Author: Navasardian Karapet

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| 21:56:47 | 22-06-2005 | Politics | PACE SUMMER SESSION 2005 |

ANDREAS GROSS IS SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF SAMED SEYIDOV

The reporters about the activity of the democratic institutions in
Azerbaijan and political prisoners concluded the discussion of the issue
rather categorically.

In answer to the Azeri delegation head Samed Seyidov’s announcement that the
coming elections will be organized according to the democratic standards,
the main reporters Andreas Gross said, «In contrast to you, Mr. Seyidov, I
am not sure, but I hope that the coming Parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan will be organized according to the democratic standards. As for
HOW – I do not know».

As for speeches of the Azeri delegation members about the setting free of
political prisoners, Mr. Gross invited attention to the fact, that the
famous political bodies who have been set free cannot take part in the
elections as deputies, and a number of political prisoners are still in
prison.

RULLING COALITION TO DISCUSS ISSUES OF FORMATION OF NEW ELECTORAL
COMMISSIONS SOON

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The electoral map and mechanisms of the
formation of electoral commissions will be discussed at the coming
sittings of the rulling coalition. Levon Mkrchian, the head of the NA
ARF faction informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent about
this. Mentioning that concrete candidates should be presented by the
parties in order to be involved in the electoral commissions, he
attached importance to reaching an intracoalition agreement in this
issue. To recap, the amended variant of the Electoral Code will come
into force starting July 1. Taking into account, that elections of
local self-governance bodies are expected in Armenia in the autumn,
the formation of the electoral commissions should be carried out in a
short time. Levon Mkrchian disproved the supposition that in a number
of communities, holding elections of local sel-governance bodies by
the Electoral Code having acted before created a discriminative
situation for different communities. He mentioned that elections of
local bodies are not held at the same time, and amendments should be
since some moment. Besides, according to the head of the ARF faction,
elections were already held only in 2-3 communities of Yerevan, and
“the number is not such to have qualitative significance.” Levon
Mkrchian mentioned that, among the similar documents having been
presented by Armenia before, the amended Electoral Code was upmost
appriciated by international experts. According to him, “the Electoral
Code is a rather balanced document and gives an opportunity both to
political minority and to majority to be completely secured by the
law.” He expressed a hope that this stage is too important for
Armenia, and they must be able to hold just and democratic
elections. “The head of the ARF faction expresses confidence that the
law gives that opportunity. He also mentioned that involvement of
representatives of the judicial bodies in electoral commissions has a
wide usage in the international practice. According to Mkrtchian, it
will also support the formation of the judicial system. If there is no
great result during the first years that system must prove its value
gradually,” the head of the ARF faction is sure.

Genocide armenien Manifestation turque a Berlin contre une resolution allemande

Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base francais
19 juin 2005

Berlin (ats/afp) La communaute turque a manifeste dimanche a
Berlin contre la resolution votee par les deputes allemands sur les
massacres du peuple armenien commis sous l’empire ottoman entre 1915
et 1917. Elle a denonce la “falsification de l’Histoire”.

Cet appel, lance par la “Communaute turque en Allemagne”, principale
association representative des quelque 2,5 millions de Turcs du pays,
rassemblait 1500 personnes en debut d’après-midi, selon la police.

Les manifestants ont defile notamment sur la celèbre avenue
Kurfurstendamm. Ils ont proteste aussi contre “la stigmatisation du
peuple turc”, “une propagande historique a sens unique” et contre
l’adoption d'”une resolution sur le genocide armenien”, qui selon un
porte-parole “blesse” les sentiments des Turcs vivant en Allemagne.

La manifestation etait soutenue par l’association Milli Gorus
(Vision nationale), bien implantee parmi les Turcs vivant en Europe
et soupconnee de propager le fondamentalisme religieux, et aussi par
le journal turc a grand tirage “Hurriyet” diffuse en Allemagne.

La chambre des deputes allemands, le Bundestag, a adopte jeudi une
resolution en memoire des “massacres” du peuple armenien commis sous
l’empire ottoman entre 1915 et 1917.

Dans ce texte, l’ensemble des groupes parlementaires demande notamment
au gouvernement allemand de “s’engager pour faire respecter la liberte
d’opinion en Turquie, en particulier en ce qui concerne les massacres
des Armeniens”.

Ankara s’en prend a Schroder

A Ankara, le Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, s’en est
ouvertement pris vendredi au chancelier allemand Gerhard Schroder. Il
lui a reproche de n’avoir pas use de son influence afin de bloquer
l’adoption du texte.

La Turquie a reconnu l’Armenie a son independance en 1991, mais sans
etablir de relations diplomatiques en raison du profond differend sur
les massacres consideres comme un genocide par de nombreux pays. En
Suisse, le Conseil national a reconnu le genocide armenien en 2003,
suscitant les protestations d’Ankara.

Les massacres et deportations d’Armeniens perpetres sous l’Empire
ottoman, de 1915 a 1917, ont fait 1,5 million de morts, selon
les Armeniens, entre 250 000 et 500 000, selon Ankara qui rejette
categoriquement la thèse du genocide.

–Boundary_(ID_d3WvpVFUR64IjuzZwtPAiA)–

German resolution Armenian massacres ‘ugly’: Turkish PM

Agence France Presse — English
June 17, 2005 Friday 10:57 AM GMT

ISTANBUL, June 17 2005 — A German parliamentary resolution adopted
Thursday to mark the killings of Armenians during World War is “ugly,”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, while other Turkish officials
warned the move could cloud bilateral ties.

“I find it politically wrong and furthermore ugly that the German
parliament sacrificed the issue without debate to petty (Armenian)
lobbying,” Erdogan told reporters here late Thursday on his return
from a visit to Lebanon.

He chided German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder — whom he said was
against the resolution — for not pulling his weight before the vote
to persuade his lawmakers to reject the motion.

In a move that has angered Turkey, the Bundestag lower house on
Thursday adopted a resolution commemorating the 1915-1917 massacres
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, but stopped short of condemning
it as genocide.

The resolution called on the German government “to help Turks and
Armenians resolve their differences by reviewing, reconciling and
forgiving historical guilt.”

The Turkish foreign ministry condemned the resolution and warned that
the move could have repercussions on bilateral ties.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in orchestrated
killings during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks were
killed in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians,
backed by Russia, rose against their Ottoman rulers.

The issue has taken on increased importance as some European politicans
have pressed Turkey to address the genocide claims in what Ankara
sees a politically-motivated campaign to impede its bid to become a
mamber of the European Union.

Turkish Press
June 17 2005

Press Review

GERMAN PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL ON SO-CALLED ARMENIAN MASSACRE

The German Parliament yesterday adopted a resolution denouncing the
so-called massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the Ottoman
Empire era. The Bundestag unanimously called for the “sincere
reappraisal” of what happened in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire, and adopted a joint motion by all parliamentary groups to
recognize the incidents. The resolution charged that the Turkish
government had neglected to address the issue and called on the
German government to ensure that the Turkish Parliament, government,
and society reappraise their role towards the Armenian people without
prejudice. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul denounced the resolution as “irresponsible, appalling
and injurious.” “We note this decision with regret and we strongly
condemn it,” said a Foreign Ministry statement. “The text is biased,
contains serious errors and misinformation, and its approval will
deeply wound the Turkish people.” The statement also added that
Turkey “has opened up its archives to all researchers, including
Germans and Armenians, on the premise that historical events can only
be assessed by historians, not by parliaments.” /All Papers/

Iranian Armenians “massively” turn out at polls

IRNA web site
17 Jun 05

Tehran, 17 June: Members of the Armenian minority group turned out
massively at the polling stations here Friday morning [17 June]
to cast their votes for the 9th presidential elections.

Christians throughout the country, along with their Muslim countrymen,
took part in the elections to choose the country’s future president
this morning.

Polling started across the country at 09:00 hours local time (0430 gmt)
Friday to elect the country’s next president.

The latest figures released by the Interior Ministry show that
some 46,786,418 people are eligible to vote at the 9th presidential
elections.

All those having completed 15 years of age and above can participate
in the elections and vote for seven candidates who have registered
for the race.

Presidential election hopeful Mohsen Reza’i announced his withdrawal
from the race in his letter to the Interior Ministry on Thursday.

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
June 16 2005

Jazz from Armenia
Thursday, June 16, 2005

Armenian jazz vocalist Datevik Hovanesian and her trio will be
performing favorites and some new pieces at the Armenian Library and
Museum of America (ALMA) in Watertown on Sunday, June 26 at 7 p.m.

An internationally renowned jazz singer, educator, recording artist
and arranger, Hovanesian has been called the “First Lady of Jazz”
in the former Soviet Union. She has performed in over 30 countries in
concert halls, prestigious international jazz festivals, television
and radio, master classes and workshops. She also specializes in
ethno-jazz music. Her latest CD, “Stage To Stage,” is the collection
of her live jazz recordings over the years with outstanding musicians,
some of the songs combining Armenian folk and jazz.

The musicians accompanying Hovanesian are all very well known in
the world of jazz: pianist/composer Bob Albanese, bass player Joe
Fitzgerald and drummer David Mead.

Belmont resident John Baboian, a jazz guitarist and professor at
Berklee College of Music in Boston, will join the group as a special
guest.

This event is organized by Amaras Art Alliance, which will allocate a
portion of the proceeds to its Hovanness Badalian Music Fund. Admission
price is $20.

ALMA is located at 65 Main St., Watertown. For more information
call 617-733-7162 or 617-489-5298 (Russian), or visit

Today, Azerbaijan
June 16 2005

Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin discussed the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict

15 June 2005 [10:00] – Today.Az

“I am sure that the relations between Azerbaijan and Russia will
develop strongly in the political sphere like in economical sphere”.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin told in the meeting with President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Expressing satisfaction on the growth of the volume of trade turnover
between the two countries, the Russian President thanked to Ilham
Aliyev for participation in the international economical forum in St.

Petersburg.

Ilham Aliyev stressing that the peaceful neighboring relations
between the two countries base on mutual confidence and respect,
emphasized the existence of excellent potential for the development
of these relations.

A number of issues of mutual interest as well as the process of
regulation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were discussed in the
meeting of the heads of state of the two countries.

/APA/

URL:

PRESS CONFERENCE

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
13 June 05

On June 8th, the speaker of the National Assembly of NKR gave a press
conference as the term of the parliament is coming to its end. The
subject of the press conference was the summary of five years work of
the National Assembly. The present parliament is multi-party. Among
the members of parliament there are members of the Democratic Union
Artsakh, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Artsakh Armenakan, the
social democrats, as well as independent parliamentarians. Of the 33
members of parliament 32 have higher education, four are candidates
of sciences, 2 are female. The age at the time of election was 40
– 44. There are six standing committees, as well as ad hoc
committees on issues concerning different spheres were set up and
operated. There are two parliamentary factions: Democratic Party of
Artsakh (former Democratic Union Artsakh) which had 21 and currently
has 19 members, and ARF which had 9 and currently has 8 members. The
National Assembly has a presidium, comprising the speaker of the
National Assembly, the vice speaker, the chairmen of the standing
committees and the directors of the parliamentary factions. Fourteen
members of parliament work on a permanent basis. Two years ago the
Audit Chamber was established, the chairman and the vice chairman of
which are members of parliament. “I cannot grade the work of the
parliament as excellent but you can assert yourselves that there are
many achievements beside the things the parliament failed to do. The
important thing is that the work of this parliament is several steps
ahead the previous parliament; there should be a tendency and a
tradition that every parliament should go ahead the previous,”
said Speaker Oleg Yessayan. According to him, 300 meetings of
parliament have taken place, about 330 laws were adopted, plus the 10
bills to be discussed at the upcoming meeting. Of the mentioned bills
53 were undertaken by members of parliament. The speaker of the
National Assembly informed that the laws adopted by the third
parliament outnumber the laws adopted by the previous parliament and
are twice as much as the second parliament. Forty hearings on
different levels were held, allowing the members of parliament to
learn the opinions of not only the members of parliament and the
government but also experts. According to the speaker of the National
Assembly, the meetings of the parliament were not turned into
political shows but raised problems which worry the voters. The links
between the parliaments of Armenia and NKR and cooperation with other
countries has become closer. In this reference Oleg Yessayan regarded
the parliament as accomplished, and assessed the work of the
parliament positively. The adopted laws enabled to coordinate the
political and economic environment, introduce changes into the
non-governmental and social sectors. There are also open problems
which the government could not solve for objective and subjective
reasons. “We wish the next parliament do all that we failed to
do. Among the problems which have not been solved I would point out
the increase of the political role of the parliament and
parliamentary control. The parliament should be an independent body,
and I wish the next parliament to be such. But I insist that our
parliament was more independent than the previous one. That is to
say, everything is still in the stage of formation. Good luck to all
of us on this way,” he said. The journalists present were
interested to know the evaluation of the speaker of the election
campaign and his expectations from the next parliament. “We need
to have a better parliament than the previous. The previous
parliament provided conditions for this. A legislation was created,
we only have to make sure that the laws work.” Oleg Yessayan
explained his decision not to run for the parliament for another term
by considering his experience as a parliamentarian enough but he is
not going to retire from politics. “The parliament of Karabakh as
a state has a biography of 14 years, I have been a member of
parliament for 12 years, and speaker for 8 years. I consider that my
activity as a parliamentarian is enough, and I think there is point
in doing some other kind of work. Perhaps, there will be proposals,
and after thinking over them and making a decision I will give a
definite answer to your question,” mentioned Oleg Yessayan. Part
of the current members of parliament will run for the parliament for
another term. Oleg Yessayan does not see anything negative in this
because their experience may be useful for the new parliament. In the
end O. Yessayan thanked the journalists for cooperation, promising
new meetings and interviews when he in his new position.

SRBUHI VANIAN.
13-06-2005

Karabakh electoral bloc slams authorities for “dirty tricks” ahead of polls

Regnum, Moscow
15 Jun 05

[No dateline as received] The bloc of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] and Movement 88 have issued a
statement in the run-up to the [19 June] parliamentary elections in
Nagornyy Karabakh.

The statement says: “Our country’s tomorrow is in danger again. Some
puppets of the incumbent authorities want to secure parliamentary
seats for pro-government candidates with the aim of maintaining the
atmosphere of connivance, lawlessness, corruption and bribery as long
as possible. Abusing power, using levers of power and riches illegally
earned through misappropriation and embezzlement, ignoring human
and moral values and inspiring fear and terror, they want to achieve
their goals by using dirty tricks, breaking the law and giving bribes.”

The authors of the statement called on Karabakh citizens to unite
again around the idea of democratization and protecting human rights,
not to yield to the mendacious pledges of pro-government candidates
and to vote for the battle-hardened candidates of the bloc who were
tested in the crucible of the Artsakh [Nagornyy Karabakh] war.