Author: Chakrian Hovsep

MPs TRANSFER SUMS TO ACCOUNT OPENED FOR PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO RELATIVES OF ACCIDENT VICTIMS

Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. A consultation of the working group
created for the purpose of providing assistance to the relatives of
the May 3 plane accident victims took place on May 17 at RA NA Speaker
Artur Baghdasarian’s office. During the consultation representatives
of NA factions and groups informed that a fund-raising was held and
sums were transferred to accounts opened for this purpose. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it from NA Public Relations Department.

AMENDMENTS TO BE MADE TO RA LAW “ON EDUCATION”

YEREVAN, MAY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Government approved at the May 11
sitting the draft “On Making Amendments to the RA Law “On Education.”
Making of the decision is conditioned by the necessity of passing to
the 12 years secondary education in the RA. As Norayr Ghukasian, the
RA Deputy Minister of Education and Science informed journalists after
the sitting, the goal of the draft is to create a legislative basis
for passing to the 12 years teaching of the secondary system of
Armenia. According to him, main changes relate to Articles 15 and 18
of the RA law “On Education” in the first of which the age for
starting attending school will be fixed. According to the draft, those
children who will be 6 years old till December 31 of this calendar
year will attend first grade. It was mentioned that while passing to
the 11 years education that age was fixed 6.5 years old. The next
change is classification of levels of the school arising of the 12
years education: elementary school: 1-4 grades, middle school: 5-9
grades. and high school: 10-12 grades. N.Ghukasian mentioned that
according to the draft law, passing to the 12 years education will be
implemented starting from this year. Two types of first grades, of 6
and 6.5 years old pupils, will be formed according to age groups, they
will leave the school correspondingly in 12 and 11 years. The next
year, the 6 years old first grades will attend 2nd grade, and 6.5
years old will attend 3rd grade.

Arising of that, numeration of all grades will increase by one. It was
also mentioned that in 2011 no school-leavers will be in the republic,
what is connected with passing from 10 years education to 11 years one
in 2001. According to N.Ghukasian, 53 thousand first grade pupils
will attend school this year, 16 500 of them are 6 years old, others
are 6.5.

FOR THE SAKE OF FAIR ELECTIONS EVEN IF JOINING OF “THE OFFENDED” WITH
OPPOSITION IS USEFUL, ARSHAK SADOYAN CONSIDERS

YEREVAN, MAY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Irrespective of the fact who join the
opposition, even if they are “offended people” (RA NA Speaker Artur
Baghdasarian and Orinats Yerkir Party headed by him is meant here:
NT), if they struggle for the sake of fair elections, against
mechanical reproduction of the authorities, it is useful. RA MP Arshak
Sadoyan, Chairman of the Union of National Democrats Party, expressed
such an opinion at the May 12 press conference. Sadoyan is glad that
it is being clarified what processes go on in Armenia. According to
him, the reforms become possible in the power structures as the number
of those struggling for it increases, even if they become “offended
people”, and he considers it a positive step. According to Arshak
Sadoyan, in its time the coalition was formed in rather an artificial
way and principles of joint use of the power “feeding-rack” laid in
its basis. “Naturally, there are collisions connected with use of this
“feeding-rack” and a problem emerges, how many seats will be given to
the coalition parties at this table since 2007. In fact, a quarrel for
the future table emerges,” the MP declared.

TOTAL HISTORY AND FRANCE’S FUTURE
Cem Oguz

New Anatolian, Turkey
May 11 2006

Late last night I finished a book by Emine Caykara that contains an
interview of nearly 500 pages with Professor Halil Inalcik. In several
parts of the interview, Inalcik, the doyen of Ottoman studies who
used to teach me during my short academic career as well, asserted
the importance of the concept of “total history.”

Towards the end of the interview, Professor Inalcik points out
a fundamental dilemma faced by historiography: While the natural
sciences, such as mathematics, offer a kid of even the age of 12 the
opportunity to show genius, the social sciences, first and foremost
history, require long-term dedication as well as experience supported
by fastidiousness. Without knowing the fundamental elements and marking
points of history one would lose the focus. This, in turn, demands
knowledge about each aspect of history or the notion of total history.

The concept of total history is the most significant contribution
of the “Ecole des Annales” to modern-day historiography. Born of the
well-known French scholarly journal “Annales d’Histoire Economique et
Sociale,” the Ecole des Annales was founded in 1929 by prominent French
historians Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. However, the most popular name
among those from annales has been Fernand Braudel, the author of “The
Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II.”

Previously, traditional history was built around the acts and
facts of the leading personalities of the time. The Annales
school, in turn, proposed a shift in the historian’s focus and a
global vision of history, particularly emphasizing the medium- and
long-term evolution of societies and civilizations. Its followers
pioneered a new and stimulating approach to the study of historical
structures over events. Committed to broadening the range of history,
they incorporated the other humanities, ranging from economics and
sociology to linguistics and geography, into historical study. Over
time mentalities (attitudes) became their focus as well.

The influence of the Ecole des Annales soon spread well beyond the
borders of France, and Turkish historians, too, were not immune to its
rapidly growing attraction. It was first Omer Lutfi Barkan who applied
annales principles to his works. He then was followed by Inalcik.

The Annales school is actually the world-renowned foundation on
which modern-day French historiography is grounded. It is in this
regard that French historians’ outspoken opposition against political
involvement in history and historic events over the last two years
deserves particular appreciation. Nevertheless, the reason I’ve touched
on it is not because I naively believe that praising motivated by a
narrow opportunism will help strengthen the Turkish standpoint. It
is rather related to my desire to conduct a little projection into
France’s future.

As some French themselves admit, France, once the worldwide leading
promoter of universal values, is a rapidly decaying power in this
new global era. Paradoxically, the political elite rather seem to be
merely mourning this self-imposed isolation. What I am particularly
wondering about, however, is whether this gradual transformation,
or the “long duree” as Braudel described it, is simply the outcome of
some French politicians’ narrow-mindedness or lack of vision. It is,
of course, the French people that will judge their politicians.

However, I humbly need to warn them that if this judgment is late in
coming, sooner or later they themselves won’t be able to escape from
the transformation that has affected their politicians.

As far as some French politicians’ attitude towards the Armenian
allegations is concerned, there remains nothing left to say except to
assert what my dear professor, Halil Inalcik, used to repeat during
his lectures: “Understanding is forgiving.”

How otherwise will we Turks be able to tolerate certain French
politicians, with their longings to be geniuses in the field of
history at age 12?

ALLEGATIONS OF WWI GENOCIDE IRK TURKEY
By Benjamin Harvey
Associated Press Writer

AP
Thursday May 11, 2006 10:31 PM

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – Turkey has pulled out of a military exercise
in Canada and hinted at economic repercussions against France,
stepping up protests of accusations that Turks committed genocide
against Armenians during World War I.

Ankara this week briefly recalled ambassadors from NATO allies France
and Canada to protest the Canadian prime minister’s declaration last
month that the killings of Armenians constituted genocide, and a
French bill that would outlaw denying that Armenians were genocide
victims. The ambassadors returned Thursday after four days in Turkey.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was pulling out
of an Air Force training exercise in Canada, to which it had been
expected to send officers and several F-16 fighters.

“This decision is Turkey’s and we would not comment on why they have
made this decision,” said Pamela Greenwell, a spokeswoman for Canada’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Turkey is an important NATO ally and
we hope that they will be able to participate in future exercises.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday held a private
meeting in Ankara with representatives of large French firms with
investments in Turkey, where he warned of serious harm to relations
if the genocide measure was allowed to pass.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenians died or were killed over
several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force them out of
eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians
died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the deaths
occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey is facing increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the killings,
particularly as it seeks membership in the European Union.

But many in Turkey feel that, by using the word genocide to describe
the killings, other countries put the Ottoman Turks in the same
category as Nazi Germans.

Turkey has made it government policy to fight genocide assertions with
diplomatic and economic sanctions if necessary. But it is unclear how
far Turks are willing to go, especially if that could mean harming
the bid to join the EU.

“Sometimes you talk, then you have to behave according to the way
you talk, and you get to a place you never wanted to go in the
first place,” Ilter Turan, a political scientist at Istanbul Bilgi
University, said of whether Turkey would carry through on all of
its threats.

Stephen Harper recently became the first Canadian prime minister to
publicly declare that the Armenian deaths constituted a genocide. He
was expressing his support from a House of Commons resolution in 2004
characterizing them as such.

Turkey sent a parliamentary delegation to Paris this week and Turkish
chambers of commerce sent letters to their counterparts in France
pleading for help and warning of a boycott.

If passed, the French bill, to be voted on May 18, would make it
a crime to deny that Turks committed genocide against Armenians. A
similar law forbids the denial of the Jewish Holocaust in World War II.

In 2001, Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, canceled
millions of dollars worth of defense deals with French companies
after lawmakers in France recognized the Armenian killings as genocide.

A Turkish court this year dropped charges against the country’s
best-known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, who went on trial for “insulting
Turkishness” after he said Turks have killed more than a million
Armenians and more than 30,000 Kurds. He could have faced up to three
years in prison.

The United States, which has a large Armenian diaspora community,
has not declared the killings a genocide.

TURKS OF EUROPE ACTIVATE “STRUGGLE” AGAINST LAW ON PENALTY FOR GENOCIDE DENIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.05.2006 15:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At the meeting of representatives of Turkish
organizations of France it was decided to coordinate activities against
the discussion of the bill, providing for penalty for denial of the
Armenian Genocide, scheduled at the French Parliament May 18.

Leaders of Turkish organizations decided to work out a common platform
for preventing adoption of law and joint lobbying.

Meeting participants decided to send a letter of French President
Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Speakers of
the National Assembly and Senate, as well as political parties,
asking to “impede adoption of the law.” Deputy Chair of Liberty and
Development Turkish Party Akif Gulen, who is one of the four MPs,
who left for Paris to hamper passing the law, urged Turks living in
Europe to activate efforts in domestic affairs of their countries,
reports Turkish Daily News.

SEARCH FOR THE BLACK BOXES SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF A HURRICANE PREDICTED

ArmRadio.am
10.05.2006 12:42

Deepwater search for the black boxes of the crashed A-320 plane
has been suspended because of a four-grade hurricane forecasted,
representative of the Operative Staff of the Russian Ministry of
Emergency Situations told RIA Novosti.

“Currently the works of the past days are being summed up during
consultations,” the agency representative said. French specialists
arrived in Sochi with special facilities, which are being currently
installed on the “Navigator” ship.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 9, 2006 Tuesday

Canada’s respond to Turkish ambassador consultations calm

by Igor Borisenko

OTTAWA

The Turkish ambassador to Canada has been summoned to Ankara for
consultations in protest against Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s pronouncement on the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire
in 19151-1917.

Harper recognized the fact of genocide on behalf of the Canadian
government this April. The previous government of Canada abstained
from the recognition.

The Turkish embassy immediately responded that the pronouncement
would have a negative effect on the bilateral relations. Turkey
rejects and condemns attempts based on years-long propaganda and
political maneuvering to create a one-sided interpretation of history
and pass lies for truth, the newspaper Globe and Mail said on
Tuesday.

The reaction of the Canadian Foreign Ministry was rather calm. A
ministerial representative said that they knew about planned
consultations of the Turkish ambassador last week. Such consultations
are a private matter, and would not be a reason for Canadian
speculations, the ministry said.

Leader of the opposition New Democratic Party Jack Layton supported
the government’s position on the Armenian genocide. He said Canadians
want their government to speak up about such matters even if these
pronouncements create certain bumps in relations with other
countries.

FRENCH TO BRING NEW EQUIPMENT

Lragir.am
09 May 06

New French experts will join the search team, working in the place of
the crash of the Armenian A320 in the morning of May 3 in Sochi. They
are to arrive in Sochi on May 9. The French have brought special
apparatus for a more precise search for the black boxes. Vladimir
Derkunov, the head of the search headquarters, announced this on May
8. He said the new French equipment will allow to detect the black box
at the bottom of the sea and differentiate it from the fuselage of the
plane. The French have also brought special equipment to lift the
black boxes from the bottom of the sea.

PARTICIPANTS OF GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR AND ARTSKAKH FREEDOM-FIGHTING TO
HAVE POSSIBILITY ON MAY 9 TO RUN FREELY BY RAILWAY AND INTERURBAN
TRANSPORT

YEREVAN, MAY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Armenian Railway” LTD will transort
freely invalids and participants of the Great Patriotic War and the
Artsakha freedom-fighting by the innerrepublican and the
Yerevan-Tbilisi interstate flight on May 9. According to a message of
the RA Transport and Communication Ministry’s Information Service,
Minister Andranik Manukian signed a decree about it on the occasion of
the anniversaries of the victory in the Great Patriotic war and the
liberation of Shoushi. According to an agreement reached between the
Ministry and representatives of organizations implementing
transportations among marzes, participants of the Great Patriotic War
and the Artsakh freedom-fighting will have possibility to run freely
with correspinding certificates from marzes to the capital and in the
opposite direction by buses and microbuses.