ASBAREZ Online [05-19-2005]

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05/19/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ARF Lebanon Pulls Candidates, Independent Candidates Follow Suit 2) Erdogan Adamant on Turkey's 'Innocent' Past 3) Russian Military Equipment in Georgia 'Could Be Moved to Armenia' 4) Rizhkov Visits Dzidzernagapert, Discusses Cooperation 5) ANCA to Hold Darfur Genocide Vigil at White House 1) ARF Lebanon Pulls Candidates, Independent Candidates Follow Suit LEBANON--Following its calls to local Armenians to withhold from voting in the Beirut parliamentary elections, Lebanon's Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) pulled its two candidates from Beirut's third constituency race to protest the snubbing of Beirut's majority of Armenians. Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier Rafik Hariri, on Sunday announced his electoral list for Beirut's constituencies; though four Armenian seats are vacant, Hariri excluded the two candidates put forth by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), which enjoys extensive support among Beirut's significant Armenian minority. On Monday, the party called on its supporters in Beirut to boycott the Beirut elections because the Armenian candidates put forth by Hariri represent the smallest sector of Lebanon's Armenian community--and not the majority will. The party called the decision to pull its two candidates Stepan Der Bedrossian and Jacques Chookhadarian from the race, a "logical subsequent step" to boycotting the elections--since the ARF's candidates would have garnered victories, considering the party's influence in the area. In a symbolic move, independent candidates from Beirut's first and second constituencies, Haigaz Yardemian and Abraham Matossian, also pulled out of the race to show that Hariri's four Armenian candidates will be legally elected, but not with Armenian votes. 2) Erdogan Adamant on Turkey's 'Innocent' Past ANKARA (AA)--According to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has never committed genocide throughout its history, making it impossible to accept "such accusations,'' he said on Wednesday. Addressing a gathering of his governmental Justice & Development Party, Erdogan said that Armenian genocide "allegations" were discussed at the Council of Europe Heads of State and Government Summit, held in Warsaw at the beginning of this week. Claiming that Armenians living during Ottoman reign fell prey to the games of foreign powers and rebelled (at this point, the prime minister resorted to slang, saying that Armenian's 'got pumped-up'), Erdogan said the "Ottomans did what they had to do. We will never succumb to the pressure to accept the Genocide." ''During my speech [at the summit], I said that we have opened our state archives. We don't have any concerns about our history, and believe that reality should be revealed. Armenia should also open its archives and historians, jurists, political scientists, and archivists should work on them. Then, we make the political decision. Unfortunately, I cannot get any positive response from [Armenian President] Kocharian so far,'' Erdogan said. Insisting that international diplomacy is contradicted because certain countries' parliaments have recognized "these so-called Armenian genocide allegations," Erdogan continued, "There is no word for assuming such an attitude without basing on any document or information against a country with which you are together in international institutions. In Warsaw, I told reporters that parliaments of 15 countries made such a decision, and we will examine these 15 countries. There are countries among these 15 which carried out genocide in the past. We will bring them to our parliament and pass a decision, basing on real documents and information, not with lobbying. We will take this step because Turkey had never committed genocide throughout its history.'' ''Of course some people might have died during relocation. It is true. But, why were these people forced to migrate? Documents indicate that the Ottomans were fighting in three fronts, and there was an Armenian nation which started to rebel due to provocations of some other circles. Naturally, the administration encouraged such a relocation under these circumstances. But it also met traveling costs of the people forced to migrate. And it issued circulars for the protection of these people. But the state did not carry out a genocide,'' remarked Erdogan. ''There might have been some problems for this or that reason, but it is wrong to define it as genocide. We won't build our future on hatred and resentment,'' added Erdogan. 3) Russian Military Equipment in Georgia 'Could Be Moved to Armenia' MOSCOW (AP)--A top military officer said Thursday that some of the equipment from Russia's bases in Georgia could be transferred to Armenia, where Moscow also has a military presence. General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian General Staff, said that would help Russia reduce the timeframe for withdrawing the bases to four years, Interfax news agency reported. "The military bases will be withdrawn from Georgia to Russia. It is not ruled out that some property and military hardware will be deployed in Armenia," he said. Baluyevsky stressed that Russia makes the only principal condition--that Russian servicemen be withdrawn to some territory with developed infrastructure. Russia and Georgia have been in tense negotiations over the base withdrawal, which Tbilisi insist be complete by the beginning of 2008. The two sides are to hold a fresh round of negotiations on the lingering dispute in Tbilisi on Monday. 4) Rizhkov Visits Dzidzernagapert, Discusses Cooperation YEREVAN (Armenpress)--Co-chairman of Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary cooperation commission and head of Armenian-Russian Business Cooperation Association Nikolay Rizhkov visited the Dzidzernagapert Genocide Memorial on Thursday, as well as placed a wreath on behalf of the Russian Senate. "We [Russians] agree with Armenians in the assessment of the Armenian genocide. Only by passing to future generations the truth about these evil deeds can we prevent repetition of such crimes in future." Rizhkov met with President Robert Kocharian, where he shared his impressions on the immense change that has taken place since he visited regions damaged by the 1988 earthquake. He added that the foremost issue is to increase employment, which will be promoted by the expansion of Armenian-Russian economic cooperation. Kocharian, in his turn, noted that the commission has implemented many successful programs in the past, but should work to find new ways of cooperation. 5) ANCA to Hold Darfur Genocide Vigil at White House --May 25 Protest to Call for Decisive US Response to Unfolding Genocide WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)--Armenian Americans, the descendents of the first genocide of the 20th century, will host a White House vigil on May 25 to help bring an end to the first genocide of the 21st century--the systematic massacres, mass starvation, and ethnic cleansing taking place today in the Darfur region of Sudan. Up to 400,000 people have already died and more than 2,000,000 dislocated in Darfur over the past two years. Recent reports confirm that the situation on the ground is deteriorating and the humanitarian crisis is reaching desperate proportions. This special Armenian American vigil, hosted by the ANCA, will take place from 5:30-6:30 pm in Lafayette Park, across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue.  The gathering will be the most recent in a series of vigils, organized every Wednesday by Africa Action, a leading advocate for US and international action on the Darfur genocide.  For directions or more information, contact ANCA at (202) 775-1918 or [email protected]. New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof, a leading voice for US action on Darfur, has written to the ANCA about the situation in Sudan. In a powerfully worded letter, he touched on the unique responsibility of Armenians, as victims of genocide, to help end the ongoing suffering in Darfur and to work toward preventing future crimes against humanity. In congratulating the ANCA for holding the vigil, he stressed, "Obviously, crimes against any part of humanity require a response from all the rest of humanity, but I think any group that has suffered a systematic attack also has a particular responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen again to some other group." The ANCA has participated in previous Darfur vigils, protested outside the Sudanese Embassy, spoken at genocide prevention conferences, and generated support--both at the grassroots level and in Washington, DC--for Congressional legislation aimed at ending the slaughter in the Darfur region. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. 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