ARMENIAN REPORTER
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June 23, 2007 — From the front section
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1. "Hayasatan" Fund adopts Border Village Program (by Armen Hakobyan)
* Vahe Aghabegians is the new executive director
2. Taner Akçam sues Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights
* Article 301 is at issue
3. Rakel Dink accepts an award in Armenia
4. From Washington, in brief (by Emil Sanamyan)
* Polls: Armenians trust China over U.S.; prefer independence to regional
alliances
* Washington think tanks rate the world
* Georgia interested in nuclear energy; looks to Armenia’s plans
* NKR rep. to Azerbaijani ambassador: Time travel is not possible
* To attain Azerbaijan’s goals, bring back Stalin
5. Interview: Former Iraq relief worker Danny Dedeyan urges Americans to be
concerned about Iraq’s people
6. Azerbaijani president vows to attack Armenia
7. New election scheduled for disputed seat in parliament (News analysis by
Armen Hakobyan)
* Raffi Hovannisian runs again
8. Twenty years from now, will we have Armenia, or a moonscape? (by Armen
Hakobyan)
* Current environmental policies are transforming Armenia — and not for the
better
9. Market update (by Haik Papian)
10. Commentary: Catholicos Karekin II is coming to America (by Nubar Dorian)
11. Commentary: The 20th century’s other first genocide (by Anoush Ter
Taulian)
12. Living in Armenia: Soccer, Armenian style (by Maria Titizian)
13. Editorial: Winning the peace in Nagorno-Karabakh
******************************** *******************************************
1. "Hayasatan" Fund adopts Border Village Program
* Vahe Aghabegians is the new executive director
by Armen Hakobyan
YEREVAN — The Board of Trustees of the "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund,
meeting on June 19, decided to adopt the Rural Poverty Eradication Program,
which was launched at third Armenia-Diaspora Conference in Yerevan in
September. The program focuses the infrastructure of individual villages and
village clusters. It complements growing investments in the rural sector by
the government of Armenia, the United States government, the World Bank, and
others.
The president of the board, President Robert Kocharian of Armenia,
accepted the resignation of Naira Melkoumian as executive director of the
fund. The board appointed as executive director Vahe Aghabegians, who since
1999 has been a senior advisor to Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. For the
last year and a half, Mr. Aghabegians has been responsible for the Rural
Poverty Eradication Program.
* The new program
At the Armenia-Diaspora Conference, President Kocharian had acknowledged
that "the divide between Yerevan and the rural areas" is a challenge for the
entire nation.
David Lokian, the minister of agriculture, had provided additional
details. Armenia has a limited amount of farmland, Mr. Lokian said at the
time, and if farmers are to make ends meet, they must get more crop out of
each acre, and find ways to add value to their crops. Small and medium
enterprises such as canneries and cheese processors are ways to add value;
but business will not go to inaccessible villages with no infrastructure,
the minister had asserted. "Infrastructure and roads are preconditions for
poverty eradication."
The World Bank since 2005 has been financing a rural infrastructure
program. The U.S. government, through the Millennium Challenge Account, is
implementing a similar program. But these programs are not comprehensive,
Mr. Lokian had argued; a village may have an irrigation system but no proper
schoolhouse. "We must build a strong Armenia village by village."
The foreign minister, who initiated the program, had told the
Armenia-Diaspora Conference that the government has chosen to start with
border villages because they are experiencing the greatest population loss
and because they are strategically significant.
Speaking on June 19, Mr. Oskanian said that the program will start with a
handful of villages. Five have been selected already and have been matched
with specific donors. The villages are in Tavush in Armenia’s northeast.
"This program differs from earlier ones in that the approach will be
comprehensive," he said. "The program has a jobs component to help the
economic development of the village. We are starting with five villages,
then there will be more, and ultimately we will be working on 25-50 villages
at a time."
"Armenia is not China; we don’t have millions of villages; we can improve
the infrastructure of four or five hundred villages" in a comprehensive way
in a matter of years, Mr. Oskanian had said in September.
* Development in Karabakh
The board of trustees also agreed to continue a regional development program
underway in Martakert in Nagorno-Karabakh and to start a similar program in
Karabakh’s Hadrut region.
The fund, established in the earliest days of Armenia’s independence, is
celebrating its 15th anniversary. The board of trustees comprises the top
echelons of Armenia’s leadership, Nagorno-Karabakh’s president and prime
minister, the catholicoi and heads of the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical
Churches, representatives of the traditional Armenian political parties, and
prominent figures such as Louise Simone, Vartan Gregorian, Charles Aznavour,
Eduardo Eurnekian, Mark Geragos, and Albert Boyajian.
Over the past 15 years, the fund has implemented $165 million in programs
aimed at restoring and developing the economic infrastructure of Armenia and
Karabakh, as well as social, educational, scientific, and cultural programs.
It has built 463.8 km (288 mi) of roads, 211.8 km (132 mi) of waterways,
71.4 km (44 mi) of power lines, 410 residential buildings, 97 educational
institutions, and 34 hospitals and clinics.
No explanation was given for Ms. Melkoumian’s departure from the fund. She
became the executive director of the fund in 2003. On her watch, the fund’s
income has grown steadily. It was $9.7 million in 2004, $12.8 million in
2005, and $22.4 million in 2006. The fund implemented 54 major projects
during Ms. Melkoumian’s tenure.
* New executive director
Vahe Aghabegians is the second diaspora Armenian to serve as executive
director. (The first was Raffi Hovannisian, who served briefly in the late
1990s.)
Mr. Aghabegians was born in Iran and educated as an engineer in the United
States, where he developed high-tech businesses. An engineer by training, he
moved to Armenia with his family in 1998.
"My whole life I have worked to create systems, mechanisms, and production
on a business model, developing human resources, and facilitating
self-reliant, independent initiatives with specific missions. I intend to
take the same approach in my new position," Mr. Aghabegians said.
"Naira Melkoumian and the staff of the Armenia Fund, the affiliates, and
our supporters worldwide have worked hard and participated selflessly in
Armenia’s and Artsakh’s future," he continued. "I am grateful for the
opportunity to continue this work."
The board decided to hold the fund’s annual telethon on November 22 this
year.
************************************** *************************************
2. Taner Akçam sues Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights
* Article 301 is at issue
MONTREAL — Professor Taner Akçam, a Turkish scholar and visiting associate
professor of history at the University of Minnesota, on June 20 filed an
application before the European Court of Human Rights against the Republic
of Turkey.
The complaint is based on a criminal investigation launched against Mr.
Akçam earlier this year for having publicly used the term "genocide" to
describe the annihilation of Armenians in Turkey in 1915. This description
is said to violate Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes
insulting "Turkishness."
Mr. Akçam is asking the court to find that Article 301 violates three
articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, which Turkey signed in 1954. According to the
complaint, a copy of which was obtained by the Armenian Reporter, Article
301 violates Article 7 of the convention in that it is overly broad, Article
10 because it unjustifiably restricts freedom of expression, and Article 14
in that it is discriminatory on grounds of race, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, and association with
a national minority.
Despite its changed wording over time, Article 301 remains prominent among
the many enduring obstacles in Turkey’s path to membership of the European
Union. The same law has in recent years been the basis for the prosecution
of other leading Turkish intellectuals, writers, journalists, and academics
on similar grounds. The notable figures accused of violating Article 301
include Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, recently assassinated
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, and publisher Fatih Tas.
The court, based in Strasbourg, France, enforces the convention. It has
jurisdiction over private individuals’ complaints about human rights
violations by signatory states.
"Facing history and coming to terms with past human rights abuses is not
a
crime but a prerequisite for peace and reconciliation in the region," Mr.
Akçam said. "My goal is to help Turkey realize its full potential to evolve
into a truly free and democratic society. This cannot happen if Turkey
continues to criminalize academic discussion."
Dr. Payam Akhavan, former United Nations war crimes prosecutor and
professor of international law at McGill University in Montreal, heads Mr.
Akçam’s legal team. "In a world where Holocaust denial is a crime,
state-sanctioned denial of genocide is all the more reproachable," Mr.
Akhavan said. "Limitations on freedom of speech should apply to hate speech,
not to speech against hate."
The court is expected to examine Mr. Akçam’s application and rule on its
admissibility within one year. If the application is declared admissible,
the court will then encourage the parties to reach a friendly settlement.
Only if no settlement can be reached will the court consider whether or not
there has been a violation of the convention. Should the court find that
there has been such violation, it will deliver a judgment with which Turkey
will be legally bound to comply.
***************************************** **********************************
3. Rakel Dink accepts an award in Armenia
YEREVAN — Hrant Dink, the outspoken Turkish-Armenian editor who was
assassinated on January 19, was awarded the "President of the Republic of
Armenia Prize" posthumously on June 18. His wife Rakel Dink, who was
accompanied by Mr. Dink’s brother Yervant, accepted the prize.
The award was given for Mr. Dink’s contribution to restoring the
historical truth, his struggle for human rights and the freedom of speech,
and his effort to bridge the gap between Turkish and Armenian societies.
President Kocharian characterized the murder of Mr. Dink as a big loss for
Armenian society. He told the Dink family, "I would like to assure you that
we will always remember Mr. Dink. Armenia is your home and you are always
welcome here."
Mrs. Dink responded by saying, "These awards are cutting through darkness
with light. Our family finds the power to stand this pain with the people
who share it."
After the ceremony, Dink responded to questions about whether she plans to
leave Turkey by saying, "Might be, but it is not urgent at the moment."
The presidential awards have been given since 2001 and are financed by
Robert Boghossian and Sons. This year 18 people received awards in various
fields such as arts, technology, medicine, literature, and social sciences.
–Talin Suciyan
***************************************** **********************************
4. From Washington, in brief
by Emil Sanamyan
* Polls: Armenians trust China over U.S.; prefer independence to regional
alliances
A study jointly commissioned by and the Chicago
Council on Global Affairs, released in Washington on June 14, found that 46
percent of respondents in Armenia trust China "to act responsibly in the
world"; only 39 percent trust the United States to do so.
The surveys found more trust in the United States among people in Israel
(81 percent), Australia (59), Poland (51), and Ukraine (49), and less trust
among people in France (28 percent), Russia (20), Peru (17) and Argentina
(less than 16).
Meanwhile, Armenians more than their former Soviet counterparts prefer
living "in their own state without unifying with any other state or joining
alliances of states," according to a survey of six ex-Soviet states
conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (
), released on June 18. (See this column in the June 16 Reporter
for earlier findings.)
Of 1,023 respondents in Armenia 41 percent preferred this option; 24
percent wanted Armenia to join a Russia-dominated alliance; 23 percent, to
join the European Union (EU); and 12 percent, to remain in the existing
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The results show a significant change in popular attitudes from the 1990s,
when a closer alliance with Russia was believed to be much more popular.
Still, a U.S.-funded opinion poll conducted last year showed that large
majorities wanted Armenia both to stay a CIS member and join the EU,
probably seeing such arrangements as not contradicting the country’s
independence.
Armenians’ EU aspirations were found to be similar to those in Belarus and
Ukraine, at 23 and 22 percent respectively, with respondents in other
countries less interested. Most interested in living in a new
Russia-dominated union were Kyrgyz respondents (62 percent).
* Washington think tanks rate the world
U.S. studies that rank countries worldwide by various categories continue to
proliferate.
A relatively new "Failed States Index" by Foreign Policy magazine and the
Fund for Peace () most recently issued on June 17
determined that 129 of 177 countries studied were failing to one degree or
another judged against political, social and economic benchmarks, such as
"Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Group Paranoia" and
"Intervention of Other States."
In that study, Armenia was 112th from the bottom — also failing but to a
less extent than its neighbors Turkey (92), Azerbaijan (62), Georgia (58),
and Iran (57). Predictably, Sudan, Iraq, and Somalia were put at the top of
the failed states list, with Norway, Finland, and Sweden doing the best.
And on June 14, Freedom House () issued its "Nations
in Transit 2007" report, which focused on events in post-Soviet states
through the end of last year. The study broadly determined that there was a
"crisis of governance" in Central Europe and "increased repression" in the
ex-USSR.
The Armenia section, prepared by Anne Walker of the Economist Intelligence
Unit, concluded that the status of Armenia’s independent media and national
democratic governance worsened in 2006, with overall Democracy Score
climbing to 5.21, worse than at any point since 1999. [The Armenian
Reporter’s editorial for May 12 discussed shortcomings in Freedom House’s
information-gathering and evaluation process and argued that the conclusions
regarding the media in Armenia were incorrect.]
* Georgia interested in nuclear energy; looks to Armenia’s plans
Armenia’s northern neighbor has expressed interest in "the possibility of
constructing a civil nuclear reactor in Georgia," according to that
country’s ambassador to France, Mamuka Kudava, reported on
June 15. The issue reportedly came up during the Georgian president’s visit
to France last week, with French leaders reportedly ready to study it.
But commenting on the report, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli
linked his country’s nuclear energy plans to those of Armenia. "The issue
concerns possible replacement of the old Armenian nuclear reactor with the
new one," he said and added, "So talks about where this new reactor will be
located — it will be in Armenia, or in Georgia, or whether it will be
constructed at all — are too early."
Armenian leaders have described building a new nuclear power plant as a
priority and have began preliminary discussions on the issue with the U.S.
and Russian governments.
* NKR rep. to Azerbaijani ambassador: Time travel is not possible
"For Nagorno Karabakh to go back to being part of Azerbaijan, somebody needs
to bring back Joseph Stalin, who gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 1921 against
our will, and the Soviet Union, which forcefully kept Karabakh inside
Azerbaijan," NKR’s Washington representative Vardan Barseghian said in a
letter to the editor published by the Washington Diplomat (
) on June 8. (See the full text of the letter below.)
The letter came in response to the newspaper’s interview with Azerbaijan’s
ambassador to the United States Yashar Aliyev, where he suggested that
"there is no disputed territory between" Armenians and Azerbaijanis. "There
is just aggression on the part of Armenia toward my country…. They are
trying to take it from us," Amb. Aliyev complained.
The Washington Diplomat is a newspaper dedicated to the U.S. capital’s
diplomatic corps.
* To attain Azerbaijan’s goals, bring back Stalin
The following letter to the editor appeared in the June 8, 2007 issue of
The Washington Diplomat. The writer heads the Washington, D.C. Office of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the United States.
Dear Editor:
Azerbaijan should have a "prosperous and healthy future," as Yashar Aliyev
says ("Azerbaijan Basks in Energy Riches," by Michael Coleman, June 2007);
but it should also come to terms with what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh in
the early 1990s. We just cannot ignore the reality: The force that kept
Karabakh inside Azerbaijan for the 70 Soviet years is long gone.
For Nagorno-Karabakh to go back to being part of Azerbaijan, somebody
would need to bring back Joseph Stalin, who gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan in
1921 against our will, and the Soviet Union, which forcefully kept Karabakh
inside Azerbaijan despite numerous popular appeals to the contrary.
Azerbaijan should understand that there is no return to those times, even
more so after its brutal military campaign against Nagorno-Karabakh in
1991-1994.
Instead, now is the time for Azerbaijan to tone down its war rhetoric and
misleading propaganda for domestic and foreign audiences (some of which
appeared in Coleman’s article), embark on a series of confidence-building
measures (which Karabakh has been proposing for a decade), and resume a
direct dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh to deal with the cause of this
conflict (i.e. Karabakh’s political status) and then with the consequences
to both sides (controlled territories, refugees, communication, etc.).
The day that happens will mark the beginning of a new and more promising
era for everybody in the South Caucasus.
Sincerely,
Vardan Barseghian
Representative of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to the U.S.
******************************************** *******************************
5. Interview: Former Iraq relief worker Danny Dedeyan urges Americans to be
concerned about Iraq’s people
>From Washington editor Emil Sanamyan: Danny Dedeyan and I first met one
rainy night in April 2005 at a vigil outside the Turkish Embassy in
Washington. It wasn’t until two years later that we met again and Danny told
me he just came back from working in Iraq — a country that has been on the
minds of many Americans for the past five years.
When we talked again on June 8, 2007, I asked him: How did you end up
going to Iraq? Part of the reason, Danny said, was that he received a U.S.
government fellowship toward his master’s degree.
Dedeyan: I had a requirement to work for the federal government at some
point in the six years after graduating. But being as methodic as I am, I
wanted to fulfill the requirement as soon as possible. And I did that
working for an organization with projects funded through the U.S. Agency for
International Development grants. And that was in Iraq.
Reporter: But you must have seen things on television about the situation
there. That did not stop you from going?
Dedeyan: I studied conflicts and conflict resolution in college, and being
in D.C. you run into the development sector a lot. It’s become an industry
in itself, these [non-government organizations working on federal grants
abroad]. And postconflict reconstruction really grabbed my attention.
So, I was interested in humanitarian aspects of conflict and this was an
opportunity to get directly involved in that, with field experience. Since
I
was out of school, I thought it would be a good idea.
May be I am not like everybody, but there is always a sense of adventure,
when you go into the field, especially when there is conflict. But that was
not necessarily the reason why I went.
Reporter: By the time you went there in late 2005, things looked pretty
bleak for Iraq. Was it obvious by then that things were not about to get
better?
Dedeyan: Actually, [already] by the end of 2004 is when it looked really
bad. I think that there was no question that this was for a long haul as far
as stabilizing the place. The disappointment that I think everyone had, and
I personally had, is more in the approach and lack of adjusting than
actually being there in itself.
In other words, I am more saddened about us, as the U.S., not being able
to learn lessons from Iraq, than our involvement in the first place.
As someone who worked in Iraq, I am often asked here if I am for or
against the war. For me that is not relevant anymore. Was I for it [in
2003]? I was kind of torn actually, but I did not dismiss [the case for it]
out of hand. I thought involvement was good, but not necessarily this war.
But back to your question, yes by 2005 things were not good and by then
most NGOs had left Iraq. There were not many doing what we did.
Reporter: Which organization did you work for?
Dedeyan: For reasons of physical security, our organization like many
others working in Iraq, does not want to advertise its presence there. But
it was a fairly large humanitarian operation, working with Iraqis every day.
Reporter: You said that by 2005, many of the contractors had pulled out of
Iraq, but there is still a sizable U.S. civilian presence there, no?
Dedeyan: Well, in Iraq there is a differentiation between what we call
contractors or for-profit companies and nonprofit NGOs. There were a lot of
contractors, but fewer NGOs.
The NGOs work with less overhead, which leaves them with a few downsides,
such as less investment management, less safety to the individual worker,
but usually an aid worker is interested in being as close to the project as
possible. Whereas contractors are typically servicing the U.S. military and
are insulated from what is going on in the country being in sealed security
compounds.
In Baghdad, the contractors work primarily out of the so-called Green
Zone, which is a walled-in and relatively well protected area of Saddam-era
administrative buildings near the Tigris River.
* Living in Baghdad
Reporter: Is that where you worked as well?
Dedeyan: No, my set-up was a lot more modest. It was a low profile
approach. It was in a Baghdad neighborhood. The idea was that you can’t do
anything effective at a distance.
I and a very small number of expatriates rented several apartments in a
building. That’s where we both lived and worked. We had our own security
procedure and our armed bodyguards. We knew the people in the neighborhood
rather well. So, we looked after each other and tried to help each other
out.
Reporter: Was this an unusual arrangement or did other NGOs have something
similar?
Dedeyan: There used to be a lot. There were a few neighborhoods to which
a
lot of NGOs flocked in 2003 and they did this kind of thing, where they
rented places and made their offices there. People had a lot more freedom to
move around. They would get out regularly, go party somewhere.
But by 2004, when aid workers began to be attacked directly, NGOs had to
move, close offices or leave Iraq all together. By 2006, Baghdad became a
city where there is no place where you are safe. In other words safe from
shootings or explosions, things that are unusual in a normal city.
That being said we were not in the middle of Baghdad’s worst
neighborhoods.
Reporter: Was you work also concentrated where your office was located?
Dedeyan: No, the work typically was somewhere else. We were involved in
several governorates [provinces] in Iraq, not just Baghdad, but also the
north, including Erbil. Our focus was the local primary health care systems,
as well as water supplies.
Reporter: At what point did you feel especially in danger?
Dedeyan: Traveling is the most dangerous. And you have to travel if you
want to see your project sites. The airport road is particularly dangerous.
I’ve driven between snipers and Marines firing at each other, in the middle
of it.
A few times I snuck out just to shop for, like, shoes and stuff. And it
was kind of comical. I can fit in pretty well, versus some other expats. A
lot of people thought I was Kurdish. But a huge bodyguard going around with
you obviously gives you away.
Anyone who has worked in some of these neighborhoods in Baghdad will tell
you that if they made it out, they still jump if they hear a door slam. I
would wake up regularly because bombs were waking me up. And if it’s close,
your windows shake and shatter. So that was part of my daily life.
And in order not to go crazy, a lot of Iraqis just go on about their
business as if nothing is happening. Imagine, there is no child in Baghdad
that has not seen violence first hand. Several generations have already been
traumatized, even if the violence stops now. It is a real disaster.
* Local Christians fleeing
Reporter: How are Armenians and Christians in general coping with the
violence there? There are still about 10,000 ethnic Armenians in Iraq,
right?
Dedeyan: Part of my work was to look out for whatever different groups
that were there and to make clear to everyone that we were not helping
anyone more than another. But that is always difficult, because there are
always groups that are more predominant in different areas and are more in
need.
Over the last two years, Christians have left Baghdad en masse. You have
a
number of Assyrian, Chaldean, and several Armenian churches in Baghdad and
one way to see what is going on with the communities is through church
attendance and that has gone way down. There were also a lot of Christians
in the northern city of Mosul, and many of them left that city as well.
I don’t think anyone has a good estimate on how many people are still
left. Many of the Christians that are in Baghdad now don’t have the means to
move. Others who could not leave the country went to Kurdish-controlled
Erbil and Dohuk. Those that had the means left the country as soon as they
could, especially if they were targeted. A number of Christian missionaries
working in Iraq were also killed.
Reporter: Did you meet any Armenians while you were there?
Dedeyan: No, the most I did was to talk to a couple of Armenians on the
phone. That’s when the security situation kicked in and my colleagues did
not want me going out to the local churches.
* Experiencing Armenia
Reporter: Were you ever in a conflict zone before?
Dedeyan: The only other conflict area I have been to is Karabakh. I went
in 2003, together with a small Armenian language class of Prof. Kevork
Bardakjian [of the University of Michigan]. Obviously, there has been a
truce there for many years and although the conflict is not completely
resolved, the attitude there is that the war is over, finished, and we won.
In Stepanakert, I talked to college students and their concerns were more
with Karabakh’s isolation from the rest of the world and the need to
overcome that.
It was my first-ever trip to Armenia and, as I think for any Armenian, it
was very significant for me. You have a sense of going back to your roots.
And I am the only one in my family to have gone back there.
So, honestly, going there you get this feeling of almost apprehension, you
are sort of curious about how the locals receive a Diaspora Armenian. You
ask yourself: How close can I get to them, will they see me as one of their
own?
Sometimes you talk to various Armenians in the Diaspora and hear different
views. Some say: oh, they were not very nice to us, and others say: they
feel like we abandoned them. And other Western Armenians felt like the
locals were down on them for whatever reason.
I did not find that at all. Obviously there were times when I was the
tourist — so people like tourists, because they bring money. But the
hospitality was pretty overwhelming, a nice surprise almost. [And the
attitude was] very much like: We are all Armenians, forget about the
differences.
* Leaving Iraq
Reporter: So you left Iraq after your contract was up?
Dedeyan: Yeah. I finished my contract. I could stay longer and I thought
about doing that. I was glad that I was part of a team that had an impact.
But when you really look at your work in the general context, you feel like
it was really a drop in the bucket.
I would tell anyone interested in Iraq: don’t turn away from Iraq! Don’t
say: it is not my problem. That’s how I am afraid things will wind up in
Iraq.
I didn’t go there to make money. And definitely one of the hardest things
for me was to leave Iraq, because you get a feeling that you are abandoning
people. They become family: Sunni, Shiites, Christians, you have gone
through something together. [When you say goodbye] you see adult, hardened
guys crying.
But when my contract was up, I felt that for my own sanity it was time to
take a break.
Reporter: Has it been difficult getting used to normal life?
Dedeyan: Well, I took a long break from work. I adapt pretty well to
different situations. I know other people who have gone through the same
experience have difficult time adapting. Some of them were pushed to a point
where they lost it.
I have nights when I can’t sleep and I probably would never be able to
really explain my experience there to someone who was not there. But the
trauma is certainly worse for soldiers who are coming back, having
experience with violence and danger in the streets day in and day out.
Part of my ability to adapt here is that I was able to keep my sanity
there. To do that I had to put things in broad perspectives — my laid-back
[nature] helped, but also my faith which prepared me to accept the world as
it is. I don’t have illusions about the world not having a lot of evil or
injustice.
And that God put me in this world to carry my light, if you will.
* * *
* Danny Dedeyan
Born in 1978 in France, Danny is from a family of Armenian Evangelicals. He
has bachelor’s degree in history and Spanish from the University of Texas in
Austin (2001) and a master’s degree in international affairs from the George
Washington University in Washington (2005). Since first arriving in
Washington, Danny interned at the Embassy of Bolivia and the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and worked on the staff of Sen.
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.). After several months as a humanitarian
assistance advisor for the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., Danny joined
one of the large U.S. government contractors dealing with humanitarian
issues in Iraq.
******************************************* ********************************
6. Azerbaijani president vows to attack Armenia
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at a military academy, President Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan again vowed to attack Armenia.
"We will strengthen our military power and use all means to pressure
Armenia," Mr. Aliyev said, according to Agence France Presse. "We will
attack Armenia on all fronts — economic, political, diplomatic and
informational."
Azerbaijan has boosted military spending eightfold in the last four years
to $1 billion this year, Mr. Aliev said. Azerbaijan would soon begin
producing its own military hardware, he added without elaboration, according
to AFP.
Mr. Aliev accused Armenia of blocking negotiations by refusing to budge on
demands for Karabakh’s independence. "Nagorno-Karabakh will never be
independent and the sooner Armenia realizes this, the better," Aliev said.
See editorial on page A10.
******************************************** *******************************
7. New election scheduled for disputed seat in parliament
* Raffi Hovannisian runs again
News analysis by Armen Hakobyan
YEREVAN — A new election has been scheduled for August 26 for Armenia’s
15th electoral district to choose its representative in the National
Assembly. The district encompasses the city of Talin in Armenia’s west.
Each of Armenia’s 41 districts gets one representative in the 131-seat
parliament. The other 90 seats are allocated to parties based on their share
of the nationwide vote. Raffi Hovannisian, the U.S.-born politician who was
elected on the ticket of his Heritage Party on May 12, is running again, now
for this vacant seat.
Mr. Hovannisian is a resident of Yerevan, but a candidate is not required
to be a resident of the district in which he or she is running.
Khachik Manukian of the Republican Party of Armenia was declared the
winner of the seat after the May 12 election. His main opponent was
Mnatsakan Mnatsakanian, the mayor of Talin, who enjoyed the support of the
Prosperous Armenia Party. Mr. Manukian, who is an entrepreneur and was an
incumbent member of parliament, received 17,677 votes, according to the
Central Electoral Commission’s figures. That was just 162 votes more than
Mr. Mnatsakanian’s 17,515. The latter’s supporters cried foul and started
holding demonstrations. Mr. Manukian renounced his seat and asked for a new
election, saying he could not serve when there are questions about his
legitimacy.
With the new election scheduled, 11 people were nominated as candidates.
There is Mnatsakan Mnatsakanian. There’s Khachik Manukian. Then there are
two other Khachik Manukians. Besides Mr. Mnatsakanian and the three Khachik
Manukians, there is former member of parliament Mekhak Mkhitarian (formerly
of the Country of Laws Party), Gurgen Shahinian of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, Mr. Hovannisian, and four others.
Mr. Hovannisian says, "Step by step we will recover the votes that were
stolen from us. We want the voters of the district to understand that this
is the opportunity to make a free choice that we are giving to them." He
assured Radio Liberty that he will definitely win. He added that since he
keeps his seat in parliament either way, he has nothing to lose. (If Mr.
Hovannisian wins and takes the district 15 seat, the next person on the
Heritage Party list becomes a member of parliament.)
In the May 12 election the party vote in district 15 went as follows: The
Republican Party, which supported Mr. Manukian, won 11,758 votes. Second
place went to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which won 8,635 votes
and did not have a candidate in the district race. The Prosperous Armenia
Party, which supported Mr. Mnatsakanian, won 3,960 votes. Mr. Hovannisian’s
Heritage Party came in fourth with 2,022 votes. It too had no candidate in
the district race. The CEC reports that 38,434 voters cast ballots in that
election.
With the demonstrations and the decision to hold a new election, passions
are high in this district. Mr. Manukian and Mr. Mnatsakanian are both likely
to make every effort to win. It is not clear that people, having voted once
for either of the two leading candidates in May, will switch to a new
candidate in August. On the other hand, since the ARF was in second place in
the party vote and now has a district-vote candidate, many of the 8,635
voters who voted in May for the party could vote for the party’s candidate,
cutting into the votes of the two who led in May.
So Mr. Hovannisian and the Heritage Party have their work cut out for them
if they hope to make a respectable showing on August 26. As to whether he
has anything to lose, that depends on whether he plans to run for president
in 2008. A loss in this election may not help his candidacy.
* * *
For charts, see the print version of the newspaper or the pdf version at
reporter.am
********************************** *****************************************
8. Twenty years from now, will we have Armenia, or a moonscape?
* Current environmental policies are transforming Armenia — and not for the
better
by Armen Hakobyan
DILIJAN, Armenia — There are still some forests left here in Dilijan, a
locale in the northeast of Armenia that foreign travelers in the past once
called "a little Switzerland." However, when you enter the woods today, you
realize how stark the overall change has been. One sees only stumps for
hundreds of meters, outlined by a sparse growth of trees left to conceal the
mass felling of recent times from the eyes of onlookers.
The uncontrolled logging that started here in the 1990s devastated this
land. People devoured the forest for the sake of warming themselves, for the
sake of their daily bread. Today they cut trees — illegally — to build
hardwood floors and furniture or for export. Now, the once-green woodland of
Dilijan is a wasteland of dried-up gorges, hills, and frequent landslides.
The locals say that a tormented Nature has taken its revenge. Everything is
exposed: the rains and thawed mountain water wash away the bare soil; there
are no trees to absorb the excess moisture, and the result is landslides —
all the time, one after another.
What will it be like here 20 years from now? A lifeless desert? This
question is now a pressing concern for all of Armenia. World Environment Day
on June 5 gave experts and ecological NGOs another occasion to discuss the
serious situation of Armenia’s environment and ecology.
The annual event organized by the United Nations office in Armenia began
with a discussion of more universal problems, such as global warming; but
attention gradually shifted to more topical matters for Armenia. As the
saying goes, "The tongue ever turns to the ailing tooth" — and in Armenia
today there are many ecological ailments requiring attention, from the
problems of Lake Sevan to the felling of woods, from industrial emissions to
impermissible excesses of dust and harmful substances in the air.
So many problems, for such a small country.
* Not just disastrous, but mortal
In an interview with the Armenian Reporter, the president of the Greens
Union of Armenia, Hakob Sanasaryan, described the ecological situation in
Armenia as "not just disastrous, but mortal." What makes him think so?
"What will happen in conditions of such active, high-speed mining
operations?" Sanasaryan refers to the policy of allowing 100 percent of
Armenia’s woodlands to be accessible to mining — and not only in Teghut,
which is the best-known case of woodland degradation. More than 27 licenses
for the exploitation of gold mines have been granted in Armenia in the last
two and a half years.
"It’s possible that in 50 to 60 years, Armenia will have been transformed
into a land of pit-faces. That is to say, Armenia will cease to exist as a
traditional, agricultural country. On the other hand, under such conditions
it would be impossible for people to live, simply in terms of physical
health and economy. Thus, the existing mining policy is enough to have a
mortal effect," said the Greens Union president.
Among the country’s most important ecological tasks, Mr. Sanasaryan lists
dealing with both the mineral industry and water resource management. "In
2002, a new water code was adopted, which alienated people from the water.
"And if we are talking about the water sector, we have to mention the
problem of Lake Sevan, because the government of Armenia has not raised the
level of Sevan, despite the urgings of the World Bank and other forces. When
they say that our oligarchs, who have built houses at the lakeside, will
hinder the process of raising the level of Sevan, it becomes a question of
secondary importance."
* Positive trends
The officials responsible for this sector, such as Deputy Minister of
Ecology Simon Papyan, do not share the harsh judgment of Mr. Sanasaryan and
other NGO representatives; indeed, they point to certain positive trends.
"We can meet on this World Environment Day full of optimistic
expectations, because we have serious achievements in our main priorities,
and those positive trends have stabilized within the last five years," said
Mr. Papyan. "Among these trends, as you all know, is the raising of Lake
Sevan’s level within the last five years by almost two meters — to be
precise, 1.93 meters — and this year the trend is continuing. Also
continuing is large-scale reforestation — in five years around 10,000
hectares of forest have been regenerated — as well as a reduction in
logging due to the complex measures we have taken."
On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that a number of scientists
expressed alarm recently that Lake Sevan is now under serious threat of
becoming waterlogged — a result of the lakeshore, covered by trees and
plants, being left under the quickly rising water; the putrefaction of
vegetation stimulates the waterlogging process.
Mr. Papyan, however, remains optimistic about this issue as well. And the
ground for his optimism, according to him, lies in the assurance of the same
scientists that Lake Sevan has a potential of self-cleaning, and will be
able to regenerate the largest natural basin of sweet water in the region.
As for the submerging lakeside land, the deputy minister said that around
200 hectares of land has been already cleared of trees and bushes, and the
surrounding area is going to be cleared in the present year.
These works are undertaken at the expense of the state budget.
* Angry questions from an indignant public
The situation is well illustrated in a documentary film, Poisoning for
Profit, which depicts the grievous consequences of mine exploitation in
Armenia. The film was produced by Vem art studio, directed by Manuk
Herganyan, and written by Inga Zarafyan; assistance with the project came
from several environmental concerns, including the Armenia Tree Project, the
Armenian Forests NGO, the Armenian office of the World Wildlife Fund, and
the Greens Union.
A screening of the film at the June 5 gathering inspired intense
discussion among the participants.
Certainly, it offers a lot to discuss. Perhaps the most memorable episode
depicts the consequences of the ore mining and processing activity of Kapan.
The film shows that the Kapan enterprise does not have its own refineries,
while the waste-storage facilities of Getanush assigned for this purposes
have been closed since Soviet times.
Meanwhile, the villagers in the surrounding area are unable to reap any
benefit from their agricultural products, because these are considered
contaminated — a serious possibility given the circumstances. Worse, the
locals themselves are prone to come down with serious illnesses.
On the site of the old facility the owners of the mining enterprise are
planning to construct a hydraulic structure, the interception wall of which
is to be 50 meters high — which means that the walnut orchards of Getanush
would be cut down as well. And due to emissions from the temporary waste
storage facility, the neighboring village of Siunik is suffering, and the
pollutants often flow into the river of Voghj.
For the latter effects, the company has paid around 10 million drams
(under $3,000) in fines, and around a million drams as compensation to the
villagers. But these are meant to punish the company rather than address the
real problem. Those amounts certainly cannot be considered a restitution of
the actual damage to the environment and individual health.
By the time the film ended, the deputy minister of ecology had already
left, and so the volley of angry questions from an indignant public was
fielded by another official from the same ministry, Hrant Avetisian. But as
one of the participants pointed out, Mr. Avetisian merely served the purpose
of a scapegoat. It was clear that he was not the one responsible for the
unfavorable situation.
Prior to the Q-and-A session, however, the Armenian Reporter had asked Mr.
Papyan whether he believed that the damage caused to the environment could
be considered compensated by the payment of one-time fines; after all, the
pollutants and their consequences will be tangible for a long time.
"We have a problem here, that’s true," the official agreed. "That’s the
reason we work out these projects, pass them to the state experts, and
impose those severe restrictions: we want the exploiters to develop a
culture where they will not violate these restrictions. If you cause damage
to nature, it obviously cannot be recovered in one or two years. That’s why
we have a serious problem here, and the Ministry of Ecology is working in
this direction."
How long they will continue to work in this direction remains unclear,
however. The fact remains that according to data provided by Hrant
Avetisyan, Armenia has 630 deposits, 21 of which are of mineral water, 40 of
sweet water; more than 530 nonmetallic deposits (of 54 named minerals) and
24 ore deposits; and more than 3,000 examined fields. Nowadays, the presence
of 14 ore and 228 nonmetallic deposits makes a region ripe for exploitation.
Certainly, it’s a positive sign that the soil of resource-poor Armenia
contains such treasures. The problem is that these resources are currently
extracted using methods that can only be called "torment" of the surrounding
environment. Consider that the forest of Taghut in Lori is under the threat
of disappearance today, because unscrupulous businesspeople decided to
exploit the poly-metallic deposits located under the layer of forest. The
practice itself is a current matter of discussion and debate; but it’s all
come too late for Teghut’s forest, which to all appearances is condemned to
extermination.
* Requiem for a small country’s forests
The first Minister of Ecology of the independent Armenia, Karine Danielyan,
who is currently president of the Association for Sustainable Human
Development, notes that "if you have a country as small as Armenia, you have
to choose which field of the economy to develop. There is no other way." She
believes that the country’s leadership on the one hand makes declarations
about the development of IT technologies, tourism, and ecotourism, and
organic agriculture, and on the other hand allows intensive exploitation of
the earth’s interior.
According to Ms. Danielyan, such an approach is unsuitable for a small
territory. "Europe already has developed mining technologies that cause
minimal damage to the environment. Either they have to bring in this new
technology and stop destroying the bowels of the earth with the old ones; or
if today we can only work by accepting some amount of damage, then we have
to preserve our resources until such technology will be available."
"But the present path will only lead to a moonscape and emigration," she
adds. "I think this is the main problem. And we have to raise this issue."
************************************ ***************************************
9. Market update
by Haik Papian
A. Rates
As in the previous month, during the reporting period yield-to-maturity
rates of TBills in Armenia show that investors require higher rates for
bonds with longer maturities.
As of June 11, the yield-to-maturity of government bonds had an
upward-sloping shape. In contrast, the forward-rates curve had a flatter
slope. The highest forward rates are for bonds with one-year maturity. This
can be partly explained by the liquidity of different maturity segments. The
demand for securities with maturities of one year and less is higher than in
other maturity groups.
* Exchange rates
The diagram shows exchange-rate fluctuations for Armenian dram/U.S. dollar
and dram/euro currency pairs. The base date is May 15.
The exchange-rate quotation is presented in European terms, and the
percentage decrease (or increase) in the diagram means appreciation (or
depreciation) of the Armenian dram.
From May 15 to June 11, the Armenian dram appreciated against both the
euro and the U.S. dollar. In the reporting period, the euro depreciated by
about 4.14 percent and dollar at about 2.70 percent. There were no
corrections in the market after the elections, and the trend of dram
appreciation is continuing.
B. Corporate securities
Cascade Investments began market-making activities in Ararat Bank notes and
Cascade Credit first-tranche discount notes on the Armex platform. The
spreads maintained on the exchange are on average:
Ararat Bank (11 months before maturity): Bid 8.00% ; Ask 7.86%
Cascade Credit (4 months before maturity): Bid 5.20% ; Ask 4.70%
While turnover in Cascade Credit notes was modest, the Ararat Bank notes
were traded in volumes exceeding 10 percent of the whole issue during the
first two weeks of trading.
C. Indexes
Cascade Business Sentiment Index (CBSI): The Cascade Business Sentiment
Index is our approach to forecasting sentiment about Armenia’s business
trends. The index is based on a survey, the respondents of which are a group
of individuals who own or operate stable and growing businesses in Armenia.
The survey measures the business owners’ expectations for the near future by
addressing to them questions and calculating the weighted average of their
replies on a numerical scale (from 1, the most pessimistic, to 10, the most
optimistic). The Cascade Business Sentiment Index for the month of May is
6.4, which is a 1.5 percent increase over the last month. This increase can
be explained by the stability of political situation after the elections.
The main concern of market participants is the appreciation of the Armenian
dram versus the dollar and euro. Before and during the elections, exchange
rates stabilized, but after the elections the appreciation process started
again.
Cascade Commodity Index (CCI): The Cascade Commodity Index for May-June
2007 is 15160. The index, which is the average retail price in Armenia for
certain commodities, has risen monthly in the last few months. There is a
slight increase from the previous period. Despite the fact that the Armenian
dram appreciated, certain imported commodities did not fall in price;
moreover, some price increases were observed. The commodities tracked by the
index are petroleum (20 liters), steel (100 kg), pork (10 kg), flour (10
kg), and corn oil (10 liters).
D. Major market events
The representatives of the Swedish exchange operator OMX announced in
Yerevan that the merger process of OMX with NASDAQ by no means will affect
OMX’s plans regarding the Armenian market. The proposed merger of the
Swedish and US exchanges is expected to be completed before the end of this
year. In case of smooth development in the local capital markets and related
infrastructure, the Armenian markets might be fully integrated into the
truly global market systems in 5-7 years.
* * *
Haik Papian, CFA, is CEO of Cascade Investments. He can be reached at
[email protected]. For charts, see the print version of the
newspaper or the pdf version at reporter.am
************************************* **************************************
10. Commentary: Catholicos Karekin II is coming to America
by Nubar Dorian
In a world of contradictions and complications, full of Why’s, How’s, and
If’s, we must live our lives with a mix of smiles and tears. The "kingdom"
we inhabit here on earth seems all too eager to idolize wealth, influence,
and fame — and all too dismissive of the more humane virtues.
So it is comforting to learn that His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will visit his flock in America
later this year, to remind us that goodness, compassion, and love have been
the hallmarks of Armenian character. His visit will also remind us that
Etchmiadzin has been, and continues to be, the center, foundation, and
lighthouse of us all, guiding our odyssey of dispersion with its message of
hope, peace, and light.
The frenzied cheers of welcome and adoration, the rush to kiss his ring,
and the privilege of seeing him "up close and personal" are all still months
away. But his arrival this fall will surely be received with such love and
admiration, because of his tireless effort to encourage a wholesome revival,
renewal, and simple love for the Armenian Church in every city, village,
town, or hamlet inhabited by Armenians.
This October and November, in the person of Catholicos Karekin, we will
encounter virtue, good deeds, compassion, and spirituality springing forth
from the Mother See.
His Holiness reminds us that the Armenian Church is the Sunday home of the
Armenian people, that the Bible is our catechism, and that Armenian heroes
and saints are our holy companions. Under his guidance, the Holy See’s
seminary is attracting quality candidates for the priesthood, Sunday Schools
are attracting talented students and enthusiastic teachers. Etchmiadzin is
a
present and soul-satisfying experience for our people in Homeland Armenia
and the diaspora.
The important objectives he has been able to accomplish with wisdom,
boldness, and vision are recognized throughout the Armenian world, and
greeted with plaudits during his travels. Our Catholicos has proven himself
to be a premier organizer, a planner, a powerful visionary, and a good
communicator. He is at home with presidents, prime ministers, world leaders,
patriarchs, and all spiritual leaders. He seems to have a personality that
brings out the best in us, and brings out, above all, our love for the
church. Responding to the appeal of His Holiness, many philanthropists have
renovated churches, built new ones, and created great excitement around Holy
Etchmiadzin.
Central to his appeal is his aura of vitality and strength. "When Vehapar
enters a room" a bishop once told me, "it’s as if he is multi-colored, and
everyone else is black and white." He carries the burden of his high office
with honor, discipline, and a sense of responsibility. Indeed, one of the
great roles he shares with his predecessors is to remind us that Etchmiadzin
— that small patch of earth in the center of Armenia — remains our
greatest treasure, which will endure forever.
All the Catholicos asks from us in return is to make our own love of
Etchmiadzin into a lifelong habit.
In coming to America, Catholicos Karekin will be bringing Holy Etchmiadzin
to us. His being among us will obviously remind us of our past history and
the accomplishments of our forbears. But surely he will also inspire us to
see that the past is merely prologue, as they say, and that it is now up to
us — the largest, strongest community in the Armenian diaspora — to break
all the old barriers, to dedicate ourselves to the challenges of the future,
and to create our own history — which will make our children and
grandchildren proud of what we were able to accomplish in our lifetimes.
For these reasons and others, we await the arrival of His Holiness Karekin
II this autumn with great anticipation, and with newly-minted love and
respect.
* * *
Mr. Dorian, a longtime contributor to the Armenian Reporter, resides in
Cliffside Park, N.J.
******************************************** *******************************
11. Commentary: The 20th century’s other first genocide
by Anoush Ter Taulian
When the Herero people of Namibia revolted against the confiscation of their
land and cattle by German colonists in 1904, more than 80 percent of their
tribe — about 80,000 people — were killed by German troops.
Many historians consider this to be the earliest genocide of the 20th
century, and the United Nations issued a statement to this effect in its
1985 Whitaker Report. Its scale and circumstances were different from the
Armenian Genocide of a decade later. But in the grim methodology of the
perpetrators, the repercussions for the victims, and its lingering legacy a
century later, the Herero Genocide bears a striking resemblance to the
Armenian tragedy.
The Herero were originally a tribe of cattle herders living in the region
of modern Namibia. During the period known as the "scramble for Africa,"
Germany declared the region a protectorate, and colonists were encouraged to
settle on land confiscated from the natives. The German territorial governor
Theodore Leutwein wanted to preserve the Hereros as a labor pool for the
German settlers; but Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha had a different
idea. In response to a Herero revolt, and with 10,000 German troops to back
him up, von Lothar declared: "I will wipe out the rebellious tribes with
streams of blood and streams of money. Only following this can something new
emerge."
He publicly issued a written extermination order, or Vernichtungsbefehl,
for the Herero people in Namibia on behalf of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II,
which decreed: "Any Herero found within the German borders with or without
a
gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall no longer give shelter to
any women and children. I will drive them back to their people or I will
shoot them."
His troops started killing Hereros — who proved that they preferred to
die fighting — and slowly drove them into a position where they were hemmed
in on three sides, and on the fourth side were forced into the killing
wastes of the Kalahari desert, where the German soldiers had poisoned the
few existing water holes. Then von Trotha set up guard posts, where any
Hereros trying to return to their land were killed.
Lothar von Trotha’s orders to kill every male Herero and drive the women
and children into the desert were lifted in at the end of 1904 by the
Kaiser, but by that time the massacres had already done their work. Those
who survived were rounded up, banned from owning land or cattle, and sent to
labor camps to serve as slaves for the German settlers. Many more died in
these camps of overwork, starvation, and disease. With most of the men dead,
women were forced to become sex slaves. A German researcher, Eugen Fischer,
studied the mixed children born as a result, and in his book The Principles
of Race Heredity and Race Hygiene, he decided that the mixed child was
physically and mentally inferior to its German father.
But then again, how superior can a racist claim to be?
Like the Armenians, the Herero people suffered incalculable losses from
mutilation, rape, slaughter, and deportation from their land. Today, the
majority of the Herero people live in their homeland of Namibia, where they
now constitute a minority of about eight percent of the population. Modern
descendants of the survivors also reside in Botswana, South Africa, and
other countries. Much of the Herero land is now occupied by prosperous white
farmers, many of whom are third-generation German Namibians.
In 2004, Germany’s Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Mrs.
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, apologized for the genocide on behalf of Germany
at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. But the
German President Roman Herzog (1994-1999) had previously said that no
international legislation existed at the time under which ethnic minorities
could receive reparations, and to this day the German government has refused
to enter into a meaningful dialogue on the question of reparations.
In order to address the genocide of his people, the Herero Paramount Chief
Kuaima Riruako filed a lawsuit in 2001 against the German government and
German companies that benefited from slave labor. Paramount Chief Riruako
and others, notably Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II, are demanding reparations and
the return of their lands. (A petition seeking public support for their
cause can be found — and signed — at
)
Aram Arkun, an Armenian historian, said this about the genocide of the
Herero people: "In the 20th century we see nation-states engaged in ‘total
war’ and genocide, with the annihilation of entire ethnic populations,
including women and children. Modern inventions like the telegraph and
railroad enabled killings on a larger scale than ever before. In the Herero
Genocide we see the colonial Germans using deportation and incarceration
camps, techniques of destruction that soon were to be used against the
Armenians during World War I. The same German military culture that produced
the Herero Genocide also had a role in the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. It is even possible, though this has not been well studied, that
some individual Germans may have been involved in both instances."
It is unknown whether or to what extent the Ottoman Turks knew about the
Herero Genocide, or what they may have learned from it about the brutal
effectiveness of deporting populations into the desert. Such questions would
certainly be fruitful areas for scholarly research.
In the meantime, October 3 will mark the worldwide commemoration of the
Herero Genocide, an abomination even less well known than the forgotten
genocide of the Armenians. Wouldn’t it be appropriate for Armenians and
Armenian organizations to show that we, of all people, remember the Hereros?
* * *
Anoush Ter Taulian is a writer and activist in New York.
******************************************* ********************************
12. Living in Armenia: Soccer, Armenian style
by Maria Titizian
I am in a reflective mood this evening as I sit in front of my computer
struggling to write. Children are playing on the street, birds are chirping
rather wildly by my windowsill and the sun is playing games with the clouds
as it quietly sets. Mt. Ararat is settling down for a night’s repose, and in
a few minutes its faint silhouette will frame the evening sky and then
softly disappear into the darkness.
Dusk in Yerevan is the serene intermingled with muffled sounds that echo
through the house. The television in the living room however is blaring, as
Armenia’s national soccer team hosts Poland in yet another qualifying match
for the UEFA Eurocup finals in 2008. In complete tandem with the Armenian
sports commentator, my son is shouting and shrieking at every play and at
every missed shot. Last week Armenia beat Kazakhstan 2-1, and tonight there
are record numbers in attendance at the soccer stadium in Yerevan, including
Prime Minister Serge Sargsian of Armenia and President Arkady Ghoukassian of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Soccer is a national obsession, but for many years its popularity has been
waning. The fact that our team rarely wins might be a reason. Locals are not
surprised. They insist that Armenian national characteristics are not
conducive to team sports. We excel in tennis, chess, weightlifting, boxing,
and wrestling, and admittedly since 1973 there hasn’t been much winning in
the way of soccer. Therefore, because we do not know how to be team players,
success on the soccer field will always be akin to unrequited love.
Two years ago I went to a soccer game in Yerevan, when Armenia was playing
against the Czech Republic. It was exciting because I had never been to a
soccer game before but I must admit that the level of testosterone in the
stadium was stifling. I was one of the few people there of the female
persuasion to watch the game. Although the stadium was half empty that day,
it was evident that Armenians were wild about the game, and tonight, as our
national team battles Poland, the strongest team in their division, is no
exception.
I can hear the fans going wild and I’m afraid my son is on the cusp of
losing his voice. I decide to investigate the reason for such enthusiasm,
and just as I walk into the living room our team scores the first goal of
the game.
It is mayhem in the stadium, in my house, and probably throughout the
whole city. Of course I am riveted and sit down to watch the rest of the
game. Could it be possible that we are on a winning streak?
In the final seconds of the game with the score still 1-0 in favor of
Armenia, you can hear a pin drop. And then the final whistle blows — and
victory! Everyone is doing a collective dance of celebration, the fans, the
players, the prime minister, and the president. You’d think we were playing
for the World Cup championship.
It didn’t matter that it was only a qualifying match; it was a victory
that everyone had been hoping for but not anticipating. The next day every
news and radio station, every newspaper in the country ran the story. One
local newspaper wrote, "There was frenzy in the stadium, frenzy among
football fans glued to their TV sets at home. It’s been a long time since
young football fans shouted, ‘Armenia! Armenia!’ in the streets with such
pride."
It doesn’t take much. Small things such as winning a soccer game can have
a tremendous impact on a country that doesn’t get many breaks.
So while today the National Assembly of Armenia held its first sitting,
and as the OSCE Minsk delegation was in Armenia discussing the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a small victory such as winning a soccer game
couldn’t have lent itself more to bringing people together.
It’s important on another level also. Young people in this country need
heroes and role models to look up to. And our soccer players this evening
stepped up to the plate.
Although we gripe and complain, it has been a year of victories for this
country. Last year the Armenian national chess team won the world
championships for chess, and just last month our weightlifting team won the
European championships. So we have a lot to be proud of and thankful for.
We sometimes don’t see the forest for the trees, but if we just step back
and remember to breathe we’ll see that for such a small nation who has had
to overcome unimaginable obstacles we are survivors and can be winners. To
think that in the span of two decades we have had to bear witness to and
survive a tragic earthquake, war, the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
independence, blockade by two of our neighbors, an energy crisis, total
collapse of the economy, and mass exodus. Little victories like winning a
qualifying soccer match are tantamount to miraculous. Bravo!
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13. Editorial: Winning the peace in Nagorno-Karabakh
Earlier this month, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met to take
another step toward the final resolution of the Karabakh conflict. They did
not make progress. Rather, Azerbaijan apparently started negotiating anew on
points to which it had provisionally agreed in the past.
Azerbaijan must realize that Karabakh will never be part of it. But it
continues to delay the inevitable recognition of Karabakh’s separateness in
the hope that time will bring it a better deal.
Whether time will bring Azerbaijan a better deal depends a great deal on
how Armenians and Azerbaijanis spend that time.
The difficult but surmountable challenge we face today is to reinforce
Karabakh’s separateness from Azerbaijan and to ensure that time works in
Armenians’ favor.
* Karabakh is not part of Azerbaijan
Karabakh has never been part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan tried
to conquer Karabakh but was defeated in the war it initiated. The Republic
of Nagorno-Karabakh has been operating as a self-governing state for 15
years. While awaiting the determination of the "final status" of Karabakh,
other states and international organizations in many instances treat it as
a
de facto state. Our challenge is to increase these instances incrementally
and continuously.
First, the diaspora should help increase direct contact between Karabakh’s
elected officials and the outside world. This includes meetings with foreign
government officials, foreign business leaders, and other high-profile
figures.
Second, Karabakh should play host to international events — commercial,
cultural, athletic, academic, and political. Armenian-American individuals
and organizations should do their share to make this possible.
Third, Karabakh’s status, and its people’s standard of living, can be
enhanced by securing greater foreign investment.
* The passage of time
Azerbaijan’s leaders reason out loud that time will bring them greater
military strength, to which Karabakh will have to yield. In saying this they
make it abundantly clear that they consider as enemies the people of the
land they wish to rule; they make it clear that they will not hesitate to
annihilate them or drive them away.
Azerbaijan’s fast-growing military budget shows that they mean what they
say. We must take firm steps to oppose U.S. and other international
assistance to the growth of Azerbaijan’s war machine and to ensure that
Azerbaijan does not once again start a war over Karabakh.
Efforts in Congress to keep U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan on the same
modest level as U.S. military aid to Armenia are thus significant. We must
also insist that the United States and other governments forcefully and
unequivocally denounce and reject every bellicose statement issued by
Azerbaijan’s president and other leaders.
These efforts ought not to be limited to direct lobbying of Congress and
the executive. It should include working with nongovernmental organizations
concerned with disarmament and peace, the media, and think tanks.
* * *
As Azerbaijan spends its time preparing for war, it is not enough for
Armenians to counteract. Armenians must spend this time intensively
preparing for continued peace.
That means, quite simply, that Karabakh cannot afford population loss or
an economic slowdown. On the contrary, Karabakh needs immigration and
economic development.
The diaspora as a whole and Armenian-Americans in particular, working
through the Armenia Fund, have been instrumental in building Karabakh’s
infrastructure, including the North-South Highway and the highway connecting
Karabakh to Armenia via Lachin. But there is a lot more to do.
The task at hand is to bring about population growth in Karabakh by
encouraging young people to stay and by facilitating large-scale
immigration. For this to happen, we must help make Karabakh — including
strategic territories outside the boundaries of the Soviet-era
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region — economically and socially viable
places to live.
The board of the "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund, which met last week, wisely
decided to focus on a holistic approach to improving village life in
Karabakh and in Armenia’s border villages. That is essential and there’s a
need for more: a concerted effort to populate this beautiful and lush land.
Since May 1994 Karabakh has been at peace. Peace is a precious gift. We
savor it and enjoy it. And we realize that like war, peace can be lost.
It is with a sense of urgency — and some pride — that we continue our
collective efforts to consolidate the historic achievement of the Armenian
people, the establishment and preservation of the Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
* * *
As in the past, we urge readers to support the Armenia Fund. In the Eastern
U.S. visit and in the Western U.S.,
Your contributions over the years have been
instrumental in the survival and burgeoning of Armenia and Karabakh. Thank
you!
We once again encourage readers to support the Office of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in Washingon ( or 202-223-4330).
This mission works with the U.S. administration, Congress, opinion makers,
and the general public to advance the pan-Armenian cause of a secure and
prosperous Karabakh.
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