ASBAREZ Online [04-04-2006]

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04/04/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) System Of A Down to Launch Washington, DC Campaign for Armenian Genocide Recognition 2) EU Presses Turkey on Military Reform 3) Greek Telecom Giant Plans to Sell ArmenTel 4) Young Armenians against Normalization of Relations with Turkey And Azerbaijan 5) Kurdish Groups Organize Demonstration against Turkey's Brutal Policies 1) System Of A Down to Launch Washington, DC Campaign for Armenian Genocide Recognition LOS ANGELES--Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan of the Grammy Award-winning band System Of A Down will travel to Washington, DC on April 24 for a three-day campaign to urge Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and other Congressional leaders to end their complicity in Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian genocide. On the evening of Monday, April 24, starting at 5:00 PM, band members will join with the Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian Youth Federation in leading a grassroots demonstration outside the gates of the Turkish Embassy at 2525 Massachusetts Ave, in Northwest Washington, DC. The Turkish government, through its Embassy in Washington, spends millions of dollars each year to bully, threaten, and blackmail the US government not to recognize the Armenian genocide. The band members will devote Tuesday, April 25 to providing interviews to the political media in Washington, and, in the evening, hosting a Congressional screening of "Screamers," a new documentary by filmmaker Carla Garapedian about the band's worldwide campaign for Armenian genocide recognition. On Wednesday April 26, System will meet with key Members of Congress to urge them to allow a vote on legislation recognizing the Armenian genocide, and at 5:30 PM will participate in the annual Capitol Hill commemoration of the Armenian genocide. This event, now in its 11th year, is regularly attended by over 30 Members of Congress, diplomats, ethnic community leaders, human rights activists, genocide prevention advocates, and Armenian Americans from across the country. Beginning on April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turkish government began a centrally planned and systematically executed campaign to annihilate the Armenian people from their ancient homeland. By 1923 over 1.5 million Armenians were killed and hundreds of thousands deported, in what constituted the first genocide of the 20th century. Congressional legislation recognizing this crime (HR 316 / HCR195 / SR320) has broad bipartisan support, but has been blocked from coming to a vote by Congressional leaders, despite the fact that, five years ago, US House Speaker Dennis Hastert promised to allow Members to vote on this human rights measure. In September of last year, Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan from the band traveled to the Speaker's hometown of Batavia, Illinois to lead a rally urging him to allow a vote on the Armenian genocide legislation. During the rally, Tankian delivered a personal and powerfully worded message calling on the Speaker to do the right thing, and stressing that "historical truths should never be denied in a democracy--especially one with such a proud heritage of freedom." Speaker Hastert has it in his power to accomplish one of System's goals--official US recognition of Turkey's destruction of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923. By allowing Congress to vote on this legislation, Speaker Hastert can end US denial of this crime and open the doors to justice--to the restoration, reparation, and restitution owed to the victims of genocide. By continuing to block a vote on this legislation, Hastert effectively joins in the denial of this crime against humanity, and the denial of justice to an entire nation. The members of System Of A Down, Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, John Dolmayan, and Shavo Odadjian all personally lost family members and family history to the Armenian genocide. "Because so much of my family history was lost in the Armenian genocide," said Malakian, "my grandfather, who was very young at the time, doesn't know his true age. How many people can say they don't know how old they are?" Tankian, Dolmayan, and Odadjian all identify their grandparents' memories as the only links they have to their respective family histories, as most of their families were obliterated during the Armenian genocide. "It's important for people to be aware of the Armenian genocide," explained Tankian, "and that those actions continue to be covered up by the Turkish government, the US State Department, Turkey's allies in the defense and oil industries, and by our present US Administration. Had the Armenian genocide been acknowledged as a crime against humanity as it was, Hitler might not have thought he could get away with the Jewish Holocaust. History does and will repeat itself, unless we stop that cycle." 2) EU Presses Turkey on Military Reform BRUSSELS (UPI)--The European Union has urged Turkey to beef up efforts to keep its military under civilian control, as the country faces its worst civil unrest in years. Although Turkey, which is a candidate for membership of the Brussels-based club, is rapidly changing to meet the bloc's exacting standards, a senior European Commission official told a conference in Brussels that the "pace of change of Turkey's reform has slowed down in the last year." According to the Defensenews.com Web site, Alessandro Missir De Lusignano said Ankara still had to make the military's budget more transparent and accountable to the Turkish parliament. Another point on Brussels' wish list is to see the military's presence in civil society diluted and the military courts' ability to try civilians abolished. The 25-member bloc has also voiced concern about the violence in the Kurdish part of the country, urging Ankara to protect the minority's cultural rights and fight poverty in the region. Last week, violent riots broke out in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of the country and this week several people have been killed in Istanbul in clashes between Kurds and Turkish security forces. 3) Greek Telecom Giant Plans to Sell ArmenTel YEREVAN (AFP)--Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) said Tuesday it was examining options to sell its 90 percent controlling share in Armenian operator ArmenTel. "Following consultation with the Armenian government, (OTE) has begun a procedure of examining options to sell its 90 percent stake in ArmenTel's share capital," the Greek telecom giant said in a statement. "OTE has decided to focus on the Balkans... ArmenTel is now a healthy company... and there is a rather large interest from Russian companies and funds," said Michalis Tsamaz, managing director of OTE International. HSBC Bank PLC has been selected to advise OTE in the procedure, the company said. Armenia's main telecom operator, ArmenTel in 2005 posted a net income of 45.8 million euros ($55.4 million), an increase of 56.8 percent over the equivalent period in 2004, and had operating revenues of 119.1 million euros. OTE purchased its ArmenTel stake in 1997 at a cost of 120 million euros, Tsamaz said. Partially controlled by the Greek state, the OTE group, which comprises the profitable Cosmote Greek mobile telephony unit and subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania in addition to Armenia, in 2005 posted a net loss of 216.8 million euros. 4) Young Armenians against Normalization of Relations with Turkey And Azerbaijan YEREVAN (Armenpress)--A survey conducted by Sociometer polling center revealed that the overwhelming majority of young Armenians are against normalization of relations with Turkey if this requires giving up Armenians' territorial claims to Turkey and without Turkey's acknowledgment of the 1915 genocide. According to the Sociometer poll, 90 percent of respondents said they were against the improvement of relations with Turkey in that way. The percentage of those who would seek economic and other ties with Turkey before it recognized the Genocide and met other Armenian demands was only 4 percent, while 6 percent were undecided. Also 91 percent said they were against establishment of normal relations with Azerbaijan without the final settlement of the Karabagh issue. Only 2.9 percent said they would welcome it. The survey was conducted in order formulate Armenia's national youth policy. 5) Kurdish Groups Organize Demonstration against Turkey's Brutal Policies (KNC)--Several Kurdish American organizations have organized a demonstration against Turkey's oppressive and brutal policy toward Kurds. The demonstration will take place on Wednesday, April 5 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM in front of Turkish Consulate General of Los Angeles. While Turkey is preparing to join the European Union, it continues to oppress and violate the rights of its Kurdish people. Over the last week, 15 people, three of them children, have been killed in the worst violence Turkey has seen in a decade. The violent protests erupted after the Turkish army killed fourteen Kurdish fighters on March 25 in Mush province of Northern Kurdistan. Many people were also harshly beaten and arrested by the police during the Kurdish New year (Newroz) celebrations. Despite pressure from the EU, the Turkish state persists in its aggressive behavior toward Kurds. Kurdish groups have organized the Los Angeles demonstration to remind the world that the behavior of the Turkish state indicates it is not ready to be part of the democratic and free world. They also pledge their support to the Kurdish people in their peaceful struggle for freedom and democracy in Anatolia. The protest organized by the Kurdish National Congress of North America, Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Kurdish Community Center in Southern California, and Kurdish American Culture Center will take place Wednesday, April 5 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM in front of Turkish Consulate General at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. For more information contact KNC at [email protected]. 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