Author: Emil Lazarian

ARMENIAN NURSES SELECTED TO WORK IN QATAR STILL IN YEREVAN
ArmenPress
July 12 2005
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS: Four Armenian hospital nurses chosen by
Qatar health officials from tens of applicants for working in Qatar
hospitals are still in Armenia. A government-affiliated department in
charge of refugee and migrants issues, said the nurses’ documents are
ready and they also received visas, and the only remaining problem is
that the Qatari side has to cover the price of tickets, as envisaged
by their contracts.
The department said it will be continuing receiving applicants
from hospital nurses and has stopped receiving applications from
programmers, as the Qatari side has not reacted yet to his pledge to
choose programmers for working in Qatar.

THREE-DAY OSCE MONITORING TO BE HELD AT ARMENIAN-AZERI BORDER
PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005
18.07.2005 03:11 — /PanARMENIAN.Net/ July 18-21 in the accord
with the mandate with the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office a recurrent monitoring will be held at the contact
line of the armed forces of Armenia and Nakhichevan. From the Azeri
side the monitoring will be held by field assistants of the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Imre Palatinus and Peter
Key. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador
Andrzej Kasprzyk with his field assistants Miroslav Vimetal and
Alexander Samarsky will conduct the monitoring from the Armenian side.

GREEK COMMUNITY OF CYPRUS THREATENS AZERBAIJAN WITH DIRECT FLIGHT TO
NAGORNO KARABAKH
PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005
18.07.2005 06:13
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Greek community of Cyprus threatens Azerbaijan
with a direct flight to Nagorno Karabakh but they will not succeed,
Mehmed Ali Talaat, the president of the unrecognized Northern Cyprus
has told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, according to the Azeri news
agency Trend. He said Azerbaijan’s rapprochement with Northern Cyprus
would help offset the international isolation of the Turkish Cyprus.
On the eve of his recent trip to Russia, Turkish Prime Minister
Erdogan has said that the latest steps of Baku represent Azerbaijan’s
factual recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
“Hopefully, Azerbaijan’s steps towards it would continue~T, he said,
Yerkir Online reports.

Cyprus Greeks threaten Azerbaijan?
18.07.2005 15:52
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The Greek community of Cyprus threatens Azerbaijan
by a direct flight to Nagorno Karabakh but they will not succeed,
Mehmed Ali Talaat, the president of the unrecognized Northern Cyprus
has told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, according to the Azeri news
agency Trend.
He said Azerbaijan’s rapprochement with Northern Cyprus would help
offset the international isolation of the Turkish Cyprus.
On the eve of his recent trip to Russia, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
has said that the latest steps of Baku represent Azerbaijan’s factual
recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. “Hopefully,
Azerbaijan’s steps towards it would continue.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Erdogan’s Adviser Bagis Sends Letter To U.S. Legislators
Turkish Press
July 17 2005
ANKARA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign policy
adviser Egemen Bagis has sent a letter to members of the U.S. House
of Representatives.
In his letter, Bagis stressed that good relations with the United
States constituted as a basic principle of Turkey’s foreign policy.
Noting that as allies and partners, Turkey and the United States had a
long-standing and robust strategic cooperation on regional and global
issues, Bagis wrote, “our cooperation is driven by our shared vision
and by our joint interests, based on deep-rooted common values.”
Bagis indicated, “given the current regional and global challenges,
Turkish-US relations are more important than ever. Our relations are
based on strong foundations and we are mutually determined against
multi-dimensional threats.”
The letter continues, “as Chairman of the Turkish-U.S. Inter
Parliamentarian Friendship Caucus of the Turkish Grand National
Assembly, it is my duty to uphold the strong ties between our
countries. Similarly, it is my responsibility to act against threats
that may hurt our relations, disrupt our friendly ties and that may
unnecessarily enrage the Turkish public opinion against our good
ally, the USA. It is with this sense of duty that I am addressing
this letter to you on a matter which is of great sensitivity to the
Turkish people and of importance to our relations.”
