Author: Nahapetian Samvel

NICOLAI: E.U. GIVES AN IMMENSELY POWERFUL SIGNAL TO MUSLIMS IN EUROPE AND MUSLIM WORLD BY STARTING ACCESSION TALKS WITH TURKEY
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Oct 6 2005
WASHINGTON D.C. – “European Union (EU) gave an immensely powerful
signal particularly to Muslims in Europe and the Muslim world in
general, by launching accession talks with Turkey,” Dutch Minister
for European Affairs Atzo Nicolai said on Thursday.
Making a keynote speech at Johns Hopkins University in the USA, Nicolai
said, “a strong signal has been given that different cultures and
religions can exist together.” He added that this was the “political
fact” behind the start of negotiations with Turkey.
Asked why the EU made things difficult for Turkey, Nicolai said,
“the EU, it should be remembered, is not NATO. The EU is a
far-reaching contract between societies, not only an agreement
between governments. If it wants to be a member, Turkey has to
change. But that process will also change the EU, its member states
and their citizens. By the time when the accession will be near,
Turkey’s population of 85-90 million will be greater than that of
any other country in Europe. At the same time, Turkey will still be
an agricultural country with many underdeveloped regions.”
Nicolai said Turkey’s membership to the EU would be an advantage from
the point of views of fight against terrorism and avoiding a clash
of civilizations.
“We should well explain the EU people why we want Turkey within the
EU, as the support of people is very important. It is not only the
economic concerns that should be overcome. We have to live and work
together with a different religion and culture,” he emphasized.
“We want to be fair to our citizens, but we also want to be fair to
Turkey,” Nicolai said.
-CYPRUS AND ARMENIAN PROBLEMS-
Nicolai indicated that Cyprus was one of the most difficult issues the
EU has to deal with. “Nothing is black and white in this problem”,
he noted. Nicolai also defended that Turkey has to normalize its
relations with the Greek Cypriot Administration to become a EU member.
When a participant mentioned the so-called Armenian genocide
allegations, Nicolai said this was a very sensitive issue for both
parties. Nicolai recalled that acknowledgement of what had happened
in the past was not a precondition in EU membership process.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF HIS HOLINESS
ARAM I VISITS ETHIOPIA
Bishop Nareg Alemezian, Ecumenical Officer of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
joined the delegation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in their
official visit to the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia on September 24-28. The
delegation of seven was headed by WCC General Secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church belongs to the family of Oriental Orthodox
Churches, which also includes the Armenian Apostolic Church with both its
Catholicosates.
During the past few years the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church, His
Holiness Abouna Paolos has visited Antelias twice and consulted with His
Holiness on issues related to the Ethiopian community of Lebanon. Thanks to
His Holiness’ efforts, the community will soon have its own church in
Lebanon.
The members of the delegation attended the Holy Mass held in the Adis Ababa
Church on September 25. Bishop Alemezian, however, visited the Armenian
community of Ethiopia during this time.
The bishop attended the Holy Mass held in the St. Kevork Church in Adis
Ababa and delivered a lecture entitled “Jesus, let your Holy Cross be our
shelter.” He met with the pastor of the community, Rev Muron Sarkisian and
the faithful.
Bishop Nareg met with the Patriarch alone on Sunday evening, conveying him
the greetings of His Holiness Aram I and discussing cooperation between the
Armenian and Ethiopian Churches as well as issues related to the Oriental
Orthodox Churches.
The delegation visited the headquarters of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church,
a WCC member, the next day, as well as its theological university, where
Bishop Nareg delivered a lecture.
Taking into consideration the fact that in the Ethiopian community
Christians comprise a majority, while Muslims constitute a minority, the
Bishop outlined the importance of Christian-Muslim dialogue in light of the
rich Middle-Eastern and particularly the Lebanese experience.
The delegation attended the ceremony of the feast of Holy Cross, one of the
biggest feasts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The ceremony was held in
the central square of the Adis Ababa, where one million people gathered.
Patriarch Paolos invited Bishop Nareg to participate in the mass and light
with him the traditional cross-shaped fire.
On September 27 the delegation visited a boarding school which functions on
the patronage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The guests attended an
official dinner party organized by Patriarch Paoulos that evening.
The delegation held a meeting with the religious and lay senior officials of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the headquarters of United Nations on
September 28. Rev Dr Samuel Kobia and Bishop Nareg delivered the main
lectures of the day.
Bishop Nareg spoke about the “participation of Orthodox Churches in the
ecumenical movement and their contribution to WCC.” Both lecturers spoke
about His Holiness Aram I’s decisive role in the ecumenical movement as an
example of active participation of the Orthodox Church.
The same evening the guests visited the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Ato
Meles Zenaoui. Discussions revolved around church-government relations and
WCC’s projects in Africa.
Bishop Nareg returned to Antelias on September 29.
##
View pictures here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

DELEGATION OF NKR NGOs VISITS ISTANBUL
ARMINFO News Agency
October 3, 2005
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 3. ARMINFO. A delegation of NKR NGOs, which
has recently participated in the pilot project of the Consortium
in Istanbul under the aegis of International Alert international
organization, convened at the Resource Center of NGOs in Stepanakert.
Head of the delegation Irina Grigoryan told ARMINFO’s special
correspondent to Stepanakert that the project had been implemented for
already 6 months. Under the project, resource centers were established
in Yerevan, Baku and Stepanakert. The meeting in Istanbul gathered the
Boards of the Resource Centers to inform them of the work carried out,
to determine the strategy for the coming 9 months and the future 2
years. Irina Grigoryan says the work in Istanbul was in the following
directions: lobbying, influence of the public, equal representation
of the population of the conflicting parties in the project.
She says representatives of Nagorny Karabakh were lobbying peace and
peacemaking. However, Head of NKR delegation left the meeting hall
after a member of the Azerbaijani delegation proposed qualifying
the NKR delegation as ‘representatives of the Armenian community of
Nagorny Karabakh’ and to attract the ‘Azerbaijani community’ to the
project. Head of the NKR delegation returned to the meeting only when
the proposal was rejected. Irina Grigoryan says Head of the Public
Organization for Refugees of Nagorny Karabakh is preparing a project
on organization of psychological rehabilitation courses for refugees
and other measures on their public integration. Lobby interviews in
Istanbul touched upon the Karabakh conflict as well.

PUBLIC MOOD IN AZERBAIJAN POINTS TO A NEW WAR
By Taleh Ziyadov
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
The Jamestown Foundation
Oct 4 2005
On September 26-27, OSCE Minsk co-chairs Bernard Fassier (France),
Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), and Steven Mann (the United States) met in
Vienna to discuss further steps in the Karabakh peace process.
Before the meeting, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov,
declared, “The peace process has not yet exhausted itself,” but he
also added “there is a need for a parallel increase in the military
expenditures of Azerbaijan.”
Meanwhile, Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair, expressed his concern
about the fact that both Azerbaijan and Armenia have increased their
military budgets and said, “Bellicose statements and calls for using
military force in solving the Karabakh problem do not contribute to
a resolution of the conflict.”
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov reacted to Merzlyakov’s
speech on Monday, September 26. “The increase in [Azerbaijan’s]
military budget is normal and it is in the country’s national
interest,” he declared. “This is Azerbaijan’s internal affair [and]
the [military] budget will be raised as much as needed.”
Azerbaijan has doubled its military budget to $300 million in 2005
and is expected to double again in 2006, as new oil and gas export
profits arrive.
Referring to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s
possible involvement in the peace process, Merzlyakov commented,
“PACE may contribute to mobilizing public opinion in the two countries
to achieve the compromise needed for conflict resolution.”
However, Merzlyakov’s desire to boost public support for potential
agreement may be too little, too late.
For years, the OSCE Minsk co-chairs disregarded the potential domestic
reaction in Azerbaijan and Armenia to an agreement reached without
public input. A recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG)
titled, “Nagorno-Karabakh: Viewing the Conflict from the Ground,”
outlines the potentially ominous outcomes of this neglect.
“Whatever progress is occurring around the negotiations table,
on the ground a resumption of war still seems all too possible,”
reads one of the conclusions in the report. “We are tired of ten
years of peaceful negotiations that lead us nowhere [and] brought
us nothing,” says one Azerbaijani refugee, voicing his frustration
about unfulfilled promises.
The ICG team reports that some 13% of all Azerbaijanis surveyed
“unconditionally supported a military solution, while 53.3%s
supported such a solution if peaceful means failed. However, 84.2% of
[internally displaced persons (IDPs)] respondents called for the use
of force.” According to the report, “The majority of the public [in
Azerbaijan] demands unconditional return of all occupied territories
including Nagorno-Karabakh and places little hope in a negotiated
settlement and peaceful outcome.”
The survey illustrates that it is not only the Azerbaijani government
calling for a military solution in case the negotiations fail, but
also a large portion of the general public and IDPs in Azerbaijan
believe that the military option may be the only available alternative
to change the current status quo.
As a result of the war, some 800,000 Azerbaijanis became refugees and
IDPs; most are from the districts surrounding Karabakh. Armenia still
occupies these districts as a buffer zone. The ICG report argues that
before any of these districts could be returned, Azerbaijan should give
“strong military and political security guarantees.”
Ironically, a component of hard security — a buffer zone used against
a possible offensive — directly affects the very livelihood of
the IDPs, who in turn have an indirect affect on their government’s
position in the negotiations, by making it even more hardline. In
other words, by continuous occupation of the districts surrounding
Karabakh, Armenia increases the potential for the use of force on
Azerbaijan’s side.
Speaking at the Ministry of Defense on September 16, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliev declared, “Azerbaijan is a country in a state of
war. Our lands are under occupation. The country has pursued a peaceful
policy for many years. But the conflict has not been resolved. Then
what should Azerbaijan resort to? That is why the reinforcement of
our military potential is quite natural.”
Furthermore, “Increasing our country’s military budget is our sovereign
right and this should not trouble anyone. This is our internal affair
and we will pursue this path as long as we deem it necessary. I have
set the task: our military budget should reach the entire budget of
Armenia, or even exceed it,” Aliev concluded.
Yet, the ICG report suggests that there is still a window of
opportunity. “Moderate civil society actors and average Azeris and
Armenians could play a key role in ‘developing a new language of
dialogue’… to help deconstruct the inherited history of myth and
symbol that fuels confrontation’.” Although “IDP populations [are]
the greatest victims of the war,” says the report, they are also the
ones that are “the most open to coexistence.”
“The majority of Nagorno-Karabakh population, current and former,
remembers common life before the war. The memories of the past, while
including tremendous pain, also encompass warm memories of shared
life in a multiethnic Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, ‘where life
was good’.”
Nonetheless, as Azerbaijan and Armenia continue to increase their
military expenditures and public opinion in Azerbaijan, especially
among IDPs, turns against the OSCE-sponsored mediation process, no
one can rule out the possibility of a new war between the two states
in the near future.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFFICIAL ARRIVES IN YEREVAN
Armenpress
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Giovanni Stazi, the president of the
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe,
has arrived today in Armenia for a three day visit.
Upon his arrival he was scheduled to meet with Armenian territorial
minister Hovik Abrahamian, prime minister Andranik Margarian,
Yerevan mayor Yervand Zakharian and parliament chairman Arthur
Baghdasarian. Tomorrow he will be received by president Kocharian
and foreign minister Vartan Oskanian.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS CONDUCTS HOLY MASS IN TORONTO,
VISITS THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF CAMBRIDGE
His Holiness Aram I conducted a Holy Mass in the St. Asdvadzadzine Church in
Toronto on October 2. Prelate of Canada, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian and
Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of United States, Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan, conducted the Holy Mass with His Holiness.
The church was full with believers who had come to attend the mass. Special
screens were placed outside the church so people could follow the mass.
His Holiness delivered a sermon during which he elaborated on Jesus Christ’s
‘ message “your faith shall rescue you.” He called upon Armenians to
strengthen their Christian faith.
“During the bloody stages of our history, Christ became our savior. We
enriched our lives with Christ’s faith. That faith will rescue us, cure our
diseases, show the right path to those who are lost; it will grant our
nation spiritual, intellectual and physical well-being. A faithful nation is
not afraid of life’s evils. This has been our nation’s source of everlasting
resurrection,” said His Holiness.
After the Holy Mass His Holiness visited Cambridge, where he was welcomed by
Rev Gomidas Panossian of the St. Neshan Church, representatives of the
National Assembly, members of the board of trustees and a crowd of faithful.
After the blessing of salt and bread, His Holiness placed a wrath on the
Martyr’s Monument.
Prelate Khajag Hagopian welcomed His Holiness in Cambridge, pointing out
that despite the region’s distance, the Pontiff had insisted on including
Cambridge in his Pontifical visit to Canada. His Holiness highly praised the
organized work carried out by the small community.
The Armenian community of Cambridge organized an official dinner party in
honor of His Holiness the same night. 300 people attended the event.
Mr. Boghos Fernezlian, chairman of the church’s board of trustees, welcomed
His Holiness and expressed gratitude to him. Rev Gomidas spoke about the
example of service that can be seen in the 10th anniversary of His Holiness’
enthronement.
He also spoke about the mission of the Antelias Seminary, announcing that
the small Armenian community in Cambridge will contribute with an amount of
12,000 dollars in the donation made by the Prelacy of Canada to the
Seminary.
Greg Bezbezian presented His Holiness with a rare copy of the currency used
by King Hetoum and Queen Zabel.
His Holiness Aram I stressed that even far away communities have an
important role to play in the Armenian nation’s and church’s collective
lives.
“You are not on the margins of our life; you are on its main page. A
community is not measured by its size, but by its activeness. And you are
that active community which built this center years ago, constructed this
church, brought up a community and today lives its Armenian identity through
its national and ecclesiastical values,” said His Holiness.
Praising the respect and faith shown in the Antelias Seminary, His Holiness
reminded that success in life is not only dependant on material riches, but
on sacrifice and dedication.
Mrs. Garine Yakoubian performed songs from Gomidas on the violin. The
evening was concluded with “Cilicia” and “I Veh Partsants.” The attendants
kissed His Holiness’ right hand and received his blessings.
##
View pictures here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses of
the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

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.

US INTERVENES TO RESCUE STALLED EU TURKEY TALKS
By Marie-Louise Moller and Paul Taylor
Herald News Daily, ND
Oct 3 2005
LUXEMBOURG – The United States intervened on Monday to try to rescue
membership talks between the European Union and Turkey as a diplomatic
deadlock deepened hours before the historic negotiations were due
to open.
EU president Britain said the 25-nation bloc was “on the edge of
a precipice” after Turkish objections to a clause it fears could
affect NATO membership piled on top of Austrian demands that the
Muslim nation be offered an alternative short of full membership.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan to assure him that the proposed EU negotiating
framework would not impinge on NATO, diplomats said.
A presidency spokesman said Britain still hoped to hold the opening
ceremony on Monday but it would clearly be later than the planned 5
p.m. (1500 GMT) start.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was waiting nervously in Ankara
for the EU to adopt a negotiating mandate before he could set off
for Luxembourg.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw telephoned Austrian Chancellor
Wolfgang Schuessel to try to clinch agreement on a formula to satisfy
Austrian concerns that the EU may not be able to absorb the vast,
poor, Muslim country, diplomats said.
The United States had also contacted Vienna to try to overcome
objections fueled by overwhelming public hostility to Turkish
membership, they said.
Turkish financial markets yo-yoed amid the uncertainty. Stocks fell
some 2.3 percent from Friday’s close and the lira was down nearly 2
percent against the dollar, but both recovered in mid-afternoon amid
hopes the problems would be resolved.
Rice’s involvement was potentially embarrassing for the EU,
highlighting its inability to solve its problems alone.
Straw told the 24 other EU foreign ministers upon resuming talks
after only a couple of hours’ sleep: “Yes, we are near (to a deal)
but we are also on the edge of a precipice.
“If we go the right way we reach the sunny uplands. If we go the
wrong way, it could be catastrophic for the European Union.”
In Ankara, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of the ruling
AK party that Turkey was not prepared to compromise further on the
conditions for opening the long-awaited talks.
“Those in the EU who cannot digest Turkey being in the EU are against
the alliance of civilizations. What I declare is this: the costs
resulting from all this will be paid by them.”
Turkey has frequently portrayed its entry to the EU as a way of
bridging a gap between the Christian and Islamic worlds and easing
tensions that may have fostered Islamic militancy.
Diplomats said Ankara had objected to a clause in the EU negotiating
mandate that stipulates it may not block accession of EU states to
international organizations and treaties.
Turkish nationalists and the powerful military argued that might
prevent Turkey blocking a divided Cyprus from joining NATO. Cyprus
refused to let the EU change the wording.
But diplomats said Straw and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
hoped to assuage Ankara with a letter clarifying that the clause did
not impinge on sovereign defense arrangements.
TIME RUNNING OUT
As the clock ticked down, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer
told ministers: “Time is running out. We have got to get this right.
We seem so close. We cannot let this opportunity slip away.”
Failure to start the talks could deal a blow to political reform and
foreign investment in Turkey, a strategic country of 72 million people
straddling Europe and the Middle East.
It would also deepen a sense of crisis in Europe, after referendum
defeats for the draft EU constitution in France and the Netherlands,
and an acrimonious failure in June to agree on a long-term budget
for the enlarged bloc.
“If there is no deal, my personal judgment is that we are increasingly
starting to look like a Union of failing states because we cannot make
any decisions,” Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks told Reuters.
Ratcheting up pressure on Austria, Straw postponed a planned review
of Austrian ally Croatia’s progress toward EU entry talks until the
Turkey issue was sorted out.
A Turkish official said nerves in Ankara were “extremely stretched
.. Every minute that passes is making things more bitter and it.
won’t be nice starting negotiations with all these bruises.”
The European Parliament compounded Turkish irritation last week by
saying Turkey must recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians under
Ottoman rule as an act of genocide before it can join the wealthy
European family.
Several hundred Armenians staged a noisy demonstration outside the
EU meeting, demanding that Turkey be forced to make amends for what
they called the Armenian genocide.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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.