Author: Nargizian David

SERGO YERITSIAN PARTICIPATES IN “CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ACADEMIC VALUES
OF EUROPEAN UNIVERISITIES” FORUM IN VATICAN

VATICAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Under the high
patronage of the Pope, an international forum on the theme “Cultural
Heritage and Academic Values of European Universities” opened on
March 29 in Vatican. A delegation headed by Sergo Yeritsian, the RA
Minister of Education and Science participates in it. According to
the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the Press Service of the
RA Ministry of Education and Science, the forum is held within the
framework of the Bologna education declaration, the goal of which
is to regulate and sum up the experience of different countries,
to envisage future works. The report of the speaker of the day, Sjur
Bergan, the Science and Education Department head of the Council of
Europe, was dedicated to tendencies and prospects of development of
peculiarities of the education systems of European countries. The
speaker mentioned that striving for educational generality doesn’t
mean liquidation of national peculiarities, but just the opposite,
it means to reach a new level by keeping it. On the first day of his
visit to Rome, the RA Minister of Education and Science visited the
Embassy of Armenia where the Armenian-Italian educational relations
and prospects of their development were discussed with Ambassador
Ruben Shugarian. The Minister will meet with a number of people
responsible for education during the days of the forum.

AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND THE USA

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 30 2006

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will pay a visit to
Brazil, Argentina and the United States on 1 April.

The spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, Tahir Taghizade told APA that
Mr. Mammadyarov is due to meet the US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice on 7 April. The sides will exchange views on the existing
situation on the Nagorno Garabagh conflict.

The Minister will also discuss the current situation on the settlement
of the conflict with American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Steven
Mann in Washington.

CO-CHAIRMEN OF WORKING GROUP OF DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE ON REGIONAL CONFLICTS TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN ON MARCH 29

Noyan Tapan
Mar 28 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Vitaly Naumkin (RF) and Harold Sonders
(U.S.), Co-chairmen of the American-Russian working group of Dartmouth
Conference on Regional Conflicts, will leave Baku for Yerevan on
March 29. They have been working with representatives of the public
of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh since 2001. As Noyan
Tapan correspondent was informed from the office of the Democratic
Party of Armenia, the draft frame agreement of peace process will be
presented during the meeting. A round table, then a press conference
will be held in Yerevan. The American and Russian Co-chairmen will
leave Yerevan for Nagorno Karabakh.

SLOVENIA TO STAND FOR SEAT ON NEW UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

STA news agency, Ljubljana
27 Mar 06

New York, 27 March: Slovenia is to run for one of the six
seats reserved for countries of the East European group in the
newly-established United Nations Council of Human Rights. Eight
countries from the group have already announced their candidacy.

According to a diplomatic source in New York, Slovenia is to present
its candidacy to the other countries from the group this week.

The country’s chances in winning a seat are said to be as good as those
of other states in this region with a good human rights record. Its
chances are enhanced by its EU presidency in the first half of 2008.

In the East European group, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Ukraine, Romania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Lithuania and Russia have
either already announced their candidacy, or intend to do so.

The Slovene Foreign Ministry has welcomed the establishment of the
new body. It said that the country would endeavour towards making it
act in a credible manner and consistently in advocating the dignity
and freedom of every individual.

The new Council will in June replace the much-criticised Human
Rights Commission. It was established on 15 March, with 170 votes in
favour. The US was one of the countries voting against, claiming that
UN reform was not radical enough.

The elections to the new 47-strong body are scheduled for 9 May,
when the candidate countries will try to get 96 votes of 191-strong
UN General Assembly. The outcome of the vote is expected to indicate
whether the UN reform has truly brought any kind of change.

GOLDBERG’S “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” FILM TO BE SHOWN FREE PASS AT LOS ANGELES CINEMA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 27 2006

LOS ANGELES, MARCH 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Andrew Goldberg’s
“Armenian Genocide” documentary film will be shown free pass on April
17 at one of Los Angeles cinemas. The 650 thousand dollars film was
completely financed by American Armenian organizations. As Radio
Liberty informs, the author of the film who gave the most part of the
10 thousand dollars necessary for renting the cinema, said: “We’ll
show the film day and night as long as we’ll feel its necessity.” On
the same day the “Armenian Genocide” film will be broadcast by the
Public Broadcasting Service – PBS but after that a dispute on the
genocide will be broadcast in which besides two representatives of the
Armenian community, two historians disproving the genocide will also
participate. The American Armenians consider inadmissible the dispute
of the Armenian Genocide as well, emphasizing that the Genocide is
a fact that may not be disproved.

The PBS refused the show Goldberg’s film without a dispute after what
Goldberg decided to rent a cinema of Los Angeles populated with many
Armenians and to show his film free of charge.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian American Society for Studies on Stress & Genocide
130 W 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-6387
Tel: 212-362-4018
Fax: 201-941-5110
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

You are invited
TO A SYMPOSIUM AND WORKSHOP
ON
Genocide denial & healing: The case of the Genocide of the Armenians
On
Friday, 7 April 2006 -7 PM
at
Fordham University, 113 W 60th St., (Off 9th Avenue) NYC
12th Floor Faculty Lounge

Professor Staub: Recipient of 2006 AASSSG Outstanding Achievement Award
Professor Ervin Staub, Professor of Psychology at the University of
Massachusetts

`Roots of Evil & Denial: The case of Genocide of the Armenians,’ and a
presentation by
Professor Elif Shafak, Professor of Literature, University of Arizona
`Silence and Secrets in Women’s Stories: Tracing the Effects of the
Massacres and Deportation of Armenians in 1915 in Contemporary Women’s Culture in
Turkey.
Family Constellations by
Dr. Sophia Kramer-Leto and Dr. Chiara Hayganush Megighian Zenati

Special Performance by: Armenian Dance Group from Long Island
Armenian Dances from Historic Western Armenia
Chairperson: Dr. Anie Kalayjian, Fordham University and President of AASSSG
&
Association for Disaster & Mass Trauma Studies.
KRIEGER Essay Contest winners will be announced and certificates given
Hosted by: ARMENIAN AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR STUDIES ON STRESS & GENOCIDE
(AASSSG), Fordham Psychology Association, SPSSI NY, Association for Disaster &
Mass Trauma Studies, and Fordham Psi Chi

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
Admission: free with Fordham ID
For information contact Dr. Kalayjian E-mail: [email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected]) , visit: _www.meaningfulworld.com_
(http://www.meaningfulwo rld.com/) , or phone: 201 941-2266

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 24 2006

Novruz Mammadov: `Co-chairs do not have any suggestions to conflicting
sides at present’

[ 24 Mar. 2006 19:34 ]

`The Minsk Group co-chairs usually exchange views on the negotiating
process over the settlement of the Nagorno Garabagh conflict, and
inform the conflicting sides about their conclusions only in the
meeting with either Foreign Minister or with President,’ the director
of the President’s Office Department of International Relations,
Novruz Mammadov told APA.

According to him, after a 20 March meeting in Washington, the
co-chairs have not initiated organizing meeting of the Foreign
Ministers.
`It seems, there is nothing to inform about it for the time being,’
Mr.Mammadov said.
Commenting on American co-chair Steven Mann’s recent statement `2006
represents a chance to solve the conflict. It is desirable to reach a
peace agreement in this year,’ Mr.Mamamdov said, `Of course, it would
be great if a peace agreement is reached, there is a good opportunity
for that. We also want to achieve this agreement. However,
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity should be ensured, and the
conflict should be settled in compliance with international juridical
norms and principles.
We know that it is impossible to solve the conflict in a way that
will satisfy both sides. Therefore, if our proposals concerning the
settlement are accepted, we would welcome it. As coming to what
Armenia thinks concerning this issue, it is quite another matter,’
Mammadov said.
Responding to the question weather Azerbaijan will offer any
suggestions to change the format of the Minsk Group, and include a
new country into the Group regarding the static situation after the
Rambouillet meeting, the state official said that there is no such a
plan.
`I think the current format is one of the optimal formats. As coming
to inclusion of any other country into the group, there will be a
need to agree it with the opposite side, which will be a long process
then,’ he stated.
Referring to the objective of Steven Mann’s visit to Baku last week,
Mammadov said, `The co-chair came to meet the Azerbaijan’s President
again, familiarize with his stance, and express that the US is
concerned in settling of conflict as soon as possible,’ he reported.
Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov refusing to inform journalists about
the talks in Rambouillet, participation of another Russian diplomat
in Istanbul talks instead of him caused hearsays that the co-chair
will be substituted. Referring to these hearsays, Mammadov said that
Russia is responcible to substitute the co-chair.
`As coming to his refusing to give briefings, I shall remind you that
various statements were voiced before the talks in Rambouillet. So,
probably, Mr.Merzlyakov acts in a diplomatic way refusing to issue
unnecessary statements,’ Mammadov said. /APA/

Opposition to Turkey’s denial of Armenian Genocide growing

24.03.2006 16:54

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – `While it is hard to compare the strength of
lobbies that are working on very different issues, it is clear that
the Armenian lobby is strong and growing stronger, confident in the
knowledge that as Armenians – in the homeland and the Diaspora – we
are collectively the authors of our own destiny,’ Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian stated
in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

`Here are just a few examples of our progress. We launched the
pioneering California-Armenia Trade Office to increase bilateral trade
and create jobs in the U.S. and Armenia. In just the past two years,
due in large part to our efforts to normalize U.S.-Armenia trade
relations, Armenian exports to the U.S. rose from $37.6 million
(2003) to $45.8 million (2005). The growth of our local ANCA chapters
to more than fifty – particularly in non-traditional states such as
Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and Texas. The increased level of assistance
to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, which has amounted to $1.6 billion
since 1991 – and especially the new $235 million Millennium Challenge
grant to Armenia.

The growing opposition to Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide in
the U.S. Congress, the media, and academia. For example, within the
past year the Armenian Genocide Resolution passed a key Congressional
committee by a vote of 40 to 7, a dramatic increase over the 24 to 11
vote on a similar measure in 2000. Also, 38 of the 50 U.S. states
have recognized the Armenian Genocide,’ he said.

AZG Armenian Daily #053, 24/03/2006

Home

VOTES GIVEN TO REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA MAY DEFINE POSITION OF
ANDRANIK MARGARIAN

“The negotiations for Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are still
on and the process is not locked in dead end. None of the parties is
interested in war,” RA PM Andranik Margarian said.

He said that Republican Party of Armenia will participate in the
parliamentary elections independently, though he didn’t exclude that
they may unite with a political force in a faction. As for his future
position, Mr. Margarian said that it will be defined only after the
elections, taking into account the votes his party received.

In response to the question about Artashes Tumanian’s resignation, RA
PM said that he learnt about that from the newspapers and added that
the coalition didn’t demand resignation from him. “Creation of a party
should not be conditioned by its leader’s position. The party
construction process should be based on an ideology, ” he stated.

Mr. Margarian express content with the construction projects carried
out in the center of Yerevan. As for the issue of A1+ TV, Margarian
said that the Government has kept its promise and allocated territory
for the TV, A1+ TV should only agree with it.

RA PM informed that RA Culture Minister has responded the letter of
“Heritage” party and in case the party members aren’t satisfied with
the response, Raffi Hovhannisian may apply to the court.

In connection with the increase in price for Russian gas, Margarian
said that he will give detailed answers to the questions only after
the negotiations are completed.

As for the amendments to the law “On energetics,” Margarian said that
no confrontation is observed at the parliament concerning the law. He
said that some of the deputies expressed certain concerns about the
amendments and they still have time to make suggestions to the
issue. He added that the draft law will be included in the agenda of
the parliament during the coming four days.

It’s worth mentioning that the draft law creates legislative grounds
for using the sources from non-governmental sector for construction of
a new NPP.

By Nana Petrosian

Blogcritics.org, OH
March 23 2006

On Holocaust: Anti-Semite or Anti-Human?
March 23, 2006
temporal

Defining the Horrific : Readings on Genocide and Holocaust in the
20th Century
William Hewitt

hol.o.caust n. 1. Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss
of life, especially by fire. 2. [Middle English, burnt offering, from
Old French holocauste, from Latin holocaustum, from Greek
holokauston, from neuter of holokaustos, burnt whole : holo-, holo- +
kaustos, burnt (from kaiein, to burn).]

I just finished reading an involved, wonderfully mesmerizing review
of Lajos Koltai’s Fateless: Death and the Children by Alan Dale.

Something I read there caught my eye and lingered in my mind long
after I finished reading that review. He wrote: The Holocaust, a
crime of historic proportions, is simply greater than any heroic
ordeal out of conventional romance–it calls for a new approach to
character and narrative.

Forget entire human history: even our recent history is replete with
what we call crimes against peace, humanity and genocide.

Consider these:

Roma (Gypsy) Holocaust Deaths: Determining the percentage or number
of Roma (Gypsies) who died in the Holocaust (called the Porrajmos,
“paw-RYE-mos” in Romani, a word which means “the Devouring”) is not
easy. The latest (1997) figure from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Research Institute in Washington puts the number of Romani lives lost
by 1945 at “between a half and one and a half million.”
Armenian Genocide: The official Ottoman statistics compiled for the
period between 1915 to 1917-18 were of 800,000 (Armenians) killed,
which suggests that possibly over a million perished. This figure
originates from Djemal’s bureau’s compilation statistics. The results
have been published in the official Ottoman gazette.

A report provided that as soon as February 1916, 1.5 million
Armenians were destroyed. A report in May 27, 1916, by Foreign Office
Intelligence Director Erzberger provided the same figure, as did an
October 4, 1916 report by the German Interim Ambassador to Turkey,
Radowitz, again with 1.5 million as the estimate of Armenian’s having
perished. It seems that the generally cited 1.5 million figure had
originated from those German sources. What might be considered by
many one of the most balanced German account is those of the German
major Endres, who served in the Turkish army, and who has estimated
the number of Armenians having lost their lives during the war to be
1.2 million.

“We have never denied the Armenian crime of genocide inflicted upon
2.5 million Muslim people between 1914 and 1920.” Agop Zahoryan,
‘Voices of Agonies’, p. 91.

Massacre in Cambodia: Estimates of the number of people who perished
under the Khmer Rouge vary tremendously, even within the present
Cambodian government. A figure of three million deaths between 1975
and 1979 was given by the Vietnamese-sponsored Phnom Penh regime, the
People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). Father Ponchaud suggested 2.3
million; the Yale Cambodian Genocide Project estimated 1.7 million;
Amnesty International estimated 1.4 million; and the United States
Department of State, 1.2 million. Khieu Samphan and Pol Pot cited
figures of 1 million and 800,000, respectively

Tragedy in Chechnia: Today, 12 years later, is there anyone who
mourns the more than 30% of the total Chechen population who perished
in the last two wars? Who cares today about the hundreds of thousands
of Chechen refugees who fled wherever they could from the Chechen
killing-field, only to find themselves in unbearably miserable
conditions, with no hope of being treated as decent human beings?

The Rwandan Genocide: The slaughter of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis
and moderate Hutus, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia
groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during a period of 100
days from April 6th through mid-July 1994.

Slaughter in Yugoslavia: Each nation (Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats)
reported many casualties in the three-sided conflict, in which the
Bosniaks reported the highest number of deaths and casualties.
However, the only case officially ruled by the U.N. Hague tribunal as
genocide was the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. At the end of the war
approximately 102,000 people had been killed according to the ICTY
and more than 2 million people fled their homes (including over 1
million to neighboring nations and the west)

There is more

Over twenty million Russian deaths in WWII.
The thousands who died and millions who were displaced during the
great divide in the sub continent – the partition of the subcontinent
into India and Pakistan.
Hundreds of thousands dead in the troubled region of Kashmir at the
hand of terrorists and Government Forces of India and Pakistan.
These are part and parcel of our heritage – correction our human
heritage and conscience. But when the word holocaust is mentioned
what image crosses your mind? Which of the holocausts mentioned above
comes to your mind?

Let me admit I am probably like the majority of folks here. This word
reminds me of the Jewish holocaust more than the other horrible
travesties.

How did that happen? Was it all of those movies? Books? Constant
references in the media? Who is triggering this guilt in me? By
maintaining our silence on all the holocausts perpetrated by us on
some of us are we not culpable?

I am not an anti-Semite. But I certainly could be anti-Human if I
remained silent any longer and not point out our fallacy.

Also on Desicritcs

love words and people who are in awe of them. words are the sole
arbiter and the final survivor. what else is there to state?

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