Author: Antonian Lara

US HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO DISCUSS H. RES. 252,ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION, ON MARCH 4

ArmInfo
2010-02-05 14:45:00

ArmInfo. US House Committee on Foreign Affairs is to discuss
H. Res. 252, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, on March 4, 2010,
Arpi Vardanyan, Armenian Assembly of America Regional Director,
told ArmInfo.

She said if the Committee passes the Resolution giving the
go-ahead to the resolution, it will be put on agenda of the House of
Representatives. For his part, ANCA representative Ken Khachikyan has
already declared that they will be actively working with Chairman of
the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Howard Berman and other friends
of the Armenian community in the USA from both the parties to promote
H.Res 252 in the Committee and at the plenary session of the House
of Representatives. K.Khachkiyan has already had several meetings
with the co-authors of H.Res.252 Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone and other
congressmen. ANCA reports that many coalition partners from Greece and
Israel also support the efforts on recognition of Armenian Genocide.

H.Res.252, introduced on March 17th of this year by lead sponsors Adam
Schiff and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), currently has over
135 cosponsors. Its companion legislation in the Senate (S.Res.316),
spearheaded by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and John Ensign (R-NV)
has 13 cosponsors.

EURONEWS DECLINES IN QUALITY SHOWING PARTIALITY TO AZERBAIJAN

HULIQ
onews-declines-quality-showing-partiality-azerbaij an
Feb 5 2010
SC

Refugees and internally displaced people deserve media coverage
wherever they are. Newsmakers, like Euronews, have the calling to bring
the refugee problems to the forefront of political and decision-making
minds. When this is done it’s commendable, but when it’s done showing
partiality to one side such as Azerbaijan and totally ignoring the
hundreds of thousands of refugees in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh
due to the same conflict started by Azerbaijan, it’s deplorable.

On February 1 of 2010 Euronews showed a one-sided and very partial
coverage of refugee situation in Azerbaijan. Called Forgotten
Victims of a Frozen Conflict it displays the good life of refugees in
Azerbaijan, who receive $500 euros a month per person, and mentions
nothing about hundreds of thousands of the truly forgotten refugees
in Armenia.

Euronews, the flagship news organization in the European Union, can’t
help the situation by portraying Azerbaijan with its eight million
population as the victim and Armenia with its 3.5 million population
as the aggressor. Many people from around the world have raise their
voice against the approach Euronews has employed in its coverage
of refugees in Azerbaijan. Below is the letter of Rouben Galichian
to the news editor of Euronews about this coverage. Galichian is a
London based cartographer and the author of "The Invention of History".

Mr Peter Barabas The News Editor Euronews Lyon

Dear Mr Barabas,

On February 01 you aired a report entitled "Forgotten victims of a
frozen conflict" about the Azeri refugees from Karabagh.

Regrettably the report presented one side of the story only, that of
the Azeri refugees, who for the last 15 years have been kept in refugee
camps and railway cars simply for the reason of political propaganda.

In spite of the millions of petro-dollars pouring into the country,
the Azeri authorities have chosen to keep these poor people in the
worst possible condition, in order to use them as a propaganda tools.

Compare this situation with that of Armenia. Prior to the conflict
almost 400,000 Armenians lived and worked in Azerbaijan, who were
first subjected to pogroms (Sumgait, Feb 1988) and then expelled
from their homes and country overnight. Yet Armenia, who had only a
years ago experienced a devastating earthquake and did not have the
financial resources of Azerbaijan either, managed to house those who
wished to stay in Armenia.

I am not delving into the details and the origins of the conflict,
which was started by the Azeri government, when, after decades of
repression, the Armenians of Karabagh (who constituted 85% of the
population) tried to express their complaints and wishes, only to be
met by Azeri bombs and missiles.

Furthermore, for the past 15 years the Azeri authorities have been
injecting their population with such anti-Armenian venomous propaganda,
that the new generation of Azeris really and truly believe that the
Armenians are Azeri-killing machines. , Is this the way to resolve a
conflict? This bring to mind the Nazi propaganda machine, as is also
designed to create hatred amongst nations, not political regimes.

To maintain balance and neutrality, perhaps you could send a reporter
to Karabagh to investigate and report the story from the other side
as well.

With my best regards Rouben Galichian London Cartographer and Author
of "The Invention of History" and other works on the cartography of
South Caucasus.

NATO DEFENCE MINISTERS DISCUSS STRATEGY ON AFGHANISTAN IN ISTANBUL

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2010 17:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO Defence Ministers began their informal talks
in Istanbul with a focus on Afghanistan strategy. Armenian Minister
of Defence Seyran Ohanyan is taking part in the summit.

The summit hosted 52 Defense Ministers as well as NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Today, ministers agreed on a package of measures to ensure that the
Alliance’s books are balanced. They decided that as a basic principle
NATO must sufficiently fund Alliance operations and missions and make
essential strategic investments.

Ministers also committed to inject additional resources into the
budget this year, as well as to modernise how NATO does its budgeting
and looks for savings where it can.

Defence Ministers also discussed NATO’s engagement in Kosovo as
well as the possibility for NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR)
to cut the number of troops to 10 000.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also called the (North)
Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based
on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949. The
NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization
constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states
agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.

The Treaty of Brussels, signed on March 17, 1948 by Belgium, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom is considered
the precursor to the NATO agreement. The treaty and the Soviet Berlin
Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Union’s Defense
Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United
States was thought necessary in order to counter the military power
of the USSR, and therefore talks for a new military alliance began
almost immediately.

These talks resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed
in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. It included the five Treaty
of Brussels states, as well as the United States, Canada, Portugal,
Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Popular support for the Treaty
was not unanimous; some Icelanders commenced a pro-neutrality,
anti-membership riot in March 1949.

Greece and Turkey joined the alliance in 1952, forcing a series of
controversial negotiations, in which the United States and Britain
were the primary disputants, over how to bring the two countries into
the military command structure. In July 1997, three former communist
countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited
to join NATO, which finally happened in 1999. Membership went on
expanding with the accession of seven more Northern European and
Eastern European countries to NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
and also Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They were first
invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague Summit,
and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul
summit. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed
to the accession of Croatia and Albania and invited them to join. Both
countries joined NATO in April 2009.

In August 2003, NATO commenced its first mission ever outside Europe
when it assumed control over International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) in Afghanistan.

MOTHER DESCRIBES GUNFIRE HORROR
By Carl Brown

Asian Image
r_describes_gunfire_horror/
Feb 5 2010
UK

A mum-of-two has described the terrifying moment Israeli soldiers
fired bullets during a peace protest near Bethlehem.

Catherine Arakelian, flew out to the Middle East for a 10 day trip
earlier this month with Christian Arab charity Holy Land Trust,
which peacefully campaigns against oppression of Palestinians.

Mrs Arakelian attended a protest in the village of Al Massarah,
which involved campaigners walking 40 minutes out of the village and
demonstrating in front of Israeli troops.

She said the protest, which happens every Friday, was on this occasion
particularly large.

The campaigners finished their peaceful protest, which involved flag
waving, and as they began to walk back to the village, Mrs Arakelian
said the Israeli army decided to act.

She added: "All of a sudden they started rolling razor wire across
the road, to stop us going further away and then they fired shots
above our heads to try and get us to go back to the village, which
is where we were going anyway. They also threw smoke bombs to scare us.

"It was very scary, I have never been anywhere close to a group of
young soldiers who themselves looked frightened and I did not know
what a smoke bomb was.

"The whole point of the Palestine Peace Movement is that it is
non-violent, but the media got the pictures they wanted of people
running away and of conflict."

Mrs Arakelian said she and her fellow campaigners did not know why
the army acted in the way it did.

The 48-year-old, who is standing as the Labour candidate in the
Chingford & Woodford Green constituency at the general election, added:
"When we touched down in Luton on the way back I felt free.

"Here we have freedom of expression, movement and association, we
don’t always realise in this country how important these freedoms are."

During her visit Mrs Arakelian also visited the Armenian quarter of
Bethlehem and met a Muslim family in danger of losing their home to
Jewish settlers.

Despite the terrifying moment with the army, Mrs Arakelian, a
practising Christian, described the trip as "amazing spiritually
and politically."

KESKIN: FROM APRIL 24, 1915 TO JANUARY 19, 2007…
By Eren Keskin

Armenian Weekly
February 4, 2010

Eren Keskin Eren Keskin is vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights
Association (ÝHD) and former president of its Istanbul branch. In
2005, she was awarded the Esslingen-based Theodor Haecker Prize for
Civic Courage and Political Integrity. This is her second column for
the Armenian Weekly.

On Jan. 19, when I was listening to Arat Dink’s speech in front of
Agos in Istanbul, I thought how much he really resembled his father,
how naive and fragile he was.

The sentences he used to express his immense suffering, how "soft"
they were in the face of the lived reality, and how loaded they were!

"A hundred years ago we were 20 percent, today we are not even 1
percent…A hundred years ago we were prey, today we are bait,"
said Arat Dink.

It’s been a whole three years since Hrant was slaughtered…

His crime was being an Armenian (!) and "reminding the criminals of
their crime (!)"

But they think they have the right to commit any crime they
want… They think they have the right to destroy identities, to
assimilate, to commit genocide.

By scaring they forbid "objecting," they try to silence "those who
object."

Even those who know remain silent faced with their "destructive
violence"…

When Hrant Dink was slaughtered we had prepared a statement.

In it we had said:

"Dear Hrant they slaughtered you as the 1,500,001th person

We condemn those who massacred you, those who made them massacre you,

Those who targeted you.

Genocide is still continuing…

Our hearts are aching."

However, because of the–possibly correct–worries and warnings of
the Armenian community, we had it withdrawn.

I had written an essay after His death.

I had said, "We owe it to our dead that we state the facts."

And naturally the "dependent judiciary" immediately filed charges
based on Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

I say it once again and aloud: 1915 was a genocide and Hrant Dink was
massacred by the followers of the mentality that committed genocide.

The Turkish Republic, whose establishment was presented as a
"revolution," took the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and
its special organization Teskilat-i Mahsusa as its model, and became
their continuation.

In the Lausanne Conference, the Turkish Republic took over the debts
of the Ottoman Empire, but not its biggest debt, its "debt of apology,"
and still insists on not doing so.

They don’t change, we must know that.

Because there is no strong social demand for them to change.

Unfortunately the totalitarian system has made the persons and
communities it has ruled like itself…

Everybody looks like this militaristic state. They see themselves as
the "sole owner" of these lands we live on.

They’re ignorant! In fact this ignorance is their shield.

They don’t want to read or think.

Since they have things to lose, they choose to cripple their hearts
and brains.

That’s totalitarianism all right!

Even those who identify themselves as intellectuals have failed to
escape the spiral of fear.

Edward Said said, "The intellectual is the one who cannot easily
be the man of governments or big corporations, who exists in order
to represent the people and issues that are constantly forgotten or
swept under the carpet."

Yes, in Turkey, all together, the genocide committed against the
Armenian nation has been "swept under the carpet."

Everybody has a share in that. And everybody is guilty.

Those who don’t explicitly say "genocide," those who are still
ambivalent, who remain silent, who are afraid, I want to remind you of
the words of Dr. Nazim in a secret meeting of the CUP in the beginning
of 1915: "…Armenians are like a deadly wound. This wound is first
thought to be harmless. But if it is not treated by a doctor in time,
it definitely kills. We must act immediately. If we act as in 1909,
it will do more harm than good. It will awaken the other groups we
have decided to eliminate, the Arabs and the Kurds, and the danger
will become threefold…"

"…If this cleaning out is not general and final, it will hurt more
than heal. We must wipe out the Armenian nation from our lands. Not
even a single person must survive and the Armenian name must be
forgotten… This time the operation will be a total wiping out. And
provided that not even a single Armenian survives, total elimination
is a must." (*)

Yes, what Dr. Nazim talked about was carried out.

But has the mentality changed? Unfortunately the answer to this
question is a huge no.

After the massacre of Hrant Dink, Arif Sirin (a.k.a. "poet Arif") and
singer Ismail Turut put their racist feelings on paper, and composed
a song that praised Ogun Samast, the murderer of Hrant. After the
criminal complaint of the Human Rights Association, charges were
filed against these two fascists. But the judges, who found those who
condemned Hrant’s murder guilty, decided that these two were innocent.

And they didn’t find anything criminal in the song that defended
the massacre…

Now we have to ask: Who is the murderer of Hrant Dink?

Translated by Melis Erdur

(*) Recep Marasli, Ermeni Ulusal Demokratik Hareketi ve 1915 Soykirimi
(2008)

ARMENIAN ROLE IN CAUCASIAN ENERGY CORRIDOR IN COMMON INTEREST – ANALYST
Aliyah Fridman

news.az
Feb 3 2010
Azerbaijan

Jeffrey Mankoff News.Az interviews Jeffrey Mankoff, associate director
of international security studies, Yale University.

Do you think that the main mediators – Russia and the USA – are really
interested in a Karabakh settlement?

Yes, because it is broadly speaking in both of their interests. Russia
would like to end Armenia’s diplomatic isolation, and everyone
is interested on some level in the idea of including Armenia in a
Caucasian energy corridor.

And what about Turkey’s activity in the region? May Ankara be
successful in establishing peace in the South Caucasus?

It will be a challenge. As long as the 1915 issue remains unresolved,
many Armenians (not to mention the Armenian diaspora) will oppose
any settlement brokered by Ankara.

Do you think the Turkish and Armenian parliaments will ratify the
two protocols soon?

The Armenian parliament is already wary of the government’s interest
in a deal with Turkey, and might well block ratification of any
agreement. At the same time, the Azerbaijanis are wary of having their
claim to Nagorno-Karabakh sold out as the price for a resolution
between Turkey and Armenia. So there are plenty of obstacles along
the way.

HEARINGS AT THE SENATE

Lragir.am
3/02/10

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing on 2
February 2010, entitled "Current and Projected Threats to the United
States," as the latest in an annual series of hearings examining US
national security issues.

The attached is the testimony of Dennis C. Blair, the Director of
National Intelligence (DNI) before the Senate Committee.

The US House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence also held its own hearing, entitled "Annual Threats
Assessment" on 3 February 2010. I will forward the testimony from
the House hearing once it is available.

As FYI, the following are select highlights, with comments on Eurasia,
Armenia-Turkey, Azerbaijan, Karabagh, Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia,
although it is interesting that there was no reference or commentary
on Turkey:

In a subsection named "Potential Flashpoints in Eurasia and Balkans,"
DNI Blair stated that: "The unresolved conflicts of the Caucasus
provide the most likely flashpoints in the Eurasia region. Moscow’s
expanded military presence in and political-economic ties to Georgia’s
separatist regions of South Ossetia and sporadic low-level violence
increase the risk of miscalculation or overreaction leading to renewed
fighting." (Pages 37-38 of Senate testimony)

Regarding Armenia-Turkey, Azerbaijan and Karabagh, Blair added
that "although there has been progress in the past year toward
Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, this has affected the delicate
relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and increases the risk
of a renewed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh." (Page 38 of Senate
testimony)

In another subsection entitled "Outlook for Russia," DNI Blair stated:

"The role Moscow plays regarding issues of interest to the United
States is likely to turn on many factors, including developments on
Russia’s periphery and the degree to which Russia perceives US policies
as threatening to what its leadership sees as vital Russian interests.

There have been encouraging signs in the past year that Russia is
prepared to be more cooperative with the United States, as illustrated
by President Medvedev’s agreement last summer to support air transit
through Russia of lethal military cargo in support of coalition
operations in Afghanistan and Moscow’s willingness to engage
with the United States on constructive ways to reduce the nuclear
threat from Iran. I remain concerned, however, that Russia looks
at relations with its neighbors in the former Soviet space-an area
characterized by President Medvedev as Russia’s "zone of privileged
interests"-largely in zero-sum terms, vis a vis the United States,
potentially undermining the US-Russian bilateral relationship. Moscow,
moreover, has made it clear it expects to be consulted closely on
missile defense plans and other European security issues.

On the domestic front, Moscow faces tough policy choices in the face
of an uptick in violence in the past year in the chronically volatile
North Caucasus, which is fueled in part by a continuing insurgency,
corruption, organized crime, clan competition, endemic poverty,
radical Islamist penetration, and a lagging economy that is just
beginning to recover from the global economic crisis. Some of the
violence elsewhere in Russia, such as a deadly train bombing in late
November 2009, may be related to instability in the North Caucasus."

(Page 29 of Senate testimony)

DNI Blair went on to comment on Russia’s "Military Picture," adding
that "in the conventional forces realm, Moscow remains capable of
militarily dominating the former Soviet space; although Russia’s
experience in the August 2008 Georgia conflict revealed major
shortcomings in the Russian military, it also validated previous
reform efforts that sought to develop rapidly-deployable forces
for use on its periphery. Russia continues to use its military in
an effort to assert its great power status and to project power
abroad, including through the use of heavy bomber aviation patrols,
out-of-area naval deployments, and joint exercises; some of these
activities can have greater demonstrative impact than operational
military significance." (Page 30 of Senate testimony)

Regarding Ukraine, DNI Blair stated: "Economic crisis and political
competition among top Ukrainian leaders pose the greatest risk of
instability in Ukraine, particularly in connection with this year’s
presidential election. Competition between President Yushchenko and his
primary rivals, Prime Minister Tymoshenko and Party of Regions leader
Yanukovych resulted in economic reform being put on the back burner
and complicated relations with Russia over gas payments. Moreover,
noncompliance with the conditions set by international financial
institutions has put the country’s economy in further jeopardy." (Page
38 of Senate testimony)

And regarding Central Asia, he commented that: "The regimes of
Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and
Turkmenistan-have been generally stable so far, but predicting how
long this will remain the case is difficult. The region’s autocratic
leadership, highly personalized politics, weak institutions, and
social inequality make predicting succession politics difficult and
increase the possibility that the process could lead to violence or an
increase in anti-US sentiment. There is also concern about the ability
of these states, especially Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan,
to manage the challenges if Islamic extremism spreads to the region
from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The risks are compounded by the economic
crisis, which has resulted in reduced remittances to the region,
and by perennial food and energy shortages in some parts of Central
Asia. Competition over water, cultivable land, and ethnic tensions
could serve as sparks for conflict." (Page 38 of Senate testimony)

DNI Blair offers a conclusion that stated: "A year ago the
deteriorating global economy threatened to trigger widespread political
instability. I am happy to report that, while the recovery remains
tenuous, the past economic clouds darkening the whole strategic
outlook have partially lifted. Despite the myriad uncertainties and
continuing challenges, the economic and political picture we are
facing today could have been far worse if the economic free fall
had not been stopped. As I indicated last year, the international
security environment is complex. No dominant adversary faces the United
States that threatens our existence with military force. Rather, the
complexity of the issues and multiplicity of actors-both state and
non state-increasingly constitutes one of our biggest challenges. We
in the Intelligence Community are seeking to understand and master the
complexity and interlocking ties between issues and actors and in doing
so believe we can help protect vital US interests in close cooperation
with other civilian and military members of the US Government." (Pages
45-46 of Senate testimony)

COORDINATOR OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: IN ARMENIA AUTHORITIES ARE FIGHTING AGAINST THEIR OWN PEOPLE

ArmInfo
2010-02-03 08:53:00

In Armenian the authorities are fighting against their own people,
said Coordinator of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Zurabyan
at today’s press-conference.

Commenting on the statement of Leader of National Accord Party Aram
Haroutyunyan that the rating of Nikol Pashinyan (editor of Haykakan
Zhamanak daily convicted for being privy to 1 March 2008 events)
is higher that that of Levon Ter-Petrossyan, the first president of
Armenia, Levon Zurabyan stressed: "Today everybody in the Armenian
National Congress is a soldier – starting from the leader and
finishing with the activist sticking the leaflets". According to the
oppositionist, the situation in the country creates an impression of
a war of the authorities against their own people.

However, despite the existing difficulties, Zurabyan pointed out the
ANC achievement after 1 March 2008 as well, particularly, the release
of most of the political prisoners and the ANC participation in the
election to the Council of Aldermen which confirmed the role of ANC
as the leading oppositional force.

GEORGIA-ARMENIA RELATIONS HAVE REACHED AN ALL-TIME LOW: ZURABYAN

Tert.am
17:25 ~U 02.02.10

The policy adopted by Armenian authorities has had serious impacts on
relations with Georgia, said Armenian National Congress Coordinator
Levon Zurabyan at a press conference today.

"The Georgian President violated a more than 15-year old tradition when
he declared that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue should be resolved within
Azerbaijani’s territorial integrity. He also deems it positive that
Turkey holds consultations with Azerbaijan over the Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation process.

"This unprecedented, better to say, contemptuous statements did not
get a reaction; such a low-level atmosphere of mutual trust left its
imprint on the results of the recent visit by Georgian Prime Minister
[Nika Gilauri] to Armenia," said Zurabyan.

In his words, no serious agreement was reached during this visit and
it could be stated that the Yerevan-Batumi roadway project, which is
"promoted by authorities’ propaganda" has failed.

"Nor was the issue of Armenian teachers who should come and improve
their qualifications in Armenia solved. There is not a single joint
initiative in [Samtskhe]-Javakheti. The status of Armenian church has
not been regulated either. We have never had such poor relations with
Georgia," Zurabyan included.

Davutoglu Explains Why Clinton Seemed Indifferent to Turkey’s Concerns

Tert.am
11:28 – 30.01.10
y

Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists
yesterday that, in London, the Turkish and American sides had
point-by-point discussed the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling.
As for the indifference the U.S. expressed towards Turkey’s concerns
on the court ruling, Davutoglu explained it this way:

`For them, the important thing is continuing the process, but we place
importance on its healthy continuation. There can be differences of
opinion. However, I think that now they understand better.’

Davutoglu also turned his attention to the possibility of Ankara
putting a halt to the process of establishing Armenia-Turkish
relations.

`If we become convinced that the process of establishing
Armenia-Turkish relations is not moving forward in the right
direction, then it won’t be possible to continue it any longer,’ said
the Turkish foreign minister, as reported by Turkish media.

Davutoglu added that Ankara won’t change its position on the decision
made by the Armenian court on the Protocols.