Armenian premier discusses local election with members of communities
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
12 Aug 05
[Presenter] Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan received
representatives of the Council of communities today. The meeting
discussed issues on the active participation of the Council of
communities in the process of constitutional amendments and
forthcoming election of local government bodies.
The Armenian prime minister welcomed the initiative of the Council of
communities in these two important issues and expressed his readiness
to discuss all problems and concerns of the heads of
communities. Touching on the decision to accept Yerevan as a
community, the prime minister pointed out that the issues concerning
the capital, including the law on Yerevan, will be discussed at the
National Assembly, where the representatives of the Council of
communities will also take part.
Speaking about the election of the local government bodies, Markaryan
said that it can play a role as the base for the forthcoming
presidential and parliamentary elections. The prime minister assured
that he will be make every efforts to protect parties running in the
election and conduct it in line with the democratic standards.
[Markaryan] During the election, the party affiliation should not be
significant with regard to the heads of the communities. Every elected
head of the community has to work with authorities irrespective of
their party affiliation, and party affiliation should not be
prioritized during the election and impact this process. I will also
try that members of my party are elected, but not at all costs. This
should be only within the framework of law.
[Video showed the meeting]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri Islamic body rejects Karabakh’s plan to restore ancient mosque
Bakinskiy Rabochiy, Baku
12 Aug 05

The Baku-based Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus has described as
“provocation and hypocrisy” the decision by the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Nagornyy Karabakh to restore the ancient mosque in the
Karabakh town of Susa. In its statement, the Board called on Iran to
show “Islamic solidarity” and not to send experts for the mosque’s
restoration. The following is the text of report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Bakinskiy Rabochiy on 12 August headlined “Statement by the
Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus”
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
The Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus regards as another
provocation and hypocrisy and resolutely condemns the statement by the
Armenian Church’s Bishop Pargev Martirosyan [the head of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church] that they would
take care of the mosque in Azerbaijan’s ancient town of Susa [Shushi]
and take on commitment to repair it.
This is nothing but an attempt to conceal from the world community
atrocities and acts of vandalism committed by Armenian terrorists and
to pose as humanitarians.
Armenians, who no one in the world have ever trumped in building their
propaganda on lie and slander, this time once again decided to play on
their “devotion to religion”. Doing so, they have once again unmasked
themselves. We will never forget that people intending today “to take
care” of the Susa mosque are bandits who in the recent past were
pillaging our mosques and shrines, were desecrating our cemeteries and
bodies of Azerbaijanis they killed.
Our holy book [Koran] reads: “Who is more wicked than the men who seek
to destroy the mosques of God and forbid His name to be mentioned in
them, when it behoves these men to enter them with fear in their
hearts? They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly
punished in the hereafter.” (The Cow, 114)
Our mosques do not need to be cared by vandals as the mosques are
protected by the Most High. We believe that, God willing, we will come
back to native lands and the sound of azan [the call for prayers]
coming from the minaret of the Susa mosque will be heard in entire
Karabakh.
As for the Armenians’ intention to invite experts from Iran to restore
the Susa mosque, we are sure that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which
has repeatedly said that Nagornyy Karabakh is an integral part of
Azerbaijan, will not succumb to this provocation and will show Islamic
solidarity.
The Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus states that it always brings
the truth to the world community’s notice and will keep doing so.
Peace, God’s mercy and His blessing be upon you!

PROBLEM OF ANTI-HAIL UNITS’ INSTALLATION IN ARMENIA IN LACK OF FINANCES
YEREVAN, August 12. /ARKA/. The problem of anti-hail units’
installation in Armenia is in the lack of finances, Chief of the Plant
Growing Department of the RA Ministry of Agriculture Garnik Petrosyan
reported ARKA News Agency. He said that if they will not succeed in
attracting funds under the international program, they will have to
procure budget funds. He reported that if there is a positive
decision, the Argentinean anti-hail units approved in Aragatsotn
region will be installed in other regions as well. He also pointed out
that the priority will be the installation of these units in Armavir
region as considerable damages caused by the hail were registered in
Janfida, Pshatavan, Nalbandyan villages and some neighboring
communities over the last three years. He also said that a group of
scientists from the State Engineering University of Armenia headed by
Professor Mirzakhanyan in cooperation with Department of Emergency
Situations conduct researches to have their own anti-hail
proposals. “The work is of a large scale and the problem of funding
needs to be resolved”, Petrosyan said.
According to local specialists, the annual loss in agriculture in
Armenia because of the hail makes USD 30mln. The pilot anti-hail
program was implemented in Aragatsotn region in 2004, when 15
Argentinean emplacements were imported and experimentally
approved. The anti-hail unit costs USD 30,000 and the RA Government
provided AMD 180mln for approval of the anti-hail units. A.A. -0–

The Toronto Star
Aug. 12, 2005. 01:00 AM
Trying to understand genocide
CAROL GOAR
There could scarcely be a grimmer way to spend a summer vacation than to
study the worst atrocities of which humanity is capable.
Yet every August, top students from around the world come to the University
of Toronto for a two-week course called Genocide and Human Rights. Its aim
is to equip young scholars to do what no generation has yet achieved: turn
the words “Never Again” into a reality.
Since the world made that solemn vow in 1948, it has failed to prevent
ethnically motivated slaughters in Cambodia, Burundi, Bosnia, Iraq and
Rwanda. It is now watching impotently as thousands of Darfuris are murdered
in western Sudan.
This year’s class, which holds its final session today, is a fascinating
group. There are three Rwandans, two of whom lost parents in the genocide of
1994. There is a Tanzanian lawyer who has set up a voluntary organization to
train human rights monitors. There is an Iranian expatriate, struggling to
understand how people can turn on their neighbours. There are grandchildren
of Holocaust survivors and great-grandchildren of Armenians whose families
were almost wiped out in the massacre of 1915. And there are Canadian and
American students, searching for a way to reconcile what they’ve learned
with the butchery they see in the world.
What they share is a willingness to look squarely into the face of evil and
an impatience with stock answers.
Let me take you into their classroom earlier this week.
Maj. Brent Beardsley, who served as personal staff officer to Maj.-Gen.
Roméo Dallaire in Rwanda, has just delivered a harrowing account of the
near-extermination of the nation’s Tutsi minority. Eric Markusen, an
American sociologist who served on a human rights panel interviewing Darfuri
refugees, is comparing the two African tragedies.
But the students are restless, troubled, tired of listening.
Markusen points out that the West has paid more attention, devoted more
resources and learned more about the atrocities occurring in Darfur than in
any previous genocide. “The U.S. and U.N. have gone in and done
investigations during the time of killing,” he says.
A hand shoots up. “What good is an investigation if there’s no action?” asks
Simon Maghakyan of Colorado.
Markusen politely acknowledges the importance of the query and presses on,
talking about the role Rwanda played in alerting the world to the crisis now
unfolding in Sudan.
But he is interrupted again. Lisa Ndejura, a Montrealer born in Rwanda,
wants practical guidance. “When we talk among the youth, we feel terrible
that we’re not doing more,” she said. “I want to know how we can do things
at the community level.”
Markusen’s presentation soon turns into a free-for-all, with students asking
tough, unanswerable questions: Is a black life worth less than a white life
in the eyes of the international community? Is it worse to ignore a genocide
or to study it and not stop it? Is the use of deadly force justified in
protecting innocent people?
No one minces words. The debate is stimulating, unflinching and ultimately
inconclusive.
The lack of tidy solutions does not bother Greg Sarkissian, president of the
International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, which
launched the program in 2002.
“It is designed primarily to raise awareness of the most gross violations of
human rights,” he says. “People thought there would never be another
Holocaust, but the same thing keeps happening and the world is barely aware
of it. More than 69 million people have been killed in various genocides.
“It shouldn’t just be the responsibility of the victims and their
descendants to stop these heinous crimes,” says Sarkissian, who lost many
relatives in the Armenian genocide. “We want to produce a generation of
scholars that will understand the warning signals of genocide, talk about
the issue and convince governments that it is in our national interest to
intervene before genocides take place.”
The students live together in a U of T dormitory. They form friendships
across racial and geopolitical lines, talk about traumas most outsiders
could barely imagine. “One of our goals is to turn that emotional energy
into an intellectual force,” Sarkissian says.
Although Ndejura finds it draining to talk about death from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m., she is glad she came. “These are questions that have haunted me for a
long time,” the Rwandan immigrant says. “It’s a relief to talk about them.”
As the segment on Rwanda and Darfur ends, Roger Smith, director of the
program, leaves the students with one last thought: “A genocide is not an
accident. It is a choice. It occurs because human beings make it happen and
let it happen.”
(Further information is available at )
Carol Goar’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
;c=Article&cid=1123797013924&call_pageid – 0599109774&col=Columnist969907622164&DPL=I vsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
August 11, 2005
CROSSROADS August 11, 2005
STEERING COMMITTEE CONTINUES ITS
PLANNING FOR VISIT OF ARAM I AND
THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEMINARY
The summer months, especially August, are traditionally at a slower
pace. Not so for the members of the Steering Committee charged with planning
the upcoming visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia. This past Tuesday, August 9, the committee met under the presidency
of the Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan, and the chairmanship of Dr. George
Dermksian. Each member has been entrusted with specific duties.
His Holiness will arrive in New York on Wednesday, October 19 and
participate in various activities in commemoration of the 75th anniversary
of the Cilician Seminary at Antelias, which is the main focus of the
Catholicos’s visit.
During his visit to the Eastern Prelacy, His Holiness will visit New
York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Boston, and Chicago. He will also attend
and participate in two symposiums. The first symposium in New York,
sponsored by the Prelacy and the World Council of Churches, will take place
Saturday, October 22 and will focus on ecumenical challenges. The second,
sponsored jointly by the Prelacy and Harvard University, will take place at
Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 29 and 30 and will be devoted to
the 1600th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian alphabet.
The reestablishment of the Seminary in Antelias is in itself a
fascinating story. The See of Cilicia, which had served the Armenian people
from the 12th to the early part of the 20th century in Cilicia, was forced
to leave its ancient Seat in Sis, the capital city of the Armenian Kingdom
of Cilicia, following the forced emigration of the Armenians in Cilicia
during the years 1920 and 1921. Many of the Armenians leaving Cilicia
relocated in Syria and Lebanon and the Catholicate followed its people.
After nine years of wandering in Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus, the Holy See
was reestablished in Antelias, Lebanon, in 1930. The site had previously
been an orphanage where thousands of Armenian orphans were cared for by the
Near East Relief from 1920 to 1928. Thus, the former orphanage became an
ecclesiastical and educational center. The Armenian people, having lost
hundreds of priests as victims of the genocide, and having now been
dispersed all over the world, desperately needed leaders in their religious,
national and cultural life.
The fruit of the Cilician Seminary in Antelias has made a worldwide
impact through the services rendered by its graduates to the church and
nation. Its 75th anniversary is an occasion to celebrate its many successes
and assure its future growth and continued service.
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL BE IN NEW JERSEY THIS SUNDAY
This Sunday, August 14, Archbishop Oshagan will be at Sts. Vartanantz
Church in Ridgefield, New Jersey, where he will preside over the Divine
Liturgy, deliver the sermon, and officiate over the Blessing of Grapes
ceremony.
NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CATHOLICOSATE
The Holy See of Cilicia recently announced the publications of new
books.
In its continuous attempts to present the Armenian literary heritage, the
Catholicosate recently published the fourth and fifth volumes of ancient
Armenian literature, Madenakirk Hayots. The series was established two years
ago through the initiative of His Holiness Aram I, and through the support
of the Armenian Affairs Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of
Lisbon.
The latest volumes include the works of Armenian writers of the 7th
century. The fourth volume included the works of writers from Abraham
Aghpatanetsi to Anania Shiragatsi; the fifth volume includes works of
writers from Ananoun to Sahag Tsoroporetsi. Each work is preceded by
explanatory notes on the work and biographical information about the author.
Another new publication, History of Religion, is the work of Puzant
Yeghiayan who was a long-time professor and dean at the Seminary in
Antelias. The work of the late beloved educator was edited by V. Rev. Fr.
Krikor Chiftjian. In his Introduction he acknowledges a debt of gratitude to
one of his students, Meguerditch Ourfalian (the late Archbishop Dajad) who
had taken detailed notes of all his lectures, thus providing the nucleus for
this work. The 665-page book presents the evolution of religion in detail.
Yet another new publication is The Sources of Mesrobian Characters by
Dr. Armenag Yeghiayan. This volume has been published on the occasion of the
1600th anniversary of the invention of the Armenian alphabet.
For information on these as well as other books contact the Prelacy
Bookstore, [email protected] or 212-689-7810. You can also visit the
Prelacy web site for a list of publications:
MEETING OF INTELLECTUALS IN ANTELIAS
A gathering of intellectuals began today, August 11 and will continue to
August 13, in Antelias, Lebanon. The meeting was organized under the
initiative and patronage of His Holiness Aram I. Intellectuals from Armenia
and the Diaspora are participating and will discuss contemporary
educational, cultural, economic, political and other issues within the
context of Armenia-Diaspora cooperation.
His Holiness delivered the opening remarks of the three-day meeting. A
summary of each session will be distributed to the press.
19TH ANNUAL ST. GREGORY OF DATEV INSTITUTE
The 19th annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute Summer Program concluded
very successfully with the participation of 75 students from fourteen
parishes. The Institute is sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education
Council (AREC) and has become a recognized premiere youth program. To read
the full press release and view photographs from this year’s summer program
go to:
ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
AND THE BLESSING OF THE GRAPES
This Sunday, April 14, the Armenian Church celebrates the Assumption of
the Virgin Mary (Verapokhoumn Sourb Astvadzatzni) and the Blessing of the
Grapes.
According to tradition, Mary, mother of Christ, died and was buried by
the apostles. The apostle Bartholomew, who was not present at her funeral,
on hearing the news, wished to visit the grave, but when the gravestone was
lifted they were surprised to find that the body had disappeared. It was
believed that Christ had come and taken His mother to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Based on this event the Church Fathers established the Feast of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is one of the five tabernacle
feast days in the Armenian Church. It is celebrated on the Sunday closest to
August 15. Traditionally it includes a week of fasting and a memorial day
the following day (Monday).
After the Divine Liturgy celebrating the Assumption, the Blessing of the
Grapes takes place. There is no relationship between the Feast of the Virgin
Mary and the Blessing of Grapes. Similar to other feast days, the Feast of
the Virgin Mary coincides with a pagan era festivity, which has been
incorporated into the church calendar.
First the hymn Park Sourp Khatcheet is sung, passages are read from the
Bible, followed by a prayer composed by Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali
specifically for this occasion. After the prayer, the grapes are blessed
three times with Orhnestsee Bahbanestsee and then distributed to the
faithful.
The Blessing of the Grapes ceremony is dedicated to the fruitfulness of
the earth. Grapes are one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, and
according to biblical history, Noah planted a vineyard after disembarking
from the Ark. (Genesis, Chapter 9). And, of course, the wine of the Divine
Liturgy is derived from grapes.
“Bless, O Lord, the grape plants and vineyards from which these grapes are
taken and presented to the holy church, and make them bountiful and
fruitful; let them be like good and fertile land, protect the vineyards from
all kinds of misfortunes and destruction which come from above because of
our sins, from hail, from cold, from hot winds, and from destructive
insects, so that we may enjoy that which You have created in this world for
our enjoyment and for Your glory, and grant that we may be worthy to eat and
drink with You from the bounty of Your most fruitful vine at the table of
Your Father’s Kingdom, according to the just promise which You made, to the
honor and glory of Your coexisting Trinity, the Father, the Son and the most
Holy Spirit to whom is due glory, power and honor, now and forever. Amen.
>From prayer for the Blessing of the Grapes, written by Catholicos Nerses
Shnorhali
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COOPERATION AGREEMENT SIGNED IN YEREVAN BETWEEN SIL INSURANCE
(ARMENIA), EURASIA (KAZAKHSTAN) COMPANIES
YEREVAN, August 12. /ARKA/. Agreement on cooperation between Sil
Insurance, Armenian insurance company, and Kazakh Eurasia Insurance
Company was signed Friday in Yerevan. Sil Insurance’s Acting Executive
Director Hayk Baghramyan said at the signing ceremony that the
agreement aimed at further cooperation between the insurance companies
either in Armenia or in Kazakhstan. In his words, the cooperation will
help develop Armenian insurance market especially in medical and
financial risks insurance areas. The agreement’s goal is to develop
cooperation between the two companies in reinsurance activity area as
well as in specialists training and advanced technologies areas.
According to Baghramyan, Sil Insurance intends to use rich experience
of Eurasia Kazakh Company and adjust it to Armenian conditions.
Eurasia, the biggest Kazakhstan’s insurance company, was established
in 1995. The company’s own capital totals over $60mln. The Eurasia
cooperates with Belgian, British, Russian, Italian and Georgian
companies and has licenses for performing compulsory and voluntary
insurance and reinsurance activity. Sil Insurance, Armenian company,
was founded in 2000. Its authorized capital makes some AMD
231.5mln. The company offers services on insuring cars, property,
cargos, construction works and responsibility. ($1 – AMD
454.85). M.V. –0–

AZERBAIJAN: YOUTH ACTIVIST ARREST FUELS CAMPAIGN TENSIONS
Eurasianet
Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov 8/12/05

The arrest of Ruslan Bashirli, head of the Yeni Fikir youth
organization, is stoking antagonism between pro-government supporters
and opposition members in Azerbaijan. Political analysts believe the
controversy could damage the chance of a free and fair parliamentary
election in Azerbaijan this November.
The young activist was arrested on August 3 and charged with plotting
a coup attempt with financial backing from Armenian special
services. The Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s office provided
television channels with a video that depicts Bashirli signing a
receipt for $2,000 and drinking cognac with two men identified as
Armenian agents. The film was allegedly made in Tbilisi, when Bashirli
traveled to the Georgian capital July 28-29 to attend a conference
organized by the Georgian non-governmental organization Democracy
Without Borders.
According to a statement issued by the Prosecutor-General’s office,
one of the supposed Armenian special services representatives who met
with Bashirli, Giorgi Ispryan, suggested that live gunfire be used
during an opposition rally in order to undermine stability in
Azerbaijan. The prosecution also alleged that Bashirli received
support from the National Democratic Institute, an American
non-governmental organization that trains political parties and civil
society groups. The prosecution charges that Bashirli stated that he
received “specific instructions” from NDI to stage a “revolution” ` a
charge that has been made previously against the American group by
pro-government parliamentarians. The tape has been repeatedly aired by
pro-government TV channels and even shown on public video displays.
Bashirli has been charged under clause 278 of the Azerbaijani Criminal
Code, which concerns attempts to forcibly seize power and overthrow
the constitutional order. If convicted, Bashirli could face up to life
in prison. Contrary to usual practice, the Ministry of National
Security, which ordinarily handles all espionage cases, has made no
comments or statements on the case.
Bashirli’s defense attorney, Elchin Gambarov, who gained access to his
client one day after the arrest, argues that the case is political
Gambarov claims that the individuals in Tbilisi who paid Bashirli
$2,000 were representatives of Democracy Without Borders, a Georgian
non-governmental organization which was providing technical support to
Yeni Fikir. Rather than Armenians, Gambarov has identified the two
individuals who paid Bashirli as ethnic Georgian “representatives of
democratic forces” — Giorgi Burjanadze and Merab Jibutiya. Gambarov
reported Bashirli as saying that he had intended to use part of the
$2,000 to pay for his upcoming wedding.
Gambarov has argued that if Bashirli is convicted he would rank as a
political prisoner. “It is a provocation, very primitively organized,”
Gambarov said at a news conference on August 8. Gambarov claimed that
authorities attempted to coax Bashirli into testifying against Ali
Kerimli, the leader of the opposition Popular Front Party of
Azerbaijan, a group with which Yeni Fikir has a loose association.
The prosecutor general’s statement was based upon testimony by Osman
Alimuradov, a former bodyguard for Caucasus Muslim Board Chairman
Allahshukur Pashazade. Alimuradov had recently joined Yeni Fikir and
accompanied Bashirli to the Tbilisi meeting. The prosecution alleges
that Alimuradov himself volunteered the information to state law
enforcement officials that the Armenians had offered to pay both
Bashirli and him for staging the coup, but that he had refused the
money. Alimuradov claims, according to the prosecution, that he failed
to persuade Bashirli to do likewise.
Members of the opposition have condemned the arrest and subsequent
street violence as an attempt by the government to discredit the
opposition and youth movements, while moving away from the democratic
reforms advocated by Western countries and international
organizations. The Yeni Fikir movement, which has about 2,000 members,
is supported by the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), a
prominent opposition party, although no formal connection exists
between the two. On August 4, the party issued a statement demanding
Bashirli’s release. Pro-government parties have since demanded that
the PFPA be closed down.
The National Democratic Institute has categorically denied involvement
in the alleged plot. “The US National Democratic Institute does not
finance anybody, or any political party running for elections,” Turan
news agency reported NDI Regional Director for Eurasia Programs Nelson
Ledsky as saying. “We do not do it. It’s against US law and it’s
against the policies and practices of the National Democratic
Institute.” Ledsky termed the PFPA “an authoritative and legitimate
organization,” but would not comment on calls for the party’s closure.
The Armenian special services have also denied involvement. National
Security Service Chairman Harik Hakopyan dismissed the allegations as
“ridiculous,” Radio Liberty reported, and compared the case with the
accusations brought against alleged “spies” during the late 1930s
under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
In the days since Bashirli’s arrest, PFPA headquarters have become the
target for regular attacks by pro-government protestors throwing
stones, eggs, and tomatoes. City police, usually quick to crack down
on unauthorized street actions, have not acted vigorously to stop the
protests. On August 8, police forces could be seen pinning PFPA
members up against the building, while protestors attempted to enter
it.
Asked whether the protest had been authorized by police, Kamal
Velishev, deputy chief of the Sabayil district police department
supervising police forces at the rally, told EurasiaNet that the
street action did not qualify as a “picket” and, therefore, did not
require official approval before it could be held. In a statement to
Turan news agency, the Interior Ministry characterized the
demonstrations as “popular protests” that do not require police
intervention, adding that the police “just control the situation.”
Eight people were injured during the August 8 protest.
PFPA members have denounced the protests as an attempt to fuel
discord. PFPA leader Ali Kerimli charged that the government was
behind the attacks. “We have information from inside the government
about a special plan of provocation aimed at capturing the PFPA
headquarters,” said Kerimli, who has urged party members to stay
inside the building and not respond.
The PFPA claimed that at an August 10 meeting, Minister of Youth,
Sports and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev urged athletes to actively
participate in the demonstrations against PFPA. The ministry has
denied the charge, but a PFPA press release went on to claim that its
office in Lankaran had been attacked on August 10 by a group of
athletes under the direction of Azad Kazimov, head of the ministry’s
Lankaran branch. The party also claimed that members of its branch in
the exclave of Nakhichivan were severely beaten by police and
unidentified assailants on August 9.
Pro-government television channels and newspapers financed by the
government have broadcast and published a steady stream of stories
attacking opposition political forces, echoing the charges voiced
during anti-PFPA street protests. In response, pro-opposition papers
have published letters from the intelligentsia that condemn the
anti-PFPA campaign as reminiscent of the Stalin era.
Reactions from the international community have been harsh, but, as
yet, to little apparent effect. “We expect that the government of
Azerbaijan will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the
recent allegations raised by the General Prosecutor against the head
of the Yeni Fikir organization. Serious allegations should be
addressed in the courts, and not in the media,” a statement released
by the US embassy on August 10 reads. The statement goes on to urge
the government to “pursue fair, transparent elections in November” and
to permit “all political parties to pursue their elections campaigns
without harassment or unsubstantiated allegations.”
The scandal surrounding Yeni Fikir and the PFPA has already caused a
halt in talks between the opposition and pro-government parties,
sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). Pro-government parties have refused to continue any contacts
with the opposition Azadlig alliance, which includes the PFPA, on the
grounds that they are financed by the Armenian special services.
The OSCE, in response, has expressed strong concerns about the
situation developing in Azerbaijan. “We strongly condemn these acts of
violence. It is unacceptable that groups of private citizens decided
to take justice into their own hands,” Ambassador Maurizio Pavesi,
head of the OSCE Baku mission, said on August 10 in reference to the
attacks on PFPA headquarters. “I hope the government will take all
necessary measures to prevent damages to private properties, and
violent and unauthorized public meetings, which would result in an
unjustifiable deterioration of the electoral campaign.”
One political analyst, however, believes that the campaign over
Bashirli’s case will fail to sway public opinion against the PFPA or
other opposition parties. “The scandal is rather aimed to curb the
wave of [opposition] rallies,” said Rasim Musabekov, an independent
political analyst who is running as a non-party candidate for
parliament. “This will allow the government to ban opposition rallies
which are attracting youth to the Orange movement in Azerbaijan.”
Zardusht Alizade, a columnist for several local newspapers and
independent political analyst, also maintains that the campaign
against the Popular Front will not discredit the party. “The
authorities have discredited themselves enough and people will not
believe in an allegation that someone could arrange a coup for
$2,000,” said Alizade.
Existing tensions show little sign of subsiding soon. Opposition
activists have promised to start similar protests in front of the
ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party’s headquarters and government agencies if
the attacks against PFPA continue. “This is only the beginning of the
[election] campaign,” commented one shop owner, who was forced to
close his store, located near PFPA headquarters, during the recent
street violence. “What can we expect further?”
Editor’s Note: Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov are freelance
journalists based in Baku.

Armenian minister, Swedish official discuss developing cooperation
Arminfo
12 Aug 05
Yerevan, 12 August: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today
met members of a delegation led by Swedish State Secretary Lars
Danielsson Gunnar. The delegation arrived in Yerevan within the
framework of a regional tour.
The press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Arminfo that
during the meeting, the sides noted the need for the further
development of Armenian-Swedish relations and the importance of
exchanging visits in this context. The Armenian foreign minister noted
the importance of Swedish assistance in the issue of securing
Armenia’s further involvement in the EU’s New Neighbourhood Policy. He
highlighted the success of technical programmes implemented in Armenia
since 1995 with the sponsorship of the Swiss International Development
Agency (SIDA) [name as published].
Talking about the process of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,
Lars Gunnar pointed out that his country wants to see the region
without conflicts as soon as possible. He also stressed his country’s
readiness to render political and economic assistance to the parties
with the aim of reaching an agreement on the settlement of the
conflict.
At the guest’s request, the Armenian foreign minister presented
programmes of cooperation between Armenia and the EU and NATO, as well
as issues related to Armenian-Turkish relations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HANDS ARE NOT FOR BEATING
By Onnik Krikorian /UNICEF Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia – Mane Tonoyan might seem a little too young to concern
herself with the problem of violence against children in Armenia but
this 16-year old is somehow “different.” A member of the Manana
Youth-Cultural non-governmental organization, she has already made a
one-minute-film on the subject and at the beginning of July, was one of
25 child participants at the regional consultation for the UN Study on
Violence Against Children in Europe and Central Asia.
The consultation held from 5-7 July 2005 was hosted in Ljubljana, the
Slovenian capital, and organized by UNICEF as well as other UN agencies.
It was one of nine such consultations that will eventually contribute to
a major study of the problem by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan next
year. Accompanying Mane was Naira Avetisyan, UNICEF’s Child Protection
Officer in Armenia, and three representatives of various government
agencies.
“We were asked to find someone familiar with child rights and
experienced with making films and writing articles,” says Avetisyan.
“That is why we chose Mane. Taking into account that Manana is
experienced in producing materials to distribute among peers we thought
it best to select a child from this organization. We will also be
holding a round table in Armenia at the end of July.”
Certainly, Mane seems to have benefited greatly from the consultation.
“Before going to Ljubljana, I was concerned about violence against
children although I wasn’t as well informed as I am now,” she says. “In
particular, I learned more about the consequences that violence can have
on children. For example, even a slap on the face can emotionally damage
a child. Before the consultation, I don’t think that I would have ever
considered it as violence.”
According to Mane, almost all children in Armenia are subjected to
violence in some shape or form. In particular, she says, it is
particular evident in schools and institutions – something that others
attending the consultation also concluded. Unfortunately, she says, when
violence becomes “acceptable” in the classroom it can then also manifest
itself in the form of bullying.
“In Armenia, there is very little awareness of this problem,” explains
Mane. `But violence exists – in the family, in schools and particularly
in institutions. Beating is considered an acceptable way of disciplining
children. However, it’s terrible if a teacher hits a child in front of
others. It’s humiliating and can have a serious impact on their self-esteem.
I want to raise awareness of this problem among other children but also
parents and teachers. First of all, however, it is necessary to raise
awareness among the public at large.”
“Of course,” concludes Mane, “parents have the right to discipline their
children when it is necessary and it is important that nobody attempts
to challenge their authority. However, I would like to remind parents
that they were children once and their actions now might have an impact
on how future generations are also raised. Violence is not the way to
bring up children.”
For more information:
Emil Sahakyan, Communication Officer, Armenia
Tel: (374 10) 523-546, 566-497
E-Mail: [email protected]
—

EDUCATING MINORITY CHILDREN
By Onnik Krikorian /UNICEF Armenia
FIOLETOVO, Lori Region – It’s not often that you encounter a village
that makes you feel like an `outsider’ in Armenia but this is one of the
few that do, and in every sense of the word. It’s not that the residents
of this ethnically homogenous village made up of Russian Molokans don’t
like visitors. It’s simply that their presence is not considered
essential for Fioletovo to survive and prosper.
The Molokans are Russians that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in
the 17th Century. Fioletovo, a village inhabited by less than 1,500
people, is the largest community outside of Yerevan. Their total
population in Armenia stands at just 5,000 although 14 years earlier,
when independence was declared, there were approximately 12,000 Molokans
living in the republic. Since then, most have left.
To call the community “closed” isn’t something of an overstatement. In
fact, it’s not too far from the truth. Apart from venturing out of
Fioletovo and nearby Lermontovo to sell their famous sauerkraut at
market, the village instead resembles a traditional Russian enclave cut
off from the rest of Armenia. You might even be forgiven for thinking
you had entered a settlement somewhere deep in the heart of Russia.
Many consider the Molokans as something akin to the Amish in the United
States.
True, the Molokans use motorized vehicles but otherwise, alcohol is
forbidden as is marriage outside the community. And, for the more strict
adherents to the faith, so is television. Streets are impeccably clean
with every other house sporting a fresh coat of paint. The men wear long
beards that haven’t been cut in years while most of the women cover
their heads.
Their fiercely blonde and blue-eyed children are unable to communicate
in any language other than Russian.
And herein lies the problem. As idyllic and refreshing as the scene
might be, the situation in terms of education is just the opposite. In
fact, according to a recent survey of education in national minority
communities by the Hazarashen Armenian Centre of Ethnological Studies,
“Molokans continue retaining [their] virtues over education and thus,
the inertia of perceiving education as secondary continues.”
The report, conducted for The Ministry of Education and the National
Statistics Service of the Republic of Armenia was made possible through
the financial and technical support of UNICEF. It follows a generic
survey on education in Armenia held during 2001. Then, UNICEF discovered
that school drop out rates for national minority communities, in
addition to those made up of refugees, were twice the national average.
As a result, one of the recommendations from that 2001 report was to
conduct a new assessment but specifically focusing on national minority
communities. Although Armenia is considered a largely mono-ethnic
country, 2.2 percent of the population comprises ethnic groups such as
Yezidis, Assyrians, Russians and Jews. The report chose to focus on the
three largest in the republic – the Yezidis and Kurds, the Assyrians,
and the Russian Molokans.
“We discovered that there were no problems whatsoever in the Assyrian
community,” says Marine Soukhudyan, UNICEF’s Education Project Officer.
“Historically, as well as culturally, the Assyrian community values
education highly and does everything it can to ensure that their
children receive a normal education. Of course, there is still a problem
with the availability of textbooks and this is a serious issue for every
minority community in Armenia.”
Like the Molokans, the Assyrians receive much of their own education in
Russian but the textbooks that exist are mainly leftover from the soviet
era and do not comply with the requirements of the new curriculum. There
is also an insufficient quantity of teaching materials in minority
languages but Soukhudyan says that the National Institute of Education
in Armenia is currently contacting intellectuals within each community
to address this problem.
However, she says that there are more serious concerns. “For example,
during the last 15 years, only a handful of children from minority
communities entered higher education,” she explains. “We also discovered
that in Yezidi communities, children attend school for two to five
months on average per year. At first, we thought this was connected to
poverty but later, we discovered that this reflected an attitude within
the community towards education.”
“With the exception of the Assyrians, the Molokan and Yezidi communities
prioritize labor,” continues Soukhudyan. “There is also a great
difference between attitudes towards education for girls compared to
boys. In many communities, grade 8 is considered the end of the
education cycle. This is mandatory under Armenian law but the real
picture is hidden away by many other factors.”
Children from national minority communities are instead expected to tend
the fields and shepherd livestock rather than attend school. The
UNICEF-funded report also noted that some Molokan families have even
been known to pull their children out of school as early as the second
or third grade.
“Parents think that 3 years of education is enough for a child to know
how to sell milk, cabbage and count 10 eggs which means that the child
will be able to earn money,” says the report, summarizing the attitude
of Molokans in Lermontovo towards education. “Having a full stomach is
better than having an education.”
Education in minority communities is therefore seasonal and governed by
the agricultural calendar. At the same time, because teachers in rural
communities are also engaged in farming, they have no interest in
recording low attendance figures because they too are absent. Soukhudyan
calls it a `mutually beneficial situation for both teachers and the
families of schoolchildren.”
Indeed, when the survey team for the report visited Lermontovo in August
during harvest time, there was not a single child in the village. Even
pre-school children had been sent to help their parents in the fields.
Every year, they work there until mid October and sometimes, the
beginning of November.
Even so, school work is still marked as “satisfactory” although children
have learned little or next to nothing. In some cases, especially in
Yezidi communities, pupils and teachers cannot even communicate with
each other. In these communities, while the teachers are Armenian, each
new intake of children from Yezidi families can hardly understand
anything other than their mother tongue.
“Textbooks are also in Armenian but it takes two or three years before
Yezidi children can understand the language,” says Soukhudyan. “Until
then, the child’s development is frustrated and, actually, prevented.
There are some Yezidi teachers, of course, but as they generally come
from other villages, there is also the problem of transportation,
especially during the winter months.”
Instead, Armenian teachers sometimes use body language instead of words
to “explain and impart knowledge to students.”
And while adverse socio-economic conditions faced by rural settlements,
as well as the poor upkeep of village schools, are detrimental to
education, the main problem is cultural. This is especially true for
females. “There are those who even consider education dangerous for a
girl,” says the report. “They reason that an educated woman may have
ideas and not be as obedient to men.”
However, despite these obstacles, there are children in minority
communities that would like to enter higher education. In the Yezidi
village of Zovuni, for example, one girl cries as she tells of her
inability to study French when she finishes school. Another Yezidi girl
says that if given the opportunity, she would like to study, and later
teach, Armenian language and literature.
Key to effectively addressing this issue, however, will be to launch a
public awareness campaign highlighting the importance of education among
national minority communities. The Governor of the Aragatsotn region in
Armenia has already committed himself to supporting UNICEF in this
endeavor. In particular, there will be a specific focus on teaching
Yezidi and Molokan children the Armenian language from an early age,
especially in pre-schools.
UNICEF will also supply 100 schools in 5 regions of Armenia with “school
in a box” kits that contain essential supplies to meet the needs of
8,000 schoolchildren. The kits will also be supplied to vulnerable
Armenian communities, especially those situated in depressed border regions.
“It is my dream to become a doctor,” says one girl in Lermontovo,” but
how can a Molokan enter university? We can’t receive a higher education
because we don’t know Armenian. Nobody here does.”
For more information:
Emil Sahakyan, Communication Officer,UNICEF Armenia
Tel: (374 1) 523-546,
E-Mail: [email protected]
—