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03/16/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) US Assistant Secretary of State Visits Armenia 2) Turks in Germany Rally Honor Talaat Pasha 3) Istanbul University Hosts Conference on Turkish-Armenian Relations 4) Armenian Vice-Speaker Meets with Armenian Youth of Moscow 1) US Assistant Secretary of State Visits Armenia YEREVAN (RFE/RL/Armenpress)--On the last leg of his regional tour, US Deputy Secretary of State Daniel Fried met Thursday with Armenia's President Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, and Defense Minister Serge Sargsian. Fried, who also visited Azerbaijan and Georgia, said the goal of his trip was to study the situation in the region after the Rambouillet meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as to discuss a number of issues pertaining to the future of the region, including energy security. Steven Mann, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair from the United States, accompanied the US deputy secretary of state to Yerevan and said: "It is a difficult fact that we did not move ahead at Rambouillet. But the two countries' presidents are willing to move forward." Fried says he believes there is still an opportunity for Armenia and Azerbaijan to make a breakthrough in the Karabagh settlement process. He said he is convinced that negotiations can be continued despite the lack of progress at the latest round of high-level talks at Rambouillet. "Both governments express their countries' interests and take the Karabagh settlement process seriously," Fried said, sharing with the media his impressions of the meetings with officials in Baku and Yerevan. He added that the settlement of the conflict will stimulate the economic progress of the region. Fried also addressed energy issues at a news conference in Yerevan. He said the US would not object to the Armenian government's ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station replacing the Medzamor plant, which is due to be decommissioned by 2016. Fried said after recent explosions in the pipeline that ships Russian gas to the South Caucasus, the US and Europe have been paying greater attention to the energy situation in the region and the need to cut its heavy dependence on Russian fuel supplies. He said Armenia's desire to build a new nuclear power plant will be discussed in Washington. During his trip, Fried also denied media allegations that US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, would be recalled soon, allegedly for acknowledging publicly last year that 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was genocide. "Ambassador Evans enjoys the confidence of the State Department and will continue to serve as US ambassador to Armenia," he said. Ambassador Evans who was also present at the news conference reiterated what he had said earlier: "I serve at the pleasure of US president." Fried said the US Government is also interested in the democratic situation in Armenia. The American diplomats left Yerevan for Istanbul later on Thursday to attend a meeting of the Minsk Group cochairmen due to be held there. 2) Turks in Germany Rally Honor Talaat Pasha BERLINAfter German courts overruled the Berlin Police Department's decision to stop the Turkish march in honor of Talaat Pasha, around 20 Turks gathered in Berlin to honor one of the masterminds of the Armenian genocide. This group of Turks, however, was prevented from placing a wreath at the foot of a memorial dedicated to victims of the Nazi regime in Germany. A group consisting of both Armenians and Germans blocked the Turks from placing the wreath there, because they considered honoring a perpetrator of genocide to be disrespectful to those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Following these developments, the Berlin Police Department has submitted a request to the court to stop another planned Turkish rally scheduled for Saturday, March 18. The court will rule on the matter Friday. The court's ruling will be based on the German law that forbids denial of the Holocaust. It is unclear whether that law can be applied to the denial of other genocides as well. 3) Istanbul University Hosts Conference on Turkish-Armenian Relations ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)--Some 70 Turkish and foreign academics gathered in Istanbul on Wednesday for a three-day conference titled "A New Approach to Turkish-Armenian Relations." In a rare move, the gathering, organized by Istanbul University, included presenters of all convictions, but it was largely dominated by historians and officials who defend Turkey's official position on the Armenian genocide. Turkey categorically denies that 1.5 million Armenians were victims of genocide under its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. Twenty-four historians from around the world attended the conference, which failed to fill up even half of the hall's 2000 seats. Historians and experts from Armenia were also invited to the conference. However, they refused to participate. Historian Ara Sarafian, who did participate in the conference, told reporters outside the conference hall that the Genocide is a historical fact, during which several of his family members lost their lives. In the first session of the conference, Yair Auron, an Israeli researcher of Jewish archives from Ottoman times, openly used the term "genocide" and appealed to Turks to question their past. "Every civil society has to deal with its past, including the black pages of this past," Auron said. In a message sent to the conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stressed that Turkey is at peace with its past, saying, "We have no page in our history to be ashamed of." Noting that many conferences and symposiums have been held in Turkey recently on the Armenian allegations, Gul said, "There has been an increase in the amount of scientific research, articles and books published about the last period of the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian genocide claims." In a rare move, books deviating from the official Turkish position were made available at the entrance to the conference hall. One of the books displayed by Sarafian caused a stir among some of the Turkish participants who were offended by the way the Turkish flag was presented on the cover. Sarafian subsequently removed the book's jacket cover, but one participant continued to verbally assault Sarafian until others intervened. Turkey has only recently begun discussing the taboo subject of the Armenian genocide, which many countries have recognized. In September of last year, a private Istanbul university hosted a landmark conference organized by Turkish intellectuals disputing Ankara's official line on the issue, despite a court order to block it. 4) Armenian Vice-Speaker Meets with Armenian Youth of Moscow (PanArmenian.Net)--Mitk Union of Armenian Youth organized a meeting between representatives of Moscow's Armenian youth organizations and Armenian Parliamentary Vice-Speaker and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian. During the meeting, Hovannisian discussed issues relating to Armenia's development, Russian-Armenian cooperation, and Armenia-diaspora relations. He also spoke about the geopolitical situation in the region and the Karabagh conflict settlement. Mitk is a project organized by the Russian-Armenian Commonwealth NGO. Members of the Mitk Friends' Club are given the opportunity to meet with Russian and Armenian politicians and public figures. 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) 2006 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.