Statement On The Commemoration Of The Armenian Genocide, April 24, 2004
April 21, 2004
Between the years of 1915 and 1923, a million and a half of Armenians were
brutally murdered as a result of a calculated plan to eliminate Armenians
from the Ottoman Empire. Men, taken from their families and homes, were
separated out and killed. Women, children and elderly were sent on forced
death marches across the Syrian desert. These actions constituted the first
genocide of the 20th century and one of the most vicious and tragic events
in world history.
One and one-half million Armenian lives were lost, countless more were
persecuted, and the entire Armenian community suffered. As we reflect on
these horrible years, Armenian Americans know this story and its relevance
in history. Tragically, some question its historical accuracy. To prevent
future genocide is to face the reality that it exists. Knowledge of past
genocides in different parts of our world assists in arming us to prevent
such acts from occurring again.
At the outset of the Jewish Holocaust, Adolph Hitler said that no one
remembered what happened to the Armenian people during the genocide. He then
proceeded to implement his Final Solution.
Today, Armenians are continuing to work to rebuild and strengthen their
great nation. After facing years of injustice and persecution, the Armenian
people’s spirit remains strong.
I join you in commemorating the 89th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
As we remember these sad years, we must never forget that an act of genocide
is not only an act of hatred toward one particular group, but toward all
humankind. May we learn from the tragedy of the Armenian genocide and
recommit ourselves to full equality, respect, and acceptance for all people.
An important first step is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the
United States Government and the world as a whole.

Kazakhstan not going to join NATO – official
Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency
23 Apr 04
Almaty, 23 April: Kazakhstan is not going to join NATO, the alliance’s
deputy secretary-general, Jean Fournet, has said.
“Kazakhstan’s joining NATO is not on the agenda today,” he said at a
news conference in Almaty on 23 April.
Fournet stressed that Kazakhstan’s participation in the alliance’s
programmes is “very important”, “but this doesn’t mean that Kazakhstan
is applying for official membership of NATO”.
Under many circumstances, “it is rather more important for the country
to be a full participant” of partnership programmes than to be a NATO
member. “This is linked with the regional policy, the policy of
neighbouring states,” Fournet said.
He also noted that NATO is not competing with the CSTO Collective
Security Treaty Organization; members are Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia and the SCO Shanghai
Cooperation Organization; members are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia in Central Asia.
“Competition is not the role of the multinational organization NATO
. We are all interested in ensuring better security in the region, and
NATO aims at cooperating in and developing the dialogue with these
organizations,” the NATO representative said.

PRESS RELEASE
Federation of Armenian Organisations in Netherlands (FAON)
24 April Committee
Contact: Mrs. I. Drost
Tel: +31- 6 242 725 74
Email: [email protected]
April 22, 2004
Recognition Armenian genocide in The Netherlands a step closer
THE HAGUE – On April 21, 2004, several hundred protesters urged for
recognition of the genocide of 1915 on Armenians in Turkey and expressed
necessity for Turkey to recognize the genocide before a date is set for
negotiations regarding accession of Turkey to the EU.
The Chairman of the Fixed Comission for European Affairs of the parliament,
Mrs. S. Dijksma, received the petition given by a survivor of the Armenian
genocide in the presence of MPs Van Bommel (Socialist Party), Huizinga
(Christian Union) and Van Der Staay (Reformed Party). Next a petition was
offered to the Dutch government at the Ministry of General Affairs. The door
and mailbox remained closed at the Turkish embassy. The demonstrators had no
other choice but to leave the letter on the doorknob.
During the demonstration on Plein square in The Hague MPs of the CDA
(Christian Democrats, PvdA (Labor Party), GroenLinks (Green Left) and SP
(Socialist Party) spoke to the demonstrators. In their speeches the MPs
underlined the importance of recognition of the Armenian genocide. Moreover
it became clear that the fraction of these parties, who together form the
majority in parliament, factually recognize the genocide. With this the
recognition in the Netherlands of the genocide on 1.5 million Armenians in
the latter years of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire has come a step closer.
Although the views of the parties and that of the 24 April Committee
concerning the recognition of the Armenian genocide are closely related,
there is a difference in the role recognition should play in the
decision-making of a date for negotiations with Turkey on the potential
accession of this country to the EU. In the next few weeks thoughts will
continue to be exchanged betwwen the 24 April Committee and the MPs.
The demonstration was the first in a series of activities that the 24 April
Comitte of the Armenian Federation has organized with the aim for recogntion
by Turkey of the Armenian genocide of 1915.
The yearly solemn commemoration of the Armenian genocide will be held this
April 24 from 1pm onwards at cemetery De Boskamp in Assen at the Armenian
memorial. After laying a wreath, a ceremony will be held in the auditorium
of the cemetery. Among others, Freek de Jonge, Paul Scheffer and Leen van
Dijke will speak, as well as the ambassador to Armenia in the Benelux, Vigen
Chitechian.

The Georgian Messenger
23 April 2004
Prepared by Anna Arzanova
Oil interests hang in the balance in Karabakh conflict
According to the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the aggravation of
Armenian-Azeri conflict may interfere in the construction of the pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. For the first time after ten years of peace, there has
been talk in Baku and in Yerevan about the possibility of the renewal of
military actions in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh con-flict.
Last week, the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan stated that a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan may start at any moment and specified that it can
take place given that Armenian authorities are loosing control over the
situation in the country, where the political crisis is aggravating.
The United States is concerned that armed forces may act independent of
politicians and provoke armed conflict themselves. The clearest sign of
Washington’s concern regarding the development of events in the zone of
Armenian-Azeri conflict is the appointment of Steven Mann as the American
co-chair of the Minsk Group of the OSCE.
This diplomat managed to solve the most important problem for the United
States to direct the transportation of energy resources from the Caspian Sea
region to the West, which is needed by Washingon. Steven Mann has close
relations not only with the leadership of one of the countries involved in
the conflict Azerbaijan, but also with Western oil companies, which have
interests in this region.
It is possible that Washington really intends to stimulate the process of
regulating the conflict. Though, probably, the task before Steven Mann is to
postpone armed conflict until 2005. By this time, the BTC pipeline will be
set in motion. After this, the insuring of the pipeline’s security will
become an international problem.
The West will at any price not allow the renewal of hostilities, though, as
the former co-chairman of the Minsk Group of OSCE of Russia Vladimer
Kazimirov said, the experience gained by Steven Mann at the position of
president’s special representative of the United States in Caspian region,
will not help him in this new field. “There are lots of ways to exert
pressure to avoid armed actions and the smell of oil is not necessary for
this,” states the expert.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmeniaNow.com
23 April 2004
Isolated: A visit to a forgotten village
By Vahan Ishkhanyan ArmeniaNow reporter
When the snow melts, the village of Geghakar restores its connection with
the world.
Geghakar comes out when the snow goes away.
A nearly impassable road is the only link with the outside, and when nature
closes it, Geghakar about 75 miles northeast of Yerevan hibernates until
spring.
Until 1989, the village – formerly called Yenikend – was one of the richest
cattle breeding areas of the Gegharkunik region. It was an Azeri settlement
until then. But its population and its livestock industry and a lot of other
things changed when Azeris were no longer welcomed across the nearby border,
and vice versa.
Today Geghakar, like many villages around this part of Lake Sevan, is
populated by refugees from Azerbaijan.
Ruben Karapetyan is 25. In 1990, when he was 11, his family escaped from the
big-city (but dangerous for Armenians) life in Baku, and became villagers.
Other refugees came for Kirovabad, and the former Azeri village became home
to families like Ruben’s.
“It’s very strange how this village was put on a map,” Ruben says.
Ten years ago there was a telephone line connecting Geghakar. But residents
of the village remember that one day someone came to the village from
Vardenis and cut all telephone lines taking them away saying that nobody can
lay a complaint against him. Refugees, who had no support, couldn’t save
their telephone lines.
“Those days they lied to us,” says refugee from Kirovabad Roman Karapetyan.
“They said they would develop the village, install a gas line . . . And then
they put us into an Ikarus (model of bus) and brought us here.”
It is a far measure from life as it was known in Kirovabad or Baku.
Villagers mainly live by growing potatoes and wheat, a task made more
difficult because the village has no irrigation system. They say they cannot
work their croplands because they have no machinery. And even if there were
machinery, they couldn’t afford to buy fuel.
Thirteen families live in Geghakar, about 50 residents. Three times that
many are registered here. Two-thirds of the official population actually
live seven kilometers away in Lusakunk. They come to the village to graze
cattle and to vote. The head of the village also lives in Lusakunk, and
rarely visits his “constituency”. (In general, almost all refugee villages
in the region have heads who are non-refugees.)
The poorest villagers are refugees from Baku, Boris and Irina Kulikyan, who
have seven children.
“We had been living in the city for 35 years. What can we do now? This is
our reality. We have no place to go,” says Boris, who is seriously ill and
cannot do physical work anymore. Their eldest son, who is the main
breadwinner in their family, was called up for military service.
“In summer we can do something, but in winter it is very hard. We can hardly
sell 500-600 kilograms of potatoes and buy firewood. However, I cannot work
the land anymore. In addition, there was terrible heavy rain, which killed
all potatoes.” (In early March a storm and flood caused severe damage to the
region. Many roofs in Geghakar were damaged).
In general, Geghakar has rich resources including wide meadows, croplands
and a quarry. However, villagers insist they don’t make use of them as
quarries belong to a businessman from Vardenis, where only residents from
Vardenis work. And majority of croplands is granted on lease.
“All hayfields belong to head of the village. He thinks only about his
pocket,” says one of the villagers. (ArmeniaNow tried to reach the village
head, but he was not in Geghakar nor in his permanent residence in
Lusakunk.)
There is a medical station in the village, but it is always closed. A nurse
from Lusakunk visits every two months, according to villagers.
Emma Tsaturyan, 62, a refugee from Baku, is the villagers’ means of health
care. Emma gives injections, and, since 1992, has delivered 11 babies. She
is not paid. Neither by the government, nor by the villagers, from whom she
will not even allow a small gift.
“I used to work as a midwife in Baku,” Emma says. “When we were escaping
from Baku I couldn’t take my medical school diploma. Head of the village
didn’t allow me to become a nurse. He said I had no diploma (medical
association of the region appoints nurses, however, head of the village can
offer his candidature).”
There is only one car in the village but it is very old and hardly works.
When somebody is seriously sick, the car becomes an ambulance. But if the
road is closed by snow, or if there is no petrol, patients are taken by
horse. Roman remembers when his daughter was seriously ill he took her to
the city, carrying her along in a sled.
But when a villager is too sick to be moved, he is at the mercy of fate
because it is impossible to call an ambulance. One villager died this winter
as a result.
Geghakar has little to show as improvement since it became this involuntary
home. It has, however, built a school with money given by Diaspora. Twelve
students attend the eight-grade school. Those who wish to study beyond
eighth grade must go to Lusakunk. Few, however, are likely to do so, as it
would require walking 14 kilometers a day on a desolate road. Roman says his
daughter is an excellent pupil, however, after finishing eight years in
school she will not continue her study.
A month ago a bus to Vardenis began operating once every two weeks. However,
it is not clear how long that route will be in use.
At least there was a shop here those days (when the refugees first
settled),” Roman Karapetyan says. “But now even if you die nobody will know
about it. I have arms and legs. I can do everything. We are specialized in
different professions but we sit here and have nothing to do. We can hardly
keep a couple of sheep and cows to be able to exist. How could they bring
citizens to these mountains?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI HAS NO SUFFICIENT OIL FOR BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE
YEREVAN, APRIL 21. ARMINFO. Ayaz Mutalibov, ex-president of
Azerbaijan, believes that Azerbaijan has no sufficient oil reserves
for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
In his interview to the “Vremya Novostey” newspaper, he stated that in
1990 Azerbaijan’s oil reserves were estimated as amounting to
500mln. tons. “Later, talks about billions’ began. Still later,
contracts began to fail,” Mutalibov said. He added that most oil is
now being extracted at old deposits, which were developed in Soviet
times. Moreover, if “the Iraqi floor gets re-operated, the need for
Azerbaijan’s oil will no more be urgent. So the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline
is most unlikely to be filled without Kazakhstan,” Mutalibov said. He
expressed the opinion that the project has a geopolitical component.
“Geopolicy is in getting oil resources to pass by Russia,” Mutalibov
said. He pronounced for a “delicate and balanced policy on the part of
Azerbaijan,” first of all, toward Russia. “The Azerbaijani diaspora in
Russia provides Azerbaijan with sums considerably exceeding its annual
budget. What is called strategic partnership will in fact be a search
of separating the spheres of influence between Moscow and Washington,”
Mutalibov said.

CANADIAN COMPANY INDUSMIIN ENERGY INVESTS $10 MLN IN PROSPECTING OF GAS AND
OIL IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, APRIL 21. ARMINFO. The Canadian company Indusmiin Energy
invests $10 mln in prospecting of oil and gas in Armenia, Armenian
Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan said at a press-conference today.
He said that a preliminary agreement on this has already been reached
with the Armenian Government, with the funds to be invested mainly in
prospecting of gas in Armavir region. The minister said that gas
reserves are not enough for industrial extraction, however, they are
of great importance for Armenia. Movsisyan said that Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan instructed that the whole energy potential
of the country be researched. As a result, Armenia proved to have
rather great potential of geothermal energy. At present, the Canadian
company continues this research and the exact volumes of oil and gas
reserves of Armenia can be determined in three months. “The
preliminary indicators are attractive enough,” the minister said.
He said that the prospecting on oil and gas were carried out yet in
the Soviet period, but they were not completed for lack of funds.

12,000 TONS OF ORE MONTHLY EXTRACTED FROM DRMBON COPPER-GOLD MINE IN KARABAKH
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 21. ARMINFO. 12,000 tons of ore are extracted each
month from the copper-gold mine in the village of Drmbon, Martakert
district, Nagorno Karabakh Republic, says executive director of Base
Metals Ltd Artur Mkrtumyan.
Monthly concentrate output is 1,200 tons. The concentrate is sent to
Armenia. They process it into gold containing copper and export it to
Europe. Almost $7 mln has already been invested in the mine
development – mostly in the construction of facilities and purchase of
equipment. The company employs 750 people paying them 110,000-120,000
AMD a month. Karabakh’s tax sphere is very favourable, there is no
red-tape at all. Base Metals timely fulfills all of its tax
liabilities, pays social fees and the rent. It gives several mln AMD
to the state budget each year this substantially contributing to the
general economic development of NKR.
The company’s technologies are ecologically safe and economical. The
greater part of the staff are local specialists, trained at Artsakh
State University.
The mine resources will suffice for 20 years of active operation.
Simultaneously, the company is prospecting areas with potential
precious metal resources. In future Drmbon will be made an industrial
resort with a recreation zone on the banks of Sarsang, hotels, taverns
and an artificial lake.
Base Metals was set up in Aug 2002 for prospecting and developing the
Drmbon mine. The ore mining and processing group was built in Sept
2003. The first ore was extracted in Apr 2003, the first concentrate
in Oct of the same year.

Talks on Iran-Armenia gas pipeline end – Armenian minister
Arminfo
21 Apr 04
YEREVAN
Negotiations on the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline have
ended, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan told a news conference
today.
According to him, the Armenian government’s main task is to start the
pipeline’s construction this year.
Passage omitted: reported details
The minister said that Armenia needed 90m-100m dollars for the
construction of the pipeline’s Armenian section. It is planned to
obtain this money partly through loans and grants. The minister
declined to disclose sources of financing until an agreement is
signed.
Passage omitted: pipeline not to be an alternative to Armenia’s
nuclear power station

Armenian leader, new Estonian envoy discuss ties
Arminfo,
20 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The newly-appointed Estonian ambassador to Armenia, Andres Unga
(residence in Athens), presented his credentials to Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan today.
The Armenian presidential press service has told Arminfo that at the
meeting, Kocharyan said that Armenia attached special importance to
European orientation and the development of bilateral and multilateral
ties with Estonia in this context. The Armenian president warmly
recalled his official visit to Estonia in 2002. Kocharyan described
Estonia’s experience as instructive for Armenia to overcome
difficulties and integrate into Europe.
The interlocutors talked about the prospects for the development of
bilateral economic cooperation and stressed the importance of close
ties between the two countries’ business circles and of the exchange
of information.