Author: Badalian Vardan

PanArmenian News
March 21 2005

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: YEAR OF RUSSIA IN ARMENIA TO REPLENISH
ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN AGENDA WITH NEW IDES AND PROJECTS

21.03.2005 04:43

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia people are fond of Russian art are
impatiently awaiting meetings with the Russian cultural workers,
the message of Armenian President Robert Kocharian addressed to
Vladimir Putin on occasion of the opening of the Year of Russia in
Armenia says. The document highlights the communication between the
representatives of science and education, business associations of
Armenia and Russia as well as contacts at the regional level. “It is
symbolic that that the Year of Russia in Armenia coincides with the
celebrations of the 60-th anniversary of the victory over Fascism.
This heroic page of our common history tied the fate of our peoples”,
Robert Kocharian noted. “I would like to express assurance that
the conduction of the year of Russia in Armenia will replenish the
Armenian-Russian agenda with new ides and projects”, the message runs.

Robbery sparks protests in Tsalka

The Messenger
Monday, March 21, 2005, #050 (0824)

News in brief:

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced it will deploy extra
police to the ethnically diverse Tsalka region after a armed home
robbery late on Thursday led to public protests on Friday.

Thursday evening, the home of an ethnic Greek family in the village
Avranlo was robbed allegedly by a group of armed Georgians who
had been resettled to the region from Adjara in the 1990s; ethic
Armenians and Greeks have held protests demanding the punishment of
those responsible.

On Saturday, Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili said that
the “police control the situation” and that the protesters wrongfully
demand “to lynch a person.” Arguing that the police investigate every
case of crime in the region, the minister said, “We do not allow the
lynching of a person and the handing over of suspects to the citizens
for that.”

He said his office will deploy extra units including both ethnic
Greeks and Armenians. “There may start seasonal cattle stealing as
spring comes but on the other hand, district inspectors will start
working there. Luckily, citizens of Georgia of Greek and Armenian
nationality will work there [in the group of inspectors] and we hope,
that this will increase effectiveness,” he said.

Car bomb rocks Beirut Christian area complicates efforts to form new Lebanon
government
AP Worldstream
Mar 19, 2005

JOSEPH PANOSSIAN

Investigators searched for clues Saturday amid the rubble of a car
bombed building in a largely Christian neighborhood in Beirut, an
attack that sparked fears of renewed bloodshed in Lebanon and
complicated already troubled negotiations between rival political
groups over the formation of a new government.

The attack wounded nine people and came amid the withdrawal of Syrian
troops to eastern Lebanon and Syria after a 29-year presence in this
former civil war-ravaged country. The redeployments followed intense
international and local opposition to Syria’s role in Lebanon since
the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri in a massive
bombing that killed 17 others.

The motive behind the attack wasn’t immediately clear, but it
devastated an eight-story residential building in Beirut’s New Jdeideh
neighborhood shortly after midnight and sent panicked residents
wearing pajamas and night gowns into the street to inspect the damage.

It also played to concerns among some Lebanese that pro-Syrian
elements might resort to violence to show, in their view, the need for
a continued presence by Damascus forces. Hundreds of thousands of
Lebanese have been participating in demonstrations for and against
Syria since Hariri was killed. Anti-Syrian opposition demonstrations
have included large numbers of Maronite Christians.

“This has been the message to the Lebanese people for a while _ to sow
fear and terror among Lebanese citizens,” Christian opposition member
Pierre Gemayel told Al-Jazeera satellite television. The message is
“if there is a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, look what Lebanon will
face.”

Police closed all entrances leading to the blast site and blocked
onlookers from nearing the devastated building. After sunrise,
residents began clearing debris and inspecting their damaged shops and
homes, sweeping broken glass and throwing out twisted metal and rubble
thrown by the explosion.

Security officials said on condition of anonymity the blast was caused
by a time-bomb placed underneath a car belonging to a
Lebanese-Armenian resident of the damaged building. It was unclear
where the car owner was nor why the bomb was placed under his vehicle.

Earlier, witnesses said the car attempted to stop in front of a bingo
hall, but security guards asked its driver to move along. The driver
then parked the car a short way down the road. Minutes later it
exploded.

In a statement, Lebanon’s pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, made no
mention of the attack, saying only that Lebanon was experiencing
“exceptional circumstances” that required “immediate and direct
dialogue” between opposition and pro-government groups.

Lahoud said Lebanon’s various political factions must “shoulder their
historic responsibilities in protecting the higher interests of
Lebanon at this critical stage.”

“The doors of the presidential palace will be open at any time to host
such a meeting starting today,” he said.

Opposition legislator Fares Soeid dismissed the president’s
invitation. “It’s too late. This subject is closed,” he said in a
televised interview.

Political demands from factions for and against Syria have bogged down
efforts to form a new government, raising concerns the deadlock could
threaten upcoming elections and even Syria’s final withdrawal.

Pro-Damascus premier-designate Omar Karami has insisted on a “national
unity” government, but the anti-Syrian opposition is refusing to join
before its demands are met. The opposition wants a neutral Cabinet to
arrange for elections, the resignation of security chiefs and an
international investigation into Hariri’s death.

Some opposition members accuse Karami of stalling to kill chances of
holding an election they believe the pro-Syrian camp will lose.

Walid Jumblatt, an opposition leader, said parliamentary polls should
be held as planned for April and May.

“Why postpone the parliamentary elections? Let them hold the elections
according to the electoral law they deem suitable, but we will not
participate in the government,” he told Future Television.

Saturday’s explosion blew off the fronts of some structures, left a
seven-foot-deep crater, damaged parked cars and shops and shattered
windows for several blocks.

“We were sleeping when it happened,” said a white-haired man, wearing
blue pajamas, who declined to be identified. “We don’t know what and
why. No one important lives here.”

The intensity of the political battle over Syria’s troops has raised
fears of a return to the sectarian violence of the 1975-90 civil
war. So far, however, the political camps do not conform to religious
boundaries, with Christians and Muslims on both sides of the debate.

On Thursday, Syria completed the first phase of its withdrawal in
Lebanon, redeploying all its remaining soldiers and military
intelligence officers to the eastern Bekaa Valley. Of the 14,000
troops that were in Lebanon last month, at least 4,000 soldiers have
returned to Syria.

At the United Nations, Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir said that
Syria had given assurances it would withdraw its troops before the
country’s elections, as U.N. and American officials want.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 18, 2005

Gazexport ups Russian gas exports by over 6% over two months

MOSCOW

A subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom gas giant, Gazexport, increased
gas exports from Russia by 6.12 percent to 30.34 billion cubic metres
from January 1 to February 28, 2005, compared with the same period of
2004, Prime-Tass economic news agency said, quoting the Gazexport
report.

Gas exports to the non-CIS countries grew 3.14 percent to 28.53
billion cubic metres over this period. Specifically, the company’s
exports to Western Europe increased by 4.54 percent to 20.49 billion
cubic metres, while the exports to Eastern Europe decreased by 0.25
percent to 8.04 billion cubic metres.

Gas exports to Austria in January-February were 1.12 billion cubic
metres, Germany – 7.13 billion cubic metres, Italy – 4.25 billion
cubic metres, France – 2.46 billion cubic metres, Switzerland – 0.06
billion cubic metres, the Netherlands – 0.35 billion cubic metres,
Finland – 0.96 billion cubic metres, Turkey – 3.63 billion cubic
metres, Greece – 0.43 billion cubic metres and Belgium – 0.11 billion
cubic metres.

The exports to the Czech Republic over the two months stood at 1.38
billion cubic metres, Slovakia – 1.52 billion cubic metres, Poland –
1.19 billion cubic metres, Bulgaria – 0.59 billion cubic metres,
Hungary – 1.57 billion cubic metres, Romania – 0.84 billion cubic
metres, Serbia and Montenegro – 0.54 billion cubic metres, Bosnia –
0.08 billion cubic metres, Croatia – 0.20 billion cubic metres,
Slovenia – 0.11 billion cubic metres and Macedonia – 0.02 billion
cubic metres.

The company increased exports to the CIS and Baltic states from 0.93
billion cubic metres in January-February 2004 to 1.81 billion cubic
metres this year. Exports to Estonia stood at 0.04 billion cubic
metres, Moldova – 0.28 billion cubic metres, Armenia – 0.38 billion
cubic metres, Georgia – 0.31 billion cubic metres, and Azerbaijan –
0.81 billion cubic metres.

Mail&Guardian Online
Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:56 PM

SA officials liaise on US arms arrest

Jenni Evans | Johannesburg, South Africa

17 March 2005 11:42

South Africa’s police and Department of Foreign Affairs officials are
liaising on the reported arrest of a South African in New York on
weapons-smuggling charges, police said on Thursday.

National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said they are waiting
for further information, and the Department of Foreign Affairs is expected
to release a statement on the matter later.

The United States embassy is also still gathering information on the
arrests, said its spokesperson, Judy Moon.

According to reports, Christiaan Dewet Spies was arrested with at least 17
other people in an FBI undercover operation at a hotel in Manhattan, New
York, earlier this week.

The reports said Spies (33) and an Armenian, Artur Solomonyan, as well as a
number of others allegedly conspired to transport weapons of war.

The informant was reportedly a South African living in Texas and was
arrested when he was delivering green cards to enable the team to travel to
fetch the weapons.

The investigation included about 15 000 wire taps.

Spies reportedly entered the US on a tourist visa in 1999 and was appealing
a deportation order that came after his arrest on a drug-possession charge.

Weapons involved
Although it is not clear exactly which weapons were involved, reports
referred to rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missiles, as well
as links with Russia.

A researcher at the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) said these weapons
are designed to bring down low-flying aircraft.

“They could be surplus weapons from Eastern Europe and Russia,” said Sarah
Meek, head of the ISS arms-management programme.

Although these regions have signed commitments not to sell weapons
stockpiled in old armouries, they could have been obtained from a corrupt
official “selling through the back door”.

There did not immediately appear to be an African weapons connection apart
from Spies’s origin, she said.

“It looks like a motley crew of Armenian and Eastern Europeans.”

Regional weapons mopping-up programmes, such as Mozambique and South
Africa’s Operation Rachel, and the Angolan disarmament programme following
the resolution of years of civil war, appear to be successful.

There are still arms caches in Angola but there does not seem to be any
large-scale trafficking.

“There are individuals who will try to get around legislation … but
security agencies seem to be pretty much on top of it,” Meek said.

Referring to the recent arrests of South Africans relating to international
arms investigations, Meek said South Africa should not be singled out.

“You will always have someone doing it for money. It is a global network. If
you are there and you have the right contacts, you can get into it, it’s not
just South Africa.”

She added that if it wants to, the South African government can invoke the
National Convention on Arms Control Act, which prohibits illegal arms
brokering. The Act has extra-territorial powers and enables authorities to
arrest South Africans internationally.

Armscor, Denel check records
Arms-procurement agency Armscor said it ran a human-resources check on Spies
in response to media enquiries and found no record of him.

“We pulled all the records and we don’t know such a person,” Armscor
spokesperson Billy Nell said.

Denel spokesperson Sam Basch said Denel is currently going through the human
resource and pension records at all its subsidiaries for mention of the man
who carries the name of a Boer war general.

Spies reportedly remains in US custody.

Recently, two Randburg engineering-company directors were arrested on
charges of possessing components for weapons of mass destruction, allegedly
linked to Libya’s now-abandoned nuclear-weapons programme.

In another unrelated matter, a group of South Africans is waiting to be
released from a Zimbabwe jail after being sentenced to 12 months for
breaching Zimbabwe’s aviation, immigration, firearm and security laws.

This related to an alleged coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea and also saw
Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, pay a
R3-million fine in South Africa for his part in arranging the aircraft for
the mission. — Sapa

Published March 15, 2005

Design ideas for memorial pile up
*Armenian Genocide Monument Council has 42 designs for
tribute. Deadline for ideas is today.

By Rima Shah,
Glendale News-Press

Artists worldwide have submitted design ideas for an Armenian genocide
monument that will be constructed on the Civic Auditorium grounds.

The Armenian Genocide Monument Council has received 42 design concepts
for the project, but the details have been kept under wraps, said
Peter Darakjian, one of the founding members of the six-member
monument council. A jury, created by the council, will soon begin a
detailed review of the work, submitted by architects and designers
from Japan, Germany, England and Canada, Darakjian said. The winner of
the design contest will be awarded $10,000.

Today is the deadline to submit design ideas, then the judging will
begin. Designs must be postmarked by today, said Artin Manoukian, a
founding member of the council.

The monument will be an important reminder to not repeat the mistakes
of 1915, when 1.5-million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire, Darakjian said. Turkish officials deny that the deaths were
part of a genocide.

“Construction of the monument is important for Armenians as well as
for humanity at large so that what happened in 1915 is not repeated,”
he said. “The monument is also in memory of those who have perished,
as a reminder to not forget the past. This was the first genocide of
the 20th century. Had the world stopped them then there would not have
been any repetition of similar events.”

The 11-member jury will select the winners by April 15. An official
announcement is tentatively scheduled for April 22, Manoukian said,
two days before the Armenian Genocide is commemorated.

The City Council approved the monument in August 2001. The monument
council is raising funds for the project, which they expect to cost
about $500,000, Darakjian said. The City Council approved the Civic
Auditorium as a home for the monument in April 2003.

The Civic Auditorium was the ideal location because the grounds are
large enough to hold the population during events such as Armenian
Genocide Commemorative Day, Darakjian said.

The location also provided visibility to the monument, especially to
nearby Glendale Community College students as a reminder about the
past, Darakjian said.

Although there is no set deadline for completing the project, the
council hopes to have it done in a couple of years.

* RIMA SHAH covers business and politics. She may be reached at (818)
637-3238 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Turkish Press
March 15 2005

Gul: Negotiations With The E.U. Will Be A Test For Turkey’s
Resistance And Patience

LONDON – Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah
Gul said on Monday that the entry negotiations with the European
Union (EU) would be a test for Turkey’s resistance and patience,
adding, ”I believe that Turkey will pass this test successfully.”

Speaking at a conference at the London School of Economics, Gul, who
is currently paying a four-day official visit to Britain, said, ”we
are determined to further improve our bilateral relations with
Britain.”

Referring to Turkey-the EU relations, Gul said, ”Turkey and the EU
have created a synergy in economy and politics. As a result, Turkey
became an attractive country for European investors. Recently,
diplomatic consultations between Turkey and the EU have increased.
Turkey and the EU have also succeeded in creating a joint power to
overcome problems such as fundamentalism, racism and anti-Semitism.
After the EU decided to open entry talks with Turkey on October 3rd,
the Turkish government has given priority to the negotiation process
with the EU. Therefore, our reforms will continue rapidly.”

”We are aware of that the negotiation process will not be easy. The
negotiation process will be a test for Turkey’s resistance and
patience. I believe that Turkey will pass this test successfully,”
he said.

Referring to the Cyprus issue, Gul said, ”both Turkey and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have extended full support
to a solution in the island. Turkey’s only target is to protect
rights and security of the Turkish Cypriots. As you know, Turkish
Cypriot people supported United Nations Secretary General Kofi
Annan’s plan in the referendum on April 24th. However, embargoes and
isolation imposed on them have still been continuing.”

”Turkey also holds consultations with Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Georgia with the aim of providing peace in southern Caucasus. After
Israel withdraws from Gaza, international community will have to
expend more efforts to resolve the economic problems and the issue of
security in the region,” he said.

Upon a question about Turkey-the United States relations, Gul said
that the relations had been progressing on the right track.

Replying to another question, Gul said, ”there is not any problem
about signing of the protocol about the Customs Union. However,
Turkey’s signing the protocol will not mean recognition of the Greek
Cypriot side. There are two separate states and two separate nations
on the island.”

Upon a question about the events during a demonstration in Istanbul
marking the International Women’s Day, Gul said, ”we do not approve
such events. We have launched an investigation into them. Such events
can be experienced anywhere in the world. Turkey has made the
necessary reforms, however, it will take time to remove the problems
in implementation.”

When asked what would happen if the EU Constitution was rejected in
referendums in France and the other countries, Gul said, ”it may
lead to a crisis both in the EU and in those countries. Such a crisis
can normally affect Turkey.”

NATO delegation arrives in Armenia

Mediamax news agency
14 Mar 05

YEREVAN

An assessment team of the Partnership for Peace Planning and Review
Process (PARP) programme arrived in Armenia today on a two-day visit.

The NATO delegation, led by Frank Boland, the head of the Force
Planning Section at NATO’s Defence Planning and Operations, will have
meetings at the Armenian Defence Ministry and Foreign Ministry,
Mediamax reports. The delegation also includes NATO’s officer for
South Caucasus countries, Romualds Razuks.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

How Armenia “Invented” Christendom
By Steven Gertz

Christian History, Winter 2005
03/12/05

Turning Point

Only a week prior to his attack on Poland in September, 1939, Adolf
Hitler reportedly delivered a secret talk to members of his General
Staff, urging them to wipe out the Polish race. “After all,” he argued,
“who remembers today the extermination of the Armenians?”

Hitler was referring to the genocide of nearly 1.5 million Armenian
Christians at the hands of Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1923 in what
is now eastern Turkey. Turkish authorities deny the atrocities ever
took place, but the story of bloodbath in Armenia is one of the
well-documented tragedies of our time.

Still, it’s unfortunate that Armenia (today located directly east of
Turkey and west of the Caspian Sea) is now known for this story above
any other. It says nothing about the people of Armenia, or the part
they have played in global Christianity. For contribute they did,
in a manner that might surprise even a seasoned church historian.

Tortured for Christ

No man has more stature in the Armenian church today than Gregory the
Illuminator. While not the first to bring Christianity to Armenia,
Gregory is, at least in the minds of Armenians, the nation’s spiritual
father and the people’s patron saint.

Born into a wealthy family around 257, Gregory nevertheless had a
rough beginning-his biographer, Agathangelos, tells us Gregory’s
father murdered the Armenian king and paid for it with his life. But
the boy was rescued from the chaos following the murder, and his
new guardians raised him as a Christian in Cappadocia (east-central
Turkey). There, according to Agathangelos, Gregory “became acquainted
with the Scriptures of God, and drew near to the fear of the Lord.”

When Gregory’s tutors told him of his father’s wickedness, Gregory
approached the murdered king’s son, Tiridates, to offer his service
(all the while concealing his identity). Tiridates accepted Gregory’s
offer, but when Gregory refused to worship Anahit, an idol the king had
raised in gratitude for military successes, Tiridates became furious:
“You have come and joined us as a stranger and foreigner. How then
are you able to worship that God whom I do not worship?”

Tiridates tortured Gregory, hanging him upside-down and flogging him,
then fastening blocks of wood to his legs and tightening them. When
these tactics failed, he tried even more gruesome measures. Still the
saint refused to bow the knee. Tiridates then learned that Gregory was
the son of his father’s murderer, and he ordered that the missionary
be thrown into a “bottommost pit” filled with dead bodies and other
filth. There Gregory sat for 13 years, surviving only on bread a widow
threw down each day after receiving instruction to do so in a dream.

Converting the King

At about this time a beautiful woman named Rhipsime arrived in Armenia,
fleeing an enforced marriage to the Roman emperor Diocletian. Tiridates
took a liking to her too, and took her forcibly when she refused to
come to him. But “strengthened by the Holy Spirit,” she fought off
his advances and escaped. Furious, Tiridates ordered her execution,
and that night Rhipsime burned at the stake. Her abbess Gaiane soon
followed her in death, along with 35 other companions.

The king, still lusting after Rhipsime, mourned her death for six
days, then prepared to go hunting. But God visited on him a horrible
punishment-Agathangelos calls it demon possession-reducing him to
insanity and throwing his court into chaos. Tiridates’ sister had a
vision to send for Gregory, imprisoned so long ago. People laughed
at the idea Gregory might still be alive, but recurrent visions
finally convinced a nobleman, Awtay, to visit his pit. Astonished
to find the missionary living, Awtay brought him to meet the king,
who was feeding with swine outside the city. Tiridates, along with
other possessed members of his court, rushed at Gregory. But Gregory
“immediately knelt in prayer, and they returned to sobriety.” Tiridates
then pleaded for Gregory’s forgiveness, and the king and his whole
court repented of their sin and confessed faith in Christ.

Assessing Gregory’s Legacy

Scholars disagree over how much Agathangelos’s history can be taken
at face-value. After all, he wrote his book in 460 (Tiridates is
believed by Armenians to have converted in 301), and much of his
story has elements of hagiography that lead one to wonder whether the
events ever happened. But even skeptics acknowledge that Gregory was a
real person with considerable ecclesiastical influence in Armenia-the
signature of his son and successor Aristakes can be found among those
ratifying the Council of Nicaea in 325. And even if we can document
little about the man, his pre-eminence among Armenia’s heroes of the
faith is unassailable.

Why? First, Gregory persuaded the king to build a string of churches
across Armenia, beginning with Holy Etchmiadzin- according to some
scholars the oldest cathedral site in the world and an important
pilgrimage site for all Armenians. The seat of the Armenian church
would pass to other cities, but Gregory “established” Christianity
in Armenia via this church.

Gregory also introduced Christian liturgy to Armenia. These rites
consisted of psalmody, scriptural readings, and prayers recited in
Greek or Syriac. After Mesrop Mashtots invented an Armenian alphabet
at the beginning of the fifth century, both the Bible and the liturgy
were translated into the Armenian language.

Most importantly, Gregory set in motion the mass conversion of Armenia
to Christianity. According to Agathangelos, the king ordered all pagan
shrines to be torn down, and Gregory proceeded to baptize more than
190,000 people into the new faith. Whether the nation converted as
quickly as Agathangelos implies is difficult to discern. Certainly
by the fifth century, Armenia was well on its way to becoming a
“Christian” nation.

Armenia is an ancient-if not the oldest-model for what we now call
Christendom. Church historian Kenneth Scott Latourette notes that
the Armenian church “was an instance of what was to be seen again
and again, a group adoption of the Christian faith engineered by the
accepted leaders and issuing in an ecclesiastical structure which
became identified with a particular people, state, or nation.”

Certainly the Roman Empire is a prime example of this, but Armenia
is at least as old, and perhaps a more impressive example given the
invasions and persecution it endured at the hands of the Turks (and
before them, Arabs and Persians). Indeed even Byzantium attempted to
bring Armenia within its orbit, but the nation resisted, arguing that
its apostolic origins were on par with Rome.

So lest you assume Rome is our first example of Christendom, think
again. Long may Armenia’s church endure.

FBI agent probing Azeri journalist’s murder leaves Baku

Space TV, Baku
9 Mar 05

[Presenter] US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish has said when
speaking about his country’s position on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
that Washington stands ready to provide Azerbaijan with all necessary
assistance to find a fair solution to the conflict.

[Harnish shown talking to camera in English, an interpreter translating
into Azeri] The position of the United States on this issue is quite
clear. We don’t recognize the self-proclaimed Karabakh republic. The
USA respects Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and is ready to assist
Azerbaijan in finding a fair and lasting solution to this problem.

[Presenter] The ambassador also said that the FBI agent who came to
Azerbaijan to help investigate the murder of the editor-in-chief of
the Monitor magazine, Elmar Huseynov, has already left the country.

[Harnish] The FBI agent spent four days here working alongside
representatives of the prosecutor’s office, the interior and
the national security ministries. The FBI agent and I met the
prosecutor-general yesterday [8 March] to discuss future directions
of the investigation. He has already left Azerbaijan and we are now
awaiting further advice from the investigation group as to how else
the FBI can help.