Author: Hakobian Adrine

KARABAKH HOPES PRESIDENTIAL VOTE WILL BOOST INDEPENDENCE BID
By Michael Mainville, AFP

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 18 2007

Voters in Nagorno-Karabakh head to the polls on Thursday
for a presidential election they hope will help the ethnic
Armenian-controlled enclave’s bid for independence.

Officials there said the vote was another step toward winning
international recognition for the self-declared republic, which broke
away from Azerbaijan amid heavy fighting in the early 1990s.

But no country in the world recognizes Karabakh’s independence and the
international community is ignoring the vote. Azerbaijan has already
denounced the election as having "no legal effect whatsoever." Voters
like Marusa Sogomonian said that will not stop them from casting
their ballot.

"I’ll be one of the first in line on Thursday morning," said
Sogomonian, a 66-year-old newspaper seller in the local capital
Stepanakert. "If we can prove to the world that we can run our country,
that we can be a democracy, then we will have our independence."

Backed by their brethren in neighboring Armenia, separatists seized
Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that
claimed thousands of lives and forced nearly one million people
on both sides to flee their homes. The region’s status remains
unresolved despite more than 15 years of negotiations and sporadic
clashes continue along its border with other Azerbaijani regions.

Heavily armed and supported by Armenia’s widespread diaspora,
Karabakh’s 150,000 people have remained defiant in the face of
oil-rich Azerbaijan’s vows to regain control of the region, by force
if necessary.

In a statement, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the election was
"aimed at concealing Armenia’s policy of annexation and…

strengthening the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani territory. "The
separatist regime in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan represents
nothing but an illegal structure established by Armenia on the basis
of ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population," the statement said.

Five candidates are registered in the race to replace Arkady Ghukasian,
who is ineligible to run after two terms as president.

Ghukasian is backing the frontrunner, Bako Sahakian, a former head
of Karabakh’s internal security service who is widely expected to
sail to victory.

Analysts said Masis Mayilian, a deputy foreign minister who claims
to represent a reformist camp within the government that can reduce
the dominant role of the security services in government, is running
a distant second. Critics, including Mayilian, have accused the
government of orchestrating a pro-Sahakian campaign and using state
resources to ensure his victory.

Sahakian brushed aside those concerns, saying he understood that a
free and fair election was essential to Karabakh’s future. "Elections
are vital to a civilized state within the international community,"
he said. "We have never had a non-free election and this is one of
our greatest achievements."

Mayilian, who claims his campaign’s internal polls show him in a
tight race with Sahakian, said that he hoped Thursday’s vote would
be conducted fairly.

Still, there are few fundamental differences between the platforms
of the various contenders, with all promising to continue the fight
for independence and spur economic reform. Surrounded by Azerbaijani
forces and linked by only one road with Armenia, Karabakh is mired
in poverty, with high unemployment and few industries. Candidates
are promising to attract more investment to the region and support
new industries, including tourism.

Heavy clouds and fog hung over the region this week, producing a
constant drizzle that has left Stepanakert cold and damp. But voters
said they would not be deterred by the weather and officials said
they expected a high turnout.

"Everyone I know is planning to vote," said Samvel Agabekian,
a 53-year-old veteran. "We fought for the right to choose our own
leaders, so we take elections seriously."

Polls will open at 0300 GMT on Thursday and close at 1500 GMT.

Preliminary results are expected on Friday.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE
July 18, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA VIDEO SETS RECORD STRAIGHT ON BOB LIVINGSTON’S GENOCIDE DENIAL

— Offers Point-by-Point Challenge to Turkish Lobbyist’s Diatribe
against the Armenian Genocide Resolution

— "The New Republic" Article Spotlights Washington’s Multi-
Million Dollar Genocide Denial Industry

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
distributed an on-line video, today, countering an eight minute
anti-genocide diatribe, released by Turkey’s multi-million dollar
lobbyist Bob Livingston, in a patently desperate effort to block
Congressional adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.106 / S.Res.106)

Livingston’s denial piece was posted on the Capitol Hill
Broadcasting Network website, with links forwarded to Members of
Congress and their staffs urging them to watch the video and work
against Armenian Genocide legislation. Less than twelve hours
after Bob Livingston’s genocide denial video was posted, the ANCA
issued a point by point video rebuttal, which was distributed
widely to Congressional offices and policy makers throughout
Washington, DC. The ANCA video can be watched by visiting:

s_releases.php?prid=1233

Also in response to the Livingston attack, Armenian Genocide
Resolution lead advocates, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA),
George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI) cosigned a July 18th letter to Congressional colleagues
discrediting Livingston’s denialist claims. The Congressional
letter noted that:

"For the past seven years Mr. Livingston has been a paid lobbyist
for Turkey, which has spent millions of dollars denying what the
world knows to be true – that in the first decades of the last
century a horrible genocide was committed against the Armenian
people. The factual evidence supporting the Armenian Genocide is
vast, and no effort to deny these facts – no matter the source of
the denial – will ever change history."

The letter went on to urge House members to join over 220 of their
colleagues in cosponsoring H.Res.106. Similar appeals have been
made in two recent floor speeches by Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ). The ANCA will be hosting its second
national Congressional Call-In Day on July 23rd to secure increased
House support for the swift passage of the Armenian Genocide
resolution.

============================ ======================================
"The New Republic" Exposes Washington’s Morals for Money
Foreign Agent Racket
=========================================== =======================
Earlier this week, The New Republic, a major national magazine, ran
a feature-length, stinging exposé on the efforts of Turkish
government lobbyists to defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
The article, written by Michael Crowley, provides a behind the
scenes glimpse into the multi-million dollar genocide denial
industry, spotlighting former House Minority leader Dick Gephardt
and Bob Livingston as the lead beneficiaries of Turkey’s anti-
genocide campaign.

"It’s one thing to flip-flop on, say, tax cuts or asbestos reform.
But, when it comes to genocide, you would hope for high principle
to carry the day," explains Crowley. "In Washington, however, the
Armenian genocide industry is in full bloom. And Dick Gephardt’s
shilling isn’t even the half of it."

Crowley describes a shadowy world of foreign agents, ready to
purvey the Turkish government’s lies for hefty fees, often on the
condition of anonymity.

"A few weeks ago, I called the Turkish Embassy to request an
interview. A couple of days later, I heard back – not from the
embassy, but from an American p.r. consultant employed by the
Turks," explains Crowley. "He suggested we meet the next day at a
Starbucks. I found him in a corner behind a glowing white iBook. He
had long slicked- back hair, a seersucker suit, and a blinking
Bluetooth earpiece, and looked ready for a power lunch with the
sharky agent Ari Gold from ‘Entourage.’ He informed me our
conversation would be off the record, before launching his well-
honed argument against the genocide resolution."

Crowley’s description of Livingston is no more flattering. "But the
kingpin of Turkish advocacy is Bob Livingston, whose lobbying firm,
the Livingston Group, has hauled in roughly $13 million in Turkish
lucre since 2000. Livingston, best remembered for his comically
brief stint as House Speaker-elect at the height of the Clinton
impeachment debacle (before he tearfully admitted his own
extramarital affair and resigned from Congress in disgrace), has
lobbied on a range of issues dear to Turkey’s heart. But it’s his
tireless fight against the genocide resolution that makes him a
hero in Ankara."

The complete text of Crowley’s article may be read in the July 23rd
issue of The New Republic or online at
;s=crow ley072307

The text of the Schiff-Radanovich-Pallone-Knollenberg "Dear
Colleague" letter is provided below.

#####

Text of Schiff-Radanovich-Pallone-Knollenberg "Dear Colleague"
letter

The Armenian Genocide:
Facts vs. Fees
July 18, 2007

Dear Colleague:

Yesterday, you may have received an e-mail from our former
colleague, Bob Livingston, regarding the Armenian Genocide. In the
email and the embedded video attached to it, Livingston seeks to
cast doubt on the facts of the first genocide of the Twentieth
Century.

Livingston claims that there is a question among historians as to
whether the genocide was, in fact, genocide. The truth is that
there is near unanimity among historians and genocide experts that
the murder of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-23 was genocide.

Livingston claims that the mass murders that took place were
"localized" and took place in the confusion of World War I and that
they were not directed by the central government of the Ottoman
Empire. The truth is that the Armenian Genocide was orchestrated
at the highest levels of the Young Turk government and that several
of the central perpetrators were tried by the Turkish Government
after World War I. As documented in thousands of pages in our
National Archives, American diplomats and American journalists were
well aware of what was happening while it was ongoing. America’s
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, reported on the
massacres in great detail. Morgenthau was appalled at what he
would later call the sadistic orgies of rape, torture and murder.
"When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these
deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole
race; they understood this well, and . . . made no particular
attempt to conceal the fact."

For the past seven years Mr. Livingston has been a paid lobbyist
for Turkey, which has spent millions of dollars denying what the
world knows to be true – that in the first decades of the last
century a horrible genocide was committed against the Armenian
people. The factual evidence supporting the Armenian Genocide is
vast, and no effort to deny these facts – no matter the source of
the denial – will ever change history. Attached to this email is
an article from the current issue of The New Republic detailing the
lengths to which Turkey will go to deny the undeniable. Also
attached is an article from The New York Review of Books on the
history of the genocide by noted Israeli historian Michael Oren.
In his article, Oren notes:

"In contrast to Germany, which has publicly and often
obsessively accepted culpability for the Holocaust, paid
restitution to its victims, and released documents
attesting to its guilt, the Republic of Turkey has never
admitted its part in the mass murder of Armenians, much
less compensated the survivors. Rather than encourage
research on its past butchery, the Turkish government has
promoted publications that exonerate it from any wrongdoing
and portray the Armenians as traitors to the state who
allied themselves with Russia and executed thousands of
Turks."

We urge you to read the articles as you consider Livingston’s
claims.

H. Res. 106 has been cosponsored by more than 220 of our colleagues
and we are continuing to add additional cosponsors. We urge you to
stand up for the truth and honor the memory of the dead by adding
your name to the list of cosponsors. For more information, or to
cosponsor, please contact Tim Bergreen in Mr. Schiff’s office or
Chris Herndon in Mr. Radanovich’s office.

Sincerely,

Adam Schiff
Member of Congress

George Radanovich.
Member of Congress

Frank Pallone
Member of Congress

Joe Knollenberg
Member of Congress

#####

A CAR EXPLODED NEAR ARMENIAN EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2007 13:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the morning of July 16 unknown gunmen in
Baghdad detonated a car, which belonged to the Iraqi National Police
service. The blast occurred near the RA Embassy in the Iraqi capital,
Beirut based "Azdak" newspaper reported. After the war in Iraq the
embassy is not functioning and the staff has left the country.

CFE AGREEMENT SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED RESTRICTIVE ROLE IN ARMS RACE ON OSCE SPACE

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2007 13:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia perceives the Conventional Forces in
Europe Treaty (CFE) as a mechanism, which provides transparency and
security balance on the European space, Acting Spokesman for the RA MFA
Vladimir Karapetyan stated. He said, efficiency of the CFE agreement
has been proved by its activity during the past 15 years. "From the
very beginning of CFE Treaty it successfully implemented restrictive
role in arms race on the OSCE space. The agreement will be still in
force for at least 150 days and we hope that the existing differences
will be overcome through negotiations. Armenia is ready to carry out
consultations with all CFE Treaty members," Karapetyan underlined.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on July 14, 2007 on
suspending his country’s participation in the Conventional Forces in
Europe Treaty (CFE). In a statement by Putin, the Kremlin said the
choice was due to "extraordinary circumstances, affecting the security
of the Russian Federation and which require immediate measures".

Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
July 13, 2007 Friday
FINAL EDITION

Journey into Armenian history

BY JIM SLOTEK, SUN MEDIA

Not being Armenian, I’ve never given much thought to what it means to
be Armenian.

And after seeing French director Robert Guediguian’s heartfelt
Journey to Armenia, I’m no closer to understanding that inner feeling
of Armenian-ness.

This despite many lectures about Mount Ararat and the Armenian state
of mind that are heaped upon Anna (Ariane Ascaride), a proper French
woman of Armenian descent, who comes face to face with a culture she
never knew or cared about.

On the other hand, most of us having roots strong or tenuous in some
other place, we can at least understand what motivates Guediguian
(Marius Et Jeannette) in his odd filmic love-letter to his father’s
homeland.

Journey to Armenia opens in Marseilles with a young French woman
named Jeannette (Madeleine Guediguian) taking part in a traditional
Armenian folk dance. Shift to Jeannette’s grandfather Barsam (Marcel
Bluwal) receiving bad news about his heart from his doctor, who also
happens to be his daughter Anna (Ascaride, Guediguian’s real-life
wife).

Though Anna is chilly toward the old man, ostensibly because of the
rough treatment she feels her late mother received from him, she
makes arrangements for possible life-saving surgery.

And then Barsam disappears. Perturbed, Anna (who unlike her daughter
has never expressed any interest in things Armenian) traces his steps
via the local Armenian community and follows him to the capital city
of Erevan.

And there she more or less falls into an Armenian rabbit-hole,
carried along on a course of events that have been apparently plotted
out for her.

Her "guide," the vaguely sinister Sarkis (Simon Abkarian) drives her
to her father’s small village and then leaves her to the mercies of
the locals, who also appear to be in on whatever’s going on. The role
of protector/guide then falls to an ex-soldier and patriot named
Yervanth (Gerard Meylan) who negotiates Anna’s way through faux pas
and more serious troubles, and is determined to nurture her ethnic
rebirth (frequently asking, in so many words, "Are you feeling
Armenian yet?")

Anna is very, well, French about the whole thing, unimpressed and
often annoyed, and yet sympathetic. Her meandering voyage is
complicated when she attracts a travelling mate, a young woman named
Schake who supports her family by working as a stripper, and who is
desperate to have Anna sponsor her move to France.

Along with her general antipathy toward her native land, Schake has
another reason to leave — she’s run afoul of local gangsters who are
smuggling pharmaceuticals, leading to one of Journey to Armenia’s
most dissonant and incongruous scenes — in which Anna grabs
someone’s gun during an attack and shoots three thugs (turns out she
used to belong to a gun club).

Thus does Anna’s voyage dovetail with another’s. Both she and Schake
must come to understand this historically beleaguered country better
before the end of the movie. And it’s going to involve many more
images of (Turkish controlled) Mount Ararat, as well as didactic
dialogue invoking the 1915 genocide and the 1988 earthquake.

Armenian-ness, it turns out, comes to one as an epiphany — one you
non-Armenians may not actually experience as you watch Journey to
Armenia. But at least you’ll have painlessly learned a thing or two.

Book presentation at the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
North America

armradio.am
14.07.2007 11:56

Under the auspices of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, the book presentation
of Archbishop Arsen Berberian: "A History of Armenian-Anglican United
Church in 1841 – 1905" will take place at on Wednesday, July 25 2007,
at the Kalaydjian Hall of the Diocese. The author will present the
book. Prof. Dr. Gevorg Kherlopian, poet Grish Davtian will elaborate on
the book. There will be cultural program. There will be exhibition and
sales of paintings, the income of which will be provided for production
of CDs containing spiritual songs by great singer Gohar Gasparian.

YEREVAN PYUNIK IS IN LEAD OF TABLE OF CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT OF ARMENIAN FOOTBALL HIGHEST GROUP

Noyan Tapan
Jul 11 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The thirteenth stage of the Championship
of the Armenian Football Highest Group finished with the Pyunik –
Kilikia match on July 10. Pyunik defeated Kilikia with a record of
2:0. The following results were registered during the other matches
of this stage: Banants – Gandzasar 2:3, Shirak – Ulis 3:1, and Mika –
Ararat 2:2.

Pyunik is in the lead of the tournament table with 31 points after the
thirteenth stage. Ararat has 26, Mika and Banants have 21 each, Shirak
18, Gandzasar 16, and, finally, Ulis and Kilikia have 5 points each.

The matches of the fourteenth stage are appointed on July 14.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

PRESIDENT OF THE ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT
UNION VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

His Holiness Aram I received the President of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU), Berj Setrakian in St. Mary’s Monastery in Bikfaya
on July 9.

The Pontiff and his guest met for about two hours discussing various
issues related to the Diaspora communities, Armenia-Diaspora relations, the
improvement of Armenian schools and other national issues.

The Catholicos praised the work carried out by AGBU, stressing the need to
achieve that on a pan-national scale and paying special attention to
Armenian schools in the Diaspora. On this occasion, Mr. Setrakian informed
His Holiness of the Union’s activities both in Armenia and the Diaspora.

ALL ARMENIAN YOUTH CONFERENCE TOUCHES UPON NATIONAL ISSUES FROM YOUTHS’ VIEWPOINTS, CHAIRMAN OF YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS’ ASSOCIATION MENTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Jul 09 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The two-day All Armenian International
Youth Conference, which started on July 9, is the first all Armenian
event that touches upon strengthening of Armenia-Diaspora and
Diaspora-Diaspora contacts from youths’ viewpoints. Atom Mkhitarian,
the Chairman of the Youth Organizations’ Association of the World
Armenian Congress (WAC), said in his interview to Noyan Tapan
correspondent. In his words, 300 young people from 45 NGOs of 25
countries take part in the conference being held on the initiative
of the WAC.

A. Mkhitarian said that by the first day’s program it is envisaged
to listen to reports under the title "The challenges of the 21st
century in the globalized world: the Armenian youth and the challenges
of the new century" and "The Armenian youth and Armenia-Diaspora,
Diaspora-Diaspora contacts."

It was mentioned that at the end of the conference all delegations will
have a possibility to take part in the creation of the Declaration,
by which the activity directions of the participant organizations
will be stipulated.

According to the speaker, already in a year, at the second conference,
the representatives of the delegations will account about the
fulfilment of the Declaration’s provisions.

COLLABORATORS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND KINDERGARTENS TO, HENCEFORTH, UNDERGO OBLIGATORY MEDICAL EXAMINATION

Noyan Tapan
Jul 09 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. In conformity with the RA Laws on
"Provision of sanitary-epidemical security for the RA population" and
"Medical assistance and Service for population", the RA government has
established the order of an obligatory preliminary (before employing)
and regular medical examination of health condition.

Artavazd Vanian, the Chief of the State Hygienic and Epidemiologic
Inspection of the RA Ministry of Health, informed journalists
that, henceforth, collaborators of educational institutions and
kindergartens, those who are engaged in toy production, as well as
family doctors should undergo an obligatory medical examination. These
examinations will be conducted mainly in order to prevent diseases
in medical-preventive institutions.

Artavazd Vanian also mentioned that according to the data of the
World Health Organization, one million people suffer from hepatitis
every year.

According to him, it is considered to be one of the main problems of
the Armenian health sphere and in this respect a number of workers
of the medical sphere, who are considered risk groups, should also
undergo an obligatory medical examination.

Artavazd Vanian declared that the epidemiological situation in the
republic is favourable and controllable. It was also mentioned that
60 thousand doses of vaccines have been injected against tularemia
and 20 thousand will be injected in the near future.