Author: Kafian Jirair

Armenia added to Batelco mobile network

AME Info, United Arab Emirates
May 25 2004

Batelco mobile users traveling to Armenia will now be able to make
and receive calls while they are there, thanks to the deal struck
between Batelco and Armenia Telephone Company (ArmenTel) in Armenia.

Roaming facilities between Bahrain and Armenia took effect last week.
The signing between Batelco and ArmenTel preceded the start of
operations between the telecoms companies.

Ebrahim Al Sayed, acting senior manager mobile services at Batelco
said: ‘We have been working to expand the international network that
our customers are using for roaming services. The signing of this
agreement increases the already substantial reach Batelco’s mobile
users have.’

‘Our aim is to provide a network for our customers that encompasses
anywhere they might travel to. The recent signing has allowed us to
extend the scope of international roaming connections for Batelco
mobile customers by a significant amount.’

Batelco now has commercial roaming agreements with 103 countries and
248 operators.

Armenian community still living the history
By Doug Irving Daily Breeze

Daily Breeze
Monday, May 24, 2004
SOUTH BAY: Local members of ethnic group aid in struggle to gain
recognition for travesty — one memory at a time.

Steve Charelian grew up with the stories of his grandfather, a
survivor who had crawled into the dusty chimney of a bakery when the
killing started.

Only a few thousand people in the South Bay share Charelian’s Armenian
ancestry, a small community stitched together by the memories of what
happened all those years ago. Their children still learn to speak
the language at a community center in Lomita, and that’s where they
learn about the genocide.

Armenians say some 1.5 million people were killed from 1915 to 1923
in massacres organized by the old Ottoman Empire. They have urged
the United States to recognize their ordeal as a systematic genocide,
the first of the 20th century.

For those of Armenian descent living in the South Bay, there is more
to the history than grainy photographs and academic reports. There
are parents and grandparents who remembered walking past corpses or
hiding from soldiers.

Charelian’s grandfather would sometimes talk about the morning he
found his family dead. “I woke up and I went to my mom and tried to
wake her up,” he would say, speaking softly and in Armenian. “She
wouldn’t wake up. Nobody would wake up.”

“That echoes in my head,” Charelian says now.

The Ottoman Empire rounded up hundreds of Armenian activists, academics
and public officials on April 24, 1915. Armenians recognize that date
as the start of the genocide.

In the years to come, Armenians were deported from what is now Turkey
toward the Syrian desert. Some starved along the way, or froze to
death. Others were executed by soldiers or armed gangs.

While Armenians believe the Ottoman government carried out the
systematic massacre of 1.5 million people, Turkish-American groups
insist that no more than 600,000 Armenians died, many from the
hardships of World War I.

“We acknowledge that there have been some bad events at that time,
there have been people that were killed,” said Terken Gupur, the
director of policy and communications at the Assembly of Turkish
American Associations in Washington, D.C.

“It was not a systematic killing,” she added. “It was during the time
of war.”

Armenians have long sought world recognition of their suffering as
a full-fledged genocide. The United Nations defines genocide as an
effort to destroy, “in whole or in part,” a national, ethnic, racial
or religious group.

In recent years, presidents Bush and Clinton have carefully avoided
the word genocide in proclamations marking the day of remembrance on
April 24. This year, Bush called it an annihilation, and one of the
“most horrible tragedies of the 20th century.”

But California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called it a genocide. And
California’s teaching standards require 10th-graders to learn about
what happened to the Armenians as part of their curriculum on human
rights violations and genocide.

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles includes the Armenian Genocide
in its exhibit on crimes against humanity. “We’re unambiguous about
calling that a genocide,” museum director Liebe Geft said.

Last month, Rolling Hills Estates formally recognized the Armenian
Genocide. Councilman Frank Zerunyan introduced the proclamation.

His grandfather survived only by slashing his own throat so soldiers
would think he was dead. Zerunyan remembers his grandfather years
later playing the ud, an instrument similar to a guitar, and sobbing
for his lost father and uncle.

Zerunyan’s grandmother also survived a march toward Syria. She talked
about passing rivers that had turned red with blood.

Genocide “can only be eradicated by constant recognition, by calling
it what it is,” Zerunyan said.

“If the Rwandan rebels knew that every genocide was recognized,
every genocide was punished, they would have thought very hard,”
he said. “And they would have known there was nowhere in the world
they could go.”

Little more than 2,000 people in the South Bay claimed Armenian
ancestry in the 2000 Census. They make up less than 1 percent of the
population in all of the South Bay cities.

But it’s a tight-knit community, and many of its members can share
stories of what their relatives went through. “This is a big chunk
of our history,” said Lori Khajadourian, a member of the South Bay
chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Her grandfather was only about 7 years old when he heard the soldiers
coming. He and a brother hid in an earthen storage pot; they never
saw their parents or siblings again.

The push for formal recognition of the killings as genocide has taken
on a higher profile in recent years.

A movie released last year, “Ararat,” explored the events of those
years. A heavy-metal group with Armenian roots, System of a Down,
has grown in popularity with lyrics such as: “The plan was mastered
and called Genocide/Took all the children and then we died.”

Armenian-American groups are lobbying Congress to pass a resolution
that deplores the Armenian Genocide along with the Holocaust and
genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda.

“Euphemisms don’t count,” said Elizabeth Chouldjian, a spokeswoman
for the Armenian National Committee of America.

Nevart Barsoumian’s great-grandmother froze to death as she fled
Turkey, after she gave away her shawl. Barsoumian remembers her
grandmother weeping whenever she hung the laundry to dry — a chore
she had helped her mother with before they had to flee.

Barsoumian now teaches the history of what happened to a few dozen
students at the Lomita community center.

People “should know that we had a genocide,” she said. “If they don’t
recognize it, it’s all on the air, like nothing happened.”

Publish Date:May 24, 2004

PRESS OFFICE

ARMENIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA WESTERN DIOCESE
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
Tel: (818) 558-7474
Fax: (818) 558-6333
E-mail; [email protected]
Webiste:

COMMUNIQUÉ

Mr. And Mrs. Walter And Laurel Karabian
Donate Valuable Artifacts
To The Western Diocese

We are pleased to announce to the faithful of the Western
Diocese that Mr. and Mrs. Walter and Laurel Karabian have donated the
following precious manuscripts and miniature artifacts to the newly
established Diocesan Museum.

– Four Miniatures from a Gospel Book on Paper (Possibly Crimea,
17th Century)
The Presentation in the Temple with Simeon holding the Christ Child with
Mary and Joseph; the Raising of Lazarus; the Transfiguration; St. Luke
in his study writing the Gospel

– Four Full-Page Miniatures from an Armenian Gospel Book on
Paper, By the Artist Toros Sarkaway, ^ÓThe Deacon^Ô (Tabriz, 1311)
Two leaves, each with full page miniatures, includes self portrait and
signature of Artist.

– Four Gospels, in Armenian, Written by the Scribe Georg
(Istanbul, 1376)
Decorated manuscript on paper, 271 leaves

– Psalter, in Armenian, Manuscript on Vellum (Armenia, ca. 1453)
Contains fragments of the Gospel of St. john, from the 17th or 18th
century

– Four Gospels, in Armenian, Written by the scribe Boghos

– Four Gospels, in Armenian, Written by the scribe Mkrtich
(Armenia, 17th Century)

– Four Gospels, in Armenian, Manuscript on Paper (Caesarea, ca.
1743)

– Encyclical from the Catholicos Epremlst Jorageyc I to Sir
Robert Porter (Constantinople, April 15, 1820)
Letter with decorative border in silver and gold ink, with the personal
seal of the Catholicos in the middle.

We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation and
gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Karabian for their generous donation of the
precious items to the newly established Diocesan Museum.

Adrienne Krikorian, Esq. represents
Western Diocese at
Eastern Diocesan Assembly

Diocesan Council member Adrienne Krikorian, Esq. recently represented
the Western Diocese at the 102nd Assembly of the Delegates of the
Eastern Diocese, sponsored by St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian
Church in White Plains, New York. Ms. Krikorian was warmly received as
a guest of the Eastern Diocese by His Eminence Khajag Barsamian and the
delegates of the Assembly.

On Friday, April 30, 2004 Ms. Krikorian participated in educational
roundtable discussions with the clergy and delegates on the theme topic
of Stewardship. The discussions proved informative and useful as the
Western Diocese has recently reorganized its Stewardship program and is
preparing to embark on a campaign of Stewardship in the coming year.

On Friday evening Ms. Krikorian attended a delicious buffet mezza/dinner
and a delightfully entertaining program sponsored by St. Gregory the
Illuminator Church in White Plains. Performances by talented Armenians
entertained guests well into the evening, and were followed by a dessert
buffet prepared by the parishioners.

Ms. Krikorian delivered greetings to the Assembly on Saturday May 1 from
His Eminence Hovnan Derderian. She spoke to the delegates about the
Western Diocese’s year of growth and reorganization following the
election of His Eminence. She congratulated the 102nd Assembly on the
purchase of its new Ararat Youth and Retreat Center, and encouraged the
delegates to support the budding leadership of Armenian youth, who she
stated are the future of the Church.

Ms. Krikorian attended sessions of meetings of the Assembly and the
Women’s Guild. The common goals and missions of the two Dioceses gave
Ms. Krikorian an opportunity to share ideas with leaders of the Eastern
Diocese, and to bring back similar input for the Western Diocese
Diocesan Council.

A gala banquet ended the Assembly on Saturday evening, including
entertainment by the Shushi Dancers of St. Vartan Cathedral, and the
presentation of awards to Rabbi Arthur Scheier and Armenian author
Vartan Gregorian.

Ms. Krikorian attended Badarak on Sunday at St. Gregory the Enlightener
before returning to Los Angeles. On behalf of the Western Diocese Ms.
Krikorian extended her thanks and gratitude to his Eminence, the
delegates of the 102nd Assembly of the Eastern Diocese, and the
parishioners of St. Gregory the Illuminator for their warm reception.

DIVAN OF THE DIOCESE

May 22, 2004
Burbank, California

U.S. citizen killed in Armenian capital

Associated Press Worldstream
May 18, 2004 Tuesday

YEREVAN, Armenia — A U.S. citizen was stabbed to death in the Armenian
capital, officials said Tuesday.

Armenian police said the victim’s body was found in downtown Yerevan
on Monday night with signs of beating and three stab wounds.

The U.S. Embassy identified the victim as Joshua Haglund. An Embassy
spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the victim
had taught at Yerevan’s Linguistics University, under the aegis of
the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Fellow program.

“We are shocked and saddened by his death,” she said.

She said she had no information on Haglund’s age or hometown.

An official with the Armenian Prosecutor General’s office, who asked
not be named, said that the killing had “personal motives” and voiced
hope that perpetrators could be quickly found.

Forgotten Christians: Not All Displaced Palestinians are Muslims,
by Anders Strindberg

UN Observer
May 18 2004

2004-05-18 | “The Palestinian Christians see themselves, and are seen
by their Muslim compatriots, as an integral part of the Palestinian
people, and they have long been a vital part of the Palestinian
struggle. As the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, the Reverend Riah Abu
al-Assal has explained, ‘The Arab Palestinian Christians are part and
parcel of the Arab Palestinian nation. We have the same history, the
same culture, the same habits and the same hopes.'”

Introduction by Jude Wanniski: The Christian Palestinians.

I’ve noted before the high quality of Pat Buchanan’s weekly magazine,
The American Conservative, which he co-publishes with Scott
McConnell. There is always at least one piece in each issue that by
itself is worth the price of admission, and always several worth
reading. The current May 24 issue offers this dazzling piece by
Anders Strindberg on a major missing piece to the Middle East puzzle.
Read it and you can begin to see why the most important barrier to
peace in the Middle East is neither Arab nor Jew, but a Christian
Zionist from Houston named Tom DeLay. Yes, the American Jewish
Political Establishment has a powerful lobby in Washington, but it
would not be nearly as powerful if it did not have the leverage of
the born-again fundamentalists.

Jude Wanniski

The following article is republished in conjunction with

Forgotten Christians
Not all displaced Palestinians are Muslims.
By Anders Strindberg

Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is playing to full houses in
the Syrian capital Damascus. Watching it here turns out to be much
the same as watching it on opening night in New York – customarily
rowdy moviegoers observe a reverent silence, the usual sound of candy
wrappers is replaced by sobbing and gasping, and, at the end of it
all, the audience files out of the theater in silence and
contemplation. Many of those watching the movie on this occasion are
Palestinian Christian refugees whose parents or grandparents were
purged from their homeland – the land of Christ – at the foundation of
Israel in 1948. For them the movie has an underlying symbolic meaning
not easily perceived in the West: not only is it a depiction of the
trial, scourging, and death of Jesus, it is also a symbolic depiction
of the fate of the Palestinian people. “This is how we feel,” says
Zaki, a 27-year old Palestinian Christian whose family hails from
Haifa. “We take beating after beating at the hands of the world, they
crucify our people, they insult us, but we refuse to surrender.”

At the time of the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, it is
estimated that the Christians of Palestine numbered some 350,000.
Almost 20 percent of the total population at the time, they
constituted a vibrant and ancient community; their forbears had
listened to St. Peter in Jerusalem as he preached at the first
Pentecost. Yet Zionist doctrine held that Palestine was “a land
without a people for a people without a land.” Of the 750,000
Palestinians that were forced from their homes in 1948, some 50,000
were Christians – 7 percent of the total number of refugees and 35
percent of the total number of Christians living in Palestine at the
time.

In the process of “Judaizing” Palestine, numerous convents, hospices,
seminaries, and churches were either destroyed or cleared of their
Christian owners and custodians. In one of the most spectacular
attacks on a Christian target, on May 17, 1948, the Armenian Orthodox
Patriarchate was shelled with about 100 mortar rounds – launched by
Zionist forces from the already occupied monastery of the Benedictine
Fathers on Mount Zion. The bombardment also damaged St. Jacob’s
Convent, the Archangel’s Convent, and their appended churches, their
two elementary and seminary schools, as well as their libraries,
killing eight people and wounding 120.

Today it is believed that the number of Christians in Israel and
occupied Palestine number some 175,000, just over 2 percent of the
entire population, but the numbers are rapidly dwindling due to mass
emigration. Of those who have remained in the region, most live in
Lebanon, where they share in the same bottomless misery as all other
refugees, confined to camps where schools are under-funded and
overcrowded, where housing is ramshackle, and sanitary conditions are
appalling. Most, however, have fled the region altogether. No
reliable figures are available, but it is estimated that between
100,000 and 300,000 Palestinian Christians currently live in the U.S.

The Palestinian Christians see themselves, and are seen by their
Muslim compatriots, as an integral part of the Palestinian people,
and they have long been a vital part of the Palestinian struggle. As
the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, the Reverend Riah Abu al-Assal has
explained, “The Arab Palestinian Christians are part and parcel of
the Arab Palestinian nation. We have the same history, the same
culture, the same habits and the same hopes.”

Yet U.S. media and politicians have become accustomed to thinking of
and talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one in which an
enlightened democracy is constantly forced to repel attacks from
crazy-eyed Islamists bent on the destruction of the Jewish people and
the imposition of an Islamic state. Palestinians are equated with
Islamists, Islamists with terrorists. It is presumably because all
organized Christian activity among Palestinians is non-political and
non-violent that the community hardly ever hits the Western
headlines; suicide bombers sell more copy than people who congregate
for Bible study.

Lebanese and Syrian Christians were essential in the conception of
Arab nationalism as a general school of anti-colonial thought
following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the
20th century. During the 1930s, Hajj Amin al-Hussein, the leader of
the Palestinian struggle against the British colonialists, surrounded
himself with Christian advisors and functionaries. In the 1950s and
’60s, as the various factions that were to form the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) emerged, some of the most prominent
militants were yet again of Christian origin. For instance, George
Habash, a Greek Orthodox medical doctor from al-Lod, created the Arab
Nationalists’ Movement and went on to found the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine. Naif Hawatmeh, also Greek Orthodox, from
al-Salt in Jordan, founded and still today heads up the Democratic
Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Among those better regarded in
the West, Hannan Ashrawi, one of the Palestinian Authority’s most
effective spokespersons, is a Christian.

In fact, over the decades, many of the rank and file among the
secular nationalist groups of the PLO have been Christians who have
seen leftist nationalist politics as the only alternative to both
Islamism and Western liberalism, the former objectionable because of
its religiously exclusive nature, the latter due to what is seen by
many as its inherent protection of Israel and the Zionist project.

Among the remnant communities in Palestine, most belong to the
traditional Christian confessions. The largest group is Greek
Orthodox, followed by Catholics (Roman, Syrian, Maronite, and
Melkite), Armenian Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans. There is also
a small but influential Quaker presence. These communities are
centered in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, and
Ramallah.

For them, the conflict with Israel is quite obviously not about
Islamism contra enlightenment but simply about resistance against
occupation. To be sure, there have been periods of tension between
the Christian communities and members of the Islamist groups, yet to
many Christian Palestinians the Islamist movements have emerged by
default as the heroes in the conflict with Israel. Following the
incremental atrophy of leftist ideals, the Islamists are seen as the
only ones who are willing and able to fight the occupation. The
Lebanese Hezbollah, widely seen as a nonsectarian organization that
is able to cooperate with people of all faiths, is particularly
admired both among the refugees in Lebanon as well as those who
remain in Palestine. “We have received far more support and comfort
from the Hezbollah in Lebanon than from our fellow Christians in the
West,” remarked one Christian Palestinian refugee in Damascus. “I
want to know, why don’t the Christians in the West do anything to
help us? Are the teachings of Jesus nothing but empty slogans to
them?”

This is a justified and important question, but the answer is not
straightforward. The Catholic Church has, in fact, long argued for an
end to the Israeli occupation and for improvement of the
Palestinians’ situation. The leaders of the Eastern Orthodox churches
have taken similar, often more strongly worded positions. Likewise,
many Lutheran and Calvinist churches run organizations and programs
that seek to ease the suffering of the Palestinians and draw
attention to the injustices with which they are faced. Usually
working within strictly religious frames of reference, however, their
impact on the political situation has been minimal.

This political limitation has not applied to those parts of the
Evangelical movement that have adopted Zionism as a core element of
their religious doctrine. Christian Zionists in the U.S. are
currently organized in an alliance with the pro-Israel lobby and the
neoconservative elements of the Republican Party, enabling them to
put significant pressure on both the president and members of
Congress. In fact, they are among the most influential shapers of
policy in the country, including individuals such as Ralph Reed, Pat
Robertson, and Jerry Falwell, and groups such as the National Unity
Coalition for Israel, Christians for Israel, the International
Christian Embassy Jerusalem, and Chosen People Ministries.

Christian Zionism is an odd thing on many levels. A key tenet of
Christian Zionism is absolute support for Israel, whose establishment
and existence, it is believed, heralds Armageddon and the second
coming of Christ. The politically relevant upshot of this is that
without Israel’s expansion there can be no redemption, and those who
subscribe to this interpretation are only too eager to sacrifice
their Palestinian fellow Christians on the altar of Zionism. They do
not want to hear about coreligionists’ suffering at the hands of
Israel.

Israeli and Jewish American leaders have until recently kept their
distance from the Christian Zionist movement. But Beltway alliance
politics coupled with a sharp turn to the right among American Jewish
organizations since Israel began its onslaught on Palestinians in
September 2000, has driven them into each other’s arms.

One of the most potent forces behind the Evangelical Zionist
influence in Washington is Tom DeLay, leader of the Republican
majority in the House. DeLay insists that his devotion to Israel
stems from his faith in God, which allows him a clear understanding
of the struggle between good and evil. Be that as it may, he is also
able to cash in financially and politically from his position. Part
of DeLay’s growing influence within the Republican Party stems from
the fact that his campaign committees managed to raise an impressive
$12 million in 2001-2002. Washington Post writer Jim VandeHei
suggested, “In recent years, DeLay has become one of the most
outspoken defenders of Israel and has been rewarded with a surge of
donations from the Jewish community.”

In Oct. 2002, Benny Elon, Sharon’s minister of tourism and a staunch
advocate of a comprehensive purge of Palestinians from the Holy Land,
appeared with DeLay at the Washington convention of the Christian
Coalition. Crowds waved Israeli flags as Elon cited Biblical
authority for this preferred way of dealing with the pesky
Palestinians. DeLay, in turn, received an enthusiastic welcome when
he called for activists to back pro-Israel candidates who “stand
unashamedly for Jesus Christ.” In July 2003, Tom DeLay traveled to
Israel and addressed the Knesset, telling the assembled legislators
that he was an “Israeli at heart.” The Palestinians “have been
oppressed and abused,” he said, but never by Israel, only by their
own leaders. DeLay received a standing ovation.

Christians find themselves under the hammer of the Israeli occupation
to no less an extent than Muslims, yet America – supposedly a Christian
country – stands idly by because its most politically influential
Christians have decided that Palestinian Christians are acceptable
collateral damage in their apocalyptic quest. “To be a Christian from
the land of Christ is an honor,” says Abbas, a Palestinian Christian
whose family lived in Jerusalem for many generations until the purge
of 1948. “To be expelled from that land is an injury, and these
Zionist Christians in America add insult.”

Abbas is one of the handful of Palestinian Christians that could be
described as Evangelical, belonging to a group that appears to be
distantly related to the Plymouth Brethren. Cherishing the role of
devil’s advocate, I had to ask him, “Is the State of Israel not in
fact the fulfillment of God’s promise and a necessary step in the
second coming of Christ?” Abbas looked at me briefly and laughed.
“You’re kidding, right? You know what they do to our people and our
land. If I thought that was part of God’s plan, I’d be an atheist in
a second.”

Anders Strindberg is an academic and a journalist specializing in
Mideast politics.

Azeri government powerless to Karabakh, Uzbek mobile phone agreement

Yeni Musavat, Baku
9 May 04

Text of information section report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni
Musavat on 9 May entitled “Ilham Aliyev’s Uzbekistan ‘successes'”,
and subheaded “Azerbaijan so far cannot manage to stop communication
between this country’s mobile companies and Karabakh’s occupying
regime”

The government of Azerbaijani cannot stop roaming communication
[agreements which allow mobile telephone users to use partner networks
abroad] between Uzbekistan-based Daewoo Unitel mobile company and the
Karabakh Telecom company owned by the Nagornyy Karabakh separatists.

Let us recall that the South Korean Daewoo Unitel joint stock
company and Uzbekistan’s Coscom and SP Uzdunrobita mobile companies
have established roaming communication with Karabakh Telecom since
2003. The Azerbaijani government has only reacted to this issue
recently, and Ekho newspaper reports that official Baku is trying
to stop communication between the Uzbek companies and the Karabakh
separatists through diplomatic channels.

The Azerbaijani ambassador to Uzbekistan, Aydin Azimbayov, has already
met the Daewoo Unitel management and sent official protest notes to
the Uzbek and South Korean governments. However, his efforts have
not yielded results.

The intriguing point is that Baku’s endeavours to stop communication
between the Uzbek and Karabakh companies is occurring after Ilham
Aliyev’s state visit to Uzbekistan and yielded no results. Despite
the fact that an agreement b etween Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan rules
out the usage of their territories against each other.

Official propaganda spoke in depth of a “successful outcome” of
Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Uzbekistan. Obviously, Aliyev’s visit was so
“successful” that after it, Baku’s calls to the Uzbek government to
stop mobile companies’ contacts with the Karabakh separatists are
paid no heed.

This is also an indication of Aliyev’s influence as the president. If
Ilham Aliyev had concluded successful political negotiations in
Uzbekistan, the Uzbek government would have demonstrated efforts to
improve ties and overcome lukewarm relations between the countries.

Dogs Won’t Be Killed

A1 Plus | 13:58:49 | 10-05-2004 | Social |

Yerevan Vice-Mayor Arman Sahakyan has today met journalists at a
press conference. He announced there are about 10.000 stray animals
in Yerevan.

According to him, the stray dogs won’t be killed. They will be
injected, sterilized, cleansed and released.

“500-1000 animals in Yerevan can be sterilized daily”, Sahakyan says.

Armenian Government has allotted 20 million drams to solve the problem
of stray animals. But Vice-Mayor thinks it is not much.

He also informed that the cemeteries located intolerably near the
dwelling zones of Yerevan will be moved to new areas.

Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
May 7 2004

FM gives statement on Cyprus issue

BAKU – The position of members of the Azerbaijani parliament on the
Cyprus issue does not reflect that of the government and neither can
it be interpreted as a change in the relationship between Baku and
Ankara, a statement issued Wednesday by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs read.

The statement printed in the state-run Azerbaijan daily newspaper on
Thursday said nothing can besmirch the relationship between the two
countries who are bound by centuries-old historical, cultural,
language and other ties.

Members of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe stated on Tuesday that they intentionally
did not show up at PACE’s 29 April meeting, which denied Turkish
Cypriots a right to be represented at the Parliamentary Assembly.
Head of the delegation, Samad Seyidov said they did not attend the
meeting in order to protect Azerbaijan’s interests.

Voting against the PACE resolution that urged Turkish Cypriots to
attend the Parliamentary Assembly meetings as `integrated’ with the
Greeks Cypriots, would set up a new precedent under which all
unrecognized republics, including Nagorno (Daghlig)-Karabakh, could
demand representation at PACE, Seyidov said.

The foreign ministry statement said Azerbaijan has always been for a
fair solution of the Cyprus problem, and supports the activities of
the United Nations, European Union and the Council of Europe to help
settle the problem.

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 28 2004

PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA TO DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH
CONFLICT IN WARSAW

BAKU, April 28 (RIA Novosti) – Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
and Robert Kocharyan of Armenia will discuss ways of settling the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Wednesday, April 28, in Warsaw.

Aliyev and Kocharyan had arrived in Warsaw on the day before to
attend a European economic summit.

The Azeri president is to have a two-hour meeting with the Armenian
president. Besides, on Wednesday evening, Aliyev will also meet with
co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh from the US,
Russia and France.

(The Armenian-Azeri armed conflict over who shall own
Nagorno-Karabakh – an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan – flared up
in the last years of existence of the Soviet Union and continued for
almost five years. Nagorno-Karabakh’s armed forces (read Armenia’s)
succeeded in assuming control over up to 20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s
territory and practically dictated armistice terms to Baku, with more
than a million Azeris becoming refugees. All the subsequent years up
to the present the situation in the region could be characterised by
one word – neither peace, nor war. The self-proclaimed republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh, sensing Yerevan’s support – incidentally, the
current president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan is a native of
Nagorno-Karabakh who made his political career thanks precisely to
successful operations in the course of the conflict – in no way wants
to return to Azerbaijan’s constitutional field, although Baku is
prepared to grant it the widest autonomy. Nor have the efforts of the
OSCE Minsk group brought any tangible results.

Aliyev will make a report at the European Economic Summit and dwell
on economic reforms being carried out in Azerbaijan, the country’s
role in the implementation of large-scale projects in the region, and
regional cooperation.

In addition, the president of Azerbaijan is also scheduled to meet
with his Georgian opposite number Mikhail Saakashvili to supposedly
discuss bilateral Georgian-Azeri relations and construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

On Wednesday, Aliyev will leave Warsaw for Strasbourg to attend a
spring PACE session, where on Thursday, April 29, he will address it.
The session is devoted to Azerbaijan’s implementation of its
obligations to the Council of Europe.

Belfast News Letter (Northern Ireland)
April 26, 2004, Monday

LIFESTYLE: ARE WE READY FOR THE TRUTH

THE prospect of a truth commission to explore what really happened
during the Troubles has once again been raised after the Cory
reports. On the eve of Freedom Day in South Africa, ROSS SMITH asks
whether a process that helped heal that troubled country’s wounds can
have the same success here.

WITH the publication of the Cory reports, the question of whether to
set up a truth commission for Northern Ireland has once again been
raised.

Policing Board chairman Des Rea has said it should be the way forward
for dealing with the huge number of cases in which families of
victims still want to learn the full facts of what happened.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry has only just finished its hearings, four
public inquiries are to begin as a result of Judge Cory’s
recommendations, while a number of cases dating back to the Troubles
are being looked into by the Police Ombudsman.

As more and more people seek answers, it is believed by many that an
over-arching process to look into the whole violent history would be
the best way to deal with the past.

University of Ulster sociology professor Bill Rolston says weaknesses
in the criminal justice system create a need for a commission.

He believes the system does not have the resources to cope with the
backlog of unsolved cases people wish to see investigated, and that
it has in the past been “skewed” in terms of how it has dealt with
republicans, loyalists and state forces.

“I’m not into necessarily making Hugh Orde’s job easier,” he says.

“If getting the truth means making his job harder then so be it. But
it seems to me the criminal justice system as we know it here cannot
handle the past and cannot handle impunity.”

However, Brandon Hamber, a South Africanborn researcher now working
in Belfast, warns against launching a commission for “pragmatic”
reasons.

There has to be a desire to deal with the past and then a belief that
a truth commission will be beneficial – not simply a wish to save
spending further millions on the back of the Saville Inquiry, or to
make life easier for the PSNI. Experts argue there is no chance of a
truth commission working without broad agreement about its form.

Mr Hamber stresses: “What’s needed is a really large scale debate
about this, so you get to that consensus driven approach.

“It couldn’t be something which is just invented by a few academics
and foisted upon society. It will not work if that’s the case.

“The starting point is not for some model to be cooked up behind
closed doors.”

What has not happened in Northern Ireland is the clear discrediting
of a government or system of government that has occurred in just
about every other society prior to a truth commission being set up.

Bill Rolston points out: “The truth commission in South Africa was
uder the auspices of a new majority government with a charismatic
chairperson. The truth commissions in China and Argentina were set up
by civilian geovernments after a military overthrow. The Rwandan
truth commission was handled by international NGOs. El Salvador was
the UN.

“In all sorts of ways you can say it’s clear they had broken with the
past and the previous governments were discredited.

“Have we a reguime change here? Are we in a transition to reguime
change, or will there never be one? At the very least it’s
premature.”

The notion of amnesty for terrorists is a massive stumbling block for
many victims. In South Africa this was offered on the basis that
perpetrators told the whole truth. A separate committee was set up to
decide on amnesty applications before witnesses gave evidence to the
truth commission.

But the South Africa model need not – and could not – be replicated
in a different context in Northern Ireland, says Bill Rolston.

He suggests the principle focus here ought to be investigation rather
than reconciliation.

That was a view taken by the Eolas project, a consultation on truth
and justice which Prof Rolston worked on. Its idea was for a
committee to gather complaints and questions put by people who
believe they have been wronged by bodies including paramilitary
groups, the RUC and the army. Separate investigators would be tasked
to put these matters to each group.

The committee would then publish a report in which it would evaluate
the quality of the answers given.

Prof Rolston says: “It seems to me something like that could actually
work. This does not require people to stand up in public and deny
what they did. Nobody loses face. Nobody has to back down in public.

“If the committee has a crosscommunity legitimacy, it could work. It
seems to me an imaginative way to try to deal with the issues, given
the problems of trying to have a reconciliation model.”

But Hanif Valley, the national legal officer of South Africa’s Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, explains the value of a system in
which people are prepared to publicly admit what they have done.
“People can’t deny something happened when the person who did it came
to apply for amnesty for what he did,” he explains.

The reality of what a truth commission could do is probably a long
way from many people’s expectations. While the South African
commission dealt with a host of individual cases, Brandon Hamber
cautions that no one should expect that every detail of what happened
in their own particular situation will be brought to light.

“You might not get the exact specifics about who did what to whom,”
he says. “It’s very different to an individualised judicial process.

“You could go for individual cases through the courts, but how much
broad structural truth are you going to get, and how many people will
actually go through that process? If you go for a commission, you
sacrifice that level of specifics.”

Nor should anyone expect that Northern Ireland’s communities will
instantly be reconciled after a commission.

“There’s a perception that victims meet perpetrators, everybody says
sorry, has a big hug and cry and the world’s better for it,” says
Bill Rolston.

“I think reconciliation is the end of a process but we cannot
engineer it. We cannot orchestrate it.”

When it comes to the experience in South Africa, Hanif Valley adds:
“We have always maintained that reconciliation is a process. It’s not
ended yet and it’s not something that is going to happen overnight.”

And what people certainly cannot expect is that they will be able to
sit back and watch others being embarrassed by their past actions.

Brandon Hamber explains that society as a whole was put under the
microscope in South Africa, not merely the individuals who were
directly responsible for human rights abuses.

“Anyone who thinks this is an easy option is very mistaken,” he says.

“If you read through the role of the South African commission, for
example, it looks at the way you couldn’t understand human rights
violations without looking at the role of business in cosying up with
the state, or look at churches, or look at the media.

“In the last decade, truth commissions have been much more about
looking at society and try to understand the causes in a much wider
forum than a court would.”

But as the debate continues, Bill Rolston is sure that sooner or
later, some form of commission has to be set up – otherwise the past
will always linger.

He concludes: “Whether it’s Hugh Orde’s professional problems or
Geraldine Finucane’s need for closure or whatever, or whether it’s
victims’ need for acknowledgement, it will not go away.

“That’s the evidence of every single other past conflict.

“In Spain, the grandchildren of people who were disappeared by Franco
are now demanding to know the truth.

“Armenians still want the truth told about how they were slaughtered
by the Turks.

“There is an organisation in Russia trying to get at the truth of
what Stalin did.

“I just think at a social level, never mind an individual level, you
can’t draw a line under the past or think about doing so. It’s
something that has to be confronted, if it’s now or later.”