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Oskanian Gives Press Conference at Civilitas Foundation Opening

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  • Oskanian Gives Press Conference at Civilitas Foundation Opening

    PRESS RELEASE
    The Civilitas Foundation
    One Northern Ave. Suite 30
    Yerevan, Armenia
    Telephones: +37494.800754; +37410.500119
    email: [email protected]
    web: www.civilitasfoundation.org

    OCTOBER 3, 2008

    OSKANIAN GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE AT CIVILITAS FOUNDATION OPENING


    The newly-established Yerevan-based Civilitas Foundation was officially
    launched on Wednesday, October 1.

    Founded by former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, the Foundation¹s offices
    in central Yerevan hosted several hundred guests from the educational,
    business and government spheres.

    Earlier in the day, Mr. Oskanian held a press conference and spoke about the
    Foundation¹s goals and activities, as well as about recent political
    developments in Armenia.

    Mr. Oskanian explained that the name =8Ccivilitas¹ comes from the Latin word
    that contains references to many things - civilization, civil society and
    civility. He said that the foundation has adopted the meaning that focuses
    on =8Ccitizen¹s responsibility to society.¹

    He explained that the Civilitas Foundation will work in two directions. The
    first, the Council on Foreign Relations will advocate peace and stability
    in the Caucasus through multifaceted dialogue and open discourse. It will
    offer a forum for Armenia¹s opinion and policy makers, and will help inform
    the international academic, political and media communities about Armenia¹s
    foreign policy choices, options and actions, in the context of Armenia's
    national security challenges. Through public and private discussions as well
    as research and publications, the Council will promote the Armenian
    perspective internationally and domestically. The Council will work to
    promote the proper mechanisms and the necessary environment for further
    European integration.

    The second direction - the Democracy and Development Initiative - will focus
    on education - through a scholarship program that encourages study in
    strategically important sectors. The Civilitas Foundation Media program will
    produce content in English and Armenian, for Armenia and the Diaspora, to
    contribute to the elimination of the current social, political, economic and
    cultural information gap. By introducing a new kind of open, objective,
    responsible public discourse, media will be strengthened and can become
    relevant to people's lives. To promote uniform development, the Civilitas
    Foundation will also highlight and concentrate on economic facilitation in
    rural areas and on environmental awareness.

    Mr. Oskanian¹s introduction was followed by questions from the journalists.

    In response to questions about Turkish President Gul¹s recent visit to
    Armenia, Mr. Oskanian called the Turkish President visit an unprecedented
    event, but added that its real value can only be measured if there is
    movement on opening the Armenian-Turkish border.

    "For me the only criterion of evaluating the Turkish-Armenian relations, is
    the border opening, or at least, beginning to operate the Kars-Gyumri
    railroad. If this happens in the coming months, then I will say that the
    invitation was the right thing to do. If not, then we will have to recognize
    that Turkey has maximally used this event for its own political purposes,"
    Mr. Oskanian stated.

    Speaking about Turkey's possible involvement in the Karabakh talks, Vartan
    Oskanian stated that Turkey has no place in those talks so long as it hasn't
    opened the border, hasn't reactivated the railroad, and still takes
    Azerbaijan¹s side in this conflict. Thus, Mr. Oskanian made clear that
    Armenian diplomacy should not only do everything possible not to let Turkey
    get involved in the talks, but also should prevent Turkey from leaving such
    an impression on the world.

    He commented that as of today, Turkey is reaping ten times greater dividends
    than the Armenian side from this visit, and added that he hopes and assumes
    that the Armenian leadership must have sufficient assurances of forward
    movement, otherwise it¹s difficult to understand the willingness of the
    Armenian side to make statements which Turkey wants to hear while Turkey
    does not act on the border, and worse, continues to link Armenia-Turkey
    relations to the Karabakh confict.

    Mr. Oskanian also responded to questions about the domestic political
    situation. He spoke about those still being detained following the events of
    March 1, and expressed concern that the longer they are held without
    charges, the more difficult it will be for Armenia to escape the label of a
    country with =8Cpolitical prisoners.¹ He said that these days, with the
    world¹s eyes on the Caucasus, Armenia can make forward strides only if there
    is domestic understanding about the need to consolidate our society, face
    the difficult questions associated with March 1, which he called a black day
    in our history, and arrive at an objective assessment that will allow us to
    move on.

    Regarding questions about his immediate engagement in Armenia¹s domestic
    political processes, he acknowledged his inability to remain indifferent to
    the many social and political challenges facing the country, but said it¹s
    much too early to discuss the timing and nature of such involvement.
    Instead, he said, he would focus on building the Civilitas Foundation into
    a relevant, engaged, effective organization that would contribute to bringing
    necessary change.

    Mr. Oskanian promised that the public would be regularly informed of the
    activities and finances of the Civilitas Foundation.
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