Author: Zaminian Bedik

UN DOES NOT AVOID DISCUSSION OF EVENTS OF 1915 NOT CALLING THEM GENOCIDE

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 05:55

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «My position does not allow me evaluating
the events of 1915, however it does not mean I avoid these
evaluations,» Juan Mendez, Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on
the Prevention of Genocide, stated answering a question why he does
not qualify the massacre of Armenians as a genocide. In his words,
as a UN representative, he has to express the position of that
organization. «However, as a private person I have not studied
the events of 1915 enough and it is hard to me to define them,»
Juan Mendez added. «My mandate provides for discussion of issues
of prevention of genocides in the future and I cannot accentuate a
specific event,» he emphasized. At that he added that the fact that
the UN does not call the events of the past century a genocide does
not mean that the organization avoids discussion of the issue. The
UN is a structure that includes many countries and all UN members
should come for it giving a specific evaluation for the UN to do
it. Juan Mendez welcomed the UN passing a resolution referring to the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
on 20 April. Armenia has authored the resolution. In Juan Mendez~Rs
words, the adoption of the resolution evidences the UN is interested
in preventing future genocides.

–Boundary_(ID_lltjcuqKaTdftIoq8JtO/Q)–

Armenian Genocide service set
By DEENA YELLIN, STAFF WRITER

NorthJersey.com, NJ
April 21 2005

EMERSON – The Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will hold a
ceremony Friday to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.

The one-hour service will recall the nearly 2 million Armenians who
were killed by the Ottoman Turks over a five-year period.

Two genocide survivors – Anahit Boghosian and George Berberian –
are among the center’s 80 residents. They will be recognized during
the service.

The massacre is believed to have started on April 24, 1915, when nearly
300 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were rounded up and
killed. By the early 1920s, nearly 1.5 million Armenians were dead.

Armenians say the genocide was undertaken because Muslim Turks sought
to purge Christian Armenians from the Ottoman empire.

“The Turkish government made a policy decision to remove Armenians
from Turkish lands,” said Tom Miller, administrator of the center.
“We have housed numerous survivors of the genocide over the years.”
Now, as time has gone on, the number of survivors are dwindling.

The Turkish government has repeatedly rejected the genocide claims.
Turkey has admitted that up to 300,000 Armenians and a higher number
of Muslims died during the Ottoman’s efforts to relocate populations
away from the war zone in eastern Turkey during World War I.

But the memories of those who lost loved ones are still strong.

Berberian, now 99, was a young boy when the genocide began, but he
still recalls that the “Turks would invade our home at all hours of
the day and night and take people away.”

They killed one of his sisters and her unborn child along with her
husband. Berberian’s father bribed a Turkish official to obtain the
necessary paperwork for Berberian and his siblings to flee. He and
his sisters were hidden in a straw-covered wagon in the middle of
the night and they left home. They never saw their parents again.
Berberian believes the Turks murdered them.

The only reason he is alive today, he said, is that his father used
to take care of wounded Turkish soldiers and they were grateful to
him. “Killing was nothing for those people. If a Turk didn’t like you,
they’d just kill you,” he said. He came to the United States in 1930.

Boghosian, 97, said the genocide robbed her of her father, relatives
and home and all of her belongings. She and her mother were the sole
survivors of their family. Two Armenian men, who disguised themselves
as Kurds, helped them escape to the home of a Kurdish mayor and his
family. Boghosian’s mother earned their board by baking bread for the
family and for local shepherds. She came to the United States in 1925.

There will be a commemoration in Hackensack on Saturday and in various
churches around New Jersey on Sunday. A larger commemoration will be
held Sunday at Times Square in Manhattan, where thousands of Armenians
will gather for a memorial service.

The center is a non-profit nursing home that provides long-term care
and short-term rehabilitation for Armenians and non-Armenians. The
Center is 67 years old and has 80 full-time residents. The home is
operated by a board of directors composed of Armenians from northern
New Jersey.

MOVSES KARAPETIAN WINS EUROPE CHAMPION TITLE

Armenpress

VARNA, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Greco-Roman style wrestler
Movses Karapetian (74 kg) has snatched the golden medal of Europe’s
champion in Bulgaria’s city of Varna.

He beat all his five rivals on the road to finals. Another Armenian
wrestler Roman Amoyan (55 kg) has won silver medal.

Russia, Armenia need special form of border control – Pronichev
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 18, 2005 Monday 10:11 AM Eastern Time

YEREVAN, April 18 — Russia and Armenia need “special forms of border
control” alongside traditional military methods, Deputy Director of
the FSB Border Service of the Russian Federation, Colonel General
Vladimir Pronichev said on Monday.

“The nature of threats has changed, and it is difficult to effectively
resist border crime by military methods alone. Special forms of
surveillance and reconnaissance should be used,” he said upon arrival
in Yerevan on a two-day visit.

According to Pronichev, during his visit he plans to “address matters
of joint borderline protection and discuss professional issues with
counterparts at the Armenian Service of National Security.” He said
they would consider the organization of border control in keeping
with the current concept of the Russian Border Service.

A combination of military and special methods of border protection is
the basis border service reorganization must rely on, Pronichev said.

Border control in Armenia is carried out jointly to counter the threats
existing in the region, the general said. There are no problems with
the financing the Armenian Department of the Russian Border Service.

The Armenian authorities regard the presence of Russian border guards
and the Russian military base as an important factor for national
security.

The system of border control between Armenia and Turkey (345
kilometers) and Armenia and Iran (45 kilometers) has been preserved
since the Soviet era. The Russian border guards’ presence in Armenia
relies on the interstate treaty on the status of Russian border guard
troops in Armenian territory concluded in Yerevan on September 1992.

The Russian Border Guards Department in Armenia comprises four border
detachments located in the cities of Gyumri, Armavir, Artashat and
Mefri, as well as a separate checkpoint at the international airport
Zvarnots.

The Russian border guards in Armenia are financed by the Russian and
Armenian governments on the parity basis.

Armenian citizens along with citizens of Russia have the right to serve
in the troops of the Russian Border Guards Department in Armenia and
this service is very prestigious.

The Gazette (Montreal)
April 16, 2005 Saturday
Final Edition

Marking the pain of human history: Lousnak, a Lebanese-born singer,
artist and actress, has conceived a multidisciplinary event that
commemorates genocide both past and present. ‘It’s happening as we
speak – in Darfur, in Chechnya. We can react now.’

by BERNARD PERUSSE, The Gazette

In 1939, Adolf Hitler chillingly dismissed the extermination of 1.5
million Armenians by asking who remembered them – but the Nazi leader
couldn’t have predicted that the world wouldn’t forget either him or
the Armenians any time soon. Lousnak, a Lebanese-born singer, artist
and actress, makes a yearly point of doing something to keep
awareness of the Armenian genocide alive.

“Before television existed, people used the excuse that it was
history. Now we know these things are happening, and we still don’t
do anything. It’s happening as we speak – in Darfur, in Chechnya. We
can react now – and we must do something,” the Montreal-based
performer said.

This year, Lousnak is giving her annual memorial concert in the
context of a larger project: the first annual Parlons Genocides, a
multidisciplinary event that begins Monday and runs until April 30.
It commemorates genocides throughout history and around the world.
Her show will take place on April 24, considered the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide carried out by the Turkish government, and
her guests will include Jerome Miniere, Fredric Gary Comeau and
Patrick Watson. “The idea is to express the pain of genocide through
song, with the hope that art can reach more people than, let’s say,
politics,” she said.

Other shows also will be themed around different nationalities.
Monday’s opening concert, which is scheduled to include performances
by Zal, Sister Soul and DobaCaracol, focuses on Rwanda and Sudan.
Syncop, Montreal’s premier purveyors of Algerian rai music crossed
with almost anything you can think of, share the bill with rap trio
Loco Locass on Tuesday’s Palestine-themed evening. Guitar ensemble
Forestare will pay tribute to aboriginal people and Tziganes on
Friday, with a guest list that includes Florent Vollant, Alain Auger
of the eclectic duo Taima and Paul Kunigis. The Juan Jose Carranza
Trio and Alejandro Venegas are among the artists turning the light on
South America next Saturday, the night before Lousnak ends the
concert series.

Films will also be screened at the National Film Board during Parlons
Genocides, and most showings are scheduled to conclude with a
discussion period featuring a special guest. Among the works to be
presented are Shake Hands With the Devil (Monday), Atom Egoyan’s
Ararat (April 24), Ce qu’il reste de nous, the French version of What
Remains of Us, a moving look at contemporary Tibet by Francois
Prevost and Hugo Latulippe (April 25) and Hagop Goudsouzian’s Mon
fils sera Armenien (April 29).

A photo exhibit reflecting images of Chad, Darfur and Congo will run
starting Monday at the Cafe de l’Usine. Another photo exhibit, Les
Enfants de la Guerre, begins April 24 and can be seen at the National
Film Board.

A round-table discussion on the meaning of genocide in our age closes
the event. Among the scheduled participants are Lousnak, Patrick
Robitaille of Doctors Without Borders and Laurie Gordon, daughter of
the main Canadian witness at the trail of Adolf Eichmann.

Lousnak said the blueprint for Parlons Genocides was in part inspired
by sculptor Alberto Giacometti. “He wrote that the more he sculpted a
figure of his brother Diego, the more he saw all men in him. And the
more I worked on projects involving the Armenian genocide every year,
the more I saw all the pain in the world through it. It was only
logical that I turn it into an event commemorating the world’s
genocides,” she explained.

Parlons Genocides begins Monday and runs until April 30. For concert
prices and other information, call the Lion d’Or at (514) 598-0709.
Information on the South American night, however, is available from
the Kola Note at (514) 274-9339. All other events are free of charge.
For further information, go to online.

__________________________________
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Pan Armenian News

EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT ARRANGED LARGE PACKAGE OF
PROGRAMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN ARMENIA

14.04.2005 07:54

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today President of Armenia Robert Kocharian met with head
of the Yerevan Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) Michael Weinstein, the Press Service of the Armenian
leader reported. In the course of the meeting the parties discussed
prospects of the Bank activities. In Michael Weinstein’s words, at the
moment the Bank is interested in Armenia as never before and has already
arranged a large package of programs to be realized in the republic. The
programs provide for crediting enterprises, as well as participation in
agricultural and infrastructure projects. In his turn Mr. Kocharian noted
that the Armenian party is interested in intensification of the activities
of the Bank – also due to the fact that the Bank programs are in tune with
the economic policy of Armenia.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
14. April 2005

Turkey criticizes Europe over Armenian controversy

Türkei kritisiert Europäer im Armenien-Streit

ANKARA, 13. April (dpa). Die Türkei hat 90 Jahre nach dem Beginn der
gewaltsamen Vertreibung der Armenier im Ersten Weltkrieg an die
Parlamente in Deutschland und anderen Ländern appelliert, von einer
Wertung der Greueltaten als Völkermord Abstand zu nehmen.

“Alle diese Anträge verletzen uns und führen in der türkischen
Öffentlichkeit dazu, die Absichten von verbündeten Ländern mit
Fragezeichen zu versehen”, sagte der türkische Außenminister Gül am
Mittwoch in einer Parlamentsdebatte. Derartige Initiativen leisteten
zudem “keinerlei positiven Beitrag” zur Zukunft der
türkisch-armenischen Beziehungen. Gül bezog sich dabei auch auf den
Antrag der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion, den sie zum 90. Jahrestag am
24. April eingebracht hat. Parlamente seien als Einrichtungen
ungeeignet, ein Urteil über geschichtliche Ereignisse zu fällen,
sagte Gül. “Die Geschichte können nur Historiker beurteilen.” In dem
Antrag der CDU/CSU-Fraktion vom 22. Februar heißt es, am 24. April
1915 “wurde auf Befehl der das Osmanische Reich lenkenden
jungtürkischen Bewegung die armenische politische und kulturelle
Elite Istanbuls verhaftet und ins Landesinnere verschleppt, wo deren
größter Teil ermordet wurde”. Den Deportationen seien 1,2 bis 1,5
Millionen Armenier zum Opfer gefallen. Der türkische
Ministerpräsident Erdogan plädierte für mehr Offenheit im Streit über
die Massaker an den Armeniern. “Wer die Geschichte mit Vorurteilen
betrachtet, den können wir nicht ernst nehmen”, sagte Erdogan. In der
Geschichte der Türkei gebe es kein Kapitel, “dessen wir uns schämen,
das wir verdrängen, vergessen oder vertuschen müßten”.

IRNA, Iran
April 14 2005

Iran, Armenia to broaden consular cooperation Moscow,

April 14, IRNA
Iran-Armenia-Cooperation

The first joint consular meeting between Iran and Armenia was held in
Yerevan on Thursday.

The meeting held concurrently with the current visit of the Iranian
foreign ministry’s director general in charge of consular affairs
Rasoul Mohajer, studied social affairs of Iranian and Armenian
nationals in both countries as well as consular issues.

In the first round of talks, the two sides underlined the important
role of such meetings in promoting good-will among neighboring
countries.

In the two-day meeting a number of issues concerning social affairs,
residence of Iranian and Armenian nationals, easing formalities for
issuance of visas, education and transportation are to be discussed
by the two sides.

Both sides underlined that having good-will in developing ties in
various fields and the historical commonalties shared by the two
countries are considered as suitable back-up for deepening of such
ties.

The Armenian side, for his part, called the presence of Iranian
university students in Armenia as very effective and underlined that
the Yerevan government is to provide them with their required
facilities.

The Iranian delegation is scheduled to confer with a number of
Armenian officials on issues of mutual interests.

Azerbaijan mounts campaign against Armenian “genocide”

Ekspress, Baku
14 Apr 05

Text of Xazar Altay’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 14
April headlined “Baku mounts a propaganda campaign against the
‘Armenian genocide'”

The Azerbaijani state commission for POWs, hostages and missing people
has sent numerous states, including Turkey, a collection of materials
about Armenian terrorism on the eve of an ”anniversary” of the
so-called Armenian genocide, the head of the working group of the
state commission, Firudin Sadiqov, has told Ekspress.

“Our materials mainly provide information about the tragedies suffered
by Azerbaijani POWs and civilian hostages in Armenian captivity during
the Karabakh conflict. There are also specific reports about ethnic
cleansing, destruction and pillage of our historical heritage and
monuments on occupied Azerbaijani territories,” Sadiqov said.

Baku hopes that the submitted materials will prevent the so-called
Armenian diaspora and Armenia from raising a traditional hue and cry
about the so-called genocide in the world every year and will reveal
the truth.

“Tortures the Armenians used against Azerbaijanis throughout history
is the actual genocide and this should be given an assessment,” the
head of the working group said.

He noted that the collection of materials prepared by the state
commission had been sent mainly to relevant research centres,
universities and political bodies in Turkey and other countries.

“PACKAGE” OF PROPOSALS IS EXAGGERATION: ARMENIA’S FM

YEREVAN, APRIL 13. ARMINFO. The London meeting does not imply direct
talks between the Armenian and Azeri FMs, says Armenia’s FM Vardan
Oskanyan.

This is not the first Oskanyan-Mamedyarov meeting for making a stir
about it. There are no obstacles to such meetings. It was the decision
of the OSCE MG co-chairs to hold “indirect” talks this time. They
consider this format more expedient for the current stage. “This means
that we will be in one city, even in one building but in different
rooms. The co-chairs will meet separately with me and Mamedyarov. If
necessary they will meet with us again. But no Oskanyan-Mamedyarov
meeting is planned for this time,” says Oskanyan.

He calls exaggeration the reports that a “package” of proposals will
be discussed during the talks. Simply the co-chairs need to know the
views of the presidents on certain issues. “I cannot say if one can
call a package a few issues,” says Oskanyan noting that there is no
agreement on a meeting by the presidents yet.

In conclusion Oskanyan notes that the international community is not
pressuring the conflicting parties in the peace process.