Author: Harutyunian Christine

ARMENIAN EXPERT DOES NOT EXCLUDE THAT IRAN CAN HAMPER TURKISH TROOPS’ INVADING INTO NORTH IRAQ

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Iran can hamper possible invasion
of Turkish troops into North Iraq. Independent expert Sergei
Shakariants stated at the October 23 press conference. According
to him, the Turkish military elite is waiting for manifestation of
official Tehran’s position in the issue of possible invasion of North
Iraq. However, official Tehran is known not to have expressed its
attitude yet to the events near the Turkish-Iraqi border.

"When Turks say that they expect concrete steps from the U.S. or the
Iraqi government, they are lying. Indeed they are looking at Iran,
which has always put obstacles in their way in the issue of invading
into the territory of North Iraq," the expert stated. He mentioned
that in 2003 and 2005, parallel with aggravation of the situation
on the Turkish-Iraqi border, Iranian army’s subdivisions started to
move along eastern borders of Turkey. According to S. Shakariants,
the reason of Iran’s such conduct was its being not interested in
possibility of Turkey’s taking control of Iraqi populated areas,
Kirkuk and Mosul rich in oil.

He did not exclude the fact that the U.S. can involve Iran into
the conflict between Turkey and Kurdish militants. In particular,
an occasion for this can be the flight of one of Kurdish detachments
to Iran and its further stay in its territory.

It should be mentioned that the situation has aggravated on the
Turkish-Iraqi border lately. In this connection the Turkish parliament
has already approved a governmental bill allowing the army to perform
a military operation against Kurdish militants in North Iraq within a
year. Turkey blames the Iraqi government for its being insufficiently
active in neutralization of Kurdish militants quartered in the north
regions of the country, from where they make armed sallies upon the
Turkish territory.

The Armenian Weekly On-Line
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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 73, No. 42; Oct. 20, 2007

Community:

1. A Lingering Community, Ecclesiastic Politics and Regional Conflict
The Fate of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem
By Andy Turpin

2. Pity This Poor Accidental Tourist
By Tom Vartabedian

3. Der Arshag Daghlian Celebrates 40th Anniversary
By Tom Vartabedian

4. Orhan Pamuk: Armenian Genocide Is a Moral Issue
By Khatchig Mouradian

***

1. A Lingering Community, Ecclesiastic Politics and Regional Conflict
The Fate of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem
By Andy Turpin

BELMONT, Mass. (A.W.)-On Oct. 11, Bedross Der Matossian, a graduate student
at Columbia University, gave a talk at the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR) Center titled, "The Armenian Quarter in
Jerusalem: Past, Present and Future."

NAASR’s director of programs and publications, Marc A. Mamigonian,
introduced Der Matossian, who then said his lecture would focus on three
topics: the British Mandate Period of Palestine (1923-48); the relationship
between the different governments and the Jerusalem Armenian Patriarchate,
and the Patriarchate and Armenian laity community of Jerusalem; and the
current challenges facing the Armenian community of Jerusalem.

"I want to start from an important period-1863," Der Matossian said, "which
was a crucial point for Armenians in the Ottoman Empire because that’s when
they ratified their own constitution."

"But this constitution didn’t affect Jerusalem itself. Even before the
genocide there were 2,000 to 3,000 Armenians living in Palestine in
different cities," he explained. "The Kemalist offensive in 1920 was the
greatest factor in Armenian immigration to Palestine."

Der Matossian said the Mandate period was an exemplary epoch for gathering
and keeping records. "There were too many censuses then," he said.
"Palestine during the British period was divided primarily into the North
and South districts. They give us an idea, although they’re not entirely
accurate because we know a lot of Armenians entered Jerusalem illegally then
looking for job opportunities in Palestine."

Very few records exist from 1910-21, Der Matossian explained, because there
was no leadership; the Armenian National Assembly had decided in 1908 to
impeach the Patriarchate for mismanagement, and for the next 13 years, there
was no Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

It was during the Mandate period that two important orphanages supported by
the AGBU were established for Armenians. "This is also the time in which the
[Armenian] Brotherhood constitution was ratified to vest authority in the
Brotherhood itself. In seven years, they were able to decrease the debt of
the Brotherhood and buy several properties in West Jerusalem."

"In 1921, we also see a revival in Armenian cultural and educational
institutions," he said. "It is just extraordinary dealing with the Palestine
Post to see the Armenian involvement in society and sports. The orphans
themselves formed a Union! The Armenians were competing on the 1st League in
football and boxing." Reading a brief 1930s-era excerpt from the Post, Der
Matossian read how "Boxer Mardo" became the Near East champion after
defeating the previous champion from Egypt.

He explained the demographic breakdown of the Jerusalem Armenian community.
"Most [immigrants] didn’t come to Jerusalem with money, only their crafts.
Many more had shops in West Jerusalem [outside the Old City]. During this
period, the New City began to develop. A class emerged among Armenians who
began to acquire houses outside the [Armenian] Quarter." Der Matossian’s own
family lived in the Armenian Quarter-12 to 15 people in one room.

While during the Mandate, the Armenian Patriarchate kept good relations with
the British, those relations changed after the Mandate ended in 1948. "The
Cold War became a contested place for Jerusalem, between the Sees of
Etchmiadzin and Cilicia," Der Matossian said.

"It is reasonable to say that the lack of a unified body to voice complaints
is crucial to community decline," he explained. "It is clear that the
Armenian Patriarchate during the 20th century was apprehensive to see the
forming of a unified laity body."

"And the reality today is that it’s not easy for any church organization to
intercede on the part of the laity because the churches have their own
problems with the Israeli government."

Speaking to the daily-life realties and hardships Armenians face living in
Jerusalem, Der Matossian said, "You can’t marry an Armenian from Lebanon, in
that you can’t bring your spouse to Jerusalem. The community is too small,
the number of men is five times greater than that of the women, and the
marriage rate is low."

Jerusalem-Armenians also lack a defined status. "I have no citizenship," he
said. "I have a travel document. I have no citizenship." Der Matossian added
that his travel document is the same issued to Palestinians in East
Jerusalem. "I have the same document they do," he said.

According to Der Matossian, business politics is integral to understanding
the decline of the Armenian community there. "Everyone left because of the
situation," he said. "If you want to rent from an Israeli, you can’t because
you’re not a citizen." The high price of real estate in Jerusalem also keeps
Armenians from buying houses. "The Armenian community is one of the richest
real estate wise, but they are not benefiting." Der Matossian maligned. "It
is very difficult for an Armenian to buy a house in West Jerusalem."

"There are empty compounds in the quarter itself and the Patriarchate is not
encouraging the re-population of Armenians in Jerusalem," he derided.

Speaking to the history of numerous buyouts of Armenian Quarter properties
by the Israeli government, Der Matossian said that one of the reasons they
occurs is "the lack of transparency involving the Patriarchate and real
estate." He suggested forming an Advisory Council-one run not by Etchmiadzin
or Antelias but by the Armenian diaspora-to help remedy the current
situation. The Council, he said, could be charged with evaluating the
"living conditions of the population and the equal distribution of
resources." Creating such an entity "needs to be done soon," he implored.
"It should be the diaspora’s mission to challenge any decision made on the
future of the Armenian Quarter."

Der Matossian also made clear that "clinging to party and ideology has
failed in the past and will fail again. Partisan representation would be
inadvisable to avoid what has happened before in particular during the Cold
War."

During the question and answer session, Der Matossian was asked about the
status of the other Christian communities in Jerusalem, as compared to the
Armenian community. He noted, "The Latin community is doing a great job.
They’ve built a tract of land and they are building small communities. They
have the Vatican supporting them."

Relations between the Greek Patriarchs of ethnic and national Greek descent,
and the Arab-Greek parishioners are strained, he said. "They are in a worse
situation. Jerusalem is a very tense place and these are very sophisticated
ecclesiastical politics."

Speaking about the new wave of priest immigration into Jerusalem, Der
Matossian said that most of the new priests are coming from Armenia. "Does
this mean in the future they will be more biased towards Etchmiadzin?" he
asked. "Once more, history will repeat itself unless there is an Advisory
Council to take part in the decision process."

"I used to think that Jerusalem-Armenians were apolitical before the
Genocide," he said. "But in 1908, the local community was against some
officials in the Patriarchate who were mismanaging its affairs. They weren’t
apolitical. Instead, they demonstrated and appealed to the local Ottoman
government."

Der Matossian ended with a call for involvement and community activism.

NAASR chair Nancy R. Kolligian stated in thanks, "Many of us have lost sight
of a treasure in Jerusalem. It’s important not to let this die."
————————————— ————————————————– —

2. Pity This Poor Accidental Tourist
By Tom Vartabedian

When it comes to travel, Steve Dulgarian stands as a roving tourist.

Together with wife Angele, he visits California at the drop of a hat to be
with family. When the call came to baby-sit, the two would jet to the West
Coast and fulfill their obligations as grandparents.

They would alternate that excursion with Armenia. They’ve been to the
homeland 10 times and to Historic Armenia twice, not to mention Israel,
Syria and Lebanon.

In doing so, they leave no stone unturned. They know the ropes, the
loopholes and the rigmarole. To say they are frequent flyers is an
understatement. Even
the birds in the sky know who they are.

But even the most seasoned travel veterans are apt to suffer a lapse now and
then.

The Dulgarians are still fuming over a recent experience in Italy.
They planned this junket for a year. They would board their flight in Boston
and fly Air France to Paris. From there, they would hop aboard an Alitalia
airline to Rome for-among other highlights-a public audience with the Pope
in Basilica Square.

The itinerary called for trips to Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Pompeii, the
Isle of Capri, gondola rides in Venice and finally to the island of San
Lazaro for a visit with the Mekhitarist Fathers.

It was to be the perfect venture, but wait!

No sooner did they arrive at Logan when they were hit by the news that their
flight had a "slight malfunction" and they were waiting to have it
rectified. Six hours later, they were given a soda and crackers, along with
some encouragement.

"Thank you for your patience," came a voice. "We hope to have you in the air
shortly."

Once air-bound, they didn’t count on all the other arrangements being
muddled. Connections were fouled in Paris and after arriving in Rome, a
planned tour guide was nowhere to be found. A taxi expense to the hotel cost
them an added $100.

But the worst was yet to come. Steve Dulgarian’s luggage never arrived. He
waved good-bye to it in Boston and never caught sight of it again. Inside
were clothes, toiletries, his treasured camera, pills, an iron and hair
dryer. Seems those last two items aren’t found in most Italian hotels.

For 14 days, they called and re-called daily. They contacted officials and
agents. All they got was an exercise in futility.

To make matters worse, Angele lost her favorite watch on a chair lift to the
mountains. Off it fell from her wrist to the depths below.

"It was pretty revolting," said Steve. "The suitcase simply disappeared out
of sight and nobody had an answer. For two weeks, I lived like a prisoner."

Too vain to buy another razor, not to mention the dear cost, he wound up
going shaveless for two weeks. People in his tour group had the perfect
nickname for him. They called him "padre."

The only clothes he had was what he was wearing until his wife finally got
to a store four days later and shelled out $40 for underwear, another $40
for an extra shirt and $13 for a pair of socks.

She didn’t count on doing wash every other day at the hotel. And he didn’t
figure on walking all over Italy in leather shoes until his arches nearly
gave out.

Angele had her suitcase but her sneakers and shoes were in her husband’s
valise. The fact that there was identification on the suitcase didn’t much
matter. Two previous hassles with lost luggage were rectified after the
trip.

"It wouldn’t surprise me if someone lifted my suitcase," he surmised. "I
wasn’t the only one. Two others in our group had the same problem."

The paperwork he had to fill out was worse than an IRS form-pages and pages
of ridiculous data that spilled over three days. Receipts of all items in
the suitcase were being requested, regardless of date purchased.

"They wouldn’t listen to me on the telephone," he groaned. "I had to file
everything by mail-pages and pages of forms."

Next year is another year. The Dulgarians hope to make it a memorable one by
visiting Haiastan for the 11th year to mark their golden wedding
anniversary. They will be joined by four children and their spouses,
together with nine grandchildren.

How do they hope to solve their baggage woes?

"With an extra large carry-on," said Steve.
——————————————- ————————————————– ——-

3. Der Arshag Daghlian Celebrates 40th Anniversary
By Tom Vartabedian

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (A.W.)-Had Rev. Archpriest Arshag Daghlian not devoted
40 years of his life to the clergy, he would have been a mechanic.

He could have very well been the guy who repaired your car engine or worked
on some missile in a power plant.

Instead, he chose a life of God.

As he begins his fifth decade in the church, Der Arshag reflects upon his
long and distinguished career in the church with abundant sentiment and
deep-rooted conviction.

"It’s true," smiled the 86-year-old from his North Andover terrace. "I was a
pretty good mechanic in my day and loved working with my hands."

The alternative career lasted through his marriage to Yeretsgin Lucy and
three children before he saw the guiding light. At the age of 40, he arrived
home one day and said to his family, "I’m entering the seminary."

The family was living in Lebanon at the time, close to the monastery at
Antilias. The Daghlian name was already familiar. All three children had
been attending the George Mardikian School there.

Der Arshag applied to the seminary two months later and was accepted without
haste. After completing his studies, he was ordained in Whitinsville in 1967
by His Holiness Archbishop Hrant Khatchadourian.

"There was a shortage of priests," Lucy recalled. "I was surprised but not
totally amazed by his decision. I could see the happiness in his eyes."

He launched his ministry at St. Paul’s Armenian Church in Waukegan, Ill.
Three years later, he packed his bags-and a family of five kids-and headed
out to North Andover where the Armenian faithful had purchased a church they
called St. Gregory.

He remained here 15 years (1970-85), longer than any other pastor, before
leaving to take on a different role as a "traveling priest."

Over the next 20 years, Rev. Daghlian spent so much time in the sky that
even the birds were familiar to him. He wound up serving 19 different
churches throughout the country, as far south as Florida and as far west as
Illinois and Wisconsin.

Paying no heed to age, he would embark from Logan every Saturday toward a
new destination and return the next day after celebrating Badarak. If there
was a Sunday banquet, he’d delay his flight to Monday.

Over that time, he maintained an impeccable record toward consistency.
Blizzards. Hurricane warnings. Delays of every magnitude. Excruciating
inspection lines. And lingering layovers. Airport food was a far cry from
the home-cooked Armenian food to which he was accustomed.

"The only Sunday he ever missed was when he came down with pneumonia and we
wouldn’t let him travel," said daughter Sonia, a registered nurse at
Lawrence General Hospital. "People loved my dad because of his honesty. That
made him so very special."

On occasion, Lucy would accompany him, but in most instances he was alone.
Two years ago-at the ripe age of 84-he decided it was enough.

But not his service as a venerable archpriest. He’s often seen on the altar
of St. Gregory’s in some capacity or whenever there’s a need, always held in
the highest of esteem by Der Vartan as "my senior colleague."

A particular focus was paid to the elderly and infirmed not to exclude
schoolchildren and those in between.

"I always took a particular interest in patients who were bedridden," he
brought out. "The fact my whole family has been involved with the church is
particularly gratifying."

Son John became an ordained deacon who has served his father numerous times.
Other children include Nora Sarajian, a civil engineer much like her
brother, and Houry, a doctor of pharmacy. A daughter Aida Chareth died in
2000 after working as a technical writer.

Ironically, all five children graduated from Merrimack College, North
Andover, where Der Arshag has taken a number of theological classes. The
family also includes seven grandchildren, one of whom is also attending
Merrimack.

His favorite pastimes these days are beating opponents in tavlou and
following his grandchildren at AYF Olympics and other endeavors as well as
reading and writing.

"A Sunday never went by when I didn’t feel spiritually fulfilled." Der
Arshag maintained. "It’s been a wonderful opportunity to serve God and my
country."
———————————- ————————————————– —

4. Orhan Pamuk: Armenian Genocide Is a Moral Issue
By Khatchig Mouradian

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Answering a question from the audience during his book
reading on Oct. 12 at the Memorial Church organized by the Harvard
Bookstore, Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk said that for him, the Armenian
genocide is a personal and moral issue that needs to be discussed freely in
Turkey.

When the question, "What do you think about the Armenian genocide resolution
in the U.S. Congress?" was asked, Pamuk said, "I was expecting this
question." After being interrupted by laughter from the audience, Pamuk
noted, "Don’t worry, I’ll get out of it." He went on to say, "For me, it’s a
moral issue, it’s a personal issue. for me it’s an issue of free
speech-which we don’t totally have-in Turkey." "The Turkish people should be
able to freely discuss" this issue, he noted.

Pamuk added, "I basically think it is upsetting that this issue is getting
to be an arm-twisting issue [between states] rather than a moral/free speech
issue in Turkey."

Orhan Pamuk was in Cambridge to read from his newly published book Other
Colors: Essays and a Story (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007). Pamuk is the winner of
the 2006 Nobel Literature prize. In 2005, he was charged "insulting
Turkishness" under Turkey’s notorious Article 301 for saying in an interview
with a Swiss magazine, "Thirty thousand Kurds, and a million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it." The charges were
later dropped.

NANCY PELOSI SHOULD BE TRIED FOR TREASON
By: Tiara C. Fuller

The Daily Utah Chronicle, UT
torage/paper244/news/2007/10/22/Opinion/Nancy.Pelo si.Should.Be.Tried.For.Treason-3046774.shtml
Oct 22 2007

Nancy Pelosi has been pushing for a vote on the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.B. 106), which was introduced to congress demanding
the recognition and renunciation of Turkey’s actions regarding the
genocide of more than a million Armenians in 1915.

At first glance, this bill seems trivial. Why does she want Congress to
vote on this now? Is she trying to improve her image? Everyone agrees
that genocide is deplorable. What does she hope to gain from this
vote? The U.S. condemnation is nothing more than a symbolic gesture. It
won’t change what happened-it won’t change anything. Or will it?

Unfortunately, more sinister motives are at work.

If one looks deeper into this resolution, he or she would find a
treasonous plot lurking under the guise of philanthropic, moral
obligation.

The Armenian Genocide occurred in 1915. History shows that the country
of Turkey did not exist then-it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

So why is she trying to blame Turkey for the actions of a former
government nearly a century ago?

The bill originally had 225 co-sponsors who quickly withdrew support
once they recognized the true intent of this bill.

This resolution is not intended to give recognition to the Armenian
population for the grievances they suffered. It aims to undermine
the war in Iraq.

Now, Turkey is gracious enough to provide logistical support for
the war in Iraq and our only supply route to our troops. All their
food, oil, ammunition and other essential supplies flow from Turkey
into Iraq.

If Congress antagonizes Turkey by passing this bill, the whole scope
of our foreign relations with Turkey will be endangered, and our
brave men and women in uniform will be put in unnecessary peril.

To illustrate the validity of this point, I’ll give an example. About
a year ago, France passed a similar resolution condemning Turkey for
the mass killings of Armenians. Turkey promptly withdrew all military
contacts with that nation.

Knowing that fact, why would Pelosi even dream of endangering our
ties with Turkey?

I’ll tell you the reason. Pelosi and almost the entire Democrat Party
are so blinded by their hatred for President Bush that they would
risk our own troops in an effort to destroy him politically.

The worst thing for the Democrats would be for the United States
to actually be successful in this war and show that President Bush
is right.

The Democrats vowed they would end this war, but so far they have
not had enough support to accomplish their goal honestly.

If Congress can’t find enough support to stop the War on Terror,
then is should not be stopped.

Instead, it shows that it does not respect the support for this war or
the will of the people by scheming behind closed doors and misguided
resolutions to find any way to win-I mean lose-this war no matter
the cost.

The Democrats are consistently saying that they support the troops
and that is why they want them home.

That sentiment clearly plays no part in the latest round of political
maneuvering.

The adoption of this resolution would have vast and devastating
effects on our troops and future relations.

How many troops would die as a direct result of their supply chain
being cut off?

Not only would the troops lose their flow of supplies, but Turkey has
been threatening the Kurdish area of Northern Iraq and has strong
intentions of invading. Only our good terms with them are keeping
them at bay.

Attempting to ruin our relations with a potentially hostile country
is treasonous.

Treason is 1) the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to
harm or kill its sovereign or 2) an attempt to impair the well-being
of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or
comfort to the enemies of one’s government.

Has any act ever been so clear than the one currently being
attempted? Inciting a current ally to war clearly harms our government
and would give aid to our enemies.

Our troops would suddenly find themselves in a severely weakened
strategic position and ill-supplied to fight the war we sent them
to fight.

Political maneuvering has no place while our troops are in danger.

Nancy Pelosi and any other politician who supports this resolution
should be tried for treason.

IPS (Latin America)
October 17, 2007 Wednesday

US recognises as genocide the massive killings of Armenians in
Turkey;

TURKEY: Armenian Ghosts Refuse To Go Away

by Jacques N. Couvas

The sign has been on the wall for some time, as U.S. Armenians have
been trying for the last two decades to get an official condemnation
of Ottoman Turks for the atrocities perpetrated nine decades ago.

