Author: Emil Lazarian

Do Not Look for Happiness Overseas
ArmenPress
July 15 2005
YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS: More and more Armenians have begun to
think about marrying a foreigner, especially an expatriate, who could
take them out of the country that is still facing heavy economic
problems but they seem to be unaware or ignorant of the negative
demographic impact their decision may have.
No one knows just how many Armenians left their country since 1991
when it broke away from the former Soviet Union, but even the most
conservative estimates put the total at around one million. The exodus
has made Armenia one of the fastest-disappearing nations in the world,
dubbed by some experts as “depopulation” calling into question whether
Armenia is a country with a future. In a country with no significant
natural resources, a collapsed Soviet industrial infrastructure and
an economy just now showing signs of recovery, many Armenians had
little choice but to leave. About 80 percent headed to Russia and
other parts of the former Soviet Union; the rest joined the earlier
Diaspora in the United States or Western Europe.
The wave of departures, which hit a high of about 200,000 a year in the
mid-1990s, has stabilized in recent years, but the cumulative effect
remains. Far more Armenians now live outside their homeland than
in it. The society that stayed has far fewer working-age men, fewer
marriages, fewer births. Women outnumber men 56 percent to 44 percent.
But the trend of mixed marriages is set to increase as the local
society is becoming gradually more open to the rest of the world.
Even under the Soviets many Armenian nationals wanted to marry a
Diaspora Armenian or foreigners from Western countries. An official
from justice ministry’s civilian registry introduced us to an Armenian
woman and a German male who arrived in Yerevan to register their
marriage here. Both appeared to be happy to answer all our questions,
but refused to disclose their names. The woman, who has been living
with her family in Germany for seven years already, said she and
her fiance, let us call him Hans, came to Armenia to register their
marriage here because the procedure is very complicated in Germany. But
when we asked her about Armenians in Germany, she said many of them,
especially men, get involved in various fraudulent deals in an effort
to receive permission for permanent residence or citizenship. When
their tricks are revealed, they create a negative perception of
Armenians by Germans. She said many Armenian men, who are living
in Germany illegally, befriend local women, declare their love for
them – even women twice their age – and often marry them just to get
residence permission or citizenship. She even recalled several cases
when Christian Armenians married German Turks, something difficult
to imagine in other places, explaining that Turks are treated well in
Germany, making the Armenians’ chance of getting residence permission
higher.
“At any rate I cannot understand how a Christian Armenian and a Muslim
Turk can make a union,” she said, adding also that religious belonging
is appreciated stronger and higher by Armenians living outside their
homeland. She said her decision to marry a German was based on true
love. Hans confirmed this saying they have known one another for a
long time before they decided to marry. Susanna Stepanian from the
Armenian justice ministry said foreigners rarely marry Armenians. The
majority of mixed marriages usually involve Armenian citizens and
a Diaspora Armenian. Divorces are rare because Diaspora Armenians’
decisions are weighed and conscious, based on common Armenian national
peculiarities and traditions.
“For Diaspora Armenians it is very important to know where the bride
or fiance comes from and if they track down any bad reputation this
will undoubtedly affect their decision,” she said. She recalled a case
involving a young Armenian man who was born and grew up in the USA. His
family had lived in Armenia before moving to the USA, and they had not
lost touch with their next door neighbor in Armenia, whose daughter
eventually agreed to marry the American boy who visited Armenia
several times. Out of 26,000 marriages registered last year only 26
were mixed marriages between Armenian and foreign citizens. Susanna
Stepanian said she never had met a foreigner marrying an Armenian
citizen with an ulterior motive, as is the case with Armenians abroad,
because Armenian legislation is clear and simple concerning residence
permission or granting citizenship. She said three such couples
registered by the civilian registrar’s office this year decided to live
in Armenia. In order to find out what attracts Armenian men and women
to foreigners and vice versa, we asked Mane Asatrian from one of the
local international dating marriage clubs to share her impressions. She
said foreigners seeking an Armenian spouse usually have some knowledge
about the country and people. They are attracted by the Armenians’
traditional devotion to their families, and apply to such clubs
in the hope that their Armenian wife of husband will cement their
union. The majority of applicants are foreign men wishing to marry
an Armenian woman, whom they have heard are known for their modesty,
devotion to the family and are excellent mothers. They are mainly men
from the USA and Canada. One of them worked in Armenia for some time
and now keeps in touch with an Armenian girl here through email.
Mane Asatrian said the club has this year helped 20 people to establish
contacts. It also has hundreds of Armenian applicants, both men and
women, but the majority apply for reasons other than marriage. “On the
application forms they write simultaneously that they want to have
a nice time and to marry, which does not seem logical for a man or
woman wishing to marry. This means that the majority of applicants
do not appreciate the main goal of the club and try to take every
opportunity to live abroad,” she said. We also spoke with Armen
Ashotian, a member of parliament and chairman of the youth wing of
the governing Republican party. Ashotian welcomed any marriage,
especially a marriage between an Armenian citizen and a Diaspora
Armenian, and especially when they decide to settle down in Armenia.

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