Month: March 2007

NIKOLAY PAVLOV: THERE IS NO "ARMENOPHOBIA" IN RUSSIA

ArmRadio.am
14.03.2007 17:55

"Murders of Armenians in Russia are not expressions of racism, but
crimes committed on the social basis," the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov said during
today’s press conference.

According to him, the question becomes a topic of discussion during
all Armenian-Russian meetings.

According to Pavlov, leaderships of Prosecutor General’s Office of
Russia and the Ministry of Interior Affairs are doing everything
possible to disclose the crimes and punish the criminals.

In his words, these phenomena are the grief of the Russian people,
and Armenians take these very sharply. "There is no "Armenophobia"
in Russia. The last two murders have already been disclosed. It
is necessary to differentiate between criminal reprisals and other
phenomena," said the Ambassador, calling on the journalists to refrain
from sensitive expressions in their publications.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN MET IN GENEVA

ArmRadio.am
14.03.2007 17:30

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Vartan Oskanian aand
Elmar M ammadyarov met in Geneva today. The meeting was attended by
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Matthew Bryza and
Bernard Fassier, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

First Secretary of the Press and Information Department of the Azeri
MFA Khazar Ibrahim mentioned that the positions of the parties were
presented during the meeting. According to him, the decision has been
taken to hold the next meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in April of the current year. "The mediators plan to fix
the place of the meeting in compliance with the working schedule of the
Foreign Ministers," the official representative of the Azeri MFA noted.

JOURNALIST ANNA KARAPETYAN BRINGS A SUIT AGAINST RADIO LIBERTY

ArmRadio.am
14.03.2007 17:42

Former employee of Radio Liberty Anna Karapetyan brought a suit
against the Radio Liberty – Radio Free Europe and the Directorate of
the Armenian Service, demanding to announce illegal the decision to
fire her, Prague based "Days" independent magazine reports.

Radio Liberty will have to explain to the Prague Court that by
dismissing Anna Karapetyan it did not violate her rights and acted
in the framework of law.

According to the source, "it is known that the radio station has
suggested a certain some of money to Anna Karapetyan for keeping
silent. The latter, however, declined the offer."

Anna Karapetyan had been working at Radio Liberty ever since February
1995.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BOOK "ANDRANIK OF BERDADZOR" DEDICATED TO MEMORY OF HEAD OF BERDADZOR SELF-DEFENCE DETACHMENT PUBLISHED

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Collection "Andranik of Berdadzor"
dedicated to the memory of one of the first organizers and heads
of Artaskh liberation struggle, head of Berdadzor self-defence
detachment Andranik Haroutiunian was published. The book includes
A. Haroutiunian’s poems, memoirs and stories, as well as articles
about him published in Armenian and Diasporan press.

In 1989, by the instruction of Hay Dat organization, A. Haroutiunian
left for Berdadzor, which was in hard conditions of blockade and headed
the self-defence of the region. He founded Berdadzor Self-Defence
Council, which developed wide activity in the region’s Armenian
villages. Schools, workshops were reopened on A. Haroutiunian’s
initiative. Today one of Berdadzor’s schools is named after
A. Haroutiunian. Films "The Way is Open" and "June, 1991" were shot
about him. A. Haroutiunian died in 1992 from a car accident.

"His name kept Turks in terror, that’s why they inflamed passions for
exterminating Andranik, they showed his eyes on TV and fixed price
of 5 mln roubles for his head, wrote that his eyes are thristy for
Turk’s blood," A. Haroutiunian’s wife, Astghik Haroutiunian said in
her interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent. In her words, Andranik of
Berdadzor was a legend and it is time again to voice the name of such
Armenian, as it is inadmissible when such heroes remain in the shade.

A. Haroutiunian stated that it is planned to publish the second part of
"Andranik of Berdadzor," as there are many other unpublished materials,
which should be presented to the public.

NEARLY 60% MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES CONVINCED THAT EXISTENCE OF INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM IS POSSIBLE IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. "The role of media is very important
in the issue of state building and development of democracy, while
legislation concerning this sphere is still very far from being
perfect." Hranush Hakobian, Chairwoman of NA Standing Committee on
Science, Education, Culture and Youth Affairs, declared this at the
March 14 seminar dedicated to issues of journalism.

The results of sociological survey conducted by Yerevan Press Club
were presented at the seminar. On the whole the survey showed that
media representatives realize insufficiency of factors necessary
for existence of really independent and objective journalism in
the country. The respondents consider that the majority of Armenian
journalists in their activity are guided by not interests of society,
but by interests of heads and owners of media, with which journalists
are connected with a system of mutual duties. At the same time, the
prevailing majority of respondents, nearly 60%, is convinced that
even under these conditions existence of independent and objective
journalism is possible in the country.

The seminar was organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of
OSCE Yerevan Office and Institute of Open Society.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT WITH ACCUSATION OF "INSULTING TURKISH IDENTITY" THREATENS TURKISH INTELLECTUAL

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 14 2007

ANKARA, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Three years’
imprisonment with the accusation of "insulting Turkish indentity"
threatens Turkish intellectual, professor Atila Yayla.

During a lecture organized in 2006 November in Izmir Yayla had
criticized the political line of the founder of Turkish Republic –
Kemalism, and had declared: "In the future they will ask us why we
paste Ataturk’s pictures and erect monuments to that man everywhere."

According to the Turkish Daily News, the lawsuit brought against
Yayla mentioned that Yayla "insulted" Ataturk by using the expression
"that man" when speaking about him.

To recap, immediataly after the above mentioned statement of the
Turkish intellectual he was dismissed from his post of lecturer.

TURKEY PREPARES FOR CEREMONY TO MARK RENOVATION OF ARMENIAN CHURCH
Selcan Hacaoglu

AP Worldstream
Published: Mar 14, 2007

Turkey may host Armenian officials at a ceremony marking the renovation
of the 1,000-year-old Akhtamar church, one of the finest surviving
monuments of ancient Armenian culture, Turkish media and sources
close to the project said Wednesday.

Turkey has invited Armenian officials to attend the ceremony but it
was not clear whether any of them would show up, sources involved
in the renovation said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity
because authorities had not announced or confirmed the invitations.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said preparations for the ceremony were
continuing. It denied reports in the Turkish media that the government
would allow direct flights between the Armenian capital Yerevan and
the Turkish city of Van for the ceremony.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and border crossings
remain closed, but there are regular commercial flights between
Yerevan and Istanbul.

The ceremony will be held on March 29 on the tiny island of Akdamar,
situated on a lake in the eastern city of Van, bordering Iran.

Turkey, under pressure from the European Union to improve its treatment
of minorities, began restoring the church in 2005 after a century of
neglect and decades of political wrangling.

The European Union urged Turkey in 2004 to consider registering
Akhtamar in UNESCO’s World Heritage List and the $1.5 million
restoration, ordered and paid for by the Turkish government, was
intended to send a positive message to Armenia.

The ceremony is expected to be attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Cahit Zeydanli, a subcontractor who supervises the
renovation of the church said that although around 3,000 people would
attend, only 300 of them would be allowed to travel to the tiny island.

Eastern Turkey was once a heartland of Armenian culture and more
than a million Armenians lived in the area at the turn of the 19th
century. But they were driven out by what Armenia contends was a
policy of genocide by Turks.

Akhtamar was one of the most important churches of those ancient
Armenian lands.

The two countries are involved in a long and bitter dispute over
whether the killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians by Turks at
the beginning of the last century qualifies as genocide or not.

Turkey vehemently denies that the killings were genocide, and is
currently lobbying against a proposed U.S. congressional resolution
that would recognize them as such.

DUE TO WRONG POLICY OF RA AUTHORITIES NKR TURNED FROM CONFLICT OBJECT – DISPUTABLE TERRITORY, ALTERNATIVE MEMBERS SAY

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. "Dozens of pro-Azerbaijani and no
pro-Armenian documents adopted over the past years by international
instances are the evidence of the fact that RA President Robert
Kocharian and his co-thinkers have sold Karabakh for retaining
their own power." Nikol Pashinian, founder-member of Alternative
public-political initiative, editor of Haykakan Zhamanak daily,
stated this at the March 14 press conference. In his words, the fact
that the U.S. State Department in its annual report characterised
Nagorno Karabakh as Azerbaijani area occupied by Armenia means
that there is a danger of moving the Nagorno Karabakh problem to
UN agenda. Reminding that RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian named
the above mentioned formulation as a "misprint," N. Pashinian named
"misprints" the authorities, due to the incompetent policy of which
the essence of Nagorno Karabakh problem was misrepresented in almost
all reports of international community. So, in his words, we should
get rid of the the current regime of "skinheads" as soon as possible.

"Those saying that we must not speak about the Nagorno Karabakh
problem in the preelectoral period understand nothing in politics," the
Haykakan Zhamanak’s editor said. As he affirmed, on the threshold of
the elections all parties should present their own views on settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict for the people to choose the variant
most acceptable for it.

Another member of Alternative, former Yerevan Mayor Vahagn Khachatrian
said that it is the wrong policy of the current authorities that
resulted in a situation when NKR turned from the conflict subject
into the conflict object, disputable territory.

RA CEC TO INVITE FOREIGN AMBASSADORS AND A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AS INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 14 sitting RA CEC made a
decision on inviting international observers to May 12 parliamentary
elections.

Invitations will be sent to Ambassadors of OSCE member-states in RA,
foreign Ambassadors accredited in RA and having a residence in Yerevan,
head of OSCE Yerevan Office, Special Representative of Council of
Europe Secretary General, head of International Fund of Electoral
Systems (IFES), head of Armenian Office of International Institute
for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), Nagorno
Karabakh CEC.

As CEC Vice-Chairman Abram Bakhchagulian said, earlier NA Speaker
had sent invitations to CE and OSCE Parliamentary Assemblies, CIS
Interparliamentary Assembly, European Parliament, the Foreign Ministry
had sent invitations to OSCE ODIHR, CIS Executive Committee.

PARTNERSHIP WITH NATO DOES NOT SUPPOSE OBLIGATORY MEMBERSHIP, REPRESENTATIVE OF ARMENIA IN NATO CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia widely cooperates with NATO,
in particular, the Individual Partnership Actions Plan (IPAP) is
rather large.

Samvel Mkrtchian, Resident Representative of Armenia in NATO, stated
this at the March 14 press conference. At the same time, he said
that currently the Armenian leadership does not discuss the issue of
membership to NATO.

In S. Mkrtchian’s words, partnership with NATO does not suppose
that the country will have the goal to join NATO without fail. In
S. Mkrtchian’s words, each country itself estimates threats of its
national security and chooses the ways of resisting them.

In addition to 26 member-countries, today NATO has 23
partner-countries, and not all of them have expressed willingness to
join NATO in the future. S. Mkrtchian said that currently Macedonia,
Croatia and Albania implement membership actions plans. They hope that
they will receive membership invitations at the 2008 summit. Ukraine
and Georgia received "format of strengthened political dialogue"
with NATO in 2006. Georgia, in S. Mkrtchian’s words, strains great
efforts in the direction of joining the organization.

It was mentioned that in case of joining NATO Georgia will be the
second member of NATO after Turkey, which has a common border with
Armenia. Regional countries’ membership to NATO can generate problems
for Armenia being a member of CSTO: today the common border with
Turkey is closed and it is not known how the relations with Georgia
will develop in the future.

In S. Mkrtchian’s words, trying to form a united security system in
the South Caucasus and not seeing its prospects in consideration of
Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Georgia’s
strained relations with Russia and a number of other factors,
NATO has brought forward the idea of IPAP program. It will enable
to cooperate with each country with the depth, with which that
country wishes to develop its relations with NATO. In the future
the relations of countries with that organization will depend on
regional developments. S. Mkrtchian said that EU has also adopted
the same approach by working out individual cooperation programs with
regional countries.