ARMENIA-ARTSAKH PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
Laura Grigorian
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
02 May 2006
On April 26 the first meeting of the NKR-Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation Committee took place in the meeting hall of the
NKR government. Speaker Ashot Ghulian thanked the members of the
delegation, led by Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian, who
arrived in NKR for the meeting. He said the parliamentary cooperation
between Armenia and Artsakh started in the years of the war, and is
already sustainable, accomplished and has traditions. It is another
expression of unity of our nation, another manifestation of fulfillment
of our desires and goals. According to the NKR Speaker, the relations
between the parliaments can be considered a serious precondition for
the establishment of external relations of the parliaments of both
Armenia and NKR. “In fact, the cooperation between the parliaments
of Armenia and Artsakh had a considerable progress, contributing
to the strengthening of the Armenian statehood and the ability to
tackle the challenges of the time,” said Ashot Ghulian. He mentioned
that the agreement on the cooperation between the parliaments of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh will undergo changes, determined by
the political problems and requirements of the time, which are also
aimed at improvement of effectiveness of contacts between the two
parliaments. The NKR Speaker said the achievements and plans in this
sphere are not limited, and emphasized the importance of clear and
effective continuation of cooperation of the parliaments.
In this context he emphasized the permanent contact among the
representatives of the two parliaments, particularly the meetings of
the parliamentary committee, which are regularly held in Stepanakert
and Yerevan. Ashot Ghulian says there is no need to dwell on the effect
of this cooperation on the improvement of the legislative activity
of both Armenian parliaments, the unity of our people, establishment
of external parliamentary relations and other spheres. In conclusion
the Speaker assured that the recurrent meeting of the committee held
in Stepanakert for the first time will be a new progressive step
in the activities of both parliaments for the sake of the Armenian
people and its well-being. Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian
also commended the fact of meeting in Stepanakert, and emphasized
that the two Armenian states are steadily moving forward. Tigran
Torossian agreed to the idea that it is time to modify the agreement to
correspond to the problems and objectives that the two states have. In
this context, he emphasized the importance of the meeting for the
improvement of further activities of both parliaments. The head of
the Armenian parliamentary delegation assured that the members of
parliament of Armenia will make efforts for not only the effective
activity of the committee but also the unity of the peoples of both
Armenian states in general.
The Deputy Speaker of NKR Rudik Hyusnunts presented the agenda of
the meeting, including the questions of effectiveness of legislative
activities in terms of structural improvement of standing committees
(speakers Yuri Hayrapetian, Chair of the Standing State and Legal
Committee, NKR and Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian),
presently ongoing debates on the Karabakh issue at European
organizations and parliamentary organizations and the possibilities
of fostering cooperation between the two parliaments in this context
(speakers Tigran Torossian and Vahram Atanessian, Chair of the
Standing Committee of External Relations, NKR), and cooperation
of the National Assemblies of NKR and Armenia for drafting the NKR
Constitution (speakers Rudik Hyusnunts, Deputy Speaker of NKR, and
Tigran Torossian, Deputy Speaker of Armenia). On April 27 the second
meeting was scheduled.

ARMENIA SHOULD SUPPORT IRAN’S SUSTAINABLE POLICY IN REGION
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 22:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Iran is our neighbor state and our peoples are
bound by age-old friendship. One should not forget that during the
hard years Iran was the state that helped us,” Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan stated in an interview published on the website
of the Republican Party headed by him.”
This was the only road that connected us with the world and rendered
us the possibility to import food and fuel,” he said. In his words,
Iran pursues a sustainable policy in the region and Armenia should
support it.
At the same time the RPA leader remarked that the United States
and Iran always experienced complicated relations. “After Armenia
became independent these relations did not become friendly. There
were periods of alleviation and tension. Presently relations are
rather tensed but I do not think it will come to war.
Settlement of the U.S.-Iran relations is the task of these two states,”
the Armenian Prime Minister stated.

MARGARYAN: ARMENIA READY TO ESTABLISH RELATIONS WITH TURKEY WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 22:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We have many times stated that we are ready to
establish relations with Turkey without any preconditions. By saying
this I mean opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic
and economic relations,” Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
stated in an interview published on the website of the Republican
Party headed by him. He voiced regret over the fact that Turkey sets
an inadmissible condition for Armenia. In his opinion, the opening
of the Armenian-Turkish border will offer the possibility to expand
regional cooperation.
“Relations with one more state will not do us any harm. I suppose our
economy will not suffer from it, we just should prepare our economic
policy in accord with the new demands,” the RA PM said. At that he
remarked the products and their volume to be imported are unclear
yet. “Anyway the commodities that will be imported will not do harm
to our economy,” he noted.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS AND ANDRZEJ KASPRZYK TO MEET IN MOSCOW TOMORROW
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 22:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia),
Steven Mann (U.S.) and Bernard Fassier (France) will meet with Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej
Kasprzyk in Moscow tomorrow. The mediators will focus on the details
discussed during the talks on the Karabakh conflict settlement. They
will also determine the date of the regular visit to the region during
which they will familiarize the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
with the new proposals on the conflict settlement, reported APA.

PM MARGARYAN: CREATION OF WORK PLACES IN JAVAKHETIA PRIORITY ISSUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 22:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Republican Party of Armenia has many times
expressed its position on the situation in the Armenian-inhabited
Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan stated in an interview published on his party’s
website. First of all, he said, socio-economic conditions should be
created to prevent Armenians from leaving Javakhetia. “Hard social
conditions are common to all the regions of Georgia, however during
the meetings with the Georgian authorities we raise this issue and
urge a special attitude towards Javakhetia,” Andranik Margaryan
said. According to him, Armenia is ready to render assistance to the
projects implemented in Javakhetia. “Unfortunately the Georgian party
did not undertake any steps except promises. Although the restoration
of the roads in the region is included in the Millennium Challenges
Account we should create new work places and economic infrastructures
in Javakhetia, since many Armenians will remain unemployed after the
withdrawal of the Russian military base. In his words, it not the
time to introduce any political claims but if the bill calling for
the model of a federal state is discussed in Georgia, the Javakheti
issue should be taken into account.

KARS-AKHALKALAKI-TBILISI-BAKU RAILWAY COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHMENT TO BE DISCUSSED IN SOFIA MAY 2
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 23:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The fifth sitting of the intergovernmental committee
of the TRACECA member states will start in Sofia tomorrow. The
sitting participants are expected to adopt a development strategy to
be applied up to the end of 2015. The budget issues and the status
of observer in the organization will be also addressed. Azerbaijan
will assume the presidency within the sitting framework.
The establishment of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway
communication will be considered as well.

CONVICTION OF ARMENIAN JOURNALIST IN TURKEY OVERTURNED: PRESS
Agence France Presse — English
May 1, 2006 Monday 4:07 PM GMT
A court in Ankara Monday overturned on appeal the conviction of
an Armenian journalist in Turkey, accused of insulting the Turkish
identity, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Hrant Dink, publisher of the bi-lingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper
Agos, was sentenced to a suspended six-month sentence in October by
a court in Istanbul for an article published in February 2004.
The article about the massacre of Armenians during World War I
in Turkey called on Armenians “to turn now to the new blood of an
independent Armenia, which alone is capable of liberating the Armenian
diaspora” and to reject any Turkish roots.
The appeal judges in Ankara overturned the conviction due to procedural
errors, Anatolia reported, adding that the case will be referred back
to the Istanbul court for retrial.
Dink’s lawyer, Fethiye Cetin, could not confirm the Anatolia report
when contacted by AFP, as he had not yet received word from the
appeals court.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 in the final days of the
Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of Turkey.
It remains a sensitive issue as Turkey categorically rejects claims
of genocide. Ankara argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as
many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took up arms
for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops
invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.
From: Baghdasarian

HAVE COURAGE, HAZEL GREEN
Kirkus Reviews
May 1, 2006
Spunky Hazel Green returns for a third adventure, again set in her
urban apartment house and involving adults as much as the children.
When Mr. Davis, the new head of the Moodey Building Owner’s Committee,
says, “I don’t like your kind” to Mr. Egozian, the maintenance man,
Hazel knows it’s wrong. But her efforts to right that wrong bring
her serious trouble. Supported by her mathematical friend, Yakov, and
sympathetic Mrs. Gluck, flower shop owner, she refuses to apologize
to Mr. Davis as a matter of principle. Even if Mr. Egozian won’t
fight back, she will. From his description of the killing of his
people nearly a century ago, it seems that Mr. Egozian is Armenian,
but this is never said directly, and young American readers may be
confused. Still, Hazel’s outrage is clear and appropriate. Readers will
admire her energy and determination and savor the delicious description
of specialty foods. This Australian import is certain to be welcome
in libraries where the other books have been popular. (Fiction. 9-13)
Publication Date: 6/1/2006 0:00:00 Publisher: Bloomsbury Stage:
Children’s ISBN: 1-58234-659-3 Price: $15.95 Author: Hirsch, Odo

ACTIVIST LEADS GROUP TO HELP BRING PEACE TO DARFUR
National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: Weekend All Things Considered 1900-2000
April 30, 2006 Sunday
Anchors: Debbie Elliott
Debbie Elliott, Host:
One group that has come up with a concrete and immediate response to
the carnage in Darfur is the Genocide Intervention Network. It’s the
brainchild of students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and now
extends to more than 250 schools across the country. The group has
raised money to fund the African Union Peacekeeping force serving in
Darfur. It’s leader, Mark Hanis, joins me in the studio now. Hello,
Mark.
Mr. MARK HANIS (Genocide Intervention Network): Hi, how are you doing?
ELLIOTT: Good. Tell me, how did you get interested in the Darfur issue?
Mr. HANIS: Several reasons. The first one is four of my grandparents
were Holocaust survivors and reminding us always never again. So this
had a huge impact in my life. And another component was reading about
all of the past genocides. We’ve gone from Armenia, the Holocaust,
Cambodia, Rwanda. Once I heard about Darfur I simply said we can’t
let this happen again.
ELLIOTT: Now, how is your group different from the dozens of other
groups that have taken up this issue?
Mr. HANIS: Lots of organizations look at humanitarian aid and raising
awareness, which are both extremely necessary, but what we want to
fill is that critical gap, the civilian protection gap. We need to
talk about genocide as a security issue. The victims, the Darfurians,
these people aren’t running away to get this aid. What they want
is security. So that’s where Genocide Intervention Network wants to
focus on: the security.
ELLIOTT: How much money have you raised for the African Union
peacekeeping forces?
Mr. HANIS: We’ve raised over a quarter of a million dollars and that’s
come from grass roots efforts across the country. Cornell University,
for example, showed Hotel Rwanda one night, raised 5,000 dollars. Three
high school students in Mamaroneck, New York, did a Jam for Sudan,
a sort of battle of the bands in their gym and they raised 3,000
dollars. A piano teacher in Salt Lake City gave us two weeks of her
proceeds, so we’ve just been getting checks from ten dollars all the
way to 5,000 dollars.
ELLIOTT: Now, help me understand how you go from all of these people
at different schools around the country to actually getting the money
into the African Union Force’s hands?
Mr. HANIS: We’ve been working with Gail Smith, who used to be the
Senior Director of African Affairs at the National Security Council
under President Clinton. And she knew all the African Union top
brass. She flew over to ask the African Union: A bunch of students
want to stop genocide and want to help you guys out, can we raise
money for you? And they said yes, and we drafted a contract and none
of the money will go to any lethal means, guns and bullets, and we’re
now in negotiation with them and hopefully we’ll complete it by the
end of this summer.
ELLIOTT: No guns and bullets? Why is that?
Mr. HANIS: Well, two reasons. One are the negative consequences. What
if a peacekeeper had killed a civilian and we helped raise money
for that gun and bullet? But more importantly is, the African Union
is not asking for guns and bullets. What they need are boots, they
need more people, they need maps, they need satellite phones and
walkie-talkies and they need cargo planes to transport all the people
and the resources.
ELLIOTT: I imagine that they’re used to reaching out to governments.
Mr. HANIS: This is unprecedented. The African Union has only received
money from donor governments so we provide citizens the opportunity
to directly support civilian protection in the face of genocide.
ELLIOTT: Now, did you have to get any special permission from the
U.S. government to do this?
Mr. HANIS: Yeah, we did need to check with the U.S. Government
and other governments and we are okay. We’re not at all replacing
the government’s role. We need the governments to fund the African
Union and to increase the force size. We’re shaming, we’re leading
by example. We’re not just going to complain and say you need to do
this. We’re gonna say, I’m willing to put money where my mouth is,
what about you?
ELLIOTT: Mark Hanis is the Chief Executive of the Genocide Intervention
Network. Thank you for coming in to talk with us.
Mr. HANIS: Thank you very much.

SHAHIN RZAYEV: THOSE WHO SPREAD ANTI-ARMENIAN HYSTERIA ALIENATE KARABAKH FROM AZERBAIJAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 21:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Azerbaijan starts and wins” national campaign
launched by initiative of Zerkalo newspaper is a “brain storm”,
an attempt to find out and generalize the public opinion, head of
the Baku Office of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR),
journalist Shahin Rzayev stated in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. “I myself took part in the campaign. Some participants did
offer to launch a propaganda war but it doesn’t mean that all agree
with the viewpoint,’ the Azeri journalist remarked.
At the same time he noted that “some Armenian political figures have
waged propaganda war against Azerbaijan since 1980-ies. At that time
we spoke of fraternity and were proud of our internationalism. In
this issue we fell behind hopelessly,” he said.
However, head of the IWPR Baku Office emphasized that information war
is better than a real one. “I am going to write one more article where
I will offer to organize more discussions of disputable issues. The
parties to the Karabakh conflict are not well aware of each other’s
positions and warmongers use it,” Rzayev considers.
He subjected the anti-Armenian hysteria to sharp criticism and said,
” I think that those who spread the hysteria do alienate Karabakh
from Azerbaijan and thus favor the opposition party,’ he remarked.
Rzayev is convinced that in the 21st century political disputes are
not solved by territorial invasions.
“There exists the international law. Armenia has undertaken
certain commitments at the entry to the UN, OSCE and the Council
of Europe. That is why all the disputable issues should be settled
within the international law framework. The same refers to the
self-determination of the Karabakh Armenians. But to settle the
self-determination issue we should return to the legal field that
doesn’t admit annexation and seizure of land belonging to another
states. In my opinion, the Armenian leadership came to understand
it and demonstrates readiness for the stepwise settlement of the
conflict,” he said.