PRESS RELEASE
Office of Sarkis Assadourian M.P.
120 Confederation
House of Commons, Ottawa, Canada
Contact: Daniel Kennedy
Tel: 613 995 4843

Re: M-380 Armenian Genocide
89 Years later…
“Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”

Dear Colleague: April 20, 2004

As a Member of Parliament who’s ancestors were victims of the Armenian
Genocide I urge you to support and vote for M-380, calling on the House
of Commons to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and condemn this
act as a crime against humanity.

The recognition of the Genocide of 1915 perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire in pre Ata Turk Turkey, will serve to bring the Canadian-Armenian
and the Canadian-Turkish communities together rather than serve to push
them apart. Denial does not lead to healing, recognition and
co-operation does.

Recognition of the historical events after 89 years will show how the
two communities have adjusted to the realities of history and have
co-operated to move beyond. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

The argument that recognition of M-380 will have a detrimental effect on
trade between Canada and Turkey is false. Many nations including France
and Switzerland have already recognized the Genocide with no detrimental
economic effects. In Canada, the Ontario and Quebec legislatures have
already granted official recognition to the reality of the Armenian
Genocide. (The Province of Quebec has officially declared April 24 as
Armenian Genocide Day)

Although my family were victims of Genocide and deportation my belief in
this issue lies with the importance of recognizing historical fact and
taking the steps for the healing process to take hold. Genocide, the
ultimate act of inhumanity is one of mankind’s most terrible legacies,
only by recognizing and remembering this most horrible crime can we
build a better future for Armenians, Turks and all humanity.

If you in good conscience cannot support M-380, I humbly ask you in a
non-partisan manner to abstain from the vote.

Sincerely,
Sarkis Assadourian, M.P.

“After all, who today remembers the Armenians”
( Adolph Hitler, Germany, August 1939)

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT NOT GOING TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT OR REPLACE PRIME
MINISTER

20.04.2004 18:41

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian has denied the hearsay
on his intention to dissolve the Parliament or replace the Prime Minister.
“If the Government fulfills the budget for 100% and secures the economic
growth, replacing the Prime Minister or dissolving the Parliament does not
make sense,” R. Kocharian told journalists today. “Moreover, the steps of
the opposition promote more active and consolidated work of the ruling
coalition,” the Armenian leader noted. R. Kocharian also stated that “in
case the opposition tries to overstep the constitutional limits, the
response will again be adequate.”

The Moscow Times
Tuesday, Apr. 20, 2004. Page 11

Street Protests Are Now a Craze in the Caucasus

By Chloe Arnold

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Georgians do it outside parliament. Azeris do it along
the Caspian Sea coast. And last week, Armenians were doing it in Freedom
Square in their thousands, until the police sent them home.

I’m talking, of course, about demonstrations — the latest craze to take
hold in this neck of the woods, from Lenkaran to Yerevan, and most places in
between.

The Azeris started it last fall after a presidential election, the rigging
of which astounded even the world-weariest of observers. At the age of 80
and with a quadruple bypass operation under his belt, Heidar Aliyev decided
to relinquish the helm after 30 years and hand the country over to his son.

There was the minor issue of an election to be held, but officials up and
down the country made sure the vote came out overwhelmingly in favor of
Aliyev’s son, Ilham.

Outraged at the result, opposition groups took the streets of Baku,
demanding a revote. But the government was having none of it. The protesters
were beaten soundly and sent to prison, where many of them are still holed
up to this day.

The Georgians fared better. Their parliamentary vote a month later saw the
same cunning tricks used to ensure a victory for the ruling party.
Opposition supporters camped outside parliament for three weeks in protest
before storming the building and forcing the president, Eduard Shevardnadze,
to throw in the towel.

Then last week, it was Armenia’s turn. Not to be outdone by their neighbors,
the Armenian opposition marched in the center of Yerevan, demanding the
resignation of their president, Robert Kocharyan.

Police let them have their say for a few hours before rounding up the
ringleaders and sending everyone else home. The rally came a year after a
presidential election that — wait for it — saw massive violations and a
landslide victory for Kocharyan.

Opposition groups say they will continue their protests until Kocharyan
resigns, but I can’t help feeling the wind is out of their sails.

So why did demonstrations work in Georgia and not Azerbaijan or Armenia?
Mostly, I think, because the Georgians had television on their side. In
Azerbaijan and Armenia there are no opposition stations to call on the
nation to come out and demonstrate — although Armenia is so small, you
could practically do the job just by shouting.

Georgia now has a young, vibrant government with grand ideas. People have
high hopes for their new leader, Mikheil Saakashvili. But if he doesn’t live
up to his promises, I guarantee the Georgians, like the Azeris and the
Armenians next door, will be out on the streets again with another excuse to
hold a demonstration.

Chloe Arnold is a freelance journalist based in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Saying Farewell To The City
By S. MUTHIAH

The Hindu
April 19, 2004

WITH THE departure of Michael Stephanian, or Stephen, if you wish, the
Armenian Church in George Town will be without an Armenian caretaker
for the first time since it was consecrated in 1772. A local caretaker,
Alexander, succeeds Michael who goes to Calcutta on a significant
promotion after seven years in Madras where he had succeeded that
legend, George Gregorian, who put in 33 years in making the church
the cleanest place in the city.

Michael moves to Calcutta to take charge of the Armenian College
(school) there, one of the leading educational institutions in the
city when it was home to a few thousand Armenians, almost all of whom
have migrated to Australia or parts westwards since the 1970s. The few
hundred Armenians left in Calcutta keep service going in the city’s
three churches of the Armenian Orthodoxy and the one in Chandernagar,
service being held in each by turn on Sundays. These numbers, have,
however, not been enough to sustain the school, which in its heyday –
and when the Armenian Club was as lively – produced some of the best
rugby teams in India.

There has, in the last few years, been an attempt to revive the school
by bringing in from strife-riven Armenia and Iran, Armenian children
who have lost at least one parent. To the dozen or so Armenians with
Indian connections there have now been added about 100 boys and 40
girls from Armenia and Iraq. Michael hopes that, in the next year or
so, he can get that strength up to 300, with about 50 more children
from Armenia and 100 from war-torn Iraq where over 25,000 Armenians
live. These children in the 6-16 age group will be trained to take
the ICSE exam, but their workload will always be increased by three
subjects: the Armenian language, history and faith.

Michael, while in Madras, has done a splendid job in keeping the
Armenian Church alive by organising the occasional service in it. He
has also ensured that the Armenian Cemetery on the Island and the
Armenian tombs and other relics in and around the city have been cared
for. He may not have always been successful in preserving the symbols
of Armenian heritage in the city, but he was always trying. I’m sure
he’ll be trying even harder to bring the Armenian College back to
its old glory. This column wishes him all the best.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Simon Panek, a Czech who loves freedom
By JAN MARCHAL

Agence France Presse
April 20, 2004

PRAGUE, April 20 — A dissident student under communism, Czech Simon
Panek has remained an unconditional militant for liberty, running
the largest humanitarian organization in central Europe.

“For me, freedom is essential. It is the right of the individual to
feel part of the state. This is in my view the most important European
value,” Panek told AFP in a recent interview.

Panek is an example of the sort of “new Europeans” in the 10 countries
set to join the European Union on May 1.

The 37-year-old sees himself as an inheritor of the values
the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel fought for in freeing
then-Czechoslovakia from the yoke of Soviet domination.

Panek worked with Havel in the heady days before the Iron Curtain
fell in 1989, organizing strikes in Prague universities.

“We have traveled a long road. We freed ourselves from an extremely
dangerous ideology and now this is irreversible. In short, we won,”
he said.

Panek is still fighting however against other dictatorships, such as
in Cuba.

In March, he put on a striped prisoners uniform and sat for an hour
in a symbolic cell in the middle of Prague in a demonstration with
74 other people, including the president of the Czech senate Petr
Pithart, to alert public opinion to the fate of opponents of Cuban
leader Fidel Castro.

Panek’s main work is heading the humanitarian organization People in
Need, which he and several friends founded in 1992.

The organization was a follow-up on work he had done under communism
in order to help people in Armenia who were by the 1988 earthquake.

People in Need has grown into “the largest non-governmental
organization in the region,” Panek said.

It has been involved in some 30 countries, including Afghanistan,
Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Myanmar and Bosnia, and has an annual
budget of over 15 million euros (18.6 million dollars).

“Our action in crisis areas is not only for classic humanitarian aid
but also to get testimony and give information in order to defend
human rights,” Panek said.

Panek said his father showed him the way to fight for human rights.

“Expelled from his school shortly after the communist putsch in 1948,
my father helped Czechs to emigrate to the West, across the border
with Germany,” Panek said.

His father was arrested while doing this and then in 1953 escaped
from a uranium mine where he was doing forced labor.

He was caught and finally left prison in 1960, in an amnesty.

Panek said his family read clandestine political tracts in the 1970s
and 1980s. “I knew why it was necessary to be a militant,” he said.

Panek was named European of the Year in 2002 by the Reader’s Digest
magazine but he said he does not see himself as a hero of democracy.

“Quite the opposite, since I tend to be authoritarian. I am too blunt
with people and lack patience. I like to give orders and that’s why
I’m a manager,” he said.

jma/msa/rl

EU-enlarge-May1-Czech-profile

Zaman, Turkey
April 20 2004

Turkey-Armenia Border to Remain Closed

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Sunday
dispelled rumors that Turkey would reopen its border with Armenia
without first ensuring that the Nargorno-Karabag (Karabakh) conflict
was resolved. “Such a thing is not the issue. For some reason, this
is spoken about a great deal in Azerbaijan. Whenever we come across
Azeri reporters they ask us this question,” defended Gul. The
Karabakh issue remains deeply divisive for the countries of Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Gul disclosed that in the upcoming months a
tripartite meeting between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey would be
held to discuss the issue. Gul said that this meeting would happen
prior to the June North Atlantic Treat Organization (NATO) summit in
Istanbul. He added that Armenia would participate in the Summit
within the context of Caucasian countries that have relations with
NATO.

04.20.2004
Foreign News Services
Istanbul

Turkiye
April 20 2004

GUL: `WE’VE MADE EFFORTS TO RESOLVE THE UPPER KARABAKH ISSUE’

Commenting on recent rumors that the border between Turkey and
Armenia would be opened, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday
that Ankara first wanted Azerbaijan and Armenia to reach a settlement
on the upper Karabakh issue and was making efforts towards this end.
Stressing that the border would not be opened until the issue was
resolved, Gul said, `We are continuing our contacts with the
governments in both Baku and Yerevan.’ Urging all observers to take
lessons from a possible Cyprus settlement, Gul stated that Turkey
didn’t want the upper Karabakh issue to remain unresolved,
explaining, `There is an occupation there.’ The foreign minister also
added that during Istanbul’s NATO summit this June, a tripartite
meeting could be held to discuss the issue. /Turkiye/

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

E.U. funds more refugee centres on new eastern frontier

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
April 20, 2004, Tuesday

Warsaw — The European Union will spend 17 million euros on six
new centres for refugees along Poland’s eastern border, destined
to be the E.U.’s new eastern frontier after May 1, PAP news agency
reported Tuesday.

Poland currently has 12 refugee centres able to host 2,500 people,
mostly near the western border with Germany.

The new centres will be built over the next two years in the eastern
Polish border cities of Przemysl, Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, and
Ketrzyn. Four of the centres will be closed, detention compounds
designed to hold illegal migrants.

Some Polish politicians worry Poland’s May 1 E.U. entry will draw
waves of asylum seekers to its eastern border.

But immigration officials point out Poland is still a transit rather
than a target country for migrants, with most heading for Germany,
France and Belgium.

In 2003, almost 7,000 people applied for refugee status in Poland,
twice as many as five years ago. Some 219 people were declared refugees
and granted the right to reside in Poland.

Chechens, Afghans, Indians, Palestinians, Armenians and Ukrainians
were the most numerous applicants. dpa sib pb sc

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Former head of Russian border force in Armenia put on trial
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS
April 20, 2004

YEREVAN, April 20 — Former commander of the Russian border force
in Armenia Lt. Gen. Vyacheslav Aboimov has faced a military
court in Armenia. He is charged with the abuse of office through
misappropriation of 3.5 million rubles.

Criminal proceedings were instituted on August 20 following an
inspection. A similar case was opened against Aboimov’s deputy for
the rear, Col. Vasily Filonov. Investigators say they transferred
funds of a non-existent construction project to the account of the
Simeron Enterprises Company based in Armenia.

The trial in the fifth garrison court of the Russian North Caucasian
military district is closed.

Aboimov headed the Russian border force in Armenia from March 2001
to July 2003. He is a holder of the Order of the Red Star, medals
and awards of Armenia and Afghanistan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Adelante Cuba, Cuba
April 20 2004

Question of Guantanamo Causes Diplomatic Stampede in Geneva

Geneva, Apr 20 (Prensa Latina) A simple question about the human
rights resolution concerning the US Naval Base in Guantanamo, that
illegally occupies Cuban territory, produced a stampede of diplomats,
or in some cases, simple evasion.

Cuban radio and television reporters, together with Prensa Latina
correspondent, sought the viewpoint of UN Human Rights Commission
delegates on the proposed resolution presented by Cuba, concerning
the arbitrary detention of prisoners at the US military base, since
the question is scheduled for discussion tomorrow, Wednesday.

Hours earlier, ambassadors from Syria, Palestine, China, Zimbabwe and
Iran, as well as numerous NGOs made their position known by the
resounding applause given Cuba´s denunciation of human rights
violations at the base.

Positions of other delegates were more difficult to obtain,
demonstrating their little acceptance of freedom of the press.

The European Union group (Holland, Czech Republic) indicated they
would follow the criteria of the EU, although without indicating what
that would be. Australia and Rumania likewise said they would vote as
instructed, but evidently do not yet know their instructions.

Ireland, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, France, Sweden, Armenia,
Croatia and Costa Rica left the Palace of Nations in record time,
none deigning to express an opinion.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress