EXHIBITION “SURVIVAL THROUGH CREATIVITY” COMMEMORATES 90TH ANNIVERSARY
OF ARMENIANS’ GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. Maine Haley Farm Gallery will open
“Survival Through Creativity” exhibit featuring works by Berj Kailian
and Samuel Bak – two survivor artists of the Armenian Genocide and
Jewish Holocaust respectively. The exhibit commemorates the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 60th anniversary of the
Jewish Holocaust.

Foster’s online reports, “Survival Through Creativity” reflects the
artists’ creative outlook toward life having endured, witnessed and
survived the atrocities of the 1915 Armenian Genocide perpetrated by
the Ottoman Turks and the WWII Jewish Holocaust by Hitler’s Nazi
Germany. Works of Samuel Bak are available in cooperation with the
artist and Pucker Gallery. Exhibit commemorates Armenian Genocide and
Jewish Holocaust with works of two survivor artists

Kailian was born in Armenia in 1914. Her extended family was one of
the last to be driven out. Her father, imprisoned and tortured was
later asked to dig his own grave and was buried alive by the Turkish
authorities. Only nine months old, Kailian was wrapped and tied to her
mother’s back and along with her three siblings began the forced
marches through Armenia. Through the arduous trip her siblings were
lost and are presumed dead. Kailian was wrapped in old newspapers to
be kept warm; she was given away three times but returned to her
mother to remain a survivor as they reached Yerevan, present-day
Armenia’s capital. Kailian’s mother worked for the Armenian Red Cross
and they lived with other wretched refugees in devastating conditions
until 1919 when they were sent funds by an uncle in the to travel to
America via Russia and Japan. Berj Kailian now lives in Weymouth,
Massachusetts and is perhaps the only Armenian-American woman artist
survivor of the Armenian Genocide.

NEW ACHIEVEMENT MAY OCCUR IN THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS, THAT IS,
ORGANIZATION OF A 155 KM LIVE CHAIN

YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. A new achievement may occur in the
Guinness Book of Records, that is, organization of a 155 km live
chain. In particular, on May 28 2005 160,000 Armenians from the whole
world will sing and dance in a ring at the foot of Mountain Aragats in
Armenia as a sign of unification of the nation. The round dance is
organized by the Charity Non-Governmental Organization of Countrymen
“Nig-Aparan” of Armenia.

Talking to ARMINFO, a member of the organization Ofelia Petrosyan says
that the unprecedented action to be registered by the representatives
of the Guinness Book of Records and recorded by CNN will last 15
minutes. Each person linking the alive chain is to occupy a bit less
than 1 meter territory, and by one tree “of love to Motherland” will
be planted on each meter in the foot of Aragats Mountain after the
round dance. Each participant will have an apricot cap on him hereby
symbolizing one of the colors of the Armenian flag and the color of
the sunset behind Aragats Mountain. “The round dance is timed to the
90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire, and
to the 1,600th anniversary of creation of Armenian alphabet and Bash
Aparan victory over Turkish troops in 1918,” she says. A day before
the action, the youth of Armenia will gather at the foot of the
mountain wherein festivals are expected. Fairs presenting the products
of native enterprises of food branch will be held. Petrosyan says
that representatives of the Armenian Diaspora from many states which
will not participate in the event for some reasons, will organize
similar round dances at foreign cultural and religious centers the
same day at the same time (14:00 Yerevan time).

Big businessmen, public and community organizations of the country
will secure transportation of the participants to the place without
compensation. To participate in the action, applications are received
by the headquarters on organization works in the following address: 7,
Agatangeghosi Street,Yerevan. For additional information call (374 1)
58 00 34 and (374 1) 54 00 12.

GROUND ABOUT TO SLIP FROM UNDER ARMENIA’S FEET: AZERI DM SPOKESMAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. The ground is about to slip from under
Armenia’s feet, says Azeri Defence Ministry Spokesman Ramiz MElikov in
an interview to 525th newspaper (Baku).

The distribution of forces on the international arena is beginning to
play into Azerbaijan’s hands. Meanwhile the negotiating potential is
not over. “The moment we feel that there is no hope left we will start
a war,” says Melikov. Once again accusing Armenia of violating the
cease fire regime he says that Azerbaijan’s achievements in the
Karabakh peace process are vexing the Armenians. They are trying to
show some strength and to somehow influence the negotiating process.

The second reason is the forthcoming 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. “Every year this time they grow hysterical and are attacked
by medically known and peculiarly their ‘Armenian disease’.” “The
Armenians seek to show their force to the Azeris and Azerbaijan. But
this has no sense,” says Melikov.

Referring to some experts he says that the Armenians are active near
Agdam and Terter because these sections are close to Stepanakert.
“They are fearing some threat there and so they are firing at the
Azeri troops to retain their strategic positions,” says Melikov
regretting that these positions are in the Armenians’ hands.

AZERI FM TO COORDINATE ANTI-ARMENIAN EFFORTS

YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. Azeri Foreign Ministry has decided to
coordinate the anti-Armenian efforts, reports 525th newspaper (Baku).

It has approved a consolidated plan of action for 2005 scheduling
activities in strategic directions.

“The plan is to counteract to Armenia’s aggression against Armenia and
to liquidate its heavy consequences by setting new tasks in the
international security, military, political, economic, humanitarian
and legal sectors of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy,” says the newspaper.

The plan has already been sent to Azeri FM departments and foreign
embassies for execution.

Turkish Armenians to talk to parliamentary committee about genocide issue

Anatolia news agency
17 Mar 05

ANKARA

Turkish Parliamentary EU Adjustment Committee will listen to the views
of members of Armenian community living in Turkey pertaining to
allegations of genocide.

Gunduz Aktan, a retired ambassador, and Etiyen Mahcupyan and Hrant
Dink, members of the Armenian community, will attend the meeting which
will be held in the parliament on April 5th.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE report: Settlement of Armenians in territories seized during
Nagorno-Karabakh war should stop

AP Worldstream
Mar 17, 2005

MIKE ECKEL

Armenia and authorities in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
should discourage any more Armenians from settling in territories
seized during a brutal war with Azerbaijan, top European security and
democracy organization said Thursday.

Azerbaijan has accused both Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh officials of
illegally resettling refugees and other Armenians displaced during the
bitter six-year war in the lands surrounding the mountainous enclave,
which is located within Azerbaijan.

The issue is one of several that have stoked already hostile tensions
between Armenia and Azerbaijan and complicated efforts by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and others to
reach a final peace deal over the enclave’s status. A tense cease-fire
has held since 1994, despite frequent small-scale violations.

The report released Thursday by the heads of OSCE’s Minsk Group, which
is seeking to help resolve the conflict, said Armenians were indeed
settling in territories outside of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Minsk Group investigators who traveled to the region last month found
no deliberate policy by Armenia to settle refugees in the territories,
the report said, but noted that Nagorno-Karabakh authorities were
actively supporting the resettlement, particularly in the Lachin
region separating the enclave from Armenia.

The report did not call for removing the settlers, though it noted
that most were refugees who wanted to return to their homes.

Nearly 1 million Armenians and Azerbaijanis were displaced or driven
from their homes before the cease-fire deal was reached in 1994,
ending the fighting that killed more than 30,000 people and left the
enclave under the control of ethnic Armenians.

The mission heads “request that any further settlement of the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan should be discouraged,” the report said.

Both Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh authorities have said under no
condition would the Lachin region be returned to Azerbaijani control
since it would then cut the enclave off from Armenia proper.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s political status has not been determined, and
shooting breaks out frequently between the two sides, which face off
across a demilitarized buffer zone.

A statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomed the report and
called on the OSCE to send an identical fact-finding mission to
territory under control of Azerbaijani forces. There was no official
reaction from the Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, though Deputy Foreign
Minister Araz Azimov earlier this month claimed the mission had
“determined and confirmed the resettlements.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenians in Georgia fear Turkish “expansion” if Russian bases close

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
17 Mar 05

MOSCOW

The residents of the town of Akhalkalaki in Georgia’s
Samtskhe-Javakheti region tie the presence of the 62nd Russian
military base there to their security, co-chairman of the Armenian
political movement Virk, David Rstakyan, told Interfax-Military News
Agency on Thursday [17 March].

“It is not socioeconomic problems that could arise after the
withdrawal of the base, because it employs no more than 200
locals. What we are concerned about is not our stomachs but security,”
Rstakyan said.

“We need firm guarantees that the Russian military will not be
replaced by foreign troops, particularly Turkish ones, which could
lead to the exacerbation of the situation in the region,” he said.

“The region’s population fears that it will face an expansion of
Turkish interests after the Russian troops leave it,” he said.

“This is exactly why Akhalkalaki saw a rally of thousands of people
last Sunday [13 March], and such protests cannot be ruled out in the
future as well,” Rstakyan said.

“President Mikheil Saakashvili promised that after the withdrawal of
the Russian military from Akhalkalaki, they will be replaced by
Georgian army units, but we believe the incumbent Georgian authorities
as little as we did the previous ones,” he said.

Azeri, Chinese leaders sign five cooperation accords, expected to sign more

MPA news agency
17 Mar 05

BAKU

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met his Chinese counterpart Hu
Jintao today, MPA reports. The sides discussed ways of developing
relations between Azerbaijan and the People’s Republic of China.

The communique signed by the presidents of the two countries reflects
issues related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and Beijing’s
support for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway system.

During the Azerbaijani president’s visit to China, five documents were
signed on cooperation in the area of youth policy, television
broadcasting, communications and information technologies,
collaboration between the two countries’ Olympic committees and
justice ministries.

Today, the sides are expected to sign an agreement on extradition, a
memorandum on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s technical assistance to
the Azerbaijani ministry, an agreement on trade and economic
cooperation (which envisages assistance to the tune of 1.8m dollars),
a document on economic and technical cooperation, agreements on
avoiding double taxation, cooperation in the area of customs, and
contacts in the area of culture and arts in 2005-2009.

Armenian aide blames Turkish media for misleading reports on genocide

Mediamax news agency
17 Mar 05

YEREVAN

The press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet
Gasparyan, said today that the Turkish media “is trying to mislead the
international community again, claiming that Armenia and the Armenian
diaspora have different approaches to the problem of the genocide”.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman said this while commenting on
reports in the Turkish newspapers Radikal and Milliyet, which
maintained that the Armenian ambassador to the European Union, Vigen
Chitechyan, had allegedly said that “the genocide problem has been
created by the diaspora”.

“The Armenian ambassador’s statement has been turned upside
down. Touching on the issue of the genocide, Chitechyan usually uses
the phrase ‘the diaspora appeared as a result of the genocide’,”
Gasparyan said and stressed that the Turkish media is using “old
tricks meant for uninformed people”.

Armenian, Belarusian speakers sign cooperation protocol

A1+ web site
17 Mar 05

Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan and the chairman of the House of
Representatives of the Belarusian National Assembly, Uladzimir
Kanaplyow, today signed a joint protocol on cooperation which points
out that the sides promise to help develop ties between the two
countries’ administrative territorial units. These ties will be based
on the principles of observing legislation, equality, cooperation and
the mutual interests of Belarus and Armenia.

Working groups on interregional cooperation will be set up with the
aim of drawing up and adopting legislative acts in order to assist
interregional cooperation within the framework of the
interparliamentary commission.