Author: Tumanian Talar

Minister rules out Karabakh’s subordination to Azerbaijan

Arminfo, Yerevan
30 Jul 05

STEPANAKERT

Control over the liberated territories is the prerogative of the
Nagornyy Karabakh authorities and decisions regarding the territories
cannot be adopted without the agreement of the people of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR], the foreign minister of the NKR, Arman
Melikyan, has said in an interview with our Arminfo correspondent.

In other words, he said, all issues related to the territories
controlled by the NKR should be regulated exclusively on the basis of
decisions adopted by the people and authorities of the NKR. Therefore,
statements made in Baku about the territories and the withdrawal of
the Armenian forces from them are only an illusion.

The security and prosperity of our people are unthinkable if Karabakh
is subordinate to totalitarian Azerbaijan which is suffering from
Armenophobia, and in this sense, Azerbaijan has nothing to count on.

“We can only talk about equal relationships between our countries,”
the minister pointed out.

‘HAYFILM’ ON SALE

Azg/arm
29 July 05

In accordance with Armenian Government’s decision N 727-A of April 21,
2005, the tender commission invites to take part in an open contest to
alienate the property of “Hayfilm” Film-Studio State Non-Commercial
Organization named after Hamo Beknazaryan.

To learn the terms and conditions of participation please visit the
Department of State Property Management by the Government of the
Republic of Armenia on or call the tender
commission on +374 10 52 76 35.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/27/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) Remembering Lisbon Five 22 Years Later
2) European Armenian Federation to Follow AXA Insurance Case Closely
3) Oskanian Reviews Armenia’s Energy Sector with IAEA Director
4) Prague to Protest Turkey’s EU Membership
5) Lebanon’s Knarik Mouradian Makes Chess History

1) Remembering Lisbon Five 22 Years Later

BEIRUT–Commemorations honoring the heroism of Sarkis Abrahamian, Setrak
Ajemian, Vatche Daghlian, Ara Kuhrjulian, and Simon Yahniyan took place at the
Bourj Hammoud National Cemetery on Tuesday.
On July 27, 1983, the five men, known as the Lisbon Five, stormed the Turkish
Embassy in Lisbon demanding Turkey acknowledge its 1915 genocide of
Armenians.
The five members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation seized the Turkish
Ambassador’s residence and set off explosives which destroyed the building and
killed themselves. In a note delivered to the news media during the takeover,
the Armenian Revolutionary Army (as they called themselves) said: `We have
decided to blow up this building and remain under the collapse. This is not
suicide nor an expression of insanity, but rather our sacrifice to the
altar of
freedom.’ The note also said that they had resorted to armed struggle because
peaceful means for the `pursuit of our just cause’ had failed.
Opening remarks at this year’s ceremonies in Lebanon were delivered by Sako
Eskidjian who stressed that the five men proved that strong ideals give birth
to a type of heroism that can transform words into action.
The keynote speaker Kajhag Koulajian began by quoting Karekin Njdeh who said,
“A people that do not strive to die a noble death, are not worthy of a
homeland–as a homeland is created with the sacred ashes of martyr’s.”
The message of martyrdom, he stressed, is to die a deliberate death–to
become
immortal by etching in the minds of generations, the sacred
traditions–national preservation and cultural development.
The speaker turned to national and Armenian establishments that have
instilled
and propelled a spirit that
The observance concluded with the singing of “Verkerov Lee.”

2) European Armenian Federation to Follow AXA Insurance Case Closely

BRUSSELS (EAFJD)–The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy
(EAFJD) called on the European Armenian community to closely follow
developments in the case against the AXA insurance company, which has refused
to compensate the heirs of the victims of the Armenian genocide.
The action against AXA, lodged in 2002, concerns the insurance contracts
purchased prior to 1915 by Armenians victims of the Genocide with the French
insurance company “Union Vie,” while the heirs of the victims have not, until
today, received any compensation.
Following the unprecedented success of the New York Life insurance case in
January 2004, when descendants of victims massacred in the Armenian
genocide of
1915 brought a class action lawsuit for unpaid life insurance benefits, the
EAFJD also urged Armenian members of the European community to send a message
to the top management of the AXA group calling attention to a fair resolution
of the legal proceedings.
In a July 27 statement, the EAFJD said: “It is encouraging, that 90 years
after the Genocide, the European and American companies are called on to
explain their past behavior, as the sums misappropriated by these companies
are
only a part of the immense damages that our people have been subjected to at
the beginning of the 20th century.”
“We expect from the executives of the AXA group, to take into consideration
this sensitive issue with full sense of responsibilities which demands the
tragic circumstances of the genocide,” the statement continued.
The petition form, available on , urges AXA to “deal with this
case with full attention and high sense of responsibilities which the 90th
anniversary of the genocide imposes.”
The AXA Group has a long-standing history. The Group can trace its roots
right
back to the 18th century. After a succession of mergers‚ acquisitions and name
changes involving some of the leading insurance companies in the UK and around
the world‚ the name AXA was first introduced in 1985.

3) Oskanian Reviews Armenia’s Energy Sector with IAEA Director

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with the
Director of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohammad Al-Baradei on July
27 to
discuss the development of Armenia’s energy sector. The IAEA, an
intergovernmental organization within the United Nations system known as the
“Atoms for Peace” association since 1957, is the world’s center of nuclear
cooperation and promotes the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear
technologies.
During the meeting, both emphasized the importance of Armenia-IAEA
cooperation
and referred to issues concerning the security of the Metsamor nuclear power
station, as well as the efficiency of the work carried out.

4) Prague to Protest Turkey’s EU Membership

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The capital city of the Czech Republic will be the site
for a major demonstration from the Voice for Europe international civic
initiative on Friday protesting Turkey’s membership in the European Union.
Czech members of the European Parliament Josef Zieleniec and Tomas Zatloukal
are set to take part in the protest.
Since May, the Voice for Europe has been collecting signatures from citizens
of several European Union countries, including the Czech Republic, under a
petition against Turkey’s EU entry.
About 30,000 people have signed the petition so far, including an outstanding
11,000 from the Czech Republic.
In a related development, Wolfgang Schäuble, vice president of Germany’s
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stated in an interview with a Polish daily
paper that Turkey should formally recognize the sovereignty of Cyprus as
one of
the conditions for EU membership talks, whose outcome should be “privileged
partnership.”
The CDU-CSU coalition is expected to make significant gains in the German
elections scheduled for September 18. According to Schäuble, “the EU should
not
extend beyond the boundary of what we call the European continent. Otherwise,
people will stop identifying with it. And if so, Turkey–the vast part of
which
lies outside Europe–cannot belong to the Union.”

5) Lebanon’s Knarik Mouradian Makes Chess History

–Becomes ‘Mens’ Champion

LEBANON–Lebanese Armenian Knarik Mouradian clenched her spot in chess
history
as she won the championship title in the national men’s chess tournament in
Lebanon on July 26–a feat completed by a marginal number of female chess
players. Mouradian, a HMEM member from Antelias, defeated her male opponent
during the last round, while her main competitor Ahmed Najjar was defeated.
Not a newcomer to championship titles, Mouradian won the women’s title at the
Arab Chess Championships in August 2004. She told reporters then: “I like
these
trophies. They look so nice and attractive and I am getting used to collecting
them.”

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The Messenger, Georgia
posted July 26 2005

PM rejects claims that grenade was made in Armenia

Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Markaryan refuted reports that the
grenade RGD-5 thrown in Tbilisi Freedom Square on May 10 when George
Bush was speaking had been produced in Armenia.
“Why Armenia? China maybe?” Markaryan told Georgian journalists in
Borjomi where he arrived together with the prime minister of Georgia.

He added that the suspect in the case, Vladimir Arutunian who has an
Armenian surname, is a citizen of Georgia.
“It has nothing in common with either Armenia, or Armenians. He is a
citizen of Georgia,” the prime minister said.

Azeri, Turkish ministers discuss military cooperation, Karabakh settlement

Turan news agency, Baku
21 Jul 05

Baku, 21 July: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov today
received Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul, who is paying a visit
to Azerbaijan.

The meeting exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the military,
political and economic spheres, the [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry
press centre reported. In Mammadyarov’s opinion, bilateral cooperation
is successfully developing both on a bilateral basis and within the
framework of NATO.

Talking about regional issues, Mammadyarov highlighted cooperation
in the security sphere between Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.

For his part, the Turkish minister recalled that the Turkish government
has provided Azerbaijan with military aid worth 170m dollars. He said
that this support will continue in the future.

The ministers had a wide exchange of opinions on the Karabakh
conflict. Vecdi Gonul said that Turkey has always clearly supported
Azerbaijan’s position on this issue.

The parties also touched on transport and energy projects, the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars [railway] and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [gas pipeline].

Azeri, Turkish ministers discuss military ties, Karabakh

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
20 Jul 05

[Presenter] The Turkish and Azerbaijani defence ministers, Vecdi Gonul
and Safar Abiyev, have focused on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem in
their talks. They also discussed cooperation within the framework of
NATO and Turkey’s role in building up the Azerbaijani army.

[Correspondent over video of the ministers greeting each other and
inspecting the guard of honour] Turkish-Azerbaijani relations have
deep historical roots and are rapidly developing, Turkish Defence
Minister Gonul told his Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev at
the meeting. The minister expressed satisfaction with his visit to
Azerbaijan. Mr Gonul said relations between the two fraternal countries
have a firm foundation and regarded as important the strengthening of
cooperation in the military sphere. The Turkish guest touched on the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem and said that the problem should be resolved
while observing the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Defence Minister Safar Abiyev said Turkey is expanding cooperation
with Azerbaijan as part of NATO’s partnership programme. From this
standpoint, it is natural that Turkey is assisting our armed forces.
Azerbaijan has always viewed fraternal Turkey as its strategic ally
and this cooperation will continue, Abiyev said.

Mr Abiyev also spoke about economic reforms carried out in the
country. He described the launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and
the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines as important developments. The
defence minister stressed that the two countries were cooperating
successfully in maintaining the security of international export
pipelines.

[Passage omitted: more about schedule of Gonul’s visit]

INTELLECTUALS CONCERNED WITH FATE OF ARMENIAN MONUMENTS IN TURKEY

ArmenPress
July 15 2005

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS: Members of Armenian intellectual
community, concerned with the plight of Armenian historical and
cultural monuments in Turkey, have welcomed today the authorities’
efforts for international recognition of Armenian genocide in the
Ottoman empire, but urged them to condemn Turkish authorities’ policy
of destruction and misappropriation of Armenian monuments and ask
international organizations to hold Turkey responsible for this crime.

Ruben Safrastian, head of Turkey division at the Institute of Oriental
Studies, said thousands of Armenian cultural monuments are subject to a
policy of willful neglect and destruction on the part of Turkey. This
policy violates Turkey’s commitments under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty,
which does have enforcement mechanisms. Under the treaty, “the Turkish
government undertakes to grant full protection to the churches”
of Turkish nationals belonging to non-Moslem minorities.”

Safrastian said Armenian authorities must make full use of relevant
international legislation to stop the barbaric policy of Turkey and
urged Armenian authorities to raise this issue at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) saying PACE would not hesitate
to offer its support. He said Turkey has also signed various treaties
that provide for the protection of monuments.

These treaties include the 1954 Hague treaty and the UNESCO treaties of
1970 and 1972. He said Turkey actively uses these treaties to sue for
possession of cultural artifacts that originate within its territory.

Using the UNESCO treaties, Turkey gets financial support from
the international community to maintain selected monuments, but
discriminates, however, against important monuments of Armenian
origin. He also cited UNESCO data about Armenian monuments in Turkey,
which say that after 1915 genocide there were 1,000 monuments,
in 1974 there remained 464, part of them destroyed. In 1991 Turkish
archeologists started excavation in Ani, a medieval Armenian capital,
which Safrastian said is carried out unprofessionally resulting in
further destruction of its monuments. He said an Armenian church in
Turkish Urfa was turned into a fire brigade station. The gathering
participants said they would ask all authorized Armenian bodies to
raise this issue with all relevant international organizations and
to force Turkey to honor its commitments.

TRIUMPHAL ARCH TO BE ERECTED IN KARABAKH

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 03:56

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Triumphal Arch, which will immortalize the victory
of the Karabakh and all Armenian people as well as the memory of those
killed in struggle for the independence of Karabakh may be erected in
NK. The initiative belongs to Vardkes and Alive Anivians, the American
couple of Armenian origin, who made the suggestion during the meeting
with NKR President Arkady Ghukasian. The Arch is supposed to be erected
at the Goris-Stepanakert highway to the east of the town of Shushi,
Mediamax agency reported.

Paris-Normandie , France
16 juillet 2005

Un coin d’Arménie en Normandie

Roussel Johnny

Cet été, les mercredi et samedi, Paris-Normandie vous invite à
découvrir les nombreuses communautés de votre ville. Aujourd’hui:
la communauté arménienne.

La ville d’Evreux et ses alentours abritent une communauté
arménienne depuis fort longtemps; certains de ses ressortissants
sont installés dans l’Eure depuis quatre générations.

Actuellement, deux à trois cents familles vivent dans la région. La
plupart d’entre eux sont regroupés autour de l’association normande
de solidarité arménienne. Cet organisme a été fondé en 1988, à
l’initiative d’un chef d’établissement scolaire, M. Soutjian, et de
Monseigneur Gaillot, évêque d’Evreux. L’association collectait des
fonds afin de venir en aide aux sinistrés du terrible tremblement de
terre qui frappa l’Arménie.

Un geste humanitaire

Dix-sept ans plus tard, l’association existe toujours. Elle regroupe
désormais une quarantaine d’adhérents. Leur action se réalise à
travers divers projets, toujours à caractère caritatif.

En effet, l’organisme vise à soutenir les villages arméniens (en
aidant les orphelinats et, plus récemment, en participant à la
rénovation des réseaux d’eau potable et à des projets
d’agriculture bio). Depuis l’effondrement de l’union soviétique,
l’Arménie est étranglée, explique Vahram Seraidarian, président
de l’association. Il s’agit donc d’aider les villageois afin
d’éviter qu’ils partent vers les villes ou qu’ils s’exilent à
l’étranger. Des ONG (Organisations Non Gouvernementales) situées en
Arménie récoltent ainsi les fonds récoltés par les Arméniens de
France.

L’association répond également à une vocation culturelle. Elle
essaie de rassembler les familles arméniennes autour d’événements,
en organisant un grand repas annuel par exemple.

A cette occasion, la gastronomie arménienne est bien sûr à
l’honneur. Des groupes folkloriques viennent aussi se produire lors
de ces rassemblements, qui accueillent tous ceux qui s’intéressent
à la culture arménienne, ancienne de 3.000 ans.

Des manifestations telle que la journée de la fraternité
constituent des opportunités de faire connaître la culture
arménienne. Grâce à ce type de manifestations, les communautés
ont la possibilité de se faire connaître et de montrer leur pays,
remarque Vahram Seraidarian. La fête de la fraternité n’est pas une
fête entre les communautés mais une fête avec les Normands,
ajoute-t-il.

De plus, l’année 2006 sera une formidable occasion de promouvoir
cette culture puisque ce sera l’année de l’Arménie en France.
Vahram Seraidarian entend donc en profiter pour continuer à
présenter les spécificités et traditions arméniennes.

Association normande de solidarité arménienne. Président: Vahram
Seraidarian: 02.32.34.08.02.

–Boundary_(ID_TdErMOpBejZUc6ZU4muq0A)–

Yakov Davtyan – the Spy and the Ambassador
By Pavel Simonov, AIA Russian section

Axis Information and Analysis
30.06.2005

Yakov Davtyan (1888 – 1938) was one of the prominent representatives
of Soviet diplomacy and the intelligence community during the initial
stages of the history of the USSR. Beginning in autumn 1927 up to
the end of 1929 he served as the ambassador to Persia.

Armenian by origin, Davtyan was born in the Nakhichevan area (today
a part of Azerbaijan, that borders with Armenia and Iran).

Yakov’s father was a simple peasant. He died when his son was two
years old. Later Yakov’s mother sent him to live with his brother in
Tiflis (Modern Tbilisi – the capital of Georgia). Yakov studied in the
gymnasium there and joined the Bolshevik Party. Upon his graduation he
moved to the then capital of the Russian empire – Saint Petersburg. In
his new home Davtyan actively participated in the illegal propaganda
activity of the Bolsheviks, especially among the military. At the
end of 1907 the police arrested him for this activity. Some months
later he was released and left for Belgium. There he acquired higher
education in engineering, simultaneously participating in the activity
of the Belgian Socialist Party. In Belgium Davtyan got acquainted
with Inessa Armand – the mistress of the leader of the Bolsheviks,
Vladimir Lenin. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 Armand promoted
Davtyan’s career.

When WW I started and Belgium was occupied by the German armies (1915),
Davtyan was arrested as a citizen of a hostile state (Russia was at
war with Germany). He was imprisoned for almost three years, most of
which he spent in a maximum-security camp and another eight months in
solitary confinement. In August 1918 the Germans released Davtyan at
the request of the Soviet authorities. By this time the civil war in
Russia between supporters and opponents of communism was raging. For
the next year and a half Davtyan carried out various special tasks
of the Bolshevik leadership in the Ukraine and the Caucasus.

In the Diplomatic Service

In March 1920 Yakov Davtyan started working in the Foreign Policy
Department. His first foreign business trip in his new position
was to Estonia, where he was appointed to be the first secretary of
the Soviet embassy. Later, Davtyan was the adviser and head of the
diplomatic missions of Soviet Russia in Lithuania (02-09.1922), China
(10.1922-04.1924), France (05.1925-09.1927), Persia (10.1927-12.1929),
Greece (04.1932-02.1934), and Poland (04.1934-10.1937).

In the early stages of his diplomatic career, Yakov Davtyan was
under the patronage of his fellow tribesmen, Lion Karahanyan (Deputy
Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1918-20), and Inessa Armand (she died
in September 1920).

The Founder of Intelligence

Yakov Davtyan was the founder and the first head of the Soviet
external intelligence – predecessor of the modern Service of External
Intelligence of Russia (SVR).

In December 1920, within the framework of the first secret service of
the Soviet regime (the All-Russia extraordinary commission – VChK)
the Department of External Intelligence was formed. It was named
“The Foreign Department ” (INO VChK). Following the recommendation
of Inessa Armand, Yakov Davtyan was chosen as the head of this new
division. He held this post for two periods of time: from December 1920
until January 1921 and again from April until August 1921. Davtyan
prepared the first documents defining the rules and methods of the
activity of the Soviet External Intelligence. He also defined its
structure and hired the first employees.

Consequently, when he came back to serve in the diplomatic department,
Davtyan continued to cooperate closely with the intelligence
services. Being in China as an adviser, and later as an ambassador
he likewise supervised the Soviet intelligence’s fixed-post spies in
all of the Far Eastern countries.

The Execution

At the end of the 1930s a mass wave of state terror started in the
Soviet Union, and millions of people became its victims. In particular,
the best representatives of army command, heads of intelligence and
leading diplomats were killed. In October 1937, Yakov Davtyan was
recalled from Warsaw where he headed the Soviet embassy. The following
month he was arrested. False charges were brought against Davtyan,
claiming his connection with Polish intelligence and establishment
of an “anti-soviet terrorist organization”. On July 28, 1938 Yakov
Davtyan was executed by shooting.