Author: Hunanian Jack

GERMAN RESEARCH TEAM FINDS MUSLIM COURSE BOOKS TOLERANT AND OBJECTIVE
ÝsmaÝ Kul Frankfurt

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 8 2007

Research conducted by academics from the German Erlangen-Nurnberg
University on the level of tolerance toward Christianity in course
books used in Muslim countries revealed that these materials display
a high degree of tolerance toward Christianity and all other faiths.

A group of scientists, under the presidency of Chair of Protestant
Studies at Erlangen-Nurnberg University Professor Johannes Lahnemann,
put Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and
Algeria under close scrutiny to determine the level of tolerance
towards other faiths in textbooks in these countries, with specific
attention paid to Christianity. The results of the research, published
as a two-volume work, revealed that religious tolerance played a
large role in course books in Muslim countries but maintained that
Christianity was overshadowed by Islam.

According to the research, the textbooks approached Christianity in a
similar manner and none of the religions with holy books were portrayed
as negative. However, the researchers also found that according to
some of the course books, Christianity is the predecessor of Islam
as its book the Holy Bible was altered, and hundreds of Bibles,
all containing different details on different events, were reduced
to four during the First Council of Nicaea (Ýznik) in A.D. 325. The
religious course books also acknowledged that God wasn’t begotten
and doesn’t beget, and because of that, the doctrine of the Trinity
was invented by late Christians who finalized it at the Council of
Constantinople in A.D. 381.

The researchers also found, to their astonishment, that particularly
educated Muslims acknowledged, respected and loved Jesus, Mary,
Moses and all other prophets and that the scripture of Islam, the
Holy Koran, included over 100 verses extolling and venerating the
venerable Jesus and his mother Mary, to whom, according to Islam,
Jews falsely imputed and still impute both the sins of adultery and
fabrication. The course books also dwell on the negative outcomes
of the Crusades and colonialism, which still distort the image of
Christianity in the sight of millions.

The report drawn up by the researchers also addresses each country
separately:

It is said that the secular system in Turkey had a strong impact
on the education system, which claims to educate students through
an objective perspective, whereas Islamic thought is still clearly
prevalent particularly during religious knowledge lessons. The report
also highlights the vast tolerance in Turkey that is reflected in the
efforts of Turkish teachers to inform the students on all faiths as
objectively as possible.

The section on Iran says religion is the central power in school
education, that everything is approached through the Islamic
perspective, but that minorities are given the right to study their
own religions and that there are 36 Armenian schools in Tehran alone.

In Egypt, according to the Protestant researchers, a moderately
conservative lesson policy is followed. The Gypsy Christian Church is
recognized; however, neither the course books of the Gypsy Christians
nor those of Muslims mention one another. The Muslim course books make
a reference to the Crusades while mentioning Christianity. The report
notes that in Palestine the course books used in Egypt and Jordan were
used for years, but in the recent years Muslim, Christian and Jewish
circles were trying to establish closer ties to one another. It is
further noted that this process was suffering a slowdown, if not a
complete halt, owing to new political developments.

The scholars behind the research are also making efforts and holding
talks to be able to eradicate all the prejudices that exist in course
books in many countries.

–Boundary_(ID_xz+fk+vuhpm3M15FxwBGww) —

RUSSIA WILL FORMALLY RECOGNIZE TRANSDNIESTER’S INDEPENDENCE, SAY MPS
By Times staff

Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review, Moldova
June 8 2007

It is only a matter of time before Russia grants international
diplomatic recognition to Transdniester. That is the latest
message from 3 leading Russian politicians. But not everyone in
the unrecognized country, which is formally known as Pridnestrovie,
believe their promises.

Russian MP Konstantin Zatulin says it is only a matter of time before
PMR obtains recognition (file photo)TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) – The
formal independence of Transdniester and other unrecognized countries
on the territory of the former Soviet Union will be recognized by
Russia, and the "Kosovo precedent" can accelerate this event reports
news agency New Region from interviews with three leading Russian
politicians and political analysts during a conference in Yalta.

" – The fate of Kosovo is being debated by the UN Security Council.

If the current plan is imposed without the agreement of Serbia,
Russia will veto it. And so, I think, will China," believes Russian
MP and foreign policy specialist Konstantin Zatulin, director of the
Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

" – Should this happen, Kosovo’s independence can only be recognized
unilaterally by individual states. In that situation Russia will
certainly also recognize similar situations in Pridnestrovie, Abkhazia,
South Ossetia, and possibly also in Nagorno Karabakh. We have to
pause and analyze if this will affect positively or negatively those
of our citizens who live in these affected areas," said Zatulin.

" – A similar choice will be faced by Ukraine because Ukraine has many
citizens, ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian passport holders, who live
in Pridnestrovie. It borders on Ukraine. And to me it will be very
interesting to find out if Kiev will take an interest in the fate of
its compatriots and understand that this is a good opportunity for them
to improve their lives. Or will Kiev prefer alignment with some of the
western countries and disregard the wellbeing of its own compatriots?"

Baburin: Only a matter of time Sergei Baburin, the Deputy Chairman of
the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of Parliament, agreed that it
is only a matter of time before Pridnestrovie obtains international
recognition of its statehood by Russia and a number of other countries.

" – The independence of Abkhazia, Transnistria and South Ossetia
will be acknowledged by Moscow in any case," announced Duma VP
Sergei Baburin.

" – I always try to tell the Russian President that it’s necessary
to formalize diplomatic relationship with Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Pridnestrovie. This question is not connected with Kosovo because this
is a completely different situation, legally speaking," said Baburin,
while stating that regardless of whether independence of Kosovo will
be acknowledged or not, a "chain reaction" of independence will in
any case develop.

Baburin thinks that the Kosovo status plan developed by UN envoy Marti
Ahtisaari is failed and that this will lead to a process of unilateral
acknowledgment or recognition of self-proclaimed governments.

" – Let me also emphasize that membership of the United Nations is
not the same as recognition of independence. A country can exist as
a state without being a member of this organization," Baburin said.

Markov: Pridnestrovie will not be betrayed " – I will put it briefly:
There can be the different political solutions to status settlement,
but one is clear – Russia not will betray Abkhazia, South Ossetia
and Pridnestrovie," said Sergei Markov, a top Russian analyst. "The
string of treacheries of its allies, which was observed in the 1990’s,
is over now. I can assure everyone of that."

Markov, the director of the Political Studies Institute, is a foreign
policy specialist and member of the Russian Public Chamber.

Even so, not everyone in Pridnestrovie believed the statements of
the Russian politicians.

" – Politicians everywhere in the world have a bad habit of lying,"
said Yuri Tsibenko, 32, "Talk is cheap. We want to see action."

" – Enough already," said another resident who wanted to be identified
as Neelitarnyy Pridnestrovets. "Where is the financial aid? Where are
the Russian pensions? Where are the national Russian-funded projects
for the ethnic Russians in Pridnestrovie? Why is it so difficult to
obtain a Russian passport? Pridnestrovie only matters to Russia as a
military base. We are tired of being pawns in this strange geopolitical
game. Why are we being used to defend the national interests of Russia,
and Russia just spits on us?"

A DIFFERENT PATH IN TURKEY
By Michael Gerson

Washington Post, DC
June 8 2007

ISTANBUL — The shining achievement of modern Turkey is declared
by the darkness around it. In Saudi Arabia or northern Sudan,
conversion from Islam is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by
death. Even in traditionally tolerant Malaysia, a Christian convert
was recently prevented from officially changing her religious status,
being informed by a court that "the plaintiff exists under the tenets
of Islam until her death." In Turkey, a legal change of religion on
your identity card merely requires a notarized letter, and several
hundred Christian converts have made the switch.

Yet even in Turkey, religious liberty is the most disputed and
troublesome of freedoms. The secular establishment, fearful of
accumulated sectarian power, has traditionally denied minority
religious groups the right to own property, to provide religious
education beyond high school or to train their own clergy. As a result,
the Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches are slowly being asphyxiated
for lack of priests — and the government has sometimes hastened the
process by expropriating church property without compensation. The
nationalist yellow press whips up resentment against religious
minorities by repeating popular conspiracy theories: that Christian
missionaries run prostitution rings or bribe Muslims into converting.

The rise of a more publicly assertive Islam in Turkey has added
an unpredictable element to these long-standing challenges. The
religiously influenced government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan advocates Turkish membership in the European Union, which
would give both Muslims and religious minorities a firmer legal
basis for the free exercise of religion. Under pressure from the
European Union, Turkey’s parliament passed legislation to return some
confiscated church property and ratified international treaties that
affirm freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Many American conservatives have little use for the European Union,
but this is its usefulness: Across Eastern Europe, and now across
the Bosporus, it has offered tangible economic benefits in exchange
for the acceptance of international standards of human rights. That
is more than the American freedom agenda is accomplishing.

But even as the legal environment for religion improves in Turkey,
rising Islamist influence has caused sudden storms of violence. Seven
weeks ago, two Turkish Christian converts and a German citizen were
ritually murdered in the southern city of Malatya by killers spouting
nationalist and Islamist slogans. Pastors around the country have begun
hiring professional security. The Armenian patriarch is followed by
a bodyguard even during his procession to the altar — an unsettling
liturgy of fear.

Muslim societies, of course, have no monopoly on religious repression,
which is practiced with enthusiasm from Hindu India to Buddhist
Sri Lanka to atheist China, where many of the victims are Muslims
themselves. But Islam is conducting a lively and sometimes deadly
internal debate on religious liberty. Modernist theologians argue for
tolerance based on the Koran’s assertion that there is "no compulsion
in religion." Fundamentalists point to a long tradition of severe
treatment for apostates, and they have gained the upper hand in many
parts of the Muslim world.

Few things are more frightening in a traditional society than the
prospect of the young abandoning the faith of their fathers. For many
in conservative cultures, religion is not primarily the belief of
an individual but the definition of a community — not a choice but
an identity. The very idea of changing your faith is bewildering to
many, like changing your ethnicity or hiring new parents. In Turkey,
converts are often referred to as "foreigners" who have repudiated
Turkishness itself.

But however controversial religious liberty may be, it is not optional
in a democracy. The practice of freedom is ultimately inseparable
from individualism — a belief in the right and ability of men and
women to govern their own affairs. And individualism means little
without the ability to choose one’s own creed about God, morality
and the universe. For traditional societies, this is a difficult
adjustment. For every free society, it is a necessary adjustment.

The Malatya murders acted like the flash of an X-ray, revealing
some hidden and disturbing trends in a close ally. But the shock of
that violence also provoked a counter-reaction. After the murders,
Ali Bardakoglu — the highly respected Sunni theologian who heads the
Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate — was asked if missionary work
was a danger to Turkey. He replied, "No, it is their natural right.

We must learn to respect even the personal choice of an atheist,
let alone other religions."

That kind of clarity from a Muslim leader is the reason that Turkey,
if it did not exist, would need to be invented.

BERNARD FASSIER: THERE WILL BE A BREAKTHROUGH IN NEGOTIATIONS WHEN THE TWO PRESIDENTS HAVE ENOUGH TRUST IN EACH OTHER

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. "I don’t expect the current stage of
negotiations to be a turning-point, there are still disagreements
and a great deal has to be done," the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza said at the June 7 press conference.

As regards his optimistic statements about the Karabakh settlement,
the U.S. diplomat noted that his optimistic statements have mainly
to do with that the fact that he is an optimist by nature.

The Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov stated that his partners and he
have come to the region only with the aim of preparing the meeting
of the presidents in Saint Petersburg. "We have presented the issues
to be discussed in two days in Saint Petersburg to the presidents of
the two countries," he said.

The French co-chair Bernard Fassier said that "there will be a
breakthrough in negotiations when the presidents of the two countries
have enough trust in each other."

CHEATED AND MADE WORK WITHOUT PAYING

A1+
[08:17 pm] 07 June, 2007

The employees of Ferroconcrete constructions’ plant of Yeghegnut
village in Armavir region gathered in front of the Government
building today. 55 laborers complained that they did not get salary
for 8 months.

The amount of their salary is 18 million drams. The laborers
mentioned that the owners of the plant changed but their debts were not
paid. Hakob Hakobyan, the present owner of the plant, promised to pay,
but did not do anything. The employees appealed to the First Instance
Court of Armavir. A criminal action started, but the owner did not
appear at the court hearings. "We have bought food from the stores
for free, hoping that we will get salary and pay the debts. Since no
one gave us salary, we sold the golden jewelries that we had", said
Garnik Ghazaryan. Some of the laborers complained that they walked 4
km to get to work in winter. At the present moment the laborers are
jobless. "Better not to work, then to work without being paid", said
the demonstrators. The employees handed over a letter to the RA Prime
Minister Serge Sargsyan. The Government promised to answer next week.

If their appeal does not get a positive solution, the demonstrators
intend to gather in front of the Government with their families.

"INTERNATIONAL JOYCE" EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
06.06.2007 10:30

Literary exhibition "International Joyce" and the exhibition of
photographs "Ireland through Russian Eyes" will be held at the National
Museum of Architecture on Friday, 8 June 2007, to be followed by a
talk on James Joyce by Mr. Vincent Deane, an Irish expert on Joyce.

The exhibition "International Joyce" was created by the Irish
Department of Foreign Affairs to mark the centenary of Bloomsday, 16
June 1904, the day immortalized by Joyce in his work "Ulysses". The
photographic exhibition "Ireland through Russian Eyes" was created
by Agni Publishing House, Samara.

A NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES OF HEALTH SPHERE RECEIVE HONORARY TITLES

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, NOYAN TAPAN. On the occasion of the Holiday of
Republic of Armenia, for evident services in development of medical
science and considerable contribution in healthcare sphere, by RA
President’s decrees, honorary titles were given to a number of merited
representatives of healthcare sphere. On June 1, RA Minister of Health
Norayr Davidian awarded the titles to the doctors. In his words, in the
most difficult days for the country the doctors did their professional
duty with honor.

Director of Malayan Ophthalmologic Center CJSC, professor Alexander
Malayan was awarded Mkhitar Heratsi order.

The honorary title of Honored Figure of Sciences was awarded to Head of
Ocular Diseases Chair of National Institute of Health of RA Ministry of
Health, professor Levon Barseghian and Head of First Chair of diseases
requiring surgical operation of Yerevan State Medical University
Hovhannes Sarukhanian.

The title of Honored Doctor was given to Head of Proctology Center
attached to Mikayelian Surgical Institute, professor Alexander
Aghavelian, Head of Cardiac Surgery Department of Nork-Marash medical
center Vilen Manukian, professor of New Diseases Chair of Yerevan State
Medical University Artur Shukurian, as well as Head of Neurosurgical
Department of Mikayelian Surgical Insitute Andronik Kalajian.

CUSTOMS DUTY REVENUES OF RA STATE BUDGET GROW BY 20.6% IN JANUARY-APRIL 2007 ON SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Jun 01 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-April 2007, customs duty
revenues of the RA state budget made 6.2 bln drams (over 22.3 mln USD),
exceeding the index of the same period of last year by 20.6% or 1.1
bln drams, which is due to an increase of commodity imports to Armenia.

According to the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, the total amount
of fixed payments for certian types of activities made 5.2 bln drams
in January-April 2007, which made up 4.1% of tax revenues of the RA
state budge. Fixed payment revenues grew by 18.5% or 807.5 mln drams
on the same period of last year, which is mainly due to an increase in
payments charged for organization of lotteries, gas filling stations,
trade points, as well as payments from transport activity.

In the period under review, the state budgetary revenues from
simplified tax amounted to 2.9 bln drams, growing by 23.5% or 560.0
mln drams on the same period of last year, which is mainly due to an
increase of revenues from trade.

In January-April 2007, state budgetary revenues from other taxes made
5.1 bln drams. Particularly, nature use and environmental protection
payments made over 2.2 bln drams, radio frequency provision payments
– 1.2 bln drams, road payments – 445.4 mln drams. Other taxes grew
by 41.7% or 1.5 bln drams on the same months of 2006, mainly due to
payments for provision of radio frequency.

State budgetary revenues from state duty amounted to 5.7 bln drams,
which ensured fulfilment of the program for first half of 2007 by
72.1% and of the annual program by 29.9%. State duty revenues grew by
13.5% or 681.8 mln drams on the same period of 2006, which is mainly
conditioned by an increase in duties charged for departure of natural
persons by air transport, licensing of some types of activities,
state registration and provision of legal documents to natural persons.

EXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS OF FOUR PARTIES LITIGATING RESULTS OF NA ELECTIONS BY PROPORTIONAL SYSTEM STARTS AT CC

Noyan Tapan
Jun 10 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Examination of applications of
Impeachment bloc, Hanrapetutiun, Nor Zhamanakner and Orinats Yerkir
parties litigating the results of May 12 National Assembly elections
by proportional system started at the Constitutional Court. The
respondent party is the Central Electoral Commission. RA Justice
Ministry, Prosecutor’s Office, Police and National Commission of
Television and Radio were recognized as adjacent respondents.

Representative of Impeachment bloc Nikol Pashinian made explanations
at the court. As he evaluated, the elections were accompanied with
"organized mass violations." He expressed bewilderment that after the
start of the electoral process hasty changes were made in the Electoral
Code, as a result of which over 700 thousand Armenian citizens being
abroad were deprived of the possibility to exercise their right to
vote. Nikol Pashinian also considers that the issue of accessibility
of electoral centers for disabled mainly was not solved, either.

In Nikol Pashinian’s words, free services, goods, foodstuffs were
given out to voters at the preelection stage, for the purpose of
influencing the will of voters. The Republican Party of Armenia and
Bargavach Hayastan parties distinguished themselves in this issue. As
a proof he introduced a lottery ticket to the court, by which voters
were invited to a meeting with BH Chairman Gagik Tsarukian on May 5
in Byureghavan with promises of pleasant surprises.

In his words, during the agitation unequal conditions were created by
TV companies for parties taking part in the elections: in his words,
the parties having taken the first three places: RPA, BH and ARFD had
ten and more possibilities to speak on TV. Nikol Pashinian emphasized
that "the air was filled with illegal and free advertisement of Serge
Sargsian and Gagik Tsarukian."

Gross violations were committed during the voting, too. In particular,
N. Pashinian mentioned information provided to Helsinki Assembly by
Vanadzor Office that free expression of voters’ will was influenced
through threats. Voters were threatened to deprive them of the program
of state assistance in getting apartments.

Nikol Pashinian also stated that the Police printed passports by
names of people being away from Armenia and with them people voted
instead of anothers.

In his words, "deceased people become active, as well as cases of
registering other persons at apartments secretly from apartment owner
often happen in the electoral period."

OVERSEES PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION WILL NOT SUPPORT A PROPOSED RAILWAY BYPASSING ARMENIA

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 30 2007

The Armenian Assembly of America commends Congressman Brad Sherman
(D-CA) for securing an assurance on May 25 from the Oversees Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) that the agency will not support a
proposed railroad linking Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, while
bypassing Armenia. To note, OPIC helps U.S. businesses invest overseas.

"It is important that OPIC not repeat the mistake of the
Baku-Tiblisi-Cheyan pipeline," Sherman said in a press statement.

"Taxpayer funds should not go for projects that deliberately seek to
isolate a friend of the United States, and I appreciate the commitment
not to get involved in the railroad project."

The proposed railway, estimated to cost upwards of $600 million,
excludes Armenia from economic and regional transportation corridors.

Armenian government officials have repeatedly said that a new costly
railway is unnecessary given that a railroad linking Armenia, Georgia
and Turkey already exists.

Last June, the House Financial Services Committee unanimously approved
a provision sponsored by Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY), along
with Sherman and Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), prohibiting the Export-Import
Bank from supporting the rail link project. That provision was adopted
and is now a law.

"The Assembly thanks Congressman Sherman for his leadership on this
issue," said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "The proposed
project, sponsored by the Turkish and Azeri governments, runs counter
to U.S. policy goals, which seek to foster regional cooperation and
economic integration and includes open borders and transport and
communication corridors. OPIC’s assurance helps ensure that the U.S.
will not be a party to the flawed policies of Armenia’s neighbors",
he added.