Author: Kanayan Tamar

TURKISH MP: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN ARMENIA-TURKEY BORDER IN CURRENT SITUATION

Today
/62948.html
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Oktay Vural, Deputy Chairman of Turkey’s
Nationalist Movement Party, member of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey (parliament).

In your opinion, why did Armenia bring up the Turkey-Armenia accords
for parliamentary discussions, but later refused to ratify them?

I think the sides had no any preconditions before the protocols were
signed, for example, on amendments by the Armenian Constitutional
Court. It should be noted that if it had not been for dynamic steps
and reaction of Azerbaijan, the parliamentary majority in Turkey
would long have debated the protocols in the Parliament …

Armenia wanted Turkey to ratify the protocols first. Seeing that
things are not moving, Armenia resorted to pressure. It forwarded
the protocols to the Parliament to get more international support
and increase pressure on Turkey and to show the U.S. and others that
allegedly they do everything and now it is Turkey’s turn to take
action in this regard.

When it was stated that the protocols would not be ratified until the
Karabakh conflict is resolved, Armenia refused to ratify them. I think
that Armenia will not fulfill Turkey’s requirements on the Karabakh
issue and will not change the Constitutional Court decision. So, Turkey
has every right to refuse to ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

We have always stated that Turkey should not have signed the protocols
until the Karabakh problem is solved. But our views and as well as
the Turkish public opinion were ignored. In my opinion, the government
has finally realized its mistake in this matter.

I think that it is necessary to abandon the process and start it
again. But this time, the protocols should reflect such conditions as
the Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s rejection of the so-called "Armenian
genocide" claims and excluding items on Armenia’s territorial claims
against Turkey from the Armenian Constitution.

The Armenian side has stated that Karabakh issue was not set as a
condition when the protocols were signed…

At the beginning of a dialogue with Armenia, we warned that Turkey
cannot establish ties with Armenia until Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity is restored, Armenia officially recognizes Turkey’s borders
and renounces "Armenian genocide" claims. At the initial stage of the
dialogue, we said that these conditions must be taken into account
once an official document will be signed.

How do you see end of this process?

It is impossible to open the Armenian-Turkish border under current
circumstances. Members of our parliamentary group visited the border
with Armenia and clarified our position for the public. We explained
that trade relations and incomes are not superior to honor and dignity
of the Turkey and Turkish nation. A neighbor who is at war with our
brother, who has occupied the land and committed massacre against
Turks, cannot sit at the same table with us without understanding
and correcting its mistakes. Let the Armenian side accept our demands
without conditions. Then we will take a response step.

In your opinion, will Barack Obama use the word "genocide" after all
these processes in his speech he will deliver on April 24?

During last year’s speech Barack Obama did not utter the word
"genocide" and attributed it to negotiations held to normalize
elations between Armenia and Turkey. In fact, Turkey wanted to use
the protocols as a trump card against the "Armenian genocide". Since
no change is expected to take place regarding the protocols until
April 24, I think that this year the pressure on Turkey will be even
stronger. But if the United States recognizes the "genocide", the
relations between Turkey and U.S. will be spoiled to a great extent.

The U.S. President cannot simply call my nation "murderer".

According to Turkish media, PM Erdogan will trip to the United States
in early April. In your opinion, what is the reason behind this visit?

Of course, the Armenian-Turkish relations, "Armenian genocide",
the Karabakh and other regional issues will top agenda of the meeting.

Certainly, Erdogan will say the fact that the Turkish parliament has
not debated the Turkey-Armenia accords is due to the parliament’s
unreadiness to do so. He will say that the executive branch has done
what it could, and it has no leverage to influence the parliament,
but eventually this process will move forward and Turkey will try to
fulfill its obligations. So, the Prime Minister will try to gain time.

He is expected to be accompanied by a MP group during the U.S. trip.

We will try to meet every American parliamentarian and explain
the essence of the "Armenian genocide". We will make it clear for
them that recognition of ‘Armenian genocide’ may mark end of the
relationship between the U.S. and Turkey. Also, we will promise them
to do our utmost to address the problems relates to Armenia. We will
also explain that the Turkish nation has a strong pressure on the
parliament in this regard. It is also clear that the U.S. will try
not to deviate from its position.

18 years have passed since the Khojaly genocide was committed. What
steps does the Turkish parliament take to recognize it?

We have urged to recognize the crimes committed against humanity in
Khojaly as genocide in the Turkish Parliament for many years. We have
submitted the related bill for the consideration to the parliamentary
commission. Armenians have to answer for atrocities committed in
Khojaly. We use resources of our party and NGOs in this regard.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE NKR VISITORS IS EXPANDING

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
2010-03-02 14:30

According to the data of the NKR MFA Consular Service, despite the
world financial crisis, the total number of foreign citizens having
visited the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters
of 2009 increased by 10% as compared with the similar period of 2008.

The geography of foreigners visiting the NKR keeps on expanding. Last
year, tourists from Mozambique, Guyana, Venezuela, and Mauritania
visited the Nagorno Karabakh Republic for the first time. Among the
tourists, citizens of the USA, France, Iran, Great Britain, Holland,
Switzerland, Canada, Italia, Poland, India, and the CIS countries,
especially Russia and Turkmenistan, are prevailing.

These facts testify that the interest in Artsakh by foreign countries
and their citizens continues growing. Trustworthy information about
the Karabakh issue, the history of the country, and the inculcation
of democratic principles in the NKR provided by various international
mass media contributes to this process.

TWO TURKISH DELEGATIONS SENT TO U.S.

news.am
March 1 2010
Armenia

Two Turkish delegations left for U.S. to prevent the adoption of
Armenian Genocide Resolution scheduled for a vote on March 4 in the
U.S. Congress.

According to CNNTurk, the first delegation comprises Turkish Parliament
Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Murat Mercan, representatives
of ruling Justice and Development party Abdullah Caliskan and Saban
Disli, Republican People’s Party MP Sukru Elekdag and Nationalist
Movement Party MP Mithat Melen.

On the second delegation are Turkey-U.S. Interparliamentary Friendship
Group headed by Justice and Development Party MP Suat Kiniklioglu.

Both delegations will attempt to persuade Americans that passing of
Genocide Resolution will deteriorate U.S.-Turkey relations.

Newly appointed Turkish Ambassador to U.S. Namik Tan also works on
prevention of resolution approval. Turkish Parliament also sent a
letter to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard
Berman. The letter says that resolution’s inclusion in the agenda is
not in Armenia’s, Turkey’s or U.S. interests and steps impeding the
normalization process with Armenia should be avoided. In his turn,
former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey stated that resolution is likely to
be passed as President Obama undertakes no measures on its prevention.

New gas tariffs established by RA Public Services Regulatory Commission

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. During the February 26 sitting, the
RA Public Services Regulatory Commission examined the issue of
reviewing the tariffs of natural gas sold to users by ArmRusgazprom
CJSC, as well as the natural gas distribution tariffs and the tariffs
of services provided by the operator of the gas supply system.

The commission took a decision to fix the tariff per thousand cubic
meters of gas sold to consumers of up to 10 thousand cubic meters a
month at 132 thousand drams (including VAT) instead of 136 thousand
drams proposed by ArmRusgazprom.

The above mentioned decision of the commission will come into force
from 1 April 2010.

Obama silent ahead of vote on Armenian genocide

President Barack Obama and Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul make a
joint statement at Cankaya Palace in Ankara. (AP)

By DESMOND BUTLER | AP

Published: Feb 27, 2010 11:04 PM Updated: Feb 27, 2010 11:04 PM

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is in a bind as a congressional
panel prepares to vote next week on a resolution that would recognize
as genocide the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks.

Obama said as a candidate that he believed the killings were genocide.
A congressional resolution to that effect could alienate Turkey, a
NATO ally and traditional friend of the United States that is crucial
to US foreign policy goals.

Past US administrations have defeated similar resolutions through
public cajoling about US national security interests and
behind-the-scenes lobbying.

So far, however, the Obama administration has taken no public position
on the measure. Aides to senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers on
the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee say there has
been no pressure against the resolution from the White House. The
administration was informed ahead of time that the committee would be
scheduling the vote, according to Lynn Weil, spokeswoman for the
committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Howard Berman.

Ankara has long made clear that the issue could alter dramatically
Turkish relations with the United States.

In 2007, when the House Armed Services Committee passed such a
resolution, Turkey promptly recalled its ambassador, and US officials
feared the Turks might cut off American access to a Turkish air base
essential to operations in Iraq. After intensive lobbying by top Bush
administration officials, the resolution was not considered by the
full House.

Berman’s committee is set to consider the issue Thursday.

A positive vote would clear the resolution to be considered by the
full House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will wait to see
the result in the committee before deciding whether to bring it up for
vote.

The United States still wants Turkey’s support for its operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan. It also is pressing Turkey, which holds a
rotating seat in the UN Security Council, to support sanctions against
Iran, Turkey’s neighbor.

It is not known whether the committee will approve the resolution. The
panel is strongly pro-Israel, and prospects for passage could be
affected by rising tensions between Turkey and Israel, as well as
Turkey’s relatively warm relationship with Iran. In the past, Turkey
and Israel had friendlier relations and Israel had quietly lobbied
against the resolution.

Armenian American groups have sought for decades congressional
affirmation of the killings as genocide.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies
that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been
inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

This year, some Armenian groups and lawmakers are expressing optimism
on the resolution’s prospects, noting that Obama, Vice President Joe
Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton all supported
recognition when they served in the Senate.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who introduced the resolution for
consideration, said he sees more favorable conditions than in 2007.

"Last time we had President Bush calling lawmakers at their homes to
oppose the resolution," he said.

In April, Obama broke a campaign promise to brand the killings
genocide in an annual White House statement on the day marking
Armenian remembrance. Obama said that while he had not changed his
personal views, he did not want to upset promising talks between
Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border.
Turkey sealed the border in 1993 to protest Armenia’s war with
neighboring Azerbaijan.

In October, Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement to normalize
relations, but Turkey has yet to ratify it. As progress toward a
breakthrough between the two countries appears stalled, it may be
harder for the Obama administration to oppose the resolution or
refrain from calling the killings genocide in this year’s statement.

"Our interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts," said White House spokesman Mike Hammer,
when asked about the resolution.

"We continue to believe that the best way to advance that goal is for
the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a
part of their ongoing efforts to normalize relations."

Hammer would not elaborate on the administration’s position on the resolution.

Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, said the Turkish public
may view the administration’s silence on the resolution as pressure to
ratify the agreement with Armenia.

"This could definitely complicate the process," he said.

"The greatest lobbyist in Washington is the administration. We have
not seen them around enough on this."

VIVACELL-MTS GENERAL MANAGER MEETS ARMENIAN STUDENTS IN LEBANON

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.02.2010 12:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian met
with students of Armenian educational institutions in Lebanon to give
a lecture on how to score success in business.

A draw held between the meeting participants chose 6 students who
will make a tour to Armenia.

VivaCell-MTS will cover the travel expenses and provide accommodation,
the company’s press office told PanARMENIAN.Net. "VivaCell-MTS
opens the door to the homeland for each Armenian living abroad,"
Mr. Yirikian said.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

"FELLOWSHIP BUILDING RELATIONS CONSTITUTE THE HEART OF THE ECUMENICAL
MOVEMENT"
ARAM I

In a second key-note speech on "Ecumenical relations" delivered in the
context of his formal visit to the Orthodox Church in India, His Holiness
Aram I emphasized the pivotal importance of relations. He said: "Relations
generate mutuality, it deepens fellowship and builds community. Relations is
the second name of ecumenism".

His Holiness identified six dimensions of relations which are closely
inter-vowen: intra-church relations, inter-church relations, church-society
relations, relations with neighbors, relations with environment, and
relations with God.

Aram I then spelled out the significant features of the different dimensions
of church’s relations. Within this context he put the emphasis on the
relations with neighbor and with environment. He said that "relations with
our neighbor today is neither mere relations nor coexistence; it is living
together as a community". Therefore, in his view "we must know how to live
together with our differences, accepting each other and providing space for
each other". Catholicos Aram I believes that the otherness of the other is
not a source of fear but hope".

Speaking about our relations with the environment, Aram I reminded the
public that what is called ecological crises is "essentially a moral crises
pertaining to humanity-God relations". He said, that "the creation is not a
human possession; it belongs to God. We are stewards of God’s creation.
Hence, we are accountable to God; we must use the creation for the glory of
God; the abuse and misuse of creation is a sin".

At the end of his lecture, Aram I said that "all these forms and expressions
of relations must be sustained by our relation with God: God is the source
and converging point of all human relations".

##
View the photos here:
tos444.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

EXPERT: GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA SHOULD SUBSIDIZE EXPENSES OF VULNERABLE POPULATION PARTIALLY IN CASE OF GAS PRICE INCREASE

ARKA
Feb 25, 2010

YEREVAN, February 25. /ARKA/. In case of gas price increas, the
system of partial subsidization for vulnerable population should be
introduced, said Tatul Manaseryan, Advisor to the Chairman of Armenian
National Assembly on Thursday.

"It will be a kind of protection for this part of population", he said.

Total increase of prices will follow the increase of gas prices which
will affect competitiveness of economy in general.

"Gas is not the only factor affecting economy and the situation will
stabilize very soon", said Manaseryan.

"ArmRosgasprom" suggests to increase gas prices for the subscribers to
136 thousand drams using up to 10 thousand cubic meters monthly from
April 1, 2010 (all prices are presented including VAT). Regulatory
Commission of Public Services discussed the proposal and suggests to
approve the price of 132 thousand drams instead of 136 thousand drams.

Final review will take place on February 26, 2010. ($1 – 382.41
drams).

VIDEO: DISPLAY COMPARING ABORTION TO GENOCIDE FLARES EMOTIONS AT FGCU
By Leslie Williams Hale

Naples Daily News
cu-genocide-awareness-project-bio-ethical-reform/
Feb 25 2010

LEE COUNTY — Racially-motivated lynchings. The Holocaust. Modern-day
genocide. Abortion.

This week, a traveling display at Florida Gulf Coast University
is drawing a literal connection between all four. The Genocide
Awareness Project, an exhibit by the Center for Bio Ethical Reform,
is spending two days on display on the lawn in front of the FGCU
library, engaging students in debate and seeking to change minds on
the issue of abortion.

"It’s to stimulate a dialogue on bio-ethical issues and to reach the
target audience, which is university students," said Mark Harrington,
executive director of the Center for Bio Ethical Reform Midwest. "They
are our future decision-makers and leaders. They are also more likely
to have abortions."

More than 50 percent of women who get abortions are under the age of
25, Harrington said, making college students a critical group to reach.

On Wednesday afternoon, the first day of the two-day display at FGCU,
hundreds of students listened in on the debate hosted by Stephanie
Gray, executive director of the Canadian Center for Bio-Ethical
Reform. Some students simply passed by the display on their way to
mid-term exams — it was impossible to dismiss with its poster-sized
depictions of aborted fetuses — others camped out on the lawn
to listen.

Joseph Imbruglia, 22, spent four hours on the library lawn listening to
Gray debate students — not in support, but in protest. He encouraged
female students to fight what he said is the politicization of their
reproductive organs, and shouted at Gray when he disagreed or felt
that she was not addressing a student’s question directly.

But for Imbruglia, a junior, the exhibit struck an even more personal
nerve. His mother’s family survived the Armenian genocide of World
War I, and other family members survived the Holocaust in Poland
during World War II.

"I believe it’s morally reprehensible to equate killing a clump of
cells in a woman’s body to making a conscious decision to kill an
entire race of people," Imbruglia said. "Nobody wants (the Center
for Bio Ethical Reform) here."

Organizers of the project were allowed to set up on campus based on
the rules governing other groups, regardless of content, according
to university spokeswoman Susan Evans: With enough advance notice,
the Center for Bio Ethical Reform had the right to be there. The
university does not take a position on the exhibit, nor on other
groups conducting displays on campus, she added.

Kaitlyn Bunn, a junior, said she is a full supporter of free speech.

But, she said, she felt the organizers of the project were "overdoing
it," and that the exhibit, which features photos of dead adults and
fetuses, was "gory."

"I want to hear her point of view," Bunn said of Gray. "I do like
the fact that she’s not preaching. I would not do it personally,
but you can’t take away other people’s rights."

The students expressing opinions on the lawn — either on a microphone
to discuss issues with Gray, or on nearby "free speech" boards —
largely opposed the display and supported abortion rights. Messages
scrawled on the board nearby read "Keep your religion out of my
vagina," "What if Hitler was aborted?" and, written beside a drawing
of a wire clothes hanger, "this used to be a medical instrument."

"I think by this age we’ve all made up our minds on this issue,"
said student Courtney Baker.

But Judy Minahan, a Fort Myers resident, said she thinks the exhibit
still has the power to change minds.

"There are many students who will come by and they have never seen an
aborted child," said Minahan, 69. "This image will stick with them,
and when the time comes, they will think of it."

She called the photos of fetuses — some with the tiny arms ripped off
and laid over U.S. coins reading "In God we trust" — "appropriate."

"I think that college students are very often not aware of
what abortion is," said Minahan, 69. "I think (the exhibit is)
very necessary. People at this age of their life are approaching
parenthood. They’re asking all of the tough questions; this is the
right place."

Minahan got to the university around 1:15 p.m., and planned to stick
around for a while. However, the discussion soon devolved into a
one-sided shouting match as students yelled at Gray when they believed
she was evading questions.

The dialogue ended about a half hour later, when a student asked Gray
a hypothetical question: If she had the option of saving a 5-year-old
girl from a burning building, or 500 frozen, fertilized embryos,
which would she save?

Gray said she would attempt to save both, which led dozens of students
to shout, "You’re not answering the question."

Harrington, who has taken the exhibit to the University of Florida,
the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida
in recent weeks, said it is generally time to stop discussions when
the shouting becomes an issue and emotions get raw. But, he said,
the display at FGCU was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Most of the places, this is what we look for: an exchange of ideas,"
he said. "Towards the end, there was a little bit of shouting; we
know when to end it. Occasionally, individual students act out in
isolated ways. There is a lot of emotion tied to the issue."

The display continues Thursday on the library lawn at FGCU, from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m.

PRESS RELEASE
Glendale Public Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale CA 91205
Tel: 818-548-2030
Web:

Please join us at the Glendale Public Library Auditorium, for the
presentation of

Ravished Armenia: Silent 1919 Film

Film Screening and discussion with film historian Anthony Slide.

At Glendale Public Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street,
On Thursday, March 24, 2010 at 7:30pm. Admission is free.

For more information please check the attachment.

Thanks,
Elizabeth Grigorian
Armenian Outreach/Glendale Public Library
[email protected]
(818)548-3288