Month: March 2007

THE CALL FOR PEACE BY MAN WHO LOST HIS HEALTH IS MORE FORCEFUL

KarabakhOpen
28-03-2007 13:20:47

On Sunday two events took place in Haterk, Martakert region. In
the framework of the project implemented by the Resource Center of
Stepanakert and the International Alert, the Young Democrats and YMCA
held a seminar on the role of the youth in conflict transformation. On
the same day, the role of the ex-combatants and disabled of the war
in the peace process was discussed in a meeting organized by the
Rehabilitation Center of Stepanakert.

During the discussion the necessity of the engagement of the society
and its separate segments in public debates about the country’s
crucial issues was emphasized. "There is opinion that the standpoint
of the society has no importance, and all the decisions are made by
governments. This is a wrong opinion.

It is often so, but only because the society does not make
initiatives," said the director of the Resource Center Irina Grigoryan.

The participants of the debate said they get no information on the
talks, and simply cannot imagine what they can do to make their
standpoint known to the world.

And the standpoint is clear – Karabakh needs peace and stability. Every
settlement must stem from this. "We do not reject contact with
Azerbaijanis.

Besides, in the beginning of the movement nobody was thinking about
forcing Azerbaijanis to leave," said one of the participants of the
debate who participated in the defense of the village. The participants
of the debate dwelled on the problem of demography. "The return of
Azerbaijanis is impossible. The generation which went through war
cannot exist peacefully side by side with yesterday’s foe," said one
of the participants of the debate.

In the second part of the debate the director of the Rehabilitation
Center Vardan Tadevosyan told the disabled of war participating in
the debate about the possibilities for psychological and physical
rehabilitation at the center.

The participants also discussed the role of the ex-combatants in
the peace process, who are a vulnerable but influential part of the
population – the call for peace by a man who lost his health in war
is more forceful. The ex-combatants of Haterk uphold peace but they
know the cost of peace. "It is interesting to know the attitude of
the Azerbaijanis on the proposals on settlement and the idea on return
to Karabakh," asked one of the participants at the end of the debate.

IF THE MEDIATORS DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING MORE REASONABLE TO PROPOSE…

KarabakhOpen
28-03-2007 13:19:27

Everyone admits that the conflict over Karabakh has run into a
deadlock.

However, it does not mean that this state of things obliges us to
let the Minsk Group co-chairs push ourselves around, for whom certain
interests are more important than the future of our nation.

What will the provisional status proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group
let us have? How will the population of Karabakh react, whom they
have forgotten at such an important period?

"A status is either there or is not there. What does a provisional
status mean? O.K., they are trying to cheat us, but who are we trying
to cheat? Our children? My husband fought in the war and was killed
for the happiness and security of his family. To return the land
means to start war again, to return to the zero point. This time
the life of my son is staked. This cannot be allowed to happen,"
says Anna Beglaryan, the wife of a killed freedom fighter.

"For Azerbaijan, giving away Karabakh means to admit the weakness of
the state and the inability to maintain territorial integrity. For
Karabakh, to believe such "canards" as the provisional status means
to lose everything: territory, peace, and finally life, which is
so precious to us," says Narine Karapetyan from Stepanakert. "What
are they proposing to us? To return Lachin and Kelbajar and beg the
"merciful" Azerbaijanis for security and a corridor with Armenia? Or to
return to Aghdam and then beg "our neighbors" to mercy us, the fools
who were unable to protect themselves, and not shoot at us from such
a close distance? Aren’t my words funny? If for the settlement of the
conflict our mediators could not propose anything more reasonable, we
had better keep our unrecognized status not so clear to the world. I
am sorry but they will have to accept it."

ACCEPT PEACE PLAN OR FACE WAR, ISRAEL TOLD
By David Blair, in Riyadh

The Daily Telegraph/UK
28/03/2007

The "lords of war" will decide Israel’s future if it rejects a
blueprint for peace crafted by the entire Arab world, Saudi Arabia’s
veteran foreign minister warned yesterday.

As leaders began gathering in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for today’s
summit of the Arab League, Prince Saud al-Faisal told The Daily
Telegraph that the Middle East risks perpetual conflict if the peace
plan fails.

Saudi foreign minister Prince Saudi al-Faisal, right, and Amr Moussa,
Secretary General of the Arab League

Under this Saudi-drafted proposal, every Arab country would formally
recognise Israel in return for a withdrawal from all the land captured
in the war of 1967.

This would entail a Palestinian state embracing the entire West
Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital. Every Arab country
will almost certainly endorse this blueprint when the Riyadh summit
concludes tomorrow. Prince Saud said Israel should accept or reject
this final offer.

"What we have the power to do in the Arab world, we think we have
done," he said. "So now it is up to the other side because if you want
peace, it is not enough for one side only to want it. Both sides must
want it equally."

Speaking inside his whitewashed palace, surrounded by luxuriant lawns
and manicured flower beds resembling a green oasis in the drabness
of Riyadh, Prince Saud delivered an unequivocal warning to Israel.

"If Israel refuses, that means it doesn’t want peace and it places
everything back into the hands of fate. They will be putting their
future not in the hands of the peacemakers but in the hands of the
lords of war," he said.

Prince Saud dismissed any further diplomatic overtures towards
Israel. "It has never been proven that reaching out to Israel achieves
anything," he said.

"Other Arab countries have recognised Israel and what has that
achieved?

"The largest Arab country, Egypt, recognised Israel and what was the
result? Not one iota of change happened in the attitude of Israel
towards peace."

Israel has numerous reservations about the Arab peace plan – which
was previously proposed at a summit in 2002. Israel fears any hint
that Palestinian refugees would have the right to return to their
homes in the event of a peace settlement.

Prince Saud is the 66-year-old son of the late King Faisal. Relieved
of the need to seek re-election, he has held office for 32 years.

Flush with oil money, Saudi Arabia is playing a more assertive role
in Middle Eastern diplomacy. As well as securing the Arab peace plan,
the Kingdom brokered the agreement between Hamas and Fatah – the two
Palestinian factions – to form a unity government.

But western diplomats in Riyadh believe this resurgence in Saudi
diplomacy stems from more than the kingdom’s oil boom.

The menacing spectre of Iran, the rising Shia power with nuclear-tipped
ambitions for regional dominance, looms large across the waters of
the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia is quietly moving to contain its bellicose
neighbour. Prince Saud offered conciliatory words to Iran, laced with
coded criticism. "We have no inhibitions about the role of Iran,"
he said. "It is a large country. It wants to play a leading role
in the region, and it has every right to do so. It is an historic
country. But if you want to reach for leadership, you have to make
sure that those you are leading are having their interests taken care
of and not damaged."

Saudi Arabia has privately urged Iran to stop enriching uranium,
in compliance with United Nations resolutions and lay to rest any
suggestion that it is seeking nuclear weapons. Prince Saud called for a
"Middle East free of nuclear weapons" with "no exceptions for anybody,
be it Israel or Iran".

Asked whether the kingdom would consider seeking nuclear weapons
of its own if Iran managed to acquire a bomb, Prince Saud replied:
"We have made it very clear that we are not going down that road
under any circumstances."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TODAY ARMENIA BIDS ITS FAREWELL TO RA PRIME MINISTER ANDRANIK MARGARIAN

Arminfo
2007-03-28 11:13:00

Today is a national mourning day in Armenia – the country bids its
farewell to RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, who died from heart
attack on March 25 in his flat.

By RA President’s decree, the state flags of Armenia are lowered
today on the buildings of all the Republic’s Ministries, Departments,
the regional administrations, the Yerevan City Hall and the foreign
diplomatic representations in Armenia. A civil funeral for the
deceased Prime Minister was held the day before in Andranik Margarian’s
flat. The President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, RA Parliament Chairman
Tigran Torosian, the Secretary of the National Security Council under
RA President, Armenia’s DM Serzh Sarkisian were present at the funeral.

The burial of Andranik Margarian will be held today at 3:00 PM in
the capital Pantheon after Komitas.

ANDRANIK MARGARYAN: BEING A PRIME MINISTER IS LIKE BEING A GLADIATOR
Alisa Gevorgyan

"Radiolur"
28.03.2007 15:08

The collection of Andranik Margaryan’s speeches and interviews
was issued in 2005 under the title "There is no Alternative
to Independence." Here Andranik Margaryan showed to the public
"without tie.

Some episodes of the book are presented below.

– In case of great will it may be possible to return something from
the past, or somehow change the reality, but what is predetermined
is undisputable.

Everyone has his share of fortune. Do you believe in destiny?

– I have prejudices in this regard: what should happen will happen,
but everything will occur in its time. Maybe omens also exist, but I
think these are restricted. I think I still have a certain store of
life, since many times I have managed to come out of most difficult
situations. God has not created people faultless. Therefore, like
everyone, I have week features, but now I’m not going to enlist all
of these since I Don’t want to give an opportunity to my political
opponents to use my weaknesses.

– What would you like to have most of all?

– Peace of mind, because there are so many problems, finding solutions
to which is very difficult, since it does not depend only on you and
your friends.

There are problems the solution of which does not depend on Armenia,
either.

That is why we must have strong statehood, we must be united to
resist all the trials, as it was the case in early 1990s. To be short,
there are many difficulties, and there will always be.

– What did the Prime Minister’s position give you and what did it take?

– It gave me great experience, patience and the capacity to listen
to others. What it took was my health, but I still have some in store.

– Do you take vacations?

– I have not taken a vacation in the past 10 years.

– Hadn’t you recovered on 1999?

– I underwent a serious operation on October 15, 1999. But today
I have no health complaints. I hope I will still live long without
applying to a doctor.

– Is there anything you are proud of?

– It’s our independence. During the years of struggle for freedom and
independence none of us could expect that we would see our independent
statehood.

But we were assured we had to continue the struggle at least for the
generations to come. Today we are alive and we see this independent
statehood and participate in its creation. There can be no greater
pride than this.

– What do you feel sorry for?

– I do not feel sorry for the past. I simply think that time could
have been used more efficiently.

– What will you wish?

– I wish everyone to be far from misfortunes, to be far from Prime
Minister’ s position, from Government and this kind of things. Being
a Prime Minister is like being a gladiator: you either fail or be
killed. When assuming the position, I knew that people would remember
what I have not done, since there are so many problems, that one cannot
resolve these all together. The glance of the people is directed at
the Prime Minister.

BRITISH JOURNALSIST READY TO GO TO PRISON FOR SPEAKING ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmRadio.am
28.03.2007 15:56

British journalist Robert Fisk is ready to defend his statements about
the Armenian Genocide in the Turkish Court, the Turkish Daily News
reports, turning to the hesitation of Turkish publishers to publish
his latest book because of concerns over the possibility of legal
charges under infamous Article 301 of the penal code that makes it
a crime to denigrate Turkish identity or Turkishness.

"Fisk’s book is invaluable in terms of investigative journalism. Of
course, I want to publish it but I have hesitations because a
court case might be filed against the book under Article 301 due
to its reference to the Armenian question in one of the chapters,"
Osman Akınhay, editor of Agora Publishing House, told the Turkish
Daily News.

The book "The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle
East" is made up of 24 chapters but one chapter is about the alleged
genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World
War I.

"The fact that Fisk’s book, which is easily published and sold in
Europe, cannot be published in a country that aspires to join the EU
is not a problem of mine individually but a problem of Turkey. The
[Turkish] government and Parliament are responsible for safeguarding
the freedom of expression," Akınhay said.

For his part, Fisk assured he is ready stand in court and go to
prison with them if they are in trouble. But instead of publicity
and media hype, the Turkish publishers wanted to publish the book
quietly, said Fisk, as if it were some kind of pornography. He said,
"This is a serious book and you publish it properly."

–Boundary_(ID_5EPkGFDRS93CAYcpYI qlIA)–

FUNERAL PROCESSION WITH BODY OF RA PRIME MINISTER WENT TO PANTHEON

Arminfo
2007-03-28 14:55:00

The funeral procession with the body of RA PM Andranik Margarian has
gone to the Pantheon.

RA President Robert Kocharyan, the Government members, RA Parliament
speaker Tigran Torosian, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, the
Head of the Constitutional Court Gagik Haroutiunian, the ministers
and parliamentarians took part in the funeral and the ceremony of
farewell to A. Margarian. The representatives of foreign diplomatic
offices, accredited to RA, the US State Secretary Assistant, the OSCE
MG American co-chair Mathew Bryza, NATO’s Special Envoy to Caucasus
and Central Asia Robert Simmons, the CIS Executive Secretary Vladimir
Rushailo, the delegations from Russia, Greece, Lithuania, Georgia,
Turkey, Canada and other countries also took part in the ceremony.

CONDOLENCE BOOK OPENED IN GEORGIA

ArmRadio.am
28.03.2007 15:41

The Ambassadors of Great Britain, Sweden, France and Romania, and
Chinese Charge d’Affaires of China in Georgia visited the Armenian
Embassy in Tbilisi today to express their condolences on the death
of the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. The leader of the
Armenian Diocese in Georgia Vazgen Mirzakhanyan and clergymen also
visited the Embassy.

RA Ambassador to Georgia Hrach Silvanyan told Armenpress that Georgian
Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili is also expected to visit the
Embassy.

According to him, a memorial service will be held on Saturday.

Let us remind that the Georgian delegation headed by Prime Minister
Zurab Noghaideli is in Armenia.

PROGRAM AIMED AT ENSURING EQUAL RIGHT OF WORKING FOR DISABLED IMPLEMENTED IN VANADZOR

Noyan Tapan
Mar 28 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The Lousastgh charity NGO implements
program Equal Right of Working in Vanadzor, the goal of which is to
contribute to employment of disabled of able-bodied age and protection
of their right of working. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed
by organization Chairwoman Nune Pepanian, the program’s total cost
is 3.4 mln drams (nearly 9.4 thousand USD). Professional training
courses are organized for disabled within the framework of the program,
after which some work is done in the direction of providing them with
a job according to their profession.

20 disabled from Vanadzor have already passed retraining within the
framework of the program, two out of which have been employed and
eight plan to start their own business, the expenditures connected
with registration of which are covered by the state.

IN WORDS OF U.S. AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY, RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA SHOULD DEVELOP

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 28 2007

ANKARA, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. "Relations between
Turkey and Armenia should develop," U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Ross
Wilson stated.

According to the Milliyet Turkish daily, the Ambassador touched
upon the Resolution on recognition of Armenian Genocide in
U.S. Congress. "The U.S. administration’s policy will not change even
in case of this Resolution’s adoption: Washington calles both sides
(Turkey and Armenia: NT) for discussing this issue (the issue of the
Genocide: NT).

Wilson also stated that he will continue his agitation to prevent
adoption of the Resolution in the Congress House of Representatives.