Author: Chakrian Hovsep

PanArmenian News
March 18 2005

GERMANY SHOULD PRESS TURKEY TO ACKNOWLEDGE PAST, RESOLUTION OF GERMAN
CONSERVATIVE PARTIES SAYS

18.03.2005 07:04

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Christian Democratic and Christian Socialist
parties of Germany protesting against Turkey’s EU membership have
launched a campaign to prevent this process, IA Regnum reports. The
parties have adopted a resolution on the occasion of the 90-th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which is to be submitted to the
parliament. The resolution notes that Germany being an ally to the
Ottoman Empire during the First World War was aware of the outraging
plans for elimination and exiles of Armenians. The document stresses
that `Turkey as the successor of the Ottoman Empire keep on denying
the reality. Such position conflicts with the EU principles on
reconciliation and forgiveness.’ `Germany should press Turkey to
acknowledge the past and establish normal relations with Armenia’,
the resolution runs.

Zaman, Turkey
March 18 2005

[COMMENTARY]
The EU & Turkish-Armenian Relations – A Catalyst for Change?

by Amanda Akcakoca

Introduction
Although Turkey and Armenia have a troubled relationship they share a
common goal – EU integration.

On 3rd October 2005 Turkey will open accession talks with the
European Union. The talks are expected to be long and difficult and
Turkey will have to face-up to many tough issues, including its
long-standing problems with Armenia during the course of these
discussions.

At the same time, Armenia, which is now part of the European
Neighbourhood Policy, clearly sees this new EU initiative as a
stepping-stone to full membership. Whichever Armenian politician you
talk to the answer is always the same – their vision of the future is
as a full member of the EU family. This in itself is quite
interesting as ENP does not offer the prospect of membership. This
point, however, seems to be regularly disregarded. However, in order
to move closer to this ambition Armenia will have to normalize its
relations with its neighbours and carry out massive reforms.

Currently diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey remain
frozen. Three issues dominate: the closed border, the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the alleged genocide of 1915-16.
Although the genocide issue is extremely important it does not
directly effect either country’s integration aspirations or their
relations with the EU. The other two issues do, however.

Without doubt one of the biggest success stories of the EU has been
its ability to bring about change in countries aspiring to be closer
to the EU. The new member states from Central and Eastern Europe as
well as Romania and Bulgaria are a clear example of this
accomplishment. The reforms that have taken place to date in Turkey
can also be substantially accredited to the EU carrot. Thereby, it is
clear that the EU could have an important role to play in the
transformation of Turkish-Armenian relations.

Problems Turkey will Face Vis-à-Vis Armenia

Improving public opinion in EU Member States is going to be a
priority of the Turkish government. To this end, Ankara envisages
carrying out a large-scale communications and public relations
campaign to win the hearts and minds of those skeptical over Turkish
membership. However, as long as Turkey continues with its current
policy towards Yerevan the government will face difficulties in
trying to achieve this. The Armenian government, as well as its very
large diaspora community, (± 6 million world-wide) will continue to
condemn and criticize Turkey. In France, for example, a country
already very unenthusiastic and negative over Turkish membership, and
where 250,000 Armenians reside, it would seem difficult for such a
campaign to succeed. The Armenian government and the diaspora
community will work as a team. While the Armenian government will
continue to push for the normalization of diplomatic relations and
the opening of the border, the diaspora community will maintain its
call for recognition of the alleged Armenian genocide. (24 April will
mark the 90th anniversary of this incident and a number of
conferences and seminars are expected to take place across Europe to
mark the event.) Turkey cannot afford to keep churning out the same
tired old arguments of decades.

Overall, it would seem that the Armenian government was pleased with
the decision of the European Union to open accession talks with
Turkey on 3 October 2005. As long as Turkey is in this “process” its
relationship with Armenia is destined to improve and eventually
normalize. The current status quo over the frozen diplomatic
relations and closed border cannot be sustained if Turkey is to
become a full member of the EU. However, how quickly or slowly Ankara
decides to move on this issue will be significant. Although Turkey’s
accession is estimated to take place in 10-15 years time, the
Armenian government will not want to wait until the very last moment
for a solution. Without doubt Yerevan will make the most of this new
window of opportunity it now has to influence the EU and member
states into pressing Turkey to normalizing relations.

The government, therefore, needs to face the fact that its current
policy towards Armenia is unsustainable. It is time for Prime
Minister Erdogan to begin to look at realistic and practical ways in
which to normalize relations with Yerevan. Turkey must take some
courageous steps regarding Armenia.

The Closed Border

Without doubt the most important step Turkey should take is to
normalize diplomatic relations and open the border. Turkey sealed the
frontier in 1993 – at the height of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh – as an act of solidarity with Azerbaijan. The
policy has cost the region dearly, as it blocks trade routes vital
not only to Armenia and Turkey, but to the entire area. The Turkish
town of Kars is testiment to this. The main road and rail routes from
Turkey to the Caspian, for instance, go through Armenia, and are
currently closed due to the blockade. Baku argues that if Turkey were
to open its frontier with Armenia to trade, it would remove a vital
incentive for Yerevan to make concessions in the Karabakh peace
process, which at present is in a deadlock. However, if Azerbaijan
and Armenia are serious about ENP and moving closer to Brussels, they
will not be able to continue with this deadlock situation and will
have to be willing to approach talks with a more give-and-take
attitude. Although the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey (as
well as other officials) meet to discuss their common problems it
would appear that there is never any real progress made but rather
each country blames the other for the stalemate.

Turkey has continually argued three points on this issue – that a
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be a pre-condition
to opening the border (even though Turkey is not directly involved in
this conflict); that Armenia should drop the genocide claims and that
Armenia must recognize Turkey’s border – a subject that both sides
continually disagree over.

On this question of territory, Turkey maintains that Armenia still
has a territorial claim on Eastern Turkey as Article 11 of the
Declaration of Independence attached to the Armenian Constitution
cites ” the Republic of Armenia stands in support of the task of
achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman
Turkey and Western Armenia”. However, Armenia insists that this
document has no legal standing, that Armenia has declared more than
once, and at all levels, that Yerevan does not have any territorial
claims and that Armenia recognizes the border as stated in the Kars
Agreement which was drawn up between the Soviet Union and Turkey
prior to Armenian independence. Moreover, in the event of a
resumption in diplomatic relations a Protocol on the establishment of
diplomatic relations, clearly stating that the two states respect
each others territory, and clearly stating what those territories
are, could be signed making this long-running dispute void.

Moreover, over the last few years Turkey has clearly demonstrated
that it wants to turn into a mature democracy. That the days when
people could be jailed for expressing an opinion that went against
that of the state are gone. Therefore is it not time for Turkey’s
political elite to step back and reassess this policy on Armenia?

The opening of the border would be beneficial for Turkey and Armenia
in many respects. Firstly, it would send a clear signal to the
international community that there is a strong will and determination
of both countries to solve their problems. Moreover opening the
border would promote contact, trade, business opportunities and
tourism between the population of both countries which would, in
turn, help to build confidence and understanding between these two
neighbours. Without such a move the current climate of tension will
continue to smolder indefinitely.

The Genocide Question

As already stated, this issue is not linked to Turkish accession.
However, certain politicians, the French Foreign Minister, Michel
Barnier for example, has expressed a desire to see this issue
addressed within the process and it is possible that other political
leaders may decide to give this issue for attention. Therefore it
would seem sensible for Ankara to be more focused in its approach.
The standard Turkish response of “we never committed genocide” would
seem to be no longer sufficient. The government needs to take a more
pro-active stance in the on-going debate. A transparent and clear
dialogue needs to be undertaken which would allow Armenian and
Turkish historians to sit down and debate the matter with all the
archived information from both sides opened. A direct dialogue
between Turkish and Armenian historians that began in 2004 between
the Turkish Historical Society and their counterparts from the
Armenian Academy of Science and Yerevan’s Genocide Museum formed the
Vienna Armenian-Turkish Historians Platform (VAT) ground to a halt
after the first meeting in 2004. Therefore, it would seem appropriate
that a next step could be the formation of an International
Commission under the auspices of the UN. This would help ensure
impartiality and to encourage the opening of all archives.

EU Role in the Region

The European Union clearly wants to deal with the countries of the
South Caucasus as a region. Presently this is impossible. To this
end, Armenia and its neighbours must endeavor to do all they can to
improve regional stability. All three countries have expressed a
desire to become further integrated into the EU and to meet EU
standards and values. The European Union has recently released
Country Reports for all three countries. These will be followed by
Action Plans in the autumn. Most importantly, Armenia must
demonstrate, along with Azerbaijan, that it has a real political will
to bring about a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia
continues to occupy 20% of Azeri territory. Without the resolution of
this conflict it is difficult to see how the EU could seriously
engage itself in the region.

Although the inclusion of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the
European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was clearly a significant step
forward in the EU’s involvement in the region, the effectiveness of
the EU in region will depend on its ability to establish a true
partnership particularly in the area of conflict resolution,
political and economic reform and intra-regional co-operation. Again,
much political will to change the status quo will need to be
demonstrated.

Turkey, integrated into the enlargement process, has a real
opportunity to play a key role in the application and implementation
of the ENP. The EU therefore needs to conduct a dialogue with Turkey
on policies and actions vis-à-vis the region. In this regard,
additional support through instruments such as technical assistance
and twinning will boost the development of various forms of
cross-border cooperation involving local and regional authorities,
non-governmental actors and business communities by building on the
achievements of Turkish Armenian Business Development Council and
others in the border regions.

Conclusion

Up until now the policies applied by both Turkey and Armenia have
failed. With Turkey’s accession talks due to begin later this year
and with Armenia involvement in the ENP and clear EU ambitions it
would seem that the time has come to open a new chapter and to begin
a fresh process of dialogue and reconciliation. Leaders of both
countries, with some help from the EU, need to find the political
will to begin thinking in global and realistic terms and start taking
steps for peace, if they are serious about bringing stability and
peace to the region. The end result can only be a win-win situation
for all.

Amanda Akcakoca
Policy Analyst
European Policy Centre, Brussels

ProFindPages, UK
March 17 2005

Aussie threatens plane on flight to Moscow
(17.03.2005)

A young Australian passenger threatened to blow up a plane which was
on route to Moscow.

According to reports, the young man tried to get into the cockpit and
made threats to blow up the plane, which was carrying 214 passengers.
However, it seems that the man had no explosives to carry out his
threat.

The Aeroflot plane was not delayed on its flight from Tokyo to Moscow
and the man was detained on landing. It is believed that the man was
heading for Armenia (via Moscow).

There are no details of why the man decided to threaten the plane and
he will probably be subjected to a psychiatric exam.

It is of course possible that the man may have drunk a little too
much vodka, but this is only speculation.

Whilst the incident would have been worrying to the passengers and
the authorities, after the two terrorist attacks on Russian planes
last year, there seemed to be no actual danger.

Details of the real reason for this “threat” will probably be
available shortly.

REPUBLIC SCHOOL COMPETITIONS

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
15 March 05

On March 13 the 2004-2005 republic competition among schoolchildren
took place at the school N 8 of Stepanakert. It was preceded by the
regional competitions the winners of which passed to the next
stage. The head of the department for programming, methods and
elementary school of the NKR Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
Raya Musayelian said the contest was held in ten school subjects:
Armenian language, literature, mathematics, physics, biology,
chemistry, geography, history, Russian, English. The participants were
mainly 8th and 9th form pupils, and in certain subjects, such as
Armenian, Russian and mathematics, pupils of 6th and 7th form were
involved too. More than 50 out of the 251 participants took part in
the contest in the Armenian and Russian languages. R. Musayelian said
that only 2 pupils participated in the competition in literature. The
number of participants of the contest in English has also decreased
from last year; there were only 17 pupils against 40-45 in the
previous years. All the regions and the schools of the capital were
represented in the contests. R. Musayelian assured that the
competition was impartial. The envelopes with the tests were opened on
the same day, in the morning of March 13, in the presence of the
members of the commission. The winners will take part in the
competition in Armenia at the beginning of April.

LAURA GRIGORIAN.
15-03-2005

ArmenPress
March 14 2005

MISS ARMENIA FINALIST OF MISS EUROPE BEAUTY CONTEST

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS: The 18 year-old student of an
Armenian Linguistic University, Lusine Tovmasian, won the title of
vice Miss Europe 2005 losing to dark-haired 22-year-old Miss Germany,
Shahrivar Shermine, of Iranian origin late Saturday in Paris.
Among the judges of the contest, beamed live to more than 50
countries, were singer Charles Aznavour and couturier Paco Rabanne.

The family’s modesty can do harm to the museum: Martiros Sarian’s 125th
anniversary

By Hovhannes Yeranian

Yerkir/arm
11 March 05

125th anniversary of one of the greatest Armenian artists, Martiros
Sarian was recently celebrated. Due to the efforts of the personnel of
Sarian’s house-museum the museum visitors can see more and more
valuable exhibits telling about the great artist’s life. Last year
Sarian’s granddaughter, art critic Ruzan Sarian was appointed director
of the museum. We asked Mrs. Sarian to share with us the problems of
the museum.

Martiros Sarian lived in this house from 1932 to 1967. In 1964, the
Armenian government made an unprecedented decision to create the
artist’s house-museum. `Many people were visiting Sarian’s house and
his paintingswere all over the place. The creation of the museum put
an end to this inconvenience=80=9D, Ruzan Sarian remembers.

Currently, Sarian’s relatives live in the house and this is good
because they manage to preserve the great artist’s spirit. However,
Mrs. Sarian also believes that the family’s modesty can do harm to the
museum. She is dissatisfied with reconstruction works implemented in
the museum through one of the Lincy Foundation projects.

`Now when we are celebrating Sarian’s anniversary we do notfeel
comfortable receiving guests at the museum because the parquet floors
on the second floor are in a very poor condition. During the
reconstruction works the parquet flooring was covered with low-quality
Turkish varnish that has rapidly decayed and now the flooring needs to
be replaced’, Mrs. Sarian said.

Reconstruction of Sarian’s museum seems to be the lowest quality
project implemented by Lincy Foundation’s Culture Project. Mrs. Sarian
is very upset about the ventilation and heating systems installed at
the museum noting that the huge system is not appropriate for the
museum since it produces a lot of noise.

The museum also had problems with heating. Mrs. Sarian told that this
year ArmenTel Company covered the heating costs this year but next
winter the museum is most likely to experience similar problems
again. Even though there is a gas line on Sarian street, provision of
natural gas for the museum was not included into the reconstruction
project implemented by the Lincy Foundation.

Mrs. Sarian also informed us about various events that will be held in
the framework of celebrations of the great artist’s 125th
anniversary.`A documental-memorial exhibition hall will soon be opened
with special funding allocated for the anniversary. It is necessary to
exhibit not only the works of the great painter but also tell the
public about his life and his civil activities’, Mrs. Sarian noted.

She shared with us some interesting information regarding Sarian’s
life. `In 1915 the Moscow-based Armenian Committee delegated Sarian to
Yerevan the organize assistance to the refugees that had escaped the
Genocide. I would also like to mention that Sarian signed many of the
petitions sent to Moscow by Armenian intellectuals in 1960’s demanding
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and reunification of the Western
Armenian lands and Artsakh’, Mrs. Sarian told.

An album telling about the museum will be published with funding
provided by the government. It will contain 150-200 color photos. A
series of exhibitions will be held. An exhibition titled `Sarian and
Russia’ willbe opened in June. A governmental reception will be held
at the Opera and Ballet Theaterin November.

Most of Sarian’s paintings are abroad, mainly in Russia. This is
natural because the artist started painting in 1910’s and earned his
livingby selling his works. Within the framework of the anniversary
celebrations the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow will organize a special
exhibition of Sarian’s early works. In 2006 Sarian’s individual
exhibition will be opened in Mayol Museum in Paris.

Only a small portion of Sarian’s paintings were bought and returnedto
the museum. `Geghama Mountains’ is one of such
paintings. GarikBasmachian bought the painting at an auction in New
York and donated it to the museum.

There were several other donations but since the paintings are very
expensive it is impossible to return all of the artist’s works to the
museum collection. Instead, it is planned to publish an album of all
of Sarian’s paintings.

ELECTION DAY APPOINTED

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
10 March 05

On March 5 the president of the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh signed
a decree by which the day of the election to the National Assembly
of the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh was appointed on June 19, 2005.

AA. 10-03-2005

Princeton Packet, NJ
March 4 2005

University to stage Prokofiev work after years of research.

Princeton University Professor Simon Morrison, a musicologist
specializing in Russian music and ballet, is consumed with a unique
fascination.
He said it began about three years ago while he was researching
French and Russian ballet for a book on the phenomenon of “lost
ballets,” and the extent to which surviving musical scores allow for
the reconstruction of these works.
In the course of his research, he encountered the work of theater
historian Lesley-Anne Sayers, who teaches at the Open University in
Britain. Professor Sayers wrote her dissertation on one of the great
lost ballets of the 20th century, “Le Pas d’Acier,” or “The Steel
Step,” by legendary Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, spending eight
years researching and creating models of the set.
“She and I hatched this idea of trying to stage this thing,”
Professor Morrison said. “Three years later, and a lot of
fund-raising, meetings and sorting out of logistical details, we will
perform this piece, re-created with a gorgeous set, student dancers,
student musicians and choreography by renowned choreographer
Millicent Hodson.
“This is essentially a world premiere, because the ballet was
never performed the way Prokofiev conceived it,” he added.
“Le Pas D’Acier” is scheduled to be performed 8 p.m. on April 7, 8
and 9 at the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center for the
Performing Arts. Three short pieces thematically related to the
ballet, created by university composers and choreographers and
others, will open the production, the university said.
The ballet has a budget of more than $175,000. The production will
feature about 30 dancers and 60 musicians, all Princeton students, as
well as an elaborate set and custom-made costumes.
Prokofiev, arguably one of the most popular composers of the 20th
century, wrote such classics such as “Peter and the Wolf” and
“Cinderella.” He intended the little-known “Le Pas d’Acier” as a
dramatic story of factory life following the Russian Revolution. It
was to be a celebration of Soviet industrialization that Prokofiev
hoped would endear him to the authorities.
But budgetary constraints and a reshuffling of choreographers
resulted in a scaled-back version of the ballet that was performed in
Paris in 1927 by the Ballets Russes. The altered version mocked
industrialization rather than celebrating it, which didn’t go over
well with the Soviet bosses. The ballet has not been performed since
1931.
“‘Pas d’Acier’ caused a political scandal when it debuted in 1927,
because it ended up as a satire of Soviet society,” Professor
Morrison said.
The set for Princeton’s production is a replica of the one
originally planned for the ballet by Georgi Yakoulov. It is a
stylized mechanical world of brightly colored spinning wheels, gears,
levers and a rotating conveyor belt representing factory life. An
8-foot-tall replica of a train that emits steam from its smoke stack
will come into view partway through the ballet.
The $45,000 set, designed from Professor Sayers’ extensive
research, was constructed by members of the McCarter Theatre staff
and overseen by Darryl Waskow, managing director of the Program in
Theater and Dance.
“What’s fascinating about this piece is that it’s the only ballet
I know which involved the dancers building the set onstage, and it
makes sense,” Professor Morrison said. “It’s about factory life and
the constructivist art movement. The set in effect operates the
dancers.”
The ballet’s choreography has been re-created using action cues
and stage direction from the original musical score as well as
drawings and photos discovered by Professor Sayers in archives in
Paris, London and Armenia, the university said.
Princeton student dancers are drawn from an advanced contemporary
dance class taught by Professor Hodson, a ballet reconstructionist
and visiting fellow of the Humanities Council, and Rebecca Lazier, a
lecturer in the Humanities Council and theater and dance.
The costumes are being created by Ingrid Maurer, a New York City
costume designer, using drawings and photographs from the 1927
production. The Princeton University Orchestra, under the direction
of Michael Pratt, will perform Prokofiev’s score.
“For me, the great pleasure first and foremost is the students,”
Professor Morrison said. “That’s the greatest pleasure for me.
Second, this is an opportunity for myself and Lesley to translate
academic research into performance and practice.”

NO REVOLUTION WITHOUT OUTSIDE FORCE

A1+
03-03-2005

Independent deputy Manuk Gasparyan appealed to the opposition

Today’s guest of the Pakagits club Manuk Gasparyan commented on the
inexpediency of launching revolution at the moment. According his
predictions made many months ago, Robert Kocharyan will resign from
office in 2005 due to the unsettlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Today he says that «in 1997 Robert Kocharryan arrives in Armenia to
assume the post of the Prime Minister and several months later he
succeeded in pressing Levon Ter-Petrosyan to resign. It proves that he
is not a naive official and will not abdicate from his power without
pressure».

The independent deputy also advised the opposition forces of all kinds
not to launch any revolutionary movements without assistance from
outside.

Manuk Gasparyan compared the National Assembly with a ship full with
rats and reminded of an old story telling how to drive rats away, `Ten
rats should be shut in a dark place without any food. Days later they
start eating each other. In the end there is one strongest rat left. It
is let out to the deck to eat up the rest.’

When commenting on contender for the next presidential election the
deputy stated NA Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan as the most inappropriate
nominee and also excluded Justice Minister David Harutyunyan from the
list of candidates.

Manuk Gasparyan also foretold the collapse of the ruling coalition after
the elections to the local self-government bodies to be held in October
and added even the President will not be able to prevent it.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

Ambassador’s statement irresponsible – US Department of State

Baku, February 28, AssA-Irada
The US ambassador to Armenia John Evans’s statement that `Upper
Garabagh can’t be returned to Azerbaijan’, made during his informal
meeting with the Armenian Diaspora representatives at a California
university on February 25, has sparked different responses from
Azerbaijan and the United States.
Steve Tike, a spokesman for the US Department of State, regarded
Evans’s utterance as `an irresponsible statement’, which reflects
only his personal views. `Evans’s statement doesn’t reflect
Washington’s position. The US stance on the Upper Garabagh remains
unchanged’, he said.
The United States has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize
Upper Garabagh as an independent state and supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, the spokesman added.
The Azerbaijani ambassador to USA Hafiz Pashayev has discussed the
matter with US officials, including the US Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Laura Kennedy.
During the discussions, Pashayev said that Azerbaijani and American
officials are displeased with Evans’s statement. `Evans’s
undiplomatic and irresponsible statement on the eve of the next
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Prague is
unacceptable,’ Pashayev said.
Ambassador Evans told a Monday news conference in Yerevan that his
statement on Upper Garabagh was misinterpreted. `I stated in the
meeting that the United States recognizes the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and that the Upper Garabagh status issue may be
resolved by Armenia and Azerbaijan through talks,’ he said.
Washginton continues its efforts at settling the conflict within the
OSCE Minsk Group and considers the meetings held so far by the two
countries’ foreign ministers reassuring, he added.*