Author: Karakhanian Suren

Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service
April 24, 2009 Friday

Obama marks Armenian tragedy but doesn’t say `genocide’

By Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama on Friday broke a campaign pledge
but mollified Turkey by formally remembering the mass killings of
Armenians without using the diplomatically loaded term
quot;genocide.quot;

In a much-anticipated White House statement, Obama took note of the
quot;great atrocitiesquot; that occurred in the Ottoman Empire from
April 24, 1915, until 1923. While saying that 1.5 million Armenians
were quot;massacred or marched to their death,quot; the president said
that the most important thing now was to look ahead.

quot;I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to
work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open and
constructive,quot; Obama declared.

The president also twice used the Armenian phrase quot;meds
yeghern,quot; which often is translated as quot;great calamity.quot;

The most important part of his statement, though, was the word that
was missing. Armenian-American activists and their political allies
denounced the 389-word statement as a sellout because it didn’t
characterize the events as genocide.

quot;I am outraged,quot; said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., a
co-sponsor of a congressional Armenian-genocide resolution. quot;The
president chose, for political reasons, to abandon his commitment to
the Armenian people.quot;

Bryan Ardouny, the executive director of the Armenian Assembly of
America, charged that Obama’s quot;failure … diminishes
U.S. credibility with regard to genocide prevention,quot; while
Armenian National Committee of America Chairman Ken Hachikian voiced
quot;sharp disappointmentquot; with the president’s quot;retreat.quot;

Obama’s carefully calibrated statement was consistent with the
traditional advice of Pentagon and State Department professionals, who
warn against alienating Turkey. It reversed the promise he made while
seeking Armenian-American votes, however.

quot;As president, I will recognize the Armenian genocide,quot; Obama
said on his campaign Web site.

Samantha Power, an Obama adviser and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author,
accentuated the point with a widely viewed YouTube campaign video
addressed to Armenian-Americans. Now a member of the National Security
Council, Power said then that Obama would quot;call a spade a spade
and speak truthquot; about the historic events.

Once in the White House, however, Obama became subject to the broader
diplomatic and military considerations that have prompted presidents
before him to retreat from similar promises. Turkey is a crucial
U.S. ally within NATO _ bordering Iraq and Iran _ and Turkish
officials say the 1915-1923 wartime events remain subject to
interpretation.

In a two-day visit to Turkey earlier this month, Obama stressed the
important ties between the United States and the strategically located
nation of 78 million people. Turkish officials have warned
consistently that the United States could lose commercial
opportunities and military advantages, which include the use of
Turkey’s busy Incirlik Air Base, if an insulting genocide
commemoration were issued.

quot;President Obama has sent a clear message to America and the world
that his administration will not sacrifice long-term strategic allies
for short-term political gains,quot; said Lincoln McCurdy, the
president of the Turkish Coalition of America.

The Turkish and Armenian governments, with Switzerland as a neutral
mediator, are working to normalize their long-strained
relations. Diplomats have warned against any incendiary U.S. statement
that might interfere with these talks, described in a recent joint
Turkish-Armenian statement as reaching quot;tangible progress and
mutual understanding.quot;

quot;I suspect they think they’re making real progress on their
dialogue, and they want to see it completed,quot; said Rep. Jim Costa,
a California Democrat and genocide-resolution supporter who serves on
the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush broke similar
pledges. President Bill Clinton, too, leaned on congressional leaders
not to pass genocide commemoration measures.

In 2000, only minutes before debate was set to start in the House of
Representatives, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert yielded to
Clinton’s request not to bring the genocide resolution, authored by
Radanovich, up for a vote.

Hastert is now a lobbyist with the firm Dickstein Shapiro, one of a
number that Turkey hired to press its cause on Capitol Hill. Turkey
pays $35,000 a month for help from Hastert and his team, Justice
Department foreign-agent filings show. Turkey is paying former House
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt’s firm, DLA Piper, $100,000 a month,
filings have shown.

Currently, 107 House members co-sponsor a nonbinding resolution that
says, quot;The failure of the domestic and international authorities
to punish those responsible for the Armenian genocide is a reason why
similar genocides have recurred and may recur in the future.quot;

A similar resolution fell short in the last Congress, and House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said she’ll bring it to a vote
only if it attracts at least 218 co-sponsors.

Le Monde, France
7 Avril 2009

Génocide arménien : "En Turquie, Obama a fait preuve
d’habileté"

LEMONDE.FR | 06.04.09 | 20h19 ¢ Mis à jour le 07.04.09 | 08h20

Raymond Kevorkian, directeur de recherches à l’université
Paris-VIII, spécialiste de la Turquie et de l’Arménie,
décrypte la position du président américain concernant
le génocide arménien. Ce dernier a répondu, lundi 6
avril à Ankara, à un journaliste : "Mon opinion est publique,
et je n’en ai pas changé. Je veux aujourd’hui mettre l’accent non sur
mes opinions personnelles, mais sur les opinions des peuples turc et
arménien. S’ils peuvent avancer… le monde entier doit les
encourager." Il a aussi estimé que le dialogue entre les deux pays
"pourrait très vite porter ses fruits".

Suivez l’information en continu, accédez à 70 fils de
dépêches thématiques Abonnez-vous au Monde.fr :
6?¬ par mois + 30 jours offertsQue pensez-vous des propos de Barack
Obama à Ankara sur le génocide arménien ?

Le président américain a fait preuve d’habileté. Il a
d’abord fait référence aux positions qu’il a exprimées
comme sénateur et comme candidat à la présidence des
Etats-Unis. A l’époque, il avait prôné une
véritable rupture : dire clairement qu’il s’agissait d’un
génocide. Alors que George Bush, comme ses
prédécesseurs, s’y était toujours refusé et
était personnellement intervenu auprès des parlementaires, en
octobre 2007, alors que la Chambre des représentants
s’apprêtait à adopter un texte sur ce sujet.

Aujourd’hui, Barack Obama, aux côtés du président turc,
Abdullah Gül, a fait savoir qu’il refuse de se dédire au
profit de la realpolitik, alors qu’on aurait pu craindre que les
considérations éthiques et morales passent au second plan
maintenant qu’il est au pouvoir. Cependant, il n’a pas prononcé le
terme de "génocide", ménageant ainsi la Turquie, et s’est
refusé à instrumentaliser le sujet. Alors qu’Ankara est
prêt à beaucoup de concessions sur d’autres dossiers pour
éviter que les Etats-Unis reconnaissent le génocide ` ce
qu’ont fait toutes les autres grandes puissances occidentales `, il n’en a
pas joué. Ses déclarations devraient donc satisfaire chaque
camp.

Peut-on imaginer que le président américain aille plus loin
lors de la date anniversaire du génocide arménien, le 24 avril
?

Traditionnellement, le président américain s’exprime à
cette date pour évoquer une "grande catastrophe", des "massacres" ou
un "crime contre l’humanité". Barack Obama ira-t-il plus loin ? Il
faut souligner qu’une nouvelle motion de reconnaissance du génocide a
été déposée au Congrès, mi-mars, par les
élus qui défendent la diaspora arménienne aux
Etats-Unis, forte d’un million de personnes et constituée en
lobby. Mais je ne pense pas que le président parlera
expressément de génocide, ce qui provoquerait sans doute le
rappel par Ankara de son ambassadeur aux Etats-Unis. Et ce dossier ne
paraît pas actuellement une priorité pour Washington,
confronté à la crise économique internationale et aux
bourbiers irakien et afghan. Les Etats-Unis ont besoin de soutien, et
notamment celui de la Turquie, dont ils attendent qu’elle serve de
plate-forme pour rapatrier leurs troupes d’Irak.

Doit-on s’attendre alors à un statu quo ?

Barack Obama a dit qu’il privilégie pour l’instant le dialogue entre
les Turcs et les Arméniens engagé depuis quelques mois, qui
vise à établir des relations diplomatiques entre les deux pays
et à ouvrir leur frontière commune. Les deux parties seraient
proches d’un accord, mais des rumeurs identiques, dans les années
1990, ne s’étaient jamais concrétisées… Jusqu’ici,
Ankara posait notamment deux conditions que son petit voisin ne peut
accepter : qu’il renonce à soulever la question du génocide,
et qu’il fasse des concessions sur le dossier du Haut-Karabakh, à
majorité arménienne, qui s’est autoproclamé
indépendant [en 1991] pendant la guerre remportée par
l’Arménie sur l’Azerbaïdjan (allié à la
Turquie). Barack Obama peut avoir une influence sur la Turquie pour mettre
fin à ces exigences, et a peut-être d’ores et
déjà mis la pression, en privé, lors de son entretien
avec M. Gül. Washington semble ainsi miser sur le fait que, une fois
leurs relations diplomatiques établies, Ankara et Erevan
règleront eux-mêmes leur différend sur le
génocide. Le président américain a laissé toutes
les options ouvertes, ce lundi.

Propos recueillis par Claire Ané

le/2009/04/06/genocide-armenien-en-turquie-obama-a -fait-preuve-d-habilete_1177204_3214.html#ens_id=1 145884

Eurovision.tv
April 24 2009

Armenia: How Inga & Anush were ‘high’ in Amsterdam

Published 24/Apr 2009 @ 11:17 by Jarmo Siim

Digg this article If you visit the official blog of the 2009 Armenian
participants Inga and Anush on their MyEurovision profile, you can
read an interesting story about the word combination ‘high’ and
Amsterdam.

"No, no, that’s not what you thought! We both strongly support the
healthy lifestyle, go to gym everyday and drink natural juices!" the
say in their blog at MyEurovision.

It’s simply a play of words – high (pronounced as ‘hai’) – means
‘Armenian’ in their native language, apparently.

"So, we are walking in the streets of Amsterdam, enjoying one of our
greatest trips so far, and suddenly we see a guy – with a typical
Armenian appearance. Anush says: "Hay a hastat (translated as ‘He is
definitely ‘Armenian’)!" and I’m like ‘hay a!’. Imagine our faces when
the guy turns to us and says: "Girls, it’s natural to be high in
Amsterdam, why are you so happy about that?" explains Inga.

They decided explanation was useless and continued their trip to a
museum.

You can read the full blog post on their MyEurovision profile and see
their video below.

Also read comments(especially Azeri one) at:

SOME RUSSIAN ANALYSTS AIM TO EMBROIL RUSSIA WITH ARMENIA

PanArmenian News
April 23 2009
Armenia

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of the Center of Caucasus Studies at Moscow
State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) Vladimir Zakharov
said that a large number of Russian analysts aim to embroil Russia
with Armenia.

"These, let us say commentators, work to create a negative image
of Armenia in Russia. Everybody knows that these are pro-Azerbaijani
journalists trying to discredit Armenia, since it agreed to participate
in NATO exercise in Georgia," he told PanARMENIAN.Net.

"Russian leadership has constant and positive attitude to Armenia. I
declare it with all responsibility. And President Ilham Aliyev’s visit
changed nothing. The point is that Azerbaijan can turn its back to
Russia, what is not desirable at the moment," he said.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSTN’T BE CONSIDERED ANTI-TURKISH POLICY

PanArmenian News
April 22 2009
Armenia

USA’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide will change the situation
in Armenian-Turkish relations and have a positive influence on
normalization of ties between Yerevan and Ankara, Armen Rustamyan
Head of RA NA Committee for Foreign Affairs, said at TV space
bridge entitled "Armenia-Turkey: Progress in bilateral relations or
geopolitical games of world powers?"

"Despite official Ankara’s statements that USA’s recognition of the
Armenian genocide will impair the negotiation process between Armenia
and Turkey, I believe it will promote establishment of trust in the
region," RA MP stated.

"International recognition of Armenian Genocide mustn’t be considered
as anti-Turkish policy manifestation. Turkey still believes that
the process is directed against Turkish nation. Armenian Genocide
recognition is necessary for prevention of crimes against humanity
in future," Rustamyan stated.

In his turn, Yerevan Armenian Genocide Museum Director Hayk Demoyan
noted that Armenian Genocide recognition is not a political, but
rather a humanitarian issue.

Armenian Genocide is not only a part of Armenia’s history. By
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, countries of the world will
honor memories of people who offered humanitarian help to genocide
survivors. "Armenian Genocide recognition is a homage to our own
memories," Demoyan noted.

YEREVAN AND ANKARA SIGN ‘ROAD MAP’

ArmInfo
2009-04-23 08:53:00

ArmInfo. On April 22, official Yerevan and Ankara signed a so-called
"road map" in Switzerland which enables to establish diplomatic
relations between Armenia and Turkey. The document signed has been
already called "historical" in both countries, ‘Vesti’ TV channel
reported.

According to the source, the document has been signed under mediation
of Switzerland. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were
interrupted in 1993, that was caused by the events in Nagorno Karabakh,
when Ankara openly supported Azerbaijan. The fact of international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide has become an additional
stumbling-block in bilateral relations. It is interesting that the
document has been signed 2 days before the Day of Commemoration of
the Genocide victims marked in Armenia on April 24. Official contacts
between the two states have started very recently.

President of Turkey Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan in September, 2008,
on invitation of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to jointly watch
a football match between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey.

COMMISSION OF HISTORIANS WELCOMED BY ACADEMIC

Hurriyet
April 22 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – While most Turkish and many non-Turkish historians
continue to object to the term "genocide" as an accurate description
of Armenia’s tragic years around 1915, recently there has been a
convergence of views. The earliest Turkish historian to move beyond
the black and white debate was Halil Berktay of Istanbul’s Sabanci
University. Berktay has suggested "proto-genocide" might be a better
term, given that the legal definition of genocide was written made
33 years after 1915.

One of the few Turkish figures to embrace the emotional word "genocide"
without reservation is Taner Akcam, a scholar at Clark University in
the U.S. His use of that word netted him an indictment for "insulting
Turkishness" at one point, a charge of which Turkish courts acquitted
him.

In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent Turkish visit,
his past use of the symbolic term and comments in Turkey that his
views have not changed in the run-up to April 24 are evidence enough
for Akcam, who believes Obama is likely to use the term in his expected
address Thursday.

Turkey’s proposal "I’d say there is a high possibility of such
recognition, it’s not possible to say he absolutely will do so,"
Akcam told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. More important
for Turkey and Armenia, he said, is a full and candid exploration and
discussion of the two societies’ mutual history and he said he welcomes
Turkey’s proposal for a commission of historians as a positive step.

But it should not be tasked to "come to a decision about history,"
but rather to work to complete the still incomplete archival record,
he said. Akcam pointed out that many documents would still need to
be presented to the historians committee once it is founded.

There are other archives, including references in Boston and at the
Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem as well that have not yet been
made fully available to scholars, he said.

More archival work will not change anyone’s broad conclusions, he said,
but will facilitate better understanding.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST VIA SATELLITE FROM ANTELIAS – 24 APRIL, 2009

A liturgy in memory of the Armenian Genocide victims will be offered at the
headquarters of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias. On this
occasion, the Noursat Broadcast will be broadcasting LIVE via satellite the
Holy Liturgy.

Place: Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias, Lebanon
Time corresponding UTC (GMT): Friday, April 24, 2009 at 7:00 AM

* Check below your local listings for broadcast dates and times in your
area.

For more details on how to receive Noursat in your area, copy and paste the
following link into your internet browser’s address field:
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Or follow the instructions below:
You can watch Noursat in Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North/South
America, Far East and Australia 7 days a week, 24/24 hours on Hotbird 4,
Echostar, Pas 9 and Pas 8.

For the installation or any technical inquiry kindly
call the following numbers:

Middle East, North Africa and Europe (HotBird 4):
Orbital Location: 13°E
Downlink Frequency: 10949
Downlink Polarization: Vertical
Symbol Rate: 27.5 M S/S
Fec: 3/4
961-1-254501/2/3

North America (Echostar):
Dish Network
USA: 1-800-984-3388
Canada: 1-514-636-3444

South America (Pas 9):
Multipole International
55-11-3079-5222

Far East, Australia & New Zealand (Pas 8):
World Media International
61-2-9747-1011

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Bismarck (U.S.A. – North Dakota) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Columbus (U.S.A. – Ohio) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Oklahoma City (U.S.A. – Oklahoma) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Salem (U.S.A. – Oregon) Midnight between Thursday, April 23, 2009 and
Friday, April 24, 2009
Philadelphia (U.S.A. – Pennsylvania) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Providence (U.S.A. – Rhode Island) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Columbia (U.S.A. – South Carolina) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Sioux Falls (U.S.A. – South Dakota) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Nashville (U.S.A. – Tennessee) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Dallas (U.S.A. – Texas) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Houston (U.S.A. – Texas) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Salt Lake City (U.S.A. – Utah) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 1:00:00 AM
Montpelier (U.S.A. – Vermont) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Richmond (U.S.A. – Virginia) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 3:00:00 AM
Seattle (U.S.A. – Washington) Midnight between Thursday, April 23, 2009 and
Friday, April 24, 2009
Madison (U.S.A. – Wisconsin) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:00:00 AM
Cheyenne (U.S.A. – Wyoming) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 1:00:00 AM
Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi) Friday, April 24, 2009 at
11:00:00 AM
Dubai (United Arab Emirates – Dubai) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM
Montevideo (Uruguay) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 4:00:00 AM
Vatican City (Vatican City State) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 9:00:00 AM
Caracas (Venezuela) Friday, April 24, 2009 at 2:30:00 AM

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS TO VISIT THE NAGORNO KARABAKH REGION FROM APRIL 21-27

ArmenPress
April 21 2009
Armenia

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov(Russia), Bernard Fassier
(France) and Matthew Bryza (USA) will visit the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict region April 21-27.

OSCE spokesman Martin Nesirki told Armenpress that they will be in
Yerevan on April 21 and 22, in Baku -April 23-24, in Stepanakert
– on April 25-26. On April 26-27 the co-chairs will again visit
Yerevan. M. Nesirki noted that a certain change of chronology is
also possible.

Their visit aims at preparation of the possible meeting of Azerbaijani
and Armenian Presidents in Prague on May 7 and discussing issues
connected with the present round of Nagorno Karabakh conflict
regulation.

RUSSIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST: RETURN OF FIVE OCCUPIED REGIONS TO AZERBAIJAN MUST UNDOUBTEDLY BECOME THE FIRST STEP

Today.Az
1634.html
April 20 2009
Azerbaijan

The results of the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Moscow are
positive, said head of the center for post-Soviet area study Alexei
Vlasov.

"The very information background around this visit both in Russian
and Azerbaijan mass medias and analysis of speeches of Dmitri
Medvedev and Ilham Aliyev by results of the meeting prove that the
Russian-Azerbaijani relations are just close to a very serious
breakthrough in a positive direction. Personally, I have this
impression", said the political scientist.

As for the Karabakh conflict, he said that Russia during the presidency
of Vladimir Putin and especially now since the start of Medvedev’s
presidency has repeatedly voiced a common approach – Russia is for
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"I have not heard any different position from our officials on this
issue. Second, Moscow, Baku and I think Ankara and Yerevan realize that
the internal negative energy around the Karabakh conflict is growing.

And if some positive changes in the resolution of the conflict do not
occur soon at least in the step by step format, the situation might
simply come out of control and Moscow is absolutely not interested
in this, not speaking of the direct participants of the conflict.

Therefore, I suppose that Moscow has some ideas about the step by step
advancement to the resolution of this conflict and I think (this is my
personal opinion) that the result of at least five occupied regions
of Azerbaijan, which are under occupation. And this step, I think,
must be taken beyond the context of the resolution of the issue about
the status of Nagorno Karabakh", said the political scientist.