Armenian News

RFE/RL Report
Ankara Allows Muslim Prayer In Armenian Church
Turkey -- The Holy Virgin Armenian cathedral in Ani.
30.09.2010

In a move that could further strain its relations with Armenia, the
Turkish government allowed on Thursday the country's' leading
ultranationalist party to hold a Muslim religious service in a
medieval Armenian church.

The opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced earlier this
week its intention to gather supporters on Friday for a collective
prayer at the 11th century Holy Virgin Cathedral in Ani, the ruined
capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom located in Turkey's
northeastern Kars region. The party asked regional authorities and the
Ankara government for permission.

CNN-Turk television reported that the Turkish Ministry of Culture and
Tourism has given the green light to the politically motivated
service, which is expected to be attended by the MHP's top leader,
Devlet Bahceli.

Oktay Aktas, who heads the party branch in Kars, confirmed the
information later on Thursday. `We are now awaiting Mr. Bahceli,' the
official Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying.

Aktas said that the MHP action was permitted after a special meeting
held by Kars's deputy governor, Muhammed Lutfi Kotan, and other local
officials. According to Anatolia, Kotan also discussed the matter with
the region's Sunni Muslim leader. It is not yet clear whether the
local Office of the Mufti will authorize or send any clerics to the
prayer.

Citing Turkish media, the Russian Regnum news agency said the MHP
hopes that the Friday prayer will attract thousands of Turks. It said
nationalist activists from neighboring Azerbaijan also plan to attend
the event.

Built in 1001 A.D., the Ani cathedral was one of the largest churches
of medieval Armenia. It is now one of the few surviving examples of
the ancient Armenian civilization that existed in what is now eastern
Turkey until the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire.

According to official Turkish sources, the church was converted into a
mosque after much of Armenia was seized by the Seljuk Turks in the
late 11th century. They still refer to it as Fethiye Mosque.

The MHP action will come less than two weeks after the landmark mass
held in another, 10th century Armenian church located in what is now
eastern Turkey. Ankara allowed the one-off service at the Surp Khach
(Holy Cross) church on the Akhtamar island in Lake Van in an effort to
showcase its stated tolerance and goodwill towards Armenians.

Armenia's leading political groups and the Armenian Apostolic Church
dismissed it as a publicity stunt. They pointed to the Turkish
authorities' failure to restore a cross on the church dome in time for
the ceremony. The MHP action sanctioned by Ankara is certain to spark
a fresh uproar in Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora.

Some commentators have suggested that the Ani prayer is Turkish
nationalists' response to the Akhtamar mass. But others attribute it
to domestic Turkish politics

According to Regnum, a Turkish parliamentarian representing the ruling
AK Party, Mahmud Esad Guven, denounced the upcoming prayer as an
illegal `political show' connected with the Akhtamar service.

Armenia and Azerbaijan step up hostilities at UN
(AFP)
26 Sept 10

UNITED NATIONS - Armenia on Saturday accused neighboring Azerbaijan of
using its oil wealth to fuel "military adventure," amid mounting
tensions between the two over a disputed region.

Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told the UN General
Assembly that "Azerbaijan represents a threat to regional peace and
security."

The leader of oil-rich Azerbaijan in turn accused the Yerevan
government of "ethnic cleansing" in the dispute territory of Nagorny
Karabakh, in his speech to the assembly on Thursday.

Ethnic Armenian separatists, backed by Yerevan, seized control of
Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s that left an
estimated 30,000 dead.

Fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces has been on the rise
on the region's frontier for months, with at least 17 soldiers on both
sides reported killed in skirmishes this year.

Six soldiers were reported killed in clashes this month and western
diplomats and international mediators have expressed increasing
concern.

Nalbandian blamed Azerbaijan. "Unabated war rhetoric, increased
violations of the ceasefire regime, and the unprecedented increase of
the military budget by Azerbaijan only exacerbates the situation," the
minister said.

"The money stemming from oil revenues are directed at funding new
military adventures. We all know the results of such adventurism," he
said.

On Thursday, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenia
refuses to negotiate an end to the conflict and "gives preference to
escalation with unpredictable consequences."

Aliyev accused Armenia of "committing the most serious international
crimes during the conllict, carrying out ethnic cleansing and trying
to create a monoethnic culture in the captured Azerbaijani
territories."

Europe's security body, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe's (OSCE), said Saturday it would send a mission to Nagorny
Karabakh next month.

The co-chairs of the OSCE's Minsk Group -- which is overseeing efforts
to resolve the conflict -- said in a statement it would conduct a
mission "in the territories around Nagorno-Karabakh from October
4-14."

ROBERT FISK: ARMENIA SHOULD PUT FORWARD A STRICT
CONDITION TO TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ArmInfo
2010-09-28 13:51:00

Arminfo. Armenia should put forward a strict condition to Turkey to
recognize Armenian genocide and this condition should also become the
criterion for Turkey in the process of joining the EU, Robert Fisk,
correspondent of The Independent told Arminfo correspondent.

He also added the problem available in Armenia is the massive
corruption spread in all the territory of the former USSR.

'The government of Armenia is prepared to put the problem of the
Armenian genocide behind. Three or four years ago I spoke with Armenian
foreign minister he said he did not think of the Armenian Genocide
from one week to the next', - Robert Fisk said.

He also added that in the Armenian Diaspora, which consists of
offsprings which lost their families and relatives as well as property
during the Genocide, they do not understand why this issue should
be turned away from the agenda on normalizing of relations between
Armenians and Turks.

'I think morally they are right. Armenia has never actually represented
all Armenians', - he said and added that Armenia must say of its
demand to Turkey to recognize the facts of history.

There are all the needed tools in the country for that."There is a
Memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide in Armenia and unlike
his predecessor (edt. Lavrenty Barsegyan), which was not good,I am
being very polite, a very professional scientist (Hayk Demoyan) heads
the Genocide museum. There is very serious advancer inside Armenia
in the matter of the Armenian genocide research, which is of the
similar professional level like in wealthy Armenian communities for
instance, of France and the USA', - he said. Armenia does come more
to be representative of the demand for acknowledgment by the Turks
this fact of History. We see this idea to have bunch of historians
who sit there and chat about it, is ravage because in the end of the
day the Turkish historians and there will be the Turks and not the
people like Taner Akcan (scientist historian living in the USA, who
recognizes the Armenian genocide) they gone end up and say we wont
accept on that, and the Armenians wont accept on that, and all agree
to differ. He thinks this is insulting suggestion to have a meeting of
historians as if the situation when a group of Jewish historians and
those from Germany may be gathered before recognition of the Holocaust,
and among them such a nazi historian as David Irving which does not
recognize the Holocaust. That is ridiculous. "That is why, the real
problem is that Armenia does not represent all Armenians', - Fisk said.

He also added this is a problem which may regard economic and political
issues of the world forces.

If the Armenian Diaspora tells Sarkozy in Paris they are displeased
with something, Sarkozy will worry, but if Armenian prime minister
expresses displeasure, nobody in the world will ever move a muscle.

Such simple explanation', - he said and added that at a certain
moment the government of Armenia should confess that it should either
represent interests of all the Armenians or deal with the material
side of the problem only of the Armenians living in the country. He
is afraid it will chose the second option, Fisk concluded.


NO FORESTS IN ARMENIA BY 2020, ECOLOGIST SAYS
NEWS.am
September 28, 2010 | 14:25

There will be no forests in Armenia by 2020, Inga Zarafyan, the head
of Ecolur NGO and ecologist, told the reporters on Tuesday.

She considers that statistics issued by the Agriculture Ministry
is untrue.

"According to the statistics, forest area of Armenia totals 304.1
thousand hectares, that it covers 11.2% of the country. However,
the same indicator was registered in 1992. These figures show nothing
has changed since 1992, meanwhile numerous trees were cut during this
period. The officials do not want to agree to the data provided by
the American University. According to the research, Armenia's forest
area covers 7-8% of republic's territory. If continues in this rate,
the forecasts say there will be no forests by 2020," Zarafyan said.

The expert noted that destruction of forests will lead to loss of
water resources existing in forest areas, losing soil. In the future
the government will need billions of dollars and decades to restore
all this.


Birmingham airport launches Arnavia Airlines flights to Armenia
Sep 29 2010 by Edward Stephens
Birmingham Post

Birmingham Airport has become only the second in the country to
operate flights to the former Soviet republic of Armenia.

The new service was launched on Tuesday when an Airbus A319 of Arnavia
Airlines touched down at Birmingham from the Armenian capital Yerevan.
The airline will now operate flights to Yerevan and on to Delhi every
Tuesday, departing Birmingham at 06.55.

It hopes to attract passengers wanting to reach both Armenia and India
to visit friends and relatives. The Airbus will have eight business
class seats and 126 economy seats.

Illarion Gharibyan, deputy director general, for the airline said:
`There are 20,000 people in the UK of Armenian descent and people can
currently only access flights to Armenia from Heathrow so the
Birmingham operation will provide more choice for those wanting to
reach Yerevan.

`Birmingham is at a very important phase of its development and we
are very excited to be joining the Birmingham team at this time.'

Paul Kehoe, the airport's chief executive officer, said: `Not only
will Armavia Airlines offer people a brand new service to Armenia, it
will provide another welcome connection to India, which will be of
particular interest to the 200,000 Indian people living in the
Midlands.'

Round trip fares to Yerevan start from £325 excluding taxes and to
Delhi from £205. Flights can be booked via www.armavia.aero