Author: Madatian Greg

Tracy Press, CA
Oct 27 2007

Our Voice
Should an audible have been called for U.S. muddling in the Middle
East?

Press Editorial Board / Friday, 26 October 2007

The border skirmishes between Turkey and Kurdistan terrorists has yet
again stirred up the Middle East’s hornets’ nest, where tribes have
attempted to dominate each other for centuries.

Once again, the Bush administration is the de facto referee; this
time, it’s Turks versus Kurds. The outcome may be the same: no one
actually wins, but the U.S. really loses.

How did the U.S., the most powerful nation, end up again mired in the
middle of a dispute between two peoples that hate each other and
where a ceasefire is the best anyone can hope for?

We offer two contrasting points of view on U.S. Middle East policy:
President Bush’s, through testimony Wednesday by Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, a Stanford University alumni, before the House
Judiciary Committee; and a critic’s, a statement Thursday to the
Institute for Public Accuracy by an Armenian-American, Ben H.
Badikian, professor emeritus and former dean of the School of
Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Rice: `The Middle East is now and will remain one of the most
strategically important parts of the world for our national interests
and for international security. Therefore, the United States will
never retreat from our commitments in the Middle East.

`The goal we seek is a secure and peaceful region. But for that peace
and security to be lasting, not false stability, it must be rooted in
what President Bush calls the non-negotiable demands of human
dignity: the rule of law, limits on state power, free speech,
religious liberty, equal justice, property rights, tolerance of
difference, and respect for women.

`These values are a source of success for nations across the world.
And they are the only ideas that can give people in the Middle East a
future of modernity with dignity.’

Professor Bagdikian: `The face-off with Turkey over their
decades-long fight against their own independence-seeking Kurds, has
become a multi-sided dilemma for all parties.

`Kurds have lived for centuries in the mountains that straddle the
Turkish-Iraqi border. In Iraq, the Kurds are among the U.S. Army’s
most stable friends, and also occupy the other end of Iraq in its oil
rich region. Dilemma No. 1.

`But Turkey hates the Kurds and hints it might stop cooperating with
the U.S. Dilemma No. 2.

`Turkey needs U.S. help to enter the European Union. Dilemma No. 3.

`But the U.S. needs the big Turkish airfield to supply Iraq. Dilemma
No. 4.

`Bush has threatened Iran if it does not stop nuclear development and
Cheney has raised the threats of military action against Iran. But
Iran has oil and is Shiite. Dilemma No. 5.

`In Iraq, various Shiites are our `friends.’ But so is Israel a U.S.
friend. Dilemma No. 6.

`If we move militarily against Iran, it has missiles it can send into
Israel. Israel could fire back. Dilemma 7 and 8.

`It is a mess with no way to satisfy all the conflicting problems
created when Bush decided he would try to dominate the entire Middle
East.’

AAA: DENIAL OF GENOCIDE IS THE FINAL STAGE IN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.10.2007 16:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Passage of H.Res.106 by the U.S. House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on October 10 has resonated
around the world. From Ireland to China, from India to South America,
throughout Europe, and most every town in the United States, a
worldwide public debate has begun," AAA Country Director for Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh, Arpi Vartanian told a PanARMENIAN.Net.

"To pick and choose which issues should be defended, based on whether
or not it is expedient at the moment, is a dangerous precedent. There
is never a wrong time for the truth. However, opponents of the bill
have highlighted Turkish threats of what could happen and what Turkey
would do, should this resolution be passed. What opponents fail
to stress is that Turkey’s track record, as a "strong ally" of the
United States, has not been so very strong and admirable. They also
fail to note that allies don’t threaten each other, and they fail to
condemn Turkey for doing just that to the United States. Furthermore,
only Turkey is responsible for whatever actions it may or may not
take. Finally, this resolution is about the U.S. affirming its record
with regard to the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire. The U.S. record is documented by thousands of documents,
including those sent by Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, representative of
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to the Ottoman Empire; those documents
were acknowledged by the United States government. Turkey is denying
that the Ottoman Empire executed a plan of genocide against the
Armenian people, throwing whatever smokescreens it can so that the
real issues are obscured. The U.S. is a leader in the free and
democratic world, a beacon of upholding human rights, freedoms,
and moral standards.

It should not be afraid of reaffirming its own history, nor should
it be complicit in Turkey’s denial campaign. Denial of genocide, is,
after all, the final stage in genocide," she said.

"The Armenian Assembly, together with friends and activists across the
nation continue working with our supporters on Capitol Hill to ensure
that the facts are presented to lawmakers, decision and policy makers,
and the public. I also remain convinced that a bi-partisan majority
of the Members of the House of Representatives will not succumb to
threats and manipulation, will stand firm and proudly vote to uphold
the truth by passing H.Res.106," she said.

"Personally, as a proud American citizen, I am heartened by the
strong support of so many Members of the U.S. Congress. I offer my
sincere thanks to each of them for demanding that justice be served
and for upholding all the ideals on which America was founded,"
Ms. Vartanian concluded.

As reported earlier, the four leading Democratic sponsors of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106) have called on Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) to adopt a revised schedule for the consideration
of this human rights legislation by the House of Representatives,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a letter sent to Speaker Pelosi, lead author Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and
Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) stressed
that, in asking for this delay, "we believe that a large majority of
our colleagues want to support a resolution recognizing the genocide on
the House floor and that they will do so, provided the timing is more
favorable." The letter goes on to note that they will continue to work
with Speaker Pelosi’s staff and the House Foreign Affairs Committee
staff to bring up the resolution "sometime later this year or in 2008."

October 10, with a vote 27 to 21 the U.S. House Committee on Foreign
Affairs adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, which
was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff January 30, 2007.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:

October 25, 2007

ACNIS FOCUSES ON MASS MEDIA

Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) convened today a policy discussion in order thoroughly to look
at the media and their impact on the political developments in
Armenia. The meeting brought together media and public relations
experts from political parties, leading analysts, public and political
figures, and media representatives.

ACNIS research coordinator Syuzanna Barseghian welcomed the audience
with opening remarks. "As numerous sociological polls show, the mass
media have great bearing on public opinion," she said. "Nonetheless,
do they allow the society to draw a true picture of the political
events, to reach sound decisions, and to make mindful choices?"
Barseghian also stated that in line with the monitoring being
conducted by ACNIS, the Armenian media are not providing the
informational playing field necessary for the making of the right
selection.

In his intervention, Artak Zakarian of the Republican Party explored
the correlation between the media and the political forces. He pointed
to the several degrees of such relations and mentioned that the
commentaries made, and the assessments given, to form public opinion
do not always depict the actual reality. Moreover, in Zakarian’s view,
the media disregard numerous key sociopolitical matters while several
print and electronic reviews exceed the allowable limits of
subjectivity. "Certainly, this is unacceptable since one of the
media’s primary tasks is to guarantee the involvement, by a large
cross-section of the people, in the formation of a democratic and
civil society," Zakarian noted.

The next speaker, Hovsep Khurshudian of the Heritage Party, examined
the "neo-Bolshevik" ideology which seems to be adopted by members of
the Armenian press and stated that the Armenian media are polarized
and serve the interests of political forces. In Khurshudian’s words,
the greater part of the local media "speaks" as the voice of political
parties and therefore the absolute majority of the mass media really
functions as a propaganda machine. "In comparison with the print media
of democratic countries, most Armenian press demonstrates yellow
journalism and this adversely affects the level of societal trust
toward news media," Khurshudian asserted. He also added that new and
fresh ideas, which are indispensable for political development and
social progress, are inhibited in Armenia and sometimes are completely
blocked by the censorship exercised, and the instructions given, by
the upper echelons of power.

In his turn, Tatul Hakobian of Armenian public radio spoke about the
mass media’s growing role in the political processes and noted that
one of the avenues for raising the media’s effectiveness is to expand
news coverage. "Despite some radical manifestations, the media in
general are able to secure a diversity of opinion. The electronic
media, which sadly are still inaccessible for many public and
political figures, are becoming more widespread," Hakobian maintained.
Reflecting on the television boycott of various press clubs, he stated
that this relates to internal political processes, mentioning that the
coverage of the press briefings of several opposition members are not
very much to the liking of certain officials and that this is the main
reason for the administrative plan of shutting these clubs down.

The policy roundtable concluded with an exchange of views and policy
recommendations among Susanna Abrahamian of the Orinats Yerkir Party;
chairman Mikael Danielian of the Armenian Helsinki Association; Artak
Zeinalian of the Republic Party; publicist Artsrun Pepanian; ACNIS
director of administration Karapet Kalenchian; Anna Israelian of the
Aravot daily; political scientist Edward Antinian; Anzhela Tovmasian
of the "Hayeli" Press Club; Ruzan Khachaturian from the People’s
Party; Mesrop Harutiunian of the Yerevan Press Club; Petros Ghazarian
of Kentron television; Hakob Yumushadian of the Self-Determination
Union; and several others.

In the shared opinion of many roundtable participants, when covering
political developments the vast majority of the media is making a
selection which is impermissible and, as argued by the discussants,
the actions by the players in this field do not guarantee the media’s
constitutionally-affixed mission of providing accurate information by
means of objective coverage of the news, facts, and events.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi
K. Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors,
ACNIS serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public
policy challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the
post-Soviet world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative,
strategic thinking and a wider understanding of the new global
environment. In 2007, the Center focuses primarily on civic education,
democratic development, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the
nation.

For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; email [email protected] or [email protected];
or visit

DEMOCRATS MUST REALIZE TURKEY’S IMPORTANCE

Jamestown Post Journal, NY
Oct 25 2007

10/25/2007 – Turkey, despite occasional internal roiling, remains
the Middle East’s only stable, moderate democracy.

It’s also a key U.S. ally, and the Turkish government has, despite
its misgivings about the de facto establishment of a Kurdish state in
northern Iraq, refrained from interfering in Iraq. In fact, Turkey now
allows significant U.S. trans-shipment of military supplies through
its territory.

This is all reason to be astonished at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s
decision to bring to the House floor a resolution condemning Turkey’s
1915 genocide in Armenia.

Modern Turkish governments and other Turkish partisans take offense
at almost any mention of the 1915 genocide, which was committed by
the long-gone Ottoman Empire. They even question the historical fact
of the genocide, primarily for reasons of domestic Turkish politics.

Anyone who has touched this issue – and that includes congressional
leaders, State Department officials and every recent president
– knows that bringing it up has no geopolitical upside and yet
tremendous geopolitical downside in the form of damage to U.S.-Turkish
relations. Yet Pelosi, whose home district parochial interests include
a well-organized Armenian community, pressed ahead with her resolution
anyway, and when it cleared a House committee Turkey immediately
recalled its ambassador from Washington – a serious protest.

Pelosi’s resolution is opposed by the Bush administration, as well as
several former secretaries of state, including Clinton-era Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright, for good reason: Now is not the time to
dredge up past unpleasantness in Turkey’s history, and perhaps force
the Turkish government, in service of its sensitive domestic politics,
to save face by stopping U.S. supply movements through Turkey or,
worse, sending Turkish troops into the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Pelosi, assuming she is not completely daft, knows all this. Thus
one must raise the question: Have House Democrats gone so completely
bonkers in their hyper-partisanship against President Bush that they
are willing to intentionally sabotage U.S. efforts in Iraq?

CHURCH LEADER SEES HOPE IN KIDS
By John Chadwick

NorthJersey.com, NJ
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Oct 25 2007

With his black robe, black hood and gold icon, the spiritual leader
for Armenian Christians personifies a solemn, Old World tradition.

But on Saturday, he’ll arrive at a Fair Lawn church to chat with a
younger generation.

His Holiness Karekin II, visiting from Armenia, will conduct a worship
service and eat lunch with nearly 500 children ages 5 to 17 at St. Leon
Armenian Church — part of his effort to push this ancient Christian
denomination into the 21st century.

"His Holiness feels very strongly that the youth are not only the
future of the church, but the present," said the Rev. Diran Bohajian,
pastor of St. Leon. "He wants to have a real relationship with them
and show them the importance of our church in our everyday life."

Karekin, supreme patriarch for the Armenian Apostolic Church, has
been hailed for rebuilding his country’s church after decades of
oppression under the Soviet Union. He has been spiritual leader for
most of the world’s 8 million Armenians since 1999.

Making a rare, monthlong tour of the United States, he’s now getting
acquainted with an established, successful Armenian-American community
whose challenge isn’t fighting communism but resisting the lure of
assimilation in a prosperous, multi-ethnic nation.

Anticipation for his North Jersey appearance is high. Young people from
14 churches and day schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut
and New York are expected to attend.

"He has a wonderful way of relating to children," said Dennis Papazian
of Woodcliff Lake, who has two daughters attending the event. "He
has a simple way of showing his love and God’s love."

Armenians trace their church to the year 301, when Armenia became the
first country to adopt Christianity as its national religion. The
country has had a turbulent history — including mass killings by
the Ottoman Turks during what’s commonly called the Armenian genocide
from 1915 to 1923.

Armenians began coming to North Jersey in the late 19th century,
with the major waves coming in the years immediately after
the persecution. A small but tight network of churches is still
flourishing. And at a private Armenian-run day school in New Milford,
students still learn the Armenian language and recite prayers in class.

But like other churches built around national origin, the Armenian
community faces a challenge in keeping a younger generation of
Americans invested in the tradition.

St. Leon’s, for example, has recently come up with a way to keep
people from getting lost in a prayer book that has sections in English,
modern Armenian, classical Armenian and the English transliteration.

The church has purchased an electronic page reminder to help people
keep their place during the service, which is completely in Armenian
and lasts more than two hours.

"Not everyone speaks Armenian and some people have difficulty following
our liturgy," Bohajian said. "We’re doing whatever we can to help
people grow in their faith."

Meanwhile, Karekin’s U.S. appearances have had a decidedly upbeat,
energetic tone similar to the barnstorm evangelizing of the late Roman
Catholic leader Pope John Paul II. He has held interfaith meetings,
helped paint a house in Katrina-devastated New Orleans and ventured
far beyond the Armenian enclaves on the coasts to visit small churches
in the South and Midwest.

He has also encouraged younger Armenians to retain their heritage
and use their faith to improve their own country.

"Be faithful Americans and never forget your Armenian Christian
identity, bringing it home as part of your daily lives," he said in
a meeting with young professionals in Boston.

KOCHARIAN DISCUSSES KARABAKH WITH MINSK GROUP COCHAIRMEN

ARMENPRESS
Oct 24, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian received
today international peace brokers from the OSCE Minsk Group- Yuri
Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier (France) and Mathew Bryza (USA)
and also Andrzei Kasprzyk, a personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office for monitoring of the Armenian-Azerbaijani truce.

Kocharian’s press office said the focus of their meeting was on
the current stage of the efforts for peaceful resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict., particularly, on several sticking points
of the draft framework agreement.

NOT EVERYTHING IS FINE IN GOVERNMENT

Lragir
Oct 24 2007
Armenia

I do not think the arrest of the members of the Alternative Initiative
in the evening of October 23 was an instruction of the government,
stated Aaron Adibekyan, sociologist, on October 24. "I don’t think
so. There are middle-ranking officials everywhere, who desire to
distinguish themselves," Aaron Adibekyan says. According to him,
it is like sabotage. Davit Hovanisyan, an expert on Islam, shares
this opinion, who was hosted at the Hayeli Club on October 24.

"You are right. It looks like sabotage. Because if say one thousand
people would go to the rally on the 26th, now ten thousand will go.

It is much like sabotage, and for me it is a detector that there are
groups inside the government which are involved in a tough struggle,"
Davit Hovanisyan says.

By the way, Davit Hovanisyan says interestingly the destruction
of the roads, the soaring prices overlapped, which makes people
indignant. However, Aaron Adibekyan thinks the streets, for instance,
will be repaired at the same time, the public will get satisfied.

RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan arrives at the building of Police

Department of Yerevan’s central community

Yerevan. October 23. ArmInfo. RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan arrived
at the building of the Police Department of Yerevan’s central
community. At the same time, a car with military men of internal
troops also arrived at the building, where about 100 opposition
activists had gathered. Leader of Armenian Pan- National Movement
(ANM) Ararat Zurabyan, speaking in front of the gathered people,
emphasized that their requirements are merely peaceful-to get
information about the detained activists of the movement. "We stand
here peacefully and don’t disturb the order. The Armenian authorities
bear all the responsibility for possible provocations by the internal
troops", A. Zurabyan emphasized. A few minutes before, after long
negotiations with the officers, NA Deputies of the opposition
"Heritage" party Larisa Alaverdyan and Zaruhy Postanjyan had entered
the building.

To recall, earlier the first Armenian Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan
wasn’t let in the building.

ANM Leader says the authorities panic, but they will fail to
frustrate the rally of October 26

Yerevan. October 23. ArmInfo. "Definitely, Armenian authorities are
in panic and in every possible way the try to frustrate the rally of
the opposition forces, which is planned for October 26. However, they
will not succeed in it", Leader of Armenian Pan National Movement
(ANM) Ararat Zurabyan told ArmInfo correspondent.

According to him, bringing editors-in-chief of two opposition
newspapers to the police department in the 21st century demonstrates
the whole limitedness of the present authority’s opportunities. He
expressed confidence that the situation will improve quite soon, as
"very few resources remain in the regime’s arsenal and its
opportunities are extremely limited". Asked about counter-moves by
the opposition forces, ANM leader said that the rally would be held
in a civilized way, notwithstanding the authorities’ "endeavors". He
also added that, most probably, the first Armenian president Levon
Ter-Petrosyan is already aware of the incident taken place.
To recall, around 7 pm, Tuesday, an incident took place between the ANM
and Alternative movement activists and law-enforcers, when the
activists were telling the population about the forthcoming rally of
the opposition. The law-enforcers’ attempt to seize the megaphone
from Editor-in-Chief of the "Haykakan Zhamanak" (Armenian Time)
newspaper Nikol Pashinyan turned into a squabble.

As a result, over
ten people were detained. According to the data as of 9:15 pm, Nikol
Pashinyan, Editor-in-Chief of the "Chorord Ishkhanutyun" (Fourth
Power) Shogher Matevosyan, Leader of the Democratic Motherland Party
Petros Makeyan, and about 10 followers of them are still in the
Police Department of Yerevan’s central community. There are about 70
oppositional activists headed by the ANM leadership in front of the
police building. To note, the police used tear-gas during the
incident.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT: IRAN IS THE ONE THAT SHOULD SET CONDITIONS DURING NUCLEAR TALKS

ArmInfo
2007-10-23 14:33:00

Iran is the one that should set conditions during nuclear talks,
President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said before leaving Yerevan.

As the IRNA Iranian Agency reports, addressing a group of Iranians
residing in Armenia, the president said, "Although we believe in
negotiations, we do not bargain over our rights with any one as
whoever bargains its rights would lose part of it".

The source reports that the president’s remarks were made while a
high ranking nuclear team of Iran left the country for Italy this
morning to hold the fourth round of negotiations with the European
Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

WHEN PARLIAMENTS TAKE OVER THE PLACE OF COURTS
Nermin Aydemir

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 23 2007
Turkey

A possible intervention against the PKK terrorists hits the headlines
recently. Not only Turkish people but the world public opinion appears
to pay significant attention to what Turkish officials are going to
decide in a few days time. Yet the Armenian attempts to pass a bill
approving their genocide claims in the US senate remains to catch
the attention of many. The senators seem to be suffering between the
US strategic relations with Turks and the Armenian pressure ahead of
the elections.

The US is not the first country that the Armenian lobby tries to pass
such bill. Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, France,
Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia,
Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela
are all countries of which parliaments did somehow recognize the
so-called genocide.

Not in all countries does such recognition have equal meaning. In
Switzerland, one can find himself/herself behind bars just because of
denying the genocide claims, which indeed has taken place. The leader
of the Turkish Socialist Party, Dogu Perincek, was arrested in July
in 2005, after stating that such genocide did not occur. A similar
punishment is theoretically also possible in many other countries,
including Voltaire’s France, although such a happening did not take
place in practice.

Countries like Italy, the Netherlands and Poland remain by stating
the "necessity" of the recognition of the so-called genocide by the
Turkish assembly. The parliamentary decision does not have a binding
character in all the countries. For instance, the decision of the
Dutch parliament is recommendatory and not obligatory.

In fact, the process creates significant confusion. What does
the lobby achieve through all these decisions through those bills
passed by different parliaments across the world? If the Armenians
are trying to establish their rightfulness through decisions passed
by different parliaments across the world, they are absolutely on a
wrong path. Not only the Armenians who are making every effort to
pass such resolutions, but also countries accepting these violate
the very fundamental rule of law.

The British historian, David Irving had long been on the news agenda
last year. Mr. Irving was sentenced by an Austrian court in February
last year for denying the Holocaust in 1989. That denying the Holocaust
is banned remains to be something outdated, according to many. One
may claim being against such repression. However, such a sentence is
to some extend understandable for having a legal basis.

All those charges are based on the decisions taken by the Nuremberg
trials, which were held between 1945 and 1949, at the Nuremberg Palace
of Justice. Parties, the Jewish population and the German government
are in the same line that the genocide has taken place.

Genocide is the most terrible crime in the history of human being and
does not have any excuse by any means. Nevertheless, this should not
lead to comparing apples and peers.

The Armenian claims remain to be claims, just claims. If we are trying
to found genocide on the life histories of grandparents, photos,
myths, severe war conditions and inter group clashes; we are obviously
following a wrong path.

In fact, the Armenian lobby seems to refute their own hypothesis by
trying to find partners instead of bringing the issue to international
courts. What the several parliamentarians are doing is something
beyond the pale. How can we defend the order of law in other cases
if politicians do claim to judge the right and wrong in the Armenian
issue, how can we still talk about the rule of law if the Armenian
lobby’s pressure overwhelms it.

The issue goes far beyond accepting a single genocide claim. One
should consider the greatest responsibility of adhering to the most
fundamental principle of rule of law before political gains and stakes
in this game.