Author: Chakrian Hovsep

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE NEEDS RECOGNITION
By Joel Swanson | Sound And Fury

Swarthmore College The Phoenix Online,
Nov 2 2007

I never thought I’d say this, but I recently found myself wishing
that Bush was even more evil than he already is.

Oh, he’s an incompassionate dickwad to be sure. Anyone who is willing
to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war, but vetoed a
fraction of that spending on healthcare for poor children, can’t be a
good guy. But at least if he were more evil, his refusal to support a
Congressional resolution officially recognizing the Armenian genocide
would be less hypocritical, if not laudable.

The Armenian genocide, which occurred from 1915 until 1917, involved
the Turkish government’s deportation and massacre of hundreds of
thousands of innocent Armenian civilians. The atrocity is considered,
by many scholars, to be one of the first modern genocides, due to
its massive scale and its attempt to wipe out an entire ethnic group.

Despite the extensive historical documentation for this event, the
contemporary Turkish government still officially refers to the crime
as a "relocation" and rejects the term "genocide." Justification for
this stance has varied; at times, the Turkish government insists that
any killings were not reflective of official government policy, while
at other times it claims that Armenians were a legitimate political
threat due to their perceived closeness with Russia, while still other
times it argues that Armenian ethnic "gangs" were attacking Turks. The
reason is ultimately irrelevant; the genocide occurred, and no denial
will change this. This has not stopped Turkey from utilizing a law
prohibiting "insulting Turkishness" to prosecute intellectuals such as
Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk who has publicly acknowledged the genocide.

Despite Turkey’s denials, 22 countries have passed resolutions
acknowledging that the events that occurred between 1915 and 1917
fit the modern definition of genocide. Recently, Congressman George
Radanovich (R-CA) introduced H.R. 316, which would have made the
U.S. the twenty-third country to officially recognize the atrocity
as a genocide. President Bush opposed the resolution on the grounds
that it would damage relations between the U.S. and Turkey, a crucial
ally in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The mere proposal of the
resolution was sufficient to cause Turkey to recall its ambassador
to the U.S., and the Turkish government threatened to withdraw its
logistical support for the war effort if the resolution passed. The
chance of the resolution ever passing now is virtually nil.

To be sure, there are legitimate reasons to oppose the resolution.

Anyone operating from a pragmatic, non-idealistic realpolitik
framework could make the argument that it is pointless to pass a
largely ceremonial resolution with few real-life benefits if this
resolution would cause real-life harm to the U.S. in the form of
losing a key ally. But Bush was never practical and non-idealistic.

On the contrary, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, his rhetoric was
always ideological, at least in public. His narrative framed the
U.S. as the bold, gallant liberator, intent only on freeing the poor
innocent Iraqis from the yoke of their evil oppressor Saddam Hussein.

And this is why I almost wish Bush had been more openly evil the
entire time. He wasn’t fooling anyone with the feigned nobility of
the Iraq war; if anything, such rhetoric only made the U.S. seem
more sanctimonious. Bush never really cared much about any ideal;
he wanted only to secure his sweetheart private deals for oil and
security companies. No one ever believed in his supposedly idealistic
goals; his failure to do anything at all about the crisis in Darfur
belies all of his supposed humanitarianism. If he had explicitly
said this, and openly adopted a mantra of "Fuck you, we’re America,
we don’t give a damn what you think unless it’s in our interest"
to the rest of the world, at least his current rhetoric on Turkey
would be intellectually consistent.

But Bush never said any of this. Instead, we had to listen to years
of this cowboy prattling on and on about the big bad Saddam and how
we were going to liberate the Iraqi people. You can’t claim the moral
high ground by opposing an admittedly horrific regime, and then cozy
up with a government that denies a genocide, as Bush is doing with
Turkey. After all, aren’t we all supposed to be terrified of the evil
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at least partially because he
denies the Holocaust?

I’m left almost wishing that Bush had just sold the Iraq war by
bringing out Dick Cheney in a Darth Vader mask, breathing heavily,
intoning, "Never underestimate the power of American self-interest."

But of course Bush would never do this. He’s far too wedded to his
fairy tale hero narrative. Indeed, it’s almost surprising that he’s
so openly basing his opposition to the Armenian genocide resolution
on such practical considerations as not offending Turkey, rather than
trying to claim that this stance too is part of some larger ideal. If
Karl Rove were still around, and not under federal investigation for
potentially leaking the identity of a classified CIA agent, then we
would likely see all sorts of talking points about how Bush is boldly
defending the memories of the innocent Turks who had no choice but
to protect themselves from the marauding gangs of Armenians.

Administration officials would appear on Bill O’Reilly to call those
who acknowledge the Armenian genocide "alarmists" and accuse them of
"hating the Turks." Bush would fly to Turkey and stage a photo-op of
him with his arm around the shoulders of Turkish president Abdullah
Gul, who he would praise as a "bold leader for our troubled times" who
"stands up to those Armenian terrorists." Some Democrat might suggest
meekly that the Armenian genocide might have actually happened, but
conservative talk show host Sean Hannity would proudly announce that
Bush wasn’t forced by circumstance to pander to genocide deniers,
but rather that Bush’s stance shows "bold leadership" against "those
terrorist-coddling Democrats," who "care too much about the rights
of Armenians to take the steps needed to protect our troops and our
country." Fox News’s ratings would soar.

But Karl Rove is gone, and Bush’s approval ratings are far too low
for him to attempt such a bold-faced public relations coup. So he’s
been reduced to a shell of his former self, too chastened to claim
heroism anymore. Perhaps it’s better this way though. If he hadn’t
fooled the American people with his false narrative for so long,
maybe we wouldn’t be stuck in this unending quagmire in Iraq.

Joel is a sophomore.

01/opinions/17623

Reporters without borders (press release), France
Oct 31 2007

Long jail term for newspaper editor confirms Azerbaijan’s poor
ranking in world press freedom index

Reporters Without Borders condemns the sentence of eight and a half
years in prison and fine of 200,000 manats (230,000 dollars) imposed
yesterday on newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev because of an
article about Azerbaijan’s support for US military operations in the
region. He was found guilty of `terrorism threat’ (article 214.1 of
the criminal code), tax evasion (article 213.2.2) and inciting racial
hatred (article 283.2.2).

`Fatullayev’s conviction is simply outrageous as there was absolutely
no evidence for these charges,’ the press freedom organisation said.
`This prosecution and an earlier one were politically motivated and
mark a dangerous development for press freedom in Azerbaijan. We call
on President Aliev to display clemency and have him released. Our
hopes are also pinned on the European Court of Human Rights. It
should tell the Azerbaijani authorities that this travesty of justice
fools no one.’

Reporters Without Borders added: `The article for which Fatullayev
was convicted was just a foreign policy analysis. The authorities
used it to punish a journalist who, in their view, was overly
critical. This verdict comes amid a steady increase in harassment of
the independent press, which is why Azerbaijan was ranked 139th out
of 169 countries in our latest world press freedom index.’

Fatullayev, who edits two of the country’s most important dailies,
Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan, was tried by a serious
crimes court in Baku headed by judge Mehdi Asadov, who ordered the
seizure of the newspapers’ 23 computers as well as imposing the jail
term and fine.

The trial, which began on 10 October, focused on an article headlined
`The Alievs prepare for war,’ which appeared in the Russian-language
Realny Azerbaijan in May. Fatullayev argued in this article that
Azerbaijan would be exposed to reprisals if the United States
attacked Iran and he cited possible Azerbaijani targets. The charge
of inciting racial hatred was based on the fact that he also warned
that this policy could revive ethnic tension within Azerbaijan.

After the verdict was read out, Fatullayev ironically thanked the
court for its `overly mild’ sentence. He also referred to Elmar
Husseynov, the editor of the independent weekly Monitor, who was
gunned down in March 2005. In an article in March of this year,
Fatullayev accused the authorities of obstructing the investigation
into his murder. He received death threats following the article.

This is the second time Fatullayev has been tried and convicted this
year. In April, he was found guilty of libelling the army in an
article accusing the Azerbaijani armed forces of sharing
responsibility with their Armenian counterparts for the deaths of
hundreds of civilians during an attack by Armenian troops in 1992 on
the village of Khojali in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

His two newspapers, Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan, have
been closed since May, when much of their material was confiscated on
the grounds of a violation of fire prevention regulations.

It was in May, after Reporters Without Borders added President Aliev
to its list of press freedom predators, that the authorities
announced that they would no longer cooperate with the organisation.
Azerbaijan fell four places (to 139th position) in the 2007 world
press freedom index. Seven journalists are currently in prison in
Azerbaijan.

d_article=24213

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SHARES STORY
By Matthew DeLuca

The Heights , MA
Nov 1 2007

On the eve of the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, a handful of
top German officials questioned Adolf Hitler’s order to kill every
Polish man, woman, or child who came across their path. Hitler brushed
aside their complaints and referenced the genocide the Ottoman Empire
carried out in Armenia. "Who remembers the Armenians?" he asked them.

The issue of memory was critical on Tuesday night when Sonia Weitz,
Holocaust survivor and poet, spoke to Boston College students. In a
lecture titled "Standing Strong: I Promised I Would Tell," sponsored
by the Emerging Leader Program, Boston College Hillel, the Office of
the Dean for Student Development, and the Department of Jewish Studies,
Weitz shared both her own survivor story and her poetry.

Weitz had an easy, conversational way about her and a relaxed smile
that lit up the room. After stepping up to the podium and adjusting
her microphone, she smiled out at the audience and asked, "How about
those Red Sox? And how about those Eagles?" Of course, the subject
matter of her presentation was not as lighthearted.

Weitz played a 23-minute long video featuring herself that gave a
basic outline of her Holocaust experience. "As a survivor of the
Holocaust, I come from another world," she said. Weitz was a young
girl when the Germans invaded and occupied Poland. Her family was
rounded up and moved into the ghetto in Krakow. The elderly, ill, and
children under 14 were taken away from their families and moved out
of the ghetto. Weitz was under 14, but her parents were able obtain
forged papers that allowed her to stay with them. Of the people who
were taken away, Weitz said, "We did not know at the time that those
people were destined for death."

Many members of Weitz’s family were rounded up and shot at pointblank
range in the ghetto. At this point, Weitz had already begun to write
her poetry. On the night that her mother was put on a train, never to
be seen again, the little girl wrote a poem expressing her experience
in her diary. This transport was part of a huge movement of Jews out
of the ghetto to work at concentration camps across Europe. It also
happened to take place right after the Yom Kippur holiday. "We were
furious with God," Weitz said.

As Weitz was moved from camp to camp and horror to horror, she
continued to compose poetry. She rarely had anything to write with,
so she would most often memorize the lines as she composed in the
hope that she would be able to write them out for others someday.

At one point, Weitz and her sister were placed by chance in the same
camp as her father, though it was separated by gender. Weitz sneaked
to the men’s side and found her father, as she later addressed in
her poem "Victory." She writes of a boy in the barracks playing a
harmonica, whom she saw while in the men’s side. Weitz’s father said
that he had never gotten a chance to dance with her, and he took this
opportunity to do so. Her father died only a couple of weeks before
his camp was liberated.

Many of her other poems are about the horrors of life and death in
the camps. She wrote a poem describing the hanging of an old man and
a young boy, for example; the boy was hanged because he had sung a
Russian song. Though many of her poems deal with explicit horrors,
there are many that are testaments to the survival and endurance of the
human spirit. Weitz wrote a poem entitled "The Black Messiah" about her
liberation experience. Lying in the barracks, left delusional by hunger
and typhoid fever, she awoke to a black soldier in a U.S. military
uniform. She said, "I remember that I looked up and there was this
black American soldier … This soldier that I remember was totally
devastated." She was never able to find out who the man was.

Weitz also spoke of the difficulty of attempting to communicate her
experiences with other people. "Normal standards do not apply to the
Holocaust. It is unspeakable, it is unthinkable. It is a crime without
a language," she said. And yet, for years, she has been trying to
do exactly that: express the inexpressible. Weitz, like many other
Holocaust survivors, had to struggle with God and her faith before
she was able to come to any semblance of peace.

She laughed and said, "This is such a tough subject that if I didn’t
have a sense of humor I would have gone crazy long ago." She spoke
of how easy it would be to despair when there are Holocaust deniers
and historical revisionists all around the world while she can still
remember the very smell of Auschwitz, something she can never forget.

"Oh, my God," she said, "give me strength."

Weitz stressed how her mission in telling her story is to keep the
memory of the Holocaust alive, to keep people aware, so that another
disaster could be forestalled. She spoke of the genocide in Darfur
and the continued refusal of nations, including the United States, to
acknowledge the Armenian genocide. She spoke of the Jena Six incident,
and commented on the way in which the noose has seemingly supplanted
the burning cross as a symbol for hatred and racism.

Weitz looked out at the audience and spoke of the opportunities
available for action, urging active participation in the world’s issues
and insisting that no one be a bystander to atrocity. She spoke of
the failures of her own generation to do this and looked out to the
next generation, saying, "I think that, maybe, you will do better."

In an e-mail, Dwayne Carpenter, co-director of Jewish Studies,
commented on the importance of events of this nature. He said,
"Events such as these are extremely important for members of the BC
community in that they shake us from our lethargy, from our habit of
comfortably saying, ‘This couldn’t happen.’"

ARMENIAN LEADER, RUSSIAN MINISTER PRAISE MILITARY TIES

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Oct 30 2007

Yerevan, 30 October: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan received
Russian Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov in Yerevan today.

"They discussed military-technical cooperation between Armenia and
Russia and expressed their satisfaction with the level and quality
of cooperation in this area," the presidential press service told
Mediamax today.

RA GOVERNMENT WILLING TO DEVELOP THE INTERACTION WITH OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE

armradio.am
01.11.2007 10:29

RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan received newly appointed head of
the OSCE Yerevan office Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, RA Government’s
Information and Public Relations Department informs.

Congratulating Mr. Kapinos on his appointment, the Prime Minister
expressed confidence that RA Government’s fruitful cooperation with
the OSCE Yerevan office will continue during his term in office and
stressed his Government’s readiness to develop the interaction.

The head of the OSCE Armenia Office said that his task is to continue
the deeply rooted and traditionally close cooperation with Armenia’s
public institutions and non-governmental organizations and, upon
completion of the ongoing programs as of March 2008, to develop new
programs based on an active dialogue and interested discussions with
these entities. According to Mr. Kapinos, there are several priority
areas of cooperation, inclusive of environmental protection and public
welfare programs, support to police system reforms, marz development
programs, human rights protection, as well as assistance with the
formation of a quick-response system and so on.

Mr. Kapinos assured that in 2008 it will be possible to develop
and carry out programs similar to "Melange" rocket fuel processing
project as implemented by the OSCE Yerevan office in Armenia and
highly assessed by member countries.

The head of the OSCE Armenia Office emphasized the efforts towards
the realization of regional programs by focusing firstly on the
implementation of mutually beneficial projects in such areas as water
usage, mining industry and environmental protection, susceptible
to build up confidence in the region and lay the basis for conflict
resolution. Serge Sargsyan stressed that Armenia has always advocated
this approach and is reiterating its willingness to start cooperating
towards the implementation of regional programs to mutual advantage.

With reference to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Serge
Sargsyan reaffirmed Armenia’s position in that the talks in the
frame of the OSCE Minsk group constitute the most effective format
for conflict resolution.

The Prime Minister further stated that Armenia supports the steps
aimed at creating and strengthening tools for building confidence
between the conflicting sides, as he is confident that this will
promote the peace process.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister wished Ambassador
Kapinos successful completion of his mission as head of the OSCE
Yerevan office.

ECONOMIC GROWTH TOTALS 13.2% IN ARMENIA IN JAN-SEPT 2007

ARKA News Agency
Oct 31 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, October 31. /ARKA/. Economic growth in Armenia totaled 13.2%
in January-September 2007 as compared to the corresponding period
in 2006.

According to the RA National Statistical Service (NSS), GDP totaled
AMD 2, 016,595.4mln in the reporting period. GDP increased by 0.4%
in September as compared to August.

Deflator index of GDP totaled 103.9% in January-September 2007.

13.2pct of GDP increase was secured by 10.4% increase of gross
added value (against 10.5pct in January-September 2006) and 2.8pct
by means of 31.9% of taxes after deduction of grants (against 1.1pct
in January-September 2006).

4.2pct GDP growth was secured by 18.7% construction increase (against
7.2pct in January-September 2006). 0.5pct GDP growth was secured
thanks to industry, including the sphere of energy (2.6% increase of
the field).

1.6pct growth was secured thanks to agriculture, hunting, fishing
(8.3% increase of the field).

Services increased by 13.9% and secured 4.2pct GDP growth (against
3.7pct in January-September 2006). During the reporting period trade,
catering, transport and communications increased by 13.1% and secured
2.0pct GDP growth.

In GDP, the specific weight of the added value totaled 90% against
91.3% in January-September 2006.

The share of agriculture decreased by 0.8pct to 18.8%, whereas the
share of construction increased by 1.2pct to 23.8%. The share of
trade, catering, transport and communications in GDP is 14.7%, the
total share of services being 30.9%.

The share of taxes after deduction of grants was 10.0%. GDP totaled
AMD 625,340 ($1,785 or EUR 1,329) per head.

Economic growth totaled 11.6% in January-September 2006. 11% GDP
growth is planned by the RA state budget in 2007.

PRESS RELEASE
Date: October 31, 2007
Armenian National Committee of New York
P.O. Box 770-693, Woodside, NY 11377
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 646-468-9061

AYF HOLDS VIGIL IN FRONT OF ADL NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS

Vigil serves as prelude to larger rally set for this Thursday

NEW YORK, NY’In a bold consciousness-raising effort, the Armenian
Youth Federation of New York held a candlelight vigil in front of the
national headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Manhattan
on Monday evening, October 29.

The vigil specifically addressed the ADL’s efforts at preventing US
Congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. AYF New York
President Justin Kaladjian said, "Any organization which assists
Turkey in denying the Armenian Genocide, will be confronted by the
AYF, no matter how ‘respectable’ it might make itself out to be."

ANC of New York Chair Doug Geogerian commended the AYF for "coming in
force and standing up to one of the most influential organizations in
our society, all in defense of the Armenian Cause. The AYF
courageously represented the New York area Armenian community."

The vigil served as a prelude to a larger rally to be held on
Thursday, Nov. 1st at 7pm evening at the same location (605 3rd Ave.,
New York, NY). According to Geogerian, a multi-ethnic array of
musicians, comedians, commentators, scholars and activists will speak
about the ADL’s morally bankrupt policy on the Armenian Genocide and
why it must change.

The ADL will hold its national convention this Thursday and Friday in
New York City at an undisclosed location. During the convention, ADL
delegates will address the controversy of its failure to support
congressional affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. The ADL has seen
its anti-bias program "No Place for Hate" come under fire in recent
months, as six Massachusetts towns’Watertown, Newton, Belmont,
Arlington, Lexington, and Westwood’have severed ties with the ADL over
the organization’s role in denying the Armenian Genocide. The website
provides comprehensive information on the
campaign waged by Armenian activists in Massachusetts.

The Jewish on-line magazine Jewcy and the No Place for Denial team are
organizing Thursday’s event, where music and speeches will highlight
the ADL’s unsavory position regarding the Armenian Genocide. The
Armenian National Committee of Eastern U.S. is a co-sponsor. ANC
Eastern Region Board Member Sevag Arzoumanian said, "Youthful
representatives of two ancient peoples will hit the pavement to demand
that the ADL come down on the right side of a key human rights issue:
unqualified opposition to genocide denial. Spontaneous, irreverent,
unscripted, a celebration of Jewish-Armenian solidarity, hard hitting
political messages transmitted through irony, parody and
verse…impromptu speeches and chants…that is what people should
expect and contribute to."

####

IN ESTIMATION OF ROBERT KOCHARIAN, ARMENIAN-THAILANDIAN RELATIONS BECOME MORE ACTIVE

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Suphot Dhirakaosal (residence in
Moscow), the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Armenia, handed
his credentials to Robert Kocharian, the President of the Republic
of Armenia, on October 30.

Congratulating the newly-appointed Ambassador, the RA President
expressed conviction that he will use his rich diplomatic experience
for the development of the relations between the two countries. Robert
Kocharian attached importance to the cooperation with Thailand in the
Asian policy of Armenia and mentioned that the bilateral relations
have recently become more active.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA
President’s Press Office, the parties touched upon the possible
spheres of the cooperation, as well as attached importance to the
necessity of making a best use of the existing potential and making
the above-mentioned spheres distinct.

KNUCKLEHEADS IN KURDISTAN
By David Andelman

The Huffington Post
Kurdish Aspect, CO
Oct 29 2007

For the moment, Congress seems to have escaped making its most
colossal foreign policy boner since the Senate rejected the Treaty of
Versailles, keeping the United States out of the League of Nations
back in1919. It "postponed" consideration of a measure condemning
Turkey for the genocide of its Armenians 90 years ago and that would
have turned off the possibility of any ongoing dialogue on the latest
flashpoint in the Middle East.

Which doesn’t mean there aren’t knuckleheaded moves within the
grasp of the United States, or for that matter what exists of an
Iraqi government and an intransigent Turkish military and political
leadership over the volatile border region of Kurdistan, Iraq, Iran
and Turkey.

Listen to General Yasar Buyukanit, Turkey’s military leader, discussing
on Friday the attacks by PKK Kurdish guerrillas that have left 42
people including 30 Turkish soldiers dead in the past month:

"We are determined to make those who cause this sadness grieve with
an intensity that they cannot imagine."

The world has failed for generations to understand the myriad tribes,
religions and nationalities that have dotted the lands of Mesopotamia
and once governed more or less successfully, but rarely peacefully,
from the Ottoman Turkish capital of Constantinople. Certainly we
know the Shiites and the Sunnis well by now. It seems we are about to
become very familiar indeed with the third principal group in Iraq —
the Kurds.

But out our gaffes with respect to this benighted people go far back in
history. At the time Iraq was constituted as a nation by the western
powers gathered at the Paris Peace Talks of 1919, one member of the
American delegation advising President Woodrow Wilson on the Middle
East, Arthur I. Andrews, wrote:

"In some respects the Koords [sic] remind one of the North American
Indians. They have a tawny skin, high cheek bones, broad mouth and
black straight hair. Their mien too is rather quiet, morose, dull.

Their temper is passionate, resentful, revengeful, intriguing and
treacherous. They make good soldiers, but poor leaders. They are
avaricious, utterly selfish, shameless beggars, and have a great
propensity to steal. They are fond of the chase and of raising their
rivals, are adept in the exercise of frightfulness. Mentally they
are slow."

As I point out in my new book, A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919
and the Price We Pay Today, this was only one of a host of staggering
misconceptions, prejudices and gaffes that marked the efforts of the
United States, Britain, France and Italy as they went about creating
nations and drawing boundary lines that persist to this day.

It happens that in the ensuing nine decades, the Kurds and their region
of Kurdistan have turned out to be the lone promising island of peace
and prosperity in the nation of Iraq. Certainly the way the borders
were carved — leaving a large chunk of Kurds in the reconstituted
Turkey that was all the peacemakers left of the once vast Ottoman
Empire — was just one of a host of errors.

Nevertheless, the world may now be in a position today to reverse,
even rectify these errors. Peace and prosperity may be just two of a
host of consequences. Arriving at a solution to the tensions across
the Turkish-Kurdish frontier may also lead to an independent nation
of Kurdistan, a model for the rest of Iraq and a roadmap to eventual
American disengagement from the entire region.

But first we have to get there. And that’s where the problems arise.

There are, quite simply, a host of strong passions on all sides of
the frontier — and I say all sides because Iran, with its own small
Kurdish population, and a big stake in the future of the rest of Iraq,
also has a dog in this fight. Indeed only 20 percent of all Kurds are
in Kurdistan itself. Some 55 percent are actually in Turkey, another
20 percent are in Iran and smaller numbers are scattered across Asia
and the Caucasus including 200,000 in Afghanistan and even 100,000 in
Israel. None of this, however, should prevent an independent nation
of Kurdistan. Certainly there are far more Albanians in Albania than
in Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia.

Yet that doesn’t prevent Kosovo from aspiring to independence.

Indeed, an independent Kurdistan could play for the Kurds the same
role as a homeland that the Jews lusted after and, after centuries,
won for themselves.

Still, we have to take this one baby step at a time. First, we need
to encourage General Buyukanit and his military not to take steps
that would make Kurds grieve with an unimaginable intensity. We,
and by that I mean not only the United States but also the European
Union which can dangle a real carrot in the form of potential Turkish
membership in the EU, must persuade Turkey that a free and independent
Kurdistan on its border would be the best possible guarantee that
PKK guerrillas are tamed and held in check. It’s pretty clear that
a Congressional resolution bashing Turkey for its unquestionable
genocide of another resident minority, the Armenians, ninety years
ago, would remove much of our ability to talk calmly and rationally
with the current rulers of Turkey.

Fortunately, for the moment, most sides are still talking — though
possibly not the same language. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
flew to Teheran this past weekend to lobby for Iranian support,
while an Iraqi delegation flew back to Baghdad from Ankara on
Saturday without any breakthroughs. What the foreign minister wants
from his Iraqi counterparts, however, he’s not getting — "very,
very quick results." Instead, all he got was long-term proposals,
"far from being satisfactory."

Absent in all of this is one reality, though. The Kurds themselves.

Baghdad can scarcely be expected to speak with any authority for a
regional government that wants nothing but independence and, frankly,
has demonstrated it’s ready now to move in that direction. So those
who really need to be in the heart of the discussions aren’t even at
the table — the Kurds themselves. As I’ve suggested in my book and
innumerable speeches in recent weeks, the only real solution is an
independent Kurdistan that can stand on the international stage and
speak for itself.

Moreover, there’s not much time left. On November 5, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with President Bush in
Washington. Can the president talk the Prime Minister off this
slippery ledge with a fiery pit on the other side? It may be the
world’s last hope. Said Prime Minister Erdogan on a Turkish reprisal:
"We can’t say when or how we will do it, we will just do it."

David A. Andelman, executive editor of Forbes.com, is the author
of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today,
(Wiley, 2007). He may be reached at [email protected].

http://www.kurdishaspe ct.com/doc102907DA.html

RISE IN PRICES FOR ESSENTIAL GOODS AROUSES DISCONTENT

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 29 2007

YEREVAN, October 26. /ARKA/. The rise in prices for a number of
essential products in Armenia has not only aroused natural discontent
on the part of population, but also cause criticism of the government
policy.

Against the background of the rise in prices for grain, which caused
a rise in the price for baked goods, vegetable and animal fats in
many countries, phenomena going beyond the laws of market economy
are occurring in Armenia.

The uptrend in the prices for essential products observed late in
the summer was caused by external factors. A survey of internal
and external influence on the food market conducted by the ARKA
News Agency in September, as well as experts’ comments, suggested a
conclusion that the rise of prices for a number of food products was
mainly accounted for by external factors.

Since Armenia has no high-level food self-sufficiency, it cannot rule
out the influence of external factors on influence with large imports
of essential food and agricultural products recorded.

This September, 102.7% consumer price index was recorded in Armenia
compared to last September, with the index of prices for food products
(alcohol and tobacco inclusive) being 103.8%. In January-September
2007, 3.8% inflation was recorded compared to the corresponding period
last year. The index of prices for food products was 104.8%.

However, negative phenomena were recorded in September, when, taking
advantage of the global trends, Armenia’s economic entities entered
into an anticompetitive collusion, which caused an unnatural 60%
rise in the prices for vegetable oil and butter.

The RA State Commission for protection of Economic Competition, also
called antimonopoly commission, guided by the results of monitoring
conducted in August-October, revealed the fact of indirect agreements
on an unjustified rise in prices between 20% of legal entities
operating on the market of butter and vegetable oil.

As a result, about 50 Armenian businessmen were fined, fines imposed
on them being 2% of the proceeds from the products in question in 2006,
but not more than 300mln AMD.

Despite the rise in prices on the world market, the prices were at
least doubled in Armenia. Specifically, the average purchasing price
of one liter of sunflower oil was 556 AMD in August and 950 AMD in
October, while the customs value remained the same, said Head of the
Commission’s Analytical Department Armine Hakobyan.

The opposition immediately responded to the situation and expressed
its concern at the next four-day session of the RA Parliament on
October 22-25. "The price rise has become a social disaster for all
the sections of population. The companies getting super-profits from
the monopoly on the import of some products to Armenia are worsening
the situation for hundreds of thousands of our compatriots," said Mher
Shahgueldyan of the opposition parliamentary faction Country of Law.

According to him, the authorities are not taking any measures. "Of
course, the rise in prices is global, but, for example, Russia,
Ukraine and Georgia are taking measures to protect their citizens.

The Government must bear responsibility to the population and wage
a more active struggle against negative processes," Shahgueldyan said.

He proposed the abolition of monopolies and creation of competition,
especially on the food market.

The member of the opposition faction "Heritage" Armen Martirosyan
proposed the adoption of a special law to regulate the behavior of
economic entities and government bodies in case of price rise. "Under
the country’s Constitution, the Central Bank is supposed to ensure
price stability. Everybody must deal with this important problem and
take strict preventive measures," he said.

The Members of Parliament representing the pro-governmental Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) addressed the subject as well.

Eduard Sharmazanov said that the major task is to reform the mechanisms
of responsibility applied to unprincipled economic entities.

He added that the fines imposed on them are too small to "put them
off repeating such scenarios".

In this context, talks about increasing fines imposed on economic
entities have been heard in Armenia. Chairman of the Protection of
Consumers’ Rights NGO Abgar Yegoyan proposed raiding the fine for
anticompetitive agreements from 2% to 5% of annual turnover and
reducing the payment terms to 15 days.

In the second ten-day period of October the problem of rise in prices
for food products reached its climax in the form of excitement on
the sugar market.

Rumors about a rise in price for sugar made the population purchase
large amounts of this product. Retailers took advantage of the
situation and raised the price 2-3 times. Some shops sold sugar at
600-700 AMD ($1.84-$2.15) for a kilo.

This market is monopolized in Armenia. The Salex Group company,
owned by the member of the Armenian Parliament Samvel Alexanyan,
covers 84% of the country’s sugar market. Many experts immediately
pointed out the problem of monopoly on the food markets, but after
the importer reduced the price down to 220 AMD in his supermarkets,
everybody accused retailers.

Commission Chairman Ashot Shahnazaryan convened a special sitting of
the Commission on October 23 and stated that the rise in sugar price
was artificial.

"The excitement over the allegedly expected deficit of sugar and the
resultant rise in the price was created artificially," he said.

According to Shahnazaryan, the excitement played into the hand of
the owners of small shops as ten-day amount was sold within a day.

The Commission continues monitoring the market, but stable prices
have been set on the sugar market – 230-240 AMS for a kilo.

The market study showed that Armenia is provided with sugar for the
next six months, and no changes in the price policy are expected
during one year.

RA Minister of Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamyan said that
the Government will carry out consistent work to prevent a price rise.

He pointed out that artificial excitement on the food market affects
the authorities first of all as it causes public discontent on the
threshold of presidential election.

At present, the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), by means of its monetary
policy and interest rates, is maintaining stable prices on the consumer
market in conformity with law.

In his earlier interview to ARKA, CBA Chairman Tigran Sargsyan stated
that the CBA is concerned the world prices for imported wheat, grains
and sugar.

He expressed the confidence that, despite the unfavorable situation
on the world markets, the CBa will manage to maintain inflation within
the planned 4% (±1,5%) in 2007.

–Boundary_(ID_0In/si9dq19hy96UT5pNoQ)–