Author: Toganian Liana

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

May 20, 2005
___________________

DIOCESN LEGATE AND LEGATE COMMITTEE IS LEADING THE CHARGE FOR
REPOSSEISSION OF ARMENIAN CHURCHES IN GEORGIA

The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) is urging
the American government to put pressure on the Republic of Georgia
to safeguard and return possession of Armenian churches there.

“We have been in touch with a number of people in leadership positions
worldwide,” said Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and ecumenical
officer. “We are very much involved in finding a solution.”

When the Soviets took over Georgia in the 1920s, more than 600 Armenian
churches were seized by authorities. It was hoped that when Georgia
gained its independence, the Republic of Armenia would be able to
negotiate with its neighbor for the return of those buildings. That
has not happened.

Since 1990 an additional 35 Armenian churches have been seized and
stripped of their inscriptions and sacred images, which have been
replaced with Georgian inscriptions and paintings, and have been used
as Georgian sanctuaries.

“We are all hopeful that this will be resolved soon and peacefully,
so as to avoid any mistrust between our two peoples,” Bishop Aykazian
said. “We are hopeful that the United States will press on the
government of Georgia to register the Armenian churches and return
them to the Armenians.”

To that end, Bishop Aykazian met last month with Mathew Bryza, the
official in charge of the Caucasian and Central Asian desk in the
U.S. National Security Office, prior to President George Bush’s trip
to Georgia.

“I told him our relationship should always be good with the Georgians
and we don’t want to create any problems but that we believe this
issue should be solve soon and peacefully,” Bishop Aykazian said. “I
urged the administration to raise the issue with the Georgians.”

Bishop Aykazian said that Mr. Bryza promised to place this information
as well as Samvel Karapetyan’s book on the subject on the President’s
desk. He also said that President Bush was very interested in issues
concerning the civil and religious freedoms of the minorities in
Georgia, and that during his visit he will meet with representatives
of minority groups. Bishop Aykazian was awaiting a follow up meeting
with the White House following the President’s return from his
Georgian trip.

Bishop Aykazian also met last month in Armenia with Tom Samuelian
and Samvel Karapetyan, two experts on the matter. Legate’s Executive
Committee members Kevork Toroyan (Chairman), Cesar Chekijian, Michael
Haratunian, and Oscar Tatosian, have all been active conferring with
various active Armenian community members, such as Van Krikorian,
the Armenian Assembly, and Samvel Karapetyan to get their assistance
in compiling documentary evidence and seeking the support of the
U.S. State Department.

— 5/20/05

# # #

The Messenger, Georgia
May 18 2005

Saakashvili reiterates call for “new Yalta”
Georgian president outlines foreign policy priorities; base
negotiations again fruitless
By Anna Arzanova

Inside the Council of Europe summit in Warsaw

President Mikheil Saakashvili has called for the Council of Europe to
pay greater attention to the post-Soviet sphere on Tuesday, singling
out Belarus for particular attention.

In a ten minute address to representatives from 46 different countries
at the May 16-17CoE summit in Warsaw, Saakashvili discussed his
proposal for a new Yalta Conference first outlined in an article
published in The Washington Post last week.

“Democracy, independence and freedom should be strengthened in the
Black Sea region … It is time to return to Yalta. This time we will
not engage in a secret diplomacy in which our values are compromised
and innocent peoples are enslaved,” he said, repeating the words he
used in the Washington Post article.

In the article, Saakashvili stated that the original Yalta Conference,
sixty years ago, “relegated millions of people to a ruthless
tyranny.” Now, he said, “it is time for a new Yalta Conference, a
voluntary association of new European democracies” that will “make
Yalta a symbol of hope.”

At the Warsaw summit, Saakashvili expanded on his proposal, stating
that this new alliance of democracies would be “public and transparent”
and would be “focused on the future.”

Amongst the issues that he believed such a conference should address
were Georgia’s frozen conflicts, which he described as “black holes
in Europe.” With Europe’s help it would be possible to resolve these
conflicts through peaceful means, he stated.

Saakashvili also said there was a need for Europe to pay closer
attention to Belarus, a country where “ten million people remain in
captivity of the regime. Alexander Lukashenko’s regime rules through
fear, yet fears its own people,” the Georgian president said.

“The world can do much more and Europe too can do much more to aid
the Belarusan people in their quest for freedom,” he added.

Saakashvili was backed by a number of other European leaders, including
President of Lithuania Valdis Adamkus, who described Lithuania’s
neighbor Belarus as a “gray space on the map of European democracy.”

“Lukashenko’s regime is self-isolated and through this forces the
Belarusan people to lose the chance to be part of the European
family. This is my address: do not close your eyes on Belarus’s
situation,” he said, adding that Europe should help this country and
its people to build open and democratic society.

Georgia’s foreign policy priorities

Speaking at the CoE summit, Saakashvili turned to the priorities
of Georgian foreign policy, saying that “Bush’s visit to Georgia,
our participation in this historic summit in the middle of Europe
and negotiations regarding the withdrawal of Russian military bases
symbolize the three main directions of our policy” – to build closer
ties with the United States, Europe and Russia.

The Georgian president explained that the country was striving for
“European integration and at the same time has very close relations
with the United States, confirmation of which was George Bush’s visit
to Georgia. At the same time, Georgia is making every effort to have
friendly relations with Russia.”

The latest phase of this effort to improve relations with Russia is to
reach an agreement on the terms of withdrawal of Russia’s bases from
Georgia, an issue that has proved a thorn in the side of relations
between the two countries.

In Warsaw, Georgian and Russian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Salome
Zourabichvili and Sergei Lavrov again met to discuss the issue,
but were again unable to reach a final agreement.

Speaking at a press conference in the Polish capital on May 16,
Lavrov commented on the Georgian parliament resolution which came
into force on Monday and calls for the bases to be declared illegal
and their operation disrupted in order to force their withdrawal.

Lavrov stated that Russia is doing all it can “to ensure that nothing
threaten the normal life, property, armament as well as military
equipment of those Russian citizens who are on Georgian territory
and who work in these military bases as well as the bases itself.”

He expressed his frustration at the meeting with Zourabichvili,
saying that it was not necessary to travel to Warsaw for such a
meeting, and that negotiations should take place alternatively in
Moscow and Tbilisi.

He suggested that such meetings were unnecessary, as an agreement
has already been reached in principle. “Now it is required that
professionals agree upon how to implement the withdrawal of these
bases, and the participation of the Georgian side will be necessary
in this issue,” he said, adding that such discussions were already
underway.

The Russian minister expressed his belief that had such discussions
already been completed, and agreement would have been reached, adding
that the Georgian government was jeopardizing the process by seeking
to make political gain out of the situation.

Also at the Warsaw summit

Aside from Saakashvili’s speech and the Zourabichvili-Lavrov meeting,
several important decisions were taken at the Warsaw summit, including
the decision to fight jointly against terrorism, money laundering,
and human trafficking.

One topic of discussion was the Council of Europe itself. It was
suggested that the organization should be strengthened so as to be
able to make important decisions in order to establish its role across
the entire European continent with the aim that the 800 million people
of Europe live under free and democratic regimes.

The leaders of the European countries attending the summit expressed
their hope that Warsaw, which suffered perhaps more than any other
city in the Second World War, become a symbol of democracy and the
defeat of violence, racism and anti-Semitism.

Polish President Alexander Kvasnevsky stated that there was a need
to do more to ensure the freedom of the press and protection of human
rights across the continent.

“My country has become the eastern border of the European Union. Our
continent is not finally developed. Press limitation, violation of
human rights and smuggling cause the disintegration of Europe and we
should fight against this,” he said.

Also at the summit, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met for
talks for the first time in thirteen years. The details of the talks
remain unknown, though it is reported that Nagorno-Karabakh was to
be discussed.

Council of Europe sings praises of unity amid notes of discord

Agence France Presse — English
May 16, 2005 Monday 6:18 PM GMT

WARSAW May 16 — The Council of Europe, the pan-European human rights
watchdog, has risen from the ashes of World War II to become one of
the pillars of European unity, participants at the council’s third
summit meeting heard in Warsaw on Monday.

“Never before has Europe been so strong, so safe, so close to being
united,” President Aleksander Kwasniewski of host nation Poland told
delegates in Warsaw’s Royal Castle, which, like many landmarks in the
Polish capital, was rebuilt after being reduced to rubble in World
War II.

But while they too sang the praises of the council, fledgling
democracies, which have swelled the council’s membership since the
break-up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, sounded minor notes
of discord, underscoring the need for the council as an organisation
using dialogue to promote understanding and unity.

After more than 50 years, the council “has not lost its value or
importance,” said Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan, before
responding strongly to charges minutes earlier by Azerbaijan’s
President Ilham Aliyev that Armenia was occupying Azeri land.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a stalemate over the
majority Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh since a six-year war
ended with a tenuous ceasefire in 1994.

Aliyev “placed a very serious charge on Armenia without mentioning
our name when he said it was unacceptable that one member state of
the Council of Europe should occupy another’s territory.

“Armenia has never occupied Azerbaijan’s land. Armenia is in
Nagorno-Karabakh because Azerbaijan will not dialogue with the people
there, who want self-determination,” Oskanyan said.

President Mikhail Saakashvili of the former Soviet republic of Georgia
described separatist rebellions in Moldova and Georgia as “black holes
on the map of Europe,” and called on the council to work with other
global organisations to be capable of dealing with what he called
“frozen conflicts.”

“Moldova like Georgia faces a separatist conflict that is maintained
with cast-off Soviet weaponry and profits from trafficking in weapons,
drugs and women,” Saakashvili said.

“These are the last razor sharp splinters of the Soviet empire,” he
told the summit, which has gathered scores of high-level officials from
throughout Europe, including 22 presidents and 13 prime ministers,
to chart the future of the continent’s oldest post-World War II
political organisation.

He called for help for Georgia and other new democracies, which face
an uphill struggle to build lasting democracies.

Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko, who came to power in that country’s
“orange revolution” late last year, “faces real challenges in
rebuilding his country’s economy and ending corruption and criminality,
the legacies of decades of repressive rule,” said Saakashvili, who
himself took power following a peaceful uprising.

The Georgian leader also called on the council to help Belarus —
and its isolated president — on the path to democracy.

“The regime of Alexander Lukashenko rules by fear. The world and the
Council of Europe should do much much more to help the Belarussian
people in their quest for freedom,” Saakashvili said.

The Belarus president has been criticised in the West for the alleged
systematic persecution of his political opponents, for rights abuses
and hampering freedom of the press.

The council’s Secretary-General Terry Davis, a former British lawmaker
from multi-ethnic Birmingham also urged summiteers to “campaign
against the new evil of terrorism and the old evil of racism.”

He has described the council’s main role as to encourage better
understanding between peoples.

Throughout the day, delegates at the first summit since the European
Union added 10 new members in May last year signed conventions on the
prevention of terrorism, human trafficking, money laundering and the
financing of terrorist acts.

They then have to be ratified by individual parliaments before becoming
part of the statute books.

MONITORING POSTPONED

A1plus

| 14:41:39 | 18-05-2005 | Official |

The anticipated monitoring at the contact line of the NKR and
Azerbaijan armed forces did not take place. May 20 is mentioned as a
new date of the monitoring. By the way, the OSCE representatives were
to observe the area of the village Chemenly of the Aghdam region. To
information is given for the postponing of the monitoring.

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA PRESENTED CREDENTIALS TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Pan Armenian News
19.05.2005 02:34

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Newly appointed Russian Ambassador to Armenia Nikolay
Pavlov presented credentials to Armenian President Robert Kocharian,
reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. In the course of
the meeting R. Kocharian noted that the Armenian-Russian relations
are continuously developing and said he hoped for the newly appointed
Ambassador to make his notable contribution to the process. In his
turn Nikolay Pavlov stated he already has certain ideas concerning
the development of the Armenian-Russian economic cooperation. He said
he was sure that he will use his whole experience and knowledge not
only to continue the Armenian-Russian cooperation that has become
traditional, but also to supplement it with new directions.

ARMENIAN NGOs HOLD MONITORING OF FULFILMENT OF OBLIGATIONS ASSUMED BY ARMENIA TOWARDS CE

YEREVAN, MAY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The May 18 seminar organized by the
Cooperation in the Name of Fair Society initiative was dedicated to
the discussion of the process of fulfilment of obligations assumed by
Armenia towards the CE. It was reported at the seminar that a number
of NGOs – Democracy, Cooperation in the Name of Democracy, Helsinki
Committee of Armenia and others, held monitoring of fulfilment
of obligations assumed by Armenia towards the CE. The work was
coordinated by the Yerevan Press Club with the financial assistance
of the Institute of Open Society. According to Vardan Poghosian,
Chairman of the Democracy organization, the fulfilment of these
obligations and, first of all, constitutional amendments, is the
indicator of the way Armenia will go by. He mentioned that in spite
of some improvement in the process of human rights and main freedoms,
human rights during a legal procedure weren’t taken into account in
the package of constitutional amendments. He mentioned appointment
and not election of Yerevan Mayor as a significant shortcoming in the
draft of constitutional amendments. The speech of Hrayr Tovmasian,
another representative of the same organization, was dedicated to
issues of reformation of the Electoral Code and judicial system. He
pointed to the necessity of formation of electoral commissions on the
balanced basis: “As long as there isn’t equal number of commission
members from the power and opposition this will be a serious obstacle
for elections.” According to Tovmasian, three factors are necessary
for holding fair elections: admissible Electoral Code, political
will of country’s leadership and society’s political culture. As
for the judicial sphere, in G.Tovmasian’s estimation, President’s
key role both in formation of the Council of Justice and in the
issue of appointment of judges is quite obvious. “In essence, the
judicial power became the continuation of the executive power.” It
was mentioned at the seminar that the final report on monitoring
results will be submitted in September.

Greek Cypriot Leader: My Country Under Occupation

By Zaman
Published: Wednesday 18, 2005
zaman.com

Following Armenian President Robert Kocharian accusing Turkey of
committing “genocide” at the 3rd Council of Europe summit on Tuesday,
May 17, the Greek Cypriot leader Tasos Papadopulous on the same day
defined Ankara as an occupier.

The Greek Cypriot leader revealed in a speech he made yesterday
that 37 percent of his country is under the occupation of “foreign
military forces”. While making his accusations, Papadopulous did not
make a direct reference to Turkey by explicitly naming them. Noting
that Cyprus’ history is one of struggle for unity and sovereignty,
the Greek leader said: “Our history is full of examples, in which the
foreign military forces, that occupied 37 percent of Cyprus, have
fiercely violated the basic human rights of our citizens. Failing
to reveal the fate of missing people is only one example of this.”
Papadopulous stressed the importance of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) implying that Turkey has been late in the
implementations of the ECHR verdicts, again without actually saying
the word Turkey. The Greek Cypriot leader also claimed that he will
make efforts to find a solution in Cyprus.

Warsaw

Electoral campaign gets under way in Nagornyy Karabakh Republic (NKR)

Mediamax news agency
16 May 05

Yerevan, 16 May: The electoral campaigns of parliamentary candidates
started in the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic (NKR) today. The elections
to the National Assembly are scheduled for 19 June.

Mediamax has learnt from the NKR Central Electoral Commission [CEC]
that eight out of the nine parties operating in the republic have
submitted their lists to the CEC and the lists were registered. Two
parties – the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Artsakh –
Dashnaktsutyun and Movement-88 – will stand in the elections in
one bloc.

In accordance with the NKR’s new electoral code, for the first time
elections will be held also under the proportional system. One third
of the seats in the 33-seat parliament is envisaged for MPs elected
under the proportional system. A total of 127 candidates are competing
for 22 MP seats under the first-past-the-post system.

The parties registered by the CEC will be given both paid and free
air time on the NKR’s Public TV and radio company. The candidates
registered under the first-past-the-post system are entitled to pay
for their TV and radio time from their electoral funds.

ANSA English Media Service
May 13, 2005

ARMENIA/TURKEY: YEREVAN READY TO RESUME TIES

ANKARA

(ANSA) – ANKARA, May 13 – Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian has for the first time said that the border between
Armenia and Turkey could be opened by the end of 2005 and that
diplomatic relations between the two countries could be resumed.

“The current conditions allow a normalisation of the
relations between Armenia and Turkey,” the Turkish media quoted
Margarian as saying in Yerevan. “We must do everything possible
to open the border by the end of the year in order to resume
diplomatic relations between the two countries.”

The border between Armenia and Turkey was closed and
relations broken off due to two reasons.

The first thorny issue is the controversial conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh in 1989-1994, which ended with the occupation
of the region and neighbouring areas by the Armenians and the
immigration of nearly a million ethnic Azeri to Azerbaijan.

The second stumbling block is the controversy on the massacre
of 1.5 million Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915 and 1916.

The Armenians, supported by many countries throughout the
world, call for the massacre to be recognised as “genocide”
while Turkey opposes such a definition and has recently proposed
the formation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to examine
the issue.

The European Union is pressing upon both countries to
normalise ties.

An informal meeting between Margarian and Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to take place next week on
the sidelines of the European Council summit in Warsaw on May 16
and 17. (ANSA).

Turkish Press
May 12 2005

HISTORIC COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEETING SET FOR NEXT WEEK

The Third Council of Europe Summit will be held in Warsaw, Poland
next Monday and Tuesday, where Turkey will be represented by Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The summit is important for discussing
the period following last December’s European Union summit, the issue
of PKK terrorist group leader Abdullah Ocalan’s retrial and the
Armenian issue. In addition, the council’s future role in Europe and
its contribution to the effectiveness of the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) will also be discussed. /Star/