Month: November 2006

COMUNITA’ ARMENA SOTTO CHOC, TURCO ROVINA MOSTRA SU GENOCIDIO ; ROVINATI ANCHE I PANNELLI DELL’ESPOSIZIONE DEDICATI AI PAPI ROMA
ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
November 5, 2006
(ANSA) – ROMA, 5 NOV – La comunita armena italiana e sotto choc. Un
giovane turco stamattina ha fatto irruzione nel teatro di Varallo
Sesia (Vercelli), dove era in corso l inaugurazione di una mostra
sul genocidio armeno seminando il panico.
Ad un certo punto e piombato in sala un energumeno che urlava come
un ossesso in turco, prendendo a calci i pannelli della mostra,
rovesciando i libri sul genocidio armeno, spintonando persino delle
signore ha raccontato Pietro Kuciukian, curatore dell esposizione
dedicata allo sterminio che agli inizi del secolo scorso costo la
vita ad un milione e mezzo di armeni cristiani.
Tra i pannelli che il giovane turco ha distrutto ce ne sono due che
riguardano i papi: uno dedicato a Benedetto XV, il primo capo di
Stato che nel 1915 cerco di fermare il massacro appellandosi all
imperatore ottomano dell epoca e l altro al viaggio che fece Papa
Wojtyla in Armenia nel 2002.
La polizia fortunatamente e subito intervenuta e lo ha portato via. Piu
tardi il sindaco mi ha detto che il ragazzo di nazionalita turca vive
a Varallo Sesia da un paio d anni, ha sposato una italiana e gestisce
un negozio di doner kebab ha affermato Kuciukian, sottolineando che
episodi del genere, cosi gravi, non sono mai accaduti in Italia. In
Francia si , tanto che e proprio per questo che il parlamento francese
ha varato una legge per punire i negazionisti che non riconoscono il
genocidio. In diverse citta francesi gruppi di giovani Lupi Grigi
hanno imbrattato monumenti e cose del genere. Cio che e capitato
a Varallo Sesia non e un bel segnale. Non so se e un fatto isolato
oppure, se questo ragazzo e stato istigato da qualcuno. Il dubbio
resta . La mostra di Kuciukian sta girando varie citta italiane e
dovrebbe a breve essere portata a Roma.
Ora il teatro e presidiato dalla polizia. (ANSA).

MOSTRA SU ARMENI DEVASTATA, REGIONE PIEMONTE LA ACQUISISCE ; ASSESSORE CULTURA OLIVA, GIRERA’ SCUOLE PER RICORDARE GENOCIDIO
ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
November 6, 2006
TORINO
(ANSA) – TORINO, 6 NOV – La Regione Piemonte acquisisce la mostra sul
genocidio armeno che durante l’inaugurazione ieri a Varallo Sesia
(Vercelli) e’ stata danneggiata da un giovane turco che ha preso a
calci i pannelli e rovesciato a terra preziosi volumi storici. Lo
annuncia l’assessore alla Cultura Gianni Oliva, sottolineando che
l’iniziativa sara’ accompagnata dall’organizzazione di un incontro
con lo scrittore turco Orhan Pamuk, premio Nobel 2006, che lo scorso
anno venne incriminato nel suo paese per avere espresso parole di
condanna del genocidio armeno.
“La Regione – ha detto Oliva – si impegna ad acquisire la mostra
e a farla girare nelle province e soprattutto nelle scuole di
tutto il Piemonte, perche nessuno dimentichi questo triste pezzo
di storia. Insieme alla diffusione della mostra – ha aggiunto –
organizzeremo una iniziativa pubblica con Orhan Pamuk, incriminato
in Turchia per le sue dichiarazioni sul genocidio degli Armeni, e
con lo scrittore Guenter Lewy, che da pochi mesi ha pubblicato per
Einaudi un significativo libro dal titolo ‘Il massacro degli Armeni,
un genocidio controverso'”.
La mostra di Varallo Sesia, ora presidiata dalla polizia, raccoglie
fotografie di Armin Wegner ed e’ curata da Pietro Kuciukian, armeno
figlio di uno scampato al genocidio del 1915, autore di vari libri
sul tema. Tra i pannelli semidistrutti dal giovane turco (che e’
sposato con un’italiana e vive a Varallo Sesia da circa due anni),
ne figurano due che riguardano i Papi.
Uno e’ dedicato a Benedetto XV, che per primo nel 1915 cerco’ di
fermare il massacro appellandosi al sultano ottomano del tempo.
Un altro ricorda il viaggio che fece Papa Wojtyla in Armenia nel
2002.(ANSA).

KARABAKH TO SPEND 91,000 DOLLARS ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Nov 9 2006
Yerevan, 9 November: The government of the Nagornyy-Karabakh republic
[NKR] has allocated 40m drams [91,000 dollars] for the preparations
for and holding of a constitutional referendum on 10 December.
About 280 polling stations will open in the republic, the chairman
of the NKR Central Electoral Commission, Sergey Nasibyan, has
told Mediamax. One polling station will be set up at the permanent
representative office of the NKR in Yerevan.
At present lists of voters are being drawn up. The final lists will be
made available at the polling stations two days before the referendum.

BRIAN FALL: UK READY TO ASSIST OSCE MG IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 14:29 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the Security Council at the RA
President, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan received Wednesday the
British delegation led by Sir Brian Fall, the UK Special Representative
for the South Caucasus, Col. Seyran Shahsuvaryan, RA Defense Minister’s
Spokesman, told PanARMENIAN.Net. UK Ambassador to Armenia Anthony
Cantor was also present at the meeting. Welcoming Armenia’s policy
on peaceful settlement of conflicts Sir Brian Fall said the UK is
ready to assist the OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. Pointing out to the usefulness of mutual contacts
in order to maintain ceasefire in the conflict zone the interlocutors
touched upon the recent meeting of the RA and Azeri Defense Ministers
at the Ijevan-Ghazakh sector of the Armenian and Azerbaijani border.
When commenting on the conference organized by Wilton Park in Yerevan
Sir Brian Fall emphasized that it’s the first-ever conference held
in a South Caucasian state. When touching upon the current stage
of the Armenian-British military cooperation the sides noted the
importance of extending the program of English language courses for
Armenian servicemen.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEMOCRATS’ VICTORY IN HOUSE TO PROMOTE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 15:32 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The balance of power shifted in Washington yesterday
as Democrats took control over the House of Representatives, paving
the way for Armenian Caucus Member Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to become
the first female Speaker of the House. Pelosi’s anticipated rise,
coupled with the likelihood of numerous Caucus Democrats picking up
important leadership positions, will expand the scope and influence
of this important body in the next congressional session. As part
of that power shift, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill) will
pass the Speaker’s gavel to Pelosi, making her the first Armenian
Caucus Member to hold that position. Pelosi has a strong record of
support on Armenian-American issues and has regularly called on the
Administration to properly acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. She
is currently a cosponsor of H. Res. 316 – a bill that affirms the
attempted annihilation of the Armenian people as genocide, reports
the Armenian Assembly of America.

RUSSIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS TO DISCUSS KARABAKH PROBLEM
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 16:03 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev meet in Kremlin today. It will be the fourth in
2006 meeting of the Presidents. They are expected to exchange opinions
on the situation in the South Caucasus, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement, the ways of ensuring regional security and resolution
of international problems. Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin will also
refer to the preparation to the summit of the CIS leaders scheduled
for November 28 in Minsk, reports Azeri Press.

ARMENIAN AND NKR OFFICIALS THANKED GREEK PARLIAMENT FOR RECOGNIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN 1996
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 16:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Early November NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosian
departed for Greece to participate in the events dedicated to the
10th anniversary of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the
Greek parliament. As reported by the NKR MFA press office, November
7 Armenian National Assembly Vice-speaker Vahan Hovhannisian and the
NKR FM met with Greek parliament Vice-speaker Giorgio Surlas. The RA
and NKR officials thanked the Greek parliament for the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide in 1996. For his part Giorgio Surlas dwelled
on the ethnic cleansings of Armenians and Greeks in the Ottoman
Empire and stressed the necessity of consistent measures for their
recognition. The sides also discussed expansion of the Armenian-Greek
friendly ties and the current stage of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement, reports IA Regnum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON TURKEY FAILS TO REFLECT ARMENIAN ISSUES
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 17:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ This Wednesday, November 8th, the European Commission
released its regular report on Turkey. The political dimension of
the negotiation process has been removed from this document and is
now included in a second report, entitled, “Enlargement strategy and
the and Main Challenges 2006-2007.” As for the Armenian issues, it
should be noted that the regular report failed to denounce the denial
campaign waged by Turkey, both on its own territory and throughout
the Union. Previous mentions of the Genocide in previous reports –
characterized euphemistically as “tragic events” – were not reflected
in this new document. On freedom of speech, only Article 301 of the
Turkish penal code was mentioned. The European Commission failed
to denounce the other provisions of Turkish law aimed at freedom of
speech, especially Article 305, which penalizes the affirmation of
the Armenian Genocide. Finally, in the technical chapters related to
the Acquis Communautaire, the illegal blockade of Armenia is described
using the dismissive terminology, “closed border.”
The European Armenian Federation is troubled by the Commission’s
failure to fairly and meaningfully address Armenian issues,
particularly the issue of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide. “The Commission’s report, most notably it failure to
challenge Turkey’s many restrictions of freedom of speech, represents a
true setback in terms of the credibility of this European institution,
particularly in light of its eagerness to criticize France for its
law penalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide,” stated Hilda
Tchoboian, the Chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.
The Federation announced that the European citizens it represents
expect the Commission to fairly and honestly perform its task of
accurately assessing Turkey’s progress, without bowing to political
pressures. Otherwise, European public opinion will turn against the
Commission’s double standards,” added Tchoboian. The Federation also
denounces the arrogance of the Turkish leaders who attempt to force
Europe to abandon its values. “The talks over Turkey’s candidacy
have devolved from a negotiation into a race to see which side can
walk away from European values,” she concluded, reports the EAFJD
communication unit.

RA GOVERNMENT WON’T BUY 90% ARMENTEL STOCKS
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 18:14 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During a recurrent sitting on November 9 the Armenian
government decreed to refuse from purchasing 90% of ArmenTel stocks
belonging to OTE Greek company for 341.9 million euros. As reported
by the RA government’s press office, the decision was taken on the
basis of ArmenTel’s regulations, the law “On Joint Stock Companies”
and agreements concluded between the RA government and ArmenTel.
To note, on November 3 VympelCom Russian company announced of the
agreement concluded with OTE on the purchase of ArmenTel’s 90%
package. The Armenian government, the holder of 10% of the stocks
should give consent on selling of the package to the company that
won the tender. The RA government is also ready to sell its 10%
package in case ArmentTel’s new owner refuses from monopoly rights,
reports IA Regnum.

CIS INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY TO MEET IN SAINT PETERSBURG
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.11.2006 18:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recurrent sitting of the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly is due in Saint Petersburg November 15-17. According to
the CIS IPA website, the reformation of the CIS, which is marking
its 15th anniversary, prospects and outcomes of cooperation will be
discussed. Laws on security, recommendations on migration issues,
a number of legal documents including the ecological, water and
educational codes will be signed.
The meeting of the speakers of the parliaments of the Caucasian Four
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia) will be held within the
sitting framework, reports Trend news agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress