Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Turkish Daily News , Turkey
Jan 26 2007

Businessmen and EC urge amendment to anti-free speech article

Turkey’s most influential businessmen’s association TÜSİAD and
the European Council have expressed concern over Article 301

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

The discussion on how to treat infamous Article 301 of the Turkish
Penal Code (TCK) has heated up again following the assassination of
journalist Hrant Dink last week.

Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink was gunned down last week by a
Turkish youth who said Dink had insulted Turks.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül said on Wednesday "the door for
changes to 301 is open." The European Union has also called on
Turkey, an EU candidate, to abrogate the law.

Dink, like dozens of other Turkish intellectuals, had been
prosecuted under Article 301 for his writings on the massacres of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I, a highly sensitive
issue in Turkey.

His death has put the article and possible amendments to it under
the spotlight.

Civil society leaders, businessmen and politicians continued to
declare their stance on Article 301 on Thursday.

In its 37th General Assembly convention on Thursday, senior members
of Turkey’s most influential businessmen’s association, the Turkish
Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), expressed
concern over the article in political statements.

TÜSİAD’s Higher Advisory Council President Mustafa Koç
expressed his opinion that Article 301 was one of the elements to lay
the fertile ground for Dink’s assassination. "Certain political
movements and pro-status quo sections of society are attempting to
block transformation and development. These groups resisting change
instead of calling for democratic initiatives, as in the case of
Article 301, cause growing pessimism."

Another statement on 301 was made by Social Democratic People’s
Party (SHP) Secretary-General Ahmet Güryüz Ketenci.

"The CHP and the AKP should stop being twofaced and launch the
initiatives to amend Article 301," Ketenci said in a written
statement.

Meanwhile, nationalist circles also made their stance clear on the
article on Sunday. Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) President Sinan
Aygün spoke at an ATO convention on Thursday saying that linking the
assassination of Dink to Article 301 was unacceptable.

Aygün said the article should be preserved as is, adding that ATO
supported both the article and the government. "We are on the side of
everything that is good," he added.

Council of Europe urges change to 301:

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said Turkey
should scrap Article 301 from its penal code, Reuters reported on
Thursday afternoon.

"The existence of this measure, which judicially limits the freedom
of expression, only validates legal and other attacks against
journalists," a resolution passed by the assembly said.

KASPAROV HAS LEFT FOR IRAN

A1+
[01:09 pm] 25 January, 2007

Gevorg Kasparov, the goal-keeper of Yerevan "Pyunik" and Armenian
football team, has left for Iran, where he will sign a two-year
contract with the team of "Pas".

"Pas" has a high reputation among the Iranian teams and has got
professional football players, among them Hamlet Mkhitaryan, one of
the half-backs of the Armenian team.

It is already a year Gevorg Kasparov has played in the
Armenian football team as a goal-keeper. He displayed excellent
participation mainly in the qualifying phase of "Euro-2008" during
the Armenia-Belgium, Armenia-Finland meetings. 26-year-old goal-keeper
formerly played in the Armenian Youth and Juvinile teams, as well as
in the club "Zvartnots".

Currently Edgar Gasparyan is the goal-keeper of "Pyunik" but the
heads of the team intend to sign a contract with some skilled foreign
goal-keeper in the nearest future.

Newsday, NY
Jan 25 2007

SCREAMERS
Rafer GuzmÁn

January 26, 2007

SCREAMERS (R).

With Angelina visiting Africa and Bono battling AIDS, you might think
the rock band System of a Down is hopping on the charity bandwagon
with "Screamers," a documentary that uses concert footage to draw
attention to genocide around the world. But the band’s four members,
all Armenian-Americans, have long been pushing for a very specific
and personal goal: to persuade the U.S. government to officially
recognize the 1915 Armenian massacre, at the hands of Ottoman Turks,
as genocide.

That semantic nicety – was it genocide, or mere slaughter? – is a
major issue for modern-day Turkey, which basically denies the 1915
atrocities and occasionally persecutes those who beg to differ. (Last
week a Turkish newspaper editor who challenged the official position
was shot dead outside his office.) Those who raise their voices about
genocide are nicknamed "screamers" in this movie, and the term could
also apply to the wild-eyed members of System of a Down. Singer Serj
Tankian, however, is refreshingly soft-spoken offstage: He’s as
gentle with his 96-year-old grandfather (a 1915 survivor) as he is
with former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The film operates at a high-school reading level: Whenever
discussions get too deep, director Carla Garapedian quickly switches
to System of a Down thundering away before a sea of fists. But if
"Screamers" can turn a few head-bangers into brain users, it will
have achieved a noble goal.

–Boundary_(ID_djTi8xsfS9kFWGe9pPhsqg)–

Burbank Leader, CA
Jan 24 2007

Making another try

Figuring that a fourth try will be the charm, this candidate says
he’ll make traffic and congestion his issues.
By Chris Wiebe

Burbank City Council candidate Vahe Hovanessian.

GLENDALE – City Council candidate Vahe Hovanessian was born in
Tehran, Iran, but Burbank quickly became his home when his
Armenian-Christian family relocated to the United States in 1979,
fleeing the Islamic-driven Iranian revolution.

He attended Burbank public schools – from Ralph Emerson Elementary
and Burbank High School – leaving Burbank for college and graduate
school.

When he returned to Burbank, he purchased a small home where he found
congestion and increased population density was rampant.

"I noticed that Burbank has significantly changed over my time here,"
he said. "I was looking at overdevelopment of certain areas and,
unfortunately, I was right in the middle of it."

Observing first-hand the changing city demographics led him to
explore the particulars of municipal zoning and what residential
upgrades would mean for how Burbank appeared in the future.

"All of a sudden every development we make is bigger and grander," he
said. "I’m not saying that’s bad – that’s a very good thing – but
overall we need to plan more carefully over the long run…. The people
before us did a good job; now we just have to do a better job."

Hovanessian initially became involved with the city as a certified
law student in the city attorney’s office. Representing, among
others, Burbank Police officers, he provided assistance in trials and
appeals, often working with other departments in the process.

"It really gave me first-hand experience of what’s going on," he
said. "The mechanism of the city is spectacular. I’m very confident
about the staff and the people who work here." advertisement

The current race marks his fourth bid for a council seat. In 2003 he
lost in the primary, but in 2005 he broke into the general election.
He tried his hand again in the 2006 special election.

"I’ve run against all the current incumbents and the two that are
leaving," he said.

"My message hasn’t changed – traffic and congestion. There’s a lot of
top-priority issues, but traffic and congestion are definitely at the
top…. The reason I continue to run is because I believe that we can
actually make a difference."

Hovanessian has already turned what began as a curiosity in civic
affairs to proactive city involvement, participating in several
service groups and gaining an appointment as chairman of the Burbank
Water and Power Board more than three years ago.

The utility has made recent strides in water conservation, renewable
power and green energy, he said.

Hovanessian’s long-time involvement in the community would serve him
well as a council member, supporter Nat Rubinfeld said.

"I see him as a quick thinker and he has the ability to analyze the
issues before making a decision," he said.

"Secondly, he’s a local product of the Burbank school systems – and
he’s definitely been a part of the community."

As a council member, Hovanessian would carefully weigh all sides of
an issue based on available information before making any decisions,
he said. And future development is a matter deserving of close
attention, he said.

"If I’m going to be approving any development I want to see an
affordable housing component," he said.

Declining enrollment numbers in the Burbank Unified School District
are symptomatic of a lack of young families moving to Burbank because
they are simply priced out of the market, Hovanessian said.

"Affordable housing is something I think is very necessary," he said.

VAHE HOVANESSIAN: ON THE ISSUES

What type of role should local government play in monitoring the pace
of land development in Burbank?

Burbank should carefully and strategically control the pace of all
land development and redevelopment. We should promote a balance and
functional mix of land uses consistent with our community values. We
should provide for growth of housing and employment opportunities in
conjunction with community goals and consistent with planned
infrastructure and service capabilities. We must foresee potential
natural hazards and plan development to reduce loss of life,
injuries, damages and other dislocations resulting. Zoning ordinances
must be consistent to ensure that property owners and residents have
a clear understanding as to the use and intensity allowed on their
properties.

Has the city’s almost two-year-old development agreement with the
airport authority provided an adequate balance between interests of
airport officials versus the concerns Burbank residents?

An adequate balance can not yet be determined. The concerns of
Burbank residents were not thoroughly addressed in the development
agreement. The delay of an expanded airport was the final result. But
who initially agreed to an expansion? It appears that the interests
of airport officials will differ significantly from the concerns of
Burbank residents, to the detriment of the residents. It was said
that the agreement brought peace; however, were we at war? It appears
that the battle has yet to begin. As such, I anticipate that no
adequate balance of interests will have resulted once the agreement
timeframes pass.

What types of things should be done to address traffic congestion on
Burbank streets and freeways?

Traffic in Burbank is increasing as a result of natural population
growth and increase of business activity in our community. Traffic
increases must be addressed through traffic-control modernization and
strategic planning. In addition, synchronization of lights at some
intersections will lead to more efficiency, smarter intersections
will result in smoother flow and stronger enforcement of traffic laws
will maintain a steady flow of traffic. Our freeways require
attention with respect to on- and off-ramps and plans exist, however
funding on the state level has not been adequate. Further, our
streets should be more pedestrian- and disabled-friendly.

BIO BOX
Name: Vahe Hovanessian
Age: 32
Family: Wife, Anne Hovanessian, 32
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Juris doctor, San Fernando Valley College; bachelor of
arts, University of California at Los Angeles

AZG Armenian Daily #013, 25/01/2007

Regional

KARS-AKHALQALAKI TECHNICAL PLANS SPECIFIED

Republic of Armenia Defence Ministry National Startegic Research
Institute is to be opened in Yrevan, January 24. On January 22 in
Baku were discussed the dechnica details of construction of the
Kars-Akhalqalaq-Tbilisi-Baku railroad. It is said that the details
will be finally agreed in February.

By Aghavni Haroutiunian

New York Times, NY
Jan 23 2007

Armenian Editor’s Death Leads to Conciliation
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By SUSANNE FOWLER and SEBNEM ARSU

Published: January 23, 2007

ISTANBUL, Jan. 22 – The killing of an Armenian-Turkish editor in
Istanbul last week and the sorrow it has generated within Turkey are
leading to rare conciliatory gestures between Turkey and Armenia,
historic enemies, and to calls for changes in laws here defending
Turkish identity.

On Monday, Armenian political and spiritual figures accepted an
invitation from the Turkish government to attend the funeral of Hrant
Dink, the founder of an Armenian-Turkish newspaper, who was killed
outside his office on Friday, apparently by a young nationalist
fanatic.

The suspect in the slaying, Ogun Samast, 17, was escorted back to
the scene of the crime Sunday night by law enforcement authorities.

The head of the Istanbul security forces said that Mr. Samast "was
driven to commit the crime by his nationalistic feelings" and had no
ties to any group.

Mr. Dink was a staunch defender of free speech and like other
intellectuals was prosecuted for insulting "Turkishness" and sentenced
to six months in jail, though his term was suspended.

Bulent Arinc, the parliamentary chairman from the ruling Justice and
Development Party, said he would back efforts to abolish the measure
under which Mr. Dink was prosecuted, known as Article 301.

"It can be discussed to totally abolish or completely revise the
Article 301," Mr. Arinc said, adding that members of Parliament
"are open to this."

Despite the fact that the Armenian-Turkish border has been sealed
since 1993 and diplomatic relations severed, Armenia is sending
a deputy foreign minister, Arman Kirakossian, to the funeral, and
the archbishop of the Armenian Church of America, Khajag Barsamian,
also accepted the government’s invitation to the ceremony.

Earlier, the Armenian defense minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, called for
improved relations so that Armenia could "establish ties with Turkey
with no preconditions," the Turkish news channel NTV reported.

High-level Turkish government officials are expected to attend the
funeral.

Turkey and Armenia have long been at odds over Turkey’s refusal
to use the term "genocide" to describe the deaths of Armenians
beginning in 1915. Many scholars and most Western governments say
more than a million Armenians were killed in a campaign they describe
as genocide. Turkey calls the loss of life a consequence of a war
in which both sides suffered casualties, and has suggested that a
group of envoys from each country analyze the history. Armenia has
expressed a willingness to participate but insists that the border
must first be reopened to trade.

But many Armenians living abroad hold a much harder line and are
lobbying the United States and European governments to deny Turkey
entrance into the European Union until Ankara recognizes the killings
as genocide.

Norman Stone, professor of history at Koc University in Istanbul, said
Mr. Dink was killed at a time when Turkey was reacting to pressure
to respond to the Armenian issue.

"There are a lot of balanced people here who say, ‘Look, the genocide
issue is unclear, but if you just leave it as a matter of massacres,
then we can start making progress,’ " Mr. Stone said.

The funeral is shaping up to be far more than a farewell to a popular
though controversial figure. The fact that the government is permitting
it to take place on a grand scale is another sign of a change.

A wide boulevard in the heart of Istanbul’s main commercial district
will be closed to traffic as the funeral cortege gathers outside the
offices of the newspaper where Mr. Dink was shot.

The mayor of the district, Mustafa Sarigul, said the local government
will hand out carnations and release hundreds of pigeons as a symbol
of peace. Mr. Dink once said, "I may see myself as frightened as a
pigeon, but I know that in this country people do not touch pigeons."

The procession is expected to advance for about a mile before the
body is driven across the Golden Horn to the Kumkapi district for a
Christian funeral Mass at the Church of the Virgin Mary. Among the
Turkish government officials expected to attend the Mass are the
interior minister, Abdulkadir Aksu, and the deputy prime minister,
Mehmet Ali Sahin. Burial is to follow at the Balikli Armenian Cemetery.

Most Armenian Turks live in Istanbul, the diverse and cosmopolitan
center of Turkey. But the antinationalist demonstrations that followed
Mr. Dink’s killing also surfaced in places as diverse as Izmir, the
Aegean coastal city that is Turkey’s third largest, and in Sanliurfa
and Hatay, which are close to Turkey’s eastern border with Syria.

"Public opinion in both countries, weary of the years-long conflict,
had reached a point of explosion," said Kaan Soyak, a director of the
Turkish-Armenian Business Development Commission, the only bilateral
trade council of Turkish and Armenian executives. "That’s what lies
behind the massive outpouring for Mr. Dink."

Ethnic Armenian Turks, like Jewish and Greek Turks, are an officially
recognized minority group and as such are allowed to operate their
own schools. Mr. Dink, for example, attended Armenian schools in
Istanbul until entering a state-run university.

Mr. Dink was labeled as a target among nationalist groups on their
Web sites. Mr. Samast, the suspect, read and was influenced by those
postings, according to the Anatolian news agency.

Seven other suspects were also being detained over the weekend,
including Yasin Hayal, who served 11 months in jail for the bombing
of a McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon in 2004.

Mr. Hayal, a known nationalist, is suspected of having a history of
Islamic militant activity. He attempted to join the rebels in Chechnya
but was turned away at the border, his former lawyer, Fatih Cakir,
said by telephone on Sunday.

Havva Samast, Mr. Samast’s mother, knew that her son and Mr. Hayal
were friends.

"I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him on television and had a
shock," she said during a televised interview with the Dogan News
Agency from her and her son’s home city of Trabzon. "He couldn’t have
done this on his own. I know that he was friends with" Mr. Hayal.

But many here still blame Article 301 for Mr. Dink’s death and see
it as an obstacle to freedom of speech in Turkey.

Middle East Times, Egypt
Jan 22 2007

Turkey probes ultranationalists in journalist murder

January 22, 2007

Photo: MURDER SUSPECT: Ogun Samast (L), the suspected killer of
prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, is escorted by an
officer as he leaves the police headquarters in Samsun, late January
20.
(REUTERS)

ISTANBUL — Turkish police Monday focused their investigation into
the murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on alleged links
between the prime suspect and an ultranationalist group.

"We are looking into the political aspect of the murder and possible
links with illegal organizations," Istanbul police chief Celalettin
Cerrah told the Anatolia news agency. "The suspect was influenced by
news articles he read" about Dink, he added.

A prosecutor said Sunday that the suspect, 17-year-old Ogun Samast,
had confessed to Friday’s murder and newspapers quoted the teenager
as telling police that he shot Dink because the journalist insulted
the Turkish nation.

Dink, 52, was a taboo-breaking critic of the official line on the
1915-17 Ottoman Empire massacre of Armenians, which he labeled as
genocide, and was given a suspended six-month jail sentence last year
for "insulting Turkishness."

Nationalists branded him a "traitor" and Dink wrote in recent
articles in his weekly newspaper Agos that he had received threats.

Quoting sources close to the investigation, newspapers Monday said
that police were probing links between Samast and a small,
ultranationalist group in his hometown, Trabzon, on the Black Sea
Coast.

Samast told police that he was told to kill Dink by a friend, Yasin
Hayal, who spent 11 months in jail for a 2004 bomb attack against a
McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon.

"Yasin told me to shoot Dink. He gave me the gun. So I did," the
mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper quoted the teenager as saying.

Turkish newspapers described Hayal, who is also in police custody, as
an "older brother" figure who frequently met youngsters in the area
and influenced them with his ultranationalist views.

Hurriyet said that Samast, an unemployed secondary school graduate,
was among 10 youths aged 15 to 17 whom Hayal had last year trained to
handle and shoot small arms in order to assassinate Dink.

"I was chosen because I was the best shot and the fastest runner,"
the daily Vatan quoted Samast as telling police.

Friends described Samast, who played football for an amateur team in
Trabzon, as an introvert who frequented Internet cafes but who was
also aggressive.

His mother, Havva Samast, said Monday that she believed that her son
was a mere tool.

"He is not a person who could do this on his own," she said in
remarks broadcast on the NTV news channel. "Someone used him."

Apart from Samast and Hayal, police are questioning six other
suspects in connection with the killing.

Police conducted a re-enactment under heavy security of the murder
with Samast late Sunday, which saw passers-by booing the teenager and
calling him a "disgrace."

Showing no remorse, Samast reportedly told police that he first tried
to meet Dink in his office but was not allowed in by suspicious
staff.

He said that he waited in the street until Dink returned from a
nearby bank.

"I approached him from behind and fired shot after shot," Samast was
quoted by the liberal Vatan newspaper as saying.

Dink died instantly after being shot three times in the head and
neck.

Samast’s testimony turned the spotlight on Trabzon, a Black Sea port
of 1 million and a hot-bed of nationalism, which hit the headlines in
February 2006 with the murder of an Italian Catholic priest by a
16-year-old boy.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that police
would look into possible links between Dink’s killing and that of the
priest.

Dink had gained respect in Turkey as a sincere activist for
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and for free speech; he also
denounced Armenian radicalism and, most recently, branded as "idiocy"
a French bill making the denial of an Armenian "genocide" a jailable
offense.

Dink will be buried Tuesday at an Armenian cemetery in Istanbul after
a ceremony in front of the Agos offices and a religious service at
the Armenian patriarchate.

A Turkish diplomat said Monday that Ankara had invited prominent
Armenian religious leaders from around the world to attend the
funeral.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America, has already arrived in Istanbul, Anatolia
reported. (AFP)

Le Monde, France
21 janvier 2007 dimanche

DISPARITIONS;
Hrant Dink

par Sophie Shihab

Militant arménien et intellectuel turc

DERNIÈRE VICTIME en date de la longue série d’assassinats de
journalistes turcs, Hrant Dink, tué par balles vendredi 19 janvier au
pied du siège de son hebdomadaire à Istanbul, se battait autant pour
la reconnaissance du génocide arménien que pour la démocratie en
général dans son pays, la Turquie.

Né en 1954, dans le sud-est, à Malatya et fut pris, à 7 ans, dans un
internat arménien à Istanbul, où il fera des études universitaires de
biologie et de philosophie. Il milite brièvement au parti communiste,
alors interdit, avant de se dévouer à un orphelinat pour Arméniens –
saisi par l’Etat après 1974, comme bien d’autres fondations de "
minoritaires " en Turquie.

En 1996, il crée un hebdomadaire bilingue – s’ajoutant à deux
quotidiens uniquement rédigés en arménien. Laïc et démocratique,
vendu à 6000 exemplaires, Agos (fertilité, en arménien) veut
revivifier une communauté en déclin de 50.000 personnes, sous forte
emprise de son Eglise et conspuée par la propagande après les
attentats de l’Asala.

Hrant Dink dénonce ouvertement le génocide arménien, s’attirant des
poursuites en justice à répétition. Et participe aux combats
démocratiques du pays, y compris sur la question kurde. Cela l’oppose
aux diasporas arméniennes, promptes à lier la " modération " des
Arméniens d’Istanbul à leur situation " d’otages ". Alors que ce
double engagement ne fait qu’attiser la haine que lui vouent les
nationalistes turcs. Elle lui sera fatale.

US States News
January 18, 2007 Thursday 6:37 AM EST

MELIKIAN GIFT BOOSTS ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

TEMPE, Ariz.

Arizona State University issued the following press release:

Arizona State University’s commitment to global engagement is
receiving a major boost in the form of a $1 million contribution by
two longtime Phoenix civic leaders and philanthropists, Gregory
Melikian and his wife Emma Ordjanian Melikian. Their gift will fund
the expansion of international programming at the university’s
Russian and East European Studies Center, a unit in the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences that will be renamed The Melikian Center in
recognition of the university’s partnership with the Melikians.

Center programming features the internationally recognized Critical
Languages Institute, which offers intensive instruction every summer
in less commonly taught languages of Eastern Europe and Eurasia,
including Armenian, Albanian, Macedonian, Tatar and Uzbek. The
center’s strategic partnerships with major universities of the region
– notably its linkages with Yerevan State University, Moscow State
University, the University of Sarajevo, Ss. Kiril and Metodij
University (Macedonia) and the University of Pristina – have been
supported by grants from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency
for International Development.

"This major contribution from the Melikians brings the study of
Eurasia and Eastern Europe into ASU’s wider scope of global
engagement that already includes important programming in China and
Mexico," says ASU President Michael M. Crow. "Programs like these are
at the heart of ASU’s global engagement efforts."

In 2001, an endowment from the couple led to the creation of The
Melikian Fund, which supports the study of Armenian language and
culture at ASU. In announcing this recent $1 million gift, center
director and ASU professor Stephen Batalden says the Melikians
generosity will make a difference in the lives of students and
faculty, a difference that often has transformative results.

"At a time when the geopolitical significance of the Eurasian Islamic
rim has never been greater, this gift from the Melikians will offer
students at ASU a unique research and language training opportunity
for the 21st century," Batalden says. "What the Melikians have done
for the next generation of leaders is to greatly expand the
opportunities for international exchange of scholars, for research
and study abroad, and for critical language training."

In commenting on the growing importance to understand the history,
language and culture of Eurasia and Eastern Europe, Gregory Melikian
says, "What better way to communicate than to speak each other’s
language. These are critical languages, and there is a critical need
in the world today for people who can speak these languages
fluently."

He and his wife Emma are of Armenian descent and between them speak
numerous languages, including Russian and Armenian.

"Our world is shrinking," notes Emma Melikian. "And, in order to
understand all people of the world, and participate in global
engagement, our future generation has to speak critical languages and
know history to help America in the world arena," she says.

This latest gift by the Melikians follows a history of commitment and
giving to Arizona State University. In addition to the creation of
The Melikian Fund, Gregory Melikian previously donated to the
university’s Special Collections eight World War II dispatches,
including a copy of the message sent by Supreme Allied Commander
Eisenhower announcing the end of World War II in Europe. Melikian, an
Army Signal Corps Sergeant at the time, was tasked with sending the
original high speed radio transmission of the message, a copy of
which he saved in plain text on a Signal Corps form.

Gregory Melikian, who says with a chuckle that as a senior citizen he
has always admired longevity, began his long-term relationship with
Arizona State University in the 1970s, while serving on the board of
the Friends of Eight, a volunteer organization at the university’s
PBS-affiliated television station – Eight/KAET.

The Melikians are owners of the historic Hotel San Carlos in downtown
Phoenix and have been generous supporters of education and the arts
in Arizona. Gregory Melikian has been a board member of the Phoenix
Symphony and served as president of the Arizona Opera Company. Emma
Ordjanian Melikian has served on the board of the Asian Arts Council
of the Phoenix Art Museum. She is the founding president of Thank You
America Foundation, an organization in support of educational
opportunities for homeless and abused children of Arizona. For that,
she has received the George Washington Medal of Honor from the
Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge in 1999, the Outstanding
Achievement Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution and
the Alpha Delta Kappa Woman of Distinguished Award in 2002. She also
has been active in the National Society of Arts and Letters for more
than 20 years.

Additionally, the Melikians are among the original donors to the
Armenian Cultural Center in Scottsdale. Their three sons and a
daughter – Robert, Richard, James, and Ramona – have attended Arizona
State University.

More information about The Melikian Center and ASU’s Russian,
Eurasian and East European Studies program is available at (480)
965-4188 or online at

Hayots Ashkharh, Yerevan,
17 Jan 2007, p 4

Opening of the Armenian-Turkish border is the regional key for the
USA

by Vardan Grigoryan

Recent steps of the US Republican administration demonstrate that
George Bush and his political team are going to implement new
strategy to control oil fields in the Near and Middle East via a
policy of regional centres.

During the cold war, Israel and Turkey used to play such a role for
the USA. But today it is clear that the USA is concerned about
searching not global diplomacy tools but new tools that will ensure
regional balance. The first of them is northern Iraq, the area close
to the Iranian-Turkish border, which plays a sort of unique "roof"
for the Arab world rich of oil.

The second one is the clash of Russia-Turkey-Iran interests and the
Armenian factor, a key to control the South Caucasus which is the
main part of the Europe-Middle East energy corridor. Political
experts have been speaking about the simultaneous fulfilment of the
USA’s Kurdistan-Karabakh programme for a while. For this reason, it
is not accidental that Turkey describes the latest attempts of the
USA to determine the future of Kurdistan as a vital issue, as a
programme for the establishment of a "second Karabakh".

To prevent this from happening, Turkey is trying to strengthen its
positions in the South Caucasus making use of Russian-US
disagreements in the region.

The deepening of the US-Turkish disagreements manifests itself from
Iraq to the South Caucasus where the two sides are trying to act
according to the logic of an "existing fact". Today the USA, Turkey
and Russia each have one reliable partner in the region: Georgia for
the USA, Azerbaijan for Turkey and Armenia for Russia. In these
conditions, the USA should settle the problem of Armenia’s blockade
[by Turkey] as soon as possible in order to finally remove Russia
from the region and at the same time restrict Turkey’s influence in
the region.

Having strengthened itself in Georgia and Armenia, the USA may
dictate its will to everybody in the region. For this reason, the
recognition of the Armenian genocide by the USA has been put forward.
Moreover, Jewish lobbyists explain to Turkish officials, who often
visit Washington, that currently the opening of the Armenian ground
border is the only "price" for avoiding the recognition of the
Armenian genocide. It turns out that over the next months Turkey
should make a choice between "the least of evils". It seems that the
way out is clear and Turkey will open the Armenian border as soon as
possible trying to achieve that Armenia agree to one of its known
conditions [not to promote the recognition of the Armenian genocide].

We think that Turkey will not give up to the USA’s dictate. On the
contrary, it will try to create an illusion that steps are being made
on opening the border, and via direct negotiations with Armenia will
try to avert the adoption of the resolution on the Armenian genocide
in the US Congress. On the other hand, it may start secret talks with
Russia, thus, making Moscow, not Washington a mediator in the
Armenian-Turkish relations.

At the same time, understanding the imminence of the strengthening of
the US positions in the region, Armenia should do everything possible
to form a Russian-US consensus to guarantee its security.