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March 10, 2007 — From the front section
All of the articles that appear below are exclusive to the Armenian Reporter
1. Evans: Going along with denial does not serve the truth
Former envoy feted by 1,000 (by Vincent Lima)
2. John M. Evans: "When policy wildly diverges from the perceptions of
civil society, you have a problem"
3. Congress is asked to investigate firing of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds
4. Ara Sarafian: No joint study with Turkish state historian
5. From Washington, in brief (by Emil Sanamyan)
* Turkey boosters admit they’ve "lost the battle for history," but
carry on lobbying
* Senate committee stalled on Hrant Dink resolution, Hoagland nomination
* State Department narcotics report drops Azeri allegations
6. American University of Armenia is granted U.S. accreditation
7. Election 2007: Who’s who?
Prosperous Armenia, Republican parties are the frontrunners (News
analysis by Tatul Hakobyan)
8. Commentary: Are Armenians threatened by growing xenophobia in
Russia? (by Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan)
9. Commentary: Time for Congress to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide
(by Frank Pallone, Jr., and Joe Knollenberg, Members of Congress)
10. Editorial: On Hrant Dink’s karasoonk, no more business as usual
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1. Evans: Going along with denial does not serve the truth
* Former envoy feted by 1,000
by Vincent Lima
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – A thousand people attended the second
anniversary banquet of the University of Southern California’s
Institute of Armenian Studies here on March 4 to support the institute
and to honor John Marshall Evans, the former U.S. ambassador to
Armenia.
Mr. Evans delivered the keynote address at the event, making his
first public remarks since relinquishing his post in Yerevan on Sept.
10, 2006.
The former ambassador’s tenure was cut short because, as he said
during his speech, he reached "the point where I felt that I had to do
something which goes against every grain, every fiber of a diplomat,
and that is to break publicly with my own government on the issue" of
referring to the Armenian Genocide as a genocide.
He had harsh words for that policy:
"One country’s official policy of denying the Armenian Genocide
interferes with the process of seeking the truth," Mr. Evans said,
referring to Turkey. "Other countries’ policies of going along with
this denial do not serve the truth. Instead, what we have seen 40 days
ago is the horrific murder of Hrant Dink."
* Denial hurts U.S. credibility
Harut Sassounian, the columnist who had first publicized the State
Department’s plans to fire the ambassador, introduced him. "Under the
rules of ethics and morality honesty should be rewarded, not punished.
And justice demands that those who lie get fired, not those who tell
the truth," Mr. Sassounian said.
Mr. Evans argued that the U.S. government undermines its own
credibility when it avoids characterizing the Armenian Genocide as a
genocide. He likened U.S. officials who avoid the G word to the Iraqi
information minister who took the position, "Whom do you believe, your
eyes or my words?"
"None of us in this room is so naïve as to imagine that the official
foreign policy of great states – even of the United States – is ever
based solely on the truth," he said. "As educated people, we also are
aware that even arriving at and defining the truth can be difficult.
But in the real world, when an official policy diverges wildly from
what the broad public believes is self-evident, that policy ceases to
command respect."
The former ambassador went on to endorse H.R.106, the Congressional
Armenian Genocide resolution.
* Writing a book
Per the terms of his contract with his former employer, Mr. Evans is
required to limit his public comments during the first year after his
termination date. He said he is writing a book in which he will more
fully describe his personal decision to properly acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide.
Mr. Evans thanked Armenian Americans for their charitable giving and
their investments in Armenia and encouraged them to invest in the
diaspora as well. He specifically asked for support of the University
of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies.
Mr. Evans concluded his speech with a call for unity. "Unity does
not always need to occur as a result of tragedy and disaster," as in
the case of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.
The event brought together a cross section of the Armenian-American
community. Former California governor George Deukemejian summed up the
prevalent sentiment in the hall when he told the Armenian Reporter,
"This evening was a very strong demonstration of the support and the
appreciation from the Armenian community in southern California for
the courage that Ambassador Evans demonstrated when he risked his
position to declare a truth."
************************************ ***************************************
2. John M. Evans: "When policy wildly diverges from the perceptions of
civil society, you have a problem"
Former ambassador John Evans spoke to Armenian Reporter editor Vincent
Lima on Monday, March 5, in Glendale, Calif. The following is a
transcript of the interview.
LIMA: The event last night was quite successful.
EVANS: Yes. I was here primarily to help raise funds for the
University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies.
This idea was suggested to me last fall. It’s an academic institution,
and I felt that I could in very good conscience help them with their
fundraising drive. It’s a young institution and it can’t grow without
funds. I was so pleased last evening they exceeded their goal of $1
million, and there were more pledges coming in. That was my main
purpose for coming here.
LIMA: It was interesting: Until now your focus has been on Armenia
because you’ve been ambassador to Armenia. During your talk you said
it’s also important for the diaspora to sustain the diaspora. And you
brought it around to USC. That was a nice sort of segue.
EVANS: I think indeed it is important to help the Republic of Armenia.
U.S. government programs have been helpful. All the Investments and
charity and so on have been helpful. But I think the community should
remember that there are young people growing up as Armenian Americans
and the USC Institute can be a center and support for them.
* A counterproductive policy
LIMA: I want to ask you about U.S. policy regarding the Genocide. I’ve
heard [Assistant Secretary of State] Daniel Fried say that the
administration or the State Department refrains from characterizing
the events of 1915 as genocide – although it doesn’t deny the events –
because that makes it easier for Turkey to come to terms with its own
history and for the process to move forward. I understood you
yesterday to say no, this policy does not help; it actually hinders
that process of Turkey coming to terms with its history. Could you
talk about that?
EVANS: I think the point here is that to call for historians and
journalists and others to debate these issues is fine. But when there
is a section of the Turkish criminal code – section 301 – that
interferes with free speech, particularly on this subject, it’s hard
to see how that free debate and intellectual inquiry can take place.
So I think a number of things need to be done. As I remember, Turkey
had promised to repeal Section 301 in the run-up to the European
decision on accession talks. But somehow it didn’t get done and as we
saw on January 19, one of the foremost Armenian voices in Turkey was
stilled by Hrant Dink’s assassination.
I believe that it’s true that U.S. officials do not deny the facts of
what happened in 1915. In fact when I spoke in February 2005 that was
the first thing I said, as I believe was shown in the video we saw
last evening.
LIMA: Right.
EVANS: But you’re correct that the Department of State has not seen
fit to characterize those events as "genocide." But the point I made
in my talk last evening was that when civil society sees something as
self-evident, and policy wildly diverges from the perceptions of civil
society, you have a problem.
* Is internal dissent possible?
LIMA: Let me ask you about something else that has been striking me.
Some of your colleagues saw fit to nominate you and to award you with
the constructive dissent award within the State Department. This
raises for me the question whether today internal dissent within the
State Department on this issue is possible. If one of your former
senior colleagues at the department wanted to see a change of policy
today or wanted to continue working toward that change of policy, what
possibilities would be available to him or her?
EVANS: I can’t say for sure since I am no longer in the Department of
State what the current atmosphere is. Some years ago in connection
with the Vietnam War, there was established something called the
Dissent Channel, which permitted officers in the field or officers
serving in Washington to cast their concerns in a format that would be
read in the Policy Planning Bureau at the State Department, would be
considered, and they were guaranteed a response.
Now that process is widely viewed as broken, in today’s State
Department, at least as of the time I was serving in Armenia. There
have been articles written about this. One of the articles was in the
Washington Times.
[ 308-121444-7974r.htm]
The American Foreign Service Association, AFSA, which grants these
constructive dissent awards – in my case it was the Christian A.
Herter Award for members of the Senior Foreign Service – has more than
once beaten the bushes to try to get nominations. There are dissent
awards for junior officers, and midgrade officers, and senior
officers. To be given one of these awards is widely seen as a career
killer. And they haven’t had very many nominations.
Now I believe that some very well-meaning people in AFSA and on the
committee (because there’s a committee that makes the awards), I
believe their intention was to throw me a kind of a life ring. But in
the end that only infuriated people at the State Department even more.
And so AFSA withdrew it on a technicality, the technicality being that
I had not tried the Dissent Channel.
Now I would just point out that a series of commemorative stamps has
recently been issued commemorating great diplomats in American
history. And one of them, Hiram Bingham IV, was granted a dissent
award posthumously for having issued visas to European Jews in
defiance of explicit State Department orders not to do so. So my hope
is that I will receive this Christian Herter Award posthumously – but
not too soon.
LIMA: That’s good.
EVANS: Hiram Bingham did not use the Dissent Channel.
* Free and fair elections
LIMA: When we spoke a couple of days before you left Yerevan on
September 10, we discussed the Millennium Challenge Compact, which I
thought was one of the important accomplishments of your tenure. (See
Armenian Reporter, Sept. 16, 2007.) One of the conditions associated
with that, as you have pointed out, is that Armenia should govern
itself justly and that the elections coming up in May be free and
fair. That’s up to Armenia to do. What is it that the diaspora can do
to encourage the Armenian authorities to make sure that the elections
are free and fair? Do you see a role there?
EVANS: First of all, I’m delighted that Armenia qualified for the
Millennium Challenge Account, which as you know is $236 million over
five years.
Armenia qualified fair and square for that, but it must continue
each year to be recertified using the same 16 criteria which were
present for the initial qualification. Now these criteria move
according to what the peer countries do; any individual country has to
keep pace with its peers. I hope and I’ve said many times and I
continue to believe that the Republic of Armenia is headed in the
right direction. Progress could be faster, but there has been progress
and there continues to be progress in all of the areas involved.
Now President Bush is the mastermind of the Millennium Challenge. He
announced it in Mexico at the Millennium Summit. My more direct
contribution had to do with rejecting the advice of experts who said,
"Armenia is not getting it on democracy." "Stop throwing money down a
rathole." "Forget working with the political parties." "Armenia is not
going to make it on the democratic criteria."
We consciously rejected that advice in the spring of 2005. The
report that was written is I believe still on the embassy website.
What we did instead was to develop this $5-6 million program of urgent
assistance to not only the government but to civil society and the
electoral commissions and the media to assist all relevant segments of
Armenia in producing the best possible elections this spring and next
year.
But as you said yourself it is ultimately for Armenia to run these
elections as best it can. We have made the point again and again that
we want to see Armenia more democratic because thereby Armenia will be
strengthened. The legitimacy of the government, the social contract
between the voter and the government will be strengthened to the
degree that the elections are really democratic and are perceived to
be free and fair.
LIMA: Is there anything the diaspora can do to help that happen?
EVANS: Again granting that it’s primarily for people living in Armenia
to do this, I do think that the diaspora with its multifarious
contacts – business, personal, social, and rhetorical – can have a
positive effect. And I called on the Armenian American community to do
just that. At the Armenian Assembly meeting last March, which was just
at the time of the signing of the Millennium Challenge Compact, I
called on the Armenian-American community to get behind us in trying
to push for that outcome.
LIMA: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you.
******************************************** *******************************
3. Congress is asked to investigate firing of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds
PARAMUS, N.J. – The case of a former translator for the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Sibel Edmonds, who testified several years ago that
Turkish officials boasted of bribing a number of U.S. officials,
including the then-sitting House Speaker, is back in the news.
A coalition of civil liberties, public interest, and government
watchdog groups has released a petition calling for congressional
"whistleblower hearings" into the firing of former Federal Bureau of
Investigation translator Sibel Edmonds. Among the signatories to the
petition are the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC) and
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), who joined what
organizers term a "transpartisan coalition" with "strong left-right
support," called the Liberty Coalition.
The case of Ms. Edmonds has been widely noted in Armenian circles
because of the light it may shed on illegal influence peddling in the
U.S. government by the government of Turkey.
Ms. Edmonds, who speaks Farsi, Turkish, and Azerbaijani, was hired
by the FBI following the September 11 attacks, to translate pre-9/11
intelligence gathered by the agency. She was eventually dismissed from
government service, after she complained to her superiors that a
fellow Turkish-language translator was cooperating with the target of
the FBI’s investigation – Turkish government affiliated entities. A
subsequent investigation by the Department of Justice Office of
Inspector General, partly declassified in early 2005, backed some of
Ms. Edmonds’ claims and did not disprove others.
