Month: June 2005

Armenian MP advocates re-deployment of Russian military hardware to his
country
Interfax news agency, Moscow
12 Jun 05
YEREVAN
Baku is trying to incite the West against Yerevan by protesting
against re-location of Russian military hardware from Georgia to
Armenia, former Armenian prime minister and defence minister, now one
of the leaders of the Justice opposition bloc in the Armenian
parliament, Vazgen Manukyan, has said in an interview with Interfax.
“Azerbaijan’s anxiety and protests are artificial. Baku wants to play
this card in order to create an impression that Armenia is under
strong Russian influence and incite the West against Armenia,”
Manukyan said.
“Nothing extraordinary will happen in connection with partial
re-deployment of Russian military equipment from Georgia to Armenia,”
Manukyan went on to say.
“Georgia is pursuing its traditional policy aimed at limiting Russia’s
influence in the republic [Georgia], while Armenia traditionally links
its national security with the presence of Russian military bases on
its territory,” he said.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 10 2005
PACE subcommittee on Karabakh to meet in June
The newly-established subcommittee of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will meet for
the first time during the summer session of PACE, due to start on
June 22.
The subcommittee, led by former PACE chairman, British parliament
member Lord Russel Johnston, has assumed the mission of monitoring
issues relating to the conflict, head of the Azeri delegation at PACE
Samad Seyidov said.
Azerbaijan’s commitments to the Council of Europe, including the
citizens’ right to freedom of assembly and the activity of public
television, will also be in focus at the summer session. The list of
`political prisoners’ submitted by some non-government organizations
and the country’s Election Code will be discussed as well, Seyidov
added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgia plans to buy Iranian gas
Baku, June 9, AssA-Irada
Georgia intends to purchase natural gas from Iran to be transported
through Azerbaijan, Georgian officials said.
Azerbaijan’s infrastructure is to be used for gas supplies, Deputy
Minister for Fuel and Energy and Communications of Georgia Isag
Novruzov told reporters in Baku.
`We plan to use the existing Garadagh-Tbilisi gas pipeline. Its Azeri
section was refurbished in 2004 and a capital repair of the Georgian
section is currently underway’, Novruzov said.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Karabakh official slams Azeri reports on upcoming polls
Mediamax news agency
10 Jun 05
YEREVAN
The chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the Nagornyy
Karabakh republic (NKR), Sergey Nasibyan, has described as “unfounded”
Baku’s statements that the 19 June parliamentary elections in Karabakh
are illegitimate.
The NKR proclaimed its independence in line with the norms of
international law and is eligible to conduct elections in order to set
up appropriate bodies of power, Nasibyan said in an interview with
Mediamax new agency
“Democratic processes of the elections to the National Assembly of our
republic, which strives for international recognition of its
independence, is a principled position of the NKR authorities, which
have taken the path of building democratic civil society,” Nasibyan
said.
He pointed out that “only authorities that are formed on the basis of
free and transparent elections can be legitimate and capable of
effectively ruling the republic”.
Nasibyan also said that the legitimately elected authorities of the
NKR have been authorized by the people to conduct negotiations to
settle the Karabakh conflict and bear responsibility for the
commitments assumed before the international community.
He described the statements of Azerbaijani officials as “senseless”
that the forthcoming elections will negatively impact the process of
settling the Karabakh conflict.

BAKU: EGYPT TO FURTHER SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN IN ISSUE OF NAGORNY KARABAKH
YEREVAN, JUNE 10. ARMINFO. Egypt recognizes the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and will further support Azerbaijan’s efforts in
settlement of Karabakh conflict. Officials of Egypt made such
statement at a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Khalaf Khalafov, who was in Cairo on a working visit June 5-8, the
525th newspaper reports.
According to the source, the Azerbaijani diplomat met with Egyptian
foreign minister, the presidential advisor for foreign policy,
Secretary General of the League of Arab States and the minister for
foreign cooperation, as well as the co-chairwoman of the
Azerbaijani-Egyptian Inter-governmental Commission for Economic and
Scientific-and Technical Cooperation. The sides discussed development
of cooperation of Azerbaijan and the League of Arab States as well as
exchanged opinions on the strategic projects in the regions of Middle
East and the South Caucasus.

UNEMPLOYMENT LEVEL REDUCES BY 0.5% FROM EARLY 2005 IN RA
YEREVAN, JUNE 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Pension reforms, poverty and family
benefits, first results of newly-established State Labor Inspection
and introduction of social cards were the pivotal issues discussed at
the June 10 working meeting between RA President Robert Kocharian and
RA Minister of Labor and Social Issues Aghvan Vardanian. According to
the report submitted to Noyan Tapan from RA President’s Press Service,
issues concerning people’s employment were also discussed at the
meeting. According to Ministry’s data, from the beginning of the year
the unemployment level reduced by 0.5% and at present the number of
people looking for a job reduced from 142 thousand to 135 thousand.
The Minister represented the process of fulfilment of the assignment
given by the president regarding increasing of the honor payments of
Great Patriotic war veterans by 5000 drams. The interlocutors also
spoke about possible variants of carrying out improvement for other
classification veterans, as well.

SwissInfo
June 11 2005
Nouvelles vagues entre la Suisse et la Turquie

swissinfo 10 juin 2005 21:27

Le ministre de l’économie Joseph Deiss (à g.) en compagnie du premier
ministre turc Tayyip Erdogan lors du Forum économique de Davos 2004.
(Keystone)
Des parlementaires turcs arrivent en Suisse lundi en pleine
controverse. Des tensions resurgissent entre Berne et Ankara au sujet
du génocide arménien.

Selon la presse turque, les visites respectives de ministres des deux
pays ont été annulées à cause de l’enquête de la justice suisse sur
un historien turc.

SUR LE MÊME SUJET
Nouvelle tension turco-suisse

La presse turque affirme qu’une visite du ministre suisse de
l’économie Joseph Deiss sur les bords du Bosphore et un déplacement
en Suisse du ministre turc du commerce ont été annulés.
Les journaux turcs Radikal et Milliyet de vendredi révèlent que le
ministre turc du commerce extérieur Kürsad Tüzmen a annulé sa
participation au «Swiss-Turkish-Business-Council» (STBC). Cette
réunion devait avoir lieu du 22 au 24 juin à Zurich.
Interrogés par l’agence télégraphique suisse (ats), les porte-parole
du STBC et du ministère turc du commerce ont confirmé que la
rencontre de Zurich avait été repoussée à une date indéterminée il y
a un mois.
Une rencontre prévue avec le conseiller fédéral Joseph Deiss en marge
du STBC aurait également été supprimée. Les autorités turques ont
fait état d’un «problème de calendrier», a indiqué un porte-parole de
Département fédéral de l’économie (DFE).

Le voyage de Joseph Deiss remis en cause

Selon Radikal et Milliyet, Joseph Deiss a annulé de son côté un
déplacement qu’il devait faire en septembre en Turquie. Selon le DFE,
cette visite n’a pas été confirmée par les autorités turques. Il
s’agit également d’un «problème de calendrier» à Ankara, ont indiqué
les services du ministre suisse de l’économie sans donner plus de
détails.
Mais pour l’attaché de presse de l’ambassade de Turquie à Berne,
Sibil Gal, la visite de Joseph Deiss est toujours prévue en automne.
Alors que les autorités restent discrètes sur ces annulations en
cascade, les journaux turcs ont indiqué que Kürsad Tüzmen avait
renoncé à son voyage en raison de l’enquête de la justice helvétique
sur l’historien turc Yusuf Halacoglu, «un bon ami» du ministre.
Pour la justice zurichoise, Yusuf Halacoglu pourrait avoir enfreint
la législation anti-raciste lors d’un discours prononcé en mai à
Winterthour. Le président de l’Institut d’histoire turque est l’un
des principaux défenseurs des thèses turques sur les massacres commis
entre 1915 et 1917 par le pouvoir ottoman contre les Arméniens.
D’après Ankara, il s’agissait d’une répression dans un contexte de
guerre civile. Selon les Arméniens, 800’000 à 1,8 million des leurs
ont été tués au cours des massacres, qui ont été officiellement
reconnus comme «génocide» par plusieurs pays.

