Author: Dabaghian Diana

ARP REFUTES POLITICAL CRIMINALISM IN ARMENIA
Panorama.am
18:49 13/09/06
Large-scale criminalism has troubled the opposition in the republic
and they have launch anti-criminal fight.
“No one is protected and even top public officials.
Measures should be taken,” Aram Sargsyan, Armenian Democratic Party
(ADP) chairman told a discussion with Armen Ashotyan, Armenian
Republican Party (ARP) member and member of parliament.
However, Ashotyan believes that criminalism is a natural phenomenon
and he learns about it from 02 newspaper. “But if criminalism
is politicized and directed against one political force, it is a
black PR,” Ashotyan said casting doubts that criminalism originates
from ARP. “There is no political criminalism in Armenia and in the
Republican Party,” he said. Angry reporters referred to several
incidents connected with Suren Khachatryan known as Liska and Ruben
Hairapetyan known as Nemets Rubo – both ARP members. However, Ashotyan
firmly affirmed, “It is not criminalism,” blaming reporters in lacking
clear dispositions and performing someone’s orders.

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is flying to London for
negotiations with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs tomorrow, Tahir Tagizadeh,
FM Press and Information Policy Office chief told the APA.
The minister will consult with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Yuri
Merzlyakov, Bernard Fasie and Matthew Bryza, in London on September
13. Mammadyarov will meet with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan in Paris on September 12. Tagizadeh said the meeting is of
consulting character. They will discuss situation of conflict and
the main principles of the settlement.

RA AUTHORITIES CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 12 2006
The US Embassy in Armenia has received documents, which include
corruption charges connected with the demands of the American Global
Gold Company, charges that reefer to state officials, MEDIAMAX was told
at the Press Service of the Embassy. “We have thoroughly investigated
the documents and seeing that these include serious accusations, we
immediately put the question before our colleagues in RA Government,”
they noted.
The Embassy representatives particularly emphasized that they have
conveyed no records, as media reported. However, they conveyed some
documents received from the Global Gold Company.
“We continue to anticipate that the accusation against state officials
should be taken seriously and investigated, as it is the case in the
United States,” Press Service of the US diplomatic mission noted.
Representatives of the Embassy do not consider it proper to make
further comments on the nature of indictments, since these have not
been confirmed yet. “We keep in touch with the Global Gold Company
and we were told there they posess no information about the further
process of the accusations, and we are very troubled with the fact,”
the Press Service stressed.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
0033 Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
September 8, 2006
ACNIS Considers Prospects of Armenian Peacekeepers in Lebanon
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) today convened a foreign policy roundtable entitled “Armenian
Peacekeepers in Lebanon?: Pros and Cons” to discuss the viability,
against the backdrop of new geopolitical realities, of deploying an
Armenian peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon.
ACNIS director of research Stiopa Safarian greeted the audience
with opening remarks and deliberated on Armenia’s potential role in
the shaping of the Greater Middle East. “What occurs in the Middle
East today has certainly passed well beyond the perimeters of the
Arab-Israeli conflict, and involves new realities that are forming
in the region. The foreign policy of Armenia cannot treat the current
happenings with indifference. In the interests of European civilization
and security, in the spirit of peace, and as a sign of traditional
warm relations with the Arab world, this policy should play a unique
role in the strengthening of regional peace. Hence, a peacekeeping
mission to southern Lebanon, where thousands of Armenians live,
provides one such opportunity,” Safarian mentioned.
During his policy intervention, Yerevan State University lecturer
and former Ambassador Davit Hovhannisian examined developments
in the Middle East and Armenia’s position on them. What were the
consequences of the Israeli-Hezbollah confrontation? In Hovhannisian’s
view, the recent conflict weakened the US platform on this issue; it
allowed Iran the chance to temporarily divert the world’s attention
from its nuclear plans; Syria could not prove that this war was an
outcome of the withdrawal of its military units from Lebanon; and the
myth about the invincibility of the Israeli army and intelligence
disintegrated. “Given that we have a very large Armenian community
and a Catholicosate in Lebanon, Armenia cannot monitor the war there
without interest or concern,” Hovhannisian emphasized. He also added
that Armenia’s participation in the peacekeeping mission would bring
nothing but positive dividends to the country.
In his address, Armenia’s former Minister of Defense Lieutenant General
Vagharshak Harutiunian reflected on the military aspect in the possible
dispatch of Armenian peacekeepers to Lebanon. The general likewise is
confident that “Armenia must absolutely partake in the peace force,
but it has to determine the correct means of participation. This is
our duty since we have historically-profound and strong relations
with, and a huge Armenian community in, Lebanon.” Harutiunian also
noted that the presence of Armenian peacekeepers in that country is
in Israel’s interests as well because this would prevent the Israeli
towns from becoming targets of missile attacks from that area. In
General Harutiunian’s view, this mission is beneficial for the two
countries, for Hezbollah, and for the Armenian community of Lebanon.
In his assessment of the Arab-Israeli conflict, political
board secretary Edward Antinian of the Liberal Progressive Party
underlined Israel’s right to live peacefully and exist in its historic
homeland. Before sending troops to Lebanon, he said, it is imperative
to consider our interests and clarify our mandate. “In order not
to damage our country’s reputation in the end result, multilateral
discussions and debates as well as a general consensus are in order
prior to making such a responsible decision,” Antinian noted.
The participants in the ensuing discussion included director Alexander
Iskandarian of the Caucasus Media Institute; political analysts Tatul
Hakobian and Davit Petrosian; Egyptian charge d’affaires Abdelmohsen
Said Shafey; Ruzan Khachaturian of the People’s Party; Anahit Aghoyan
of the National Democratic Union Party; Gevorg Kalenchian of the
Heritage Party; lecturer Yevgeniy Ponomariov from the Moscow State
University of Economics, Computer Science and Statistics; professors
Haik Demoyan and Haik Kocharian of Yerevan State University; Armen
Aghayan from the “Defense of Liberated Territories” social initiative;
and several others. The absolute majority of expressed opinions
were in favor of sending Armenian peacekeepers to Lebanon, while the
continued absence of invited representatives from Armenia ‘s relevant
ministries bespoke the country’s official position on the matter.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
2006, the Center focuses primarily on civic education, conflict
resolution, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign
policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; email [email protected] or [email protected];
or visit

Habitat For Humanity Armenia
Yerevan Aygestan 8th street, No. 5
Tel: (+374 10) 556 114
Cell (+374 93) 376 980
Email: [email protected]

Habitat for Humanity Armenia Building site
Gavar Armenia, September 8, 2006
The last construction day at Habitat for Humanity Armenia site in
Gavar. The volunteers accomplished the last paintings of floors in
the homes and entrances.
Joining the international and local volunteers was today a team from
Embassy of Lebanon in Armenia led by Ambassador Gabriel Geara and
Honorary Council of Estonia in Armenia Avetik Ghukasyan.
“We joined to this project by the call of Supreme Patriarch the
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II: Everything is created by the
hard work and today we can see that without a faith the work will
not serve to its goal.” said Honorary Council of Estonia Mr. Ghukasyan.
For all the volunteers, homeowners and guests the day became memorable
around the lunch time when Habitat for Humanity international
volunteers Rena Davis and James Cradler were married by Dr. Bob
Edgar(General Secretary National Council of Churches of Christ of
America) on the Construction site.
The Crescent City, California couple joined a Habitat for Humanity
Global Village team to Armenia Sept. 5-9, for the “Catholicos Karekin
II- Armenian Build on Faith Work Project”. The wedding ceremony was
witnessed by more than 200 Habitat volunteers, families and supporters
among tears, cheers, singing monks, and traditional Armenian wedding
dances. The bride was dressed in a Habitat for Humanity T-shirt,
with an Armenian wedding garland of flowers in her hair. In another
traditional Armenian gesture, the bride and groom tasted a spoonful
of honey, to symbolize the sweetness of their union. The symbolic
marriage certificate, which read “Certificate of Spiritual Union”,
Dr. Bob Edgar says, is “totally illegal in the eyes of both the U.S.,
and Armenian governments, but blessed in the eyes of God!”.
At the end of the day the Ambassador of Lebanon plant one of 37 trees
with the homeowners, symbolizing Armenian Apostolic Church with its
Dioceses and the Holy Chair.
It was the last construction day. On September 9th 24 Armenian
families will get the keys of their new homes, keys of the bright
future for their children, which was created by the help of more than
300 individuals.
Participating in the Armenian Building on Faith 2006 are National
Council of Churches of Christ of America led by the General Secretary
Dr. Bob Edgar, a team of volunteers from the Netherlands, Europe
and Untied States of America as well as joining them a team from UK
Embassy led by Deputy Chief of mission Richard Hyde, a team from
Embassy of Lebanon in Armenia led by Ambassador Gabriel Geara and
Honorary Council of Estonia in Armenia Avetik Ghukasyan, volunteers
from the Armenian Volunteer Corps, Birthright Armenia and World Council
of Churches. Representing Local volunteers are Youth movement from
Dioceses in Armenia and Church dignitary and Armenia Tree project.
On April 20th an agreement between Habitat for Humanity and Armenian
Apostolic Church was assigned. In the frame of this agreement
“Catholicos Karekin II Work Project – Armenian Build on Faith” was
launched. HFH Armenia will build 37 homes in the frame of this project,
symbolizing The Holy See of Mother Etchmiadzin and 36 dioceses of
Armenian Apostolic Church.
In the number of the 37 24 will be located in Gavar. The abandoned
Soviet- Era residential building will be finished by the volunteers
from September 5 to 9 and will get its inhabitants finally.
Habitat for Humanity Armenia supports community development in the
Republic of Armenia by assisting in the construction of simple, decent
and affordable homes. The purpose of the organization is to help
families in need improve their living conditions, to raise funds to
support the vital work, and to give hope to thousands of people across
the country. The organization was formed in March of 2000 and to date
has dedicated 209 homes giving shelter to more than 1000 people.

English Organization Continues Illegal Activity in Garabagh
Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Sept 7 2006
07.09.2006
In spite of Azerbaijani Government’s discontent, Halo Trust,
English company continues anti mine actions in occupied Azerbaijani
territories. In exclusive interview with APA Nazim Ismayilov, director
of Azerbaijan National Agency Mine Action informed: “In connection
with illegal actions of this organization in occupied Azerbaijani
territories we made protest to international organizations, donors
and the country in which this organization is registered. Recently
I made my protest to the President of this organization at the
arrangement which was held in Switzerland. They call the operations
as humanitarian action.”
Noting that Nagorno-Garabagh is presented as an independent state in
presentation of Halo Trust company, according to N. Ismayilov, the
majority of mine finders involved in the operations in Nagorno-Garabagh
by this organization are former military and scouts: “The Netherlands,
most of all, upholds illegal actions of this organization. They deal
with other actions under the pretext of humanitarian mission.”
N. Ismayilov said that currently 60 million square meter
controlled-territories of Azerbaijan is at mine risky: “They are
expected to be demined by late 2008. The monitoring of international
organizations and Halo Trust company showed that 4 per cent of
occupied territories, about 500 million square meters are at mine
risky.” According to initial forecast of ANAMA, 50,000 – 100,000
mines are buried in occupied Azerbaijani territories and demine there
actions will take 12 years.
–Boundary_(ID_aVDi0bd/R48SzzLKgS1YPA)–

Habitat For Humanity Armenia
Yerevan Aygestan 8th street, No. 5
Tel: (+374 10) 556 114
Cell (+374 93) 376 980
Email: [email protected]

The Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin
II On the building site in Gavar, Gegharkunik Region
Today the Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II visited
Habitat for Humanity Armenia construction site in Gavar, Gegharkunik region,
where “Catholicos Karekin II Work Project- Armenian Build on Faith” was
kicked off.
The opening ceremony of the event took place on September 4, at the Armenia
Marriott Hotel where His Holiness gave His Blessings to the project.
“A year ago we were invited to take part in the annual Jimmy Carter Work
Project in Detroit. We saw the love which led the participants of the
program; we saw the joy of future homeowners and then we decided to support
Habitat program in Armenia” said His Holiness, during the opening ceremony.
The Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch appreciated all the volunteers and
donors who support us on the project. He also noted that this is the
expression of God’s love for His children. “We are very thankful to such an
international organization as HFH Armenia, who works to assist poor Armenian
Families to build their future” mentioned in his speech the Catholicos
Karekin II.
His Holiness helped Habitat volunteers to paint a wall in one of the homes,
thus serving an example of reaching the poor by putting Faith into action.
His Holiness also planted one of 37 trees, symbolizing Armenian Apostolic
Church with its Dioceses and the Holy Chair.
Participating in the Armenian Building on Faith 2006 are National Council of
Churches of Christ of America led by the General Secretary Dr. Bob Edgar, a
team of volunteers from the Netherlands, Europe and Untied States of America
as well as today joining them a team from UK Embassy led by Deputy Chief of
mission Richard Hyde. Representing Local volunteers are Youth movement from
Dioceses in Armenia and Church dignitary and Armenia Tree project.
“Your Holiness we are blessed by the opportunity to help needy families and
looking forward to see children of the world living in their safe homes.”
said Doctor Bob Edgar.
The abandoned Soviet- Era residential building will be finished by Habitat
volunteers from September 5 to 9 and will get its inhabitants finally.
On April 20th an agreement between Habitat for Humanity and Armenian
Apostolic Church was assigned. In the frame of this agreement “Catholicos
Karekin II Work Project – Armenian Build on Faith” was launched. HFH Armenia
will build 37 homes in the frame of this project, symbolizing The Holy See
of Mother Etchmiadzin and 36 dioceses of Armenian Apostolic Church.
In the number of the 37 24 will be located in Gavar. The abandoned Soviet-
Era residential building will be finished by the volunteers from September 5
to 9 and will get its inhabitants finally.
Habitat for Humanity Armenia supports community development in the Republic
of Armenia by assisting in the construction of simple, decent and affordable
homes. The purpose of the organization is to help families in need improve
their living conditions, to raise funds to support the vital work, and to
give hope to thousands of people across the country. The organization was
formed in March of 2000 and to date has dedicated 209 homes giving shelter
to more than 1000 people.
For more information on HFH Armenia programs contact to Communications
Manager Haykuhi Khachatryan:

ANTHEM IS NOT PEANUTS, IT SHOULD HAVE HISTORY
Lragir.am
05 Sept 06
On September 5 at the Hayeli Club Doctor Henrik Hovanisyan and Poet
Davit Hovanes discussed the adoption of the new national anthem and the
scandal connected with it. There was a shade of dismay in the voice of
Henrik Hovanisyan that he had not been included in the commission of
22, which deals with choosing a new anthem. Davit Hovanes, a member
of this committee, was offended because the song by Komitas “Hayastan
Yerkir Drakhtavair” got only 3 votes and was left out. In answer,
Davit Hovanes resigned from the committee.
The discussion did not grow into a debate because the speakers agreed
on most questions. For instance, everybody knows the members of the
commission, the adoption of the anthem is not an urgent matter, etc.
Henrik Hovanisyan says now is not the time when the questions are
solved confidentially, the symbol of the state should be chosen in
public debates, after a retrospective view into the history. Davit
Hovanes agrees that we need to choose several works from our poetry
and choose the best. And he thinks that the best is “Hayastan Yerkir
Drakhtavair” by Komitas. But since this option was rejected, Davit
Hovanes suggests not changing the anthem, although the change of the
anthem was a “political order”, calm down and try again, and this
time include Henrik Hovanisyan in the commission. Henrik Hovanisyan
also agrees that there is no need to hurry. Davit Hovanisyan says,
“It is an abject reason to have a new anthem by September 21.”
Generally, Davit Hovanes gave evaluations lavishly. For instance, he
says, the lyrics of the anthem of Soviet Armenia by Sarmen are “dull
and tasteless”, “writing lyrics for the music by Aram Khachaturyan
is the same as replacing the leg of a person with two legs with a
prosthesis”, “the work by Komitas is stronger than time and it will be
sung forever”, “an anthem is not peanuts for everyone to eat”. Davit
Hovanes heard the latter from Ruben Atayan, who studied Komitas.
Two out of five variants, which are in the final round, are criminal,
Davit Hovanes says. Armen Soghomonyan, a senior official of the
Ministry of Culture wrote lyrics for the music by Aram Khachaturyan,
“and the commission works in the orbit of the ministry of culture,
and is led by the minister of culture,” he says. The second is the
anthem by a person with the nick Ararat B. Davit Hovanes says, “It
took me an hour to get the name of this person from the commission
members, I pointed to him and said he might be a member of the
commission, maybe he is a Turk or a traitor, or was convicted for
five times.” Davit Hovanisyan was more obstinate than the members of
the commission. He declined to tell the name to the news reporters,
although everyone knows already that Ararat B is Razmik Davoyan. And
since Razmik Davoyan is a member of the commission, he cannot submit
his work for contest. By the way, after this revelation Razmik Davoyan
is already writing another anthem and signs his real name.
The speakers think it is not worthwhile to return to the music
composed by Aram Khachaturyan because it will bring along the
political past. The present anthem is also political past but we
worship this past. Henrik Hovanisyan is for the music by Mansuryan
written for the poem by Yeghisheh Charents, although he says it is
a difficult and complicated work and very few can sing it. Davit
Hovanes says Yeghisheh Charents wrote a marvelous poem but it is not
an anthem. Aram Khachaturyan is also a genius but “his music was the
anthem of another country.”
And people prefer Aram Khachaturyan (43 out of the 85 songs were
written for the music by Aram Khachaturyan) because “people still have
a grudge. Their souls are in that country.” “At any rate, “Hayastan” by
Komitas will be the anthem of our country,” Davit Hovanes asserted. He
did not specify when and how but he stated that today the anthem
will be chosen by political trade. On the other hand, Davit Hovanes
does not deny that the work of the commission may produce no results,
for quite different processes are underway in the National Assembly.

LEMKIN’S HOUSE TO HOLD TALKBACKS IN SEPT. AND OCT.
Broadway World, NY
Aug 5 2006
Tuesday, September 5, 2006; Posted: 12:55 PM – by BWW News Desk A
series of talkbacks will follow select performances of Catherine
Filloux’s award-winning play Lemkin’s House. Jean Randich directs
the return engagement of the show, which will play through September
13-October 8 at the McGinn-Cazale Theatre (2162 Broadway)
Presented by Body Politic Theater and Vital Theatre Company, the
show’s official press opening is set for September 17.
Talkback participants will include former Manhattan Borough President
Ruth Messinger; Human Rights activist Dr. William Korey; film-maker
Kavery Kaul (The Long Way from Home); and others.
Lemkin’s House is billed as “a thought-provoking drama about the
horrors of genocide,” according to press notes. “Winner of the 2006
Peace Writing Award from the OMNI Center for Peace, the play centers
on Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who invented the word “genocide”
and dedicated his life to having it declared an international crime.
In Ms. Filloux’s play, Lemkin is bombarded by people bursting into
his home with complaints of more recent genocides in Rwanda and
Bosnia. Lemkin must recognize that even his law is not enough to
change the world. He weighs his ethical accomplishments against his
guilt for deserting his own doomed family, ultimately seeking not only
justice but also forgiveness. In Lemkin’s House it is the living who
haunt the dead.”
Lemkin’s House had its U.S. premiere at the 78th Street Theatre Lab
in February, 2006, opening to strong critical and audience response.
John Daggett returns as Raphael Lemkin. He is joined by original cast
members Christopher Edwards, Laura Flanagan, Christopher McHale, and
Connie Winston. The production also reunites its original design team:
Sue Rees (set design); Matthew Adelson (lighting design); Camille Assaf
(costume design); Robert Murphy (sound design).
The talkbacks are as follows (additional talkbacks and panelists TBA):
Wednesday, September 13: Panel on Darfur Former Manhattan Borough
President, Ruth Messinger, President of American Jewish World Service
which is currently involved in seeking justice for the Darfur genocide;
John Prendergast, Senior Advisor of International Crisis Group;
and Jayne E. Fleming, California Lawyer of the Year for Pro Bono
Representation of Women victimized through violence.
Thursday, September 14: A Peaceful Tomorrow Panel: Genocide and
Reconciliation H.E Widhya Chem, Ambassador, Permanent Representative
of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations; Jean Baptiste
Ntakirutimana, Country Director of Orphans of Rwanda, Inc.; Father
Michael Lapsley, Institute for Healing of Memories, South Africa;
and moderator Adele Welty, Steering Committee, Peaceful Tomorrows.
Friday, September 15: Panel in conjunction with 9/17 “Save
Darfur” Rally Jim Fussell, Executive Director of Prevent Genocide
International; and Mohamed Adam Yahya, Chairman, Damanga: Coalition
for Freedom and Democracy.
Saturday, September 16: Women’s Commission on Refugees and Children:
Darfur Megan McKenna, Senior Coordinator, Media and Communications
(Education in Emergencies); Sarah Chynoweth, Program Manager in
the Reproductive Health Program; and moderator Carolyn Makinson,
Executive Director of Women’s Commission.
Wednesday, September 20: Understanding the Perpetrator: Genocidal
Mania — The Psychology of Mass Hatred and Treating the Victims Gerald
Martone, Director of Humanitarian Affairs at the International Rescue
Committee; and Ruth Rogers, “Easing the Impact of Trauma through
Integrative Medicine.”
Thursday, September 21: What Have We Learned?
David Scheffer, Former US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues;
Juan E. Mendez, President, ICTJ. Special Advisor to the Secretary
General (UN) on the Prevention of Genocide; Justice Richard Goldstone
Chancellor, University of the Witwatersrand and Former Justice,
Constitutional Court of South Africa; Dr. William A. Korey, Human
Rights scholar and activist; Roger S. Clark, Board of Governors
Professor, Rutgers School of Law; Moderated by Dr. Yael Danieli,
Co-President, International Network of Holocaust and Genocide Survivors
and Their Friends.
Sunday, September 24: Detering Future Genocides: The Importance of
International Criminal Court to Raphael Lemkin’s Legacy Dr. Roy
S. Lee, Special Senior Fellow, the United Nations Institute for
Training and Research, and former Executive Secretary to the
International Criminal Court Conference; John Washburn, Convenor,
American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC);
Richard Nsanzabaganwa. Outreach Liasion for Africa, Coalition for
the International Criminal Court (CICC).
Wednesday, September 27: Professor Sheri Rosenberg and Dr. Jack Saul
Professor Sheri Rosenberg, Director, Human Rights and Genocide Clinic
and Program in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies, Cardozo School of
Law; Dr. Jack Saul, Director, International Trauma Studies Program,
Columbia University; Moderated by Kenneth Jacobson, Senior Associate
National Director, Anti-Defamation League.
Thursday, September 28: Religious Perspectives on Genocide Rabbi
Daniel S. Brenner, Director, Center for Multifaith Education, Auburn
Theological Seminary; Other panelists TBA.
Friday, September 29: For the Prevention of Genocide and Crimes
against Humanity: A United Nations Emergency Peace Service Panelists:
TBA; moderated by Waverly de Bruijn; Coordinator, Global Action to
Prevent War; Sponsoring Organizations: Global Action to Prevent War,
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, World Federalist Movement.
Saturday, September 30: Audience Conversation with Dr. Yael Danieli and
Lemkin’s House artists Dr. Yael Danieli, Co-President, International
Network of Holocaust and Genocide Survivors and Their Friends, the
cast and creators of Lemkin’s House
Sunday, October 1: Hidden Genocide in Uganda Presentation by Daniella
Boston, co-founder and executive director of uNight: for the Children
of Uganda; Panelists: TBA.
Wednesday, October 4: Violence or Empowerment Arn Chorn-Pond and John
Burt, Cambodian Living Arts; Kavery Kaul, Filmmaker and Producer,
The Long Way From Home; and Michele Tayler, Women Against Violence
Everywhere.
Saturday,October 7: The Armenian Genocide Professor Henry Theriault,
Professor of Philosophy at Worcester State College, Armenian National
Committee.
Filloux’s other plays include The Beauty Inside, Eyes of the Heart,
Silence of God and Mary and Myra.
The show runs: Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 7pm. Talkbacks
directly follow select performances. Tickets are $25 (group
discounts are available). For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or
visit
ewcolumn.cfm?colid=11970

Bush’s Salt Lake Whoppers
Saturday, September 2, 2006 by the _Progressive _
()
by Matthew Rothschild
Did you catch Bush’s speech to the American Legion on Thursday?
It was another warm-up to the Iran War, with Bush rehearsing some of
the same old lines he once used to whip up a frenzy over Iraq.
Just as he once called Iraq a `grave threat,’ he said in Salt Lake
City that `the world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime
in Iran.’
My favorite line of the whole speech was this: `Governments
accountable to the voters focus on building roads and schools-not
weapons of mass destruction.
‘If that’s true, Bush ought to start unilaterally disarming our
10,000 nuclear weapons, or simply confirm that our government is not
accountable to the voters.
Just as he once fused Al Qaeda and Iraq, so he is fusing Al Qaeda and
Iran.
Said Bush: `The Iranian regime arms, funds, and advises Hezbollah,
which has killed more Americans than any terrorist network except Al
Qaeda.’
Get it?
Your Pavlovian reaction to Al Qaeda is still supposed to make you
salivate for war against whichever country Bush links it it to in a
single sentence.
Just as he once denounced Iraq for `sponsoring terrorists,’so he now
does with Iran.
Just as he once denounced Iraq for denying `basic human rights to
millions of its people,’ so he now does with Iran.
Just as he once denounced Iraq for pursuing weapons of mass
destruction, phantom as they were, so he now decries Iran’s pursuit of
a nuclear weapon.
And just as he once said it was time for Iraq to make a choice, when
he himself had already chosen war, so he now says, `It is time for
Iran to make a choice.’
I have no doubt whatsoever about Bush’s intentions.
But what struck me most about Bush’s speech was not his stale
propaganda but a fresh couple of whoppers.
First, as far as securing Baghdad goes, he said, `The initial results
are encouraging.’ Not exactly a good time to be crowing about
that. The very same day, coordinated bombings in Baghdad were killing
at least sixty-four people.
And the day after Bush’s speech, the Pentagon released a report saying
that ` conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq,
specifically in and around Baghdad.’ The report added that the country
is facing `mutually reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife.’
By the way, you know what Bush cited as far as `encouraging’ evidence?
The following highly dubious testimonial from an anonymous Sunni man
in the street. `According to one military report,’ Bush said, `a Sunni
man in a diverse Baghdad neighborhood said this about the Shia
soldiers on patrol: `Their image has changed. Now you feel they’re
there to protect you.’ ‘ Five bucks that quote is made up.
But my favorite line of the whole speech was this: `Governments
accountable to the voters focus on building roads and schools-not
weapons of mass destruction.’ If that’s true, Bush ought to start
unilaterally disarming our 10,000 nuclear weapons, or simply confirm
that our government is not accountable to the voters.
Matthew Rothschild has been with The Progressive since 1983. His
_McCarthyism Watch_ () web column has
chronicled more than 150 incidents of repression since 9/11.