Month: August 2008

BIDEN NO STRANGER TO NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS
By John Froonjian

Press of Atlantic City, NJ
Aug 27 2008

DENVER – In 2005, then-Gov. Richard J. Codey and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden
went to the same New Jersey political function. Biden’s cufflinks
impressed one of Codey’s aides.

"They were Senate cufflinks," Codey said. "My aide said, ‘Senator,
can I see those cufflinks?’"

Biden removed them and gave them to the staffer as a gift. Codey,
D-Essex, the state Senate president who will resume the governor’s
seat this afternoon until Jon S. Corzine returns from Denver on Monday,
later pulled his aide aside.

"Now he thinks I’m going to endorse him for president," Codey said.

When Biden addresses the Democratic National Convention tonight to
accept the vice presidential nomination, he will be more than just
another national figure to New Jersey convention delegates.

Many state officials, particularly those in the southern part of the
state, have established personal relationships with him since he became
a Delaware senator in 1973. They shared stories about Biden on Tuesday.

Delegate Damon Tyner, of Egg Harbor Township, first met Biden in
1981, when Tyner was 11. He attended a fundraiser in Teaneck for
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg with his father, Hank Tyner, at one time
an Atlantic City Councilman.

Biden spoke for more an hour. When he was done he looked directly
at the young Tyner and said, "I give you a lot of credit," Tyner
recounted. "You’re the only one here – adults and children included –
who did not fall asleep."

June Fischer, of Scotch Plains, has known Biden for decades, first
encountering him in Atlantic City when Biden met the New Jersey State
Committee in the mid-1970s.

In 1986, when Fischer ran a campaign against seven-term Republican
U.S. Rep. Matt Rinaldo, Biden campaigned for her. She returned the
favor two years later, flying to Iowa and New Hampshire in the winter
during his short-lived 1988 presidential campaign,.

When she saw him Monday, Fischer said proudly, Biden gave a hug and
kiss to the Democratic national committeewoman.

U.S. Rep Rob Andrews, D-1st, is one of many officials who have met
Biden commuting to Washington on an Amtrak train. Biden travels to
the capital every workday. Andrews said their conversations span
many topics.

"(Whether) you talk about what your kids are doing or legislation
you’re working on, he’s interested."

Andrews said Biden talks a lot about his son, Beau Biden, Delaware’s
Attorney General and a U.S. Army Reserve captain headed to Iraq on
Oct. 3. But Andrews said they just as easily could talk about the
Mets and Phillies or Russia’s presence in Georgia.

Andrew’s predecessor, former Gov. Jim Florio, also used to see Biden
board the same commuter train in Wilmington. Florio was chairman
of the House transportation committee, and an Amtrak facility was a
major employer in Wilmington.

"We would talk about substantial things, often about railroads,"
Florio said.

But he said Biden came to southern New Jersey frequently, often to
campaign for little-known candidates.

Cumberland County Democratic Chairman Lou Magazzu said he walked up
and introduced himself to Biden in 1998.

"I thought it would be a two-minute hello. But he invited me to sit
down and talk," Magazzu said.

As a county freeholder, Magazzu was lobbying to have Cumberland County
designated a federal urban empowerment zone. But Biden gave him bad
news: he was pushing for Wilmington to get the same designation.

"We were in competition with them," Magazzu said. "But he said if we
prevailed, he would help us."

Cumberland did win the designation. And Magazzu said Biden has been
there to help whenever funds were threatened.

As the two became friendly, Magazzu got Biden to speak at a county
fundraiser several years ago. Biden flew in on a helicopter that
landed at the old Kroelinger airfield in Vineland and mesmerized a
room by speaking on international affairs for 45 minutes without notes.

Biden asked for Magazzu’s support when he ran for president this
year. Despite their friendship, Magazzu told Biden he was under
pressure to support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., with the rest
of the state party. He said Biden’s response was unexpectedly generous.

"He said he wouldn’t ask a guy to go against his state’s political
structure and do something adverse to his interests," Magazzu said.

"That said a lot about the guy. He knew I had a political obligation
to him, and he discharged me of it without me even asking," he said.

Corzine said he has a close relationship with Biden, who has worked
on New Jersey issues such as Delaware River projects and Amtrak.

"There were three senators who came to my inauguration," Corzine
said. "And Joe Biden was one of them."

He said Biden, as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, helped
him pass the Armenian genocide recognition act he cosponsored.

Former Gov. Brendan Byrne recalled Biden giving him good news when
they attended a dinner in Cumberland County when Byrne ran for governor
in 1977.

The new state income tax made Byrne unpopular. But Biden told him
not to worry.

Byrne said Biden had access to an internal party poll of which Byrne
was unaware, and he told him he was going to win.

"He really is a great guy," Byrne said.

WILL CUSTODY BE PROLONGED?

A1+
[07:39 pm] 27 August, 2008

"The Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash
districts will hear the case of Armenian MPs Miasnik Malkhassian
and Hakob Hakobian on August 27," Melanya Aroustamian, Advocate of
Myasnik Malkhassian and Hakob Hakobian, informed A1+.

Note, the special investigation body had petitioned the court to
prolong their custody for another two months.

Melanya Aroustamian also presents the interests of Melik Grigorian,
the family driver of Hakob Hakobian. She says Grigorian’s detention
has been disputed at the Appellate Court.

Melik Grigorian is charged with violence against a government
official. He was found guilty and sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment.

It is still unknown when the Appellate Court will hear the
claim. Nevertheless, Melik Grigorian will be released on September 12.

The case of Mushegh Saghatelian arrested in the morning of March 1
was sent to the RoA Criminal Court.

Mushegh Saghatelian is charged under Article 316 of the RoA CC
(violence against a government representative and appliance of cold
weapon).

LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER

Panorama.am
17:58 27/08/2008

Nearly 80 invalid children from most vulnerable families are now in
"Learning to live together" summer camp organized in Kapan, the center
of Syunik region.

The camp lasts only 10 days and is organized in frames of OSCE
programs department of Syunik. The main goal of the summer camp is
encouragement of child’s self-confidence, independence. Besides, the
camp tends to create equal opportunities for all vulnerable groups
and ensure their integrity.

"This camp is a kind of continuation to the last year’s cooperation
with UNESCO," the OSCE program system manager Gagik Chilingaryan
says. "Now we have a serious business sponsor -"Dino Gold Mining"
company. This will certainly promote the creation of bounds between
business community and local residents. Such kinds of relations
can serve as strong grounds for economic and social development,"
Chilingaryan added.

Note that Kapan summer camp has interactive study program which has
already helped 8-13 year-old children develop capacity building
abilities: now they can find, analyze and solve differenet kinds
of problems. Moreover, at the end of the program the children will
update small charts for their own communities; the best projects will
be carried out with financial support of "Dino Gold".

TURKEY DECRIES TORONTO SCHOOL BOARD GENOCIDE COURSE
By Michelle Collins

EuropeNews, Denmark
Aug 27 2008

The killings of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 is being taught alongside
the Holocaust & 1994 Rwandan genocide

In a letter to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the province’s
Ministry of Education, the Turkish Embassy has voiced strong objections
to a Toronto District School Board decision to teach students that
the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 was genocide.

The lessons will come in a new course entitled "Genocide: Historical
and Contemporary Implications" that will be launched with the start
of the new school year in September. The course’s three case studies
include the Ottoman’s killing of Armenians in 1915, the Holocaust
and the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Although the Canadian Parliament approved a motion in 2004 recognizing
the killings as genocide, the Turkish government has long disputed
the description.

The idea of teaching a course on genocide was first raised three years
ago by a Toronto board trustee, but has since been met with controversy
on all sides. Aside from Turkish objections, the Ukrainian Canadian
Congress advocated that the Holodomor should be included in the course,
and the Muslim Canadian Congress accused the board of religious bias.

As the controversy escalated over what was and wasn’t included in
course material, the school board decided earlier this year to strike
a review committee. After a few public meetings, the panel concluded
that the course reading list would need to be approved by a panel of
historical experts.

It’s unclear how the Armenian killings were included in the Toronto
school board course proposal, but the inclusion of one book in
particular, Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide by Barbara
Coloroso, sparked outrage.

At one point the review committee had agreed to remove Ms. Coloroso’s
book from its reading list, which in turn prompted outcry from the
literary community and a letter from Penguin Canada president David
Davidar to the school board defending Ms. Coloroso’s credentials as
an educator.

This past June, after months of debate, committee and public review,
the school board decided to include Ms. Coloroso’s book as a text
examining the psychology of genocide, and on June 2 gave final approval
for the course to go ahead in 11 Toronto high schools, reaching about
300 Grade 11 students.

Turkish Outrage

That has prompted a backlash from the Turkish Embassy as well as
members of the Turkish community.

"This is a pedagogical thing and goes against traditional Canadian
principles of objectivity, and this is a matter of history…which
should really be immune to political pressures," said Yonet Tezel,
first counsellor at the Turkish Embassy. "That’s something for
Canadian educational institutions to consider themselves, we don’t
need to remind them of that.

"The school board’s decision to go ahead anyway and teach it as
genocide, it’s very objectionable, that’s why Turkish parents are
concerned, and I sympathize with them."

Mr. Tezel said the Turkish Embassy has communicated its concern to
colleagues at the Department of Foreign Affairs and to provincial
officials that as the school year commences, Turkish Ambassador
Rafet Akgunay will continue to raise his concerns through diplomatic
channels.

The Council of Turkish Canadians has also expressed its disapproval,
especially of the inclusion of Extraordinary Evil.

Lale Eskicioglu, executive director of the Council of Turkish
Canadians, launched a formal complaint against the Toronto District
School Board in November. Ms. Eskicioglu also started a petition,
which she said has collected 12,000 signatures.

"It cannot be taught as genocide," she said. "You can teach it as a
dispute or under Ottoman history maybe, but you cannot teach it in
the same category with Holocaust and Rwanda. This is a very serious
crime. You cannot accuse a nation or its people of that which amounts
to slander and hate propaganda because it’s not correct."

For Ms. Eskicioglu, this is a personal plight, and a situation in
which she feels she and her fellow Turks have been wronged.

"Why should my daughter, alongside with her Armenian friends, sit in
the same classroom and hear one-sided inaccurate versions of history,
which is categorized with the worst crime in the world?" Ms. Eskicioglu
asked.

Although the course has been approved, she said she plans to pursue the
matter further, and that she and other parents will closely monitor
the course teachings and materials used. Fearful that children of
Turkish descent will face discrimination, Ms. Eskicioglu also said
they are prepared to take legal action if any (…)

ALL QUIET ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT
Comment by Sergey Markedonov

Russia Profile, Russia
d=International&articleid=a1219848872
Aug 27 2008

Despite Having Been Affected by the Russo-Georgian Squabble, Both
Armenia and Azerbaijan Cautiously Abstain From Taking Sides

The events of the "five-day war" in South Ossetia demonstrated
that countries of the Southern Caucasus largely act according to
their own national interests, and not on the assurances of "eternal
friendships." Thus, both Armenia and Azerbaijan behave in a careful
and calculated manner, realizing that getting involved in the
Russian-Georgian conflict bears a lot of "hidden reefs" which could
prove to be more dangerous than the status-quo that is so despised
by Baku and so cherished by Yerevan.

Georgia’s attempts to "restore the constitutional order" in South
Ossetia and the harsh Russian response have altered the politico-legal
and power configurations in the CIS, and not only in the two "hot
spots." They had a serious impact on the entire ethno-political
situation in Eurasia. In this regard, it is crucial to consider
the consequences of this "security deficit" in the South Caucasus,
especially because in recent weeks, Armenia and Azerbaijan have
remained in the shadows. What lessons were Baku and Yerevan able
to draw, having been brought to a conflicted state by the events in
South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the "hot August" of 2008?

Let’s consider the horizontal links among the three former Caucasus
republics, all of them now independent states in the South Caucasus
region. Georgia considered Azerbaijan its natural ally. Baku was ready
to reciprocate the sentiment. Let’s recall that the day before the new
escalation in South Ossetia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
called Azerbaijan no less than the "guarantor of independence" of his
country. Typical theatrics of the Georgian leader aside, we should
recognize a few important points. First, Georgia and Azerbaijan are
members of an organization whose stated goal is to play a peculiar
anti-CIS role–GUAM. After Georgia officially left the CIS, GUAM
remains the sole structure in which Tbilisi can realize its integration
projects (another question is how successfully) within Eurasia.

Secondly, Azerbaijan has always supported the territorial integrity
of Georgia. Unlike Ukraine, Azerbaijan itself lost some 13 percent
of the land that is recognized as its integral part, and hence its
support, along with political reasons, has emotional and psychological
grounds (which in politics, especially in the Caucasus, is extremely
important). Thirdly, there is the economic cooperation. In 2005,
during the energy crisis, it was Azerbaijan that provided gas for
Georgia. "The Georgian people will never forget this," Saakashvili
said in a statement during the groundbreaking opening ceremony for the
Turkish section of the "Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars" railway on July
24 (only two weeks remained before the Tskhinvali tragedy). The two
Caucasian states were also united by two pipelines (oil and gas). Baku
also often served as a profitable and reliable sponsor for Tbilisi.

Unlike Azerbaijan, Georgia never considered Armenia as a strategic
partner and even less as a "guarantor of security." There have been a
lot of sensitive issues in their bilateral relations. These include
the position of Armenians in Georgia (in the Armenian populated
Samtskhe-Javakheti and in Tbilisi itself, considered to be an
important cultural center for all Armenians), and the role of the
Armenian community in the Abkhaz events. During the Georgian-Abkhazian
war of 1992-1993, the Bagramyan battalion fought on the side of the
"aggressive separatists" (as they call them in Tbilisi). There were
far fewer Armenian participants on the Georgian side (largely from
the aforementioned Tbilisi). In present-day Abkhazia, the Armenian
community is represented both in the government and in business,
and is generally loyal to the leadership of the de facto state. The
irritating factors are compounded by the military partnership between
Armenia and the Russian Federation (particularly the military base in
Gyumri, to which, among others, Russian military units from Georgia
were moved). Prior to the withdrawal of the Russian military base from
Akhalkalaki, there were many local ethnic Armenian residents employed
there. Also, Georgia (along with Iran) is Armenia’s window to the
world (because of the land blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan). Hence,
Yerevan does not want to move past certain milestones in its relations
with Tbilisi. Armenia also realizes that its gateway to Russia is
through Georgia, and that is why the dependence on the dynamics of
Russian-Georgian relations is an extremely sore point for Armenia. In
turn, given the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Tbilisi is
more cautious in dealing with the "Armenian question." The Georgian
leadership cannot ignore that, unlike the Abkhazians or Ossetians,
Armenians have strong support in the United States and the EU
(similarly from France).

Indeed, the given dispositions have determined the attitude that
Georgia’s neighbors have toward the "hot August" events. Despite its
commitment to a strategic alliance with Russia, Armenia preferred
to abstain from sudden moves and categorical statements. There are
many reasons for this. There is a reluctance to either clearly align
their actions with the Russians or to spoil their relations with the
West. They are already uneasy in connection with the events of March 1
in Yerevan. It is understandable that Serzh Sargsyan is no Alexander
Lukashenko, to whom the United States and the EU have long ago given
their "blessing" of more freedom in his interpretation of events.

Armenia, which has such a vulnerable place as the Karabakh, was also
not overly interested in anchoring the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
(NKR) and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict to Russian-Georgian
relations. Besides, even earlier, both Armenia and the NKR leadership
distanced themselves from an openly pro-Ossetia and pro-Abkhazia
position. This is why representatives of Armenia’s Ministry of Defense
hastened to declare on August 10 that raids on the Georgian airbases
were not being conducted from the Russian base located in Armenia:
"The 102nd military base in the city of Gyumri has no military aircraft
capable of committing acts such as these bombings," they claimed.

The position of Armenia in connection with the heated Russian-Turkish
relations is another sensitive issue. Mild support by Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan for the Russian Federation’s position is
creating a feeling in Yerevan (as well as in the Armenian Diaspora in
the West) that the two great powers can agree with each other to the
detriment of Armenia (in particular, on the Karabakh issue). Recall
that on August 13 Erdogan stated: "The situation in South Ossetia
gives us cause to review the relationship between our countries,
whose solidarity in this region is of great importance." Here is what
Karapet Kalenchyan, an expert at the Armenian Center for National
and International Studies, wrote on this matter: "Seeing that Russia
is once again entering the South Caucasus, Turkey gives it its full
support in exchange for certain concessions on the part of Russia. What
kind of concessions could these be? Armenians have often worried that
such concessions might be made at the expense of our interests."

Prudence (only in the opposite direction) is also what set apart
Azerbaijan’s position. Representatives of various political parties of
the republic (including the ruling party) were more open in expressing
their positions. According to Mubariz Gurbanly (the ruling "Yeni
Azerbaijan" party), the "Georgian authorities’ actions to restore the
country’s territorial integrity are fully merited. These actions were
undertaken in accordance with the UN Charter." Note that this idea
(the legality of actions to punish separatists) had so far been far
more popular in Azerbaijan than in Georgia. The chairman of the Supreme
Majlis of the "Musavat" (opposition forces) party, Sulhaddin Akper,
stated that Georgia "was forced to conduct the operation against the
separatists in South Ossetia." However, Baku was officially much more
cautious than, for instance, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
and the Foreign Ministry of his country (which, unlike Azerbaijan,
does not have such serious interests in the region).

The statement by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs from
August 8 in support of Georgia’s territorial integrity (approved by
the Georgian diplomats) contained general statements on the validity
of the Georgian operation under "international law," but was not
further clarified.

Five leaders of states that expressed their solidarity with Georgia
were present at a rally in Tbilisi on August 12. There were leaders
of the three Baltic countries, Poland, and Ukraine, but Ilham Aliyev,
the head of the state which Saakashvili called the "guarantor of
independence" less than a month earlier, was not there. Baku preferred
caution, given their interest in maintaining stable relations with
Russia. Unlike Georgia, Azerbaijan’s foreign policy is not based
on a rigid confrontational manner. In Baku, they consider Russia to
be a counterweight to the West (which does not have such unambiguous
relations with Azerbaijan as it does with Georgia). Azerbaijan is also
afraid of being drawn into the "Iran game," where it is destined to
play a role as either a runway or the target of "Tehran’s retaliatory
shot." Hence the desire to appreciate the generally friendly, albeit
difficult, relations with Russia.

The opposition is trying to take advantage of this situation. Isa
Gambar, the leader of the "Musavat" party (who received second place
in the last presidential elections) believes that the official Baku
reaction to the events in South Ossetia is inadequate. But what
level of influence does Isa Gambar, or other opposition figures
(Eldar Namazov or Ali Keremli), enjoy today that he can alter the
position of the president’s team? That is a rhetorical question. Let’s
consider a hypothetical situation. Tomorrow either Gambar or Namazov
replace Ilham Aliyev. I think that they would also strictly separate
rhetoric and realistic politics, guided by the national interests
of Azerbaijan. Note that if such a scenario were to be repeated in
Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku would receive a much tougher reaction from
the West. There would even be talk of the consolidated opinion of the
United States, Russia, and leading EU countries. And that is why the
Azerbaijani police prohibit protests at the Russian embassy in Baku,
and prevents anti-Russian hysteria from sweeping the country.

Sergey Markedonov Ph.D., is the head of the Interethnic Relations
Department at Moscow’s Institute of Political and Military Analysis.

SARKOZY TELLS RUSSIA TO PULL BACK AMID NEW COLD WAR FEARS

France24, France
-russia-pullback-cold-war-fears-medvedev-georgia-e u&navi=MONDE
Aug 27 2008

During a conference Wednesday with French ambassadors, France’s
president Nicolas Sarkozy called on Russian forces to retreat to their
pre-conflict positions, saying that no one wanted to "go back to the
time of the Cold War".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday no-one wanted another
Cold War and called on Russia to pull back its forces to positions
they held before the current conflict with Georgia.

"The military forces which have not yet pulled back to the lines
they held before the hostilities must move without delay," he told
a meeting in Paris of France’s ambassadors.

Sarkozy said he would discuss the Georgia crisis later Wednesday by
phone with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"Nobody wants to go back to the time of the Cold War. NATO is not an
adversary but a partner of Russia," he said.

"As for the European Union, it seeks to build with this country
(Russia) a close and positive relation," said Sarkozy, whose country
now holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

He repeated that the EU condemned Moscow’s recognition of the
independence of the breakaway Georgian territories South Ossetia
and Abkhazia.

"This decision, which aims to unilaterally change the borders of
Georgia, is quite simply unacceptable," he said.

Russian forces entered Georgia on August 8 to thwart a Georgian
attempt to regain control of South Ossetia that had been lost to
Moscow-backed separatists.

France brokered a ceasefire but the United States and other Western
nations have accused Russia of breaching the accord by keeping tanks
and troops in Georgia.

CONFLICT IN THE CAUCUSUS; TENSIONS MOUNT
By William O. Beeman

FinalCall.com, IL
145.shtml

Aug 27 2008

U.S. interference leads to increased tension in Georgia

No one should be surprised that U.S. interference in the Caucasus
has led to the Russian invasion of South Ossetia. By mixing into
the volatile politics of the Caucasus, and trying to recruit the
governments there to become American "plumbers" for a variety of
purposes, the United States has only drawn Russian fire.

The Caucasus was one of the last territories added to the Russian
Empire in the 19th century. It was captured from the Qajar Empire of
Iran. The Caucasians never were fully incorporated into Greater Russia,
and maintained a fierce cultural separatism. Georgia in particular
was proudly nationalistic, with a distinctive language, cuisine,
literary tradition and writing system.

It is arguable that had Josef Stalin not been Georgian, the Caucasian
region might never have been part of the Soviet Union. Georgia
chafed under Soviet rule, and the wily Soviets enlisted other
Caucasian minorities to keep the peace in the region, including the
Ossetians. However, Stalinist nationalities philosophy made sure that
no one ethnic group ever became too strong. One way to do this was to
draw borders in such a way that groups would be split by administrative
boundaries. The division between North and South Ossetia was one of
these divisions.

The fall of the Soviet Union created three new independent nations in
the Caucasus: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Almost immediately
the ethnic enclaves in all of these nations began to fulminate
for territorial reunification with their co-ethnic populations
in other nations. These included South Ossetia and Abkhazia in
Georgia, Nakhchivan in Armenia, which is mostly Azerbaijani; and
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, which is mostly Armenian.

Enter the United States. U.S. interests in this region were vastly
different than that of the people of the region, or of Russia. The
United States wanted access to Caspian Sea oil, and it wanted to
contain Iran. The Caucasian nations were ideal for both purposes. The
United States blasted ahead with no regard for the historical tensions
in the region.

Therefore the United States blindly pursued a steady policy of propping
up the dictatorial regimes of the region. Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Armenia are among the most corrupt nations on earth, and it was easy
to buy a government. The price for this support was unquestioning
alliance with the United States and its regional policies.

Access to Caspian oil was one burning policy goal of all
administrations since 1990. The easy route for transport of petroleum
products from the region would be through Iran’s well developed
pipeline system. Literally just a few miles of pipeline would connect
the Azerbaijani oil fields to the Iranian system. However, Washington
was ready to do almost anything to avoid providing any economic
benefit to Iran. Hence, working with U.S. petroleum producers, they
constructed a difficult and tortuous pipeline across Azerbaijan and
Georgia, to emerge in Turkey for shipping to the world. Many millions
in government bribes changed hands to make this happen.

As Iran became a target of the George W. Bush administration,
having friendly powers in the Caucasus became a priority for the
Washington establishment. The Velvet Revolution in Georgia was aided
by the United States. In Azerbaijan, the United States virtually
installed the current president, Ilham Aliyev, son of the previous
president for life, Heydar Aliyev. The election itself was highly
controversial. Heydar Aliyev was in Cleveland, Ohio for medical
treatment, and was rumored to have died four months before his son
was elected. The United States government was reportedly involved in
the cover-up, and supported Ilham’s election despite mass protests
among Azerbaijani citizens.

President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia has close ties to the United
States, having graduated with law degrees from Columbia and George
Washington Universities. He was the leader of the Rose Revolution in
2003, which ousted President Eduard Shevardnadze, former Soviet foreign
minister, and striking a blow for Georgian independence. Elected
president in 2004, he also greatly improved ties with Israel, and
received an honorary doctorate from Haifa University, and has allowed
Israeli intelligence to operate in Georgia. All of this endeared him
to the Bush administration.

The United States tried to engineer the entrance of Georgia into
NATO in April, 2008, but was surprised when 10 NATO members vetoed
the proposal. Russia viewed this as a hostile act on the part of the
United States.

President Saakashvili’s presidency has not stopped continual ethnic
violence from breakaway regions in his country. The South Ossetia
conflict is only one of the latest, but it was different in that
it serves as a smokescreen for Russian attacks on Saakashvili’s
government.

If Saakashvili should be ousted from office, a major U.S. and Israeli
outpost would be lost. The fate of the oil pipeline would be in
danger, and pressure on Iran would lessen considerably. All of these
outcomes are seen as disastrous for the Bush administration. Thus all
of the high-minded rhetoric about Georgian sovereignty coming out of
Washington is ultimately cynical. If U.S. interests were not at stake,
no one would care.

(William O. Beeman is a professor and chair of the department of
anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He has lived and worked
in the Middle East region for more than 30 years. This column was
distributed by New America Media.)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US ANALYST PREDICTS CHANGES IN OSCE`S MEDIATING GROUP

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Aug 27 2008

The developments in Georgia have shown that cooperation between Russia
and the United States within the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), as a means
of resolving regional conflicts, is unrealistic, a Washington-based
international expert says.

The MG, co-chaired by Russia, the U.S. and France, has sought
to broker a settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict.

Zeyno Baran, director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the
Hudson Institute, said the latest military action in Georgia would
substantially affect the positions of both Washington and Moscow in
the MG. She predicted that the MG would undergo changes this fall
after the presidential elections in the U.S.

Russia sent troops to South Ossetia and pounded Georgian positions
on August 8 after Tbilisi launched an offensive to retake the
self-proclaimed, pro-Russian region. A ceasefire was, subsequently,
reached to end five days of deadly fighting.

The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told the press
Monday that Russia`s estrangement from the OSCE MG is not on agenda.

He recalled that President Ilham Aliyev adheres to a clear-cut stance
on maintaining good neighborliness and friendship relations with the
country`s northern neighbor.

Ibrahim emphasized that Russia is not a party to the Garabagh
conflict. "Therefore, estranging it from co-chairmanship in the MG is
not under consideration. Azerbaijan continues to maintain neighborly
and friendly ties with both Russia and NATO."

FOOTSTEPS TO A CONFRONTING PAST
By Darren Devlyn

Herald Sun (Australia)
August 27, 2008 Wednesday
C – TVGuide Edition

FAMILY Footsteps delivers the best kind of reality TV.

It takes participants out of their comfort zone, but does not trade
on exploitation or ritual humiliation.

But the show does force people to confront who they are and where
they’re from.

The first episode of the second season illustrates the life Joanna
Kambourian might be living if she’d been born and stayed in her
ancestral homeland, Armenia.

We see Kambourian, who lives on the NSW coast, travel to Armenia to
live with a mentor family in the small village Ohanavan.

Kambourian’s greatest and most confronting challenge came in exploring
her family’s dark past.

Kambourian, 30, is the first in her family to visit Armenia in 90
years. Her great grandfather left the village in shame and Kambourian
is desperate to find out whether her family can lay to rest the ghosts
of the past.

Kambourian was overcome with emotion when visiting a genocide museum. A
historian told her that in 1915, under the cover of World War I,
the Turks began a systematic genocide of Christians and Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire.

Kambourian’s great-grandfather was the surgeon general in the Turkish
army and to save his family he converted to Islam.

Kambourian learned how there was honour and dignity in refusing to
convert, which is why her great-grandfather was made to feel he’d
brought shame to the family.

Modern interpretation of her great-grandfather’s actions, however,
lifts the veil of guilt. He is now seen as someone who simply did
what he had to do to survive.

"It’s about resolution," Kambourian says. "It (the trip to Armenia)
has filled in a big hole I’ve felt for a long time".

Sadly her father died in May after a prolonged battle with cancer.

SERIES

Family Footsteps, PG ABC1, Thursday, 8.30pm Tracing ancestry Duration:
1 hour

GAMQRELIDZE IS ABOUT TO GO TO UNITED STATES

Rezonansi , Georgia
Aug 26 2008

Nino Mikiashvili’s interview with Davit Gamqrelidze

Government must react strongly to Russian move

New Right leader Davit Gamqrelidze has said in an exclusive
interview with Rezonansi that his moratorium on critical statements
against the government will end on 8 September. However, he still
voiced strong criticism of the government’s failure to react to the
latest developments, namely the Russian parliament’s decision on the
Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia. He suggested that the government has
ignored the event so far.

[Gamqrelidze] A very serious event has occurred. A negative process
has begun. If the Georgian government and the international community
fail to react to this, Medvedev will uphold the decision and there
will be no point in revoking the mandate of the [Russian] peacekeepers
since Russia will probably deploy a larger force there on the basis
of a military alliance treaty.

[Rezonansi] Will the West ignore the Russian parliament’s decision too?

[Gamqrelidze] Unless the Georgian government reacts as strongly
as possible and raises the question in the most radical manner,
no one will try to trigger another dispute with Russia. The failure
to act could start a chain reaction. Some websites reported today
that Armenia is planning to recognize the independence of Nagornyy
Karabakh. Other processes could begin that would have very serious
consequences for the civilized world. The issue is therefore very
important to them too, while for Georgia it is a matter of existence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Again, a failure to fight hard to ensure that organizations like
the Council of Europe and the United Nations impose heavy sanctions
on Russia would mean that the government is completely inept and
incapable of protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity. These are not the words of a man who is trying to capitalize
on the government’s mistakes. These are the words of a patriot who
believes that it is still possible to do a lot of things to preserve
Georgia’s territorial integrity.

Georgian leadership preoccupied with domestic PR

[Rezonansi] Why has the Georgian government ignored the problem so far?

[Gamqrelidze] The government is preoccupied with domestic PR today. The
government’s primary objective at present is to somehow neutralize
the impact of the defeat and of the resulting problems on the public
opinion. The constant calls for unity are starting to sound a bit
weird. They are trying to ensure that any future critical statements
or questions are dismissed as the enemy’s tricks. It is, however,
very important to assess and analyse all the past and future events
appropriately and to discuss the issue of responsibility. Otherwise,
there can be no guarantee that similar mistakes will not be made
again in the future either by this government or the next one. This
is inadmissible and I will do my best regardless of the accusations
that they may level at me.

Whether or not the question of punishing or sacking certain people
will be raised after this kind of analysis is a different matter.

[Rezonansi] Is it possible that the discussion of the Georgian
government’s mistakes and the suggestions that Saakashvili was the
one to start the war will play into the enemy’s hands?

[Gamqrelidze] Let us discuss this in the future. Let us also make sure
that no questions are prohibited. Every politician and every citizen
will establish the limits for himself or herself and everyone will
then have a chance to form their opinion.

The government’s mistakes and erroneous moves do not justify the
barbaric acts, genocide and crimes against humanity committed by
Russia. These will be discussed in the Hague court, the Council of
Europe and the EU. This does not mean, however, that we must stay
silent and suspend domestic debates and criticism.

[Rezonansi] What do you think of [opposition Party of People leader]
Koba Davitashvili’s proposal to form a government of national unity?

[Gamqrelidze] I strongly disagree with the proposal. A coalition
government cannot be effective under the political system and the
Constitution that provide a single individual with all the power. We
need an effective government in the current situation. For this
reason, so long as we have this type of a government, it is better
if it comprises like-minded people.

When the government eventually changes through an election, it should
once again be replaced by a group of like-minded people. On the other
hand, we need to think seriously about the necessary changes in the
political system and constitutional amendments because the recent
events stemmed to some extent (I am trying to be moderate) from the
system of one-man rule that I have criticized together with my friends
(and not only them) over the last four years.

USA not looking for Georgian president’s replacement

[Rezonansi] Nino Burjanadze, Davit Usupashvili and Davit Bakradze are
in the United States at present. There have been different theories
about the reasons for their visit.

[Gamqrelidze] The three of them have gone to the United States to
attend the Democratic Party convention. I will travel to attend the
Republican Party convention in five days. It is an oversimplification
to suggest that the United States is selecting candidates for Georgian
president. I can assure you that this is not the case. It is not
typical for the United States to replace one leader with another.

[Rezonansi] However, you will probably agree that the US support is
very important.

[Gamqrelidze] It is a different thing and it is completely normal
just like the support offered by Europeans. It would be incorrect and
unacceptable to discuss the possibility to replacing the Saakashvili
government in the coming months. On the other hand, we will need to
create conditions for political stability after a certain period of
time if the country is to have a chance of overcoming the economic
crisis. This can only be done through a snap election.

[Rezonansi] Will the West become more critical towards the Georgian
government once the Russian troops pull out of the country completely?

[Gamqrelidze] You will see that it is critical today too if you take a
look at the US, French and German newspapers. However, it is natural
that everyone refrains from criticizing the Georgian government in
the current situation, especially political leaders and political
elite. At the same time, the current assessments are a lot more
realistic as they emphasize that there have been serious problems in
the last four years in terms of democracy and checks and balances.

[Rezonansi] Who is saying this?

[Gamqrelidze] People in the US Administration understand this very
well and so do the people in the US and European political elite.

[Rezonansi] However, they are not talking about this in public.

[Gamqrelidze] They are right to refrain from doing this in the
present situation.

[Rezonansi] Will they eventually start to talk about it?

[Gamqrelidze] I do not know, it depends on different factors. I
am under no illusion that the Russians will pull out tomorrow and
everything will be over. The latest development is a proof that
the crisis will continue to get worse. Russia is implementing its
imperialist policy with political and legal instruments and this is
a blatant act of annexation.

Even if Russia does not incorporate Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali
region today and grants them formal independence, no one should
think that Russia actually wants Abkhazia and the so-called South
Ossetia to be independent. What they are doing is direct annexation
and incorporation of Georgian territories. The Bolshevik Russia did
this to us in the early 20th century and the same thing is happening
in the early 21st century.

New Right supports McCain

[Rezonansi] Who are you going to meet in the United States?

[Gamqrelidze] I will go to the United States on 30 August to attend
the Republican Party convention where John McCain will be officially
nominated as a presidential candidate. The right-wing Republican
political elite, including the politicians involved in formulating the
foreign policy, will attend the convention. Analysts and journalists
will be there too.

I will stay in Minneapolis for about a week unless the situation
deteriorates in Georgia. During the convention, some very important
meetings involving political leaders who deal with foreign policy and
economic issues will take place. I will therefore have a chance to
meet all the leaders who will be in charge of formulating policies
should McCain win the election. I will have an opportunity to talk
to them all.

[Rezonansi] Do you support McCain?

[Gamqrelidze] Since we are a centre-right party, it is logical that
we support the Republican Party and its candidate. I know John McCain
very well. He has been in this office on a number of occasions and
we have even held a joint news conference. Since Russia is acting so
brazenly today, the United States certainly needs a president like
McCain who would employ an unambiguous and harsh policy towards Russia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress