Author: Hakobian Adrine

53 NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS CALL ON ARMENIA AND TURKEY FOR RECONCILIATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2007 15:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity has published
a call that urges Armenia and Turkey for reconciliation, undersigned
by 53 Nobel Prize winners. Executive Director of the Foundation David
Phillips was the initiator of this action, who earlier coordinated
works of Armenia-Turkey Reconciliation Committee. David Phillips told
RFE/RL that the Nobel Prize winners call on the Turkish government to
end up with discrimination towards national and religious minorities
and cancel Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which supposes
criminal punishment for "insulting Turkishness". Nobel Prize winners
call on Armenia to "give opportunity for holding free and fair
elections, as well as respect human rights". Alongside they urge
Turkey to open borders with neighboring Armenia, speed up mutual
contacts and establish full diplomatic relations. They offer to use
legal approach for settling the problem of recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, at the same time underlining that the UN Convention on
genocide has never had retroaction, and consequently, cannot "be used
as a base for compensations or territorial claims". "There exists
a huge gap among Turks and Armenians in the issue of realizing the
Armenian Genocide. In order to settle the problem we turn to legal
examination of UN Convention on preventing and punishing genocide
crimes, which contains conclusions of scientists who have studied
fact of genocide. In particular, the Convention says, "events at
the beginning of the 20th century contain all elements of Genocide,
approved by the convention," the document underscores.

Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
April 8 2007

Illicit booze kills 10 in Iran holy city: report
(AFP)

8 April 2007

TEHERAN – Ten people have died after drinking homemade hooch in a
holy city in Iran, where the consumption of all alcohol is banned,
the Kayhan newspaper reported on Sunday.

`On April 2, a large quantity of bootlegged alcohol was distributed
in Qom,’ Iran’s clerical capital and the home of many religious
seminaries, south of Teheran, it said.

`A number of the drinkers were hospitalised and according to the
inhabitants of Qom, 10 people have died,’ the ultra-conservative
daily added.

It said that local officials had yet to confirm the death toll.

It is not the first time that toxic moonshine has claimed lives in
Iran, an Islamic country where the production and consumption of
alcohol is generally strictly prohibited.

In May 2006, 15 people died from alcohol poisoning in the southern
city of Sirjan, while in June 2004 it was reported that 22 Iranians
died of the same cause in the southern city of Shiraz.

Only recognised Christian minorities in Iran, such as the Armenians,
are allowed to produce and consume alcohol, discreetly and behind
closed doors so as not to offend Islamic sensibilities.

Production, sale or consumption of alcohol are otherwise punishable
by jail or the lash, although this has not stopped significant
smuggling from neighbouring countries.

Newspapers reported on Sunday that 46,000 cans of beer had been
seized and destroyed in the capital in recent months.

Home distilled spirits sell for far less than smuggled foreign brands
and are the tipple of choice in poorer neighbourhoods, but the use of
industrial chemicals in their production sometimes poses serious
health risks.

How the media missed genocide TheStar.com – opinion – How the media missed
genocide
April 07, 2007
John Honderich
BUTARE, RWANDA

Today is Genocide Memorial Day in Rwanda, exactly 13 years to the day
since the onset of one of the most brutal periods of the 20th century.

It is thought that close to 1 million Rwandans – including
three-quarters of the entire Tutsi population – were systematically
murdered within the span of 100 days.

This was no civil war, no mistake. Rather it was a deliberate and
methodical ethnic cleansing executed at a rate almost impossible to
fathom.

And in the first month, the world’s media missed the real story.

Missed it badly.

Search the files, as I did, and you will find most newspapers,
including the Star, were replete with stories of the horror that was
unfolding. Indeed, we ran 152 stories in the 100 days.

And a month into the killings, a few journalists, including the Star’s
Pulitzer-winning journalist Paul Watson, began to stitch together
pieces of the real story behind the slaughter.

For a month, though, this tragedy was portrayed as yet another bloody
civil war between two traditional tribal enemies – not a deliberate
genocide.

How could this happen? How could the world’s media miss a genocide?
And even more troubling, could it happen again?

These questions haunted me as I visited this surprisingly enchanting
and stunning country for the first time.

As editor of the Star at that time, I had ultimate responsibility for
the paper’s editorial coverage. And the notion that we weren’t aware
of one ofthe century’s worst episodes doesn’t sit well, as it wouldn’t
with any experienced editor.

After all, at the very same time, the world’s media were documenting
in detail the ethnic cleansing being perpetrated in Bosnia. Those
collective stories brought about a multinational response, just as
they had in Somalia.

Yet in Rwanda, the United Nations actually voted to decrease its
peacekeeping forces from 2,500 to a few hundred.

To the chagrin of Canadian Gen. Romeo D’Allaire and others, the world
was simply turning a blind eye to Rwanda – in large part because the
real story had yet to be told.

In short, we failed Rwanda, for which I will be forever remorseful.

In his new book, The Media and the Rwanda Genocide, former Toronto
Star reporter Allan Thompson provides compelling commentary on the
trail of hate literature and diabolical pre-planning that culminated
in the genocide.

Indeed, three Rwandan so-called journalists were actually indicted and
convicted of inciting genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda In other words, if reporters had cared to look, the
evidence was all there to realize that something horrific was about to
unfold.

Why didn’t we see it?
In retrospect, much is made of the fact that most of the world’s media
were focused at the very same time on the election in South Africa,
where Nelson Mandela was coming to power. In fact, the Star had two
reporters there.

Others speak of the concentration of attention on Bosnia.

Yet this analysis seems based on the unspoken premise that both the
world and the media were incapable of absorbing the notion that a
genocide was taking place in Africa at the same time as Mandela was
being elected and the Bosnia conflict was raging.

On reflection, it seems the fundamental answer lies somewhere else.

First, Rwanda was too poor for anyone in the West to care.

Second, I hearken back to the comment of Kofi Annan, later UN
secretary-general, who remarked that many Western nations were
reticent to intervene in Rwanda because they didn’t feel a "kinship"
with Africans.

Translation: Who cares about feuding blacks in Africa anyway.

Could such a story be missed again?
In the past 13 years, the number of correspondents stationed in Africa
has dropped significantly.

Virtually every analysis of Western media shows a decline of reportage
on Africa. For example, ABC’s Evening News spent just 11 minutes
throughout all of 2006 reporting on Darfur.

It seems, quite frankly, that media interest in Africa is on the
wane. And what stories appear invariably centre on AIDS, poverty or
corruption.

Any visitor to Rwanda is struck by the number of memorials to the
genocide that carry the ever-present message "Never Again." Can the
same be said of the media missing another such story on this
continent?

Based on what I’ve read and seen, I’m far from confident. Which, as a
former editor, troubles me profoundly.

John Honderich is a former publisher of the Star.

The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
April 7, 2007 Saturday

Feuding monks in bad odour over sewage leak at crucifixion site

by Tim Butcher in Jerusalem Old City

PILGRIMS visiting the site of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection
in Jerusalem this Easter may experience an atmosphere rich in smells
other than incense after an inter-denominational row over the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre’s latrines.

A blockage to the lavatory block’s solitary outflow pipe caused
sewage to leak just yards from Golgotha, the rocky outcrop where
Jesus is believed to have been crucified.

With Jerusalem’s summer heat fast approaching, there are fears of a
major health risk. But in spite of the site’s status as the most
sacred shrine in Christianity, tension between the denominations who
share custodianship of the church precincts has prevented repair work
being carried out.

"It’s disgusting in every meaning of the word,” said Fr Jerome
Murphy-O’Connor, a renowned Biblical scholar and long-time critic of
the denominational rivalry.

"It is symptomatic of the silliness and pettiness of what happens in
the church and gives it such a palpably unchristian atmosphere.”

The 10 lavatories were built in the first half of the 19th century to
service the needs of the 30 Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Franciscan
monks who live all year round inside the Holy Sepulchre. They are now
also used by visitors.

The outflow pipe has slowly become overwhelmed, leading to calls for
a major restoration of the facilities with perhaps a new pumping
system.

Money is not the problem, with various pilgrim groups saying they
would be willing to pay for the work.

It is the Armenians who are currently withholding their agreement
because of a row with the Greek Orthodox over the protocols of the
ceremony of the Miracle of the Holy Fire.

Foundation for the Preservation of
Wildlife and Cultural Assets of Armenia

#5 Byron St., 375 009,
Yerevan, ARMENIA
Tel: + 374 10 529 340
Tel/Fax: +374 10 564 484
Mob: +374 93 206 248
E-mail: [email protected]

SunChild First Regional Environmental Festival in Armenia

Starting on March 31st in the Gyumri region, the volunteers of SunChild
First Regional Environmental Festival have begun the cleaning up of glass
wool garbage. Glass wool, which was once used as a building material in
temporary housings for victims of the 1988 earthquake, is a very
health-threatening product. Exposed to wind, bits and pieces of the
poisonous material have gradually polluted many areas of the city.

Currently, the SunChild volunteers have succeeded in cleaning two out of
the four areas that are on the agenda. Very encouraging is the growing
interest of different media sources for the SunChild Festival and in
particular for this glass wool garbage cleanup action. With each report
that is conducted in regards to the glass wool problem in Gyumri a very
important question is raised, why is there a need for young volunteers to
take over a task that is actually the responsibility of the city
government to solve?

It is a fact that the glass wool garbage in Gyumri causes serious health
problems for the citizens of the area; however, the ruling party in town
hall is ignoring the situation.

The city government has the key for the solution to solving the problem in
its hands. It is as simple as adding a small paragraph in the contract
agreements between the city and the private companies that buy the
barracks. Currently the private companies take away all valuable building
materials after deconstruction – except the glass wool garbage, which
remains. The city could easily enforce the private companies, by contract,
to properly dispose of the glass wool garbage. `But until now the city
government refused to take any action’, as Anna Yeghoyan, a citizen of
Gyumri and Executive director of the Gyumri based NGO `Youth for peace &
development’ (YFPD) explains. More than six months the YFPD has struggled
with the town hall’s ignorance of this very problem.

In fact, YFPD is not an organization that concentrates on environmental
issues; they are mainly dedicated to democracy building and the support of
advocacy campaigns. From their perspective, the glass wool pollution in
some areas of Gyumri is clearly a political problem, which must be solved
by means of lobbying. In this case, Anna Yeghoyan believes that SunChild
First Regional Environmental festival offers the chance that YFPD has been
looking for.

The framework of an environmental festival, such as SunChild, can be used
as an excellent platform to put the Gyumri glass-wool garbage problem on
the public in order to raise the awareness of citizens and the media. So
when some months ago Anna Yeghoyan came into touch with the organizers of
SunChild First Regional Environmental Festival, she informed them about
the glass wool problem and suggested cooperation in Gyumri.

The environmental experts of the SunChild organization team examined the
city and selected the areas where removing of the glass wool garbage was
most urgent. Although there are many locations that need removal of the
poisonous agent, the experts focused on the areas that had the highest
chance of children coming in contact with the glass wool.

In December of 2006, YFPD and SunChild organizers informed the city
government about their project. The first contacts seemed to be promising:
The representatives of city government assured the organizers that they
were ready to support the glass wool cleaning activities with everything
needed. But after several months of negotiations, the organizers of
SunChild Festival and YFPD realized that the promises made by the Gyumri
town hall were more or less worthless. From all the equipment and support
promised in the beginning, only one dustcart remained. On the cleaning
days the SunChild team is allowed to call the car when the bags with the
glass wool garbage are ready to be removed.

Finally, the whole equipment that is necessary to do the cleaning, such
as; protective masks, gloves, shovels and bags for the garbage, as well as
buses which are used to transport the volunteers to their working places
is provided by the SunChild Environmental Festival.

So in spite of the fact that the work of the festival’s volunteers will
clearly improve the living quality in Gyumri, the city government still
seems to be reluctant to take any steps towards a solution.

But YFPD and the SunChild team certainly won’t give up. Now that they have
united their efforts, they are sure: Their joint pressure, as well as, the
growing support of media and conscious citizens will finally force the
government to give up its resistance and work towards a solution.
Hopefully, in the future, no more young volunteers will have to take over
the responsibility for the disposal of poisonous material in Gyumri and
this work will be done professionally by properly equipped companies.

Eva Martirosyan
Press Coordinator

SUN CHILD Regional Environmental Festival

ARMENIA: DEMANDS FOR VOTER PASSPORTS SPARK ELECTION CONTROVERSY
by Gayane Abrahamyan

Eurasianet, NY
April 4, 2007

Reports of pro-government political parties allegedly seizing voter
passports has become one of the most controversial issues surrounding
the conduct of Armenia’s May 12 parliamentary elections. While both
the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and the influential Prosperous
Armenia Party have denied any involvement, opposition parties charge
that the practice could seriously affect the outcome of the vote.

Rosa Sanasarian, a 72-year-old resident of Yerevan’s central Avan
neighborhood, told EurasiaNet that she was forced to hand over her
passport data to district officials to receive a two-month social
welfare payment. The officials stated that they needed the information
to register Sanasarian for the funds.

"People from the district administration told me to vote for the
Republican Party, otherwise they threatened to take away my "paros"
said Sanasarian, in reference to her bi-monthly allowance.

Not all voters, however, object to handing over their passports. In
Charbakh, a suburb of Yerevan, Gurgen Mkrtumian, a 62-year-old
construction worker, said that he handed over to Prosperous Armenia
Party members the passports for all five of the voters in his family
in exchange for 25,000 drams (about $70).

"The party that’s been chosen to win will be elected no matter whether
I vote or not," Mkrtumian explained. "I will at least get the money I
need very much." Mkrtumian said that he intends to stand by his pledge
to vote for Prosperous Armenia in return for the cash. "I have taken
the money and I have given my word as a man," he said.

Members of Armenia’s opposition claim that Prosperous Armenia, named
the frontrunner in many opinion polls, and the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA) are using the passport scoops to avoid detection of
more overt forms of vote manipulation on election day by international
observers, who are expected to scrutinize this vote more heavily
than usual.

"People are told ‘Look, we take your passport or your passport data
and we will later check whom you have voted for. We have given you a
bribe, so you vote for our candidate,’" charged Grigor Harutyunian,
a member of the political council of the People’s Party of Armenia,
one of the main opposition parties in parliament. "’We will know if
you don’t and it won’t be good for you,’" he claimed voters are told.

Ruzan Khachatrian, a board member of the People’s Party of Armenia,
claims that the practice is not limited to targeting adults alone.

"The passport data are shamelessly gathered even at schools," she
claimed. "The school principals are mainly members of either Prosperous
Armenia or the Republican Parties and force children to bring in
their parents’ passports, promising high grades in return for them."

Both the Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia Party have strongly
denied that they are involved in collecting passports or paying voters
for the information.

In a March 15 meeting with journalists, Parliamentary Speaker Tigran
Torosian, who holds the number two spot on the Republican Party’s list
of candidates, affirmed that the party "has not instructed anyone to
collect passports or [to take] any such kind of steps."

Torosian, however, stopped short of giving guarantees that election law
violations would not occur during the campaign. "The RPA has several
tens of thousands of members. Who can claim to be able to supervise
the activities of these several tens of thousands of members? Nobody,
I think," Torosian said.

On March 7, Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian, a member
of the ruling council of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a
member of Armenia’s ruling coalition, called on voters not to give
out their passports and passport numbers, warning that the practice
was a crime.

Meanwhile, economist Vardan Bostanjian, a member of Prosperous
Armenia’s political council and a party list candidate, maintains
that Prosperous Armenia has no need to use "artificial" means to win
votes. "The party has 370,000 members and these people have joined it
because of affection [for the party] and because of their beliefs,"
Bostanjian told reporters on March 22.

Passport grabs are not the only controversy to have marked the
parliamentary campaign, however. Considerable debate has dogged the
activities of a charitable organization connected with Prosperous
Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukian. Wheat and potato seeds have been
distributed to farmers for sowing, free medical care provided in
the regions, and buses provided to transport university students
into Yerevan free of charge. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. The Republican Party and opposition People’s Party have
also reportedly undertaken various charitable activities.

Armenia’s election code does not provide clear guidance on how to
qualify such handouts. The code prohibits charitable acts by political
parties only during the official election campaign period.

The campaign for the May parliamentary vote starts on April 8 and
lasts until May 10. The code does not specify how the restrictions
apply to the pre-campaign period.

Nor is the problem a new one. Surveys performed by the Regional
Development Center and Transparency International Yerevan indicated
that 75 percent of voters during Armenia’s 2003 parliamentary vote
had been offered financial incentives to favor a certain party or
candidate.

NOTES: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow online
weekly.

STATE BUDGETARY EXPENDITURES GROW BY 12.8% IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2007 ON SAME MONTHS OF 2006

Noyan Tapan
Apr 04 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-February 2007, expenditures
of 54.3 bln drams (about 151 mln USD) were made at the expense of
the RA state budget, 85% of which was spent on financing of current
expenditures, 9.8% – on financing of capital expenditures, and 5.2%
– on net financing.

According to the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, budgetary
expenditures grew by 12.8% or about 6.2 bln drams on the same period
of last year. This growth is mainly conditioned by an increase in
expenditures on services, capital expenditures and transfers.

Current expenditures make up the largest share of expenditures –
46.2 bln drams was allocated for their financing in the first two
months of 2007, which ensured 52.6% fulfilment of the quarterly
program. Current expenditures grew by 9.5% or 4 bln drams on the same
months of last year.

10.9% of current expenditures (over 5 bln drams) was allocated for
payment of salaries of state institutions’ employees, which is more by
13.8% than in January-February 2006. The quarterly program on salary
payment was fulfilled by 58.2%.

AZERBAIJAN SOCIETY OF AMERICA APPEALS TO US CONGRESS SUBCOMMITTEE

Today, Azerbaijan
April 4 2007

The Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) is going to appeal to all
members of US Congress Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, And
Related Programs with regard to financial aid to the South Caucasian
countries envisaged in state budget for 2008.

The appeal supports the decision of allocating $18mln as economic aid
to Azerbaijan, $4.8m as foreign military aid and $1mln to training
of our servicemen, ASA president Tomris Azeri told the APA’s US bureau.

Tomris Azeri noted that financial aid allocated by White House
administration for Azerbaijan is not completely adequate to
opportunities created by our country for the US.

She called on the members of the subcommittee to debate amount the
amount of the aid.

The appeal underlines that Azerbaijan is the only Muslim country
cooperating with NATO in the framework of Individual Partnership
Action Plan (IPAP), and both Clinton and Bush administration support
the Contract of the Century signed in 1994 and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline commissioned in 2006.

Tomris Azeri mentioned that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov and US Secretary of State signed understanding memorandum
on March 22.

"Azerbaijan is one of the first states that joined the antiterrorism
coalition. Azerbaijan arrested and extradited terrorists, and US
government welcomed the measures taken for preventing weapons of
mass destruction. Azerbaijani soldiers participated in peacekeeping
operation in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Taking all these into
account, ASA considers it important to annul the Section 907 to
the Freedom Support Act against Azerbaijan, offer financial aid
to Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh along with Armenian
community. Every tenth Azerbaijani became refugee as a result of
Armenian aggression and US official bodies recognized Nagorno Karabakh
as inseparable part of Azerbaijan," the appeal says.

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IT IS NOT EXCLUDED THAT ATTACK UPON GYUMRI MAYOR WAS AIMED AGAINST RPA, PARTY SPOKESPERSON CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 03 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, NOYAN TAPAN. It is not excluded that the attack
upon Gyumri Mayor was aimed against RPA. RPA Spokesperson Edward
Sharmazanov stated at the April 3 press conference. He refused to
answer the questions, for whom this could be beneficial mentioning
that as long as those ordering and executing it are not known, it is
difficult to make conclusions. In E. Sharmazanov’s words, RA Acting
Defence Minister Serge Sargsian’s appointment to the post of RA Prime
Minister is beyond any doubt. He said that as early as at the March 26
consultation between President Robert Kocharian and representatives
of political majority it was decided that the candidate nominated
by RPA will continue holding Prime Minister’s post. At the party
Board’s April 2 sitting it was decided to nominate the candidature
of Board Chairman, Acting party Chairman Serge Sargsian. 66 out of
69 RPA Board members were present at the sitting.

They unanimously voted for that decision. Gagik Khachatrian,
Ruben Hayrapetian and Suren Khachatrian were absent from the Board
sitting for a valid reason. In E. Sharmazanov’s words, the party
Board did not discuss the issue whether S. Sargsian will continue
to carry out the duties of Security Council Secretary. Asked whom
RPA sees on the post of Defence Minister, he said that Armenia has
many worthy figures who can be a Defence Minister. Meanwhile he was
not able to say whether the candidature of NKR Defence Army former
Commander Samvel Babayan is discussed among these figures. In the
words of RPA Spokesperson, after RPA Chairman, RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian’s death there are no intra-party disagreements
in RPA. In his words, division of RPA members into "old" and "new"
is artificial: the party has a untied team, which henceforth will
work in more consolidated way and more resolutely." E. Sharmazanov
assured that RPA’s ideology and political way will remain the same,
as it is "not a party of one or two persons, but an ideological team
of political figures." He also noted that there will be not strategic,
but only tactical changes connected with the holding of the electoral
campaign, in connection with the change of the party’s first figure.

PARLIAMENT SPEAKER OGTAY ASADOV RECEIVES US CONGRESSMAN PETE HOEKSTRA

Today, Azerbaijan
April 3 2007

Azerbaijani Parliament speaker Ogtay Asadov received the delegation
led by US Congressman Pete Hoekstra.

The speaker said that US delegation’s visit to Azerbaijan will
contribute to the development of mutual relations between Azerbaijani
Parliament and Congress.

Asadov said Azerbaijani servicemen along with NATO peacekeepers are
actively participating in the fight against international terrorism
in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The speaker welcomed the cease of the Section 907 one by the US
President for one- year period every year and stressed the complete
abolishment of this Section will give impetus to the development
of relations.

"Today US companies are closely participating in the exploitation
of Caspian hydrocarbon resources. We consider that our strategic
cooperation, implementation of huge projects serve ensuring security
in the region," Mr.Asadov underlined.

The speaker said that friendship groups are functioning in the
parliaments of both countries.

Asadov hoped that as OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, US will contribute
to the solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Hoekstra stressed the efficiency of the development of relations
in the level of parliaments, and said that exchange of experience,
information and mutual visits of delegations between legislative
bodies are of great importance, APA reports.

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