Author: Jagharian Tania

UN MEMORIAL DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN A MARSEILLE
La Croix , France
25 avril 2006
Le president de l’Assemblee nationale de la Republique d’Armenie,
Arthur Baghdassarian, a devoile hier le memorial du genocide armenien
a Marseille où vit la plus forte communaute armenienne en France. Le
monument “a la memoire des 1 500 000 Armeniens victimes du premier
genocide du XXe siècle perpetre par le gouvernement turc de 1915”
est une replique a plus petite echelle de celui d’Erevan et presente
“douze pierres disposees en cercle qui symbolisent les douze provinces
spoliees par la Turquie”. Un memorial devait egalement etre inaugure
hier a Lyon.
–Boundary_(ID_Jg0Fj8x+oTW3R3axBQuWCA)–

DIRECTORS OF PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS OF ARARAT REGION GET ACQUAINTED WITH CHANGES MADE IN SPHERE
Noyan Tapan
Apr 26 2006
ARTASHAT, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The Pre-school Education Department of
RA Ministry of Education and Science had organized practical studies
on the subject “The Strategy in the Sphere of Pre-school Education”
for directors of pre-school institutions of Ararat region. Leading
specialists of the Ministry Melsida Sargsian and Hasmik Mitoyan
acquainted those present with the changes being made in the sphere,
gave methodical instructions to the directors for clarifying their work
and for them to be guided by the Labor Code. The directors’ attention
was also called to the first and foremost problem, provision of child’s
development both at home and at the kindergarten before he attends
school. During the practical studies at the same time they touched upon
the strategy of pre-school education, its directions, programs being
implemented and problems, spoke about extension of programs and about
other issues. According to Anahit Hakobian, Head of the Education and
Culture Department of Ararat Regional Administration, no pre-school,
school building and cultural center have been alienated in the region
up to this day, which is the result of of consistent work.

UNION OF ARMENIANS OF RUSSIA TO SEE TO MURDERERS OF ARMENIAN STUDENT GET HEAVY SENTENCE
AZG Armenian Daily
27/04/2006
Chairman of Russia’s Union of Armenians, Ara Abrahamian, made a
statement in Moscow on Saturday on occasion of murder of 17-year-old
Armenian student Vigen Abrahamiants. “The Union of Armenians of Russia
expresses resentment over cruel murder of first-year student of Moscow
Management University. We, as well as many other Russian citizens,
are extremely concerned over the rampant crimes committed out of
nationalistic intolerance,” Ara Abrahamian said.
“Manifestations of fascistic aggression are the result of connivance
from the authorities and law enforcers and the inability to protect
a citizen’s basic right to life. We demand from the law enforcing
structures to find and strictly punish the criminals.” Ara Abrahamian
has no doubt that nationalistic groups stand behind the crime. He
told daily Azg that a preparatory committee was set to see to the
investigation, the Union has hired a lawyer and took care of the
funeral expenses. Today, a roundtable with the participation of
national and non-profit organizations will be held in Moscow to discuss
further steps of prevention of such crimes. Mr. Abrahamian believes
that organizations and the state should join in united front and not
leave the task to Russian structures only. “There are almost 700.000
Armenians in Russia that hold passports of both countries. Vigen
Abrahamiants was registered in Moscow region. The number of racist
murders has doubled as compared with figures of the last year,” the
chairman said. Raging intolerance is also the result of inadequate
assessment of situation by the authorities and the police. Such
behavior of the officials breeds new crimes. Nationalism is an evil
that is directed first of all against Russia itself.
By M. Hovsepian
P.S. On April 25, Vigen Abrahamiants was laid to rest at the Armenian
cemetery in Moscow. At the subway station where the Armenian student
was murdered his picture was put up, and his fellow students and
ordinary people who condemn intolerance placed flowers.
On the night of April 26, around 100 Armenians closed the crossroad of
Novi Arbat and Sadovoye Koltso in Moscow protesting the investigation
results of the murder. The Armenians were resentful at the opinion
that the student chased a girl at the underground and that’s why he
was murdered. They are sure that the law enforcers try to conceal
the real cause of the crime.

TWENTY YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE CHERNOBYL NPP ACCIDENT, THE BIGGEST MAN-CAUSED RADIATION CATASTROPHE IN MANKIND HISTORY
Yerevan, April 26. ArmInfo. Twenty years have passed since the
Chernobyl NPP accident, the biggest man-caused radiation catastrophe
in the mankind history.
As ArmInfo was informed in the Embassy of Ukraine in Armenia,
more than 145,000 sq.km of the Ukraine territory, Byelorussia
and Russia underwent radioactive contamination as a result of the
accident, more than 5 mln people suffered, about 5,000 settlements
of these countries underwent contamination by radioactive nuclides,
from which 2218 villages and towns with population of about 2,4 mln
people – in the Ukraine. Twenty years later after the catastrophe,
there are many problems still to be solved. It is, first of all,
social, medical protection of all citizens, subjected to radiation
exposure, employment assistance to many thousand employees, economic
rehabilitation of the contaminated territories, the problem of
compensation of energy-producing capacities, turning of the “Shelter”
object into an ecologically safe one.
The Ukraine keeps on carrying out a complex of measures for the
population protection, suffered from the Chernobyl catastrophe. There
are 17 448 families in the Ukraine today, which receive benefits
as a result of the bread-winner’s loss during the catastrophe. Such
families exist in all regions of the country. In 1987-2004, 504117
people from among the suffered ones, who were under medical control
in patient care institutions, died, 497348 of them are grown-ups and
teenagers and 6769 are children. This statistics concerns only the
Ukraine’s citizens. If remember that thousands of specialists from
the whole former Soviet Union took part in the accident consequences
elimination, these digits will be more impressive.
The Ukrainian people will always remember the courage of more than
3,000 Armenians, who did their best to mitigate the Chernobyl accident
consequences. Four hundred people of them died afterwards from
the radiation dose. Unfortunately, today the Chernobyl catastrophe
remains only a Ukrainian trouble. As the President of Ukraine Viktor
Yuschenko noted in hid speech during the international conference,
being held in Kiev April 24-26, the Chernobyl catastrophe concerns
not only the Ukraine but many nations as well.

YOUNG ARMENIAN FOOTBALL-PLAYERS TO TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN MAY IN TEHRAN
Noyan Tapan
Apr 26 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN. On May 2-10, an international friendly
tournament of football-players under 17 years will be held in the
capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran. Two national teams of
Iran, those of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Japan, Iraq and China will take
part in the tournament. The Armenian national team has also received
an invitation to take part in the tournament. The Armenian national
team headed by trainer Arsen Chilingarian will leave for Tehran
on May 1. The delegation of the Armenian Football Federation will
be led by Ruben Sinoyan, member of the Executive Committee of the
Federation. The participants of the tournament are divided into two
groups. Iranian A national team, the national teams of Saudi Arabia,
Syria and Japan are included in group A, and Iranian B national team,
the national teams of Armenia, Iraq and China are included in group B.

ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A CRIME NOT ONLY AGAINST ARMENIAN PEOPLE BUT AGAINST WHOLE MANKIND
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA National Assembly
Speaker Artur Baghdasarian sent a message on on the occasion of the
memory day of the Armenian Genocide victims. The message provided
to Noyan Tapan by RA NA Public Relations Department read: “Dear
compatriots, On April 24, the day of memory of the Armenian Genocide
victims, all Armenians and progressive mankind bend their heads before
the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims. The Armenian Genocide is
a crime not only against the Armenian people but also against the
whole mankind and the recognition and condemnation of the Genocide
is important not only for Armenia but also for all countries of the
world. Only through condemnation of such crimes it will be possible
to avoid their recurrence. The number of countries recognizing
and condemning the Armenian Genocide increases year by year, which
speaks about mankind’s realizing their responsibility towards the
generations. Only the realization and condemnation of the crime by the
international community, as well as by the Turkish state can exclude
its recurrence. Parliaments of different countries have adopted laws
and resolutions condemning the Armenian Genocide and we are grateful
to all the countries that support us in this issue. Again we bend our
heads before the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims and address
word of support to our compatriots that have experienced the Genocide”.

Transcript of Exclusive Armenia TV April 24th Interview
with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
Interviewed by Paul Chaderjian for Armenia TV
Airdate: Monday, April 24, 2006 @ 9:00 PM Yerevan / 9:00 AM Los Angeles
Armenia TV: This is the 91st year that we commemorate the Genocide. What
stands out in your mind as you think about this process?
Minister Oskanian: It is humbling to think that today, the children of the
survivors and the Government of Armenia, both, have been transformed from
victims to activists working with the international community to right a
historical wrong, to acknowledge a crime against humanity and to advocate
prevention of such crimes in the future. We have the opportunity to do all
of that because this process has evolved in ways that are both surprising
and gratifying. Look at the history of the evolution: Up to 1965, there was
no talk of recognition, there were only tortured, victimized survivors.
>From 1965 to the 1980s, survivors, their descendants, a handful of political
activists, and a few lone scholars, attempted to focus the world’s attention
on what was almost uniformly referred to as the ‘alleged’ genocide.
Beginning in the 1990s, things changed dramatically. There were various
overlapping factors — A younger generation of survivors’ descendants was
more vocal and confident in using its political influence. The flow of
information about yet new genocides piqued the interest of international
scholars who also began to study the Armenian Genocide. As Europe and the US
became more engaged in Turkey’s modernization and inclusion in Euro-Atlantic
structures, Turkey’s own democratization process brought this taboo topic to
the surface. Today, in its search for European Union membership, Turkey is
having to deal history and memory and identity. And of course, the existence
of an Armenian state means that we can raise these issues at an official
government level.
There can be no doubt that our search for genocide recognition has become
internationalized. It is not an Armenian claim any longer. Today, this is an
acknowledged historic reality by most of the scholarly world, and by most
major media and journalists. Further, the international political community,
too, knows well what happened in 1915, and together, we are seeking ways to
enable more open discussion of why and how the Genocide happened, and its
implications for members of the world community today – and most of all for
Turks and Armenians.
Armenia TV: Some think it is surprising, and perhaps even unwise, for the
Government of Armenia to be engaged in this effort to achieve Genocide
recognition, given its vulnerability. The Turks, too, would like to portray
this as the Diaspora’s cause, and keep wishing that the Armenian government
would put this matter aside.
Minister Oskanian: The Genocide affected every single Armenian. The
responsibility to right the memory of that wrong rests with all of us. The
Armenian Government has the moral responsibility to speak about the Genocide
of the Armenians, and to call for Genocide recognition. This responsibility
is one we fully acknowledge. In fact, the active involvement of the Armenian
Government and its representatives has also played a role in the progress of
the recognition process. The podiums and forums that are available to the
representatives of a state are many and we use them to make our case to the
international community. At the same time, as a responsible member of that
community, we know that we cannot make Genocide recognition a pre-condition
to our relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The irony is that we, the
survivors and the victims of Genocide don’t make normal relations
conditional on its recognition, yet the Turkish side often suggests that
Armenia should put Genocide recognition aside if it wants normal relations
with Turkey. Clearly we cannot. The international community today considers
the threat of Genocide a very real 21st century challenge. Our
responsibility, together with the Diaspora, is to speak out against past and
future uses of Genocide as a political tool by states.
Armenia TV: What is the answer to the repeated charge that Armenians
continue to focus on the past, that Armenians are trapped in the past?
Minister Oskanian: One might accuse us of being trapped in the past if we
made the present conditional on the past. But we do not. Instead, we are
saying we must learn about the past, remember it, understand it, and move
on. Armenians understand that the present is connected to the past, it’s the
consequence of the past. Otherwise why teach history? This is the purpose
of learning and teaching history. The Turkish government, on the other hand,
is demanding that today’s relations be based on a specific interpretation of
the past. Turkey’s authorities and Turkish society do not fully comprehend
or recognize what happened in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, why it
happened, and they have not come to terms with those implications. They are
the ones who are trapped in the past and are not ready to move on. There is
perhaps a fear that entering this realm, embarking on a relationship with
Armenians will place them in a morally uncomfortable and undesirable
situation, and that they will be held responsible for those events. I cannot
repeat this often enough: Armenians are able to distinguish between the
perpetrators and today’s Turkey. But Turks themselves must be willing to do
what is morally right and reject and denounce the crimes of the Ottoman
Empire. Otherwise, today’s denial means implicit endorsement or acceptance
of those past crimes.
Armenia TV: Yet they are far from denouncing those crimes. On the contrary,
they are using their educational system to teach that Armenians killed
Turks, their historians are digging up bones and saying these are the bones
of Turks killed by Armenians.
Minister Oskanian: Justifying, even revering the genocidal state policy of
one regime has become the state policy of another regime. Denial is state
policy, just as genocide is state policy. It is today’s Turkish state that
is wasting money and credibility on denying, distorting, dismissing serious
crimes against humanity committed during the Ottoman years. Not only are
they denying history, they are also legislating denial by making it
difficult, if not impossible, to actually dig into this painful issue and
come face to face with difficult historic and political realities. It is
safe to say that Turkish society – writers, historians, journalists – are in
fact seeking and trying to reach their own conclusions about what really
happened. It is the state that insists on rejecting those questions even.
The people of Turkey are searching for answers. The memoir of US Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau, the British Blue Book, the works of Vahakn Dadrian and
Peter Balakian can be found in Turkish, in Turkey. We welcome this, because
before there can be dialogue with Armenians, there must be internal
questioning and dialogue in Turkey.
Armenia TV: Will there really be dialogue between Turkey and Armenia? What
happened to the Erdogan-Kocharian dialogue about dialogue?
We want there to be dialogue about all of the issues that stand between us.
Prime Minister Erdogan had suggested a commission to study history. But that
suggestion comes at a time when the use of the term ‘genocide’ or even
reference to certain facts and events in Turkish history are legally
punishable. How can such a proposal be taken seriously? Further, the
proposal is to convene a commission composed of historians from two
countries with a closed border between them. In the absence of any relations
whatsoever, in a political, social, economic vacuum, a commission is to be
convened to thrash out issues and events that can’t be discussed? That is
why President Kocharian’s response was that this kind of offer can be taken
seriously only if there is som semblance of normalcy between our two
countries. Then, discussions on all other aspects of our relations,
including the border and genocide, can and should be carried out. We have
not received an official response to that suggestion, but we still hope it
will come. It has been nearly a century that we have had this impasse
between our peoples and our societies. We don’t want to spend another
century trying to unravel this knot. Instead, we want our peoples to have
the opportunities to have new experiences to replace the old ones. The
longer we wait for this to happen, the longer it takes for Turks to
repudiate those acts, the more today’s Turks and yesterday’s Ottomans will
become synonymous in people’s minds. On the other hand, with repudiation of
those acts, with recognition of the crimes of the past, we can move on to a
dialogue of reconciliation. That is the mandate of the 21st century, that is
what our ancestors who did live together for centuries would want.
Armenia TV: Minister Oskanian, thank you very much for taking the time to
talk with Armenia TV. We look forward to having you visit again.
Minister Oskanian: Thank you.

WHY DO FOOD PRICES SOAR?
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
21 April 2006
In the past year the exchange rate of the dollar dropped very low, and over
the past three or four months it has been constantly fluctuating between 440
and 450 drams. The crisis was somehow slowed down but the dram is still weak.
To compare, the exchange rate was the same in 1995-1996. In 1997 it was
about 500-520 drams. The highest exchange rate of the dollar was reported in 2002
and 2003 â~@~S 570-600, sometimes even above 600. And only last year the
exchange rate of the dollar was more by 100 drams compared with the present rate.
Logically, the Armenian dram should have become stronger, however, the dram is
undergoing a continuous inflation. It is not a secret that many families in
Armenia and Karabakh live on the money that their relatives living abroad sent
them. The majority can hardly keep up with the soaring prices. The worst
thing is that the prices of basic commodities and food tend to go higher. The
price of sugar, for instance, has increased by 100-120 drams, and it is said to
reach 400 drams per kilo soon. The price of rice has doubled, and now rice
costs 630 drams per kilo. Rice of the lowest quality costs 380 drams. The
prices of tea, vegetable oil, etc, have increased as well. Shop owners think they
can increase the price by 10 drams and no one will notice it (they think it
is not a big sum). As a result, most people will have to cut the amount of
meat, cheese, flour, fruit and vegetables in their diets at the expense of their
health. And the government is just a viewer, saying that its interference
with price policy is unacceptable.
LAURA GRIGORYAN.
21-04-2006
–Boundary_(ID_X/d25oLwXp7z RoPQdNNVPg)–

Russian Armenians indignant at student’s murder in Moscow
ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 23, 2006 Sunday 12:16 PM EST
The Union of Russian Armenians is indignant at the murder of Vagan
Abramiants, 17-year-old freshman of the Moscow Management Institute,
at the Pushkinskaya metro station in downtown Moscow.
The young man was killed in a Saturday brawl. Eyewitnesses said that
a skinhead wearing high boots lethally stabbed Abramiants.
“We, the same as all citizens of the Russian Federation, are alarmed
and concerned about the unpunished series of ethnic hatred violence in
Russian cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh and others,” says
a statement signed up by President of the Union of Russian Armenians
and the World Armenian Congress Ara Abramian received by Itar-Tass.
The right to live is the main human right, the statement said. “We
strongly urge law enforcement agencies to find and put to justice
the murderers of Vagan Abramiants,” he said.
“The attack by skinheads is obviously a provocative act and an
attempt to cast a shadow on the image of our fatherland. The outbreak
of actions by fascist elements must be stopped,” the statement runs.

From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: Armenian man stabbed to death in youth fight on Moscow metro
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 22 2006
Armenian man stabbed to death in youth fight on Moscow metro

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) — A young Amernian-born man was killed
by a group of youngsters in a fight at Moscow’s central Pushkinskaya
metro station on Saturday, police said.
Seven young people, including the Armenian, started fighting each
other on the station’s platform. `During the tussle one of its
participants drew up a knife and hit a 17-year-old young man from
Armenia with it once,’ a police officer told Itar-Tass.
All other young people involved in the fight escaped. No one was
detained.
Police have so far refrained from comments on the possible motives of
the incident. But they did not rule out ethnic motives.