Month: October 2005

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]

10 October 2005

RA FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF SYDNEY

Sydney, Australia – On Sunday, 9 October, 2005 His Excellency, Mr Vartan
Oskanian, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia arrived in
Sydney with his official delegation at the invitation of the The Hon
Alexander Downer MP, Foreign Affairs Minister of Australia. The RA Minister
was welcomed at Sydney International Airport by government officials and
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand,
His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian accompanied by Diocesan Councillors
and community leaders.

Mr Oskanian’s first engagement with the Armenian-Australian Community was by
attendance at the Divine Liturgy held at the Armenian Church of Holy
Resurrection. In his sermon dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of the
Armenian Alphabet on the Feast of the Holy Translators that was celebrated
on Saturday, the Primate declared the presence of the Minister to be the
crowning glory of celebration for the Community. The Minister responded to
the honour granted him to address the congregation in the Church and replied
to the warm welcome of the Primate. In response to the Primate’s sermon
where the Archbishop declared that the independence of Armenia began long
before the 14 years that is celebrated in September but some 1600 years ago
when the written Armenian language was established that would bring alive
the Word of God through the translation of the Holy Bible, the Minister
stated that the true independence of the Armenian nation began in 301 when
Christianity was adopted as the state religion.

Following the church service, the Primate hosted a luncheon in honour of the
Minister at the Prelacy that was also attended by the delegation from
Armenia and Diocesan Council.

In the afternoon, the Armenian Community gathered in large numbers at the
Austral-Armenian Association’s Galstaun Centre to welcome the Minister. Mr
Oskanian is the first Foreign Minister from the Republic of Armenia to make
an official visit to Australia. The Minister briefed the gathering on the
current state of affairs in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh, advocating the
important role of the Diaspora and purporting the roles of all stakeholders
in the future development of the homeland. Question time with the Community
followed the Minister’s briefing after which Mr Oskanian met with the local
Armenian media for a press conference in a closed session.

The Foreign Minister is meeting with his Australian counterpart today in the
nation’s capital, Canberra on official matters and will meet with other
Ministers and Members of Parliament throughout the course of the day. Later
this evening the Australian Foreign Minister will host a dinner at
Parliament House in honour of His Excellency Mr Vartan Oskanian. Dinner
guests will include Members of Parliament, delegates and representatives
from the Armenian-Australian Community. His Eminence Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian will also be a dinner guest of the Australian Foreign Minister.

Agence France Presse
8 octobre 2005 samedi 10:49 AM GMT

Olli Rehn rencontre à Istanbul l’écrivain turc Orhan Pamuk qui sera jugé

ISTANBUL (Turquie) 8 oct 2005

Le commissaire européen à l’Elargissement Olli Rehn a rappelé que la
liberté d’expression était l’une des valeurs-clés de l’UE, à
l’occasion d’une rencontre samedi à Istanbul avec le célèbre
romancier turc Orhan Pamuk, qui doit prochainement être jugé.

“Tout pays qui souhaite intégrer l’UE doit partager cette valeur”, a
déclaré M. Rehn devant la presse après s’être rendu dans
l’appartement stambouliote d’Orhan Pamuk, dans le quartier
cosmopolite de Cihangir.

Ce déplacement s’est inscrit dans le cadre de la “partie privée” du
séjour du commissaire européen, à l’issue de la partie officielle de
sa visite en Turquie qui l’a mené à Ankara et à Kayseri (centre), a
précisé à l’AFP Jean-Christophe Filori, du cabinet de M. Rehn.

Au terme de leur entretien, Olli Rehn et Orhan Pamuk ont dit aux
journalistes avoir parlé de littérature.

“Nous avons parlé de littérature, des enfants, de la vie. Il m’a
remercié pour mes romans, je l’ai remercié pour ses efforts, pour
tout ce qu’il a fait pour la Turquie”, a expliqué le romancier.

Orhan Pamuk s’est félicité du lancement des négociations d’adhésion
de la Turquie à l’UE. “Je lui ai dit que c’était positif au plus haut
point”, a-t-il souligné.

Orhan Pamuk, qui recevra le 23 octobre à la Foire internationale du
livre de Francfort le prestigieux Prix de la paix des libraires
allemands, doit être jugé en décembre devant une cour d’Istanbul pour
“insulte délibérée à l’identité turque” en raison de ses propos
reproduits dans un magazine suisse sur le massacre des Arméniens en
1915 (jusqu’à 1,5 million de morts, selon les Arméniens).

Interrogé sur le fait de savoir s’il avait évoqué avec M. Rehn son
procès, l’écrivain a répondu : “nous n’avons pas parlé du procès
(mais) de la démocratie, des droits de l’Homme, de la liberté de
pensée”.

Très lu en Turquie où il a autant d’admirateurs que de détracteurs,
Orhan Pamuk s’est attiré les foudres des nationalistes turcs pour sa
défense des causes arménienne et kurde.

Le romancier, dont les oeuvres sont traduites en plus de vingt
langues, risque de six mois à trois ans de prison.

Son inculpation avait suscité les critiques de l’UE avec laquelle la
Turquie a entamé le 4 octobre des négociations d’adhésion.

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR WARNS OPPOSITIONISTS
AGAINST TRADING IN THEIR FATHERLAND

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. I have repeatedly warned some of the
oppositionists that unless they stop offering their faterland to
foreigners in exchange for flower revolution I will make these facts
public, says the national security advisor of the Armenian president
Garnik Isagulyan.

He says that those calling for boycotting the Nov 27 nationwide
referendum on the draft constitutional amendments or voting against
them are people who feel no responsibility for their words and
actions and are ready to sacrifice everything even national interests
to get what they want. These people are irreparable – they daydream
of becoming revolutionaries and presidents.

People cannot vote against something that can improve their lives.
One cannot but value the president’s voluntary relinquishing some of
its powers – this is quite unprecedented, says Isagulyan expressing
conviction that the people will say yes to the amendments.

There will be no flower revolution in Armenia and the people should
calmly prepare for the next elections in 2007-2008, says Isagulyan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

TURKEY’S INTOLERANCE AND HOSTILITY TO ARMENIA HINDER STABILITY AND
CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. Turkey’s intolerance and hostility to
Armenia and denial of the Armenian Genocide hinder stability and
constructive dialogue in the South Caucasus, Vice Speaker of the
Armenian Parliament, ARFD member Vahan Hovhannissyan said during the
NATO Rose Roth seminar in Yerevan today.

On the other hand recognition of the genocide would give guarantees
of regional security. Meanwhile Turkey is trying to drive Armenia out
of the regional processes by initiating the construction of
Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi rail road and
by preventing the operation of Kars-Gyumri-Akhalkalaki rail road.

Concerning Turkey’s charges that Armenia violates the Kars Agreement
Hovhannissyan says that Turkey breaks the agreement itself by
blockading Armenia and refusing to establish diplomatic relations
with the country. As to the charge that Armenia has occupied 20% of
Azeri territory Hovhannissyan says that having occupied Northern
Cyprus itself Turkey has no right to talk about it.

Hovhannissyan says that Turkey’s admission into the EU may lead to
the opening of the border and the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. The whole policy on united Europe is based on tolerance and
repentance – the notions alien to Turkey.

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

AUGMENTATION OF AZERBAIJAN’S MILITARY BUDGET REAL THREAT TO PEACE AND
STABILITY IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. The augmentation of Azerbaijan’s
military budget is a great threat to peace and stability in the South
Caucasus, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Vahan Hovhannissyan
said during the NATO Rose Roth semiar in Yerevan today.

This is especially dangerous as after the USSR collapse Azerbaijan
got twice as much military hardware as Armenia – 312 T72 tanks
against 241, 545 infantry fighting vehicles against 298.

Concerning the Karabakh conflict Hovhannissyan says that Karabakh has
never been part of independent Azerbaijan. There had even been no
Azerbaijan as such before the proclamation of the Soviet Azerbaijan.
The territory of present day Azerbaijan had another name while the
Azeris were known worldwide as Caucasian Tartars. Karabakh was given
to the Soviet Azerbaijan in 1921 and proclaimed self-determination
after the USSR collapse like all the other Soviet republics and
according to the international law.

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

THERE IS NO RUSSIAN TRACE IN LAST EVENTS IN SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. There is no Russian trace in the last
events in Georgia’s mostly Armenian Samtskhe-Javakheti region, says
the national security advisor of the Armenian president Garnik
Isagulyan.

The escalation of tension in the region is due rather to hard
social-economic situation. The Georgian authorities should be very
careful in their actions as any small provocation may spark large
scale clashes.

The question is about the Oct 5 incident between the police and
ralliers in the region where an action of protest turned into mass
disorders. The ralliers protested against the tax inspection of 10
trade facilities in the center of Akhalkalaki. The personal
representative of the Georgian president to the region Georgy
Khachidze said Oct 6 that those responsible will be punished while
the Georgian president said that the police was always “up to the
mark”.

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

TURKISH SCIENTIST DOES NOT DOUBT THAT THERE WAS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN
OTTOMAN TURKEY IN EARLY XX

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. There is no doubt that there was
thoroughly organized Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915,
professor of Saban University (Turkey) Halil Bargtay said during the
Yerevan NATO Rose Roth seminar.

Armenians were massacred just because they were Armenians and
Turkey’s claims that it was a result of Armenian revolt are a lie.
There was no word “genocide” in the international legal terminology
in early XX but today this cannot be called otherwise. The only
difference between the Jewish Holocaust and Armenian Genocide is that
the Jews of Western Europe had no revolutionary organizations while
the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey had several revolutionary groups. But
this is not an excuse, says Bargtay.

In response Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Vahan
Hovhanissyan said at the Jews of Western Europe were immigrants while
present day Turkish Anatolia is a historical territory of Eastern
Armenia as the early XX revolutionary moods by Armenians were quite
understandable – they struggled for the liberation of their
historical homeland.

Bargtay said that there is certain progress in the Turkish public
opinion but the political authorities cannot just get up one morning
and recognize one thing they have been denying for decades. This
requires time. Bargtay said that it is not right to pressure Turkey
in the issue. International pressure may only lead to escalating nazi
and fascist moods.

Turkey should come to this on its own. At the same time both Armenia
and Turkey should overcome antagonism and the ghost of the past.
There already are some signs of tolerance. Many Turkish scientists
have already begun to publicly acknowledge the fact of massacres and
some of them even call this genocide, says Bargtay noting that he is
one example of this.

Fresno Bee (California)
October 7, 2005, Friday FINAL EDITION

All systems go System of a Down takes its Armenian heritage and
politics seriously as it gears up for a Fresno concert.

Mike Osegueda The Fresno Bee

It was a Tuesday. System of a Down had finished a show at Cleveland
State University the night before. It was an off day.

Well, it was supposed to be.

If not for a promise that lead singer Serj Tankian made to his
grandfather before the band left in August for its 10-week tour,
System of a Down would have been relaxing in a hotel room or shooting
a video or doing whatever touring bands do on their days off.

But System of a Down is not like other rock bands. Far from it.

Instead, Tankian and the band were in Batavia, Ill., outside the
office of Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., leading a rally to persuade
the speaker of the House to put a resolution on the House’s floor
that would recognize the Armenian genocide.

Joined by members of the Armenian National Committee of America, the
Armenian Youth Federation and Tankian’s Axis of Justice organization,
the chart-topping metal band (all of whom are of Armenian descent)
added star power to the rally, which included Tankian reading a
letter he delivered to Hastert urging the congressman to put the bill
to a vote.

“When I left town,” Tankian says by phone two days after the
incident, backstage before a show in Detroit, “I saw my grandfather,
he’s about 97 years old — we really don’t even know his actual age
because all the documents were lost and we guessed his age based on
his memories — and you know, I promised him that I’d try to get a
hold of Dennis Hastert. It’s a personal thing for me. It’s not a
political thing.”

That message is sure to resonate with people in Fresno, with the band
visiting Tuesday for a concert at the Save Mart Center.

Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, the bill in question
would formally call the Ottoman Empire’s killing of 1.5 million
Armenians after World War I a genocide.

It already was passed by the bipartisan House International Relations
Committee.

“When I read about that, I thought, ‘OK, it’s back to Dennis
Hastert’s hands,’ ” Tankian says. “This has happened before. We’ve
had a resolution in Congress regarding the genocide in 2000 and 2004.
Both times he didn’t bring it up to the House floor. The first time,
[then-President] Clinton had written him a letter saying that our
interests in Turkey could be endangered and stuff like that.

“This is the third opportunity. We wanted to go there and encourage
him to bring it to the House floor. It’s something that needs to come
out.”

And if you’re asking what all this had to do with a concert, then
you’ve obviously never listened to a System of a Down CD.

Like Rage Against the Machine before them, System of a Down has
accumulated a massive fan base behind both a roaring metal sound and
conscious-minded lyrics.

The band’s latest album, “Mezmerize,” (which debuted at No. 1 on the
charts, selling 800,000 copies in its first week) is full of opinion.
Pick a topic: war, religion, politics, Hollywood, sex, drugs and,
yes, genocide.

Unlike someone such as Kanye West, whose out-of-nowhere comments
about President Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina are now
infamous, System of a Down is in-your-face political on stage, in the
studio and in real life.

“We’ve always done what we wanted to do, myself and the band, what’s
in our hearts socially, politically, musically,” Tankian says. “It’s
difficult because when you talk about politics they make you a
political band and forget about the depth of your art. However, the
Armenian genocide is a personal issue; it’s not political.”

In Fresno, System of a Down is a highly talked-about band. People say
they know them, met them once, their cousin knows the drummer, that
kind of stuff.

Makes sense, considering System’s heritage. Many Armenian fans in
Fresno take it a step further and have a sense of ownership over the
band, seeing as how famous musicians of Armenian descent in the
American mainstream are limited to Cher.

“When we see someone like System of a Down make it — being that
they’re first-generation, they’ve come from the same place a lot of
Armenians here have come from — to see them do well almost connects
all the Armenians from all these different places,” says Vartan
Hekimian, 28, of Fresno. “I’m glad they speak up.”

Of this relationship with the band’s Armenian fans, Tankian says:
“It’s really great when people can feel a part of your music and feel
a part of your ethos. It’s a special connection.”

Despite both of System of a Down’s overt traits — being political
and being Armenian — Tankian says the band is not constricted to
these things. It’s not two-dimensional. That’s selling System short.

“If you listen to our music,” he says. “You can’t really say it’s
Armenian music. You can’t. But there is a certain melancholy that I
think comes from our people that exists in our music, that is a
characteristic of our music. But there’s other many other shades,
colors, characters and things that define System of a Down.”

The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6479.

INFOBOX

If you go

What: System of a Down in concert with Mars Volta and Hella

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Save Mart Center

Tickets: $32.50, $37.50 and $45

For more info: (559) 347-3400 or

GRAPHIC: SONY System of a Down (from left, Daron Malakian, John
Dolmayan, Serj Tankian and Shavo Odadjian) is held in high esteem by
many in the Valley’s Armenian community.

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: Day to Day 4:00 AM EST NPR
October 5, 2005 Wednesday

Taking time out from war for shopping

ANCHORS: MADELEINE BRAND

REPORTERS: LAWRENCE SHEETS

MADELEINE BRAND, host:

This is DAY TO DAY. I’m Madeleine Brand.

For almost 15 years, the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and
Armenia have been at war. Thirty thousand people have died and a
million more are refugees. But even though at war, some unofficial
trade between the two countries thrives. NPR’s Lawrence Sheets
reports from the Georgian border village of Sodoklo(ph).

LAWRENCE SHEETS reporting:

Not far from here begins a front line that extends for hundreds of
miles. Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers exchange gunfire over
trenches on a regular basis, despite a formal truce.

(Soundbite of people speaking in foreign language)

SHEETS: But here, things are different. This jam-packed muddy bazaar
is just inside Georgia at a wedge of land near where Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Georgia meet. Officially, the border between Azerbaijan
and Armenia is closed. It’s not even possible to make a telephone
call between the two countries. But at this chaotic market of
makeshift wooden stalls, the countries are still connected. Most of
the buyers here are from Armenia. The sellers are usually ethnic
Azerbaijanis, like Elchean Mogamettiv(ph). He sells tools, like
pliers and screwdrivers, to Armenians here.

(Soundbite of voices)

Mr. ELCHEAN MOGAMETTIV (Seller): (Through Translator) Some people
don’t like trading with someone they are at war with. But what can
you do? You have to put bread on the table.

SHEETS: Mogamettiv says relations between the ethnic Azerbaijanis and
Armenians here are fine, despite the hostility between the two
countries. He shakes hands with one of his longtime customers,
Armenian Arshallis Merchanyan(ph). Merchanyan buys goods wholesale
here every week. He then takes them back to Armenia’s capital,
Yerevan, where he deals them to retailers.

Mr. ARSHALLIS MERCHANYAN (Buyer): (Through Translator) People bring
all sorts of stuff–clothing, tea, everything you can possibly
imagine. Everything is cheaper here than in Armenia.

SHEETS: Here in this Georgian border village, you can find Armenian
brandy generally unavailable in Azerbaijan, or Azerbaijani tea, still
coveted in Armenia. Middlemen here can also arrange deliveries of
small amounts of smuggled Azerbaijani gasoline. Ethnic Georgian Amar
Sakharalidze(ph) is one of the directors of the outdoor market.
Sakharalidze says the Azerbaijanis tried to crack down, but they gave
up.

Mr. AMAR SAKHARALIDZE (Outdoor Market Director): (Through Translator)
The Azerbaijanis were angry about the trade of oil and stuff like
that, but they got over it. Politics are politics, but what does that
have to do with ordinary people?

SHEETS: Thomas Goltz, an American expert who’s written extensively
about the Caucasus region, says deep poverty in rural Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia has forced potential foes into business.

Mr. THOMAS GOLTZ (Writer): There is enmity on a macro-political
level, but at the same time, the human need and the urge to trade and
just curiosity create some very interesting situations, and this just
happens to be one of them.

(Soundbite of activity at bazaar)

SHEETS: The sellers and buyers here communicate in a mixture of
languages: Russian, Georgian, Azerbaijani and Armenian. One trade
stall does a booming business selling Turkish pop music to Armenian
clients.

(Soundbite of music)

Unidentified Singer: (Singing in foreign language)

SHEETS: Anoush Anyan(ph), a 43-year-old woman from Armenia, has been
coming to this market and trading with ethnic Azerbaijanis for 12
years. Today she’s buying cheap plastic flowers brought in from
Azerbaijan. She’ll resell them in Armenia.

Ms. ANOUSH ANYAN (Armenia): (Foreign language spoken)

SHEETS: Anyan says she has lots of Azerbaijani friends here to do
business with, even though her son now serves in the Armenian army,
which Azerbaijan is fighting. She said that because of unofficial
trade like this, there’s now less mistrust of Azerbaijanis in her
native village, regardless of what the politicians think. Lawrence
Sheets, NPR News, in the Georgian village of Sodoklo, near the border
between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005

LATVIAN PRESIDENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. One should remember the past but one
should choose – either to be victim to it or to move forward, Latvian
President Vayra Vike-Freiberga said during a meeting with the
students and professors of Yerevan State University today.

One should decide – to be avenger or to overcome the bitter past and
to move towards prosperity. “You are a free nation, free country in a
free world. Are you ready to show the whole world who you are? As a
foreigner I share your pain. I was psychologist for a long time and
know what pain is. As a person who has seen pain in life I urge you
to put it aside and to start thinking about the future as a proud and
self-confident nation,” Vike-Freiberga said.

She said that Latvia is for Turkey’s admission into Europe as it is
better to have Turkey as brother or as enemy. But to be EU member
Turkey should first fill the gap of democracy. That country has been
seeking into Europe since the Kemal times but it should first
eliminate some negative moments, Vike-Freiberga said.