Pilgrims Mark Orthodox Easter in Jerusalem

By IAN DEITCH
.c The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) – A sea of flames illuminated Christianity’s holiest
shrine, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as thousands of pilgrims
took part Saturday in the holy fire ceremony, a key event in the
Orthodox Easter rituals.

The event passed peacefully despite plans by protesters to block the
participation of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Irineos
I. Demonstrators, who object to the Patriarch’s alleged role in a
controversial land deal, were kept away by the hundreds of Israeli
police who set up barricades throughout the alleys leading to the
Jerusalem holy site.

The shrine, marking the site where tradition says Jesus was crucified
and buried, was filled with thousands of pilgrims. Hundreds more
waited outside.

At the start of the ceremony, church leaders descended into the
underground burial area. The faithful clutched their bundles of unlit
candles and torches while waiting in the darkened church for a flame
to emerge from the tomb.

Some Christians believe the flame appears spontaneously, as a message
from Jesus that he has not forgotten his followers.

When church leaders, including Irineos, emerged with a lighted torch,
a cheer arose, and the flames were passed around, illuminating the
church within seconds.

Tensions were high ahead of the ceremony.

The Greek Orthodox Church is in turmoil over a deal in which the
church reportedly leased prime property in disputed east Jerusalem to
Jewish investors.

The alleged land deal is politically explosive because Israel claims
all of Jerusalem, while Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the
capital of a future state. Jewish land purchases in east Jerusalem are
seen as bolstering Israel’s claim to that section of the city.

In the past the ceremony has also been a flashpoint between different
Orthodox denominations, who have argued over protocol at the ceremony.

About a dozen Greek and Armenian clergymen briefly scuffled over who
would be first to emerge with the flames, but they were quickly pulled
apart by Israeli police stationed inside the church.

Custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by a number of
denominations that jealously guard their responsibilities under a
fragile network of agreements hammered out over the last millennia.

“Every year there is always tight security, but maybe this year it is
even tighter because of the land deal,” said Matthew Doll, 30, a
pilgrim who waited outside the church.

Protesters had vowed to bar Irineos from the ceremony, but were kept
away by the police, said Dimitri Diliani, the head of a Palestinian
Christian coalition who have been spearheading the protests.

The reported deal has stirred anger among Palestinians who feel
betrayed by the church.

At a rare news conference last month, Irineos told reporters he was
unaware of the alleged transactions, and that he was not involved in
any deal which was reportedly signed by Nikos Papadimas, the church
financial officer who vanished three months ago.

Papadimas is wanted in Greece after Greek Orthodox Church officials in
Athens accused him of absconding with $800,000 in church funds. His
wife is wanted on separate charges of money laundering. Separately, a
European arrest warrant has been issued against Papadimas, Greek
officials said.

But as the flames emerged from the tomb, church bells pealed and
tensions melted away.

“This is one of the most beautiful and spiritual experience of my
life,” said Jonathan Parish, 42, of Boston. “I have dreamt of being
in the presence of the holy fire for a long time.”

04/30/05 17:51 EDT

ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
COMITÉ NATIONAL ARMÉNIEN DU CANADA
3401 Olivar-Asselin
Montréal, Québec
H4J 1L5
Tél. (514) 334-1299 Fax (514) 334-6853

Contacts: Shant Karabajak 514-334-1299
Roupen Kouyoumdjian 514-336-7095

Communiqué de Presse – Press Release
1 mai, 2005

Talaat se souvient du Génocide Arménien

Des révélations qui bouleversent l’opinion publique et qui pulvérisent la
théorie de la “négation”

Montréal – Le quotidien turc Hürriyet en date de 25 et 26 avril 2005, vient
de dévoiler les registres et les statistiques partielles extraits du “livre
noir de la déportation” appartenant à nul autre que Talaat, architecte du
Génocide Arménien de 1915. Gardé en secret depuis des années, c’est la
petite-fille de Talaat qui aurait voulu que ces informations soient
publiées. Bien qu’il s’agit d’une liste partielle, qui concerne uniquement
les déportations et qui ne tient pas compte des executions et des massacres
locaux, le nombre des déportés serait 924 158 pour seulement 18 villes.
Selon ces mêmes statistiques, le nombre d’orphelins se chiffrerait à 10 314
pour l’ensemble des 16 villes considérées.

Rejoint au téléphone, le Dr. Girair Basmadjian, président du Comité National
Arménien du Canada a déclaré; “bien qu’il s’agit d’une liste partielle qui
touche uniquement les déportations, il s’agit d’un début très prometteur.
D’ailleurs les chiffres importent très peu, la reconnaissance du Génocide
Arménien par la Turquie facilitera sa progression vers la démocratie”.

Talaat remembers Armenian Genocide

Revealing book upsets public opinion and destroys the theory of “denial”

Montréal – The Turkish daily, Hürriyet, dated April 25 and 26 2005, reveals
a ledger of statistics called “the black book of the deportations”,
belonging to none other than Talaat, principal architect of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915. Kept in secret for years, it is Talaat’s granddaughter who
wanted to publish this crucial information. Despite the fact that it is an
incomplete list, dealing only with deportations, and not discussing local
executions and massacres, it states the number of deportees from only 18
towns at 924 158. According to these same statistics, the number of orphans
reaches 10 314 for 16 towns.

Reached by telephone, Dr Girair Basmadjian, President of the Armenian
National Committee of Canada stated; “although it is a partial list
discussing only the deportations, it is a promising start. Besides, the
numbers aren’t really important, what’s important is that the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide by Turkey would help that country progress more easily
toward democratic society.”

-30-

Photograph exhibit on Armenian killings

Saturday, April 30, 2005

An AKP deputy and HASVAK jointly open a photo display of the
atrocities committed on Turks in 1915-1916

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

A photo exhibition depicting atrocities inflicted by Armenians in
eastern Anatolia during 1915-1916 was opened by the Balıkesir
deputy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turhan
Çömez, and the Turkish State Hospitals and Patient Aid
Foundation (HASVAK) on April 25, 2005.

The exhibit gathers photographs from the Prime Ministry’s Archives
Office, which are on display in the foyer of the Vakıfbank
General Directorate. Çömez spoke at the opening and
said, `This humble exhibit shows pictures of history that break our
hearts.’

Çömez explained that the 1915-1916 Armenian uprising,
provoked by the Russians and British, against the Ottoman state led to
the killings of 554,000 Muslim Turks. He said decisions to relocate
some Armenians were made after great losses. `Unwanted events were
seen during this period. No country in the world dealt with the losses
suffered by the Muslim Turks.’

Çömez said the world media was preoccupied with the
Armenian genocide allegations and the exhibit organizers wanted to
light a spark in the collective world’s mind. Some 30,000 activities
take place annually in regards to the Armenian diaspora. `It is sad
for Turkey to have difficulties in having its voice heard on a subject
where it is right.’

When asked by press members what he thought about California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger announcing April 24 as the Armenian Genocide
Day, he replied: `If he had done some research and found out the truth
he would not make such a decision. I do not think he is aware of the
reality.’

The president of the Turkish Industrial Businessmen’s Association
(TÃ`SÄ°AV) Veli Sarıtoprak, and the president ofHASVAK
Engin Ãztürk joined by other nongovernmental organizations,
said they decided to boycott Arnold Schwarzenegger
movies. Sarıtoprak said they all would work together against
the Armenian genocide allegations so the truth can be heard.

Ãztürk said they heard about the Armenian atrocities from
their grandfathers and fathers but that the youth today is ignorant on
this subject. He then invited everyone to see the exhibit, adding that
it would be on display in other cities of the country.

ErdoÄŸan signals political ties with Armenia

TDN Saturday, April 30, 2005

In remarks seen as a sign of policy shift, the prime minister says
study of history could run parallel to establishment of political
relations. FM Gül announces, however, there are no plans to
open up the border gate

ANKARA ` Turkish Daily News

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan was quoted as saying
yesterday that Turkey could establish political relations with
neighboring Armenia while historians study events during 1915 and 1918
in a bid to clarify whether Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were
subject to a genocide campaign.

Turkey categorically denies charges of genocide and ErdoÄŸan has
recently sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian
proposing establishment of a joint commission of historians to study
the events of the World War I years. Kocharian, however, suggested in
his reply an inter-governmental commission that would be tasked with
investigating ways to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia.

`A political relationship can be established on the one hand, while
studies continue on the other. There is no great wall between Turkey
and Armenia,’ ErdoÄŸan told daily Milliyet in an interview.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, when asked to comment upon
ErdoÄŸan’s remarks, said there were no plans at the moment to
open the border gate with Armenia.

`What the prime minister emphasized is that Turkey is good
intentioned, supports stability in its region and is open to
developing relations with its neighbors. But such things can’t be
one-sided,’ Gül told reporters in the central Anatolian city of
Kayseri. `There would definitely be an improvement if there is mutual
goodwill.’

Turkey severed its diplomatic relations with Armenia and closed its
border gate with the landlocked country in the last decade after
Armenian troops occupied the Azeri territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Ankara says normalization of ties depends on
Armenia’s stopping their support of genocide allegations and formally
accepting its current borders with Turkey, as well as withdrawal from
Nagorno-Karabakh.

In his letter delivered to the Turkish side earlier this week,
Kocharian said the border gate should be opened, as even countries
which are at war with each other keep their borders open.

ErdoÄŸan, however, took a cautious line, saying Armenia should
also demonstrate goodwill. `Why are you continuing efforts to get
recognition of the alleged genocide all over the world, while asking
me to open up the border? I should see a sign of goodwill,’
ErdoÄŸan said.

Armenians stepped up efforts to win international backing for their
allegations of genocide, hoping that the 90th anniversary of the
alleged genocide on April 24 would increase sympathy for their cause.

ErdoÄŸan said his government has allowed flights between Yerevan
and Istanbul in a goodwill gesture and the Culture Ministry has been
given instructions to renovate an Armenian church in eastern Anatolia
in coordination with the Armenian patriarchate of Turkey.

`These are positive messages from us. We need to get similar messages
from the other side too,’ ErdoÄŸan said.

˜EU provokes nationalism’:

The prime minister also criticized the European Union for
`intentionally provoking’ nationalism in Turkey’s Southeast, where
Kurds dominate the population. `This stirs up another kind of
nationalism,’ he said, referring to the rise in current Turkish
nationalism.

ErdoÄŸan said the EU relied on `unhealthy sources’ while making
its assessments on the issue. `I am from the Black Sea region and my
wife is an Arab from the southeastern city of Siirt ¦ If you stir
up a certain sort of nationalism, another sort of nationalism begins
to rise. This is wrong,’ he said.

>From the columns

TDN
Saturday, April 30, 2005

PRESS SCANNER

>From the columns

The highlight of yesterday’s columns was Turkey’s recent relationship
with the European Union. Besides that, columnists wrote about the
draft National Security Political Document, as well as the headscarf
controversy.

Media should not only concentrate on political issues in relations
with EU

In a reference to daily Hürriyet’s Thursday edition whose
headline was `Paris criteria,’ Milliyet’s Sami Kohen said the news in
the paper was published at a time when Turkey’s relations with the EU
were being discussed and the ways of European allies were being
criticized.

He said the French media ignored news about police beating up high
school students in Paris during a demonstration on April 13, until it
was eventually published in a magazine called `Choc.’

`However, neither the French authorities nor the EU showed any
reaction to the incident, unlike the attitude they assumed in the face
of the female protesters being beaten by police in a demonstration in
Istanbul on March 6. `The EU strongly reacted to this,’ Kohen said,
and mentioned Hürriyet’s comments on the issue, claiming that
the EU was pursuing a policy of `double standards.’

`Actually, the practice of double standards is not restricted to only
this incident or just European countries. Such treatment is widespread
and frequent,’ he said.

Touching upon the EU Association Council that convened early this
week, Kohen said some problems tabled by European partners led to the
negative reactions displayed by the Turkish side and the March 6
incident was among the issues brought to the agenda.

Kohen mentioned a conference entitled, `Turkey’s EU and Negotiating
Process’ held in Istanbul on Thursday and quoted Secretary-General for
EU Affairs Murat Sungar as saying at the conference that relations
with the EU only concentrated on political issues such the Cyprus
issue and the Armenian question.

`However, there is a wide range of issues from health to education,
the environment and financial regulations brought up in the
negotiating process with the EU that will impact upon citizens’ daily
lives,’ Sungar said, stressing that these were the main issues that
should be discussed and covered by the media.

We should study talk of EU now

Radikal’s Ä°smet Berkan said he predicted that news of the EU
would decease after the Dec. 17 summit of EU leaders, but he did not
think it would decrease very much.

`Why are we talking about the EU less?’ he asked.

He said Dec. 17 was a threshold and that Turkey had managed to clear
it.

`However,’ he continued, `there are other aspects to it. After all,
there is a need to dwell upon the technical issues to be able to
discuss the EU and to have knowledge of these issues.’

`It is easier to talk about political issues. There were even those in
Turkey who claimed that the Copenhagen criteria would divide the
country,’ he added.

What does Turkey want?

Sabah’s Erdal Åžafak touched upon the recent efforts to update
the National Security Political Document and said the National
Security Council’s (MGK) civilian Secretary-General YiÄŸit
Alpogan, who was informed on the General Staff’s recommendations on
the issue, was scheduled to complete his studies next month.

He said the draft, which would be tabled in a June meeting of the MGK,
would encompass significant amendments when compared to the document
dated July 2001, but made it clear that one should not expect serious
changes in the essence of the document, which puts an emphasis on the
fight against terrorism and fundamentalism.

`However, it’s worth mentioning a contradiction displayed by the
General Staff. On the one hand, the military is giving the message
that Turkey’s objective should be full membership, while on the other,
it says the new document should contain the existing policies on the
Heybeliada Theological Seminary,’ he said, and asked how this attitude
would be compatible with EU membership since the European Commission,
in the Oct. 6, 2004, report, stressed that the opening of the seminary
was a condition in the negotiating process with the EU.

He said there were two ways to remove this contradiction: Either
Turkey will give up on its EU dreams or the National Security
Political Document will be amended. Which one do you prefer?

Freedoms should not be restricted

Zaman’s Erhan BaÅŸyurt said Constitutional Court Chief Justice
Mustafa Bumin made striking statements regarding the headscarf issue.

`According to Bumin, preventing women who wear headscarves from
attending higher education is not an intervention in the right to
education or the freedom of faith,’ BaÅŸyurt said, and expressed
his disagreement with Bumin.

Listing his points that prove Bumin wrong, BaÅŸyurt said all
girls who wear headscarves were attending universities in Europe and
added a young girl who goes to university had the responsibility of
making her own decisions, noting that pressuring those who wear
headscarves was inhumane.

`What’s humane and fair is not to restrict the freedoms but to widen
them to an extent that will not harm the freedoms of others,’ he said.

AyÅŸe Ã-zgün: The Armenian Metamorphosis

TDN
Saturday, April 30, 2005

OPINIONS

AyÅŸe OZGUN

When my father was assigned as the naval attaché to Washington
D.C. in 1955 some of our friends in Istanbul told us to get in touch
with the Bogasyan family who would help us. This family welcomed,
embraced and helped us more than our own parents ever could. Asot
Bogasyan found a house for us to live in. His sister Esther placed my
brother and I in school. The father helped us buy a car. What can I
say? I don’t think my family has been as grateful to this family as it
has to any other.

We spent weekends together on picnics. We went to the Chesapeake beach
and swam there. Once a week either they came to us for dinner or
vice-versa. We ate the same type of food. We talked the same
language. We had the same sense of humour.

When my father and mother flew down to California to take over a ship
that was being delivered to the Turkish Navy from the American Navy, a
gentleman by the name of Mr. Moreno (of direct Armenian-Turkish
descent) from Hollywood met them at the Roosevelt Hotel, again as if
they were the closest of kin, took them over to the Universal Studios
to watch Dan Dailey and Shirley Jones rehearse a dance number for a
musical, have lunch with Joan Crawford and Rhonda Fleming and
personally go around and have pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis
Presley, Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Sandra Dee, John Saxon, Esther
Williams, Gregory Peck, Audie Murphy (and many more) signed and given
to my parents as “gifts to your children.’ As of today my brother and
I must be sitting on top of a very valuable bunch of photographs,
thanks to Armenian-Turkish-American Mr. Alberto Moreno of Hollywood.

We have a saying in Turkish I would like to use here: If they are
still alive a grateful and a hearty “hello” to them. If they have
passed away, may Allah bless them.

When I moved to California in 1985, it was a whole different
picture. The Turkish consular-general had been shot in the head by an
old, `trustworthy’ Armenian American acquaintance. The Armenian
American fathers offered their sons or their friends $500 to beat up
the Turkish Ozgun brothers (who are my children!) in high school!

When I set up a lecture and exhibit at my college museum on Ottoman
history and cultural artifacts, members of the Armenian Genocide
Association literally tried to disrupt the event and threatened me and
my children with injury and harm. I am ever so grateful for the
experienced chief of campus police and his courageous team that
evening.

They asked for equal representation. They got equal
representation. They saw me passing flyers out after they had asked to
pass out their flyers. The flyers they passed out had the headline
“Genocide of three million Armenians by the Ottomans.’ The
Californians attending that evening took one look at their fliers and
said: “Look here! Last time you said it was 1.5 million. Now you have
turned it into three million. What is going on here?” and crumpled up
those flyers and threw them onto the floor.

What happened? What changed between the 1950’s and the 1980’s?

I wish I knew! I wish I knew!

The Guide: States of confusion: They have armies, governments,
passports and stamps, but these breakaway nations are not recognised
as countries by the rest of the world. Simon Reeve reaches for his map

The Guardian – United Kingdom;
Apr 30, 2005

SIMON REEVE

The detention cells in the KGB secret police headquarters in
Transdniestria, a country between Moldova and Ukraine, are not the
ideal place to spend a Saturday night. Perhaps I have seen too many
cold-war thrillers, but after being detained by the Transdniestrian
KGB for spying last autumn, I had visions of being held for years in a
dark cell and having to write escape plans in blood using my toenails
for nibs. Fortunately, the KGB dispelled these fears by offering me a
tasty salad, giving me a KGB cap-badge as a souvenir of my
incarceration, and eventually setting me free.

It was a strange experience. But then Transdniestria is a fairly
strange country. Stuck in a Soviet time warp, it is not actually a
“real” country at all. According to the international community and
most maps of the region, Transdniestria does not even exist. There are
almost 200 official countries in the world, but there are dozens more
independent breakaway states like Transdniestria. They have
parliaments, armies and passports, but are not recognised as countries
by the rest of the world. So, in a bid to find out more about these
obscure countries, a BBC film crew and I spent many months travelling
to a group of countries that don’t officially exist.

Somaliland

Although rarely found on maps, Somaliland sits next to Djibouti. It
used to be “British Somaliland”, but locals think Whitehall has long
since forgotten they exist. After joining Somalia in the 1960s to form
one country, Somaliland had to fight a bitter war for independence
against the Somali dictator in the 1980s, during which thousands died.

On the way there we stopped in the Somali capital Mogadishu, perhaps
the most dangerous city in the world. Twelve gunmen provided
protection and I bought a Somali diplomatic passport from a man called
Mr Big Beard. Somalia has no real government, but is recognised as a
proper country. Somaliland, by contrast, has a government, president,
lively parliament and traffic lights, but is not recognised as a
proper country by any nation in the world. Lack of recognition means
Somaliland has trouble getting foreign aid to help with a terrible
drought. Tens of thousands of people were at risk of starvation.

The Somaliland president said he runs the country on just a few
million pounds a year, or “whatever we can get”. Edna Ismail, his
dynamic foreign minister, doubles as head of the maternity
hospital. Because nobody recognises their government, it cannot get
loans, which at least means Somaliland is not burdened by foreign debt
repayments.

Transdniestria

After the Soviet Union collapsed, two-thirds of Moldova wanted closer
ties with Romania and neighbours to the west. But the area of the
country to the east of the Dniestr river wanted to stay close to
Ukraine and Russia. War broke out, and the east split to form
Transdniestria, which remains unrecognised by the world.

Soviet statues still stand in Transdniestria, and a mysterious firm
called Sheriff – headed by former Red Army officers – runs much of the
economy. Independence day was being celebrated when we visited. The
Soviet-era army goose-stepped along the main road, and small children
in uniforms sang “our army is the best army” with evident pride. At
least we ate heartily on the day they celebrated. The rest of the time
Transdniestrian cafes were the slowest on earth, and I regularly
waited hours for food to be served. Sadly, that gave time for repeated
karaoke rehearsals of the uplifting Transdniestrian anthem.

As the EU expands, the country will soon be on the eastern edge of
Europe. It is a haven for smuggling and has a wild west feel. Rumours
suggest that it is a major producer of illegal arms, and guns from
Transdniestria have turned up in conflicts around the
world. International investigators claim they are unsure what is going
on in Transdniestria. Hardly surprising when there are no foreign
embassies and few foreigners visit this extraordinary little nation.

Taiwan

Lack of international recognition is not limited to poor
countries. Taiwan has one of the most powerful economies in the world,
but it has no seat at the UN and no major state recognises it as a
proper country. When Mao’s communists defeated their nationalist
rivals, they fled to Taiwan and took over. Taiwan has since become a
stable democracy, but Beijing views it as a renegade province and
wants it back.

Taiwanese cities feel like locations in Blade Runner. Neon signs light
skyscrapers and night- markets, where stalls serve snake blood and
girls from the Chinese mainland sit outside obvious brothels. We went
to see a Taiwanese boy band, who sang of their pride at being
Taiwanese, not ethnic Chinese like their parents. The Taiwanese
president flew us to see a firework concert, but refused to speak to
us, and then dumped us in a muddy field.

Guides took us to a Taiwanese island just off the Chinese coast, from
where the Taiwanese bombarded the mainland with propaganda from the
world’s loudest and largest loudspeakers. Taiwanese soldiers on the
island also fought a 20-year artillery duel with the Chinese, but
eventually both sides came to a gentleman’s agreement to bombard each
other on alternate days. Times have changed and local shops now melt
old artillery shells into kitchen knives for Chinese tourists.

South Ossetia, Ajaria and Abkhazia

Three parts of Georgia all declared their own independence when the
Soviet Union collapsed. In the ensuing conflicts thousands were killed
and the whole region has suffered ever since.

In South Ossetia – which has had its own government and army for 12
years, Ossetes told me they speak a different language to
Georgians. Tensions were high and the Ossetes were suspicious of
foreigners, partly because my government guide kept telling people I
was from London, America. After explaining I had nothing to do with
George Bush locals warmed up, and young soldiers shared drunken
birthday toasts. They all vowed to fight again rather than rejoin
Georgia.

Ajaria and Abkhazia are on Georgia’s western Black Sea coast. The
former is a Soviet-era holiday destination which has now rejoined
Georgia. The new governor kindly took us to a restaurant which was
cleared of other customers as we arrived by extras from the
Sopranos. Abkhazia may well be a lovely place to visit, but the
government kicked us out before we could explore.

Elsewhere in Georgia we found a former secret Soviet military base
containing thousands of tonnes of unguarded high explosives, and
scores of powerful missiles capable of destroying skyscrapers. A local
scientist trying to dismantle the explosives had rung the US embassy
to warn them, but nobody returned his call.

Nagorno-Karabakh

Historically this breakaway mountainous area of Azerbaijan was mainly
Armenian Christian. War erupted when it wanted independence after the
Soviet collapse, and Armenian troops helped the Karabakh army push out
the local Muslim Azeris.

Azerbaijan is still officially at war with Armenia over Karabakh, and
our journey started in Azerbaijan on the frontline. It may be 2005 in
the rest of the world, but on the border between Karabakh and
Azerbaijan young soldiers still man trenches. We had to sprint across
open ground to avoid sniper fire. Thousands of Azeri refugees live in
appalling conditions. Children and the elderly survive in rusty train
carriages. Everyone mentions the war, even the country’s top pop star
– a crackshot with an AK-47.

The border between Azerbaijan and Karabakh is closed, so we took a
massive detour into Georgia, over snowy mountains into Armenia, then
over icy passes into Karabakh. We were welcomed with organic mulberry
vodka, but found bombed-out Azeri villages. Mine-clearance charity The
Halo Trust is trying to improve lives, but locals shrugged and walked
through a minefield in front of me. Despite the war, the people of
Karabakh claim they would have the world’s highest rate of longevity,
if they were recognised as an independent country. *

Embassy of The United States
Yerevan, Armenia
05.html

Ambassador Evans Celebrates Earth Day and Arbor Day at Tree Planting
On April 27, U.S. Ambassador John Evans, and Mrs. Donna Evans celebrated
Earth Day and Arbor Day with a ceremonial tree planting in the village of
Karin, hosted by the Armenian Tree Project (ATP.) The U.S. Embassy is proud
to support ATP’s important work, for as President Bush recently reiterated,
it is a duty and an obligation to protect our environment.
This is the fourth year that the U.S. Embassy is celebrating Earth Day and
Arbor Day with ATP at one of the refugee sites where ATP has been developing
programs over the last 11 years.
This year the event took place at one of ATP’s largest nurseries the village
of Karin outside of Ashtarak. Last year the nursery provided 70,000 trees
for ATP’s rural re-forestation program. Over the last 11 years ATP has
planted and rejuvenated approximately 600,000 trees at over 500 sites from
Gurmi to Goris.
Participants included the Minister of Nature Protection of the RA, the
Minister of Agriculture of the RA, representatives from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of RA, representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Armenia
including from the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) and Peace
Corps, and representatives from the World Bank and World Food Program.

ErdoÄŸan in Israel to repair damaged relations – Part 1

TDN
Saturday, April 30, 2005

OPINIONS

The close relationship between Turkey and Israel in the security and
defense sectors has survived many vicissitudes over the decades

K.GAJENDRA SINGH*

In 1996, strategic dialogue between Israel and Turkey took their
relations almost to the level of allies with Ankara signing numerous
defense deals with Israeli arms industry players and the two countries
carrying out joint military exercises. But the illegal U.S. invasion
of Iraq in 2003 changed the regional strategic balance, with Israel
even interfering last year in Iraqi Kurdistan, adjoining Turkey’s own
turbulent Kurdish region.

Ankara withdrew its ambassador, barred El Al flights to Istanbul and
asked for an explanation. It publicly denounced Israel’s policy of
`state terrorism’ in Gaza, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄŸan. Bilateral relations plummeted. Satisfied, Ankara then
took steps to smoothen its relationship with Tel Aviv. After official
visits to iron-out differences over the last six months,
ErdoÄŸan himself would now visit Israel for two days starting on
May 1. He publicly refused an Israeli invite last year. The visit
would provide an opportunity to repair the damaged bilateral
relationship. ErdoÄŸan would also visit Palestine to maintain
the balance and Turkey’s new role as a peacemaker in the region.

Fearful of uncertain consequences from Iraq, which could go hay wire,
its own problems for entry into the Europe Union, the open ended
position of northern Cyprus, which it occupies and the international
outcry about the alleged Armenian genocide at the end of the Ottoman
Empire 90 years ago, Turkey also needs to normalize relations with
Israel. Ankara being its only friend in the region, Tel Aviv had kept
its cool last year. A close relationship between the two countries in
the security and defense sectors has survived many vicissitudes over
the decades.

ErdoÄŸan will be accompanied by Defense Minister Vecdi
Gönül and Trade and Industry Minister Ali Coşkun
on a trip to Israel. Gönül will hold talks with Israeli
military officials on the development of joint defense projects, such
as the co-production of Arrow II and Popeye II missiles. Officials
from both sides are scheduled to work out new counter-terrorism
intelligence systems. Additionally, nearly a hundred businessmen will
accompany ErdoÄŸan to Israel.

Turkey’s relations with Israel involve billions of dollars in joint
projects and strategic cooperation. Israel is currently upgrading 170
Turkish M-60 tanks, 54 F-4 fighter planes and 48 F-5s under a
multi-billion dollar agreement, which also includes the exchange of
visits by defense personnel and joint military exercises.

Abdullah Gül, Turkey˜s suave and soft-spoken foreign
minister, visited Israel at the beginning of January to prepare for
ErdoÄŸan’s visit. After his stance against Israel, which duly
warned Israel, ErdoÄŸan sent a delegation of three close
advisers to Tel Aviv in September as a goodwill gesture.

But, at the same time, Turkey’s relations with its NATO ally the
United States, Israel’s umbilically linked strategic partner, remain
wobbly. Despite the United States’ public disapproval, Turkish
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer recently visited Damascus. It was after
Turkish insistence on the Damascus visit that ErdoÄŸan’s visit
was broken in the Israeli media in the first week of April, to soothe
Israel, which had also not been happy with the president’s visit to
Damascus.

The official announcement was made in Ankara on April 18 after
ErdoÄŸan telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to
exchange ideas about the visit. Sharon reportedly told ErdoÄŸan:
”I see many areas to strengthen our relations and cooperation. We
believe you and Turkey will play an important role in the region, and
will have important contributions to peace and stability in the Middle
East. Thus, we attach importance to Turkey’s taking part in
developments in the Middle East.” In return, Prime Minister
ErdoÄŸan said, ”I will be pleased if my country contributes to
the peace process.”

In addition to Prime Minister Sharon, ErdoÄŸan is expected to
meet with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and President Moshe Katsav.

Turkey signed an agreement with Israel on April 19 to buy spy planes
(drones) costing $183 million. It will include three unmanned aerial
vehicle systems, 10 aircraft, surveillance equipment and ground
control stations, with Turkish companies providing sub-systems and
services worth 30 percent of the cost

Annual trade between the two countries now amounts to over $1.4
billion, excluding the defense sector. More than 300,000 Israeli
tourists (8 percent of the population) visit Turkey annually for
vacations to escape tensions at home as they find Turkey quite
safe. There are other important economic deals in the energy
sector. Last year, the two sides signed an agreement for Turkey to
sell to Israel more than 50 million cubic meters of water annually for
the next 20 years.

A few days before the visit, the Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) will host Israeli and Palestinian
businessmen delegations in Ankara. The Israeli delegation will be
headed by Israeli Union of Manufacturers chief Shraga Brosh, while
Ahmet Azzghayar, the head of the Federation of Agriculture, Commerce
and Industry Chambers will lead the Palestinian delegation. `As
political efforts continue to seek a solution to the region’s
problems, business circles must also get closer to each other,’ said
TOBB Chairman Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu.

Deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations:

When asked by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper in a May 2004 interview,
shortly after Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ spiritual leader Ahmed
Yassin, if he would define Israel’s actions against the Palestinians
as state terrorism. “How else can you interpret it?” ErdoÄŸan
replied.

In his May 25 meeting with Israeli Infrastructure Minister Yousef
Paritzky, ErdoÄŸan asked the Israeli minister: “What is the
difference between terrorists who kill Israeli civilians and Israel
which also kills civilians?” ErdoÄŸan had refused to meet with
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was in Ankara in
mid-July to mend Israel’s deteriorating relations with Turkey. This
was the first high-level contact after ErdoÄŸan repeatedly
characterized Israel’s policy in Gaza as “state terrorism.’

But it was an article in New Yorker magazine by veteran
U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh about Israel providing training to
peshmerga militias in northern Iraq and running covert operations in
neighboring countries that revealed the brewing differences between
Turkey and Israel. Soon Kurds in Syria created problems for
Damascus. The media reports of interference were denied by both Israel
and the Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq, but Turkey was far from
convinced. Israel’s case was not helped by other reports that it was
infiltrating agents into Iran’s clandestine nuclear-weapons program
for information for possible preemptive strikes by the Israeli air
force, believing that Tehran was about a year away from a breakthrough
in that program.

Beirut’s Daily Star wrote on July 17, “It appears that Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gül, one of ErdoÄŸan’s closest
confidants, was behind the leak of Israeli interference in Kurdistan,
to demonstrate Ankara’s deepening anxiety that Kurdish aspirations of
independence will be fueled by Israeli interference. Indeed, the
U.S. debacle in Iraq is driving neighbors Turkey, Syria and Iran into
each other’s arms.’ Israel would like to have a weak Iraq and even an
independent north Iraq.

It added: “ErdoÄŸan’s government has embarked on a high-profile
diplomatic effort to bolster relations with the Arab and Muslim world,
which were blighted by Israel’s 1996 military agreements with
Turkey. Ankara has settled its disputes with Syria and is seeking to
normalize its often fraught relations with Iran.”

Strained relations between Turkey and Israel caused serious concern in
the United States, which was conveyed by President George W. Bush to
ErdoÄŸan in Ankara prior to the June NATO summit in
Istanbul. But then, U.S. relations with Ankara have been on a roller
coaster with public airings of differences. The differences came about
after the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq, a Muslim country generally
friendly to Turkey, which was opposed by a massive majority of the
Turkish population. When ErdoÄŸan publicly criticized Sharon’s
policies, members of his Justice and Development party (AKP), which
has Islamic roots, were even harsher, lambasting U.S. policies in Iraq
as well. The AKP must cater to its own constituency at home.

The Turkish-Israeli relationship reached a low point when
ErdoÄŸan publicly turned down an invitation to visit
Israel. Ankara temporarily withdrew its ambassador and consul general
from Israel. Relations took a turn for the worse when the Israeli
airline El Al had to suspend, for two weeks, six weekly flights to
Turkey from June 24 in a row over security at Istanbul airport.

Turkey’s Kurdish problems:

Turkey has serious problems with its own Kurds. The
separatist-terrorist campaign since 1984 against the Turkish state,
led by Abdullah Ã-calan of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) — in
America’s and Europe’s list of terrorist organizations — has cost
more than 37,000 lives, including 5,000 soldiers. The economy of the
mostly Kurdish-populated region in the southeast was shattered. The
cost of countering the separatist terrorism at its height amounted to
between $6 billion and $8 billion a year. Whenever there has been
chaos and instability in northern Iraq, as during the Iraq-Iran war in
the 1980s or after the 1991 Gulf War, PKK activity has perked up in
Turkey.

The separatist terrorist campaign died down after the arrest and trial
of Ã-calan in 1999, when a ceasefire was declared by the PKK and a
Turkish court commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence handed
to Ã-calan. The Turkish Parliament also granted rights for the use
of the Kurdish language and took other steps, thus removing some of
the root causes of the problem. But the PKK shifted most of its 4,000
cadres to northern Iraq where they stay put. The United States has not
disarmed them despite promises to Turkey. The United States wants to
reward Iraqi Kurds, who have remained loyal and peaceful. Iraqi Kurds
have been ambivalent toward the PKK, often helping them. They remain a
card to be used in the region.

(K. Gajendra Singh served as Indian Ambassador to Turkey and
Azerbaijan in 1992 -96. He served as ambassador to Jordan during
the1990-91 Gulf war, Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of
the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies. The views expressed here are
his own. Email-Gajendrak

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Playbill.com, NY
April 30 2005

PHOTO CALL: Tony Nominee Metwally Tells Off-Broadway of the Beast on
The Moon at Opening
By Morgan Allen

Actor Omar Metwally, Tony nominated last year for his performance in
the short-lived Sixteen Wounded, stars with Louis Zorich in the
Off-Broadway premiere of the award-winning play Beast on The Moon,
which celebrated its opening night on April 27.

Richard Kalinoski’s play about the Armenian genocide has been seen
around the world and in several languages before landing at New York
City’s Century Center for the Performing Arts.

At left, Metwally is seen with Tony Award winner Donna Murphy, and
director Larry Moss and Kalinoski are seen at the opening night party
for Beast on The Moon at Candela Restaurant on East 16th in downtown
Manhattan. Below, the cast gives their opening night curtain call at
the end of the performance.