Author: Chilingarian Babken

Insurance Day
September 23, 2004

IN BRIEF

Armenians on board

CALIFORNIA insurance commissioner John Garamendi has made three
appointments to the Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund Board. The new
board members Viken Manjikian, Paul Krekorian, and Berj Boyajian will
evaluate claims against New York Life Insurance Co, relating to the
settlement of a class-action lawsuit on behalf of heirs and
descendants of policyholders who were killed in the Armenian genocide
more than 90 years ago. Mr Garamendi secured a $20m fund to help make
payment of claims in this case earlier this year, following a
compromise by New York Life. The settlement relates to an estimated
2,300 policies sold by the insurer to Armenians living in the Ottoman
Empire in the late 1800s and early 1900s. From April 1915 onwards,
many of these policyholders were among the 1.5m slaughtered in
attacks on Armenians within the empire.

Deutsche Welle, Germany
Sept 22 2004

Prodi Urges Turkey to Reopen Armenian Border

During an official visit this week to Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Armenia, Romano Prodi, head of the European Commission, said Ankara
must reopen its border with Armenia as a condition for eventual
membership. “Personally, I do not like that the Armenian-Turkish
border gate is closed,” he said, according to Armenia’s Medimax news
agency. “I do not exclude that the issue of closed borders could be
one of the preconditions for Turkey’s membership.” It was the first
time an EU official linked the border situation to accession talks.
Turkey closed its gate with Armenia and severed its diplomatic ties a
decade ago, in protest of Armenia’s occupation of the Azeri territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A1 Plus | 20:49:11 | 20-09-2004 | Politics |

NEW TIMES REACTED TO BABAYAN RELEASE BY ISSUING NEW STATEMENT

On Friday, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s president Arkadi Ghukasyan
granted amnesty to Karabakh war hero general Samvel Babayan convicted
of masterminding the president assassination attempt and being kept in
jail for 4.5 years.

New Times party came up with a statement Monday reminding another
statement issued recently by the party’s leader Aram Karapetyan
together with Constitutional Right party chair Grant Khachaytryan. The
statement demanded immediate release of the general from
detention. “Refusal to release Samvel Babayan will be taken as another
move against creation of unity and atmosphere of tolerance”, the then
statement said.

In its new statement, New Times party is welcoming the authorities’
retarded but cautious decision.

The party hopes that “proposals made by us beforehand on political and
economic reforms, a part of which are now at the stage of
implementation, will be put into reality quicker than before”.

Azeri spiritual leader, European Commission chief discuss Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
17 Sep 04

[Presenter] European Commission President Romano Prodi, who is on
a visit to Baku, has started his official meetings. He visited the
Martyrs’ Avenue and the grave of [Azerbaijani ex-President] Heydar
Aliyev this morning. Then he met the chairman of the Board of Muslims
of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-Islam Haci Allahsukur Pasazada.

[Correspondent, over video of the meeting] European Commission
President Romano Prodi held his first official meeting with the
chairman of the Board of Muslims of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-Islam
Haci Allahsukur Pasazada. The heads of the Orthodox and Catholic
churches and the leader of the Jewish community of Azerbaijan also
attended the meeting. The spiritual leader mainly spoke about the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem. He said that Armenia wants to show that
the war with Azerbaijan was a religious one.

[Pasazada, speaking at the meeting] We can prove this. If you want to,
we can show you crosses drawn on the bodies of Azeri captives after
their death. By destroying Muslim graves, shrines and mosques they
wanted to turn this conflict into a religious one.

[Correspondent] However, we sat at a negotiating table with many
spiritual leaders, including the Russian patriarch. We proved that
there were no religious reasons for that war, it was not a religious
war, the sheikh said. He said that Armenia claimed that the Azeris
do not want to live alongside the Armenians. And we all know that
25,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan today. However, there isn’t a
single Azeri in Armenia, end of quote.

In turn, European Commission President Romano Prodi said that he came
to Azerbaijan to discuss new proposals for promoting cooperation.

[Prodi, in English with Azeri voice-over] The European community
is open to your public not only in terms of the economy but also
politics. For this reason, it is important that representatives of
various confessions took part in this dialogue. We know that there
are many conflicts in this region. We can help you resolve them.

[Correspondent] Prodi cited as an example conflicts between France and
Germany and said that their relationship later improved. He noted that
Azerbaijan and Armenia should implement their commitments to the UN and
other international organizations in line with the documents signed.

Ceyhun Asgarov, Sehrac Azadoglu, ANS.

ARMENIA PREFERS TO BE THE “GOLDEN MEAN”

A1 Plus | 16:00:33 | 15-09-2004 | Social |

Armenia is the 2nd among South Caucasus states in the rating list for
violence committed towards speech freedom and journalists. Speech
freedom is in the worst state in Azerbaijan. Freedom of speech in
Georgia is considered partly restricted.

Comparing legislation on Mass Media of the 3 states, Azerbaijan’s
Press Club, Armenia’s Committee for Speech Freedom Protection and
Georgia’s Association of Young Lawyers have published a two-language
joint manual in Russian and English.

South Caucasian laws on information spreading are described and
compared at the aspect of European standards in the book.

“Armenia has regressed since 2001-2002”, Mesrop Harutyunyan, expert
of Armenia’s Committee for Speech Freedom Protection, said during
the presentation of the book. The study showed that the recent law
on Mass Media approved in Armenia is much more liberal in the aspect
of the obligatory registration of Mass Media and the theoretical
independence of them.

It was also stated the other day Georgian Parliament has approved
Law on “Speech Freedom and Self-Expression” but President Saakashvili
hasn’t yet ratified it.

President Aliyev to leave for Astana

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004

President Ilham Aliyev is expected to leave for Astana, Kazakhstan on
Wednesday to attend the summit of the CIS heads of state. During the
two-day visit, a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents will be held. President Aliyev is also expected
to hold talks with his Armenian counterpart to be attended by the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

This will be a third meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents. The first meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland on
December 11, 2003 within the World Information Society summit, while
the second one in Warsaw, Poland on April 28, 2004.*

PRESS RELEASE
September 14, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Armenian Children’s Paintings Recall 9/11, Present “Message of Freedom and Hope”

On September 13, 2004, an exhibition of paintings by Armenian children
was held in the Rayburn Congressional Building in Washington,
DC, in remembrance of the third anniversary of the tragic events
of 9/11. The exhibition, entitled “Message of Freedom and Hope,”
presented some 44 paintings by young Armenian artists, between ages
6 and 14, who created their works in the aftermath of 9/11. Most of
the young Armenian artists are affiliated with the Children’s Center
of Fine Arts in Yerevan; the exhibition was made possible by the Kamk
Benevolent Fund of Armenia.

The exhibition was hosted by the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Affairs and the Embassy of Armenia. In his remarks during the opening
ceremony, Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian
noted that the impact of the tragedy of 9/11 was felt in Armenia
as well because Armenia and the United States share common values,
such as respect for freedom, democracy, human life and dignity. He
explained that the Armenian children, including the young artists whose
work was presented on the Hill, had been deeply moved and touched
by the terrible scenes of 9/11 broadcast by TV networks around the
world. Ambassador Kirakossian noted that the exhibition was entitled
“Message of Freedom and Hope” to show that the terrorist attacks
only motivated the people of the United States, Armenia, and other
countries of the world to rally to the cause of freedom. Freedom
and hope were themes vividly and artfully expressed by the Armenian
children’s paintings presented during the exhibition.

The Armenian Ambassador thanked Co-Chairs of the Congressional
Armenian Caucus, Representative Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone for
helping organize the event and for their leadership on the Armenian
issues. In turn, Congressman Knollenberg remarked that he was touched
by the artwork of the Armenian children, who, he said, had been able
to present a very important message, that the terrorist acts of 9/11
were attacks not only on the United States, but the rest of the world
as well. Congressman Pallone complemented the creative talents of the
Armenian children who expressed a very complex subject like 9/11 in
a straightforward and simple way.

The opening ceremony was attended by Members of Congress, congressional
staff members, U.S. government officials, representatives of the
foreign diplomatic community and the Armenian-American community of
Greater Washington area.

NATO cancels military exercises in Azerbaijan

Xinhua News Agency report.
14/09/2004 01:29

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced on Monday
that it has canceled military exercises in Azerbaijan hours before
they were due to begin after the authorities in Baku said that it
did not want Armenian troops on its territory.

Xinhuanet — Azerbaijan refused Armenian servicemen to participate
in the war games because many Azeris have bitter memories of a war
between the two countries in the last century. NATO has decided to
cancel the exercises, which had been due to get underway on Tuesday,
an alliance spokesman said in a statement.

“We regret that the principle of inclusiveness could not be upheld
in this case, leading to the cancellation of the exercises,” the
spokesman said.

“The exercises are an important series of live exercises on the
Partnership for Peace calendar. They are designed to provide basic
knowledge on Peace Support Operations (PSO) at small unit level,”
he added.

In the early 1990s, Baku and Yerevan fought a five-year war over the
remote enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, administratively part of Azerbaijan
but inhabited mainly by Armenians. About 35,000 people died in the
fighting and some one million civilians were displaced. The territory
is now controlled by Armenia.

Deep Iran-Armeniaties basis for new relations: Khatami

IRNA, Iran
Sept 9 2004

Tehran, Sept 9, IRNA — President Mohammad Khatami said here Thursday
that deep-rooted ties between Iran and Armenia would be the basis
for establishing new mutual relations in cultural, economic and
social fields.

Addressing Iranians residing in Armenia, Khatami pointed to expansion
of Persian linguistics in Armenia, saying this indicates strong
historical bonds between the two countries.

“The Armenian people have safeguarded their identity particularly
during the 70-year communist rule and Armenians residing in Iran are
present in various fields vigilantly,” he added.

The Armenian government and nation are on the path of progress and
economic, scientific and commercial ties between Tehran and Yerevan
can facilitate development of the two countries.

Prior to President Khatami`s remarks, Iran`s Ambassador to Armenia
Alireza Raeisian presented a report on the status of Iranians residing
in Armenia.

Azeri MP accuses Iran, Armenia of producing chemical weapons

Assa-Irada
9 Sep 04

Baku, 9 September: “Azerbaijan’s neighbours Iran and Armenia are
involved in the production of chemical weapons. If the UN conducts
serious probes, it can easily prove this,” MP Elman Mammadov voiced
this sensational statement at today’s session of the Milli Maclis
[Azerbaijani parliament] standing commission for security and defence.

However, Milli Maclis Deputy Chairman Ziyafat Asgarov, who chaired
the session, immediately replied that this issue had nothing to do
with the agenda and did not let the MP complete his statement.