Author: Emil Lazarian

Panorama.am

19:02 24/02/2007

SUMGAIT …. A TRAGEDY OR CONTINUATION OF GENOCIDE?

Today a discussion was held on `Sumgait tragedy and
its political consequences’ at the initiative of
student-youth organization of Social Democratic Hnchak
party, `Sargis Tkhruni’ in Yerevan. Youth and public
organizations participated at the event. Larisa
Alaverdyan, executive director of public organization
`Against Legal Violation’ mentioned in her speech that
the events of 80s executed by Soviet Azerbaijan were
the continuation of policy adopted by Osman Turkey in
lat 19th century, namely, to execute the population
which did not consider themselves as Osmans. `Sumgait
is not a single act but the continuation of the policy
which was accomplished in 1923,’ Avalverdyan said.

`We did not win a victory in Karabakh but protected
our right for life on this planet,’ Robert
Melik-Pashaev, refugee from Baku and chairman of human
rights organization `Return Haik,’ said. He believes
we lost a lot in Azerbaijan, including Armenian land.
He also believes that Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad and
Maraga are the continuation of Azerbaijani-Turkish
politics.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Regnum, Russia
Feb 22 2007

Tair Tagizade: `No relations with Nagorno Karabakh are possible
today’

`The has come to establish relations between Azerbaijan and Nagorno
Karabakh and now the European Union is trying to create ties of trust
between the parties,’ EU Special Representative in South Caucasus
Peter Semneby announced at a news conference in Baku yesterday.
According to him, the issue was discussed with the Azerbaijani
leadership during his visit to Baku. Speaking on statements made OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs that initiatives in the frameworks of other
international institutions hamper the process of talks in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement, Semneby said that he did not think that
the EU activity was aimed against OSCE Minsk Group work. `The
European Union backs activity of the OSCE Minsk Group,’ he said.

In its turn, the official Baku believes that at the current stage, it
is impossible to establish relations with Nagorno Karabakh. In
response to yesterday’s statement made by Peter Semneby, Azerbaijan’s
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Tair Tagizade said that residents of
Nagorno Karabakh, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis, are Azerbaijan’s
citizens. So, the relations with them should be the same like with
any other area in the country, as the matter concerns only granting a
higher autonomy status. The status means that the area will have a
special status within Azerbaijan.

As Trend news agency informs, Tagizade stressed that Azerbaijan
repeatedly said that the relations will be established after other
components of the first stage of the conflict settlement are
implemented. One of the components is measures to restore trust, the
Azerbaijani official believes. `We cannot restore trust and develop
relations with Nagorno Karabakh separately until other components of
the first stage are implemented. This includes withdrawal of forces
from the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, demining of
communications, returning of IDPs. After that measures to restore
trust can be taken. The process [of restoring trust] is impossible on
its own,’ Tagizade said.

Looted by Nazis, returned, now on sale

· Goudstikker collection likely to raise up to $35m
· Art dealer died at sea while fleeing Netherlands

Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Friday February 23, 2007
The Guardian

A collection of old master paintings once owned by the Nazi leader
Hermann Göring is to go on auction, just a year after it was returned
to the heirs of its original owner. The sale of around 170 paintings
is the latest case of art looted by the Nazis being returned to its
original owners and promptly being put up for sale.

Last summer a portrait by Gustav Klimt that had been returned by the
Austrian government to the family of its former owner became the most
expensive painting ever when it was auctioned for $135m (£69m).

The collection of Jacques Goudstikker will go on sale in the spring at
Christie’s, the auction house that sold the Klimt painting. The works,
including a notable landscape by Salomon van Ruysdael, are expected to
raise $22m-$35m. "Jacques Goudstikker was an extraordinary dealer who
had wide-ranging and fascinating taste," said Nicholas Hall, a
director of Christie’s old master paintings department in New
York. "This is arguably the most important collection of old master
pictures ever restituted."

Marei von Saher, the widow of the late collector’s only son, said a
large part of the collection, which originally numbered 1,400
paintings, would be seen in a touring exhibition. "The Dutch
government’s return of these pictures was an historic event for us and
for all families whose possessions were stolen during the Holocaust
era," she said. "Although we must part with some beautiful paintings,
we are fortunate to be able to keep many of them for our private
collection and exhibit those works publicly in the United States and
abroad to tell the powerful story of Jacques Goudstikker and his
collection."

Goudstikker fled the Netherlands in 1940 as the Nazis advanced,
leaving his collection behind. He died at sea during his escape,
falling through a hatch on a ship and breaking his neck.

Within days of his departure, Göring appeared at the Goudstikker
gallery and, under threat of confiscation, bought the collection for
the token price of 2m Dutch gilders.

After the war a large part of the collection was recovered and handed
over to the Dutch government, which placed the pieces in its national
collections, over the objections of Goudstikker’s heirs. A lengthy
legal battle was resolved last year when the Dutch government declared
that 202 paintings should be handed back to the family.

The ruling prompted criticisms, with the director of one museum which
handed over 30 works calling it a "serious haemorrhage of Dutch
cultural heritage".

The decision to sell part of the collection also seems likely to raise
concerns in the country, where one commentator described restitution
as a lucrative business for "an industry of lawyers, advisers and art
dealers".

Lawrence Kaye, a lawyer for Ms Von Saher in New York, said: "This
property belonged to all these people. It was stolen by the
Nazis. It’s not their fault it was stolen from them. Why shouldn’t she
be permitted to sell her art?" He pointed to the costs incurred by the
family in tracing the paintings and in taking its case through the
Dutch courts for 10 years.

The sale of the Goudstikker collection will take place over three
auctions, starting in New York in April.

ARTUR CHIBUKHCHIAN COMPLETES GRAND MASTER’S 1 POINT

MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The Aeroflot Open international
chess tournament finished in Moscow on February 22. Yevgeni Alekseyev
(Russia) got 7 points from the 9 possible ones in the A1 group and was
recognized individual leader. Artashes Minasian, Vladimir Hakobian,
Gabriel Sargsian and Karen Asrian shared the 10th-24th places with 5.5
points. Marat Askarov (Russia) won in the A2 group, having 7.5
points. Artur Chibukhchian and Arman Pashikian shared the 12-24th
places with 6 points each. To recap, A.Chibukhchian also completed the
grand master’s 1 point.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR PRESIDENT ARKADY GHUKASYAN ADDRESS TO PEOPLE OF NKR

Azat Artsakh Daily, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
24 Feb 07

Dear fellow countrymen, Today I again have to address you in
connection with the upcoming presidential election in
NKR. Unfortunately, certain mass media of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia
continue to abuse a topic which has been closed long ago ` the
possibility of my running a third term. Namely, attempts are made to
present my last year’s statement that second re-election of the
president is not expedient politically and morally as a game mislead
the public. These activities will do only harm to the international
reputation of Nagorno Karabakh which is committed to the European
values. Moreover, this abuse makes the society nervous and divides
it. In order to avoid insinuations on my intentions I considered it
necessary to make a statement in October which should have answered
all the questions connected with my running a third term.

However, one statement of the NKR president was not enough for a few
mass media and politicians. Apparently, they think the president must
confirm daily his unlikelihood to run a third term, provoking him to
take such a step with their slander. Of course, I could overlook the
inappropriate behavior of these people if they did not go on harming
the society with their actions. These people invent everything to
slander the president. Every event in our state and outside it, which
is directly related to me, is offered by them as a veiled intention of
the president to run in the presidential election again.

Meanwhile, every day ordinary citizens of NKR, representatives of
different political and non-governmental organizations, public
servants, members of parliament, our compatriots from Armenia, other
countries, foreign friends of Artsakh, as well as famous foreign
diplomats, political figures, philanthropists come up to me with
requests to run in the upcoming presidential election because the NKR
Constitution adopted by our people authorizes the head of state to run
for presidency. However, a dignified president cannot say one thing
and do another thing. I am deeply grateful to all the citizens and
foreign friends of our republic who endorse my home and foreign
policies, and sincerely wish that I be reelected for another term, and
I am stating again that I do not intend to run for the post of the NKR
president. Nevertheless, I already know the behavior of the political
abusers and their mass media and I am almost convinced that my address
will not put an end to detrimental talks on this topic.

There is nothing I can do about it. I think this is an incurable
disease. I am sorry for these people. I repeat that there can be no
more precious value than the international reputation of my homeland,
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which is essential to the international
recognition of NKR.

24-02-2007

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US journalist says air strikes on Iran planned

25.02.2007, 06.15

NEW YORK, February 25 (Itar-Tass) – Despite the statements by the
George Bush administration to the effect that the US is not going to
attack Iran, the Pentagon has developed a plan of air strikes on a
number of Iranian facilities, investigative journalist Seymour Hersch
said in the latest issue of New Yorker magazine.

He asserted that the plan could be brought into action within 24 hours
of President George Bush’s issuing a respective order.

An operational group that was set up a few months ago at the Joint
Chiefs of Staff originally focused on a possibility of destroying
Iranian nuclear facilities, but later got orders to add to the plan
facilities that could be used for helping insurgents in Iraq, Hersch
said, citing unnamed Pentagon officials.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Lahoud will not hand rule to nonexistent government

px?id=12217&language=en
25/02/2007

Al-Manar special report ` Mohamad Kazan ` Translated /

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud warned against a constitutional vacuum
in case a national unity government is not formed before next
presidential elections, stressing that he will not hand the rule to a
government he considers nonexistent.

During an interview with the Algerian television, Lahoud stressed he
will continue as president until the last day of his term. The
president added that the United States and France boycotted him and
called for his resignation because of his supportive position to the
Lebanese resistance against Israeli occupation and aggression as well
as his refusal to the settlement of Palestinian refugees in
Lebanon. Lahoud also unveiled he had received several death threats
but added that he disregarded them. He welcomed all of Lebanon’s
friends who want to help the country adding that the solution to the
ongoing crisis can only be a Lebanese-Lebanese solution. The President
accused the Israeli Mossad of standing behind the bombs which were
recently discovered in Beirut and across Lebanon, and called for not
slipping into the Israeli-led plot to harm Lebanon and the
region. Lahoud expressed support to the formation of the international
tribunal to try those responsible for the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but warned against politicizing the
court, violating the constitution by signing the court’s treaty that
should be exclusively signed by the President and disregard the gaps
in the tribunal’s internal order.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
Feb 22 2007

U visiting professor is victim of campaign of intimidation
Last update: February 21, 2007 – 9:15 PM

What’s new: Taner Akçam, an expert on the Armenian genocide and a
visiting professor at the University of Minnesota’s Center for
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, was detained in Montreal by Canadian
customs officials Friday. He was held for more than four hours while
officials investigated a charge of terrorism leveled against him by
unknown persons.
What happened: Akçam had been invited to speak at a human-rights
symposium at McGill University Law School. A Canadian customs officer
showed him copies of reviews of his new book on the Armenian tragedy,
"A Shameful Act," from Wikipedia.com and Amazon.com that said Akçam
was a member of a terrorist organization.

The outcome: While being questioned, Akçam was contacted on his cell
phone by his host, McGill professor Payam Akhavan, when he failed to
pass customs. Akhavan called the office of Jason Kenney, secretary of
state for multiculturalism, and Stockwell Day, the minister of public
safety. Akçam’s release followed almost immediately.

Not the first time: Akçam, who is a Turk, believes this was part of
"a campaign against me by the Turkish authorities" for speaking out
on the Armenian genocide. "When I was at New York University recently
as part of my book tour, the autograph session was broken up by
Turkish nationalists. They distributed a flier labeling me a
terrorist and claiming that I was responsible for the deaths of
Americans in Turkey."

The same thing happened in December at the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law
School in New York, but with a twist. When e-mails suggested the same
group was going to break up a conference on genocide and law, the
sponsors called the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan to complain. The
next day, Akçam said, a consular official called Cardozo to say there
would be no demonstration. There wasn’t.

The fallout: Akçam said that because of the campaign of intimidation
against him he is fearful for his life when he travels outside the
United States. "I have been forced to cancel five international
appearances at academic conferences," he said. "Under the guise of
freedom of speech, certain groups are causing me great physical and
material harm. It is very difficult to do my work."

MICHAEL J. BONAFIELD

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 22 2007

Think tank declares war on `deep state’

An influential independent policy unit yesterday fired a series of
salvos at what it called the lack of public accountability over the
state security forces in Turkey and called for greater political
oversight of the armed forces and police as well as more transparency
over finances and criteria of efficiency.

Ergin Cinmen
There was now an unhealthy convergence between those countries which
had had called for greater democratization in Turkey but which were
now prepared in a post 9/11 world to sacrifice their own citizens’
rights in the name of greater security, according to civil rights
activist Yýlmaz Ensaroðlu. He was speaking at press conference
organized by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation
(TESEV) designed to draw attention to the erosion of individual
rights in the name of greater security that was occurring both in
Ankara and the European Union. For more than a year the organization
has been reporting on developments both in Turkey and in EU member
states and making representation both to the Turkish parliament and
to pan-European bodies abroad, but yesterday was the first time it
tried to bring its work to a general public.
The recent murder of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
was also cited as a cruel result of a historical emphasis on
terrorism as something which affected the interests of the state but
not the individual.

The police were anticipating Mr Dink would be a target and yet failed
to protect him despite the considerable autonomy of action they
enjoy, according to lawyer Ergin Cinmen even those apprehended for
inciting 17 year-old Ogün Samast for pulling the trigger were not
being tried under anti-terror legislation but that for common
assault. Mr Cinmen was a lawyer who had led civil protests against
the cover-up of evidence of collusion between the security forces and
organised crime — the 1996 Susurluk affair. It was this incident
which led many ordinary Turks to suspect there was a deep state which
operated according to its own set of interests and which was
impervious to governmental control.
The perception is that security and civil rights have to be traded
off against each other whereas security is itself a democratic
right,’ according to Vokan Aytar who operates TESEV’s democratisation
programme. `Our aim is to open out the debate. The perception is
that the government is not in control of the security apparatus,’ he
said. The behaviour of the arresting officers who posed with Samast
for souvenir photographs strongly suggest if not actual collusion,
aprroval of the crime. `Even after the arrests, I don’t feel secure,’
Mr Aytar said.
Yesterday’s press conference was clearly an attempt to help restart
the process of democratic reform in Turkey which has stalled in the
wake of public disillusionment with Ankara’s EU application. A recent
publication co-sponsored by TESEV and the Brussels-based Centre for
European Policy Studies contains recommendations for both parties.
TESEV is also anxious to ensure that what it describes as `new
draconian revisions to the anti-terror law’ are in line with EU
practice.
TESEV has courted controversy in this field before. An annual
handbook `Security Sector and Democratic Oversight’ was bitterly
attacked by the current Chief of Staff Yaþar Büyükanýt for having the
hidden agenda of weakening the security forces, according to Mr
Aytar. Police academy academics who submitted articles are currently
being investigated `simply for submitting scholarly work,’ he said.
Despite these pressures, he pledged that the handbook would be
published again this year. TESEV’s publications on this subject are
now available in English online at
/eng/events/sec_human_righ ts.

22.02.2007

ANDREW FINKEL ÝSTANBUL

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES 2007 COMPLEX PROGRAM ON DEVELOPMENT OF
REAL ESTATE CADASTRE

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. At the February 22 sitting, the
Armenian government approved the 2007 complex program on development
of the real estate cadastre financed from the RA state budget. The
program envisages measures on introduction of the single real estate
cadastre and its efficient management, inreasing the management
efficiency of the geodesy and cartography sector, shift to a single
tax on real estate, formation of an efficient system of land resource
management, assistance for development of the real estate market,
etc. Chairman of the State Committee of the Real Estate Cadastre
adjunct to the RA government Manuk Vardanian told reporters after the
sitting that 14 programs of a total of 729 mln drams (about 20 mln
USD) will be implemented in the sector this year. According to him,
the creation of the national atlas with historic and
physicogeographical descriptions will be completed in 2007.

Cartographic work will also be done in Nagorno Karabakh. M. Vardanian
said that creation of electronic real estate archives will continue
this year. These archives will be kept in three different places to
rule out their loss. State registration of real estate has
completed. 2.2 mln certificates of property were granted, 1.7 mln of
which were granted free of charge. The transfer of lands representing
state property to communities has also finished: the only area where
lands remain state property is Yerevan. According to M. Vardanian,
about 40 thousand ha of unauthorized land and 40 thousand unauthorized
buildings were legalized. He said that starting from 2010, land and
property taxes will be collected as a single tax.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress