Author: Nalbandian Eduard

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 19 2007

OIL REFINERY COSTS 1.7 BILLION DOLLARS

The technical feasibility and economic justification of the oil
refinery in Armenia will be offered in November 2007, said the
Armenian minister of energy Armen Movsisyan.

The refinery will be built in Meghri. Russia and Iran said likely to
participate in this project. The plant will refine up to 7 million
metric tons of oil annually and costs 1.7 billion dollars. Another
one billion dollars will be spent on transportation infrastructure.

WHOSE CONGRESS ARE THEY ANYWAY?
By Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online Blogs, NY
Oct 18 2007

Undermining foreign policy on the Hill.

The president establishes American foreign policy and is
commander-in-chief. At least that’s what the Constitution states.

Then Congress oversees the president’s policies by either granting
or withholding money to carry them out – in addition to approving
treaties and authorizing war.

Apparently, the founding fathers were worried about dozens of renegade
congressional leaders and committees speaking on behalf of the United
States and opportunistically freelancing with foreign leaders.

In our past, self-appointed moralists – from Charles Lindbergh and Joe
Kennedy to Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson – have, from time to time,
tried to engage in diplomacy directly contrary to the president’s.

But usually Americans agree to let one elected president and his
secretary of state speak for the United States abroad. Then if they’re
displeased with the results, they can show it at the ballot box every
two years in national or midterm elections.

But recently hundreds in Congress have decided that they’re better
suited to handle international affairs than the State Department.

The U.S. Senate late last month passed a resolution urging the de facto
breakup of wartime Iraq into federal enclaves along sectarian lines –
even though this is not the official policy of the Bush administration,
much less the wish of a sovereign elected government in Baghdad.

That Senate vote only makes it tougher for 160,000 American soldiers
to stabilize a unitary Iraq. And Iraqis I spoke with during my recent
trip to Iraq are confused over why the U.S. Congress would preach to
them how to split apart their own country.

Then, last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a
resolution condemning Turkey for genocide against the Armenian people,
atrocities committed nearly a century ago during the waning years of
the Ottoman Empire.

If the entire House approves the resolution, the enraged Ankara
government could do everything from invade Iraqi Kurdistan – in hot
pursuit of suspected Kurdish guerrillas – to curtail U.S. over-flight
privileges and restrict use of American military bases in Turkey.

This new falling-out could interfere with supplying our soldiers in
Iraq. And it complicates a myriad of issues, from the NATO alliance
to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

The speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, earlier this year took another
hot-button foreign-policy matter into her own hands when she made a
special trip to reach out to Syria’s strongman, Bashar Assad.

That visit to Damascus was played up in the government-run Syrian
press as proof that ordinary Americans don’t feel that Syria is a
state sponsor of terrorism. Never mind that the Assad dictatorship
helps terrorists get into Iraq to kill American soldiers, is suspected
of involvement with the assassinations of journalists and democratic
leaders in Lebanon, and recently had bombed by the Israelis a facility
reported to contain a partially built nuclear reactor.

What are we to make of a Congress that now wants to establish rather
than just oversee U.S. foreign policy? Can it act as a foil to the
president and so give our diplomats leverage abroad with wayward
nations: "We suggest you do x, before our volatile Congress demands
we do y?"

Maybe – but any good is vastly outweighed by the bad. Partisan
politics often drive these anti-administration foreign policies,
aimed at making the president look weak abroad and embarrassed at home.

House representatives too often preach their own district politics,
less so the American people’s interest as a whole. What might ensure
their reelection or win local campaign funds isn’t necessarily good
for the United States and its allies.

And too often we see frustrated senators posture in debate during
televised hearings, trying out for the role of chief executive
or commander in chief. Most could never get elected president –
many have tried – but they seem to enjoy the notion that their
own under-appreciated brilliance and insight should supersede the
collective efforts of the State Department.

So they travel abroad, pass resolutions and pontificate a lot, but
rarely have to clean up the ensuing mess of their own freelancing of
American foreign policy.

Congress should stick to its constitutional mandate and quit the
publicity gestures. If it is unhappy with the ongoing effort to
stabilize a unified Iraq, then it should act seriously and vote to
cut off all funds and bring the troops home.

If the House wants to punish Turkey for denying that its Ottoman
forefathers engaged in a horrific genocide, then let congressional
members likewise deny funds for our military to stay among such a
genocide-denying amoral host.

If Speaker Pelosi believes that Syria is not a terrorist entity but
a country worth re-engaging diplomatically, then let her in mature
fashion introduce legislation that would resume full American financial
relations with our new partner Damascus.

Otherwise, it’s all talk – and dangerous talk at that.

Y3ZjJjYmM2OTZlZTkyZWFlMTJjOTVjNzFkOTQ=

US HOUSE TO DROP GENOCIDE BILL

PRESS TV, Iran
Oct 18 2007

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have dropped support
for the resolution calling the massacre of Armenians as genocide.

In an apparent retreat from their initial stance, influential Democrat
John Murtha said the US was in no position to be thinking of moral
values at such a crucial time because it is already suffering from
a lack of credibility across the world.

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Wednesday the prospects of a
vote on Armenian genocide were uncertain, after several members pulled
their support amid fears it would cripple US relations with Turkey.

In a White House news conference Bush warned lawmakers against further
inflaming US relations with Turkey.

Turkey’s military chief General Yasar Buyukanit has warned the United
States that the alliance between the two nations will be at risk if the
House of Representatives approves the measure. The resolution’s passage
could also prompt Turkey to scale back its assistance in the Iraq war.

Earlier this week, Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, had sharply
denounced the resolution adopted by the US House panel and called it
an unacceptable move by some American politicians who ignore common
sense and sacrifice greater issues to petty games.

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY URGES MURTHA TO REMEMBER TIBET AND REJECT "BLACKMAIL" BY TURKEY

AZG Armenian Daily
19/10/2007

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America today called upon
House Members not to give in to pressure from the government of
Turkey, which is opposed to an important and bi-partisan resolution
that affirms the Armenian Genocide. The call from the Assembly came
as Congress and President Bush met today with the Dali Lama – despite
intense political and diplomatic pressure from China, which opposes
the U.S. having any relationship with Tibet.

"I truly hope that no Member of Congress is persuaded to jump ship
on such a critical vote as this simply because of some threats by
a foreign government," said Armenian Assembly Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny.

"The government of Turkey and its million-dollar lobbyists are
effectively blackmailing the Congress and the government of the
United States. We should stand up to the threats and demand that
Turkey immediately cease its campaign of misinformation and threats."

Ardouny noted that the Bush Administration has decided to meet with the
Dali Lama today in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, despite threats and
intense diplomatic and political pressure from the government of China.

"If we can stand up to China why on earth are we afraid of standing
up to Turkey," Ardouny said. "The community commends House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi for standing strong in the face of such threats and
for her willingness to bring this long-delayed resolution to a vote
before the full House. As she said over the weekend, this resolution
is long overdue and it’s time for Congress to stand up and speak
out forcefully on a human rights issue that will reverberate for
generations," added Ardouny.

The resolution, H.R. 106, is non-binding and has been introduced in
several previous sessions of Congress.

It was approved 27-21 last week by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America
is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting
public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c)
(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

ARMENIA IS THE 6-TH

A1+
[12:41 pm] 18 October, 2007

The Armenian National Football Team was defeated by the Belgium
National Football Team 0:3 in Brussels yesterday. This was the second
failure of the Armenian team within the frameworks of "Euro-2008".

Armenia got 8 points during the previous 4 matches.

Our team had the chance to make a progress and appear in the 5-th
place in the match list. Our team was playing well during the first
half of the match, but during the second half of the match the Belgium
team managed to score goals.

This was a great failure for the Armenian team after 4 successful
matches. Of course, the Armenian team could not conclude all matches
successfully, but the today’s Belgium team cannot be compared with
Brazilian or Italian football teams. One of the objective causes of
the team’s failure was the physical state of our footballers. The
team had not recovered after Armenia-Serbia match and it was obvious
in the second half of the match.

In the A selective group, where the Armenian team is also involved,
another 2 meeting took place yesterday.

The Azerbaijani team was defeated by Serbia team 1:6 in Baku. The
National Football Team of Portugal defeated Kazakhstan team 2:1
yesterday.

Here is the match list of A group.

M. P.

1. Poland 12 24

2. Portugal 12 23

3. Serbia 12 20

4. Finland 12 20

5. Belgium 12 15

6. Armenia 10 9

7. Kazakhstan 12 7

8. Azerbaijan 10 5

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

Armenian version: nian.htm

IN BRUSSELS

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I VISITS THE BRUSSELS HEADQUARTERS
OF THE EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY

Brussels – Responding to an invitation by the European Armenian Federation
for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), His Holiness Aram I paid an official
visit to the Brussels office of the federation on October 14. He was
accompanied by the charge d’affaires of Lebanon to Brussels, Henry Kastoun
and Communications Officer of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, V. Rev. Krikor
Chiftjian.

The chairwoman of the federation, Mrs. Hilda Choboyan, members of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau, Garo Armenian and Hagop Der
Khatchadourian, members of the EAFJD executive committee and its staff
welcomed the Catholicos.

Mrs. Hilda Choboyan informed His Holiness of the activities of EAFJD in
relation to pursuing the Armenian Cause within the European political
sphere. She also introduced to the Catholicos the federation’s staff and
their area of work.

Blessing the center with a special prayer, the Catholicos highly praised the
activities of EAFJD. "The Armenian Cause is the cause of each Armenian. With
this realization and commitment each Armenian should bring his contribution
to defending our nation’s collective rights," he said.

Welcoming the recent action taken by the U.S. House committee with respect
to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Pontiff added: "We greatly
commend the work of the Armenian National committees of America and the
Armenian American community in this direction. However, these efforts should
be pursued with further organization because the upcoming phases are much
more difficult and complex."

Speaking about the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s contribution to the Armenian
Cause, His Holiness Aram I said: "Defending the rights of our nation is one
of the important priorities of the mission of our Holy See. Let us not
forget that our See, with its people, is the victim of the Armenian
Genocide. Therefore, the protection of our nation’s rights by the
Catholicosate of Cilicia is legal, moral and national issue."

##
View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos46.htm#2
http://www.armenianorthodo xchurch.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos46.htm#3
*****
Th e Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

UCLA PRESS RELEASE, OCTOBER 17, 2007
UCLA AEF Chair in Armenian History
Contact: Prof. Richard Hovannisian
Tel: 310-825-3375
Email: [email protected]

Professor M.L. Anderson to Discuss 1895-96 Armenian Massacres at UCLA

"DOWN IN TURKEY FAR AWAY" — Human Rights, the Armenian Massacres of
1895-96, and Orientalism in Imperial Germany, is the topic of a
lecture to be given by Professor Margaret Lavinia Anderson on Friday,
November 2, at 1 p.m. in the History Conference Room, 6265 Bunche
Hall, on the UCLA campus. The lecture is sponsored by the UCLA
Armenian Studies Program and Department of History and the National
Association for Armenian Studies and Research.

Margaret Anderson is Professor of History at the University of
California, Berkeley, and an established scholar in Modern German and
European history and in German-Ottoman relations. She will discuss the
responses to the Hamidian massacres, highlighting the differences
between Germany and the rest of the West and the reasons for those
differences. This is a part of a larger study that Anderson has
undertaken on German-Ottoman/Turkish relations From the Armenian
massacres of the 1890s to the 1930s.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available in
structure 2 (Hilgard and Westholme entrance) and structure 3 (Hilgard
and Wyton Entrance) for $8.00 or, if available, in metered parking
areas. Elevators may be taken to the sixth floor of Bunche Hall. The
conference room is down the corridor. For further information,
contact:

Richard Hovannisian
[email protected]

Peter Cowe
[email protected]

Marc Mamigonian
[email protected]

KHAZAR IBRAHIM: NO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZES LOCAL ELECTIONS IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 16 2007

"No international organization recognizes local elections in Nagorno
Karabakh," spokesman for Foreign Ministry Khazar Ibrahim said while
commenting on the local elections held by the separatist regime in
the occupied Azerbaijani territories. He said that no international
recognizes these elections, as this territory has no status.

Taking a stance on the approval of the bill on the so-called Armenian
genocide by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Khazar Ibrahim cited
the article written by one of the editors in yesterday’s Washington
Post.

"Armenian Diaspora would rather pay attention to the situation in
Armenia, problems of democracy, human rights and corruption rather
than submitting such documents to the US government. These views show
that there is no unambiguous position on this bill in the US," he said.

Foreign Ministry’s representative noted that Azerbaijani government
holds a number of events on Khojaly genocide.

"One of them was held in the US Congress a few years ago. Analogous
events will continue," he said.

Khazar Ibrahim also commented on the official financial assistance
of the US to the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh.

"You should not think that the US administration allocates great amount
of funds to Nagorno Karabakh. The US offers financial assistance
to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenian Diaspora mostly sends funds to
Nagorno Karabakh. USAID finances some projects in Nagorno Karabakh
in the framework of humanitarian projects, but the organization
officially reports to Azerbaijani government about use of the funds,"
he said.

WHY THE RELUCTANCE OVER ARMENIAN ISSUE
Alberto Michel Chahoud UAE

7DAYS, United Arab Emirates
Oct 16 2007

When French philosopher Roger Garaudy published "The Founding Myths of
Modern Israel" in 1996, he faced serious charges by French courts,
as his book contested the existence of gas chambers in Hitler’s
Germany, as well as the number of Jewish population eliminated in
concentration camps.

Back then, the "democratic world" backed the charges against Garaudy,
as they found the author’s "allegations" offensive to human rights
and mainly to Jews’ sentiments, as some governments claimed.

It is so weird how those same governments, so eager to defend human
rights, still cannot feel the urgency to defend the rights of the
Armenian population slaughtered during the First World War by Ottoman
Turks, where more than 1.5 million Armenians were systematically
eliminated and a million others deported. Today, 92 years after the
Armenian genocide Ankara is still denying the crime, despite thousands
of pictures, films, testimonials and other irrefutable proofs that
have been publicly available to the entire world.

Today, Turkey is angry! It is infuriated at the potential resolution
by the American Congress, labeling the Armenian killing by Turkey
as genocide. Of course Turkey is angry; not only will this new
development shed more light on the Ottomans’ shameful butchery against
Armenians, but it might also hamper Ankara’s efforts to secure an EU
membership. Whatever the case, hats off to the American Congress,
despite the lengthy delay in taking such an action. While this new
resolution might sound firm, it should be considered as an invitation
to the world to stop living in denial and start admitting the mistakes
and atrocities committed throughout the history of humanity.

he-reluctance-over-armenian-issue.html

TURKISH GOVT SEEKS VOTE ON IRAQ INCURSION

Agence France Presse
Oct 15 2007

ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey moved a step closer Monday to a possible
incursion in northern Iraq as the government sought parliament’s
approval for military action against Kurdish rebel bases, despite
US opposition.

Ankara hopes it will not be forced to resort to military action,
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters after a cabinet
meeting, shortly before a motion was formally submitted to parliament.

"We hope that there will be no reason to use the authorisation,
we hope there will be no need for that," he said.

The motion seeks a one-year authorisation for a military operation
in northern Iraq, where an estimated 3,500 rebels of the separatist
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are based.

The government will decide on the timing and scope of the operation
and can use the authorisation for numerous raids, Cicek said.

He underlined that any cross-border operation would only target the
PKK and Ankara had no designs on Iraqi territory.

"We have always respected the sovereignty of Iraq, which is a friendly
and brotherly country," Cicek said.

The government plans to put the motion to a vote on Wednesday and could
opt to hold a closed-door debate, Sadullah Ergin, the parliamentary
group chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said.

The AKP, which dominates parliament, is expected to secure
parliamentary approval but a top military commander said it was too
early to speculate on the timing of any operation.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted last week that action was
unlikely to be immediate.

The Turkish government’s motion is likely to dominate talks during
Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi’s one-day visit to Ankara
Tuesday.

Hashemi will discuss "all aspects of bilateral ties" with Erdogan
and President Abdullah Gul, a Turkish diplomat said.

The United States and Iraq have repeatedly warned Turkey against
an incursion.

"We all have an interest in a stable Iraq and a desire to see the PKK
(rebels) brought to justice," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe
said Monday.

"But we urge the Turks to continue their discussions with us and
the Iraqis, and to show restraint from any potentially destabilizing
actions."

Turkey says it has no other option because neither Washington nor
Baghdad is helping end the safe haven the PKK enjoys in northern Iraq.

Ties between Ankara and Washington suffered a fresh blow last week
when the US House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed a bill branding
the Ottoman Empire’s mass killings of Armenians during World War I
as genocide.

The army said at the weekend that it had shelled Iraqi territory
after PKK rebels attacked a Turkish military outpost with rockets
and gunfire from across the border.

Mounting violence by the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey
and much of the international community including the United States,
has increased the pressure on Erdogan to take tougher measures against
the rebels.

Ankara says the PKK enjoys free movement in northern Iraq and obtains
weapons and explosives there for attacks inside Turkey. It has accused
the Iraqi Kurds, who run the region, of tolerating and even supporting
the rebels.

Turkish criticism of Washington increased recently after it emerged
that US weapons given to Iraq had ended up in PKK hands.

Turkey and Iraq signed an accord last month to combat the PKK but
failed to agree on a clause allowing Turkish troops to engage in
"hot pursuit" — as they did regularly in the 1990s — against rebels
fleeing into Iraqi territory.

Observers here also doubt that the embattled Baghdad government,
which has virtually no authority over northern Iraq, can cajole the
Iraqi Kurds into action against the PKK.

The PKK has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast
Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000
lives.