Month: November 2006

CONTINUING TO TEACH GENOCIDE IN ILLINOIS
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.11.2006 18:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Skokie, IL- A professional development teachers’
institute day took place to help Illinois educators expand Armenian
Genocide education offerings. The two-hour session at Niles North High
School in Skokie was in response to interest from the teachers and
a request from an Armenian teacher who works at the school, reported
the Genocide Education Network of Illinois. The ongoing ANC-Illinois
initiative to meet the newly created genocide education mandate
-HB0312, led to the establishment of the Genocide Education Network
of Illinois (GENI), which acts as a clearinghouse to disseminate
information to teachers about genocide. Co-founder of GENI, Karine
Birazian presented for over two hours to teachers on the history of
the Armenian Genocide, the current denial existing in Turkey, and
even the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. An educational resource CD was
distributed to each teacher that included various documents on the
Armenian Genocide provided by Richard Kloian from the Armenian Genocide
Resource Center, reports the Armenian National Committee of America.

20 KILOMETERS OF NEW ROAD FROM KAPAN TO MEGHRI READY FOR MOTORISTS
Armenpress
Nov 23 2006
KAPAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS: Armenian transport and communication
minister Andranik Manukian and his entourage traveled yesterday the
first 20 km of a 92 km-long road that is being constructed to provide
a shorter and safer connection between the town of Meghri in Armenia’s
south and Kapan, the capital of the southern province of Syunik.
Some 2.3 billion Armenian drams were spent to built this section. Azat
Gasparian, head of the construction firm that won the tender to build
the road, said they had to narrow the bed of the border Arax river
to built 2.5 km section of the road.
Another 20 km of the road will be ready by the end of this year
and the rest of 32 km will be finished in 2007. The government has
released 26.5 billion drams for building of this alternative road
and will release $6 million more.

INCOME OF PEOPLE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH GROW 12 PERCENT
Armenpress
Nov 23 2006
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS: Population’s income in
Nagorno-Karabakh grew 12.3 percent in January-September of 2006
against the same time of 2005 to 39.5 billion or $92 million, its
statistical service reported.
It said population’s expenses in the first nine months of the year
amounted to 37.4 billion drams or $87 million. More than half of
incomes-52 percent, generated from wages and salaries. People in
Nagorno-Karabakh spent in 9 months about $84 million to purchase
goods and pay for services.

FIRST KHACHKAR IN CZECH JIHLAVA
By Hakob Asatrian in Jihlava
AZG Armenian Daily
23/11/2006
Komitas Chamber Quartet Enchants Spectators
On November 17, in presence of many lookers-on the monument of Harutiun
Stepanian symbolizing Armenian-Czech friendship was unveiled in town
of Jihlava in the Czech Republic.
Ashot Hovakimian, Armenian ambassador to Austria, Hungary, the Czech
Republic and Slovakia, Jaroslav Vymazal, Jihlava mayor, Alexander
Sargsian, organizer of the event and head of the Armenian-Czech
Association, senator Jaromir Stetina as well as archbishop Mesrop
Grigorian, Armenian Patriarch’s envoy in Central Europe took part
ion the unveiling ceremony and held speeches.
Mayor Vymazal pointed out that significantly the first Armenian
khachkar in the Czech Republic is being erected in their town.
Ambassador Hovakimian congratulated all Czech-Armenians on this
beautiful event and emphasized the importance of such cultural events
in forming good-neighborly tradition between the two peoples.
Alexander Sargsian stated that the monument is a unique token of
gratefulness to the Czech people for non-discriminatory attitude.
Archbishop Mesrop together with deacon Barsegh Pilavchian, carried out
the consecration ceremony of the monument, after which the girls of
“Hayuhiner” ensemble gave a performance.
The khachkar is erected in front of the Holy Spirit Church in the
central Smetanovi Sad park.
At the end of the event Jihlava mayor invited the guests to a reception
in the Municipality.
In the evening, Komitas Chamber Quartet conducted by Eduard Tadevosian
gave a performance at Horacki Theatre. The Quartet played the works of
Chaykovsky, Handel and Komitas. On November 16, the Quartet performed
at the Russian Center of Science and Culture and was warmly greeted
by the spectators.

ARMENIANS AND SERBS FOLLOW THE SAME PRINCIPLE
A1+
[06:59 pm] 22 November, 2006
RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan met newly appointed Ambassador of Serbia
to Armenia Liliana Bachevich.
The NA Speaker congratulated Mrs. Bachevich and voiced confidence that
during her diplomatic mission she will contribute to the development of
the Armenian-Serbian relations. The NA Speaker mentioned that attempts
are made to set the interests of Armenia and Serbia at opposite sides
taking into account the conflicts over Nagorno Karabakh and Kosovo,
but there is nothing to contradict: both Armenians and Serbians
protect the principle of the integrity of the homeland.
At the request of the newly appointed Ambassador the NA Speaker briefed
her on the current phase of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. He
also highly appreciated the work of the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs.

BESIDES ROUND DANCE AND TREE PLANTING
A1+
[07:21 pm] 22 November, 2006
Today the journalists learned about another hobby of RA Public
Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan. The Prosecutor enjoys not only round
dances and tree planting, but also speaking with pupils. Today he
met a group of 8th-10th-form pupils in school N114 and answered
their questions.
The Prosecutor first represented the functions and role of his
office and then answered the questions of the pupils interested in
law. One of the pupils was interested if the judicial, legislative
and executive powers are separated and how the Constitution works,
Aghvan Hovsepyan assured that by the provisions stipulated in the
Constitution the three branches act separately which is very important
for the realization of a legal country.
A teacher asked if the traditions the people follow and the laws
imported from the European countries contradict each other or
not. Aghvan Hovsepyan noted that it is a very important question,
and law-makers must see to it that the laws adopted and the traditions
of the nations are not too far away from each other.
At the request of the pupils Aghvan Hovsepyan also represented his
biography. At the end of the meeting he presented them with his book
about criminal trials.

GOLDEN PALACE 5 STAR HOTEL
Panorama.am
14:20 22/11/06
There is one five star hotel in Armenia and that is Golden Palace in
Victory Park. The hotel was accredited by the ministry of trade and
economic development 3-4 months ago, Ara Petrosyan, deputy minister of
trade and economic development, told a press conference today. Hotel
Metropol has 4 stars and Congress Hotel has 3. Armenia Marriott Hotel
has no swimming pool and fitness complex and the ceiling is low,
Petrosyan said also saying the hotel aspires to be 5 star. He said
newly built hotels comply with ministry requirements better. In the
words of Petrosyan, the newly built hotel Oriental in the place of
Youth Palace has aspirations to become 10 star. “It is in very good
location and has a very interesting design,” he said.

EXPERT FLIES INTO A ROW OVER DEATHS
Michael Blackley
The Scotsman, UK
Nov 23 2006
A TURKISH professor has made a 3500-mile round-trip to Edinburgh
to criticise the city council for getting involved in a historical
argument concerning his home country.
Last year, the city council passed a motion regarding the deaths
of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the First World War that said
“it was indeed genocide”.
But the topic has been the subject of international debate and the
Turkish prime minister recently called for an impartial inquiry into
the deaths.
Now Turkkaya Ataov, a professor of international relations at the
University of Ankara in Turkey, has travelled to Edinburgh for a
10-minute appearance at the City Chambers to tell councillors they
were wrong to pass the motion.
Professor Ataov, a recipient of the golden honorary medal from
Austria-based peace group the International Progress Organization last
year, said: “If a representative political body passes judgements on
the basis of one-sided and perpetrated Armenian arguments, not only is
such a pursuit beyond its expertise, but also such prejudiced arguments
may well be unsustainable in the light of objective scholarship.
“The only appropriate alternative is to leave the matter to the free
discussion of academics, who possess adequate expertise in related
disciplines.”
Last August, the council passed a motion put forward by then city
leader Donald Anderson recognising that the Turkish campaign against
the Armenians in 1915 “was indeed genocide”.

EX-TURKISH DEFENSE MINISTER: “IT IS NECESSARY TO DEMAND RETURNING AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES”
Regnum, Russia
Nov 23 2006
“Observers at a congress of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
saw that mistakes made by us in past had been eliminated and the
Nationalist Movement will come to power,” MHP Deputy Chairman,
ex-Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu is quoted by Azeri
Press Agency as stating in Ankara. According to him, after the
congress was over, even some newspapers and TV-channels admitted
that. Cakmakoglu stressed he believed that the mass media would
support the MHP because the Nationalist movement is movement of
the Turkish people and state. According to him, the movement became
stronger after the congress, and he was glad because of that. The
politicians expressed hope that his people would liberate themselves
from oppression and pressure at the next elections.
Cakmakoglu stated that ruling parties made serous mistakes in many
issues. According to him, governmental policy should be determined by
stable and right principles. Turkey should insist on returning Turkic
lands forcefully taken away from Azerbaijan because Azerbaijani lands
are Turkic ones. Speaking to the agency, Mr. Camakogly criticized
the EU policy directed, according to him, against Turkey.
Camakoglu stressed that Azerbaijan is the closets country to Turkey
among all Turkic states. He cited Turkish ancestors who allegedly
said about Turkey and Azerbaijan: “We are one nation in two states.”
According to him, all Turkic states which gained independence in 1991
are states of the same nation. The Turkish politician is sure Turkey
and Azerbaijan should be together until Azerbaijani lands occupied
by Armenia are liberated.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIR ADOPT JOINT STATEMENT ON OUTCOMES OF VISITS TO ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Regnum, Russia
Nov 23 2006
Minsk Group OSCE co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Bernard Fassier
(France) have adopted a joint statement on outcomes of their visits
to Armenia and Azerbaijan held on November 21-23. As Day.az reports
citing the French embassy in Baku, the statement stresses that an
agreement was reached to hold a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents and foreign ministers during the CIS summit in Minsk.
According to the source, the statement also says: “The co-chairs had
meetings with presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan and the
foreign ministers as well. As a result of the meetings held in an
open and effective manner, the two presidents accepted co-chairs’
offer to hold the meeting at the forthcoming CIS summit in Minsk.
Participants of both meetings (the presidents – REGNUM) said that
discussions held by foreign ministers in Moscow, Paris and Brussels
in October-November were resulting in terms of achieving progress in
the negotiation process.”
At the same time, the statement says “the co-chairs hope that at the
meeting of the presidents and the foreign ministers in Minsk a step
forward will be taken grounding on principles approved by G8 at the
meeting in Saint Petersburg in July.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress