Author: Emil Lazarian

Press Conference
Assembly of Armenians of Europe
Contact : Arminé Grigoryan
Tel : +32 2 647 08 01
Fax : +32 2 647 02 00
E-mail : [email protected]

Turkey’s accession to the EU – Blind spot for the European Union
Non-Muslim minorities in Turkey as targets of a recent hate campaign
TOMORROW – Wednesday, September 22, 2004, 14:00
Residence Palace – International Press Center
Rue de la Loi 155, 1040, Brussels, Salle « Passage ».
Embargo until 14:00, 22 September 2004

Brussels, September 21, 2004
Will the European Commission, in its report of October 6, 2004, consider
Turkey as « ready » for the EU accession? Will the European Council
start the negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the EU at the end of
this year?

In recent years, Turkey has made certain legal and administrative
progress. Nevertheless, at the same time, it has significantly hardened
its position towards fundamental rights, such as the freedom of opinion
and has adopted a repressive policy towards the minorities living in
Turkey. In particular, traditional prejudice towards Non-Muslim
minorities is kept alive by the public education system and the state
controlled media. Such an attitude, however, is incompatible with the
Copenhagen criteria required for accession negotiations of a new member
State.
In this regard, a Memorandum, initiated by the Working Group Recognition
– Against Genocide, for International Understanding (Berlin) and the
Switzerland-Armenia Association (Bern), was submitted to the attention
of the European Council, Council of the European Union, members of the
European Commission and European Parliament. Recalling the Copenhagen
Criteria, the Memorandum explains the concern of the signatories for a
lasting improvement of the minority situation in Turkey. The dozens of
national and international NGOs which signed this Memorandum protest
against the hate campaign of Turkey’s minister for education, Dr.
Hüseyin Çelik, which includes the official denial of the genocide,
committed on the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire and
resulting in 3.5 million victims (1912-1922). For this reason, the
signatories want to draw the EU’s attention to the necessity of
safeguards and profound reforms in the education system and in media
control, for public education and mass media are the main `opinion
leaders’ and directly responsible for an extremely negative perception
of these minorities in Turkey and for subsequent attacks on institutions
(churches, synagogues, schools and representatives of Non-Muslim
communities), which did not even cease during Turkey’s reform process of
late.
The Assembly of Armenians of Europe, together with the initiators of the
Memorandum are inviting you to the Press Conference for the presentation
of the above mentioned document.

Speakers to the Press Conference (by alphabetical order):

* Mister Baastian Belder, Independence/Democracy Group, Member
of the European Parliament, Netherlands
* Mister Michalis Charalambidis, writer, member of the Central
Committee of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of
Peoples, expert on the genocide of Greeks in Pontos, Athens;
* Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury, Deputy Speaker of the
House of Lords, United Kingdom, Chairperson of the Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, London;
* Ms. Hülya Engin, Committee member of TÜDAY, organization for
the defence of human rights in Turkey and Germany, Cologne;
* Dr. Tessa Hofmann, scholar of Armenian studies and sociology;
scientific documentarist at the Free University of Berlin; writer, human
rights activist; chairperson of the Working Group Recognition – Against
Genocide, for International Understanding;
* Monsieur Johny Messo, chairman of the Foundation Study Centre
Aramea, main representative of the Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA) to
the United Nations Office in Geneva;
* Prof. Dr. Yves Ternon, doctor, historian and writer,
researcher and expert in genocide studies, in particular the genocide of
Armenians and its denial, Paris.
Mr. Nicolas Tavitian, expert in international political relations,
Brussels, will assume the role of the moderator.
Simultaneous translating from English and French is offered.

A welcome coffee is offered at 13 :30 at the entrance to the salle
“Passage”, Résidence Palace.

Arminé Grigoryan
Assembly of Armenians of Europe
In charge of the European Union Contact and Information Office
Brussels
All the documentation regarding the Memorandum will be available in the
following web sites from 14:00,
22 September 2004 (in English and French; some documents are also
available in German):

<; From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Sept 22 2004
RESPONSIBILITY FOR KARABAGH RESOLUTION LIES WITH ARMENIA AND
AZERBAIJAN, US MINSK GROUP CHAIRMAN SAYS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS: In a Monday interview with the
Russian Service of the BBC, Steven Mann, the US cochairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group, said both Armenia and Azerbaijan are experiencing
now a bigger domestic stability, giving the Minsk Group a good
opportunity to resume the conflict’s scrutiny.
According to Mann, after presidential elections in both countries
there are now all possibilities for resuming talks. In response to a
question about the existence of political will in both capitals, Mann
said the Group met with Robert Kocharian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan on the sidelines of a CIS summit in Kazakhstan to try
to assess it.
“We are telling both sides that the time is not on their side and
the longer the resolution is protracted the worse,” he said,
explaining that Armenia it is being left out of virtually all
regional projects. “New pipelines, highways and railways are being
built detouring Armenia and depriving it of possible economic
benefits. The country is paying a big cost for maintaining its army,’
he said.
“As to Azerbaijan, a significant portion of its land is under
occupation and there is almost a million of refugees and displaced
persons and the longer the conflict drags on the more chances that it
will transform into a constant state of affairs that does not suit
this country,” Mann said.
According to him, there are two more negative aspects of the
conflict. The first is that a generation of young men and women is
growing in both countries looking at the opposite side as an enemy
and the second is that the stalemate situation promotes development
of radical feelings. “The longer the absence of progress the more are
chances for radicals to come to power in 5, 10 or 15 years,” he said.
Steven Mann then called on political leaders in both countries,
including also the opposition, to unite efforts for legitimizing the
idea of negotiations, the idea of a compromised solution and to
encourage dialogue, which he said is in the strategic interests of
all the sides.
In conclusion Mann said the Minsk Group is not mandated to impose
a resolution , neither to act a judge between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
but to create an environment in which both sides could conduct
serious peace talks and help them to arrive at a mutually acceptable
peace formula. “The responsibility for the conflict solution lies
with Armenia and Azerbaijan and this fundamental approach cannot be
dodged ,” he said, adding that the governments of Russia, France and
USA, the Minsk Group cochairmen countries, are genuinely interested
in the regulation of the conflict. “We shall do everything in our
power to support the final decision of the sides,” he said.

Insurance Journal
Sept 21 2004
Garamendi Appoints Members of Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund
Board
September 21, 2004
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced three appointments to
the Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund Board. The board was created
to oversee the settlement of claims against New York Life Insurance
Company as directed in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit on
behalf of heirs and descendants of policyholders who were killed
during the Armenian Genocide more than 90 years ago.
The board members, Viken Manjikian, Paul Krekorian and Berj Boyajian,
will evaluate claims and determine which are to be paid pursuant to
the terms of the settlement agreement. The board’s decisions will be
final with no right of appeal.
“I am honored to appoint these three accomplished, capable and fair
individuals who will further the pursuit of justice for heirs and
descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide,” Commissioner
Garamendi said. “This is an important step to help bring closure to
the victims and their families.”
Early this year, Commissioner Garamendi, after long negotiations, was
able to secure a $20 million fund to help fund the payment of claims
in the case. New York Life compromised in order to reach a detailed
agreement that will benefit both the survivors of the policyholders
as well as the Armenian community. Of the $20 million fund, at least
$3 million will be put into the ‘Unclaimed/Heirless Fund,’ which will
be contributed to court-approved charitable organizations – as set
forth in the settlement agreement – whose activities advance the
Court-approved charitable interests of the Armenian community.
Manjikian, of Lancaster, is Director of Inpatient and Emergency
Radiology, and Director of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at
Antelope Valley Hospital. He has extensive credentials in the field
of radiology and earned his medical and undergraduate degrees at the
University of California, Los Angeles.
Boyajian, of Beverly Hills, operates Boyajian and Associates in Los
Angeles. His practice specializes in business and toxic torts, and he
has extensive experience in litigation on behalf of individuals and
workers exposed to toxic substances.
Krekorian, of Burbank, is a founding partner of the law firm Fisher &
Krekorian in Los Angeles. His practice specializes in representation
of business, charitable organizations and individuals in matters
involving trademark, copyright and commercial disputes.
Potential claimants in the Armenian Genocide case have been informed
via Notice by the Court and published statewide. The Department of
Insurance consumer hotline will also be able to direct potential
claimants to the settlement Web site. Or, call the Department’s
hotline at 800-927-HELP (800-927-4357).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HEALTH SPHERE MOST CORRUPT IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16. ARMINFO. The most corrupt sphere in Armenia is
public health, said 19.4% of 1,956 Armenian citizens involved in a poll
conducted by the Armenian Center of National and International Studies.
According to the poll results, the judicial system is second most
corrupt. 10 per cent of the respondents said that Armenia’s armed
forces are the most corrupt body in Armenia, followed by the Taxation
Service, education system, Police and Traffic Police. According to
23.2%, the executive power is the most corrupt in Armenia. 15.6%
of the respondents consider the judicial power corrupt, and 5.7% of
them pointed out that it is the legislative power. According to 5.2%
of the respondents, local government bodies are corrupt. According to
30.7% of the respondents, superior officials force inferior ones to
practise corruption, and 29.4% said that it is nothing but mutually
advantageous deals, inferiors pay to their superiors to retain
their posts. According to 35.9% of the respondents, the authorities’
arbitrary rule is the main reason for corruption. 20.7% said that the
main reason is the priority given to personal or sectional interests in
the country. 12.1% of the respondents said that Armenia’s unspecified
legislation is another reason for corruption.
According to the Transparency International organization, Armenia
tanks 78th in the list of 133 countries, followed by Romania, Russia,
Moldova, Kazakhstan. The neighboring countries, Azerbaijan and Georgia
rank 124th and 127th respectively.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanArmenian News
Sept 20 2004
HEIKKI TALVITIE DISCUSSED KARABAKH SETTLEMENT WITH RUSSIAN DEPUTY
FOREIGN MINISTER
20.09.2004 18:25
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Valery
Loshchin received EU Special Representative to the South Caucasus
Heikki Talvitie last weekend. As the Press Service of the Russian
foreign department told Regnum news agency, in the course of the
conversation the parties exchanged views on the situation in the
South Caucasian region, specifically discussing the settlement
process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Thereupon, the parties
confirmed their devotion to development of cooperation with the
countries of the region and peaceful political resolution of
conflicts.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Washington Times, DC
Sept 20 2004
Response gone awry
By Ariel Cohen
Three days after the tragedy of Beslan ended, we sat for more than 3½
hours with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Between picking up the pieces of the worst terrorist attack to
date in Russia and planning a massive power consolidation, the
energetic Russian leader still found time to meet with leading
Western scholars and journalists, answering our questions at length,
totally unscripted.
Unfiltered, Mr. Putin was a strange mix of tough pragmatism and
Soviet nostalgia. He was shaken by Walkie-Talkie intercepts of
terrorists shooting children in Beslan “for fun” and by the horrible
conditions in northern Russian camps to which Josef Stalin exiled the
Chechens 60 years ago. “The first Chechen war was probably a
mistake,” Mr. Putin said. But what about the second war he started in
1999?

Mr. Putin repeatedly bemoaned the passing of the Soviet “great
power” – 13 years after its demise. He recognized Soviet ideology
suppressed real ethnic conflicts, and that new secure borders have
not been erected. Yet he also questioned the sovereignty of
neighboring countries such as Georgia. Today, Russia is slowly
absorbing its constituent parts, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, while
thwarting Chechen bids to secede.
President Putin missed an opportunity to reach out to the U.S.
after the horror of Beslan. In response to my question, he launched a
long tirade about the Soviet Union and United States releasing the
jinni of terror from its bottle.
He believes the Western powers want to keep Russia down by
supporting Chechen separatism, noting Britain and the U.S. granted
asylum to some Chechen leaders, and that Western intelligence
services maintain contacts with Chechen fighters.
As an intelligence professional, Mr. Putin should appreciate the
difference between information gathering and operational support.
Instead, he overstated his view of the West’s desire to create an
irritant for Russia. In an earlier speech to the nation, Mr. Putin
went further, saying foreign powers are interested in dismembering
Russia and neutralizing it as a nuclear power. Nevertheless, he is
open to antiterrorism cooperation, and indicated “professionals” on
both sides are thus engaged.
President Putin left enough common ground to believe cooperation
is possible with the West in the war on terror. He called President
Bush a “good, decent man,” a reliable and predictable partner,
someone he can “feel as a human being.”
From his remarks, it is clear Mr. Putin genuinely likes George
Bush and wants him re-elected, something media at the event
studiously ignored. After all, doesn’t John Kerry say foreign leaders
are support him?
Mr. Putin three times mentioned Russia, the U.S. and Western
Europe belong to “Christian civilization and European culture,” to
which a prominent French writer for Le Monde commented maybe Russia
does but not the United States.
Mr. Putin has the global geopolitics right, especially when it
comes to connections between the Chechen and other radical Islamist
terrorists in the Northern Caucasus, to global jihadi sources of
funding, political-religious indoctrination and volunteer recruitment
and training.
He criticized the West for allowing fund-raising for the Chechen
cause from Michigan to London to Abu Dhabi, but seemed unaware the
U.S. Treasury recently busted Al Haramain, a Saudi global “charity”
connected to Osama bin Laden, involved in supporting the Chechens.
Mr. Putin also correctly noted the West shouldn’t want to see
terrorists come to power anywhere on Earth, should not demand anyone
negotiate with child killers, and that it is not in Western interests
to see the Russian Federation dismembered.
It is the Russian president’s actions after Beslan, more than his
rhetoric, which point to missed opportunities in the wake of Russia’s
September 11. Instead of revamping, retraining and reorganizing
Russia’s antiterrorist and security services, Mr. Putin has opted for
massively recentralizing power. In doing so, he is taking the country
back to a future reminiscent of the czarist era. Mr. Putin
essentially is applying the 19th century Russian imperial model and
the Soviet security state apparatus to a 21st century state rife with
terror and corruption.
Nostalgia for the Soviet past may beget new authoritarianism, as
Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev warned in their Sept.
16, 2004 interviews. In this crisis, the Russian president has
empowered himself and his inner circle, not the people of Russia.
Presidential appointment of Russia’s 89 regional governors instead of
popular elections, and establishment of a disempowered and toothless
“public chamber” to oversee security services instead of effective
civilian controls will not solve Russia’s terrorism problems.
The security services that failed to prevent or resolve the
Beslan tragedy and Mr. Putin has not reformed after five years in
office are still a Soviet-style, quasi-totalitarian political control
mechanism. They are not the hat Russia needs to wear in confronting
modern local and global terrorism.
Islamist jihadi terrorism is a new enemy – not the old enemy of
the Cold War. In response, Russia’s antiterror approach needs
rethinking and revamping, with new structures for the 21st century
set up to deal with global terrorism.
A new anti-terror doctrine and effective organizational structure
to coordinate intelligence and operations are needed. The U.S., Great
Britain and Israel can offer help. The time for cooperation against a
common enemy is now.
The Bush administration, however, faces a real challenge in
Russia’s questioning of Georgia’s sovereignty in the Caucausus and
playing fast and loose with her post-Soviet borders.
By trying to pull South Ossetia and Abkhazia into Moscow’s orbit,
the Kremlin also may strengthen Chechen separatism. This policy opens
the doors to revising other borders, such as Northern Kazakhstan,
Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, and even Nagorno-Karabakh.
Undermining the territorial integrity of neighbors is unacceptable to
the U.S. and dangerous for Russia.
In crises, countries and leaders fall back on their time-tested
political instincts and patterns. Mr. Putin’s recentralization proves
Russia after its barbaric terrorist trauma is no exception.

Ariel Cohen is research fellow in Russian and Eurasian studies at
the Heritage Foundation. He had tea Sept. 6 with Russian President
Vladimir Putin and a group of foreign policy experts.

Baku wants close integration with European institutions – premier
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 17, 2004 Friday 12:21 PM Eastern Time
BAKU, September 17 — Baku wants close integration with European
institutions, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasi-zade said at a
Friday meeting with European Commission President Romano Prodi.
Azerbaijan is the only South Caucasian country, which has repaid $57
million in EU loans in full, he said.
The European Union is implementing over 25 joint projects in
Azerbaijan, primarily in the sphere of transport, telecommunications,
energy and foods.
Azerbaijan’s affiliation to the EU Neighbors programs began a new
phase in the integration of the Transcaucasian republic with the
European political and economic space, Prodi said.
The European Commission President also met with Azerbaijani
Parliament Speaker Murtuz Aleskerov. He touched upon peace
settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh and expressed the hope that parties
to the conflict will not allow a third party to interfere with the
peacemaking process and resolve the problem unaided. He promised EU
comprehensive assistance to rehabilitation of Azerbaijan and Armenia
after the achievement of peace.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO Cancels Its War Games in Azerbaijan
RIA OREANDA
Economic News
September 17, 2004 Friday
Baku. Appeared in Russian in Moscow’s ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA. NATO has for
the first time in its history cancelled its military exercises slated
to begin on September 13 on the territory of Azerbaijan as part of the
Partnership for Peace Program. Notably, NATO was forced to do so not
because of some natural or man-caused calamities or refusal of one of
the parties to participate, but because the Azerbaijani authorities
refused to issue visas to the Armenian military. Exercises as part
of the program Cooperative Best Effort 2004 were formerly stages in
Armenia and Georgia, and were designed to practice the key aspects
of peacekeeping operations. In line with the unchangeable “principle
of parity” the exercises were to be held in Azerbaijan as well. The
principle of parity has been violated this time, forcing NATO to cancel
the exercises, read a NATO press release. The scandal the erupted
over these war games began long before their cancellation and lasted
for over nine months. Back in January Armenia’s representatives were
unable to attend a conference in Turkey that preceded the exercises
also for lack of visas. But Yerevan was determined not to give up,
making consistent efforts to participate in the maneuvers, albeit to
no avail.

Azeri, Armenian presidents meet in Astana
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 17 2004
The Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents held a four-hour meeting
in Astana, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, following a trilateral meeting
attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Ilham Aliyev gave a positive assessment to the meeting.
“I believe that the meetings of the two countries’ foreign ministers
held on a permanent basis with participation of the (OSCE) Minsk
Group are positive.”
Aliyev admitted that the two presidents cannot say anything specific
as to what they had discussed behind closed doors.
“We always have to confine ourselves to very general phrases, and
there will be no exception today, because the process is extremely
important.”
The Armenian leader Robert Kocharian told journalists that the
presidents have clarified certain positions and standpoints.
“Now we have to take time to find out where we stand”, he said.
The process of negotiations concerning the resolution of the Upper
Garabagh conflict is “underway,” Kocharian said. He admitted, however,
that “we can’t boast of anything special.”
The Armenian President said that the two sides approach the dialogue
“with patience”.
“We are discussing complex problems that we have inherited”, he said.
Assessing the meeting as a step forward, Russian President Vladimir
Putin expressed his confidence that the two countries’ presidents
will arrive at common decision on the issue.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NBC4.TV, CA
Sept 15 2004
Student Says He Was Ambushed Outside School
Principal Says Officials Are Investigating
LOS ANGELES — School officials are investigating after a 14-year-old
boy was allegedly beaten and stabbed outside Ulysses S. Grant High
School.
FeedRoom
School Investigating
Joseph Peyton said the incident occurred at about 3 p.m., Monday.
The freshman said about nine students surrounded him near a gate
outside the school in Van Nuys. School officials dispute that claim,
saying two students were involved.
“I turned around and someone socked me in the face and broke my nose,”
he said.
Peyton said his attackers were using racial slurs. The boy also was
stabbed in the face with a blunt object, police said.
Peyton’s father, Charles Peyton, said the alleged attack was racially
motivated.
“How can you study comfortably when you’re worried about gang-bangers
beating you up when you go to the next class,” Charles Peyton said.
Peyton transferred to the school from North Hollywood to take advanced
placement courses.
Students told NBC4 that there have been conflicts involving Hispanic
and Armenian students.
The school’s principal said officials are investigating. School
officials said they do not believe race was a factor.
“As soon as we find out what’s happened, whether it was racially
motivated — but from what we understand it was not at all, then the
students will be disciplined,” said district spokeswoman Monica Carazo.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress