Author: Basmajian Ani

DEPORTATION AND ANNIHILATION OF ARMENIANS WASN’T CAUSED BY RELIGION

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.02.2007 18:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The idea of deporting Armenians from Anatolia
occurred to Turkish leaders in 1913 after suffering a defeat in
the Balkan war. At those times Turks concluded they can’t live with
Christians, Turkish historian Taner Akcam said in an interview with
Minneapolis Star Tribune. "In October 1912 the Ottoman Empire lost
69% of its territory, a homeland for young Turks. They lost because
of Christians.

Armenians made 45% of the population of Anatolia," the Turkish
historian said. According to him, in 1914 the Ottoman government
proceeded to elaboration of a plan for deploying troops in
Anatolia. "However, I do not think that religion was a cause for
deportation and annihilation of Armenians. Majority of Armenians
received education in Europe and were atheists.

Religion was used for uniting the Muslim population against Armenians,"
Taner Akcam said, reports RFE/RL.

Taner Akcam is one of the first Turkish historians to recognize the
Armenian Genocide. In 1978 he immigrated to Germany and was granted
the status of a political refugee. Presently he is a professor of
history at the Minnesota University.

"TIGRAN METS" STATE ORDER TO NKR DEFENSE ARMY

ArmRadio.am
20.02.2007 16:10

Today in Stepanakert RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan awarded "Tigran
Mets" state order to the Defense Army of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
"for exceptional service to Motherland," Mediamax agency reports.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Sege Sargsyan noted that the army
should everything for the political leadership to be more confident
in negotiating on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. He did
not agree to the opinion that the domestic political situation in
Armenia is so serious that it can jeopardize the security of borders
of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

Today a youth march was held in Stepanakert on the occasion of the
19th anniversary of the national liberation movement of Karabakh, the
participants of which carried a huge flag of NKR through the streets.

On February 20 the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Region of Nagorno
Karabakh applied to the USSR Supreme Council with the request to
pass the Autonomous Region to Armenia, which marked the start of the
Karabakh movement.

AZERI, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS ENERGY COOPERATION, KARABAKH

ANS TV, Baku
19 Feb 07

[Presenter] German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is
presiding over the EU, has already started official meetings in Baku.

[Passage omitted: the minister visited late President Heydar Aliyev’s
grave]

The German minister first had a one-to-one meeting with his
Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov and then an expanded
meeting with delegations in attendance. Azerbaijani-EU relations,
the implementation of the Action Plan within the framework of the
[EU] Neighbourhood Policy, the Nagornyy Karabakh and energy issues
were discussed during the meeting.

Afterwards, the ministers held a news conference.

[Mammadyarov speaking at the news conference] During the
meeting, we touched upon both regional problems and future
Azerbaijani-EU cooperation within the framework of the Neighbourhood
Policy. Certainly, we also discussed the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict. For my part, I told the German foreign minister
about Azerbaijan’s position [on the conflict].

>>From an economic point of view, we, certainly, discussed energy
issues, while from a humanitarian point of view we discussed conceptual
issues concerning the Year of Azerbaijani culture to be held in
Germany in 2008, and we are now working on the programme.

[Passage omitted: the German minister to meet President Ilham Aliyev
and head of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic]

[Presenter] The aim of the visit is to discuss Azerbaijan’s integration
into the EU and energy cooperation. A report from the embassy of
Germany, which is presiding over the EU, says that Germany sees
intensifying the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policy as the
main trend in its activity and attaches great importance to cooperation
to this effect with Azerbaijan.

FRANCE-ARMéNIE : DES RELATIONS MARQUéES PAR L’EXISTENCE D’UNE IMPORTANTE DIASPORA

Agence France Presse
19 février 2007 lundi 2:58 PM GMT

L’Armenie, dont le president Robert Kotcharian effectue une visite de
quatre jours en France, entretient des relations particulières avec
l’hexagone qui abrite la plus importante diaspora armenienne d’Europe.

La presidence armenienne evalue a 500.000 personnes la communaute
armenienne de France, pour la plupart des descendants des survivants
des massacres d’Armeniens de 1915-17 dans l’Empire Ottoman. La France
evalue cette diaspora a "près de 400.000 personnes".

Paris est la première capitale a avoir, le 18 janvier 2001, reconnu
ces massacres comme genocide, souligne la presidence armenienne. La
Turquie conteste vivement ce terme.

En outre, une loi punissant d’un an de prison la negation de ce
genocide a ete adoptee en octobre 2006 par l’Assemblee nationale mais
doit encore passer au Senat, la chambre haute du Parlement francais.

La France fait par ailleurs partie, avec les Etats-Unis et la Russie,
du groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE (Orgnaisation pour la securite et la
cooperation en Europe) sur la region separatiste du Nagorny Karabakh,
qui oppose Erevan et Bakou.

Sur le plan economique, les echanges commerciaux entre la France
et l’Armenie sont en progression avec un total de 64,8 millions de
dollars sur les 11 premiers mois de 2006 contre 39,1 millions sur la
meme periode de 2005.

Les entreprises francaises sont presentes essentiellement dans
le secteur agroalimentaire et dans le domaine de l’eau dans cette
ancienne republique sovietique peuplee de trois millions d’habitants.

La France a investi 19 millions de dollars en Armenie en 2005, selon
l’ambassade de France a Erevan. Parmi les societes francaises dans ce
pays de la chaîne montagneuse du Caucase figurent le groupe Castel qui
contrôle depuis 1997 le brasseur Kotaïk et Pernod Ricard proprietaire
de l’Usine de cognac d’Erevan depuis 1999.

En 2004, la societe francaise Saur (eau, energie, proprete) a remporte
un appel d’offres pour la modernisation de l’alimentation en eau et
du système des eaux usees de 38 villes et 250 villages d’Armenie pour
un investissement de 41,2 millions de dollars dont 6,2 a la charge
de l’Etat armenien.

La Generale des Eaux travaille depuis 2004 dans la gestion de l’eau de
la capitale Erevan dont elle est chargee pour une periode de dix ans.

La compagnie aerienne Air France effectue des vols reguliers
Paris-Erevan-Paris depuis 2006. Credit Agricole est le principal
actionnaire de la banque armenienne ACBA devenue ACBA Credit Agricole
Bank.

–Boundary_(ID_Tn/E5bEL7CVC1C9fwVo SSw)–

WBAN
Feb 17 2007

Kentikian wins the vacant WBA Flyweight Title

By Torben L. of Denmark
February 17, 2007

(FEB 17) Last night’s WBA Flyweight World Championship Fight between
Carolina Alvarez of Venezuela and Armenian born Susianna Kentikian
ended with a TKO in favor of Kentikian. The 19 year old Kentikian
demolished her 10 year older opponent over eight rounds until the
referee – Mark Nelson of USA – called a halt to the punishment 27
seconds into the 9th round.

Alvarez came forward from the first bell, in her somewhat unorthodox
style, trying to jump her punches in, and throwing a lot of haymakers
that was far to easy to read for a quality boxer like Kentikian. The
aggressive style obviously suited Kentikian, who caught the very open
Venezuelaen with crisp punches, as she came forward. Alvarez is known
for her punching power. But her punching power had little effect, as
she rarely managed to catch her fast moving target, and her
deficiency in defensive skills made Kentikian hit her almost at will.
Alvarez is to be admired for her enormous fighting spirit, guts and a
very solid chin, but unless she improves her guard she will have big
problems every time she enters the ring against top class boxers.
Kentikian’s victory was never in doubt, and her performance tonight
proves, that she belongs among the top contenders in the flyweight
division.

Naturally, Susianna was overjoyed at winning her first World
Championship belt, but tonight was also significant in other respects
for the young talent. Appearing in the main event on prime time
nationwide TV for the first time, has obviously given her a big
boost, and she showed her appreciation after the fight by grabbing
the ring microphone and thanking her promoter Dietmar Poszwa and
ProSieben for putting their trust in her, and her trainer Magomed
Schaburow for his part in her success.

Tonight, Kentikian won not only a World Title Belt, but also the
hearts of a huge TV audience.

Photos at ikian.htm

TURKISH OPPOSITION FAILED TO MAKE INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.02.2007 14:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Erdogan-led Justice and Development ruling
party saved yesterday one of its members, Interior Minister Abdulkadir
Aksu, accused of neglecting his duty regarding Agos newspaper editor
Hrant Dink murder in particular and overlooking sharp rise in crime in
general. Defending himself, Aksu said that crime is directly connected
to social circumstances and added that talk about rising crime is
nonsense given the social, economic and political stability in the
country established by the government, reports The New Anatolian.

