Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

The Globe and Mail, Canada
April 22 2004

Turkey slams Parliament’s genocide vote

Ankara – Turkey on Thursday condemned a decision by Canadian
legislators to recognize as genocide the mass killing of Armenians
during the First World War, accusing Canadian politicians of being
`narrow minded.’

Canada’s Parliament on Wednesday backed a resolution condemning the
actions of Ottoman Turkish forces eight decades ago.

Government members were discouraged from voting for the motion, which
was adopted 153-68 in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Paul
Martin was absent during the vote.

The motion read: `… this House acknowledges the Armenian genocide
of 1915 and condemns this act as a crime against humanity.’

In a written statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Turkey
strongly condemned the Canadian Parliament’s decision and accused
Canadian legislators of blindly `following those with marginal
views.’

`Some narrow minded Canadian politicians were not able to understand
that such decisions based on … prejudiced information, will awaken
feelings of hatred among people of different [ethnic] roots and
disturb social harmony,’ the statement said.

It said it was not up to parliaments to `reach conclusions over
controversial periods in history’ and insisted that the vote would
not benefit Armenians in Canada or Armenia.

Canada is the 16th country to label the killings as genocide, a step
already taken by Switzerland, France, Argentina and Russia, as well
as 11 U.S. state governments.

Armenians say a 1915-1923 campaign to force them out of eastern
Turkey amounted to a genocide and some 1.5 million people were
killed. The Turkish government rejects the charge of genocide as
unfounded and says that while 600,000 Armenians died, 2.5 million
Muslims perished in a period of civil unrest.

In 2001, Turkey cancelled millions of dollars worth of defence deals
with French companies after legislators in France recognized the
genocide.

The statement did not say if Turkey planned similar sanctions but
said Canadian politicians would `bear the responsibility for any
negative developments the decision will bring.’

The Canadian vote split the ruling Liberal party between backbenchers
and cabinet ministers. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham
said the Turkish government had warned that recognizing the genocide
could have economic consequences and that he wanted to maintain good
relations with Turkey.

On Thursday, the Canadian Embassy released a statement in an attempt
to distance the government from Wednesday’s vote.

`Private member’s motions are not binding on the government of
Canada,’ the statement read.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 22 2004

Monument to Lenin restored in Armenian town of Vajk

YEREVAN, April 22 (Itar-Tass) – Communist Party of Armenia has marked
the 134th birthday of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution leader
Vladimir Lenin (b. April 22, 1870) by restoring a monument to him in
the southeast Armenian town of Vajk.

Representatives of Communist Party branches, who gathered for the
reopening ceremony, said they were firmly set to work towards
Armenia’s return to the socialist path of development.

Spokespeople for the Communist Party’s Central Committee told
Itar-Tass a monument to Lenin had also been restored in Echmiadzin.

At gala conferences time for the date, the party organizations issued
membership cards to ten new Communists.

Also, several dozens school students have been solemnly accepted to
the ranks of young pioneers [a Soviet-era scout-type organization for
the children aged 9 to 14 years old] and to the Young Communist
League.

Armenia has several communist parties. Spokespeople for one of them,
the United Communist Party, said they preferred a more moderate
celebration of the world proletariat leader’s birthday.

`We give preference to painstaking everyday work and promulgation of
ideas among the people rather than to gala ceremonies,’ said sources
at that party’s headquarters.

Communist organizations do not have any seats in parliament at the
moment, as they failed last year’s parliamentary election.

This is the first time since 1918 that they are not represented in
parliament.

San Diego Union Tribune, CA
April 19 2004

Turkey seeks talks with Azeris, Armenia on Karabakh

ANKARA – Turkey called Monday for tripartite talks with neighboring
Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh in the latest sign that Ankara wants an end to the
long-running row.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia because of the tiny
ex-Soviet republic’s occupation of Karabakh, a territory populated by
Christian ethnic Armenians but assigned to mainly Muslim,
Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan in Soviet times.

