Author: Antonian Lara

ARMENIAN AMERICANS BACK REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FROM TEXAS WHO OPPOSED PRESIDENT BUSH ON GENOCIDE BILL

armradio.am
03.11.2008 10:36

Despite a personal phone call from President Bush in October of 2007
urging him to participate in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide,
Congressman Michael McCaul politely refused. In fact, days later
he would vote, as a member of the powerful House Foreign Affairs
Committee, to pass the Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res.106). The
Armenian National Committee – Political Action Committee (ANC-PAC)
has endorsed Congressman McCaul’s reelection campaign.

Congressman McCaul, a conservative Lone Star State Republican,
is now locked in a close race against Democratic lawyer Larry Joe
Doherty. According to Congressional Quarterly Politics, the latest
polls in the race show that McCaul is only narrowly ahead of Doherty,
despite the fact that President Bush carried his congressional district
with 61 percent of the vote in 2004.

"We are pleased that a number of ANC-PAC supporters are providing
financial support and assistance on the ground for Congressman McCaul
in Texas’ 10th District," remarked an ANC-PAC spokesperson. "The
Armenian American community in and around Austin understands that
Congressman McCaul is a principled leader on human rights issues
and look forward to voting for him on November 4th," added the
spokesperson.

According to a report required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act
(FARA), a lobbying company hired by a foreign government, the Republic
of Turkey, has consistently sought to urge the Congressman to deny
the Armenian Genocide. Led by the former House Democratic Leader
Dick Gephardt, the DLA Piper lobbying firm has repeatedly sought
to encourage McCaul to ignore the murder of 1.5 million Armenian
Christians by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Impressively, Congressman McCaul has rejected all efforts by Turkish
lobbying firms to deny the reality of the Armenian Genocide. FARA
was enacted in 1938 and is a disclosure statute that requires
persons acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or
quasi-political capacity to make periodic public disclosure of their
relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities,
receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.

Congressman McCaul is currently serving his second term representing
Texas’ 10th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 10th
Congressional District in the Lone Star State stretches across 8
counties from Austin to the Houston suburbs, and includes Austin,
Bastrop, Burleson, Harris, Lee, Travis, Washington and Waller
Counties. Prior to coming to Congress, Michael McCaul served as Chief
of Terrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney’s office in
Texas, and led the Joint Terrorism Task Force charged with detecting,
deterring and preventing terrorist activity. Congressman McCaul also
served as Texas Deputy Attorney General under current U.S. Senator
John Cornyn, and served as a federal prosecutor in the Department of
Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C.

LOS ANGELES BASED ONESIDEZERO GUITARIST, LEVON SULTANIAN, HAS COMMENTED ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S RECOMMENDATION

Altsounds.com
unds.com/news/89997-onesidezero-guitarist-comments -on-resistance-to-recognize-armenian-genocide.html
Oct 31 2008
UK

Los Angeles based Onesidezero guitarist, Levon Sultanian, has
commented on the Bush administration’s recommendation to Congress to
reject legislation that would declare the World War I-era killings
of hundreds of thousands of Armenians as genocide.

"Genocide still exists. We saw it in Rwanda (1994) and we see it in
Darfur today. The only thing worse is when a mass killing of a nation
is NOT RECOGNIZED as a GENOCIDE, like the Armenian Genocide," says
Sultanian. "The Bush Administration is worried that the passing of the
Armenian Resolution and recognizing the mass killings in 1915 of 1.5
million Armenians will badly damage the American-Turkish relations
and U.S. interests in the Middle East (Iraq and Afghanistan). How
distorted is our government’s priorities? Are financial stakes more
important than recognizing and acknowledging injustice against
humanity? The Armenian Genocide happened; it is a reality in the
history of mankind. Honest Turks like Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Peace Prize
winner, acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and had the balls to ask
that all Turks accept this dark historic reality."

AFTER AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: THE LOOK AHEAD (PART ONE)
By Vladimir Socor

The Jamestown Foundation
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Azerbaijan’s reelected president Ilham Aliyev was inaugurated on
October 24 for a second five-year term (, October 24,
25). As had been expected, voters gave Aliyev a strong mandate for
continuing his policies.

International observers noted clear improvements in the electoral
process and practice on this occasion, compared with previous electoral
cycles (see EDM, September 23, October 20).

If it were situated in a less dangerous neighborhood, Azerbaijan
would undoubtedly be firmly set on the road to success as a rapidly
modernizing Muslim society. Political ingredients of success–internal
stability and security, statesmanship at the top, a secular path of
development, and external orientation toward the West as matters of
national consensus–were already in place before the country’s oil
revenues started flowing in. With its oil-driven economic growth
averaging a world-record of 30 percent annually in the last three
years, some 700,000 jobs created, a rapidly growing oil fund open
to international auditing, vast reserves of gas just barely tapped,
a key location on intercontinental transit routes, and new investment
priorities in non-oil sectors planned for Aliyev’s second presidential
term (, October 13, 25), Azerbaijan is rapidly moving from
inherited structural poverty to modernization, while contributing to
the West’s energy security. The basis is also now in place for more
effective institution-building during the second presidential term.

Azerbaijan`s prospects for further advances, however, look suddenly
fragile in the wake of Russia’s aggressive resurgence and invasion of
Georgia, the consequences of which are casting shadows on Azerbaijan
at the start of Aliyev’s second presidential term. That invasion
exposed a vacuum of Western power and political presence in the
South Caucasus generally. Few international observers had noticed and
warned against that developing vacuum, and those who did were scarcely
heeded. The United States essentially disengaged itself strategically
from the region after 2005, with medium-level officials and rhetorical
flourishes substituting for high-level strategic policy. The European
Union never engaged seriously with Azerbaijan, nor could Brussels
have done so in the absence of EU common policies on Caspian energy
and the South Caucasus conflicts.

However neglected, Western energy security policy remains a common
agenda with Azerbaijan and Georgia, its prospects linked to these
countries` national independence and security. Azerbaijan`s potential
as a producer of gas– the commodity more critical than any other to
Euro-Atlantic energy security–is materializing slowly, however. The
reasons behind this include the paralysis of the Nabucco pipeline
project; lagging development of the Shah-Deniz offshore gas field
(in turn delaying capacity expansion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
pipeline); and Turkey’s ambitions to take a portion of Azerbaijani
gas for possible resale at a profit to itself, instead of providing
transit service for that Azerbaijani gas via Turkey to Europe.

Exploiting this situation, Russia is offering to buy the entire volume
of gas available for export from Azerbaijan at European netback
prices. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the Gazprom monopoly
have both made that attractive proposal to Baku. The government there,
as well as the BP and Statoil companies, may soon find themselves
facing the choice of either selling their gas export volumes to
Gazprom or delaying a production ramp-up at Shah-Deniz while waiting
for a non-Russian outlet to become available.

Azerbaijan`s EU and U.S. partners must therefore try seriously to
kick-start Nabucco and work politically with Turkey to remove its
obstacles to the transit of Azerbaijani gas.

Meanwhile, portraying Azerbaijan as capable of supplying Nabucco’s
first phase by itself is unconvincing to investors (in view of
Azerbaijan`s other, already existing commitments), and it exposes
Azerbaijan to Russian pressures, instead of sharing that burden among
several potential supplier countries. For its part, Azerbaijan is
actively engaged in political bridge-building with Turkmenistan,
encouraged by Baku’s Western partners. But only the formation
of a Western consortium, with an attractive commercial offer to
Turkmenistan, could open access to that country’s gas supplies for
the planned trans-Caspian pipeline that would connect with Nabucco
through the Baku-Erzurum link.

Continuing internal debates within the EU reflect an incipient
understanding that Brussels needs to subsidize pipeline projects for
supply diversification. At present, however, the EU has only limited
tools available and even fewer resources earmarked for this. Unless
it moves quickly, EU policy will miss an opportunity yet again to
take full advantage of Azerbaijan’s potential as a gas producer and
transit country.

Baku feels surprised and puzzled by the idea of replacing Georgia
with Armenia as a transit route for Nabucco gas. Under this option,
gas earmarked for Nabucco would be pumped from Azerbaijan to Turkey
through a pipeline to be built via Armenia, instead of Georgia. This
suggestion has recently emerged in the context of a possible package
deal in the Karabakh conflict.

The position of Azerbaijan’s government, however–as summed up in
Brussels by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Araz Azimov–is that it
would make no sense to bypass the already existing Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
pipeline, the designated conduit for Caspian gas via Georgia and
Turkey to Europe (EUobserver, October 8).

AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO GET TOGETHER IN MOSCOW BEFORE PRESIDENTS MEET

Trend News Agency
Oct 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 October/ TrendNews, corr N. Abdullayeva/ Foreign
Ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia Elmar Mammadyarov, Edward
Nalbandyan and Sergey Lavrov will meet in Moscow on 31 October,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists.

Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers also plan to hold
consultations with the co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group on 1 November,
Mammadyarov said.

The results of the meeting will be reported to the Presidents who
will meet on 2 November in Moscow, Mammadyarov added.

In response to question about possible changes in the format of talks
on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov said "there is no need to
change format of talks".

OSCE Minsk Group is engaged in the solution of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict under chairmanship of the United States, Russia and France.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: IF TURKEY OPENS THE BOUNDARY AND ESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA, IT WILL GREATLY CONTRIBUTE TO SETTLING KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2008-10-27 13:51:00

ArmInfo. ‘Russia is one of OSCE MG co-chairs. The invitation of
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his activity are rather logical>,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview with Armenian
Public Television when asked about the initiative of a trilateral
meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russia presidents in Moscow.

‘First of all, I’d like to highlight that the settlement process
is within the frames of OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of Madrid
Principles. It has been repeatedly mentioned and I reiterate that
there is no alternative to mediation of OSCE MG. And the mess that
is being created around this cannot contribute to the process. I
reiterate that the only mediators are OSCE MG co-chairs. Armenia
has not applied to any other state for mediation. Russia is one of
the OSCE MG co-chair-states and the invitation of Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev and his activity in the process re quite logical’,
Serzh Sargsyan said.

Asked about the statement by Turkish President Abdullah Gul allowing a
conclusion that President of Armenia was allegedly the first to apply
to Turkish president for contribution to the negotiations process,
Serzh Sargsyan said he does not like commenting on statements
of other figures especially when press publishes extracts of the
context of a citation. ‘The reality is that OSCE MG is the only
mediator, but we do not refuse from assistance. I am sure Turkey can
contribute to the Karabakh conflict settlement process and I think
it currently does. The visit of Gul to Yerevan, the continuation of
the Armenian-Turkish negotiations is a good example for settlement
of complicate tasks. I am sure if Turkey opens the boundary and
establishes diplomatic relations with Armenia, it will greatly
contribute to settling Karabakh conflict’, President of Armenia said.

OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE IMPLEMENTS A NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN MILITARY-POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRATIC, AND OTHER SPHERES

Noyan Tapan
Oct 24, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Settlement of the conflicts and
improval of the situation in the region first of all depends on
the extent of confidence. Some countries in the region speak for
settlement of conflicts and only then speak about establishment of
cooperation, that is, "put the cart before the horse," while normal
regional cooperation should be established at first. Ambassador
Sergei Kapinos, the Head of OSCE Yerevan Office, stated on October 24,
commenting upon the situation formed in the process of settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

At the same time the diplomat emphasized that the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh settlement is not within the activity mandate of OSCE
Yerevan Office, it is task of Minsk Group. S. Kapinos said that
military-political, economic, ecological directions, as well as the
situation in the sphere of human rights and democratic processes on
the whole are the main directions of the activity of the office.

Among projects in the military-political sphere being implemented
in the region, S. Kapinos singled out a pilot project on creation of
Police named communal or territorial. "We try to change the activity
methods of the Police, to make it more democratic and professional." In
his words, OSCE has already provided much means within the framework of
the project, including computers and educational supplies. Assistance
to the RA National Assembly in exercising democratic control over the
armed forces is another important project in the military-political
sphere carried out by OSCE Yerevan Office.

S. Kapinos stated that in the sphere of democracy and human rights
OSCE Yerevan Office carries out projects aimed at ensuring freedom of
expression, holds a monitoring of legal proceedings, much importance
is also attached to problems of migration.

As regards efficiency of OSCE’s activity in the issue of assistance
to development of democracy under the lack of political will of the
Armenian authorities, S. Kapinos said that much depends on maturity,
self-organization of society and on presence of organizations that
are engaged in protection of human rights and rights of individual
groups or classes of society.

AGAIN THAT BRAISE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
24 Oct 2008
Armenia

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman
Mathew Braise announced yesterday that the USA is trying to reach
such an agreement on the settlement of Karabakh conflict, which will
defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Next week the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen are planning to visit the
region of conflict.

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN: "KARABAKH WILL NEVER BE INDEPENDENT, AZERBAIJAN WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE IT. NEITHER IN FIVE, TEN NOR IN TWENTY YEARS. NEVER"

Today.Az
24 October 2008 [17:37]
Azerbaijan

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev thanked the Azerbaijani people
for his re-election during his inauguration ceremony in Baku Friday.

"I am grateful to the Azerbaijani people for voting for me. I pledge to
spare no efforts for the development of the country and improvement
of people’s welfare", said I.Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony
according to Interfax-Azerbaijan.

He also thanked the ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan for holding the
electoral campaign. "I am also grateful to other candidates who
congratulated me with the victory", said I.Aliyev.

"I hope these elections will play a role in strengthening the election
culture, bringing new traditions and after that the political struggle
will be only civilian", said Aliyev.

He noted that great progress has been recorded in all directions in
Azerbaijan through the past five years. "Azerbaijan has consolidated
its positions and political and economic reforms as well as the
democratization process are held successfully. Today Azerbaijan has
intensified its position in the world community. We base our policy
on national interests, national dignity, national conscience and
tolerance. All people in Azerbaijan live in conditions of peace. Civil
solidarity has fully established in Azerbaijan", said Aliyev.

"Our policy is clear. All our actions are aimed at strengthening the
country, deepening of economic reforms and raising people’s welfare. We
have done a huge work in the sphere of international affairs. We
are interested in building mutually profitable relations with all
countries. The countries, cooperating with us in the region are
satisfied with this cooperation. We want the neighbor states to live
in conditions of peace and cooperation", said the head of the state.

"We are interested in continuation of friendly relations with
all countries. Our relations and positions in the international
organizations have deepened. I do not doubt that in the future our
policy will be more flexible and purposeful and in the result our
international position will further strengthen", said Aliyev.

Nagorno Karabakh will never be independent, said President of
Azerbaijan while speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Baku Friday.

"Karabakh will never be independent. Azerbaijan will never recognize
it. Neither in five, ten, nor in twenty years. Never", said I.Aliyev.

He noted that the talks on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict are held in the framework of the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan.

"The undertaken steps have promoted the consolidation of our
position. Today, the world understands that the conflicts must find
their solution in this region. This can happen only in the framework
of the international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan",
said Aliyev.

"Azerbaijan will never agree to the cessation of its lands. And we,
by strengthening our territorial integrity, will attain the return
of the occupied lands. International law and historical justice is on
our side. The cooperation with Armenia is out of the question unless
our lands are liberated", said Aliyev.

He noted that the potential of the peaceful talks have not been
exhausted yet.

"We are interested in continuation of talks, our hopes have not
melted away yet, we still consider that the talks may promote the
just resolution of the conflict", said Aliyev.

"The opposition side must accept the reality, which implies that
it is difficult and even impossible to rival Azerbaijan today. Our
political and economic potential, economic streng, international
law and justice is on our side, strengthening our positions. I am
sure that in the result of all these factors and our active policy,
our lands will be liberated", said the head of the state.

He noted that through the past five years the potential of the
Armed Forces of Azerbaijan has strongly consolidated. "The level of
preparation and professionalism has grown much. Construction will
also accelerate in the future. Much has been done for improvement of
the material and technical basis of the army. In 2003 the military
spendings of the country made $163 mln while in 2008 this amount
reached $1,085,000,000 and in the coming years these expenses will
grow. The draft budget for 2009 will envision greater amounts for the
armed forces and, thus, by creating a strong army, we are accelerating
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. All these factors play
their role and the opposite side should know and it really knows
that Azerbaijan is a strong state. We are strong both economically
and politically", said the head of the state.

"Azerbaijan has settled all the issues of its energy security",
said President Ilham Aliyev during the inauguration ceremony.

"We have settled all tasks, set before us. Today Azerbaijan has
settled issues of energy security by 100%", said Aliyev noting that
this is a problem which raises the world community’s concerns today.

At the same time, I.Aliyev said that the oil strategy of Azerbaijan
was of great use for the country. The country is participating in
the successfully implemented large regional oil and gas projects,
owing to which Azerbaijan has turned into the gas exporting country.

"These projects will ensure the long-term, successful and stable
development of Azerbaijan", noted the President.

The head of the state said that oil and gas extraction has grown
significantly through the past five years.

"In 2003 oil production was 15.4 mln tons, this year oil production
must top 50 mln tons. In 2003 gas extraction made 5.5 bln cubic meters,
while this year it will top 20 bln cubic meters. It is a significant
rise, attained through a short period of time", said Aliyev.

According to the head of the state, Azerbaijan has ensured its
multi-directional energy policy and today export of energy sources
is conducted by means of seven oil and gas pipelines in different
directions.

"Energy policy ensures our economic security and enabled us to
successfully implement the creative and infrastructural projects. We
are fully confident that we will further live within an independent
state, basing on these achievements", said Aliyev.

He noted that "today Azerbaijan is really an independent state".

"We are holding an independent policy. Both internal and external
policy serves the interests of the Azerbaijani people", concluded
the President.

NATURALIZED VOTERS CRITICAL IN FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS, STUDY SAYS
By Michael Doyle

McClatchy Washington Bureau
October 23, 2008
DC

WASHINGTON — Naturalized citizens in the San Joaquin Valley could
decide future elections, immigrant advocates conclude in a revealing
report issued Thursday.

Nearly one in six voting-age residents in some Valley congressional
districts are foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizens, the new report
shows. This is twice the national average and could shape Valley
politics for years to come.

"We have the ability to carry an election," Tuyet G. Duong, the
daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, declared Thursday. "We’re a force
to contend with."

Duong is senior staff attorney with the Asian American Justice Center,
which helped release the new immigrant voting study. The report
is apparently the first to tally both naturalized citizens and the
children of immigrants, a combined population the report’s authors
dub the New Americans.

"This new immigrant population is just exploding," said research
analyst Rob Paral, the report’s chief author.

This is certainly the case in California, where two years ago 24
percent of all registered voters were naturalized Americans or the
children of immigrants who have arrived since 1965. This far exceeded
any other state and marked an increase from 22 percent in 2004.

California’s 18th Congressional District exemplifies the trend,
stretching from Stockton to Merced and into a sliver of Fresno
County. Nearly 16 percent of the district’s voting-age residents are
naturalized U.S. citizens, the new report shows.

By contrast, only 7.5 percent of voting-age residents nationwide are
naturalized citizens.

The population is similar in the neighboring 20th Congressional
District, which includes Kings County and portions of Fresno and Kern
counties. Slightly more than 14 percent of the district’s registered
voters are naturalized U.S. citizens, the study shows.

"It’s not that everyone comes from Mexico," noted Mike Lynch,
a Modesto-based public policy consultant and former congressional
staffer. "This part of the country has an enormous number of ethnic
groups. We have Armenians. We have Sikhs. We have Ukrainians. We
have Portuguese."

Populations, in turn, drive political agendas. Attuned to
Armenian-American voters, the Valley’s lawmakers have always been in
the forefront of efforts to pass a controversial Armenian genocide
commemoration. Heeding conservative Hmong residents, Valley politicians
denounce the socialist Laotian government. The Congressional Portuguese
Caucus is rooted in the region.

"The Portuguese culture is thriving in the San Joaquin Valley, and
there are many festas (cq) throughout the year, family reunions,
the exchanges of those traditions and the ties that bind us quite
well," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said last month as the House passed
a resolution commemorating Portuguese immigration.

Naturalization also burdens Valley congressional offices, where
staffers report they spend considerable time helping immigrants
navigate citizenship hurdles. Latino and Asian immigrants dominate
the rolls of recently naturalized U.S. citizens living in California.

In some parts of the state, the so-called New Americans are even more
of an electoral force — at least, they could be. Naturalized citizens
account for more than one-third of the voting-age populations in some
San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California congressional districts,
according to the study based on Census Bureau data and surveys.

Relatively weak voting turnout, though, also undermines the immigrants’
potential. Sixty-one percent of naturalized U.S. citizens voted in
2004, compared to 73 percent of other Americans.

The report titled "The New American Electorate" was released by the
Washington-based Immigration Policy Center and is meant to serve a
political agenda. The group is part of a foundation created by the
American Immigration Lawyers Association, which supports comprehensive
legislation that legalizes illegal immigrants. The legislation has
stalled on Capitol Hill and advocates hope to regain momentum.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDER ON APPROVING CREATION OF FACT FINDING GROUP

ARMENPRESS
Oct 23, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
signed an order on October 23 on approving the creation of fact
finding group and rule of organization of the latter’s activity.

Presidential press service told Armenpress that the order enters into
force from the next day of the official publication.