Armenian president denies plan to dismiss parliament or prime minister
AP Online
Apr 20, 2004

President Robert Kocharian on Tuesday denied he had plans to dismiss
either his prime minister or his fractionalized parliament.
Kocharian told a briefing that “such rumors are spread deliberately to
create an atmosphere of distrust in the relations between the
president and the premiere and also within the ranks of the ruling
coalition.”
In a clear reference to the opposition, which has held a series of
large rallies in recent weeks demanding his resignation, Kocharian
said “despite the attempts of certain circles to disrupt us” the
authorities are working normally.
Kocharian won a second term in presidential elections a year ago that
sparked mass protests, including nearly daily demonstrations between
the first round and the runoff.
Opposition groups alleged widespread violations in both rounds of the
election, which was followed by a parliamentary ballot in which the
pro-government party won the most votes.

Renegade Georgian general accuses defence minister of “smear campaign”
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
20 Apr 04

[Presenter] Defence Minister Gela Bezhuashvili has made another
comment about the statement of the former commander of the 25th
Brigade [Roman Dumbadze who said that he took orders only from the
Ajarian leader].
Bezhuashvili has described Dumbadze as a traitor of Georgia. Dumbadze
has not confirmed the reports about a defence ministry being
established in Ajaria. He has blamed Gela Bezhuashvili for organizing
a campaign against him.
[Bezhuashvili, speaking to journalists] We should punish traitors of
Motherland with the full severity of the law.
Now, what is this about? As I said today, how can a man betray this
aspiration for the sake of selfish interest? How can he betray these
young boys, 17-18-year-old children who today spoke about the
country’s strength, the country’ future, the country’s present? This
is what it is all about. These are the values upon which our society
rests. I think that society should condemn all incidents of this kind.
[Dumbadze, interviewed] This is a total lie. Absolutely. I have not
heard such a thing in 14 years. Gela Bezhuashvili is the seventh
minister, but I have not heard such a thing from anyone, even from the
former president I have not heard such a thing. Absolutely.
I will never be a traitor. A traitor is someone who betrays his
origin, his nation. The defence minister himself is such a man. He
changed his surname and betrayed his nation. He was an ethnic
Armenian.
[Journalist] Are you speaking about Bezhuashvili?
[Dumbadze] Yes, I am speaking about Bezhuashvili.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian foreign minister says next meeting with Azerbaijan over disputed
enclave will be in May
AP Online
Apr 19, 2004

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said Monday that he planned
to meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart in May to continue
discussions on resolving the countries’ dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Oskanian said that the meeting he held last week in Prague with
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov was useful but did not
break new ground.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave within
Azerbaijan. Ethnic Armenian forces drove out Azerbaijan’s army from
the region in the 1990s and ethnic Azeris fled. Since a 1994
cease-fire, Nagorno-Karabakh has been run by an internationally
unrecognized government.
Despite the cease-fire, shooting still breaks out sporadically across
the so-called “line of control,” a demilitarized strip separating
Azeri and Armenian forces.
The unresolved status of Nagorno-Karabakh keeps tensions high between
the countries and apparently discourages foreign investors fearful of
a new outbreak of fighting and instability.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani officials met under the auspices of the
“Minsk Group,” an arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe devoted to resolving the dispute. The Minsk Group is led by
a troika of diplomats from the United States, France and Russia.
The newly appointed top U.S. official for the group, Stephen Mann, met
on Monday with Armenian officials.
“What I will be doing in this position is representing the
U.S. national interests and it is in the American national interest to
work for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue,” Mann told reporters.

Armenian National Committee of New York
PO Box 693
Woodside, NY 11377
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
April 20, 2004
Contact: Tony Vartanian
[email protected]
CONGRESSMAN JOSEPH CROWLEY AND
ANC OF NEW YORK DISCUSS CURRENT ISSUES
— Current events in Armenia, Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, and
US Aid to Armenia among other issues discussed
Woodside, NY–The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New York met with
Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY 7) on Thursday, April 15 to discuss issues
of concern to the Armenian American community. The meeting also provided the
ANC with an opportunity to express the community’s appreciation for the
Congressman’s record of support for Armenian American issues.
During the meeting, Congressman Crowley talked about his ANC sponsored visit
to the Republic of Armenia last summer. The Congressman was also apprised
of current events in Armenia, expressing his desire to once again travel to
Armenia and make his first visit to the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh. The
ANC was also briefed on Congressman Crowley’s recent meeting with the
European Parliament.
“The Armenian American community of the Seventh Congressional District is
grateful to be represented by Congressman Crowley,” stated Tony Vartanian,
Chairman of the ANC of New York. “Throughout his tenure in Congress,
Representative Crowley had led and supported a number of issues of
particularly concern to the Armenian American community. This annual
meeting with the Congressman and his staff allows us to discuss issues of
mutual concern,” concluded Vartanian.
Congressman Crowley is a current cosponsor of House Resolution 193
(H.Res.193), legislation commemorating the 15th anniversary of the US
implementation of the UN Genocide Convention. In addition, he recently
co-signed a Congressional letter–initiated by the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues–urging President George W. Bush to properly characterize
the Armenian Genocide as “genocide” in his April 24th statement.
He is a co-host of the 10th Annual ANCA Capitol Hill Observance of the
Armenian Genocide Observance, which will be held on April 28. The
Congressman has also been a leading voice in criticizing the exclusion of
Armenia from the routing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and gas pipeline.
In August 2003, the Congressman visited the Republic of Armenia where he
held various meetings and visited several cultural and historic sites. Upon
his return, the ANC sponsored a public forum for Congressman Crowley to
share his thoughts on his trip with the Armenian American community.
Finally, in 2003, Congressman Crowley cosponsored H.R.528, legislation that
would provide permanent normal trade relations status to the Republic of
Armenia. The PNTR resolution language was adopted in November 2003, as part
of HR 3521–the Tax Relief Extension Act of 2003–by a voice vote.
To thank Congressman Crowley for his long record of support, the ANC of New
York recently concluded a community-wide fundraiser for the Representative.
The Armenian National Committee (ANC) is the largest Armenian American
grassroots political organization in New York and nationwide. The ANC
actively advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian
American community.
####

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected] Website;
Bishop Galstanian urges Canadian Parliamentarians to vote for M-380
On Tuesday April 20 2004, the Primate of the Armenian Holy Apostolic
Church Canadian Diocese addressed a letter to the members of the House
of Commons of Canada urging them to vote in favor of M-380 Armenian
Genocide.
Upon the directive of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian the
Diocesan faithful contacted Members of Parliament in their areas to
urge them to vote for M-380.
During telephone conversations with Ministers and Parliamentarians,
Bishop Galstanian expressed gratitude and thanks for their attention
and urged them to vote for the Armenian Genocide resolution. Serpazan
told the MP’s “If the Canadian parliament recognizes the Genocide of
April 24, 1915 the Armenian community in Canada will warmly welcome
and deeply appreciate the wisdom and courageous act of the Government
of Canada, which will be a clear expression of Canada’s strong
commitment to human rights and justice”.
The copy of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian’s letter is attached
ARMENIAN HOLY APOSTOLIC CHURCH CANADIAN DIOCESE
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont, Quebec, Canada H2V 3H2
Tel: (514) 276-9479 Fax: (514) 276-9960
Email: [email protected] Web:
House of Commons
Ottawa
Honorable members of the Canadian Parliament,
As the Primate and the spiritual leader of the Armenian Church of
Canada, I have the unique privilege and the pleasure to extend sincere
salutations to all distinguished members of the Canadian House of
Commons, and to express on behalf of all Canadian Armenians our
heartfelt appreciation of your resolve to debate in the Canadian
Parliament openly and objectively the recognition of the historical
fact of the Armenian Genocide.
Three generations after that fateful event, the Genocide remains a
deeply imbedded wound in the Armenian psyche. The wound has not
healed, because this injustice of unprecedented magnitude has not been
recognized and acknowledged by the perpetrator and by the
international community as a crime against mankind and a violation of
a fundamental standard of humanity.
Moreover, in a cruel campaign of denial, the perpetrator continues the
genocide by killing the memory of the victims. Indeed, as genocide
scholar Professor Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University states, “denial
is the final stage of genocide, because it strives to reshape history
in order to demonize the victims and rehabilitate the perpetrators.”
There are no two sides of this story. Hundreds of news accounts
published in the international media during the First World War,
numerous eye witness accounts of foreign missions and survivors –
including our parents and grandparents, thousands of state archives
around the world, scores of declarations by esteemed historians have
repeatedly established beyond a shred of a doubt, that a
state-sponsored, premeditated, meticulously planned and brutally
executed scheme of ethnic cleansing was carried out in 1915 through
1923 by the Ottoman Turkish government over its Armenian citizens
living on their ancestral homeland, who aspired only the dignity of
living like a human being. The 1915 genocide of the Armenians was the
culmination of 600 years of oppression and a diabolic attempt for a
final solution by the Ottoman authorities to the European insistence
of introducing reforms that would guarantee the most basic human
rights of minorities in Ottoman Turkey.
Dear parliamentarians,
You do not have to look far for an evidence of the Armenian
Genocide. Look at the galleries of this House, full of representatives
of the Canadian Armenian community. There are hundreds of similar
communities dispersed around the world, from the far-east to the far
west, members of the Armenian Diaspora that was created as a result of
the Genocide. The throbbing pain they have inherited from their
tormented parents and grandparents, yearns for recognition of the
truth and for justice.
France and Switzerland were the latest of more than 15 states, who
courageously defied threats and blackmail, and sided with the truth
and justice.
Honorable members of the House of Commons,
Show to the world once more that Canada upholds international ethics,
believes in human and social rights and strives for consolidation of
peace based on justice. Vote for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. God bless you all.
Prayerfully,
Bishop Bagrat Galstanian Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of Canada
DIVAN OF THE DIOCESE
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
04/20/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Opposition Moves Strengthen Coalition Says Kocharian 2) Russian Mediator Says Prague Meeting Raises Optimism 3) Ghulian Tells Mann Karabagh Must Be Active Participant 4) US Envoy Meets Armenian Opposition Leaders 5) Holy Mass and Requiem Service in Memory of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide 1) Opposition Moves Strengthen Coalition Says Kocharian YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Meeting with reporters at the National Picture Gallery on Tuesday, President Robert Kocharian dismissed allegations that he plans to disband parliament and appoint a new cabinet. "I can say for certain that I do not have such intentions," Kocharian told reporters. "We are able to work effectively with this political team. We are going to work together at least until the next parliamentary elections, which is for three more years." He pointed to the absurdity of such assertions especially when considering Armenia's economic growth and smooth implementation of the national budget. "Dissolution of a government that provides economic growth is nonsense," he said. Rumors of internal dissentions emerged last week when coalition government members, in a joint statement, announced they would not be attending parliament sessions, so as to avoid possible clashes between their supporters and the opposition crowd. Referring to those rumors, Kocharian insisted that the governing coalition partners have not boycotted parliament sessions, and plan to resume work next week. "The previous session did not take place because of the demonstration and threats specifically addressed to the parliament." He suggested that the coalition has even strengthened and begun to work more effectively, in having to face the opposition. "The concept of having to work within a coalition has not yet developed in our country; this [was perhaps] the incentive necessary for the political forces in the coalition to work more closely and in a coordinated manner." Asked about the opposition's pledge to continue to seek his resignation, he said that as long as the opposition organizes its meetings and demonstrations without closing the streets and without unlawful actions, they are allowed to do so. He cautioned that though it is natural for the opposition to seek to replace those in power, it is also natural for the leadership of any country, to take steps to provide stability. "We are doing our job; we have done it, and will continue doing it, while the opposition shirks its duties in parliament, and gathers meetings in the streets." 2) Russian Mediator Says Prague Meeting Raises Optimism YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The Russian co-chairman of the Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov, told Azeri ATV that new ideas on resolving the Mountainous Karabagh conflict were put forth during the meeting between Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian and his new Azeri counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov. The meeting which took place in Prague was mediated by the US, Russian, and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group, which spearheads the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe's (OSCE) efforts to find a political solution to this conflict. Merzlyakov called the meeting "useful," and disclosed that the co-chairmen presented fresh ideas and suggestions on how to end the conflict. Merzlyakov also said that the Prague meeting has roused certain optimism about future prospects fore a settlement--a sentiment shared by the foreign ministers of the countries, who conferred they were satisfied with the meeting. The group's co-chairman, along with Oskanian and Mamedyarov, will be drafting a joint statement on the results of their latest meeting to present to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "The new venue of the meeting can be decided only after the presidents of the two countries are fully informed about the Prague meeting," Merzlyakov said. According to the Baku-based 525 Gazet, Mamedyarov said that the Prague meeting's end result was to set a tentative agreement to meet again next month, and that the meeting did not discuss the new proposals put forth by the mediators. 3) Ghulian Tells Mann Karabagh Must Be Active Participant YEREVAN (Armenpress)--Mountainous Karabagh Republic's (MKR) Foreign Minister Ashot Ghulian and the new American co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group Steven Mann met on April 19 at the MKR permanent representation in Yerevan. In presenting MKR's official position on regulating the conflict, Ghulian stressed that Karabagh, as a side to the conflict, must directly participate in peace talks. Ghulian also summarized the economic and political situation of the country. Mann confirmed the determination of the US to continue the regulation process, working within the framework of OSCE Minsk group. Mann's next visit will include meetings in Stepanakert with MKR authorities. 4) US Envoy Meets Armenian Opposition Leaders YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--US Ambassador John Ordway met on Tuesday with the two most senior leaders of Armenia's opposition, but did not comment on his separate meetings with Stepan Demirchian of the Artarutyun alliance and Artashes Geghamian of the National Unity Party (AMK). Demirchian and Geghamian did not provide details either. Geghamian said only that both the United States and the European Union would like to see a peaceful end to the Armenian political crisis. "The ambassadors of both the United States and the European Union are calling for all contentious issues to be resolved through negotiations," he said. The US State Department urged both sides last week to embark on a "dialogue." Anther opposition rally is planed for Wednesday in Yerevan. 5) Holy Mass and Requiem Service in Memory of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide On the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Armenians all over the world will commemorate the tragic events, and will attend church services to exalt the sacred memory of our martyrs. On this occasion, a special requiem service will be held on Saturday, April 24, at St. Mary's Apostolic Church in Glendale with the participation of the spiritual leadership of the three Armenian religious denominations in the Western United States. The ceremony will be held under the auspices of the Prelate His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian. Very Rev. Vrouyr Demirjian, the Pastor of Forty Martyrs Church will conduct the Holy Mass. Very Rev. Rafael Minassian, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Catholic Community in California, and Rev. Apraham Chaparian of the Armenian Evangelical Church will participate in the ceremony. Also present will be the spiritual leaders of sister Churches who will deliver their word of blessing. After the 9:30 AM Holy Mass, a requiem service will be held in the churchyard, in front of the monument dedicated to the 1.5 million victims of the Genocide. His Eminence the Prelate will deliver his message during the ceremony. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

NEWLY ESTABLISHED NATION’S REDEMPTION PARTY INTENDS TO SAVE NATION IN THREE
MONTHS
YEREVAN, April 20 (Noyan Tapan). Newly established Nation’s
Redemption party intends to settle all problems the Armenian people
are facing at least within three months. Sargis Karapetian, chairman
of the party registered at the Justice Miniistry two days ago, said
during the April 20 press conference.
According to Karapetian, both the authorities and the opposition are
opposed to the people. According to him, the authorities should have
welcomed the people going to the President’s residence instead of
exerting violence against the unarmed participants of the
rally. Sargis Karapetian stated that all the people responsible for
that should be punished. The chairman of the Nation’s Redemtion party
criticises the opposition, as well, considering, that taking advantage
of the people’s discontent wishes to attain the power. Sargis
Karapetian himself seeks no power. The party he leads intends solely
to save the Armenian people solely and return the wealth stolen from
them. If luxurious mansions, restaurants and casinos are being built
in some country, it means that this country is rich: “Justice lacks in
Armenia: one should save the body of the Armenian people and then its
soul.” “We’ll make it and you’ll see,” Karapetian promised, refusing
to dwell on the program for the nation’s rescue. He also refused to
tell the number of the party’s members and the names of his
allies. The leader of the party also said that the organization the
members of which are the azatamartiks (freedom fighters) has its
structures in all the regions. The party cooperates nither with
Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers nor with other organizations of
azatamartiks nor with the opposition or pro-governmental
parties. Sargis Karapetian, in his own words, is a former ARF
Dashnaktsiutiun member and was expelled from the party in 2001 for
“the speeches against the authorities.”

Remember the others
The Armenians apparently also suffered genocide. It would be especially
appropriate for representatives of the Jewish people to express their
pain and empathy, despite Israel’s close relationship with Turkey, which
is accused of the crime.
Maariv International (Israel)
2004-04-20
Op-eds
By Yaakov Ahimeir ([email protected])
This Saturday, another nation will mark its own genocide. Some of them
live here, in Jerusalem and the Galilee. The Armenians will mourn the
destruction of one or one and half million members of their people at
the hands of the Ottomans, during World War I. To be fair, there are
some historians who claim that there was no genocide. They claim that
many Armenians died while being exiled to remote sections of the Ottoman
Empire, as the Turkish Ambassador once told me dismissively, `It was a
matter of very bad weather, a natural result of the war’.
Anyone who reads The Forty Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel or the many
articles that were written during and shortly after the events, would
find it hard not to believe that a genocide did in fact take place. Even
without concentration camps, there was genocide. A telegram sent by the
American ambassador in Istanbul at the time, Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
confirms this.
Although the Armenian genocide cannot be compared to the Jewish
Holocaust, the question remains: Can we as Jews find within ourselves a
modicum of understanding and empathy for what the Armenians often call
`our holocaust’? The Armenians also quote Hitler. In the 1930s, when
justifying his murderous ideology against the Jews, when he said, `Who,
after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians’?
The issue of empathy for the murdered Armenians is an exceptionally
sensitive issue for the Israeli government. We do not want to anger the
Turks. In order to please them, we buy water from them, renovate their
tanks and hold joint naval and air training exercises. Indeed,
maintaining a strategic relationship with a Moslem government is no
small accomplishment in its own right. Internationally, no fewer than 15
parliaments have recognized that the Armenian genocide did indeed
happen. When France recognized it, Turkey cancelled a large government
transaction because Turkey, as the heir to the Ottoman Empire, does not
accept responsibility for the genocide. Israel is not France. Chirac can
be angry with the Turks, but Mr. Sharon cannot express empathy for the
genocide of a small nation, whose sufferings often resemble our own.
The question is, if not the government, who can express empathy for
genocide? Perhaps the Ministry of Education could increase the awareness
of genocide by augmenting the world history curriculum with special
lessons and seminars, which need not negate the uniqueness of the
Holocaust or belittle the Rwandan genocide ten years ago. Perhaps some
students with a wreath could join the march through the Armenian Quarter
of Jerusalem on Saturday, April 24. Maybe next year, on the 90th
anniversary of the genocide, a special Jewish delegation could travel to
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, to the ceremony that will be held in
the Memorial Hall dedicated to the victims, as if to say, `Never again.
As Jews, we understand and empathize with your suffering’. It seems to
me that these are not unreasonable demands to make of a people whose
memories are as long as the exile.
;articleID=6234

Horizon Weekly
Contact: Nanor Manoukian
April 20, 2004 Tel: 514-603-4373
QUEBEC’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMEMORATE’S ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Montreal, QC – The National Assembly of Quebec commemorated the 89th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the presence of his Eminence
Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Prelacy of Canada as well as a
delegation from the Armenian National Committee of Quebec. Through a motion
that was unanimously accepted by all parties, parliamentarians paid tribute
to the 1.5 million victims of the Genocide and the resulting impact of the
survivors as well as their progeny.
It is noteworthy that the National Assembly of Quebec has commemorated the
Armenian Genocide since 1980 and in November 2003 it became a member of the
family of legislative assemblies that has passed a law designating April
24th as a day of commemoration for the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian National Committee of Quebec is a grassroots organization
representing the interests of the Armenian Community in Quebec.

Horizon Weekly
Contact: Nanor Manoukian
April 20, 2004 Tel: 514-603-4373
THE PRESIDENT OF THE QUEBEC NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RECEIVES ENCYCLICAL FROM HIS
HOLINESS ARAM I CATHOLICOS OF CILICIA
Montreal, QC – His Holiness Aram I Armenian Catholicos of Cilica through his
emissary, his Eminence Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Armenian
Prelacy of Canada, conveyed an Encyclical to the President of the National
Assembly of Quebec the Hon. Michel Bissonnet. The Encyclical conveyed his
Holiness’s praise of all the members of the National Assembly who
demonstrated leadership and courage in the pursuit of human rights and
justice.
In November 2003 the National Assembly unanimously voted to approve Bill
194, a bill recognizing the April 24th as a day of commemoration for the
Armenian Genocide. The Armenian National Committee of Quebec worked closely
with the Bill’s sponsor, M. Yvan Bordeleau (PLQ – L’Acadie), and other
members of the National Assembly to lobby for, and ensure passage of Bill
194.
###