Author: Emil Lazarian

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
April 27, 2004
DECREE SIGNED
NKR president Arkady Ghukassian signed a decree according to which
Youri Ghazarian was released from his duties in the position of the
minister of development of industrial infrastructures and building
according to his application.
AA
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency
April 27 2004
Romania, Italy, GB, Belarus and Kazakhstan celebrated anniversary
Armenian Genocide Victims Day
Meeting in support of TV Channel A+1 to be held in Yerevan on 3 May
Opposition powers of Armenia sure that their struggle will lead to a
result
Actions devoted to Armenian Genocide of 1915 held in Paris
**********************************************************************
ROMANIA, ITALY, GB, BELARUS AND KAZAKHSTAN CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS DAY
YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Romania, Italy, GB, Belarus and Kazakhstan
celebrated anniversary Armenian Genocide Victims Day, RA MFA told
ARKA. In London, Armenian Embassy organized procession to memorial of
victims – Cenotaph, and the representatives of the procession gave
the letter to GB Prime Minister Tony Bler.
>From the beginning of the 19th century till 1920, the Ottoman Empire,
legal successor of which is today’s turkey, regularly tormented and
persecuted Armenians. The top of barbarity was in 1915 when over a
million of Armenians was massacred in different regions of West
Armenia, part of the Empire.
The fact of the Armenian Genocide has been recognised by many
countries, including Uruguay (the first state that recognised the
genocide in 1965), Russia, France, Argentina, Greece, Lower Chamber
of Italy, 31 states of the U.S. L.D. -0–
**********************************************************************
——————————————————————————–
MEETING IN SUPPORT OF TV CHANNEL A+1 TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON 3 MAY
YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. `The Fund for Support of Freedom of
Speech’ and the Initiative Group for the support of A+1 TV Channel
will organize a meeting in the support of the Channel on 3 May, as
the Initiative Group told ARKA.
April 2, 2002 the Commission recognised Sharm company as a winner in
the tender for the 37th decimetre frequency. As a result, A1+
opposition channel was deprived of the license for 5 years, which
aroused discontent of the opposition. Currently the information
agency with the same name published `Ayb Fe’ daily. T. M. – 0 –
**********************************************************************
OPPOSITION POWERS OF ARMENIA SURE THAT THEIR STRUGGLE WILL LEAD TO A
RESULT
YEREVAN. April 27. /ARKA/. Regular meeting of opposition started
today in Yerevan. According to the Secretary of Opposition Faction
Justice Viktor Dallakian, opposition powers of Armenia are confident
that their struggle will lead to a result. He said that since today
any dialogue with authorities will be stopped, because main demand of
opposition is not met.
He announced 10 offers of the Justice Faction that were represented
at yesterday’s political consultation at RA NA Speaker Arthur
Baghdasarian. Among basic offers are restoration of legal order,
release of political prisoners, right for free movement of the
citizens, legal guarantees of authorities on non-use of power against
peaceful rallies, punishment of guilty in violent actions on April
12-13, referendum on vote of confidence to the president. L.D. –0–
**********************************************************************
ACTIONS DEVOTED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915 HELD IN PARIS
YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. Paris hold actions devoted to the Armenian
Genocide of 1915 in Ottoman Empire, as RA Foreign Ministry Press
department told ARKA. According to the information provided the
actions began on 23 April a day before the commemoration date of the
victims of the Armenian Genocide. At that day there was no access to
the Champs-Elysees adjacent to the Etoile Square, from where the
participants started a march to the Arc de Triomphe. As it is
mentioned in the press release, RA Ambassador Plenipotentiary and
Extraordinary in France Eduard Nalbandyan accompanied by the top
military laid a wreath to the Unknown Soldier Tomb in sign of respect
to the victims of the Genocide. During the ceremony there were
performed hymns of two countries and the Armenian and French flags
were lowered. As also mentioned in the press release, on 244 April
Paris Municipality organized a reception in memory of the Genocide
victims attended by RA Ambassador in France and Paris Mayor Bertrand
Delanoe. On the same day the Armenian church of St. Surb Hovhannes
Mkrtitch (St. John the Baptist) and on 25 April the Paris Notre Dame
Cathedral finished liturgy. The press release also mentioned about
mass actions devoted to the Armenian Genocide held in Marseille,
Lyon, Grenoble, Toulon, Valance and Cannes.
The fact of the Armenian Genocide, during which the Ottoman
authorities annihilated 1.5 million Armenians has been recognised by
many countries, including Uruguay (the first state that recognised
the genocide in 1965), Russia, France, Argentina, Greece, Lower
Chamber of Italy, 31 states of the U.S. T.M. -0–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
April 27 2004
NKR AND CYPRUS CONFLICTS HAVE DIFFERENT BASES
Commenting on the recent announcement of the Azerbaijani president
Ilham Aliev that official Baku may recognize the Turkish Republic of
North Cyprus, NKR foreign minister Ashot Ghulian mentioned that “it is
possible, it looks unexpected but in the sense of the contents there
is nothing unexpected.” According to the minister, the authorities of
Azerbaijan once again proved their inconsistency in the process of
settlement of the Karabakh conflict. “Ilham Aliev’s statement
obviously testifies that Azerbaijan does not exclude the use of dual
standards,” said Ashot Ghulian, “in his actions he is merely guided by
the political conjuncture, once supporting the right of the Turk
Cypriots for self-determination, on the other hand, denying the same
right of the people of Nagorni Karabakh.” Answering the question of
possible resemblance of the problems of Cyprus and Karabakh, the head
of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered that the situation in
North Cyprus and Nagorni Karabakh are completely different. According
to him, from the aspect of their prehistory, origins, processes of
settlement these conflicts have different bases and directions. At the
same time Ashot Ghulian did not exclude that because of the extremely
different approaches of the Karabakh conflict parties its settlement
will last very long like in the case of Cyprus. “Our approach is the
following; Nagorni Karabakh is interested in the rapid settlement of
the problem because together with de jure recognition of NKR the rates
of economic development of the republic will grow,” said the minister
of foreign affairs of NKR Ashot Ghulian.Â
AA
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 15:03:33 | 27-04-2004 | Politics |
ARMENIAN LAWMAKERS LAYING LEGAL GROUNDS FOR FURTHER VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE
Armenian Parliament voted 79 to 2 on Tuesday to adopt the bill on protest
actions, rallies and marches.
It has been one of the opposition leaders’ demands to postpone the bill
discussion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 14:55:54 | 27-04-2004 | Politics |
AUTHORITIES’ BID TO BAR PEOPLE FROM ATTENDING OPPOSITION-STAGED RALLY
As it became known, a section of highway between Armenia’s town of
Echmiadzin and Armenian capital Yerevan was blocked from very dawn on
Tuesday.
Reliable sources say all buses that usually carry students to Yerevan for
their university lessons were stopped and sent back.
It should be reminded that the opposition will convene a rally on Tuesday at
16:00 local time.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
April 26, 2004
Commemoration of April 24 in Armenia
On the morning of Saturday, April 24, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, diocesan primates, high ranking
clergymen, and members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin visited the
“Tsitsernakaberd” Memorial to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, to pay tribute
to the memory of the victims of the first genocide of the 20th century. His
Holiness offered a solemn Requiem Service in memory of the 1.5 million
Armenian martyrs who perished in Turkey and the deserts of Syria in the
final days of the Ottoman Empire.
In attendance for the commemoration were President of the Republic of
Armenia Robert Kocharian, President of the National Assembly Artur
Baghdasarian, Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Margarian, President of the
Constitutional Court Gagik Harutiunian, high ranking government officials,
ambassadors and representatives of foreign states, and guests from Armenia
and abroad.
* * *
The same day a solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Mother Cathedral
of Holy Etchmiadzin. His Holiness Karekin II presided during the service
commemorating the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which was
celebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Arshak Khachatrian, Chancellor of the Mother
See.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the Pontifical procession gathered around
the Armenian Genocide Monument located north of the Cathedral on the grounds
of the Mother See, as His Holiness presided during a Repose of Souls
service.
High ranking clergymen, Apostolic Nuncio for the Roman Catholic Church Abp.
Claudio Gugerotti, and hundreds of faithful were present.
##
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of Wisconsin
4100 N. Newman Road
Racine, WI 53406
April 26, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: A. Zohrab Khaligian
[email protected]
WISCONSIN ARMENIANS COMMEMORATE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
MADISON, WI–For the fourth year in a row, Wisconsin Armenian Americans
gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to commemorate the
Armenian Genocide. Over 70 people–including 13 State Representatives and
Senators–attended the reception and program held on Tuesday, April 20 in
the GAR Hearing Room. The event was co-hosted by the Armenian National
Committee (ANC) of Wisconsin, State Representatives Mark Honadel, Bonnie
Ladwig, and Jeff Stone, and State Senators Jeff Plale, Mary Lazich, and
Cathy Stepp.
The purpose of the program was to thank the Wisconsin State Assembly and
State Senate for adopting Armenian Genocide resolutions, which designate
April 24 of each year as “Wisconsin Day of Remembrance for the Armenian
Genocide of 1915 to 1923,” and to continue to educate and promote awareness
of Armenia and Armenian issues, particularly the Armenian Genocide. The
featured speakers included Robert O. Krikorian, Ph.D., Representative Jeff
Stone, and Senator Mary Lazich. The program also included the reading of
commemorative statements from US Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl.
Zohrab Khaligian, representing the ANC of Wisconsin, presented the welcoming
message. Khaligian thanked everyone for attending the program and voiced
his disbelief that almost 90 years had passed since the Ottoman Turkish
government attempted to eliminate an entire nation, that their crime has
gone largely unrecognized and totally unpunished, and today the crime of
genocide continues as rumors abound about atrocities in Sudan.
Khaligian thanked the State Assembly and Senate for not ignoring the past
and setting the record straight by adopting Genocide resolutions which
reaffirm the Armenian Genocide as a fact of history. Khaligian also thanked
Wisconsin’s US Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Mark Green, Jerry Kleczka,
Paul Ryan, and F. James Sensenbrenner for co-sponsoring the Genocide
Convention Resolution–H.Res.193–which is currently waiting to be brought
to the House floor for a vote. Khaligian singled out Representative
Sensenbrenner for his leadership on the House Judiciary Committee, ensuring
that this legislation was adopted at the committee level following intense
pressure to eliminate the mention of the Armenian Genocide by pro-Turkish
lobbyist Bob Livingston and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States
Faruk Logoglu.
US Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl were also thanked for cosponsoring
the Senate version of the Genocide Convention Resolution (S.Res164).
Khaligian introduced Katie Crawley from Senator Feingold’s Middleton office
and Darci Louma from Senator Kohl’s Madison office, and then read each of
the Senator’s commemorative statements. (Full text of statements below).
Guest speaker Robert O. Krikorian, Ph.D. was then introduced. Dr. Krikorian
is a historian with the Office of the Historian at the US Department of
State, a Professorial Lecturer at the Elliott School of International
Affairs at George Washington University and a fellow at the university’s
Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. It was announced
that prior to the program, Dr. Krikorian was the featured speaker at a
series of lectures organized by the ANC of Wisconsin. The series included a
talk on Saturday, April 17th with the Racine Chapter of the Armenian Youth
Federation on Dr. Krikorian’s experiences in Armenia and Artsakh from
1988-1991. A lecture titled “Education and Responsibility” on Sunday, April
18th at St. Hagop Armenian Church in Racine and an academic lecture entitled
“In the Shadow of War: The Ottoman Empire and the Destruction of the
Armenians” on Monday, April 19th, which was presented twice, once at the
University of Wisconsin-Parkside Library, and once at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union. The Friends of the UW-Parkside Library,
and the UW-Madison Armenian Student Association and History Department
hosted the latter two lectures, respectively.
Dr. Krikorian explained that the Ottoman Empire’s massacre and deportation
of the Armenian people during World War I should be understood in the
context not only of the war itself, but in the decline of the empire.
Beginning in the latter part of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire
suffered a series of military and political reverses, culminating in its
total defeat in 1918. The significant losses of territory in the Balkans,
North Africa, and Western Armenia preceding the Genocide created the
preconditions for carrying out this final solution to the Armenian Question.
The final two speakers were Representative Jeff Stone and Senator Mary
Lazich. A co-host since the first commemorative program, Representative
Stone commended the Armenian American community of Wisconsin for remembering
their history in an effort to prevent history from repeating itself.
Senator Lazich, speaking for the first time since becoming a co-host in
2002, read excerpts from an article written by Dr. Richard Hovannissian to
highlight the enormity of the Armenian Genocide.
Prior to closing the program, Zohrab Khaligian thanked Representative Bonnie
Ladwig for her support and guidance in making the State Capitol program a
success. Representative Ladwig will be retiring from the Assembly in the
Fall due to health reasons and will be sorely missed by the
Armenian-American community in Racine.
In closing, Khaligian explained that the objective for obtaining recognition
of the Armenian Genocide can no longer be to obtain justice for the Armenian
people. As the crime of genocide has continued to the present day, the
Armenian people and their supporters must strive to obtain recognition and
justice for the Armenian Genocide in order to prevent future genocides from
ever occurring again. Khaligian wondered aloud that if the crime of
genocide is allowed to continue, who will be left alive?
The Armenian National Committee is the largest Armenian American grassroots
political organization in Wisconsin and nationwide. The ANC actively
advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian American
community.
####
—————————-
Statement by Senator Herb Kohl
—————————-
Dear Friends
Please allow me to extend my best wishes and greetings to all of you who
have gathered today to commemorate the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. I regret my schedule prevents me from attending, and I hope this
event raises awareness and pays tribute to the victims of this seminal
moment.
I also hope this event provides everyone in attendance with an opportunity
to reflect on the tragic events of 89 years ago, and steels our resolve to
prevent it from ever happening again. We have an obligation to future
generations to share our lessons and experiences so that atrocities are
never repeated. Commemorations like this lay the important foundation of
that critical task, while also offering a fitting forum to pay our respects
to the victims of the tragedy.
Thank you for your efforts to promote peace, tolerance and a memorial of the
past. Best wishes.
Sincerely
Herb Kohl [signed]
US Senator
——————————-
Statement by Senator Russ Feingold
——————————-
Statemen t of US Senator Russ Feingold
Commemorating the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
April 20, 2004
“I am sorry that I am unable to attend this important commemoration. Thank
you to the Armenian National Committee of Wisconsin for organizing this
event. Today, we remember the Armenian men, women and children who lost
their lives during the Armenian genocide. 89 years ago between 1915 and
1923, the Ottoman empire undertook a policy to isolate, exile and eliminate
the Armenian population. One and a half million Armenians were
systematically murdered in this campaign. Hundreds of thousands more were
forced to flee their homes.
The Armenian genocide must not be denied or forgotten. We have an
obligation to remember and remind others of the horror that occurred. As
seen by the killings in Bosnia, Kosovo and Rwanda over the past decade,
targeting people for their ethnicity is still a frequent occurrence. Its
repetition demands that we speak out and inform others in order to prevent
future atrocities.
Today, I join you in solemnly remembering the victims of the Armenian
genocide, and in honoring their memory by reaffirming our resolve to prevent
genocide from occurring again.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 26 2004
Decision to send Armenian army transport company to Iraq

YEREVAN, April 26 (Itar-Tass) – The Military Command of Armenia has
decided to send an army transport company to Iraq, where it is to
take part in the country’s rehabilitation, Chief of the General Staff
of the Armenian Armed Forces and First Deputy Defence Minister
Colonel-General Mikhail Aratyunyan stated here on Monday.
`This decision is yet to be considered by the Armenian parliament and
endorsed by the president,’ the general noted. Ready to be sent to
Iraq is a company of sappers and three army physicians, he added.
`We cannot overlook the fact that there is an Armenian community in
Iraq, we must think of our future and must contribute to the
restoration of Iraq,’ the Chief of Staff believes.
In conformity with the Armenian-American agreement on reciprocal
purchases and deliveries, which was concluded on Monday, the
Americans will provide the Armenian army trucks in Iraq with fuel on
account of mutual settlements, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Forces in
Europe Charles Word has explained in Yerevan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 26, 2004 Monday 9:10 AM Eastern Time
Armenia decides to send transportation platoon to Iraq
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenia’s military leadership has decided to send a transportation
platoon to Iraq in order to take part in post-war reconstruction in
the country.
First Deputy Defence Minister Colonel-General Mikhail Arutyunyan,
chief of Armenia’s General Staff, said on Monday sappers’ unit and
three doctors are ready to leave for Iraq.
“We should not forget that the Armenian community lives in Iraq. We
should remember of our future and make our contribution to Iraq’s
restoration,” General Arutyunyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Ottawa Sun
April 26, 2004 Monday Final Edition
HISTORY OF HATE
BY PAUL STANWAY, EDMONTON SUN
Armenians around the world today commemorate the beginning of what
they view as the darkest period in their long history, which is
saying something for a people who have been subject to almost
constant invasion and persecution.
On Wednesday the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly (153 to 68) in
favour of a motion that “acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915
and condemns this as a crime against humanity.”
The history of Armenia is a litany of tragedy and suffering,
endlessly repeated. But it is also a story of survival, against all
the odds and in the face of every possible indignity and handicap we
humans are capable of imposing upon one another.
The Armenians are the oldest Christian nation on earth, a forgotten
remnant of the ancient world from a time before Islam conquered the
Near East. You may not think you know any Armenians, but unless
you’ve never heard of Cher (full name Cherylin Sarkissian), tennis
great Andre Agassi or chess master Gary Kasparov, you are wrong.
GREAT DIASPORA
They are all children of the great diaspora that followed the
massacre of Turkish Armenians in 1915 — the “crime against humanity”
deplored by a majority of our MPs. It began on April 24, 1915 with
the arrest of Armenian professionals and intellectuals, and ended two
years later with Turkey’s Armenian population having been reduced
from around 3 million to fewer than 200,000.
What happened to the missing Armenians is still a matter of hot
debate for our NATO ally, Turkey, which vehemently denies systematic
slaughter. Hundreds of thousands fled to Russian Armenia, and
thousands of others eventually made their way to Europe and North
America, but somewhere between 600,000 and 2 million died as a result
of forced relocation, starvation and the actions of Turkish troops
and civilians.
The actual number seems less important than the fact a brutal
slaughter took place, documented by eyewitness accounts from
survivors, and from credible reports by mostly American diplomats and
aid workers on the scene. There was no Auschwitz, no Treblinka, and
the weapons of choice seem to have been the bayonet and the knife,
but the massacre of the Armenians was in no way less systematic and
inhuman than the Holocaust. An entire population was driven from land
it had occupied since the beginnings of recorded history, and those
who were not killed were left to starve or die of exposure.
There is no little irony in the fact Adolf Hitler used this genocide
as a prototype for his own final solution, apparently noting that 25
years later no one remembered what had happened to the Armenians. But
at the time he was wrong. The story of the Armenians received wide
publicity in the years between the world wars, particularly in the
U.S., Canada and Britain.
There was even a time when the Turkish authorities themselves
acknowledged what had happened. Several of those responsible were
tried for their crimes by Turkish courts and executed. But as a
valuable ally during the Cold War years, as NATO’s bulwark against
Soviet Central Asia, there was a concerted attempt to forget and
finally to deny Turkey’s past.
SIMPLE HONESTY
What’s the point of remembering a regrettable slice of the past?
Apart from simple honesty, humanity is the accumulation of its
history and it is impossible to learn from events if we deny they
happened. In Turkey’s case, denying the massacre of the Armenians
guarantees the memory will fester.
Some Turkish leaders in 1915 were openly critical of their
government, others bravely refused to implement genocidal policies,
while ordinary Turks were summarily executed for trying to help their
Armenian neighbours.
The present Turkish government would do better to remember their
example than to deny history.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress