Author: Ekmekjian Janet

MEMBERS OF ARARAT ORGANIZATION IN IRAN CLIMB MOUNT ARARAT
ArmenPress
Oct 12 2004
TEHRAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS: A group of mountain climbers from
Iranian Armenian organization Ararat climbed the top of Mount Ararat
and placed there the 60 year-long coat of arms of the organization..
According to Armenian Alik newspaper, published in Tehran, the group
was composed of Armenians and Iranians.

Turkish Consulate in Paris faces charges
Turks.us
Oct 11 2004
Turkish Chief Consulate diplomats are to appear before a court in
France today due to an appeal from the Campaign for the Recognition
of the Armenian Genocide of France (CDCA-France).
CDCA-France appealed to the Paris Court in July because the Chief
Consulate denied the so-called Armenian genocide on its official
internet site, Anatolia news agency said.
The CDCA said in its appeal to the court then, Turkey’s broadcasting
on the internet site was a denial propaganda targeting French people.
The CDCA wanted the court to charge the Turkish Consulate due to this
reason and close its internet site down.
Turkish State’s lawyers are expected to ask the court to dismiss the
case at the first hearing today, by saying that the Consulate had
diplomatic immunity according to the Vienna Convention. The lawyers
will also mention the matter of the freedom of expression as a part
of their defense and argue it to have the case dismissed by the court,
the agency said.
The French Parliament passed a law in early 2001 which stated; “France
recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915.” Turkey sent a protest note
to the French government concerning the issue after the draft law was
first passed in 1998. The Turkish Parliament decided to invalidate the
draft and the military projects undertaken by France were suspended.
Turkey’s reactions postponed the final adoption of the draft by
the French Senate for about two and a half years. However, with the
coming municipal elections in March 2001, the Senate passed it on
November 2001.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected and condemned the Senate
resolution. The Turkish Parliament adopted a similar resolution on
January, 2001. Despite this, the draft was once again passed at the
French parliament on January 18. Following its ratification by French
President Jacques Chirac, it became law on January 30.
A parliamentarian from the main opposition Socialist Party has
introduced a bill to the French parliament in recent months and asked
for accepting the denial of so-called Armenian genocide as a crime
in the French Criminal Code.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 4, 2004, Monday
YEREVAN COMES OUT OF THE SHADOW
SOURCE: Krasnaya Zvezda, October 1, 2004, p. 4
by Roman Streshnev
In his interview last Wednesday Armenia’s Defense Minister Serzhik
Sarkisyan shed light on some aspects of military policy.
Considerable attention was paid to Armenia’s relations with Russia.
In opinion of Sarkisyan, Russia has always been and is Armenia’s
major strategic ally. At the same time Serzhik Sarkisyan stressed
that all rumors saying Armenia is breaking with Russia and wants to
join NATO don’t comply with reality and labeled them as “political
agitation.” “I’ve never, nor do I now want Armenia to join NATO,” he
noted. It would only be possible to say that Yerevan’s priorities
have altered in case Armenia announced its intention to pull out from
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and enter NATO.
“Thanks to our involvement in the CSTO, many questions which must
remain undisclosed are being discussed and solved positively,” he
stressed.
Nevertheless, Armenia has been more active at joining various
NATO-led projects. In opinion of Sarkisyan, “activation of
Armenia-NATO relations now is only a wider use of the opportunities
available.” In his words, Armenia’s intention to become a
full-fledged member of the European family is the main goal of
spurring up cooperation with NATO. “We continue deepening our
cooperation with NATO and regard this cooperation as a component of
Armenia’s national security,” Sarkisyan noted.
Serzhik Sarkisyan’s statement that Armenia is obliged to send its
servicemen to Iraq matched the spirit of developing cooperation with
Armenia’s Western partners. “By its minor involvement Armenia must
contribute to the cause of establishing stability in Iraq,” he noted.
The republican parliament must solve this issue. As is planned,
Armenia will send to Iraq more than 30 military drivers, 10 field
engineers, 6 technicians and 3 doctors.
Similar approaches of the Armenian military leaders comply with the
principle of complementariness in foreign policy. Its goal is
extremely simple: enlist the support of Russia, the US and Europe in
all directions significant for Yerevan, the Karabakh problem as well.
The sides involved in the conflict are often announcing their
belligerent statements of late. At the same time Sarkisyan said that
Armenia does not want to resume military actions against Azerbaijan.
In his words, neither is Yerevan interested in ceasing Azerbaijan’s
involvement in NATO-led Partnership for Peace program, which places
some restricting commitments on Baku.

La Croix
5 octobre 2004
Dossier. La Turquie aux portes de l’Union Européenne. PAROLES
d’islamologues. Interviews. Le problème n’est pas l’islam , Olivier
Roy. Directeur de recherche au
SAUTO Martine de,SCHMIDT Pierre
Le problème n’est pas l’islam
Olivier Roy
Directeur de recherche au CNRS (1)
Le problème, ce n’est pas l’islam. Il est compatible avec les
traditions du sécuralisme européen. Une identité européenne en partie
musulmane ne me gêne pas. Il y a de plus en plus de musulmans dans
les pays de l’Union européenne… Et sur un plan stratégique, la
Turquie a rompu avec le Moyen-Orient qui est une source de menaces
pour elle.
Le problème qui se pose est plutôt celui d’une société qui est en
transition : on va vers une occidentalisation mais on n’y est pas
encore, notamment dans le sud-est du pays. Une autre question
fondamentale concerne l’appareil d’Etat : l’obstacle principal
aujourd’hui, c’est la tradition kémaliste et militaire de la Turquie
(de Kemal Atatürk 1881-1936, le père des Turcs, NDLR).
La question du référendum sur l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union
européenne est absurde. Je crois qu’il faut penser en termes de
processus et non en termes de oui ou de non . Ou on dit oui et cela
veut dire que la Turquie est prête, or elle ne l’est pas encore… Ou
bien, on dit non et on ferme la porte ! Il est important de ne pas la
fermer car cette perspective entraîne la Turquie vers la transition.
(1) Auteur de La Turquie aujourd’hui : un pays européen ? (direction
d’ouvrage, Universalis, 2004) et L’islam mondialisé (Seuil, septembre
2002)
L’islam turc est récent
Bruno Etienne
Directeur de l’Observatoire du religieux à l’Institut d’études
politiques d’Aix-en-Provence.
Des politiques de droite et de gauche – y compris ceux qui étaient
opposés à ce qu’elles soient mentionnées dans le préambule de la
Constitution – invoquent les valeurs chrétiennes pour justifier leur
refus de voir la Turquie rejoindre, dans quinze ans, l’Union
européenne. Ils oublient – ou font mine d’oublier – que l’islam turc
est un islam récent. Si le pacte a été rompu lors du génocide
arménien, ce n’est pas par les musulmans, mais par les laïques
nationalistes ! Ils refusent aussi d’honorer le pays musulman qui a
conduit les plus grandes avancées vers la laïcité. Ils négligent le
fait qu’aux marges du monde libre , la Turquie sert de porte-avions à
l’Otan, et qu’elle est aussi le seul Etat musulman à entretenir des
relations sérieuses – y compris militaires – avec Israël. Par
ailleurs, comment oublier que les monuments grecs sont plus nombreux
en Turquie que partout ailleurs (Ephèse, Pergame…) et sont visités
comme hauts lieux de la pensée et de l’art européens. L’adhésion de
la Turquie serait une bonne réponse à ceux qui ne regardent le monde
qu’en termes religieux.
RECUEILLI PAR MARTINE DE SAUTO ET PIERRE SCHMIDT
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri, Bulgarian clerics discuss religious freedom
ANS TV, Baku
7 Oct 04
[Presenter] The chairman of the Board of Muslims of the Caucasus,
Sheikh ul-Islam Haci Allahsukur Pasazada, and Bulgaria’s Metropolitan
Dometian of Vidin have focused on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
during their meeting. Allahsukur Pasazada especially underlined US
efforts to reach a speedy solution to the conflict. It was noted at
the meeting that Azerbaijan is one of very few countries where
religious freedom is ensured. About 20,000 Armenians live in the
country.
Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin talked about the cultural and
historical ties between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. The guest expressed
satisfaction with the level of religious freedom.
[Video shows the meeting]

Azerbaijan demands Armenia’s exclusion from Council of Europe
Oct 5 2004
BAKU. Oct 5 (Interfax) – Azerbaijan has sent a letter to the Council
of Europe demanding that Armenia be expelled from this organization.
“The document that contains the demand to exclude Armenia from the
Council of Europe has already received the status of an official PACE
document. It will be distributed among PACE countries’ representatives
on Tuesday and will be discussed at a session of the Council of Europe
ministers’ cabinet in the near future,” a representatives of
Azerbaijan’s delegation at the Strasbourg PACE session, Rafael
Guseinov, told Interfax.
“This demand is motivated by the fact that Armenia has repeatedly
violated the basic principles of the Council of Europe. Namely,
Armenia continues the occupation of 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory,
Azerbaijan being another Council of Europe country,” Guseinov said.
Baku lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh in the course of a bloody
conflict with Armenia in the 1990s.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly condemned the occupation of
Azerbaijani territory and demanded that Armenian military units be
withdrawn from it. The OSCE Minsk Group, which includes
representatives of Russia, France, and the United States, is mediating
the conflict.

Mironov’s visit to Armenia is a new step in bilateral relations
03.10.2004, 23.41
YEREVAN, October 3 (Itar-Tass) — An official visit of Federation
Council Chairman Sergei Mironov to Armenia, which ended on Sunday, was
a new phase in Russian-Armenian relations, sources in the Russian
delegation and Armenia told Itar-Tass.
Russia and Armenia are political partners and allies, Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and Mironov said. The interlocutors
discussed the entire range of bilateral relations during the visit.
The sides think that economic cooperation is lagging behind political
dialog. They discussed negative consequences of the closure of the
Russian-Georgian border on the Armenian economy.
Cargo transit via Georgia is a concern of Armenia, which does not
border on Russia. The Verkhny Lars checkpoint is the only motorway
between Armenia and Russia. `We discussed possible solutions to the
problem, bearing inmind our partnership with Armenia,’ Mironov said.
A joint declaration signed by Mironov and Armenian Parliament Speaker
Artur Bagdasaryan provides for legislative steps in the anti-terrorist
fight.
`Not only Russia but also all countries of this unique land of plenty
need stability in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia,’ Mironov told
servicemen of a Russian regiment stationed in Yerevan. `You are one of
the outpostsof security on Russian southern boundaries,’ he said.

Ecologist Ferdinand Grigoryan to Take Home Know-How for Vanadzor Nursery
By Daphne Abeel
Armenian Mirror-Spectator
September 25, 2004
WATERTOWN, MA–Massachusetts’ forests, farms, nurseries and arboretums have
proved a fertile research laboratory for Armenian ecologist Ferdinand
Grigoryan, who is in the US for seven weeks, to learn and collect
information for Tsiatsan (Rainbow), the environmental NGO which he founded
in 1997.
Now working in partnership with the Armenia Tree Project (ATP), Grigoryan
has visited Levon Kachadoorian’s Everlast Nursery in Leicester, Concord’s
Walden Pond, Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, Mahoney’s Rocky Ledge Nursery in
Winchester, various supply stores and talked to a local Armenian-American
farmer, Krikor Soujian, about his corn crop. Each visit has been an
opportunity to study planting and cultivation techniques, or to learn about
how small retail nurseries work.
What he has absorbed he will take back to Armenia where Tsiatsan’s main
project will be to develop a 15-acre reforestation nursery in Vanadzor, in
the Lori district, which by 2006, is hoped to have the capacity to produce
one million trees a year. The goal is to plant trees that are indigenous to
Armenia such as maple, oak, linden, walnut and beech.
“Mainly, I am learning about how people care for the environment here,” said
Grigoryan in an interview at ATP’s headquarters. “The idea of protecting the
environment is still new in Armenia. There is a lot that needs to be
grasped, not just about protecting the environment, but new growth
techniques that can be applied in agriculture.”
Grigoryan will be taking seeds home for testing as well as books and some
specific implements such as sprinkler heads, which will be used in the
irrigation system at Vanadzor. But, it is education that will ensure the
long-term success of environmental and reforestation projects, he said.
“Trees were being cut down at a great rate in the early ’90s, due to the
energy crisis. But people have learned that deforestation leads to
degradation of the soil and to erosion. We now have a program in the Lori
schools about environmental protection. We want to educate the students to
become stewards of the land,” he said.
To reach people who live in rural areas outside of Yerevan, Grigoryan plans
to produce a series of television programs on the environment to air twice a
month on community stations free of charge.
“We especially need to train people who are dependent on the land. If they
cut down a tree, we are teaching them to plant a tree to replace it,” said
Grigoryan. “In this way, we can change people’s psychology. Someone who has
planted a tree is much less likely to cut it down.”
There are signs that Armenia is beginning to pay more attention to its
environment, said Grigoryan. “Some legislation has been passed, and the
Armenia Forestry Agency has been transferred from the Ministry of
Environmental Protection to the Ministry of Agriculture. All of these
ministries have a limited budget. But, as an NGO, Tsiatsan can have access
to the top professionals in Armenia, in topography and many other fields.”
Also, Yerevan State University and more importantly, community colleges are
beginning to teach courses on ecology and protection of the environment. And
the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) is encouraging their members to help with
environmental education in the schools.
He added, “The Armenia Tree Project has done a tremendous job in Armenia.
They are a great partner for us. There is no organization like it.”
Grigoryan said he had a special appreciation for what has been accomplished
at Walden Pond.
“I wanted to learn how natural forests are being protected,” he said. “There
is no cutting of trees there and when erosion occurs, the problem is
addressed immediately. I admire the way the area has been conserved, and
there is a relationship there between the animals and people that I haven’t
seen before.”
While he was here, Grigoryan visited St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary
School and invited the students to come to Armenia, meet students there and
work on the Vanadzor planting project.
Beyond planting trees, Grigoryan said, care and maintenance are extremely
important. He cited a recent case of the fir trees planted at Echmiadzin in
honor of all previous catholicoses. The trees died soon after as a result of
neglect.
“The NGO involved in the planting should have been responsible for the
maintenance. The trees were not watered properly. Yes, people should have
been educated to take care of them, but there should be accountability,” he
said.
Grigoryan concluded, “Each tree I plant is for the future and for future
generations. And each generation can do this. It’s very important. This is
the most important work of my life.”
Photo: Left to right, Ferdinand Grigoryan with Chris Adanalian of Armenia
Tree Project and Everlast Nursery owner, Levon Kachadoorian
Photo: The irrigation pipeline at Tsiatsan’s nursery project in Vanadzor

Extremism “rearing its ugly head” in Azerbaijan – Armenian MP
Arminfo
24 Sep 04
Yerevan
Under the new president of Azerbaijan, extremist forces have “reared
their ugly head” and become more active in that country, Vahan
Ovanesyan, deputy speaker of the Armenian National Assembly and a
member of the bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun ARFD , said during a press conference at the National
Press Club today.
He said that the latest frequent firefights on the border are not
necessarily coordinated from Baku, but there is no doubt that there
were much fewer cases of the sort under Azerbaijan’s ex-President
Heydar Aliyev.
Vaan Ovanesyan did not rule out that Baku has made a certain secret
decision to gradually “freeze” Azerbaijan’s cooperation with NATO, and
the refusal to allow Armenian officers to attend NATO exercises served
as an opportunity to implement this decision. “It is obvious that
under Ilham Aliyev, extremists have become more daring, and it cannot
be ruled out that extremists are using the Azerbaijani president’s
support. He will not dare to issue a direct order to resume the
hostilities, but the situation might get out of hand at any moment,”
the MP said.

ArmenPress
Sept 23 2004
DEFENSE MINISTRY DENIES PRESS REPORTS ABOUT AZERI SHOOTING ON
ARMENIAN BUS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS: A defense ministry spokesman
denied today reports of several local dailies that a passenger bus
came under fire when traveling between Kirants and Voskepar villages
in Tavush province bordering with Azerbaijan. The dailies claimed one
passenger, a middle-aged woman, was wounded on her back.
The spokesman, Seyran Shahsuvarian, said the alleged shooting was
not confirmed either by the commander of an Armenian military unit,
guarding the border with Azerbaijan.