PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
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March 21, 2006
DIOCESAN LEGATE BISHOP VICKEN AYKAZIAN ELECTED BY DELEGATES AT ASSEMBLY OF
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES TO SERVE ON CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), was elected to two prestigious
leadership positions with the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Nearly 4,000 delegates voted in the election during the WCC’s Assembly in
Porto Alegre, Brazil, from February 13 to 24, 2006.
Bishop Aykazian, along with another member of the delegation from the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Yn. Paula Devejian, were elected to the 150 member
Central Committee. They were each elected to seven-year terms.
“The Central Committee discusses the questions that concern the churches all
around the world: social, moral, religious, the questions of hunger,
genocide, massacres, injustices,” Bishop Aykazian said.
The Central Committee is the body tasked with creating policies and
recommendations between WCC Assemblies, which happen every seven years.
The members of the Central Committee then elected 20 members for an
Executive Committee, which executes the decisions taken by the Central
Committee. Bishop Aykazian was elected to one of these 20 executive
positions.
“It’s very important that an Armenian has been elected,” Bishop Aykazian
said. “It is an important position within the World Council of Churches and
important for an Armenian to be a part of this committee.”
This is the first time a representative of the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin has been elected to the position. The Central Committee meets
twice a year, and serves as the executive body directing the work of the
WCC.
“CHANGING THE WORLD”
The WCC has members from 348 churches in 100 countries, and claims to
represent 550 million faithful. During this year’s assembly the delegates
focused on the theme: “God in Your Grace, Transform the World.”
“We mean transform the world, bring justice and peace, transform human
beings to be better morally, psychologically, religiously and humanly,”
Bishop Aykazian explained. “We are expecting the world will transform from
good to best.”
The delegates tackled several varied issues, from terrorism to reform of the
United Nations to protecting vulnerable populations. Bishop Aykazian said
one of the highlights of the gathering was the attendance of 700 young
people.
“Youth involvement sent a very strong message saying that the youth are an
integral part of the ecumenical movement,” he said. “Their voice needs to
be heard. Their attendance was a sign of the important role they play in
the life of our churches. They are going to be our future leaders of our
churches and countries and peoples.”
STRONG INVOLVEMENT FROM ETCHMIADZIN
Leading the delegation of 12 clergy and lay leaders from Etchmiadzin was
Bishop Yeznik Petrosian, director of the Department of Inter-Church
Relations; it also included Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the
Diocese of Australia and New Zealand; Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of
the Diocese of Canada; and Fr. Mkrtich Proshian, dean of the Vaskenian
Theological Seminary in Armenia. The delegation was one of the youngest
orthodox groups in attendance.
The delegation from Etchmiadzin took an active role in the assembly.
Archbishop Baliozian served on the Committee for Consensus Decision-Making,
which worked to implement a new procedural method of voting, adopted for the
first time at the assembly. Bishop Aykazian served on the Message Committee,
which developed and presented a document that captured the experience and
hopes of the delegates. Bishop Petrosian served as a moderator during a
three-day workshop on emerging forms of ecumenism, and also served on the
Business Committee, which coordinated the daily business of the assembly.
Fr. Proshian presented a workshop titled “Through the Creation to the
Creator,” which introduced a new concept of ecological education from a
theological perspective, referred to as “Green Theology.”
Another representative from Etchmiadzin, Dr. Karen Nazarian, director of the
Armenian Round Table office, presented a paper titled “HIV/AIDS –
Involvement of clergy in counseling, stigma, and discrimination,” and also
served on the assembly Nominating Committee, responsible for identifying
candidates for the election of presidents and new members of the WCC Central
Committee.
Yn. Paula Devejian served on the leadership team during a three-day workshop
on overcoming health threats to humanity in the context of HIV and AIDS, and
also spoke during the final general plenary session on the topic of “God in
Your Grace, Transform our Societies.”
— 3/21/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Delegates from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin attend
the World Council of Churches Assembly in Brazil from February 13 to 24,
2006.
# # #

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REGION
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AMB ASSADOR OF GEORGIA IN ARMENIA VERSUS GEORGIAN INTERESTS
—————————————- ————————————
Source: `Akhali Taoba’ newspaper [March 19, 2006]
Author: Georgi Udzilauri
In the interview to `Azg’ Armenian daily, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Georgia in Armenia, Revaz Gachechiladze stated that
the construction of Kars-Akhalkalaki railway is allegedly unfavorable
to Georgia. Gachechiladze holds that there seems to be no need for
constructing this section of the railway. It would be more efficient
to launch another railway route `Kars-Gyumri (Armenia)-Tbilisi’.
This statement of the Georgian diplomat seemed so unlikely that we
tried to contact both the Georgian Embassy in Yerevan and the Foreign
Ministry of Georgia. Bringing apologies, the Embassy refused to give
comments, while the press service of the Foreign Ministry did not even
do this much, no one answered the phone calls there.
If the Armenian journalists do not make inventions and Gachechiladze’s
statement is not the product of their imagination, that is the
Ambassador really criticizes the state plans on the construction of
`Kars-Akhalkalaki’ railway, he is incompetent. Or may be it is the
Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer, having visited Georgia a week
ago, that is incompetent. He stated that Turkey is interested and
keeps working on the project of constructing
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway.
Almost a year ago, in May 2005 the Presidents of the three countries,
Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan – Sahakashvili, Sezer and Aliev agreed
on the implementation of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku project and
stated in particular that the construction of Kars-Akhalkalaki needs
450 million Euros. They asserted the public that these funds should
immediately be recalled because of the anti-Georgian interests
involved.
In a normal democracy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tries to give
an up-to-date explanation of such absurd situations. However,
unfortunately our Ministry does not care about the image of the
Georgian state on such a serious issue. If Gachechiladze confirms his
statements in the Armenian press, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Gela Bejuashvili, similarly to the Minister of Interior Vano
Merabishvili, starts defending his staff, the opposition will have the
right to demand resignation of two Ministers at a time.
========================================= ==================================
CONFLICTS
===== ================================================== ====================
“NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE IN A `PLACE CONVENIENT TO ALL…”
—————————————— ———————————-
Source: `Novoye Vremya’ newspaper (Armenia) [March 18, 2006]
Author: Tamara Hovnatanian
The regional visit of American diplomats Daniel Fried and Steven Mann
came to an end, developing into a stage of numerous post-comments,
especially active in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The process will be
underway until the meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen in
Istanbul, scheduled for March 20. Why on the territory of Turkey in
particular? The American Co-chairman answered this question as
follows, `there is no political implication here’, simply Istanbul
appeared to be `a place convenient to all’…
In Yerevan, the American diplomats were not very
outspoken. Introducing the purpose of his visit to the region, Daniel
Fried singled out three main points. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, there
was a discussion of Karabagh conflict; further on the issue of energy
security in the face of the January crisis after the explosion of the
gas pipeline was raised. Finally, attention was centered on the future
of the South Caucasus. It is when, as Fried put it, `all the current
conflicts are resolved, the countries of the region enter into a
period of peace and the authorities can make decisions without
external pressure”. All the other implications of the visit seem to
keep to the mentioned frames. Also the agenda of the discussions in
Turkey that Fried preferred avoiding, and the Iranian issue that is
still to be considered. The press conference, given by Daniel Fried
and Steven Mann after the meetings with RA President, Foreign Minister
and the Minister of Defense, as well as the business lunch with the
representatives of Armenian political parties was extremely brief. The
diplomats managed to answer only 5-6 questions. The priority is
Karabagh settlement.
The current stage of negotiation process was characterized by Daniel
Fried as `absence of stagnation”. “On the basis of the meetings
between Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, we may state with
confidence that the negotiations will continue”, Fried stated.
On his behalf, Steven Mann noted that both Presidents show interest in
the progress, and USA is ready to support them by all means. He
refuted the rumors about the contradictions among the mediators and
assured the assembled journalists that he acts with the support of all
members of OSCE Minsk Group, secured in advance.
Raising the issue of energy security, the assistant to the secretary
of state said, `In the newly-formed situation of diversification of
energy sources, the European Union and USA again started discussing
the prospects of using nuclear energy”.
“For the time being, I cannot really say what conclusions we will make
on the results of these discussions in general and with reference to
Armenia in particular. The people I spoke with in Armenia mentioned
the interest of Yerevan in the new, safe and commercially viable
sources of nuclear energy. I will take these proposals to Washington
and we will attentively discuss these issues’, Daniel Fried noted.
Baku reacted to this quite negatively. `Armenians are very smart –
they are trying to solve the problem of energy supply at the expense
of Americans’, Baku `Zerkalo’ writes. `No doubt, it is reasonable
tactics. If the Americans need conflict settlement and control over
the South Caucasus so much, why not do good bargaining’…
The American diplomats had not left Baku before they again took up the
old record of the military budget growing like mushrooms and the
`limitless patience of Azerbaijani people’.
The issue of patience was raised by the President at the 2d congress
of Azerbaijanis of peace. “Hoping for efficiency of negotiations, we
participate in the talks, but for how long? This process cannot be
permanent. The patience of Azerbaijani people cannot be limitless”,
Ilham Aliev stated.
Taking up the reference to patience, the Azerbaijani press nourished
it with another, no less disputable thesis on the tolerance of its
people. At the same time, it expressed discontent with Lord Russell
Johnson. Making a speech at the recent session of PACE ad hoc
committee on Karabagh settlement in Paris, he stressed the necessity
of `refraining from instigation of enmity”. “Instead of calling for
tolerance, he better mind the fact that Armenia is an aggressor
country”, the Baku press, discarding the thesis of tolerance, brings
its claims to the Lord.
“We are devoted to the peace process, and our participation shows that
we want to resolve this issue peacefully, not by war”, one more
quotation of Aliev, who started his speech at the PanAzerbaijani
congress `to the good health’ of the peace process and came up to `a
bad end’ at the finish. `…However, if we see that the process is of
imitational nature and Armenia is still not sincere at the
negotiations, continuing its attempts to mislead the international
community… we will refuse to participate and will try to return our
territories”.
“What will happen if we start the war?’ the press develops the
topic. `Naturally, we will not be allowed to have a real war given the
interference of the international organizations, cochairmen,
transnational corporations, with a flow of telephone calls from the
capitals of world powers… In other words, the military operations
will have to be terminated, probably very quickly. However, if the
Azerbaijani army is really capable of liberating at least several
occupied regions, why not starting a little blitzkrieg?”
“No war will be quick and decisive”, Steven Mann stated in
Baku. However, apparently they did not hear him or pretend not to
hear, characterizing the regional visit of the representatives of the
Department of State as a `shuttle visit”, in the process of which they
`will try to reanimate the negotiation process, hopelessly blocked
after the obvious failure in Rambouillet”.
Under this approach, the talks about the future, mentioned by the
American diplomats within the visit framework, are left in the fog.
“Neither now nor in 20 years, the military option will be decisive in
conflict resolution’, these are the words Steven Mann said in Baku,
just to remind.
“The resolution of the Karabagh issue by military means is not
possible either now or in 15-20 years”, RA Defense Minister Serj
Sargsian expressed his agreement on this issue.
“Neither in 10 nor in 100 years, will we allow secession of
Mountainous Karabagh”, Ilham Aliev responded.
Still more interesting is the indirect dialogue of RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian and AR President Ilham Aliev.
“I set a target to equalize the military budget of Azerbaijan to the
Armenian budget in the short term. Armenia will never be able to
compete with us. The sooner the Armenian authorities realize it, the
better for them”, Aliev stated at the PanAzerbaijani congress, which,
judging by the reports from Baku, was almost totally devoted to
Karabagh issue.
“In the civilized world, the volume of military budget has long ceased
to be subject of competition between the countries and the peoples’,
RA Foreign Minister stated in the interview to the Second Armenian
Channel. `For several years, Azerbaijan has daily produced 400
thousand barrels of oil; however, Armenia is still ahead of its
neighbor by the volume of GDP per capita”.
“The Mountainous Karabagh has always been historical Azerbaijani land,
and the Armenians moved to this region in mid XIX century. They came
as guests and then, having acquired numerical advantage, they
instigated separatist trends”, Ilham Aliev assures the delegates of
PanAzerbaijani congress.
“Karabagh is Armenian land. For thousands of years, these lands were
populated by only Armenians, preserving their sovereignty’, Vartan
Oskanian parries back. `Azerbaijan has no moral right for any claims
to Mountainous Karabagh, having lost it in the 90s, when several times
it tried to exert pressure and even start ethnic cleansing. If not for
the resistance of the Armenians, we would not have Karabagh today”, RA
Foreign Minister emphasized.
Aliev also referred to the future of the whole region. “Today one of
our priorities is implementation of the project of constructing
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. It will promote basic cargo transportation
in the region. This project, similarly to all the other regional
projects, leaves Armenia out. We will never allow a country, having
occupied our territories, to have equal cooperation in the
region. With time, the gap between Azerbaijan and Armenian will keep
growing”.
We should note that Aliev spoke about it at the moment when Daniel
Fried made his speech in Yerevan about the future of the countries of
the region, `when they leave in peace and make their choice themselves
– without any external pressure…’
=================================== ========================================
INT. STRUCTURES
======================================= ====================================
EU WOULD DEPLOY PEACEKEEPING FORCES IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
—————————————– ———————————–
Source: `Zerkalo’ newspaper (Azerbaijan) [March 18, 2006]
Author: F. Teymurkhanli
According to EU Special Representative Peter Semneby, it is possible
after concrete results on Karabagh issue
“When the sides arrive at concrete results in Karabagh issue, it is
possible that the European union will send its peacekeeping forces to
the region and render assistance in rehabilitation of the war-torn
territories. EU may carry out a peacekeeping operation both by its own
efforts and in coalition with other international structures”, as
stated by new Special Representative of EU in the South Caucasus,
Peter Semneby.
At the same time, he added that EU does not intend to interfere in the
mandate of OSCE Minsk Group, acting as mediator in conflict
settlement. He was also uncertain about the composition and the
concrete location of the peacekeeping contingent.
As for the settlement of Karabagh conflict proper and a possible
`breakthrough’ in this issue in 2006 with a variety of statements
frequently voiced on this issue, P. Semneby said, `I still hope for
the conflict to be settled peacefully, and not all the possibilities
are exhausted. None of the sides needs war”.
At the same time, P. Semneby stated that the high claims put by the
Armenian and Azerbaijani sides prevent reaching a maximum positive
decision. `Definite amendments are essential in the positions of the
opposite sides, the important part is to start the process of peaceful
settlement. In the future, this willingness will help us facilitate
the final resolution of Karabagh issue’, EU Special Representative in
the South Caucasus emphasized.
According to P. Semneby, he intends to continue the activity of former
Special Representative Heike Talvitie, however, his mandate will
include larger powers. In particular, the European Union intends to
allot greater attention and resources to resolution of `frozen’
conflicts in the South Caucasus region.
Besides, if the headquarters of H. Talvitie were in Finland, the
office of the new Euro-Parliamentarian will be based in Brussels. The
new location is not accidental. According to P. Semneby, this
circumstance will help improve coordination of the activity of various
European structures.
Recently, the interest of the European Union in the South Caucasus
region has considerably increased. As P. Semneby thinks, it is
conditioned by two basic reasons. First, two South Caucasus countries
at a time (Georgia and Azerbaijan) aspire to EU membership. Second,
Turkey, now under negotiations for EU accession, has borders with all
the three countries of the South Caucasus region. In his opinion, with
ratification of the European Neighborhood Action Plan, the ties
between EU and the South Caucasus will be intensified.
Answering the question of `whether the EU will support the South
Caucasus countries if they face a tangible threat from the North or
South”, P. Semneby stated that his mandate embraces regional
cooperation, including the relations of South Caucasus countries with
the neighboring states. “Naturally, all the emerging problems interest
EU. However, I am not sure how the EU will act when there is a
concrete problem in place. In any case, we are interested in the
regional stability”, EU Special Representative stated.
As for the issue of human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan,
P. Semneby stated that EU views these aspects as priorities.
Besides, EU Special Representative stated that on his two-day visit,
he met the Head of State Ilham Aliev, Parliament Speaker, Prime
Minister and other officials.
As reported by `Turan’ agency, in the conversation with EU Special
Representative, I. Aliev wished P. Semneby successful implementation
of his mission. I. Aliev pointed to a progress in the cooperation
between Azerbaijan and EU, and expressed hope that these relations
will be strengthened in the future. On his behalf, P. Semneby noted
that he started his mission in the region from the visit to
Azerbaijan. He referred to the growing interest of EU in the South
Caucasus. P. Semneby expressed confidence that the relations between
EU and Azerbaijan will be developing in the future as well.
P. Semneby also met the opposition leaders. During the meetings, they
discussed the social political situation in Azerbaijan, parliamentary
elections of November 6 and the post-election period, paths for
settlement of Karabagh conflict, prospects for developing the
relations between Azerbaijan and EU.
============================================ ===============================
NEIGHBOURS
======= ================================================== ==================
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “TURKISH DEMOCRACY ON COLLAPSE”
—————————————- ————————————
Source: `Milliyet’ newspaper (Turkey) [March 15, 2006]
Author:
The article in The Wall Street Journal criticizes the member of the
governing board of the Turkish Lawyers’ Union Kemal Kerincsiz, who
filed a suit against the organizers of the scientific conference on
the Armenian issue, and Orhan Pamuk. Bearing the signature of Philip
Shishkin, Istanbul correspondent of the newspaper, the article
characterizes Kemal Kerincsiz as a person trying to isolate Turkey
from the West.
In his article, Shishkin states that the claims of Kerincsiz to limit
the freedom of expression reduce to zero Ankara’s efforts for raising
the democratic prestige of Turkey in the period of EU membership
negotiations.
Shishkin writes that the actions taken by Kerincsiz fit in the
strategy of nationalistic forces, pursuing the aim of isolating Turkey
from USA and Europe, and transforming it into a regional superpower,
similarly to the Ottoman Empire at the time.
The article stressed that intensive efforts of Kerincsiz have not yet
brought any effect, since civil society is developing in Turkey and
people speak about the necessity of rejecting the archaic means of
accusation in Turkey.
In the article, Shishkin calls attention to the fact that in the
process of Turkey-EU negotiations quite a number of laws and
traditions changed. Overall, the Turks opt for closer relations with
Europe. So the statement of Kerincsiz that Turkey does not need EU,
likely to strengthen its positions in the region, does not enjoy the
support of the majority in the society.
The article mentions that last year Kerincsiz brought suits against
two universities that organized `Armenians in Turkey” joint
conference, writer Orhan Pamuk and Editor of `Agos’ newspaper Hrant
Dink. In particular, the Lawyers’ Union brought charges to the
organizers of the conference and their supporters. Despite all
obstacles, the conference on the Armenian issue was held on September
24-25, 2005 at Bilgi University. The organizers asserted that its most
positive result was `academic freedom”. Last year, lawyer Kemal
Kerincsiz and two other persons in the interview to `Die Welt’ German
newspaper accused Orhan Pamuk of insulting a Turkish soldier. There
was an attempt to accuse Joost Lagendijk, deputy of European
Parliament from Netherlands of insulting the Armed Forces of
Turkey. None of the suits brought the desired result.
The Wall Street Journal also quotes the statement of the Foreign
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gull that the laws,
directed against freedom of expression, have a negative impact on the
image of the country. However, the newspaper writes that the
government has not yet made any real steps towards supporting freedom
of expression.
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ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/21/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) ARF Condemns Lyon Demonstration Calls for Action from French Government 2) Armenian And Turkish Ambassadors to Italy Exchange Views on Armenian Genocide 3) Turkish Army Refuses to Investigate Allegations against Top General 4) Aliyev Says Azeri Territorial Integrity Is Not Subject for Discussion 5) Armenian President Meets with Agriculture Minister to Discuss Bird Flu 1) ARF Condemns Lyon Demonstration Calls for Action from French Government YEREVAN (Yerkir/PanArmenian.Net)--The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Western Europe Central Committee condemned Tuesday the Turkish protest against the construction of an Armenian genocide memorial in Lyon. The ARF condemned the decision by the regional government of Rhone to sanction this demonstration of hate and denial even though they were informed in advance about its real goal and that the Turkish government had secretly contributed to this demonstration through the Turkish embassy in Paris and Turkish consulate in Lyon. The regional government was also aware of the contribution the Grey Wolves, a fascist organization that threatens France and the French people. The March 18 demonstration is one of the first instances of the Turkish government's decision to organize the Turkish communities in Europe. The protests in Berlin were also organized with help from the Turkish government. The Lyon demonstration was an example of Genocide denial, something unacceptable in a country like France. The prefect of Rhone, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, announced Monday that he will prohibit all further gatherings of Turkish associations which may result in denial of the Armenian genocide. Lacroix said that he understood the anger of the French Armenians. "But, from a legal point of view, we could not prohibit it. At present, we have evidence and I will prohibit any other gathering of this type," he said at a news conference. Several Armenian organizations have decided to address Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy so that this type of ashamed gathering "is not held in our country any more." "Mr. Sarkozy must take the necessary steps to complete the January 2001 law on the recognition of the Armenian genocide by France," said affirmed Martine David, mayor of Saint-Priest (Rhone). According to of the Coordination Council of the Armenian organizations of France (CCAF), "the law on recognition of the Armenian genocide lacks an article necessary for punishing those who, on our land, deny the Armenian genocide." The ARF has also demanded that an investigation be launched to find the organizers of the demonstration and to unveil the involvement of the Turkish government in the demonstration, as well as to put an end to anti-Armenian expression against French Armenians. 2) Armenian And Turkish Ambassadors to Italy Exchange Views on Armenian Genocide YEREVAN (Yerkir/PanArmenian.Net)--The Armenian and Turkish Ambassadors to Italy, Ruben Shugaryan and Ugur Ziyal, discussed the Armenian genocide Monday on Italian TV. The five minute dialogue was broadcast on RAI Italian TV Channel. Turkish Ambassador Ugur Ziyal initiated the discussion. He stated that the Italian channel often features programming about the Armenian genocide. He called these programs one-sided, because they only reflect the stance of the Armenian party. "We want Turkey's stance to be presented as well," Ziyal said. He also noted that the Turkish party wrote to Armenian Ambassador Ruben Shugaryan asking him to participate. Shugaryan agreed. 3) Turkish Army Refuses to Investigate Allegations against Top General ANKARA (AP)--Turkey's military rejected a prosecutor's call to investigate a top Turkish general for allegedly creating a secret force to fight Kurdish rebels, saying the accusations against the military commander were politically motivated. Earlier this month, a prosecutor demanded that a military court investigate whether head of land forces General Yasar Buyukanit set up a secret group to fight autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels. Such a move could undermine the country's bid to join the EU. The accusations raised fears of a new conflict between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government and the country's secular military, which has led three coups since 1960. Buyukanit, who will become the military's next chief of staff, is considered more of a hardliner than the current chief of staff. Some newspapers and politicians have called the prosecutor's accusation an attempt by the government to block Buyukanit from becoming the next chief of staff. Many observers have speculated that Buyukanit would be more likely to clash with the Islamic-rooted governing party. The military statement said the accusations against Buyukanit were "more political than legal and aimed at harming the Turkish Armed Forces." It said there was no need for an investigation into the general. 4) Aliyev Says Azeri Territorial Integrity Is Not Subject for Discussion BAKU (Armenpress)--Azeri President Ilham Aliyev stated again that the issue of Azeri territorial integrity will not be up for discussion at the negotiations held with Armenia over the Karabagh conflict regulation. "Azerbaijani territorial integrity and autonomy are not subjects for discussion at the negotiations," said Aliyev in his speech during Nevruz spring holiday celebrations in Baku. Aliyev also pointed out that the only way they will settle the Karabagh conflict is based on the interests of Azerbaijan and international norms. 5) Armenian President Meets with Agriculture Minister to Discuss Bird Flu YEREVAN (Armenpress/RFE/RL)--Armenian President Robert Kocharian conducted a working meeting Tuesday with the minister of agriculture David Lokian and discussed a set of measures to prevent the spread of the deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu to Armenia from neighboring countries. The minister briefed the president on the latest results of a joint study conducted by Armenian and US experts, who have not any cases of bird flu in Armenia. During the meeting the sides also discussed the creation of about 200 small and medium-sized agriculture processing enterprises. President Kocharian said it is necessary to support the processing enterprises by giving them opportunity to get credits with low interest rate. Authorities in Yerevan already have a plan of action against H5N1. It envisions, among other things, instructions on how to cull poultry in cases of emergency, training of officials in charge of veterinary security, and purchase of special laboratory equipment for quickly detecting the virus. Two experts from Armenia's State Veterinary Inspectorate have already undergone relevant training at the FAO headquarters in Budapest and two others will do so next month. Among the countries that have confirmed bird flu cases are neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan. The latter detected two outbreaks of the virus among wild birds earlier this month. Similar cases are being reported across Europe on a practically daily basis. Government officials and disease experts say the risks facing Armenia will grow considerably with the start early next month of the spring migration of wild birds, the main carriers of H5N1. Armenia serves as a transit point for them. Baghian repeated the government's pledge to form and send special teams of epidemiologists to locations traditionally used by wild birds for nesting. "Possible cases of bird deaths and other extraordinary phenomena would be immediately reported to local veterinary services," he said. The official also sought to ease Armenian consumers' lingering concerns about eating chickens, eggs and poultry products saying that local poultry farms are being regularly inspected by his agency. "Those products are sold with appropriate safety certificates," he said. The government imposed a near complete ban on poultry imports on January 3 following the deaths of three children in a village in eastern Turkey located less than 60 kilometers from the Armenian border. They died after reportedly contracting the disease from domestic chickens. The Armenian authorities have also heightened sanitary controls at the border crossings and carried out a mass vaccination of fowl in villages close to the Turkish border. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

COMPACT RESIDENCE OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN GEORGIA NOT TERM FOR AUTONOMY
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.03.2006 00:01 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The administrative-territorial division of
Georgia includes three autonomies: South Ossetia, Abkhazia and
Ajaria. We will not form more autonomies,” Georgian Ambassador to
Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze stated in Yerevan today. In his words,
the above-mentioned autonomies will have different status to be
determined later. “The compact residence of national minorities in
Georgia is not a term for formation of an Azeri or Armenian autonomy,
for example,” he said. At the same time he underscored that all the
Georgian citizens have equal rights and obligations. To remind, a
number of Armenian organizations of Javakhetia requested the Georgian
government for autonomy status.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COMMODITY TURNOVER BETWEEN ARMENIA AND INDIA GREW 50% DURING RECENT YEARS
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.03.2006 01:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The visit of the business delegation led by RA
Honorary Consul in Bombay Harshad Mekhta proves the wish of the
Armenian and Indians parties to strengthen cooperation, RA Deputy
FM Armen Bayburdian stated opening the Armenian-Indian business
conference in Yerevan today. The conference was attended by 36
representatives of Armenian companies and departments and 18 Indian
entrepreneurs. For her part Indian Ambassador Rina Pandei noted
that during the recent years the commodity turnover between the
two states has grown with 50 per cent. In her words, the expansion
of the economic cooperation will be discussed at the sitting of the
Armenian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Development
to be held in Yerevan this year. According to RA Deputy Minister of
Trade and Economic Development Tigran Davtian, the potential of the
Armenian-Indian trade and economic relations is great. In his words,
both counties entered the stage of sustainable and dynamic economic
development.

LYONS MAYOR FAILED TO FULFILL PROMISE
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.03.2006 01:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ March 18, when a wave of rallies shocked France
several thousands of Turks protested in Lyons against the erection of
the monument to the Armenian Genocide victims. They came across French
ralliers at the municipality. Turks attacked the French and the police
dispersed the crowd with tear-gas bombs. French and Turkish press
covered the incident widely. Hurriyet Turkish newspaper wrote that
“Armenians came to the rally to trouble Turks and three Armenians were
wounded” what later turned out as a lie. According to chairperson of
the Armenian Federation of Europe Hilda Tchoboian, the Mayor of Lyons
promised to prevent the action against the monument erection. “However
March 17 he announced that the rally was authorized despite the demands
of all the political circles of Lyons to prohibit it,” she said.
Hilda Tchoboian considers that the Mayor took the decision under
the pressure of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which said that Turks
promised to refrain from anti-Armenian posters and slogans. However
they did not keep their promise. They shouted out offences swaying
anti-Armenian posters. “The Armenian youth explained the essence of
the case to the French, who started shouting to Turks “France is not
your place”.
March 19 Armenians gathered at the editorial office of Progress
newspaper that published some anti-Armenian articles. The editor said
the newspaper will not publish articles of the kind any more, Hilda
Tchoboian said. She added that March 20 a press conference dedicated
to the recent events will be held March 20 and underscored that all
genocide denying rallies will be barred. “The Armenian community of
France will not keep silent, moreover this country and its people
have announced their position on the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915,” she said.

NO DECISIONS AGAINST ARMENIA… YET!
A1+
04:48 pm 20 March, 2006
“If we receive decisions of the European Court of Human Rights against
Armenia, the situation will be changed completely,” the head of the
Court of Cassation Hovhannes Manoukyan thinks.
The Court of Cassation organized a seminar with the theme “The European
Court of Human Rights and Armenia: the Present Practice and the
Tendencies of Development”. The first reporter was the representative
of the American University in Armenia Emil Babayan who spoke about the
cases from Armenia in ECHR and represented statistics from the Court.
In 2005 ECHR had 81 thousand applications. They were mainly about the
delays of trials, inefficient trials and non-execution of the court
decisions. According to Emil Babayan, the first five countries by the
number of decisions against the state are Turkey, Ukraine, Greece,
Russia and Italy. Last year 290 decisions were made against Turkey
by the ECHR.
Up to now there have been no decisions against Armenia, but in
this respect Emil Babayan had bad news for the participants of the
seminar. Last year 240 applications have been sent to the Court. 110
of them have already been sent to the court body making decision,
62 have been rejected, 21 have been sent to the RA Government to get
an answer, and one more will be heard this year.
Mr. Babayan was worried about the last two facts as the 21 cases
will be heard together and the facts mentioned in them will not be
investigated thoroughly.
“This means that in 2006 we will have a number of decisions against
Armenia”, the reporter said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE EU AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
A1+
07:14 pm 20 March, 2006
Tbilisi/Brussels, 20 March 2006: To guarantee its own security,
the EU must become more engaged in resolving the conflicts in the
South Caucasus lest they ignite into full-fledged wars in Europe’s
neighbourhood.
Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus: The EU’s Role,* the latest
report from the International Crisis Group, examines the EU’s efforts
to address tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
and points out how the EU can do more.
“Greater engagement is a challenge Brussels has only just begun
to address”, says Sabine Freizer, Crisis Group’s Caucasus Project
Director. “There have been a few promising steps, but there is a long
way to go”.
Thus far, others have taken the lead in promoting conflict settlement
in the region, but over a decade of negotiations led by the UN in
Abkhazia, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) in Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia, have not produced
comprehensive peace agreements. With its reputation as an “honest
broker”, access to a range of soft and hard power tools, and the lure
of greater integration into Europe, the EU has a greater role to play,
and offers added value to compliment the UN and the OSCE.
To avoid instability on its borders, the EU seeks a ring of
well-governed countries around it. It is further interested in the
South Caucasus to ensure access to Caspian oil and gas, develop
transport and communication corridors between Europe and Asia, and
contain such threats as smuggling, trafficking and environmental
degradation.
As the EU is unlikely to offer membership to Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan any time soon, it must identify innovative means to
impose conditionality on its aid and exercise influence. European
Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans are being finalised. These offer
a chance for the EU to enhance its role especially if the peaceful
resolution of the conflicts are defined as commitments.
The new EU Special Representative should observe ongoing negotiations
for the Abkhazian, South Ossetian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. The
Commission has allocated significant funding to rehabilitation in
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It should assess how it can start doing
more in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The EU is trying to define its role in a new neighbourhood which is
neither at war nor at peace”, says Nicholas Whyte, Director of Crisis
Group’s Europe Program. “If the EU fails to implement its strategic
vision for a secure neighbourhood, its credibility in the region, and
generally vis-a-vis Russia and the U.S., will suffer. More troublingly,
if the South Caucasus conflicts continue to deteriorate, the EU may
find itself unprepared for responding to wars among its neighbours”.

TREES WERE CUT
A1+
08:26 pm 20 March, 2006
According to trustworthy sources, nine poplars were chopped down in the
area called “Ttujur” of the city of Gavar. The trees were sold as raw
material. A criminal case has been aroused in connection with the fact.
The Ecological administration of the Gegharqounik region does not
exclude the possibility of the repetition of suchlike cases as an
area of about 150 hectares factually does not have an owner.
“Qyavar” TV Company of Gavar.

ARMENTEL WILL APPEAL THE DECISION
A1+
08:32 pm 20 March, 2006
The State Committee of Economic Competition Defense had made a
decision to fine “ArmenTel” on the basis of the application of
“Gh-Telecom”. “ArmenTel” has not paid the fine as they are going to
appeal the decision.
“ArmenTel” has not carried out the second demand of the Committee: it
has not ceased to allot bonuses to those who remained subscribers of
“ArmenTel” during the year 2005.
The Company did not give us details about the appeal.
Let us only add that the deadline for the appeal is tomorrow.