Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AS A CASE STUDY IN TODAY’S MIDDLE EAST RELATIONS
By Tracy Dove, Ph.D, The Russia News Service

U.S. Politics Today, DC
49125
Oct 10 2007

A sensitive bill is about to go before the US Congress, and it
won’t be the first time that this initiative has been struck down
by careful congressmen- only this time for the wrong reasons. The
word "genocide" is not taken lightly in international arenas, and
this means that governments have to be especially careful of which
atrocities they recognize as genocide and which they give credence
to as horrible human tragedies- but no more. If the United States
recognizes the deaths of between 300,000 (Turkish estimates) and 1.5
million (Armenian estimates) Armenians as genocide, it may cause new
lines to be drawn in the sands of the Middle East, but it would also
be a courageous gesture in an era when moral certitude is lacking
in foreign policy. Here are some considerations to think about in
recognizing this event as genocide.

The main agitator against the bill’s passage is of course the modern
state of Turkey which- if it tried- could better disassociate itself
from the triumvirate of bad Pashas during World War I who ordered the
systematic annihilation of Armenians in Turkey. The initial waves of
Armenian slaughter must be understood as the attempts of the Young
Turks in the weak Ottoman government to establish a modern, though
powerful state that would be exclusively Turkish and Muslim. They were
assisted by the Ottoman Pasha’s ill-conceived decision to side with
the Germans and Austrians, which pre-destined the country to partition
along ethnic and religious lines if the Axis should ever lose the
war. With that concern foremost in his mind, the Pasha allowed for the
legal expulsion of Christians from the territory of Turkey. Because
of its geographic dispersion throughout Turkey, it was the Armenian
community which would suffer the brunt of this measure, since the
Turkish forces who were fighting against the Russians in 1915 were
severely defeated by an army that was comprised of- understandably-
Armenians. Sensing a Christian conspiracy, the Turkish government
in Istanbul began conducting a purge of those territories where
Armenians resided and allowed for revenge to be taken out against
them. Interestingly enough, the conceptual genocide may have been
ordered by angry Young Turks, but it was physically carried out by
another ethnic minority within Turkey- the Kurds.

This presents an interesting paradigm in current Turkish-Kurdish
relations which can be relegated to "very bad" when one considers Iraqi
Kurdistan today. The Turks of 1915 were not powerful enough to secure
their eastern frontier and relied on the Kurds for the nefarious job
of driving the Armenians out. To be specific, there were two large
groups of Sunni Kurds in the region, and the Ottoman government was
successful in turning them against each other while giving the Ascheti
Kurds a dominant position in return for carrying out the atrocities. As
a result, Kurdish tribes at that time became estranged from one another
because of their poisoned relations with the Turks, and this animosity
continues in Kurdish politics to this day. The irony here is that if
the Kurds can be blamed for the Armenian executions, then the present
Turkish government has a useful propaganda tool at its service.

Turkish tradition dictates that any tarnishing of family honor
be punished severely, and for this reason it is illegal to speak
"against Turkishness" in public forums. The dishonor enters when one
considers that the country’s beloved founder- Mustafa Kemal Attaturk-
was one of the army officers who carried out the genocide in both
1915 and 1920. To criticize Attaturk is paramount to disrespecting
one’s father, and for this reason Turkey will not accept the label of
genocide for what happened in the eastern regions of the country. The
Turkish-Armenian War was fought in 1920 and won thanks to Attaturk’s
leadership, which further exonerates the Turks from guilt, since the
Armenians were the ones who had declared war. As the Turks advanced
on one side into Armenia in 1920, the Bolsheviks advanced on Armenia
from the other, and by the end of the war the tiny republic had been
reduced in size by one-half.

The implications for today’s Turkey are considerable, since many
in the international community have already recognized the event as
genocide. Firstly, the United States stands to lose two allies- the
Turks in Ankara and the Kurds in upstart Iraqi Kurdistan. There will
be social backlash against America in Turkey, and it will benefit the
Islamists and their cause for returning to religious traditions if
the US admonishes them for this historic crime. The Kurds, however,
will feel a national victory in that their nation will be able to
claim a moral distance from the Turks, despite their participation
in the crime, and further their efforts for statehood.

Last to consider is Israel; relations between Tel Aviv and Ankara in
the post 9/11 Middle East have been exceptionally good, but there is
the historic equivalent in the Armenian holocaust which many in the
International community are pushing Israel to recognize.

Turkish-Israeli cooperation will suffer if the Americans recognize
Genocide in the Armenian massacre, since Israel is known for standing
behind US policy as long as it doesn’t outwardly jeopardize Israeli
security. In the end, no one will benefit from a strong American
stand on this issue.

The irony lies in the fact that while the Congress of the United States
may well pass the bill- as it has done more than once in the past-
the Senate will have a hard time mustering up the votes necessary. In
the end, short-term political gains will be sacrificed for the moral
courage to stand with the international community and call a spade a
spade. In this way, the foreign policy maxim of the Bush administration
will be upheld- "you are either with us, or against us"- and in this
case Turkey and Israel will rest easy with America’s moral vacillation
where national security is concerned.

Tracy Dove, editor of The Russia News Service, is a Professor of
History and the Department Chair of International Relations at the
University of New York in Prague.

TURKISH OPPOSITION LEADER CONTINUES TO CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT POLICY ON TERROR

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 9 2007

"CHP group meeting -‘Does Turkey have to wait for PM Erdogan to visit
Washington next month to take measures against terror?’ Baykal"

ANKARA (A.A) -09.10.2007 -"Does Turkey have to wait for Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Washington next month to take measures
against terror?" asked main opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal on Tuesday.

Speaking at his party’s weekly group meeting at the parliament,
Baykal indicated that Turkey has lost 27 of its citizens due to
terrorist attacks. He argued that to this day Turkey has not taken
decisive measures against terror.

He harshly criticized the ruling Justice & Development (AK) Party for
its policies on terror. "What happened to the special representative
in the fight against terror? What are the representatives doing? Why
have we lost 1.5 years? How did the special representatives contribute
to the fight against terror? Can these questions be answered? There are
no answers but many dead citizens and martyrs instead," told Baykal.

Touching on the recent agreement signed by Turkey and Iraq on war on
terror, Baykal stressed that "Turkey has lost 27 of its citizens before
the ink got dry on this agreement. This shows that such agreements
are useless. These are agreements to distract the Turkish people."

Baykal added that the "Turkish government must show its reaction to a
bill in the US House of Representatives supporting Armenian allegations
regarding the 1915 incidents, by not sending unauthorized deputies
but by direct intervention of top level government representatives."

THE FACT OF THE FIRST PRESIDENT AND FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF INDEPENDENT ARMENIA IS IMPORTANT, EX-FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA SAYS

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 9 2007

ArmInfo. ‘First of all the fact of the meeting of the two founders of
the Third Armenian republic – the first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan
and the first prime minister of independent Armenia Vazgen Manukyan
is important’, ex-foreign minister of Armenia Aleksandr Arzumanyan
told Arminfo correspondent when commenting on the results of the
meeting of several former members of "Karabakh" committee.

He also added that Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Vazgen Manukyan worry about
the situation in the country and the prospects of its development.

Asked if the first president and the first prime minister will
cooperate including in the context of the forthcoming presidential
election, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s team-mate Aleksandr Arzumanyan replied:
‘We hope that the contacts and cooperation will continue’.

To note, yesterday evening several team-mates on the Karabakh movement
met in the apartment of the former member of Karabakh committee Samson
Kazaryan. The meeting lasted from 18:00 PM till midnight. To recall,
Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Vazgen Manukyan are opponents. The were the
main rivals at the presidential election 1996.

GuL SENDS A LETTER TO BUSH

Sabah, Turkey
Oct 10 2007

Gul sent a letter to Bush in order to thank him for the personal
effort he made to prevent the passing of the Armenian bill. Gul gave
the message that "if the bill passes, the Turkish nation will react
emotionally, which will in turn, damage our relations."

President Gul sent a letter to US President Bush regarding the Armenian
bill, to be voted on today at the US House of Representatives. Gul
gave the message that "if the bill passes, the Turkish nation will
react emotionally, which will in turn, damage our relations." Gul
also thanked Bush for his contributions in attempting to prevent the
Armenian bill, which supports the claims of genocide.

Gul reminded that Yerevan did not respond to the suggestion to
establish a commission of historians between the two countries.

PRESS RELEASE
Orran
Hasmik Baghdasaryan
6 First Yekmalian Street
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Email: [email protected]
www. Orran.am
Date: October 8, 2007

HELPING PEOPLE ACROSS THE OCEAN

A Wells Fargo Bank Vice President and branch manager, Talin Amirian
completed a month of voluntary work at Orran, a center for needy
children and elderly in her homeland, the Republic of Armenia.
Ms. Amirian was a participant in Wells Fargo’s community reinvestment
program whereby the bank employees receive up to four months of
volunteer leave, receiving full pay and benefits. Unlike most
employees who choose a program close to home, Ms. Amirian crossed the
ocean to reach her favorite charity, through which she had been
supporting a needy family by a monthly personal contribution.

Orran is a charitable organization founded in Armenia in 2000. Its
mission is to help vagrant children by providing a hot meal, tutorial,
psychological, social and medical services. It also serves as a soup
kitchen for the elderly who come to the center in the morning when the
children are in school.

Ms. Amirian’s full time job at Orran involved assessing the operations
of the center to make sure that the organization was using its
resources most efficiently. In this connection, Ms. Amirian worked
very closely with the 70 young and 48 elderly beneficiaries. She
visited the destitute families, interviewed the parents, tutored the
children in their studies,

`I had a wonderful month working at Orran and feel very fortunate to
have had the opportunity to spend time with such a great organization.
It was rewarding to learn from its beneficiaries. Each and every one
of them touched my heart and taught me to be a better person. Orran
is a wonderful organization with a noble mission, and it carries out
its vision every single day. Orran has become a part of me, and I
will always cherish this experience’.

Perhaps it was Ms. Amirian’s BA degree in psychology or her boundless
love for children that translated this relationship into such a
beneficial one for both sides.

Tony Turner, CEO of HSBC bank in Armenia and Orran Board member
expressed Orran’s appreciation, `We are very grateful to Wells Fargo
Bank for giving the opportunity to Talin Amirian to provide such an
important service to Orran. We are constantly looking for ways to
spend the contributions of our donors efficiently and to impact as
many children and families as we can. Ms. Amirian’s helpful
suggestions to improve parts of our operations are seriously being
considered and implemented’.

As Ms. Amirian summed up her experience `I believe that the greatest
gift I can give to myself is to give of myself to others’.

For more information on Orran, please visit

TURKEY FIGHTING GENOCIDE VOTE
By Michael Doyle [email protected]

Miami Herald, FL
Oct 6 2007

A nonbinding House resolution on the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23 would
severely strain U.S.-Turkey relations, Turkey’s ambassador warned.

WASHINGTON — Approval of an Armenian genocide resolution by the House
of Representatives would have "very, very unfortunate" consequences for
U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy warned Friday.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will consider the diplomatically
charged resolution Wednesday. In an interview, Sensoy said "we are
deploying all the efforts that we can" to defeat the nonbinding
measure, which he thinks could unravel a strategic alliance.

"I fear — and expect, in fact — a strong reaction from the Turkish
people," Sensoy said, "and of course no government can remain
indifferent to this reaction."

Introduced by Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., and Rep. Adam Schiff,
D-Calif., the 1,780-word resolution declares that "the Armenian
Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from
1915 to 1923." Armenians say an estimated 1.5 million died during
the period.

Symbolically, the resolution puts the House on record as characterizing
the Armenian slaughter as genocide. Politically, it has high visibility
in regions with large Armenian-American populations, including southern
California, California’s San Joaquin Valley, Michigan and New Jersey.

"Silence is genocide’s greatest ally, and I am very happy that the
silence regarding the Armenian genocide will be ending next week,"
said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif. "It is well past due that the Armenian
genocide finally be recognized as such in our nation."

The last time a resolution on Armenian genocide came before the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, in 2005, it was approved 40-7.

Congressional Republican leaders blocked it from reaching the House
floor.

The House committee likewise had approved an Armenian genocide
resolution in 2000. House Republican leaders also killed that measure.

This year, 226 House members publicly support the resolution,
including 23 members of the foreign affairs panel. Nonetheless,
Sensoy said "it will be a close race" Wednesday.

Certainly, no expense is being spared. Justice Department records
show that Turkey signed a $100,000-a-month contract in May with the
lobbying firm DLA Piper, one of several hired to fight the resolution.

Separately, Turkey paid Bob Livingston, former House Appropriations
Committee chairman, $625,000 for work from March 1 to Aug. 31, records
show. Last month, Turkey added public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard
to its roster at $113,000 a month.

"It is out of necessity, of course," Sensoy said. "On the Armenian
side, many people are working, and we need the lobbying firms to have
certain access on Capitol Hill.

"It is true that what happened in 1915 is a very sad episode in
our common history," he said. "Hundreds of thousands of Armenians
perished. Hundreds of thousands of Turks perished. . . . We don’t
need a new generation of people to hate one another."

TURKISH RULING PARTY DEPUTY SAYS ARMENIAN BILL TO HURT BILATERAL TIES WITH USA

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 6 2007

Ankara, 6 October: "If the United States makes a historical error
and adopt a resolution on the incidents of 1915 in the House of
Representatives, this would be a problem and scandal of the US," said
Egemen Bagis, Deputy Chairman of the ruling Justice and Development
(AK) Party, on Saturday [6 October].

Speaking to the AA [Anatolia Agency], Bagis indicated that Republican
People’s Party (CHP) MP from Istanbul Sukru Elekdag and Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) MP from Istanbul Gunduz Aktan and he will pay a
visit to the United States to hold discussions with non-governmental
organizations, senators, members of the House of Representatives,
high level bureaucrats and academicians and try to explain to all
that the adoption of a resolution on the incidents of 1915 would be
a serious blow to Turkish-US relations.

"We will do everything possible to defeat the Armenian resolution
which, if adopted, can hurt Turkish-US relations and the national
interests of the US," told Bagis.

Bagis, Elekdag and Aktan will be in the United States between 8 and
11 October.

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 5 2007

Information on arrivals and departures in `Zvartnots’ available
through SMS messages
05.10.2007 13:33

>From no on the information on the exact time of arrivals and
departures in the Yerevan International `Zvartnots’ is available
through SMS messages, Mediamax reports.

The service is provided in cooperation with `Aviainfotel’ Company –
the official IT-partner of `Zvartnots’ Airport.

The information, provided by means of SMS-messages, is rendered
directly from Total Airport Management Information System (TAMIS) and
is identical with data from official directory inquiry service and on
displays in passenger terminals.

To receive information on the time of departure, the subscriber of
`ArmenTel’ or `VivaCell’ should send from his mobile phone Z (space)
and the flight number to the short number 1500. For example: Z 642.
The subscriber will receive one or two SMS-messages in response to
the inquiry.

To receive information on the time of arrivals, the subscriber of
`ArmenTel’ or `VivaCell’ should send from his cell phone the letter Z
(space) and the flight number to the short number 1500. For example:
Z 110. The subscriber will receive one or two SMS-messages in
response to the inquiry.

The cost of the service is 150 drams including VAT.

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2007

DPA leader: It is hurtful to think that Armenian people have
forgotten their yesterday or they choose the least of two evils

ArmInfo. Leader of the Democratic party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan
considers the recent meeting of ex-President of Armenia Levon
Ter-Petrosyan with representatives of ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" strange,
he expressed his opinion at today’s press-conference in "Tesaket"
club.

"The situation is strange enough and unexpected for me. No one knows
what they discussed during a 40-minute meeting", DPA leader said and
added that in view of absence of specific information, different
assumptions can be made. A. Sargsyan hypothecate that it is
profitable for ARFD not to remember "the problems of the past years",
while it is profitable for ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan
"to forget" his own deeds (with respect to this party- ed.). Asked
about possibility of creation of an election bloc between ARFD and
the Armenian National Movement party, A. Sargsyan replied: "I rule
out nothing".

As for possibility of L. Ter-Petrosyan’s participation in the
forthcoming presidential election, A. Sargsyan recalled that the
"issue of nomination of the ex-president’s candidacy is still unclear
despite the attempts of Ter-Petrosyan’s relationship to reanimate him
as a political figure". "My attitude to his
personality and his organization is well-known. The people elected
him, indeed, in 1991, and this is a fact. However, if he enters the
political arena today, he can receive the voices only. The people’s
attitude towards him is also well-known. It is hurtfully to think
that the Armenian people have forgotten their yesterday or they
choose the least of two evils", Aram Sargsyan said.

"SENSITIVE" STABILITY IN KARABAKH

AZG Armenian Daily
05/10/2007

In EP, EU Special Representative on South Caucasus Peter Semnebey
qualified the situation of Karabakh conflict "sensitive". According to
him, the situation could be changed on the threshold of the elections
of the two countries in 2008.

Touching upon the issue of Armenia, Peter Semnebey mentioned that the
May 12 elections of Armenia "recorded a step forward in comparison
with the previous elections".

Mr. Semnebey warned Azerbaijan that the power resources and transition
opportunities of that country would not force European Union not to
see the human rights violations there.