NO FREEZING REGISTERED IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Apr 26 2007
YEREVAN, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN. No freezing was registered in Armenia
due to the heavy snow of recent days. The lowest temperature, -1
degrees, was registered in Armavir and Artashat. Levon Vardanian,
Director of Haypethydromet service, informed journalists about it on
April 26.
EVENTS DEDICATED TO ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE HELD IN RF KRASNODAR AND STAVROPOL TERRITORIES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 26 2007
KRASNODAR, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Events dedicated
to the 92th anniversary of Armenian Genocide were held in populated
areas of RF having large Armenian communities. According to the
report provided to Noyan Tapan from the Yerkramas newspaper published
in Krasnodar, the following events were held in RF Krasnodar and
Stavropol territories:
Commemoration ceremonies dedicated to the Memory Days of Armenian
Genocide committed in 1915-22 in Turkey were held in cultural centers
of Shepsi and Dederkoy settlements, Tuapse region, Krasnodar territory.
Personal exhibition of paintings and drawings of artist Mkhitar
Aslanian residing in Krasnodar, dedicated to the 92th anniversary
of Armenian Genocide, opened from April 24 to May 13 in the picture
gallery of Culture Department of Krasnodar territory.
Some events took place in villages of Krasnodar territory and regional
centers of town of Sochi. The main event took place in the village of
Nor Luys, Lazarevski region of Sochi. More than two thousand people
gathered near the khachkar (cross-stone) of victims of Armenian
Genocide in the square of the village.
On the eve of the Commemoration Day of victims of Armenian Genocide
Zoya Manga’s (Zoya Mangasarian) book under the title "O, My Janyatagh"
was published in the town of Budyonovsk, Stavropol territory. The book
is dedicated to deportation of Armenians from Karabakh’s village of
Janyatagh. This book is the first volume of a series of books. Its
next volumes will tell about towns and villages of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic. The author will give the gain received from book’s sale
for erecting a memorial in Janyatagh to victims who perished during
village’s liberation.
Budyonovsk Mayor A. Yurchenko addressed a message to the citizens, with
which he condemned the Armenian Genocide committed in 1915 in Turkey.
Youth bicycle race dedicated to the anniversary of Armenian Genocide
was held in the town of Zelenokumsk, Sovetakan region, Stavropol
territory. 70 people took part in the event. Cars moved in front of
and behind the column of cyclists. Posters with inscriptions "No
to Genocide," "No to Nazism," "No to Terrorism" were fixed on the
cars. The participants of the action gave out leaflets on Genocide
to bypassers. At the same time, Zelenokumsk Mayor N. Shevyakov made
a speech condemning the Armenian Genocide.
JOHN EVANS CALLED ON CONGRESS TO PASS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Yerkir
26.04.2007 13:09
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) reaffirmed his
"hold" on the controversial nomination of Richard Hoagland to serve
as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia in his remarks today at an Armenian
Genocide observance organized by the Congressional Armenian Caucus
in Capitol Hill’s historic Cannon Caucus Room, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA)
The Bush Administration has twice nominated Richard Hoagland to
replace John Marshall Evans, a decorated career diplomat who was
fired last year by the Secretary of State for speaking truthfully
about the Armenian Genocide.
>>From the outset, the Hoagland nomination has been the focus
of intense controversy, first because of the State Department’s
willingness to explain its firing of Evans, and later due to his
denial of the Armenian Genocide in his responses to questions raised
during his confirmation hearing.
These remarks, which extended far beyond the euphemistic word games
traditionally employed by the State Department, sparked outrage among
Armenian Americans and widespread Congressional opposition to his
posting in Yerevan.
Looking to Ambassador Evans, who was seated in the first row of
the standing room only hall, Senator Menendez said, "I wish the
Ambassador was back in Armenia, but if we cannot get him there,
I refuse to release my hold on Ambassador Hoagland because of his
testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."
The Senator added, to a sustained ovation, that, "the President
[should] appoint a new nominee who will represent the interests of
the United States and Armenia much better."
In his remarks, Ambassador John Evans, the program’s keynote speaker,
called upon Congress to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution. In a
speech repeatedly interrupted by applause, he said, "If we dare not
call the 1915 events genocide, we make it more likely that current
genocides, such as that in Darfur, will continue and future genocides
will occur…
This is why, ladies and gentlemen, after 92 years, the time has come
to call a spade a spade. House Resolution 106 on the affirmation of
the United States record on the Armenian Genocide should be adopted
by the Congress." The former envoy continued, stressing: "History
does matter. Truth does matter.
Justice does matter."
EU REPRESENTATIVE APPEALS TO ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES TO TAKE ALL MEASURES FOR HOLDING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2007
BRUSSELS, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Regional problems and Armenian-Turkish
relations were discussed at the April 25 meeting of the Armenian
foreign minister Vartan Oskanian, who is on a working visit to
Belgium, and the EU Special Representative to the South Caucasus Peter
Sembeby. According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department,
the sides also addressed the GUAM’s initiative in the UN General
Assembly, and in this connection V. Oskanian reasserted Armenia’s
position on the resolution to be presented.
Speaking about the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, the EU
special representative pointed out that EU countries and the European
Commission attach great importance to holding these elections in line
with international standards. P. Semneby appealed to the Armenian
authorities to take all measures in this direction. V. Oskanian in
his turn assured him that today there are all conditions for holding
free and fair elections in the country.
The interlocutors also discussed issues related to implementation of
the EU-Armenian Action Plan. In this connection V. Oskanian noted the
expediency to make the action plan implementation-related contacts
between the RA mission in the EU and the European Commission most
coordinated.
During the meeting, the sides also exchanged ideas on the results of
the Belgrade stage of negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement. P. Semneby said that later the same day he is going to
Baku in order to participate in a conference dedicated to the mass
media, within the framework of which a meeting with the Azerbaijani
foreign minister is planned.
FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE GOLDEN APRICOT
ArmRadio.am
26.04.2007 12:18
For the first time a French Film Festival will be held within the
framework of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival to be
held July 9-14 in Yerevan.
President of the Festival Harutyun Khachatryan told Armenpress that
due to the new festival Armenian spectators will have the opportunity
to watch 7-10 new French films. Applications for 16 films have already
been submitted. The French Film Festival is expected to become annual.
Head of the Golden Apricot programmes Mikhael Stamboltsyan
said about 180 films of different genres have been presented to
participate in the festival. " Although the deadline for submission
of applications was April 15, but sometimes "late" films are brought,"
he said. Mr. Stamboltsyan expects that all in all about 250-270 films
will be presented.
Currently the preparation works are underway. There will be a new
poster and catalogue.
Last year 120 films from 43 countries were presented at the
festival. It was covered by 60 media, including 3 foreign TV companies
and 13 magazines. It had a bout 50 thousand spectators.
RUSSIA READY TO SUPPORT FUNDING OF A NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN ARMENIA
Panorama.am
18:18 23/04/2007
Russia is ready to support funding of a possible construction of a
new nuclear power plant in Armenia, Sergei Kirienko, head of Rosatom
(Federal Agency on Nuclear Energy of Russia), told a joint press
conference today with the Armenian Nature Protection Minister Vardan
Aivazyan. He also said Russia is ready to share its experience in
several models of nuclear power plant projects. Kirienko said the
Armenian legislation on nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is rather
"liberal and progressive."
The Armenian ministry of energy and Rosatom earlier today signed
a protocol to set up a working committee, which will engage in
development of energy system in Armenia and deal with the Armenian
nuclear power plant.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 92ND ANNIVERSARY MARKED IN GERMANY
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.04.2007 13:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 22-24 events dedicated to the 92nd anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide are held in Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin with
participation of Federal and Land authorities, diplomats, scientific
and cultural workers. The principal event will be held in Berlin in
the French Cathedral. The commemoration soiree will be inaugurated by
head of the Armenian community of Berlin. Bundestag President Norbert
Lammert and RA Ambassador to Germany Karine Ghazinian are expected
to deliver a speech, the RA MFA press office reports.
THESE ARE ALL ORGANIZED ACTS
By Bulent Kenes
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 20 2007
First the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro last year, then
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, and two days ago three
missionaries brutally murdered in Malatya in a publishing house that
distributes Bibles.
That the perpetration of all these horrific murders comes at critical
junctures for Turkey, which has been making painstaking efforts to
distance itself from the bureaucratic status quo and go through a
great democratic transformation, and which has been suffering all
the growing pains from this profound transformation, cannot be a
coincidence. Those who know Turkey well will no doubt have noticed
that whenever the country is about to go through a critical period,
these kinds of horrendous provocations turn out the nightmares that
the Turkish public unwittingly expects, and that these nightmares
never fail to disappoint these expectations.
The generally held opinion in Turkey is that these murders, which
take place at certain intervals of time and bear a resemblance to
one another in terms of the chosen targets (foreigners representing
the "enemy within"), assassins (naïve and nationalistic youth) and
methods (gangland-style massacres), are being organized by certain
hidden forces. It’s as if some dark force or forces are planning such
plots beforehand in different places, and when the time comes, they
stage these acts in a conjuncture that will rattle Turkey and shock
the world. All of the backgrounds of the above-mentioned horrendous
murders provide enough evidence to support such an opinion.
In all three cases, the targets have religious or ethnic identities,
of a particularly naïve sort. And in all three cases, the perpetrators
are either minors or young people who could be considered minor. In
all three cases, the police were easily able to immediately catch
the perpetrators. And even though there is a common doubt over that
the real sponsors are behind the curtains, these masterminds cannot
be deciphered.
In all three cases, the real purpose seems to be to tarnish Turkey’s
positive image in the eyes of the world public, considering that it
has been pursuing multidimensional policies of opening up to the world
in recent years, expediting the process of integrating into Europe,
has managed to attract a considerable amount of foreign investment
and has become a significant tourist destination and a country where
foreigners increasingly prefer to settle and buy property. And the
real purpose is to reverse the trend of integration into the world.
It is impossible to view such attacks on people of a different faith
during this critical period as separate from the negative effects
on the world public that will be created by video footage of the
most recent horrible event. It is undeniable that all these events
have taken place in Turkey, but it is just as undeniable that the
ideologies of the organizers of these brutalities will benefit to
the extent Turkey receives vehement reactions from abroad.
It is clear that these murders share in the paranoiac attitude of
the parvenu neo-nationalist movement which keeps remarking that
the homeland is slipping out of our hands, the country’s lands are
being sold, that missionaries are converting our Muslim children to
Christianity and that Turkey’s foreign policy is determined by the
EU and the US. In fact, the desire of those who masterminded these
murders is to tear Turkey away from the world, to cause it to turn
inward and to transform Turkey into the regime of a sui generic,
anti-democratic and primitive republic.
Therefore, it would not be surrealistic to argue that these murders
were masterminded to exploit a conjuncture when the troubles put
forward against Turkey have increased in magnitude with its Muslim
identity used as a pretext against it in the EU accession process,
to strengthen the arguments in question.
That is, these provocations, which will deeply affect the European and
the Western public, can never be coincidental. Although there weren’t
strong religious elements in the characters of the perpetrators, the
religious identity of the chosen targets must have been considered
sufficient to help them achieve these heinous goals.
May God protect humanity from the malice of these ignominious
organizers!
–Boundary_(ID_i22ss1SPdq HL/wKW7ugTXQ)–
WHICH NEWSPAPERS GET ASSISTANCE FROM GOVERNMENT?
Anahit Danielyan
KarabakhOpen
19-04-2007 13:10:03
This year 15 newspapers got the grant of the NKR government against
14 newspapers of the previous year. However, some newspapers did not
get the grant.
According to Michael Gasparyan, the head of the social department of
the government, the newspapers which are financed from abroad are not
eligible for the grant. It turned out that the only such newspaper
is the Demo Public Newspaper.
The other two newspapers are online newspapers (one of them is
KarabakhOpen.com), which were not considered eligible for the
grant. Michael Gasparyan said in an interview with us that the number
of electronic newspapers has gone up, and it is impossible to finance
all of them. At the same time, he advised to monitor the Internet
newspapers and come up with a proposal next year.
This year 15 newspapers got the grant on a government decision. Each
newspaper gets 800 thousand drams, the total funding is 13 million
drams. The newspapers were divided into several types. 6 newspapers
are included in the literary, cultural, scientific type. Murad
Petrosyan’s "Chto Delat" is in the " print media in the language
of ethnic minorities" type, in the "public and political" type the
Aparazh, the Akunk, the Hayrenik, the Communist of Artsakh, the Trade
Unions got the grant.
By the way, Michael Gasparyan said next year the party newspapers
will not be financed by the government.
EU MINISTERS OPEN TALKS ON PLANS TO CRIMINALIZE RACISM, XENOPHOBIA
DPA
19 April 07
Luxembourg (dpa) – European Union justice ministers on Thursday opened
talks on plans to establish common rules to criminalize racism and
xenophobia for the first time in the 27-member bloc.
German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said that the EU needed
common minimum standards on combatting racism and xenophobia.
Germany currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
"We protect people because of their race or ethnic origin, and we
don’t tolerate their being discriminated against or that violence is
used against them," Zypries told reporters in German when arriving
for the meeting in Luxembourg.
"We don’t want incitement to violence or hatred," she added.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini urged national governments
to agree on ambitious rules, arguing that the fight against racism
and xenophobia was a "basic pillar of the European democracy."
Germany wants to use its term at the bloc’s helm to harmonize EU-
wide differences on combating racism and xenophobia.
Under the text being debated, EU countries would set jail terms of
at least one to three years for "publicly inciting to violence or
hatred … directed against a group of persons or a member of such
a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or
national or ethnic origin."
Germany views a common EU law as a moral obligation, but countries
like Britain, Ireland and the Scandinavian states resist unified
legislation as a violation of civil liberties.
EU diplomats have said that the planned rules only aimed to achieve a
"minimum level of harmonization" as the differences in national legal
systems had to be respected.
The definition of what exactly constitutes incitement to violence or
hatred will be left up to member states.
EU lawmakers have criticized the German proposal as having "symbolic
character" only.
Under the plans, hate declarations referring to religion such as
"Kill the Jews" or "Kill the Christians" would remain unpunished in
EU countries where such statements are not criminalized, EU diplomats
have said.
They have also said that German plans to push through new rules which
would make denying the Holocaust – the mass killing of Jews by Nazis
and Nazi supporters – a crime in the EU, would not cover denying the
massacre of Armenians in World War I.
Turkey denies that the killing of up to 1 million Armenians constituted
genocide, putting their deaths down to ethnic strife, disease and
famine, and has prosecuted historians and journalists for calling
it genocide.
In addition, the proposed EU rules would not make denying crimes
against humanity under the Stalin regime punishable, diplomats said.
The Baltic states want the EU to make it a crime to deny the abuses
of the Stalinist regime in the former Soviet Union.
Under the planned rules, the denial of crimes of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes will be punishable in the EU if these
crimes have been defined by international courts and if the statement
incites to hatred or violence.
Citing its "particular historic responsibility" due to its Nazi past,
Germany has said it wants EU member states to adopt the proposed
legislation before it ends its term at the EU helm at the end of June.
Two years ago, Luxembourg tried to use its EU presidency to push
through legislation to unify legal standards for Holocaust denial,
but was blocked by Italy on the grounds that the proposed rules
breached freedom of speech.
Laws against denying the Holocaust already exist in Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany and Spain.
EU justice ministers are also expected to discuss new ways too make
divorces of bi-national marriages in the bloc less expensive and
cumbersome.