Author: Kharatian Ani

CONFUSION AS POLICE CONFRONT ARMENIAN

The Nation (Kenya)
Mar 15, 2006

One of the Armenian brothers at the centre of claims and counter
claims by the Government and Orange politicians yesterday refused
to allow police into his rented home and rebuffed their attempts to
persuade him to record a statement.

Mr Artur Margaryan told the squad of eight police officers who went
to his home in Runda, an upmarket Nairobi estate, that they should
either arrest him or produce a search warrant before he could cooperate
with them.

The police, headed by Runda police station boss Jeremiah Langat,
left the house after receiving a telephone call from a senior officer
ordering them to return to their base.

The eight had gone to House 977 on Glory Road, off Runda Grove, as
an advance team to provide security for detectives investigating the
activities of Mr Margaryan and his brother, Mr Artur Sargsyan.

Mr Margaryan was to have been interviewed by Nairobi deputy
provincial CID chief Isaiah Osugo, who was appointed last week by
police commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali to investigate claims by
Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga that the brothers were mercenaries.

Mr Osugo did not go to the house after his advance team was denied
entry.

However, Mr Margaryan later emerged from the compound and chatted with
journalists as Mr Langat, his deputy and three armed police officers
in uniform returned to the house. When Mr Margaryan saw the officers,
he cut short his impromptu Press conference and called someone on
the mobile phone who rushed to open the compound gate.

During his brief talk to the journalists outside his gate, Mr Margaryan
confirmed the police had gone to his house in the morning and that
he would neither leave nor allow the police into the house unless
they had either an arrest warrant for him or a search warrant.

Mr Margaryan repeated his claims that he had in the past met Mr
Odinga. He said it was between December 13 and 15, last year in Dubai,
when he allegedly gave him the equivalent of Sh100,000 in UAE currency
(dirham), to spend as he wished.

He said his brother would be returning to Kenya next week.

He went on: “I will go to court as well as demand protection from
the Government because it was my right to ask for protection.”

Mr Margaryan acknowledged that his company Brotherlink International
Ltd had entered into a contract in January this year to rent the
house. His company was involved in various businesses including car
imports, electronics and real estate.

He further denied having ever visited State House or having met any
senior police officers.

Meanwhile, State House last night warned Mr Odinga against dragging
the presidency into the mercenary claims.

It said in a statement that allegations that the two men alleged
to be mercenaries had visited State House on two occasions in the
recent past were part of a “propaganda war” by Mr Odinga and other
politicians in the ODM .

Asked who allowed him and his brother to hold a Press conference at the
VIP lounge at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mr Margaryan
claimed it was the journalists themselves who had diverted them to
the lounge as they were walking to the first class lounge.

But when journalists, some of whom were at the Press conference
protested they did not have such powers, he contradicted himself,
saying it was his lawyers Mr Antony Macharia and Mr Fred Ngatia who
had arranged the Press conference.

Mr Macharia, who had arrived earlier, declined to comment. He
also refused to say where or when a Press conference promised by
Mr Margaryan would take place saying he could do that only after
receiving instructions from him.

Asked to explain why his brother’s particulars were missing from the
passenger manifest on the flight he claimed he had taken from Dubai to
Kenya, he said all passengers from Arab countries used their mothers’
names and not their own or their fathers’.

He promised to avail the manifest during the forthcoming Press
conference.

After his brief chat with the journalists, Mr Margaryan returned to
his compound and later drove off in a dark blue Subaru whose number
plates were hidden behind strips of cardboard. He was accompanied by
a woman who on Monday he claimed was his bodyguard.

Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)

HUNGARY DOES NOT ATTRIBUTE POLITICAL IMPLICATION TO MURDER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.03.2006 21:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Latest trial in Budapest did not leave any chances
to the Azeri party, stated Hayk Demoyan, Armenian Defense Ministry’s
representative on the case of murder of an Armenian officer. In his
words, the murder is qualified as a purely criminal one in Hungary,
without any political implication.

“Within past two years the Azeri party constantly tried to politicize
the case, trying to document that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
had allegedly served as the cause of the murder. Safarov’s lawyer
Adil Ismaylov tried to pass some documents to the judge, which were
officially returned to him with an accompanying letter that expressed
refusal to consider the package during the trial,” Demoyan said.

In his words, Turkey is very interested in soonest possible completion
of the trial, as Safarov was trained in military camps of Northern
Cyprus and Turkey will be exposed to risk if it is known.

Meanwhile, Demoyan remarked that Armenian media and individual
politicians paid too much attention to Safarov and made a number of
irresponsible statements, which hampered Hungary. “For two years we
passed the control at the Budapest airport without difficulty, while
this time we were searched for arms. This is due to a word carelessly
thrown,” the Armenian MOD representative said.

PHOTO EXHIBTION OF ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN, AZERBAIJANI AND TURKISH PHOTOGRAPHERS TO BE HELD IN TURKEY

YEREVAN, MARCH 6.ARMINFO. The participants of “Caucasus
Neighbourhood. Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Georgians and Turks” workshop
agreed to initiate the photo exhibition of the Armenian, Azerbaijani,
Georgian and Turkish photographers in Turkey.Ulrike Dufner, director
of the Istanbul based Heinrich-Boll-Foundation, said about this.

It’s worth mentioning that the delegation of Azerbaijani participants
of the workshop have refuses to visit Yerevan.

OFFICIALS SLAM EUROPEAN MPS

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
March 9 2006

Tensions remain high over the recent decision by European MPs to
condemn the alleged desecration of graves in the Azeri exclave, as
officials say it was based on false information and could even have
a toll on the EU-Azerbaijan ties.

A presidential administration official has said a number of European
countries are not properly informed of certain issues and blamed
them for a bias. “We stated that the European Parliament’s decision
was unfair. Evidently, they either turn a blind eye to the processes
ongoing in Azerbaijan or have a biased attitude toward them,” said
head of the President’s Office international relations department
Novruz Mammadov.

Mammadov also blamed European MPs for failing to thoroughly study
the areas in question in order to properly assess the situation there.

“Over 1,000 historical and cultural monuments included in UNESCO’s
list have been razed to the ground in the occupied Azeri territories.

If the European Parliament members have been unable to conclude this
by now, this gives them no credit,” Mammadov added. The European
Parliament on February 16 condemned the alleged destruction of
tombstones in the Julfa town located in the Nakhchivan Autonomous
Republic, following Armenians’ groundless claims. A relevant resolution
passed in conclusion of the discussions with 85 voting for and five
against the document said Azerbaijan should provide conditions for
European parliamentarians to visit the territories.

“The document is not based on any facts and is groundless,”
parliament speaker Ogtay Asadov told a parliamentary session last
week. Asadov said he conveyed his opinion to the delegation of
European MPs who have recently visited Azerbaijan. The country,
which is home to people of different ethnic origins and creeds,
has some 3,500 cultural and historical monuments that are cared for
by the state, he said. “We maintain constructive relations with all
international organizations working in the field and will continue
to do so. Armenia, on the contrary, has inflicted damage worth
$7 billion to Azeri cultural heritage as a result of its policy
of occupation.” The speaker continued that historical monuments
belonging to Azerbaijanis and over 1,500 mosques have been destroyed
in Armenia. “At a time of intensifying talks on the Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict resolution, such a biased decision of the European
Parliament impedes seeking ways out of the problem and casts a shadow
on the EU-Azerbaijan relations.” Asadov said that the legislative body,
which emphasizes its interest in seeing the Garabagh problem resolved,
is hurting its own image among the Azeri public and complicates future
cooperation between the government and the EU.

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov blamed European MPs for failing to
take into account the data submitted by Azerbaijan and giving in to
the pressures by pro-Armenian groups. The Foreign Ministry ruled out
the possibility of a visit by an international mission to Nakhchivan.

In a letter sent to the European Parliament, it said that examination
of these areas by European MPs under the terms envisioned by the
mentioned resolution is out of the question. The Ministry also cited
concerns over the harsh wording of the document. ‘Independent decision’
The European Parliament’s resolution was not based on the opinion of
member countries but of independent deputies, the coordinator of the
European House in Baku Wolfgang Sporrer has said.

Sporrer said the deputies elected to the legislative body from 25
countries had a free mandate. In other words, they are not subordinated
to the political course of their respective governments.

“Members of the organization cannot be forced to adopt decisions. The
European Parliament makes decisions on a multitude of different
issues and quite often the opinions of its members do not dovetail
with those of their countries,” the diplomat said.

CEC ALLOCATES 285 DOLLARS FOR COVERING EXPENSES OF ELECTIONS OF JRAHOVIT VILLAGE COMMUNITY HEAD IN ARARAT MARZ

Noyan Tapan
Mar 09 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 9 sitting, the Armenian
government assigned the RA Minister of Finance and Economy to allocate
128 thousand 165 drams (about 285 USD) from the 2006 governmental
reserve fund to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Fund for the
purpose of covering the expenses on the preparation and holding of the
regular elections of the community head in the village of Jrahovit
(Ararat marz) held on March 5, 2006. NT was informed about it from
the RA Government Information and PR Department.

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE
March 11, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

REP. PALLONE EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED
OVER REPORTS OF AMB. EVANS’ WITHDRAWAL

— Co-Chairman of Congressional Armenian Caucus
Demands Explanation from the Secretary of State

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Co-Chairman of
the Armenian Issues Caucus, today expressed his extreme
disappointment to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over reports
that the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, is being
forced from office based upon truthful and forthright statements
last year about the Armenian Genocide.

In a March 10th letter, Rep. Pallone shared with the Secretary that
he is “outraged that the State Department is recalling Ambassador
Evans as retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.” He added that, “it is simply wrong for the
State Department to punish Ambassador Evans for statements he made
that are factually correct. Accordingly, I am asking you for an
explanation as to why Ambassador Evans was removed from his post. .
. This is the wrong message to send to the world. I look forward
to a timely response from your office.”

Speaking last year to an Armenian American gathering at the
University of California at Berkeley, Amb. Evans said, “I will
today call it the Armenian Genocide… I informed myself in depth
about it. I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow
citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem.
Today, as someone who has studied it… there’s no doubt in my mind
[as to] what happened . . . I think it is unbecoming of us, as
Americans, to play word games here. I believe in calling things by
their name.” Referring to the Armenian Genocide as “the first
genocide of the 20th century,” he said: “I pledge to you, we are
going to do a better job at addressing this issue.” Amb. Evans also
disclosed that he had consulted with a legal advisor at the State
Department who had confirmed that the events of 1915 were “genocide
by definition.”

Within days after his remarks and the conclusion of a speaking tour
of Armenian American communities, Ambassador Evans was apparently
forced to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the
Armenian Genocide were his personal views and did not represent a
change in U.S. policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this
statement, replacing a reference to the Genocide with the word
“tragedy.”

Later last year, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA),
in recognition of his honesty and commitment to principle, decided
to honor Ambassador Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,”
recognizing creative thinking and intellectual courage within the
Foreign Service. Sadly, as Washington Post staff writer Glenn
Kessler revealed on June 9th, AFSA withdrew its award following
pressure from “very serious people from the State Department.”

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a letter sent to Secretary Rice
earlier this week, wrote that, “the prospect that a U.S. envoy’s
posting – and possibly his career – has been cut short due to his
honest and accurate description of a genocide is profoundly
offensive to American values and U.S. standing abroad –
particularly in light of President Bush’s call for moral clarity in
the conduct of our international affairs.”

The ANCA letter also urged Secretary Rice to respond in a timely
manner to the series of written questions on this matter submitted
on February 16th by Congressman Adam Schiff during her testimony
before the House International Relations Committee. Among these
questions was a specific request that the Secretary assure the
Committee that the Department of State has not taken – and will not
take – any punitive action against Ambassador Evans for speaking
out about the Armenian Genocide.

The full text of Rep. Pallone’s letter is provided below.

#####

March 10, 2006

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with the reports
of the State Department’s decision to withdraw Ambassador John
Evans from Armenia. Based on news reports, I am outraged that the
State Department is recalling Ambassador Evans as retaliation for
statements he made in recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

I am sure you are aware of courageous public statements Ambassador
Evans made last year in response to a question about the tragic
events that began in 1915, “I will today call it the Armenian
Genocide.”

Ambassador Evans is an expert on the subject. He has studied the
history of Armenia, and based on his substantial studies of the
issue, he was willing to go on the record and define the systematic
extermination of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children as
genocide.

To this day, the Republic of Turkey refuses to acknowledge the fact
that this massive crime against humanity took place on soil under
its control, and in the name of Turkish nationalism.
Unfortunately, some 90 years later, the U.S. State Department
continues to support Turkey’s denials despite all evidence to the
contrary.

It is simply unacceptable for this administration to continue to
penalize the ambassador for his comments. Ambassador Evans did a
courageous thing; his statements did not contradict U.S. policy,
but rather articulated the same message that this Administration
has sent to the public. The only difference in this case is that
Ambassador Evans assigned a word to define the actions taken
against the Armenians.

This was a refreshing break from a pattern on the part of the State
Department of using evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure
the full reality of the Armenian Genocide. Ambassador Evans
pointed out that, “No American official has ever denied it,” and
went on to say that, “I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our
fellow citizens a more frank and honest way of discussing this
problem.”

Ambassador Evans was merely recounting the historical record, which
has been attested to by over 120 Holocaust and genocide scholars
from around the world.

I do not believe it is possible for any Ambassador to Armenia to
function with any credibility if he does not recognize the
genocide. Any representative of the United of States on the ground
in Armenia is faced with countless occasions where the genocide is
discussed or commemorated.

It is simply wrong for the State Department to punish Ambassador
Evans for statements he made that are factually correct.
Accordingly, I am asking you for an explanation as to why
Ambassador Evans was removed from his post.

I am outraged that the U.S. State Department is now penalizing
ambassadors for telling the truth. This is the wrong message to
send to the world. I look forward to a timely response from your
office.

Sincerely,

[signed]
FRANK PALLONE, JR.
Member of Congress

The Ombudsman of Georgia visited wounded Karen Baloyan

On 11th of March representatives of the Ombudsman of Georgia together with
the leaders of ACCG visited the Aramyants hospital #1 of Tbilisi, where
Karen Baloyan was placed after having been attacked on the 9th of March in
Tsalka together with the group of other ethnic Armenian residents of
Georgia.

The Public defender of Georgia Mr. Sozar Subari asked Mr. Baloyan about his
condition and also about the incident in Tsalka. Mr. Karen Baloyan stated
that neither he nor any of his friends were acquainted with the criminals
previously.

The Ombudsman’s Assistant Mr. Beka Mindiashvili had visited the scene of
crime in Tsalka and presented his opinion about the crime. Mr. Sozar Subari
offered his assistance to the victim of the attack and expressed hope for
prompt conclusion of the case and a fair punishment of the criminals
involved.

As previously reported, on the 9th of March at about 18:00 an armed attack
on ethnic Armenian residents of in the town of Tsalka of Georgia took place.

The attack happened in the town centre, after the young men have just
finished their tea in a cafe. Once the boys were about to get into their car
they were suddenly attacked. According to eye-witness testimonies and also a
testimony of one of the victims, there were about fifteen attackers and many
of them were armed with cold weapons. As a result of stabbing Mr. Gevorg
Gevorkyan, 23, was murdered and Mr. V. Sahakyan, 25, was wounded. Mr. Karen
Baloyan, 25, was transferred to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, where 7
hours after the injury he was placed in the Aramyants city Hospital #1.

Wounded into his left lung, Mr. Baloyan had to travel four hours on a car
on a wrecked motorway to get to the Hospital. In spite of significant loss
of blood and bad injuries his condition today is satisfactory.

© Armenia.ge
Armenian Cooperation Centre of Georgia
[email protected]

MANN: “SPRING OF 2006 IS IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN RESOLUTION OF NK CONFLICT”

Today, Azerbaijan
URL:
March 13 2006

“Spring of 2006 is an important milestone in the resolution of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict,” Steven Mann, the US Department of State Senior
Advisor for Eurasia Steven Mann, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair.

“We think we will achieve considerable results in 2006,” Mann stated
in Baku to local television channel ATV, Trend informs. During the
two-day visit to Baku he is scheduled to have meetings with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The discussions will focus on the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. He is also scheduled to hold meetings with the
representatives of civil society and entrepreneurs.

Mann is accompanied by Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian
Affairs Daniel Fried will travel to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia,
and Turkey.

On March 14-15, Assistant Secretary Fried will meet with senior
Georgian, March 15-16, Assistant Secretary Fried will hold meetings
in Yerevan with senior government officials to discuss our bilateral
relationship, democracy, and Nagorno Karabakh. On March 16, Assistant
Secretary Fried will depart for Ankara, Turkey, and will return to
the United States on Friday, March 17.

GARABAGH HIGH ON US OFFICIAL’S VISIT AGENDA

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on March 13 2006

Baku, March 10, AssA-Irada
The Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict is expected to
be high on the agenda of the visit to Azerbaijan by the US Department
of State Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel
Fried, who will visit Baku next week. Also to be discussed during the
visit are the results of the latest consultations of the mediating
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen held in Washington.

“The co-chairs decided after the latest meeting that they should meet
and review the results of the discussion. As you know, the situation is
quite complicated and requires frequent coordination,” Deputy Foreign
Minister and the Azerbaijani President’s Upper Garabagh negotiator,
Araz Azimov, has said. He said it was natural for the co-chairmen
not to have disclosed any information to the press.

“You never know how information will be interpreted and what course
events will take. I think the co-chairmen’s steps are justifiable.

They want to consult the parties to the conflict after the Washington
meeting,” Azimov added.

PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION PROTOCOL DEPARTMENT HEAD DIED IN ACCIDENT

Pan Armenian
17.10.2005 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 32-year-old Head of the Protocol Department of
President’s Administration Mamikon Tonoyan died in a car accident
October 15 at the northern-eastern entry to Yerevan. As the President’s
press center reported, the car Tonoyan was driving at a high speed
hit a border and turned over.

Tonoyan’s wife was taken to the hospital with fractures. The funeral
of Mamikon Tonoyan will take place today.