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12/07/2004
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1) Aram I Reacts Sharply to Turkish Foreign Minister’s Remark
2) Gunmen Attack Armenian, Chaldean Churches in Mosul
3) Hovhannisian: Russia’s Position not Conducive to Armenia’s Ability to
Freely
Decide to Send Troops to Iraq
4) Armenia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Opens its Doors in the US
5) BRIEFS
1) Aram I Reacts Sharply to Turkish Foreign Minister’s Remark
ANTELIAS–His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
invited Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit the Cilicia
Museum in Cilicia to witness the “irrefutable evidence of the genocide
perpetrated by the Turks.”
His Holiness was responding to Erdogan’s comments made during the opening of
the first museum in Turkey dedicated to the country’s Armenian minority.
The opening of the museum appears to be a calculated move by Turkey–aspiring
for candidacy to the European Union (EU). The 25-nation bloc has pressured
Turkey to enable its recognized minorities and the Kurds to fully exercise
their rights. Erdogan’s comments come just days before EU leaders are to meet
in Brussels to decide whether to allow Turkey to begin accession talks on its
membership.
“Instead of looking at facts, people have distorted history through
suppositions and misinformation,” Erdogan said at the opening of the museum,
referring to the genocide of Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman government–a
fact that the Turkish government vehemently denies.
Alluding to the artifacts housed in the Cilicia museum of the
Catholicosate of
Cilicia in Lebanon, His Holiness Aram I told Erdogan that the remains of the
spiritual and cultural heritage of the Armenian people rescued from Cilicia
speak for themselves. “You would see manuscripts, church vessels, and other
articles of spiritual value, that the Armenians of Adana, Zeytoun, Hajen, Sis,
and other places in Cilicia and Western Armenia saved as they fled the horrors
of massacre. All these precious remains of our spiritual heritage reached
Antelias via Der Zor. No one who sees these remains would talk of
“assumptions”
and “distortion” of facts,” states the Catholicos, rather referring to them as
“clear evidence of Turkish barbarism.”
“History is based on clear facts and not assumptions,” continues the
Catholicos. “As much as you and others may deny [it], the Armenian Genocide is
a fact of history.”
The Catholicos also states that in commemorating the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide, Armenians throughout the world will become one force to
demand the recognition of the genocide perpetrated by Turkey and
restoration of
their human rights thus far denied.
2) Gunmen Attack Armenian, Chaldean Churches in Mosul
MOSUL (AFP/Reuters)–Two churches in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul came
under simultaneous attack, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Gunmen stormed into the city’s Chaldean and Armenian churches in the latest
attacks on Iraq minority Christian community, witnesses and clerics said
Tuesday.
“Gunmen entered the church at about 4:30 p.m. They gathered those present in
one room and planted explosive charges in different parts of the building,”
said Father Raghid Aziz Kara at the Chaldean church.
“We were then taken outside and the armed men set off the devices. We heard
three blasts,” he told AFP outside the church which was set ablaze.
At the same moment, gunmen attacked an Armenian church, forcing out a
security
guard and two other people inside the building, the guard said, adding: “I
heard two explosions.”
Smoke poured from the Armenian church and flames could be seen inside the
Chaldean church, Reuters reporters said. It was not clear how many people had
been in the churches when they were attacked but the number was apparently not
large.
Mosul, with a population of 1.2 million, is home to many of Iraq’s
Christians,
who make up about three percent of the national population.
The Chaldean church, one of the largest in Mosul, was built in the 1950s and
enlarged four decades later.
The Chaldeans, whose 600,000 people represent the majority of Christians in
Iraq, are an oriental rite Catholic community.
Armenian Christians in Iraq number only a few thousand.
On November 8, at least three people were killed and 45 wounded when two
suspected car bombs exploded within minutes of each other outside two churches
in southern Baghdad.
In a coordinated assault on August 1, six car bombs killed 10 people and
injured 50 others outside churches in Baghdad and Mosul.
3) Hovhannisian: Russia’s Position not Conducive to Armenia’s Ability to
Freely
Decide to Send Troops to Iraq
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–The issue of sending an Armenian military unit to
Iraq was discussed at the recently held meeting of the Armenian-Russian
Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Vahan Hovhannisian, who co-chairs the
interparliamentary commission and headed up the Armenian delegation, reported
on December 7 that the Russian side had expressed concern at the prospect of
Armenian troops in Iraq.
Hovhannisian said the Armenian side, in turn, raised the issue of whether
Russia’s forgiving of Iraq’s multibillion-dollar debt is not tantamount to
providing economic assistance to an Iraqi government that is an instrument of
US occupation.
The deputy speaker also underscored that Russia had not forgiven Armenia’s
debt, which is significantly less than Iraq’s.
“We told our Russian colleagues that their positions in international forums
do not at all contribute to Armenia’s ability to make a sovereign decision
regarding the matter [of sending troops to Iraq],” Hovhannisian stated.
The Russian side also expressed a certain level of resentment regarding
Armenia’s relations with NATO, according to the deputy speaker. “We clearly
explained to our colleagues that those relations are one of the prongs of our
independent policy, and we are not prepared to make concessions in that
regard,” Hovhannisian said.
The head of the Armenian delegation said the sides had, nevertheless, reached
an agreement to hold interparliamentary consultations regarding matters that
deal with NATO.
4) Armenia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Opens its Doors in the US
GLENDALE–The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia
(ARMCCI) opened its regional office for the US and Canada on December 7 in
Glendale, California. In an effort to develop strong relations between the
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia and US/Canada,
the
office will work to create mutually beneficial ties between the business
communities of Armenia and Northern America. Businessmen who wish to establish
or have already established businesses in Armenia may contact the office or
visit for more information.
1807 West Glenoaks Blvd., Suite 201
Glendale, CA 91201
(818) 247-0603, (818) 548-1177
5) BRIEFS
Diaspora Armenian Seeks Fraud Case against Yerevan Partner
YEREVAN (RFE-RL)–Prominent Armenian-American George Najarian, who has helped
to ship millions of dollars worth of medical supplies to Armenia, pleaded with
a Yerevan court on Tuesday to press fraud charges against his former local
partner who has allegedly misappropriated his expensive property. He asked the
court through his legal representatives to order state prosecutors to reopen a
criminal case against the formal owner of a photo shop and two buildings
currently constructed in central Yerevan.
Najarian maintains that he is the real owner of the property, which he says
was registered in the name of Grigor Igitian, in 1996, because Armenian law at
the time banned foreign nationals from owning land. Subsequent legal
amendments
allowed authorities not to apply the ban to ethnic Armenian foreigners with
long-term residency permits. Najarian accuses Igitian of breaking his
pledge to
give up the lucrative assets, in which he claims to have invested $500,000,
once the restriction was dropped. Igitian denies the accusations, saying that
he invested more than Najarian did; however, it is unclear how the former
English-language interpreter and university lecturer could have raised so much
money.
Greeks Want Turkey to Recognize Cyprus Independence
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Results of a poll conducted by the To Paron weekly in
Athens, revealed the results of a recent poll indicating that most Greeks are
against starting accession talks with Turkey in its bid to join the European
Union unless Turkey recognizes the Greek Republic of Cyprus and accepts
Greece’s demands regarding the Greek-Turkish relations. Nearly 82.1 percent
are
resolute in pressing Turkey to recognize Cyprus, while 89.3 percent believe
that Athens should veto the accession talks in case Turkey fails to accept
Greece’s demands.
Paris Sets Conditions for EU Talks with Turkey
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–In its December 6 issue, the Financial Times reported that
Paris will set three conditions for the start of EU membership talks with
Turkey. During the December 16-17 summit, President Jacques Chirac will
request
to clarify that Turkey must settle for less than full membership if the talks
fail. He is also expected to provide a reminder that the French people can
ultimately reject Turkey’s membership bid in a referendum, even if the talks
succeed, and that the accession talks should not start until the second
half of
2005, to prevent a dispute over Turkish membership dominating the French
referendum on the EU constitution, expected by June next year.
Le Figaro: Erdogan Uncomfortable with EU Distraction
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Le Figaro newspaper reported that Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is uncomfortable with Turkey’s preoccupation with the
European Union (EU). A headline read, “Erdogan does not exclude ‘no, thank
you,’ as an answer to Europe.” The story continued, “the political parties in
Turkey, as well as the people in the streets and press, have the belief that
the EU requires too many conditions from Turkey compared to other candidates,
and that is not fair.”
German Opposition Leaders Urge Schroeder to Prevent Turkey’s Accession to EU
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Leaders of Germany’s conservative opposition have
written to
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urging him to stop the European Union from
opening
entry talks with Turkey. Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democrats (CDU)
and Edmund Stoiber, head of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party the Christian
Social Union (CSU), argued that Turkey should be offered a “privileged
partnership” with the EU instead of full membership.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper quoted extracts from the
letter to Schroeder in which they said that Turkey’s entry would “overstretch”
the EU.
No Fir or Pine Trees to be Cut
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–A little more than three weeks before the New Year as
Armenians begin to decorate their homes with Christmas trees, the Armenian
nature protection and agricultural ministries issued a joint order prohibiting
cutting of fir and pine trees in order to improve reproduction and
preservation
of natural woods. Both ministries said they will work closely with police to
regulate cut trees and punish the culprits.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress