Author: Emil Lazarian

SKYLARK FARM
Kirkus Reviews
November 1, 2006
One family’s heartbreaking experience during the 1915 Armenian
genocide.
In a small Anatolian hill town, Turks and Armenians live together
in relative harmony for generations. But when, in 1915, the Ottoman
Empire allies itself with Germany in the brewing world war, Turkish
citizens are forced to take sides. Sempad Arslanian, however, remains
oblivious to political change.
Head of his large, wealthy clan and benefactor to his neighbors —
Turk, Greek and Armenian alike — he spends the Spring of 1915
joyfully preparing for a reunion with his brother Yerwant, who,
at 13, left Skylark Farm, the family’s country estate, to study in
Italy. Preparations by both brothers rival ceremonial planning for
royal visits: Sempad orders stained glass windows from England and
levels a pasture for a tennis court; Yerwant outfits a red Isotta
Fraschini for his road trip south, his monogram in silver on the
doors, and stocks it with a great number of small gold and silver
gifts to give away on his arrival. On May 24, days before Yerwant is
to leave, Italy closes its borders and joins the War. And in Sempad’s
village, as throughout the Empire, all Armenian heads of household
are arrested. Sempad flees from his house in town to Skylark Farm.
What happens there — later that night the freshly dug tennis court is
used as a mass grave for all the Arslanian men — is only the first
of countless horrors the Arslanian women (and one boy disguised as
a girl) endure on their forced death-march across the Syrian desert,
where they are raided periodically by the Kurds, raped by their Young
Turk “guides” and starved. The story of survival that follows is the
unexpected solace of this fearless tale.
An Armenian Schindler’s List.
Publication Date: 1/24/2007 0:00:00 Publisher: Knopf Stage: Adult Star:
1 ISBN: 1-4000-4435-9 Price: $23.95 Author: Arslan, Antonia
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH-DUTCH LOBBYISTS TRY TO PUNISH POLITICAL PARTIES OVER ARMENIAN QUESTION
By Toby Sterling, Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
October 31, 2006 Tuesday 3:22 PM GMT
Amsterdam Netherlands
A lobby group began a campaign Tuesday to urge Dutch voters of Turkish
ancestry to boycott any party that labels the 1915 mass killing of
Armenians in Turkey genocide.
The campaign three weeks before Nov. 22 national elections is a
setback for both major parties, the governing Christian Democrats
and the Labor Party, which have struck ethnic Turk candidates off
their rolls for refusing to use the term “genocide” to describe the
killing of Armenians during World War I.
Events that took place far beyond Dutch borders nearly a century ago
have became a surprise campaign issue in elections otherwise focused
on bread-and-butter economics.
The lobby group, which calls itself Turks Forum, distributed posters
urging voters to write in a candidate of the small centrist D-66
Party in the elections. D-66 is the only mainstream party that doesn’t
refer to the slaughter as genocide in its stated positions.
The European Parliament has said Turkey should be required to
recognize the killings as genocide before it is considered for EU
membership. The French parliament voted for a bill that, if enacted,
would make denying the genocide a crime.
“Who should the Turkish community’s votes go to? Let’s use the voting
ballot to teach a lesson to those who want to limit our democratic
rights!” said the Turks Forum poster. It is being distributed in
the country’s largest cities, where ethnic Turkish populations are
concentrated.
The poster carries pictures of ethnic Turk candidates with a red
cross and the words “definitely not” in Turkish next to the names of
parties that say the killings constituted genocide. At the top of the
list is a photo of a candidate for the D-66 party, Fatma Koser Kaya,
with the word “evet,” Turkish for yes.
Koser Kaya wrote on her Web site that allowing open debate on the
matter was a matter of free speech. “Many hundreds of thousands of
Armenians were slaughtered” in 1915, she wrote.
“Definitely, there can be no doubt about it. There needs to be,
in Turkey, too, an adult and scientific debate over what exactly
happened during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, who is responsible,
and how those events should be described.”
“But the point is … why are Dutch candidates of Turkish descent
being pilloried and forced to confess a ‘genocide’ standpoint?”
D-66, which has been in a decade-long decline, was forecast to
disappear entirely during this election. But the Turkish issue has
helped it recover slightly, and recent polls show it holding two
seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.
Meanwhile, Labor, which led in most polls a month ago, has now fallen
slightly behind the incumbent Christian Democrats. Immigrant voters
traditionally have supported Labor or other left-leaning parties.
In an apparent attempt to limit political fallout, Labor’s National
Party Chairman Michiel van Hulten wrote to local party offices in
The Hague and Rotterdam instructing them not to use the issue as a
litmus test for Turkish-Dutch candidates, newspaper Trouw reported.
The killings of 1 million or more Armenians starting in 1915 has
been the subject of academic and political debate across Europe,
especially in view of Turkey’s application for EU membership.
Most European governments consider it a genocide. Turkey denies the
deaths resulted from systematic slaughter, saying estimates of 1.5
million dead are wildly inflated and that both Armenians and Turks
were killed in fighting during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
The U.S. government does not use “genocide” to define the killings.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VIEW POINT: RUSSIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD IMMIGRANTS
Vladislav Inozemtsev
Central Chronicle, India
Nov 2 2006
Today, most Russians are beginning to think in a way that has almost
nothing to do with reality. They tend to view the world as full of
confrontation, hostility, rivalry and potential conflicts. This
ideology of conflict is a major characteristic of the Russian
political culture.
In their statements and policies, the majority of contemporary Russian
politicians mention certain external and internal forces that they
view as threats to the country and as obstacles to its progress.
These forces, however, have no names and no addresses. Though oblique
references to the US can sometimes be discerned in some speeches and
media reports, no one specifies exactly who these enemies or opponents
are, confining themselves instead to making general statements. They
hint that Russia’s failure to succeed is due to its foreign enemies,
or some unnamed, internal destructive forces.
The government has recently been debating a proposal to ban references
to a criminal’s nationality in media reports about his crimes,
which actually means the fewer details, the better. We do not want
to understand the roots of a problem. All we want is to emphasize
that certain problems do exist in Russian politics and that they have
been implanted in the Russian community by hostile forces to prevent
Russian politicians from doing their job. This is sad, I think,
because confrontational thinking at the grassroots level leads to
conflicts between ethnic groups. Meanwhile, a lot of the nation’s
problems, including xenophobia, could be solved if the government
were more transparent and receptive to criticism.
The events in Kondopoga (North-West Russia) were not just the
result of an escalation of hostility toward local Chechens and
other immigrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia; they were more
likely caused by the fact that some local Russians were aware of the
impotence of the local government and the police to protect them from
criminal groups. Although the law enforcement system is evolving in
Russia, its fundamental way of thinking is not. At the same time,
it is becoming increasingly corrupt and detached from society. This
provokes desperate measures on the part of ordinary people, some of
which transform into inter-ethnic clashes.
The idea that migrants from the Caucasus, Central Asia, Moldova
and Ukraine account for a significant part of the nation’s economy
and that today they work for less money in sectors where Russians
themselves do not want to work is rarely made clear to the community.
More often broadcast are stories about criminal activity among guest
workers, while the press prefers to write about how much money they
send to their families back home. This disinformation, or at least
selective reporting, distorts Russians’ perceptions of these issues.
Little information can be obtained about developments in the majority
of Caucasian republics, especially Azerbaijan and Armenia. This
is perhaps mostly due to the fact that these countries have been
developing dynamically and that no bad news is coming out of Karabakh,
so there are few sensational items to report. Georgia, though, remains
in the media spotlight, which is wrong. An emphasis on disputes
makes one believe that the entire region is mired in conflict. The
escalation of tension makes the majority of Russians believe that the
Caucasus is a zone of perpetual wars that have forced Caucasians to
flee to Russia. The notion that these migrants are all refugees does
not cast them in a very favourable light and provokes hostility and
tension on both sides. Today, Russia fails to see the consequences
its policy may have. Russians constitute the bulk of the population
of Abkhazia, though how they obtained Russian passports remains
unknown. I think if a war breaks out between Georgia and Abkhazia,
residents of central Russia will not be happy to receive a million
Russians from the self-proclaimed republic carrying Russian passports,
nor would the latter be treated like compatriots. There is a dangerous
gap between political moves and the views of ordinary people.

TBILISI BRACES FOR FALLOUT FROM RUSSIAN SANCTIONS
By Zaal Anjaparidze
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Nov 1 2006
On October 23 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that
Russia “is not planning” to restore air, land, sea, postal, and banking
communications with Georgia, which were cut October 3 in connection
with a spy scandal (RIA-Novosti, October 23; EDM October 2, 4). Russia
also plans to demand that Tbilisi repay debts owed to Russia, estimated
by Russian sources at $147 million (Newsinfo, October 10).
Deportations of ethnic Georgians from Russia are increasing. Over
1,000 Georgians have been deported in the past four weeks, and about
5,000 since the beginning of the year, according to the Russian Federal
Migration Service. Knowledgeable sources say that all Georgians without
Russian citizenship and legal residence risk expulsion (Radio Liberty,
October 23; Kavkaz Press, October 24). The Georgian government is
trying to cobble together an aid program for the deportees in order to
prevent anti-government protests, which the Russian sanctions evidently
aim to trigger. Job placement and housing will be the most difficult
issues, given the rampant unemployment and social hardships in Georgia.
Commenting on statements by some Georgian officials that downplayed
the consequences of the Russian sanctions, Giorgi Isakadze, director
of Georgian Businessmen’s Federation, said, “It is naive to argue that
cutting economic relations with Russia would not affect the Georgian
economy” (Kviris Palitra, October 23).
The Georgian Ministry for Economic Development released a preliminary
report about the possible effects of suspending economic relations
with Russia, noting that Russia still has been Georgia’s main trade
partner in 2006 despite restrictions on imports of Georgian wine,
mineral water, and other agricultural products (see EDM, April 20).
According to the Ministry, Georgian exports to Russia totaled $10
million in the second quarter of 2006, which is 71% less than in 2005
(Kavkaz Press, October 24).
The report says that energy supplies would suffer most if economic
contacts with Russia cease. In 2005-2006, imports from Russia
constituted 95% of the natural gas consumed in Georgia, and 53% of
imported electric power came from Russia. Georgia gets enormous amounts
of foodstuffs from Russia, including more than 86.7% of its imported
grain, more than 46.3% of imported flour and cereals, 44% of sugar,
and 40.5% of macaroni. About 80% of all mail from Georgia, including
postal orders, travels through Russia. Analysts say that Georgia
can eventually replace Russian imports with goods from Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Romania, Germany and Bulgaria,
while Ukraine, Turkey, Germany, and Israel offer alternative —
but more expensive — routes for postal services.
Georgian aviation has been particularly hard-hit. Airzena and
National Airlines reported losses of $1.2 million and $600,000,
respectively. According to Alexander Chikvaidze, head of the United
Transport Regulating Commission, losses from surface and sea transport
have yet to be determined. Georgian authorities denounced the recent
Russian naval exercises on the Black Sea as a de facto blockade,
because they hinder the operation of Georgia’s ports at Batumi, Poti,
and Supsa (TV-Rustavi-2, October 13; Kavkaz Press, October 16; Civil
Georgia, October 18).
The Georgian National Bank (GNB) predicted that Russian economic
sanctions will increase consumer prices in Georgia by 2-4% (Regnum,
October 17), while Georgian Finance Minister Alex Alexishvili notes
that the exact impact of Russian sanctions will not be known until
final price of natural gas from Russia and natural gas from alternative
suppliers is calculated. He conceded that there have been considerable
economic losses from the Russian economic sanctions imposed since
March, but said that the maximum damage the sanctions could inflict is
a 0.5-3% slowdown of in economic growth. He said that consumer prices
should increase in the short-term, and indeed the basic consumer
price index increased almost 50% in the past week (Kviris Palitra,
October 23; Kavkaz Press, October 24). It is difficult to say when,
if ever, prices will go down, because that depends on a lengthy
process of arranging similar imports from other countries.
On October 5, the Gazprom announced it would raise the price of natural
gas for Georgia from the current $110 to either $221 or $250 per 1,000
cubic meters beginning in 2007. Russian economic pundits argue that
energy costs will be far more painful for Georgia than price hikes
on easily replaceable Russian goods. Beginning September 1, 2006,
Georgia has exempted about 90% of all imported goods from customs
duties. Russian analysts say that Georgia cannot buy energy supplies
from other countries at a cheaper price (RIA-Novosti, Obshchaya gazeta,
October 5).
To prevent an energy crisis, Tbilisi is again turning to Tehran
(see EDM, January 25). On October 23, Georgian Energy Minister Nika
Gilauri and his Iranian counterpart, Parviz Fatah, signed an agreement
for Iran to transfer some 50 megawatts of electricity via Armenia
to Georgia starting in late November. Negotiations about possible
exports of Iranian gas to Georgia are also underway (IRNA, October 23).
Tbilisi has brushed aside some alarming statements about the problems
awaiting Georgians due to restrictions on bank transfers from Russia.
Georgia has received about $1 million per day from Russia through
legal transfers (24 Saati, October 16). However, Georgian National
Bank President Roman Gotsiridze said that despite restrictions on money
transfers from Russia to Georgia, the amount of money transferred from
Russia in October is almost the same as in September 2006. “Money will
still find its way through alternative bank systems and even illegal
transfers,” he said (Reuters, October 4; Kavkaz Press, October 24).
The Ministry for Economic Development argues that even if all economic
relations are suspended, the effects will be no more than those
currently felt. Georgian pundits, however, forecast that negative
consequences of Russian sanctions for Georgia, including defaults,
will only be displayed fully next year. Revenue for 2007 is budgeted
at 3.4 billion laris, which is 94.4 million laris less than revenue
in 2006 (Messenger, October 26). But unlike independent analysts,
Georgian officials do not link the predicted shortfall directly to
the Russian economic sanctions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA READY TO EXCHANGE TERRITORIES WITH AZERBAIJAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.11.2006 17:03 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Within the framework of talks on delimitation
and demarcation of borders with Azerbaijan the Georgian side
is ready for exchange of nearborder territories, said Georgian
Deputy FM Georgy Mangajaladze. Tbilisi is interested in return of
David-Gareji, a Georgian architectural complex a part of which has
been on Azerbaijan’s territory since the soviet period. Some 20 cave
monasteries of David-Gareji situated 60 km southeast from the Georgian
capital city was founded in early 6th century. Frescoes with portraits
of historical figures have been preserved in them for 8-14 ages.
Georgian sources do no announce which territories can be given in
exchange for David-Gareji. According to Georgy Mangajaladze, the
state committees achieved agreement on 300 km out of 460 km of the
border. At the same time he remarked that it’s premature to speak of
the terms of signing an agreement of delimitation and demarcation of
borders yet, reported Lenta.ru.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA PRESIDENT MET FIRST RUSSIAN VICE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF ENERGY
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.11.2006 18:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
in Moscow with First Russian Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
and Energy Minister Victor Khtistenko. The details of the meetings
are not announced. Robert Kocharian returned to Yerevan tonight,
reports RFE/RL.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN CHURCH CONSECRATED IN NORTH WESTERN RUSSIAN CITY
Armenpress
Nov 01 2006
KALININGRAD, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS; The Primate of the Armenian Church
Diocese in Russia, Bishop Ezras Nersisian, was in the north-western
town of Kaliningrad lately to consecrate a newly built Armenian Church
of Saint Stepanos.
The Armenian Bishop also consecrated an Armenian cross-stone (khachkar)
presented to the Smolensk-Kaliningrad Diocese of the Russian Orthodox
Church and erected in front of its headquarters. After the first
liturgy in the Armenian Church Bishop Nersisian addressed the present
flock calling on them to rally around the church to serve the Armenian
nation and its Church.
The church was built on a donation of Yuri Kajoyan, Armenia’s honorary
consul in Kaliningrad and chairman of the board of trustees of local
Armenian cultural autonomy. Kajoyan was awarded by Catholicos Karekin
II the Armenian medal of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEW DRINKING WATER PIPELINE INAUGURATED IN ARAGATSOTN PROVINCE
Armenpress
Nov 01 2006
ASHTARAK, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: A new water pipeline was inaugurated
today in Tsakhkahovit village of Aragatsotn province. Its construction
was funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), while the government contributed to the purchase of pipes.
The water pipeline is fed by springs on Armenia’s highest Mountain
of Aragats taking water to several villages situated on its foot. The
construction cost was $270,000.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LAW-ENFORCEMENT BODIES REPORT 12 PERCENT CRIME RISE
Armenpress
Nov 01 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenian law-enforcement agencies
reported a 12 percent rise in the number of crimes committed in
January-September of 2006 against the same time span of the past year.
According to fresh data, released by Armenian national statistical
committee, overall 7,529,000 crimes were reported in the first nine
months of the year, of which 68 were committed with use of firearms.
The rise from a year ago was 15.3 percent. The committee said 54
murders and 20 murder attempts were committed. Overall 837 crimes
were committed against individuals, an unprecedented 42 percent rise
from a year ago. The committee said 588 crimes against individuals
were disclosed.
The national statistical committee said also 1,677 crimes against
public security and population’s health were reported, of which 1,320
were traced down and disclosed. It also said 420 cases of road traffic
were reported, which killed 145 people. A fall in the number of crimes
against public property was reported.
Overall 258 such cases were revealed, 14.3 percent down from a year
ago. Also 215 corruption crimes were reported.
The number of crimes rose 32.9 percent in Yerevan, where 3,535 crimes
were registered. Crime rates went up also in Aragatsotn (15 percent),
Lori (23.3 percent) and Tavush (5.8 percent) provinces. In other
provinces it was down. The number of juvenile crimes was 379, by 8
more from a year ago, 149 were reported in Yerevan.
Out of 14,406 wanted criminals police tracked and arrested 1,332.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE PRIME MINISTER PREPARES GROUND FOR EFFICIENT WORK
A1+
[07:08 pm] 01 November, 2006
RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan promised to confirm a budget
which will allow the Prime Minster, be it him or someone else, to
work efficiently next year. After the 2007 Parliamentary elections
a new Government will be formed, and as Andranik Margaryan is not
sure about the results of the NA elections, he can’t say if he will
be Prime Minister again or not.
Today the Prime Minister represented the draft budget.
NA Standing Committees started the discussions of the 2007 state
budget; they will last two weeks. According to the draft, the income
is supposed to be 489.5 billion AMD, the expenses are supposed to be
about 557.8 billion AMD, and the deficit will be about 68.3 million
AMD. The draft budget calculates one USD as equal to 357 AMD.
The Government will improve the tax and customs legislation. As a
result of the reforms about 50 billion AMD will be gathered. The
Government hopes that import will grow by 13.5%, and export – by 16%.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress