The Western Mail
October 20, 2004
FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE REMEMBERED
The Prime Minister of Europe’s least-known country was in Wales
yesterday, raising embarrassing issues for the UK Government. No
members of the Welsh Assembly Government were available to meet him.
Anushavan Danielian, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Republic
of Nagorno Karabagh, wanted to talk about the difficulties faced by
his territory – an Armenian enclave the size of Gwynedd surrounded by
Azerbaijan – and about the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians at the
hands of Turkey during World War One and in the early 1920s.
As confirmed to the Western Mail yesterday by the Foreign Office,
Britain refuses to recognise the independence of Nagorno Karabagh,
saying sovereignty should remain with Azerbaijan. It does not regard
the ‘terrible tragedy’ of the Armenian massacres as genocide.
After speaking to AMs at the National Assembly, Mr Danielian visited
Cardiff’s Temple of Peace, where he met the Rt Rev Dr David Yeoman,
the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff, and Stephen Thomas, Director of the
Welsh Centre for International Affairs. They discussed erecting a
memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide in the adjacent
Garden of Peace.
Mr Danielian said, ‘There has been a ceasefire for the last 10 years,
but Nagorno Karabagh remains blockaded by Azerbaijan. The blockade
has destroyed 80% of our economy.
‘If what happened to Armenians during World War One and afterwards
had been recognised at the time as genocide, perhaps subsequent
genocides would not have occurred. It was Adolf Hitler who infamously
said, ‘Who remembers what happened to the Armenians?’ before
conducting his own genocide of the Jews.
‘Turkey must acknowledge its genocide before there can be any
question of it joining the EU.’
An Assembly Government spokesperson said, ‘The First Minister and
other members of the Cabinet had other engagements. There was no
intention to snub Mr Danielian.’
Author: Hovhannisian John
USAID Funds Programs
USAID FUNDS PROGRAMS
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
15 Oct 04
The US government provides direct humanitarian aid to Nagorni
Karabakh, which is aimed at solving problems of housing, health
care and education. The humanitarian aid is provided to NKR through
USAID. In the result of the tender the Armenian Relief Fund was
chosen for implementing the program and in September of 2002 a
contract was signed which will be valid till 2007. In 2003 ARF
received its first task. The director of the humanitarian program
in NKR Andranik Sarghissian said, from the very beginning, after
the settlement of organizational problems, ARF undertook a survey
of the buildings needing reconstruction or repairs. 3000 flats were
examined in five regions of Karabakh, as well as public buildings,
which badly need reconstruction. The lists were submitted to the
USAID. Soon instructions were received for the region of Askeran for
the reconstruction of 75 houses, 9 water pipelines, an irrigation
system and 20 surgeries. According to Andranik Sarghissian, since
launching the program reconstruction of 25 houses has been completed
already. Recently reconstruction of the remaining 23 houses, 20
surgeries and 9 water pipelines has been put out to tender. Soon
the contractor will be known and the construction will start, which
is planned to be completed in April of 2005. Works have started
in Martakert. In the second stage of the surveys the Armenian
Relief Fund presented the lists to USAID and received instructions
for 290 houses, 11 surgeries and 5 water pipelines. Building has not
started yet. In November the program for Hadrout will be launched. It
is planned to restore 90 houses, 6 surgeries, 9 water pipelines
and an irrigation system. According to Andranik Sarghissian, the
list presented to the USAID contained 229 houses. He said that the
organization pays special importance to the quality of work. During
8 months after the completion of the work the building contractor is
not paid 5 per cent of the sum maintained by the contract; in case of
a low-quality work the organization has to eliminate the faults. It
should be mentioned that tenders of the USAID are available for both
the building companies of Armenia and Karabakh, which have no less than
2 years of experience and have carried out building of 100 thousand
dollars. Presently two companies, “Vahagn-84” and “Sipan” implement
building works within the framework of the programs of ARF. The health
program of humanitarian aid to Nagorni Karabakh will be implemented
by the medical stuff of the American University of Armenia.
REFERENCE: In 1988 after the earthquake in Armenia the USA east coast
diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church established an organization
aimed to aid the victims of the earthquake. In 1993 the organization
was registered as Armenian Relief Fund. The organization implements
agricultural, educational, energy, social programs in Armenia and
a number of other countries. Owing to the fund, an old people’s
home in Gyumri, a secondary school in Vanadzor and a center for
parentless children in Yerevan were opened. There are a number of
other programs, such as organizing visits of young specialists to
Armenia. The population of Artsakh is grateful for the work done
by ARF. Many send letters of gratitude to the fund. One of these
letters has been published in Azat Artsakh recently. The leadership
of ARF thinks that special attention should be paid to the quality of
construction. This is very important as there are cases when buildings
repaired or constructed on charity means require additional repairs
taking additional costs, causing the dissatisfaction of people.
NAIRA HAYRUMIAN.
15-10-2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
BAKU: 24th sitting of PABSEC committee for legal & political affairs
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2004
24TH SITTING OF PABSEC COMMITTEE FOR LEGAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS
UNDERWAY IN BAKU
[October 14, 2004, 18:35:32]
The 24th sitting of Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Committee for Legal and Political Affairs began its work
in Baku. Participants of the event first visited 13 the Martyr’s
Alley and Eternal Fire memorial to revere the memory of the shehids
who died for independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
The sitting began with the Committee’s Chairman, head of the Bulgarian
delegation Borislav Palchev’s address. He thanked the government and
parliament of Azerbaijan for hospitality and announced the sitting’s
agenda, which includes role of parliaments in maintaining stability
and security in the Black Sea basin and economic development of
the region. The committee aims at preparing report for the General
Assembly and considering organization issues.
Then, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Murtuz Alasgarov took the floor. He
shared B. Palchev’v opinion on the present situation in the world
and PABSEC’s reaction to the ongoing developments.
Mr. Murtuz Alasgarov stressed the South Caucasus has all the conditions
for its rapid development. He pointed out that South Caucasus takes its
own place in the peace and security system of the European continent,
as it is the bridge connecting Europe and Asia. From this point
of view, restoration of the ancient Silk Road and implementation
of big energy projects acquire a paramount significance. However,
numerous armed conflicts and terrorist acts impede the development of
the South Caucasus. Murtuz Alasgarov told of the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani
lands and terrorist acts committed by Armenians in the territory
of Azerbaijan.
After adopting the report for the General Assembly, head of the
Albanian delegation Makbule Checho was assigned as a rapporteur at the
upcoming General Assembly to be held on November in Antalya, Turkey.
Upcoming Conference on”The Economy of the Republic of Armenia and th
Upcoming Conference on “The Economy of the Republic of Armenia and the
European Union” in Luxembourg
Clark University
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
Contact: Professor Simon Payaslian, Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair, Department
of History
Phone: (508) 793-7254
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
The Leir Center of the Luxembourg-Clark University Program will
host a conference on “The Economy of the Republic of Armenia and the
European Union.” The conference will be held between October 14-16,
2004 in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
The conference is organized by Professor Simon Payaslian, Robert Aram
and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair in Armenian
Genocide Studies and Modern Armenian History at Clark University,
Worcester, MA.
Participants Include:
— Dr. Armenak Darbinyan, Director of Economic Research Institute,
Ministry of Finance and Economy, Yerevan, Armenia;
— Ms. Narreh Ghazarian, Clark University student;
— Dr. Claire Mouradian, Director of Research, Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique, and Centre d’études du monde russe,
soviétique et post-soviétique, EHESS (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales), Paris, France;
— Dr. Yuri Suvaryan, Head of Management Department, Yerevan State
Institute of Economy, Yerevan, Armenia;
— Dr. Styopa Safaryan, Senior Analyst, Legal and Political Affairs,
Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS),
Yerevan, Armenia.
Charles Aznavour; Il gusto di essere a meta’
Il Sole 24 Ore, Italia
Ottobre 3, 2004
Charles Aznavour;Il gusto di essere a meta’
Pietro Kuciukian
di Pietro Kuciukian
Aznavourian, in arte Charles Aznavour,
per narrarsi.
L’impressione che si ricava e’ che il protagonista sia “un piccolo
grande uomo” cosmopolita, conquistato e reso ricco da vari stili di
vita, come la sua terra, l’Armenia, da sempre invasa e conquistata,
ma crogiolo di etnie e culture diverse, che hanno permesso
all'”armenita'” di conservarsi e sopravvivere oltre le tragedie della
storia.
Nasce a Parigi nel 1924 da una famiglia scampata al genocidio
perpetrato dai Turchi nel 1915:
Aida,
quadrati. A 9 anni la prima esibizione, una danza caucasica sulle
scene del Trocadero. E’ l’inizio di una carriera folgorante che lo
portera’ in ogni angolo del mondo. L’ambiente e’ quello armeno
Nel 1943 l’incontro con Pierre Roche da’ inizio al duo Roche-Aznavour
Micheline, che andra’ ad abitare dai suoi genitori.
emancipera’ Aznavour e lo fara’ diventare un gigante dello
spettacolo.
condizionera’ per anni e solo quando
Piaf lo aveva soprannominato, si allontanera’ riuscira’ a lanciarsi
nel mondo. La nascita della figlia Seda, il figlio Patrick morto a 25
anni, altre mogli, altri figli, altri amori, il rifacimento del naso,
ricchezza, il cinema
Charles Aznavour, ,
Rizzoli, Milano 2004, pagg. 340, 17,00.
Feu Vert conditionnel de Bruxelles a l’adhesion de la Turquie
La Tribune
7 octobre 2004
FEU VERT CONDITIONNEL DE BRUXELLES À L’ADHÉSION DE LA TURQUIE
La Commission européenne a recommandé hier l’ouverture des
négociations d’adhésion avec Ankara. Mais elle préconise la rupture
du contrat si la Turquie ne respecte pas ses engagements.
Simple coup de menton destiné à une opinion publique interne très
chatouilleuse ? Ou premier accroc au processus recommandé par la
Commission européenne, hier, 6 octobre, pour ouvrir, puis mener
précautionneusement avec Ankara, des négociations devant mener à
l’entrée de la Turquie dans l’Union européenne ? Le Premier ministre
turc a déclaré, en tout cas, qu’il souhaitait que les “mêmes critères
et les mêmes méthodes” qui avaient présidé aux précédents
élargissements soient appliqués à son pays.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan a pourtant peu de chances d’être entendu. Il est
peu douteux que le 17 décembre, le Conseil européen décidera de
suivre pratiquement en tous points la suggestion de la Commission.
C’est-à-dire d’ouvrir des négociations avec Ankara, mais avec des
préalables, des précautions, un suivi et des dispositifs de
sauvegarde assez exceptionnels (lire “La Tribune” d’hier). Certes, en
privé, Günther Verheugen, le commissaire à l’Elargissement, faisait
valoir que la plupart de ces précautions étaient implicites lors des
négociations avec les précédents candidats et que leur conclusion
positive, par nature, était tout autant aléatoire. Il y aurait, donc,
un certain “affichage” pour répondre aux inquiétudes et aux
réticences perceptibles dans tous les pays de l’Union.
Procédure inhabituelle. Le processus préconisé va pourtant bien
au-delà. Déjà en termes de calendrier, puisque l’Union devrait avoir
défini ses “perspectives financières” pour la période post-2014
“avant de pouvoir conclure les négociations”. La Commission ajoute
aussi que l’Union devra elle-même avoir acquis à cette échéance “la
capacité d’assimiler de nouveaux membres et d’approfondir [son]
intégration”. De surcroît, annonce-t-elle, “le rythme des réformes
déterminera l’avancement des négociations”. Car elle souligne bien
que la Turquie “satisfait suffisamment” mais pas complètement, et
loin de là, aux critères politiques. Aussi, prévient-elle, en “cas de
violation grave et persistante des principes de liberté, de
démocratie, du respect des droits de l’homme et des libertés
fondamentales et de l’Etat de droit”, elle préconisera la suspension
des travaux et le Conseil, procédure inhabituelle, statuera si besoin
à la majorité qualifiée.
Les négociations seront par ailleurs, et c’est le second pilier de la
stratégie prônée, soumises à de strictes conditions : “critères de
référence” pour boucler les différents chapitres, “longues périodes
transitoires”, “dispositions spécifiques” dans des domaines tels que
les politiques structurelles et l’agriculture, éventuellement
“sauvegardes permanentes” en ce qui concerne la “libre circulation
des travailleurs”, etc.
Fronde. Toute cette panoplie n’a pas suffi toutefois à lever les
réticences au sein du Parlement européen devant lequel le président
de la Commission, Romano Prodi, et Günther Verheugen ont présenté
leur “recommandation”. C’est l’Allemand Hans Poettering qui a mené la
fronde. Il a indiqué que le groupe démocrate-chrétien considère que
cette adhésion débouchera sur une “autre Union” et que les Vingt-Cinq
ne peuvent ouvrir leur porte sous le chantage d’un risque de
basculement de la Turquie hors du camp occidental. Un des ses pairs,
le Français Alain Lamassoure, a salué la rigueur de l’analyse de la
Commission, mais pour estimer que “la conclusion politique qu’elle en
tire est parfaitement contradictoire” puisque “presque sur tous les
points”, la Turquie “reste éloignée du modèle européen de démocratie
et des droits de l’homme”. Sa collègue, Françoise Grossetête, a
relevé, elle, qu’Ankara n’avait pas montré, en ne reconnaissant pas
le génocide arménien et n’ayant pas évacué ses troupes de Chypre, sa
“bonne volonté et [sa] bonne foi”.
Les libéraux n’ont pas affiché d'”opposition de principe”, mais
Graham Watson, leur président, a toutefois indiqué que son groupe
aussi n’était “pas convaincu de la nécessité de l’adhésion”. En
revanche, les députés de gauche, sans récuser la nécessité pour
l’Union de rester vigilante tout au long des négociations et de se
montrer exigeante sur le respect des valeurs sur lesquelles est
fondée l’Union, se sont félicités de cette perspective à terme
d’adhésion de la Turquie.
Marc Paoloni, à Bruxelles
ACRA credit bureau finds new partners
ArmenPress
Oct 7 2004
ACRA CREDIT BUREAU FINDS NEW PARTNERS
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS: A delegation of Armenian ACRA
Credit Bureau was in Beijing when Armenian president Robert Kocharian
was visiting China with an official visit. The Chinese capital was
the venue of two major international economic gatherings from
September 26 to September 30.
The first was organized by the Association of Consumer Credit
Information Suppliers (Europe) (ACCIS)), the Consumer Data Industry
Association (U.S.) (CDIA)) and the Chinese Huaxia International
Business Credit Consulting Co.. The goal of the first gathering was
to bring together representatives of credit bureaus worldwide to
discuss their urgent problems, exchange experience and single out
their roles in world economic processes.
Armenia was represented by Armen Vardanian, the chairman of ACRA
credit bureau, who assessed highly the gathering’s outcome, saying it
is especially important for newly established bureaus, which start
their activity basing on international experience.
He stressed the importance of an arrangement made with ACCIS that
will allow ACRA to become its member that will in turn be crucial for
presenting Armenia as a country with low-risk business environment.
Another gathering in Beijing was organized by World Bank to
discuss possibilities of a dialogue among private and state-run
credit registries, which according to Armen Vardanian is very
important for an interaction between private and state-run
registries. He said a good example of such a cooperation is the
interaction between ACRA and the Armenian Central Bank. The latter
has pledged to help ACRA develop and enhance cooperation with
commercial banks.
Vardanian said apart from presenting its activity ACRA has also
found new partners. He said he invited heads of big credit bureaus
and other lending organizations to visit Armenia in mid October to
discuss concrete cooperation issues.
BAKU: Azerb tell EU coop w/Armenia impossible until troop withdrawal
Azeris tell Europe cooperation with Armenia impossible until troops withdrawn
Assa-Irada, Baku
7 Oct 04
The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
[PACE] today discussed the fight against international terrorism being
carried out by its member countries.
[Passage omitted: details of speech by a Russian MP on terrorism]
Azerbaijani MPs delivered reports on terrorist acts committed by
Armenians in the country [Azerbaijan]. Asim Mollazada, a member of the
Azerbaijani delegation, said: “It is interesting that Russia is
raising this question now and the speaker is from Russia. Russia is a
great power, not a small state like Azerbaijan or Georgia. These small
states have been suffering from terrorism and aggressive separatism
for many years. Aggressive separatism should be named as one of the
main sources of terrorism.” He also said that the victims of the
Xocali tragedy committed by Armenians [26 February 1992] also had had
to face terrorism, but the culprits have not been punished yet.
PACE Secretary-General Bruno Haller and President Peter Schieder did
not touch upon the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands and proposed a
new meeting between the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian
delegations.
“Azerbaijan sees no need for such a meeting,” the head of the
Azerbaijani delegation, Samad Seyidov, said. He added that the
proposals by Haller and Schieder envisaged cooperation between the
South Caucasus countries.
The Azerbaijani delegation stated that any form of cooperation with
Armenia is impossible until they pull out from [occupied] Azerbaijani
lands, Seyidov said.
AAA: Assembly Rep. Challenges Azeri President’s Remarks
Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
October 7, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY REPRESENTATIVE CHALLENGES AZERI PRESIDENT’S REMARKS ON NK CONFLICT
DURING A FORUM AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America commended one of its own
for challenging Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to explain his
mischaracterizations of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and blaming Armenia
for the stalled peace talks.
Christina Lehmejian-Karaszewski, the Assembly’s volunteer representative to
the United Nation’s NGO Human Rights Committee, questioned the Azeri leader
on September 24 following a speech at Columbia University in New York City.
In his prepared remarks, Aliyev focused heavily on the territorial dispute,
naming Armenia as the aggressor and demanding the withdrawal of Armenian
troops who he claims are in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. He
also touted the progressiveness of his government, citing its economic and
social reforms and integration in the international community.
Lehmejian-Karaszewski particularly took issue with Aliyev’s statements
regarding Azeri society which he called “tolerant and conscientious,”
despite several damaging reports from international watchdog groups who have
identified the country as one of the most corrupt and oppressive regimes in
the world. Aliyev was evasive in responding to Lehmejian-Karaszewski on
this as well as the Karabakh issue, steering clear of the question regarding
Azeri society altogether and once again tagging Armenia as the aggressor in
the NK conflict.
According to the Columbia Daily Spectator, Aliyev, who is the son of former
President Heydar Aliyev, also said that the NK “negotiations cannot go on
forever,” and that Baku reserves the right to restore territorial
sovereignty “by any means.” He was also critical of the international
community, who he blamed for failing to intervene in the conflict and
enforce the resolutions that the Security Council passed more than a decade
ago.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-089
www.armenianassembly.org
Javakheti’s rough road to integration
The Messenger
Friday, October 1, 2004, #187 (0711)
Javakheti’s rough road to integration
Residents cite economic depression, poor transportation and education
issues as major concerns
By Keti Sikharulidze
Integration: while Tbilisi uses the word to describe Georgia’s future
relations with Europe, ethnic Armenian residents in the region of Javakheti
are debating what it means for them and their future in Georgia.
Last week the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) made a presentation
of a project called “The integration of Javakheti region” into Georgia. The
center took journalists out to Akhalkalaki in Javakheti so they could see
first hand the issues of the impoverished area.
The Javakheti region has been identified by the government and international
organizations as one of the regions least integrated into the economy,
politics and society of the rest of the country. One result is that
residents live in serious poverty.
One of the largest economic activities is the Russian military base and as a
result the currency of choice is the Russian ruble instead of the lari.
Now ECMI hope to support the integration of the Javakheti region and its
major cities of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda to the country’s center and
produce a network of national and regional specialists.
ECMI member Oscar Pentikiainen told The Messenger that last weeks meeting
was designed to form a forum of Javakheti inhabitants. The forum would work
on economic, social, informational and technical matters that mostly concern
all the inhabitants of the Javakheti region.
“Our project is at the very beginning and in several weeks we will formulate
concrete plans on what we exactly intend to do in the future. There are too
many problems in the region, and we are not magicians that can solve all the
problems, but we will try our best,” he said.
The manager of the ECMI project Mikael Hertoft added that “because of the
hard situation, lots of people leave the region.”
Hertoft also talked about other leading problems, such as telephone
communication problems, road problems and the language barrier.
“The main purpose of this project is to help the Javekheti region and other
parts of the region as well. As in most parts of Georgia there is a hard
economic and political situation, problems with electricity and roads. But
the main problem that still exists here is the language problem because
Armenians are heavily located in this region and the main language is
Armenian. It is very important to solve the language problems to share their
interests and ideas with the other parts of Georgia,” stated Hertoft.
The reality of ‘not speaking the same language’ is apparent throughout the
region: analysts say that 85 percent of the population is Armenian and the
rest Georgian, Russian, Greek and other ethnic minorities. According to
local residents, Georgian is the third language in the region after Armenian
and Russian.
Most of the legal documents are in Georgian, which means they cannot be
understood by most of the people. One of the main demands at the meeting was
to translate these documents into Russian because “people have a right to
know the law,” as one participant at the forum stated.
But integration is a complex issue and the head of Akhalkalaki gamgebeli
Melik Raisian explained that people have no need to use Georgian language in
everyday communication.
“People are very irritated by the word ‘integration:’ we do not need any
integration,” he told The Messenger, “because we are a part of Georgia and
the word integration causes provocation for the Armenian population.
Georgians and Armenians are friendly.”
But as NGO leader Mamuka Bekauri said, integration means that a lot is at
stake. “When we are talking about integration, it means that everyone should
take part in the formation of the state and in order to form it, we should
know Georgian,” stated Bekauri.
There are government efforts to help resolve this problem and a language
center called ‘Georgian House’ has recently started offering classes. The
main aim of this program is to teach Georgian to those officials who do not
know Georgian.
“It is very nice and friendly for everybody who wants to learn Georgian
language. We have lots of books, dictionaries and encyclopedias,” said
Georgian teacher Dali Astromeladze. “We have unique films that are rare in
Georgia and also Georgian press. The local population got very interested
and our main aim is to teach Georgian language not only to officials, but to
children too. We want to involve everybody from different ages in this
program.”
At this time of year residents say their most important issue is preparing
for the notoriously brutal winter in the region. Snow and poor roads cut off
major transportation and residents say they need at least GEL 400 to survive
the winter.
For some residents, integration first means solving these economic issues.
“First we must solve these problems and then discuss the problems with
languages,” said Akhalkalaki resident Mikhail Kulikidzi.
Still other residents, like resident Levon Leonian, say education is a
sensitive issue and children should be able to learn more about Armenia.
Studying only Georgian history, he said, “has a negative influence on
children since they do not know the history of their own homeland, Armenia.
Our children know more about the history of Georgia then their own
homeland.”
The leaders of the project state the first stage will occur from September
2004 to December 2005 and project leaders will examine the economy, social
issues, education, access to information and the media.
In a briefing paper given to journalists, the ECMI explained why they think
integration is necessary: “There is a seriously low standard of living,
there are also problems with corruption and the lack of law and
administrative standards create the precondition of tense situation because
of the social and economic situation. And this may aggravate the situation
and cause an ethnic conflict.”