Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Pan ARmenian News

BAKU DOES NOT TAKE KARABAKH CONFLICT SERIOUS

20.06.2005 03:19

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian has doubts
that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will propose a finite program of the
Karabakh conflict settlement during the upcoming visit to the region,
Mediamax reported. When commenting of the necessity of establishing dialogue
between the Armenian and Azeri communities of Nagorno Karabakh A. Ghukasian
noted, `Azeri community can first establish dialogue with the Russia, Greek,
Ukrainian and other communities of Karabakh.’ In his words, Baku’s attempt
to create an impression that Nagorno Karabakh is not a conflict zone but a
community is the evidence of Azerbaijan’s not serious approach towards the
conflict settlement. `Unwillingness to open negotiations with Stepanakert
protracts the resolution of problems the Azeri people are concerned at’,
Arkady Ghukasian stressed.

RA DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: TODAY THERE IS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIAN-INDONESIAN RELATIONS

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN. On June 17, Mr. Alexander Laturiuw,
newly-appointed Indonesian Ambassador to Armenia (residence in
Kiev), handed the copy of his credentials to Armen Bayburdian, RA
Deputy Foreign Minister. RA Deputy Foreign Minister congratulated
the Indonesian ambassador on the occasion of his appointment and
wished him success in his high mission. He presented the ambassador
the friendly relations established as a result of Armenian-Indonesian
historic contacts and said that today there is great potential for the
development of these relations. The interlocutors touched upon the
prospects of extension of trade and economic relations between the
countries and mentioned the spheres where it’s possible to achieve
large-scale cooperation by joint efforts already today. Jewelry,
diamond procession, wood-working and furniture-making, agribusiness
are among them. They especially mentioned the prospect of using
Armenian and Indonesian great scientific potential in the respect of
implementing joint scientific projects. As Noyan Tapan was informed
by the Press and Information Department of RA Foreign Ministry,
Ambassador Alexander Laturiuw highly estimated the current process
of Armenian-Indonesian cooperation and attached importance to Armenia’s

RA GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS TRAFFICKING

A1plus

| 21:23:03 | 17-06-2005 | Social |

“Armenia is a source country from where women and girls are trafficked
mainly to the Arabian Emirates and Turkey with the aim of sexual
exploitation”, said US State secretary chief advisor, head of the
Human Trafficking Combat and Monitoring office, Ambassador John Miller
during today’s interactive TV-press conference organized by the US
Embassy to Armenia.

According to Mr. Miller, the basis of the office report were the
calculations of the UN according to which in the Arabian Emirates
and Turkey there are about 1000 Armenian prostitutes. The majority
of them are victims of trafficking.

By the way, According to the calculations of the Armenian Investigating
Journalists Association President Edik Baghdasaryan, in the Arabian
Emirates and Turkey there are not 1000 but about 5000 Armenian
prostitutes. Mr. Miller was greatly surprised by the facts and
demanded proof on what was said.

According to the report of the US State secretary chief advisor,
The problem of trafficking is so serious in Armenia that is has
been included in the special control list, “The RA Government did
not represent sufficient proof that the efforts directed to the
combat against trafficking have been enhanced. The Government has
not carries out investigation of the Prosecution which was accused
of supporting the traffickers. The Prosecution bodies have supported
those organizing trafficking, and the border-guards, taking bribes,
have secured the free transportation abroad.”

Stating that the RA Government does not fully correspond to the
criteria combating trafficking, Mr. Miller mentioned that in our
country the punishments for this kind of deeds are too mild. Besides
accusations, John Miller was not able to represent names of victims of
trafficking or clear-cut cases, but he tried to explain the difference
between those who take up prostitution on their own initiative and
the victims of trafficking.

Try as he did, we did not manage to find out the proportion of the
trafficking victims in the number of one thousand prostitutes. In
the end we asked Mr. Miller how much money was spent by the office to
prepare the report without any facts and full of accusations. “Hundreds
of thousands. 8 people worked on the report”, answered Mr. Miller.

AMERICAN OBSERVERS TO PARTICIPATE IN JUNE 19 NKR ELECTIONS AT INVITATION OF NKR LEADERSHIP

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN. At the invitation of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic leadership the Public International Law and Policy Group
from the US led by James Hooper, head of the group, will participate
in the June 19 parliamentary elections as observers. As Noyan Tapan’s
correspondent was informed, Louis Sell from American University in
Kosovo Foundation, Paul Williams from Washington college of law,
Vladimir Matic from Clemson University and others are among the
observers included in the group.

PUBLIC TV OF ARMENIA TO TRANSMIT WORLD FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Pan Armenian News
17.06.2005 07:23

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the agreement signed by the Public
Television of Armenia (PTA) and Infront Sports & Media, the PTA
obtained the exclusive right of transmitting the final matches of
the World Football Championship in 2006. June 9-July9, 2006 the PTA
will transmit all the 64 matches via the First Channel and Nor Aliq
Channel. As PTA Executive Director Armen Arzumanian noted, in 2006
with enlightening such great event in football the PTA will discharge
its obligations to the viewers. “The first-class football shown on
TV will help to raise the level of the Armenian football”, he added.

PM slams German parliament over Armenian resolution

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
June 17 2005

The Turkish Prime Minister criticised German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder for not taking a stand or preventing his deputies from
backing the Armenian bill.

Güncelleme: 17:43 TSI 17 Haziran 2005 Cuma- Turkey~Rs Prime Minister
has described the passing of a motion by the German parliament
recognising alleged massacres of Armenian citizens of the Ottoman
Empire as wrong and ugly.

Speaking at a press conference at Istanbul~Rs Ataturk Airport on his
return from a visit to Lebanon late Thursday, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said that history would make the German parliament
ashamed of their decision.

On Tuesday, the German parliament endorsed a resolution supporting
claims that massacres of Armenians had taken place within the ottoman
Empire 90 years ago and calling on Turkey to acknowledge these
events. Turkey has always denied that any massacres or acts of
genocide was carried out against the Empire~Rs Armenian community.

The Prime Minister noted that the motion of the German parliament had
avoided the usage of the term genocide and instead applied the term
massacre.

This bill was passed without debate and was politically very wrong
and had been tabled as a sacrifice for small lobbies, Erdogan said.

–Boundary_(ID_6fyPsifyT8zn1RcwUt/N1g)–

APPEAL TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT

A1plus

| 20:18:22 | 15-06-2005 | Official |

In the House of Lords in Great Britain an International Conference
devoted to Genocide took place organized by the British-Armenian
multi-party Parliamentary group. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
who had arrived the previous evening from Peking was invited to the
Conference as the main speaker.

The issue of the Armenian Genocide was discussed in the context of
Turkey’s membership to the EU, according to which Ankara ought to
recognize it and regulate relations with Yerevan.

Oskanyan invited attention to the contradiction between the words
and actions of the Turkish Government, which on the one hand tries
to show itself as proponent of conciliation before the International
community and on the other hand criminalizes the term “Genocide”,
prohibits as public discussion with that theme in their country and
even demands the British Government to reconsider the history recorded
by diplomat James Brown and historian Arnold Toynbee.

Nevertheless, Oskanyan expressed the readiness of Armenia to regulate
the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions as he did not
see any alternative.

In the afternoon the British-Armenian Parliamentary group appealed to
the British Government with a petition ratified with 3000 signatures
demanding to recognize the Armenian Genocide carried out by the
Ottoman Empire in 1915 and contribute to the reconciliation of the
two countries.

In the same evening Minister Oskanyan left London for Brussels to
represent the plan of actions of Armenia to the North-Atlantic Council
and the EU.

Turkish Press
June 14 2005

Press Scan

VATAN

ARMENIAN YOUTHS WANT TO ATTEND UNIVERSITIES IN TURKEY

Turhan Comez, a parliamentarian from the ruling Justice & Development
Party (AKP), said that he paid a visit to Armenia with the support of
the government, stating that Armenian students told him that they
wanted to attend universities in Turkey. He added that he would
expend efforts for exchange of Turkish and Armenian students.

Belgian Senate Rejects Draft On Armenian Genocide

BRUSSELS (AA) – Belgian Senate Justice Commission rejected on Tuesday
a draft resolution aiming to punish those who deny allegations on
so-called Armenian genocide.

The draft was submitted to the parliament by the Valon Liberal Party
(MR) and the Valon Greens (ECOLO). It envisaged imprisonment terms
and fines to those who do not admit the so-called genocide.

After the rejection of the draft, the Belgian Senate will take
into consideration only the genocides recognized by international
organizations.

TURKISH MP IMPRESSED BY WARM WELCOME IN YEREVAN

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: A Turkish parliament member from the
ruling Justice and Development Party, Turhan Comez, told Armenpress
he was impressed greatly by what he saw in Armenia. “I was given a
very warm welcome in Yerevan and liked the city very much,’ Comez,
the first Turkish parliament member to have visited Armenia said.

Comez and several Turkish journalists arrived in Armenia last Friday
and met here with students and professors of Yerevan State University,
parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian, officials of the foreign
ministry, Yerevan mayor.

Comez said the goal of his visit to Armenia is to seek ways to bridge
differences between the two neighboring nations, though the visit is
unofficial, “but what is important is its results.” He said his trip
to Armenia was a step towards normalization of relations and opening
of borders.

He said Armenian journalists, businessmen and parliament members are
welcome in Turkey. The Turkish MP said then it was a wrong policy
to make relations between Armenia and Turkey contingent on a third
country (Azerbaijan). He said the best way to solve the existing
problems is through dialogue, but when asked to express his views on
the 1915 genocide, he reiterated official Ankara’s views that it was
a painful event, but not a genocide.