Author: Hunanian Jack

UNITED ARMENIAN FUND
1101 N. Pacific Avenue # 301
Glendale, CA 91202
Tel: 818.241.8900
Fax: 818.241.6900
For Immediate Release
11 March 2006
UAF’s 137th Airlift Delivers
$3.6 Million of Aid to Armenia
Glendale, CA – The United Armenian Fund’s 137th airlift arrived
in Yerevan on March 11, delivering $3.6 million of humanitarian
assistance.
The UAF itself collected $2.9 of medicines and medical supplies for
this flight, most of which were donated by AmeriCares ($2,100,000);
Operation Blessing/Armenia Fund U.S.A. ($570,000); Brothers Brother
Foundation ($266,000) and Catholic Medical Mission Board ($39,000).
Other organizations which contributed goods for this airlift were:
Armenian General Benevolent Union ($213,000); Michael Der Boghosian
from Boston Medical Center ($166,000); Dr. Stephen Kashian ($65,000);
Nork Marash Medical Center ($42,000) and Armenian Missionary
Association of America ($28,000).
Also contributing to this airlift were: Howard Karagheusian
Commemorative Corp ($19,000): Armenian Relief Society ($15,000) and
Armenian American Health Association of Greater Washington ($9,000).
Since its inception in 1989, the UAF has sent $428 million of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia on board 137 airlifts and 1,285
sea containers.
The UAF is the collective effort of the Armenian Assembly of America,
the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary
Association of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of America and the Lincy Foundation.
For more information, contact the UAF office at 1101 North Pacific
Avenue, Suite 301, Glendale, CA 91202 or call (818) 241-8900.
###

SPANISH EX-FM ANNE PALACIO: “ARMENIA SHOULD FREE OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI LANDS”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 13 2006
“Russian military bases in the western Armenia and Georgia should
be closed, new Marshall Plan should be applied to entire Southern
Caucasus region and the Southern Caucasus countries should integrate
into Europe,” said Spanish ex-Foreign Minister Anne Palacio.
The US and Europe are called on to intensify attempts to fight
Russia’s shadow empire in the article by ex-foreign minister Anne
Palacio, the US representative of Marshall Foundation- Mr. Daniel
Twining. The Washington post article reads Russia still continues
imperialist policy against its neighbors.
“After the Cold War ended, Russian leaders created “empires” in the
sovereign countries and sponsor the “frozen conflicts” in Eastern
Europe and the Southern Caucasus”.
Spanish ex-minister touched upon Nagorno Garabagh conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia and stated that Russia has political and
military influence on this conflict.
“Western countries should support the agreement on settlement of the
Garabagh conflict. According to this agreement, Armenia should free
occupied Azerbaijani lands and autonomy status should be given to
Nagorno Garabagh till its status was determined through referendum.
Russian military bases in the western Armenia should be closed, new
Marshall Plan should be applied to entire Southern Caucasus region
and the Southern Caucasus countries should integrate into Europe”.

MAYOR OF YEREVAN: YEREVAN, VENICE TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN CULTURE IN NEAR FUTURE
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 17 2005
YEREVAN, October 17. /ARKA/. Yerevan and Venice will sign agreement
on cooperation in culture in the near future, Mayor of Yerevan
Yervand Zakharyan told journalists at the photo exhibition “Armenian
memories in Italy”. He said that this agreement will be signed
in two months. He said that photo exhibition held at the Yerevan
Municipality is only one link between Armenia and Venice. “We hope
we will strengthen relations between our cities, including trade and
economic cooperation”, Zakharyan said. Over 20 foreign cities are
the twin-cities of Yerevan.

SURPRISINGLY NOBEL PINTER
By Caroline Walters and Lianne Vella
Edinburgh Student Newspaper, UK
Oct 17 2005
Considering that in recent years Harold Pinter has been more known for
his politics than his plays, it seems surprising that this year’s Nobel
Prize Commitee has chosen him as the recipent of this lauded accolade.
The secretive Swedish Commitee have a massive 1.3 million euros
(c.£890,000) to give away. These judges consistently decide which
literary gods we should worship but have been known for their
unpredictability and the often, can we say, randomness of their
choices.
An example is last year’s controversial Elfriede Jelinek, famous for
The Piano Teacher. She’s only the tenth woman to ever win. A member of
the jury announced a year after the event, clearly he’s a slow reader,
that her books are “whingeing, unenjoyable, violent pornography”. Knut
Ahnlund decided to quit the academy in protest against their arbitrary
decisions, as he felt no-one had actually read Jelinek and would have
noted her explicit sexuality. She did cause controversy but her books
are interesting coming from someone who’s actually read them.
What should actually constitute an award-winning Nobel prize writer?
Is it given for merit? Or personal preferences?
In the current political climate it was hoped that they might make a
riskier choice. One of the favourite picks to win was Orhan Pamuk,
Turkish author of Snow and My Name is Red. He’s currently up for
trial, as he claimed that the Turkish state had committed genocide
against the Armenians and the Kurds. Turkey’s current bid to enter
the EU also gives it a more politically interesting context.
Another tipped choice was Joyce Carol Oates, who we personally like,
because of her visceral quality. She has just published her 44th
critically acclaimed novel, quite a feat and proof of her staying
power, at times a rare occurence with Nobel winners. But, the
admittedly well-known Pinter swung out of nowhere and stole the prize.
His career began in 1957 when his first play The Room was performed
at Bristol University. But it was from 1960, with the critically
acclaimed The Caretaker, that his fame really began to bloom. The
Academy’s citation about Pinter indicates one of the reasons for his
critical acclaim: his work “uncovers the precipice under everyday
prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms.” This is one
of the characteristic features of his absurdist plays that have come
to mean so much to the band of eighteen intellectuals.
However, in the past few years he has decided to abandon his career as
a playwright for that of a poet. This shift to lyricism was sparked
by his fervent beliefs against the war in Iraq. He demonstrated his
passionate opinions by speaking in the House of Commons in 2002: “They
are determined, quite simply, to control the world and[…] they don’t
give a damn how many people they murder on the way.” Most people are of
the opinion that this is probably the reason he won the award. Although
his political consciousness is admirable and full of venom, he is more
likely to be remembered by the literary community for his 29 plays.
Pinter has an epic back catalogue that clearly deserves the award.
However, in the past the Academy have been arguably unfair in their
decisions. There are some notable ommisions from the 104 winners,
including Joyce, Woolf, Ibsen, Zola, Conrad, Kafka, Tolstoy and
Proust. Prizes by their nature won’t include everyone, but you have
to ask, why did they leave these out?
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KEBABS OF ALL KINDS TO SPICE UP FESTIVAL
By Pat Cahill
The Repubican, MA
Oct 13 2005
There may be people out there who think that shishkebab is the only
kind of kebab in the world.
Not so, as the upcoming Armenian fall festival at St. Gregory Armenian
Apostolic Church in Indian Orchard will deliciously reveal.
The ethnic festival will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
in the church hall at 135 Goodwin St. in the Indian Orchard section
of Springfield.
Advertisement
Admission and parking will be free, with food and other items priced
individually. All proceeds will go to St. Gregory’s.
In addition to homemade Armenian cuisine from entrees to desserts, the
festival will include raffle prizes and bargain-priced collectibles.
Kebabs (as Armenians call kabobs) are chunks of meat on a skewer.
Shishkebab is made with lamb, while losh kebab is made with specially
seasoned ground lamb and beef.
Chicken kebab will also be served at the festival.
Kebabs of all kinds will come with rice pilaf, salad, and pita bread.
Other dishes on the menu will include stuffed grape leaves and spinach
pie, stuffed grape leaves, pickled vegetables, seasoned cracked wheat,
and a thin-crust Armenian version of pizza with meat called lahmajun.
Baked goods will include traditional Armenian breads and pastries.
Among the prizes to be raffled will be a 3-by-5-foot Oriental rug
donated by Charles Yenian and Co., a guardian-angel pin made by
David Yurman, a 14-karat gold cross donated by Hovsep Atchian, a
handmade clock made and donated by Harry Setian, and a year’s worth
of Megabucks lottery tickets.
Baskets filled with gifts for adults and children will also be
raffled. A “forgotten treasures” booth will feature crafts and
collectibles for sale.
Raffle drawings will take place in the evening, but winners need not
be present if they have bought raffle tickets earlier in the day.

INSURANCE GIANT IN GEORGIAN MARKET
By M. Alkhazashvili
The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 11 2005
American International Group (AIG) has entered the Georgian insurance
market. The branch office of AIG Europe S.A, AIG – Georgia, was
registered in April 2005 and in May it received the right to insure
real estate. According to statements from the company’s administration,
it plans on supporting healthy competition rather than threatening
local companies.
The American insurance company entered the Georgian market after the
government amended the previous insurance law in 2004. Under the new
law, any insurance company registered in OECD member countries is
now able to open branch offices in Georgia. The affiliated company
of AIG – AIG Europe S.A – whose head office is located in Paris-
was the first to take advantage of the new legislation.
According to AIG management, they have big plans for their Georgian
office. There are already signs that AIG will play an important role in
the Georgian insurance market: the total amount of premiums collected
by the company per year is approximately USD 90 billion.
Currently, Georgia’s largest insurance company, Imedi, takes in
premiums of about GEL 9 million.
Currently there are 17 insurance companies operating in Georgia. The
newspaper 24 Saati reported that they serve consumers with 16 types
of insurance products. According to the Georgian State Insurance
Supervision Service, in 2004 the remaining 16 companies earned a total
GEL 45,106,000 in premiums while paying GEL 12,631,000 in damages.
However, despite their deeper pockets, AIG is not planning on working
against Georgian companies. According to General Manager of AIG-Georgia
Nikoloz Kitiashvili, in the beginning the company will concentrate
largely on re-insurance operations because Georgian companies favor
using foreign insurance companies for this purpose.
The newspaper 24 Saati reported that AIG is already established in
Azerbaijan, where it holds 15 percent of the local insurance market –
largely in the form of big corporations. The AIG branch office founded
in Georgia will also operate in Armenia. “We have the opportunity
to reduce some of the risk for Armenian and Georgian insurance
companies. This means that additional currency will be imported into
Georgia to develop the insurance market in the Caucasus,” stated
the Kitiashvili.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 523b05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:
Constitutional reform in Armenia : Declaration by the Chair of the
Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
Strasbourg, 10.10.2005 – Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Portugal and Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers, made the following statement:
“After several months of intense debate, Armenia’s National Assembly has
just adopted a number of constitutional amendments, in line with the
country’s commitment undertaken when joining the Council of Europe. The
referendum to be held on 27 November on this reform will be vital for
Armenia. By turning out to vote during the referendum, the people of
Armenia will indeed be deciding on changes of fundamental importance for
their future. The expertise of the constitutional amendments by the
Council of Europe’s Venice Commission has shown that the reform will
allow the alignment of the Constitution with European standards by
enhancing the independence of the judiciary, providing a more balanced
distribution of power between the executive and the legislative
branches, as well as promoting local democracy and freedom of the media.
I appeal to the sense of responsibility and concern for the common good
of Armenia’s political parties, beyond their differences, in order to
support this reform, which is essential to the country’s future as a
democracy. By participating in the referendum and showing their
attachment to the values of freedom and democracy, the people of Armenia
will show their desire to see Armenia fully assume its part in the
European construction.”
Réforme constitutionnelle en Arménie : Déclaration de la
Présidence du Comité des Ministres du Conseil de l’Europe
Strasbourg, 10.10.2005 – Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Ministre des Affaires
étrangères du Portugal et Président du Comité des Ministres du
Conseil de l’Europe, a fait la déclaration suivante :
” Après plusieurs mois d’un débat intense, l’Assemblée Nationale
d’Arménie vient d’adopter un certain nombre d’amendements à la
Constitution, comme ce pays en avait pris l’engagement en adhérant au
Conseil de l’Europe. Le référendum qui doit avoir lieu le 27
novembre prochain sur cette réforme sera capital pour l’Arménie. En
participant au référendum, le peuple arménien décidera en effet
d’un certain nombre de changements fondamentaux pour son avenir.
L’expertise des amendements constitutionnels par la Commission de Venise
du Conseil de l’Europe a montré que la réforme doit permettre
d’aligner la Constitution sur les standards européens en renforçant
l’indépendance de la justice, en assurant un meilleur équilibre des
pouvoirs entre l’exécutif et le législatif, ainsi qu’en encourageant
la démocratie locale et en promouvant la liberté des médias.
Je fais appel au sens des responsabilités et au souci du bien commun
des partis politiques arméniens, par delà les clivages, pour
soutenir cette réforme essentielle pour l’avenir démocratique de
l’Arménie. Par leur participation active au référendum et en
marquant leur adhésion aux valeurs de liberté et de démocratie,
les citoyens arméniens manifesteront leur volonté de voir
l’Arménie prendre toute sa place dans la construction européenne. ”
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.

ARKA News Agency
Oct 7 2005
CBA CHIARMAN: 95% OF MONETARY TRANSFERS TO ARMENIA ACCOUNT FOR
TRANSFERS IN USD
YEREVAN, October 7. /ARKA/. 95% of monetary transfers to Armenia
account for transfers in USD, as the CBA Chiarman Tigran Sargsyan
stated in the framework of the Second open international interbank
conference “Monetary Transfers”. According to him, the problem is
that citizens have no possibility to choose the currency of payment,
but they might like to transfer rubbles from the RF and receive AMD
in the RA. According to Sargsyan, AMD appreciation to USD has been
recorded in the RA recently. It caused discontent of people who
receive transfers in USD, since the buying capacity of USD reduced by
17%.
According to Sargsyan, the problem of monetary transfers is actual in
Armenia. “The actuality of the issue has been observed all over the
world. The issue is discussed at all international conferences. The
phenomenon is preconditioned by the inflow of migrants from many
countries and by the fact that migrants make monetary transfers to
their relatives”, he said. According to him, the second factor
contributing to the growth of monetary transfers is the active
monetary policy program of the USA and growth of dollar liquidity.
A.H. -0–

World Socialist Web Site, MI
Oct 8 2005
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Turkey: trampling on free speech continues
Novelist Orhan Pamuk faces jail terms
By Kerem Kaya
8 October 2005
The prominent Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk will be tried on December
16 and faces up to four years imprisonment on charges of `public
denigration’ of Turkish identity for publicly speaking out about the
Armenian genocide. It is estimated that more than one million
Armenian were killed between 1915-1918 during World War I when the
Ottoman Empire – the precursor of the Republic of Turkey – was crumbling.
In an interview with the Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger published on
February 6, Pamuk was quoted as saying, `Thirty thousand Kurds and a
million Armenians were killed in Turkey. Almost no one dares speak
but me, and the nationalists hate me for that.’ This was the evidence
of his `crime.’
On February 18, after filing charges at the Kayseri state
prosecutor’s office, Kayseri Bar Association attorney Orhan Pekmezci
said, `Pamuk has made groundless claims against the Turkish identity,
the Turkish military and Turkey as a whole. I think he should be
punished for violating Article 159 and 312 of the Turkish Penal
Code.’
Despite having made the statements in February, Orhan Pamuk is
expected to be tried under the new Turkish Penal Code Article 301/1
passed only last June. According to this article, a person who
`insults … the Republic’ can be jailed for between six months to
three years. If `the insult’ was executed abroad, as Pamuk has done,
then Article 301/3 imposes a one-third increase in the length of
sentence.
The new Turkish Penal Code was passed by the parliament after a
two-month delay due to widespread opposition. It includes harsh jail
terms not only for journalists (as in the old code) but also for all
members of the media deemed to have insulted the state and/or any of
its institutions, such as parliament, the army, etc. It also
introduces a new clause that equates any member of these institutions
with the institution itself, should they be individually insulted. A
clear definition of insult is not included in the law – the only escape
clause being Article 301/4, which declares that any `critical
opinion’ does not constitute a crime.
The actions taken against Pamuk come amidst a wave of nationalistic
sentiment whipped up by the Turkish establishment (See `Turkey:
military’s nationalist campaign conceals rapprochement with US’). The
Turkish press was full of attacks on Pamuk in recent months, which
resulted in his receiving death threats.
The killing of Armenians between 1915-1918 is not disputed by the
Turkish state, but the number of the dead and the definition of
genocide are. Successive Turkish governments, Britain and the United
States, have never acknowledged genocide. In the recent discussions
of Turkey’s possible entry into the European Union, France and other
countries demanded that Turkey acknowledge the Armenian genocide as a
pre-condition for entry.
The victimization of Pamuk throws light on Turkey’s rejection of even
the limited demands of the EU to improve its record on democratic
rights. In fact the opposite is the case. It is the EU that has made
the concessions regarding democratic rights during the negotiations
and allowed the recent penal code to pass without opposition. Human
right abuses in Turkey are hardly news in the Western media unless
they are extremely dramatic, such as the beating of women at the
Women’s Day celebrations this year, or unless they represent a timely
bargaining chip in the EU negotiations for France or other countries
that view Turkey as too close to Washington.
In Britain, a close ally of Washington and therefore a backer of
Turkey’s bid for EU membership, the press has reacted nervously to
the charges against Pamuk. The Sunday Times wrote that `Pamuk’s case
has been an embarrassment for the Turkish government.’ The
Independent was concerned that Turkey is giving excuses to her
enemies.
The last thing on the minds of Europe’s ruling elites is Pamuk’s
right to free speech.
Pamuk is a household name in Turkey and he has gained prominence in
international literature over the last decade and a half, with his
novels translated into 20 languages. When he won the Independent
Award for Foreign Fiction in 1990 the New York Times confidently
noted, `A new star has risen in the east.’ He went on to win
international literature’s most lucrative prize, the IMPAC Dublin
Award, for his novel, Benim Adim Kirmizi (My Name Is Red), published
in 2000.
Pamuk has consistently opposed right-wing forces in Turkey. He once
wrote in an academy journal, `Turks gripped by romantic myths of
nationalism are keen to establish that we come from Mongolia or
central Asia…. scholars have come no closer to offering definitive
or convincing evidence to link us with a particular time and place.’
Against this right-wing theory of Turkish identity reaching back
thousands of years, Pamuk, in his novel Kar (Snow), chose the venue
of Kars – a formerly Armenian city – and made sympathetic references to
Armenian culture.
In 1999, he refused to accept the highest cultural accolade awarded
by the Turkish government – the title of state artist. He said, `For
years I have been criticizing the state for putting authors in jail,
for only trying to solve the Kurdish problem by force, and for its
narrow-minded nationalism, I don’t know why they tried to give me the
prize.’
Turkey has never been a safe country for artists. Virtually every
prominent writer who has something to say about the repression in the
country has been targeted for persecution by the state. Nazim Hikmet,
arguably the best poet the country has ever produced, was charged in
1925 as a secret (Communist) party member and sentenced to 15 years
hard labor. His works were banned between 1938 and 1965, until two
years after his death in exile in Moscow.
In 1939, Orhan Kemal, one of the most prominent Turkish writers of
the last century, was sentenced to a five-year jail term for his
political views. Having stayed in the same jail as Nazim Hikmet,
Kemal was intensely influenced by him.
On 1 July 1993, the humorist Aziz Nesin barely escaped with his life
from Madimak Hotel where he was staying with other artists attending
the traditional Pir Sultan Abdal festival in Sivas. The hotel was set
on fire by fundamentalist mobs, killing 36 artists and injuring 24. A
6,000-strong military brigade situated near the hotel did nothing for
eight hours, until the mobs achieved their mission. A group of
artists was finally rescued by the fire brigade, but when they
realized that Aziz Nesin was amongst them the firemen and the police
joined the mob attack – inflicting injuries to his head and body.
Eventually the military moved in to stop the lynching. Nesin’s crime
was to speak out publicly and consistently on behalf of secularism.
He too was jailed several times as a result of his socialist views.
More recently, a local administrator in the city of Isparta, Mustafa
Altinpinar, sent a circular to all libraries in the region demanding
that Pamuk’s books be seized and burned. The government was
negotiating at the time with the EU over membership. It was spared
further embarrassment because none of the libraries in the region
actually stocked Pamuk’s books.
Apart from these high-profile cases, literally thousands of
journalists and writers have been prosecuted and jailed over the
years. Only recently, a few days after the new laws were passed,
journalist-writer Emin Karaca was charged with `condemning the
execution of the three leaders of revolutionary youth’ – referring to
the executions of Deniz Gezmis, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin Inan, 30
years ago. PEN American Center, an organization that defends free
expression, reported that, according to their records, there are
today over 50 journalists, writers and publishers before the courts
in Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PREMIER, GREEK DEFENCE MINISTER DISCUSS TURKISH-EU TALKS
Mediamax news agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2005
Yerevan, 5 October: Armenia and Greece have the same view on the
negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the EU, Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Markaryan and Greek Defence Minister Spilios Spiliotopoulos
said at a meeting today, Mediamax reports.
The two parties stressed that the negotiations on Turkey’s accession
to the EU will make this country more controllable and predictable,
which will allow Yerevan and Athens to solve tasks proceeding from
their national and state interests: the recognition of Cyprus, the
opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the recognition of the
Armenian genocide.
Markaryan and Spiliotopoulos stated that the strategic interests of
Armenia and Greece in the region coincide and are based on their
understanding of the need to maintain the military and political
balance.