Ms. Edmonds’ story received increased public attention after her
profile was published in the August 2005 edition of Vanity Fair
magazine under the title, "An Inconvenient Patriot." In the story,
congressional sources related Ms. Edmonds’ testimony about bribes
reportedly paid by representatives of the Turkish government to
congressional staffers and Administration officials. Ms. Edmonds said
that she had heard of the payments while listening to FBI wiretaps of
Turkish officials who were under surveillance by the FBI.
According to Ms. Edmonds’ testimony before Congress, among those
whom one Turkish official boasted of having bribed was Illinois
representative Dennis Hastert, at the time the Republican Speaker of
the U.S. House of Representatives.
Readers will recall that in 2000, Speaker Hastert had assented to
President Clinton’s request to stop an Armenian Genocide Resolution
about to be voted on in Congress. The official rationale at the time
involved the usual foreign policy considerations, but Ms. Edmonds’
allegations placed Mr. Hastert’s actions in a different and more
sinister light.
Mr. Hastert has denied the allegation of bribe-taking, and no
official action has been taken against him.
According to a press release from the Liberty Coalition, "30
liberal, libertarian and conservative groups including the American
Civil Liberties Union, Citizen Outreach, OMB Watch," and others have
signed the petition urging the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform to hold prompt hearings on Ms. Edmond’s case.
The Liberty Coalition says that after Ms. Edmond’s firing, the
Department of Justice used the "State Secrets Privilege" – a national
security provision – to circumvent any possible court proceedings in
her case, and to prevent Congress from exploring the matter.
However, the national director of the Liberty Coalition, Michael
Ostrolenk, is quoted in the release as insisting that "Edmonds is not
a national security threat but a national hero and the American public
deserves to hear the truth of her case. Congress must act and act now
by having public hearings."
The full text of the petition appears elsewhere on this page. [See
]
Information on the Liberty Coalition is available from its website,
************** ************************************************** ***********
4. Ara Sarafian: No joint study with Turkish state historian
In press releases that have been picked up by the Turkish media,
historian Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute UK) and Yusuf Halaçoglu, the
head of the official Turkish Historical Society, have been negotiating
a joint study on the events of 1915. (See "A joint Armenian-Turkish
study on the Genocide is proposed – but will it go forward?," by Chris
Zakian, Armenian Reporter, March 3). On March 8, we asked Mr. Sarafian
about the status of the affair.
ARMENIAN REPORTER: Is there a joint study going on between Ara
Sarafian or the Gomidas Institute and Yusuf Halaçoglu, the head of the
Turkish Historical Society?
ARA SARAFIAN: No, there is no joint study going on.
Q: As I understand it, Mr. Halaçoglu proposed a collaborative study.
You responded by proposing a public, transparent exchange of key
documents as a first step. Mr. Halaçoglu responded that the documents
you want do not exist. Is that the situation in a nutshell?
A: Yes, that is correct.
Q: Please describe the documents you asked for.
A: The documents I asked for are linked to the ostensible deportation
of Armenians in 1915. According to Turkish historians arguing the
official Turkish thesis, Armenians were deported in 1915 according to
two key set of regulations. One concerned the systematic deportation
of people, and the other the resettlement of these people, and their
compensation in relation of what they had left behind. We have
reproduced these regulations on the Gomidas Institute web page
[].
According to these two regulations, there should be two sets of
registers (as well as scores of other documents), for each village, in
each administrative region, giving detailed information on Armenians
who were deported in 1915.
As you know, I do not subscribe to the official Turkish thesis
denying the Armenian Genocide. However, I would be interested to see
any such records that were kept in 1915, as well as all the gaps
within these records.
Q: What do you think such records would yield if they were available?
A: I would expect to find significant records on deportations and
confiscation of Armenian properties, but with no commensurate records
on resettlement and compensation. This would tell us about the nature
of the "deportations," that is, the expropriation of Ottoman Armenians
by the state, the colonization of their villages by non-Armenians, and
the obfuscation of the historical record.
Q: Do you believe Mr. Halaçoglu when he says these records don’t exist?
A: I doubt Dr. Halaçoglu can account for the content of all Ottoman
archives in Turkey. There are several such archives in Istanbul and
Ankara, as well as provincial ones. These archives include catalogued,
as well as uncataloged materials.
I believe Dr. Halaçoglu found the focus of the proposed joint study
worrisome. After all, he is the head of an official state body which
is entrusted with upholding the foundation myths of modern Turkey. The
denial of the Armenian Genocide is part of those foundation myths.
Q: What questions, if any, does the absence of these documents raise
for historians?
A: The absence of these documents suggests that even according to
Ottoman records in Turkey, the deportation of Armenians in 1915 was
not a law-governed process. It also suggests the bad faith of modern
Turkish state intellectuals who have published official Ottoman
regulations concerning the deportation of Armenians, intimating that
these regulations were enforced. As Dr. Halaçoglu has admitted, there
are no such records – or rather, there are no such records, any such
records, available for the scrutiny of historians. This sounds like a
cover-up.
************************************* **************************************
5. From Washington, in brief
by Emil Sanamyan
* Turkey boosters admit they’ve "lost the battle for history," but
carry on lobbying
Turkish Parliament members will be lobbying the U.S. Congress against
the Armenian Genocide resolution with the help of a "Pink Book," the
Turkish Daily News reported on March 2. This colorful document
"includes detailed information and documents concerning the genocide
allegation."
But even veteran Turkey boosters don’t buy into this approach. At a
February 28 Open Society Institute roundtable discussion, former U.S.
ambassador to Turkey (1989-91) Morton Abramowitz counseled on Turkish
efforts to deny the Armenian Genocide:
"I think Turkey has lost, here at least, the battle of history. I
don’t think there is anything you can do here which will convince
legislators that this is an open question, that you got to leave it to
the historians. I don’t that it is, rightly or wrongly, an effective
argument here.
"And the basic argument and one that has been made repeatedly, one
that I made before the [1991] Gulf War . . . is the extraordinary and
important ties between the two countries which legislators must
understand and balance against whatever [are] their moral feelings.
This is the only reasonable argument that can have an impact."
