Author: Talar Tumanian

CZECH PRESIDENT: WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM TURKISH RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’?
ABHaber, Belgium
March 14 2006
Czech President Vaclav Klaus stressed on Sunday that stirring up and
bring the past events back to the agenda of the international community
is useless, saying, “Who will benefit from Turkish recognition of
the Armenian ‘genocide’?”
Speaking to German daily Der Spiegel, Klaus questioned the necessity of
facing the past, saying, “The past is the past. Nowadays the European
Parliament is urging Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide
claims. Who will benefit from this recognition? Russian President
Vladimir Putin apologized for the suppression of the Prague spring
reform process by harsh methods in 1968, saying that his country takes
moral responsibility for the events of 1968. This was a gesture for the
Czech Republic but I don’t think that we have to discuss with Putin
the things a former Soviet leader did to us. In other words Putin is
not the inheritor of Leonid Brezhnev and I am not the inheritor of
the communist regime that took power in 1948 in my country.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CLE_ID=49203
Friiday, March 10, 2006 Evening Edition
MUCH ABOUT HISTORY
New photo resparks ‘Noah’s Ark mania’
Digital image of ‘Ararat Anomaly’ has researchers taking closer look
Posted: March 10, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A new, high-resolution digital image of what has become known as the
“Ararat Anomaly” is reigniting interest in the hunt for Noah’s Ark.
Satellite image of ‘Ararat Anomaly,’ taken by DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird
Satellite in 2003 and now made public for the first time (courtesy:
DigitalGlobe)
The location of the anomaly on the northwest corner of Mt. Ararat in
eastern Turkey has been under investigation from afar by ark hunters
for years, but it has remained unexplored, with the government of
Turkey not granting any scientific expedition permission to explore on
site.
But the detail revealed by the new photo from DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird
satellite has a man at the helm of the probe excited once again.
“I’ve got new found optimism … as far as my continuing push to have
the intelligence community declassify some of the more definitive-type
imagery,” Porcher Taylor, an associate professor in paralegal studies
at the University of Richmond, told Space.com.
For more than three decades, Taylor has been a national security
analyst, and has also served as a senior associate for five years at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
“I’m calling this my satellite archaeology project,” Taylor said.
Space.com reports the project has been combining the photographic
resources of QuickBird with GeoEye’s Ikonos spacecraft, Canada’s
Radarsat 1, as well as declassified aerial and satellite images
snapped by U.S. intelligence agencies.
While it’s quite possible the item of interest could simply be a
natural ridge of rock, snow and ice, Taylor says there’s also a chance
it could be something manmade.
“I had no preconceived notions or agendas when I began this in 1993 as
to what I was looking for,” he said. “I maintain that if it is the
remains of something manmade and potentially nautical, then it’s
potentially something of biblical proportions.”
The anomaly remains ensconced in glacial ice at an altitude of 15,300
feet, and Taylor says the photos suggest its length-to-width ratio is
close to 6:1, as indicated in the Book of Genesis.
The U.S. Air Force took the first photographs of the Mt. Ararat site
in 1949. The images allegedly revealed what seemed to be a structure
covered by ice, but were held for years in a confidential file labeled
“Ararat Anomaly.”
The new image was actually taken in 2003, but has never been revealed
to the public until now.
Arking up the wrong tree?
Meanwhile, there are others who believe Noah’s Ark has already been
found, and tourists can actually visit it on a mountain next to
Ararat.
Some believe this is Noah’s Ark, already found on a mountain
next to Mt. Ararat (courtesy: wyattmuseum.com)
The late Ron Wyatt, whose Tennessee-based foundation, Wyatt
Archaeological Research, purported the ark is located at Dogubayazit,
Turkey, some 12-15 miles from Ararat, noting Genesis states the ark
rested “upon the mountains of Ararat,” not mountain.
Is this a hair from a large cat aboard Noah’s Ark? (photo:
Richard Rives, wyattmuseum.com)
Wyatt’s website is filled with on-location photographs and charts
promoting its case with physical evidence including radar scans of
bulkheads on the alleged vessel, deck timber and iron rivets, large
“drogue” stones which are thought to have acted as types of anchors,
and even some animal hair inside, possibly from a large cat like a
lion or tiger.
A flood of doubt
However, there’s been no shortage of critics from both scientific and
Christian circles who think the Dogubayazit site is erroneous.
Lorence Collins, a retired geology professor from California State
University, Northridge, joined the late David Fasold, a one-time
proponent of the Wyatt site, in writing a scientific summary claiming
the location is “bogus.”
“Evidence from microscopic studies and photo analyses demonstrates
that the supposed Ark near Dogubayazit is a completely natural rock
formation,” said the 1996 paper published in the Journal of Geoscience
Education. “It cannot have been Noah’s Ark nor even a man-made
model. It is understandable why early investigators falsely identified
it.”
The Answers in Genesis website provides an in-depth report attempting
to debunk any validity the Dogubayazit site has, and concludes by
stating:
“[A]s Christians we need to always exercise due care when claims are
made, no matter who makes them, and any claims must always be
subjected to the most rigorous scientific scrutiny. If that had
happened here, and particularly if the scientific surveys conducted by
highly qualified professionals using sophisticated instruments had
been more widely publicized and their results taken note of, then
these claims would never have received the widespread credence that
they have.”
Officials with Wyatt Archaeological Research remain unfazed in the
face of such criticism.
“The site … is actually something that you can look at. Not some
made up story that no one is quite able to reach but something that is
really there,” said president Richard Rives. “It is a ‘boat-shaped
object’ composed of material containing organic carbon, which is what
is found in petrified wood. …
“While there is more research that needs to be done at the site, there
is a substantial amount of evidence that would indicate that the Wyatt
site is not a natural object. …
“Today, everyone wants to tell us how to think. We, at Wyatt
Archaeological Research, do not do that. We just present the evidence
that we have and let each individual make his own decision.”
In both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible speaks of Noah and the
ark, and Jesus Christ and the apostles Paul and Peter all make
reference to Noah’s flood as an actual historical event.
‘Noah’s Ark’ by Pennsylvania artist Edward Hicks, 1846

According to Genesis, Noah was a righteous man who was instructed by
God to construct a large vessel to hold his family and many species of
animals, as a massive deluge was coming to purify the world which had
become corrupt.
Genesis 6:5 states: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.”
Noah was told by God to take aboard seven pairs of each of the “clean”
animals – that is to say, those permissible to eat – and two each of
the “unclean” variety. (Gen. 7:2)
Though the Bible says it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, it also
mentions “the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty
days.”
The ark then “rested” upon the mountains of Ararat, but it was still
months before Noah and his family – his wife, his three sons and the
sons’ wives – were able to leave the ark and begin replenishing the
world.

Copyright 1997-2006
All Rights Reserved. WorldNetDaily.com Inc.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am
18:46 14/10/05
NO MONEY, NO STRUGGLE AGAINST CORRUPTION
The Budget of 2006 will distribute 1 billion and 904 million ARMD to the
General Prosecution department of RA, 304 million more from the previous
year. As the general prosecutor of RA Aghvan Hovsepyan noted that the
Prosecution’s building needs reconstruction. To the question what kind of
measures the prosecution initiates to struggle against corruption A.
Hovsepyan said, `The government doesn’t provide additional measures for
straggling against corruption’, and added, `We have already established two
departments for struggling against corruption and trafficking ‘.
/Panorama.am/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
October 13, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION BLASTS TURKEY
— Congressional Panel Calls on Turkey to Face its History;
Drop Charges Against Writer for Armenian Genocide Remarks
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
today welcomed efforts by leaders of the U.S. Helsinki Commission
to press Turkey to end the prosecution of noted Turkish writer
Orhan Pamuk for speaking openly about the Armenian Genocide in
violation of the Turkish penal code, which criminalizes public
discourse about this crime against humanity.
In a letter sent this week to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, Helsinki Commissioners encouraged him to authorize the
removal of charges against Pamuk, who was charged with “public
denigration of the Turkish identity,” for comments made in
Switzerland about the Armenian Genocide.
“We appreciate all that Congressman Smith and Senator Brownback are
doing to encourage Turkey to honestly face its history and come to
terms with the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. “Their efforts are in the best tradition of
America’s proud leadership on human rights, and reflect the growing
Congressional consensus that Turkey – at long last – must
immediately end its hateful campaign of genocide denial.”
In a remark earlier today, Commission Chairman Senator Sam
Brownback (R-KS) stressed that “Dropping the charges against Orhan
Pamuk is not sufficient for Turkey to come to grips with its past,
but it is necessary,” commented Brownback. “If nothing else, the
prosecution of Pamuk feeds the worst fears of those who are
skeptical about Turkey’s commitment to freedom and democracy.”
Co-Chairman Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) noted today that, “A
stable democracy cannot blossom until the government ends the
practice of stifling free speech and removes the clouds of
deception and censorship from a true telling of history.” He added
that, “Turkey has barely taken the first steps toward coming to
terms with its history. Until the Turks honestly and openly
discuss their history, their democracy will never be on a firm
foundation.”
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, also known as Commission on Security
and Cooperation in Europe, is a U.S. Government agency that
monitors progress in the implementation of the 1975 Helsinki
Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from the United
States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one each
from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.

SCHOOLS DIRECTED TO EXPAND HISTORY COURSES
Michael Gormley
Associated Press
Sept 28 2005
ALBANY, N.Y. – State legislators across the country are increasingly
directing their schools to teach students more about the struggles
and triumphs of different races and ethnic groups – a move critics
say amounts to politically correct meddling.
In the latest such example, a new commission in New York will examine
whether the “physical and psychological terrorism” against Africans in
the slave trade is being adequately taught in schools. The commission
is named for the slave ship Amistad, which was commandeered by slaves
who eventually won their freedom in the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The recommendations could mean rewriting textbooks, which may influence
educators in other states, according to the National Council for the
Social Studies.
A number of other states have enacted similar measures in the last
five years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Illinois also created an Amistad commission this year and added lessons
on the Holocaust, while New Mexico’s legislature required Indian
education lessons be bolstered in kindergarten through sixth grade.
In 2001, New Jersey created an Amistad commission and the Commission
on Italian and Americans of Italian Heritage Culture and Education
to advise policy makers.
California created Cesar Chavez Day in 2000 and directed schools
to include lessons about the farm labor activist. That same year,
Rhode Island directed schools to teach about genocide and human
rights violations including the slave trade, the Irish potato famine,
the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s, the Holocaust and Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime.
Virginia also directed schools that year to teach about the
accomplishments of people from different ethnic backgrounds and races,
women and disabled people.
But while most legislatures enact curriculum changes recommended by
education departments, teachers and researchers, New York’s Amistad
Commission is a case of the Legislature trying to circumvent the
state’s policy-setting Board of Regents, according to the law’s
co-sponsor.
“We feel there is, indeed, a void in our education curriculum
in New York state when it comes to the issue of slavery and the
dehumanization of Africans,” said Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr.,
a Brooklyn Democrat. He said the Board of Regents hasn’t acted and
needs to be prodded by the Legislature.
Critics say the goal of the commission is laudable but that teachers
already have limited time to teach American history. They also say
educators are needed on the panel to make sure its recommendations
are feasible.
The commission will include 19 unpaid members. Eight will be appointed
by the governor, and the rest will be picked by the state secretary
of state, the state education commissioner and the majority leaders
of the Legislature. Panelists need not be academics.
“It’s like taking a group of teachers and telling doctors how to
practice,” said Peggy Altoff, president-elect of the National Council
for the Social Studies. “And yet it seems to me that it’s fairly
standard practice that everyone seems to be able to tell teachers
what to teach.”
New York already requires children to learn about the Irish famine,
the Holocaust, the Underground Railroad and “a great deal” about
slavery, said state Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman.
“There’s no question that it’s dabbling,” said Carl Hayden, the former
New York state schools chancellor who led the Board of Regents in
developing higher academic standards. “The single most difficult
standard that the regents dealt with was the history standard,
because it is so potentially controversial.”
Candace de Russy, a State University of New York trustee and national
lecturer and writer on academic issues, said she believes the
state’s commission opens the door to endless group advocacy-oriented
legislation.
“Inherent in it, Jews will decide how to teach the Holocaust, the
Irish the Great Famine, Armenians the Turkish genocide, Indians the
French and Indian War, and so on,” she said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1+
| 14:15:16 | 25-09-2005 | Politics |
COURT MAKES DECISIONS
There may be no elections without the court interference. Today at about
01:00 p.m. 132 citizens had applied to court to restore their suffrage.
The numbers were distributed the following way: Kentron – 2, Arabkir – 11,
Shengavit – 50, Malatia-Sebastia – 3, Ajapnyak – 46, and Davtashen – 20. The
number of the people who did not find their names in the electoral rolls but
did not apply to court is not yet known.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1+
| 13:19:44 | 20-09-2005 | Official |
NEW ORDER OF VISITS
The Armenian MFA reminds that some changes were included in the documents
referring to the agreement `On non-visa visits of RA and RF citizens’
concluded between the Armenian and Russian governments on September 25,
2000.
According to the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
starting with September 24,2005, the citizens of both countries can enter or
leave the country, move inside the country or stay on the territory of the
other state only in case of possessing the following documents.
For the RA citizens:
Valid passport of RA citizen, diplomatic passport, certificate on return
/only for entering Armenia/, birth certificate /for children under 16/. The
document is in force till March 23, 2005.
For Russian citizens:
Foreign passport of Russian citizen, service passport, diplomatic passport,
certificate on return /only for entering the RF/.
The above mentioned changes were introduced to the article 3 of the
Agreement and does not impact the non-visa regime of mutual visits.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE JOINT SHIELD
by Vladimir Fedosenko
Rossiiiskaya Gazeta (supplement to the Soyuz Belarus-Rossia issue),
August 25, 2005, p. 3
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 29, 2005, Monday
It’s already the fourth day of the Combat Commonwealth-2005 joint
exercise, which recently began on the Ashuluk firing range in Russia.
Colonel Alexander Drobyshevskky, chief of the press service of
the Russian Air Force, said that representatives of the Russian,
Belarusian, Tajik and Armenian armies are involved. Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan conducted a similar exercise a bit earlier, which is why
they decided to send their observers instead of anti-aircraft units.
Four branches of the Air Force participate in Combat Commonwealth for
the first time over the ten-year history of this exercise: fighters,
assault planes, bombers and intelligence planes. Fighters simulate
dogfights, and the Su-25 assault planes and the Su-24 bombers will
deliver strikes on ground-based targets. (…)
Over 2,000 servicemen and the S-300, S-125 and S-75 anti-aircraft
complexes, the Su-24 bombers, the Su-25 assault planes, the Su-27,
MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters, and the A-50 long-range radio-locating
surveillance plane are involved in the exercise.
The Russian and Belarusian defense ministers reached an agreement to
supply the S-300 PMU2 anti-aircraft complexes to Minsk (at present
the Belarusian Army uses the obsolete S-300 PS complexes). (…)
The OSA-1T anti-aircraft complex, which was tested on the Domanovo
firing range of the Belarusian Air Force, participates in the exercise
in Ashuluk. A representative of the Tetraedr scientific-industrial
enterprise, which modernized this complex, stated that the OSA-1T is
equipped with a principally new guidance system.
It should be noted that the exercise in Ashuluk is a serious test of
the Russian-Belarusian regional anti-aircraft system. The results of
the exercise will be finalized on August 30. (…)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov stated that the exercise is
a success. He noted that Russian and Belarusian units show a high
level of integration. He said that Russian and Belarusian units have
created a joint logistics system.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PETER BRINER: STATEMENT ON GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS WAS MISINTERPRETED
BERN, AUGUST 11. ARMINFO. The categorical statement ascribed to
Chairman of The Foreign Relations Committee of Swiss Senate Peter
Briner related to withdrawal of the issue of Armenian genocide from
the agenda of the Plenary Sitting of Swiss Senate was distorted and
misinterpreted. Peter Briner informs ARMINFO. It should be noted
that since the beginning of the current week, a number of Mass
Media representatives as well as Swissinfo have spread information
referring to Head of Swiss Senate wherein the latter allegedly says
that massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 will never be a
subject of discussion at the Swiss Senate. Third states should not
interfere and condemn Turkey for the events of 90-years remoteness
and that the Committee agreed that it is not within the competence
of the parliament to consider thew events of 1915 and qualify them
as genocide. Peter Briner says “The mentioned statement is based on
a false citation or a misunderstanding respectively. This is most
regrettable! What I did say was, that at the time when the Swiss House
of Representatives has forwarded an intervention recognizing the
genocide, this had not been an issue in the Senate. So please take
not of the difference: Past sense and not future! The policy of our
Government, and our committee shared its opinion, is that that time
and its terrible events should be investigated by the two countries
involved, i.e. Turkey and Armenia with a committee of historians
of both sides. I am sorry that by not precise reporting you might
have received a message that was not intended at all!” In its turn,
As Journal of Turkish Weekly (JTW) condemns The California Courier
Publisher Harut Sassounian, The JTW will start a legal action in
California against this rude letter. However we consider his letter as
a good example to show the extremist Armenian approach to our readers.
I don’t know what your background or training is, but I am sure you
know nothing about journalism. Your replies to Maral Der Ohanesian
confirm my suspicions about your ignorance. How dare you give a
lecture to her on a subject you know nothing about? Not only your
distorted and perverted version of this news item was full of lies,
every piece of news you have released has been nothing but a pack
of lies. I will be happy to give you one free lesson in journalism:
there is no such thing as Armenian or Turkish journalism. There is
only one kind of universal journalism, which is reporting the truth.
What you added to the ::. news is not the Turkish point of view,
but sheer lies. Maybe lies ARE the Turkish point of view, in which
case you have a point. I would normally list the lies in your news,
but I am sure you do not need my help, since you know the lies that
you have made up. To report such lies and try to convince others
that you are reporting the truth, you must be truly “sharafsiz”! (*)
And you shamelessly call yourself “Editor” and “Dr.”Harut Sassounian
Publisher The California Courier.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US democracy group distances self from alleged coup plot in Azerbaijan
Agence France Presse — English
August 5, 2005 Friday 2:43 PM GMT
BAKU Aug 5 — A prominent US non-governmental organization on Friday
vehemently denied allegations that it was linked to an alleged plot
to overthrow the Azerbaijani government.
Azeri prosecutors announced Thursday they had arrested the leader of
a youth group, saying he was plotting to launch a peaceful popular
revolution during parliamentary elections in November at the
instigation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
“The allegations that we are funding a revolution just aren’t true,”
NDI’s director for Azerbaijan, Christy Quirk told AFP.
In a statement the NDI said it cooperates with “all political parties”
to promote free and fair voting.
“All other allegations contradicting this position are not realistic,”
it said.
The organization, which has faced criticism from regimes in other
former Soviet republics accusing it of promoting revolutions that
swept Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan recently, did not mention any
specific allegations in its statement.
Prosecutors also alleged that Yeni Fikir youth opposition movement
leader Ruslan Bashirli allegedly accepted funds for a revolt from
operatives of Azerbaijan’s longtime foe Armenia.
Bashirli told the Armenians he represented forces “acting on the
instructions of the National Democratic Institute of the USA,” and
had received “specific instructions from representatives of this
organization to prepare a revolution in Azerbaijan,” according to a
prosecutors’ statement.
Yeni Fikir denies Bashirli is guilty of charges of attempting “to
take power by force,” adding that Bashirli made the comments about
NDI “because he was drunk and bragging,” according to Said Nuriyev,
a Bashirli deputy.
Yeni Fikir leaders claim the allegations are a government smear
campaign, and come amid increasing government pressure on opposition
political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in November.
Azerbijan fought and lost a bitter war with Armenia over the
ethinc-Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh in the early 1990s and
emotions on both sides still run high.
Within Azerbaijan tensions between the opposition and the authorities
have been on the rise in Azerbaijan ahead of the parliamentary vote.
Azerbaijan’s previous national vote, which saw Ilham Aliyev take
the country’s top post from his ailing father Heydar Aliyev in 2003,
ended in two days of rioting and hundreds of arrests.
Arrests of the opposition continued throughout this year, notably
in May, when police arrested and beat dozens of protestors at an
unsanctioned rally in Baku.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress