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  • BAKU: ACNIS Completes Its Series Of Seminars On National MinoritiesW

    ACNIS COMPLETES ITS SERIES OF SEMINARS ON NATIONAL MINORITIES WITH NEW
    BENCHMARKS

    Noyan Tapan
    2 Sept 04

    Yerevan-The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
    (ACNIS) convened today its fifth specialized policy seminar on
    "The Rights of Armenian National Minorities in 2003-2004" at the
    Armenia Marriott Hotel with the support of the Council of Europe
    Confidence-building Measures Program. Held within the framework of the
    "Coordination among National Minorities and Information Exchanges on
    Minority Rights in Armenia" Project, the meeting brought together
    specialized bodies dealing with national and religious minority
    issues, human rights advocates, leaders and representatives of national
    minorities in Armenia, relevant government officials, diplomatic corps,
    international organizations, NGO and media communities to discuss
    issues on Armenian national minorities and their rights in light of the
    Report on European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

    Karapet Kalenchian, ACNIS's director of administration greeted the
    capacity audience with opening remarks. "For a country having as large
    a diaspora as ours, where respect for national minority rights is not
    only a requirement of Council of Europe but also a matter of honor
    and dignity, the problems of national minorities should always be the
    focus of both the authorities and each of us. Therefore, let us speak
    openly without bypassing the thorns of the problem." Kalenchian called
    on the audience to engage in a sincere and interested discussion.

    In his address on "The Requirements for the Report on National
    Minorities," ACNIS analyst and project director Stepan Safarian called
    attention to those provisions of the Council of Europe which promote
    the development of language, culture, religion, health, science,
    and education, and the preservation of their national values and
    features. "The Council of Europe has expressed a desire for Armenia to
    make positive changes in the legislative acts of national minorities
    as well as to adopt a separate law on national minorities," Safarian
    noted.

    During the first session entitled "Concerns of the 2003 Report on
    Armenia of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
    (ECRI): Solved or Forgotten Issues?" Lilit Simonian, assistant
    to Constitutional Court Justice Felix Tokhian and the director
    of Law and Information Center, clarified the international legal
    instruments, constitutional reforms, provisions of criminal, civil,
    and administrative laws. According to her, the protection of national
    minority rights is an integral part of international protection of
    human rights. Minority rights protection is being enforced both
    by general instruments addressing that problem, and a number of
    international legal agreements on national minorities recently ratified
    by Armenia. "Though the European Convention on Citizenship and several
    other international instruments have not been signed yet, the Armenian
    legislative, executive, and judicial agencies are acquiring commitments
    to carry out the norms stipulated in those international instruments,"
    Simonian emphasized, attaching importance to the constitutional
    enhancement of national minority rights, in particular the necessity
    of amending Article 37 of the Armenian Constitution. Parliamentarian
    Vazgen Khachikian also referred to the conventions Armenia has
    ratified. He claimed that any individual can appeal to court in the
    event of violation of his/her rights and national dignity relying
    on the intergovernmental instruments. Khachikian is convinced that
    national minorities are more of a treasure for Armenia than a threat.
    The second session on "National Minority Rights in Armenia: 2003-2004"
    began with the review of the completed and forthcoming activities of
    the governmental bodies engaged in national minority issues. Hranush
    Kharatian, chairperson of the National and Religious Minorities Board
    of the Government of Armenia informed that the draft Law on National
    Minorities worked out with the active input of national minority
    communities will soon be released. The law shall provide special
    supervision over the preservation of national cultural traditions and
    call for additional governmental assistance to tackle the problems
    impeding their development. Nonetheless, no matter how positive it is
    viewed, the law seems to be risky and inefficient," opined Kharatian.

    Victor Mnatsakanian of the Ombudsperson's office negatively reacted
    to the question posed in his address "Is There Discrimination in
    Armenia?," quoting the fact that there are no more than a dozen such
    appeals addressed to the Ombudsman's office. It is worth mentioning
    that the latter will soon respond to Armenian Aryan Order leader Armen
    Avetisian's provocative statements published in the press which have
    aroused the indignation of national minorities. Garnik Guyumdjian,
    chief of the Department for State Programs, Cultural Cooperation,
    Education and Science of the Ministry of Culture and Youth Issues,
    underlined that the measures taken to preserve the cultural values
    of national minorities constitute part of state policy pursued in
    this field. He prioritized fostering of creative work, preserving
    of cultural inheritance, dissemination of cultural values, the
    application of creative potential and legal and economic regulation
    for the development of national cultures. In his opinion, the national
    minorities enjoy sufficient protection under the current legislation.
    Nouridjan Manoukian, chief of the Control Department at the Board
    of Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education and Science,
    concentrated on the improvement of education including preserving
    national languages. In his opinion the main obstacle one encounters
    in education based on language is not the lack of the law but the
    lack of educators and textbooks. "Nothing practical is undertaken
    to face the challenge. Moreover, sometimes the contradictions in the
    same community lead to conflicting actions," he remarked.

    Edgar Hakobian of "Toward Free Society" concluded the second session
    with remarks on encouraging the youth of national minorities to take
    active part in the statewide youth policy and other initiatives,
    otherwise they will remain isolated of the Armenian mainstream. The
    seminar was followed by a lively roundtable of views among Alikhan
    Shababian, representative of Nor Nork district council; Hasan Hasanian,
    head of the Yezidi religious organization "Followers of Sharfadin";
    Rabbi Gersh Bourstein, head of the Mordekhay Navi Jewish Community of
    Armenia; Dalila Arzumanian of the "Atur" Assyrian union; Charkyaze
    Mstoyan, chairman of the "Kurdistan" committee; Ivan Semionov of
    Russian Compatriot Relief Foundation; Slava Rafaelidis, representative
    of the Greek community and chairman of the Council of Armenian
    Nationalities; Romania Yavir, chairperson of the Ukrainian Federation
    in Armenia; Lavrenti Mirzoyan of State Inspectorate of Language;
    Ara Sahakian of "Armat" Center; Avetik Ishkhanian of the Armenian
    Helsinki Committee; Georgi Vanian of Caucasus Center of Peace-Making
    Initiatives NGO; Gayane Markosian of the "Harmonious World" NGO;
    Alexander Yaskorski of German community; and several others.

    Despite some reservations, the participants in the discussion noted
    that the rights of national minorities are respected in Armenia. They
    offered practical suggestions for further promoting state policy in
    educational, cultural, and other spheres towards the representatives
    of the particular stratum of society. Lavrenti Mirzoyan, chief
    of State Inspectorate of Language, suggested that the national
    minority representatives cooperate with the agency he heads. He
    expressed readiness to establish a group of national minorities in
    the Inspectorate to address their language issues. Brisk discussion
    was followed on the expediency of adoption of law on national
    minorities. Charkyaze Mstoyan, chairman of the "Kurdistan" committee
    was against its adoption as in his opinion it can be a "strait-jacket"
    for them. Rabbi Gersh Bourstein thinks that the law should first be
    discussed in the communities and only after then be submitted to the
    parliament for consideration. "The law should protect the national
    minorities from estrangement the symptoms of which are apparent,"
    Bourstein maintained. In Yaskorsky's opinion even a perfect law may
    not be effective if not exercised.

    Founded in 1994 by Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
    Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
    serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
    challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
    world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
    thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
    2004, the Center focuses primarily on public outreach, civic education,
    and applied research on critical domestic and foreign policy issues
    for the state and the nation.

    For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the
    poll results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46;
    e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit http://www.acnis.am
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