Author: Emil Lazarian

Agence France Presse — English
April 23, 2005 Saturday 7:56 PM GMT
Thousands march through Yerevan on eve of Armenian massacres
anniversary
YEREVAN
Over 10,000 people Saturday marched through the streets of Armenia’s
capital on the eve of the 90th anniversary of mass killings by
Ottoman Turks, demanding that Turkey recognize the episode as
genocide.
Meanwhile, Armenian President Robert Kocharian made a conciliatory
gesture towards Ankara, saying Yerevan would not ask for financial
compensations for the killings if Turkey recognized them as
genocidal.
“We are not talking about compensations, this is only about a moral
issue,” Kocharian told Russia’s Rossiya television, which is also
broadcast in Armenia.
“There is no talk about material consequences,” he added.
“We understand that we must look towards the future, and not the
past, although that should not be forgotten … We feel no hatred
today, only sorrow remains,” Kocharian said.
Thousands of demonstrators, mostly young people, marched through the
center of Yerevan, holding torches and chanting “Armenia!
Recognition!” as they proceeded towards a memorial commemorating the
1915 slayings.
“This is not a mourning march,” one of the organizers, Zinavor
Megrian, told AFP.
“Young people are demanding that the human rights that were violated
by Turkey many years ago be reasserted, and that Turkey recognize the
genocide,” added Megrian, who also belongs to the youth organization
of Armenia’s ruling party.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of modern Turkey, was disintegrating.
Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in “civil strife” during World War I when Armenians rose
against the Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
Many members of the Armenian diaspora worldwide came to Yerevan to
take part in Saturday’s march and Sunday’s official ceremonies, at
which organizers say 1.5 million participants are expected.
“This is a very important event for me, because it allows me to
express my discontent at countries that do not recognize the
genocide,” said 21-year-old Ami Aratelian, an Armenian woman from
Iran who was among the marchers Saturday.
“The Turks who committed this crime must answer for it not only
before the Armenians, but before the whole world,” said 16-year-old
Dvin Pipizian, from Canada.
Ceremonies will begin Sunday with the laying of a wreath at the
genocide memorial, which will be attended by Kocharian. A mass will
be celebrated later that day and a minute of silence will be observed
throughout Armenia at 7:00 pm (1400 GMT).
On Tuesday Poland joined a list of 15 countries that have officially
acknowledged the killings as genocide when its parliament passed a
resolution condemning the Armenian massacres.
The decision has already drawn protest from Ankara where officials
called it “irresponsible,” and said it would hurt relations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
April 23, 2005 Saturday
Armenia seeks moral, not material compensation over ‘genocide’:
president
MOSCOW
Armenian President Robert Kocharian said on Saturday that by
demanding Turkey recognise the World War I massacres of their people
as genocide, Armenians were seeking moral, not material compensation.
“We’re not talking about (material) compensation, it is a moral
issue, the issue of the material consequences is not discussed at
state level,” he told Russian television, on the eve of the 90th
anniversary of the massacres.
On Sunday, Armenians around the world are to mark the beginning of
what they consider to have been the start of a genocidal campaign
that killed 1.5 million of their kinsmen in what was then the Ottoman
Empire.
Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in civil strife during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
Turkey has refused to acknowledge the killings as genocide — some
observers believe out of fear it would have to pay out hefty
compensation and possibly give back land if it did.
Kocharian downplayed these fears, telling the RTR news programme
Zerkalo: “We understand that we need to look to the future, not the
past, although it should not be forgotten.”
The row over whether the killings amounted to genocide has
embarrassed Turkey as it readies for the start of European Union
accession talks later this year.
Ankara responded to this week’s run-up to the anniversary with
apparently greater willingness to review its history.
In a letter to Kocharian, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
proposed the creation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to
review the issue, though officials expressed confidence that the
study would confirm Turkey’s current position.
But Kocharian suggested the proposal did not go far enough.
“Yes I received it (the letter),” Kocharian said, “But I should say
that its contents are not heartening. I will send my reply in the
next few days.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

President Robert Kotcharian and President Jacques Chirac

04/22/05

Visiting Armenian President Robert Kotcharian and his French
counterpart, Jacques Chirac stood before the Armenian Monument in
Paris, after laying a wreath Friday, April 22, 2005.

