Author: Kanayan Tamar

KARABAKH VOTERS BACK SOVEREIGNTY

BBC News
Dec 11 2006

The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a
constitution declaring a sovereign state, election officials have said.

A preliminary count showed more than 98% of those voting in the
disputed former Soviet territory backed the declaration, officials
announced.

The people are mainly ethnic-Armenian and want independence from
Azerbaijan.

Ethnic clashes after the collapse of the USSR led to armed conflict
in the 1990s which killed up to 30,000 people.

Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh hope the vote will take the small
mountainous region a step closer to becoming an independent state,
says the BBC’s correspondent in the region, Matthew Collin.

The area, while completely surrounded by the rest of Azerbaijan,
has been under ethnic Armenian control since the war.

Armenia is the only country that recognises Nagorno-Karabakh’s
government.

The territory’s election commission said turnout was more than 80%
– more than enough to make the referendum valid.

"According to preliminary results, the constitution is adopted and
10 December from now can be declared as a Constitution Day," election
commission chief Sergey Nasibyan told Reuters.

Autonomy rejected

The separatist president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arkady Gukasyan, said
this was a historic chance to establish a democratic state.

But he admitted it did not mean the international community would
immediately recognise Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.

The Azeri government insists it must not be allowed to break away.

It said the referendum was illegal, and could damage the peace process.

Azerbaijan has offered Nagorno-Karabakh widespread autonomy as part
of a peace deal.

But that has been rejected by the separatist authorities.

The conflicting opinions about the referendum simply demonstrate
that even after years of peace talks, a solution to this long-running
dispute remains hard to find, our correspondent says.

With many of the one million people displaced by the war still unable
to return to their homes, the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh still provokes
bitter resentments in the region.

.stm

‘SCREAMERS’ A LOUD AND CARNAGE-FILLED HISTORY LESSON
By Evan Henerson, Staff Writer

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Dec 8 2006

There’s no masking filmmaker Carla Garapedian’s outrage. It comes
barreling across the screen with every note thrashed out by political
rockers System of a Down, with every bit of politicspeak from past
U.S. presidents, and with all those corpses lying wide-eyed and
decaying along dusty roads and in makeshift graves.

The end credits of Garapedian’s documentary "Screamers" – which
examines the world’s history of genocides in the 20th and 21st
centuries – contains a huge body count of casualties: 1.5 million
Armenians dead, 2 million Cambodians, 400,000 and counting in Darfur.

And you get the sense that, had she the resources and screen time,
the director might have thrown every last corpse up on screen. The
effect, alas, quickly becomes numbing.

Cutting between the carnage and the commentators who acknowledge
that, yes, the United States has a rather shoddy history of genocide
intervention, Garapedian takes us on the road with System of a Down.

The Grammy-winning rock band whose members – like Garapedian – have
Armenian lineage, deliver music with a message.

They take action off stage as well, lobbying House Speaker Dennis
Hastert to bring an Armenian genocide recognition bill to the floor.

(During his one on-camera moment in the Capitol, the speaker meets
System lead singer Serj Tankian and politely blows him off).

Tankian’s direct link to the carnage of 1915 is his 96-year-old
grandfather, Stepan Haytayan, whose memories of the death march from
Efkere are partially recounted in "Screamers." The late scenes between
the rocker activist and the wizened old man whose very being fuels
the band’s quest, are quietly touching.

Less so, the rest of the film. Garapedian has lined up an assortment of
erudite and well-spoken contributors (most notably Harvard University
genocide expert Samantha Power) to drive home our nation’s culpability
in the global carnage. By trying to bring the Holocaust, Pol Pot’s
Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur onto the same 91-minute canvas,
the director has perhaps cast her net too wide, leaving her outrage
over Armenia less sharply drawn.

That said, through "Screamers," Garapedian and producer Peter McAlevey
offer much to ponder, not to mention a group with more than fame on
its mind.

SCREAMERS Our rating: (R: disturbing images, language) Starring:
System of a Down.

Director: Carla Garapedian.

Running time: 1 hr. 31 min.

Playing: Mann Chinese 6, Glendale Marketplace 4, Mann Criterion
Santa Monica.

In a nutshell: The unending cycle of genocide told through System of
a Down’s music, social commentators and footage of enough corpses to
fill up a dozen cemeteries.

ORHAN PAMUK SAYS ‘NO COMMENT’ TO ARMENIAN QUESTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2006 15:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Speaking to the press on the Nobel Prize in Sweden,
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk avoided commenting on the Armenian
issue. Pamuk made a press statement at Norstedts Publishing, which
published Pamuk’s books in Sweden. When asked about his views on the
Armenian Genocide, Pamuk was reluctant to discuss politics and simply
said, "no comment," Zaman reports.

ENVOY ADMITS TO ARMENIAN LOBBYS INFLUENCE ON PARIS

AssA-Irada
December 6, 2006 Wednesday

The French ambassador to Azerbaijan Bernard du Chaffaut has said
that if the latest decision by the National Assembly of France goes
into effect, this could harm the countrys relations with Turkey
and Azerbaijan. The bill, tabled in the legislature by opposition
Socialist Party and passed Thursday, criminalizes denying the genocide
of Armenians. Although the law was passed the assembly, it will not
go into effect unless it is approved by the French parliaments upper
chamber, the Senate.

Armenians say Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people in 1915, a claim
strongly denied by Turkey. The envoy told a news conference Friday that
he is disappointed with the adoption of the bill in the lower chamber
of parliament, expressing hope that the measure will not be approved
by the Senate. The measure has sparked off outcry in France as well,
he said. Du Chaffaut emphasized that the fact it passed the lower
chamber does not mean it will be approved, as making any bill law
in France requires a very lengthy procedure. I hope this procedure
will not be completed. He said Frances Constitutional Council may
intervene as well. The body may deem it contradictory to freedom of
expression. Finally, although the president has no right of veto,
he may send it back for repeated deliberations at the National
Assembly. Du Chaffaut admitted that the Armenian lobby influences
the French government. I suspect that the law was supported by some
Armenian voters in some election constituencies.

The diplomat said France has come under pressure of the European
Union to reject the law. Du Chaffaut said the latest developments
will not lead to a postponement of French President Jacques Chiracs
visit to Azerbaijan next year. Such decisions, he said, are up
to the presidents, but said he is confident the visit will take
place. The ambassador said he does not expect tension to escalate
in French-Turkish relations and called on the Turkish Diaspora to
actively struggle against the adoption of the genocide law.

Azerbaijani MPs on Tuesday protested at the bill and forwarded a
relevant appeal to the French legislature. The Turkish ambassador
to Azerbaijan Turan Morali has termed the move as major injustice
against his country that is primitive and embarrassing. A group of
the Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party members attempted to hold a
rally outside the French embassy in Baku on Friday in protest at the
adoption of the genocide bill. The protest was prevented by the police.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA PARTICIPATES
IN A CONFERENCE ON RACISM

The Catholicosate of Cilicia recently participated in the Joint Working
Group Meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East
Council of Churches (MECC) in the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in
Beirut on November 27-29. The meeting gathered delegates from Egypt, Spain
the Czech Republic and Lebanon under the theme "Capacity Building in the
Churches & NGOs to Combat Racism". Ms. Nelly Vekilian represented the
Catholicosate of Cilicia in the meeting.

A special report on racism was presented during the meeting. The Armenian
experience with racism, the understanding of racism by the Armenian Church
and its efforts to combat it were included in the report.

Other papers presented during the meeting included "Globalized Cities and
the Exploitation of Refugee Work", "Racism in the Gulf", "Racism in the
Middle East", "The Media and Racism."

The meeting also featured presentation on issues related to hatred, racism
and political interests.

Each of the presented reports were discussed by the participants who also
shared relevant experiences in small working groups. The results were then
brought together and a plan was set up to accelerate the church’s efforts to
combat racism.

##
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.

CBA LEAVES REFINANCING INTEREST RATE UNCHANGED

Noyan Tapan
Dec 06 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. At the December 5 sitting,
the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Board left the CBA refinancing
interest rate unchanged – 4.75%, NT was informed from the CBA
press service. According to the CBA Board, although the inflation
pressures coming from the external sector and related to high
international prices of power bearing substances and some other
goods (particularly granulated sugar) formed this year still remain,
inflation pressures expected to come from this sector in the next 12
months will be milder. A high economic growth continues, mainly in
the construction and service sectors. The expected increase in the
population’s incomes due to the economic development, combined with
growing remittances keep moderate inflation pressures. At the same
time, under conditions of the continuing dramization of the economy
and the seasonal increase in demand for the Armenian dram at the
end of the year, the CBA’s meeting this demand by purchasing foreign
currency will cause a liquidity surplus. The CBA Board takes the view
that neutralization of this suplus is possible at the current level
of the interest rate. If the current prospects of economic development
continue, the CBA Board does not rule out that the interest rate will
be changed in the coming months.

CUSTOM DUTY COLLECTION GROWS BY 11.2% IN ARMENIA IN JANUARY-OCTOBER 2006 ON SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Dec 05 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-October 2006, the RA
state budget’s customs duty revenues made 14.5 bln darms, exceeding
by 11.2% or 1.5 bln drams (about 3.5 mln USD) the respective index
of 2005. According to the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, in the
first ten months of 2006, fixed payments from certain types of activity
amounted to 12.3 bln drams, exceeding by 17.8% or about 1.9 bln darms
the respective index of last year. The growth is mainly conditioned by
an increase in payments for gasoline filling, transport activity and
organization of public catering and trade facilities. In the period
under review, the state budget’s simplified tax revenues made 6.2
bln drams, growing by 12.1% or 670.8 mln drams on the same period of
last year mostly due to an increase in revenues from trade. During
the first ten months of this year, the budgetary revenues from other
taxes made over 9.8 bln drams.

Particularly, nature use and environmental protection payments amounted
to 5.6 bln drams and road payments – to 2.1 bln drams. Other taxes
grew by 30% or about 2.3 bln drams on the same months of last year,
which was mainly due to an increase in nature use payments and fines
for violation of the tax legislation.

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSED NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WITH CO-CHAIRS OF OSCE MINSK GROUP
Author: E.Huseynov

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2006

A meeting was held in Brussels between the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
the Head of the Press and Information Policy Department of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Tahir Tagizade, informed Trend.

The meeting focused on the present stage of the process of peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the plans for the near
future. In addition, despite that the meeting of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian Foreign Ministers were planned, it did not take place due
to the rich working schedule of the Ministers.

Mammadyarov met in Brussels with his Portuguese colleague, as well
as the Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Goran Lennmarker.

SYRIA INVITES ARMENIA TO ARAB LEAGUE AS OBSERVER

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.12.2006 15:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Syria would be glad to see Armenia as an observer at
the League of Arab Nations (LAN), Syrian Temporary Charges d’Affaires
in Armenia Muhlis Farauni told journalists Tuesday. He noted that
three countries – Armenia, Iran and Turkey – expressed their desire to
become observers at the LAN. In his words, Syria can only welcome that
decision of Armenia, which will "more strengthen the Armenian-Syrian
relations without fail." Earlier Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian and
LAN Sec. Gen. Amr Moussa agreed to signed a respective memorandum
on mutual understanding over Armenia’s participation in LAN work
with the status of a special invited party in Cairo or Yerevan,
reports Novosti-Armenia.

ARMENIA WORKS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.12.2006 14:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia works for improvement of relations with
Turkey, however it does not accept preconditions put forward by it,
Secretary of the National Security Council at the President of Armenia,
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan stated Friday, when presented the
draft National Security Strategy of the country. "Armenia works for
improvement of relations with Turkey via establishing contacts both
at the state and non-state levels," the Minister said.

Nevertheless, in his words, Armenia does not accept preconditions put
forward by Turkey for establishing relations. Sargsyan also added
that Armenia also considers the necessity for Turkey to recognize
the Armenian Genocide as restoration of historical justice regarding
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire and their descendants,
and ruling out new infringement against Armenia within that context,
reports Novosti-Armenia.