Author: Torosian Aram

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HOLDS TRAINING ON EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

ArmRadio.am
30.10.2006 13:08

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has organized a seminar
to educate trainers for Armenian prosecutors, judges, and advocates
on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and on advanced case
studies. The seminar will be led by the Honorable Richard G. Stearns,
United States District Court Judge; Gediminas Sagatys, Senior Advisor
to the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania and Professor of Law
at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius; and Henrikas Mickevicius,
Executive Director of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute in
Vilnius. The training seminar will last a day and a half and will
be held on October 30-31, as well as November 1-2, 2006. The seminar
will include advanced discussions and case studies of Articles 5 and 6
from the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as a comparative
analysis of the recent amendments to the Armenian criminal procedure
code with the ECHR. There will also be discussions on how the ECHR
has changed the constitutional, legislative, and case law landscape
in Lithuania, and lessons learned from this transition.

Armenia has been a signatory to the European Court of Human Rights
since 2002. This training is especially relevant since the number
of Armenian petitioners who have made applications to the Court has
increased from 89 in 2003 to 340 in 2005.

This will be Judge Stearns’s second trip to Armenia at the invitation
of the US Government. In June 2006, Judge Stearns conducted training
sessions for Armenian judges, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and
the Armenian Police Department on trafficking in persons issues,
and specifically on victims’ rights and the protection of witnesses.

Sabah, Turkey
Oct 28 2006

Pamuk is not invited for the October 29

The president Sezer invited many authors, artists and scientists to
the reception of October 29; however, he did not invite Orhan Pamuk.

The President Ahmet Necdet Sezer showed his sensitivity about the
author Orhan Pamuk with a Nobel Prize who said: "30 thousand Kurds
and 1 million Armenian people were killed" in the reception of
October 29. Sezer invited many authors, artists and scientists to the
reception of October 29; however, he did not invite Orhan Pamuk.

CBDN PROGRAM TO HELP ESTABLISH COOPERATION OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI
BUSINESSMEN

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The purpose of the Caucasian
Business and Development Network (CBDN) program is to establish
business links among small and medium enterpeises of the conflict
countries in the South Caucasus, thus assisting with the settlement of
these conflicts. Aghavni Karakhanian, Director of the Civil Society
and Regional Development Institute, Coordinator of the CBDN Yerevan
Office, said this at the ceremony of opening the CBDN Yerevan Office
on October 27. According to her, one of the peculiarities of this
program financed by the British government is to involve not
recognized states of the South Caucasian region: Nagorno Karabakh,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the indicated process. It was mentioned
that thanks to studies and negotiations over the past three years, an
agreement on economic cooperation was reached by several
represenatives of the private sectors of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A GROUP OF PEOPLE PROTESTS AS IF TURKISH FLAG PLACED IN BACK OF CESARIA
CHURCH IS TAKEN OUT

CESARIA, OCTOBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. About 90 pilgrims
of Yeshilgyugh headed by deacon Vahram Lyulechian went to the Saint
Gregory the Illuminator church of Cesaria to celebrate there liturgy
headed by priest Andreas Hakobian, the spiritual pastor of Yeshilgyugh.

During the saint liturgy, a group people of about 80 gathered at the
church door and made noise as if the flag placed in the back of the
church was taken out. Ones responsible for the church explained that
there is nothing like that, and the Turkish flag has always been
placed only in the front of the church. The local security forces
interfered after a unpleasant argument and prevented straining of the
situation. However, the liturgy was not stopped. At the end, the
group of pilgrims, accompanied by the security employees, was led
towards Talas and neighbouring villages, from where it went to
Istanbul.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: BOTH LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM OBSERVER MISSIONS WILL
BE INVITED TO ARMENIA FOR 2007 STATE ELECTIONS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President greeted the end of the
consultations around the Actions Plan within the framework of the
European New Neighborhood policy at the October 27 regular meeting
with heads of diplomatic representations of EU member countries
accredited in Armenia. He expressed the hope that it will be finally
adopted in November, thanks to which Armenia-EU relations will become
more systematized. "The large package of Armenian side’s proposals is
evidence that we are disposed to work seriously and expect joint
efficient activity," R.Kocharian said. At the diplomats’ request RA
President commented upon the current developments in the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement, Russian-Georgian strained relations and its
impact on the Armenian economy, as well as other regional issues.

According to RA President’s Press Office, at the meeting, they also
touched upon the forthcoming state elections and especially stressed
the necessity to hold them fairly. R.Kocharian said that both
long-term and short-term international observer missions will be
invited for the purpose of electoral processes monitoring.

DIASPORAN ARMENIANS ARE CONFIDENT IN POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FUTURE OF
ARMENIA, WB YEREVAN OFFICE DIRECTOR SAYS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia has shown a two-digit
economic growth in recent years, and there is no reason for a decline
in this growth in the future. Roger Robinson, the World Bank Yerevan
Office Director, expressed this opinion during a press conference on
October 27. This was the last press conference of Roger Robinson, who
has completed his mission in Armenia and received a new appointment in
Kyrghyzstan. The new director of the WB Yerevan Office will be
appointed within a month. R. Robinson said that some sectors of
Armenia still need to be reformed, particularly customs, tax, public
services and civil service sectors. According to him, during 4.5 years
of his term of office in Armenia, the WB has financed programs of a
total of 300 million USD, during the implementation of which the
Armenian government has shown a skilful approach. He noted that
Armenians living abroad, especially those in Russia, invest their
money in Armenia, which means that they are confident in the political
and economic future of Armenia.

AZG Armenian Daily #205, 27/10/2006

Middle East

AS RESULT OF WAR IN IRAQ, 3 MILLION PEOPLE BECAME IMMIGRANTS

After the March invasion of the American Armed Forces of Iraq in 2003,
about 1,6 million of Iraqi residents had left their country. According
to the UN Commission for Refugees, 1,5 million people became refugees
in the country itself. Taking into account the fact that Iraq’s
population amount to about 26 million, we can say that as a result of
the war, 12 % of the country’s residents became refugees.

According to the British The Independent newspaper, most of the Iraqi
refugees settle down in Jordan or Syria. Since 2003, Jordan accepted
500 thousand Iraqi refugees, Syria 450 thousand. Every month, about 40
thousand people leave Iraq for Syria.

In the first half of 2006, there have been 14 thousand loses among the
civil residents of the country. According to the data of the American
health Institute at the John Hopkins University, in the years of the
war in Iraq 655 thousand people died.

By Petros Keshishian

PARTY LEADER: ARMENIA’S LEADERSHIP AFRAID OF MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI

Regnum, Russia
Oct 25 2006

Armenia’s position in relations with Georgia should be clear-cut
and tough. New Time opposition party leader Aram Karapetyan made the
announcement at a news conference on October 25.

According to him, "the current situation with Javakh (Javakheti,
Armenian-populated area in Georgia – REGNUM) is a result of
lack of a clear action plan by the Armenian authorities." "It is
necessary to present the question and claims in a tough way. If
we solve the Javakh issue on conditions favorable for Georgia, it
should be pre-conditioned that the Georgian side settles all the
problems of the Armenian-speaking population: teaching in Armenian,
Armenian-speaking TV-channel, and other issues," he notes. Besides,
as Karapetyan stresses, the issue of transit roads is to be determined
by a special article in all intergovernmental treaties, which will
result in final settlement of the problem.

As Aram Karapetyan says, Armenia’s leadership avoids harshness, as
they are afraid of Mikhail Saakashvili, thinking that if the Georgian
leader is "pro-American," it is necessary to be in "good relations"
with him. For the reason of those "good relations," he notes,
the republican authorities practically yielded 6,000 km of its own
territories. "The current authorities are unable to comprehend one
thing: last for power should not be the basis for such an affair,"
the party leader concludes.

ANOTHER MEETING OF ARMENIAN WRITERS IN GLENDALE
By Gohar Gevorgian

AZG Armenian Daily
26/10/2006

Recently, the regular meeting of the Armenian Writers’ Union of
California took place at the Glendale Public Library. In the course
of the meeting, chairman of the union Grish Davtian represented the
newly issued publications of Poghos Goubelian’s "African Symphony"
and Termine Manounkian’s "Smile, My Dear" and "Adagio" verses, as
well as Astghik Topchian’s "Home" and Gousan Apor’s "Heart’s Spring."

Besides, during the meeting, some of the present writers also
represented extracts from their pieces, held speeches. Particularly,
poet Nerses Ter-Mesropian represented the opening of the festive
arrangements dedicated to the Day of the Armenian Culture and the
fact that this holiday is included in the calendar of the Armenian
national and church calendars.

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

========================================== ======
Wednesday 25 October 2006
GEORGIA: "ORCHESTRATED REACTION" AGAINST RELIGIOUS MINORITIES’ BUILDINGS

Georgian politicians and the Georgian Orthodox Church continue to deny the
continued impossibility for religious minorities to openly build places of
worship, Forum 18 News Service has found. "The difficulties we face are
linked not to laws, but to a climate that has been artificially created
and which forces us – in order not to stir up aggression – not to
undertake construction," Catholic Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto told Forum 18.
Amongst religious minorities facing this intolerance are Baptist churches,
Pentecostals, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the True Orthodox Church.
Elene Tevdoradze, Chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights and Civic
Integration Committee, denied to Forum 18 that problems exist, as did the
Deputy Chair of the Committee, Lali Papiashvili. She told Forum 18 "No,
no, that’s not true. It’s obviously not true." Zurab Tskhovrebadze of the
Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate also denied that religious minorities face
obstruction in building.

GEORGIA: "ORCHESTRATED REACTION" AGAINST RELIGIOUS MINORITIES’ BUILDINGS

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;

Three years after the change of regime that saw the end of most violent
mob attacks on religious minorities, Georgia’s political class remains in
denial about the continued impossibility for religious minorities to build
new places of worship openly, religious minority leaders have complained to
Forum 18 News Service. "Especially in places which had Catholic churches
which have been confiscated by the Orthodox, the Catholic faithful have
the right – as a minimum – to have a church. But up till today this
remains impossible," Georgia’s Catholic bishop Giuseppe Pasotto told Forum
18 from the capital Tbilisi [T’bilisi] on 19 October. He said there has
been no improvement since 2003.

Forum 18 has found that while some faiths can quietly build unobtrusive
places of worship under the guise of private homes or offices – as long as
they do not look like places of worship – religious communities whose
places of worship are distinctive and indeed almost any place of worship
of a minority faith in a small village face obstruction or de facto bans.

"In the major centres all construction recognised as Catholic arouses an
orchestrated reaction," Bishop Pasotto complained. "The difficulties we
face are linked not to laws, but to a climate that has been artificially
created and which forces us – in order not to stir up aggression – not to
undertake construction."

This is a long standing problem facing religious minorities within Georgia
(see F18News 14 November 2003
< e_id=184>). A major factor
behind it is that some Georgian Orthodox priests persistently incite mob
violence against religious minorities (see eg. F18News 25 May 2005
< e_id=569>). Intolerance of
religious minorities is widespread within Georgian society, despite some
legal improvements (see F18News 24 May 2005
< e_id=568>).

Typical of the "aggression" Bishop Pasotto complained of was a mob
invasion in September and subsequent petition campaign against the
completion of an Assyrian Catholic centre in Tbilisi. This will also
include a sanctuary for religious worship (see F18News 19 October 2006
< e_id=857>).

In 2005, a church that a Baptist community was trying to build in
Zestafoni, a town 45 km (30 miles) east of Kutaisi [K’ut’aisi], was
attacked. "We laid the foundations, but as soon they found out, the
Orthodox priest came with others and broke them down," Pastor Levan
Akhalmosulishvili, a leading member of the independent Association of
Christian-Baptist Churches, told Forum 18 on 18 October. "The Orthodox
told us openly: ‘Society, government and parliament support us!’" Building
work has still not been able to resume, he added.

Also forced to a halt was construction of a home for a Baptist deacon, in
the village of Velistsikhe in Gurjaani district of eastern Georgia. This
was attacked by mobs in 2004 (see F18News 5 November 2004
< e_id=446>). "The district and
village authorities have told us not to use the half-finished building,"
Pastor Akhalmosulishvili reported. "Criminals threatened to destroy it if
we resume building. The authorities told us they would not defend us."

Asked what officials say when congregations of his Association ask if they
can build places of worship, Akhalmosulishvili responded: "They look at us
as though we’re mad. It’s fantasy to even think of building."

Giorgi Khutsishvili, head of the Tbilisi-based International Center of
Conflict Negotiations, is blunt. "Can religious minorities build places of
worship? No," he told Forum 18 from Tbilisi on 18 October. "This becomes
such a hot topic." He attributes this to the "mentality of the majority"
who, he says, regard the Orthodox Church as having the status of a state
Church. "The Orthodox can build any church anywhere, but all others are
alien."

Khutsishvili says every time "fundamentalists" learn a non-Orthodox place
of worship is being built they move in. "The government is quiet and does
nothing," he told Forum 18. "It tries to mediate, calming the
fundamentalists and the religious minorities. But it doesn’t resist the
fundamentalists, so they continue their activities."

He added that the lack of a religion law that would allow religious
minority communities to gain legal status as religious organisations (only
the Orthodox Patriarchate has such legal status) also hinders building
minority places of worship.

Bishop Pasotto complains that in recent years all the Catholic Church has
been able to build is "tiny places of worship in out of the way villages".
He expresses frustration that officials – who he says are not opposed to
Catholic activity – tell them they cannot change the situation. "The most
unpleasant thing is that from the political side, for all religious
problems – such as over a law on religion – there is complete inaction. Is
this from incompetence? Is this from fear?"

Bishop Pasotto’s frustration is echoed by Archbishop Malkhaz
Songulashvili, head of the Georgian Baptist Church, the largest Baptist
church in the country. "Everyone has the right to build a church, mosque
of temple, but this is impossible at the moment," he told Forum 18 on 4
October. "Religious communities cannot build a place of worship, only an
NGO office."

But Elene Tevdoradze, a parliamentary deputy who chairs its Human Rights
and Civic Integration Committee, denies this. "There’s no such law that
bans non-Orthodox faiths from building – if minority faiths do everything
according to the law, they can build places of worship," she claimed to
Forum 18 from Tbilisi on 18 October. "They shouldn’t be afraid. The policy
of the government is clear: everyone has the right to carry out their
faith." But she dismissed the experience of religious minorities of
repeated obstruction and threats of aggression when they try to build.

Her lack of concern was shared by the Deputy Chair of the Committee, Lali
Papiashvili. Asked by Forum 18 why religious minorities cannot build
places of worship she responded: "No, no, that’s not true. It’s obviously
not true." She said no religious minorities have complained to her about
this. "The government’s doesn’t have a policy not to allow other faiths to
build. Until we get complaints that they have problems I can’t believe
this." Asked whether she has talked to religious minorities she said "No."

Zurab Tskhovrebadze, spokesperson for the Orthodox Patriarchate, equally
denies that religious minorities face obstruction in building. "Any
churches can be built," he insisted to Forum 18 on 19 October. "There is
no law that says the Georgian Orthodox Church has to agree any such
building." Asked why this happens in practice, he responded: "When we meet
people of other faiths, they don’t complain to us about this."

One community that has not tried to build any new places of worship in the
past fifteen years but which faces absolute refusal to return its historic
places of worship confiscated during the Soviet period is the Armenian
Apostolic Church. Levon Isakhanyan, assistant to the Armenian Bishop of
Georgia, Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, said his Church is currently seeking the
return of six churches, five in Tbilisi and one in the southern town of
Akhaltsikhe [Akhalts’ikhe], which has a majority Armenian population. "All
these churches, that served the Armenian community for centuries, are today
shut and made no use of whatsoever by any denomination," he told Forum 18
from Tbilisi on 25 October. "The condition of these churches is
appalling."

Isakhanyan cited the diocese’s lack of status as a legal entity – a
problem shared by all non-Orthodox religious communities that refuse to
register as non-profit entities – as an excuse officials use to refuse to
consider such applications. He also complained that politicians and
nationalists who oppose the churches’ return often claim that their
ownership is "disputed". He insists the Georgian government has
responsibility to resolve the Church’s problems.

Likewise, Bishop Pasotto complains that six Catholic churches in major
towns – the port of Batumi [Bat’umi], Kutaisi [K’ut’aisi], Gori, Ivlita,
Ude and Akhaltsikhe – were "illegally" given to the Orthodox and have not
been returned, a problem he points out is shared by the Armenian Apostolic
Church. By contrast, he says the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate has been
able to recover its property confiscated during the Soviet period.

Asked why he believes non-Orthodox cannot build places of worship, Bishop
Pasotto responded: "The idea that a church that is built would be a public
sign which could influence people and be a source of proselytism against
the Orthodox Church."

Forum 18 could find only a handful of non-Patriarchate places of worship
now being openly built without problems. Fr Gela Aroshvili, a True
Orthodox priest under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Ephraim Spanos of
Boston, USA, reported that two of his congregations that had long been
obstructed from building can now do so.

He said the Tbilisi congregation began work on a small church in February
in the city’s Saburtalo district with permission from the local authority,
though the church is registered as a private house. He said the exterior is
now complete, but the interior is not yet ready to allow services to take
place. "It looks like an Orthodox church, but there’s no sign outside
saying it’s a True Orthodox church," he told Forum 18 from Tbilisi on 18
October. "I don’t know if the Patriarchate complained, but we’ve faced no
problems." Fr Aroshvili added that their congregation in Kutaisi has also
gained permission to build a house. He insisted they would build it in
traditional Orthodox church style with a cross on the top.

However, he said there has been no progress in rebuilding their burnt-out
church destroyed by a mob in the village of Shemokmedi in south western
Georgia in October 2002 (see F18News 7 April 2003
< e_id=27>). "We’re not hurrying,
but we do want to rebuild," Fr Aroshvili told Forum 18. "But the
authorities are still not responding."

One other minority place of worship that is being openly built is a new
church for a Russian-speaking Pentecostal congregation in Tbilisi, which
was repeatedly prevented by the police and by violent mobs from holding
services in the home of the pastor, Nikolai Kalutsky. Pastor Kalutsky won
an eventual victory in the Constitutional Court in May 2005 that such
bans, attacks and obstructions violated his religious freedom (see F18News
25 May 2005 < 569>). Following
this court victory, a Presidential Decree awarded the congregation land in
Tbilisi’s Isani district to build an alternative place of worship.

Kalutsky told Forum 18 that official registration of the land as his
property was completed at the beginning of October, and work began
immediately. "Permission was given for a private house, but the building
will look like a church from the outside," he told Forum 18 from the
building site on 24 October. "We couldn’t do it any other way because we
have no legal status as a religious community." He said the Prosecutor’s
Office had summoned him to tell him that, if the community faces any
obstruction, it is to notify the Prosecutor immediately. Pastor Kalutsky
was told that the Prosecutor will then take appropriate measures to allow
building to proceed.

Asked why his congregation is now able to build on land given free of
charge by the state, after so many years of harassment, Kalutsky
responded: "What happened to us reached the outside world – everyone had
heard of them. Politicians realised this."

Bishop Oleg Khubashvili, who leads the Pentecostal Union to which
Kalutsky’s congregation belongs, told Forum 18 that the Union has been
able to buy a building in Tbilisi to turn into its offices. (The Union has
legal status as a non-profit organisation). "Later we plan to turn part of
it into a sanctuary," he told Forum 18 on 24 October. "If we built a
church from scratch, I can’t say what the reaction would be."

The Jehovah’s Witnesses – who suffered more than a hundred violent
attacks, mostly unpunished, between 1999 and 2003 – say that they have
been able to build Kingdom Halls across Georgia in the last few years,
including about ten in Tbilisi. "It’s strange, given all the attacks,"
Jehovah’s Witness leader Genadi Gudadze told Forum 18 from Tbilisi on 24
October. "Sometimes life is surprising," he added, laughing.

But the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been careful. "We don’t advertise that
we’re building Kingdom Halls, but everyone round about knows what they
are," Gudadze reported. "They deliberately aren’t large or lavish, so
don’t attract attention."

Like other faiths, the Jehovah’s Witnesses choose not to place signs
outside their places of worship. "We understand that in a normal country
there should be such signs," Gudadze added. "But we don’t want extra
attention." (END)

For the comments of Georgian religious leaders and human rights activists
on how the legacy of religious violence should be overcome, see
< _id=499>

For more background see Forum 18’s Georgia religious freedom survey at
< id=400>

A printer-friendly map of Georgia is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=georgi& gt;
(END)

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