Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Journal of Turkish weekly
April 14 2005
Turkish PM Erdogan: Turkey is not Afraid of History
ANKARA (JTW) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said `Turkey is
not afraid of its history’. Erdogan argued that there should be an
open discussion on Armenian allegations about the Ottoman policies
towards its Armenian citizens during the World War One.
Addressing a meeting of parliamentary deputies of his Justice and
Development Party (AKP) in Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan repeated his call for an open and objective study of the
allegations. `Our archives are open to all. The Armenians and others
should open their archives and should be open to dialogue’ Erdogan
added.
`Medicine has yet to find a cure for those who do not want to open
their eyes to history,’ Erdogan said. Erdogan argued that some are
biased on the issue and could not be convinced with the archive
documents or any other proof.
Armenian side had rejected Turkish calls to open all archives.
Tashnaks’ Boston Archive is still closed and many documents regarding
relations with Turks and Germany are still missing.
The Armenians rioted during the First World War against the Ottoman
Empire and the Istanbul Government took the Resettlement Decision.
Thousands of Armenians were resettled to the provinces far away from
the war theatre. Many Armenians joined the Russian army and attacked
the Turkish and Kurdish towns. More than 500,000 Muslim Ottoman
citizens were massacred by the Armenian armed gangs.
JTW
14 April 2005

MOST OF RESPONDENTS OF SURVEY CONDUCTED BY ACNIS SUPPORT KARABAKH
SETTLEMENT “PACKAGE” VARIANT
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. A discussion by the results of the
expert and public survey “Artsakh Problem: Unfinished History Lasting
for 17 Years” was held on April 12 in the Armenian Center for National
and International Studies. The survey was conducted among 1900
respondents in all Armenian marzes and Yerevan. 60 people were
interrogated during the expert survey. Most of the experts (71.7%) and
population (61.9%) are discontented or very discontented with the
course of Karabakh settlement negotiations. And most of the experts
(83.3%) and population (51.5%) blame the Armenian authorities for
it. 75% of experts and 72.4% of population are sure that the
negotiations process should be trilateral: Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh
and Azerbaijan should participate in it. None of the experts agrees
with the current negotiations format with participation of Armenia and
Azerbaijan and only 6.9% of population is satisfied with the current
negotiations format. 63.4% of experts considers that Nagorno Karabakh
should be either an independent state or part of Armenia. 84.3% of
population holds the same opinion. 73.3% of experts and 50% of
population believe that some concessions are possible to Azerbaijan on
the part of Armenia in the issue of territories included in the
“security zone” beyond NKR bounds. 66.7% of experts and 50.4% of
pupulation among those who agree to the possibility of concessions
believe that concessions are possible in exchange for the recognition
of NKR independence or its recognition as part of Armenia. So, in
fact, the majority of respondents among the experts and population
supports the political formula “territories in exchange for status,”
i.e. are supporters of the NKR settlement “package” variant. 41.7% of
experts and 39.8% of population agree to the “freezing” of the
conflict and preservation of the status quo. And the relative majority
of respondents among experts and population considers that the final
decision should be made by Nagorno Karabakh people.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pan Armenian News
7-TH SITTING OF MANAGERS OF BLACK SEA TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BANK TO HELD IN
YEREVAN IN JUNE
13.04.2005 03:55
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 7-th sitting of the managers of the Black Sea Trade
and Development Bank (BSTDB) and the Day of Black Sea Enterprise will be
held in Yerevan, June 5-6, 2005, the press service of the Armenian Ministry
of Finance and Economy reported. The members of the Board of Managers and
Directors of the BSTDB will take part in the sitting. High rank officials
from the Black Sea region and a number of international organizations – the
EU, ERDB, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International
Financial Corporation – have been invited to the Day of Black Sea
Enterprise. The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank was founded in 1999 by
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania,
Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The BSTDB contributes to the economic
development of its member-states via financing assistance programs for both
state and private enterprises.

RIA OREANDA
Economic News
April 12, 2005 Tuesday
RUSAL Secures Loan to Finance Armenal Modernization
Moscow. OREANDA. RUSAL, one of the world’s leading aluminum
producers, has secured a 46.6 million (Euro) export loan extended by
German-based Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB).
The loan is given with guarantees from the German export loan agency
Euler Hermes, to fund a large-scale programme to upgrade its RUSAL
Armenal foil mill in Armenia and is unprecedented in Armenian
business both in terms of the sum and the term.
It is the first such loan granted by a foreign bank to a private
company in Armenia to undertake a technical modernization programme.

DISCUSSION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY GERMAN BUNDESTAG QUITE DELICATE
ISSUE: GERMAN MP
YEREVAN, APRIL 12. ARMINFO. MP from Social Democratic Party of Germany
Gernot Erler doubts that German Bundestag will discuss the motion
“Commemoration of Armenians on the 90th Anniversary of Their
Relocation and Massacre on Apr 24 1915 – Germany Should Contribute to
Provide Peace between Turks and Armenians.”
In an interview to Der Tagesspiegel Erler says that next week
Bundestag will discuss the issue only as a motion by his party’s
faction.
But this moot point for German MPs will be further discussed by
special commissions for subsequent submission to Bundestag.
Erler says that his party avoids using the “genocide” term tending to
replace it by “massacre” as the issue is “very delicate” as it is. At
the same time the party demands that Bundestag acknowledges Turkey as
legal successor of Ottoman Empire with its indisputable role towards
the Armenians.
Meanwhile representative of German Greens Fritz Kuhn has said in Der
Tagesspiegel earlier that the 90th anniversary should be given worthy
commemoration including by Turkey itself.
To remind, the author of the motion, CDU/CSU member Christoph Bergner
has told ARMINFO that the motion will be put to discussion at
Bundestag in Apr 21 or 22.

MONTH OF FREE TREATMENT OF GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR VETERANS HELD IN
UROLOGICAL CLINIC
YEREVAN, APRIL 11, NOYAN TAPAN. A month of free examination and
treatment of Great Patriotic War veterans is being held in the
Urological clinic until May 9. Armen Muradian, Chief of the clinic,
Adviser to RA Minister of Health, informed journalists on April 8 that
on April 8-15 a free examination of men above 45 will be held in the
clinic. It was mentioned that during a 1-week action all men examined
in the clinic will be registered in the clinic’s data bank and will be
given electronic passports for the purpose of further control over
their health. According to the clinic head, 1080 men were examined
during the month of free treatment organized in 2004. According to
A.Muradian, Armenian men don’t care for their health so much and they
aren’t in a habit of seeing a doctor even if once a year.

ARMENPRESS
CAFESJIAN FOUNDATION TO CONTINUE OPEN-AIR CONCERTS IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, APRIL 11, ARMENPRESS: The Cafesjian Museum Foundation (CMF) said
it will hold a series of concerts this summer as well as a gift for the
general public to enjoy different genres of music without financial
responsibility.
Madlene Minassian, Director of Public Relations and Events for the
Foundation, said this year the Foundation will organize more concerts that
will run through summer and part of autumn. She also said the Foundation
will hold a series of events to mark the 1,600-th anniversary of the
invention of Armenian alphabet.
Ms. Minassian said the Foundation will not organize special events to
commemorate the 90-th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and will join the
events hold by the government, but she added that the Cafesjian Foundation
will organize special events in Washington, USA.

A1plus
| 15:16:50 | 09-04-2005 | Politics |
CONTRADICTORY APPROACHES
Former head of Nor-Nork community, to date deputy Mkrtich Minasyan
considers that the authorities of the local self-government bodies
should be extended as the main principles of the state are formation
of state system do not contrast.
Mkrtich Minasyan says that the local community council should be given
the authority to express distrust to the head of the community. Despite
some attempts took place no single community head was dismissed in this
way. He does not share the opinion that the appointed body should keep
under control an elective one. «They should be separated: the governor
of the region (marzpet) is the body of territorial government while the
local self-government is a separate public body with its property, the
activity of which is regulated by the Constitution and acting laws. It
seems to us that there is a vertical structure called government
-marzpetaran-community but it is not so. It is horizontal structure
and there are responsibilities entrusted to the local self-government
bodies while marzpetaran is only to control the activities.
According Mkrtich Minasyan the most optimal drafts of constitutional
amendments in regards to the local self-government bodies are submitted
by the coalition and People’s Deputy group. Head of Kentron community
Gagik Beglaryan holds quite an opposite opinion. When we asked him to
express attitude to this issues he invited us to the community office,
where we met about 50 people in the waiting room. Not sufficiently
provided resident of the community turned to Beglaryan with various
requests
In the words of Gagik Beglaryan, the people are directly communicating
with the community head however the latter does not possess the
authority or instruments as the major part of the budget was formed
two years ago when the city community was empowered to collect the
property tax. According to him, 100 million AMD is annually paid to
the citizens out of the property tax. Beglaryan considers that the
Mayor of Yerevan should be elected while head of the city communities
– appointed, as they are to be functionaries. The Mayor, who is well
familiarized with the concerns of his electorate, should govern. If the
city is too big for governing and the Mayor elected by the residents
can become a counterbalance to the President the borders of the city
can be cut and the outskirts of the city can be transformed into
suburbs. Gagik Beglaryan is convinced that democratization should
start with the strengthening of the local self-government and the
formation of the local community council as the counterbalance.
Diana Markosyan
–Boundary_(ID_pY0uSxSE6EuXF6+kvcPtFA)–

“MOBILE” CLASS WITH NOTE-BOOKS OPENS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEREVAN SCHOOL
YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. On the initiative of the Intel
corporation and Unicomp company a “mobile” class with note-books
was opened in Yerevan secondary school N 198. Armen Baldrian,
Director General of the Unicomp company, informed journalists on
April 8 that all the note-books of the class were assembled on the
basis of Intel Centrino technology, which provides wireless Internet
communication. Such a class, according to Baldrian, enables to use
computers not only at lessons of Informatics but also while teaching
of any subject. It was also mentioned that Intel is also going to
render assistance on creation of the infrastructures necessary for
development of Internet communication in Armenia.

PACE RAPPORTEUR ON KARABAKH “SLIPPED ON BANANA PEEL” OF IGNORANCE OF KARABAKH ISSUE
YEREVAN, APRIL 6. ARMINFO. PACE rapporteur on Karabakh David Atkinson
has “slipped on the banana peal” of ignorance of the Karabakh issue,
says former Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov.
The gist of the issue is in the problems of the Armenian population
of Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous District with the Azeri authorities
that turned eventually into bloody confrontation. Kazimirov says that
he avoids using the “aggression” term – this is the prerogative of
the UN Security Council. He agrees that Western experts would better
familiarize themselves with the Soviet laws according to which Karabakh
seceded from Azeri Soviet Republic. Atkinson did not know that, he
just saw what was on the surface – that Armenian armed forces are in
the territories located far from Karabakh. But he should have first
gone to Karabakh at least once to see what the reality is. At the
same time Kazimirov notes that things should be given their proper
names and occupied territories are occupied territories irrespective
of any emotions.