Author: Jidarian Alex

ArmenPress
March 18 2005

BELARUS PRESIDENT WARNS AGAINST CIS COLLAPSE

BELARUS, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS: Belarus president Alexander
Lukashenka warned today that the Commonwealth of the Independent
States (CIS), a grouping of former 12 Soviet republics, risks
imminent collapse if no drastic reforms are taken to make it viable.
Addressing a meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Minsk Lukashenka
said the CIS is going now through a turmoil that may put an end to
it.
Lukashenka said he was sounding the opinion of all CIS leaders.
“Today’s meeting is important, we all will bear the responsibility
for the CIS disintegration that will happen if we do not oppose it,”
he said.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by RIA Novosti
news agency as saying that the meeting will sum up all proposals for
reforming the CIS. He said many of CIS bodies which proved to be
ineffective, will be liquidated.

TV reports on conflict in multiethnic Georgian region

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
18 Mar 20

An attack on an ethnic Greek couple in the multiethnic Tsalka District
in southern Georgia has led to a conflict between Georgians relocated
from Ajaria and ethnic Armenians and Greeks, who are said to be
against the resettlement of Ajarians in Tsalka. Several people are
reported injured and a local school has been raided. The following is
the text of a report by Georgian TV station Rustavi-2 on 18 March:

[Presenter Nino Shubladze] There is disorder in [the southern Georgian
district of] Tsalka again. Avralo [village] locals have gathered
outside the police station, demanding that the people who have
assaulted and robbed an ethnic Greek family be arrested. Parents say
their children will stay at home away from school until the situation
goes back to normal. Residents also demand that additional police
units be deployed in the district. [Video shows people arguing]

A conflict between Georgians relocated from Ajaria and ethnic
Armenians and Greeks started after an assault on a Greek
family. Several people were injured in an ensuing attack on
Ajarians. A special-purpose unit has been deployed in Tsalka.

[Correspondent] Fourteen people were slightly injured in an attack in
the Tsalka District village of Avralo. Ethnic Armenians, Greeks and
Georgians are among the victims. According to eyewitnesses, no
firearms were used.

[Davit Gvianidze, captioned as victim, interviewed in bed] We were
working in the village when some 30-40 men attacked us, merely because
we are Georgians.

[Question] Why did they do this?

[Gvianidze] I do not know why. They say a Greek person was wounded, or
robbed or something. Apparently they did this to us because of that
incident.

[Rati Kharshiladze, captioned as victim] There were about 20-30
people, approaching us from behind. I could not see what was
happening. They hit me from behind.

[Question] What did they hit you with?

[Kharshiladze] First they hit me with a hand, then with metal objects.

[Correspondent] Ajarians were attacked after an elderly Greek couple
were assaulted. The Kaloelov family were robbed of money and gold late
at night, the day before yesterday. Both the husband and the wife say
that the attackers were Ajarians.

[Elizaveta Kaloelova, victim, interviewed in bed, in Russian] They
were demanding money, dollars and gold. I told them I didn’t have
any. Then he took a knife and threatened to cut my ear.

[Correspondent] A special-purpose unit has been deployed in Tsalka
District and a criminal case has been opened, but no-one has been
arrested so far.

Both Georgians and Greeks demand that the authorities deal with crime.
Armenians and Greeks say that the Ajarians infringe on their rights,
while Georgians say that Greeks and Armenians are against the
resettlement of Georgians in the district.

[Presenter] Avralo locals have taken to the streets following the
incident yesterday. Nana Lezhava is in Tsalka. She is talking to us
live.

Nana, what are the people’s demands?

[Lezhava] Nino, I must say that there are several different
demands. Ethnic Armenians and Greeks, as well as Georgians resettled
from Ajaria, have gathered in the village centre. They have different
demands.

I should say that Avralo used to be a Greek village until the
resettlement of Georgians from Ajaria. There is an Armenian village
next door. The Armenians stood up for the assaulted Greek family. They
came to the village and demanded that one of the suspects, who has
been arrested, be lynched. Needless to say, police refused to satisfy
this demand.

A conflict followed. We spoke to both sides. The Georgians say that
there was an attack on Georgians in the street and an attack on a
school. They say that they can’t let their children go back to
school. We visited the school. It clearly had been raided. Some of the
Armenians and Greeks gathered here do not approve of what was done to
the school. As regards their demands, they say that the crime
situation in the village must be improved. They do not intend to go
home until the guilty are punished.

This is what we have heard from the people.

[Merab Khutsishvili, teacher] The teaching process has been
disrupted. I am a deputy head teacher and, as far as I know, parents
will not let their children go back to school until there is order
there.

[Iasha Toldikovi, in Russian] My shop has been looted and my house has
been robbed. They took everything. No-one has been held
responsible. One has to have at least a shred of decency. We are tired
of this. What was done to the school was not right. I am against that.

[Mikheil Tskitishvili, captioned as head of Tsalka District
administration] I want to organize a meeting between these two
villages, between the Greeks, the Armenians and the Georgians, both
local and resettled, and I want to make them friends and have them
promise each other that they will be good neighbours and friends to
each other.

If there is a problem it will be resolved by the authorities not a
group of people.

[Lezhava] I might say that the conflict is not due to one incident
alone. Off the record, the Armenians and Greeks say that they are
against the relocation of people from Ajaria, saying that they have
taken over Greeks’ houses without paying any money. They also were
critical of the local authorities, saying that the officials only
listen to people relocated from Ajaria, ignoring their views.

Nevertheless, I can’t say that the situation is very tense. The people
are simply waiting to see what happens next.

Nino, over to you.

[Presenter] Nana, thank you very much. Nana Lezhava was speaking live
about the conflict in Tsalka District.

Christian Science Monitor
March 16 2005

In Turkey, taboo lifts over past treatment of Armenians

Last week, Prime Minister Erdogan proposed a joint study into
Armenian claims of genocide.

By Yigal Schleifer | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – When Turkish executive Noyan Soyak helped found a
group to bring together businessmen from Turkey and Armenia, the
organization stepped into a gaping void.
“When we started [in 1997], it was difficult even to publicly
pronounce the word ‘Armenia’ or ‘Armenians’ in Turkey,” says Mr.
Soyak, whose group today has some 250 Turkish and Armenian members.

The Armenian issue has long been one of the most fraught in Turkey,
the limits of its discussion strictly controlled by the state. Driven
apart by nearly a century of hatred and accusations of genocide, the
two neighbors became further estranged after diplomatic relations
were broken off by Ankara in 1993, in the wake of Armenia’s
occupation of a large chunk of territory belonging to Turkish ally
Azerbaijan.

But Soyak and others say something has changed – that Turkey’s
increasing democratization and reforms related to its European Union
membership bid have slowly started to soften the country’s historical
stance.

Despite the lack of official relations, a growing number of
nongovernmental Turkish groups – from academics and businessmen to
musicians and women’s organizations – are now meeting with their
Armenian counterparts, in the process helping to redefine the debate
in Turkey and ease the enmity between the two nations.

“Any and all kinds of relationships are important for softening up
the infrastructure for the politicians,” Soyak says. “Governments
can’t move as quickly as we do, so civil society groups are leading
the way.”

Hrant Dink, the editor of Agos, a newspaper serving Turkey’s Armenian
community, says the evolution of what is allowed to be said can be
seen in the pages of his publication. When Agos was launched 10 years
ago, Mr. Dink took an indirect approach to writing about the past.
“Previously, when we talked about history, we didn’t mention things
that happened but focused on culture instead,” says Dink, speaking in
the newspaper’s Istanbul office.

“Slowly we started to ask what happened to the Armenians,” he says.
“Now we’re at the point of telling what happened.”

Even if the subject is “no longer taboo” as Dink says, the debate
still fundamentally divides Turkey and Armenia. Armenians say the
Ottomans killed 1.5 million of their people from 1915 to 1923 through
deportations and mass killings in what is now eastern Turkey.
Armenians have been waging an international campaign to have this
recognized as genocide; more than a dozen nations do so today. Turkey
rejects the genocide claim. It admits that Armenians were killed but
disputes the number and says that the deaths were unorganized and
part of wider regional violence that also affected Muslim Turks.

Until recently, the Turkish state’s official version of events was
all that could be aired publicly. But observers say that democratic
reforms – many of them the result of pressure by the EU – have
created more space for public debate on the topic.

“The level of education has gone up and civil society has expanded,
so the state can no longer dominate and monopolize the public
sphere,” says Muge Gocek, a Turkish sociologist who is the
co-organizer of the Workshop for Armenian-Turkish Studies, an annual
gathering of Turkish and Armenian scholars.

In an unusual turn, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called last
week for a study by Turkish and Armenian historians of claims of
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turkish troops. The Armenian Foreign
Ministry has rejected Mr. Erdogan’s proposal.

Indeed, those involved in Turkish-Armenian reconciliation efforts
caution that the road towards normalizing relations is still very
bumpy. Turkish officials say they believe Armenian genocide claims
will lead to demands for reparations and territory.

Ustun Erguder, a Turkish political scientist and member of the
Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission, a group of academics and
former diplomats from both sides, says the association of the word
“genocide” with the barbarity of Nazi Germany makes the claim hard
for Turks. “I think Turks have come a long way even to say, ‘We did
something wrong to the Armenians.’ ”

The issue remains explosive. When Orhan Pamuk, a famous Turkish
author, stated in a Swiss paper last month that “a million Armenians
were killed in Turkey,” the response included death threats and
charges of dishonoring the state filed against him in court.

Van Krikorian, a former chairman of the Armenian Assembly of America,
says the only way forward is more dialogue. “On the Turkish side and
the Armenian side, people need to feel they can discuss what happened
and not feel as though somebody is going to attack them,” he says.

OSCE TO REFURBISH POLICE TRAINING CENTRE IN ARMENIA

A1+
15-03-2005

The OSCE today launched the first phase of the Police Assistance
Programme in Armenia with the signing of an agreement to refurbish the
Police Training Centre.

The agreement, signed by the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan,
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, and the Armenian Chief of Police,
Lieutenant-General Hayk Harutyunyan, is aimed at bringing basic police
training conditions into line with advanced European practices. It is
also intended to provide modern equipment and teaching aids.

“Today marks a milestone in our endeavours within the framework of the
Police Assistance Programme, as this initiative represents the
foundation for a well-trained and community-oriented force,” said
Ambassador Pryakhin at the signing ceremony.

“It is an example of fruitful and constructive co-operation between
the OSCE and Armenia in fostering democratic institutions, to the
benefit of Armenian people.”

Lieutenant-General Harutyunyan also praised the co-operation with the
OSCE Office and expressed the deep appreciation of the Armenian
authorities to OSCE participating States for their valuable technical
support and financial contributions. “This project serves the purpose
of setting up suitable logistical pre-conditions for the development
of modern basic police training for our forces,” he said.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in July 2003, four areas
were identified for the Police Assistance Programme: the refurbishment
of the Training Centre for recruits, the strengthening of the Training
Centre, the introduction of a community-policing model in one of the
districts of Yerevan, and the establishment of a new emergency
response system and infrastructure.

New York Times
March 15 2005

Arms Network Is Broken Up, Officials Say
By JULIA PRESTON

Published: March 16, 2005

Law enforcement authorities have broken up a network of international
arms smugglers who sold black-market assault rifles in the United
States and were plotting to import military weapons – including
anti-aircraft missiles and antitank guns – from Eastern Europe,
federal and New York City officials announced yesterday.

The arms dealers sold the weapons to a confidential informer working
with the F.B.I. who told them he was buying the arms for Al Qaeda,
said David N. Kelley, the United States attorney in Manhattan, at a
news conference. Mr. Kelley said the dealers were not associated with
any terrorist organization but were selling the weapons to make
money.

The officials charged that the arms ring was led by Artur Solomonyan,
an Armenian, and Christiaan Dewet Spies, a South African, who have
been living illegally in New York. In cellphone conversations
secretly recorded by the F.B.I., the men said they intended to buy
the more sophisticated weapons primarily from the Russian military
but also from sellers linked to the armed forces in Ukraine and
Georgia, Mr. Kelley said.

Although no terrorists were directly involved, the officials said the
case represented a sobering warning that there were dealers in the
illegal international arms market capable of importing battlefield
weapons to the United States and ready to sell them to terrorists.

“These defendants may not have been terrorists themselves, but
they’ve shown a transparent willingness to do anything with anybody
so long as it generates income for their organization,” said Andrew
Arena, a special agent in charge of the Criminal Division of the
F.B.I. in New York.

Mr. Kelley unsealed a federal criminal complaint for weapons
trafficking yesterday against 18 people he said participated in the
arms network. The two accused ringleaders and 15 other defendants
were arrested by the F.B.I. and the local police Monday night and
yesterday morning in roundups in New York City, Los Angeles and
Miami, the officials said. The remaining defendant, identified as
Armand Abramian, 27, was being sought in California.

Mr. Solomonyan, 26, protested that he was not guilty as he was
escorted yesterday into Federal District Court in Manhattan. “I was
trapped in this thing,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on.” Also
named in the complaint was his brother, Levon, 24.

The arrests came after a yearlong investigation in which the
confidential informer secretly recorded hours of conversations with
the defendants, and the F.B.I. taped more than 15,000 calls on seven
telephones, officials said.

During the year, they said, the arms ring sold the informer eight
illegal weapons, mostly military assault rifles, including two
AK-47’s and an Israeli-made Uzi. The dealers delivered three of the
guns in New York City, three in Los Angeles and two in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., in transactions that were monitored by the F.B.I.

In recent weeks, the defendants made a $2.2 million deal to sell the
informer more powerful, mainly Russian-made weapons, Mr. Kelley said.
They gave the informer photographs of the weapons, which they said
they were holding somewhere in Eastern Europe and were ready to
import by ship to the United States.

The photos, which officials displayed yesterday, included images of
two SA-7b Strella surface-to-air heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles
and a Russian AT-4 Spigot antitank guided missile and launcher.

Early in their discussions, Artur Solomonyan told the informer he
could obtain enriched uranium that could be “used in the subway,” Mr.
Kelley said. But he said the subject was “never followed up,” and
there was no evidence that the arms ring ever trafficked in nuclear
or other weapons of mass destruction. “It never happened,” Mr. Kelley
said.

Mr. Spies, 33, told the informer that he had ties to the Russian
mafia, the complaint says. But none of the defendants are Russian;
they include people from Georgia, Italy and France, as well as
several Americans. Mr. Kelley said that officials suspected they were
buying arms from “rogue folks within Eastern European military
circles” but that it was still not clear whether they were members of
the military or black marketeers.

According to the complaint, the F.B.I. informer began meeting a year
ago with Mr. Spies, whom he had known for several years, and Mr.
Solomonyan.

The arrests began Monday night, when Mr. Solomonyan and Mr. Spies
went to a meeting with the informer in Manhattan, where they had been
told he would give them false immigration green cards so they could
leave the United States to pick up the promised weapons. Instead,
they were met by F.B.I. and New York police agents.

PanArmenian News
March 12 2005

CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: DAYS OF CUBAN CULTURE PLANNED IN ARMENIA

12.03.2005 05:14

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Cuba intends to activate exchange of views in
Armenia over the cooperation in various spheres, expansion of the
legal and contract framework between the two countries, Cuban
Ambassador to Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan
(residence in Moscow) Jorge Martinez stated at a press conference in
Yerevan, adding that the Cuban party is also ready to hold a sitting
of the intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, Regnum
news agency reported. In his words, there are large prospects in
education cooperation. “At present two student girls from Armenia
study at Cuban State University, one Cuban studies in Armenia,” the
Ambassador informed. There is also much cooperation potential in
health, specifically bio-techniques and gene engineering, exchange of
specialists for cancer diseases. In economy Martinez did not rule out
the opportunity of exporting Cuban cigars and rum to Armenia and
importing Armenian brandy to Cuba. The Ambassador also spoke in favor
of making mutual investments in tourism. Martinez informed that
respective issues will be discussed in the course of today’s meeting
at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Armenia. In the
Ambassador’s words, holding Days of Cuban Culture is also planned in
Armenia. The arrangement matters will be discussed in the course of a
visit of representatives of the of Cuba-Armenia Partnership
Organization this May.

ARKA News Agency
March 11, 2005

Official Tbilisi discusses the possibility of transit transportation
of gas by the route of Iran-Armenia ~VGeorgia- Ukraine

On March 14-15, RA Minister of Foreign Affairs to participate in the
61st session of the UN Committee on Human Rights

USDA-MAP Armenia office to work as CARD

Regular sitting of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission
on economic cooperation to l be held in the first half a year of 2005
in Yerevan

AAO Demands facts substantiating charges of anti-Semitism from US
Department of State

Visit of the Head of the Federal Foreign Department of Switzerland is
expected to the South Caucasus states in Autumn 2005

Monitoring group of GRECO international organization to arrive in
Armenia in May

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli arrives Friday in Yerevan for
a two-day working visit

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OFFICIAL TBILISI DISCUSSES THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSIT TRANSPORTATION
OF GAS BY THE ROUTE OF IRAN-ARMENIA ~VGEORGIA- UKRAINE

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Georgian Prime Minister Zourab Nogaideli
stated today in Yerevan that Georgia is interested in the
construction of the Iran ~VArmenian gas pipeline. According to RA
Government~Rs Press Service, Nogaideli stated that official Tbilisi
discussed the possibility of transit transportation of gas by the
following route: Iran-Armenia ~VGeorgia- Ukraine.
Construction of the Iran ~VArmenian gas pipeline should be completed
till January 1, 2007. After that, joint work of gas systems of the
two countries will begin. In accordance with the agreement, at the
initial stage the volume of gas import to Armenia will make 1,1 bln.
cubic meters annually, and since 2019 – 2,3 bln. cubic meters. A.H.
–0–

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ON MARCH 14-15, RA MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
61ST SESSION OF THE UN COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. On March 14-15, RA Minister of Foreign
Affairs Vartan Oskanian will leave for Geneva for a working visit, to
participate in the 61st session of the UN Committee on Human Rights.
According to the RA MFA~Rs Press Service, it~Rs planned that Oskanian
will speak at the session. In the framework of the visit he will meet
the General Secretary of the Committee and will hold bilateral
meetings with official representatives of various countries. A.H.
~V0–

*********************************************************************

USDA-MAP ARMENIA OFFICE TO WORK AS CARD

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. From April 5, 2005, the Armenian office if
the United State Department of Agriculture~Rs Marketing Assistance
Project (USDA-MAP) is to start working as the Center for Agribusiness
and Rural Development (CARD) Foundation. Sos Avetisyan, Public
Relations and Information Executive, USDA-MAP, reported that the
USDA-MAP will be closing its doors on March 31, 2005. He reported
that the newly established Foundation is an independent local
organization which has a Board of Trustees and Executive Director.
Jeffrey E. Engels, the out-going USDA-MAP Director, will continue as
CARD Executive Director, and Gagik Sardaeryan, former marketing
manager USDA-MAP, has been appointed CARD~Rs Deputy Director.
The Foundation is mainly to be funded by the US Department of
Agriculture~Rs farming services.
Executive Director. In speaking of this transition, Mr. Engels said,
~SThe transition from MAP to CARD is a unique one: for the first time
an international USDA agricultural development project will
transition its best activities to a private sector, locally
registered legacy organization. CARD carries on the successful
history begun under MAP, directly responding to the needs of farmers
and agribusinesses with market-driven, economical, and
technologically-appropriate solutions to Armenian agriculture. This
is an exciting opportunity.~T
Since 1996, USDA-MAP has helped to over 60 Armenian enterprises and
25 production and sale cooperatives, 50 credit clubs and thousands of
farms in all Armenian regions by rendering technical, financial and
marketing assistance to them. In 2004, the RA Ministry of Agriculture
awarded USDA-MAP a gold medal ~SFor agricultural achievements.~T P.T.
~V0–

*********************************************************************

REGULAR SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION
ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION TO L BE HELD IN THE FIRST HALF A YEAR OF 2005
IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The regular sitting of the
Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic
cooperation will be held in the first half a year of 2005 in Yerevan,
as stated RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan in the course of the
meeting with his Georgian colleague Zourab Nogaiteli, according to RA
Government~Rs Press Service. Margaryan discussed the issue of
construction of Sadakhlo check-point, establishment of a gas
measuring nearby the Armenian border for the part of the territory
through which gas is supplied to Armenia through Georgia, issues of
legal registering the process of passing Ashotsk-Ninotsminda electric
power line to the Georgian side. The Prime Ministers emphasized the
necessity of urgent development of a project to solve the problems
and to be discussed at the ext sitting. In this regard, it~Rs also
planned that till the end of March 2005, meeting of Ministers of
Finance and Economy of the two countries will be held for the
discussion of current financial problems and getting prepared to the
sitting.
In the course of the meeting the Armenian side raised the issue
disrespectful attitude to Armenian churches in Georgia and the
necessity of taking adequate measures to prevent such things. In this
regard, the Ministers of Culture of the two countries were ordered to
jointly consider the issue and report on it at the next sitting of
the commission. A.H. –0~W

*********************************************************************

AAO DEMANDS FACTS SUBSTANTIATING CHARGES OF ANTI-SEMITISM FROM US
DEPARTMENT OF STATE

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The Armenian-Aryan Order (AAO) demands
facts substantiating the charges of anti-Semitism from the US
Department of State. An open letter of the AAO Supreme Council
addressed to the US Department of State says that the Department~Rs
recent report on global anti-Semitism mentions among other forces the
~Sultranationalist Armenian-Aryan Order~T, which makes antri-Semite
appeals and demands that the country [Armenia] be cleared of Jews and
Yezids. ~SWe still do not understand what statement made by the Jewish
community of Armenia and unknown to us served as a basis for this
decision,~T says the letter. Moreover, the AAO Supreme Council does
not understand the paragraph concerning Yezids, considering the fact
that they repeatedly refuted the fact included in the report. ~SWe
demand the presentation of substantiated facts related to the report.
Otherwise, we will consider the report of the US Department of State
as interference in Armenia~Rs domestic affairs,~T the letter says.
Also, the AAO leaders do not understand deliberate identification of
anti-Semitism with anti-Judaism.
Referring to the information of the Jewish community of Armenia, the
US Department of State~Rs report on global anti-Semitism indicates a
number of cases of insult of Jews in Armenia. Specifically, the
document says that the Director of the ALM TV channel made frequent
anti-Semite remarks, and the Union of Armenian Aryans, which is a
small ultra-national group, made an appeal for clearing the country
of Jews and Yezids. P.T. ~V0–

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VISIT OF THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL FOREIGN DEPARTMENT OF SWITZERLAND IS
EXPECTED TO THE SOUTH CAUCASUS STATES IN AUTUMN 2005

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. In autumn 2005, visit of Mishlin
Calmy-Ray, the Head of the Federal Foreign Department of Switzerland
is expected to the South Caucasus states, as stated the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Armenia Stephan
Shpek. According to him, like other European countries, neutral
Switzerland is interested in the stability in the South Caucasus,
since instability in three states of the region that are the members
of the Council of Europe is quite dangerous for the whole Europe and
for Switzerland in particular. He emphasized that Switzerland has a
regional approach to the South Caucasus. However, according to him,
South Caucasus may be called a region only from geographic
standpoint. In the meantime, he characterized the Armenian- Swiss
relations as ~Svery good but not intensive~T, meaning insufficient
relations among the top officials of the two countries. A.H.~W0~W

*********************************************************************

MONITORING GROUP OF GRECO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO ARRIVE IN
ARMENIA IN MAY

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Monitoring group of GRECO (groups of
countries against corruption) international organization is expected
to arrive in Armenia on May 30, as Bagrat Yesayan, the Head of
Monitoring Commission for Implementation of Anticorruption Strategy,
stated. In his words, the organization has clear mechanism to conduct
monitoring, in the frames of which Armenia has already presented
report on steps taken. According to Yesayan, the Group will present
the report at its session to be held late this year. After that,
bails will be made to Armenia. He said a scheme of their
implementation would be worked out. Yesayan also said legislation
reformation concrete directions would be presented to Armenia after
the first stage completion. In his words, Armeian legislatyion should
conform to European criteria of struggle against corruption.
In 2004, Armenia became the 37th member of GRECO. M.V. -0–

*********************************************************************

GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER ZURAB NOGAIDELI ARRIVES FRIDAY IN YEREVAN FOR
A TWO-DAY WORKING VISIT

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli
arrives Friday in Yerevan for a two-day visit at the invitation of
his Armenian counterpart Andranik Margaryan. The Georgian PM will
meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Armenian PM Andranik
Margaryan and Armenian Apostolic Church Leader Garegin II. The
Geogian high-ranking official will also lay flowers at
Tsitsernakaberd, a memorial of Armenian Genocide victims in Yerevan.
The delegation includes Georgian Foreign, Finance, Defense, Energy
and Economic Development Ministers as well as the PM Adviser,
Director of Regional Cooperation Department of Georgian Foreign
Ministry and other officials. M.V. -0–

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ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/09/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) System Of A Down ~QSouls 2005~R Benefit Concert
2) Sen. Allen Calls for US Recognition of Armenian Genocide
3) Erdogan Calls for a Study about Armenian Genocide ~QInsinuations~R
4) Skirmish Reported in Karabagh

1) System Of A Down ~QSouls 2005~R Benefit Concert

“We call this ‘Souls’ because there are all these souls that aren’t at rest.
Their deaths have been overlooked.”

LOS ANGELES–Multi-Platinum-selling group System Of A Down will headline
“Souls 2005,” a benefit concert presented by Los Angeles radio powerhouse,
KROQ-FM, and held in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 24 at the Universal
Amphitheatre. All tickets for the concert will be priced at $45.00 and will go
on sale at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 12 at the Universal Amphitheatre box
office, all Ticketmaster outlets including Tower Records, Robinsons-May,
Wherehouse, Ritmo Latino, <;,
and <; Doors are at 7:00 PM and the show will
begin at 8:15 PM; support acts and other details will be announced shortly.
This is the third “Souls” benefit concert that System Of A Down has organized
and headlined, and as before, the four band members–Serj Tankian, Daron
Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, and John Dolmayan–have earmarked the proceeds from
“Souls 2005” to benefit organizations that work to eradicate genocides across
the globe. This includes the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), an
organization that supports legislation in US Congress to recognize the
Armenian
genocide that was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire during World War 1. During
this first genocide of the 20th century, 1.5 million Armenians were
annihilated
and hundreds of thousands deported from their ancient homeland. April 24 was
chosen as the date for the concert as this year it commemorates the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The members of System of a Down, who are of Armenian descent, all lost family
members and family history to the Armenian genocide. “Because so much of my
family history was lost in the Armenian Genocide,” said Malakian, “my
grandfather, who was very young at the time, doesn’t know his true age. How
many people can say they don’t know how old they are?” Tankian, Dolmayan and
Odadjian all identify their grandparents’ memories as the only links they have
to their respective family heritages, as most of their families were
obliterated during the Armenian genocide.
Why should System Of A Down fans be concerned about the Armenian genocide,
something that happened nearly one-hundred years ago and far away from the
United States?
“It’s important for people to be aware of the Armenian Genocide,” explained
Tankian, “and that those actions continue to be covered up by the Turkish
government, the US State Department, Turkey’s allies in the defense and oil
industries, and by our present US Administration. Had the Armenian Genocide
been acknowledged as a Crime Against Humanity as it was, Hitler might not have
thought he could get away with the Jewish Holocaust. History does and will
repeat itself, unless we stop that cycle.”

2) Sen. Allen Calls for US Recognition of Armenian Genocide

–Virginia Legislator: US “Not Willing to Sweep History under the Rug”

WASHINGTON, DC–In a principled stand for US recognition of the Armenian
genocide, Senator George Allen (R-VA), in his capacity as the presiding
officer
of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on the Black Sea region,
noted that the United States “wants to have good relations with Turkey but we
are not willing to sweep history under the rug,” reported the Armenian
National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The hearing, on “The Future of Democracy in the Black Sea Area,” was held
before the Subcommittee on European Affairs and featured testimony by John F.
Tefft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, European and Eurasian Affairs;
Bruce P. Jackson, President of the Project on Transitional Democracies;
Vladimir Socor, a Senior Fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, and; Zeyno Baran,
Director of International Security and Energy Programs for the Nixon Center.
Senator Allen, during his remarks, also noted the chilling nature of Adolf
Hitler’s remarks to quiet the reservations of his military staff on the eve of
invading Poland–“Who, after all, remembers the Armenians?”
“As he has done so often in the past–as a member of the Virginia
legislature,
a US Representative, Governor of the Commonwealth, and now as Senator–George
Allen has spoken with moral clarity on the need to end any association with
Turkey’s shameful policy of genocide denial,” said ANCA Executive Director
Aram
Hamparian. “Armenians throughout the Old Dominion and around the nation
appreciate the Senator’s strong leadership on the issue of the Armenian
Genocide and the full range of legislative issues dealing with Armenia and the
surrounding region.”
Early in her testimony, Baran of the Nixon Center cited the “deterioration in
the US-Turkey bilateral relationship.” She went on to voice her opposition to
the Armenian Genocide Resolution, noting that its passage would harm US-Turkey
relations. “Given the prevalent Turkish view that the US is running a campaign
against Turkey, it would be very damaging if the “Armenian Genocide”
resolution
passed Congress this year,” stated Baran. “This year is the 90th
anniversary of
the tragic 1915 massacre and certainly Armenian diaspora groups would like to
get recognition. However, such a resolution would play right into the hands of
the growing set of anti-Americans and ultra-nationalists in Turkey.”
“We are profoundly troubled that there remain voices whose recipe for reining
in the Turkish government’s increasing anti-American policies is to reward
Turkey by compromising our nation’s principles stand against genocide,” said
Hamparian. “American leadership requires that we stand up for our values, not
run away from them.”

3) Erdogan Calls for a Study about Armenian Genocide ~QInsinuations~R

ANKARA (Reuters)–Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called Tuesday for an
impartial study by historians of ~SArmenian claims that their people suffered
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turkish troops during and after World War
I.~T
Turkey always denied the Armenian genocide but has been irked by growing
calls, especially from within the European Union, which it aspires to join,
that it recognize a genocide occurred as an historic fact.
Some EU politicians have even suggested that Turkey should not be allowed to
start entry talks to join the bloc on Oct. 3 unless it accepts the genocide
claims.
“We have opened our archives to those people who claim there was genocide. If
they are sincere, they should also open their archives,” Erdogan told a news
conference.
“Teams of historians from both sides should conduct studies in these
archives.
We are ready to take steps on this issue.
“We do not want future generations to have a difficult life because of hatred
and resentment,” he added.
In an unusual gesture that underlined the sensitivity of the issue in Turkey,
opposition leader Deniz Baykal joined Erdogan at the news conference to stress
his party’s full backing for an independent inquiry into the claims.
“We are facing a political campaign (against Turkey),” said Baykal, leader of
the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In his statement to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Baykal said,
~SIt is
time to put an end to the insinuations on the Armenian ~Qgenocide,~R” describing
it as a product of a morbid imagination.
He announced that his party will host a symposium, under the auspices of
UNESCO, with the participation of the world’s most famous scholars.
“If the Armenian scholars really have serious arguments and facts on the
~Qgenocide,~R they should display them here. Those who talk about the Armenian
~Qgenocide~R by the Ottoman government must present documentary proofs. If the
events are nothing but the insinuations, however, the international community
must be aware of that,” he said.
Several foreign parliaments, including those of Canada, France, and
Switzerland, have approved resolutions recognizing an Armenian genocide as
fact, much to Turkey’s irritation.

4) Skirmish Reported in Karabagh

STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources)–Mountainous Karabagh Republic~Rs (MKR) Defense
Ministry reported late Tuesday that a group of Azeri soldiers attempted to
cross the frontline near the Armenian-controlled village of Seysulan on a
~Sreconnaissance and sabotage~T mission before being repelled by Armenian
forces.
~SThe enemy had to retreat as a result of a gunfight,~T said a ministry
statement. ~SThe Karabagh side suffered no losses.~T
The MKR military charged that the skirmish was part of Azerbaijan~Rs
efforts to
~Sdestabilize the situation~T along the line of contact north and east of
Karabagh and move its troops closer to Armenian positions. ~SAny action by the
Azerbaijani side threatening the security of Mountainous Karabagh and aimed at
destabilizing the situation in the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict zone will be
resolutely thwarted,~T it warned. Karabagh troops suffered no casualties.
The Azeri side confirmed the firefight but said it was the Karabagh Armenians
who provoked it by firing on Azeri positions.
~SThe enemy was silenced by Azerbaijani gunfire,~T the Azerbaijani ANS
television said, according to BBC. ~SSeveral enemy soldiers were killed in the
attack. Four wounded Azerbaijani soldiers have been hospitalized.~T
An ANS correspondent at the scene reported that sporadic gunfire could still
be heard in the area on Tuesday.

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TORGUT OZAL: WOULDN’T IT BE BETTER TO RECOGNIZE THE GENOCIDE

Azg/arm
10 March 05

It turned out that the 8th president of Turkish Republic, late Torgut
Ozal, during his Washington visit in 1991 expressed readiness to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, March 7 issue of Hurriet wrote
quoting former Turkish ambassador to US, Nushet Qandemir, as saying.
The latter is now the vice-president of True Path Party.

“Ozal told me once at the Madison Hotel entrance during his stay in
Washington: â~@~XWouldnâ~@~Yt it be better if Turkey recognized the
genocide and put an end to this issue?â~@~Y There were journalists
around us, and they heard Ozalâ~@~Ys words. I immediately responded
saying: â~@~XDear President, such issues are not to be solved on
feet. We have to weigh everything and be carefulâ~@~Y. Everybody,
including the journalists and representatives of the Foreign
Ministry, were looking at us in horror and couldnâ~@~Yt find words.
As you know, Ozal liked putting forward such issues for wide
discussion. We talked him out of that idea and he agreed”, Qandemir
told Hurriet.

According to Hurriet, former foreign minister, Ilter Turkmen,
confirmed Qandemirâ~@~Ys words. He reminded about Ozalâ~@~Ys habit of
offering surprising issues to discuss and added: “He wanted to show
that even indisputable issues need to be discussed”.

By Hakob Chakrian

–Boundary_(ID_//a0pRZmH+bSEI4cyxQSuQ)–

Armenian minister turns down Turkish PM’s genocide idea

Mediamax news agency
9 Mar 05

Yerevan, 9 March: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today
rejected the proposal by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, for historians of both countries to study jointly the issue
of the genocide of Armenians in 1915.

In reply to a question from Mediamax, he said: “We have made our
position known many times. Historians have already said their word
and Turkey should determine its stance on this. There is nothing that
historians can do here.

[Passage omitted: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called for impartial study
of the alleged genocide of Armenians under Turkish Ottoman rule,
reported details]