Category: News

Internews
June 23 2004
Internews Armenia Produces a Radio Show to Investigate Citizen
Concerns
(June 23, 2004) Twelve-year old Margarita did not imagine she could
lose her eyesight when she bought a bottle of mineral water last
summer, but when the bottle exploded on her way home her eyes were
permanently damaged. Her family was not compensated when they filed a
lawsuit against the mineral water company, but when their story
became the subject of a radio story on Internews Armenia’s new
program `Aniv Radio Investigation,’ radio stations that aired the
program received a flood of feedback from listeners.
Radio producer Robert Balayan from station Interkap, Vanadzor said,
`We had lots of phone calls from our audience. They insisted that the
problems of our city should be covered as well.’
`Aniv Investigation’ was inspired by Internews Armenia production
manager Harutyun Mansuryan’s desire to expand the format of two other
popular shows, `Aniv Talk Show’ and `Aniv Radio Hour.’ `We constantly
came across striking and impressive stories that we couldn’t explore
to the end because the program format didn’t allow us.’
`Aniv Investigation’ is produced by the Internews team and
freelancers. Other topics have included the safety of dairy products
in Armenia, the issue of adoption, and the suicide of a prisoner
accused of the October 1999 assassinations in the parliament.
Internews Armenia is funded by grants from the United States Agency
for International Development.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 22 2004
SPEECH BY ILHAM ALIYEV, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
[June 22, 2004, 18:14:47]
Esteemed Mr. President,
Dear guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I do extend my cordial greeting to you once again and wish you
welcomed here.
Today, a new page is being opened in the relations between the
Republic of Azerbaijan and the Hellenic Republic. Useful political
dialogue is being held. Relations are developing fast. We want these
relations would cover all areas.
Dear Mr. President, I highly appreciate your official visit to
Azerbaijan and I am confident that this visit will pave ground for a
new level of relationship between our countries. It goes without
saying that the conducted discussions and meetings will define new
areas for mutual activities and contribute to the further expansion
of the relation in future.
Expansion and the development of relations between our countries in
political, economic, humanitarian, cultural and tourism fields are of
paramount importance. I wish to express my hope that the ties to be
established between Greek businessmen and Azerbaijani entrepreneurs
during the Greek-Azerbaijani business Forum will give an impetus to
our cooperation. Relationship will strengthen after your visit.
Today, Azerbaijani State continues the foreign and home policy
founded by the national leader Heydar Aliyev. From this points of
view the integration of Azerbaijan into the Europe and Euro-Atlantic
structures, to the international organizations has an important
place.
Thanks to the wise policy of Heydar Aliyev, today Azerbaijan takes
its well-deserved place in the world. Our country is the member of
Council of Europe and successfully cooperates with the NATO in the
framework of “Partnership for Peace” program and with the European
and Euro-Atlantic structures. Azerbaijan has been included into the
EU ” Wider Europe and neighbors” policy.
Today, the biggest energy projects of the world are being implemented
in Azerbaijan. The transportation of the energy resources from the
Caspian basin to the West, implementation of TRACECA Program, the
restoration of the Great Silk Road, the projects like the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline
are wonderful examples to this. After the implementation of these
projects a new stage of integration into Europe and the development
in Azerbaijan, as well as the countries of the region will start. The
operation of Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline will significantly
expand Azerbaijan-Greek relations. This pipeline will not only make
our countries to prosper, but it will also have a positive impact on
their relationship.
Azerbaijan is closely co-operating with all the countries of the
region. Only Armenia has isolated itself from such co-operation. As a
result of military aggression of this country, 20% of our lands has
been occupied, more than 1 million refugees and internally displaced
people were ousted from their native places. Four UN Security Council
Resolutions and OSCE decisions regarding the conflict remain
unfulfilled. The Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict must
be solved soon based upon the international law norms and the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored.
It is with pleasure I wish to note that the Olympic games in the
current year will be held in its historic Motherland-Greece.
Azerbaijani sportsmen, as well as people form cultural and artistic
communities are having special preparation for this noble event.
Esteemed Mr. President, once again I want to express that I do attach
a high importance to your official visit to the Republic of
Azerbaijani and wish you good health and permanent development and
prosperity to your country. I raise my glass, Mr. President to You,
to the development of sincere friendship and mutually beneficial
relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Hellenic
Republic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 22 2004
SPEECH BY KONSTANTIONOS STEPHANAPOULOS, PRESIDENT OF GREECE
[June 22, 2004, 18:15:18]
Mr. President,
I thank you very much for your kind words and I would like to assure
you of my hearty feelings that reflect the feelings of the Greek
people for the people of Azerbaijan. I would also like to thank you
warmly for the cordial hospitality you extended to all of us, your
Greek guests participating at the first state visit by a Greek
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
There had been contacts between Greek and the population of this
region in Antiquity. However, today’s relations are all the more so
important; we must serve them in a spirit of confidence in the value
of our friendship. Permit me to remind that Greece hailed the
independence of Azerbaijan as early as 1991 and forthwith established
diplomatic relations with the then new country of yours.
Today’s talks corroborated the conviction of how necessary is our
cooperation as well as the fostering of a climate of mutual respect
and trust, which will help our bilateral cooperation move forward in
all fields.
Greece opened its Embassy in Baku as early as 1993, which does
reflect the importance we attach to the development of our relations
with your country. Its operation gave a strong impetus to the
progress of Greek-Azeri relations.
I take the opportunity to say how delighted we are with your
decision, adopted by the Azeri Parliament, to open an Embassy in
Athens soon; the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Athens will constitute a
live connection between Athens and Baku.
Mr. President,
In the context of this visit, it was deemed constructive to set up a
business meeting, which aims at further expanding the existing good
economic relations between Greece and Azerbaijan. Our delegation is
thus composed also of a group of prominent Greek businessmen who are
currently exploring the prospects of further cooperation in various
sectors of the economy and trade. We trust their presence here and
their contacts with their Azeri counterparts will further enhance our
economic relations.
The success of this visit in the economic field is underscored by the
signing of three very important economic bilateral agreements that
constitute the springboard for further growth of business and
investment activities.
Our relations in the energy sector are already close and I am
confident that in the near dimension will e added thanks to the
forthcoming cooperation involving the energy corridor linking
Azerbaijan with Western Europe. This link will strengthen even more
the geo-strategic and geo-economic position of your country standing
between Europe and Asia.
I would also like to welcome good progress in our cultural relations.
The implementation of the first Program of Cultural Exchange in the
framework of the Educational Agreement of 1994 ushered in an ear of
exchange in the field of cultural activities.
Cooperation between our universities is of paramount importance. This
cooperation is taking shape in the form of agreement between Greek
and Azeri Higher Education Institutions that have already been signed
or are to e signed soon.
Part of these efforts is the foundation of the Center of Modern Greek
Language and Civilization in the local Slavic University that will be
inaugurated tomorrow, in conjunction with a scholarship program
granted by the Greek government.
Mr. President,
The recent enlargement of the Europe Union constitutes a historical
leap forward for the entire European Continent; Greece specifically
welcomed the integration of Cyprus among the European family.
Said enlargement constitutes a unique opportunity for further
promoting the relations of the Union with its neighbors to the East
as well as to the South. In fact, the acknowledgement that, in the
wake of the enlargement, closer cooperation with its new neighbors
would be more than necessary, recently led the Europe Union to the
adoption of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). The ultimate goal
of said policy is strengthening cooperation between the European
Union and the new neighbors in the fields of political dialogue of
trade and the internal market, of justice and home affairs as well as
in other sectors.
We are particularly pleased that a few days ago the European Council,
on the basis of a Greek proposal submitted under Greek Presidency,
decided to admit Azerbaijan in the European Neighborhood Policy. This
is the vindication of a Greek policy since our country has always
held the position that all three countries of the Caucasus must
become part of this policy as soon as possible end, in fact, at the
same time.
May I also remind that the decision to appoint a Special
Representative of the European Union for Southern Caucasus and to
launch the energy dialogue with Azerbaijan was also made under Greek
Presidency.
Mr. President,
Greece follows with particular interest the course of your country
and encourages every efforts in the direction of promoting political
and economic reform and strengthening democratic institutions and the
rule of law.
My country wholeheartedly supported the accession of Azerbaijan to
the Council of Europe that took place in 2001.
Greece considers existing cooperation in International Organizations
as very satisfactory. I take this opportunity to thank Azerbaijan for
having supported the Greek candidacy for the United Nations Security
Council for the period 2005-2006.
Greece attaches great importance to the initiatives undertaken by the
Azeri government to achieve a political settlement for the Nagorny
Karabakh problem. My country, as well as the Europe Union, supports
the direct negotiations between the President of Azerbaijan and
Armenia as well as the mediation efforts of the Minsk group in order
to achieve a just and viable solution of this issue. To this end it
is necessary to respect the International Law and to refrain from any
action that could endanger peace in the region.
Mr. President,
Greece considers southeastern Europe among the top priorities of its
foreign policy. We strive to enhance relations with neighboring
countries on a bilateral and a multilateral basis, aiming at securing
and maintaining pace in the region. A region that, unfortunately, is
not free of all risk of a flare up. We believe that the firm decision
of the countries of southeastern Europe to join the Europe Union and
NATO contributes to strengthening peace and cooperation in the region
as well as to the prosperity of its peoples. Greece does its utmost
to assist them in their European path; my country’s genuine interest
for its region, the Balkans, has been reflects, as we all known, at
the Saloniki Summit (21 June 2003) that put Western Balkans on the
road of accession to the European Union.
Our country also pursues its initiatives and efforts to improve
Greek-Turkish relations through cooperation in issues of common
interest. We aspire through cooperation in issues of common interest.
We aspire to more Greek-Turkish relations into a framework of good
neighborly relations governed by the rules of international law. We
hope that the sincere governed by the rules of international law. We
hope that the sincere aspiration of ours will be reciprocated by our
neighbor in the same earnest spirit. The recent visit by Prime
Minister Erdogan in Athens strengthened our hope as well as
willingness of the two countries to cooperate.
Mr. President,
The outcome of the referendum in Cyprus reflects the quasi-unanimous
conviction of Greek Cypriots that the Plan they were called the
evaluate neither secured the balance between the two Communities not
provided the necessary guarantees for the future evaluation of their
relations. I should like to assure you that Cyprus, like Greece, are
earnestly committed to achieving the reunification of the islands
through a just and functional settlement on the basis of the plan of
the United Nations Secretary General and in the context of the
Community acquis and of the fundamental principles of the Europe
Union. The accession of Cyprus has ushered in a new dynamism in view
to the forthcoming settlement of the Cyprus issue. What remains to e
done are some essential clarifications and improvements of the Plan
of the Secretary General of the United Nations that will benefit both
sides.
In concluding, may I dwell on the top global athletic event, the
Olympic Games and Greece will showcase to the world in two months,
with knowledge-legacy of our history-and with rightful pride. We
aspire to host Games that will be characterized y the quality of
organization and the sense of measure. We are doing whatever is
humanly possible in this direction and we are confident that in this
effort we will be successful. We also hope that the ideal of the
Olympic Truce during the Games, an idea revived from Antiquity, will
solidify peace and cooperation between peoples.
Mr. President,
I trust that our talks today will constitute a solid foundation for
further developing relations and deepening the cooperation between
our countries. It is in this spirit that I would like to thank you
again for your warm hospitality and raise my glass to propose a toast
wishing health and happiness to you and your wife as well as progress
and prosperity to the friendly people of Azerbaijan.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 22 2004
PACE SUMMER SESSION STARTED
[June 22, 2004, 19:32:46]
Head of Azerbaijan delegation made report on activity of the PACE
Bureau at the session
As the correspondent of AzerTAj reported, the group of deputies
headed by the head of delegation of Azerbaijan in Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, chairman of standing commission of
Milli Majlis on international relations and inter-parliamentary links
Samad Seyidov has arrived in the city of Strasbourg to take part in
summer session of the structure.
The summer session of pace commenced on June 21. In first half of
day, session of the Bureau of structure and assembly has taken place
in political groups. At session of the Bureau the agenda of session
has been finally discussed, the exchange of opinions on participation
of the Turkish community of Cyprus in the PACE both in its committees
and on other questions has taken place. The member of Bureau Samad
Seyidov in discussion of the Cyprian question has supported the
position of brotherly Turkey.
In the second half of day, the agenda of session was approved. It
includes: “Euro and the expanded Europe”, “Elections on the post of
the Secretary General of the Council of Europe”, “Observation by
Turkey of the obligations “, ” Fulfillment by Turkey of decisions of
the European Court on human rights”, “Contribution of the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the development of Central
and Eastern Europe”, “Fulfillment by Bosnia and Herzegovina of the
obligations; evolution and further development of democratic
institutes in this country”, “Role of women in conflict preventing
and settlement of conflicts”, “Possible monopolies of electronic
media in Italy and malfeasance”, “All-European interdiction of
corporal punishment of children”, “Position of refugees and IDPs in
the Russian Federation and a number of CIS countries”, “Water
resources management in Europe” and other questions.
At session, MP Samad Seyidov has made report on the work done, since
April session by the Bureau before the summer session. The Azerbaijan
deputy has in detail informed on the next assembly of chairmen of the
European parliaments, carried out by PACE on May 17-19 in Strasbourg,
about the meetings of chairmen of parliaments of Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Armenia with participation of chairman the PACE held within the
framework of this action,. Having touched the resolution adopted by
Assembly at the April session on performance of obligations by
Armenia, Samad Seyidov has noted, that in this question the structure
has given Armenia time until the fall session.
Then, the deputy has noted the work done by the Bureau in connection
with results of monitoring in Latvia, destiny of missing in Belarus,
cooperation with Kazakhstan, judgment on death penalty to the
Bulgarian doctors in Libya, presidential elections conducted in
Ukraine in October.
The report of the Azerbaijan deputy on activity of the Bureau of
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe testifies to high
trust to our country and growth of its image in the structure.
At the session, President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan is expected to
make speech before the deputies about situation in his country.
The Session continues its work.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 17:24:59 | 22-06-2004 | Social |
CHILDREN FALLEN INTO NEGLECT IN ARMENIA
On Tuesday, Christian Ferrin, the head of Armenian mission of Doctors
without Borders organization, speaking at a news conference in Yerevan,
voiced dissatisfaction at cooperation with Armenian authorities for
last seven year.
Ferrin said a program launched to improve child treatment in
special schools was already completed but no changes had been made
in Nubarashen and Vardashen special schools so far. Children are
being mistreated and undergone violence as before, he said. The
organization and Armenian Education Ministry was in charge of the
project implementation.
In his words, Armenian authorities said these schools were intended
for military training. It means children under age of12 years pass
military training in a clear breach of International Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Key aim of the organization is children protection. The organization
focuses its attention also on rendering help to those families in
extreme need to prevent them from collapsing.
“Many abandoned children in orphanages have parents who are unable to
take care of them. Time has come the authorities to take responsibility
for every child not only to help them”, Ferrin said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Baku Today
June 22 2004
Police Disperses KLO’s anti-Armenian Rally in Baku, Arresting Akif Naghi
Baku Today 22/06/2004 17:23
Several members from the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO),
including its chairman Akif Naghi, were arrested on Tuesday after
they clashed with police near Baku’s Europe Hotel, where a planning
conference for NATO’s “Cooperative Best Effort-2004” military
training opened the same day.
About 100 KLO activists attempted to rally in front of the hotel in
protest of two Armenian participants of the conference, Firudin
Mammadov, a deputy KLO chairman, told the Baku Today. No immediate
comments were available from the police.
Mammadov said when the police prevented the protestors from
assembling in front of the hotel, a group of 15-20 young KLO
activists managed to broke into the hotel via a rear door, after
which the work of the conference was stopped for about ten minutes.
KLO had warned the Armenian officers, Colonel Murad Isakhanyan and
Senior Lieutenant Aram Hovhanesian from coming to Baku, with a KLO
activist threatening them with death.
KLO also blamed Azerbaijani authorities for letting the Armenian
officers – who have been involved in the occupation of Azerbaijan’s
territories – into the country.
Armenian officers had failed to show up in the first Baku-hosted
planning conference for the “Cooperative Best Effort-2004” exercises
in January. Armenian foreign ministry then put the blame on the
Azerbaijani government for not providing the Armenians with entry
visas. But the latter accused the Armenian side in response, saying
that Yerevan had already besmirched relations with Baku by occupying
one-fifth of Azerbaijan’ territories.

PRESS RELEASE
Department of Armenian Studies, Haigazian University
Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: Ara Sanjian
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:
HENRY THERIAULT LECTURES AT HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY ON THE COMPARATIVE
DIMENSION OF GENOCIDE DENIAL
BEIRUT, Tuesday, 22 June, 2004 (Haigazian University Department of
Armenian Studies Press Release) – Prof. Henry C. Theriault lectured at
Haigazian University on “The Armenian Genocide and the Comparative
Dimension of Denial” on Friday, 30 April, 2004.
Theriault has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of
Massachusetts. He serves as Assistant Professor of philosophy and
coordinates the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Worcester State
College (Massachusetts, USA). His research focuses on genocide,
nationalism, and the philosophy of history, with particular emphasis on
issues of genocide denial.
Theriault first described the active, state-sponsored denial of the
Armenian Genocide. In the United States alone, the Turkish government
pours millions of dollars into its negationist campaign, hiring
lobbyists (like Bob Livingston and Steven Solarz) to defeat
congressional recognition legislation, as well as public relations firms
to put its version of the events in question out. Ankara also uses its
own diplomatic personnel, funds different initiatives, prints denialist
books and then sends these out free to school districts and newspapers.
When the French Parliament was voting to recognize the Armenian
Genocide, the Turkish government threatened to shut French companies out
of billions of dollars of contracts. “The explicitness, the extent and
the state sponsorship of denial of the Armenian Genocide make it perhaps
the great example of denial,” concluded Theriault. He pointed out that
the Turkish campaign is happening on almost every level and it appears
to encompass every feature of similar denialist attempts, including
state sponsorship and the targeting of the media, educational
institutions and the political realm. Theriault said that the
appointment of Heath Lowry, an American denier of the Armenian Genocide,
as tenured professor at Princeton shows that joining the denialist
bandwagon often has its rewards. The struggle against denial, therefore,
has to be constant, for positive signs in this regard are often
counterbalanced by negative developments.
After asserting that the Turkish campaign is not the only case of
denial, Theriault dealt at some length with two other similar examples.
The first was the attempt by some Japanese circles to deny the
atrocities committed by the Japanese military in Asia between 1931 and
1945, including the Nanking massacre of 1938, when between 100 and 260
thousand of the total 600 thousand inhabitants of the then capital of
Nationalist China were killed in extremely brutal ways. Although the
Japanese government burned in 1945 a tremendous amount of evidence
related to its military activities, a great deal of indirect evidence is
still available on the Nanking massacre. The latter has been brought
together and used by a number of Japanese scholars. There are also many
eyewitness accounts by Westerners, some of whom tried to set up safe
zones for refugees fleeing the Japanese. Nevertheless, attempts to deny
this particular massacre and Japanese wartime atrocities in general have
heated up significantly since the end of the Cold War. While this denial
is not state sponsored per se, many important Japanese government
officials, including the current mayor of Tokyo and functionaries in the
Ministry of Education, are either outright deniers or very sympathetic
to denial efforts. There are also deniers in well placed university
positions, including the prestigious Tokyo University. The deniers are
also usually advocates of the remilitarization of Japan. They see the
Japanese defeat in World War II and also the claim that Japan committed
atrocities as the major hindrance for the re-assertion of Japanese power
in Asia. It is evident, said Theriault, that their sophisticated
campaign has considerable effect on young people. In 2001 deniers
attempted to enforce the use in Japanese schools of a new textbook
reflecting their views. Theriault added that this effort was opposed by
local grass-roots movements of average citizens, an important sign of
the strength among the Japanese population of the kind of full
recognition movement absent in Turkey.
Within the Japanese context, Theriault also referred to the denial of
the ordeal of about 200 thousand Asian (and some Dutch) women and girls,
the so called ‘comfort women,’ who were used as sexual slaves by the
Japanese military. Some of these women were raped 30 times a day, six
days a week. Many of them lasted for only a few months, while others
were massacred at the end of the war because the Japanese government
feared that their plight might lead to yet another war crimes trial.
Among other arguments, denialist historians in Japan have resorted to
relativism to undermine the credibility of the stories of these women.
Theriault’s second example was related to denialist attempts in the
United States. After referring briefly to Holocaust denial attempts by
neo-Nazi groups, he stated that “the real strong denials, beyond the
Armenian Genocide, happen with what the United States has done in its
own past and present.” He argued that “the United States was founded by
genocide, through slavery.” Theriault’s focus was on the genocide of
native Americans. He said that something like nine million natives lived
on the territory of the United States before the European influx. By
1890, however, the United States government recognized that only
approximately 200 thousand natives remained. Theriault said that
exterminatory deportation, like that of the Cherokee and the Navajo, was
a common tool used to get rid of the natives. Even in their designated
points of arrival and resettlement, conditions of starvation were often
imposed. Many continued to die of disease, because they were extremely
weak and starving. Nevertheless, denial of the genocide of native
Americans is still very strong. It works primarily
through omission; people just refuse to talk about the issue. There was
a strong backlash to newspaper editorials urging free discussion of this
topic, which were published in 1992, the fifth centenary of the European
discovery of the Americas. That pitch of denial has continued in the
past decade, and deniers try to explain the extermination of the natives
as just an unfortunate thing. Even when native Americans sue the
government to reclaim their lands on violated treaty grounds, the courts
usually throw these cases out. Moreover, when uranium was discovered in
the twentieth century in native American reservations, the United States
claimed the uranium in the name of national security, without proper
compensation.
Theriault then briefly pointed out a few other instances of genocide
denial. For example, the German genocide of the Herero in South West
Africa in the first decade of the 20th century is still more or less
omitted from German and world history. The Herero refused to leave their
land and resisted German colonial expansion. They were defeated,
however, and massacred; out of 80 thousand Herero only an estimated
10-15 thousand escaped. Recent calls by their survivors for some kind or
recognition and reparation have been ignored. In the modern era, the
Indonesian, Australian, British, American and other governments denied
the atrocities committed during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in
1975 because of oil interests in the region and Indonesia’s value as a
Cold War ally. The United States was the main arms supplier to Indonesia
and aborted all attempts to have the East Timor issue discussed at the
United Nations. Finally, the United Nations, the United States, France,
Belgium and others covered up the Rwandan Genocide as it was happening
in 1994. The United Nations headquarters ignored requests from its
personnel on the ground to increase the number of its troops keeping the
peace in Rwanda and actually cut them down. Even after the genocide
began, the American media presented the violence as an ongoing ethnic
conflict, rather than a case of orchestrated genocide by a perpetrator
group against a victim group. Over 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda
in just 100 days.
Theriault closed the first section of his talk by arguing that denial of
past and ongoing genocides allows other perpetrators to come along; “the
strength of denial and the willingness maybe to give in to denial
ourselves allows us to think that it’s not happening again and we don’t
have any responsibility.”
Although each genocide had its particular characteristics, Theriault
stated that denials of various genocides sound exactly alike; deniers of
different genocides usually use the same types of arguments again and
again. In the second and concluding part of his lecture, he mentioned
some of these arguments:
(a) The ‘civil war’ thesis: the violence was not committed by a
perpetrator group against a victim group; instead, the two groups were
both combatants.
(b) Blaming the victims, by arguing that through their behavior and
actions they provided the initial cause of violence.
(c) The absence of any central plan or intent on the side of the
perpetrator; the acts of violence were spontaneous.
(d) The ‘wartime propaganda’ arguments; the enemies of the perpetrator
group exaggerated and even fabricated the evidence in order to mobilize
public opinion for their war effort.
(e) The ‘numbers game’; the manipulation of pre-genocide population
figures, the number of casualties, and the causes of death to make it
appear that the mass violence did not amount to genocide. This argument
usually does not work alone, said Theriault, but can be very effective
if used together with other arguments.
(f) The argument of ‘insufficient evidence’. However, this line of
reasoning is becoming increasingly untenable in light of new historical
research.
(g) ‘Definitionalism’ or the claim that a particular instance of mass
violence does not fit the United Nations 1948 definition of genocide.
Sometime the definition itself is manipulated and misrepresented to
attain the desired goal of denial. Theriault argued, however, that “if a
lot of people are killed unjustly by a government, the labeling is not
as important.” Deniers who resort to definitionalism often mislead
people into thinking that these are ‘either/or’ cases and that we should
not care if a particular case of group violence is not a genocide.
In the lively question-and-answer session that followed, Theriault
expressed anxiety that “the rhetoric of human rights is now very clearly
being used by the United States and by others as a tool for violating
human rights.” He said that people in the United States and elsewhere
have an arrogance about their susceptibility to propaganda; they think
that they are not susceptible to propaganda and do not realize that
their minds are being manipulated in certain ways. Hence, they are not
critical towards what they are being told. Theriault also said that he
was working on a book on the subject of his lecture.
Theriault’s talk at Haigazian University was part of his first-ever
lecture tour in Lebanon, initiated by the Lebanese-Armenian Heritage
Club of the American University of Beirut. He also gave public lectures
on genocide-related themes at the American University of Beirut, the
Hagop Der Melkonian theatre hall and at the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia, based in Antelias, north of Beirut.
Haigazian University is a liberal arts institution of higher learning,
established in Beirut in 1955. For more information about its activities
you are welcome to visit its web-site at <;. For additional information on the activities of its Department of Armenian Studies, contact Ara Sanjian at .

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06/22/2004
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WEBSITE AT HTTP://
1. Karabagh Liberation Organization Disrupts Baku NATO Conference
2. Austrian President Questions EU’s Readiness for Turkey
3. Kerry Honors 86th Anniversary of the Founding of the First Armenian Republic
4. Gorky Family Speaks out on Burying Artist in Armenia
1. Karabagh Liberation Organization Disrupts Baku NATO Conference
BAKU (Australian/Baku Today/RFE/RL)–A NATO conference in the former
Soviet republic of Azerbaijan was disrupted on Tuesday when hardline
nationalists tried to storm the hotel where the meeting was taking
place.
Police arrested several members from the Karabagh Liberation
Organization (KLO), including chairman Akif Naghi, who were protesting
the presence of two Armenian servicemen at the conference.
The KLO warned last week it would take radical action to stop the entry
[into Baku] of Armenian officers.
The conference is being held to prepare officers for a training
exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, called “Cooperative
Best Effort,” which is due to take place in Azerbaijan later this year.
When police prevented the approximately 100 KLO protesters from
assembling outside the venue of the meeting, a hotel in the Azeri
capital, Baku, about 30 demonstrators broke through a police cordon
and smashed the glass door of the conference hall, witnesses at the
scene told AFP.
Hotel security guards prevented them from getting into the conference
hall; they were later detained by police. The meeting was suspended
for five minutes as a result of the disturbance.
The protesters had earlier marched through Baku carrying placards
with the slogans: “Armenians Out!” and “The Armenian criminals have
the blood of our people on their hands.”
“We will continue this protest action all day,” said Akif Nagi, who
led the demonstration. “Our aim is to force the Armenians to leave
the conference.”
Delegates from 24 NATO member states and partner countries, including
the two Armenian officers are attending the conference.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry warned it may recall its representatives
before the end of the conference. Spokesman Colonel Seyran
Shahsuvarian, said in a statement that Azeri security agencies and
the US embassy in Baku are taking “additional security measures.”
“Consultations are currently going on between Armenian representatives,
exercise organizers and Azerbaijani defense ministry officials
regarding the further work of the planning conference,” Shahsuvarian
said. “The Armenian side will continue its participation in the
conference if the Azerbaijani authorities assume full responsibility
for ensuring the security of the Armenian officers.”
Nagi has said that military and other government officials from Armenia
must not be allowed to set foot on Azerbaijani soil because “they
represent an occupying country that has infringed on Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity.” But in a statement to the local media on
Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov argued that under the PfP
rules the Azerbaijani government could not block their participation
in the conference. “Azerbaijan’s relations with NATO must not be
hostage to our problems with Armenia,” Azimov said.
2. Austrian President Questions EU’s Readiness for Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) The European Union is not ready to accept Turkey
as a member and needs more time to assimilate into the countries of
central and eastern Europe, a Turkish newspaper today quoted Austria’s
new president as saying on Tuesday.
Turkey has won praise from Brussels for a flurry of liberal political
and legal reforms that have boosted its hopes of winning a date at a
December EU summit to start entry talks. But any one of the 25 member
states could veto the opening of talks.
Heinz Fischer, who takes office on July 8, told Turkey’s Aksam daily
he personally favors Turkey’s eventual membership into EU, but said
this was not the right time to begin negotiations.
“We are talking about a large country of 70 million people.
Turkey can change the balances within the EU. It can turn everything
upside down,” Aksam quoted Fischer as saying.
”The question which must be asked is not only whether Turkey is
ready for the EU but whether the EU is ready for Turkey.
”I say clearly, we cannot yet bear [the strain] of Turkey joining,”
said Fischer, a Social Democrat.
The EU admitted 10 new members including Poland, Hungary, the Czech
Republic and the divided island of Cyprus on May 1. It aims to take
in Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and Croatia is also about to begin
accession talks.
”It is difficult to say whether Turkey will be given a date ]in
December],” Fischer said.
Financial markets are watching closely Ankara’s preparations for
December, believing failure to open negotiations could undermine the
center-right government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and derail
Turkey’s strong economic recovery.
At a summit in Brussels last week, EU leaders repeated their praise
for Turkey’s reforms and urged Erdogan to keep up his reformist
momentum. If launched, the entry talks are expected to last many years.
Turkey, a secular but overwhelmingly Muslim country, has been knocking
on the EU’s door since 1963. It became an official candidate in
1999 but has yet to open entry talks due to concerns over its human
rights record.
3. Kerry Honors 86th Anniversary of the Founding of the First Armenian
Republic
WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–In a statement released to the Armenian American
community, presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry
marked the May 28, 1918 founding of the first Armenian Republic.
In his statement, Kerry noted that, “the first Republic of Armenia
rose 86 years ago from the ashes of the Armenian genocide, but was
partitioned soon afterwards. Yet, Armenians yearned for independence,
and seven decades later realized their dream of self-determination.”
“Armenian Americans welcome John Kerry’s celebration of the 86th
anniversary of the first Republic of Armenia,” said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. “As a Senator with a twenty-year track
record of advocating for issues of importance to Armenian Americans,
John Kerry understands the tremendous challenges–first among them
the horrific toll of the Armenian Genocide–that the Armenian people
overcame in 1918 on the road to the establishment of the Armenian
Republic.”
In April of this year, Kerry joined the Armenian American community
in marking the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In a
statement issued on April 22, Kerry called “on governments and people
everywhere to formally recognize this tragedy. Only by learning from
this dark period of history and working to prevent future genocides
can we truly honor the memories of those Armenians who suffered
so unjustly.” In the days prior to his statement, Kerry joined 22
of his Senate colleagues in calling on President Bush to “refer to
the mass slaughter of Armenians as genocide in your commemorative
statement.” He was amongst the earliest cosponsors of the Genocide
resolution (S.Res.164), which marks the 15th anniversary of the US
implementation of the Genocide Convention.
Kerry’s complete record on Armenian American concerns is posted on the
“Armenians for Kerry” website The website
includes previous statements by the Senator and provides ways for
Armenian American supporters to become active in the Kerry campaign
through donations or other volunteer efforts.
Kerry’s congratulatory letter regarding the First Armenian Republic
was read at a Greater Washington, DC area celebration last Saturday
night, hosted by the ARF. The complete text of the statement follows.
Letter from John Kerry Honoring Armenia’s First Independence
Tonight I join Armenian-Americans in proudly celebrating the Republic
of Armenia’s day of independence. The first Republic of Armenia
rose 86 years ago from the ashes of the Armenian genocide, but was
partitioned soon afterwards. Yet, Armenians yearned for independence,
and seven decades later realized their dream of self- determination.
I am proud of my work with the Armenian-American community including
my support for ending Azerbaijan’s blockades of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabagh, for the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act in 1996 and for
extending “permanent normal trade relations” (PNTR) to Armenia.
This evening I would also like to pay tribute to the Armenian-Americans
who have contributed so much to our great country. Your hard work
and strong values make our country a better place for all Americans.
I hope you have a wonderful celebration and, of course, a very happy
birthday.
4. Gorky Family Speaks out on Burying Artist in Armenia
Arshile Gorky’s descendants recently responded to reports that the
Yerevan-based Arshile Gorky Foundation has undertaken fundraising
efforts to transport and bury the remains of the Armenian-American
abstract expressionist painter in Armenia.
Foundation chairman Badal Badalian announced on May 19 that his
organization had undertaken fundraising efforts and “is requesting
permission” to carry out on of Gorky’s greatest dreams to “to return
home and to be one with the soil of Armenia.” Gorky’s son-in-law
Matthew Spender, announced that the move to transfer Gorky’s remains to
Armenia “eventuality requires the permission of Gorky’s descendants,”
including Gorky’s daughter, Spender’s wife Maro.
“I’d like to place on record the fact that neither she nor her mother,
nor sister have been informed of the plan, and that they are against
the idea. Gorky’s resting place in Connecticut is final,” emphasizes
Spender who wrote the 1999 biography of Gorky, From a High Place:
A Life of Arshile Gorky
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PRESS RELEASE
German-Armenian Society (DAG)
Web:
Contact: Ilyas Kevork Uyar
Mühlenstraße 6
54296 Trier
e-mail: [email protected]
Berlin series of lectures
German-Armenian Society
We are inviting you on
Monday, 28th of June 2003
19:30
in the Hessian permanent representation
located in the Ministergärten 5, 10117 Berlin
to a lecture of
Annette Schaefgen
Centre of Research on Anti-Semitism, Berlin
about
^ÓThe Armenian Genocide
as a Topic in German Politics After 1949 .^Ô
About the subject: In the first two decades after the founding of the
Federal Republic of Germany the armenian genocide was no topic in the
political discourse in germany. Only after the growing self-organisation
and political self-regognition of the armenian community in the 70s, does
the regocnition of the genocide became a demand with which german
politicians were faced, first primarily regionally, then however late in
the year 2000 on the federal level through a petition to the German
Bundestag to recognize the genocide.
However, until now for the german side the subject is of only little
relevance. The factors detemining this posiition will be described and
analyzed through documents of the Foreign Office, press articles and
interviews with various members of previous and actual german governments
and other politicians.
Organized by the German-Armenian Society.
Online Contact: Ilyas Kevork Uyar, [email protected]
+++
Wir laden Sie ein
am Montag, 28. Juni 2004, 19.30 Uhr,
in die Hessische Landesvertretung,
In den Ministergärten 5, 10117 Berlin,
zum Vortrag von
Annette Schaefgen
Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung
über das Thema
Der Völkermord an den Armeniern als Thema in der deutschen Politik nach
1949
Zum Thema: In den ersten beiden Jahrzehnten nach der Gründung der
Bundesrepublik war der Völkermord an den Armeniern aus dem politischen
Diskurs in Deutschland fast vollständig ausgeblendet. Erst durch die
zunehmende Organisation der Armenier in den 70er Jahren, die auch ein
Erwachen des politischen Bewusstseins der Diaspora-Gemeinde und deren
Forderung nach einer offiziellen Anerkennung des Völkermordes mit sich
brachte, wurden deutsche Politiker zunehmend mit dem Thema konfrontiert,
zunächst nur regional und erst im Jahr 2000 mit dem Petitionsantrag zur
Anerkennung des Völkermordes schließlich auch auf Bundesebene.
Die Relevanz, die dem Thema von deutscher Seite beigemessen wird, ist bis
heute kontinuierlich gering. Anhand der Akten des Auswärtigen Amtes,
Presseartikeln, Interviews von Vertretern der jeweiligen
Bundesregierungen und anderen Politikern werden Fallbeispiele vorgestellt
und analysiert, durch welche Faktoren das Verhalten der deutschen
Politiker in dieser Frage bestimmt wurden und werden.
Annette Schaefgen hat Geschichte und Latein an der TU Berlin studiert. Am
dort ansässigen Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung schreibt sie zur Zeit
ihre Dissertation zum Thema “Die Rezeption des Völkermordes an den
Armeniern in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland”. Sie hat verschiedene
Aufsätze zu den Armeniern in Deutschland und zur Rezeption des
Völkermordes in der Bundesrepublik, den USA und Israel verfasst. Daneben
arbeitet sie freiberuflich als Bildredakteurin.

AZERI POLICE ARREST 12 FOR STORMING NATO CONFERENCE IN BAKU
Turan news agency, Baku
22 Jun 04
22 June: According to the latest data available to the Karabakh
Liberation Organization (KLO), police have detained 12 people who
took part in the protest outside Hotel Europe today. The detainees
were taken to various police departments of Baku.
The protest started in the morning and continued for quite a while
intermittently. It was accompanied with sporadic clashes with police. A
group of protesters burst into the hotels’ ground floor and tried to
disrupt a NATO conference in which two Armenian officers were taking
part. Police and hotel security officers took them out. As a result,
the hotel’s windows were smashed.
The protesters left the hotel at 1330 (0830 gmt), but the building
is still cordoned off by police.
Preliminary reports say that none of the participants in the NATO
conference, including Armenians, suffered in the incident.