MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 1) Kocharian Meets With ARF Bureau Delegation YEREVAN--President Robert Kocharian received ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian and Bureau member Vahan Hovhannesian on February 21. Armenia's internal and foreign affairs were discussed during the one and a half hour meeting. Issues regarding the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the peaceful resolution of the Artsakh conflict were also discussed. Hrant Markarian told the President his statements in Strasbourg and in the interview with Le Figaro newspaper were understandable. However, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation considers the viewpoints expressed by Kocharian in his interview with Turkish journalist Mehmed Ali Birand unacceptable. The President had made controversial comments regarding territorial demands that may arise with the recognition of the Genocide. 2) Assemblymember Frommer Introduces Legislation To Recognize Armenian Genocide SACRAMENTO--Assemblymember Daro Frommer (D-Glendale) today introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 22 calling on the State of California to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1924 by designating April 24th as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990.” “This legislation remembers the victims and honors the survivors of the Forgotten Genocide,” said Frommer of the proposed legislation. “Governments throughout the world must work diligently to keep this new millennium free of the hatred, bigotry, and cruelty which was at the heart of the Armenian Genocide and the other crimes against humanity that marred the 20th century. The Armenian people living in their historic homeland in Asia Minor were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the twentieth century, culminating with what is known as the “Forgotten Genocide.” From April 24, 1915, through 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were murdered by the Young Turk regime in control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and many more were starved, tortured, led on death marches into the Syrian desert, and exiled from their homeland. Armenian in Azerbaijan fell victim again to the Sumgait Pogroms in 1988, resulting in 72 deaths, and the Baku anti-Armenian riots in 1990, resulting in 68 Armenian death and the mass deportation of 350,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan. Frommer’s legislation calls upon the State of California to designate April 24, 2001, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku riots of 1990.” California joins a list of many groups and governments that have admitted the abuses and crimes committed by the Young Turk regime against the Armenian people. The Republic of Turkey continues to deny the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers. 3) Turkish MPs Draft Bill Rejecting Genocide Accusations ANKARA (AFP)--Turkish legislators agreed Tuesday on a bill rejecting accusations that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians, while highlighting massacres of Turks and other Muslims, Anatolia news agency reported. The draft bill, a joint initiative by the five parties in parliament, was triggered by the French assembly's adoption last month of a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Members of the parliament's foreign affairs commission adopted the wording of the draft, which the general assembly will vote on at a yet undetermined date. "Turkey rejects claims of an Armenian genocide, which has not been recorded and accepted in history, and considers persistent accusations on the issue as hostility," read the text. It also condemned the killings and the brutality of France, Britain and Greece and other countries, who occupied Istanbul and Anatolia following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I and its subsequent dissolution. The draft also said that European countries had a "moral responsibility" in more recent massacres of Muslims in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Nagorno-Artsax. The deputies, however, scrapped proposals that Turkey recognizes as genocide the massacres France committed in Algeria during the country's war of independence. 4) EU Calls For Cooperation In Southern Caucasus STOCKHOLM (Reuters)--Foreign Minister Anna Lindh of Sweden, which holds the European Union presidency, on Wednesday called for Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia to cooperate to resolve simmering regional conflicts. In a statement released on the Swedish presidency's website, Lindh pledged continued EU support for regional projects ``on condition that each country agrees to take part together with its two neighboring countries.'' Lindh was in Azerbaijan on Wednesday on a tour of the southern Caucasus with EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana and external affairs commissioner Chris Patten. She urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to step up efforts to achieve a solution for Nagorno-Artsax, a conflict-torn enclave in Azerbaijan where an ethnic Armenian majority tried to secede in 1998. "The EU supports the direct dialogue on the conflict in Nagorno-Artsax between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to find breakthrough in negotiations as soon as possible,'' Lindh said. Speaking in Georgia's capital Tbilisi earlier on Wednesday, Lindh stressed the EU's continued support for negotiations to solve conflicts in its breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. She also expressed concern over pressure being exerted on Georgia by Russia, which has cut natural gas supplies, imposing severe hardships, due to differences over the war in Russia's separatist Chechnya republic, which borders Georgia. 5) Aram Tamazian Appointed Prosecutor General YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)--President Robert Kocharian issued a decree appointing Aram Tamazian Prosecutor General of Armenia and relieving him of the post of Public Prosecutor of Yerevan. On February 21, the President introduced the newly appointed prosecutor general to the board of the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia. Kocharian stressed that the law-enforcement system must serve exclusively the law and state. According to him, the newly appointed prosecutor general has worked in the legal system for many years and is well acquainted with its activities and problems. The President expressed optimism that under the direction of the new prosecutor general the system will continue its normal work. 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MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 Russian Foreign Minister Hopes For Solution To Artsax Conflict Answering a question from an RFE/RL correspondent at a press conference in Moscow on 22 February, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Russia as always is interested in a political solution to the Nagorno-Artsax conflict. "We have supported that in the past and we continue to support it now", he said. Further emphasizing Russia's interest, Ivanov continued; "For a number or reasons, Russia has not withdrawn and cannot withdraw from the conflict resolution process. I think there is no need to explain that Russia is more interested in resolving this conflict than anyone else." Concerning the mode of negotiations, Ivanov once again lent support to direct negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "We welcome direct negotiations between the parties, since we believe that a lasting and stable solution can be achieved only through direct agreements," he said. However, he also recalled that a conflict resolution process is also at work within the OSCE Minsk Group, of which the US, France and Russia are co-chairs. France's President Jacques Chirac has assumed an active role as a mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent months, hosting a number of meetings between Presidents Robert Kocharian and Haidar Aliev. Asked to comment on this, Ivanov did not display any irritation. "It is not important which one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group is more active at any given time, especially since Russia and the states of the region can benefit from any progress made", he said. (Arthur Teryan in Moscow) Hunanian Pleads Not Guilty As Trial Resumes Court hearings in the trial on the 1999 terrorist attack on the Armenian parliament resumed in Yerevan on Thursday with Nairi Hunanian, the leader of the armed group that gunned down eight senior officials, pleading not guilty to all nine counts of accusations. Hunanian and his brother Karen rejected the charges -- including terrorism, high treason and attempted coup - contained in a brief introductory presentation by the prosecution. The three other members of the gang partially admitted their guilt. The politically sensitive trial adjourned one week ago, less than two hours after its long-awaited start. Thursday's proceedings saw the completion of all procedural formalities preceding the questioning of defendants and witnesses. The judge hearing the case, Samvel Uzunian, seconded several important petitions filed by lawyers representing relatives of Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament speaker Karen Demirchian and the six other victims of the carnage. The lawyers requested additional information about Hunanian's past activities, including details of his journalistic trip to Turkey in late 1998. The prosecutors will have to present all transcripts of his phone conversations between March and October 1999. The judge also agreed to the presence of a psychologist in the court hall during the testimony to be given by the gang members. It was announced that two other defendants, police officers prosecuted for allowing the gunmen to smuggle weapons into the parliament, have gone on a hunger strike in protest against Uzunian's refusal to set them free pending sentence. One of the policemen, Avetik Minasian, did not appear in the court because of deteriorating health. Hundreds of supporters of the assassinated leaders again gathered outside the court building to demand a tough punishment for the attackers. "Death sentence," the crowd chanted repeatedly. The slain prime minister's brother and successor, Aram Sarkisian, and his allies were again among the protesters. He said Hunanian's self-confident behavior is another sign that "there are people or forces outside [the court building] upon whom he relies." "Those forces have power," Sarkisian said without elaborating. In a stern rebuke to Robert Kocharian, he further claimed that the Armenian president still believes that there were no other influential forces behind Hunanian's group. Kocharian, meanwhile, on Thursday effectively denounced the regular gatherings outside the court, saying that their organizers are keen to exploit the case to advance their political agenda. "I think that the opposition and disaffected persons will try to take every opportunity to exploit [the case] for their political aims. I think this is immoral," he told reporters. "Very few criminal cases can boast so many available materials." (Karine Kalantarian, Hrach Melkumian, Atom Markarian) Jailed Pro-Opposition Businessman Released Arkady Vartanian, a Moscow-based millionaire businessman who last year campaigned for the change of Armenia's present leadership, was set free on Thursday after a four-month pre-trial detention. The decision was taken by state prosecutors two weeks after a Yerevan court agreed to their request to keep him under arrest for another month. No official reasons for the decision were announced. Vartanian is charged with publicly calling for a "violent overthrow" of the government during a series of anti-government rallies last fall. His supporters have dismissed the charges as politically motivated. The businessman was moved to a Yerevan clinic on January 20 with high blood pressure and serious heart problems and has stayed there ever since. His lawyer, Samvel Jaghinian, said Vartanian will not leave the hospital for the time being. His wife, Yelena Vartanian, claimed earlier that the businessman's condition is "deteriorating day by day" and that his life will be in jeopardy unless the authorities release him from jail for the rest of the criminal investigation. (Anush Dashtents) PRESS REVIEWVahan Shirkhanian, one of Robert Kocharian's most influential foes in last year's power struggle, tells "Aravot" why he has "kept silent" since being ousted from the government in May. He denies making any secret deals with the president at the time. Shirkhanian complains about a "terrible epidemic of rifts, animosity and poison" which has plagued Armenia in recent years. He says many of his former longtime colleagues are now scared to meet with him for fear of dire consequences. Harutiun Harutiunian, the deputy director of Armenian state television and a former suspect in the parliament attack case, gives a rare interview to "Hayots Ashkhar." "October 27 continues and will continue as long as the organizers [of the assassinations] are not arrested," he says. "Are we looking for the organizers? Here they are. They've unmasked their face, and if appropriate bodies were more attentive they would understand everything." Harutiunian does not name anybody. In a separate commentary on the topic, "Hayots Ashkhar" attacks supporters of the slain leaders grouped around ex-premier Aram Sarkisian. "For some people, the verdict has already been delivered, the guilty have been determined and the punishment set." Any court ruling that would fall short of their expectations would be dismissed as injustice. For some unspecified forces, the October 27 is a handy tool to destabilize the situation, discredit the authorities and "divert" Armenia from the path of reforms, the pro-Kocharian paper says. "Azg" claims that the former prosecutor-general, Boris Nazarian, did not anticipate that his resignation will be accepted by Kocharian. "But his calculations proved wrong. The president of the republic didn't hesitate to accept the resignation." The paper thinks highly of the new prosecutor, Aram Tamazian, saying that he has a "clean professional background." "Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Nagorno-Artsax President Arkady Ghukasian met in Stepanakert on Wednesday. The paper says the two men have never maintained friendly rapport and are now forced to become allies of convenience in the face of a growing threat from Dashnaktsutyun. "The warming in their relations takes place sooner than expected. And this is natural. Both in Artsax and Armenia, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is preparing to attack the authorities. Robert Kocharian is in no way alarmed at the prospect of such an assault." "Yerkir" carries a an official Dashnaktsutyun statement about Wednesday's meeting between Kocharian and members of the nationalist party's ruling Bureau. Recent developments in the Nagorno-Artsax peace process were high on its agenda. The statement says Dashnak leaders described as "unacceptable" the remarks on the Armenian Genocide "attributed" to the Armenian leader by Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand. "Hayots Ashkhar" publishes the full text of all three peace plans put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group since 1997. The paper says the Armenian side is no longer obliged to keep the information confidential after it was made public the Azerbaijani foreign ministry, which it says has "violated" earlier agreements to that effect. (Vache Sarkisian) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 ARMENIA MUST SPEAK FROM THE POSITION OF A "STRONG COUNTRY" IN THE Artsax CONFLICT SETTLEMENT22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Leader of the parliamentary faction of "Dashnaktsutiun" party, Aghvan Vardanian named today senseless the talks on new proposals for the Artsax issue settlement. Vardanian didn't exclude at the same time that the settlement variants, proposed earlier, will be included in the renewed packet. According to him, Armenia must approach the moment of Artsax dispute settlement from the position of a strong country, preserving its domestic political stability. Otherwise, a variant contradicting Armenia's interests will be accepted, Vardanian thinks. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 ARMENIA MUST DICTATE ITS CONDITIONS IN THE Artsax SETTLEMENT PROCESS, LEADER OF "UNITY" FACTION SAID22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Leader of "Unity" parliamentary faction, Galust Sahakian said today that there are proposals in the Artsax peace process on which Armenia must insist and dictate its conditions. The leader of "Unity" faction, which has the majority in the National Assembly of Armenia, said that the final project of Artsax dispute resolution must be approved by the people of Armenia by a national referendum. According to Sahakian, Nagorno-Artsax Republic must get a status of statehood. Any other variant of settlement may bring to a rise of domestic political tenseness in the country, Armenian MP noted. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 EU TROIKA'S VISIT BECAME AN IMPORTANT STEP ON THE PATH OF ARMENIA'S INTEGRATION TO EUROPE22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Leader of "Orinats Yerkir" party, Arthur Baghdasarian said today that the Feb. 20 visit of the EU Troika to Yerevan became an important step on the path of Armenia's integration to common European organizations. Baghdasarian noted that the EU authorities promised to assist the realization of political and legal-judicial reforms in Armenia, as well as the formation of the regional center for IT development. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 ACTIVATION OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIATORS' EFFORTS IS STIPULATED BY "OIL" FACTOR22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Leader of "National Unity" party, Armenian MP Artashes Geghamian said today that activation of the process of the Artsax conflict settlement is stipulated by the interests of the international community in rich oil-fields of the Caspian basin, increased in the light of the world oil crisis. Geghamian said the recent developments indicate that Russia and the US, as well as the European Union, are interested in the soonest resolution of the Artsax issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 AZERBAIJAN STRIVES TO SPOIL THE PEACEMAKING EFFORTS OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY, NKR FOREIGN MINISTER SAID22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno Artsax Republic (NKR) Naira Melkumian stated in the interview to Mediamax that the certain intensification of the Artsax conflict settlement process indicates the interest of the world community in the achievement of peace agreement between the conflicting sides. According to Melkumian, this is proved also by the upcoming visit of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to the region, during which he will meet with NKR president. Minister Melkumian noted at the same time that the actions of the Azeri side, expressed in the publication of confidential proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group and in initiating discussions over them in the Azeri parliament, are aimed at the formation of an unfavorable political background before the upcoming visit of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. The first comments of the Azeri politicians on the publication of the mediators' proposals leave no doubts that "Azerbaijan, with characteristic hysterical style, once again tries to spoil the peacemaking efforts of the world community", Naira Melkumian said. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 PARTICIPANTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INCREASED USE OF MILITARY FORCE FOR ISSUES RESOLUTION22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. "The bombings of Baghdad in February 2001 by the USA and Great Britain show that the US' and NATO's stake on force in resolving the issues leads to the expanding of uncontrolled use of military force", says the communique, issued today in Yerevan upon the results of the international conference "The church, state, society and crisis of liberal doctrine of world reconstruction". "We are especially concerned about the fact that the initiators of the use of military force belittle the UN's role as a universal international peacemaking institution", the communique says. The international conference "The church, state, society and crisis of liberal doctrine of world reconstruction" was organized in Yerevan on the initiative and with the participation of the International fund of union of orthodox peoples within the framework of the development of the European inter-parliamentary orthodox assembly with the assistance of the National Assembly of Armenia. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN SIGNS THE DECREE RATIFYING ARMENIAN-BELARUSIAN AGREEMENT22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed on Feb. 21 the decree on ratifying the Armenian-Belarusian inter-governmental agreement "On principles of collecting indirect taxes while exporting and importing goods (services)", Mediamax was informed in the press office of the President. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 22, 2001 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2001 EU TROIKA CALLS ON ALIYEV TO RESTORE ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA22.02.2001 YEREVAN, February 22. /Mediamax/. Anna Lindh, Foreign Minister of Sweden presiding in the European Union, called on Azeri President Heydar Aliyev to restore economic ties with Armenia. RFE/RL quoted Anna Lindh saying that this would promote the peace resolution of the Artsax dispute. The EU Troika arrived in Azerbaijan yesterday evening and was received by President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Azeri President asked the EU to support Azerbaijan's position in the Artsax conflict settlement. On February 20, at the meeting with the EU Troika in Yerevan, Armenian President declared that the beginning of economic cooperation between the conflict sides could seriously promote the Artsax conflict settlement. However, the president noted, today such an initiative is rejected by official Baku. Armenian President expressed his confidence that the common economic interests may create a favorable atmosphere for the achievement of political resolution. --0-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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