Month: November 2006

RUBEN SAFRASTYAN: US CONGRESS MAY ADOPT A BILL CONDEMNING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

The US Congress, in the person of the Democratic Party, may possibly
adopt a bill condemning the Armenian Genocide, Director of the Oriental
Studies Institute of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences Ruben
Safrastyan said in an interview with "Armenpress.

According to him, it is hard to predict now what impact it will have
on the position of the US Administration and the US foreign policy,
to what extent the US will be able to exert influence Turkey.

In his words, during the past 10 years the attitude of American
intellectuals towards the Armenian Genocide issue has changed
abruptly. If by mid-1990s some scholar were saying that the Armenian
Genocide really occurred, he was considered to be hired by Armenians.

In the recent years the fact of the Armenian Genocide has not been
questioned in university, scientific and intellectual circles of the
United States. According to Ruben Safrastyan, a substantial segment
of the political elite also realizes pretty well what happened in
reality, but they refuse to recognize the fact "because of certain
political considerations." "The Republican Party is not ready to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, fearing that it will endanger the
US-Turkey relations.

"However, Turkish-American relations aggravated in 2003 when Turkey did
not allow the US troops to pass through its territory," the Director
of the Oriental Studies Institute said.

According to him, the US is afraid that if Turkey strengthens the
Islamic factor, it will be able to create instability in the Middle
East. Americans fear they will not manage to impact the Turkish policy,
the army and economic potential of which can become destabilizing
factors.

HIS EMINENCE AND PRELACY DELEGATES VISIT LEBANESE CONSULATE TO OFFER CONDOLENCES

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

Following the tragic assassination of Lebanese Industry Minister,
Pierre Gemayel, His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate,
and Armenian Prelacy of Canada delegates visited Mr. Khalil El-Habre,
Lebanon’s Consul General to pay their respects on behalf of the
Canadian Armenian community.

His Eminence, accompanied by Archpriest Hrair Nicolian, Rev. Fr.
Karnig Koyounian, and Dr. Garbis Harboyan, Prelacy Executive Council
member, expressed the hope for peace, unity and tolerance in light
of the unfortunate events during the meeting, Armenian Prelacy of
Canada informs.

WORLD BANK AND ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO FINANCE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIRD PROGRAM OF SOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

The Armenian Parliament has ratified an agreement between the Armenian
Government and the World Bank on joint financing of the third program
of Social Investment Fund (ASIF III) worth $33.3 million.

Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Armenia Pavel Safaryan said
in the Parliament that the agreement was signed on November 1 2006
in Yerevan. The WB’s share in the program will total $25 million,
which is 75% of the total amount of the program. The co- financing
by Government of Armenia will total $6.7 million (20%). The share of
the local self-government in the program will make up $1.5 million of
4.7%. In addition, $0.16 million will be provided in terms of a grant.

The program aims to fill the "infrastructure gaps" and repair schools,
polyclinics and ambulance stations in villages. The investments will
be allocated to the poorest 300 communities (the third of the total
number of communities in RA). The assistance in the formation of the
community budgets is rendered in order to support the state policy of
power decentralization. P. Safaryan said the crediting terms of the
third program are tougher than those of the two previous ones. It is
for the first time that the WB gives a credit to Armenia on conditions
of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for
20 years under 0,75% annual interest and 10 years of grace period. All
the remaining credits were provided on conditions of the International
Development Association (IDA) for 40 years.

The terms were changed due to the growth of GDP income per capita in
the Republic, P. Safaryan said. While earlier the Government’s share
in the co-financing was only 3.5%, now it has rose to 20%. The funds
allocated under the given program are subject to taxation unlike
other programs. The first credit in the scope of this Program worth
$12 million was granted in November, 1995, the second one worth $20
million in May, 2000.

To note, Armenia has received credits from WB to the total sum of
$952,25 mln since 1992 for implementation of 44 programs.
From: Baghdasarian

DELEGATION LED BY ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ARRIVED IN MINSK

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

A delegation led by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has arrived
in Minsk.

ArmInfo’s special correspondent reports from the capital of Belarus
that in the afternoon local time the meeting of CIS President will
get underway. Then an enlarged meeting will take place. Armenia will
be represented at the enlarged meeting by Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan and Ambassador
of Armenia to Belarus Oleg Yesayan.

Approximately at 4pm local time (6pm Yerevan time), Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev are to
meet at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Minsk.

The foreign ministers of the two states, Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar
Mammedyarov, Foreign Minister of RF Sergey Lavrov, OSCE CIO, Belgian
Foreign Minister Carel de Gucht, as well as OSCE CIO PR for Nagorny
Karabakh, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, will attend the presidential
meeting. Then, Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev will meet vis-a-
vis. The Armenian delegation headed by President Kocharyan will return
to Armenia after the negotiations.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DISCUSS, DECEMBER 7, DRAFT RESOLUTION "ON FROZEN CONFLICTS", INCLUDING CONFLICT IN KARABAKH

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

The UN General Assembly will discuss, on December 7, the draft
resolution "on frozen conflicts", including the conflict in NKR,
the acting press-secretary of RA FM, Vladimir Karapetyan, told ArmInfo.

To remind, the regional alliance of GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
Moldova) has come out with the mentioned issue discussion initiative in
September, 2006. As V. Karapetyan told ArmInfo earlier, the Armenian
side takes an active part in the elaboration of the text of a draft
resolution "on frozen conflicts". He underlined the Armenian side
participates in all the draft resolutions, related to the region,
as well as in issues of wide international importance.

"Naturally, the Armenian side will participate in the discussions
of "frozen" conflicts, initiated by the GUAM member-countries",
Karapetyan said.

He reminded that the RA FM considers this initiative of GUAM
unacceptable and unjustified. "We are sure the conflicts are different
and they are to be studied depending on their specific character. From
this point of view, it is still unclear for Armenia how four different
conflicts may be united and considered in one draft resolution",
Karapetyan stressed.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION TO APPEAL TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AGAINST LAW ON ALIENATION OF PRIVATIZED LANDS FOR STATE AND PUBLIC NEEDS

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

The Armenian opposition intends to appeal to the Constitutional
Court against the law on the order of alienation of privatized lands
for state and public needs. The law was approved by the Armenian
Parliament, Monday, said Vardan Lazarian, "Justice" faction
representative, at "Urbat" Club, Tuesday.

V. Mrktchyan mentioned that before the constitutional reform, the
reform supporters motivated their position by the fact the reform
will even more toughen the land alienation process. "Nevertheless,
it turns out that everything is done quite on the opposite," he said.

In his turn, Rafik Petrosyan, Head of Parliamentary Commission
for State and Legal Affairs, expressed hope that the law will be
considered by the Constitutional Court. He is dissatisfied with two
provisions of the law: lack of an exact definition of the "prior
importance" of the alienation of a territory for public and state;
acquisition of a territory by an organization. However, R. Petrosyan
does not intend to join the opposition appeal as he voted for the
adoption of the law. He explained that he prefers a poor law to the
lack of a law as this leads to worse consequences like it happened
to the evicted residents of Buzand street. R. Petrosyan promised to
follow the fulfillment of the law. He did not rule out preparation
of amendments to the law in future.

As regards the residents of the central streets of Yerevan, including
Buzand street, who were evicted from their homes due to the desire of
the authorities "to beautify the appearance of the city by all means
possible," V. Lazarian said that any law aiming improvement of the
citizens’ life must have a retroaction and apply to these people. R.

Petrosyan agreed with this opinion and proposed the dissatisfied
residents of Yerevan center apply to the court.

To note, before the adoption of the given law, the authorities were
guided by the land and administrative codes of Armenia in the issues
of land alienation. However, some provisions of these codes have been
recently recognized contradictory to the Constitution of Armenia.

Thus, the contracts with the above residents and the forced eviction of
some of these people was on the basis of the anti-Constitutional laws.

RA AUTHORITIES TRY TO LIMIT IMPORT OF OLD AUTOMOBILES TO REPUBLIC

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

RA authorities try to limit the import of old automobiles to the
Republic since 2007 by introducing changes to the present Legislation
that already has caused a rise in prices for the cars.

As the Head of the Economy Department of the RA Ministry of Nature
Conservation, Ashot Harutiunyan, told ArmInfo, RA Parliament has
passed a first reading of a bill on the rates of nature-conservative
payments. According to the Law, the rate for 5-10-year automobiles will
make up 2% and that for 10-15-year automobiles – 10%, for automobiles
older than 15, the rate will make up 20%. Harutiunyan noted that a
nature-conservation payment is introduced in Armenia for the first time
and the Law is called to limit the import of old vehicles to Armenia
as to reduce the emissions of harmful substances to the atmosphere.

To note the import of foreign cars to the Republic at present is laid
a 20% value-added tax and 10% of state due. The import of Russian
vehicles is exempted of state dues since 2004. Introduction of the Law
will increase the payment for the of over 15-years-old automobiles from
the present 32% to 52%. The Law has not been passed yet in the final
reading, however, it already caused a rise in prices of 10-20% for
automobiles in Armenia. According to the estimations of specialists,
a half of over 15-years-old vehicles, imported to the Republic and
their cost varies within $6,000.

TALKING WITH TURKEY

Ottawa Citizen
November 28, 2006 Tuesday
Final Edition

Some 25,000 Turks hit the streets of Istanbul this weekend to protest
the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. That’s good news. Not the protest
itself, but the fact that only 25,000 people took part in a city
of 10 million. The Turkish "street" is perhaps more reasonable than
people think.

True, other protests are planned and Benedict will be under a massive
security blanket during his four-day trip. But the pontiff is working
hard to improve Christian-Muslim relations. On Sunday he sent "cordial
greetings" of "esteem and sincere friendship" to "the dear Turkish
people." As a welcome show of good will, Benedict will visit the Blue
Mosque in Istanbul, becoming only the second pope to set foot in a
mosque, after John Paul II in 2001.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his part, has been
able to "find time" to meet the Pope today at Ankara airport.

Otherwise, Mr. Erdogan, en route to a NATO summit in Latvia, will
be absent for the duration of the Pope’s trip. The prime minister
insisted his absence was no snub and that the Pope was welcome in
Turkey, though he cautioned that "whoever comes here must show respect
for the Prophet Muhammad."

Mr. Erdogan’s awkward, somewhat conflicted attitude toward the
Pope’s visit is suggestive of Turkey’s general ambivalence about the
non-Muslim world. Turkey, though, is country of sufficient strategic
interest that the West needs very much to nurture this relationship.

Sometimes this is hard to do. Turkey’s human-rights record is shaky.

The country’s refusal to admit the Armenian genocide is unfortunate.

The stubborn demand for an end to the isolation of Northern Cyprus,
the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state that only Turkey recognizes, is
putting the country’s accession into full membership in the European
Union on hold yet again.

Yet we need Turkey on our side. Turkey is a strong counterpoint to the
geopolitical ambitions of Iran and Syria. As a Muslim country committed
to the separation of mosque and state, Turkey is a buttress against
religious fundamentalism in the region. Turkey has its flaws to be
sure, but it remains a functioning democracy built upon a population
that is mainly Muslim.

Western leaders should never surrender their prerogative to speak
plainly to the Turkish government on matters of conscience. But as
with any mature relationship, and we see this in the dialogue with
countries such as Russia and China, the criticism ought to be balanced
with positive and constructive incentives.

The pope has chosen the right path by visiting the Blue Mosque. It
is a gesture of respect. Talking with Turkey about its place in the
European Union must continue. At the end of the day, the benefits of
having Turkey firmly within the western orbit justify the efforts
needed to keep the relationship healthy. If there is one country
that can demonstrate the compatibility of Islam and democracy, it
will be Turkey.

FEATURE: DIPLOMATIC MINEFIELD FOR POPE’S VISIT TO TURKEY
by Christopher Wade, dpa

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
November 27, 2006 Monday 10:28 AM EST

DPA POLITICS Turkey Religion Pope FEATURE: Diplomatic minefield for
pope’s visit to Turkey Christopher Wade, dpa Ankara When Pope Benedict
XVI arrives in the Turkish capital Ankara on November 28 the usual
thronging crowds that accompany most papal visits abroad will not
be present, the prime minister may be in another country and the
president will not be waiting to meet him as the pope steps down from
his aircraft.

The papal visit has been surrounded by controversy since it was
first mooted when Pope John Paul II was still head of the Catholic
Church. The original invitation was issued by Greek Orthodox Patriach

Bartholomew I, whose seat is in Istanbul, an invitation that the
Turkish state said the patriarch had no right to send.

It may seem like a triviality, but Turkish officals took exception
to the invitation on the grounds that since the pope is the head of
the Vatican State, then the invitation must be issued by the head of
the Turkish state, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

After a seemingly long wait, Sezer finally did issue an invitation
which the then pope accepted.

The controversy seemed over until German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
was elected pope in April, 2005. Turkish newspapers immediately
recalled that when he was a cardinal, Ratzinger had said that Turkey
should not become a member of the European Union.

Then came the pope’s September 2006 speech in which he quoted a 14th
century Byzantine emperor who had said that Islam was a religion
spread by the sword. Muslims in Turkey and many other countries
immediately protested.

While the pope expressed regret for the upset his comments had caused
he did not give an unequivocal apology.

The president of the state-controlled Religious Affairs Directorate,
Ali Bardakoglu, has said that while the visit may help to improve
relations between the Catholic and Muslim worlds, the pope should
offer a complete apology for his remarks.

"The trip won’t resolve all of the problems but it will be a good
step in the direction of dialogue," Bardakoglu told Italian newspaper
La Stampa.

In his capacity as head of state, the pope will meet the Turkish
president and Bardakoglu and will later travel to Ephesus, the site
where Mary, mother of Jesus is thought to have spent her final days.

He will then move on to Istanbul where he will meet Greek Orthodox
Patriarch Bartholomew I.

While Vatican officials have said this will be the highlight of
the pope’s trip, a chance to further relations and heal old wounds
between the the Catholic and Orthodox church, it is being looked at
with suspicion by Turkish officials.

The status of the patriarch is a particular thorny diplomatic issue
in Turkey. Turkey does not recognise Bartholomew’s title of "His
All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch," instead referring to him as the
spiritual leader of the Greek minority in Turkey, a minority whose
numbers are perhaps just 5,000.

The Catholic Church, however, does recognise Bartholomew’s title and
each time the word "ecumenical" is used a diplomatic furore erupts
in Turkey.

Celebrations in Ankara for the 2003 Silver Jubilee celebrations of
Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, where Bartholomew paid tribute to
the pope’s role in spreading peace, were boycotted by government
and opposition politicians as well as state officials due to the
invitation issued by the apostolic nuncio, the Vatican’s ambassador,
which stated that the "ecumenical patriarch" would be present.

There were even calls for the apostolic nuncio to be expelled from
the country.

Yet another possible diplomatic controversy could occur when the pope
visits Armenian Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan.

The Turkish state completely denies all claims that the massacres of
Christian Armenians during the First World War constituted a genocide
and observers will be watching Benedict closely for any comments he
makes on the controversial issue.

The Turkish government has stressed that it believes the pope’s trip
to Turkey will help Catholic-Muslim dialogue. But in general it has
reacted coolly to the visit.

It remains unclear whether Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will
even be meeting Benedict, having said he plans to fly to Latvia to
attend a NATO Summit. Both Turkish and Vatican officials have denied
that this is a snub and last minute indications Sunday were that
Erdogan would in fact meet the pope before leaving for Riga.

Papal visits abroad are normally associated with large crowds of the
faithful turning out to greet the leader of their church and local
politicians trying to grab some of the limelight. Benedict’s trip to
Turkey could hardly be more opposite.

BACKGROUND: THE DIMINISHING CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN TURKEY

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
November 27, 2006 Monday

DPA POLITICS Turkey Religion Pope BACKGROUND: The diminishing Christian
community in Turkey dpa infographic 3184 available Ankara One of the
biggest issues on the agenda of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey
starting on November 28 will be the state of Christian minorities.

There are no official figures on the number of Christians living
in Turkey but estimates put the figure at no higher than 100,000,
or around 0.15 per cent of the total population. Of these, only a
tiny minority are Roman Catholic.

Those numbers used to be much much higher but events over the past
century have led to sometimes massive decreases, sometimes gradual.

During the First World War Armenian Christians sided with Russia
against the Ottoman Empire and when the Russian armies disappeared
from eastern Turkey following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the
Ottoman authorities moved to expel from Turkey Armenians living in
the east of the country.

While Turkey denies that the subsequent massacres actually
constituted a genocide, it does admit that hundreds of thousands were
killed. Armenian historians claim as many as 1.5 million Armenians
died. The numbers may be in dispute, but there is no argument that
the massacres and the subsequent emigration of others completely

changed the religious make-up of the nation. Estimates put the Armenian
Christian population today at just 70,000.

Just a few years later, following the war of independence and
the founding of the modern Turkish republic, came the exchanges of
population with Greece that saw Muslims in Greece sent to Turkey and
Orthodox Christians sent the other way.

In spite of those events there were still sizable Christian minorities
in Turkey but over the years the numbers have dwindled further, both
due to natural emigration but also due to events such as in 1956,
when a pogrom against the 100,000 strong Greek Orthodox community in
Istanbul led to thousands leaving the country.

Today, there are only around 5,000 Greek Orthodox Christians living
in Istanbul.

Despite the minuscule numbers the Turkish authorities still today
are deeply suspicious of Christian minorities. In the past a wealth
tax imposed on minority groups, including Jews, impoverished many.

Today there are still problems for minority religious groups regarding
the owning or repair of property.

The Greek Orthodox Church also complains that the state closed down a
seminary on the island of Heybeli in 1971. Despite repeated calls from
the European Union to allow the seminary to reopen, the government of
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to move on the matter.

Turkish analysts have said that Erdogan’s hands are tied because he
has been thwarted by the fiercely pro-secular military in watering
down restrictions on the wearing of the Islamic-style headscarf in
public offices and universities.

The prime minister’s own daughters attend university in the United
States because they cannot wear the headscarf to school in their
own country.

As for the public at large there is certainly no obvious hatred of
Christians. There are no complaints concerning the behaviour of the
millions of western tourists who flock to Mediterranean resorts each
summer but there have been a number of attacks on Christians in some
of the more conservative areas of Turkey.

In February an Italian Catholic priest was shot dead by a 16-year-
old boy in the town of Trabzon. The exact motive for the murder has
not been revealed, the court was held behind closed doors.

Syrian Orthodox Christians have also complained that Kurdish families
have taken over their properties and churches in south-east Turkey
after they were forced to leave them due to poverty and conflict.

Evangelical protestant groups also complain of harassment by the
authorities.

Christians may not be high in numbers in Turkey but their plight
will be high on the agenda when Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Ankara
on November 28.