Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
================================================
Friday 23 September 2005
ARMENIA: NEW WAVE OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESS SENTENCES BEGINS
Shaliko Sarkissian became the first Jehovah’s Witness who abandoned
alternative service because it remains under defence ministry control to
be punished. On 15 September a court in the capital Yerevan imprisoned him
for two and a half years for “desertion”. The trial of another, Garik
Bekjanyan, is imminent, while a further dozen await trial. An OSCE
official expressed alarm to Forum 18 at the “growing number” of Jehovah’s
Witness prisoners. The Council of Europe and the OSCE have condemned
Armenia’s failure to introduce a genuine civilian alternative to military
service. But Sedrak Sedrakyan of the Defence Ministry’s legal department
rejects all complaints, insisting that his ministry has “no control” over
the alternative service. He dismisses all concerns about the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. “We believe all this has been organised to make a show,” he
told Forum 18.
ARMENIA: NEW WAVE OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESS SENTENCES BEGINS
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
All 22 Jehovah’s Witnesses who abandoned their alternative military
service because it remains under defence ministry control and does not
provide a genuine civilian alternative to military service now face severe
punishment. First to be punished was Shaliko Sarkissian, sentenced to two
and a half years’ imprisonment on 15 September by a court in the capital
Yerevan, Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18 News Service on 20
September. Most of the others have already been arrested and are awaiting
trial. But Lieutenant Colonel Sedrak Sedrakyan, head of the Defence
Ministry’s legal department, dismissed concern about their fate. “We
believe all this has been organised to make a show,” he told Forum 18 from
Yerevan on 21 September. “We did all we could to allow them to serve their
alternative service quietly.” He denied categorically that the alternative
service is under military control, an assertion rejected by the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Yerevan office of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Sarkissian was one of two Jehovah’s Witnesses doing his alternative
service at Nork infectious diseases hospital and one of thirteen Jehovah’s
Witnesses to abandon their alternative service in August. He was found
guilty by Yerevan’s Nork-Marash District Court of violating Article 365(1)
of the Criminal Code, which punishes “desertion”.
“Shaliko Sarkissian was one of our people who had accepted alternative
service but left when he realised that alternative service came under the
control of the military,” Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18. “These
conscientious objectors are prepared to perform genuine alternative
civilian service.”
An official of the OSCE in Yerevan expressed alarm at the “growing number”
of Jehovah’s Witness prisoners. “This is a worrying trend as their
imprisonment violates Armenia’s Council of Europe commitment,” the
official, who preferred not to be named, told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 20
September. “This certainly will not help Armenia’s international
reputation.”
On joining the Council of Europe in 2001, Armenia committed itself to
adopting a genuine civilian alternative to military service for those not
able to serve on grounds of conscience, but failed to meet this
commitment. “The recent steps taken by the Armenian government certainly
are alarming and show blatant disregard for their adopted obligations
before the Council of Europe,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses complain.
The alternative service law – which came into force on 1 July 2004, and
was amended by parliament on 22 November 2004 and again on 24 December
2004 – provides for “alternative military service” of 36 months and
“alternative labour service” of 42 months, both under the ultimate
oversight of the defence ministry, thus failing to meet its commitments.
The OSCE official expressed concern about the law. “We think the
alternative service law was not drafted and implemented in good faith. The
OSCE was involved in the drafting process but the Armenian authorities
disregarded our views.” The official said the law must ensure a genuine
civilian alternative to military service and must not be punitive in
length.
The Council of Europe agrees. “We believe there should be a clear civilian
alternative to military service in Armenia,” Krzysztof Zyman of its
directorate general for human rights told Forum 18 from Strasbourg on 20
September. He regretted that repeated requests to the Armenian government
and its representation at the Council of Europe for copies of the latest
amendments to the alternative service law have been ignored. “We are
urging the Armenian authorities to cooperate with the Council of Europe so
that the alternative service law meets European standards,” Zyman added.
Article 6 of the law states that issues related to alternative service are
dealt with by the military. Article 13 mentions that workers are assigned
by the Military Conscription Committee. Article 14 says that the
alternative service call-up is organised and supervised by the military.
Those doing alternative service are required to wear uniforms, are clothed
and fed by the armed forces, have identity cards reading “Armed Forces of
the Republic of Armenia”, are under military supervision and control and
subject to military punishment if they fail to meet their obligations.
However, Sedrakian of the defence ministry denies this. “Those doing
alternative service are under the control of the Social Care Ministry and
the Health Ministry,” he claimed to Forum 18. “The Defence Ministry has no
control over them and has nothing to do with them. Passports are routinely
taken off conscripts when they are called up and the same goes for those
doing alternative service. But their identity cards make no reference to
the armed forces. That is impossible.” He denied that those doing
alternative service are fed or clothed by the army, insisting that the
defence ministry receives no financial allocation for these purposes.
Sedrakian insisted that army officers have no right to give orders or
instructions of any sort to those doing alternative service. “In the first
few days as the system was being established there were contacts with the
Defence Ministry, but no control,” he maintained. “We simply checked where
they were housed to make sure everything was OK.”
He claimed that for the autumn call-up due shortly, each applicant for
alternative service will be considered by a commission. “Only one member
of this commission will be from the Ministry of Defence – the rest will be
officials of the government administration.”
The first Jehovah’s Witnesses to abandon the alternative service quit in
May (see F18News 17 May 2005
<;). Of the other Jehovah's Witnesses who abandoned their alternative service in August, on 17 August the Republic Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the Centre-Marash District Court to release Garik Bekjanyan and ruled to arrest him. He faces charges under Article 361(1) of the Criminal Code and his trial is expected imminently. On 17 August the Gegarkunik Region Prosecutor's Office charged Vagarshak Margaryan, Baris Melkumyan, Gagik Davtyan and Artur Chilingarov under Article 361(5). They were arrested the same day. On 22 August, the Gegarkunik regional prosecutor's office instituted criminal cases against seven more, Tigran Abrahamyan, Garazat Azatyan, Vahe Grigoryan, Hayk Khachatryan, Gegarin Melkonyan, Henrik Safaryan, and Karlen Simonyan. All were charged under Article 361(4). Other regional prosecutor's offices have summoned other Jehovah's Witnesses who had refused to continue the alternative civilian service to which they were assigned. Meanwhile, other Jehovah's Witnesses called up since the extent of military control over the alternative service became clear continue to be sentenced. In the town of Talin in western Armenia, Hakop Muradyan was sentenced on 15 September to one and a half years' imprisonment under Article 327 of the Criminal Code, which punishes refusal to perform military service. Muradyan, who was arrested on 2 August, does not intend to appeal against the sentence. Other such sentences earlier this year include two years' imprisonment handed down to Yenok Ivanyan on 1 July and a prison term of one and a half years handed down to Hrachya Sarkissian on 16 August. Both were sentenced under Article 327. A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at <;Rootmap=armeni>
(END)
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TURKISH COURT BLOCKS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONFERENCE
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 22, 2005, Thursday
16:59:05 Central European Time
Ankara
A Turkish court has banned an academic conference on the massacres
of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks, planned for this week, CNN
Turk reported Thursday
The Istanbul 4th Administrative Court ordered the ban on Monday
after a group from the Lawyers Union Foundation applied to have the
conference cancelled. Bogazici University, where the conference was
due to start on Friday, received news of the order on Thursday.
The circumstances surrounding the 1915 massacres of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians continue to arouse controversy in Turkey today,
with the official line being that while many died the incidents cannot
be regarded as a genocide.
More than a dozen European countries have passed resolutions
specifically stating that the events of 1915 did constitute a genocide
and that Turkey should accept this and make appropriate apologies.
The conference was to include a number of Turkish historians who
are critical of the official stance. It was originally to have taken
place on May 25 but organizers decided to postpone it after Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek described the gathering as a “stab in the back”.
Cicek’s comments came despite assurances from Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey has completely opened its archives and is
prepared to allow historians discuss the issue.
Erdogan said Thursday he regretted the court’s decision saying it
did not comply with democratic rights.
The court decision comes two weeks after prosecutors filed charges
against Turkey’s internationally famous author Orhan Pamuk for
“denigrating the country” when he told a Swiss news magazine that
“a million Armenians were killed”. Pamuk faces up to three years
imprisonment if found guilty.
The latest court decision is sure to embarass the government as it
attempts to convince European countries to give the go ahead for E.U.
membership talks to begin on October 3. dpa cw sr

IranMania, Iran
Sept 21 2005
Andimeshk’s Armenian Church in limbo
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 – ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, September 21 (IranMania) – Despite the lapse of one year
since an Armenian church in Andimeshk, Khuzestan province, was handed
over to the Cultural Heritage Department for being transformed into a
museum, no construction work has yet taken place at the site,
according to Iran Daily.
The Persian daily ?Iran? reported that Iran?s Cultural Heritage and
Tourism Organization (ICHTO) had earlier announced plans to turn the
Armenian Church into a museum and correspondence was exchanged with
the Southern Armenian Archdiocese which had accepted the plan.
Deputy head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in
Khuzestan, Shojaei said that the Armenian Archdiocese has urged the
ICHTO to repair the church, but, this was not possible due to a
shortage of funds.
He said that the cooperation of Armenian Archdiocese to cede the
church for use as a public museum is praiseworthy adding that it
would be useful for Khuzestan province.
The official pointed out that Khuzestan is ancient and every city in
the province deserves to have its own museum.
Khuzestan province is an archeology paradise, he said citing ancient
cities of Shoush, Abadan, Haft Tapeh and Behbahan which are renowned
for several hundred monuments and cultural sites.
He said that ICHTO has also drawn up plans to build museums in
Shoushtar, Dezful, Masjed Soleiman, Izeh and Abadan which will
materialize in the near future.
He said that a sum of seven bln rials has been earmarked for building
museums in different cities of Khuzestan province.

TEHRAN’S AMBASSADOR TO IRELAND ARRESTED IN IRAN
Reuters
09/21/05 11:53 ET
TEHRAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Tehran’s ambassador to Ireland has been
arrested in Iran on charges of financial mismanagement, Iranian
judicial and foreign ministry sources said on Wednesday.
Judiciary Minister Jamal Karimirad told reporters on Monday an Iranian
envoy had been arrested and was in jail after failing to meet bail.
Foreign Ministry sources on Wednesday named the man as Hamid Reza
Nikkar, ambassador to Ireland. There was no indication of how Nikkar
pleaded.
“One of our ambassadors has been arrested for financial mismanagement,”
Karimirad said on Monday. “Ten percent of a 16-million euro ($19.5
million) deal has been mismanaged,” he added.
It was unclear whether the charge, which one source said involved a
construction project, related to a crime committed in Iran or abroad.
Nikkar took up his posting in Dublin in June and foreign ministry
sources said the charges were likely to relate to an alleged offence
before his arrival in Ireland.
Press reports at the time of Nikkar’s appointment said he had served
as ambassador to Armenia and mayor of the central city of Isfahan
before taking up his Dublin post.
The Irish ambassador in Tehran declined to comment on the case.
(Additional reporting by Paul Hoskins in Dublin)

SUCCESS IS FOUND IN NORMA’S SIMPLICITY
By Alan Conter
The Globe and Mail, Canada
Sept 20 2005
Vincenzo Bellini: Norma
L’Opera de Montreal
Bernard Labadie, conductor
At Place des Arts in Montreal
L’Opera de Montreal set the bar awfully high in launching its
26th season with Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. While Bellini’s 1831
masterpiece sits pretty solidly in the pantheon of great opera, only
a few productions really live up to the extraordinary demands of the
work. The company last staged it 23 years ago.
The challenge of Norma is not that it’s especially intricate; in fact,
it’s the reverse. Bellini took a bold step in composing a score where
the singers are left very much on their own, supported by a small
orchestra that plays beautiful yet relatively simple melodies.
Norma succeeds or fails on the range and colour of the voices.
Bellini asks a lot of his singers as musicians and actors. Felice
Romani’s libretto is intensely tragic where love, passion, duty and
deception are interwoven.
On Saturday night, l’Opera de Montreal pulled it off. Anyone who’s
ever seen a production of Norma in a post-Maria Callas world knows
that the audience is on pins and needles until the Druid High
Priestess finishes Casta Diva early in Act One. Will she bring the
right simmering intensity and have the power to climb the heights of
this aria with ease? If she can do it, you know the evening will be
all right. If she can’t, well, that’s a tragedy of another order.
As the final chords of Norma’s invocation dissipated in Salle Wilfred
Pelletier at Montreal’s Place des Arts, the audience roared its
approval of Hasmik Papian as Norma.
Papian, an Armenian soprano, is not new to the role. In fact, she has
spent a good part of the last 10 years making it her own throughout
Europe and now, increasingly, on this side of the Atlantic.
Her interpretation of the powerful and tormented spiritual leader
of the oppressed Gauls is full on. She has bold and richly textured
voice, and can act. Act Two can unravel into a series of ill-considered
melodramas with a less capable lead. Norma’s internal struggle over
whether to spare her children infamy and enslavement by murdering
them or sparing their lives and committing them to an uncertain fate
was entirely believable.
American mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich was a fine Adalgisa, the younger
priestess who is seduced by the Roman pro-consul Pollione then
discovers he is the father of Norma’s children. She and Papian sang
wonderfully together.
Another American, Antonio Nagore, was Pollione, the Roman with
severe commitment problems. He is clearly a talented actor with a
solid and broad vocal range. However, on Saturday night, he seemed
to be suffering a bit; a slight hoarseness crept insidiously into
his singing from time to time.
The Polish bass Daniel Borowoski was an imposing Oroveso, the high
priest who ultimately must sacrifice his daughter and her foreign
lover.
Two up-and-coming Canadian singers rounded out the cast. They’re both
members of the company’s Atelier lyrique. Thomas Macleay, who has been
building a career singing early and contemporary music in Europe,
the United States and at home, is now showing up more frequently on
the opera stage. His Flavio, a friend to Pollione, was clean and crisp.
Beverly McArthur’s Clothilde, servant to Norma, fit well with the
remarkable singing of the star sopranos.
As you may have read in yesterday’s Globe and Mail, l’Opera de Montreal
cancelled an upcoming production, Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex,
because the company is experiencing a financial shortfall. It would
be have been a largely homegrown production.
Norma, on the other hand, is largely an import.
The beautiful costumes and sets were by John Conklin for the
Metropolitan Opera in New York. American Steve Pickover worked with
British director John Copley on the stage direction, also for the
Met. Montrealer Luc Prairie lit all of it stunningly. The music
direction was the work of Bernard Labadie.
The orchestra and chorus were also local — the Orchestre metropolitain
will be in the pit for the entire season, given the labour dispute
at l’Orchestre symphonique de Montreal.
Certainly the audience on Saturday night loved the show, and the next
opera, Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’Etoile, will be largely homegrown.

ARMENIAN AND AZERI FMs ADDRESS US GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION
Armenpress
Sept 19, 2005
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
minister Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mamedyarov addressed the 60-th
session of the UN General Assembly on September 18. Armenian minister
first cited a UNDP Human Development report which ranked Armenia at 83,
far ahead of its neighbors. Oskanian said Armenia made the progress
in the face of its disadvantaged geographic location with no crude
oil reserves and no outlet to sea.
“If we had oil money we would spend it on education, social
security and nature protection,” he said, implicating Azerbaijan’s
declared plans to double its military spending next year up to
$600 million. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Oskanian said
Armenians there have achieved a de facto independence proving to all
that they are able to defend their independence, govern themselves,
create democratic institutions and conduct fair and transparent
elections.
According to RFE/RL, Azerbaijani foreign minister dwelt on Baku’s
official position on how the conflict should be settled, saying Armenia
must first of all pull out its troops from all controlled regions of
Azerbaijan in order to get rid of ‘aggressor’s label’ and contribute
to building of atmosphere of confidence. He then said refugees must
be allowed back to where they had lived before the conflict erupted
and that a police force, composed of Armenians and Azeris, must be
formed in Nagorno-Karabakh to ensure security. He also said Karabakh
Armenians and Azeris in Nakhichevan must be allowed free communication
with their fellows in both countries.
“In this sense the Lachin corridor must be turned into a road of
peace and used in both directions and should be controlled at the
initial stage by international peace keepers,” he said.

THE FIRST SESSION STARTED

Azat Artsakh Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
16 Sept 05
On September 14 the first meeting in the autumn session of the NKR
National Assembly took place. The meeting was conducted by Speaker
Ashot Ghulian. The parliament decided to place the members of
parliament Garik Grigorian, Ararat Danielian and Romela Dadayan in
charge of the counting commission. During the discussion of the agenda
the parliamentary faction Hayrenik proposed to discuss the election of
chairman of the Audit Chamber of the National Assembly. The speaker
said the question had not been on the agenda because it was not ready
for discussion yet and would probably be presented at the next
meeting. Meeting the request of the faction, the speaker announced
five minutes break. After the break the members of the faction
continued to insist on their point. The proposal was put to vote but
did not receive a sufficient number of votes. The members of
parliament confirmed the agenda of the meeting and the legislative
programme of the session. Then the chairman of the Central Election
Committee Sergey Nasibian presented the message of the NKR Central
Election Committee on the June 19, 2005 election to the National
Assembly of NKR. The minister of economy and finance Spartak Tevossian
presented the annual report on NKR State Budget 2004 and the message
on the budget performance in the first half of 2005, as well as the
annual report on implementation of the 2004-2006 programme of
privatization, which were confirmed by the National Assembly. The
National Assembly also approved the amendments to the NKR law on
lump-sum tax which were enacted. The National Assembly discussed the
package of tax documents including the amendments to the NKR law on
the use of cash machines, the amendments to the law on taxes, the NKR
law on profit tax and the NKR law on lump-sum tax. The vice chief of
the NKR State Tax Agency under the NKR government Levon Voskanian
presented messages and comments on the bills. Taking into
consideration the approval of the standing committee on finance,
budget and economic management, the parliament adopted the amendments
to the law on taxes and enacted the other bills. The vice minister of
social security Emma Gabrielian gave explanations on the amendments to
the NKR law on social security of children devoid of parental
care. The chairman of the standing committee on social security Arpat
Avanessian said the committee approved the amendments. The amendments
were adopted. By the proposal of the government the bills of
amendments to the law on lump-sum tax on petrol and diesel fuel, the
law on lump-sum tax and the law on tax on trade were withdrawn from
the agenda. The National Assembly adopted the bills on consular
service, diplomatic service and international agreements presented by
the foreign minister of NKR Arman Melikian. The last bill discussed by
the parliament on September 14 referred to the legislative regulation
of archiving. The head of the department of archiving under the NKR
government Albert Ghazarian presented the message on the bill. The
standing committee of production and industrial infrastructures
approved the bill and the law was adopted. At the request of the
Ministry of Justice the National Assembly passed the interpretation of
the NKR law on internees, presented by the chairman of the standing
committee on state and legal matters Youri Hayrapetian. Article 1,
section 2 of the law maintains that a person is detained if their
arrest on criminal charges is a means of deterrence. In accordance
with the bylaws of the National Assembly the members of government
answered the questions of the members of parliament. The questions
referred to different spheres of social and economic life of the
country. In the end Vice Speaker Rudik Hyusnunts presented a
statement asserting that election corresponding to the international
standards was held, which brings us closer to democracy. He pointed
out that it is a serious political capital necessary for effective
legislative work for everyone independent of the political camp one
belongs to.
NKR NA.
16-09-2005

Pan Armenian News
EVENTS MARKING UN 60TH ANNIVERSARY START IN YEREVAN
17.09.2005 04:44
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Events marking the UN 60th anniversary start in Armenia
Saturday. As reported by UN Resident Representative and UNDP Coordinator in
Armenia, Ambassador Consuelo Vidal, the festivities to continue till October
24 include a gala concert in the Republic Square in Yerevan with
participation of pop stars, a chess tournament among children of age of
10-12 years for UN Cup with participation of international grand master
Smbat Lputyan, exhibition of works of young photographers and a classic
music concert. Holding of a composition contest among schoolchildren on the
topic of the UN Role in My Life and the World is also planned. Vidal also
reported that a clip of We Are Our History new song was shot with
participation of Armenian pop stars to mark the UN 60th anniversary.

Armenpress
74 FOREIGNERS ASK FOR ASYLUM IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS: In the first eight months of this year
34 foreigners were granted permission for temporary asylum in Armenia, one
was granted refugee status, the rest of cases are being considered by a
government-affiliated department for refugees and migrants.
The department said 74 foreigners applied to it in this period asking for
asylum. Fifty-nine of them were Iraqi citizens asking for temporary asylum.
The majority of them were ethnic Armenians, who say they fled their country
because of threats against Christians. People asking for temporary asylum
are given first a three-month period and if they do not leave Armenia after
this period expires they may be given a 12-month asylum period, which is
subject to prolongation.
Last year 199 foreigners asked for asylum in Armenia, 168 were from Iraq.

NOVRUZ MAMEDOV: IF YEREVAN LEAVES THE NEGOTIATIONS, BAKU WILL FIND A
POSSIBILITY TO TALK TO THE ARMENIANS OF NAGORNY KARABAKH
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Arminfo 16 Sept.05
“If Yerevan leaves the negotiations, Baku will find a possibility to
talk to the Armenians of Nagorny Karabakh.” Head of the Foreign
Relations Department, Azerbaijani Presidential Executive Staff, Novruz
Mamedov told Trend, commenting on the statement by Armenian Foreign
Ministry Press Secretary Hamlet Gasparyan on Armenia’s unshakable
position on the Azerbaijani initiative to the UN “On the situation in
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.”
Press Secretary Gasparyan is reported to state earlier that Armenia
will leave the negotiations for Karabakh conflict’s resolution and
Baku will have to negotiate with Stepanakert if Azerbaijan raises any
issue at the UN.
Mamedov thinks the above statement nothing but a diplomatic maneuver
showing the “deep concern of Armenia.” It means that the position of
Azerbaijan has considerably strengthened and that it is supported by
international organizations and separate states, Mamedov says. At the
same time, he thinks “it is not easy to deviate from the negotiations.
The lands are occupied and negotiations are in process. Armenia is in
a deadlock. If Armenia really intends to leave aside of the
negotiations, and if Yerevan officially states that it deviates from
the Karabakh issue, we shall find a possibility to deal with the
Armenians of Nagorny Karabakh,” Mamedov says.
To note, Azerbaijan made a relevant initiative to the UN at the
previous session of UN General Assembly. Then, the issue was postponed
by an agreement under which an OSCE fact-finding group visited the
territories under control of NKR.