Fresno drive-by kills 1, wounds 3
Assembly Member Samuelian’s aide is among those hurt.
By Louis Galvan and Jennifer M. Fitzenberger
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, August 21, 2004, 6:51 AM)
A woman was killed and three other people were wounded in a drive-by shooting
early Friday outside a home in northeast Fresno.
Police were not releasing the names of any of the people shot near Fashion
Fair mall, but one of them, Bo Patatian, is an aide to Assembly Member Steve
Samuelian, working out of Samuelian’s Fresno office. Patatian is in critical but
stable condition at University Medical Center.
Samuelian, R-Clovis, said Patatian, a staff assistant, underwent surgery and
is expected to recover. He reportedly was shot once in the abdomen and twice
in the shoulder or arm.
Another member of Samuelian’s staff, Lisa Hawkins, witnessed the shooting but
was not injured, Samuelian said. Hawkins is a field representative from
Kingsburg.
The two staffers had been out celebrating someone’s birthday and were among a
group of people outside a house when someone opened fire from a car,
Samuelian said.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the shooting was reported in the 600
block of East Keats Avenue shortly after 2 a.m.
Two men and two women, all reportedly in their 20s, were hit by the gunfire
and taken to UMC where one of the women, a 27-year-old, died about two hours
later.
The other two victims were being treated for injuries described as not
life-threatening. Dyer declined to release any names pending further investigation.
The victims were outside a two-story home among a group of people, some of
whom reportedly had just walked back from a nearby nightclub, when the shooting
occurred.
A dark-colored car drove by and made a U-turn, and someone in the car started
shooting, Dyer said; it was not clear whether the car came to a stop or was
moving when shots were fired.
The car was last seen going west on Keats.
Dyer said a motive has not been determined and that it was not known whether
the shooter was aiming at a specific person or just shooting into a crowd.
Investigators were also trying to determine whether anything had occurred at the
nightclub that might have led to the shooting.
The club, On the Rocks, is a few blocks away on First Street just north of
Shaw Avenue.
A club employee who would not give his name said the group had rented a VIP
lounge to celebrate a woman’s birthday. Members of the group arrived between
10:30 and 11 p.m. and left at 1:45 a.m., he said. The employee also said there
were no disturbances at the club and that no one was escorted out by bouncers.
Dean Hoffinger, an events promoter in Fresno, said he has known people in
that group of friends for five years. Some attend his social events, he said.
“They’re people that are well-known,” he said. “They’re nice people. They
don’t cause problems.”
Sgt. Gregg Sanders said there was no reason for police to believe the
shooting had anything to do with Samuelian’s office.
“It may just be two people from his office that happened to be at the wrong
place at the wrong time,” he said.
Samuelian was in Sacramento early Friday when he found out about the
shooting. He drove to Fresno and visited Patatian in the hospital.
“Bo’s recovering very well. He’s a strong person,” he said. “I was able to
communicate, and he was able to communicate back.”
Samuelian said he did not know the woman who was killed.
“I am deeply saddened and trouble by that, and my sympathies and heart go out
to her family,” he said.
The shooting at the normally peaceful, well-groomed neighborhood left police
and residents shaking their heads.
Lt. Jose Garza said he couldn’t remember the last time police had been sent
to the neighborhood, and residents said the sound of gunshots was foreign to
them.
John Manson, 31, who lives across the street from where the shooting
occurred, said there was no mistaking what woke him and his roommate up from a sound
sleep: “I heard boom, boom, boom. I heard people screaming. I walked out the
door. … I thought I was dreaming. I saw people lying around.”
Manson said he could not believe the shooting was random.
“It was not just a drive-by. It was something that escalated and followed
them here,” he said. “This is a nice area. There has to be a motive.”
Another neighbor, a longtime resident who asked not to be identified, said he
also woke up to shots and screams.
The neighbor said he didn’t know too much about the residents of the home and
only knew one of them by his first name.
Around noon Friday, two men, who declined to comment, rinsed a path to the
front door of the shooting scene. Two women stopped by the house and dropped a
bouquet of flowers near the curb. They declined to be interviewed, but one of
them, apparently referring to the slain woman, described the victim as “full of
sunshine.”
The killing was the fifth slaying in the city since Sunday, bringing the
number of homicides this year to 38 — two more than the total for last year.
Samuelian said he was troubled “that this type of unfortunate incident can
happen in our community.”
“To think that violent criminals can prey on innocent victims as they did in
this case is very unfortunate,” he said.
Bee staff writers Vanessa Colón and Tim Eberly contributed to this report.
The reporters can be reached at [email protected],
[email protected] or (559) 441-6330.

Baku Today
Aug 31 2004
Akif Nagi Sentenced To 5 Years of Prison
Turan/Baku Today 31/08/2004 10:48
Nasimi court has pronounced its sentence to six members of the
Organization for Liberation of Karabakh (OLK), finding them guilty of
violation of public order, hooliganism and resistance to state
officers.
Judge Famil Nasibov sentenced OLK chairman Akif Nagi to 5 years in
jail; deputy chairman Firudin Mamedov to 3 years in jail; Ilkin
Gurbanov, Mursal Hasanov, Rovshan Fatiyev and Manaf Kerimov to 4
years in jail.
OLK activists and relatives of defendants protested this decision at
the court. They were forced out to the street and dispersed by polce.
On 21 June of this year, a group of OLK members staged a protest
against Armenian officers’ visit for participation in NATO conference
in Baku. During the rally in front of Grand Hotel Europe, OLK members
broke into lobby and conference hall where NATO conference was held.
The doors and windows were broken as the result. Simultaneously,
clashes started between participants in the action and policemen
around the hotel. Six participants in the rally were arrested by
police the next day.
Various political organizations and public activists made numerous
applications to the authorities and the Head of State requesting to
release OLK members, during investigation and trial. OLK is the only
organization in Azerbaijan raising public awareness of issues related
to Karabakh conflict. Th estimated membership in this organization is
more than 10,000.

Azerbaijani, Armenian foreign ministers to meet in Prague
Interfax
Aug 31 2004
Baku(Interfax) – Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov and
his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian will meet in Prague on August
30 to discuss ways to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“During the meeting, the ministers will discuss the issue of settling
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry’s press service told Interfax on Monday.
Confidentiality will be one of the principles of the upcoming talks,
the ministry said.
Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven neighboring
districts as a result of a conflict with Armenia in the early-1990s.
The UN Security Council has denounced Armenia’s occupation of
Azerbaijan’s territory and has called on Armenia to withdraw its
troops. The United States, Russia and France, as co-chairmen of
the OSCE Minsk Group, have been assisting Armenia and Azerbaijan in
settling their dispute.

MOSNEWS, Russia
Aug 31 2004
The Ingredients of Terror
Created: 30.08.2004 17:23 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:33 MSK, 2 hours
45 minutes ago
Georgy Bovt
How does terror become possible in a country? Actually, it is much
easier than you may think. Terror in our country became possible all
by itself. Our way of life, as it is, makes for terror.
Yes, there are Chechens each of whom has had one of his nearest and
dearest killed over the past ten years, someone dragged away by
camouflaged men, someone tortured, and someone raped. Hence, any of
them could seek revenge. Not everyone will, but any of them could.
The only exception, perhaps, are the members of the Grozny football
team Terek, where there are only a couple of ethnic Chechens.
And in this case it is not in the least bit necessary to go into the
moral and ethical particulars of who bears the blame, whether this
war is fair and why it is still on. It is too late to moralize now.
We have gone too far.
Even if the war was to end tomorrow in victory, their souls would
still crave for revenge. And for decades to come Chechens will have a
reason to kill Russians. As, for instance, Armenian rebels killed
Turks across the globe throughout the 20th century, taking revenge
for the massacres of 1915.
And there is no use pretending we do not understand it.
And there is no use pretending that following the “convincing
victory” of yet another Chechen president in yet another presidential
election the only news from Chechnya will be the reports of another
victory for the Grozny football team Terek or some other nonsense.
Maybe, those will be the main reports coming from the war-torn
province, but they are unlikely to be revealing the truth.
And there is no need to pretend that it is possible to regain the
Soviet-era’s confidence in the future by just bringing together all
the remains, symbols, all the fetishes — be it the old anthem, red
banners, holidays, Victory Day, films, secretary generals, etc — of
the glorious Soviet past.
That kind of confidence cannot be regained. Life will never again be
as carefree as it used to be in the era of stagnation, however hard
the Vremya news program on the state-controlled First Channel tries
to revive that era.
And there is no need pretending that it is enough to revive old fears
in people’s minds to re-establish the old ORDER. Fear is not a
prerequisite for order. And there is no need to pretend that we do
not know that…
The other day I took a ride on a trolley-bus. There were not many
people on it, and the streets were free from traffic. And then
suddenly the driver addressed the passengers with a somewhat unusual
request. He explained that he was not native to Moscow — judging by
his appearance he was a migrant from Tajikistan — and hence he did
not know the way. In other words, the driver did not know the route
and went astray at some intersection. He had not received the
necessary training, he was simply given a place behind the wheel and
told: “The passengers will show you the way themselves.”
You may ask what has this got to do with terror?
No direct link. However, at the same time it is absolutely clear that
in a country where a bus driver is given no adequate training before
he takes his seat behind the wheel on public transport anything can
blow up at anytime.
This goes for water parks. As far as I am concerned, I am convinced
that a roof over a water park where vodka is sold freely amid rather
dangerous attractions will sooner or later collapse. Indeed, there is
and cannot be any direct link between those things. But there is a
link of a different nature. There is some steel-and-concrete fatalism
that sooner or later results in disaster.
Take a look at any Russian airport. There are always slow-witted,
slovenly dressed cops who you would rather not address with a
request. Importunate taxi drivers, porters guarding trolleys that are
supposed to be free for travelers. Sullen female border guards too
preoccupied with choosing perfumes at the duty-free shops and
flirting with airport security men to notice anything going on around
them, and male guards too engrossed in doing business by purchasing
liquors from the same shops.
Someone is helping someone else to jump the queue at passport
control; someone is trying to accuse someone of not having declared
200 dollars or having brought too much luggage from abroad,
suspecting them of being a shuttle trader. Suspicions evaporate as
soon as the suspect produces a couple of green notes…
Is there any direct link between all that and terrorism?
None, whatsoever. There is no direct link. But still, there is
another kind of link. And that link is lethal. All that blends into
that very broth where terror emerges at the time most convenient for
the terrorists themselves.
Raising salaries for airport staff, giving them better uniforms and
beefing up security would not help. Is there really any need to
allocate extra budget funds and tighten security to spot a lone
Chechen woman buying a ticket at the eleventh hour — and this at the
height of the Chechen war? Is there any need for some special orders
from the president or the FSB for such women to be thoroughly checked
and searched before they are allowed on board?
No, but it was Tuesday evening, and the airport staff were too tired
to take any heed of suicide bombers who easily passed all security
checks. The man commanding the sniffer dogs had already left for
home. The cops were too preoccupied with spotting illegal migrants in
the crowd.
All those people together aided in the murder of nearly 90 innocent
people
I knew only one of them. Andrei Yermolayev, a flight engineer on the
Tu-154. His wife and adopted daughter had been so happy with him it
seemed such happiness could not be real. Maybe it was him who pushed
the SOS button before the contact with the jet was lost. Two hours
earlier someone at the airport failed to push the button.

Analysis: Armenia, Azerbaijan In Fresh Talks On Karabakh
By Harry Tamrazian
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 31 2004
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov met yesterday in the presence of
international mediators for a third time in as many months, but again
left no indications of an imminent breakthrough in the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The daylong meeting again took place in the Czech capital Prague
and was attended by the French, Russian, and U.S. co-chairs of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk
Group. It was the first face-to-face encounter between Oskanian and
Mammadyarov since the envoys’ visit to the conflict zone last month.
“We are continuing what we began at our first meeting,” Oskanian told
RFE/RL during a lunchtime break in the talks. “Our main objective is
to create a common basis upon which we could build during further
negotiations. We are working toward that objective and I can’t say
we have achieved it,” he added.
Asked whether the two sides have made any progress in the last few
months, he said: “It’s a bit early to speak of common approaches. But
the dialogue is useful.”
While touring Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh in late July,
the mediators openly criticized the conflicting parties for their
perceived intransigence. The troika said bluntly that the onus is
on them, not the Minsk Group, to push the protracted peace process
forward.
The co-chairs were earlier said to be working on a new peace plan that
would try to combine the so-called step-by-step strategy of conflict
resolution preferred by Azerbaijan with the Armenian side’s insistence
on a package deal that would settle all issues simultaneously. But
they declined to comment on this report.

Athens 2004 Olympic Games: A bitter harvest for Armenia
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
AZAD-HYE (30 August 2004): Actually there was no harvest at all. Armenia
could not even pocket a single bronze medal in the Athens 2004 Olympic
Games, although it was represented by 18 sportsmen, performing in nine sport
categories.
All neighboring countries achieved successful presence, compared to their
participation in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (Azerbaijan scored 1 gold and
4 bronze medals, Georgia 2 gold and 2 silver, Turkey 3 gold, 3 silver and 4
bronze, and Iran 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze).
>>From the opening ceremony it was clear that the Armenian team was lacking
motivation. The men were wearing dark soviet style gruesome customs, while
there was only one woman representative in the whole team. The CBS channel
commentator mentioned that half of Armenia’s population is below the poverty
rate and that the winners of the golden medals will receive 40 thousand
dollars (an amount that the Armenian Government eventually will not have to
spend). We were wondering why this sum was not spent before the Olympic
Games.
On 6 August 2004 President Robert Kocharian met with the participants and
coaches of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in a resort located in Dilijan.
Addressing them he said “After the Olympics, I would like to hear each
participant say that he did his best to triumph”. For much of his
disappointment the athletes will have nothing to tell him now. He promised
them to be in Athens in August 23 to encourage them (note that Azerbaijan’s
President and Turkey’s Prime Minister attended the opening ceremony and
inspected the situation of their athletes personally before the start of the
Games).
Armenia first appeared in the Olympic competitions as an independent state
in Atlanta 1996 Games, when Greco-roman wrestler, Arman Nazaryan won
Armenia’s first Olympic title in the flyweight division. Also in Atlanta,
Armen Mkrchyan won a silver medal in light flyweight freestyle wrestling. At
the Sydney 2000 Games, Arsen Melikyan won a weightlifting bronze medal in
the middleweight division to bring the nation’s tally to one gold, one
silver and one bronze.
But the Athens 2004 Games did not witness any kind of achievement under the
Armenian flag, although four individual Armenians achieved medals in
Greco-Roman wrestling under different flags (Armen Nazarian bronze medallist
for Bulgaria; Artiom Kiouregkian bronze medallist for Greece; Ara Abrahamian
silver medallist for Sweden and Mkkhitar Manukyan bronze medallist for
Kazakhstan). Incidentally the last three athletes are born in Gyumri in the
seventies of the last century and their life was devastated as youth when
they witnessed the earthquake of 1989.
Bulgarian “Novinite” newspaper (issue 26/8/2004) says that Armen Nazarian
was one of many Armenian wrestlers who sought greener pastures because of
the lack of funds in his homeland. He initially wanted to compete for
France, but the French said they didn’t have the money to take him. He chose
Bulgaria partly because his girlfriend lived there, but mainly because of an
offer from the Slavia Litex wrestling club, where six of the eight members
of the 1999 Worlds team trained.
Similar stories are behind our other champions who are now competing under
different flags. If this trend continues we will feel much more disappointed
in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

PRESS RELEASE
August 31, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
Armenia to Host General Assembly of the Asian Seismological Commission
The Asian Seismological Commission (ASC) will hold its 2004 General
Assembly in Yerevan, Armenia on October 18-21, 2004. The General
Assembly is organized by the ASC and the Armenian Association
of Seismology and Physics of the Earth, under the auspices of the
Government of the Republic of Armenia, OSCE, and the UN International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The presiding officer of the
Commission for the current term is Professor Sergei Balassanian.
The goals of the conference and its organizers are to promote
understanding of earthquake disaster reduction as an essential element
of government policy and a major priority in regional, national and
international development; to contribute to the establishment of
partnerships between the scientific community, government and public;
and facilitate exchange and transfer of up-to-date knowledge and
technology, and strengthening of international and multidisciplinary
cooperation in the field of seismic risk reduction.
Greater details and circulars on the agenda, invitees, and other
relevant information is available at the conference website,
, or from Ashot Meliksetyan,
Executive Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee, at Orbeli
Street, #41, Yerevan, 375028, Armenia, tel. +374-1-269282, email:
[email protected]

TURKISH EMBASSY HOSTS RECEPTION
[August 31, 2004, 18:39:51]
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Aug 31 2004
Military attache of the embassy of Turkey in Azerbaijan, Major-General
Omar Bayrakli hosted a reception on the occasion of the Victory Day
and Turkish Armed Forces Day, on August 30.
The event was attended by representatives of the armed forces of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, Milli Majlis deputies, representatives of
political parties, and ambassadors accredited in Baku.
Having warmly greeted the guests, attache Omar Bayrakli told of the
glorious history of the Turkish Armed Forces. He noted the holiday
used to be marked in Baku in recent years that had been initiated by
Heydar Aliyev and Suleyman Demirel. Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan,
Colonel-General Safar Abiyev recalled the great efforts by the sons
of Azerbaijan in early 20s of the last century in the fight for the
independence of Turkey – two of them Samad Rafibeyov and Javanshir
Novruzov became generals of the Turkish army. He also stressed that
Azerbaijan would never forget the Turkish soldiers who became shehids
in the fight for its independence.
S. Abiyev noted that the Turkey’s army building experience is
widely used in Azerbaijan. The Minister also appreciated the
Turkey’s unambiguous stance with respect to resolution of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The reception was
attended by Ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Ahmet Unal Chevikez.

Central Asian and Southern Caucasus Freedom of Expression Network
(CASCFEN), Azerbaijan
Aug 31 2004
Protest action of Armenian journalists
Yerevan, 28 Aug 2004 — Representatives of mass media of Armenia
today held an action of protest in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor,
which was aimed against the building of elite cottages in the forests
near the town.
ARMINFO’s correspondent informs from Tsakhkadzor, Advisor of the
president of Armenia for fight against corruption Bagrat Yesayan joined
the journalists on the way. Yesayan said that he had come to get
acquainted with the situation in the place. Talking to journalists
he did not exclude that the trees are cut down for carrying out
construction works there. But he mentioned that this process must
be regulated by a relevant legislation. Yesayan expressed hope that
similar actions will promote increase of awareness of the society
about the processes taking place in the republic. The advisor of the
president condemned the recent incident when the guard of one of the
elite cottages beat journalists who had tried to take a photograph
of the territory guarded.
During the journalistic “round” a group of policemen headed by the
Head of the Police of Hrazdan district Hunanian, tried to drive the
“uninvited” guests out of the territory. After a talk of Bagrat Yesayan
with the policemen tete-a-tete the employees of the police desponded
to clear the territory from the journalists, and the shoot was resumed.
It should be noted that these villas belong to high-ranking officials
of the country (Deputy Head of the Service of Police Armen Yeritsian,
Head of the Administration of Kotayk region Kovalenko Shahgaldian,
Head of Customs Committee Armen Avetisian) and deputies of the National
Assembly of Armenia Levon Sargsian and Gagik Tsarukian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
KERRY VOWS TO CONTINUE HIS FIGHT AGAINST
THE DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
— Reinforces Strong Pro-Genocide Recognition Stand
in Message to “Armenstock” Music Festival
“There can be no compromise on the
clear moral imperative to end genocide.”
– John Kerry, August 28, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC – In his strongest campaign statement to date on
Armenian issues, John Kerry publicly committed this weekend that a
Kerry-Edwards administration would “fight against the denial of the
Armenian Genocide,” reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).
The strongly worded statement was read by a long-time friend of the
Armenian American community, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), at
the “Armenstock – Kef for Kerry” music festival on August 28th in
Franklin, Massachusetts. In the statement, Senator Kerry thanked
the “organizers of Armenstock, Armenians for Kerry and the Armenian
National Committee of America, for bringing so many Armenian
Americans together,” for the music festival. Joining Congressman
Frank in making presentations at the program were U.S.
Representative James McGovern (D-MA), who represents the Franklin
area, and State Representatives Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) and
Rachel Kaprielian (D-Watertown). The all-day concert and rally in
celebration of the Kerry-Edwards campaign, attracted over eight
hundred Armenians to hear Armenian musicians and to kick-off a
nationwide voter mobilization and get-out-the-Armenian-vote
campaign for the fall of 2004. The program was produced by
“Armenians for Kerry” and Pomegranate Music Events –
For additional information, visit:
In his statement, Senator Kerry explained that it has been his
“privilege, over the past two decades, to work with the Armenian
community on important issues including U.S. recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations and trade,
lifting the devastating blockades of Armenia and working for a fair
and lasting peace in Nagorno Karabagh.” He added that he is
“honored to have the endorsement of the ANCA,” and appreciates the
organization’s “work to encourage Armenian Americans around the
country to go to the polls in record numbers for the Kerry-Edwards
ticket on November 2nd.” The ANCA endorsed the Kerry-Edwards
ticket on July 25th of this year.
Speaking directly to concerns about the actions of a future Kerry-
Edwards administration, Senator Kerry said,” I want to assure you
that, as President, I will continue to fight against the denial of
the Armenian Genocide. My administration will recognize April 24,
2005 as the 90th Anniversary of this atrocity and will work to
ensure that the lessons of this crime against humanity are used to
prevent future genocides. There can be no compromise on the clear
moral imperative to end genocide.”
During his long tenure in the US House and Senate, Senator Kerry
has consistently been a leading advocate of issues of concern to
Armenian Americans. As a U.S. Senator, Kerry has forcefully fought
for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and is currently a
cosponsor of the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164. In 1990, Senator
Kerry voted on the Senate floor for Senator Bob Dole’s (R-KS)
Genocide Resolution.
The Massachusetts Senator has been a vocal and effective champion
of stronger U.S.-Armenia relations and has consistently backed
legislative initiative to increase aid and expand trade with
Armenia. He is currently a cosponsor of legislation, S.1557, which
would grant Armenia permanent normal trade relations status.
Senator Kerry has spearheaded a number of initiatives to lift the
Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades. In 1991, he was the lead sponsor
of legislation, which was later enacted as Section 907 of the
Freedom Support Act, restricting U.S. aid to the government of
Azerbaijan until its blockades of Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh
are lifted. He also worked for the adoption of the Humanitarian Aid
Corridor Act, which called for US aid to Turkey to be cut off
unless Turkey lifted its blockade of Armenia. As recently as this
January, Senator Kerry formally called on President Bush to press
the visiting Prime Minister of Turkey to lift his nation’s illegal
blockade of Armenia.
For more information about the ANCA’s endorsement, visit:
For information about Armenians for Kerry, visit:
Complete coverage of Armenstock will be forthcoming. The full text
of the Kerry-Edwards statement is provided below.
#####
Letter from John Kerry to Armenstock Attendees:
August 28, 2004
I am sorry that I can’t join you today at Armenstock, and I want to
thank all of you – the organizers of Armenstock, Armenians for
Kerry and the Armenian National Committee of America – for bringing
so many Armenian Americans together today to help move America
forward.
I have been honored to represent tens of thousands of Armenian
Americans as a Massachusetts Senator. And I look forward to
representing hundreds of thousands of Armenian Americans as the
next President of the United States.
It has been my privilege, over the past two decades, to work with
the Armenian community on important issues including U.S.
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, strengthening U.S.-Armenia
relations and trade, lifting the devastating blockades of Armenia
and working for a fair and lasting peace in Nagorno Karabagh.
I am honored to have the endorsement of the ANCA. By bringing
together Armenian Americans from several states in the Northeast,
Armenstock is generating enthusiasm and inspiring political
involvement, especially among young Armenian Americans. I
appreciate your work to encourage Armenian Americans around the
country to go to the polls in record numbers for the Kerry-Edwards
ticket on November 2nd.
I want to assure you that, as President, I will continue to fight
against the denial of the Armenian Genocide. My administration
will recognize April 24, 2005 as the 90th Anniversary of this
atrocity and will work to ensure that the lessons of this crime
against humanity are used to prevent future genocides. There can
be no compromise on the clear moral imperative to end genocide.
Please accept my appreciation for all that you are doing for our
campaign, for our communities, and for our great nation.