Author: Khoyetsian Rose

HUNDREDS TAKE PART IN GLOBAL DAY FOR DARFUR

CTV.ca
ctvtoronto.ca
April 13 2008
Canada

Several hundred activists, artists and politicians gathered at
Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday to take part in the fifth
annual Global Day for Darfur.

This year’s event focused on the plight of children in the troubled
Sudanese region that has been torn apart by civil war. Many nations
and agencies describe the conflict as genocide.

"Since the genocide began five years ago, more than 1 million children
have been tortured, raped, wounded, displaced, and/or traumatized,"
stated a press release from STAND Canada (Students Taking Action Now:
Darfur), which organized the Toronto rally.

"UNICEF reported in their Child Alert Report that ‘The children of
Darfur have little prospect of a decent, independent future for
themselves … (as the majority of them) live beyond the reach
of current international relief efforts, leaving them exposed to
malnutrition, illness, violence and fear.’"

More than 200,000 people have been killed and millions have been
displaced in the ongoing conflict between the Arab-dominated government
and African rebels.

Waterloo Regional Police Sgt. Debbie Bodnik was brought to tears as
she spoke of her trip to the country a few years ago, when she worked
as an investigator.

"I know there are horrible things going on all across the world and
it’s easy for us to get overwhelmed and want to shut it all out, but
this is just like the Holocaust again, it’s just like Armenia again,
this is just like Rwanda again and we’re letting it happen, again,"
Bodnik said.

Among the politicians in attendance was London Liberal MP
Glen Pearson. He and his wife adopted three Sudanese children,
seven-year-old twins Abuk and Achan and their 10-year-old brother Ater.

While Canada has pledged money for relief in Sudan, Pearson says
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government need to do more.

"I’m challenging him to put together a committee of two members from
each party to go to Darfur, come back and then he works with all
parties to put something forward that’s really going to have teeth,"
Pearson said.

Several motions on the issue have been introduced in Ottawa, including
one last week by Montreal Liberal MP Irwin Cotler called the Sudan
Accountability Act.

Several other Canadian cities also participated in the day of
demonstration on Sunday. The international events, in which more than
40 countries participated, were arranged by the organization Globe
for Darfur.

LUIS MARIA DE PUIG: "PACE WILL ADOPT A DOCUMENT ON ARMENIA"

Azeri Press Agency
April 14 2008
Azerbaijan

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli-APA. Louis Maria de Puig, New President
of the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) held a
press-conference on Monday within the framework of PACE spring session.

APA European Bureau reports, the PACE President expressed opinion
about the last developments in Armenia. "PACE and me, as a head of
the organization are concerning about the situation in Armenia. We
have already done some works toward this and now are trying to find
solution for the improvement of the situation. I tried once again to
bring standards of the Council of Europe to the attention of Armenian
parliament speaker Tigran Torosyan in our meeting in Saint-Petersburg
and told him that Armenia had violated many principles and standards
of the organization. If Armenian leadership is really supporting
the principles of the Council of Europe and thinking about the
implementation of its obligations, we have to make efforts for Armenia
to restore some violated elements and to respond the standards". The
PACE President underlined the discussion of the developments in
Armenia at the spring session and said they would adopt advisable
document after the discussions, which would reflect the position of
PACE. "We believe that Armenia accepts the PACE principles and tries
to fulfill them. However, we will stand at the same position in regard
to Armenia as we usually show to the countries facing with problems
and insist on the acceptance of CE standards by Yerevan".

Luis Maria de Puig said he planned to visit Armenia next week, but
he didn’t ascertain the date of his visit to Azerbaijan.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 12 2008

Mafia leader testifies in Ergenekon probe

A mafia leader serving four years in prison for heading a crime gang
was brought to the Beþiktaþ courthouse on Friday to testify to a
prosecutor investigating a political crime gang believed to have been
carrying out preparations for an overthrow of the government.

On Friday, Alaattin Çakýcý, arguably the most famous mafia boss in
Turkey, who was convicted of `leading an organized crime gang’ by an
Ýstanbul court last year, was brought to the chambers of prosecutor
Zekeriya Öz at the Beþiktaþ courthouse yesterday to testify as part
of an investigation into Ergenekon, a shadowy and powerful
neo-nationalist gang suspected of being behind a number of
politically motivated murders, including the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007. Possible links Çakýcý
might have to Ergenekon were not immediately clear.
So far 47 suspects have been arrested as part of the Ergenekon
investigation, launched after the police found a house full of guns
and explosives in Ýstanbul last June. Those who have been arrested
include retired generals and army officials; public figures such as
journalists; mafia leaders including drug lords; and the previous
suspects of a 1996 car crash in Susurluk which revealed that a police
chief at the time had dealings with a mafia leader and a deputy, who
wss the chief of a Kurdish clan in the Southeast funded by the state
to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Four years for Çakýcý

Çakýcý was convicted by the Istanbul 14th Higher Criminal Court last
year in February. The court ruled Çakýcý should be tried under
Article 220, Section 1 of the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which
foresees punishment for `forming a criminal organization.’ When
handing down Çakýcý’s four-year sentence, the judge said, `The way
crime was committed, the significance of the law [Article 220] and
the severity of the danger stemming from the crime should be taken
into consideration, and a fair and logical punishment should be
decided based on the minimum sentence.’

TWO ISSUES ON ARMENIA ON PACE SPRING SESSION AGENDA

armradio.am
11.04.2008 17:56

The spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) will start in Strasbourg on April 14 and will continue
through April 18. The draft agenda of the session includes two issues
related to Armenia.

John Prescott’s report on the presidential election in Armenia on
February 9 will be presented in the framework of the PACE Bureau
reporting.

Under urgent procedure on April 17 PACE will discuss the functioning
of Armenian democratic institutions.

The guests of the spring session include the President of Slovakia
Ivan Gasparovich, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, the Priem
minister of Ukraine Yulia Timoshenko, the Foreign Minister of France
Bernard Kouchner.

The delegation of the Armenian National Assembly headed by the Chairman
of the NA Standing Committee on State-Legal Issues David Harutyunyan
will participate in the spring session.

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT-ELECT CALLED ON NATION TO ELIMINATE WALL OF MISUNDERSTANDING

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2008 20:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s President-elect Serzh Sargsyan assumed
the office today.

"Today is an extremely responsible day for me. A few minutes ago, I
swore an oath to our people to unconditionally follow the provisions
of our Constitution. On this historic day, we all swear an oath:
I do it aloud, and ask you to do it silently. I am confident that
each of you has an oath of your own to serve our fatherland and people.

"We all swear this oath for a brighter future of our country, for
development, for democracy, for the rule of law, for a stronger and
more prosperous Armenia.

"May the Lord give me strength to not disappoint anyone of my
supporters! May the Lord give us all strength to overcome difficulties,
to find the cure for all the problems that worry the disappointed or
disillusioned ones, the ones who today need hope, faith, and optimism.

"I recognize the enormous responsibility I have assumed. I know that I
will be the one whom you will consider responsible for everything. I
pledge not to avoid the responsibility, the magnitude of which I
realized when joining the Republican Party and declaring that I would
agree to be nominated for the presidential elections only in case the
Republican Party won the largest number of votes in the parliamentary
elections. I realize the magnitude of the responsibility now, and I
shall recognize it every day for the next five years. I shall bear
with honor the responsibility of being the President of all citizens
of the Republic of Armenia.

"On this day, I wish to thank my supporters, all the individuals
that have voted for my program. I am grateful for the confidence. I
assure you that together we can improve life in our country. Today,
I call for a change. Once again, we are proclaiming a new beginning
for change. Everyone must be ready to start change from one’s own self.

"A part of our people supported other candidates, and I now appeal
to them: it was your right to vote for someone other than me, but I
do not have the right not to be your president. We should not part,
should not create division between various parts of our people, should
not disregard each other’s concerns and pain, and should not go beyond
each other’s reach. Even if a wall of misunderstanding stands between
us, I urge you to join us in eliminating that wall.

"I express my gratitude to President Robert Kocharian, a man who will
have a solid place in the Armenian history, as the decade of his
presidency were years of significant achievements for our country,
achievements based on which we have set ambitious targets for the
future. President Kocharian has performed an invaluable role in
the establishment, advancement, and protection of the Republic of
Mountainous Karabakh. I am confident that generations will duly
appreciate his service and contribution to the development and
strengthening of our statehood.

"Although the election campaign was intense and did not do without
insults, I wish to thank my opponents for the struggle, with a special
thank you to those who admitted their defeat with dignity, those who
reciprocated the extended hand of cooperation and accepted the offer
to come together to develop the Republic of Armenia.

"I shall remain committed to all of my pre-election promises, and we
shall join our efforts in fulfilling them.

We shall build the Armenia that brings together all Armenians, one
that will be the fatherland of any Armenian.

We shall build the Armenia where mutual respect, love, and tolerance
will prevail.

We shall build the Armenia where our citizens and families will live
and realize their potential in security and dignity.

We shall carry out a proactive foreign policy, and do everything to
find a just, peaceful, and favorable solution to the Artsakh issue.

We shall build a strong, proud, and democratic state of Armenia,
where everyone shall be equal before the law.

I am confident that you, our fellow Armenians and friends, also hold
the key to the success of all of our initiatives. To accomplish this
historic mission, I once again urge us to unite. Unity will be the
platform for fundamental value creation and progress along the path
of democracy and freedoms.

I shall do all of this, because I wish to be a president who will fully
implement his program, bring peace and stable development to Armenia,
enhance the reputation and image of our country, overcome all of the
major problems we currently face, and be capable of foreseeing and
responding to all of the potential challenges. This is the type of
President I can and shall be," Mr Sargsyan said.

IN ARTISTS’ OPINION, THEY ARE SPLIT LIKE PEOPLE

Noyan Tapan
April 8, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The meeting organized on April 8
in the Hayeli (Mirror) club was dedicated to the problems of the
cultural sphere.

Producer Vigen Stepanian and actor of G. Sundukian State Academic
Theater Tigran Nersisian took part in the meeting. Both artists gave
assurance that the public-political phenomena and situation in the
country are closely connected with culture and its development.

"We, artists are split like the people: when somebody finds fault,
blackens any of us, the others do not speak in support of him. It
is evidence that we not only fail to consolidate with each other,
but also to consolidate over the theater," they emphasized.

"There is much to do in the cultural sphere. Everything is in a
confusion.

Disgraceful things inappropriate to art and artist take place," Tigran
Nersisian said. He is convinced that this indifferent attitude to
cultural sphere comes not only from this or that minister or ministry,
but from higher instances: "it is seen clearly from the amount of money
allocated to culture and the place culture takes on this or that list:
it is always either in the last or at best in the penultimate place."

Vigen Stepanian is convinced that over these years the Ministry of
Culture failed to solve an important problem, to work out cultural
policy of strategic significance for the country. According to him,
cultural policy is not organization of concerts and exhibitions,
but organization of the whole cultural sphere, starting from cultural
education.

Agreeing with his colleague, Tigran Nersisian added that in this
complicated situation some artists, who try to take a place in the
history of theater, destroy and ruin everything created over many
years. "I do not mind their willingness to strengthen their positions
and to take a place in a new genre: let them act in the very genre
and not try to destroy repertoire theaters and to make a name in
theater’s history that way."

OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF 58 COUNTRIES AND 12 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WILL ATTEND INAUGURATION OF THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA

arminfo
2008-04-08 23:30:00

ArmInfo. Official representatives of 58 countries and 12 international
organizations will attend the Apr 9 inauguration of the newly elected
president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, says Viktor Sogomonyan, the
spokesman of the incumbent president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan.

Among the guests will be the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
Matthew Bryza, the head of the staff of the president of Belarus
Gennady Nebydnov, the deputy foreign minister of Bulgaria, the
president of the Milli Mejlis of Turkmenistan Akja Nurberdyyeva,
the energy minister of Iran Parviz Fattah, the secretary general of
the STO Nikolay Borduzha, the vice speaker of the Senate of Kazakhstan
Muhammed Kopeyev, the state secretary of foreign affairs of Switzerland
Michael Ambuhl, the president of the Senate of the Czech Republic, the
speaker of the Stat Duma of Russia Boris Gryzlovm, the prime minister
of Georgia Lado Gurgenidze, the deputy foreign minister of Ukraine Ivan
Gnatyshin, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter
Semneby, the Special Representative of the OSCE CIO Heikki Talvitie,
the deputy secretary general of the League of Arab Nations.

POLICE DISPERSE RALLY IN FRONT OF FRANCE EMBASSY IN BAKU

Trend News Agency
April 3 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 3 April / TrendNews corr. J.Babayeva / About 30
activists of the Muasir Musavat party attempted to stage a rally in
front of the France Embassy in Baku on 3 April. Police did not allow
the rally participants to come close to the Embassy building. The
rally was staged in the Malakan park.

The participants of the rally demanded the activity of the OSCE Minsk
Group to be refused because the OSCE member-countries including Russia,
France and the United States voted against the Resolution on Situation
in Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan adopted during the session of
UN General Assembly on 14 March.

The slogan of the rally was ‘OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs must refuse
from pro-Armenian positions’ and ‘French co-chairs must be removed
from his position’.

The rally was unsanctioned by the Baku Executive Power.

Farhad Aliyev, the chairman of Muasir Musavat, submitted a protest
statement to the representative of French embassy.

Muasir Musavat was founded in 2000. In 2002, the party received state
registration. Party takes constructive opposition course towards
the authorities.

FAZIL GAZANFAROGHLU: "IF ISRAEL RECOGNIZES THE SO-CALLED "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE", WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO ADOPT THE DOCUMENT ABOUT GENOCIDE COMMITTED BY ISRAELIS AGAINST PALESTINIANS"

Today.Az
April 3 2008
Azerbaijan

"Document about Israeli genocide policy conducted against Palestinians
since 1967 can be sent for parliamentary discussions", Fazil
Gazanfaroglu, Chairman of the Great Order Party and member of the
Parliament told APA.

He said he had prepared this document, but has not submitted it to the
parliamentary commission yet in order not to damage Azerbaijan-Israel
relations.

"If Israel recognizes the so-called "Armenian genocide", we will do
our best to adopt the document about genocide committed by Israelis
against Palestinians and Israel will be responsible for such measure".

Fazil Gazanfaroglu said he believed that his counterparts at the
Parliament would support him.

"At first, the document will be submitted to the Human Rights
Commission of the Parliament. I believe all members of the Parliament
contributing to the national interests will support this document".

ARMENIAN CHURCH IN LVIV DESECRATED BY VANDALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2008 15:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Last weekend vandals broke a wooden cross at the
entrance to the Armenian Church in Lviv and covered its facade with
writing, said Olga Ignatova, a member of reconstruction coordinating
council.

For his part, Lviv city council member Vardkes Arzumanyan said he
has already informed the state bodies of the incident.

"Young people, whose conduct leaves much to be desired, always gather
at site. "We do not think that the offensive actions were targeted
at the Armenian Church. Any other Christian shrine would be damaged
the same way," he said.

"I am hopeful that the authorities will look into the incident and
ensure state guard," he added, IA Regnum reports.