Author: Kalashian Nyrie

LOBBYING HAS LIMITS

AZG Armenian Daily
19/10/2007

ANKARA (EJP)—Emphasizing that Israel gives utmost importance to
its relations with Turkey, Gabby Levy, the newly appointed Israeli
ambassador to Turkey said that Israel has done everything it could
to stop the Armenian genocide resolution at the US Congress. Born in
Turkey and son of a Turkish Jewish family, Levy told Turkey’s

English-language Today’s Zaman newspaper that the US government is
also against the resolution and that it is wrong to blame the Jewish
lobby in the United States.A New York-based Jewish organization,
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), recently reversed its long-time
policy and said the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915
"were indeed tantamount to genocide."

Levy said "lobbying has limits" and that the resolution is a
result ofUS domestic politics. He added that he did not believe the
resolution’s passage would harm relations between Israel and Turkey
in the long run and cited theinvitation to Ankara of Hamas officials
and the short-term crisiscreated by it as an example.

The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs last
week approved a resolution calling the 1915 killings of Armenians
genocide,despite White House warnings that it would do great harm to
ties with NATO ally Turkey, a key supporter in the Iraq war.

The vote outraged the Turkish government, which issued a statement
stating that the "irresponsible" resolution was likely to endanger
bilateral relations.

Turkey rejects the Armenian claims and says the genocide issue should
be tackled by historians.

Levy said Israel was pleased about Turkey’s role between his country
and the Palestinians. "The Western countries send money to the
Palestinians, but Turkey brings lasting solutions by establishing
industrial areas," he said.

***

Gabby Levy was born in 1948 in an old neighborhood of Bergama, a
tiny town in the Aegean region. His Turkish-Jewish family migrated to
Israel when Levy was four. He still has a number of close relatives
living in Ýzmir and Istanbul.

–Boundary_(ID_WSvsUZMCXM49XsMcQn8oFg)- –

WE WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH, KURDISH REBEL LEADER VOWS FROM HIS HIDEOUT
Deborah Haynes in the Qandil Mountains

The Times
October 18, 2007

War will spread to Turkish cities if his Iraq bases are attacked,
PKK chief tells The Times

Sipping milky coffee from a glass mug as he sat crosslegged on a
cushion, the Kurdish rebel commander cut more of a kindly father
figure than that of a fighter preparing to defend his cause to the
death against Turkey.

The friendly smile and calm exterior, however, hide a steely
determination to protect and promote Kurdish rights in the region,
helped by several thousand men and women who inhabit the remote
mountains of northern Iraq.

Murat Karayilan, the leader of the armed wing of the Kurdish Workers’
Party (PKK), gave warning that a major attack by Turkish forces to
crush his rebels would end in defeat because all Kurds in Iraq and
Turkey would unite against them.

He insisted, however, that he still hoped to resolve the crisis
peacefully.

The answer was for Ankara to agree to establish a semi-autonomous
state, like Scotland, for the Kurds in southeast Turkey.

"If the Turkish Army attacks Iraqi Kurdistan we will struggle and
resist against this until the end," Mr Karayilan told The Timesat
a secret meeting point in the Qandil Mountains that straddle Iraq’s
border with Turkey.

"The war will not only happen in Iraqi Kurdistan but also Turkish
Kurdistan and the cities of Turkey. That is why we hope that the
Turkish generals and politicians will not follow such a crazy idea,"
he said, speaking in Turkish through a translator.

His comments came as the Turkish Parliament voted to allow its troops
to deploy inside Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish fighters who are blamed
for a series of deadly attacks in Turkey.

Mr Karayilan said that the Turkish authorities were using the PKK
as an excuse to attack all Kurdish people in northern Iraq, where
they are enjoy semi-autonomy and relative stability, as well as in
southern Turkey.

Ankara also wanted to send a message of defiance to Washington, which
has called for restraint in response to the possible US adoption of
a resolution on Armenian genocide, he said.

"The soldiers will go inside Iraq, but to where?" asked Mr
Karayilan. "To us this means that maybe Turkey has some military
targets in northern Iraq. However, mostly it has political aims."

He said he was not worried that Iraq and the Kurdish regional
government would also try to oust his fighters.

"We are in Kurdistan, amid the Kurdish people, in the Kurdish
mountains.

We are living free and we don’t care what anybody else says."

Mr Karayilan was speaking from a simple, one-storey stone house
surrounded by fig trees, where The Timeswas escorted to meet him by
an armed PKK guard after driving up a narrow, winding mountain road.

The PKK, which has been branded a terrorist organisation by the
European Union, the United States and Turkey, has reason to keep its
whereabouts secret, particularly as it prepares to face about 60,000
Turkish troops massing along the border.

Mr Karayilan said that he had between 7,000 and 8,000 fighters,
backed by a support base of volunteers and sympathisers of about
20,000, and that morale among them was high.

"I am not afraid," said one young woman, with a Kalashnikov slung
over her right shoulder. She was dressed in the PKK uniform of dull,
baggy trousers, a matching shirt, tied at the waist by a scarf,
and an overjacket.

Many of the fighters also have grenades strapped to a belt over
their waistband.

Equality between men and women is one of the principles cherished by
the PKK. There must be a minimum of 40 per cent representation for
women in everything the group does, from its military wing to its
lesser-known, but increasingly active, political front.

In addition, everyone who volunteers to become a fighter – no one
receives a salary in the PKK, which was founded on Marxist ideals –
pledges to remain single and childless while they dedicate themselves
full time to the cause.

"If there is life, it has to be free. If there is no freedom then
there can be no life," said Mr Karayilan, who joined the PKK as
a university student 30 years ago at the age of 20, giving up the
chance to marry and have children. "I gave my promise to the Kurdish
people that I would work for their rights and their freedom," he said,
sitting beneath a row of pictures of women fighters who have died in
the group’s armed struggle, which was launched in 1984.

Turkey blames the PKK for the death of more than 30,000 people over
the past 25 years, most recently 15 soldiers and 12 civilians. Mr
Karayilan, however, said that 13 of the soldiers attacked a PKK camp
and his fighters were defending themselves. He also accused Turkish
troops of killing the civilians and blaming the rebels to increase
its chances of being granted approval to start a large-scale operation
across the border in Iraq.

At least ten PKK fighters have been killed in simmering clashes on the
Turkish side of the border this month, the rebel commander said. The
PKK, which was founded in Turkey in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan, presented
itself initially as part of the Marxist revolution, campaigning for
an independent Kurdish state – something for which the Kurds have
long strived.

It attracted thousands of disenchanted youths who were tired of Ankara
refusing to grant them equal rights and allow them to speak Kurdish.

After the arrest of Mr Ocalan in 1999 – the PKK leader is currently
serving a life sentence on an island prison in Turkey – the group
says that it has shifted its focus to dialogue.

"The Kurdish question with Turkey can be solved in the same way as
Britain did in Scotland or Spain did in Catalonia," said Mr Karayilan,
advocating the need for a semi-autono-mous Kurdish state inside Turkey.

"Turkey will also benefit from a peaceful solution," he said.

"But their mentality belongs in the 20th century." He is confident
that, with 30 to 40 per cent of his forces in the mountains of northern
Iraq, and the rest across the border in Turkey, any large-scale raid
by Turkey would fail as it has done repeatedly in the past.

He urged the international community to withdraw its support for
Ankara but added: "We are not asking for help from anyone." With the
interview over the commander stood up, posed for a few pictures and
then strolled outside, where a group of gunmen were waiting to drive
him off to a secret location in the mountains for the night.

Before disappearing into the darkness, Mr Karayilan said that he felt
normal, despite the prospect of a bloody conflict. "I am not scared
of Turkey or the Turkish Army."

A people apart

— Around 25 million Kurds live in the areas claimed by the PKK. Half
of those are in Turkey, five million live in Iraq and about 1.5
million in Syria

— Kurds are believed to be the world’s largest ethnic group without
a state. They speak Kurdish, with geographical dialects

— As a precondition for future EU membership, in 2002 the Turkish
parliament passed a set of reforms to address the issue of Kurdish
minority rights These included allowing radio and television broadcasts
in Kurdish, although initially only on state-run channels for six
hours a week

— The Turkish reforms also allowed private Kurdish-language
education for the first time, but did not go as far as approving
state Kurdish-language schools

— Until 1991, the Kurdish language was illegal in Turkey

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

October 18, 2007

PRELATE AND VICAR WILL BE IN PHILADELPHIA
This Sunday, October 21, Archbishop Oshagan and Bishop Anoushavan will
travel to Philadelphia where they will join the parishioners of St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church in honoring Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian on the 20th
anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
A luncheon, under the auspices of Archbishop Oshagan, will take place
immediately after church services in honor of Der Nerses. The keynote
address will be delivered by Bishop Anoushavan. On this occasion, in
appreciation of his years of devoted service to the Armenian Church, Rev.
Fr. Nerses will be bestowed with the title of Avak Kahana (Archpriest).

PRELATE WILL ATTEND COAF DINNER FRIDAY
Tomorrow evening, Friday, October 19, Archbishop Oshagan will attend the
2007 "Save a Generation" Awards Dinner sponsored by the Children of Armenia
Fund (COAF), at Cipriani in New York City. Daniel D. Sahakian and Henry D.
Sahakian will be honored for their support of educational programs for
children in Armenia. Sherry Lansing, Oscar-winner of the Humanitarian Award
in 2007, and former chairman of Paramount Pictures, will deliver the keynote
address.

VICAR WILL ATTEND WCC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Bishop Anoushavan, Vicar of the Prelacy, and Ecumenical Officer in the
United States for the Catholicosate of Cilicia will attend the Board of
Directors meeting of the World Council of Churches-U.S., on Wednesday,
October 24.

SAGA OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RECOGNITION
OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONTINUES
With the Armenian Genocide resolution out of committee, the next step is
consideration by the full House of Representatives. After intense lobbying
>From the White House and the high-priced firms retained by Turkey, and
various threats about Turkey’s cooperation in the Iraq war, some
representatives have pulled away their support. It is very important for
Armenian Americans to continue their contacts with their representatives.
For names and telephone numbers go to the ANCA web page.
Meanwhile, the coverage in the media has been phenomenal. Millions of
dollars could not have bought that kind of publicity. The latest is an
article in Time Magazine by Samantha Power. Entitled "The U.S. and Turkey:
Honesty is the Best Policy," Ms. Power while acknowledging that Turkey has
greater leverage today because of the Iraq war, maintains that "a stable,
fruitful, 21st century relationship cannot be built on a lie."

NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS
A conference for Sunday school teachers will take place October 26-28 at
the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard, a Coptic Orthodox Retreat Center in
Charlton, Massachusetts. The theme of the conference is "Prayer-Personal and
Communal," and will feature presentations by Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian,
Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, Ph.D., Dn. Shant Kazanjian, and Dr. Mary Olson. A
modest fee of $60 covers all expenses including lodging for two nights, five
meals and refreshments. For detailed information click
.

NEW SERIES OF BIBLE STUDY AT THE PRELACY
The new five-part series of Bible studies ("from Jesus’ meals with
sinners to the Lord’s Supper") began on Monday, October 16, and will
continue on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, from 7:15 to 8:45 pm,
at the Prelacy. Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC) is leading the sessions. For information and
registration, send email to [email protected] or telephone
212-689-7810.

NEW YORK CELEBRATES ARMENIAN LANGUAGE
In celebration of the "Year of the Armenian Language," as proclaimed by His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral (New York), and the New York Hyortik Chapter of the Armenian Youth
Federation presented a variety program last Sunday, October 14.
Under the general theme "Looking Back to Our Roots, Forward to Our
Future," the program featured song and poetry selections, dance and piano
performances, and a short skit on the importance of the Armenian language,
history and religion. The Yeraz Dance Group and students from the St.
Illuminator’s Armenian Day School also participated in the program.

CATHOLICOS ARAM I DELIVERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS
AT CONVENTION OF EUROPEAN ARMENIANS
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, delivered
the keynote address at the 2nd Convention of European Armenians which took
place in Brussels, Belgium, beginning October 15 and concluding today
October 18.
In an address delivered in French, His Holiness outlined the
characteristic features of Europe as a continent which has the sense of
history and tradition. He identified the challenges facing Europe today.
"Europe is not a continent based only on political and economic
interests. Its identity, unity and vision are deeply rooted in human values.
These cultural, religious, social and educational values constitute the
solid basis of Europe," His Holiness said.
During his visit, His Holiness met with Vartan Oskanian, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia, who was also in Brussels for the convention.
Following the convention His Holiness will go to Geneva where he will
participate in ecumenical meetings and then to Naples, Italy, where he will
deliver a lecture in the international conference organized by Sant’Egidio.

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, October 18, are: Isaiah 33:2-6; Acts 17:16-34;
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Luke 10:1-7.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of
him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He
said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore
ask the Lord of the harvest to send our laborers into his harvest. Go on
your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever
house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there
who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it
will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever
they provide, but the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from
house to house." Luke 10:1-7.
For listing of the entire week’s Bible readings
m#101807.

IN CELEBRATION OF THE YEAR OF THE ARMENIAN LANGUAGE.
To read the message of His Holiness in Armenian click
.
To read the message of His Holiness in English click

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has
designated 2007 as the Year of the Armenian Language. In celebration of this
year-long tribute, each week we will offer an interesting tidbit about the
Armenian language and literature:
"The Armenian Church emerged as another important force in the
[literary] revival. The notable activity in printing, translating and in
education initiated and carried on for decades by two enlightened Patriarchs
of Constantinople, Golod and Nalian, was followed by the founding by
Mekhitar of Sebastia of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Venice in 1717. And
for well over a century, the venerable monks produced a large variety of
publications-religious poetry, epic poems, translations of the major works
of the Ancients into classical Armenian, edited versions of Armenian
classics as well as scholarly works of history, grammar (in both vernacular
and classical Armenian) and dictionaries, notably the New Haigazian
Dictionary by the Three Vartabeds. By 1850, the Congregation had established
its national and international reputation. In 1843 they started the
publication of an erudite Armenological journal, Pazmaveb. At about the same
time, a group of young rebel monks who had run away from the monastery at
Venice in 1773, had founded in 1811 another Mekhitarist Congregation in
Vienna that was also devoted to scholarly research, letters and education,
producing major works in grammar (Aidenian’s Critical Grammar of the
Armenian Language, 1866) philology, history, and linguistics. The remarkable
thing about these monks was their ability to combine staunch patriotism,
religious fervor with a passionate love of letters. This last drew them
close to European literature, and very soon, they become ardent champions of
romanticism, of nationalism and of Catholicism, all in one!"
"A Brief Survey of Armenian Literature," by Vahe Oshagan, in Volume 13 of
the Review of National Literatures devoted to Armenia (1984).

HOLY EVANGELISTS REMEMBERED
This Saturday, October 20, the Armenian Church remembers the Holy
Evangelists-Matthew, Mark, Luke and John-the authors of the four Gospels.
Matthew is considered to be the patron of the Church’s mission. The
Gospel attributed to him closes with the command by Jesus to His disciples
and followers to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I
am with you always, to the end of the age."
Mark is considered to have had significant influence on the advancement
of Christianity. Although the Gospel according to Mark is a narrative of the
life of Jesus, theologians consider it to be a handbook of discipleship. The
dominant message is that being a Christian is not only believing in Jesus
Christ, it is also living according to the example set by Jesus. According
to tradition, Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria. One of the most
magnificent cathedrals in the world is named after him in Venice.
Luke is the author of the Third Gospel and the Book of Acts. He is
considered to be the patron of physicians and artists. The Gospel according
to Luke is greatly concerned with Jesus as "the healer of a broken world."
Luke is also noted for his concern for the poor, the marginalized, women,
and social outcasts. His Gospel does not end with the Resurrection, but
rather continues to Pentecost and the eternal presence of Christ in the
world. According to tradition, he was one of the Seventy and was the unnamed
disciple of Emmaus.
John, often called the "Beloved Disciple," is the author of the Fourth
Gospel and the book of Revelation. Jesus entrusted his mother to John’s care
on the day of the Crucifixion. The best known verse in his gospel is, "For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16). According to
tradition, John left Jerusalem after attending the first council and went to
Asia Minor and settled at Ephesus. He was exiled to the island of Patmos
where he wrote the Book of Revelation.

A MINI SERMON
Have you ever stopped to think about how seasonal our Christianity has
become? Lately it seems more obvious than ever before, around this time of
the year when it would appear that we become a little more spiritual in our
thoughts and general outlook on life.
Many have labeled this "Seasonal Christianity," but what is even more
apparent is that now we begin preparing for Christmas in September and
October. Of course we realize that this has happened because Christmas of
late has become associated with everything but Jesus Christ. Just the other
day I saw pumpkins hanging on a Christmas tree in one of our local
department stores. We have to ask ourselves when and where is this going to
cease. When are we going to come back to our senses and really take light of
the fact that none of this has anything to do with the meaning of the
holiday. Do we not realize that we have really gone too far?
The holiday consists of two very important elements-spirit and
meaning-and unfortunately there are those who would like to eradicate even
that which we once held to be sacred and meaningful. I believe that as
Christ wept for the Holy City of Jerusalem, He does so once again and
repeats what He said as He sat upon the hill overlooking the city of peace,
Jerusalem, O Jerusalem how I sit and weep over you for your city is in
ruins.
Perhaps we should sit upon the hill and look down at our own cities and
into our hearts and souls.
Rev. Fr. Vartan Kassabian
Pastor, St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of Merrimack Valley
North Andover, Massachusetts

Calendar of Events

September 27 to November 29-Christian Education classes at Sourp Khatch
Church in Bethesda, Maryland, 8 pm in the church sanctuary. Topic: The
Badarak. Classes held second and fourth Thursdays of each month, except
Thanksgiving week when classes will take place Friday. Armenian and English.
Prior attendance is not a requisite. For information: 301-229-8742.

October 16 to December 18-"From Jesus’ meals with sinners to the Lord’s
Supper," a five part Bible study at the Armenian Prelacy will begin on
October 16 and continue on the first and third Tuesday of the month, from
7:15 to 8:45 pm. Conducted by Dn. Shant Kazanjian, director of the Armenian
Religious Education Council (AREC). For information and registration, please
send e-mail to [email protected] or call 212-689-4481.

October 18, 19, 20-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Annual Food
Festival and Bazaar.

October 19 & 20-Annual fall fair/bazaar, St. Gregory Church of Merrimack
Valley, North Andover, Massachusetts, in newly renovated Jaffarian Hall.

October 21-St. Gregory the Illuminator Church, Philadelphia, celebrating the
20th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Fr. Nerses Manoogian, under the
auspices of the Prelate, Archbishop Oshagan. For information
or 215-482-9200.

October 26-28-National Conference for Christian Educators, a conference for
Sunday School teachers at the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual Vineyard, a Coptic
Orthodox Retreat Center, in Charlton, Massachusetts. Theme: "Prayer-Personal
and Communal." Presentations by Rev. Fr. Paul Tarazi, Bishop Anoushavan
Tanielian, Dn. Shant Kazanjian, and Dr. Mary Olson. For more information
click

Oc tober 28-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, presents The Way We Were
group in their new musical "Hello Ellis Island!’ by Hourig
Papazian-Sahagian. Immediately after Sunday services. Refreshments served.
For information 718-224-2275.

November 2-3-Golden Jubilee Annual Bazaar, St. Stephen Church, Watertown,
Massachusetts.

November 2-3-4-Sts. Vartanantz Annual Bazaar and Food Festival, 461 Bergen
Boulevard, Ridgefield, New Jersey. For information 201-943-2950.

November 7-Soorp Khatch (Bethesda, Maryland) Senior Citizens second reunion
and Thanksgiving luncheon.

November 11-37th anniversary of St. Gregory Church of Merrimack Valley and
ordination of Nishan Dagley to the office of acolyte and stole bearer.
Presided over by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar General of the
Prelacy.

November 11-St. Stephen Church, Watertown, Massachussetts, 50th anniversary
commemorative concert, 4 pm., church hall.

November 10-11-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island, annual
"Armenian Fest," at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, Cranston, Rhode Island. For
information 401-831-6399.

November 11-Greater Worcester Armenian Chorale and Armenian Children’s
Chorus, 7th annual gala concert and dinner, Armenian Church of Our Saviour
Cultural Center. Advance tickets only. Barbara Baljian, 508-799-6972.

November 16-Introduction to the new series of booklets on Contemporary
Ethical Issues: An Armenian Orthodox Perspective, by Vigen Guroian.
Professor Guroian will speak about the series and the first booklet newly
published, "Homosexuality & Same-Sex Union." 7:30 pm at the Prelacy office
in New York City. For information [email protected] or 212-689-7810.

November 16 & 17-Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Worcester, Massachusetts,
Annual Bazaar. All are welcome. For information 508-852-2414.

November 17-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, 43rd Anniversary
Banquet.

November 18-Soorp Khatch Church, Bethesda, Maryland, Divine Liturgy
celebrated by the Prelate Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan.

November 18-Thanksgiving luncheon, Ladies Guild of St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral, 221 E. 27th Street, New York City, following the Divine Liturgy
at the Cathedral’s John Pashalian Hall. For information 212- 689-5880.

December 1-Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, annual
church bazaar. For information or 508-234-3677.

December 2-Celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ordination of Rev.
Archpriest Arshag Daghlian, sponsored by the Religious Council of the
Eastern Prelacy and the Pastor and Board of Trustees of St. Stephen’s
Armenian Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 5 p.m. For information
617-924-7562.

December 9-St. Stephen’s Church, Watertown, Massachusetts, 50th anniversary
dinner dance, Marriott Hotel, Burlington. For information, (617) 924-7562.

December 23-St. Stephen’s Day Celebration, Watertown, Massachusetts. The
Golden Jubilee celebration will come to a close with a commemoration of the
church’s patron saint, the first deacon and martyr, St. Stephen.

December 31-New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance, Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield,
New Jersey, and ARF Dro Gomideh, The Sheraton Meadowlands, E. Rutherford,
New Jersey. For information 201-943-2950.

June 27 to July 6-St. Gregory of Datev Institute, Summer Christian Studies
Program for youth ages 13-18 at St. Mary of Providence Center in Elverson,
Pennsylvania, organized by the Armenian Religious Education Council. For
more information click here.

Visit our website at

Turkey and America
Unearthing the past, endangering the future

Oct 18th 2007 | ANKARA, WASHINGTON, DC, AND YEREVAN
The Economist print edition

Turkey votes to invade northern Iraq; Congress considers the Armenian
genocide. The two are dangerously connected
=9987685
STANDING before a blurred photograph of a ditch full of emaciated
corpses, an elderly woman begins to cry. `The Turks are butchers,’
hisses another. These women are among thousands of diaspora Armenians
who travel from all corners of the globe to pay tribute to their dead
at the genocide memorial in Yerevan. `Our objective is not to attack
this or that country,’ explains a grim-faced guide. `It is to ensure
recognition of the first genocide of the 20th century, that of 1.5m
Armenians by the Turks.’
For decades, Armenians round the world have lobbied for explicit
official recognition of their point of view. Over the years, Armenian
groups in America (where perhaps 400,000 people have Armenian
ancestry) have persuaded 40 out of 50 states to recognise the
genocide. They seemed poised to snatch their biggest trophy yet when
the Foreign Affairs Committee of America’s Democrat-controlled House
of Representatives passed a bill on October 10th stating that `the
Armenian genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman empire
from 1915 to 1923.’ But this was overshadowed, on October 17th, by
another, related, vote: the Turkish parliament’s decision to allow the
government to clobber guerrillas of the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) in their haven in northern Iraq.

For, even as Congress has been considering a war that is almost a
century old, America’s present war in Iraq has made Turkey newly
vulnerable to Kurdish attacks. The de facto autonomy enjoyed by Iraqi
Kurds has encouraged the PKK. Many PKK guerrillas are now attacking
the Turks from bases in Iraq. As many as 20 Turkish soldiers have died
in clashes with the PKK in the past two weeks alone. The Turks have
held back from retaliation, largely because they hoped that America
would deal with the PKK itself. Its failure to do so, mainly because
it fears upsetting its Iraqi Kurdish allies, is the biggest cause of
rampant anti-American feeling in Turkey, which has been strengthening
for some time (see chart). So although President George Bush warned
Turkey, just before its parliamentary vote, that it was not in its
interests to send troops into Iraq, the Turks ignored him. `The
genocide resolution poured more oil on to the flames at the worst
possible time,’ observes Taha Ozhan of t!
he SETA think-tank in Ankara.

Echoes of the Ottomans
The raw facts of the Armenian tragedy are not disputed. In 1915 many
hundreds of thousands of Armenian civilians were deported to the
deserts of Syria and Iraq. They were more than likely to die on the
journey from starvation, exhaustion and attacks by robbers or
irregular fighters. Their deportation, in the view of most Western
historians, fits the United Nations’ 1948 definition of genocide: an
action intended `to destroy in whole, or in part, a national, ethnic,
racial or religious group’. That conclusion is based in part on the
testimony of Christian missionaries and Western diplomats, who
observed at close hand the atrocities inflicted on the Armenians and
concluded that this was not just brutal deportation, but a policy of
extermination.
Turkey admits that several hundred thousand Armenians did die, but
says this was not because of any centrally organised campaign to wipe
them out. The deaths, it says, were a result of the chaos convulsing
the Ottoman empire in its final days – a collapse accelerated by the
treachery of its Armenian subjects, who had sided with invading
Russian and French forces. In short, the tragedy was war, not
genocide. This is the version taught to Turkish schoolchildren, who
are also told that many more Turks were killed by Armenians than vice
versa. Turks remember, too, that in the 1970s some 47 of their
countrymen, many of them diplomats, were killed by Armenian militants.
Genocide is a tricky subject in Washington. Six weeks after the
Rwandan genocide began in 1994, when 500,000 people had already been
murdered for belonging to the wrong tribe, the American government
still hesitated to call it what it was. The trouble with calling
genocide `genocide’ while the blood is still spilling is that, under
the terms of a UN convention, one is obliged to do something to stop
it.

The Armenian killings incur no such awkwardness. Obviously, Congress
cannot do much about a massacre that happened nearly a century
ago. But that does not mean that its words carry no cost. Being
branded as the precursors of Hitler `is a very injurious move to the
psyche of the Turkish people,’ said Turkey’s ambassador to Washington,
before he was withdrawn for `consultations’. And plenty of Americans
who dismiss the Turkish account as whitewash nonetheless think that
their lawmakers are fools for saying so aloud.
Turkey is a key ally in a region where America has too
few. Three-quarters of the air cargo heading into Iraq passes through
Incirlik air base there. American planes fly freely through Turkish
air space en route to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the American navy uses
Turkish ports. Turkey provides Iraq with electricity and allows trucks
laden with fuel to cross its border into Iraq. But if American
politicians persist in dishing out what Turks perceive as a grave
insult, it will make it harder for the Turkish government to continue
co-operating so closely with America.
That is why Mr Bush urged Congress to ditch the bill. Eight former
secretaries of state, from both parties, urged the same. The current
secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called Turkey’s foreign
minister, prime minister and president to mollify them. She also
dispatched two able lieutenants to Turkey. She tried to reassure
Ankara that `the American people don’t feel that the current Turkish
government is the Ottoman empire’. Jane Harman, a Democrat who had
originally co-sponsored the House resolution, has now withdrawn her
support, noting that the House had already passed similar resolutions
in 1975 and 1984, and that doing so again would `isolate and embarrass
a courageous and moderate Islamic government in perhaps the most
volatile region in the world.’ Without, she might have added, saving a
single Armenian.
Foreign-policy experts, too, are aghast. Steven Cook of the Council on
Foreign Relations, a think-tank, laments the cavalier way Nancy
Pelosi, the speaker of the House, and her Democratic cohorts are
treating relations with a crucial ally. Anthony Cordesman of the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies frets that the bill
will create `yet another pointless source of anger’ against America in
the Middle East. The White House has promised to do all it can to
prevent the full House from voting on the resolution – though Ms
Pelosi, whose Californian constituents include many rich Armenians,
has promised that the measure will reach the House floor by
mid-November.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government has racked up its lobbying in
Washington by several degrees. If the resolution passes the full
House, it has hinted, use of the Incirlik base may be
denied. `Unfortunately, some politicians in the United States have
made an attempt to sacrifice big issues for minor political games,’
said Turkey’s newly elected president, Abdullah Gul. The hawkish army
chief, General Yasar Buyukanit, gave warning that if the House bill
went through, `our military relations with the US will never be the
same again.’
By October 17th, both Republican and Democratic congressmen were
beginning to back away from the resolution. Around a dozen of them
withdrew their support, and its chances of passage looked much dimmer
than before. `This vote’, said the head of the Democratic caucus,
`came face to face with the reality on the ground.’ But the damage, it
could be argued, had already been done.

The Kurdish provocation
Turkey is now seething with conspiracy theories about American and
assorted Western ne’er-do-wells wanting to weaken and divide the
country, as they did when the empire collapsed. Kurds and Armenians
are connected in villainy. At the recent funeral of a Turkish soldier
killed by the PKK, a state-appointed imam declared to mourners that
`the Armenian bastards’ were `responsible’ for his death.
All this has intensified the pressure on the mildly Islamist prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to wade into northern Iraq
soon. Threats of a Turkish invasion have helped to push world oil
prices to new highs. Meanwhile the PKK, in a statement, said its
fighters would defend the Kurds and their interests to `the last drop
of blood’.
Yet despite the chest-thumping, Turkish officials privately concede
that a large-scale cross-border operation is a rotten idea. Turkish
soldiers run the risk of getting bogged down, much as the Israelis did
in Lebanon. And as Mr Erdogan himself acknowledged last week, in a
recent interview with the CNN news channel, `We staged 24 such
operations in the past and can we say we achieved anything? Not
really.’ In reality, a Turkish incursion would probably win the PKK
fresh recruits while driving an even bigger wedge between Turkey and
America. It would also provide ammunition for countries, such as
France and Austria, which argue that Turkey should be given
`privileged partnership’ of the European Union rather than full
membership.
And there lies another source of sourness. Disillusionment with the EU
is reflected in polls that show support for membership among Turks is
slipping from a high of 74% in 2002 to under 50% this year. Waning EU
influence may, in turn, leave Turkey feeling less constrained about
plotting mischief inside Iraq.
`If Turkey goes in [to Iraq] it will become isolated, authoritarian, a
very nasty place,’ says Soli Ozel, a political scientist at Istanbul’s
Bilgi University. Like many fellow liberals, he blames the current
mess as much on EU dithering as on Mr Erdogan and his ruling Justice
and Development (AK) Party. Riding on a wave of sweeping reforms and
economic recovery, the AK romped back to solo rule in the July
elections with a bigger share of the vote.
AK should have used this mandate to tackle Turkey’s most urgent
problems. It might have begun with Armenia, by considering America’s
plea to open its borders with it. These were sealed in 1993 after the
tiny landlocked state, once part of the Soviet Union, invaded a chunk
of ethnically Turkic Azerbaijan in a vicious conflict over the enclave
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Over the past few months the Americans have been working on a proposal
calling for Turkey to establish formal ties with Armenia and to end
its blockade. In return, Armenia would recognise its existing border
with Turkey and publicly disavow any territorial claims, including the
claim to Mount Ararat, its national symbol. A deal of that sort might
have helped the Bush administration head off the genocide resolution,
and could possibly have squashed it for good.

Drinking in Yerevan
A recent poll conducted by the International Republican Institute, a
pro-democracy pressure group, suggests that the people of Armenia –
unlike their brothers and sisters in the diaspora – may be ready for
change. Only 3% of respondents said that recognition of the genocide
was their first priority. A mere 4% listed it at all. For many,
finding a job is their chief worry.
Meanwhile, Turkey has looked the other way as thousands of illegal
Armenian migrants have sought work in Istanbul, the former Ottoman
capital. Mutual suspicions are beginning to fade as these newcomers
are recruited by Turks to care for babies and ageing parents. Armenian
tourists, too, braving accusations of treachery back home, have been
heading by the thousands to Turkey’s Mediterranean resorts. `Until I
met a real Turk, I rather feared them,’ confesses Tevan Poghossian, an
Armenian pundit, who runs projects to promote Turkish-Armenian
dialogue. `Now I go out drinking with them in Yerevan.’
The few Turks who travel the other way can discover that they have
more in common with their Armenian neighbours than they suppose. A
visit to the open-air vegetable market in Yerevan reveals that many of
the words for vegetables are the same (and so, too, are some of the
swear-words). As often as not, Turks who identify themselves are
greeted with a big smile and even with a discount. And a simple
apology for the events of 1915, without mention of the G-word, can
melt the ice.
In a gesture of goodwill, Turkey this year restored a much-prized
Armenian church in the eastern province of Van. Armenian officials
were among those invited to attend its opening – albeit as a museum –
in March. And a growing number of Turks, secure in the knowledge that
Ataturk, the revered founder of modern Turkey, had no hand in the
killings, are beginning to question the fate of the Ottoman
Armenians. A few intrepid souls such as Taner Akcam, a historian, have
even dared to call it a genocide.
Despite this burgeoning spirit of reconciliation, however, Turkey has
balked at establishing formal ties and insists that Armenia must make
the first move. Armenia retorts that it is up to Turkey to prove that
its overtures are not designed solely to kill the genocide resolution;
to prove its good faith, Turkey should act first. Mr Erdogan’s
lieutenants blame the impasse on Turkey’s meddlesome generals, who
insist that Armenia must make peace with Azerbaijan before it can make
peace with Turkey.
It is also the army that is blocking political accommodation with the
Kurds, they say. But since the AK was returned to power with 47% of
the popular vote, such excuses are looking thin. If the government
were sincere about democracy, it should have scrapped the notorious
Article 301 of the penal code that makes it a crime to `insult
Turkishness’. Hundreds of Turkish academics and writers, including
Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel prize-winner, have been prosecuted under this
article. One of its targets, Hrant Dink, an Armenian newspaper editor,
was murdered in January by an ultra-nationalist teenager who accused
him of insulting Turkey. His lawyers accuse the government of covering
up the affair, despite evidence that at least one rogue security
official was involved in plotting Mr Dink’s death.
As long as Article 301 remains on the books, there is no substance in
Mr Erdogan’s call for historians, not politicians, to investigate
history. As Mr Ozel points out, `Anyone who disagrees with the
official line can end up behind bars.’ Article 301 also makes it
harder for Turkey’s own Armenians to oppose recognition of the
genocide by foreign governments, on the ground that it is better for
Turks to arrive at the truth themselves. Instead, nationalist rage is
stoked up on both sides.
Turning a deaf ear to such criticism, the government has wasted
precious political capital on writing a new constitution. The current
document, written by the generals after their last coup in 1980,
undoubtedly needs to be replaced. Yet by insisting on provisions that
would enable veiled women to attend university, the government has
been accused of promoting a covert Islamist agenda.
It did not help when, overriding American objections, Turkey signed a
gas-pipeline deal with Iran last July. Mr Erdogan’s bent for flirting
with rogue regimes in Iran and Syria, and for talking to Hamas in the
Palestinian territories, may not have influenced the voting on the
genocide resolution, but cannot have made congressmen warm to Turkey
either.
To make matters worse, Turkey has given warning that its strong
military ties with Israel may suffer if Israel fails to stop the
resolution being passed. It is threatening to sever air links between
Turkey and Yerevan and to expel Armenian migrant workers if the
Armenian government does not lobby on its behalf. Turkey refuses to
believe that neither Israel nor Armenia has the power to influence
Congress, a fact which shows `just how little Turkey understands the
way our country works’, moans a frustrated American official. `It also
shows that Turkey lacks the stomach to take on the Americans, so it is
going after an easier target, Armenia, instead.’
With luck, the resolution will be shelved and Turkey, its pride
salved, will rethink its policies. With luck too, it will recognise
that a full-blown invasion of northern Iraq would damage its interests
and further inflame Kurdish separatists. If Turkey wants to fulfil its
dreams of being a regional power and an inspiring example of how Islam
and democracy can co-exist, it must make peace with all its citizens,
including its Kurds. And it should find a way to face up to its
past. It could do worse than seek inspiration from Ataturk who, as Mr
Akcam noted in a recent book, once called the Armenian tragedy `a
shameful act’.

KIRO MANOYAN: "U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL ADOPT H. RES. 106"

A1+
[08:05 pm] 17 October, 2007

Over ten congressmen, both Republicans and Democrats, have withdrawn
their signatures supporting the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H. Res. 106), the "New York Times" reports. In the result, the number
of the congressmen backing the measure has reduced.

"The adoption of the resolution will break off USA-Turkey
relations. Obviously, the congressmen withdrew signatures under
the pressure of the White House. But there is no need to panic,"
the head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau’s Hay
Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro Manoyan told A1+. Kiro Manoyan
is confident that H. Res. 106 will be adopted at the plenary session
of the US House of Representatives, and Speaker of the U.S. House
of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will move ahead with a vote on
a resolution.

As for Turkey’s Prime Minister Rejep Erdoghan’s announcement that
people defaming Turkey in this way will "be backfired," Manoyan said,
"It is a mere blackmail. It is not Turkey’s official position.

Currently, 215 congressmen second the measure."

Manoyan’s suggestions are based on the fact that the
U.S. Administration is currently searching for alternative airports
in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which means that the White House has real
fears that the measure may pass, and Turkey will block the Incirlik
air base.

The Genocide issue is a means to keep the Armenian Issue vivid and
present it to international circles in a comprehensible language,
Kiro Manoyan says.

HEED EXPERTS ON TURKEY RESOLUTION

Charleston Post Courier, SC
Oct 17 2007

The role of a long-defunct Turkish government in perpetrating the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917 is well established. But the timing
of a U.S. House resolution condemning the genocide, which comes
to a vote Thursday, is dangerously unfortunate. All eight living
former secretaries of state and three former secretaries of defense
recently agreed with incumbents Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates,
and the White House, that now is not the time for another resolution
on the Armenian Genocide.

The House deplored the Armenian genocide in 1975 and again in 1984.

Turkey has since become an important, if touchy, ally in the war on
terror. "It is our view," said our nation’s former top diplomats in
a statement, "that passage of this resolution … could endanger
our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and damage efforts to promote
reconciliation between Armenians and Turkey."

Turkey is a key link for supplies going to the war zones. The Turkish
population and military are also deeply angered by terrorist attacks
coming from Kurdish separatists based in Iraq. The democratically
elected Turkish government has threatened to invade Iraq to stop
them if Iraq and the United States do not. On Tuesday the Iraqi
government called for "urgent negotiations" over Turkey’s threat and
sent Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi to meet with Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials. A rupture in
Turkish-U.S. relations at this point could have tragic consequences.

Turkey’s leading Armenian advocate, newspaper editor Hrant Dink,
strongly agreed with the diplomats’ second point shortly before he was
assassinated this year by a Turkish fanatic. He argued in a December
2006 interview with Nouvelles d’Armenie that repeated attempts by
Armenians living in other nations to remind the world of the genocide
actually made life in Turkey harder for the Armenians who remain there.

Unfortunately, the House Foreign Affairs Committee decided not to
listen to our current and former secretaries of state and defense, or
to Mr. Dink. Now House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose California district
has an outspoken Armenian expatriate community, is compounding this
error by insisting that the resolution be brought to a record vote
on the House floor.

This is not Ms. Pelosi’s first misguided foray into foreign policy.

Last spring she traveled to Syria and pronounced – in the face of
strong evidence to the contrary – that the road to peace in the Middle
East runs through Damascus. She leads efforts in the House to force
the United States to leave Iraq. She seems determined to the point
of stubbornness to shape American foreign policy.

Her latest and most untimely intervention in this volatile region will
hinder efforts to reconcile the Turks and Armenians and exacerbate
the tension on the Turkish border with Kurdish Iraq.

heed_experts_on_turkey_resolution19292/

APPROXIMATELY 10 THOUSAND PUPILS STUDY IN RUSSIAN CLASSES OF ARMENIAN SCHOOLS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 16, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Approximately 10 thousand pupils
study in the Russian classes (classes, where pupils study subjects
in the Russian language) of 1362 secondary schools operating in
Armenia. At that, only two of those schools are completely Russian, in
40 of them there are Russian classes, 16 out of which are in Yerevan,
the rest in the regions.

According to the information provided to a Noyan Tapan correspondent
by Lilia Balasanian, a leading specialist of the Administration of
General Education under the RA Ministry of Education and Science,
pupils, who are citizens of Russia or one of whose parents is Russian,
as well as the representatives of national minorities can study in
the Russian classes.

In the words of Lilia Balasanian, there have been almost no first-form
Russian classes for the past two years. As for middle and senior
calsses, they are replenished by Armenian children, having returned
from Russia.

Lilia Balasanian mentioned that lessons are conducted with text-books
guaranteed by the RF Ministry of Education and Science, by programs
guaranteed and endorsed by the RA Ministry of Education and Science.

TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP IN EU TO BECOME ONE OF STRATEGIC AIMS OF ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 15 2007

YEREVAN, October 15. /ARKA/. Turkey’s membership in the EU should
become one of the strategic aims of Armenia. Co-Director of regional
AEPLAC (Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre) office,
expert Tigran Jrbashyan said during the seminar "Armenia-EU – Armenia’s
future" that in case if Turkey becomes and EU member, it will become a
"forecasted neighbor" for Armenia.

"If Turkey loses the hope of entering the European Union, it will
become a country in the region, around which the situation will
become rather dangerous," he said and added that the re-opening of
the Armenian-Turkish border depends on this issue.

Jrbashyan is sure that the Armenian society should pass to such a
level of development where the modern Turkish society is.

"We must understand that if an Islamic country as Turkey could have
modernized its society, Armenia needs to follow its example at least
because of national dignity," he said.

Member of the RPA (Republican Party of Armenia) Board Armen Ashotyan
agreed that Turkey’s Eurointegration is a strategic requirement for
Armenia, which "will weaken Russian presence in Armenia."

"Peaceful and civilized Turkey in Armenia and in the region as a
whole will lead to the formation of new geopolitical conditions,
which will also be of benefit for Russia," he said.

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey because
of preconditions laid down by the Turkish side. In particular, Turkey
wants Armenia to abandon the international process of recognizing
the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire during the years of World
War I, when over 1.5mln Armenians were massacred.

Besides, Turkey openly takes a pro-Azerbaijani position in the
settlement of the Karabakh issue.

The Armenian Genocide is recognized by many countries, among them
Uruguay, Lithuania, Russia, France, the Lower Chamber of Italian
parliament and the most of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus,
Argentina, Belgium, Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of
Commons of Canadian parliament and Seym of Poland. The Armenian-Turkish
border was closed in 1993 on the initiative of official Ankara.

DAN K. THOMASSON: PELOSI STUMBLES OVER ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

Press of Atlantic City, NJ
icated/story/3719784p-13164721c.html
Oct 15 2007

It is not unusual for members of Congress to put their own political
welfare above the nation’s interests. It happens all the time to
one degree or another. But every time it occurs, it punctuates the
fallibility of the system.

Take the current brouhaha over a congressional resolution that would
declare 92 years after the fact that the death of a million Armenians
at the hands of what was then the Ottoman Empire was genocide, as if
anyone who was aware of the 1915 slaughter had any doubts about it.

After all, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a
sure bet it’s a duck. But what might seem like a harmless gesture to
appease Armenian Americans by officially declaring it so all these
decades later is threatening to cause a serious break in relations
with Turkey, an ally we can’t afford to lose.

One expects the Speaker of the House to be far more responsible,
particularly when it comes to dealing with irresponsible, emotional
demands of constituents. But what Nancy Pelosi seems to have forgotten
is that her position makes her the next in line to be president of
the United States after the vice president and that at times that may
require putting the national interests ahead of political expediency
no matter how many Armenian Americans are in her district.

So ignoring the possible consequences of a diplomatic break, which
both Turkish and U.S. authorities warn is a real possibility, Pelosi
has allowed the politically mischievous resolution to be voted out
of committee and has further inflamed the situation by promising
the issue would be taken up by the full House. The result of this,
among other things, has been to increase the possibility of a Turkish
invasion of Northern Iraq to quell Kurdish separatists who Turks
regard as terrorists and the cutting off of vital supply lines and
bases for U.S. troops.

Short of calling for actual reparations to the descendents of the
1915 victims at the threat of bombing Istanbul and sending a nasty
letter to every Turk over there and here, Pelosi and the resolution’s
sponsors couldn’t have done more to undercut American interests.

Nothing apparently said by a desperate White House backed up by the
last nine secretaries of state has so far been able to dissuade the
speaker who came to the high office promising to quell the incivility
of a place that often more resembles a juvenile detention center than
a legislature. Well, how does one spell bipartisanship now that it is
needed. No wonder the only approval rating lower than Bush’s belongs
to Congress.

Even if the process were halted now, experts believe, the committee
vote alone has caused severe harm to relations between the two
countries. There are, they say, enormous hard feelings among Turks who
increasingly believe that the United States is a one-way ally. As a
result U.S. influence over actions that could be devastating to this
nation’s interests has diminished dramatically. Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan already is taking considerable heat from his own military over
what is seen as acquiescence to Washington over the Kurdish situation
and now he faces a public that is enormously angry over the genocide
resolution. A recent poll shows that Turks are more and more hostile
toward the United States.

What seems terribly disappointing here is that the speaker’s extreme
partisanship continues to pervade the atmosphere in the House. She
cut her teeth on the partisan ward politics of Baltimore where her
father was mayor and has shown that side of her nature throughout her
congressional career, especially when she was Democratic leader before
ascending to House Speaker. If ever there were a time to put that
aside, it is now. She is a smart, capable politician who certainly
knows the consequences of such an irresponsible action.

That is why it seems inconceivable that she would allow it to go
forward. The only explanation seems to be that she is concerned about
her own reelection in an extremely liberal district where there is
a strong Armenian American presence. Her inability to change the
direction of the war in Iraq has been criticized by liberals. Her
San Francisco opponent is Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar activist whose
son was killed in Iraq, and whose shrill campaigning has made some
inroads on Pelosi’s popularity.

Even if that is her worry, it is time for her and those with similar
concerns to dump this resolution in the Potomac and pray it is not
too late to put things right with a much -needed ally. Hopefully,
there are a few statesmen left in Congress.

HIGH COURT REFUSES TO FREE DEFIANT BUSINESSMAN
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 15 2007

Armenia’s Court of Appeals on Monday refused to grant bail to
a prominent businessman who spent nearly two years in prison on
controversial fraud charges and was acquitted by a lower court only
to be arrested again earlier this month.

Gagik Hakobian, the leading shareholder in the Royal Armenia coffee
company locked in a bitter dispute with the government, was taken
into custody immediately after returning to Armenia from Spain where
had reportedly undergone medical treatment since his sensational
acquittal last July.

Hakobian and Royal Armenia’s deputy director, Aram Ghazarian, had been
arrested and charged with tax evasion and fraud in October two years
ago after publicly accusing senior customs officials of corruption. A
Yerevan court of first instance found the accusations baseless and
freed the two men.

State prosecutors were quick to challenge the ruling at the Court
of Appeals. The latter issued an arrest warrant for Hakobian
last September, citing his failure to attend its hearings on the
high-profile case. The businessmen insists that he never intended to
flee the country and visited Spain to improve his health condition.

His lawyer, Ashot Sargsian, reiterated these arguments as he asked
the panel of three judges to free his client pending trial. Sargsian
emphasized the fact that Hakobian voluntarily returned to Armenia.

The presiding judge, Suren Ghazarian, rejected the petition, saying
that Hakobian could obstruct the trial and even go into hiding if set
free. He also dismissed a similar request filed by Armen Harutiunian,
the state human rights ombudsman.

Sargsian condemned the rebuff and demanded that Ghazarian be replaced
by another judge. The court rejected the demand.

Sargsian claimed that the judge presiding over appeals hearings can
not be objective because he fears meeting the fate of Pargev Ohanian,
the district court judge to acquitted the Royal Armenia men and now
looks set to be dismissed by President Robert Kocharian.

The Council of Justice, a powerful body overseeing the Armenian
judiciary, asked Kocharian on Friday to relieve Ohanian of his duties,
saying that he broke the law when adjudicating two dozen criminal
and civil cases. Although the Royal Armenia case is not among them,
Ohanian is widely believed to be paying the price for his surprise
July 16 ruling.

In a related development, Vache Petrosian, an Armenian-American
businessman who claims to be defrauded by Royal Armenia, alleged on
Monday that he believes Ohanian acquitted the two businessman in return
for a hefty bribe. He offered no proof of the allegation, though.

Petrosian’s fraud claims form part of the criminal case brought against
Hakobian and Aram Ghazarian by the National Security Service (NSS)
two years ago. The NSS says their company also illegally evaded than
1 billion drams ($3 million) worth of taxes and import duties.

Royal Armenia strongly denies the accusations, saying that they were
leveled in retaliation for its owner’s public allegations of high-level
corruption within the State Customs Committee.