Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Telephone: (818) 500-1918
Facsimile: (818) 246-7353
[email protected] <; PRESS RELEASE October 24, 2006 Contact: Lerna Kayserian Tel: (818) 500-1918 ANCA-WR MEETS WITH CONGRESSMAN WAXMAN AS PART OF REGION-WIDE MEETINGS GLENDALE, CA - The Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA-WR) met with US Representative Henry Waxman (D-30) in his Los Angeles district office last week. ANCA-WR Community Relations Director Haig Hovsepian was joined by 30th District constituents Ara Khachatourian and Alice Mouradian. Meeting attendees thanked the Congressman for his support of key legislation, including H.Res.316, a resolution commemorating the Armenian Genocide, and H.R.3361, a bill that prevents the United States from financing railway projects that would intentionally bypass Armenia. During the meeting, Rep. Waxman was updated on the firing of former US Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, as well as the controversy surrounding the US Administration's nominee, Richard Hoagland, to replace him. The Congressman was briefed on the lack of explanation by the State Department regarding the reasons for Ambassador Evans' dismissal and was asked that he and his colleagues investigate the matter further. "We were glad to meet with the Congressman and take the opportunity to express our concerns," noted Hovsepian. "We look forward to working with him to address these concerns as we continue to build a strong relationship between the Congressman and the community." The meeting with Rep. Waxman comes at the end of a three-month effort by the ANCA-WR - in collaboration with its local chapters - to expand relations between the Armenian American communities and their elected officials at a federal level. Since July, the ANCA-WR has met with over 30 members of Congress throughout the western region, including members from Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, and Washington. The 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.

RUSSIAN FILM TRIUMPHS IN FIRST ROME FILM FESTIVAL
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 21, 2006 Saturday 10:38 AM EST
DPA CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT Italy Culture Film Russian film triumphs
in first Rome Film Festival Rome
Izobrajaya Zhertvy (Playing the Victim), a dark comedy by Russian
director Kirill Serebrennikov, won the Best Film
Award at Rome’s first International Film Festival on Saturday.
The film, a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, was
picked from 16 vying for the award by a popular jury of 50 ordinary
movie-goers led by Italian director Ettore Scola.
The Best Actress Award was given to Ariane Ascaride for her starring
role in Le Voyage en Armnie (Armenia) by French director Robert
Gudiguian while Italy’s Giorgio Colangeli (L’Aria Salata) was given
the Best Actor Award.
Shane Meadows’s This is England won the Special Jury Award.
The awards ceremony took place in Rome’s Auditorium on the last day
of the festival, which was to close later on Saturday with a preview
screening of Robert De Niro’s latest film, The Good Shepherd.
After the screening, De Niro was expected to answer questions from
the audience.
The city’s first ever international film festival is the brainchild
of Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, a well-known cinema buff.
International stars who have attended include Nicole Kidman, Sean
Connery, Harrison Ford and Leonardo Di Caprio.

ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS INSTEAD OF PRINCIPLES OF PARIS?
Lragir.am
Oct 23 2006
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are meeting in Paris
on October 24. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Fassier, Merzlyakov and
Bryza will participate in the meeting. On the eve the foreign minister
of Azerbaijani Mammedyarov and on October 24 the Armenian foreign
minister Vardan Oskanyan will have separate meetings with the French
minister of foreign affairs Philippe Douste-Blazy. The purpose of these
meetings is to discuss additional proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group.

YEREVAN “NZHDEH” TEAM CHAMPION OF ARMENIAN LADIES VOLLEY-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The final tour of Armenian Ladies
Volley-Ball Championship ended on October 22 in Yerevan. In the game
determining the champion the “Nzhdeh” team of Yerevan State Medical
College defeated the Artik lady volley-ball players with a score of
3 to 1. In the game for the 3rd place Sisian lady volley-ball players
defeated NKR’s “Stepanakert” team with a score of 3 to 1.

AUTHORITIES OF UKRAINIAN CITY OF SUM ALREADY FOR 5th YEAR PROMISE
ARMENIAN COMMUNITY TO ALLOT TERRITORY FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CHURCH
KRASNODAR, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The “Sumstroi”
OJSC will build a many-storied building in the territory that was
beforehand promised to the Armenian community of the city of Sum for
construction of an Armenian church. According to the “Yerkramas”
(country) newspaper of Armenians of Russia, Mayor Genadi Minayev
promised the Armenian community to find soon an equivalent plot in
the center of the city. This is already not the first attempt of the
Armenian community to get a lot for a church. In words of Slavik
Alexanian, the head of the Armenian community of the city, the
authorities has promised to allot territory for the church since 2001.

Azeri official unaware of defence minister’s meeting with Armenian counterpart
ITV, Azerbaijan
20 Oct 2006
The [Armenian] news agency Mediamax has quoted the press secretary
of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, as saying
that the Azerbaijani and Armenian defence ministers, Safar Abiyev
and Serzh Sarkisyan, today held a meeting on the front line – in the
Idzhevan-Qazax part of the border.
The report said that the meeting was held at the initiative of the
personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Andrzej
Kasprzyk, in the context of measures aimed at building confidence
between the sides. Shakhsuvaryan said that the ministers discussed
the cease-fire regime.
The head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry press service, Ramiz
Malikov, told “Carci” that the ministry’s press service has not
received such a report.
The Baku office of the personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office, Andrzej Kasprzyk, did not confirm or deny the
report.

CIVIL AVIATION OF ARMENIA REFRAINS FROM COMMENTS ON CRIMINAL SCUFFLE ABOARD A-320
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.10.2006 18:31 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Central Administration of the Civil Aviation
of Armenia does not deny or confirm statements of individuals,
referring to the crash of A-320 flying from Yerevan to Sochi, Central
Administration Spokesperson Gayane Davtyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. In her words, the viewpoint of the Central Administration
of the Civil Aviation of Armenia is unchanged and it was expressed by
Administration Chief Artyom Movsisyan at a news conference on July
28. “The actions of crewmembers being uncoordinated within last 17
seconds of the flight was the cause of the liner’s crash,” Movsisyan
had stated. We remind that A-320 plane of Armavia Armenian company
fell into the Black Sea on the night of May 3, when approaching
Adler. 113 persons died.

ARMENIA ALWAYS FELT FRANCE’S SUPPORT
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 19:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At a reception in Paris Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan said that it’s an honor for the Armenian delegation
to be hosted in the French parliament remarkable for its rich history
and traditions. Andranik Margaryan underscored that the delegation
arrived in Paris for opening of the Year of Armenia in France and
has already held some important meetings in the Senate. October 18
the delegation will take part in a solemn event dedicated to the 15th
anniversary of Armenia’s independence.
Recently we have had the opportunity to speak our friendship. These
are not empty words. The Armenian-French ties record centuries-old
traditions.
Today they are active and multisided. Several weeks ago French
President Jacques Chirac paid a visit to Armenia. Our people welcomed
him with great warmth. We evaluate this visit as recognition of a
successful way towards legal state, developed democracy and free
economy the RA passed during 15 years,” Premier Margaryan said.
He also remarked that Armenia always felt the support France and
its people. In his words, France assist the process of Armenia’s
integration into the European structures and takes part in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement as the OSCE MG Co-chair. Major French
companies invest in the Armenian economy. “The French parliament plays
an important role in these processes. There are a number of groups
assisting in the implementation of various programs on Armenia. The
people who gathered here are our friends and it does not matter
whether they represent the ruling party or the opposition. We assess
highly sincere friendship and I am extremely glad to see that our
intergovernmental ties are built on mutual respect, cooperation and
friendship,” Margaryan said, reports the RA government’s press office.

FRENCH BUSINESS CHIEF HITS OUT AT ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL
Agence France Presse — English
October 17, 2006 Tuesday
The head of the French employers’ federation hit out Tuesday at the
adoption of a French bill that would make it a crime to deny a Turkish
“genocide” of Armenians, saying lawmakers had acted irresponsibly.
“We consider that what was voted goes beyond what was appropriate on
such a serious subject. One cannot take this kind of measure without
thinking of the consequences,” MEDEF chief Laurence Parisot told a
press conference.
The French lower house adoption of the bill — launched by MPs of the
opposition Socialist party but opposed by the centre-right government
— has sparked fury in Turkey and threatens to jeopardise billions
of dollars’ of French trade in the country.
“It is not up to business to write history, but neither is it up to
lawmakers to write it,” Parisot said.
“It is easy to see that an overly sharp reaction from Turkish
authorities of economic officials can be very damaging for the health
of French companies,” she said.
Calling the development “worrying”, Parisot said she was due to meet
the head of the Turkish employers’ federation TUSIAD, Omer Sabanci,
later Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the situation.
The French bill, which still has to undergo a Senate vote and a second
lower assembly reading before becoming law, would make it a jailable
offence to deny that the massacres carried out under Ottoman rule
constituted genocide.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their people were slaughtered,
but Turkey rejects the use of the term “genocide”, saying some 300,000
Armenians died when the Ottoman Empire fell apart, but at least as
many Turks did too.

PAMUK’S TASK
Selcuk Gultasli
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 18 2006
First of all, I want to put it on the record that I have followed Orhan
Pamuk with great pleasure and appreciation since the publication of
his “Black Book,” and that, asking for the forgiveness of literary
critics, I think he is the greatest author in Turkish literature’s
recent history.
I wholeheartedly congratulate him on winning the Nobel prize for
Literature.
However, the Nobel Prize for Literature having fallen on the same
day as France’s questionable draft law warns us that we have to be
sparing while showing our excitement and joy.
This Nobel award, for which we will always praise our great writer,
couldn’t have come at a worse time.
What should be done now? Can our Nobel author take a role in the
struggle against the injustice made against his own nation this time?
Let whoever wants to boycott do so; but 200l clearly showed that
stupid plans like bringing France to its knees through trade never
work. France has the world’s seventh largest economy, its per capita
income is almost 30 thousand dollars and its economic volume exceeds
2 trillion dollars annually.
Mistakes like trusting that Chirac will call Erdogan and say, “I’m
sorry,” expecting him to obstruct the bill, giving compromise after
compromise hoping he will, and buying plenty of Airbuses, shouldn’t
be repeated.
Both of Chirac’s probable successors, right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy and
leftist Segolene Royal have already made recognition of a “genocide”
a condition of Turkey’s EU membership just like the current “friend
of the Turks” president.
OK, let’s say that Chirac doesn’t sign this bill, won’t it be brought
back to life a few years later?
What should be done is to immediately make the bill a law. As soon as
it becomes a law, a serious struggle should be begun on the basis of
freedom of expression. Last week in Europe there were many decisions
indicating that Turkey would win such a struggle started on the basis
of freedom of expression. We can list them as follows:
The EU Commission took a stand against the bill; not only Expansion
Commissioner Olli Rehn, but also at the highest level, Chairman
Barroso.
France’s largest newspapers agreed that the French National Assembly
had acted unreasonably. In general, the European press supported
this stand.
There were official public statements from the European Parliament,
which is constantly giving Turkey a headache regarding the issue of
“genocide,” saying, “You’ve made Voltaire turn over in his grave,”
and, “If a law is being made for the Armenian genocide, why aren’t
you doing anything about other injustices?”
Even one of the genocide-accusing members of the EP, French Marie
Anne Isler Beguin, joined in on the protests, “Do you want to throw
Turkey into the lap of Iran and Russia?”
Without losing any time, France’s most expert historians called upon
Chirac to have the bill rescinded if it passes the Senate.
It can be said that an intellectual alliance is emerging throughout
Europe – even though it’s not strong – believing that France has gone
too far this time and exceeded its limits.
If the bill is not buried in France, it is just a matter of time
before it jumps to Belgium, Holland and other countries.
The best thing to do would be to pull the discussion toward a freedom
of expression platform and get the intellectual consensus emerging
in Europe behind us.
Then Orhan Pamuk’s going to Paris with Hrant Dink would be effective.
Pamuk’s going to Paris as a Nobel-winning author from a country that
has abolished or amended article 301 could turn into a visit that
would make France ashamed.
Actually, this is just the right time to amend Article 301!
In an interview with the BBC just after winning the award, Pamuk
did not mention freedom of expression in relation to questions about
France. This does not promise hope.
However, on the day he is to receive the award, if after criticizing
the genocide bill from top to bottom in the speech he makes in Sweden,
if the bill becomes law and he jumps on the first flight to Paris and,
as Hrant Dink promised to do, he proclaims that he doesn’t recognize
the “genocide” (even if he believes it happened), then the coldness
between him and the Turkish people would to a large extent disappear.