Author: Antonian Lara

PACE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR A NEW IMPETUS FOR A EUROPE-RUSSIA PARTNERSHIP
Lragir.am
26.04.2006
Strasbourg
On the eve of a visit to St Petersburg, the President of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Rene van
der Linden, today called for a new impetus for a partnership between
Russia and the rest of Europe.
“When I became President of the Assembly in January 2005, I stressed
the importance of ensuring constructive and friendly relations
with Russia. Now is the time to give this an extra impetus. We
must strengthen mutual trust and confidence, cooperate on an equal
footing as the key to success, build on stability and durability,
shoulder our responsibilities in solving conflicts and consolidate
peace. A partnership is therefore absolutely vital”, Rene van der
Linden said today.
On 27 April, he will take part in a special session of the State Duma
of the Russian Federation to celebrate its first centenary. On this
occasion, the President will hold a series of bilateral meetings in
particular with the President of the State Duma, Boris Gryzlov, the
President of the Council of the Federation, Sergey Mironov, as well as
with the Speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Moldova. The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin,
will also attend this special session which will take place in the
Tavrichesky Palace, where the first State Duma sat from 1906 to 1917.
The next day, 28 April, the PACE President will be co-chairing the
“International Conference on European Parliamentarianism: Past and
Present”, to be jointly organised by PACE, the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly and the State Duma. One of the topics to be discussed at
the conference is “international standards for democratic elections”.
This will be the fourth time the President of the Assembly has visited
Russia since his election in January 2005. The visit is taking place
just before Russia takes over the Chair of the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe, on 19 May 2006.
Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit.

LITHUANIA REASSERTS ITS INTENTION TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ARMENIA WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY
Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The Lithuanian President Valdas
Adamkus and the delegation headed by him reasserted Lithuania’s
intention to provide support to Armenia, particilarly with respect
to the reforms implemented within the framework of the EU European
Neighborhood Policy. The Armenian President Robert Kocharian announced
it on April 25 during a press conference following the meeting with
the Lithuanian President, who is on an official visit to Armenia, and
the negotiations between the two countries’ delegations. The Armenian
President said that the relations between Armenia and Lithuania have
become quite active in recent years, with the political contacts
having a coordinated character. In the words of R. Kocharian, during
this “quite meaningful and interesting meeting”, an agreement was
reached to organize business forums in Yerevan and Vilnius, which
will open the opportunity to establish more extensive links with
the business world, to exchange information and maybe improve the
current low indices in the economic sphere. “Over the last two years,
the contacts have been so active that it gives us a great hope that
this will help to enhance the quality of the economic sphere as well,”
he noted. Describing the relations of the two countries as excellent,
the Lithuanian President expressed an opinion that there is a lack
of information, so he attached importance to student exchanges and
individual meetings, which, as he put it, is the best diplomacy and
the best way to develop relations.

ARMENIANS SEEK LANDS, RECOGNITION
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News
April 25 2006
Thousands of Armenian-Americans protested in front of the Turkish
Consulate on Monday, demanding that the country recognize the 1915
genocide of their people.
But the protesters, marching on the day when Armenians commemorate the
genocide every year, also had other demands beyond Turkey’s recognition
of the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in the former Ottoman Empire.
Alleging that historically Armenian lands were stolen during the
genocide, protesters chanted, “Eastern Turkey is Western Armenia”
and “Get your hands off my lands.”
Police estimated that up to 3,000 demonstrators took part in Monday’s
protest at the Turkish Consulate.
“They want recognition first of all,” said Ani Garibyan, spokeswoman
for the Armenian Youth Federation, which organized the demonstration.
“They also want the land that they lost and the houses they lost. And
Turkey needs to pay up as well, just like Germany has been doing to
the Jewish (Holocaust) survivors and their families.”
Turkey contends there was no genocide of Armenians and they are not
willing to pay reparations or hand over land.
“Can anybody give any land to anybody today? In today’s world it’s not
possible,” said Engin Ansay, consul general of Turkey in Los Angeles.
Turkey’s position does not sit well with protesters like Lida
Zohrabyan, 47, of Glendale.
But she could not say how much of the land should be returned.
“That’s our politicians’ matter,” she said. “But we want justice.”

EIGHT CIS STATES HOLD BIGGEST-EVER AIR DEFENCE EXERCISE
Channel One TV, Moscow
25 Apr 06
[Presenter] The CIS countries are holding major air defence exercises
on defending the air borders of the commonwealth. Channel One
correspondent Anton Stepanenko is following the manoeuvres from the
Russian air force’s central command post and is live on air. Anton,
give us the details.
[Correspondent] The command and headquarters exercise has been
under way for two hours now, and I should repeat that this is the
biggest exercise of recent years working on pooling the air defence
effort, resources and forces of CIS countries. There are eight states
taking part in all [Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine] and, as of 1200 hours [0900 gmt]
there are up to 60 aircraft in the air in the entire CIS air space –
some of these are playing the role of invader and the other half are
to intercept them. Three Russian military bases are also involved,
in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
[Boris Cheltsov, chief of main headquarters and first deputy
commander-in-chief of the Russian air force] The main objective of
every training exercise is to polish the skills of the command bodies
in practice to deal with violations of the state border, with aircraft
which need to be seen off, and to assist those who find themselves
overtaken by events. The most important thing is close cooperation
in performing these tasks, with a single management structure and
information-intelligence system.
[Correspondent] This is the scenario for the exercise: the
military-political situation has become strained on the western and
southern borders of the CIS and attempts are being made to violate
the commonwealth’s air borders to carry out reconnaissance flights.
CIS air defence forces are currently seeking to prevent these
incursions. I should add that for the first time the air defence
forces will be working with targets in the stratosphere.
[The one-day exercise includes “air defence force action in the event
of terrorists hijacking an aircraft”, Russian Military News Agency
Interfax-AVN reported (0420 gmt). Col-Gen Cheltsov told reporters
NATO intelligence aircraft had been observed monitoring the exercise;
ITAR-TASS news agency (0756 gmt) quoted him saying “At 1000 [0700 gmt]
on the north-western borders of Belarus and Russia we noted Swedish
and Finnish air defence activity. Initially two NATO aircraft were
operating in this area, this then increased to five. This is standard
practice in the military.”]

THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY INITIATES A RALLY IN FRONT OF THE TURKISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON
ArmRadio.am
24.04.2006 14:05
The Armenian community has initiated a rally in front of the Turkish
Embassy in Washington. Among the participants of the action are members
of the famous “System of a Down” rock group, “Grammy” Prize holder
Serge Tangyan and John Dolmayan, who will call on the Chairman of the
House of Representatives Danis Hastert and other Congressmen to stop
supporting Turkish policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, which
makes the US a companion in the crime carried out by Osman Turkey.
In response to this, Turks and Azeris of the United States promised
to arrange an act of protest. According to the Turkish “Hurriet,”
this year also US President George Bush will avoid using the word
“genocide” in his annual April 24 address.
April 25 musicians of the “System of a Down” will hold meetings with
mass media representatives in Washington. April 26 members of the
group will meet US Congressmen.

FAKING IT: VODKA FLAVORED WITH CELERY AND TEA: A SEMI-OFFICIAL REVIEW
by Corina Zappia
Village Voice, NY
April 24 2006
Modern Spirits Vodka’s Grapefruit Honey infusion
photo: Corina Zappia
Occasionally we’re thrown a compliment we don’t quite deserve. A
PR rep or spirits company mistakes us for a seasoned oenophile or
fine-drink connoisseur, and an invite to an intimate tequila tasting
or a meal of beer-glazed specialties finds its way into our mailbox.
So we’ll swirl the $60-a-bottle liquor in the glass, or take a gentle,
modest sip vs. the happy-hour whore gulp.
At a vodka-pairing dinner we were recently invited to, it is clear
they mistook us for a serious critic. The maker of a new line of
infused vodkas, Modern Spirits, had invited us to try his wares with
a few select experts and distributors. It was a huge compliment. It
was also seven vodkas in a row.
The night’s recap:
Grapefruit Honey vodka Clean, sharp and vivid, grapefruit honey is
mildly tart with a hint of bitterness and a touch of sweetness from
a dollop of honey.
We walk into the private dining room at the Harrison and take our seat
with all the other people invited for the night’s event-the executive
editor of Saveur, Wine & Spirits folks, the president of James
Beard. The boozing commences with the creator/owner explaining the
origins of his company-he would make special flavored vodkas for his
wife to take to family functions, as she found the vodka his Armenian
relatives normally drank a bit hard to swallow. A heartwarming tale
of the lengths one will go to for love, granted, but clearly not the
most aggressive PR: Grapefruit-honey vodka needs a grander marketing
scheme. Grapefruit-honey vodka needs Mr. T endorsements.
Celery Peppercorn vodka The ultimate power drink. The celery’s green
bouquet is complemented by savory spices and a touch of heat from
Malabar peppercorn and dried red chilies.
This is our favorite: We like the peppery kick-it’s like a bloody
mary without tomato juice-and can’t help but notice at the end of the
party, all the foodie witches snatch away the freebie bottles of this
vodka first.
Black Truffle vodka Infused exclusively during the season, the
telltale scents of port, rich soil, pineapple and chocolate make this
a first-class libation.
It is around this time that the Wine & Spirits art director next
to us instructs us on the “swirl,” and why people do it. When you
swirl the liquor in a glass, the motion stirs up the oxygen and
releases the aroma. It actually works, and then you are supposed to
inhale deeply into your drink. Now we feel bad for making fun of the
critics who face-dive into their liquor, for there we are, face-diving
ourselves. (No. That’s a lie. We don’t feel bad. It looks dumb.)
We have a hard time comparing the taste to truffle oil, our only
prior experience with this mushroom. Truffle oil never seems that
memorable to us, beyond the fact that it’s expensive presence must
be formally announced whenever included in any dish.
Pear Lavender vodka Combining the lingering sweetness of pears with a
light touch of lavender creates an intimate and delicate infusion. It
is our ode to poetry.
We miss out on that ode for some reason. Nor can we taste the pear
or smell the lavender really. We have a feeling this is no reflection
on the liquor but has more to do with the multi-vodka diet we’ve been
on since the night began.
The evening wears on, and several more vodkas are tried: a candied
ginger (tastes exactly like ginger), tea (tastes like tea) and even
chocolate-orange (like eating a box of Godiva, without feeling like the
big fat pig you really are). We become completely wasted, drunkenly
catching our chair on the rug and stumbling to the bathroom, almost
spilling chocolate-orange vodka on our skirt, pushing past someone
to grab our free bottle of booze. We thank the alcohol maker for the
compliment of including us-then haul it out of there as fast as we can.

NO EVIDENCE OF OTTOMAN INTENT TO DESTROY ARMENIAN COMMUNITY
by Selcuk Gultasli
Zaman, Turkey
April 24 2006
Brussels (ZAMAN)- Gunter Lewy, Professor Emeritus of Political Science,
University of Massachusetts/Amherst, argues in his latest book ‘The
Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide’ that what
happened in 1915-16 was a huge tragedy but was not genocide as the
Ottomans had no intention of exterminating the Armenian race.
The Armenian lobby in the US tried hard to prevent the publication
of the book, but Prof. Lewy does not want to go into details about
the Diaspora’s efforts to block his book. Though Prof. Lewy gives
the details of the massacres and accuses some Turkish authorities of
distort history by denying significant massacres, Prof. Lewy has been
attacked by Armenian hardliners as a “denier.” Here are the excerpts
from Prof. Lewy’s interview with ZAMAN:
Though you reach a figure of 642,000 Armenians killed in 1915-16,
you argue that there was no intention to wipe out the Armenian
race. Is lack of intention on its own sufficient not to call the
incidents genocide?
According to Article II of the Genocide Convention of 1948, “intent
to destroy” is a precondition of genocide. A large number of dead
alone is not sufficient. Thus, for example, collateral casualties of
an aerial bombing do not constitute genocide, no matter how large the
number of victims. There exists no evidence that the Ottoman regime
had intent to destroy the Armenian community.
The Armenian Diaspora claims that you wrote this book with the help
of the Turkish government, implying that you are serving Turkey’s
interests. What is your reaction?
I am a retired professor of Political Science, the author of 10
other books published by prestigious publishing houses such as Oxford
University Press. I wrote this book as I wrote all of my previous books
– with the help of American foundations such as the American Council of
Learned Societies. I also had a travel grant from the German Academic
Exchange Service. I did not receive financial support from the Turkish
government or any other government. I have not seen the allegation
you refer to but it is part of the campaign of vilification Armenians
wage against anyone who questions their version of the tragic events
of 1915.
Armenian “genocidier” scholars argue that ‘you are not even an expert;
you do not even speak Turkish’. They also accuse Jewish origin American
scholars of distorting history by denying the so-called genocide.
I came to this topic as part of a planned comparative study of
genocide. I am not a Middle East expert (even though I lived 8 years
in the Middle East) and I do not read Ottoman Turkish. However, the
archival materials and other original sources in Western languages are
more than adequate to research this topic. The reports of American,
German, Austrian consular officials who were on the spot in Anatolia,
as well as the accounts of foreign missionaries who witnessed the
deportations are richer and better sources than what is contained in
the Turkish archives. A requirement that only persons fluent in the
Turkish language be considered competent to write about this topic
would, disqualify most Armenians who also do not know Turkish. The
argument that Jewish scholars deny the genocide because they are
Jewish and want to defend the uniqueness of the Holocaust is indecent
as well as irrelevant. A book has to be judged by its content and
not by the motive of its author.
The West was not at all concerned about the Muslim cleansing of the
Balkans, but charities exist to help Ottoman Armenians all over the
Western world. How do you explain the West’s astonishingly different
reaction to the Muslim atrocities in the Balkans in 1912-1913 and
the Armenian atrocities of 1915?
Obviously, all human life should be of equal worth. The West took
its time in reacting to the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the former
Yugoslavia, but it did eventually react forcefully and halted these
atrocities. Armenian misdeeds during World War I were often ignored
because Armenian propaganda was well orchestrated and the Western
world did not expect Christians to behave this way. The horrendous
events of World War II have since taught us that no nationality,
no matter what its religion or cultural achievements, is immune to
outrageous criminal conduct in war.
You quote in your book (pg. 246) that “massacre, outrage and
devastation have always been congenial to Turks.” Do you think this
prejudice was pivotal in the Western attitude to Armenian massacres?
The allegation often made by Armenians that Turks love massacres and
devastation because of their national character was indeed shared by
many in the West who likewise condemned the “terrible Turk.”
Can you compare and contrast Shoah and the Armenian massacres?
Hitler’s Final Solution of the Jewish Question – the Holocaust or Shoah
– aimed at the total destruction of the Jewish people. The Armenian
massacres of World War I were not committed at the behest of the
Ottoman government, and that fact alone makes a crucial difference. The
fact that the large Armenian communities of Istanbul, Izmir and Aleppo
were exempted from the deportation is another important indication
that the Young Turks had no genocidal designs against the Armenian
minority of their country.
You argue that Salahi Sonyel put the number of Armenians deported at
800,000, Kevorkian at 870,000, Bogos Nubar Pasha at 600,000-700,000.
How is it possible that Armenian scholars reach a figure of 1,500,000
killed (not even deported) and that the West seems to agree with
this number?
Unfortunately many Western scholars and parliamentary bodies simply
repeat the Armenian allegations without critical examination as to
their veracity.
Why do you think Armenians waited until 1965 to call what happened
in 1915 genocide?
I am not sure why the Armenians waited until 1965 before they alleged
genocide. It is said that the impact of the Treaty of Lausanne of
1923 was deeply demoralizing. Also, the early 1960s brought a lot
of scholarship on the Jewish Holocaust of World War II, and the
Armenians may have sensed an opportunity to cash in on this aroused
humanitarian conscience.
What is the West and Russia’s share of the responsibility in the
massacres?
Western governments and Russia had often made promises of Armenian
autonomy or even independence. These promises undoubtedly encouraged
Armenian revolutionaries to go on the attack, cause large casualties
among the innocent, and thus provoke Western or Russian intervention on
their behalf. By making promises that were not kept the West probably
shares some of the responsibility for the events of 1915-16.
In more than several pages you accuse Dadrian, a renowned scholar
on the Armenian ‘genocide,’ of either of exaggerating the facts or
excluding documents. How widespread and ingrained is this attitude
among Armenian origin scholars in terms of being selective?
Many Armenian scholars use selective evidence or otherwise distort
the historical record, but V.N. Dadrian is in a class by himself. His
violations of scholarly ethics, which I document in my book, are so
numerous as to destroy his scholarly credentials.
Do you think the Armenian Diaspora’s tactics i.e. making as many
countries as possible recognize the 1915 incidents as genocide, will
have any affect on Turkey to recognize it as a”genocide” without a
court ruling?
It is the business of legislatures to legislate and not to decide
contested historical questions. Turkey should insist on this
principle and not give in to outside pressure with regard to the
alleged Armenian genocide.
What is the way out? You argue that there are some Armenians who will
be satisfied “with an official statement by the Turkish government
that it deeply regrets the great suffering of the Armenians during
World War I” (pg 269) How plausible is this argument?
Since writing the book and expressing in it some optimism about
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation I have been to Turkey, and I am
now more pessimistic in this regard. European pressure has caused a
nationalistic backlash among many Turkish intellectuals, and I think it
extremely unlikely that the Turkish government will be willing to make
a statement of regret of the kind that has been proposed. The Armenian
Diaspora, too, appears to be getting more demanding and extreme.
How shall Turkey approach the issue? Should Turkey do more, other
than offer to establish a joint commission, which was immediately
refused by the Armenians?
The idea of a joint historical commission is a good one. In order to
be credible, it will be important for the Turkish historical scholars
to do better than the work of the Turkish Historical Society has done
so far. The fact that the president of this society, Yusuf Halacoglu,
is a person who does not even read English is a scandal.

Serge Sargsyan: We never violate the cease-fire
ArmRadio.am
20.04.2006 17:45
“We never violate the cease-fire, we just respond to pressure the
shoots,” RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan said.
Commander of the NKR Armed Forces Seyran Ohanyan confirms that the
combatant preparedness of the Army is on a high level.
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan has the impression that Azerbaijan is
willing to make new suggestions and gain much, which is not acceptable
for us.
“If any of the sides tries to gain more in such an obvious, apparent
way, then we shall hardly be able to come to an agreement,” Serge
Sargsyan said.
He does not consider the militant statements of Azerbaijan are attempts
to fail the negotiations process.

INTERNET CONNECTION TARIFFS TO DECLINE FOR ARMENIAN USERS FROM MAY 1
Noyan Tapan
Apr 19 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN. A 10-30% fall in the tariffs of
Internet connection service is expected in Armenia from May 1,
Technical Director of Arminco company told NT correspondent. According
to him, the reduction in these tariffs is conditioned by the
fact that on April 15 ArmenTel reduced the lease price of the
high-capacity channels by about 30%. At the same time, the RA Public
Services Regulatory Commission approved ArmenTel’s formula of tariff
calculation in case the provider connects to the Internet through its
own satellite facility. This will allow to further reduce the Internet
connection tariff. According to G. Saghian, the greatest decline in
the tariff can be expected for those services, whose provision does
require the provider to have its own infrastructures. For example,
the companies providing “dial up” services will get an opportunity to
reduce the tariff to up to 30%. G. Saghian said that the reduction
of Internet channels’ lease prices by ArmenTel has become possible
thanks to technical re-equipment of the company. In his words, the
decline in international Internet connection tariffs four months after
an increase in the fixed-line phone tariffs is consistent with the
policy of comunication services rebalancing, which is stipulated in
licence No 60.

GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES INTEND TO QUARTER TROOPS IN AKHALKALAK
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 19 2006
AKHALKALAK, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. With the
motivation of providing the security of withdrawal of the troops
from the Russian military base dislocated in Akhalkalak the Georgian
Ministry of Defence is going to establish a subdivision of military
police in Akhalkalak. Meanwhile, according to the information provided
by the A-Info agency, the Georgian authorities are going to quarter
a Georgian military unit in the military base after withdrawing the
Russian troops. Teymuraz Lomsadze, Georgian Deputy Minister on Issues
of Conflicts Settlement, informed about it at the meeting with a
number of employees at the Akhalkalak office of the European Center
on Issues of Minorities.