Author: Kanayan Tamar

Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 2 2005
French to hold referendum on Turkey’s EU membership
French Parliament voted “yes” yesterday to hold a referendum on
Turkey’s bid for EU membership.
Despite fighting strong opposition from his centre-right party UMP,
French Prime Minister Jack Chirac is in favor of Turkish EU
membership.
The party is currently split down the middle on the subject, but are
expected to reach an agreement in December 2005.
Before the referendum on Turkey can take place, France will hold a
referendum on the EU constitution. This referendum was originally
going to be held late in 2005, but as France wants to keep the issue
of “Turkey’s EU bid” completely separate, the date may be brought
forward to May 8. , symbolising the end of world war II.
Once all member states have signed the treaty on October 29. , the
ratification process can begin.
There is a strong anti-Turkish lobby in France including the Greek
and Armenian lobby groups. Apart from teh ethnic lobbies, the
rightist groups claim that Turkey is a Muslim country and there is no
room in EU for the non-Christian states. The EU has no Muslim member
now, though there are Muslim states in the continent like Turkey,
Albania, Bosnia, Turkish Cyprus and Azerbaijan.
Compiled from Hurriyet, Milliyet, Zaman.

Los angeles Times
March 2, 2005
A Monument to Denial
By Adam Hochschild, Adam Hochschild is the author of “King Leopold’s Ghost”
(Mariner Books, 1999) and “Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight
to Free an Empire’s Slaves” (Houghton Mifflin, 2005).
No country likes to come to terms with embarrassing parts of its past.
Japanese schoolbooks still whitewash the atrocities of World War II, and the
Turkish government continues to deny the Armenian genocide. Until about
1970, the millions of visitors to Colonial Williamsburg saw no indication
that roughly half the inhabitants of the original town were slaves.
Until recently, one of the world’s more blatant denials of history had been
taking place at the Royal Museum of Central Africa, an immense, chateau-like
building on the outskirts of Brussels. It was founded a century ago by
Belgium’s King Leopold II, who, from 1885 to 1908, literally owned the Congo
as the world’s only privately controlled colony. Right through the 1990s,
the museum’s magnificent collection of African art, tools, masks and weapons
– among the largest and best anywhere, much of it gathered during the 23
years of Leopold’s rule – reflected nothing of what had happened in the
territory during that period. It was as if a great museum of Jewish art and
culture in Berlin revealed nothing about the Holocaust.
The holocaust visited upon the Congo under Leopold was not an attempt at
deliberate extermination, like the one the Nazis carried out on Europe’s
Jews, but its overall toll was probably higher. Soon after the king got his
hands on the colony, there was a worldwide rubber boom, and Leopold turned
much of the Congo’s adult male population into forced labor for gathering
wild rubber. His private army marched into village after village and held
the women hostage to force the men to go into the rain forest, often for
weeks out of each month, to tap rubber vines. This went on for nearly two
decades.
Though Leopold made a fortune estimated at well over $1 billion in today’s
dollars, the results were catastrophic for Congolese. Laborers were often
worked to death, and many female hostages starved. With few people to hunt,
fish or cultivate crops, food grew scarce. Hundreds of thousands of people
fled the forced-labor regime, but deep in the forest they found little to
eat and no shelter, and travelers came upon their bones for years afterward.
Tens of thousands more rose up in rebellion and were shot down. The
birthrate plummeted. Disease – principally sleeping sickness – took a toll
in the millions among half-starved and traumatized people who otherwise
might have survived.
Leopold’s murderous regime was exposed in its own day by a brave band of
activists: American, British and Swedish missionaries, and a hard-working
British journalist, E.D. Morel. Any historian of Africa knows the basic
story, and many have written about parts of it.
In 1998, I finished a book on the subject, “King Leopold’s Ghost,” which was
published in Belgium and drew furious denunciations from royalists and
conservatives. The foreign minister sent a special message to Belgian
diplomats abroad, counseling them on how to answer awkward questions from
readers. Asked if the museum planned changes, a senior official of the Royal
Museum of Central Africa replied that some were under study, “but absolutely
not because of the recent disreputable book by an American.”
The museum’s current director, Guido Gryseels, caught between pressure from
human rights activists on the one hand and rumored strong pressure from the
government and the royal family on the other, several years ago appointed a
commission of historians to study the Leopold period and determine just what
did happen. The move won favorable press coverage, but was in essence an odd
one: Usually commissions take evidence and hear witnesses; they don’t study
the distant past.
Under Gryseels, the museum has also gradually begun rewording signs on its
exhibits, and several weeks ago opened a new exhibit, “Memory of Congo: the
Colonial Era,” accompanied by a catalog, a thick, lavishly illustrated
coffee-table book of several dozen scholarly articles.
Judging from the latter, the museum has pulled its head out of the sand –
but only part way. There are a few atrocity photos, but they are far
outnumbered by pictures of dancers, musicians and happy black and white
families. The catalog is rife with evasions and denials. The commission of
historians, for instance, sets the loss of population during the most brutal
colonial period at 20%. This ignores the fact that in 1919 an official body
of the Belgian colonial government estimated the toll at 50%. And that the
Belgian-born Jan Vansina, professor emeritus of history and anthropology at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison and widely regarded as the greatest
living student of Central African peoples, makes the same estimate today.
One wall panel at the new museum exhibit raises – and debunks – the charge,
“Genocide in the Congo?” But this is a red herring: No reputable scholar of
the Congo uses the word. Forced labor is different from genocide, though
both can be fatal. Most of all, it is strange to see the catalog’s articles
on the bus system of Leopoldville, Congo national parks and the Congo visit
of a Belgian crown prince, but not a single piece on the deadly forced labor
system.
Belgium is not alone in failing to face up to its own history. All countries
mythologize their pasts and confront the worst of it only slowly. But once
they do, there are positive discoveries as well as painful ones. When I went
to school in the 1950s, I never heard the name Frederick Douglass, but my
children, who went in the 1980s, did.
The Royal Museum of Central Africa has similar figures it could celebrate.
Stanlislas Lefranc was a devout Catholic and monarchist who went to the
Congo 100 years ago to work as a magistrate. In pamphlets and newspaper
articles he later published in Belgium, he spoke out bravely against the
cruelties he witnessed. Jules Marchal, who died recently, was a Belgian
diplomat in Africa who, in his spare time, wrote the definitive history of
forced labor in the Congo, much of it based on years of searching files for
duplicate copies of documents that King Leopold had ordered destroyed. Both
men were shunned and ostracized in their time. Confronting the past is not
just about acknowledging guilt, but rediscovering heroes.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives.

PREPARED REMARKS OF THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA, U.S. SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION
MARITIME TRADES DEPARTMENT
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
FEBRUARY 25, 2005
Good morning, everyone. It’s wonderful to be with all of you again.
I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to believe that almost an
entire year has come and gone since we were last together in
Hollywood, Florida.
>From that gathering last year through today, our economy has gotten
stronger, and more Americans have been able to find good, quality
jobs.
Or, at least in my case, more Americans are holding on to their
quality jobs!
I have President Bush to thank for giving me the opportunity to serve
this great Nation again as the Secretary of Transportation.
And, I have you to thank for the invitation to be in Las Vegas today
with the Maritime Trades Department and your 29 affiliated unions.
All of us in this room, from the people who work in the ports to the
mariners aboard the ships, are drawn together by a common interest in
one thing – the health of our economy.
We are a maritime Nation. And the maritime industry is essential to
our economic strength, to our productivity, and to the creation of
American jobs.
Just a few weeks ago we learned that, nationwide, 46,000 jobs were
created in January — the 20th straight month of steady employment
gains.
What does that tell us? It means that President Bush’s policies are
doing exactly what they are intended to do. They’re creating
employment opportunities for the rank and file, and they’re energizing
the economy.
There is another linchpin issue uniting all of us, and that is
maritime security. The President has said, and I quote, `We are safer,
but we’re not yet safe.’
And he is right.
The Maritime Security Program (MSP) supports the war on terror by
giving us the wherewithal to carry equipment and supplies to those
charged with defending our freedom and expanding liberty.
This program is one more important measure of the maritime industry’s
vital importance to our economic and national security, and our
commitment to addressing its needs.
So, I am pleased to announce that the President’s fiscal year 2006
budget calls for a fully funded fleet expansion to 60 ships, up from
47.
This marks the first increase in the fleet since the program was
created more than ten years ago.
Without MSP reauthorization, there would have been a high likelihood
that many of the existing 47 ships would have been re-flagged to
foreign registries employing foreign crews.
And they would not be putting money into our economy or paying taxes.
Now, with the funding that the President has proposed, when the new
MSP begins on October 1 of this year, it will bring greater
opportunities and more jobs for U.S. citizens.
As you know, the MSP fleet employs a labor base of skilled and loyal
American seafarers. They must also be well-trained.
When the Congress passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act in
2002, it gave the Secretary of Transportation the responsibility of
developing new, focused security training courses for maritime
professionals.
We have done that.
And we have set up a voluntary process to assess the quality of the
courses being offered by private parties.
The Seaferers’ Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship was the first
training provider to apply to MARAD for course certification. We also
received submissions from several non-union training providers.
This is a great opportunity to announce that SIU has the distinction
of being the first to receive certification for your Vessel Security
Officer training course.
Congratulations to Mike Sacco and the SIU.
Nearly one year ago, at the MTD’s last conference, you’ll recall that
I unveiled the Administration’s blueprint for a comprehensive Marine
Transportation System.
I called that initiative SEA-21.
This is one of my top priorities for this second term, and several
crucial components have already gone into effect.
One of the issues that SEA-21 recognized was that America’s merchant
marine was at a disadvantage compared to foreign-flagged vessels whose
owners and crews pay minimal taxes.
This issue was brought directly to the President’s attention. And I am
extremely pleased that, after years of competing on a slanted playing
field, tax relief for the U.S. shipping industry is a done deal, and
the field has been leveled.
As if taxes were not enough of a challenge, there are 17 Federal
agencies in six, separate cabinet-level Departments participating in
maritime decision-making.
The job of coordinating their work and their policies has never been
easy, but we hope we’ve found a way to make their job easier.
The answer is a one-stop shop for the maritime sector.
President Bush is committed to improving the coordination of maritime
policy, and an integral part of that is building a higher profile for
the Interagency Committee on the Marine Transportation System.
On December 17 of last year, in his U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the
President elevated the ICMTS to a Cabinet-level body, ensuring that
the maritime sector will now be accorded the attention it deserves.
I want to thank Captain William Schubert for his tremendous efforts in
this regard while he was the Maritime Administrator.
Thanks to his leadership and ability to work as an honest broker with
all segments of the maritime community, there is now greater
across-the-board industry cooperation to help us in addressing the
challenges of the future.
And John Jamian, our acting Administrator, is working with the Coast
Guard to develop the framework that will make the ICMTS a useful tool
for the maritime industry.
We’ve already done something similar with aviation policy, and it has
really improved the way that we coordinate the Nation’s air
transportation planning.
In short, we are bringing that same can-do mindset to the maritime
sector, in cooperation with all of our partners, especially the Coast
Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA.
Let’s turn now to another significant constraint facing the maritime
community.
And that is, congestion and inadequate infrastructure at the
connections between our ports and the Nation’s surface transportation
system.
I know that John Jamian spoke to you yesterday about port congestion,
so for the moment I’ll focus on infrastructure and what we’re doing
about it.
Too often, the connections between trucks and trains and merchant
ships are neglected, which slows the efficiency of the entire system.
One solution can be found in our reauthorization proposal for surface
transportation programs, which we call SAFETEA, or the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act.
SAFETEA encourages, in new and innovative ways, meaningful investments
to help improve the critical `last-mile’ road connections from the
National Highway System to intermodal freight facilities.
These initiatives are designed to enhance accessibility and to improve
the productivity of the entire maritime system.
With freight volumes soaring and bottlenecks on the rise, the time for
this legislation is now.
I will continue to work with the Congress to get SAFETEA passed. And I
believe that it will pass, early this year.
And then in 2006, when I stand once again before the Maritime Trades
Department, we can celebrate another major success for the
U.S. maritime industry.
Thank you for inviting me to share our plans. May God bless all of
you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-1) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Armenia’s FM Oskanian Receives Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov
Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov arrived in Armenia for his first working
visit late Wednesday, February 16. On February 17, Minister Oskanian
received his Russian counterpart at Armenia’s Foreign Ministry for a lengthy
meeting.
The Armenian Foreign Minister welcomed Minister Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan,
noting that in the last decade Armenia-Russia relations have deepened, with
strategic cooperation between the two based on common interests. Minister
Lavrov, too, expressed his satisfaction with the level of cooperation and
the positive direction of interstate contacts. As evidence, he pointed to
the fact that 2005 is the Year of Russia, in Armenia.
Noting that there is a conflation of opinion and approach surrounding
various international and regional developments, the sides expressed
readiness to take the necessary steps to create an atmosphere of reciprocal
confidence and cooperation in the South Caucasus. In this context, the
Armenian and Russian ministers discussed the current stage of negotiations
surrounding the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Minister Lavrov expressed hope
that the Prague Process would give the two sides the opportunity to find
common ground for the quick settlement of the conflict, and reaffirmed
Russia’s readiness to serve as guarantor for whatever agreement is reached
by the sides.
The two ministers discussed the main issues on the Armenia-Russia agenda.
They focused specifically on economic matters and spoke of the effeciveness
of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission, as well as the
Armenia-Russia Business Cooperation Union. They noted that such cooperation
can only be aided by the recently enhanced contacts between Armenia’s
regions and specific Russian companies.
In the context of improved economic relations, Ministers Oskanian and Lavrov
stressed the importance of a unified policy on the part of the countries of
the South Caucasus and Russia towards the reestablishment of communication
lines in the region, noting that this would at the same time benefit the
settlement of existing conflicts. The ministers acknowledged that some
progress is noticeable in this area and discussed a series of issues which
still await resolution.
In the context of the Year of Russia, they discussed humanitarian
activities, cultural exchange, and a variety of programs and activities and
programs in the fields of trade, culture, science, education, information,
youth, sports and tourism which will begin by mid-March. Armenia’s and
Russia’s top diplomats also discussed the need to encourage and facilitate
Armenian and Russian language instruction in each other’s countries,
especially in the context of the historic friendship between the two
peoples.
On the bilateral agenda, the ministers examined issues relating to Armenian
citizens in Russia, such as residency, status and work quotas, as well as
specific consular and diplomatic matters.
Minister Lavrov and Minister Oskanian conferred about cooperation in
international and regional organizations, CIS reforms, cooperation in the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, and UN reform.
During his one-day visit, Minister Lavrov, who had last visited Armenia
over a decade earlier, placed a wreath at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide
Memorial, visited Armenia’s Slavonic University, and participated in a joint
news conference with Minister Oskanian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REMEMBERING ARMENIAN, GREEK, SERBIAN, JEWISH AND ROMA (GYPSY) VICTIMS OF
GENOCIDE ON 22-24 APRIL 2005
FUND FOR GENOCIDE RESEARCH
Yugoslavia, Belgrade
27 marta 24/I
tel/fax (381-11) 3238-790, (381-11) 334–7758
E-Mail [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 December 2004
BELGRADE — Genocide is the most severe crime against Humanity and
International Law. It is frequently a consequence of the crime against
peace which occurs at times when great world powers attempt to achieve
world domination.
Twentieth century is marked by Genocide. In 1915, Turkey committed
Genocide on Armenian and Greek populations. During World War II Croatian
Nazis known as Ustasha committed a Genocide in the system of
Concentration Camps of Jasenovac. Literally hundreds of thousands of
Eastern Orthodox Serbs, as well as Jews, Roma people and some Croatian
anti-fascists were bestially murdered.
On 22 April 1945 a few surviving inmates made a heroic break through and
liberated themselves from Jasenovac. The day of April 22 is declared
Victims of Genocide Remembrance Day. The Council of the Serbian Eastern
Orthodox Church decided that every year on that day a holy liturgy will
be held and we will pray for the souls of the victims of Genocide.
At the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century, from 1894 to 1923,
the Ottoman Empire committed a Genocide on Christian population of the
Near East, in Asia Minor between Black Sea and Meditteranean. The
estimate is that some 3.5 million Christians were murdered during that
period. Sultan Abud Hamid started a state Genocide against Armenian
people in 1893. By 1896 some 300,000 Armenians were brutally murdered.
In a repeated massacre in 1909 some two hundred Armenian villages were
pillaged. Only in Adan, district of Cilicia, between 20 and 30 thousand
Christian Armenians perished.
During World War One, the Ottoman Empire, in alliance with Germany and
Austria-Hungary, was resolute to fulfill the plan of “Turkey to the
Turks.” This plan of building “Greater Turkey” (so called “Turan”)
included complete elimination of all Christians – the Greeks, Armenians,
Syrians and Nestorians – who constituted some 10% of the population of
the country. The pogrom started on 24 April 1915. The Turkish Government
deported 1,800,000 Armenians; some two thirds of the entire Armenian
population. They were send to a March of Death, Southwards through
Syrian desert and to East Anadolia, the Asian part of Turkey. The desert
was the scene of massacre, rape, starvation and dehydration, which is
how most of these poor people perished. Over 1.5 million Christian
Armenians were thus murdered. This includes some four thousand priests
and bishops. The Turks tried to forcefully convert Armenian children.
Those who reneged on their Christian roots and became Muslims were
allowed to live, but now under new, Muslim names. This is but repetition
of what the Ottoman Turks did, over centuries, to the Serbian population
as they forcefully converted kidnapped Serbian children into Janissaries.
After they cleansed the Armenians, the Turks turned their attention
toward the Greeks. In the town of Smyrna the Turkish conquerors went
from house to house. There they raped and murdered the Greek owners and
then pillaged and burned their houses. French, British and American
ships were at bay and witnessed the carnage but were sure not to
interfere. The American Consul, though, compared the destiny of Smyrna
to the Roman destruction of Carthagina.
To this day the Turkish Government did not acknowledge its
responsibility for the crime of Genocide perpetrated on Greek and
Armenian population. This behavior enabled even Hitler to try to excuse
his own act of Genocide and Holocaust by saying: “Who ever mentions
Armenians today?”
On 18 June 1987, the European Parliament issued a decision to bind
acceptance of Turkey to the Union on the condition that Turkish
Government should acknowledge its Genocide perpetrated on the Armenians.
Mr. Roberto Kalderoli, the Italian Minister for Reform, went so far as
to say in December 2004 that eventual acceptance of Turkey into European
Union “would be a crime against our History and against our Christian
heritage.”
Today, 60 years after Genocide perpetrated on the Orthodox Serbs in Nazi
Croatia, there is no recognition of that fact. Without this basic fact
it is impossible to understand the roots and the cause of the events of
the last few years of the 20th century as they happened on the grounds
of former Yugoslavia. Unluckily, in the trials conducted in Croatian
capital of Zagreb in 1986 and 1999, both Dr Anrija Artukovif, who was
Minister of Interior of Ustasha (the Croat Nazi) Government and Mr.
Dinko akif, who was a commander of Jasenovac Concentration Camp, were
sentenced only for common acts of murder and not for the crimes of Genocide.
All of this explains how it was possible that the Serbian people were
target to a genocide once again, at the end of the same century. In
1990’s the Serbs were victims of jihad as Mujahedin pored into Bosnia
and Herzegovina. The Croatian Government fulfilled its World War II
genocidal plan as almost entire Serbian population, who lived for
centuries as majority in Krajina and Western Bosnia was cleansed by
Croat armed forces in 1995. The last census in Croatia conducted in
2001, shows that only 4.2% of Serbs are still citizens of that country!
In Kosovo and Metohija the Serbian population is again a target. In that
Province, under UN supervision, the Albanian terrorists are cleansing
all Christian Orthodox as well as all non-Albanian population. The
Albanian terrorists already dare threaten integrity of the remaining
parts of Serbia as well as question the integrity of neighboring
Macedonia and Greece.
Neither President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman nor the President of Muslim
part of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic were charged with Genocide. On the
other hand, the entire political leadership of the Serbian people – all
the Presidents of Serbia, Yugoslavia, Republic of Srpska Krajina,
Republika Srpska – as well as the entire military leadership of the
Serbian people – all were charged with nothing less but Genocide! This
was done by the self-declared “International Community” as the Western
Governments like to be call themselves.
The Muslim controlled Bosnian Government is charging the remaining
Serbian lands of Serbia and Montenegro with Genocide! In the law suit
submitted to the International Court they demand a compensation worth
between 200 and 300 billion dollars!!! Croatians who cleansed Serbian
population from large swaths of Historicaly Serb-populated Krajina,
dared charge the Serbian people with the same.
The complete truth about the Genocide perpetrated in 20th century is not
fully known. The responsibility is not acknowledged. The perpetrators
are not yet charged and brought to justice for their crime. This
situation enabled a climate in which it was possible that someone like
Mr. Ramu Haradinaj, an ethnic-Albanian who committed crimes of Genocide
against non-Albanian population was declared a Prime Minister of Kosovo.
This in the very place where he perpetrated his crime. The self-declared
“International Community” refused to intervene. In 2004 alone, the same
“International Community” issued 59 (fifty-nine) orders in NATO-occupied
Bosnia, with express purpose to enslave the surviving Serbian population
that fell under their control. The orders were to single-handedly depose
the entire leadership the Serbian people elected in Republika Srpska,
the remaining Serbian entity in Bosnia. All Ministers as well as
generals of the entity were deposed in this dictatorial fashion.
From Serbia, the “International Community” demands surrender of the
Yugoslav general who was in charge of suppressing Albanian terrorism in
Kosovo and Metohia. This is but another attack on the sovereignty of the
Serbian people.
This, 21st century started with mass Genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The
“International Community” did nothing to protect the victims. They did
not even use harsh words to describe this Genocide on non-Arab population.
On 22 April 2005, it will be 60th anniversary of the day when surviving
few charged to liberate themselves from Jasenovac.
On 24 April 2005 it will be 90th anniversary of the Turkish Genocide
perpetrated on Armenians, Greeks and other people.
The Days of 22-24 April 2005 we declare the Days of Remembrance of the
Armenian, Greek, Serbian, Jewish and Roma Victims of Genocide.
We ask you for help to commemorate those events.
We plan to organize an International Symposium as well as an Exhibition
which would present to the public – here and abroad – the historical
roots as well as causes for continued Genocide.
Please respond as soon as possible.
Respectfully,
SERBIAN-ARMENIAN SOCIETY
Boda Markovif, President
ARMENIAN SOCIETY OF BELGRADE (SERBIA)
Miodrag Vartabedijan, Honorary President
SOCIETY OF GREEKS OF SERBIA ;RIGA OD FERE+
Jannis Savas, President
SERBIAN-GREEK FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
Prof. Dr. Miodrag Stojanovif, President
JEWISH-SERBIAN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
Academitian Ljubomir Tadif, President
ROMA WORLD PARLIAMENT
Dragoljub Ackovif, Vice-President
SOCIETY OF JASENOVAC SURVIVORS
Smilja Tima, President
COMMITTEE FOR JASENOVAC, SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Archbishop Atanasije Jeftif, President
FUND FOR GENOCIDE RESEARCH
Dr Milan Bulajif, President

ARMENIAN DELEGATION PARTICIPATES IN 7TH REGIONAL MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL
LABOR ORGANIZATION IN BUDAPEST
BUDAPEST, FEBRUARY 16. ARMINFO. The 7th European Regional Meeting
of International Labor Organization opened in Budapest, Tuesday. A
delegation from Armenia headed by Minister for Labor and Social
Affairs Aghvan Vardanyan also participated in it.
The meeting participants gathered to discuss issues of economic reforms
and problems of globalization. Hungarian Prime Minister of and Prime
Minister of Luxemburg opened the meeting addressing a welcoming speech
to those present. ILO Director General Juan Samavia also spoke at
the opening ceremony.
The report of the organization says that despite high rates of economic
growth, during the last several years, the population’s incomes in the
CIS, including in RF, are lower than the level of 1989. The scales of
extreme poverty are still considerably enough in Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Kirghizstan, Tajikistan, Moldova (some 48% of the population).
The report draws attention to the issue of labor migration. In
conformity with different calculation, in 2000 22 mln foreign citizens
resided in Western Europe, including 3.3 mln people had no legal
status. In RF this figure was 5 mln people.
Wednesday, Minister for Labor and Social Affairs Aghvan Vardanyan will
make a report on the situation of labor market in Armenia and on the
socio-economic state of the population. The regional conference will
be completed on 18 February.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRESS RELEASE +++ PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Friday, February 11, 2005 PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
ANCA-WR BOARD DISCUSSES PLANS WITH MAJORITY LEADER FROMMER
GLENDALE, CA – Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
(ANCA-WR) Board members met with State Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer (D-43) last week to discuss a range of pressing issues facing the
California Armenian community, including plans to establish a California
Regional Trade Office in Armenia and inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in
public school curricula. The February 4th meeting was held at the
Assemblyman Frommer’s district offices in Glendale.
This was the first meeting held between the Majority Leader and the new
ANCA-WR leadership since the Board’s appointment in December of 2004. In
addition to the California Trade Office and genocide curricula,
community-wide plans marking the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
were discussed. Assemblyman Frommer shared his ideas on the ANCA-WR’s
initiatives and offered his support.
“The ANCA-WR appreciates Assemblyman Frommer’s collaborative spirit,” said
Steven Dadaian, Chairman of the ANCA-WR Board. “He plays an instrumental
role in affecting positive change for the community he serves,” commented
Dadaian.
Assemblyman Frommer represents the most heavily Armenian American populated
Assembly District in the state. He has consistently worked closely with the
Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
The ANCA-WR Board of Directors is appointed every two years to coordinate
activities between local and national bodies of the organization. Serving on
the current Board which began its term in December of 2004 are Steven
Dadaian (Chairman), Souzi Zerounian-Khanzadian (Treasurer), Vahagn Thomasian
(Secretary), Zanku Armenian, Thomas Azaian, Ara Bedrosian, Aida Dimejian,
Raffi Hamparian, Garo Kamarian, Leonard Manoukian, Armen Martin, Vahe
Melkonian, and Garo Yepremian.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout
the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad
range of issues.
Editor’s Note: Photo available upon request. Photo caption from left to
right – Armond Agakhani, ANCA-WR Government Relations Director Armen
Carapetian, ANCA-WR Board Members Aida Dimejian and Souzi
Zerounian-Khanzadian, CA State Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer, and
ANCA-WR Board Chairman Steven Dadaian.
#####

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL GOES ON BOOSTING TIES WITH NATO
ArmenPress
Feb 10 2005
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS: A senior member of the Armenian
parliament called today for intensifying ties with NATO to foil
Azerbaijan’s intentions to take the Nagorno Karabagh case to
NATO Parliamentary Assembly session. Speaking to journalists, Mher
Shahgeldian, the chairman of the parliament committee on defense and
national security issues, recalled, however, statements by senior
NATO officials that the alliance was not going to intervene in the
Armenian-Azeri conflict.
He said Armenia has to work harder to build up cooperation with NATO,
especially after a threat by Ziyafat Askerov, the head of Azerbaijani
delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly that Baku is going to raise
the Karabagh issue there.
According to Shahgeldian , NATO is becoming one of the components of
the regional security. “Armenia’s position in NATO PA differs from
that of Georgia and Azerbaijan, which have openly said they want to
joint it, while Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization,” he said.

Zaman, Turkey
Feb 5 2005
Debre Sweats at Turkish Parliament
By Anadolu Agency (aa), Cihan
The Speaker of the French Parliament Jean Louis-Debre has proposed
that an independent international institution conduct research into
allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide.
Still continuing his official Turkey visit, Debre voiced his proposal
at a meeting with Turkish Parliamentary European Union (EU)
Adjustment Committee Yasar Yakis and other commissioners.
Debre proposed research be undertaken into the so-called genocide
allegations by an independent international institution. Expressing
that a group of researchers from The United Nations (UN), the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and The Council of Europe along
with a Swiss group could conduct this independent research. Debre
noted that this may be the only way to reveal whether or not the
genocide allegations are true. Yakis, on the other hand, stressed
that any assessments based on the hypotheses that an Armenian
genocide did occur without any analysis on the validity of some
events that are described as “genocide” would be erroneous. Yakis
said that Turkey is not opposed to the historians’ research and
studies, it has opened the archives on this issue; however, it is the
Armenian side that has not open their archives.
A commissioner and a Republican People’s Party (CHP) member deputy
Onur Oymen also announced that a similar meeting regarding the issue
was previously held in Vienna; however, the Armenian historians did
not attend the second meeting even though Turkey had opened its
archives regarding the issue and presented all information, including
records and documents for examination. Oymen asked: “To which country
had this proposal of yours been made before?” and emphasized that
making political decisions over historical events paves the way for
erroneous outcomes. Debre in response to Oymen’s question of “Why did
you pass a law in your parliament without having research or studies
done on the issue of Armenian genocide?” with, “Let’s put this aside.
We have to forget the past. We want to assist you on your way to the
EU.”

OIL-FOR-U.N.
Yahoo News
Friday, February 4, 2005
By William F. Buckley Jr.
A wild thought passes through my mind, which is that maybe Benon Sevan
is in fact innocent! Innocent of receiving money directly from his
buddy Fakhry Abdelnour, the Egyptian whose company (AMEP — African
Middle East Petroleum) wanted some Iraqi chits to permit oil purchases.
Benon Sevan was certainly not innocent of using his influence in
behalf of his friends and of failing to blow any whistles when suspect
contractors were designated to oversee the oil-for-food program, a
cover-up for easing the life and enhancing the fortunes of Saddam
Hussein (news – web sites). The U.N. had evolved into a bureaucracy
besotted by people who were contriving to get around the freeze on the
full production and sale of Iraqi oil.
There is one concrete item that Paul Volcker’s commission of inquiry
brought out. During the period being examined, Benon Sevan received
gifts totaling $160,000 from — not Saddam, not Abdelnour, not Amir
Mohammad Rashid, the former Iraqi oil minister. But from an aunt. An
aunt greatly devoted to Sevan, we plausibly assume, though she is dead
and can’t be questioned. She was a photographer who lived in
Cyprus. Now, many transactions can amount to $160,000. For instance,
two transactions, added together, of $80,000 each. But the Volcker
commission focuses on a figure of $160,000, paid by Abdelnour to
Saddam Hussein as an illegal surcharge for oil purchased.
So it’s odd, but there is no evidence that the aunt in Cyprus gave
another $160,000 to Abdelnour. And anyway, those would have been
discrete benefactions. Sevan says he is entirely innocent. High
U.N. officials who worked with him for many years before his
retirement express worry and annoyance that Sevan should have got
himself so embedded in the sticky oil-for-food situation, but it isn’t
likely that he will be yanked from his retirement in Cyprus, deprived
of his diplomatic immunity and charged with grand larceny.
No, the debacle of oil-for-food demonstrates the difficulty in
managing, without leakage, a sum like the extraordinary $64 billion
involved. That is the value of the oil that Iraq (news – web sites)
was permitted to sell in order to raise money to feed hungry Iraqis
and to look after medical and other needs. The component parts of the
operation, which took place under the supervision of the United
Nations (news – web sites), begged for exploitation. There were a
myriad of people eager to get the coupons for that oil, because it was
being merchandised at a price lower than the price of oil in the world
market.
A reporter for The New York Times summarizes the handling of the
matter: “Iraq did not sell oil to just anyone. Under the guidance of
Taha Yassin Ramadan, an Iraqi vice president, and the Revolutionary
Command Council, headed by Mr. Hussein, a large portion of the oil
allocations were handed out to a select group that included
businessmen, politicians, journalists and diplomats who were perceived
to be sympathetic to Iraq.”
The friendly people negotiated the sale of $64 billion in oil. It
beggars the imagination that anything on such a scale, going through
so many hands, could have got safe, hygienic passage from Iraqi oil
wells to bread for kids.
Mr. Volcker’s commission has put off for months the completion of its
investigation. What we can say at this point is that, quoting the news
item, the “United Nations’ largest relief effort was riddled with
political favoritism and mismanagement.”
“I am reluctant to conclude that the U.N. is damaged beyond repair,”
commented Rep. Henry Hyde (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the
House International Relations Committee. “But these revelations
certainly point in this direction.” Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio,
voting record) of the Senate Permanent Committee on Investigation
wants action taken against Mr. Sevan, just to begin with.
But whatever steps are taken concretely, they aren’t — based on the
evidence of the Volcker commission — going to tell us very much that
we don’t already take for granted, namely the attractions of
larceny. If what happens is the demystification of the United Nations
as a vessel of incorruptibility, then that belated introduction to
reality is welcome. It doesn’t tell us what exactly a renewed
relationship with the U.N. should stress. It doesn’t even tell us what
has happened to all that money Saddam accumulated, some of it with the
connivance of U.N. officials.
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