However the European Union, which Turkey wants to join, and the
United States have both urged Ankara to lift its trade blockade of
Armenia to help promote regional peace. Every aspiring EU member
state is required to seek good relations with all its neighbors.

“In the coming months we predict … a three-way meeting (between
Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan),” Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul told the Anatolian state news agency.

“Putting the (Karabakh) problem in the deep-freeze is wrong because
there is an occupation there. We say this problem should be solved
and we need to discuss the problem to solve it.”

But Gul also ruled out any early lifting of Turkey’s economic
blockade, despite lobbying by Turkish businessmen.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev won reassurances during a state visit to
Ankara last week that Turkey would make no unilateral moves which
might upset oil-rich Azerbaijan, diplomats said.

Turkey and Azerbaijan share not only close cultural and linguistic
ties but also important energy interests.

An international consortium is building an oil pipeline worth around
$3 billion which is due to start carrying crude from 2005 from the
Caspian Sea to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Asked about Gul’s comments, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
said his country would not accept Turkey as a mediator in the
Karabakh dispute because it was biased against it.

But speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, he said the three
countries had met before to discuss regional cooperation which had
also touched on bilateral problems such as Karabakh.

“If a similar agenda were offered this time, I see no problem in
(Armenia’s) participation in such talks,” he said.

Gul said the tripartite meeting, if given the go-ahead, would take
place before a planned NATO summit in Istanbul in late June. Armenia
is expected to take part in that meeting as a country with NATO ties.

Oskanyan recently met his Azeri counterpart in Prague and they are
expected to hold fresh talks in May.

About 35,000 people died in six years of fighting over Karabakh which
ended in a 1994 cease-fire. A decade of diplomatic efforts by the
United States, Russia and France to end the deadlock have so far
failed.

(Additional reporting by Hasmik Lazarian in Yerevan)

NEW YORK TIMES TO USE TERM “GENOCIDE” IN REFERENCES TO MASSACRES OF
ARMENIANS IN OTTOMAN TURKEY

19.04.2004 18:59

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ New York Times has lifted its long-standing policy against
the use of the term “genocide” in reference to the massacres of Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire. As reported by the Armenian National Committee of
America, the statement released by the newspaper’s editorial staff says:
“After careful study of scholarly definitions of “genocide” we have decided
to accept the term “genocide” in references to the Turks’ mass destruction
of Armenians in 1915″. To note, Boston Globe taken analogous decision in
July 2003.

MEETING WITH NKR PRESIDENT

Azat Artsakh–Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
14-04-2004

The problems of cooperation of the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) and Nagorni Karabakh were discussed at the meeting of the NKR
president Arkady Ghukassian, head of the organization Perj Sedrakian
and the Armenia representative of the AGBU Ashot Ghazarian. At the
meeting with the participation of the NKR prime minister Anoushavan
Danielian and the minister of foreign affairs Ashot Ghulian a wide
range of problems related to the future improvement of Artsakh and
development of the social and economic spheres were discussed. Mr.
Sedrakian pointed out the importance of the special attitude of the
Diaspora charity organizations, as well as the union headed by him. He
said that his organization is willing to assist to the implementation
of a number of social and economic programs. In his turn Arkady
Ghukassian thanked the direction of the AGBU for constant attention
towards the problems of Artsakh and especially for their active
participation in telethons. Referring to the definite spheres of
cooperation the president proposed to the AGBU to study the
possibility of modernizing the health care system and assisting to the
construction of the new building of the Stepanakert republic
hospital. At the end of the meeting the head of the state expressed
hope that the cooperation NKR-AGBU will be permanent.

AA.
14-04-2004

Discontent drives Armenia’s campaign to oust Kocharian

BY CHRISTIAN LOWE

AFP YEREVAN
April 15, 2004

Samvel Gasparian is a 56-year-old grandfather who used to support his
family by farming a smallholding in the Ashtarak region, north of
Armenia’s capital.

But his fields are lying fallow because, he says, he cannot afford to
pay for the water to irrigate his land.

“If my relatives who are living in Russia did not help me out we would
not be able to survive,” he said, choking back tears. “Some people
cannot even afford to buy a loaf of bread.”

Gasparian’s story is typical of many of the three million people in
this poverty-stricken former Soviet republic in the Caucasus
mountains.

Anger over the country’s low living standards — and the widespread
feeling that the government is indifferent — has been helping drive
an opposition campaign calling for the resignation of President Robert
Kocharian.

Comparisons have been drawn between Armenia’s opposition movement and
last year’s “rose revolution” in neighbouring Georgia, when that
country’s former president Eduard Shevardnadze was ousted in a popular
uprising.

Thousands of Armenians have rallied in the capital, Yerevan, this
month to push their demand for Kocharian’s resignation.

A sit-in protest by opposition activists early Tuesday morning outside
Kocharian’s residence was broken up by riot police using water cannon
and truncheons. Dozens of people were hurt and several opposition
leaders were arrested.

But the opposition is not giving up. It has announced plans for
another mass protest in the capital this Friday.

“The people want this,” Stepan Demirchian, head of the opposition
Justice bloc and a leader of the protests, told AFP. “They have not
been broken. If before they did not like this president, now they like
him even less.”

On some measures, Kocharian has done a decent job of handling the
economy in Armenia, which was the world’s first state to adopt
Christianity.

Economic growth has been in double digits for the past few years, in
spite of a crippling economic blockade by two of Armenia’s neighbours,
Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The blockade is linked to pogroms against Armenians by Ottoman Turks
in the early 20th century, and an Armenian-Azeri conflict over the
separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

But that growth is translating only slowly into a better life for
ordinary people.

The average monthly wage is less than 50 dollars (40 euros) and
unemployment is sky high. As much as a third of the population has
left to seek work abroad, mostly to Russia. Whole villages now stand
deserted.

For many Armenians, Kocharian is to blame. They believe a cabal of
wealthy businessmen close to the president is being allowed to enrich
itself at the expense of the poor.

Kocharian’s opponents had hoped to oust him in a presidential
election, but they were left frustrated in March last year when he won
after a second round run-off against Demirchian.

Election observers said the vote “fell short of international
standards for democratic elections.” Kocharian’s opponents said he
stole the election.

Kocharian, a 50-year-old former factory worker and veteran of
Armenia’s war with Azerbaijan over Karabakh, has stood firm in the
face of the recent opposition protests.

He has the support of the army and police, and large sections of the
population, who fear the opposition is dragging the country into
political turmoil.

But Gasparian said he would be in Yerevan on Friday afternoon for the
planned demonstration.

“I will be there, even if it costs me my life,” he said. “People do
not believe in their rulers any more because they have been deceived
so many times.”

AGBU PRESS OFFICE
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone (212) 319-6383
Fax (212) 319-6507
Email [email protected]
Webpage

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, April 13, 2004

AGBU WRAPS UP KHACHATURIAN CENTENNIAL TOUR WITH FINAL NEW YORK SCREENING

NEW YORK, NY – In recognition of Aram Khachaturian’s Centennial
Anniversary, AGBU has organized a series of concerts and film
screenings based on the works of the renowned composer. The final leg
of this multi-country tour will conclude in New York City on Tuesday,
May 18, 2004 at 7:30 pm with the viewing of a documentary, to take
place in Tinker Hall of The French Institute Alliance Française
(FIAF). FIAF is located at 22 East 60th Street, between Park and
Madison Avenues.

Master pianist, Sahan Arzruni, who has led AGBU’s international
Centennial tour, discovered the existence of this original film and
located the sole copy in Armenia. Mr. Arzruni then obtained permission
from the Ministry of Culture to reproduce the decades-old reels onto a
digital format in order to make it available for mass viewing.

After reviewing the original 50-minute black-and white documentary,
Mr. Arzruni decided to re-record the sound track precisely so that
today’s audiences would understand all the footage, some of which
dates back to the 1930s. “After placing the spoken words, written by
the eminent poet, Gevorg Emin, in the exact places as the original
film, I then retrieved some of Khachaturian’s most winning
compositions from the Armenian State Radio archives and added them to
the sound track. In fact, Khachaturian even conducted these
performances, as well,” explains Mr. Arzruni. English sub-titles were
added for the benefit of those not familiar with the Armenian
language. Eventually, the material was reconstructed, remixed and
remastered to achieve a film of high audio and video imaging quality.

The film also contains many wonderful insights by Khachaturian about
music in general, and his compositions in particular. These segments
were taken from a twenty-three hour interview conducted with the
composer shortly before his death. The original interview, in which
Khachaturian expresses his views on music, is housed at the
Khachaturian Museum in Armenia.

The New York viewing will wrap-up AGBU’s Khachaturian Centennial
celebrations, which started in Los Angeles and continued globally in
some two-dozen cities. Audience members that evening will enjoy the
film screening, presented by Mr. Arzruni, and a reception afterward.
Tickets are $10 each on a first come-first serve basis, and may be
reserved by calling the AGBU Central Office at 212.319.6383.

Armenian president, governing coalition discuss current situation

Mediamax news agency
13 Apr 04

YEREVAN

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today discussed the situation in
the country with representatives of the ruling coalition parties and
heads of the People’s Deputy and the United Workers’ Party deputies’
groups.

“Robert Kocharyan outlined in detail the prevailing situation and
measures dictated by it,” Mediamax today learnt from the Armenian
presidential press service. “The collocutors also exchanged views
regarding future possible developments,” according to the presidential
press service.

The ruling coalition consists of the Republican Party of Armenia,
Orinats Yerkir Law-Governed Country Party and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun.

Team Reporting Project for Journalists
Project start date: 1st of May

Project duration: 10 days

Location: Yerevan and various regions of Armenia.

Media Diversity Institute (MDI) accepts applications from journalists for
participation in a ten-day team reporting project for journalists to report
and write joint feature stories under the supervision of outside team
leaders. The resulting stories will be printed or broadcast by all media
organizations involved, in identical versions, as agreed on by the team.
Journalists who currently work for mainstream media in Armenia and write on
or are interested in developing their writing on issues related to diversity
(ethnic minorities, religion, disability, marginalized and socially
disadvantaged groups etc) are eligible to apply. MDI encourages applicants
from the regions to apply for the workshop.

The project will take place on May 1st to May 12th. All the costs related to
participation are covered by organizers of the event.

The participating journalists will also be paid a participation fee to
compensate for the time away from their media outlets.

Application procedures:

Applicants are required to submit:

– Short cover letter explaining your interest in participating in the
project
– Print journalists are also required to submit 2 samples of their stories
on diversity issues.

Please, submit your applications to MDI Country Coordinator in Armenia,
Artur Papyan at [email protected] or call (01) 53-00-67.

Application deadline: April 23rd.

About copmpany:
The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) is a London-based charitable
organization specializing in media training. It is currently implementing a
three-year project in the South Caucasus, working with the media, journalism
schools and local NGOs. The project aims to create deeper public
understanding of diversity, minority groups and human rights. For additional
information about MDI and available resources, please, refer to

ArmenPress
April 8 2004

THREE ARMENIAN REGIONS SUPPLIED WITH MOBILE GYNECOLOGICAL STATIONS

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian office of the UN
Population Fund has supplied with mobile gynecological station the
Nansen hospital in Spitak region. The new equipment was provided
within the project “Improving Reproductive Health of Women, Men and
Children.” Similar equipment was provided to Ararat and Armavir
regions as well. Other regions are also considered to be equipped
with such stations when funds are available. The total station costs
30 000 USD. In addition to the station, 10 clinics in different
communities of Spitak have been provided with medical equipment of
first aid. Armenian humanitarian health center also provided with
medicine.
Representative of the Fund, Karen Dadurian, told that they aim to
improve nursing-gynecological services in the communities. The
traveling station will travel among various communities according to
a set timetable and provide free of charge services to the
population. The personnel is having a training course to apply
international standards in using the new technology.