Author: Anna Tamamian

Kivanç Galip ÖVER: CDU doesn’t question taboos
Friday, February 11, 2005
Turkish Daily News
Feb 11 2005
A sentence was removed from the school books in Brandenburg, and
a great row took place. The entire of Germany discusses the matter
because the sentence was claiming that Turks had tried systematically
to annihilate Armenians.
According to the German press, Turkey pressed, used diplomacy
skillfully and succeeded. Nowadays the opposition party CDU (Christian
Democratic Union) is trying to drive the coalition party SDP (Social
Democratic Party) into a corner. Sven Petke, a senior official in CDU,
is demanding the sentence to be put back in the school text books.
The statements made by the provincial officials of Brandenburg are
far from being satisfactory to CDU it is a matter with a great detail,
and there is no point speaking about it in details. The most striking
point in the details is the attitude of CDU. The party will soon come
to power in Germany. The time will soon come for the agreement and
disagreements between Berlin and Ankara to affect more that one region.
Even it can be said that the axis of Berlin-Ankara will pave a way
to significant echoes and results. However Berlin’s approach -it is
obvious that this approach is under the influence of internal politics-
does not give much hope regarding the matter. CDU’s attitude shows that
it behaves according to its prejudices about Turkey. The approach of
CDU basically stresses the religion, the culture and the history of
Europe. In fact Turkey doesn’t oppose to the religion, the culture
and the history of Europe.
It is true that Europe is a continent which has an overwhelming
Christian population, whose culture is under a great influence of
the religion, and which lived through problems with Turks. There is
no point in discussing that here.
CDU opposes the idea that Turkey is to be admitted in the near
future or to be admitted before being ready for it. Turkey believes
that it will be ready to be admitted, and it makes efforts for it.
Here too there is no point in discussing that issue here.
However when it comes to Turkey’s identity, social structure, its
mentality, its preferences and its history, the problem appears. CDU
sadly attaches more importance to its idea about Turkey than the
real Turkey.
The politicians in CDU are nervous about the change in the school
text books in Brandenburg. Yet none of them ask themselves this
question: “Or if the events we believe in were not lived?”
The politicians in CDU have to survey this and other allegations in
detail. Because when they come to power, their decisions will be
very crucial.
CDU’s priority must be keeping Turkey “chained” to Europe’s
institutional structure. That is to say, Turkey -in any case- will
be in Europe’s future. If the party has this preference, then it has
to obey the obligations of it.
–Boundary_(ID_8urMs49FYpfnAUyOhvR3pg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 7, 2005
AGBU YPGNY ORGANIZES ARMENIA PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE SERIES
New York, NY – Starting February 17th, AGBU Young Professionals of
Greater New York (YPGNY) are proud to present a three week series
of screenings, panel discussions, and presentations at AGBU Central
Office in New York on Armenia and issues relevant to its past,
present and future.
The Thursday events begin on February 17th with a special screening of
“My Son Shall Be Armenian,” a poignant film that reflects on Armenian
identity, as filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian follows five Montrealers
of Armenian descent as they return to the land of their forebears in
search of survivors. Goudsouzian weaves the moving accounts of these
centenarians and the touching, at times droll, reactions of the New
World travelers into a dignified and poignant film about the need to
make peace with the past in order to move into the future. Tickets
are $15.
On February 24th, the series continues with a special panel
discussion entitled, “Armenia Present,” that focuses on the state
of development in Armenia in the fields of the education, politics,
and civil society. Speakers will include Aaron Sherinian from the
U.S. Embassy in Armenia and former Fulbright scholar and educator
Nicole Vartanian. Tickets are $10.
The final event on March 3rd will host Noubar Afeyan from the
groundbreaking Armenia 2020 initiative that looks into future scenarios
for the country projecting possible trajectories for the country and
its role in the world. Tickets are $10.
All events will take place at AGBU Central Office in midtown Manhattan
(55 East 59th Street, between Park & Madison Avenues) and tickets
can be reserved by emailing [email protected], or by calling 212.319.6383.
AGBU YPGNY was established in 1999 and is part of a worldwide network
of young professionals of Armenian heritage that seek to develop
projects relevant to their lives that benefit their local and global
communities.
For more information on the YP global network, please visit AGBU
online at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian president urges national unity in speech at PM’s funeral
Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
6 Feb 05

Text of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s speech at the funeral of Prime
Minister Zurab Zhvania at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on 6
February; the ceremony, which also included speeches by parliament
speaker Nino Burjanadze, former EU envoy to Georgia Denis Corboy and
head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II, was broadcast live by
Rustavi-2 TV and other major Georgian networks
[Saakashvili] Your Holiness [Ilia II], Kalbatono [polite form of
addressing a woman in Georgia] Rema [Zhvania’s mother], my dear Nino
[Zhvania’s wife] and my dear children.
I certainly had not planned and could not have imagined that I would
be standing here in front of you in such circumstances. For all of us,
the past four days have been a major test in our lives.
Most of us have never experienced losing such a person. I have to say
that, naturally, each of us has their own way of struggling and coming
to terms with what has befallen us.
No-one should be leaving this world so meaninglessly. On the other
hand, I know of very few people whose life has been so full of meaning
as that of our friend Zurab Zhvania.
Our friends from all over the world are here today. They have
abandoned everything to come here. Many more have been unable to make
it. You have heard the text of the letters from President Bush and
legendary Vaclav Havel. I have received hundreds of such letters in
recent days. After reading these letters, I want everyone to stop to
think. You can all see what these letters say and how greatly Zurab
Zhvania was valued. You have seen in recent days how everyone on TV
has been rushing to praise and glorify him. Does a person really have
to depart from this world for us to be able to value him? When will we
learn to value living persons and to respect the dignity of living
persons? When will we learn to appreciate what we have and not to be
constantly focused on our country’s past? That is the question every
person living in Georgia should answer.
Despite this pessimism, nihilism and cynicism [changes thought] – We
all went through years when everyone was saying that nothing would
work, we were as bad as them and we would also botch everything. We
have proved them and all other cynics wrong, and now Georgia is a
proper state. This has been done, above all, together with all of us,
thanks to Zurab Zhvania’s efforts. No-one will ever be able to erase
this.
I just want to tell everyone, our friends, not to fear because it is
fear itself that we should fear as a result of the tragedy that has
befallen us. I wish to tell everyone who is listening to us that if we
want to learn to win, we should be able to unite at times of tragedy
because we should be able to overcome everything in order to unite in
victory. Over the past few days we have shown everyone that we can
unite in victory, or, rather, tragedy, which means that we will be
able to unite for our common victory.
I also wish to tell Georgia’s ill-wishers that they are pursuing a
lost cause. They should have no illusions. Although Zurab Zhvania is
no longer alive, we still are. If anyone has the illusion that it will
be possible to undermine the cause which we all started together,
which was started by the generation that came to power through Zurab’s
efforts, their hopes are in vain. We will not allow you to succeed for
the sake of Zhvania, for the sake of everyone else, for the sake of
the future of his children and all our children.
Georgia will become a very strong country. It is my personal duty and
our duty to our future and to our friend Zurab Zhvania.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 27 2005
Gov’t calls on Georgia to honor cargo transport obligations

The cargo transported by railway from Azerbaijan to Georgia is not to
be passed on further to Armenia, as this is prohibited by the
existing legal framework between the two countries, Transport
Minister Ziya Mammadov told journalists. Georgia must comply with the
documents it signed, he said.
Mammadov noted that the consignments that Azerbaijan is withholding
on the Azeri-Georgian border are released only after it makes sure
they are not bound for Armenia.
“Both foreign and local companies must realize that any cooperation
with Armenia, which has occupied Azerbaijan’s lands is out of the
question and everyone should comply with this.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Australian
December 16, 2004 Thursday All-round Country Edition
No half measures, Turkey tells EU
TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned up the heat on the
European Union yesterday, insisting his nation deserved full
membership and warning that anything less would be a “historic
mistake”.
In a speech to his party that was frequently interrupted by ovations,
Mr Erdogan put the onus squarely on the 25-nation EU ahead of
tomorrow’s summit in Brussels.
He said Turkey, Europe’s biggest Muslim nation, had met all criteria
required to start membership talks, particularly in the areas of
human rights and political reform. “We, as a country, have done what
we had to do to start membership talks,” he told members of his
Justice and Development Party. “The rest is the responsibility of the
EU.”
Tomorrow’s meeting is expected to give the green light to accession
talks with Turkey, but several EU states are pressing for tight
restrictions on the agreement.
These include an understanding that Turkey will not join the EU for
at least a decade and that the talks can be broken off at any time if
Ankara reverses reforms.
The agreement is also expected to include conditions designed to
prevent a flood of Turkish immigrants into richer EU nations.
However, Mr Erdogan said, Turkey had its own, non-negotiable demands.
“What needs to be done is clear: unconditional full membership, a
clear negotiating process without the need for a second decision and
no new political conditions apart from the Copenhagen criteria,” he
said.
The Copenhagen criteria are standards that candidate countries must
fulfil to be eligible for membership talks.
“We have said on several occasions that we will not accept a decision
that is not based on full membership and which offers special
status,” Mr Erdogan said.
“I believe the EU will not approve a historic mistake which will
weaken its own foundations, and will make a decision in line with
Turkey’s expectations.”
While the EU is expected to approve membership talks with Turkey,
member states are divided over the detail. There is no agreement on
when talks should start and some countries support a “special
partnership” with Ankara should negotiations fail.
Turkey has categorically rejected such a partnership and insists it
wants membership talks to start next year.
Draft summit conclusions leaked to the media warn that talks will be
suspended if Turkey violates EU principles and they do not guarantee
that the talks will end in membership.
“The open-ended nature of negotiations carries a dangerous
uncertainty not only about the outcome of the negotiations but also
their objective,” Mr Erdogan said.
“We can keep up our enthusiasm for progress only if all question
marks over the ultimate target of negotiations are cleared from our
minds.”
The draft also says the EU reserves the right to impose permanent
restrictions on freedom of movement in a bid to prevent a massive
influx of immigrants from Turkey, and adds that Ankara must recognise
EU member Cyprus.
In a speech to parliament, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
slammed the proposal for permanent safeguards as illegitimate and
vowed that Ankara would make no “direct or indirect move” to
recognise Cyprus unless there was a lasting settlement on the divided
island.
Turkey recognises only the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus and not the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot
government in the south.
France, although nominally on Turkey’s side, has also fuelled Turkish
frustration by using the word genocide for the first time to describe
the 1915-17 Ottoman Empire massacre of Armenians.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told parliament yesterday that
Paris would ask many questions, notably about “the Armenian
genocide”, in eventual membership talks.
It is French pressure above all that is likely to result in the EU
failing to abide by a promise to launch accession talks “without
delay” once the leaders give their approval.
Fearful of the Turkey question overshadowing a referendum on the EU’s
first constitution, Paris wants the launch of the negotiations put
back to the second half of next year.
Such fears are not without foundation given that in France, as in
Germany, public opinion is largely hostile to Turkey’s EU bid.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
December 13, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
National Academies Press Publishes an Assessment of S&T Sector in Armenia
The National Academies Press in Washington, DC has just published a report
assessing Armenia’s scientific potential, entitled “Science and Technology
in Armenia: Toward A Knowledge-Based Economy.” The report was prepared by
the ad-hoc Committee on Science and Technology in Armenia, functioning under
the auspices of National Academies’ National Research Council, following the
Committee’s fact-finding mission to Armenia in February 2004. The Committee
members have visited and met with representatives of Armenian government
agencies, National Academy of Sciences and scientific research institutions,
major Armenian universities, private Science and Technology (S&T) companies,
and NGO’s.
The fact-finding mission and the assessment of Armenia’s S&T potential was
commissioned by the U.S. State Department and financed by U.S. Agency for
International Development to gauge the existing capacity of research
institutions and higher education capabilities and trends, and to identify
sectors to be support by public expenditure and investors, as well as by
development assistance from foreign donors, including U.S. Government. The
report will be presented to U.S.-Armenia Task Force on Economic Issues.
The main findings of the report by the National Research Council’s Committee
on S&T in Armenia note the long tradition of excellence in science,
technology and education and the positive legacy of a developed network of
research and higher education institutions. At the same time, the economic
transition and subsequent reduction of government funding have considerably
eroded the existing of S&T capabilities, although many Armenian institutions
persevered and achieved significant results, such as maintaining the
Byurakan Observatory’s international status as center for optical astronomy;
development of a vibrant information technology sector; and some
modernization of the agricultural sector leading to increased exports. The
report makes a number of specific and valuable recommendations to address
the problems and to build upon the many success stories in Armenia’s S&T
sector, including creation of centers of excellence, continued modernization
of institutions of higher learning, and strengthening the intellectual
property rights system.
As Armenia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian noted, “this
report should be of particular interest to the Armenian-American community,
especially private investors seeking to make profit in promising science and
technology sectors and researchers looking for international collaboration
in Armenia.” Dr. Kirakossian perspectives on future of science in Armenia,
made during remarks at a meeting with NRC Committee members, are included in
an appendix of the report.
“Science and Technology in Armenia: Toward A Knowledge-Based Economy,” can
be obtained from the National Academies Press. Please visit
for information on the book.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian foreign minister denies “humanitarian crisis” in Karabakh
Arminfo
Dec 07, 2004
Yerevan, 7 December: In the process of the peaceful settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Armenia remains loyal to the Minsk process
[OSCE Minsk Group] and expects the same attitude from Azerbaijan,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said while touching on the
problem of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in his address to
the 12th session of the OSCE Council of Ministers in Sofia.
In this connection, Oskanyan recalled the four meetings between
the Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers and the Astana meeting of
the two countries’ presidents where certain progress was made,
the public relations department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
told Arminfo news agency. Vardan Oskanyan expressed his regret
that Azerbaijan, having raised the issue of refugees with the UN,
shifted the problem from the constructive path. In counterbalance
to Azerbaijani propaganda which presents Azerbaijan as a victim, the
Armenian foreign minister recalled the roots of the conflict and the
causes of today’s realities. A group of Council of Europe deputies who
visited Nagornyy Karabakh during fierce fighting in 1992 noted that
“villages were completely destroyed, thousands of people were killed
and children were subjected to violence as a result of Azerbaijani
attacks. Taking account of Azerbaijan’s military advantage, we can
presume that only a few weeks are left to the catastrophe of Nagornyy
Karabakh, which will be followed by genocide and forced eviction,”
Vardan Oskanyan quoted the aforesaid group as saying in a statement.
He also recalled the 500,000 Armenians forced to leave Baku and
the conflict zone who are also waiting for the settlement of
the conflict. As for the settlement of the territories [by ethnic
Armenians], Vardan Oskanyan pointed out again that neither Armenia nor
Nagornyy Karabakh are conducting a state policy in this sphere. On the
contrary, such a policy is being conducted in Azerbaijan, the minister
stressed, recalling relevant decrees by the Azerbaijani president
to settle previously Armenian-populated territories in Shaumyan ,
Getashen and northern Mardakert occupied by Azerbaijan. According to
the same decree, the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan allocated 18m dollars for
settling Azerbaijanis in the aforesaid districts, although Armenians
waiting for the settlement of the conflict are still living there. The
UN has issued a report instructing Azerbaijan to find alternative
places of residence for them, Vardan Oskanyan recalled.
In other words, there is no humanitarian crisis today, the minister
stressed. The situation is equally complex for both sides, which
should not be used for speculative purposes, but should be seen
as part of the complex process. For this reason, Armenia continues
to remain loyal to the Minsk process and expects the same attitude
from Azerbaijan, the Armenian foreign minister said at the end of
his speech.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO admission not on agenda, Armenian minister tells Iranian envoy
Mediamax news agency
3 Dec 04
YEREVAN
“An issue of NATO admission is not on the agenda of the republic’s
foreign policy,” Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan has said at
a meeting with Iranian ambassador to Armenia Ali Reza Haqiqian.
The Armenian defence minister’s press secretary, Col Seyran
Shakhsuvaryan, has told Mediamax news agency that “Serzh Sarkisyan
said this commenting on Armenia’s intention to sign the Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO”.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the issues related to the
Armenian defence minister’s forthcoming visit to Tehran, the problems
of regional security and the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict.
The Iranian ambassador suggested to open the Persian language courses
in the Vazgen Sarkisyan Military Institute. Serzh Sarkisyan welcomed
this proposal saying that the military institute could be the second
centre for deepening study of the Persian language in Armenia after
Yerevan State University.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

USA to provide $75m in aid to Armenia
RosBusinessConsulting Database
November 24, 2004 Wednesday 2:04 am, EST
The US Senate has passed a law on aid to foreign countries, which
provides for allocating $75m for the implementation of the US
government’s programs of assistance to Armenia in 2005. The Press
and Information Department of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported
that within the bounds of this aid program, at least $3m would
be allocated for humanitarian programs in the disputed region of
Nagorniy Karabakh. Additionally, Armenia will receive $8.75m within
the framework of military cooperation programs, the ARKA news agency
reported. It is pointed out in the Foreign Ministry’s press release
that the US Congress had confirmed the principle of parity with regard
to military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

36TH CONGRESS OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF ARMENIA STARTS WITH SCANDAL
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20. ARMINFO. The 36th congress of Communist Party
of Armenia has started with a scandal.
The supporters of Sanatruk Saakyan and Khoren Sargsyan earlier expelled
from the party have gathered near the government building demanding
that they be let in “as they are also delegates.” They are holding
posters “Tovmassyan Betrayed Communist Party!” The police are not
letting them inside saying they were given such an instruction.
Sargsyan told journalists that the present first secretary of CPA Ruben
Tovmassyan and his supporters “have been bribed by the government”
particularly by Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan. He can even say how
much they got – $50,000. The tensions are growing nobody outside is
being let inside.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress