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10/26/2004
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1) Kocharian Pleased with International Community’s Attention to Stability in
South Caucasus
2) Human Rights Report May End Up in Court
3) Turkish Foreign Minister Sees 10-Year Accession Process as Realistic
4) Georgia Disagrees with Russia’s Assessment of Regional Conflicts
5) Gorky’s Pirate I Sells for 1,949,969 euros at Paris Auction
6) Armenia’s Men at Third

1) Kocharian Pleased with International Community’s Attention to Stability in
South Caucasus

YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–President Robert Kocharian provided the history and the
current developments in the Mountainous Karabagh conflict settlement process
during his meeting with members of the joint mission of the German Marshall
Fund of the US (GMF) and the Project on Transitional Democracies (PTD).
Noting that a resolution to the Karabagh problem is important both to Armenia
and the entire region, Kocharian said, “It is appreciated that the problem is
getting the attention of various centers and individuals of expertise, and
there is certain interest to study it more deeply in order to become
acquainted
with details on the spot.”
The President pointed to the significance of the international community’s
focus on establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus, evidenced by
the GMF/PTD joint mission there.
Armenia’s foreign policy, relations with the neighboring countries, and the
country’s economic development were also discussed.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is an American public policy
and
grant making institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and
understanding between the United States and Europe. All GMF activities are
organized within three principal program areas: transatlantic policy,
transatlantic leadership, and wider Europe. Founded in 1972 through a gift
from
Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a
strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Project on Transitional Democracies was established in 2002 to facilitate
the democratic transformation of Europe’s new post-1989 democracies and
educate
key decision-makers and the political leadership of the countries in
transition.

2) Human Rights Report May End Up in Court

The controversial report by the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Advisory Board
was rejected by senior officials, who denied it was commissioned by the
government.

(NTV-MSNBC)–A report on ethnic minorities in Turkey, released by an advisory
body linked to the office of the Turkish Prime Minister, may end up in court,
with one member of the Human Right Advisory Board saying he has applied for
its
authors to be prosecuted.
Fethi Bolayir, a member of the board, said on Monday that the report attacked
the national and spiritual values of the republic. Bolayir, who is also the
chairman of Social Thinking Association, described the report as a “a document
of treason” and called for legal action to be taken against those involved in
preparing it.
Issued last week, the report recommends greater recognition be given to
ethnic
minorities in Turkey. Currently, only three ethnic minorities–the Jews,
Armenians, and Greeks–are officially recognized. But Bolayir stressed the
report disregards the Laussane Treaty, the international treaty that
established the status of minorities in Turkey.
“If this report–which suggests that the unchangeable articles of the
constitution that limits minority and cultural rights, be changed–then
what is
it, if not a document of treason,” he said.
Bolayir also stressed that his organization supports ridding of injustices,
corruption, and poverty, but not the division of the Turkish Republic.
He revealed that of the 30 members of the board, seven voted against the
report, and that changes in the section covering minorities were made without
the knowledge of certain members, thus a clearly abuse of office and breach of
confidence.
Chairman of the board Ibrahim Kaboglu, said the report had been submitted to
the Prime Ministry, but government officials denied having anything to do with
the report.

3) Turkish Foreign Minister Sees 10-Year Accession Process as Realistic

PRAGUE (AFP)–Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that he
believed it would take his country around 10 years to join the European Union
once negotiations got under way.
Speaking during a visit to the Czech Republic, Gul said fulfilling the
criteria for accession would not be easy.
“First we need a clear-cut date for accessions to start. We know the
negotiation period is not easy, particularly for big countries. And we know as
a big country that it will take longer, maybe 10 years,” he told a press
conference.
“But it depends on our performance when we fulfill the criteria and when we
close the chapters,” he added.
The EU summit is due to decide in December whether to adopt the European
Commission’s recommendation and give the green light to launching accession
talks with Ankara.
Gul’s Czech counterpart Cyril Svoboda said the Czech government believed the
Commission’s assessment of Turkey was “fair.”
“The Czech Republic has made clear that it supports Turkey launching
negotiations and that it is right to launch the process,” he told
journalists.
During Gul’s visit, the two countries agreed to work to cancel visa
requirements in the very near future.

4) Georgia Disagrees with Russia’s Assessment of Regional Conflicts

TBILISI (Itar-Tass)–In response to a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry
regarding the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian Foreign
Ministry disagreed with Russia’s assessment, saying, “Today, Russia is trying
again to justify the separatist regimes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and
shift
the blame to the Georgian side.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement read, “Russia favors a political and
peaceful resolution of the conflicts in Georgia; these conflicts have resulted
from minority rights violations that have not allowed the preservation of
national identity and autonomy within the sovereign Georgian state.”
The Georgian Foreign Ministry responded by saying, “The Russian side is
either
not fully informed about the history of these conflicts in Abhkazia and South
Ossetia or does not want to recognize objective facts.”

5) Gorky’s Pirate I Sells for 1,949,969 euros at Paris Auction

PARIS–Arshile Gorky’s 1942 work Pirate I sold for 1,949,969 euros during the
first day of a three day auction in Paris on October 5. The estimated price of
the work was 1.4-1.6 million euros, the highest estimated price for any single
item in the sale. Pirate I was part of the massive private collection of New
York art dealer Julien Levy, in whose gallery Gorky had a number of shows in
the 1940s.
Also in that collection was Gorky’s 1946 work Sans Titre, estimated at
50-60,000 euros, which sold for 98,672 euros.
Gorky’s 1942 piece Pirate II, estimated at 1,100,000-1,300,000 euros, was
purchased for 1,149,500 euros during session two of the auction.
Among the more than 800 paintings and drawings on the auction bloc were four
paintings and eleven drawings by Gorky, a few of which are barely known to the
public.
The auction sale by François Tajan, who is among the most famous of Paris
auctioneers, included works by Hans Arp, Dali, Toulouse-Lautrec, Marcel
Duchamp, Max Ernest, Fini, Lichtenstein, Magritte, Man Ray, Matta, Naguchi,
and
Tanguy.

6) Armenia’s Men at Third

After 11 rounds of competitions at the 36th Chess Olympiad in Mallorca, Spain,
Armenia kept its third position intact with an easy 2.5-1.5 victory over
Switzerland and moved to 29 points just behind Russia and the Ukraine, which
holds first place. Rafael Vahanyan won his match, while Vladimir Hacopyan,
Levon Aronyan, Gabriel Sarkissian all drew theirs. After beating United States
2.5-1.5, Russia remained in second place, and now trail Ukraine by 2.5 points,
while Israel stands fourth on 28 after comprehensively beating Azerbaijan 3-1.
Armenia’s women Elina Danielian, Lilit Mkrtchian, Nelly Aginian, and Siranush
Andriasian are in the 14th spot, with China at first, followed by Georgia and
the US.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress