PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Harout H. Semerdjian
April 27, 2006
617-489-1597
Web:
E-mail: [email protected]

BOSTON, MA – KNOW GENOCIDE, a multi-ethnic, non-partisan coalition was
formally launched on April 21, 2006 during a public rally outside the
Massachusetts State House following the annual Commonwealth of Massachusetts Armenian
Genocide Commemoration Ceremony in the House Chamber.
The coalition was founded to combat the ongoing denial of known instances
of genocide, including the Darfur, Bosnian, Cambodian, Jewish, Rwandan, and
the Armenian genocides. Members are united with the firm understanding that
genocide denial is the final stage of that crime and its penetration into our
schools, universities and other institutions are unethical and unacceptable.
Among the distinguished speakers at the event were Massachusetts Lt.
Governor Kerry Healey, Attorney General Tom Reilly and Congressman Edward Markey
(D-MA). Leaders of several coalition groups also spoke including Rabbi Moshe
Waldoks, Chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Council Holocaust Committee,
and Mr. Jean Nganji, Executive Director of Rwanda Outlook together with
community leaders Carolyn Mugar and Heather Karfian and Representatives Rachel
Kaprielian (D-Watertown), Peter Koutoujian (D-Watertown) and State Senator
Steven Tolman (D-Boston).
While KNOW GENOCIDE is a coalition in formation, support from the people of
Massachusetts and beyond has been overwhelming. Coalition members officially
announced at the event include the Armenian Assembly of America, Jewish
Community Relations Council, Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, Genocide
Intervention Network, Irish Immigration Center, Massachusetts Council of
Churches, Rwanda Outlook, Armenian National Committees of Massachusetts, Center for
Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota and the
Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University.
`KNOW GENOCIDE was initiated for the purpose of exposing and countering
deliberate efforts at genocide denial,’ says Anthony Barsamian, oneof the
founders of the coalition and a Member of the Board of the Armenian Assembly of
America. `Denial of genocide has penetrated our state and nation with new
sophistication, and KNOW GENOCIDE will combat this immoral effort to uphold the
fundamental tenets of human rights, academic integrity and the historical
truth.’
For more information on KNOW GENOCIDE please log on to

#####

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
April 28 2006

Saint Petersburg Meetings

On April 28 RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan met with Sergey
Mironov, Chairman of RF Federal Assembly Federal Council. During the
meeting an agreement was reached in autumn on holding Days of RA
National Assembly in RF Federal Assembly and a conference over the
inter-regional cooperation problems in any RF region full of
Armenians.

During the meeting of Rene van der Linden, PACE President and Artur
Baghdasaryan, RA NA President issues concerning the process of the
fulfillment of Armenia’s undertaken commitments were discussed. Both
sides touched upon the Electoral Code, highlighted the formation of
political consent around Electoral Code and holding the coming
general elections in conformity with democratic standards. The PACE
President Rene van der Linden expressed readiness to assist in the
name of the Council of Europe.

As BSEC President, the NA President Artur Baghdasaryan and RF State
Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov signed a cooperation agreement between
PABSEC and European Economic Community Inter-parliamentary Assembly,
by which it is designed to promote the cooperation of two structures,
the formation of parliamentary dialogue between countries and
peoples.

RIA Novosti. Russia
April 28 2006

Suspect in Armenian student killing released from custody
17:27 | 28/ 04/ 2006

MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) – A high school student detained in
connection with the killing of an Armenian teenager in Moscow last
weekend has been released from custody, a lawyer for the student’s
family said.

Sixteen-year-old Denis Kulagin had been detained for 72 hours in
connection with the fatal stabbing of Vagan Abramyants, a 17-year-old
student at a Moscow manager training institute, at Pushkinskaya metro
station in downtown Moscow on April 22.

But his attorney Simon Tsaturyan said, “Prosecutors found no grounds
to charge [the suspect], so he was released.”

However, he added the status of his client remained unclear, as
investigators had to establish whether he was a witness or suspect.
The lawyer, though, said the dropping of charges showed that
prosecutors were inclined to probe further into a race-hate version.

The other version under consideration was that a row had broken out
between the two young men over a girlfriend.

“Our version that the crime was racially motivated has taken the
upper hand,” the lawyer said, adding that prosecutors were pursuing
another line that a group of young men had carried out the fatal
attack.

“Whether Kulagin was a suspect or an eyewitness is a question that
investigation will have to answer,” the lawyer said.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 28 2006

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH AZERBAIJAN COMMUNITY
[April 28, 2006, 17:35:55]

President Ilham Aliyev on 27 April in his residence in Washington has
met with members of the Azerbaijan community in the United States.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to USA Hafiz Pashayev, opening the meeting
said Heydar Aliyev constantly took care of the Azerbaijan Diaspora
and regularly met with them during his visits to foreign countries.
Noting that currently the Azerbaijan state gives great importance to
relations with Diaspora, the Ambassador expressed gratitude to
President Aliyev to meet with compatriots. Hafiz Pashayev said the
compatriots had become very active last years, taken part at the 2nd
Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Baku, held a meeting of protest in
the United States, including on the Khojaly genocide.

President Aliyev gave speech at meeting, noting Azerbaijan is quickly
developing country. Its ties with world countries expand day by day.
Azerbaijan has efficient cooperation and with the United States and
these relations rapidly develops, he stressed.

President said along with diplomatic means Azerbaijan also needs
strong Diaspora to rise image and hold up Azerbaijan’s position over
the world.

Head of the Azerbaijan state said the main efforts are directed to
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He
stressed necessity of strengthening activity in this direction. To
this end, President of Azerbaijan said activity of the embassies in
foreign countries becomes very important. The establishments should
communicate the world with the truth about the conflict and its
sequences, the reason of the Armenian claims. `Our propaganda should
base on reality’, he stressed.

President of Azerbaijan also necessitated the close coordination
among the Azeri communities and act on common plan, from common
position.

President of Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) Tomris Azeri,
President of America-Azerbaijan Council Ceyhun Mollazade, the
American representative of the World Azerbaijanis’ Congress and
others spoke of the importance of meeting, and told their
suggestions. President Ilham Aliyev appreciated the offer on creation
of America-Azerbaijan Federation.

The President once again emphasized the importance of coordination of
efforts for common goals, gave his recommendations to set in motion
the more and more people around the Diaspora.

BIA, Turkey
April 28 2006

Prosecutor Appeals Against Four Columnists

Bagcilar prosecutor’s office appeals against court decision dropping
charges for four prominent Turkish columnists for criticizing a
decision to ban 2005 Istanbul conference on Ottoman Armenians. Murat
Belge to be tried on June 8 under separate indictment

BIA News Center
28/04/2006 Erol ONDEROGLU

BÝA (Istanbul) – Istanbul’s Bagcilar district prosecutor’s office has
appealed against an April 11 court verdict dismissing a high-profile
controversial case against four prominent Turkish columnists who were
charged with attempting to influence the outcome of a trial though
their writings by criticising a court order halting a September 2005
Istanbul conference on Ottoman Armenians.

The court decided then that according to article 26 of the Press Law,
charges against the four were subject to statue of limitation due to
the time lapse between the date of alleged offence and when a case
was launched.

While it ruled to drop the charges against them, the court decided to
continue the trial of Radikal newspaper columnist and writer Murat
Belge as the only defendant in a new trial, concluding that the
statue of limitation did not apply to his case.

This week, the Bagcilar prosecutor’s office took the verdict for
journalists Hasan Cemal of the daily Milliyet and Haluk Sahin, Erol
Katircioglu and Ismet Berkan of the daily Radikal to the Court of
Appeals asking it to be overruled.

Belge himself is to stand trial under a separate indictment on June
8.

The four defendants were charged in December under Article 288 of the
Turkish Penal Code with “attempting to influence the outcome of a
fair trial” through their writing. All except Berkan also faced
prosecution under Article 301 for “publicly degrading the judiciary”.

If the trial had not been dismissed and they were convicted, all of
the defendants could have faced prison terms of six months to 10
years under the charges.

Belge Trial Details

Journalist Murat Belge’s hearing at the Bagcilar 2nd Court of First
Istance will be held on June 8, at 10.30 local time. Belge is being
charged with violating articles 288 and 301/2 of the Turkish Penal
Code.

He is geld responsible for a September 24, 2005 article titled “The
murder of law” and the October 15, 2005 dated commentary titled “A
Court Decision. ” While the first article was subject to statue of
limitations, the Bagcilar court had decided that he should stand
trial for the second one. (EO/II/YE)

Anatolian Times, Turkey
April 28 2006

Press Review

CUMHURIYET

LITHUANIA CALLS FOR `INSIGHT’ ON SO-CALLED GENOCIDE

Lithuania President Valdas Adamkus, currently visiting Yerevan,
Armenia, said yesterday that a Turkey which wants to enter the
European Union should act more `insightfully’ about the so-called
Armenian genocide. Adamkus said that if his country’s relations with
Turkey suffer due to Ankara’s current stance, they would call on
Turkey, an EU candidate country, to observe the principle of `mutual
respect.’ /Cumhuriyet/

Civil Georgia, Georgia
April 28 2006

Russian Senator Offers to Resume Meetings of `Four Speakers’

Chairman of the Council of Federation of Russia Sergey Mironov
called on April 28 for resumption of regular sessions in frames of
four parliamentary speakers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Russia.

`I have discussed this issue with my Azerbaijani and Armenian
colleagues and they have welcomed [this initiative]. I hope Nino
Burjanadze [the Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson] will not be
against,’ Sergey Mironov told reporters on the sideline of ceremonies
marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian State Duma.

A session of the four parliamentary speakers was last held in
September, 2005 in Moscow.

Meanwhile, unofficial reports say that Chairman of the Russian State
Duma Grizlov has canceled a meeting with visiting Georgian
Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze, which was scheduled to
take place on April 28 on the sidelines the ceremony marking the
Duma’s anniversary.

Regnum, Russia
April 28 2006

Armenian MP calls for impeaching the speaker

During the next week’s parliamentary session the member of the
Armenian parliament Hamayak Hovhannissyan is going to call on the
political coalition (Orinats Yerkir, Republican Party and ARFD –
REGNUM) to impeach the speaker of the parliament Artur Baghdassaryan.

`Artur Baghdassaryan is not a private person or a company director to
express private views during official visits. He is the speaker of
the parliament and, when at international organizations, must
represent the position of the parliamentary majority that elected him
to his post. If today the president, the Republican Party and the
ARFD say that when speaking about the country’s priorities
Baghdassaryan did not represent their position, they must demand that
Baghdassaryan resign, which is exactly what I propose. Artur
Baghdassaryan is not a dissident or a revolutionary to make
statements contrary to the country’s foreign policy, and the Armenian
people should be confident that the first figures of its state are
unanimous on the issue of national security. If the coalition wants
to make the country’s national security an object for external
speculations, then they and Robert Kocharyan must leave Baghdassaryan
in his post; but otherwise, he has no more right to represent the
parliamentary majority,’ says Hovhannissyan.

He says that `in an interview to a German newspaper the speaker has,
in fact, slapped the country’s leadership and the coalition in the
face, and if the majority fails to dismiss him, it is politically
incapable,’ reports Haykakan Zhamanak daily.

To remind, in an interview Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung,
Baghdassaryan said that `Armenia’s future is the EU and NATO’ and
`Russia must not stand in the way to Europe.’ Commenting on the
speaker’s statement, President Robert Kocharyan quoted Armenia’s
Constitution: `Armenia’s foreign policy is determined by the
President.’ `The speaker’s statement might reflect his own changed
position,’ Kocharyan said. Meanwhile, when in St. Petersburg Artur
Baghdassaryan said that `Armenia’s aspiration to enlarge its
relations with the EU and NATO is not aimed against Russia, and
Armenia has no aim to join NATO.’

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Today, Azerbaijan
April 28 2006

Ilham Aliyev: “Azerbaijan won’t be place for US-Russian
confrontation”

28 April 2006 [15:30] – Today.Az

“If the United States of America and Russia want a place for
confrontation let them choose not Azerbaijan, but other place,”
visiting the Unites States of America Ilham Aliyev, President of
Azerbaijan told at Business and Investment Meeting of the
US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC).

Later the President, Ministers of Economic Development, Finance,
Information Technologies, Culture and Tourism reported to the
audience. A special video roller devoted to the Azerbaijan was
broadcast as well. The most interesting was the interrogation at the
conference. But the American community was more interested in Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and happenings around Iran.

President expressed in his speech that Azerbaijan would participate
in the anti-terror coalition operations under the command of the USA
aiming to create peace in Iraq. As response to the question of the
audience the Head of the state said that Azerbaijan sends to Iraq
military forces, but not “drivers” as Armenia.

Later President met with Robert Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State.
This meeting lasted more the half an hour than planned. Energy
security, transportation of oil and gas to the international market
was the topics of the discussion. The Head of the state noted in
meeting with the representatives of Azerbaijan Diaspora the Armenian
lobby spreads negative opinions about Azerbaijan. Because their main
purpose is spot Azerbaijan and introduce it as an anti-democratic
country so that Armenians cannot live as minorities. As if they can’t
live in security here.

Ilham Aliyev called Azerbaijan Diaspora to be more active and for
close cooperation with one another. President Ilham Aliyev will meet
with the US president George Bush, Dick Cheney, vice-president and
Donald Rumsfeld, the chief of the Pentagon, ANS reports.

URL:

Regnum, Russia
April 28 2006

`Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has nothing to do with Nagorno
Karabakh’: Tigran Torossyan

`The territorial integrity of any country, and Azerbaijan, in
particular, should be respected, but it has nothing to do with
Nagorno Karabakh. Only one principle is applicable to Nagorno
Karabakh – the right of a nation to self-determination, which the NK
people exercised in full compliance with the Constitution of the
former USSR. And the OSCE Minsk Group also shares this view. So, here
we have no problem – Nagorno Karabakh is already self-determined,’ a
REGNUM correspondent in Stepanakert reports Deputy Speaker of the
Armenian Parliament Tigran Torossyan as saying at a briefing in the
capital of Nagorno Karabakh.

He said that today nobody disputes the right of the NK people to
self-determination. `I think that nobody doubts that, if held, a
repeated referendum on NK’s status will give similar results. And
even though NKR is yet not recognized de jure, it has excellent
prerequisites for that if it acts consistently,’ says Torossyan.

He considers absurd Azerbaijan’s talk about giving autonomous status
to Nagorno Karabakh. `Aliyev Senior, Aliyev Junior, and many Azeris
have kept saying from year to year, and, if not tired, may do that
for many years more, – even after the recognition of NKR’s
independence – that they are ready to give NK `a wide autonomy’
within Azerbaijan. Today Ilham Aliyev represents only Azerbaijan’s
position, which does not reflect the positions of the European
structures,’ Torossyan said. He noted that the European structures
have recently begun to actively discuss the Karabakh problem –
directly or indirectly. `In 2005 PACE passed resolution 14-16 on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Just a few days ago they adopted a
resolution on refugees and are drafting a resolution on missing
people. All these issues are directly or indirectly related to the
Karabakh conflict. Besides, PACE has an ad hoc committee on the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Naturally, this work should be continued,
and it is very important that our parliaments keep in constant touch
with one another. We are ready to discuss any proposals by the NKR
parliament,’ Torossyan said.

Even though the European structures and PACE, in particular,
constantly say that they are not going to search for solutions to the
Karabakh problem, the Council of Europe notes that its task is to
create a favorable atmosphere for its resolution – as this is in line
with its general mission. `These tasks are formulated in Resolution
14-16, containing an urge to stop militarist statements and hatred
propaganda, and the PACE ad hoc committee will watch how this
resolution is fulfilled,’ Torossyan said. He informed that in October
2006 the committee will come to Stepanakert on a fact-finding visit.