Author: Hunanian Jack

Will humanity answer the urgent call, “Never again’?
By Bycel
Pasadena Star-News, CA
Nov 26 2004
THE Rwandan genocide, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust in the wake
of these and other catastrophes of the 20th century, we have vowed,
“Never again.’ The phrase is resolute and absolute. But it can also
be empty. It prescribes nothing. In terms of action and commitment,
it is silent. And silence to say nothing and do nothing while the
innocent perish is genocide’s prescription.
The term “genocide’ was coined exactly 60 years ago by Raphael Lemkin,
in Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, published in November 1944 with
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He defined it as
“a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction
of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the
aim of annihilating the groups themselves.’
Whether the ongoing catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan will rise (or sink) to
that definition, history will judge. It will judge our silence as well.
I recently returned from a humanitarian mission to three refugee camps
in Chad, on the border of Darfur. These camps teem with people who have
somehow survived unfathomable suffering: husbands and fathers murdered;
wives and daughters raped; death from malaria, cholera and dysentery;
villages and lives burnt to ashes. Life in the refugee camps is its
own hell, thick with the trauma and travail of those whose living eyes
can still see the dead. The camps bear witness to the darkest regions
of human degradation. There, the words “Never again’ are a tragic,
empty echo.
The refugees in Chad and Darfur are abstractions when you see them
in the newspaper, but they are quite real in person, and not much
different from you and me. They happen to be victims of ethnic
cleansing and terror. They happen to have no resources. But they
yearn, as we do, for the warmth of a smile, for the touch of a caring
hand. What we consider the requirements of life are unimaginable
luxuries to them. They are desperate for our help. If only we were
as desperate to help them.
Unless the words “Never again’ are translated into action, their
echo is painfully hollow. Action on this scale can seem hopeless, but
we are not helpless: writing letters, making contributions, getting
involved in advocacy groups these activities are near to hand, and
they multiply powerfully. Not everyone can give their whole lives
to such work, like the remarkable volunteers from around the world
I was privileged to meet in Chad. But that does not prevent a more
personal transformation on the part of each of us.
When we recognize that our humanity is inextricably linked to theirs,
the refugees of Darfur are no longer an abstraction that fades from
view. Awareness of their existence fosters an examination of our own.
It changes our approach to life, what we consume, what we think we
need and deserve. “Never again’ is ultimately a personal challenge:
What can I do to erase Lemkin’s “genocide’ from the dictionary?
Nor should we forget that “Never again’ speaks to our self- interest.
Neglect of the dispossessed and disenfranchised can have devastating
consequences: political instability, deepening ethnic conflicts,
devastating famines and wars any of which can rapidly darken our own
skies. All of humanity, the most and least fortunate alike, sleep
under the same sky, wake to the same sun, and cherish the same hopes
for their children. “Never again’ is an urgent call to each of us.
Will we answer? Rabbi Lee Bycel is a Los Angeles resident and the
former dean of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.
He is currently devoting much of his time to raising awareness about
the crises in the Sudan and funds for the Sudanese refugees.

NATO official says South Caucasus becoming “priority” – Azeri agency
Turan news agency
25 Nov 04
Baku, 25 November: The 58th Rose-Roth seminar of NATO’s Parliamentary
Assembly dedicated to security issues in the South Caucasus opened
in Baku today. Parliamentarians from over 20 NATO member states,
representatives of international organizations and diplomats are
attending the seminar.
The speaker of the Milli Maclis [Azerbaijani parliament], Murtuz
Alasgarov, opened the seminar and talked about the importance of
the South Caucasus region in the Euro-Atlantic security system. The
implementation of large regional energy and transport projects is
adding to the region’s importance, he said. However, the process is
being hampered by unresolved local conflicts, among which is also
the Karabakh problem, Alasgarov said. He called on the participants
in the seminar to openly discuss the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly Secretary-General Simon Lann said for his
part that the South Caucasus region is going to become a “priority”
for Brussels in the nearest future.
“The number of visits to the region and meetings here will increase
starting from the next year. The Norwegian government will prepare
a special programme together with parliament members of the three
South Caucasus countries,” Lann said.
Asked about NATO’s attitude towards Iran, Lann said that any
prognostication would be possible only after the members of the
alliance formulate their policy towards Iran and the Middle East
in general.
The seminar is continuing. Two Armenian MPs, [Mger] Shakhgeldyan and
[Aleksan] Karapetyan, are expected to join the seminar during the
second half of the day.

26TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN BOOK HELD IN ANTELIAS
ANTELIAS, November 23 (Noyan Tapan). The annual exhibition of the
Armenian book was opened in Antelias on November 14. Along with the
different cathedral publishing houses a number of Armenian publishing
houses of Lebanon, foreign publishing houses, as well as individual
authors participated in the exhibition organized by the library
administration of the Mother See Church.
According to the press divan of the Catholicosate of the Great
Cilician House, clergymen, government officials, MPs, intelligentsia,
students, people being at the Cathedral during the liturgy, as well
as journalists were present at the opening of the exhibition. In his
speech Catholicos Aram I emphasized that it is necessary that the
publication and spread of the Armenian book should turn to mission. He
said that as a result of cooperation of the Catholicosate of the Great
Cilician House with Doctor Zaven Yekavian, the Head of the Armenian
Department of the Galust Gyulbenkian institution, many publications
have been released in Antelias up to now. Then the Catholicos, applying
to clergymen, intelligentsia and teachers, said: “Without Armenian
book your way is gloomy, without Armenian book your table is poor,
without Armenian book your heart is empty, without Armenian book you
is parched with thirst. Return to book, take it and read and don’t
forget that those reading books become rich owing to it”.
The students of Dprevank presented the artistic program and performed
with the polyphonic choral singing devoted to the Armenian language and
culture. Then the books of the spiritual, church-study, philosophic
spheres, as well as books for children and youth, books on the study
of literature, musical books and publications of other spheres of
culture were presented to participants.
The exhibition will operate till November 30.

SEARCH FOR MISSING EX-ZOO EMPLOYEE
Star of Mysore, India
Nov 25 2004
Mysore, Nov. 25 (MRS)- The Police, for the first time, have went on
record to say that they suspect the role of a dismissed employee in
the recent deaths of animals in the City Zoo.
Police Commissioner Mr. Praveen Sood, while participating in the
interaction with the media persons yesterday, said that the Police were
searching for the dismissed employee, who is missing since two weeks.
He said till date 31 staff members of Mysore Zoo had been
interrogated. Of these, nine have been subjected to polygraph test.
The findings of the tests were awaited, he added.
But he said the tests finding were subjective evidence and not
conclusive.
The second report sought from the Forensic Science Laboratory over
the cause of death of Komala, the Armenia-bound 8-year-old jumbo,
is awaited. Since investigation is based on scientific reports,
it will take time to unearth the cases of animals deaths, he said.
With regard to the death of Komala, he said they were open-minded
and that they were neither ruling out sabotage nor negligence on the
part of doctors and staff. As a worst-case scenario, Police have
collected samples of Gajalakshmi, another elephant, that suddenly
took ill sometime ago.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TIGRAN TOROSSYAN COMMENTING ON ATKINSON REPORT
A1+
23-11-2004
It seemed the head of Armenian delegation to the CE and Armenian
National Assembly vice-speaker Tigran Torossyan, who spoke Tuesday at a
news conference in Yerevan, was unhappy about Armenia’s foreign policy.
It is necessary to rethink the stile of work, he said.
Speaking on David Atkinson’s report on Karabakh presented last
week at the session of the PACE commission on political affairs,
Torossyan noted not a single Armenian proposal on the report had been
adopted while Azerbaijan’s proposals backed by friendly-to-Azerbaijan
countries’ representatives had been found acceptable.
“These delegates were carrying out a special mission – to vote for
all proposals submitted by Azerbaijan and Turkey”, Torossyan said.
Armenian National Assembly’s members have various opinions about
what to do. Some of them think Armenian delegates should put down
their mandates. Tigran Torossyan is strongly opposed to that saying
he doesn’t approve behind-the-scene talks in parliament. “Who has
something to say must express his opinion openly”, he said.
Torossyan is convinced the attempts to describe the situation worse
than it is produce little effect. It would be better for Armenia to
refrain from using such a tactic, he said.
He is sure there are many other ways to convince international
institutions. Armenia should intensify its efforts to achieve the
goal: tireless work is needed for that.
Tigran Torossyan thinks policy of mutual accusations also produced
few results. Azerbaijan lessened aggressiveness toward Armenia. Now it
tries to present itself as defending side and displays more tolerance.
Atkinson said in his report that both Armenian and Azeri media outlets
run propaganda and show intolerance. Armenian delegates tried to
change the report wording to avoid mentioning Armenian press in it.
Europeans, however, reminded a statement made recently by an Armenian
MP from Dashnaktsutyun party Armen Rustamyan that Armenians and
Azerbaijanis are genetically incompatible. Rustamyan has been quoted
in Armenian press.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
22 November 2004
Termination of the application of Jackson-Vanik Act to Armenia
On 19 November, the US Senate adopted a Miscellaneous Trade and
Technical Corrections Act that includes a provision on granting PNTR
(permanent normal trade relations) status to Armenia. The House of
Representatives passed the same act earlier this year.
Establishment of Armenia – US permanent normal trade relations
effectively repeals application of Jackson-Vanik amendment, and
Armenia-US trade relations will from now on be regulated by not only
bilateral, but also international agreements including WTO ones.
The volume of Armenia – US trade relations, including Armenian exports
to the US, have already started to grow. According to the US Department
of Trade, Armenia’s exports to the US during January – September of
2004 amounted US$33.2 million, a 42 percent increase compared to the
same period of 2003.

Armenian Speaker Expects Safety Guarantees At NATO Seminar in Baku
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2004
Speaker of the Armenian national assembly Artur Bagdasarian has
forwarded official letters to the Azerbaijani parliament speaker
Murtuz Alasgarov and chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Pierre Lellouche, saying that he expects guarantees for the Armenian
delegation during its planned participation in the 58th NATO Rose
Roth seminar in Baku on November 25-27.
The letters pointed out those Armenian officers were not allowed to
attend the NATO exercises held in Baku in September.
“The Armenian parliament, while confirming the readiness of its
delegations to work in international organizations and adhering to a
positive stance on the Armenian parliament delegations’ visit to Baku,
is concerned over the safety of parliament members in Azerbaijan and
expects relevant security guarantees for Armenian delegates at the
Rose Roth seminar”, Bagdasarian said.
Chairman of Armenian parliament commission on foreign relations Mger
Shahgeldian and parliament member Alexan Karapetian plan to attend
the NATO event in Baku.

Azeri leader says Karabakh discussion at UN a “blow” to Armenia
Trend news agency
22 Nov 04
Baku, 22 November: Azerbaijan will continue taking measures to reach
a fair solution to the Karabakh conflict, Trend quoted Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev as telling a ceremony to mark the 55th
anniversary of the Oily Rocks oil and gas producing department today
[the president is visiting the Oily Rocks, a small town on stilts in
the Caspian Sea].
The president said the issue of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is
now raised with different international organizations. He added that
the draft resolution on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict prepared by the
Council of Europe is realistic and denounces Armenia as an aggressor.
The forthcoming discussion of the “Situation in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories” at the UN General Assembly session is a
serious blow to Armenia, which is doing its best to remove the issue
from the agenda but without much success, the head of state said.
The Azerbaijani president stressed that everything would continue
to be done to restore the country’s territorial integrity and return
refugees to their homes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Youth Wings Deepen Armenian Coalition Friction
By Nane Atshemian 22/11/2004 08:54
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Nov 22 2004
Leaders of the youth league of the Republican Party (HHK) publicly
castigated their counterparts from the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) on Friday, in a further sign of mounting
tensions between two key members of Armenia’s ruling coalition.
The young Republicans, who control student councils at virtually all
state-run universities, rejected Dashnaktsutyun allegations of
large-scale corruption in the Armenian system of higher education.
Leaders of Dashnaktsutyun’s Nikol Aghbalian student organization said
on Tuesday that an opinion poll which they conducted among over 1,000
students found a widespread perception of corrupt practices affecting
their studies. The State Medical University was rated as the most
corrupt, with 72 percent of respondents there saying that their
professors routinely take bribes to give high marks during admission
and other exams.
Nikol Aghbalian said they have also found that virtually no
professors and lecturers at the 11 universities have been fired for
bribery in recent years.
The accusations prompted an angry rebuttal from representatives of
the student councils that are mostly affiliated with the HHK and have
close ties with university rectors. Speaking at a news conference,
they dismissed the poll conducted by the Dashnak students as
fraudulent.
Armen Ashotian, the leader of the HHK’s youth wing and an aide to the
Medical University rector, claimed that the corruption allegations
are politically motivated. He also charged that Dashnaktsutyun has
links with private medical schools and wants to discredit his
university to benefit them. “We as well as some sections of the
public are well aware of that,” he said.
Robert Makarian, who heads the student council at the State
Agricultural Academy, said Nikol Aghbalian leaders have never raised
their grievances with the councils. “Dashnaktsutyun’s student union
is absolutely unaware of how students live and what their problems
are,” he said.
The accusations come amid increasingly tense relations between the
Republicans led by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and their junior
coalition partners. Dashnaktsutyun and the third coalition party,
Orinats Yerkir, have been pushing for a major change in Armenia’s
electoral system that would increase the number of parliament seats
contested under the proportional system.
The HHK, on the other hand, has a vested in maintaining the 56 of the
131 seats distributed in individual constituencies. Its
uncompromising stance has led Dashnaktsutyun to threaten to pull out
of the coalition.
The news conference by the Republican student leaders also featured
verbal attacks on Education Minister Sergo Yeritsian, a senior member
of Orinats Yerkir. “Our education minister is dealing with anything
except student problems,” said Makarian.

ARMENIAN PILOTS LIKELY TO FACE A 26-YEAR IMPRISONMENT
A1 Plus | 23:10:52 | 19-11-2004 | Social |
In Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, a lawsuit against those
accused of a coup attempt is still going on. Six Armenian pilots who
took flights to this country according to an agreement with a German
company are among those charged.
At the hearing on Nov 18 a verdict, according to which if convicted,
the pilots would face up to 26 years in jail, was read.
For the rest of the defendants the sentence is ranging from 42 to
102 years. The South African leader of the coup and his loyalists
will face death penalty.
The attorney of Armenian pilots Mbombo Nvo has denied all the
allegations considering them groundless and absurd and has declared
that in the case of an unjust decision he would fight till the very
end even appeal to international judicial institutions.
The final verdict will be delivered on Nov 26. The report from Armenian
foreign ministry says that Armenian pilots are in no way involved in
the activities against the authorities and have absolutely nothing
to do with Equatorial Guinea.
The trial was resumed at a short session on Nov 16. The key suspect
completely denied his previous testimonies saying they had been
extracted under threat of torture and death. He also denies his
complicity in the coup plot and said he hadn’t been involved in
any deals.
–Boundary_(ID_gmDl6SCAhcytw8gWh2iiMg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress