European experts unhappy with Armenian constitutional reform drafts
Arminfo
13 Dec 04
YEREVAN
All three drafts of constitutional reforms put up for public
discussion are still far from democratic principles, Vardan Pogosyan,
representative of the international NGO Partnership in the Name of
Open Society, said in Yerevan today, citing the conclusion of the
Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
Addressing a meeting to discuss these draft laws, he said that the
Venice Commission had looked into the three drafts: the one of
Armenia’s ruling coalition, the one offered by the National Democratic
Bloc party led by Arshak Sadoyan and the draft put forward by the
United Labour Party chaired by Gurgen Arsenyan.
European experts reckon that the main shortcoming of all the drafts is
the ill-defined division of the branches of power.
The draft offered by the National Democratic Bloc is weaker than the
others since it does not say anything about the protection of people’s
basic rights and freedoms, as well as about the protection of freedom
of speech and conscience. Experts at the Venice Commission believe
that the package of constitutional reforms drafted in July 2001 should
be taken as a basis. It was drafted by a special ad hoc commission
which included the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Gagik
Arutyunyan, Justice Minister David Arutyunyan and others. For their
part, the 2003 and 2004 packages may serve as addenda to the aforesaid
document.
In the European experts’ view, for some reason the three drafts lack
provisions guaranteeing citizens’ judicial protection while the
abolishment of the death penalty is mentioned only in passing – “each
citizen has the right to life”. The experts at the Venice Commission
believe that the members of the Council of Justice must be appointed
by the parliament, not by the president. The president must be
stripped of his right to appoint and dismiss prime ministers, and this
right should be handed over to the parliament.
The functions of the head of state must not be dominant even in
countries with semi-presidential rule. Among all the countries with
semi-presidential rule, only in Armenia and Russia it is the president
who appoints and dismisses prime ministers. Ukraine is the last
country to give up this practice.
On the whole, the Venice Commission’s experts concluded that there are
all conditions in Armenia to conduct genuinely democratic
constitutional reforms with the broad participation of all the
political organizations without exception in the process of
establishing a civic society, Vardan Pogosyan said.

Global Politician, NY
Dec 13 2004
Turkey’s Self-Emasculation
12/14/2004
By Antero Leitzinger

Under the new Islamist government, Turkey’s foreign policy has been a
complete disaster, unrivalled in the country’s long and proud
history. Few other countries in the world have ever managed to depart
from their traditional foreign policies so rapidly while voluntarily
missing so obvious chances for achieving great victories. Instead of
participating in the liberation of Iraq, to which Turkey was invited
by the USA, its closest ally, Turkey prostrated to France – to the
very same country that just recently condemned Turkey for the
Armenian genocide, and opposed NATO guarantees for Turkey’s security.
Instead of having the Turkish Army parading in Kirkuk as the
protector of Iraqi Turks and Kurds, Turkey not only choose to side
with the Arab Socialist Baath Party dictatorship of Saddam Hussein,
but even went on expressing publicly concerns on Kirkuk’s security on
April 10th, the very day its inhabitants were celebrating their
liberation by Kurdish freedom-fighters.
Turkey’s disastrous choices and perverted image campaign in order to
appeal to traditionally anti-Turkish left-wing peace activists and
Arabic radicals, can no more be explained by the lack of experience
of its new government, leading AK Party, and foreign minister
Abdullah Gül. The only rational explanation must lie in Turkey’s
political self-emasculation. Apparently, it will present its
application for EU membership as a political eunuch for Europe – as a
harmless country without real military capabilities (not even a show
of force beyond Cyprus, for over 80 years), and without an
independent agenda to integrate its Kurdish minority. Instead of
having a grateful Kurdish protectorate, or a friendly Iraqi
government as its south-eastern neighbour, Turkey will be bordered by
independent-minded Kurds who will have a leading role in shaping the
foreign policy of Free Iraq.
The consequences of Turkish total failure in spring 2003 will be
studied and regretted by scholars of military strategy and diplomacy
for decades to come. The frustration felt in the Turkish Army and
intelligence services, will boil for a long time. When the media will
realize, that Turkey lost a unique chance to secure a role in forming
future Iraqi policy, and to present its military force as the
guarantor of peace and prosperity for the whole Kurdish people, added
with the realization of being betrayed by the French and the
disappointment of being left outside the EU anyway, the popularity of
the current AK Party administration will fall to low bottom. How much
humiliation can a government take? Since the party has a majority in
the parliament, a crisis of Turkish democracy will be inevitable. A
military coup would not be the worst possible result.
Just when Turkey was on the brink of becoming the leading country of
the region, and a trusted pillar of the Free World, Turkish
politicians and journalists failed to follow the example of Kemal
Atatürk, who had led his country with convincing strength and vision.
Instead of winning the top prize in the three weeks. war, Turkey
became the worst casualty of the whole process, irresponsibly
degenerating into a third-class power, and a destabilizing factor in
the Middle East. The contrast can not be exaggerated. Consequences
will be felt also in the Caucasus and Cyprus, where Turkey lost
critical credibility and authority.
Imagine the Turkish Army having returned from a glorious march
through Mosul and Kirkuk to Baghdad. There would have been many
military decorations and promotions, valuable experience, some
martyrs to be commemorated, and plenty of deserved self-assurance.
The Turkish people as a whole would have felt a new sense of unity
and pride. Turkey as the main Muslim member of the international
coalition would have been remembered and loved in the USA, in
Britain, and in several other courageous EU member states. The
economy would have gained both through immediate US aid and Iraqi
contracts. The Greek, Armenians, Syrians, and Iranians, would have
respected Turkish concerns and taken Turkey’s requests into account.
But this all did not materialize. The sole responsibility lies on the
Turkish government, and all attempts to make any late recovery by
attempts to bully the Kurds, to occupy Northern Iraq, or to act as an
interested party to the reconstruction of Iraq, are vain, will be
ridiculed, and only serve to emphasize Turkish confusion. It is sad,
but the heavy work of generations of skilled Turkish diplomats,
analysts, public relations officers, and private friends of Turkey,
was wasted in a few weeks. Honour is hard to earn, shame even harder
to loose.
Some years ago, foreign policy analysts wondered “Who lost Russia”.
Today, the question is, “How did Turkey lose itself?”
The article was originally written in April 2003.
Antero Leitzinger is a political historian and a researcher for the
Finnish Directorate of Immigration. He wrote several books on Turkey,
the Middle East and the Caucasus.

Turkish-style European adaptation
Yerkir/arm
December 10, 2004
The desperate efforts that Turkey makes to convince the Europeans it
has adopted the European values and principles has been discussed a
lot.
The last example was the Turkish prime minister’s inauguration of an
Armenian museum where he made a “tender” speech how his government
values Turkey’s minorities, including Armenians. The trick’s goal was
to change Turkey’s image in the mind of an average European who likes
idyllic pictures.
Turkey is trying to once again deceive the international community
like it did a few years ago. International organizations, including
UNESCO, expended significant grants to Turkey who had committed to
restore and preserve historical monuments on the modern Turkey’s
territory. Now, Europeans and advocates of Europeanizing Turkey can
themselves see how those monuments — and especially the 10th-century
St. Cross Armenian church of Agtamar — were “restored.”
The picture on the left was taken before the “restoration.” One can
clearly see the cross held by angels. The Armenian cross of the church
has disappeared on the right-hand photo taken after the “restoration”
which has changed nothing else. Isn’t this how Turkey adapting
European values?

Separatism and terrorism are different things
By Karine Mangasarian
Yerkir/arm
December 10, 2004
National Assembly Vice-Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian, while speaking
about his participation in the 8th session of the Armenian-Russian
parliamentary commission in Moscow and CIS parliamentary session on
December 2-4 in St. Petersburg, said that during the latter, the
Azerbaijani delegation again tried to throw Armenia in a tight corner.
At the defense commission of the CIS parliamentary council, the
Azerbaijanis again attempted to include separatism as a certain
terrorist phenomenon in the model law `Fight against terrorism’ and
tried to discuss the same in the political commission.
Hovhannisian said: `It was explained to our colleagues that separatism
is a goal, while terrorism is a method. And the two cannot be
equalized.’ Hovhannisian added that separatism is a natural aspiration
and right of nations.
The different case is when separatism uses terrorism as a
method. However there is a number of separatist and self-determinative
examples in the world, which act legally and bear no threat to those
countries. The Armenian delegation presented the arguments and ceased
the Azerbaijani initiative.
The Armenian delegation plans to include the issue of 90th anniversary
of the Genocide in the agenda of the next session. Hovhannisian says:
`Of course, we will have many opponents on this, and there is no
guarantee for success, but we prioritize bringing the issue forward.’
As to the Armenian-Russian parliamentary commission, it has evolved
into a new methodology within the last 7-8 years and has recorded
signing several agreements. The parties have also agreed to apply to
the executive officials requesting to faster the implementation of the
agreements.
Among other issues discussed was the reopening of the railway
connection between Russia and Armenia via Abkhazia, which is very
problematic and transport communication via Georgian Poti.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Monetary market in convulsions
By Gurgen Gevorgian
Yerkir/arm
December 10, 2004
During the past week the numerous currency exchange units and a number
of private banks, making use of the Central Bank’s commitment
â=80=9Cnot to intervene with the monetary market,’ decided to scrape a
good bunch of money.The recent ` denouncement’ of dollar is a proof of
that.
The ups and downs of the monetary market
Just one week ago one USD was sold at 485 AMD and was bought at 492,
while the same morning these numbers were 493 and 500. Today, dollar
has gone down to 460 and 465 respectively. So what causes this
down-flight?
First, note that dollar primarily fell as the IMF contributed 14
million dollars to Armenia for economic development and poverty
reduction. But thisis just a slight factor. The real reasons for
reinforcement of drams are more serious and weighty.
This situation is caused by the international fall of dollar on one
hand and the pre-Xmas demand for dram on the other. Experts say that
at this rate dollar may fall to 400 drams or more by the end of
December, if the CentralBank chooses not to intervene. And the CB
believes that the people would prefer this deflation rather than rise
of prices. If dram continued to fall during 2004, the prices for
products would now be very high.
So it appears that strong drams keep down the prices. It only remains
for us to put up with the further reinforcement of drams, since it is
impossible to simultaneously fix dram rate and keep prices down.
However, a number of simple questions come up: where is the limit
beyond which there will be no sense in speaking about the role of
foreign currencies and it will be possible to regard dram as most
reliable currency for transactions? Why should Georgia and Russia be
able to intervene into this market, which, by the way, is a normal
tool, and Armenia cannot?

Three Armenian theaters to perform at next festival
Yerkir/arm
December 10, 2004
Back in January, 2004 Ministries of Culture of Armenia and Syria
signed an agreement on cultural collaboration, which implies not only
organization of mutual cultural events in both countries but also
interaction in many cultural fields.
This year Syria has organized days of the Armenian culture. In frames
of the same agreement, the Armenian Edgar Elbakian theater toured in
Damascus during a festival this year.
Razmik Abrahamian of the Ministry on Culture says that the Armenian
theater greatly impressed the Syrian spectators with a two-hour
performance of Fridrich Dyurenmath’s `Last waltz.’ The performance was
followed by long applauds.
The festival had been suspended for 16 years and restarted after
4-hour talks of the director and president. The raised funds went to
the government. Our actors highly praised the level of organization of
the overall event.
Although the festival did not foresee any prizes, several actors,
including Armenian Vladimir Msrian, were given respect ceremonies.
The Armenian performance was so appreciated that the next year three
theaters will be invited.
A the end of the interview, Razmik Abrahamian said that unlike
previous years, when the Armenian community of Syria was gathered only
around the church, now you can feel the presence of the Armenian
state.

New York Times
Dec 13 2004
Deportation Case Riles Colorado Town
By KIRK JOHNSON
RIDGWAY, Colo., Dec. 8 – The Sargsyan family came from Armenia in the
1990’s already primed with many of the attributes that small-town
rural America respects. They worked hard, paid their bills on time,
learned English rapidly, excelled in school and were good-looking as
well, people here say.
In this mostly white ranching and retirement town of about 700
people near the Telluride ski resort, the Sargsyans also brought a
tincture of foreign exoticism that many residents found bracing.
“These are the kind of people you want as immigrants, the kind that
made this country great,” said Dr. Richard Engdahl, pastor of the
United Church of the San Juans, which meets in the local community
center.
But what happened next says as much about the town as it does about
the family. After the Sargsyans were threatened with deportation
earlier this year – they had entered the country on student visas and
gotten jobs instead, the government said – a kind of collective howl
went up here over what was perceived as a terrible injustice.
The anger filtered through the tiny Ridgway School, where Hayk
Sargsyan (pronounced sarg-SEE-yan) is a senior in the 17-member class
of 2005. And it erupted from Dr. Engdahl’s church, where Hayk’s
sister, Meri, is a pianist.
The Sargsyans were in trouble – Hayk, Meri and two other family
members were placed in detention in early November – and many people
said that was all they needed to know. Dr. Engdahl offered at least
half a dozen sermons on the subject.
Heidi Comstock, an assistant office manager at a medical clinic up
the road from Ridgway’s one traffic light, said, “This was an
opportunity to make a difference at a time when there’s a feeling of
helplessness on a lot of other levels about the world.”
A fund-raiser with Armenian food and a silent auction raised $15,000
for legal bills. Students began a letter-writing campaign to anyone
who might be able to help, from the county commission to the
Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement bureau.
A seven-hour bus trip was organized to visit the four family members
who were being held at the immigration detention center near Denver,
and about a third of the town’s 150 middle and high school students
went. The student body president, Rachel Overton, 17, said the
experience taught her how to properly organize a protest rally.
[On Thursday, the family members in detention were released; they are
still awaiting the outcome of their case. A spokesman for Immigration
and Customs Enforcement said officials had decided that the Sargsyans
presented neither a risk of flight nor a threat to national security.
On Saturday, the town held a welcome-home reception at a park.]
But the effort to save one family has also exposed the town, people
here say, to some thorny questions and consequences. The family
patriarch, Ruben Sargsyan, 62, who had been a scientist in Armenia
working on optics for the Soviet space program, lost his job frying
doughnuts on the night shift at a local bakery after the furor
erupted, residents say.
And the uncertainty about the family’s permanent status has led some
people to say they fear a loss of innocence as a small town
accustomed to participatory democracy bumps up against a vast and
faceless bureaucracy. If a local official in Ridgway makes a
boneheaded decision, a resident can step up and say so the next time
they bump into each other at the True Grit Café, which is the closest
thing to a town nerve center. The Department of Homeland Security,
with its tens of thousands of employees of somber mandate to protect
the nation, does not lend itself to hands-on folksiness.
“People here still have this faith and belief that if we write the
right letter and reach the right politician, we can make a
difference,” said Susan Lacy, the secondary school principal at
Ridgway School. “I worry about the students becoming cynical too
soon,” she added.
Students like Rachel Plavidal, a 17-year-old classmate of Hayk, say
the government is simply wrong in prosecuting the Sargsyans.
“It’s definitely giving me a negative impression of the government,
that they could do this,” she said. “It just seems like the laws are
being compromised.”
Other people say the effort illuminates how little attention is paid
to other immigrants in the community, especially those from Mexico.
And most people admit that the support probably would not be so
universal if the family were Muslim. The Sargsyans are loved, many
people say, because they fit in so well, and they fit in because they
personified the shared values and ideals of the town.
“These people stood up and took part in this community, and let’s
face it, they have more in common, culturally, with this community
than a lot of the Hispanics,” said Rodney Fitzhugh, a lawyer who
practices in Ridgway and nearby Montrose and who represented a member
of the Sargsyan family, Nvart Idinyan, 30, in a divorce case a few
years ago.
Mr. Fitzhugh said that he supported the campaign for the family, but
that he also hoped it made people think about immigrants not as well
loved as the Sargsyans.
“I champion it in part because it might shed light on these other
cases,” he said.
The Ouray County sheriff, Dominic Mattivi Jr., said he thought the
Sargsyan case revealed the uneven enforcement of immigration law by
the government in small communities like Ridgway, where Hispanic
immigrants have become economic mainstays, especially in the
construction and tourism industries.
“Unless a Mexican commits a felony, they don’t want to hear about
it,” Sheriff Mattivi said of the immigration service.
And the rules are tough to enforce, he said, given the proximity and
porousness of the United States’ border with Mexico. One Mexican
resident who was recently convicted on a drug charge was deported,
Sheriff Mattivi said, but was back in town and at work just two weeks
later.
The family’s visa troubles began after Ms. Idinyan’s divorce, when
her ex-husband turned in the family to the authorities. Family
members say the ex-husband, a United States citizen who has since
left the country, was also the person who arranged the family’s
immigration, defrauding them in the process. He took money from the
Sargsyans and other Armenians, they say, for arranging student visas
that he falsely promised did not require enrollment in school.
The family’s lawyer, Jeff Joseph, has filed an application under a
visa program for victims of immigrant trafficking. Mr. Joseph said
the two boys, Hayk and Gevorg, who is a sophomore in chemical
engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, were legally
adopted before their 16th birthdays by Ms. Idinyan’s new husband, Max
Noland, who is a United States citizen, and that they should be
protected from deportation by that shield as well.
A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Carl Rusnok,
said he could not comment on the outlook for the family’s case. He
said he thought the matter would be concluded within the next few
months.
Dr. Engdahl at the Church of the San Juans said the Sargsyan case was
bigger than one town or one family because of the questions it raised
about how security fears after Sept. 11 were changing the nation.
“The country once welcomed people like them, but if we’re not that
country any more, because we’re so concerned about being violated,
what does that do to the United States?” he said. “That’s the
question we should be asking.”

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741. .562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
9 December 2004
Foreign Minister Oskanian’s participation at EAPC Ministerial and his
meetings in Brussels
As a continuation of the meeting in Sofia, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan met in the morning on December 9 with the participation of
co-chairmen of the Minsk Group of the OSCE.
Ministers Oskanian and Mamediarov exchanged their views on issues regarding
the current stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process. As a result of
the meeting, both parties agree to continue the “Prague format”
negotiations.
On the same day Minister Oskanian met with Ambassador Talvitie, Special
Representative of the EU on the South Caucasus. They discussed issues of
cooperation between the EU and Armenia with respect to the New Neighborhood
policy, and they also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
Afterwards Minister Oskanian met with Robert F. Simmons, NATO’s Secretary
General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. Parties
discussed NATO-Armenia relations, focusing on the Individual Partnership
Plan.
Minister Oskanian also participated in NATO EAPC’s regular meeting of
Foreign Ministers.

Lexington Herald Leader, KY
Dec 13 2004
Church mulls taking up arms to defend itself
Today’s topic: Christianity in Iraq
By David George
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Leaders of the ever-dwindling Christian population in
Iraq say bombings of their churches and attacks against their
communities may force them to take up guns.
Two more churches were bombed in Mosul last week, the latest attacks,
and some Christians say extremist Muslims are terrorizing them with
the intent of ousting them and seizing their houses and belongings.
Iraq is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world,
made up largely of ethnic Assyrians, an ancient people who speak a
modern form of Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. But as the turmoil
increases, hundreds of Christian families are leaving each week for
exile in Syria and Turkey.
Some Christians have called for the establishment of a “safe haven”
in Iraq’s north, where they would be protected by special Iraqi army
units. Others are threatening to add a Christian militia to Iraq’s
already militarized society.
“Assyrians need security, so we need a legal army within the Iraqi
army to protect ourselves,” said Michael Benjamin, a leader of the
Assyrian Democratic Movement.
Said another Assyrian leader, Yonadem Kanna, “We do not want to
transform our movement into a militia, but if we need to we can arm
more than 10,000 people.”
Christians are only a sliver of Iraq’s population, but their leaders
argue that driving them from Iraq would make it unlikely Iraq could
ever develop into a nation that values religious pluralism and
tolerance. Estimates of how many Christians have left Iraq in recent
months range from 10,000 to 40,000 people.
Christians have lived in the region nearly since the dawn of
Christianity. They are believed to number about 800,000, or about
three percent of Iraq’s population.
Many Christians have collaborated with U.S. forces, hoping that Iraq
will become a democratic and free secular state. Their links to
Americans, often as translators, have put them under threat. Some
anti-U.S. Sunni Muslims said that anyone aiding the Americans should
be killed, or even beheaded.
“The Christians have no future here,” said Athnaiel Isaac, a
23-year-old deacon in Baghdad. “We may be under the same pressures
that made the Jews leave Iraq (following World War II).”
Isaac said he will leave soon for Syria and that his al-Wehda
district of Baghdad is emptying of Christians.
“I know about 100 families that have left the al-Wehda neighborhood
in the last three months,” Isaac said.
Other Christians said the nation’s turmoil leaves them vulnerable.
“The extremist Muslims are attacking us because the coalition forces
are not controlling the country,” said Hayraw Bedros, an Armenian
Christian.
Many of Iraq’s churches have thrown up protective walls or placed
perimeter barrels filled with cement to protect against car bombs.
Some services have been cancelled after coordinated church bombings
in Baghdad and Mosul Aug. 1, in which 11 people died, and subsequent
bombings Oct. 16, Nov. 8 and again last Tuesday.
In last week’s attacks, insurgents bombed an Armenian-Catholic church
and the Chaldean bishop’s palace in Mosul.
Christians say they have had to find new places for worship.
“I used to go before to Saint George Church but now it’s destroyed,”
said Lilia Hermez, a 70-year-old Baghdad resident.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Dec 13 2004
Red Cross is now in three new languages
The organization’s local chapter added Armenian, Korean and Spanish
versions on its website; use increasing already.
By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader
SOUTHWEST GLENDALE – Now it’s a lot easier for some to surf the
website for the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red
Cross.
In late October, the emergency organization completed an update to
its website allowing users to peruse certain pages in Armenian,
Korean and Spanish.
Officials say the website’s popularity has taken off, noting that
there has been a 20% increase of visits to the site.
“The Red Cross’ mission is to help people prepare for and cope with
emergency,” said Ron Farina, the chapter’s executive director. “With
a multiethnic community like Glendale, it’s essential that we are
able to communicate in all ways possible. And one of the key ways is
with a website.”
About two years ago, the organization hired Browne Global Solutions,
a company that specializes in translation, to add the three minority
languages most present in the city on the website. People can click a
button and access main pages on the site.
Two months ago, the company also updated the website’s “Together We
Prepare” section, which includes directions on how to prepare a home
or workplace for disaster. It also lists where to donate blood.
“The Red Cross wants to reach out and be of service to these
individuals in the community so they know they are important to us,”
Farina said.
Armenians in the community would normally avoid using the website
because they are not fluent in English, said Alina Azizian, the
executive director Armenian National Committee’s Glendale chapter.
But to have the website translated into Armenian makes it more
accessible to them.
“[The Red Cross] is really reaching out to the community, and in this
community, there are a lot of Armenians,” Azizian said. “I think a
lot of people will feel less alienated to the organization [because
of this].”