Author: Badalian Vardan

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 13 2007

His Holiness Garegin II blesses Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial

13.10.2007 11:26

On a day that started with His Holiness Karekin II delivering the
opening prayer in the House of Representatives and ended with the
favorable vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee which referred
the Armenian Genocide resolution to the floor, the Armenian
Catholicos also stopped at the landmark Washington building which is
being converted into the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial.

In remarks upon the conclusion of the blessing of the house service,
His Holiness said: "I bring my appreciation for your efforts to
memorialize the victims of the Armenian Genocide." Standing with the
Catholicos are Near East Foundation Board of Directors Chairman Shant
Mardirossian, Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial Building and
Operations Committee member Zaven Tachdjian, His Eminence Archbishop
Khajak Barsamian of the Diocese of the Armenian Church, AGMM Board of
Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian, AGMM Committee Chairman Van
Krikorian, former chairwoman of the Armenian Assembly of America
Board of Directors Annie Totah, and former chairman of the Armenian
Assembly of America Board of Directors Peter Vosbikian.

Global Insight
October 12, 2007

Turkey Recalls Ambassador From U.S. as Tensions Escalate Over
Armenian Genocide Vote

by Mandy Kirby

Turkey remained defiant today, following a referral of the Armenian
genocide resolution to the U.S. House of representatives.

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States for
"consultation", following the decision of U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to refer a bill recognising as
genocide the 1915-1918 slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman
Empire troops. The Turkish government said that Ambassador Nabi
Sensoy has not been permanently recalled, but would be in Turkey for
some days to discuss further action.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul was quick to condemn the resolution as
a betrayal of his country from one of its key allies, within minutes
of the vote on 10 October. Turkey accepts that atrocities were
carried out, but has denied genocide, as well the number of 1.5
million generally accepted by historians. Turkey has asked for a
joint commission of Armenian and Turkish historians to be convened,
and wants recognition for the thousands of Turks and others who died
during the civil and military unrest of the time, in atrocities
carried out by several states. However, more than 20 countries have
passed similar resolutions, calling on Turkey to accept its past.

Global Insight

Perspective
Significance Turkey has recalled its Ambassador to the U.S. for
"consultations" following the passing of a resolution recognising as
genocide the 1915-1918 slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by troops
of Ottoman Turkey.

Implications
Despite the opposition of key administration members, including
President George W. Bush, the resolution’s future is now in the hands
of the House of Representatives, and Turkish-U.S. relations are under
threat, paving the way for scrabbling diplomacy to ensure the fallout
does not extend into regional destabilisation.

Outlook
The deterioration in relations with the United States heightens the
risk of Turkey taking unilateral action in pursuit of Kurdish rebels
into northern Iraq. Turkey could also threaten to limit U.S. access
to the Incirlik air base, which provides logistical support to U.S.
troops in Iraq. However, Global Insight believes that any such
unilateral action is highly unlikely.

Risk Ratings
This is potentially the most serious issue to have hit U.S.-Turkish
relations. The implications radiate into the region, which can ill
afford destabilisation. On a positive note, Turkish-U.S. business
relations are unlikely to suffer, although Turkish public opinion has
certainly shifted towards general opposition to the United States as
whole. Currently, Turkey’s security-risk rating reflects the tense
border situation, but a risk upgrade would be necessary in the event
of Turkish unilateral action in Iraq.

Iraq Threat

>From the perspective of the U.S. administration, the situation is
fraught with difficulties. Leading members had warned against the
timing of resolution, with Turkey set to tackle the increasingly
critical issue of separatist rebels in the southern Turkish and
northern Iraqi regions. The content of the resolution provoked a
similar warning, as it calls for the resolution to inform U.S.
foreign policy. Opponents include President George W Bush, as well as
Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, who condemned the actions of the vote as endangering U.S.
national security interests, hinting that the action would endanger
U.S. troops serving in Iraq.

The reasons for this are twofold; Turkey has recently moved to a more
aggressive position to pursue Kurdish rebels, debating authorizing a
cross-border incursion in pursuit of rebels from the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), largely based in the northern Iraqi regions, and
in particular in the difficult terrain of the Qandil mountains.
Secondly, a considerable concern for the United States is the
possibility that access to the Incirlik base would be restricted or
closed down. The base provides significant logistical support to U.S.
troops in Iraq, acting as a cargo conduit. Although the United States
has functioned without Turkish support in the past when in 2003
parliament voted against opening a second front into Iraq, loss of
access to Incirlik could compromise U.S. operations in the short
term.

Terrorism Issue Paramount to Turkey

The issue of separatist rebels should not be underestimated; it has
now taken on paramount importance for Turkey, and the genocide
resolution gives the government a pretext to take a more hard-line
approach to the issue. The Turkish government, seeing public opinion
sway after a raft of recent fatalities of soldiers and civilians, and
a key report discussed in the last week over rebel capabilities,
changed its position earlier this year. Then it gave assurances that
parliament would be consulted over any incursions into Iraq,
stressing this would be a last resort (see Turkey: 13 June 2007: ).
Now, it feels the threat is justifying a stronger response. The U.S.
is clearly and vehemently opposed to unilateral Turkish action across
the border, which it fears would destabilise Iraq’s northern
Kurdish-dominated regions. Although Turkey and Iraq recently signed
co-operation agreements on rebel pursuit, the autonomous Kurdish
administration (KRG) has paid little heed to these, and is unwilling
to get involved in the dangerous pursuit of rebels, leaving many to
conclude that northern Iraq is something of a safe haven. Previous
attempts to track rebels have had mixed success, and the Turkish
military now believes that only a sustained presence in a roughly
60-kilometre border region would have a marked effect on rebel
presence. The present, periodic "hot pursuits" do not do enough to
damage rebel infrastructure, and even cross-border operations are
unlikely to succeed if they are too brief, the government believes.
While Turkey has carried these out in the past, such operations have
has always had the support of the Iraqi government, which is visibly
lacking now.

Outlook and Implications

Turkey has been incensed by the passing of the genocide resolution by
the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, although the
issue is by no means unanimously decided. The committee voted 27-21
to approve the resolution, which will now be formally put to the
House of Representatives. Its fate there lies in the hands of the
Democrats that control the chamber. The Republicans are largely
against passing the measure, and in this instance the issue more the
usefulness of this particular resolution, its wording, and–most
critically of all–its timing.

Other relationships will be affected; the situation has implications
for Turkey’s position as a European Union (EU) candidate state, with
France leading a call for recognition of genocide–although this
throws up controversies too, as President Nicholas Sarkozy
controversially told Algerians subjected to atrocities under French
rule that the sons could not be expected to apologise for the sins of
their fathers. When the French resolution was passed, Turkey
suspended contacts with the French military, but France has the upper
hand in this situation, being able to prevent Turkey’s EU ambitions.

Although the Iraqi government will protest any unilateral moves, it
has difficulties of its own, with the KRG not heeding messages from
central government, and more keen to protect its own. Pressure is
unlikely to be brought to bear, given the risk of an move by the
region to secede–taking the oil and gas-rich city of Kirkuk with
it–a fear shared by Iraq, the United States and Turkey. Relations
with Israel may also suffer, with Turkey unhappy that its ally,
Israel, did not push harder to prevent the resolution from being
voted on; the Israeli line remains that historians and not
politicians should and that the issue is an internal U.S. one.
Additionally, the Anti-Defamation League reversed its position in
August this year and declared the slaughter of the Armenians
"tantamount to genocide".

Turkey’s reaction may well be seen as rash. Had it held off acting,
and taken this non-binding resolution in a different spirit, this
obstacle could have been overcome. Instead, there is now less scope
for compromise. Turkey, which has exhibited reactionary foreign
policy often in the past, will now be looking for reassurance and
concessions from the United States. This may happen in some respect,
and go towards soothing Turkish sensitivities, but the United States
will not jeopardise its own interests, and will extend only nominal,
placatory measures. The critical issue is whether bilateral relations
will be damaged more profoundly; Turkey has felt increasingly
sensitive to the lack of support it perceives over the rebel issue.
U.S.-Turkish business relations are less likely to suffer, being well
established. This is small comfort ahead of a tense few days to
ensue, with backroom diplomacy going into overdrive.

MONEY REMITTANCES TO ARMENIA IN NINE MONTHS REACH $1.2 BILLION

ARMENPRESS
Oct 11 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Money remittances from Armenians
working in Russia, USA and other countries to relatives in Armenia
in January -September of this year rose almost 30 percent from a year
ago to $1.2 billion.

These figures were unveiled today by Armenian Central Bank governor
Tigran Sarkisian, who spoke at the opening of an international
conference on retail banking services in Yerevan.

Sarkisian said the Central Bank forecast was a 10 percent growth. The
bulk of money transfers- 70 percent- are coming from Russia.

Sarkisian said handling money remittances have become a very lucrative
business in Armenia. Unlike Armenia, money remittances to Russia
make annually some $700 million while transfers from Russia reach
$3 billion, according to Garegin Tosunian, chairman of the Union of
Russian Banks.

According to Tigran Sarkisian, local commercial banks have earned
8.5 billion Drams this year from providing money transfer services,
by 2 billion drams more form a year ago. He said also no bank is
dominating in this sector and because of competition the banks have
to lower their commission charges.

KEY IRAQ ALLY TURKEY ANGERED BY HOUSE MOVE
By William H. McMichael – Staff writer

Navy Times, VA
Oct 12 2007

A valued ally in the U.S. war on terrorism could be on the verge of
turning its back on that effort over what the Bush administration
says is an ill-timed House resolution condemning the 1915-1917 mass
killings of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide."

And Turkey may be taking its own war on terror across the Iraqi border,
where Kurdish rebels who hope to create an independent socialist
state in the greater region are said to be hiding. The Associated
Press reported today that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has
suggested that his parliament could hold a vote next week to allow
cross-border military operations.

AP reported Wednesday that Turkish warplanes and helicopters were
already striking positions along Turkey’s southern border with Iraq
in an attempt to rout the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party,
which the U.S. and others have labeled a terrorist organization.

The New York Times reported today that a recent uptick in violence
blamed on the rebels has prompted the action. More than 20 years of
Turkish conflict with the separatist group has produced some 30,000
total casualties, according to the U.S. State Department.

"The violence that has been undertaken by the PKK is an enormous
challenge," Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, told AP Thursday. "It’s really a strategic issue. So we are
again very understanding of the concern [the Turks] have over these
terrorists who are up in the very, very high mountains that straddle
the border there."

Despite the massive U.S. presence in Iraq, it has no forces of any
significance in the country’s most northern reaches, controlled by
Kurdish militia forces allied with the U.S.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday he was unaware of any
increase in U.S. force presence in the Kurdish-controlled north.

Whitman said the U.S. wants to get Turkey and Iraq to work on a
"long-term solution to what has been a problem for some time. And the
long-term solution is not … military action along the border." He
said the best way forward would be a "political and diplomatic
agreement on a way forward."

Turkish anger over the continued rebel presence and the resolution
places the U.S. in an extremely awkward position. Turkey, a NATO
ally, plays a key role in the U.S. war in Iraq. According to Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, 70 percent of American air cargo bound for
Iraq passes through Turkey, as well as 30 percent of the U.S. fuel.

"We are concerned about that," Petraeus said. "A lot our supplies
come through Turkey. … To maintain that commercial exchange is
hugely important through the border crossing at Habur Gate. And we
hope that will continue."

In addition to basing rights at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
has commanded two security force rotations in Afghanistan and is a
partner in the Joint Strike Fighter project, according to Gates.

Sixteen U.S. Navy ships also made port calls in Turkey last year.

Turkey has not yet said whether or how the resolution could affect
its support of the U.S. war. But AP reported that Turkish President
Abdullah Gul warned of "serious troubles" if the measure was adopted
by the full House. U.S. officials underlined such sentiments.

"The Turks have been quite clear in saying that they will think very
carefully about some of the measures that they have to take if this
resolution passes," Gates told reporters in London today. "I think it’s
worth noting that the French parliament passed a similar resolution
and there were a number of steps taken by the Turkish government to
punish, if you will, the French government."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey added today, "Turkish officials
have made clear their very strong concerns about this and have
raised questions about potential consequences in the event that this
resolution passes."

Turkey’s U.S. ambassador was ordered back home Thursday for discussions
about the measure, and cited a private Turkish TV network report
that Turkey’s top naval officer cancelled a planned trip to the U.S.,
AP reported.

On Wednesday, the House Foreign Relations Committee passed a
non-binding resolution condemning the 1915-1917 killings as genocide –
something long and widely acknowledged by historians but vehemently
denied by Turkey, which says the killings were not government-sponsored
and which claims that hundreds of thousands of Turks also died in
fighting during the era.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., whose district has large numbers of
Armenian Americans, has long backed the measure, which is co-sponsored
by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. It also has the support of
two Democratic presidential contenders, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New
York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

U.S. administration officials acknowledge the tragedy but said the
resolution needlessly sparks outrage over an issue of high emotional
significance to a strong ally.

"I think we all recognize there were mass murders 95 years ago, 1915,"
Gates said. "The problem that we have is that this is clearly a very
sensitive subject for one of our closest allies, and an ally that is
incredibly important to the United States in terms of our operations
in Iraq."

Pelosi acknowledged the "very strong relationship" the U.S. has with
Turkey and told reporters today that "this isn’t about … the Erdogan
government. This is about the Ottoman Empire."

As to why the issue was being pressed now, she replied, "There’s never
a good time. And all of us in the Democratic leadership have supported
our making – reiterating the Americans’ acknowledgement of a genocide."

Gates said the timing was poor.

"I think we all have to take into account the cultures and history
of individual countries," he said. "And all I can say is that a
resolution that looks back almost 100 years to an event that took place
under a predecessor government – the Ottomans – and that has enormous
present-day implications for American soldiers and Marines and sailors
and airmen in Iraq is something we need to take very seriously."

Casey agreed. "We don’t believe that passage of such a resolution is
helpful either to the cause of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation or to
U.S. national security interests. … The determination of whether
these events constitute genocide is something that we believe should
be a matter for historical inquiry, not for political debate."

10/military_turkeyiraq_071011w/

RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE REALISM

The Guardian, UK
Oct 11 2007

The decision on Capitol Hill to accuse Turkey of genocide a century
ago could have disastrous repercussions in the present.

Simon Tisdall

About Webfeeds October 11, 2007 12:30 PM | Printable version
Imperial delusions die hard – and once again the US Congress is
trying to legislate for the world. As most Turks see it, this week’s
committee vote in the House of Representatives accusing Turkey of
genocide against the Armenians in 1915-17 is an insulting, gratuitous
interference in their sovereign affairs. As the 27 Democrats and
Republicans who backed the bill see it, it is a matter of putting
the world to rights, according to America’s lights.

Congress has a long history of extraterritorial meddling. It regularly
slaps unilateral sanctions on "rogue" governments, and orders foreign
businesses and individuals to obey its strictures, regardless of
nationality. Its attempts to direct US foreign policy are resisted
by the executive branch to varying degrees. On Cuba, Venezuela,
Iran and Israel, White House and legislature mostly agree.

On Turkey, like Iraq, they are at noisy loggerheads.

"We oppose the bill. We think it is a bad idea that will do nothing
to improve Turkish-Armenian relations. It will not do anything to
advance American interests," Daniel Fried, assistant secretary for
Eurasian affairs, told Turkish television this week. President Bush,
the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and defence secretary,
Robert Gates, all chimed in. They even mobilised all former living
US secretaries of state in joint opposition, but to no avail. It was
a measure of the lame-duck president’s chronic weakness.

Sentimentality and righteousness are never far from the surface of
American politics. "Despite President Bush twisting arms and making
deals, justice prevailed," said Democrat Brad Sherman of California,
playing to a gallery of elderly ethnic Armenians who attended the vote
and the wider Armenian diaspora. "If we hope to stop future genocides,
we need to admit to those horrific acts of the past."

One problem for Mr Sherman and his fellow Californian Democrat, the
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is that for the most part Turks admit
nothing of the kind – and deeply resent such vicarious apologising.

"Twenty-seven foolish Americans" said a headline in the Vatan
newspaper. "It is blatantly obvious that [Congress] does not have a
task or function to rewrite history," snarled the Ankara government.

Another problem is that the Democrats’ motives are up for scrutiny.

Turkish media suggest the struggle is less about justice and more about
votes and campaign contributions from the powerful Armenian-American
lobby, concentrated in the key 2008 election battlefields of
California, New Jersey and Michigan.

More pertinently perhaps, Turkish officials ask why, when the US
officially believes genocide is occurring right now in Sudan, it
is digging up disputed events nearly a century ago. This week saw
escalating killings in Darfur and warnings that a beefed-up UN force
will not deploy for many months yet. Campaigners say that is partly
because Congress has failed to honour US funding pledges.

Having lost the committee vote, and conscious that the full House
is expected to approve the bill before Thanksgiving, the Bush
administration is now pursuing damage-limitation. Turkey is being
reassured the Senate will not pass the bill into law and that in any
case, nothing is really changed by such posturing. The hope is that
Ankara will not "overreact".

Hope is the correct word, for Mr Bush is now reduced to a
fingers-crossed policy. In the next few days, an alienated Turkish
parliament will almost certainly vote to authorise punitive military
incursions into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish separatists who
find sanctuary there. Such action, going directly against US wishes,
has great potential to destabilise the region further.

And that may be just a beginning. As Mr Gates noted this week, Turkey
could cut off US military supply lines to Iraq and disrupt air force
operations. It could strengthen its de facto anti-Kurdish alliance
with Iran and withdraw support for Washington’s attempts to isolate
Tehran. In the worst case, congressional grandstanding could cost
the US its most powerful Muslim ally in the Middle East.

Such catastrophic rupture is unlikely – the two sides need each
other too much. But as the Turkish Daily News columnist Mehmet Ali
Birand noted today: "In spite of the non-binding nature [of the bill],
Turkey will still lose considerable prestige. Armenian allegations will
gain credibility. It will make it easier for Armenians to pressurise
European parliaments. Turkey will be hurt."

The hurt is deep, born of a sense of a friend’s betrayal. And
given that a poll earlier this year found that 81% of Turks already
disapproved of US policies, the multiplying, ramifying cost to American
prestige and leverage is set to rise. Even after Iraq and uncounted
"war on terror" disasters, imperial Washington still seems blind to
the difference between power and wisdom.

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian
Office of Assemblymember Paul Krekorian
Contact: Karo Torossian
620 N. Brand Blvd. # 403
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 240-6330
Fax: (818) 240-4632

ASSEMBLYMEMBER PAUL KREKORIAN APPLAUDS HISTORIC VICTORY FOR GENOCIDE
RECOGNITION IN CONGRESS

GLENDALE – Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) today welcomed the
House Foreign Affairs Committee’s historic vote on House Resolution 106 – a
resolution that recognizes the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and calls upon
President George W. Bush to properly characterize the Turkish atrocities
against Armenians as "genocide." The resolution passed the committee
earlier today by a vote of 27-21.

"Today, the power of truth and justice was greater than the power of the
President of the United States," stated Assemblymember Krekorian in reaction
to the victory. "I congratulate every person who made a phone call or wrote
a letter to Congress, because their grassroots advocacy overcame powerful
opposition and moved us a step closer to justice."

Only hours before the vote, in an unprecedented effort to defeat the
resolution, President Bush admonished members of Congress that the
resolution could adversely impact US-Turkish relations. "President Bush’s
continuing effort to prevent genocide recognition should be infuriating to
everyone who cares about historical truth and human rights," Krekorian said.
"His statements today are completely contrary to the promises he made to the
Armenian community while he was a candidate – and more important, they are
completely contrary to the most important principles that we cherish as a
nation," continued Krekorian.

"If Turkey has the audacity to threaten that this resolution will damage
relations in a way that could endanger even one of our courageous troops,
then Turkey can never again call itself an ally. The United States should
never allow petty threats from Turkey to deter us from being true to history
and calling for human rights and justice. In order to remain a beacon of
hope for the world, the United States must have the courage to condemn the
genocides of the past and prevent the genocides of the present, no matter
who may be offended."

"This victory in the Foreign Affairs Committee is a tribute to the wonderful
efforts of the resolution’s author, Congressman Adam Schiff, and the many
other dedicated members of Congress such as Brad Sherman and Frank Pallone
who have worked tirelessly on this issue," stated Krekorian. "Every American
who cares about preventing future atrocities must continue to fight to
ensure this resolution’s passage. The United States must send an
unequivocal message that genocide cannot be tolerated, no matter when or
where it occurs."

Assemblymember Krekorian is the highest ranking Armenian-American elected
official in Southern California and one of only three California legislators
of Armenian descent. Krekorian’s great-uncle was killed in the Genocide in
1915.

BUSH OPPOSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

ToTheCenter.com, NY

O ct 11 2007

Bush has given opposition to a new resolution that would classify the
deaths of many Armenians during World War I as genocide. Congress has
been debating a bill that would identify the killing of 1.5 million
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the war. According to the Guardian
Unlimited, Turkey denies that this constitutes genocide and states
that the death toll number is inflated.

Bush has opposed the bill due to pressure from the Turkish
government. Turkey is a NATO ally and a major staging area for military
involvement in the Middle East. Turkey even hinted at the possibility
of cutting off military use of airspace.

Condoleezza Rice stated to reporters that, "at this time would be very
problematic for everything we are trying to do in the Middle East."

However, many members of congress feel it is a moral issue. Rep. Christ
Smith form New Jersey was quoted as saying, "the sad truth is that
the modern government of Turkey refuses to come to terms with this
genocide. For Armenians everywhere, the Turkish government’s denial
is a slap in the face."

Kevorkian: Jail reform is his new cause

The Detroit News
Monday, October 08, 2007

By Mike Martindale

ROYAL OAK — Jack Kevorkian is setting aside his crusade for assisted
suicide in favor of prison reform and civil rights.

Four months after his release from prison, Kevorkian — either a
murderer or an advocate for patient rights, depending upon one’s
viewpoint — says he’s healthier now and has no plans to go away quietly.

"I feel good now and have some things to do," said Kevorkian, wearing a
light jacket and white golf hat on a recent visit to the Royal Oak
Farmers Market. "I have a couple issues bigger than euthanasia, both
controversial, that I’d like to get out there if they let me."

Those issues are America’s prisons system, which he says is punitive and
unproductive, and the little-discussed Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Bill
of Rights, which says rights not mentioned in the document cannot be
denied simply because they aren’t mentioned. Kevorkian says it’s a
civil-rights issue that could solve innumerable controversies in
American society, including abortion and euthanasia.

Kevorkian, 79, was released from prison June 1 after serving eight years
of a second-degree murder sentence for assisting in the 1998 death of
Tomas Youk, who was in the final stages of Lou Gehrig’s disease. The
retired pathologist, whose fascination with death earned him the moniker
"Dr. Death," has moved into an apartment here, near where he began
shaking up the medical and legal establishments 17 years ago with his
suicide machine.

Kevorkian plans to hit the public speaking circuit to air his views. He
had agreed to give his first speech this Thursday at the University of
Florida, but the event was postponed until Jan. 15. The school wants to
review its security procedures after an incident in which a student was
shot by a Taser fired by campus police during a Sept. 17 appearance by
U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Kevorkian says he will be paid $50,000
for his appearance.

A justice system like Europe

Kevorkian maintains there are better ways to deal with society’s
criminals than putting them all behind bars. He argues the current
justice system is based on "justice as retribution rather than justice
as reconciliation" and favors a "restorative justice" approach proposed
by Dutch jurist Herman Bianchi.

The program is based on a European system in which victims and
defendants would sit down in a church or monastery where the person
responsible could not be touched and would work out a form of mediation
with the victim, including payment for crimes. Kevorkian said he
believes this compensatory justice is preferable to warehousing
criminals in prisons and could be helpful in prison reform.

"Prisoners are worse off than slaves," Kevorkian said. "At least slaves
were able to have families."

Kevorkian also wants to lecture on the Ninth Amendment, which reads:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

"If it (Ninth Amendment) would be applied the way it was supposed to, I
would never have been jailed or have gone to prison," Kevorkian said.
"And it would also put an end to any debate over so many issues:
Euthanasia and abortion, marriage between people of the same sex, any
type of discrimination or deprivation of the rights that we are all born
with … and it says those rights don’t have to be named in a document.
You’re born with them."

"The U.S. Supreme Court has never taken it up," said Kevorkian’s
attorney and friend, Mayer Morganroth.

He’s not first to question 9th

The man who put Kevorkian behind bars, assistant Oakland County
prosecuting attorney John Skrzynski, said Kevorkian has every right to
express his opinions but emphasized that people should be mindful of
Kevorkian’s expertise — or lack thereof.

"He can be an advocate for the legalization of assisted suicide but he
better not get involved in it," said Skrzynski, who won a conviction
against Kevorkian after two acquittals in other cases. "As far as the
Ninth Amendment he wants to talk about the law as if he is an expert,
but the public should know he’s not a lawyer — as he proved during his
trial.

"Now, discussing prison, I guess he has some expertise there."

Brian C. Kalt, a constitutional law professor at Michigan State
University, said the vagueness of the Ninth Amendment leaves it subject
to legal debate.

"It essentially says our rights are not limited by what’s in the Bill of
Rights," Kalt said. "But it doesn’t define those other rights. Kevorkian
isn’t the first to raise this question and the Supreme Court usually
decides unspecified rights, like the right to privacy, on due process
provided by the 14th Amendment, which says you can’t be deprived of
life, liberty or property without due process, like court."

He has public’s attention

Morganroth said despite being out of the spotlight for nearly a decade,
the public remains very interested in Kevorkian.

"People just come up and say hello, it’s always that way," Morganroth
said. "In seconds, people surround him. They want to hear what he has to
say. He’s a hero to them."

Nibbling on a banana nut muffin, Kevorkian said his days have been
"pretty dull" since he was paroled from prison. His diabetes and
hepatitis are under control. He rises early, takes walks — usually to a
public library — and lives a quiet, rather solitary existence. He has
no plans to renew an expired driver’s license.

He meets monthly with his parole officer and keeps in touch with a few
close friends. He is constantly recognized.

"Good to see you, Doctor," said Barry Schmidt, 59, of Berkley, offering
a handshake. "I’m in your corner all the way."

Schmidt later said he felt it was a "shame" Kevorkian served a day
behind bars. "I think he was humanely helping people out with the last
moments of their lives," Schmidt said. "He’s a great man and certainly
paid the price."

Kevorkian said he believed citizens, like one who disrupted Kerry’s
lecture in Florida, could be planted at one of his own engagements to
"target" him. Or worse.

"What are you going to do?" he said. "You say things and if you rile the
tyrants, they take care of you. I wasn’t afraid to go to prison. What do
you do when they know you don’t fear them? Have you judged insane and
tossed in a hospital? Assassination? What happened to Martin Luther
King? How was he silenced?

"You make the choice and live with it."

You can reach Mike Martindale at (248) 647-7226 or [email protected]

m/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071008/METRO/710080 323&theme=Metro-Kevorkian

TURK PM TELLS BUSH GENOCIDE BILL WOULD HARM TIES

Reuters, UK
Oct 5 2007

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s prime minister told President George
W. Bush on Friday ties between their countries would suffer if the
U.S. Congress passes a bill branding the 1915 mass killing of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks "genocide."

The Bush administration opposes a genocide resolution but Congress
is dominated by the Democratic Party and, according to Turkish media,
its Foreign Relations Committee will take up the issue on October 10.

"(The bill) would harm our strategic relationship…and also damage
efforts to develop relations between Turkey and Armenia," the state-run
Anatolian news agency quoted Tayyip Erdogan as telling Bush in a
telephone call.

Turkey is a key NATO ally of Washington and a moderate Muslim country
whose support it needs in the region as it fights Iraqi insurgents
and confronts Iran over its nuclear program.

Bush told Erdogan his administration would work "decisively" to
prevent the bill passing, the agency said.

Some political analysts say Ankara might consider restricting the
U.S. military’s use of Incirlik air base, a logistics hub for the
Middle East, if Congress passes the bill.

Turkey has already sent several delegations to the United States to
try to halt the resolution.

The issue of the Armenian massacres is deeply sensitive in Turkey,
where it is a crime to portray them as "genocide."

Ankara acknowledges large numbers of Armenians were killed but says
many Muslim Turks also died during fierce inter-ethnic fighting as
the Ottoman Empire collapsed during World War One.

Several Turkish writers, including Nobel Literature laureate Orhan
Pamuk, have been prosecuted for their comments on the massacres.

Turkish Armenian editor Hrant Dink was shot dead by a Turkish
ultra-nationalist in January for urging Turks to face up to their
historic responsibility for the killings.

The issue was also high on the agenda in talks on in Ankara Friday
between the French and Turkish foreign ministers, Bernard Kouchner
and Ali Babacan.

Last year, the lower house of the French parliament angered Ankara
by passing a bill that would make it a crime to deny the Armenian
genocide.

The bill never secured support from the Senate or President Jacques
Chirac to become law, but Turkey froze military and other forms of
cooperation with France in protest.

A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENTARY FACTION OF REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA: IT IS EASIER TO BELIEVE IN A SNOWMAN THAN IN A SINGLE-WHOLE CANDIDATE FROM OPPOSITION

ArmInfo Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2007

ArmInfo. "We have made sure that the existence of a snowman is more
probable than the nomination of a single-whole candidate from the
opposition," Armen Ashotyan, a member of the parliamentary faction
of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), told ArmInfo correspondent.

Asked whether RPA will accept Armenian ex-President Levon Ter-
Petrosyan’s proposal if the latter expresses a desire to meet RPA
representatives, A.Ashotyan replied: "The RPA has passed a long path
with the Armenian National Movement (ANM). RPA had been ANM’s partner
for a long time until serious disagreements on the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem arose in 1997, which became the reason of dissociation. I
think, RPA will accept L.Ter-Petrosyan’s proposal". Touching upon the
cooperation of three parties under the signed agreement, A.Ashotyan
said: "As we work with the Prosperous Armenia Party under a signed
agreement and ARFD cooperates with the two parties, we both are
responsible for the three parties".