“We understand some members of the U.S. Congress have submitted
two similar draft resolutions. (H. Res. 316 introduced on June 14,
2005 and H. Res. 195 introduced on June 29, 2005) This has caused
great disappointment and concern in Turkey. The draft resolutions as
they stand contain misinformation, baseless allegations, and false
accusations against my country,” wrote Bagis in his letter.
-“TERRIBLE POLITICAL MISCALCULATIONS”
Bagis indicated, “it also misrepresents a controversial chapter
of Turkish-Armenian relations at a time when our government, led by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking positive steps towards
our neighbor Armenia. Tragic events of 1915 were triggered by a
terrible political miscalculation of the Armenian citizens of the
Ottoman Empire. Encouraged by the Czarist Russia’s imperial policy of
capturing Anatolia and reaching the warm waters of the Mediterranean,
Ottoman Armenians allowed themselves to serve as the fifth column
of Russia in Turkey. As a result they rebelled against the central
government, triggered a civil war and paid a terrible price.”
-BUSH ALSO SUPPORTS ERDOGAN’S PROPOSAL”
Bagis went on saying, “the events of 1915 cannot be labeled as
‘genocide’. Primarily, such a liberal usage of this terrible word is
an insult to Holocaust, which is the gravest crime against humanity.
Turkey has always maintained that parliaments and other political
fora are the most inappropriate venues to discuss and pass judgments
on controversial historic periods. History is a discipline that
should be left to the historians. In order to shed light on this
controversial historic issue, the Turkish Government has opened
all its archives to researchers. Furthermore, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has proposed the establishment of a study group of
Turkish and Armenian historians to work study together on the events
of 1915. The proposal not only covers the archives of Turkey and
Armenia but also requires unbiased research in the archives of all
relevant countries, including Russia. Then the plan is to share the
conclusions with the international public. Prime Minister Erdogan’s
proposal was much appreciated and supported by President Bush.”
“Genocide is the most vicious crime against humanity. Accusing a
nation with genocide is a very serious act. Any such act comes with a
responsibility to prove such an accusation and rest it on historical
facts and international legality. We do not wish the U.S. Congress
running a judgment based on one-sided allegations,” stated Bagis.
-HISTORIANS SHOULD ANALYSE-
Bagis went on saying, “Turks and Armenians have lived in peace for
over eight centuries in Anatolia. The Armenian community, dispersed
throughout the Ottoman territories lived as loyal and, in certain
aspects, as privileged citizens of the Ottoman Empire. They served
as ministers, generals, ambassadors, governors, commercial envoys and
in similar other capacities. They were not subject to discrimination
in any shape or form.”
The letter continued, “towards the end of the 19th century, the ‘Great
Powers’ of the time began regarding the Armenians as an important tool
of manipulation against the Ottomans. Their aim was to accelerate the
destruction of the Ottoman Empire. These powers promised the Armenians
a state in Eastern Anatolia where paradoxically the Armenian citizens
were only a minority. As a result of the provocations of ‘Great
Powers’, various Armenian bands began to organize from the 1880s and
onwards. These armed militia staged rebellions in various provinces
and launched an ethnic cleansing campaign. They were trying to force
mass immigration of the local population and to alter the demographic
structure these regions. Their methods were massacres and harassment
of the Turks and other Muslims. The start of World War I and the
entry of the Ottoman state into the War against the Allied Powers
was seen as a great opportunity by the extremist Armenians. They
revolted and collaborated with the invading Russian army and
other foreign forces. As a fifth column of the Russian occupation,
Armenian bandits attacked the Ottoman troops and disrupted the supply
routes. Under these circumstances, the Ottoman government informed
the Armenian Patriarch, Armenian Members of Parliament and other
prominent Armenians that if these activities were to continue, the
government would have to take defensive measures. Armenian activities,
however, continued unabated. In the face of these enormous internal
and external threats, the Ottoman Government, in May 1915 resorted
to a defensive internal security measure, which any country facing
a similar situation would take. Again, the Ottoman government was
facing an armed rebellion by its own citizens who happened to be
members of a certain ethnic group and they were collaborating with
a foreign belligerent. The Ottoman government adopted the Relocation
Law to transfer its Armenian citizens living in the war zone to the
southern territories of the Empire. The Armenian citizens had been
informed well advance about this decision and their transfer started
after necessary preparations. Meanwhile, Armenian citizens living
outside the war zone were excluded from this resettlement process.
Thus, some 200,000 Armenian citizens living in Istanbul, Edirne,
Kutahya, Aydin and Izmir were not affected. The law in question
envisaged every precaution to ensure the security of the Armenian
citizens during the transfer, first and foremost, the safety of their
lives and protection of their assets. The Ottoman central government
instructed the local authorities to take the necessary security and
other measures for the orderly relocation of the Armenian citizens.”
“Relevant documents about these circulars are available in the Ottoman
archives. Despite these measures, war conditions, and local ethnic
animosities prompted attacks against the Armenian convoys during the
transfer process. Due to the limitations of the ongoing World War I,
lack of food supplies and other relief material, as well as harsh
climate and epidemics took their toll on the population. The relocation
was suspended in November 1915. In early 1916 it was brought to an
end. After the war the Ottoman Government issued a decree, allowing
the previously relocated Armenian citizens return to their places of
origin. According to a report prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate,
-and this document is the U.S. archives- 644,900 Armenians returned
to their places of origin, as a result. In the meantime, some 1,390
people were tried in Ottoman courts for attacking the Armenian convoys
and for related criminal acts. Many were convicted, some with death
penalty. At this point, we need to ask: If the Ottoman government had
intended to annihilate its Armenian citizens, why would it prosecute
civilians and officials for mistreatment of Armenian convoys and why
would it later allow the Armenians to return to their towns?”
“According to 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide only a competent tribunal can determine whether
genocide is committed or not. As underlined by the same Convention,
the tribunal in charge is either the tribunal of the State in the
territories of which the act was committed or an international penal
tribunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting
Parties which have accepted its jurisdiction. 1948 UN Convention does
not grant any competence to national or international parliaments
for the recognition or affirmation of the crime of genocide. Since
so far Armenian genocide claims have never been ascertained in any
competent court ruling it would be highly erroneous to talk about an
international recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide. Again,
the abovementioned attributions to the UN documents are a poor attempt
to add some air of legitimacy to the unfounded, biased and one-sided
allegations. Again, if a tragedy took place in Eastern Anatolia in
1915, it was due to a tragic political miscalculation by a certain
ethnic group against the central government. The result was a civil
war which should be analyzed by historians and not by legislators,”
wrote Bagis.
Bagis added, “I hope my letter will create another opportunity for
you to reexamine the content of the draft resolution H. Res. 316 from
a wider perspective. That perspective is the Turkish-US relations.
The adoption of these resolutions would not facilitate our efforts
to improve Turkish-Armenian relations since the Armenian Government
and Diaspora will feel further encouraged in pursing the policy of
making political gains on this disputed period of history.”

KARABAKH’S HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS DISCUSS SITUATION OF RELIGIOUS
MINORITIES IN REPUBLIC
STEPANAKERT, JULY 16. ARMINFO. NKR nongovernmental organization “Center
of civil initiatives” held a Roundtable in Stepanakert on the topic
“Religious minorities and the attitude of the modern Karabakh society
to them”.
As ARMINFO’s own correspondent in Stepanakert informs, representatives
of the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, human
rights campaigners, experts, representatives of various religious
organizations, journalists took part in the roundtable. Opening
the roundtable Director of the Center of civil initiatives Albert
Voskanian mentioned that the objective of the arrangement is not to
determine which religion or religious current is right and which
one is wrong, but to fix the attitude of the Karabakh society to
religious minorities.
