NKR FOREIGN MINISTER BLAMES INTERNATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR NOT RESPECTING NAGORNO KARABAKH PEOPLE’S RIGHT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the April 21
parliamentary hearings on the subject “Prospects of Nagorno Karabakh
Settlement” held at NKR National Assembly with participation of RA and
NKR MPs, government members, representatives of NGOs, scientists and
experts, journalists, NKR Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosian blamed
the international structures for ignoring and not respecting the
Nagorno Karabakh people’s right. He said that in response to the
political demand addressed to the Azerbaijani authorities Artsakh
was exposed to ethnic cleansings by Baku. According to the Minister,
the official Azerbaijan has always tried to remove the issue of
self-determination from the legal plane to the military one. The head
of the NKR foreign political department emphasized that the current
proposals on the negotiations table more envisage liquidation of the
conflict consequences than all-embracing solution to the problem. “We
form an impression that the mediators try to solve the Nagorno Karabakh
problem within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,
which completely contradicts the interests of our people and, to put
it mildly, is not moral,” Georgi Petrosian declared. He regretted
to say that in the settlement process the international mediators
factually neglect the results of the referendum held in Nagorno
Karabakh in 1991. The Foreign Minister came up with a proposal to sign
an agreement among all parties of the conflict, which will enable
to give up the intention to apply force and it will become clear
for the international community, who is indeed against the peaceful
settlement of the conflict. The same day, as Noyan Tapan was informed
from NKR Foreign Ministry Information and Analytical Department, NKR
National Assembly’s Democracy, Homeland factions and ARFD-Movement-88
group have come up with a statement about the Azerbaijani-Karabakh
conflict. In the statement the NKR NA groups and factions fix that the
proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and all legal-political
steps of the republic proceeding from the NKR Declaration were
implemented in correspondence with the basic principles of the
former USSR legislation. The Artsakh parliamentarians emphasize that
Azerbaijan did not use the opportunity to solve all problems with the
proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic through a dialogue but carrying on
a policy of ethnic intolerance, undertook illegal application of force
and does not give up the policy of solving the conflict in a military
way up to this day. Stating that they are loyal to the principle of
all-embracing settlement of the current problems through negotiations,
which will enable to exclude any hostility and attempts to change the
reached agreements through application of force in the future, the
Artsakh parliamentarians “qualify the 1991-1994 Azerbaijani-Karabakh
armed conflict as the aggression of the Republic of Azerbaijan against
the proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR’s further steps as
application of the non-alienable law to undertake self-defence by a
people exposed to aggression, envisaged by Article 51 of UN Regulations
and the current events in the conflict zone as the consequences of this
aggression”. The authors of the statement consider that Azerbaijan as
an aggressor country bears responsibility for the war unleashed by
it and for its consequences, for the fate of the conflict parties’
hundreds of thousands of people who as a result of the warfare have
become refugees or internally displaced people, so it is obliged to
compensate the material and moral loss inflicted to them taking into
consideration the factor of loss of homeland by them, irrespective
of their nationality. Taking as a basis the 1994 Bishkek protocol
on ceasefire regime and the currently operating agreement adopted
in the same year, that were ratified by the signatures officially
recognized by authorized representatives of mediators of Nagorno
Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the final and other
documents of OSCE Budapest Assembly where Nagorno Karabakh was
recognized as a conflict party, the Artsakh parliamentarians “apply to
OSCE Council of Ministers with a mediation to respect Nagorno Karabakh
Republic’s competent participation in the negotiations process of
conflict settlement, without which no agreement achieved can have
a legal force”. The authors of the document give assurance that
the recognition of the independent, democratic and viable Nagorno
Karabakh Republic established as a result of the 1991 December 10
national referendum completely fits into the modern reality and will
become an important factor of regional stability and security. NKR
parliamentarians notify OSCE Chairman-in-Office, parliaments of
member-states of OSCE Minsk Group, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
Council of Europe, NATO, European Parliament about the adoption of
the statement.

HAMLET GASPARIAN: NO VISIT OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO WASHINGTON ENVISAGED
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. No visit of the
Armenian President to Washington is envisaged. RA Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian declared this commenting upon the report
of Turkish “Zaman” newspaper, according to which in the interview
given to “Zaman” some days ago Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Arman Kirakosian said that, allegedly, the Armenian President will
probably pay a visit to Washington soon. “Drawing such a conclusion
from Deputy Minister Kirakosian’s answer I think is the consequence
of partial distortion of either the translation or his words,” Hamlet
Gasparian mentioned. According to him, “in the interview to “Zaman”
last Friday Mr Kirakosian spoke not about the visit of our President
after the visit of Azerbaijani President Aliyev to Washington but
mentioning very good relations with U.S. spoke about the possibility
of such a visit in general”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RAFFI HOVHANNISIAN: IT IS NECESSARY THAT REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA INSIDE ITSELF ALSO PURSUE ITS NATIONAL INTEREST ON THE FAIR BASIS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Though the Republic
of Armenia makes certain, separate efforts for involving as many states
as possible in the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
this is not at the proper height. Raffi Hovhannisian, Chairman of
the Zharangutiun (Heritage) party, expressed such an opinion in his
interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent on April 24, at the memorial
complex to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. According to him,
this is not only a day of the memory of the past, but also a day when
we should assume commitments towards the future. And these commitments,
according to him, belong to the whole Armenian people, be it in the
Republic of Armenia, in Artsakh, in Spyurk and everywhere. “This
day is not only a day of estimating our losses, learning lessons
from the past but also a day when we should look in the direction
of the future,” R.Hovhannisian said. According to R.Hovhannisian,
we should build the modern Armenian history so that henceforth no
one, neither our enemy nor our neighbor, can “play on” the security,
sovereignty of Armenia and on the lives of its citizens. “This is
the problem of our generation, the problem of the whole Armenian
people. If our generation is able to fulfil this commitment, Armenia
and the Armenian people will be together, will be strong and legal,”
he mentioned. Meanwhile, according to R.Hovhannisian, it is necessary
that the Republic of Armenia inside itself also pursue its national
interest and commitment towards the future on the fair basis. “Thus,
the political, scientific and legal ways should be perfected, we
should unite our efforts and be higher than dissociation, we should
build our country proceeding from the national interest, sovereignty
of the state and the rights of the citizens,” the Chairman of the
Zharangutiun party added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ON APRIL 24, ARMAVIR RESIDENTS ORGANIZE PROCESSION TO MEMORIAL TO GENOCIDE VICTIMS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
ARMAVIR, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On April 24,
the population of Armavir, regional and municipal authorities,
representatives of organizations organized a procession to the town
park and laid wreaths to the memorial to the victims of the Armenian
Genocide. The same day divine services took place in all the churches
of the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

POLITICAL SCIENTIST DOES NOT EXCLUDE THAT DAYTON VARIANT CAN BE USED IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The considerable activity observed in
the process of Nagorno Karabakh settlement in the recent 4-5 months is
connected not only purely with the Nagorno Karabakh problem but also
with processes taking place in the world. Stepan Grigorian, Chairman
of the Board of the Analytical Center for Globalization and Regional
Cooperation, expressed such an opinion in his interview to Noyan Tapan
correspondent. According to him, even the failure in Rambouillet
“did not sober the most active participants, U.S. and a number of
European countries”, which, by the way, are interested in the quick
settlement of the problem. Such a position has its reasons. Thus,
the role of the South Caucasus increases day by day: a number of
gas and oil pipelines pass through the South Caucasus, in addition,
problems connected with the neighboring Iran and Iraq are set very
sharply, even serious actions against Iran are not excluded. On the
other hand, Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s positions lack common verges,
the authorities of the two countries do not show a political will
of making concessions, the societies of the conflict parties are
not ready for a reconciliation and do not perceive the fact that
the concessions should be made by both of the countries. And the
most important circumstance showing that the problem will not be
solved soon, according to S.Grigorian, is that Karabakh is not a
part of the negotiations process up to this day, whereas in cases
of Abkhazia, Transdniestria and Southern Cyprus the non-recognized
parties took part in the negotiations. Stepan Grigorian said that
all these arguments show that indeed the parties of the conflict
are not ready for the settlement of the Karabakh problem. He gave
assurance that neither Aliyev nor Kocharian will sign any agreement
at the coming meeting. Thus, according to the political scientist,
the same old story will recur: a series of meetings that will not
yield any result, either. The political scientist expressed anxiety
that such processes can lead to a situation when the Dayton variant
will be applied towards the parties. The latter is known to be a
variant of forced peace, when the decisions are made by the powers
outside of the parties of the conflict. Stepan Grigorian does not
exclude that the pressure currently being exerted in the Nagorno
Karabakh process will lead to this variant.

RESIDENTS OF VANADZOR PAY TRIBUTE OF THEIR RESPECT TO MEMORY OF VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
VANADZOR, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Early in the morning
of April 24, a liturgy was served in the Vanadzor Surb Astvatsatsin
Church in commemoration of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. A
divine service took place before the khachkar (cross-stone) in front
of the church. The ruling officials of the region, many collectives,
student and working groups laid flowers and wreaths to the khachkar.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AND LITHUANIAN PRESIDENTS DISCUSS ISSUES REGARDING RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES AND REGIONAL PROBLEMS
Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. At RA President Robert Kocharian’s
invitation, President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus and his spouse Mrs
Alma Adamkie arrived in Armenia on April 25 on a two-day official
visit. The official meeting ceremony of the Lithuanian President
took place at the Armenian President’s residence. The ceremony was
followed by the tete-a-tete conversation between Presidents Robert
Kocharian and Valdas Adamkus. The leaders of the two countries
discussed issues regarding Armenian-Lithuanian bilateral relations,
European Union-Armenia cooperation, regional problems, as well
as exchanged opinions about urgent international issues. Then,
as Noyan Tapan was informed from RA President’s Press Service, the
Armenian-Lithuanian negotiations in an extended staff took place with
Robert Kocharian’s and Valdas Adamkus’ participation. The priority
directions of economic cooperation and the possibilities of their
activization were discussed. At the end of the meeting an agreement on
promotion of investments and on mutual protection was signed between
the governments of the two countries. The Armenian and Lithuanian
Presidents also had a joint press conference.

