Author: Chakrian Hovsep

SAYFO: SABRI ATMAN LECTURES IN GREECE
Sayfo Center

Assyria Times
June 17 2008
CA

Sabri Atman, representative of the Seyfo Center, has been invited to
Greece to lecture about Seyfo- the genocide on Assyrians during the
First World War.

Apart from Assyrians and Armenians, also Greeks were murdered
during Seyfo. Before Seyfo approximately 3 million Greeks lived in
Turkey. The Black Sea coast was demographically dominated by Pontic
Greeks. Today there are no Pontic Greeks living at the Black Sea coast
of Turkey. Before 1915, the Christian minorities constituted 1/3 of
the country’s population. Today the Christians are approximately only
80,000 in Turkey, a country with a population of 70 millions.

All Christians, Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks were either murdered
or subjected to ethnical cleansing.

Sabri Atman’s trip to Greece has been noticed by Assyrian media. Ahna
Media in Holland and the Radio program Qolo in Sweden have interviewed
Sabri Atman. During the interview, Sabri Atman said that the trauma
caused by Seyfo is still very strong and evident in Greece.

MORAL DEGREDATION – THE GREATEST SORROW

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 17, 2008
Armenia

What do you think is the most troublesome issue at present?

In response to this question of "Hayots Ashkharh", PERTCH ZEYTOUNTSYAN
yesterday mentioned, "My greatest sorrow is over the moral degradation,
the moral-psychological atmosphere existing in the country. I think
such atmosphere will normalize only in case there is rule of law
in the country. If the laws are enforced, there will be morality as
well. This is the principal issue. If this problem is solved, a lot
of things will be settled."

From: Sebouh Z Tashjian <[email protected]>
Subject: Azerbaijan should hurry to strengthen military potential in Caspian

PanARMENIAN.Net

Azerbaijan should hurry to strengthen military potential in Caspian Sea
14.06.2008 15:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan should accelerate the process of
strengthening military potential in the Caspian Sea to ensure its
security, experts say.

-Due to support from abroad, Azerbaijan, together with other Caspian
countries – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – may strengthen its military
potential in Caspian to strengthen its water borders,- independent
military expert Alekper Mammadov said.

-Strengthening military capacity in the Caspian should be one of the
key tasks of Azerbaijan, a country which chose the priority of
integration to West and NATO. In Caspian, rich oil resources belong to
Azerbaijan and the country needs to have a strong military fleet to
ensure their security,- Mammadov said.

Azerbaijan has one of the naval forces in the Caspian, amongst former
Soviet countries. In order to strengthen them, Azerbaijan needs to
more actively co-operate with NATO and other members of the Alliance,
according to Azeri military expert Uzeir Jafarov.

-The assistance that the U.S. currently renders Azerbaijan to
strengthen the military-marine forces is a good support to the
country. Azerbaijan should not be satisfied with it, but should expand
its co-operation, not fearing from any reaction of Russia and Iran,
who protest against militarization of the Caspian,- Jafarov said.

In this regard, Azerbaijan may use assistance of Kazakhstan, which has
already commenced strengthening the military forces in its section of
Caspian with the help of the United States, the expert said.

The U.S. is willing to participate in construction of battle boats and
infrastructure for Kazakh fleet, said Vice Admiral Kevin J. Cosgriff,
Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, Trend Azeri news
agency reports.

ARMENIAN POLICE READY TO CARRY OUT ITS TASKS

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, NOYAN TAPAN. At the June 13 consultation with the
heads of the RA police, the Armenian president Serge Sargsian spoke
about the tasks, role, significance and further work of the police.

According to a press release submitted to NT by the RA president’s
press service, the head of the RA police Alik Sargsian stated that the
police system is more united than ever and is ready to carry out the
tasks given to it.

ACCORDING TO ARSHAK SADOYAN, PUBLIC COUNCIL CAN PLAY POSITIVE PART IN ISSUE OF RELEASING POLITICAL PRISONERS

NOYAN TAPAN
June 11, 2008

YE REVAN, JUNE 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Being a supervising body, the Public
Council should give wide layers of society a possibility to take
part in discussion of events happening in various spheres of the
country. Arshak Sadoyan, the Chairman of the Union of National
Democrats party, expressed such an opinion ar the June 11 press
conference. In his opinion, the Public Council should be a body of
collective activity, to which at least two hours’ TV air should be
given weekly. According to A. Sadoyan, having levers of mass influence
will give a possibility to normalize the political field.

In A. Sadoyan’s opinion, to postpone the formation of the
Public Council with some demands means to fail the process of its
formation. In that respect he does not consider expedient first RA
President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s demand to release the political
prisoners. "A considerable part of the arrested people is indeed
political prisoners, who should be released. However, it is not
expedient to impede the process of Public Council formation with that
demand," the Chairman of the Union of National Democrats said adding
that the Public Council can have rather a positive role just in the
issue of setting free political prisoners.

ARAZ AZIMOV: "ARMENIA COULD BENEFIT FROM ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES OF AZERBAIJAN BY RETURNING THE OCCUPIED LANDS"

Today.Az
itics/45559.html
June 10 2008
Azerbaijan

"The first meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia was
useful only in the political sense", said deputy Foreign Minister of
Azerbaijan Araz Azimov, Azadlyg radio reports.

At the same time, he noted that the importance of the meeting should
not be underestimated.

"Baku got information about Yerevan’s position by clarifying a number
of unclear issues. Yet the Armenian side should not hope that it will
be able to meet its interests by lingering the process and conducting
such meetings. We will not leave them alone", noted he,

"Azerbaijan will spread information about Armenia’s aggression",
noted Azimov.

"Baku does not intend to trade with Yerevan. Only by releasing the
occupied lands, Armenia will be able to demonstrate real intentions,
as they say, which means guarantee the rights and liberties of the
Nagorno Karabakh Armenians by doing it’, said the deputy Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan.

Commenting on possible peaceful resolution of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, the deputy minister noted that none of the sides will
manage to get a 100% result. "In order to attain something, the sides
need to make compromises, demonstrating flexibility. Baku is ready to
it. Yet it is not known in which form the talks will continue. Several
important issues are still unsettled.

Azimov noted that Armenia could benefit from economic opportunities
of Azerbaijan by returning the occupied lands, according to ANS
TV channel.

It should be noted that the first meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkissyan was held in Saint
Petersburg on June 6 in the framework of informal CIS summit.

2007 EXCAVATIONS – SENSATIONAL RESULTS

Panorama.am
19:28 10/06/2008

Today a meeting was held covering Armenian archeology and the problems
in the field presented to the journalists by the director of Institute
of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences Pavel
Avetisyan. "Historical-Cultural heritage of Armenia, in particular
monuments are in danger, and their examination is a major issue. Each
country and society should pay attention and deal with the problem,"
said Avetisyan and added that it has much to do with the tourism also
as there is no tourism if there is no cultural heritage.

According to P. Avetisyan after the collapse of Soviet Union scientific
institutions were broken down but the Institute of Archeology and
Ethnography was one of those few ones which kept its potential and
work. In 2007 the institute received support from the State budget
and manaed to conduct 29 field excavations.

The director of the institute signified working experience with some
international organizations in those excavations. P Avetisyan talked
about the excavations and their results and said that in Artashat
they found out the lost temple of Artashat and bathrooms in it. The
archeologist said that they conducted excavations in Areni and found
a monument there.

60 WORLD LEADING EXPERTS ON HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES SIGN A PETITION
FOR THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

armradio.am
10.06.2008 10:46

On an initiative of Vahagn Avedian, Chairman of the Board of Union
of Armenian Associations in Sweden, a petition published in 10
languages, whose Turkish, is addressed yesterday to the members of
the Swedish Parliament in order to influence on a decision of the
Foreign Affairs’s Commission suggesting at the Parliament and the
government to disallow the proposals for a recognition of Armenian
Genocide of 1915, independent correspondent Jean Eckian informed.

An extract of this text indicates: "Today, Sweden is internationally
regarded as a champion of human rights. It is incumbent on the Swedish
authorities to live up to this reputation and to reject any compromise
with negationism and denial. The Swedish Government should attempt to
assist Turkey to become a better democracy by facing its history and
acknowledging the truth, not by continuing to stagger in the darkness
of self-deception and pretense. Today, the data and information
about the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks are so
extensive that no serious politician can honestly cite insufficient
or inconclusive research as an excuse to avoid recognition. Refusal
to recognize established fact based on qualitative and quantitative
research may be regarded as being tantamount to denial."

"The signatories of this letter do not consider there is any doubt that
the massacres of Christians and other minorities in the Ottoman Empire
during the World War I constituted genocide. Even though research
must and will continue, the existing information is compelling and
must be acknowledged as such," the petition concluded.

TURKEY NEEDS PLAN B IF CONGRESS PASSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

HYE-TERT
June 5 2008
Turkey

Turkey needs a plan B in the likelihood the U.S. Congress passes a
resolution endorsing Armenian Genocide under a new administration, said
campaign advisers for the presidential candidates of both American
political parties. Richard Burt, campaign advisor to Republican
nominee John McCain, and Philip Gordon, campaign advisor to likely
Democratic nominee Barack Obama, discussed the implications of a
Republican or Democratic victory for Turkish-American relations at
a panel organized by the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) and the Brookings Institute. U.S. Sen. Barack
Obama, the Democratic Party’s top presidential candidate, has pledged
to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire as Genocide if elected president, as does his competitor Hillary
Clinton. Though not excluding a possibility of a change of heart,
given that politicians act differently in practice than they claim
in their election campaigns, Gordon advised the Turkish government
to have a plan B on the Genocide Resolution issue. Marc Parris,
a former American ambassador to Ankara, argued that Democrats will
become stronger in Congress and said the Turkish government should be
prepared. Whereas Burt argued that both Democrats and Republicans see
Turkey as a traditional ally, Gordon said the new administration will
have to devise a new policy on Turkey and cannot afford to continue
overlooking Turkey in favor of other priorities, the Turkish Daily
News reports.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARKISIAN INVITED TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA

ARMENPRESS
June 4, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sarkisian received today
Russian ambassador to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov.

The presidential press service told Armenpress that the ambassador
conveyed to the president the invitation of Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev to pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the
second half of June.

Nikolay Pavlov also passed to Serzh Sarkisian Dmitry Medvedev~Rs
letter of gratitude in response to Sarkisian~Rs congratulations on
the occasion of taking over as president of Russia.