Month: March 2007

VARDAN OSKANIAN AND CONDOLEEZZA RICE DISCUSSED KARABAGH SETTLEMENT’S PERSPECTIVES

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 6 2007

March 5 RA FM Vardan Oskanian, who is currently in the U. S. with a
working visit, met with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

According to the information DE FACTO got at the RA MFA Press Office,
in the course of the meeting the parties had discussed the issues
referring to Armenia-U.S. relations. The interlocutors mentioned the
importance of "Millennium Challenges" program declared by the United
States government within the frames of implementation of the programs
targeted at decreasing the level of poverty in RA rural regions.

Oskanian and Rice also discussed elections to National Assembly to
be held in RA May 12, noting the importance to conduct them in line
with the international standards.

RA FM and the U. S. Secretary of State considered regional
issues, current situation in Armenian-Turkish relations and the
U. S. initiatives for their normalization.

Vardan Oskanian and Condoleezza Rice exchanged opinions concerning
current stage and perspectives of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict
settlement.

The second part of the day Armenia’s Foreign Minister held meetings
at the U. S. Congress.

OSCE MG FRENCH CO-CHAIR TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN TODAY

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 6 2007

According to the information PanARMENIAN.Net received at the press
office of France’s embassy in RA, March 6-7 the OSCE Minsk group
French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier will be in Armenia.

In the course of the visit the French diplomat will also pay a call to
Baku. The purpose of Bernard Fassier’s visit is to discuss the details
of a meeting of RA and AR FMs Vardan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov
expected in Geneva in mid-March.

To note, the sitting of the UN Human Rights Council with the
participation of FMs of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be held in Geneva
March 13-14.

RUSSIA WEIGHS RESPONSE TO U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE PROPOSAL FOR CAUCASUS
Sergei Blagov

EurasiaNet, NY
March 6 2007

Moscow has taken as a direct threat a recent statement by a senior
United States Pentagon official that the Caucasus could prove an
attractive location for an anti-missile defense station. The discussion
of likely responses to such a move has served to highlight Moscow’s
own uneasy relations with the former Soviet republics in the region.

Tensions between the Kremlin and the West had already long been
building over plans by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
to set up an anti-missile defense system in Eastern Europe. On February
10 at a security conference in Munich, Russian President Vladimir Putin
charged that such a system could spark a fresh Cold War, charging
that the US "has overstepped its borders in all spheres… and has
imposed itself on other states."

A March 1 statement by US Lieutenant General Henry Obering, head of
the Missile Defense Agency, that a missile defense station in the
Caucasus could prove "useful," though is "not essential," only further
fueled the flames. Governments in the region have denied that they
have discussed such a station with the US, and American officials
have repeatedly reassured the Kremlin that any defenses in Eastern
Europe against missile attacks from countries such as Iran would not
be aimed at Russia.

But the assurances have done little to assuage Russian concerns. Air
Force Commander General Vladimir Mikhailov has asserted that, while
a U.S. anti-missile radar system in the Caucasus would not affect
Russia’s defense capabilities, the country would have to respond in
kind, news agencies reported him as saying on March 2. On March 5,
his deputy, Lieutenant General Aitech Bizhev, who oversees the
Commonwealth of Independent States’ united air defense system,
argued that the presence of missile interceptors and radar stations
in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus would effectively allow the U.S.
military to control Russia’s airspace, Interfax news agency reported.

In addition, Air Force Commander Mikhailov has stated that Russia
would need strong defense systems by 2015 to counter possible aerial
and space attacks.

While Western governments may view these comments as extreme, the
Kremlin has complained that Washington is altogether ignoring Russian
concerns on the topic. Russia has yet to receive comprehensible
answers from the U.S. on most strategic security issues, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists in Moscow on March 6.

Meanwhile, Russia has announced plans to update its strategic military
doctrine, adopted in 2000. The Russian Security Council affirmed on
March 5 that, in revising the document, it would bear in mind the
tendency by "the world’s leading nations" to "increasingly rely on
military force in their policies." The statement has been taken as
a veiled reference to the US.

Military observers see Georgia or Azerbaijan, both eager to
strengthen ties with NATO, as the most likely candidates to host such
a system. Former Russian Air Force Commander General Anatoly Kornukov
warned on March 2 that placing anti-missile stations in either of the
two countries could make them potential targets for Iranian missiles,
thereby threatening Russia’s own security, news agencies reported.

At the same time, certain efforts appear to be in the works to sweeten
the Kremlin’s ties with both states. On March 5, Russian Ambassador
to Baku Vasily Istratov stated that Russian officials have indicated
they are prepared to consider potential Azerbaijani proposals that $7
million-per-year lease payments for Russia’s rent of the Gabala radar
station in northern Azerbaijan be reviewed. The ten-year agreement
expires in 2012. Istratov added, however, that Russia could refrain
from extending the agreement, news agencies said. [For details,
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

A certain detente has also emerged recently in relations between Russia
and Georgia, though no indication exists that this is directly linked
with US consideration of anti-missile defense plans for the South
Caucasus. On March 1-4, Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Iliya II
visited Moscow, arriving on the first direct flight from Tbilisi in
over five months. Russian Orthodox Church officials have indicated
that Patriarch Alexei II could consider a reciprocal visit to Georgia.

In yet another symbolic gesture, on March 5 Russian and Georgian
diplomats agreed to cooperate on the identification and reburial of
Georgia’s first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, whose body was recently
identified in a grave in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya.

Nonetheless, despite these overtures, some Russian experts have
urged caution. Any missteps by Moscow in the South Caucasus now could
eventually facilitate deployment of an American anti-missile defense
system there, they say. The pressure put on Azerbaijan in late 2006
to join Russian efforts in isolating sparring partner Georgia over a
gas price dispute only proved instrumental in alienating Baku, argued
Sergei Markedonov, head of the international relations department
at the Institute of Political and Military Studies, a Moscow-based
think-tank. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Russian
policies towards Georgia also adversely affected Armenia, thus pushing
Yerevan towards the West, Markedonov said, Azerbaijan’s state-run
Azertag news agency reported.

For now, though, it remains to be seen whether Moscow will prefer to
rely on sabre-rattling to try and prevent deployment of any U.S.

anti-missile system in the Caucasus, or whether the Kremlin will
consider reviewing its own policies on the region. The stability
concerns, however, are unlikely to subside soon. Commented Air Force
Deputy Commander Bizhev: "No one likes to be in the cross-hairs."

Editor’s Note: Sergei Blagov is a Moscow-based specialist in CIS
political affairs.

INHABITANTS OF HOJALU DIED IN AGHDAM

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 6 2007

The Azeris themselves are guilty of the destruction of the inhabitants
of Hojalu, a political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazarian stated in
the course of a press conference held in Pastark Club on Tuesday.

Being an immediate participant of the operation on oppression of the
firing points in Hojalu, Levon Melik-Shahnazarian noted the Armenian
party had documentary materials testifying to real events that had
taken place in Hojalu in February, 1992. He stated Armenians were not
concerned with the murder of Hojalu’s peaceful population. According
to the political scientist, at that time the Armenian party did not
even have enough recourses to let the peaceful population go via a
" humanitarian corridor", start fighting against the Azeris’ armed
units and then organize the persecution of Hojalu women, children
and old men to kill them on the territory controlled by the Azeris,
after which, in two days, to return, risking their soldiers’ life, to
cripple the corpses. Moreover, as it is known, the Hojalu inhabitants
were killed in the suburbs of Aghdam, which was controlled by Azeris
till the summer of 1993.

Speaking of the Hojalu tragedy, a current anniversary of which was
celebrated February 26, the political scientist stated Azerbaijan did
its best to propagate its own version of Hojalu events, distorting
reality. In some countries Azeris held rallies, organized exhibitions,
demonstrated films devoted to the tragedy in Hojalu to convince the
world community that Armenians had committed "genocide against Azeris
in Hojalu".

The Azeri party’s main "argument", video survey made February 29
and March 2, 1992 by the operator Chingiz Fuad-oghly, absolutely
refutes the Azeri propaganda’s fabrications. As it may be seen,
Chingiz is walking by a filed dotted by corpses accompanied by
Azeris, which confirms that the territory was controlled by the Azeri
party. A supposition that Armenians seized the territories staking
their life to gibe at the corpses and then give way to the Azeri
operators is absurd. "Actually, we did not fight against corpses",
Levon Melik-Shahnazarian underscored.

The political scientist criticized Armenia’s passiveness in the issue,
noting the Armenian party, including state structures, mass media,
had ignored the date and had not reacted on the Azeris’ lie.

Levon Melik-Shahnazarian stated the Armenian party had video materials
and publications throwing light on the Hojalu events.

He also noted with regret that Armenia had actually ignored all the
memorable February dates referring to the beginning of the Karabagh
movement, pogroms in Askeran (February 22, 1988), in Soumgait and
Gandzak (February 26-29, 1988).

TURKISH POLITICIAN IN SWISS DOCK ON GENOCIDE DENIAL

Focus News, Bulgaria
March 6 2007

Geneva. A Turkish politician on Tuesday went on trial in Switzerland
for denying that mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915
amounted to genocide, Reuters informs.

Dogu Perincek, head of the leftist-nationalist Turkish Workers’ Party,
called the Armenian genocide "an international lie" during a speech
in the Swiss city of Lausanne in July 2005.

The state prosecutor has called for six months prison for violating
a 1995 Swiss law which bans denying, belittling or justifying any
genocide. The maximum penalty is three years.

Perincek told the Lausanne criminal court that there had been no
genocide against Armenians, but there had been "reciprocal massacres",
according to Swiss Radio.

"I defend my right to freedom of expression. There was no genocide,
therefore this law cannot apply to my remarks," it quoted the
65-year-old as saying in lengthy replies in German.

The case has further soured relations between neutral Switzerland
and Turkey. Ankara criticised the decision to prosecute the case and
later cancelled an official visit by then Economy Minister Joseph
Deiss in 2005.

If found guilty, Perincek would become the first person to be convicted
under the law. Twelve Turks were acquitted of similar charges in 2001.

Turkey denies charges by Armenia and other countries that 1.5 million
Armenians died in a systematic genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks
during World War One.

Turkey says that hundreds of thousands of both Muslim Turks and
Christian Armenians died in a conflict during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

Some 200 Turkish sympathisers, including former Turkish Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash, held a silent protest in a Lausanne square to
mark the opening of the trial, according to the Swiss news agency
ATS. The verdict is expected on Friday.

Ankara was incensed last year when France’s parliament approved a
bill that made it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide. The bill
did not become law.

The U.S. Congress is widely expected to back a resolution next
month recognising the killings as genocide. The Bush administration
is opposed to the move, fearing the impact on relations with its
NATO ally.

PETROSIAN ANNEXES TITLE

Kolkata Newsline, India
March 7 2007

Top seed Serjei Tiviakov beats Darmen Sadvakasov to second place
with a better tie-break, national champion Surya Sekhar Ganguly
finishes seventh

Express News Service

Kolkata, March 6: Armenian GM Tigran Petrosian will fly back home
richer by $ 4,500 having won the Kolkata Open at the Alekhine Chess
Club today.

He took a lightning 8-move draw against GM Dimitri Komarov of Ukraine
on the top board, to assure himself of a joint first place finish.

But the 22-year-old Armenian later emerged the sole winner after GM
Darmen Sadvakasov of Kazakhstan drew his match against Israeli GM
Alon Greenfeld.

"I liked the tournament very much. It was a very strong field and the
facilities extended to me were comparable to anywhere in the world. I
hope to be back in the next edition," Petrosian said after clinching
the title.

On the second board, Sadvakasov tried to break down the defences
of his opponent from the black side of a Reti opening. He however,
had to give up the struggle and take the peace offering on the 38th
move in a sterile position.

Top seed GM Serjei Tiviakov of The Netherlands defeated GM Abhijit
Kunte in a fine positional game to tie for the second position with
Sadvakasov. Kunte tried the solid Berlin defence against the Ruy lopez
opening of his Dutch opponent, but he missed a tactic and his kingside
pawn structure was shattered. Thereafter the top seed continued to
pick up the weak pawns to force the resignation of the Indian GM on
the 61st move.

The victory enabled Tiviakov to take the second spot ahead of
Sadvakasov because of a better tie-break. The ties were resolved on
the basis of the average ratings of the opponents of a player.

Sadvakasov had to be content with the third place.

National champion GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly won a long game against GM
Mikheil Kekilidze of Georgia to finish seventh.

Results: GM Dimitri Komarov (7) drew with GM Tigran Petrosian (8),
GM Alon Greenfeld (6.5) drew with GM Darmen Sadvakasov (7.5), GM
Serjei Tiviakov (7.5) beat GM Abhijit Kunte (6), GM Surya Sekhar
Ganguly (7) beat GM Mikheil Kekelidze (6), GM Saidali Iuldachev
(7) beat IM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman (6), IM Sundarajan Kidambi
(6) lost to IM Sriram Jha (7), G N Gopal (7) beat GM Safin Sukhrat
(6), IM Arun Prasad (6) drew with GM Ziaur Rahman (6), IM D P Singh
(6) drew with GM R B Ramesh (6), Vikramaditya Kamble (5.5) lost to
GM Deepan Chakravarthy (6.5), GM Olivier Renet (5) lost to IM P D S
Girinath (6.5), GM Serjey Kasparov (5.5) drew with K Rathnakaran (5.5),
S P Sethuraman (6) got a walkover against IM Abdulla Al-Rakib (5).

JAILED NATIONALIST DENIES PLOTTING VIOLENT REGIME CHANGE
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 6 2007

Zhirayr Sefilian, an Armenian nationalist activist controversially
jailed on coup charges, insists that he never sought to topple
Armenia’s government by force, parliament deputies sympathizing with
him said on Tuesday.

The mostly opposition lawmakers campaigning for Sefilian’s release
showed journalists his written answers to their questions relating
to the politically charged case. The Lebanese-Armenian veteran of
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh responded to them from his prison cell.

"It’s a ludicrous accusation fabricated on a political order,"
Sefilian wrote. "I have always spoken of the need for regime change.

But I can’t imagine doing that by means of force or arms because
there is no need for that."

"The people hate those several individuals [governing Armenia] so
much that you just have to organize them a little and the regime will
collapse. If calling for regime change is a crime, then at least half
of Armenia’s population can be tried on that charge," he said.

Sefilian and a leading member of a small opposition party, Vartan
Malkhasian, were arrested and charged last December under Article
301 of Armenia’s Criminal Code that deals with public calls for a
"violent change constitutional order." The arrests came just days
after they set up a new organization opposed to Armenian territorial
concessions to Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) claims that the group,
called the Alliance of Armenian Volunteers (HKH), planned to
mount an armed uprising against the government during this year’s
parliamentary elections. The NSS cites, among other things, Sefilian’s
and Malkhasian’s passionate speeches at a December 2 meeting of about
a hundred HKH activists.

In his speech, Sefilian threatened to "crack the head of anyone who
will dare to surrender land" to Azerbaijan. He also scoffed at past
opposition attempts to force regime change with a campaign of peaceful
demonstrations. "These people will not quit as a result of peaceful
demonstrations or external pressure," he said, referring to President
Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian.

The Lebanese national’s lawyers insist that the remarks did not
contain explicit calls for a violent overthrow of the government.

Some human rights campaigners agree. "I believe that there is nothing
in the speech punishable by criminal law," said Larisa Alaverdian,
Armenia’s former human rights ombudsperson. "If we open criminal
cases after every emotional speech, Armenia will become awash with
political prisoners."

The opposition deputies, who formed a committee in support of the
two men, and several prominent intellectuals on Tuesday challenged
the Armenian authorities to prosecute them as well, publicly putting
their signatures on the transcript of Sefilian’s speech. Armenia’s
leading opposition groups have repeatedly condemned the case as
politically motivated.

In his written answers, Sefilian also said he has been personally
interrogated by the deputy chief of the NSS, Hrachya Harutiunian. He
claimed: "[Harutiunian] said, ‘Why are you doing business with the
opposition?’ Who the hell are they? You don’t realize how strong we
are. We’re going to crush them.’"

ARMENIAN GROUP GEARS UP FOR VOTE MONITORING
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 6 2007

Armenia’s largest election-monitoring organization said on Tuesday that
it will observe the May 12 parliamentary elections with a record-high
number of volunteers.

The group, It’s Your Choice (IYC), plans to deploy observers in
virtually all of the country’s 2,000 or so polling stations on
voting day. It was able to cover only between 60 and 70 percent of
the precincts during previous Armenian elections.

According to the IYC chairman, Harutiun Hambartsumian, the effort
will require the mobilization of as many as 4,000 people committed to
fostering democratic change in Armenia. The number of IYC observers
has been considerably lower in the past.

Speaking to journalists, Hambartsumian said his Western-funded
organization hopes that the forthcoming elections will mark a major
improvement over the previous polls that were marred by serious
irregularities reported by both domestic and international observers.

"Unfortunately, up until now we have reported more shortcomings than
positive things," he said.

Hambartsumian expressed concern about some of the recently passed
amendments to Armenia’s electoral code that were supposed to
complicate fraud. He was particularly critical of a provision allowing
various-level commissions to meet and make decisions without a quorum.

The IYC’s most recent vote monitoring report came in the wake of the
disputed constitutional referendum of November 2005. The 12-page report
concluded that the vote failed short of democratic standards because
of "serious violations of the electoral process, illegal voting and
especially ballot box stuffing."

The Armenian elections will also be monitored by over 300 Western
observers representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe. Their findings will be particularly important for the
international legitimacy of the vote. The first long-term OSCE
observers are expected to arrive in Yerevan next week.

COMMUNITY TO BUILD NEW CHURCH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE IN LAVAL
Par John Fasciano

Courrier Laval, Canada
March 6 2007

Construction of $5.5 million project to start in spring of 2007;
completion expected for early 2008

Armenian Community to build new church and community centre in Laval
Construction of $5.5 million project to start in spring of 2007;
completion expected for early 2008

The weather may have been very frightful on the streets of the Greater
Montreal area this past Wednesday but that didn’t deter representatives
of Holy Cross Armenian Church of Laval from holding a press conference
in Montreal to announce the good news that the Armenian community
would soon have a new church and community centre of their own on
Laval island.

Among those present at the announcement was His Eminence, Bishop
Bagrat Galstanian, the Primate of the Armenian Church of Canada. "The
new church and community centre will be built to better serve the
ever-growing needs of the Armenian community in Laval," the bishop
stated.

Explaining that the Armenian community in Laval has been blessed with
substantial growth and expansion during the last decade, the bishop
made it known that it was time to build a new spiritual and social
centre that could and would more effectively respond to the needs of
the community.

"The existing facility in Laval can no longer adequately
accommodate the spiritual and social needs of our community,"
Mr. Vicken Darakdjian, member of the Parish Council and chairman
of the fund-raising committee told Courrier Laval Weekly News in a
telephone interview.

Mr. Darakdjian also cited several other reasons for the launching
of this $5.5 million project expected for completion in early 2008,
with the first shovel hitting the ground this coming spring, at a
site on Souvenir Blvd. in Chomedey.

"The Armenian Churches in Montreal are too far from Laval. People
who may want to attend these churches are dissuaded by the distance,
especially in the wintertime. Many of these people told us that because
of this, it wasn’t very appealing for them to be part of the Armenian
Church and to take part in the Community’s activities, so for these
and many other reasons the Diocesan Council decided that the Armenian
community in Laval should have its own separate religious, social,
and cultural facilities close to them on Île-Jesus," Mr. Darakdjian
elaborated.

Only the beginning Mr. Taro Alepian, vice-chairman of the Diocesan
Council, pointed out that the church and community centre project is
the first step in a long-term plan to expand the services offered
the Armenian community in Laval. "It is only phase one of a vision
for the future that will see the eventual building of an auditorium,
a seniors’ residence, a low-income housing project, a Genocide Memorial
Museum and a gymnasium," Mr. Alepian specified.

But for now, the new church and community centre will be built to
provide a new home for the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church,
presently serving its faithful at 4464, St-Martin Blvd. West, in
Chomedey, Laval.

"It was a simple decision, really," stated Mr. Darakdjian. "We wanted
a new home in which to better serve the religious, social, cultural,
and educational needs of the 12,000 Armenian residents of Laval and
in the process also enhance the humanitarian services and facilities
we presently offer, all of which, we sincerely believe, will improve
the quality of life of the members of the Armenian community.

The plans Once built, the new church will have place for 250 seated
attendees, with standing room for 100 others in the Nakhakavit. The
Mezzanine will have place for 50 choir members.

The activities and facilities envisaged at the new church include a
children’s glassed-in playroom adjacent to the Mezzanine, a Memorial
Wall in memory of the departed, a Church Choir, Sunday School and Bible
Study, a Women’s Auxiliary, a Professional Day Care Centre, a Youth
Centre (with Internet access, games and TV), a Seniors Activity Hall
(exercise programs, bingo, card and Tavli tournaments, TV, Bible
reading and outings), a Lecture and Exhibition Room (fully equipped
with projection and sound systems, adjacent to small kitchen for
catering services), a Library, a reception hall with a capacity for 365
(300 in main hall + 65 with moveable wall and moveable dancing stage,
state-of-the-art kitchen and accessories), and furnished conference
rooms.

The preliminary conceptual design for the new church and community
centre, which was was produced by architect Mardiros Baygin, was
made public by Mr. Hagop Seradarian, the president of the Holy Cross
Parish Council.

For more information, feel free to contact Mr. Vicken Darakdjian at
(514) 889-8100 or the Church office at (450) 687-5355.

–Boundary_(ID_Fl0K5ZmDS8kNa0lnyi0clg)- –

AMERICAN MUSLIM LEADER IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT

Turkish Press
March 6 2007

ANKARA – American Muslim leader Wallace Deen Muhammed, who is
currently in Turkey as a guest of Justice & Development Party (AKP)
deputy Egemen Bagis, called on U.S. President George W. Bush and
other state officials to withdraw from Iraq.

Muhammed and Bagis held a joint press conference at the Turkish
parliament on Tuesday.

Bagis praised Muhammed, saying "he is an outstanding spiritual
and opinion leader for Muslims in the USA," adding that Muhammed
disseminated Islam’s peaceful, modern and democratic message to the
world from the USA.

Bagis noted that Muhammed will support Turkey against the bill on
so-called Armenian genocide in the U.S. Congress.

On the other hand, Muhammed said he is in Turkey for the third time,
noting that he learned a lot about Turkey from his father.

Asked whether he would lobby for Turkey in the U.S. Congress against
Armenian claims, Muhammed recalled that for the first time in USA
a black person was elected a U.S. Congressman, and added that they
would have necessary initiatives to help their all coreligionists.

Upon a question on Iraq, Muhammed said he once supported American
troops in Iraq, however, he now regrets his decision when he saw what
has happened in Iraq.