Author: Boshkezenian Garik

TO ACT SYSTEMATIC AND PURPOSEFUL

Azat Artsakh Tert
Oct 31 2007
Nagorno Karabakh Republic

Today a session of the NKR Government took place by the head of the
Prime Minister A.Haroutyunian. Before passing on the questions of
agenda, the Prime Minister announced, that henceforth the Government’s
session would be open and transparent. At the session, according to
the agenda, the Government made a number of changes and additions
in the decision adopted formely, a part of which Minister of the NKR
Economical development represented. The changes particularly refered
to the systems of gas supply, communication, water supply.A list
of viewpoints of the activity realized by the national operator of
postal communication is established at the session. Minister of Finance
S.Tevossian represented the NKR bill to the Government’s establishment
"About washing money and struggle against financing". According to
him, that bill corresponded to the international standards and drafted
by RA Central Bank. At the same time he pointed that the Government
had represented such bill to the NKR NA in time, but it hadn’t been
discussed. The Government decided to approve that bill and represent
it to the Parliament’s discussion.

By representation of Minister of Justice A.Mossian, the Government
approved the NKR bill "About Audit Chamber", which should be
sent to the discussion of the NKR NA. The Government passed a
resolution about creating closed joint-stock company on the basis
of "Azat Artsakh" official gazette. Regulations of "Azat Artsakh"
closed joint-stock company are established and Murad Petrossian was
appointed executive director of the company. Summerizing the session,
the Prime Minister gave assignments members of the Government and
leaders of separate departments and instructed to act systematic and
purposeful. (Administration of relations with the NKR Government’s
information and community).

INTERVIEW WITH TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S.

CNN
October 28, 2007 Sunday

SHOW: CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER 11:00 AM EST

BYLINE: Wolf Blitzer, Ed Henry, Candy Crowley, Mark Preston

GUESTS: Mohamed ElBaradei, Barbara Boxer, Trent Lott, Nabi Sensoy,
Mike Huckabee, David Miliband

[parts on other interviews omitted]

Mr. Ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. Welcome to "Late
Edition." How close is your country, Turkey, to invading northern Iraq?

NABI SENSOY, TURKEY’S AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Well, in the first place,
I wouldn’t like to use the term "invade" Iraq, because if there is
going to be a decision to intervene militarily in the north of the
country, it will have a specific target and a scope, and the target
will be the PKK terrorist organizations.

BLITZER: How close are you to that?

SENSOY: Now as you know, the government has taken authorization from
the parliament, if necessary, to go into Iraq militarily. Now so far
the Turkish government has shown remarkable, I think, restraint to
— not to use force in order to resolve this issue. We are trying
to employ and exhaust all the diplomatic possibilities and peaceful
possibilities before we think of the last resort, which is use to —
of arms.

BLITZER: There have been repeated reports that Turkish aircraft have
already crossed the line, have gone into northern Iraq and bombed
certain facilities. Are those reports true?

SENSOY: I’m not privy to those informations. There is a lot of activity
going in the south of the country, in the southeast of the country.

BLITZER: Of Turkey.

SENSOY: Of Turkey, in preparation. But I’m not really informed about
any kind of activity south of the border.

BLITZER: Have the Turkish forces massed 100,000 or so troops along
the border?

SENSOY: Well, there has always been activity in the south of the
country because of the activities of this terrorist organization,
so it is possible that they have now beefed up the forces in the
south of the country.

BLITZER: As you know, the U.S. government, the Bush administration,
is strongly urging you not to intervene in northern Iraq, in
Kurdistan. Listen to what the secretary of state said. Just listen
to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: We don’t see that any effort
across that border by the Turks is going to help with the situation.

We have said to the Turks that a major — some kind of incursion into
Iraq is only going to cause further instability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. What do you say in response?

SENSOY: Well, that’s why we have shown so much restraint so far. But if
the countries — all the groups in the north of Iraq think that — or
do not assume their responsibilities to eliminate the PKK themselves,
they cannot expect Turkey to sit idly by to see that the Turkish
population is being slaughtered by the PKK.

BLITZER: Because here’s what the Iraqi government says — last Sunday
here on "Late Edition," the Iraqi government spokesman, Ali Al-
Dabbagh, was on this program, and he offered this explanation. Listen
to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI AL-DABBAGH, IRAQI GOVT. SPOKESMAN: Even Turkey, they can’t
stop PKK. This is mounting. It’s a rough area. Fifteen years now the
struggle with Turkey. Twenty-four times Turkey had to close the border
and couldn’t get rid of the PKK. Now one more crossing the border
won’t solve the problem. It will be great problems for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He says you haven’t been able to stop it even on your side.

Why do you think you can go into northern Iraq and stop the PKK?

SENSOY: Well, I think it should be interpreted that the Turkish nation
has taken enough measures so that these terrorist organizations, these
terrorists, have sought to go to the north of the Iraqi territory to
conduct hit-and-run attacks to Turkey.

Now, they have camped along the Turkish border in five places.

They’re conducting hit-and-run attacks. So we have lost more than
35,000 lives in the last 20 years. Now enough is enough.

And I saw the mood in Turkey, and within the Turkish public. It
is one of outrage. And that is why no government can really remain
unresponsive to the cries from the people.

BLITZER: On Tuesday, the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki said
this: "The PKK is a notorious terror organization, and we have decided
to shut down its offices and not allow them to operate on Iraqi
soil. We will take all measures to restrict its terror activities
that threaten Iraq and threaten Turkey as well."

Do you not believe him?

SENSOY: Well, in the first place, it’s small comfort that they are
going to close down the offices, because those offices were closed
down before to see the next day that they’re open next to the very
place that they have closed. So this is the very least that the Iraqi
government can do. But there are other things. Elimination of this
requires the end to logistical support that goes to the terrorist
organization from the north of the country. This is in the form of
arms, food, ammunition, every kind of logistical support. So this
has to be stopped in the first place in order to be able to eliminate
the present.

BLITZER: Some analysts have suggested that the consideration in the
House of Representatives here in Washington a few weeks ago of a
resolution condemning the Ottoman Empire for the, quote, "genocide of
Armenians" during World War I contributed to this tension, not only
tension with the United States but tension between Turkey and Iraq.

That resolution, among other things, said, "The Armenian genocide was
conceived and carried out by the Ottoman empire from 1915 to 1923,
resulting in the deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom
1,500,000 men, women and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were
expelled from their homes, and which succeeded in the elimination of
the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland."

How much of a factor was consideration in the House of Representatives
of this resolution in Turkey’s angry stance right now?

SENSOY: I can see no relationship between the two. With regard to the
Armenian resolution, I think it was a very bad idea, because as far as
the international law is concerned, the Armenians have no arguments
with regard to the 1948 convention. And that’s why they are taking
the issue to a political…

BLITZER: Your position is that there was no genocide.

SENSOY: Well, what we are saying is the events of 1915 needs further
investigation. And that is why we have proposed setting up of a
committee of historians between Turkey and Armenia to look into this
matter to go into the archives and to dig out the truth. Whatever
the truth is, we are going to accept.

BLITZER: We’ve got to leave it there, we’re out of time. Ambassador
Sensoy, thanks very much for coming in. Let’s hope that situation
remains calm or calms down. Appreciate it very much.

NYT
Editorial
October 26, 2007

Editorial

Putin Takes on the Election Observers

It was only with luck, Benjamin Franklin mulled during the debates of
the Constitutional Convention, that the framers would "produce a
government that could forestall, for a decade perhaps, the decline of
the Republic into tyranny." The American states had that luck. Russia
has not.

The latest sign of its sad decline is a diplomatic campaign by the
Kremlin, reported by C. J. Chivers in The Times this week, to curtail
the activities of election observers from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe – just in time for Russia’s
December parliamentary elections and March presidential election.

President Vladimir Putin is not trying to bar the observers
altogether; that would be too obvious. What he wants is to cut the
size of the monitoring missions and stop them from immediately
releasing their reports, thus diminishing their impact.

We can see how foreign observers can grate on a country’s pride. But
what the Kremlin and its allies clearly do not want is anyone paying
too much attention to their antidemocratic ploys. Mr. Putin is
convinced that the European group’s criticism of elections in Georgia,
Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan helped foment the so-called "color" revolutions
that set the votes right. Russia pre-emptively sent its own
"observers" to elections in Belarus to contradict the organization’s
misgivings.

Mr. Putin’s K.G.B.-heavy government calls the monitoring "meddling in
internal affairs." We call it blowing the whistle, which is exactly
what the group is supposed to do.

Even a critical report from the observers would probably not alter the
outcome of Russia’s elections, since the problem there is not so much
voting procedures as the Kremlin’s near-absolute control over who can
run and who gets access to national television. In Russia’s last
presidential election, in 2004, an observer mission reported that "the
process over all did not adequately reflect principles necessary for a
healthy democratic election." It is far worse today.

It is telling that Mr. Putin’s current effort to change the procedures
is co-signed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan, all states with compelling reasons to limit the
influence of independent observers.

Source: tml

Glendale News Press, CA
Oct 27 2007

Genocide vote gets postponed

With supporters dropping out, the bill’s author urges House speaker
to wait for a later date.

By Ryan Vaillancourt

GLENDALE – With support for a controversial House resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide wavering in Congress, the bill’s
key sponsors are looking to postpone a final vote on the measure
until it has clear majority backing.

In a Thursday letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had planned to
bring the resolution for a vote before Thanksgiving, its author, Rep.
Adam Schiff, and three of the bill’s most ardent advocates urged her
to put the issue on the back burner.

`We believe that a large majority of our colleagues want to support a
resolution recognizing the genocide on the House floor and that they
will do so, provided the timing is more favorable,’ the letter read.

The measure cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a 27-21
vote on Oct. 10, but support in the house has since dwindled. In the
weeks following the vote, 14 co-sponsors withdrew their sponsorship
amid warnings from President Bush’s administration that passage of
the bill would threaten crucial U.S. military relations with Turkey.

In an unprecedented show of support for a genocide resolution, 235
House members were at one time this year listed as co-sponsors. A
total of 24 former co-sponsors have withdrawn, including those who
dropped out after the committee vote, leaving 211 co-sponsors as of
Friday. advertisement

`I don’t have the level of confidence that I would need to have
recommended the speaker to take it up right now,’ Schiff said. `I
think it’s too close.’

The House approved similar genocide resolutions in 1975 and 1984, but
those measures failed to pass the Senate. The issue returned to the
House in 2000 and 2005, passing committee both times but falling
mercy to former Speaker Dennis Hastert who failed to bring those
bills to the floor for a final vote.

This year’s resolution has faltered in a different context. Where the
2000 and 2005 bills reportedly had clear majority support in the
House, a non-supportive Speaker blocked the measures by not calling
them for a vote.

In 2007, the resolution is backed by the speaker, yet majority
support for the measure appears tenuous.

`In this case, we have very close to the majority and it’s not very
clear whether it’s going to pass by a few votes or fail by a few
votes,’ said Harut Sassounian, publisher of the Glendale-based
California Courier and president of the United Armenian Fund.

Taking the bill to the floor poses a potentially perilous political
risk, he said.

`Neither the speaker nor the Armenian community can take a chance of
possibly failing, which will then be magnified a million times by
Turkish deniers,’ Sassounian said.

If the resolution were to fail in the House, opponents, including
Turkey, would spin the decision as affirmation by Congress that the
mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century was not
genocide, he said.

Calls and an e-mail to the Turkish Embassy press office with request
for comment were not returned.

Though a postponement of a vote has no doubt deflated supporters’
hopes, backers of the resolution appear to side with the decision.

`It is a setback but we don’t consider it a defeat,’ said Elen
Asatryan, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of
America, Glendale chapter. `It’s going to go when it can be won.’

007/10/27/politics/gnp-genocide27.txt

EU CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE AND POLITICAL STEPS

BÝA, Turkey
Oct 26 2007

Condemning the PKK attacks, the EU has also called on Turkey to
refrain from cross-border operations. Turkey and Iraq are called upon
to seek lasting solution. Býa news centre 26-10-2007 Tolga KORKUT
The European Parliament (EP) has called on the PKK to announce an
immediate and unconditional ceasefire. It has also asked Turkey to
refrain from disproportionate military operations which would violate
Iraq’s territories. The assembly of the EP on Wednesday (24 October)
was joined by representatives of the European Council and the European
Commission. The EP debated the yearly progress report of Turkey. The EU
Commission will announce the full report within two weeks. Condemnation
of PKK violence, call for ceasefire The EP has strongly condemned the
PKK violence and has called on it to announce a ceasefire. It has also
called on the new government to work on initiatives which would lead
to a lasting solution to the Kurdish question. The parliament drew
attention to the fact that the southeast of Turkey is in need of an
extensive strategy in order to develop socially and economically. Call
on Turkey and Iraq to seek political solution The EP also emphasised
the importance of "fighting against terrorism in proportion with the
threat and faithful to legal organs and standards". It expressed its
worry about possible cross-border military operations into Northern
Iraq. The EP has called on Turkey and Iraq to cooperate in security
matters in order to prevent the terrorist activities coming from
Northern Iraq. Ollie Rehn, the Commissioner for Enlargement of the
EU, said that the Commission condemned the attacks of the PKK, which
was on the EU list of terrorist organisations, but called on Turkey
and Iraq’s regional authorities to seek a political solution of the
Kurdish question.

Action against extremism, reform of 301 Discussing other issues in
Turkey, the EP has strongly condemned the murders of journalist and
human rights activist Hrant Dink and the priest Andrea Santoro. It
emphasised the need for "immediate and effective action against all
kinds of extremism and violence". Pointing to the trials of many
people under Article 301 of the new Turkish Penal Code, the EP has
stated that press freedom and freedom of expression had to be one of
the government’s priorities. Rehn also said that a reform of Article
301 was indespensible in order for Turkey to become reconciled with
its past. More civilian auditing of army, secret services and police
Expressing its worry at the army’s continuing interference in politics,
the EP emphasised that full and effective civilian auditing of the army
needed to be aimed at. Furthermore, it called on parliamentary auditing
of Turkey’s secret services, the gendarmerie and police. Relations with
Cyprus and Armenia The parliament has called on the Turkish government
to fulfill the responsibilities put down in the Ankara Protocol. It
was particularly concerned about Cyprus and Armenia. The EP stated
that if Turkish forces were withdrawn from Cyprus, that negotiations
for a solution would be made easier. Rehn said that the Commission
would support such a process.

In addition, the EP has asked for a special EU Commission report on
the application and effectiveness of financial support means for the
Turkish society in Cyprus. The EP has also called on the Turkish and
Armenian governments "to initiate a process of compromise/solution,
both concerning today and the past". Praise and hope for positive
developments The EP has interpreted the election of the new president
as a sign of the strength of democracy in Turkey and has expressed
its pleasure at the new government’s dedication to developing the
reform process and initiating a new and civil constitution which would
protect basic rights and freedoms. Rehn has also called on the EU
to remain faithful to the enlargement perspective concerning Turkey
which was envisaged before negotiations were started.

–Boundary_(ID_y63MXC+/ekUA4hr9SfcO4A)–

TURKEY’S INVASION THREAT INCREASES REGIONAL INSTABILITY

Socialist Party, UK
.html?id=pp2072.htm
Oct 25 2007

BLOODY FIGHTING between Turkish troops and PKK Kurdish separatist
guerrillas on the Turkey/Iraq border has enormously ratcheted-up
tensions between the two countries.

With the Turkish parliament approving a cross-border invasion of
northern Iraq the scene is set for a possible regional war.

KEVIN PARSLOW reports on the background to the latest clashes.

TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT has decided by 509 votes to 19 to back the
country’s army leaders’ demands to invade Kurdish-run northern Iraq.

They want to try and flush out units of the banned separatist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK).

An invasion could be launched at any time which would have grave
consequences for the mainly Kurdish people of the region. It would
also undermine the imperialist powers occupying Iraq, hence George
Bush’s pleas for restraint. Economically, world markets have already
reacted with concern, with the price of oil reaching a record $90 a
barrel last week.

Turkey’s Kurdish minority based in the south-east of the country have,
like their fellow Kurds in Syria, Iran and until recently in Iraq,
had little or no rights since imperialism carved up the former Ottoman
Empire following its defeat and collapse in World War One.

The Kurds are the biggest nationality in the world without their own
state. Historically, in Turkey they have had no recognition until
recently, where they now have limited language and educational rights.

Their political rights have been severely curtailed and Kurdish
political parties are often barred from standing in elections or are
closed down if they publicly support independence or even autonomy.

The PKK, formed in 1978, has carried out a campaign against the
Turkish army and economic targets since 1984, mixing guerrilla fighting
with targeted attacks – killing 17 Turkish troops in an ambush last
week. But the inability of the PKK to dent the Turkish army’s power
led to questioning these tactics and led to an effective ceasefire
between 2000 and 2004.

But with only limited reforms and no movement towards autonomy
(the PKK had dropped the demand for independence), the PKK resumed
military activities.

Their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was arrested in 1999 and now languishes
in a Turkish jail, where he has apparently called for a ceasefire.

In recent months, however, the PKK has resumed its attacks on targets
inside Turkey, which the Turkish army believes they launch from bases
just inside the Kurdish area of Iraq. The military leaders want to
follow the PKK units into this area in an attempt to defeat them.

Parliament has backed them and, because of the methods of the PKK,
there is only muted sympathy and a large amount of hostility towards
the Kurds’ national demands amongst the Turkish population.

Turkey has the second biggest army in NATO (after the US) and
its army considers itself to be the guardian of Turkey’s secular
constitution. It has carried out four coups against elected governments
since 1960 at times when political and economic instability threatened
its dominant position in society.

But the military received a bloody nose in July 2007 when, having
objected to the proposal of the governing AKP (Justice and Development
Party – which originated as an Islamist party but subsequently its
leaders have distanced themselves from an Islamist agenda) to appoint
one of its leading members, Abdullah Gul, to the role of President,
the AKP called a general election. AKP won easily mainly on the basis
of the country’s improved economic growth, and was able to appoint
its own candidate.

Part of this desire to attack the PKK undoubtedly comes from the
need to restore the army’s prestige in society. But also the Turkish
army and government would both fear an independent Kurdish state in
northern Iraq, which has been brought a step closer by the recent
signing of oil contracts between the oil majors and the Iraqi Kurdish
regional government.

Much of Iraq has already been devastated by the US/UK invasion and
its consequences. If Turkey invades it will cause further devastation,
in an area of Iraq which has suffered the least bloodshed.

Some of Iraq’s Kurdish leaders want the PKK to withdraw over the
Turkish border to prevent a catastrophe, others want the Iraqi
government (if it could come to a decision) to physically prevent
the Turkish army from invading, while Arab leaders think the Kurdish
forces should defend the region.

Kurdish people have come onto the streets of Iraqi cities such as Irbil
to protest at the decision of the Turkish parliament. Most ordinary
Kurds would not accept an attack on their co-nationals by the Turkish
army. In the background lies the belief that the Turkish army would
intervene in northern Iraq to further Turkey’s political and economic
interests and to back also the ethnic Turcomen in the region.

US concerns The Turkish government’s relations with the US were once
very friendly but relations have cooled in recent years. Although the
US backs Turkey’s campaign to gain EU admittance, the hostility of
the Turkish people to US imperialism prevented the government from
allowing Bush and Blair to use Turkish territory to invade Northern
Iraq in 2003.

The US’s present attempts to prevent a Turkish incursion into Iraq
haven’t been helped by a bill currently up before the US Congress
declaring the death of up to a million and a half Turkish Armenians
between 1915 and 1917 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as ‘genocide’.

Historically, there is no doubt that this disaster for the Armenians
occurred. But in Turkey, it is a criminal offence to raise it. A
right-wing Turkish nationalist recently murdered leading Turkish
Armenian journalist Arat Dink, whose son and another Armenian
journalist have been given one-year suspended prison sentences for
challenging the official version of Turkish history.

As a result, the Turkish government and military are able to use the US
bill to ignore Bush’s pleadings for restraint, even though he disagrees
with the bill. Turkey has also recalled its ambassador in Washington
in protest. However, it seems as though sufficient defections by
Republican representatives will block the bill’s passage (see box).

Bush is publicly calling for restraint, not least out of fear that
the US military’s vital supply route via Turkey into Iraq will be
jeopardised. But some ex-government figures have been more forthright.

Peter Rodman, a former Pentagon official said it would be preferable
for the US for Turkey to invade.

"If the US is unable to deal with [the PKK] and the Iraqis are
unwilling to deal with them, what else do you tell the Turks? There
may be ways to go after the PKK and accomplish something, whereas
strangling our logistical lifeline doesn’t help them with the PKK
and it just creates a monumental problem." [Financial Times, 17
October 2007.]

Socialists must oppose the planned invasion of the Kurdish region of
Iraq by Turkey and call for the withdrawal of all imperialist troops
from Iraq. The rights of the Kurdish people must be respected and
their right to self-defence when faced with brutal repression.

But they need democratic organisations that are firmly based on the
unity of Kurdish workers and that have a strategy of appealing to
Turkish workers and all workers in surrounding countries on the basis
of working class unity and not of support for the capitalist elites
of the region.

Ultimately, the fate of Iraq, Turkey, the Kurds and the Middle East
as a whole can only be solved by the working class and poor in that
region taking up socialist ideas against all their oppressors and
the formation of a socialist confederation of the region to solve
the pressing social and national problems facing the peoples.

—————————————- —————————————-

He who pays the piper…

THE RECENT furore in the US Congress over a resolution condemning the
massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey during World War One has
revealed the powerful lobbying system entrenched in US politics.

Initially it seemed that a ‘non-binding resolution’ condemning the
atrocity, passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would find
an easy passage through Congress.

However, former Republican Representative Robert Livingston – who
since leaving Capitol Hill in 1999 has earned $12 million in fees from
Turkey to block such resolutions – successfully got fellow Republicans
to remove their names from the resolution’s sponsorship.

Livingston argued, along with George Bush, that ‘national security
concerns’ were paramount ie Turkey’s threat to invade northern Iraq.

Livingston’s effort has been joined by another lobbyist, former
Democrat and House majority leader Richard Gephardt. Gephardt who
secured a $1.2 million contract to lobby for Turkey had previously
co-sponsored an earlier genocide resolution

RICE WARNS: TURKEY SHOULD NOT INTERVENE IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 25 2007

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned Turkey in very
strong terms not to intervene in northern Iraq, underscoring that
the US will "do what is necessary" in terms of taking care of the
PKK presence there.

In statements made before the US House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Rice commented "The past 72 hours have been very
difficult. I spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
and also with the Iraqi Kurds. As we have said before, there must be
no place made for PKK terrorism to hurt Turkey. Both the Iraqis and
the Turks need to make extraordinary efforts."

Rice did not that in her talks with Prime Minister Erdogan, she had
underscored that the US was taking the current situation extremely
seriously.

Rice also noted that while the US was working with Turkey and Iraq on
certain shared precautions, the Baghdad administration had confirmed
that it would be closing down known PKK bureaus in Iraq, and working
generally to prevent the PKK from activity:

"We have a series of precautions in mind. We believe that if
followed, these precautions will allow control to be gained in this
situation. There is a three-way mechanism that we have in place which
includes Turkey, the US, and Iraq…."

On the possibility that Turkey might infact decide to send military
over the border into Iraq in pursuit of PKK forces, Rice said this:

"The Turks should not engage in over the border intervention. We
have warned that responding in this way will affect the stability of
the region. We have encouraged everyone to find a solution to this
terrorist problem in a way which will not undermine the stability of
northern Iraq."

On the question of the Armenian bill, which is expected to come up
for a vote before the US House of Representatives soon, Rice told
the Committee "We believe strongly that this bill must not move
forward….This is a very sensitive period for Turkey. There are
enormous changes taking place. We have very important strategic
interests in Turkey."

Rice noted that she had met with Armenian Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian this week, and that she had noted to him that Americans
preferred to turn their faces towards the future rather than towards
the past, and that the same stance was necessary for Turkey and
Armenia.

CHIEF OF THE HELLENIC NATIONAL DEFENSE GENERAL STAFF VISITED TSITSERNAKABERD

armradio.am
23.10.2007 15:02

The delegation headed by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense
General Staff, General Dimitrios Grapsas visited Tsitsernakaberd
today. The guests laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial to the
Armenian Genocide victims.

Dimitrios Grapsas also visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute
and left a note in the Commemoration Book.

"I add my voice to the voices of thousands of Armenians and say "no"
to genocide. I hope such events will not reoccur in the future.

I think that if the international community condemned the genocide
at the proper time, there would be no victims," General Grapsas said.

The delegation headed by Dimitrios Grapsas is paying a three-day
official visit to Armenia.

PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY TURNS DOWN DISCUSSION OF BILL APPROVED BY GOVERNMENT

Noyan Tapan
Oct 22, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly did not
include two bills proposed by the OYP faction into the agenda of
the October 22 sitting. The parliamentary majority turned down the
discussion of the bills on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Code
of Administrative Offences and to the NA Regulations, which had not
been approved by the respective profile standing committees.

As Hovhannes Margarian, one of the authors of the bill, a member of
the OYP faction, said in his interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent,
usually all bills proposed by the government are included in sittings’
agenda and the bills authored by the opposition are not approved by
the government.

However, this time the situation is exclusive: the parliamentary
majority, which mainly consists of the Republican Party, refused to
discuss the bill, which had been approved by the government, with
the signature of the RPA Chairman, Prime Minister, Serge Sargsian.

In H. Margarian’s words, he means the bills On Making Amendments and
Addenda to the NA Regulations, according to which it is proposed that
deputies asking questions during discussion of bills should be given
a possibility to give an explanation for another two minutes. The
authors of the bill also propose that the issue of standing committees’
quorum should be also reconsidered by increasing the quorum from one
fourth to one third of the staff.

ELEPHANT TO ARMENIA WITH OR WITHOUT PERMISSION?
By Isuri Kaviratne

Sunday Times.lk
Oct 21 2007
Sri Lanka

The Cabinet has approved the gifting of an elephant to Armenia
while Wild Life officials were still studying the suitability of the
weather and other conditions for the animal. The move has drawn angry
responses from various groups closely following the issue of gifting
the elephant Asokamala.

The Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES)
permission should be given by the Wildlife Director to exchange an
animal with a foreign country without which, according to international
law, the exchange would be illegal. Environment Minister Champika
Ranawaka told The Sunday Times that the Ministry is still considering
the suitability of the weather and the condition of the zoo before
issuing the permission to send the nine-year-old elephant to Armenia.

"We inquired from the Armenian government about the condition of
the zoo and the weather but we still haven’t received a reply," the
Minister said. According to internet researches on weather conditions
in Armenia the average temperature is +25C in July and -10C in January.

Mr. Ranawaka said before implementing the policy decision taken by
the Cabinet, the Ministry will be looking into the law of the country
and international law regarding exchanges of animals and then give
CITES permission. "Without the CITIES permission, no one can send
the elephant," he said.

Wildlife Director Ananda Wijesuriya said that under-extended programme
the Cabinet has decided to send the elephant but still papers had
to be submitted after which he would study the condition of the zoo
the elephant would be going to before giving CITIES permission since
there were objections to the sending of the animal.

However, he said he had been informed that the zoo already contains
facilities an elephant requires as there is an elephant already
living but assured that confirmation from Armenia was being awaited
that those facilities fulfil international standards."Only if it does
will we give permission," the Director said.

National Zoological Gardens Deputy Director Dhammika Malsinghe
said that though the elephant cannot be sent to Armenia without the
permission of the Wild Life director, preparations are being made to
send the elephant after October 25.

‘Sathva Mithra’ (Friends of animals) president said the Cabinet had
agreed to send the elephant to Armenia despite serious warnings by
humanitarian organizations which were based on researched facts of the
unsuitable conditions in Armenia and the Yerevan Zoo to which Asokamala
would be going. Research carried out by Indian humanitarian groups,
when the Indian Government decided to send an elephant to Armenia,
showed that this same Yerevan Zoo, did not have adequate space to
support an elephant and the sub-zero conditions prevalent there
for four to six months of the year were unsuitable for an elephant,
giving no opportunity for the animal to exercise.

Well known animal activist Maneka Gandhi too had told Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh that almost all the elephants acquired by
the Yerevan zoo had died.