Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

QARABAQ LIBERATION ORGANIZATION PLANS MASS ACTIONS
2005-05-04 18:38

Azerbaijan News Service
May 4 2005

Qarabaq Liberation Organization plans to hold mass actions in
Azerbaijan and abroad on May 7 and 8 on the occasion of anniversary
of occupation of Shusha, said Akif Nagi, head of Qarabaq Liberation
Organization. Our organization is intended to hold mass actions in
Azerbaijan and abroad on May 7 and 8. We are waiting for response
of Executive Power of Baku City to their appeal to hold rally-picket
beginning from Martyrs’ Avenue informed Akif Nagi.

Turkish Press
May 5 2005

Press Scan
ZAMAN

TURKISH SOLDIERS PROTECTED US AGAINST ATTACKS DURING RELOCATION

ZAMAN – Armenians, who had migrated from Anatolia to Lebanon as
a result of painful incidents on the Ottoman territories in 1915,
set up a new life for themselves.

Leaving the past to the historians, Armenians living in Beirut do
not have enmity against Turkey on the contrary to Armenian Diaspora.

Yeghisapet Kesabyan, an old woman at the age of 105, living in Bekaa
Valley, was heard singing a Turkish song.

She was the latest witness of the relocation. She was 15 years
old when they were coming from Hatay to Lebanon via Syria in 1915.
Kesabyan said, “we had to walk for days. The Turkish soldiers were
with us to protect us from the attacks.”

Turkey to launch new attempt against Armenian allegations

Thursday, May 5, 2005
DIPLOMACY

ANKARA – TDN Parliament Bureau

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday described the Armenian
allegations of genocide as one of the most important foreign policy
matters for Turkey while briefing members of Parliament on Turkey’s
foreign policy agenda.

“We will start an important initiative together with the
administration, opposition, Parliament and nongovernmental
organizations,” Gul said before starkly highlighting what Turkey faces:
“An international community that has accepted the so-called Armenian
genocide.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry is continuing to study a proposal
made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Yerevan to have an
objective joint research committee study the tragic events that took
place in Anatolia during World War I. Diplomatic sources said Ankara
is not distancing itself from the idea of having Turkish and Armenian
officials besides academics take part in such a committee.

–Boundary_(ID_nZNwUL68JBSrPPL3+SzJGw)–

URUGUAY TO PROPOSE UN TO ANNOUNCE APRIL 24 WORLD DAY OF GENOCIDE CONDEMNATION

Pan Armenian News
04.05.2005 04:41

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Uruguayan parliament unanimously passed a
decision according to which the Foreign Ministry should submit to
the UN consideration the proposal to announce April 24 the World Day
of Genocide Condemnation, RFE/RL reported. It should be noted that
Lian Kechidzhian, an Armenian in origin and a deputy of the Uruguayan
parliament contributed to the decision.

LUKASHENKO: ARMENIANS CAN ALWAYS FIND SUPPORT IN BELARUS

Pan Armenian News
03.05.2005 07:14

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is the republic with which one “can build
good relations,” Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated
in Minsk Tuesday in the course of the meeting with Armenian Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian, who had arrived in Belarus on a formal
call. In Lukashenko’s words, the Belarus people attitude to the
Armenian people is warm. “Maybe Armenians as no other people of the
former Soviet Union remained faithful to the friendship we had had,”
the Belarus leader considers. He noted that in the years of the Great
Patriotic War many Armenians fought in the territory of Belarus,
including military leaders, thousands were killed. “You can always
find support in Belarus, come here at any time and consider this land
yours,” Mr. Lukashenko said. In his turn, A. Margarian positively
evaluated the dynamics of the commercial and economic cooperation
between the two countries and said he was sure that the bilateral
relations will keep strengthening, reported Rosbalt.

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian Academy of Los Angeles
Mail:
P.O. Box 812
Verdugo City, California 91046
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (818) 293-0010
Web site:

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian Academy of Los Angeles Inaugural Gala-Banquet

The Armenian Academy of Los Angeles held its Inaugural Gala-Banquet
on April 1, 2005, in support of the launch of an all-new
college-preparatory high school in Los Angeles. Over 350 guests
attended the event at the Deukmejian Hall of the Ararat Home Complex
in Mission Hills.

The cocktail hour, featuring an elaborate exhibition of paintings and
sculptures by Armenian artists was followed by dinner and the main
presentations. After opening remarks by Master of Ceremonies Dr.
Armand Dorian, he invited Mrs. Seta Simonian, chairperson of the
Board of Directors to deliver her address. Mrs. Simonian presented
the vision and need of a top-level high school for the Los Angeles
Armenian community. Stressing the need for academic excellence in an
atmosphere that nurtures the Armenian-American identity of its student
body, she said: “We want to create an institution that best prepared
its students to compete and achieve success in the world outside and
at the same time made its students fully conscious of, attracted to,
and defiantly proud of the world that they came from”.

Following a video presentation that depicted the premise and the
vision of the Academy, Dr. Noubar Afeyan delivered the keynote speech.
Dr. Afeyan, CEO of Flagship Ventures and lecturer at MIT, recounted
how academic achievement has been a beacon on which his successful
career has been built. He emphasized the importance of high level
academic achievement in today’s competitive global environment, and he
highlighted the need to fully appreciate the symbiotic relationship
between the Armenian homeland and the Armenian Diaspora and the
unique role that a highly educated generation would play in the
future development of the Armenian nation. Dr. Afeyan, concluded his
remarks with a philosophical reference to the challenges of such a
major undertaking by saying “those who discourage you in your dreams
are often people who have abandoned their own dreams”.

Three commissioned artistic works – musical, theatrical and dance
presentations – tastefully complemented the evenings program.

The evening and the project were blessed with prayers and words of
appreciation by representatives of Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
and Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.

The Board of Directors and the Planning and Development Committee are
currently embarking on an extensive fundraising campaign. Pledges
and donations to date total nearly $175,000. Those interested in
joining the project or contributing to it may visit its website at
or may call (818)-293-0010.

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL MESSAGE ON WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

A1plus
| 12:58:43 | 03-05-2005 | Politics |

Journalists work on the front-lines of history, unravelling the
tangle of events, giving them shape and giving us a narrative sense
of our lives. Their tools are words and images; their credo is free
expression; and their efforts empower all of us, individuals and
societies alike.

Yet for doing this indispensable work, many journalists are persecuted,
attacked, imprisoned and murdered. According to the Committee to
Protect Journalists, 56 journalists were killed in the line of duty
in 2004. Another 19 remain missing and are feared to be dead, and
some 124 were imprisoned.

On World Press Freedom Day, therefore, we pay tribute to those who have
fallen victim to the perils of their calling. We salute the courage
and dedication of journalists struggling against risk and outright
brutality to exercise their right to seek and tell the truth. And
we remind Governments especially that the right to “seek, receive
and impart information and ideas through any media” is enshrined in
article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Censorship,
the suppression of information, intimidation and interference are a
denial of democracy, an obstacle to development, and a threat to the
security of all.

World Press Freedom Day is also a day to reflect upon the role of
the media in general. In conjunction with this year’s observance,
the United Nations Department of Public Information is convening the
third seminar in its “Unlearning Intolerance” series (following
earlier sessions on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia), which will focus
on “hate media”. In Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire and other places, the
world has seen fanatical groups fill radio airwaves and television
screens with incendiary messages designed to incite. The seminar
will examine how the media can protect against fanning the flames of
racism and xenophobia, and instead promote tolerance and understanding.

My recent report, “In Larger Freedom”, sets out wide-ranging
proposals for reforming and revitalizing the multilateral system
and the United Nations itself, and calls for bold decisions by world
leaders at the Summit they will hold in New York in September. Press
freedom will continue to play a central role in enlarging freedom
for all. On this World Press Freedom Day, let us today reaffirm
our commitment to this essential human right, and to pursue — and
collectively fulfil — its realization.

Kerkorian refuses to give up fight

Billionaire appeals rejection of claim that he was
defrauded in DaimlerChrysler deal.

The Detroit News
Friday, April 29, 2005

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

Lawyers for billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and his company, Tracinda
Corp., appealed a federal judge’s ruling that he was not fooled into
supporting the 1998 merger of Chrysler Corp. and Daimler Benz AG that
created DaimlerChrysler AG.

Kerkorian, the former Chrysler Corp.’s biggest share holder, sued
DaimlerChrysler and Chairman Juergen Schrempp, saying he was led to
believe the combination of the German and American automakers would
be a “merger of equals,” but that it turned out to be a takeover.

Under a takeover, Chrysler shareholders would have been entitled to
a higher premium for their shares, Kerkorian contends.

Kerkorian’s appeal, filed with the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
in Philadelphia, disputes U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnan’s
determination that governance of the new company could change after
the merger was completed.

“If that’s going to be the law…the investment community should
know and the employees in Detroit should now and the whole world
should know that representations made publicly and in a proxy or in
meetings only have to last a moment in time,” Tracinda attorney Terry
Christensen said in an interview.

Kerkorian filed his suit in 2000 after Schrempp was quoted in the
Financial Times and Barron’s as saying he intended all along for the
deal to be a takeover.

In a 123-page ruling issued April 7, Judge Farnan rejected Kerkorian’s
claims that he was duped, saying he was a “sophisticated investor”
and that “Kerkorian supported the merger before he had any discussions
with anyone about corporate governance.”

The ruling came 14 months after the case went to trial in Wilmington,
Del.

While disputes over the facts of the case are not fodder for appeal,
Christensen said he’ll focus on Farnan’s “application of law.”

Michael Schell, an attorney for the New York firm representing
DaimlerChrysler, doubted the chances of success for Tracinda’s appeal.

“The U.S. District Court found no factual or legal basis for Tracinda’s
claims and an appeal will not change that,” Schell said in a written
statement. “Apart from devastating Tracinda’s case, we think the
opinion is virtually bullet-proof.”

In its filing Thursday, Tracinda’s attorneys further appealed Judge
Farnan’s November 2003 ruling that favored DaimlerChrysler in denying
Tracinda a jury trial.

You can reach Ed Garsten at (313)223-3217 or [email protected]

Turkish Press
April 28 2005

Press Scan

15,000 ARMENIANS VISITED TURKEY IN 2004

ZAMAN- The number of Armenian tourists is expected to increase in
2005. 15,000 Armenians visited Turkey last year. Turkish-Armenian
Business Development Committee official Nazmi Gul said that at first
Armenian tourists were uneasy about their safety but when they
started dialogue with Turks, their uneasiness was removed.

Turkish Press
April 29 2005

The Double Standard

BY SAMI KOHEN

MILLIYET- Hurriyet’s headline yesterday read: `The Paris Criteria.’
Below the headline was a detailed account of how the French police
attacked and beat a group of high school students two weeks ago. The
French press almost succeeded in covering up the beatings, but thanks
to Choc magazine, the scandal was made public. Strangely enough,
neither France nor the European Union has made any explanation of the
incident. However, when the Turkish police beat several demonstrators
in Istanbul back on March 6, the EU wasted no time criticizing
Turkey. The difference between how the EU reacted to the incident in
Istanbul and how it reacted to Paris shows clearly the double
standard applied to Turkey by the EU. It’s our right to criticize
such a scandal, but we should also work hard to prevent such things
from happening in our own country.

Turkey’s Secretary-General for EU Relations Murat Sungar yesterday
made interesting remarks at a conference on Turkish-EU relations
organized by Dogus University. Sungar said that Turkey’s membership
talks aren’t always centered on the Armenian and Cyprus issues, that
there are other things discussed in the negotiation process, such as
educational, financial, and environmental reforms.

If we don’t want to stray from our path to EU membership, we must
focus on how we can perform all these in addition to political
reforms.