Month: June 2005

ARMENIAN DELEGATION CALLS ON YOUNG TURKS TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE AT ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. “Our struggle is first of all aimed
against Turkish government that is doing its best in order that its
society and, in particular, youth, shouldn’t know the historic truth,”
Zinavor Meghrian, representative of ARF Dashnaktsutiun party’s youth
wing, declared at the June 23 press conference dedicated to the
results of the international youth conference on problems of national
minorities that was held lately in Istanbul. According to him, the
Turks’ inflexible attitude to the issue of recognition of Armenian
Genocide is explained by the position of some Armenian politicians.
Thus, Sargis Asatrian, Chairman of the Youth Party of Armenia, in
particular, declared during his visit to Turkey that Armenia has no
problems with today’s Turkey. According to Z.Meghrian, proceeding from
such statements Turks propagandize the idea of non-participation of RA
Armenians in the issue of recognition of Armenian Genocide. According
to this point of view, the initiative in the issue belongs to the
Diasporan Armenians. According to him, in conversations with
representatives of Turkish press it was found out that the latters
were misinformed about a number of issues concerning Armenian-Turkish
relations. In particular, the Turkish journalists declared that the
Armenian-Turkish border was closed by Armenians. Zinavor Meghrian
reported that the Armenian delegation called on the Turkish youth to
study the dark pages of their history and to recognize the
Genocide. According to him, the Turks’ first reaction was extremely
negative but already during their personal meetings with Armenians the
representatives of Turkish youth showed interest in this issue.

AZG Armenian Daily #116, 24/06/2005
Award
GERMAN PEACE AWARD 2005 GOES TO ORHAN PAMUK
Turkish author Orhan Pamuk was awarded German Publishers’ and Booksellers’
Association peace prize, German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung informed on
June 22 adding that the Association has raised this year’s prize from 15.000
to 25.000 euros. The author will get it in Frankfurt am Mein in October at
the international book fair. More than 50 writers, philosophers and
scientists have received the prize since its launch in 1950s. Among the
renowned nominees are Albert Schweitzer in 1951, Hermann Hesse in 1955, Carl
Friedrich von Weizsacker in 1963, Astrid Lindgren in 1978, Yehudi Menuhin in
1979 and Vaclav Havel in 1989. In 1997 Turkish writer Yasar Kemal received
the award. In 2003 Susan Sontag from America received the peace prize and
last year it went to Hungarian writer Peter Esterhazy.
The works of 53-year-old Orhan Pamuk were translated into 34 languages. His
“The Snow” novel was highly praised by the critics. The New York Times
hailed it as the best book put out by foreign publishers in 2004. DPA news
agency reports that Ralf Giordano, German writer, publicist and director of
a film about Armenian Genocide, congratulated the Turkish author emphasizing
that Pamuk is firm in criticizing Turkish lies. Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung in its turn gave its appraisal of Pamuk’s literature noting that it
is in his works in contemporary literature that Muslim Turkey meets Europe.
The paper wrote also about the writer’s views on Armenian Genocide and his
disapproval of Turkish stance. The online version of Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung posts daily extensive information on Armenian Genocide. This
influential German paper published the vast article of Mihran Dabagh on June
20.
By Anahit Hovsepian in Germany

AZG Armenian Daily #116, 24/06/2005
People
‘THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO TRY NOT TO REMIND YOU OF YOUR PAST’
Former Prisoner Gevorg Koshkarian Publishes a Newspaper
47-year-old Gevorg Koshkarian spent part of his life in jail. In 2004, after
11 years in prison, he decided to start a new life, to become a full member
of the society. He entered Pedagogical Institute and married a few months
ago. He established a non-profit organization for former convicts and launch
publication of Veradardz (return) magazine.
“I spent many years behind bars. Jail is a tough place. The first fruit of
theft seems sweet but it’s bitter in fact and you feel sorry all your life.
I will not forget my friend telling in jail with tears in his eyes that his
daughter quitted school as children said that her father is a thief”,
Koshkarian wrote in one of the issues.
Why did the former convict decided to publish a paper? “Newspaper is a means
to share your pains. It will help us to cover the issues of former prisoners
and to make the authorities hear their voice. They face dozens of problems
once out of prison”, he says. His magazine and the organization he runs will
try to relieve lives of returnees and of the families the prisoners leave
behind.
“There are children of convicts who do not attend school having no shoes to
wear. Some of them have never been at circus or at children’s theatre.
Thanks to some artists, those children also laugh. All children are born
with equal rights and should enjoy same blessings. A child should not feel
that his parent is temporarily isolated from the society”, Koshkarian says.
Gevorg Koshkarian and a few other returnees live in rooms provided by the
9th school of Vardashen. Koshkarian is thankful to the school headmaster,
prosecutor of Nubarashen, businessman Gurgen Arsenian and all those who help
or even listen to former convicts.
Koshkarian says that he would like to start a business for the returnees.
“We have good building commodities but have no tools. We hope that someone
will lend support to begin production of doors and windows. Now, we bake
bread that goes to several families of prisoners”. Koshkarian is sure that
social condition is the key factor that incites to crime. “If people get
their daily bread, crimes will diminish”, he says.
How does the society receive those returning form jail? “There are people
who feels sorry that you life got distorted, others try not to remind you of
your past and few show hostility. What else should we expect from someone
whose home was burglarized? But a man will easier get changed once forgiven
than constantly reminded of his past”. He points out that there is almost no
innocent person in prison. “There are case when a person should not have
been isolate but simply fined. Should one appear in jail once, it becomes
kind of a habit. Many people feel better in prison”, Koshkarian says.
Editor-in-chief of Veradardz notes with pain that the children of the
imprisoned often break up psychologically. Koshkarian tells with pride that
several well-known people help and cooperate with them. “Head Helsinki
Committee Avetik Ishghanian is kindly working with us and is an honored
member of our organization. Any one may become member of our organization.
You don’t have to visit prison to join the organization”.
By Tatoul Hakobian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pan Armenian News
OSCE PA SESSION MAY PASS RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
23.06.2005 07:19
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the invitation of the US Congress a session of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Washington July 1-5 that may pass a
resolution on the Armenian Genocide. As Anadolu Turkish information agency
reports, over 700 delegates, including those from Turkey headed by ruling
Justice and Development Party MP Nevzat Yalcintas, will take part in the
session. In spite the Armenian parliamentary delegation has not submitted
written proposals yet, lobbying moves for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
final decision to include an item on the Armenian Genocide are already
taken. In case the majority of the session delegates support the question
the Armenian delegation is expected to attain its goal, the Yerkir newspaper
reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #116, 24/06/2005
Karabakh issue
‘MOSCOW CONSISTENTLY BACKS AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL WHOLENESS’
In a press release issued on occasion of parliamentary elections in Nagorno
Karabakh on June 19, the Foreign Ministry of Russia stated that “Moscow
consistently backs Azerbaijan’s territorial wholeness as well as other
principles of the international law”.
“Russia does not recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state. We
believe that its future status should be settled without applying arms, as a
result of negotiations with all the sides in the process of Minsk group.
Moscow thinks that the process of peaceful resolution should not depend on
elections in Karabakh. We want to point out that Russian observers took part
in the elections on their own initiative”, the document reads.

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ROTHMAN LEADS CONGRESSIONAL REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION OF
VICE PRESIDENT’S LETTER TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR
— Vice President Cheney’s April 22nd letter to
Maritza Ohanessian Properly Characterized
the Armenian Genocide as a Genocide
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) was joined
today by twenty-one of his House colleagues in calling on Vice President
Dick Cheney to clarify if his letter to a survivor of the Armenian
Genocide, in which he properly – but uncharacteristically –
described the Armenian Genocide as a genocide, represented a formal
shift in the Administration’s policy, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).
In a letter dated April 22, 2005 and signed by the Vice President,
he honored Maritza Ohanesian of West Hartford, Connecticut as the
oldest living survivor of the Armenian Genocide. In the letter to
the Vice President, the Congressional signers of the Rothman letter
noted that, “We are confident that your letter to Ms. Ohanesian
represented perhaps the greatest birthday gift in her lifetime, a
letter from the Vice-President of the United States of America
using this important language.”
“Armenian Americans value the principled leadership of Congressman
Rothman and express their appreciation to all those who joined with
him in calling for a much needed explanation from the Administration,”
said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It would seem that,
in answering the concerns raised by these Members of Congress, the
Vice-President has two choices – to publicly accept responsibility
for his letter, or to personally explain to Mrs. Ohanesian exactly
why it is that he cannot stand by his words.”
Joining Congressman Rothman as signatories to this letter were
Representatives Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Lois Capps (D-CA), Joe Crowley
(D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Patrick Kennedy (D-
RI), Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL), Sander Levin (D-MI), Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), James McGovern (D-MA), Michael
McNulty (D-NY), Richard Neal (D-MA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ),.
George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA),
Mark Souder (R-IN), John Tierney (D-MA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and
Peter Visclosky (D-IN).
The full text of the Congressional letter is provided below:
#####
June 15, 2005
Dear Vice-President Cheney,
We were recently pleased to learn that you appear to share the same
views as those of us who recognize the Armenian Genocide and use
that specific phrase to describe the atrocities that took place
between 1915 through 1918 in the Ottoman Empire.
In a letter dated April 22, 2005, you wrote to Ms. Maritza
Ohanesian of West Hartford, Connecticut, to honor her as the oldest
living survivor of the Armenian Genocide. We are confident that
your letter to Ms. Ohanesian represented perhaps the greatest
birthday gift in her lifetime, a letter from the Vice-President of
the United States of America using this important language.
We are hopeful that your use of this critical phrase represents a
long overdue recognition on the part of the Bush administration,
that the horrors perpetrated upon the Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire during World War I, constituted the first genocide of the
20th century.
Please let us know if this is the case.
Sincerely,
[22 Congressional signatures]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIA WISHES TO DEVELOP RELATIONS WITH PEACEFUL AND DEMOCRATIC IRAQ
23.06.2005 06:41
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has appreciated
the organization of an international conference on Iraq, he stated it when
addressing the conference, reported the Press Service of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Amrenia. In his words, the conference in very important
to the Iraqi people, who have to know the consistent involvement of the
international community. Just due to this fact the interested parties are
obliged to increase efforts aimed at restoration of the country, Oskanian
said. He added that even Armenia, a small country with modest abilities and
whose participation is of consultative nature, has a precise realization of
the price of moral assistance and following power of interested observers.
«As a Minister of Foreign Affairs of a country that experiences a transition
period I have to confess that only through consistent economic assistance
and long-term investments the society will start believing in peaceful and
democratic prospects,» V. Oskanian said. When commenting on the presence of
Armenians in Iraq, the FM remarked the country «has natural resources. The
matter concerns not only the riches in the bowels, but also that of the
society based on national diversity. The Armenian community makes part of
this diversity in Iraq. I believe that along with other residents of Iraq
Armenians know they can make their contribution to the establishment of
peaceful and prosperous future of the country. In its turn Armenia wishes to
develop relations with peaceful, joint and democratic Iraq. Only 200 miles
divide the capitals of Armenia and Iraq and the opportunity to contact and
cooperate issues from interests of all of us,» the Minister remarked.

Pan Armenian News
AZERBAIJAN INTENDS TO ESTABLISH FRONTIER CONTROL WITH ARMENIA
23.06.2005 07:29
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan intends to establish frontier control with
Armenia, with whom it is in a state of war, reported Deputy Commander of the
State Frontier Service (SFS) of Azerbaijan Ilham Mehtiyev at an
international seminar on threats to frontier security in the South Caucasus
opened in Baku with the support of the NATO Thursday. `Due to the military
confrontation with Armenia we have not managed to form frontier
infrastructures yet, while this is the longest part of the state frontier
(1007 km),’ Mehtiyev said. `Today we already carry out preliminary works to
form the material basis for establishing control over the segment of the
state frontier. I should remark that is a work of a huge scale and it will
be hard for us to do it on our own without the support of international
structures,’ he underscored. Mr. Mehtiyev also stated `occupation of Azeri
territories by Armenia is a factor that has a negative impact on the
development of the region.’ He also highlighted cooperation in strengthening
the frontier security within the organization of GUAM, whose members are
Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. `Our interaction in securing
frontiers is one of the pivotal aspects of regional cooperation between our
states and has real prospects. This is a key task we have to solve within
the next 5-10 years,’ he said, the Trud newspaper reported.

Press Release
June 23, 2005
Embassy of Armenia
2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
T. 202-319-1976, email: [email protected]
Embassy of Armenia Marks a Milestone in Habitat for Humanity Armenia Program
On June 16, 2005, Embassy of Armenia hosted a reception to honor an
important milestone in the Habitat for Humanity Armenia program, the
construction of the 100th house in Armenia. Through the work of this
organization in Armenia, which involved efforts by 100 local volunteers,
almost 600 people in Armenia have been provided housing.
In his welcome address during the reception, Ambassador of Armenia to the
U.S., Tatoul Markarian praised the Habitat for Humanity for its humanitarian
spirit, which is manifested through enabling vulnerable people all over the
world to acquire a home. The spirit of charity practiced by the Habitat of
Humanity, the Ambassador said, is an excellent example of Christian faith in
action, which sows seeds of goodness and is rewarding both to the recipients
of such assistance and those who volunteer and provide support to the
program. At the same time, Ambassador Markarian noted, the Habitat for
Humanity Armenia program contributes to alleviating poverty in Armenia,
which is also a strategic objective for the Government of Armenia. Poverty
reduction has direct relevance for success of democratic, economic, and
social reforms in Armenia, the Ambassador added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SPOUSE OF NKR MP WHO WAS BEATEN UP ON JUNE 21 THINKS THE LIFE OF HER
HUSMAND STILL IN DANGER
YEREVAN, JUNE 23. ARMINFO. The spouse of the NKR MP representing the
bloc ARFD- Movement 88 Pavel Manukyan who was beaten on June 21,
Marine Manukyan, has applied to the NKR Prosecutor’s office demanding
immediate initiation of a criminal case on the given incident.. A
statement of ARFD Artsakh Central Committee says that in her appeal,
M.Manukyan asks NKR Prosecutor General to allow move the suffered from
Stepanakert military hospital to Yerevan. She motivates her request by
the fact that the situation in NKR is controlled by the persons who
beat her husband, which threatens his life. The statement also says
that the health of Pavel Manukyan is stable and the diagnosis is as
follows: ” craniocerebral trauma”. It should be noted that P. Manukyan
was beaten in the cabinet of NKR Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan with
the latter’s direct participation.