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Azg, Armenia
Feb 17 2007
AZERIS STILL LIVING IN ARMENIA - OFFICIAL
Azerbaijanis still live in Armenia in mixed marriages, an Armenian
official has said. They however hide their ethnicity for security
reasons, the head of the department of ethnic minorities and
religious affairs under the Armenian government, Hranush Kharatyan,
added. Speaking to journalists at a news conference in Yerevan, she
also spoke about problems of other ethnic groups in the country. The
following is text of report by Nana Petrosyan in Armenian newspaper
Azg on 17 February headlined "Azerbaijanis do not create a community,
but live in Armenia"; subheadings as published:
There are Azerbaijanis living in Armenia. Their number is
considerable, but cannot be published. It is forbidden by a
corresponding UN convention. The aim is securing safety. The latest
census gave certain information about numbers of Azerbaijanis in
Armenia, but it is not a complete reflection of the reality. Many
still hide their ethnicity. The head of the department of ethnic
minorities and religious affairs under the Armenian government,
Hranush Kharatyan, said this to reporters in the Urbat club yesterday
[16 February].
Mixed married couples that have moved here from Azerbaijan are not
few among Azerbaijanis living in Armenia. Two Azerbaijani sisters
living in Vardenis Region had left for Azerbaijan in 1988 and
returned to Armenia after their mother was killed. They continue to
live in their birth place [Armenia]. Hranush Kharatyan brought this
example and confidently stated that possibly the Azerbaijanis living
in Armenia still fear and do not express will to create a community.
The rights are given, the means are yet to be found
For already four years 10m drams [27,000 dollars] from the Armenian
state budget have been allocated for educational and cultural
projects of ethnic minorities. The government makes sure that all
ethnic groups exercise their rights, but it takes on itself an
obligation to implement them precisely in the case of ethnic
minorities. The others, as the Armenian communities in different
countries, have to find the means to implement their rights on their
own.
"In our country there is no lack of political and good will to
preserve the cultural heritage and identity of ethnic minorities, but
the means to implement this right are not sufficient," Hranush
Kharatyan assured. Ethnic minorities' 10 periodicals are subsidized
by the state. But they are printed in Armenian or Russian, and the
requirement of the state to publish at least one page in a native
language has no response. The Assyrians living in Armenia choose
Russian as an education language. In this case the state has the
right not to educate in the native language, providing additional
Russian language classes in an Armenian public school for students of
a particular community. The issues of ethnic minorities do not
especially differ from the issues that other people living in Armenia
face, Hranush Kharatyan thinks.
Terms moving from one report to another
The Yezidi minority still has issues related to land, water and
pastures. Some representatives of this community have not yet
received their land ownership documents. These terms and the ones
about the difficulties the ethnic minorities face in participating in
the political life have been groundlessly placed in one report of the
European Commission on Racism and Intolerance or in the other,
Kharatyan said. The commission has not been able to provide Armenia
with facts when Armenia asked for it. Kharatyan assured that no
breach of law had been registered to this effect.
Kharatyan did not rule out the possibility of ensuring obedience to
the law on renting pastures through means outside the law and said:
"I fear that the Yezidis have been speculating on the issue."
Kharatyan explained this saying: "We were able to reserve the right
to ownership and renting for a village first and then for an
individual. There were no representatives of the Yezidi community at
the organized auction although they had been informed beforehand. We
postponed the auction to ensure their presence. They did not appear
again, and the auction took place without them."
If there is any anti-Semitism it is theoretical
Even if there is anti-Semitism [in Armenia], it is only theoretical.
I think the Armenians generally respect the intellect of the Jews and
still fear that the Jewish culture be united [as published], Hranush
Kharatyan answered a corresponding question. She presented official
information and the facts proven by life that in reality 200 Jews
living in Armenia have integrated into the life of the country and
generally live in mixed families.
Feb 17 2007
AZERIS STILL LIVING IN ARMENIA - OFFICIAL
Azerbaijanis still live in Armenia in mixed marriages, an Armenian
official has said. They however hide their ethnicity for security
reasons, the head of the department of ethnic minorities and
religious affairs under the Armenian government, Hranush Kharatyan,
added. Speaking to journalists at a news conference in Yerevan, she
also spoke about problems of other ethnic groups in the country. The
following is text of report by Nana Petrosyan in Armenian newspaper
Azg on 17 February headlined "Azerbaijanis do not create a community,
but live in Armenia"; subheadings as published:
There are Azerbaijanis living in Armenia. Their number is
considerable, but cannot be published. It is forbidden by a
corresponding UN convention. The aim is securing safety. The latest
census gave certain information about numbers of Azerbaijanis in
Armenia, but it is not a complete reflection of the reality. Many
still hide their ethnicity. The head of the department of ethnic
minorities and religious affairs under the Armenian government,
Hranush Kharatyan, said this to reporters in the Urbat club yesterday
[16 February].
Mixed married couples that have moved here from Azerbaijan are not
few among Azerbaijanis living in Armenia. Two Azerbaijani sisters
living in Vardenis Region had left for Azerbaijan in 1988 and
returned to Armenia after their mother was killed. They continue to
live in their birth place [Armenia]. Hranush Kharatyan brought this
example and confidently stated that possibly the Azerbaijanis living
in Armenia still fear and do not express will to create a community.
The rights are given, the means are yet to be found
For already four years 10m drams [27,000 dollars] from the Armenian
state budget have been allocated for educational and cultural
projects of ethnic minorities. The government makes sure that all
ethnic groups exercise their rights, but it takes on itself an
obligation to implement them precisely in the case of ethnic
minorities. The others, as the Armenian communities in different
countries, have to find the means to implement their rights on their
own.
"In our country there is no lack of political and good will to
preserve the cultural heritage and identity of ethnic minorities, but
the means to implement this right are not sufficient," Hranush
Kharatyan assured. Ethnic minorities' 10 periodicals are subsidized
by the state. But they are printed in Armenian or Russian, and the
requirement of the state to publish at least one page in a native
language has no response. The Assyrians living in Armenia choose
Russian as an education language. In this case the state has the
right not to educate in the native language, providing additional
Russian language classes in an Armenian public school for students of
a particular community. The issues of ethnic minorities do not
especially differ from the issues that other people living in Armenia
face, Hranush Kharatyan thinks.
Terms moving from one report to another
The Yezidi minority still has issues related to land, water and
pastures. Some representatives of this community have not yet
received their land ownership documents. These terms and the ones
about the difficulties the ethnic minorities face in participating in
the political life have been groundlessly placed in one report of the
European Commission on Racism and Intolerance or in the other,
Kharatyan said. The commission has not been able to provide Armenia
with facts when Armenia asked for it. Kharatyan assured that no
breach of law had been registered to this effect.
Kharatyan did not rule out the possibility of ensuring obedience to
the law on renting pastures through means outside the law and said:
"I fear that the Yezidis have been speculating on the issue."
Kharatyan explained this saying: "We were able to reserve the right
to ownership and renting for a village first and then for an
individual. There were no representatives of the Yezidi community at
the organized auction although they had been informed beforehand. We
postponed the auction to ensure their presence. They did not appear
again, and the auction took place without them."
If there is any anti-Semitism it is theoretical
Even if there is anti-Semitism [in Armenia], it is only theoretical.
I think the Armenians generally respect the intellect of the Jews and
still fear that the Jewish culture be united [as published], Hranush
Kharatyan answered a corresponding question. She presented official
information and the facts proven by life that in reality 200 Jews
living in Armenia have integrated into the life of the country and
generally live in mixed families.