Author: Emil Lazarian

The Globe and Mail, Canada
April 22 2004
Commons condemns Armenian genocide

Liberal MPs were free to support motion, although Ottawa fears
fallout from Turkey
By JEFF SALLOT AND CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA — The Commons last night condemned the Ottoman Empire’s
brutal treatment of Armenians nine decades ago as an act of genocide,
a moral judgment that government officials fear will provoke painful
economic retaliation by modern-day Turkey.
Despite government warnings that more than $1-billion in potential
contracts for Canadian companies is at stake, 78 backbench Liberal
MPs broke ranks with the cabinet to approve a motion that says the
House “acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemns this
act as a crime against humanity.”
The non-binding motion, approved on a free vote 153-68, was a setback
for Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham and a high-powered business
lobby. Conservative ranks were also split on the issue, but the Bloc
Québécois and the New Democrats voted for the motion.
The Turkish government strongly objects to any suggestion that its
imperial ancestors committed genocide during the First World War.
Turkey cancelled multimillion-dollar defence contracts with France
when the National Assembly adopted a similar Armenian genocide
resolution in 2001.
In the hours before last night’s vote, the Canadian Chamber of
Commerce vigorously lobbied MPs to consider the possibility that
Bombardier Aerospace and SNC Lavalin could lose out to European
competitors for megaprojects such as the extension of the Ankara
subway system.
Mr. Graham made the same point during a charged Liberal caucus
meeting yesterday morning. Trade officials estimate the subway
contract alone could be worth about $1-billion.
“It’s huge,” said Bob Keyes, the Chamber’s vice-president for
international affairs.
Lavalin is in the running to become the prime contractor on the
subway extension. Bombardier, which produced the rail cars for the
original subway, is believed to have the advantage in the bidding for
the contracts for new subway rolling stock.
Several Canadian mining companies are eyeing projects in Turkey.
“These sorts of contracts do not come along every day,” Mr. Keyes
said.
Timing is crucial, he said, noting that Turkish authorities are
expected to decide who gets the subway work within the next 12
months.
In a letter to the MPs of all parties, the Chamber said that if the
House adopted the motion, “there will be an immediate negative
economic impact on Canadian firms and their ability to do business in
Turkey.”
Despite the dire warning of the business lobby, Prime Minister Paul
Martin allowed a free vote on the motion in line with a promise to
the Liberal caucus to allow greater autonomy for backbenchers on
issues that are not questions of confidence in the government.
Filmmaker Atom Egoyan, one of Canada’s best-known Armenians, made the
film Ararat about the genocide. Yesterday he expressed his pleasure
with the House decision.
“What is amazing today is that it’s law and it’s something we can
tell to the generations that are to come,” he told the CBC.
Bloc MP Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral introduced the motion. Ontario
Liberal MP Sarkis Assadourian, who is of Armenian heritage, seconded
it.
“Armenians have been waiting for this justice to take place for 89
years,” Mr. Assadourian said. “If you don’t address the issues of the
past, then you’re condemned to repeat them. If the Armenian genocide
was condemned in 1915, I’m confident the Holocaust would not have
taken place.”
Armenian groups around the world have been pushing for recognition of
the 1915 events as an act of genocide.The Liberals have tried to
finesse the issue on other occasions when it has been brought before
Parliament.
In 1999, the Chrétien Liberal government said it viewed the 1915
events as a “calamity” that afflicted the Armenians, and “this
tragedy was committed with the intent to destroy a national group in
which hundreds of thousands of Armenians were subjected to atrocities
which included massive deportations and massacres.”
But then prime minister Jean Chrétien and his ministers did not use
the word genocide, the one word that most upsets the Turkish
government.
Mr. Graham urged caucus members yesterday to avoid inflaming Turkish
passions, but he seemed prepared for the passage of the motion.
Several hours before the vote, the Foreign Minister told reporters
that he hoped the Turkish government would view the motion as an
expression of the free will of individual members and not an official
condemnation by the Canadian government. “Individual Parliamentarians
are free to express their will.”
When asked directly whether the Armenians were the victims of
genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Mr. Graham said, “it is
best to allow historians to deal with these issues.”
Mr. Graham suggested the motion could create tension within the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization at a time when Canada is trying to work
with Turkey and other allies to provide security in war-ravaged
Afghanistan.
“We want our Turkish friends and our Armenian friends to put these
issues in the past,” Mr. Graham added.

Armenian rights activist blames government for upset order
Arminfo
20 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The chairman of the public deputy organization (?Supreme Council) and
human rights champion, Ruben Torosyan, told a news conference today
the Armenian government dispersed a peaceful opposition demonstration
on [Yerevan’s] Bagramyan Avenue on the pretext of maintaining order
which it repeatedly upsets itself.
He said that the council has been implementing the project “No to
corruption at the top” since June 2003. The project mainly aims at
studying, registering, preventing and rooting out corruption in the
higher echelons of power which in the end undermines the
constitutional order in the country.
[Passage omitted: talks about violation of law and falsified results
of polls]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 22 2004
GEORGIA HOPES FOR “CIVILIZED WITHDRAWAL” OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES
MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) – The Georgian government hopes that a
compromise will eventually be reached in its negotiations with Russia
on the withdrawal of military bases, Ambassador of Georgia Konstantin
Kemularia told a Moscow press conference Thursday.
There are two Russian military bases in Georgia now: in Akhalkalaki
(near the border with Turkey and Armenia) and outside Batumi, the
capital of the Adzharian autonomy. Moscow argues that pulling these
two bases out in a “civilized manner” will take at least ten years.
According to Kemularia, the Georgian government is now considering
ways to create normal living and service conditions for the outgoing
Russian troops.
Officials of Russia, Georgia, and Abkhazia (a breakaway region in
Georgia) will hold three-party consultations on the prospective
withdrawal of the military bases as they gather in Moscow on April
26, the Ambassador announced. Deputy Foreign Minister Mirab Antadze
will be attending for Georgia; and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba,
for Abkhazia.
“The revival of the relations between our countries will lead to a
higher degree of trust,” emphasized Kemularia.
Speaking of Adzharia, the ambassador said that Tbilisi could see no
legal or political grounds for applying the Treaty of Kars vis-a-vis
the autonomy. “The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that the
problem of Adzharia is a domestic affair of Georgia’s and that Russia
is not a guarantor of Adzharia’s security,” Kemularia said. In his
words, it would be absurd to implement the Kars Treaty’s articles
that envisage the possibility of Turkey carrying out duty-free trade
operations in the Adzharian capital of Batumi.
“Likewise, Article 7 of the Treaty stipulates that if Adzharia’s
autonomy is abolished, Turkey may send in troops. This does not seem
realistic today, either,” the ambassador said.
It will be remembered that under the Kars Treaty, signed in 1921,
Russia and Turkey shall act as guarantors of Adzharia’s sovereignty
within Georgia.

Kerry Campaign Unveils Key Members of Community Outreach Senior
Leadership Team
WASHINGTON, April 22 /U.S. Newswire/ — The Kerry Campaign today
announced several important additions to its senior leadership,
including key members of its community outreach team. With the
addition of these staff, the campaign will expand its program to
engage core Democratic constituencies across the country in its
record-breaking campaign to win back the White House and build a
stronger America.
“Community outreach is a critical part of our campaign and an integral
part of our electoral strategy,” said Kerry Campaign Manager Mary Beth
Cahill. “Today, we’re adding an incredible group of strong and
talented leaders to our campaign. This is part of our ongoing
commitment to making these communities a high priority and with their
help we are well on our way to energizing the Democratic Party as
never before.”
Veteran Democratic strategist Paul Rivera will serve as Senior
Political Advisor to the Campaign, with responsibility for Community
Outreach and the regional and state political programs. Prior to his
work with the Kerry Campaign, Rivera worked on the campaigns of Carl
McCall and Hillary Rodham Clinton, three Democratic Conventions and
three presidential elections.
Mona Pasquil has joined the campaign as Director of Community
Outreach. She previously served as Political Director for Governor
Gray Davis, California Political Director for Gore/Lieberman 2000,
deputy CEO for the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Western
Political Director in the Clinton White House, Western Political Desk
and Director of Asian Pacific Affairs at the Democratic National
Committee.
Handling African-American community outreach for the campaign will be
Jena Roscoe, currently the Senior Vice President and Chief of
Government Affairs for Operation HOPE, Inc. Before her work with
Operation HOPE, Roscoe served as the Associate Director for African
American and Youth Outreach at the White House Office of Public
Liaison and before that served as Assistant to the President of the
A. Philip Randolph Institute, the African- American constituency group
of the AFL-CIO.
Luis Elizondo-Thomson will lead Hispanic outreach, having served
previously a political desk with the campaign. Before that, he served
as Deputy Political Director on the Citizen Soldier Fund and was with
Gore/Lieberman 2000.
Working with the Jewish Community and serving as new Senior Advisor on
Middle East and Jewish Affairs, Jay Footlik was most recently the
Director of Community Outreach for Joe Lieberman’s presidential
campaign. He formerly served as Special Assistant to President Clinton
in the White House Office of Public Liaison.
George Kivork has joined the Kerry Campaign to coordinate outreach to
ethnic communities, including Arab Americans, Irish Americans, Italian
Americans, Hungarian Americans, Polish Americans, and Portugese
Americans. Kivork has extensive experience working with ethnic leaders
both as a former field manager for the AFL- CIO during the 2002
Michigan Democratic primary and most recently as General Wesley
Clark’s Armenian American Liaison and Michigan field director.
Victoria Lai moves to the Kerry Campaign after serving as DNC Deputy
Director of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection. She will handle
Asian Pacific Islander American issues for the campaign, building on
her experience as the DNC’s Asian Pacific Islander American Outreach
Liaison.
Chad Lennox takes over the Campaign’s outreach to the Environmental
community, moving from his position as National Director of Volunteer
Operations. Prior to joining the Kerry Campaign, he was Assistant
Director of Palmetto Conservation Foundation and Executive Director of
the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation in South Carolina.
Mark Seifert joins the campaign to handle LGBT Outreach after serving
in that capacity for Clark’s presidential campaign. Prior to his work
for the Clark Campaign, Seifert oversaw the E-rate program at the
Federal Communications Commission.
Longtime Massachusetts Democratic activist Tory Vallely will lead the
campaign’s outreach to women. Vallely was involved in community
outreach for Kerry during the Iowa caucus and the South Carolina
primary and has been involved with Kerry’s campaigns since he ran for
Congress in 1972.
Mara Vanderslice brings years of faith-based advocacy on international
issues to the Kerry Campaign as she will handle the campaign’s
religious outreach. Vanderslice held the same position for Howard
Dean’s presidential campaign in Iowa.
In addition, the Kerry campaign announced the following senior
leadership positions:
Serving as the Kerry Campaign’s new CEO, Karen Hancox is now on her
fifth presidential campaign. She handled Congressional Relations on
Clinton/Gore 1992, Special Assistant in Legislative Affairs and then
Deputy Political Director at the White House, Chief of Staff for Gore
2000, and most recently served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Gephardt
for President.
Sharon Farmer takes over as campaign photographer. She most recently
served as Associated Press Photo Assignment Editor, after working as
the Director of the White House Photography Office and as a White
House photographer during the Clinton Administration.
Broderick Johnson joins the campaign as Senior Advisor for
Congressional Affairs. He previously served in the Clinton White
House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs and
House Liaison, as Chief Counsel for the House Committee on Education
and the Workforce and as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the
former House Committee on the District of Columbia.
Contact: Stephanie Cutter of John Kerry for President, 202-712-3000
04/22 10:49

ArmenPress
April 22 2004
CANADA RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
OTTAWA, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS: With an overwhelmingly favorable
vote of 153 to 68 in Parliament Wednesday Canada joined the growing
number of nations that have formally recognized the Armenian
Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The motion reads that “That this House acknowledges the Armenian
genocide of 1915 and condemns this act as a crime against humanity.’
Government members were discouraged from voting for the motion,
which is sure to anger a Turkish government that has never recognized
the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915. Following a
charged debate at their weekly closed-door caucus meeting, Liberal
backbenchers voted massively in favor while the party’s cabinet
contingent rejected the Bloc Quebecois motion.
The Turkish government has warned that recognizing the genocide
could have economic consequences.
“Armenians in America and throughout the world welcome this
historic step by Canada,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of
the ANCA. “The Canadian Parliament, in rejecting intense Turkish
government pressure, took an important step in further isolating
Turkey for its shameful, international campaign of genocide denial,”
he said.
The governing Liberal leadership paved the way for this vote by
allowing a “free vote,” meaning that individual members are allowed
to vote their conscience, without any pressure or negative
repercussions from their respective party leaderships.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada)
April 22, 2004 Thursday Final Edition
Savouring life important for wine distributor
by Kim Carson
Alla Wagner is an impressive woman with fair skin, thick black hair
and unwavering, pale blue eyes.
She is one of 150 or so Armenians in Calgary and her baptized name,
Ashkhen, is that of a third-century Armenian queen.
The movie, The Passion of the Christ, was the first thing we talked
about.
“Have you seen it?” she asked. I said yes, and that I found it very
moving.
“To me, this movie is about cruelty — a cruelty that doesn’t exist
between everyday people, but is driven solely by politics. Forgive
me, I have strong opinions about this. This cruelty has always
existed and it continues today. This is why we must remember history
— not so that anyone can feel self-righteous — but so these acts of
cruelty aren’t committed again.”
This Saturday, April 24, is the commemoration day for the 1915
Armenian genocide by Turkish troops in which more than two million
Armenians were massacred or displaced.
To date, neither Turkey, the U.S., nor even Canada has acknowledged
the genocide. The general idea is that if Turkey apologizes, it will
have to compensate.
“But I don’t want to say this is an ‘Armenian’ problem,” Alla is
quick to explain. “It’s the problem throughout the whole world.”
This is not the first time Alla has expressed herself politically.
For a young girl growing up in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan
during the era of Soviet rule, taking part in political movements was
a regular event. The closing down of Armenian language schools in
favour of Russian schools was something she fought hard against.
“Politics aside, I was quite an artsy-fart when I was a kid,” she
laughs.
Alla studied art, sang in bands, and learned every kind of dance
available to her — Armenian traditional dance, Georgian and other
folk dances, belly dancing and ballroom dance.
“Armenian children are expected to entertain their family and guests.
At some point, every child is expected to do something — sing, play
a musical instrument, recite poetry.
“In that part of the world, if you’re a child with talent, there is
no way you will not be noticed. Whether or not your family has money,
you will be singled out and your talent will be cultivated.
“On the other hand, I wanted to be a ballerina — to study in the
state classical dance academy and dance at the Bolshoi. However, I
was measured and tested and it was decided that I didn’t have what it
takes. That was the end of it. I cried my eyes out for days.”
Alla completed her degree in library sciences and bibliography. She
went on to do her masters in St. Petersburg in 1983, just as Mikhail
Gorbachev was coming into power and the Soviet Union began its slow
collapse. Though she began as a teaching assistant at the Institute
of Culture, she never finished her studies.
“Academics were losing their positions in society. There was no money
for them and, frankly, they had nothing to sell. They were people of
respect and status who had suddenly become absolute nobodies with
nothing. Many killed themselves.
“As a young woman, I felt this situation held nothing for me. And I
refused to follow my parents’ advice, which was to marry and settle
down.”
So 20 years ago, Alla came to Calgary by herself after getting the
idea from some Armenian-Canadians she met at a wedding.
– – –
Alla’s intelligence and tenacity grace her as much today as ever. She
now lives with her two teenage children in the southwest
neighbourhood of Somerset. Her parents and brother, having followed
from Armenia, also live in Calgary.
Over the years, she has cultivated a new passion — wine.
Alla is a wine distributor in Calgary, dealing in organic, old-world
wines from Eastern Europe, particularly the republic of Georgia. She
travels throughout Europe and has 17 hectares of Georgian land on
which — if the political situation settles — she hopes to start her
own vineyard.
“This area, the east coast of the Black Sea, is beautiful. It’s a
place I traveled through every summer of my childhood. It’s famous
for its Saperavi grapes and it’s similar in appearance and climate to
the Okanagan Valley, only the winters are much warmer and
frost-free.”
Alla has visited many of the vintners in this region. She’s
fascinated by their work, which involves ancient techniques (the wine
history of Georgia is more than 5,000 years old). Yet each vintner
has his own secret ways that are unique.
“It’s funny, these vintners don’t even drink much wine. It’s the
work, more than the final product, that’s an art to them. You could
call it devotional. This is what I love most and what I want to learn
from them.”
Yet as a woman used to overcoming obstacles, Alla’s greatest
challenge now is not related to politics or wine; it’s the daily
management of a condition she developed 12 years ago — travelling
rheumatoid arthritis — in which parts of her body alternately become
swollen and intensely painful.
“Like all else, the most important thing is that it doesn’t interfere
with my life. Because I have no intention of stopping. Over the
years, I’ve developed systems for dealing with it, but sometimes I
overdo it and then my family ends up paying,” she admits sheepishly.
“Truly, I look forward to the day when I can relax a bit and do
something more soulful.”
Politics, cruelty, passion, and day-to-day challenges aside, perhaps
one day Alla — Ashkhen — will be able to live peacefully in her
homeland, travel to the Black Sea area, and take up the art of making
wine.
If you know of an interesting candidate for Calgary in Character,
e-mail Kim Carson at [email protected]
GRAPHIC: Colour Photo: Kim Carson, for Neighbours; Alla Wagner
relaxes in the verdant tranquility of the Devonian Gardens.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 22, 2004 Thursday 3:12 AM Eastern Time
German FM to arrive in Yerevan for official visit
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Deputy Federal Chancellor, Foreign Minister of Germany Joschka
Fischer is arriving in Yerevan on Thursday for a one-day official
visit within the framework of his tour of the region.
During the visit, the German minister will discuss with the Armenian
leadership issues of bilateral political cooperation and regional
security.
In particular, Joschka Fischer intends to discuss ways of settling
the Nagorny Karabkh problem and problems of mutual relations between
Armenia and the Council of Europe.
Within the framework of the visit, Joschka Fischer will visit the
memorial to victims of the genocide of Armenians of 1915 and lay a
wreath to the eternal flame. This will be the first visit to the
memorial by Germany’s official representative.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PUTIN PRAISES KAZAKH FORUM FOR UNITING EURASIAN MEDIA
Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency
22 Apr 04
Almaty, 22 April: Russian President Vladimir Putin has greeted those
attending the third Eurasian Media Forum, which opened in Almaty
today.
“Your authoritative association makes a remarkable contribution to
developing dialogue between the representatives of the media on the
(Eurasian) continent,” Putin noted in his message, the text of which
was read out before those present at the forum by Russian Ambassador
to Kazakhstan Vladimir Babichev.
“Such topical issues as humanitarian cooperation, forming a common
information space and the role of the media in modern global and
regional processes are in the centre of the forum’s attention,” the
head of the Russian state noted.
He also underlined the importance of discussing such issues at the
scheduled media forum as “bringing together the journalistic
profession to counter international terrorism, extremism and drug
trafficking”.
“Today, this joint work has very topical significance. I wish you
success,” Putin noted in his message.
OSCE Secretary-General Jan Kubis, Secretary-General of the Eurasian
Economic Community Grigoriy Rapota and the former Armenian prime
minister, Armen Sarkisyan, who attended the first Eurasian Media
Forum, also greeted from the rostrum those attending the Eurasian
Media Forum.
A video address by Prince Hasan Bin-Talal of Jordan was also shown to
the participants in the forum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 22, 2004 Thursday 3:12 AM Eastern Time
US to back any Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement on Karabakh – diplomat
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva and Viktor Shulman
BAKU
U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk for Nagorno-Karabakh, Steven Mann,
said the major purpose of the U.S. government is to cooperate with
both warring sides in order to find a fair solution to the problem.
In his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev on Thursday,
Mann said the U.S. supports any agreement that will be reached by the
sides.
Mann told journalists that his talks in Baku and Yerevan focused on
organising a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.
The Minsk Group is maintaining a dialogue with both sides at all
levels because these efforts will help overcome the deadlock, the
diplomat stressed.
He did not rule out that the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group may
visit the region shortly. The exact date of their visit will be
coordinated by the sides, Mann said.
The U.S. diplomat said he has very fruitful meetings with the
leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia, but he declined to disclose the
details of his talks.
According to certain reports, the presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia may meet in Warsaw on April 28 as part of the European
Economic Forum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
April 22, 2004, Thursday
Germany’s Fischer urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to settle Karabakh fight
YEREVAN
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Thursday stepped up
international pressure on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the
long-running conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
Only with a genuine settlement could the Caucasus region as a whole
become stable, Fischer told Armenian President Robert Kocharyan in
Yerevan during a tour of the former Soviet Caucasus republics.
Germany and the European Union would assist the process, he said,
adding that “The main role, however, lies with the conflicting
sides”.
A shaky ceasefire has held in the ethnic Armenian enclave within
Azerbaijan since 1994, after upward of 25,000 people died in fighting
and a million were displaced.
The German minister also visited a memorial to the estimated 1.5
million Armenians who died during repressions by Turkish forces in
1915. Armenia has for years sought to have their deaths
internationally recognized as genocide.
Fischer visited Azerbaijan on Wednesday and was due to travel to
neighbouring Georgia later Thursday. dpa na cu
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress