Month: March 2007

Avian influenza simulation takes place

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 10:37

On March 27, 2007, a one-day avian influenza simulation exercise was
held at the Congress Hotel, sponsored by USAID and organized jointly
by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO). The exercise was designed to bring together the
key Armenian ministries and agencies responsible for responding to any
avian flu outbreak. The exercise simulated days one through 50 of an
outbreak, and helped participants identify the proper response to a
developing outbreak scenario based on Armenia’s National Response Plan
for Avian Influenza.

Similar simulation exercises are being planned by USAID in other
countries throughout Europe and Eurasia to ensure that the region is
prepared address avian influenza, should a widespread outbreak occur.
While the United States Government is not aware of any cases of either
animal or human avian flu in Armenia, we recognize that proper
preparedness to respond to any possible outbreak is Armenia’s best
defense.

During his opening remarks, Acting USAID Mission Director, Mr. Karl
Fickenscher said, `The Armenian Government has already taken important
steps to improve its response capacity if an outbreak were to occur in
Armenia. I am confident that significant strides are being made to
protect Armenia’s avian populations and keep its citizens healthy and
safe.’

The opening ceremony included Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Head
of the Inter-Ministerial Avian Flu Taskforce, Mr. Levon Ruhkian, along
with representatives from the WHO and FAO.

March 28 announced day of mourning in Armenia

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 11:40

On March 26 RA President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree on
announcing a day of mourning in the Republic of Armenia on March 28
connected with the death of Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

RA Ministries, agencies, Marzpets and the Mayor of Yerevan have been
instructed to lower all the RA state flags in Armenia and diplomatic
representations of the Republic of Armenia abroad.

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan conveys condolences

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 13:45

The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Azim Isabekov sent a condolence
letter on the occasion of the death of RA Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan.

Press Service of the Government of Kyrgyzstan informs that the letter
says: ` The Armenian nation lost a deserved son of the motherland, who
made a great contribution to the economic and political development of
the country. Please, convey my words of deepest grief and sympathy to
Andranik Margaryan’s family and friends.’

Armenian Prelacy of Canada mourns the passing of the Prime Minister of
Armenia

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 14:34

The Armenian Prelacy of Canada is mourning the death of Armenian Prime
Minister, Andranik Margarian, who passed away on March 25 of a heart
attack in his apartment in Yerevan, Armenia.

Prelacy churches across Canada organized requiems on Sunday to mourn
the passing of the Prime Minister.

OSCE MIssion revealed no violation of the cease-fire regime

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 15:00

The OSCE Mission today carried out planned monitoring of the contact
line between the Armed Forces of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and
Azerbaijan near Talish settlement in Martakert region.

Armenpress was told at NKR Foreign Ministery that the monitoring group
from the positions of the NKR Defense Army was headed by the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The
group comprised his Field Assistants Miroslav Vimetal (Czech Republic)
and Jaslan Nurtazin (Kazakhstan).

The monitoring was carried out according to the preset schedule. No
breach of the cease-fire regime was registered. From the Karabakhi
side the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of NKR
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

Roxanne Makasdjian: Armenian Genocide denial must end

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 15:15

Roxanne Makasdjian, Chairperson of the Bay Area Armenian National
Committee said during the `Hay Dat’ meeting in San Francisco that
«Hrant Dink’s assassination is inextricably linked to Turkish
government policies." "We must be on guard against attempts by the
government to use his assassination to further their denial campaign."
Referring to the writers and minority groups in Turkey who are now
more reluctant to speak out, Makasdjian said, "As if those effects
aren’t enough, the Turkish government actually attempts to use Hrant’s
outspokenness as a way to demonstrate how democratic Turkey is
becoming. It makes public overtures to Armenia, not for true
reconciliation, but to communicate to the European Union, the US, and
other nations, ‘There’s no need to pass resolutions recognizing the
Genocide, because we’re already on the road to reconciliation with the
Armenians, and a resolution would only antagonize the situation.’"

"The truth is that it is Turkey’s Genocide denial that fueled the
fires that led to Dink’s murder, directly or indirectly, and for which
it is unrepentant," said Makasdjian. "It’s the denial that must end,
not the international community’s recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. It is not the truth that must be suppressed and opposed, it
is the lie. It’s the lie that poisons the atmosphere in Turkey; it’s
the lie that fuels hatred and mistrust; it’s the lie that complicates
Turkey’s relationship with its neighbors and its allies. It’s the lie
that prevents reconciliation. And reconciliation can only come through
truth and restitution for Armenians, and hopefully some redemption and
rehabilitation for Turkey."

SUAT KINIKLIOGLU [email protected] Columnists
The return of Ottomanism – II
March 27, 2006

Antique shops in Turkey’s major cities are booming as the revival of
Ottomanism continues. TuÄ=9Fras, berats calligraphic scripts in
Ottoman,the Ottoman coat of arms, postcards from Ottoman times —
simply anything that has the crescent and the star or any Ottoman
symbol on it — is worth respectable amounts of money.

The Ä°stanbul bourgeoisie, in particular, pay a handsome price for
original pieces of Ottoman art. Their offices are decorated with maps
of the Ottoman Empire, and their luxurious houses boast significant
collections of Ottoman artistry. Ankara’s elite is also quietly
stocking up on the long-forgotten Ottoman heritage. Paintings of
Sultan Mehmet II are as popular as that of Mustafa Kemal. Ottomania is
in full swing with the Turkish elite, reflecting the determined
revival of a culture long denied and discredited by the Turkish
Republic.

The revival of Ottomanism among the Turkish elite signifies two
parallel trends. First, it challenges the positivist-modernist
republican narrative of Turkish history, which is based on a
`rejection of heritage'(red-i miras) and thus traditionally distances
itself from anything Ottoman. In this respect, Ottomanism reflects a
certain amount of self confidence as its outlook is not merely
national but regional and legitimizes Turkish outreach to a distinctly
Ottoman geopolitical space. This sort of intellectualvein in foreign
policy is most aptly represented by Ahmet DavutoÄ=9Flu and his
disciples.

Second, it generates a significant amount of tension with the
nationalist-paranoid upsurge, which is extremely suspicious and feels
threatened by the impact of globalization and Turkey’s EU drive. This
tension is most visible in the foreign policy field as well as on
issues such as further democratization of Turkey. While the
neo-Ottoman streak favors normalization with Arabs, Muslims and Kurds
as Ottoman cosmopolitanism allows it to do, the other camp feverishly
resists such a rapprochement and views it with stark skepticism.

>From a liberal perspective, neo-Ottoman thinking, particularly within
a domestic political context, is more progressive. This is most
visibly demonstrated by the fact that most Muslim Democrats (Justice
and Development Party members) tend to embrace neo-Ottoman
thinking. These elements favor a more open, transparent and democratic
Turkey and thus challenge the status quo.

Of course, most of the intellectual battles take place in interpreting
Turkish history. While Sultan Abdülhamit represents all possible evil
and backwardness for the republicans, he is an enlightened and
visionary leader for the neo-Ottomans. The neo-Ottomans also have it
easier to deal with the Armenian issue, while the republicans are
staunchly against any compromise onthe Armenian issue. The
neo-Ottomans also have less difficulty in understanding Turkey’s
Kurdish citizens. More recent history is even more contentious.

Another stark contrast is to be seen in the conceptualization of our
foreign policy. While the neo-Ottoman outlook naturally embraces the
Ottoman geopolitical space and has no qualms about being a proactive
actor in this geography, the traditionally conservative foreign policy
establishment remains reluctant to come out of the comfort of not
being a significant player. There is no doubt that events in our
immediate neighborhood have helped the neo-Ottomans to strengthen
their case as areas of the Balkans, Black Sea, Caucasus and the Middle
East have become hotspots where Turkey had to become more active. Yet
the rise and rapid embrace of neo-Ottoman thinking in foreign policy
cannot be explained by the impact of events in our immediate
neighborhood only.

The ascendancy of Ottomanism in Turkish society is likely to continue
for some time. The challenge for Turkey followers will be to see
whether neo-Ottomanism will be able to turn into a coherent and
well-articulated ideology that will provide the intellectual
legitimacy to transform Turkey both domestically and regionally. One
thing is for certain though — Osman is recoveringand is on his way to
being fully liberated from the prevalent ideological interpretation
that did much injustice to him.

27.03.2007

Leader dies just before crucial vote
Tony Halpin

The Times/UK
March 26, 2007

The Prime Minister of Armenia died suddenly of heart failure
yesterday, less than two months before critical parliamentary
elections in the tiny Caucasus republic.

Andranik Margaryan, 55, was the longest-serving Prime Minister in
post-Soviet Armenia. His predecessor, Vazgen Sargsyan, was killed in a
terrorist attack in parliament in October 1999 that left seven other
politicians dead. President Kocharyan appointed Mr Margaryan in May
2000 in an attempt to stabilise the country.

Mr Margaryan’s ruling Republican Party had dominated Armenian politics
in recent years but was facing stiff competition from a new party,
Prosperous Armenia, in parliamentary elections in May.

Mr Margaryan was a computer specialist who became a dissident activist
against the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

Panorama.am

16:58 26/03/2007

PEOPLE OF ART EXPRESS SORROW WITH UNTIMELY DEATH OF
PRIME MINISTER

`Persons, who are devoted to the nation and the state,
leave life early,’ Vladimir Msryan, actor of Drama
Theater, says with sorrow speaking about the death of
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. Msryan was a guest
at Tesaket Club together with Alexander Grigoryan,
chief producer of Stansilavski Theater. The Club
hosted its guests dedicated to the International Day
of Theater.

Msryan and Grigoryan consider Andranik Margaryan an
exclusive political figure, who sponsored a series of
performances. They also say theater flourished during
the rule of Andranik Margaryan. `He will stay as a
bright personality in our memories, who loved and
valued the theater,’ Alexander Grigoryan said.

Source: Panorama.am

Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II Emphatically Refuted Invitation
to Participate In Ceremony of Opening of Surb Khach Church on Akhtamar
Island in Turkey

Arminfo
2007-03-27 11:09:00

The Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin the Second will not
participate in a ceremony of opening of a restored Surb Khach Armenian
church on Akhtamar island in Turkey to be held on March 29.

As the press-service of Holly Echmiadzin told ArmInfo today, an
invitation was received from the Governor of Van region addressed to
the Supreme Patriarch via RA Foreign Ministry to take part in a
ceremony. In view of the fact that the church of Surb Khach, restored
by the Turkish authorities, will be turned to museum and will not
function as a church under patronage of the Armenian Patriarchy in
Constantinople, and the ceremony of opening will not be held in the
spirit of traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Church but by secular
canons, the Holly Echmiadzin will not take part in the ceremony, the
message says.

The event, scheduled for March 29 and aimed against the Christian
feelings of the Armenian people, cannot be perceived as a positive
step on the way of rapprochement of the Armenian and Turkish peoples,
especially in the context of a universal strive for cooperation
between the peoples and a dialogue between the religions and cultures,
the message says.