Author: Chatinian Lara

AHMADINEJAD CUTS SHORT ARMENIA VISIT
By Ruzanna Stepanian, Ruzanna Khachatrian and Ruben Meloyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 23 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rushed back to Tehran on Tuesday,
cutting short a two-day official visit to Armenia for reasons that
were not immediately clear. Armenian officials linked the move with
the political situation in Iran.

Ahmadinejad arrived in Yerevan on Monday and held talks with President
Robert Kocharian that focused on growing bilateral cooperation in
the energy sector. The Iranian leader was scheduled to begin the
second day of the trip with a visit to the Tsitsernakabert genocide
memorial in Yerevan. He was also due to deliver a speech in Armenia’s
parliament and visit a 18th century Iranian mosque in the capital
later in the day.

Although all of these engagements were abruptly cancelled, Ahmadinejad
claimed on his return to Tehran that he did not cut short the
visit. "The trip to Armenia took longer than what was scheduled
before," the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying,
according to AFP. "This trip was due to last 22 hours but because of
some visits, it became one hour and half longer than the schedule."

A senior Armenian Foreign Ministry official told RFE/RL, however,
that Ahmadinejad did change his visit itinerary which had been agreed
by both the Iranian and Armenian sides beforehand. IRNA and other
Iranian news agencies themselves reported on Monday he will address
the National Assembly and meet representatives of the Iranian community
in Armenia on the second day of the trip.

According to Kocharian’s spokesman Victor Soghomonian, Ahmadinejad
informed his Armenian counterpart late Monday that he has to head back
home earlier than expected for "urgent reasons." Soghomonian refused
to specify those reasons, insisting only that they have nothing to
do with the Iranian-Armenian relationship.

The abrupt end of Ahmadinejad’s visit coincided with the start of
negotiations in Rome on Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Iran’s
new nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was due to hold his first talks
there over the atomic crisis with European Union foreign policy chief
Javier Solana.

Ahmadinejad flew back to Tehran at around noon after a breakfast
meeting parliament speaker Tigran Torosian, Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian and Energy Minister Armen Movsisian. Torosian said afterwards
that the visit was cut short due to unspecified "internal issues"
in Iranian.

"It is not customary to discuss such issues [with foreign officials,]"
Torosian told reporters. "Especially considering the fact the visit
was not initiated by the National Assembly."

"Mr. Ahmadinejad asked me to tell our parliamentarians that he regrets
the need to interrupt the visit and return to Iran and that he will
not be able to visit the parliament," he told the National Assembly
later in the day.

Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian, who was also present at
the meeting, said the Iranian side presented "very serious arguments"
in favor of the change of plans but declined to disclose them. "I
spoke to the Iranian deputy foreign minister," said Gharibjanian. "He
said there are urgent issues and that they have to depart."

Gharibjanian also insisted that Ahmadinejad’s visit was "very
successful." "A lot of progress was made on serious [Armenian-Iranian]
economic projects," he said.

Kocharian said after talks with the Iranian leader on Monday that
they agreed to press ahead with plans to jointly build a large oil
refinery in southeastern Armenia as well as an Armenian-Iranian
railway. The two governments also plan to start next year work
on a major hydro-electric plant on the Arax River marking the
Armenian-Iranian border. In addition, the Armenian side has pledged
to complete by the end of 2008 the ongoing construction of the second
and final Armenian section of a natural gas pipeline from Iran.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Kocharian, Ahmadinejad said
Iran remains committed to deepening ties with Armenia as it believes
they are "very important" for the two nations and the region as a
whole. "Fortunately, Armenian-Iranian relations are warm, strong
and developing," he told professors and students at Yerevan State
University later on Monday. "Relations that are based on friendship,
justice and mutual respect."

Ahmadinejad stressed at the same time that Tehran and Yerevan are
only "at the beginning of the road" and that their relationship has a
"bright future." "I believe we should step up efforts to deepen our
relations in the scientific, cultural and intellectual spheres and
to develop our infrastructures," he said.

ANALYSIS: POSSIBILITIES FOR ANOTHER ‘IRAQ WAR’
By Ben Lando, UPI Energy Editor

World Peace Herald, DC
Oct 22 2007

Turkey angry with U.S., Iraq

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) — A Turkish invasion of Iraq over
the Kurdish separatist group based in the northern Iraq mountains
highlights — and risks escalating — the tension between Washington
and allies Turkey, Iraq and Iraq’s Kurds.

Turkey is mad at the United States for what it sees as the selective
prosecution of the war on terrorism, among other reasons, and blames
Iraq’s national government and the Kurdistan Regional Government for
not stopping the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known by its initials PKK.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK, recognized
by Turkey and the United States as a terrorist organization, needs
to be stopped. Turkey’s Parliament has authorized military action,
and Erdogan says he has the right to act if no one else will.

The PKK has launched attacks in Turkey for decades, part of a
struggle for more autonomy for Kurdish people, if not independence
altogether. The most recent was Sunday when the Turkish military was
ambushed and 17 soldiers were killed, 16 injured and eight kidnapped.

Washington and Baghdad are urging Ankara to hold off on an incursion.

The United States and Europe both condemned the recent attack.

But Turkey’s government is feeling the pressure to act. Erdogan told
The London Times there is "a serious wave of anti-Americanism" in
Turkey, largely stoked by U.S. congressional legislation condemning
the killing of Armenians during World War I.

The KRG says military action against the PKK has not worked in the
past and wants a dialogue between Ankara and Irbil, at least, if not
Baghdad and Washington at the table.

"We believe there is room for political, peaceful solution," Falah
Mustafa Bakir, the KRG foreign minister, said Friday in Washington
during a U.S. diplomatic visit, adding the KRG would take military
action against the PKK if it thought it would work.

He said the KRG has influence "only to an extent" over the PKK. The
KRG says it has seen no proof that anyone based in Iraq is directly
linked to planning or carrying out attacks in Turkey.

Massoud Barzani, president of the KRG, in a joint news conference
with Kurdish leader and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, fanned the
flames by neither outright condemning nor supporting the PKK.

"However, if the conflict directly entangled us or the Iraqi Kurdistan
Region, we will definitely defend ourselves," Barzani said Sunday.

Qubad Talabani, the Iraqi president’s son and the KRG representative
to the United States, in reasoning against the invasion, points to
the failed military attempts to fight the PKK in the past, the extent
of Turkish investment in the KRG economy, and the effect on Kurdish
moderates living inside Turkey.

"If (Turkey) invades Iraqi Kurdistan," Talabani said, "these moderates
will have no choice but to become less moderate."

"It could set a precedent," he added. "If Turkey goes in unilaterally,
what’s to stop any of Iraq’s other neighbors from going in?"

Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria all have large Kurdish populations,
and all are wary of calls for Kurdish statehood.

As a result, Turkey doesn’t formally recognize the KRG. On issues like
oil and fuel sales between the two countries, or a new oil pipeline
from the KRG directly to Turkey, or finding common ground against
the PKK, Ankara will only sit down with Baghdad.

Inside Iraq, the Kurds have tried to strike a balance between autonomy
while being a part of the new Iraq.

The Kurds have been semiautonomous since the Gulf War in the 1990s
per U.N. mandate and U.S. and British protection, which is why their
political system, military and economy are more advanced than the
rest of Iraq.

But disagreements with Baghdad over its role in the oil sector,
among other issues, have soured the relationship.

"They have been insistent regarding the expansion of the KRG into
mixed areas of the country (well beyond Kirkuk)," said Wayne White,
Iraq expert at the Middle East Institute, referring to the oil-rich
territory Kurds claim as theirs. "They have been largely defiant
on issues related to the balance of power between Baghdad and the
regions (such as oil and revenue sharing), measures aimed at reviving
Kurdish identity have smacked of quasi-independence (flying the KRG
flag instead of the Iraqi flag, for example), and they have taken
practically no action to crack down on the PKK."

NALBANDIAN BACK TO LIFE WITH FEDERER SCALP

Sydney Morning Herald
Oct 23 2007
Australia

MADRID: David Nalbandian proved he’s back as a major force with
victory over world No.1 Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final to
cap a history-making tournament.

Ranked 25 in the world, the Argentine toppled Federer 1-6, 6-3,
6-3 to claim his first title in nearly 18 months.

He became only the third man in 14 years to beat the top three players
in the world at the same event, with his successive victories over
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer. Boris Becker was the first
in Stockholm 1994. Djokovic did it on the way to the title in Montreal
this year.

Former No.3 Nalbandian went without a coach for a year before taking
on Hernan Gumy in the northern summer.

"I’m extremely contented to beat the world No.1," Nalbandian said.

"Roger and I have a long history, and I think that influenced the
match." After dominating in their early days, Nalbandian rose up again
to prove that he can be the Swiss player’s nemesis. The South American
won their first five ATP encounters before Federer swept eight of
their past nine, losing only the 2005 Masters Cup final in Shanghai.

"He served well, I was quite surprised with how well he served,"
Federer said. "He came back strong and played well in the end. He
was a better player all in all. I was struggling after the first
set to play aggressive for some reason. He played tough and didn’t
miss any more. I couldn’t play the way I wanted to. It was a pity,
he played a great tournament."

Nalbandian, who last won a title in May last year, on clay in Estoril,
was swept aside in 29 minutes in the first set. "It was an extremely
hard set," he said. "But I tightened the teeth and I began to play
more strongly. Things came out fine. Today I played incredible,
and of course that helps."

PanARMENIAN.Net

Europe attaches importance to Northern Cyprus, meanwhile there is no
difference between it and Western Armenia
20.10.2007 14:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The first Convention of European Armenians took
place in New York in 1946. The second Convention was held in Brussels
this year. Participants of both events referred U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson’s arbitration award on demarcation of the
Armenian-Turkish border. Why is the issue important for Armenia? The
point is that we should decide what we want and this decision will
help us to achieve our goals,’ historian and diplomat Ara Papian told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

`Belgium, along with the other WWI winners, signed the Sevr Treaty and
it has legal commitments to Armenia,’ he said.

`According to the Belgian Constitution, you can bring an action
against a crime against humanity to a Belgian court. Actually, like
the U.S. Congress, a court in Belgium can consider the Armenian
Genocide from juridical viewpoint, omitting political motives,’ Mr
Papian said.

`The most important task for Armenians is to awake the interest of
people, who have political weight in their countries. We should always
advance our issues. I would like to remind that Europe attaches
importance to the issue of Northern Cyprus, meanwhile there is no
difference between it and Western Armenia,’ the historian said.

Burbank Leader, CA
Oct 20 2007

Genocide resolution fading

House speaker sounds less certain about bringing symbolic,
controversial measure to a House vote.

By Ryan Vaillancourt

GLENDALE – A week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a
controversial resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, sworn
backers of the bill are withdrawing their support as opponents warn
that its passage would threaten crucial U.S. military relations with
Turkey.

At one point, House Resolution 106 had garnered 236 co-sponsors – a
majority of the House and the most sponsors ever attached to a
genocide resolution.

But by Friday, that number was whittled down to 211 by
representatives who have begun to echo President Bush’s warning that,
with up to 70% of U.S. military supplies now flowing into Iraq from
Turkey, now is not the time to anger that nation.

Supporters of the bill have urged fellow advocates not to cave in to
the threats.

`When you have people who have co-sponsored the resolution who are
unwilling to stand up and be candid when you actually have to vote is
disappointing,’ said resolution co-author Rep. Adam Schiff, whose
district includes Glendale and Burbank. advertisement

`But I do think there is a strong sense among members of Congress
that genocide took place, and that we will recognize the Armenian
Genocide, and we’re going to press forward and make sure that we do.’

Though the resolution no longer has a majority of House members
signed on as co-sponsors, the dwindling support does not mean a
majority of members won’t vote in favor of the bill if Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, a supporter, brings it to the floor, said Aram Hamparian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Most congressional resolutions, after all, don’t amass hundreds of
co-sponsors before going before a vote, he said.

Still, the perceived deterioration of support was highlighted
Wednesday by Pelosi when, after saying Sunday that the measure would
make it to the floor, she told reporters in Washington that it
`remains to be seen’ whether she would bring it for a vote.

Though the statement marked a shift in certainty, Pelosi remains an
ardent supporter of genocide recognition, Schiff said.

`The speaker is absolutely committed to recognition of the genocide,
and she has been just a tremendous ally in this fight, so when we’re
confident that we have the votes to pass it, she will bring it up for
a vote, but we want to be confident that we’re going to win that
vote,’ he said.

Similar bills were passed in committee in 2000 and 2005, but former
Speaker Dennis Hastert failed to bring them to the House floor for a
vote.

Since then, however, the debate has evolved, Hamparian said.

Even the committee members who voted against the resolution last week
largely acknowledged and condemned the genocide, he said.

`We were gratified that the debate has moved beyond the point that
there’s denial as part of the equation,’ he said.

But that shift alone is unsatisfactory if the resolution fails, he
said.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 19 2007

Armenian premier to meet with french president, premier

YEREVAN, October 19. /ARKA/. RA Premier Serge Sargsyan, who is on a
visit to the USA now, is to leave for Paris, France on October 24.

The press and public information department, RA Government, reports
that during his official visit to France the RA Premier is to hold
meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Premier Francois
Fillon. Sargsyan is also to make a speech at dinner party, which is
to be attended by members of the French Senate and Parliament, Mayors
of cities of France and leaders of influential Armenian organizations
in France.

During his stay in Paris, the RA Premier is to give interviews to the
Figaro and Politique International. The RA Premier is also to hold
meetings with Armenian students studying in France.

On October 27, the RA Prime Minister is to return to Yerevan. -0–

ARMENIA HAILS GENOCIDE VOTE
By Tatul Hakobian in Yerevan

armradio.am
19.10.2007 10:39

Politicians in Armenia have welcomed a vote by a US Congressional
committee recognising the mass killings of Armenians in early 20th
century Ottoman Turkey as genocide.

Despite Turkey’s anger over the move, Armenian politicians and
commentators say they do not expect major repercussions, if only
because relations between the two states are tenuous.

Congress Foreign Affairs Committee passed the non-binding "Affirmation
of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution" on
October 10, by 27 votes to 21 votes. The resolution is now set to go
forward to Congress itself.

The resolution says that genocide took place between 1915 and 1923,
and involved the killing of 1.5 million Armenians and the expulsion
of half a million more from the east of the Ottoman Empire.

The vote caused excitement in Armenia. Alina, 26, who lives in Yerevan,
said she received numerous text messages and emails after the news
broke. "We all congratulated each other," she said.

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, who was visiting Brussels when
the vote took place, hailed the outcome as a triumph for Armenians
worldwide.

On the question of the implications for Armenia’s relations with
Turkey, he said, "Recognition of a historic injustice cannot damage
bilateral relations."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier warned that if
the resolution went through, it would damage his country’s relations
not only with the United States but with Armenia as well.

"Those who expect any positive moves from Turkey will be left alone
with their problems," said Erdogan. "They will pay for their hostility
towards a country as important as Turkey."

Egemen Bagis, a foreign policy adviser to Erdogan, was more specific,
accusing Armenian officials for lobbying Congress.

"Turkey must impose sanctions against Armenia," he told CNN-Turk
television. "Turkey has already drawn up a list of what it will do
and when it will do it, and the prime minister has already given the
necessary orders."

Lobbying for recognition of the genocide has been at the top of
Armenia’s foreign policy agenda for the past decade. A "national
security strategy" adopted in February 2007 says that achieving
universal recognition and condemnation of the genocide, including by
Turkey, is seen "not only as the restoration of historical justice,
but also as a way of improving the mutual confidence in the region
and of preventing such crimes in future".

Turkey did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia when it
became independent of the Soviet Union in 1991. Their common border
remained open until April 1993, when the Turks closed it after Armenian
forces captured the Kelbajar region adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh. This
was at the height of the Karabakh war, in which Turkey was sympathetic
to Azerbaijan.

Yet despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, relations with Turkey
are still far better than with Azerbaijan. Armenian nationals are
free to enter Turkey, simply buying a visa at the border. There are
two direct flights a week between Istanbul and Yerevan.

Turkey has a 70,000-strong Armenian population of its own, concentrated
largely in Istanbul. But some reports suggest that there are also
about 30,000 Armenian nationals living and working in Turkey.

International media reported last week that some of those Armenians
were suffering. The Irish Times reported that 100 illegal migrants
from Armenia had been detained in Turkey and would be deported
to Armenia. "The deportation is seen as revenge for the genocide
resolution," the newspaper said.

The only Armenian diplomat in Turkey, Karen Mirzoyan, who represents
his country at the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization,
confirmed the reports. "I have unofficial data to hand that confirm
the facts," he said. "I can’t provide more accurate information,
because these issues are beyond my competence."

In Yerevan, however, foreign ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetian
said that official information obtained from the Turkish authorities
indicated that of the 542 foreigners detained recently for illegal
residence, only one was an Armenian citizen.

Ara Gochunian, editor of the Istanbul-based Armenian daily Zhamanak,
told IWPR by telephone that Turkish police were taking tougher action
against illegal immigrants of any ethnicity.

"There are Armenians among those detained," he said. "But they were
detained not because they are Armenians, but because they are illegal
residents and had problems with their visas."

In contrast to most of the Diaspora, the Armenian community in
Istanbul opposed the US Congressional resolution, and the Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Mesrop Mutafyan, went to the
US to press for the resolution not to go through.

"We will try to prevent the resolution from being passed by the US
House of Representatives," the Turkish news agency Anadolu cited him
as saying. "We are concerned that this resolution may impact on the
lives of Armenian citizens in Turkey."

Robert Hattechian, editor of the Istanbul-based Armenian daily Marmara,
recalled that strong anti-Armenian sentiment manifested itself in
Turkey after the murder of the well-known journalist Hrant Dink in
January. He fears the US resolution will fuel Turkish nationalism.

"Turkey’s spite is now leveled against the Armenian Diaspora,"
Hattechian said by telephone from Istanbul.

Citing Prime Minister Erdogan’s approval of Patriarch Mesrop’s
lobbying effort, Hattechian noted, "The Armenian community in Turkey
has avoided making moves that might cast doubt over its loyalty."

On October 11, a court in Istanbul court handed out one-year suspended
sentences to Arat Dink, son of the murdered journalist and senior
editor with the Agos newspaper, and editor Sarkis Serobian for
republishing an interview Hrant Dink gave last year about the 1915
mass killings of Armenians. Sentence was passed just a few hours
after the US resolution went through.

In Armenia, the view among experts seems to be that relations with
Turkey are unlikely to deteriorate drastically, partly because Ankara
cannot afford to make things worse than they are now.

"The border is closed, there are no diplomatic ties, and trade
is carried out through third countries," said political analyst
Alexander Iskandarian. "The resolution will be forgotten in a few
months’ time. But it is not just a resolution, it’s a process of
recognising the genocide, it’s a train that has started moving."

He predicted, "If Turkey continues on the path it’s on now, in other
words seeking membership of the western community, then in five,
ten or 15 years it will inevitably find itself having to improve its
relationship with Armenia."

Haik Demoyan, the director of Yerevan’s Genocide Museum Institute,
agreed, telling Armenian Public Radio that, "when a country closes
its border with its neighbour, imposes a blockade on it and severs
diplomatic ties, the only thing worse that one can imagine happening
is a war. I don’t think Turkey will dare complicate relations further."

Vahan Hovhannissian, the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament
and one of the leaders of the nationalist Dashnaktsutiun party,
argued that recognition of the genocide might actually serve to
unblock relations with Turkey.

"The argument that recognition of the Armenian genocide is going to
damage efforts to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations is completely
wrong," he said. "On the contrary, so long as the genocide remains
unrecognized at an international level, Turkey will not have an
interest in improving relations with Armenia and the Armenians."

Tatul Hakobian is a commentator for the Public Radio of Armenia and
the New-York-based weekly newspaper Armenian Reporter.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS TO VISIT SOUTH CAUCASUS ON OCT 24

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 18 2007

YEREVAN, October 17. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian and
the Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group on the Karabakh conflict settlement
met today in Paris.

The participants to the meeting discussed the visit of the Co-Chairs
to the South Caucasus planned on October 24-27, the press service of
the RA Foreign Ministry reports.

The parties also discussed issues the Co-Chairs are planning to raise
during their meeting with Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents Robert
Kocharian and Ilham Aliev.

RA Foreign Minister Oskanian and the OSCE Co-Chairs met in New York
on October 4. Kocharian-Aliev Bishkek meeting planned in early October
did not take place for certain reasons.

GENOCIDE RESOLUTION GOING DOWN DOWN DOWN

The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Netherlands
Oct 18 2007

The Christian Science Monitor summarized what caused the downfall
of the infamous Armenian genocide resolution (hr 106). The general
reason according to the CSM: realpolitik triumphs morals or in the
words of Thomas Henriksen, a foreign-policy scholar at the Hoover
Institution in Stanford, California: "We regularly see the impulse
of Wilsonian idealism, the emphasis on democracy and human rights,
counterbalanced by the pragmatic demands of realpolitik. It’s one of
the constant dynamics of American foreign policy. We want to be the
city on the hill, but then some overriding interests come up and we
say, ‘Oh, that’s different.’ "

Of course this scholar seems to forget that the moral high ground and
being a city on a hill doesn’t just mean that you condemn others but
that you take responsibility for your own mistakes and condemn your
own sins before you condemn (those of) others. America has a rich
history, but it made some major mistakes and committed quite some
crimes against humanity itself. If Pelosi wants to give America its
moral authority back, perhaps she should focus a bit on the issue of
slavery and on now Native Americans were treated. Having said that,
one could also argue that there’s no use in talking about all the
crimes different countries committed so long ago, and I would tend
to agree. We have to look at the world now, not at how it was 100
or 150 or 200 years ago. Otherwise, we might just as well all start
apologizing to each other for everything we ever did, for no people
and no country is without sin.

What’s interesting in the article at the CSM is that they too don’t
mention the opinions of distinguished scholars like Bernard Lewis,
Andrew Mango and Norman Stone. The pro-genocide camp seems to have
convinced most journalists that there is little to no question about
whether or not what happened constitutes genocide and that the only
ones asking questions about it are Turks or those supported in one
way or another by the Turkish government. In fact, of course, there
are quite some experts who argue that what happened was terrible, but
that it doesn’t constitute genocide because the Ottoman government
appears to have opposed the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of
Armenian Christians. Bernard Lewis, I’ll repeat it again, said that
the Ottoman government tried to prevent the Armenians from being killed
and Stone rightfully pointed out that (with the emphasis Meltem used)
"There were indeed well-documented and horrible massacres of the
deportee columns, and the Turks themselves tried more than 1,300 men
for these crimes in 1916, convicted many and executed several. None
of this squares with genocide, as we classically understand it."

In other words, there’s more to it – or there should be more to it –
than realpolitik. Having said that, you won’t hear Turks complain
when the US Congress decided not to vote on the resolution out of
realpolitik considerations of course. And the all too real political
situation in the world right now doesn’t give the US room to condemn
Turkey for something as controversial as this. Now is not the time
to insult Turkey and to turn Turkey into an enemy. As the Christian
Science Monitor recaps, that’s also how most Congressmen seem to feel
by now and that’s why Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she won’t even
let the full House vote on the resolution.

For more (and for an opposing view generally) I’d say head on
over to The Moderate Voice. Joe points out that there’s something
very troubling going on in Turkey right now: some Islamists and
ultranationalists seem to partially blame Jews for the resolution.

This is not just an overreaction, it’s also a potentially dangerous
development for Jews living in Turkey. The Turkish government should
speak out against these sentiments immediately and condemn them for
what they are: anti-Semites.

Michael A. Moodian, meanwhile, accuses Bush of insulting
Armenian-Americans by opposing the resolution. Mr. Moodian points
out in his column that the American Heritage Dictionary defines
genocide as follows: "the systematic and planned extermination of an
entire national, racial, political or ethnic group," which ironically
weakens his case severely since research has shown many distinguished
scholars that the massacres weren’t planned by the Ottoman government
and since many Armenians were allowed to continue to live in Turkey –
only the Armenians living in a part of Anatolia were deported.

Thus all of this mean that there was per definition no genocide? No,
it could be that additional research in the Ottoman archives shows
that the Ottoman government did order the killings of the Armenian
deportees. What it does indicate is that the judgment should be left
to historians, who can take all the time they need to investigate
this matter, and not to politicians whose main concern is reelection.

genocide-resolution-going-down-down-down/

–Bound ary_(ID_lQg10R9xKfK1hQ4tQ4l63A)–

FRANCO FRATTINI TO INAUGURATE THE 2ND CONVENTION OF EUROPEAN ARMENIANS

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 15 2007

The European Armenian Federation has just released the final program
of the Second Convention of European Armenians. In addition to the
attendance already-announced prominent leaders, the Federation informs
that Mr Franco Frattini, Vice-president of the European Commission
and Commissioner in charge of Justice, Liberty and Security will
attend the welcoming ceremony of the Convention.

"We are very honoured and very pleased of Vice-president Frattini’s
coming. This is a strong political act through which the European
Commission indicates that it can take into consideration our European
citizens’ expectations," commented Hilda Tchoboian, the Chairperson
of the European Armenian Federation.

The European Armenian Federation recalls that this outstanding
convention will gather people from 29 countries – among which 19
countries from the EU including numerous new Member States. For
most of these newcomers, this Convention will represent their first
participation to a pan-European event.

The Federation reports that in addition to Mr. Frattini and other
speakers announced yet, Mrs. Oomen-Ruijten, the European Parliament’s
rapporteur on Turkey could also take the floor at the Convention.