Author: Karakhanian Suren

ARINC SENDS LETTERS TO 16 PARLIAMENT SPEAKERS

Turkish Press, MI
Aug 7 2005

ANKARA – Turkish Parliament Bulent Arinc sent letters to his
counterparts in 16 countries which has adopted resolutions on the
so-called Armenian genocide allegations.

In the letters he sent to the speakers of parliaments of Switzerland,
Poland, Slovakia, Lebanon, Canada, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, France,
the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Uruguay, Sweden, Russian Federation
and Venezuela, Arinc said, “we have nothing to hide or be ashamed in
our history.”

He expressed sorrow and disappointment about adoption of resolutions
accusing Turkey of carrying out a genocide, and said, “it is
unacceptable that the history be used as a tool for political
intentions that can cause prejudice against Turkey and Turkish nation.”

“Turkey has always argued that disputable chapters of history should
be assessed by historians, and therefore, has opened its archives
to all researchers. Recently, Turkey has proposed Armenia to form a
group composed by Turkish and Armenian historians who can examine
developments and incidents happened in 1915 within the related
archives. Turkey also proposed that this group should make public
the results of its researches,” indicated Arinc.

Arinc stated that national parliaments were not the places where
decisions on historical events can be taken, and added that parliaments
should in fact exert efforts to create and improve atmosphere of
friendship and cooperation among countries and peoples.

ARMENIA READY TO INTRODUCE CE ELABORATED PROGRAM “STAGE” AND ESTABLISH CULTURAL CONTACTS WITH AZERBAIJAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8. ARMINFO. Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs
of Armenian Hovik Hoveyan will make a report on introduction of the
CE project STAGE in the South Caucasian states to the 5th Ministerial
Colloquium of CIS.

The ministerial press-service informs ARMINFO that the report
contains projects aiming development of culture and the public,
culture and economy, as well as cooperation of Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan in the sphere of culture. Accoring to the source,
CE experts have already been in Armenia and presented the project
STAGE to the Armenian party. Besides, the terms of the project’s
introduction in Armenia will be discussed at the colloquium.

The enlarged ministerial colloquium on the initiative of the CE will
be held in Kiev on September 15-16. The main topic of the meeting is
“Culture and Cultural Policy for Development.” The main goal of the
project STAGE started by the CE in the December of 2000 is provision
of assistance to the South Caucasian states in development of an
effective policy in the sphere of culture adjusted to transitional
period and in exchanges of the states of the region and Europe.

Besides the three South Caucasian states. Observer-states and
donor-states will participate in the meeting (Greece, Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine) as well as delegations from all the 48
signatory-states of the European Convention on Culture.

The Colloquium will be opened by the Minister of Culture and Tourism
of the Ukraine and CE Assistant Secretary General, the source reports.

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION
805 Manoogian Street
Montreal, Quebec
H4N-1Z5

OTTOMAN ARCHIVES OPEN A SLIVER

Montreal, Wednesday September 7, 2005 –

Filled to capacity last Thursday night at the Montreal Armenian
Community’s AGBU Demirdjian Hall, renowned German archival historian
and genocide scholar, Dr. Hilmar Kaiser, delivered a presentation on
his recent studies in the Ottoman archives.

AGBU chairman, Viken L. Attarian introduced Dr. Kaiser to the
audience and officially thanked the group of Montrealers who made his
recent research in Turkey and trip to Montreal possible.

Dr. Kaiser had worked in the Ottoman archives between 1991 and 1995.
In 1996, he was banned from the archives by the Turkish authorities
for political reasons. In the past, he had uncovered important
archival material detailing key aspects of the Armenian Genocide but
was stymied by bureaucratic impediments. He eventually received an
outright lifetime ban. For years, scholars, politicians, and
Armenians worldwide had demanded his readmission.

In July 2005, Dr. Kaiser, visited the Turkish Prime Minister’s
Ottoman Archives in Istanbul, Turkey. He spoke about the full and
unhindered cooperation of the staff at these archives. Therefore
today, he concluded projects he had left unfinished 10 years earlier.

Dr. Kaiser said that a critical step forward in the opening of the
Ottoman Turkish archives has been made. The Turkish government has
officially reopened those archives and the ban on Dr. Kaiser’s work
there has been lifted.

He spoke about important material that he has uncovered such
as miscellaneous original deportation orders against Armenians in the
Anatolian regions of Ottoman Turkey thus confirming the views of
worldwide Genocide scholars. But, some collections of the Turkish
Prime Minister’s Ottoman archives are still unavailable. Notably, the
Ottoman Ministry of the Interior’s Directorate for Public Security,
2nd Department (Armenian Department) remains closed.

It is hoped that the positive developments at the Turkish archives
will continue and those collections will be made available for study
in the near future.

Dr. Kaiser’s lecture finished with a lively question and answer
session with the audience. For more information, please contact AGBU
Montreal at 514-748-2428 or by email [email protected],
attention: Harry Dikranian

Dr. Hilmar Kaiser’s most recently published an introduction and
provided commentary in a book entitled “The Memoirs of Abram Elkus:
Lawyer, Ambassador Statesman.” Abram Elkus was the American
Ambassador to Turkey following Henry Morgenthau. This and other
books by Dr. Kaiser are available for purchase on the web at

.

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF POGROMS OF NON-MUSLIM POPULATION IN ISTANBUL MARKED 6 SEPT.
By Hakob Chakrian

AZG Armenian Daily #159
07/09/2005

Turkish Papers Highlight the Event

With an aim to prevent future tragedies, all central Turkish newspapers
highlighted yesterday the events of September 6 1955 when authorities
in Istanbul organized massacres. On September 5, the eve of the
pogroms, a bomb went off in the house where Kemal Ataturk was born in
Thessalonica. The explosion only broke the windows of the house, and
Greek law enforcers detained law student at Thessalonica University,
Oktay Engin, and the guard of Turkish consulate.

The consulate was located right by the house. The arrested student,
Turkish agent as disclosed later, was soon released under Turkey’s
diplomatic pressure and soon fled to Turkey. He was given a position
in Istanbul municipality and was appointed governor of Nevsehir
after graduation.

These facts make clear that the explosion in Thessalonica was a state
organized provocation to open doors for pogroms of Greek, Armenian
and Jewish minorities of Turkey.

Turkish state radio aired the news of explosion at 1.30 pm local time.
Istanbul-based Ekspres paper informed about the explosion at 4.30 pm
local time September 6. Representative of “Turkish republic of Northern
Cyprus”, Kmail Onal, makes a statement on the pages of the paper,
“Those attacking our sanctities will pay high price”. 2 hours later,
members of student unions and representatives of the “Turkish republic
of Northern Cyprus” gather at the square of Bera in Tksim. The mob
is armed with knives and bludgeons. The pogroms start after speeches.

The Turkish mob robs firstly the stores of the Greeks then churches
and homes killing residents and lynching Greek priests. Armenians
and Jews are not spared massacres, and the anti-Greek pogroms soon
flowed into massacre of all non-Muslims.

Greeks of Istanbul’s considerably big Greek community headed for their
fatherland after the pogroms. Repatriation continued till 1960s. Today
there are only 2000 Greeks in Istanbul. The number of Armenians there
is around 50.000.

As there are almost no Greeks in Istanbul and the Jews are not
favorable to attack, Armenians, as a rule, suffer Turkish mob’s
aggression. A cause is always at hand: recognition of the Armenian
Genocide in various parliaments and the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

The point here is that no matter how reformed Turkey becomes,
it still needs squaring off with its history. That history is
continuous. Armenian Genocide was carried out in days of the Young
Turks. The September 6 pogroms were carried out in modern Turkey
founded by Kemal Ataturk and in days of Adnan Menderes’ Democratic
Party. Times are changing, self-consciousness of the Turks should
also change.

NISTELROY SAVED HOLLAND

A1+

| 15:00:27 | 05-09-2005 | Sports |

After the 1-0 win over the Armenian National Football team in Yerevan,
the Holland team practically secured their place in the 2006 World
Championship.

The win was not an easy one for the Netherlands National team, although
before the match no one doubted their winning. Our team had chosen
a defense tactics, besides, goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky was quick
enough to capture dangerous moments and save our team. Nevertheless,
the guests managed to break the defense, and at the 67th minute Ruud
van Nistelroy scored.

In the press conference after the match the Holland team coach Marco
van Basten said, “I never thought the Armenian team could create so
many problems for us and that it would be so difficult to win”.

US FULLY SUPPORT OSCE MG WORK OVER KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Pan Armenian News
05.09.2005 02:33

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Washington fully supports the continuing work of
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs over promotion of peaceful, adjusted
settlement of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. US Ambassador to the
OSCE Julie Finley stated at OSCE Permanent Council sitting. She also
noted, “When speaking lately on the phone with Armenian President
Kocharian and Azeri President Aliyev, US State Secretary Condoleezza
Rice called each of them to compromises, necessary to reach such
a settlement.” She remarked that the MG CO-Chairs have expressed
desire to inform the MG in full composition on the course of the
peace process.

IN TWO YEARS THE ARMED FORCES OF ARMENIA WILL BE TOTALLY STAFFED WITH PROFESSIONAL MILITARY MEN

Source: Krasnaya Zvezda

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 5, 2005, Monday

It was announced by the secretary of the National Security Council
under the president of Armenia. Minister of Defense Serg Sarkisyan,
making a report before the graduates from the Military Institute in
honor of Vazgen Sarkisyan, Serg Sarkisyan pointed out the necessity
of retaining and strengthening of combat effectiveness of the army.
“We must be anxious not to fall behind the best armies in the world.
We will solve the problem by 2015”, he said.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
31 Ago, 2005

TURCHIA: MASSACRI ARMENI, SCRITTORE PAMUK SOTTO PROCESSO ;
HA DICHIARATO CHE 1 MILIONE FURONO UCCISI NEL 1915-1916

ANKARA

(ANSA) – ANKARA, 31 AGO – Il piu’ noto scrittore turco, Orhan
Pamuk, sara’ processato dal 16 dicembre prossimo davanti ad un
tribunale di Istanbul con l’accusa di “offesa deliberata
all’identita’ turca” per avere dichiarato nel febbraio scorso
ad una rivista turca che nel 1915-16 “un milione di armeni
furono uccisi in Turchia”. Lo hanno reso noto i dirigenti della
casa editrice dello stesso Pamuk, che ha 53 anni, ed i cui libri
piu’ famosi, come “Neve” ed “Il castello bianco” sono stati
tradotti in 20 lingue e gli hanno meritato quest’anno il premio
della Pce delle librerie tedesche.

Subito dopo la pubblicazione dell’intervista un viceprefetto
turco aveva chiesto la confisca e la distruzione dei libri di
Pamuk, ma la sua iniziativa era poi rientrata anche per le aspre
reazioni che la sua richiesta aveva suscitato in Europa.

La questione dei massacri degli armeni nell’ultima fase
dell’impero ottomano e’ una questione molto sensibile in
Turchia, il cui governo sostiene che “non piu’ di 300-500
armeni” furono le vittime armene di scontri con i turchi che
avrebbero subito perdite equivalenti se non superiori. La
Turchia per questa ragione respinge con veemenza la qualifica di
“genocidio” attribuita dagli armeni (che sostengono che furono
1,5 milioni le vittime armene) a quei massacri, un’accusa fatta
propria da diversi parlamenti europei, incluso il Parlamento
europeo di Strasburgo.

L’accusa di offesa deliberata alla identita’ turca, con cui
Pamuk e’ stato rinviato a giudizio, prevede una pena fino a 3
anni di reclusione.(ANSA)

ARMENIA ISSUE CAN CHANGE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ATTITUDE TOWARD TURKEY

Pan Armenian News
03.09.2005 04:16

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “If Turkish authorities continue their attacks
of famous Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk due to his recognition of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915, many of us – those, who support
Turkey – will have to change their attitude toward that country,”
stated European Parliament member, British Laborite Denis MacShane,
reported RFE/RL referring to the Independent (UK). The other day
Turkish prosecution brought a charge against Pamuk, who stated a
few months before that Turks in their time had killed a million of
Armenians. In Denis MacShane’s words, “it is a painful strike for
the UK and all politicians, who support Turkey.”

OPPOSITION FULFILLED ITS MISSION IN THE PARLIAMENT

A1+

| 20:02:27 | 31-08-2005 | Politics |

“The authorities were beaten during the discussions as they were
not able to bring any counter-arguments to those brought about by
the opposition”, announced the leader of the National Unity Artashes
Geghamyan today in the Parliament.

He turned to the voters mentioning, “Saying “No” to the Referendum
will mean to say “No” to the organizers of the October 27 events,
to those who forged the Presidential elections of 1998 and 2003,
and the organizers of the April 12 events”.

Leader of the United Labor Party Gourgen Arsenyan said that they will
say “Yes” to the Constitution, but on the condition of holding free
and transparent voting.

Leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Levon Lazarian
reminded about the historical past of our country when we lost our
statehood failing each other. According to him, now we are facing
the same danger.

He called the deputies not to follow their personal or party
interests but those of the state which demands to say “Yes” to the
Constitutional amendments. BY the way, Both Levon Lazarian and
Tigran Torosyan repeated several times that the referendum cannot
be held with forgeries and that Armenia has not right to allow more
forgeries during any elections.

Leader of the Justice bloc Stepan Demirchyan announced in his speech
that the acting constitution too requires to hold fair and transparent
elections, but the present authorities have taken to steps to create
and atmosphere of trust and to punish the organizers of forgeries. The
TV Company “A1+” continues to be deprived of air, and the decision
of the Constitutional court to organize a confidence referendum has
not been realized. At the end of his speech Stepan Demirchyan called
the voters to say “No” to the Constitutional amendments.

After his speech the whole opposition, including the “National Unity”
left the Parliament hall. Neither will they participate in the
voting tomorrow. So, the opposition fulfilled its mission in the
Parliament. And tomorrow the coalition will do the same voting for
the draft Constitution which will be sent to Robert Kocharyan. The
third reading will most probably be on September 12.