Christian Science Monitor
May 14 2004

To me, rugs are no longer to be looked down upon

By Annette Amelia Oliveira

Except for a cheap braided oval from a department store in the Bronx,
my family had no rugs when I grew up. We kept to worn linoleum and
scuffed hardwood floors. The wall-to-wall rugs in the homes of my
more affluent friends seemed, to my mind, unsanitary. I was disgusted
by the idea of spreading thick wool on the floor, tracking over it
with shoes, and living with the dirt I was sure vacuums left behind.
The only rug I would ever have, I thought, was one that you could
take outside and beat.
My view of rugs changed profoundly 20 years ago, however, when I
married. My husband, Haig, is passionate about rugs. His father was
Armenian, a culture that for eons esteemed carpets as a form of
wealth. As a child, Haig spent hours at the home of his Armenian
grandmother.

There, in spaces where most people had one fine rug laid out, she
piled several, one on top of the other.

In our marriage, rugs are an arena where extravagance is permitted,
where we loosen our well-guarded purse strings to allow ourselves a
marvelous work of art. Haig revels in rug stores the way a dog,
having been locked indoors for hours, revels when he’s set free to
leap in a sunny field.

Our home is thick with rugs. A small Baluch brightens the living-room
wall. A Tibetan rug mimics a striped tiger skin, edged with
multicolored clouds. Small Chinese silk rugs soften the seats of
chairs. A Kilim stripes colors across a hardwood floor. Mexican and
Persian rugs cover the seats of our sofas. Haig, who is a therapist,
even has a mouse pad replicating the rug that Sigmund Freud once
spread out on his psychiatrist’s couch.

Our most magnificent piece is a large tribal rug that Haig hunted
down in New York City years ago when we had gone to visit family. He
found it in a dusty Middle Eastern rug warehouse, fell in love, and
excitedly asked me to take a look.

We’re both practiced bargainers who know how to maintain a stone
face. But when I saw the thing rolled out before me, I couldn’t hold
back a gasp of pleasure. We haggled the owner down. But we knew he’d
gotten the better of the deal when, with a satisfied smile, he threw
in delivery free of charge.

The rug holds myriad fancies of color and pattern in deep blue, red
madder, and ochre. It’s a joy to explore, with unexpected butterflies
and animals, not to mention a shape that looks like a Pac-Man from
Mars.

Ten years after we bought the rug, we went to an Armenian Rug Society
exhibit and discovered that the rug had been made in Armenia.

Every morning I like to do a series of morning exercises. These
entail descending to, lying across, and rising from our favorite rug.
I welcome this excuse to become more intimate with it.

A carpet is the only art form I know that is made to be, not just
gazed at, but trodden upon. Striking something with your feet usually
abases it. These marvels of tradition and faith crafted for
millenniums by the eye of the artist and the fingers of women and
children are trampled like the dust of the earth.

I think the opposite occurs, however. I think a carpet elevates the
act of walking. Just as the apostles felt raised up when Jesus washed
their feet, a rug asserts that even our worn soles deserve softness,
color, history, and the fruits of the earth.

Greece, Turkey seek end to feud
By Andrew Borowiec, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Washington Times
May 14 2004

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Greece and Turkey have embarked on what diplomats
describe as a period of “optimism and hope” with the ultimate goal
of ending their centuries-old feud.

A meeting in Athens last week between Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Greek counterpart, Costas Karamanlis,
sparked diplomatic dispatches and newspaper editorials forecasting
an unprecedented era of cooperation.

Above all, the prime ministers pledged not to let their long-standing
dispute over Cyprus stand in the path of a rapprochement.

“The European Union has accepted the whole of Cyprus — with a
special dispensation for its northern sector,” Mr. Karamanlis said.
“For us, the issue has been solved and has been dealt with.”

He also stressed Greek backing of Turkish efforts to join the European
Union and for planned Turkish political and economic reforms.

Mr. Erdogan said, “Greek-Turkish relations must not be affected by
the Cyprus issue. … The improvement of bilateral relations between
Greece and Turkey will be to the benefit not only of the two countries
but to stability, peace and cooperation in the whole region.”

The statements caused considerable concern in Greek-Cypriot political
circles, where it was understood that the new chapter in Greek-Turkish
relations was facilitated by the Greek-Cypriot rejection of a U.N. plan
to unite the island — and a Turkish-Cypriot vote of acceptance.

International sponsors of the plan quickly moved to reward the hitherto
ostracized and boycotted Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, putting
the legal Greek-Cypriot government on the defensive.

The fear now is of a loss of international interest in the island’s
future.

Since the Ottoman massacre of Armenians and the post-Ottoman wars of
the 1920s, Greece and Turkey have rarely seen eye to eye. Although
both are partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, their
military preparations have been mostly aimed at each other.

Greece and Turkey nearly went to war three times in recent years —
in 1974 because of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in retaliation for
a Greek coup, in 1987 when Turkey sent an oil drilling ship into
the disputed areas of the Aegean Sea, and in 1996 over a disputed
uninhabited Aegean islet.

The Erdogan-Karamanlis meeting follows a steady search for better
relations, marked by 25 bilateral agreements in the past five years.

The conservative Athens daily Kathimerini, however, added a note
of caution:

“Both men seek to hammer out relations based on sincerity and trust
which will allow them to resolve nagging hitches. But the EU will
never begin accession negotiations with a state in which political
life is under the shadow of the military.”

Turkish officials and diplomats insist that Turkey has made strides
toward major changes in its political outlook.

Hakan Altinay, of the Open Society Institute in Turkey, said, “A
transformation wrought by the soft power of the European Union has
gone unnoticed by Europe. … The death penalty was repealed, draconian
laws that restricted speech and the press for decades were abolished.

“The state of emergency that curtailed basic liberties in southeast
Turkey was lifted after 25 years. The extraordinary powers of the
National Security Council which subordinated civilian rule to military
authority were eliminated.”

Forum 18, Norway
May 14 2004

TURKMENISTAN: Religious persecution’s latest disguises
By Felix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News Service

In his latest attempt to disguise Turkmenistan’s de facto
criminalisation of religious belief, President Saparmurat Niyazov has
today (13 May) revoked the de jure criminalisation of unregistered
religious activity. Believers were, before the de jure
criminalization, treated as de facto criminals and fined, detained,
beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for unregistered religious activity. Niyazov has also
cancelled a secret decree requiring registered religious communities
to subject themselves to tight financial regulation by the state –
but has imposed tight financial regulation in a different way,
through an official model statute for religious communities. Forum 18
News Service has obtained a copy of this, and religious leaders in
Turkmenistan have told Forum 18 that they find these restrictions
unacceptable. Many prefer to continue to exist in the underground.

Under intense international pressure over its repression of religious
life, Turkmenistan’s president Saparmurat Niyazov has today (13 May)
revoked the punishments introduced into the Criminal Code last year
on those involved in unregistered religious activity. Before these
punishments were introduced, Turkmenistan already had tight controls
-which it still maintains – on unregistered religious activity. All
Shia Muslim, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic,
Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i and Jewish activity
was de facto if not de jure treated as illegal. Believers were, even
before the de jure criminalization of unregistered activity, fined,
detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for involvement in unregistered religious activity. De
jure decriminalisation is not expected to change the established
pattern of de facto criminalisation.

President Niyazov also cancelled a secret decree he had issued on 23
March which required registered religious communities to subject
themselves to tight financial regulation by the state. However, Forum
18 News Service has also received a copy of the six-page model
statute handed out to religious communities by the Adalat (Fairness
or Justice) Ministry which requires all religious communities to pay
20 per cent of their income to the government’s Gengeshi (Council)
for Religious Affairs and imposes other tight controls. This imposes
tight financial regulation in a different way, as well as forcing
registered communities to provide the state with information helpful
to its continued persecution of religious believers (see F18News 10
May ).

The pro-government website turkmenistan.ru claimed that the president
cancelled the criminal penalties and the secret decree “with the aim
of creating the necessary legal guarantees to secure freedom of
religion and belief, as well as to complete the laws of the country
on religious organisations”. Turkmenistan has for the last seven
years refused to register all communities of the Shia Muslims,
Armenian Apostolic Church, all Protestants (including Pentecostals,
Lutherans and Baptists), Jews, Baha’is, the Hare Krishna community
and the New Apostolic Church.

The president’s moves are the latest in an embarrassing series of
conflicting legal moves designed to head off international criticism
sparked by last October’s amendments to the religion law and the
criminal code which tightened even further restrictions on registered
religious communities and criminalized unregistered religious
activity.

In March this year, the president also announced an apparent paper
relaxation of persecution, apparently allowing religious communities
to gain official registration regardless of how many members they
have or what faith they belong to (see F18News 12 March
). However, it
became clear that this apparent relaxation masked moves to impose
stringent controls on any community that registered, such as a
requirement that any worship service or other event needs state
permission to take place (see F18News 10 May
).

The change in bureaucratic requirements also did not signal any
respite in persecution, being apparently intended to allow religious
communities to exist in theory but be persecuted in practice. Secret
police raids continued and on the same day the March announcement was
made, a Jehovah’s Witness was arrested and pressured by officials,
including a Mullah, to renounce his faith and then fired from his job
(see F18News ). As
Forum 18 has documented, persecution continued since then unabated,
Muslims, for example, being barred from building new mosques on 29
March (see F18News 30 March
). It is highly
unlikely that today’s announcement marks any actual relaxation in
persecution.

The registration regulations issued by the Adalat Ministry on 10
March, which appear still to be in force despite the latest legal
moves, come in the form of a model statute which religious
communities appear required to follow very closely if they are to get
registration. Article 13 defines the first aim of a religious
organization, ahead even of “jointly confessing and spreading their
faith”, as “respecting the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan”.

Services would be allowed in property owned by religious
organisations and in private homes “in cases of ritual necessity”. It
remains unclear if regular services in private homes or elsewhere
would be illegal.

Only adults citizens of Turkmenistan would be allowed to belong to
religious organizations, according to Article 16, leaving it unclear
whether foreign citizens living in the country would even be allowed
to attend religious services of registered organizations.

Although registered religious communities would be able to teach
children on their own premises, teachers would have to be approved in
advance by the Gengeshi.

Article 15 of the statute requires the payment of 20 per cent of
income to the Gengeshi every quarter, while all donations from abroad
have to be registered at the Adalat Ministry.

Leaders of religious organizations have to be Turkmen citizens,
making it difficult for faiths like the Catholics or the Armenians
which do not have native clergy. The model statute also defines how
the administration of each faith must work and how often its
governing body must meet.

The model statute also states that leaders of religious organizations
are also expected to have higher religious education, a concept which
is not defined. This concept may be a further restriction on the
clergy who can be appointed, possibly related to Niyazov’s decree
dismissing from state employment, with effect from 1 June, anyone who
holds higher education decrees awarded outside Turkmenistan since
1993.

Article 38 allows courts to liquidate religious organizations for
“repeated or gross violations” of the country’s laws, while the
Adalat Ministry can also terminate an organisation’s registration
(for which the statute gives no further explanation).

Religious leaders in Turkmenistan have already told Forum 18 that
they find the restrictions in the model statute unacceptable. Many
prefer to continue to exist in the underground, as the latest
apparent relaxations mark no change in the continued de facto
criminalisation and persecution of religious believers.

For more background see Forum 18’s latest religious freedom survey at

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU TODAY
May 14 2004

Oskanian: The Idea To Withdraw From Seven Districts Is Absurd And
Meaningless

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian on Thursday deemed the
idea of withdrawal from Azerbaijan’s seven occupied districts “absurd
and meaningless.”

Oskanian’s Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov came up with a
suggestion during their 13 May meeting in Strasbourg that Baku might
open up all communication lines to Armenia should the latter releases
seven districts it occupied in 1991-94 war.

Mammadyarov’s proposal holds that over 700,000 Azerbaijani internally
displaced persons (IDP) should be returned to their homes before the
issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status is resolved.

Armenian side has rejected thus far every plan considering stage
by stage settlement of the conflict, supporting only a “package
resolution” of the problem.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic-Armenian populated region of
Azerbaijan, is under the control Armenian troops along with seven
districts surrounding it.

A no war no peace situation continues since a cease-fire agreement was
reached on May 12, 1994, with the Azerbaijani authorities oftentimes
warning that they can resort to armed means at any moment to regain
the occupied territories.

PRAVDA/ RIA Novosti, Russia
May 14 2004

Putin, Kocharyan to discuss Russo-Armenian economic cooperation

11:16 2004-05-14
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet with Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan today in Moscow for the fifth time in the last 12
months.

Plans are in place to discuss ways of enhancing economic ties,
fuel-and-energy interaction, as well as that in the field of
transport, investment, the real economy and the financial sphere, a
high-ranking Kremlin source told RIA Novosti.

Trade-and-economic interaction will be perceived as a top-priority
issue, RIA Novosti’s interlocutor added, reminding that the bilateral
trade turnover had soared by 34.5% last year.

According to the Kremlin source, Mr. Putin and Mr. Kocharyan will
devote special attention to facilitating education, culture and
humanitarian cooperation, which is now becoming more active.

Moreover, both leaders will exchange opinions on all highly important
international and regional issues, the interlocutor went on to say,
adding that both sides were voicing either similar or coinciding
positions on all principled issues.

PM on Russia-Armenia relations

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
May 14 2004

RBC, 14.05.2004, Moscow 10:58:37.Russia is ready to discuss
issues of relations with Armenia, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov declared before negotiations with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian. The Armenian leader has visited Moscow. “Our relations
are actively developing and we have a lot of things to discuss,”
Fradkov stressed. Russia and Armenia do have something to say each
other to cooperate more efficiently,” he emphasized.

Kocharian has declared that bilateral cooperation was wide and
that the two countries were cooperating more intensely for the past
several years.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf?

Reuters AlertNet, UK
May 14 2004

International Crisis Group (ICG) – Belgium
Website:

Baku/Brussels, 13 May 2004: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev needs
to embrace the democratic process and dismantle autocratic rule.
Failure to do so would lead to instability that could spill into the
rest of the region and tempt strong neighbours to fill a power
vacuum.

The International Crisis Group’s latest report, Azerbaijan: Turning
Over a New Leaf?*, considers the challenges now facing Azerbaijan and
its young and largely untested leader. Strategic interests primarily
related to oil reserves muted international expressions of concern
about last October’s fraud-filled election, which saw Ilham take over
from his dying, autocratic father, Heydar. However, if the regime and
the international community maintain a disregard for democracy in
Azerbaijan, it will likely exacerbate the long-term problems the
country faces.

“President Aliyev is in an awkward position”, says Nicholas Whyte
Director of ICG’s Europe Program. “He has to fulfil Western
expectations on reforms and democratisation and at the same time
satisfy the interests of the ruling elite. Plus, he needs to show
that he, not his father’s advisers, controls the government”.

Azerbaijan’s government is a carefully designed autocratic system,
which the father and former Soviet-era politburo member began to
construct in the late 1960s, with heavy reliance on family and clan
members, oil revenues and patronage. The deep scars the country has
from its defeat by Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh ten years ago
continue to impact political life.

Clearly, democratic change is not going to be simple or quick, but by
indicating his desire to move to a more open and democratic system,
Ilham Aliyev does give some reason for hope. His best chance is to
nurture a new generation of technocratic professionals while steadily
dismantling the corrupt patronage network that strangles the
political system and keeps the economy overly dependent on a single
resource.

The young president has begun by prudently appointing young deputy
ministers and other officials to implement reforms aimed at opening
and developing the economy. Under international pressure, he has
freed several hundred political prisoners. Another welcome step would
be a credible investigation of the violence surrounding the 2003
election.

Deeper change, however, is going to mean more difficult choices for
Aliyev, who can only find the new allies he needs against the most
conservative circles by giving space to a genuine opposition and
truly independent media.

“Cracking down on the opposition and harshly repressing religious
groups would likely boomerang on Aliyev”, says Damien Helly, Caucasus
Regional Director for ICG. “Combined with general social and economic
discontent, such actions would only fuel a more radical political and
religious opposition and unrest in the northern regions”.

Contacts:

Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 485 555 946

Jennifer Leonard (Washington) +1-202-785 1601

*Read the report in full on our website:

ARMENIA * IRAN * AGREEMENT * GAS

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 13 2004

YEREVAN, May 13, 2004 (RIA Novosti) – Agreement on deliveries of
Iranian gas to Armenia was signed by head of the Director General of
the Yerevan steam power plant Ovakim Ovanesyan and head if the National
Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) Roknoddin Javadi in Yerevan.

Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said this was a 20-years’
agreement and 36 bln cubic meters of gas will be delivered to Armenia
within this time. Armenia will get 1.1 bln cubic meters of Iranian
gas annually and pay Iran in power.

Construction of the gas pipeline is to be launched in 2004. It is to
be completed by the end of 2006. The pipeline will be 141 kilometers
long (41 kilometers in Armenia and 100 kilometers in Iran). The start
point of the pipeline is Tehran, it will go to Yerevan via the Megria
area of the Armenia-Iran border.

According to preliminary estimates, about $90-100 mln will be allocated
for construction works in Armenia. Iran will earmark about $120 mln
for construction activities on its territory.

Mr Movsisian says foreign companies may engage in the construction
works, in particular, Russian, Chinese, U.S., Brazil and Ukrainian
companies have applied for it.

The Armenian leadership attaches high importance to the Iran-Armenia
pipeline project. According to Armenian President Robert Kocharian,
“the successful implementation of the project will bring relations
between Iran and Armenia to a very high level”.

Government of Ardzinba starts persecuting Georgian – minding people

Batumi News
May 14 2004

On the statement of Tamaz Nadareishvili, ex Chairman of the Abkhazian
Supreme Council, the power wielding structures of the de facto
government of Sokhumi started with the search operations, to identify
the individuals who appeared in the streets of Sokhumi with the five
cross Georgian national flags.

He said it should be a very significant rally, as the government
structures got involved in the searches. Nadareishvili said the
rally was not a spontaneous one, on the reports, the contacts and
consultations are being kept with certain individuals, however,
for the security measures, their identity is kept in secrecy.

Nadareishvili rules out the Inal Kazan, a US citizen has his hand in
the processes. Regarding Armenians, living in Sokhumi, Nadareishvili
said their stance will depend on the official stance of Armenia. “In
the past, Armenians got a hint to back Abkhazians, and now, like
soberly thinking Abkhazians, they do see that Abkhazia is at the
verge of a disaster and they are confused.

Thereby, Georgian government should provide active works with the
Armenian government, to ensure their, if not supporting, than at
least neutral stance”, – Nadareishvili thinks.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B – 1000 BRUXELLES
Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
E-mail : [email protected]
Web :

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 14th, 2004
Contact: Talline Tachdjian
Tel.: +32 (0)2 732 70 27

LEADING EUROPEAN ELECTORAL CANDIDATES MEET WITH ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

Lyon, France – On May 9th, the leading candidates for the European
Parliament elections from the southeast region of France addressed
the topic of Turkey’s accession to the European Union during a Europe
Day event organized by the Armenian National Committee of France and
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Speaking at the event held at the Bourse du Travail in Lyon were
Thierry Cornillet (Union of French Democrats), Gérard Benhamias
(Greens), and Patrick Louis (Union for France). The debate was
moderated by France Inter Radio journalist Frederic Bourgade, with
participation of Franck Bianchieri from Think Tank Europe 2002 and
Hilda Tchoboian from the European Armenian Federation. Absent due
to the launching of their parties’ electoral campaigns, Françoise
Grossetête (Union for the Presidential Majority) and Michel Rocard
(Socialist Party) issued filmed statements.

Franck Bianchieri commented on the growing concern and opposition to
Turkey’ s accession that he noticed during the debates he moderated
in 100 European cities. Before an attentive audience of more than
a thousand attendees, Thierry Cornillet and Patrick Louis declared
their official opposition to Turkey’s accession for geographical,
cultural and demographic reasons, promising to uphold this position
when they are elected to the European Parliament. Likewise, Françoise
Grossetête, whose party recently made a dramatic shift in position on
the issue, favored a privileged partnership status for Turkey. From
the left, Gérard Benhamias from the Greens party stated that in his
opinion we should quickly integrate Turkey and that we should trust
the Turkish democrats to improve the Human Rights situation as well
as recognize the Armenian Genocide, which should result from the
country’s democratisation.

Expressing his viewpoint, Michel Rocard discussed the strategic
importance of Turkish accession because of Turkey’s ethnic and
cultural links with Turkish-speaking countries of central Asia that
have oil reserves from which Europe could benefit; according to him,
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide would naturally come when
Turkey would feel “ridicule” for its denial.

Hilda Tchoboian recalled that it is since the European Parliament
began the examination of Turkey’s candidacy in 2000 that it started
to consider the genocide and blockade issues, at the urging of the
European Armenian Federation. Recalling the Morillon and Lamassoure
reports, she denounced the inconsistencies between the declaration of
parties opposed to Turkish accession and their refusal to speak firmly
and truthfully to Turkey in the European Parliament annual reports.

Regarding the positions of the Left, Tchoboian refuted the exemplary
nature of Turkey’s accession for the Muslim world, because of Turkey’s
poor relations with its Arab neighbours. She also denounced the
argument of secularism, which in Turkey is not based on plurality and
on the separation of religion and State, but on the Turkish State’s
protection of the Muslim religion, which became the majority religion
after the extermination of Turkey’s non-Muslim citizens.

“If Europe does not require Turkey to adhere to its values as a
pre-condition to its accession, Europe will be forced to integrate
Turkey’s denialist values, and to give free rein to the denial of
other genocides,” affirmed the Chairperson of the European Armenian
Federation.

She emphasized that beyond a formal recognition, Europe must bring
about Genocide reparations, requiring in particular that Turkey give to
Armenia and to Armenian people guarantees of security. “Turkey must
promise to abolish its aggressive policy towards Armenia; this policy
is not the act of a regime, but rather follows from a State doctrine
that has continued under military, civil and Islamist regimes,”
concluded Tchoboian.

Concluding the first portion of the event, Georges Kepenekian declared
that Armenians would remain watchful, and would not give parties carte
blanche regarding matters that remain at the centre of attention
for European citizens. The second portion of the event included a
concert by the band Bratsch.

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