“As the practice shows repressive measures against religious minorities
not only don’t promote their “extermination”, but, on the contrary,
result in increase of their supporters”, Albert Voskanian said. The
participants of the roundtable discussed various aspects of this
problem, stressing the importance of holding similar arrangements.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ISSUE OF LIBERATION OF SEVEN REGIONS IS DISCUSSED AT NEGOTIATIONS: ELMAR MAMEDYAROV
YEREVAN, JULY 16. ARMINFO. Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov
lifted once again the veil from the matter of negotiations on Nagorno
Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement.
According to Baku mass media, he stated in an interview to journalists
that at the first stage of negotiations the matter concerned the
liberation of not five but seven regions controlled by NKR. The issue
on quartering peacemaking forces in the region (after returning Azeri
people to their permanent residence in NKR) will be discussed when
the agreement on principle issues is to be reached. Mamedyarov said
that this decision was made at the OSCE Budapest summit.
“It is necessary to keep the confidentiality principle to reach any
developments. I only may say that the principle of maintenance of
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is the basis of negotiation process
conducting in accordance with country’s Constitution”, Mamedyarov
stated. He also named groundless rumors in mass media that “a
referendum will be conducted in NKR after signing a peaceful agreement
10-15 years ago”. “The internal political situation in Armenia and
the fact that the information may have provocative nature, and, most
likely, it is directed to the study of response of the opposite party
may be the reasons for such information”, Mamedyarov supposed.

ZERO INFLATION EXPECTED IN SECOND HALF OF 2005
YEREVAN, JULY 16. ARMINFO. Zero inflation is expected in the second
half of this year, says the board of Armenia’s Central Bank. This
makes quite attainable the planned 3% inflation for the year.
In the first half year inflation was 1.5% against planned 4% – due
to 2.2% deflation against planned 1.8% in the second quarter.
In Jan-May 2005 the economic growth was 8.5% with the planned level for
the year being 8%. In this light the 8% plan seems quite optimistic and
can even be exceeded due to an expected agricultural boost in the third
quarter. The foreign trade turnover has also grown. The exports (less
precious stones) grew by 29.5%, the imports by 26.1% with the deficit
growing to 23.6% with is share in GDP dropping by 3.6% totalling 27.2%.
In the tax-budgetary sector the expenditure plan was underfulfilled
by 22 bln AMD while the revenue one overfulfilled by 5.6%. This
shows that the tax-budgetary policy has a restrictive effect in the
gross demand.-0
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Fixtures confirmed for U19 finals
Wednesday, 8 June 2005
The match schedule and television coverage for the
fourth UEFA European Under-19 Championship final
tournament – one of the highlights of the UEFA
calendar, which will be played in Northern Ireland
between 18 and 29 July – has been confirmed.
Two groups
The seven qualifiers from the Elite round, plus the
hosts Northern Ireland, were drawn into two groups of
eight at the finals draw, which was held at Belfast
City Hall on 3 June and conducted by UEFA Executive
Committee member Michel Platini and Northern Ireland
national team manager Lawrie Sanchez. Northern Ireland
are joined in Group A by Greece, Serbia and Montenegro
and Germany, while Norway, Armenia, France and England
will contest Group B.
Television coverage
The top two teams in each section progress to the
semi-finals, which will be held on Tuesday 26 July,
with the winners meeting in the final three days
later. Eurosport, UEFA’s television partner for youth
competitions, will broadcast nine of the 15 final
round matches, including both semi-finals and the
final.
Five venues
The tournament will be staged in five venues in and
around Belfast: Windsor Park (Belfast), The
Showgrounds (Ballymena), The Oval (Belfast),
Mourneview Park (Lurgan) and The Showgrounds (Newry).
Accreditation procedure
Media representatives wishing to cover the final
tournament should apply for accreditation on UEFA’s
website:
The online media accreditation procedure will be
closed on 13 July.
UEFA EUROPEAN UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP
Final Tournament fixtures
Date Group Match Location Kick-off
Mon 18 July B FRA v ENG The Oval, Belfast 18.00
Mon 18 July A SCG v GER Showgrounds, Newry 20.00
Mon 18 July B NOR v ARM Mourneview Park,
Lurgan 20.00
Mon 18 July A NIR v GRE Windsor Park, Belfast 20.30
Wed 20 July A GRE v GER Mourneview Park, Lurgan 18.00
Wed 20 July A NIR v SCG Showgrounds, Newry 20.00
Wed 20 July B ARM v ENG Showgrounds, Ballymena 20.00
Wed 20 July B NOR v FRA Windsor Park, Belfast 21.00
Sat 23 July A GRE v SCG The Oval, Belfast 18.00
Sat 23 July A GER v NIR Showgrounds, Ballymena 18.00
Sat 23 July B ARM v FRA Mourneview Park, Lurgan 20.00
Sat 23 July B ENG v NOR Showgrounds, Newry 20.00
Tue 26 July Semi-final 1 Mourneview Park, Lurgan
17.30
Tue 26 July Semi-final 2 Showgrounds, Ballymena 20.30
Fri 29 July Final Windsor Park, Belfast 20.00
All kick-off times CET (local time one hour behind)
Matches in bold shown on Eurosport

Clean sweep keeps course for promotion
Irish Independent; Jul 16, 2005
IRELAND’S Davis Cup team have set up a crucial promotion showdown
against Cyprus after Owen Casey’s charges topped Pool A of the Group
Three Europe-Africa Zone with yesterday’s 3-0 blitz of Iceland.
As a result, the host country will meet the Marcos Baghdatis-powered
Cypriat side, who finished as Pool B winners, in a four-strong
round-robin stage from which two countries will earn a valuable
promotion to Group Two of the Europe-Africa Zone. The other two
countries involved are Armenia and Tunisia. Ireland have already
played the Armenians, winning with another 3-0 whitewash, so their
final match on Sunday will be against Tunisia.
If the Irish lose to Cyprus, they will have to overcome the North
Africans to clinch a promotion place.
Baghdatis (20) is certainly going to prove a handful for Ireland, as he
was the top under-18 player in the world in 2003, and he is now placed
at a very respectable number 68 in the ATP singles world rankings.
Baghdatis also attracted some attention when he pushed the
all-conquering Roger Federer to four-sets in last year’s US Open and
advanced to the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open.
Kevin Sorensen is saddled with the unenviable task of facing
the dynamic Limassol right-hander but the Irish No 1 will draw
encouragement from the fact that he shocked Armenia’s highly rated
Sargis Sargsian 6-3 6-3 on Thursday.
“It’s going to be very difficult for me, but if I play to my maximum
I’ll have a chance,” said Kevin who will be facing the Cypriot for
the first time.
If the tie is still in the balance after the two singles, Baghdatis
is certain to play in the doubles, and that will add to Ireland’s
difficulties.
Ireland’s clean sweep of yesterday’s opponents, a third straight win
of the week, offered the host country an opportunity to underline
the depth and strength of their squad. Conor Niland got the nod for
the number two singles slot with Casey deciding to rest Louk Sorensen
who was carrying a slight strain.
The Berkley University tennis scholarship student took full advantage
of the opportunity, hammering Andri Jonsson 6-0 6-0 in just 37 minutes.
For the top singles, the Icelanders decided to rest Arnar Sigurdsson,
who had shocked Sargsian on Wednesday. His replacement, 35-year-old
Raj Bonifacius, originally from California and a former US college
tennis adversary of Casey, tumbled to a 6-2 6-1 defeat by Kevin
Sorensen in just over an hour.
Niland also lined out in the doubles where he partnered David O’Connell
to a 6-2 6-1 rout of Jonsson and David Halldorsson in 48 minutes.
Iceland, meanwhile, will be joined in the relegation round robin
series by Nigeria, San Marino and Turkey, from which two countries
will drop down to Group Four.
Paddy HickeyDavis Cup
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress