Author: Antonian Lara

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
APRIL 15-28, 2005
HIGHLIGHTS:
ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS VISITED SLOVENIA
TWO MORE “PRESS CLUB” SHOWS
CIVIL SERVICE AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE RA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
AIR OF “ANKYUN+3” CUT OFF
“INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS” DEMAND TO COMPENSATE LOSSES
TWO APPLICANTS FOR GIGAHERTZES
STRONG DRINK TV ADVERTISING TO STOP FROM SUMMER
THE LAW “ON FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM” RESTRICTED THE RIGHTS OF MEDIA
NCTR MEMBERS APPOINTED
SOUTH CAUCASUS ON THE WAY TO EUROPE
BRONZE WINNERS OF THE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS VISITED SLOVENIA
On April 19-24 a group of heads of media and journalistic associations of
Armenia visited the Republic of Slovenia to study the self-regulation
experience of Slovenian media. The study visit was organized by Yerevan
Press Club and the Ljubljana Peace Institute (Institute for Contemporary
Social and Political Studies) under “Media Self-Regulation: International
Experience and Prospects in Armenia” project, funded by Open Society
Institute East-East Program.
Self-regulation mechanisms and the overall situation in the sphere were
discussed at the meetings at Ethics Council of the Slovenian Association of
Journalists, the editorial offices of two leading dailies, “Delo” and
“Finance”, the public Radio and Television of Slovenia, the Department of
Social Sciences of Ljubljana University and the Slovenian Advertising
Chamber.
TWO MORE “PRESS CLUB” SHOWS
On April 18 and 25 on the evening air of the Second Armenian TV Channel the
twenty-first and twenty-second “Press Club” shows were issued. The cycle is
organized by Yerevan Press Club under a homonymous project, supported by the
OSI Network Media Program.
On April 18 the main discussion subject of the leading media and
journalistic associations was the foreign policy of Armenia in the context
of Karabagh conflict resolution and the relations with NATO and Russia.
On April 25 the “Press Club” participants addressed the events on the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 (commemorated on April 24) and
the issues of the international recognition of the Genocide. As the program
participants predict, this week the Armenian media will continue to discuss
this subject, centering on the assessment of the events held by the
specially established state commission, as well as on the response of
international press, primarily the Turkish one.
CIVIL SERVICE AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
On April 27 in Yerevan a seminar “Civil Service and Freedom of Information”
was organized by “Team” Research Center with the assistance of the RA Civil
Service Council. The seminar was conducted under a homonymous project,
supported by Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia. The
representatives of state sector, media and NGOs discussed the problem of
relation between the state administration and freedom of information, as
well as the instilment of European standards of freedom of expression and
information in Armenia.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE RA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
On April 26 at the press-conference of the RA Human Rights Defender Larisa
Alaverdian the report on the violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in 2004 in Armenia was presented.
One of the sections of this annual report was devoted to the right to free
expression and the right to seek, receive and impart information. It states,
in particular, that the RA Law “On Mass Communication” guarantees the right
to free speech, free expression of opinion and dissemination of ideas, and
Article 164 of the RA Criminal Code stipulates liability for impeding the
legal professional activities of a journalist. “However, the failure to
disclose and punish those, who committed violence and caused physical, moral
and material damage to media representatives in April 20004 and later, shows
that the guarantees, envisaged by the law, are insufficient and do not
enable the media representatives fully, freely and safely exercise their
profession”, the report of the Human Rights Defender notes. This statement
was illustrated by a number of incidents that occurred in different cities
of the country – Yerevan, Ashtarak, Tsaghkadzor, Goris, Aragats – and that
were at the focus of public attention.
“There are serious objections against criminal insult. The corresponding
Article of the Criminal Code endangers the freedom of expression; it
particularly restricts the freedom of criticism, since the person criticized
can view any expression to be humiliation of his honor and dignity. It is
also unacceptable to stipulate different punishments for the insult of an
official and a simple human being”, the report says.
The existence of over 40 operational TV channels, about 20 radio stations,
10 news agencies and over 35 periodical newspapers and magazines is, in the
opinion of the Human Rights Defender, a source of hope with the regard to
realization of free expression. However, as the report notes, “the
involvement of the President of the Republic in the formation of the
National Commission on Television and Radio disrupts trust in the
independence of the Commission”.
As to the RA Law “On Freedom of Information”, it prescribes the main
principles, the procedure and the terms for providing data, ensuring access
to and the publicity of information. At the same time, the report notes,
“there is problem in implementing the legally stipulated procedure for the
information provision by state bodies and local self-government of all
levels”. “The groundless refusal to provide information to citizens or NGOs
has become very common”, the annual repot specifies. The quoted examples are
the non-provision of information requested by “Investigative Journalists”
NGO by the Yerevan municipality, despite the court ruling, and the similar
case of Vanadzor Branch of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, which got access
to necessary information only after the lengthy court process. Besides, the
notions of “commercial secret” and “personal data” are given loose
interpretation. The unreserved implementation of the requirements of the Law
“On Freedom of Information” by the authorities and administrative structures
of all levels is one of the most important guarantees of human rights
protection, the annual report of the Armenian Ombudsman reminds.
AIR OF “ANKYUN+3” CUT OFF
On April 22 “Ankyun+3” TV company (Alaverdi, Lori region) went on air with
almost a three-hour delay. As YPC was told by the Director of the TV company
Sos Siradeghian, the reason was the damage of cables, connecting the studio
to the TV tower. The damage was revealed at about 18.00, right before the
start of the broadcasts. The cables drawn to the TV tower on the roof of the
neighboring building were cut by nippers. In the opinion of “Ankyun+3” head,
the incident is related to the election campaign for the position of
Alaverdi Mayor currently underway (the ballot is to be held on May 8). Sos
Siradeghian noted, though, that all three candidates for the position of the
head of the municipality expressed their indignation at the occurrence. The
Director of the TV company also informed that he had notified the
territorial subdivision of the RA National Security Service. A report on the
incident was shown the next day, on April 23, by the newscast of “Ankyun+3”.
“INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS” DEMAND TO COMPENSATE LOSSES
On April 22 at the court of primary jurisdiction of Center and Nork-Marash
communities of Yerevan the process on the suit of “Investigative
Journalists” versus Republic of Armenia started. The plaintiff demands to be
compensated the court losses and other expenditures incurred during the
lengthy litigation against the Yerevan municipality. The losses are
estimated to be 308,000 AMD (over $ 700).
A year ago, on April 14, 2004, “Investigative Journalists” filed a suit with
the court of primary jurisdiction versus Yerevan municipality, demanding to
oblige the latter to provide the resolutions, necessary for journalistic
investigation. The documents requested were adopted by the municipality in
1997-2003 and referred to the construction in the public green zone around
the National Opera and Ballet Theater. Courts of primary and secondary
jurisdiction rejected this claim, the court of supreme jurisdiction directed
the case for repeated consideration of the Court of Appeals (in new
composition), which secured the claim. Then the municipality challenged the
ruling made, however, on February 10, 2005, the Court of Cassation left it
unchanged (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, February 11-17, 2005). Despite the
ruling, the city authorities did not provide the documents and on March 17
“Investigative Journalists” addressed the RA Compulsory Execution Service.
According to the law, the time, allocated to compulsory execution of court
ruling, makes two months.
At the court session of April 22 the representative of the RA Ministry of
Finance (which, according to the legislation, is a respondent on such cases)
made a motion to involve the Yerevan municipality as a second respondent, to
determine why the latter does not comply with the court ruling. The motion
was secured.
The next session is scheduled for May 13.
TWO APPLICANTS FOR GIGAHERTZES
On April 22 the National Commission on Television and Radio considered bids
submitted to the broadcast licensing competitions for frequency diapasons of
2300-2400 MHz and 2500-2700 MHz in Yerevan. As it has been reported, the
competitions were announced on January 12 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
January 7-13, 2005).
Each of the frequencies on tender got one bidder: “A-UP” CJSC is applying
for 2300-2400 MHz, “AATVC” CJSC – for 2500-2700 MHz. As YPC was informed by
the NCTR, the competition results will be announced on June 10.
STRONG DRINK TV ADVERTISING TO STOP FROM SUMMER
On April 20 the National Commission on Television and Radio held a working
meeting of NCTR Chairman Grigor Amalian with the heads of the national and
local TV companies. At the meeting the issues of strong alcoholic drinks
advertising, actively broadcast on Armenian TV air, was discussed. According
to NCTR representatives, the National Commission is not always able to apply
sanctions to broadcasters due to the imperfection of the RA Law “On
Advertising”. As it has been reported, the amendments to the Law,
prohibiting, in particular, the advertising of strong beverages (but for
brandy) and tobacco products in broadcast media, were adopted by the
Parliament on June 26, 2002 and enacted since January 1, 2003 (see YPC
Weekly Newsletter, June 22-28, 2002). Yet the amounts of alcohol,
particularly, of vodka type, on the air did not reduce since that time. The
TV companies started to indirectly advertise alcoholic drinks by brand
promotion, since the Law did not stipulate any punishment for such a
“trick”. However, this “indirectness” was so straightforward that the
viewers had no doubts as to the advertising object.
At the NCTR meeting it was agreed to completely stop the TV advertising of
strong alcoholic drinks since June 1, 2005.
THE LAW “ON FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM” RESTRICTED THE RIGHTS OF MEDIA
On April 19 the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian signed the RA Law “On
Fight Against Terrorism”, approved by the RA National Assembly on March 22.
As it has been reported, the draft passed the second hearing on March 1 and
some of its provisions alarmed the journalistic community, since they
restricted the right of media representatives to access and dissemination of
information, related to terrorism (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, February 25 –
March 3, 2005).
The changes in the final text of the document did not essentially affect the
restrictive provisions on media activities. In particular, Article 14 of the
Law prohibits the dissemination of information that disclose the methods and
devices used in antiterrorist actions, can obstruct their implementation and
represent danger for the life and health of citizens, as well as are
directed to promotion or justification of terrorism. Besides, the
journalists are not allowed to disseminate information on the activities of
state bodies, participating in the anti-terrorist actions, the staff of
special services and their subdivisions on fight against terrorism, as well
as on people who assisted the anti-terrorist actions.
In other words, provisions have come into force that can very loosely be
interpreted and become another barrier for the “fourth estate”. Taking into
account the numerous problems that the country has with free expression and
access to official information, the risk, that this is what will happen, is
quite high.
NCTR MEMBERS APPOINTED
On April 13 the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian signed a decree on
appointing Zhirayr Dadasian, Ara Tadevosian and Simavon Andreasian members
of the National Commission on Television and Radio with a six-year term of
service. The competition to fill in the three vacancies in NCTR was
announced on March 24 and held on April 9 by the competition commission,
formed by the RA President. According to the commission announcement,
published on April 15, it presented to the head of the state the competition
winners and the written justification for its choice. The motivation given
by the competition commission was that Zhirayr Dadasian, Ara Tadevosian and
Simavon Andreasian, “in comparison to other applicants, are more up to
criteria , defined by the law”. In particular, it was noted that the
“winning candidates have rich professional experience (the professional
activities of Ara Tadevosian and Simavon Andreasian also includes work with
NCTR till 2005), are known in their spheres as competent, respectable
personalities”.
As it has been reported, there were 10 bids for the competition, also from
the three former NCTR members (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 1-7, 2005).
Thus, in the composition of National Commission on Television and Radio only
one actual replacement took place: the artistic director of Yerevan State
Pantomime Theater Zhirayr Dadasian came to replace the head of TV journalism
chair of the Yerevan State University Mushegh Hovsepian.
SOUTH CAUCASUS ON THE WAY TO EUROPE
On April 22 in Yerevan the presentation of “Three Attempts of European
Integration” was made. The book is published by Armenian “Region” Research
Center of the “Investigative Journalists” NGO under the project “The
Caucasus’ Way to Europe: Three attempts of European Integration”, supported
by Yerevan Office of the European Commission Delegation in Georgia and
Armenia. It features results of surveys, administered among the leaders of
political parties of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, analytical pieces and
materials of an Internet-conference on the problems and prospects of
European integration of three countries of South Caucasus.
BRONZE WINNERS OF THE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
On April 10-13 in Odessa a mini-football tournament was held among the
journalistic teams of CIS countries. In the competitions, devoted to the
60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, six teams took
part – from Yerevan, Volgograd, Minsk, Nikolaev and the hosts of the
tournament, represented by two teams. The gold winner was Odessa-1 team, the
silver was gained by Volgograd team, and the bronze was taken by the
Armenian team, having three victories and two defeats. This is not the first
success of Armenian journalists in similar competitions. In 2002 in Yerevan
the Armenian team was the champion, and in 2001 – the bronze winner in
Moldova.
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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
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Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Back Stage, NY
April 27 2005
Beast on the Moon
Reviewed By Harry Forbes

“Beast on the Moon”
Presented by David Grillo & Matt Salinger, casting by Vince Liebhart,
at the Century Center for the Performing Arts, 111 E. 15 St., NYC.
Opened April 27 for an open run.
You won’t find more-affecting performances than those of Omar
Metwally and Lena Georgas in Richard Kalinoski’s extraordinary play
— finely directed by Larry Moss — about an immigrant couple in 1921
Milwaukee.
Both survivors of the horrific Armenian genocide, Aram and Seta are
newlyweds. He, like his father, is a photographer; she’s his
15-year-old mail-order bride. Both are orphans. Aram, though young,
is a stern traditionalist, hell-bent on having a family to replace
the one he’s lost. Seta, to Aram’s bitter disappointment, remains
barren.
A coldness descends on Aram until Seta can take it no longer. She
shows her mettle in the play’s most telling scene when she turns her
back on him at dinner, emanating such alarming silence that Aram must
practically grovel to win her back.
In the second act, a tough little orphan boy, befriended by Seta,
enters their lives, a catalyst that will bring them closer together.
The Turkish slaughter of the Armenians — still a sore spot for the
Turkish government, which thwarted a German production — is
backstory that never overwhelms the domestic narrative. And the
overall themes are healing and reconciliation.
Georgas radiates irrepressible optimism and strength of character
beneath a girlish exterior; Metwally’s stubborn pride masks great
vulnerability. Whether conveying volumes in their silence or letting
long-submerged emotions cut loose, they are simply magnificent.
Matthew Borish as a sort of Dead End street kid and Louis Zorich in
the smallish part of the narrator are fine.
Neil Patel’s simple set — the couple’s flat — effectively captures
the milieu; ditto Anita Yavich’s period costumes. And David Lander’s
lighting and Peter Fitzgerald’s sound design help delineate the
over-the-years passage of time.
The play has garnered worldwide acclaim. New York was long overdue.
Moss’ first-class production, with its heart-stopping leads, was
worth the wait.

Aljazeera.net, Qatar
April 26 2005
Syrian pullout evokes mixed feelings
By Cilina Nasser in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon
Syria has officially informed the United Nations that it has
completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, but for some, there are some
memories that continue to linger.
Lebanese soldiers have slowly started to fill in the vacuum left by
Syrian troops and intelligence units who in recent weeks have packed
up and vacated buildings they inhabited for most of the past 29
years.
A paper plastered at the entrance of a Syrian military intelligence
office in the eastern town of Anjar – 58km from Beirut and close to
the Syrian borders – and signed by the Lebanese Army reads: “This is
a military centre. It is not allowed to enter the building or get
close to it.”
A construction contractor points his finger at the two-storey
building, covered with graffiti, and says: “This is the Prophet Yusuf
Centre. That’s where the Syrians tortured people.”
The Syrian military intelligence headquarters had been located just
beside the famous ruins of the Islamic Umayyad Dynasty in Anjar since
1976.

There were joyous scenes as
Syria completed its pullout

Now, several Lebanese soldiers are stationed outside this former
detention centre, banning journalists from snooping around.
Bitter memories
But the Anjar military intelligence office may be a place were some
memories will never leave.
The construction contractor claims he still remembers the screaming
of detainees whom he heard once when he took his truck to do some
digging work about 20 metres away from the Centre, which was named
after the Syrian officer in charge there, Yusuf Abdu.
“They were screaming from pain,” he recalls. “I finished my work
quickly to get away from there.”
Remon Bouban, a commercial driver, remembers the seven days he spent
at the centre in 1986. He was then transferred to Syria where he was
moved from one detention facility to another in the course of 12
years.
“I hate the Syrian regime. I hate it more than you can imagine,” he
states. “I was tortured for years and years and was thrown in prison
because of a fake accusation,” he alleges.
He claims he was tortured and forced to confess to anti-Syrian
activities he maintains he did not commit.
The use of torture to obtain confessions is a violation of
international law.
Syrian-Lebanese fraternal ties
Still, Bouban says he will never forget the friendships he has made
in prison with Syrian inmates.
“The Syrian people are very simple and good people,” he says. “Every
time one of them used to receive a family visit, he would invite me
to share the food his family brought him.”
Rafi Tamourian, 25, told Aljazeera.net he was happy to see the
Syrians leave as his mother kept interrupting him in Armenian
obviously trying to protect her son from questions involving Syria.
Armenians are the main inhabitants in Anjar.
“Maybe they are our brothers, but they have treaded on our hearts for
a long time now,” he said.
Residents in the Hizb Allah stronghold of Yahfufa, a small village
tucked in a valley and surrounded by a spectacular view of mountains,
supported Syria, saying it has backed the armed resistance in forcing
Israel to pull out its troops from Lebanon in May 2000.
“It’s true Syria is getting out of the country, but our relations
must and will become stronger,” a Hizb Allah guard told
Aljazeera.net.
Honouring Syrian dead
In the neighbouring village of Riyak, a cornerstone for a monument to
honour Syrian soldiers killed in Lebanon’s wars was laid during a
farewell celebration which included a military parade for separate
Lebanese and Syrian battalions.
“It’s true Syria is getting out of the country, but our relations
must and will become stronger”
“Let’s remember our martyrs,” a commander shouted. The Lebanese and
Syrian soldiers roared three times in unison: “We will never forget
them.”
“Mabruk,” a congratulating salute surprisingly came from a Syrian
journalist covering the farewell celebration as he addressed his
Lebanese colleagues. “I’m happy. I don’t want oppression to be
practiced against the Lebanese in my name,” he said, adding he hoped
his country would continue to go through changes under the leadership
of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
On the main road at the border town of Masnaa, a Syrian army officer
filmed green military buses filled with soldiers and lorries crammed
with their belongings as they headed back to Syria. “The filming is
just to keep the memory,” he told Aljazeera.net. He came from
Damascus especially to film his retreating colleagues. Asked if they
were happy, he said: “I don’t think anybody wants to leave Lebanon
this way.”

A1plus
| 19:06:49 | 26-04-2005 | Politics |
OMBUDSMAN’S FIRST REPORT
The number of those who seek for justice from the Armenian Human Rights
defender has increased with 13%. The Ombudsman has already prepared her
first report covering the recent 10 months of activities. The cases of human
rights violations are frequent mostly in Yerevan, Shirak and Gegharkunik
regions. The citizens usually complain of the police, local self-government
bodies, departments of social welfare and courts. Larisa Alaverdyan noted
that the report cannot cover the whole situation with the human rights
available in the republic. Thus, when all the reports on freedom of speech
by international structures contain information on depriving «A1+» TV
Company of air, there is not a single word about «A1+» in the Ombudsman’s
report. Larisa Alaverdyan explains this by the fact that the reforming of
the National TV and Radio Committee in her opinion is more important from
the aspect of freedom of speech.
During 10 months of activities Larisa Alaverdyan has discovered some
interesting facts. For example, the number of invalids in Armenia is
gradually decreasing. Is it possible in Armenia after the earthquake and
war? According to the Ombudsman, it is due to the changes that occurred in
the system of issuing degrees of invalidity. Thus the decrease of the number
is purely mechanical.
The Ombudsman is concerned over the fact that after a minor rise of pensions
many families were excluded from Paros system. To note, over 90% of those,
who turn to Larisa Alaverdyan for, help are people belonging to not
sufficiently provided sectors of population.
Rights of property are also frequently violated in Armenia. Presently a suit
brought against Minister of Transport and Communications accused of
violating the right of property is being considered in the Ombudsman’s
Office.

The Evening Standard (London)
April 25, 2005
Sadness of the ragamuffin city
by IAN THOMSON
Istanbul: Memories of a City
by Orhan Pamuk translated by Maureen Freely
(Faber, £16.99)
IN TURKISH north London, where I live, portraits of Ataturk – “The
Father of the Turks” – stare out from grocer’s shops and smoky men’s
clubs.
Born in 1881, Ataturk founded the modern Turkish Republic.
He ousted the hated Greeks from Istanbul and transformed the city
into a Westernised outpost supposedly free of Islam’s influence.
Anyone who has visited Turkey, or been to the Royal Academy’s current
“Turks” exhibition, will want to read Orhan Pamuk’s memoir of his
birthplace, Istanbul. Pamuk is Turkey’s foremost novelist, and he
provides a rich account of Atatrk’s attempted erasure of Islam and
the “spiritual void” this left in Istanbul.
Pamuk’s parents were part of Istanbul’s new rich who flourished in
the wake of the First World War and the dissolution of the Ottoman
Sultanate. In his “frenzy” to modernise Turkey, the blue-eyed,
harddrinking Atatrk destroyed Islamic schools and Turkish-Muslim
dervish lodges, and abolished the veil as a narrowly Asian trapping.
His shake-up of Ottoman Turkey met with surprisingly little
resistance in Istanbul, where his promotion of Western values was
grudgingly admired even by traditionalists.
Interestingly, though Atatrk liked to cultivate European-style
knickerbockers and (so it was said) crIpe de Chine underwear, he
remained in thrall to his mother, who showed a very Muslim expertise
in the art of manmanagement.
According to Pamuk, Atatrk’s exclusion of Islam transformed Istanbul
into a “pale imitation” of a Western city and brought a hollow ideal
of “Republican progress”. In compensation, the author is attracted to
the city’s end-of-empire melancholy, with its tottering Armenian and
Russian town mansions, and other architecture that has survived
Atatrk’s Westernising project.
The word hzn – Turkish for sadness – accordingly pervades this book.
Handsome residential homes built on the banks of the Bosphorus by
pashas, viziers and other imperial mandarins have now virtually all
burned down in arson attacks.
Istanbul was always seriously at risk from fire, and as a teenager in
the 1960s Pamuk remembers standing on the European shore of the
Bosphorous at night, drinking tea with student friends, while he
watched a riverside palace burn on the Asian side.
Throughout, Pamuk is haunted by the melancholy of Istanbul as he sets
out to record the city in all its tatterdemalion Ottoman splendour.
The elegiac tone is enlivened by appreciations of mid-19th century
French Orientalists such as ThEophile Gautier and GErard de Nerval,
whose Ottomania made them swoon over Istanbul’s harems, seraglios and
seductively veiled concubines.
Descriptions of the Bosphorus run like a thread through this book.
(The river divides the two great cultures which journalists, Pamuk
complains, “crudely refer to as East and West”.) For half a century
Pamuk has lived in the Bosphorus house where he was brought up, and
where his parents’ marriage disintegrated following his father’s
serial infidelities.
The building, not surprisingly, speaks to the author of “defeat”,
“deprivation” and “melancholy”.
Expertly translated by Maureen Freely, Istanbul can be enjoyed for
its exquisite nostalgia and sense of loss, for its sheer good writing
and the atmospheric photographs (many of which were taken by Pamuk).
In Turkey today, Atatrk’s name is protected by law from insult.
Though the Turkish president died (in 1938) from cirrhosis of the
liver, he remains the greatest nation-builder of modern times – an
authoritarian populist such as Turkey has not seen since. Atatrk
injected Istanbul with a forward-looking spirit, and turned its gaze
out across the Bosphorus towards Europe.

Iran’s Armenians mark anniversary of 1915 “mass killing” – agency
Mehr news agency, Tehran
24 Apr 05
Thousands of Armenians in Tehran held their annual rally today [14
April] condemning the mass killing of Armenians by Turks in 1915. The
marchers chanted slogans in support of the Islamic republic and
regarded Iran as the supporter of the oppressed people.
The political correspondent of Mehr News Agency reports: Thousands of
Armenians in Tehran who initially gathered outside the Armenian
Archbishopric Church in Ostad Nejatollahi Street and then marched
towards another church in Jomhuri Street, called on the Turkish
government to accept the responsibility for the 1915 genocide of
Armenians.
The marchers who were carrying portraits of Imam Khomeyni, Eminent
Leader [Ayatollah Khamene’i] and President Khatami, chanted slogans
[praising] the Islamic republic for supporting the oppressed and
condemning the mass killing of Armenians in 1915.
During the rally which was held with a permit from the Interior
Ministry, one of the Armenians who was chanting slogans into a
microphone, said: Armenians are grateful for the hospitality of
Iranians who welcomed them with open arms after the [1915] genocide.
A statement issued this morning by the marchers stressed: The genocide
of Armenians at the beginning of the 20th century, crimes committed by
Nazis in middle of the same century together with the killing of
Muslims in Bosnia and crimes committed by Israel against the oppressed
people of Palestine, are all examples of crimes against humanity and
an indication of a superiority feeling and cruelty of some
governments.
The statement stressed: A victory of human conscience over hidden
policies of powerful countries such as America [as published], will
finally force the Turkish government to accept the responsibility, and
it is incumbent to the supporters of human rights to raise their voice
even higher for justice, and it is incumbent upon silent governments
to recognize the [1915] genocide and burnish their conscience. It is
also incumbent to the Turkish government to accept the historical fact
of genocide in order to break the spell of military dictatorship and
be accepted in the world community.

Clarin, Argentina
Domingo , 14 de abril de 2005
Armenia recordó a sus víctimas en un nuevo aniversario del genocidio
Decenas de miles de armenios homenajearon hoy en Erevan a sus
compatriotas asesinados por los turcos en el primer genocidio del
siglo XX del que se conmemoró el 90 aniversario.
El masivo acto se celebró en el monumento a las víctimas situado en
la colina de Tsitsernakarberda, en las afueras de la capital armenia,
con la presencia de las autoridades de Armenia y de miles de
ciudadanos procedentes de diversos países del mundo.
“Hace 30 años que vengo en este día al memorial, bien temprano por la
mañana. Traigo seis tulipanes, seis como los muertos en mi familia
por el genocidio”, dijo Mikhitar Harutunian, un armenio de 74 años.
En la noche del 24 al 25 de abril de 1915, una primera parte de 235
intelectuales armenios de Constantinopla era detenida, deportada y
asesinada por orden del gobierno de los Jóvenes Turcos. Fue el primer
asalto de una operación que no se detuvo hasta eliminar en los años
siguientes a la mitad de la población de esa minoría cristiana, más
de 1,5 millón de personas. Se trató de una de las peores masacres de
la aventura humana. (Edición impresa)
Los homenajes se realizaron en Erevan. Es una ciudad pequeña capital
de un Estado que perteneció a la Unión Soviética hasta la caída del
comunismo en el umbral de la década del 90, en cuya primera mitad
Armenia también libró una guerra sangrienta con la vecina Azerbaijan
por el dominio del enclave de Nagorno Karabaj.
Durante nueve años, se produjo una masacre masiva que causó, según
los armenios, un millón y medio de muertos y el desplazamiento
forzado de otro millón, muchos de los cuales rehicieron su vida en el
exilio en países como Estados Unidos, Francia y Argentina.
A pesar del continuo reclamo armenio para que Turquía reconozca su
responsabilidad en el genocidio, los sucesivos gobiernos de Ankara
jamás la han admitido. La única respuesta oficial turca es que
murieron entre 300.000 y 500.000 armenios en el marco de una guerra
civil con los kurdos.
Armenia es una república del Cáucaso independiente desde 1991 pero
Turquía se niega a iniciar un diálogo que permita la revisión del
pasado y la reconciliación, y la frontera entre ambos países está
cerrada.
Pese a su negación, la cuestión armenia resulta decisiva para Turquía
porque varias naciones europeas se niegan a discutir su ingreso a la
Unión Europea si no admite el genocidio y mejora su política de
derechos humanos.

Armenian massacre anniversary marked in Moscow
Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow
24 Apr 05
A commemoration of the victims of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman
Empire [in 1915] is taking place in Moscow right now. As Interfax
reports, around 1,000 people gathered next to the Armenian church that
is under construction in Moscow for the start of the ceremony of
mourning. People are continuing to arrive despite the cold
weather. Many are carrying flowers and wreaths to lay at a
commemorative cross erected nearby. All who arrive light
candles. According to the organizers of the commemoration, 1.5m
candles will be lit here during the day – the number of Armenian
victims of the tragedy.

MINERS KILLED
Daily Post (Liverpool)
April 21, 2005, Thursday
TWO miners have died in a rock fall at a gold mine in north-eastern
Armenia.
The miners died on Monday at the Mergadzor gold mine some 40 miles
north of the capital, Yerevan.
One of the miners was killed on the spot and the other died on the
way to hospital
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH” – GEORGIAN PRESIDENT MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI
Theresa Freese 4/22/05
Eurasianet Organization
April 22 2005
Recent protests by ethnic Armenians, Georgia’s largest ethnic minority,
against the closure of a Russian military base in the predominantly
Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti have helped underscore the
difficulties faced by the Saakashvili administration as it promotes
inter-ethnic accord in the country. In a recent interview, Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined the government’s economic
development plans for Samtskhe-Javakheti, and stressed that “diversity
is our strength.”
Armenians constitute almost 8 percent of Georgia’s 4.5 million
population – a statistic that has spurred demands by some Armenian
community leaders for attention equal to that given Georgia’s smaller
Ossetian and Abkhaz minority populations. Most ethnic Armenians
are concentrated in two areas – in and around Tbilisi and in the
Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The over 113,000 in Samtskhe-Javakheti –
most of them living in two districts, Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki —
comprise a majority of the remote and impoverished region’s overall
population. Some analysts suggest discontent among the so-called
Javakheti Armenians could pose a potential threat to Georgia’s goal
of territorial integration. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
Disputes over Russia’s 62nd military base at Akhalkalaki, one of two
Russsian military installations remaining on Georgian territory,
drive much of the concerns. The base is located at the heart of
the Javakheti-Armenian community and serves as the region’s driving
economic force. In March, Javakheti Armenians held demonstrations
in Akhalkalaki to protest Georgia’s demand that the base be closed,
arguing that the Russian military presence provides them with both
economic security and defense against Turkey, a traditional Armenian
enemy. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The Armenian community in Tbilisi is not playing as large a role in
opposing a quick Russian withdrawal.
Talks held on April 14-15 with Russian diplomats in Tbilisi failed to
reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable withdrawal timeline. Each
side has blamed the other for the failure of the negotiations. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Saakashvili spoke to a EurasiaNet correspondent during a helicopter
ride from Samtskhe-Javakheti to Tbilisi. He had traveled to Borjomi,
one of the six districts that comprise Samtskhe-Javakheti, where he
had opened a new park. During the interview, Saakashvili said Georgia
is promoting a “phased withdrawal” for the base with no concrete
completion date-as long as the withdrawal starts immediately. He added,
however, that the Russians are looking for a set timeframe around 2009,
the date of Georgia’s next presidential election. “Basically, they
are waiting for the next Georgian election,” Saakashvili said. “We
say ‘OK’ to 2009, but let’s start now so [that] by the time of the
elections most of the troops are gone.”
Repeating earlier promises, Saakashvili stated that the government
plans to make sure that the base’s dissolution does not undermine
the local employment climate. Saakashvili said that “formally” 3,000
Russians are stationed at the base, though he believed the real figure
was much lower. Local employees, he added, number 340 ethnic Armenians,
including soldiers. On top of this, a “few thousand” others are linked
to the base by selling products to soldiers, including wheat, fuel,
and spare parts.
“Everybody who serves there will be given a job locally,” Saakashvili
said. “If there are enough people locally, we won’t bring others to
the region. Every qualified soldier can stay . . . Those who want
to stay will keep their apartments. The base’s infrastructure can
be used for social infrastructure for the local population. We don’t
want to confiscate or sell it.”
As part of an assistance program to aid the transition and spark small
business development, Saakashvili said, long-term bank credits ranging
from $3,000-$5,000 would be provided to individual contractors over
the next 20 to 25 years.
The president also advocated dual citizenship for ethnic Armenians
working on the Russian base who have taken on Russian citizenship,
a proposal also made for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. “They won’t face
discrimination,” he stressed. Flights to Moscow, a bi-annual perk
provided by Russia to base employees, would possibly be replaced by
local bus trips or flights (pending restoration of Samtskhe-Javakheti’s
airport) to Tbilisi, he suggested.
But the base is only the tip of the iceberg for this isolated region.
During a March 13 demonstration to preserve the base, Javakheti
Armenians also called for roads to link Akhalkalaki with Armenia
and the rest of Georgia, promotion of language and cultural rights,
stronger local self government, improved energy access, and the
establishment of a customs unit at the Armenia border. Saakashvili
characterized the political ferment underpinning these demands as
“normal” and said: “The local population has social demands and
cultural demands. The state exists to give them assurances.”
Although speculation has grown lately that problems associated with
the Javakheti Armenians could develop into a “pre-conflict situation,”
Saakashvili downplayed the notion. “I don’t think they will cause any
problems,” he said. “We should solve problems for them. They are our
essence and should not be wasted.”
To respond to the community’s demands, Saakashvili said he is promoting
an “incentives-based approach,” that includes transferring some public
services, such as the passport department, away from the regional seat
at Akhaltsikhe to Akhalkalaki (a demand made by community leaders),
and giving local government responsibility for budget management.
Road projects could prove a crucial variable for the success of this
project, and in connecting this poverty-stricken region with the
rest of Georgia. Georgian officials want to tap into the US-sponsored
Millennium Challenge Account to fund a several-million-dollar project
to repave the 320 kilometers of road linking the Armenian border
region with Akhalkalaki, Tbilisi and Kars, Turkey. Work could begin
on the project as early as September. However, observers say that
could be years before work is completed.
“Resources are scarce and everything must be rebuilt,” Saakashvili
said. A prospective Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway line, which could
further boost economic development, as well as regional integration,
he termed a “more difficult” issue. Armenians believe that the
route bypasses Armenia as part of Turkey’s economic blockade of the
country following Armenia’s war with Azerbaijan over the breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. “The Turks must do their part,” he said, adding that Georgia
has “strong interest in the railroad.”
Language could prove a more difficult barrier to integration. Most
Javakheti Armenians speak Russian before Armenian. Few are fluent in
Georgian. Families choose between sending their children to Moscow
or Yerevan-before Tbilisi-to receive a higher education. Many locals
say that their inability to speak Georgian has prevented them from
finding well-paying jobs.
Saakashvili conceded that the region is lacking in Georgian language
specialists because few Georgians or Georgian-speaking and trained
language teachers reside in or near Ninotsminda or Akhalkalaki. “We
are trying to give them incentives to learn Georgian -not to force
them,” he said. In contrast to other ethnic minority groups in Georgia,
including Ossetians and Abkhaz, Saakashvili said Javakheti Armenians
are “enthusiastic” about learning Georgian.
Nonetheless, state-sanctioned protection of minority rights also
feeds into the mix. “We need some kind of affirmative action,”
Saakashvili said. “[Minorities] should feel that their children
have equal opportunities-that they are citizens of the country.” As
part of that message, the government has recently erected throughout
Tbilisi billboards with the slogan “Celebrating Georgia’s Diversity”
in English, and with similar messages in Russian and Georgian. The
Russian version states “Georgia is Our Motherland,” while the Georgia
translation reads “United We Stand.”
In the end, Saakashvili believes, it could be just a matter of
time for that message to become reality, as well as a matter of
asserting Georgian statehood. “In 10 to 20 more years,” he said,
Samtskhe-Javakheti “will feel entirely integrated, and the former
[Soviet] empire [will be] entirely gone.”
Editor’s Note: Theresa Freese is a freelance journalist and political
analyst who has been conducting research on unresolved conflicts in
the South Caucasus since September 2003.