Despite Late Challenge, Scholars Finally Hold Meeting in Turkey on Armenian
Genocide
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Monday, September 26, 2005
An academic conference on Turkey’s controversial “Armenian question” took
place over the weekend in Istanbul, despite legal maneuvering by Turkish
nationalists that had threatened to prevent it. The conference was
originally to have taken place in May, but was postponed at the last minute
under pressure from government officials.
The meeting was rescheduled for this past weekend at Bogaziçi, University,
also known in English as Bosphorus University, but was once again postponed
on the eve of its opening, this time because of a legal challenge that
questioned its scientific validity and the qualifications of its
participants. The challengers also said it was inappropriate for Bogaziçi, a
public university, to be the venue for such a gathering, which they said
contravened its mission.
Academics from Bilgi University, Bogaziçi, and Sabanci University, three of
Turkey’s leading higher-education institutions, organized the meeting, which
they described as the first conference on the Armenian issue in Turkey not
organized by state authorities or government-affiliated historians. Bilgi
and Sabanci are private.
Armenians have long contended that the killings of up to 1.5 million
Armenians in 1915 and subsequent years, during the waning days of the
Ottoman Empire, constituted genocide by Ottoman Turkish forces. Turkey
officially rejects that view. Turkish historians and other academics have
become increasingly outspoken in challenging the nationalist line on the
issue, however, and growing international attention has also focused on the
matter. Talks on Turkey’s bid to join the European Union are set to begin
this week, and the government’s inflexibility on the Armenian question
remains a sticking point.
The conference, titled “Ottoman Armenians During the Demise of the Empire:
Issues of Democracy and Scientific Responsibility,” was postponed in May
after its organizers decided they could not guarantee participants’ safety
(The Chronicle, May 10).
Last week, participants had arrived in Istanbul and the rescheduled meeting
looked set to begin on time when the fresh legal challenge against it came
to light. A three-judge panel of an administrative court had ruled, 2 to 1,
that a legal investigation of the conference’s validity should take place,
even though its organizers were notified of the decision only the day before
the conference was to begin. With that inquiry pending, Bogaziçi could no
longer play host to the conference without being held in contempt of the
court’s ruling. Organizers hastily shifted the venue to Bilgi so the
conference could proceed.
The official response to the threat to the rescheduled conference differed
starkly from the government’s approach in May, when the justice minister
took to the floor of Parliament to brand the meeting “treason” and a “dagger
in the back of the Turkish people.” This time, in comments broadcast on
television, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was saddened by the
new threat to the conference. He characterized the legal challenge as an
“anti-democratic development” to which he was opposed.
Aybar Ertepinar, vice president of the Council of Higher Education, a
government-financed organization that oversees all Turkish universities,
said on Sunday that although his group had not been invited to take part,
the conference should have been allowed to proceed at Bogaziçi. “Our
Constitution grants academic and scientific freedom to universities,” he
said. Taking up the opponents’ challenge “was an unfortunate decision of the
court that went beyond the borders of its responsibility,” he said.
With the more than 350 participants once again assembled in Istanbul, the
conference’s organizers decided that “we can either do this now or we cannot
do it all again,” said Fatma Müge Gocek, an associate professor of sociology
at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor who was on the meeting’s advisory
committee.
Organizers had selected Bogaziçi as the venue for the meeting precisely
because it is a public institution, but they decided they had no choice but
to relocate to Bilgi. The rectors of all three sponsoring universities
welcomed the participants, who met in marathon sessions to condense into two
days a program that was to have been spread over three.
Because the conference had received so much attention in the Turkish news
media, participants did not even need to be notified of the change, said Ms.
Gocek. Opponents were also aware of the new location, and about 100
protesters showed up on Saturday to heckle participants and pelt them with
eggs and tomatoes, she said.
As the conference concluded, Ms. Gocek said she felt a real “paradigm shift”
had occurred. “We had lots of Turkish journalists there who said they are
not going to use the word ‘alleged’ from now on, in terms of talking about
the genocide. They may refer to ‘genocide claims,’ but they will no longer
talk of an ‘alleged genocide,'” she said.
Papers from the conference will be published immediately in Turkish, which
was the working language of the gathering, and as soon as possible in
English, Ms. Gocek said.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
of New Jersey
461 Bergen Boulevard
Ridgefield, NJ 07657
Contact: Ani Tchaghlasian
Tel: 201 945 0011
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
ANC of NJ Commends Congressman Garrett for His Staunch Support on
Armenian-American Issues
PARAMUS, NJ – The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey held a
meeting with Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) on Wednesday, August 31, in
his district office in Paramus, where activists thanked the U.S.
Representative for his support and informed him of how he could become an
even greater friend to the large Armenian-American community in his
district. The district includes the largest concentration of Armenians in
the state of New Jersey including the communities of New Milford, Paramus
and Franklin Lakes as well as encompassing the churches of St. Thomas, St.
Leon’s and the Armenian Presbyterian Church.
Representing the ANC were the chairperson of the New Jersey chapter Ani
Tchaghlasian, as well as ANC of New Jersey activists Alex Sarafian, Melanie
Tavitian and Michael Tcheyan. The congressman was accompanied by Director
of Outreach Matthew Barnes and Constituent Services Officer Rudy Solar.
Tchaghlasian and Sarafian thanked the congressman for signing the letter
addressed to President Bush, urging him to issue a strong April 24th
Statement, as well as for being one of the earliest co-sponsors of H.R. 316,
which would reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide. They also
thanked him for co-sponsoring H.R. 3361, which would prohibit U.S.
assistance for the building of railroads traversing the Caucasus that
circumvent Armenia. The measure, entitled the “South Caucasus Integration
and Open Railroads Act of 2005,” was introduced by Congressman Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and George Radanovich (R-CA).
Congressman Garrett and ANC activists focused much of their discussion on
the importance of Armenia being included in all regional economic and
commercial projects in the South Caucasus. The World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund have recognized Armenia for making the most
rapid progress in adopting free market reforms in the region. This is
largely why the Heritage Foundation has characterized Armenia as the only
mostly free society in the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet
Union.) Garrett agreed that attempts by neighboring countries like
Azerbaijan and Turkey to lay down transportation infrastructure around
Armenia should not receive the U.S. government’s financial support.
Tchaghlasian and Sarafian asked the Congressman to consider becoming a
member of the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) or the
Appropriations Committee, where the most important legislation concerning
Armenia must originate before becoming law. On September 15, the HIRC voted
overwhelmingly in favor of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
`We deeply appreciate Congressman Garrett’s unequivocal support on issues of
importance to the Armenian-American communities of New Jersey,’ said ANC of
NJ Chair, Ani Tchaghlasian. `Whether it is recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, ensuring a just settlement to the Karabagh conflict or supporting
Armenia’s developing economy, he has demonstrated that he is a true friend
in Congress to his Armenian-American constituents.’

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 491a05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:
Terry Davis: “Both Turkey and Europe must honour their word”
Strasbourg, 26.09.2005 – Following a conference on the fate of Turkish
Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire, which was held at Bilgi
University in Istanbul this weekend, Terry Davis, Secretary General of
the Council of Europe, made the following statement:
“I want to congratulate the organisers of the conference on their
courage and determination. Those believing in a modern, democratic and
tolerant Turkey refused to be intimidated and silenced by extreme
nationalists on the streets of Istanbul.
I reiterate my strong support for the position taken by Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has supported freedom of expression in Turkey.
I hope that such an attitude will also prevail with regard to the
shameful prosecution of one of the most renowned Turkish writers, Orhan
Pamuk, who was recently indicted for speaking openly on the Armenian
issue.
I appreciate the sensitivity of this question for the Turkish
authorities and the public opinion, but, however painful, such issues
must be resolved through dialogue and truth, not repression and
propaganda. As a member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is obliged to
respect the European Convention on Human Rights, and I am confident that
the Turkish authorities will not waver in their democratic and human
rights reforms at this critical junction in relations between Turkey and
Europe. I also hope that leaders in other European capitals will rise to
the occasion, remember their commitments and honour their word to
Turkey”, concluded the Secretary General.
To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
[email protected]
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
================================================
Monday 26 September 2005
RUSSIA: PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TO BE CONFISCATED?
Its registration liquidated in 2003 for “administrative violations” and
with subsequent registration applications denied, the Emmanuel
Presbyterian Church in Mozdok in Russia’s North Caucasus now faces the
confiscation of its “beautiful Gothic-style” prayer house, church
administrator Olga Mazhurova told Forum 18 News Service. The local
administration told the congregation in early September that there is
enough evidence to file suit for its confiscation, though no date for a
court hearing has been set. The church admits it “made mistakes” over the
way the church was built without planning permission, but claims it has
been blocked from regularising its position due to local suspicion of its
foreign connections. Officials at Mozdok district prosecutor’s office have
refused to discuss with Forum 18 why they are seeking to confiscate the
church.
RUSSIA: PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TO BE CONFISCATED?
By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service
A 600-strong Presbyterian church in the Northern Ossetian town of Mozdok
in Russia’s North Caucasus looks set to have its prayer house confiscated
by the local state authorities. Emmanuel Church’s administrator Olga
Mazhurova acknowledged to Forum 18 News Service on 20 September that her
community had “made mistakes” in the past over the way the church was
built, primarily due to a lack of legal expertise, but claims it has been
blocked from regularising its position due to local suspicion of its
foreign connections. Mozdok is close both to Beslan – where Emmanuel has
given material support to victims of the September 2004 school siege – and
to the conflict zone of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Officials at Mozdok
district public prosecutor’s office have refused to discuss with Forum 18
why they are seeking to confiscate the church.
The Mozdok Presbyterians – who are predominantly Russian, Ossetian and
Korean but also Armenian and Chechen – have been able to gather freely for
worship at their building since the church’s registration was liquidated in
2003, Mazhurova told Forum 18. At the beginning of September 2005, however,
they were informed by the local administration that there is now sufficient
evidence to file suit for the confiscation of their prayer house, she said,
although no date for a court hearing has yet been set.
Founded by South Korean missionaries, Emmanuel Church bought two adjacent
plots of land in Mozdok in approximately 1997, according to Mazhurova, and
then knocked down the two village houses located there. Repeatedly refused
planning permission – in her view due to its foreign connections – the
church nevertheless completed construction of its 1000-seater “beautiful
Gothic-style” prayer house at the site in approximately 2000, she said,
hoping to legalise it post factum. “We decided on that course of action
because we had no lawyer at the time.”
Instead, however, the local authorities began to take note of the church’s
administrative violations in an atmosphere increasingly hostile towards the
Presbyterians, Mazhurova continued. “We didn’t have much contact with the
local authorities, so they thought the church might be a cover for
espionage – there is an aerodrome near here – or conducting anti-Russian
activity. Local press articles began to maintain that we were turning
people into zombies, almost killing them.” When laws became more complex,
she added, what had seemed like minor technical violations “snowballed
against us”.
As well as pointing to the absence of planning permission, Mazhurova told
Forum 18 that local officials claimed Emmanuel’s English-language classes
and medical centre were not properly registered. Pavel Bak of the
Moscow-based Pentecostal union to which the church is affiliated told
Forum 18 on 20 September that a further violation was considered to have
taken place when South Korean and US missionaries working with the Mozdok
Presbyterians some years ago overstayed the validity period of their
Russian visas. As a result, according to Mazhurova, a local Mozdok court
liquidated Emmanuel Church in September 2003. For the next two years, she
added, the community tried to register anew without success.
Protestant communities in Russia are increasingly reporting bureaucratic
opposition to their church building projects (see F18News 24 August 2005
<;). On 21 September, a secretary at Mozdok district public prosecutor's office who was clearly familiar with the situation asked Forum 18 to ring a different number at the same office in several hours' time. He declined to name the official dealing with the Presbyterians' case, but claimed that anyone answering the given number would be able to respond to Forum 18's query, promising to warn staff so that they could seek out relevant documentation in the mean time. Telephoning the number at the appointed time, however, Forum 18 was told that the person dealing with the Presbyterians' case was on holiday. The person who answered claimed that he did not know anything about the case and refused to discuss anything by telephone. To Forum 18's knowledge, Emmanuel's is the first case in which a religious organisation has been liquidated for purely administrative violations since - and contra to - a 7 February 2002 ruling by Russia's Constitutional Court. Concerning, but not limited to, the Moscow branch of the Salvation Army, this stipulated that a religious organisation may be liquidated only if found to be conducting anti-constitutional activity or "properly proven to have ceased its activities". In August 2002 an independent Baptist community in the Pacific port of Vanino founded by US missionary Dan Pollard avoided liquidation as a result of this ruling. Latterly, however, a charismatic church in the Tuvan capital Kyzyl similarly escaped liquidation for minor administrative violations only by voluntarily disbanding (see F18News 18 July 2005 <;). Forum 18 notes that last year's liquidation of the Moscow organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses was ordered on the basis of alleged anti-constitutional activity (see F18News 29 March 2004 <;). For a personal commentary by an Old Believer about continuing denial of equality to Russia's religious minorities see F18News <; For more background see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey at <; A printer-friendly map of Russia is available at < s/atlas/index.html?Parent=europe&Rootmap=russi >
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
26-09-2005
Minister Oskanian Receives the “Grosso d’Oro Veneziano” Award in Veneto,
Italy
The Grosso d’Oro Veneziano award was bestowed on Armenia?s Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian by the Masi Foundation of Italy’s Veneto Region, on
September 24. The prize is a special award on an international level for
individuals who have contributed to the cause of peace and brotherhood among
nations. It was conferred on Minister Oskanian for his contribution to
Armenia?s integration into European structures, to the deepening of
Armenia-Italy ties, and for his active involvement in peace talks.
In the 8th century St. George Cathedral in Verona, before several hundred
Italian intellectuals, artists and businessmen, the Masi Foundation held its
25th awards ceremony.
After receiving the award – a sculpture in silver, decorated with grapes as
well as designs from ancient khachkars, and topped with a gold medal- the
Minister spoke about Armenia’s determination to pursue the path of European
integration. He also spoke about traditional Armenian-Italian ties and the
upcoming Italian-Armenian Days in Yerevan.
During the ceremony, other awards were also given to those who protect and
promote Veneto’s historic legacy and cultural values. The Masi Foundation,
in line with its guiding philosophy and with an original policy for
recognizing subtle changes in the world, awarded prizes for excellence in
education, medicine, theater, fashion, as well as in the area of
vinoculture. The Masi Foundation was created and is run by the descendants
of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
The only other recipient of the Grosso d’Oro Veneziano has been Slovenia’s
former President, Milan Kucan.
Below is the text of the Minister’s remarks:
Honorable members of the Board of Directors of the Fondazione Masi,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am privileged to receive this prestigious award, il Grosso d’Oro
Veneziano. This is a special day for me. And this is, of course, a special
place, a special foundation and a special family with a glorious history of
650 years stretching all the way back to one of the greatest poets of all
times, Dante Alighieri.
Dante’s descendants valued their heritage and helped pass on his legacy.
This legacy clearly manifests itself in modern Italy and the Region of
Veneto.
Italy and Veneto also share a legacy with Armenians. There is much symbolism
in the fact that Armenia’s coming back to Europe is being noted and
celebrated here, in Italy.
Armenian-Italian connections are based on rich and ancient traditions. It
was in Italy in 1512, that Hakob Meghapart published the first book ever in
Armenian. The Urbatagirk (or Book of Days) was followed in 1513 with the
first published Armenian calendar. The renowned Briton, Lord Byron, referred
to the Venetian island of San Lazaro as a fortress of Armenian independence,
since the Armenian monks of the Order of Mekhitar had found refuge there in
the early 1700s. For the last three centuries, that haven has turned into a
scientific and cultural locus.
Today, if you ask the Mekhitarist fathers whether they are Venetian, they
will say yes. If you ask them whether they are Armenian, they will say yes.
One can say that they were pioneers in establishing a common European
identity, about which we speak proudly, yet with some apprehension.
If it used to be religion that bound Europe together a millennium ago, it
certainly isn’t any longer. Nor is it the economic advancement that was
specific to Europe two centuries ago. It isn?t ideology either, which was
both adhesive and encumbrance for decades in the last century.
Europe is more than its common history, more than geography, more than a
club for members. All those who’ve said Europe is an idea are right. It is
the idea of a Europe that is the common, if unattainable ideal.
Even those living outside this space have imagined and desired a Europe
which can be addressed collectively, a partner which can be enlisted
conveniently, a Europe to which they yearn to belong.
Armenia is Europe. This is a fact, it’s not a response to a question.
The collapse of the USSR brought us to a point of economic and political
crisis. I remember our discussions in Armenia, before our entry into the
Council of Europe. There were many questions about the choice of path to
take.
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who
in a period
of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. I’m happy to say I won’t be going
there
because I was among the loudest advocates of the European path.
The choice was clear. Armenians believe in the values of the European
enlightenment, of European civilization. The moral, ethical and existential
choices that bring individuals and societies to select democracy over other
forms of government, rule of law over rule of man, human rights over
selective rights – those choices have been made.
A people who have lived under subjugation, have seen ethnic cleansing and
genocide even before the terms existed, have lived as a minority without
rights, now belong to a world where warring neighbors have found that they
can accept new borders based on realities on the ground and move on.
Europe?s nation-states have found that they can transcend borders, without
diminishing or ignoring cultural spaces, without expecting historical
identities to vanish.
The European Neighborhood Policy brings Armenia back home since Armenia’s
foreign policy priority is the gradual integration of Armenia into European
institutions.
In his presentation, my good friend, Senator Demetro Volcic described in
ponderous detail my country’s foreign policy priorities. I must admit that
he is well aware of them not as a common bystander, but as a caring and
thoughtful professional, who has proven to be instrumental in helping to
integrate Armenia into the modern European architecture.
The double digit GDP growth, which Armenia achieved each of the last five
years, the successful admission into the WTO, the spirit of the free
enterprise, the changing political system and society are promising signs
that we are on the right track. However, it is too early to say that the
European standard is round the corner. It is not as close yet as Europe
itself, as Venice, as Verona, as the shared cultural and religious values of
the past and present.
To highlight and share those values, we will be launching a two-month long
Days of Italy in Armenia, beginning in early October. This project has
received the blessing and patronage of President Ciampi, President Kocharian
and Governor Galan. The centerpiece of these important events will be an
exhibition of the riches from the Isla Armena.
In light of all this, then, the Fondazione Masi has, in bestowing upon me
this award, put a great stamp of approval on Armenia, its foreign policy
directions, its European orientation, its future.
I thank you.

The New York Times
September 26, 2005
Try and Try Again
By GARY J. BASS
Princeton, N.J. – “For these crimes,” wrote Hannah Arendt during the
Nuremberg trials, “no punishment is severe enough. It may well be
essential to hang Göring, but it is totally inadequate.”
Saddam Hussein’s punishment will surely be inadequate too – all the
more so if he is executed too soon.
The Iraqi war crimes tribunal’s first case against Mr. Hussein, which
opens Oct. 19, charges him with the 1982 massacre of at least 143 men
and boys from the village of Dujail. This was meant to be a test case
of manageable scope and strong evidence. Unfortunately, Laith Kubba, a
spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, says that once the
court has reached a guilty verdict in the Dujail case, the
near-certain sentence of death “should be implemented without further
delay.”
But if Mr. Hussein is executed for the Dujail killings, he will never
be called to account for the larger atrocities on which he was
arraigned in July 2004: killing political rivals, crushing the Shiite
uprising in southern Iraq in 1991, invading Kuwait in 1990, and waging
the genocidal Anfal campaign against the Kurds in 1988, including
gassing Kurdish villagers at Halabja.
It is easy to understand the temptation to get the high-profile trial
over with quickly. The lives of the tribunal’s officials – including
the young chief investigative judge, Raid Juhi, who confronted
Mr. Hussein in a televised courtroom showdown – are at constant risk
from the raging insurgency. And the international tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia, where Slobodan Milosevic has dragged his trial into
its fourth year with his theatrics, furnishes a cautionary example. A
shorter trial would afford less time for Mr. Hussein to make defiant
final speeches to Arab nationalists.
What’s more, the tribunal is a political football. The Dujail trial is
set to start just four days after Iraq’s referendum on its draft
constitution – a time when ethnic rivalries will probably run high –
and not long before the Dec. 15 elections. Saleh al-Mutlak, a former
Baathist who led the Sunni delegation’s rejection of the draft
constitution, has accused the Iraqi government of speeding Mr. Hussein
to trial in order to win election-season political points, presumably
with Shiites and Kurds. Mr. Mutlak menacingly warns that the trial
could touch off more violence.
Nonetheless, the Iraqi tribunal would do well not to rush Mr. Hussein
to the gallows. A hasty execution would shortchange Mr. Hussein’s
victims and diminish the benefits of justice. Baathists would be all
the more likely to complain about a show trial. Kurds would rightly
feel that they were denied their day in court for the Anfal
campaign. Shiites in the south would also be deprived of a reckoning.
A thorough series of war crimes trials would not only give the victims
more satisfaction but also yield a documentary and testimonial record
of the regime’s crimes. After Nuremberg, the American chief prosecutor
estimated that he had assembled a paper trail of more than five
million pages. A comparably intensive Iraqi process would help drive
home to former Baathists and some Arab nationalists what was done in
their names. The alternative is on display in Turkey, where the
collapse of a war crimes tribunal after World War I paved the way for
today’s widespread Turkish nationalist denial of the Armenian
genocide.
In June, Mr. Kubba said that Mr. Hussein could face as many as 500
charges, but that Iraqi prosecutors would pursue only about 12
well-documented counts. Now it may be down to just one. Because Iraq
and the United States have chosen the hard road of courtroom justice,
the war crimes tribunal should see it through. The Dujail case is a
good start but not a good finish.
Gary J. Bass, an associate professor of politics and international
affairs at Princeton, is the author of “Stay the Hand of Vengeance:
The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals.”

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

A1+
| 14:12:09 | 25-09-2005 | Politics |
MARKET ELECTIONS
At about 12:00 the electoral area N9/15 of the Kentron community reminded a
medieval market. The chairs for observers were taken by young people without
certificates. When the «A1+» journalist tried to find out who they are, the
Committee head explained that the «voluntary observers» do not feel well.
There was a huge queue in the electoral area, and one could not understand
who was an elector and who was not. Hence there were disagreements between
the members of the Committee and the confidants of the candidates. For
example, the confidant of Rouzan Khachatryan was not allowed to observe the
passports. About 20 young people tried to fulfill their civic duty twice,
member of the Committee, representative of the Justice bloc Anahit Gasparyan
informed.
A 17-year-old boy who does not have suffrage also tried to participate in
the elections.
According to the head of the Committee David Tovmasyan, there were mistakes
in the electoral rolls: 14 citizens did not find their names in the rolls,
ad 15 were not residents of the community.
The situation was soothed in the electoral area in an hour only, when the
confidant of Rouzan Khachatryan complained of the situation and left the
area without realizing who was an elector and who was not.

Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English
25 Sep 05
Turkey: Views expressed at Ottoman Armenians conference, protesters
throw eggs
Istanbul, 25 September: “Ittihat and Terakki Party (Party of Union
and Progress) had a plan to purify whole Anatolia from the non-Turks,
starting from the Aegean Region, before the World War I, and this
plan was carried out in entire Anatolia during the years of the war
(World War I)”, argued Associate Professor Taner Akcam of Minnesota
University.
Taking the floor on the second day of the conference titled “The
Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire” held at
Istanbul’s Bilgi University, Akcam said that the relocation decision
was made at the end of long discussions and debates.
“The Ottoman documents indicate that the decision to relocate the
Armenians was made to end a deeper problem defined as the ‘eastern
problem’ and to end the dissolution process of the Ottoman Empire.
This decision was not a result of a need that erupted during the war.
There are many documents in hand with respect to the destruction of
Armenians,” claimed Akcam.
On the other hand, Dr Ahmet Kuyas of Galatasaray University referred
to the four members of the Ittihat and Terakki Party, and said that a
serious massacre was made those days. According to Kuyas, the
architect of this massacre was Enver Pasha. Kuyas expressed his view
that the other three people who were responsible for these massacres
were Talat Pasha, Dr Bahattin Sakir and Dr Nazim.
Also speaking at the conference, Professor Baskin Oran of Ankara
University’s Political Sciences Department said: “Concept of class,
criticisms of Ataturk, Cyprus, socialism, communism and Kurdistan are
no more taboos in Turkey. There was only one taboo left, and it was
Armenian issue. Now, it is no more a taboo.”
Referring to Armenian Diaspora, Oran said: “Diaspora talks about
‘recognition, compensation and territory’, and this prevents
‘recognition’. Nobody in Turkey can think of paying compensation for
things that an empire (Ottoman Empire), the alphabet of which you
have abandoned, did. Moreover, territory claims are nonsense.”
Oran pointed out that assassins of Turkish diplomats should not
remain unpunished, and added, “assassins of 35-40 Turkish diplomats
were not punished or sentenced to minor punishments. And, this caused
as much reaction in Turkey as the 1915 incidents caused in Armenia.
And, this was the factor which increased this taboo in Turkey.”
Before the conference started, a group of people who were the members
of the Grand Unity Party (BBP) threw rotten tomatoes and eggs to
participants and the building where the conference is being held.
Also, the audience was protested by the group.

Associated Press Worldstream
September 25, 2005 Sunday
Police arrest dozens of Azerbaijani opposition parties amid attempted
unauthorized protest
AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer
BAKU, Azerbaijan
Opposition activists clashed with riot police Sunday as Azerbaijan’s
largest opposition alliance defied authorities’ refusal to allow a
protest rally – fueling fears of growing unrest in the Caspian Sea
nation just weeks before parliamentary elections.
Opposition leaders said dozens were beaten and arrested in the
confrontations, which were abruptly suspended after authorities
called for surprise negotiations to try and calm spiraling tensions
in the oil-rich former Soviet republic that borders Iran.
“Our goal is free, democratic elections,” party leader Ibraghim
Veliyev said, adding that he was hit by police truncheons during
Sunday’s rally. “In spite of everything, we will continue our
struggle. Authorities must understand that the country needs
changes.”
Rising tensions before the Nov. 6 vote have led some observers to
predict that Azerbaijan could see a mass uprising similar to those
that brought opposition leaders to power in Georgia, Ukraine and
Kyrgyzstan. The mostly Muslim nation of 8.3 million is the starting
point for a pipeline that will ship oil and gas from Azerbaijan’s
huge offshore reserves to a Turkish Mediterranean port.
Though the opposition has held nearly weekly demonstrations, Sunday’s
was the first mass protest to be held without official permission
since the October 2003 presidential election, which the opposition
said was rigged and which sparked rioting.
President Ilham Aliev, who succeeded his late, strongman father in
that election, has pledged repeatedly that the November elections
would will be free. Opposition leaders said, however, they strongly
doubted the vote would be fair.
Hundreds of activists on one Baku street chanted “Resign!” and “Free
Elections!” and carried red carnations as they confronted a row of
riot police. As they tried to break through the cordon, officers
using truncheons beat them back and forced them to flee.
Isak Avazogli, a spokesman for the People’s Front of Azerbaijan, one
of three parties making up the Azadlig opposition alliance, said more
than 100 people were detained. City police officials said 15 officers
were injured in the clashes and 42 activists were detained.
“This is an unsanctioned action, and police were performing their
duties,” deputy city police chief Yasar Aliyev said.
Appealing for calm, opposition leaders held 30 minutes of closed door
negotiations with authorities – an unprecedented decision by a
government that has kept the opposition at arm’s length.
“It’s clear that authorities, on the eve of parliamentary elections,
fear they will find themselves in an unpleasant situation before the
world community,” political analyst Rasim Musabekov said. “There is
not the slightest doubt that the elections will be falsified; the
question is will it be completely falsified.”
One opposition party spokesman said Laura Scheibe, a political
officer with the U.S. Embassy in Baku, had participated in the talks.
Scheibe could not be located for comment, and no one answered phones
at the embassy Sunday.
Party leader Ali Kerimli said the law stipulates that the opposition
must only notify authorities before staging rallies. Government
officials disagreed, but said they would hold further discussions
Monday about the legality of future rallies, he said.
“We are not the same opposition as before; we are more united in our
strength,” he said.
More than 2,000 candidates are running for 125 seats in parliament.
Even before the formal beginning of the election campaign earlier
this month, allegations that authorities were trying to discredit the
opposition had arisen.
Two activists with an opposition youth organization were arrested
last month, accused of receiving money from Armenian agents in
exchange for organizing an uprising in Azerbaijan. The two deny the
charges and say Azerbaijan’s secret service was responsible.
Authorities have also vowed to arrest former parliament speaker Rasul
Guliyev, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States
since 1996, should he return to Azerbaijan. Guliyev is running for
parliament, as is another opposition figure, Ayaz Mutalibov, a former
president who also lives in self-imposed exile in Moscow.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 23, 2005 Friday
Armenia holds no talks on gas transit to Ukraine-energy minister
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenia is conducting no negotiations on the transit of Iranian gas
to Ukraine or to Europe, Energy Minister Armen Movsesian has told a
news conference.
“It is up to Iran and Ukraine to discuss such matters. As long as
there have been no negotiations on that score, discussing the
participation of other countries in such projects will make no
sense,” he said.
The gas pipeline from Iran will go operational 4-5 months earlier
than expected, by the autumn of 2006, Movsesian said. Armenia plans
to increase the pipeline’s throughput between Kadjaran-Yerevan. The
Iran-Armenia pipeline began to be laid on November 30, 2004. Under
the contract it is expected to go be commissioned by January 1, 2007.
Over a period of 20 years Iran will supply to Armenia 36 billion
cubic meters of natural gas in exchange for electricity.
Movsesian said Iran will invest 150 million dollars in the
construction of the fifth unit of the Razdan thermoelectric power
plant. When upgraded, this power unit will increase the power plant’s
capacity to 450 megawatts. The facility’s economic parameters will
then match all international standards.