Author: Kafian Jirair

RA PRESIDENT’S CONGRATULATING MESSAGE ON MAY 9

ArmRadio.am
09.05.2007 11:39

RA President Robert Kocharyan issued a congratulating message on the
occasion of the Victory and Peace Day. The message says:

"Dear compatriots,

I warmly congratulate you on the Day of Victory and Peace.

Many Armenians made their contribution to the victory in the Great
Patriotic War. The end of World War II and establishment of peace
were of fatal significance for Armenia, creating broader opportunities
for the prosperity and multifaceted development of our country.

The Victory Day attained a new meaning on May 9, 1992 with the
liberation of Shoushi. This double holiday symbolizes the resoluteness
and will of our people to defend its dignity, security and the right
for free development.

We know the price of victories and piece. We also see the fruits
of these.

That is why we are committed to the peaceful resolution of the
Karabakh issue.

It should be anchored on the irreversible reality of existence of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

I congratulate you on this great May Day and the 15th anniversary
of Shoushi liberation. I wish peace to all of us, which will provide
the opportunity to launch greater state-building activity and to be
worthy of our historic victories.

CBA representatives comment on the pre-election promises

ArmRadio.am
07.05.2007 17:53

The doubling of the state budget of Armenia will result in an increase
of the tax burden for the managing subjects, the Advisor to the
President of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Nerses Yeritsyan stated
at a round-table today, during which the pre-election pledges of a
number of political parties on the doubling of state budget, the
pensions and the minimal salary were being discussed.

According to the Advisor to CBA President, even in the most developed
countries it is impossible to double the given index in the course of
one year. Nerses Yeritsian stated that even having the very ambitious
tax administration, which is implemented in Armenia, the soonest
result can be achieved in the course of 2,5 years.

Every year, when planning the budget, the government also takes into
account the possible shadow formations, which in the course of the
recent years halved, and in 2006 they made 30%, the Advisor to the CBA
President stated.

The member of the CBA Board Vache Gabrielyan stated that the abrupt
increase of the minimal salary or the pensions will result in the
growth of inflation. According to him, having increased the pension
benefits up to 30 thousand AMD, the government will create more
problems and risks for itself, and the benefit of the pensioners will
be insignificant, as the growth of inflation will result in a leap of
the prices.

Commenting on the proposals in making the minimal salary up to 50
thousand AMD, Vache Gabrielyan stated that the decision will only
influence the state employees, and many private employers will have to
cut down their business, or escape from paying the taxes.

MATENADARAN MANAGEMENT INVALIDATES MEMORANDUM SIGNED WITH HILL

Noyan Tapan
May 04 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran’s
management on May 3 invalidated the memorandum of intentions
signed with U.S. Hill Museum-Library of Manuscripts. According to
the memorandum, that organization after signing of another three
agreements was to start activities of digitalization of manuscripts
kept at Matenadaran.

According to the Azg daily, the decision of digitalizing Armenian
manuscripts by Hill received a wide public resonance and called forth
contradictory opinions. Besides, the public also refused the idea of
keeping the copy of manuscripts’ picture in another place outside
Armenia. A great mass of public considers that digitalization of
manuscripts should be carried out with the funds of Armenian government
or Armenian benefactors and without preconditions, which will threaten
RA copyright of manuscripts’ owner.

After all this, Matenadaran management hopes that it is possible to
organize digitalization with native forces and is going to work out
a conception for organizing the work.

SCIENTISTS FROM 15 COUNTRIES DISCUSS IN YEREVAN PROBLEMS OF FIGHT AGAINST NUCLEAR TERRORISM

Noyan Tapan
May 03 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Within the framework of the NATO program
"Science for Peace", the second conference on issues of confronting
nuclear and radiation dangers was held in Yerevan. Representatives of
15 countries participated in the conference organized by Armenia’s
Advanced Science and Technologies Center (ASTEC), the Brookhaven
National Laboratory (US) and the US State Department.

"The US government is proud to support such an important initiative,:
the US Charge d’ Affaires Anthony Godfrey said. In his words,
combating nuclear and radiation terrorism requires joint efforts of
all nations. He noted that this conference provides leading scientists
from various countries with the opportunity to discuss both political
and technical issues of fight against nuclear terrorism.

ASTEC director Samvel Apikian said during a talk with reporters that
the issue of constructing a new nuclear power plant in Armenia will
be a "lobby talk" of the event. "Luckely, attitude to nuclear power
plants has changed in the world," he noted. According to S. Apikian,
new modern models of nuclear plants ensure much greater safety,
and the matter concerns both Russian and Western models.

CAUCASIANS AND ASIANS NOT PROTECTED IN RUSSIA

Panorama.am
19:32 02/05/2007

In the course of last four months, 200 attacks were reported in
Russia based on national discrimination and national intolerance
causing death of 25 and injury of 154. The number of fatal incidents
went up by 1/3 as compared with the same period last year, Russian
law enforcement bodies report. Most attacks were reported in Moscow,
followed by St. Petersburg.

Skinheads killed 17 and caused injury to another 52 in Moscow. Three
were murdered in St. Petersburg and 40 got injuries. The law
enforcement bodies say there are some 60 skinheads in Russia. They
mainly attack residents of Caucasus and Central Asia.

RPA CAN MAKE ABSOLUTE MAJORITY IN NEW NA, GALUST SAHAKIAN IS SURE

Noyan Tapan
May 02 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. 10-15 out of 24 political forces
taking part in the parliamentary elections still have the problem
of presenting themselves to the public, which is the evidence of
bankruptcy of country’s political field. Galust Sahakian, head of RA NA
RPA faction, expressed such opinion at the May 2 press conference. In
his words, serious political teams are formed "during a long struggle."

In G. Sahakian’s words, positive processes also go on in the
political sphere, the most gratifying of which is existence of "good
atmosphere." This atmosphere, as he affirmed, will contribute to
holding of transparent elections.

RPA, which, in G. Sahakian’s words, can make absolute majority in the
new parliament, gives only realistic promises to the people during the
election campaign, the first of which is poverty reduction. "Those
who are just striving for coming to power see the reality through
rose-colored glasses. And those who have already been "in fight,"
take a sober view of reality and imagine rose-colored only country’s
future," G. Sahakian stated.

As G. Sahakian forecast, in total, 7-8 parties will be represented
in the new NA, in particular, the Bargavach Hayastan, the ARF
Dashnaktsutiun. The United Labor Party, the National Unity, the
People’s Party of Armenia, the Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party, the
Democratic Way Party also have chances to get over 5% barrier.

SEZER, THE LAST PRESIDENT’S ANTI-CLIMAX

cafebabel.com, France
May 2 2007

His ascent to President of Turkey was anticipated with much hope. But
as Ahmet Necdet Sezer prepares to wave goodbye, the results of his
7 years in office are hard to discern

Independent, undogmatic and incorruptible – just three adjectives that
accompanied Ahmet Necdet Sezer, 65, upon his accession to guarantor
of democracy and rule of law in Turkey.

The first president not to be a member of the political establishment
nor of military stock, Sezer, with a degree in law and career
experience as a judge, managed to unite the hopes of all Turks that
the way into Europe would be smoother. In contrast to his ageing
predecessor and one of the founding fathers of the political landscape,
Suleyman Demirel, Sezer embodied a break with the past and a period
of renewal.

In from the wings without a power base

As president of the constitutional court, Sezer found himself as an
outsider. It’s no secret that former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit,
who died in November 2006, would have much preferred Demirel to serve a
second term. But as he lacked the necessary majority in parliament to
change the constitution, the vote swung to Sezer. A candidate without
a political power base, he was a figure on whom both the Nationalists
and Islamists could agree on. On 6 May 2000, Sezer was elected with the
support of all political parties and to lauds from the Western press.

Today, as the election of his successor stands firmly on the agenda,
the results of his term in office are receiving somewhat mixed
reviews – not least his contribution to European integration. ‘He
simply hasn’t fulfilled the hopes which were placed on him,’ says
Jan Senkyr, representative of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation
in Ankara. ‘At the beginning, Sezer intended to tackle the economic
reforms and champion freedom of opinions. In the end, he acted as less
of a motor and more of a break pedal to the whole reform process.’ The
reasons for Sezer’s political impotence lies less with Sezer, and
more in the changing political scene, according to Senkyr.

‘Laissez-faire’ approach

3 November 2002 saw the dissolution of the national-conservative
government of Bulent Ecevit by current prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoðan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

However, the ascension of the moderate Islamists presented a threat
to the laid-back politics of Sezer.

Time and again, Sezer thwarted the proposed parliamentary bills by
refusing to sign them and opposed the naming of new judges and civil
servants. ‘Above all, Sezer rejected reforms which threatened to
alter the strongly liberal characteristics of the Republic,’ says
Senkyr. ‘But then again he always blocked EU interference through
proposed projects like reforms to ensure equality for religious
minorities.’

Tensions were also apparent in Sezer’s relationship with Erdoðan. As
Erdoðan’s wife wore a headscarf, Sezer purposely invited the Prime
Minister to state receptions alone. Such a rebuff was also issued
towards other wives of AKP ministers who wore the ‘Turban’, by refusing
them entry to the presidential palace. ‘Sezer and Erdoðan had very
different political viewpoints: they didn’t trust each other,’ says
Senkyr. One theory is that Sezer feared, like many Kemalists, that
the AKP has a secret agenda to Islamitise the state.

Even when Sezer didn’t prevent laws coming in to force, he sought
to postpone them, always succeeding in placing an obstacle in the
government’s way. ‘According to the constitution, the President plays
no direct executive role. But as Ataturk’s successor (the founder
of the modern Turkish secular state in 1923), he enjoyed a lot of
prestige,’ explains Senkyr. In addition, Sezer is commander-in-chief
of the armed forces. In a state still highly influenced by a tense
relationship with the military, this is a powerful position to hold.

Kemalist layer

In August 2000, Sezer risked a very public clash with the army over his
refusal to sign an accord allowing the government to remove Kurdish
and Islamic officials from the civil service. Getting his seal of
approval however were bills abolishing the death penalty, reducing
military powers and fighting corruption. After the AKP victory however,
Sezer moved towards Kemalist circles. In August 2006, he appointed
hard-line liberal General Mehmet Yaþar Buyukanýt as head of the army.

Other issues also showed Sezer’s Kemalist colours to the full. When
novelist Orhan Pamuk received the Nobel Prize for Literature in
October 2006 for his analysis of the Armenian massacres of 1914, the
honour went fully unacknowledged. Such a standoff is also apparent
in his notable absence from the funeral of Hrant Dink, the Armenian
journalist who was murdered in early 2007 by a young nationalist.

So how should Sezer be remembered? Despite his positive political
impulse, he has arguably been a true defender of the Kemalist spirit:
where the state will always come before its citizens.

–Boundary_(ID_IdtIVXkeWQf6nHgPaoG8KQ)- –

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ACCUSES PRO-GOVERNMENT PARTIES OF "PLAGIARISM"

Mediamax news agency
30 Apr 07

Yerevan, 30 April: "An active campaign to collect passport details
of population is under way across the entire republic," the leader
of the Democratic Party of Armenia [DPA], Aram Sargsyan, said in
Yerevan today.

Addressing a news conference in Yerevan today, Aram Sargsyan said that
"special lists of citizens who should not vote in the poll are being
compiled". At the same time, the leader of the DPA said that "those
people do not want to complain to the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s
Office since they are frightened and do not believe that the
law-enforcement agencies will produce solutions to the problem".

Sargsyan accused the pro-government parties of "plagiarism". He added
that after a statement by the DPA that a real struggle against the
shadow economy would treble the state budget, Dashnaktsutyun [the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun] began to claim
that it could treble pensions, and the [ruling] Republican Party of
Armenia said that a battle against the shadow economy could increase
budget revenue by 150 per cent.

The leader of the DPA described this case as the first victory of his
party in the election race. Sargsyan promised that, on 5 May, he would
make public his own technique for conducting an opinion poll, which
would prove that the DPA is capable of earning at least 100,000 votes.

Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Senate)
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Ninety-two years ago today, on the night of April 24, 1915, the
Ottoman government launched a series of raids in which hundreds of
Armenian leaders and intellectuals were arrested and subsequently
deported or killed. This event marked the beginning of a systematic
campaign of murder, deportation, and forced starvation, during which as
many as 1.5 million Armenians perished and 500,000 were exiled by the
Ottoman government.
We are obliged to remember and speak about their suffering because
silence about such atrocities plants the seed for another tragedy.
On the eve of the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, seeking to allay the
fears of his aides, Adolf Hitler said: “Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
And today, the world is again witnessing genocide, one waged by a
government against its own people, one involving mass murder, ethnic
cleansing, and forced starvation. I am speaking, of course, about the
genocide in Darfur.
Let there be no mistake. The ongoing genocide in Darfur, carried out
by the Government of Sudan and its janjaweed militias, traces its roots
to the silence and quiescence of the international community during
previous episodes of genocide and ethnic cleansing, including the
Armenian genocide.
By acknowledging and learning from the Armenian genocide, then, we
become better positioned to prevent present and future atrocities.
Open discussion of the Armenian genocide serves another important
purpose. It enables the descendants of those involved in the Armenian
genocide–both perpetrators and victims–to mend the wounds that have
not yet healed.
As recently as January of this year, a Turkish-Armenian journalist,
Hrant Dink, was murdered because of his outspoken advocacy for Turkish
recognition of the Armenian genocide. This incident serves as an
important reminder that an open, informed, and tolerant discussion of
the genocide is critical.
California is home to many of the descendants of the genocide’s
survivors, who immigrated to the United States and, over the course of
a few decades, built strong and vibrant communities. Working closely
with the Armenian-American community over my many years in public
service, I know how alive and painful this issue continues to be for
many Armenian Americans.
So I rise before you today and ask that you join me in acknowledging
and commemorating the Armenian genocide. Together, let us send a strong
message that such atrocities will never be accepted, regardless of when
and where they take place.
And let us ensure that the legacy of the Armenian genocide is one of
reconciliation and hope.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, on behalf of the Armenian population
of Rhode Island, and Armenians around the world, I wish to recognize
the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
On April 24, 1915, nationalists in the Ottoman Empire rounded up,
deported, and executed 200 Armenian community leaders, writers,
thinkers, and professionals in Constantinople, present day Istanbul.
Also on that day in Constantinople, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were
massacred in the streets and in their homes. These events sparked an 8-
year campaign of tyranny that impacted the lives of every Armenian in
Asia Minor. By 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were murdered,
and another 500,000 were exiled.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morganthau, Sr.,
unsuccessfully pleaded President Wilson for intervention.
Unfortunately, the United States and the world tragically failed to
intervene on behalf of the Armenian people. Ambassador Morganthau would
later write in his memoir, “The great massacres and persecutions of
the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of
the Armenian race in 1915.”
Today, as a proud supporter of S. Res 106, legislation officially
recognizing the Armenian genocide, I urge the President to ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated
over 50 years after the Armenian genocide that: “Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly.” The time has come to officially recognize the
Armenian genocide.
The United States is proud to have Armenia as an ally in the
rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq. For the past 4 years, Armenian
soldiers have supported American and multinational force efforts in
Iraq. As part of the Polish-led multinational division in south-central
Iraq, Armenians have worked as truckdrivers, bomb detonators, and
doctors. Armenia has proclaimed their fight by not allowing others to
be left helpless as they were nearly a century ago.
We must study and remember the events of our past in order to be
better citizens of tomorrow. In instances such as the Armenian
genocide, I call on all nations, not just the United States, to educate
their youth to stand against hatred and prejudice of others in order to
deter future atrocities against humanity. We should be prepared to take
a vigilant stand against similar atrocities, such as the current
situation in Darfur, to not let history repeat itself.
We must honor the victims of the Armenian genocide by vowing to never
allow the world to stand idle to atrocities against humanity again.
Menk panav chenk mornar. We will never forget.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to add my voice to those asking
that today, the 24th of April, 2007, be a day of reflection and
remembrance for those Armenians who perished in the genocide that
occurred between 1915 and 1923.
As many as one and a half million Armenians lost their lives during
this systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted in Turkey while
the world was preoccupied by the First World War and its aftermath.
That the major powers, including the United States, did not prevent or
intervene at any point to stop this killing represents one of twentieth
century’s ugliest stains on humanity.
While today we all would like to believe that had world leaders been
acutely aware of the atrocities occurring they would have acted to stop
them, recent episodes make a clear that we as a people continue to
struggle with the obligation to speak out when our neighbor’s blood is
shed. In Bosnia, Rwanda, and right now in Darfur, the world has stood
by while hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians are slaughtered.
Any action on the part of the international community has been too
little and far too late.
Because I believe we cannot prevent future genocide unless we
recognize past genocide, I am a sponsor of Senate Resolution 106, which
calls upon the President to ensure that this Nation’s foreign policy
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide.
I join many of my colleagues today in urging the Senate to pass this
resolution.
Turkey is good friend of the United States and a critical ally in the
fight against terrorist networks. I hope that the ties that bind our
two nations only grow closer in the coming years, as we continue to
work through NATO to ensure cooperative security. And I will join my
colleagues in pressing for Turkey’s admittance to the European Union.
However, I believe that the Armenian genocide must be acknowledged.
Today, the 92nd anniversary commemorating this incident, we pause to
pay tribute to those who died and renew our commitment to ensuring that
similar atrocities never again occur.

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E847-E848]
>>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap07-42]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

of california

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today, April 24th, marks the 92nd
anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. I rise today to
commemorate this terrible chapter in human history, and to help ensure
that it will never be forgotten.
On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government began to arrest Armenian
community and political leaders. Many were executed without ever being
charged with crimes. Then the government deported most Armenians from
Turkish Armenia, ordering that they resettle in what is now Syria. Many
deportees never reached that destination.
From 1915 to 1918, more than a million Armenians died of starvation
or disease on long marches, or were massacred outright by Turkish
forces. From 1918 to 1923, Armenians continued to suffer at the hands
of the Turkish military, which eventually removed all remaining
Armenians from Turkey.
We mark this anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide
because this tragedy for the Armenian people was a tragedy for all
humanity. It is our duty to remember, to speak out and to teach future
generations about the horrors of genocide and the oppression and
terrible suffering endured by the Armenian people.
We hope the day will soon come when it is not just the survivors who
honor the dead but also when those whose ancestors perpetrated the
horrors acknowledge their terrible responsibility and commemorate as
well the memory of genocide’s victims.
Sadly, we cannot say humanity has progressed to the point where
genocide has become unthinkable. We have only to recall the “killing
fields” of Cambodia, mass killings in Rwanda, “ethnic cleansing” in
Bosnia and Kosovo, and the unspeakable horrors in Darfur, Sudan to see
that the threat of genocide persists. We must renew our commitment
never to remain indifferent in the face of such assaults on innocent
human beings.
We also remember this day because it is a time for us to celebrate
the contribution of the

[[Page E848]]

Armenian community in America–including hundreds of thousands in
California–to the richness of our character and culture. The strength
they have displayed in overcoming tragedy to flourish in this country
is an example for all of us. Their success is moving testimony to the
truth that tyranny and evil cannot extinguish the vitality of the human
spirit.
The United States has an ongoing opportunity to contribute to a true
memorial to the past by strengthening Armenia’s emerging democracy. We
must do all we can through aid and trade to support Armenia’s efforts
to construct an open political and economic system.
Adolf Hitler, the architect of the Nazi Holocaust, once remarked
“Who remembers the Armenians?” The answer is, we do. And we will
continue to remember the victims of the 1915-23 genocide because, in
the words of the philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot
remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

____________________