Journalist Cem Sey with the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle
(Germany) added: "You said that Turkey has lost the historical battle
in the United States already. I believe Turkey lost it everywhere in
the world, including Turkey." Abramowitz appeared to agree with that,
as Sey continued: "Because after Turks understood that there had been
some hundred thousands people died, everybody knew what happened. So,
I think this is not the debate.
"Therefore I don’t believe a resolution in the United States, like
it was in Germany and other countries, that it will cause a big
problem between the two countries. There will be serious [nationalist]
backlash, I’m sure, but it will be temporary."
* * *
Another former Ambassador to Turkey, Mark Parris (1997-2000), used the
"Abramowitz argument" in his "Don’t go cold on Turkey" op-ed in the
March 3 edition of the Wall Street Journal. In its response, the ANCA
recalled that souring of U.S.-Turkish relations were "loudly but
falsely predicted" when President Reagan publicly affirmed the
Genocide in 1981 and whenever U.S. legislation referred to the
Genocide, but never materialized.
"Despite threats of retribution, Turkey has taken only token steps
against the European Parliament, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Belgium, Argentina, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden,
Switzerland, and other states and international bodies that have
recognized the Armenian Genocide. In fact, despite all its threats in
2001 against France’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, trade
between France and Turkey grew 22% the following year, and has grown
by 131% over the past five years," the ANCA response went on.
In his response letter, USAPAC’s Executive Director Ross Vartian
argued that "it is long past due for the United States to reaffirm
Armenian and American history despite Turkish threats and to support
those in Turkey who serve democracy and reform by speaking freely."
* Senate committee stalled on Hrant Dink resolution, Hoagland nomination
This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was to consider a
resolution offered by its chair, Sen. Joe Biden (D.-Del.),
commemorating the life of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and
condemning his assassination. The proposed Senate Resolution (S. Res.
65) contains a reference to the Armenian Genocide, for discussion of
which Dink was prosecuted. The AAA, the ANCA and USAPAC have all urged
passage of this resolution.
But during the committee’s March 6 business meeting, its ranking
member, Sen. Dick Lugar (R.-Ind.), requested that the resolution’s
consideration be postponed until the committee’s next business
meeting. The ANCA reported that Sen. Lugar’s request came after "heavy
State Department pressure" over resolution language referring to the
Armenian Genocide.
A spokesperson for the State Department in effect confirmed its
opposition to S. Res. 65 in present form, relating to the Armenian
Reporter that "the State Department has consistently explained to
Members of Congress and their staffs our view that passage of any
amendment that politically determines the definition of the horrific
suffering of Armenians in 1915 is inappropriate and unhelpful."
* * *
According to a Senate source no committee action is anticipated on the
nomination of Richard Hoagland to be ambassador to Armenia. The
nomination is "just sitting." Foreign Relations Committee member Sen.
Bob Menendez (D.-N.J.) placed a hold on the White House candidate in
part to protest the administration’s policy on the Armenian Genocide.
* State Department narcotics report drops Azerbaijani allegations
The "Narcotics Control Strategy Report" was released on March 1. This
is one of over a dozen congressionally mandated reports issued
annually by the Department of State. The report contains
country-by-country analysis prepared in U.S. embassies that rely
mostly on local governments for information. One of these governments
is Azerbaijan’s which has long accused Karabakh and Armenia of
everything under the sun, including drug running. Last year’s report
referred to the Azerbaijani government’s allegation that Karabakh was
one several routes used by international drug runners. While the State
Department never endorsed such claims, the reference itself has been
used by Azerbaijanis in their propaganda.
On April 5, 2006, Foreign Minister Georgy Petrossian and Police
Chief Armen Isagulov of NKR sent a letter to senior State Department
officials once again denying the Azerbaijani claims. The letter, made
available to the Armenian Reporter by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s
office in Washington, stated in part that as early as "in 2002, the
NKR Government called upon relevant international bodies to send an
independent verification mission to Nagorno Karabakh to assess the
situation on the ground, but no action was taken."
The Azerbaijani allegations had been referenced in State Department
narcotics reports since 1996. After NKR officials first complained in
2002, the report added references to Nagorno Karabakh’s
counterproliferation efforts and stated that "the United States does
not have independent confirmation of [Azerbaijan’s] allegations." In
2004, the report dropped Azerbaijani allegations altogether, but they
crept back into the report in 2006, before being removed again this
year.
At the same time the report points out that unlike Armenia,
"Azerbaijan is located along a drug transit route running from
Afghanistan and Central Asia into Western Europe." The same report
says that Armenia’s currently modest drug problem could potentially be
exacerbated should borders with Turkey or Azerbaijan open.
******************************************* ********************************
6. American University of Armenia is granted U.S. accreditation
YEREVAN – The American University of Armenia, established in Yerevan
in 1991, has passed the rigorous accreditation process of the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of the six regional
accrediting associations covering the United States. The initial
accreditation, for seven years, confirms that an AUA education is on a
par with the education offered at accredited universities in the
United States.
"We are very proud of achieving WASC accreditation, Haroutune K.
Armenian, president of the university said. "This is an unprecedented
event, as it is the first time that the association accredits an
institution situated outside the territory of the U.S. From now on, we
can start competing with the U.S. universities. Thanks to the
international accreditation, new doors are opened for the university
and we face new challenges."
The university was founded with the support of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union, the University of California, and the Armenian
government.
AGBU chair Louise Manoogian Simone, a trustee of the university,
told the Armenian Reporter, "We’re very pleased that AUA has now been
accredited by WASC. It now means that U.S. college students, if
authorized by their universities, can receive credit for courses taken
at AUA. This new status recognizes the great work of AUA staff and
faculty, President Harout Armenian, and the vision of former President
Mihran Agbabian."
"I don’t know how to express my joy," Dr. Agbabian told the
Reporter. "When I heard we got it, and for seven years, I was very
excited about it."
"I think we’ll prove to WASC as well as to the University of
California, of which we are an affiliate, that we will continue to
grow as a university in Armenia as a bridge between Armenia and the
western world," Dr. Agbabian continued. "This is a unique opportunity
for AUA to attract students also from outside the immediate
environment of Armenia, the region of the former Soviet Union, the
Middle East, and also students from the United States who may want to
go for a semester or a year and study there and get their credits
transmitted to the university they are coming from."
Dr. Agbabian acknowledged the hard work of President Haroutune
Armenian, Theony Condos, and Lucig Danielian, now the provost of the
university. "The WASC people were very tough," he added.
Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchian appeared on
national television to announce the news. This development "will exert
considerable influence on Armenia’s educational system," he said.
AUA offers graduate education in business and management, industrial
engineering, computer and information science, political science and
international affairs, health sciences, law, comparative legal
studies, and teaching English as a foreign language.
The university has granted over 1,500 degrees in 15 years. Of its
graduates 83 percent are working in Armenia. It currently has 261
students, of which 31 are foreign.
**************************************** ***********************************
7. Election 2007: Who’s who?
* Prosperous Armenia, Republican parties are the frontrunners
News analysis by Tatul Hakobyan
YEREVAN – Nominations closed this week for the May 12 parliamentary
election in Armenia. The Central Electoral Commission has accepted the
nominations of 27 parties and one coalition (1,497 individual
candidates) for the proportional seats, and 173 candidates for the
majoritarian seats.
The National Assembly has 131 seats. Of these, 90 are filled on a
proportional basis: Each party or coalition that garners at least 5
percent of the overall vote is allocated a share of those seats that
is proportional to its share of the vote. The remaining 41 seats are
filled on a majoritarian basis: individual candidates compete in each
district for that district’s seat.
The coming elections are especially important for two reasons:
First, presidential elections are coming up in the spring of 2008, and
two-term president Robert Kocharian cannot run for a third consecutive
term; Armenia will have a new leader, and the party that prevails in
the parliamentary elections will be best positioned to win the
presidency. Second, international organizations, along with the United
States and the European Union, are openly warning that if Armenia
fails to meet international standards, this time it will truly not be
forgiven.
The United States has warned repeatedly that if the elections are
fraudulent, Armenia can be suspended from the Millennium Challenge
Compact and lose the remaining balance of the $236 million five-year
rural infrastructure development program.
The big showdown will be between Prosperous Armenia, which enjoys
the sympathy of President Robert Kocharian, and the Republican party,
which is headed by Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and Defense
Minister Serj Sargsian. The Republican party and the other two members
of the governing coalition – the ARF (Dashnaktsutiun) and the United
Labor Party are considered likely to cross the 5 percent threshold to
win proportional seats. Indeed, in a television interview on December
15, President Kocharian listed these four parties as most likely to be
represented in the new parliament.
Never in Armenia’s history have there been as many as 28 political
forces vying for parliamentary seats. The previous record was 21, in
2003. The main reason for the large number is the failure of
opposition parties to form a united front, as they had promised to do.
Only one coalition was formed, with the catchy name Impeachment; its
members are the Alternative sociopolitical organization and the small
Democratic Fatherland and Conservative parties. At the top of
Impeachment’s electoral list is the editor of Armenia’s most-read
daily, Haygagan Zhamanag, 31-year-old Nikol Pashinian.
Of the other opposition forces, those likely to win seats in the
National Assembly include the Popular Party of Armenia, led by Stepan
Demirjian; the coalition it led in the 2003 election, Justice, won
about 14 percent of the vote. Country of Laws, led by Artur
Baghdasarian, the former speaker of the National Assembly, and
Artashes Geghamian’s National Unity party garnered 12.6 and 8.9
percent of the 2003 vote respectively. Country of Laws was part of the
governing coalition until the end of 2005. Dashink, led by the former
commander of Karabakh’s armed forces, Samvel Babayan, the Populist
party led by TV personality and TV station owner Tigran Karapetian,
are also contenders.
The ARF (Dashnaktsutiun) and the United Labor Party, mentioned
before, won 11.5 and 5.7 percent of the 2003 vote.
In the category of traditional parties, the Social Democratic
Hnchakian Party is running alone, whereas the Armenian Democratic
Liberal (Ramgavar) Party is not running itself; rather, it is
supporting Samvel Babayan. Ramgavar leader Harutiun Arakelian is
included in the Dashink list.
Two of the most experienced political figures in Armenia are sitting
out the election: Former prime minister and presidential candidate
Vazken Manukian, and his National Democratic Party, and Paruir
Hairikian and his National Self-Determination Union are not running.
Instead, there will be not one but two communist parties in the
running: the old communists, who have come together around Ruben
Tovmasian in the Communist Party of Armenia, and Vazgen Safarian’s
Progressive United Communist party. A third, which calls itself
Renewed, is not running.
Also running: Shavarsh Kocharian’s National Democratic, Aram
Harutiunian’s National Agreement, Raffi Hovannisian’s Heritage, Manuk
Gasparian’s Democratic Way, Hovhannes Hovhannesian’s Liberal
Progressive, 27-year-old Tigran Urikhanian’s Progressive, Aram
Sargsian’s Democratic, Vazgan Sargsian’s brother Aram Sargsian’s
Republic, Sargis Asatrian’s Youth, Davit Hakobian’s Marxist, Ararat
Zurabian’s Armenian Pan-National Movement, newcomer Arshak
Baklachian’s Armenians’ Fatherland, Russian show business
personalities Garik and Levon Martirosian’s United Liberal National,
Aram Karapetian’s New Times, Mkrtich Gimishian’s Christian Democratic
Rebirth parties.
* The heavy hitters
The governing Republican party list includes, in addition to the prime
minister and the defense minister in the top two slots, several high
officials and businesspeople. A few of the names: National Assembly
speaker Tigran Torosian, nine ministers – Minister of Territorial
Administration Hovik Abrahamian, Minister of Trade and Economic
Development Karen Chshmaritian, Minister of Justice Davit Harutiunian,
Minister of Nature Protection Vardan Ayvazian, Minister of Energy
Armen Movsisian (brother of Armenia’s ambassador in Washington, Tatoul
Markarian), Government Chief of Staff-Minister Manuk Topuzian,
Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik Manukian, Minister of
Urban Development Aram Harutiunian, and Minister of Finance and
Economy Vardan Khachatrian.
Clearly, the Republican party is in an enviable position in terms of
administrative leverage. Nor does it have financial problems, as its
proportional list includes several owners of major business holdings:
Jermuk Group owner Ashot Arsenian, Evrostan-Ouyut owner Manvel
Badeyan, DCA diamond producer Gagik Abramyan (whose brother Ara is the
president of the Union of Armenians in Russia), Great Valley president
Tigran Arzakantsian, Derjava company president Arkadi Hambartsumian,
as well as Karen Karapetian, Harutiun Pambukian, Levon Sargsian, Areg
Ghoukassian (brother of President Akadi Ghoukassian of Karabakh), and
others.
Propserous Armenia has no financial problems either. At the top of
its list is the multimillionaire Gagik Tsarukian. Persistent rumors
that presidential spokesperson Viktor Soghomonian will be among the
top three names in the party list were proven untrue. But in the 13th
slot on the list is the spokesperson’s father, Ernest Soghomonian,
president of the Social-Democratic Hnchakian Party of Armenia (not to
be confused with the traditional Social-Democratic Hnchakian Party,
which is in the opposition).
The Prosperous Armenia list includes well-known artists and cultural
workers, physicians and journalists, as well as government officials.
In the second place on the list is the head of the Yerevan State
Academy of Fine Arts, Aram Isabekian. Also on the list: President of
the State Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Ishkhan Zakarian,
Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication Vardan Vardanian,
Erebuni Medical Center director Harutiun Kushkian, journalists Aram
Safarian and Naira Zohrabian, and others.
In political and intellectual terms, the ARF list is quite strong:
Deputy Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian, Supreme Body representative Armen
Rustamian, writer and orator Alvart Petrosian, Minister of Agriculture
Davit Lokian, Minister of Labor and Social Security Aghvan Vardanian,
Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchian, Minister of Health
Norair Davidian, and former Deputy Minister of Defense Artur
Aghabekian.
The ARF has only one candidate running for a majoritarian seat:
Hrair Karapetian, head of its parliamentary bloc. The Republicans have
30 nominees running for a majoritarian seats. Prosperous Armenia has
nominees in 15 districts. The latter two parties have largely managed
to avoid running candidates in the same districts, thus making the
race somewhat less competitive.
Candidates in Districts 7, 20, 27, and 28 are running unopposed. In
District 7 the candidate is sugar monopolist Samvel Alexanian, who is
not running on a party ticket. In District 20, the candidate is
Republican Hrant Grigorian, nephew of Deputy Minister of Defense
Manvel Grigorian. In Districts 27 and 28, the candidates are
Prosperous Armenia member Melik Manukian and leader Gagik Tsarukian.
On the majoritarian side, three candidates are under criminal
investigation. Former minister of transport and communications Edvard
Madatian, who is under criminal investigation on charges of plotting
to assassinate high-ranking government officials; member of parliament
Hakob Hakobian, who is under investigation on charges of organizing an
armed attack and engaging in financial machinations; and Vardan
Malkhasian, who is being detained along with Zhirair Sefilyan on
charges of sedition.
The most notable majoritarian race is in the 4th district, where 10
candidates are running against each other: the ARF’s Hrair Karapetian,
National Unity party vice president Sargis Muradkhanian, Armenian
National Movement vice president Aram Manukian, Country of Laws
candidate Suren Mamikonian, local potentate Zohrab Zohrabian, and
businessperson Hairapet Hairapetian from Prosperous Armenia.
The fiercest battle is expected in the mountains of Siunik. There,
for the 37th district seat, former Karabakh commander Samvel Babayan
is facing Defense Minister Serj Sargsian’s brother, Republican
Alexander Sargsian.
The oddest situation is in the 19th district, in Ejmiadzin, where
two Republicans by the name of Hakob Hakobian are running. One of them
is the Hakob Hakobian under criminal investigation. Neither of them is
endorsed by the Republican party, which is backing General Seiran
Saroyan, who is not a party member.
Of the candidates, 23 percent are women. The party lists include 344
women, which is about 30 percent of the total. Of the 173 majoritarian
candidates, nine are women. Currently, the National Assembly includes
7 women out of 131 members, which is a mere 5 percent.
**************************************** ***********************************
8. Commentary: Are Armenians threatened by growing xenophobia in Russia?
by Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan
MOSCOW – It would be difficult to judge whether it’s less safe to be
on the streets of Moscow at night than, say, on some streets in London
or New York. It is equally hard to determine whether the crimes
against people of other nationalities, which in recent years have
grabbed media attention, are any more frequent in Moscow than crimes
by Russians against other Russians.
But the most likely answer is: No, they are not more frequent. Being
a person of a minority nationality definitely increases one’s chances
of suffering an attack from youth mobs, skinheads, or others, in the
dark hours on the streets or subways of Moscow. However, the risk is
there for everybody.
Other questions loom large in Russia today: Why doesn’t the West
like us? Why don’t our former satellites like us? Few nations are so
immersed in the issue of how they look in the eyes of others. Perhaps
Russia’s youngsters harass foreigners for the same reason: they assume
that foreigners do not respect them.
The official policies of the Russian Federation in recent years can
be characterized as "nationalization" in every sense, reinforcing the
xenophobic stereotypes of the public. Examples of these policies
include a prohibition on foreign funding for nongovernmental
organizations, and associated claims of espionage; and regulations
demanding that Russian branches of transnational banks must be fully
Russian-owned and have nothing in common with their headquarters
except for the brand name.
Much of the public seems to believe that "Foreigners hate us. They
live at our expense." This attitude is the same toward everybody,
regardless of whether one is a Westerner, a dark-skinned Asian, or a
post-Soviet "foreigner."
"First, the Westerners collapsed our great country," says a second
type of archetypal Russian. "They wanted Russia on its knees. Our
former satellites, such as the Baltic States or Georgia, want to be
their puppets. Now that Russia is reawakening and its strength is
increasing, we will show them all that we are independent. So go
home!"
These two opposing attitudes – that foreigners are either parasites
or overlords – united last year in the campaign against foreign
domination in the farmers’ markets. The sellers in the markets were
mostly people of a dark complexion, from Central Asia or the Caucasus:
some were citizens of Russia, others were legal migrants, others still
illegals.
However, the decision was made to prohibit all foreign migrants from
selling products in the food markets, regardless of whether they were
in Russia legally or illegally.
As part of this policy, the Russian police raided shops, offices,
and markets. They would check the documents of "suspicious"-looking
dark-skinned people in the streets or subways. They would harass and
detain people. On other occasions, they would be "nicer," accepting
bribes and letting the "suspects" walk away.
Despite the efforts of President Vladimir Putin to combat
corruption, sometimes a little corruption is the only way to grease
your path in Russia. Corrupt police are at least manageable; but
police who are prohibited from being corrupt can be really cruel.
All of this has coincided with the small, almost bloodless war that
Russia and Georgia have waged in recent years, with Georgians in
Russia becoming its main victims. Police have raided Georgian-owned
businesses, deporting Georgian citizens from Russia.
Russian officials prohibited the sale of Georgian products
(primarily mineral water and wine) as a punishment against Georgia.
But it was also a species of self-punishment, because so many Russians
love these products. Postal and airplane links with Georgia were cut.
Since many Georgians began to travel to Georgia through Armenia, air
tickets to Armenia became almost unbearably expensive: last fall they
increased from $200 to $500 one way, hurting many Armenians –
especially since there are no other affordable ways to reach Armenia
from Moscow.
Generally, Russians do not distinguish carefully between the
different ethnic groups of the Caucasus (similar to the way some
Americans find it hard to distinguish between immigrants from the
Middle East or Asia).
Armenians are spread out all over Russia, from major cities to
Siberian villages, engaged in everything from small business to
healthcare, the arts, sciences, banking, and management. There is
probably no TV show without at least one or two Armenian names. Some
parts of southern Russia, near Sochi, are almost fully populated by
Armenians.
Recently, in central Moscow, in addition to the famous Ararat Hyatt
hotel, another token of Armenian presence in Russia has opened: the
Yerevan Plaza shopping mall, built in traditional Armenian
architectural style with its distinctive grey-pink volcanic tuff
stone.
Thanks to the good political relations between Armenia and Russia,
Armenians can claim a kind of "most favored nation" status among other
immigrant groups. The problem is that Russians do not distinguish an
Armenian at first sight. And while it is unclear whether skinheads
will treat you better if they know you are an Armenian, the police
definitely will.
But in the absence of institutional guarantees, and as nationalistic
stereotypes prosper, this situation may quickly change. Russians can
be quite disciplined people, and if they are told, "You should hate
Georgians!" they will start hating with vigor – until they suddenly
remember that they have Georgian friends, relatives, lovers; that they
liked Georgia when they were kids on summer vacation there. Then,
slowly, their common sense may return. But in the meantime, a lot of
people might suffer.
Naturally, xenophobia also spawns a reaction in certain quarters.
Some Russians have taken to the streets with slogans, "I am a Georgian
– deport me!" Others have publicly declared that they intend to take
on Georgian-sounding names.
The unpredictability of the situation has caused the Armenian
government and Armenian organizations in Russia to expend their energy
on making sure that Armenians are not mistakenly declared personae non
gratae.
Armenians in Russia today remind me of Russian Jews in the 1970s:
they were everywhere, but it was not much advertised. Jews would
change their last names: Khinshteyn would become Bykov. Today
Armenians do the same: Stepanyan becomes Stepanov.
This strategy makes a great deal of sense because nowhere else –
except perhaps in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire – have Armenians
held such important positions. Even California does not compare with
Moscow these days for the role Armenians play.
So the incidents of ethnic crime, particularly against Armenians,
would not be worrying – were it not for the larger phenomenon of
Russian nationalism. Some fear that this is an emerging form of
fascism, and that may be the case. In the 1990s, every post-Soviet
nation went through a process of state-sponsored xenophobia except for
Russia; but it is likely that the time for this illness has finally
come in Russia’s Putin and post-Putin period.
Xenophobia here cannot happen the way it developed in Georgia or,
say, in Turkmenistan: Russia is too big, too empty, and migrants are
important economically. Unlike those smaller nations, the illness here
in Russia will be longer in duration, and its symptoms may not be so
clear.
***
Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan is a Moscow-based business consultant and
representative of the Center for Studies of Culture and Civilization
at Yerevan State University. A native of Armenia, Ter-Gabrielyan was
until recently the Eurasia Program Manager at the London-based
International Alert – a conflict management organization. This is his
first contribution for the Armenian Reporter.
*************************************** ************************************
9. Commentary: Time for Congress to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide
by Frank Pallone, Jr., and Joe Knollenberg, Members of Congress
[Special to the Armenian Reporter]
WASHINGTON – As the cochairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, we have worked tirelessly to help ensure the Armenian
Genocide’s legacy and properly honor its victims and survivors.
April 24th, 1915 marked the beginning of the systematic and
deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.
Over the following eight years, one and a half million Armenians were
tortured and murdered, and more than half a million were forced from
their homeland into exile.
It is crucial that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand
reaffirmation of this crime against humanity. It is inconceivable that
the current United States foreign policy lacks appropriate
understanding and sensitivity to human rights, ethnic cleansing and
genocide.
Earlier this session, we joined our colleagues U.S. Representatives
Adam Schiff (D.-Calif.) and George Radanovich (R.-Calif.) in
introducing a resolution urging the President to properly acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Genocide Resolution calls on the
President and the U.S. government to properly recognize the atrocities
that occurred in Armenia beginning in 1915, which resulted in 1.5
million deaths and countless victims of torture, as genocide.
This measure seeks to reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian
Genocide by recognizing it as a historical fact. It also praises the
American record of opposition to this tragedy, which is marked by
courageous diplomatic protests and unprecedented American relief
efforts for the survivors of this crime against humanity.
To date, the resolution has received the support of 180 members of
the House of Representatives. We believe that the time has finally
come to pass this resolution. Last year, the same Resolution passed in
the then-House International Relations Committee by an overwhelming
majority. We are optimistic that it will continue to garner strong
support in the Committee so that it can finally come up for a vote on
the House floor.
The United States government needs to stop playing politics with
this tragic time in history and take a firm stance for the truth.
Genocide and its denial cannot be tolerated. We strongly believe that
90 years is far too long to wait for justice to be served and proper
recognition to be made.
However, Turkey is attempting to pressure our colleagues into
opposing this resolution. Senior Turkish government officials have
warned that if Congress even considers the Armenian Genocide
resolution, they will cut off supply access for our forces serving in
Iraq. In fact, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told Vice
President Dick Cheney that the U.S. must, "calculate the costs of
losing Turkey."
As Americans, we should be deeply offended that another country is
seeking to dictate where our nation stands on core moral issues.
Especially a country, such as Turkey, that claims to embrace
democracy, yet has a long-standing history of abusing minorities,
intellectuals and the principle of freedom of expression.
As members of Congress, it is extremely troubling to us that a
foreign government is meddling in our nation’s legislative process
through threats and intimidation. This is a dramatic intervention of a
foreign government in U.S. congressional affairs and it has been going
on for far too long.
We cannot continue to submit to Turkey’s shameless threats and
intimidation. We must stand up to the Turkish Embassy and its paid
lobbyists here in Washington, D.C. The United States owes it to the
Armenian-American community, to the 1.5 million that were massacred in
the Genocide and to our own history to reaffirm what is fact.
We are certain that if members of the House are given the
opportunity to vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution we will pass
it overwhelmingly. Congress should be allowed to reaffirm what we all
believe and know to be fact – that genocide was orchestrated by the
Ottoman Empire in 1915 to exterminate its Armenian citizens.
Reaffirming the Armenian Genocide is a matter of conscience. It is
our hope that this Congress will rebuke any warnings against the
United States by Turkey and consider legislation on the Armenian
Genocide.
If America is going to live up to the standards we set for
ourselves, and continue to lead the world in affirming human rights
everywhere, then we need to stand up and recognize the tragic events
that began in 1915 for what they were – the systematic elimination of
a people.
Avoidance of the word genocide is equally as deplorable as denial.
It takes humanity to overcome the ignorance that spurs the evil crimes
of genocide. By recognizing these actions for what they were –
genocide – we can prevent such atrocities from occurring again.
***
Representatives Pallone (D.-N.J.) and Knollenberg (R.-Mich.) are
cochairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.
***************************************** **********************************
10. Editorial: On Hrant Dink’s karasoonk, no more business as usual
The traditional 40 days of mourning have elapsed since the
assassination of Hrant Dink on January 19 in Istanbul.
The murder shocked and outraged people around the world: Armenians
and Turks, journalists and free-speech advocates. The reaction of
Turkish civil society was remarkable: there were massive
demonstrations and days of soul-searching in the media. The Turkish
government condemned the murder and moved quickly to make arrests and
to sack certain officials. Foreign governments, including the United
States State Department, also condemned the murder.
This shock, outrage, and condemnation have all too soon given way to
complacency and business as usual.
At the 40th-day memorial service in Istanbul, Patriarch Mesrob II
rightly lamented, " the real inciters of this assassination have not
been found."
The government has made arrests, but it has failed to arrest anyone
beyond a motley collection of ultranationalists who are widely
believed to enjoy the continued support and encouragement of senior
representatives of the Turkish Deep State.
Indeed, the elected government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdo?an has been unwilling or afraid to confront the unelected
military figures, civil servants, power brokers, and assorted shady
characters who constitute the Turkish Deep State.
The government has even failed to make good on promises to repeal
Article 301 and other laws that criminalize free speech under
chillingly broad notions such as "insulting Turkishness."
On the contrary, it has allowed the prosecution of journalists,
authors, and other intellectuals to continue.
The tragedy of Mr. Dink’s murder was also a golden opportunity to
begin a new era of Turkish-Armenian relations. Instead of seizing that
opportunity, the Turkish government has gone back to business as usual
It has dispatched wave after wave of high-level officials –
including the foreign minister, the Armed Forces chief of staff, and
members of parliament – to Washington to vigorously oppose the
Armenian Genocide resolution pending before the House of
Representatives.
These officials alternate between denying the Armenian Genocide and
threatening the United States with diplomatic, military, and economic
retribution should Congress proceed with proper acknowledgement of
this crime against humanity.
It is also business as usual for senior State Department officials
who had only 40 days ago called upon the Turkish government to deal
with the policies and laws that made this despicable crime possible.
Not to be outdone by their Turkish counterparts, American officials
have repeatedly pledged to Turkey that they will try to block the
Armenian Genocide resolution. They alternate between claims that the
resolution is against U.S. national interests, that it would cause
US-Turkey relations to deteriorate, or that it would cloud the
prospects of the Turkish ruling party to remain in power.
It is also business as usual for Turkish-American activists, who
have mobilized against the Armenian Genocide resolution, in denial of
the historical truth and in furtherance of the appalling intolerance
of their ancestral homeland.
Tragically, it is not business as usual for Turkey’s free-speech
advocates, some of whom fled their homeland, cancelled public-speaking
appearances around the world, and muted their voices. There were so
many death threats against Turkey’s intellectuals, publishers, and
writers that scores were afforded police protection.
Most assuredly it cannot be business as usual for the
Armenian-American community and Armenia’s authorities. Armenian
Americans have asked the House of Representatives to pass a resolution
reaffirming the Armenian Genocide. Our friends in Congress have
introduced H.Res.106. Turkey is responding in full force. The State
Department is helping Turkey. We cannot be complacent.
We Armenian-Americans must redouble our work with Congress now – and
continuously – until the House of Representatives passes the Armenian
Genocide resolution.
Let us make ourselves heard! H.Res.106 has 180 Republican and
Democratic cosponsors. They need to know that we support their action.
Meanwhile, the remaining members of Congress need to hear their
constituents urge them to cosponsor the resolution and support it.
Contact your representative preferably by phone, by mail, or by fax.
Contact information appears below.
We must also let Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice know that we
expect much more from our State Department: it should defend the truth
about the Armenian Genocide as part of American as well as Armenian
history; it should rebuke Turkey for threatening America; it should
not undermine but support the growing, progressive movement in Turkey
that is willing to confront that nation’s genocidal legacy and
contemporary intolerance. Contact information for Secretary Rice
appears below.
We cannot afford business as usual.
***
* To contact your representative
Check the list on page A2 [see reporter.am] to see whether your
representative is a cosponsor of H.Res.106. If so, thank him or her.
If not, ask the representative to become a cosponsor.
Address letters to
The Hon. [name]
House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515
House switchboard: 1-201-224-3121.
* To contact the Secretary of State
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC 20520
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