Author: Hovhannisian John

ISRAELI PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARKA
March 27, 2008

YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. The Knesset of Israel decided to discuss the
issue of the Armenian genocide. The motion to put the issue on agenda
has been made by the leader of Socialistic Party "Merets" Haim Oron.

All 11 deputies of the parliament present at the sitting, including
Agriculture Minister Shalom Simkhon, supported the motion.

Simkhon used "tragedy" instead of "genocide", yet confirmed that
"everybody knows the history; hence the issue needs to be put on
he agenda".

"Israel was trying to be an intermediary between Armenia and Turkey,
but the attempts produced no results," the government member said.

After the positive decision of the Knesset it will be decided which
parliament commission is going to consider the issue. Supposedly,
it will be the commission for education. On March 14 2007 Israeli
Parliament turned down discussion of the Armenian issue.

Armenian genocide was the first genocide committed in XX
century. Turkey rejects the accusation of massacres and the killing
of one and a half million Armenians were killed during World War I.

The fact of the Armenian genocide is recognized by many countries,
particularly by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, most of the
U.S. states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus,
Argentina, Belgium, Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Common
House of Canada, the Seym of Poland and lower house of Italian
parliament.

DAVID NALBANDIAN DEFEATED AT PACIFIC LIFE OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
March 27, 2008

At The Pacific Life Open ATP Tennis Championship, Armenian Argentine
David Nalbandian lost to Mardy Fish in the quarter finals, which
took place at Indian Wells. This information was provided by the
Gybrahayer reporter.

NKR PRESIDENT VISITED SUFFERED SETTLEMENTS

Azat Artsakh Daily
March 26, 2008
NKR Republic

On March 22nd NKR President Bako Sahakian convened a conference,
connected with the situation created in the republic because of
unprecendented wind. The Speaker of National Assembly, the Prime
Minister, members of the government, representatives of Defence Army
and other officials participated in the conference. Leaders of
corresponding bodies reported the President about the situation
created in the territory of the republic and taking measures. The head
of the country signified necessity of urgent and coordinated actions
between central and regional subdivisions of all the structures. At the
conference a resolution was passed that for organizing and systemizing
restoring works to create a corresponding headquarters, by the head
of the NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunian — — — — On March
23rd NKR President Bako Sahakian, accompanied by the Prime Minister
and other officilas, visited the settlements suffered more because of
strong wind. The visit began from Stepanakert. Then the President
visited Hadrut and Martuni regions. Bako Sahakian got acquainted with
the situation on the spot and gave corresponding assignments.

NEO-NATIONALIST PARTY LEADER PERINCEK ARRESTED

Today’s Zaman
March 25 2008
Turkey

A Turkish court on Monday filed charges against the leader of a small
leftist, neo-nationalistic political party in a probe into a network
of extreme nationalists who allegedly want to topple the governing
Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The court in Istanbul charged Doðu Perincek with "being a senior member
of a terrorist organization and obtaining and possessing classified
documents." Perincek is the leader of the Workers’ Party (ÝP), which
won a tiny fraction of the vote in general elections last summer. In
2007, a Swiss court convicted Perincek of racism for denying that
the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th century was genocide.

Perincek was among several alleged suspects detained Friday by
police for interrogation. The court also ordered a former university
president, Kemal Alemdaroðlu, not to leave the country and to check
in with his local police station every 15 days. Ýlhan Selcuk of the
secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper, a fierce critic of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s government, was also taken into custody on
Friday. The arrests of Alemdaroðlu and Perincek came only a day after
the 83-year-old journalist was released.

The suspects are thought to be linked to a criminal gang called
Ergenekon with alleged links to power centers in the bureaucracy and
the military. The ongoing investigation previously uncovered evidence
showing that the gang was attempting to prepare the way for a coup
d’etat in Turkey in 2009. Ergenekon is suspected of links to groups
hidden within the state. These groups are commonly referred to as
Turkey’s deep state, a phenomenon in which individuals and groups
occupying various state positions take justice into their own hands
to shape Turkey in accordance with their political convictions.

On Monday, Perincek was sent to Bayrampaþa Prison after an arrest
warrant was issued by the Ýstanbul court. A group of ÝP supporters
gathered in front of the courthouse to protest the decision.

Alemdaroðlu spoke to press members after he left the courthouse,
suggesting that the accusation of membership in the neo-nationalist
Ergenekon was brought against him and other secularist opponents of
the AK Party because of pressure from the government on the judiciary.

Plans for attack on Supreme Court of Appeals

A CD found in the headquarters of the ÝP during the Ergenekon
investigation revealed the gang’s plans to stage an attack on the
Supreme Court of Appeals, the Taraf daily reported in its headline
story on Monday. A detailed map of the high court is shown on the CD,
clearly noting all the points that provide fast and easy access to the
outside of the building. The most detailed mapping in the plan was
done for building A, which is where Supreme Court of Appeals’ Chief
Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcýnkaya’s chambers are located. A copy of an
indictment file against the AK Party for its closure, prepared by none
other than Yalcýnkaya, was also found on a computer inside the ÝP,
supporting claims in the media that the closure case against the AK
Party was in retaliation to the crackdown on Ergenekon. The indictment
had been saved on the computer two days before the case was filed.

Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, in response to a question on the
investigation, denied claims that the prosecutor on the Ergenekon
case was being pressured by the government to harass secularists. "I
call on everyone to act with common sense and calmness. Everything
has a rule of conduct in Turkey; Turkey is a state of law. I hope
that the recent events will actually contribute to our process of
democratic improvement."

Meanwhile, in a written statement released yesterday, Ýstanbul Chief
Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin said, "The operations and procedures
being carried out under the investigation named Ergenekon have no
ties to any other cases that are currently in the public spotlight."

He said "a significant majority" of the news stories, commentaries
and evaluations that appeared in the press regarding the Friday raids
in which 14 people were detained did not reflect the truth.

Engin noted that the investigation was confidential, saying that
currently there is a ban on publishing news about the judicial process
on Ergenekon. He stated that there were currently three prosecutors
working on the case.

"The Ergenekon investigation started in June of 2007 and none of the
operations carried out under the scope of this investigation, including
the arrests made on March 21, 2008, have anything to do with any of the
other cases that are currently in the public spotlight," stated Engin.

"Independent organs of the judiciary are carrying out their duties
only using their authority based on law and it is impossible that
they are acting with ulterior motives or are being influenced by an
individual, group or agency," Engin said.

"However, certain news stories and commentaries in the press that do
not reflect the reality of the situation are making it more difficult
to conduct the investigation in the best manner," he noted.

Engin also said the Ergenekon investigation was nearing its end. He
noted that the judiciary process for those currently under arrest
would be completed within a month.

Head of the staunchly secularist Republican People’s Party’s (CHP)
parliamentary group Kemal Anadol, during a Friday press conference he
held at Parliament, demanded from the prime minister that the sources
of some members of the media who apparently know the details of the
Ergenekon interrogation should be revealed. Without directly citing
names, he recalled that Yeni Þafak writer Fehmi Koru had suggested
that Cumhuriyet’s Selcuk would be taken into custody for being part of
the criminal organization before that actually happened. He said he
suspected that some of the press had access to the documents of the
investigation — which have been classified as strictly confidential
from day one — at the police department.

In January 39 people were arrested as part of an investigation
following up on a police raid in June 2007 on a house being used as
an arms depot in Ýstanbul. Those arrested included retired Gen. Veli
Kucuk — also the alleged founder of an illegal intelligence unit in
the gendarmerie, the existence of which is denied by officials —
controversial ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, who filed
countless suits against Turkish writers and intellectuals who
were at odds with Turkey’s official policies, retired Col. Fikret
Karadað, Sevgi Erenerol, the press spokesperson for the so-called
"Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate," and Sami Hoþtan, a key figure in an
investigation launched after a car accident in 1996 near the small
town of Susurluk uncovered links between a police chief, a convicted
ultranationalist fugitive and a member of Parliament. Ali Yasak,
a well-known gangster linked to figures in the Susurluk incident,
was also detained in the operation.

The group is also suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist
Hrant Dink in January of last year, a shooting at the Council of State
in 2006 that left a senior judge dead, a hand grenade attack on the
Cumhuriyet daily’s Ýstanbul office and recent non-fatal attacks on two
priests. The number of people in custody on suspicion of having links
to the gang is said to have surpassed 50 with the recent detentions,
sources say.

–Boundary_(ID_IvzdmwlxdJXF+cb4D1XtuQ)–

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

EASTER IN ANTELIAS

"OUR HOMELAND’S CONCERN IS THE CONCERN OF ALL ARMENIANS AND VICE VERSA"

SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

The joyous resurrection of Jesus Christ was ceremoniously marked in Antelias
this Sunday with Holy Mass officiated by His Holiness Aram I. Heading the
procession that took off from the Veharan, the Catholicos entered the
Cathedral and passed through the ranks of the faithful under the sweet
tolling of the church bells.

In his Pontifical message the His Holiness inspired strength in believers
through the victory of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. He spoke in particular
about the freedom achieved by Christ. His Holiness said that freedom is a
God-given value. Saved by Jesus Christ, humanity shook sin off itself and
embraced justice having gotten rig of the slavery of sin.

The Pontiff spoke about the same kind of freedom from the perspective of our
national life, particularly in relation to the freedom of our homeland. He
recalled with pain the recent developments in Armenia following the February
Presidential elections. Emphasizing the importance of our nation’s care
towards its homeland, His Holiness said: "During this feast of man’s
liberation achieved through Jesus Christ’s resurrection, we once again turn
our attention to our homeland. The Armenian nation, whether in Armenia or
the Diaspora is concerned about the tragic scenes that took place recently
in Armenia. It is not possible to remain indifferent in such situations.
Armenia is the homeland of all Armenians. Similar to our compatriots living
in Armenia, the children of our nation dispersed around the globe for
circumstances out of their control also have obligation and rights towards
their homeland. Driven by this sense of responsibility, the Diaspora
Armenians participate in building the homeland, at the same time denouncing
any attempt for the destruction of the homeland. They cherish the
independence of Armenia, at the same time cautioning the Armenians of
Armenia to avoid such processes that can endanger Armenia’s independence.
They remain loyal to the sacred value of freedom, at the same time taking a
position against efforts that can push back the realization of full
democracy by abusing freedom."

His Holiness Aram I conveyed his greetings on this occasion to the heads of
the hierarchal Sees of the Armenian Church, His Holiness Catholicos Karekin
II of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin, Patriarch Torkom Manougian of Jerusalem,
Patriarch Mesrob Moutafian of Turkey, as well as the President of Armenia
Robert Kocharian and President-elect Serj Sarkssian.

The Pontiff also talked about the political situation in Lebanon once again
emphasizing the role of the Armenian community as an active force in the
process of building the country and its integrity.

His Holiness Aram I received several congratulatory notes from Spiritual
leaders and government officials on the occasion of Easter. Following the
Holy Mass on March 23, several religious, government, diplomatic, and
community figures, as well as individual Armenians visited him in the
Veharan to convey their greetings to the Catholicos on the joyous occasion
of Easter.

##
View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos224.htm
http://www.armenianorthodox church.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos225.htm
http://www .armenianorthodoxchurch.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos2 26.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

Hürriyet, Turkey
March 23 2008

Turkey’s leftist anti-AKP journalist released Sunday after his
custody

Leftist Cumhuriyet daily’s columnist and chairman of the board of
trustees Ilhan Selcuk was released early on Sunday by the
prosecutor’s office after he had been taken to the court with
suspected links to an illegal gang which was accused of paving the
way to a military coup, hurriyet.com.tr reported. Selcuk, 83, was
taken into custody with the claims of "taking over a mission on
behalf of an organization without being the member of the
organization" on Friday around 4.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) from his home.
The way of his custody under the Ergenekon operation had drawn fierce
criticism. (UPDATED)

Ilhan Selcuk, who had been detained within the scope of Ergenekon
investigation, was released by the prosecutor’s office at around
01:30 a.m. (2330 GMT Saturday) after being interrogated for 4,5
hours.

Upon the request of the prosecutor, Selcuk was banned from going
abroad. Additional custody period was given against 6 people
including Workers’ Party (IP) chairman Dogu Perincek and former
rector Kemal Alemdaroglu.

Justice Ministry officials said the way of taking Selcuk into
custody, which drew fierce criticism -some saying it reminded the
events happened during the military junta in 1960s and 1970s-, was
the decision of the security officials, adding it’s not an ordinary
exercise and there was no such order from the prosecutor.

Critics have said Selcuk was accompanied by two bodyguards appointed
by Interior Ministry and had no way to escape so that he should have
been invited for interrogation instead of taking into custody while
he was sleeping.

In the operation 11 more people were taken into custody in Friday’s
operation including Workers’ Party leader Dogu Perincek and former
rector of Istanbul University Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu. Perincek was
taken into custody in Ankara and brought to Istanbul for
interrogation, the official Anatolian Agency reported.

Turkish police has searched branches of Workers’ Party and private TV
channel Ulusal Kanal in Istanbul. "Police staged simultaneous
operations at the branches of Workers’ Party, Ulusal Kanal and
Aydinlik magazine in Istanbul and Ankara around 4-4:30 a.m. this
morning," Erkan Onsel, deputy chairman of the party, told reporters.

There is no official statement or indictment on the Ergenekon
Operation. But private Star TV reported on Friday Selcuk was taking
under custody with the claims of "taking over a mission on behalf of
an organization without being the member of the organization".

CUMHURIYET IS ANTI-AKP

Analysts say Selcuk’s detention is a new episode in the secularists
and Islamist groups’ struggle for power. Cumhuriyet is among the
strongest opponents of the AKP government in media.

High-level AKP officials, including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan,
have said the closure case against the ruling party was launched to
cover up the Ergenekon operation.

Selcuk is a very important and prominent figure in Turkey’s leftist
political movement. He was arrested in 1970s following a
military-declared state of emergency. He has been writing columns in
leftist Cumhuriyet daily, which became the symbol of anti-AKP
movement, since 1963 and published number of books such as "I Think
Therefore Shoot Me", "Left-Right-Sharia".

Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday in front of the Cumhuriyet
building in Istanbul to protest Selcuk’s custody and called the
government to resign. Similar demonstrations were held at the
Workers’ Party building in Ankara.

Ibrahim Yildiz, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, told journalists on
Friday Selcuk’s detention reminded the events of military
intervention into politics from 1971 and 1980.

CHP: "DEEP STATE OF AKP"

The leader of main opposition leftist CHP accused AKP of trying to
create its own "deep state." "Turkey is being dragged into a very
dangerous conflict. This process is not consistent with democracy,"
Deniz Baykal told in a televised news conference in Ankara.

The socialist independent MP Ufuk Uras also showed reaction to
Selcuk’s detention on Friday, saying such threatening actions against
journalists are hurting the public concisness and increasing concerns
on judiciary. "Those exercises should be consistent with law and
fundamentals of democracy. Such anti-democratic and threatening
behaviors cause question marks in the soceity" he said in a statement
on Friday.

ERGENEKON OPERATION

The probe against the Ergenekon gang started after hand grenades that
were issued to security forces were seized at the home of a retired
military officer in Istanbul last June. A retired military commander
and a lawyer were among those arrested earlier. A total of 39 people
have been arrested under the investigation.

Authorities have not commented publicly on the investigation, and
most reports about the investigation have emerged in local media and
are based on anonymous sources. The Ergenekon gang was suspected of
being behind a series of bombings on the Cumhuriyet newspaper offices
carried out last year, Turkish media have said previously.

Newspapers have said the group had been plotting a series of bomb
attacks and assassinations and were behind the killing of Turkish
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

DENO GOLD MINING COMPANY MAKES DECISION TO CLOSE DOWN EXPLOSIVE
PRODUCTION WORKSHOP

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Deno Gold Mining Company (former Kapan
ore mining and processing enterprise), which is 95% owned by Dundee
Precious Metals company (Canada), has launched structural reforms,
while continuing the production modernization process. Structural
reforms will be implemented in 2008 with the aim of bringing the mines
of Kapan and the operation of Deno Gold Mining Company into line with
highest international standards. During the program’s implementation,
the company intends to invest several dozen million dollars in Kapan
and nearby reagions. To recap, the company has already made investments
of 30 million dollars.

The president and owner of Dundee Precious Metals Company Jonathan
Goodman said during his visit to Armenia in November 2007 that the
total amount of investments may reach 300 million dollars if the
company establishes the potential of the mines licensed for exploration.

The examination of the workshop for production of explosives was the
first step of the company’s modernization and investment growth
process. It was found that the conditions of the workshop are not in
line with international standards and pose a danger to safety and life
of employees.

"As a socially responsible company being aware of its obligation to
ensure a healthy and safe working environment for employees, the
company made a decision to close down the workshop and henceforth to
use safer and more economically accessible production," director
general of the Kapan mine Robert Faleta said.

NT was informed from the company’s office that all 28 employees of the
explosive production workshop were notified of this decision in
envisaged order. The company guarantees that they will receive
compensation and allowances stipulated by the RA labor legislation. The
company officially announced that it will do everything possible to
provide these employees with jobs at Deno Gold Mining. This problem is
now being discussed with the workshop employees.

According to NT correspondent, 28 employees of the workshop staged a
protest outside Kapan mayor’s office on the evening of March 20. They
said that without any warning and sending a notification beforehand, R.
Faleta announced that from May 1 the workshop will not operate and the
employees will be dismissed.

HAYK KOTANJIAN: AZERBAIJAN DISAVOWS RUSSIA, USA AND FRANCE WITHIN OSCE MINSK GROUP

Noyan Tapan
March 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The press-centre of the Ministry of
Defense of the RA has provided Noyan Tapan an interview with the
Head of the Institute for National Strategic Studies of the MoD,
Doctor of Political Sciences, Major-General Hayk S. Kotanjian, which
we present completely.

Q. What are the objectives pursued in the statement by the Deputy
Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan claiming that "the
status of Nagorno Karabakh is not a target of the OSCE Minsk Group
and a topic of discussion with Armenia"?

A. The Baku authorities undertook to address a task which is
quite obviously beyond their sole competence. By their actions the
Azerbaijani authorities are trying to persuade the international
community that the application of common principle of respect towards
the Armenians of Karabakh based on the human rights and freedoms
registered in the UN Charter as a universal norm is purely their
own internal business. They aim at disavowing the OSCE Minsk Group
and removing Russia, the US and France from the group in connection
with their systemic approaches to the application of the norms and
principles of International law on the Karabakh Problem resolution.

Q. What is underlying suchlike position of Azerbaijan?

A. The essence is that the Baku politicians are trying to impose
their own opportunistic-local interpretation of the International law
concerning the settlement and resolution of the Karabakh Problem. And
they are doing it with presumption of "lawmakers and indisputable
interpreters" of international law not only domestically but also
before the international auditoria. The head of the neighboring
state, as well as the FA officials in their statements on the
Baku authorities’ commitments to the conflict resolution in "strict
conformity with the international law", persistently parallel this very
conformity with only one of the common norms of the International law
(the principle of territorial integrity and ignoring the other norms
applied when dealing with the problems like that of Karabakh. In this
context the ignorance of the principle of peoples’ equality and their
right to self-determination is of strictly manipulative nature. This
unilateral approach by Baku to the norms of International law cannot
be of serious influence upon the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ expert
position.

Q. Let’s go back to the legal aspect of the problem. What are the
commitments of the states, by example of Azerbaijan, in compliance
with the norms and standards of the International law in the system
of the national law?

A. Azerbaijani official establishment announces that "the Karabakh
status problem can be resolved only on the basis of the internal
legislation of Azerbaijan" and the activities of the Minsk Group,
in consultations with the conflict sides on the status, are allegedly
an intrusion into the domestic affairs of Azerbaijan.

A symptomatic illustration appears to be the incompatibility of the
Republic of Azerbaijan’s Constitution with the essence of international
legal norm on the principle and right of nations to master their fate
independently by means of free expression of popular will in conditions
of complete freedom, stipulated by the UN Charter and International
Covenants on Human Rights of 1966. As it is known, these documents
in the international relations system are treaties consolidating the
states’ commitment to adhere to and respect universally recognized
fundamental principles and norms of the International law, first and
foremost – human rights and freedoms. It concerns those principles
of the International law, which comprise its most stable kernel and
are a universal criterion to evaluate legitimacy of states’ conduct.

Q. Applying the legitimacy criteria accepted in the international
community, how would you evaluate the conformity of Azerbaijan’s
conduct with its international commitments concerning the Karabakh
settlement?

A. The norm of the Azerbaijan’s Constitution "on change of territory by
holding a referendum among all the Azerbaijani population" contradicts
the other norm of the same document, defined in the article "The
ultimate goal of the state". In accordance with the given definition
"human and citizen rights and freedoms, enumerated in the present
Constitution are employed in conformity with the international
treaties, which are supported by the Republic of Azerbaijan". In this
case the above mentioned international treaties should be touched upon.

Thus the assertions of the Azerbaijani authorities on their adherence
to the international law in the Karabakh conflict resolution
don’t correspond to reality. The conduct of Azerbaijan in terms of
consistent reflection of universally accepted principles and norms of
the International law in the Constitution, as well as in the Karabakh
conflict settlement practice, doesn’t correspond to the international
legitimacy criterion.

Q. What is your take on the position of the Minsk Group which voted
against the UN Resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh proposed by Azerbaijan?

A. Judging from the official statements made by Russia, the USA
and France before and afterwards of the General Assembly, they
voted against the resolution, because the Azerbaijan’s project
contradicted, firstly, the common fundamental principles and norms of
the International law, as well as the criterion of the international
legitimacy of their application. Secondly, the conduct of Azerbaijan
does not coincide with the balanced approach of the Minsk Group which
endorses the solution of the Karabakh conflict within the system of
the International relations. 100 abstained members of the UN virtually
demonstrated their understanding of the balanced position of Russia,
the USA and France.

Q. How would you explain the driving force of those 39 members of
the UN, which voted for the resolution?

A. The mentioned states, mainly representing the Organization of
Islamic Conference and the GUAM, backed the Azerbaijan’s initiative
from the position, which was more characteristic to the period of
the Cold War, i.e. on the principle of bloc solidarity.

Q. Due to the results of the voting, Azerbaijan threatens to review
her policy on Russia, the USA and France. How to elaborate the
disrespectful position of Azerbaijan to the contribution of the Minsk
Group in the process of the peaceful solution and the ferociousness
of Baku vis-a-vis Russia, France and the USA?

A. Azerbaijan perceives the designated to her role in the European
Energy policy as a "historical" mission of geo-economic and
geo-strategic importance to compete with Russia. Playing on the
strategic interests of the EU, the USA, Russia, Iran, Turkey and
Central Asia, Baku is trying to at most bid for highest stakes in this
way to use this resource for illegal forcing through its interests
in the Karabakh settlement. In pursuit of these purposes Azerbaijan
will now allow itself to blackmail Russia, the USA, France and the
Minsk Group on the whole. According to many international observers
Azerbaijan is losing the sense of reality.

POLITICAL GATHERING CONCERNING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARTSAKH LIBERTION STRUGGLE AND SUNGAIT MASSACRES

Noyan Tapan
March 19, 2008

NICOSIA, MARCH 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On March 28 a
political gathering dedicated to the martyrs of Sumgait Massacres
and the 20th anniversary of the liberation struggle of Artsakh will
take place at Utudjian Hall of The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus. As
they inform from the Cyprian-Armenian community, the event has been
organized by the Ramkavar, Hnchakian, and Dashnaktsutiun political
parties of Cyprus.

EXPERT SAYS ARMENIA SHOULD USE NATIONAL IDENTITIY CRISIS IN TURKEY TO IMPROVE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

ARKA
March 17, 2008

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. The national identity crisis in Turkish
society may be an occasion for regulating Armenian-Turkish relations,
says Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies,
Armenian National Academy of Sciences.

"Armenia has not used the whole potential of people’s diplomacy and
direct links between the two countries’ societies," the professor told
reporters on Monday. Safrastyan believes that Armenia will benefit
from expanding many-level public contacts between the two countries.

Turkey has been facing a national identity crisis over the past several
years. Most of the Turkish people have been trying to understand if
they are Turks or not. Public survey shows that over 40% of those
living in Turkey do not think they are Turkish, Safrastyan said.

The scholar thinks that Armenia should establish direct links with the
members of Turkish society at this stage making use of their eagerness
"to find out the truth about the dark pages of their history that
had been shut for them throughout decades and of which the government
has been spreading false information".

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations because of the
preconditions advanced by Turkey demanding that Armenia should stop
the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
committed in the Ottoman Empire in the years of World War I when
about one and a half million Armenians were exterminated. Besides,
Turkey has a pro-Azerbaijani position in the Karabakh conflict
settlement.