Month: October 2006

EU PARLIAMENTARIAN LAGENDIJK CRITICIZES FRANCE, THE NETHERLANDS

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 9 2006

The co-head of the EU-Turkey Parliament Commission, Joost Lagendijk,
has signalled his disapproval for the so-called Armenian genocide
denial bill which the French Parliament is scheduled to debate
this week. Lagendijk, who called on Turkey last week to get rid of
the controversial article 301 from its penal code, said yesterday
"To speak openly, right now, neither France nor the Netherlands are
showing respect for freedom of expression.

What this means is that they are quieting people down." Lagendijk’s
criticism of the Netherlands came in the wake of news that several
ethnically Turkish candidates in upcoming elections across the
Netherlands were forced of their parties’ candidate lists when they
refused to acknowledge the so-called Armenian genocide.

Lagendijk’s comments on the matter continued as follows: "To make
denial of the Armenian genocide a crime is an attempt to squelch
debate on this subject, and is incredibly risky. If want to maintain
our authority and believability in front of Turkey, we have to stay
away from these attempts to limit freedom of expression. I am opposed
to these efforts. Also, politics must never intrude on the debates
which occur between historians."

Lagendijk touched in particular on the removal of the Turkish
candidates from election lists in his own country, the Netherlands:

"It is extremely worrisome that the Turks were removed as candidates
in my country. These questions are only being directed at the Turkish
candidates. Why don’t they ask me, or my collegue, Camiel Eurlings?

Maybe we also think differently on this subject."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SARKOZY MOVES ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
By Swaha Pattanaik

Independent Online, South Africa
Oct 9 2006

Paris – French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday set three
conditions for Turkey to avoid a vote by French deputies on a bill
making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands
of Ottoman Turks.

Parliament, dominated by the Union for a Popular Movement that Sarkozy
leads, is due on Thursday to discuss an opposition Socialist bill on
Armenian deaths during World War One.

Turkey strongly denies the 1,5 million deaths constitute genocide.

Though the conservative majority in parliament opposes the bill, Turkey
fears many opponents will vote for the bill for fear of upsetting
France’s 400 000-strong Armenian diaspora ahead of presidential and
parliamentary elections next year.

Sarkozy, conservative frontrunner for the presidential race and
a long-standing opponent of Turkey’s EU entry, said he had set out
conditions for avoiding a vote in a telephone call with Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan.

"The first is that there is a bilateral commission between Armenia and
Turkey which has equal representation, so that these two countries can
conduct the work of acknowledging history," he told France Inter radio.

"The second condition is that Turkey reopen its borders with Armenia.

And the third condition is that Turkey gives up its penal law which
forbids people speaking of the genocide in Turkey."

He said he was not sure whether he had convinced Erdogan but added
that the Turkish premier had taken note of them.

Erdogan on Sunday criticised the bill and Turkish lawmakers warned
last week that illegal Armenian immigrants in Turkey may be expelled
and French trade hurt if the measure were passed.

Ankara strongly denies estimates that 1,5 million Armenians perished
at the hands of Ottoman Turks in a systematic genocide, saying large
numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan
conflict raging at that time.

Sarkozy also said Turkey was not guaranteed EU entry even if it
accepted calls for it to admit Armenians suffered genocide.

President Jacques Chirac has suggested recognition of the Armenian
"genocide" should be a condition of Turkish EU entry, but Sarkozy
said this would not be a sufficient condition.

"For me it is not a precondition to enter Europe. Because, to enter
Europe, the fact that a country has a duty to acknowledge its history,
as Germany did, is the minimum," Sarkozy told France Inter radio.

"But it is not because one does one’s duty of acknowledging one’s
history that one has the right to enter Europe."

Sarkozy, who says the European Union cannot expand indefinitely
and must have fixed borders, again criticised Ankara for failing to
properly recognise EU member Cyprus because of a dispute over the
divided island.

Turkey began its EU entry talks last year, though is not expected to
join for many years.

MICROSOFT SIGNS COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH VIVACELL ON THURSDAY

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Oct 9 2006

YEREVAN, October 9. /ARKA/. Microsoft signed a cooperation agreement
with VivaCell on Thursday, Vahe Torosyan, Microsoft Vice-President
for Central and Eastern Europe, said Friday at DigiTec-2006 second
international exhibition opening in Yerevan.

Torosyan said this agreement gives VivaCell the right to use
Microsoft-provided services throughout three years.

In his words, VivaCell will receive technical support from Microsoft
and the company personnel will upgrade their skill by using Microsoft
technologies.

Commenting on DigiTec2006 opening in Armenia, Torosyan said that the
exhibition will present achievements in Armenia’s IT area.

In his opinion, the area has enough capacity for development. He said
IT sector ensures 40% of economic growth in European countries.

The three-day exhibition opened on Friday in Yerevan. Some 50 companies
were presented in the exhibition, of which 20% are foreign.

The exhibition information sponsors are ARKA News Agency and AMI
Novosti-Armenia.

AWARDING CEREMONY FOR WINNERS OF 4TH OPEN PROGRAMMING COMPETITION HELD IN YEREVAN

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Oct 9 2006

YEREVAN, October 9. /ARKA/. The ceremony of awarding the winners of
the 4th annual open programming competition was held in Yerevan.

Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) Bagrat
Yengibaryan stated the three-stage contest was held from September
15 to October 4, 2006.

The second-year student of the Department of Applied Mathematics,
Yerevan State University, Gagik Amirkhanyan won the first stage of the
individual competition. The second stage (not part of the competition)
was in Tsakhkadzor as part of School of Information Technologies. So
winners were only selected in the first and third stages.

The teams of the Departments of Applied Mathematics of Yerevan State
University and of Russian-Armenian Slavonic University were winners
of the third stage, a team competition.

According to Yengibaryan, the participation in the competition opens
up new prospects for talented young people.

"Representatives of many international organizations specializing
in information technologies have started taking notice of our young
specialists," he said.

Over 350 young people under 30 took part in the competition. The
bonus fund was about AMD 2mln (about $5.2ths).

The competition was sponsored by Synopsys Armenia, Virage Logic,
USAID, EIF, ACBA, "Unicomp" CJSC.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN MANEUVER: LET HISTORIANS BE EXEMPTED
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 9 2006

The Armenian Diaspora continues to take action in an effort to prevent
opposition to the draft law pending at the French parliament that
would penalize denial of the alleged Armenian genocide.

In an attempt to convince those who oppose the draft that it will
restrict the academic freedoms of historians, Armenians proposed
exempting researchers and historians from the scope of the draft law.

To this end, a leading figure from the ruling People’s Majority Unity
Party French Armenian, Patrick Devedjian, proposed an amendment to
the draft. The single-sentenced proposal reads "These regulations do
not apply to academic and scientific researches and studies."

The Committee on Defending the Armenian Cause, an important player
behind the draft bill, called on the parliamentarians to approve the
draft for the sake of "the dignity of humanity," and in a manner that
goes beyond the routine discussions of historians.

The draft submitted by the opposition Socialist Party stipulates those
who deny the alleged Armenian genocide be imprisoned up to five years
and fined 45,000 euros.

In a statement annexed to the amendment proposal, Devedjian,
in reference to Turkey, noted that the bill should prevent any
provocations and political demonstrations organized by a foreign
country. With the proposal, Devedjian seeks to prevent those
conducting historical research from prosecution and punishment under
the draft law.

This unexpected attempt by the Armenians, who have consistently
criticized historians critical of the genocide allegations, seeks to
prevent opposition from French historians.

Not long before, leading French historians had issued a declaration
demanding the abolition of laws encompassing historical subjects,
including the law that recognizes the alleged Armenian genocide.

The same historians are expected to issue another declaration in the
days ahead. French President Jacques Chirac also stated his opposition
to the draft.

The Armenian Diaspora, which now seeks exemption for historians,
had previously ensured the conviction of the renowned historian
Bernard Lewis simply because he did not fully reflect "the Armenian
genocide" in an article. Likewise, following the application of
Armenian associations, the Paris Court convicted Quid Encyclopedia
on the grounds that it mentioned Turkey’s view with regard to the
1915 incidents.

PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ALGERIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 9 2006

Parliament is to be busy this week, as it’s set to consider a
bill lowering the eligibility age to be elected a deputy to 25,
the opposition’s censure motion against the education minister and
a revived bill criminalizing denial of France’s "genocide" in Algeria.

The Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) motion against Education
Minister Huseyin Celik, submitted to Parliament on Friday, will be
debated tomorrow afternoon.

The CHP’s criticisms of the minister include seeking to protect
religious orders as well as some school textbooks published by the
ministry being full of factual errors, inappropriate language and
religious overtones.

Parliament will then hold the first round of voting on a bill to
reduce the eligibility age to be elected a deputy from 30 to 25,
with the second round on Thursday.

A commission set up to investigate the current situation in the
vegetable and fruit production sector will convene on Tuesday as well.

Among the commissions to meet on Wednesday is one set up to probe
the threat of cancer posed by industrial waste in Dilovasi, Gebze.

Deputies will also continue debating issues carried over from last
week, such as debates on seeds legislation on Wednesday, which aims to
increase efficiency and quality in seed production and to restructure
the sector as called for in the last European Union progress report.

Under the bill, which has been criticized for opening the way for
the sector to be monopolized, plant types, production licenses and
genetic resources will be recorded by the Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Ministry. The bill also stipulates providing the sector with incentives
and harmonizing legislation related to the sector with the EU acquis.

The ninth EU harmonization package will also continue to be debated
on Thursday to formulate a brand-new roadmap for this legislative year.

France discusses Armenian ‘genocide,’ Turkey addresses Algerian one

Among the issues to be debated by Parliament are three once-shelved
bills to recognize an Algeria "genocide" committed by France, and
criminalizing its denial.

Although it hasn’t been officially announced, Justice Commission Chair
Koksal Toptan stated over the weekend that three bills set aside
by the related commission will be debated on Wednesday in response
to the French Parliament debating a bill on the Armenian "genocide"
on Thursday.

The commission is ready to discuss the recently amalgamated bills
seeking prison terms and fines for those who deny there was an Algerian
"genocide."

TUSIAD SAYS ARMENIAN BILL CONTRADICTS SPIRIT OF EUROPE
By Cihan News Agencys

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 9 2006

The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD),
the leading business club of Turkey, has condemned the controversial
French draft bill, which will make it a crime to deny the so-called
Armenian genocide.

TUSIAD Chairman Omer Sabanci said in a written statement on Friday
that the draft and the way it is debated contradicted the spirit of
Europeanism, adding that it would mar the bilateral relations and
the efforts of dialogue.

Addressing French MPs, Mr. Sabanci asked them if they were not aware of
the fact that they were jeopardizing all the political, economic and
social relations between France and Turkey for the sake of their own
political interests. "I need to say that we, as the Turkish business
world, are embarrassed and sad, and we condemn the French politicians"
he said.

On Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan told a press
conference that the Armenian issue has deteriorated the relations
between Turkey and France in the past, "But this time, the bill will
inflict irreparable damage on our relationship."

The French National Assembly is expected to convene on Oct. 12 to
discuss the bill that would make denying the so-called Armenian
genocide punishable by up to five years in prison and 45,000 Euros
in fines.

For further information please visit

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
October 8, 2006

His Holiness Karekin II Blesses Foundation of New Church in the City of
Abovian

The city of Abovian with approximately 45,000 residents, near the capital of
Yerevan, is one of the largest settlements of Armenia without a house of
prayer.  Developed to a great extent during the Soviet years, the town grew
from a small village to become the fourth largest city in Armenia at the
time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

On the eve of the 15th anniversary of Independence for the Republic of
Armenia, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians presided during the Service for Blessing the Foundation of the
first church to be built in Abovian in the past 100 years.

Construction on the church to be named St. Hovhannes began earlier this
spring and is scheduled to conclude in two years.  The benefactor of the
church is Mr. Gagik Tsarukian, a member of the National Assembly of
Armenia.  He is also the benefactor of the construction of the church of
Holy Astvatsatsin in Arinj.

Present during the service were His Grace Bishop Arakel Karamian, Primate of
the Diocese of Kotayk; Mr. Tsarukian and his family; K. Shahgaldian,
Governor of the Kotayk Region; K. Israelian, Mayor of Abovian; members of
the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin; clergy from the Diocese of Kotayk; and
more than 3,000 faithful.

Sixteen `Godfathers’ placed consecrated stones, bearing the image of a cross
and washed with water and wine, in the foundation of the new church
underneath each of the sixteen columns, and dedicated to the twelve
apostles, evangelists and St. Gregory the Illuminator.

East Side Boxing

Darchinyan robbed of a TKO! Wins easy technical decision!

07.10.06 – By Izyaslav `Slava’ Koza: In a situation eerily similar to
Arthur Abraham’s bout with Edison Miranda, Glenn Donaire suffered a broken
jaw in his bout with Vakhtang `Vic’ Darchinyan. The similarities ended
there, however, as Donaire indicated to the ref, Tony Weeks, that he could
not continue due to a `phantom’ headbutt foul. The replay clearly showed
Darchinyan landing a straight left that rocked Donaire at which point he
stopped the action himself and told the doctor and the referee he could not
go on.

Donaire clearly lost every round up to that point and was knocked down in
the bout. It was abundantly clear that he was looking to quit and really the
bout should have been stopped via technical knock out, as the blow came from
a punch.

Darchinyan looked superb, and the one time Donaire decided to engage he
found himself on the ground via the knockdown. Darchniyan missed with an
uppercut and landed the left to cause the damage and the count. Darchinyan
barely missed a punch during the whole fight, and was very entertaining in
his third or fourth Showtime Debut.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 566a06
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:

"Victims: place, rights and assistance" on the agenda of the 27th
Conference of European Ministers of Justice in Yerevan

Strasbourg, 09.10.2006 – The Ministers of Justice of the Council of
Europe’s 46 member States will meet in Yerevan (Armenia) on 12 and 13
October to find new ways of promoting and developing support and
assistance to victims, facilitating their access to justice and ensuring
that victims of crime do not also become victims of administrative
procedures and bureaucracy.

The President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, and the Council of Europe’s
Director General of Legal Affairs, Guy de Vel, will address the
participants when the conference opens on Thursday 12 October at 9 am
(the meeting will be open to the press until 10.30 am).

During the conference, the ministers present will sign a number of
Council of Europe treaties.

The increasing rate of criminality as well as the threat and the acts of
terrorism demonstrate the need for member States to promote the
individual’s security and dignity and respond to violence by devising
and implementing social and judicial measures to assist the victims.

The conference will provide an opportunity to review existing standards
and practices in the member countries, as well as any shortcomings in
them or their implementation, and identify needs for additional
instruments.

The Council of Europe adopted a new recommendation on assistance to
crime victims (Rec (2006) 8
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has long regarded aid for victims as a priority, having adopted a
Convention on the compensation of victims of violent crimes
< n/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=3D116&CM=3D8&DF=3D9 /27/2006&CL=3DENG> in 1983 and the Convention on the
prevention of terrorism
< mmun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=3D196&CM=3D8&DF= 3D9/27/2006&CL=3DENG> and the Convention on action against
trafficking in human beings
< n/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=3D197&CM=3D8&DF=3D9 /27/2006&CL=3DENG> in 2005.

A press conference will be held on Friday 13 October at 12.15 pm (House
of Government, 47 Mashtots Avenue).

Journalists are invited to obtain accreditation from Anahit Voskanyan,
Armenian Ministry of Justice, tél. +374 10 582 581, fax +374 10 582
157, e-mail [email protected]

For further information on the conference, consult

Press contact:
Estelle Steiner, Press officer, Council of Europe
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 33 35, mobile +33 (0)6 08 46 01 57,
[email protected]

To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
[email protected]

A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress