stifle democratic development on Europe’s borders and
repudiate the values necessary for lasting partnership between Moscow
and the West.
Moldova, where a slice of the Soviet Union survives in the
secessionist Transdniestria region, is just such a case. When the
USSR collapsed 13 years ago, Moldova became an independent nation.
But the 14th Soviet Army stayed on in the region, along the border
with Ukraine, to support Transdniestria’s secession from Moldova.
Former apparatchik Igor Smirnov turned his autocratic fiefdom into a
client state of Moscow. Today, Russian forces guard Transdniestria’s
borders, Russian officers command its Army, Russian troops guard an
enormous Soviet arms depot, and Russia provides free energy supplies.
President Smirnov answers to leaders in Moscow, many of whom
allegedly profit from the international criminal network that
operates in the area.
According to Western officials in the region, Transdniestria is a
leading exporter of kidnapped women to Europe, a lucrative transit
territory for illicit drugs, and a key link in the arms-smuggling
network that peddles the Soviet Union’s former military hardware on
the international market. If Al Qaeda has not gone shopping there
yet, it is only a matter of time.
Why does Russia support this illegitimate regime? In negotiations
last fall that nearly resulted in a settlement recognizing the
criminal regime’s claim to federal status within Moldova, Moscow
showed its hand by demanding that Moldova commit to a treaty
legalizing the presence of Russian military forces on its soil until
2020. Thanks to Western pressure and the resistance of Moldovans who
took to the streets in protest, the deal collapsed. Nonetheless,
political reform in Moldova has been frozen by the Transdniestria
crisis, which focuses the West’s attention on conflict resolution
rather than on democratic change.
Russia’s Transdniestria strategy mirrors its approach to the other
“frozen conflicts” sustained by Russian military forces and political
support – two secessionist provinces in Georgia and the disputed
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Moscow’s ambition is to make it seem normal for Russian troops to
guard European borders and serve as outposts of imperial control in
independent nations, without their consent.
In the absence of treaties legitimizing Russia’s illegal military
presence on its neighbors’ territory, Russia will keep these
conflicts “frozen” – ensuring that secessionist leaders who answer to
Moscow remain in control.
As Mr. Rumsfeld said clearly last weekend, Russia’s troop presence
violates the revised Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe and
post-Soviet guarantees Russia made to withdraw military forces from
the territories of its neighbors.
A Western campaign to resolve the frozen conflicts and democratize
Europe’s borderlands could be a new pillar of transatlantic
cooperation. NATO should deepen its Partnership for Peace programs in
this region and put the frozen conflicts on the agenda of the
NATO-Russia Council. The European Union should put meat on the bones
of its “New Neighborhood Policy” by tackling the conflicts and
committing substantial assistance for democratic change in its
backyard.
Together, the United States and Europe should condition deeper
Russian access to Western markets on Moscow’s willingness to
negotiate democratic political solutions to Europe’s frozen
conflicts. The transatlantic democracies should also condition
Russia’s privileged political relationship with Western institutions
like NATO, the EU, and the Group of Seven (the world’s richest
nations) on Moscow’s demonstrated willingness to act responsibly in
its near abroad – including the expeditious and verifiable withdrawal
of Russian military forces from the conflict zones.
As part of any political solution in these countries, the West should
insist on nationwide democratic elections, both because it is right
and to reassure Russia that populations in the secessionist regions
it claims to “protect” have a full voice in their reunified nation’s
future.
Russia must understand that its cold war rules of statecraft do not
apply in an age when it seeks partnership with the West – and when
states on the old Soviet borders aspire to membership in an imperium
centered on Brussels, not Moscow.
Despite Russian opposition to enlargement of NATO and the EU, the
progress of democracy, reform, and security across Central and
Eastern Europe during the past decade has made Russia more secure,
not less. Resolving Europe’s frozen conflicts and building stable
democracies throughout the geostrategic gray zone on Russia’s borders
would have a similar effect. Conversely, acceding to Russia’s desire
for a new sphere of influence in its old imperial stomping grounds
would not make Russia more secure. It would not make an increasingly
authoritarian Russia more susceptible to Western values. It would, in
fact, make the West complicit in their subversion.
– Daniel C. Twining, a former foreign policy adviser to Republican
Sen. John McCain, is a director at the German Marshall Fund of the
US. The views expressed here are his own and are informed by a
fact-finding trip he took to Moldova in May.

Worldwide Faith News (press release)
June 30 2004
Middle East Christians hang tough in tough circumstances
by Alexa Smith
RICHMOND, June 30 – It was a history lesson in four parts.
The first to speak was the Rev. Younan Shiba, a pastor from a
Presbyterian church in downtown Baghdad. Mary Zumot stood at his side,
translating, as he told about the Iraqi denomination that came into
being in the 1920s as a product of the work of Presbyterian
missionaries from Iran.
Then came the Rev. Amanuel Ghareeb, a Presbyterian from Kuwait, who
spoke of the approximately 300,000 Christians in his country.
Then the Rev. Hendrik Shanazarian, of the Armenian Evangelical Church
of Iran, who recounted 175 years of Presbyterian history there.
And finally the Rev. Mitri Raheb, a Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem,
the very birthplace of Christ.
Gathered in a corner of the General Assembly exhibit hall, the men
spoke one by one, surrounded by maps of Palestine, photos of
Palestinians and a gigantic Middle Eastern tapestry whose threads are
intertwined like the history of Christianity in that troubled part of
the world.
The Rev. Victor Makari, the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s liaison to the
Middle East, spoke of a “continuous 2,000-year history of
uninterrupted witness.”
Admittedly there are problems aplenty. Severe legal restraints. Testy
political climates. War. Poverty. Economic instability.
But each man gave thanks to the international church for speaking up
for them in times of trouble – while giving the U.S. government mixed
reviews, for its action and inaction in their homelands.
Said Raheb: “I wish I could say what Amanuel Ghareeb said: That
American troops came to liberate us from Saddam and the Iraqi
occupation. Unfortunately, I cannot say that about American
troops. And you know why? Kuwait is oily. Palestine is only holy.”
Raheb went on: “We continue to live under the longest ongoing
occupation in history,” referring to the 57-year-long Israeli
occupation – and now, the 27-foot security wall the Israeli army is
building across the West Bank, which is swallowing up Palestinian
orchards, farms and homes as it goes. Both subsidized by U.S. dollars.
In the same breath, Raheb told his audience not to stop speaking up,
but rather to raise its voice. “I wish you would challenge both Bush
and Kerry to be as courageous as Ronald Reagan,” he said, recalling
the former president’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate during the Cold
War.
“Tell them to tell Sharon to tear down this wall that is surrounding
the little town of Bethlehem,” he said
Shiba said he’s looking forward to deepening ties with the U.S.
church as Iraq begins to rebuild.
In a press conference later in the day, he said the church in Iraq –
like the churches that opposed the war elsewhere – hoped violence
would be averted. But while Iraqis are grateful for the troops who
toppled the Hussein regime, he said, it soon became clear that there
was no plan for stabilizing Iraq. Instead, he said, the U.S. presence
was “like blind bats banging against the walls.”
Now, Shiba said, the role of the international church is to work for
peace and help rebuild – and to remind the U.S. government of its
responsibility. He said U.S. Christians should not stop speaking,
even if the Bush administration still refuses to meet with mainline
leaders, as it did before the war.
“I believe this is a challenge for the church,” he said. “Even if you
are turned down by the administration … You must respond to the
calling of (your) Master to engage in the work of rebuilding. While
your voice may be smothered, your actions can be loud. And it is our
privilege to partner with your church.”
Shanazarian said church unity is critical for Christians who are
minorities in their home countries. He said the Fellowship of Middle
Eastern Evangelical Churches has helped relieve the isolation of
Iranian Christians, many of whom are leaving Iran in search of
economic security.
Shanazarian presented a small Persian rug bearing the image of Jesus
to the PC(USA)’s Worldwide Ministries Division, calling it “the image
that unites all of us.”
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Anadolu Agency, Turkey
July 1 2004
Gul: Dialogue, Cooperation And Respect For Others’ Values Are Our
Basic Principles
ISTANBUL – Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that dialogue, cooperation and respect
for others’ values were their basic principles.
Gul added that the idea of clash of civilizations was not valid for
Turkey and Turkey’s foreign policy.
Gul delivered a speech at the closure session of ”Istanbul
Pan-Atlantic Student Summit” at Koc University in Istanbul.
Stating that half of Turkey’s population consisted of youths under
the age of 25, Gul underlined the importance of NATO Youth Summit’s
convening in Turkey.
Stressing that Turkey was determined to educate youths in political,
economic and other fields, Gul noted that the government had a
reformist structure. He added that they attached great importance to
values of youths.
Gul noted that Turkey expected to start membership negotiations with
the European Union (EU) at the end of 2004, stating that they knew
contribution that Turkey would make to EU, hoping that EU would also
comprehend it.
Stating that NATO alliance was based on democratic ideals, he said
that NATO had responsibility to protect and defend common values.
Gul said that the alliance had fulfilled this task from the very
beginning, stressing that it would also continue to take steps on
protection of freedoms and fight against terrorism.
Foreign Minister Gul said that the alliance adopted exchanging
mutually views on every issue as a principle, stating that NATO was
going through an adaptation process continuously.
Stating that NATO also undertook significant tasks to improve
stability in the world, Gul underlined that Turkey attached great
importance to further improvement of its relations with NATO, EU and
also regional countries.
Gul asked students attending NATO Youth Summit to take Turkey’s
messages of peace and tolerance to their countries.
Replying to a question on their expectations after referenda held in
Cyprus on April 24, Gul said that Turkey and the United Nations
extended great efforts for solution of Cyprus issue.
Noting that Cyprus plan prepared by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
envisaged a two-sided but united Cyprus, Gul said that the Turkish
Cypriot side accepted the plan in the referendum, but a historic
opportunity was missed as the Greek Cypriot side rejected it.
”What Turkish Cypriots expect from now on is the lifting of economic
embargo and travel embargo,” he said.
Stating that Turkey preserved its perspective of a lasting
resolution, Gul called on western countries to keep their promises to
lift embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot side.
Asked what kind of things could be done to change relationship
between the Islam culture and western culture for the better, Gul
said the Republic of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire which had a 600
years of history attributed importance to tolerance and mutual
respect.
Stressing that nobody was messing in religion and language of others
and nobody was assimilated in Turkey, Gul said that it was proven
with existence of worship places of three religions in Ortakoy
district of Istanbul.
Gul said that Turkey would continue contributing to peace in the
world and stability in the region.
Asked what kind of steps that the NATO envisaged to take for
resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at Istanbul Summit,
Gul said that Palestinian-Israeli problem concerned not only those
two regions, but also whole region and the world.
Stressing that steps for resolution of this chronic problem would
relieve firstly the region and later the world, Gul said that a road
map was prepared and a broader platform beyond the NATO discussed the
issue.
Gul said Turkey supported such initiatives and would exert every
effort.
Asked about matters that had been discussed during his meeting with
the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Gul said it was a
very beneficial meeting and both sides were satisfied with the
meeting.
Noting that problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia could not remain
stagnant while partial progress was recorded in other problems in the
region, Gul said it was a great achievement as the sides were
satisfied with the meeting in Istanbul.
Stating that they would hold another meeting in New York in
September, Gul added that he believed they would record progress in
resolution of problems through dialogue.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 1 2004
PACE SECRETARY GENERAL MEETS HEADS OF STANDING COMMISSIONS OF MILLI
MAJLIS
[July 01, 2004, 11:21:38]
Secretary General of PACE Mr. Bruno Haller met the heads of standing
commissions of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan Parliament) of Azerbaijan
Republic.
Opening the meeting, vice-speaker of Milli Majlis, head of the
standing commission on defense and security issues Ziyafet Askerov
noted that Azerbaijan is keen in integration to the European family,
European values, deepening of cooperation with the Council of Europe.
Our country, therefore, constantly fulfills the taken obligations,
Mr. Askerov emphasized.
He also noted the unsuccessful efforts of the OSCE MG, the major
mediator in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny
Karabakh conflict, the crucial problem for our people, on application
of double standards related to the sides-in-conflict, indifference of
the world community to the fact of ignorance by Armenia four UN SC
Resolutions, principles of international law, stressing that this
arouses concern in the Azerbaijan community. He noted that Azerbaijan
adheres peaceful settlement of the conflict. And it is high time to
make decisive steps. If the peaceful negotiations will not have any
success, Azerbaijan will try to release its occupied lands by any
means.
Speaking of the issues of cooperation, Mr. Bruno Haller noted:
`Structure of our parliaments are alike. And this opens opportunities
for further development of links. Cooperation of Azerbaijan
Parliament and PACE fives reason for satisfaction and we aspire to
development of the regional parliamentary ties. Parliamentary
dialogue plays a key role in inter-state relations’.
Mr. Bruno Haller stated that due to the election of Terry Davis as
Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in the region for
preparation of report on Nagorny Karabakh conflict is expected to
come a new reporter. He expressed confidence that this would be a
objective report reflecting the truth.
Also were attending the meeting the heads of the standing commissions
of Milli Majlis Asya Manafova, Eldar Ibrahimov, Sirus Tebrizli,
Shahlar Askerov. It was suggested to invite specialists of relevant
standing commissions to PACE, visit to the region of representatives
of PACE commission to exchange experience.