ARKA News Agency
June 8 2004
Robert Kocharian and David Harutyunian discuss process of realization
of legal-executive reforms in Armenia
CBA Chairman receives delegation of KFW bank
RA president holds working meeting with representatives of small and
medium business
First instance courts’ newly appointed judges swore to RA Justice
Council
President of National Academy of Sciences of RA Fadei Sargsyan left
for Rostov -on-Don today
*********************************************************************
ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND DAVID HARUTYUNIAN DISCUSS PROCESS OF REALIZATION
OF LEGAL-EXECUTIVE REFORMS IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. The President of Armenia Robert Kocharian
and RA Minister of Justice David Harutyunian discussed process of
realization of legal-executive reforms in Armenia. The parties
discussed perspectives of creation of schools for judges’ candidates
that will be activated in 2005. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
CBA CHAIRMAN RECEIVES DELEGATION OF KFW BANK
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. CBA Council headed with CBA Chairman Tigran
Sargsian met with the delegation of Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau
bank, headed with the Head of Directors Council Ingrid Matheus Mayer.
Delegation from Germany arrived in Yerevan in the frames of regional
visit and on June 10 it will leave for Georgia.
During the meeting Matheus Mayer noted that the Government of Germany
pays attention to development of middle class and KfW is the largest
Germany banks assisting the development of medium companies.
Sargsian said that RA Government also pays attention to creation of
small and medium business and in this view activity of KfW is very
important for Armenia. He stressed high effectiveness of its
activity, because there are almost no not-returned credits. He also
noted with satisfaction that at the moment CB and KfW conduct works
on creation of fund of deposits insurance.
The parties expressed hope that they will start cooperation in
implementation of concept of development of hypothec credits market
and corporate management. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT HOLDS WORKING MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF SMALL AND
MEDIUM BUSINESS
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian held working
meeting with representatives of small and medium business,
President’s press office told ARKA. He said that serious steps on
improvement of general field have been made since the last meeting
the representatives of SMB. He paid attention to conduction of
similar meeting on a regular base. Kocharian said that these meetings
allow having clear understanding of the situation in given field.
Talking about general trends the President stressed that in 2003 the
share of SMB in GDP structure made 38%, which is pretty serious
indicator. “However there are still numerous goals and obstacles
related to activity of certain structures”, Kocharian stressed and
expressed readiness to discuss given issues with the businessmen.
The parties discussed as general issues, so concrete goals. They
noted the necessity of improvement of tax and custom administration,
provision of fair competition.
The President assured that all raised issues will be generalized and
discussed, as well as the way to solve the problems will be found.
According to preliminary estimations of RA Ministry of Trade and
Economic Development, the weight share of small and medium business
in RA GDP will grow by 2% in 2004 and amount to 40%. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
FIRST INSTANCE COURTS’ NEWLY APPOINTED JUDGES SWORE TO RA JUSTICE
COUNCIL
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. The newly appointed judges of first instance
courts swore today to RA Justice Council. According to the Press
Service Department of RA President, the judges swore to administer
justice in accordance with the Constitution and laws, to be
impartial, just and humane and to keep high the country’s and court
authority.
As the press release says, Robert Kocharian, the President of RA and
the Head of Justice Council expressed his confidence that the newly
appointed judges will honorably fulfill their duties. L.V. –0–
*********************************************************************
PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF RA FADEI SARGSYAN LEFT
FOR ROSTOV -ON-DON TODAY
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. Today, Fadei Sargsyan, President of National
Academy of Sciences of RA starts his visit to Rostov-on-Don. As
reported by web channel Don-TR during five days the representatives
of RA to meet with Governor Vladimir Chub, Minister of General and
Professional Education Leonid Kovalev. Also the delegation to meet
the scientists from Rostov, Taganrog, Aksay. They will discuss the
future exchange of students and lectures of universities and joint
projects. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************

ARKA News Agency
June 9 2004
Programs of German Bank KFW in Armenia are among most successful ones
RA Foreign Minister presented condolences on account of death of
ex-president of USA Ronald Reagan
By end of June package of electoral and constitutional reforms in RA
to be send to expertise of CE
PACE Monitoring Commission Co-Reporters to arrive in RA on 11 June
Delegation of RA France-Armenia friendship parliamentary group leaves
for France
EU welcomes initiative of construction alternative gas main in
Armenia
By the RA President’s decree Aram Harutyunyan is appointed a new RA
Minister of Urban Planning
*********************************************************************
PROGRAMS OF GERMAN BANK KfW IN ARMENIA ARE AMONG MOST SUCCESSFUL ONES
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Programs of German Bank Kreditanstalt fur
Wiederaufbau in Armenia are among most successful ones, RA President
Robert Kocharian stated at the meeting with the member of KfW
Directors Council Ingrid Matheus-Mayer. Kocharian noted the
importance of cooperation in the sphere of energy and in banking
sector. According to Mayer, “bilateral cooperation on different
levels has good bases”. She said that the bank pays attention to
development of small and medium business in Armenia. In this view,
according to her, activity of German-Armenian Fund is very importance
and its productivity is very high, because the return of credits
makes almost 100%.
Talking about future programs Mayer said that partnership in the
sphere of energy will be continued. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA FOREIGN MINISTER PRESENTED CONDOLENCES ON ACCOUNT OF DEATH OF
EX-PRESIDENT OF USA RONALD REAGAN
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
presented condolences on account of death of ex-president of USA
Ronald Reagan. The Minister visited today the Embassy of the U.S. to
Armenia. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
BY END OF JUNE PACKAGE OF ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS IN RA
TO BE SEND TO EXPERTISE OF CE
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. By the end of June package of electoral and
constitutional reforms in RA to be send to expertise of CE, as Tigran
Torosyan, Head of Temporary Parliamentary Commission on
Eurointegration, Vice Speaker of RA Parliament presenting the report
on the Commission’s activity. He said that the report concerns on
implementation of commitments related to two resolutions of PACE
issued in January and April 2004. In his words, the January
resolution offered RA to change 15 draft laws concerning deepening of
democracy and local self-governing, reforming of judiciary and legal
system. He considered as a negative thing non-participation of the
Armenian opposition in adopting of laws and decrees. “During this
time, the Parliamentary majority several times proposed to the
opposition, including prior to 12 April dialogue and cooperation”, he
remarked. Torosyan reminded that the parliamentary majority offered
to the opposition to create an action plan for working out two
packages – constitutional and electoral reforms and their adoption by
consensus. “It is unclear how the opposition could miss such
invitation, as this was an exceptional offer”, he believed. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
PACE MONITORING COMMISSION CO-REPORTERS TO ARRIVE IN RA ON 11 JUNE
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. PACE Monitoring Commission Co-Reporters
Jerzy Jaskernia and Rene Andre to arrive in RA on 11 June, as Tigran
Torosyan, Head of Armenian Delegation of PACE, Vice Speaker of RA
Parliament. He mentioned that the visit to allow to collect the facts
for a more detailed report.
As earlier reported by Jerzy Jaskernia in Yerevan, the Reporters
plans meeting with the representatives of the opposition, NGOs and
the Constitutional Court. “For us it is extremely important to
present a comprehensive report on Armenia”, he mentioned. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
DELEGATION OF RA FRANCE-ARMENIA FRIENDSHIP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP LEAVES
FOR FRANCE
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Delegation of RA France-Armenia Friendship
Parliamentary Group headed by MP Mher Shahgeldyan left for France. As
RA Foreign Ministry Information and Press Department told ARKA,
during the visit Armenian MPs to discuss with their French colleagues
the issues related to deepening of Armenian-French
inter-parliamentary cooperation. Also, the Armenian delegation plans
visiting Marseille, Lyon, Roman, Alforville, Grenoble, Avignon,
Valence and other cities where they to meet the leaders of local
governments and MPs.
As it is mentioned in the press release, on 13 June, the day when
there will be held elections to the European Parliament, eth Armenian
MPs to follow the course of voting in one of the constituencies of
France. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
EU WELCOMES INITIATIVE OF CONSTRUCTION ALTERNATIVE GAS MAIN IN
ARMENIA
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. EU welcomes the initiative of construction
of an alternative gas main in Armenia, as Karen Chshmarityan, RA
Trade and Economic Development Minister presenting the results of the
4th session of Armenian-EU Cooperation Committee held on 4 June in
Brussels. He mentioned that the construction of the gas main was
regarded in the context of closing Armenian Nuclear Power Plant as
additional gas supply.
He stressed that the EU’s financial participation in the project in
the project was not discussed so far, however the EU welcomes the
initiative as providing appearing of an alternative source of gas
supply for RA “This would allow to have more flexible economy and to
use alternative resources”, he considers.
The agreement on construction of Iran-Armenia gas-main was signed
during the visit of RA President Robert Kocharian in Iran on December
25-27, 2001. The intergovernmental agreement on Iran—Armenian gas
main was signed in 1995. The first stage of the construction
envisages construction of 100 kilometres gas-main on Iranian
territory and 41 kilometres at the territory of Armenia, which will
allow Armenia to receive 1.5 million cubic meters of gas daily. The
pipeline will make it possible to supply gas from Turkmenistan to
Armenia, through Iran. The construction of the gas main Iran-Armenia
will enable to import into Armenia 350-400 mln cubic m. of gas
annually.
The deadline for the completion of the gas main is expected on 1
January 2007. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
BY THE RA PRESIDENT’S DECREE ARAM HARUTYUNYAN IS APPOINTED A NEW RA
MINISTER OF URBAN PLANNING
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. By the RA President’s decree RA NA Deputy,
the representative of Orinats Yerkir party Aram Harutyunyan is
appointed as a new RA Minister of Urban Planning, according to RA
President’s Press Service Department.
Aram Harutyunyan was born on July 20, 1967 in Armenia. In 1992 he
graduated from Yerevan Architectural – Building University. From 1984
to 1999 he occupied different positions, including high ones. In 1999
he was elected as a Deputy of RA Parliament by majority system. He
was a member of standing committee on social, health and
environmental issues. In May 2003 he was re-elected as a Deputy. He
was a member of a standing committee on financial-credit, budget and
economic issues.
The RA ex-Minister of Urban Planning Aram Aramyan declared of his
resignation on April 9 and motivated his decision by speculations and
artificial fuss about the incident connected with his son. The
application for resignation was signed to avoid compromising the
party and the Government, according to him. A.H. –0—
*********************************************************************

PRESS RELEASE
Project Harmony Armenia
45 Sevastopolyan St
Yerevan, Armenia 375028
(374) 1-26-06-86
Contact: Knarik Nazaryan
[email protected]
Mobile Lab Hits the Road
Yerevan— June 11, 2004— The Mobile Lab, an innovative project that
created a Mobile Internet Computer Center to serve rural communities
in Armenia, will hit the road on June 14, 2004, with a ribbon cutting
ceremony at the border to the Gegharkunik region on the road to Lake
Sevan at 12:00 p.m. and with the official launch to the villages it
will serve from the Vardenis Municipality at 2:00 p.m. The Mobile Lab
is a component of the Armenia School Connectivity Program (ASCP), a
Program of the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs funded through FREEDOM Support Act and implemented
by Project Harmony.
The Mobile Lab is the first of its kind in Eurasia and will serve 20
remote border communities between the towns of Chambarak and Vardenis
in the Gegharkunik region of Armenia. A vehicle has been transformed
into a learning lab and is equipped with computer workstations
and satellite connection to provide Internet access. But besides
the hardware and Internet connection, the Mobile Lab will provide
free training for students and teachers of the villages, as well as
neighboring village schools. For these remote villages, the Mobile
Lab will offer an expanded worldview and exposure to new information,
and will allow students from rural communities to connect with others
as they never have before.
The Mobile Lab will remain in each of the 20 villages for a set amount
of time and will later return to the communities to provide users
with continued development of skills acquired during the initial
visit. Project Harmony anticipates the Mobile Lab will serve over
12,500 people in the 20 villages, including over 1900 students and
380 teachers, as well as many refugees, persons with disabilities,
and unemployed citizens.
Project Harmony builds strong communities by fostering civic
leadership, harnessing Internet technology and facilitating
cross-cultural experiential learning. Project Harmony was founded
in Vermont in 1985 as a grass-roots exchange organization for
Soviet and American high schools. Today, Project Harmony has 14
offices worldwide. In its 19-year history, Project Harmony has
facilitated educational, professional, cultural, and community-based
programs involving hundreds of families and individuals. Please
visit our web site: The Armenia-specific
web site is: U.S.: and in Armenia:
The Armenia School Connectivity
Program web site is: and the ZANG Armenia Legal
Socialization web site is: For
more information, please contact Project Harmony Outreach Manager
Siranush Vardanyan at [email protected]

Libération
8 juin 2004
La Turquie, chance de l’Europe;
Poser les prémices de l’adhésion de la Turquie dans l’Europe c’est
déjà penser un XXIe siècle pacifique et aider à la reconnaissance du
génocide arménien.
AUTEUR: KEHAYAN Jean; JEAN KEHAYAN, journaliste et écrivain
Si la Turquie refusait d’entamer son processus pour entrer dans
l’Union européenne, il serait indispensable que les nations
fondatrices de l’Europe déploient des trésors de diplomatie pour
convaincre Ankara d’effectuer cette démarche. Au moment où le débat
franco-français labellise le “Non à la Turquie dans l’Europe”, on est
frappé par l’absence de clairvoyance. Et, à la timide exception de
Jacques Chirac, aucun homme d’Etat ne prend de position courageuse,
estimant que ce serait suicidaire dans le climat d’hystérie
anti-islamique actuel de faire de la géopolitique intelligente. Il
suffit pourtant de regarder une carte pour se persuader que la
démocratisation de “l’homme malade de l’Europe” serait une chance
pour la stabilisation de cette région volcanique aux pays riverains
qui ne donnent aucun signe de mouvement.
Naturellement, le pari est d’envergure : dix années seront-elles
suffisantes pour que la Turquie montre ses capacités à vouloir une
adhésion sincère ? Ce n’est pas une mince affaire que d’imaginer son
conseil de sécurité militaire abandonner un pouvoir absolu en
laissant la société civile décider du destin politique du pays. Pas
une mince affaire non plus d’humaniser des prisons moyenâgeuses et, à
l’instar de la défunte Union soviétique, ne pas utiliser la
psychiatrie pour briser les esprits libres du pays. Les militaires
dans les casernes, cela doit signifier une garantie contre la
création de sanctuaires terroristes, le maintien de la laïcité
kémaliste et la garantie d’être à l’abri de tout coup d’état.
Mes amis turcs, kurdes et arméniens de l’intérieur ont la certitude
que seule la démocratisation à marche forcée peut pousser les
autorités à mettre à plat leur histoire sanglante du début du siècle
lorsque, dans une tradition qui remonte aux croisades, les infidèles
grecs et kurdes furent impitoyablement massacrés et chassés de leurs
lieux de vie ancestraux. Le paroxysme de cette politique barbare
étant le génocide des Arméniens d’Anatolie de plus en plus reconnu
par les nations raisonnables et de plus en plus nié par des autorités
qui croient suffisant d’occulter un problème pour le résoudre. Pire,
et pour ne citer qu’eux, les musées d’Erzeroum et de Van ont une
section sur le génocide, mais c’est celui des Turcs par les Arméniens
qui ont résisté !
Il faut relire les Quarante Jours du Mussa Dagh de Franz Werfel pour
se convaincre que la résistance face à la pulsion génocidaire des
militaires ottomans en déliquescence relevait de l’évidence. Dans le
processus de démocratisation, la révision de l’histoire du siècle
écoulé n’est évidemment pas négociable et fort heureusement il existe
en Turquie suffisamment d’intellectuels courageux capables de
remettre les livres d’histoire dans le bon sens. Le pari est de
taille, à la hauteur des enjeux et des avantages.
Pour en rester au problème arménien, il est évident que la petite
république du Caucase aurait tout à gagner, comme la Géorgie, à avoir
des frontières européennes. Elle pourrait ainsi sortir de son
enclavement étouffant et d’une tutelle russe qui n’est pas sans
arrière-pensée. Comme gage de bonne volonté et pour en finir avec la
crainte de restitution de terres, la Turquie pourrait rendre à
l’Arménie sa capitale historique d’Ani dont la restauration par la
communauté mondiale redonnerait tout son sens à une histoire vieille
d’une bonne quinzaine de siècles et enlèverait aux Arméniens
éparpillés sur la planète un ressentiment légitime. Un lieu où mille
églises se dressaient au Xe siècle, une nouvelle Jérusalem
pluriethnique, multiconfessionnelle et pluriculturelle. Elle pourrait
dans sa lancée trouver un statut inédit à la montagne de l’Ararat
pour qu’elle redevienne symbole de paix entre les deux pays. Une
restitution de terres sans guerre serait la première grande avancée
de l’Europe.
Concessions impossibles ? Mais que serait l’Europe si des hommes
d’Etat tels que de Gaulle et Adenauer n’avaient un beau jour décidé
d’en finir avec la “séculaire haine entre Allemands et Français” ? Si
Willy Brandt ne s’était pas agenouillé à Auschwitz, nous serions bien
loin de ce continent composé de vingt-cinq nations admises à la hâte
à la table du festin pacifique.
Nos politiques n’ont pas été très regardants sur les garanties
qu’offrait la Pologne dans cette lutte titanesque qu’est le combat
contre l’antisémitisme de ce pays désormais sans Juifs, un pays
ignorant des Lumières qui rêve de faire entrer la notion de
chrétienté dans la Constitution ! Ils ont aussi fermé les yeux sur le
racisme et la corruption endémique et déstabilisante des ex-pays du
bloc soviétique tombés de la façon la plus sauvage dans un
libéralisme qui laisse des couches entières de la population dans la
misère, qui bafoue les droits des Tsiganes et des minorités avec des
desseins et des méthodes proches d’un nouvel apartheid.
La démocratie gage de paix et de lutte contre les extrémismes. On a
vu et compris maintenant que la politique de la canonnière des
Américains en Irak conduisait à des impasses sans aucune solution
lisible dans le court terme. A l’inverse, on imagine aisément le
pouvoir de contagion d’une Turquie démocratique sur ses voisins
immédiats, comme la Syrie ou la Jordanie, régis par un parti unique
qui enlève tout espoir de progrès. N’oublions pas que le monde arabe
au faîte de la civilisation a commencé à décliner au XVIe siècle avec
la prise du pouvoir ottoman : il est temps de renverser cette
histoire. Car, à trop traîner pour amorcer les négociations d’entrée,
la Turquie pourrait être tentée de fédérer les ex-Républiques
soviétiques turcophones et imaginer un axe Ankara-Bakou-Téhéran
capable de bipolariser à nouveau notre monde. C’en serait alors
définitivement fini de voir reconnu le génocide et résolu le problème
du Haut-Karabagh, créé de toutes pièces par les diaboliques
cartographes de Staline.
Les hommes politiques français n’osent pas dire clairement que le mot
musulman est un repoussoir, alors que l’islam est la deuxième
religion dans notre propre pays. N’était une levée de boucliers, le
terme réducteur de chrétien aurait bien vu sa place dans la
Constitution européenne.
Un beau matin, fort d’une subtile révélation, M. Valéry Giscard
d’Estaing a cru trouver l’argument imparable de la géographie. D’un
côté on se fait les chantres d’une mondialisation qui abolit les
frontières, mais pour les seuls capitaux, et de l’autre on ressuscite
l’Asie mineure pour opposer une fin de non-recevoir
(1). Quelle insulte à tous les Arméniens éparpillés de par le monde
d’apprendre que leurs efforts à devenir Français, Européens,
Américains et autres en une seule génération étaient aussi évidents.
Personne n’aurait donc la hauteur de vue historique pour envisager
que la Turquie soit la chance d’une Europe vieillissante et fatiguée
sur le plan des idées et de la démographie.
Enfin, notre classe politique donneuse de leçons ne devrait pas
oublier qu’elle sera jugée pour s’être tue sinon rendue complice du
génocide rwandais ; qu’elle fait des courbettes devant Vladimir
Poutine, génocideur du peuple tchétchène qui n’a pas attendu le 11
septembre pour vouloir s’affranchir de la tutelle russe, tsariste et
communiste. Ces mêmes hommes qui déroulent le tapis rouge devant les
dirigeants chinois à la tête du plus grand Etat totalitaire de la
planète. Enfin, et puisque la religion semble être un atout maître,
comment ne pas reprocher à certains de nos leaders d’obéir à l’Opus
Dei dont la caractéristique n’est pas précisément de cultiver la
tolérance.
Certes, l’adhésion de la Turquie ne sera pas résolue en quelques
années mais en poser les prémices, c’est déjà penser un XXIe siècle
pacifique et donner des chances à l’Europe au Proche et Moyen-Orient.
C’est aussi sortir l’Arménie de l’impasse dans laquelle elle se
trouve, à condition qu’elle quitte son vieux costume soviétique,
qu’elle libère la presse et qu’elle entre dans le processus
démocratique ouvert par Lévon Ter Pétrossian, en se débarrassant de
ses mafias et de la mendicité auprès de la Banque mondiale. En somme,
il serait temps de rêver à une Europe de toutes les utopies et de
toutes les libertés. Le oui de l’Europe à la Turquie procède de cet
espoir.
(1) L’ancien président de la Convention européenne, lors de son
audition par la Commission des Affaires étrangères de l’Assemblée
nationale, le 27 novembre 2002, s’était déclaré contre l’adhésion de
la Turquie soulignant : “Il suffit d’ouvrir un dictionnaire pour
constater que l’Asie mineure, ce n’est pas l’Europe”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

JUDGE COLLABORATES WITH SKINHEADS
A1 Plus | 14:40:40 | 10-06-2004 | Social |
The first instance court of Center, Nork-Marash began considering
case on assault on journalists on Thursday.
The case has been instigated into the incident occurred at the rally
staged by National Unity leader Artashes Geghamyan on April 2, when
skinheads beat media representatives and broke their cameras.
As many as 50 skinheads were present at Thursday’s court session. About
20 of them stood on foyer barring journalists from entering the
courtroom and insulting them. They made insulting remarks toward
Noyan Tapan news agency correspondent Sona Mashouryan and widely
smiling promised “to smash her head”.
Before letting Aykakan Zhamanak newspaper’s editor-in-chief Nikol
Pashinyan and the same newspaper’s correspondent Hayk Grigoryan enter,
the skinheads questioned them who they are and why came here.
When the newspaper representatives passed the first barrier and
eventually entered the courtroom, one skinhead start questioning them
here and asked the judge whether to let them sit down or not.
Nikol Pashinyan said he has nothing to do in the court where skinheads
decide everything and went out.
Many journalists failed to get in session room to hear the case on
the assault on their colleagues and remained outdoors.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/09/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Turkish Court Frees Pro-Kurdish Lawmakers 2) Turkish Police Raid Pro-Kurdish Media, Detain 23 3) Turkey's Kurds Welcome Broadcasts in Kurdish, with Broken Hearts 4) French Armenians Call on Chirac to Take Stance 5) Zepure Shant Dies 1) Turkish Court Frees Pro-Kurdish Lawmakers ANKARA (Reuters)--Turkey's appeals court ordered the release of former Nobel peace prize nominee Leyla Zana and three other Kurdish former lawmakers on Wednesday in a landmark decision certain to please the European Union it seeks to join. The ruling, freeing them pending appeal, coincided with historic first Kurdish-language broadcasts on state television, and the start of an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights on the fate of jailed Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan. "Turkey's 80-year ban on the Kurds is over today," Sirri Sakik, another former pro-Kurdish lawmaker, told Reuters outside Ankara's Ulucanlar prison as supporters waited for the four to walk free. "It shows Turkey recognizes the Kurdish reality." Turkish financial markets bounced on news the four would be freed, seeing it as highlighting improved human rights and promoting a drive for EU membership. Zana, campaigning for Kurdish rights, had taken on a great symbolic importance for supporters and those who saw her as threatening Turkish unity. Turkey had denied the very existence of its Kurdish minority for decades, terming them "mountain Turks." Courts came down hard on public expressions of Kurdish identity, especially after the outbreak of armed separatism in 1984. Kurds form an estimated 12 million of Turkey's 70 million population. The EU and international human rights groups consider Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak, and Orhan Dogan prisoners of conscience. They were jailed in 1994 after being stripped of their parliamentary mandates and convicted of maintaining ties to Kurdish separatist guerrillas. "Their verdict has not been overturned. But taking into account their long imprisonment, a decision was made for their release pending the end of the investigation," a court official told Reuters. The 1994 conviction was upheld by a state security court in April after a retrial ordered by the European Court of Human Rights, which said Zana and the others were denied a fair trial. April's ruling brought sharp criticism from the EU. The Ankara government is working flat-out on political and human rights reforms and hoping to wind a firm start date for accession talks when EU leaders meet in December. A state prosecutor called this week for the annulment of their sentences, and the court official said an appeal court would start hearing the case from July 8. "This will make things easier for us politically, both domestically and abroad," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said. "The Turkish justice system did what it needed to do." Cicek told reporters the court had correctly interpreted recent legal reforms aimed at meeting EU criteria. The government last month abolished the controversial state security courts under which the four were tried, and is working to set up new civilian structures to replace them. 2) Turkish Police Raid Pro-Kurdish Media, Detain 23 ISTANBUL (AFP)--Anti-terror police raided on Tuesday a pro-Kurdish news agency and two magazines and detained at least 23 employees on suspicion of links with armed Kurdish rebels, Kurdish sources said. Police obtained court permission to search the Istanbul office of the Dicle news agency and said the operation was part of security measures ahead of the NATO summit in the city on June 28-29, the secretary of the agency told AFP by telephone. "They also said that people here are suspected of being linked to the PKK," she said, referring to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, which this month announced the end to a five-year unilateral cease-fire with the government. The pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) said police also searched the offices of two small pro-Kurdish monthly magazines, Ozgur Halk and Genc Bakis. They were also suspected of having links with the PKK, DEHAP spokesman Kemal Avci told AFP. DEHAP issued a statement condemning the raids and accusing the government of insincerity in democratization efforts aimed at bringing Turkey closer to the European Union. 3) Turkey's Kurds Welcome Broadcasts in Kurdish, with Broken Hearts YOLBOYU (AFP)--Glued to the television set in a squalid coffee shop, residents of this Kurdish village on Wednesday welcomed the first-ever Kurdish broadcast in Turkey but also voiced resentment that it took so long to come about and only through EU pressure. Haunted by memories of the days when their mother tongue was banned in the country, villagers gathered in the shop ahead of the broadcast on TRT state television, visibly eager and excited. As the presenter announced the beginning of the taboo-breaking program in Kurmanci, the most widespread Kurdish dialect in Turkey, complete silence fell and the crowd watched the 30-minute program attentively. "This is what we have been waiting for since the 1970s. It has finally come true," said 32-year-old worker Abdurrahman Demir, referring to the period when Kurds first raised their demands for cultural rights. "My mother is old. She does not speak Turkish. Now she will also be able to understand," exclaimed Selahattin Cimen, 37. Turkey launched daily television and radio broadcasts in non-Turkish languages on Monday, under pressure from the European Union, which will decide in December whether the country is ready to start accession talks. The program, called "Our Cultural Riches," started with news and continued with a bizarre mix of Kurdish music and brief documentaries on nature, the development of civilization, and technology. In a sign of the haste with which the program was put together, the "news" material was taped earlier in the week. "Even though the content was poor, even though it was short, even though it was undertaken because of EU pressure, we are still happy to watch a broadcast in our own language on our national television," Demir said. Worker Zeki Karakas added: "We are both happy and sad. We are happy to watch television in our mother tongue and we are sad because we wished that those programs had started not because the EU wanted them, but because we wanted them." For years, Ankara had rejected Kurdish demands for cultural freedoms, fearing that such rights could fuel nationalist sentiment among the minority and constitute a reward for Kurdish rebels waging a bloody campaign for self-rule in the country's southeast. Several Kurdish channels, broadcasting either from Europe or the Kurdish enclave in neighboring northern Iraq, are already widely watched in Turkey's southeast, where satellite dishes have become an inseparable part of the landscape. Also as part of EU-sought reforms, private courses began teaching the Kurdish language earlier this year. The restive region has enjoyed a period of relative calm since 1999 when the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced an end to its 15-year armed campaign and the government loosened its grip on locals. But the PKK, now known as KONGRA-GEL, said last week that it was ending the unilateral truce as of June 1, raising fears of renewed bloodshed in the area. The Kurdish conflict has claimed some 37,000 lives, most of them rebels. 4) French Armenians Call on Chirac to Take Stance PARIS (Yerkir)--A public rally will take place in Paris on June 12, demanding that French President Jacques Chirac take a final stance on Turkey's European Union membership. Organized by the Hai Tahd Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of France, the gathering will take place around the monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, which includes a statue of Gomidas Vartabed, erected in April 2003 in a park between the Armenian Cathedral on Jean-Goujon, and Champs Elysee, near the Seine River. French Armenians are appealing to the French government to honor the 1987 and 2004 resolutions of the European Parliament, stipulating that before starting accession talks on its EU membership, Turkey withdraw its troops from northern Cyprus invaded in 1974, release political prisoners, guarantee rights of Kurdish and religious minorities, recognize the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire, and lift the blockade of Armenia imposed in 1991. 5) Zepure Shant Dies Folllowing a lengthy illness, Zepure Shant, one of the founding members of the Hamazkayin Kaspar Ipegian theatrical group died in Glendale, California on Monday, June 7. She was 92. Born in the European Turkish town of Rodosto, Shant eventually moved to Lebanon. In 1941, during the formation of the Kaspar Ipegian theatrical group, she actively participated, taking on both major and smaller roles in almost all performances. Besides her love for the theater, Shant's fondness for singing landed her in the Parsegh Ganachian Kousan choir. She was married to Levon Shant's son Souren. They had one child, Levon. Throughout the years, Zepure Shant maintained a profound connection to the Kaspar Ipegian theatrical group, with the sole objective of serving Armenian theater. With the outbreak of Lebanon's civil war, she settled in Los Angeles, and continued to support Armenian theater, specifically collaborating with director Jean Nshanian. Funeral services for Zepure Shant will take place on Friday, June 11, 11 AM at St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, California. Burial services will be conducted at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Cemetery. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Immigrants from former Soviet Union mourn Reagan
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
Fresno Bee
June 9, 2004
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Rabbi Velvel Tsikman remembers a time when the only
link he had to his Jewish heritage was a line in his Soviet passport
that read: “Nationality: Jewish.”
Now, Tsikman – who in the former Soviet Union was forbidden to wear
a yarmulke – watches over a vibrant Russian Jewish community in West
Hollywood from his office at the Chabad Russian Jewish Community
Center.
Tsikman says he credits his spiritual freedom to the late Ronald
Reagan, whose anti-missile program drew the Soviets into a costly
arms race, helping lead to the collapse of what Reagan called the
“evil empire.” His 1987 demand to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
at the Berlin Wall – “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” – was the
ultimate challenge of the Cold War.
Tsikman recalled with emotion the first time a Jewish synagogue opened
in the Ukraine after years of religious oppression. He began to wear
a yarmulke openly and grow his beard; he soon veered from a career
in computers to the spiritual life of a rabbi.
“It was like going from the basement to the street and seeing the
light,” Tsikman said. “(Reagan’s) doctrine, what he did, was very
helpful to destroy the monster that was there in Europe.” Those
sentiments were echoed across Southern California, home to large
Russian and Eastern European immigrant communities. They were also
reflected in poignant signs and flags placed outside the Santa Monica
mortuary where Reagan’s body was taken after his death Saturday at
age 93.
Lithuanian and Polish flags sprouted from the grass. Posters paying
homage to Reagan – some decorated with pieces of the Berlin Wall –
sat propped against a fountain alongside flowers and balloons.
“Sir – You told Gorbachev to ‘Take down this wall.’ We helped. Thanks
for your courage and leadership,” read one sign that was affixed with
two quarter-sized bits of the Berlin Wall.
Another sign, accompanied by a Lithuanian flag, read: “President
Reagan, Thank you for Lithuanian freedom.” Still another said:
“Solidarnosc! With love from Poland,” a reference to Reagan’s efforts
to promote the Solidarity labor movement in Poland in the 1980s.
Pope John Paul II sent a message Tuesday to Nancy Reagan, expressing
“deep gratitude” for her late husband’s commitment to the cause of
freedom in the world and his work to help end the Soviet grip on
eastern Europe.
In West Hollywood, Tsikman has for 12 years watched over the Russian
Jewish community center, an anchor for up to 50,000 Soviet bloc
immigrants in greater Los Angeles. The neighborhood is dotted with
Russian, Ukranian and Armenian groceries, pharmacies and video stores,
and people speak more Russian than English.
Dozens of seniors chatted Tuesday about the impact Reagan had on
their lives.
“This is a guy who changed the world. It wasn’t only his speeches – it
was his actions,” said Aleksandr Shakhnovich, 57, a former shipbuilder
for the Soviet navy.
“He cut down the economy of the USSR and it was one of the main reasons
the country just shut down. He did something that not only changed
my life, but changed the lives of everyone in the former Soviet Union.”
Down the street, Armenian grocer Paul Khostikyan paused from unloading
fresh fruit to remember the man he called “the best president in
U.S. history.”
Khostikyan, 54, who immigrated in 1990, said he remembered Reagan’s
famous speech at the Berlin Wall – and recalled being moved by his
bold words.
“I liked how he talked about freedom,” said Khostikyan, now a
U.S. citizen. “He really meant it, not like other presidents. He will
be in history much more than Clinton or Bush.”
At the community center, Tsikman brushed his finger against his
yarmulke and watched contentedly as dozens of elderly people ate at
long tables, laughing and chatting in Russian.
“They are living in a paradise here. It’s like God is paying them for
a terrible life in Russia,” Tsikman said. “These people were sitting
home waiting to die. When they came here, they came alive again.”

Gil Spencer: At 51, it’s off to Armenia with Peace Corps
The Delaware County Times, PA
June 9 2004
You ask businessman John Tease what, at the age of 51, he’s thinking
— joining the Peace Corps and going to Armenia to live in a rural
village for two years — and he’ll throw it back at you as if it’s
the most natural thing in the world to do.
“You probably had the same thought in your mind 35 years ago,”
he’ll say.
And when you reply, “No, I didn’t,” he’ll smile acceptingly and try
to explain himself.
It turns out that, early on, Tease was your conventional American
high school kid.
He graduated from Penncrest High School in 1971. But he wanted to do
something a little different from his peers, who were mostly going
off to white-bread colleges.
“The thought of going to Penn State left me uninspired,” he explained.
So, even though he spoke barely a word of Spanish, he went to the
University of the Americas, south of Mexico City, where he majored
in anthropology and met his future wife.
She was from Denver. So, after spending four years in school, he
went back to Colorado with her. They got married and he went into
her family’s business.
Some 30 years and two daughters later, they got amicably divorced.
It was the divorce and a certain level of financial independence
that left Tease free enough to pursue the daydream he had back in
high school.
It was his Penncrest social studies teacher, Emerson Tjart, who got
him thinking about other cultures, other countries and the people who
live in them. Tjart had done his own hitch in the Peace Corps in the
mid-’60s, serving in Iran before the ayatollahs took over.
“Why Armenia?” I asked Tease.
“Actually, I was looking for an African assignment,” he said,
explaining he was almost set to go there when he was injured while
racing his quarter horse in Denver.
After he was cleared medically, he got a call from the Corps.
“They said Armenia,” and that was that.
So, he began to read up on it.
“It’s a tiny country, the oldest Christian nation in the world,” having
declared it the state religion in the 4th century. The literacy rate
is 99 percent, but under Soviet domination it was kept a relatively
poor nation, he said.
Now that the Soviet Union no longer exists, Armenians are trying to
make the painful transition to a market economy. The country is still
recovering from the 1988 earthquake that destroyed almost a quarter
of all the buildings in the north. Still, it’s a country rich in
culture with a strong intellectual tradition and a population with
a gift for commerce.
Tease will start out in a 90-day training program, learning the
language (East Armenian) and getting a feel for the do’s and don’ts
of the culture. Then, depending on the needs of the community, he’ll
be assigned.
Since his own experience is in business, he hopes he’ll be put to
work helping the locals improve their economy: from finding investment
sources to setting up computers systems to just teaching high school
students what’s really involved in a free-market system.
Tease comes by his adventuresome streak honestly.
His father, Sam, who still lives in Upper Providence with his bride
Gin, has traveled the world on his motorcycle. At 82, the retired
Marine is planning a jaunt up through New England later this summer.
As for John’s daughters, they’re no slouches, either. They’re Western
girls.
“They ride horses well and they shoot straight,” he says proudly.
His youngest, Allison, fought forest fires with the U.S. Forestry
Service right out of high school before going into nanotechnology,
while the older one, Meredith, is the chief operating officer of a
hedge fund.
High-spiritedness apparently runs in the family.
So his cars are sold, as is one of his horses. The other, his beloved
Sugar, has been put out to pasture.
He leaves this week. He can bring with him 100 pounds of personal
belongings, which will include a laptop, a short-wave radio and a
sleeping bag rated for sub-zero temperatures. The climate is a lot
like Denver’s: dry but with cold winters.
The pay?
“It’s enough to feed yourself” with a little left over for “some
level of entertainment.”
The housing? Adequate, safe and secure.
He’s been told that “a good sleeping bag, flexibility and a sense
of humor will enable one to survive.” He’s got the sleeping bag
for sure. He’ll find out how much of the other two he has after he
gets there.
“I only hope I can give back as much as I’m going to get out of this,”
he says. “I like to think I have much to offer, but it worries me.”
He doesn’t look worried. He looks happy.
“I’m so exited,” he says, sounding like a kid. “I’m ready for this.”
Gil Spencer’s column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
E-mail: [email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 9 2004
DEMOCRATIC REFORMS PLAY IMPORTANT ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT OF AZERBAIJAN
[June 09, 2004, 16:41:32]
On June 8, the deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan Republic Vagif
Sadigov has met with the delegation led by the president of Assembly
of the Turkish Associations of America (ÀÒÀÀ), Erjument Kilinj.
As was informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, deputy minister Vagif Sadygov, hospitably having
welcomed visitors, highly has estimated activity of Assembly of the
Turkish Associations of America and has emphasized continuation of
the said work in the same spirit.
Speaking of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, the
work done in the field of its settlement, both refugees and the IDPs
as a result of the conflict, the deputy minister has noted importance
of activation of efforts by the international community for quick
settlement of the said problem on the basis of principles and norms
of international law.
Having noted, that due to the activity which is carried out by the
State Committee on Work with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad, in the
USA were generated the organizations of the Azerbaijan Diaspora,
the deputy minister has emphasized necessity of support of ÀÒÀÀ and
developments of joint cooperation in this business.
Having told that democratic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan play
important role in development of our country, president of ÀÒÀÀ
Erjument Kilinj has emphasized, that serious steps connected to human
rights are undertaken, and has expressed hope for continuation and
henceforth successful internal and foreign policy.
Erjument Kilinj has presented detailed information on activity of the
organization supervised by him, having noted, that is ready to assist
in solution of many questions, including probation of the Azerbaijani
students at the US Congress.
He also highly estimated the attention shown by the Azerbaijan state
to problems of our compatriots, living abroad.
At the meeting, also were exchanged views on a number of other
questions representing mutual interest.

DECISION ON NEW BSTDB MEMBERS IN 2005
Tirana, 9 June 2004 (16:55 UTC+2)
Macedonian Press Agency, Greece
June 9 2004
A decision on the accession of one or two new members into the Black
Sea Trade and Development Bank, BSTDB, is expected to be reached
in the first half of 2005, according to statements made to MPA by
Armenia’s deputy Minister of Finance and Economy David Avetissian,
the bank’s new Board of Directors President.
The Armenian official, who was elected to the post in the
bank’s general assembly meeting in Tirana, did not reveal the new
members of the bank. However, well-informed sources mentioned that
Serbia-Montenegro will be the 12th state that will participate in
the bank’s share capital followed by FYROM.
Also, the urgent issue of the capital review will be discussed in the
next BSTDB general assembly meeting in Yerevan, Armenia in June 2005
given the fact that certain member-states have a hard time contributing
their share in the bank’s capital.
In a press conference in the Albanian capital, BSTDB president Mustafa
Gurtin stated that Armenia, Georgia and Moldavia requested to cut down
their participation in the share capital of the bank from 2% to 1%.
Mr. Avetissian clarified to MPA that one of the priorities during his
term until June 2005 will be the financing of regional projects and
activities in the sectors of energy and transportation infrastructure.
The BSTDB general assembly in its 6th annual general assembly meeting
in Tirana also elected the representatives of Moldavia and Russia
as assistant presidents for the period until the 7th annual general
assembly to be held in Yerevan, Armenia on June 5, 2005.