ALI ERTEM: ONE DAY TURKEY SHOULD RECONCILE ITSELF TO THE FACT AND RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. It is already several
years that journalist Ali Ertem, a citizen of Turkey living in Germany,
Chairman of the “Union against Genocide” organization, comes to Armenia
on April 24 to pay the tribute of his respect to the memory of 1.5
mln victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Only some years ago the
Turkish intellectual collected 11 thousand signatures from Turks of
Germany and submitted them both to the German parliament and to the
parliaments of different European countries, and doing so, rendered
assistance to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on his and his
co-thinkers’ part. According to Ali Ertem, the top priority task of
the organization headed by him is the recognition and condemnation
of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and Turkish society. According to
him, first they submitted these signatures to the Turkish parliament,
but the leaders of his country checked and returned them giving no
answer up to this day.
“Hostility cannot last forever. One day Turkey should reconcile itself
to the fact and should recognize the Armenian Genocide. I am convinced
that the peoples living in Turkey will also condemn and admit this
fact,” the Turkish journalist emphasized. In Ali Ertem’s opinion,
in this respect the international organizations have much to do:
they should be mediators in the dialogue between the Turkish and
Armenian peoples in the issue of liquidation of the consequences of
the Genocide.

IN OPINION OF VAHAGN HOVNANIAN, FUTURE GENERATION WILL BE ABLE TO GET BACK ARMENIAN HISTORICAL LANDS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Every Armenian
should keep the memory of innocent martyrs and the longing for the
lost Homeland in the heart, and not only on April 24. The well-known
Diasporan Armenian businessman and philanthropist Vahagn Hovnanian
said this during a talk with NT correspondent. Every year on April
24, Vahagn Hovnanian visits Homeland to pay a tribute of respect to
the memory of his ancestors – victims of the Armenian Genocide in
1915. According to him, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide has
become a necessity for Turkey today, since by conducting a policy of
intolerance and denial, Turkey will reach a deadlock. In his opinion,
Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide will bring a moral
satisfaction to the Armenian people, while the future generation
will be able to get back the historical Armenian lands. It will be
followed by the restoration of Armenian churches, which “were turned
into stables”. V. Hovnanian said that each year, in April the Armenian
community of New Jersey organizes events in memory of the Armenian
Genocide victims, various commemoration ceremonies, whose aim is
“to remind the whole world that one of the most terrible crimes in
human history still remains unpunished.” The famous Diasporan Armenian
philanthropist noted that today the role of the Diasporan Armenians
consists in assisting, including providing financial assistance, to
the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which will be a
necessary precondition in order to show to the world once again that
“the Armenian people is not a dead nation, that the Armenians are a
struggling and creative nation.”

VALDAS ADAMKUS: THE TIME HAS COME TO SPEAK ABOUT ONE COMMON FUTURE OF SOUTH CAUCASIAN AND BALTIC STATES
Noyan Tapan
Apr 25 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The time has come to speak about one
common future of the South Caucasian and Baltic states. The Lithuanian
President Valdas Adamkus stated this at a press conference following a
meeting with the Armenian President and the negotiations between the
two countries’ delegations on April 25. He expressed confidence that
the so-called “3+3” format will become a reality after this meeting. In
response to a Lithuanian reporter’s question about what Lithuania can
do regarding the Karabakh conflict settlement issue, the Armenian
President Robert Kocharian in his turn pointed out the importance
of promoting the regional cooperation. “We believe that it is much
easier to reach a settlement by means of cooperation, because regional
cooperation may help create an atmosphere of mutual trust, in which
the sides may easily find solutions. In this respect, Lithuania can
make its contribution,” the Armenian President noted. Robert Kocharian
denied the idea (expressed in a Lithuanian reporter’s quesion) of an
increased pressure on Armenia concerning the establishment of closer
relations between the US and Azerbaijan and the possible military
operations against Iran. He explained that “there is no additional
pressure in connection with the regulation of the issue”, there is
a negotiation process, and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – the US,
France and Russia are working in a coordinated way. “The mandate
of the mediators presupposes not pressure in the settlement issue
but some steps aimed at facilitating the negotiation process,” the
Armenian President underlined. In his opinion, quaite active contacts
and process are underway, and he did not notice any connection between
the negotiation process and the problem of Iran. President Kocharian
does not take the view that an essential thing can be added to the
negotiation process, since each new initiative can in essence open
an extra way for the negotiation process and the sides to avoid many
possible solutions and not to find solutions.