KARABAKH PRESIDENT: OPTIONS SUGGESTED BY AZERBAIJAN TODAY UNREAL AND
ABSURD AFTER SUMGAIT

PanArmenian News
March 1 2005

01.03.2005 16:56

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
marked the 17-th anniversary of the tragic events in the Azeri town
of Sumgait of which tens of innocent Armenians became victims, Arminfo
news agency reported. The public of the republic visited the Memorial
Complex of the city of Stepanakert and laid flowers and wreaths to the
memorial of the victims of the tragedy. The NKR official delegation
headed by Republic President Arkady Ghukasian came to pay tribute
to the victims of the pogroms. “Sumgait has proved that an Armenian
cannot live in Azerbaijan – the Azeri statehood is dangerous for the
Armenian nation. Sumgait was the beginning: after Sumgait there were
Baku, Kirovabad, Maraga… And the life has proved that our choice
was right – were were to create a state, to defend our fatherland. I
am sure that Sumgait the options suggested by Azerbaijan today are
unreal and absurd, as Sumgait is not a case of individuals, but it is
the Azeri state policy,?”, – this is how NKR President a. Ghukasian
commented on the events in Sumgait. Leader of the Artsakh Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church Pargev Martirosian has served a liturgy
for the repose of the souls of the victims of the Sumgait tragedy.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION EVENT HELD IN LOS ANGELES

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28. ARMINFO. An event to commemorate the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was held in Los Angeles Feb 24
by Armenian Assembly of American, Armenian General Benevolent Union
and Western Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church of North America.

Attending the event were local officials, Armenian community
representatives, consul generals of California-based diplomatic
missions of countries having acknowledged the Armenian Genocide or
given asylum to its victims as well as journalists. Armenia’s
Consul. General to Los Angeles Gagik Kirakosyan made a
speech. Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger greeted the event
participants. Present there was also ex governor of California George
Deukmejian.

Cyprus Press & Information Office – Occupied Northern Cyprus
March 1 2005

Turkish ambassador argues that only historians have the right to
decide on the massacre of one and a half million Armenians by Turkey

Ankara Anatolia news agency (27.02.05) reported from Berlin that the
Turkish Ambassador to Germany Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik on Saturday
released a statement about a draft resolution, which will be
submitted to the German federal parliament in April by CDU/CSU group
under the title of ”commemoration of Armenians on the 90th
anniversary of their relocation and massacre on April 24th, 1915 –
Germany should contribute to provide peace between Turks and
Armenians”.
In his statement, Irtemcelik said: ”Only historians have the right
to make decisions about historical events. The draft includes many
prejudices, mistakes and unilateral expectations about Turkey-Armenia
relations.”

”Armenians resorted to organized terrorism not only in Eastern
Anatolia during the World War I, but also in many places in the world
from Los Angeles to Vienna, from Beirut to Paris in the near past to
reach their political targets. Armenia did not recognize Turkey’s
territorial integrity and the existing borders with Turkey. Also,
despite all warnings of the international community, Armenia has
still been occupying territories of Azerbaijan. Under the light of
all these, we find it strange that German political parties have
undertaken spokesmanship of fanatic Armenian nationalism. We think
that CDU/CSU did not understand the importance and sensitivity of the
issue,” he said.

”No one can reach anywhere by defaming Turkish people and their
history. No one has the right to hamper our integration process, and
our historic and friendly relations with Germany. Before putting
forward such baseless allegations, everyone should study the history
carefully. Besides many Armenians, countless innocent Muslim people
died in those years. If they aim to assist Turkey and Armenia to
improve their relations, they should realize that such issues are
extremely serious and cannot be used as a tool for domestic policies
of the third countries. Instead of preparing such drafts, I invite
them to persuade Armenian President Robert Kocharian and the Armenian
government to give up their policy preventing formation of a peaceful
atmosphere in Southern Caucasus,” he added.

Moreover, Ankara Anatolia (28.02.05) reported from Vienna that
Armenian historians will not attend the meeting to be held in
Austrian capital of Vienna in May in which they will exchange
documents with Turkish historians regarding the so-called Armenian
genocide, the Vienna Armenian-Turkish Platform (VAT) said on Monday.

VAT, acting as a mediator between Turkish and Armenian historians who
are willing to exchange documents, stated that Prof. Dr. Lavrenti
Barseghian, the director of Yerevan genocide museum, and Prof. Dr.
Ashot Melkonian, the director of the History Department of the
Armenian Sciences Academy, notified them in writing that they would
not attend the second meeting planned to be held in May.

Pointing out that the main target of the Armenian diaspora in 2005 is
to make several countries ”accept the 1915 incidents as genocide”,
VAT-member historians stress that Turkey has proved that it is ready
for dialogue and will take action for a possible solution.

VAT historians added: ”As VAT, we expect the international
community, particularly Armenia and Turkey, to deal with this matter
more seriously and systematically. And, we believe that both parties
will establish dialogue with each other under equal circumstances,
and take VAT concept as a model.”

The VAT, comprised of historians working at the Vienna University
namely Prof. Dr. Wolfdieter Bihl, Dr. Kerstin Tomenendal, Dr. Inanc
Atilgan and Dr. Artem Ohandjanian, had been a platform for exchange
of documents between Turkish and Armenian historians in July of 2004.

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu, the head of the Turkish History Authority
(TTK), and Prof. Dr. Hikmet Ozdemir, the head of the Armenian Desk of
TTK, joined the first meeting held in Vienna in July 2004 and
delivered 100 documents regarding the 1915 incidents to VAT
officials.

On the other hand, Armenian historians did not participate in July’s
meeting and sent 100 documents to the meeting via VAT member
historian Dr. Artem Ohandjanian of Armenian origin.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

Iranian Parliament May Discuss Khojaly

Sponsored Links

Baku Today 01/03/2005 12:05

The Iranian parliament may discuss the Khojaly massacre of
Azerbaijanis perpetrated by Armenians in 1992, the Iranian Ambassador
to Azerbaijan Afshar Suleymani told journalists on Monday, according
to Assa Irada.

Suleymani said that he had presented documents on the Khojaly tragedy
to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, expressing confidence that the
Ministry would express its position on the issue shortly.

“Iran supports the territorial integrity and position of Azerbaijan
within international organizations,” said Suleymani, noting that no
foreign forces can affect the relations between the two countries.

Utne
March 2, 2005

Let the Games Begin

Women’s athletics gain support in Iran
By Barb Jacobs, Utne.com

February 3, 2005 Issue

Last week, Tehran’s women’s swim team beat Armenia and Qatar for
a gold medal at the fourth annual All-Women Games for Muslim and
Asian Capitals. The Iranian women also received a gold medal in
taekwando at the event, which was held in Tehran and attended by some
600 competitors from 17 countries. Sound surprising? It shouldn’t.

The All-Women Games were started in 1993 by Faezeh Hashemi, the vice
president of Iran’s National Olympic Committee, as a way for Iranian
women to participate in sports while maintaining their religious
beliefs and laws. In the past, one of the reasons Iranian women were
not able to participate in sports was because of their country’s
strict dress code. So that women can compete in sports-appropriate
clothing at the All Women affair, men are banned from observing or
officiating all events except for “shooting.”

Hashemi has had a significant effect on women’s athletics in Iran. In
addition to starting the All-Women Games, she also campaigned for
an Iranian women’s football program. Iran’s Football Association has
since agreed to let Iran’s Women’s Football Association use the same
training complex the men’s national team uses for a 10-day women’s
training camp, provided the men are gone during that time.

Michael Theodoulou reports in the Christian Science Monitor that sports
such as mountaineering, golf, skiing, and paragliding are all popular
with Iranian women because they are “activities in which the need to
keep the body well covered is not a serious hindrance to performance.”

Last year, the Iran Mountaineering Federation challenged women climbers
in Iran to take on Everest — 69 women responded. The group, which
needs to raise $400,000 for the expedition, plans on scaling the peak
in May. Theodoulou explains that “success would put the team in an
elite as rarefied as the atmosphere at the mountain’s 8,850-meter
summit.” No Muslim women, and fewer than 100 women from the world
over, have ever reached the summit of Mount Everest, which is the
world’s tallest peak.

Although women in sports still stirs controversy in Iran, it has the
support of many Iranian men. During the opening ceremony for the
Games, parliament speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel said that sports
are an important part of a healthy society and “we want to show to
the worlds that Muslim women can be active in sporting fields while
observing morals.” He also pointed out that, “we want to prove that
the Islamic Republic can develop women’s sports without making a copy
of other nations’ programs since it has the capacity to promote sports
among women and observe the Islamic dress code at the same time.”

Belmont Citizen-Herald

Worship directory
Thursday, February 3, 2005

First Armenian Church, 380 Concord Ave., 617-484-4779; fax 617-489-2210;
e-mail [email protected], Web site Morning
Worship Service and Sunday School: 10:30 a.m. every Sunday, followed by
Fellowship/Coffee hour. Nursery for preschool children provided. Youth group
(7th grade to college age) meets every Sunday at 6 p.m. Adult Bible Study
Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays in parsonage next door (392 Concord Ave.) –
Women’s Bible Study at 10 a.m. and Young Adults Fellowship at 7:30 p.m.

The Journal of Turkish Weekly
2005-02-04 08:34:37

Debre: Armenian Issue is not France’s Problem

Speaker of the French National Parliament Jean-Louis Debre discussed
Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership bid just before his Turkey
visit begins today. Debre responded to a question about whether the Armenian
issue was a problem in the development of Turkey-France
relations:

“Let’s be honest. First of all, the Armenian problem is not an issue
concerning Turkey-France relations. It is rather about Turkey-Armenia
relations and Turkey’s own history in particular.”

The EU that Turkey wants to join was the built by confronting public and
state history, Debre said, and they believe that Turkey would
understand this and its part of the European project. The French Speaker
also added that it is about “overcoming the conflicts to
build a peaceful unity, respecting human rights, paying attention to the
responsibility to remember, and making peace with one’s own
history.” Meanwhile, the French Parliament approved the so-called genocide
bill in 2001, which led to a long break in Turkey-France
relations.

The French delegation will hold meetings in Istanbul and Ankara during their
visit which was realized with the support of French President Jacques
Chirac. The delegation will meet with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament
Bulent Arinc and Chief of the
General Stuff Hilmi Ozkok. The parliamentary delegation will also meet with
representatives of the Turkey Industrialists and Businessmen Association
(TUSIAD) and visit Galatasaray University in Istanbul on Saturday (February
5).

There is a strong Armenian lobbying group in France and makes effort to
shift French policies towards Turkey. The Armenian diaspora organizations
organize campaigns in order to undermine Turkey’s EU membership.

Source: Zaman and JTW, 4 February 2005

Turkey France and Armenian Issue
2005-02-04 08:34:37

Obituary: Former News staffer Araik Barsegian, 48

New York Daily News
March 1 2005

Araik Barsegian, a former Daily News editorial systems editor, died
Saturday after suffering a massive heart attack at his Queens home.
He was 48.

Barsegian, who lived in Auburndale, left The News in 1999 to become
the vice president of database administration for Merrill Lynch.

He was born and raised in Armenia, and emigrated to the United States
in 1991.

He earned math and computer science degrees from the State University
of Armenia.

He is survived by his wife, Karine Sogomonian; two children, Gary
and Areg; a brother, Artour; a sister-in-law, Margarita, and a niece,
Arpine.

Visitation will be today from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Edward
Lynch Funeral Home in Sunnyside, Queens.

A religious service will be held at 8 tonight at the funeral home.

A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow, also at the funeral
home.

Burial will be at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Flushing.

The Telegraph
Calcutta India

Thursday, February 03, 2005

GIFT OF CRUELTY

There is something absurd, rather than grand, about an elephant being sent
as a gift by one modern prime minister to another. Extravagant or bestial
diplomatic gifts are an ancient tradition. Chinese, Byzantine and Moghul
emperors, among others, indulged in it, and important modern museums all
over the world have separate wings to exhibit these gifts, which range from
the exquisite to the bizarre. But Mr Manmohan Singh should definitely think
twice, even several times, before flying an elephant to his counterpart in
Armenia. It is a cruel thing to do (for the elephant), and is avoidable. The
creature will be flown, in some uncomfortable nether region of an aircraft,
to a zoo in Armenia, where temperatures are now well below zero.
Transporting animals in wretched conditions is done every day all over the
world. This is done for the meat, and even with this functional
justification, principled vegetarians remain appalled by what chickens and
pigs have to go through. But when elephants, white tigers and horses are
regularly forced to make hazardous journeys for the sake of international
relations, then the gratuitousness of the whole thing begins to look rather
unacceptable. Elephants are, after all, Schedule 1 animals in India, and
three white tigers once died when Messrs George Fernandes and Jaswant Singh
packed them off as gifts to Japan and Libya.

Most of the feelings that Ms Maneka Gandhi expresses for animals are, quite
understandably, not taken seriously. But her concern in this regard is more
legitimate. Apart from other animal rights groups in Karnataka, Ms Virginia
McKenna of the Born Free Foundation has also appealed to the Indian prime
minister to spare the six-year-old Veda. The question is not really that of
objectifying a living creature by turning it into a gift, but a simpler one
of cruelty and risk ~W especially when the Armenian prime minister will not
really be deprived of one of life’s essentials if not presented with an
elephant. Ms J. Jayalalithaa’s largesse and religiosity also sometimes
fasten themselves on elephants. But this does not involve physical cruelty
to the animals, making it one of this lady’s less culpable excesses,
whatever its political implications. Mr Singh, who likes to be unobtrusive
in public, might wish to reconsider the use of elephants ~W or any other
delicate and exotic animal, for that matter ~W to make polite exchanges with
his peers in other countries.

San Francisco Chronicle, CA
March 1 2005

VOSGOUNY, Dikran

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

VOSGOUNY, Dikran – Passed away February 26, 2005. He is survived by
his loving wife, Ishkhanouhi Karamardian; his two daughters, Suzy
Alexander, her husband, Kent and their daughters, Taleen and Tamara;
and Houry Viola, her husband, Richard and their daughter, Nicole
Hoag; and many loving family members and friends. He was born in
Damascus, Syria on May 29, 1925. He was a world renowned Armenian
journalist, editor and author (“Burning Cedars”) for 60 years. In his
later years, he embraced the internet as his media for publishing
articles on Armenian life and other topics of political and cultural
interest on his very popular web site “vosgouny.com.” He passionately
maintained the web site and gained world-wide acclaim from his ever
growing devoted Armenian readers. In 2003, His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians granted him the St. Mesrob Mashdots Medal
of Honor for his intellectual endeavors in Armenian life. He was a
loving husband, father and grandfather. He left a legacy of search
for the truth and unyielding belief in a greater future. Visitation
Services will be held Tuesday, March 1, 2005, 7:30 pm, Ashley &
McMullen Funeral Home, 4200 Geary Blvd, SF. Memorial services will be
held Wednesday, March 2, 2005, 12:30 pm, St. Gregory Armenian
Apostolic Church, 51 Commonwealth Ave, SF, followed by Burial
services, Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to KZV Armenian School, 825 Brotherhood Way,
SF, 94132.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress