ASBAREZ Online [07-28-2006]

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07/28/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination 2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against 'Pro-Armenian' Writer 3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia 4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage 5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign 6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass 1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination WASHINGTON--Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) has indicated that he is not prepared to support the nomination of Richard Hoagland as US Ambassador to Armenia until he receives meaningful responses to a series of questions--including several specific inquiries concerning the firing of the current Ambassador John Evans, reported the Armenian National Committee of America. In a July 26 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Reed explained that he is "concerned that Ambassador Evans is being forced to resign prematurely." He stressed that he is "particularly troubled" by reports that he is being recalled because he properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as a genocide. "Had the term genocide been coined in the early 1900s, it would have been used to accurately describe the situation," added the senior Senator from Rhode Island. In closing, Senator Reed asserted that he would not be prepared to support the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until he understands the answers to the following questions: 1. Why is Ambassador Evans being replaced a year before the end of the customary three-year ambassador term? If he resigned, why would the State Department accept the resignation of a truly dedicated individual who is highly respected by the Armenian community? 2. Has the President or State Department directed, either through written or oral means, Executive Branch personnel not to use the word 'genocide' when referring to the atrocities waged against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire? What is the justification for such a policy? 3. If it is the policy of the United States to not characterize the systematic killing of over 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, please elaborate on why these events do not meet the definitions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 4. During Ambassador Richard Hoagland's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, regarding the Armenian genocide he stated "I simply have studied the president's policy. I've studied the background papers on the policy, and my responsibility is to support the President." What do the background papers say regarding the Armenian Genocide? I respectfully request a copy of these background papers so I can better understand the President's policy. If that is not possible, I would like to know why. 5. A recent press report outlined Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza as saying the following regarding Ambassador Evans, "Ambassadors serve the President and should follow his policy. President George Bush's policy on the mass killings of Armenians is very clear, as he points out in his annual addresses. If someone disagrees with it, they are at liberty to make their own decisions, but these should not be divulged. Certainly, our job is also to advise him, but we must support his policy when it comes to public statements." This reporting indicates that Ambassador Evans was asked to resign based on this prior statements regarding the Armenian genocide. If this is not the case, would you explain the statement by Mr. Bryza and its relation to Ambassador Evans?" Sen. Reed is the latest Member of Congress to express concern about the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Amb. Evans and the State Department's policy on the Armenian Genocide. To date, half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senators George Allen (R-Va.), Ranking Member Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.),John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), have already contacted Secretary Rice or questioned Ambassador Designate Hoagland directly regarding these issues. Over sixty members of the House have also expressed concerns to the State Department, with responses side-stepping the core issues. On July 18, the ANCA issued a statement opposing the Hoagland nomination, following several responses to Senate inquiries where the Ambassador Designate denied the Armenian Genocide. 2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against 'Pro-Armenian' Writer ANKARA (Associated Press)--A Turkish court on Friday dropped a lawsuit against novelist Orhan Pamuk, rejecting a compensation demand by nationalists from the author for claiming that Turkey had killed more than 1 million Armenians and more than 30,000 Kurds. Nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and five other nationalists were seeking 6,000 Turkish Lira ($4,500) each from Pamuk accusing him of "insulting, humiliating and making false accusations." Pamuk was quoted as telling a Swiss newspaper that: "Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it." Kerincsiz had instigated an earlier high-profile court case against Pamuk for the same comments, but those charges were dropped earlier this year, under harsh criticism from the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join. Turkey, however, is still trying dozens of journalists or authors for their writings or speeches. The prosecutor's office on Friday formally opened a lawsuit against a University of Arizona assistant professor on charges of "insulting Turkishness." The case against Elif Safak, a Turkish citizen, was opened after a court approved the indictment. The case was also initiated by Kerincsiz. Safak will stand trial because of the words uttered by fictional Armenian characters in her novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" - a book she wrote while she was living in Tucson, Arizona. In the book, an Armenian character refers to "Turkish butchers." No trial date was set. 3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza was scheduled to arrive in Armenia Saturday and leave for a visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the same day. A US embassy official informed Armenpress that during his regional visit the co-chairman will first visit Yerevan from where he will leave for Stepanakert and return back on Sunday. He will leave for Baku Monday. During his visit, Bryza will meet with the Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassian. At the meetings they will discuss current developments in the Karabakh conflict regulation process./ 4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage YEREVAN (Yerkir)--The opening ceremony of the first ever ARF Junior Organization's (Badanegan) Armenia Pilgrimage was scheduled to take place Saturday at the Yerablur national cemetery with more than 150 participants from nine countries. This annual event will last through August 5 and the juniors will stay at Aghavnadzor and make trips to different regions in Armenia. Speaking at a news conference at the ARF Bureau headquarters Program Director Tatul Harutiunian said the program's goal is educational. The slogan of the program is "Armenia is my Homeland." He noted that the program will strengthen relation between the Homeland and the Diaspora. Juniors from Armenia, Javakhk and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will also participate in the program. Saro Ter-Petrosian, the head of the Canadian delegation, said when selecting the participants, they have chosen those who had never been in Armenia before. Harutiunian said that a larger number of participants was expected, but the current crisis in Lebanon prevented many from attending. 5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign LAS VEGASSupporters of the State of Nevada's largest Armenian American public affairs organization hosted a fundraising event for the reelection of United States Senator John Ensign on Friday, July 21. A dinner-reception honoring the Senator was hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Levon & Zaruhi Gulbenkian. Mr. Gulbenkian, who serves as a Board Member of the Nevada ANCA Chapter, was joined by over fifty local community members in supporting Senator Ensign's campaign. The Nevada legislator is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, the group that shapes the party's legislative agenda. On behalf of the Armenian National Committee-Political Action Committee, Ara Bedrosian presented Senator Ensign with the Nevada ANCA Freedom Award in recognition of his leadership in advancing the cause of human rights and genocide recognition. The Senator was commended by a number of Nevada Armenian leaders for his outstanding advocacy on behalf of the growing Armenian-American community in the state. Bedrosian, a Los Angeles based lawyer, formerly served as a Congressional aide in Washington to Republican members of Congress. "Since his election to the US Senate in 2000, Senator Ensign has twice drafted and authored resolutions that reaffirm the commitment of the American people to recognizing the Armenian Genocide and to ensuring that its lessons are applied in preventing future crimes against humanity. No other Senator, since Bob Dole, has twice authored such Genocide resolutions," stated Hriyr Dadaian, Las Vegas ANCA Board Member. "John Ensign is our community's best friend, his leadership on human rights issues is deeply appreciated, not only by Armenian Americans in Nevada, but by Armenians throughout the country," Dadaian added. 6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass WASHINGTONThe Armenian National Committee of America, this week, welcomed the adoption by the House of Representatives of an amendment to block US taxpayer funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process, undermine the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through Armenia. The amendment, spearheaded by Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY), Ed Royce (R-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), and adopted as part of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing any assistance "to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia." The measure was adopted unanimously by the House Financial Services Committee in June of this year. The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House (H.R.3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S 2461) by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors; the Senate version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the "The exclusion of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the South Caucasus," noting that such actions "undermine the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region." "We thank Congressman Crowley, his Financial Services Committee colleagues Ed Royce and Brad Sherman, as well as the authors of the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act - Joe Knollenberg, Frank Pallone and George Radanovich - for securing the adoption by the House of this measure protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that - at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan - has been proposed solely for the purpose of excluding Armenia," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. In debate leading up to the adoption of the bill, Representatives Crowley, Knollenberg and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) each cited the importance of barring US funds from this ill-advised Caucasus venture which would exclude Armenia. Rep. Crowley noted that, "for over 10 years, Armenia has fought an illegal blockade imposed on them by the countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan. These two countries continually exclude Armenia from regional development... Exclusion of one country in regional projects only fosters instability. Having Export-Import Bank support a railway project which excludes Armenia is not the way to include all countries in regional development." Rep. Knollenberg noted that "the design for the new rail line defies logistical and geographical logic, and intends to prevent future economic development from reaching Armenia. The proposed rail link would cost between $400 million and $800 million and would take years to construct, even though a perfectly workable rail link that goes through the city of Gyumri, Armenia already exists and would be fully operational with a few minor repairs. Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee that included this provision into this bill and I urge support for passage of H.R. 5068." Rep. Maloney joined her House colleagues in noting that, "as a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and the representative of a large and vibrant Armenian-American community, I support the provisions which would prohibit the Export-Import Bank from funding railroad projects in South Caucasus region that deliberately exclude Armenia." A proposed new Caucasus rail line - at the urging of Turkey and Azerbaijan - would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure US financing for this undertaking, prompting Congressional supporters of regional peace and stability to preemptively block such attempts. In October of last year, the European Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission's Directorate General for Transport and Energy noted that its construction was both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank's mission is to assist in financing the export of US goods and services to international markets. 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) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. 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