Author: Karapet Navasardian

FLATS IN YEREVAN ROSE IN PRICE 37.8% IN MARCH 2005
YEREVAN, APRIL 23. ARMINFO. In March 2005 the average price for a sq.m
of flats in Yerevan totaled $290.2, which is 37.8% higher than the
indicator for march 2004 and by 6.7% higher than in indicator for Feb
2005.
The State Realty Register Committee for Armenia informs ARMINFO that
the average price for 1 sq/m of apartments totaled $580 in the
community Center, , in the communities of Arabkir – $450.5,
Kanaker-Zeytun – $275.5, Nor Nork $290, Avan $240, Erebuni $220,
Shengavit – $269, Davidashen – $290, Achapnyan – $259, malatia
Sebastia $256, Nubarashen $103.5.
In parch 2005, 95 transactions of purchase-and-sale of private houses
were effected. This indicator in March 2004 decreased 25.2% and as
compared to Feb 2005 it grew 11.8%. The average price for 1 sq/m of
living space at private houses in Yerevan grew 34.1% in the year, and
6.8% in Mar as against Feb. As for March 2005, 1 sq/m of living space
at private houses in Yerevan totaled $303.9 in average, including in
the communities of Center – $588, Arabkir – $455m Kanaker-Zeytun –
$278, Nor Marash $375.9, Avan $243, Erebuni $223, Shengavit – $274.5,
Davidashen – $293, Achapnyan – $263, Malatia Sebastia $259, Nubarashen
$106.5.

Armenian opposition positive about relations with NATO
Mediamax news agency
15 Apr 05
YEREVAN
Representatives of political forces represented in the Armenian
parliament are positive about the deepening of relations between
Armenia and NATO.
The leader of the United Labour Party (ULP), Gurgen Arsenyan, said
today that “rapprochement with NATO meets Armenian interests”. Asked
by our parliamentary correspondent, he said that the ULP supported
Armenia’s full membership of the security system in the Euro-Atlantic
area.
The leader of the Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary faction, Levon
Lazarian, hailed the Individual Partnership Action Plan [IPAP]
between Armenia and NATO, noting that he considered this process in
the contexts of Armenia’s complementary foreign policy. At the same
time, he said that “it was too early” to talk about Armenia and other
South Caucasus countries’ full membership of NATO.
The secretary of the opposition Justice bloc, Viktor Dallakyan, said
today that “the three countries of the South Caucasus were doomed to
becoming members of a single security system which is most likely to
be NATO”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
50 North La Cienega Blvd., Suite 202
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 360-0091 phone
PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2005
Contact: Lena Kaimian
ASSEMBLY PRAISES GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PROCLAMATION
Los Angeles, CA – The Armenian Assembly today praised California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as he issued a statement proclaiming
April 24, 2005, as a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.” “I
would like to commend Governor Schwarzenegger for his leadership on the
90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We hope other states take
the example of California in reaffirming this record”, stated Hirair
Hovnanian, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Armenian Assembly.
This was the second proclamation that Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued
since he began his term as Governor of the State of California in 2004.
“On behalf of the Armenian-American community in California, we extend
our appreciation to Governor Schwarzenegger for his continuous support
on reaffirming the Armenian Genocide”, said Richard Mushegain, Chairman
of the Western Office of the Armenian Assembly.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
STATE OF CALIFORNIA

P R O C L A M A T I O N
by the Governor of the State of California
Ninety years ago today, the Ottoman Turkish government waged a war of
terror on Armenian culture through the brutal deportation, imprisonment
and decimation of men, women and children of Armenian descent. By 1923,
the Ottoman Empire had dissolved, but its monstrous attempt at ethnic
cleansing left more than 1.5 million Armenians massacred and 500,000
survivors forcibly exiled from their ancestral homeland.
Today, the Republic of Armenia remains as the world’s reminder of the
Armenian Genocide and of the indestructible spirit of a people. It is a
nation founded on the principles of freedom and democracy that we as
Americans prize above all else. Our state’s flourishing
Armenian-American population – the largest outside of Armenia – has left
its indelible stamp on our state’s history, industry and culture.
Each year, the Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide brings an
opportunity for all people to scrutinize the cause and consequence of
this grim massacre. To carve out a secure future free from intolerance
and persecution, we must examine the past and heed history’s lessons of
forewarning – for the sake of future generations who inherit our
civilization.
In 1969, then-Governor Ronald Reagan said, “Today, I humbly bow in
memory of the Armenian martyrs, who died in the name of freedom.” On the
90th anniversary of this great human tragedy, Californians continue to
join with freedom-loving people around the world to honor the Armenian
people as they continue to show the world the true meaning of hope,
renewal and perseverance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of
California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2005, as a “Day of Remembrance
of the Armenian Genocide.”
###
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse
14 avril 2005 jeudi 8:33 AM GMT
Génocide: deux organisations critiquent la “mascarade” de la
commission conjointe
PARIS
Deux des principales organisations arméniennes françaises ont dénoncé
jeudi la “mascarade” que constitue à leurs yeux la proposition du
Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan de créer une commission
conjointe avec l’Arménie pour enquêter sur les massacres des
Arméniens de 1915.
“Cette proposiiton est une mascarade, c’est une tentative de
diversion qui, sous l’apparence d’un discours d’ouverture, réaffirme
la négation du génocide”, a affirmé dans un communiqué Harout
Mardirossian, président du Comité de défense de la cause arménienne,
à dix jours de la commémoration du 90ème anniversaire de ce génocide,
le 24 avril.
“Nous appelons les dirigeants européens à ne pas tomber dans le piège
tendu par la Turquie, puisque le génocide arménien est indiscutable
et sa réalité non négociable”, ajoute-t-il.
Pour Mourad Papazian, président du Parti socialiste arménien, “les
historiens ont déjà fait leur travail sur la base d’archives
internationales”. “L’ONU et le Parlement européen ont reconnu le
génocide arménien ainsi qu’une vingtaine d’Etats dont la France. La
vérité a été établie. Toute mise en cause des conclusions s’apparente
à une démarche négationniste”, ajoute-t-il.
La communauté arménienne de France compte entre 400 et 500.000
personnes.
Mercredi, le ministre des Affaires étrangères d’Arménie, Vardan
Oskanian, a affirmé que la sécurité de l’Etat arménien dépendait de
la reconnaissance par la Turquie du génocide arménien de 1915.
M. Oskanian a dit souhaiter que la question de la reconnaissance du
génocide arménien par Ankara constitue l’une des conditions à de
futures négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne.
La Turquie a reconnu l’Arménie à son indépendance en 1991 mais sans
établir de relations diplomatiques en raison du profond différend sur
le génocide. La frontière entre les deux pays est fermée depuis 1993.
Les massacres et les déportations d’Arméniens entre 1915 et 1917 ont
fait entre 1,2 million et 1,3 million de morts, selon les Arméniens,
et jusqu’à 300.000 morts selon les Turcs.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HEARINGS ON KARABAKH IN SUCH CALM ATMOSPHERE IN BAKU WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE: VICE SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN NA
YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. It is such parliamentary hearings that
makes Armenia different from Azerbaijan as these hearings in such a
calm atmosphere in Baku would be impossible, says Vice Speaker of the
Armenian National Assembly, the member of ARFD Bureau, Head of the
Armenian parliamentary delegation to OSCE PA Vahan Hovhannissyan
today.
He says that the atmosphere around settlement of the conflict is
changing and the issue, due to Azerbaijan’s efforts, is submitted to
international parliamentary structures, which are not ready to discuss
it and give priority to the principle of territorial integrity and
settlement of the conflict’s consequences and not the reasons. Such an
approach of these structures is mainly accounted for by the passivity
of the Armenian parliamentary diplomacy, the vice speaker adds. At the
same time, he says that discussion of the issue at international
parliamentary instances may bring benefit as new arenas originate for
presentation of the real essence of the conflict. He says that at
present there are three formulas of settling the conflict – war,
establishment of any relations exclusively after the conflict’s
resolution, and Azeraijan supports these two positions, and the third
one supported by Armenia is settlement of the conflict through
establishment of relations. At present, the position of the
international community coincides with that of Armenia and it
favorably distinguishes Armenia from Azerbaijan.
Hovhannissyan says that a plan of actions on participation in the EU
program of New Neighborhood will be presented to the three Caucasian
states within the nearest future. Due to the program’s implementation
all the problems will be solved and Armenia will integrate into the
single European economic cooperation. But is it possible only in case
of regional cooperation, and Azerbaijan is afraid of it. And it
explains the recent frequent militarist statements of Azerbaijan and
violations of the cease-fire regime, the vice speaker says. At the
same time, he thinks necessary structural reforms both in Armenia and
Karabakh, which is a pledge of security.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Defence Ministry denies rumours of mobilization
A1+ web
23 Mar 05
Society fears that mobilization started in the republic after the
recent developments on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Even young men
under 30, who have already served in the army, are afraid to go out.
The press secretary of the Armenian defence minister, Seyran
Shakhsuvaryan, denied rumours that are going around the city about the
mobilization. He also denied that dozens had been killed in Karabakh
or on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
According to the information we possess, the last skirmish on the
border resulted in 13 Armenian casualties. Seyran Shakhsuvaryan denied
this and said that three soldiers had been killed in the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR]. This has already been reported by the NKR
Defence Ministry.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkey calls for study into Armenia genocide claims
09.03.2005 – 09:54 CET | By Honor Mahony
EU Observer, Belgium
March 10 2005
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has called for an unbiased study
by historians of Armenian claims that their people suffered genocide
at the hands of Ottoman Turkish troops around 90 years ago.
“We have opened our archives to those people who claim there was
genocide. If they are sincere they should also open their archives”,
Mr Erdogan said at a press conference on Tuesday (8 March).
“Teams of historians from both sides should conduct studies in these
archives”.
He added, “We do not want future generations to have a difficult life
because of hatred and resentment”.
Armenia says that up to 1.5 million of its people were killed between
1915 and 1923 after a decision to carry out the killings by the
political power in Istanbul at the time, known as the Young Turks.
Armenia also says that the killings amount to genocide.
Ankara has denied that it was genocide and insists that between 250,000
and 500,000 Armenians as well as thousands of Turks were killed when
they clashed during World War 1.
This is not the first time the issue has been raised recently. In
December, France angered Turkey by calling for recognition of the
Armenian genocide.
Paris made it clear that the demand was not a condition for opening
membership negotiations with Turkey but said it would be raised once
talks are opened – expected in October.
France also officially recognised the Armenian genocide in 2001.
Mr Erdogan’s call for a study into the issue follows strong criticism
by the EU for Turkey~Rs handling of a separate issue.
The EU on Monday condemned the use of “disproportionate force” used
by Turkish police during a protest in Istanbul.
The police used truncheons and tear gas to break up a demonstration
on Sunday ahead of International Women’s Day.
The police crackdown has re-opened the debate in some quarters in the
EU about whether Ankara will start EU talks on 3 October, as planned.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
February 24, 2005 Thursday
FIFTH EDITION
Call Specter, Santorum to put Darfur “on radar screen’
By Karen Norvig Berry Special to The Morning Call – Freelance
There is no easy way to talk about genocide. It’s even more difficult
to listen to people asking you to stop genocide. That’s what our
Amnesty International group learned recently when we talked to staff
in the offices of Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum
and Arlen Specter about the Darfur region of the Sudan.
Author Samantha Power, who studied American reaction to genocides
from Armenia to Rwanda in her book, “Problems from Hell,” says, “The
fear with genocide is the minute you engage, you are going to get
dragged in to do the real deal, to send in troops and to be taking
serious political and military risks.” She calls it a “system shut
down” because the political costs are high to act and zero to do
nothing. That’s the inertia that human rights activists must
overcome.
At the end of one interview, a senatorial staffer told us the Darfur
issue has fallen off the U.S. radar screen. That was a sudden plummet
to those of us who were hoping for action. Last summer, Congress
called it genocide and asked for sanctions. But since then, the news
has been full of the war in Iraq, the constant upset in the Middle
East, the tsunami and Social Security. We are a society that craves
novelty in our news. So although the massacres in the western part of
Sudan, known as Darfur, continue in the form of village strafing by
government planes and attacks by militia and mounted Janjaweed
(private militia), incredibly, we just don’t hear much about it.
The UN report in late January was more than disappointing with its
conclusion that it had no proof of “genocidal intent” on the part of
the Khartoum government of Sudan. This was in direct opposition to
the judgments of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and the
Congress who called it genocide last July.
Last summer, both Sen. Santorum and Sen. Specter sent statements
about their commitments to ending the violence in Darfur for public
reading at a Bethlehem vigil jointly sponsored by Amnesty
International and an arm of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh
Valley. Also speaking out against the violence were academics,
religious people (Muslims, Jews and Episcopalians) and an
international charity–CARE.
Sen. Santorum said he was working “to negotiate an international
response to the emerging famine and extreme crisis in Darfur.” He
said he had sponsored the May Senate resolution condemning the
government of Sudan “for its attacks, and for its failure to stop
militia attacks on the innocent civilians in Darfur.” He had urged
Secretary Powell to commit emergency assistance and to “publicly
identify those responsible for the atrocities and impose targeted
sanctions against them.”
Sen. Specter was equally clear: “Today the situation in Sudan
represents the worst humanitarian crisis facing the world and has
left in its wake more than 30,000 dead and over one million
displaced.” He noted that he had been an original co-sponsor of S.
2705, the Comprehensive Peace for Sudan Act which authorized $1
billion “for food, shelter, health services, infrastructure
rehabilitation and disarmament and demobilization assistance for
Sudan.”
So we went to Washington expecting to find some resonance with this
issue. Having just observed the 60th anniversary of the freeing of
Auschwitz, we talked about the similarities to the Holocaust and
genocides in Cambodia, the Balkans and Rwanda and how we Americans
keep saying “never again.” Therefore, shouldn’t the United States,
for humanitarian and moral reasons, take leadership in this crisis,
as President Bush implied, in commenting on earlier atrocities, “Not
on my watch”?
We asked our senators to put this issue on their front burners, to
speak on the Senate floor about Darfur, to urge President Bush and
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to go to Sudan (as Powell did
last July). We extended invitations to both senators to speak here in
the Lehigh Valley on this issue. We asked both to look at the
uncontrolled trade in small arms that makes guns and rockets
accessible to guerrilla groups not only in Sudan, but in many other
African countries where society is in chaos. We supplied them with
two Amnesty International reports on Sudan.
But we fear the issue is “off the radar screen” unless constituents
say they want America to pressure the Sudanese government. The local
phone number for Sen. Specter is 610-434-1444 and for Sen. Santorum,
610-770-0142. Tell them that the people of Darfur certainly is “on
our watch.”
Karen Norvig Berry of Bethlehem is a local coordinator for Amnesty
International USA.
***
“At the end of one
interview, a senatorial staffer told us the
Darfur
issue has fallen off the U.S. radar screen.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Glendale News Press
24 Feb2005
Published February 24, 2005
Council member makes rare appeal
Manoukian isn’t happy with variances for 8-story building at 300 N. Central
Ave.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE CITY HALL — Councilman Rafi Manoukian appealed city approvals of
an eight-story condominium, taking a swing at the council’s shift toward
high-rise development in parts of downtown Glendale.
City officials could not remember a council member ever appealing a city
planning decision.
advertisement
Manoukian paid a city-required $500 fee Tuesday to appeal 10 variances city
zoning administrator Edith Fuentes granted for a proposed eight-story
building at 300 N. Central Ave. Fuentes granted the variances after the City
Council, acting as the city’s Redevelopment Agency, approved the project’s
design in January. Manoukian cast the lone dissenting vote on the design.
Because the project did not meet city codes, it then had to go to the zoning
administrator for approval.
The proposed eight-story, 114-foot building would have 72 condominium units.
The city’s zoning code allows for 27 units on three stories with a maximum
of 36 feet.
Manoukian hopes his appeal will draw attention to what he describes as “the
problem of rampant development in downtown Glendale.”
“We should ask for reasonable development that will enhance the downtown
area, as opposed to compounding the problem of traffic,” Manoukian said.
In her ruling, Fuentes said the project meets four requirements for a
variance: The code provides unnecessary hardship to the applicant; there are
exceptional circumstances on the property that do not apply to other
properties in the neighborhood; and the variances would not be detrimental
to public welfare or contrary to the objectives of the zoning code.
Fuentes said the Redevelopment Agency’s decision did not affect her ruling.
“I tried to stay away from even listening or hearing [the agency’s]
discussion,” Fuentes said. “I thought that everything was in accord with the
city’s general plan, and [the applicant] made the four findings.”
Manoukian’s appeal will be considered by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals
within the next two months, Planning Director Elaine Wilkerson said. The
board’s decision can then be appealed to the City Council by either side. If
that happens, Manoukian may have to recuse himself from the discussion
depending on whether the wording of his appeal shows bias against the
project, City Atty. Scott Howard said.
The current City Council has encouraged downtown development, approving the
project on Central Avenue and a high-rise condominium project on the corner
of Brand Boulevard and Wilson Avenue.
Both projects required variances because Glendale’s zoning code does not
allow high-rise residential buildings in the downtown area. The city is
expected to rezone the entire downtown area by the end of the year to allow
such projects.
“Mr. Manoukian has been the only one who has been saying no to that over and
over again,” Mayor Bob Yousefian said. “But it takes more than one person to
set city policy.”
The city will study the impacts of high-rise residential buildings during
the rezoning process. Manoukian said the city should not approve high-rise
buildings until those studies are done.
“Traffic and development are the most important issues for the next 20 years
in the city of Glendale,” Manoukian said. “If we don’t prepare ahead of time
for what developments happen in the downtown, we will regret it in the
future.”
Yousefian appealed a variance in 1999 before he was on the council, while
serving on the Board of Zoning Appeals, then known as the Board of Zoning
Adjustments. He was elected to the council in 2001.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI ORGANIZATION FOR LIBERATION OF KARABAKH (OLK) WILL START
MASS ACTIONS OF PROTEST AGAINST ARRIVAL OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION IN BAKU
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23. ARMINFO. Azerbaijani Organization for Liberation
of Karabakh (OLK) will start mass actions of protest against arrival
of Armenian delegation in Baku, Day.az reports.
“As long as the military groupings of Armenia are in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan, no arrival of Armenia state officials at
any level will be allowed. The Azerbaijani Government must not allow
participation of Armenian delegation in TRACECA annual conference.
Otherwise, OLK will use all the methods to prevent this event,” OLK
Chairman Akif Nagi says. In his words project TRACECA is not of more
importance for Azerbaijan than the cooperation with NATO. He promised
uninterrupted actions of protest in front of the building of the
Cabinet of Ministers if the Government takes no measures to prevent
the arrival of Armenians.
According to the source, the Armenian delegation headed by Minister
for Transport and Communication Andranik Manukyan is planned to
participate in the 4th conference of the Intergovernmental Permanent
Commission of TRACECA fixed for April 21-22 in Baku. Chairman of the
Natinoal Commission of Azerbaijan in the project TRACECA is Vice Prime
Minister Abid Sharifov who headed the Azerbaijani delegation at the
3rd conference in Yerevan in 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress