Author: Tambiyan Samvel

ORINATS YERKIR EXPELS DISOBEDIENT MEMBER
Armenpress
Apr 14 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS; The governing council of Orinats Yerkir
party of parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian voted late on April
13 to expel a fellow party member from their ranks ‘for disobeying
and ignoring party’s decisions.”
The lawmaker, Artak Sarkisian, was the only member of the party’s
faction that voted to approve a government report on fulfillment of a
privatization plan in 2001-2004, which Baghdasarian and his loyalists
dubbed as ‘shady.” Baghdasarian and his party members argued a day
before that 70 percent of 69 entities put up for sale during that
period were privatized with blatant breaches of the law. He said his
party members would voted against the report.
The report was voted by 65 to 9, with ten abstentions. The opposition
boycotted the voting. The expelled party member, Artak Sarkisian,
is the owner of a chain of SAS supermarkets.

PRESS RELEASE
New Art Center
580 Eighth Avenue
New York, Ny 10018
t: 212.354.2999
e: [email protected]
THE GENOCIDE SERIES BY BARBARA YETERIAN
New Art Center is delighted to announce an exhibition of new paintings
by Barbara Yeterian from her `Genocide Series.’ The exhibition will
run
from April 4 through May 27, 2006.
The `Genocide Series’ by Barbara Yeterian refers to the first
genocide
of the 20th century – the extermination of the Armenian people in
Ottoman Turkey. The exhibition coincides with the commemoration of this
tragedy on April 24th. The artist’s paintings, however, are about
more
general aspects of the human condition, such as fear and despair,
persecution and captivity, pain and torture. In each of her paintings,
Yeterian shows herself to be deeply socially engaged as a gifted artist
who transforms her material in order to create a private yet universal
language that can touch everyone.
The artist’s close study of the gestural dynamism of deKooning, the
symbolist astringency of Edvard Munch and the painterly dis-integration
of Francis Bacon’s painted bodies is evident in her work. In this
regard, Yeterian’s work is undeniably and powerfully expressionistic.
While depicting the dark side of humanity, Yeterian, as Kathe Kollwitz,
has the capacity to depict images of great nobility and warmth. These
images counteract Nietzsche’s assertion ‘death and the stillness of
death are the only things certain and common to all.’ They also
suggest
that the rage at the corruption of power is not the only possible
answer to the horrors of displacements and genocides.
The artist has tread a delicate path between visually eliciting the
emotional weight of trials and tribulations of the people without
resorting directly to anecdotal details. What is most evident in
Yeterian’s multilayered large-scale work, with its dense painterly
structure, is the passionate intensity of the brushstroke and the
resourceful use of almost iconized figures she uses as stand-ins for
the collective fate of the people. History for this artist, is a
palpable memory that overtakes us in the most familiar surroundings and
haunts us in our dreams.
Paintings from the `Genocide Series’ are included in the ongoing
`Legacy Project’ sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation
().
New Art Center is open to public Tuesday through Saturday, 12 – 6 pm,
and by appointment. For more information or visuals please contact the
New Art Center

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
April 13, 2006
Holy Week in the Mother See
Every year the Mother See receives numerous inquiries from pilgrims
throughout the world who plan to travel to Armenia and Holy Etchmiadzin to
participate in the services leading up to the Glorious Resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ.  In response to the growing number of requests, the
Mother See is pleased to announce this year’s schedule of Holy Week and
Easter Services.  All services will be held in the Mother Cathedral of Holy
Etchmiadzin.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
HOLY THURSDAY
Divine Liturgy – 10:30 AM
Washing of the Feet Service – 4:00 PM
Betrayal Service – 7:00 PM
Friday, April 14, 2006
HOLY FRIDAY
Crucifixion Service – 12:00 Noon
Burial Service – 5:30 PM
Saturday, April 15, 2006
EASTER EVE
Evening Services – 5:30 PM
`Jrakaluyts’ (Lucernarium) Divine Liturgy – 7:00 PM
Sunday, April 16, 2006
FEAST OF THE GLORIOUS RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Morning Services – 7:30 AM
Pontifical Divine Liturgy – 10:30 AM
Celebrant – His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians
Monday, April 17, 2006
MEMORIAL DAY
Divine Liturgy – 11:00 AM
Repose of Souls Service – 1:00 PM

MURAT BELGE STILL ON TRIAL
Erol Onderoglu
BÝA, Turkey
April 12 2006
Citing statue of limitation an Istanbul court dropped charges against
four leading Turkish columnists tried for publicly criticizing court
decision to halt an Istanbul conference on Armenian issue. But the
case continues columnist Murat Belge.
BÝA (Istanbul) – An Istanbul court Tuesday dismissed a controversial
case against four prominent Turkish columnists who were charged with
attempting to influence the outcome of a trial though their writings by
criticising a court order halting a September 2005 Istanbul conference
on Ottoman Armenians.
Journalists Hasan Cemal of the daily Milliyet and Haluk Sahin, Erol
Katircioglu and Ismet Berkan of the daily Radikal were charged in
December under Article 288 of the Turkish Penal Code with “attempting
to influence the outcome of a fair trial” through their writing. All
except Berkan also faced prosecution under Article 301 for “publicly
degrading the judiciary”. If convicted, they could have faced prison
terms of six months to 10 years under the charges.
The court decided that according to article 26 of the Press Law,
charges against the four were subject to statue of limitation due to
the time lapse between the date of alleged offence and when a case
was launched.
While it ruled to drop the charges against them, the court decided
to continue the trial of Radikal newspaper columnist and writer Murat
Belge as the only defendant in a new trial, concluding that the statue
of limitation did not apply to his case.
Complaining “lawyers” leave hall angered at “observer” status
The trial which started in tension on 7 February due to the
intervention of members of Hukukcular Birligi, a nationalist group
of lawyers, who scuffled with the police, continued on a tense note
this Tuesday with sorties from the same complainant attorneys.
When the Bagcilar Number 2 Court of First Instance rejected the lawyer
group’s attempt to become the “intervening party”, the lawyers refused
to attend the trial as “observers” only and walked out of the hall.
The court with the positive opinion by the prosecutor filed a criminal
complaint to the Republic Chief Prosecutor’s Office against the
Hukukcular Birligi lawyers based on their remarks related to the trial
and also lodged a separate complaint with the Istanbul Bar Association.
According to reports from the prosecutor’s office complaints were
made to the Istanbul Bar Association also with regard to remarks
related to the court contained in some defence attorney petitions.
All cases dropped but that for Belge
In Tuesday’s hearing the court referred to article 26 of the Turkish
Press Law where the Trial Period is defined and it is stated that
“cases of crimes entailing the use of printed matter or other crimes
mentioned in this law should be opened within a period of two months
for daily periodicals and four months for other printed matter.”
Agreeing with the arguments brought forth by defense lawyers on 7
February, the court dismissed the charges for the four defendants.
But as a statue of limit was not applicable in Murat Belge’s case,
it decided for him to be tried separately under a new file and a new
hearing date to be set.
Non of the defendants were present at Tuesday’s hearing where they
were defended by a group of lawyers including Sehnaz Yuzer, Turgut
Kazan, Bahri Bayram Belen, Gunay Erkan, Selin Ozuzun and Metin Aslan.
On the intervening side were Kemal Kerincsiz and attorneys attached
to the Hukukcular Birligi.
In the previous hearing, the defendants and their attorneys had argued
that criticism targeting the Administrative Court decision cancelling
the Ottoman Armenian Conference could not be regarded in the scope of
article 288 nor that criticising a court could fall within the scope
of article 301. They stated then that defending scientific autonomy
could not be accepted as an offence.
RSF reacts to court case
The Paris-based international press freedom organisation Reporters
Without Borders (RSF) had issued a statement on the case in support
of the columnists, criticising the trial as “a disgrace for press
freedom and unworthy of a democratic state,” asking for the charges
to be dismissed.
RSF also noted that the Hukukcular Birligi lawyers had reflected
violence to the case while accusing the court of being biased and
serving western observers. “The case was nearly resulting with a
fiasco” the statement said. “Hanefi Aktas, a nationalist lawyer and
member of a jurists’ organisation, threatened the court and accused
it of partiality and of backing European deputies, strongly opposed
to the trial. Security forces had to intervene to remove him, after
which order was restored in court.”
–Boundary_(ID_51ABh99Dsz65NpMAKSPMTw)–

CALL TO PKK TO LAY DOWN ARMS
New Anatolian, Turkey
April 11 2006
Ankara
Over 130 deputies from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) signed a joint statement on Monday calling on
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to “immediately and
unconditionally” lay down its arms.
The statement prepared by Turkish parliamentarians was backed by
more than 100 other deputies, including ones from Greece, Armenia,
and Russia.
Turkish Deputy and Justice and Development (AK) Party member Murat
Mercan told The New Anatolian in a telephone interview on Monday that
statement will be released today with a press conference. Mercan said
that it had been prepared by the support of all Turkish deputies and
so far has been signed by around 130 PACE members.
The written declaration says that terrorism poses one of the greatest
threats to international peace and security, as well as to democratic
institutions. The statement follows:
“The source of terrorism cuts across political, geographic and
religious boundaries. It cannot be identified with any religion,
culture or ethnic origin.
“Terrorism violates full enjoyment of one of the most fundamental
human rights, the right to life.
“Terrorism cannot have any justification under any pretext.
“We are mindful that terrorism threatens European countries, resulting
in violent attacks perpetrated in Spain, the Russian Federation and
the UK.
“We also condemn and reject the violent activities of PKK/Kongra-Gel
[Kurdistan People’s Congress, another name for the PKK] terrorist
organization which has recently escalated its criminal activities
which resulted in loss of life and material damage in Turkey.
“We ask the PKK/Kongra-Gel to stop its terrorist activities immediately
and unconditionally and lay down arms. All political demands and
aspirations must be channeled through democratic process.”
In related news, PACE President Rene van der Linden said yesterday
that the incidents in southeastern Turkey last week occurred as a
result of provocation by the separatist, terrorist PKK.
Linden, during a press conference marking the opening of PACE’s General
Council meetings, said they think the PKK is behind the incidents in
the southeast. “The PKK is a terrorist organization and it’s on the
European Union’s blacklist. We condemn PKK terrorism,” he added.

BAKU OBJECTS TO EUROPARLIAMENT SURVEY IN NAKHICHEVAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.04.2006 23:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Official Baku may agree that the European
Parliament mission start a survey at the destroyed Armenian cemetery
in Nakhichevan “only with the condition of bilateral survey,” APA
reports. The mission is composed of 10 persons that are to travel to
Armenia at first.
Speaking at an official conference on April 6th, the President of
the European Parliament was joined by the leaders of its political
parties in strongly approving the body’s decision to send a delegation
in Djulfa, in the Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan. The aim of the
mission is to investigate the destruction by Azerbaijan of the Armenian
cemetery in Djulfa, a treasure of world architectural heritage that was
effectively destroyed. The EP leaders unanimously decided to entrust
this mission to the Commission on EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation
rather than to an ad-hoc delegation, as it had initially been planned.
The mission is being sent in accordance with the Parliament’s
resolution “on cultural heritage in Azerbaijan,” which was adopted
in February of 2006.
This measure “demands that Azerbaijan allow missions, who are dedicated
to surveying and protecting archaeological heritage, in particular
Armenian heritage, onto its territory.” The delegation will be composed
of ten Members of the European Parliament (MEP) who are members of
the Commission of EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation group. They
are set to travel to Djulfa as part of their trip to Armenia from
April 17th to 21st.

SITUATION AT THE BORDER IS CALMER
Lragir.am
12 April 06
Tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani front line are exaggerated,
stated Serge Sargsyan, Minister of Defense of Armenia, on April 11.
“There are always gunshots, you know there are gunshots today, but
there is no difference between today and three months or five months
ago. Even if there is difference, it is more of an easing of tensions,”
announced Serge Sargsyan. For the frequent visits of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs to the region and the possibility of settlement of
the conflict over Karabakh by 2007, the defense minister of Armenia
says it is both possible and impossible.
“There are two answers to this question: yes and no. I cannot see
that the state of things today essentially differs from the state of
things two years ago,” says Serge Sargsyan, adding that as a minister
of defense he is prepared in case war starts.
“I have announced a number of times and now I state that the defense
minister of any country, and especially the minister of defense of
Armenia, should assume that the military actions may start tomorrow
or in two days,” says Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan.

Turkish writers report
The World (from Public Radio International)
April 10, 2006
Correspondent Rhoda Metcalfe reports on the trial of five Turkish
writers who are charged with criticizing judges who tried to suppress a
public debate on the Armenian genocide. Behind the trial is a struggle
in Turkey — between reformers who want to join the European Union, and
nationalists who don’t.
(5:00 minutes)
WEB LINK: .shtml
AUDIO LINK:

AIR FRANCE TO LEAVE ROOM FOR ARMAVIA
Lragir.am
10 April 06
Air France representatives stated April 10 that their presence
in the Armenian market will not inflict losses on Armavia, the
national transporter of Armenia. Moreover, Air France and Armavia
signed an agreement, which needs to be ratified by the government,
on joint commercial activity. “We will leave some room for Armavia,”
joked French Ambassador Henry Cuny. The representative of Air France
gave a more serious explanation; the principle of their company is
to reach an arrangement with the national transporter of the country
when their planes start flying to a country. Hence, the French say
they will sign a mutually favorable agreement with Armavia. The
French declined to speak about other airlines operating in Armenia,
saying that the last word belongs to the Armenian passenger.

PM REMINDS ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL RESTRICTION ON REELECTION
Lragir.am
10 April 06
During the meeting of the presidium of the NAS Academician Emil
Gabrielyan, member of the presidium of the National Academy of
Sciences, proposed that the right of the president of the NAS for
reelection to be restricted.
“The head of state can be reelected once, but there is not such a
restriction for the president of the NAS,” says Emil Gabrielyan,
proposing two five-year terms of office for the president of the NAS.
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan approved this proposal. It is
especially notable that Andranik Margaryan reminded about the
corresponding article of the constitution referring to government
offices only. “Under the Constitution the right of members of
parliament and members of community councils for reelection is not
restricted, there is restriction on all the others,” Andranik Margaryan
considered it necessary to remind.