Author: Jilavian Emma

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
January 7, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

CONGRESSMAN SCHWARZ JOINS ARMENIAN CAUCUS
Total Caucus Membership at 139

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America welcomed the
announcement today that newly-elected Congressman John “Joe” Schwarz
(R-MI) has officially joined the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, making him the second lawmaker of the new year to be part of
this all-important body. The news follows Congressman Raul Grijalva’s
(D-AZ) membership on Wednesday and brings the total Caucus count to
139.

“The Assembly commends Congressman Schwarz for making membership to
the Caucus among his first acts after assuming office,” said
Congressional Relations Director Rob Mosher. “Prior to his election
to Congress, Representative Schwarz was well-known in the Michigan
State Senate as a supporter of Armenian issues. We are delighted he
will continue that tradition through his Caucus membership.”

Born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, Schwarz served as a
Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy and was a CIA operative during
the Vietnam War. Later, Schwarz went on to earn a medical degree from
the University of Michigan and spent years working simultaneously as a
physician and public servant. He started his political career as a
city commissioner in his hometown and went on to serve as mayor there
before entering the state senate.

Then, after more than 15 years as a state senator, Schwarz made a run
for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Nick Smith (R).
Schwarz won the seventh congressional district, which serves parts of
Lansing and Battle Creek, with 58 percent of the vote. His knowledge
of the U.S. military and national defense has also earned him an
assignment on the House Armed Services Committee.

With the addition of Schwarz to the Armenian Caucus, thirteen of the
state’s fifteen congressional members now serve on the Caucus. The two
remaining Members are Congressmen Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Peter
Hoekstra (R-MI).

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

###

NR#2005-004

Turkish Daily News

Today is Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 9:41 pm GMT+2 UPDATED 10:00 A.M. GMT +2

YTL is confusing me

Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Mehmet Ali Birand

The new Turkish lira (YTL) entered our lives on New Year’s and has
confused us all. I walked through the markets, and they are in even worse
shape.

A public servant friend said: `I used to earn tons of money. Now I just
received only this much. I feel like I’m poorer.’ The situation of the large
stores is somewhat better. People feel more secure. However, total confusion
reigns in the markets.

The biggest fear is the way prices are rounded up. Both the shoppers and
the sellers are confused. While sellers argue that they are losing money,
consumers claim that the goods they purchase are more expensive.

So many zeros had become such a normal thing that no one knows how to
calculate in the new currency.

Actually, this is quite normal.

I researched all the other countries that have removed zeros from their
currencies. They faced the same problems. Just look at the countries that
abandoned their own currencies and switched to the euro. Their
transformation was even harder.

There’s no reason to panic.

Don’t forget that the old TL we have will be accepted until the end of the
year. In other words, we have plenty of time to get used to the YTL. There
is nothing else to do but get used to it. Eventually, we’ll all be forced to
adjust and this process will end.

Ignore this sense of getting poorer. With the YTL, our economy and our
money will gain in confidence. The new currency may result in some
inflationary pressure for the next few months, but if the state continues to
tighten the budget, we will overcome that too.

We are confused, but this time it is a positive development.

[HH] Don’t dismiss the Armenian allegations:

I had noted this in my article yesterday. The messages I received from
overseas have shown me once again how serious the issue is.

Specifically, the Armenian diaspora is preparing for a huge campaign that
will be launched on April 24, the 90th anniversary of the 1915 incidents.
Moreover, it’s being kept a secret. The purpose is to push the Republic of
Turkey even further to a corner and to make some progress in their endeavors
by the centennial.

At the top of their list is that the U.N. General Assembly hold a session
on `genocide’ on April 24. If they succeed in garnering enough support, they
may do just that, and even if it has no official strength, they may even
succeed in getting a resolution passed.

Another objective is to pressure the U.S. Congress to get what they have
striven for for years. In other words, they want Congress to recognize the
1915 incidents as genocide. The only way to get what they want is to break
the resistance of the Bush administration. They have been trying for years
but have failed every time.

I wonder if they can succeed this time.

The attitude of the Bush administration towards Turkey is very important.
It doesn’t make sense for the United States to antagonize Turkey at such a
point in time. However, we should not forget the fact that a superpower can
sometimes pursue policies that don’t make sense to any of us.

Turkey needs to prepare without hoping that any big brothers will come
through.

In order to put up any resistance to such a huge campaign, the current
public relations policy, which has failed to sway anyone until now, is not
enough. Sixty years of effort by the Armenians can’t be erased in a single
stroke.

We need to have creative policies and undertake huge initiatives.

Up until now, Ankara has not appeared to be ready for anything; however,
it should soon start its preparations. If not, we’ll end up blaming the
United States and the European Union after all is said and done. The
Armenians will have won another round, and we’ll be pushed further into a
corner.

Come on! Let’s do something.

Transitions on Line, Czech Republic
Jan 3 2005

From Freeze to Deep Freeze

by Ara Tadevosyan
3 January 2005

A decade after a cease-fire was signed, the chances of peace between
Armenia and Azerbaijan are, if anything, becoming more remote.

Another year has passed and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh remains
frozen, with no war but also no peace, and with no economic ties
between Armenia and, on the other side, Azerbaijan or Turkey.

But this was not quite an ordinary year of suspended motion. May
marked the 10th anniversary of the cease-fire that ended the conflict
between the Azeris and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. More
importantly, for the first time, the Armenian government has not been
dealing with Heidar Aliev, but with his son, Ilham. Year nine of the
cease-fire – 2003–had been a write-off, with presidential and
parliamentary elections in Armenia and, in October, the presidential
elections in Azerbaijan that brought Ilham to power. Year 10 marked
the start of a new era.

Optimists believed that, once in the president’s seat, Ilham Aliev
might quickly push for a resolution in order to stabilize the overall
level of security in the region as, in 2005, Azerbaijan is due to
start pumping oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey.
Pessimists pointed instead to the domestic challenges faced by a
young leader, arguing that any compromise would weaken his public
legitimacy and his position in ruling circles. International
mediators chose to set out an optimistic schedule of high-level
meetings. But the pessimists have proved right. The peace process has
in fact gone backward even according to members of the mediation
group, a collection of U.S., Russian, and French diplomats working
under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) and known as the Minsk Group.

THE BREAKTHROUGH THAT WASN’T

In fact, the peace process has been going backward since 2001, when
the two countries appeared on the verge of a breakthrough. Heidar
Aliev, already ailing, appeared close to accepting the notion that
the de facto status of Nagorno-Karabakh – as an ethnic-Armenian region
with no ties to Azerbaijan–would become permanent. But then the
talks collapsed.

The Armenians partly blame Aliev Sr.’s ill health. He feared he might
not be well enough to implement the agreements, believes Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. But they have also blamed Aliev’s
son and successor, Ilham. In January, Oskanian claimed that Heidar
Aliev `believed he had the necessary moral right to settle the
conflict’ but `Ilham Aliev realizes his own weakness.’ What the talks
foundered on, in his view, was the unwillingness of Heidar Aliev’s
close entourage, including Ilham, to compromise. In other words, in
Armenian eyes Ilham is guilty not just of being unwilling to use the
Key West talks as the basis for continued negotiations, but also of
preventing a landmark treaty at Key West.

Such assertions clearly did not help create an atmosphere conducive
to a breakthrough this year. Nor did Ilham Aliev’s February
declaration, `I am not in favor of making compromises’ or that of his
then-foreign minister, Vilayat Guliev, who said that Azerbaijan had
the right to begin negotiations `from scratch.’

Baku now insists that Armenia give back seven Azeri-populated
districts of Azerbaijan seized during the war before it will discuss
the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh. For its part, Armenia insists
that any withdrawal must be agreed on at the same time as a final
status for the region. Yerevan has also put in the foreground an
issue that had seemed to be settled: the role of Nagorno-Karabakh
leaders in talks. Over the years, the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh has
become a bilateral discussion between Yerevan and Baku. That approach
dates to 1998 when Robert Kocharian moved from his post as president
of Nagorno-Karabakh to the presidency of Armenia. But this year
Kocharian has cited the absence of Nagorno-Karabakh leaders as one of
two problems preventing a resolution. (The other is Azerbaijan’s
alleged unwillingness to cooperate in reaching a settlement.)

The talks now seem to be moving in circles. Russia’s former first
deputy foreign minister, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, has said, `All
possible variants of a settlement have already been on the agenda of
the negotiating process,’ and, `Now the initial positions of the
sides in the Karabakh conflict differ much more than two to three
years ago.’

THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE STATUS QUO

Behind Aliev’s declaration against compromise seems to be a belief
that the status quo suits the Armenians. Azerbaijan pins part of the
blame on the mediators. In May, Aliev accused the OSCE of `just
observing’ talks. And in November, Azerbaijan went beyond the
framework of OSCE talks and put a motion before the United Nations to
condemn the `transfer of settlers’ from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh
`to artificially create a new demographic situation in those
territories.’ France criticized the move as negative and Russia as
unhelpful.

Armenia had warned that a UN vote in favor of the Azeri motion would
spell the end of the latest phase of diplomatic efforts, a series of
meetings between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers known as
the `Prague process.’ In the end, the UN General Assembly put off a
vote until an unspecified later date.

Armenia itself has had some critical words for the OSCE Minsk Group,
claiming that it had failed to react adequately to the `killing’ of
the Key West agreement by Azerbaijan. But Kocharian has described the
Minsk Group as `the optimal format’ for discussion, adding that `the
problem lies in the parties to the conflict and not in the
mediators’ – which, judging by other comments he has made, means
Azerbaijan.

And, overall, Armenia seems satisfied both with the mediators’
efforts and the international environment. In some key relationships,
the year has been positive for Armenia. At one point, in January,
there appeared to be the possibility of a breakthrough in relations
with Turkey, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
his government might reopen its border with Armenia if Yerevan
reciprocated “friendly initiatives’ by Ankara. By April, the Azeris
and Turks were back to publicly declaring their unity on the Karabakh
issue. That followed a statement by Aliev in March that a settlement
would be `impossible’ if Turkey were to reopen its border with
Armenia. Still, Turkey’s initial statements cannot be wiped off the
record, and EU leaders commitment to start accession talks with
Turkey in October 2005 may put Ankara under increasing pressure to do
as the European Parliament has called for – to improve relations with
Armenia and end its blockade.

Most importantly, Armenia’s key bilateral relationship, with Russia,
remained solid. Azerbaijan, perhaps partly because of its
disillusionment with the Minsk Group, took a number of steps that
amounted to a clear bid for greater favor from Russia. It allowed
Russia to build a radar station in the country (despite enacting a
law banning military bases in the country) and, unlike Georgia, it
has been standoffish in its military relationships with NATO and the
United States. In August, Baku called on Moscow to make a greater
effort on its own to broker a deal. But within a matter of days
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Kocharian for the sixth time in
12 months, and Armenian and Russian troops had held joint military
exercises.

(Russia has a pact with Armenia promising military support for
Armenia if it is attacked, it has a military base in Armenia, and it
patrols Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran. It also controls
almost all of Armenia’s energy system.)

Azerbaijan enjoyed greater success with Iran, for the first time
winning Iran’s support for its claim to Nagorno-Karabakh. But, at the
same time, Armenia entered talks to build a pipeline to Iran.

To Armenian eyes, the international climate therefore seems
acceptable, possibly even working in its favor. Armenian negotiators
have little reason, therefore, to offer more compromises than they
did at Key West.

And it has few domestic reasons to push for change. Kocharian has
three and a half years left in his presidency, and, although the
governing coalition is in trouble, the opposition is weak, with no
leader like Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko or Georgia’s Mikheil
Saakashvili and no clear vision of how to resolve the question of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Kocharian also faces little pressure from the
Armenian public. Armenians are not afraid of a new war, and, by and
large, they are happy with the status quo because as least the most
important issue is practically resolved: Armenians living in
Nagorno-Karabakh are free, feel reasonably secure, and are de facto
united with Armenia.

And the risks for Kocharian of being too bold were highlighted in
late 1997, when then-President Levon Ter-Petrossian accepted a
proposal under which Armenia would cede occupied territories outside
Nagorno-Karabakh and only then discuss the political status of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The next year, he was forced out of office as a
direct consequence. Kocharian’s lack of room for maneuver was made
clear in a June poll by the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies that showed that only 2.5 percent of the
population believes the Armenian authorities can resolve the issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Just 1 percent believes the captured territories
should be returned to Azerbaijan. Politically, Kocharian therefore
has nothing to gain and plenty to lose by making a major concession.

Meanwhile, the apparent failure of its overtures to Moscow and
Ankara’s openness to think the previously unthinkable – to end the
blockade – show just how difficult it is for Azerbaijan to change the
status quo.

A RUBICON CROSSED?

The bottom line for Armenia is a position stated in private by
Armenian diplomats–that Key West was a Rubicon, even though no
treaty was signed. The preliminary understanding (as they put it) was
that Azerbaijan would cede sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia
would leave the occupied territories, and Azerbaijan might be granted
a secure corridor linking Azerbaijan to Nakchichevan, an exclave of
Azeri territory within Armenia. Azerbaijan denies a framework deal
was agreed to, though the U.S. negotiator has said they were
`incredibly close’ to one. But having received such an offer (as it
believes), Yerevan is now unlikely to discuss anything like `broad
autonomy’ for Karabakh inside Azerbaijan – and Armenian diplomats
believe that is well-understood by the mediators.

Judging by their comments about Aliev Sr., diplomats in Yerevan are
waiting for Ilham Aliev to become politically strong enough to be
able to reach an agreement about Karabakh. Aliev himself seems to be
waiting for Azerbaijan to become stronger but for different ends. In
February, he said, “Justice is with us, and time will work for us,’
arguing that `assessing the countries [Armenia and Azerbaijan] in
terms of economic potential, you will see that we are in a better
position.’ In July, Aliev promised that Azerbaijan “would liberate
its occupied territories at any cost”; oil may be what makes that
cost more affordable.

In the meantime, Ilham Aliev has begun to liken his policy to a cold
war with Armenia. In November, he said, `We are carrying on a cold
war successfully. Our propaganda activity in international
organizations has grown considerably. I am sure that this will allow
us to achieve what we want.’

Events of the past year, then, suggest that, after the failure of the
Key West talks, both Armenia and Azerbaijan are willing to wait a
long time for a resolution, each in the belief that time is on its
side. That is not a view shared by the U.S. co-chairman of the Minsk
Group, Steven Mann. Speaking in the autumn, he said, `We tell the two
governments: time is not on your side. It will be worse both for
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Regional development is passing Armenia by.
Pipelines, roads, railways are being built, and Armenia is missing
the advantages it could get from economic integration with the whole
region. The country is paying a high cost for the army it has to
keep.’

That prompted Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian to say,
`Armenia cannot be frightened or troubled by statements that it is
standing apart from regional oil and gas and transportation projects.
Nagorno-Karabakh is priceless and is not a subject for bargaining.
That’s why we do not accept the argument that, in defending its
interests, Armenia is missing an opportunity to take part in big
regional projects.’

For Azerbaijan, too, Nagorno-Karabakh remains priceless. So no break
in the ice of this frozen conflict seems likely soon.

Ara Tadevosyan is the director of the Armenian news agency Mediamax.

Hellenic News of America
Dec 29 2004

Op-Ed
The Next Four Years

By Gene Rossides

The next four years will be difficult regarding foreign policy issues
of special concern to Greek Americans for several reasons

First, and foremost, is the fact that President George W. Bush has
retained in his administration the key figures in foreign policy who
have demonstrated a pro-Turkish and anti-Greek and Cyprus bias to the
detriment of U.S. relations with Greece and Cyprus.

Who are the persons in the Bush administration responsible for the
U.S. double standard on the rule of law to Turkey and the U.S.
appeasement of Turkey at the expense of U.S. relations with Greece
and Cyprus?

Leading the pack in the first Bush administration was Deputy
Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. President Bushʼs decision
to retain Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld means that Mr. Wolfowitz
stays on as Deputy Secretary.

As is well known, Mr. Wolfowitz was the key architect of the war on
Iraq, misleading the American people on the issue of whether the
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD),
and thereby also weakening the U.S. worldwide effort on the war on
international terrorism aimed at the U.S. He also led the effort to
equate Palestinian violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with
international terrorism aimed at the U.S.

What is not well-known are the misleading statements and outright
lies and falsehoods by Mr. Wolfowitz regarding Turkey. A joint letter
from Armenian, Kurdish and Greek American organizations to President
Bush dated September 4, 2002 detailed Mr. Wolfowitzʼs `false and
misleading statements with serious errors of fact and omission of
Orwellian proportions’ regarding Turkey and (1) Cyprus; (2) human
rights; (3) reliability as an ally; (4) self-reliance; (5) Ataturk;
(6) democracy; (7) the Persian Gulf War of 1991; (8) Turkey and the
Jews; (9) NATO; and (10) its Kurdish minority.

The signatories to that letter were James F. Dimitriou, Supreme
President of AHEPA; Ted Spyropoulos, President, Hellenic American
National Committee; Aram Hamparian, Executive Director, Armenian
National Committee; Kani Xulam, Director, American Kurdish
Information Network; Theodora S. Hancock, Co-Founder, Hellenic
American Womenʼs Council; and me for the American Hellenic
Institute.

Mr. Douglas Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, also
remains at his important position in the Defense Department. Mr.
Feith, a former registered foreign agent for Turkey from 1989 to
1994, served as the principal for International Advisors, Inc. (IAI),
the registered foreign agent for Turkey. Mr. Feith received $60,000
annually and his law firm received over $100,000 in fees. Mr. Feith
has been described by General Tommy Franks as the `dumbest’ man he
ever dealt with.

Mr. Richard Perle, who resigned as Chairman of the Defense Policy
Board for a conflict of interest with his company seeking war related
investments, initiated IAI and negotiated an $800,000 contract for
IAI with Turkey for 1989 and $600,000 for 1990 to 1994. Mr. Perle was
a paid consultant for IAI for Turkey during this period.

When Richard Perle was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
International Security from 1981-1987 during the Reagan
Administration, he led the successful effort to give massive grant
military aid to Turkey. Mr. Feith was on his staff at the time.
Weapons supplied by the U.S. were used by the Turkish army against
the Kurds from at least 1984 and are being used to the present time.
Over 30,000 innocent Kurds were killed by the Turkish military. The
use of U.S. supplied weapons against the Kurds, which was well-known,
made the U.S. an accessory to the Turkish militaryʼs crimes
against the Kurds. Messrs. Wolfowitz, Perle and Feith bear
responsibility for the policy of arms to Turkey. The killings of
innocent Kurds lie at their doorstep.

In a comprehensive joint report `Arming Repression: U.S. Arms Sales
to Turkey During the Clinton Administration’ (October 1999), the
World Policy Institute and the Federation of American Scientists
documented the U.S. arms trade with Turkey and its harmful effects on
U.S. interests.

Mr. Perle is still active on Turkeyʼs behalf as a fellow at the
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and appears regularly on TV and
radio interview programs to discuss U.S. foreign polciy.

Messrs. Wolfowitz, Perle and Feith are commonly referred to as
neo-conservatives who advocate an expansive use of force in U.S.
foreign policy including preemptive war. I prefer a different and, I
believe, a more accurate description. Neoconservative implies a new
conservative. None of these three individuals are `conservatives’ in
the classic definition of a political conservative who believes in
fiscal responsibility, limited government, individual liberties,
preservation of what has been proven useful and the use of force as a
last resort.

The definition I prefer as more accurate is `warmonger’ which
Websterʼs dictionary defines as `one who favors or tries to
incite war.’ All three are warmongers and in the case of Messrs.
Perle and Feith they are also war profiteers.

Ms. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Designate, has been in the
center of all the foreign policy decisions of President Bush. During
the first Bush administration she was the foreign policy person
closest to the President. She will have a far greater influence on
foreign policy than Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

Ms. Rice, as National Security Advisor, was involved in the betrayal
of Greece in the administrationʼs unilateral decision to
recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as the
Republic of Macedonia. The U.S. policy had been that we would use the
name FYROM until Greece and FYROM by negotiations determined a
solution to the name issue. The U.S. broke its pledge. It appears
that a staff member of the NSC proposed the change in policy which
Ms. Rice approved as did the State and Defense Departments.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Marc Grossman, is and
has been the main architect of U.S. policy on Greece, Cyprus and
Turkey these past years. His policies towards Greece, Cyprus and
Turkey demonstrate a sharp pro-Turkish and anti-Greece and Cyprus
bias to the detriment of U.S. interests.

I have written extensively and in detail regarding Mr.
Grossmanʼs harmful actions on (1) U.S. relations with Cyprus
over the years and more recently regarding the undemocratic,
unworkable and financially not viable Annan Plan and his attacks on
the Greek Cypriots and President Tassos Papadopoulos for their
opposition to the Annan Plan; (2) his failure to uphold the rule of
law regarding the Aegean Sea boundary and (3) his failure to take
meaningful action to reopen the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology
illegally closed by Turkey in 1971.

Mr. Grossman is a career foreign service officer and there have been
reports that he may retire in 2005. Letʼs hope so.

In a future article I will discuss actions that the Greek American
community can take in the interests of the U.S. to deal with this
situation.

Gene Rossides
President, American Hellenic
Institute and former Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 29 2004

President visits Javakheti

President Mikheil Saakashvili visited the southern region of
Javakheti Tuesday, where he spoke with residents of the regional
center Akhalkalaki and attended a concert arranged for his arrival.
The president stepped on the stage and joined in on an Armenian folk
dance. The vast majority of the population of Javakheti is Armenian
and the region has witnessed certain ethnic tensions over the years.
Rustavi 2 reports that Saakashvili addressed the people in Georgian,
Russian and Armenian, telling them the Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki highway
would be repaired in 2005 and that they would no longer be isolated
from the capital. The president also dropped by the house of a local
pensioner to wish his family a happy New Year.

Advertiser, Australia
Brisbane Courier Mail, Australia
Townsville Bulletin, Australia
Fox Sports, Australia
Dec 29 2004

Vazquez stops Armenian challenger

>From correspondents in El Cajon, California

MEXICO’s Israel Vazquez has stopped Artyom Simonyan of Armenia in the
fifth round to retain his International Boxing Federation junior
featherweight title.

Referee James Jen-Kin called a halt when Vazquez rocked Simonyan
2min:01sec into the fifth round.

He had already sent Simonyan to the canvas twice in the third round
and once in the fifth.

Vazquez, making his first defence of the title he claimed in March
with a victory over Venezuelan Jose Valbuena, improved to 37-3 with
27 wins inside the distance.

Simonyan, who now lives in the United States, suffered the first
defeat of his career as he fell to 14-1-1.

Iran calls for closer ties

Baku Sun: Azerbaijan
Dec 24 2004

BAKU (AP) – Iran’s defense minister on Wednesday called for closer
military ties between his country and Azerbaijan.

Ali Shamkhani’s visit to neighboring Azerbaijan is the second in
less than a week by a top Iranian security official. Last week,
Iran’s Minister for Intelligence Ali Yunesi met with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliev, announcing that the two neighboring countries
were working together on security.

“Azerbaijan’s security is our security. Our defense capability is your
defense capability,” Shamkhani told his Azerbaijani counterpart, Safar
Abiyev. “We have all possibilities for broadening our relations. A
statement released by Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said the two
ministers exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues concerning
the development of military ties.

Abiyev said Iran should help to resolve the dispute surrounding the
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, whose status sparked a war between Armenia
and Azerbaijan in the 1990s. The two Caucasus countries continue to
have tense relations.

Shamkhani was also expected to meet with Aliev and other top Azeri
officials.

Earlier this month, several top Iranian diplomats as well as Iran’s
health and environment ministers made official visits to Azerbaijan.

Iran defense minister calls for closer ties with Azerbaijan

The Associated Press
12/22/04 14:28 EST

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) – Iran’s defense minister on Wednesday called
for closer military ties between his country and Azerbaijan.

Ali Shamkhani’s visit to neighboring Azerbaijan is the second in
less than a week by a top Iranian security official. Last week,
Iran’s Minister for Intelligence Ali Yunesi met with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliev, announcing that the two neighboring countries
were working together on security.

“Azerbaijan’s security is our security. Our defense capability is
your defense capability,” Shamkhani told his Azerbaijani counterpart,
Safar Abiyev. “We have all possibilities for broadening our relations.

A statement released by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said the
two ministers exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues concerning
the development of military ties.

Abiyev said Iran should help to resolve the dispute surrounding the
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, whose status sparked a war between Armenia
and Azerbaijan in the 1990s. The two Caucasus countries continue to
have tense relations.

Shamkhani was also expected to meet with Aliev and other top Azeri
officials.

Earlier this month, several top Iranian diplomats as well as Iran’s
health and environment ministers made official visits to Azerbaijan.

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NEWS
Tragic Deaths: Family of five seeking warmth instead succumbs to poisoning — 18 total dead from bad heating

By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow Reporter

All five members of the Ghahramanyan family were found dead at their home in Echmiadzin on December 14 because of an
apparent gas leak.
Armen Melkonyan, senior aide to the prosecutor of Armavir region, says that the prosecutor’s office has instituted a
criminal inquiry centered around the use of a gas burner fitted to a home-made furnace in the family’s apartment.
The Ghahramanyan family moved to Echmiadzin from Jrarat village in the region. Volodya, 34, worked in the cemetery as
a stone dresser. He and his wife, Lianna, 29e had three children – Amalia, aged nine, Armenak, seven, and David, who
was three years old.
Yesterday the director of HayRusGazArd held a press conference in which he told that 18 people throughout Armenia have
died already this winter as a result of gas leakage connected with poor quality heating. Among the latest dead was a
couple discovered last week in Gyumri.
“When we opened the gate and entered the yard, the lights in the house were on. It was strange, because nobody had
seen them since Sunday. We thought they’d gone to the village. It turned out that they’d been dead at their home for
two days. Their beds were not made up, the children were in nightgowns,” says a neighbor, who could barely hide her
distress.
The family, who struggled to make a living, heated their apartment by burning gas in a furnace intended for wood. To
get the maximum warmth at minimum expense, Volodya placed a netlike partition inside the furnace pipe, so as to retain
the heat as long as possible. As a result, the gas was not completely burned, causing a build up of poisonous carbon
monoxide fumes in the apartment.
“Today, many people are using this method by placing partitions inside the pipes. As a result, they play with human
lives. Carbon monoxide gas can’t be felt in any way, can it?” says 40-year-old Armen Lazarian from Echmiadzin.
The head of Echmiadzin’s gas-supply service Sashik Lazarian says that they cannot give any explanation until they
have the findings of an expert examination.
While an ordinary gas leak produces a clearly recognizable smell, carbon monoxide has no smell, taste or color. People
succumb gradually until they slip into unconsciousness and death.
“We found Volodya near the door, clutching his baby, he must have felt what had happened and wanted to get outside,
but he didn’t manage to do that. If only the door was open. He had very bright children,” said a neighbor, who didn’t
want to say his name for fear of investigation.”
Expert examinations by forensic medical and technical commissions have been ordered as part of the criminal
investigation, which continues
Loose: Two dig out of maximum security facility in Goris

By Zhanna Alexanyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

For the first time since the Soviet era, there has been an escape from Armenia’s maximum security facility for
criminals.
Earlier this week, it was learned that Mher Yenokyan and Soghomon Kocharyan had slipped out of the Goris prison
sometime last Friday, apparently by digging through the lockup’s 1.5-meter thick wall.
The men, both serving life sentences for murder, remain at large and a reward has been offered for information leading
to their capture. Roads leading out of Goris are now tightly patrolled and cars going out of the area are subject to
search by police.
Ministry of Justice press secretary Ara Saghatelyan says an investigation is underway to determine how the men managed
to escape.
Kocharyan, 38, was sentenced in 1995 for killing an Iranian national and stealing his car. After eight years in other
prisons, he was transferred to Goris last year.
Yenokyan, 29, was sentenced in 1996 for killing a classmate in the third-year of studies at a Yerevan medical
institute. An accomplice, Aram Harutyunyan, was sentenced to 15 years.
Varduhi Ohanyan, Yenokyan’s mother, said the escape was an action of protest since her son’s appeal to review his case
has been ignored.
The family of Iosiph Aghajanov, Yenokyan’s victim, says they are very worried, knowing Yenokyan is at large.
Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan called the incident a “pitiful case”.
“Unfortunately such things can’t be prevented 100 percent,” Harutyunyan said. “We still have old buildings that are
poorly protected. The Goris prison has been built in 1890 and has spared its resources as such.”
City for Sale: Echmiadzin mayor makes questionable deal on public museum

By Vahan Ishkhanyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

The Mayor of Echmiadzin has sold the premises of the city’s Folk History Museum after giving assurance that the city
property would not be among properties being let in a series of business deals swung by the mayor.
As previously reported in ArmeniaNow Mayor Hrachik Abgaryan has been criticized by some residents of Echmiadzin for
selling public libraries to private enterprises, including those to which the mayor has connections. (See ????)
Now, the sell of the museum is expected to create more discontent among residents of the city and Seat of the Holy
See.
Director Hasmik Hakobyan was assured that the museum was not going to be sold and, a month ago Abgaryan told
ArmeniaNow that the premises would be kept for public use. But ArmeniaNow has learned that the decision to sell the
property – valued at about $100,000 and sold for $7,000 – was made months ago.
The museum was established in 1964. In 1984 it was relocated to its present territory, which is in the central street
of the town. It has about 12,000 exhibits, of which 500 are on display, including late stone-age pieces – from items
dated the 5th Millennium BC to domestic items used at the beginning of the 20th century. The current and former staff
members say that the museum was built with their hands, the state had not helped with anything:
“This museum is something like a church, after it is destroyed it will take years to restore it to its former look,”
says Hakobyan, who has worked in the museum for 34 years.
Staff members constructed exhibits inside, such as the copy of a round house dated to the 4th Millennium BC (a replica
of the house discovered during excavations), which is laid with bricks and mortar, and a tonratoon (the shed which
houses a tonir – a big jar dug in the earth in which fire is made, used for baking bread) with a special type of roof.
The doors of the museum are made with special wood engravings. Upkeep of the museum has been maintained by staff, with
no government funding.
The museum is to be relocated to the civil registration office, which is situated in the territory of the mayor’s
office (the chief of the civil registration office was still not aware that a museum would be housed there instead of
his office).
“I was very angered when I learned it was sold,” says director of the joint cultural directorate of the mayor’s office
Eduard Hakhverdyan. “The deal was before me, I was not aware. Serzh Sargsyan says that troops need to be sent to Iraq
to protect Armenian cultural hubs, however if they do not protect culture in their own homeland, how will they protect
it in a foreign land? If you go there, please go, but do not speak on behalf of culture.”
The deal was closed by the former director of the joint cultural directorate Benik Shamiryan, who later was appointed
director of the joint educational directorate and made the decision to sell the territories of the libraries.
“The museum is being brought to a more central place (it is about 50 meters from the museum to the civil registration
office), it will be more spacious (the sizes of the new territory are not known),” says Shamiryan. “It is being done
according to the interests of the museum.”
Details of the deal suggest other interests, however.
A territory of 495 square meters plus a 70-square-meter cellar was sold for 3.46 million drams (though the price was
not revealed to the public), about $7,000, which is about 15 times cheaper than the market price.
Although the territory was sold through an auction, it was considered simply formality and the buyer had been known in
advance – businessman Zarzand Karapetyan. It is also known that Karapetyan has also recently bought an apartment,
widely believed to have been handed over to the mayor.
“If we at least knew about the auction, other buyers could have come forward,” says Hakboyan.
No funds are foreseen in the budget for repairs in the new territory.
Staff members say they are cautious against objecting to the sale of the museum and claim that the mayor has
threatened to fire the director if the sale is protested.

