Author: Chmshkian Vicken

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Armenian Assembly of America
50 North La Cienega Blvd., Suite 202
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 360-0091 phone
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2005
CONTACT: Lena Kaimian
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Armenian Genocide Legislation
Los Angeles, CA – Armenian Assembly of America Western Office Chairman
Richard Mushegain, Bay Area Regional Council Chair Suzanne Abnous,
and Western Office Director Lena Kaimian were part of a pan-community
delegation attending Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemorative
activities in Sacramento on April 21.
Kaimian was among several community leaders that were invited to
witness California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sign SB 424 into law.
The new law, originally authored by State Senator Charles Poochigian,
permanently designates April 24 as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide.”
During the signing ceremony Kaimian thanked the Governor for his
continuous support of the Armenian American community in California.
Armenian Assembly of America Western Office Chairman Richard Mushegain
commented, “The Armenian-American community is very appreciative
of Governor Schwarzenegger’s efforts to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide during the 90th anniversary this crime against humanity.
The Governor has become one of the leaders in the movement for
reaffirming the Armenian Genocide. We look forward to working with
him and other leaders in preventing future genocides.”
Prior to the signing ceremony, the Armenian Assembly representatives
along with members of the pan-community delegation witnessed the
unanimous passage of Genocide legislation in both the State Senate
and the Assembly. Throughout the day the Assembly delegation met with
numerous members of the California Senate including Senators Poochigian
(R-Fresno), Scott (D-Altadena), Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and Speier
(D-Hillsborough). The delegation also met with California State
Assembly members Aghazarian (R-Stockton), Frommer (D-Los Angeles),
Liu (D- La Canada), and Villines (R-Clovis).
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.

SERGEY MIRONOV: MINSK GROUP EFFORTS IN VAIN
Pan Armenian News
22.04.2005 03:23
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia is interested in peace and stability in the
Caucasus, Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly
of the RFSergey Mironov stated during a briefing in Baku. In his words,
Russia’s position on the issue is fundamental. “We consider that the
decision to be taken should satisfy both parties. Russia is ready to
become a guarantor. However, life has shown that the efforts of the
Minsk Group were not efficient. It is likely that the conflicting
parties only can achieve desirable results via direct negotiations”,
Sergey Mironov said. He said he is not aware of the alleged conveyance
of Russian armament to Armenia and refrained from commenting on
the issue. When touching upon the activities of the Caucasian Four,
Mironov noted, “There have been already 5 meetings held, however they
are closed and cannot be commented on” and added that he attaches
great importance to these activities. He also expressed hope that
an agreement on the recurrent meeting of the Four will be achieved
during Azeri Parliament Speaker Murtuz Aleskerov’s visit to Moscow.

Ex-aid says Europe uses Armenian “genocide” to bar Turkey from EU
Mediamax news agency
21 Apr 05
Yerevan, 21 April: The former adviser to the Armenian ex-President
Levon Ter- Petrosyan, Zhirayr Liparidyan, is concerned that “the issue
of the Armenian genocide has been turned into a political toy in the
hands of the world powers”.
“Leading world powers have been using this issue as a leverage
in their relations with Armenia and Turkey” for the past decade,
Zhirayr Liparidyan said today. In Liparidyan’s opinion, “the issue of
recognition of the Armenian genocide is being used to prevent Turkey
from entering the EU, but it will sink into oblivion tomorrow”.
“The Armenian genocide was the result of the European imperialism
policy,” Liparidyan said. “Responsibility for the Armenian genocide
also lies with the European countries and they have to admit this,”
he said.

Turkey condemns Polish parliament decision to recognize Armenian “genocide”
Anatolia news agency
20 Apr 05
Ankara, 20 April: Turkey condemned a decision of the Polish parliament
describing events in 1915 as genocide.
Releasing a statement on Wednesday [20 April], the Turkish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) recalled that the Polish parliament approved
a decision recognizing the events on 19 April 1915 as genocide.
MFA condemned the decision of the Polish parliament, and rejected it.
“Distortion of the events during the World War I which caused
both Turkish and Armenian peoples to endure grave sufferings,
and unilateral definement of them as genocide are nothing, but
irresponsibility. Turkey has been advocating that national parliaments
could not rule about the controversial periods of the history, and
that parliaments should avoid initiatives that could provoke vengeance
and hatred between people,” it said.
The MFA noted: “Only historians can made the healthiest decisions
about historical events. Therefore, Turkey proposed Armenia to set
up group of Turkish and Armenian historians to examine the events in
1915 by utilizing archives of all relevant countries.”
“We profoundly regretted that the Polish parliament made such a
decision based on distorted information, instead of recommending
the Armenian government to accept our proposal. This attitude of
the Polish parliament contradicts with the friendly relations of 8
centuries between Turkish and Polish nations,” the MFA added.

Armenian suspect in weapons smuggling case extradited to USA
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
18 Apr 05
Defendant Armen Barsegyan has been taken to Washington from Armenia
to face charges of involvement in a plot to smuggle arms into the USA.
Barsegyan, along with other 20 defendants who have been indicted
in connection with this case, will appear in court this week. The
suspects were apprehended before any weapons were taken out of Armenia.
The US embassy has expressed special thanks to Yerevan and noted that
Armenia is a reliable partner in the struggle against terrorism.

THE COUNTRY CANNOT DEVELOP BY PRIVATE TRANSFERS
A1plus
| 16:57:33 | 18-04-2005 | Social |
Today, at the Marriott-Armenia Hotel in Yerevan the Millennium
Project’s “Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve
the Millennium Development Goals” report was launched. UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Lise Grande,
presented the report to representatives of the Government, diplomatic
corps, civil society and the mass media.
The UN Millennium Project is an independent advisory body commissioned
by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to develop a global plan for
achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The
Project is directed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University.
In September 2005, a high-level summit of the UN General Assembly
will discuss the findings and recommendations of this report. The
world will face a historic chance at this meeting for making the
necessary global policy breakthrough, which is needed to help the
poorest countries achieve the Goals. The Millennium Project’s report
provides a detailed blueprint for making this happen.
One of the key findings of the report is that MDGs are achievable by
2015, even for the poorest countries of the world. But the report
confirms that we are on a threshold where we no longer can afford
any further delays in introducing swift policy actions for achieving
the Goals.
Ms. Grande noted in her speech: “As an outcome of today’s presentation,
it is important that the work already being done in Armenia to reach
the MDGs is accelerated. By more directly aligning the country’s
Poverty Reduction Strategy with the MDGs and localising targets for
each of the eight MDG goals, we can together make sure that no one
in Armenia is left behind.”
At the event, a presentation by Mr. Tigran Khachatryan, Deputy Minister
of Finance of Armenia on the status of PRSP monitoring also took place.

Zaman, Turkey
April 17 2005
Armenian Guerillas Killed 523,000 Turks between 1910 and 1922
Published: Sunday 17, 2005
zaman.com
While for years the Armenians have been trying to direct the world’s
opinion to favor their side with regard to the so-called genocide
allegations, official documents prove that Armenian guerillas killed
over 500,000 Turks in Anatolia between 1910 and 1922.
The Turkish Prime Ministry State Archives Director General Professor
Yusuf Sarinay noted that Turkey has been facing impositions stating
“face up to your past” for a long time and said: “When we face up to
our history, what we encounter is our own pains and losses.”
Professor Sarinay expressed that history is locked at a point
regarding the so-called Armenian genocide allegations and opinions
are deadlocked on the year 1915 and added: “The problems do not start
from this date. 1915 is a result.”

Agence France Presse — English
April 16, 2005 Saturday 3:03 AM GMT
Refugee aid breeds resentment in Azerbaijan
by Simon Ostrovsky
KURDAMIR, Azerbaijan April 16
Already too dark indoors, a few old men sat outside a ramshackle
teahouse to catch the last rays of the afternoon sun as they played
dominoes in this dusty town in central Azerbaijan.
“There hasn’t been any electricity in the whole neighborhood for
seven hours,” complained one, “nowhere except there,” he added,
gesturing at a rickety apartment block inhabited by refugees from the
Nagorny-Karabakh war.
Hundreds of thousands of Azeri refugees from a conflict that erupted
in last days of the Soviet Union still live in destitute housing and
camps scattered around the republic.
But the regular aid that they receive both from the government and
foreign aid agencies has stoked resentment in the poor communities to
which they have been resettled.
“They get a lot of help and we get nothing,” said 75-year-old Gara,
who said his 24 US dollars a month pension was only enough to cover
energy and water costs, but left little for food.
A regular supply of free electricity is just one of the benefits that
ordinary residents in Kurdamir wish they could share.
In an area where jobs are scarce and pensions low, they say the food
aid refugees receive, as well as tax benefits and a clean water
supply mean life is easier for those who fled their homes more than a
decade ago.
Azerbaijan will spend 60 million US dollars on aid to refugees this
year and foreign aid groups are expected to pitch in an additional 30
million US dollars according to the government.
And though billions of US dollars have been invested into the Caspian
nation as a BP-led consortium prepares to launch a massive pipeline
to deliver oil from here to Western markets, nearly half of the
country lives below the poverty line.
Azerbaijan and its rival Armenia fought a bloody war for Karabakh, a
predominantly Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized borders until a ceasefire was signed in 1994.
Pro-Armenian forces won control of Karabakh and seven surrounding
regions at the cost of about 25,000 dead from both sides. About a
million people on both sides, 750,000 of them Azeris, were driven
from their homes.
And though conditions in the camps remain poor, aid groups have begun
to indicate that in poverty-stricken Azerbaijan, there is more
suffering outside the camps than inside.
More than 90 percent of refugees consume acceptable amounts of food,
but according to a recent study by the World Food Program (WFP) up to
600,000 ordinary people in rural areas are “food insecure” causing
malnutrition mainly among children.
“It is an issue which needs to be addressed. Twenty four percent of
children in some areas are stunted and suffer from malnutrition,”
said Rahman Chowdhury, WFP director in Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile the aid refugees receive, which is sometimes in excess of
their needs, is sold on to local residents, according to a Peace
Corps volunteer who works with refugee and local children in
Kurdamir.
As she sat by candlelight because of a power cut, Lisa Min said there
was “less resentment than you would expect,” between the two
communities, but goods like vegetable oil given to refugees in large
quantities often find their way onto the market.
Instead of taking steps to integrate refugees into communities and
invest money into developing towns, Azerbaijan’s government has done
everything to make sure refugees stay in camps, against the advice of
aid agencies.
“We want them to live in concentration so that when the occupied
territories are liberated it will be easier to move them back in,”
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov told AFP.
The high level of government support that they receive is designed to
create incentives for the refugees to stay put, Hasanov said, but it
has also given grounds for jealousy from their impoverished
neighbors.
With Armenia and Azerbaijan no closer to reaching a lasting
settlement than they were when the tense ceasefire was reached,
humanitarian organizations have pushed the government to look at
other options.
According to the WFP’s Chowdhury, “living in the camps is not ideal,
not for a long time, they do not have opportunities to work outside
and this causes grievances and tensions,” with the local communities.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 15, 2005 Friday 3:11 PM Eastern Time
EU to help Georgia control northern borders
By Alexander Mineyev
LUXEMBOURG
The European Union will help Georgia to control the northern borders
with due consideration of the Russian position and in cooperation
with Moscow, the EU foreign ministers said in Luxembourg on Friday.
The South Caucasian situation was on the agenda of their informal
meeting.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister and EU Council President Jean Asselborn
told a press conference that Georgia had asked for larger
international monitoring of its northern border and demilitarization
in South Ossetia. He said Georgia wanted to fill the gap with the end
of the OSCE observation mission mandate.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer lauded the OSCE observation
mission and said that the EU could not exchange the mission mandate
without consensus in that organization and they would be considering
another solution. Fischer said they had an open dialog with Russia on
the subject.
European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy
Benita Ferrero-Waldner told Itar-Tass that cooperation with Russia
was important. On one hand, Georgia wants an international mission on
the border, but, on the other hand, one must see the priorities, she
said.
Ferrero-Waldner thinks that good relations between Russia and Georgia
are a priority of the EU.
The European Union will also use the neighborhood policy for the
settlement of mothballed conflicts in the South Caucasus.
The action plans to be signed with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
will include human rights and settlement of conflicts,
Ferrero-Waldner said.
Economic aid is the key method the European Union will be using, she
said. A delegation of the European Union and a EU special
representative will be stationed in each of these countries and work
on the solution of these problems, she said.
The role of Russia is very important in this respect, Ferrero-Waldner
said. The settlement of conflicts on the post-Soviet territory is
part of the EU-Russia external security roadmap, which may be adopted
at the EU-Russia summit in Moscow on May 10, she said.

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 15 2005
THE CIS AND BALTIC PRESS ON RUSSIA
[parts omitted]
ARMENIA
Armenian media are convinced that the republic will become the next
post-Soviet country to have a “color” revolution, but blame the
deterioration of its situation on the geopolitical scene not on the
republican authorities but on Russia.
They sharply criticize Russia’s actions within the Enterprises for
Debts program. “The Russian government has decided to write off a
part of Ethiopian debts, with the remaining $160 million of the total
of $1.26 billion to be repaid within 30 years. But it has taken over
five major enterprises for Armenia’s $100-million debt, probably
because the Ethiopian authorities, unlike the Armenian ones, do not
need the Kremlin assistance to remain in power.” (Aikakan Zhamanak
04.06.)