LAVROV MADE DIPLOMATIC SLIP

A1+
17-02-2005

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in Yerevan
yesterday evening, made a slip when speaking to the journalists in the
airport. In answer to the question whether he is going to discuss the
situation in Georgia with the Armenian leadership Sergey Lavrov said,
“Do you mean the situation after Zhvania’s killing?” and immediately
rectified, “After Zvania’s death?”

The Minister’s schedule for February 17 is rather tensed – besides
numerous formal meetings Sergey Lavrov will put a wreath to the
monument of the Armenian Genocide victims, meet with the teaching
staff of the Slavonic University and with journalists.

As for the issues to be discussed, it is known that the Russian FM
is expected to touch upon the issues regarding the transport and
fuel-energy field.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN OFFICIALS UNDERSTOOD EACH OTHER WELL

A1+
17-02-2005

“Presently Russia is Armenia’s major trade-economic partner”, today
this statement was once again heard during the meeting of Russian FM
Sergey Lavrov and Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

Over 160 international and intergovernmental agreements have been
signed between the two countries.

During the meeting the interlocutors discussed Property for Debt
Program. Sergey Lavrov affirmed that Russian party does its best to
make essential investments in the Armenian enterprises including the
Mars plant and Science and Research Institutes and secure their normal
functioning. He also underscored the necessity of timely supplying
of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant with fuel in order to secure its
continuous work and highlighted the importance of modernization of
the NPP.

When touching upon the cooperation in the field of transport
communication the Armenian Prime Minister noted that our country pays
special attention to the opening of the Caucasus-Poti railway and
ferry routes what will allow to considerably contribute to the cargo
transportation between the two countries. Andranik Margaryan said
he is satisfied with Armenia’s joining North-South transport corridor.

In the course of the meeting the parties exchanged opinions on the
prospects of opening of the Abkhazian sector of the Georgian railway
and other issues of mutual interest.

COUNCIL OF CIVIL SERVICE

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

On February 14 the press conference of the NKR Council of Civil
Service took place, during which journalists had an opportunity to
get acquainted with the work done in one year and get answers to
their questions. The system of civil service has been long operating
in foreign countries. In our country the Council of Civil Service
was established a year ago and aims to promote the development of
a flexible and healthy cadre system. As any new organization the
Council of Civil Service also faces difficulties. The chairman of
the council B. Arushanian informed that in the beginning all the
work was done by the members of the council only (the reason was
the lack of office and possibility to employ specialists). In answer
to the question if the law favours the effectiveness of work of the
council, B. Arushanian said that there will be need to change some
points in the law in the course of time, but now the activity of
the council is carried out strictly within the framework of the law
in effect. The NKR Council of Civil Service will soon undertake the
first retraining and qualification courses. â~@~This a complicated
process requiring hard work and efforts. We also have questions to
be answered because the system is new in our republic. Anyway, in the
beginning the approach cannot be strict because the specialists are not
ready for it either,â~@~] he said. In reference to cooperation it was
mentioned that the council received methodological and practical aid
from the corresponding body of the Republic of Armenia (the problem
of not being recognized internationally does not allow their foreign
colleagues have direct communication with them) but hopefully the
range of cooperation will become wider year by year.

SRBUHI VANIAN. 17-02-2005

–Boundary_(ID_31t4/Y/PXgm8lM9+l8sQ7g)–

NOTHING TO HIDE FROM OSCE MINSK GROUP

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

Quite recently the fact-finding mission of the OSCE Minsk Group
finished their activity in the liberated territories controlled
by NKR. What attitude do the NKR authorities have towards this
question? We asked NKR President Arkady Ghukassian to answer
to this and several other questions which he willingly commented
on. Mr. President, your address on December 16 evoked wide response
both in Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia. In the mentioned address
you emphasized the principle of structural reforms in NKR. You also
mentioned the imperative of struggle against corruption, permissiveness
and rehabilitating the moral and psychological atmosphere in the
republic. Is the situation in Artsakh that disturbing? â~@~S Life does
not stop. The Republic of Nagorni Karabakh which by the will of its
people declared the principles of modern civil society as a basis for
its development cannot do without democratic reforms. We simply have
to prove to the world every hour and every day even by trial and error
method that we have the right for having our own independent state
which essentially prevails over Azerbaijan by its rates of social,
economic and cultural development and the level of correspondence to
the standards of the European community. Otherwise the world will not
understand the fact of our self-determination and will not recognize
the independence of NKR. Of course, corruption and other negative
social phenomena in Nagorni Karabakh cannot in any way be compared to
the similar phenomena existing in the Azerbaijani reality. However,
this cannot become a reason for self-comforting. We think that such
phenomena must be excluded in Nagorni Karabakh at all. Although
these cannot be uprooted in a short period of time. In the period
of transition to liberal economy and civil society such phenomena
may objectively rise independent of our will. Our task is to reduce
their influence on the society to a minimum degree. We are aware
that peopleâ~@~Ys confidence in their authorities depends on this,
which is directly connected with the security of the country. For
us the healthy moral and psychological atmosphere is a political
category. â~@~S Perhaps, â~@~shade economyâ~@~], why not also
the model of clan-oligarchy economy is typical of all the CIS
countries. Are these characteristic of NKR too? Would you please
describe the present situation of economic development of NKR and
particularly the process of investments? â~@~S It is doubtless that the
clan-oligarchy model which you mentioned detaches people, aggravates
social stratification, increases tension within the society, which we
try to avoid by all means. This model, as a rule, emerges when the law
does not work in the country. Therefore we take measures to promote
law and order in the country. Although, if take into consideration the
size of NKR and the number of the population it is impossible to speak
seriously about the existence of this model in our country. At the same
time, in my address on December 16 I emphasized that the government
will not allow clans in economic management and state governance. As
to â~@~shade economyâ~@~], I think it can be eliminated through
improvement of tax policy and shifting the economy to a liberal field
of activity. In this direction we have had considerable progress. It
will not be an exaggeration to say that the tax legislation in NKR
is the most attractive in the entire South Caucasus. Thus, in the
recent years foreign investments totaling several tens of million
dollars have been made in the economy of Artsakh. Owing to the foreign
investments mainly made by our compatriots living abroad we managed
to update the process of production in several pivotal branches of
the NKR economy and reduce unemployment. The government pays special
attention to small business. The sums provided for the support and
development of small business were increased in the State Budget 2005.
Presently in one trimester as much production is produced as during the
whole year of 1999. This and other indices allow us to solve social
problems more effectively, which is a strategic political line of
our government. â~@~S Mr. Ghukassian, the geopolitical situation
around NKR is becoming increasingly threatening. How would you
describe the present situation of negotiations for the resolution
of the NKR issue, and is there hope that NKR will again receive the
status of a full-right party in the negotiations? â~@~S I would not
like to exaggerate although I understand the anxieties of the Armenian
society for the situation around the Karabakh settlement. I have not
once stated that it is impossible to achieve a solution without the
full-right participation of the Karabakh side in the negotiations. I
think that the international observers in the face of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen also have the same opinion. History has shown a great
many times that the solution of the problem of a country or a people
will not produce good results unless the representatives of the given
country or people are involved in it. The temporary political dividends
of this or that side are not taken into account. I am sure that sooner
or later Karabakh will again be represented in the negotiations, and
what is more, on an equal right basis. Of course, if Azerbaijan and the
international mediators really tend to settle the Karabakh problem in a
peaceful way, through reasonable compromise. There is no alternative
to this. â~@~S It is known that the NKR authorities have recently
undertaken drafting and adopting of the Constitution of the country.
Why is the adoption of the NKR Constitution important especially in
this stage? â~@~S The project of the NKR Constitution is still being
worked out and I cannot even tell the approximate time when it will
be adopted. By the way, the idea of adopting the Constitution of
the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh did not occur today. The necessity
of passing the NKR Constitution was fixed in my election programs
in 1997 and 2002. It is another question why we undertook drafting
the Constitution especially now. In this reference I want to remind
that NKR is not yet recognized, and the conflict with Azerbaijan is
not solved. As the approach of NKR was always constructive for the
peaceful settlement of the conflict, we tended to abstain from steps
which might increase tension in the negotiations. By acting this way
we expected a similar response from Baku. However, our expectations
did not come true. Moreover, the Baku authorities refused at all
to enter in dialogue with us, including dialogue on such pivotal
matters as the status of NK. Later the top officials of Azerbaijan
announced that they do not intend to make any compromise in the
question of Karabakh. However, we cannot give up state building and
wait forever till the Azerbaijani authorities decide to start dialogue
with us. All these circumstances dictated the necessity of drafting the
NKR Constitution as a regular step on the way of building a legitimate
democratic state. The NKR Constitution will set milestones marking
the main directions of development of our state and society. â~@~S Mr.
President, the recent statements of the assistant to the US Secretary
of the State Department Elizabeth Jones was mainly criticized by the
society of RA. It is strange. The US government provides financial
means to NKR every year, but time to time this or that American
official makes an abrupt anti-Karabakh statement. How would you
explain this controversy? â~@~S In my recent interview to the Russian
news agency â~@~Regnumâ~@~] I answered a similar question. I cannot
add anything new. I think that the artificial isolation of Nagorni
Karabakh from the negotiations and discussions of the Karabakh issue in
different international organizations supposes occasional appearance
of wording in documents of those organizations, which do not satisfy
us. Therefore NKR must achieve its full-right participation in the
peaceful process. â~@~S What is your attitude towards the latest
visit of the OSCE fact-finding group to NKR? â~@~S We have always been
interested in the visits of representatives of different international
organizations to NKR. We have nothing to hide from them. Let them get
acquainted with the situation on the spot in order to eliminate the
slander of Azerbaijan. The NKR government tried its best to provide
all the necessary conditions for the effective work of the OSCE
delegates. We hope that the report to be presented by the special
committee which visited NKR will be the due reflection of the real
situation in the territories controlled by the NKR authorities. It is
also a positive fact that the OSCE representatives met with refugees,
came in touch with them. Thus, if the international community used
to speak only about the Azerbaijani refugees, now they will have to
take into account the fact of existence of the Armenian refugees. The
latter circumstance may even become more urgent in the process of
negotiations.

â~@~YERORD UZHâ~@~] WEEKLY. 17-02-2005

–Boundary_(ID_PUmaE5lKgnhFLbLauInrIg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE

Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

IN HIS REPORT TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
OF THE WCC HIS HOLINESS CALLED FOR THE REDISCOVERY OF THE CHUCRH’S HEALING
MINISTRY

In his annual report to the Central Committee of the World Council of
Churches His Holiness Aram I, the Moderator of the WCC, focused his
reflections on the healing ministry of the church. He said: “The dawn of the
21st century is marked by growing uncertainty and anxiety. The world in
which we live is broken, a world dominated by evil forces that are
generating a culture of violence and hopelessness. The world is in desperate
need of healing in almost all spheres of human life”. The renewed concern
and awareness towards healing in a new world context raises for the
churches, His Holiness said, “fundamental theological, missiological,
ethical and pastoral questions that require critical scrutiny”.

Catholicos Aram I started his theological and missiological analysis by
healing as the “transforming, empowering and reconciling missionary action
of the church”. He referred to healing as a vital dimension of the Church’s
ministry and an ecumenical priority. Speaking about healing as a missionary
concern, His Holiness said that “healing is an ontological and not a
functional reality. It pertains to the essence of the Church”. He emphasized
the importance of “holistic approach” to healing and called for the
integration of “scientific healing” and “divine healing”.

Catholicos Aram I developed his reflections under three major healings:
healing as transforming, healing as empowering, healing as reconciling.

1) As transforming power of God “healing is the beginning of new life in
Christ. It is the restoration of the brokenness of life. It is the recovery
of life’s wholeness. The Christian understanding of healing is ultimately
salvation”.

2) Healing is God’s power acting through the Holy Spirit in Jesus
Christ (Lk. 4: 14)”. Human power is “ambiguous and ambivalent”. Catholicos
Aram I called for “a moral criterion in the exercise of power to avoid the
misuse and abuse of power”. Speaking about the importance of transforming
the ambiguity of power, Aram I stressed the need to move “From violent to
non-violent power; from sufficiency to vulnerability of power; from absolute
to accountable power; from centralized to shared power”. Speaking about the
Christian perception of power, he said: “God’s power is revealed through the
powerlessness, God’s powerlessness is life-generating; it is the church’s
source of empowering”.

3) Reconciliation is a significant feature of healing: “The Christ event
is a source and a message of reconciliation” said His Holiness, and focused
his analysis on confession and forgiveness as the way towards
reconciliation. In this context, Aram I considered forgiveness “a gift and a
task”. He said that “forgiving is not ignoring the past. The acceptance of
truth is precondition for forgiveness. And forgiveness must lead to
reconciling memories and it must generate justice”.

His Holiness called the churches to renew their mission of healing: “Today,
the brokenness of the world is being experienced existentially and acutely.
Humanity is caught in a state of deep fear and insecurity. The world is
increasingly becoming confusing and threatening. Lack of mutual trust and
tolerance between communities is polarizing them and making them more
violent. Is there any more credible and urgent mission for the church than
to become a true instrument of God’s healing, transforming, empowering and
reconciling power? Against human power Christ revealed His powerlessness;
against human pride He revealed His humility; against human hatred He
revealed His love; against human divisions He revealed His reconciliation;
against human sin He revealed His salvation; against human death He revealed
His life. This is the way of Christ. This must became the way of His church.
God’s mission calls for a healing church in the midst of a broken,
fragmented and alienated world”.

Read the full text of the WCC Moderator’s report to Central Committee here

##

View printable pictures here:

res63.htm

ictures64.htm

********

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Charge filed against writer Orhan Pamuk

Turkish Daily News
Feb 17 2005

ANKARA — Charges have been filed against internationally renowned
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk for statements he reportedly made
during an interview with Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger, published in the
newspaper’s Feb. 6 issue, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Anatolia Professional Association of Owners of Scientific and Literary
Works (ANASAM) President Mehmet Özer and attorney Mehmet Üçok filed
the charges at the Kayseri Public Prosecutor’s office.

Pamuk allegedly said in the interview that that 30,000 Kurds and 1
million Armenians had been killed in Turkey.

–Boundary_(ID_TuesnAKPLvu0ESyWpNA0cw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

Thursday 17 February 2005
TURKMENISTAN: MORE RELIGIOUS PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE JAILED

Turkmenistan has increased the number of religious prisoners of conscience
it has jailed, Forum 18 News Service has learnt, by imprisoning two further
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Atamurat Suvkhanov and Begench Shakhmuradov, for
refusing on religious grounds to serve in the armed forces. There are now
five known religious prisoners of conscience in Turkmenistan, four of them
Jehovah’s Witnesses and one Muslim, the former chief mufti. In addition,
some imams are believed to be in internal exile. Religious prisoners of
conscience in Turkmenistan have been harshly treated, being regularly
beaten, threatened with homosexual rape, and in one case apparently treated
with psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. Suvkhanov, who is now 18, is
currently being held in the women’s labour camp in the eastern town of
Seydi, and the whereabouts of Shakhmuradov, who is 26, are unknown.
Commenting on the fact that Shakhmuradov is older than most military
conscripts, Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18 that “we still
don’t know why someone that age was called up.”

TURKMENISTAN: MORE RELIGIOUS PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE JAILED

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

Two further Jehovah’s Witnesses have been imprisoned for refusing
compulsory military service on religious grounds while others continue to
be threatened and fined for their religious activity, Jehovah’s Witness
sources have told Forum 18 News Service. Atamurat Suvkhanov was sentenced
to 18 months’ imprisonment in the north-eastern town of Dashoguz
[Dashhowuz] on 17 December 2004, while Begench Shakhmuradov was sentenced
in the Azatlyk district of the capital Ashgabad [Ashgabat] to one year’s
imprisonment on about 10 February. “Shakhmuradov is 26 years old
– we still don’t know why someone that age was called up,”
Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18. The new sentences bring to five
the number of known religious prisoners of conscience in Turkmenistan, four
of them Jehovah’s Witnesses and one Muslim. In addition, some imams are
believed to be in internal exile.

Both Suvkhanov and Shakhmuradov were sentenced under Article 219 of the
Criminal Code, which punishes refusal to serve in the armed forces.
Turkmenistan offers no non-combat alternative to those who cannot serve in
the military on grounds of conscience.

Suvkhanov, who was baptised as a Jehovah’s Witness in December 2002 and is
now 18, is currently being held in the women’s labour camp in the eastern
town of Seydi, although Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18 they
believe this might be a temporary measure. The whereabouts of Shakhmuradov,
who was baptised in August 2003, are unknown.

The two other Jehovah’s Witness prisoners, Mansur Masharipov and Vepa
Tuvakov who were both from Dashoguz, were sentenced on 28 May and 3 June
2004 on the same grounds and are being held in the Seydi men’s labour camp
(see F18News 25 October 2004
). All these sentences
were issued after the televised announcement by President Saparmurat
Niyazov earlier in 2004 that all imprisoned conscientious objectors should
be released.

Six Jehovah’s Witness prisoners were freed last June in the wake of the
president’s announcement which followed international pressure on the
Turkmen government. Many of them had been harshly treated, being regularly
beaten and in one case apparently treated with psychotropic (mind-altering)
drugs (see F18News 25 October 2004
). One earlier Jehovah’s
Witness prisoner had been the victim of homosexual rape and others were
threatened with the same fate (see F18News 24 November 2003
). However, Jehovah’s
Witness sources have told Forum 18 that conditions for their
fellow-believers still being held have improved since last summer. “We
have had no recent reports of beatings or threats against them.”

Also still imprisoned is the 57-year-old former chief mufti, Nasrullah ibn
Ibadullah, who was arrested after falling out with President Niyazov and is
now serving a 22-year sentence on charges the Turkmen government refuses to
make public. He has not been freed despite recent prisoner amnesties (see
F18News 25 October 2004
).

Meanwhile, the Jehovah’s Witnesses report other recent harassment of their
members in Turkmenistan. On 2 November 2004, the police seized Amangozel
Atageldiyeva, Gulshirin Atageldiyeva, Ayjemal Khummedova and Maysa
Annagylyjova in the town of Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, one of many towns
renamed after the president, in the Mary region of south-eastern
Turkmenistan. The four women were taken to the local administration,
threatened and mocked “with the aim of forcing them to abandon their
religious views”, Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18. They were
then freed. Two further Jehovah’s Witnesses, Guncha Atageldiyeva and Bakhar
Sapayeva, were summoned for similar threats in the following days.

On 16 November 2004, a district police officer detained Maksat Khalyshev
while he was in the street in an outlying suburb of Ashgabad. After finding
a Bible and other religious literature on him and in the absence of a
permit to live in the capital, Khalyshev was taken to the police station.
After “verbal insults and humiliation” he was taken to a holding
centre where he was kept for 24 hours in the open air on a cold concrete
floor without any covering. The following afternoon he was driven 50
kilometres (30 miles) outside the city, made to get out of the vehicle and
told to continue to the town of Dashoguz on his own, a distance of 450
kilometres (280 miles) in a straight line. He returned to his home in
Ashgabad only at 11 pm.

On 26 November 2004, Murat Saryyev – who was originally from Dashoguz
– was summoned to the administration of Ashgabad’s Kopetdag district. He
was met by a commission of nine persons in the room dedicated to the
Ruhnama, a book of President Niyazov’s “spiritual” writings which
has taken the place of the works of Lenin as an object of official
veneration. “The members of the commission humiliated him morally and
threatened to confiscate his apartment and evict him to the city of
Dashoguz to his relatives if he continued conducting meetings with his
fellow believers in his apartment and speaking about the gospel to
others,” Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18.

On 10 December 2004 Darya Meshcherina, a 20-year old Jehovah’s Witness in
Ashgabad was detained by the police when she gave a friend she met on the
street a book, My Book of Bible Stories. “At this moment two police
officers took hold of her, twisted her arms and pushed her into a car and
drove to the police station,” Forum 18 was told. “There the
content of her bag was inspected and the following items were confiscated:
The Watchtower magazine, brochures, audiocassettes, photocopied sheets of
paper and a medical identification document. She was forced to make a
written statement.”

On 20 December Ashgabad’s Azatlyk district court fined Meshcherina
2,500,000 manats (3,077 Norwegian kroner, 368 Euros or 480 US dollars at
the highly inflated official exchange rate) under Article 205 of the Code
of Administrative Offences, which punishes any religious activity the
government has not authorised. The fine represents about 1.5 times the
average monthly salary.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are among a whole range of religious communities
that have failed to get registration with the government and therefore the
right to conduct any religious activity. Other such faiths effectively
banned include all Protestant denominations apart from the Adventists and
possibly the Baptists (their registration has not yet been completed eight
months after they were given their registration certificate), Shia Muslims,
the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Catholics (except on Vatican diplomatic
territory), the Lutherans, the Jews, the Yezidis (followers of an ancient
Kurdish faith) and the New Apostolic Church. Even for registered faiths
(the Muslims, the Russian Orthodox, the Adventists, possibly the Baptists,
the Hare Krishna community and the Baha’is), religious activity is legal
only in the few authorised places of worship.

For more background, see Forum 18’s Turkmenistan religious freedom survey
at

A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
s/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.

You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

–Boundary_(ID_KdGvouFTIODkBUsgExNuMw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Daily News
Feb 12 2005

A Briton who regrets ever coming to Turkey

Mehmet Ali Birand
Saturday, February 12, 2005

The Parish family, after retiring in 1997, sold everything they owned
in Britain and moved to Milas. They bought 800 square meters of land
and built a house there. Five years later, the Turkish state knocked
on their door. Since then, their life has been a living hell.

Turkish society has a strange fear.

Foreigners coming and purchasing land are seen as a “violation of the
motherland” or even as “selling out our heavenly country.” Some go
even further and claim Arabs are buying land in the Southeast and
Hatay, while others say the Greeks are trying to establish a new
Pontic Empire by purchasing large tracts of the Black Sea region.
While the Greeks are busy to the west, some say, Armenians are close
to achieving their “Greater Armenia” dream by acquiring homes in
Kars-Ardahan. The strangest thing of all is officials taking these
claims seriously and investigating the hearsay. A few people stir up
trouble, and the rest are all affected by it.

This was considered such a potential problem that until very recently
no foreigner was allowed to purchase land anywhere in the country. Such
bans still exist in certain regions. Military permission must be
granted for such sales to take place.

While the rest of the world does its best to attract foreign investment
and invite foreigners to buy property, we do our outmost to keep them
at bay.

Actually, we need not do anything special to keep them away.

Our bureaucracy itself and the inherently unjust system that
currently exists are enough to protect (!) our country from any
foreign encroachment.

The Parish family is just a simple example.

How we crushed the Parish family

Nigel Parish and his wife are in their 60s and live in Milas. After
retiring from their positions as top executives at a British bank,
they decided to move to the Turkey they loved so much. They sold
everything they owned and bought three parcels of land from three
different owners in the town of Ören.

Their first shock came soon after they begin building their home.
They were told that there was a ban on building homes in the region
imposed by the military. Turks ruin the beautiful Aegean coastline
by building illegal shanty homes and no one says a word, but when a
foreigner comes along, we suddenly hammer down the letter of the law.

The Parish family didn’t understand their friend’s suggestions:
“Don’t worry. Just register your house in the name of a Turk you
know well and everything will turn out just fine.” They failed to
make sense of our habit of deceiving ourselves.

But, by then, the bureaucratic wheels had already been set in motion.

They received a document from the Land Registry stating there was
no reason why they couldn’t build a house on the land they owned.
They finally completed the house in 1998.

They thought their dreams had come true. So much so that when a young
English teacher came to them to ask for their assistance, they agreed
to help him paint the soulless local school classrooms. The headmaster
of the school was a very modern, open-minded person, and not before
long they had developed a warm relationship.

However, everything changed in 2002.

The Finance Ministry then told the Parishes that one of the pieces
of land they had bought was actually owned by the ministry. A year
later it was the Forestry Department’s turn; they staked a claim on
another piece of their land, filing charges against them.

The Parish family failed to understand what was happening. They
presented the land deeds they had, and brought forward witnesses.
After expert testimony, useless lawyers, investigations and tons of
money spent, the court decided in favor of the state, effectively
ignoring the Land Registry. On top of that, the court also found it
appropriate to fine the Parish’s TL 675 billion.

You can imagine how shocked the Parishes were. Whatever you might say,
it just doesn’t make sense. It’s bureaucratic chaos that even we,
who are used to such trouble, might find hard to understand.

The Parish’s have no idea what to do and are very distressed. I guess
they regret ever deciding to sell everything they owned in England and
make Turkey their second home. I am sure when their British friends
hear the story, they’ll never consider buying anything in Turkey.

As I said, there’s no reason to impose military bans or pass
restrictive laws in order to keep foreigners out of our country. Our
bureaucracy, sales procedures and the condition the Land Registry and
justice system find themselves in are all we need ensure no foreigners
will want to buy land here.

The Parish family can take meager consolation from one sad fact.
They were not a special exception. They did not face this kind of
treatment simply because they were foreigners; this is just everyday
Turkish bureaucracy. If they only saw what some Turks had to face,
they might forget their woes and try to console us instead.

–Boundary_(ID_am2/EdaGRyP08ISXfNGcfQ)–

Church sale moving forward
By ALBERT McKEON, Telegraph Staff
[email protected]

Nashua Telegraph, NH
Feb 17 2005

NASHUA – A Superior Court judge has rejected another attempt to block
the sale of St. Francis Xavier Church.

Meanwhile, a local real estate developer who intends to buy the
property and donate it to his Armenian Orthodox faith is about to meet
with his spiritual leader in Jerusalem with the hopes of finalizing
the deal, his attorney said.

Objectors to the proposed sale of the century-old Catholic church
had a lawsuit dismissed last month, but immediately filed an appeal.
Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge William Groff on Monday
threw out the appeal, ruling that the protesters offered no legal
backing in their latest request.

Bishop John McCormack, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Manchester, has the authority to sell the church, Groff wrote in his
order. McCormack, who oversees the church property through a statutory
trust, is following the law in selling the church to another religious
denomination, Groff wrote.

The diocese has entered into a $1 million purchase-and-sale agreement
with developer Vatche Manoukian, who has said he wants to donate the
property to the Armenian Orthodox Church.

Manoukian is in Israel and expects to meet Archbishop Torkom Manoogian,
the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, next week, said
attorney Andrew Prolman. Manoukian hopes the archbishop will soon
approve the transaction, Prolman said.

“We finally have the right people’s attention, which hadn’t happened
until recently,” Prolman said. “It’s very encouraging that they are
more active in their decision-making.”

Groff’s decision is another setback to those fighting the sale. A
group comprised mostly of former parishioners and a few architectural
preservationists objected first to the church’s closure in 2003,
and most recently to the transaction between the two faiths. When St.
Francis Xavier closed, it technically merged with St. Louis de Gonzague
Church, and many parishioners moved there.

Under the provisions of a statutory trust, McCormack must act in
the interest of those parishioners and forward the proceeds from a
sale to their new parish. Groff, in his dismissal order last month,
said he could not speculate whether McCormack would use the proceeds
for any other purpose, and said the diocese is to date following the
conditions of the trust.

In their appeal, Groff said the parishioners claimed state law
prohibits McCormack from selling the church, and the property must
be perpetually maintained in a trust for them. But “the parishioners
cite no law in support of this proposition,” Groff wrote.

The judge pointed to an earlier probate court ruling approving the
sale, and added that even without that decision, his court has found
the bishop has the right to make the deal.

Ovide Lamontagne, an attorney for the diocese, wrote in an e-mail,
“Absent an appeal, this should conclude the litigation.”

The attorney for the protesters, Randall Wilbert, could not be
immediately reached for comment.

Azeri Christian minority protests at “fake” Armenian inscriptions

ANS TV, Baku
16 Feb 05

[Presenter] Residents of the village of Nij in Qabala [District] have
alleged that the Armenian inscriptions on Udi monuments are fake. The
Udis are preparing to send a note to the Norwegian embassy in Baku to
protest against an appeal from a Norwegian humanitarian organization
for these inscriptions to be preserved.

[Correspondent, over video of church, village] The residents of the
village will not allow the Armenian inscriptions to be preserved on
the Udi monuments, renovated with the help from the [state funded]
Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise [NHE], Georgi Demirciari, the
leader of the Christian minority of the Udis who live in the village
of Nij in Qabala, has said. The Udis, who are Azerbaijani citizens,
are protesting against the statement sent by this humanitarian
organization to the Azerbaijani authorities and the media a few days
ago. The statement said that the Armenian inscriptions on the walls
of the church, the renovation of which it is funding, have been
erased. But the Udi community said that the inscriptions are false
and dismissed the Norwegian reports as groundless.

[Georgi Demirciari, head of Udi religious community, captioned, shown
speaking to ANS] If those false inscriptions that I have mentioned
before are not erased, the renovation will lose its importance. The
Udis have said and are continuing to say that they will not bow to
enter the church if they have both the Armenian inscriptions and the
Udi inscriptions above the door.

[Correspondent] The Udi community has proof that the Armenian
inscriptions on the walls of the Udi church are spurious and the
Armenians have armenified the historic monuments of the Udis in the
village of Nij.

[Demirciari, captioned, shown speaking to ANS] The church was
constructed in 1723. At the time [Armenian] Gregorian Church clergy
left inscriptions in the Armenian alphabet both over the entrance
to the church and inside on a stone next to the altar. We do not
know how they did it or whether there were any inscriptions on it
before. Specialists then came and said that the stones were not
like other stones here in terms of their shape or texture. That was
done later.

[Correspondent] History is also on the side of the Udis. Demirciari
said that the Udis are the ancestors of the ancient Albanians,
who had been living in the territory of Azerbaijan since the second
century BC. According to historic sources, some of the Udis living in
Caucasus Albania embraced Christianity in the second century BC [as
heard] while others turned to Islam. In the Middle Ages the Armenian
Church fought to seize the church of the Caucasus Albania. That is
why the Udis were subjected to Armenian pressure. It was the Russian
tsar who decided to abolish the Albanian Church and handed over all
of its monasteries, documents and wealth to the Gregorian Church.

According to the Udis, the NHE is trampling on the legal rights of
Azerbaijani citizens. Therefore, the Udi Christian community is going
to send the note to the Norwegian embassy in Azerbaijan.

Etibar Ibrahimov, Xatira Akbarova, Samir Ismayilov for ANS