Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

ARMINFO News Agency
September 20, 2005
15 BEST I.T. STUDENTS AWARDED PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. The Synopsys Outreach Charitable
Foundation for Armenia and the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
held a reception today for the recipients of the President of the
Republic of Armenia Awards. The awards were given to the top 15
students and 3 pupils in the IT industry including two awards created
to honor the best female students in IT. The annual awards honor
students who demonstrate outstanding achievements in their study and
research projects in the Armeian IT sector, reports Synopsys.
The Armenian government and Synopsys are both interested in the
development of the national high tech industry, stated Lilit
Gevorgyan, assistant to President Kocharyan and member of the Armenia
Awarding Committee. We value Synopsys’ support of our specialized
high-tech education and realize that these efforts including
supporting the President of the Republic of Armenia Awards will
inspire new generations of students to cintinue the long-standing
Armenian tradition of engineering excellence.
The Synopsys Outreach Charitable Foundation for Armenia supports the
pursuit of the highest level of technology education for teachers and
students. By providing universities with the latest technology and
concepts in electronic design automation and semiconductor design,
teacher training and support. Synopsys helps enable the engineering
community to steadily increase the quality of its design work and
advance the high-tech industry. Furthering math and science education
around the world is a fundamental value at Synopsys.
Synopsys realizes that a thriving high0-tech industry within Armenia
requires support in the form of university and industry programs,
stated Rich Goldman, CEO of Synopsys Armenia. We are proud to be able
to he;lp recognize Armenia’s brightest students by funding the
President of the Republic of Armenia Awards through Armenia’s leading
technical universities.
The recipients of these awards represent the future of Armenia. These
awards stress the importance of education and honor those students
that have the potential to make significant contributions to the IT
economy in Armenia. Synopsys is proud to be associated with Armenia’s
best and brightest students. We look forward to seeing the continued
acheivements o these talented young engineers in Armenia, Goldman
said.

Diplomacy Newsline
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Diplomacy News
Third Swiss charge against Perinçek for denying `genocide’
ANK – TDN with AP
Authorities have brought a third charge against a Turkish
politician for a new incident in which he is accused of breaking
Switzerland’s racial discrimination laws by denying Armenian genocide
allegations.
Doðu Perinçek, the leader of Turkey’s Workers’ Party (IP), made the
remarks on Sunday in a speech in central Switzerland’s Bern canton,
police said in a statement. He has already been charged by Swiss
authorities for two similar incidents.
`Based on the fact that during the course of his address Doðu
Perinçek denied the Armenian genocide and expressed prejudices
against the Western world, the Bern canton police have filed a
complaint based on suspicion of racial discrimination,’ said the
police statement.

Armenpress
YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY TOSSES AWAY MP’s ALLEGATIONS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS: The French-owned Yerevan Brandy
Company has retaliated today allegations that it has bottled half of 1.6
million deciliters of brandy spirit which it inherited together with the
ownership of Armenia’s biggest winery, saying it is open to any organization
that would like to inspect whether it has violated any of the takeover
terms.
The allegations were sounded yesterday by Aram. G. Sarkisian, the
chairman of a minor opposition Democratic party, who alleged that YBC has
bottled 800,000 deciliters of the spirit it inherited, which it could not do
or in case of doing so it had to fill the gap. Sarkisian alleged the YBC
could not produce as much brandy as it has been selling, judging by the
amount of grape it purchase annually from local grape growers. Sarkisian
also alleged the French Pernod-Ricard that owns the YBC is going to sell it
at $770 million, having paid for it only $28 million.
Zara Nazarian, a spokeswoman for YBC said in order to diffuse these
allegations the YBC could only provide an opportunity for all to examine its
performance and the fulfillment of the takeover terms. She said YBC is going
to buy this year 25,000 tons of grape, 27 percent more than last year and 80
percent more than in 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Iranian president discusses key international issues with prominent figures
IRNA website, Tehran
16 Sep 05
United Nations, New York, 16 September: President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad
here Thursday [15 September] discussed issues of mutual interest and
key international development with prominent world figures on the
sidelines of the UN summit.
In a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili, the
Iranian president called for closer and broader cooperation between
Iran and Georgia in different domains, especially in the cultural
field.
Ahmadinezhad said numerous commonalties shared by the Iranian and
Georgian nations give an impetus to promotion of cooperation and
bilateral ties.
He welcomed an invitation by Saakashvili to visit Georgia and said he
will visit the country on an appropriate time.
Saakashvili said his country admires the noble Iranian nation with
their great civilization and rich culture.
He said he believes Iran is playing an important role in the
international and regional relations.
He said his country is ready to promote ties with Iran.
In another meeting, Ahmadinezhad and his Belarussian counterpart
Alyaksanr Lukashenka agreed the foreign ministers of the two countries
would explore avenues for promotion of bilateral relations and draw up
the agenda for the next meeting of the Iranian and Belarussian heads
of state.
In a separate meeting, Ahmadinezhad and his Tajik counterpart Emomali
Rahmonov stressed expansion of all-out ties between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Ahmadinezhad and Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
stressed the two countries’ willingness to promote mutual ties and
cooperation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIAN SCHOLAR HOLDS ETHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN NORTH CAUCASUS
15.09.2005 05:43
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Young scholar from Armenia, candidate of historical
sciences, Yerevan resident Arsen Hakobyan holds field research in eastern
region of the North Caucasus, reported the Yerkramas newspaper of Armenians
of Russia. A group of Armenians, who migrated from Derbent, Kuba, Mushkur
regions to the North Caucasus in 18th century, became his research objects.
They settled in Saint Cross (Surb Khach, now – Budennovsk), Kizlyar,
Edessia, etc. Residents of Kilvar and Madras Armenian villages deported from
the Azeri Soviet Socialist Republic in 1988-1989 also refer to this group in
general. This unique group of Armenians spoke Iranian (Tat language) owing
to historical developments. It should be emphasized that the work being
carried out by the young scholar from Armenia is per se first ethnographic
research of that group of Armenians. Taking into account the conflict
potential of the region, the urgency of research on contemporary Armenian
issues in the North Caucasus is of special importance.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 14 2005
Armenian bills could damage US-Turkish relations
Brent Scowcroft warns: Armenian genocide bills could damage
US-Turkish relations
source: Hurriyet, 14 September 2005
Brent Scowcroft, president of the American-Turkish Council (ATC), has
written a letter to US Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert warning of
possible damage to US-Turkish relations resulting from two seperate
bills containing Armenian genocide allegations coming up on the US
Congress agenda.
It is expected that the US Congress Foreign Relations Committee will
be looking at the two bills in question either today or tomorrow. It
is also anticipated that the bills will pass through the Committee
successfully. Scowcroft warned in his letter that the passage of
these bills might well endanger the trade interests of some ATC
members.
Scowcroft also called on Armenian President Robert Kocharian to
accept the peace offering of Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also
used his letter to call on the US to be supportive of Turkey in this
period preceding the October 3 EU accession talks, recalling that
Turkey’s strategic placement would be important to the US for a long
period of time.

Security pact chief praises Russian-Armenian military teamwork after
joint drill
RTR Russia TV, Moscow
14 Sep 05

[Presenter] A joint Russian-Armenian military exercise to rehearse
defensive combat skills as part of a combined force has passed in
Armenia [it reportedly began on 10 September and ended on the
13th]. The country’s president, Robert Kocharyan, and the
secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,
Nikolay Bordyuzha, watched the exercise. This is how Bordyuzha
commented on the results of the drill.
[Bordyuzha] I reckon that this exercise went off successfully. What
matters is not the effect of explosions and gunfire that we see in the
field, but the rehearsal of coordination between units of the Armenian
and Russian armed forces.
[Presenter] The 10th joint drill involved over 1,000 service personnel
and about 300 items of military materiel, including four fighter jets
and six helicopters.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
September 15, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]
PAN-ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION PASSES HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Lawmakers Vote 40 to 7 to Approve H. Res. 316
Washington, DC – The pan-Armenian genocide resolution took a major
step forward today, winning bipartisan support in the influential
House International Relations Committee. H. Res. 316, which is
currently backed by 140 Members, won passage thanks in part to
Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) and the bill’s principal
sponsors Reps. George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg(R-MI) and Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ).
“The argument has been made that these resolutions, if adopted, will
be harmful to [the] interests [of the United States] by undermining
our relationship with Turkey, which all acknowledge to be one of our
key allies…..Denial of that fact cannot be justified on the basis of
expediency or fear that speaking the truth will do us harm,” said
Hyde.
“The Assembly extends its appreciation to Chairman Hyde and members of
the Committee for properly recognizing the first genocide of the
twentieth century and affirming the U.S. record,” Assembly Board of
Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian said following the vote. “This
recognition, which is especially poignant during this 90th
commemorative year, will go a long way in preventing future tragedies
and give meaning to the phrase ‘Never Again.'”
“We also thank the original sponsors of H. Res. 316 who worked long
and hard in helping secure today’s victory,” Hovnanian added.
Committee Members also voted today to approve, H. Con. Res. 195, a
bill that would reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. The measure, which
passed 35 to 11, was introduced by Schiff in June.
During the markup Schiff said that there is no discrepancy that the
Armenian experience constituted genocide and no evidence that
U.S.-Turkish relations would be irreparably harmed by the adoption of
these resolutions.
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), the Committee’s Ranking Member,
expressed his strong concern over Ankara’s refusal in 2003 to provide
U.S. troops a northern front in the war against Iraq and in a
reversal, changed his previous opposition to one of support.
Armenian Caucus Member Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) said, “Friends
don’t let friends commit human rights abuses or crimes against
humanity.”
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), also a member of the Caucus, stressed the
importance of acknowledging history and the fact that the government
of the Ottoman Empire attacked its own citizens.
H. Res. 316, which was introduced on June 14, calls upon the President
to “ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects
appropriate understanding” of the “Armenian Genocide” and to
“accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of
1,500,000 Armenians as genocide” in the President’s annual message.
Passage of this legislation would reaffirm the U.S. historical record
which includes thousands of pages documenting the premeditated
extermination of the Armenian people. American intervention prevented
the full realization of Ottoman Turkey’s genocidal plan and
U.S. humanitarian assistance was extended to those who survived.
Additionally, today’s vote reiterates the same message put forth by
Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. In 1981, for example,
Reagan issues a presidential proclamation that said in part, “Like the
genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the
Cambodians which followed it – and like too many other persecutions of
too many other people – the lessons of the Holocaust must never be
forgotten..” President Bush himself has also carefully set forth the
textbook definition of the crime of genocide as it applies to
Armenians in his successive April 24th statements of remembrance.
H. Res. 316 is similar to the version that nearly passed the House of
Representatives in 2000. The previous resolution, which had the
support of 143 cosponsors, passed the House International Relations
Committee by a vote of 24 to 11. It was later scheduled for a vote on
the House floor, but withdrawn at the last minute due to an
intervention by President Clinton to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
which prevented the final affirmative vote.
The Turkish government has vigorously opposed the resolutions by
calling upon its hired lobbyists, the Administration and Members of
Congress to deny that the genocide occurred. A recent New York Times
editorial entitled “The Turkish Identity” also highlights Turkey’s
state-sponsored denial efforts which include the recent prosecution of
novelist Orhan Pamuk for openly discussing the Armenian
Genocide. Pamuk has been charged with “public denigration” of the
Turkish identity and face a possible three-year jail sentence.
“That court action [against Pamuk] is as wrong as it is incredible,”
said Armenian Caucus Member Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA). Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher added, “This is not a good trend and we should never
accept it. We should be on the side of that writer and be on the side
of truth.”
Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian praised the Assembly’s
network of grassroots activists and the community at large for
reaching out to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and helping secure
bi-partisan support for H. Res. 316.
“Armenian-Americans celebrate this victory, not only for our public
advocacy efforts, but for those who dare to speak the truth,” said
Barsamian. “Today’s success demonstrates that engaging our grassroots
in the democratic process prevails over the millions spent by Turkey’s
hired lobbyists to influence decision makers. It is our hope that
Speaker Hastert will now follow the example of President Reagan, and
more recently, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, and formally and
irrevocably reaffirm the Armenian Genocide.”
The next step in the legislative process is to work with the sponsors
to secure passage in the full House.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
NR#2005-090
Editor’s Note: Attached is the full text of Chairman Henry Hyde’s
statement.
I have waited to speak until the end of the members’ statements
because I wanted to listen carefully to what they had to say. I have
thought long and hard about these resolutions and have decided to vote
in favor. And I want to explain why.
The overriding purpose in all of my work in Congress has been to
promote the interests of the United States. The argument has been that
these resolutions, if adopted, will be harmful to those interests by
undermining our relationship with Turkey, which all acknowledge to be
one of our key allies. That is a serious charge indeed and worthy of
serious attention. I very much believe that the relationship is of
great importance to U.S. and also to the possibility of peace and
stability in the volatile regions that Turkey borders. But I do not
believe that these resolutions will harm that relationship.
They merely recognize the fact that the authorities of the Ottoman
Empire deliberately slaughtered the majority of the Armenian community
in that empire. Denial of that fact cannot be justified on the basis
of expediency or fear that speaking the truth will do us harm.
Having said this, I want to strongly emphasize that neither the
Republic of Turkey nor the Turkish people bear responsibility for the
crimes that undoubtedly took place. Too often that inaccurate and even
slanderous association is made, either by accident or design, and we
must be careful not to give it credence.
I also want to note and commend the Turkish government’s recent
initiatives to address this issue more forthrightly than has been the
practice in the past. These are encouraging signs, and I hope they are
but the first in a series of mutual steps.
It is commonly supposed that we must choose between recognizing the
fact of the massacres and supporting our relationship with Turkey,
that somehow these things are opposed to one another. I believe that
not only is that view profoundly incorrect but is actually harmful to
all parties.
The deep animosity between Turkey and Armenia is destructive to the
interests of both countries, as well as to those of the United States,
for they make lasting peace and stability in the Caucasus virtually
impossible.
The many barriers between them tower so mightily that they are
dispiriting to all but the most resolute.
However, this particular issue is of such profound importance and
emotional resonance to both countries that I do not believe that
either alone can take the steps needed to overcome its impregnable
walls. But to freeze attention on the past is to be imprisoned by it
and at the enormous cost of sacrificing the future.
Therefore, I believe it is in the interests of the United States and
of Turkey and Armenia both that we take the lead in dealing with this
paralyzing legacy. And we must start with a recognition of the
truth. For there is no possibility that this problem can ever be
overcome if we seek to ground any solution on silence and
forgetting. For as our Savior is quoted in the Book of St. John: “You
shall know the truth. And the truth shall set you free.” That is why I
will vote to support these resolutions and do so in the hope that it
will contribute to a lasting peace among the peoples of these ancient,
tragic, and beautiful lands.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SELF-PROCLAIMED REPUBLICS IN CIS GO THROUGH INTENSIVE DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT-OPINION
RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 14 2005
MOSCOW, September 14 (RIA Novosti) – Self-proclaimed republics in
the former Soviet Union are seeing intensive democratic development,
a member of the Russian parliament and director of a Moscow-based
think tank said Wednesday.
“In terms of state development, they boast the attributes that many
recognized states lack. I do not only mean armed and security forces,
but also democratic processes developing in these republics, including
a change of power [based on fair elections],” Konstantin Zatulin told
a conference on the issue.
The republics in question are Abkhazia and South Ossetia (officially
part of Georgia), the Transdnestr Republic (part of Moldova) and
Nagorny Karabakh (part of Azerbaijan).
Zatulin said the once bloody conflicts had by now been reduced to
peaceful confrontation and propaganda wars.

INSTRUMENT OR TRUST?
A1+
| 16:25:35 | 10-09-2005 | Politics |
The Republican Party of Armenia is one of the those parties to pay much
attention to the election to the local self-government. They evidently
know the “sweetness” of the fruit they reap after the election.
“We attach a very important role to this structure, that is why we
think that people who enjoy the trust of the nation should be elected
to head a community. And the political function of the community
should be also preserved”, RPA head Galust Sahakyan stated in an
interview with A1+. In his words the numeral advantage of RPA in the
local self-government bodies proves that the party is popular among
the people. Galust Sahakyan also admits that the local self-government
bodies are in some case an instrument in the authorities’ hands.
Something like a vicious circle forms – the authorities promote the
formation of the local self-government bodies, which in their turn
promote falsifications and reproduction of power. “It is incorrect to
call it reproduction. One should admit that out party enjoys the trust
of the population. If representatives of other parties want to occupy
these posts they should grip the field in time”, G. Sahakyan noted.
Will the RPA manage to keep the posts in case it loses power? “If the
RPA loses power it will not mean that it has lost the trust of the
people”, Galust Sahakyan stated when answering this question. To note,
the RPA leader is convinced that the Electoral Code has undergone
enough changes to provide transparent election.
When reminded that the opposition considers the local self-government
bodies to be an instrument used by the authorities during the
parliamentary or presidential election and the acting Constitution
empowers the government to dismiss the community head Galust Sahakyan
said he can’t remember a single case when the government pressed
for dismissal of a community head. However he emphasized that the
constitutional amendments have raised the status and independence
of the local self-government and the issue can be considered to be
settled when the amendments are adopted.