Author: Toneyan Mark

ARAM SARGSIAN, ACCORDING TO HIMSELF, HAD MEETINGS AT RATHER HIGH LEVEL IN US

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Aram Sargsian, Chairman of the
Political Board of Hanrapetutiun (Republic) party, who has lately
returned from the US, avoided to publicize the results of the visit
that provoked great interest. In his interview to press Sargsian
reported that he had meetings at rather a high level in the US, which
was a surprise even for him. Not willing to speak about the content of
the discussions yet, he assured that he doesn’t condition his
political activity by “various guarantees.” He also mentioned that the
time of the visit was rightly chosen, as Turkish Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister, as well as Armenian Foreign Minister were in the US
simultaneously with him and they stayed at the same hotel. Aram
Sargsian refuted the information that he declared in the US about
Hanrapetutiun party’s leaving the Ardarutiun (Justice) bloc and the
intention of party representatives to put down their deputy
mandates. Aram Sargsian declared that the power shift in Armenia can
be carried out exclusively through a revolution and confirmed his
conviction that the state elections will be special.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT CALLS ON EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO IGNORE ELECTIONS
IN NKR

YEREVAN, JUNE 18. ARMINFO. The Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan made an
appeal to the parliaments of European countries in connection with the
parliamentary elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. To remind,
the elections in NKR will be held Sunday.

As Day.az informs, the authors of the appeal mention that “to
conduct elections in conditions of territorial seizure contradicts
the principles of the international law and the Constitution of
Azerbaijan”. “That’s why these elections does not have any legal
force”, said in the appeal. The information about the participation
of deputies of the parliaments of a number of EU countries in the
elections as observers arouse anxiety, Azerbaijani MPs think. In this
connection the parliament of Azerbaijan calls on the parliaments
of European countries not to permit the participation of their
representatives in the elections in NKR.

AZ Central.com, AZ
June 17 2005

Armenian community gets ready to build own church

Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 17, 2005 12:00 AM

SCOTTSDALE – Amid a chorus of prayers and in a cloud of incense,
the pontiff of the Armenian Church gave his blessing for the Armenian
community in Arizona to build a church for itself in Scottsdale.

His Holiness Karekin II stopped at the Armenian Apostolic Church of
Arizona on Thursday as part of a three-week U.S. tour. For Armenians,
the church is the foundation for community, and it’s something Arizona
doesn’t have.

Karekin II’s position, Catholicos of All Armenians, is the highest
title in the Armenian Church, and he leads about 7 million people
worldwide. advertisement

“I’m very proud of this,” said Ophelia Baghtchedjian, who left
Armenia in 1968. “He’s from Armenia, my country, where I grew up.
He’s very proud of our community here.”

Baghtchedjian, of Scottsdale, was blessed twice on Thursday by Karekin
II. She had practiced what to say when greeting him, but when the
catholicos approached her, she got tongue-tied. Her daughter, Victoria
Baghtchedjian, also was blessed.

“It gets to the core where you feel he is a representative of a higher
power,” Victoria said.

About 300 people attended the ceremony at the small Scottsdale church,
which has about 90 families.

“We’re hoping with the groundbreaking and the visit, more people
will become members,” said Donna Sirounian, the church’s fund-raising
chairwoman.

The new church will cost about $1.5 million, Sirounian said, and
about two-thirds of that has been raised. Groundbreaking is scheduled
for early next year, and the building process should take at least
eight months.

In 1992, church members built a cultural center at 8849 E. Cholla St.,
which now doubles as the church’s hub for religious and non-religious
activities. The planned 6,000-square-foot sanctuary would hold only
worship services.

The Armenian community has been in the area since the 1950s. But
before the cultural center was built, members would hold services at
homes or other churches.

The Scottsdale location is Arizona’s only Armenian Church and serves
the state’s 2,200 families of Armenian descent.

Since A.D. 301, Christianity has been the official religion of
Armenia, which is east of Turkey in southwestern Asia. In another
U.S. visit in 2001, Karekin II came to Scottsdale to celebrate that
1,700th anniversary.

SHIKAHOGH RESERVE SAVED

A1plus

| 14:07:09 | 17-06-2005 | Social |

The RA Government has decided to reconsider the idea of constructing a
road through the Shikahogh reserve. Today Transport and Communication
Minister Andranik Manoukyan announced about it during the discussion of
the matter. The discussion was organized in the American University
and besides non-governmental organizations, representatives of the
Government, the NA and ecological organizations were invited.

The highway connecting Armenia with Iran will probably be constructed
passing around the reserve. As a result of it the highway will become
longer for 7 kilometers. Now it will run 96 km instead of 89.

“Today a Committee has been created which will give the economic and
technical basis of the road”, announced Andranik Manoukyan. Minister
of Environment Vardan Ayvazyan who had also arrived at the discussion
added that because of the additional 7 kilometers many problems
arise. So he called the non-governmental organizations to help solve
the financial and technical problems with the same enthusiasm with
which they struggled for the Shikahigh reserve.

By the way, the members of the Government hinted that they have made
the decision not because of the pressure of the non-governmental
organizations but proceeding from strategic reasons. The participants
of the discussion were angry at the remark. The Ministers of Transport
and Environment, answering several questions, complained that they
were not aware of the question-answer process. So the Ministers
preferred to leave the discussion.

Nevertheless, representative of the non-governmental organization
“Forests of Armenia”, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan said, “There is not
a single official decision and we do not know how the road will be
constructed”. So, the participants mentioned that the non-governmental
organizations must continue the struggle.

Kommersant, Russia
June 17 2005

Gazprom Returns to the State

// A controlling interest in the company is nationalized in the
course of work

Government and business

Gazprom’s board of directors met once again in the Kremlin yesterday
and agreed on a deal for the sale of 10.74 percent of Gazprom’s
shares by four of its subsidiaries. The historic decision was made in
the absence of CEO Aleksey Miller, who had flown to Yerevan, and the
board was unable to agree on the procedure for paying Gazprom for its
property. Nevertheless, the chances of the state arriving at the
meeting of Gazprom shareholders on June 24 with a controlling
interest have sharply increased.

We remind our readers that, when it met on Wednesday evening,
Gazprom’s board of directors was supposed to approve the alienation
of 2.5425 billion of the company’s shares by four of its subsidiaries
~V ZAO AB Gazprombank, OOO Gazprominvestholding, the Gazfond
nongovernmental pension fund, and AO Gazpromfinance B.V. However, the
board was unable to make a decision, because the instructions to the
state representatives for voting on this question never arrived from
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov’s office.

Around midnight, the meeting was held over until the following day.
According to Kommersant’s information, it opened in the Kremlin at
15.00. According to an anonymous Gazprom official, it was much easier
to assemble all the state representatives there. Within an hour, the
board approved the purchase price of the shares ~V 203.5017 billion
rubles, or about $7.11 billion. And since this question was the only
item on the agenda, the meeting adjourned.

It is unknown what happened to the state’s plan to buy out the
Gazprom shares on the night of June 15 or why Prime Minister
Fradkov’s office could not prepare the document on time. According to
Kommersant’s information, the voting instructions for the state
representatives stipulated this exact buyout price and been approved
three days before by the Federal Property Management Agency
(Rosimushchestvo), the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade,
and the Ministry of Industry and Energy. We can only assume that on
the evening and night of June 15, the prime minister, having learned
from the bitter experience of constant changes in the merger plan for
Gazprom and Rosneft, was waiting for final approval of the deal from
President Vladimir Putin.

Somehow or other, by midday, the document was signed. We note that
Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller was not present at the historic board
meeting, which approved the legal nationalization of the state
shareholdings in Gazprom. First Deputy CEO Aleksandr Ananenkov and
Elena Karpel, the head of the economic examination department,
represented Gazprom in the kremlin, while Konstantin Chuichenko, the
head of Gazprom’s legal department, gave a report at the meeting.
However, one should not look for political motives in Miller’s
gesture ~V on Thursday morning, he flew out to a planned meeting with
Armenian President Robert Kocharian.

And there was hardly any discussion at the meeting; the format and
location of the meeting apparently did not anticipate any. Moreover,
according to Kommersant’s information, the board of directors did not
discuss the procedure for paying Gazprom the $7.11 billion. According
to the plan, the official buyer of the shares is AO Rosneftegaz.
According to Kommersant’s information, Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman
of Gazprom’s board of directors and head of the presidential
administration, announced only that payment would be made in
installments in several tranches.

The Gazprom share market did not react to the events; everyone was
already resigned to the fact that the amount paid for the
10.7-percent share package would be less important to foreign brokers
and would not imply a premium for consolidating the controlling
interest. Thus, Ilya Shcherbovich, the president the United Financial
Group, a minority Gazprom shareholder, told Kommersant yesterday that
~SOverall, I support the board’s decision, since it will impact
favorably on the process of liberalizing the Gazprom share market.~T
And Rosimushchestvo has already announced plans to transfer the
Gazprom shares to the fixed assets of Rosneftegaz before June 24, the
day of the annual meeting of Gazprom shareholders.

So far, Gazprombank looks like the only victim of the deal. According
to Kommersant’s information, alienating 1.25 percent of Gazprom’s
shares from its fixed assets would cause a hole to appear in them.
However, information appeared yesterday on the appointment of Nikolai
Senkevich, the head of OOO Gazprom Media, as vice president of
Gazprombank. A source from Senkevich’s circle associated this
appointment with the possible transfer of media assets from Gazprom
Media to Gazprom bank in order to close this hole. The same source
estimated that the value of these media assets was exactly equal to
the values of the Gazprom shares belonging to the bank.

Yesterday, a hastily assembled general meeting of Rosneftegaz
shareholders approved the purchase of the Gazprom shares. Now we have
only to wait for two events ~V a favorable conclusion of the deal
before June 24 and the signing of the documents liberalizing the
Gazprom share market. On the assumption that the deal was approved on
June 15 and 16, we can predict that both events will occur, but the
investors will still have something to worry about in the approval
procces.

by Dmitry Butrin, Natalia Grib, Elena Kiseleva

German parlt condemns 1915 killings of Armenians
By Nick Antonovics

Reuters, UK
June 16 2005

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s parliament condemned on Thursday the
mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago, sparking an
angry protest from Ankara.

Voting shortly after the government and opposition clashed over
whether Turkey should join the European Union, all main parties in
the Bundestag joined in deploring what many historians say amounted
to genocide.

The resolution stopped short of calling the killings genocide, a term
Turkey rejects, but it will test relations between Ankara and Berlin,
a staunch supporter of Turkish EU aspirations.

“This resolution is regrettable and we strongly condemn it,” said
the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It described the resolution as one-sided and “provocative” and said
it would hurt Turks’ feelings. It said German lawmakers had been
motivated by domestic politics and had ignored repeated warnings of
the harm the resolution would do to bilateral ties.

Turkey denies the claims that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide between 1915 and 1923 as the multi-ethnic Ottoman
Empire collapsed.

It accepts hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed but says
even more Turks died in a partisan conflict in which many Armenians
backed invading Russian troops.

TURKEY SAYS “HUGE INJUSTICE”

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told German reporters this
week that the resolution amounted to “a huge injustice toward Turkey
and Turks living in Germany,” the German newspaper Rheinische Post
reported on Thursday.

Teaching in German schools about the “destruction” of Armenians as
proposed by the resolution would create hostility against Turks among
German youth, the Turkish foreign ministry statement said.

Around 2 million Turks live in Germany. A Berlin police spokesman
said a demonstration was planned in front of the Armenian embassy in
Berlin on Saturday.

The resolution urged Turkey to set up an independent committee
of Turkish, Armenian and international historians to document what
happened and to hold a conference in Istanbul — postponed last month
— to examine the issue. The Turkish foreign ministry said Turkey
had opened its archives to historians and proposed establishment
of a joint commission between Turkey and Armenia to investigate
Turkish-Armenian relations during the Ottoman Empire.

The resolution also condemned the German government of the time for
failing to try to stop the killings despite having “information about
the organized expulsion and extermination of Armenians.”

Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire during World War One,
when the massacres took place.

“The German parliament is well aware from its own experience how
hard it is for all peoples to deal with the dark side of their past,”
the resolution said in a reference to Germany’s own Nazi regime and
its murder of millions of Jews.

ILL PEOPLE IN DANGER IN ARMENIA

A1plus

| 13:29:40 | 15-06-2005 | Social |

“A doctor of bad qualification is dangerous for the society”, this was
the announcement made by Health deputy Minister Tatoul Hakobyan in the
National Assembly. Proceeding from this principle, it was offered to
establish the state monopoly of the medical education with the Law
on Health which is still in the processing phase.

The specialists are afraid that the private higher educational
institutions do not provide decent education for the doctors. The
Education and Science Ministry has also been offered to exclude the
Bachelor and MA degrees from medical education. If the Ministry accept
the offer, that will also be taken into consideration in the law.

During the Parliamentary hearings organized by the Standing Committee
on Social Affairs, Health Care and Environment, the most important
issue was considered the discussion of the draft Law on Health with the
specialists of the field, that is with the doctors. By the way, there
is not a single clear-cut law n the Republic regulating the health
field. At present the Law on the medical care of the population adopted
in 1956 is practiced, but needless to say it does not correspond to
the present demands.

The draft law also offers to control the medical
technologies. According to the offer, the medical technologies must
be subject to simplified registration, so that not unknown medical
equipment is imported into the country.

The Law on Health will be discussed with all the concerned parties
for the coming 2 months before being represented to the NA to be
adopted by first hearing.

CHANGE OF IRANIAN PRESIDENT NOT TO AFFECT ARMENIAN-IRANIAN RELATIONS

Pan Armenian News
15.06.2005 05:06

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of the presidential administration, Co-Chair
of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission Artashes
Tumanian met today in Yerevan with Iranian Minister of Education
Morteza Haji , RA President~Rs press center reported. During
the meeting the parties expressed satisfaction with the present
level of the Iranian-Armenian relations noted the necessity of
developing them in new directions. They also discussed cooperation
in educational, scientific and social fields noting the importance
of taking the advantages of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental
commission. Artashes Tumanian pointed out to the strengthening of the
Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental ties and discussed the possibility
of opening the Armenian Consulate in Tebriz. When touching upon the
upcoming presidential election in Iran, Morteza Haji assured that with
victory of any presidential contender the Iranian-Armenian relations
will undergo no other changes but positive.

The Armenian lobby to launch a bill

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
June 14 2005

The new so-called Armenian genocide bill is expected to be passed
by a sub-committee of the International Relations Committee of the
House of Representatives.

Guncelleme: 05:16 ET 14 Haziran 2005 SalýWASHINGTON – A new draft
bill seeking recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide is to
be presented to the US House of Representatives within a fortnight,
according to Californian Democrat Adam Schiff.

The Armenian lobby in the US has been waiting to launch the bill and
it has been reported that efforts to submit the bill was diverted
during the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to
the US last week.

However, the chairman of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert
is reported to be determined not to present the bill to the assembly
even if it is passed by the House’s sub-committees.

The draft legislation claims that the Ottoman Empire committed acts
of genocide against its Armenian citizens during the First World War,
allegations that Turkey strongly denies.

–Boundary_(ID_ugtKwp7jGigrOrsSE6i3Ng)–

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: All Things Considered 8:00 AM EST NPR
June 8, 2005 Wednesday

Recap Tayyip Erdogan discusses terrorism, relations with the US and
membership in the European Union

MELISSA BLOCK, ROBERT SIEGEL

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I’m Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

And I’m Robert Siegel.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey met today with
President Bush. He is an interesting politician on the far end of an
interesting bilateral relationship. Erdogan used to advocate Islamist
politics in secular Turkey. He served a jail term for that.
Washington and Ankara are strategic partners despite complaints of
anti-US sentiment among the Turks. Relations were strained by
Turkey’s refusal in 2003 to provide a staging ground for US forces to
enter Iraq. The US backs Turkish entry into the European Union. Talks
are set for October 3rd on that. Also, Turkey faces a domestic
insurgency by the PKK, a movement of Turkish Kurds. America’s most
fervent supporters in Iraq are the Iraqi Kurds. And Prime Minister
Erdogan told me yesterday that the PKK is using Iraqi soil as a
staging ground for attacks to the north in Turkey.

Prime Minister RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN (Turkey): (Through Translator)
There are at the moment camps of the PKK terrorist organization in
northern Iraq. As you know, the Iranian terrorist organization the
People’s Mujahideen used to operate in this region. After the United
States’ intervention, the People’s Mujahideen was dispersed. We are
sharing intelligence with the United States on this matter. The
elimination of the terrorist organization is important for the future
of Turkey, for the future of Iraq and for the future of the region as
a whole.

SIEGEL: Do you think that the United States has the authority to get
those PKK camps out of northern Iraq?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) Not having the authority is
not an issue. Currently, the United States has a clear mission
against terrorist organizations. If terrorist organizations are
operating in the region while the United States is standing firm
against other terror groups, then why not the PKK, which has been
designated a terrorist organization by the United States?

SIEGEL: But what should the United States do? Should it ask the
people in Baghdad to get the camps out of northern Iraq? Should it
ask the Kurds in Iraq to get the camps out? Should it send troops in
and attack the camps in northern Iraq? What do you want the US to do?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) We will discuss these issues
with President Bush tomorrow.

SIEGEL: And what will you be saying?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) I believe that the United
States and the coalition forces are in the best position to decide
what to do more so than us.

SIEGEL: If the Americans whom you meet with in Washington suggest to
you that Turkey cool off its relations with Iran and Syria, would you
consider doing that?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) Look, these issues need to
be reviewed strategically. And, of course, we discuss these issues
with our strategic partner. Let’s not forget that in our relations
with our neighbors, we foster democracy, freedom, the rule of law and
human rights. We want to have warm relations with our neighbors in
this framework. The only way to address these issues is by
discussions.

SIEGEL: So you’re saying engagement with Iran, for example, talking
with Iran, is a way of assisting the growth of democracy in Iran?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) It’s hard to say what will
transpire in 10, 20 years. At the time of the revolution, they
weren’t holding elections as they do now. Now there are women in
parliament, Armenians in parliament, there are Shia, Sunnis, various
groups in parliament. This couldn’t have happened had there not been
elections. Now is this ideal? Of course not.

SIEGEL: Do the Americans you talk to agree with your appraisal of the
situation in Iran?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) Some do, some don’t. Not
everybody has to agree, just as I don’t have to agree with everyone
else.

SIEGEL: I want to ask you about something that happened to you
earlier in your life. You were put in prison. You were tried and
convicted, I gather, for reading a poem aloud, for reading an
Islamist poem aloud. If someone did that today in Turkey, could they
still be arrested and put in jail for doing it?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) First of all, the poem I
read was not an Islamist poem. The poet, in fact, was an ideologue of
Ataturk. The conviction was passed because it was me who recited the
poem. And since we came to power in Turkey, no one has been jailed
for expressing their thoughts, ideas or for reciting a poem.

SIEGEL: I guess I should broaden my question. Can one then read any
poem in Turkey aloud without fear that one might be arrested or
jailed?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) I think that they could, but
I’m not the judiciary. As you know, we have the principle of
separation of powers in Turkey as you do here. But I could not agree
to someone being convicted for this. A person could recite any poem
he chooses. It would not be appropriate to arrest someone as long as
the poem isn’t insulting or disrespectful to beliefs. Especially now
with the constitutional amendments we have carried out and the
democratic reforms we have undertaken, this is no longer possible.

SIEGEL: Do you regard the votes in France and in the Netherlands
about the European Constitution in effect a message to Ankara saying,
`Western Europe does not want Turkey in the European Union’?

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) It’s not possible for me to
say yes to this question. This vote had nothing to do with Turkey.
The referendum was on the European Union’s constitution.

SIEGEL: But Turkey was part of the backdrop. Turkey is one of the
issues surrounding Europe.

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) They’re using Turkey for
political ends; this hasn’t worked. In France, they looked at the
reasons behind the no votes, and the first reason is unemployment and
then there are the economic parameters. Turkey is not amongst the
reasons. Turkey is focused on October the 3rd. There is no question
about Turkey’s prospects for EU membership.

SIEGEL: You say that you will become a member of the EU.

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: (Through Translator) We’re continuing on our path
in a very determined manner.

SIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for talking with us.

Prime Min. ERDOGAN: Thank you very much.

SIEGEL: Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the prime minister of Turkey.