Turkish envoy dismisses German resolution on Armenian massacre issue

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
27 Feb 05

Berlin, 27 February: Turkish Ambassador to Germany Mehmet Ali
Irtemcelik said on Saturday [26 February]: “Only historians have the
right to make decisions about historical events.”

Irtemcelik 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 “Commemoration of Armenians on the 90th anniversary
of their relocation and massacre on 24 April 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 World War I, but also in many places in the world
from Los Angeles to Vienna, from Beirut to Paris in the near future
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 u nderstand 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 Kocharyan and the Armenian
government to give up their policy preventing formation of a peaceful
atmosphere in southern Caucasus,” he added.

Armenian Speaker, senior OSCE officials discuss Karabakh, regional security

Noyan Tapan news agency
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Artur
Bagdasaryan met OSCE Secretary- General Jan Kubis on 25 February.

In the light of democratic developments in Armenia, Jan Kubis
pointed to the importance of constitutional and electoral reforms
and promised the OSCE’s support in this issue. He also outlined the
reforms to be carried out in the OSCE, and the Armenian speaker said
Armenia supported any reforms that would make the work of the OSCE
more effective.

At Kubis’s request, the chairman of the Armenian National Assembly also
touched on the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, saying that Armenia stands for
a negotiated settlement of the conflict and wants the conflict to be
resolved within the OSCE framework because this organization has the
best understanding of the history and peculiarities of the issue. The
sides pointed to the importance of meetings and negotiations between
the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and to the involvement of
the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic] in the negotiating process.

During a meeting with the chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
Alcee Hastings, the sides discussed issues related to security
and cooperation in the South Caucasus region. The sides stressed
the importance of democratic reforms and European integration and
pointed to the implementation of specific programmes between the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Armenian National Assembly in
three areas: permanent OSCE support for Armenia’s legislative reform,
exchange of experience and information for the benefit of standing
commissions of the National Assembly and its administrative staff,
and conducting an international parliamentary conference under
the auspices of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to mark the 15th
anniversary of the Armenian parliament.

[Passage omitted: Bagdasaryan’s other meetings on the sidelines of
the visit to Austria]

Armenian rally condemns US congressman’s move to recognize Xocali massacre

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
28 Feb 05

A prominent Armenian writer has condemned US Congressman Dan Burton’s
recent appeal to the US Congress to recognize the massacre in the
Nagornyy Karabakh town of Xocali in February 1992 as genocide.

Zori Balayan, who was shown on Armenian Public TV addressing a
rally at Yerevan’s Tsitsernakaberd memorial to commemorate pogroms
against Armenians in Azerbaijan in 1988, accused Congressman Burton
of one-sidedness.

“There are issues which cannot be discussed and which are even
dangerous to be discussed and presented in a one-sided manner ignoring
the fundamental principle of jurisprudence – listen to the other side,”
Balayan said.

The writer, who spoke on behalf of the participants in the rally,
said that the US congressman should have also mentioned the killing
of Armenians in the Azerbaijani cities of Sumqayit, Baku and Ganca
in 1988 and 1990. Balayan also compared the Armenian attack on the
Azerbaijani town of Xocali during the Karabakh war with the US strikes
on Afghanistan.

The rally decided to present the statement to the US embassy in
Armenia. After the ceremony the people marched to the US embassy,
the TV report said.

SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS ARE POSSIBLE TO BE FINANCED IN ARMENIA

A1+
28-02-2005

The Corporative governing center was discussing with the
representatives of the financial market the problem of creating
venture funds in Armenia. In hotel â~@~Congressâ~@~] the workers
of the funs, the Central Bank, Union of banks, private organizations,
and the banks of abroad waited for the organizers of the round table
for 30 minutes.

Arman Sahakyan, expert of the Corporative governing center, explained
to the guests that it is already suitable to create Venture funds
in Armenia.

According to the experts, $30 million is needed to create such a
fund. In order to create a venture system, according to the project
developed by the Corporative governing center it is offered to
find and finance companies with financial difficulty, or innovator
authors. The experts of the Center think that our country has a
scientific potential, the inner capital can be directed to the
experimenting of the innovations and have super-profits.

The international experience shows that the venture funds act with
the principle of financing companies having ideas and not having
money for having super-profits later on. In case of cooperation the
fund becomes owner of a part of the shares of the company.

–Boundary_(ID_mpqD2eF4FgCEUM55jhXlaQ)–

Burbank Leader
LATimes.com
Feb 28 2005

Tutors share gift of reading

Library’s tutoring program allows adults to advance in their careers
or just read to their kids.

By Karen Apostolina, Weekend

Aida Amirian is from Iran and speaks three languages, Armenian,
Persian and English. But she really wanted to be able to read books
written in English to her 4-year-old daughter.

While looking around the Burbank Central Library one day, she spotted
a flier advertising free tutoring for reading and writing. She called
the number and four months later, mother and daughter are doing very
well.

“The goal of reading to her daughter was very important to her,” said
Robert Navarro, her tutor. “She brings her books here … and any
hard words are worked out, so she can feel comfortable.”

Another of Amirian’s goals is to go to college, and now that her
proficiency in reading has improved, that could become a reality.

Many of her friends hadn’t heard about the library’s literacy
program.

“But, it is a very good program for reading fast … so, I tell my
friends,” she said. “This is a good program for everybody.”

One out of every five people is functionally illiterate, said William
S. Byrne, literacy coordinator for the library. A lot of energy goes
into masking the problem until they want to read to their children,
or they get passed over for another promotion at work. For those who
are ready to make the commitment — help is available.

To enroll in the program, adults must be 18 and older, read below a
sixth-grade level and speak conversational English, although they
don’t need to be native speakers. Recruiting adults to be tutored
(called learners) can be tough, Byrne said. That’s why the library
has regular orientation meetings. The next one is at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Illiterate adults always think they are the only person in the world
with this problem,” Byrne said. “The orientation is a chance for them
to walk into a room and see that they are not alone.”

Often high school — even college — graduates can’t read, Byrne
said. They may work in construction, the entertainment industry or
restaurants, but their illiteracy keeps them stuck in low-level
positions.

Millie Engel, a volunteer tutor, believes that everyone can read.
People seek help when they get tired of covering the fact that they
can’t, she said.

“They have to decide they want to learn,” Engel said. “When they come
here, they’re adults and they know what they want in life now.”

Engel, a retired elementary school teacher, wanted to give something
back to the community. After completing the 15-hour training session,
she signed up for six months — then stayed for 10 years.

Health problems or constantly having to relocate are among the many
reasons people never learn to read, Byrne said. There is an
assumption that reading is easy. But, those who learn — are just the
lucky ones.

“Basically, if a child isn’t reading by fourth grade in school, they
will fall behind, because after fourth grade … they aren’t teaching
reading anymore,” Byrne said. “Those kids will stay behind unless
remediation is available, and with school budgets being cut right and
left, nobody has money for that.”

Using Discover-Intensive Phonics, learners work with computer
software to hear sounds and understand how language is formed. They
also practice, authentic reading which includes notes from school,
books, utility bills and other everyday forms of text.

Turkey condemns German parties on Armenia

Expatica, Netherlands
Feb 28 2005

28 February 2005

BERLIN – Turkey’s ambassador to Germany, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, has
angrily denounced a parliamentary resolution by the German
conservative opposition on the alleged mass expulsion and murder of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago.

In a statement, the ambassador accused the opposition Christian
Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) of having made
itself into a “spokesman for fanatical Armenian nationalism”.

He called the resolution, put forth by the CDU/CSU faction in the
German parliament on 22 February, a one-sided portrayal and said the
matter should be left to the historians.

“We would hope that our

friends in the Union parties, through their clumsy slander of Turkish
history, are not aiming to insult in particular our citizens living
here and in this manner to damage the manifold relations between
Turkey and Germany,” he said.

The CDU/CSU resolution was put forward to mark the upcoming 90th
anniversary of the events in the former Turkish Ottoman Empire
involving the Turks’ treatment of the ethnic Armenian minority.

In the resolution, the CDU said that on 24 April 1915, the order was
given by the Ottoman Turks to arrest and deport the Armenian cultural
and political elites, leading to the murder of most of them. It said
1.2 to 1.5 million Armenians were victims.

The resolution said that to this day, Turkey as the legal successor
to the Ottoman empire is still denying that the events were planned
and massacres carried out.

“This position of rejection stands in contradiction to the idea of
reconciliation which guides the community of values in the European
Union which Turkey wants to join,” the CDU/CSU resolution said.

In his statement, Irtemcelik said the CDU/CSU needed to explain why
it has waited so long, including the period when it was in power in
Germany to put such a sensitive topic on the agenda. The CDU/CSU was
in power in Bonn and then Berlin between 1982 and 1998.

He said the Union parties in the past had always opposed initiatives
which had sought to instrumentalise the German parliament.

Over two million Turks live in Germany, making up by far the largest
foreign ethnic group in the country.

In January, the eastern German state of Brandenburg, bowing to
diplomatic pressure from Turkey, struck the subject of the Turkish
genocide against Armenians from its classroom curriculum.

But then this move was partially rescinded, after pressure by
Armenian representatives, so that the genocide against Armenians is
taught in the classroom as being one of several examples of genocide
in the 20th Century.

DPA

MORE GREEN SPACE

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
27 Feb 05

The recent structural changes in the government, particularly the
creation of a separate ministry of city building, show that town
building has become a priority in the development of the country. The
post-war peace, even in the neither war, nor peace situation, is
gathering momentum. The country is reconstructed. Of course, mainly
owing to the tremendous help of the Diaspora; on the means provided
by the Armenian Diaspora roads, schools, medical institutions, houses
and irrigation systems are built. Besides, the government has also
begun investing large sums in this sphere. This year the state budget
provided 5.5 billion drams which exceeds the sum provided last year
1.5 times. The new ministry is headed by Boris Alaverdian who has
experience of engineer and economist and headed the former Ministry
of Development of Industrial Infrastructures and Building since
June 2004. What is the reason for creating a separate ministry,
what is the range of activity of the new structure and which are
its priorities? Minister Boris ALAVERDIAN answered this and other
questions. â~@~S This kind of attention of the government towards
building is dictated by the requirements of life and by the fact
that our state is becoming steadier and stronger. The structural
changes which resulted in the separate ministry of town building
also affected the internal structure. Particularly a new department
for policy of town building and architecture was established. Now a
thorough selection of high-quality specialists is carried out because
this department will work out the policies of the ministry. Besides,
the powers of the supervision bodies will be widened, which will
hopefully have a positive impact on the quality of building in the
country. Since last year all the building sites are controlled
by the ministry. After the separation of the ministry our work
became more specialized, which, I am sure, will be beneficial for
our activity. â~@~S Could you enumerate the present priorities of
the ministry? â~@~S First about the capital. The government intends
to expand the green area in the town. The people of the town feel
suffocated by the density of buildings. The town was smaller before
but it had several parks. Today there is only one park. This year
we shall expand the green area in the capital. As to the rest
of the republic, the activity of the ministry will be directed at
providing every village in Karabakh with comfortable buildings for the
village council, school and club. â~@~S What do you mean when you say
â~@~a comfortable buildingâ~@~]? â~@~S I mean conditions for normal
operation of the village council. Reconstruction works, building of
administrative, cultural buildings is planned. In village schools
boilers will be installed for central heating, problems of water
supply will be solved. The problem of electric power supply has been
almost solved. Only several villages in the regions of Kashatagh and
Shahumian do not have electricity. The next problem if gasification of
the country. In the coming year it is planned to complete gasification
of the towns of Stepanakert, Martuni and Shushi. This year gasification
of the region of Hadrut will begin at last. In the coming years we plan
to complete the program of gasification of the whole country. In the
coming years we also plan to complete the state program of providing
families of the killed and disabled soldiers with flats. â~@~S Last
year the architectural council under the Ministry of Industrial
Infrastructures and Building was dissolved, and its functions were
shared by the architectural council of the ministry and the local
governments. What was the reason for this change, and wonâ~@~Yt this
impact the efficiency of the council? As the architectural potential
is concentrated in the capital, how competent will the decision
of the architectural council of the city hall of Hadrut or Shushi
be if there is not a single architect in the council? By the way,
the architects think that in the case of Shushi the situation is
simply deplorable. â~@~S Yes, last year we did that in order for the
local bodies to be assessed by the competent body. This was done to
increase the responsibility of the local architectural and building
services. This mechanism, however, proved ineffective. Probably,
it is necessary to reconsider the former decision and seek for
positive results. â~@~S Mr. Minister, is the esthetic aspect
taken into consideration during competitions for engineering or
reconstructing valuable architectural monuments? â~@~S Of course, we
set such requirements during competitions for individual projects. I
can enumerate several examples: the projects of the buildings of the
museum of local lore, National Assembly, the republic library included
quite interesting architectural solutions. We set such demands before
projects of administrative and cultural buildings. And in the question
of reconstruction of Shushi we set special requirements. I know that
there is no architect in the architectural council under the Shushi
City Hall. However, I think, the problem can be solved; we may invite
architects from abroad, and solve the problems adequately. Recognizing
the importance of the issue we undertake other steps: we enable the
private sector to implement their programs at the condition that
their works be controlled by us.

SUSANNA BALAYAN. 27-02-2005

–Boundary_(ID_+nXi7jv6uXQrxkho6TmPDA)–

QUESTION OF MANDATE SEEMS POINTLESS

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
27 Feb 05

The report of the commission of the EC Committee of Ministers argues
that RA president Robert Kocharian told the commission that he had
been given the mandate to conduct negotiations for the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict by the NKR authorities. Did the NKR government
really grant such power to the RA president? â~@~S From where did this
question occur at all? What does the mandate have to do here? After
the summit in Lisbon in 1996 the negotiations in the framework of the
OSCE Minsk Group were stopped, while Nagorni Karabakh had only this
opportunity to take part in negotiations. In other formats Azerbaijan
did not wish to talk to NKR. In this situation the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to discuss the relationships of the two
countries at the top level, including the topic of settlement of the
conflict relationships. Now is there any need for mandate for this? The
government of Armenia which is the guarantor of the security of the
people of NKR, determines its policy itself, which can be assessed by
the citizens and political forces of Armenia. It is not up to Nagorni
Karabakh to decide what is wrong and what is right in this matter. In
this sense we do not even have the right to impact the actions of the
sovereign Armenian republic. It is another question that we arrogate to
ourselves the right to express openly our own standpoint concerning
all the aspects of our issue and the impact of the conflict on
the interests of Armenia. Our standpoint was and is expressed
unambiguously. We have always thought that without the participation
of NKR the negotiations cannot be effective. What is more, significant
problems occur for Armenia and NKR both from the point of view of
diplomacy of settlement and on the international scene in general. We
think, Armenia does not have any responsibilities for the consequences
of the conflict, particularly territories outside its territory
of sovereignty and humanitarian problems before the international
community. The settlement of similar problems is the authority of NKR
and we see the settlement of these problems in direct negotiations with
Azerbaijan which is dissatisfied with NKR. On the other hand, the NKR
government is attentive towards everything that can have a negative
impact on the fate of Armenia. We have no wish to solve our problems at
the expense of Armenia, and generally by way of causing moral damage
to the people of Armenia. Therefore, the question of mandating the RA
president seems pointless. Everybody must feel responsible for the
settlement of those difficult problems together. And if something
is wrong, the situation must be discussed calmly and additional
opportunities must be sought for to overcome them. I think, today in
the world they begin to understand the standpoint of NKR. Recently
in the resolution of the PACE on Nagorni Karabakh the idea was set
forth clearly that the failure of the decade-old negotiations was
caused by the absence of direct dialogue between the governments of
Azerbaijan and NKR, and the improvement of the prospect for settlement
is connected with the necessity of such a dialogue. â~@~S But the
author of the resolution David Atkinson told in his interview to BBC
about the unacceptability of the principle of self-determination in
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. – Everything is correct. He
does not believe that Azerbaijan may recognize the independence of
NKR. But it is already enough that Atkinson expresses the opinion of
Europe that the sides will make their decisions themselves. That is to
say, there is no complex in reference to the question that NKR may be
recognized as an independent country. Let them seat the sides at the
table of negotiations, and time will show. Why, and you want to make
a guess for everything beforehand. NKR IS WILLING TO NEGOTIATE The
political adviser to the NKR president Manvel Sarghissian, touching
upon the talks for the NKR issue in his interview to our newspaper,
implied that they are rather talks for the bilateral relationships
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time he added that although
Armenia is the country that guarantees the security of the people
of NKR, its government decides on its foreign policy, including for
Azerbaijan, itself. Mr. Sarghissian also said that Armenia, in fact,
faces difficult problems connected with the fact that the problem of
Karabakh is not settled yet. â~@~These also wait for their solution
through negotiations. Moreover, Armenia has its own understanding
of the fate of NKR,â~@~] said Manvel Sarghissian. Commenting on
David Atkinsonâ~@~Ys resolution adopted by the PACE, the adviser to
the NKR president said, â~@~The PACE resolution is first of all
a political document. Such resolutions form a background for real
politics. Therefore, we need to be interested in the real steps of the
EC starting from this resolution. Today the resolution is interpreted
in different ways, for which the document provides a wide scene. But as
it is necessary to think about the prospect of real policies conducted
by the EC, it is more preferable to follow the interpretations of the
resolution by the Europeans. In this sense I would like to draw your
attention to the interview of the author of the resolution to the BBC
immediately after the adoption of the resolution by the PACE. Pay
attention to such concepts as â~@~during ten years after signing
cease-fire the sides did not achieve peace because there were no
real relationships between the Azerbaijani and NK authoritiesâ~@¦ ,
it is necessary to start negotiations, to maintain a dialogue for its
settlementâ~@¦, the PACE suggested shifting the Minsk process to the
parliamentary plain levelâ~@¦ , and if the people of Karabakh maintain
the present independence, de facto independence from Azerbaijan,
and Azerbaijan agrees to this, we will also recognize it… , now we
are waiting for the Azerbaijani government to set up relationships
with the authorities of Karabakh and propose starting discussion â~@¦
the dialogue must begin without preconditions (from the interview in
the ). Nagorni Karabakh also thinks so. If Europe
wants to bring the authorities of Azerbaijan and Nagorni Karabakh to
the table of negotiations, this may, in fact, create an atmosphere
for the settlement of the conflict. Especially that parliamentary
relations, moving the Minsk process to the parliamentary plain of
NKR and Azerbaijan are concerned,â~@~] notices Manvel Sarghissian.

27-02-2005

–Boundary_(ID_elJMjHj/9N6JLMzSSmCiNQ)–

Armenia violates ceasefire again

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 28 2005

Baku, February 25, AssA-Irada

Armenian military units fired from their positions in the occupied
Shikhlar village of Aghdam District at the positions of the Azerbaijani
armed forces located in the Orta Gishlag village of the same district
with submachine and machine guns on Friday afternoon, the ATV reported.

Residents of the village were hiding in the basements of their
houses during the shooting. The Ministry of Defence did not confirm
the report.

The ceasefire has been breached by Armenia in Aghdam District seven
times this month.

Another local TV channel, Lider, reported that ceasefire was also
breached in the Tovuz District.*

“Int’l assistance needed to arraign Khojaly massacre perpetrators”

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 28 2005

Baku, February 25, AssA-Irada

The chief perpetrators of the Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijanis
committed by Armenians in 1992 have yet to be held responsible. The
world community’s assistance is needed in this, the President’s adviser
on national affairs Hidayat Orujov told a Friday news conference
dedicated to the 13th anniversary of the tragedy.

Orujov said that law enforcement are currently investigating the
actions perpetrated by the criminals responsible for the massacre
in Armenia, Upper Garabagh and Moscow. Some of the criminal cases
have already been disclosed, while extensive information needs to be
ascertained with regard to others. The Azeri government is doing its
utmost in this area, he said.

Orujov added that if the number of countries that recognize and
become aware of the massacre increases, this would accelerate and
facilitate catching, bringing these criminals to Azerbaijan and
holding them accountable.*