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ASBAREZ ONLINE [12-07-2004]

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  • ASBAREZ ONLINE [12-07-2004]

    ASBAREZ ONLINE
    TOP STORIES
    12/07/2004
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    1) Aram I Reacts Sharply to Turkish Foreign Minister's Remark
    2) Gunmen Attack Armenian, Chaldean Churches in Mosul
    3) Hovhannisian: Russia's Position not Conducive to Armenia's Ability to
    Freely
    Decide to Send Troops to Iraq
    4) Armenia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry Opens its Doors in the US
    5) BRIEFS

    1) Aram I Reacts Sharply to Turkish Foreign Minister's Remark

    ANTELIAS--His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
    invited Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit the Cilicia
    Museum in Cilicia to witness the "irrefutable evidence of the genocide
    perpetrated by the Turks."
    His Holiness was responding to Erdogan's comments made during the opening of
    the first museum in Turkey dedicated to the country's Armenian minority.
    The opening of the museum appears to be a calculated move by Turkey--aspiring
    for candidacy to the European Union (EU). The 25-nation bloc has pressured
    Turkey to enable its recognized minorities and the Kurds to fully exercise
    their rights. Erdogan's comments come just days before EU leaders are to meet
    in Brussels to decide whether to allow Turkey to begin accession talks on its
    membership.
    "Instead of looking at facts, people have distorted history through
    suppositions and misinformation," Erdogan said at the opening of the museum,
    referring to the genocide of Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman government--a
    fact that the Turkish government vehemently denies.
    Alluding to the artifacts housed in the Cilicia museum of the
    Catholicosate of
    Cilicia in Lebanon, His Holiness Aram I told Erdogan that the remains of the
    spiritual and cultural heritage of the Armenian people rescued from Cilicia
    speak for themselves. "You would see manuscripts, church vessels, and other
    articles of spiritual value, that the Armenians of Adana, Zeytoun, Hajen, Sis,
    and other places in Cilicia and Western Armenia saved as they fled the horrors
    of massacre. All these precious remains of our spiritual heritage reached
    Antelias via Der Zor. No one who sees these remains would talk of
    "assumptions"
    and "distortion" of facts," states the Catholicos, rather referring to them as
    "clear evidence of Turkish barbarism."
    "History is based on clear facts and not assumptions," continues the
    Catholicos. "As much as you and others may deny [it], the Armenian Genocide is
    a fact of history."
    The Catholicos also states that in commemorating the 90th anniversary of the
    Armenian genocide, Armenians throughout the world will become one force to
    demand the recognition of the genocide perpetrated by Turkey and
    restoration of
    their human rights thus far denied.


    2) Gunmen Attack Armenian, Chaldean Churches in Mosul

    MOSUL (AFP/Reuters)--Two churches in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul came
    under simultaneous attack, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
    Gunmen stormed into the city's Chaldean and Armenian churches in the latest
    attacks on Iraq minority Christian community, witnesses and clerics said
    Tuesday.
    "Gunmen entered the church at about 4:30 p.m. They gathered those present in
    one room and planted explosive charges in different parts of the building,"
    said Father Raghid Aziz Kara at the Chaldean church.
    "We were then taken outside and the armed men set off the devices. We heard
    three blasts," he told AFP outside the church which was set ablaze.
    At the same moment, gunmen attacked an Armenian church, forcing out a
    security
    guard and two other people inside the building, the guard said, adding: "I
    heard two explosions."
    Smoke poured from the Armenian church and flames could be seen inside the
    Chaldean church, Reuters reporters said. It was not clear how many people had
    been in the churches when they were attacked but the number was apparently not
    large.
    Mosul, with a population of 1.2 million, is home to many of Iraq's
    Christians,
    who make up about three percent of the national population.
    The Chaldean church, one of the largest in Mosul, was built in the 1950s and
    enlarged four decades later.
    The Chaldeans, whose 600,000 people represent the majority of Christians in
    Iraq, are an oriental rite Catholic community.
    Armenian Christians in Iraq number only a few thousand.
    On November 8, at least three people were killed and 45 wounded when two
    suspected car bombs exploded within minutes of each other outside two churches
    in southern Baghdad.
    In a coordinated assault on August 1, six car bombs killed 10 people and
    injured 50 others outside churches in Baghdad and Mosul.


    3) Hovhannisian: Russia's Position not Conducive to Armenia's Ability to
    Freely
    Decide to Send Troops to Iraq

    YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--The issue of sending an Armenian military unit to
    Iraq was discussed at the recently held meeting of the Armenian-Russian
    Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission.
    Deputy Speaker of Parliament Vahan Hovhannisian, who co-chairs the
    interparliamentary commission and headed up the Armenian delegation, reported
    on December 7 that the Russian side had expressed concern at the prospect of
    Armenian troops in Iraq.
    Hovhannisian said the Armenian side, in turn, raised the issue of whether
    Russia's forgiving of Iraq's multibillion-dollar debt is not tantamount to
    providing economic assistance to an Iraqi government that is an instrument of
    US occupation.
    The deputy speaker also underscored that Russia had not forgiven Armenia's
    debt, which is significantly less than Iraq's.
    "We told our Russian colleagues that their positions in international forums
    do not at all contribute to Armenia's ability to make a sovereign decision
    regarding the matter [of sending troops to Iraq]," Hovhannisian stated.
    The Russian side also expressed a certain level of resentment regarding
    Armenia's relations with NATO, according to the deputy speaker. "We clearly
    explained to our colleagues that those relations are one of the prongs of our
    independent policy, and we are not prepared to make concessions in that
    regard," Hovhannisian said.
    The head of the Armenian delegation said the sides had, nevertheless, reached
    an agreement to hold interparliamentary consultations regarding matters that
    deal with NATO.


    4) Armenia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry Opens its Doors in the US

    GLENDALE--The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia
    (ARMCCI) opened its regional office for the US and Canada on December 7 in
    Glendale, California. In an effort to develop strong relations between the
    Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia and US/Canada,
    the
    office will work to create mutually beneficial ties between the business
    communities of Armenia and Northern America. Businessmen who wish to establish
    or have already established businesses in Armenia may contact the office or
    visit www.armcci.am for more information.
    1807 West Glenoaks Blvd., Suite 201
    Glendale, CA 91201
    (818) 247-0603, (818) 548-1177


    5) BRIEFS

    Diaspora Armenian Seeks Fraud Case against Yerevan Partner

    YEREVAN (RFE-RL)--Prominent Armenian-American George Najarian, who has helped
    to ship millions of dollars worth of medical supplies to Armenia, pleaded with
    a Yerevan court on Tuesday to press fraud charges against his former local
    partner who has allegedly misappropriated his expensive property. He asked the
    court through his legal representatives to order state prosecutors to reopen a
    criminal case against the formal owner of a photo shop and two buildings
    currently constructed in central Yerevan.
    Najarian maintains that he is the real owner of the property, which he says
    was registered in the name of Grigor Igitian, in 1996, because Armenian law at
    the time banned foreign nationals from owning land. Subsequent legal
    amendments
    allowed authorities not to apply the ban to ethnic Armenian foreigners with
    long-term residency permits. Najarian accuses Igitian of breaking his
    pledge to
    give up the lucrative assets, in which he claims to have invested $500,000,
    once the restriction was dropped. Igitian denies the accusations, saying that
    he invested more than Najarian did; however, it is unclear how the former
    English-language interpreter and university lecturer could have raised so much
    money.

    Greeks Want Turkey to Recognize Cyprus Independence

    YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Results of a poll conducted by the To Paron weekly in
    Athens, revealed the results of a recent poll indicating that most Greeks are
    against starting accession talks with Turkey in its bid to join the European
    Union unless Turkey recognizes the Greek Republic of Cyprus and accepts
    Greece's demands regarding the Greek-Turkish relations. Nearly 82.1 percent
    are
    resolute in pressing Turkey to recognize Cyprus, while 89.3 percent believe
    that Athens should veto the accession talks in case Turkey fails to accept
    Greece's demands.

    Paris Sets Conditions for EU Talks with Turkey

    YEREVAN (Yerkir)--In its December 6 issue, the Financial Times reported that
    Paris will set three conditions for the start of EU membership talks with
    Turkey. During the December 16-17 summit, President Jacques Chirac will
    request
    to clarify that Turkey must settle for less than full membership if the talks
    fail. He is also expected to provide a reminder that the French people can
    ultimately reject Turkey's membership bid in a referendum, even if the talks
    succeed, and that the accession talks should not start until the second
    half of
    2005, to prevent a dispute over Turkish membership dominating the French
    referendum on the EU constitution, expected by June next year.

    Le Figaro: Erdogan Uncomfortable with EU Distraction

    YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Le Figaro newspaper reported that Turkish Prime Minister
    Recep Tayyip Erdogan is uncomfortable with Turkey's preoccupation with the
    European Union (EU). A headline read, "Erdogan does not exclude 'no, thank
    you,' as an answer to Europe." The story continued, "the political parties in
    Turkey, as well as the people in the streets and press, have the belief that
    the EU requires too many conditions from Turkey compared to other candidates,
    and that is not fair."

    German Opposition Leaders Urge Schroeder to Prevent Turkey's Accession to EU

    YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Leaders of Germany's conservative opposition have
    written to
    Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urging him to stop the European Union from
    opening
    entry talks with Turkey. Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democrats (CDU)
    and Edmund Stoiber, head of the CDU's Bavarian sister party the Christian
    Social Union (CSU), argued that Turkey should be offered a "privileged
    partnership" with the EU instead of full membership.
    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper quoted extracts from the
    letter to Schroeder in which they said that Turkey's entry would "overstretch"
    the EU.

    No Fir or Pine Trees to be Cut

    YEREVAN (Armenpress)--A little more than three weeks before the New Year as
    Armenians begin to decorate their homes with Christmas trees, the Armenian
    nature protection and agricultural ministries issued a joint order prohibiting
    cutting of fir and pine trees in order to improve reproduction and
    preservation
    of natural woods. Both ministries said they will work closely with police to
    regulate cut trees and punish the culprits.


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    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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