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04/18/2005
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1) California International Trade Office in Armenia Garners Local Support
2) Armenia Extradites Suspect in US Arms Smuggling Probe
3) Margarian Says ‘We Have Nothing to Prove,’ during Genocide Conference
4) Turkish Parliament Adopts Resolution to Form Commission, Move Forward
towards Friendship
5) Burbank ANC Hosts Events Commemorating Armenian Genocide
6) Israel among the Holocaust Deniers
7) Chessboard Comes Crashing down on Kasparov
8) Karapetian Wins European Championship, Nazarian Decorated by Bulgarian
President

1) California International Trade Office in Armenia Garners Local Support

ANCA-WR Fundraiser Raises over $40,000 for economic cooperation between
California, Armenia businesses

BEVERLY HILLS–The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
(ANCA-WR) hosted a fundraiser on April 3 to benefit the California
International Trade Office in Armenia (CITO). Raising over $40,000, the event
highlighted the ANCA-WR’s continued commitment and support of the CITO and
improved trade relations between the United States and Armenia.
The Trade Office will be an official representative of the State of
California
centered in Yerevan to promote a greater economic relationship between
Californian and Armenian businesses. Using Armenia as its hub it will endeavor
to promote Californian businesses throughout the former Soviet Union. Its
opening is targeted for this summer.
Honorees in attendance at the benefit event included California State Senator
Jack Scott, who initially proposed the creation of the CITO in 2001 with the
assistance of State Senator Charles Poochigian, as well as Barry R. Sedlik,
the
Undersecretary and Senior Advisor for Economic Development at the California
Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Also in attendance were Vahram
Nercessiants, Chief Economic Advisor to President Robert Kocharian and Member
of the Board of Governors of the World Bank; Dr. Vahagn Movsisyan, General
Director of the Armenian Development Agency; and Gagik Kirakosian, Consul
General of Armenia in Los Angeles.
“Ever since the CITO was initially proposed in 2001, the ANCA-WR has been at
the forefront of supporters of this endeavor,” said Steven Dadaian,
Chairman of
the ANCA-WR Board of Directors. “We would like to thank our hosts, Varouj and
Vahe Karapetian, who made this event possible and each of the benefactors who
donated at least a thousand dollars to ensure that this event was a success.”
The Foundation for Economic Development (FED), a non-profit organization, has
been awarded the contract by the State of California to operate the CITO.
“I would like to thank Senator Scott and the Armenian National Committee for
their leadership in promoting this vital link between Califorinan and Armenian
businesses,” said Nercessiants.
“The support by the ANCA-WR and its supporters has been unbelievable in
ensuring that the CITO becomes a reality,” remarked FED Board Member Levon
Kirakosian. “We hope that the ANCA-WR’s continued financial support of the
CITO
will provide an example to Armenian-Americans who are interested in investing
in Armenia to support the CITO.”

2) Armenia Extradites Suspect in US Arms Smuggling Probe

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenian law-enforcement authorities have extradited a man
suspected of involvement in an alleged attempt to smuggle heavy weapons into
the United States, the US embassy in Yerevan announced on Monday.
An embassy statement said Armen Barseghian was flown to the US on Friday and
will appear before a New York court this week along with 20 other defendants
that have been indicted in connection with the case.
The latter were arrested in New York, Los Angeles, and Florida last month
following an undercover operation conducted by the FBI. Their alleged
ringleader is Artur Solomonian, a 26-year-old Armenian citizen wanted in
Armenia for draft evasion. He is accused of looking for buyers of Russian-made
shoulder-fired missiles, grenade-launchers and other weapons used by the
Armenian military.
US prosecutors showed photographs of those weapons which Armenia’s National
Security Service (NSS) say were taken by a Yerevan-based friend of Solomonian,
identified as Spartak Yeribekian.
The arrests of Yeribekian and two other residents of Armenia were
announced on
March 21. It was not clear if the extradited man was one of them.
Law-enforcement sources said that Barseghian is an Armenian-born American
citizen who illegally returned to Armenia in the mid-1990s to escape
prosecution in the US. A New York newspaper reported that US prosecutors
believe Barseghian is the man who allegedly photographed the weapons at a
military base in Armenia.
“This case highlights the cooperation on law enforcement issues which is
developing between the US and the Republic of Armenia,” the US embassy said.
“We commend the continued professionalism of the Armenian authorities who have
been instrumental in supporting this ongoing investigation.”
A senior FBI investigator who visited Yerevan last month likewise praised
Armenian security agencies for their “active cooperation” in the probe.

3) Margarian Says ‘We Have Nothing to Prove,’ during Genocide Conference

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–As Armenia’s Academy of Sciences opened the conference,
“Genocide: Reality and Condemnation,” on Monday as one of the events marking
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, hundreds of participants stood
in silence to honor the victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915.
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian welcomed the participants with a message
stressing Armenia’s resoluteness–now more than ever–to continue its campaign
for international recognition of the Genocide.
Speaking about the creation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to study
the facts on the Armenian genocide, Margarian said he does not see any
sense in
such an effort. “We have nothing to prove~Ethe genocide happened,” said the
Prime Minister.
“My ancestors were the victims of genocide. There are a lot of people in
Armenia who learned about the genocide not only through books, but also from
their grandparents.”
Refusing to offer a prediction on whether Turkey would recognize the Armenian
genocide in the next 50 years, Margarian said, “Turkey will change its
position
under the pressure of the international community and in the process of its
membership to the EU, but it is difficult to say when it will happen.” He is
optimistic, however, that the current government will succeed in establishing
diplomatic relations.
Ashot Melikian, director of the Institute of History, said a joint national
strategy to push for international recognition of the Genocide is being
developed. Commenting on territorial claims to Turkey, Melikian said
non-governmental organizations should keep the issue afloat because “it is not
expedient for the government to raise it at this point.”
On April 20-21, Yerevan will host an international conference on the
Genocide,
with the participation of researchers, government officials, and other
representatives of 20 countries. Journalists of Turkish TRT 1 channel have
already arrived in Yerevan to cover April 24 commemorations.
As many countries around the world have had governments, parliaments, and
other legislative bodies that have officially recognized the Armenian
genocide–including Cyprus, Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Vatican City, Italy,
France, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, European parliament,
Switzerland, Uruguay, Argentina, Canada, among others–Prime Minister
Margarian
stressed the importance of active work by more countries for official
recognition. He assured the conference that the Armenian side is actively
participating in all international forums dedicated to human rights and
democracy.

4) Turkish Parliament Adopts Resolution to Form Commission, Move Forward
towards Friendship

(Aztag)–The Turkish parliament formally called for the creation of a
commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to “shed scientific light on the
past.”
Through a resolution, the body addressed the issue of reconciliation and the
establishment of good neighborly relations with Armenia, and went on to
condemn
countries that have formally recognized the Armenian genocide. The resolution
denounces the “insistence of Armenians” to advance the issue of the Armenian
genocide, and pointing to Armenian “promotion of propaganda,” it assures that
Turkey will never take that step [to recognize the Armenian genocide].
In a statement issued Wednesday, the parliament said that it would be of
benefit to both Turkey and Armenia to “settle their differences,” and move
forward to a future based on tolerance, friendship, and cooperation.
In a proposal backed jointly by the government and the opposition, the
parliament called for a commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to
search
through their national archives without limitations, make public the
results of
their research, and set the working methods of the commission.
The parliament said that the success of this proposal, however, depends on
the
cooperation of the Armenian government.
“Unless Turkey and Armenia look at history from the same perspective, they
will only leave prejudices, enmity, and revenge to their children and
forthcoming generations,” the declaration said. “What is reasonable for Turkey
and Armenia is to end taboos with a joint initiative, clarify all sides of
what
they had experienced, and be ready to settle old scores with their history.
This is the only way to prevent the past from darkening today and future.”
If Armenia wants to establish good neighborly relations with Turkey, it
should
not hesitate to adopt Turkey’s proposal to reassess their common history, the
statement said.
“The parliament would also like to stress that every well-meaning country and
statesman wanting to contribute to world peace and stability should consider
Turkey’s proposal as positive, and reject internal political views,” it said.
“In this context, countries that want to better Turkish-Armenian relations
and, and seek peace and stability in the Caucasus, should support this
initiative, and refrain from acts which would harm this initiative.
The declaration also said that it was impossible for Turkey to base its
history on some one-sided and misleading assessments.

5) Burbank ANC Hosts Events Commemorating Armenian Genocide

BURBANK–The Burbank Armenian National Committee will host a series of
important upcoming events in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide. Tamar Krekorian, Chair of the Genocide Remembrance
Committee, said that Burbank’s commemorative events will include educational,
cultural and political aspects this year.
“The city has been an outstanding partner in working with the Burbank ANC,”
Krekorian said. “As a result, we have planned a series of events that will
offer a wide range of opportunities for residents to learn more about the
Genocide and to recognize its importance today,” Krekorian added.
Throughout the month of April, an outstanding educational display will be
showcased in the main lobby of the Burbank Central Library. The display, which
includes items and books related to Armenian culture, history and the
Genocide,
is intended to promote awareness of the Armenian book collection that was
donated to the library through the efforts of the Books For Burbank program of
the Burbank ANC.
On Saturday, April 16, the committee presented a free screening of the
Armenian Film Foundation’s award-winning documentary film about the
destruction
of Kharpert, “Voices from the Lake,” at the Burbank Central Library
Auditorium.
Through eyewitness interviews and painstaking research, this film tells the
story of the Genocide in an unforgettably personal way. Dr. J. Michael
Hagopian, the renowned Genocide historian and filmmaker of “Voices,” was on
hand to address his two decades of research in creating the film.
The Burbank City Council will present a proclamation in recognition of the
90th anniversary of the Genocide on Tuesday, April 19. During the meeting, the
Burbank ANC will accept the City’s proclamation and conduct a short program
featuring poetry read by local high school students. Sharon Cohen, the City’s
Library Director, will also pay tribute to the Burbank ANC for the successful
Books For Burbank program. A candlelight vigil will take place on the front
steps of Burbank City Hall after sundown.
On Saturday, April 23, a moving theatrical performance of two
Genocide-related
one-act plays, written and directed by Aram Kouyoumdjian, will be presented at
the El Portal Forum Theatre in the No Ho Arts District. “Delicate Lines” and
“Protest” have already won rave reviews from audiences in Northern California.
Both performances of this event are already completely sold out.
For further information about any of these events, contact the Burbank ANC at
(818) 562-1918 or by e-mail at [email protected].

6) Israel among the Holocaust Deniers

On March 29, Israeli Haaretz newspaper published a story by a member of
Israeli
Knesset Yosi Sarid. Sarid was a former Israeli education minister and the
first
Israeli government official to recognize the Armenian genocide, arguing in
favor of mentioning it in Israeli student textbooks.

By Yossi Sarid

April 24 will mark the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, and the
Armenian government is holding an international conference in the capital of
Yerevan, dedicated to the memory of the more than a million Armenians murdered
by the Turks. I was also invited, and I decided to attend. This month will
also
see the Hebrew publication of Prof. Yair Auron’s eye-opening and stomach
churning book, “Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide,” Maba Publishing,
which has already been highly praised overseas in its English-language
edition.

As opposed to many other nations, Israel has never recognized the murder of
the Armenian people, and in effect lent a hand to the deniers of that
genocide.
Our official reactions moved in the vague, illusory realm between denial to
evasion, from “it’s not clear there really was genocide” to “it’s an issue for
the historians,” as Shimon Peres once put it so outrageously and stupidly.
There are two main motives for the Israeli position. The first is the
importance of the relationship with Turkey, which for some reason continues to
deny any responsibility for the genocide, and uses heavy pressure worldwide to
prevent the historical responsibility for the genocide to be laid at its door.
The pressure does work, and not only Israel, but other countries as well do
the
arithmetic of profits and loss. The other motive is that recognition of
another
nation’s murder would seem to erode the uniqueness of the Jewish Holocaust.
Five years ago, on the 85th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, I was
invited as education minister to the Armenian church in the Old City of
Jerusalem. This is what I said at the time:
“I am here, with you, as a human being, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as the
minister of education in Israel. For many years, too many, you were alone on
this, your memorial day. I am aware of the special significance of my presence
here. Today, for the first time, you are less alone.”
I recalled the Jewish American ambassador to Turkey at the time of the
slaughter, Henry Morgenthau, who called the massacre of the Armenians “the
greatest crime of modern history.” That good man had no idea what would yet
happen in the 20th century– who could have anticipated the Jewish Holocaust?
And I recalled Franz Werfel’s “The 40 Days of Musa Dagh,” which came out in
Germany in the spring of 1933 and shocked millions of people and eventually,
me, too, as a youth.
Summing up, I said, “We Jews, the main victims of murderous hatred, must be
doubly sensitive and identify with other victims. Those who stand aside, turn
away, cast a blind eye, make their calculations of gains and losses, and are
silent, always help the murderers and never those who are being murdered. In
our new history curriculum I want to see a central chapter on genocide, and
within it, an open reference to the Armenian genocide. That is our duty to you
and to ourselves.”
The Armenian community in Israel and the world took note of that statement
with satisfaction. Turkey complained vociferously, demanding an explanation
from the Israeli government. And “my government,” of all governments, first
stammered and then denied responsibility, and explained that I spoke for
myself. And not a remnant survives in the new curriculum of the Livnat era.
Now it can be said. They were right. All the stammerers and deniers. I really
did not consult with anyone else and did not ask for permission. What must be
asked when the answer is known in advance, and it is based on the wrong
assumption that there is a contradiction between a moral position and a
political one? Just how beastly must we be as humans, or as Haaretz wrote then
in its editorial, “The teaching of genocides must be at the top of the
priorities of the values of the Jewish people, the victim of the Holocaust,
and
no diplomacy of interests can be allowed to stand in that way”?
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, and not only it, is always afraid of its own
shadow and thus it casts a dark shadow over us all as accomplices to the
“silence of the world.” The Dalai Lama, leader of the exiled Tibetans, has
visited here twice, and twice I was warned by “officials” not to meet with
him.
It would mean a crisis in relations with China, the exact same thing they say
about Turkey. I rebuffed those warnings in both cases. I have always believed
that moral policies pay off in the long run, while rotten policies end up
losing.
And all this I will repeat in the capital of Armenia, only in my name, of
course.

7) Chessboard Comes Crashing down on Kasparov

MOSCOW (AP)–Garry Kasparov, the world’s former No. 1 chess player who quit
the
professional game last month to focus on politics, said Saturday that he had
been hit over the head with a chessboard in what appears to have been a
politically motivated attack.
Kasparov was not injured Friday when he was hit with the chessboard after
signing it for a young man at an event in Moscow.
A spokeswoman for Kasparov, Marina Litvinovich, said the assailant told the
chess champion: ~SI admired you as a chess player, but you gave that up for
politics.~T
She said the unidentified attacker – who did not reveal his political
allegiance–had tried to hit Kasparov a second time but was hauled away by
security guards.
~SIt was a fairly nasty incident, it was not very pleasant psychologically,~T
Kasparov told the private NTV television. ~SYesterday, I was just about able to
muster up enough humor to joke darkly that, luckily in the Soviet Union, chess
and not baseball was popular.~T
The 41-year-old Kasparov, a brilliant and aggressive tactician regarded by
many as the greatest chess player of all time, has been ranked No. 1 in the
world since 1984.
But the outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin retired last month,
saying at the time that he planned to focus on politics and do ~Severything in
my power to resist Putin’s dictatorship.~T
He plays a leading role in the Committee 2008: Free Choice, a group formed by
liberal opposition leaders.
Putin, a former KGB colonel who came to power in 2000, has been accused of
stifling democratic freedoms by placing national television under effective
state control and centralizing power by boosting Kremlin control of parliament
and country’s regions.

8) Karapetian Wins European Championship, Nazarian Decorated by Bulgarian
President

VARNA (Armenpress)–Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Movses Karapetian (74 kg)
clenched the European champions in the Varna, Bulgaria over the weekend,
defeating five rivals on the road to finals. Another Armenian wrestler, Roman
Amoyan (55 kg), won the silver.
Ethnic Armenian Armen Nazarian, who competes on the Bulgarian team, was
decorated by President G. Parvanov for his exclusive contribution to classic
wrestling.

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Avenue dela Renaissance 10
1000 Bruxelles
Tel/Fax :+32 2 732 70 27
Email : [email protected]

Contact :Talline Tachdjian
Tel/Fax :+32 2 732 70 27
Email : [email protected]

PE : CONFERENCE SUR LES ARMENIENS DE TURQUIE

LES VERTS ADOPTENT LE DISCOURS DE LA TURQUIE

Une réunion intitulée “Les Arméniens en Turquie” s’est déroulée ce
mardi 12 avril au Parlement européen à Strasbourg, à l’initiative de
M. Cem Özdemir (Verts, Allemagne). Trois intervenants étaient invités
à s’exprimer, devant une cinquantaine de participants, lors de cette
réunion placée sous l’égide des Verts, mais bénéficiant de tout
l’appui logistique des services diplomatiques turcs : M. Taner Akçam,
historien et ex-dissident turc ayant traité de la question du
génocide, M. Etyen Mahçupyan, Arménien de Turquie et journaliste au
quotidien Zaman et M. Hrant Dink, rédacteur en chef d’Agos, un
hebdomadaire arménien de Turquie.

La Fédération Euro-Arménienne avait au préalable mis en garde les
parlementaires européens sur les risques de manipulation inhérents à
ce type de spectacle, où des membres d’une minorité otage seraient
contraints de prôner l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Europe comme
solution à leurs problèmes, tout en évitant d’aborder les questions
taboues. Comme pour confirmer ces craintes, M. Özdemir est parvenu,
lors de son introduction du sujet de la conférence, à éviter le terme
de génocide reprenant en cela la présentation donnée par l’invitation
imprimée qui esquivait également ce terme en le présentant comme une
“interprétation historique”.

Dans son intervention centrée sur les preuves documentées du génocide,
M. Akçam a démontré de manière accablante la formidable entreprise de
falsification et d’invention d’archives par la Turquie. Il a réfuté
les prétendues incohérences entre celles-ci et les archives
occidentales en expliquant clairement que ces dernières avaient été
expurgées et même fabriquées. Il a conclu en notant que ceux qui
s’aventuraient à vouloir consulter ces archives étaient quand bien
même soumis à des menaces.

M. Mahçupyan a pour sa part stigmatisé l’emploi du terme “génocide”
comme signifiant juridique et comme blocage à tout dialogue. Il a mis
l’accent sur le rapport de devoir et de soumission entre l’Etat et le
citoyen en Turquie. Tout en soulignant la continuité idéologique entre
les responsables du Génocide et l’Etat kémaliste, il a renvoyé dos à
dos Turcs et Arméniens pour lesquels “la défense de l’identité devient
l’identité”. Il a conclu par la dialectique turque selon laquelle il y
aurait deux approches de cette question, l’approche arménienne et
l’approche turque.

M. Dink enfin, a avancé que c’était “beaucoup attendre que de demander
à cette société de définir et de nommer ce qui s’est déroulé il y a 90
ans” et qu’il valait mieux se demander si “cette société nie ce
qu’elle sait ou si elle ne peut défendre ce qu’elle ne sait
pas”. N’hésitant pas à parler d’ouverture en évoquant les propositions
turques de commission d’historiens, M. Dink a cependant précisé que
“les relations arméno-turques ne se limitent pas à l’Histoire” et que
“le dossier politique doit primer sur le dossier
historique”. Absolvant l’Etat turc, il a finalement conclu à la
responsabilité “écrasante” des Européens sur la question du Génocide
en les assignant de reconstruire les relations arméno-turques à tous
les niveaux.

“Les discours des deux représentants de la minorité arménienne de
Turquie brillaient par leur ambiguïté et leur incohérence. Comme nous
pouvions le craindre, ces personnes mues par une peur viscérale
s’autocensurent tant au niveau des idées qu’au niveau de la
terminologie” a noté Laurent Leylekian, le directeur de la Fédération
Euro-Arménienne. “Leurs propos tournaient autour du problème central
du génocide en l’évitant à tout prix” a-t-il ajouté.

En vérité cette conférence n’avait absolument pas pour objectif de
faire progresser la reconnaissance du génocide par Ankara, ni même
d’alléger le sort des Arméniens de Turquie” a constaté Laurent
Leylekian. “Comme l’annonçait explicitement l’invitation il s’agissait
plutôt de trouver des solutions, c’est-à-dire des décharges, à cet
obstacle majeur à son intégration à l’Union européenne qu’est le
négationnisme d’Etat de la Turquie.” a-t-il continué.

“Cette conférence se situait dans la droite ligne de la stratégie
turque, visant à exclure cette question du champ des relations
internationales en la centrant sur des controverses de détail et en la
réduisant à une question propres aux sociétés arméniennes et turques”
a précisé Laurent Leylekian. “Ce qui est nouveau, c’est qu’Ankara
essaie maintenant d’opposer les ‘mauvais’ Arméniens de diaspora aux
‘bons’ Arméniens de Turquie en faisant de ces derniers les instruments
de sa politique. Néanmoins, les censures et les limites de ces otages
n’échappent à personne” a expliqué le directeur de la Fédération
Euro-Arménienne.

“Les Européens ne doivent pas tomber dans ce piège comme ils sont
tombés il y a quelques années dans le piège des pseudo réconciliations
sans reconnaissance. La situation est claire : la Turquie a commis un
crime imprescriptible, le génocide des Arméniens, et elle doit assumer
cette responsabilité par une reconnaissance pleine et entière pour se
conformer aux principes de l’Union européenne. Le négationnisme
aujourd’hui comme le génocide hier ne signifient rien d’autre que le
rejet des valeurs européennes” a estimé Laurent Leylekian.

“Provenant du groupe des Verts, qui met depuis des années toute son
énergie à lutter contre la tendance naturelle du Parlement européen à
appeler la Turquie à ses responsabilités, cette initiative apparaît au
grand jour comme une tentative de diversion inspirée par l’Etat turc ”
a-t-il conclu.

ABOUT 467.8 MLN USD FLOWS INTO ARMENIA IN 2004

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, NOYAN TAPAN. Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic
Development Tigran Davtian stated at the April 12 press conference
that the total amount of foreign investments in Armenia in 2004
exceeded by 17.9% the previous year index and made 467.8 mln USD.

According to him, the foreign investments in the economy’s real sector
alone increased 33.1% to 305.5 mln USD, with direct foreign
investments growing 47.7% to 226.7 mln USD. The deputy minister said
that in 2004, investments in the state and banking sector of 162.3 mln
USD were included for the first time in the total investments. It was
noted that local investments became considerable – several 100 mln
USD. According to T. Davtian, foreign investments of about 50 mln USD
were made in metallurgy. The investments in food industry and
telecommunication amounted to 40 mln USD in each sphere. He stated
that the activization in the telecommunication sphere is conditioned
by the fact that ArmenTel is preparing to operate in the competitive
field. Investments in the energy sector and aviation made 30 mln USD
each. Investments in tourism made 13 mln USD, while those in
information technologies – about 10 mln USD. In 2004, foreign
investments of 5 mln USD were made for the first time in science. It
was indicated that 30 countries made investments in Armenia, including
Russia (about $67 mln), Greece ($75 mln), Argentina ($30 mln), France
($32 mln), Germany ($38), the US ($24). T. Davtian said that in 2005,
2-digit foreign investments will continue increasing.

Russian military spending in CIS not adequately recouped politically – paper

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
11 Apr 05

Russia is attempting to consolidate its positions in Tajikistan in
earnest and for the long term, a Russian paper has said. The newspaper
recalled the Russian armed forces’ involvement in recent CIS military
training exercises in Tajikistan, saying Russia appeared “the most
imposing”. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, who attended the
Rubezh-2005 exercises, said that R250 million would be allocated for
the development of the Russian military base in the republic in 2005,
and in the next two or three years the funding of activities in the
development of the military infrastructure in the republic will amount
to R1.124bn. However, it is unclear whether Russia’s “military
assertiveness” can secure a foreign policy in this republic, the paper
said. The following is the text of Vladimir Mukhin report entitled
“Collective Security Treaty Organization Arithmetic: Military Spending
Far Exceeds the Political Dividends” published by Russian newspaper
Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 11 April:

Last week Russia’s armed forces conducted a series of military
manoeuvres in a number of key regions of the CIS. A command-staff
training exercise of the Commonwealth’s Joint Air-Defence System,
which is formally composed of 10 states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, was held on
5 April. Turkmenistan and Georgia did not take part in the
command-staff training exercise. Two other countries – Ukraine and
Uzbekistan – operated at the manoeuvres with Russia on a bilateral
basis. The joint drill was thus only for the six countries
constituting the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(ODKB). Combat aircraft of the coalition made more than 60 flights
over the territory of the ODKB countries. The active phase of the
Rubezh-2005 international manoeuvres, which were attended in person by
RF Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov and ODKB General Secretary Nikolay
Bordyuzha and also other influential military commanders and
government officials from collective military-political arms of the
CIS, took place in Central Asia simultaneously.

The scale of the activities is noticeable. The concept of the
command-staff exercise and the Rubezh-2005 exercises was linked in
terms of time, purposes, and objectives here, evidently. The training
sorties of planes from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia were
connected with the operations of the Collective Rapid-Deployment
Forces, which were training at the Lyaur and Eshak-Maydon proving
grounds in Tajikistan. Approximately 1,000 servicemen and 300 pieces
of military equipment were engaged in the Rubezh-2005 exercises
altogether. Taking part in the exercises were an assault-landing
company and a flight of fighter-bomber aviation from Kazakhstan; a
group of a special subunit and two Mi-8 helicopters from Kyrgyzstan; a
special detachment, the 303d Separate Helicopter Squadron, the 670th
Aviation Group, the 999th Air Base, two Il-76 planes, and the 201st
Division from Russia; an assault-landing subunit with reinforcement
and support assets from Tajikistan.

One is struck immediately by the fact that Russia appeared the most
imposing at the exercises in Tajikistan. And this was no accident,
evidently. The role of Russia’s 201st Motorized-Rifle Division, which
will be transformed into the 4th Military Base, will grow in
connection with the transfer of protection of the border with
Afghanistan to the Tajikistanis. Moscow intends to substantially
consolidate its positions in this country in the very near future. RF
Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, who attended the Rubezh-2005 exercises
in Tajikistan, said that R250m would be allocated for the development
of the 4th Russian Military Base in Tajikistan in 2005. And in the
next two or three years the funding of activities in the development
of the military infrastructure in the republic will amount to
R1.124bn. We would note that this is a very large amount of money,
comparable to the military budget of Tajikistan, which spends on
defence annually about R1.2bn, which constitutes 1.7 per cent of this
country’s GDP.

Aside from the development of the ground infrastructure, agreement has
been reached between Moscow and Dushanbe on the installation of an air
base in the Ayni locality (30 kilometres from Dushanbe). An instrument
transferring to the Russian side the Okno opto-electronic complex
located in Nurek was signed during Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov’s
visit to Tajikistan. It is obvious that Russia is attempting to
consolidate its positions in Tajikistan in earnest and for the long
term. But it is unclear as yet whether Russia’s military assertiveness
can secure a foreign policy in this republic that is just as assertive
and in keeping with the criteria of security.

“In order to reduce costs, Moscow is leaving the Tajik-Afghan border
and at the same time investing substantial funds in the development of
its military base in Tajikistan. This is somehow not all that
logical. The military can hardly form a secure barrier against drug
trafficking. And this is currently the principal threat to Russia and
the CIS,” military expert Vladimir Popov, member of the Academy of
Military Sciences, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The expert believes that the military policy of the Russian Federation
in relation to the post-Soviet states that are ODKB allies is to a
certain extent understandable. Moscow is investing money in the
development of the military infrastructure not only in
Tajikistan. More than R100m are being allocated annually for the
functioning of the Russian base in Kant in Kyrgyzstan. Almost R1bn
were spent on the development of the military infrastructure of the
102d Military Base in Armenia. Sizable funds have been allocated for
joint defence in the union budget of Russia and Belarus. Of course,
Moscow understands that it may secure its interests on the post-Soviet
territory thanks to substantial material outlays. But are military
outlays always recovered in political dividends and do they carry
Russia’s plans into effect?

The collapse of the Akayev regime, the “colour revolutions” in Georgia
and Ukraine, and the Moldavian “brush-off” have considerably
undermined Russia’s capacity for influencing the situation in a number
of regions on the territory of the CIS. Kiev intends at this time to
reconsider certain results of the treaty on the lease of Sevastopol,
and a noise is being raised once again about the Russo-Ukrainian
border in the Azov-Kerch Strait. Moldavian President Vladimir Voronin
calls Russia’s peacekeepers occupiers, and the Georgian parliament is
demanding the immediate withdrawal of the RF military bases from the
country.

And the latest instance. In the course of the CIS Joint Air Defence
command-staff training exercise the plan of the exercises was adjusted
by Georgia, which did not let a Russian reconnaissance plane through
to the territory of Armenia. Although, according to the comments of
Vladimir Mikhaylov, RF Air Force commander in chief, this did not
prevent the accomplishment of all the assignments set the air-defence
forces and assets of Armenia and Russia in the Transcaucasus, it still
leaves an unpleasant aftertaste with the military, evidently.

Russia’s military assertiveness on the post-Soviet territory, which
has increased as of late, should be consonant with its foreign policy
aims. This is axiomatic for the state. It will sooner or later have to
be grasped by the country’s present leaders. Russia is gaining muscle,
seemingly, but for some reason or other some countries do not respect
it, all the same.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 4, 2005, Monday

ARMENIA’S DEFENSE MINISTRY FLATLY DENIED ACCUSATIONS OF BEING
INVOLVED IN SMUGGLING ARMS TO OTHER COUNTRIES

“All arms depots are under total control. The investigation has no
evidence that the weapons were taken to the USA or any other country
from Armenia,” Defense Minister Serzhik Sarkisyan stated. According
to Grachia Arutyunyan, senior deputy director of the National
Security Service, “not a single instance of weapons shortage has been
ascertained in the republic.” Documents prove, says Arutyunyan, that
“all kinds of weapons under discussion are intact in the
corresponding military units.” A group of criminals, involved in arms
smuggling and led by a citizen of Armenia, was detained in the USA
some time ago. According to U.S. Attorney in Manhattan David Kelley,
it was purchased “in Georgia, Armenia and some states of Eastern
Europe;” 18 persons have been charged on this case.

Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, March 31, 2005, p. 3

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

The Gazette (Montreal)
April 10, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition

‘Beyond human redress’: This month marks the 90th anniversary of the
slaughter and exile of Turkey’s Armenian population, a human tragedy
that still haunts both the persecuted and the persecutors

by TARO ALEPIAN, Freelance

The year 2005 marks the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. It
will be commemorated by the 60,000 Canadians of Armenian descent,
sons and daughters of the 1.5 million Armenians who were tortured and
massacred in this crime against humanity. Millions of Armenians
around the world will do the same.

On the evening of April 23, a multi-denominational ecumenical service
will be held in St. Joseph Oratory to mark the occasion. Cardinal
Jean-Claude Turcotte will lead the prayers.

The events that took place 90 years ago in Turkey are considered the
first ethnically motivated genocide in a century filled with
holocaust, genocide and ethnic cleansing. They were not random
events, but a government-sponsored and led program of ethnic
annihilation including torture, rape, starvation and the killing of
innocent men, women and children.

Many governments and parliaments around the world, including
Canada’s, now recognize the genocide. Although it was a catastrophe
of epic proportions, its denial by Turkey and the apathy of the
civilized world in the decades that followed set the tone for what is
arguably the most murderous century in history.

Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of the
Second World War that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews
would bring no retribution, declared: “Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

These infamous words speak volumes. They clearly demonstrate that
denial was not just a betrayal of the Armenian people, but of
humanity, and that the apathy of the West was not only unfair, but
precedent setting.

With the eyes of the world on Turkey as it campaigns to join the
European Union, human-rights issues and the Armenian genocide are now
being discussed worldwide and, perhaps more importantly, are being
put on the negotiating table by the leaders of the European Union.

Canada, as a world leader and a respected voice of reason, must join
the nations of Europe in calling on Turkey to recognize this genocide
and to grow into the respectable and honourable member of the
community of nations that it strives to become. After all, Canada is
the nation that taught the world to use military force as a
peacekeeping tool and that set the benchmark for a just society based
on human rights, individual freedoms and democratic principles. That
is why we, as Canadians, expect more than a House of Commons
resolution. We expect action.

That genocide took place is no longer a debate. It is an accepted
fact, based on a mountain of factual evidence.

The United States ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry
Morgenthau, Sr., wrote: “I am confident that the whole history of the
human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great
massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when
compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing
of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction
of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural
monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble
civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years.”

Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities – massacring
uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men, women, and children
together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust
– these were beyond human redress.”

There are numerous writings by American, German, Swiss and Italian
missionaries, diplomats and newspaper reporters who witnessed the
genocide, documenting the facts. The volume of evidence speaks
clearly for itself.

What remains, however, is to transform this fact, this genocide, from
calamity to lesson – from grievance to a collective “turning of the
page.”

Turkey today is a country trying hard to modernize itself. It is
addressing its human-rights issues, working to improve its financial
situation and campaigning to join the European Union. It has a rich
history and its people are justly proud of their recent achievements
as they look forward to a brighter future.

It takes leadership and courage to right past wrongs. The time is
right for the Turkish government to recognize that genocide was
perpetrated by a predecessor regime in a past generation.

Modern Turks can then disassociate themselves from the sins of their
ancestors, and finally bury this unfortunate event in the pages of
history where it rightly belongs. The world will respect them for
doing so, and it will remove one of the thorny issues hindering their
acceptance into the family of European nations.

Turkey can certainly benefit from some courageous leadership right
now. Perhaps Canada can help those courageous leaders who surely
exist in Turkey to stand up and take action.

Taro Alepian is president of the Congress of Canadian Armenians.

Armenians Will Hold a Majority on Glendale Council
By Nicholas Shields, Times Staff Writer

It is a first for an ethnic group that makes up more than a third of the
city’s population. Ardashes Kassakhian elected city clerk.

Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2005

For the first time in its history, the Glendale City Council will
have an Armenian American majority following this week’s municipal
elections.

In unofficial returns, Ara Najarian topped a field of 19 candidates
in Tuesday’s election with more than 10% of the vote.

He was followed by Mayor Bob Yousefian with 9%, Frank Quintero with
8.8% and Dave Weaver with 8.2%.

The three top vote-getters will serve four-year terms and Weaver will
complete a two-year term left when Councilman Gus Gomez stepped down
late last year.

Armenian Americans Najarian and Yousefian and Councilman Rafi Manoukian
will hold three of the five City Council seats.

More than one-third of Los Angeles County’s nearly 153,000 Armenians
Americans live in Glendale, which has the second-largest population
of people of Armenian descent of any city in the country, behind
Los Angeles, according to census officials. There are about 205,000
residents in the city.

“There are a lot of Armenians in Glendale, and we just happen to be
fortunate enough to be elected,” said Najarian, whose goals include
tackling traffic problems.

“I know these gentlemen, and we’ll be dedicated and committed to
serving all of Glendale,” he added.

In Glendale’s first contested city clerk election in 75 years,
Ardashes Kassakhian will replace City Clerk Doris Twedt, who retired
after serving five years.

Treasurer Ronald K. Borucki was reelected with 64% of the vote.

Assistant City Clerk Rita Buchanan said a number of absentee ballots
remain to be counted. The results are not expected to change the
outcome of the election.

Meanwhile, voters in Inglewood on Tuesday reelected incumbent council
members Curren Price Jr. with a 61% majority and Judy Dunlap with 55%
of the votes.

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Opposition leader predicts repeat of Kyrgyz revolution in Armenia

Arminfo
4 Apr 05

Yerevan, 4 April: “A revolution in Armenia should not be based only on
social contradictions, otherwise the Kyrgyz scenario can be repeated,”
the leader of the opposition New Times Party, Aram Karapetyan, stated
during a meeting with representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia.

He described as a mistake the statements about the ethnic physiological
incompatibility of the Armenians and Kyrgyz and about the impossibility
of the Kyrgyz revolution repeating itself in Armenia. The events
of 1990 and 1996, when an outraged crowd beat up the speaker of
parliament, point to a possible repeat of the Kyrgyz scenario,
Karapetyan said.

The leader of the New Times Party thinks that various strata of
the population might unite around a charismatic leader in Armenia,
as was the case in Georgia and Ukraine.

He noted that “a revolution without a leader is inconceivable and
even in cases when revolutions were led by several leaders, one leader
remained in the end”.

Karapetyan welcomed the readiness of the Orinats Yerkir [Law-Governed
Country] Party for a dialogue, adding that further cooperation is
possible only if Orinats Yerkir quits the ruling coalition.

Anti-terror war games in Tajikistan start with firing exercises

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, Moscow
4 Apr 05

Dushanbe, 4 April: The Rubezh 2005 command post exercises of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which began in
Tajikistan on 2 April, will train troops to respond to attacks by
international terrorist groups in the south of Tajikistan, First
Deputy Chief of the CSTO Unified HQ Lt-Gen Vasiliy Zavgorodniy told
Interfax-Military News Agency today.

“Tajik Defence Minister Col-Gen Sherali Khayrulloyev, who supervises
the Rubezh 2005 exercises, will hear the decision of Maj-Gen Sergey
Chernomordin, commander of the Collective Rapid Deployment Force,
on using collective security units and support assets in the
anti-terrorist operation on the Tajik territory,” Zavgorodniy said.

Tactical actions and firing exercises will be held on the Eshak-Maydon
training range, about 200 km southwest of Dushanbe, on Tuesday [5
April], he said.

“Over 1,000 servicemen of the Collective Rapid Deployment Force in
Central Asia will be involved in the training. They will be using
about 300 pieces of military equipment,” the general said.

Russian warplanes stationed in the Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan will
take part in the exercises, he said.

The defence ministers of the CSTO member nations will observe the
active stage of the exercises, Zavgorodniy said. They will arrive in
Tajikistan to attend the event together with CSTO Secretary General
Nikolay Bordyuzha.

The Collective Rapid Deployment Force was established on 25 May,
2001, under a decision reached by the Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and
Tajik presidents. It is comprised of over 5,000 servicemen.

The CSTO is made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia and Tajikistan.

Court to hear Frontera Resources suit against SOCAR in May

AssA-Irada (Baku)
25/03/2005

The lawsuit filed by US Frontera Resources against the State Oil
Company (SOCAR) will be considered in May. The suit is completely
groundless and this will be proven in court, SOCAR President Natig
Aliyev said.

The International Court of Justice is currently involved in procedural
work to get ready for the litigation, Aliyev said.

Frontera Resources claims it faced certain technical difficulties
several years ago while working in Azerbaijan, thereby demanding that
damages be paid.

The US company held a 30% stake in the development of Azerbaijan’s
Kursanghi and Garabagli offshore oil fields.

However, the company transferred its stake to EBRD after it was unable
to repay the loan it borrowed from the bank. The share was later sold
to a Chinese company.