Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

MEETINGS WITH NKR PRESIDENT
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
03 Aug 2006
On July 29 NKR President Arkady Ghukassian met with the delegation
of journalists and human rights defenders from Armenia, NKR,
Azerbaijan and Georgia. Arkady Ghukassian appreciated the visit of
the Azerbaijani delegation to Artsakh, which is a positive example
of constructive dialogue between the two societies separated by the
war. Arzu Abdullayeva, the co-chair of Helsinki Civil Assembly and
the coordinator of the National Committee of Azerbaijan, said the
Azerbaijani members of HCA and the Civil Forum on the Settlement
of the Karabakh Conflict are for the engagement of Karabakh in the
talks, a peace settlement and friendly relations between the two
societies. Ms. Abdullayeva said the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Karabakhi
NGOs cooperate in a warm atmosphere and mutual understanding. We
would like the official meetings were in a similar atmosphere. The
participants of the meeting emphasized the problems of reaching a
peace settlement of conflicts and establishment of mutual confidence
between the peoples and societies. Answering their questions, the NKR
president particularly mentioned that a historical reconciliation of
the peoples of the region is the underlying precondition of settlement
of the conflict over Karabakh and establishment of peace. Without
reconciliation it is impossible to implement a peace agreement,
eliminate the consequences of war and clear the path for regional
development, he said. On July 31 NKR President Arkady Ghukassian
met with the Armenian Member of Parliament, the leader of the
National Democratic Party Shavarsh Kocharian and discussed questions
concerning the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, social and economic
development of NKR and parliamentary ties between Artsakh and Armenia.

INTERBANK MARKET IS TEMPORARILY PARALYZED
Yerevan, August 2. ArmInfo. There was no transaction in the Interbank
market of Armenia the day before. The currency exchange market was also
inactive. Thus, according to the data of the Armenian stock exchange,
the volume of currency transactions the day before made up $50,000,
the average weighted rate increased by 0,05 point to 410,75 AMD/$1 USD.
The experts explained such inactivity of the currency market by the
fact that there was a transaction in the Interbank market July 31,
after completion of the exchange trade session, on the rate which
exceeded the fixed exchange rate of USD by 2 points. According to the
experts’ estimations, this fact somewhat paralyzed the market since
“the market participants decided to wait through, not wishing to buy
dollars by an increased rate or to sell by a decreased rate”.

A SERIES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EVENTS START IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, NOYAN TAPAN. A series of events on the information
technologies (IT) sector started with a summer school for children
engaged in computer programming, which will be followed by an open
programming competition of schoolchildren scheduled for the first half
of August. Hovhannes Avoyan, Chairman of the Union of IT Enterprises,
Karen Vardanian, the union’s Executive Director and Bagrat Yengibarian,
Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation, stated this at a
joint press conference on July 27. They said that these events will
be continued in the second half of August by the programming school
and competition, while the third All-Armenian open competition with
the participation of young programmers aged 30 years and under will
take place in early September. An internation conference on IT will
be held in Yerevan on September 20 within the framework of the third
Armenia-Diaspora Forum. The RA President’s educational awards in the
IT sector will be given on September 26, and the first semiconductor
eqipment design competition among students will take place on September
27. An international conference “The Development of IT in Countries
without Outlet to Sea” will be held in Yerevan on October 3-6, and the
gala-show of winners of the 3rd Eurasian contest of the World Summit
on the Information Society will take place on October 5-7. The 2nd
international DigiTec exhibition of information, telecommunication
and high technologies is scheduled for October 6-8. The 2006 events
dedicated to the IT sector will finish with a competition among
Armenian higher educational institutions (on October 8) and the Open
Source Programming Festival (on October 14). K.
Vardanian attached special importance to holding DigiTec, noting the
existence of all prerequisites for granting an international status
to this exhibition, with 11 big foreign companies having submitted
bids for participation in this event, including Mitsubishi-Electric,
Microsoft, National Instruments, Festo, Synopsys, Virage Logic. He
expressed a hope that the number of participants in Digitec will
double compared with 37 ones last year. Last year Digitec became the
largest IT exhibition in the South Caucasian region. In B.
Yengibarian’s words, the international conference on IT to be held
in September will mainly be dedicated to development of wireless
technologies. Such famous international companies as Sun Microsystems,
Microsoft, Intel, Alcatel will take part in the conference.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/28/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination 2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against 'Pro-Armenian' Writer 3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia 4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage 5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign 6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass 1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination WASHINGTON--Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) has indicated that he is not prepared to support the nomination of Richard Hoagland as US Ambassador to Armenia until he receives meaningful responses to a series of questions--including several specific inquiries concerning the firing of the current Ambassador John Evans, reported the Armenian National Committee of America. In a July 26 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Reed explained that he is "concerned that Ambassador Evans is being forced to resign prematurely." He stressed that he is "particularly troubled" by reports that he is being recalled because he properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as a genocide. "Had the term genocide been coined in the early 1900s, it would have been used to accurately describe the situation," added the senior Senator from Rhode Island. In closing, Senator Reed asserted that he would not be prepared to support the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until he understands the answers to the following questions: 1. Why is Ambassador Evans being replaced a year before the end of the customary three-year ambassador term? If he resigned, why would the State Department accept the resignation of a truly dedicated individual who is highly respected by the Armenian community? 2. Has the President or State Department directed, either through written or oral means, Executive Branch personnel not to use the word 'genocide' when referring to the atrocities waged against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire? What is the justification for such a policy? 3. If it is the policy of the United States to not characterize the systematic killing of over 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, please elaborate on why these events do not meet the definitions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 4. During Ambassador Richard Hoagland's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, regarding the Armenian genocide he stated "I simply have studied the president's policy. I've studied the background papers on the policy, and my responsibility is to support the President." What do the background papers say regarding the Armenian Genocide? I respectfully request a copy of these background papers so I can better understand the President's policy. If that is not possible, I would like to know why. 5. A recent press report outlined Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza as saying the following regarding Ambassador Evans, "Ambassadors serve the President and should follow his policy. President George Bush's policy on the mass killings of Armenians is very clear, as he points out in his annual addresses. If someone disagrees with it, they are at liberty to make their own decisions, but these should not be divulged. Certainly, our job is also to advise him, but we must support his policy when it comes to public statements." This reporting indicates that Ambassador Evans was asked to resign based on this prior statements regarding the Armenian genocide. If this is not the case, would you explain the statement by Mr. Bryza and its relation to Ambassador Evans?" Sen. Reed is the latest Member of Congress to express concern about the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Amb. Evans and the State Department's policy on the Armenian Genocide. To date, half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senators George Allen (R-Va.), Ranking Member Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.),John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), have already contacted Secretary Rice or questioned Ambassador Designate Hoagland directly regarding these issues. Over sixty members of the House have also expressed concerns to the State Department, with responses side-stepping the core issues. On July 18, the ANCA issued a statement opposing the Hoagland nomination, following several responses to Senate inquiries where the Ambassador Designate denied the Armenian Genocide. 2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against 'Pro-Armenian' Writer ANKARA (Associated Press)--A Turkish court on Friday dropped a lawsuit against novelist Orhan Pamuk, rejecting a compensation demand by nationalists from the author for claiming that Turkey had killed more than 1 million Armenians and more than 30,000 Kurds. Nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and five other nationalists were seeking 6,000 Turkish Lira ($4,500) each from Pamuk accusing him of "insulting, humiliating and making false accusations." Pamuk was quoted as telling a Swiss newspaper that: "Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it." Kerincsiz had instigated an earlier high-profile court case against Pamuk for the same comments, but those charges were dropped earlier this year, under harsh criticism from the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join. Turkey, however, is still trying dozens of journalists or authors for their writings or speeches. The prosecutor's office on Friday formally opened a lawsuit against a University of Arizona assistant professor on charges of "insulting Turkishness." The case against Elif Safak, a Turkish citizen, was opened after a court approved the indictment. The case was also initiated by Kerincsiz. Safak will stand trial because of the words uttered by fictional Armenian characters in her novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" - a book she wrote while she was living in Tucson, Arizona. In the book, an Armenian character refers to "Turkish butchers." No trial date was set. 3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza was scheduled to arrive in Armenia Saturday and leave for a visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the same day. A US embassy official informed Armenpress that during his regional visit the co-chairman will first visit Yerevan from where he will leave for Stepanakert and return back on Sunday. He will leave for Baku Monday. During his visit, Bryza will meet with the Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassian. At the meetings they will discuss current developments in the Karabakh conflict regulation process./ 4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage YEREVAN (Yerkir)--The opening ceremony of the first ever ARF Junior Organization's (Badanegan) Armenia Pilgrimage was scheduled to take place Saturday at the Yerablur national cemetery with more than 150 participants from nine countries. This annual event will last through August 5 and the juniors will stay at Aghavnadzor and make trips to different regions in Armenia. Speaking at a news conference at the ARF Bureau headquarters Program Director Tatul Harutiunian said the program's goal is educational. The slogan of the program is "Armenia is my Homeland." He noted that the program will strengthen relation between the Homeland and the Diaspora. Juniors from Armenia, Javakhk and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will also participate in the program. Saro Ter-Petrosian, the head of the Canadian delegation, said when selecting the participants, they have chosen those who had never been in Armenia before. Harutiunian said that a larger number of participants was expected, but the current crisis in Lebanon prevented many from attending. 5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign LAS VEGASSupporters of the State of Nevada's largest Armenian American public affairs organization hosted a fundraising event for the reelection of United States Senator John Ensign on Friday, July 21. A dinner-reception honoring the Senator was hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Levon & Zaruhi Gulbenkian. Mr. Gulbenkian, who serves as a Board Member of the Nevada ANCA Chapter, was joined by over fifty local community members in supporting Senator Ensign's campaign. The Nevada legislator is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, the group that shapes the party's legislative agenda. On behalf of the Armenian National Committee-Political Action Committee, Ara Bedrosian presented Senator Ensign with the Nevada ANCA Freedom Award in recognition of his leadership in advancing the cause of human rights and genocide recognition. The Senator was commended by a number of Nevada Armenian leaders for his outstanding advocacy on behalf of the growing Armenian-American community in the state. Bedrosian, a Los Angeles based lawyer, formerly served as a Congressional aide in Washington to Republican members of Congress. "Since his election to the US Senate in 2000, Senator Ensign has twice drafted and authored resolutions that reaffirm the commitment of the American people to recognizing the Armenian Genocide and to ensuring that its lessons are applied in preventing future crimes against humanity. No other Senator, since Bob Dole, has twice authored such Genocide resolutions," stated Hriyr Dadaian, Las Vegas ANCA Board Member. "John Ensign is our community's best friend, his leadership on human rights issues is deeply appreciated, not only by Armenian Americans in Nevada, but by Armenians throughout the country," Dadaian added. 6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass WASHINGTONThe Armenian National Committee of America, this week, welcomed the adoption by the House of Representatives of an amendment to block US taxpayer funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process, undermine the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through Armenia. The amendment, spearheaded by Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY), Ed Royce (R-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), and adopted as part of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing any assistance "to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia." The measure was adopted unanimously by the House Financial Services Committee in June of this year. The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House (H.R.3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S 2461) by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors; the Senate version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the "The exclusion of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the South Caucasus," noting that such actions "undermine the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region." "We thank Congressman Crowley, his Financial Services Committee colleagues Ed Royce and Brad Sherman, as well as the authors of the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act - Joe Knollenberg, Frank Pallone and George Radanovich - for securing the adoption by the House of this measure protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that - at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan - has been proposed solely for the purpose of excluding Armenia," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. In debate leading up to the adoption of the bill, Representatives Crowley, Knollenberg and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) each cited the importance of barring US funds from this ill-advised Caucasus venture which would exclude Armenia. Rep. Crowley noted that, "for over 10 years, Armenia has fought an illegal blockade imposed on them by the countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan. These two countries continually exclude Armenia from regional development... Exclusion of one country in regional projects only fosters instability. Having Export-Import Bank support a railway project which excludes Armenia is not the way to include all countries in regional development." Rep. Knollenberg noted that "the design for the new rail line defies logistical and geographical logic, and intends to prevent future economic development from reaching Armenia. The proposed rail link would cost between $400 million and $800 million and would take years to construct, even though a perfectly workable rail link that goes through the city of Gyumri, Armenia already exists and would be fully operational with a few minor repairs. Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee that included this provision into this bill and I urge support for passage of H.R. 5068." Rep. Maloney joined her House colleagues in noting that, "as a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and the representative of a large and vibrant Armenian-American community, I support the provisions which would prohibit the Export-Import Bank from funding railroad projects in South Caucasus region that deliberately exclude Armenia." A proposed new Caucasus rail line - at the urging of Turkey and Azerbaijan - would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure US financing for this undertaking, prompting Congressional supporters of regional peace and stability to preemptively block such attempts. In October of last year, the European Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission's Directorate General for Transport and Energy noted that its construction was both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank's mission is to assist in financing the export of US goods and services to international markets. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

LEVON ARONIAN TO TAKE PART IN DORTMUND INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

YEREVAN, JULY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. A Men Chess Highest International
Tournament will start on July 29 in Dortmund, Germany. World Cup
Holder and World Olympic Champion Levon Aronian (Armenia) is among the
8 strongest participants. The tournament to be held in a circular
order will finish on August 6.

iBerkshires.com, MA
July 28, 2006
Piano Virtuoso Karen Tchougarian to Perform (Aug 4)
Armenian piano virtuoso Karen Tchougarian will bring his
distinguished and international talent to EPOCH Assisted Living at
Melbourne on Friday, August 4, at 3 p.m. EPOCH Assisted Living is
located at 140 Melbourne Road.
Tchougarian studied at the Komitas University in Armenia and the
University of Arkansas. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts from
the Manhattan School of Music and has won many performance
competitions, including the 1999 Artists International Auditions. As
the winner, Tchougarian made a fully sponsored debut at Carnegie
Hall. Tchougarian will perform a full range of music from classical
to movie scores to jazz and waltz.

PRESS RELEASE
ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY of EASTERN USA, INC
80 Bigelow Ave, Suite 200
Watertown, MA 02472
Contact: Vartouhie Chiloyan
Tel: 617-926-3801
Fax: 617-924-7238
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
ARS Eastern USA Announces 2006 Benefit Raffle Prize Winners
WATERTOWN, MA – The Armenian Relief Society Eastern USA Board of Directors
announced the winners of their Annual Raffle which was drawn at the Convention
Banquet held at the Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel in King of Prussia, PA on Friday,
July 14, 2006.
1st Prize 2 tickets for the ACAA Armenian Heritage Cruise
Sossy Jeknavorian Chelmsford, MA
2nd Prize Widescreen Digital Plasma TV
Melika Komrokian
Norristown, PA
3rd Prize Laptop Pentium IV
Alec Hermes
Waltham, MA
4th Prize 2 roundtrip tickets to Disneyworld
Vahak Medzadourian Ridgewood,NJ
5th Prize Necklace with Diamonds and Pearls
Mary Barghamian Cliffside
Park, NJ
Over 2,700 tickets were sold throughout the Armenian communities east of the
Mississippi. Proceeds from the benefit raffle support the educational and
humanitarian programs and projects of the ARS.
The ARS extends its deepest appreciation to all those who purchased raffle
tickets and congratulates all the winners.

A Katrina-Like Outpouring for the Mideast?
Inside Higher Ed, DC
July 27, 2006
By Wick Sloane
Imagine. No interruption of study and research for all students and
faculty in the Middle East shut out in this latest war. Lebanon.
Israel. Gaza. Iraq. Everyone.
John Waterbury, president of American University of Beirut, who was
stuck in the United States when war broke out, is in Washington seeking
federal aid and hopes to soon be on his way back to his campus. I’ll
bet he and all his Middle East colleagues would welcome help from us.
Never mind U.S. visas for now. We have the Web, satellites, cell phones
and air drops. Imagine seeing on CNN: classes and seminars and students
studying in the rubble. Now. On all sides of all borders. People from
around the world showing life will go on. Saturday, I listened to a
friend describe the ballet precision of his evacuation from Lebanon
last week. With thousands of others. The U.S. government can do such
things. Punch the “Reverse Route” button. Of course, this is difficult.
Hurricane Katrina was an act of God. American higher ed scrambled
to help. This Middle East war is of man. (And Yale at that, given
higher educations of U.S. leaders Bush, Cheney, Bolton and Bremer,
at least.) Are U.S. colleges and universities planning to help there,
too? Mustn’t we try?
AU-Beirut, a U.S. chartered institution, is closed for classes. I
telephoned the New York office, on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, as it
happens. Steve Jeffries, the AUB vice president there, knew of no
unified offers of help yet. “Right now, we’re working on humanitarian
and medical issues,” he said. Students, faculty and staff in Beirut,
calling the situation the Challenges, are helping anyone they can with
blood drives and shelter and medicine for the wounded and the refugees.
The American Council on Education’s president, David Ward, offered
empathy but no call for help in his regular newsletter to presidents
last week. The National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities may be too busy howling in self-interest about a proposed
national database of student academic records.
Enough. Something must be happening.
I wrote to a few of the higher ed presidents and panjandrums I know.
These places claim a tax benefit for producing leaders, not just
wealth. Roger Mandle, president of Rhode Island School of Design, has
told me several times that the field of design has to move to illumine
intractable social issues. What would solutions here look like?
I wrote Rick Levin at Yale and Morty Schapiro at Williams, my
schools. Ruth Simmons at Brown, where I pay tuition. Mike McPherson,
president of the Spencer Foundation. Roger Mandle. Clayton Spencer
at Harvard and John Strassburger, president of Ursinus College. What
plans are under way? What is the obligation of U.S. higher education
here? AU-Beirut has not heard, so far, from American higher ed.
No reply so far from Levin at Yale, whom I met when I was a student
and he a professor at the School of Management. Schapiro, of Williams,
says he is trying to come up with some ideas.
Ursinus College, in Philadelphia, may be the only place to have
an offer.
“Ursinus could offer free housing, board and tuition for the fall
semester for up to five students if not more,” said Strassburger,
the Ursinus president. “We probably could come up with salary for a
school in residence teaching some Middle East subjects for the fall
or the year.”
Strassburger over the weekend e-mailed an Ursinus faculty member
and alumnus, the retired Ambassador Joseph Melrose, recalled to
the Lebanon desk at the U.S. State Department. Acknowledging the
complexity, Melrose, speaking for himself, replied that American
colleges and universities should plan for transfers from those able
to get a visa. “I would also encourage you all to continue to reflect
on what might be done for Lebanese students in the future. It would
be refreshing to have at least a skeletal plan in place.”
I keep thinking of the one-time Columbia University President Dwight
D. Eisenhower, who said, “I like to believe that people in the long
run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments.
Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days
governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”
Even knowing what help might work, for now, is vexing. Looking around,
at least two of the Web sites for Lebanese colleges didn’t work at
all. The sites that work show the enormous need.
“Due to the present conditions of our dear and bleeding country,”
the Web page of Haigazian University, Beirut, announced the end of
classes for now. “Offices and other functions of the University will
continue with as little interruption as possible, whenever possible.
May God keep you all in His Grace.” (The university’s name, the site
reports, honors Armenag Haigazian, an Armenian educator with a Yale
doctorate, who passed up escaping to the United States to continue
teaching and then died in the Kharpert prison.)
Lebanese American University has closed classes in Beirut and Byblos.
The Web site goes on: “We urgently ask each and every employee to
be very conservative in their usage of the utilities, especially
electricity and water, so that we can deal with the expected shortages
of these very essential resources, in an optimized manner.”
At the Yale Web site? Nothing on the Middle East. But this, ironic,
headline: “Yale president says U.S. should adopt more open attitude
in attracting int’l students.”
No “Out of the Office” autoreplies to my presidents’ and panjandrums’
e-mail. So far, only replies from Williams and Ursinus. I just tried
Joe White, president of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana,
and Jim Duderstadt, emeritus president of the University of
Michigan. I’m sure those two will have far better ideas than mine.
In May 1977, I was in the hospital lobby at American University Beirut,
visiting with a friend whose husband was a doctor there. The hospital
was neutral. Around me were fighters from all sides of the civil
war, with submachine guns. The American University Hospital treated
everyone. A precedent for U.S. higher education today?
I’d left Jerusalem that morning over the Allenby Bridge, the back
door of the Promised Land, to Amman. Then, in service taxis up
through Damascus into Lebanon and in Beirut by dinnertime. I’d spent
an afternoon in Jerusalem with an American Quaker missionary, who’d
been there for decades. Why was the Holy Land always in such trouble?
This has always been a tough place, he reminded me. “You have to
remember that God has sent his best people here to this region three
times, and the place is still in trouble. All I know is that we can’t
give up.”
While I was walking my dog this week, a young friend, Kirsten Nyborg,
stopped to talk. Harvard 2006, now an intern for Campus Crusade for
Christ. Would she give her Harvard a nudge? “That’s pretty bad,” she
said of the silence. “We’ll put this out on our listserv, too. We’ll
send everybody – Junior Year in Beirut for All. Bring a rake. We’ll
get things cleaned up.” And she jogged off.
What’s become of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Yale ’63, who
evacuated Iraq ahead of the U.S. troops. (“L” for “Let’s disband
the Iraqi army and not collect the weapons first.”?) According to
the Yale alumni directory, Bremer is managing director, Marsh Crisis
Consulting. Perhaps Rick Levin should give Bremer a call?
Wick Sloane is chief operating officer at Generon Consulting in
Massachusetts and former chief financial officer of the University
of Hawaii system.
07/27/sloane

40 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ARMENIAN PROVINCES VISIT COUNCIL OF EUROPE
INFORMATION OFFICE AS PART OF “YEREVAN IN 5 DAYS” PROGRAM
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS: As part of “Yerevan in 5 Days: Youth
Civil Education” program, carried out by the USAID and Academy for
Educational Development (AED), 40 young people from the Armenian
provinces were hosted today in the Council of Europe Information
Office.
Boyana Urumova, Special Representative of the Council of Europe
Secretary General, presented to the young people the activity of the
organization, talked about its priorities and also referred to the
relations between Armenia and the Council of Europe.
The young people also got acquainted with the web site of the Council
of Europe Information Office and watched a film telling about Armenia
and the Council of Europe.
Within the framework of the program on July 25 the young people met
with the Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian.

VIKTOR SOGHOMONIAN: PRESIDENT POSITIVELY ESTIMATES SERGE SARGSIAN’S JOINING RPA
YEREVAN, JULY 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANDS TODAY. President Robert
Kocharian positively estimates the fact of RA Defence Minister,
Secretary of the National Security Council under RA President, Serge
Sargsian’s joining the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and heading
the party Board. President’s Spokesperson Viktor Soghomonian declared
this answering questions of Armenian media.
In the words of the President’s Spokesperson, “the joining of the
politician enjoying authority to RPA, as well as consolidation of
a number of other state figures is greeted and can have a positive
impact on the political sphere which is far from being perfect for
the present.”
Viktor Soghomonian also emphasized that “we deal with a positive
phenomenon, especially if we remember that over the past years we
more often witnessed processes of parties’ splits than consolidation
of different political forces or individuals around an ideology.”