Author: Tigranian Ani

ASHOT MELKONYAN: WE ARE ENTERING THE STAGE OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
23.04.2008 18:08

>From the scientific and political perspectives the Armenian Genocide
issue has not been formulated and the whole path of recognition,
especially today’s situation, has not been shown. Director of the
History Institute of RA National Academy of Sciences Ashot Melkonyan
told a press conference today that after having passed a long way
of recognition of the Genocide, we must decide which the next step
will be. It is necessary to evaluate the way passed. The historian
divided the period between 1915 and 2008 into several conditional
stages. According to him, the period between 1915 and 1923 is a period
of reaction: the fact of the Armenian Genocide was so real that it
found response in distant Uruguay and Argentina. Archive materials
from different countries were published in tens of languages.

According to the historian, the year 1923 marked the start of a long
period of disregard, which was a dreadful stage, when the wound was
fresh, and the world was indifferent. It lasted till 1965, after which
the Genocide issue was raised in Motherland and Diaspora. The third
stage falls between 1965 and 1995, which the historian characterized
as a period of recovery of memory and resumption. Argentine, Cyprus
and other countries recognized the Armenian Genocide.

In the last and most important period the Armenian Genocide issue
became a component of state policy. Ashot Melkonyancalled characterised
it as the period of the Genocide campaign, when more then ten countries
recognized the Genocide. "Unfortunately, the word Western Armenia
was removed from the resolutions, which is very important," Ashot
Melkonyan said. According to him, today we are entering a new stage –
from recognition of the Armenian Genocide to reimbursement. "We say
that Turkey has perpetrated Genocide, the world recognizes it and we
are satisfied. What do we want after this? We want that the guilt of
the criminal is recognized in the court: but is the criminal set free
after he accepts his guilt?" Ashot Melkonyan said.

All the attributes of geocide envisaged by the UN Resolution of
December 9, 1948 exist in the Armenian Genocide issue.

RAND CORPORATION: PROGRESS IN ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS POSSIBLE AFTER KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.04.2008 18:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ RAND Corporation issued a report titled "Turkey as
a U.S. Security Partner" prepared for the United States Air Force.

"Since the end of the Cold War, Turkey has strengthened its position in
the Caucasus – a region where it has long-standing interests. Relations
with Azerbaijan and Georgia have improved significantly.

However, Turkey’s relations with Armenia remain strained as a legacy
of the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915-1916," writes
Stephen Larrabee, the author of the report.

"Armenia’s continuing occupation of Nagorno Karabakh" poses another
obstacle to better Turkish-Armenian relations, according to him.

"In 1993, in response, Turkey closed its border with Armenia
and suspended efforts to establish diplomatic relations with
Yerevan. Turkey has made settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
a precondition for the normalization of relations with Armenia,"
the report says.

"Recently, under U.S. pressure, Ankara and Yerevan have quietly
begun to explore ways to improve relations. However, while some small
progress has been made in improving relations, any major breakthrough,
such as reopening the Turkish-Armenian border, is only likely after
a settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh dispute."

MINISTER’S MESSAGE TO PEACE KEEPERS

Panorama.am
18:41 21/04/2008

Today the minister of defense Seyran Ohanyan sent his message to
the Armenian peace keepers. The information is provided by the press
secretary of the ministry General Sejran Shahsuvaryan.

See the message below:

"The peace keepers of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.

Today you carry out your mission with honor and military spirit
common to Armenian soldiers in Kosovo and Iraq. The evidence of it
are the numerous letters of gratitude received from Polish, Greek and
American subdivisions’ responsables. Today the mission carried out by
you became common to other countries’ armed forces. There is no place
in the world where the mission of peace keepers could be unnecessary.

Hence you service is dictated by the time. I am sure that in the
future you’ll keep the positive and good spirit of Armenian armed
forces. I wish you health and success in your service."

ARMENIA AND NATO TO ASSESS THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF IPAP IN MAY

armradio.am
22.04.2008 15:27

The sitting of the North Atlantic Council will be held in Bucharest
in 26+1 format in the second half of May, during which an evaluation
will be given to the process of accomplishment of the Armenia-NATO
Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), Head of the International
Security and Arms Control Department of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Armen Yedigaryan said, speaking at the seminar on "The NATO summit
in Bucharest: New expansion, new challenges, new opportunities"
organized by the Armenian Atlantic Association.

The diplomat noted that the assessment given in February of the
current year as a result of the visit of the NATO Assessment Mission
to Yerevan was, on the whole, positive.

