Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

BY 2008 DRAFT STATE BUDGET, FINANCING OF RA POLICE TO BE INCREASED BY ABOUT 2 BILLION DRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 1, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. By the 2008 draft state budget,
it is envisaged to allocate about 21 bln drams (65 mln USD) to the
Police Service adjunct to the RA government, which is more by 1 bln
934 mln drams as compared with 2007, the RA deputy minister of finance
and economy Pavel Safarian said at the November 1 joint sitting of
the National Assembly standing committees.

According to him, 1.5 bln drams of the added sum will be used
to increase the salaries of investigators transferred from the
prosecutor’s office to the police, as well as the salaries of some
groups of policemen by 10%. As a result, the average salary of
employees of the Police Service will make 160 thousand drams.

The deputy chief of the Police Service Armen Yeritsian said that the
service has been allocated 19 bln 967 mln drams for public protection,
170.4 mln drams – for the printing of passports, and 236,3 mln drams –
for the purchase of number plates. 17 bln 878 mln drams is envisaged
for the protection of public order.

ACCORDING TO DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER, FINANCING OF OMBUDSMAN’S STAFF WILL NOT BE REDUCED IN 2008

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. By the 2008 draft state budget,
127 million drams is envisaged for expenditures on the staff of
the RA ombudsman, which is less by 6 million drams as compared with
2007. In reality, as the RA deputy minister of finance and economy
Pavel Safarian said at the October 30 joint sitting of the RA National
Assembly standing committees, the financing of the ombudsman’s staff
will not be reduced as by the 2007 state budget, 18 million drams
was envisaged for renting a building for the ombudsman office. This
expenditure has been reduced in connection with moving to their
own office.

According to the RA ombudsman Armen Harutyunian, it is envisaged to
raise salaries of technical personnel of the ombudsman’s office by
12.7%, while the average salary of the staff, which currently makes
130 thousand drams (about 390 USD) will not be increased.

600 thousand drams is envisaged by the draft budget as annual payments
for the RA ombudsman’s office membership of various international
and European structures.

Reponding to questions of MPs, A. Harutyunian considered it desirable
to open branches of the ombudsman’s office in some Armenian marzes,
particularly, in Shirak, Lori and Syunik. However, the draft budget
does not envisage any sum for this purpose.

cles/eav102907a.shtml

Eurasia Insight:
AZERBAIJAN: TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN BAKU
10/29/07

In what some experts have called the most dangerous case of Islamic
radicalism yet in Azerbaijan, authorities in the energy-rich South
Caucasus announced October 29 that they have foiled a terrorist attack
in Baku. The incident raises the possibility that religious radicalism
has gained a foothold within the Azerbaijani military.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of National Security
(MNS), "several people" characterized as members of a "Wahabbi group"
have been taken into custody. A first lieutenant in the Azerbaijani
Army, identified as Kamran Asadov, was identified as a key participant
in the conspiracy, according to MNS statement. Ministry spokesman Arif
Babayev said that Asadov is suspected of having supplied the
terrorists with arms, including four machine guns, a mortar and 20
hand grenades. Wahabbism is a puritanical form of Islam with roots in
Saudi Arabia. In many former Soviet states the term "Wahabbi" is used
as a synonym for Islamic militant.

As a precaution, the US and British embassies in Baku suspended
consular operations. Offices of several Western oil companies,
including British Petroleum and Norway’s StatOilHydro ASA, were
closed. Babayev, the security spokesman, indicated that the alleged
conspiracy targeted several Azerbaijani government buildings and the
US Embassy. A US Embassy statement cautioned Americans in Azerbaijan
to "maintain a high level of vigilance."

The plot crumbled on October 27, when Azerbaijani Special Forces
raided a home in Mashtaga, a suburb of Baku, taking suspected
terrorists into custody and recovering a cache of weapons and
ammunition, the ministry statement said. One suspect offered
resistance and was shot and killed.

"The incident is being investigated and measures are being taken to
neutralize other members of the group," said the ministry statement.
"The situation is under control. The public will be notified of
developments."

According to ANS television, Asadov went AWOL from his military base
and remains at large. The channel also reported that roughly 10
officers and cadets at Azerbaijan’s Higher Military School are
suspected of harboring Wahabbi beliefs and are being questioned in
connection with the incident.

The Defense Ministry press service downplayed the possibility of a
connection between Asadov and the Higher Military School suspects.
However, law enforcement agencies indicated that Asadov had links to
the detained Higher Military School officers and cadets.

Hidayat Orujev, the head of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Religious
Affairs, indicated that the involvement of at least one military
officer in the conspiracy was a source of concern. "I share the view
that reports of Wahabbism being widespread in the Azerbaijani army are
groundless. However, observations show that if there is one [Islamic
radical in the army], there may be many others," the APA news agency
quoted Orujev as saying.

Since the initial October 27 raid, Azerbaijani authorities have been
carrying out a security sweep in and around Baku, resulting in at
least 17 individuals being detained. In the Devichi Region, roughly
140 kilometers from Baku, a suspected radical activist, Mirza
Alibekov, was taken into custody after authorities discovered radical
religious literature in his home.

Reflecting a heightened sense of skittishness in the wake of the
raids, APA reported that two Azerbaijani nationals – identified as
Chingiz Rafibeyli and Mobil Jabrailov – were detained briefly outside
the US Embassy during the afternoon of October 29. The two were
reportedly acting suspiciously outside of the embassy grounds, and US
officials requested that Azerbaijani security officials take action.

Ilgar Mamedov, a Baku-based political scientist, suggested that the
United States may have provided the intelligence that led to the
security sweep. "Most likely, information about these [radical] groups
was given to Azerbaijani special services during the recent visit to
Baku by CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden," Mamedov said. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Other experts said the incident sheds light on the growth of
ultra-conservative religious beliefs in Azerbaijan, adding that the
issue of containing Islamic radicalism is rapidly becoming a major
challenge for the government.

WHAT ARE CHILDREN READING AND WATCHING?

Panorama.am
12:55 27/10/2007

A round table took place in Moscow House in Yerevan within the
framework of 3rd international festival of children’s films. The
round table ran under the title: "What are children reading? What are
Children watching?" Guests from Russia, France, Armenia, as well as
public and non-governmental organization representatives were present
at the round table.

"Today our children are watching American war films, detectives. What
can it give? Only aggression. These are the films that our children
are educated on," Art Head of Rolan Bikov Foundation Nelli Aliolova
told a correspondent of Panorama.am. The participants also noted that
by the invasion of television into the daily life, children are cut
off from books and literature.

SPEAKER: IRANIAN PRESIDENT HOPES TO VISIT PARLIAMENT DURING HIS NEXT VISIT TO ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2007

YEREVAN, October 23. /ARKA/. President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
hopes to visit Armenia’s parliament during his next visit to the
country, said National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosyan during the
parliament’s session commenting on the sudden departure of Ahmadinejad
from Yerevan to his motherland.

"During the morning meeting with Ahmadinejad he asked me to express
regret to Armenian MPs for the interruption of the visit to Armenia,
and that he had to turn to Iran. He expressed hope that during his
next visit he will visit the parliament," Torosyan said.

He pointed out that explanations have been done about the interruption
of the Iranian President’s visit.

Torosyan said that some circumstances made Ahmadinejad return to Iran
earlier than scheduled.

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Armenia on a two-day
visit on Monday, but he urgently left Yerevan at 12:00 on Tuesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Gehgam Gharibjanyan said that the changes of
the schedule are accounted for by domestic problems in Iran.

"In the morning the Iranian side asked to make changes in the program
of Ahmadinejad’s visit, as a result of which the visits to the
Memorial of the victims of the Armenian Genocide – Tsitsernakaberd,
Blue mosque and report of the Iranian President in the National
Assembly of Armenia were cancelled," he said.

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION: THE OTHER SIDE GETS NOT SO EQUAL TIME

Blogger News Network

Oct 24 2007

After running a string of editorials against the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (fourth item) – plus an anti-Armenian diatribe written by
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – The Wall Street Journal
belatedly lets the other side present its case when it’s too late to
resuscitate the symbolic bill. On Friday’s edition of "The Journal
Editorial Report" on FOX News, Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street
Journal’s editorial page, interviewed Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA)
who authored the resolution.In his introductory comments about the
segment Gigot notes that Schiff has "more than 70,000 ethnic Armenians
in his Los Angeles district." In the second of its three editorials
torpedoing the resolution, The Journal noted:

California is home to the country’s largest number of politically
active Armenians. Speaker Pelosi has many in her own district. Mr.

Lantos represents the San Francisco suburbs. The bill’s leading
sponsors include Representatives Adam Schiff, George Radanovich and
Anna Eshoo, all from California.

Since when is it somehow sinister for a congressman to represent his
constituents? Only when they’re Armenian, right Gigot?

In the beginning of the interview (video) Schiff makes the same point
about the Bush Administration’s incomprehensible foreign policy
inconsistency in appeasing the Turks but antagonizing the Chinese
that The Stiletto argued last week:

GIGOT: This atrocity occurred 90 years ago. Why bring it up now at
this delicate moment in the Middle East?

SCHIFF: We have tried to recognize the genocide really for years,
even decade. We introduced this resolution before the Iraq war and the
administration said now is not a good time. We introduce it before the
war in Afghanistan and the administration said it wasn’t a good time,
before 9/11 and said it wasn’t a good time.I … watched the president
bestow the Medal of Honor on the Dalai Lama and I was proud of him. I
was proud of him doing that notwithstanding the fact China protested
that it was deeply offensive to our strategic partner in China.

Someone asked him, Mr. President, why do you risk antagonizing China?

The president earlier said that preventing Iran from getting a nuclear
weapon could be so important it might stop World War III.

Paul, you know whose vote we need on the Security Council to
pre-investment Iran from getting the bomb? We need China’s vote. But,
you know, the president said when America stands up for human rights
and freedom, America is always serving its national interest. The
president was right then.

Schiff also tackled the issue of free speech restrictions in the
supposedly "democratic" Turkey:

GIGOT: Congressman, the current dispute in Tibet is ongoing and it
is about human rights in Tibet now. This resolution is 100 years ago.

SCHIFF: … Just last week, Turkey brought up on charges the son of
a murdered Armenian journalist in Turkey, who was killed this year,
on charges of publishing his father words about the genocide. Is that
freedom in Turkey to speak out about the genocide not important? Is the
freedom of expression the freedom to talk about some of the darkest
chapters in the history of the world not important? Why is freedom
in China important but freedom in Turkey of so little value?

…

The interview then took an ironic twist, with a Dem asking, "What
would Reagan do?":

GIGOT: Congressman, there is a long list of people on the other side
of this. General David Petraeus, head of American forces in Iraq,
eight former secretaries of state, including Madeleine Albright. When
this issue came up in 2000, President Clinton called the Republican
speaker of the House, then Denny Hastert, and asked him to pull this
so if wouldn’t compromise our situation in the Middle East. He did.

Why shouldn’t the Democrats now, at the request of an American
president, decide to pull something like this at a similar moment?

SCHIFF: Paul, these eight secretaries of state you mentioned, this
was their policy. They are defending their policy during those –
the administrations of those eight secretaries they were willing to
deny the genocide and become complicit in Turkey’s denial.

The last president, Paul, who had the courage to recognize the Armenian
genocide, was President Reagan. What would you have said to President
Reagan if you were his advisor? Mr. President, I know you talk about
the United States being a moral beacon for the word but we are in
the middle of the Cold War this was antagonize Turkey. Mr.

President, you shouldn’t do it. …

As for the canard that acknowledging this crime against humanity
will hobble our efforts in Iraq and in the larger War on Terror,
Schiff said:

I think the president needs to look to the greater war on terror
and say what about our moral standing in the world. What role does
it have when we espouse truth about history in terms of fighting this
ideological struggle in the war on terror? That’s not General Petraeus’
responsibility. It is the responsibility of the president.

I think Ronald Reagan had it right and I think this president has
it wrong.

Meanwhile, The Stiletto’s pal at The Oread Daily* reports on Armenian
citizens of Israel protesting the government’s policy of Armenian
genocide denial – as well as on Turkey’s thinly veiled threats against
its "ally":

Armenians in Israel are calling on a state that should understand
their anguish to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian-Israelis marched in Jerusalem’s Justice Square singing
and chanting Armenian songs and slogans. The protest was attended
by two parliamentary officials, Yaeer Tsaban and Khayeem Oron, who
both gave speeches castigating the denial of the genocide by the
Israeli government.

Israel has acknowledged that massacres were perpetrated against
the Armenians and expressed sympathy for their suffering. But the
government has stopped short of calling it genocide.

So how can the Israeli government join the ranks of pragmatic
deniers? Just like US leaders, they don’t want to tick off the Turks.

But the Turks don’t seem concerned with saying things that sure as
hell ought to tick of the Israelis.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on visit to Israel last week,
told The Jerusalem Post,

"All of a sudden the perception in Turkey right now is that the Jewish
people – or the Jewish organizations, let’s say, and the Armenian
diaspora, the Armenian lobbies, are now hand-in-hand trying to defame
Turkey, and trying to condemn Turkey and the Turkish people. This
is the unfortunate perception right now in Turkey. So if something
goes wrong in Washington, DC, it inevitably will have some influence
on relations between Turkey and the US, plus the relations between
Turkey and Israel, as well."

The Turks have implied that this whole episode could put the Jewish
community in Turkey at risk.

In other words, the Turks are threatening to counter charges of
genocide against Armenians by committing genocide against Jews. The
OD post also quotes a recent article in Haaretz pointing out that in
characterizing the Armenian genocide as a lie, Turkish officials make
their case using anti-Semitic invective. At least the US can take
comfort in knowing that the Turks treat all their allies like turds.

*Disclosure: OD has posted items from The Stiletto Blog, and we often
exchange friendly correspondence on topics of mutual interest.

WE HAVE MADE MUCH USE OF SUCH DEVICE
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Oct 23 2007
Armenia

As we see, things are in a very bad situation as far as freedom of
speech is concerned; yet, we don’t seem to care about it. No sooner
had we recovered ourselves from the hue-and-cry around the "total
persecutions" against the press clubs, than the successive evil news
about another violation of freedom of speech was heard. This time
the news came from Gyumri.

GALA TV Company (Independent Information Channel of Gyumri) turned
out to be under pressure, and such pressures, as you guess, are being
made from Yerevan and have strictly political contents. Attempts are
being made to punish Vahan Khachatryan, Head of the TV Company for
dissidence. Moreover, the existence of this brave organization, with
which the TV viewers are, mildly speaking, unfamiliar, is at stake.

Head of the TV Channel complained that some unknown forces were
threatening to close the TV Company.

WHO HAS OFFENDED VAHAN – THE DEFENDER OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

And thus, who uses pressure against the owner of GALA and subjects him
to political persecutions without any formalities? In anticipation
of receiving an answer to this fatal question we turned to GRIGOR
AMALYAN, Chairman of the National Commission of Television and Radio.

Perhaps, it is the leadership of the National Commission of
Television and Radio (NCTR) that has "offended" the TV Company
which has been operating in the sphere for just a couple of years
and is just trying to accomplish itself in the given sphere, trying
to become equal with such well-known companies as "Shant" or "Tsayg"
TV Channel of Gyumri. In the meantime, the owner of the TV Company is
engaged in minor entrepreneurial activities, in addition to providing
"independent" information. In particular, he is trying to meet the
sanitary-hygienic needs of his fellow-citizens. In other words,
he is engaged in "soap business" G. Amalyan categorically refuted
any political persecutions against GALA; moreover, he considered the
hypothesis ridiculous.

According to him, "there is no political persecution against GALA by
state agencies and, especially, the Commission. And there couldn’t
have been any, because the TV Company has never stood out in terms
of its political and even civil conduct.

Regrettable though it is, the reality is that people working in the
sphere of television are trying to solve their ‘external’ problems
by advancing pseudo-political motives and presenting themselves as
a target of political persecutions. This is not the first time that
we encounter situations in which entrepreneurs imitate political
activeness and give their problem a political shadow, assuming the
role of a persecuted individual once they have problems with law or
some state agency.

In this way, "they probably hope to win sympathy among the people
and receive the people’s support for settling their problems with
the state and guarding themselves against their regular demands,"
the NCTR Chairman states.

It is especially unacceptable and moreover "immoral when a public
resource that has been granted to a company for protecting public
interests is used by people as a roof for serving their own
interest." Especially considering that this is not the first case
that following the principle ‘my television is my shield’, Vahan
Khachatryan is trying to politicize the problems that have arisen
around his susceptible ‘initiatives’.

"More than a year ago, the Chairman of GALA TV Company again made
a fuss, announcing that he was being persecuted for his political
views. And this happened in a situation when there were absolutely
no political processes and elections in the country. Later it turned
out that all this was related to some quarrel that had arisen between
him and ’02’ periodical, and as a matter of fact, Vahan had a problem
with the law enforcement agencies," G. Amalyan stated.

IS HISOTRY REPEATING ITSELF?

Thus, judging by all, we are again dealing with the phenomenon of
imparting a political shadow to criminal cases. Beginning 1998
this kind of device has much been used in our reality by the
native politicians or the criminal elements who try to appear as
ones. The latter include Ashot Bleyan and Vano Siradeghyan, the
"chief political warden" Moushegh Saghatelyan and the present-day
"persecuted individuals" who wear the crown of a "political prisoner".

With regard to the Chairman of GALA who is reportedly being searched
by the officers of the State Tax Agency, "Hayots Ashkharh" will
try to reveal the heart of the matter. And find out what problems
V. Khachatryan has with the Tax Agency that he decided to spare no
effort in protecting the information freedom of Gyumri inhabitants
against the harsh violations of the well-known or unknown circles
constraining freedom of speech.

NERVOUS US VOWS HELP FOR TURKEY AGAINST PKK REBELS
by Laurent Lozano

Agence France Presse — English
Oct 23 2007

President George W. Bush Monday promised US cooperation in Turkey’s
struggle against Kurdish rebels operating out of northern Iraq, but
Washington also urged restraint after deadly border clashes.

Bush telephoned Turkish President Abdullah Gul and "expressed his
deep concern" about the weekend attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), White House national security council spokesman
Gordon Johndroe said.

"The president reaffirmed our commitment to work with Turkey and Iraq
to combat PKK terrorists operating out of northern Iraq," he said,
without spelling out what kind of US help might be extended.

The PKK said it had captured eight Turkish soldiers after an ambush
Sunday on a military unit near the village of Daglica on the Iraqi
border, which left 12 troops dead.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch
a military drive into northern Iraq unless Baghdad clamps down on the
rebels and turns over the PKK leaders it accuses of masterminding
cross-border attacks.

The United States, which uses the Incirlik air base in southern
Turkey as a major staging post for supplies headed to its forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan, fears any incursion could gravely undermine its
battle to stabilize Iraq.

In a video-conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Bush
pressed for more action from authorities in Baghdad and Iraq’s
Kurdish north against the PKK.

"The prime minister agreed with President Bush that Turkey should
have no doubt about our mutual commitment to end all terrorist
activity from Iraqi soil," Johndroe said.

"They agreed to work together, in cooperation with the Turkish
government, to prevent the PKK from using any part of Iraqi territory
to plan or carry out terrorist attacks."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier Monday telephoned
Erdogan to urge restraint and also spoke with the president of Iraqi
Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani.

"We do not believe unilateral cross-border operations are the best
way to address this issue," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said.

As tensions soared, Rice and visiting British Foreign Secretary David
Miliband called for Turkey and Iraq to work together against the PKK.

"We continue to believe that cooperation and coordination between
Turkey and Iraq is the most effective means to eliminate the PKK
threat," the top US and British officials said in a joint statement.

"At a time when we are seeing real progress in the security situation
inside Iraq and efforts to promote peace in the region, the Iraqi
government must demonstrate its commitment to regional stability,"
they added.

The PKK, the Turkish acronym for the Kurdistan Workers Party,
contends that the government has oppressed minority Kurds for
decades.

The group, which is fighting for Kurdish self-rule in southeast
Turkey, said in a statement that it was ready for a ceasefire "if the
Turkish army stops attacking our positions, drops plans for an
incursion and resorts to peace."

More than 37,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms
against the Turkish state in 1984.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in talks with his Turkish
counterpart Vecdi Gonul in Ukraine on Sunday, said restraint was
preferable and "not to be confused with weakness."

"I’m heartened that he (Gonul) seems to be implying a reluctance on
their part to act unilaterally, and I think that’s a good thing,"
Gates said, adding: "I didn’t have the impression that anything was
imminent."

However, Washington fears that its influence with Turkey has been
undermined by a push in the US Congress to describe the World War I
massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide."

"President Bush also reiterated his opposition to House Resolution
106, the Armenian ‘genocide’ resolution," Johndroe said.

After the resolution was approved by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Washington and has
threatened to cut off logistical support to the US war efforts in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, who is a Kurd,
indicated during an appearance at a Washington policy institute
Monday that the Kurdish regional government would not attack its
ethnic kin.

"Don’t ask us to start an endless civil war," he said.

FORUM: TO THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA
Mustafa Akyol

Washington Times, DC
NTARY/110230012/1012/commentary
Oct 23 2007

A few days ago a new friend of mine who happens to be an American
Armenian played some beautiful songs for me that come from the deepest
roots of her ethnic tradition. While I enjoyed the numinous rhythms
of that magnetic Armenian music, I realized how similar they were to
the tunes of the Turkish classical music I have grown up hearing.

"Despite all the political warfare," I said to myself, "alas, look
how similar we are." I actually have a similar feeling when I drive
along the magnificent mosques and palaces of Istanbul, some of which
were built by Armenian architects – men in fez who devoutly worshipped
Christ and proudly served the Sultan.

Well, we were the children of the same empire, weren’t we? We actually
lived side by side as good neighbors for centuries until the modern
virus called "nationalism" descended upon us. And then hell broke
loose.

A war of two narratives: I know what you think about that hell,
especially about its most horrific episode, the one in 1915. Your
grandmothers must have told you about the plunderers, killers and
rapists who attacked them and countless fellow Armenians. You call
the whole tragedy "the Armenian Genocide" and try to convince the
parliaments of the world to accept that definition. You also think,
I presume, that we Turks are monsters who not only committed that
horrible crime, but also refuse to take responsibility for it even
after nearly a century.

This is how you see history and the present moment, right? Well, as a
Turk, let me say I understand you. Because I see that you sincerely
believe in the accuracy of the historical narrative you were raised
on. How else could you have responded to that?

However, please note there is another narrative about the tragedy of
1915, on which we Turks have been raised. Our grandmothers told us
Armenians collaborated with the Russian invaders and started to kill
our people. Then, the narrative goes, our people started to kill the
Armenians to both to protect themselves and take revenge. "They killed
us and so we killed them" is the summary of what 99 percent of the
Turks know and think about what you call genocide. And just like you,
they sincerely believe in the accuracy of their historical narrative.

So there are two different accounts of what really happened in 1915.

I know that in the Western academic world your narrative has gained
much more support, but there are serious non-Turkish scholars who
tend to agree with the Turkish version, too. When I read the works
of Professor Guenter Lewy recently, for example, I was convinced that
what my grandmother told me was really true.

Of course I am no expert on the issue. I don’t have enough knowledge to
decide whether the truth lies in your narrative, in our narrative, or
somewhere in between. But I am open to learning more and reconsidering
my position. "Follow the evidence," one of my core principles reads,
"wherever it may lead." And, believe me, there are many people in
Turkey who think the same way.

Pushing the wrong way: Now since we are getting to know each other, let
me be a bit blunter and take on what you have just done by convincing
the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution on "the Armenian Genocide."

If you think such acts will push us Turks to be more self-critical
and initiate an internal discussion that will lead us to consider
your narrative about 1915, you are daydreaming. The reality is quite
the contrary. Foreign pressure will make Turkish society only more
reactionary. Grounds for internal discussion will vanish. Moreover,
our ultra-nationalist nuts will go crazier than ever. Their most
militant ones might well target, once again, liberal intellectuals
and our Armenian citizens. You are simply fueling the fire.

The leaders of Turkey’s Armenian community, including Patriarch Mesrob
Mutafyan II, have been warning you about these dangers and urging
you to stop playing this resolution game. But sadly, you don’t ever
listen to them. You accuse them of lacking courage and of a defeatist
psychology.

But how do you know you yourselves are not the victims of another
psychology – that of the diaspora? Social scientists repeatedly say
diaspora communities tend to go fanatic. Have you ever considered
taking a hint?

If you would like some friendly advice, here it is: If you really want
to see more Turks reflecting on your narrative about the tragedy of
1915, initiate a genuine dialogue. Try to convince not House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues, but us, the Turks. Write more books
and articles, create better movies and Web sites, and organize fair
conferences and seminars telling us your story. And do these not as
propaganda tools against the Turks, but as efforts to communicate
with them.

Convey your message calmly, in other words, and it will be heard. But
don’t try to impose it onto us. We are not a nation of monsters,
but we do have a stubborn side. When foreigners start to dictate our
history to us, we tend to revert to our grandmothers’ stories. And if
we start listening to your narrative, it will not be because we are
pushed into a corner by the politics of a powerful lobby but because
our hearts are touched by the memoirs of a terrible tragedy.

MEETING BETWEEN RA PRIME MINISTER AND U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE TO TAKE PLACE ON OCTOBER 23

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2007

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Serge Sargsian, The Prime
Minister Of The Republic Of Armenia, And The Official Delegation
Headed By Him Took Part In The Session Of The Annual Conference Of
The World Bank And The International Monetary Fund On October 22.

Afterwards, Serge Sargsian Met With Karo Armenian, A Member Of The
ARF Dashnaktsutiun Bureau, And In Addition To The Issues Of Mutual
Interest Discussed During Their Meeting, They Also Touched Upon The
Activities Of The American-Armenian Organizations.

On October 22 The RA Prime Minister Met With Senator Harry Reid,
The Senate Majority Leader, And Democratic Senator Richard Durbin,
In The Capitol.

During The Meeting The Parties Recorded The High Level Of The
Armenian-American Relations, As Well As Discussed The Main Directions
Of Their Further Development. Harry Reid Introduced The Discussion
Process Of The Resolution On The Recognition Of The Armenian Genocide
In U.S. Congress And The Position Of The Legislative Body Of The
United States Of America With Regard To That Issue To The RA Prime
Minister. Serge Sargsian Expressed Thankfulness To U.S. Congress For
The Assistance Shown To Armenia Since The Latter Became Independent,
As Well As For A Permanent Attention Towards The Problems Of Armenia
On Behalf Of The Authorities Of Armenia And Armenian People. Regional
Security Issues Were Also Discussed During The Meeting.

At The End Of The Day The RA Prime Minister Had An Interview With A
correspondent of the "Associated Press" news agency, in which he, in
particular, touched upon the Armenian-American cooperation concerning
political, economic, and security issues, presented the current state
of the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh problem,
as well as the relations of Armenia with neighbor states, and spoke
about issues concerning the regional security and the participation
of the Republic of Armenia in the anti-terrorist coalition.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the Information
and Public Relations Department of the RA Government, the RA Prime
Minister will have a private conversation with Condoleezza Rice, the
Secretary of State of the United States of America, in the U.S. State
Department and will take part in the sitting of the Armenian-American
working group on October 23, that is on the last day of his visit to
the United States of America. RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsian will
leave for Paris after participating in the reception organized in
the RA Embassy in Washington.