ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 14 2006
ARMENIAN DEPUTY FM, EMIR OF QATAR DISCUSS BILATERAL RELATIONS
Yerevan, April 14. /ARKA/. RA Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham
Gharibjanyan and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Amad bin Khalif Al Tani
discussed the Armenian-Qatari relations in Doha.
The sides addressed bilateral cooperation in international
organizations, stressing the importance of mutual visits. Preliminary
agreements were reached.
The sides also discussed the terms of the first meeting of the
Armenian-Qatari intergovernmental commission, as well as the details
of Armenia’s participation in the 15th Asian Games in Doha, on
December 1-15, 2006, as a guest of honor.
During his visit, Gharibjanyan also held meetings with Qatari Foreign
Minister Sheikh Amad bin Jasem bin Jaber Al-Tani and State Foreign
Minister Ahmad bin Abdallah al Mahmudi.
The Armenian delegation took part in the 6th international conference
`Democracy, development and free trade’ in Doha on April 11, 2006.
About 600 representatives from various countries took part in the
conference. P.T. -0–

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 14 2006
FOREIGN MINISTER OF EGYPT: ARMENIANS PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN HISTORY
OF EGYPT
YEREVAN, April 14. /ARKA/. Armenians play significant role in the
history of Egypt, according to the message of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Egypt Ahmad Abu al-Geyd, ready during the celebration of
100 years of foundation of the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) in the Embassy of Armenia in Egypt.
According to the Press and Information Department of the RA Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Al-Geyd in his message also pointed out the
importance of development of Armenia-Egypt relations. During the
ceremony welcoming message of the RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
was ready.
The RA Ambassador in Egypt Ruben Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Consul Fatma Zakhra, AGBU President Perch
Sedrakyan and head of the Cairo filial of the AGBU Onik Blektaryan
made welcoming speeches during the celebration held in the Armenian
Embassy with participation of 400 invited foreign guests.
Festive events on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of foundation
of the AGBU opened in Egypt on April 12. S.P. – 0 –

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 15 2006
PACE Encourages Conflict Settlement in South Caucasus
15/04/2006 09:49
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) encourages
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to continue their efforts to achieve
peaceful and permanent settlements of the various conflicts in the
region in order to enable the voluntary return of refugees and
internally displaced persons (IDPs), the CoE reported on April 13.
During its spring session on April 13 PACE discussed a draft
resolution on refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia.
The European parliamentarians also welcomed the steps taken by
Armenia and Azerbaijan and, to a lesser extent, Georgia, to begin
local integration of refugees and IDPs, while stressing that there
were still urgent humanitarian needs which would require
international aid.

Dünya online, Turkey
April 15 2006
FM Gul meets with Polish counterpart
14/04/2006 17:16:24
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his Polish
counterpart Stefan Meller in Ankara. During their talks, the two top
diplomats discussed bilateral relations.
At a press conference, afterwards, citing the Polish Parliament’s
decision last year on the so-called Armenian genocide, Gul conveyed
Turkey’s concern over the matter. Stressing that the issue should be
taken up by historians, not politicians, Gul said the move could
encourage Armenians. Turkey has offered to Armenia to investigate the
matter, but has so far gotten no reply, added Gul.
Gul said that Turkish government was determined to further improve
economic and defense relations with Poland. “I believe that Poland
will continue extending support to Turkey in its EU membership
process,” Gul added.
For his part, Meller stated that his government’s support for
Turkey’s European Union membership bid would continue. The criteria
which were applied to other countries during the EU membership
process should be the same applied to Turkey, said Meller.

New York Post, NY
April 15 2006
DONALD APPLAUDS MISS IRAQ
By LUKAS I. ALPERT
April 14, 2006 — Miss Universe contest owner Donald Trump yesterday
praised the bravery of the newly crowned Miss Iraq, who has been
forced into hiding amid death threats.
“She is very proud to have won, and now she is in a very tough
position,” Trump said of Miss Iraq, Silva Shahakian. “She is
extremely brave.”
Shahakian, a Christian of Armenian ancestry, was crowned Sunday when
the original winner stepped down after receiving threats from
extremists.
“I’ll take care,” Shahakian, 23, told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“I will change my living place. I will do my best.”
Her whereabouts are currently unknown, although she is believed to
still be in Iraq.
Trump said he and Miss Universe organizers were considering making a
special salute to Shahakian at the July 23 pageant in Los Angeles.
“We’ve had countries in the contest before where it was not the most
popular thing to do, but never like this,” Trump said.
Photo:

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 15 2006
U.S. backs fair settlement of Upper Garabagh conflict

Baku, April 13, AssA-Irada
A US Congressman has said his country backs a fair settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, but the
two countries should display political will to reach peace.
The United States is looking to achieve a just and long-lasting
solution. The mediating OSCE Minsk Group is also working to achieve
peace soon, Chairman of the U.S. Congress Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations, James Kolbe, told a news conference in Baku on Thursday.
`Armenia and Azerbaijan are principal sides. The people of the two
countries should give an impetus to the conflict settlement on their
own. We can facilitate the process but can’t solve it for them,’ the
Congressman said, emphasizing that the United States recognizes
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
Kolbe said the Garabagh conflict may be settled through dialogue and
there is a good opportunity to achieve progress this year.
The Congressman said he visited Armenia and Georgia prior to coming
to Azerbaijan.
`I met with the Azerbaijani foreign minister, representatives of the
parliament and Defense Ministry as well as heads of some
non-governmental organizations during my two-day visit to Baku.’
Kolbe said the US co-chair of the Minsk Group Steven Mann is expected
to submit new proposals during his visit to Azerbaijan shortly. He
said it is possible to achieve progress soon if the Azeri and
Armenian leaders display political will.
`The conflict must be settled to boost development in the Caucasus.
If this happens, the United States will be one of the first countries
to assist in the rehabilitation of the occupied territories,’ the
Congressman added.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 15 2006
Section 907 may be repealed soon: US Congressman

Baku, April 13, AssA-Irada
The Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act banning US government’s
direct assistance to the Azerbaijani government may be repealed soon.
The issue may be tabled during President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the
United States late this month, said James Kolbe, who leads a
delegation of US Congress members on their visit to Baku.
`But this depends on on the Congressmen and the US Congress
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations I am heading. I believe that at a
time a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) conflict is
not far off, we can hope for a complete repeal of the Section.’
Kolbe said he was not represented in the mentioned Subcommittee when
this legislation was passed. Over the past five years, the Section,
applied on other countries as well, has been frozen.
`I was one of those who voted for freezing Section 907. The main
thing is not to keep it in force but to freeze it. We have used such
amendments on a number of countries. This resembles a situation of a
glass half-full and half-empty. I believe the glass is half full
now,’ the Congressman said.*

Cyprus News Agency
April 15 2006
CYPRUS – ARMENIA – CENTRAL BANKS – MEMORANDUM
The Central Banks of Cyprus and Armenia signed a memorandum of
understanding.
The memorandum was signed by the Governors of the Central Bank of
Cyprus and Armenia, Christodoulos Christodoulou and Tigran Sargsyan,
respectively.
An official statement said the Central Bank of the Republic of
Armenia and the Central Bank of Cyprus, expressing their mutual
interest and willingness in establishing and promoting bilateral ties
in supervising credit institutions, signed today in Nicosia a
Memorandum of Understanding.

London Free Press (Ontario)
April 15, 2006 Saturday
FINAL EDITION
WHEN ‘CLEANSING’ SOUNDS A LITTLE IMPURE
BY GEORGE CLARK, LONDON FREELANCE WRITER
Holy euphemism, Batman! Robin, the caped crusader’s sidekick, came to
mind when the OPP officer in charge of the investigation into the
slaughter of eight bikers last weekend referred to the motive of the
killings as an “internal cleansing.”
The bizarre killings and dumping of the bodies near the village of
Shedden in Elgin County brought a variety of responses, once the
original shock over the discovery had faded. Both print and talk
radio included the point of view that, because it was bikers who had
been killed, perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing.
At the same time, half the letters to the editor in the London Free
Press on Tuesday expressed dismay and disapproval over a newspaper
photo on the weekend showing part of a man’s body hidden in a car
trunk.
The use of the word “cleansing” by police in their search for a
motive seemed to also put this event on a different scale. I checked
Google’s news website for the mention of “cleansing” in news stories
in the past few days. At the top was the bikers’ bodies discovered in
Elgin County. There were also stories on a charge by the UN over
ethnic cleansing in the Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, a rights
group in Bangkok accusing Myanmar troops of ethnic cleansing in Karen
villages, and a story from Great Britain in the Telegraph in which
Labour MP Jane Kennedy accused the Tony Blair government of “social
cleansing” in a program that called for the destruction of thousands
of homes — many low-income — to make way for new housing and a road
to Liverpool’s city centre.
And now we join the world’s list of “cleansing” news with the
slayings in Elgin County.
It may be nitpicking, but to me, the use of the word “cleansing” as a
euphemism for slaughter in this case, goes way beyond the Merriam
Webster definition of “getting rid of impurities by, or as if by,
washing.” That’s like referring to a fire in a slum district as urban
renewal. The previously mentioned MP Kennedy might disagree with me.
What it does, though, is verbally put these homicides or executions
(which they really were) on a different scale, as though part of a
socially understood phenomenon: “cleansing.” Does that make the
killings, if not more acceptable, then more understandable? Probably.
Does it remove some of the horror from the situation? Probably.
Is that right? I’m not sure.
The London Free Press, in its thorough, detailed coverage of the
massacre, the history of bikers in the region, and potential
implications for the future, also included descriptions of the murder
victims as quiet, unassuming neighbours and family members. Does that
become muted when police choose to describe the slaughter of eight
men as a “cleansing”?
At the same time, I feel that when we broaden meanings of words to
embrace more and more uses, we can diminish their original
definitions. In this case, I wonder if it means in any way that the
racial or ethnic cleansing that still goes on in this world is any
more acceptable or understandable because of the widespread usage of
“cleansing.” Hopefully not.
The specific use of words still sparks debate and fierce
disagreement. The president of the UN General Assembly this week, in
describing the ethnic “cleansing” in the Sudan, said he didn’t know
if it was on the scale to qualify as “genocide,” as the U.S.
government had termed it. Reference to the forced removal in the
early part of this century of an estimated two million Armenians from
Turkey, and the tens of thousands of deaths that ensued, as a
“holocaust,” can bring a swift response that “holocaust” refers only
to the treatment and killing of Jews by Germany in the Second World
War.
Words and meanings matter. Before we trivialize the word “cleansing”
in reference to Elgin County last weekend or, on the other hand,
marginalize the slaughter through the use of words suggesting an
historically understood phenomenon, let’s think twice.
And let’s do it before Robin, the sidekick of the cartoon caped
crusader, Batman, can actually fit the situation with a saying
previously attributed to him: “Holy cliche, Batman!”
NOTES: George Clark is anchor/host of First Local News and
Politically Speaking on Rogers Television.
GRAPHIC: photo by Free Press File Photo LIMITED RISK: Ontario
Provincial Police tried to reassure Elgin County citizens this week
with statements that last weekend’s slaughter of eight bikers was an
“internal cleansing,” rather than an attack by the Bandidos on others.

The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
April 13, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition
Miss Iraq bows out amid death threats: Bid to change country’s image
suffers setback
by: Daniel McGrory, Times of London
It is proving as hard to find a beauty queen as it is to find a prime
minister in Iraq.
Exhausted by the time their politicians are taking to agree on a
leader, the country thought it had at least succeeded in choosing a
Miss Iraq.
But Wednesday night, the people’s choice — Tamar Goregian, 23, a
blonde student with photogenic pout — was in hiding in neighbouring
Jordan, having hastily renounced her crown following death threats
from Islamic extremists.
Only six days ago she was revelling in her victory, blinking back
tears of joy as she told admirers crammed into a Baghdad nightclub
that “maybe beauty is the final step to end the violence here and
preach peace after all.”
Organizers had hoped her appearance at the Miss Universe contest in
Los Angeles in July would show the world a different image of Iraq.
By Wednesday they were searching for a replacement after
fundamentalists denounced the terrified Goregian, an Armenian
Christian, as “the Queen of Infidels.”
The two runners-up, both Muslim, swiftly declined the crown.
On Wednesday it was left to the fourth-placed contestant, Silva
Sahagian, 23, another Christian, to assume the mantle. “Our
politicians should have more to worry about than whether Miss Iraq
should go to America,” she said. “I cannot believe the extremists
would do anything to a beauty queen.”