Author: Jidarian Alex

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
October 13, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY APPLAUDS FRANCE FOR STRONGLY AFFIRMING THE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly welcomes the continued commitment
by the French parliament to keep the history of the Armenian Genocide
inviolable despite calls from Turkey to drop an Armenian Genocide bill
or risk damaging bilateral ties.

Yesterday, the French National Assembly voted 106 to 19 to approve
legislation that would penalize Armenian Genocide denial with fines and
a jail term. The bill must still be approved by France’s upper house of
parliament and signed by President Jacques Chirac, who called on Turkey
to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide during a recent state visit to
Armenia.

According to The Associated Press, Chirac asked, "Should Turkey
recognize the genocide of Armenia to join the European Union? Honestly,
I believe so. Each country grows by acknowledging its dramas and errors
of the past."

In the week leading up to the vote, the Turkish government warned France
that bilateral relations would suffer if lawmakers approved the bill. A
statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, criticized the vote
saying, "French-Turkish relations….have been dealt a severe blow today
as a result of the irresponsible false claims of French politicians who
do not see the political consequences of their actions."

The Armenian government, for its part, called the vote a "natural
continuation of France’s principled and consistent defenses of human and
historic rights and values."

The statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Vartan Oskanian also said,
"To adopt such a decision is the French Parliament’s sovereign right and
is understandable. What we don’t understand is the Turkish government’s
instigation of extremist public relations, especially while Turkey
itself has a law that does exactly the same thing and punishes those who
even use the term genocide or venture to discuss those events."

ORHAN PAMUK AWARDED NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE; ASSEMBLY INTERVIEW WITH
HRANT DINK

While the passage of the French bill was making international headlines,
news broke that Turkey’s best-known writer Orhan Pamuk was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature. Last year, Pamuk was prosecuted under
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and charged with "insulting
Turkishness" for telling a Swiss newspaper that "30,000 Kurds and one
million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares
talk about it." The charges have since been dropped.

The Armenian Assembly spoke with Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
from his home in Istanbul, on these latest developments, including new
"denigration" charges filed against him for acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide.

Reflecting on the passage of the French bill, Dink added "I do see some
positive results coming out of this….The Armenian and Turkish
governments, both states, should see there is no alternative to
dialogue. There is no alternative to good neighborliness. There is no
alternative to opening the borders and joint action."

Dink also welcomed Orhan Pamuk’s award, saying "for those of us
struggling for democracy in Turkey, it is a great honor and great joy
that our beloved friend…has made so many great contributions to the
pursuit of democracy, has ascended to the world’s highest pedestal of
the Nobel Prize in Literature."

"It is not just the people living in this country today that his prize
belongs to," Dink continued. "It also belongs to the people who for
centuries populated this land and created this culture. And today, the
culture that Orhan Pamuk presented to the world, in the form of
literature, is the culture of all those people who lived and created on
this land, including the Armenians."

The interview concluded with Dink’s thoughts on his pending trial. "In
March 2007 I will be tried for having stated ‘yes what happened was
genocide’ in an interview with Reuters," he explained. "What else can
we call it if my people who lived there for 4,000 years, disappeared
without a trace, and its culture disappeared? This was my message and
this is why I’m being indicted."

Earlier this month, Dink was awarded the prestigious Bjornson Prize for
Literature for his publications on the Armenian Genocide. He will
accept the award, along with a cash prize, during a ceremony in Molde,
Norway on November 24.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR#2006-094

Editor’s Note: Photograph available on the Assembly Web site at the
following link:

/2006-094-1.jpg

Caption: Hrant Dink

PanARMENIAN.Net

Baku Calls on Turkey to Exile 70 Thousand Armenians
13.10.2006 14:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Azerbaijan and Turkey should join against France
over the adoption of the Armenian Genocide bill,’ said Azeri
parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva. `First, Turkey should recognize the
genocide in Algeria perpetrated by France. Then Turkey should
recognize the genocide committed by Armenians against Azeris in
Khojaly. The economic relations with France should be
reconsidered. This move by the French parliament can serve as an
example for the other European states,’ she said. According to
Pashayeva, all this will have a negative impact on Azerbaijan.

`That is why we should at the level of Foreign Ministry and parliament
protest against the adopted bill. Over 70 thousand Armenians illegally
live and work in Turkey. The Turkish government should exile the
illegal Armenian migrants and such decision will not conflict with the
international law. If they speak of Genocide and take such moves
against Turkey, so why have they chosen this country for living? Let
them go to France or any other state that recognizes the Armenian
Genocide,’ she said. As for France’s being the co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Pashayeva
said, `I suppose we should think of this question, since France
demonstrated its position having passed such a bill.

The composition of the Minsk Group should be changed or the format be
expanded,’ reports Day.az.

OPEC FUND INTERESTED IN THE ENERGY SECTOR OF ARMENIA

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 12 2006

President Robert Kocharyan received today Director General of the
OPEC Fund for International Development Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish.

The Director General noted they intend to expand the programs directed
at the development of Armenia’s agro sector.

Appreciating the currrent level of cooperation, RA Presidnet welcomed
the fact that the programs in process are directed at improvement
of rural infrastructures, which is a compulsory condition for having
competitive agriculture.

Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish emphasized the Fund’s interest in the energy
sector of Armenia. Noting that Armenia has an effectively functioning
energy system and aspires to become a producer of energy in the region,
the President said that thermal and hydro energy has been seriously
developing during the recent years.

ON-LINE PROGRAMMING MARATHON TO BE HELD

Panorama.am
15:28 11/10/06

On October 14 a Web Open Source All-Armenian on-line marathon will
be held in Armenia, Hovanes Avoyan, directory of Lycos’s Armenian
representation who is also the chairman of the organizational committee
of the marathon, told a news conference today.

As of today, 73 groups and individuals have registered to participate
in the event. The marathon aims to show the capacities of Armenian
experts in the field of IT.

The event will run for 24 hours. To participate interested parties
are encouraged to register at http:webos2006.com. Best participants
will get prizes.

ERIC BOGOSIAN TAKES CHARGE ON LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT
by Raven Snook

TV Guide
Oct 10 2006

A lot of people have the impression that Eric Bogosian is an angry
guy. The perpetually black-clad, New York-based writer/performer forged
that image with his ferocious solo shows – Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll,
Pounding Nails into the Floor with My Forehead and Talk Radio, which
was made into a 1988 Oliver Stone film – and his over-the-top turn
as a Steven Seagal-taunting terrorist in Under Siege 2. On the right
side of the law in his current role of Law & Order: Criminal Intent’s
Captain Danny Ross (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET on NBC), he’s still as intense
and unsmiling as usual, though he insists it’s all a put-on. In fact,
due to his L&O gig and the star-studded revivals of two of his plays,
this downtown rebel-turned-character-actor says he’s happier than
he’s been in years.

TVGuide.com: Hello, Eric? The music’s so loud I can barely hear you.

Eric Bogosian: Sorry. Let me just turn the Mozart down.

TVGuide.com: I never would have pegged you as a classical fan.

Bogosian: Well, after the 7,000th listening of "Freebird" I knew every
f–king note, so about two years ago I really started diving into
classical music. I’m hooked on opera, of all things. The Metropolitan
Opera was giving away $20 tickets the other night and I almost went.

TVGuide.com: Wow, Eric Bogosian: Bargain Hunter.

Bogosian: Always. I’m Armenian, so I’m totally fiscally oriented. I
am ridiculously frugal. Yesterday I was poring over my Sprint bill
trying to figure out why it was $10 more than usual. I spent an hour
on it, and that’s a complete waste of time, right?

TVGuide.com: It depends on how much your time is worth.

Bogosian: Currently it’s worth a lot! It went up to a much higher
level of worth because of my work on L&O.

TVGuide.com: Let’s talk about that gig. I’ve always thought of you
as this rebellious performance artist, so I was surprised that you
accepted a series-regular role on commercial TV.

Bogosian: Oh, I’d been trying to get on L&O forever. Every year I
would put out the word [to the producers] that if a new character
was being created, I wanted to be considered. Finally last spring
[writer-producer] Warren [Leight] asked me to come by the set to say
hi to some people. [Series creator] Dick Wolf was there and he said,
"I heard that you don’t want to do TV," and I said, "No, no, no,
it depends on what TV." So he asked if I would consider coming on
the show. I am so happy to be doing L&O. I’m totally f–king enthused.

TVGuide.com: Has acting always been your ultimate goal?

Bogosian: I originally came to New York in the ’70s to be an actor, but
I found the industry so overwhelming and intimidating that I quit and
ended up working on the alternative-performance scene. The movie Talk
Radio altered my whole relationship to the commercial-film industry,
but over the years I let a lot of things get in my way. I was just
unreliable. Even when I stopped all that, I was a hothead for a really
long time. About five years ago, my film career started to peter out,
so I made a bunch of changes. I decided I didn’t want to do solo
shows anymore because A) I didn’t have anything more to say and B)
I hated touring. I thought if I stopped doing my own shows I would
be able to reenter the world of acting as a character actor, which is
what I am. I felt like I had reached a point where I was ready to work.

TVGuide.com: And you’ve been working a lot lately, both as an actor
and a writer. I just saw a revival of your play subUrbia with quite
an up-and-coming cast: Kieran Culkin, Gaby Hoffman and Jessica
Capshaw. And Liev Schreiber is doing Talk Radio on Broadway next
year. I know you updated the subUrbia script. Are you tweaking Talk
Radio as well?

Bogosian: I’m doing a lot of work on the text, but I’m hoping it
doesn’t show. It’s tough to tinker with Talk Radio. It will be 20 years
old when it goes up and the guy who wrote it is a different guy than me
– not only in terms of where I was at in my life, but a different sort
of writer. I was bursting with ideas, but I didn’t have the technique
that I have now. Still, I don’t want to go back and mess anything up.

TVGuide.com: Before L&O came along, you had a recurring role on the
short-lived but much-beloved Love Monkey. How did that come about?

Bogosian: I did it as a favor to [series creator] Michael [Rauch],
who did an internship with me back in the mid-’90s. He’d come down
and hang out with me and we became very good friends. He directed
me in the film In the Weeds, and he filmed my solo show Wake Up and
Smell the Coffee…. There are so many guys working in TV right now –
Michael, Warren – who are mensches to the heavens. I’m really lucky
that they’re in my life.

TVGuide.com: You sound like you’re in a really happy place. You’re
nowhere near as angry as I thought you’d be.

Bogosian: I’m always playing heavies and bad guys. People make this
assumption that I’m like that in real life, but I’m really just a
big goofball.

TURKEY UPSET OVER PROPOSED FRENCH LAW

United Press International UPI
Oct 9 2006

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 9 (UPI) — Turkey’s prime minister is warning
French companies that a bill before their country’s parliament could
harm economic ties between Turkey and France.

The legislation would make it a crime to question claims of Armenian
genocide punishable by up to a year in prison and fines of up to
$57,000, The New Anatolian reports.

According to the newspaper, Turkey’s prime minister met with
representatives of French companies doing business in Turkey to gain
their help in blocking the controversial legislation.

"Such a law would result in great damage to bilateral relations in all
fields, fuel anti-Western and nationalistic ideas among the Turkish
public and seriously undermine Turkey’s reconciliation efforts with
Armenia," say top Turkish officials in a statement.

If such a law is passed by the French Parliament, officials say it
would affect military ties since France is a NATO ally of Turkey.

NEXT ROUND OF TALKS ON ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT ENDS IN MOSCOW
[October 06, 2006, 21:18:21]

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Oct 6 2006

Next round of talks to find peaceful resolution to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict passed at the level
of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia with participation of
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs ended in Moscow.

The meeting passed behind closed doors, foreign minister of Russia
Sergey Lavrov made statement on its results, estimating the meeting as
"positive and productive".

In trilateral meeting, held in MFA of Russia, attending was the
foreign minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, foreign minister
of Armenia V. Oskanian, as well as troika of OSCE MG co-chairs.
Azerbaijan delegation also included deputy foreign minister of
Azerbaijan Araz Azimov.

AGREEMENTS ON COOPERATION IN SPHERES OF MILITARY EDUCATION AND PEACEKEEPING REACHED BETWEEN HEADS OF DMS OF ARMENIA AND GREECE

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

ATHENS, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by Serge
Sargsian, the Secretary of the RA National Security Council attached
to RA President, Defence Minister, which is on a working visit in
Greece, participated on October 3 in the official ceremony of opening
the "Defendory International" 14th international exhibition of the
defence systems, got acquainted with the last technological models
of the defensive armaments.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Information and Propaganda
Department of the RA Defence Ministry, a separate visit was organized
to the pavilion of the Armenian-Greek LT-PYRKAL joint venture
considered inferior to the Greece EBO-PYRKAL enterprise. The RA
Defence Minister had a meeting here with the administration of the
Greek side of the joint venture. Issues relating to the present and
future activity of the joint venture were discussed during the meeting.

Within the framework of the visit, on the same day the delegation
visited the Land Troops Military Academy of Greece where it had
a meeting with the academy heads and the group of RA Armed Forces
students studying there.

The delegation visited the military museum of the National
Defence Ministry of Greece as well where after a meeting with the
administration and seeing about the museum, a preliminary agreement
was reached between the sides concerning possibility of organizing
an exhibition dedicated to history of the RA Armed Forces in 2007 in
the museum.

The delegation had a meeting on October 4 with Evangelos Meimarakis,
the Minister of National Defence. The process and prospects of
the Armenian-Greek bilateral military cooperation were discussed
at the meeting, a number of agreements was reached on widening the
Armenian-Greek cooperation in the spheres of military education and
peacekeeping.

Serge Sargsian had a meeting at the RA Embassy to Greece on the
same day with representatives of the Armenian community of Greece,
particularly, with members of the "Yerevan" tutorial body and the
"Friends of Armenia and Artsakh" union. A number of issues on more
raising the level of education of the Armenian students studying
in military-educational institutions of Greece as well as ones
relating to improvement of living conditions were discussed during
the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the Defence Minister awarded
"Marshal Baghramian" medal of the ministry to "Friends of Armenia
and Artsakh" union chairman-benefactor Hrant Basmachian.

After a meeting with the Armenian community, RA Defence Minister
Serge Sargsian held a press conference summing up results of the visit.

E.U. SHOULD NOT INTERFERE IN ARMENIA AND TURKEY, SENER

Turkish Press
Oct 5 2006

BRUSSELS – Turkish State Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif
Sener warned the EU and some other countries not to interfere in
Turkish-Armenian relations.

Sener is in Belgian capital of Brussels to participate in events
organized by the Turkish Industrialists’ & Businessmen’s Association
(TUSIAD) and European Policy Center to mark the first anniversary of
the start of Turkey-EU negotiations.

In an exclusive interview with the A.A correspondent, Sener referred
to French President Jacques Chirac’s remarks about the so-called
Armenian genocide allegations, and said, "Chirac said that recognition
of so-called Armenian genocide should be a pre-condition before
Turkey’s EU membership. A resolution is being discussed in France,
and it foresees fine and imprisonment for those who deny Armenian
genocide. It is not possible to accept such an attitude.

This is against the cultural atmosphere the EU is trying to create."

"Armenia is not a European country, it is an Asian country. So, it is
a third country for the EU. So, it is meaningless to bring this matter
up within the scope of Turkey’s EU membership process," he stated.

Sener added, "whether it is an EU member or another country, everybody
who is affecting the Armenian policy from outside should give up his
endeavors. Chirac’s remarks are not sincere, they aim to affect the
domestic policy."

-CYPRUS PROBLEM-

On Cyprus problem, Sener said that the plan which was prepared by EU
Acting President Finland and envisions opening of Maras and Magosa
port, is being examined and assessed.

"Let’s see Cyprus as a whole, let’s review ports issue together with
the embargoes on TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). Let’s make
a positive progress in both of these matters. These are proposals made
by Turkey. And, it is the Greek Cypriot administration who resists. If
the EU gives up standing behind every demand of the Greek Cypriot
administration, they may have to reach compromise and try to resolve
the problem," he added.

MOSCOW-YEREVAN FLIGHTS MAY BE CARRIED OUT VIA AZERBAIJANI AIR SPACE?

Regnum, Russia
Oct 3 2006

Moscow-Yerevan flights may be carried out via Azerbaijani air space;
Armenian National Aviation Association President Dmitry Atbashyan is
quoted by a REGNUM correspondent as saying.

According to him, suspending air communication between Russia and
Georgia will not violate schedule of Armenian aviation carriers; the
Armenian side will fly to Russia without any changes or restrictions.

As for flights from Russia to Armenia, they will be carried out,
according to Mr. Atbashyan, making a detour around Georgia, what will
lead to increase of fuel expenditures. "For example, Moscow-Yerevan
flight will be carried out alongside route Moscow-Minvody, then, planes
will head for the south and, most probably, Russian aviation carries
will fly to Yerevan via Azerbaijan." According to Dmitry Atbashyan,
flight time will increase in such case by about half an hour.

Russia suspended its transport and postal services to Georgia later
on October 3 because of its "accounts receivable."