Des relations tendues

La question du génocide arménien a déjà contribué à tendre les
relations entre la Suisse et la Turquie, notamment à cause de sa
reconnaissance en 2003 par la Chambre basse du parlement. Au niveau
cantonal, le génocide a également été reconnu par les autorités
genevoises (Conseil d’Etat et parlement) et par le Grand Conseil
vaudois.
Ces démarches ont suscité le courroux de la Turquie. Une visite de la
ministre suisse des affaires étrangères Micheline Calmy-Rey prévue en
septembre 2003 avait d’ailleurs déjà été annulée par Ankara. Il a
fallu attendre mars 2005 pour que ce déplacement puisse avoir lieu.
En dépit de ce regain de tensions entre Berne et Ankara, une
délégation de parlementaires turcs doit entamer une visite d’une
semaine en Suisse la semaine prochaine. Selon Paolo Janke, secrétaire
de la Commission de politique extérieure (CPE) de la Chambre haute du
parlement, le calendrier est tenu.

Un goût amer

Dans un entretien accordé à swissinfo cette semaine, soit avant que
naisse cette nouvelle controverse, l’ambassadeur de Turquie à Berne,
Alec Kiliç, avait laissé entendre que la question du génocide
arménien «avait laissé un goût amer dans les relations entre la
Suisse et la Turquie».
«Nous aimerions clarifier ce point une fois toutes en créant une
commission d’historiens des deux côtés ayant accès à tous les
documents.»
Alec Kiliç avait ajouté que la Suisse s’était montrée intéressée par
la création d’une telle commission lors de la visite de Micheline
Calmy-Rey et que c’était désormais aux Arméniens de prendre position.
«Nous avons évidemment fait la proposition au gouvernement arménien
car nous ne voulons rien entreprendre sans son consentement. Mais
nous n’avons toujours pas reçu de réponse positive», avait-il conclu.

Agence France Presse
11 juin 2005 samedi 10:40 AM GMT
Inauguration d’un centre du patrimoine arménien à Valence (Drôme)
LYON
Jacques Toubon, président de la Cité nationale de l’histoire de
l’immigration, a inauguré samedi à Valence le premier centre européen
du patrimoine arménien, retraçant l’histoire de ce peuple marqué par
un génocide et l’exil, ont indiqué les organisateurs.
Ce centre “est un très bon exemple pour replacer l’histoire de
l’immigration au coeur de l’histoire de la France et reconnaître
l’apport de cette immigration dans l’identité qui est la nôtre
aujourd’hui”, a déclaré M. Toubon, au côté de l’ambassadeur d’Arménie
en France, Edvard Nalbandian.
Depuis les années 20, la ville de Valence a accueilli par vagues
successives un grand nombre de réfugiés arméniens, qui composent
aujourd’hui plus de 10% de sa population, faisant de Valence l’une
des plus grosses communautés arméniennes de France.
Le centre, qui se veut un “lieu d’histoire vivante” porteur d’une
“mission pédagogique”, a été installé dans un btiment réhabilité de
400 m2, appartenant à l’ancienne faculté de droit. Il se partage
entre une exposition permanente de 250 m2 et un centre documentaire
qui permettra l’organisation de rencontres ou d’activités scolaires,
a expliqué un porte-parole, Christophe Montfort.
Le lieu aborde la question du génocide arménien. Il veut également
s’ouvrir sur des questions globales, comme les diasporas,
l’immigration, la diversité culturelle, l’exil, la culture et le
patrimoine.
Le centre du patrimoine arménien est ouvert du mardi au dimanche de
14h30 à 18h30. Il sera fermé du 15 au 31 août.

Glendale News Press
Published June 11, 2005
Fanning flames of diversity
Seven graduate from the Glendale fire academy Friday, including city’s first
Armenian firefighter.
By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader
In a city that has been home to a large and growing population of Armenians
for two decades, Karlow Krikor became the first Armenian firefighter in
Glendale on Friday. He and six other Fire Department recruits graduated from
the Glendale Arroyo Seco Fire Academy on Friday at the Glendale Fire
Training Center.
For the 34-year-old Krikor, his ethnicity and a desire to diversify the
force came second to his desire to serve the community he grew up in —
especially since he is fluent in Armenian.
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“I hope this helps bridge the gap and allows me to educate my culture to the
Fire Department, and vice versa,” he said.
The firefighter recruit class of 2005 were cheered on by family, friends and
fellow department personnel as they were sworn in. The seven will now serve
a one-year probationary period.
The graduating class includes Jeffrey Brooks, Jeffrey Casilli, Jose
Escobedo, Brent Kelley, Krikor, Gilbert Pedroza and Zack Zarrilli.
“Something set them apart, that’s the reason they are here,” Glendale Fire
Chief Christopher Gray said. “There were thousands who applied for the job,
and seven are here.”
Before receiving their badges, the graduates showed off their newly learned
skills by extinguishing a controlled building fire, hosing down a burning
car and climbing ropes down a tower.
Capt. Greg Fish narrated the demonstrations, which also included an
extradition from a smashed minivan. The seven went beyond what was needed
for a safe rescue and sliced the vehicle’s top off, to the delight of the
crowd.
“That patient would have already been to the hospital, but they’re going to
fight it, they’re going to get it.” Fish said, as the audience laughed.
“It’s their day.”
Escobedo, 25, had been waiting 15 years for the moment he would finally
become a firefighter. Growing up behind a fire station in Los Angeles, he
said he was inspired by what he saw.
“There is no better job,” the Valencia man said. “You get to help people and
you’re a model in the community. You are the person everyone looks up to for
help, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
A more diverse force will help break down cultural barriers, said Alina
Azizian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee’s Glendale
chapter.
The committee has been helping the Fire Department with community outreach,
Azizian said.
“We are very encouraged that there is an Armenian-American being sworn in
and joining the ranks, especially since there are already several police
officers who are Armenian,” she said. “And we hope this encourages other
Armenians to join the Fire Department.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 11, 2005 Saturday 9:40 AM Eastern Time
Moscow-based tycoon advocates for liberation of Armenian pilots
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The liberation of Armenian pilots in Equatorial Guinea proves of
effective and fruitful cooperation between Armenia and the Armenian
community abroad, said Ara Abramyan, chairman of the World Armenian
Congress.
Abramyan, who played a key role in the liberation of Armenian pilots,
said on Saturday, “This is an example of effective and fruitful
cooperation between Armenia and the Armenian community abroad.”
Earlier in the day, the pilots returned home.
The entrepreneur noted that Armenia and the Foreign Ministry worked
hard. He recalled that Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan “visited
Equatorial Guinea. Officials of the Foreign Ministry had been
visiting the country seven times.”
Chief pilot Ashot Karapetyan said the crew felt the support provided
by the Armenian leadership. He thanked the people, the president, the
government, the Foreign Ministry and His Holiness Catholicos Garegin
II for their care and participation in the liberation of pilots.
He said the crew turned to be an instrument in the hands of different
forces in Equatorial Guinea and outside it. “There is no evidence
that we’re guilty,” the pilot said.
The six Armenians, chief pilot Ashot Karapetyan, first officer Samvel
Darbinyan, navigator Samvel Machkalyan, mechanics Razmik Khachatryan
and Suren Muradyan, and engineer Ashot Simonyan, are the aircrew of
an Armenian transport plane that was hired by a German airfreight
company over a year ago to ship cargo to the oil-rich nation. They
were arrested in March 2004 and sentenced to between 14 and 24 years’
imprisonment on November 26 along with a group of South African
nationals on charges of involvement in a reported plot to topple
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
The pilots, backed by the Armenian government and their German
employer, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Amnesty International
condemned their trial as “grossly unfair.”