Author: Emil Lazarian

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “ARMENIAN BIBLE” TO BE HELD IN ECHMIADZIN ON OCT 6-9
ARKA News Agency
Aug 1 2005
YEREVAN, July 1. /ARKA/. An international conference “Armenian Bible”
is to be held in the Holy See of Echmiadzin on October 6-9, 2005. The
press service of the Holy Echmiadzin reports that the conference will
be held under the patronage of His Holiness Garegin II as part of
celebrations of the 1600th anniversary of creation of the Armenian
alphabet. Archimandrite Vahan Hovhannisyan is responsible for the
organization of the conference. “The Holy Book plays the central role
in the rites and bibliography of the Armenian Church. It inspired
theologians, chroniclers, miniaturists, musicians, and experts on
church rituals,” a press release says. The Holy Echmiadzin invites
the scholars engaged in translating the Bible into Armenian to take
part in the conference. P.T. -0–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY’S YOUNG LEADERSHIP GROUP MISSION RETURNS FROM ARMENIA
Trip Encourages Youth toward Community Activism
Washington, DC – In a major push to encourage future generations to
increase their community activism, the Assembly led its first-ever
“Young Leadership Group Mission to Armenia,” from June 29 through July
11. Some 60 Assembly intern alumni, young professionals and families
with children participated in the trip for a first-hand look at life
in their ancestral home.
“We are extremely pleased to offer this Mission as a way of bringing
young families to Armenia to rediscover their roots,” said Assembly
Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian, who was in Yerevan
for an official visit. “Everyone in the group, including our youngest
travelers, enjoyed Armenia’s rich culture and heritage and recognized
that they too can help shape Armenia’s future.”
During their 12-day excursion, Mission participants discussed the
latest economic, social and political developments during meetings
with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Karabakh’s Foreign
Minister Arman Melikian and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.
The group also traveled to Etchmiadzin where they met with His
Holiness Karekin II and presented him with a plaque, commending him
for inspiring Armenian youth toward community service and thanking
him for his recent visit to the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.
The 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide also made it an
especially poignant time to be in Armenia. On July 6 the group visited
the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial at Tsitsernakabert where
they laid flowers and discussed how the atrocities impacted their
ancestors and brought their families to the United States.
Travelers also explored the sights and sounds of Armenia through
guided tours of Lake Sevan, the Voske Ser dairy farm and cheese
factory and the Armenia Tree Project nursery in the village of Karin.
The Mission also visited the Armenian-American Wellness Center,
which was co-founded by Assembly Associate Trustee Rita Balian,
and toured the Center for Aesthetic Education in Gyumri.
“My trip to Armenia really opened my eyes to the needs of this
developing country,” said Nikki Hatza, 17, of Merion, Pennsylvania.
“In many places even the most basic services such as running water,
were not available. Although Armenia is making progress, I really feel
that with the help of diasporan Armenians great strides can be made.”
“It’s especially important that young Armenian-Americans let our
representatives in Washington know what is happening in Armenia
and how important it is for the U.S. to continue to provide aid,”
Hatza continued. “I am planning to attend the Assembly’s National
Convention in Washington, DC in March so that I can work with others
toward a strong and economically stable Armenia.”
Children ages five through fifteen also met new friends in Armenia via
the Assembly’s “Camp Yerevan” program. Six local Armenian children
joined the Mission group and took part in a series of activities
including a major clean-up project at the park adjacent to the Genocide
Monument. Kids cleaned the grounds – removing brush and pruning trees –
in preparation for new planting at the site. During a lighter moment,
youngsters enjoyed making their own handmade crafts with the help of
local artisans, courtesy of Made in Armenia Direct.
“During the course of the Mission, we saw our families grow closer
together and bond with their ancestral home and its people,” said
Deputy Executive Director Peter Abajian, who was on the Mission.
“Most of the children and young professionals recognize that this is
a life-changing trip and have plans to return.”
Assembly Leaders Meet with Government Officials
Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian and Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny, who were on a working visit in Armenia the week of
July 13, met with several government officials including President
Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian, Defense Minister Serge Sargsian, Parliament Chairman
Arthur Baghdasarian, Transport and Communications Minister Andranik
Manoukian and Karabakh Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan.
Prior to their visit to Armenia, Barsamian and Ardouny were in Brussels
for a series of meetings to discuss EU policy as it affects the South
Caucasus and Turkey. Barsamian and Ardouny met with the U.S. Ambassador
to Belgium Tom C. Korologos and Armenian Ambassador to Belgium Vigen
Chitechian, as well as numerous European Commission officials.
In Armenia, talks centered on the peace process, U.S.-Armenia military
cooperation and a proposed Kars-Akhalkalaki rail link which would
connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan but not traverse Armenia.
Yerevan officials again reiterated their concern for the ill-proposed
route which would isolate Armenia from economic and commercial
opportunities and potentially destabilize the region.
Additionally, Barsamian praised the Armenian government for its wise
decision to prevent the Kapan-Meghri strategic highway from cutting
through the Shikahogh State Preserve, a virgin forest in Armenia.
Both Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian and President Carolyn
Mugar, also founder of the Armenia Tree Project, personally intervened
in the campaign to preserve the ancient habitat for future generations.
“Our visit to Armenia was a continuation of the Assembly’s
long-standing policy of meeting with Armenia and Karabakh leaders,”
said Ardouny. “The Assembly is committed to help foster strong
U.S.-Armenia, U.S.-Karabakh relations and to ensure that Armenia is
not isolated by Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s blockades or any attempts
to marginalize and weaken our homeland.”
Barsamian added that Assembly leaders will continue such trips to the
region as an integral part of strengthening bilateral relations and
also encouraged Assembly supporters to take part in future Mission
trips.
“In October, the Assembly will be back in Armenia for its tenth
annual Trustees Mission led by Board of Directors Vice Chair
Annie Totah,” said Barsamian. “We hope our supporters will help us
celebrate this milestone occasion which will mark the Assembly’s
first-ever international banquet celebrating the strong U.S.-Armenia
relationship.”
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#2005-083
Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following link:
083-1.jpg
Caption: During their first full day in Yerevan, Assembly Mission
participants took a bus tour of Yerevan, stopping along the way to
see the Matenadaran, a famous repository and research center named
after Mesrop Mashtots who created the Armenian alphabet 1600 years ago.
Caption: On July 1, Mission participants spent the day at Lake Sevan,
where they toured the monastery, went swimming and enjoyed lunch at
the resort.
Caption: The group met with His Holiness Karekin II at Etchmiazdzin
on July 3, which marks Vartavar Day, a pagan holiday celebrating water.
Caption: On July 4, participants celebrated U.S. Independence Day
at the Cascades. The group enjoyed a special concert and fireworks
display, courtesy of the Cafesjian Museum Foundation and the Armenian
Assembly.
Caption: The group paid their respects at the Armenian Genocide
Museum and Memorial at Tsitsernakabert. After a tour of the Museum,
the oldest and youngest participants planted a memorial tree together.
Caption: Parents and children spent the day milking cows and enjoying
hay rides during a visit to the Voske Ser dairy farm and cheese
factory in Ashotsh. The farm, owned and operated by Assembly Members
Sarkis Bedevian and Aram Khachadurian, employs the majority of the
local residents.
Caption: Armenia President Robert Kocharian, right, with Assembly
Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian.
Caption: L to R: Assembly Country Director for Armenia and NKR Arpi
Vartanian, Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian, Armenia’s
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and Assembly Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny, during their meeting in Yerevan.
Caption: L to R: Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny,
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Tom Korologos and Assembly Board of
Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian.
Caption: L to R: Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Anthony
Barsamian, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, Assembly Country
Director for Armenia and NKR Arpi Vartanian and Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny.
####

KARABAKH TENNIS PLAYER WINS THE FIFTH PLACE IN THE 39TH INTERNATIONAL
GAMES IN LONDON FOR SPORTSMEN AGED UNDER 15
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug 1 2005
STEPANAKERT, August 1. /ARKA/. Karabakh tennis player Anna Adamyan
won the fifth place in the 39th international games in London for
sportsmen aged under 15, held at the initiative of the Olympic
Committee. Representatives of 45 countries of Europe, Asia and
America participated in the competitions. According to the reporter
of ARKA in Stepanakert, Adamyan won the tennis players from GB, Italy,
Philippines, Slovakia, Thailand and lost only to two Chinese players.
In the final round Adamyan was the only representative of Europe. As a
result the sportswoman from Karabakh received a permit to participate
in international games ion Hong-Kong. A.H.-0–

Armenians present Azeri historic exhibits as their own
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on Aug 1 2005
Baku, July 29, AssA-Irada — Hundreds of thousands of exhibits from
26 museums located in the occupied Azerbaijani territories have been
stolen and destroyed by Armenians. A part of the historic exhibits,
totaling 103,380, is presented in Armenia and some of them in a number
of world countries as ‘Armenian art’, said Faig Ismayilov, chairman
of the Organization for Protection of Historic and Cultural Monuments
in Occupied Azerbaijani Territories. “Azeri carpets are currently
exhibited in Frankfurt, Germany under the ‘Armenian carpet-weaving art’
title”, he told an event at the International Press Center.
Ismayilov said that 6,308 Azerbaijani historic monuments are under
state protection. 876 of them are located in Garabagh and adjacent
regions, including 7 sculptural monuments of worldwide importance,
133 of countrywide and 458 of local importance. 10 of these
are archaeological and other types of monuments of international
significance and 268 of nationwide importance. Researchers say that
there are more monuments in Garabagh. Armenian sources indicate that
the total number of Islamic monuments in Garabagh and adjacent areas
is about 100, while that of Armenian monuments – 1,700.*

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS TO LEGALIZE OCHLOCRACY IN ARMENIA: HAMAYAK
HOVHANNISSYAN
YEREVAN, JULY 30. ARMINFO. “The adoption of the draft constitutional
reforms will legalize the oligarchs’ power in Armenia”, stated deputy
of Armenia’s parliament Hamayak Hovhannissyan at today’s
press-conference.
He named contradictory to common logic the grant of more wide powers
to Armenia’s prime minister than to a president. He stressed that
Armenia’s president is being elected by direct elections, while
according to the last version of constitutional amendments country’s
prime minister will be elected by parliamentary majority. “Oligarchy
is the parliamentary majority in our country and its role in the
legislative body will be only increased”, Hovhannissyan assured. He
tried to convince the presents on the example of Georgia, Ukraine,
Kirghizia and Russia that only presidential institution may curb
corporative interests. In his opinion, the adoption of the draft
constitutional amendments will lighten the reproduction task for
authorities. Hovhannissyan compared Armenia’s authorities with the
personage of Leonid Gayday, whose motto was an idea “who prevent us,
he will help us, too”. He meant the Armenian opposition that helped
authorities to steal constitutional process in the country.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARTY UNION SELF-DETERMINATION LODGES AGAINST ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT
YEREVAN, JULY 29. ARMINFO. The party Union Self-Determination will try
to make the Armenian Parliament to withdraw the provision on
prolongation of the powers of the Parliament and the local
self-government bodies from 4 to 5 years and from 3 to 5 years
respectively from the package of constitutional reforms.
USD Chairman Paruyr Hairikyan made a relevant claim today to the First
Instance Court of Kentron and Nork Marash communities. The above
provision contradicts to the present Constitution, Hairikyan said at a
press-conference today. Democracy is implemented through elections, it
means that such provisions affect democracy. He intends to insist on
his position in the European Human Rights Court. Such amendments in
the constitution are not reforms, but displays of criminal way of
thinking, he says adding that “coming to power criminals want to buy
slaves for 5 and not 4 years.”
Nevertheless, Hairikyan and his party members do not intend to join
revolution calls of the opposition party Republic as they are
traditional supports of the Constitutional way.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Freitag, 29. Juli 2005
Die Justiz und der Armeniermord
Neue politische Ausgangslage – neue Rechtsprechung?
Die hiesigen Ermittlungen gegen einen türkischen Genozid-Leugner
sorgen derzeit für grosse Unruhe. Die Schweizer Justiz hat sich
bereits vor einigen Jahren mit dem Armeniermord befasst und die
angeklagten Türken, die den Genozid leugneten, freigesprochen. Die
politische Ausgangslage hat sich inzwischen allerdings geändert.

fon. Bern, 28. Juli
Der türkische Botschafter in der Schweiz ist am Donnerstag im
Eidgenössischen Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten (EDA)
empfangen worden. Grund sind die von der Staatsanwaltschaft
Winterthur eröffneten und von der Türkei scharf kritisierten
Ermittlungen gegen den türkischen Politiker Dogu Perinçek, der den
Völkermord an den Armeniern an einer öffentlichen Veranstaltung in
Glattbrugg als «imperialistische Lüge» bezeichnet hatte (vgl. NZZ vom
27. 7. 05). Das EDA, das von Botschafter Jean-Jacques de Dardel
vertreten wurde, habe sich erneut «erstaunt» über die anhaltenden
Proteste der türkischen Regierung gezeigt, hiess es in einem
Communiqué. Man habe im Gespräch die hiesige Strafgesetzgebung
erläutert, wonach die Leugnung von Völkermord strafbar sei. Das EDA
zeigte sich zuversichtlich, dass seine Erläuterungen einer «ruhigeren
Arbeitsatmosphäre förderlich» seien. Ob die türkische Seite dies auch
so sieht – und wie sie sich verhalten wird, falls es zu einem Prozess
gegen Perinçek kommen sollte -, muss sich allerdings erst noch
weisen.
Nicht der erste Fall für die Justiz
Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass sich die Schweizer Justiz mit dem
Armeniermord von 1915 befasst. Vor vier Jahren wurde vor dem
Strafgericht Bern-Laupen der Fall mehrerer Türken verhandelt, denen
vorgeworfen wurde, in einer Petition an die eidgenössischen Räte die
Massaker an den Armeniern als Genozid geleugnet zu haben. Das Gericht
sprach die Angeschuldigten frei. Der Freispruch wurde im Wesentlichen
damit begründet, dass die Angeklagten keine Historiker seien, sondern
Personen, die nur über ein bescheidenes und ideologisiertes
Geschichtswissen verfügten und aus borniertem Nationalismus und nicht
aus rassistischen Motiven gehandelt hätten. Da der subjektive
Tatbestand als nicht erfüllt angesehen wurde, konnte das Gericht die
Frage, ob es sich bei den am armenischen Volk begangenen Verbrechen
um Völkermord handle, letztlich offen lassen. In seiner Begründung
sprach es sich aber für eine zurückhaltende Auslegung aus und verwies
dazu auf die Haltung von Bundesrat und Parlament: Diese hatten den
Völkermord an den Armeniern bis dahin nicht anerkannt. Das Urteil
wurde von einer Gruppe von Privatklägern zuerst an das Obergericht
des Kantons Bern und sodann an das Bundesgericht weitergezogen; beide
Beschwerden wurden abgewiesen.
Anerkennung durch den Nationalrat
Nach Auffassung des Freiburger Strafrechtsprofessors Marcel Niggli
zeigten alle in den Prozess involvierten Gerichte einen erheblichen
Unwillen, das politisch heikle Thema des Armeniermordes juristisch zu
bewerten. Die politische Ausgangslage hat sich inzwischen allerdings
geändert. Der Nationalrat hat Ende 2003 den Völkermord an den
Armeniern ausdrücklich anerkannt – wie dies viele Länder von
Frankreich über Belgien, Kanada und Griechenland bis zu den
Vereinigten Staaten bereits vor längerem getan haben. Niggli ist
überzeugt, dass der Entscheid des Nationalrats auf künftige
Strafprozesse grossen Einfluss haben wird. Es sei unwahrscheinlich,
dass ein Schweizer Gericht die Massaker an den Armeniern künftig
nicht klar als Völkermord beurteilen werde, meint er. Die
Genozid-Leugner nochmals mit dem Argument freizusprechen, dass ihnen
in diesem Bereich die Kenntnisse fehlten, sei nunmehr nicht mehr
denkbar.

Open Democracy, UK
July 29 2005
Turkish doubts
Fred Halliday
29 – 7 – 2005
A moderate democratic Islamism in power, careful diplomacy over Iraq,
the prospect of European Union membership … this should have been
Turkey’s decade. But things are going wrong, finds Fred Halliday in
Ankara.

The recent bomb explosions in a café in Istanbul and in a bus in the
Aegean tourist resort of Kusadasi (in which five people died) have
reminded the world that Turkey – alongside London, Madrid, and Egypt
– remains a target of violent attack both by the secular far left (
the Kurdish PKK and by Islamists who oppose its ties with the United
States and Israel.
These are not the first bombings even in recent years, and Istanbul
was, most notably, the site of major Islamist assaults in 2003. But
they underline what appears, to the visitor returning to Turkey after
several years, to be a pervasive mood of political concern about
developments abroad and at home.

Turkey is used to conflict and to international crisis, and the
Turkish state has, over past decades, made its own distinctive
contribution to such processes. But the mood now in this city, an
ancient Hittite settlement in the centre of the country chosen by
Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s as a more `indigenous’ Turkish capital
than the suspect cosmopolis of Istanbul, is now uneasy and edging on
anger.
For this there are three reasons: Europe, Iraq, and domestic Turkish
politics.
The European complex
The first is Europe. Turkey has been seeking membership of the
European Union since the 1960s; in November 2004, Brussels finally
agreed to open negotiations, due to commence on 3 October 2005. For
the many Turks who, for cultural, economic and strategic reasons,
want to join the union, this appeared a historic landmark.
In the ensuing months, however, things have gone wrong. The Turkish
government itself has not acted to meet many of the conditions laid
down by Europe for commencing the talks. At the same time serious
opposition, not just to Turkish entry but to the very commencement of
talks, has emerged inside the EU – both at the popular level in the
referendums in France and the Netherlands, and in statements by the
Austrian government and by politicians expected soon to attain power,
such as Nicolas Sarkozy in France and Angela Merkel in Germany. The
latest Eurobarometer poll shows that 52% of Europeans oppose Turkish
entry while 35% support it.
The formal Turkish response is to brush all this aside: Brussels must
keep to its commitment to start negotiations, and in earnest, while
the French and Dutch referendum results were not really about Turkey
or Muslim immigration but a reflection of popular opposition to the
effects of globalisation and the arrogance of the Brussels elite.
But there is also increasing nationalist irritation in Turkey at the
way the enlargement process is being revised and new obstacles are
being created on the European side – besides the longstanding
concerns about human rights, torture, women and Kurdish freedoms, new
conditions relating to Cyprus and Armenia are being raised,
apparently as a way of blocking the start of the October
negotiations. That it was the Turks who, in 2004, accepted the United
Nations settlement on Cyprus, and the Greeks, incited by bishops and
demagogues, who rejected it, seems to have escaped the notice of the
EU officials handling the negotiation.
In one sense, there is little the Turks can do about this. Some,
despite current disagreements with the United States, argue that
Turkey should stop trying to please the meddling and fickle Europeans
and explore a fuller strategic and economic relationship with the US.
Some talk of closer links to the middle east and to the former Soviet
republics, particularly those of the Turkish dunya (world), where
various forms of Turkic language are spoken. But the whole basis of
the modernisation of Turkey since the 1920s has rested on the claim
that Turkey is already part of Europe: indeed some of the features of
Turkish politics that the EU objects to, such as a rigid secularism
and an authoritarian reformist state, are themselves reflections of
modern European models.
The middle east, much in vogue in the 1970s, has proven to be
economically unreliable and the source of many political problems. As
for the dunya, the honeymoon is over: poor, remote and corrupt
central Asian states offer little to the Turkish economy and there is
also awareness of considerable hostility to Turks in these countries,
as evident in the burning of Turkish banks and businesses in the
riots in Kyrgyzstan.
Ties with the former Soviet world in general are certainly
proliferating: two hours waiting in Istanbul airport reveals that,
for every flight that leaves for Paris, Berlin or London, at least
one other leaves for Bishkek, Baku, Kishinev or Kharkov. And recently
Vladimir Putin visited Turkey – the first visit by a Russian
political leader in the tempestuous four centuries of their
relationship. But there is no substitute here for integration into
the European Union.
The Iraq dilemma
The second, and most important, reason for the current Turkish
malaise is Iraq. Turkey provided some support, against the wishes of
much public opinion, in the American war with Baghdad over Kuwait in
1990-1991: but this was over quickly and the main fighting took place
far from Turkish frontiers in what Turks refer to as `the gulf of
Basra’.
In the ensuing years Turkey profited from the smuggling and
legitimate trade associated with the oil-for-food programme. When it
came to the US invasion of 2003, the strength of opposition from
Turkish public opinion and the Turkish state itself made no
comparable accommodation with Washington possible.
The Turkish parliament refused to allow the US to use Turkish
territory for the invasion and since then criticism of the United
States has reached levels unprecedented even in the crises over
Cyprus in 1963 and 1974. Matters were not helped when, later in 2003,
US forces publicly humiliated a group of Turkish special-force
soldiers captured in Sulaimaniya, Kurdish Iraq.
All of this has been accompanied by increasing Turkish nationalism
and the spread of a suspicion among secular nationalists and
Islamists alike that the US is using the occupation of Iraq to
threaten Turkey, above all by allying itself with the Kurds in Iraq
and so fomenting trouble among the Kurds of eastern Turkey.
This fear is openly stated by officials in Ankara: the first step
will be the partition of Iraq into Arab and Kurdish states, they say,
and this will be followed in few years by the partition of Turkey, in
a final realisation of the plan originally laid down in the –
notorious among Turks – Treaty of Sèvres of 1920, against which
Atatürk led his victorious national revolution.
All of this nationalism has had one other consequence: although the
Turkish state has, in principle, granted rights to Kurds to publish,
broadcast and speak in their own language, Kurdish politicians are
too fearful of reprisals to exercise these rights.
For the Islamists there is the further charge that the US-Kurdish
alliance is being promoted by Israel. Turkey has had good economic
and military relations with Israel for years and these have continued
despite greater criticism of Israel’s policies towards the
Palestinians. Israeli planes practice in Turkish airspace, while a
major twenty-year project to transport water in large container ships
to Israel is going ahead. Turks and Israelis also share a sense of
being the whipping-boys of Europe, and Turks frequently visit Israel
– `the only country in the world where we are not treated with
condescension’, as one leading sociologist put it to me.
But while there is little sympathy in Turkey for the Arabs as such
-`they betrayed us by siding with the British and French in the first
world war’ – the war in Iraq is seen as a major threat to Turkey, and
also, as officials admit, as a reminder of how limited Turkish power
is. While it has long been said that Turkey would intervene in
northern Iraq to prevent the establishment of a Kurdish state, this
would be much less likely if United States forces remain stationed
there.
The AKP and domestic politics
Alongside these two major international problems, there is a third,
domestic component of the Turkish malaise. This is uncertainty about
the direction and strength of the ruling party, the Islamist AKP, in
office since November 2002. At one level things have gone better than
expected: the armed forces, who through the powerful National
Security Council retain a major say in Turkish politics, have allowed
the Islamist party to exercise power, while for its part the AKP has
cast off some of its religious garb and is presenting itself as a
progressive party, in contrast to the `secular conservatives’ of the
old elite.
One reason for concern, however, is that no one can be sure of its
intentions. The AKP makes no secret of its intention to lift the ban
on headscarves in public places, including government offices and
universities. While many secularists are now ready to accept this,
some see it as an initial step towards a referendum aimed at making
the wearing of headscarves by women compulsory. Alcohol is still
generally available in Turkey, but is gradually reducing in
circulation: recently the press corps on the prime minister’s
eighteen-hour flight to Washington was outraged to find that there
was nothing alcoholic to drink.
More broadly, no one is entirely sure whether the AKP’s apparent
enthusiasm for joining the EU is genuine or whether, in the end, it
would prefer to fall back on a nationalist Islamist project rather
then endure European interference on issues of social and political
freedom. This uncertainty is compounded by the weakness of the
opposition parties, the old secular Republican People’s Party (CHP)
and the rightwing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). By default this
gives the AKP an almost free hand. `We are living in a one-party
state,’ said one intellectual concerned at the lack of opposition to
the Islamist project.
Where does Turkey belong?
All this should be of concern to more than just the 70 million people
of Turkey. It is indeed an anomalous country in both European and
middle eastern terms: after spending an evening in a hotel ballroom
with a hundred members of the Ankara business and political elite I
felt – in terms of political attitudes and the enthusiastic
socialising of those present – that in some ways Turkey was more like
a medium-sized Latin American country, a Mexico, Peru or Argentina,
that had ended up in the wrong place. But however it addresses its
social and political problems Turkey remains critical to European
relations with the middle east and is therefore central to the
trans-national crisis both are now living through.
Herein lies the paradox, indeed the irresponsibility, of opposition
to closer European involvement with Turkey: for only if it is
possible to build a stronger relationship in which Europe, instead of
indulging in a one-way discussion about what Brussels expects from
Ankara, actually learns about and listens to Turkey, will the wider
questions of Europe and the middle east, cultural difference and
terrorism, be addressed. This is not, however, the way things are
going at the moment, in western Europe or here, in central Anatolia.
In the end it may be that Europe needs Turkey even more than Turkey
needs Europe.

Last-minute visa hitch holds up withdrawal of Russian hardware from Georgia
NTV Mir, Moscow
29 Jul 05
[Presenter] The withdrawal of Russian military hardware from Georgia
has been postponed. A convoy was supposed to have left Batumi for the
North Caucasus today, but nothing happened. This was either because of
bureaucratic red tape or, observers say, because – in spite of its
professed wish to get rid of the Russian military presence as soon as
possible – Tbilisi does not really know what it wants. Roman Sobol
tried to get to the bottom of the situation.
[Correspondent] This morning these vehicles were supposed to leave the
12th Russian base in Batumi and head for the North Caucasus. All in
all, there are nine units of wheeled hardware and two escort
vehicles. This is the first convoy envisaged by the agreement between
the Georgian and Russian foreign ministries on the withdrawal of the
Russian military bases.
Everything was ready on the Russian side. The hardware has been
fuelled. But the departure had to be postponed. Georgia is not issuing
visas to the drivers who have to return after ferrying this convoy.
[Davit Sikharulidze, Georgian deputy defence minister, captioned] All
the problems, the technical problems, have been dealt with in the
agreement, which we have already approved. Both delegations have
approved it. This agreement only has to be signed.
[Correspondent] Although the Russian military specialists handed over
all the documents on time, the Georgian side is in no hurry to
respond. This is not the first incident. Yesterday Georgian border
guards held up a convoy travelling from Akhalkalaki to Armenia,
demanding additional documentation for the export of five PK machine
guns and five signal flares.
[Korneli Salia, acting chief of staff of Georgian Border Guard
Department, captioned] This was a mistake by some officer who, when
the assets were being loaded, put these weapons somewhere they should
not have been.
[Correspondent] The situation is ambiguous. Following the noisy
campaign in Georgia against the Russian bases and the compromise which
was achieved with difficulty, the local authorities are for some
reason holding up the withdrawal, even though the Georgian Defence
Ministry says it will give the utmost assistance to the Russian
military. Another round of talks began today.
[Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of Group of Russian Troops in
the Transcaucasus, captioned] A group of generals and officers has
arrived in Tbilisi to organize the withdrawal of armaments and heavy
hardware.
[Correspondent] Only after these talks, will the time for the
withdrawal of the first column of combat hardware be clarified. The
Russian bases have to be closed by 2008.
This is Roman Sobol and Nugzar Kereselidze reporting from Georgia for
NTV.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIANOW.COM July 29, 2005
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ArmenTel Hell: Subscribers get no service, no satisfaction from mobile
phone provider
By Anush Babajanyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
For nearly a month ArmenTel, the biggest telecommunication provider in
Armenia (and until July, the only provider), has left its subscribers
unable to make phone calls for reasons unknown even to ArmenTel
itself.
Armenian Minister of Transport and Communications Andranik Manukyan
has demanded that ArmenTel fix the problem as soon as possible. On
July 14, Manukyan assured the public that the ArmenTel problem would
be settled by the next day. The next day was two weeks ago, and
nothing has changed.
ArmenTel has invited specialists from abroad but say they still
haven’t determined the causes of the breakdown.
Meanwhile the provider – for which users pay from 43 to 45 drams
(about 10 cents) per minute – is asking its customers to not even try
to use its service.
`Every attempted call that doesn’t have a real need just reduces the
possibility for a successful call of other users and at the end of all
users,’ said a statement from the company.
Predictably, the message did not sit well with subscribers.
`I think it’s outrageous that ArmenTel officials asked us not to try
to call several times,’ says Marina Gabrielyan, 37, an ArmenTel
user. `How can we not try if we need to reach someone?’
The breakdown of the ArmenTel connection coincided with the launching
of VivaCell, the second mobile operator, on July 1. ArmenTel and
K-Telecom, the owner of VivaCell, share one frequency, which is
believed to be the reason for the poor service.
A July 15 press release on the ArmenTel website, however, states that
`the anticipated increase of traffic due to the launch of the new
operator was not enough to cause the problem.’
Whether VivaCell affected ArmenTel’s connection or not, it certainly
affected its prices. After VivaCell offered prices cheaper than
ArmenTel, the latter responded with a summer promotion and is now
cheaper than VivaCell. For example, the prices for the postpaid cards
are 43.20 AMD/min (9 cents) for ArmenTel, and 44-55 AMD/min (10-12
cents) for VivaCell.
The sharp decrease of ArmenTel prices resulted in an increase of
subscribers.
`Maybe if ArmenTel wouldn’t have lowered prices so fast it wouldn’t
have so many new subscribers, whom it obviously can’t afford,’ says
Narine Grigoryan, 46, an ArmenTel user, `that’s why we can’t call
anywhere.’
Although a little more expensive, VivaCell provides better
connection. (But, while Armentel — when it works — reaches about 80
percent of Armenia, VivaCell is restricted mostly to areas close to
Yerevan.)
`I couldn’t wait for the ArmenTel connection to settle,’ says Ruben
Nazaryan, 31, an entrepreneur, `so I changed my mobile provider
several days ago. It’s much better now.’
There have constantly been complaints by ArmenTel users about the
quality of the connection, the lack of prepaid cards and their
price. This mainly concerned the subscribers, but not so much the
government or ArmenTel. While prepaid cards from ArmenTel are easier
to buy now, and the prices are lower, the connection is so bad that it
worries now both ArmenTel and the government, which controls 10% of
ArmenTel.
In 1997, the Greek company Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA
(OTE) bought 90% of ArmenTel.
`This privatization will raise interest and trust in Armenia. This is
the biggest one so far and it was done professionally,’ said a
government official at the time.
Now, however, not even government officials seem capable of assuring
that the service itself be `done professionally’.
Building Benefits: Armenian economy grows on strength of construction boom
By Shakeh Avoyan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The Armenian economy grew by 10.2 percent in the first half of this
year helped by a continuing major upswing in the construction and
service sectors, according to government statistics released on
Wednesday.
The reported data puts Armenia on course to register a double-digit
rate of economic growth for the fifth consecutive year. Its government
says robust growth has resulted in a considerable fall in widespread
poverty.
`Our forecasts on the main indicators have proven correct and we have
had a growth rate exceeding 10 percent during the first six months of
the year,’ Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmarityan
told reporters.
According to the latest macroeconomic data, construction remains the
fastest growing sector of the economy, having surged by 43 percent
from January through June. It is followed by the service sector where
growth was reported at 15.5 percent. Armenia’s industrial output, by
comparison, rose by just 5.3 percent.
The official figures also show a 31.3 percent rise in the volume of
Armenian exports despite a dramatic appreciation of the national
currency, the dram, against the U.S. dollar and the euro. However, the
figure does not include cut diamonds, Armenia’s number one export
item. The country’s net imports were up 24.2 percent.
`Our external trade has more than doubled in the last four years,’
said Chshmarityan. `Exports alone have nearly tripled. These
indicators testify to positive trends in the Armenian economy.’
Armenia’s macroeconomic performance was welcomed last week by a
visiting senior official from the International Monetary
Fund. `Armenia is on a promising path toward sustained high growth and
the alleviation of poverty,’ said Agustin Carstens, the IMF’s deputy
managing director.
The Armenian authorities say that despite a highly uneven distribution
of its benefits the economic growth has had a major impact on living
standards. Household income surveys regularly conducted by them show
the proportion of Armenians living below the official poverty line
falling from 50 to 43 percent between 1999 and 2003. The poverty rate
calculated with a World Bank methodology is even lower: 33 percent.
Dis-Connected?: Premiers visit to Akhalkalaki draw attention to
transport/communication obstacles
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Armenia’s vulnerability in establishing transport and communication
has become the focus of attention as talks intensify around
construction of two interstate railroads, both of which would bypass
Armenia.
In May, 2004 a consortium was formed between Russia, Azerbaijan and
Iran for the purpose of establishing the Baku- Astara-Resht-Kazvin
railroad. Other proposals include an agreement between Georgia and
Turkey to construct the Trabzon- Batumi-Tbilisi and
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railroads, enabling Turkey to maintain direct
ties with Azerbaijan and Central Asia.
The blockade of Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as of the
Abkhazian section of the Caucasian railroad drive the republic into a
deadlock, and raise concerns that Armenia is being further crippled.
`The Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi project emerged due to the efforts of
Azerbaijan and Turkey, which are seeking to prevent Armenia from
integrating into regional programs,’ Armenian Assembly of America
(AAA) Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian said on July
21. `The AAA will stop any attempts to isolate Armenia and will work
towards its inclusion into regional transport routes that will benefit
all states of the South Caucasus.’
It is in this regard that the draft legislation submitted to the
U.S. House of Representatives on July 21 aimed at banning
U.S. allocations for the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi
railroad should be viewed. The bill is drafted and submitted by the
cochairmen of the U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus Joe Knollenberg,
Frank Pallone as well as congressman George Radanovich.
`The U.S. must not assist or elaborate the proposed
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railroad construction project bypassing
Armenia and ignoring the existing Kars-Gyumri route,’ said
Knollenberg. `It obstructs regional cooperation and is directed at
destabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus. This railroad
construction project undermines U.S. long- term interests in the
region.’
This issue was addressed also during the July 24 working visit of
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan to Georgia where he visited
the regions of the compact residence of Armenians in the country’s
Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Accompanied by his Georgian counterpart
Zurab Nogaideli he also visited the Akhalkalaki area of this province
where 90 percent of the population is Armenian. It is through the
territory of this region that the construction of sections of the
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railroad is planned.
In Akhalkalaki the premiers were met by protestors who vowed they
would never allow the railroad through their region.
`Against the background of geopolitical games unfolding in the
territory of Samtskhe-Javakheti, against the background of the role of
Turkey in them and in the aspect of the issue of repatriation of
Meskhet-Turks to the region it is simply inadmissible,’ Chairman of
the `Javakhk’ Democratic Alliance Vahagn Chakhalyan told
ArmeniaNow. `We will undertake all measures to prevent this
construction.’
Chakhalyan handed to the prime ministers a petition from the region’s
population that included a request to re-open the Kars-Gyumri railroad
section.
`Of course, the building of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railroad is
an internal affair of Georgia, which is seeking to maintain railroad
communication with Turkey,’ Margaryan said on July 24. `Meanwhile, I
think that it would be less expensive to restore communication along
the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi vector than building a new railroad.’
In this connection, the Armenian premier mentioned the initiative of
the cochairmen of the U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus who submitted
the above-mentioned draft legislation for consideration three days
earlier.
During the working visit of the Armenian premier to Georgia, besides
the issue of railroad communications the sides also discussed the
problem of motorway communication between the two countries.
The region of Samtskhe-Javakheti situated in the extreme south-west of
Georgia is one of the largest provinces in the country and includes
six administrative regions – Adigen, Aspindza, Borzhomi, Akhaltsikh,
Akhalkalak and Ninotsminda. In the south and south-west it borders on
Armenia (the customs point of Bavra) and Turkey (the customs point of
Vale) respectively. Five of the six regions of the province border on
Turkey, and the region of Ninotsminda borders on Armenia. Thus,
geopolitically Samtskhe-Javakheti is a key region of Georgia.
The border point of Bavra is situated at a height of 2,150 meters
above sea-level, in an area where winter lasts for more than seven
months. The meeting of the prime ministers of Armenia and Georgia took
place at the state frontier which despite all official assurances has
not been delimitated yet. The bumpy road that can hardly be called
interstate communication symbolizes the way of Armenian-Georgian
cooperation.
(Since the early 1990s official Tbilisi, about every two years, raises
the issue of an immediate start to construction in the strategically
important section, however it hasn’t happened yet. Meanwhile, it is
Armenia’s only land exit to the outer world that lies not through a
Turkish-populated territory.)
`It is a very important factor that deserves special attention,’ said
Chakhalyan. `We cannot forecast events, but we must always remember
that the Turkic population near road and pipeline communications may
(disrupt operations) as it happened in the Marneuli region during the
energy crisis in Armenia when the gas pipeline leading to Armenia was
constantly the target of explosions. (The Marneuli region of Georgia
is adjacent to Armenia and is mainly populated by Azeris who were
periodically exploding the section of the pipeline supplying Armenia
with Russian and Turkmen gas in 1992-1994.) Thus, the need to build a
normal interstate road acquires additional meaning.’
As the Georgian prime minister stated, currently a general plan on the
reconstruction of all road communications of Georgia is being
developed, and one of the links of this plan is the building of normal
roads in the Armenian- populated regions. This project is developed in
the context of the well-known Millennium Challenges program, and in
this aspect it has relation to Samtskhe-Javakheti as well.
`This project is expected to be launched in 2007,’ Georgia’s premier
said on July 24. `The total cost of the works in the province’s
territory is evaluated at $120 million, with $100 million to be
secured through U.S. support, and $20 million from the budget of
Georgia.’
The premiers also informed the media that the works will be conducted
in four sections: Akhalkalaki-Akhaltsikh, Akhaltsikh-Tsalka-Tbilisi,
Akhalkalaki-Karzakh (towards Turkey) and Akhalkalaki-Ninotsminda
(towards Armenia).
A Chance to be Heard: New law would introduce lobbying in National Assembly
By Mariam Badalyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
A newly introduced law on lobbying would provide Armenian NGOs and
businesspeople a more favorable environment for advocating change via
the National Assembly.
Though some NGOs and businesspeople have successfully impacted
legislation, presently, there is no systematic mechanism for
lobbying. Under the new law, Members of Parliament would be obliged to
reply to proposals presented by accredited lobbyists.
The draft law is to be debated in the autumn session of Parliament. If
adopted, the law would go into effect next year.
This week the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Armenia held
discussions at the Tekeyan Center in Yerevan in cooperation with the
Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Trade and
Development. Representatives of local and international
non-governmental organizations, government authorities, business
people and experts discussed the law’s provision.
`The law targets creating transparency in law-making processes,
providing equal opportunities for civic participation and boosting
participatory processes in Armenia,’ Justice deputy minister Ashot
Abovyan said during his opening speech.
The deputy minister underlined that the new regulatory framework is in
line with Armenia’s anti-corruption and poverty- reduction strategies.
`Regulating lobbying activities will make it possible to introduce
competitive and attractive mechanisms for the protection of public and
business interests.’ The UNDP `Support to Information and Democratic
Governance’ (SISDG) specialist Vahan Asatryan noted.
The discussion was focused on rights and responsibilities, licensing
and accreditation of lobbyists, financing, limitations and methods of
lobbying.
In general, Armenian NGO representatives and small and medium
entrepreneurs present at the discussion were happy with the draft law,
because they believe it will allow them not only to voice their
concerns about social and economic aspects of life in Armenia but also
be more involved in affecting legislative changes.
However, they pointed out some shortcomings in the draft law. For
example, Levon Nersisyan president of `Astghik’ non- governmental
organization of disabled, is concerned about a provision in the draft
that could limit the lobbying power of NGOs.
Head of another NGO – Consumers Union – Armen Poghosyan thinks that
mechanisms of lobbyist activities in the law are vaguely formulated
and need some improvement.
`It appears that lobbyists should draft their own versions of laws or
legal acts and present them to MPs or local government officials,
whereas activities of lobbyists may vary from advocating votes or not
to vote for a law, to inducing officials to change flawed policies or
malpractices.’
Nersisyan pointed out that the requirement of higher education found
place in the new law is less essential than age limitation.
`It is crucial that lobbyist, who I believe must be an expert in this
or that field, be experienced, which is gained only over years,’ he
says. ‘It is commonly practiced in the world and you will not find a
newly graduated lobbyist, yet in Armenia we may come to that very
quickly.’
Lobbying is a new phenomenon for Armenia, however some Armenian NGOs
may well boast with their experience in lobbying.
Nersisyan recalls that in 2000 their organization succeeded, through
organizing discussions and actions, in making the rights of physically
challenged considered during the reconstruction of government
buildings in the Republican square as well as pavements and 14
crossings on Mashtots and Sayat-Nova streets.
Later on `Astghik’ NGO united 46 other organizations, which
successfully advocated inclusion of the issue in the projects of road
construction by Lincey Foundation funds.
Nerisiyan believes the new law will enable NGOs to promote a favorable
legislation in a simplified manner.
`The law will establish the institute of relationship between MPs,
government officials and NGOs. Meeting an NGO representative and
considering social concerns he or she puts forward will become an
essential component of their work.’
Before Parliament meets in the fall, proponents of the law will meet
with representatives of small and medium-sized businesses and with
NGOs to further explain the draft.
One Faith?: The `oldest Christian nation’ wrestles against tolerance
in matters of religion
By Mariam Badalyan & Gayane Lazarian ArmeniaNow reporters
Every morning 69-year-old Albert Khashkhashyan opens a small
ramshackle booth to spend his day. He is not rushing to return home,
as no one is happy for his return. It is eight years that he is
rejected by his family.
`I have a large family, but there is no one waiting for me at
home. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have destroyed my family,’ says
Khashkhashyan.
The Khashkhashyans live in a four-room apartment in a suburb of
Yerevan. A construction engineer by training, Khashkhashyan headed the
construction of five flour-mills in Iran in the 1980s. Those were
happy days for a father of four children.
His life turned shambles in 1992 when his elder daughter, Elen, became
a Jehovah’s Witness. Gradually, she was joined by her two sisters,
brother and mother.
`My heart aches because of my children’s delusions,’ says
Khashkhashyan. `My daughters have forgotten about everything –
education, career, leisure, marriage. They spend days attending
religious gatherings and preaching. And my son refuses to serve in the
army… I find my children lost for the society.’
Albert Khashkhashyan considers himself a victim of Jehovah’s Witnesses
religious organization, or `sect’, as he calls it.
When Armenia gained independence in the 1990s, citizens also gained
the right to explore `alternative’ religions. Some, like Jehovah’s
Witness (and including Mormons) are a striking departure from the
traditional Christianity for which Armenia is famous. Contrary
beliefs, habits, practices, dogma, are met not only with suspicion but
with fear and intolerance by those who see the `sects’ as a threat to
the national religion – and the national character.
Currently, there are 56 religious organizations registered in
Armenia. They represent 12 religious trends, out of which 8 are
Christian confessions: Apostolic, Catholic, Russian Orthodox,
Evangelical, Baptists, Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Pentecostals. Moonies and Mormons in Armenia are not registered as a
religious organization.
Freedom of religion has become a hot topic in Armenia within the past
year. In the fall of 2004 the registration of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a
religious organization with 22,000 members in Armenia, which had been
denied registration for more than ten years, was received differently.
Despite some discriminatory provisions in the new law on alternative
service (link to Vahan’s story?) international organizations and some
NGOs considered the registration of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a big step
forward on the way towards establishment of a democratic society.
The same fact, however, aroused the frustration of many citizens and
even some local NGOs. Numerous TV, radio programs, newspaper articles
periodically highlight the problems of religious rights.
The Center for the Rehabilitation and Help to Victims of Decadent
Sects NGO, the Association for the Protection of Individual and
Family, as well as a public committee consisting of 44 youth
organizations led by the Republican Party’s youth division find
addressing the problem critical for society.
Currently, courts are considering seven complaints that relate to
property disputes. People come alleging that a sectarian family member
had sold a common property and gave the money to the organization he
or she attends without considering the will of other family
members. Albert Khashkhashyan has a similar claim against his wife,
who sold an apartment belonging to the family, which Khashkashyan
inherited from his grandmother. The wife, he says, gave most of the
money to the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization.
`At stake is the Armenian statehood, physical and mental health of the
society, unity of families,’ declares the head of the Republican
Party’s youth division and National Assembly member Armen Ashotyan.
`If a military dodger throws himself out of the balcony on the 8th
floor and his parents, at the dismal scene of their boy’s smashed
body, say it was Jehovah’s will, whose rights is the sect violating?
Should the state ignore such kind of cases?’ says lawyer Ruzanna
Ter-Vardanyan, who currently is involved in a civil case dealing with
a deprivation of maternity rights of a Jehovah’s Witness.
MP Ashotyan considers the religious provisions of the `sects’ that put
mental and physical health of people at risk to be particularly
dangerous. A doctor by training and occupation Ashotyan says he has
witnessed numerous cases in hospitals when a patient is near death,
but his family did not allow life-saving blood transfusion for
religious reasons. (According to Jehovah’s Witnesses interpretation of
the Bible, blood transfusion is a sin as it equals to the biblical ban
`to eat meat with its blood’. Since 1961 when this interpretation was
declared by Jehovah’s Witnesses, many members of their organization
worldwide, including children, died. Recently, under external pressure
they had to modify this doctrine and now allow blood transfusion, but
it is allowed only among their members. )
According to Ashotyan many family arguments occur on the ground of
religious `intolerance’, which weaken the society.
Head of Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization Hrach Keshishyan
denies all accusations: `How can a philosophy that preaches tolerance
sow discord? I think the reasons are different, but people link them
to the religion.
`Our name is often speculated upon,’ he says. `But a Jehovah’s Witness
neither steals, nor embezzles. Can there be a better patriotism than
this?.’
`Often a woman’s husband is against her visits and there emerges the
problem of the family’s destruction,’ says pastor Karen
Khachatryan. `In similar cases, we advise our members to preserve
family peace and leave the church community. Since 2000 Karen is the
founding Pastor of `Rema’ Pentecostal Church.
Instead, Pastor Karen asserts, that their organization, like any other
non-apostolic religious organization in Armenia, is discriminated
against.
`If you periodically attend a gathering to read the Bible with a
non-Apostolic group, you are a `sectarian’; people will point at you,’
Pastor Karen says. `But if you attend the Apostolic church you are a
Christian.’
Apostolic church priest Ghevond Mayilyan, the head of the Christian
education center of the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin claims that
religious organizations like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Rema, use
suspicious methods to attract and keep members.
`They use the `bombardment of love’ to attract a person,’ Fr. Ghevond
says. `Treating a man with love and giving him/her social aid they tie
him/her to themselves. Central bodies of many financially powerful
totalitarian sects make large investments in Armenia for attracting
even more members. What is it done for?.’
Hrach Keshishyan claims Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use methods other
than the ones by the Apostolic church, which serve the same goal – to
sow the best qualities in a person. Members of their organization are
honest and law-abiding.
`The cultivation of externally safe and even praiseworthy qualities in
a person contains grave risks,’ MP Ashotyan is convinced. `Even the
sectarian pastors themselves do not know why it is done. In reality it
has one aim – to make the people governable. There is danger for the
statehood, health of the society and unity of families.’
Armen Ashotyan thinks a well-coordinated approach is needed to make
room for misunderstood beliefs.
`The state, church and society must struggle together,’ he says.
Referent of the Department for Religion and National Minorities
Affairs of the RA Government staff Vardan Astsatryan says the state
should not become over involved in controlling the religious
organizations. The society itself must be able to give its own
assessments and fight with acceptable methods.
Astsatryan says that currently, the only control that the state has
over religious organizations is through their registration, which
would enable it to operate freely, for example rent premises, invite
guests from abroad, publish newspapers, etc.
`Only by registering a religious organization we will bring it to the
legislative field,’ says Astsatryan. `And if it avoids registration,
then it has something to hide.’
Despite the advantages offered by registration, there are
organizations in Armenia, which prefer to stay out of the legislative
field. According to the head of the Center for the Rehabilitation and
Help to Victims of Decadent Sects Amaryan some 10 organizations
including Satanists, Scientologists, Transcendentalists exist in
Armenia, but are not registered.
`Try to find a person openly declaring he or she is a Satanist,
whereas the place they gather in Yerevan is commonly known. Rituals of
Satanists contain dangerous elements, there is no doubt they are
anti-humane. Naturally, they will not get registered in Armenia,’ says
Amaryan. `Other trends such as scientologists or transcendentalists do
not consider themselves to be a religion. However, their activities
are related to the spiritual field and should be controlled as well.’
The state does not even count the number of members of religious
organizations absolutely relying on the data submitted by religious
organizations, which according to Astsatryan may be faked for
different reasons.
`The number may be presented as large if the organization wants to get
funds from abroad,’ says Astsatryan. `And, on the contrary, it can be
presented as small, if they feel pressured in the country.’
Nevertheless, Astsatryan thinks this approach is rather proportionate
with the rights of the religious organizations.
Astsatryan admits, however, there are shortcomings in the legislation.
`Since in 1991 (when the Law on the Freedom of Conscience and
Religious Organizations was adopted) the religious diversity was a new
phenomenon for our society, it didn’t have time to give assessment to
it,’ Astsatryan explains.
One of the shortcomings of the current law according to Astsatryan is
that although it foresees bans for violations, it does not give its
legal consequences, that is, does not stipulate punishment for them
(whether administrative or of other nature). In these cases a
corresponding body – the prosecutor’s office, contents itself with
only a warning.
Currently, a group of experts work on a new law, which involves
members of NGOs and among them is the Helsinki Committee in Armenia.
The chairman of Helsinki Committee Avetik Ishkhanyan, finds that in
the new law first of all the monopoly of the Armenian Apostolic church
and discrimination towards other religious organizations must be
abolished.
`There is no definition to the word proselytism,’ Ishkhanyan says,
`which is banned by the current law. The absence of definition leads
to ambiguities, which for sure work not on the side of religious
organizations other than the Apostolic church.’
Notwithstanding with what Ashotyan and Amaryan claim, Helsinki
Committee, an international non-governmental organization in Armenia,
claims that according to the complaints they receive, it is the
religious organizations that mostly complain of rights violations.
The Helsinki Committee receives several serious complaints each year
from religious organizations during a year. Among them are
discriminations at workplace, humiliation during alternative service,
beatings during preaching, and torture during forced military service.
However, although not excluding that serious violations by religious
organizations might have taken place, the chairman says the Committee
has received only one complaint against a religious organization so
far.
`A man came saying that his wife – a Jehovah’s witness – has taken
their children abroad,’ Ishkhanyan recalls. `He blamed the religious
organization for the breakup of the family. We were ready to help him,
but he never came back again.’
Ishkhanyan says the field needs serious expertise and research.
`So far we have rumors and a couple of journalistic articles, but no
serious research. Whereas, without an expert’s assessment there is a
fear to appear with even more bans on the right to freedom of religion
in the new law.’
Geghuhi’s Story: From strangling to surviving . . . to knitting
By Anush Babajanyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
On a night in 1913, when it is no longer safe to be Armenian in the
town of Tekirdagh, a young couple seek refuge with others hiding from
Turkish soldiers.
They reach a safe house and ask entry . . .
`Who is it,’ comes the voice from inside.
`Suqias,’ answers the man with his wife and infant.
>From the other side a voice says: `Don’t let him in, he has a child.’
`She’ll be silent’ says the father.
`Will you strangle her if she is not?’
`Yes.’
And so begins 92-year old Geghuhi Kivrikyan’s story of survival . . .
The town of Tekirdagh is on the cost of Marmara Sea in western
Turkey. It is the capital of Tekirdagh province, with a population of
around 100,000.
At the end of the Ottoman Empire period the population of the city was
not more than 40,000. Mostly Greeks and Armenians lived there.
In 1913 Turkey was in battles with the Bulgarians. They began
deporting the Armenians and Greeks from the city, leaving only
families where the husband served the Turkish Army.
One of the families to be forced out was that of Geghuhi
Kivrikyan. She was born in 1913. The deportation began when Geghuhi
was six months old and was the reason for that night when her parents
sought safety in a basement near the river . . .
Others also hiding, let the family in, after Geghuhi’s father made his
awful promise to silence his daughter if necessary.
After an hour the baby got hungry and began to cry. The father kept
his word, and began to strangle her.
`My mother grabbed me and ran to the street,’ Geghuhi says. At this
point the child had fainted. `She had to jump over some fences, but I
was too heavy. So she would throw me over the fence and then
jump. Because of the pain from hitting the ground, I recovered.’
Geghuhi’ mother, Aghavni, fled with her daughter to the town of Bigha.
`We haven’t heard from my father since then,’ Geghuhi says.
Geghuhi and her mother stayed in Bigha until 1922.
`One day in 1922 several groups of Turks came to town and began
shooting Armenians and Greeks,’ Geghuhi says, `They shot people for 24
hours.
`There was 25 or 30 of us women hiding in a house when they began
shooting. We jumped from the windows. Mother was the last one
left. When running out a vase hit her. She held her head and
cried. The Turks thought they shot her and stopped shooting. ‘
At the end of the day there was around 50 Armenians left in the town.
`A Turk general came to us and said that he will let us go if Anitsa,
a beautiful Armenian girl he had seen around, marries him. He gave us
three days.’
The girl didn’t agree in the beginning because her two brothers had
been killed by Turks. But the imploring of all the people made her
accept.
The next day Greek ships came and took the remaining Greeks and
Armenians to Greece.
`We lived in Greece until 1947, my mother, her sister, and I. There
was no male relative left…’
Life in Greece was very poor. Geghuhi’s mother didn’t get married
again and had to support her daughter by herself and with the help of
her sister.
Geghuhi recalls using powdered milk cans as drinking glasses, and that
Aghavni wove carpets in order to make a living.
`They sent me to learn tailoring, and I made my own dowry later,’
Geghuhi says.
Geghuhi got married in Greece with a man who was also from
Tekirdagh. His family hadn’t been deported but had moved to Greece.
`My husband’s family wasn’t forced out or hurt. But his grandparents
died in deportation, and his 17-year-old aunt was raped, and died
soon.’
Geghuhi and her husband, Harutyun, moved to Soviet Armenia in
1947. Geghuhi was 34 at the time. After moving she had three sons. Now
she has six grandchildren and two grand-grandchildren. She lives with
the family of her youngest son Mihran.
`This year is the 20th year of Harutyun’s death. He died on April
24…’ Geghuhi says.
Geghuhi knits.
`I’m lucky that I can see and hear well,’ Geghuhi says, `I get up at
night because of the pain in my body and knit…’
(Anush Babajanyan is a journalism student at American University of
Bulgaria, serving an internship with ArmeniaNow.)
Hawkish about the Baze: Opinion divides on the merits of Armenia’s
youth festival
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
The Pan-Armenian student and youth festival known as Baze (Hawk in
Armenian) will open tomorrow, July 30.
Representatives of all Armenia’s marzes, the Yerevan communities,
Artsakh, Javakhq and various communities of the Diaspora will
participate, along with students from the republic’s universities and
media. There will be 10 representatives from each organization,
bringing together more than 2,000 young people aged 18 to 30 to show
off their skills in various sports, music, dance, painting and
intellectual competitions.
Yerevan’s streets will sparkle with the red, blue and orange colors of
the Baze T-shirts until August 5. The competition and companionship
will make everyone forget the discomfort of the intense August heat.
The sharper the competition among the participants, however, the more
acute becomes public opinion about the annual festival: what is it for
and is it worth the expense?
`The idea is good but not for our country, especially if its organized
every year; besides the beautiful idea from the very beginning was
spoiled by the political exploitation of it. In 2003, they actively
participated in Robert Kocharyan’s presidential campaign and now it
has been turned into a party or `republican’ gathering,’ says Mihran
Hakobyan, President of the Yerevan State University Student Council.
The State Budget has allocated 75 million drams (nearly $170,000) to
the organization of the 2005 Baze festival. Arthur Poghosyan,
executive director of the Pan-Armenian Youth Fund, says the money will
go mainly on accommodation in Yerevan for the `hawks’ arriving from
the Diaspora and Armenia’s regions.
`This festival will contribute significantly to connecting young
Diaspora Armenians with the motherland, build friendships and
encourage young people in marzes out of their passive life; this has
no trace of a political purpose,’ Poghosyan insists.
Shushan Grigoryan, 21, from Hrazdan recalls as her happiest days the
three pre-election days at the Baze, when she had an opportunity to
show off her singing abilities.
`In marzes and villages there is no youth life, neither theater, nor
cinema, nor even a disco. Where can we go? We sit at home and feel
that we get older earlier than other young people,’ says Shushan.
Hakobyan argues that the $110-$140,000 spent annually on the festival
in the past five years could be used to reconstruct or open culture
houses in at least 20 villages, where young people could find
entertainment for the whole year instead of just a few days.
`Patriotism in youth should be inspired not only by singing patriotic
songs or playing football. For instance, we have developed a program
to provide business training for young people in all of the marzes,’
he says.
`They will get an opportunity to have their own business and that will
help them to stay in the homeland, not go to Russia in search of their
fortune.’
According to him, serving the homeland with one’s own work is
preferable to learning `the lines from Nzhdeh cited by heart and
patriotic songs’.
`The horrible thing is that 80 per cent of the festival organizers are
from the Republican party and blindly follow their ideas; if our
country is in such a condition then that is everybody’s fault,
including the Republican party. Consequently we need to struggle
against the growth of this party,’ says Hakobyan.
Eleonora Manandyan, head of the `New Armenia’ non-governmental
organization supports the young representative of the university. She
says: `The budget of the Baze is unimaginable for many organizations
involved in much more important problems for the country.
`Last year, 60 million drams were allotted to the Baze from the State
Budget for 600 young people to be entertained for 3 days, yet
alongside this we have innumerable half-ruined schools and villages
without any schools at all.’
Marietta Simonyan, a 58-year-old teacher, believes the idea of the
all-Armenian festival is good, but there is a need to realize it in
other ways.
`There are numerous programs that bring young Armenians from the
Diaspora to Armenia, such as `Land and Culture’, but no one goes to
Dilijan to have a rest and play games like the `bazes’ do. They work
voluntarily in an organization or reconstruct a village school or a
kindergarten; this is also a way of connecting with the motherland,’
says Simonyan.
According to Simonyan, even during the wasteful Soviet years there
were very few camps for students; instead, construction units carried
out repairs, gathered potatoes and worked in canning factories.
`They would sing after work too, make bonfires, dance, and
compete. But they would help the homeland with their work, not spend
the limited resources of the budget.’
Politics of Protection: Group urges review of `cultural genocide’
during Turkey’s application
By Zhanna Alexanyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
While the European Union considers Turkey’s application for
membership, some Armenians are using the time of intense inspection to
rally their cause against what they call `cultural genocide’.
Earlier this month a group of Armenian intelligentsia met in Yerevan
to discuss ways to bring attention to the destruction of Armenian
architecture on Turkish soil.
Armen Hakhnazaryan, who has founded an organization for studying
Armenian architecture 35 years ago in Germany, says they have
struggled for recognition of the Genocide by Germany, but the German
Bundestag adopted the resolution condemning the events of 1915 only
now that EU membership is being considered.
`Those facts about the cultural genocide that we presented to the
members of parliament and various parties played a big role also,’
Haknazaryan says. `Not because they did not know about it and their
eyes suddenly opened, but because from the point of view of politics
of today they are afraid of the 70 million population entering
Europe. We should use the moment.’
The German members of parliament who put the resolution into
circulation consulted with Hakhnazaryan who has devoted himself to
publicizing the `cultural genocide’. (Although the term `cultural
genocide’ is not part of the 1945 UN Convention on Genocide, it is
widely accepted by the international community.)
`During the last several years the term cultural cannibalism is
used. That is a nation not only exterminates the other’s values but
also expropriates. And that is cannibalism,’ says head of Turkic
Department of Oriental Studies Institute of the National Academy of
Sciences Ruben Safrastyan.
He also presented the legal bases of the question that can be used by
Armenia to raise the question of responsibility of Turkey before
international instances.
The policy of Turkey may be condemned by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty,
1972 European Union World Culture and Natural Heritage Agreement and
1992 Agreement on Preservation of Architectural Heritage; the first of
which committed Turkey to preservation of monuments of the Christian
minority living on its territory.
A resolution on the Armenian Genocide by the Council of Europe in 1987
can also be helpful to Armenia in this matter, according to which the
European community demands Turkey to respect and preserve the
historical monuments of the Armenian nation. The extermination of
Armenian monuments in Turkey began with the Armenian Genocide and
continues up to now.
If in 1920s there were more than 900 Armenian churches in Turkey. By
1974 according to data publicized by UNESCO more than the half of them
had been destroyed, 212 ruined and 197 needed urgent reconstruction.
`Crumbs have remained and their number decreases day after day. We
have losses every single day. We lost our country, before we could
recognize it,’ says coordinator of the Armenian branch of the
organization for the research of Armenian architecture Samvel
Karapetyan.
Specialists charge that Turkey exterminates Armenian culture by
turning churches into mosques, and by other means.
`I was heavily impressed with the Urfa Cathedral that was used in 1915
to burn 3000 Armenians alive and that has turned into fire depot after
the creation of the Turkish republic,’ informed Safrastyan.
Safrastyan and others also claim that monuments have been ruined by
`excavations’ in search of buried gold.
Head of the Spiritual Treasury of the Mechitarist Congregation Father
Harutyun Pstikyan spoke about the cultural vandalism in Georgia and
Azerbaijan.
`The only one among our neighbors that preserves Armenian monuments on
its territory is Iran,’ said the representative of the Mechitarist
Congregation.
In the end of the discussion an open letter was addressed to the
Armenian authorities that urged authorities to call Turkey to
responsibility for destruction of Armenian culture.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress