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  • ASBAREZ ONLINE [06-02-2004]

    ASBAREZ ONLINE
    TOP STORIES
    06/02/2004
    TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
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    1) Council to Tackle Corruption in Armenia
    2) Vermont Becomes 37th State to Recognize Armenian Genocide
    3) Georgia, Russia at Odds over South Ossetia
    4) ARS Marks Children's Day in Javakhk
    5) UCLA Conference on Armenians in Iran Marks another Milestone

    1) Council to Tackle Corruption in Armenia

    YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The formation of a special commission to oversee the
    implementation of a government program to tackle rampant corruption in
    Armenia,
    was announced by President Robert Kocharian on Wednesday.
    The body, formally named the Council on Fighting Corruption, will be
    headed by
    Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and includes Justice Minister David
    Harutiunian, Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, and Central Bank Chairman
    Tigran Sarkisian.
    The commission will coordinate the implementation of the government's
    anti-corruption program drawn up by a team of government experts last
    November.
    Funded by the World Bank, the three-year program contains legislative
    measures
    that would complicate endemic bribery, nepotism, and other corrupt practices.
    Kocharian's special anti-corruption adviser, Bagrat Yesayan warned last year
    that corruption in Armenia "has reached a point where it threatens our
    national
    security."
    Member of the ruling coalition government, the Armenian Revolutionary
    Federation, of which Yesayan is a member, had for months been pushing for the
    creation of a body to deal with the problem.


    2) Vermont Becomes 37th State to Recognize Armenian Genocide

    Governor James H. Douglas declares April 24, 2004, 'Armenian Martyrs Day' in
    Vermont

    MONTPELIER (ANC VT)--Vermont Governor James H. Douglas issued a proclamation
    last week on the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, specifically
    marking April 24, 2004 "Armenian Martyrs Day," bringing the total number of
    states to have properly recognized this crime against humanity to 37.
    "I'm sure I speak not only for the Vermont Armenian community, but all
    Armenian in thanking Governor Douglas for honoring the memory of the
    victims of
    this terrible crime against humanity," said ANC Vermont activist Kohar Der
    Simonian. "We trust that this strong statement from the Governor will be
    acknowledged by the US Congress in its deliberation of the pending resolution
    on the Genocide Convention."
    In the months leading up to the proclamation, ANC Vermont members and
    activists, including Massachusetts State Republican Committeeman Bob Semonian,
    worked closely with the Governor's office, which was highly responsive to the
    community's concerns. Semonian spoke extensively to the Republican Governor
    during the National Governors Association conference held in Washington, DC in
    March 2004. He has since worked with local ANC activists in the effort to
    secure Armenian Genocide proclamations from a series of states across the
    country.
    The proclamation notes, "since 1915, April 24th of each year has been
    imprinted in the memory of the Armenian people worldwide, for it was then that
    the mass genocide of the Armenian people began in the Ottoman Turkish Empire."
    It goes on to cite the importance of marking this tragedy, stating that
    "recognition of the 89th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to guarding
    against the repetition of future genocide and educating people about the
    atrocities connected to these horrific events."
    On the federal level, Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and James M. Jeffords
    (I-VT) are currently cosponsors of the Senate Genocide Resolution (S.Res.164),
    which commemorates the 15th anniversary of the US implementation of the UN
    Genocide Convention. The resolution cites the importance of remembering past
    crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian
    and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. The
    corresponding House measure (H.Res.193), currently has 110 cosponsors and was
    unanimously carried by the House Judiciary Committee in May, 2003.


    3) Georgia, Russia at Odds over South Ossetia

    (Civil.GE/Itar-Tass)--Tbilisi and Moscow exchanged strongly worded statements
    after the Georgian central authorities staged a show of force in the Ossetian
    conflict zone on May 31, marking rising tensions in Georgia's breakaway South
    Ossetian Republic.
    Russia warned that Tbilisi's "provocative steps" might lead "to extremely
    negative consequences" in the conflict zone. In a statement issued on June 1,
    the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Georgia's central government would be
    held responsible in the event of further deterioration of the situation and
    "bloodshed" in the region.
    The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow's concerns were triggered by the
    sending of Georgian troops into the conflict zone on May 31. The Georgian
    authorities justified the action, saying police checkpoints were set up in the
    area to help fight drug smuggling in the region.
    Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania on Wednesday slammed Russia saying that
    "the issue concerns the territory of Georgia and nobody can prevent the
    Georgian authorities from establishing order throughout the country."
    The Russian State Duma, meanwhile, issued a warning to the Georgia's
    leadership on Wednesday, and expressed alarm over what they described as the
    emergence of an explosive situation in the immediate proximity to the Russian
    state border.
    This situation, the State Duma said, "poses a threat to the security of many
    Russian citizens resident in the area of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict."
    The Russian lawmakers said Russia has the right and is obliged to take every
    action possible under the Constitution and the UN charter to protect their
    lives, health, and property.
    While expressing support for Georgia's "struggle against cross-border crime,"
    they emphasized that "the need for such struggle cannot serve as an excuse for
    actions fraught with the risk of undermining the already strained situation
    and
    the full loss of confidence between the sides."
    "The introduction of commando units and troops of the Georgian Interior
    Ministry to South Ossetian territory on May 31 can be regarded in no way other
    than a show of force," Russian legislators said.


    4) ARS Marks Children's Day in Javakhk

    YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Students of the mostly Armenian populated region of Javakhk
    in Georgia received prizes for their entries in the "I am Armenian" contest,
    sponsored by the Javakhk branch of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS).
    The grand prize went to secondary school student from Gandza Vahe
    Tangamanian,
    who was awarded the prize on International Children's Day celebrated on
    June 1.

    Parents and children praised the ARS at the awards ceremony for the society's
    various activities in the region.
    Marking Children's Day in Armenia, the ARS Mgro chapter and the Haybusak
    University Student Council, donated books, stationary, clothing and toys to
    the
    students of the boarding school for children with speech disabilities. "Such
    acts of charity are crucial for children who feel a need for caring and
    attention," said school Principal Varduhi Kheboyan in thanking the donors.


    5) UCLA Conference on Armenians in Iran Marks another Milestone

    LOS ANGELES--The fourteenth in a series of international conferences
    devoted to
    historical Armenian cities and provinces, the conference on the Armenian
    communities of Iran was held on May 14-16. Sponsored by the Armenian
    Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian history at the University of
    California in Los Angeles, and organized by the holder of the chair, Professor
    Richard Hovannisian, the successful conference had a turnout of more than
    1,000
    people.
    The previous conference in this series, held last November, focused entirely
    on the community of New Julfa in Iran on the occasion of the 400th anniversary
    of its founding.
    The opening session on May 14 in the Glendale Presbyterian Church included
    lectures in Armenian on Saint Stepanos and Dzordzor monasteries, the Armenians
    of the Salmast region, and the life and works of Archbishop Melik-Tangian of
    Tabriz.
    The Saturday sessions on May 15 at the UCLA campus, included presentations
    that focused on the political, cultural, literary, economic, and social
    history
    of the Armenians of Iran or Persia.
    Sunday afternoon, May 16, included sessions in both Armenian and English,
    about the Gharadagh Armenian communities, the pioneering role of the Armenians
    in Iranian theater and cinema, and integration of Armenian Iranians in
    California.
    As in all previous conferences, an exhibit had been prepared by Richard and
    Anne Elbrecht, with the assistance of Setareh Mahdavi. The participants also
    enjoyed the hospitality of the Armenian Society of Los Angeles on Friday night
    and of Mr. and Mrs. Hacop and Hilda Baghdasarian of the Armenian Educational
    Foundation on Saturday night.
    With the curtains closing on this conference,
    Professor Richard Hovannisian, the tireless driving force behind the series,
    announced the next chapter to be unveiled. The fifteenth conference,
    devoted to
    the Armenians in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, will be held on November 6-7,
    2004. It is a most timely event that will surely attract a large gathering of
    interested scholars and listeners.


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    From: Baghdasarian
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