Karabakh problem cannot be solved without Karabakh partifipation

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:38

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «I have always stated that the Karabakh problem
cannot be solved without the participation of Nagorno Karabakh,»
President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasian stated
at a briefing today. «My stand is: if Azerbaijan comes against
NK participation in the conflict settlement, it means Baku is not
interested in solving it,» he added. Speaking of compromises,
Mr. Ghukasian noted one should not confuse concessions with mutual
concessions. Mutual concessions provide for compromises by Armenia,
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. However, as Azerbaijan is not going
to make concessions, speaking of compromises is meaningless. «I
do not think Azerbaijan has nothing to yield. It is necessary to
persuade it that it has something to yield and it has to resort to
that step. Baku considers that the international community should
present Nagorno Karabakh to it on a platter. It is not frivolous,»
the NKR President accentuated. In his words, the security of Nagorno
Karabakh is first of all the determination of its status. The question
of security cannot be solved without the solution of the issue of the
status. «We have stated many times we come for the package option
of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. All issues should
be solved simultaneously,» he said. «Today Azerbaijan speaks of
restoration of the status quo of 1988, however it is senseless,
as the USSR does not exist any more,» Arkady Ghukasian summed up.

–Boundary_(ID_iOpBtR5gbTj7TU+imzIi3w)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KEMAL CICEK: NO TURKISH GOVERNMENT WILL EVER ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:16

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of the Department on Armenia of the Turkish
Historical Organization Kemal Cicek considers the proposal of Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to form a joint Armenian-Turkish
commission for studying facts on the Armenian Genocide a unique
one. “Turkey makes such a proposal at the state level for the first
time,” he noted, Regnum news agency reported. In his words, the
unique nature of Erdogan’s proposal also lies in Turkey’s readiness
to accept the outcomes of the work of the commission irrespective of
the conclusion it arrives at. “I hope the Armenian party will accept
the proposal. It is does not, it will be a serious loss from the
point of view of the Armenian-Turkish relations. When the issue of
the so-called genocide was being raised in international structures,
Turkey did not have an opportunity or did not hold a propaganda to
express its stand. This group presents the stand of the Turkish party
both to historians and the international community,” he noted. In
his words, Armenians should understand that no Turkish government
will ever recognize the Armenian Genocide. Even if the EU poses the
issue of acknowledgement of the Genocide and opening of the borders
as a precondition for Turkey’s accession to that organization, Ankara
will not recognize it and will sacrifice accession to the EU.” It
should be noted that Cicek is in Yerevan to cover events on the 90-th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In his words, in an interview
with him “Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian reported the
preconditions the Armenian party puts forward to establish relations,
as well as Nagorno Karabakh FM Arman Melikain stated that the NK
has never declared independence.” Meanwhile, the stand of official
Yerevan, as stated by the President, comes to Armenia being ready
to dialogue without any precondition. The independence of Nagorno
Karabakh was declared upon the holding of a referendum, though not
recognized by the international community. One can only guess at
what materials Cicek will present for the judgement of the Turkish
society upon leaving Yerevan. As of Erdogan’s proposal to form a
joint commission for studying the fact of the Armenian Genocide, the
Armenian party does not think it is expedient and states that the fact
of the Genocide is unquestionable and does not need further research,
while other questions need to be discussed.

LEH VALENSA JOINS CALLS FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

Armenpress

YEREVAN, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS: The former leader of the legendary
Polish “Solidarity”, laureate of the Nobel prize for peace and the
first democratically elected president of Poland Leh Valensa has
joined today his voice to international calls for recognition of the
Armenian genocide.

Addressing an international conference in Yerevan, dedicated to the
90-th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Valensa said:” If I or
any of us let this horrific crime, the suffering of the people sink
into oblivion then God will never remember about our existence.”

Leh Valensa recalled that mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
empire had began long before 1915, citing the slaughter of Armenians
at the order of Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1894. This practice was caught
up and “elaborated” by the government of Young Turks in 1915.

“Massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman empire were the first
genocide of the 20-th century. Today we commemorate the memory of
its victims. The justice must win,’ he said, endorsing Armenia’s
demands that before joining the EU Turkey must acknowledge the crime
against Armenians.

Valensa argued that before the fall of the Soviet Union, when Turkey
was a key NATO ally in countering the USSR, western powers would not
go against Turkey, “but the end of cold war has changed the situation
drastically,” he said, reminding of 2 EU resolutions recognizing
the Armenian genocide and demanding that Turkey must recognize and
condemn it.

‘We shall not be able to withstand future challenges without proper
assessment of the past crimes,” he said.

TURKEY ATTACKS POLAND FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

Armenpress

ANKARA, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS: Turkish foreign ministry lashed out
at Poland for its parliament resolution earlier this week condemning
the slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman empire.

A statement by the Turkish foreign ministry said a one-sided assessment
of events during the World War I that caused great suffering both
to Turks and Armenians and to terming them as “genocide” is an
irresponsible move.

The statement recalls that Turkey has been asking national parliaments
to avoid passing resolutions instilling hatred and enmity among people.

The statement also recalled a proposal by prime minister Erdogan
suggesting creation of a joint commission of Turkish and Armenian
historians to handle the issue.

“Instead of advising the government of Armenia to take up the Turkish
proposal Poland’s parliament passed a resolution presenting distorted
perception of events of the World War I. This resolution will not add
to 800 long-year friendly relations between Turks and Poles,” it said.

KARABAGH LEADER SKEPTICAL ABOUT KOCHARIAN-ALIYEV MID-MAY MEETING

Armenpress

YEREVAN, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS: Nagorno Karabagh leader Arkady Ghukasian
was skeptical today about a forthcoming meeting of Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents in mid-May for another round of talks on the
Karabagh problem saying the more than a decade-long conflict could
not be resolved without Karabagh’s direct participation.

“Azerbaijan’s objection to Stepanakert’s involvement in the
negotiations is evidence of its reluctance to settle the conflict,’
Ghukasian told reporters in Yerevan.

Ghukasian described the official Baku’s talk about going back to the
1988 status quo as “absurd .” “The former Soviet Union fell apart,
giving rise to independent republics, including also Armenia and
Nagorno Karabagh, the situation has changed drastically. Azerbaijan
should open its eyes and come to terms with the current situation,’
Ghukasian speculated.

Saying he was in favor of the stage-by-stage conflict resolution
option, Ghukasian, nevertheless, argued that first Karabagh status
must be determined. He also shrugged off Azerbaijan’s attempts to
advance its positions on the line of contact saying they do not pose
any threat to Armenian forces.

He also denied allegations that Armenia has softened its stance on the
conflict. “We have always been saying that there is no alternatives
to a compromise solution, unlike Azerbaijan that flatly rejects any
such possibility,’ he said.

Karabagh leader also said that the upcoming parliamentary elections
in Nagorno Karabagh “will be the most exemplary elections.” “I am
confident that the most democratic national elections in the pos-Soviet
space are held in Nagorno Karabagh,” he said, adding that he will not
run for new presidency after his term in office is ended. “It is my
duty to remain in Nagorno Karabagh and work for it,” he concluded.

About 50 French towns to commemorate Armenian Genocide

A1plus
| 16:02:13 | 21-04-2005 | Politics |

Commemoration events will be held in about 50 towns of
France. Liturgies will be chanted, evenings of memory and memorial
attendances will be organized. Representatives of central and local
authorities are also expected to take part in the events.

On April 23 thousands of Parisians will process to the Triumphal Arch
to the monument to the Unknown Soldier. Armenian Ambassador to France
and Jacques Chirac’s representative will light an eternal fire; then
hymns of Armenia and France will sound. Political figures, deputies,
senators, outstanding persons and representatives of the Armenian
community will take part in the commemoration ceremony.

On April 24 Cardinal of Paris Andre Vingt-Trois will chant a liturgy
for the Armenian Genocide victims in Notre-Dame de Paris. A solemn
commemoration ceremony with the participation of officials and
thousands of French citizens will also be held at the monument to
Komitas erected in the center of Paris. After that the procession
will make for the Turkish Embassy.

New times to appeal to embassies

A1plus
| 15:41:01 | 21-04-2005 | Politics |

Tomorrow New Times party is organizing actions in 8 places
simultaneously. 1500 members of the Yerevan wing of the party are
to participate in the events.

During the period 1.30 p.m.-2.15 p.m. they will appeal to the Embassies
of Russia, Italy, China, Germany, Iran and UK with a call to recognize
the Armenian Genocide.

At the same time the party is developing the process of the National
Revolution. Today members of some opposition parties will gather in
Yerevan Hotel to discuss further actions. The meeting will be closed.

Independent, democratic and strong Armenian and NKR….

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:02

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The brutal murder by an Azeri serviceman of his
Armenian colleague in Budapest that shook the whole of the civilized
world, was just the result of the Baku criminal policy,” Nagorno
Karabakh Republic President Arkady Ghukasian stated when addressing
Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide
international conference. The statement of the NKR President notes,
“The response to this outrageous crime of the Azeri society, which
took the murderer as a national hero, demonstrated the grievous fruits
of the Armenian-hatred policy of the Baku authorities. That is why
until people directly responsible for organizing mass slaughter of
ethnic Armenians in their republic as well as in Nagorno Karabakh
hold power in Azerbaijan, it will be difficult to believe that a
mutually acceptable and civilized settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, subsequent peaceful coexistence and mutually favorable
cooperation of our peoples and states are possible. Where is the
way out? Which lesson we have learned from the tragic events taken
place 90 years ago and the relatively near past? How can we resist to
criminal intentions of our neighbors in the future and not admit the
repetition of the past? Unfortunately the contemporary practice of
international relations has not worked out efficient mechanisms for
preventing or at least operative suppression of mass annihilation
of people based on the national, racial or religious criteria. The
national liberation movement of the people of Artsakh has illustrated
that the most efficient way to counteract genocide threats is not
endlessly appealing to international institutions and expecting
their intervention, but the self-organization of the society, ready
to armed resistance to defend the right to live on the earth granted
to him by God. The highest form of self-organization of the Artsakh
people was the Karabakh statehood, which succeeded in fulfilling
the vital task of neutralization of external military threats to the
security of the Nagorno Karabakh people with the assistance of the
Armenians of the world. Independent, democratic and strong Armenia,
the independent, democratic and strong Nagorno Karabakh Republic –
these are the guarantors of the security of our nation.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DOUBLE STANDARDS TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY INADMISSIBLE

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 04:01

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Application of double standards, jugglery with
terms, substitution of problems, speculations with historical facts
in case of crimes against humanity is inadmissible,” President of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasian stated when addressing
Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide
international conference. The NKR President’s statement notes:
“The crimes against humanity should be denounced. The international
community should not have an alternative to such an attitude towards
genocide. Otherwise, the fact of perpetration of a genocide becomes
not subject of common aversion and condemnation, but merely one of the
numerous tools for states realizing their geopolitical, geoeconomic,
regional, domestic and other interests. As state interests have
diverse, often diametrically opposite goals, not only oblivion of the
fact of a genocide is favorable to a government in a certain historical
period, but also the indirect justification of its perpetration. This
is what Azeri leaders are guided by today, by “fair” settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict they mean full eviction of indigene
Armenians from Artsakh. Aiming at that they pursue a policy of
provoking world and regional powers, first of all Turkey to put not
only political and economic, but also military pressure on Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh. Simultaneously the Azeri propaganda machine
has launched an unprecedented campaign to forge the historical facts,
up to presenting Armenians to the international community as people,
who have allegedly committed a genocide against the Azerbaijanis.
Unfortunately such policy by the Baku authorities is not censured by
the international community. Meanwhile, the policy is pregnant with
the threat of forming permanent hatred towards the entire Armenian
people in today’s and future generations of the Azeri society. The
consequences of such a policy have destructive consequences for
confidence building between the parties of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, the Azeri and Armenian peoples, who are to be neighbors
for always as the God has willed.”

BLOCKADE OF ARMENIA BORDERS – CONSEQUENCE OF TURKEY IMPUNITY

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 03:50

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “How can the blockade of Turkey of the transport
communications leading to Armenia be explained if not by impunity of
the perpetration of the Armenian Genocide? However the circumstance
that the same state, which still ignores the urge of the civilized
world to immediately end the blockade of Armenia and establish
diplomatic relations with it, still claims mediator role in the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement is the most surprising, not feeling embarrassed
in supporting the position of solely the Azeri party,” Nagorno
Karabakh Republic President Arkady Ghukasian stated at the Ultimate
Crime, Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide international
conference. The NKR President statement notes: “Such a peculiar
understanding of the mediator mission by Turkey directly issues
from its attitude to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. And
is not it the same circumstance that makes the Azeri leaders give
Turkey a special role in the solution of the Karabakh problem? And
what if not a permanent genocide policy should the Azeri leadership
attitude to the Armenian population of the republic be considered
from the day of its founding? An obvious confirmation of it is the
history of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous District. Within
the years of existence of the NKAD the Baku authorities worked for a
prompt change of the demographic situation in the district in favor
of the Azeri population aiming at further abolition of the Armenian
autonomy. To fulfill this task the Azeri leaders used such mechanisms
as outrageous social, economic and cultural discrimination of the
Armenian population, falsification of the history of the Armenian
people, ban for any economic and cultural ties of Nagorno Karabakh
with Armenia, destroying of Armenian cultural monuments, churches,
forming an image of Armenians in the Azeri society as if they were
historical and irreconcilable enemies of the Azeri and all other
Turkic peoples. Azeri leaders pursued just the same policy towards
the once Armenian majority of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic,
which resulted in virtually no single Armenian remaining there in
the middle of the past century. I think that we should properly
present the grievous fate of the Armenians in Nakhichevan to the
international community as an obvious example of what would happen
in Nagorno Karabakh if it further remained part of Azerbaijan. All
the aforementioned mechanisms of discrimination policy by Baku
authorities formed favorable conditions for the future perpetration of
the next bloody genocide of the Armenians – this time in Azerbaijan,
whose political forces do not conceal they consider the “Armenian”
policy of the Ottoman and contemporary Turkey an exemplary one. Baku
authorities proved to be worthy students of their teachers. The
slaughter based on the ethnic criteria and the forced eviction of the
Armenian population from the places of their permanent residence in
Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, the regions of Shamkhor, Khanlar, Shemakhin
and others in Azerbaijan, the unprecedented siege of the NKR, daily
artillery bombardment of Stepanakert to annihilate its peaceful
population, the butchering of women, the old and children in Maraga
Armenian village, just as the continuing blockade of Nagorno Karabakh
and other glaring crimes of the Baku authorities against Armenians
fully fit the international definition of the genocide.”