This weekend Armenia and Armenians all over the world mark the 90th
anniversary of what they call the genocide perpetrated by Turkey
between 1915 and 1917, killing up to 1.5 million Armenians.

Turkey rejects the claim, saying the number of deaths is inflated and
that the victims were killed in civil unrest during the collapse of
the empire.

The French parliament officially recognized the killings as a genocide
in 2001, one of several moves that strained ties between Paris and
Ankara. Last year, Chirac told Turkey it would have to recognize the
mass killings as genocide if it wanted to become a member of the
European Union, insisting the French would otherwise vote Turkey out
in a referendum.

(AP, Kovarik, pool) The Associated Press
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The New Anatolian
April 23 2005
Turkish Armed Forces plans to modenize and reorganize by reducing
numbers
Evren Deger
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok says four brigades to be
eliminated under Turkish Armed Forces’ modernization and
reorganization project
The brigades abolished are the 10th Infantry Brigade (Van-Ercis), the
Ninth Armored Brigade (Cankiri), the Seventh Mechanized Brigade
(Kars-Kagizman) and the 33rd Mechanized Brigade (Kirklareli). The
28th Division Corps in the town Sarikamis in Kars will also be
disbanded, reducing the number of brigades to 46, and corps to three
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is continuing efforts to reform its
vintage Cold War-era structure into a more flexible and efficient
military by abolishing four brigadesand a corps.
In his speech at the Turkish War College on Wednesday, Chief of
General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok indicated that the reorganization of
the TSK was being carried out under a project called Force-2014. The
brigades and division corps set to be abolished under Force-2014 are
the 10th Infantry Brigade (Van-Ercis), the Ninth Armored Brigade
(Cankiri), the Seventh Mechanized Brigade (Kars-Kagizman), and the
33th Mechanized Brigade (Kirklareli). The number of Turkish military
brigades will thus fall to 46. The 28th Division Corps in the town
Sarikamis in Kars will also be disbanded. Therefore, the number of
corps will fall to three, with two in Cyprus and a training corps in
Isparta.
Reasons for reorganization
Military officials stress that the modernization and reorganization
of the army will continue. “The goal of the Turkish military is to
reorganize our military units, which are dispersed around a wide area
according to the requirements of the Cold War, and to prepare them
for immediate mobilizations to crisis areas,” said one official.
The officials also indicated that further restructuring will follow
the abolition of the brigades and the division corps.
Defense officials underlined that eliminating the two brigades based
in Van and Kars reflect a change in Turkey’s perception of the threat
from Armenia.
Gen. Ozkok’s speech
General Ozkok’s speech touched on the status of the Force-2014
project, saying that the project had been prepared with recent
regional developments and the shift in Turkey’s perception of its
threats in mind. “Under the reorganization, the army shrunk these
four brigades last year. This year, we will abolish the brigades
outright and also reduce the size of our division corps’ forces,”
said Ozkok.
He stressed that force reduction in the military could only be
achieved as part of a carefully planned modernization program.
“Unplanned reordering could cause disasters, thus our goal is not
only to abolish the division corps and brigades, but also to increase
our remaining units’ preparation and combat capabilities,” he said.
“The abandoned barracks will be used by universities and other bodies
for educational purposes.”

ARMENIAN POLITOLOGIST PROPOSES TO STUDY REASONS FOR BELLICOSITY OF
TURKISH CIVILIZATION
YEREVAN, APRIL 22. ARMINFO. Head of Armenian nongovernmental
organization “Academy of political researches” Alexander Manasian
proposes to carry out investigation of the reasons for the bellicosity
of the Turkish civilization.
During the news conference the head of the Academy expressed an
opinion that the 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide must become
sending point for deeper scientific comprehension of the reasons for
the genocide as a phenomenon. According to him, today there are no
answers for numerous questions, in particular, what reasons made the
Turkish civilization “genocide generative”. As the politologist
stressed, the not only Armenians became the victims of the Turkish
aggression – Greeks, Bulgarians, Udins, Serbs, Kurds, Talish, Lezgins
to some extent felt the influence of that policy. That’s why not only
Armenians, but the whole humanity should study the reasons for the
aggressiveness of Turkey’s civilization.
As the expert mentioned, the Big Genocide On April 24, 1915, is a part
of Armenian Genocide, started in the 19th and continued in the 20th
century, finished by the slaughter of Armenians in Sumgait and Baku.

Pan Armenian News
CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CHURCHES CALLED TURKEY TO RESIGN TO TRUTH
22.04.2005 07:40
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Presidium of the Conference of the European
Churches(CEC) issued a statement on the occasion of the 90-th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The document says in part, `on
April 24 the Armenian people will commemorate the 90-th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Head of the Federation of
Protestant Church of France Jean-Arnold de Clermont will represent the
Conference of the European Churches at the events.’ The statement also
records that during the meeting with Catholicos of All Armenians and
Catholicos of the Great Kilikian House Aram I in Sweden the CEC noted that
the tragedy of the Armenian people will never be forgotten. The Presidium
called upon Turkey to initiate the process of reconciliation between the
Turkish and Armenian people. In this view the CEC Presidium welcomed the
Turkish Prime Minister’s statement on opening the Turkish archives. `It is
important for Armenian and Turkish investigators to have full access to
these documents’, the CEC statement says. When touching upon Turkey’s bid
for the EU the CEC Presidium noted that the attitude of the Turkish
authorities towards the Armenian people and the Christian minority as well
as other national minorities will be of utmost importance in the negotiation
process.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Moldova supports Azerbaijan on Garabagh conflict
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 22 2005
Baku, April 21, AssA-Irada — Moldova supports Azerbaijan’s position
on the Upper Garabagh conflict.
The issue was in focus at a meeting of President Ilham Aliyev with
his Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin in Kishinev on Thursday.
Voronin said Moldova supports all steps by Baku at restoring its
territorial integrity within international organizations.
The two presidents also exchanged views on putting the Upper Garabagh
and Dnestr conflicts on discussion at the UN General Assembly and
the GUUAM summit due on Friday.
GUUAM is a regional organization comprising Georgia, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
The two presidents said they hope the summit will be important for
the organization’s activity, expressing confidence that it will
become a strong regional organization in the future. The integration
of Azerbaijan and Moldova into the European Union will further
accelerate. Suitable environment has been created for the economic
and trade relations between the two countries, they said.*

ANSA English Media Service
April 21, 2005
TURKEY: MILITARY TO BOYCOTT EU IF PRESSURE CONTINUES
ANKARA
By Lucio Leante
(ANSA) – ANKARA, April 21 – The Turkish military threatened
to withdraw its support for the country’s accession to the
European Union (EU), if European pressure for further Turkish
concessions on sensitive issues result in actions that are
unacceptable and outrageous for the Turkish people.
Issues mentioned by the military, the guardian of democracy
and the legacy of modern Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
included the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group, Cyprus
and the so-called Armenian genocide of 1915.
The Turkish military general staff, headed by General Hilmi
Ozkok, has never been very supportive of Turkey’s bid to join
the 25-nation union.
That was the gist of a lengthy speech Gen. Ozkok delivered to
students at the Istanbul Military Academy on Wednesday.
“Not only the EU has the right to say Yes or No. Turkey can
do that as well,” Ozkok said in a crucial point of his address
in which he criticised the U.S. for not keeping its promise to
stop PKK’s activity in north Iraq.
Ozkok also expressed dissatisfaction with the EU for acting
as mediator to PKK’s requests hidden under the disguise of human
rights and although the U.S. and the EU had included PKK in
their list of terrorist organisations.
Ozkok criticised European countries for demanding from Turkey
new steps after having failed to keep their promise to end the
international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) as a reward for the Turkish Cypriots’ support for
the Annan plan for the reunification of the island.
The Turkish military general staff called on Armenia to give
up its demand for Ankara to admit the Ottoman massacres of
Armenians were genocide. Armenia’s request is openly backed by
the European Parliament (EP) and more cautiously supported by
the European Commission (EC) and the Council of Ministers.
Referring to the recent recommendations on behalf of European
Commission chairman Jose Manuel Barroso that Turkey had to
maintain good relations with Athens, Ozkok determinedly claimed
the Greek defence policy was mainly aimed at thwarting a
presumed “Turkish menace” and that Greek military costs were
still to high.
The political meaning of Ozkok’s speech is clear, according
to analysts: the Turkish army is striving to demonstrate it is
still capable of relying upon the great decisions made in the
country and of better synchronising with the nation’s opinion
than the government. According to many people, the latter seems
ready to pay any price for reaching by October its goal for a
start of accession talks with the EU.
A renowned analyst said Ozkok had been sage enough to assume
such a position after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stated last
week there were European circles, trying to divide Turkey and
accused those “circles” of fomenting the spiral between Kurdish
and Turksih nationalism in order to debilitate the requests of
Turkey for EU integration. With this regard, Ozkok is most
probably trying to prove the strategic unity of the Turkish
leadership, also in order to avoid the usual European
accusations of an excessive influence of the army on Turkish
policy. (ANSA).

Key stages of the Armenian ‘genocide’
Agence France Presse — English
April 22, 2005 Friday 2:35 AM GMT
YEREVAN April 22 — On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turk government
arrested hundreds of Armenian community leaders and intellectuals in
eastern Anatolia.
Over the course of the following two years, according to Armenian
authorities, some 1.5 million Armenians were killed and many others
deported by the Ottoman Turkish authorities in what Armenia views as
an act of genocide.
Here are some key stages in the mass killing which Turkey denies was
a genocide.
– July, 1914: The Ottoman authorities create a task force comprised
of violent criminals released from prisons around Anatolia who will
escort hundreds of thousands of Armenians along their brutal forced
marches through the Der El Zor desert.
– August 1, 1914: World War I breaks out pitting the Ottoman and
Austrian empires against Europe’s great powers; almost immediately
Turkish forces suffer a great defeat at the hands of Russia and turn
their efforts to the “internal enemy.”
– April 24, 1915: Hundreds of Armenians arrested, many later killed.
Date is viewed by Armenia as start of systematic effort by Ottoman
Turks to eradicate Armenian people. Orders are soon drafted to
deport the Armenian population of eastern Anatolia through the Der
El Zor desert.
– 1916: By this time most of the Ottoman empire’s Armenian population
of 3.2 million had either died or fled to Mesopotamia or present-day
Armenia, where they fortified and were later to declare independence.
Today, only 40,000 Armenians continue to reside in Turkey.
– May 28, 1918: Incorporating territories granted to it by Russian
conquest, Armenia declares independence.
– November, 1918: World War I Armistice signed; as Western powers vie
to dismember the Ottoman empire it is reorganized by Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk into the modern Turkish state.
– September – December, 1920: Armenia resists fresh Turkish attacks
commanded by Ataturk in the Turkish-Armenian war; losing much territory
Armenia signs a peace treaty but is immediately incorporated into
the Soviet state.
– October 13, 1921: Armenia’s present day borders are confirmed
as a Soviet republic by the treaty of Kars, signed by the Soviets
and Turkey.
– 1975: The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia,
a guerrilla group responsible for the death of a number of Turkish
diplomats, is formed. Now defunct, ASALA sought to force the Turkish
government to admit to the Genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — Spanish
Miércoles De Abril El 20 De 2005
Turquía protesta por decisión de Polonia de reconocer “genocidio” armenio
ANKARA Abr 20
Turquía denunció como “acto irresponsbale” una decisión del
parlamento polaco que el miércoles calificó de genocidio las masacres
de armenios en 1915 durante el imperio otomano.
“Condenamos y rechazamos la decisión”, señaló en un comunicado el
ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores turco.
Es un “acto irresponsable” contrario a las “relaciones amistosas de
800 años” entre los dos países, considera el texto, agregando que “ha
entristecido profundamente al pueblo turco”.
“Los historiadores pueden adoptar la mejor decisión (…) sobre
acontecimientos que generaron grandes sufrimientos a las poblaciones
turca y armenia”, añadió el documento lamentando que el parlamento
polaco haya tomado una iniciativa que siembra “el odio y la
venganza”.
Los armenios aseguran que al menos 1,5 millones de personas de su
comunidad murieron en matanzas cometidas por el imperio otomano, al
que sucedió al República de Turquía.
Pero las autoridades de Ankara sostienen que 300.000 armenios y otros
tantos turcos perdieron sus vidas en los disturbios consecutivos a
una revuelta de los armenios y durante una deportación a la provincia
otomana de Siria llevada a cabo después de la sedición.
Turquía propuso recientemente la creación de una comisión conjunta
para investigar las masacres de los armenios y se quejó de no haber
obtenido respuesta de Erevan.
–Boundary_(ID_z2tbtYYTuqekhEBBK+9Igg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress