Author: Nahapetian Samvel

ARMENIA RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL GRANT TO FIGHT AIDS

ArmInfo News Agency
Sept 30 2005

Yerevan, 30 September: Armenia has received a grant worth 4m dollars
to fight HIV/AIDS within the framework of the project of the Global
Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The recipient of the
grant is the World Vision office in Armenia.

The grant will be used to implement the second stage of the national
programme to combat AIDS, a source in the World Vision office in
Yerevan said. In 2003-2005, the fund allocated 3.2m dollars to
implement the first stage of the project. An official ceremony to
sign the document on the allocation of the grant is scheduled for 5
October this year.

According to the republican HIV/AIDS centre, by 1 September 356
HIV-positive cases had been registered in Armenia and 92 people had
been diagnosed as having AIDS. A total of 70 people have died since
the first HIV/AIDS infected Armenian patient was registered. However,
specialists of the centre say that official figures cannot reflect
the real situation in the country, as the actual figures are 10 times
higher. Specialists of the centre believe that over 3,000 people are
HIV-positive in Armenia.

A1+

| 20:42:22 | 30-09-2005 | Politics |

BETTER NOT ADOPTED?

The RA President’s representative in Constitutional affairs Armen
Haroutyunyan answers the questions of «A1+».

– According to you, is the draft Constitution adopted by the NA third
hearing better than the one which was not adopted by referendum in 2003?

– Of course it is. In general, of all the drafts for these years this one is
the best. And it is not by chance that the Venice Commission mentioned this
one.

– But several months ago the Venice Commission announced that the 2001 draft
was the best.

– No, it was mentioned in the conclusion that this is the best of all the
drafts since 2001.

– What must be done in order for this draft not to deserve the same fate as
the previous one?

– The political powers must act as locomotive and realize propaganda of the
draft, otherwise the same will happen to this version. The author is the
coalition, but those political powers which participated in the voting must
also share the burden of organizing the preaching.

– And can the opposition play a significant role with its negative attitude?

– When the draft is a good one, it is difficult to make it appear bad, and
when it is not good, it is difficult to make it appear good. I think in case
of a good draft the only way to play a significant role it to support it.

KARINE ASATRYAN

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION – “ESSENTIAL TERM” FOR TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO EU

Pan Armenian News
28.09.2005 08:17

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today the European Parliament ratified a resolution
calling for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Ankara as an
“essential term” for Turkey’s accession to the EU. The resolution
gives ok to opening the negotiations on Turkey’s EU bid on October
3. The document was adopted with 356 votes “for”, 181 “against” and
125 abstentions. To note, earlier, in December 2004 the EuroParliament
adopted an amendment to the resolution “On Turkey’s Progress for EU
Membership” calling Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.

Waverley Gazette (Australia)
September 27, 2005 Tuesday

Armenia in spotlight

by Luke Holmesby

THE Highway Gallery is hosting an exhibition marking the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

More than half the three million Armenian population was killed in
the 1915 genocide.

The Republic of Armenia borders on Turkey and Iran.

A small group of artists in the Melbourne Armenian community worked
to bring their history to light and to preserve their culture,
stories, memories and family links.

Titled An Armenian Journey, it is the fifth annual Hye Art exhibition
to be held at the gallery. The word ‘Hye’ means Armenian.

Works by Armenian-Australian artists and young art prizewinners will
be featured. Paintings, ceramics, glass works, wood carvings,
photography and paintings will be shown.

A power-point slide presentation in the gallery will introduce
visitors to a highly decorative Armenian alphabet from the 5th
century, Armenian architecture, miniatures, and works by master
Armenian painters.

Works by famous Berlin-based Armenian artist Sam Grigorian will also
be on display.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, October 1, but will be officially
opened at 1pm the following day. Exhibition dates: October 1-13.
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11am to 5pm; Sunday, 1-5pm. Phone:
9807 7261.

A HUGE CROWD OF BELIEVERS GREETS CATHOLICOS ARAM I IN MONTREAL

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 26 2005

MONTREAL, SEPTEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. His Holiness
Aram I, Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia, arrived, on his third
Pontifical visit, to Canada on September 22. The Pontiff ventured on
the visit responding to the invitation by the prelate of the Prelacy
of Canada, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian and officials from the diocese.

According to the Communication and Information Department of
the Catholicosate of Cilicia, His Holiness was greeted at the
“Trudo” airport in Montreal by Archbishop Hagopian, Archbishop
Souren Kataroian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America Archbishop Moushegh Mardirosian, as
well as representatives form the diocese and the Armenian community
of Montreal.

His Holiness met with a large crowd of believers in the evening in
the St. Hagop Church in Montreal, seat of the Prelate of Canada,
where a traditional blessing of salt and water was held.

Prelate Archbishop Hagopian welcomed His Holiness in Canada and
spoke about the Pontiff’s achievements during his 10-year tenure. The
Archbishop then invited Aram I to deliver his sermon to the believers.

His Holiness greeted the religious officials, community leaders and
representatives as well as the large number of believers who had
come to meet and welcome their religious leader. He spoke about unity
within the Diocese of Canada and the entire Armenian nation.

“Cooperation is a basic imperative for our nation. As every other
place, here as well our nation’s children should gather around each
other and live their lives in collaboration,” said His Holiness.

His Holiness then considered the words of the Armenian poet “Towards
the source of light” the theme of his Pontifical visit to the three
dioceses of Northern America. He emphasized the importance of working
together for a bright future.

“This is the only path for our people. We follow this path in spite
of our differences,” said His Holiness.

Following the sermon, the believers approached His Holiness to kiss
his right hand. Then His Holiness visited the newly built Prelacy
accompanied by religious officials and representatives of the Diocese.

The Pontiff’s visit to the three dioceses of Northern America falls in
the sphere of the ceremonies celebrating the 10th anniversary of His
Holiness’ enthronement and the 75th anniversary of the establishment
of the Seminary. All the dioceses of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
will mark these anniversaries with special ceremonies.

‘AK PARTY MAY SUSPEND RELATIONS WITH EU’
By Ayhan Simsek

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 26 2005

* Former PM Yilmaz: EU declaration is Greek Cypriot victory

ANKARA – Former PM Yilmaz, who led liberal reforms for EU bid,
criticizes the EU’s link between Turkey’s accession and Cyprus in
counter-declaration. ‘The AK Party govt can’t meet excessive demands,
such as moving towards recognizing Greek Cyprus or opening ports,
due to domestic political concerns,’ he says. ‘But my worry is that
given rising nationalism in Turkey, they may go towards suspending
relations with the EU’

Yilmaz criticizes the EU for undermining UN peace efforts and diverting
the issue to the EU, just as the Greek Cypriots wanted.

‘This has come about through support from some EU members opposing
Turkey’s membership,’ he says. ‘They’re using Cyprus to obstruct
or delay Turkey’s membership. If not Cyprus they would’ve used the
Kurdish issue. Failing that, it would have been the genocide claims’

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party government can’t meet
the European Union’s excessive demands, such as moving towards a
recognition of Greek Cyprus or opening its ports, due to domestic
political concerns, said former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, in an
exclusive interview with The New Anatolian on Friday.

“But my worry is that, because of rising nationalism in the country,
they may go towards suspending relations with the EU,” he warned.

Yilmaz, a prominent Turkish politician, 1997-99 Motherland Party
(then ANAP) prime minister and later deputy premier who initiated
key EU accession reforms, criticized the EU’s recent Cyprus
counter-declaration for having established a link between Turkey’s
EU membership process and the Cyprus problem, as well as requesting
the recognition of Greek Cyprus during negotiations.

“The EU gave us a commitment at the 1999 Helsinki summit that Turkey’s
membership and the Cyprus issue were separate issues,” said Yilmaz,
referring to the summit at which Turkey officially became an EU
candidate. “However, they tried to retract this at last December’s EU
summit and in doing so benefited from the AK Party’s foreign policy
missteps. Requesting our signature on the Ankara Protocol was, in
fact, aimed at linking the two issues. And we have to admit that
through the counter-declaration, the Greek Cypriots have achieved
a strategic victory. They sidelined the United Nations’ efforts for
peace and moved the issue to the EU.”

According to Yilmaz, downplaying the declaration since it’s not legally
binding would be a mistake. “It’s true that Turkey’s negotiations
framework is more important than the declaration. But the declaration
will be the basis for future EU policies on Cyprus.

Next year the Greek Cypriots will try to push the EU by using it,”
he underlined.

Turkey to pay for AK Party missteps

Yilmaz recalled the warning he made just before last December’s
EU summit that Turkey should maintain a firm stance on the issue
and strongly reject any reference to Cyprus as part of Turkey’s EU
membership process. “Given the AK Party’s short-term policies and
missteps at that time, Turkey is paying a heavy price today. The
Greek Cypriots took advantage of political changes in Europe. The
year before, after the (April 2004) Annan referendum on Cyprus,
Turkey’s position was stronger on the issue but today the overall
climate has changed,” Yilmaz stressed.

Some members using Cyprus as pretext

While decrying the counter-declaration for undermining UN peace efforts
on Cyprus, Yilmaz also criticized several EU members for using the
Cyprus issue as a pretext to obstruct Turkey’s EU membership in the
near future. Underlining that the Greek Cypriots managed to get such a
declaration through the support of those members, Yilmaz said, “They
had the Cyprus issue to use. If they hadn’t had the Cyprus problem,
they would have used the Kurdish issue. Failing that, it would have
been the Armenian ‘genocide’ claims.”

While strongly criticizing the EU’s Cyprus counter-declaration and
maintaining that the AK Party government may go forward and suspend
relations with the EU, Yilmaz adopted a more cautious position on
freezing relations with the EU now.

“It’s better to wait and see the final decision on the negotiations
framework,” he said. “If they also put such clauses on Cyprus in the
framework, it will be unacceptable to Turkey. Otherwise the start of
negotiations will be good for Turkey. But progress can only be made
through a solution on Cyprus. So Turkey has to work hard for that.

And I believe that Turkey will find support for this from the
international community.”

Hayots Ashkhar, Yerevan, in Armenian
24 Sep 05 p 4

TURKEY GRADUALLY TAKING OVER CAUCASUS – ARMENIAN PAPER

Headlined “Turkish danger”

Turkey’s consistent invasion of Georgia by means of the
Turkish-speaking population (Azerbaijanis and Meskhetian Turks) is
becoming more and more noticeable.

At present, Turkey is acting in Georgia not only to ensure its own
geo-political interests: in this case, in order to settle Turks in
the region and gain access to Azerbaijan. Turkey is also trying to
occupy Georgia from inside by expelling Armenians from Javakheti and
returning Meskhetian Turks there and increasing the number of
Azerbaijanis living in the south of Georgia, to be short, turning our
neighbour into a Turk. Georgian press reports testify that the
Marneuli military airport, which has already turned into a Turkish
military base, is not a Turkish-Georgian, but a Turkish-Azerbaijani
military base now, as 90% of those who serve there are local
Azerbaijanis.

Turkey is also invading Abkhazia using the economic potential of
thousands of Abkhazians living in Turkey. In the Samtskhe-Javakheti
region, which is located along the border with Turkey, Turkey is
trying to use Meskhetian Turks who have already settled in
Akhaltsikhe.

Different Turkish foundations are financing the construction of
schools and mosques in the Azerbaijani populated regions of Georgia,
while Armenian Javakheti with its destroyed cultural, educational and
economic infrastructure is the only gap between these regions and
Turkey.

In such conditions, the implementation of the Turkish plan to expel
Armenians from Javakheti to Russia and to return Meskhetian Turks to
this region is the same as forming a homogeneous ethnic corridor
between Turkey and Azerbaijan, i.e. from the Turkish border to
Azerbaijan.

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 25 2005

Conference On Ottoman Armenians Continues In Istanbul

ISTANBUL – ”Ittihat & Terakki Party (Party of Union & Progress) had
a plan to purify whole Anatolia from the non-Turks, starting from the
Aegean Region, before the World War I, and this plan was carried out
in entire Anatolia during the years of the war (World War I)”,
argued associate professor Taner Akcam of Minnesota University.
Taking the floor on the second day of the Conference titled ”The
Armenians during the Collapse of the Ottoman Empire” held at
Istanbul’s Bilgi University, Akcam said that the relocation decision
was made at the end of long discussions and debates.

”The Ottoman documents indicate that the decision to relocate the
Armenians was made to end a deeper problem defined as the ‘eastern
problem’ and to end the dissolution process of the Ottoman Empire.
This decision was not a result of a need that erupted during the war.
There are many documents in hand with respect to the destruction of
Armenians,” claimed Akcam.

On the other hand, Dr. Ahmet Kuyas of Galatasaray University referred
to the four members of the Ittihat & Terakki Party, and said that a
serious massacre was made those days. According to Kuyas, the
architect of this massacre was Enver Pasha. Kuyas expressed his view
that the other three people who were responsible for these massacres
were Talat Pasha, Dr. Bahattin Sakir and Dr. Nazim.

Also speaking at the conference, professor Baskin Oran of Ankara
University’s Political Sciences Department said, ”concept of class,
criticisms of Ataturk, Cyprus, socialism, communism and Kurdistan are
no more taboos in Turkey. There was only one taboo left, and it was
Armenian issue. Now, it is no more a taboo.”

Referring to Armenian Diaspora, Oran said, ”Diaspora talks about
‘recognition, compensation and territory’, and this prevents
‘recognition’. Nobody in Turkey can think of paying compensation for
things that an empire (Ottoman Empire), the alphabet of which you
have abandoned, did. Moreover, territory claims are nonsense.”

Oran pointed out that assassins of Turkish diplomats should not
remain unpunished, and added, ”assassins of 35-40 Turkish diplomats
were not punished or sentenced to minor punishments. And, this caused
as much reaction in Turkey as the 1915 incidents caused in Armenia.
And, this was the factor which increased this taboo in Turkey.”

Before the conference started, a group of people who were the members
of the Grand Unity Party (BBP) threw rotten tomatoes and eggs to
participants and the building where the conference is being held.
Also, the audience was protested by the group.

A1+

| 18:20:32 | 23-09-2005 | Social |

PASSED ON TO THE SECOND PHASE

Today the session of the Lins Fund Governing Council took place, during
which the new working plan of the structure was being discussed. Using the
$150 million successfully for the last few years, the fund is going is pass
on to the usage of the coming $60 million.

The promised sum is not yet given, so the Armenian branch of the Lins Fund
asked the RA Government for some money for the project works.

Besides, before allotting the money, the NA must confirm the «Memprandum-2»
received from America taking into account the fact that the works o the
first phase mentioned in the «Memorandum-1» are finished. This procedure is
carried out as the founders of the Fund demand the works of the Fund to be
formulated according to international conceptions.

According to the conception, the works will be over by October. After that
the promised sum will be allotted to Armenia. The sum will be spent in three
directions – construction of regional highways, reconstruction of Yerevan
streets, and reconstruction of schools.

LE GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS N’A PAS FINI D’EMBARRASSER LA SUISSE

Le Temps, France
20 septembre 2005

POLEMIQUE. Le nationaliste turc Dogu Perincek, qui doit etre entendu
par le juge vaudois Jacques Antenen, a renouvele les propos qui lui
valent d’etre prevenu de discrimination raciale.

Dogu Perincek ne manque pas de culot. Ce nationaliste turc de gauche
a bien compris, semble-t-il, a quel point ses propos pouvaient
embarrasser la Suisse dans ses relations avec la Turquie, et quel
profit il pouvait en tirer.

Revenu en Suisse ces derniers jours – il doit etre entendu par le
juge d’instruction cantonal vaudois Jacques Antenen ce mardi -, Dogu
Perincek en a profite pour reiterer des propos qu’ils lui valent, deja,
d’etre prevenu de violation de la norme penale contre le racisme pour
avoir conteste que les Armeniens ont ete victimes d’un geno­cide.

A Liebefeld près de Berne di­manche, puis a Zurich lundi encore,
il a reaffirme publiquement sa conviction que les Turcs n’ont pas
commis de genocide contre les Armeniens en 1915, cette idee relevant
d’un “mensonge historique.” La police bernoise, qui a enregistre le
discours de Dogu Perincek, a denonce le cas a la justice. La juge
d’instruction bernoise Anastasia Falkner va toutefois confier le
dossier a ses homologues vaudois, a-t-elle indique au Temps . Le juge
d’instruction cantonal vaudois Jacques Antenen est en effet charge de
centraliser les diverses procedures deja en cours en Suisse contre le
nationaliste turc. Les propos similaires que Dogu Perincek avait tenus
a Glattburg (ZH) et a Lausanne dans le courant de l’ete a l’occasion
du 82e anniversaire du traite de Lausanne de 1923, lui avaient valu
ses premières poursuites.

Tensions diplomatiques

Très sensibles sur le sujet, les autorites turques avaient
immediatement proteste auprès de Berne. Ankara estime que l’ouverture
de ces enquetes penales est contraire au droit international. Les
Suisses avaient explique que la separation des pouvoirs empechait le
gouvernement d’intervenir dans le cours de la justice, et qu’il etait
exclu de tenir le Conseil federal pour responsable du declenchement
d’une enquete penale.

Cette mise au point n’a apparemment pas suffi au gouvernement turc.

Sans que cela soit dit officiellement, l’annulation, debut août, de
la rencontre de Joseph Deiss avec le ministre turc de l’Economie,
agendee pour le mois de septembre, est apparue bel et bien comme
une consequence de l’affaire Perincek. Auparavant, la visite que
Micheline Calmy-Rey a effectue en Turquie en mars avait deja ete
longtemps reportee, egalement pour des raisons liees a la question
du genocide des Armeniens.

Le juge Jacques Antenen pourrait etre amene a dire si les massacres
des annees 1915-1916 constituent bien un genocide au sens de la ­norme
penale contre le racisme, qui reprime le fait de “nier, minimiser
grossièrement ou chercher a justifier un genocide ou d’autres crimes
contre l’humanite”.

La Turquie a toujours recuse l’expression de genocide. Si elle admet
la realite des massacres, elle en conteste le nombre de victimes. La
reconnaissance officielle du genocide revient regulièrement a l’agenda
en Suisse. Le Conseil national et le Grand Conseil vaudois s’y sont
resolus, mais le Conseil federal, pour menager ses relations avec
Ankara, a toujours prefere laisser la question aux historiens.

Juridiquement, la reponse est loin d’etre entendue. La difficulte,
voire l’impossibilite pour un juge d’ecrire l’histoire avait amene
le tribunal de Berne-Laupen, en 2001, sur cette meme question, a un
verdict d’acquittement. Les douze accuses turcs devaient repondre de
violation de l’article penal contre le ra­cisme pour avoir signe une
petition contestant le genocide des Armeniens.

Au-dela, c’est la legitimite meme de la repression du negationnisme qui
pourrait etre mise a nouveau en question. Appartient-il veritablement
aux juges de trancher le debat? Dans sa jurisprudence sur la norme
contre le racisme, le Tribunal federal a recemment reconnu la necessite
de temperer la rigueur de la loi pour laisser la plus grande liberte
possible au debat public, valeur essentielle d’une democratie.

–Boundary_(ID_p7sD/yrKz5bxvpOI2GD9VA)–