Author: Kafian Jirair

AGREEMENT ON FORMING A COALITION GOVERNMENT TO BE SIGNED AT PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

ArmRadio.am
06.06.2007 13:56

Leaders of the Republican Party, Prosperous Armenia and ARF
Dashnaktsutyun will meet at RA President’s Office at 16:00 today.

During the sitting a memorandum on formation of a coalition government
will be signed between the Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia. A
memorandum of cooperation outside the coalition will be signed with
Dashnaktsutyun.

Immediately following the meeting a press conference will be held at
the Office of the ARF Supreme Body.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCH MESROB II: I PLAN ON SPEAKING TO GENERAL BUYUKANIT ABOUT HRANT

Hurriyet, Turkey
June 4 2007

The leader of the Armenian Orthodox community in Turkey, Patriarch
Mesrob II, has said that the initial societal support shown in the
wake of journalist Hrant Dink’s murder has lessened as a result of
nationalist pressure, and that the figures behind the murder of Dink
in Istanbul are still being protected.

Mesrob II noted in his comments, which were published on the German
magazine "Der Spiegel"’s website, that he planned to meet soon
with the leader of the Turkish military, General Yasar Buyukanit,
on this matter.

Notably, Mesrob II also used his comments to express support for the
current AKP administration, asserting that the AKP demonstrated a more
tolerant attitude towards religious minorities than the opposition CHP.

Also in the interview, Mesrob II commented on the controversies
swirling around the Armenian claims of genocide, noting "Rather
than insisting on recognition for the Armenian claims of genocide,
we Turkish Armenians should make an effort to see that dialogue
between Turkey and Armenia can be developed."

NIZAMI BAHMANOV: AZERBAIJANIS’ RETURNING WOULD ENSURE ARMENIANS’ SECURITY IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 5 2007

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Spain Miguel Anhel
Moratinos visiting Baku today met with chief of Nagorno Karabakh’s
Azerbaijani Community Public Union Nizami Bahmanov and the union’s
members from Khojaly, Khocavend and Shusha regions, APA reports.

Nizami Bahmanov said a briefing that they again expressed Azerbaijan’s
position regarding the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

He said though the co-chairs make statements on unconditional
withdrawal of Armenian forces from seven regions of Azerbaijan,
it is not yet reflected in reality.

"We brought to the attention of the Chairman-in-Office the necessity of
bringing back Azerbaijanis to Nagorno Karabakh and noted that it is one
of the main conditions for the security of Armenians living there. Our
returning there would ensure Armenians’ security," he underlined.

The participants told the OSCE senior official that though OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs visited the region several times, no results have
been yielded yet, and Armenians’ obvious crimes were always covered up.

"Burning Azerbaijani houses, historical monuments, deforestation,
damage on environment, illegal transfer of Armenians to the houses
of Azerbaijanis, arsons… None of the representatives visiting the
region informed the Azerbaijani government about these crimes."

Mr.Bahmanov considers that it impedes maintenance of peace.

Mentioning that Armenians were also transferred to Lachin region
Bahmanov said it causes great problems.

"We have never seen a firm position of OSCE. The co-chairing countries
have to demonstrate a firm position, and exert pressure on the opposite
side," he said.

NOTHING AND NOBODY MAY MAKE KARABAKH STAY WITHIN AZERBAIJAN’S MAKE-UP

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.06.2007 18:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Determination of the status of NKR is the most
important thing for the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Only after that it
will be possible to speak about continuation of talks, NKR President
Arkadi Ghukassian stated to a press conference in Yerevan after
having met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. He
said, nothing and nobody may make Karabakh stay within Azerbaijan’s
make-up. People of Nagorno Karabakh have the final word. We will be
satisfied only by such a solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
which will be acceptable for the NKR people. Indeed, there exists
one more way, that is, not solve anything. Naturally, it is not
acceptable to claim 100 percent in negotiation process and to receive
as much. However, I repeat, the main thing for NKR is the issue of
status," Ghukassian underscored.

At the same time the NKR President underlined that there are no
fundamental differences in the settlement issue between Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. "NKR has its own stance, which Armenian authorities
must take into account, and not always we can insist on our stance. But
it does not find any reflection on the negotiation process," the NKR
President stressed. He also noticed that it is impossible to solve
such a conflict surreptitiously.

THE LESSONS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Yerkir.am
Editorial
June 01, 2007

The International Federation of Journalists held its XXVI congress
in Moscow on May 30. One of the panels of the congress was titled
"For the Global Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Committed in
the Ottoman Turkey and Prevention of Genocides in the XXI Century".

PanArmenian.Net informs that a statement was adopted by the congress
saying, "Mass killings and deportation of the Armenian population
from the Western Armenia (the territory of the modern Turkey) are
defined as the Armenian Genocide.

These crimes were defined as "new crimes against the humanity and
civilization" in the joint statement made by Russia, France and Great
Britain in May 1915.

The crimes assume responsibility for the Ottoman Empire. Turkey was
not punished for these crimes, which caused recurrence of new crimes
against other ethnic groups in Anatolia – the Assyrians, the Greeks,
Kurds.

Today Turkey is isolating Armenia putting forward unjustified
preconditions for establishment of bilateral relations between
Armenia and Turkey. This is unacceptable from the perspective of
international relations.

Official Turkey is denying the historically proven fact of the Armenian
Genocide. It suppresses the freedom of expression and persecutes the
Turkish citizens who have the courage to speak about this issue.

The ethnic Armenian journalist, Turkish citizen Hrant Dink became
a victim of the anti-Armenian and anti-democratic hysteria launched
in Turkey at the state level. The genocides of ethnic and religious
groups committed in our days are a result of absence of a clearcut
approach to the punishment of genocides committed in the past,
including the Armenian Genocide".

The statement stresses that it is necessary to recognize
internationally the crime committed against the Armenian nation as
a result of which the Armenians were deprived of their historical
homeland.

"It is necessary to explore comprehensively all the issues connected
with the Armenian Genocide, publicize the Armenian Genocide among
the Turkish population as a guarantee for preventing future genocides
against other national and religious minorities in Turkey.

It is necessary to support the conciliation spirit and mutual respect
of the Armenian and Turkish nations based on historical memory and
mutual respect for the Genocide trauma. It is necessary to developed
operational mechanisms in the international relations to prevent and
punish genocides in order to prevent future crimes against humanity,"
the statement adopted by the XXVI congress says.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office arriving in the region

armradio.am
04.06.2007 10:46

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos is arriving in Baku today. Tomorrow he will visit Yerevan.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office has declared that his visit to the Karabakh
conflict zone is targeted at speeding up the settlement process.

Mooratinos has addressed the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
noting that `Spain is ready to support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs.’ `I call on the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan
to undertake measures, which correspond to the current political
reality and take into consideration the mediators’ efforts in order to
do the best for reaching an agreement,’ Miguel Angel Moratinos said.

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 3, 2007 Sunday 09:34 AM EST

Armenian seismic service reports quake in eastern Turkey

A powerful earthquake was registered late on Saturday in the east of
Turkey, an official at the Armenian national seismic protection
service told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

The underground tremor was detected at 10:23 p.m. Moscow time. The
quake epicenter was located 58 kilometers northeast away from the
city of Van. The underground shocks measured at 5.0 on the 12-point
Mercalli scale in the epicenter.

Aftershocks were registered at 10:46 p.m., the official said.

The earthquake did not affect Armenia.

THE BASIC LAW MUST BE HONORED

KarabakhOpen
01-06-2007 12:22:30

Gregory Afanasyan professor at Artsakh State, activist of the
Karabakh movement, said in an interview with the Demo Newspaper that
the problem of Karabakh is resolved in NKR. "The resolution of the
Karabakh problem depends on how we will hold the upcoming election. We
need to rid of the slavish way of thinking. Remembering the year 1988
and the war, we should acknowledge that we won only because we had
a free mind. As to the upcoming election, it is not desirable that
one of the candidates used the administrative resource because it
will discredit the election. To avoid this, the CEC and everyone who
will participate in the election must be honest and just. We need no
cheating," Gregory Afanasyan said. "I would like to note the statement
by some parties and organizations before the election campaign to
support a definite candidate. I am sorry, gentlemen, but this is an
election. If you announce beforehand to vote for someone, why do we
need to hold an election? You can decide and name, but not impose on
people. You cannot divide people. We must be united but everyone has
the right to have an opinion. Most importantly, the process should be
in accordance with the Constitution. The basic law must be honored,"
Gregory Afanasyan said.

TURKEY’S CONTRACT SEEKS TO BLOCK EVEN "DEBATE" ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmRadio.am
01.06.2007 16:45

US Department of Justice files obtained this week by the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) reveal details about Turkey’s
new lobbying contract with DLA Piper, including a controversial –
although not entirely surprising – provision that seeks to prevent
even "debate" in the United States on legislation "that harms Turkey’s
interests or image."

According to the contract, Turkey is to pay DLA Piper $1.2 million for
the year and an additional $750,000 to The Livingston Group, headed
by Robert Livingston, a former Congressional leader who resigned in
1998 after a personal scandal.

"These new Department of Justice filings reveal just how deeply Dick
Gephardt has sunk, compromising his integrity by turning against a
human rights issue he energetically supported as an elected Member
of Congress," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We are
especially troubled by the provision in the contract that seeks to
export Turkey’s Criminal Code Article 301 to the United States by
requiring DLA Piper to prevent even ‘debate’ on issues Turkey considers
harmful to its image. This requirement, which falls far outside the
American democratic tradition, is, sadly, entirely consistent with
Turkish government’s efforts to suppress freedom of expression by
criminalizing speech that ‘insults Turkishness.’"

Earlier this month, Gephardt’s willingness to work as part of
Turkey’s denial campaign stirred controversy across Capitol Hill. In
a Dear Colleague letter, three leading Democratic supporters of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution informed their fellow Members that
the his opposition to this human rights legislation stood in sharp
contrast to his strong record of supporting this measure during his
years in Congress. The letter, written by Representatives Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), the only Armenian American in Congress, Frank Pallone (D-NJ),
the Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus, and Adam Schiff (D- CA), the
lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, was accompanied by a
copy of a September 2000 letter signed by then- Representative Gephardt
in support of the timely adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

As a member of the House, Gephardt cosponsored legislation recognizing
the Armenian Genocide, as recently as H.Res.193 in 2003, and dating all
the way back to H.J.Res.192, more than 20 years ago, during the 99th
Congress. In 1998, he offered remarks at the ANCA Armenian Genocide
Observance on Capitol Hill.

Kasparov sues Russia at Europe rights court

Gulf Times (Doha, Qatar)
Saturday, 26 May, 2007

PARIS: Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and
several other Russian opposition politicians have
filed a complaint against Moscow at the European Court
of Human Rights over their arrest at a rally, the
court said on Friday.

They alleged Russia had breached their right to
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly when
police arrested them and hundreds of others at an
anti-Kremlin march in April.

The anti-Kremlin opposition has organised a series of
demonstrations in Russia, accusing President Vladimir
Putin of backtracking on democracy.

During a trip to the eastern French town, Kasparov
urged the European Union on Wednesday to use its
weight to press for a free and democratic presidential
election in Russia in March next year.

Putin is stepping down then after two terms in the
Kremlin, but he is expected to anoint a successor to
run for election.

Kasparov launched a stinging attack on Putin a week
after Russian authorities prevented him and other
protesters from travelling to a Russia-EU summit.

— Reuters

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