FEATURES
Between Iraq and a Hard Place: Government ponders alternative direction for Armenian peace-keepers

By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmenianNow Reporter

Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has considered sending an Armenian peace-keeping contingent to Afghanistan.
Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan said the matter was discussed earlier this month, partly in response to Poland’s
decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
As Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekyan said earlier, “a group of 50 Armenian specialists, made up of doctors,
drivers and sappers, if dispatched to Iraq, will be located in the southern part of this country, which is under the
administrative control of Polish troops”.
However, in September, the Polish authorities declared their desire to disengage their troops from Iraq. Sargsyan paid
a working visit to Warsaw in the same month and a number of experts believe the question of a possible transfer of
Armenia’s peace-keeping contingent to Afghanistan was discussed on his return from Poland.
“If Poland decides to withdraw its troops from Iraq, Yerevan will reconsider its approaches to the issue of sending
Armenian specialists to Iraq,” Sargsyan said on December 8. “It is impossible to be within something that does not
exist. Therefore, in that case, Armenia will simply have to reconsider some positions. The issue of the possible
sending of an Armenian group to Afghanistan has already been discussed in the RA Ministry of Defense.”
At present, the “Iraqi vector” remains the most likely destination for the Armenian contingent. The Afghan option is
not being widely discussed yet. Some specialists observe that the situation was similar when the question of sending
troops to Iraq first emerged.
“Exactly a year ago, in December 2003, information emerged on the start of negotiations between the Ministry of
Defense of Armenia and the Pentagon about possible deployment of an Armenian peace-keeping contingent to Iraq, but
this news did not become a factor of Armenian public-political life,” says political analyst Levon Ghazaryan.
“Neither was this question considered adequately in April when Deputy Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan officially
declared the signing of a corresponding agreement to be a fait accompli. It is obvious that among the factors that
conditioned the passivity of the political establishment of the country on this question, the main thing was the
result of the US presidential elections. That’s why, the issue has been hotly debated only since autumn.
“I do not rule out the possibility that in due course the ‘Afghan question’ will also become a topic of discussions
like the ‘Iraqi question’ is already today. I think official Yerevan still feels like insisting on the Iraqi vector.”
When Sargsyan first revealed the possibility of transfering Armenian specialists to Afghanistan instead of Iraq, the
Constitutional Court of Armenia ruled that the deployment to Iraq was legal, since the provisions of a Memorandum “On
the regulation of management of a multinational division within the coalition forces of Iraq” signed by Poland and 19
other countries did not contravene Armenia’s constitution.
Armenia has not yet acceded to the Memorandum, but if it does, Sargsyan said it intended “to send a note to the Polish
side that restrictions should be applied for the Republic of Armenia armed forces, such as participation only in
defensive and humanitarian actions, and the unacceptability of undertaking joint operations with the Azeri military”.
“Taking into account the presence of a large Armenian Diaspora in this country and also friendship with Iraq, Yerevan
did not take part in the military operations,” Armenia’s Defense Minister said in the Constitutional Court.
“Yerevan has chosen a path of humanitarian involvement in Iraq, especially as it is consistent with the UN Security
Council’s latest resolution N 1546 on Iraq adopted on June 8. Armenia has experience of peace-keeping activities in
Kosovo, and after sending its contingent to Iraq it will also enhance its own international image.”
In this connection, he reported that Georgia and Azerbaijan are going to increase their contingents in Iraq from 157
to 880 and from 151 to 400, respectively.
The National Assembly Vice-Speaker and ARF Executive Council of Armenia member, Vahan Hovhannisyan, also spoke about
the country’s image on December 8. As cochairman of the inter-parliamentary commission on Armenian-Russian
cooperation, he had participated at a session in Moscow and found that “the Russian side showed jealousy” towards
Armenia’s involvement in Iraq.
“The Armenian delegation, in its turn, raised the question of whether Russia’s forgiving a multibillion-dollar debt to
Iraq meant economic support to the government of this country, which is the protege of the “occupying force” – the
United States,” said Hovhannisyan.
Military Science?: Young scientists angered over order to serve in Army

By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow Reporter

Young doctors of science in Armenia are furious over a recent decree (issued November 15) by the Government of Armenia
by which candidates for doctoral degrees will face Army conscription.
Various medical associations have offered their assistance to help the doctoral candidates fight the decree, which may
be in conflict with the Constitution of Armenia.
“We don’t object to doctors being called up for military service, but we object to doctors of science being drafted,”
says Parunak Zelvayan, chairman of the Armenian Medical Association. “There are only a hundred young scientist doctors
aged below 35 in Armenia today. I am asking a very rhetorical question – will those hundred people save the health of
our army?”
Young doctors doubt the necessity the government decision, since the meaning of the statement that the armed forces
need medical specialists is unclear.
Zelveyan says: “It is 10 years that the Military Medical Department of the Yerevan State Medical University has had
graduates and the goal of this faculty is to supply the republic’s armed forces with appropriate highly skilled
specialists. It is known that numerous would-be doctors are admitted to that faculty every year and not all of them
join the armed forces later.”
The Association considers that the government must reconsider its decision and stop the conscription of officers of
the first group of reserve medical staff with scientific degrees.
Strong Defense: Sargsyan says army is not worried about spread of religious sects

By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

Minister of Defense Serge Sargsyan told a group of youth last week that he doesn’t see any threat to Armenia by
religious sects.
Since Armenia adopted laws protecting rights of religious minorities, there has been widespread concern that national
identity and security is at stake.
“The role of sects in our society is exaggerated,” Sargsyan told a meeting at the Ararat Patriarchy. “I don’t see any
danger in it at all.”
Of particular public concern has been the position of Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose beliefs prohibit them from performing
military service that requires using weapons.
During the meeting on “State-Church Cooperation” and “Army-Alternative Service” the young people voiced their concern
about the impact of conscientious objectors on Armenia’s military.
Sargsyan said periodical surveys are being conducted among recruits and soldiers and the greater part of the surveyed
insist serving the motherland is one’s sacred duty and that they are not concerned in this regard.
“I think those who do not want to serve can be a only a burden and dangerous for the army. We should not struggle
against them. We can only convince and spread our ideas, if not, let nothing be done by force,” the Minister
said. “Quantity is not the most important thing. It is better to have 10, 20, 30 soldiers devoted to the motherland,
than 150-200 who are forced, although we do not have a problem of quantity for 6 years as well.”
Sargsyan said those who are against taking arms can serve in the Armenian army by other means.
Referring to recently adopted laws, the Minister of Defense said:
“We have a law on alternative service that gives opportunity to those who do not want to take arms, to serve in an
asylum, take care of the elderly. It is also a service and patriotism. The question is how many will prefer that
alternative.”
To the question of whether the Ministry of Defense is concerned that a large number will seek to avoid service through
membership in a pacifist religion, Sargsyan told the group it is not a simple matter to falsify one’s religious
affiliation.
“Our laws are clear and leave no space for false sect members. They can not come to the military department and say
they are Jehovah’s Witnesses. Such cases are investigated preliminarily by relevant bodies and it is not that easy to
deceive,” said Sargsyan.
The army also, Sargsyan says, pays attention to religion that helps the soldiers.
Since 1997 the Apostolic Church has a spiritual service to keep the soldiers belief alive.
To intensify the cooperation, in September 2000 the Catholicos and the Defense Minister signed an agreement regulating
the spiritual service in the army.
At present some 30 priests serve in the military units of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The presence of priests in the army is a big step,” said the minister. “The soldiers have the opportunity to
communicate, to share their concerns with them. And we should pay attention to everything to escape further
complications”.
Sargsyan says the spread of sects should also be paid attention to, by countering their beliefs with practice of
traditional faith.
History Matters: Critics say Armenian museum in Turkey obscures rather than enlightens

By Ruzanna Amiraghyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

The opening of the Surb Prkich Armenian National Hospital Museum in Istanbul presented a controversial message on the
eve of the European Union’s consideration of Turkey’s accession opportunities.
The hospital museum, whose opening was widely covered by the Turkish media, is the first in Turkey to be dedicated to
the country’s Armenian minority. It includes religious artifacts, antique medical equipment and the Ottoman decree of
Sultan Mahmut II on the establishment of the hospital in 1832.
“Anyone seeing the exhibits of the museum will never have any doubts over the history that the two nations created.
Deep in my soul this is also a museum of humanism,” said Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan at the official
ceremony on December 5.
Erdoğan said the museum, whose name means Holy Savior, would serve to shed light on the common history of Armenians
and Turks for current and future generations. He said: “As the Prime Minister of the country I feel obliged to secure
the rights of Armenians as well as other nationalities, to share their happiness and sorrow.”
The EU decided yesteday (December 16) that membership negotiations with Turkey will commence October 3, 2005. The
European Commission issued a report in October recommending that member states authorize accession negotiations. But
it highlighted minority rights as one of the most acute political issues facing Turkey.
Vahan Hovhannisyan, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia and a member of the bureau of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, described Erdogan’s comments as “an attempt to ‘blow smoke’ into the eyes of the
international community and the Armenian people”.
He argued that one should not take “at face value” the Turkish Prime Minister’s recent assertion that ethnic groups in
Turkey are native elements of the country whose interests Turkey had defended and would defend in future.
Erdogan argued that “instead of allowing (museum) pieces such as this to throw light on history, facts are being
distorted through speculation and disinformation”, implying the Genocide of Armenians of 1915-1923 that Turkey’s
authorities continue to deny.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, objected in response by saying: “Mr Erdogan, before you
speak of so called “assumptions” and “misinformation”, you should visit the “Cilicia Museum” of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia in Lebanon. At that museum you would see irrefutable evidence of the Genocide perpetrated by the Turks.
“No one who sees these remains would talk of “assumptions” and “distortion” of facts. They are clear evidence of
Turkish barbarism. Shouldn’t you ask why these are currently in Antelias? Are they there by coincidence? Before
speaking of “falsification” and “misinformation”, you should also visit the relics of our martyrs that lie in a
monument not far from the museum. Where did these human remains come from? History is based on clear facts and not
assumptions. As much as you and others may deny, the Armenian Genocide is a fact of history”.
The new Turkish Penal Code provides for imprisonment of anyone making statements asserting the Armenian Genocide
during the Ottoman era if they are construed by government officials as diminishing the authority of the Turkish state.

ARTS
Actor Honored: Khoren Abrahamyan laid to rest with bittersweet recognition

By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

Two months ago beloved Armenian actor Khoren Abrahamyan told ArmeniaNow:
“I have so many ideas and thoughts, so many things to say. I feel I am in my 20s and I am confident I will manage to
reach at least the half of the aims I have.”
In his 50 professional years the actor reached plenty aims, among which was to bring his art to a mass audience that
rewarded Abrahamayan with admiration and respect. And his country rewarded him with the distinction of People’s
Artist.
On Tuesday, appreciation of Abrahamyan’s work mixed with grief as thousands honored him by carrying his body through
the streets of Yerevan, to the Sundukyan Theater where he first performed, then laying the actor to rest at the
Komitas Pantheon.
Abrahamyan died of heart attack last Friday in Yerevan.
Among mourners at services in the National Opera and Ballet Theater were President Robert Kocharyan, His Holiness
Catholicos Garegin II, Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan and Mayor Yervand Zarkaryan.
Khoren Abrahamyan’s body was carried on the arms of admirers and colleagues accompanied by the music of his most
famous film “The Song of the First Love”.
At his death, he had been working for three years to produce a sequel. His last stage performance was in the Sundukyan
where he appeared in Qobern’s “Gin Play”, November 21.
“We are a small nation, but we give birth to these kind of great people from time to time,” said a colleague and
fellow People’s Artist, Sos Sargsyan, fighting back tears. “Khorik was a great man of world significance, an
unimaginable actor and person.” (Click to read ?????)
Students from the Theater and Cinema Institute and Yerevan State University formed a protest action following
Abrahamyan’s funeral. They were angered that a party for the pop music group Shicker took place in the theater after
Abrahamyan’s funeral.
Khoren Abrahamyan, like singer and director Tigran Levonyan and writer Hrant Matevosyan left this world insulted. For
10 years he did not have a stage, fired from the native Sundukyan theatre.
“A great man like Khorik, one of the last Mohicans, was asking on TV to give him a stage, a hall to play. I think it
is not a coincidence only we have a saying ‘die and you’ll be loved'”, says playwright Perch Zeytuntsyan. “I am glad
they understood in the end and asked him to return to the mother theater and play at least once. We are gradually
becoming poorer, who will fill this big gap? Will it be those who made award ceremonies and birthday parties on the
day of the funeral?”
Armenia’s “Grammys”: A year of music takes 7 hours to recognize

By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

In a strained program that lasted nearly seven hours, the music community learned winners of Armenia’s National Music
Awards last Sunday night.
Top prizes were taken by H2 (Best Entertainment Program of The Year), Ani Kristi (Best New Artist), Arsen Safaryan
(Hit of the Year — “Your Name”), Jazzle (Best Pop Group), Bambir (Best Rock Group) and Hayko (Best Album of the
Year), Andre (Singer of the Year), and Kristine Pepelyan (Female Artist of the Year).
The competition was renewed last year, after a 15 year interruption and guests waited in anticipation to see their
favorite “stars”, who were expected to exit limousines and enter the Sundukyan Theater up a red carpet.
The carpet was there; the stars weren’t. Seems that the invitation reading “evening gowns are a must”, was a bit much
to ask for a December evening in Yerevan. So the celebrities chose to enter as the common, but warmly dressed into the
chilly theater.
Arthur Ispiryan opened the ceremony with a song devoted to actor Khoren Abrahamyan who died December 10, while the
beloved actor’s photo smiled from a stage that otherwise held last year’s decoration. The hall joined in tears and
ovations giving respect to the memory of the actor, not with a minute of silence but with applauses and bravos.
The best of the National Music Awards were represented in 19 nominations and were selected by 60 judges.
One spectator, pianist Narine Manukyan complained the awardees were not excited enough.
“Whoever stepped on the stage seemed to previously know he had won. For instance, why did Nazeli Hovhannisyan, who was
on the stage suddenly appeared in the hall as soon as the best anchor had to be announced so to rise on the stage
again solemnly” said Manukyan.
A judge, politician Paruyr Hayrikyan said “populism” or “rabis understanding” played a part in selection of winners.
“This is us, we make choices here just like we elect a president. But that is life as well,” Hayrikyan said.
Winners in other categories were:
Ani Amiryan (The Future of Armenian Pop)
Avet Barseghyan and Nazeli Hovhannisyan (Best TV Music Anchor)
Hayko (Best DVD)
Hayko (Best Musical Project)
Davit Babayan (Best Video)
Forsh (Tigran Naghdalyan Award)
Fifteen categories were added since last year’s awards. And the long night might have been longer, but categories for
Best Classic Album, Best Folk or Ethnic Album, Best Instrumental Album and Best Composer were withdrawn.
Living for Color: Kapan artist takes a lonely journey through abstraction

By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow Reporter

With a careless walk, wearing shoes that are too big and shabby patched clothes, 43-year-old Husik Stepanyan is the
most unpopular artist in Kapan.
Like him, his paintings have always been odd. Besides traditional painting, Husik does abstract work that is not
easily accepted in a town where art is usually limited to landscapes of Syunik’s most famous mountain, Khustup.
“I don’t even bother explaining to them what abstraction is for here there are few who understand true art,” says
Husik carefully arranging the paintings. “Those who understand can’t afford to buy paintings, so they tap me on my
shoulder, say that it’s very nice and go.”
His studio in the basement of a multistory building on Lernagortsnery Street is a feast of color and emotions despite
the dreadful cold: Husik lives for his paintings and colors, passing his thoughts onto canvas.
The blue, the yellow, the red, the white and the black differ at times according to his mood. Yellow is the color of
overcoming difficult stressful situations, blue the color of comfort, and red of crisis, not a rare thing in the
painter’s life.
Living in extreme social conditions, he cares only for his workshop and the world of color that he has been creating
for three decades. On the blackened walls there is “The Loneliness”, “The Chess Thoughts” and abstract works that have
numbers as if continuing one another.
Some of the paintings have no signature. Husik says they are not finished in his soul.
Between the spiritual and the necessary the painter has always chosen the former. Though he says material questions
have never been important to him, he sometimes tries to conform to people’s demands and accepts orders.
“The demand for the spiritual is very small in this town. Rather there is a demand for simplistic works. I need to
paint things that are in demand from time to time and if in the capital the most often sold pictures are of Ararat, in
Kapan it is the church in front of Mount Khustup.”
“Most of the people in Kapan have a curious way of thinking,” smiles the painter. “I sometimes hardly keep from
laughing; those who buy pictures here pay attention not to the essence and the depth of the painting but to the beauty
of the frame. And I don’t have any opportunity to buy gorgeous frames. That is I can’t provide what people are
interested in.”
Husik, understood by few, goes on living, forgetting and having no opportunity to repair his workshop. There are no
windows as such; neither there are glasses or isolation every other one being covered with paper.
The walls of the workshop are black with the smoke from plastic bottles that Husik gathers in the streets and burns,
having no opportunity to buy fuel and trying to protect his paintings and warming the creating hands.
The most Husik has got for a painting is $300, an exceptional sum for a town like Kapan. The buyer, a foreigner who
was fascinated by Husik’s art, bought the painting without haggling and left Kapan happy.
Artists in Kapan say Husik has always incited interest among specialists. His works were recently included in an
exhibition in Yerevan.
“I had no opportunity to be present there (for financial reasons), but the organizers and those who were present said
all the famous artists were interested in me and my paintings. But there is no opportunity to present oneself to
anyone, that has been the way for me,” says the painter. “There have been offers that I rejected because of the lack
of means.”
Husik also rejects all those who try to take advantage of his hardship and buy unique paintings for a very low price,
either to resell in Yerevan or to give as presents.
“My paintings cost a lot,” he says. “I know that some day this will be known to many. Art that is created in one’s
soul and has power cannot have a price.”

–Boundary_(ID_PwpO0upe25MgArGSuU+qYw)–

IRNA, Iran
December 15, 2004 Wednesday 6:16 PM EST

Armenians to demonstrate against Turkey`s bid

Tehran

Armenians from all over Europe are expected to gather in Brussels on
Friday to hold a protest demonstration against the integration of
Turkey into the European Union.

A spokesperson for the European Armenian Federation for Justice and
Democracy, the organizer of the event, told IRNA Wednesday that about
10,000 Armenians are expected to participate in the demonstration.

EU leaders are to decide in their summit in Brussels Thursday-Friday
if and when to begin entry negotiations with Turkey.

. “We think that without real pre-conditions Turkey must not be
allowed to begin talks on EU membership,” said the spokesperson.

“We want Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” she added.