According to Armen Yedigaryan, NATO representatives had specially
noted the adoption of the National Security Strategy and the Military
Doctrine in Armenia, as well as the steps taken by the Armenian
Government in the direction of establishing a national centre of
crisis management.

ARMENIA DOES NOT HAVE TO IMPLEMENT ALL THE POINTS OF THE PACE RESOLUTION

KarabakhOpen
19-04-2008 16:41:10

The PACE resolution has already been adopted, and it is necessary
to think about further actions, said the speaker of the Armenian
parliament Tigran Torosyan in Stepanakert, commenting on the report
on the Armenian presidential election.

"I do not agree with everything in the document but I think that
Armenia which is a member of the Council of Europe will have to take
steps. It does not mean that we must observe every letter of the
resolution. We will be doing what really stems from the interests of
the Armenian people," said Tigran Torosyan. He did not specify which
points Armenia may not implement.

He said, however, that he thinks March 1 is a tragedy but does not
think that it was a deviation from the democratic development. "March
1 will teach us a lesson," said Tigran Torosyan.

TURKISH WRITERS FIND NO RELIEF IN FREE-SPEECH REFORM
By Emma Ross-Thomas

Reuters
April 18 2008

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Publisher Ragip Zarakolu reckons he may still
end up in jail for "insulting Turkishness", even after Turkey changes
a law notorious for limiting free speech.

After years of European Union criticism, Turkey is amending article
301 under which Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk and Armenian- urkish editor
Hrant Dink were tried for insulting Turkish identity. Dink was later
shot dead by a militant nationalist.

The proposed changes, however, are so minor that writers and publishers
in Turkey fear they will continue to face frequent trials. Meanwhile,
other laws which put just as much pressure on freedom of expression
remain untouched.

EU aspirant Turkey has a long tradition of limiting free speech,
especially on issues which continue to be seen in some quarters as a
threat to the modern republic. The rights of a large Kurdish minority,
the massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915, and Islamism are
all taboo; the military remains largely off-limits, despite moves to
curb its formal powers.

Under the draft changes it will be a crime to insult the Turkish
nation, rather than Turkishness, and the president’s permission will
be required to open a case. The maximum sentence will be cut to two
years from three.

But nationalist lawyers, a powerful force in the Turkish legal system
the AK Party government seeks to reform, will still be able to put
writers in court as they did Pamuk and Dink.

"Some lawyers and judges feel they have a mission to defend the
state and the state ideology rather than the rights of the citizens,"
Zarakolu, a veteran journalist and publisher, told Reuters in a cafe
near his home on the Asian shore of Istanbul. His case is on hold
until the amendment is passed.

Zarakolu is on trial for publishing a translation of a book about
the Armenian massacres, which Ankara denies amounted to genocide. He
thinks he is likely to get convicted, and as he already has a suspended
sentence for an earlier piece of journalism, he says he could end up
in jail.

Zarakolu has long angered the establishment with books about Turkey’s
taboos, and over the years has suffered jail and a bomb attack on
his office. The book he is on trial for now, a translation of George
Jerjian’s "The Truth Will Set Us Free", is a call for reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians and tells the story of how a Turk saved
the writer’s Armenian grandmother.

Dink, who was shot dead by a teenage nationalist outside his
Istanbul office in 2007, received a suspended sentence for "insulting
Turkishness" in his call for reconciliation.

Officials of the generally reformist ruling AK Party defend the
changes to article 301 saying other European countries have similar
restrictions. They acknowledge that changing the mentality of some
judges and lawyers is needed, though they repeatedly stress that many
writers have been acquitted.

"A lot of European countries have similar laws but, except for Poland,
they never use them. But here they use them all the time and they
will continue to use them," said Eugene Schoulgin, International
Secretary at activist group International PEN.

"I hope nobody will be cheated by this because it’s no major
difference," he said in comments echoed by Human Rights Watch.

The existing law has been criticized for its vague wording, which
yields broad powers to judges to define what might constitute an
insult to Turkishness. The new law will not necessarily address this
fundamental problem.

"TRIED NON-STOP"

The reform, debated in a parliamentary commission on Friday, is
meant to be part of a wider attempt to bring the EU candidate’s young
democracy in line with European standards.

The courts enjoy broad rights to intervene in what in western Europe
would be considered purely political matters. The governing AK Party
itself faces a court move to close it down on accusations of Islamist
ambitions and to ban Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President
Abdullah Gul from politics.

Brussels views this with concern and has also given the new freedom
of expression law a luke-warm response. On a recent trip to Turkey,
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it was a step
in the right direction.

Even if 301 were scrapped entirely, writers would still be banned from
expressing certain views. Insulting modern Turkey’s revered founder,
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, remains a crime.

Novelist and columnist Perihan Magden has lost count of the cases
against her, but has never been in court for 301. She was given two
official bodyguards after Dink was killed last year.

She was tried for "turning people against military service" in
an article defending conscientious objectors, and though she was
acquitted in 2006, will be back in court on the same charges in July.

"I have 10 cases going against me, at least 10, I don’t know how
many. It goes on and on," Magden told Reuters. "(My articles) are
not a call to arms or some terrorist act or something. It’s just some
democratic rights that I’m asking for and I’m being tried non-stop."

The justice minister said recently that in the last five years almost
1,500 cases based on 301 had been opened.

In the establishment, support for the article is strong and both main
opposition parties fiercely oppose changing it. Only the deputies of
a pro-Kurdish party — whose members frequently find themselves in
court for what they say — are calling for outright abolition.

Zarakolu, who chuckles through his bushy grey beard as he recounts
his run-ins with the law, hopes that what the reform may achieve is
to delay his case with bureaucratic hurdles.

"It’s either conviction or the dusty shelves," he says.

ARMENIA: CHILDREN WERE BROUGHT TO LEBANON, TAUGHT SKILLS BY K NZLER
by Bailey Davis, [email protected]

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
April 18, 2008 Friday
Cheyenne

CHEYENNE ââ~B¬" The words of a Swiss missionary, written in 1901,
leave a legacy that continues to guide a family.

ââ~B¬Å"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do
to you,ââ~B¬ wrote Jakob KÃ~C¼nzler in his diary over a century
ago in Turkey.

KÃ~C¼nzler dedicated his life to transporting some 8,000 orphans
out of Turkey and into Lebanon during genocide by the Turks in the
early 1900s.

Today, his family ââ~B¬" his children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren and even great- great-grandchildren ââ~B¬"
remember stories about the man.

Many family members will begin a week-long journey to Armenia today to
honor KÃ~C¼nzlerââ~B&#xA C;â~D¢s work. The family is dispersed throughout
the world, but members will meet in the country where their relative
dedicated his life to bringing whatever peace he could.

A Cheyenne psychologist, Dr. Pru Marshall, will be among them. She
is the granddaughter of Papa KÃ~C¼nzler, as he was nick-named in
the early 1900s.

She is going to bear witness, she said, and to pay tribute to her
grandfather for his work and the peril he faced.

Knzler’s book, "In the Land of Blood and Tears," is his eyewitness
account of the events that took place at that time.

"I was just really shocked at how horrific it really was," Marshall
said after reading the book.

She described scenes of people’s throats being cut as if they were
being sacrificed and of women being marched, naked, through a desert
until they died.

It wasn’t safe for anyone in Turkey, she said, and that’s why her
grandfather did what he could to get orphans out of the country.

Knzler, an orphan himself, brought the children to Lebanon and taught
them marketable skills like rug-making so they could survive.

Knzler also came to the United States to lobby for his cause, and
the U.S. government supported him, Marshall said.

One of the rugs that the orphans made, which was presented to Calvin
Coolidge, hangs in the White House.

This will be her first trip to Armenia, though she did visit Lebanon
when she was a child. She said she always knew the story of her
grandfather’s work but didn’t really know what it meant until she
became an adult.

The family also will honor Knzler’s wife, Elizabeth, who Knzler said
was essential to his work, Marshall said.

A photograph of the place where a plaque for Knzler will be placed
shows a round monument with a perpetual flame at the center surrounded
by thousands of brightly colored flowers.

Marshall will speak at the dedication on behalf of her family and
her mother, who is the only living daughter of Knzler.

Her mother is 92 and is unable to make the trip.

Marshall has written her speech, which includes a piece written by
her mother:

"Allow me to pass on to you the legacy my Mama Elizabeth and my Papa
Jakob left me: Care for each other, as the Golden Rule so clearly
specifies, for I have abandoned the God of War."

That legacy – caring for one another – has permeated the family tree.

Marshall said her family is full of doctors, social workers and
human-rights activists, all professions that have to do with
alleviating the suffering of others.

"I’ve dedicated my life to being sensitive to other people’s suffering
and to alleviating it," she said.

But she is awestruck by the courage and dedication of her grandfather.

So is Marshall’s 18-year-old nephew, Jesse, who will also be traveling
to Armenia for the dedication.

He said he isn’t sure how he feels about being honored by the Armenians
for being a relative of Knzler.

After all, "it’s no thanks to me," Jesse said.

Not many people have this kind of legacy, he said, and his
grandfather’s influence has affected his whole family.

Knzler continues in his diary: "Whoever it may be, everyone wants to
receive love from someone and because of this we should give love to
everyone, whether friend or foe, whether Chinese, Negro, Indian or
a white, may they be Christians, heathens, Jews or Moslems."

–Boundary_(ID_7jLB9o1bg35d+pximd4 16Q)–

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

Public Statement

World Council of Churches and Middle East Council of Churches
Public Hearing
"The Changing Ecclesial Context: Impact of Migration on Living Together"

Armenian Catholicossate of the Holy See of Cilicia – Antelias
Beirut, Lebanon: 14 – 16 April 2008-04-15

Migration is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is
an inevitable consequence of globalisation. We can neither turn our backs on
it, nor control it. It will have decisive consequences for the world as we
know it and a massive impact on the church and the ecumenical movement both
at the local, regional and global levels. We need not, however, react with
hysteria and fear. Migration is as much a part of who we are as it is a part
of the history that has shaped us.

However, if states continue to speak only of ‘migration’ and not ‘migrants’,
then migrants will continue to be exploited as nothing more than cheap
labour for factories or slave labour for construction sites. If populist
politicians and media outlets continue to brand migrants and refugees as
‘illegals’, ‘aliens’, ‘queue jumpers’ and ‘bogus’ asylum seekers, then
migrants will continue to suffer from the racist, discriminatory and
xenophobic undercurrents in every society. If we as churches only see
migrants as victims, then we undermine their strengths and their resilience.
If source countries only consider emigration as a loss – a brain drain –
then migrants will be discouraged from returning and the potential ‘brain
gain’ will be lost.

Lebanese representatives stressed the fact that the migration of Lebanon’s
youth affects all Lebanese people and that to address the phenomena of
Lebanon’s loss of educated youth, all facets of Lebanese society must come
together to share their perspectives and articulate a vision for the future
of Lebanon.

A reoccurring theme throughout the Hearing, and one that was keenly felt,
was the impact of migration on the Christian presence in the Middle East.

Much of the public debate about migration is couched in terminology which is
loaded and derogatory. People trying to enter another country are vilified
as "illegal immigrants", "gate-crashers", "queue-jumpers", and even as
"invaders" seeking to breach the defences of a country with malicious
intent. The clear implication is that they are "abusing the system" and
"exploiting our generosity" and ought to be punished and deterred, with
strong-armed politicians leading the public charge. But they also create the
impression that migrants have no right to enter, and indeed, no rights at
all, justifying harsh detention centres, deportations and the like. Adding
to this, the September 11 attacks in the USA not only encouraged the
demonising of migrants by labelling them as security threats, but also made
it less likely that people will stick their neck out to defend migrants. Yet
this demonisation and scaremongering only perpetuates a vicious cycle,
driving migrants back into their communities for protection, and making it
harder for them to integrate.

Given their precarious legal position in the host country, irregular migrant
workers easily fall prey to extortion and are highly vulnerable to abuse and
exploitation by unscrupulous employers, migration agents and labour brokers,
corrupt bureaucrats and even criminal gangs. Those committing such abuses –
including human traffickers, sweat shop and brothel owners – know that they
will rarely be held to account as irregular migrants fear drawing official
attention to themselves, as they may risk arrest or deportation, and are
thus reluctant to turn to the authorities to enforce respect for their
rights. Indeed, it is the very fact that irregular migrants are vulnerable
and that perpetrators are unlikely to be held accountable that allows, and
even encourages, the crime and corruption states wish to combat. The same
crimes that are so commonly blamed on the presence of ‘foreigners’.

While we continue to only see the impact of migration in narrow terms, we
will fail to come to grips with the economic potential of migrants; the role
remittances play in supporting families, stabilising countries during
emergencies, and providing the vital capital needed for developing
economies.

Beyond hospitality, however, the churches must be a strong advocate and
defender of the rights of people to move freely within their own nations and
when driven by poverty, insecurity and persecution, to leave their homes in
search of their God given right to life with dignity.

The church has a responsibility to ensure that public opinion is properly
informed on the root causes of migration and the factors that force people
to leave their homes. We must confront racism, discrimination and xenophobia
wherever and whenever it manifests itself; in churches, in our communities
and our nations.

Migrants are not commodities, illegal aliens or mere victims. They are human
beings. Migrant rights are human rights. We must respect the human dignity
of every migrant and give holistic consideration to their needs, their
strengths and the economic, social and cultural contributions they make to
society. Above all, we must stand in solidarity with migrants and migrant
churches, accompany them and include them in the decision-making that
effects and governs their lives.

Throughout this Hearing, participants were challenged by the complexities
and sheer scale of migration, but they were heartened by the good will and
common goals shared by Christian and Muslim leaders, and Lebanon’s Islamic
and Christian communities. We call upon the churches to not only recognise
the need to collaborate with other faiths, but were challenged to deepen and
strengthen inter-faith dialogue and cooperation on migration.

The Public Hearing, which was hosted by the Middle East Council of Churches,
brought together the World Council of Churches, Churches Commission for
Migrants in Europe, the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Christian
Conference of Asia, the National Council of Churches in Australia, the
Initiative for Justice and Peace, CAIROS, Canada, and representatives from
Church World Service, Church of Sweden, Christian World Service Australia.
Open to the public it drew participation from young Christians in the Middle
East, researchers, professors from the Middle Eastern University,
politicians and diplomats, civil society and community organisations.

The Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape in
Beirut, Lebanon, was the first of eight hearings on the Migration, which
will take place over the next few years in different regions of the world.
It was followed by a two-day meeting of the Global Ecumenical Network on
Migration, which brings together regional ecumenical organisations, churches
and Christian humanitarian organisations working on migration issues around
the globe.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos245.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

REP. SMITH PRESSES STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ON AZERBAIJANI THREATS TO ATTACK NAGORNO KARABAKH

armradio.am
18.04.2008 10:52

A senior State Department official came under intense questioning
over the Administration’s unwillingness to confront Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev’s escalating threats to launch his nation’s
growing military arsenal against Nagorno Karabakh "at any time,"
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Representative Chris Smith’s questioning took place during a hearing
called by the Congressional Commission for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) to examine the impact of the
recent Armenian elections on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the
overall state of U.S.-Armenia relations. A leading Congressional
voice on foreign policy and an energetic defender of human rights,
the New Jersey legislator pressed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Matt Bryza to explain the State Department’s response to threats of
renewed Azerbaijani aggression, which he quoted from at length for the
benefit of his colleagues, the panel of witnesses, and a standing-room
only audience gathered for the hearing. Noting that Azerbaijani "war
drums are beating," he explained that it was only natural for Armenians
to take a defensive position against a potential "sucker punch" from
Azerbaijan. He asked, pointedly, "what clear and totally broadcast in
advance penalty would Azerbaijan suffer if it initiated hostilities?"

Bryza, who devoted the bulk of his testimony to the elections and the
overall state of democracy in Armenia, sidestepped Congressman Smith’s
question, choosing instead to speak in broad terms about U.S. mediation
efforts: "In terms of penalty, I wouldn’t want to speculate on that
because all the various scenarios are so unpredictable. What I can
say is that any resumption of armed hostility in and around Karabakh
would be tragic – tragic for everybody. Absolute disaster. Who the heck
knows what the outcome would be of the fighting, but as I said before,
I think any fighting would lead to the perpetuation of the current
situation." Bryza noted that Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) had on several occasions impressed upon him
the importance of the U.S. forcefully challenging Azerbaijan’s war
rhetoric. Calling portions of the border between Nagorno Karabagh
and Azerbaijan a "Caucasus Hiroshima," he noted that he shared
Representative Smith’s concern regarding regional tension and noted
that both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents were scheduled to
hold Nagorno Karabagh talks in the near future.

Also testifying alongside Bryza, were Vigen Sargsian, a senior
assistant to the President of Armenia, Serge Sarkissian, and
Arman Grigorian, a spokesman for former Armenian President Levon
Ter Petrossian who teaches at the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg, Virginia. The hearing was chaired by Congressman Alcee
Hastings (D-FL) and included the participation of the Commission’s
Co-Chairman, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD).

Sargsian welcomed the interest shown by Armenia’s Congressional friends
in the elections and, in his remarks, placed the recent difficulties
in the broader context of the growing U.S.-Armenia relationship and
the steady progress of Armenia’s democratic development. He updated
the Commission on the steps toward reconciliation underway in Armenia
and invited outside assistance for inquiries into the unrest. "At
their heart," he pointed out, "the challenges we are confronted
with today have less to do with the conduct or even the outcome of
the February 19th elections – which, while imperfect, reflected the
will of the Armenian electorate – and more to do with efforts by
an element of the opposition that, having lost at the ballot box,
sought to challenge this outcome through illegal and ultimately
extra-constitutional means."

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA AVAILABLE ON OFFICIAL WEBSITE

ARKA
April 17, 2008

YEREVAN, April 17. /ARKA/. The RA Government’s weekly agenda will
be available on its official website, the RA Government’s press
service reports.

For detailed information about issues on the agenda, users can read
government releases.

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