Armenians, a Christian minority community which together with the
Greeks and Jews formed the economic backbone of the Ottoman Empire
for many centuries, were from time to time subject to pogroms, often
encouraged by the state. Persecution became systematic towards the
end of the 19th century, and large-scale massacres took place in
1894-1896 and in 1909.

Following his defeat January 1915 by the Russians in a World War I
battle at Sarikemish, Ottoman minister of war Enver Pasha blamed the
Armenians for 'fifth column' activities that had advantaged
the enemy. In that battle in the Caucasian plateau, 85 percent of the
100,000 strong Ottoman force perished, chiefly because of Pasha’s
inexperience as military commander.

But it is also true that, as Russian forces were advancing into
Turkey from the East, Armenian factions had supported them, hoping to
gain independence for their ethnic group after the war.

In spring 1915, Enver and minister of interior Talaat Pasha rolled
out a programme to deter Armenian villages from collaborating with
the Allies. The Ottoman Empire fought World War I on the side of the
Germans and Austro-Hungarians.

On April 24 of that year, 250 Armenian intellectuals and community
leaders were rounded up, jailed and executed. In May, a deportation
law was passed, authorising massive displacements of Armenian
populations and confiscation of their property. Conscripts, serving
in the Ottoman army, were summarily dismissed and used as hamals,
low-ranking manual labour in worker battalions. Most of those who
survived mistreatment and famine were executed or disappeared.

Atrocities against Armenians in the countryside, particularly the
east, continued through the following year. Reports from the dozens
of British, German and U.S. consulates and missions spread throughout
Turkey at that time alerted the West about the violence taking place.

Henry Morgenthau Sr., U.S. ambassador to Constantinople, capital of
the Ottoman Empire, today’s Istanbul, reported extensively to
Washington on the situation and pleaded to Enver and Talaat to use
restraint, to no avail. The United States remained neutral in the war
until 1917.

Meanwhile, adventurer and author Gertrude Bell, on mission in the
region for the British intelligence services, persuaded the British
and their allies to protest to the Turkish government.

Morgenthau’s and Bell’s claims have been used by Western historians
to assess the extent of the massacre, and it seems they have been
corroborated by records of German diplomats and senior military staff
posted in the Middle East during the Great War.

According to Western historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians,
representing the majority of the ethnic group’s population at the
time, were driven to a long march through Mesopotamia in extremely
harsh conditions.

A large number, the exact magnitude of which has never been
established, died. Survivors escaped to neighbouring countries and to
the West. Kurdish tribes, enrolled as special gendarmes by the
Ottomans, were at the forefront in raping, torturing and slaughtering
the deportees.

The Turkish version of the events differs widely from that of the
foreign historians and the descendants of the Armenian diaspora.

Ankara has consistently minimised the gravity and size of the events,
describing them as an 'Armenian incident'. The number of
victims has periodically been revised downwards now to around
300,000. Turkey considers that this number is practically equal to
that of Muslims who died during the same period as a result of
intercultural clashes in that part of the country.

It is a fact that Armenians too stained their hands with enemy blood
during the 1918 riots at Baku in Azerbaijan, following earlier
massacres of Armenians by the Azeri population, which was allied to
the Turkish cause in World War I. Scholars of the Great War period in
the east tend to agree that the conflict brought out the worst of
human behaviour in all factions.

To minimise the damage to the image formed by international public
opinion, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has in recent years played
a realpolitik card, admitting that atrocities, even massacres, were
perpetrated under Ottoman rule, but that they were no longer
relevant.

In a pre-emptive move, following repeated attempts in 2000 and 2005
by the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution using the term genocide, it
has proposed that a mixed panel of Turkish and international
academics search official records and jointly present their findings.
'It is a matter for historians, not politicians,' is the
official view.

Foreign historians have not been forthcoming, as it is known that the
Ottoman administration was frugal in keeping meaningful records of
population displacements or measures affecting religious minorities.
The U.S. has been hesitant over the past 90 years to take a firm
position on the issue. Forty of the states in the U.S. have already
passed legislation or proclamations qualifying the events as
genocide, but only two presidents, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan,
have used this term in public. All U.S. presidents, including now
George Bush, have, however, used the Armenian-proposed figure of 1.5
million as the toll in victims.

Twenty countries and transnational organisations, including the
European Parliament and the European Council, have acknowledged the
genocide. The term was coined in 1943 by Prof. Raphael Lemkin, who
was motivated by the slaughters of Assyrians by Iraqis in 1933, the
Armenian massacres of World War I, and the Nazi extermination of
European Jews during World War II.

Retaliation by the Turkish government has been selective. Canadian
and Italian companies enjoy good business from the public sector,
although their respective countries have recognised the genocide.
France and Switzerland, on the other hand, have frequently been
excluded from such dealings because of their parliaments’ decisions
on the subject.

In 2006, French products were boycotted after legislators passed a
law forbidding denial of the Armenian genocide. France hosts the
second largest Armenian community after the U.S. It is estimated that
there are eight to 10 million Armenians living outside of their
country.

At the same time, reference to the Armenian genocide in Turkey is
taboo, and can lead to legal prosecution. Nobel Prize novelist Orhan
Pamuk and editor-in-chief Hrank Dink were brought to trial and faced
jail sentences for doing so. The latter was shot dead last year by a
Turkish nationalist.

The World War I killings encouraged the Allies to grant Armenians
their own land in 1918. The young Democratic Republic of Armenia
(DRA) had a short existence. Turkish troops invaded a large part of
the country in 1920, but a swift attack by the Bolsheviks from Russia
threw them back. In 1922 the DRA joined the Soviet Union until 1991,
when it recovered its independence from Moscow.

Armenia staged a protracted war against neighbouring Georgia in the
1990s and occupied the Nagorno Karabakh province, home of 150,000
Armenians. In retaliation Turkey closed its border with Armenia, a
diplomatic status still in effect. Isolation from its western flank
has, however, not affected Armenian trade. The country’s gross
domestic product per capita is 4,250 dollars, behind Turkey’s (5,400
dollars) but not all that bad by regional standards.

It is estimated that 40,000 to 70,000 Armenians live in Turkey today.
Many are clandestine workers. Proposals by Turkish politicians after
the U.S. House Committee resolution include expelling such
individuals.

USA Today
Oct 19 2007

Is old Armenia issue worth riling Turkey?

The Cincinnati Post in an editorial: "Other than placating (its)
Armenian-American constituents, it’s hard to tell what interest the
House Foreign Affairs Committee thought it was serving when it
approved, 27-21, a non-binding, wholly symbolic resolution condemning
as genocide the deaths of over a million Armenians when the Ottoman
Empire expelled them from eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923. …
The resolution infuriated modern Turkey, which, as President Bush and
eight former secretaries of State of both parties pointed out, is a
vital NATO ally. … If the Turks are … truly angry they can
legitimately cause us a lot of trouble in Iraq. … The expulsion of
the Armenians is a part of its history that Turkey has never come to
grips with, and even today reconciliation talks between Turkey and
Armenia are moving very slowly – but nonetheless moving – unless this
resolution impedes them."

(Photo – Pelosi: The House speaker, whose district has a large
Armenian population, pushed for the resolution. / By Tim Sloan,
AFP/Getty Images)

Portland (Maine) Press Herald, in an editorial: "Modern Turkey is an
important ally, a moderate Muslim country with a secular government
in one of the most sensitive areas of the world. It has a border with
Iraq, and its airspace and bases have been used to supply our forces
in that country. … Why should Congress act now, when it is clearly
upsetting to the present Turkish government? The answer is simple. We
should call it genocide because that is the truth. … The
(committee) was right to pursue this issue now. Given Turkey’s place
on the globe, there will probably never be a good time. If genocide
is a charge that can only be applied to our enemies, it loses all
meaning. The United States must be willing, when appropriate, to use
it against its friends if our country is to retain any moral
authority in matters of international law."

Chicago Tribune, in an editorial: "There is no shortage of pressing
issues deserving of congressional attention. … But (this) week,
some members were fixated on the distant past, examining terrible
events that occurred some 90 years ago during the disintegration of
the Ottoman Empire. … A political stunt like this will not bring
back the dead or punish the guilty. All it does is antagonize the
people and government of Turkey, who have been of crucial help to our
efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. … It suggests that Congress is
fundamentally unserious."

Richard Cohen, columnist, The Washington Post: "I would feel a lot
better about condemning this resolution if the argument wasn’t so
much about how we need Turkey and not at all about the truthfulness
of the matter. … It was done by a government that no longer exists.
… Even in 1915, it was an anachronism. … Its troops were
starving, and … indigenous peoples were declaring their
independence and rising in rebellion. Among them were the Armenians.
… By World War I, they were aiding Turkey’s enemy, Russia. Within
Turkey, Armenians were feared as a fifth column. … So contemporary
Turkey is entitled to insist that things are not so simple. If you
use the word genocide, it suggests the Holocaust – and that is not
what happened in the Ottoman Empire. But Turkey has gone beyond mere
quibbling with a word. It has taken issue with the facts and in ways
that cannot be condoned. … Call it genocide or call it something
else, but there is only one thing to call Turkey’s insistence that it
and its power will determine the truth: unacceptable."

The Boston Globe, in an editorial: "A resolution before Congress has
provoked an upsurge of nationalism that threatens U.S. interests and
would do nothing to lift Turkey’s willful amnesia. It should not be
pursued at this time. … The Turks need to begin an honest dialogue
about the birth of their nation. … Others can help by reminding
Turkey, in non-governmental settings, about the reality of the
genocide and by supporting Turks willing to examine their past.
Europeans are positioned to take the lead because of Turkey’s
aspirations to join the European Union. The House resolution, by
inciting the worst aspects of Turkish nationalism and creating
government-to-government friction, would delay a reckoning with
history."

d/2007/10/is-old-armenia-.html

Family Security Matters, NJ
Oct 19 2007

Playing Chicken with Turkey

By Bob Parks

Those on the anti-war Left have been reminding us for years that they
`support the troops’ but oppose the mission. Some of us contend that
you can’t do both, and I may have finally been proven right on this
one….

The United States Congress, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is trying to
pass a resolution condemning Turkey for the genocide of Armenians by
the Ottoman Turks…in 1915. Now while we hear the cries for Darfur,
our Congress is going to condemn Turkey, as it turns out for the
third time. This has resulted in the Turkish Ambassador being
recalled from Washington and relations between the United States and
Turkey are in trouble.

Why is this happening? Last Sunday on `This Week with George
Stephanopoulos,’ Stephanopoulos asked Speaker Pelosi: "If the
president, or Secretary Gates, or the chairman of Joint Chiefs called
you and said they’re just certain that this is going to put our
military at risk, is it still worth going forward with your
resolution?" Pelosi replied:

The president hasn’t called me on it, so that’s hypothetical. Some of
the things that are harmful to our troops relate to values: Abu
Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture, all of those issues about who we are as
a country. And I think that our troops are well served when we
declare who we are as a country and increase the respect that people
have for us as a nation.

Well, it’s great Speaker Pelosi cares so much about our image and
values. But some of you may be asking, `Why is our relationship with
Turkey anything we should care about?’

Turkey is one of the few truly moderate Muslim nations in the region.
Turkey allows us to fly over and drive through their country to
deliver supplies to our soldiers in Iraq. Because of the questionable
timing of Speaker Pelosi’s actions, Turkey may deny the United States
access – thus cutting off the most direct means of getting supplies
to our soldiers.

So why is she doing this?

The answer is quite clear. Reports are now coming in on a consistent
basis that we have crippled al Qaeda in Iraq. Reports are now coming
in on a consistent basis that The Surge is working and violence is
way down. Reports are now coming in on a consistent basis that fewer
of our soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying from insurgent
violence. In other words, people, we are winning.

The problem is MoveOn.org and the like are still sending out faxes
that we have lost the war. Democrat fundraising letters are still
going out saying we have lost the war. Liberal politicians on Capitol
Hill, and locally, are still saying we lost the war. The Left can’t
afford good news about the war, so it would appear Nancy Pelosi and
Congressional Democrats have decided to sabotage the war effort by
alienating an ally, thus the potential of cutting off supplies for
our own men and women in harm’s way.

So they can say they were right, they are seeing to it we will lose.
And let’s be clear: a loss means the probably death of hundreds more
of our soldiers.

So all that stuff we heard from the Left about us `going it alone’
and not reaching out to our allies for help was BS. All that stuff
we heard about liberals supporting the troops was BS.

The Democrats are playing chicken with Turkey. With our sons and
daughters fighting for their lives, now is not a good time to be
playing games.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Bob Parks is a
nationally syndicated political and social columnist. In addition to
writing radio commentary, Mr. Parks appears on the award-winning
television program, "Black & Right"

g/challenges.php?id=1385029

TV BOYCOTT OF PRESS CONFERENCES PROVES IMPERFECTION OF DEMOCRACY IN
ARMENIA, ARMEN RUSTAMIAN STATES

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the observation of Armen
Rustamian, a representative of the ARFD Supreme Body, the fact that it
is four days that TV companies’ press services have been boycotting
press conferences organized at journalist clubs proves imperfection of
democratic processes in Armenia. As he mentioned at the October 19
press conference, unless the fourth power is an independent institution
and there is a center, which can place a ban on its activity, "it means
that the country has big problems in the respect of democracy." As A.
Rustamian characterized it, by boycotting press conferences of various
politicians, the boycott organizers deprive the people of the
possibility to receive information, as well as fail the dispute format.
Promising that he will personally find out boycott’s reasons, A.
Rustamian stated that he will become "the most radical oppositionist"
in this issue.

In the ARFD representative’s words, the bodies and structures, which,
according to the law, should be independent and unbiassed, in general,
are not independent in Armenia. "For instance, a judge should be
dependent on the law and not those appointing and relieving him. The
National Assembly Control Chamber should also be really independent and
have an unbiassed chairman," A. Rustamian noted. Besides, according to
him, the laws should give the parliamentary minority a possibility to
influence the things, for the majority not to be able to thrust its
opinion upon the latter.

FRENCH BUSINESSMEN WHO ARRIVED IN ARMENIA WITH MAYOR OF MARSEILLES
INTEND TO PROMOTE BILATERAL ECONOMIC COOPEARTION

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. During the Yerevan meeting with the
mayor of Marseilles, senator Jean-Claude Gaudin, the Armenian president
Robert Kocharian appreciated the mayor’s consistent policy for the
benefit of Armenia and its people. According to information received
from the RA president’s press service, Jean-Claude Gaudin was one of
the first MPs to the discuss the issue of the Armenian Genocide at the
French Senate and played a considerable role in recognition of the
genocide by France.

The mayor stated he intends to strengthen the Armenian-French
friendship, expressing a desire to make every effort in this direction.
He said that a representative delegation of French businessmen has
arrived in Armenia with him with the aim of promoting the economic
cooperation and further developing the relations with the
French-Armenian chamber of commerce. The Armenian president pointed out
that several serious French companies are now operating in Armenia, and
the Armenian side is quite satisfied with their work.

While speaking about Armenian-French relations, Robert Kocharian
attached special importance to the powerful and well-organized Armenian
community of Marseilles, which, in the words of Jean-Claude Gaudin, has
integrated well into the society and made a great contribution to the
development of this city.

ADL DIRECTOR COUNTERS SOME OF THE ‘DEADLIEST LIES’ MAKING THE ROUNDS
Bryan Schwartzman, Staff Writer

Jewish Exponent, PA
Oct 18 2007

When it comes to the bitter dispute over whether the deaths of more
than a million Armenians at the hands of the Turks was, in fact,
an act of genocide, Abraham Foxman has a simple message for American
Jews: Butt out.

The national director of the Anti-Defamation League gave an Oct. 11
talk at Temple Sholom in Broomall that dealt primarily with the
arguments he advances in his new book, The Deadliest Lies: The Israel
Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control.

He barely touched on the Turkish issue in his lecture, but it’s
a matter with which he’s become identified. His Delaware County
appearance happened to fall on the same day that Turkey recalled its
ambassador to the United States after the U.S. House moved one step
closer to passing a resolution labeling the deaths as a genocide,
which Turkey has long denied.

"I think that, as painful as the Armenian experience was in 1915, the
way to reconcile it is not with a resolution in Congress," said Foxman
in an interview after his presentation. "I hope the American Jewish
community will also understand that it is not only counterproductive
to America’s best interests and to Israel’s best interests, but also
the best interests of Turkey’s Jewish community."

The ADL has faced heavy criticism from the Armenian-American community
for publicly opposing the proposed congressional resolution and
equivocating on whether or not the killing constituted a genocide.

Nearly two months ago, Watertown, Mass. — which has a large Armenian
population — severed ties with the ADL and its "No Place for Hate"
Program, protesting the ADL’s stance vis-a-vis Turkey. Foxman even
had a public spat with the head of ADL’s New England office, Andrew
Tarsy — who was fired soon afterward, but later rehired — over the
ADL position on the Armenian genocide.

Foxman added that representatives of the Turkish Jewish community
have lobbied U.S. Jewish organizations to stay out of the fray,
fearing that their own positions could be compromised. According
to news reports, Turkish officials have denied that Jews need fear
reprisals. For their part, other American Jewish groups have come
down on both sides concerning the congressional resolution.

Foxman spent most of his speech addressing worldwide anti-Semitism,
as well as explaining why he felt compelled to write his latest book,
The Deadliest Lies — essentially a response to the polemics of
former President Jimmy Carter, as well as authors and academicians
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.

The ADL director said that, while worldwide anti-Semitism is not as
rampant as it was leading up to World War II, things remain as bad
as they’ve been since that time.

Foxman cited everything from the statements of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the murders of Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl and French Jew Ilan Halimi as evidence that anti-Semitism
not only simmers on the back burner, but can boil over in a deadly way.

"Daniel Pearl was kidnapped as a journalist, but slaughtered as a
Jew," declared Foxman. "If you ignore anti-Semitism, if you deny it,
you give it credibility, you give it life."

Citing an internal ADL poll, Foxman told the audience that one in
three Americans believes that Jews are more loyal to Israel than
they are to the United States. He used statistics as a segue into
his rebuttal to Walt and Mearsheimer’s contentions about "The Israel
Lobby," as well as Carter’s use of the term "apartheid" to describe
the current situation in the West Bank.

"There’s a legitimate debate now, if you will, about a classic
anti-Semitic canard" — namely, the extent of Jewish power, said
Foxman.

He noted that, in response to Walt and Mearsheimer’s book, The Israel
Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, he’s been asked to respond to questions
about how loyal American Jews really are.

"How powerful are they? Do they control Washington, the Congress,
the media? Did they lead us to war in Iraq?" he said he’s been asked.

One audience member inquired about whether former Pentagon officials
Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle — who both pushed for invading Iraq
— somehow need to apologize for, in essence, giving Jews a bad name.

And did they add fuel to the fire of conspiracy theorists who felt
the United States went to war to protect Israel, largely on the advice
of Jewish officials?

"That’s nonsense. Don’t fall for it," he admonished. "You either
agree with their advice or you don’t.

"But to say we went to war because of the Jews … they did a job
and what they believed was in the best interests of the United States.

They are loyal American citizens."

icle/14304/

U.S. CAN BECOME A STATE DENYING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ALONG WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2007 18:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The problem is in Turkey, which is afraid of its
own history. But the failure to recognize and condemn the Armenian
Genocide was followed by the Holocaust, massacres in Cambodia and
Darfur…" AAA Country Director for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,
Arpi Vartanian said in an interview with PanARMENIAN. Net.

"Some say ‘leave it to the historians’. Well, first of all, history
has documented what took place. Rafael Lemkin used the events of 1915
as a basis for coining the term ‘genocide’. Numerous historians and
scholars, including genocide scholars have called this ‘genocide’
If the Armenian Genocide is not recognized, then must we go back
to the 1940s and deny Lemkin’s words, no longer recognize the word
genocide (because it was a word created, based on an event that did
not exist?)" she said

"The AAA, in fact, the entire Armenian-American community, is being
mobilized to aggressively combat this attack by Turkey. We are urging
all of our supporters to work even harder to counter Turkey’s campaign
of denial. No vote is being taken for granted and all supporters of
H.Res.106 are urged to once again contact their representatives, write
letters to various media to express their hope that the U.S. will not
succumb to Turkish blackmail and threats, to make sure that Members
understand this is about affirming the U.S. record, affirming and
recognizing the genocide, and that there is no ‘right time.’ If
the U.S. House of Representatives votes down the Armenian Genocide
resolution, it will mean that it joins Turkey’s denial campaign."

She said, "One of my favorite quotes follows:

"First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because
I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t
a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I
was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to
speak up for me."

Martin Niemoller, German pastor and a Nazi regime dissident, 1946."