ARMENIAN GROUPS IN GEORGIA ADVOCATE AUTONOMY
Journal of Turkish weekly
Sept 27 2005
Jan SOYKOK (JTW) – A group of non-governmental organizations based
in Georgia’s southern region of Javakhk, predominately populated by
ethnic Armenians, held a conference on September 23-24 to discuss
current problems in the region, Armenian newspaper Asbarez reported.
According to the report the Armenians demanded greater autonomy
including elections for all bodies. The Georgia experts argue that
such claims mean separation of Georgia.
The Council of Armenian non-governmental organizations in Javakhk also
called on the Tblisi leadership to consider granting autonomy to the
region with `broad authority for self-governance, including the right
to hold elections for all bodies of governance.’ The resolution further
says that by offering the broadest form of autonomy to South Ossetia
and Abkhazia, the Georgian authorities are `discriminating against
other ethnicities living in Georgia–the rights of other ethnicities
who have demonstrated civil loyalty are being ignored,’ it reads.
However Dr. Yesim Sahiner says the declaration simply means a
separation of Georgia: “Armenians seek to establish their own country
in Georgia. They hope they could separate Javakity from Georgia. They
will then annex the territory to Armenian Republic. Another Armenian
aim is to separate Ossettia and Abkhazia. In Abkhazia in particular
there is a significant Armenians and they plan to establish a
Abkahazian-Armenian state.”
Kemal Yurteri, a Turkish Caucaus expert, similarly warn both Georgians
and Armenians that such a separation would be a disaster for the
region:
“None of the Caucasian countries need more territories. Armenian
irredentism caused great catastrophe in the past. Armenian forces
occupied almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan and attacked the other
Azeri province of Nahcivan. However none of the Armenian problems has
been solved since then. The EU and the OSCE accuse Armenia of being
occupier in Karabakh. Armenia still relies on Russian military while
the other countries aim to integrate their economies. If the Georgia
Armenians undermine Georgia’s territorial integrity, it will damage
both Georgia and Armenia. Turkey and the United States should take
measures to prevent the separatist movements in Georgia. Otherwise
the Western and Turkish interests too will be damaged a lot”.

CHINA TO PROVIDE GRATUITOUS AID OF 10 MLN YUANS FOR ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
BEIJING, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by Artashes
Tumanian, Head of the RA Presidential Administration and Chairman
of the Armnenian part of the Armenian-Chinese Trade and Economic
Commission, left for Beijing on September 26 in order to participate
in the fourth sitting of the Commission.
During the meeting with Chinese Deputy Minister of Trade Tszin,
the sides presented to each other the process of economic reforms
in Armenia and China and discussed the prospects of developing the
bilateral economic cooperation. It was noted that the realtions between
the two countries in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and
other spheres started developing intensively after the establishment
of diplomatic relations between Armenia and China in 1992.
According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, at the end
of the sitting on the first day, an agreement was signed, under which
China will provide a gratuitous aid of 10 mln yuans (about 1 mln 120
thousand USD) for Armenia.
The Commission’s sitting was continued on September 27.

ARMENIAN MILITARIZATION CONTINUES: YEREVAN BUYS AIRPLANES
Journal of Turkish weekly
Sept 27 2005
YEREVAN – Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian on Saturday
confirmed reports that Armenia purchased ten Russian-made military
aircraft from Slovakia last year, significantly boosting its air
force, Emil Danielyan from RFE/RL reported yesterday. Aghabekian said
`They are fully capable of performing combat tasks. The new aircraft
enhanced our military potential.’
Aghabekian declined to disclose the cost of the aircraft purchase.
He also insisted that the Su-25s are not outdated despite having been
used by the Slovak military for over a decade.
Armenian forces have occupied almost 20 percent of Azerbaijani
territories and Armenia seeks to strengthen its army in case Azerbaijan
attempts to recapture the occupied territories. Armenia has thorny
relations with other neighbors Turkey and Georgia.

FINNISH PRESIDENT GREETS RA AUTHORITIES FOR GREAT PROGRESS IN COOPERATION WITH EU
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia hopes to get “more
active assistance” from Finland while making up an action plan within
the framework of the “New Neighborhood” policy. RA President Robert
Kocharian declared this at the press conference convened at the end of
the September 27 negotiations with President of Finland Tarja Halonen
who is in Armenia on an official visit. Finland’s assistance in this
issue is expected especially in consideration of the fact that this
country will preside over in EU next year.
President Kocharian expressed hope that this program will be adopted
by the end of the year, it will mean continuation of reforms in a
number of directions. The issue of Finland’s assistance in the 2-3
directions in which this country succeeded was also discussed during
the meeting with Finnish President.
Expressing satisfaction with the results of “open and frank”
negotiations, RA President noted that he hopes that the visit will
seriously stimulate the bilateral relations. R.Kocharian was pleased
with the activity of political dialogue during the negotiations
highlighting that nevertheless they especially stressed steps
stimulating bilateral economic cooperation.
RA President also informed the Finnish President about the negotiations
process around Nagorno Karabakh settlement: Mrs Halonen is for the
first time in the region as a Finnish President but she had visited
the region earlier as the Foreign Minister of the same country, as
OSCE Chairwoman-in-Office. A number of regional issues were discussed,
including the issue of Armenian-Turkish relations.
The Finnish President in her turn attached importance to the meeting
of the 2 Presidents as the highest meeting of political dialogue. She
informed that she invited RA President to visit Finland. Tarja
Halonen also attached importance to the prospects of bilateral
economic cooperation, emphasizing the necessity of protection of the
investments being at the stage of final elaboration and agreements on
avoiding of double taxation. The Finnish President also highlighted
that besides the above-mentioned agreements, protection of democracy
and supremacy of law is very important for business circles, a very
important circumstance carefully followed by business circles.
As for the issue of Nagorno Karabakh settlement, the Finnish President
“encouraged President Kocharian to continue his efforts and take
further steps in order to find a final solution to the problem.”
T.Halonen congratulated and thanked the Armenian authorities for “great
progress,” as she estimated, in the sphere of cooperation with the EU,
especially within the framework of the New Neighborhood program.
The Finnish Minister of Trade and Economic Development mentioned
spheres of mining, information and communication technologies as those
representing mutual interest for cooperation between the 2 countries,
saying that there are also great opportunities for cooperation in the
sphere of tourism. He expressed hope that after the elaboration of
the 2 agreements necessary for economic cooperation business forums
will be held in Finland, then in Armenia where additional directions
for development of economic cooperation will be discussed. The Finnish
President in her turn added that there is already a great current of
tourists coming from Finland to Armenia and expressed an opinion that
“it should be extended.”

BALAKIAN’S THE BURNING TIGRIS WINS RAPHAEL LEMKIN PRIZE
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
LOS ANGELES, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Peter
Balakian’s The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s
Response has been awarded the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize for best
scholarly book in the preceding two years on the subject of genocide,
mass killings, gross human rights violations, and the prevention of
such crimes, Asbarez Online reported.
The award is given by the Institute for the Study of Genocide at
John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Graduate Center in New
York City. The prize, which comes with a cash award, commemorates
Raphael Lemkin, the legal scholar who pioneered the international
legal concept of genocide. Helen Fein, chair of the prize committee,
called The Burning Tigris “a book of enduring scholarly value and of
important contemporary meaning.” Previous winners include Samantha
Power’s A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (winner
of the Pulitzer Prize), and Alison Des Forges’s Leave None To Tell
The Story: Genocide In Rwanda.
The Burning Tigris was a New York Times bestseller and a Times notable
book of 2003. Balakian is the author of seven other books, including
Black Dog of Fate, which won the 1998 PEN/Albrand Prize for memoir,
and June-tree: New and Selected Poems.

KOCHARIAN: THERE ARE SOME HOPES OF SUCCESS IN NEGOTIATION PROCESS OF SETTLEMENT OF NK PROBLEM
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. At present the process of peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem “goes on rather actively,
and there are some hopes that, nevertheless, we can reach success.” RA
President Robert Kocharian stated about this answering a question of
a Finn journalist at the September 27 press-conference.
He emphasized that Armenia considers its participation in international
organizations only positive. In his opinion, this participation should
exist particularly after reaching an agreement in the sense of both
in political and economic assistance.
Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, in her turn, mentioned that
the international involvement in the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict still will have things to do. It’s always been mentioned
within the OSCE framework that if an agreement is reached and two
countries agreed with it, placing of international peacekeeping
forces is also possible, which may become the great role of the
international community in the issue of a peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict,” Mrs. Halonen emphasized.

ARMENIAN TABOO
By Derya Sazak
Turkish Press
Sept 27 2005
MILLIYET- Another taboo has been broken. The Armenian conference was
held, and the world didn’t come to an end. These are the headlines
of newspapers published in Turkey. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times
characterized the issue as follows: ‘a groundbreaking event where
Turkish academics could for the first time publicly challenge their
country’s official version of the events leading to the slaughter
of Armenians.’ People immediately paid attention to the fact that
the conference was held, because some tried to block the meeting at
Bogazici University with a court order. Three rectors, namely Ayse
Soysal, Tosun Terzioglu and Aydin Ugur, resisted the judiciary’s
intervention in academic autonomy and ensured the meeting was held.
However, demonstrators protested the participants in front of
Bilgi University, which was nothing but thuggery. Another series of
conferences can be held on Turkey’s Armenian thesis, but demonizing
a conference as ‘biased’ in front of universities is outmoded behavior.
What’s more, such acts took place even before any speeches were made.
The thesis of ‘genocide’ didn’t stand out, but speeches were made
stating that as long as the policy of ‘recognition, then compensation
and land’ isn’t abandoned, the process of dialogue will be difficult.
Professor Baskin Oran made striking remarks on the issue. ‘The effect
on the Turkish people of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation
of Armenia’s (ASALA) killing Turkish diplomats and the murderers being
left unpunished is similar to the criticisms from Armenians over the
massacre which occurred in 1915, and this situation strengthened the
Armenian taboo,’ he said. ‘Some of our colleagues say that genocide
is a term in the social sciences. Genocide is a legal term. When the
Convention on the Prevention and Repression of the Crimes of Genocide
was passed in 1948, Armenians shaped the term so it could constitute a
similarity to the Holocaust. The Armenian issue isn’t a taboo anymore,
and this conference confirms this.’ As long as democracy grows
stronger in Turkey and hurdles to freedom of expression are removed,
the atmosphere of discussion will grow more mature. The common judgment
of participants was that a similar conference couldn’t be organized
in Yerevan. The academics who organized the conference contributed
to the development of Turkey’s democratic structure, just like the
intellectuals who took the initiative for disarmament in southeastern
Anatolia. We should congratulate them.

PRESIDENT OF FINLAND WELCOMES ARMENIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN NEW NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. At the invitation of RA President
Robert Kocharian, Mrs Tarja Halonen, the President of the Republic
of Finland and her husband Pentti Arajarvi arrived in Armenia on an
official visit on September 26
Robert Kocharian’s and Tarja Halonen’s private conversation took
place after the official ceremony of meeting the high-ranking guest
at the RA President’s residense on September 27. The heads of the
two countries discussed issues concerning the bilateral relations,
the European Union-Armenia cooperation, regional problems as well as
exchanged opinions concerning issues of mutual interest.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s Press Office, Mrs.
Halonen welcame Armenia’s involvement in the New Neighborhood Program
of the European Union and mentioned that in its foreign policy,
Finland gives a greater role to developing of relations with the
South Caucasian coutries, particularly for Finland will undertake
the chairmanship of the European Union the next year.
Then negotiations with the participation of Robert Kocharian and
Tarja Halonen took place in a enlarged staff. Primary directions
of the economic cooperation and possibilities of their activization
were discussed.

“WE WON’T PUT OUR HANDS DOWN UNTIL TURKEY RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE,” URFA ARMENIANS DECLARE
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 27 2005
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On September
23-25, events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Urfa heroic
struggle were held in Armenia on the initiative of RA National Academy
of Sciences and Urfa Compatriot Union. Urfa Armenians that arrived
from South America, the US, Lebanon, Syria on those days visited the
Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex to victims of Armenian Genocide,
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, as well as participated in the
opening of the S.Astvatsatsin church founded by Mihran Safarian’s
family and the reservoir built by Vazgen Gasparian’s benefaction in
the settlement of Nor Yedesia of Aragatsotn region.
Urfa Compatriot Union was founded in 1975 in the US and Lebanon. As
Karpis Gazanchian, Chairman of Urfa Compatriot Union of US, noted
in his interview to Noyan Tapan’s correspondent, the Union also has
branches in Syria and South America.
Armenians lived in Urfa since ancient times. For centuries Urfa
has been a center of trade and communication. The trade of Turkey’s
internal provinces was carried out through Urfa. Before the First
World War the population of the town of Urfa was nearly 55 thousand
people. Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Jews lived there. The number
of Armenians living in the town fluctuated from 12 to 20 thousand
people. They were engaged in small trade, crafts and agriculture.
There were three Armenian churches and three Armenian schools in the
town. In the period of Abdul Hamid’s reign the Urfa Armenians felt
the consequences of the destructive policy carried on by Turkey on
their back. In 1895 Urfa like other regions of the Ottoman Empire
populated with Armenians became a place of slaughter. Cruelly killing
many Armenians, the Turks robbed their property, destroyed their houses
and cultural centers. After 1895 a great migration of Armenians started
in the Ottoman Empire. But the Urfa Armenians didn’t abandon their
houses and managed to have the 1915 heroic struggle with joint efforts.
After the 1915 massacres the Urfa Armenians spread all over the
world, they also repatriated to Soviet Armenia where they founded the
settlement of Nor Yedesia. According to K.Gazanchian, by approximate
calculations, at present 15 thousand former residents of Urfa live in
different countries of the world, 3.5 thousand of them live in Lebanon.
K.Gazanchian noted that today Urfa Armenians living in Spyurk want to
make friends with the residents of the village of Yedesia, as well as
try to assist the village. “Nor Yedesia seems to be the native land
of our parents to us. We want our children to visit this settlement
frequently so that they will know their past and history as the more
they stick to their roots the more Armenian they will remain,” Karpis
Gazanchian mentioned.
Touching upon preservation of the Armenian nation, he mentioned
that the number of those speaking Armenian reduces year by year in
Spyurk, as well as marriages of Armenians with foreigners have become
frequent. “The new generation is assimilated with different nations
and we can’t oblige our children to marry only Armenians as starting
from school they mix with representatives of different nations.”
Speaking about the Armenian-Turkish relations, Mihran Safarian,
member of Urfa Compatriot Union of South America, gave assurance
that the Turkish government must condemn the Armenian Genocide: “We
demand justice. We won’t put our hands down until Turkey recognizes
the Armenian Genocide.”
According to M.Safarian, today Turkey spends enormous sums on
anti-propaganda and Turkish ambassadors and intellectuals try to
deny the crime committed by their grandfathers at the beginning of
the 20th century. “If there hasn’t been a genocide, from where have
the Armenians spread all over the world come? Nearly 2-3 thousand
Armenians lived in South America before 1915 and after 1915 their
number reached 200-300 thousand,” he highlighted.

ARMENIAN CULTURE DAYS IN POLAND
Pan Armenian News
27.09.2005 02:59
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 21-22 Armenian Culture Days were held in
Pruj Gdansk, Poland. These marked the Independence Day of Armenia
and the 1600th anniversary of Armenian written language. The event
was organized by the Pruj Gdansk administration, Armenian national
cultural autonomy of Kaliningrad region and artist Gagik Parsamyan,
who lives in Poland. Within the framework of the Armenian Culture
Days exhibition of Gagik Parsamyan’s works, facsimile copies of
Armenian ancient manuscripts and icons from Matenadaran depository
was organized. A large concert program of creative groups of the
Armenian community of Kaliningrad and tasting of Armenian national
meals were also arranged. September 22 an Armenian Apostolic Church
service was held at St. Jacek church. It was offered by archimandrite
of Armenian Diocese of Germany Serop Isahanyan, who had arrived from
Frankfurt am Mein specially for the celebration. The province governor,
Armenian Ambassador to Poland Ashot Hayrapetyan, head of the Polish
Catholic Church of Gdansk, MPs, representatives of national minority
communities, prominent public figures and creative intelligentsia
took part in the holiday.
Armenians and Poles gathered at a friendship party at the end of the
festivities. Local authorities have organized a large trip program
for the Kaliningrad guests, reported the Nairi Kaliningrad newspaper.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress