CONDEMN TERRORISM, NOT MEDIA FOR REPORTING ON IT
by George Jonas, CanWest News Service
Pembroke Observer (Ontario)
June 20, 2006 Tuesday
Editorial
The question of homegrown terrorism is acute, but it isn’t new. Last
week, some news sources reported the arrest of 17 Muslim Canadians
alleged to have plotted terrorist acts in this country as if it were a
historic first. It isn’t a first, not by a long chalk – which doesn’t
make it less pernicious.
When I was asked to comment on this aspect of multicultural
Canada some 20 years ago, terrorist suspects came from the ranks
of militant Armenians and Sikhs. The issues were similar, though,
and so were my views. It seemed to me that expecting immigrants to
stop concerning themselves with the affairs of their former homelands
would be unreasonable. Not only immigrants, but in many instances
even their children and grandchildren maintain some emotional ties
to their ancestral countries. This is as natural as it is wholesome,
to use an old-fashioned word. Nothing should be done to discourage
it. Probably nothing could be done. Roots go deep; that’s their point.
However, Canadians of whatever background, be they naturalized,
native-born, or third generation, owe their first allegiance to the
country of their citizenship. This requirement is both reasonable and
practical. It puts no stress on human rights or human nature. It’s
simply Canada’s due.
The majority of individual immigrants from all ethnic groups have
always recognized this. They or their ancestors came to Canada for the
very purpose of becoming Canadians. Far from disputing the need for
such loyalty, immigrants have been among its most ardent supporters.
On the whole, this is probably as true today as it has ever been.
Still, there have been disturbing signs in recent years indicating
an unwelcome change. Individuals from various ethnic or religious
communities have committed violent acts in Canada, or used Canada
as a staging area for committing violent acts elsewhere, to protest
or avenge grievances in their ancestral lands. As a result, Canadian
lives have been lost or endangered.
When immigrants or their descendants use Canada’s territory for
the commission or preparation of political violence, they commit
(in addition to every other objection one might raise to terrorism)
a specific act of treachery. They abuse the country that took them in.
Such acts usually involve only a handful of people. The rest of their
community keeps a meticulous distance from them. Even when they share
the terrorists’ political views or sense of grievance, most Canadian
Sikhs, Armenians, Muslims, Tamils, etc., wouldn’t dream of plotting
to blow up Toronto subway stations or behead Canadian prime ministers.
Periodically, representatives from these groups, sensing – accurately
– the loathing and horror that terrorist violence engenders in this
country, and sensing – again accurately – that such acts lower the
esteem in which their community is held by other Canadians, set about
to repair their image. However, instead of starting by dissociating
themselves from the terrorists and unequivocally condemning their acts,
many of these (usually self- appointed) community representatives
have gone on the offensive.
For at least 20 years now, journalists and politicians have been
receiving newsletters explaining and justifying the aims, causes and
grievances that have served as a basis for terrorist acts. Community
spokes people have been giving statements to the press or appearing
on television with similar messages. Complaints have been lodged
with editors, broadcast executives, press councils and human rights
commissions about the identification of a given ethnic or religious
community with terrorism. Lawyers have been consulted to see if the
press could be persuaded – or maybe even forced – not to identify a
suspected or convicted perpetrator of political violence as a member
of a given group – a Sikh, say, or a Muslim.
These statements, pamphlets or requests have condemned terrorism only
fleetingly, if at all. Their authors’ chief concern appears to be
explaining their causes (riding, as it were, on the coattails of the
terrorists) while voicing their indignation about their communities’
poor image that causes their children to be taunted in school.
True, no child should be taunted in school because someone of his
religion put a bomb on a plane. For Canada’s Muslims or Sikhs, the
best way to achieve this is to dissuade their co-religionists from
putting bombs on planes – and to disavow those they can’t dissuade.
For any community, the answer lies in not raising terrorist sons and
daughters, NOT in trying to tell the media how to report. Maybe,
just maybe, some Muslim spokes people in Canada are beginning to
learn this lesson.

HOW THE PELTEKIANS DISAPPEARED FROM DORTYOL
by Dorothee Forma, Amsterdam
humanistischeomroep, The Netherlands
June 20, 2006 Tuesday
The adventures of an Armenian family in Cilicia
Descriptions of the village of Dortyol at the end of the nineteenth
century are decidedly idyllic. Looking in the direction of Dortyol
and the surrounding villages from the Amanus mountains, one saw a
bouquet of flowers among green orange groves. Every village had its
own colour and in the centre lay proud Tschok-Merzimen, as Dortyol
was called by the Armenians. The Turkish word Dortyol means: four
roads. It was situated in the bay of Alexandrette only a few miles
from the Mediterranean and when there was a gale you could hear the
waves pounding the rocks. In spring, the sweet smell of the orange
blossoms permeated everything.
Dortyol had a mixed Turkish-Armenian population. The post office
was administered and run by Armenians and there were four Armenian
schools and three churches. Some nearby villages, such as Nadjarli and
Ozerli, had a mainly Armenian population. The Turkish authorities had
relatively little influence there, because the Armenians elected their
own local town councillors. In Ozerli the Armenian family Peltekian
was the largest landowner. Their possessions extended over several
villages, and Bedros Peltekian even bore the title of Pasha.
The descendants of the Peltekians, who are now living in France,
still possess a suitcase full of original Ottoman title deeds.
However, they themselves can no longer read the Arabic writing.
The ‘chef de la famille’ of this French branch of the survivors
was a son of Bedros, called Khatchik Peltekian. Much of Khatchik’s
correspondence has remained intact. There are eleven sheets of squared
paper (A3) on which all the possessions of the Peltekians and their
exact locations are recorded in his meticulous handwriting, first in
Ottoman and then in the French translation.
The orchards, field, houses, shops and farmland stretched roughly all
along the coast from Adana to Dortyol. The list is not dated, but
was probably drawn up after 1915. The orange groves alone produced
around a million oranges every year, Katchik tells us. Oranges from
Dortyol were very famous and were exported all the way into Russia.
In the margin of the list there are some scribbled remarks. About
a house in Ozerli: “it had three floors and contained 16 rooms and
was unique in the sandjak (district, DF), it was burnt down by the
Turks”. What exactly happened to the rich Peltekian dynasty from
Dortyol?
In 1918 a short book appeared in the Netherlands ‘Marteling der
Armeniërs in Turkije, naar berichten van ooggetuigen’ (Ordeals
of the Armenians in Turkey as reported by eye-witnesses). It had
been published by the Nederlandsch Comite tot Hulpbetoon aan de
noodlijdende Armenians, (Netherlands Committee for Assistance to the
Destitute Armenians) in which several members of the Dutch nobility
were represented. The booklet describes the misfortunes of the Armenian
minority in Turkey in 1915. Coupons found in the front could be filled
in and returned, together with a nice sum of money, to Miss E.J. van
der Hoop in The Hague. The money was used to send relief supplies to
Armenians who had survived the deportations. The book describes in
detail, village by village and region by region, what took place in
Anatolia in 1915. A harrowingly systematic procedure emerges. About
Dortyol the following:
Dort-Jol.
At the time when the deportation from Zeitoen was already underway,
the Turks commenced in Dort-Jol (Tschok Merzimen), a village situated
in the Issus plain on the Gulf of Alexandrette.
When some five Armenians from Dort-Jol had been publicly hanged,
the male members of the population of the populous little town were
forced to perform a variety of services on behalf of the Turks.
Before long the news spread that the defenceless workers were being
murdered by the armed Mohammedans that had been introduced to them
as comrades, with the result that the men of Dort-Jol henceforward
refused to work alongside Mohammedans.
The Government thereupon sent troops that were charged with the
deportation of the male population to the environs of Hadjin, in
order to carry out public works there.
Only one single Armenian resisted; he was irate to such a degree with
the Turkish gendarmes that he killed one of them. As a punishment
for this act of violence, six Armenians were apprehended and executed.
Since then nothing was heard of the male population taken to Hadjin.
It is feared that they were put to death collectively. As soon as the
deportation of the men was completed, it was the turn of the women
and children. They were taken by force to Deir-es-Sor, with the result
that the once so prosperous village of Dort-Jol as good as expired.
Did the inhabitants perhaps have to suffer so much because at one
time, in the days of the massacres under Abdul Hamid, the little town
had defended itself successfully against the Turkish hordes? (end
of quotation)
Was it the Peltekians who were hanged in the centre of Dortyol? Was
it perhaps Panos Peltkekian, Khatchik’s brother, who attacked the
gendarmes in his rage? We do not know. Khatchik, too, must for a long
time have been ignorant of what had happened to his relatives.
When the First World War broke out and Turkey went into an alliance
with Germany, Khatchik was living in Istanbul where he was finishing
his law studies. He may well have been among the group of Armenian
dignitaries who were first to be deported in that night of 24 April
1915.
In 1926 Khatchik wrote to the French High Commissioner in Beirut: “They
deported me to Anatolia where I endured a thousand deprivations. (j’ai
endure mille souffrances)” In another letter he wrote: “my family is
among those hardest hit.
(Ma famille fut l’un de celles qui ont ete le plus outrages). During
the deportations several of my family members perished, including my
father and my brother”.
Khatchik Peltekian, then, did survive his deportation. When the French,
after 1918, occupied Cilicia, the area around Adana, and there was a
possibility of Armenian self-government, Khatchik hurried to the region
to assess the situation. He immediately offered his services to the
French army, since he spoke fluent Turkish, Arabic and French, and knew
every inhabitant of the region, every village and every goat track.
Not all the deported Armenians from Dortyol, however, died in the
Syrian Desert. A number of them – possibly including Peltekians –
returned after the war together with the Allies. Those Armenians
managed to escape from the deportation caravans, usually by bribing
their guards, and managed to reach Aleppo along secret routes. Many
of them survived hunger and epidemics in wretched circumstances
(and with the help of committees such as that in the Netherlands).
When Armenians returned with the French in 1919, Turks had settled
in the meantime in their houses and on their land. A situation that
could not but lead to endless skirmishes with casualties on both
sides. The Armenians saw the French as their rescuers, under whose
protection they could reclaim their possessions, the Turks regarded
the Armenians as collaborators.
Khatchik, too, possessed an estate in the village Hamzali where he
kept cattle and grew cereals. With the proceeds he supported the
remaining members of his family.
In June 1920 the estate was plundered. The harvest and the cattle were
stolen away and the buildings set on fire. The overseer, an uncle of
Khatchik, was killed. The damage amounted to 400,000 Francs.
Khatchik knew exactly who the offenders were – “des bandits notoires
turcs” – and mentions them by name in his letters, as well as the
villages they came from: Karakisse, Tchaili, Rabat, Sugud… He begged
the French for indemnification. He was the only remaining breadwinner
for the Peltekians. The looting of his farm, as he keeps insisting,
is the result of his cooperation with the French: “..it has increased
the Turks’ irritation towards me”.
The French delayed the settlement of the claim for years and finally
didn’t pay him a penny.
They were, however, generous with glowing references and superlative
words of praise about his unflagging dedication and devotion to
the French cause. But that was all. In the meantime, Khatchik’s
capacities as an interpreter, and his intimate knowledge of the area
were intensively exploited. More than once he risked his life for his
French patrons. Once one of the richest men in the region he now had
to support his family on a meagre translator’s salary. He signed off
his appeals with “votre très humble en très obeissant serviteur…”
As a result of the Turkish struggle for independence the French
had to withdraw from the province of Hatay and the plans to make
Cilicia into a safe haven for Armenians foundered. The Allies no
longer laid down the law in Turkey, because a new Turkish leader had
emerged: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Armenians left in a hurry with the
French, again leaving their possessions behind. Khatchik settled in
Alexandrette (the present Iskenderun) with his sister-in-law Zarouhi,
a widow with four children and a few other young Peltekians. Dortyol,
the cradle of the Peltekians, was only 30 km away, but was no longer
part of the French protectorate.
In the political games preceding the Second World War the French
decided to withdraw from Hatay in 1939. Hatay became part of the
Turkish republic; a massive exodus of Armenians was the result.
Khatchik Peltekian left together with the French and was placed in
Syria – until the outbreak of the Second World War when the Peltekians
ended up in Beirut. Everything he had built up in Alexandrette in
the years gone by had to be left behind yet again.
After 1945 Khatchik was finally naturalised by the French and went
to live in Paris with his sister-in-law Zarouhi (who called herself
Rose by then) and her daughter Alice. Rose’s sons Pierre and Alexandre
Peltekian were then officers in the French army and would rather not
be reminded of their Armenian identity. They were more French than
the French. Khatchik died in 1972 and was buried in Père Lachèse.
Alice Peltekian sometimes mused: “Je suis la comtesse de Dortyol…”
She died a solitary death, in poverty, in a top floor in Paris in 1984.
And Dortyol?
Dortyol is now a sleepy, conservative little town where there is
little to remind us of the Armenians. The orange groves are still
there, but the old varieties, famous for their taste and juiciness
have been replaced by modern, genetically manipulated oranges. A
gigantic industrial area with blast-furnaces stretches along the
coast and causes permanent air pollution.
The houses of the Armenians have been taken over by the children and
grandchildren of ethnic Turks that were exchanged by Greece for ethnic
Greeks living in Turkey during the so-called mubadele in 1923.
The Greek Turks had been promised the land and the empty houses of
the Armenians. On arrival they found that many of the houses had been
devastated. Result: uprooted people and a great deal of unhappiness….
But that is another, Turkish tragedy.
Dorothee Forma March 2006
Postscript to the Documentary: In ‘The Story of my Name’ Alex Peltekian
searches for the background of his Armenian surname. Alex Peltekian’s
mother is Dutch. She worked in Paris as an au pair once and met
one Alexandre Peltekian. From their union Alex was born in 1955,
who grew up in The Hague in the Netherlands without much knowledge
of his father’s family, because his mother married a Dutchman who
took care of little Alex.
Father Alexandre Peltekian was born in Dortyol in south Turkey in
1912; his mother was called Rose (Zarouhi) and his father was Panos
Peltekian, Khatchik’s eldest brother. Alex is therefore a great-nephew
of ‘Oncle Khatchik’ and Alice Peltekian is his aunt.
Photos:
uman/hos/html/varia/news.jsp?news=46641
–Boundar y_(ID_ziibDaZ5tOCJBtLohzfhOA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TRANSEURO SIGNS LOI FOR EXPLORATION DRILLING RIG
Canadian Corporate Newswire
June 19, 2006 Monday 9:30 AM EST
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(CCNMatthews – June 19, 2006) – Transeuro
Energy Corp. (“Transeuro” or the “Company”)(TSX VENTURE:TSU) is
pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”)
with High Arctic Energy Services (“HAES”) (TSX:HWO.UN)(OSE:HWO.UN)
for the provision of a drilling rig plus associated equipment to
drill three exploration wells in Armenia.
Transeuro has completed the initial study phase of the exploration
operations in Armenia and has collated and interpreted all the
historical data. The company has contracted AESP, the local seismic
acquisition company to provide an additional 131 km of 2D seismic
in the Oktemberian region in the west of the country, where 2 gas
prospects have been identified. The survey is expected to start later
this month. The old seismic data in the area has been reprocessed
and will be integrated with the new data to update the structural
interpretation over the prospects and to finalise the drilling
locations for the first 2 wells in the programme.
Under the provisions of the LOI, HAES has committed to providing the
drilling rig in country, ready to commence drilling on the first
location by 1st February 2007. The first well is located on the
Kamir prospect and is planned to drill down to around 2,500m to test
the Lower Sand Clay (LSC) and Lower Multi-coloured Suite (LMS) where
previous wells have produced gas to surface and have shown hydrocarbon
saturations on wireline logs. Underbalance drilling techniques will
be used to minimize drilling damage and to maximize production rates.
The second well will test the Southwest Oktemberian prospect located
updip of the known gas in the Karmir structure. The structure is
delineated by 7 shallow wells drilled over an area of 8 square
kilometers during the 60’s and 70’s. An independent petrophysical
review of the well logs suggests numerous possible gas reservoirs
in the LSC from 320 – 860m with over 40m of net pay that were never
tested, and additional untested reservoirs in the LMS. The well will
be drilled down to 2,500m to test these and deeper sands that are
identified as potentially hydrocarbon bearing in offset wells.
Following success in the initial seismic programme with AESP, Transeuro
intends to survey the Shorakhpur area where previous wells are reported
to have recovered oil and indicated hydrocarbon saturations on wireline
logs. A third well is planned, either on the oil prospect or in the
Oktemberian region.
Program expenditures will be finalized under the formal drilling
contract to be entered into between the parties.
Transeuro Energy Corp. is involved in the acquisition of petroleum and
natural gas rights, the exploration for, and development and production
of crude oil, condensate and natural gas. The Company’s properties
are located in Canada, Armenia, Papua New Guinea and Ukraine.
Harold Hemmerich, President and CEO
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation
of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The
securities have not been and will not be registered under the United
States Securities Act 1933, as amended (the “U.S.
Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered
or sold within the United States or to a U.S. Person unless registered
under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws
or an exemption from such registration is available.
The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
targeted results. The Company relies upon litigation protection for
forward-looking statements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Transeuro Energy Corp.
Ryan King (604) 681 3939 The TSX Venture
Exchange has not reviewed, and does not accept responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

GET YOUR PAWNS OFF OF MY QUEEN
By Nancy Macdonald
Maclean’s, Canada
June 19, 2006
The ‘Anna Kournikova of chess’ has sparked a violent love triangle
British chess ace Danny Gormally and Armenian Levon Aronian — the
world’s third-ranked player — were out partying earlier this month
during the World Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Gormally, apparently
drunk, became so jealous when Aronian started hitting on the Aussie
teen sensation Arianne Caoili — known as the “Anna Kournikova of
chess” — that he knocked his rival to the ground. Gormally had
recently struck up an email relationship with the chess beauty, and
didn’t like the moves Aronian was making on the dance floor. Fists
flew again the next morning, when the Armenian team exacted revenge
on Gormally while he was out for coffee. Dubbed “Gormallygate” by
chess fans, this international incident is providing the rest of the
world its closest glimpse of the game since the historic Cold War-era
match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. And with it,
the image of chess as the gentleman’s sport is coming undone.
You might expect this kind of behaviour from college football stars,
but grandmasters? This is the philosopher’s sport, after all — the
ultimate intellectual pursuit. But chess stars, it appears, are no
better adjusted than your average first-round draft pick. Not that
there haven’t been signs of that before. This esoterics-only club’s
most famous alumnus is Chicago-born Bobby Fischer — the raving,
Jew-hating recluse who now calls Reykjavik home. And the sport attracts
Fischer-like obsessive misfits — the type happy to spend Sundays
watching planes land. At its highest level, the game requires — no,
demands — that sort of compulsive concentration. Matches often exceed
five hours. And aside from pushing chess pieces and hitting the clock,
the only movement during the long silent hours of a match is the rise
and fall of players’ chests.
Stone-faced, players churn through thousands of possible moves in their
head at every turn, in an effort to outmanoeuvre their opponent. Chess
lingo — to capture, to crush, to destroy — suggests that in chess,
as with any sport, there’s no second place. Russian great Viktor
Korchnoi has always said that winning at chess requires hating your
opponent. There’s violence in this — a struggle to the end. And
while usually the killer instinct doesn’t manifest itself physically,
as it does in, say, hockey, there have been physical altercations:
in the late 1970s, organizers of a world championship match had to
put a board under the table so rivals Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov
couldn’t kick each other.
Like in any sport, there are also brittle egos in the world of chess,
and Gormally may be more fragile than others, in part, due to his
recent slide in the ranking. While Aronian, 23, is now recognized
as a future world champion, Gormally, 30, who stumbled in Turin, has
slipped off the charts. Caoili (whose nickname is a reference to the
sexy tennis queen), has been painted as the vixen — perhaps fairly.
“It is my weakness to sometimes start a random friction between myself
and another to test reactions,” wrote the 19-year-old on her website
after the scrap.
Regardless of whether it’s deserved (Caoili is ranked third among
females in chess-poor Australia), the Kournikova tag is becoming
sportswriting’s most tired cliche. And Caoili isn’t even the only
grandmaster to get Kournikovaed — she shares the honour with Russian
chess star Alexandra Kosteniuk. That young, sexy women are excelling
at chess — now common, according to the Chess Federation of Canada’s
Robert Hamilton — should be assumed. Male or female, eccentric,
even, yep, foxy, grandmasters want to win. Chess, according to the
late great Emanuel Lasker, the longest-reigning world champ, has
falsely been elevated to a science, or an art. In Lasker’s opinion
chess is neither. Instead, he once said, it’s what human nature most
freely indulges in: a fight.
GRAPHIC: Photos 1 through 3, CAOILI has two grandmasters — Gormally
and Aronian — fighting for her.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATING NORMALLY WHEN IT CRASHED – CLAIM
Airline Industry Information
June 20, 2006
Airline Industry Information-©1997-2006 M2 Communications LTD
It has been found that the Armavia Airbus A320 aircraft that crashed
into the Black Sea in May was intact and its engines were operating
normally.
The aircraft also had enough fuel to land, according to a Russian
transport ministry commission. The commission, which is investigating
the crash, said that the Armenian aircraft was under manual control
of its pilots up to the moment of impact.
The commission has not attributed any blame for the crash after
examining the aircraft’s flight recorders.
The crash of the aircraft killed all 113 people on board.
–Boundary_(ID_SZMbwW2DPa4fTvuRPiLhJw)–

LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH TURKEY WORSENED BY PART RESOLUTION, PLEDGING SUPPORT ON ITS PATH TO EU
Baltic News Service
June 20, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM EET
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus is trying to improve relations
with Turkey that have worsened after the Lithuanian parliament passed
a resolution, pledging assistance for the country on its path to the
European Union.
After a meeting with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Ankara
on Tuesday, Adamkus said that the resolution passed by the Lithuanian
parliament would definitely not change Lithuania’s foreign policy.
Passed by the Lithuanian parliament at the end of last year, the
resolution urged Turkey to admit having committed genocide of the
Armenian nation almost 100 years ago. In response to the resolution,
Turkey made a diplomatic demarche. Lithuanian Ambassador to Ankara
Vytautas Nauduzas was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and was
warned that the resolution would worsen bilateral relations between
Lithuania and Turkey.
In the Armenians’ words, about 1.5 million Armenians were killed
during the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.
Turkey, which is seeking EU membership, denies the fact of genocide,
saying that Armenians fell victims to the war that claimed the lives
of many Turks as well.
The Turkish president, in his turn, said it was agreed during the
meeting to avoid actions that would harm the development of relations
between the two countries. He also presented Adamkus with copies
of letters of Lithuania’s interwar President Antanas Smetona to the
first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The Lithuanian leader told his Turkish counterpart that he could
not imagine the EU without Turkey, pledging assistance for Turkey’s
integration in the European community.
Lithuania became a member of the EU in 2004 after over a decade of
efforts to join the European family.
The Turkish president said he appreciated Lithuania’s support for
Turkey’s bid to join the EU.
Turkey started detailed EU accession negotiations last week, after
25 EU member states managed to find a way out of the deadlock over
Cyprus. The EU is pressing Turkey to open its ports and airports to
ships and planes of Cyprus, a member of the EU, and recognize the
Greek government of Cyprus.
If Turkey joined the EU, it would be the largest member of the bloc
in terms of area and population.
During their meeting, the Turkish and Lithuanian presidents also
discussed bilateral cooperation issues in political, economic and
cultural fields, prospects of Turkey’s integration into the EU,
relations with neighboring countries, possibilities of cooperation in
the field of energy, the Lithuanian president’s press service reported.
Adamkus thanked the Turkish leader for a mission performed by Turkish
servicemen. Turkish airmen have been deployed in Zokniai, Lithuania,
to perform the Baltic air policing mission.
Discussing regional cooperation, it was noted that South Caucasus
countries and Turkey were becoming very important in creating
alternative power supply possibilities.
In the Lithuanian president’s words, Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan
are an excellent example of neighborly relations. He said Turkey’s
relations with Georgia were improving as well, adding that these
close ties were useful not only to the cooperating countries but
also to the entire region. In Adamkus’ words, joint projects of the
countries, such as an oil pipeline and a gas pipeline, may become
very significant in strengthening energy independence and security
of European countries. The president said Lithuania was interested
in expanding these projects to the Baltic Sea.

DELEGATION HEADED BY RA DEFENSE MINISTER LEFT FOR MINSK
ArmRadio.am
21.06.2006 10:50
The delegation headed by RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan left
today for Minsk to participate in the sittings of the Committee of
Secretaries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
Security Councils and the Council of Defense Ministers.

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-10) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Minister Oskanian Addresses Inaugural Session of UN Human Rights
Council, in Geneva
Minister Oskanian attended and addressed the first session of the
newly-formed UN Human Rights Council. The opening ceremony on Monday
was attended by UN SG Kofi Annan as well as High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Louise Arbour.
In his statement, on Wednesday, June 21, Armenia¹s Minister
congratulated the Council on its inaugural meeting and wished the
Council well in its mandate to place the third pillar of the UN ­
human rights ­ on a par with the other two ­ peace and security,
and development.
The Minister said, ³Globalization and the electronic media enhance our
knowledge and increase our liability. It is as easy to look into our
neighbor¹s living room as our own. To hear the screams next door and
do nothing will be as difficult as ignoring uproar at home. We are now
the first generation who simply cannot afford to do so. And ironically,
we are the first generation that is able to afford to systematically,
fundamentally address the problems ­ and even the crises. We can muster
the time, skills and resources to construct a new pro-active, daring,
spirited international system that not only has the moral authority
but also the tenacity to protect the powerless.²
The Minister addressed the linkage between human rights and
development. He said, ³I know that it is only when the preconditions
for a full and free life of dignity are in place, only then are markets
powerful engines of development, only then is critical infrastructure
sustainable, and only then do individuals stand up to demand and
protect individual and collective human rights.
He continued, ³In Armenia, we are tackling this greatest challenge
through a public-private partnership that will engage the government of
Armenia, Armenia¹s business community, the international community and
individual countries, as well as our generous Diaspora, to embark on
eradicating rural poverty through a comprehensive, integrated approach.
Our intent is to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and to replace
hopelessness and desperation with a sense of self-worth and security.²
In speaking about Armenia¹s neighbors and regional security, Minister
Oskanian noted that ³Armenia has and continues to promote stronger
international mechanisms to prevent and eradicate the crime of
genocide, and all of its precursors ­ including efforts, too often
successful, at not just cleansing a region of its indigenous people,
but also erasing their memory. Armenians have survived and gone on to
live through each of these attempts. Even today, in the 21st century,
we have watched helplessly as the spiritual and cultural markers of
our people are decimated.²
He went on to refer to the destruction of the Jugha Cemetery
in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan. ³This violation of the memory and
spirit of centuries of Armenian existence on lands which are today
Azerbaijan¹s is cynical and dangerous. These huge, exquisite, unique
stone crosses which were both sculpture and tombstone are now gone ­
2,000 of these medieval markers were destroyed just a few months ago.
The gravemarkers are gone, and Armenian and international fears that
Azerbaijan¹s authorities might in fact not be serious about peace
have been reinforced. After all, their organized, violent, armed
response to peaceful calls for self-determination two decades ago,
was the first attempt at ethnic cleansing in the soviet space and
ignited the conflict which remains unsettled today. This most recent
manifestation of organized violence, in a place where no Armenians
live today, and far from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict area, tells
us that neither Azerbaijan¹s methods nor its intent has changed. Such
unambivalent, callous demolition of culture and history also destroys
trust and peace.²
In speaking about the present state of negotiations with Azerbaijan
on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Armenian
Foreign Minister said, ³If Azerbaijan¹s one step forward, one step
back approach in the negotiations was simply alarming, their recent,
desperate offers of autonomy are concrete examples of a retreat
from the letter and spirit of these talks, and clearly not in sync
with international trends. Offering autonomy to a people who have
for nearly two decades been in control of their lives on their own
historic lands is at the very least, self-deception.²
–Boundary_(ID_j1u2Uv3wKJqS rlZQc4W+qA)–

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address:  Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact:  Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel:  (374 10) 517 163
Fax:  (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Website: 
June 21, 2006
First Day of Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Karekin II to Turkey
On the evening of June 20, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch
and Catholicos of All Armenians arrived in Istanbul on his first
Pontifical Visit to Turkey.  Upon arrival at the Istanbul airport,
His Holiness and his entourage were greeted by His Beatitude
Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople;
high-ranking clergy of the Armenian Patriarchate; two metropolitan
archbishops representing the Greek Ecumenical Patriarchate; Mr. Karen
Mirzoyan, Representative of the Republic of Armenia in Turkey; and
representatives of the Armenian community of Istanbul.
During the official reception and dinner at the Armenian Patriarchate,
His Beatitude Mesrob greeted the Catholicos of All Armenians and
welcomed him and his accompanying clergymen to Istanbul.  His Holiness
Karekin II offered thanks to Almighty God for having granted him
this opportunity to be in Istanbul for a Pontifical Visit, to meet
the faithful Armenian people of this historic city and extend to
them blessings and love from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. 
His Holiness also noted his happiness for the fraternal visit to the
Ecumenical Greek Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew I.
On the morning of June 21, the Pontiff of All Armenians, accompanied
by His Beatitude Mesrob Mutafian and the members of the pontifical
entourage, visited the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and
participated in Morning Services at the Greek Mother Cathedral.  At
the conclusion of morning services, His Holiness and the Armenian
delegation were escorted to the throne room of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate during the singing of the Armenian Church hymn, “Rejoice,
O Church”.
In the presence of the members of Holy Synod of the Greek Church,
Ecumenical Patriarch His All Holiness Bartholomew I, greeted His
Holiness Karekin II with a fraternal embrace, followed by his official
and warm address of welcome.
Thereafter, the Catholicos of All Armenians extended his greetings of
love to the Ecumenical Patriarch, noting in part, “…Our predecessors
of blessed memory have visited Your All Holiness and your revered
predecessors.  Today, we are visiting you with brotherly love and a
joyous heart.  We are visiting a people and a Church, who share with
us the inheritance of Christ, His witness and His love.  We visit a
Church, with whom we have shared a history of accomplishments and
achievements, persecutions, suffering and martyrdom, prayer and
witness, and which is alive in our hearts and minds today.  We are
visiting a Church, which through her rich past and present, continues
the testimony of the Lord with love and peace.
“By visiting Your All Holiness, we are confident, that through our
prayers and discussions, and during our meetings, we will enjoy the
gifts of the love and brotherhood of Christ, which we shall transmit
as a blessing to our faithful sons and daughters.”
In his remarks, the Catholicos of All Armenians also recalled the
historic visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch to Armenia in November
of 2001, during the jubilee festivities surrounding the 1700th
Anniversary of Official Christianity in Armenia.  His Holiness
offered prayers to heaven, asking God to “illuminate and provide
warmth with the peace flowing from the Eternal Light of the world,
to the souls and hearts of all, benefiting the strengthening of our
faith, and the reinforcement of peace, reconciliation and friendship
among all nations, religions and churches, founded upon the timeless
principles of justice and truth.”
His Holiness Karekin II concluded his remarks by praying for the
cooperation between the two Churches to greater flourish under the
blessings and protection of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the love and
glory of His Holy Church.
At the conclusion of the official reception, a personal meeting
occurred between the two delegations, whereupon general inter-church
and specifically Armenian and Greek relations were discussed.
Later that day, the Ecumenical Patriarch hosted the Armenian delegation
to an official lunch organized in honor of the Catholicos of All
Armenians.
##
–Boundary_(ID_GFQKMAsAmxo0jNw 6pziD4w)–

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-10) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:
ARMENIADIAS PORA III
Armenpress Interview with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
June 8, 2006
QUESTION: Mr. Oskanian, two Armenia-Diaspora conferences have already taken
place. Will the third conference differ from the first two?
Armenia Diaspora III is being convened under new historical and
geo-political realities and naturally the agenda of the conference and the
issues discussed there must reflect on the problems, developments and
challenges facing our nation today and in years to come.
This year, Armenians around the world will celebrate 15 years of Armenian
independence. In that light, ArmeniaDiaspora III is a good opportunity to
examine together the path we’ve traveled, analyze and assess the present and
consider the prospects for future development.
In these past years, much has changed in Armenian life.
Specifically, by overcoming many difficulties, Armenia has entered a period
of economic progress, and in recent years has registered serious growth.
During the same time period, there have been important changes in the
Diaspora too, and the Diaspora has become more focused, allowing for active
participation in the processes of proposing and resolving problems.
So, today, we have real opportunities, and in addition to the general issues
on the Diaspora agenda, and unlike the previous conferences, we will put
forward new programs of a pan-Armenian nature around which all Armenians can
rally.
QUESTION: What are the pan-Armenian issues on the agenda of ArmeniaDiaspora
III?
We¹ve come a long way over these 15 years, and overcome great difficulties.
Over the next 15 years, we must work hard to turn Armenia into the country
of our dreams. That can only happen if Armenia¹s expectations of the
Diaspora and the Diaspora¹s expectations of Armenia are more evenly matched.
The Conference will deal with those issues.
At the same time, with independence come questions about identify, about
homeland-diaspora relations, about language and religion, and about diaspora
institutions. And if our traditional organizations used to look at these
questions one way, today¹s youth approaches these issues very differently.
They are looking for new answers to old questions. That is why the second
half of the conference will focus on exactly that ­ New Answers to Old
Questions ­ A Nation-State in the 21st Century.
This way, we will have addressed the two fundamental issues facing a people
and a country ­ identity and development — who we are and who we want to
become.
QUESTION: Can you elaborate on the development program that you have
mentioned?
Everyone who has visited Armenia comments on the discrepancy in lifestyle
and standard of living between the cities and the rural areas. Armenia¹s
economic growth indicators are impressive, but that growth really has not
reached the villages. If we want to ensure that these rural communities are
not destined to remain stagnant, permanent pockets of poverty, if we want to
ensure that Armenians are not born into a cycle of poverty, then we cannot
allow development to simply take its course. Even at this current fast pace,
it will take decades before we reach even the average European level of
prosperity.
This will be a very broad effort to eradicate rural poverty in Armenia. The
strategic objective of this program is reducing poverty in rural Armenia¹s
border villages through an integrated approach. The program will provide the
necessary intervention in the form of infrastructure and technical support,
and in partnership with the residents of the village, the program will
support economic development in order to enable the sustainability and
viability of rural communities.
QUESTION: What is the scope of this program? How will you decide where to
begin?
The effects of rural poverty and hopelessness on migration, regional
stability, geo-strategic and economic security are obvious in these
villages. That is why we have decided to begin with Armenia¹s border areas.
It¹s going to take a focused, targeted collaborative effort to improve life
for our compatriots in these critical border areas.
In each of these villages, necessary infrastructure is simply non-existent.
Some have no paved roads, others have no running water, some have no gas or
electricity. Imagine trying to raise a family or make a living without these
basics. Then, in addition to weak infrastructure, they also are often not
economically self-sufficient. This is a problem throughout Armenia, but I
don¹t think anyone will doubt that the border is critical.
QUESTON: Why launch such an ambitious and novel program now?
Why now? There are three main reasons.
First, we want to build on the international momentum that already exists.
Over the next five years, the Millennium Challenge Corporation will build
roads and bring irrigation water to Armenia¹s rural areas. In addition,
there is the generous new Lincy program that will build roads and schools
within and outside Yerevan. There are massive World Bank, USAID, DFID and
IFAD programs throughout Armenia. The Armenia Fund, too, has programs
throughout Armenia, as well as Karabakh, of course.We want to leverage these
programs and locate additional funds in order to bring comprehensive
development to the villages. Imagine that a village will, in a few years,
have irrigation water and roads, thanks to the MCC, for example. But imagine
that there will be no drinking water, no health care, no school, no gas or
electricity in that village. Imagine children growing up in a 21st century
rural community that has roads and water and electricity, but is without
access to telephone, television or internet. We can¹t let that happen. Now
imagine what we could do together if the Armenian government, Armenia¹s
business community, international organizations, and the Armenian Diaspora
came together to leverage the MCC contributions and to build on the MCC
momentum. Imagine a country where development is comprehensive, even, fair
and just.
The second reason to do it now is to sustain the pace of economic
development. Look, we¹ve had high growth, at least in part because our point
of departure was low. Our economy had collapsed. But the more the economy
grows, the harder it will be to maintain double-digit growth. Additional
infusion and intervention is necessary and why not target that infusion
towards the areas that need it most?
Finally, Armenia has, over these 15 years, held a leading role in this
region. This may sound surprising, but it¹s true. Georgia has a more
favorable geographic position and access to the sea, Azerbaijan has already
been pumping massive amounts of oil ­ more than 300,000 barrels a day over
the last several years, yet, according to the World Bank, per capita income
is still higher in Armenia. This is something to be proud of, but it¹s also
something we must work at. We have to keep that edge even with the prospects
of additional oil revenues expected for Azerbaijan. We can do that only if
we aggressively mobilize our resources and clearly set comprehensive
economic development as our goal.
QUESTION: What will happen to the various organizations already working
towards rural development?
This program will make every effort to partner with all existing
organizations and programs in order to achieve maximum effectiveness and
efficiency. We have already spoken to every single organization, individual
and agency (more than 100 in number) with programs in Armenia¹s villages.
Our program is not intended to replace or compete with existing programs. On
the contrary, we will work with them to build on their efforts, to increase
their capacity. Our website will reflect their efforts as well, so that
donors and participants receive a complete picture of what is being done,
and what is still needed.
QUESTION: How will you seek support for this program?
This very serious and far-reaching program can only succeed with the active
engagement and involvement of a variety of actors and participants.
Individual countries have already expressed a willingness to focus their
development assistance on our rural areas. International organizations are
already focused on rural development. As are individual Diasporans and
Diaspora organizations. Now, we must also engage and involve Armenia¹s
businessmen, and new elements of the Diaspora.
This project is varied and broad enough that individuals can find a variety
of ways of getting involved. That is why this topic will form the focus of
the agenda of the 3d Armenia Diaspora Conference, to be held in Yerevan,
September 18 ­ 20.
There, we will explain the program¹s purpose, how it will be implemented,
how the funds will be raised and managed, and the key issues of transparency
and accountability will be addressed.
QUESTION: Will the management of the program remain within the Diaspora
Conference?
Until the ArmeniaDiaspora Conference, we will have completed the design of
the program, the management structure and begun the process of assessing
needs and finding sponsors for villages. After the ArmeniaDiaspora
Conference, we envision that the Armenia Fund is best situated to take over
as the umbrella which will implement the program. This ambitious program is
a natural expansion of the Armenia Fund¹s mission ­ to facilitate
infrastructure and development programs that are beyond the government¹s
capacity.
It was a visionary step to create the Armenia Fund, soon after independence,
when its additional resources were sorely needed. It has since completed
projects which have invaluable, strategic significance for Armenia and
Armenians. Now, we are at a stage when we can and should broaden that
vision. Fifteen years after independence, we are no longer desperate and
focused on everyday survival. Today, we must project a vision for Armenia in
2020.
Of course, the breadth and scope of the program will require the Fund to
increase capacity, to provide even greater transparency and to involve wider
segments of the Diaspora.
QUESTION: What you¹ve described is truly inspiring and has vital
significance for Armenia¹s development. Are you certain that the program
will really come to life?
As I said, during these 15 years of independence, our people have withstood
horrible, heavy challenges and succeeded in overcoming them and ensuring
stable and harmonious conditions for the development of our new Republic.
There is an increased sense of responsibility on the part of all segments of
our nation toward our future development, and toward resolution of our
national problems and issues, together.
We are certain that if all our institutions are activated and inspired, and
if Armenia¹s and the Diaspora¹s resources are gathered around this program,
we will be able to implement this program and provide our compatriots living
in rural communities with basic conditions of dignity so that they can live
and work.
And perhaps the fundamental basis of our conviction is our talented and
active people, which has throughout history, in different countries, stood
out through its diligence and creative spirit, and has displayed dauntless
will and faith.
Therefore, together, we can and we must take this program forward in order
for our people to develop and prosper in safety and security.
This will be the essential message of ArmeniaDiaspora III.
–Boundary_(ID_pHFyPJDl+G/hlllU0jTW+A)–