Author: Jidarian Alex

AZERI LEADERSHIP TRYING TO CONCEAL TRUTH ABOUT NKR FROM PEOPLE

Pan Armenian News
15.06.2005 05:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The NKR Foreign Ministry welcomes the visits of
the Azeri journalists and public figures to Karabakh, NKR Foreign
Minister Arman Melikian stated in his interview with H2 Armenian TV
Channel. Presently Azerbaijan’s attitude towards us is hostile and we
should be aware of the spirit of the Azeri society and contents of the
press subordinate to the leadership”, the Minister noted. “As a matter
of fact, the Azeri authorities try to conceal the truth about Nagorno
Karabakh from the society. We should bring it to the notion of the
Azeri people, since they have the right to know about the developments
in the NKR. We are ready to offer this opportunity to Azeri journalists
and public figures”, Arman Melikian said. In his words, these visits
will help to understand that each citizen of Karabakh perceives NKR as
an independent state and it is the only condition for the establishment
of normal relations with Azerbaijan. “The state, the people and the
authorities, who shut their eyes to the truth and are not willing
to give an objective estimate to the reality are doomed to failure”,
NKR FM resumed.

DEPUTY CBA CHAIRMAN MEETS WITH DEPUTY PRIME-MINISTER OF THE NETHERLANDS

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Deputy CBA Chairman Arthur Javadyan and
members of CBA Board met with the delegation headed by the Deputy
Prime-Minister of the Netherlands, Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm.
As the Press Service of CBA told ARKA News Agency, the process of
the monetary-credit policy implementation in Armenia was presented
to the Netherlands party. The representatives of CBA noted that CBA
carries out reforms in financial sector of the republic, which greatly
contribute to strengthening of financial stability of the country.
L.V.-0–

News from Washington University in St. Louis (press release),
Washington
June 8 2005

America has big stake in supporting democracy in former Soviet
Republic of Georgia, suggest international studies expert

June 8, 2005 – As Americans celebrate independence this July 4, they
may wish to consider the plight of another democracy – one that is
young and struggling and whose continued success could have a
dramatic impact on the world economy, the price of gasoline and other
critical U.S. interests, suggests James V. Wertsch, director of
International and Area Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Given America’s obsession with war and terrorism in the Middle East,
it is countries such as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan that may come
first to mind. However, by focusing on this troubled region, the
United States is missing an opportunity to partner with a nation
where Americans are actually welcomed with open arms; one where the
fate of a struggling democratic system could have huge ripple effects
around the globe. That country is the former Soviet Republic of
Georgia, says Wertsch, the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts &
Sciences at Washington University.

Why is Georgia so important to the U.S.?

Part of the answer, Wertsch contends, lies in the pipelines running
across Georgia’s territory that carry oil and gas to the West.
Georgia provides a new route to the oil riches of the Caspian. This
is a route that avoids Russia and Iran at America’s insistence, as
well as Armenia, at the insistence of Azerbaijan, which is the source
of the oil. In particular, Georgia is the transit country for the new
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline running from Azerbaijan to the
Mediterranean coast of Turkey. This pipeline, which is just beginning
to pump oil, will eventually carry a million barrels of crude a day
to the West.

Dependence on foreign oil is an issue of obvious importance to most
Americans and it should be especially compelling for those anguishing
over the cost of fueling up for traditional Independence Day driving
excursions. However, as Americans celebrate their own love of freedom
and democracy, they should realize, says Wertsch, that it is these
same institutions that underlie the real strategic value of Georgia
to the United States.

James Wertsch

Wertsch points to the tumultuous welcome that thousands of Georgians
gave President George W. Bush when he visited in May to support his
assertion. The visit’s purpose was to cast a spotlight on democratic
developments following the “Rose Revolution” of November 2003, the
nonviolent popular uprising that overturned the corrupt Georgian
government of post-Soviet president Eduard Shevardnadze. Even the
subsequent discovery of a grenade in the area where Bush addressed a
huge crowd in Tbilisi did little to dampen positive impressions on
both sides, he says.

Wertsch says the United States should redouble its efforts to support
and strengthen the emerging democratic movement in Georgia because
what happens there may be a bellwether for the fate of democracy in
nations across much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

“The ramifications of the Rose Revolution extend well beyond
Georgia’s borders,” says Wertsch, the co-editor of the journal
Caucasus Context and the 2005 volume Enough! The Rose Revolution in
the Republic of Georgia. “The attention it has garnered has made
democratic upheaval thinkable in places like Ukraine, a country where
Georgian flags sprouted in the massive rallies of the “Orange
Revolution” of last winter. And it is commonly brought up in
discussions of Kyrgyzstan’s “Tulip Revolution” of this spring and
even in talk about potential upheaval in Russia.”

During his visit Bush was effusive in his praise of Mikheil
Saakashvili, the youthful president of Georgia who led the Rose
Revolution. This praise is warranted, suggests Wertsch, but the mark
of true friendship is the ability to speak frankly about problems
others may wish to ignore, and today Georgia definitely is in need of
a friend.

“The afterglow of the Rose Revolution has now faded,” Wertsch notes.
“Corruption remains a major problem, disruptions in electricity and
water services have re-appeared, and Georgians are becoming
increasingly frustrated with the lack of jobs and economic
development. Thanks to weak opposition, Saakashvili’s presidency is
not in danger at this point, but his approval ratings have gone into
steep decline. In short, he has largely used up the political capital
he acquired from the Rose Revolution, and the country stands at a
juncture where a new style of leadership is required.”

“What Georgia needs now is solid, day-to-day leadership, but
Saakashvili has continued to rely on populist gestures that all too
often appear, at best, impulsive,” says Wertsch.

“There are all too many parties who would love to see the Georgian
experiment in democracy and civil society fail. America needs to see
it succeed,” says Wertsch. ” As true friends of Georgia, we need to
stress that the days of populist revolution are over, and the time
for steady, solid leadership and governance has arrived. In the end,
Georgians are the only ones who can provide such leadership. The U.S.
should stand ready to help in any way possible, starting with
ongoing, frank assessments of the problems facing the country today
and the steps required of a responsible leadership to address them.”

—————————————————————-

Regional outlook

Georgia’s regional neighbor Uzbekistan has been in the news as the
result of a May 13 anti-government protest that was put down by Uzbek
troops in what some describe as a massacre of citizens fed up with
the nation’s repressive post-Soviet government.

Map source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

Wertsch suggests that the volatile situation in Uzbekistan is
noteworthy in part because it shows just how that nation is following
a much different path than Georgia.

“To be sure, some folks in Uzbekistan looked to Georgia as a model
for what they wanted to create there,” says Wertsch “I have discussed
this with Uzbeks for over a year. However, what happened there is
quite different for some pretty identifiable reasons, and the result
is that no democracy has emerged in Uzbekistan and more trouble is
inevitable in the future.”

“Ukraine is the best follow-on case, and Kyrgyzstan and especially
Uzbekistan are very different. The Russians have a vested interest in
portraying all of these “color revolutions” as the same – illegal
putsches that are bound to lead to instability and failure, but there
is some pretty critical discussion going on in Moscow about how this
might be the wrong way to look at things.”

;ned=ca&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=armenia+OR+armenian+OR+armenians+OR+karabakh+OR+Qarabagh+OR+Garabagh+OR+karabagh&btnG=Search+News

AZG Armenian Daily #103, 07/06/2005

Long cherished freedom

ARMENIAN PILOTS RELEASED FROM PRISON IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Armenian pilots jailed in Equatorial Guinea with charge of coup d’etat will
return to Yerevan by the end of this week, chairman of the World Armenian
Congress Ara Abrahamian told daily Azg. Here is what Mr. Abrahamian said.

– The Foreign Ministry of Armenia authorized me to take up this issue 3
months ago, on March 15. Before I engaged in the matter, it was the Ministry
that was at work. Despite its great efforts, the pilots were convicted. When
I took up the matter, all of them had been sentenced to long-term
imprisonment (14-24 years). I brought into play all my international ties to
solve the issue the soonest possible. Late Pope John Paul II sent a letter
to the president of Equatorial Guinea. The chairman of UNESCO, Russian
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, other members of the Russian government and
the ambassador provided great help. We were speaking then of extraditing
them to Armenia to serve their sentence. We wanted to sign such an
agreement. We have been working in this direction for the last 3 months.

Our main task of this period was to care for the health of the prisoners. We
sent them money twice. We sent the ailing to hospital. We kept silent about
all these not to cause the relatives worry. Now we can speak out as they all
have recovered. Our first precondition was their health. I repeat, it was a
very complicated issue, they were already imprisoned. The pilots meanwhile
wrote letters and I brought them to Yerevan. I want to point out the
generosity of Guinean government, particularly the president who granted
pardon and set our pilots free.

– Mr. Abrahamian, where are the pilots now?

– I’ve sent two of our representatives to take them back home. They are now
at the hotel with them. I think the pilots will reach Yerevan by the end of
this week. We want first to land them in Moscow for medical examination and
to send to Armenia in a day or two.

– What were your offers to the government of that country that made them
release our pilots?

– We agreed to help the country in various spheres of economy and social
life. I will provide details in future.

By Ara Martirosian

Los Angeles Times
June 6, 2005 Monday
Home Edition

L.A. Welcomes Church Leader

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: No Caption PHOTO: His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos
of All Armenians, the highest-ranking official in the Armenian
Apostolic Church, greets the congregation during his visit Sunday to
the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, far left. Above, Cardinal
Roger M. Mahony greets celebrants at the cathedral, the seat of the
three-county Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. At left, a
member of the congregation prays during the liturgy. Karekin’s
Southland trip began Thursday with a procession at St. Mary Armenian
Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa. After leaving Los Angeles on Friday,
he is scheduled to travel to Sacramento, Fresno, San Francisco and
Detroit. PHOTOGRAPHER: Photographs by Anne Cusack Los Angeles Times
PHOTO: No Caption

Deployment of Russian bases in Armenia “dangerous step” – party leader

Noyan Tapan news agency
6 Jun 05

Yerevan, 6 June: The chairman of the Armenian Liberal Progressive
Party, Ovanes Ovanesyan, has expressed his concern over the possible
relocation of Russian military hardware from Georgia to Armenia. In
his statement on 6 June, he described this step by the Armenian
authorities as “another unwise and dangerous step”.

Ovanesyan noted that there is no way that this step can facilitate the
establishment of stability in the region, help lift the blockade of
Armenia, secure its involvement in integration processes or strengthen
its economic.

The party chairman expressed his confidence that “one must aspire to
settle disagreements with neighbours by means of coordinated actions
instead of turning Armenia into an arena of geopolitical conflicts”.

According to the party chairman’s assessment, “the Armenian
authorities are trying to counteract the political and economic
balance, which has been disrupted to the detriment of the country, by
creating a military imbalance in the South Caucasus through relocating
Russian military hardware from Georgia to Armenia.”

If the Armenian authorities attach importance to regional integration
and deepening of cooperation with the EU and NATO, as they had been
promising “until recently”, then the party chairman asks – “what
problem can this hardware resolve in Armenia, against whom will it be
aimed and to what extent will it promote the security and development
of our country, apart from turning into a factor of increasing
tension”.

Coptic Pope Shenouda III praises Christian-Muslim relations in Jordan, encourages more dialogue

AP Worldstream
Jun 04, 2005

Christians and Muslims enjoy good relations in Jordan, the head
of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, said in a statement made
available Saturday.

Shenouda made his first visit to Jordan from neighboring Egypt on
Thursday to participate in meetings of the Middle East Council of
Churches held on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea.

The council represents some 35 Christian churches from the Orthodox,
Catholic and Protestant denominations of the region.

The pope “praised the brotherly ties between Christians and Muslims
in Jordan and the level of economic development in the country,”
the statement said. Shenouda also called for more “dialogue between
Christians and Muslim and for the honoring of human rights.”

He “encouraged the churches in the Middle East and worldwide to
achieve justice and peace in the region,” the statement concluded.

Jordan’s monarch, King Abdullah II, praised the role of the Coptic
Church in “consolidating Islamic-Christian understanding and dialogue,”
after meeting Shenouda on Thursday.

The Coptic Church was founded in Egypt in the first century after
the birth of Christ and derives its name from the Greek word for
“Egyptian.” It traces its roots to St. Mark, the gospel author who
brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor
Nero.

It is part of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches of Syria,
Ethiopia and Armenia. Orthodox Christians are similar to Roman
Catholics in their liturgy, but the two groups split in 1054 over
the authority of the pope.

It is unclear exactly how many Coptic Christians there are in the
world; some estimates put their numbers as high as 10 million, most
of whom live in Egypt. There are some 8,000 Coptic Orthodox adherents
in Jordan.

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:

“MEETING WITH THE GOSPEL” COURSES ARE COMPLETED

Antelias, Lebanon – The last session of “meeting with the Gospel”
course was held on May 31. An initiative of the Sunday Schools of
the Diocese of Lebanon, the session was organized by the Christian
Education department of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

As done in previous years, Gospel studies were held in the last
six months in the St. Asdvadzadzine Church in Bourj Hammoud. The
attendants had the opportunity to study the letter written by the
apostle Paul to Hebrews, the hymns composed by Nerses Shenorhali on
the occasion of the Great Lent and the letters of the apostle Peter.

Rev.Fr. Mashdots Tchobanian, Christian Education officer of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia, presided over the studies. The course
included recitation of hymns, the study of Psalm and questions and
answers.

Father Mashdots thanked Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, primate of
the Diocese of Lebanon, the committee of Sunday Schools, the
St. Asdvadzadzine Church and its Ladies’ Guild and the attendant,
who gathered around the Word of God, to be strengthened by Him and
to embrace Christian faith.

The last session included the study of the last part of St. Peter’s
second letter, which concerns the second coming of Christ and advises
people to be ready for receiving Him. The session ended with prayers.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about
the jurisdiction and the Christian Education activities in both the
Catholicosate and the dioceses, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate,
the administrative center of the church is located in Antelias,
Lebanon.

Arabic News
June 3 2005

Detroit Islamic center opens largest mosque in united states
Regional-USA, Local, 6/3/2005

Fifteen years of planning, six years of building and $15 million went
into the creation of a new Detroit mosque that now ranks as the
largest mosque in the United States.ÊThe two-story building has room
for more than 1,000 people in the main prayer hall and over 2,000 in
the banquet hall.

The mosque, which opened on May 27, is part of the Islamic Center of
America (ICA), an organization founded in 1961 and currently under
the leadership of Imam Sayed Hassan al-Qazwini.

Imam Qazwini, who was born in Karbala, Iraq, and studied Islamic
jurisprudence in Qum, Iran, came to the United States more than 12
years ago. He says he has been “impressed on how diverse this country
is and how Muslims are thriving in this country.” He was attracted to
Michigan because of its large concentration of Muslims and now feels
at home in what he refers to as the “American Middle East.”Ê

As the imam of a mosque in such a large and influential Muslim
community, Qazwini hopes to affect the area by working to create a
greater understanding of Islam. One of his personal goals, which he
hopes to achieve through his role in the center, is to establish an
interfaith program.Ê

“Due to the prominence of my center, I am given a golden opportunity
to build a bridge with non-Muslims … in the state of Michigan and
the United States as a whole,” he said.Ê

Already he has spoken at more than 170 colleges, universities and
churches since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In
addition, he noted that the mosque itself is located between two
churches: one Armenian and the other Greek Orthodox.Ê

In order to realize his goal of promoting interfaith understanding,
he plans to create an Interfaith Liaison Department, which will
spread the word of Islam, showing that it is “the word of peace, love
and mutual respect.”

Qazwini also intends to engage the community in the center’s
activities. His vision is to see the ICA as more than just a place
where people come to pray. Instead he “would like, for example, to
see youth taking over” and using the center as their platform.Ê

For now, the center is gaining recognition in the United States and
beyond. Al-Maktoum, a charitable organization based in Dubai, donated
$700,000 to the construction of the mosque in addition to the more
than $6 million that community members gave. Moreover, this summer
over 400 groups are scheduled to tour the mosque, which Qazwini
refers to as “a piece of art” and the governor of Michigan calls “a
jewel.”

The new Michigan mosque stands tall, visible even from airplanes
flying into Detroit, but according to Qazwini, the construction of
the building was only the first challenge. He now faces the task of
building the community.

–Boundary_(ID_CnNXI4EuO2jFbE2hiDtvRA)–

Kurdish dream of independence spurs militant youth

Kurdish Media, UK
June 2 2005

02/06/2005 AFP

LIJWA, Iraq, June 2 (AFP) – 19h58 – On the sidelines of a Kurdish
congress in this northeastern Iraqi village, young Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) militants from the region and Europe are bound together
by the dream of an independent state.

“I will only get married when my people are free,” said Sara Haldan,
expressing the burning hope of these people who adhere to what has
been labelled a terrorist group by the United States, European Union
and Turkey.

“I decided to join the fighters at the age of 15 after I saw Turks
drag my friend to her death behind an army vehicle. I decided then
to abandon my family and join the guerrillas to fight injustice,”
Haldan said.

This young Turkish Kurd has not seen her family in years for fear of
being recognized and arrested by Turkish authorities.

Kurds, who have sought independence since poet Ahmad Khani first
called for a Kurdish state to fend for its people in 1695, share a
common history, culture and language across four countries — Iran,
Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

For the meeting in this village 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast
of Baghdad, the young militants broke out their traditional shalwar
pants, multicolored shirts and wide belts.

PKK flags, red and yellow with a red star, flapped in the wind.

Narin, 22, came from Syria and took advantage of a journalist’s
presence to denounce problems faced by Kurdish women.

“Kurdish men fight for their freedom, while Kurdish women fight for
their freedom and their rights,” she said. “We should never give up
the armed struggle before we regain all our rights.”

Others who have gathered in Iraq’s northern mountains agree.

“When my family emigrated from Turkey to France I was 12 years old. I
lived there for eight years before the party called me back to join
fighters in northern Iraq,” said 23-year-old Jankiz.

He now trains Kurdish fighters and insists he “wants to remain in
this natural, human landscape until my dream of a state in these
mountains is fulfilled”.

An Indo-European people descended in large part from the Medes and
Scythian tribes, Kurds are mainly Sunni Muslims who have settled
across nearly a half-million square kilometers (200,000 square miles).

Their total number vary according to official or Kurdish sources,
from 25 to 35 million people, with between 13 and 19 million living
in Turkey.

Iran is home to six to eight million Kurds, Iraq has four to five
million and Syria around 1.5 million.

Large Kurdish communities also exist in the former Soviet republics of
Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as in European countries like Germany.

The PKK waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern
Turkey between 1984 and 1999 in a conflict that has claimed some
37,000 lives.

Around 5,000 militants are believed to be based in Turkey and the
mountains of northern Iraq.

On Wednesday, the party said it was ready to declare a ceasefire and
offered to begin peace talks with Ankara.

PKK official Murad Karayilan said the group was now seeking a “Kurdish
democratic federation.”

In Iraq, Kurds represent 15 to 20 percent of the population and were
severely persecuted by the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
They have now become a political force, with Jalal Talabani becoming
in April the first Kurd to assume the nation’s presidency.