ASBAREZ Online [04-19-2006]

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04/19/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) French Interior Minister Calls Desecration of Armenian Memorial 'Unacceptable' 2) Karabagh Army Concludes Week-long War Games 3) New Books to Aid Understanding of ARF 4) Armenian Genocide Recognition Issue Has Entered New Stage 5) Hamazkayin Fifth World Congress Ends in Lebanon 1) French Interior Minister Calls Desecration of Armenian Memorial 'Unacceptable' (Nouvel Obs)French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his indignation Wednesday at the desecration of the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Lyon. The memorial, which is to be unveiled on April 24, was vandalized Monday with revisionist inscriptions that read, "There was no genocide." Sarkozy called the incident "unacceptable" and said that its authors "must be severely punished by the justice of our country." He assured the Armenian community that France stands in solidarity with them. He said that "the Republic expressed herself with force, by the law of January 29, 2001, according to which France recognizes publicly the Armenian genocide of 1915." So, said the Interior Minister, "The authorities of the Republic will not accept that the law is scoffed." Two Armenian organizations in France, the Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Cause (CDCA) and the Council of Armenian Organizations in France, raised their concerns about the incident and demanded that those responsible be apprehended and adequately charged. The CDCA also demanded that extra measures be taken to ensure the safety of the Memorial's inauguration and Genocide commemoration on April 24, which will be attended by French President Jacques Chirac. 2) Karabagh Army Concludes Week-long War Games YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The ethnic Armenian armed forces of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) ended on Wednesday week-long large-scale exercises, which the MKR leadership said highlighted their ability to fend off possible military action by Azerbaijan. Hundreds of troops, backed by tanks, heavy artillery, and helicopter gunships firing live rounds, practiced defensive and offensive operations at a training ground not far from the Armenian-Azeri line of contact east of Karabagh. The war games, which will be evaluated by top military officials on Thursday, followed a familiar scenario, with the Karabagh army fighting back an enemy assault and then going on the counteroffensive. They also involved a rare call-up of local army reservists who also took in the simulated fighting. Armenia's Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian and the chief of army staff, Colonel-Lieutenant Mikael Harutiunian, monitored the proceedings along with the leadership of MKR. "At first glance, everything is alright," Sarkisian told reporters. Armenian and Karabagh officials insisted that the exercises are not connected with Azerbaijan's renewed threats to win back Karabagh by force or aimed at affecting the ongoing peace talks mediated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Sarkisian claimed that President Ilham Aliyev and other Azeri leaders make such threats for "propaganda purposes." Sarkisian also said he looks forward to Aliyev's meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House which is scheduled for April 28. "I am confident that the president of the United States will urge Aliyev to resolve the conflict by peaceful means," he said. MKR President Arkady Ghukasian, for his part, remained skeptical about chances of a breakthrough in the peace process. "In my opinion, Azerbaijan is dragging out the negotiations," he said. "Azerbaijan is not prepared for a settlement. But this is a case where I want to be mistaken." Meanwhile, Russia's chief Karabagh negotiator, Yuri Merzlyakov, confirmed on Wednesday that he and the French and American co-chairs of the Minsk Group will likely visit the conflict zone early next month in a bid to arrange another meeting between Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian. Merzlyakov said the two leaders have already been presented with the mediators' revised peace proposals and are currently studying them. He refused to disclose those proposals. The Minsk Group's American co-chair, Steven Mann, is due to pay a separate visit to Baku and Yerevan later this week. 3) New Books to Aid Understanding of ARF YEREVAN (Yerkir)The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) presented Wednesday new books aimed at helping people learn about and understand the ARF better. The books presented were: "Bibliography of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation," in 4 volumes; Ararat Hakobian's "The Parliament of Armenia and Political Parties in 1918-1920"; "ARF Figures Answer People's Questions"; Nigol Aghbalian's "Thoughts on ARF"; and Gevorg Khudinian's and Ararat Hakobian's "The Latest Efforts to Distort the ARF History." "I think these books will help those who want to understand the Dashnaktsutiun better," ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian said at the Bureau headquarters. Markarian said these books are mostly aimed at the youth. "But the issues raised in the books are aimed at all the sectors of the society," Markarian added. "The books contain assessments of various periods of the ARF activities, including the present times." Parliament's ARF faction leader Levon Mkrtchian noted that the goal of publishing these books was to familiarize people with the ARF. "Each of the 115 years of the ARF history is described in press, book series, and today, we are continuing this tradition," Mkrtchian said. "Every generation passes on the ARF values to the next; we will pass them on to the next generation." Artashes Shahbazian of the ARF Armenia Supreme Body's Promotion Group mentioned the books will be given as gifts to the participants of the presentation, and later be donated to Armenian libraries. The books will also be available at bookstores. 4) Armenian Genocide Recognition Issue Has Entered New Stage YEREVAN (Yerkir)Leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) faction in Parliament, Levon Mkrtchian said Wednesday that Armenian genocide recognition has entered a new stage and can now focus on reparations. "The Armenian genocide recognition issue has entered a new stage. Almost all of the leading states recognized this fact and even the US doesn't deny it," said Mkrtchian. He said Armenia should take advantage of the international community's positive attitude about Genocide recognition and pursue a more precise approach towards Turkey. "It's time to speak of compensations, since without it the fact of recognition loses sense. For Armenia the matter concerns not only moral and material issues, but appears as a security issue as well," the ARF leader said. Mkrtchian said that if Armenia's neighbor does not acknowledge the Genocide, the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the Karabagh conflict settlement could be drawn out for an indeterminate period of time. At the same time, the faction leader remarked that the Arab world and Iran support Armenia in its struggle for Genocide recognition. "Iran has not declared it at the state level, but it sides with Armenia. Actually, the majority of states arrived at the conclusion that the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire should be recognized," said Mkrtchian. 5) Hamazkayin Fifth World Congress Ends in Lebanon The Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Associations held the 5th World Congress April 13-15 in Lebanon, with participants from the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Australia, and Armenia. The meeting discussed the activities of the Central Committee over the last four years. Participants also spoke about prospects for increasing participation of youth during the next four years. At the conclusion of the Congress, a new Central Committee was elected consisting of Sarkis Armenian, Lebanon; Mgrditch Yapoujian, Lebanon; Vahe Jamakordzian, Syria; Simon Hasserjian, Canada; Mgrditch Mgrditchian, Lebanon; Antranig Misserlian, Lebanon; Edward Misserlian, USA; Masis Baghdassarian, Armenia; Souren Sarkissian, France; Mardig Demirjian, Lebanon; and Vatche Papazian, Lebanon. 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.