Author: Jilavian Emma

Azeri opposition bloc demands Public TV boss’s resignation

Yeni Musavat, Baku
16 Jun 05

Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat
on 16 June headlined “Our Azerbaijan bloc demands Ismayil Omarov’s
resignation” and subheaded “The bloc also wants the dissolution of
the Broadcasting Council”

A session of the Our Azerbaijan bloc [led by opposition Musavat Party
and including dozens of small parties] was held yesterday [15 June].
The session adopted a statement concerning Public TV. The launch of
public TV and radio broadcasting – one of the fundamental principles of
building a civil society – is the most important aspect of transition
to democracy and one of the main commitments of the Azerbaijani
authorities to the Council of Europe, the statement said.

The Council of Europe demanded that Public TV be set up on the basis
of state TV, that state TV be shut down and that Public TV go on air
on 1 June 2005, the bloc said. This practice has been used in Georgia,
Ukraine and even in Armenia. Obstacles created on the way of setting
up Public TV began after the Milli Maclis [Azerbaijan’s parliament]
selected and appointed members of the Broadcasting Council. “The
regime staffed it in such a way that this immediately elicited
disapproval of the Azerbaijani public and international community,”
the statement said.

Little time remains till the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan
and [director-general of Public TV] Ismayil Omarov has been in office
for two months. “Over this period he was observed ‘settling scores’
in the Milli Maclis on the principles of nepotism – he had a conflict
with staff of Azerbaijani [state-owned] radio and begged that he not be
stripped of the MP mandate. Currently, he is conducting a ‘competition’
among those who wish to work for Public TV. It is alleged that 700
people will be recruited, although the TV channel needs 250-300
employees to function in accordance with European standards. It is
already obvious for everyone that Omarov is creating another nest of
corruption under the guise of the Public TV idea,” the statement said.

The Our Azerbaijan bloc demands that the authorities fulfil their
commitment to the Council of Europe and that Public TV operate
in accordance with its mandate. “The composition of the Public
Broadcasting Council has to be changed by 1 July 2005, and a genuine
public council has to be composed of independent specialists renowned
in Azerbaijan as democrats,” the statement said. The bloc demanded
that Ismayil Omarov – who will never be accepted by the Azerbaijani
public, who was appointed by the presidential administration under
pressure from a tycoon and who is an enemy of democratic thought –
be relieved of the post of director-general of Public TV.

Necessary measures must be taken so that independent and democratic
journalists are represented at Public TV and that the TV channel starts
to operate in accordance with its mandate not later than 1 August 2005.

6tH CONTEST-FESTIVAL OF DISABLED VETERANS OF KARABAKH WAR STARTS IN NKR

STEPANAKERT, June 13. /ARKA/. The 6th annual contest-festival
of disabled veterans of the Karabakh War has been started in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The festival has been organized
by the NKR Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, NKR Ministry
of Defense and NKR Ministry of Social Security. The public has the
opportunity to visit a selling exhibition of disabled soldiers’
works – works of wood, precious metals, as well as pictures.

Many disabled soldiers are taking course of physiotherapy and learning
professions at the Stepanakert Rehabilitation Center.

Sport competitions have been held, and the winners will receive
bonuses and commemorative prizes. A gala concert and an excursion to
the Amaras monastery will be organized during the festival. P.T. -0–

Agence France Presse
11 juin 2005 samedi 5:12 PM GMT

Sarkozy: “n’y a-t-il pas d’autre urgence” que négociations avec la Turquie

PARIS 11 juin 2005

Nicolas Sarkozy, président de l’UMP et numéro deux du gouvernement,
s’est interrogé samedi sur l’opportunité d’ouvrir en octobre des
négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne, demandant
s’il n’y a “pas d’autre urgence”, lors d’une réunion des cadres de
son parti à Paris.

Après avoir appelé à “repenser notre stratégie européenne”, le
nouveau ministre de l’Intérieur a estimé que la “première priorité”
était de “fixer des frontières géographiques à l’Europe”.

“L’élargissement à l’Est que j’ai soutenu mais qui a été
insuffisamment préparé et pas du tout expliqué, a pesé lourd dans la
victoire du non” au référendum du 29 mai sur la Constitution
européenne, a-t-il estimé.

“Est-il raisonnable d’ouvrir des négociations avec la Turquie
puisqu’il s’agit d’une grande nation d’Asie mineure, pas d’Europe?”,
a-t-il demandé. “Il y aurait moins d’aigreur à proposer tout de suite
un statut de partenaire privilégié plutôt que de poursuivre des
discussions commencées il y a 40 ans et, pour cause, jamais
terminées”.

“N’y a-t-il pas d’autre urgence que celle d’engager des négociations
avec la Turquie?”, a-t-il insisté.

Patrick Devedjian, conseiller politique du président de l’UMP et
ancien ministre, s’est montré encore plus virulent sur cette
question.

“Nous devons demander que l’ouverture des négociations soit reportée.
Surtout quand les élections allemandes de septembre laissent présager
un nouveau gouvernement allemand, avec un changement radical de
politique: il serait décent d’attendre”, a-t-il affirmé, après avoir
rappelé que “le chancelier (Gerhard) Schroeder a été le militant le
plus acharné à cette cause”.

Selon lui, “le mot +décence+ a tout son sens dans cette affaire si on
veut bien considérer qu’il est inconvénient de discuter d’une
association avec un Etat qui occupe militairement une partie de notre
territoire européen (…) à savoir le nord de Chypre. Et il reste
encore un +mur de la honte+ en Europe, celui qui coupe Nicosie en
deux”, a-t-il ajouté.

M. Devedjian a également affirmé que “malgré les discours, la Turquie
n’a fait aucun progrès réel sur le chemin des valeurs qui fondent
l’Union européenne”, en insistant sur “la situation des femmes” dans
ce pays, la non-reconnaissance par Ankara du génocide des Arméniens
et “la situation faite aux minorités, kurde et chrétiennes”.

CATHOLICOS OF GREAT HOUSE OF CILICIA EMPHASIZES NECESSITY TO TURN
INTERCHURCH DIALOGUE INTO COOPERATION

GENEVE, JUNE 10, NOYAN TAPAN. “Religions have been opposed to each
other for many years. Then opposing turned into a competition. During
the last ten-years, religions opened a new page of mutual
understanding through the dialogue. It is necessary that the dialogue
turns into a cooperation,” Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia stated this, opening the International Interreligious Assembly
in Geneve. Aram I Catholicos presided the above-mentioned assembly and
was its main speaker. In his speech lasted for about an hour, Aram I
Catholicos first characterized the present world with its positive and
negative developments, then emphasized the religion’s role in the
present public life. His Holiness also touched upon those main
principals which must make advances in the interreligious dialogue,
spoke about those public values existing in religions which must be a
base for the interreligious dialogue, cooperation and coexistence.

Aram I Catholicos touched upon the moral authority of religions,
especially in the present world being in alarms. In the conclusion of
his speech, His Holiness called religions on together life, with
keeping thier independence and withstand the world’s alarms on the
basis of public values. He also stressed the imperative necessity of
leading the human society to justice and peace. As Noyan Tapan was
informed from the Patriarchate’s Press Service of the Great House of
Cilicia, more than 150 participants of the assembly welcome the speech
of His Holiness Aram I with great enthusiasm. During the
questions-answers held after Aram I Catholicos’ speech, a Turkish
University professor participating in the assembly asked if “religions
must not educate new generations with antipathy to other nations,”
which Aram I Catholicos answered: “It is true: love, mutual
understanding and respect must become a base for all religions’
education. But we must not forget about people’s collective memory. We
must not forget the done evil. We must not ignore the justice’s and
human rigths’ violation. A healthy education must never accept such an
approach.” His Holiness stressed that one may not speak about
phenomena and criticize them ignoring thier reasons: “Why is there an
antipathy, why is there a negative approach. Hence, the collective
memory has an important place and role in education.” Representatives
of the all world religions participated in the assembly held on the
Churches’ World Council’s initiative.

Karabakh official slams Azeri reports on upcoming polls

Mediamax news agency
10 Jun 05

YEREVAN

The chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the Nagornyy
Karabakh republic (NKR), Sergey Nasibyan, has described as “unfounded”
Baku’s statements that the 19 June parliamentary elections in Karabakh
are illegitimate.

The NKR proclaimed its independence in line with the norms of
international law and is eligible to conduct elections in order to set
up appropriate bodies of power, Nasibyan said in an interview with
Mediamax new agency

“Democratic processes of the elections to the National Assembly of our
republic, which strives for international recognition of its
independence, is a principled position of the NKR authorities, which
have taken the path of building democratic civil society,” Nasibyan
said.

He pointed out that “only authorities that are formed on the basis of
free and transparent elections can be legitimate and capable of
effectively ruling the republic”.

Nasibyan also said that the legitimately elected authorities of the
NKR have been authorized by the people to conduct negotiations to
settle the Karabakh conflict and bear responsibility for the
commitments assumed before the international community.

He described the statements of Azerbaijani officials as “senseless”
that the forthcoming elections will negatively impact the process of
settling the Karabakh conflict.

Pan Armenian News

JUNE 4 ANNOUNCED ARMENIA DAY IN US VIRGINIA STATE

11.06.2005 05:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ City authorities of Alexandria (VA) decided last week to
announce June 4 the Day of Armenia, city Mayor William D. Euille stated in
the course of an Armenian Festival Day held in Alexandria, reported the
Press Service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. Being adjacent to the
capital of Washington, Alexandria is a sister city of Armenian Gyumri. The
festival was organized with the support of the Armenian Embassy in the US.
Armenian folk music and dances, as well as Armenian cuisine dishes were
presented at the festival.

Pan Armenian News

LITHUANIA TO SHARE EURO-INTEGRATION EXPERIENCE WITH ARMENIA

11.06.2005 03:36

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian yesterday met with
Chairman of the Lithuanian Seimas Arturas Paulauskas and the delegation
accompanying him, reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. Having
noted the interest of Armenia in expansion of the cooperation with Lithuania
R. Kocharian said that he is sure that the visit of the delegation will be
another stimulus for development of bilateral relations. A. Paulauskas noted
that the visit aimed at acquainting with the situation at the scene and
activation of parliamentary cooperation. At the same time he added that the
Baltic states have gained much experience in the process of European
integration and intend to share it with Armenian partners. In the Lithuanian
Speaker’s words, large reforms are appreciable in Armenia in almost all
spheres. Having noted Lithuania’s success in European integration and most
efficient overcoming of hardships of the transition period, R. Kocharian
considered the way that Lithuania has passed useful to Armenia from the
point of view that the two countries have much in common, specifically, the
size of the countries, the number of the population and the economic
structure. In his words, integration first of all provides for reforms and
questions referring to that process are of high importance to Armenia. The
interlocutors discussed prospects of development of economic cooperation,
noting the importance of more intense contacts, exchange of information and
activation of business ties. The Armenian President answered the questions
that were of interest to the Lithuanian MPs. These specifically referred to
regional problems and the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

“DIALOGUE IS NO MORE A QUESTION OF CHOICE; IT IS A NECESSITY”

Stated His Holiness Aram I

In his concluding remarks addressed to the international inter-religious
Conference taking place in Geneva, His Holiness Aram I, the Moderator of the
World Council of Churches, said:

“1. Papers that were presented from this podium, interventions that were
made from the flour and discussions that took place in the groups were all
motivated by your sincere desire and strong engagement to continue the
inter-religious dialogue with renewed emphasis and growing pace and by
broadening the scope of our reflection, and by concretising the agenda of
our action. This was, indeed, one of the most significant features of this
gathering.

2. We spoke about issues that separate us. We also spoke about values and
concerns that unite us. Mutual respect and understanding, mutual trust and
acceptance, which are essential conditions of a credible dialogue, have been
so eloquently and existentially manifested throughout the Conference.
Diversities are integral to our religious teachings, beliefs and traditions;
we must preserve and enrich them. Yet, we must together seek and deepen our
common values that may bring us closer to each other as one broader
community transcending our specific communities.

3. We once again reminded ourselves that dialogue is no more a question of
choice; it is a necessity. It is imposed on us by growing globalisation; by
challenges, concerns and anxieties facing our communities. The landscape of
inter-religious dialogue is full of new hopes and new risks, new
uncertainties and new promises. This Conference has provided us with a
unique opportunity to assess the present predicament of our dialogue, spell
out the emerging perspectives and concerns and look forward with a clear
vision of «one world-one humanity».

4. The common desire to go «beyond dialogue» was a permanent trend in our
discussions. Action-oriented dialogue repeatedly came to the fore of our
debate. Indeed, we need a quality of acting together that is generated by
our inter-action; that is based on common values, and sustained by common
vision. Transforming dialogue to relationship, to living together and
working together must remain a common goal.

5. Education in pluralist societies and inter-religious education have been
constantly referred to as priorities. I believe that inter-religious
dialogue must help religions to realistically assess and reassess their
educational approaches, strategies and methodologies in a way that, on the
one hand, they remain faithful to their own teachings and traditions, and on
the other hand, they become relevant and responsive to the particularities
of their specific contexts.

6. The « imagining the future» was one of the clear expectations emanating
from the Conference. We made special efforts to look forward by giving
concrete articulation to our expectations. In this respect we identified a
number of areas and challenges which require inter-religious approach. In my
Introductory remarks I said that this event must become a continuous and
hopefully a growing process. I am happy that many of you echoed positively
to this idea. There are things that we can do together. There are also
things that, for many reasons, we can not do together. We must be realistic,
yet hopeful. We must continue our journey together. People are expecting
moral guidance from religions. At this crucial juncture of the history of
humanity we are called to reassume our vocation, with the profound sense of
responsibility and accountability, in a world torn apart by tensions and
hopelessness. Let us recommit ourselves to continue this common journey of
faith and hope”.

In its final report the Conference emphasised the necessity of continuing
the inter-religious dialogue, relations and collaborations.

##

View picture here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

ARMENIA WEAK LINK IN TRANSFORMATION OF CIS ELITE

YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/. Armenia is, first of all, a weak link in the
transformation of elite in the CIS, MiK reports, referring to Director
General of the Council for National Strategy Valery Khomyakov. He said
that a referendum on constitutional amendments and, may be, on the
adoption of a new constitution, is to be held in Armenia this summer.

“As far as we know, elections or voting in the CIS, as well as
subsequent protests against the results, are one of the main occasions
for public discontent and later for orange and other revolutions,”
Khomyakov said.”Although Aliyev is implementing a rather pro-American
policy, or rather, is not implementing an anti-American policy,
parliamentary elections are to be held in Azerbaijan this autumn,
which may be one of the detonators of the situation as well,”
Khomyakov said.

He believes that the two countries have an old problem (Karabakh),
which may cause some events in Azerbaijan and especially in Armenia –
events that may be similar to those in Tbilisi, Kiev and Bishkek. “It
is rather an acute problem both for the Azerbaijani elite and people
and for the Armenian elite and people. And any outbreak or events
related to Nagorno Karabakh may cause serious public discontent,”
Khomyakov said.P.T. -0–

Zaman, Turkey
June 8 2005

Belgium Rejects Armenian Bill for ‘Now’
By Selcuk Gultasli, Vedat Denizli
Published: Wednesday 08, 2005
zaman.com

The Belgium Senate Justice Commission disapproved a bill for prison
terms and monetary fines for those, who “deny” the so-called Armenian
“genocide” allegations.

The main bill regarding the crimes in the Internet environment, on
the other hand, will be returned to Parliament. Belgium’s Justice
Minister Laurette Onkelix said if the bill had passed into law, an
investigation on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could
have been launched during his Belgium visit based on the reason that
he was viewed as a so-called “denier”. The bill, which was rejected
with 12 “no” votes to two “yes” votes at the Justice Commission on
Monday, will be returned to the Federal Assembly after the Senate’s
General Assembly discusses it. Senators of the Justice Commission
remarked, the Walloon Liberal Party (Mouvement Reformateur” (MR) and
the Walloon Greens Party _both support the so-called Armenian
allegations_ might demand to reopen the issue for debate again at the
Federal Assembly; however, they are not likely to receive any
support.

The issue will not come to the agenda again until the local elections
in October 2006 it is expected. During the discussions closely
observed by the Armenian lobby, Onkelix emphasized that the issue
should be handled after negotiations with nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), which form sides regarding the issue. If the
bill had been approved in Parliament, Belgium as the capital of the
European Union (EU) would have been the first country to punish those
who deny the so-called Armenian “genocide” allegations. The issue
however will be carried to the agenda again during the Belgium
elections.

While debates on the bill, which both the Walloon and Fleming
socialists as a bloc are against, continue, Senator Fatma Pehlivan,
of Turkish decent, stressed that the bill might have serious
consequences. If an international attitude regarding the so-called
Armenian genocide allegations is adopted without a court decision,
similar to what happened in the US and Congo should also been taken
into account, Pehlivan emphasized and said if the bill is approved,
this would damage peace and harmony in Belgian society. Onkelinx, on
the other side, underlined the bill is “unacceptable” because the
so-called Armenian genocide allegations have no legal ground.
Onkelinx referring to the Nuremberg Court for the Holocaust signified
that no such court exists regarding the so-called Armenian
allegations. They are playing with fire, he said. Members of the MR
and ECOLO parties, which demanded punishment for “deniers”, cite the
Armenian rebellion as the start date of the so-called genocide;
however, do not touch upon the massacres that Belgium committed in
the Congo during the 19th century, which was defined by many
historians as “genocide”.

Watching the debates closely, executive director of the European
Armenian Federation Laurent Leylekian said the disapproval is a
“failure” for them; however, they achieved the initiation of
discussion on the subject. Leylekian indicating that the Belgium
Senate’s decision dated June 7 turned Turkey’s “denial” into a
political gimmick for EU member countries, claimed, it would be
impossible to defend the so-called Armenian genocide allegations in
Europe if Turkey becomes an EU member. Leylekian also told Zaman,
that the issue would only start to be discussed in Turkey with the
implementation of punishments for the denial of the so-called
genocide allegations.