Author: Zargarian Hambik

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 31, 2006 Friday

“MOSCOW’S HAND” DISCOVERED IN DJAVAKHETIA

by Yuri Simonjan

TBILISI IS CONVINCED THAT THE RUSSIANS ENCOURAGE ARMENIAN SEPARATISTS
IN SOUTH GEORGIA; Official Tbilisi found another pretext to pin the
blame on Russia.

The forecasts that without a solution to the problems of Abkhazia and
Tskhinvali found, Georgia may encounter a similar problem with
Armenian-populated Djavakhetia seem to be coming to pass. Mass
rallies took place in the district center of Akhalkalaki last week.
Demands of the autonomous status for the region were made in the
presence of several emissaries from Yerevan.

The latest protest actions were sparked by the murder of Gevork
Gevorkjan, 25, an Armenian from the town of Tsalka (his two friends
were injured). Some media outlets including Russian ones immediately
branded the murder as ethnic (allegedly the Svans, a Georgian ethnic
group, were after the Armenians). The same opinion was aired at the
rallies in Akhalkalaki. In the meantime, everything was more banal
than that. Gevorkjan was killed in a drunken scuffle with the ethnic
Svans moved to the Tsalka district several years ago after an
ecological catastrophe on their native land. A bar brawl rapidly
developed into a stabbing outside.

Armenian politicians in Djavakhetia and Armenia itself have a
different opinion. Albert Bazejan, National Revival Party leader,
said in Yerevan that the Armenian authorities should take an active
part in what he termed as “Akhalkalaki processes”. “We do not need
another hostile neighbor,” Bazejan was quoted as saying. “Along with
the social problems of the Armenian population, there are also some
political matters that have to be addressed and the questions of
survival of ethnic identity. I’d say it’s time we discussed the
status of cultural autonomy for the region.”

“Statements like that encourage separatism in Djavakhetia and have a
thoroughly negative effect on the Georgian-Armenian relations,” said
Van Vaiburt, a deputy in the parliament of Georgia and one of the
chairmen of the Union of Georgian Armenians. The lawmaker is
convinced that most Armenians in Djavakhetia do not care about
“autonomization”.

Another lawmaker, Gamlet Movsesjan, believes that social problems may
deteriorate into political even without deliberate provocations. He
says that abatement of tension in the area requires new jobs for the
locals and help in selling the harvest. “The Russian military base in
Akhalkalaki will be closed in 2007. The president promised that all
citizens of Georgia employed there will be offered jobs with similar
salaries but nothing at all has been done to this end so far,”
Movsesjan said.

Several non-government organizations of Djavakhetia put forth a
demand to make Armenian the state language. The petition will soon be
forwarded to the Armenian deputies of the parliament of Georgia. What
will come of the idea is easy to predict.

For the time being, official Tbilisi does not overestimate the danger
the rallies in Akhalkalaki pose. Some representatives of the
political establishment commented – traditionally – that the rallies
in Djavakhetia were probably incited from abroad, i.e. from Moscow.
Nino Burdzhanadze of the parliament said, “Certain forces are trying
to drive a wedge between the Armenian and Georgian population of the
Akhalkalaki district of Georgia.” She hinted as well that the rallies
could be provoked by the Russian military base command. Base
Second-in-Command, Colonel Igor Luzhnikov, denied involvement. “We
have nothing to do with the protests,” he said.

Even some political circles in Armenia do not rule out the
possibility of involvement of “a certain third force” in the rallies
in Akhalkalaki. Stepan Gregorian, Director of the Analytical Center
for Globalization and Regional Cooperation, believes that Moscow may
be indirectly interested in deterioration of the Georgian-Armenian
relations. “The scope of the Armenia-NATO cooperation plans worries
Moscow. The two signed the IPAP now long ago. A crisis in the
relations with Georgia will leave Armenia in a ring of hostile
countries – Turkey, Azerbaijan… Moscow will then be all it will be
able to turn to for assistance,” the analyst said.

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 28, 2006, p. 5

Translated by A. Ignatkin

ANAND AND MOROZEVICH WIN IN “AMBER-2006”

MONTE CARLO, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Representative of Armenia Levon
Aronian shared 7-8th places among 12 grand masters in the “Amber”
chess tournament held in Monte Carlo. In the last, 11th tour Aronian,
competing with Russian chess-player Pyotr Svidler, won in the games
held both by “blind” and quick chess rules and won the mini-game with
a score of 2 to 0. Finally, Aronian gained 10.5 out of 22 possible
points. Vishvantan Anand (India) and Alexander Morozevich (Russia)
won in “Amber-2006” gaining 14.5 points each. The second prize-winner,
Spanish Francisco Valekho, was left behind by the winners by 2.5
points.

AZERI AUTHORITIES ACTIONS IN OLD JULFA CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED

PanARMENIAN.Net/
30.03.2006 23:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Any destruction of cultural monuments is
vandalism. The Armenian cemetery in Old Julfa is the legacy of the
humankind and actions of the Azeri authorities cannot be justified,
professor Mikhail Meyer, the Director of the Institute of Asian
and African Studies of Moscow State University stated in Yerevan at
a meeting in the South Caucasian branch of the Caucasus Democracy
Institute development foundation. He stated it when commenting at
the instance of a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on the fact of Azerbaijan
trying to destroy traces of Armenians’ residence in the territory of
current Azerbaijan. In his words, history cannot be revised. “I am
not very well familiar with the details, however I am sure there is
historical evidence, manuscripts, confirming the fact that Armenians
have always lived in Nakhichevan,” Mikhail Meyer said.

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:

A DELEGATION FROM CARITAS
VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

A delegation from the supreme committee of “Caritas” in Lebanon visited His
Holiness Aram I on March 24. The delegation included the president of the
committee father Louis Samaha, deputy chairman Riyad Salame, general
secretary Joseph Farah, treasurer Habib Hatem and the committee’s Armenian
member, Antoine Kalaidjian.

The purpose of the meeting was to establish closer contact with the Armenian
Church and the Armenian community.

The two sides spoke about implementation of projects that would serve the
Armenian community in Armenian-populated areas. His Holiness Aram I stressed
the importance of strengthening ecumenical cooperation among various
Christian institutions.

##
View photo here: tm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission 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.

AZERI DEFENSE MINISTRY’S STATEMENTS ON CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS BY ARMENIAN SIDE FALSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2006 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian side is tired of refuting the Azeri
fabrications on the ceasefire violations, RA Defense Minister’s
Spokesman, Colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. In his words, all the statements by the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry are false. To remind, the Azeri MOD press service reported
that “March 26 at 3.15-7.35 p.m. the Armenian units periodically
fired upon the emplacements of the Azerbaijani armed forces and the
village of Mazamli.”

TURKS AIM TO ENGAGE ARMENIANS IN DISPUTE OVER GENOCIDE

Yerkir.am
March 24, 2006

Conferences summoned by Turkish historians have one single objective
to engage Armenians in a dispute over the Armenian Genocide to find
out whether it really took place, ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political
Office Director Kiro Manoian told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his
words, Armenian historians are absolutely right to reject invitations
to forums of the kind.

“Armenian historians have nothing to talk about with the people
representing the viewpoint of the Turkish state. Another matter
when they communicate with the representatives of Turkish scientific
circles recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Our historians meet with Taner Ancam, Murad Belge and some others. I
should say that these people receive invitations even later than
Armenians do and sometimes they do not manage to arrive in time at
a conference organized at a state level,” Manoian underscored.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
March 28, 2006

Four More Priests Ordained in Holy Etchmiadzin

On Sunday February 5, four more priests were ordained in the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin.  Three of the new clergymen are graduates of the Gevorkian
Theological Seminary and one recently completed the Accelerated Academic
Courses for the Priesthood.  The ordinations were conducted during the
Divine Liturgy celebrated by His Grace Bishop Yeznik Petrossian.

Prior to evening services on Saturday, February 4, the Service of Calling
was offered, whereupon the four young men confirmed their desire to be
ordained the following day as priests in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church.

During the Divine Liturgy, the ordaining bishop anointed the foreheads and
palms of the four ordinands with Holy Chrism, and granted them new priestly
names:  Deacon Artak Grigorian was renamed Father Mkhitar; Deacon Davit
Gulian became Father Levon; Deacon Gevork Davtian was renamed Father Kirakos
and Deacon Gevork Mirzoyan became Father Untsa.

Later that same evening, the service of `Granting the Cowl’ was offered,
whereby Father Mkhitar, Father Levon and Father Kirakos took their oath of
celibacy and allegiance to the Catholicosate of All Armenians.

With the addition of the three new celibate clergymen, the ranks of young
priests in the monastic Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, not counting
bishops and deacons, has increased to more than 90.

All four priests recently completed their 40-day period of fasting and
seclusion, and celebrated their inaugural Divine Liturgies on Sunday, March
19.

Security service tells Lebanese stop criticism or be expelled from Armenia

Iravunk, Yerevan
24 Mar 06

Text of report by Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 24 March headlined
“Will Zhirayr Sefilyan be expelled from Armenia?”

According to a source close to the National Security Service [NSS], a
coordinator of the liberated territories protection public initiative
and citizen of Lebanon, (?Zhirayr Sefilyan), was yesterday summoned to
the NSS where he was told that he might be expelled from Armenia. He
was questioned there for several hours together with the secretary of
the public initiative, Armen Egyan.

Top security officers of the NSS told them to dwell on the issue of
Javakhk [Samtskhe-Javakheti] and not to criticize too harshly [Defence
Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan. They threatened to expel Sefilyan from
Armenia by using the fact that the authorities had not granted him
Armenian citizenship.

The source added that a few days ago certain members of the Javakhk
council had also been summoned to the NSS, but their identities were
not known.

La Croix , France
22 mars 2006

Polémique. Les Arméniens de Lyon envisagent une riposte. La
communauté arménienne de Lyon reste indignée par une manifestation
négationniste qui s’est tenue samedi. Lyon, de notre correspondant
régional.

TOSSERI Bénévent

“Cette manifestation n’aurait jamais dû être autorisée.” Les slogans
lancés samedi dernier à Lyon au cours d’un rassemblement organisé par
un collectif d’associations franco-turques hostiles à l’édification
d’un mémorial du génocide arménien entretiennent la colère de la
communauté arménienne. “Il n’y a jamais eu de génocide”, “Nous sommes
fiers de notre passé”, pouvait-on lire sur quelques-unes des
pancartes brandies par un cortège composé de 2 500 à 3 000 personnes
radicalisées et très encadrées. “Nous avons mandaté un huissier pour
prendre des clichés. Sur une quinzaine d’entre eux, on remarque des
inscriptions négationnistes, relève Jules Mardirossian, président de
l’association du mémorial. Nous étudions avec nos avocats les suites
à donner à cette affaire.”

L’organisateur de la manifestation contestée, c’est le Comité de
coordination des associations turques, officiellement motivé par la
volonté d’ “éviter la propagation de la haine”. Le préfet du Rhône,
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, avait mis en avant cette déclaration d’intention
pour justifier son autorisation, malgré les multiples mises en garde
des responsables de la communauté arménienne et de plusieurs
personnalités politiques. “D’un point de vue juridique, nous n’étions
pas en mesure d’interdire la manifestation. À présent, a-t-il déclaré
lundi lors d’une conférence de presse, nous avons des preuves et
j’interdirai tout autre rassemblement de ce type.”

À l’indignation succède une interrogation: la manifestation a-t-elle
été inspirée par les autorités turques? C’est ce que suggère la
concomitance d’un autre rassemblement organisé le jour même à Berlin
en l’honneur de Talaat Pacha, considéré comme l’ordonnateur des
massacres d’Arméniens en 1915-1917. “Les cortèges étaient semblables,
estime Philippe Videlier, historien au CNRS à Lyon. Ils étaient
composés de membres des Loups gris, un mouvement d’extrême droite,
ainsi que d’autres groupuscules nationalistes, qui gravitent autour
des consulats. Soulignons que la manifestation lyonnaise était
annoncée à la télévision turque, et largement couverte par la presse
turque.”

De fait, le consulat de Turquie à Lyon continue de parler du mémorial
qui doit être érigé à proximité de la place Bellecour comme d’une
“provocation”, menaçant la municipalité d’un “vote sanction des 25
000 électeurs franco-turcs”. Une position relayée au cours des
semaines passées par des “pétitions à caractère négationniste et un
climat de guérilla active”, selon le président du groupe socialiste
au conseil municipal de la ville de Lyon, Yves Sécheresse.

Dans ce climat, et malgré les assurances données par le préfet, les
responsables de la communauté arménienne de Lyon (40 000 membres)
restent inquiets, à un mois de l’inauguration du mémorial, le 24
avril prochain, date de commémoration du génocide arménien, qui fit
plus d’un million de victimes entre 1915 et 1917. Martine David,
député-maire de Saint-Priest (Rhône), s’est saisie de l’événement
pour porter hier devant le groupe socialiste à l’Assemblée nationale
une proposition visant à “compléter la loi de janvier 2001 (par
laquelle la France reconnaît le génocide arménien, NDLR) en ajoutant
un second article qui condamne le négationnisme du génocide
arménien”.

BENÉVENT TOSSERI

FOREIGN MINISTRY WARNS DEPUTIES ABOUT THEIR ACTIVITIES ABROAD

New Anatolian, Turkey
March 20 2006

The Foreign Ministry yesterday warned deputies to brief Turkish
diplomatic missions beforehand about their possible special contacts
and organizations in foreign countries, so that problems that may
arise can be minimized or prevented.

The warning came in direct link to rallies held in Berlin and Lyon,
France over the weekend to protest the recognition of Armenian genocide
claims in European countries, events which risk souring Turkey’s
diplomatic relations with the two key European Union countries.

The Turkish Parliament also sent the same warning to political party
groups saying that although the persons who make arrangements of
special meetings or organizations are widely known in Turkey, they
might have negative reputations outside of the country. The latest
reference was a thinly-veiled one toward Dogu Perincek, the leader
of the Labor Party (IP), although there was no specific name in
the statement.

It was underlined in the warning that if the deputies inform Turkish
representations before their planned visits and meetings, the problems
coming from these events might be reduced to a minimum level.