Author: Chilingarian Babken

Mehr NewsAgency, Iran
Sept 21 2005

`Tuti-Nameh’ published in Armenia

TEHRAN, Sept. 21 (MNA) — The Armenian translation of `Tuti-Nameh’
(Tales of a Parrot) written by 14th century Iranian poet Zia ad-din
Nakhshabi was recently published in Armenia.

`Tuti-Nameh’ contains didactic stories written in the Indian style.

`When I read the Russian translation of the book for the first time,
I was so impressed that I decided to make it available to my
countrymen,’ the book’s translator, Hrans Antunian, said.

In a recent meeting with Iranian cultural attaché in Armenia Alireza
Otufi, he thanked Otufi for his support and stated that it took him
13 years to translate the book.

Antunian went on to say that introducing the rich Iranian culture to
Armenians was his main goal in translating the work.

Such measures will enhance bilateral cultural relations, Otufi said.

`Tuti-Nameh’ was translated into English by a teacher of the Persic,
Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldaic, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, and
English languages in 1792.

In 1801, a translation of the book by Francis Gladwin appeared in
London, which was reprinted in 1812 in Calcutta by Ramtonoo Congoley.

In 1822, a German translation by Carl Jakob Ludwig Iken was published
in Stuttgart as `Tuti-Nameh’.

There is a 1993 edition by Ghulam Ali Arya, which credits Zia ad-din
Nakhshabi as the author.

There are several versions in Indian languages, e.g., Bengali in 1805
and Hindustani in 1810.

In addition, other English and German editions (including one by
Georg Rosen from a Turkish version of the tales made in 1858), as
well as translations into Polish (1959), Russian (1979), and Spanish
(Palma de Mallorca, 1988) have been published.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF ELECTIONS TO LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES IN YEREVAN

ArmInfo News, Armenia
Sept 19 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19. ARMINFO. The incumbent prefect of Yerevan
Kanaker-Zeytun community, non-party man Ruben Sinoyan, has not been
re-elected, preliminary data of the elections say.

The Armenian CEC informs ARMINFO that the preliminary results
of the elections in the Kanaker-Zuytun community are as follows:
Valery Haroutiunyan – 7.492 votes, Ruben Sinoyan – 6,330 votes,
Araik Kotanjyan – 7,575 votes and Petros Soghoyan – 311 votes. The
candidates are nonparty.

The preliminary results for Erebuni community: the incumbent prefect
and the only candidate Mher Sedrakyan received 30,545 votes. In
Nubarashen community the preliminary results are as follows:
Ruben Asaryan – 509 votes, Karapet Barbaryan – 76 votes and Mher
Hovhannissyan – 3,016 votes. The results will be announced later.

ERDOGAN: DECISIONS ABOUT SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TAKEN BY UNRELATED COUNTRIES ARE POLITICAL

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 16 2005

NEW YORK – “I do not understand on which basis unrelated countries
take decisions about so-called Armenian genocide. These decisions are
political and do not serve world peace,” said Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan held a news conference in New York, the United States on
Friday.

When asked about news claiming that Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad proposed nuclear program exchange with Turkey and Muslim
countries during his meeting with him, Erdogan said that such an
exchange of information did not happen.

“Ahmadinejad told me that Iran continues to work with Atomic Energy
Agency (AEA) transparently and their activities are for humanitarian
aims. I told him that these activities should be conducted together
with AEA. Otherwise, it can cause difficulties both for Iran and
surrounding countries,” said Erdogan.

When journalists reminded that Committee on International Relations of
the U.S. House of Representatives adopted two resolutions acknowledging
so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said, “such a resolution can
be adopted by committee. We clearly say that Turkey’s archives are
open and Armenia shall open its archives, if it has. We shall speak
on basis of documents and information. I do not understand on which
basis unrelated countries take decisions about so-called Armenian
genocide. These decisions are all political and do not serve world
peace.”

Replying a question about recent developments regarding EU entry
talks, Erdogan said, “we do not have any difficulty about October
3rd. The difficulty is about the response declaration (about Cyprus
issue). We say that these issues were all solved on December 17th,
2004. Unfortunately, 2-3 countries exert efforts about this issue.

Nobody can take a commitment from us about it. We fulfilled
everything. We are now getting prepared for October 3rd.”

caucaz.com
Breaking News published on 16/09/2005

Georgia gives green light to construction of Kars-Tbilisi Railroad

Tbilisi, September 16 – Georgian prime minister Zurab Nogaideli confirmed
yesterday that Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan would get down to building a
railway road to connect Turkish Kars with Georgian Tbilisi.

Speaking at a meeting of Georgian and Turkish businessmen in Tbilisi,
Nogaideli said they would start the work shortly after the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline started pumping oil. Turkish state minister
Kursad Tuzmen, who led a 200-strong delegation of Turkish businessmen, said
Turkey wants to increase its bilateral trade with Georgia from current $500
million up to $2 billion in the next three years.

He also said that Turkey and Georgia should focus on cooperation which will
enable services, capital and goods to move freely, adding that Turkey wants
the Black Sea region to be a free trade zone. Meantime State Railway
Department of Azerbaijan said a meeting of transport ministers of Georgia,
Turkey and Azerbaijan to discuss the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway project,
originally scheduled for August 24, will now be held in September.

The length of the railway is 98 kilometers; 68 kilometers of the railway
will stretch across Turkey while 30 kilometers will run through Georgia.
Preliminary estimates place the cost of the project at USD 400. This project
is opposed by Armenia, whose transport minister, Andranik Manukian, said
recently that the railway that would circumvent Armenia, would further
isolate the country.

US Congress Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg along with Caucus
Co-Chair Frank Pallone and Congressman George Radanovich recently introduced
a resolution, which would prohibit United States assistance in developing or
promoting rail connections that traverse or connect Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Turkey, and bypass Armenia.

In a recent letter to United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Members of Congress expressed their dismay over plans to develop the
Kars-Tblisi-Baku rail link that could take years to construct, while
overlooking the existing Turkey-Armenia (Kars-Gymuri) line, which could be
operational in weeks with only a few minor repairs.

In pertinent part, the letter stated that open and integrated transportation
routes among Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are necessary to
promote cooperation, support economic growth and help resolve regional
conflicts.

RA DM DOES NOT SEE OBSTACLES TO WAY OF DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIAN – RUSSIAN MIL. COOP.

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 14 2005

“There are no obstacles to the way of development of Armenian –
Russian military cooperation”, said Secretary of the Security Council
under RA President, RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan to journalists.

Accordion to Regnum Agency, RA Defense Minister added there was
no misunderstanding on the issues. “I take a favorable view of the
level of Armenian – Russian military cooperation. Joint Armenian –
Russian training and its effectiveness testify to the fact”, stressed
Serge Sargsyan.

In his turn CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha who also followed
the trainings highly estimated their level having noted there was
always a filed for combined activity.

To note, the final phase of annual combined Armenian – Russian tactical
training started today in Armenia. RA President Robert Kocharyan,
Secretary of the Security Council under RA President, RA Defense
Minister Serge Sargsyan and General Andrey Popov follow the course
of the training.

The aim of the training is to improve the skills of the organized
control of two armed forces in organization and conduct of the joint
military actions. According to Regnum, a new detail has been introduced
into the scenario – the counterterrorist operation, in the course of
which it is planned to prevent from the possible terrorist act.

ARMENIAN DRAFTS IN US CONGRESS, EYES ON HASTERT

Zaman Online, Turkey

By Foreign News Desk
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
zaman.com

Two drafts aiming at recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide
will be on the agenda of the US House of Representatives on Thursday.

Turks in America launched a message campaign over the draft expected
to be presented to the voting of the members after discussion in the
International Relations Committee.

Former National Security Adviser Ret. Gen. Brent Scowcroft called
the House Chair, Dennis Hastert, to “bring the drafts to the agenda.”

Scowcroft, also the chairman of the American Turkish Council, wrote a
letter to Hastert regarding that the drafts were against the interest
of the US as well, he warned that approval of the drafts would create
serious consequences.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian should response to the olive branch
offered by Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayip Erdogan, said Scowcroft,
as he added that historians should find answers to such issues. Such
drafts encourage those who try to keep Turkey away from the West,
he added.

The House Chair, Hastert, has full authorization to bring the drafts
expected to be passed by International Relations Committee to the
general assembly.

Hastert previously prevented a similar draft from coming to
the agenda. However, the attitude that will be taken by the Bush
administration is also important at this point. The draft in question
is almost the same as the one presented five years ago.

With the intervention of the US President in term back then, Bill
Clinton, Hastert did not bring the draft to the general assembly at
the last moment.

The Telegraph (UK)

Trial of novelist ‘shows Turkey not ready for EU’

By Amberin Zaman in Ankara and Tony Paterson in Berlin

(Filed: 11/09/2005)

An internationally acclaimed Turkish novelist who faces prosecution for
speaking out about the mass slaughter of Armenians last century has said
the case against him shows his country may not be ready to join the
European Union.

Orhan Pamuk, who faces up to three years in jail if convicted at his
trial in December of “denigrating Turkey”, said that reforms promised by
the Turkish government in return for a guarantee of talks on EU
membership had not materialised.

Prosecutors provoked a furore across Europe last month by announcing the
action against him under the country’s recently adopted penal code,
which is supposed to bring Turkish criminal law more closely into line
with that of EU countries.

In his first interview since the prosecution was announced, Pamuk
declared: “Unfortunately I do not believe that Turkey has come very far
in this respect. Nothing has happened over the past year. Turkey has sat
on the promises that Europe has given and taken it easy.”

Although forbidden to comment directly on his own case, the best-selling
author added: “Turkey has not changed so much. Laws have been changed,
but the thought processes, our culture and our way of seeing things…
that has not changed much.

“There have been legal and political changes in the hope of EU
membership. But the trial opened against me shows… that the state
prosecutors have not changed very much. It shows that there is not much
tolerance in society.”

Pamuk’s comments, in an interview with a German newspaper, come as
several countries, including France, have stepped up their effort to
block Turkey’s entry to the EU after public opposition to the inclusion
of such a large, predominantly Muslim, country.

The EU has long cited Turkey’s chequered record on human rights as an
obstacle to membership, and its government – led by Recep Erdogan,
Turkey’s mildly Islamist prime minister – has enacted a series of new
laws in an attempt to overcome the objection. Talks on membership are
due to start next month.

Critics maintain that Turkey’s new penal code falls short of EU
standards by proscribing free debate of the Armenian tragedy and
criticism of Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus.

Last week Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, singled out the Pamuk
prosecution for criticism in a speech in which he nonetheless argued for
Turkish membership of the EU. “There is still some way to go with
implementation, as the recent charges against the distinguished Turkish
novelist Orhan Pamuk show, in the context of freedom of speech,” he said.

Pamuk drew nationalist ire in Turkey and received anonymous death
threats after telling a Swiss newspaper in February that “30,000 Kurds
and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me
dares to talk about it”. One Turkish official in the western town of
Sutluce ordered citizens to destroy all of his books.

Several of Pamuk’s novels, including the acclaimed My Name is Red, have
been translated into English. His most recent bestseller, Snow, explores
tensions between Turkey’s secular elite and religious conservatives.

Turkey has long denied that more than one million members of its once
thriving Armenian community were the victims of systematic annihilation
between 1915 and 1923. Armenians and many others label the campaign
genocide – a description of the events which is proscribed in Turkish law.

The Turkish government insists that a smaller number of Armenians –
several hundred thousand – died unintentionally of exposure, famine and
disease as they journeyed to Syria, after being deported for
collaborating with invading Russian forces.

Prosecutors are still deciding whether to bring further charges against
Pamuk for referring to the more recent killing of Kurds – whose
sometimes violent separatist movements in the east of the country have
been brutally suppressed by successive Turkish governments.

Mr Erdogan won strong praise from EU governments in April when he called
for a joint commission of Turkish and Armenian scholars to research the
events of 1915. It was the first time Turkish leaders had invited
international scrutiny of the deaths. This month a group of Turkish
academics who challenge the official line, saying that there was a
conspiracy to kill, will be allowed to gather in Istanbul to air their
views for the first time.

OBAMA RECOGNIZES ‘GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS’

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Aug 8 2005

US Senator Barack Obama has recognized the so-called ‘genocide of
Armenians’.

“I believe the letter sent by the Senators to President George Bush
to recognize the genocide of Armenians reflects historic facts”, said
Obama, who co-signed the appeal. The Senator told journalists in Baku
that the document indicates that thousands of innocent Armenians were
killed in the mentioned developments. “By signing the letter, I also
defended the interests of the State of Illinois I represent. Killing
civilians anywhere in the world should not be allowed.” Asked whether
he is aware of the horrible massacre of Azerbaijanis by Armenian
thugs in Khojali, the Senator simply replied that he is informed
of the problems in the region that have persisted for many years,
reiterating that he opposes the killings of civilians.

SHOW COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIC FUTURE, U.S. URGES AZERBAIJAN; U.S. ENVOY ALSO CALLS FOR EARLY SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc.
State Department
September 7, 2005

The United States is urging Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his
government to continue on a path that demonstrates their commitment
to Azerbaijan’s democratic future and to take all necessary steps to
ensure the success of the upcoming November elections.

Addressing a special session of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) September 6, U.S. Ambassador Julie Finley
said the United States is encouraged by the steps that Aliyev has
taken to ensure free and fair elections, citing in particular his
May 11 Election Decree.

“Such elections will depend on balanced media coverage, peaceful
campaign rallies, and prevention of election fraud, including allowing
domestic nonpartisan observers to monitor the elections,” said Finley,
the permanent U.S. representative to the OSCE, responding to remarks
to the Permanent Council in Vienna, Austria, by Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

“The United States has heard reports of cases where organizers of
regional campaign rallies have had problems receiving timely permits,”
she said, calling on local and regional authorities in Azerbaijan to
allow peaceful political rallies.

Finley also reiterated U.S. support for the earliest possible
resolution of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, over which Armenia
and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war from 1990 to 1994 after the
predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave attempted to break away from
Soviet Azerbaijan.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Armenian President
Robert Kocharian and Aliyev August 25, just prior to a meeting of the
leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Russia’s
Volga River city of Kazan, to urge progress toward a settlement. (See
article.)

The U.S. State Department has a fact sheet available summarizing the
U.S. position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In her phone call to Aliyev, Rice emphasized “the importance of free
and fair parliamentary elections this November in Azerbaijan, and
noted his important role in this,” according to the State Department.

Following is Finley’s statement as provided by the United States
Mission to the OSCE:

(begin transcript)

United States Mission to the OSCE

Vienna, Austria

September 6, 2005

STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO

REMARKS BY THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN

TO THE SPECIAL PERMANENT COUNCIL

As delivered by Ambassador Julie Finley

to the Permanent Council

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We welcome Foreign Minister Mammadyarov to the Permanent Council,
and express our appreciation for his remarks here today. We commend
the economic progress to which he has referred.

The United States strongly supports efforts to resolve the conflict
in Nagorno Karabakh as early as possible. As a Minsk Co-Chair,
we have been actively involved in the ongoing negotiations. We hope
that recent discussions in Kazan between the Presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia bear fruit. Resolution of the conflict would benefit all
citizens of the region.

We strongly support the efforts by Azerbaijan to hold free and fair
elections in November. We are encouraged by the steps that President
Aliyev has taken in this regard, and point particularly to the
President’s Election Decree of May 11th that sets the stage for the
elections. We urge President Aliyev and his government to continue on
a path that demonstrates their commitment to Azerbaijan’s democratic
future, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the success of
these elections.

We hope all members of the Government of Azerbaijan will stand by the
President and support his goal of elections that meet international
standards. Such elections will depend on balanced media coverage,
peaceful campaign rallies, and prevention of election fraud, including
allowing domestic nonpartisan observers to monitor the elections. Every
voter needs an ID card, and we support Government efforts to ensure
that every eligible voter can participate.

The new television channel, “Public TV,” went on air on August 28th.

The United States hopes it will offer fair and balanced coverage. We
urge the channel to focus on unbiased coverage of all political
parties in the campaign.

Mr. Chairman, the United States has heard reports of cases where
organizers of regional campaign rallies have had problems receiving
timely permits. We call on local and regional authorities in Azerbaijan
to allow peaceful political rallies. These are an integral part of
any political campaign.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, the United States is hopeful that recent
amendments to the election code will help ensure that the Government
can effectively prosecute election fraud. Key to this effort will the
prompt response by the Prosecutor General and the Central Election
Commission to complaints forwarded to them.

Thank you.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)

Court upholds citizenship for Armenians in Turkish Consulate plot

9/6/2005, 10:00 p.m. ET

By GILLIAN FLACCUS

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a judge did
not err in granting U.S. citizenship to two Armenian men convicted more than
20 years ago of planning to bomb the Turkish Consulate in Philadelphia.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ends a long struggle
by Viken Hovsepian and Viken Yacoubian, who plotted to bomb the consulate in
retaliation for the massacre of Armenians by Turks in 1915. The Turkish
government denies a massacre occurred.

The men, who have been out of prison since the early 1990s, now have
doctorates, have renounced violence and volunteer many hours a week in the
Los Angeles Armenian-American community, said Mathew Millen, an attorney who
helped handle the immigration portion of their case.

Federal law currently forbids convicted terrorists from becoming citizens.
But anyone convicted of an aggravated felony before November 1990 can be
granted citizenship if they have been “of good moral character” for five
years prior to their application, Millen said.

“They both renounced violence as a means of achieving any kind of political
end,” Millen said by phone. “They both have Ph.D.s and they had a lot of
witnesses who talked about their activity in the community” at their
immigration hearing.

The federal government fought the citizenship application, contending the
men lied on certain portions of their applications. The 9th Circuit affirmed
Tuesday a lower court opinion that the alleged “lies” were actually
misunderstandings or oversights.

“We accept the court’s ruling, as we do with any ruling,” said Thom Mrozek,
spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

The men were in their early 20s when they and two others were arrested in
1982 after authorities tape-recorded them planning the bombing. Authorities
at the time said they were linked to the Justice Commandos of the Armenian
Genocide.

Hovsepian was sentenced to six years in prison in 1984, while Yacoubian was
sentenced to three years in prison and 1,000 hours of community service.

Yacoubian is now principal of the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in
Los Angeles’ Little Armenia and has obtained a doctorate in counseling
psychology from the University of Southern California, according to court
documents.

He declined to comment when reached by phone at the school. His attorney,
Michael Lightfoot, did not immediately return calls Tuesday.

Hovsepian is now a hedge fund manager and speaks to youth groups about his
experience and the importance of nonviolent protest, said his attorney,
Barry Litt.

“He’s a very different person than the person he was in the early 1980s,”
Litt said of his client. “He’s a contributing member (of society).”

Tuesday’s decision marks the end of a complex case that began almost as soon
as the men were released from prison.

The men applied for citizenship in 1997 but then sued to have their cases
decided by a federal judge when immigration officials didn’t rule on their
applications within 120 days, Millen said.

In 2001, the same judge who presided at the men’s 1984 trial opted to
administer the oath of citizenship after reviewing their files.

But last year, the 9th Circuit ordered U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer
to reconsider the case after including in her review evidence from the bomb
plot, which had previously been under seal.

Pfaelzer again ruled in favor of citizenship, saying the men had “completely
reformed,” but the federal government appealed on grounds the men lied in
portions of their applications.

The FBI has said the bomb plot, in which five sticks of dynamite were flown
to Boston, could have killed thousands of people.