*THURSDAY June 24, 2004*
* *
BYU star to wear Utah jersey?
BYU center Rafael Araujo hopes to extend his stay in Utah by being
drafted by the Jazz. (Rick Egan/Tribune file photo)
By Patrick Kinahan
The Salt Lake Tribune
A few days after touching down on U.S. soil for the first time,
Tadeu and Neuza Araujo flew from Los Angeles to New York.
If their son’s wishes come true, the Araujos’ whirlwind trip will
include Salt Lake City this week. Rafael Araujo would like to give his
parents a tour of Brigham Young’s campus, his home the last two years.
But sightseeing is not his primary motivation. Araujo wants to bring
his Brazilian family to Utah on Friday, the day the Jazz formally
introduce their NBA draft picks.
Araujo, BYU’s starting center the last two years, would love the
Jazz to draft him tonight. Even if it means sliding down a few spots, he
still prefers playing for Utah.
“That would be awesome,” Araujo said. “I played there for two years.
I love the community and the people.”
The only problem is, Araujo might not be available when the Jazz
draft at No. 14. They also have picks at 16 and 21.
The 14th pick is guaranteed a three-year contract at a total of
$4.47 million.
Since he began individual workouts for NBA teams, Araujo has seen
his stock soar. Projected as a late first-round pick in April, he could
be a lottery selection.
Diron Ohanian, Araujo’s agent, said most NBA teams have contacted
him in recent weeks. The pair has had to reject many requests for second
workouts.
Araujo has spent the last several weeks flying around the country to
meet with various NBA teams. Ohanian expects his client to be drafted
between Nos. 8 and 16.
“Once the workouts started, all the teams [drafting] 10 and under
started pounding on us to get him,” Ohanian said. “Of course, he didn’t
go to every city. It’s too much.”
Ohanian said he didn’t expect the Portland Trail Blazers to draft
Araujo with the 13th pick. Jazz owner Larry Miller said last week his
team would like to take Araujo with the 14th pick.
But they may have to swing a deal to move up to get him.
“There are teams definitely ahead of them that have expressed
interest,” Ohanian said.
Between 16 and 18 teams have contacted BYU coach Steve Cleveland to
get information on Araujo. Each time, he has given a glowing
recommendation, noting that his former player has the skills to
contribute next season.
Starting his college career at Arizona Western, Araujo was the
Mountain West Conference’s co-player of the year as a senior. He
averaged 18.4 points, shooting 57 percent from the field, and 10.1
rebounds a game.
“Everybody has seen such sustained improvement over the last two
years,” Cleveland said. “I’ve never been around a young man in 25 years
of coaching that had the work ethic that he has.”
At 6-foot-11, 292 pounds, he combines size and strength. Few other
big men can match Araujo’s skill level and potential.
“Everybody has been impressed,” Cleveland said.
Since transferring to BYU two years ago, Araujo has not seen his
parents. Tadeu and Neuza will accompany their son and his wife and baby
daughter to New York for the draft.
“It’s really exciting for them,” Araujo said. “They can’t wait.
They’re really happy for me. They’ve seen all the hard work I’ve done
throughout my life.”
Joining guard Travis Hansen, Araujo will become the second BYU
player drafted in two years. The Atlanta Hawks took Hansen in the second
round last June.
Shawn Bradley was the last Cougar to get picked in the first round.
Barely off an LDS Church mission, he went to the Philadelphia 76ers as
the No. 2 pick in 1993.
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* *
*© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune. *
All material found on Utah Online is copyrighted The Salt Lake Tribune
and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused
without explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
June 24 2004
Speaker declines to put Garabagh on parliamentary agenda

MPs suggested in a Milli Majlis (MM) session on Friday that the Upper
Garabagh conflict be discussed in the parliament.
Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said there was no need to put the issue on
the parliament’s agenda considering the fact the conflict remains
unresolved. He said talks are currently underway on the issue on
different levels and pointed out the upcoming meetings of the two
countries’ foreign ministers and presidents.
Alasgarov further suggested waiting for feedback from western
countries and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. He voiced his
confidence that Azerbaijan will not accept any compromises and that
the country’s territorial integrity will be restored according to
international norms.

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 24 2003
CONSULTATION AT NKR GOVERNMENT
On June 21 the prime minister of NKR Anoushavan Danielian held a
government consultation to consider the questions included in the
upcoming meeting of the government. The members of the government
recommended for the meeting about ten documents concerning the
establishment of the government agency `Administration of the NKR
Ministry of Development of Industrial Infrastructures and Building’,
confirmation of the regulations for the ministry and infrastructures,
government agencies, non-commercial organizations, coordination of
work of the agency. Making his observations on the discussion and
opinions about the mentioned questions, A. Danielian emphasized the
importance of structural reforms in the effective coordination of
controlling functions maintained by the legislation. He especially
mentioned the necessity of right choice of cadres, competent
specialists for responsible positions. The prime minister expressed
confidence that with the assistance of the NKR Council for Civil
Service will manage to make the right choice and complete the
personnel of the system with best cadres which is of essential
meaning. Touching upon the problems of privatization of the state
property A. Danielian once again stated the position of the
government that the state areas and property should be privatized
exclusively through tender and the auction of buildings must be open
and transparent to make the process available for everyone. These
should be put out for sales at market prices and not `distributed
free of charge’. During the consultation the NKR bill `On tourism and
tourism business’ was also touched upon. Drawing attention to the
importance of the bill, regulation of relationships and legal
organization concerning the sphere of tourism, A. Danielian said that
he expects serious progress from the steps undertaken and a serious
concept must be worked out for making tourism in Artsakh attractive
and prospective especially that there exist all the conditions for
its development. During the consultation the minister of agriculture
Benik Bakhshiyan presented information on the commencement and course
of harvest of arable crops. The members of government discussed a
number of other economic, social and organizational matters.Â
AA

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 24, 2003
QUESTION REMAINS URGENT
Along with positive tendencies the transition to market economy
brought a number of problems. Some of them are especially urgent in
the sphere of health care connected with introduction of paid medical
service and low purchasing capacity of the population. And although
the government has undertaken the free of charge medical care of the
socially insecure and separate groups of patients the problem remains
urgent. The system of medical care is especially vulnerable in the
regions, especially in those areas which even temporarily appeared in
the hands of the enemy who destroyed and plundered the hospitals and
schools with special ardour. In 1992-1993 the regional hospital of
Martakert was ruined and plundered by the Azerbaijanis. In the
post-war period certain reconstruction works were carried out here on
both budget and humanitarian means. The department of maternity and
gynecology and policlinic, partly the surgical department were
reconstructed, and the local hospitals, which have been placed in
other buildings, minimum conditions have been provided, mainly for
maternity care and out-patient treatment. By the means of the
Stepanakert office of the Red Cross and the communities certain
reconstruction work was carried out in the maternity wards of the
region. Nevertheless, the situation is far from being satisfactory
especially in the villages where the maternity wards are placed in
houses, do not have necessary equipment. Recently at the meeting of
the regional council the director of the Martakert Medical Union
after Sergey Ohanian presented a report on the work done in 2003. The
NKR Minister of Health Zoya Lazarian was also present. The Medical
Union includes the regional hospital with surgical, therapeutic,
pediatric, maternity, infectious, policlinic departments, three local
(villages Haterk, Vank, Getavan) hospitals with 10 wards, two
out-patient treatment and 39 maternity wards, provides free medical
care and service within the framework of state medical programs, as
well as paid services. Free medical care is provided to invalids of
the 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups, veterans of the World War II and people
with an equal status, families of the servicemen who were killed or
died during the defence of NKR and military service, participants of
the disposal of the damage of Chernobil, life pensioners and sole
mothers, parents of the families having 4 and more children under 18.
In 2003 within the framework of the state medical care the regional
hospital provided care of 53 million 314 thousand drams instead of
the provided 52 million 211 thousand and received additional 53
patients. In 2003 for medical care and aid 79 946 patients against
the provided 69 855 visited the hospital of which 34 598 the
maternity wards, 6848 the local hospitals and 37 300 the regional
hospital. 1441 patients received in-patient treatment. It was
mentioned that the positive tendencies in the improvement of medical
care in 2003 are stable. The number of visits of patients grew, cases
of hospital death, as well as the rate of child death (under 12
months) and stillbirth dropped, the number of home calls and doctor
visits increased. Nevertheless, medical service in the region needs
serious improvements. Among these the director of the medical union
mentioned the problem of cadres: of the 17 doctors involved in the
union 12 work in the regional center. Compared to the volume of work,
the number of registered and potential patients this is a small
number. For example, in the therapeutic department of the regional
hospital 1 doctor works instead of 3. In the policlinic department
not all the surgeries have necessary specialists. The same is with
the pediatric and gynecology, and venereal and dermatological
departments. It was mentioned that all the three local hospitals have
ambulance cars. There is one doctor in Vank and in Getavan and 3
doctors in Haterk hospital. In 2003 the local hospitals together
received 17 117 patients, 124 births were registered. There were also
8 cases of delivery at home. Continuing on problems, S. Ohanian
mentioned the necessity of new equipment, repairs of the therapeutic,
infection and surgical departments, construction of new maternity
wards in all the village communities. It was mentioned that the
supply of medicine to villages is carried out on the means provided
by village municipalities which is trifling compared to the demand.
The gap is filled with the humanitarian aid provided by the
international organizations. The minister of health promised to study
the problems raised and start their settlement as soon as possible.
NIKOLAY BAGHDASSARIAN

Canadian Press
June 24 2004
Egoyan headed for mainstream
New star-filled film project stars Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth

TORONTO (CP) — Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth in an Atom Egoyan film?
Looks that way. The two international stars will be featured in
Somebody Loves You, described as a “sumptuously seductive film noir”
for which principal photography begins Aug. 30 in Toronto, Los
Angeles and London. Based on a novel by Rupert Holmes, Somebody Loves
You will be written and directed by Egoyan and produced by Robert
Lantos’s boutique company Serendipity Point Films.
“I love this project,” says Lantos. “Of all my collaborations with
Atom Egoyan, it is my favourite. It is in-your-face provocative and
at the same time delightfully intelligent.”
In what appears to be a departure from the Canadian filmmaker’s
art-house style, the Canada-U.K. co-production is a study of fame,
fortune and the mores of sexual convention.

After visit to refugees, doctors’ group asserts Sudan is practicing
genocide
Says world response needed now in Darfur
The Boston Globe
June 24, 2004

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Correspondent
The violence in the Darfur region of Sudan includes systematic killings,
rape, pillaging, and destruction of villages that ”are clear indicators
of genocide,” according to a report issued yesterday by Physicians for
Human Rights.
A delegation from the Boston-based advocacy group visited the
neighboring country of Chad last month and interviewed non-Arab refugees
from the Darfur region, who gave firsthand accounts of being assaulted
and chased while their wells were poisoned, livestock stolen, and
villages burned by an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed, working with
the Sudanese government.
”What we determined, based on a number of testimonies, is that there
are clear indicators of genocide,” investigator John Heffernan said.
”The main point here is a consistent program of targeting non-Arabs.”
Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, which the United States has signed, any member country is
obligated to stop or prevent genocide if it is identified. The
international genocide convention, adopted in 1948, defines genocide as
actions intended to destroy a racial, national, religious, or ethnic group.
There is widespread agreement that the humanitarian crisis in Darfur
demands urgent action, but a coordinated international response is
coming too slowly for many critics. The physicians’ group said that by
presenting evidence of genocide, it hoped to instigate a more serious
international response.
”Those countries which have signed on to the genocide convention are
committed to prevent and punish those who are perpetrating it,”
Heffernan said.
Darfur has been the center of escalating violence as the Arab-dominated
central government has fought non-Arab rebel groups over the past 18
months. In April, a UN official called the conflict ”ethnic cleansing.”
The physicians’ group’s report noted that non-Arabs were consistently
attacked while neighboring Arab villages were spared. ”The Janjaweed
attacked us, and then the government helicopters attacked us. They want
to attack all the black people in Sudan, so that Sudan will be for the
Arabs only,” a refugee is quoted as saying.
Tens of thousands of people have died, and roughly 1 million people have
been displaced within Darfur. Most of these displaced people lack food,
clean water, and medical care and some are even living in ”prison
enclaves,” according to Heffernan. For the refugees in Chad, those
conditions will only worsen as the rainy season begins, making transport
of food or other humanitarian aid impossible, the report said.
The study outlines assault methods it said were intended to annihilate
the non-Arab group. They cite systematic attacks on villages, using
coordinated air and land forces.
The Arab militia worked with the Sudanese government’s troops to destroy
property and pursued fleeing villagers in order to kill, rape, or rob
them, the report charges.
The report called on the Sudanese government to halt the violence, and
on the international community to intervene.
A spokesman from the United Nations said yesterday that although the
secretary general is not prepared to call the atrocities ”genocide,”
the flagrant human rights violations occurring in Darfur are a major
concern to the UN.
”The idea is not to wait until it gets to that point,” said Jemera
Rome, a Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch. ”The Security Council
does not need genocide in order to act.”
She said that the UN should invoke its Chapter VII authority of the UN
charter, which permits the Security Council to take all actions
necessary, including sending a military force, to ”maintain or restore
international peace and security.”
The US government has so far not taken a view on whether the violence
amounts to genocide. In a June 11 interview with The New York Times,
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said, ”I’m not prepared to say what
is the correct legal term for what’s happening. All I know is that there
are at least a million people who are desperately in need.”
/
Carolyn Johnson can be reached at [email protected]/

Azerbaijan still hopes for peaceful Karabakh settlement – president
Lider TV, Baku
25 Jun 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijan has not violated any country’s territorial
integrity, on the contrary, it is a victim of aggression. This is why,
we have the full right to liberate our occupied territories, the
commander-in-chief and President Ilham Aliyev said at the Heydar
Aliyev Higher Military School today.
[Ilham Aliyev] The Azerbaijani people will never tolerate this
occupation. We will never allow our land to remain under
occupation. Our cause is just. Azerbaijan has not occupied anyone
else’s land. It has not violated anyone else’s territorial
integrity. On the contrary, we are the victims of this occupation and
the Azerbaijani people have been suffering from it. Therefore,
international law is on our side. Of course, we should try [changing
tack] – the whole international community and all those who directly
deal with this issue should take international law into
account. Azerbaijan has the full right to liberate its
land. International legal norms have created such conditions for us.
We want to resolve this [conflict] peacefully. But you know that the
peace talks which have been going on for over 10 years have yielded no
results and there is no outcome.
The Azerbaijani people will never tolerate this situation. We demand
that this issue be resolved soon and in a fair way within the
framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. We still hope that we
will be able to resolve it peacefully. But at the same time, we should
be ready to take steps to liberate our land at any time.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Le Point
24 juin 2004
Nice – Patrimoine vivant; Histoires de familles
AUTEUR: Christophe Courau
Le Bottin de Nice est un livre d’histoire. Les patronymes des grandes
familles, certaines établies depuis le Moyen Age, y côtoient des noms
de lignées immigrées du Piémont, réfugiées de Russie ou rapatriées
d’Algérie – sans parler des Français « de l’intérieur ». Autant de
tribus à convoquer pour raconter la saga de cette ville à part.
Ils sont tous niçois. Sacristain, médecin, employée municipale,
avocat à la retraite, ou responsable des chauffeurs de la ville,
chacun d’entre eux porte un nom illustre. Ce sont les descendants des
« consuls », ces quelque 340 familles qui ont dirigé Nice pendant
quatre siècles, du XVe au XVIIe.
La plupart de ces patronymes renommés figurent toujours dans le
bottin local.« Les consuls n’étaient pas confinés à un cercle social
» , observe Hervé Barelli, chargé de mission Patrimoine et Culture
régionale auprès du sénateur-maire. Celui qui se définit en souriant
comme« chargé des affaires autochtones » récuse toute idée de
dynasties.« S’il fallait vraiment caractériser ces familles, il
vaudrait mieux utiliser le mot de tribus , assure-t-il.On serait,
pour la plupart d’entre elles, bien incapable de retracer avec
certitude leurs liens avec les consuls qui portaient leur nom. Mis à
part certaines familles nobles, bien identifiées. » Mais une partie
de la noblesse locale est issue de la bourgeoisie :« Les bourgeois
qui ont bien servi les intérêts du prince de Savoie, chef de l’Etat
du comté de Nice jusqu’en 1860, ont été anoblis » , rappelle
l’historien.
Grands ancêtres
L’histoire a ainsi retenu le nom de la famille Peyre. Etablie à Nice
depuis au moins 1333, elle devient l’une des riches familles
marchandes du XVIe siècle. Le grand ancêtre s’appelle Guido. Il aura
quatre fils, dont les diverses branches participeront régulièrement à
la vie de la cité. Le fils aîné, Honoré, sera consul en 1756 et son
propre fils, Jean-Baptiste, le sera à son tour en 1610. Le deuxième
fils, Guido, sera trésorier de la ville entre 1569 et 1576. Parmi ses
descendants, on note un certain Pierre-Jean, docteur ès lois et
avocat au sénat de Nice, mais aussi Louis-François, consul en 1707,
ou encore Ange-Louis, coseigneur de Chteauneuf.
Le troisième fils de Guido, Lancelot, exercera la fonction d’avocat
et l’un de ses héritiers, Emmanuel Philibert, poursuivant la
tradition juridique de la famille, sera au XIXe siècle avocat général
du royaume de Savoie. Enfin, le dernier rejeton de Guido Peyre, Jean,
sera anobli en 1617. La nombreuse descendance de ce riche commerçant,
devenu marquis de Chteauneuf, donnera à de nombreuses reprises des
consuls à la ville. En 1828, le dernier descendant du marquisat
disparaît sans héritier. Le titre passera, de fille en neveu, jusqu’à
la famille de Cessole.
Noblesse savoyarde
Cette dernière famille est, elle aussi, issue du commerce. Joseph
Spitalieri, négociant, s’établit à Nice au début du XVIIIe siècle.
Son fils, Honoré-François, sera consul à deux reprises et acquiert le
fief comtal de Cessole, dans le Piémont. La famille Spitalieri de
Cessole restera active dans la vie politique niçoise tout au long du
XIXe siècle. En 1937, le dernier des Cessole, Victor, fera don de sa
bibliothèque à la ville.
Parmi ceux qui ont eu la chance d’être anoblis par les Savoie avant
1860 figurent aussi les Avigdor. Cette famille d’origine juive
s’installe à Nice au XVIIe siècle. Isaac Samuel, né à Nice en 1694,
démarre un florissant commerce d’étoffe. Un siècle plus tard, Avigdor
Aîné et Fils constitue l’une des plus importantes sociétés de négoce
de Méditerranée. Les Avigdor se lancent alors dans la banque et
créent une filature de soie.
Un Avigdor deviendra officier municipal en 1800, puis consul de
Prusse. Son fils, Moïse-Jules, député au parlement de Savoie, sera
anobli par le duc de Savoie. La dernière représentante de la famille,
qui habitait encore New York il y a une dizaine d’années, n’oubliera
pas sa ville d’origine : elle a légué sa collection de tableaux au
musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice.
Nouveaux notables
Avec le rattachement définitif du comté de Nice à la France, la
plupart des grandes maisons aristocratiques partent pour l’Italie, où
le duc de Savoie va devenir roi d’Italie. Ne restent à Nice que des
familles bourgeoises, dont quelques-unes seront anoblies par Napoléon
III. Peu importe. Au milieu du XIXe siècle, la particule n’est plus
indispensable à la notabilité.
Ainsi, François Maulausséna (1844-1882), fils de notaire devenu
avocat puis membre du conseil communal en 1855, choisira de se
rallier à la France. Devenu maire, puis député, il s’efforce de faire
valoir Nice auprès des autorités parisiennes. La fin de l’Empire le
prend par surprise et Malausséna démissionne. Son fils reprendra la
tradition en devenant à son tour député.
Une simple recherche dans l’annuaire du nom de Malausséna donne
aujourd’hui encore 58 réponses pour la seule ville de Nice. De même,
le nom de Baréty est encore porté le long de la baie des Anges.
Alexandre Barety (1844-1918) exerce la profession de médecin. Il
fonde l’Academia nissarda, avant d’entrer en politique. Il finira
vice-président du conseil général. Son fils Léon Barety (1883-1971)
est, lui, président du conseil général des Alpes-Maritimes. Député,
plusieurs fois ministre, il plaidera inlassablement pour l’expansion
française outre-mer.
« Définir aujourd’hui les grandes familles niçoises reste très
compliqué » , souffle Hervé Barelli. Selon l’historien, celles
d’avant 1860 se sont alliées sans difficultés aux immigrants
italiens. Ces « vieux Niçois » se regroupent au sein de l’Academia
nissarda, dont les membres doivent prouver que leurs parents et leurs
grands-parents étaient niçois. Principalement catholiques, ils se
retrouvent aussi au sein d’associations religieuses comme
l’archiconfrérie de la Sainte-Croix (les pénitents blancs). Quant à
la présence israélite, elle a toujours été importante à Nice.« Au
départ, elle est principalement constituée des juifs chassés de
France ou d’Espagne qui se sont installés ici pour fuir les
persécutions. Aujourd’hui, la grande majorité d’entre eux sont des
rapatriés d’Afrique du Nord » , explique le chargé de mission. Malgré
une présence ancienne, peu de Russes sont devenus des notables
niçois.
C’est à peine si l’on compte un docteur, Michel Rosanoff, dont une
rue rappelle l’attachement à la ville.
Arméniens et Italiens
En revanche, les 2 000 à 3 000 familles arméniennes implantées dans
le quartier de la Madeleine se sont assimilés rapidement aux
immigrants italiens. Ils partageaient leurs conditions économiques
difficiles et se sont mis à parler lalengua nissart . Plus tard, les
pieds-noirs, qui viendront s’installer en grand nombre, pèseront d’un
poids politique et social non négligeable dans la vie de la cité. On
n’oubliera pas non plus la grande diaspora corse, toujours importante
en ville.« Nice a longtemps été l’université la plus proche de Corse,
avant la création récente de Corte » , rappelle Hervé Barelli.
Mais Nice est aussi peuplée de « Français de l’intérieur », attirés
par la douceur de vivre de la Côte d’Azur. Une autre tribu bien
difficile à cerner. La maison des provinces, dans le vieux Nice,
regroupe d’ailleurs une vingtaine d’associations de néo-Niçois venus
des quatre coins de France, Bretons ou Berrichons de Nice…« Puisque
ces associations continuent d’exister, peut-être que ces gens ne se
considèrent pas comme des Niçois à part entière… » , s’interroge
Hervé Barelli.

Ukrainian defence minister welcomes passage of military reform bill
Den, Kiev
23 Jun 04
Parliament’s vote to pass a military reform law on 22 June means that
the armed forces can move forward, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhen
Marchuk has said. Speaking in a newspaper interview, Marchuk said that
there is finally a realization that it is not numbers of soldiers that
are the main factor in ensuring security, but the quality of the armed
forces. Ukraine’s aim of joining NATO is now part of the country’s
official military doctrine, Marchuk said. The following is the text of
the interview Marchuk gave to journalist Oleh Ivantsov entitled “Rules
and calculation of military reform defined. At last” published in the
serious Ukrainian daily Den on 23 June; subheadings have been inserted
editorially:
Ivantsov Defence Minister Yevhen Marchuk commented on the adoption
yesterday of the “legislative package” of military reform by telephone
to Den.
What opportunities does yesterday’s 22 June parliamentary vote open
up? What should now be expected?
Marchuk The formation of a hierarchy of legal provision for military
reform has been completed. Today (yesterday – Editor) apart from the
fact that parliament voted, the president Leonid Kuchma signed the
Strategic Defence Bulletin. And this means that the defence review
has been completed. To put it more simply, Ukraine has completed
deciding what military structure exists today. It may look a bit
strange, but unfortunately that’s exactly how it is. To be sure, we
are not in a unique position here: almost all post-Soviet countries
have travelled this path. On the other hand, the adoption of these
documents precisely today – the law on numbers and the Strategic
Defence Bulletin – answers the question: what military threats is the
state facing today? And the second thing – what should the priorities
be for the armed forces in connection with this?
Apart from that, the reform process has to be well-calculated,
primarily in the interests of the servicemen themselves, to make sure
that the military do not suffer, first the people who will be
dismissed from the armed forces, and second to ensure that there will
be a substantial improvement in provision for servicemen who will be
serving in the army in future. For this, a government resolution has
confirmed forecast indicators for funding the armed forces in 2005. It
set out in detail the funding connected with armed services reform,
the budget and the growth in GDP and social payments.
How the overall average wage will increase in the state, what will be
the evolution of pensions, GDP and inflation – these are not data
“plucked from the air”. They were very painstakingly calculated: it
took three sittings of the state commission headed by the prime
minister Viktor Yanukovych to achieve the agreed indicators. The
document was signed by the prime minister, the finance minister Mykola
Azarov , the defence minister and so on.
Today the reform of the armed forces, or more accurately their
reconstruction, has a scientific basis. After all, the reform
programme was developed by scientific specialists, specialists in
military science and civilian experts. The reconstruction also has a
financial basis that was calculated fairly accurately. Third, there is
a very important document – the law on social protection – which has,
I would say, social guarantees for servicemen unparalleled in all the
years of independence. After all, servicemen had been dismissed
previously – 13,000 last year, 15,000 the year before and 45,000 in
1999. But they did not have substantial social guarantees.
Importance of military budget changes
The main thing is that all these decisions make it possible to bid
farewell to the old, very offensive structure of the military
budget. Next year our budget package in the Finance Ministry, the
government and parliament will differ substantially from this year,
because in next year’s budget there will be the possibility of
investing big funds in the development of the armed forces, the
development of new weapons, raising salaries and finally raising the
reputation of military service.
Ivantsov On the eve of the NATO summit in Istanbul, can it be claimed
that the passing of laws on army reform and the signing of the
Strategic Defence Bulletin mean that questions of military reform have
been solved before the summit?
Marchuk It can be said that the legal, organizational and financial
road has been opened for radical reconstruction of the armed
forces. Now it is all about implementation. I would not say that
reform is primarily needed for us and our armed forces before the
summit or after the summit. We are confirming that our declarations
last year about reform of the armed forces are real and fairly
concrete. It is also very important that all of this year’s budget
targets, which include articles connected with reform, were met in the
first half of the year. And the second half, in connection with
certain increases, gives a full guarantee that everything planned for
army reform in the social and financial dimension will be
fulfilled. This means that we, as firm partners, have not just made
declarations, but have done everything possible to start serious
reconstruction of the armed forces and move towards the armed forces
of the future.
Ivantsov How would you comment on the opponents of military reform, in
particular the parliamentary opposition?
Marchuk The factions that voted against last time, voted against this
time as well. In the ideological and political sense, the position of
centre-right opposition bloc Our Ukraine is surprising. Their
activists understand very well that reform of the armed forces is
connected with confirmation of our Euroatlantic integration. An
important aspect that should be noted is to remember that it was
certainly not easy to get these important documents through
parliament, the Security Council and the government. Not easy in the
sense that new realities had to be recognized. It was very difficult
for many people to abandon the idea that we cannot build or leave our
armed forces for circular defence.
Collective security
There are two collective defence systems around us, in which the
principle of “one for all and all for one” applies. It was very
difficult to give up stereotypes and the traditional understanding
that numbers define the might of the armed forces. All Eastern
European countries, even our neighbours, have outgrown that
anachronism. The recognition that in today’s world military security
for the state is provided not by the numbers, but the quality of the
armed forces of the state was very painfully taken on board. And not
only among the military, but also in society.
And the second important aspect that was also difficult to get through
in an evolutionary way concerns the fact that Ukraine, both in the
military doctrine and in the Strategic Defence Bulletin, confirmed the
fact that it is moving in the direction of joining a system of
collective defence and security, understanding that by itself it is
almost impossible in today’s world to guarantee its security, first
and foremost military. This is all in the documents; they are now
national documents, but we spent almost a year getting there in
complex discussions.
The little Czech Republic is a hundred times better defended than
Ukraine, because it is defended by a collective defence
system. Another military political bloc – the Tashkent agreement that
includes Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Armenia – also
has the principle of collective defence. Therefore, the change towards
realizing that we need to move towards a collective defence and
security system is a higher level of guarantee of security as a whole,
in particular military.
Ivantsov Is the aim of joining NATO written only in the Military
Doctrine?
Marchuk In the Strategic Bulletin as well. What is more, adaptation
and evolution of military organization and the armed forces to NATO
standards are defined as an aim. If the final aim has been set to join
the NATO collective defence and security system in future, then we
should approach that time as serious partners with achievements in the
military sphere, i.e. as a military organization that would be
compatible, even in language – from the linguistic and mentality point
of view. Not to mention the actual structure of the armed forces.

Newly-formed agency to ensure security of Armenian MPs
Mediamax news agency
24 Jun 04
YEREVAN
Beginning from 1 July the Armenian National Assembly building’s
security will be provided by employees of the state guard service
(SGS), the chairman of the standing parliamentary commission on
defence, national security and internal affairs, Mger Shakhgeldyan,
said today.
The parliamentarian said that the SGS is being formed on the basis of
the 10th department of the National Security Service under the
Armenian government, which is responsible for the security of the
president, parliament speaker, prime minister and other top officials.
According to Shakhgeldyan, the SGS is formed in accordance with the
law “On provision of security for persons subject to special state
guard” adopted at the end of last year.