Author: Madatian Greg

Turkish minister says independent Kurdistan not viewed as an option

Anatolia news agency
23 Mar 07

Ankara, 23 March: Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul stated that Turkey had the same democracy that existed in
EU member countries and the maturity reached by Turkish democracy
should not be overshadowed.

Participating in a TV programme, Gul commented on recent domestic and
international political developments.

Upon a question on the upcoming presidential election, Gul said
numerous presidential elections were held in Turkey previously and
discussions occurred during all of them.

"Today, we will probably hold the least-controversial presidential
election. "Turkish democracy matured. We are a country negotiating
with EU. The democracy, found in developed EU member states, exists in
Turkey as well. The level of maturity that Turkish democracy reached
should not be overshadowed by anybody," Gul stressed.

Underscoring that Turkish society was "open", Gul said, "Rules of the
election are clear. Everybody has the right to discuss or express
his/her own opinion. We are following these as well".

Stressing that there was not any pressure within the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) concerning the selection of candidates, Gul
noted that no decisions were taken yet regarding a candidate for
presidency.

"These are not easy decisions, Everybody should contribute to the
discussion maturely," said Gul.

Moreover, replying to a question on whether early general elections
would be held following the presidential election, Gul indicated that
they desired to hold the elections to happen according to schedule.

Iraq

Upon a question on recent developments in Iraq, Gul said, "I want to
emphasize once again that we attach great importance to protection of
Iraq’s territorial integrity and political unity.

"Unfortunately, serious developments have been occurring in
Iraq. Sectarian clashes claim lives of people every day. On the other
hand, there are also positive developments. The political process has
been continuing and Iraqi people do not want their country to get
separated. If Iraq is separated, it paves the way for endless
wars. Iraq is one of the richest countries in the world but it is also
in the worst situation. Even Kurdish leaders are aware that

such a separation would not be beneficial," he said.

When asked whether there was the risk of an independent "Kurdistan",
Gul said, "An independent Kurdistan means separation of Iraq. There
is, of course, such a risk. Will Iraqi people approve it? Will the
regional countries allow such a separation? The Middle East has not
managed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute yet. Now, it would
face another problem. Therefore, a separation will never be an
alternative."

Bill on so-called Armenian genocide in USA

Upon a question on the risk of enactment of a bill on so-called
Armenian genocide in the US House of Representatives, Gul said, "Of
course there is still a risk. I am not comfortable yet. We have to
work on it. Next week our third delegation of law-makers will go to
the USA. We are sending all these delegations in a plan and I think
they held very useful talks."

Gul also said Turkish proposal regarding a joint commission of
historians about the Armenian issue was the first "challenge", however
he said this proposal did not come into being.

European Union and Mubarak’s visit

While commenting on EU-Turkey negotiations, Gul said EU membership
should not be considered as taking out an EU passport. He reiterated
that Turkey’s goal is full membership to the EU.

Regarding Egyptian President Husni Mubarak’s visit to Turkey, Gul said
relations between Turkey and Egypt have improved in recent years and
underscored that Mubarak came to Turkey together with his five
ministers.

Gul added that Egypt has suspended its deal with Greek Cypriot
administration regarding oil exploration in the Mediterranean.

ARMENPRESS

ARMENIAN NGOs WIN 1.5 MILLION EURO GRANTS FROM EIDHR

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS: Twenty programs,
designed by 19 Armenian non-governmental
organizations, have won the grants of the European
Initiative for Defense of Human Rights (EIDHR).
Per Eklund, head of the European Union’s Delegation
to Armenia, said today EIDHR was started in 1994 at
the suggestion of the European Parliament to fund NGOs
outside the EU which deal with promotion and defense
of basic human rights and freedoms.
The annual budget of EIDHR is about 100 million
euros. Armenian NGOs will receive 1.5 million euros.
Monika Papian, program coordinator of the European
Commission’s Delegation, said these 20 programs were
selected from a total of 60 ones submitted for
consideration.

RICE DEFENDS TURKEY AGAINST ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
March 22 2007

Rice said she was opposed to the US entering the debate at the
parliamentary level.

Guncelleme: 14:54 TSÝ 22 Mart 2007 PerþembeWASHINGTON – There is
a greater level of openness in Turkey with regard to debates over
allegations surrounding the Armenian issue, US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said late Wednesday.

Speaking before a committee of the US House of Representatives, Rice
said that the US had been working to encourage Turkey and Armenian
to discuss the issue.

"What we’ve encouraged the Turks and the Armenians to do is to have
joint historical commissions that can look at this, to have efforts
to examine their past, and in examining their past to get over it,"
Rice said.

Her comments came in response to questions from Democratic
Representative Adam Schiff, who has prepared a bill calling on the
US to formally recognise claims the Ottoman Empire committed an act
of genocide against its Armenian citizens during the First World War.

"I do not think it helps that process of reconciliation for the United
States to enter this debate at that level," she said.

–Boundary_(ID_5Wg2ygT3WjS0jHJ/PS55IQ)–

GEORGIAN LEADER PAYS ONE-DAY PRIVATE VISIT TO ARMENIA

Arminfo, Yerevan
22 Mar 07

22 March: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has arrived in
Yerevan on a one-day private visit.

The Georgian head of state arrived in Yerevan today at the invitation
of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. The two presidents will be
in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor today, Armenian presidential press
secretary Viktor Soghomonyan has told our Arminfo correspondent.

ALIYEV "DOESN’T QUESTION RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT IN BAKU’S FAVOR"

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.03.2007 13:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "High efficiency of the Azeri army and economic
development rate predetermine the soonest settlement in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict in the interests of our state," Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev said in Baku. "I have no doubt that the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict will be resolved in our favor.

Azerbaijan’s position in the conflict strengthens with time due to
successful development of the republic and growing support of states
and organizations," Aliyev assured.

"Certainly, it encourages us. Nevertheless, we count for our own
strengths first of all. Time works for us," he said adding that
Azerbaijan’s economy is seven times as much powerful than Armenia’s and
the index will increase due to implementation of regional projects,"
reports Interfax Azerbaijan.

UNDP AWARDS GRANTS TO 4 TV COMPANIES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE PROGRAMS ON CORRUPTION ISSUES

Armradio.am
20.03.2007 14:39

Today UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Consuelo Vidal concluded
Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) for provision of grant funds with,
Lori TV LLC (Vanadzor, Lori marz), Media Center Ltd. (Yerevan),
Hrazdan TV Company (Hrazdan, Kotayq marz), and STV1 Television Edition
(Sevan, Gegharkunik marz) – the four finalist TV companies to develop
and broadcast TV programmes on corruption issues.

The winners of this initiative were selected through a competition open
to TV stations and individual journalists or groups of journalists. The
selected winners were those who articulated a well formulated,
thought provoking plan and demonstrated an ability to implement it.

The goals of the competition are: 1) To strengthen media’s capacity
to monitor and report on corruption issues, thus contributing to the
fight against corruption; 2) To air TV programs to serve as a source
of information, discussion of issues, allowing the viewer to form
his or her own opinions about the subject under discussion; and 3)
To raise the population’s awareness of corruption issues in Armenia
in order that better-informed viewers may have a better understanding
of, greater involvement in, and greater impact on, the fight against
corruption.

Ms. Vidal said in her remarks to the winners that: "UNDP is pursuing
a new, innovative approach. The purpose of the grant competition
is to motivate broadcast companies and journalists to come up with
new, thought provoking ways to address issues of particular concern
to Armenia. We have begun this pilot within our anti-corruption
activities as we have a particular focus on strengthening the capacity
of the media in this field. We hope the Armenian public will find
the productions interesting, and that the broadcasts will motivate
all members of society to fight corruption."

This activity is part of UNDP’s project on "Strengthening Awareness and
Response in Exposure of Corruption in Armenia", which UNDP implements
in cooperation with the Government of Armenia. The project aims at
strengthening the institutional capacity of government and civil
society organizations to effectively participate in anti-corruption
initiatives.

HAY DAT CARRYING OUT WORK ON ADVANCEMENT OF ARMENIA’S INTERESTS

DeFacto News Agency
March 20 2007

The Armenian party has a bit weakened its positions in propaganda
referring to the Karabagh conflict settlement, the Head of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro
Manoyan stated at the Pastark Press Club in Yerevan today.

According to Kiro Manoyan, weakening of Armenia’s stand in propaganda
is conditioned by the fact that the Armenian party is too frank about
the peaceful negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk group and
attempts not to undertake steps that may have a negative influence
on the talks’ course. Meanwhile, the Azeri party pursues another
policy and carries out active propaganda to advance its option of the
settlement. According to the Head of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau’s Hay
Dat and Political Affairs Office, the Armenian party should activate
its position.

Answering a question if Hay Dat used its contacts to advance Armenian
interests in Karabagh settlement on the international arena, Kiro
Manoyan said Hay Dat groups carried out consequent work in the U.S.,
Europe and Near East countries. In part, he noted the fact that
every year the U.S. rendered humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabagh
was to no small degree the merit of the Armenian lobby. The work
on the recognition of the Nagorno-Karabagh people’s right to self
determination is being carried out in Europe. As for the Near East
countries, in Kiro Manoyan’s words, the Armenian lobby is making
efforts to persuade that the Karabagh conflict has no religious
underlying reason.

BELARUSIAN EMBASSY TO ARMENIA LAUNCHES ITS WEB SITE

National Legal Internet Portal, Belarus
March 19 2007

The Belarusian embassy to Armenia has launched its own web site,
BelTA has been informed in the diplomatic mission.

The internet site contains the information about the Republic of
Belarus, its history, culture, natural resources, other interesting
information. In particular, the site’s section "Belarusian Economy"
contains the information about the socio-political development of
the country, investment projects, exhibitions, about free economic
zones in Belarus. The section "Belarusian-Armenian Relations" tells
about the bilateral political cooperation, trade-economic cooperation,
ties in the field of science, education, culture, tourism. The site’s
section "Consular Issues" contains the information about the consular
registration, on staying foreign citizens in the Belarusian territory,
visa issues.

The web-page of the embassy has references to sites of the Belarusian
regions, state bodies and organizations, large companies-exporters,
mass media. The site of the Belarusian embassy to Armenia is available
at

March 16, 2007
Press Release
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

PRELATE TO CONDUCT MASS IN ORANGE COUNTY ON THE NAME DAY OF FORTY MARTYRS
CHURCH

Saturday, March 17, is the Feast of the Forty Martyrs and the name day of
Forty Martyrs Church in Orange County.
On this occasion, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, will conduct Holy Mass and deliver the sermon at Forty Martyrs
Church on Sunday, March 18. Christian Education Department Co-Director Very
Rev. Father Barthev Gulumian and parish pastor Rev. Hrant Yeretsian will
assist at the altar.
Following Mass, requiem service will take place for the souls of
departed sponsors and dedicated servants of the church, and also for Mother
Hripsime Sassounian who passed away last week in Istanbul. Mother Hripsime
served the church in Turkey for over 50 years and was the director of the
Kalfayan orphanage for numerous years as well as of the Bird’s Nest
Orphanage in Lebanon for some time. The Prelate expressed his condolences
to the Sassounian, Kitsinian, and Sarkoian families for their loss.
After requiem service, madaghorhnek will take place followed by a reception
at the conclusion of church services.

PRELACY BENEFACTOR MRS. TINA CAROLAN
VISITS THE PRELACY

On Thursday, March 15th, Prelacy benefactor Mrs. Tina Carolan visited the
Prelacy where she was welcomed by the Prelate along with Executive Council
Vice-chair Dr. Hagop Der Megerdichian, and the Ladies Auxiliary Guild.
During the reception, the Prelate presented Mrs. Carolan with a
memento and expressed his appreciation to her and her family for their
benevolence.

BIBLE STUDY BEGINS AT ST. GARABED CHURCH

Beginning on Thursday, March 15th, Bible study will be offered each Thursday
at St. Garabed Church in Hollywood at 6:30 p.m.
By the ordinance of the Prelate, the studies will be lead by
Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian.

PRELATE TO ATTEND BANQUET OF
HOLY MARTYRS A.R.S. PILAVJIAN PRE-SCHOOL AND
FERRAHIAN ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL

On Saturday, March 17th, the annual banquet of Holy Martyrs Ferrahian
Elementary and High School, and Holy Martyrs A.R.S. Ashkhen Pilavjian
Pre-School will take place at Avedissian Hall in Encino.
The banquet, organized by the school’s Finance Committee in
honor of Pilavjian Pre-School’s 15th anniversary, is being held under the
auspices of and with the attendance of the Prelate.

PRELATE TO ATTEND 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
OF MASHDOTS COLLEGE

On Saturday, March 17th, the 15th anniversary of Mashdots College will be
celebrated at Verdugo Hills Country Club. The Prelate will attend and
convey his blessings.
On this same occasion, a slideshow is scheduled for Friday,
March 16 at the Glendale Library.

PRELATE OFFERS HIS BLESSINGS TO THE KAHAM GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY

On Sunday, March 18, the closing ceremony of the Homenetmen KAHAM games will
take place at Glendale College.
Rev. Ardag Demirjian, pastor of St. Mary’s Church, will attend the
ceremony to convey the Prelate’s blessings.

Rice and Gates urge to refrain from passing the Armenian Genocide resolution

ArmRadio.am
16.03.2007 15:52

The US Embassy in Armenia has confirmed the information disseminated
by Turkish media, asserting that US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates applied to the House of
Representatives, urging to refrain from passing the resolution
condemning the Armenian Genocide in order not to damage the relations
with Turkey.

`The information that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense
Secretary Robert Gates applied to the House of Representatives urging
not to pass the Armenian Genocide resolution corresponds to realty,’
Head of the Public Relations Department of the US Embassy in Armenia
Evelina Arabyan told ` Radiolur.’