Author: Hakobian Adrine

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

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

RADANOVICH LEADS CONGRESSIONAL EFFORT TO URGE
SECRETARY OF STATE TO RECONSIDER RECALL OF AMB. EVANS

— Fresno Congressman Joined by Rep. Adam Schiff and
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone

WASHINGTON, DC – Four leading Congressional friends of Armenia,
George Radanovich (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional
Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI),
have strongly encouraged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to
reconsider the recall of Ambassador Evans, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a June 22nd letter, the legislators noted that "after months of
speculation," the recall of Ambassador Evans "was confirmed when
the President nominated Richard Hoagland to serve as the new United
States Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia on May 23. While
there has been no official acknowledgement that Ambassador Evans
removal was a result of his February 2005 statement that the
Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th Century, all
evidence points to that conclusion."

"We join with Armenian Americans across the country in thanking
Congressman Radanovich, Schiff, Pallone, and Knollenberg – the four
lead authors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution – for once again
taking the lead in challenging the State Department’s failed policy
of complicity in Turkey’s denial of this crime against all
humanity," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
"We share their belief that Ambassador Evans’ recall should be
reversed and look forward, in the days ahead, to learning more
about the circumstances behind this ill-advised, morally
unjustifiable, and increasingly controversial action."

The Congressional letter closed with the four legislators
expressing their belief that "the United States must formally
recognize the Armenian Genocide, and we will continue to work
towards that goal. Allowing John Evans to continue as Ambassador
to Armenia sends a strong message on the necessity of Turkish
recognition, and will be an important step in establishing the U.S.
position on the Armenian Genocide."

The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired
Amb. Evans in response to his February 2005 statements at Armenian
American community functions, during which he properly
characterized the Armenian Genocide as "genocide." Following his
statements, Amb. Evans was forced to issue a statement clarifying
that his references to the Armenian Genocide were his personal
views and did not represent a change in U.S. policy. He
subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a
reference to the genocide with the word "tragedy." The American
Foreign Service Association, which had decided to honor Amb. Evans
with the "Christian A. Herter Award," recognizing creative thinking
and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service, reportedly
rescinded the award following pressure from the State Department in
the days leading up to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s visit to Washington, DC to meet with President Bush.

The full text of the letter to Secretary Rice is provided below.

#####

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary
United States Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

We are writing to reiterate our concern over the recall of U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia John Evans. After months of speculation,
this action was confirmed when the President nominated Richard
Hoagland to serve as the new United States Ambassador to the
Republic of Armenia on May 23. While there has been no official
acknowledgement that Ambassador Evans removal was a result of his
February 2005 statement that the Armenian Genocide was the first
genocide of the 20th Century, all evidence points to that
conclusion.

After acknowledging the Armenian Genocide last year, Ambassador
Evans quickly issued a clarification in which he reassured the
public that U.S. policy on the issue remains unchanged. In so
doing, he clarified that his Genocide acknowledgement did not
represent the views of the State Department or the White House.
Despite these clarifications, Evans tenure as Ambassador has been
scheduled for a premature end.

It has been consistent U.S. policy to acknowledge and rebuke the
Ottoman Empires attempted annihilation of the Armenian people
during World War I. As recently as this past April, President Bush
called it one of the great tragedies of history. We strongly
encourage you to reconsider the recall of Ambassador Evans.
Allowing the Ambassador to remain in his post and complete his
tenure will demonstrate to Turkey that the United States stands
firmly by this recognition, and that it wholly supports Turkish
recognition of the Genocide.

We believe that the United States must formally recognize the
Armenian Genocide, and we will continue to work towards that goal.
Allowing John Evans to continue as Ambassador to Armenia sends a
strong message on the necessity of Turkish recognition, and will be
an important step in establishing the U.S. position on the Armenian
Genocide.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns.

Sincerely,

George Radanovich (R-CA)
Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)

SOUTH CAUCASUS: ECONOMIC FORUM SHARES BEST PRACTICES
Haroutiun Khachatrian 6/23/06

EurasiaNet, NY
June 23 2006

A recent economic conference held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi
sought to lay the groundwork for closer regional cooperation among
the three South Caucaus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Regional economic integration was not formally on the agenda of the
June 1-2 conference, titled the International Monetary Fund and the
South Caucasus in the 21st Century. Participants officially explored
best practices as each state attempts to modernize its respective
economy. However, the underlying hope was that sharing experience would
provide an impulse for officials to explore integration opportunities
down the road, provided that existing political obstacles, including
the lack of a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh, are eventually
removed. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The regional IMF representatives from all three states – James McHugh
in Armenia, Basil Zavoico in Azerbaijan and Robert Christiansen in
Georgia – were featured participants, and all faced a diplomatically
delicate task of outlining economic problems without appearing
to overly criticize government policies and responses. While each
Caucasus country features specific development conditions, conference
attendees generally agreed that corruption and tax evasion were among
the most serious problems prevalent in all three states.

"A large shadow economy should be brought into the formal economy
through an efficient tax [system] and improved corporate governance,"
said McHugh, referring to the situation in Armenia.

Georgian Minister of Finance Aleksi Aleksishvili said Tbilisi had
managed to improve its revenue collection capabilities, while stressing
that the government has stopped a practice common during the first
months following the 2003 Rose Revolution, in which entrepreneurs
were arrested, only to be released after making substantial payments
to the state treasury.

The conference scrutinized the unique economic situation in Azerbaijan,
where oil and gas development is causing revenues to spike. Several
participants focused on the potential threat of "Dutch disease,"
in which a rapid rise of income from the energy sector renders other
economic sectors of a given state uncompetitive in the global market.

Given that only about 1 percent of Azerbaijan’s population is directly
involved in the oil sector, the energy windfall stands to be enjoyed
by relatively few Azerbaijanis. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive] Professor Sabit Bagirov, president of the Azerbaijan
Entrepreneurship Foundation, warned that social tension could grow
worse in the country. "In several years, we may face a situation that,
with huge oil revenues, still a great number of poor people are in the
country, and the unresolved Karabakh conflict will make their situation
even worse. This may [make] millions of people unhappy," Bagirov said.

Most participants avoided making direct comparisons about the successes
and failures of economic development in the Caucasus.

Tigran Sargsian, chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, was
perhaps the only participant who sought to place developments
in each individual state within a regional context. "Today, the
countries of the South Caucasus live similarly badly and differently
well," he said. Sargsian highlighted differences among the three
Caucasus countries. For example, according to Sargsian, Armenia was
recognized as a leader in terms of market reforms, while possessing
a bad record on poverty reduction. Georgia, meanwhile, was labelled
as more competitive than Armenia. Yet at the same time, Tbilisi must
struggle with a deficit of power producing capacity.

Given the underlying political differences, it did not come as a
surprise to participants when Sargsian’s analysis was characterized
by Azer Alasgarov, an Azerbaijani National Bank official, as
"politicized."

"I agree with your critical notions, but I would like the Azerbaijani
National Bank to have presented its own vision of the situation,"
was Sargsian’s answer. The conference was organized by the Caucasus
Research Resource Centers, the IMF and the National Bank of Georgia.

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

ROTATION IN THE MINSK GROUP WILL NOT HINDER NEGOTIATIONS
"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.06.2006 GMT+04:00

Coincidence of the change of American co-chairman and the appointment
of new U.S. Ambassadors in Baku and Yerevan was not accidental.

The new American co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group will take up
duties not earlier than June 27th. On this day he will be introduced
to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna. It is noteworthy that on Thursday
it was officially confirmed that the U.S. State Department appointed
Mathew Bryza a representative of Minsk group. Previously, Mathew Bryza
occupied the post of the deputy assistant of the State Secretary for
Europe and Eurasia.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Change of the co-chairman should not mean that
American diplomacy is shifting accents in "Karabakh" policy. It
is an ordinary rotation which regularly takes place in the Minsk
group. Americans change their representative once in about two years.

(Steven Mann was appointed in April, 2004). France and Russia
do that more seldom. Mathew Bryza will become the 6th American
representative. It is noticeable that the rotation usually takes
place after an unsuccessful round of negotiations. A new person brings
new ideas.

But up to now rotation has not brought to any changes in the strategy
of American mediators. U.S. interests in the region remain unchanged
even after the change of presidents. Thus, little depends on the
co-chairman’s personality. However, in this case one can notice
preconditions for global changes of the American politics in the
region. The thing is that the rotation of the Minsk group co-chairman
coincided with the appointment of new Ambassadors in Baku and
Yerevan. And this is of course not accidental. (Both ambassadors have
been appointed but have not visited capitals). The State Department
is changing all the three diplomats responsible for the execution of
Washington’s policy in the South-Eastern Caucasus.

This can prove serious changes in the tactic of American diplomacy
where current priorities are first of all connected with the
development of situation in Iran.

Thus, the new person coming in to the Minsk group does not have
his predecessor’s deep knowledge of the negotiation process and the
essence of the conflict.

Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert are all interested in the question –
whether the new co-chairman’s appointment will hinder the negotiation
process.

Worries on this issue are well-grounded. What is significant is
that Mathew Bryza himself asserts that "regulation of the conflict
is possible during this year". He also says that currently parties
are negotiating a very encouraging draft of a document.

Braveness of the diplomat’s judgments may look vulgar, since for
the beginning he would need to get deeper in the state of affairs
and analyze the information on what had been happening in the Minsk
group before him.

However, it looks like Bryze was doing that during the past three-four
months. His indirect participation in the negotiation process became
noticeable yet late in winter. His appointment was not unexpected
for Yerevan and Baku since his deep interest in the Karabakh conflict
allowed guessing that he was to become Steven Mann’s successor. Since
the beginning of this year Bryza has twice visited the region and had
meetings with Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharyan with whom he discussed
Karabakh problem. He also accompanied mediators during their last
visit. Thus, there can be no doubts that Bryza is already enough
prepared and there is no need to expect stoppage in the negotiation
process.

By the way, it is worth mentioning that the diplomatic level of Mathew
Bryza is quite high which testifies to the fact that Washington assigns
importance to the settlement of Karabakh conflict. At the same time,
it is obvious that the State Department valued the professionalism of
Bryza’s predecessor who was appointed to quite a high post. Currently,
Steven Mann is the State Secretary’s assistant for Asian affairs.

Certain political forces in Azerbaijan usually try to make use of
changes in the Minsk group for raising the issue of reviewing the
negotiations’ format and the mediatory mission staff. Azeris have
repeatedly tried to discredit countries which are at the head of the
Minsk group, accusing them of injustice. However, the attempts to
bring the negotiation process out of OSCE into the frames of other
international organizations do not have any prospects. The mediatory
mission’s format was agreed on the 26th of March, 1922 by the decision
of OSCE summit and was indirectly approved by four UN resolutions. The
group which is authorized to deal with Karabakh conflict regulation
was formed by the membership of the following countries: Bulgaria,
Germany, Italy, Russia, USA, Turkey, France, Czechoslovakia and
Sweden. Besides, it was decided to involve elected representatives
from Nagorno Karabakh, as an interested party.

At the beginning the Minsk group was headed by one chairman. It was
headed by a certain diplomat and not a country. The first chairman of
the group was Italian Mario Rafaelly. Later on he was substituted by
Yan Elliason from Sweden. The institute of co-chairmen was formed in
1944. Since then, the group has been headed by states and not certain
persons. Azeris often raise the issue of Russia’s withdrawal from
co-chairmanship, arguing it by Russia’s partnership with Armenia.

However, those attempts are senseless since the OSCE summit has
appointed Russia as a permanent co-chairman of the Minsk group and
Minsk conference. Besides, the second co-chairman state was appointed
by the rotation principle. At first co-presided with Stockholm, then
with Helsinki. Triple co-chairmanship of Russia, USA and France was
approved in December 1996. None of the mentioned three countries
is able to reconsider the format. It is worth mentioning that no
international organization has ever put to doubt the efficiency of
the Minsk group’s efforts. UN, PACE and European parliament have
all approved resolutions where they expressed their full trust and
support to the mediators’ activities. Thus, there are no grounds to
expect changes in the staff of co-chairmen within the coming years.

EXPERTS’ REPORT ON A-320 CRASH TO BE PROVIDED AFTER INVESTIGATIONS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 20 2006

Yerevan, June 19. /ARKA/. An experts report on the causes of the crash
of the Armenian airplane A-320 will be provided after investigations
and analyses, reported Gayane Davtyan, Press Secretary of the RA
Civil Aviation Department.

According to her, on June 17 the Interstate Aviation Committee
completed deciphering the black box of the plane and synchronizing
the ground-based and airborne instruments.

"The airborne recorder contained information on eight flights from
April 30 to May 3, 2006. The record lasts 26 hours 20 minutes,
including the record of the last flight, 1 hour 26 minutes,"
Davtyan said.

The record showed that the plane was not destroyed in the air,
the engines were operating until the plane smashed into the water,
and the fuel was sufficient for a safe landing.

During the last minute, the flight was carried out in the "direct
crew control" regime with the autopilot operating.

The Commission started a comprehensive analysis to simulate the
flight and make a report on the real causes of the air crash and give
recommendations on flight safety, Davtyan said.

ANTHOLOGY OF IRANIAN CONTEMPORARY POETRY PUBLISHED IN ARMENIA

Mehr News Agency, Iran
June 20 2006

TEHRAN, June 20 (MNA) – An anthology of Iranian contemporary poetry
entitled "The Rise of the Prophet" was published in Armenia.

Translated into Armenian by Edward Haqwerdian, the book contains the
works of post-Islamic Revolution bards, including Mehdi Soheili,
Ali Musavi Garmarudi, Qeisar Aminpur, Bahman Salehi, and Tahereh
Saffarzadeh.

The introduction written by Iran’s Cultural Attache Reza Atufi reads
that Iran’s Islamic Revolution has helped raise the status of Persian
poetry and literature throughout the world.

The book gives a strong warning to those, who have recently desecrated
Prophet Muhammad (S) in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

PAPER WILLS WITH THE EXPECTATION OF STONE HOUSES

A1+
[03:25 pm] 20 June, 2006

Today is the World Refugee Day. According to the representatives
of the Yerevan department of "Cringo" Network more than 1.5 million
refugees and displaced people because of the conflicts existing in
the Caucasian region look forward to reliable and favorable solution
to their matter; either local integration or return to their homeland.

"Cringo" wants to put the issue of providing the above mentioned people
with houses on the agenda as a fundamental issue of human rights,"
pointed out Seyran Martirosyan, member of the coordinating council.

About 235 000 refugees settled in Armenia, 70 – 75 thousand adopted
Armenian citizenship and 60 – 70 thousand live abroad.

NGOs of "Cringo" Network will initiate a campaign all over the Caucasus
on June 12 – 20. Seyran Martirosyan claims that one of their first
steps will be the screening and demonstrating the housing conditions
of the refugees and displaced people in three cities – Yerevan,
Tbilisi and Baku. They sent a message to all interested persons and
circles of society reflecting the general picture and analysis of
the refugees and displaced people in the corresponding regions of
North and South Caucasus. Besides, 3000 symbolic hoses were made by
children and distributed in all regions which attracted everybody’s
attention. "This action is aimed at reminding the decision makers
that a large percent of refugees and displaced people in the Caucasus
live in collective settlements and are deprived of their fundamental
right to have a shelter." Though many people suffer from poverty in
the Caucasus there are special issues relating to displaced people
who are the most vulnerable layer of the society. One of them is the
issue of dwelling places," noted Seyran Martirosyan.

By the way, they underlined the fact that on the one hand the prices
of houses are going up rapidly in the market, and on the other houses
are fewer nowadays.

Thus the solution of the disputed issue lingers.

NEW ARMENIAN STRUCTURE IN MOSCOW

A1+
[07:23 pm] 19 June, 2006

The Conference of the Union for Friendship and Cooperation with Armenia
took place in Moscow. It was decided during the conference that the
Union will be converted into an inter-regional structure and will
change its name. Newspaper "Yerkramas" informed that the center of
"people’s democracy" will be called Union for the friendship and
Cooperation of Russia and Armenia. Russian writer and politician
Victor Krivopuskov was re-elected head if the structure.

The Conference adopted a decision to apply to the RF Government
in order to condemn the destruction of the four thousand Armenian
khachkars destroyed by the Azeri Government in Old Julfa.

The Conference also adopted a statement condemning the frequent
murders of foreigners in Russia.

YEREVAN-BATUMI PASSENGER TRAIN TO FUNCTION FROM JUNE 17

Noyan Tapan
Jun 16 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The Yerevan-Batumi train and the one for
the opposite direction will function from June 17. As the Noyan Tapan
correspondent was informed by the RA Transport and Communitcation
Ministry, the train will have 6 double and four-seat compartments
and 1 restaurant-car.

In the case of being moved by a train of the Armenian railway, a
one-way ticket for a double sleeping compartment will be 18 thousand
703 drams (about 44.5 U.S. dollars), and for four-seat compartment
will be 9 thousand 297 drams. Tariffs for transportation implemented
by the Georgian railway will, correspondingly, make 21 thousand 256
and 10 thousand 542 drams.

Congressional Record: June 15, 2006 (House)]
> > From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access
> > [wais.access.gpo.gov]

TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, next week the European Union will begin
conducting membership negotiations with Turkey. As this process begins,
it is important that the EU not allow Turkey to take any shortcuts. I
am confident the European Union will insist Turkey follow all the
proper steps and make the substantial changes necessary in many areas
before the nation could ever be accepted.

To date, I do not believe Turkey has made substantial and meaningful
progress in many of the areas that are of concern to members of
the European Union. Despite making commitments for its membership
negotiations, Turkey’s lack of progress in adhering to essential
democratic principles is of great concern. It continues to be in
breach of the pace and standards set forth under initial agreements
with the EU. In fact, the EU has prepared a report criticizing Turkey’s
reform process.

During next week’s meetings, the European Union must demand answers
from the Turkish government as to why the nation is not meeting
benchmarks it agreed to in order to receive EU consideration. The EU
must also begin to seriously explore Turkey’s continued disregard
for improving fundamental freedoms within its boundaries, freedoms
that are commonplace throughout the European Union.

There is no question Turkey is going to be forced and should be forced
to make dramatic improvements in these areas before it can ever be
considered for EU membership. The EU must also consider Turkey’s
relations with its neighbors. I remain a vocal critic of Turkey’s
treatment of both Armenia and Cyprus, and believe that these issues
must also be addressed during next week’s discussions.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about Turkey’s lack of progress in
the diplomatic recognition of Armenia, the removal of its blockade
against Armenia, and ending its official policy of denial of the
Armenian genocide by coming to terms with it, an irrefutable historical
fact affirmed by an increasing number of EU member states and European
institutions.

Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the systematic killing of 1.5 million
Armenians has no limits. Just last month, Turkey pulled out of a NATO
exercise because the Canadian Prime Minister used the term "genocide"
in reference to the massacre. Prior to that, the Turkish Ambassador to
France was temporarily removed from the country as an act of protest
against a French law making it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide.

This type of behavior goes on and on. Five journalists who criticized
a court’s decision to cancel a conference on the genocide were
arrested. A leading Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was also arrested
and charged with insulting Turkey’s identity for referring to the
Armenian genocide. Clearly, Turkey’s protection of the fundamental
freedoms of a democracy is simply inadequate.

Now, meanwhile, Turkey continues to illegally occupy the northern
third of Cyprus. In 2001, the European Court of Human Rights rebuked
the Turkish government when the court overwhelmingly found Turkey
guilty of massive human rights violations in a scathing 146-page
decision. The court concluded Turkey has not done enough to investigate
the whereabouts of Greek-Cypriot missing persons who disappeared
during life-threatening situations after the occupation.

The findings of the European Court of Human Rights should be taken
very seriously by the EU, and the Turkish government should be forced
to respond to these devastating charges before even being considered
for membership.

Turkey must also agree to once again come to the table and negotiate
in good faith with Cyprus. Turkey simply cannot be admitted to the
European Union if Cyprus remains divided and Turkish troops are
still there.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in adding their support
to a letter I am circulating with my colleague, Carolyn Maloney of
New York. We will soon send a letter to Jose Manuel Barroso, President
of the European Commission, to express many of these same concerns. I
also strongly urge President Bush to personally raise these concerns
with President Barroso.

It is imperative Turkey’s progress is measured on the basis of its
complete accomplishment of all necessary criteria set forth by the
European Union.

ANCA WELCOMES ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT TO BLOCK US SUBSIDY FOR ARMENIA RAILROAD BYPASS

ArmRadio.am
15.06.2006 11:03

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed the
vote by a powerful Congressional panel to block US taxpayer funding
for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and
Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process,
undermine the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad
route through Armenia.

With a unanimous voice vote earlier today, the House Financial
Services Committee adopted the amendment offered by panel member Joe
Crowley. The measure prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing
any assistance "to develop or promote any rail

connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect
Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that
specifically exclude cities in Armenia."

"We thank Congressman Crowley, his colleagues Ed Royce and Brad
Sherman, and all the members of the Financial Services Committee for
protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and
over-priced railroad project that – at the insistence of Turkey and
Azerbaijan – has been proposed solely to exclude Armenia," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.