UNESCO CENSORSHIP ON OTTOMAN ARCHIVE CRITICIZED
By Mukremin Albayrak, Serbest Ozden, Istanbul
Zaman Online, Turkey
June 13 2006
Historians showed harsh reaction to United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Education, UNESCO for censoring documents in
the exhibition of Ottoman Archives scheduled to be held in France’s
capital Paris.
Emphasizing that the attitude of UNESCO does not agree with its
real mission or historical realities, the historians supported the
ministry’s cancellation of the exhibition.
Terming the events as “a shame”, Turkish Institute of History (TTK)
President Professor Yusuf Halacoglu said, “It is nonsense for an
organization required to be effective on cultural dialogue and union
to strive to ban some documents.”
Reporting that the ones intervening with the exhibition continuously
called for freedom of expression and limitation of information,
Halacoglu continued: “Turkey acted in good faith to solve the Armenian
genocide. The cases never refer to science or honesty anymore. There
are some letters, which Armenians forwarded to the Ottoman Empire
from America and Canada to ask for help. We are face to face with
such a big shame.”
Said Ozturk from the Foundation of Ottoman Researches designated
the UNESCO’s request for a change on the historical documents as
sorrowful. It is of concern to sovereignty, Ozturk warned, “You will
accept the exhibition or refuse it.”

12-YEAR EDUCATION IS TOO EXTENDED
Lragir.am
13 June 06
We need a learner-oriented policy in Armenia, stated Levon Mkrtichyan,
the minister of education and culture, June 13. According to him, it
is not right that a child studies longer than a certain period. “It
is not right to devote 20 years to professional education.” In other
words, if we make secondary education last for 12 years, we should
admit that the duration of the bachelor’s or master’s course has to
be made shorter. “We should not place additional load on children,
which would take them years. The world does not steal years. There
are standards in education.”
“I have an impression that we have extended the ten-year education
to make it last for 12 years. There are no principles, concepts for
the senior school.”
The same situation is with the introduction of the credit system in
higher education. According to Levon Mkrtichyan, instead of pledging
to adopt the credit system within a year the rectors “should have
submitted their resignations, saying they are in charge of a university
and we do not have the right to lead their university to such a risk.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOLD RESERVES ARE NOT FAVORABLE FOR ARMENIA, SAID PRESIDENT OF CENTRAL BANK
Lragir.am
13 June 06
The president of the Central Bank of Armenia announced June 13 that
it is not favorable for Armenia to have gold reserves in the upcoming
years. According to the president of the Central Bank, having gold
reserves is favorable when the foreign assets exceed the foreign debt,
reports the news agency ARKA. The gold reserve of Armenia was sold in
2003 when Tigran Sargsyan was the president of the Central Bank. Tigran
Sargsyan assures that the sale of the gold reserve was determined by
the necessity to transfer 3 billion dollars to the state budget of
Armenia. At that time the gold reserve totaled 15 million dollars,
while the foreign assets reached 770 million dollars.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PASSED LAW ON ARMENIAN FLAG
Lragir.am
13 June 06
On June 13 the National Assembly passed the law on the flag of
the Republic of Armenia. In accordance with the law, the state
flag of Armenia is flied on the residences of the president and the
government, the home of the parliament, as well as the courts of law,
other government agencies and the legacies of the Republic of Armenia
outside the borders of Armenia. The law does not forbid citizens of
Armenia to fly the flag on their houses. However, the law requires
flying the flag at least 2.5 meters high above ground. The flag must
be clean, the colors cannot be faded.

ORPHANAGES WILL BE LICENSED
Lragir.am
13 June 06
After the adoption of amendments to the law on licensing on June 13
licensing of orphanages is obligatory in Armenia. Aghvan Vardanyan,
the minister of work and social security, said there are 8 state and
6 private orphanages.
The ministry is entitled to control on maintaining the required
conditions in orphanages and record of homeless children. According
to the minister, the number of private orphanages is growing, and
the changes made to the law will enable more effective control on
orphanages as well as on the procedure of adopting.

PARTISANSHIP DESTROYS EDUCATION
Lragir.am
13 June 06
In his first news conference Levon Mkrtichyan, the minister of
education and culture, proposed and called for changing the attitude
towards the sphere of education.
Minister Levon Mkrtichyan proposes several steps. First, “stop
approaching our ministry and sphere as a mere system intended for
organizing different examinations because the problems we are facing
are much more important and serious and are related to much more
vital interests than the entrance or graduation exams of our children.”
Levon Mkrtichyan suggests using the term “upgrading” instead of
“educational reform.” Especially that the education of Soviet Armenia
complied with the standards of the time. “The quality of our education
was very high,” he said. Simply in today’s changing world education
has also changed, and the problem of upgrading has emerged “to comply
with the international standards in this sphere.” We have to upgrade
to comply with the European education, states Levon Mkrtichyan, adding
that the quality of education in Armenia has declined. If formerly we
were on the same level with the European educational system, at least
with the countries of Eastern Europe, currently we are compared with
Turkey, Costa Rica and Central Asia.
Knowing that there are members of different political parties in the
ministry, Levon Mkrtichyan, ARF, reminds that this sphere “will operate
as an integrated professional system.” The minister would not like his
children or everyone else’s children to attend a Republican, ARF or
Orinats Yerkir school. “It would ruin us,” said Levon Mkrtichyan. Levon
Mkrtichyan’s call was addressed to all the workers of education,
“if the directors of schools support some ideas but they do not want
to affiliate with the party, let them not to in order not to appear
in such a stupid situation.” However, quite recently the Republican
Party has launched a campaign of involving teachers in the party,
and only three days ago the Bargavach Hayastan Party used the Last
Bell ceremony at schools for political advertisement. In answer to
this remark Levon Mkrtichyan added that his call against partisanship
in education is addressed to statesmen and political parties as well.

FOREIGN EXPERTS RECOGNIZE TRANSDNIESTRIA INDEPENDENCE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 14:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A scholarly paper on the state sovereignty of the
Transdniestrian Moldavian Republic (TMR) within the framework of
the international law has been presented in Washington. The authors
are Stefan Talmon, Christofer Goebel, Nancy Furman, Paul Williams,
Stephen Krasner, Andrew Lorenz, Michael Scharf, and William Wood,
the international scholars from Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, and
Cambridge universities who contributed to the elaboration of the
Dayton agreements on the division of former Yugoslavia. The experts
conclude that historically, Transdniestria has never been part of
Moldova. While Transdniestria originated from the collapse of the USSR,
its people and territory have roots that go far into the history. The
foundation and the existence of the modern Republic of Moldova are
based on a unilateral declaration of independence that enunciated the
forced unification on Moldova and Transdniestria performed by Stalin
at the outset of the World War II.
It lacked any ‘actual legal base,’ i. e. was instituted
illegally. Legal and factual analysis reveal that during the collapse
of the USSR, the Moldavian SSR broke up into two successor states:
Moldova and Transdniestria, whose today’s border fully corresponds to
the traditional historical border that divided them since the early
Middle Ages. At the moment of Moldova’s secession from the USSR,
Transdniestria had already exited it and governed its territory.
The report says that many years of international practice
accumulated in charters allow listing the criteria used to define
state sovereignty. These are steady population, defined territory,
government capable of establishing relations with other nations.
Transdnestr today meets all the criteria. It has its own democratically
elected President and a legislative body currently controlled by an
opposition party. Its government controls armed forces and enters
discussions with foreign states. In the case of the TMR, the viability
of the state is proved, as well as the legitimacy of the process of
the state building, the scholars affirm. More than a half million
people residing in Transdniestria that occupies territory of 4,
163 km2, successfully meet all the criteria of state sovereignty in
accord with the international law. Transdniestria has an effectively
functioning government that has its own agencies, the Constitution,
currency, tax system, legal system, and population exceeding in its
numbers that of many UN member states.

BRITISH-TURKISH DIALOGUE GROUP URGE BELGIUM TO RECOGNIZE CONGO GENOCIDE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 16:35 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The British-Turkish Committee for Dialogue (BTCD),
a London-based non-governmental organization, has said that it
supports the Early Day Motion tabled by British Labor Party deputy
Andrew Dismore calling on the Belgian government to recognize the
genocide it perpetuated in what is today the Democratic Republic
of Congo. Dismore, a deputy from Hendon and chairman of the Joint
Committee on Human Rights in the British Parliament, argues that
the tragic incidents of 1884 and 1907 that resulted in the deaths
of millions of ethnic Congolese under the rule of King Leopold II of
Belgium constituted genocide.
The Early Day Motion calls on Belgium to recognize the Congolese
genocide. The Congo incidents were brought to Dismore’s attention
by the BTCD at a public meeting in London in April. At the meeting
Dismore said that Belgium had to officially recognize the events as
genocide. After having had confirmation from the British Parliament’s
library that Belgium so far has not apologized for the incidents,
Dismore tabled the motion at parliament.
In a press statement, BTCD said it thanks Dismore for the compassion
he has shown for the victims of this tragedy. The Belgian parliament
has passed resolutions calling on other nations, including Turkey,
to reconsider their history and recognize that they had perpetuated
genocide. Therefore, we call upon the Belgian parliament to face the
dark pages of its history in the same way that it has suggested to
other nations, by recognizing the tragedy Belgium caused during this
period as genocide, the BTCD said.
Dismore’s motion was also signed by 12 other British deputies: 10
Labor, two Liberal Democrat and one Conservative, reported Turkish
Daily News.

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FMS MEETING IN PARIS
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 17:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recurrent round of talks between Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian and Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov started
in Paris June 13, Azeri Deputy FM, President’s Special Representative
for the Nagorno Karabakh settlement Araz Azimov said. The meeting
started with business lunch. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are also
taking part in the talks. Azimov said it’s premature to make any
comments on the ongoing negotiations, reported Trend news agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INTERNATIONAL GROUP FOR SEARCH OF MISSING ARRIVING IN NKR
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 18:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 18-20, 2006 the International Working Group for
Search of Missing, Captives and Release of POWs is expected to arrive
in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region. The purpose of the visit is
to activate the search of the missing and burial places. The group
will also work at the inquiries by the NKR, Armenian and Azerbaijan
state committees, reported Novosti-Armenia.