Author: Chavushian

ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CLOSED FOR REPAIRS
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 3 2007

The Armenian Metsamor nuclear power plant was recently shut down for
essential repairs, the news agency Regnum reports. The repairs are
scheduled to last six weeks.

The plant, 40 kilometers from Yerevan, provides around 40 percent
of Armenia’s electricity requirements and was last closed in 1989
following a major earthquake, before reopening in 1996.

The EU is pressing for its permanent closure, citing "outdated
technologies, not meeting today’s security requirements." The Armenian
government says it needs to find alternative sources of energy before
they can shut down the nuclear plant.

Since 2003, the plant has been under the management of United Energy
System of Russia.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES 2008 BUDGET
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 2 2007

The Armenian government approved on Tuesday its draft budget for next
year which calls for a more than 40 percent surge in state expenditures
and revenues.

Under the budget bill to be submitted to the National Assembly on
Wednesday, government spending in 2008 will total 820.8 billion drams
($2.45 billion), compared with 584 billion drams projected for this
year. State revenues are projected to jump by 44 percent to 744.7
billion drams.

The proposed sharp increase is partly due to the fact that the
government will for the first time include social security taxes
and subsidies to the state pension fund into its budget. Even so,
the government will have to ensure a further major increase in its
tax revenues in order to meet the record-high budgetary targets. A
government statement quoted Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian as saying
that this will require "serious efforts" from tax authorities and
other government agencies.

The statement said education and healthcare would be key beneficiaries
of increased public spending. In particular, the education sector
would receive 103.7 billion in funding, up by almost 20 percent from
2007. Spending on healthcare would similarly rise by 24 percent to
54.6 billion drams. This would in turn mean a corresponding increase
in the salaries of public sector teachers and medical personnel.

There was no word on Armenia’s defense budget for 2008. Sarkisian
said last month that the Armenian military will get approximately $400
million, meaning that it will remain the single largest recipient of
public funds. That would represent a 33 percent increase, in dollar
terms, from the 2007 level.

GUESTS FROM 15 CITIES IN THE CELEBRATION OF YEREVAN DAY
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
03/10/2007

"Delegations of 15 cities of different countries will arrive in our
capital to participate in the celebration of Yerevan Day on October
11-13", announced at a press conference Head of Foreign Relations
Department of the Municipality of Yerevan Davit Gevorgian on October
1. "Those cities are sister or "colleague" towns of Yerevan.

The guests will be mainly from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd,
Rostov-on-Don, Magnitogorsk, Minsk, Isfahan, Odessa and other
cities. This year the number of the guests will exceed the number of
last year".

"As a rule, each delegation of those cities will be attached to a
community of our capital and participate in the celebrations in that
community", mentioned Davit Gevorgian, "For example, Moscow always
participates with the community "Kentron", etc".

25 mln drams is appropriated to bear the expenses connected with
the guests.

Yerevan has Agreements of Cooperation with 24 cities and towns,
with some of them since Soviet time, i.e. Titograd of Chernogoria.

The last city that became a sister town of Yerevan is French Nice,
preceded by Los Angeles. Yerevan has more active cooperation with
French Lion and Marcel, and Moscow from CIS countries. The cooperation
is in different spheres: from technical cooperation to educational
programs. Nice, for example, is interesting for Armenia in the sense
of tourism.

"VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN LIVES WITH PINK IMAGINATIONS"

A1+
[05:17 pm] 02 October, 2007

"The present regime caused the closure of Constitutional Right Union
and it cannot operate legally. "Iravunk", "Zaruhi", "Ararat-infomo"
and "Hetaqnnutyun" newspapers are also closed. I and Hovhannes
Galajyan were persecuted", said Hayk Babukhanyan, chairman of
Constitutional Right Union, who did not agree with Vahan Hovhannisyan,
the NA Deputy Chairman and member of the "Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutyun", that no newspapers were closed and no
individual was persecuted during the officiate of present authorities.

Hayk Babukhanyan insisted on the fact that their party was deprived
of regular operation for a year was the result of the government’s
interference. "The state gets involved in the party through judicial
power, pulls away the leaders that have been elected legally and
appoints new leaders. This was followed by more brutal activities,
when the authorities smashed up our office. Maybe Mr Hovhannisyan
hasn’t seen this? How else could they close a party?"

"They aimed either at closing the newspaper or coming to an agreement
with the staff and changing it. The authorities tried to come to an
agreement with me, but I refused them. Then they tired to close it
irregularly, but in vain. Treachery took place, which was done by
the state office", noticed Hayk Babukhanyan.

Head of the Constitutional Right Union motivated it by the fact that
their party intended to participate in the NA elections. "Our party
called on unity and suggested the opposition to participate in the
elections jointly. That was why we were dangerous.

Before registering in the Central Electoral Commission, they intruded
into our office and smashed it up. This is the way they try to destroy
the multi-party system in Armenia".

Hayk Babukhanyan did not deny the fact that their newspaper was
persecuted and depressed during the communist period and during the
officiate of former authorities. "But I haven’t seen that the chief
editor was beaten so publicly and no one carried the responsibility".

In his opinion, Vahan Hovhannisyan lived with pink imaginations,
otherwise he would not have said it.

Hayk Babukhanyan reminded Mr Hovhannisyan the closure of "A1+" TV
Channel during the officiate of current authorities, advising him
not to say ridiculous things.

TURKISH POLICE ACCUSED OF COVER-UP IN JOURNALIST’S MURDER

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Oct 1 2007
Istanbul (AFP)

Turkish police withheld and destroyed evidence to cover up the killing
of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a lawyer for his family
claimed as the second hearing in the murder trial began here Monday.

"Evidence and information is being hidden from prosecutors… A lot of
evidence was destroyed and lost," Fethiye Cetin said in an interview
with the Radikal newspaper.

Several suspects in the murder, for which 19 people are on trial,
indicated in their testimonies that "they believed they were acting
on behalf of the state," she said.

Dink, 52, a prominent member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian minority,
was gunned down on January 19 outside the offices of his bilingual
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, in central Istanbul.

Although he campaigned for reconciliation, nationalists hated him for
calling the massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule during World
War I genocide, a label that Ankara fiercely rejects.

Cetin said tape from a security camera outside a bank near Agos
disappeared after being taken by police.

The security forces also tapped telephone conversations of two key
suspects before the murder and when prosecutors learned this, they
were given incomplete records, she added.

"Something is being covered up — maybe certain relationships"
between the suspects and members of the security forces, she said.

Dink’s murder prompted fresh calls on Ankara to purge the "deep state"
— a term used to describe security forces prepared to act outside the
law to preserve what they consider to be the best national interests.

The charge sheet says police received intelligence as early as 2006
of a plot to kill Dink organised in the northern city of Trabzon,
home of self-confessed gunman Ogun Samast, 17, and most of his 18
alleged accomplices.

Samast admitted to the shooting because Dink was "an enemy of the
Turks," according to the indictement.

In Monday’s hearing, held behind closed doors because Samast is a
minor, the teenager repeated his confession before the judge and said
he would not have killed Dink if he knew he had a family, lawyers at
the hearing told reporters.

Samast, who said he was high on drugs when he pulled the trigger
three times, faces up to 42 years in jail; he avoided a life sentence
because he is a minor.

Two other key suspects — Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, both 26 —
are accused of heading the ultra-nationalist group Samast belonged
to and of masterminding the murder. They could be jailed for life if
found guilty.

The indictment says Tuncel was a police informer who twice told
officials in 2006 that Hayal was planning to kill Dink, but
deliberately concealed the fact that someone else would pull the
trigger because Tuncel himself was involved in the plot.

Hayal earlier served 11 months for the 2004 bombing in Trabzon of a
McDonald’s restaurant, in which six people were injured, to protest
against the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The 16 other suspects face sentences of seven-and-a-half to 35 years.

The role of the members of the security forces in Dink’s murder came
up again at the weekend as a taped telephone conversation between a
policeman and Tuncel shortly after the killing was leaked to the media.

The dialogue, which includes degrading comments about the victim,
suggests the policeman knew in advance of the murder plot.

Some 300 people demonstrated near the courthouse Monday, shouting,
"We are all witnesses. We want justice."

Claudia Roth, the visiting leader of Germany’s Greens Party, said
outside the courthouse that "Article 301 killed Dink" and urged
Ankara to abolish the infamous penal code provision that penalises
"insulting Turkishness."

Dink was given a suspended six-month sentence last year under the
article, which the European Union says is a serious affront to free
speech in Turkey.

RA FM OFF TO NEW YORK TO PARTICIPATE IN UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 62ND SESSION

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.10.2007 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ October 1 Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
departed for New York to participate in the 62nd session of the UN
General Assembly, the RA MFA press office reported. The Minister
is expected to hold a number of meetings with his counterparts,
including new Turkish FM Ali Babacan.

October 2 Minister Oskanian will attend the informal meeting of
Foreign Ministers of the BSEC member states.

October 3 the RA FM is scheduled to deliver a speech at the UN
General Assembly.

October 4 he will address the participants of the Dialogue on
Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for
Peace. The same day he will meet with Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

VAZGEN MANUKYAN: "NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT NOT AN OBSTACLE TO ESTABLISH A NORMAL STATEHOOD"

Panorama.am
17:24 27/09/2007

"Armenia attained two advantages and two problems by gaining
the independence. One is the independence itself, which is both
an achievement and a problem, and the second is Nagorno Karabakh
conflict," Vazgen Manukyan, National Democratic Union (AJM) chairman,
told a meeting with reporters today also raising his amazement at some
people who say Armenia’s problems will be solved when Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is resolved. "I do not understand. Did Nagorno Karabakh
conflict hinder that we have had no single clean election since 1995
up to today…. Is it Nagorno Karabakh conflict that the residents
of Northern Avenue have been thrown out to streets or that Alexander
Arzumanyan, Jirair Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan were sentenced?" In
his words we are unable to solve the problem of establishing a normal,
independent statehood not because of unresolved conflict of Karabakh,
but because of ourselves.

ARMENIAN RESOLUTION TAKES US-TURKEY RELATIONS HOSTAGE – 1
Mehmet Kalyoncu*

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 26 2007

‘Will Turks lose the battle they have never fought?’

Rumors vary regarding the possibility of the so-called genocide bill,
HR-106, coming to the House floor to be voted on by the US Congress.

California’s Democrat Congresswoman Ms. Nancy Pelosi, a staunch
supporter of the Armenian genocide allegations, assumed the position
of speaker of the House of Representatives in January 2007.

According to some accounts, in September the Armenian diaspora will
do whatever it takes to pass the bill, which seems possible given
that the number of HR-106 co-sponsors suffices to do that and the
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one of the early sponsors of the bill.

According to others, Congress will not bring up the genocide issue
for at least the rest of 2007, as Washington needs Ankara’s full
cooperation to implement its partial troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Nevertheless, the genocide bill’s not coming up in the foreseeable
future does not necessarily solve the most pressing problem affecting
US-Turkish relations. Not only to immunize US-Turkish relations
against the artificial genocide debate, which erratically breaks out,
but also to relieve themselves of a great burden of being accused
of genocide, Turks should pursue a just and final solution to the
genocide debate. There is no better time than now to launch and wind
the battle of ideas, given the American public’s increased awareness
of the Armenian diaspora’s efforts to conceal crucial facts about the
Turkish-Armenian atrocities during World War I and of its efforts to
inhibit free speech on the subject.

An anatomy of the so-called genocide allegation

Not necessarily the entire Armenian diaspora in the United States,
but the militant groups within it, label any language or conversation
that calls to investigate the allegations regarding to the so-called
genocide a form of an outright denial of what they call "genocide."

They seek to justify their unrelenting attitude on this most
politicized issue by suggesting that it would be similar and, as such,
meaningless to investigating the credibility of the Holocaust, which
cost the lives of some 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany.

Beside its undermining of the Holocaust, and its motivation to
exploit the Jews’ deep sorrow, on a moral and intellectual ground,
these militant groups’ attitude itself is already self-defeating
enough. One is naturally inclined to wonder why it would not be normal
to investigate "a truth," while doing so would only affirm it if it
is really "the truth." In addition to the diaspora’s inhibition of
freedom of conscience and speech, the very fact that it is only the
Armenian archives, which are vital to research in order to understand
what really happened in 1915 and the following years, that remain
closed, while the Turkish ones and all others — including Russian,
British, French and American — are wide open to any researchers of
any ethno-national origin, raises questions about the credibility of
the Armenian allegations of genocide.

Moreover, that these archives are kept in Boston, MA, under the
custody of an Armenian foundation headquartered in Toronto, Canada,
and that they are inaccessible not only to Turkish but also to
American researchers who are not ethnic Armenians further challenges
the credibility of the Armenian allegations. According to Dr. Yusuf
Halacoðlu, head of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) in Ankara,
one frequently cited excuse for these archives remaining inaccessible
to researchers is that they have not been organized yet. Dr.

Halacoðlu noted that he offered to donate $20 million to the Foundation
out of TTK’s own budget, as opposed to the Turkish government’s
budget, in order to expedite the process of organizing these archives
and opening them to research, and yet his offer has been refused by
foundation officials.

The US Congress under pressure

The statistical data indicating that the surge in support for the
HR-106 resolution in the month it was introduced (January 2007) and
the plummeting support thereafter suggests that the Congress members’
support for the resolution is driven primarily by Democrat peer
pressure, if not by their commitment to fulfilling their pre-election
promises to their Armenian American fundraisers and the fear of losing
electoral support in the next elections. The mid-term congressional
elections took place in November 2006 after which the Democrats seized
the majority and California’s Democrat Congresswoman Ms. Nancy Pelosi,
a staunch supporter of the Armenian genocide allegations, assumed the
position of speaker of the House of Representatives in January 2007.

On Jan. 30, California’s Democrat Representative Adam Schiff whose
constituency, and hence campaign sponsors, consist of Armenian
Americans of Glendale, CA, introduced the HR-106 bill which "calls upon
the president to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues
related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented
in the United States record relating to the Armenian genocide and the
consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution" and "calls
upon the president in the president’s annual message commemorating
the Armenian genocide issued on or about April 24, to accurately
characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000
Armenians as genocide and to recall the proud history of United States
intervention in opposition to the Armenian genocide." The bill has
been co-sponsored by five other representatives whose respective
constituencies consist of a sizeable community of Armenian American
voters. These co-sponsors include respectively George Radanovich
(R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI), Brad Sherman
(D-CA) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI).

On Jan. 31, some 158 members of Congress, including those who
withdrew their support later on, signed onto the HR-106. The number
of representatives pledging support for the bill has plummeted in the
months that followed, averaging 10 per month adding up to the total
of 226 as of today.

One misinterpretation of these numbers would be that more than half
of the House of Representatives (226 out of 435) believe that what
happened in 1915 was "genocide," as the bill suggest, while the
other would be that those who did not sign up onto the bill do
not think what happened in 1915 was not "genocide." In addition,
interpreting these numbers as that the US Congress does not value its
Turkish ally would probably be the most misleading one. Similarly,
blaming the possible recognition of the so-called genocide in the
US Congress on the Jewish American community, by the example of the
Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) recent recognition of it, would not
only be equally misleading, but also amount to shooting oneself in
the foot and ironically rewarding the Armenian diaspora by giving up
an enduring ally in the United States. No need to mention that it has
been the Jewish-American Congress members and community leaders who
have long advocated Turkish theses on this pressing genocide debate.

* Mehmet Kalyoncu is an international relations analyst and can be
reached at [email protected] 26.09.2007

–Boundary_(ID_A/iGiW+uVJig1guJYLs0Dg) —

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

========================================== ======
Wednesday 26 September 2007
ARMENIA: 82 RELIGIOUS PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IS NEW RECORD

With 82 Jehovah’s Witnesses imprisoned for refusing military service and
the military-controlled alternative service on grounds of religious
conscience, the Armenian authorities have reached a new record. Jehovah’s
Witnesses told Forum 18 News Service that 73 of them are serving terms of
18 to 36 months’ imprisonment, while nine more are awaiting trial. Seven
are due for trial on 15 October, while the new call-up about to begin is
likely to bring more arrests. "Alternative service is under the control of
the Defence Ministry – I believe this should not be the case," Armen
Harutyunyan, Armenia’s Human Rights Ombudsperson, told Forum 18. But Artur
Agabekyan, chair of the parliamentary Defence Committee, rejects this. "The
alternative civilian service has no connection with the Defence Ministry,"
he claimed to Forum 18. Local journalist Vahan Ishkhanian says there is no
appetite for change within Armenia. "They say we already have a law that
meets European standards. I believe any change depends on the Council of
Europe."

ARMENIA: 82 RELIGIOUS PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IS NEW RECORD

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;

When Aghan Vartanyan was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by the court
of Yerevan’s Shengavit District on 29 August, he became the 73rd Jehovah’s
Witness currently serving a prison sentence for refusing military service
on grounds of religious conscience. A further nine were arrested in August
and are in prison awaiting trial, Lyova Markaryan of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses told Forum 18 News Service from Yerevan on 24 September. This
brought the total imprisoned to a record 82. Seven of the nine are due to
be tried on 15 October. Another Jehovah’s Witness is serving a two year
suspended sentence. Markaryan fears the number of prisoners will only rise
as the autumn call-up begins next month.

Armenia has violated its commitment to the Council of Europe to bring in a
fully civilian alternative to military service. It has also been criticised
by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (see
F18News 2 May 2007 <‘ 9>).

Markaryan complained that the most recent prisoner amnesty was not applied
to Jehovah’s Witnesses. "Nor are Jehovah’s Witnesses released from prison
after serving one third of their imprisonment," he told Forum 18. He said
he believes Jehovah’s Witness young men would be ready to do a genuinely
civilian alternative service, though he insisted the decision is up to each
individual member.

"No-one here in Armenia wants to change the system," Vahan Ishkhanian, a
journalist from ArmeniaNow.com who has long followed the cases of
imprisoned conscientious objectors, told Forum 18 on 25 September. "They
say we already have a law that meets European standards. I believe any
change depends on the Council of Europe." He reports that no young men are
now doing the alternative service.

On 23 January 2007, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
adopted Resolution 1532, which declared: "The Assembly urges the Armenian
authorities to revise the law on alternative service in accordance with the
recommendations made by the Council of Europe experts currently studying
this issue and, in the meantime, to pardon the young conscientious
objectors currently serving prison sentences."

Twenty-two Jehovah’s Witnesses have lodged cases at the European Court of
Human Rights in Strasbourg over their prosecution for refusing to serve in
the armed forces or perform military-controlled alternative service. One of
those who has brought his case to Strasbourg, Haik Bukharatyan, was told by
a prosecutor: "People like you should be destroyed. Hitler was right when
he tried to exterminate you!"

Armen Harutyunyan, Armenia’s Human Rights Ombudsperson, told Forum 18
there has been "no progress" towards meeting the country’s obligation to
introduce a genuinely civilian alternative service or to reduce the length
of time alternative service lasts. "Alternative service is under the
control of the Defence Ministry – I believe this should not be the case,"
he told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 26 September. "Members of various
religious groups have complained about this."

Harutyunyan said that if there is no progress he will include the failure
to introduce a genuine civilian service into his next annual report to
parliament. "Parliament is already informed about this issue and it must
amend the law."

But Artur Agabekyan, a parliamentary deputy from the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation party who chairs the parliamentary Defence
Committee, rejects Harutyunyan’s assessment. "There is alternative military
service and alternative civilian service," he told Forum 18 from Yerevan on
26 September. "The alternative civilian service has no connection with the
Defence Ministry." He said the only connection is that conscripts are
initially called up through local military conscription offices.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Molokans reject such assertions, insisting
that those conducting the alternative "civilian" service are supervised by
the Military Police under regulations laid down by the Defence Ministry.
They are ordered to wear uniform provided by the military and fed by the
military. All breaches of orders or regulations are dealt with by the
Military Prosecutor’s Office.

Order No. 142, issued by the then Deputy Defence Minister Mikael
Harutyunyan on 20 December 2004, ordered the Military Commissariat and the
Military Police to ensure that there is weekly military supervision of
everyone performing "civilian" alternative service. Monthly written reports
were ordered to be submitted to the Chief of the General Staff, and the
military was ordered to search for anyone who attempts to evade the
"civilian" alternative service. The Head of the Mobilisation Administration
of the General Staff was given the responsibility of ensuring that Order
No. 142 is obeyed (see F18News 22 February 2006
< e_id=732>).

Agabekyan of the parliamentary Defence Committee rejected this, insisting
that this decree must have been superseded. He promised to find out and
tell Forum 18. "Some mistakes were made by the Defence Ministry," he
conceded. "They don’t have the right to control alternative civilian
service." He maintained that the Social Care and Health Ministries are in
charge of those doing alternative service.

Forum 18 has been unable to find out why the Defence Ministry controls a
service that is supposed to be civilian. Col. Sedrak Sedrakyan of the
Ministry’s Legal Department was not in his office on 25 and 26 September
and questions submitted to Lt Suren Aloyan of the press office early on 25
September had not been answered by the end of the working day on 26
September.

No one in the administration of President Robert Kocharyan was available
to explain to Forum 18 on 26 September to explain what steps – if any – the
president intends to take to bring Armenia’s position into line with its
Council of Europe commitments, which should have been enacted by January
2004. Also unavailable when Forum 18 called were Justice Minister Kevork
Danielyan and parliamentary speaker Tigran Torosyan.

Despite the current alternative service being under Ministry of Defence
control, Armenian officials have repeated to Forum 18 their insistence that
they are meeting their obligations. "Our law did introduce an alternative
service," Tigran Samvelyan, who heads the Council of Europe Department at
the Foreign Ministry, told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 25 September. "I can’t
see any failure in fulfilling our commitments to the Council of Europe."

Told that the alternative service is under military control, thus
violating Council of Europe requirements and making the alternative service
unacceptable to those whose conscience does not allow them to support the
military, Samvelyan brushed these concerns aside. "The law was adopted by
parliament, not the Foreign Ministry," he maintained. Told that more than
80 Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently in prison for refusing military and
alternative service he insisted this is not his ministry’s responsibility.

All but one of the 73 sentenced Jehovah’s Witnesses were prosecuted under
Article 327 Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which punishes evasion of the
call-up to military or alternative service. The maximum sentence under this
article was increased to three years’ imprisonment in December 2005. The
Jehovah’s Witness prisoners are serving sentences of between 18 and 36
months’ imprisonment.

Markaryan of the Jehovah’s Witnesses complained to Forum 18 that in six
recent cases where sentences were at the lower end of the range,
prosecutors successfully appealed and had the sentences lengthened.

As well as the hundreds of Jehovah’s Witness prisoners in recent years, a
young Molokan Pavel Karavanov was freed from prison in summer 2006 after
serving a sentence for refusing military and alternative service on grounds
of religious conscience. Molokans are a Russian Protestant church,
established in the 17th century and known for their pacifism. There are
about 4,000 Molokans in Armenia.

A member of Yerevan’s Molokan community confirmed to Forum 18 on 25
September that no Molokan young men are currently imprisoned for refusing
military service. Other religious communities where pacifism has a long
tradition – such as the Seventh-day Adventists and the Pentecostal Churches
– confirmed to Forum 18 from Yerevan that their young men are prepared to
serve in the Armenian armed forces.

Ishkhanian, the journalist, reports some flexibility within the armed
forces to meet concerns on grounds of conscience. "Some young men serve
within the military but without handling weapons," he told Forum 18.

Mamikon Kazaryan, bishop of a Pentecostal denomination with links to the
Church led in Russia by Bishop Ivan Fedotov, said that about forty young
men in their congregations across Armenia are now doing military service.
"Some of them won’t swear the military oath on grounds of conscience, but
are allowed instead to give their word," he told Forum 18 from Yerevan on
25 September. "In recent years none of our young men have been punished in
relation to their service and they are treated well." (END)

Further coverage of Armenian-related religious freedom issues is at
< mp;religion=all&country=21&results=50>

A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=armeni& gt;
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES TIES WITH US IN LIGHT OF KURDISH ISSUE, IRAQ

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Sept 21 2007

["FOREIGN MINISTER BABACAN IN CHICAGO – ‘PKK PRESENCE IN NORTHERN
IRAQ IS A SOURCE OF UNEASINESS IN TURKISH-US RELATIONS, BABACAN’" –
AA headline]

CHICAGO (A.A) -21.09.2007 -"The presence of the terrorist organization
PKK in northern Iraq and its attacks against Turkey from there, is a
source of uneasiness in Turkish-US relations and we are expecting both
the United States and Iraqi governments to take urgent and firm steps
in bringing PKK terrorists before justice," Turkish FM Ali Babacan told
a meeting on Thursday held at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Babacan noted that the strategic partnership between Turkey and the
US had the strength to adapt itself to the changing conditions.

Babacan said that PKK terrorism and the Armenian allegations concerning
1915 incidents are two most important issues to be settled to ease
the relations between the two countries.

"Turkey cannot accept a third party to play the role of judge or jury,
and take side," Babacan said regarding a resolution at the US Congress
on Armenian allegations concerning the incidents of 1915 .

"Armenian allegations have never been verified neither legally nor
historically. We would like to see that the US Congress did not take
side in this matter, and common sense prevailed. This is an issue that
have to be dealt with between Turks and Armenians," Babacan stressed.

Touching on Turkish-EU relations, Babacan said that Turkey resolutely
continued accession negotiations in its march towards membership to
the Union.

"We will continue with this transformation process in Turkey and will
work to overcome problems we face on this path," he said.

-IRAQ-

Expressing Turkey’s concerns about the developments in Iraq, Babacan
said, "Turkey and the United States share the same view about Iraq.

Both countries are for a peaceful Iraq. Turkey has assisted Iraq in
many areas, from humanitarian aid to development of political dialogue
among different groups. We need to work resolutely to preserve Iraq’s
territorial integrity and political unity."

Recalling that it was Turkey which initiated the group of countries
neighbouring Iraq , Babacan said, "now, this initiative also includes
the five members of the UN Security Council and G-8 countries. Turkey
will host the second meeting of the group in Istanbul in October."

"The United States have some plans to withdraw from Iraq. But we
will remain in the region. Iraq’s future, territorial integrity and
political unity are of great importance for Turkey and the other
neighbouring countries. We believe that all Iraqi people should
benefit from the country’s natural resources," he said.

-IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME, SYRIA AND MIDDLE EAST-

"Turkey believes that all countries have the right to use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes. However, we are against development
of new nuclear weapons due to national, regional and global security
concerns. As for Iran’s nuclear programme, we have always recommended
Iranian authorities to be transparent and frank," he said.

Babacan said, "Turkey aims to become a party as regards settlement
of problems in the Middle East, and not a part of the problems. To
this end, Turkey’s giving sound messages to Iran and Syria as a
neighbouring country."

Babacan gave the message that it is not correct to isolate those
countries.

"Turkey is one of the rare countries having good relations with both
Israel and Arab states. And we are ready to host an international
conference in an effort to solve the Middle East dispute," he said.

-TURKEY’S REFORM PROCESS-

Giving information about Turkey’s reform process, Babacan said,
"as a result of increasing foreign investments and a rapid growth
rate, Turkey is expected to become the 10th biggest economy of the
world in 2023. Turkey has a young and dynamic population. There are
many surveys showing that the EU-countries would need some 50 million
migrants in near future due to their low birth rates. Turkey will be
quite different in the future as compared with the current one."

-CYPRUS-

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Babacan said, "unfair isolation
of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has still been
continuing. This isolation must come to an end. We cannot accept status
quo as a solution. Turkey wants a fair, durable and comprehensive
solution to the Cyprus issue."

Meanwhile, Babacan held talks with representatives of Jewish
associations such as the American Jewish Federation and the
Anti-Defamation League in Chicago. During the meeting, the
representatives said that they are opposing to the bills on the
incidents of 1915.

Babacan said that enactment of the bill by the US Congress will have
a serious impact on Turkey-US and Turkey-Israel relations.

Later, Babacan met Chicago World Trade Centre Chairman Neil Hartigan.

Babacan is expected to proceed to New York on Saturday.