Author: Nalbandian Eduard

TELEPHONE TALKS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA DISCOVERED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 6 2006

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies had
enough facts proving that there were telephone talks between Azerbaijan
and Armenia. Minister Ali Abbasov told journalists about it (APA).

Saying that “These talks are heard by the National Security Ministry”,
the Minister added the talks are under surveillance of security bodies.

Mr.Abbasov also confirmed that there are links, exchange of ideas
and talks between Internet users of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Probably, it is argue or propaganda. If these services are contrary
to Azerbaijan’s national interests, the National Security Ministry
will found it out. These links are watched to a certain extent.

However, it is very difficult process. We supply the Security Ministry
with necessary means,” The Minister concluded.

PROBLEMS ARISING ANXIETY OF VIRAHAYOTS DIOCESE OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH DISCUSSED AT “ROUND TABLE” TAKEN PLACE IN TBILISI

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 04 2006

TBILISI, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Issues concerning
present problems of the Virahayots Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, particularly, concerning giving legal status and returning six
churches belonging to the diocese historically were discussed at the
March 30 “round table” held at the International Research Center of
Conflicts and Negotiations. Representatives of the Virahayots Diocese,
the Parliament of Georgia, the Ombudsman’s Office and of a number
of public organizations participated in the meeting. Presenting
the position of the Virahayots Diocese, Levon Isakhanian, the
Assistant of the diocesan primate on legal issues mentioned that the
diocese intends to sign a separate agreement with the Government
of Georgia, according to which, the diocese will be recognized a
legal body and its rights and obligations will be defined. Priest
Narek Ghushchian, the spiritual pastor of the Surb Gevorg church of
Tbilisi expressed anxiety relating to the negative approach of the
Georgian society towards the issue of returning the Armenian churches
of the diocese. He considered it to be also a wrong opinion created
towards the Armenian church. Van Bayburdian, an Armenian Deputy of the
Parliament of Georgia, the editor-in-chief of the “Vrastan” (Georgia)
newspaper expressed sorrow for aspersions and wrong interpretations
addressed to the Armenian Church and Armenian people by mass media
of Georgia. Speaking about giving the legal status to the diocese,
he attached importance to participation of the Georgian Orthodox
Church in that issue and mentioned that Ilya II Catholicos-Patriarch
of the Georgian Orthodox Church is for that traditional religions
of Georgia get legal status. According to Paata Gachechiladze,
a representative of the “Dar 21” public organization, changes made
in the Civil Code don’t correspond to present demands of the society
and aren’t able to regulate problems in which traditional religions
are interested. Appreciating the decision on making amendments, Beka
Mindiashvili, the representative of the Ombudsman’s Office of Georgia
emphasized that there are still a lot of things to do. “One of them
is giving back the six churches belonging to the Virahayots diocese
historically. These churches are under registration of the Ministry
of Culture, Monuments Protection and Sports of Georgia today. As for
the latter, the Ombudsman is ready to presented letter of reference
to the Minister,” he stated. Bishop Andreas Stoekl, the primate of the
Lutheran church participating in the “round table,” expressing sorrow
that the Government of Georgia doesn’t take steps in the direction of
regulating problems of church confessions of the country, stated: “This
may come to the thing that all of us address to the court of Strasbourg
and protect our rights there. In this case the Government will have
to subject to the decision of Strasbourg. Which is more purposeful? To
solve the problem willingly or to subject to anybody’s decision?”

Armenian scandal at UN

Hurriyet, Turkey
April 1 2006

A general sense of trouble was felt at the so-called “Genocide forum”
held at the United Nations, following Turkish Professor Turkkaya’s
disagreement with allegations by Armenians who had organized the
event. Turkkaya Ataov’s defense against the allegations caused the
unsettled behaviour. While the UN was staging an “Armenian show”,
a New York Times journalists attempted to prevent Prof. Ataov from
talking causing a scandal at the forum.

Armenians in the US attempted to take the notion of “genocide” to the
UN by organising the forum entitled, “Genocide: Then and Now. Lessons
Learnt in the 21st Century”. Political Affairs Assistant to UN General
Secretary Kofi Annan, Ibrahim Gambari’s name was also mentioned at the
forum co-organised by Armenian, Rwandan Ambassadors and the Armenian
General Benevolent Union.

However, on discovering that Turkey was targeted at the forum, Gambari
stated that his name was placed on the list of speakers by mistake,
and declined from making a speech.

Director of Genocide Research at the Zoryan Institute, Prof. Vahak
Dadrian, put forward that the Armenian massacre had begun with the
death of 200,000 Armenians during the reign of Abdulhmit. Dadrian also
claimed that militant Islamists systematically massacred Armenians
living in Anatolia, between 1918 and 1920.

Turkkaya Ataov, a Turkish Historian also attending the forum,
took the floor and asked, “You say that you are referring to secret
reports from German sources stating that Ottoman rulers gave orders
for genocide. You claim that the documents have been seen. Who has
seen these documents and where are they?” causing a stir.

The forum Chairman, New York Times journalist, Andrea Kannapell
attempted to stop Turkkaya Ataov from speaking. Ataov responded to this
by saying, “You are taking sides. Dadrian gave a 40-minute speech,
but you do not want someone of the opposite opinion to speak”, then
went on to describe the important place Armenians held in Ottoman
society, holding government positions amongst many others.

Following Kannapell’s second attempt to quiet Ataov, a group of
Armenians in the room began to scold him.

Directing his words at the Rwandan Ambassador, Ataov complained, “This
forum is just for show.” Turkkaya Ataov declared that the purpose of
the forum was to take this “supposed genocide” to a global platform.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 31 2006

Safar Abiyev: “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief will decide action
about regular cease-fire violations by Armenia”

[ 31 Mar. 2006 13:18 ]

“The cease-fire violation in the frontline has become regular. It is
broken more often in comparison with previous years,” Azerbaijan’s
Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev told journalists (APA).

Stressing that Armenians regularly fire on the positions of
Azerbaijan’s armed forces, Mr.Abiyev reminded the death of one more
Azerbaijani soldier yesterday.

Referring to response actions by Azerbaijani party, the Defense
Minister said, “The situation is very tense now. Azerbaijan’s Supreme
Commander-in-Chief will determine further processes and action to be
taken as response.”/APA/

POVERTY TO BE REDUCED BY ANOTHER 6% IN ARMENIA AS RESULT OF MILLENNIUM
CHALLENGE PROGRAM’S IMPLEMENTATION

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. As a result of the implementation
of the Millennium Challenge Program (US), poverty will be reduced
by another 6% in Armenia, while peasants’ incomes will increase by
34%. RA Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian stated
this at the March 31 press conference.

According to him, in 2004, the poverty level made 39% and in 2003 –
43% in Armenia. The compact on implementation of this 5-year program
worth 235.6 mln USD was signed by Vardan Khachatrian and Executive
Director of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) John Danilovich
on March 27 in Washington. Armenia became the 8th country to sign this
compact with the US. According to the minister, about 145 mln dollars
out of the indicated sum will be used for repairs of irrigation systems
and construction of new reservoirs, and about 67.1 mln dollars – for
reconstruction of 945 km of community roads, which makes up nearly 45%
of the so-called “roads of life”. The minister noted that the work
under the program will be carried out by the program implementtaion
offices (PIO) of the World Babk, and a financial supervision body will
be set up to implement financial control. V. Khachatrian expressed a
hope that all preparatory measures of the program will be finished
by August, after which the implementation of the program will
start. It is possible that work worth about 6 mln USD will be done
this year. V. Khachatrian considered the version of discontinuing the
program as unlikely, assuring that Armenia meets all the requirements
of the MCC and the country is increasingly improving its positions. It
was noted that John Danilovich arrives in Armenia on April 10-15.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS RECEIVES CO-CHAIRMEN OF DARTMOUTH
CONFERENCE WORKING GROUP ON NAGORNO KARABAKH

ECHMIADZIN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin
II received the Co-chairmen of Dartmouth Conference Working Group on
Nagorno Karabakh Issue, Vitaly Naumkin, Russian political scientist,
representative of the Center for Strategic Studies, and Harold
Sanders, Chairman of the International Institute of Continual Dialogue,
on March 30, in the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin. According to the
report provided to Noyan Tapan from the Information Services of the
Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, at the meeting the two Co-chairmen
presented their viewpoints on peaceful settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict mentioning that involvement of the public and
different public structures into the process of settlement, public
discussions and dialogues can greatly contribute to reestablishment of
peace. Karekin II touched upon the mission of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in the issue of conflict settlement and meetings of pastors
of the Armenian Church with the Azerbaijani spiritual leader.

NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIAN SIDE ON PRICE FOR GAS IMPORTED TO ARMENIA
STILL CONTINUE

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The negotiations with the Russian
side on the price for natural gas continue and it is not clear
yet when they will be over. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed
about it at about 2:00 pm, on March 31, by RA Ministry of Energy
Press Service. The same source neither refuted nor confirmed the
rumours that for the purpose of avoiding the growth in price for the
supplied gas Armenia gave Russia the 5th block of Hrazdan HPP and the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. Nevertheless, in response to the question,
if the above-mentioned variants are among the issues to be discussed,
they said at the Press Service: “There are many variants and they
will be made public only after achieving a final result”. To recap,
during the March 29 working meeting of RA President Robert Kocharian
and RA Minister of Energy Armen Movsisian it was decided to continue
the negotiations with the Russian side on gas price and to submit the
package of proposals to be formed at the end of them to the public
after coordinating it with the President. By the March 10 decision
of the Public Services Regulatory Commission a tariff for natural
gas higher than the previous one by 50% has been already set for the
population, 90 thousand drams for 1000 cubic meters of gas (about 200
USD, and a tariff higher by 85%, 146.5 USD, for big consumers). The
new tariffs will come into force on April 10.

“THE GREATEST DANGER FOR ARMENIAN IS FROM INSIDE,” AMERICAN ARMENIAN ANALYST FINDS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 28 2006

WASHINGTON, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The greatest
danger for Armenia isn’t from Turkey and Azerbaijan, but the
corruption is. Richard Giragosian, an independent political analyst
from Washington expressed this opinion. According to Radio Liberty,
the analyst also facted that Armenia was militarized and isolated after
the Karabakh war: “Georgia and Ukraine strive for Europe, Azerbaijan
for the Central Asia. In these conditions Armenia remains alone in
the region.” Richard Giragosian got such an expression from Armenia:
“I think that there are two Armenias: Yerevan and ouf of Yerevan.” In
the analyst’s opinion, there are two Armenians also in the sense
that in Armenia there are people grown rich and a stratum of poor
people: “This inner difference is very dangerous.” According to him,
supremacy of the law wasn’t established in Armenia, and the “powerful
one dictates the law.” According to the American Armenian analyst,
“the non-official opinion of Washington is that the revolutions
imlemented in some countries of the CIS with the ouside assistance were
premature, weren’t right. Now the opinion is that the movement must be
from inside and not by a stranger’s hand.” Richard Giragosian finds
that “the situation becomes difficult for America by the absence of
the opposition in Armenia. And untill the new opposition comes with
a new face, the state is hopeless.”

INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION

AZG Armenian Daily
29/03/2006

The Photo Competition of the Polish Press Photo Fund was held for the
first time. It included works of photographers from photo agencies,
magazines and newspapers. Over 5000 works of photographers from
various countries were exhibited at the competition.

The international jury chose 15 winner photographers from Iraq, Poland,
the Great Britain, China, Australia and Armenia. Ruben Mangasarian,
head of Photojournalism Department of the Caucasian Mass Media
Institute, represented his piece entitled “Black Life ” that was
announced the best photo in “Today’s Life” nomination. Mr. Managsarian
was awarded the first prize.

The award ceremony of the competition will take place in Warsaw on
May 9. On the same day the exhibition of the winners’ pieces will
open. The photographers will also participate in the conference
dedicated to the modern photojournalism issues.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

ASSEMBLY WELCOMES SENATE LEGISLATION OPPOSING RAILROAD THAT
BYPASSES ARMENIA

Measure Introduced During Assembly’s Pan-Armenian National Conference

Washington, DC – As Armenian Assembly activists stormed Capitol Hill
to promote community concerns to over 80 congressional offices today,
Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced
a major bill (S. 2461) in the U.S. Senate that would bar assistance
for a proposed $800 million railway that would connect Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Turkey while bypassing Armenia.

The legislation, known as the South Caucasus Integration and Open
Railroads Act, was introduced shortly after participants of the
Assembly’s National Conference met with senior staff representing
Senators Santorum and Menendez – both longtime supporters of Armenian
issues. The three-day National Conference was co-hosted by the AGBU
and Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church.

“United States policy in the South Caucasus seeks to foster regional
stability and enhanced cooperation, and includes open borders and
transport corridors,” Santorum told the Assembly. “The proposed rail
link would not only undermine U.S. long-term goals for the region,
but serves to isolate Armenia. Efforts to foster economic integration
and reduce the risk of further tensions are in the best interests of
the United States and the South Caucasus.”

Menendez, echoing Santorum, added that “the sole aim of this costly
project is to further isolate Armenia by enhancing the ongoing Turkish
and Azerbaijani blockades. I look forward to working with my colleagues
in the Senate and members of the Armenian-American community to block
U.S. financial support of this rail project.”

“We commend the leadership of Senators Santorum and Menendez for this
Senate initiative to prohibit funding for this ill-conceived route,
which not only thwarts U.S. policy goals, but is also a continuation
of Azerbaijan’s blockade plus strategy to marginalize Armenia, which
we cannot allow,” said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian. “The realization of this legislation is a testament to the
grassroots activism exemplified throughout this National Conference.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told an Azeri news agency last
summer that, “We are currently working on a new project – a new rail
road Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku..If we succeed with this project,
the Armenians will end in complete isolation, which would create an
additional problem for their future, their already bleak future…”

Armenian government officials have repeatedly said that a new costly
railway is unnecessary given that a railroad linking Armenia, Georgia
and Turkey already exists. The existing Kars-Gyumri route is in
working condition and could be operational within weeks.

Senator Santorum has consistently supported Armenian issues. He is a
strong proponent of U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide and a
cosponsor of S. Res. 320, the Armenian Genocide resolution. In 2000, he
also urged the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations
to direct economic aid to Armenia, to provide the timely delivery of
humanitarian assistance to Nagorno Karabakh and maintain Section 907
of the Freedom Support Act. Santorum currently serves on the powerful
Senate Finance Committee and is Chairman of the Senate Republican
Conference where he directs the communications operations of the
Senate Republicans and is the third-ranking member of the leadership.

His colleague, Senator Menendez, is a longstanding advocate of the
Armenian-American community and a widely respected voice on foreign
policy. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Menendez
helped secure robust U.S. humanitarian, technical and developmental
assistance for Armenia, while continuing to push for sustained
humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabakh. Menendez has also repeatedly
fought for U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide, by publicly
commemorating this crime against humanity, co-sponsoring legislation
that would properly recognize the events and urging President Bush,
as well as his predecessors, to accurately characterize the crimes
as genocide.

The Senate bill is modeled after House Resolution 3361, which was
introduced by Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chair
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), along with Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA), last year. The resolution
currently has 77 cosponsors to date, and is expected to garner
additional supporters following the Assembly’s advocacy push today.

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#2006-024a

Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following
links:

ss/2006-024a/2006-024a-1.jpg

Caption: Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

4a/2006-024a-2.jpg

Caption: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)