ASBAREZ Online [03-29-2006]

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03/29/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Azeris Fail Planned Ceasefire Monitoring 2) Chairman of Danish European Movement Says Turkey Must Acknowledge Armenian Genocide 3) Turks Petition PBS to Air 'Armenian Revolution' Film 4) City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo to Host Armenian Genocide Exhibit, LAUSD Training 5) Conference Dedicated to Cilician Culture to Be Held in Antelias 6) Corruption-Related Crimes Cause Damage Amounting to 3.5 Billion Drams 1) Azeris Fail Planned Ceasefire Monitoring YEREVAN (Armenpress/A1Plus)--The regular monitoring of the contact line between Armenian and Azeri troops near the settlement of Seysulan of Karabagh's Martakert region scheduled for March 29 was canceled because of shots fired from the Azeri side. Andrzey Kasprzyk, personal envoy of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairman-in-office, who heads a team of observers monitoring the ceasefire had to stop the planed monitoring due to the absence of safety guarantees from Azerbaijan. The Mountainous Karabagh Republic foreign ministry said Kasprzyk and officials from the ministry accompanying him registered three separate shots fired by the Azeris coming from the occupied village of Karmiravan. 2) Chairman of Danish European Movement Says Turkey Must Acknowledge Armenian Genocide YEREVAN (Yerkir/Armenpress)Erik Boel, chairman of the Danish European Movement, visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan Wednesday and wrote in the guestbook that, "This tragedy should not be forgotten." Boel was accompanied by Armenian Parliament Vice-speaker and Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian and Bureau member Mario Nalbandian. He also laid a wreath in honor of the victims. "The country I represent and I personally believe that it was a genocide. And this is why I am paying homage to the victims of that tragedy. I believe all countries should come to terms with their pasts to move forward, I believe Germany is the best example," he said. As for making recognition of the Armenian genocide for Turkey a precondition to admission into the European Union, Boel said that he believed it is in Turkey's interest to recognize the Genocide. He said Turkey must acknowledge this crime committed by the Ottoman Empire and come to terms with its past. He said the EU and Armenia should encourage Turkey to continue its membership drive, otherwise nationalistic forces within the country may become stronger. Boel also spoke about the Karabagh conflict, saying it is not as big a priority for Europe, which focuses more on problems in the Middle East and Kosovo. 3) Turks Petition PBS to Air 'Armenian Revolution' Film Turkish Americans have begun collecting signatures urging PBS to air a film called "The Armenian Revolution" on April 17, the same night that PBS affiliates around the country will be airing the documentary "The Armenian Genocide." So far, over 10,000 have signed the petition. The Petition alleges that the $650,000 budget for Andrew Goldberg's documentary on the Genocide was paid for by Armenian American associations. 4) City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo to Host Armenian Genocide Exhibit, LAUSD Training City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo will host an exhibit and teacher training workshop for Los Angeles Unified School District teachers about the Armenian genocide at Los Angeles City Hall on April 3. The teacher training workshop will be conducted by The Genocide Education Project, a non-profit educational organization, which will ultimately train more than 300 LAUSD world history teachers about the Armenian genocide. The workshop, which incorporates elements of the iwitness exhibit in its lesson plans, will take place at City Hall from 8 AM to 3 PM on April 3, with the opening reception for iwitness at 5 PM. The exhibit, iwitness, features striking portraits and oral histories of Genocide survivors and will be on display through the end of April. Iwitness will be on display at the City Attorney's Office through the month of April. For more information, or to schedule a student field trip to the exhibit, please call (213) 978-8100. To RSVP for the April 3 opening reception, please email [email protected] or call (213) 978-1575 by March 31. See our Saturday edition for more information about the exhibit and teacher workshop. 5) Conference Dedicated to Cilician Culture to Be Held in Antelias The Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Mashdots Madenataran of Armenia will organize an international conference called "The Culture of Cilicia," which is to be held in Antelias, Lebanon in January 2007. The deputy director of the Mashdots Madenataran of Armenia is currently visiting the Catholicosate of Cilicia. Arshag Panoutchian arrived almost a week ago in Antelias to carry out philological research in Antelias and to pave the way for cooperation between the Madenataran and the Catholicosate of Cilicia. Arshag Panoutchian and His Holiness Aram I discussed the possibilities of cooperation between the Catholicosate and the Madenataran through various initiatives particularly in the field of culture and Armenology. Panoutchian praised the cultural activities organized by the Catholicosate and especially the publication of new books by the collective efforts of the Catholicosate and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. His Holiness hailed the readiness of the Mashdots Madenataran to cooperate with the Catholicosate of Cilicia. "The Mashdots Madenataran of Yerevan is not only Armenia's Madenataran, but that of the entire nation. The entire nation therefore has obligations in the efforts for the betterment of the Madenataran, the expansion of its work and its economic viability. The Mashdots Madenataran is a symbol for the Armenian nation's cultural identity, richness, and greatness. Our Holy Seat is always ready to actively participate in all the initiatives aimed at its better organization," said His Holiness. As proposed by His Holiness Aram I, an international conference titled "The Culture of Cilicia" will be organized collectively by the Catholicosate and the Madenataran in Antelias in January 2007. Experts from Armenia and the diaspora, as well as foreign experts will be invited to participate in the conference. A special committee will be formed in the future to follow up on the efforts for organizing the conference. 6) Corruption-Related Crimes Cause Damage Amounting to 3.5 Billion Drams YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The amount of damages inflicted last year by corruption and related crimes amounted to almost 3.5 billion drams, while local courts were able to recover only 236 million drams. Bagrat Yesayan, an aide to president Kocharian, revealed these figures and said law-enforcement bodies have to shift the focus on recovering money lost to corruption. He said this was one of recommendations of a report on Armenia by GRECO, an organization that helps its member states fight corruption. Yesayan downplayed public discontent with the law that only convicted 97 government officials of corruption when 352 such crimes were reported. 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.