PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
2 September, 2004
ACNIS Completes Its Series of Seminars on National Minorities with New
Benchmarks
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
convened today its fifth specialized policy seminar on “The Rights of
Armenian National Minorities in 2003-2004” at the Armenia Marriott Hotel
with the support of the Council of Europe Confidence-building Measures
Program. Held within the framework of the “Coordination among National
Minorities and Information Exchanges on Minority Rights in Armenia” Project,
the meeting brought together specialized bodies dealing with national and
religious minority issues, human rights advocates, leaders and
representatives of national minorities in Armenia, relevant government
officials, diplomatic corps, international organizations, NGO and media
communities to discuss issues on Armenian national minorities and their
rights in light of the Report on European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI).
Karapet Kalenchian, ACNIS’s director of administration greeted the capacity
audience with opening remarks. “For a country having as large a diaspora as
ours, where respect for national minority rights is not only a requirement
of Council of Europe but also a matter of honor and dignity, the problems of
national minorities should always be the focus of both the authorities and
each of us. Therefore, let us speak openly without bypassing the thorns of
the problem.” Kalenchian called on the audience to engage in a sincere and
interested discussion.
In his address on “The Requirements for the Report on National Minorities,”
ACNIS analyst and project director Stepan Safarian called attention to those
provisions of the Council of Europe which promote the development of
language, culture, religion, health, science, and education, and the
preservation of their national values and features. “The Council of Europe
has expressed a desire for Armenia to make positive changes in the
legislative acts of national minorities as well as to adopt a separate law
on national minorities,” Safarian noted.
During the first session entitled “Concerns of the 2003 Report on Armenia of
the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI): Solved or
Forgotten Issues?” Lilit Simonian, assistant to Constitutional Court Justice
Felix Tokhian and the director of Law and Information Center, clarified the
international legal instruments, constitutional reforms, provisions of
criminal, civil, and administrative laws. According to her, the protection
of national minority rights is an integral part of international protection
of human rights. Minority rights protection is being enforced both by
general instruments addressing that problem, and a number of international
legal agreements on national minorities recently ratified by Armenia.
“Though the European Convention on Citizenship and several other
international instruments have not been signed yet, the Armenian
legislative, executive, and judicial agencies are acquiring commitments to
carry out the norms stipulated in those international instruments,” Simonian
emphasized, attaching importance to the constitutional enhancement of
national minority rights, in particular the necessity of amending Article 37
of the Armenian Constitution. Parliamentarian Vazgen Khachikian also
referred to the conventions Armenia has ratified. He claimed that any
individual can appeal to court in the event of violation of his/her rights
and national dignity relying on the intergovernmental instruments.
Khachikian is convinced that national minorities are more of a treasure for
Armenia than a threat.
The second session on “National Minority Rights in Armenia: 2003-2004″ began
with the review of the completed and forthcoming activities of the
governmental bodies engaged in national minority issues. Hranush Kharatian,
chairperson of the National and Religious Minorities Board of the Government
of Armenia informed that the draft Law on National Minorities worked out
with the active input of national minority communities will soon be
released. The law shall provide special supervision over the preservation of
national cultural traditions and call for additional governmental assistance
to tackle the problems impeding their development. Nonetheless, no matter
how positive it is viewed, the law seems to be risky and inefficient,”
opined Kharatian.
Victor Mnatsakanian of the Ombudsperson’s office negatively reacted to the
question posed in his address “Is There Discrimination in Armenia?,”
quoting the fact that there are no more than a dozen such appeals addressed
to the Ombudsman’s office. It is worth mentioning that the latter will soon
respond to Armenian Aryan Order leader Armen Avetisian’s provocative
statements published in the press which have aroused the indignation of
national minorities.
Garnik Guyumdjian, chief of the Department for State Programs, Cultural
Cooperation, Education and Science of the Ministry of Culture and Youth
Issues, underlined that the measures taken to preserve the cultural values
of national minorities constitute part of state policy pursued in this
field. He prioritized fostering of creative work, preserving of cultural
inheritance, dissemination of cultural values, the application of creative
potential and legal and economic regulation for the development of national
cultures. In his opinion, the national minorities enjoy sufficient
protection under the current legislation.
Nouridjan Manoukian, chief of the Control Department at the Board of
Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education and Science, concentrated
on the improvement of education including preserving national languages. In
his opinion the main obstacle one encounters in education based on language
is not the lack of the law but the lack of educators and textbooks. “Nothing
practical is undertaken to face the challenge. Moreover, sometimes the
contradictions in the same community lead to conflicting actions,” he
remarked.
Edgar Hakobian of “Toward Free Society” concluded the second session with
remarks on encouraging the youth of national minorities to take active part
in the statewide youth policy and other initiatives, otherwise they will
remain isolated of the Armenian mainstream.
The seminar was followed by a lively roundtable of views among Alikhan
Shababian, representative of Nor Nork district council; Hasan Hasanian, head
of the Yezidi religious organization “Followers of Sharfadin”; Rabbi Gersh
Bourstein, head of the Mordekhay Navi Jewish Community of Armenia; Dalila
Arzumanian of the “Atur” Assyrian union; Charkyaze Mstoyan, chairman of the
“Kurdistan” committee; Ivan Semionov of Russian Compatriot Relief
Foundation; Slava Rafaelidis, representative of the Greek community and
chairman of the Council of Armenian Nationalities; Romania Yavir,
chairperson of the Ukrainian Federation in Armenia; Lavrenti Mirzoyan of
State Inspectorate of Language; Ara Sahakian of “Armat” Center; Avetik
Ishkhanian of the Armenian Helsinki Committee; Georgi Vanian of Caucasus
Center of Peace-Making Initiatives NGO; Gayane Markosian of the “Harmonious
World” NGO; Alexander Yaskorski of German community; and several others.
Despite some reservations, the participants in the discussion noted that the
rights of national minorities are respected in Armenia. They offered
practical suggestions for further promoting state policy in educational,
cultural, and other spheres towards the representatives of the particular
stratum of society. Lavrenti Mirzoyan, chief of State Inspectorate of
Language, suggested that the national minority representatives cooperate
with the agency he heads. He expressed readiness to establish a group of
national minorities in the Inspectorate to address their language issues.
Brisk discussion was followed on the expediency of adoption of law on
national minorities. Charkyaze Mstoyan, chairman of the “Kurdistan”
committee was against its adoption as in his opinion it can be a
“strait-jacket” for them. Rabbi Gersh Bourstein thinks that the law should
first be discussed in the communities and only after then be submitted to
the parliament for consideration. “The law should protect the national
minorities from estrangement the symptoms of which are apparent,” Bourstein
maintained. In Yaskorsky’s opinion even a perfect law may not be effective
if not exercised.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses
primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the poll
results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail
[email protected] or [email protected]; or visit
www.acnis.am