Author: Tamamian Anna

ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF CANADA
COMITÉ NATIONAL ARMÉNIEN DU CANADA
3401 Olivar-Asselin
Montréal, Québec
H4J 1L5
Tél. (514) 334-1299 Fax (514) 334-6853
Communiqué de Presse – Press Release
June 21 juin, 2005

Contacts: Shant Karabajak 514-334-1299
Roupen Kouyoumdjian 514-336-7095
For immediate release:
Pour diffusion immédiate:

German Parliament Takes Steps To Recognize The Armenian Genocide

After just over 90 years of suspense, the German parliament called on
Turkey to reexamine its policy regarding the Armenian Genocide of
1915, a crucial blow to the denialist regime of Ankara, an ally of the
Germans during the first World War.

Without any debate, the Bundestag unanimously adopted a three page
motion, on June 16, citing the “nearly complete extermination of the
Armenians in Anatolia”.

Included in the motion was a measure of certain responsibility by the
German government in this effect, where the motion points out to the
“inglorious role of the German Reich”. At the time, the German
government was well aware of the ongoing Armenian Genocide but, due to
alliegences “did not even try to stop the atrocities” or what the
motion states as the “organized expulsion and extermination of
Armenians” a synonym of “genocide”.

Dr. Girair Basmadjian, President of the Armenian National Committee of
Canada, hailed the adoption of the motion as a great step toward the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. “It is a particularly important
step due to the fact that a large diaspora of Turks live in
Germany. It is obvious that the German Parliament felt moral, not
political, pressure to recognize the responsibility of the Ottoman
Turkish Empire in the extermination and expulsion of the Armenians
from their homeland.”

-30-

ABC News Transcripts
SHOW: GOOD MORNING AMERICA (07:00 AM ET) – ABC
June 17, 2005 Friday

WEATHER

TONY PERKINS, ABC NEWS

(Off Camera) Good morning, Bill. Good morning, Robin. Before we get
to the weather, very quickly, these two young ladies, I’ve got Maria
and Sada (PH), originally from Armenia, correct?

MARIA, AUDIENCE MEMBER

Correct, correct.

TONY PERKINS

(Off Camera) Now, now, we’ve been talking. You speak wonderful
English. And tell me how and why you learned to speak English.

MARIA

Well, when we were kids, Sada and myself in Armenia, we were just
small children, we listened to the Beatle songs. We adore the Beatle
songs. And they inspired us to learn English because we wanted to
understand what the Beatles were saying in those beautiful,
“Michelle,” “Girl,” “Ticket to Ride,” right? So, we wanted to know
what it was all about. And the Beatles inspired us to study English
and, hey, I’m studying English here as well. I am planning to become
a professor of English language. So, they truly, truly inspired me.

TONY PERKINS

(Off Camera) And they are big Beatles, Beatles fans and Ringo fans.
Hold up the beautiful signs.

MARIA

Absolutely.

TONY PERKINS

(Off Camera) We got a gift for you. I think you’ll like this. Ringo’s
new CD, signed by the man himself. Right there for you. Thank you
very much.

MARIA

Thank you.

TONY PERKINS

(Off Camera) All right. That’s all we have time for here. Let’s find
out what’s happening in your neighborhood.

graphics: national map

TONY PERKINS

(Off Camera) Thank you very much. This weather report brought to you
by … Robin, back to you.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
June 20 2005

Opposition Criticizes Vote In Nagorno-Karabakh

(RFE/RL)
20 June 2005 (RFE/RL) — The opposition bloc in the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is criticizing the region’s 19 June
parliamentary elections as unfair, RFE/RL’s Armenian and Azerbaijani
services reported.

Gegam Bagdasaryan, a representative of the opposition bloc, said on
20 June that the opposition accuses authorities of abusing their
administrative resources to influence the outcome of the election.

Early vote results show that the opposition took only three out of
the 33 seats in parliament in the voting.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a self-proclaimed republic, but it is not
recognized by the international community.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the territory in the early
1990’s in which an estimated 25,000 people were killed and hundreds
of thousands of Azeris were driven from the territory.

Azerbaijan still claims the territory, which is under Armenian
control.

Azeri officials say said any vote in the region will remain illegal
until hundreds of thousands of Azeris banished from Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven surrounding regions are allowed to return.

REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF IRAN MEET WITH CANDIDATES FOR IRI PRESIDENT

TEHERAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the eve of
the 9th president’s elections of Iran, on the initiatuve of the
Iranian Armenian national authorities, eight candidates for the IRI
President were addressed applications for meetings at which demands
of the Iranian Armenians and information about their difficulties
and unsolved issues are to be presented. Meeting the invitation,
Tajzade, the representative of Doctor Moini, a candidate for
President, visited the Armenian National Primacy of Teheran on June
14. He presented the candidates’ programs and approaches concerning
religious minorities and other issues. He was presented demands of
the Iranian Armenians. According to the “Alik” daily of Teheran,
in the same evening, the representatives of the Armenian community
of Iran had meetings with ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, a candidate
for presidency, who was also presented issues and demands the Iranian
Armenians were interested in. Early on June 15, representatives of
national authorities had a meeting with candidate Mohsen Mehralizade,
and later with candidate Kearubi. A letter signed by the Chief
of Doctor Ghalibaf’s electoral center was received, according to
which the candidate is out of Teheran and asks Armenian compatriots’
pardon. The other two candidates, Rezayi and Ahmadinezhad have not
answered the applications. On the eve of the president’s election,
Iranian Armenian youth and students addressed questions concerning
issues touching the Armenians in general, and the Iranian Armenians,
in particular, to the candidates’ electoral centers. Candidates Moin,
Rafsanjani and Kearubi answered questions of the “Hunan Davtian”
Students Union. On June 16, on the initiative of the same union, a
“roundtable” will be organized at the hall of “Alik” on the theme of
the president’s elections.

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA EXPRESSES HIS SUPPORT FOR THE OFFICE OF
THE OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, June 17. /ARKA/. On June 16, 2005 U.S. Ambassador John Evans
met with Larisa Alaverdyan, Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic
of Armenia. According to the source in U.S. Embassy, Ambassador
Evans expressed his support for the Office of the Ombudsman and the
democratic principles for which it stands. As an expression of this
support, Ambassador Evans presented the office with a computer to
aid in its important work. The rights of women, children, refugees,
and other vulnerable groups is an important priority for the U.S.
Embassy. L.V.-0–

SOUTH CAUCASIAN PARLIAMENTS TO ESTABLISH PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

Armenpress

TBILISI, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS: Nino Burjanadze, the speaker of Georgian
parliament, Armenian deputy parliament speaker Tigran Torosian and
Siyavush Novruzov, a parliament member from Azerbaijan’s ruling
Yeni Azerbaijan party signed yesterday in Tbilisi a memorandum on
establishment of a parliamentary assembly of the South Caucasus
countries.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, Nino Burjanadze said that despite
the existing problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan, politicians
of these countries sat side by side to discuss their differences in
various issues.

She also stressed the importance of this initiative saying it would
promote regional stability and solution of a range of complicated
problems.

She said the assembly would help the three nations to come up with a
single position on their cooperation with European organizations. “We
are determined to demonstrate to all that the South Caucasus has great
prospects despite its problems and unresolved conflicts,” she said.

OSKANIAN MEETS SCHEFFER AND SOLANA IN BRUSSELS

AZG Armenian Daily #111, 17/06/2005

Armenia-NATO

On June 16, Armenian foreign minister submitted Armenia’s
Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) to the Nato headquarters in
Brussels. The document includes the steps that Yerevan blueprinted to
deepen Armenia-Nato cooperation in the spheres of security and defense.

A press release by the RA Foreign Ministry informs that Vartan Oskanian
dwelled upon the questions of 26 Nato ambassadors concerning Nagorno
Karabakh regulation, Armenian-Turkish, Armenian-Russian relations
as well as the cooperation on the sidelines of Collective Security
Agreement.

In Brussels, Minister Oskanian met Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Schafer and the EU high representative for CFSP Javier Solana. They
discussed the present stage of Karabakh conflict regulation, prospects
of regional cooperation, including the issue of Armenian-Turkish
border opening, EU’s neighborhood policy.

Today, Oskanian will leave for Paris where the OSCE Minsk group
co-chairs will mediate a meeting with Azerbaijani foreign minister
Elmar Mamediarov.

Embassy of The United States
Yerevan, Armenia
16 June 2005

U.S. Embassy Brings Bluegrass Mountain Music to Armenia
“Bob Perilla’s Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band” performed several concerts in
Gyumri, Dilijan, Lake Sevan, Vayots Dzor, and Yerevan, at the invitation of
the U.S. Embassy in Armenia.

U.S. Embassy Brings Bluegrass Mountain Music to Armenia

“Bob Perilla’s Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band” performed several
concerts in Gyumri, Dilijan, Lake Sevan, Vayots Dzor, and Yerevan,
at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia. Bluegrass, a
uniquely American form of music, is vibrant, fast and fun. Known for
the distinctive sound of the banjo, four-part harmonies, and raucous
fiddle playing, the bluegrass sound originated among 18th century
settlers in the Blueridge Mountains (which run along the America’s
east coast, from Georgia to Virginia.)

“Bob Perilla’s Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band” is a five-member
bluegrass band based in Washington, DC, which performs bluegrass,
country, folk and original material and boasts over 100 years of
combined musical experience.

The band’s instrumentation includes: guitar, fiddle, upright bass,
banjo and mandolin. The group has appeared several times at the Kennedy
Center, is performer-in-residence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
and performs regularly in Washington, DC area music clubs.

The band completed its tour of the Caucuses in Armenia, after
performing in both Georgia and Azerbaijan.

AMBASSADOR EVANS DESERVES THE AWARD

Congressional Record
June 15, 2005 (House)]

(Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans,
recently received an award from the American Foreign Service
Association for constructive dissent that is intended to “foster
creativity and intellectual courage within the State Department
bureaucracy.”

Last year, the winner was critical of the Iraq war.

Ambassador Evans’ constructive dissent was calling the deaths of 1.5
million Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 genocide. Our
national policy towards the 1915 events calls it a tragedy, but
not genocide.

So Turkey was very upset, as were a number of “very serious people”
at the State Department. And this award, intended to encourage dissent,
was revoked.

Obviously, the State Department was concerned about upsetting our ally,
Turkey, though the facts seem to support the ambassador here. The
sad thing is that an award intended to encourage dissent has now
reinforced the powers that be. It seems the State Department is
okay with dissent from the policy of a Republican President in Iraq,
but it opposes dissent from a policy that denies the truth.

So much for intellectual courage.

WEAK PARLIAMENTARY POSITION OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PREVENTS IT FROM
HOLDING REFERENDUM VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN PRES.KOCHARIAN: FREEDOM HOUSE

YEREVAN, JUNE 16. ARMINFO. Widespread corruption and weak governance
remained defining features of Armenia’s political system in 2004,
saYs Freedom House in its report on he democracy situation in the
post-Soviet states.

The reports says that little progress was made in reducing the powers
of the presidency, despite international pressure. The opposition
continued to press for a referendum vote of confidence in President
Robert Kocharian, but its weak parliamentary position and the general
public’s disillusionment with the political class prevented success.
A disturbing rise in the number of assaults on journalists results in
a deterioration of Armenia’s Nations in Transit rating for independent
media. The use of so-called administrative arrests, torture within
the police system, and a new Law on Demonstrations in 2004 results
in a lower rating in the category of judicial framework & independence.