Author: Khoyetsian Rose

Bahrain News Agency, Bahrain
April 8 2006
Syria, Armenia hold talks
date: 08 04, 2006
Damascus, April 8 (BNA) An official talks was held on Saturday
between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mualem and the visiting
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.
The talks between both sides focused on bilateral developing ties,
regional issues of common interest and the situation in the region.
The Armenian Minister said in a statement following the talks that
his talks with Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad relations between
Syria and Armenia and the latest developments in the region.

`THE NK CONFLICT ISN’T SETTLED IN A PROFITABLE WAY FOR US’
– the NA deputy Shavarsh Kocharian thinks.

Aravot.am
06 April 06
The Parliament has livened up in the problem of NK conflict
settlement; in most probability the legislative body will be
responsible for its settlement.
Responsibility is indeed a difficult thing and the ruling powers will
try to share that responsibility among each other. But it is still
difficult to say what will happen but the initiation of the NA
commission of foreign issues to get addition standpoint of the NA
groups make us think in this way. The NDP leader Shavarsh Kocharian
was the first to answer to the chief of the commission of the NA
foreign issues Armen Rustamian’ proposal. Shavarsh Kocharian explained
his position in the following way; «There is only a declaration
on the NK conflict made by the parliament in 2001 the meaning of which
is that the parliamentary political powers must adopt such a
settlement of the conflict by which Karabakh mustn’t be the part of
Azerbaijan. But today such attitudes and position can’t be enough
because there isn’t any aspect there. And for settling the problem you
should have a clear formulated aspect in which we’ll need for inside
and outside for the political powers not to have discrepant
approaches. And it is obvious that there are such things. It is too
important first of all for propaganda and for strengthening our
positions and in the international structures as well. We also welcome
the hearings on the NK conflict organized last year and the proposal
made to the political powers by the commission; to produce certain
approaches on the NK conflict settlement.’
Shavarsh Kocharian explained the activation of the parliament in the
following way; «I think this process is late indeed, because
the position of the parliament should be specified. But the
declaration adopted in 2001 didn’t say anything new. There is a lack
of aspect approach. And those officials who speak of Karabakh as the
inseparable part of Armenia, they indeed pour water into Azerbaijani’s
mill because The goal of Azerbaijanis was just it; to change the
essence of the problem turning it into territorial quarrel between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. And they took advantage of the circumstance
that the authorities of Armenia chose that way.’
Shavarsh Kocharian thinks that they should have an aspect approach for
a long time after which it will be very effective to use the
possibilities of Diaspora and realize normal lobby activities.’
Shavarsh Tocharian doesn’t consider real the conversations that 2006
year is the best period of settling the problem; `I have already said
about it even when the cochairmen were speaking of the problem very
positively, I don’t consider that term real for a very simple
reason. The NK President Arkady Ghukasian has described the situation
very exactly, till Azerbaijan avoids of negotiating with Karabakh the
conflict can’t be settled. And the next, the international structures
want to get rid of disturbing circumstances including the NK
problem. And that’s why they make new proposals and that’s why Prague
process was quite different from the former ones because they tried
for the first time to mention both the model of territorial integrity
and the model of self-determination.’
Margaret Yesayan

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 7 2006
OSCE monitoring ceasefire on Armenia-Azerbaijan border
10:46 | 07/ 04/ 2006

YEREVAN, April 7 (RIA Novosti) – Officials from Europe’s largest
security organization conducted ceasefire monitoring Thursday along a
stretch of Armenian-Azerbaijani border, an Armenian defense ministry
spokesman said.
Seiran Shakhsuvaryan said officials from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had registered incidents of
gunfire from Azerbaijan during the monitoring, conducted following
talks between OSCE representatives and an Armenian regional governor,
who said Azerbaijan had been shooting at the Idzhevan-Noemberyan
highway.
Previous monitoring scheduled for March 28 was cancelled because of
gunfire before it started. Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other
of starting the firing. The two countries exchanged numerous
allegations of ceasefire violations in February and March on the
border near troubled Nagorny-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a
largely ethnic Armenian population.
Previous OSCE inspections this year in the conflict zone registered
no violations of the ceasefire regime.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh
first erupted in 1988, when the region claimed independence from
Azerbaijan to join Armenia.
Over 30,000 people were reported dead on both sides between 1988 and
1994, and over 100 others died after a ceasefire was concluded in
1994, leaving Nagorny Karabakh in Armenian hands, but tensions
between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.

FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF SLOVAKIA IS ALSO AMONG PARTICIPANTS OF PRAGUE CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 05 2006
BRATISLAVA, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Jan Carnogusky,
the first Prime Minister of Slovakia and the former Justice Minister,
the founder and first Chairman of the Christian-Democratic movement of
Slovakia will participate in the conference dedicated to the Armenian
Genocide. The conference is organized by the Senate of Czechia. Ashot
Grigorian, the Chairman of the All-Armenian Organizations’ European
Representation and of the Armenian community of Slovakia informed
Noyan Tapan about this. Czech Senator Jaromir Stetina, presiding the
conference, sent an invitation for participation in the conference to
Jan Carnogursky and Ashot Grigorian, with a goal to exchange experience
of adopting at the Parliament of Slovakia the resolution on Armenian
Genocide. Carnogursky, who is also a famous lawyer, prepared a report
concerning legal bases of the resolution on the Genocide. Ashot
Grigorian will not be present at the conference himself, as he
will participate in the court procedure going on in Budapest on
the case of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian’s murder. However,
he attached much importance to holding such a conference in Czechia,
emphasizing that this gives a basis to hope that following the example
of neighboring Slovakia, Czechia will also adopt in the nearest future
the resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide and “will join those
progressive countries which have had courage to say their true word,
ignoring Turkish pressures.”

EU: TESTED MODEL CANNOT BE APPLIED FOR ALL OTHER CONFLICTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.04.2006 19:40 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Each conflict has its peculiarities and the Kosovo
model cannot be applied to all the “frozen” conflicts in the post
soviet space,” EU Envoy for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated
in a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Once tested model
cannot be applied to all the other conflicts,” he said.
According to Mr. Semneby, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is very
specific and its settlement should be based on the negotiations
exclusively. “The parties to conflict are likely to complete the
talks and I think a decision will be found. As for compromise,
in my opinion it should be elaborated through long and delicate
negotiations,” Semneby emphasized. To note, March 1, 2006 Swedish
diplomat Peter Semneby replaced Heikki Talvitie at the post of EU
Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN ARTISTS’ WORKS OPENED IN SAINT PETERSBURG
Noyan Tapan
Apr 03 2006
SAINT PETERSBURG, APRIL 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Within the framework of
the Year of Armenia in Russia and the 15th anniversary of the RA
independence, an exhibition of Armenian artists living in Petersburg
opened at the “Manezh” central exhibition-hall of Saint Petersburg
on March 30. Works of 25 Armenian artists and sculptors are presented
here. Works of most of them, including Valeri Apinian, Greta Manukian,
Zaven Arshakuni, Levon Lazarev, are today exhibited at the world-known
Russian State Museum, Fine Arts State Museum after Pushkin, Tretyakov
State Gallery and numerous other famous exhibition-halls. According
to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA Foreign
Ministry’s Press and Information Department, Ruben Hakobian, the RA
Consul General to Saint Petersburg made welcome speech at the opening
ceremony of the exhibition. A concert of the Armenian classic Music
with the participation of RF Honourary Artist, tenor K.Akopov, Saint
Petersburg Trio and Academy Quintet was organized on the occasion of
the event. The exhibition will be open till April 10.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian, Coordinator of Public Relations
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 44; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
April 3, 2006
___________________
“NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE TURKISH RESPONSE TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” IS TOPIC
OF PANEL DISCUSSION IN NYC ON THURS., APRIL 20
Prof. Israel Charny, Dr. Dennis Papazian, & Mr. Aram Arkun are Featured
Speakers
* * *
Over the past several years, the Armenian Genocide has become a topic of
intense discussion among Turks both within the Republic of Turkey and
abroad. The European Union, United States, and other states have raised the
issue directly and indirectly with the Turkish state.
Unexpectedly, recent years have also seen an increase in Genocide discussion
among Turkish intellectuals. These remarkable recent developments will be
the subject of a panel discussion on the evening of Thursday, April 20,
titled “New Directions in the Turkish Response to the Armenian Genocide.”
Professor Israel Charny, of Jerusalem, a leading international scholar of
genocide, will head the roster of distinguished speakers. He will be joined
by Dr. Dennis Papazian and Mr. Aram Arkun.
The event is being jointly sponsored by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab
Information Center of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern), and the Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan.
DR. ISRAEL CHARNY, Ph.D., founder and director of the Institute on the
Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, is a leading international scholar in
the field of genocide who has published extensively on the subjects of
genocide as well as on marriage and family therapy. He is editor-in-chief
of the acclaimed Encyclopedia of Genocide, which has appeared in English in
the U.S. and U.K., with a partial edition in French, and which can also be
purchased for computer use in an electronic edition. He is a clinical
psychologist and a professor of Psychology and Family Therapy in the Program
for Advanced Studies in Integrative Psychotherapy, which he founded in 1993,
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His latest book, Fascism and
Democracy in the Human Mind (forthcoming from the University of Nebraska
Press) has been hailed as “one of the most important books of this decade,”
and as a momentous and innovative work of scholarship. He recently took
part in a conference in Istanbul on Turkish-Armenian relations.
(Please note that on the afternoon of Sunday, April 23, 2006, Dr. Charny
will be the main speaker at the annual Genocide commemoration organized by
the Knights of Vartan, in Times Square, New York City.)
DR. DENNIS R. PAPAZIAN is a professor of history and director of the
Armenian Research Center (ARC) at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. He
is a former president of the Society for Armenian Studies, former editor of
the Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, an international lecturer,
and a frequent radio, TV, and newspaper commentator. A former university
administrator, he has been the recipient of various grants, awards, and
honors, and recently received a medal from Armenia’s Genocide Institute.
Dr. Papazian has worked with objective Turkish scholars who oppose the
denialist narrative of the Turkish state to encourage research and
publication for the education of the Turkish public. It was Dr. Papazian
who brought Taner Akçam to America as a researcher at the ARC.
Aram Arkun is coordinator of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center
of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of American (Eastern). A specialist
in modern Armenian history, he has delivered research papers on topics
pertaining to the Armenian Genocide; participated in conferences on
Armeno-Turkish relations; and conducted research in the Ottoman state
archives in Istanbul. He has published a number of articles and annotated
translations on Ottoman and Iranian Armenian topics, as well as on
contemporary Armenian events, in scholarly journals, encyclopedias, and
books. He is editor of the periodical Ararat, chairman of the Armenian
Student Association “Arthur H. Dadian Armenian Heritage Award” committee,
and a member of the board of directors of the Columbia University Armenian
Center.
The panel discussion on “New Directions in the Turkish Response to the
Armenian Genocide” will take place on Thursday, April 20, beginning at 7:15
p.m., in Guild Hall of the Diocesan Center, Second Avenue (corner of 35th
St.), New York City. Admission is free and open to the public. For
information, please contact: Dr. Arthur Kubikian at (718) 786-3842; or Aram
Arkun, at (212) 686-0710, ext. 26, e-mail [email protected].
–4/3/06

Georgian defence chief accuses Russia of lying about Abkhazia base
Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
31 Mar 06
Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Okruashvili has accused Russia of
“lying” about the closure of the Russian military base in Gudauta,
Abkhazia. In a live interview with Rustavi-2 TV on 31 March,
Okruashvili said that the Gudauta base was still in active service.
Okruashvili also said he hoped that the Russian “so-called”
peacekeepers would leave South Ossetia by the end of 2006. Commenting
on the Russian import ban on Georgian wine, Okruashvili suggested
that the ban could eventually cost Russia dearly.
The interview began with Okruashvili’s comment on the signing of the 31
March agreement on the time scale and procedures for the withdrawal of
Russian bases and other military assets from Georgian territory. The
minister said that Russia had been procrastinating over it for a long
time. “Active negotiations started in early June [2005]. As I have
said, we spent almost a year to agree some meaningless details. The
process had been delayed, but fortunately it ended today. In the
near future, there will be several serious NATO and other summits in
Europe, so apparently the Russians did not want to find themselves
in an awkward situation and be accused of failing to fulfil their
international obligations. That’s why we worked on this document so
fast during the past two weeks,” he noted.
Answering a question about possible complications with Azerbaijan
because of the planned transfer of the military hardware to the Russian
base in Armenia, Okruashvili said that this issue was “not of principal
importance” for Georgia. “Two thirds of the hardware will be taken to
Russia and one third will be transferred to the Russian military base
in Armenia, but this is not of principal importance for us. Russia
is not going to donate this hardware to the Armenian government and
its armed forces. Russia will deploy it at its military base,” he said.
“I have said that the signing of today’s agreement launched the main
stage of the process of ending Russia’s military presence in Georgia.
By the main stage I mean that this agreement will close only two
bases, but the question of the third base [in Gudauta] remains. For
years, they have been lying to us and telling us that it was closed,
but this is not so. Just three days ago, an armed group of Abkhaz
bandits attacked the Russian military base in order to seize weapons.
Several Abkhaz were wounded by Russians there. This once again shows
that the base is not closed. It still has quite an active component
of military servicemen, with their arms and helicopters. Naturally,
we want the international community to take a principled position,
so that the actual situation is exposed and this base is closed just
as the Akhalkalaki and Batumi bases will close,” Okruashvili said.
“In addition, we still have [Russian] peacekeepers, these so-called
peacekeepers who don’t quite fit this title, in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. These peacekeepers are not the subject of today’s agreement,
but the Georgian parliament has launched separate procedures with
respect to them. The Georgian government is working on this issue
too. I hope that by the end of this year, the procedures with respect
to at least one of these uncontrolled areas will be finished and the
peacekeepers will leave South Ossetia,” he noted.
At the end of the interview, when asked about his opinion on the
Russian import ban on Georgian wine, Okruashvili said: “Generally,
my attitude towards Russia’s current policy towards Georgia is well
known. However, I am a political official and I do not have the
right to express my subjective views about them openly. However, it
is sometimes quite difficult to force middle-ranking or low-ranking
state officials to treat our neighbours with sympathy when they
[Russians] are creating such absurd problems for us. I do not want
someone to think that I am referring to an analogy, but there was a
time when Georgians, loaded with money they easily made in Moscow,
would encounter North Caucasian bandit groups while travelling back
to Georgia. Then a Georgian traveller would be offered to buy a brick
for 10,000 dollars [implying that otherwise the brick would smash the
traveller’s car]. So, I do not want the Russians to find themselves
in a situation when they will have to buy every brick from us for
the price of 100 boxes of wine,” Okruashvili said.

ARMENIA RECEIVES OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT BIDS FOR PROGRAMS OF ANOTHER
40 MLN USD TO WORLD BANK
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia received the opportunity to
submit bids for programs worth another 40 mln USD to the World Bank,
RA Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian stated on March
31. According to him, the allocation of these extra funds has become
possible thanks to the effecient implementation of the previous
programs. The minister said that Armenia ranks third by this index
among the World Bank’s borrowers.

PILGRIMAGE TO TEGHERI MONASTERY ON APRIL 1
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. A pilgrimage to the Tegheri monastery
of the Aragatsotn diocese was organized on the initiative of the
Gevorgian Theological Academy and Vazgenian Theological Academy,
on the occasion of the Mutn in Virap holiday of St. Grigor the
Illuminator. Students of the Yerevan Kh.Abovian State Pedagogical
University, Yerevan State Economy University, V.Brusov Linguistics
University and the American University of Armenia will participate
in the pilgrimage joint with students and staffs of the Theological
Academies. The Saint Liturgy was celebrated at the Surb Astvatsatsin
Church of the Tegheri monastic complex, after what a cultural event
will be organized with joint efforts of students and staffs of the
Theological Academies and Universities. According to the information
submitted to Noyan Tapan by the Information Services of the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the pilgrims will start from the Yerevan
St. Grigor the Illuminator’s Cathedral (in front of the hall of
lighting candles) early at 9:00.