Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Yo-yo Ma, Silk Road make stop in Seoul
By Warren Lee
THE KOREA HERALD
June 17, 2004, Thursday
A program featuring Armenian folk songs, Romany melodies and a Korean
12-stringed zither or “gayageum” thrown in for good measure may appear
chaotic, but there is a common thread that unites these sounds. All
were heard along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that connected
the people and traditions of Asia and Europe.
For the past six years acclaimed cellist Yo-yo Ma has led the Silk
Road Project on a nomadic concert series devoted to music from lands
along the historic route. Ma has helped unearth and introduce a
diverse range of isolated musical traditions that remain as exotic
to contemporary ears as they were to European travelers like Marco
Polo several hundred years ago.
The Silk Road Project will make its first appearance in Korea at the
Seoul Arts Center on June 24, with Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble
performing music stretching from Azerbaijan to Korea with stops
in between.
Ma originally created the Silk Road Project, which has gone on to
successfully capitalize on the exoticism shrouding the Silk Road’s
historical legacy, as an earnest study of how musical ideas travel
through various geographic and cultural terrains. It has become
more than a mere travelogue in sound and aims to underscore more
similarities than differences among traditions, while integrating
Western classical works with ties to those traditions.
The concert will begin with a pair of Korean artists. Kim Ji-hyun’s
performance of “gayageum byeongchang,” traditional Korean singing
with accompaniment on the gayageum, will contrast with a newly
commissioned work by composer Jacqueline Kim. “Tryst,” written for
the gayageum, oboe and cello, is a love song sung between the famed
scholar and poet Jung Chul and the beautiful courtesan Chin Ok. The
vocal cries are brought to life by the gayageum, with the cello and
oboe mirroring the traditional ensemble functions carried out by the
“piri,” a Korean wind instrument.
The second half of the program features the music of Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Roma arranged for string quartet, performed by Ma, violist
Nicholas Cords and violinists Jonathan Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen.
In “Mugham-Sajay for String Quartet,” composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
mimics the sounds of traditional Azerbaijani and Middle Eastern
instruments, transforming a Western string quartet into a small
Azerbaijani folk band. Her piece evokes the spirit of her native
mugham, a collection of suites that form the backbone of Azerbaijani
classical music. Ali-Zadeh, who received a doctorate in musicology
from Baku Conservatory, exemplifies the Western-trained composer who
straddles two musical worlds. Chinese virtuoso Wu Tong will perform a
traditional work on the sheng, a Chinese mouth organ made of bamboo or
bronze pipes. In “The Prospect of Colored Desert” written for Chinese
lute, violin, cello and sheng, Chinese composer Jia Daquan, a painter
who turned to music when his vision became impaired, imagines a black
ink brush painting a desert.
The Silk Road Project represents another step in Ma’s musical journey
that extends well beyond performance of the classic cello repertory.
Fascinated by how ideas evolve when they travel over geographic and
cultural distances, Ma founded the organization to study the flow of
ideas along the Silk Road. The Silk Road Project is now an umbrella
organization and common resource to a variety of artistic, cultural
and educational projects.
Yo-yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will perform June 24 at 7:30 at
the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, located near Nambu Bus Terminal
Station, Subway Line No. 3, Exit 5. Tickets start at 30,000 won. For
more information, contact (02) 720-6633 or visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Reviews Nomination of
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
Washington, DC -The Armenian Assembly welcomed the Senate Subcommittee on
European Affairs’ consideration Wednesday of John Marshall Evans’ nomination
as the next United States Ambassador to Armenia. Evans is set to replace
Ambassador John Ordway, who has completed his tour of duty. Ordway’s next
assignment will be Ambassador to Kazakhstan.
“We congratulate John Evans on completing the first phase of his nomination
process and look forward to working closely with him in strengthening
relations between our two countries,” said Assembly Board of Directors
Chairman Anthony Barsamian. “It is our strong hope that the incoming
Ambassador will continue community consultations initiated by America’s
first Ambassador Harry Gilmore, and expanded by outgoing Ambassador Ordway.”
Evans’ nomination will next be considered by the full Senate.
During the hearing, subcommittee Chairman Sen. George Allen (R-Va) indicated
that the United States should remain engaged in the South Caucasus and,
should retain “strict parity” with respect to military assistance to Armenia
and Azerbaijan. He also indicated that the US government should do more to
end the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockade of Armenia. Evans, in his prepared
remarks, said he would work to help Armenia continue to build up its
democracy and economy.
In that framework, Evans said, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
presents a unique opportunity for Armenia.
Chairman Allen also asked Evans to comment on the effects of the Turkish and
Azerbaijani blockades of Armenia. Evans responded by saying that opening the
border between Armenia and Turkey would increase Armenia’s trade by an
estimated 50 percent, and also help reduce Armenia’s energy costs.
He said he planned to have frequent discussions with Turkey to encourage
Ankara to open its borders with Armenia.
Chairman Allen also reiterated his wholehearted support of efforts aimed at
opening the Turkish border with Armenia without preconditions.
Since 2002, Evans has served as Russian Affairs Director in the Bureau of
European and Eurasian Affairs. Prior to that post, Evans handled Russian
and Eurasian affairs for four years in the State Department’s Bureau of
Intelligence and Research. From 1997 through 1999, he was head of the OSCE
Mission to Moldova and in the mid-1990s, Evans was principal officer in the
U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Evans joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a political officer in 1971. He
served in diplomatic missions in Iran, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, at
NATO headquarters and the Czech Republic.
Born in 1948 in Newport News, Virginia, Evans earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Yale College and attended Columbia University Graduate
Facilities. He is fluent in Russian, Czech, French and Farsi. He is married
to Donna Chamberlain who is executive director of the World Affairs Council
of Washington.
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.
NR#2004-056

Azerbaijan’s “Black Colonel” Killed
Baku Today
June 14 2004
Fatulla Huseynov, first vice-president of the Azerbaijan Football
Federations Association (AFFA), who also was known by the appellation
“Black Colonel,” was shot to death early Monday.
According to ANS, Huseynov got seven bullets from the Russian-made
Makarov pistol while getting into his car in front of his house at
around 7 a.m. Motives of the killing was not clear yet.
The murdered had been working for law enforcement bodies for long
years. He had gained the appellation “Black Colonel” during the
1991-94 war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azeri daily reflects on reasons behind US general’s “unexpected” visit
Ekspress, Baku
11 Jun 04
The deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles Wald,
paid an unexpected visit to Baku yesterday morning [10 June]. The
US embassy in Azerbaijan told Ekspress newspaper that the delegation
accompanying the Pentagon official had included 70 American civilian
representatives and business leaders who are members of the Joint
Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC).
[Passage omitted: about the JCOC programme and reported details]
Why did Wald come to Azerbaijan? According to official reports,
one might answer the question as follows. The visit by the Pentagon
official aimed at ”inspecting” the implementation of joint programmes
between the European Command and Azerbaijan and looking into the
preparations for NATO’s Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises. In
any case, one should admit that the visit to our country by such
a high-ranking Pentagon general as the deputy commander of the US
European Command in Stuttgart is not limited to the ”inspection of
cooperation programmes” only. Moreover, the importance of the visit
for Washington is obvious, bearing in mind that it was Wald’s second
visit to Azerbaijan in the past two months.
So it was clear from the brief statement which Wald made in Azerbaijan
that the USA is concerned about the state of security programmes in
the region (concretely, security issues and the protection of oil
pipelines). However, this might be understood as a gesture by the
Pentagon to show its presence in the region, since the concern was
expressed at the same time as the five-sided working group on Caspian
status was holding its summit in Astana. Moreover, by declaring the
creation of a special group to carry out US programmes on the South
Caucasus, Wald showed that the White House did not intend to hold
back from projects on the Caspian.
To recap, at the working group’s Astana meeting Russia and Kazakhstan
suggested the creation of “a military balance” in the sea and a ban
on the entry of “foreign forces” to the Caspian.
Finally, let us recall that Wald, who visited Yerevan some time ago,
regarded as necessary the participation of Armenian officers in the
NATO exercises due in Azerbaijan this autumn and said that he had
received official Baku’s guarantee on the issue. It is no coincidence
that the US general’s sudden visit coincided with Yerevan officially
expressing its intention to attend the NATO conference in June and
saying that it would approach the Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia
over this issue on 12 June. It seems that the Pentagon general had
to visit Azerbaijan again in order to ”resolve the issue on the spot”.
[Passage omitted: Azerbaijan ex-foreign policy adviser positive
on visit]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 21:46:36 | 10-06-2004 | Politics |
COURT PUNISHES ATTACKERS BY FINING THEM
Criminal case on the April 5 skinheads’ assault on journalists during
National Unity party rally was heard today at the first instance
court of Center, Nork-Marash.{BR}
The accused refused to speak at the court session. That’s why their
testimonies given at preliminary inquiry were read up now.
It has become clear that the skinheads, who has severely beat
journalists and broken their cameras, appeared on the scene that very
day “by chance”.
The court took the stories invented by the accused to justify their
appearance on site for granted and fine both accused 100,000 drams
each.
Journalist Anna Israelyan though being aware of faulty justice system
in Armenia was deeply disappointed with the court decision.
State-owned Public Television correspondent Vahe Kostandyan, who
was also attacked by skinheads that day, testified that he had seen
nothing, heard nothing and only found his camera broken. It also became
known that Public Television refused from 290,000-dram compensation.

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA MOURNS PASSING OF RONALD REAGAN
— President Reagan was the Last U.S. President
to Properly Commemorate the Armenian Genocide
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
mourns the passing of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and extends
its deepest condolences to the Reagan family as the nation prepares
to lay the respected statesman to rest this Friday.
“We join with all Americans in mourning the loss of President Reagan
and in sending our condolences to his wife and family,” said ANCA
Chairman Ken Hachikian. “We will remember President Reagan as the
last U.S. President to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide, the
U.S. leader who initiated humanitarian aid to the survivors of the 1988
earthquake in Armenia, and a leader who believed deeply, throughout
the dark years of the Cold War, in the independence of Armenia.”
Ronald Reagan began his years in politics a close friend and supporter
of Armenian American interests. As California Governor from 1966
through 1974, Reagan reached out to the Armenian American community
and joined in their annual commemorations of the Armenian Genocide.
Most notably, in 1969, Reagan joined His Holiness Khoren I, Catholicos
of the Great House of Cilicia, a host of state and local dignitaries
and over 10,000 Armenian Americans at the Armenian Genocide Memorial
in Montebello, where he gave a rousing 15-minute speech honoring the
victims of that crime against humanity. “I am proud and appreciate
this opportunity to participate in this event,” said Gov. Reagan.
“Today, I humbly bow in memory of the Armenian martyrs, who died in
the name of freedom at the hands of Turkish perpetrators of Genocide.”
Following his election to the presidency in 1980, Reagan distinguished
himself as the last U.S. President to properly acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide as “genocide.” In Proclamation 4838, issued on April 22,
1981 to proclaim April 26-May 3 as “Days of Remembrance of Victims of
Holocaust,” Reagan stated, “Like the genocide of the Armenians before
it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it and like too
many other such persecutions of too many other peoples­the lessons
of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.” Later in his first term,
the Reagan Administration, at the urging of Secretary of State George
Schultz and Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger, retreated from this
stand and opposed successive Armenian Genocide Resolutions in 1985
and 1987.
Armenian Americans will also remember President Reagan as a primary
force in encouraging the U.S. Senate to ratify and implement the United
Nations Genocide Convention. Adopted by the United Nations in 1948,
the Convention languished on the Senate docket for some 40 years,
despite the heroic efforts of Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire
(D) and later Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell (D) to obtain
passage of the measure. In 1986, President Reagan urged the Senate
leadership to take up the bill and, after a number of modifications,
the Convention was signed into law by Reagan in 1988.
Congress is currently considering legislation (H.Res.193 and
S.Res.164) marking the 15th anniversary of the implementation of
the Genocide Convention. Introduced in the Senate in June, 2003
by Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ), S.Res. 164
currently has 39 cosponsors. Its companion House measure, H.Res.193,
led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA),
and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary
Committee in May, 2003, and has 111 cosponsors. The resolution cites
the importance of remembering past crimes against humanity, including
the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in
an effort to stop future atrocities. Support for the measure has been
widespread, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious,
civil and human rights organizations calling for its passage, including
American Values, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP,
Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National Council of La Raza.
In the last days of his second term, President Reagan led a U.S.
effort to help the victims of the devastating December 7th,
1988 earthquake in Armenia. Reversing a 40-year standing policy
that lasted throughout the Cold War, President Reagan airlifted
several planeloads of humanitarian assistance to Soviet Armenia
within weeks of the tragedy. In his December 25th radio address to
the American people, Reagan stated that, in the time of tragedy,
“the real differences that divide us and will continue to divide us
fall away.” He went on to note the tremendous outpouring of U.S.
assistance in light of the Armenian earthquake. “From the United
States the response has been staggering,” he said. “Relief workers,
tens of millions of dollars in private contributions, food, clothing,
a cascade of good will and fellow feeling.”
President Reagan will be given a state funeral on Friday, June 11th.
#####

Turkish, Armenian Women Weave New Borders
By Yigal Schliefer – WeNews correspondent
INTERNATIONAL
Women’s eNews
June 7, 2004
ISTANBUL, Turkey (WOMENSENEWS)–Stepping into the gap that their
governments have so far been unable to bridge, a group of Turkish
and Armenian women are expanding a dialogue project that was begun
two years ago, in the hope that their work might eventually have an
impact on official policy.
The project, called the Turkish-Armenian Women Communication Group, got
its start on March 8, 2001. Two Armenian women–a member of Armenia’s
parliament and a representative of an Armenian non-governmental
organization–came to Istanbul, Turkey’s capital city, to be part of
a panel discussion celebrating international women’s day.
After a series of reciprocal meetings, the group–made up mostly of
businesswomen, journalists, academics, non-governmental organization
representatives and parliamentarians–has been growing both in size
and scope. In the latest encounter, held in early July in the Armenian
capital of Yerevan, a dozen Turkish and some 20 Armenian women met,
organizing several smaller subcommittees responsible for coming up
with projects for further cooperation.
In the beginning, the two groups asked each other one question: “Are
we satisfied with the politics of our governments toward each other
up until now?” says Mujgan Suver, a Turkish psychologist who works
on human rights issues at the Istanbul-based Marmara Group, a Turkish
public policy foundation that initiated the dialogue project. “We said
if we are satisfied, then fine, let’s leave it. But if we are not,
let’s do something about it and maybe we will someday be able to get
our governments together and talk about it.”
Despite sharing a 166-mile border, Turkey and Armenia currently have
no diplomatic relations. Turkey sealed its frontier with Armenia in
1993 to protest the Armenian takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh region
of Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally.
An even greater source of tension, though, dates back to the early
part of the 20th century. Starting in 1915, during the violence of
World War I, large numbers of Armenians were deported from their
homes in Turkey’s Anatolian heartland. Estimates of the number of
Armenians killed during the deportations range from 300,000 to nearly
1.5 million. For Armenians, the events of that time are considered
genocide and they would like them officially recognized as such. Turkey
has steadfastly refused to accept the term “genocide,” pointing out
that atrocities were committed by both sides during what was a time
of great upheaval.
“For both countries, the relationship is still a very thorny issue,
and there doesn’t seem to be any opening on the horizon, to be honest,”
says Ali Carkoglu, research director at the Istanbul-based Turkish
Economic and Social Studies Foundation. “It’s very difficult these
days to deal with this issue in a cooperative manner.”
The Marmara Group’s Suver says it is because of this impasse in
Turkish-Armenian relations that she wanted to start the dialogue group.
Suver was previously involved in a similar group with women from
Greece–a country that, up until recently, also had strained relations
with Turkey–and says that project proved fruitful in bringing Turkish
and Greek women together.
Hranush Kharatyan, president of the Armenian branch of a human rights
group called Transcaucasus Women’s Dialogue, which has other branches
in Georgia and Azerbaijan, says the idea of a dialogue group also
appealed to her as a way of breaking through the rancor that exists
between Turks and Armenians.
“Our common goal is to arrive at the establishment of peaceful
relations,” Kharatyan writes from Yerevan in an e-mail message. “Though
Turkish and Armenian women vary in their perspectives regarding this
issue so far, there exist also common views.”
Project Introduces Women to Politics
Suver says she also hopes the project will help bring those involved,
who come from a region where women are often shut out of political
life, closer to the political process and the conflict resolution
process.
“Unfortunately, women never take part in peace negotiations, in peace
deals,” she says.
Working as women in an area where they aren’t the usual leading players
on political issues could actually be advantageous, says one of the
group’s participants.
“People don’t take it as a potential source of danger when women are
working on a something. They don’t take it seriously. That could be
helpful,” says Lale Aytanc Nalbant, an Istanbul chemical engineer
who has been part of the dialogue group since June of last year. “We
are not taken seriously by the politicians, but in the end we can
accomplish much more than expected.”
Both the Turkish and Armenian participants, meanwhile, say that their
meetings have already led to positive, if small, changes.
“If we compare our first and last meetings, I can say that our
relations have become more friendly and tolerant. We try to understand
each other and even some conflict issues have been solved through
dialogues,” writes Susanna Vardanyan, president of the Women’s Rights
Center, a Yerevan-based non-governmental organization, in an e-mail
interview.
Istanbul’s Aytanc Nalbant says she has seen the bitter tone that at
first dominated the meetings slowly melting away. “Once you get to
know people more and more, you feel more like family towards them and
grow more confident towards them,” she says. “There are less doubts
that they have secondary intentions when they say something.”
Focusing on the Future
In order to move forward, the group has for now decided to lay aside
discussions of the past, particularly the genocide issue, and to focus
on creating joint projects through four subcommittees that were formed
at the recent meeting in Yerevan. Among some of the ideas the group
is considering are creating a summer exchange program for Turkish and
Armenian students, publishing cookbooks that would illustrate daily
life in both countries and creating a committee that would screen
the media in each country for negative depictions of each other.
The time may be ripe for projects like these to have an impact. Both
the United States and the European Union–which Turkey hopes to
join in the near future – –have been applying pressure on the two
countries to resolve their disputes.
Noyan Soyak, the Turkish vice chairman of the Turkish-Armenian Business
Development Council, an independent group promoting better trade
relations between the two countries, says the increasing number of
Turks and Armenians meeting outside of conventional political channels
has led to a positive change in public opinion in both countries.
“Public diplomacy is the infrastructure. We are softening the ground
for the politicians to play on,” Soyak says.
For now, though, the participants of the dialogue say they are focusing
on building trust within their own circle before trying to influence
their countries’ leaders.
“When the time comes, we will work on applying political pressure,”
says Suver. “This won’t just be a group of women meeting. But we have
to let time pass before this can happen.”
Yigal Schliefer is a freelance writer based in Istanbul.
For more information: National Peace
Foundation – Transcaucasus Women’s Dialogue:
Women’s eNews is a nonprofit independent news service covering issues
of concern to women and their allies. An incubator program of the Fund
for the City of New York, Women’s eNews is supported by our readers;
reprints and licensing fees; and the John S. and James L. Knight
Foundation, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, the Rockefeller Family
Fund, The Helena Rubinstein Foundation and the Starry Night Fund.

UNION OF ARMENIANS IN ISRAEL ESTABLISHED
ArmenPress
June 2 2004
YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS: Armenians who moved to Israel over the
last decade met on May 31 in an Armenian restaurant in the town of
Baytiem to found the Union of Armenians in Israel. The constituent
meeting of the Union was followed by dinner, attended by Armenian
honorary consul in Israel Tsolak Momjian, Armenian ambassador to
Russia, Armen Smbatian and representatives of the Armenian Patriarchate
in Jerusalem.
Abraham Chopikian, a native of the Armenian town of Artik, was elected
the president of the Union. He said the main goal of the Union is
to help Armenian families in Israel to seek jobs and protect their
rights, also to try to boost Israeli-Armenian trade.

ARMENIA FRUSTRATED AS TIES WITH TURKEY REMAIN STRAINED
Emil Danielyan: 5/28/04
Eurasianet Organization
May 28 2004
Hopes for a rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey are fading,
underscored by Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s recent decision
not to attend the late June NATO summit in Istanbul. Despite a flurry
of diplomatic activity, Armenian officials say “no considerable
progress” towards normalization has been made over the past year.
For the last decade, Turkey has effectively linked the normalization
of Ankara-Yerevan ties with resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. In mid 2003, Turkish officials first hinted that they were
willing to consider decoupling the two issues, while raising the
possibility that the Armenian-Turkish border could be reopened. Turkey
sealed the frontier in 1993 – at the height of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Karabakh – as an act of solidarity with Baku. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Turkey’s effort to open the border prompted an immediate and prolonged
outcry from Azerbaijani officials, prompting Ankara to retreat. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Baku argued that if
Turkey opened its frontier with Armenia to trade, it would remove
a vital incentive for Yerevan to make concessions in the Karabakh
peace process, which at present is stalemated. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive].
Economic experts say an open Armenian-Turkish frontier would
substantially reduce the transportation costs in Armenia’s
export/import operations, and make the country more attractive for
potential foreign investors. According to a 2003 World Bank study,
the border opening alone could boost Armenia’s GDP by 30 percent.
Now, Armenian officials aren’t expecting to see the border reopened
soon. “Unfortunately, the Turks have lacked the will to separate
relations with Armenia from their alliance with Azerbaijan,” one
well-informed source told EurasiaNet. “As long as they stick to
that policy serious progress in Turkish-Armenian relations will
be impossible.”
Armenia expressed its displeasure via the announcement that Kocharian
would skip the NATO summit. The decision was widely applauded in
Yerevan.
Just last June, there existed mounting optimism concerning
Armenian-Turkish relations. Turkey itself raised hopes for
normalization when the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan began sending signals about the reopening the border. In a
policy speech, Erdogan made no mention of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Karabakh as he spoke about obstacles to normalizing
ties with Armenia. He instead complained about Yerevan’s continuing
campaign for international recognition of the 1915-1922 slaughter of
some 1.5 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Turkey vehemently
denies that the mass killings and deportations constituted genocide.
The change of rhetoric was welcomed by Yerevan and was followed by
three meetings between the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers in
June, September and December 2003. Armenia’s Vartan Oskanian emerged
from the talks with cautiously optimistic statements. Other Armenian
sources involved in the dialogue claimed that Ankara has decided
in principle to lift the blockade before establishing diplomatic
relations with Yerevan. Ironically, some of them suggested that the
Turkish government might announce the ground-breaking development
during the NATO summit in Istanbul.
In mid-2003, regional and Western observers said Turkey’s shift
on the Armenian border issue could reflect positively on Turkey’s
long-standing bid to join the European Union. Of late, however,
Ankara’s efforts to obtain a date for the start of EU accession talks
have been damaged by strong French opposition.
For the time being, it seems that the status quo in Armenian-Turkish
relations will hold. Indeed, the speaker of the Turkish parliament,
Bulent Arinc, was quoted by the official Anatolia news agency as
telling his Armenian counterpart Artur Baghdasarian in Strasbourg on
May 19 that his country still wants Armenia to take “positive steps
to settle the Karabakh problem” before making any overtures.
But some observers believe that not much should be read into such
statements. According to Van Krikorian, a prominent Armenian-American
activist and a member of the US-sponsored Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation Commission (TARC), the reopening of the border this
year remains “more than possible.” [For additional information see
the Eurasia Insight archive].
“The technical evaluations are done, the international community
supports it, and both the Turkish and Armenian people, including
opponents, are ready for it,” Krikorian said. “The real question is
on what terms it should occur.”
“Azerbaijan is clearly, and can be, an obstacle to the border opening,
but not an insurmountable obstacle if Turkey continues on its current
path,” he added.
Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.

UN Millennium Development Goals to be implemented in Armenia
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
26 May 04
[Presenter] According to the UN experts’ assessments, the successes
achieved in Armenia by the implementation of the UN Millennium
Development Goals are impressive. The regional representative of the
UN Millennium Development Goals, Yeji Osiatynski noted that apart from
the successes which have been achieved, there are a lot of works to
be done in education, health care and other spheres. Osiatynski said
that if we are speaking about the reduction of poverty it is necessary
to increase the level of higher education. When people are educated it
is easier for them to find a job, and more jobs means less poor people.
[Correspondent] Armenia has joined the UN new programme four years
ago, which is called the Millennium Development Goals, with 190 other
countries. The programme encompasses the following eight areas of
human challenge.
These are: To reduce poverty and starvation, to achieve primary
education, gender equality, to reduce child mortality, maternal
health, to struggle against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases,
to ensure environmental protection and to create a global partnership
for development.
Among these eight goals, the first, poverty reduction is the most
important for Armenia. The regional representative of the UN Millennium
Development Goals, Yeji Osiatynski noted that the time has come when
the economic growth registered in Armenia will be directed to the
reduction of poverty.
[Yeji Osiatynski, captioned in his office, in English with Armenian
voice over] It is not important that poverty will be reduced in 2005,
2010 or 2015. It is a necessary political and social aim and we
are moving forward in this direction. The democratic system, a free
economy and creative and talented people will help you in this work.
[Correspondent] The Polish official who visited Armenia for the first
time, who was finance minister in his home country, considers that
the time is right to clear the county of corruption and to reduce the
number of poor people in the country. Osiatynski thinks that the young
hold great potential for the newly developing countries and also for
Armenia. The future of the country is in their hands. Armenian Prime
Minister Andranik Markaryan also agreed with Osiatynski’s opinion.
[Yeji Osiatynski] Today during the meeting with the prime minister I
understood that there is a readiness and intention to implement the
Millennium Development Goals for the sake of the country and their
people. With all your efforts you must build a democratic state,
have a free economy and you will succeed.
[Correspondent] The representatives of the government and political
organizations discussed the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Artak Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.