Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH PETER SEMNEBY
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
13 April 2006
On April 7 Georgy Petrosyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of NKR,
met with the newly-appointed EU Special Representative for the
South Caucasus Peter Semneby. Congratulating Peter Semneby on his
appointment, Georgy Petrosyan emphasized the role of the European Union
in promoting democracy and maintaining stability in the region. Peter
Semneby informed that the mandate of the EU Special Representative
had been expanded and now includes prevention and settlement of
conflicts. On the request of the EU Special Representative the foreign
minister of NKR briefed Peter Semneby on democratization in NKR,
as well as the stance of official Stepanakert on the settlement of
the conflict, underlining the necessity of full engagement of Nagorno
Karabakh in the talks.
Expressing concern about recently frequent cases of violation of
the ceasefire at the front line between the armed forces of Nagorno
Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan, Georgy Petrosyan extended the text
of the statement of the NKR Foreign Ministry, calling Azerbaijan and
Armenia for confirming their willingness to achieve a peace settlement
of the Karabakh conflict.

VICTOR DALLAKIAN: ALL ACTIONS OF COALITION ARE AIMED AT JUSTIFYING SHADOW ACTIVITIES
Noyan Tapan
Apr 11 2006
YEREVAN, APRIl 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The parliamentary majority ruined the
opposition’s initiative to organize a public discussion on the gas
tariffs increase and the privatization of the Hrazdan Thermal Power
Plant 5th unit. Secretary of the RA National Assembly Justice faction
Victor Dallakian stated this on April 11. Yesterday he made a proposal
to set up a NA standing committee for examining these problems. Only
20 deputies from the opposition factions “Justice” and “The National
Unity” and 3 independent deputies have put their signatures to the
draft decision within 24 hours – the period envisaged by the NA
by-laws. “I think that by the coaltion’s logic, it is completely
justified: being an illegal structure and protecting all illegal
processes, the colaition must naturally try to avoid making these
processes public. All actions of the coalition are aimed at justifying
the shadow activities,” the opposition deputy stated.

NATO FOR THE PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF THE NK CONFLICT- ROBERT SIMONS
Author: S. Agayeva
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
NATO supports the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
the NATO general secretary `s representative on South Caucasus and
Central Asia, Robert Simons told journalists in Baku on April 10,
Trend reports.
Simons has met a number of officials within the frames of his visit
to Azerbaijan and discussed the further perspectives of cooperation
between NATO and Azerbaijan.
During his meeting with the Defense minister, Safar Abiyev Simons has
discussed problems of reforming the Azerbaijan army. He confirmed
that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is one of the vital questions to
be discussed during his visit.
Simons confirmed that NATO supports only peaceful resolution of
the conflict.

PACE SPRING SESSION STARTS IN STRASBOURG
Author: R. Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
EU – Council of Europe relations – will be the major point on the
agenda of the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE). The Luxembourg prime-minister, Jean-Claude
Junker will speak on that matter today, the Trend correspondent in
Strasbourg reports. The Euro Commission chairman, Jose Manuela Barrozu
is also expected to hold a speech.
The perspectives of the EU basic rights agency creation with the
participation of the General Secretary of the CE, Terry Davis and
the EC foreign affairs commission chairman, Elmar Broke will also
be discussed. The impossibility of rehabilitating the Nazi ideology
in Europe will be included on the April session agenda. Situation
in Palestine will be under the discussion as well; representatives
from Israeli parliament and Palestinian territories, including Hamas
movement representatives have been invited.
Two questions directly relating to Azerbaijan will be discussed at
the session – problem of maltreatment in the European armies and
the problem of refuges and displaced persons in Azerbaijan, Armenia
and Georgia.
The refuges problem will be discussed on April 13, the Azerbaijani
delegation member, Ganira Pashayeva told Trend.
The given problem has already been discussed at the PACE meeting on
June 2002 (resolution 94840). “The fact this problem is again included
on the PACE agenda is very important, as it gives the possibility to
keep the world `s attention on the problem,” she said.
Azerbaijani MPs will also distribute special brochures and books
dedicated on the Azerbaijani- Armenian conflict.
Other matters including the women trafficking at the eve of the world
championship in Germany will be discussed at the meeting.
PACE has decided to postpone the CIA secret prisons in Europe issue
till the summer session as there is not enough materials on the issue.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x128
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
Monday, April 10, 2006
AGEMIAN ORGANIZATION ESTABLISHES YEARLY DONATION OF $10,000 CAD TO AGBU TORONTO

The Agemian Organization recently established a $1 million CAD
philanthropic fund to be administered by the Agemian and Moussakhanian
families in Toronto, Canada, in order to support various national and
international non-profit endeavors, one of which is the AGBU Toronto
Chapter.
Initiated by Souren & Lili Agemian, and administered by their
children, Souren Jr. & Rosemary Agemian, and Eddie & Carol
Moussakhanian, the fund reaches out to a myriad of worthy causes
within Ontario and beyond. Carol Moussakhanian, Executive Director of
the fund, stated, “[I am] pleased to submit our first check to AGBU,
which I am sure you will put to good use.” The three families plan to
send a similar amount every year.
An annual donation of $10,000 from the fund to AGBU Toronto will help
support the numerous activities and programs organized by the Chapter
that keep the community energized. The senior Agemians, who are AGBU
Honor Members, are no strangers to the local Armenian circle. For more
than two decades, they have been very active within both the local
AGBU community and many other worthy Armenian associations abroad.

“It is quite exciting to see that the second generation of Armenian
immigrants realize the importance of organizations like AGBU and the
necessary work being performed to preserve our Armenian heritage,”
said Eugene Karadjian, Secretary-Treasurer & Director of AGBU Toronto.
The AGBU Toronto Chapter is committed to preserving and promoting the
Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and
humanitarian programs. For more information on AGBU Toronto, please
email [email protected].
For more information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please visit

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I APPOINTS DR. YEGAVIAN AS CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR
In a special Pontifical letter sent to Dr. Zaven Yegavian, the director of
the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,
His Holiness Aram I appointed him an advisor to the Catholicosate of Cilicia
in cultural and educational issues.
His Holiness writes in the letter: “It is the first time in the history of
our Holy See that such an honor is granted.” “The Armenian culture and
Armenian schools have been the most essential fields of the mission of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia’s centuries-old See. In face of the increasing
spiritual-intellectual needs of our people in the present, it is important
that our Holy See continues to make Armenian culture and schools priorities
with increasing commitment,” he continues.
Referring to the expanding work of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in the
cultural and educational fields, the Armenian Pontiff praises the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation in general and Dr. Zaven Yegavian in particular for
their pivotal role in the efforts to spread Armenian cultural values and
progress Armenian education.
His Holiness states that the cooperation between the two sides has led to
the enrichment of Armenian culture both in Armenia and the Diaspora. He
expresses hope that this cooperation will continue with renewed commitment
for the benefit of the Armenian culture and schools.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 5, 2006 Wednesday
ONE SOLDIER OF THE AZERBAIJANIAN ARMY PERISHED AND ONE WAS INJURED AS
A RESULT OF AN ATTACK FROM ARMENIA
GLONASS: STATUS- ACTIVE; The president signed the decree on February
18, 1999 to consider GLONASS as a double-purpose system. This is the
key element of the joint navigation system the conception of which
was approved by the government in October 2004. Russia realizes a
special federal program aimed at restoring the navigation system.
Armenian troops opened fire at the positions of the Azerbaijanian
Army near the village of Ashagy Abdulrakhmanly at 9:00 a.m. on April
2. Private Shaban Yagubov was killed, and private Niyameddin Shirinov
was injured. Armenia again attacked the positions of the
Azerbaijanian Army near the village of Jafarli at 11:05 p.m.
Azerbaijanian servicemen were forced to open fire. (…) Private
SHaban Yagubov became the first victim in April. It should be noted
that Armenia denies the attacks. The Armenian military state that the
Azerbaijanian servicemen perished as a result of barrack hazing and
accidents, and the Azerbaijanian military leadership seeks to shift
the blame to Armenia.

ARAZ AZIMOV: “US MAKES STRONG EFFORTS TO SOLVE NG PROBLEM”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 6 2006
“OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are making serious efforts following
the meeting in Rambouillet to settle the Nagorno Garabagh problem,”
Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov told journalists
(APA). The deputy minister said that especially the United States
are making strong efforts to solve the Nagorno Garabagh problem.
“Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov will focus on the
Garabagh issue in his talks in the US,” Mr.Azimov said.
Reporting that French co-chair of Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier will
visit the region next week, Azimov noted that in his meetings in
Azerbaijan and Armenia, the co-chair will discuss further steps to
settle the Nagorno Garabagh problem after the Rambouillet meeting.

ZNet | Europe
Against All Odds
Human Rights Activism in Turkey
by Khatchig Mouradian; April 05, 2006
`I refuse to buy my freedom of speech by paying money,’ said Eren Keskin,
the Head of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey,
during a press conference in Istanbul on the 22nd of March. A few days
earlier, a Turkish court had sentenced her to 10 months’ imprisonment for
insulting the country’s military. The sentence was then converted to a fine
of 6000 New Turkish Liras, which Keskin is refusing to pay, however, saying
that she will go to prison instead. Moreover, she asserts: `I will continue
to express both verbally and in writing my thoughts, which are banned
unlawfully by the ruling powers, because we are not the ones who should
change; they are.’
`The case will be heard by the Court of Appeals. It will take several months
before it reaches a verdict. In the meantime campaigns in support of freedom
of speech in Turkey both at home and abroad will help a lot to influence the
general climate in Turkey for greater democracy,’ told me Ayse Gunaysu, an
activist in the organization headed by Keskin.
The court sentence against Keskin was based on the notorious Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code, which states that public denigration of Turkishness,
the Grand National Assembly (Turkey’s legislature) or the Government of the
Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the state, as well as the
military and security structures are punishable by imprisonment of between
six months and three years. In recent months, dozens of Turkish activists
and intellectuals, including the world-renowned author Orhan Pamuk, have
been charged under this article.
Keskin, who is also the founder of the Project for Legal Aid to Victims of
Rape and Sexual Assault Under Custody, had been accused of `insulting’ the
Turkish military big time in 2002, after giving a speech in Köln, Germany
about cases of sexual assault against women inmates by the state security
forces in Turkey. Keskin explains: `In my presentation under the topic
`Sexual Violence Perpetrated by the State,’ I shared with the audience
certain findings of our project, which had been going since 1997. I said
that sexual torture was used as a systematic method of psychological warfare
and that victims of such torture were afraid to file complaints against the
security forces.’
I discussed with Eren Keskin issues related to human rights violations in
Turkey in late March, a few days after the recent court ruling. Taking into
account the oft-repeated assertions that Turkey had made great strides
towards respect for human rights in the last few years in its quest for EU
membership, I asked her whether these changes were radical or cosmetic. `I
don’t believe that the changes that have been made or are being made in this
process are radical,’ she replied. `I don’t think that the state has any
intention to change, because the changes introduced have no power to
transform the essence of the system. Yet we have to admit that they have at
least provided an atmosphere where certain issues are being discussed.’
Thou Shalt not Insult the Army
The generals in Turkey consider themselves the guardians of the country’s
secular constitution and they have an established tradition of directly
intervening in politics, including a number of direct and indirect military
coups since 1960. In Keskin’s opinion, all legislative, executive and
judicial powers in Turkey are still under their control. `The military in
Turkey not only determines both domestic and foreign policy, but also enjoys
huge economic power through one of Turkey’s biggest business groups, OYAK,
which operates literally in all sectors of the economy, from banking to
tourism. Moreover, all OYAK companies are exempt from any tax liability,’
explained Keskin. Hence, she believes that the main impediment to improving
Turkey’s human rights record is the military.
`Today, even those who define themselves as being part of the left in Turkey
do not question the taboos determined by the `red lines,’ which the military
has set,’ she said, noting that overcoming the military’s domination of the
state is extremely difficult in Turkey.
`Domestic Enemies’
As this article is being written, thousands of protesters, mostly Kurds, are
clashing with the Turkish police in the southeast of the country. For
decades, Turkey has failed to find a decent solution to its Kurdish problem.
Ankara is reluctant to grant the most basic of cultural and political rights
to the millions of Kurds, who live mainly in the country’s southeast, where
the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, unleashed an armed struggle against
the Turkish state in the 1980s.
`Kurds are one of the `domestic enemies’ that this system, controlled by the
military, needs to create in order to sustain its domination,’ asserted
Keskin. `Failure in providing any solution to this issue makes the military
all the more powerful. Even the minor progress made lately in this field –
achieved at enormous cost and partly the outcome of the EU accession process
– does not change the fact that `the policy of `non-solution’ still
dominates the government’s approach to the Kurdish issue.’
State of Denial
For decades, the greatest of all taboos in Turkey has been the Armenian
genocide of 1915. In recent years, a number of intellectuals in the country
have started to speak up about this issue, calling upon Turkey to face its
past, oftentimes at the cost of being persecuted or sued under Article 301.
`The Turkish official thesis regarding the Armenian genocide is still very
influential in the street and in academia, although there are efforts to
overcome this domination,’ said Keskin, when asked about Ankara’s policy of
denial towards the annihilation by the ruling Committee of Union and
Progress (CUP) and under the cover of World War I of an estimated a million
and a half Armenians in the dying years of the Ottoman Empire.
The overwhelming majority of genocide scholars and many parliaments around
the world recognize this instance of mass slaughter as a classic case of
genocide. The descendents of the genocide victims, in turn, continue to
demand that Turkey, too, recognize the genocidal intent behind the
decimation of the Armenians, who lived on their ancestral land. The Turkish
government vehemently denies, however, that there was a planned destruction
of an entire ethnic group. It also argues that the number of victims is
vastly exaggerated.
According to Keskin, `there is no real break with the ideology of the CUP
not only among the extremists but also among those who consider themselves
part of the democratic opposition in Turkey. The ideology that led to the
Armenian genocide was a very important element of the founding ideology of
the Republic of Turkey.’
Keskin has little faith that Turkey will come to terms with its past in the
near future. `The general mindset of the majority of Turkish society,
including a significant part of the left, has been shaped under the
influence of this ideology. It is for this reason that I don’t believe much
progress can be made in the short run,’ she said. `However, I believe
recognition of the genocide is crucial. Turkish people should acknowledge
the sufferings of the Armenians, empathize with them and apologize for what
happened in 1915.’
* * *
Eren Keskin and many of her colleagues in Turkey operate in an environment
of intimidation and threats. `We, the human rights activists, have learned,
throughout these years, how to live with fear and to go on despite its
persistence,’ she said. `Up till now 14 executives and members of our Human
Rights Association have been killed by what we call the counter-guerilla
units. I myself have been the target of two armed attacks. I still receive
death threats. Of course all these generate some fear in me, but if there is
one thing, which we have learned by now, is to continue with our struggle
despite fear. I guess we owe this to our faith in what we do.’
Indeed, it is on this faith that many people are counting.
Khatchig Mouradian is a Lebanese-Armenian writer and journalist.

JAVAKHETI NEEDS ARMENIAN PRIESTS
Lragir.am
06 April 06
According to the news agency A-Info, the Primate of the Georgian
Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan
raised the issue of shortage of priests in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Vazgen
Mirzakhanyan informed the Synod of the Holy See of Echmiadzin that
the Diocese finally managed to raise money for the repair of
the two operating Armenian churches of Tbilisi, St. George and
St. Echmiadzin. The repair will be over this year.