Author: Arsine Chaltikian

Russia ready to support any arrangement on Karabakh.
Itar-Tass, Russia
Feb 17 2005
YEREVAN, February 17 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov, summing up the results of his visit to Yerevan, said, “As
the co-chairman of the MInsk group of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe for Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia is ready to
support any arrangement the parties involved in the Karabakh conflict
will reach”.
“Enough attention has been given to Nagorno-Karabakh settlement”
during the negotiations on Thursday, the minister said. “We expect
the so-called Prague process of the meetings of foreign ministers of
Armenia and Azerbaijan to achieve progress”, he said.
“The co-chairmen of the Minsk group of the OSCE for Nagorno-Karabakh
– Russia, United States and France – are ready to promote this
and are constantly in touch with the parties to the conflict”,
Lavrov said. “We will be doing all we can so that the process should
develop successfully and pave the ground for another talk between
the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan”, the Russian foreign
minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US TURKS GOING TO HOLD RALLY AGAINST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
PanArmenian News
Feb 16 2005
16.02.2005 18:10
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US citizen of Turkish origin Ulker Aksun called
all the Turks residing in the US to participate in the rally
against the Armenian Genocide to be held in front of the White House
in April. She also appealed to the American-Turkish organizations
for assistance. In her words, in response to the measures organized
by the Armenian Diaspora and dedicated to the 90-th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide, the US Turks should “all to the last man”
take part in this anti-Armenian event. “The year 2005 must become
the year of refuting Armenian statements”, she said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Washington Post
February 13, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition
Washington Is Also Reading . . . Selling Well in Local Independent
Bookstores
Birds Without Wings
By Louis de Bernières (Knopf, $25.95)
De Bernières’ much anticipated new novel relays, in epic fashion, the
dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the modern Turkish
state via a small Anatolian village whose multicultural tranquility
is shattered by the vagaries of war and the Armenian massacre.
(F)
In Other Words
By Christopher J. Moore (Walker, $14)
As translators of foreign works into English can attest, the nuances
of other languages often make a precise English rendering of a word
or phrase next to impossible. Moore, a linguist, has assembled a
global lexicon of some of the more difficult and amusing examples.
(NF)
What We Do Now
Ed. by Dennis Loy Johnson & Valerie
Merians (Melville, $12). The 2004 election is history. As the shock
abates and a new game plan emerges on the Left, a group of 24
prominent progressives offer their vision of how to counter the
conservative rally. And for the inspired, a gazetteer of activist
group contacts is included. (NF)
–Boundary_(ID_dqXyws9j42HkcFKsm+EEaA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE KARABAKH PROBLEM HAS NO ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION
A1+
09-02-2005
«Either we have no skill to protect our own country, or the country
banishes his sons. Do one have at least one king buried in the present
territory of Armenia? Have you thought about it? ». Today in the club
«Pakagits» Alexan Kirakosyan, a state political figure, who enjoyed
great authority in the political and cultural fields in the Soviet
times, tried to analyze the events taking place around Armenia from
a more global point of view.
Alexan Kirakosyan avoided questions regarding the internal political
conditions. The person who voted for Robert Kocharyan in the
Presidential elections, now announces, «If you want to save your
country, this small part of land, fight with those who sell it».
Saying this, Alexan Kirakosyan did not mean the present Government
of RA. According to the speaker, the so-called 5th column using the
foreign money and realizing the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions
exists in every country. In this case Alexan Kirakosyan looks for this
column outside the Government. However, he considers that improvements
must be done both in the political and in the economical fields.
The speaker is not troubled by the draft resolution adopted in the
PACE in January about the Karabakh conflict. According to Alexan
Kirakosyan the Karabakh conflict has already been solved by the
people. «The loss of Karabakh means loss of Armenia. And he who does
not understand this does not understand anything in politics. »
Alexan Kirakosyan sees the solution of the problems of Armenia who
is outside the profits of the great countries, only in uniting. But
it becomes clear from his words that he has no respect for any
of the opposition parties. «We have no political parties. All of
them have corporative aims. » The author of these words finds that
there must be 2-4 parties in Armenia, like in the USA, Germany,
and England. Nevertheless, neither does Alexan Kirakosyan respect
the democratic countries as he considers that Europe, for example,
is blackmailing Armenia.
–Boundary_(ID_aDb8U9lM9lkQqbBJWRI9Sw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenians celebrate their culture
By: Tim Kane, The Record02/07/2005
Troy Record, NY
Feb 7 2005
LATHAM – About 60 Armenians celebrated the sixth annual Vartanantz
Day Sunday, honoring a 5th century military hero who is as important
today as he was 15 centuries ago.
“His self-sacrifice is an example for the community today,” said
Raffi Tapalian, the master of ceremonies for the celebration. “What
he did to keep the culture alive back then is reminder to us about
never forgetting our past today.”
In the face mounting Persian armies, Vartan led an Armenian army that
was out numbered by an 8-to-1 margin. While the Armenians lost the
battle, they won the war, but not in a military sense, Tapalian said.
Inflicting a high number of casualties, Vartan’s underdog troops
forced the Persians to rethink their plan to annex Armenia. Rather
than fight, Persian leadership decided it was best to let the Armenian
to live in peace and practice Christianity.
“Despite the odds, Vartan decided to stand for his beliefs and
was able to keep the community together,” Tapalian said. “Today,
we face assimilation as a threat to our history and traditions. We
must hold on.”
Not remembering the past is what the Turkish want Armenians to do
about the 1915 genocide that killed 1.5 million, Tapalian said.
Forgetting the genocide will only lead to others, he said.
Participants at the observance at the Masonic Lodge on Old Loudon
Road were served a hearty roast beef lunch and heard about a dozen
children from the Armenian after-school program sing religious songs
in Armenian.
Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian, the honored guest at the event, told the
group he really didn’t feel too much like an honored guest, but more
like a regular guy.
“I’m one of you,” Tutunjian said. “I think it’s important to preserve
the culture. I was reviewing videos the other day from my family and
realized how important it is to keep the past alive.”
Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Mihran Kupeyan told the audience that Vartan
was 65 years old when he accepted the commander-in-chief position,
sending a message that it’s never to late to be involved.
“He was basically ready to die and leave his life on the battlefield,”
Kupeyan said, adding that his heroics stand as one of the key turning
points in the 3,000 years of Armenian history.
The Knights and Daughters of Vartan has several dozen members among
an Armenian community of 2,500 in the Capital District. The civic
organization does a variety of charitable and education endeavors,
but the main task is raising money for schools in Armenia.
So far, the chapter has raised nearly $23,000 for School 2 in
Getasten village in Armenia, where 692 children attend school. That
has translated to $200,000 in actual money received by the school
due the World Bank matching any funds at a 9-to-1 ratio.
Overall, the national organization has sent nearly $9 million to
Armenia since 1988 when the program was started to reconstruct the
country after a devastating earthquake.
Another focus of the group is maintaining awareness of the 1915
“holocaust” carried out by Turkey. In 2002, the group started an annual
observance at the steps of the state Capitol. This year, members will
observe the date inside with a resolution by the Legislature.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Kevorkian Furloughed for Hernia Surgery
Associated Press
Friday, February 4, 2005
DETROIT – Assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian was released from
prison Thursday so he could undergo bilateral hernia surgery, his
attorney said.
Kevorkian, 76, is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree
murder after being convicted of giving a fatal injection of drugs to a
Lou Gehrig’s disease patient in 1998.
Leo Lalonde, a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman, said
Kevorkian would undergo the surgery at a hospital in Jackson, about 80
miles west of Detroit. Kevorkian is under constant guard in a secure
wing separate from regular patients, Lalonde said.
Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian’s attorney, didn’t know when the former
pathologist would have the surgery, but said he likely would stay in the
hospital for a few weeks.
Kevorkian was given 10 minutes’ notice early Thursday that he was being
released from the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Morganroth said.
“They’ve known he needed the surgery for quite a while,” Morganroth told
the Detroit Free Press. “They did some stress tests to see if his heart
could withstand it. I guess they decided it’s worth the risk.”
Besides the hernia, Kevorkian reportedly has hepatitis C, high blood
pressure, arthritis, a heart murmur, circulatory problems and the
beginning stages of cataracts in his eyes.
“I’m really concerned,” Morganroth said. “His health is quite poor.”
The Michigan Parole Board in December refused to act on Morganroth’s
request to parole Kevorkian, saying the application was essentially the
same as one he submitted for Kevorkian in November 2003. Gov. Jennifer
Granholm’s office denied that earlier request.
Kevorkian has said he assisted in at least 130 deaths, but has promised
in affidavits and requests for pardon or commutation that he would not
assist in a suicide if he is released from prison. He is eligible for
parole in 2007.
;u=/ap/20050204/ap_on_re_us/kevorkian_surgery_1

EurasiaNet Organization
Jan 16 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANNUAL REPORT PAINTS BLEAK PICTURE IN MANY FORMER
SOVIET STATES
Andrew Tully 1/16/05
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL
The Iron Curtain fell nearly 15 years ago, but Human Rights Watch
says it is mostly business as usual in much of the former Soviet
Union. That’s according to “World Report 2005,” the annual survey
conducted by Human Rights Watch.
According to the rights advocacy group, all of Russia is effectively
controlled from Moscow, elections in Belarus are laughable, abuse of
prisoners is the norm in Uzbekistan, while Armenia and Azerbaijan are
run by authoritarian regimes as the two countries continue their
standoff over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Only Ukraine shows tentative signs of becoming an open society, but
democratic developments there are too recent to show a trend.
In Russia, the report says, police torture and the violent hazing of
military recruits continues. And it blames the government of
President Vladimir Putin for the disappearances and extrajudicial
executions of opponents in Chechnya. At the same time, it criticizes
Chechen rebels for similar abuses, as well as for the deadly school
siege in Beslan in September.
The Human Rights Watch survey also points out that Putin has drawn
virtually all power to himself. It points not only to the Kremlin’s
control of all electronic media, but also to Putin’s move to have
regional governors not elected locally but appointed by the
president.
Rachel Denber, Human Rights Watch’s acting executive director for
Europe and Central Asia who oversaw the study of the countries of the
former Soviet Union, said no one should be surprised at Putin’s moves
to centralize power in the Russian presidency, given that he has
always favored a rigidly strong central government.
Denber told RFE/RL that Putin probably believes that centralizing
power will help keep politicians honest. But she added that it might
be just as difficult for members of the presidential administration
to stay honest as it is for local governors.
“I’m sure that from the Kremlin’s perspective, having governors
appointed is a path toward decreasing corruption. But from another
perspective, you could just look at that as moving corruption to a
different place,” Denber said.
Belarus, too, continues to be run as if it were a Soviet state,
according to Human Rights Watch.
It points to the elections for the 110-member Chamber of
Representatives in October, in which the opposition did not win a
single seat. The report says this was accomplished, at least in part,
because the state controls all national television stations and most
radio outlets.
And it accuses the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of
harassing the country’s media through the closing of independent
newspapers and arresting journalists on libel charges.
Denber said such behavior is nothing new in Belarus. But she said the
fact that Belarusians are seeing more of the same year after year
makes matters worse there.
“When you see a lack of change, when you see a repetition of
elections that are empty exercises and that shut out the opposition,
that is tantamount to things getting worse,” Denber said. “When you
see the state continuing to crack down on civil society groups and on
the press, it’s more of the same, but it actually constitutes a
worsening of the situation.”
The human rights records of neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan are
also not improving, according to the report. It says the political
life of Armenia, for example, continued to focus throughout 2004 on
the fraud-tainted presidential elections of the previous year.
The survey says there were calls for the resignation of President
Robert Kocharian, and notes that the government violently broke up
protests, raided opposition offices, arrested opposition leaders and
supporters, and even attacked journalists.
The political life of Azerbaijan, meanwhile, was similarly affected
in 2004 by the presidential election of 2003, which also was
fraudulent. Last year, the report says, Azerbaijani opposition
leaders were subjected to unfair trials in which they were charged
with responsibility for some of the violence that followed the
election.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of the on-again,
off-again conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the predominantly Armenian
exclave in Azerbaijan. Denber said the leaders of both nations have
subtly used the dispute as a way to keep people’s minds off each
country’s political shortcomings.
Another trouble spot is Ukraine. Human Rights Watch details what it
calls the mostly successful efforts of the government of President
Leonid Kuchma to limit political freedoms since the country achieved
independence in 1991.
The document says these political abuses led to the presidential
election in November, in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was
declared the winner, even though most outside observers found it
riddled with fraud.
Supporters of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko rallied in vast
numbers in downtown Kyiv, and the country’s Supreme Court eventually
called for a new election a month later — which Yushchenko won.
Denber said that, given 13 years of political corruption in Ukraine,
Yushchenko’s election offers real hope to the Ukrainian people
because they have demonstrated their own power as engaged and
educated voters. And she said their insistence on fair elections won
them powerful allies in Europe.
But Denber added one caveat: “There’s a huge onus now on Yushchenko
precisely because there are these expectations. And it would be
really sad if, instead of delivering on promises, the new government
ends up not delivering and in the process perverting the rule of law.
And that would make a lot of people very disillusioned.”
She said a disillusioned Ukrainian electorate could lose faith in the
system and eventually turn to a leader like Putin — one who promises
greater strength, but delivers less democracy.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TANER AKCHAM: “PURGE OF ARCHIVES IS QUITE IMPORTANT ADMINISTRATIVE
CULTURE” IN TURKEY”
ISTANBUL, December 29 (Noyan Tapan): The destruction of documents is
“an important part of our culture,” historian Taner Akcham, a
representative of the progressive Turkish intelligentsia, writes in
his large article concerning the purge of the Turkish archives. The
article was published by the “Radical” newspaper in its Sunday
appendix. In his article Akcham, at first, mentions the “Sabah”
newspaper’s publication from November 7 1918, where it is said that
the government looked for the documents testifying about the massacre
against the Armenians but couldn’t find them. The newspaper’s
indicated article writes “Taleat Pasha and his company, probably,
before leaving authority, ordered to destruct all the documents
witnessing about their giving directions on the massacre. Akcham
emphasizes that it was right, as the indictment against “the Young
Turks”, which was heard in the Istanbul Court Martial of the State of
Siege in May 1919, writes that the documents concerning the
administrative center of the “Ittihat” party and so-called Teshkilat
Mahsuse organization were “stolen”. In this connection the Prosecutor
said that Aziz Bei, the Chief of Security of the region, took away
with himself a lot of documents before Taleat Pasha’s resignation and
didn’t return them. Then Taner Akcham cites numerous examples
concerning the stealing and destruction of the documents and notices
that during the “Ittihat’s” power the following was written under all
the instructions and documents concerning massacres: “Read and
destruct after reading.” Akcham mentions the self-defense of different
officials in the courts, they reported that “they destructed the
documents as they received such an order.” In particular, Akcham sets
as an example the 1919 action against Osman Nuri Effendi, the Deputy
Director of the Chatalcha post office, who said: “I burned down all
the documents in accordance with the received order. My chiefs ordered
me to burn down the documents concerning the period of their power
from such-and-such to such-and-such date and I did it..” The author of
the article also sets other examples. According to the “Marmara” daily
newspaper of Istanbul, at the end of the article the Turk historian
notices: “As seen the destruction of documents is quite an important
“administrative culture”. For that reason some persons talk profusely
with the quiet of those who know that the documents have already been
destructed, that “nothing had happened with the Armenians, and all the
documents are in their places.” Perhaps, people of my generation will
find some documents about their greats and promulgate them, arguing
that beside those considering the destruction of documents as success,
there are also such people that want to discover truth”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GAP BETWEEN DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS NARROWS
ArmenPress
Dec 24 2004
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: The department for refugees and
migrants said today the wave of departures, which hit a high of about
200,000 a year in the mid-1990s, has stabilized in recent years,
but the cumulative effect remains. According to the chief of the
department, Gagik Yeganian, the difference between departures and
arrivals in the first 11 months of this went down by almost 8,000
people making 30,000.
Yeganian said the figures is likely to go down as many Armenians
working abroad will be coming back home to meet New Year with families.
Yeganian also spoke about trafficking in human beings, saying there
are no official figures, but added a special survey will be conducted
next year among men next year. Yeganian argued that the government’s
efforts to crackdown on trafficking in people would give no effect
unless people are well aware of all its negative aftereffects.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

APARTMENTS FOR REFUGEES
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
21 Dec 04
The head of the Agency for Migration, Refugees and Re-settlement under
the NKR government Serge Amirkhanian informed that the 2005 budget
of this sphere was doubled against 2004. This increase is determined
by the fact that the social and housing problems of the refugees
are expected to be solved soon. Next year it is planed to build 40
apartments for refugees of which 30 in Stepanakert. Besides building of
houses the budget also provides for repairs of houses in the villages
resettled since 1994, which need repair and modern conveniences.
According to Serge Amirkhanian, in the coming year 40 houses will be
repaired in four settlements in the republic, and by repairing 30-40
houses a year the problem will be settled in 3-4 years. HOMES FOR
PARENTLESS CHILDREN. According to the NKR minister of social security
Lenston Ghulian, the budget of the social sector for the year of 2005
increased by 316 million drams, which will enable carrying on with the
programs and launching new ones. The new program will involve building
of apartments for parentless children. Next year 7 apartments will
be built for parentless children who are already 18 years old. The
apartments will be built in the places of their residence.
AA.
21-12-2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress