Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

‘ARMEENSE GENOCIDE LIJKT NU WEL KLOPJACHT OP TURKEN’
Antti Liukku

AD/Rotterdams Dagblad
29 September 2006 Friday 5:00 AM (Central European Time)
Rotterdam

Integratie-wethouder Orhan Kaya ergert zich mateloos aan de discussie
over de ‘Armeense genocide’ die op het moment wordt gevoerd.

CDA en PvdA hebben drie kandidaat-Tweede Kamerleden van de lijst
gehaald, omdat zij de erkende volkerenmoord uit 1915 ontkennen.

Een rondgang van deze krant leerde gisteren dat ook Turks-Rotterdamse
politici de moord op tenminste 800.000 Armeniërs weigeren als
‘genocide’ te bestempelen. ~DWat is dit toch een vervelende vraag,"
aldus Kaya. ~DHet lijkt wel op een klopjacht op Turkse raadsleden.

Iedereen moet plots kleur bekennen, en dan nog wel over zo’n gevoelig
onderwerp als genocide. Dit is enorm beladen, daar kan je toch niet
even 1-2-3 antwoord op geven?"

Kaya, zelf van Koerdische afkomst, zegt geen zin te hebben in deze
discussie. ~DAls historici het als genocide bestempelen, geloof
ik dat. Maar dit zijn echt niet de belangrijkste problemen die
Rotterdammers op het moment bezighouden. Hier kom ik geen stap mee
verder. Deze zaak hoort thuis in het Europees parlement."

Wel begrijpt de GroenLinks-wethouder dat landelijke politieke partijen
Turken van de kieslijst halen als ze ‘openlijk en uit eigen beweging’
de Armeense genocide ontkennen.

Volgens westerse historici is de moord op de christelijke Armeniërs in
de nadagen van Ottomaanse Rijk een bewuste zuiveringspolitiek geweest
van de Turkse overheersers. In Turkije is het daarentegen strafbaar
om over genocide te spreken.

PvdA-wethouder Hamit Karakus pleitte, net als partijgenoot Nebahat
Albayrak, voor een ‘grondig en objectief’ onderzoek’ naar de
gebeurtenissen.

–Boundary_(ID_3Y1jDVjyStxIKOi UTvszgw)–

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, EU’S REHN VIEW INTEGRATION PROCESS IN NEWS CONFERENCE

Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
4 Oct 06

Ankara, 4 October: "Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU
membership process. The most important things are the determination,
the capacity of overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we
have that capacity," said Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Gul on Wednesday [4 October].

Gul held a joint news conference together with EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn.

"Mr Rehn’s visit coincided with the first anniversary of the opening
of entry talks between Turkey and the EU. We have recorded important
developments last year. Turkey has maintained the screening process
successfully. We consider the negotiation process a transformation for
Turkey. We also consider this process a period of modernization and a
period of increasing our standards to the level of EU-member states,"
he said.

"Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU membership process.

The most important things are the determination, the capacity of
overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we have that
capacity. Therefore, we need the negotiation process," he said.

Gul kept on saying: "Turkey has become a centre of economic attraction
since 3 October 2005. We will continue fulfilling our commitments. We
expect the EU to contribute to our efforts in this process."

Upon a question about the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Gul said: "We have a long negotiation process ahead of us. We will
increase all standards in Turkey."

When asked whether the resolution in France envisaging to punish
those who deny the so-called Armenian genocide was against freedom of
thought, Gul said: "During my meetings in France, I stressed that the
resolution was nothing but a contradiction. I hope that the resolution
will be rejected."

Upon another question about proposal of Finland on the Cyprus issue,
Gul told reporters: "If we succeed in resolving the Cyprus issue,
it will be beneficial for everyone. Together with Greece and Cyprus
as a whole, we can create an area of cooperation in the eastern
Mediterranean. Turkish Cypriots have fulfilled their responsibilities
to this end. We expect the same positive attitude from the other
party. We told Finland which holds the rotating EU presidency, that if
isolation of Turkish Cypriots was lifted, we could take some tangible
steps. However, no one should expect Turkey to take unilateral steps
as long as the isolation continued."

Speaking at the news conference, Rehn said that there was a difficult
and long period ahead of Turkey. He said that both Gul and he was
determined to this end, adding that Turkey and the EU would work
together to find solution to several problems which would enable the
parties to maintain the negotiation process.

Noting that he came to Ankara to mark the first anniversary of the
opening of entry talks between Turkey and the EU, Rehn said that the
Progress Report to be released in the coming weeks would include many
developments and several deficiencies.

Rehn told reporters that they were aware of the current threat of
terrorism, adding that terrorism jeopardized not only Turkey but the
whole world.

He said that they appreciated the reform process in Turkey, noting
that there were still many things to do.

Rehn stressed that his meetings in Ankara focused on freedom of
expression and freedom of religion.

He highlighted importance of Turkey’s fulfilling its commitments
stemming from the additional protocol extending the Customs Union
deal to cover the whole EU-member countries during the presidency
of Finland.

Referring to the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Rehn said some people in Turkey were tried because of their critical
attitude. He said that those trials stemmed from indefinite expressions
in the article.

Upon a question about the so-called Armenian genocide, Rehn said that
recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide was not a pre-condition
neither in Turkey’s negotiation process nor in the full membership
process. He highlighted importance of creating an appropriate
atmosphere for discussions over the issue in order to provide an
atmosphere of compromise between Turkish and Armenian societies.

"ZERKALO": ONCE MORE ABOUT "DESTROYED ARMENIAN CHURCHES"

Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

Baku has got another agitation blow

Some Russian mass media spread information that complete destruction of
Armenian churches dated to late middle ages is under way in Khanlar and
Dashkesan regions of Azerbaijan. Accordingly to mentioned information
"churches of XVI-XVIII centuries have already been destroyed in
Dastafur and Mirzik villages of Khanlar regions. In Chiragidzor village
of Dashkesan region Church of Holy Maria built in XVIII has been
destroyed. Referring to available data basil of Saint Akop (Jakob) of
XVII c. has been destroyed in Voskanapat (Zurnabad) village of Khanlar
region. Moreover, it informs that in Kushchi village, controlled by
Azerbaijan, church of saint Minas dated to 1650 has been destroyed".

Information was spread by Moscow office on human rights. In turn the
mentioned office refers to Armenian information Agency (de facto).

Representatives of this agency have already urged respectable
organizations and church representatives to stop "war of Azerbaijan
against Christian churches on controlled territories".

Be that as it may, Moscow office on human rights shouldn’t hasten
to blame with anti-Armenian sentiments. The matter is that this
structure is known with its intransigence about facts of xenophobia
and intolerance. Activists of Moscow office on human rights including
the head of the structure, Alexander Brod, have been involved with
active exposure of facts of aggressive nationalism throughout Europe
and post-soviet area (first of all in Russia), manifested by official
structures and ordinary people. So, in this case most likely the
matter concerns the fact that representatives of Moscow Office
on Human Rights became the victims of usual misinformation. And
Azerbaijani part, "having" another blow from Armenian agitation,
should be blamed with it.

Respond of official Baku is predictable. Deputy chairman of the
Committee for the Work with Religious Associations, Elchin Askerov, is
convinced that it is another Armenian canard aiming at clearing of the
rest territories in order to go on insisting upon existence of Armenian
monuments in Azerbaijan, however destroyed by "Azerbaijani vandals".

As for Khanlar deputy chairman declared that Germans used to have lived
there for a long time. "In XVIII c. there were Lutheran churches there,
and these ones are protected by state", Askerov said.

As for latest scandal representative of State Committee for the Work
with Religious Associations reminded that Armenians has tradition to
show ancient Albanian churches as their own. "For example 7-column
church in Gandja is no doubt Albanian. But Armenians attempt to
prove contrary. Perhaps now they start to do with Lutheran historic
monuments. However, information concerning their destruction is false",
he concluded.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism has the same approach towards this
issue. Head of press service of this structure, Zokhra Aliyeva, holds
that Armenian part "attempts to pass ahead of developments and to
justify their vandalism against Azerbaijani monuments, mosques and
cemeteries situated on territories controlled by Armenians". As for
churches we speak about, these monuments are referred to early middle
ages and to Caucasian Albania.

At the same time head of press service of the Ministry of Culture
informed that there are Armenian churches in Khanlar region.

"Armenians used to live their, they had churches. But they reached us
in the state they were left. We do not destroy them; we do protection
works what proves tolerance of Azerbaijani nation". Moreover, she
informed that special people works for Ministry who obliged to protect
cultural monuments. "Now we are starting work concerning new register
of these monuments", Z. Aliyeva has informed.

–Boundary_(ID_jbLB2lvmXplx/m28uDLh1A)- –

‘HOTEL RWANDA’ HERO: WORLD’S ‘BEEN CRYING,’ BUT NO ONE’S LISTENING
By Rob Seman

Daily Record, NJ
Oct 4 2006

Man who saved more than 1,200 speaks in Hanover

HANOVER — There are a few questions that Paul Rusesabagina expected
to be asked of him.

The most common is whether he was ever scared — not an unreasonable
query for the former hotel manager who saved more than 1,200 refugees
from the genocide carried out by militias during 100 days in 1994
in Rwanda.

He may not have as much Hollywood clout as Don Cheadle, the actor
who portrayed him in the movie "Hotel Rwanda," but hundreds of Morris
County residents sat in rapt attention Tuesday as he answered their
questions at the Birchwood Manor during the first installment of this
year’s Town Hall of Morris lecture series.

He began by saying he was scared plenty of times.

"But the most scary time in my life was when I woke up and everything
around me was upside down," Rusesabagina said. "When my neighbors
were wearing military uniforms and carrying guns."

"How hard was it to keep your composure?" asked one audience member.

Keeping the refugees alive and fed with nothing more than dry beans
and corn made it easy, Rusesabagina said.

"When you are in circumstances where you are busy 24 hours a day,
there is no time to think of any other thing," Rusesabagina said.

"I never had time to think about other things, to think about myself,"
he said.

Rusesabagina said that he eventually found that the only way to deal
with the chaos around him was to face it. He did so when soldiers
came to the door of the hotel and instead of barring it, he opened it.

"Sometimes when we face such characters, the best way to deal with
them is to open a window of dialogue," Rusesabagina said.

He relearned that lesson when another soldier pointed a gun to his
head, then told him he would be spared, but also offered him a gun to
partake in the fighting. Rusesabagina refused, and tried to reason
with the man. After two hours, he and his family were released and
allowed to return to the hotel.

"I was scared, but I learned one of the most important lessons of my
life," Rusesabagina said. "How to deal with people.

‘Power of words’

"In my life, I believe in one thing — the power of words,"Rusesabagina
said. "Words are the best weapons a human being can have in an arsenal,
and can also be the worst, depending on what you want to achieve."

Rusesabagina was the first speaker in the lecture series that will
include authors Teresa Riordan, Judy Collins, Donna Woolfork Cross
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s grandson, David B. Roosevelt.

Rusesabagina sheltered 1,268 refugees in the Hotel Des Mille Collines
in Rwanda during the 100 days of genocide in 1994, when Hutu militias
slaughtered up to 800,000 of the roughly 7 million people who lived
in the nation at the time. Most of the victims were Tutsis and
moderate Hutus.

Rusesabagina, who will speak to students at Morristown High School
today, said that he had initially turned down book and television deals
before allowing his story to be depicted by "Hotel Rwanda,"director
Terry George and actor Don Cheadle.

Reaching youth

Though he is now promoting his autobiography, "An Ordinary Man,"
the movie, he said, seemed to be a better way to get through to
young people.

"They are the ones who can shift the world," Rusesabagina said.

The crowd that came to hear Rusesabagina numbered about 600 people,
most of whom were retirement-age, and were treated to a lunch of
chicken breast in rosemary cream sauce, as well as salad, side dishes
and dessert.

However, some local student groups also attended the lecture.

Rusesabagina’s words left a great impression on Montville High
School senior Stephanie Schey, a member of the school’s International
Concerns Club.

Schey had watched "Hotel Rwanda," when it was in theaters and looked
forward to meeting the man behind the true story.

"I wanted to hear his story because I’m sure the movie taints it,"
Schey said.

Schey said that she has taken up the cause of raising awareness about
humanitarian atrocities in Africa, such as Darfur and Rwanda.

"I think this whole pattern of genocide keeps happening,"Schey said.

"And we keep saying, ‘never again.’"

Those are the two most abused words, Rusesabagina said in his lecture,
referring to promises by the international community after acts of
genocide to no longer tolerate such atrocities.

Pattern of ignorance

Rusesabagina said that he believes the same pattern of international
ignorance to genocide is happening again with the Darfur region of
Sudan, where government-sponsored militias known as the janjaweed have
destroyed villages and killed members of various tribes since 2003.

"My friends, the world outside has been crying, and we have been
pretending to not be listening," Rusesabagina said.

Jody Rosenberg, who teaches a class about genocide and holocausts at
Montville High School, plans to have her students at least study the
Rwandan genocide as well as other similar events, such as the Jewish
Holocaust of World War II, Darfur and the Armenian Holocaust.

"I think so many high school students are closed in their own world,"
Rosenberg said. "The best thing we can do is expose them to it."

Rosenberg said she plans to show "Hotel Rwanda" in class. Tina
Chirnomas and her husband, Rabbi Gerald Chirnomas, of Boonton, said
they would be renting the movie, after Rusesabagina’s lecture.

"I think it was very interesting," Mrs. Chirnomas said.

Bernice Elliott, of Rockaway Township, and Marge Kleiner, of Denville,
said they frequently attend the lecture series, and even if they
don’t like the speaker, they say they usually leave with food for
thought. Tuesday was no different, and this time, Rusesabagina’s
speech left new questions.

"What can we do in Darfur?"Kleiner asked.

THE ASSYRIANS: IGNORED AMONG FEARS OF AN IRAQI CIVIL WAR
By Charles Tannock

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 4 2006

The world is consumed by fears that Iraq is degenerating into a civil
war between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. But in this looming war of all
against all, it is Iraq’s small community of Assyrian Christians that
is at risk of annihilation.

Iraq’s Christian communities are among the world’s most ancient,
practicing their faith in Mesopotamia almost since the time of
Christ. The Assyrian Apostolic Church, for instance, traces its
foundation back to 34 AD and St. Peter. Likewise, the Assyrian Church
of the East dates to 33AD and St. Thomas. The Aramaic that many of
Iraq’s Christians still speak is the language of those apostles –
and of Christ.

When tolerated by their Muslim rulers, Assyrian Christians contributed
much to the societies in which they lived. Their scholars helped usher
in the "Golden Age" of the Arab world by translating important works
into Arabic from Greek and Syriac. But in recent times, toleration
has scarcely existed.

In the Armenian Genocide of 1914-1918, 750,000 Assyrians – roughly
two-thirds of their number at the time – were massacred by the Ottoman
Turks with the help of the Kurds.

Under the Iraqi Hashemite monarchy, the Assyrians faced persecution
for co-operating with the British during the World War I. Many fled to
the West, among them the Church’s patriarch. During Saddam Hussein’s
wars against the Kurds, hundreds of Assyrian villages were destroyed,
their inhabitants rendered homeless, and dozens of ancient churches
were bombed. The teaching of the Syriac language was prohibited
and Assyrians were forced to give their children Arabic names in an
effort to undermine their Christian identity. Those who wished to
hold government jobs had to declare Arab ethnicity.

In 1987, the Iraqi census listed 1.4 million Christians. Today, only
about 600,000 to 800,000 remain in the country, most on the Nineveh
plain. As many as 60,000, and perhaps even more, have fled since
the beginning of the insurgency that followed the United States-led
invasion in 2003. Their exodus accelerated in August 2004, after the
start of the terrorist bombing campaign against Christian churches by
Islamists who accuse them of collaboration with the allies by virtue
of their faith.

A recent UN report states that religious minorities in Iraq "have
become the regular victims of discrimination, harassment, and,
at times, persecution, with incidents ranging from intimidation to
murder." It also observed that "members of the Christian minority
appear to be particularly targeted."

Indeed, there are widespread reports of Christians fleeing the country
as a result of threats being made to their women for not adhering
to strict Islamic dress codes. Christian women are said to have had
acid thrown in their faces. Some have been killed for wearing jeans
or not wearing the veil.

This type of violence is particularly acute in the area around Mosul.

High-ranking clergy there claim that priests in Iraq can no longer
wear their clerical robes in public for fear of being attacked by
Islamists. Last January, coordinated car-bomb attacks were carried
out on six churches in Baghdad and Kirkuk; on another occasion, six
churches were simultaneously bombed in Baghdad and Mosul. Over the
past two years, 27 Assyrian churches have reportedly been attacked
for the sole reason that they were Christian places of worship.

The attacks go beyond targeting physical manifestations of the faith.

Christian-owned small businesses, particularly those selling alcohol,
have been attacked, and many shopkeepers murdered. The director of the
Iraqi Museum, Donny George, a respected Assyrian, says that he was
forced to flee Iraq to Syria in fear of his life, and that Islamic
fundamentalists obstructed all of his work that was not focused on
Islamic artefacts.

Assyrian leaders also complain of deliberate discrimination in the
January 2005 elections. In some cases, they claim, ballot boxes
did not arrive in Assyrian towns and villages, voting officials
failed to show up, or ballot boxes were stolen. They also cite
the intimidating presence of Kurdish militia and secret police near
polling stations. Recently, however, there are signs the Iraqi Kurdish
authorities are being more protective of their Christian communities.

Sadly, the plight of Iraq’s Christians is not an isolated one in the
Middle East. In Iran, the population as a whole has nearly doubled
since the 1979 revolution; but, under a hostile regime, the number
of Christians in the country has fallen from roughly 300,000 to
100,000. In 1948, Christians accounted for roughly 20 percent of
the population of what was then Palestine; since then, their numbers
have roughly halved. In Egypt, emigration among Coptic Christians is
disproportionately high; many convert to Islam under pressure, and
over the past few years violence perpetrated against the Christian
community has taken many lives.

The persecution of these ancient and unique Christian communities,
in Iraq and in the Middle East as a whole, is deeply disturbing. Last
April, the European Parliament voted virtually unanimously for the
Assyrians to be allowed to establish (on the basis of section 5 of
the Iraqi Constitution) a federal region where they can be free from
outside interference to practice their own way of life. It is high
time now that the West paid more attention, and took forceful action
to secure the future of Iraq’s embattled Christians.

Charles Tannock is vice-president of the Human Rights Subcommittee
of the European Parliament and the Conservative Party’s
foreign affairs spokesman in the United Kingdom. THE DAILY STAR
publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate
().

http://www .dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&cat eg_id=5&article_id=75907

AZERBAIJAN REJECTS EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE A FINAL PEACE ON NAGORNO KARABAKH
Vardan Barseghian

Diplomatic Traffic, DC
Oct 4 2006

Mr. Cromwell,

Thank God, you did not need to ask for Azerbaijan’s permission to
meet with me and to publish an article based on my interview. Anybody
can guess the outcome if you were to do so. Fortunately for Karabakh,
we also don’t need to ask for Azerbaijan’s permission to do anything
anymore: Karabakh has been free for 15 years!

Historic facts are important to understanding a region with a very
complex history, such as Nagorno Karabakh’s. Many people would also
agree that debates can help air differences and, hopefully, also
find points of agreement. Thus, I think debates on Nagorno Karabakh,
including the one on DiplomaticTraffic.com, could be useful. However,
Azerbaijan and its representatives (both official and non-official),
while continuing to have plenty of opportunities to speak directly,
debate and negotiate with representatives of Nagorno Karabakh,
regrettably, prefer doing so through third parties, international
organizations and media, branding Karabakh in a very negative light
along the way, which resembles propaganda rather than a genuine effort
to advance a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Time and again, Nagorno Karabakh has offered to implement
confidence-building measures to establish an atmosphere of trust,
conductive to reaching a final peace. We also remain open for a
constructive dialogue with Azerbaijan on every level, official and
non-official. Azerbaijan continues to reject any such efforts and
contacts. Since the cease-fire agreement of 1994, the ball [to advance
lasting peace] has been in Azerbaijan’s court. I hope Azerbaijan
would finally choose to use it.

In Karabakh, we like shortcuts, and it is time for Azerbaijan to take a
‘shortcut’ and speak with Nagorno Karabakh directly, if Azerbaijan is
sincere about its desire to achieve a negotiated peace. Unfortunately,
we don’t have a single reason to believe that the latter assumption
about Azerbaijan is valid…

In Karabakh, we are also very serious about our independence and our
determination to defend it.

Vardan Barseghian Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States

p?ID=588

GEORGIAN REGIONS WITH MOSTLY ARMENIAN POPULATION WILL HAVE BALLOTS IN ARMENIAN FOR ELECTIONS

ARMINFO News Agency
October 3, 2006 Tuesday

Ballots for the self-governmental elections in Georgian regions of
Samtskhe-Djavakheti and Tsalki mostly populated with Armenians will
also be issued in Armenian language – A-info news agency reports.

The source reports that the Election Committee received the ballots
on October 4. The source also stresses that all election commissions
of Georgia including the Election Committee of Djavakheti are ready
to hold the elections to the local self-government on October 5.

BRYZA SUPPORTS FROZEN CONFLICTS INCLUSION IN UN GA AGENDA

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.10.2006 18:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The GUAM initiative to introduce the issue of
"frozen" conflicts in post-soviet space to the UN GA agenda can have a
positive impact upon the Nagorno Karabakh settlement, OSCE MG American
Co-Chair Matthew Bryza said at a news conference in Baku.

Solution of the conflict within the OSCE will be the most balanced
and weighed, the US mediator said.

"However, any activities supporting our work can help us attain
an agreement," Bryza underscored. At that he said there are no
discrepancies between the mediators and they will further be a team,
reports Day.az.

ARMAVIA PLANS TO LEASE FOUR AIRCRAFTS

Armenpress
Oct 02 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s leading carrier, Armavia,
said today it will obtain four new aircrafts. Businessman Mikhail
Baghdasarov, who owns the carrier, said the carrier will most likely
lease an A-321, two A-320 and one 70-seat smaller planes.

He said the agreement on the small plane was reached and very soon
it will arrive in Armenia. He said airbuses will arrive in the first
half of next January. Baghdasarov said Armavia plans to open new
flights next year, particularly to New Delhi, Birmingham, Minsk and
Amsterdam. It will also resume flights to Tehran.

On May 3, 2006, an Armavia Airbus A320 operating Armavia Flight 967
crashed in the Black Sea en route from Yerevan to Sochi, a resort
town in Russia. On May 5, 2006, another Armavia A320 was one of four
aircraft destroyed during a fire at a maintenance hangar belonging
to Sabena Technics at Brussels Zaventem Airport, Belgium.

CHIRAC MEETS WITH ARMENIAN PATRIARCH KATEKIN II

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 2 2006

French President Jazques Chirac met with the leader of the Armenian
Orthodox Church yesterday on the final day of his two day visit to
Armenia. Chirac and Patriarch Karekin II came together to take a tour
of Armenia’s Etchmiadzine Cathedral yesterday, with Chirac writing
the following in the cathedral’s guest book:

"In memory of my visit to the spiritual heart of the Armenians,
and the touching visit I have had with the great Armenian people……"

At a visit to a memorial for the so-called Armenian genocide in
Yerevan two days ago, Chirac was asked by a reporter whether he thought
Turkey should be forced to recognize Armenian claims of genocide as
a pre-condition for EU membership. The French president responded:

"If we are going to speak honestly, yes, I do believe this is
necessary."