RENE VAN DER LINDEN: ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN SHOULD RESOLVE THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IN A PEACEFUL WAY

ArmRadio.am
14.02.2007 15:25

If Armenia and Azerbaijan wish to create conditions for generations to
come, they should resolve the Karabakh conflict in a peaceful way, PACE
President Rene van der Linden said in an interview with "Trend" agency.

Commenting on the agreement to continue the cooperation of members of
the PACE Subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh (including the delegations
of Armenia and Azerbaijan), PACE President reminded that "all members
of parliament carry an international responsibility for the resolution
of the conflict and have declared their comittements which they will
maintain in the search for the peaceful resolution." "This meeting is a
recurrent phase on the way of the conflict settlement. And I hope that
they will continue in the same spirit," Rene van der Linden mentioned.

US CHARGE D’AFFAIRES MEETS WITH DYP OFFICIALS

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Turkish Press
Aksam
Feb 12 2007

U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Nancy McEldowney hosted a weekend
luncheon at the embassy with several opposition True Path Party
(DYP) officials: deputy leader Nedim Bilgic, Gultekin Uysal, Umut
Arik, Hatay Deputy Mehmet Eraslan, Denizli Deputy Ummet Kandogan
and Ankara Regional Director Bulent Kusoglu. During the luncheon,
topics of discussion included the so-called Armenian resolution facing
the US Congress, the terrorist PKK, Iraq and last month’s murder of
journalist Hrank Dink.

GALUST SAHAKIAN: "STRONG ONES COME TO AUTHORITIES"

Noyan Tapan
Feb 12 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. "People think that they may have
nothing and come to the power as they have good thoughts. If you
have neither political capital nor financial but have good thoughts,
you can write good books."

Galust Sahakian, the head of the RPA faction of the RA National
Assembly expressed such an opinion during the February 9 parliamentary
briefing. In his words, every party must take care of its problems
one of which is financing. The RPA faction head also mentioned that
it will be right if some people create the counrty budget, and other
people come to control it. "One does not come to power to waste it:
strong ones come to power who solve problems for the state," G.Sahakian
stated. In his words, definition of high tariffs for the paid broadcast
of the pre-electoral campaign is the right of TV channels, and no
law is violated by it. And the opposition, in G.Sahakian’s words, may
use for its propaganda the possibility of free broadcast. G.Sahakian
himself prefers during the pre-electoral propaganda, by using "his own
feet and brain" what in his own words, does not demand great expenses,
"go from a district to a district, walk from a village to a village
and say the people what problems the given team wants to solve."

6 SQUARE METERS AND A BED FOR FIVE

A1+
[01:14 pm] 12 February, 2007

For the last 18 years 52-year-old Mrs. Lena and the other five members
of her family have lived in a 6-square-meter room of a van which is
located opposite the Gyumri municipality. The only bed in the room
shelters Mrs. Lena, her two daughters and the three underage grandkids
by turn.

Mrs. Lena tells that they often visit their relatives and leave the
kids there to spend the night. "My grandchildren often catch cold
because of the cold winter. The youngest has serious lung problems".

Mrs. Lena is handicapped. She provides the family by means of her own
"business", retail trade. He pays the electricity and other expensed
by the pension, 12 000 AMD, and buys food for the children with the
money she earns, 500-1000 AMD daily. She tells that the husbands of her
daughters left for abroad in order to earn money and never returned.

"The earthquake changed our lives. We had a three-room flat in
Triangle district. The building was leveled to earth. We were given
a van which caught fire. Then we found this nest", Mrs. Lena tells.

No other family has lived in this communal flat for a long time. The
kitchen and bathroom are covered with ice. The family has to fetch
water from the nearby district. Daughter of Mrs. Lena Ano tells that
it is very dangerous to sleep in the room as the wooden walls are
rotten and they can collapse every minute.

"One day that will probably happen", Ano says. She also says that
the municipality had promised them fuel for the winter, but nothing
has ever been sent to them.

Mrs. Lena’s family is one of 4000 families left homeless after the
catastrophe. The municipality offers them rented houses in return
for the price of the house they lost, but Mrs. Lena does not agree.

"Suppose we taken the rented house, and the money is over in a
day. What shall we do? No at least we hope that we will get a flat
one day", Mrs. Lena says.

Until then, she buys food and medicine with the money she earns every
day, waiting for "better times".