ARMENIA IN TOBOLSK EXHIBIT MARKS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 90TH AND ARMENIAN
WRITTEN LANGUAGE CREATION 1600TH ANNIVERSARY

PanArmenian News
March 22 2005

22.03.2005 04:26

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia in Tobolsk exhibit, which marked the 90-th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and 1600-th anniversary of
creation of the Armenian written language, has opened in Tobolsk,
Russia. The exhibition, supported by Tobolsk reserve-museum, is
organized by Chairman of Tobolsk Youth Parliament Hakob Asloyan.
Books, Armenian souvenirs, national instruments and other materials
of the history and culture of the Armenian people are presented at
the exhibition. As City Mayor Yevgeny Vorobyov noted at the official
opening, it is important that living in far Siberia Armenians do not
forget their history and culture. Tobolsk reserve-museum Director
Yevgeny Akulich emphasized that the expo is significant to the museum
first of all for Armenians being first of the former USSR peoples to
acquaint Tobolsk residents with their culture. Yevgeny Akulich has
lived and worked in the Armenian city of Leninakan (now Gyumri) for
three years after the earthquake of 1988. He knows well this sunny
country. In Hakob Asloyan’s words, the absence of a juridical
registration of the Armenian community in Tobolsk does not hamper
Armenians organizing events and participating in the social life of
the city.

BUNDESTAG PARTY GROUPS UNANIMOUS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL, ITS SPONSOR CONSIDERS

PanArmenian News
March 22 2005

22.03.2005 04:49

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Party groups of the German Federal Parliament
have shown unusual unanimity and solidarity regarding a bill titled
Commemoration Day of Armenians on the 90th anniversary of the
slaughter April 24, 1915 – Germany should promote rapprochement of
Turks and Armenians. It was stated by German MP, President of the
German-Caucasian parliamentary group in Bundestag Christoph Bergner,
who had sponsored the bill, Arminfo news agency reported. In his words,
thus the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Socialist Union intend
to enlist the support of representatives of Bundestag other political
factions in the course of the debate over the bill in April. “We
are convinced that we will have common initiatives with one or even
several political parties,” Bergner noted, adding that, as exceeding
the initially marked progress was not planned, the issue of further
lobbying of the initiative was not discussed. The respective resolution
can be adopted before the Parliament recess in June. Speaking of the
possible interrelation between the CDU/CSU attitude to the prospects
of Turkish full membership in the European Union and the Armenian
Genocide issue being urgent in Germany, the bill sponsor noted that
the faction has come against Turkey’s accession to the EU and for
granting Privileged Partnership status to it, which is a bit less than
EU membership. “We suppose that the problem raised on our initiative
does not refer to the issue whether Turkey will become an EU member
or it will get a privileged partner status,” Bergner stated.

Christian acrimony threatening Easter
By Inigo Gilmore

LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH
March 22 2005

JERUSALEM — Worshippers at Jerusalem’s churches are braced for a
violent Easter as relations between warring Christian clergy
deteriorate to their most acrimonious level in decades.
Government officials called meetings with representatives from
the churches and police last week after religious leaders warned of
possible violence among priests during services.
With thousands of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem ahead of Holy
Week celebrations, church officials have been told that Israel’s
security forces will not tolerate any trouble. Security will be
stepped up at churches in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the
clashes that have marred the past two years.

Fighting has broken out on several occasions at the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher in the Old City, which contains three Stations of the
Cross and has long been fought over by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian
and Catholic churches.
Emotions are still running high after an incident last September,
in which priests and police officers were injured when a fight broke
out during a Greek Orthodox procession.
The remarkable scenes took place just a few feet from the holiest
shrine in Christendom, where believers say Jesus rose from the dead.
The procession was led by the Greek patriarch, Irineos I, elected
four years ago and blamed by senior clergy from other churches for
fomenting unrest. The fight was captured on video by a Palestinian
photographer and a copy of the film, which never has been made
public, has been obtained by the Sunday Telegraph.
Patriarch Irineos can be seen telling his monks to close the door
of the Franciscan chapel by force. In the ensuing commotion, a
Franciscan priest, Father Athanasius, who represents the Catholic
Church’s interests at the Holy Sepulcher, is dragged off by several
monks, who appear to punch and kick him.
More than 30 police officers carrying automatic weapons are
called in and, after a 20-minute standoff, the patriarch’s two armed
bodyguards join a large scrum of monks who charge a police cordon
around the chapel in an attempt to reach the door.
As the patriarch looks on, holding the relic of the True Cross on
his head, bearded monks can be seen landing blows on the police
officers.
The rights of the various churches to custody of the city’s
Christian holy places were defined in the 19th century, under Ottoman
rule.
The Catholics and Armenians blame the recent unrest on attempts
by the Greek Orthodox Church, the richest Christian institution in
Jerusalem, to extend its territory.
One senior Catholic clergyman in Jerusalem described Patriarch
Irineos as a “lightning rod for trouble.” He said: “We had good
relations with the Greeks before now, but since he was elected, it
has gone from bad to worse. This is a serious crisis for all of the
churches here in the Holy Land, because we increasingly look like a
laughingstock.”
Easter promises to be a catalyst for trouble. The patriarch’s
representatives recently proposed changing the route of a traditional
Easter procession, demanding to be allowed to pass through the
Franciscan chapel. Catholic representatives rejected the proposal,
but the Greeks have not given up.
“The violence in the church was unfortunate, and we regret that
this happened, but in this case, and others, we have just been
asserting our rights in the holy places,” one Greek official said.
“The patriarch has made it clear that he does not feel he is
responsible for the violence.”
Extraordinary accusations of illicit land deals and sexual
misconduct in the Orthodox priesthood have been aired in religious
circles, leading one senior Greek cleric to warn of a potential split
within the church.
“They behave like a criminal Mafioso gang, but this gang has run
into big trouble,” he said.
The Greek patriarchate is Israel’s biggest landowner apart from
the government. Among its prime plots of land are areas of Jerusalem
real estate that include the site of the Knesset, the Israeli
parliament.
Late yesterday, Arab leaders of the Greek Orthodox church called
for the resignation of Patriarch Irineos after a report that he was
involved in a land deal transferring sensitive property in Jerusalem
to Jewish control.
The Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported Friday that the church had
sold land in the walled Old City of Jerusalem to Jewish groups
working to increase Jewish presence in the area. The properties,
which include two hotels, are in traditionally Palestinian sections
of the Old City.

ZAMBIA’S AMBASSADOR HANDS OVER HIS CREDENTIALS TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

ArmenPress
March 22 2005

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS: Zambia’s ambassador to Armenia
Peter Lusaka Chintalan, seated in Moscow, Russia, handed his
credentials today to president Robert Kocharian.
Kocharian was quoted by his press office as saying that exchange
of multilateral information is necessary to specify possible areas of
bilateral cooperation.
The ambassador said his government is interested in establishing
cooperation with Armenia and that for that purpose all potential will
be examined.
Scientific research, education and health were mentioned as areas
where cooperation is possible.

Azerbaijan News Service
March 22 2005

ARMENIAN MILITARY FORCES KEEP ATTACKING AZERBAIJANI POSITIONS
2005-03-22 15:11

Armenian forces keep shooting at Azerbaijani positions in occupied
Agdam region. Two Armenian soldiers are reported killed and one
wounded as the result of shooting on March 21 at about 6-7 pm.
Meanwhile Ruslan Rajabov, Azerbaijani soldier martyed while
preventing attack of Armenian forces on March 20 will be buried in
his native Lenkeran region.

Easter, the ‘Light of Christ’, from Jerusalem to the Jordan
by Hana Mouasher

AsiaNews.it, Italy
March 22 2005

Amman (AsiaNews) – For Easter, the ‘Light of Jesus’ comes directly
from Jerusalem. Paschal tradition in this predominantly Muslim country
demands in fact that candles be lighted on the eve of Easter Sunday
with a lighted candle brought by the archbishop who celebrated mass
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Brought to the shores of the Jordan river, the lighted candle is used
to light other candles that are taken across the country.

This year, Jordanian Christians have to wait till May 1, Easter
Sunday according to the old Julian calendar. The country’s Council of
Churches, which joins Copts, Catholics, Greek and Armenian Orthodox,
and Protestants, decided that Christmas would be celebrated according
to the Gregorian calendar and Easter according to the Julian calendar;
hence, Lent has just started.

Fasting is widely observed; Catholics abstain from food especially
on Fridays when they go to church to pray and take part in the Via
Crucis. People also abstain from eating meat and turn to traditional
dishes based on vegetables and grains cooked in olive oil.

Palm Sunday is celebrated with enthusiasm. The faithful arrive in
church with palm branches decorated in a multitude of flowers. During
mass, the priest leads a large procession of people around the church,
following the large cross carried by a group of church boys, with
everyone joining in the prayers and hymns. A great bundle of olive
tree branches are blessed and sprayed with holy water and distributed
at the end.

Then begins the final week of Lent when Palm Sunday rejoicing is
replaced by a more sombre mood.

On Good Thursday, evening mass is jam-packed-twelve people chosen
for the ritual washing of the feet. Churches stay open all night for
worshippers who come to pray before the open tabernacle.

On Good Friday, worshippers pass around a statue of the dead Jesus
lying on a wooden bed. With a train of flowers following the statue
is laid before the altar, blessed, ready to be kissed by all those
present.

On the afternoon of Good Saturday, confession impels people to come
to church in great numbers. When midnight mass begins churches are
crowded-many faithful forced to stand in churchyards and streets;
others following the liturgy from giant TV screens set up in parish
halls.

Lights remained dimmed until church bells ring; then they are turned
up. Candles are lit and blessed and passed around with people greeting
each other with “the Light of Christ”.

Holy Week is also a time when families boil and colour eggs for Easter
Day, a statutory holiday in Jordan.

On Easter, churches are again jammed with worshippers. Afterwards,
people break their fast, offer and eat Kaak and Maamoul, a popular
sweet usually made at home using special dough stuffed with date
paste or walnuts.

Kaak is doughnut-shaped with ragged edges resembling the crown of
thorns that Jesus wore on the Cross. Maamoul is a small, round piece
of dough that represents the sponge which was dipped in vinegar and
offered to the Lord when He asked for water whilst on the cross.

Jordan has a population of 5.6 million people, 92 per cent Sunni
Muslim, 6 per cent Christian and 2 per cent Shiite Muslim.

ArmenPress
March 22 2005

HAMLET GASPARIAN SAYS ARMENIA EXPRESSES ITS SUPPORT IN RESTORATION OF
HISTORICAL JUSTICE WITHIN BOUNDARIES OF UNITED HOMELAND OF CHINESE
PEOPLE

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS: The Chinese Parliament adopted law
on “Anti-Secession ” where China’s approaches to the regulation of
the Taiwan issue are presented.
Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister press secretary Hamlet Gasparian
told that Armenia always expresses its support in the restoration of
historical justice within the boundaries of the united homeland of
Chinese people.
“Armenia’s position to the issue is fully expressed in the joint
declaration signed by the Armenian and Chinese Presidents in
September, 2004. We express hope that the efforts aimed at re-uniting
the Chinese people and the adoption of “Anti-Secession” law will be
efficient and will give an opportunity to regulate the issue in
peaceful way,” said Foreign Affairs Minister press secretary.

New York Jewish Times, NY
March 22 2005

U.S. Charges 18 with Alleged Plot to Import and Sell Russian
Shoulder-Fired Missiles, Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers, and
Other Weapons

(FBI) DAVID N. KELLEY, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, PASQUALE D~RAMURO, the Assistant Director in
Charge of the New York Office of the FBI, and RAYMOND W. KELLY, the
New York City Police Commissioner, announced the unsealing of a
complaint in Manhattan federal court charging 18 individuals with
various weapons trafficking offenses, including a scheme to smuggle
rocket propelled grenade launchers (~SRPGs~T), shoulder-fired
surface-to-air missiles (~SSAMs~T), and other Russian military weapons
into the United States for sale. In addition, the defendants are also
charged with conspiring to traffic in machineguns and other similar
assault weapons, and in fact sold eight such weapons during the
course of the investigation. The arrests are the result of a
year-long investigation that utilized a confidential informant (~SCI~T)
who posed as an arms trafficker selling weapons to terrorists. The
FBI~Rs investigation also included courtauthorized wiretaps on seven
different phones and interceptions of more than 15,000 calls.

Specifically, the 61-page federal complaint unsealed in Manhattan
federal court charges ARTUR SOLOMONYAN, CHRISTIAAN DEWET SPIES, IOSEB
KHARABADZE, JOSEPH COLPANI, and MICHAEL GUY DEMARE with conspiring to
transport destructive devices in interstate and foreign commerce. The
complaint also charges 13 other individuals with weapons trafficking
for their roles in supplying SOLOMONYAN and SPIES with machineguns
and other assault weapons, which were then sold to the CI.

The Complaint alleges that SOLOMONYAN and SPIES, with the help of
KHARABADZE, COLPANI, DEMARE, and other unidentified co-conspirators
were actively preparing to import RPGs, SAMs, anti-tank missile
systems, and other military weapons into the country from Eastern
Europe. The CI, it is alleged, had multiple conversations with
SOLOMONYAN and SPIES over the course of the conspiracy in which the
CI indicated that his clients were terrorists.

According to the Complaint, SOLOMONYAN and SPIES met with the CI on
several occasions in New York City to discuss the details of their
weapons deals, including in-depth discussions of the specifications
and prices of various weapons that the defendants could ship into the
United States. The Complaint alleges that, in June 2004, at a meeting
in New York City, SOLOMONYAN provided the CI with a list of weapons
for sale that included RPGs, stinger missiles, AK-47s, and claymore
mines. The Complaint also details numerous telephone calls between
the defendants discussing the inner workings of their plot to bring
weapons into the country. For example, the Complaint alleges that in
January 2005, SPIES spoke on the phone with COLPANI about providing
the CI with an RPG. According to the Complaint, as recently as late
January 2005, SOLOMONYAN discussed importing 200 RPGs from Armenia
for sale to the CI.

Most recently, in late February 2005, SOLOMONYAN and SPIES provided
the CI with digital photos of military weapons in Armenia that they
proposed to import into the U.S. for sale to the CI. The CI was given
the name of a Russian website, a user name, and a password in order
to access the 17 digital photos of the weapons. These photos, which
FBI forensics has determined were taken in late February 2005,
included such weapons as two SA-7b Strella Surface to Air Heat
Seeking Anti-Aircraft Missiles; a Russian AT-4 Spigot Anti-Tank
Guided Missile and Launcher; a 120 mm mortar launcher; Russian 73 mm
recoilless anti-tank guns; and fully automatic AK-74 and AKS assault
rifles, according to the Complaint.

SOLOMONYAN and SPIES were arrested last night after meeting one last
time with the CI to finalize their plans to travel to Eastern Europe
to arrange the importation of the military weapons. The FBI arrested
them before they could travel outside of the U.S. to obtain the
weapons. The FBI is currently working with Armenian and Russian
authorities to secure the weapons and to arrest the responsible
parties abroad.

According to the Complaint, while SOLOMONYAN and SPIES were actively
arranging the importation of the military weapons from Eastern
Europe, they also sold machineguns and assault weapons to the CI.
Utilizing the services of various weapons traffickers in New York
City, Los Angeles, and Florida, the defendants provided the CI with
eight weapons and conspired to sell the CI many more. As alleged in
the Complaint, each weapon was delivered by the defendants to storage
facilities rented by the FBI on the CI~Rs behalf. On several
occasions, SOLOMONYAN or SPIES was surveilled delivering the weapons
to various storage locations. Of the eight weapons, three were
delivered in New York City, three were delivered in Los Angeles, and
two were delivered in Fort Lauderdale. The weapons sold to the CI
include an SKS fully-automatic assault rifle; a Norinco Model NHM91;
an Israel Military Industries Model A Uzi; an Interdynamic Model KG-
9; a Norinco AK-47; a Norinco MA-90 Sporter; an AK-47 made by GN
Romarm SA/Cugir; and an AK-47, BA 36 0543, Arsenal, as well as two
conversion kits intended to convert both AK-47’s into fullyautomatic
machineguns.

SOLOMONYAN, 26, is an Armenian citizen residing in New York and Los
Angeles. SPIES, 33, a South African citizen, resides in New York.
KHARABADZE, 52, is Georgian and resides on the Upper West Side of
Manhattan. They, along with seven other defendants, will be presented
in Manhattan federal court. COLPANI, 53, and DEMARE, 50, both live in
Florida and were arrested there this morning.

Besides SOLOMONYAN, SPIES, COLPANI, and DEMARE, the other defendants
charged with weapons trafficking include: DMITRIY VOROBEYCHIK, 28, of
New York; NIKOLAI NADIRASHVILI, 25, of New York; LEVON SOLOMONYAN,
24, of Los Angeles; ALLAH MCQUEEN, 23, of New York; RAJAB CHAVIS, 25,
of New York; GAREGIN GASPARYAN, 28, of Los Angeles; MICHAEL JIMENEZ,
35, of Los Angeles; SHAWN JONES, 22, of New York; LEVAN CHVELIDZE,
28, of New York; VATO MACHITIDZE, 26, of New York; TIGRAN GEVORGYAN,
21, of Los Angeles; and ARMAND ABRAMIAN, 27, of Los Angeles.

The six individuals arrested in Los Angeles, and the two arrested in
Florida, will be presented in their respective federal courts and
then brought to New York to face the current charges.

As a result of the various charges in the Complaint, SOLOMONYAN and
SPIES each face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. COLPANI and
DEMARE face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and KHARABADZE
faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. The rest of the 13
defendants charged in the Complaint face a maximum penalty of 15
years in prison.

Mr. KELLEY praised the efforts of the FBI and the NYPD for their
handling of this investigation. Mr. KELLEY also expressed his thanks
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their assistance in the
investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys BENJAMIN M. LAWSKY and MIRIAM E.
ROCAH are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an
accusation; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven
guilty.

SCHOLAR OF “GENOCIDE” CLAIMS MEETS WITH BAYKAL

Turkish Press
March 22 2005

Justin McCarthy from Louisville University, an expert on the Armenian
“genocide” claims, yesterday met with opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc.
Baykal stressed the importance of rectifying a “great deception” on
this issue, adding, “We want to make sure the debate will move away
from a political framework to a scholarly one based on historical
documents.” Arinc also said that Turkey is ready to make available
every document in its possession on Armenians and that it has never
committed a genocide. McCarthy added, “There was a war in eastern
Anatolia during World War I, not a genocide campaign against the
Armenians in the region.” Stressing that the Armenian accusations
of genocide were illogical, McCarthy said Turkey was one of the most
important countries in the world and a model country in its region.
He also emphasized that resolutions taken by several countries’
parliaments concerning the Armenian genocide claims were politically
motivated. /Hurriyet/

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Putin to pay working visit to Armenia

Ros Business Consulting, Russia
March 22 2005

RBC, 22.03.2005, Moscow 12:10:07.President of Russia Vladimir Putin
is expected to pay a working visit to the Republic of Armenia on March
24-25, the Russian President’s press service has reported. The press
service has pointed out that Vladimir Putin proposed to take part in
the opening ceremony of the Year of the Russian Federation in Armenia.