ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/28/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://
1) Pavel Manukian Released, No Details on Criminal Case
2) Germany Turkish Intellectuals to Picket Embassy on Genocide Recognition
3) Russian Convicted of Spying for Azerbaijan
4) Sarkozy Calls for Hold on EU enlargement
5) Kocharian Congratulates Iran’s New President
6) Design Team for Glendale~Rs Armenian Genocide Monument Announced
7) International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking Marked In
Armenia
1) Pavel Manukian Released, No Details on Criminal Case
YEREVAN–Haykakan Zhamanag reports that Pavel Manukian, who sustained injuries
from a beating he received in the offices of Mountainous Karabagh Republic’s
(MKR) Defense Ministry early last week, has been released from the Armenia
Medical Center in Yerevan. He was transferred to Armenia after receiving
initial care in a MKR military hospital.
It is unclear whether any suspects have been named, or whether MKR Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanian has been questioned. The military court reviewing the
criminal proceeding into the incident has declined to comment about the case.
2) Germany Turkish Intellectuals to Picket Embassy on Genocide Recognition
A group of Turks living in Berlin will be picketing the Turkish Embassy there
in protest of Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide.
Turkish intellectuals living in Germany have organized the June 29
demonstration. The same group has consistently fought for recognition of the
Armenian genocide and against Turkey’s official policy on the issue.
Turkey vehemently denies the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman government
at the turn of the twentieth century, during which 1.5 million Armenian
perished.
The group also participated in a press conference and debate on May 3, in the
German city of Koln, organized by Armenians in commemoration of the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
3) Russian Convicted of Spying for Azerbaijan
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–A Russian-born citizen of Armenia was sentenced on
Tuesday to
twelve years in prison on charges of spying for Azerbaijan and helping its
security services plot an attempt on President Robert Kocharian’s life.
A Yerevan court convicted Andrey Maziev of high treason and terrorism,
supporting prosecutors’ claims that the aviation engineer secretly
collaborated
with the Azeri intelligence for the past five years. Maziev pleaded guilty to
the charges both during the pre-trial investigation and the court
proceedings.
“Maziev committed a particularly severe crime against the security of our
country by helping to organize an attempt on the president’s life,”
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, who personally represented the
prosecution
in the court, told reporters. “He was, therefore, given a deserved
punishment.”
The prosecutors claim that the 44-year-old ethnic Russian who worked at
Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport was recruited by officers of the
Azeri Ministry of National Security in December 1999 and regularly met them
until his arrest last February. They say he briefed them on the political
situation in Armenia and was paid a total of $2,500 for that.
More importantly, Maziev is alleged to have provided the Azeris with
information about the regular movements and location of Kocharian’s aircraft,
as well as details of security arrangements made during his departure from and
arrival in Armenia. Armenian law-enforcement authorities say the information
was needed for an assassination bid against Kocharian.
Maziev said during the trial that Azeri officers never explicitly told him
that they want to assassinate the Armenian leader. The Armenian prosecutors
have issued an arrest warrant for one of those officers identified as Faik
Shamilev. Hovsepian said that Azerbaijan must arrest and hand over Shamilev to
the Armenian investigators under “international conventions.” Azeri officials
have already shrugged off Yerevan’s demands.
Maziev’s imprisonment is the second espionage case involving Armenian
nationals reported in less than two years. In January 2004, four ethnic
Russian
residents of the southeastern town of Yeghegnadzor were given lengthy prison
sentences on similar charges which they strongly denied.
4) Sarkozy Calls for Hold on EU enlargement
PARIS (AFP)–France’s ruling party chief and presidential hopeful Interior
Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called for EU enlargement to be put on hold to give
time for its internal institutions to be “renovated.”
“Enlargement must be suspended at least as long as the institutions have not
been renovated. Europe must have borders. What I am saying does not cover
Romania and Bulgaria where the process is too far advanced to be stopped. But
all the others,” Sarkozy said.
“Not all countries have a vocation to be in Europe,” he said.
The minister was talking at the start of consultations between Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin and leaders of political parties on the fall-out of last
month’s rejection of the European Union constitution in referendums in France
and the Netherlands.
Any freeze on enlargement would affect Turkey–with which accession talks are
supposed to begin later this year under Britain’s EU presidency–and Croatia,
which is also an official candidate country.
Romania and Bulgaria are poised for membership in 2007.
In Warsaw, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy dismissed Sarkozy’s
call, saying it was up to the French president to decide the matter.
“There is only one voice, that of the president of the republic” Jacques
Chirac said in response to a question at a news conference, after meeting his
German and Polish counterparts to discuss the crisis in the EU.
The 51 year-old president of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) has in
the
past put himself at odds with Chirac by speaking out against Turkish
membership
of the EU. Instead, he favors a “privileged partnership” with Ankara.
The EU’s massive expansion in 2003 to take in 10 new members from central and
eastern Europe is widely seen as one of the reasons for the defeat of the
constitution in France, where many fear the end of a bloc traditionally
dominated by the Franco-German axis.
Though officially the process of further enlargement remains on course
despite
the current difficulties, many in France believe a moratorium is now necessary
to give the EU time to adapt.
Sarkozy also said the concept of a Franco-German alliance leading Europe was
outdated.
“We have got to ask questions about the motor that drives Europe…I believe
that the six big countries of Europe must get together to become a powerful
motor for the new Europe. My feeling is that the Franco-German axis is
essential, but the motor will be the six,” he said.
In a sign of growing competition for influence among the new member states,
Britain’s European Affairs Minister Douglas Alexander was also in
Warsaw–alongside the French, German and Polish ministers–to outline British
plans for its six-month presidency.
Douste-Blazy once again called on Britain to “assume its responsibilities” by
agreeing to negotiate its 4.6 billion euro (5.6 billion dollar) annual rebate
as part of the EU’s budgetary package.
“Europe’s spirit, Europe’s ambition, Europe’s vocation is solidarity,” he
said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised to put the rebate on the table
but only if France agrees to cuts in the EU’s mammoth system of farm
subsidies.
5) Kocharian Congratulates Iran’s New President
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–President Robert Kocharian welcomed the
election of
Iran’s President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s and expressed hope that the ties
between the two countries would strengthen.
“Armenia attaches great attention to its relations with Iran. I am hopeful
that during your presidency our relationships will continue to develop and
will
mark new achievements for the welfare of our nations,” the message read.
A former Revolutionary Guard commander, Ahmadinejad is unabashedly
conservative. As mayor of Tehran, he introduced separate elevators for men and
women in municipal buildings.
He is also a loyal supporter of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is
his allegiance to the conservative ruling clerics that is thought to have led
Tehran’s city council to ask him to serve as mayor in 2003 when he was the
governor of Ardabil province.
During the presidential campaign, he indicated he could not imagine restoring
relations with the United States–a point of difference with his chief rival,
Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who campaigned on a platform of better relations
with the West.
Ahmadinejad has called for Iran to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic
Revolution. Many young people see this as a threat to return to the
prohibitions on “un-Islamic” dress, music, male and female mixing and the
other
restrictions championed in the heyday of the revolution.
One of seven children, Ahmadinejad was born to a middle-class family in
Garmsar, a neighborhood southeast of Tehran. As a student, he joined an
ultraconservative faction of the Office for Strengthening Unity, the radical
student group spawned by the 1979 Islamic Revolution that staged the
capture of
the US Embassy. According to reports, Ahmadinejad attended meetings that
planned the storming of the US Embassy.
He graduated in civil engineering from Iran University of Science &
Technology. When Iraq invaded Iran, Ahmadinejad volunteered for military
service, joined the Revolutionary Guards and was considered a daring soldier,
participating in several military operations deep within Iraq, according to
information posted on his Web site.
With the war behind him, Ahmadinejad went into politics. He was first
appointed governor of Maku in northwestern Iran, and later governor of the
newly created province of Ardabil.
6) Design Team for Glendale~Rs Armenian Genocide Monument Announced
The Armenian Genocide Monument Council of Glendale (AGMCG) has awarded the
design team of Sevak Petrosian from Glendale and Araik Avetyan from Armenia as
the first place winners of the Armenian genocide monument design competition.
A panel of 11 judges reviewed the 29 entries to the competition and made its
decision of winners. The second place winner was Alex Zarifian and Philip Ra
with the third place winners being Ardem Galoustian from Glendale and Varoujan
Karoghlanian from Lebanon.
On June 25, the AGMCG committee members awarded the first place winners a
check for $10,000 at the sight of the proposed monument and special
certificates of recognition to the second and third place winners.
The jury panel comprised of: Aram Alajajian, Gio Aliano, Yuri
Gevorkyan, Siroon Yeretzian, Shoghig Yepremian, Fe Huang, George Chapjian,
Sarkis Balmanoukian, Aram Bassenian, Richard Dekmejian, Diran Depanian.
The Armenian Genocide Monument Council of Glendale is an organization
dedicated to enhancing cross cultural understanding amongst the different
cultural and ethnic groups in the City of Glendale by promoting respect for
past historical events and the recognition thereof through continuous
education, specifically that of the Armenian genocide.
Building a commemorative memorial in the City of Glendale dedicated to the
victims of the Armenian genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century, will
serve as a befitting venue to begin the educational process of honoring the
memory of those who perished and acknowledging the memories of the heroic
deeds
and acts of the Americans whose actions helped save thousands of helpless
Armenian men, women and children from the rage of the Genocide.
For additional information regarding the AGMCG, please visit the website at
7) International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking Marked In
Armenia
YEREVAN, June 28 (Armenpress)–An art exhibit on drugs, as perceived by 7
to 18
year-old children, opened at the UN House in Yerevan, marking the
International
Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking. The exhibition by the
South Caucasus Anti-Drug Program (SCAD), is funded by the European Union and
implemented by UN Development Program (UNDP).
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking
commemorates
the signature of the declaration adopted at the International Conference
against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on June 26, 1987. Each year a
theme is chosen to draw public attention to, and the theme for 2005 is “Value
yourself… make healthy choices.”
At the exhibition, Armenian children presented paintings and ceramic crafts,
individually expressing their attitude towards drug phenomenon as “Evil.”
Grigor Malintsyan, SCAD program coordinator, and Alla Bakunts, UNDP democratic
governance portfolio coordinator, opened the ceremony with short speeches.
This year’s anti-drug campaign intends to send out a message of self-respect
to young people around the world. It calls on youth to consider the
health-related reasons why they should stay away from drugs or stop using
them.
“Healthy choices” is not only about saying “no” to drugs but also about
choosing healthy lifestyles: sports, music, theater, civil service, and other
positive activities.
Malintsyan noted in his speech: “Leading a healthy lifestyle requires making
choices that are respectful of body and mind. To make these choices, young
people need guidance from parents, teachers, and other role models who should
not only persuade them to stay away from illegal drugs, but also encourage
them
to engage in healthy activities. Thus, participation of children in our event
is a vivid example of their choice for a ‘healthy lifestyle.'”
At the event, the National Focal Point on Drugs presented the second National
Annual Drug Report 2004, prepared by the joint efforts of national and
international experts. The event participants were awarded special gifts and
certificates. T-shirts and baseball caps covering the day’s theme and logo, as
well as EU and UNDP logos, were distributed.
About SCAD Program: The SCAD program was launched in Armenia in 2001. It aims
at harmonizing drug law enforcement tactics and operational techniques in the
participating countries while fostering cooperation at the regional level. The
overall objective of the program is to reduce drug trafficking from and
through
the three South Caucasian countries towards EU member states. For this
purpose,
the program has provided assistance to the Police, Ministry of Justice, State
Customs Committee, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia, many NGOs
dealing with drug and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and to other relevant
agencies.
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) 2005 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.