Author: Navasardian Karapet

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Spokesperson and Press Division
Ref: 189a04
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:

Secretary General warns of anti-democratic decline in Armenia and appeals
for dialogue

Strasbourg, 14.04.2004 – Following a meeting with the Permanent
Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe yesterday evening,
Secretary General Walter Schwimmer expressed his concern about reported
violence in Armenia.

“There is incomplete and conflicting news of excessive use of force by the
police, of arrests – including of members of parliament – and of a media
blackout”, said Walter Schwimmer. “This confirms one thing: if there was
complete freedom of the media, we would have a clear picture of the
situation”, he added.

Recalling the strong position taken by the Parliamentary Assembly against
the use of arbitrary procedures for detention, as foreseen in the
Administrative Code, the Secretary General said that such detentions would
not be acceptable.

The Secretary General of the 45-member human rights organisation warned
against an anti-democratic decline in Armenia. “In a democracy, people are
free to gather and express their views – even if they are critical of the
President or of the government”, said Mr Schwimmer. “I call on the Armenian
authorities to guarantee all human rights which are protected under the
European Convention on Human Rights”.

“Today’s problems are partly caused by the lack of modern legislation, which
it would be possible to introduce before changing the Constitution. For this
and for other reasons, Armenia has already lost precious time for reform”,
he continued.

“I appeal to all political forces to refrain from violence, to resume
dialogue and to focus on democratic reform”, the Secretary General
concluded.

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A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops common
responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 45 member states.

BC-AZERBAIJAN-TURKEY
Azeri leader urges Turkey to stand firm on Armenia
ANKARA, April 13 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan expects Turkey to
keep its border with Armenia closed as long as a long-running
dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region remains unresolved, the
Azeri leader said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev begins a state visit to Turkey,
an old ally, later on Tuesday as Ankara comes under pressure
from some officials in the United States and the European Union
to lift its trade blockade of tiny, landlocked Armenia.
Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia because the
Christian ex-Soviet republic occupies Karabakh, a territory
populated by ethnic Armenians but assigned to Turkic-speaking,
mainly-Muslim Azerbaijan in Soviet times.
“Some big powers may try to achieve their interests by
putting pressure (on Turkey over opening its border),” Aliyev
told the Turkish daily Zaman. “Turkey is a big country. We
believe it will not give in to this pressure.”
About 35,000 people died in six years of fighting over
Karabakh which ended in a 1994 ceasefire. A decade of diplomatic
efforts by the United States, France and Russia to end the
deadlock have so far failed.
Turkey hopes soon to open talks on joining the EU.
There had been speculation of a thaw in Azeri-Armenian ties
after the death last December of Aliyev’s father Haydar Aliyev,
who had dominated Azeri politics for three decades.
But Ilham Aliyev, elected president last October, signalled
there would be no change in his Karabakh policy.
“We want the occupying Armenians to give back our lands
unconditionally. Then we can negotiate on the status of
Karabakh,” Aliyev told Zaman.
He added Azerbaijan would never accept Armenian demands for
Karabakh’s union with Armenia or for independence from Baku.
As well as international pressure, Ankara has faced lobbying
from Turkish business interests keen to trade freely with
Armenia. But Turkish diplomats say Ankara will not act without
the agreement of Azerbaijan.
Apart from close linguistic and cultural ties, Turkey and
Azerbaijan will be linked in the near future by an oil pipeline
pumping crude from the Caspian Sea to the Turkish Mediterranean
port of Ceyhan.
The 1,760-km (1,100 mile) Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, built by an
international consortium and strongly backed by the United
States, is worth around $3 billion.
“More than half of the oil pipeline has now been completed,”
Aliyev said, adding work was also progressing well on a natural
gas pipeline from the Caspian to Turkey and Greece.
Aliyev will meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials during his
three-day visit.

Reut05:06 04-13-04

Armenian National Committee of Illinois
1701 North Greenwood
Glenview, IL 60025
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
April 11, 2004

Contact: Nishan Mekhdjian
[email protected]

ILLINOIS ARMENIAN AMERICANS TO
COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

— Demonstration, Commemorative Program, Vigil, Requiem Service, and Blood
Drive Being Planned for 89th Anniversary of the First Genocide of the 20th
Century

GLENVIEW, IL–Several events in and around the Chicago area are being
planned to commemorate the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
reported the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Illinois.

On Friday, April 23, the ANC, along with the Chicago Armenian Youth
Federation (AYF) “Ararat” chapter, has organized a demonstration in front of
the Turkish Consulate in Chicago. The demonstration, taking place on the
corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive, will begin at 11 am. For those
interested in participating, buses will be available to transport
individuals from the Armenian Community Center, 1701 North Greenwood, at 10
am.

The ANC of Illinois is sponsoring a commemorative remembrance program on
Saturday, April 24, at 7:30 pm, in the Shahnasarian Hall of the Armenian
Community Center.

The featured keynote speaker, who will present a bilingual lecture, is
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region Central Committee
member Antranig KasBarian, PhD. Following the remembrance program, a
candlelight vigil will be held at the Martyrs Monument.

A requiem service and blood drive are planned for Sunday, April 25. The
memorial requiem service begins at 11:45 am, at the Armenian All Saints
Apostolic Church in front of the Martyrs Monument. In addition, from 10:30
am to 2:00 pm, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), in conjunction with the
American Red Cross, is organizing a blood drive at the Glenview Community
Center.

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information about any
of these events, contact Nishan Mekhdjian at [email protected].

The Armenian National Committee (ANC) is the largest Armenian American
grassroots political organization in Illinois and nationwide. The ANC
actively advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian
American community.

####

Armenians worldwide mount campaign to save Melkonian
By Jean Christou

Cyprus Mail
10 April 2003

AROUND 40 influential members of the Armenian community worldwide have
written an open letter to President Tassos Papadopoulos calling on him
to prevent the closure of the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) in
Nicosia.

The letter said the decision by the Central Board of the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU), in New York that the 78-year old
school should close in June 2005 violated human rights within the
sovereign territory of Cyprus.

`We urgently request your help to correct this injustice,’ the letter
said.

It also said that the decision of the AGBU was illegal and contrary to
the Will of the school’s founders, the Melkonian brothers.

`The Will, which was transferred from an Armenian institution to the
AGBU for international political reasons does not confer to the AGBU
the ownership of the belongings mentioned therein,’ the letter said.

It added that the Will does stipulate for the AGBU the prerogative of
the MEI’ s management and the allocation of subsidies drawn from the
Melkonian Funds to three other Armenian institutions devoted mainly to
education and socio-cultural development of Armenians mainly in the
context of Western realities and aspirations.

`The Melkonian brothers’ Will does not confer to the AGBU the right to
denature or destroy these Armenian structures, therefore the closure
of theMEI is not among the prerogatives of the AGBU,’ it said. `More
precisely the closure of the MEI is a direct violation of the human
rights of Armenian communities.’

The AGBU administers 22 Armenian schools worldwide including the
Melkonian, which was founded in 1926 and is today the only secondary
school in Cyprus for the Armenian community plus the dozens of other
Armenian pupils that board there from neighbouring countries.

The AGBU announced last month that the school would close next year,
following months of speculation that was initially denied. The
loss-making Melkonian is sitting on a £40 million plot in the
capital’s commercial district and reports were rife that it was up for
grabs by developers.

The AGBU said in November that the school was not for sale but then
changed tack and announced the closure. The schools alumni is
convinced the foundation’ s only aim is to `take the money and run’.

`We, and hundreds of Armenians and non-Armenians of different
professionsâ=80¦ have addressed a letter to the AGBU asking for an
explanation for their decision, ‘ the letter to Papadopoulos said.

AGBU PRESS OFFICE
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone (212) 319-6383
Fax (212) 319-6507
Email [email protected]
Webpage

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, April 6, 2004

AGBU GENERATION NEXT MENTORSHIP PROGRAM REVISITS THE GETTY MUSEUM

“Venus was a goddess of what? What was the period of this sculpture?”
It was questions like these that AGBU Generation Next mentors and
mentees were asked to answer as they explored the Getty Museum on
March 28, 2004. This list of questions was a launching point for the
students as they learned about the Getty’s artworks and discovered
treasures from centuries past.

Members were free to explore the paintings and sculpture inside the
galleries as well as the monumental architecture of the Getty complex
itself. After lunch in the outdoor picnic area, mentors, mentees, and
task force members relaxed in the Getty Museum gardens and enjoyed the
idyllic setting overlooking much of Los Angeles.

Since its establishment in 1997, AGBU Generation Next mentors and
staff have served over 100 Armenian students ranging from the seventh
to eleventh grades. Adult volunteers from AGBU Generation Next assist
students with issues involving academics, behavior, and acculturation.
By providing positive role models, volunteer mentors help these young
Armenians become responsible, self-sufficient young adults. For more
information, contact Nora Ayvazian by phone, (626) 794-7942, or email,
[email protected].

Interfax
April 7 2004

RusAl foil mill, Achenbach to ink contract soon

Yerevan. (Interfax) – Russian aluminum giant RusAl’s Armenal foil
mill in Armenia will sign a contract with Germany’s Achenbach for the
mill’s modernization towards the end of April.

The project will cost up to 40 million euros and local contractors
will be hired for some of the work, said Georgy Avetikian, Armenal’s
general director.
A group of Achenbach specialists visited Yerevan early March to start
preparations for the upgrade.

ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY, INC.
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE BOARD
Armenian Relief Society, Inc. Telephone: 617-926-589
Central Office Fax : 617-926-4855
80 Bigelow Avenue E-Mail: [email protected]
Watertown, MA 02472 Contact Person:Hamesd Beugekian

P R E S S R E L E A S E

The ARS Central Executive Board Organizes its Second Seminar

The ARS Central Executive Board is organizing its Second Seminar,
which will discuss issues concerning primarily the Middle Eastern
entities. Among the focal points are items concerning modernity and
related issues concerning Armenian women as well as general subjects
related to regional and Pan-Armenian realities. The Seminar will be
followed by a pilgrimage to Deir Ezzor.

The Seminar will take place from April 30th to May 2nd, 2004, in
Beirut, Lebanon, with the participation of members belonging to the
Middle Eastern entities.

The following are the subjects to be discussed at the Seminar under
the general theme of “Voluntary Organizations in the 21st Century”, a)
‘Organizational’– speakers: Houri Najarian and Dickie Torigian; b)
‘Educational’-speaker: Khachig Shahinian; c) ‘Social’-speakers: Mary
Arevian and Tamar Der Bedrosian; d) ‘Non-Governmental Organizations’
-speaker: Seta Hedeshian and Hamesd Beugekian; e) ‘Diaspora-Homeland’
-speaker: Hovsep Ghazarian; f) ‘Javakhq’-speaker: Viken Avakian.

#

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
April 6, 2004

DO WE NEED EDUCATIONAL REFORM?

The delegation of the RA Ministry of Education headed by minister
Sergo Yeritsian visited NKR to get acquainted with the educational
system in Artsakh and to discuss the project of the new state system
of secondary education. Apparently, our educational system is on the
threshold of serious reforms as a result of which Artsakh and Armenia
will have a system similar to the European system of secondary
education. The essence of these reforms is making secondary school 12
years as the schoolchildren are now overloaded. If starting from this
point, we must admit that 5-6 year old children will now be
overloaded. And besides, this system will shorten the childhood of our
children. Perhaps it is preferable to consider seriously the program
of physical training of our children. If the schooling age is
nevertheless lowered, the school should be divided to junior and
senior schools, but is this possible in our conditions? Another
important fact: a twelve-year secondary education is directly
connected with military service. Boys will have to go to the army
immediately after finishing school and most of them will simply have
no chance to get a higher education. Our poll of public opinion showed
that the approach of the society to this reform is not
unanimous. Heads of educational departments and certain teachers
welcomed it, and at the same time cautiously expressing their
disagreement to the current complicated school curriculum, they
implied that pupils of senior classes had better spend one more year
at school than join the ranks of unemployed or tramps. Parents are
absolutely against the 12-year secondary education. After school boys
will not have time to enter a higher educational institution. The
opinions of the schoolchildren are also different: some of them are
for the Western system of education, but the majority is worried about
spending two more years at school. The relief is that adoption of the
new system is planned gradually, during 12-13 years. It is important
to work out the mechanisms of implementation of this plan properly. It
is time to give up the idea that the school is a link preparing to
enter a higher educational institution. According to the NKR minister
of education, culture and sport Armen Sarghissian, the pupils will
have the opportunity to get narrow specialization in senior
classes. It is not obligatory to have a higher education especially
that a greater part of them will be employed in the sphere of economy
and service. Therefore, it is important to open different technical
colleges. And on the whole do we need this school reform? According
to the RA minister of education Sergo Yeritsian, we are of a high
opinion about our educational potential, which is not, however,
justified. S. Yeritsian cited the following fact: UNESCO conducted
checking of the knowledge of natural sciences of learners in 50
countries and Armenia was in the 45th place. This means that we have
problems in our educational system. Therefore it is necessary to think
about fundamental changes in the educational system. It is desirable
that it was not merely adding two more years to the 10-year
course. And finally, the words of the NKR minister of education that
our educational system should not fall behind the European and world
educational level. And on the other hand, we do not have the right to
accept this new system without taking into consideration the national
peculiarities.

EVIKA BABAYAN

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 5, 2004 Monday

Armenian opposition stages acts of disobedience

YEREVAN, April 5
– The Armenian opposition has declared that it is launching mass acts
of disobedience with the aim to topple the Armenian president,
opposition leaders Artashes Gegamyan and Stepan Demirchyan declared
on Monday.

The aim of the mass acts of disobedience is to topple Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan, the opposition declared in a statement
circulated on Monday.

A rally has been scheduled in Yerevan for Friday that will call to
overthrow “the illegitimate regime and restore constitutional law and
order” in Armenia.

The opposition claims that the presidential and parliamentary
elections held in Armenia last year were falsified, and insists on a
referendum on confidence in the authorities as was recommended by the
Armenian Constitutional court.

Armenian defence minister rejects talks with opposition

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
31 Mar 04

[Presenter] Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan has described the current
situation in the country as rather strained. He denied the rumours
that he is gathering mercenary groups to reduce tension, calling them
a fairy tale.

[Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, captioned] All those rumours and
tales that the Defence Ministry and defence minister are gathering
mercenary groups are the results of a diseased imagination and are
spread by people who have no idea about the country’s national
security.

One person is speaking in terms of ultimatums to the leadership and
openly says that there will be bloody clashes. [One of the leaders of
the National Democratic bloc, MP Arshak Sadoyan, said on 31 March that
the people should resort to civil disobedience if a referendum on
confidence in the president is not held by 16 April.] I think that the
law-enforcement bodies have to do something. This is not the first
time that Arshak Sadoyan has called for bloody clashes. But let Arshak
Sadoyan remember 1996, when there was bloodshed where he was. If this
time Arshak Sadoyan organizes bloody clashes, he will hide in the
garages, I do not hide anywhere. What can I say?

[Correspondent] Speaking about the negotiations with the opposition,
Serzh Sarkisyan stressed that there is no point holding negotiations
with the opposition when they repeatedly announce the illegitimacy of
the country’s leadership.

[Serzh Sarkisyan] Negotiations demand a resolution of problems. Let us
imagine that a miracle has taken place and the authorities have been
changed in Armenia by force. Then there will be new elections. Many
candidates will be nominated for the presidential post. The losing
side will again stage rallies and declare the elections unfair.

You know, when a person is sick with the disease of wanting to be
president, this person is dangerous, dangerous at all times, and this
man can lead the country to disaster.

Nune Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.