Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

RAFFI HOVHANNISSIAN: MAY 12 SHOULD BECOME A DAY OF VICTORY OF LIBERTY

ArmRadio.am
08.05.2007 16:55

The day of the parliamentary elections, May 12, should become "a
victory day of liberty and interests of the people," leader of
"Heritage" Party Raffi Hovhannissian stated in Yerevan today,
Mediamax reports.

Speaking during a briefing in Yerevan, the politician stated that
"holding free and fair elections will allow solving the problems the
country faces."

"Falsifications and violations are inadmissible, as the authority of
Armenia, the national security and the regional role of our country
are put on the scale," Raffi Hovhannissian stated.

He stressed that "serious frauds on the election can lead to national
defeat and we all will be guilty of that."

PRE-ELECTION SITUATION CALMER THAN DURING ALL OTHER ELECTIONS, MINISTER OF JUSTICE SAYS

Panorama.am
17:25 08/05/2007

The following are excerpts from the interview with Davit Harutunyan,
minister of justice and member of Armenian Republican Party (HHK)
board.

-Mr. Harutunyan, how would you evaluate the pre-election situation
in Armenia and what are your expectations from the elections?

-The pre-election situation in Armenia is rather calm, far calmer
than during all other elections. The political combat is far more
civilized than ever.

Speaking about my expectations, I must say that each party has high
expectations and internal anticipations. Our calculations are ambitious
and I hope they will be justified.

-You said the situation is incomparably calmer.

However, some media publications pinpoint to different political actors
who say that there is an atmosphere of fear in the country. Have you
noticed that?

– I have held many meetings throughout Armenia which will continue
today and tomorrow. Frankly speaking, I have not witnessed any
atmosphere of fear. I also do not see a reason for that.

– People are threatened that in case they do not go to meetings with
HHK, they will be fired.

– It is not fear. We may call a fear when a person is afraid of secret
ballot. What has HHK done? We have repeated in our speeches that
voters are free and it is impossible to control votes. We speak about
two things: is it possible to freely express political viewpoints or
are they restricted? I believe all political parties freely express
themselves, including extremists. The second issue concerns the day
of elections. HHK has done a lot for that day. Seminars and meetings
have been held, a memorandum was prepared for proxies to underline the
weak points of election processes and attract their attention to them.

-Mr. Harutunyan, do you expect post-election tensions or an attempt
of colorful revolution?

– There may always be temptations but they turn into a serious process
when they have objective support like unfair elections or when people
doubt in transparency of elections. I believe this time not only the
election will be fair, but also everything will be done that people
make sure no secret mechanisms are applied. In that case, there will
be no serious threat for destability.

GOAL OF STATEMENTS OF AZERBAIJANI SIDE IS TO INFLUENCE ON RESULTS OF ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA, POLITICIAN LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARIAN FINDS

Noyan Tapan
May 08 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The goal of the statements recently made
by the President and Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan was to influence
on results of the parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia on May
12. Politician Levon Melik-Shahnazarian expressed this opinion at the
May 8 press conference. He reminded that according to those statements,
particularly, there is an agreement with the Armenian side to return
7 regions of the NKR to Azrebaijan. In L. Melik-Shahnazarian’s words,
those statements, fortunately, did not find any response in Armenia
"as the Armenian people is not enough politisized in foreign issues."

"If we believe in what they said it means that our present authorities
betrayed the Armenian people’s interests, so representatives of
those authorities has no right of occupying state posts any longer,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said. And, according to the Azerbaijani
scenario, as the politician mentioned, those political forces which
are advantageous for Azerbaijan will come to power in Armenia, as a
result of the parliamentary elections.

Touching upon the negotiations proceeding on the peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh problem, L. Melik-Shahnazarian mentioned: "This process is
at present as far from the solution as it was in 1994." In his words,
the circumstance of continuously being changed of the contents of the
part relating to Nagorno Karabakh of the report of the U.S. Department
of State proves that the U.S. lost the moral and legal right to
participate in the negotiations.

THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE DARKNESS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
by Elizabeth R. Hayford

Library Journal Reviews
May 1, 2007
REVIEWS; Social Sciences; Pg. 85

Ahnert, Margaret Ajemian. The Knock at the Door: A Journey Through
the Darkness of the Armenian Genocide. Beaufort: Beaufort Books,
dist. by Midpoint Trade Bks. 2007. c.240p. ISBN 0-8253-0512-8 [ISBN
978-0-8253-0512-2 ]. $24.95. AUTOBIOG

Ahnert writes of her relationship with her mother, Ester, as she
approaches 99 in an Armenian nursing home in New York, integrating
the experience of an adult daughter connecting with her elderly
mother into the story of her mother’s early years in Armenia. In
the pre-World War I Ottoman Empire, Armenians, like other ethnic
and religious minorities, lived a stable life defined by family,
community, and religious ties. Ester’s childhood in a rural town
was characterized by hard work and enriched by traditional and
seasonal customs and celebrations. That life was destroyed in 1915
when the Ottoman government expelled Armenians from their homes
and confiscated their property. Once-friendly Turkish neighbors
watched as thousands of Armenians were killed by soldiers or died
of exhaustion or starvation during the forced evacuations. Ester
survived by "marriage" to a Turk that included harsh treatment and
heavy labor. She eventually escaped and emigrated to the United
States. This memoir puts the tragic Armenian experience in personal
terms and reminds us Americans of one early genocide as we try to
respond to repeated global disasters. Recommended for its deft balance
between personal story and historic tragedy.

-Elizabeth R. Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest,
Evanston, IL

TRIAL OF DINK’S ALLEGED KILLERS TO START ON JULY 2

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
May 7 2007

Two of the accused face life sentences if found guilty, while the
gunman who carried out the killing could be gaoled for 24 years.

ISTANBUL – An Istanbul court is to start hearing the case against
19 men charged with involvement in the murder of prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on July 2.

Dink, the editor of the Turkish-Armenian language newspaper Argos,
was gunned down outside his office in Istanbul on January 19. A 17
year old youth, identified as O.S., was later charged with the killing.

Another 18 people have also been charged with being linked to Dink’s
slaying, including Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal, who have been accused
of inciting O.S. to carry out the killing. The Istanbul prosecutor
is seeking life imprisonment for both Tuncel and Hayal.

Both also face charges of being a senior member of an armed terrorist
group. If convicted, O.S could face up to 24 years behind bars for
the murder of Dink.

The indictment tabled by the prosecutor also called for various
terms of imprisonment for Mustafa Ozturk, Tuncay Uzundal, Zeynel
Abidin Yavuz, Ahmet Iskender, Ersin Yolcu, Yasar Cihan, Halis Egemen,
Salih Hacisalihoglu, Alper Esirgemez, Irfan Ozkan, Osman Alpay, Erbil
Susaman, Numan Sisman, Senol Akduman and Veysel Toprak on charges of
aiding and abetting in the killing of Dink.

ARONIAN-KRAMNIK SPEED CHESS YEREVAN TOURNAMENT FINISHES WITH ARMENIAN
GRAND MASTER’S VICTORY

YEREVAN, MAY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Levon Aronian – Vladimir Kramnik speed
chess tournament finished on May 6 in Yerevan. The Armenian grand
master defeated his competitor with a score of 4 to 2.

At A. Spendiarian National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, the
last, 6th game of the tournament was also watched by RA President
Robert Kocharian and Chairman of Armenian Chess Federation, RA Prime
Minister Serge Sargsian.

V. Kramnik said after the tournament that L. Aronian is in a good form
and played excellently at the end of the games. And L. Aronian thanked
his competitor for his skilful game and sports fans who supported him.

amNewYork, New York
May 5 2007

International films reign supreme at Tribeca

BY GENE SEYMOUR, Newsday Staff Writer
[email protected]

The awards at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival assumed a decidedly
international flavor.

"My Father, My Lord," Israeli director David Volach’s story of a
rabbi torn between the conflicting demands of faith and family in an
ultra-Orthodox community, won the festival’s $50,000 Founders Award
for Best Narrative Feature. Volach accepted the award in cash and art
at Thursday night’s ceremony from festival co-founders Robert De Niro
and Jane Rosenthal.

A Moroccan film, "Making Of," won two Tribeca festival awards.
Writer-director Nouri Bouzid’s story of a Tunisian breakdancer (Lofti
Edbelli) whose life is changed when he becomes involved with radical
Islamic fundamentalists won the $15,000 award for Best Screenplay,
while Edbelli was honored as Best Actor in a Narrative Feature. The
Best Actress prize went to Marina Hands for playing the title role in
"Lady Chatterly."

Alex Gibney ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room") won the $25,000
Best Documentary Feature cash-and-art prize for "Taxi to the Dark
Side." an inquiry into the death of an Afghan cab driver from
injuries inflicted by U.S. soldiers.

Mexican director Enrique Begne was honored as Best New Narrative
Filmmaker for "Two Embraces" ("Dos Abrazos") about four lost souls in
Mexico City who find — and embrace — each other. Vardan
Hovhannisyan was named the Best New Documentary Filmmaker for "A
Story of People in War and Peace," a meditative look at the 1994
conflict between the director’s homeland of Armenia and Azerbaijan
over the Nagorno Karabakh region.

"A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory," Esther
Robertson’s delicate probe into her late uncle’s involvement with the
1960s underground art movement, won the $5,000 "NY Loves Film"
Documentary award. The "Made in NY" Narrative prize, also $5,000,
went to "The Education of Charlie Banks," a coming-of-age story
directed by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst. Andrew Piddington’s "The
Killing of John Lennon" was given special recognition by the "Made in
NY" jury.

The Tribeca Film Festival continues through Sunday. The audience
award will be presented at the BMCCI Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Saturday night at the screening of "The Gates."

Award-winning films will be screened throughout the weekend.
Information is available at tribecafilmfestival.org.

ARMEN RUSTAMIAN: ARF WILL HAVE QUALIFIED AND DECISIVE PRESENSE IN
PARLIAMENT

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Armenian Revolitionary Federation
(ARF) will have qualified and decisive presence in the parliament."
Armen Rustamian, reprrsentative of the ARF Armenia Supreme Body,
stated this at the May 4 meeting with intellectuals. In his words, the
ARF is a political force ready to implement its programs in a
consistent way.

Presenting the pre-electoral program of the Dashnaktsutyun, ARF member
Artsvik Minasian noted that among their priority goals are to increase
the Armenian population to 4 million by 2012, which is possible in
case of encouraging emigration, increasing the birth rate and
preventing immigration.

According to ARF member Ara Nranian, industry should be developed to
ensure economic growth of Armenia. "The economic policy we propose
will result in such GDP growth that will make Armenia a competitive
country," he said.

IN EUROPE ISLAM BECOMES THE SECOND RELIGION AFTER CHRISTIANITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2007 GMT+04:00

Many believers come together every day to pray in 300 mosques in
Germany, where in about 100 mosques extremist tendencies are to
be observed.

Islam has become a part of the European Society. In Germany alone,
Islam is the second religion after Christianity. According to the
facts provided by the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs, there are
from 3.2 to 3.5 million people of Islamic origin living in Germany.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The wording "of Islamic origin" is of principle
significance in this regard, because as the Ministry of Home Affairs
mentions, not all the people having Islamic origins are loyal to
their original religion.

In 1961 an agreement about taking on Turkish labor forces for the
German market was signed between Germany and Turkey. In 1973 the
German government seized the enrollment of the new workers. At
the time there were more than 900.000 Turks living in the Federal
Republic of Germany. There are completely different viewpoints on
how the Germans get along with the large number of immigrants. The
politicians have started to use the term "parallel worlds" oftener
than before, meanwhile expressing their concern about the growing
intolerance of the Muslim immigrants. In fact, the Turks, like all
the other national minorities are inclined to self-isolation, which
has its impact on all aspects of life. About 800.000 Muslims, mainly
originating from Turkey, have German citizenship. At the same time
the Turks also make the largest Islamic group not having citizenship
of the Federal Republic of Germany; 1.8 million. The Bosnians are in
the second place (200.000 people), then come the Iranians (100.000
people), the Moroccans (80.000 people) and the Afghans (70.000).

According to the Federal Department the 1-2 percent of Muslims living
in Germany is involved in organizations, whose activities and aims
maybe regarded as anti-constitutional. Many believers come together
every day to pray in 300 mosques in Germany, where in about 100
mosques extremist tendencies are to be observed.

This is just statistic data. In fact, Muslims in Europe, particularly
the Turks possess enough levers to lobby this or that law in Bundestag,
or in Parliaments in Belgium, and the Netherlands. Due to their hard
efforts the Karabakh issue, as well as the issue of the Armenian
Genocide are misinterpreted in Germany, in Turkey’s and Azerbaijani’s
favor. The interviews with German politicians, appearing in Azeri
press from time to time clearly show that a very active work of
writing a "new history" of Azerbaijan and, to some extent, of Turkey
is underway. France makes an exception on account of a strong and
organized "old" Armenian Community, which unlike others, has the
clear-cut and exact vision of its aims and tasks. At the same time,
the main difference between the majority of Muslims of Germany and
France is that those living in France at least speak French.

In Germany the Muslims originating from Turkey either speak German
very poorly or do not speak the language at all.

According to the German Minister of Home Affairs, the Muslim Central
Council in Germany condemns the Federal government, which, according
to the organization, doesn’t seem to be willing to equalize their
rights with that of Christians. The government demanded to establish
a common institution, which would introduce the interests of all the
Muslims living in Germany.

The established Coordinating Council, where the 4 largest associations
are enrolled, introduces the interests of only 10 percent of
Muslims. In Minister’s opinion this doesn’t allow the Coordinating
Council to speak on behalf of all Muslims, with the number of 3.4
million living in the country, Deutshe welle writes.

The Coordinating Council demanded from the government to introduce
separate physical training classes in schools for Muslim boys and
girls. However, the Federal Powers didn’t conceal that they were
against the request. "Gender equality is one of the most fundamental
laws existing in Germany, which is not subject to any change. The bases
for any dialogue with the Muslims are provided by the FRG Constitution,
where the main regulations are not subject to be revised."

As it has been mentioned many a time the demographic reasons may become
one of the most essential barriers for Turkey to be integrated into
EU. Turkey, with its population of 70 million people, may "swallow"
Europe, like it was about to happen 600 years ago during the Ottoman
times. The only difference between those and the present days is that
yataghan has been replaced by the demographic factor.

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN ORGANIZATION ON GENOCIDE RESEARCH APPEALS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO ADOPT RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
May 03 2007

LOS ANGELES, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) West Coast Office welcomed the initiative of Samuel
Edelman, Director of the State of California Center for the Study
of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance, to request
three key members of the House of Representtaives of the US Congress
to adopt a resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

S. Edelman sent letters to Congressman Adam Schiff, head of the Foreign
Relations Committee of the House of Representatives Congressman Tom
Lantos, and speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. The
letters contain a request to assist with adoption of Resolution 106. In
the letter addressed to Nancy Pelosi, Edelman asks the speaker of the
House of Representatives to quarantee the passage of the resolution
by the House of Representatives as quickly as possible. S. Edelman
points out the gravity of the crime of genocide and availability of
American records on the fact of the Armenian Genocide.

"These three letters prove that the State of California Center for
the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance has
joined all conscious people in the world in the issue of calling the
Armenian Genocide the first genocide of the 20th century," Head of
the ANCA Western Coast Office Andrew Kizirian said.