FRANCE INCLUDES GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS EVEN IN MEDICAL BOOKS
By Emre Demir, Strasbourg
Zaman, Turkey
March 27 2006
In France, allegations on the so-called Armenian genocide have made
their way into medical books. It has been revealed that the so-called
genocide-advocate Armenian lobby holds the copyright of some books
used in French medical faculties.
In the prefaces of Axel Balian’s books, a book students must buy,
genocide allegations are included. In the book, the European Union’s
starting negotiations with Turkey is also criticized. The whole
income of Armenian Balian’s seven books is transferred to the Armenian
associations. Especially Turkish students studying in medicine faculty
have concerns over their money being transferred to the Armenian lobby.
In France, which officially recognized the so-called Armenian genocide
in 2001, doctors joined the debates over “genocide” after politicians
and historians. In Balian’s “Hepato-Gastro-Enterologie,” book, which
is used for stomach-intestine specialization, the European countries,
which started full membership negotiations with Ankara, are criticized.
There are some striking remarks in the preface: “The income of this
book will be transferred to the associations, which are trying to
evoke the ‘genocide’ took place in 1915. Few people remember the
1.5 million Armenians that lost their lives while fleeing and in the
camps. This book is prepared in the hope that those who seem ready
to make a ‘denying country member of the EU’, should also remember
the genocide.” The Armenian doctor has seven books on the same subject.
All of the books refer to the so called Armenian Genocide and the
Copyrights of the books were transferred to Armenian Foundations.
Turkish students, who are obliged to buy these books at medical
faculties, are unhappy because their money is transferred to “genocide”
foundations. Straoussgbourg Pasteur University Freshman student Fatih
Akin said: “We have to buy this book to pass the course; however, we
are not comfortable as our money is sent to the foundations making
genocide propaganda.” Akin also said it is interesting a medicine
book gives place to a political issue like this in its preface session.
Hosting about 500,000 Armenian immigrants France had passed a law
recognizing the so called Armenian Genocide in 2001. Armenians
are quite influential in France, which hosts the biggest number
of Armenians in Europe. Tension increases every year on April 24
in France, the Genocide commemoration day, and 450,000 Turks in
France become offended by these genocide discussions. Recently the
Turks living in Lyon had organized a protest march against the
second genocide statue in the city. Some events had taken place
after Armenians attacked Turks during the demonstrations and Lyon
Governorship explained it would not longer tolerate demonstrations
against the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian Diaspora defends the number of Armenians that died between
1915 and 1916, when the Emigration Law was implemented in the Ottoman
Empire, reaches 1,500,000. The Armenian Genocide claims have been
accepted by the parliaments of 15 countries so far.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET RUSSIAN OFFICIALS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on March 27 2006
Baku, March 24, AssA-Irada
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian will visit Moscow on April
6-7. He is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov and the Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, according to
Armenian media.
Although the issues to be discussed during the visit are not reported,
it is beyond a doubt that the parties will table settlement of
the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh.

SEARCH ON FOR MISS ASIA USA: MARIANA HOVHANISYAN IS MISS ARMENIA
By Fred Ortega, News-Press and Leader
Tammy Abbott / News-Press
Glendale News Press, CA
March 27 2006
Fashion show on Sunday kicks off annual pageant, which again will be
at the Alex Theatre.
Photo: The Miss Asia USA Fashion Show was held Sunday at the Ambassador
Auditorium in Pasadena. Mariana Hovhannisyan, 18, a Glendale resident,
is Miss Armenia.
Marina Hovhannisyan is proud of her Armenian heritage, and she hopes
to further understand the Armenian culture through her participation
in the Miss Asia USA pageant.
“I love my country and my people, and I am very proud of being
Armenian,” said Hovhannisyan, 18, of Glendale, one of 30 contestants
in this year’s pageant, which will be held April 29 at the Alex
Theatre. “I want the American people to get to know my culture, the
people and the history of Armenia, and I hope to help accomplish that
through my involvement in Miss Asia USA.”
Hovhannisyan, who came to Glendale from Armenia five years ago,
participated in a fashion show and press junket Sunday along with
the rest of the Miss Asia USA participants at Maranatha High School
on the Ambassador Auditorium campus in Pasadena.
“It is my first pageant and I am very nervous, but I am also getting to
meet people from different nationalities, getting to know the girls,”
said Hovhannisyan, this year’s Miss Armenia. “I also like the part
of dressing up, and walking in front of all these people. It makes
you feel special.”
The contest is open to single women ages 18 to 28 whose ancestry
is at least 25% descended from one of the 58 countries of Asia and
Asia Minor. In addition to coming from the traditionally recognized
East Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea, contestants
also represent nations as diverse as Yemen, Israel, Russia, Ukraine
and India.
This will be the third year the event is held at the Alex Theatre.
The contest, which will be hosted by KABC-TV Channel 7 sports anchor
Rob Fukuzaki and Showbiz India TV anchorwoman Reshma Dordi, will also
be broadcast in late summer or early fall on Charter video on-demand
and on the ImagineAsian TV network, potentially reaching more than
six million viewers.
It is natural that the pageant be held in Glendale, said Councilman
Dave Weaver, who is in charge of the event’s logistics.
“At least half of the population of Glendale is of Asian or Asia
Minor stock,” Weaver said. “There are more than 10,000 Filipinos,
12,000 Koreans and 70,000 Armenians in the city.”
Despite these numbers and the prevalence of Asian culture in American
society, many Americans are still in the dark about the diversity
and true nature of Asians, said last year’s Miss Asia USA Jenn Chu.
“People in the United States don’t pay attention to Asian culture,”
said Chu, who lives in Calabasas and participated in 2005 as Miss
Korea. “People mix up Korean and Chinese, Indian and Indonesian. So it
is important to showcase these differences through events such as Miss
Asia USA. Also, people who are only a quarter Asian can participate,
so they get to experience even that little bit of Asian culture
they have.”
The pageant also welcomes multiple entrants representing the same
country. For instance, Krystle Lacap of Beaumont is one of three Miss
Philippines in this year’s event.
“It is a great opportunity, full of new experiences,” said Lacap, 21.
“Getting to know the different girls and their backgrounds has been
great. It is great to become involved and showcase some of the many
cultures in the U.S.”
For more information on the Miss Asia USA pageant, visit spress.com/front/story/41645p-62323c.html

PRESENTATION OF THIRD EDITION OF STATISTICAL BROCHURE TITLED WOMEN AND MEN OF ARMENIA TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. Presentation of the third edition of
statistical brochure titled Women and Men of Armenia is to be
held Tuesday in Yerevan. UNDP Yerevan Office told ARKA News Agency
that the book contains information about expected life interval,
average age of contracting a marriage, the number of abortions,
reproductive performance coefficient and the most widespread names
given to newborns.

NKR FM REPRESENTATIVE FINDS ICG’S PROPOSAL TO INVOLVE SOUTH CAUCASUS UNRECOGNIZED COUNTRIES IN EU INTEGRATION PROCESSES POSITIVE
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
STEPANAKERT, March 27. /ARKA/. Irina Beglaryan, Chief of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry’s unit in charge of
politics, said Friday commenting on the Group’s report published
earlier this week on European Union role in South Caucasus conflicts
settlement that she found International Crisis Group’s proposal
to involve South Caucasus unrecognized countries in EU integration
processes positive.
“Idea of intensifying inter-parliamentary dialogue between conflicting
sides in South Caucasus deserves attention”, she said.
In her opinion, proposal to involve EU Special Envoy in the
negotiations run in the frames of OSCE Minsk Group is interesting
as well.
On one hand, new players and new approaches can speed up the process,
on the other hand unnecessary decentralization of the efforts can
hobble it.

NKR FM: ICG’S ATTEMPTS TO ACCUSE OSCE MG IN NK PEACE PROCESS MONOPOLIZATION PROMPT PERPLEXITY
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. International Crisis Group’s attempts
to accuse OSCE Minsk Group in Karabakh peace process monopolization
prompt perplexity, Irina Beglaryan, Chief of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Foreign Ministry’s unit in charge of politics, said Friday commenting
on the Group’s report published earlier this week on European Union
role in South Caucasus conflicts settlement.
“Minsk Group’s activity is run in accordance with OSCE mandate,
not to satisfy separate diplomats’ or countries’ whim”, she said.
Beglaryan also said that OSCE Minsk Group has gained certain experience
for 14 years of its peacekeeping activity resulted in maintaining
peace in the conflict-stricken region. In her opinion, the Group is
the most adequate format for Karabakh conflict settlement.
At the same time, she stressed that neither current format nor possible
involvement of European mediators in peacemaking process can compensate
Nagorno Karabakh absence from negotiations.

ARMENIA’S POPUALTION TO RECEIVE TELEPHONE BILLS BY POST
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. Individual and legal entities will shortly
receive telephone bills by post in Armenia, Artak Khachatrya, Head
of the Legal Affairs Department, “ArmenTel” Company, told reporters.
According to him, the company is holding negotiations with the
“Armpost” CJSC. “This is a matter of some months,” he said.
The “ArmenTel” company currently has a monopoly of stationary telephone
communication in Armenia.

PPA DEMANDS ARREST OF “PAGAGITS” DAILY REPS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
Yerevan, Match 27. /ARKA/. The Board of the Progressive Party of
Armenia (PPA) demands the arrest of the executives of the “Pakagits”
(Bracket) daily for disseminating the secret information on the party,
offering a bribe for getting this information as well as for libel.
The PPA Board has applied to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office for
initiating criminal proceedings against the “Pakagits’ daily. “The
Yerevan prosecutor’s Office studied the materials concerning the
illegal actions against the PPA, but the case was remitted to the
the Prosecutor’s Office of the Achapnyak community,” says the press
release.
In his turn, the PPA Board member, lawyer A. Martirosyan applied to
the minor court of the Erebuni-Nubarashen community, demanding the
newspaper to be obliged to officially repudiate the false information
on the party.
The PPA calls on political forces and their leaders to organize a
joint action against the “Pakagits” newspaper, which publishes sheer
lies and libel. The PPA also demands that other media outlets that are
executing someone’s orders stop publishing false information and libel.
The “Pakagits” analytical newspaper is has been published since
February 2004. Agape Haikaznuni is Editor-in-Chief.

PARLIAMENTARY HEARING OF PROBLEM OF TEACHING ARMENIAN STUDIES AT SCHOOLS TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
Yerevan, March 27. /ARKA/. A parliamentary hearing of the problem
of teaching Armenian studies at Armenia’s schools is to be held
in Yerevan on April 4, 2006. The public relations department,
RA Parliament, reports that the hearing has been organized by the
standing parliamentary commission for science, education, culture
and youth affairs.
On March 21, 2006, the RA Parliament approved a package of bills on
Armenian studies in its first reading. One of the authors of the bills,
Head of the parliamentary faction Armenian Revolutionary Federation
“Dashnaktsutyun” Levon Mkrtichyan, said that under the bill the
Government is to approve programs of Armenian studies.
“We insist that two fundamental subjects, the Armenian language and
Armenia history, be taught at all the higher schools in Armenia for
at least two terms and end in tests or examinations,” Mkrtichyan
said.

CHAIRMAN OF ARMENIAN CC MEETS WITH SPECIAL REP OF CE SECRETARY GENERAL
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. Chairman of the RA Court of Cassation
Hovhannes Manukyan and Special Representative of the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe Boyana Urumova discussed the directions of
cooperation in the judicial system.
The press service of the RA Court of Cassation reports that during the
meeting Manukyan pointed out the importance of the draft judicial code,
which is to serve as a basis for drafting procedural codes of Armenia.
The Chairman of the RA Court of Cassation addressed the application
of powers granted to the Court by the RA Constitution. The sides
also discussed the CE-Armenia cooperation program, which envisages
cooperation ion judicial reforms. “We are ready for cooperation
in the spheres that will be recognized as priorities by the CE,”
Manukyan said.
The sides pointed out the necessity of re-organizing the existing
institutes to form new structures, particularly local judicial
government bodies, Council of Judges, judicial department and judicial
services.
In her turn, Urumova reported that CE experts will examine the
draft and present their viewpoint. She pointed out the importance
of professional retraining and addressed the issue of translation of
precedent decisions of the European Court.