Author: Khoyetsian Rose

ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND GUNTHER ALTENBERG DISCUSSED ARMENIA-NATO COOPERATION
01.04.2005 02:22
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with NATO
Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy,
Ambassador Gunther Altenberg, RA President’s press service reported.
During the visit the parties discussed the Armenia-NATO cooperation,
pointed out to the dynamicsof its development and also touched upon
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Pan Armenian News
TERRORISTS TOOK HOVHANNISYAN HOSTAGE NOT AS AN ARMENIAN BUT AS A CITIZEN OF
ROMANIA
37 year-old journalist from Bucharest Edward-Ovidiu Hovhannisyan is the
second Armenian stolen in Iraq.
Certain facts have been cleared up about the disappearance of our
compatriot, citizen of Romania Edward-Ovidiu Hovhannisyan and his two
colleagues. According to the information received on Wednesday, terrorists
demanded from the Romanian government a ransom of 4 million dollars.
However, the main aim of the terrorists is not to earn money but to attract
attention to the intention of Romanian authorities to increase Romanian
military presence in Iraq. The President of Romania Besesku visited Iraq not
long ago. After the trip he made a decision to activate the participation of
his country in the anti-terrorist coalition and to increase the number of
military contingent.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ No terrorist grouping has claimed the responsibility for
the action. Terrorists act incognito. The demand of the ransom was told to
the ambassador of Iraq in Romania by unknown people. Besides, someone called
a Syrian businessman living in Bucharest and asked him to pass to state
authorities that if the money was not paid during 24 hours the hostages
would be killed. However, official sources deny any information about the
ransom. The video material shown on Thursday on `Al Jazzira’ TV channel
proves that the criminals have no mercantile considerations. The video
cassette with the hostages was in some way passed to the TV channel by the
terrorists themselves. On the recording are the journalists and their Arab
translator, sitting on the floor with gun points on their heads. On the
recording there are also two people in masks. The terrorists do not make any
demands.
Like the whole Romanian community, Armenian community of Bucharest is
extremely worried about the destiny of hostages. However, the initiative to
join the Armenian community of Iraq to the searches for the hostages seems
absolutely unacceptable. The excessive activity of the leadership of
Armenian structures may in this case have negative consequences. It is known
that Edward-Ovidiu Hovhannisyan was taken hostage not as an Armenian but as
a citizen of Romania. Moreover, it is quite possible that the terrorists
still do not know about his ethnic origin, since some Romanian surnames
sound like Armenian surnames. Concentration on the ethnic origin of
Hovhannisyan may create problems taking into account the existence of
Armenian peacemakers in Iraq.
Edward-Ovidiu Hovhannisyan is 37 years old. He is a Bucharest born catholic,
working as a political correspondent of `Romania libere’ newspaper. His
sister Ann-Maria Hovhannisyan gave an interview to `Reiter’ agency where she
stated that the leadership of the newspaper does not contact with their
family. She says that his family was against his trip but he did not listen
to them. Hovhannisyan went to Baghdad to interview the premier of the
temporary administration Iyad Alaui. After an hour from the interview he and
his colleagues disappeared. Later someone called to the editorial of
Bucharest `Prima’ TV company, employees of which are also taken hostage. The
voice of one of the hostages was heaðd on the phone. `Don’t kill us. We are
from a poor country; we do not have money…’ Later mother of one of the
employees of `Prima’ received an SMS `We are taken hostage. It is not a
joke’.
During the past year over 150 foreigners were taken hostage in Iraq. Almost
50 of them were killed because the demands of the terrorists were not
fulfilled. Romanian authorities hope that the three journalists will not
suffer the same fare. President Besesku said that Romanian special services
in cooperation with American and British services have `worked out a line of
conduct that can bring to the solution of the incident’. What is meant under
that line and are there any real hopes? It is still unclear.
31.03.2005, “PanARMENIAN Network” analytical department
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ONE OF ROMANIAN JOURNALISTS KIDNAPPED IN IRAQ ETHNIC ARMENIAN
31.03.2005 05:28
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ One of the three journalists kidnapped in Iraq March 28,
Romania Liberia newspaper correspondent Eduard Ovidiu Ohanesian, 36, is ethnic
Armenian, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reported. The other two
are correspondents of Prima TV Channel – Marie Jeanne Ion, 32, and cameraman
Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, 30. They were taken hostage on the second day after the
meeting of Romanian President Traian Basescu with Romanian servicemen in Iraq.
After being kidnapped the Romanian journalists managed to get in touch withthe
TV channel and to report the happening. Traian Basescu stated that Romania
will do its best to return the journalists to the fatherland. The kidnappers
have not made any demands in exchange for freeing the prisoners yet.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 30, 2005
BAGAPSH AGAINST OPENING OF ADDITIONAL UN OFFICES IN ABKHAZIA
SUKHUMI, March 30 (RIA Novosti’s Ruslan Tarba) – One UN human rights
office is sufficient in Abkhazia (self-proclaimed republic in
Georgia), Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh told journalists on
Wednesday.
According to him, “our country is small and we do not need UN offices
in every village.”
The UN human rights office is open in Sukhumi and this is enough to
control the human rights observation in the republic, he noted.
The Abkhaz leadership is ready to discuss with the Georgian side
nothing but mutually beneficial economic projects on the basis of
Sochi agreements.
The Sochi agreements signed in March 2002 imply the restoration of
railway traffic via Abkhazia, Georgia and Armenia, the restoration
and development of the Inguri hydroelectric power plant and the
return of Georgian refugees to Abkhazia’s Galsky district.
“Other issues are out of the question,” Bagapsh said.
“The political status of the Republic of Abkhazia is not to be
discussed,” he emphasized. Sergei Bagapsh met with journalists ahead
of the Georgian-Abkhaz meeting in Geneva scheduled for April 7-8. A
group of friends of the UN Secretary General will attend the meeting.
According to Bagapsh, no talks will be held and no documents will be
signed in Geneva.
Speaking about the return of Georgian refugees, the president said
they could return only to the Galsky district. “People who fought
against our country cannot and will not live here,” he stressed.
The armed conflict in the 1990s broke out in the early 1990s when
Georgia deprived Abkhazia of the autonomous status and used tough
punitive measures against the republic, which declared independence
in response. The CIS peacekeeping forces consisting of Russian
servicemen were deployed in the Abkhaz-Georgia conflict zone in June
1994.

Agence France Presse — English
March 29, 2005 Tuesday 8:48 PM GMT
Switzerland urges Turkey to ‘face the past’ on Armenian question
ANKARA March 29
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Tuesday urged Turkey to
carry out a detailed study of claims that millions of Armenians were
the victims of genocide under Ottoman rule during World War I.
“We think that it is essential that every country conduct an in-depth
historical research of its own past, especially when the question is
so painful,” Calmy-Rey told reporters after talks with her Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul.
The Swiss minister was speaking on the first day of an official visit
which was originally supposed to take place in 2003 but was cancelled
after the Swiss canton of Vaud qualified as genocide the 1915
massacres of Armenians.
Shortly afterwards, the lower house of the Swiss parliament also
followed suit — against the Bern government’s advice — and adopted
a similar resolution, unleashing an angry response from Ankara.
The allegations of genocide “are unacceptable claims by the (Armenian
diaspora) to continue its existence. Unfortunately, the diaspora
sometimes poisons our ties with other countries for its own benefit,”
Gul said.
“Other countries must not allow this,” he added.
Turkey categorically denies the Armenian allegations, but has
recently faced increasing calls for it to accept the killings of
Armenians as genocide.
In a counter-move, Turkey recently called for an unbiased study by
historians, urging Armenia to also open up its own archives.
Calmy-Rey hailed the offer as a “good idea” and said she had proposed
to Gul the inclusion of international experts in such a commission
for the credibility of the work.
The massacres of Armenians during World War I is one of the most
controversial episodes in Turkish history.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were massacred in
orchestrated killings nine decades ago during the last years of the
Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey.
Turkey, on the other hand, argues that 300,000 Armenians and
thousands of Turks were killed in what was civil strife during World
War I when the Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers.
The Swiss minister said that she had come to Turkey in a bid to
deepen existing ties and that she would discuss prospects of
increased cooperation, especially in the economic field, during her
visit.
Calmy-Rey was scheduled to visit Turkey’s commercial capital Istanbul
and the medieval-walled city of Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish
southeast before leaving on Wednesday.

ARMENIAN SEISMOLOGISTS RECORD STRONG QUAKE ON SUMATRA
YEREVAN, MARCH 29. ARMINFO. The National Service of Seismic Protection
of Armenia recorded a 8.7-point earthquake on Sumatra (Indonesia)
Monday 9:18 pm (local time).
7 consecutive 11-12-point strong quakes shook the epicenter 200 km
west of Sumatra. Some 2,000 people are reported to have died with much
more wounded. The quake was so strong that it was felt as far as
Malaysia. The quake has spurred a tree meter tsunami that has come
down on Simelue island today.
This is one of the 10 strongest quakes to have shocked Indonesia since
1990. For three months already seismologists have been reporting
unprecedented volcanic activity in the country with every next tremor
exceeding the previous in magnitude.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base français
28 mars 2005
Voyage de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie La conseillère fédérale
porte les attentes kurdes et arméniennes
Eclairage Par Julie Zaugg, ats
zj fb
Berne (ats) Le voyage de Micheline Calmy-Rey cette semaine en Turquie
suscite de lourdes attentes de la part des communautés dont le destin
est lié à la Turquie. Les Arméniens et les Kurdes, mais aussi les
défenseurs des droits de l’homme, lui demandent de plaider leur cause
auprès d’Ankara.
Amnesty International (AI) a adressé ces jours une lettre à la cheffe
du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE). L’ONG y
déplore qu’Ankara n’ait pas signé le protocole facultatif à la
Convention de l’ONU contre la torture. “Nous apprécierions que vous
interveniez à ce propos auprès de votre homologue turc” Abdullah Gül,
dit la missive.
De même, AI lui demande d’attirer l’attention des autorités turques
sur le cas d’un avocat militant des droits de l’Homme dans la ville
de Tunceli, dans le sud-est kurde, victime de “menaces” de la part de
la gendarmerie locale. Mme Calmy-Rey se rendra dans cette région
mercredi, au deuxième jour de sa visite.
Deux voies
“Le voyage (dans le sud-est kurde) de Mme Calmy-Rey est très
important”, relève Deniz Alkan, porte-parole du Centre kurde des
droits de l’homme de Genève. “Elle verra ainsi ce que les gens sur
place veulent vraiment”, dit-il, soulignant que les Kurdes demandent
le respect de leurs droits fondamentaux, plutôt que l’indépendance
par rapport à la Turquie.
Ankara se trouve dans une “période de transition”, selon M. Alkan.
Confrontée à la volatilité de la situation en Irak – où vivent quatre
millions de Kurdes contre 20 millions en Turquie – et aux condition
posées par l’Union européenne pour son adhésion, la Turquie se doit
de choisir entre une voie pacifique et une voie conflictuelle pour
régler la question kurde, estime-t-il.
Or, la visite de Micheline Calmy-Rey pourrait “aider la Turquie à
faire le bon choix”, pense-t-il. De même, la tradition démocratique
et confédérale de la Suisse pourrait servir d’exemple à la Turquie,
large entité multiethnique. “Les Suisses pourraient jouer un rôle de
pont dans ce conflit”, espère M. Alkan.
Rapport de force
La conseillère fédérale pourrait aussi aborder la question du
génocide arménien avec son homologue turc. Mais Stefan Kristensen, de
l’Association Suisse-Arménie, est sceptique: “le seul langage que la
Turquie comprenne est celui du rapport de force”. A cet égard, l’UE a
un rôle important à jouer, selon lui, car elle détient la “carotte”
de l’ouverture des négociations d’adhésion.
L’ex-conseiller national genevois Jean-Claude Vaudroz, auteur d’un
postulat sur le génocide arménien accepté en 2003 par le Conseil
national, attend de Mme Calmy-Rey qu’elle “informe les autorités
turques du contenu du texte”. Le démocrate-chrétien y voit “une sorte
d’aide” à Ankara, pour qui la question arménienne est “un gros
boulet” au vu de ses ambitions européennes.
Mêmes exigences du côté du popiste vaudois Joseph Zisyadis, à
l’origine d’un premier postulat sur la question qui avait été refusé
par le parlement en 2001. Face à son interlocuteur turc, “Mme
Calmy-Rey doit être ferme sur les droits de l’Homme, les droits
syndicaux et la reconnaissance du génocide arménien”, souligne-t-il.
Le rôle des historiens
A l’inverse, Hatice Yürütücü, représentante de la communauté turque
au sein de la Commission fédérale des étrangers, appelle à ne pas
réduire les problèmes de son pays à la question kurde ou arménienne.
“Il ne faut jamais oublier que la Turquie est plus grande que la
Suisse, que sa géographie et sa culture sont autres et que les
problèmes y sont différents”, poursuit-elle.
Lorsque l’on insiste sur ces deux questions, “c’est comme si on
réduisait toute la Suisse à Zurich”, affirme-t-elle. Elle pense que
Mme Calmy-Rey n’a pas à s’exprimer sur le génocide arménien. “Il
revient aux historiens d’enquêter sur le sujet et de mettre les
choses à plat une bonne fois pour toutes”, note-t-elle.

Ferry from Russia delivers corn to Georgia’s Poti port
By Tengiz Pachkoria
ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 27, 2005 Sunday
TBILISI, March 27 — The first railroad ferry from Russia is being
unloaded in the Georgian port of Poti.
“The Anenkov ferryboat has come from the port of Kavkaz on Russia’s
Stavropol territory with 18 train cars onboard. The train cars carry
corn. The ferry is being unloaded,” a source in the Poti port told
Itar-Tass.
At first the ferry will make one trip per week, and the traffic will be
more intensive later. Starting from April the ferry will deliver wine,
Borzhomi mineral water, magnesium concentrates and other commodities
from Poti to Kavkaz.
Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin and Georgian late prime
minister Zurab Zhvania signed an agreement on the ferry line this
January.
President Vladimir Putin said he hopes that the ferry line will
promote regional business. “I hope that this ferry line will meet
the interests of all regional countries. This is a good step in the
right direction. It will promote business and create jobs,” Putin said.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries also have an access
to the ferry line.
The land railroad traffic between Georgia and Russia was stopped in
August 1992 after an armed conflict in the Abkhaz autonomous republic
had begun.

Azeri officer reportedly killed in Armenian truce violation
Lider TV, Baku
27 Mar 05
Armenians violated the cease-fire regime again today. The Armenian
armed forces in Agdam’s occupied village of Qarvand fired on the
villages of Miraselli and Ciraqli [in the same district] from firearms
of different calibre.
Lider TV’s Karabakh correspondent says that the firefight started at
1700 and ended at 1745 [1200-1245 gmt]. An Azerbaijani officer was
killed in the firefight, according to the report.

Candidates hail from around globe
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Article Published: Sunday, March 27, 2005 – 12:00:00 AM PST
Election hopefuls reflect diversity
GLENDALE — City Council candidate Hovik Gabikian lived through
the shah of Iran’s monarchy, the Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, the
Iran-Iraq war and Armenian socialism.
School board candidate Maria Prieto Rochart fled Cuba, where her
father had been imprisoned for four years for opposing Fidel Castro.
Although they appear to come from seemingly different backgrounds,
both now find themselves realizing democracy in action: They are
among more than 40 candidates seeking the eight offices on the ballot
in Glendale’s April 5 municipal election — the largest field of
candidates in the city’s 99-year history. That’s as many candidates as
ran for 17 offices on the ballot in the Los Angeles election March 8.
Aside from the sheer number of candidates, what distinguishes the
Glendale election from others is its diversity, with candidates from
Cuba, Iran, England, the Philippines, Lebanon, Germany, Armenia,
Nicaragua and Hong Kong.
It’s the American dream for those to whom America was a dream as they
grew up in countries where they were oppressed, denied basic rights
and prohibited from having a voice in government.
“When we first got here and were going through the immigrant
experience, we always put the finger of blame on the government,” said
Gabikian, a 35-year-old social worker at the Los Angeles Department
of Social Services.
“Then I realized, as I tried to understand this huge system, how it
tries to integrate people from different backgrounds and lifestyles
and ideologies in a powerful and amazing way.”
What the large turnout reflects is a thriving grass-roots democracy
in the city of 200,000 whose residents speak 67 languages, said
Harry Pachon, a professor of immigration policy at the University of
Southern California.
“What it does is it refreshes American democracy, because what you
have is persons in ethnic neighborhoods or barrios that believe in
the American system even more so than native Americans,” he said.
“It’s almost civic naivete that they believe what we Americans take
for granted.”
For most immigrants coming from countries that quash their voices and
ideas, their concept of America is simple: The land of opportunity
where anything is possible — and obtainable.
Mayor Bob Yousefian remembers when, at age 17, he arrived in New
York City from Iran, speaking only a few words of English, staring
in wonderment at the skyscrapers.
“If somebody were to walk over to me and say that one day you’re going
to be mayor of one of these cities, I’d think they were crazy because
you’re coming from a country where you either have to been born into
it or you need to be one of the privileged,” said Yousefian, now 48.
“When you’re able to accomplish such a goal, then you really realize
what America is all about. It’s all up to you. If you want it, and
you work hard for it, you can achieve it.”
It was the absence of freedom in her native Cuba that prompted Rochart
to get involved in the community in which she now lives — and where
she realizes it’s a privilege to be able to vote.
“I have a very keen interest in politics and to be involved on a
local level and make a difference in our community,” said Rochart, 41.
“And because I come from a dictatorship, over here we take free speech
and all the things that come with the freedom here for granted.”
Gabikian, one of 19 candidates for four City Council seats, said he
wanted to run to serve as an example to other immigrants to take a
more active role in their community.
There are also nine candidates for three seats on the school board
and nine running for city clerk.
As with the Irish, the Italians and the Polish decades before, the
large number of candidates could also indicate the political maturation
of the ethnic groups, who traditionally start their political careers
by voting, then running for local office.
It’s especially true for the Armenians, who account for seven of the
18 City Council candidates, five of the nine school board candidates,
four of the nine city clerk candidates — and 25 percent of the
city’s population.
Diversity among elected officials in California is already becoming
more common and will only continue to grow as populations become more
diverse, said Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of California Target Book,
a nonpartisan report analyzing political campaigns and races.
Hoffenblum cited the change in the state Legislature, where 15 years
ago there were six Latinos and there are 27 now.
“It’s phenomenal. We’re on the cusp of possibly electing a Latino for
mayor of Los Angeles and you’re seeing more and more of it. I mean,
look at Arnold,” he said, referring to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“One of the reasons they’re here in America is the right to vote
and to determine one’s own agenda. What new immigrants particularly
recognize is the power government has over them and the best way to
achieve that power is to go and get elected.”
Victor King, seeking re-election as a Glendale Community College
trustee and the first Asian-American elected official in Glendale
history, said that his cultural background never informed his decision
to run for the position.
But, the Hong Kong native said, his experiences allowed him to feel
sympathetic to the plight of new immigrants and the challenges they
face in their adopted country.
Historically, Glendale has been a haven for the displaced — from
those escaping the Dust Bowl in the 1930s to those fleeing strife in
the Middle East in the 1980s — King said, so he’s not surprised that
the election boasts such a large number of diverse candidates.
“There’s a profound connection between the two. Glendale has
traditionally been a place for people who come hoping for a better
life,” he said. “From the Midwest to the Middle East, Glendale has
been a place where newcomers have been welcome.”
Naush Boghossian, (818) 546-3306 [email protected]