Author: Toneyan Mark

Azat Artsakh Tert, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Oct 18 2007

Working conference in the NKR National Assembly

On October 16th the Speaker of the NKR NA Ashot Ghoulian convened a
working conference. The theme of the discussion was the question of
carrying out the next conventional session of the 5th conference of
NA. By the information of the Speaker, the program of the activity of
the NKR newly formed Government was put into official circulation
from October 15th. At the same time, he pointed, the official
suggestion of the President about appointment of the chairman of the
NKR Supreme Court and the question of electing the chairman of the
permenant commission of Defence, Security and observance of the law
of NA were liable to urgent discussion. Exchange of opinions took
place, in the result of which the organization problems come from
mentioned questions were corrected. According to the legislative
standards, the Speaker of the Parliament announced, that the
conventional session of NA would be convened on October 17th, at
11:00, in the conference hall of NA.(press service of the NKR
Government reported).

Los ANgeles Daily News
Oct 19 2007

Burbank mountaineer conquers the Seven Summits

BY MARIO AGUIRRE, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 10/19/2007 06:08:02 AM PDT

He’s skied the North and South poles, conquered the Seven Summits and
planted the flags of the United States and Armenia atop Mount
Everest.

Now, 47-year-old adventurer Karo Ovasapyan has set his sights on
Greenland, where he hopes to make a 285-mile cross-country skiing
trek across the icy landscape of the world’s biggest island.

"It’s another challenge. You’re challenging yourself," said
Ovasapyan, who lives in Burbank. "It gives your life more meaning."

While Ovasapyan’s upcoming journey will be grueling – he’ll take only
the supplies he can carry in his backpack – it will be far less
strenuous than the 61-day expedition to the top of the world.

"I can’t describe how it felt like, standing on top of Mount
Everest," said Ovasapyan, the first Armenian to conquer the so-called
Seven Summits – the 29,035-foot behemoth in the Himalayas, as well as
the tallest mountains on the six other continents.

"People ask me what I was thinking when I got up there, and I tell
them that I lost my dream because I was dreaming of it for 25 years
and I was finally here."

Ovasapyan grew up in Charentsavan, Armenia, one of six children in a
family passionate about the outdoors. While his father organized
regular weekend camping trips to the nearby mountains, Ovasapyan
wanted to emulate his Uncle Samuel, a mountaineer whose photographs
were prominent in the family scrapbooks.

"I always dreamed of being the person in those pictures wearing the
backpack and having the mountain in the background.
"I think every kid tries to copy someone. For some people, they want
to be actors. For others, they want to be singers. For me, it was my
uncle. I wanted to be like him."

Ovasapyan buried himself in books dedicated to Arctic explorers. He
wrestled competitively, building a muscular physique well-suited to
mountaineering.

He spent many a winter night sleeping on the balcony of his family’s
home, getting used to sleeping in below-freezing temperatures.

And, he said, "there was always a Karo inside of me who wanted to see
the sun rise from Mount Everest’s summit."

But Ovasapyan had to make a living. He served in the Siberian
National Army, then returned to Armenia as a wrestling coach.

After a year, he moved to Russia, joining his Uncle Movel in a
cabinet-making business.

In 1989, they moved to Glendale – a city with the nation’s largest
Armenian population – and with two of Karo’s brothers started a
cabinet-making business in neighboring Burbank.

And he began climbing mountains, tackling smaller peaks at first,
then embarking on bigger challenges.

In January 2001, he found himself skiing in Antarctica with
mountaineer Jon Krakauer, who wrote the best-selling "Into Thin Air"
after four members of the author’s climbing team died on Everest in
1996.

At the South Pole, Krakauer was filming "Mountain of Ice," a
documentary about Mount Vinson for PBS’ "Nova" series. He included a
scene of Ovasapyan, clad in his underwear, bathing in the snow.

"When you love this sport the way I do, you don’t care about
comfort," Ovasapyan said. "Of course it’s cold, but you don’t care.

"You know what’s waiting for you up in the summit."

Ovasapyan signed on with teams of elite mountaineers and began lining
up corporate sponsors to defray the steep cost of scaling the world’s
highest peaks.

He embarked on a training regimen, heading to Mount Whitney, the
tallest mountain in the continental U.S. at 14,494 feet. Realizing
that the summit of Mount Everest was more than twice that elevation,
Ovasapyan enhanced his workouts by dragging a heavy tire from a rope
tied to his belt.

He also steeled himself for the mental and emotional challenges of
the expeditions. The death of a training partner, killed in a plunge
after being struck by a falling rock, was a reminder of the danger
that accompanies every step.

"That was just really warning me to be extremely careful," Ovasapyan
said.

"That can happen to anyone at any moment. But you know that going in
because that’s the life you’ve chosen.

"You know how dangerous it is and you’re always risking your life out
there when you do that."

Ovasapyan began his Seven Summits quest in the fall of 2002, scaling
Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains of South America. He made two major
climbs in 2004 – Denali (also known as Mount McKinley) in Alaska and
Mount Elbrus in Russia.

While many Seven Summits climbers delay Everest until the end,
Ovasapyan didn’t want to take the chance that anything would
interfere with his lifelong dream.

"Many things can happen from one mountain to the next. You could have
injuries and not continue," he said. "Who knows what could have
happened, if I would have lived, before ever reaching Mount Everest?"

A member of a Russian climbing team organized by the 7 Summits Club,
Ovasapyan flew to Tibet in the spring of 2005. The 15 climbers and 10
Sherpas began a two-month excursion up the north ridge of Everest,
camping at ever-higher altitudes as they adjusted to the thinning
oxygen.

About a week before his own summit attempt, Ovasapyan was monitoring
the radio at base camp – about 17,700 feet – listening as two
Slovenian climbers reached the top despite high winds and whiteout
conditions.

The weather deteriorated as the pair descended, and one of them
apparently had problems with his oxygen tank. Marko Lihteneker became
a fatality of Everest, one of the roughly 5 percent of climbers who
perish on the mountain.

About 6:15 a.m. May 30, 2005 – one day after the 52nd anniversary of
Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Everest – Ovasapyan and his team made
their own summit bid.

There were six Sherpa porters in the group, along with Ovasapyan and
a half-dozen other climbers. They included Nikolay Cherny, who at age
65 was making his fourth attempt to reach the top.

Breathing supplemental oxygen, they left Camp 4 – at an altitude of
roughly 27,400 feet – and began their ascent of the three "steps," or
rock climbs, that would take them to the top.

Ovasapyan pushed himself hard and reached the pyramid summit ahead of
the others in his group.

There, 5 and 1/2 vertical miles above sea level, Ovasapyan planted
the flags of his native and adopted countries, as well as a pennant
honoring American POWs.

"I’m an American citizen and I respect that. The POW flag is respect
to the soldiers fighting for this country and for those lost giving
their lives to this country.

"And I’m an Armenian, so I represent Armenia, too," he said.

After returning the flags to his backpack – he carries them on all of
his expeditions – Ovasapyan began the descent, a trek made even more
treacherous by exhaustion, dehydration and shrinking oxygen supplies.

Even two years later, other members of Ovasapyan’s team remember his
camaraderie and selflessness during the ordeal.

"In all my years working as a guide, I’ve never met a person so
helpful to others," said Mingma Gelu, a Sherpa of Tibet who worked as
a guide on the expedition.

"Karo has shown how strong he is by completing the Seven Summits and
helping others along the way reach similar goals."

Just six months after his victory over Everest, Ovasapyan ascended
Kilimanjaro in Africa.

In 2006, he climbed Kosciuszko in Australia and Vinson in Antarctica
– the last after an aborted attempt to run a marathon at the South
Pole – making Ovasapyan only the 197th climber to achieve the Seven
Summits. One more climber has achieved that goal since then.

Last year also saw him conquering Mount Rainier in Washington state,
and Mount Ararat in Turkey – a site revered by Armenians as their
spiritual home.

"For climbers, it’s a symbolic mountain," Ovasapyan said. "But for
Armenians, it’s holy."

After returning home to Southern California, Ovasapyan was recognized
for his accomplishments by the Burbank City Council, as well as by
leaders of the local Armenian community.

"First and foremost, Karo’s achievement is symbolic of our community
as we strive to reach new heights. He embodies the philosophy we
embrace that a single person can achieve great things and make a
difference," said Zanku Armenian, a board member of the Armenian
National Committee of America.

Ovasapyan talks openly when asked about his adventures, but they’re
not something he brings up with the customers of his family’s
woodworking business.

"It’s not that I didn’t want a lot of people to know about this, but
I just don’t tell too many people about it," he said.

"I didn’t do it to prove to other people that I could do this. I did
it for myself because I knew I could do it."

Staff Writer Naush Boghossian contributed to this report.

[email protected]

—

Mountaineering challenge

Karo Ovasapyan of Burbank is one of 198 climbers – and the only
Armenian – to scale the Seven Summits.

Aconcagua Nov. 10, 2002

Elbrus April 7, 2004

Denali July 2, 2004

Everest May 30, 2005

Kilimanjaro Nov. 25, 2005

Kosciuszko Feb. 2, 2006

Vinson Dec. 18, 2005

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 19 2007

Armenia Keeping Peaceful and Soon Settling Karabakh Conflict:
Armenian Prime Minister

Armenia is keeping the peace and soon the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh will be achieved
through compromise, Serj Sarkisian, the Armenian Prime Minister said
during a meeting with Dick Cheney, the US Vice President, and Robert
Gates, US Defence Minister, the Armenian Department on Public and
Press Relations Department at the Armenian Government Administration
reported to the ARKA on 19 October.

Sarkisian said discussions and negotiations within the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group would cause positive results.

Cheney said the US was interested in regulating the conflict. The US
would support OSCE Minsk Group attempts to peacefully settle the
Karabakh conflict.

The Associated Press
October 19, 2007 Friday 6:16 PM GMT

>From afar, Armenians closely watch maneuvering in U.S. Congress over
genocide resolution

By AVET DEMOURIAN, Associated Press Writer

The chatter these days in Yerevan’s Anahit Deluxe beauty salon isn’t
only about hairstyles, celebrity gossip or the coming winter it’s
also about whether the U.S. Congress will agree that the World War
I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

"If it passes, I’ll treat all my girlfriends and customers that day
to candy," said the salon’s owner, Anait Gezalian.

Thousands of miles from Washington, U.S. House Resolution No. 106 is
the talk of the town for Yerevan and the rest of this landlocked
former Soviet republic of rugged highlands and grinding poverty.

If Congress recognizes the killings as genocide, it could be a
cathartic moment for Armenians. They have striven for decades to gain
wide international recognition for their view of the long-ago
bloodshed, creating a dispute that has poisoned relations with modern
Turkey.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. Scholars view it as the
first genocide of the 20th century, but Turkey says that the toll has
been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and
unrest.

Jubilation followed the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s approval of
the resolution Oct. 10, with Armenian lawmakers giving a standing
ovation to their American counterparts and a pro-government newspaper
declaring in a headline: "Historical Justice is Restored."

Sentiments have sobered since, as the fate of the resolution is now
in question.

Turkey, a U.S. ally and NATO member, recalled its ambassador from
Washington for consultations in protest, warning the U.S. of serious
damage to relations and complications for the U.S. military operation
in Iraq. The Bush administration opposes the resolution, and House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that prospects for a House vote
were now uncertain.

In Yerevan, where a slow construction boom is bringing Western
stores, flashy nightclubs and upscale restaurants to a run-down city,
Armenians are closely watching events unfold through television and
newspaper reports, on the Internet and with the help of the more than
1 million-strong diaspora in the United States.

"The Fate of the Resolution is Uncertain," one newspaper declared.
"Congressmen regret that they voted for the resolution," another
reported. Another publishes a running tally of U.S. lawmakers, pro
and con.

"How much longer can Turkey … blackmail Washington, plot demarche,
threaten worse relations, frighten and so on?" asked Karen
Vartazarian, a 28-year-old Web designer.

"We’re convinced that the House of Representatives will make the
right decision and will not abandon the democratic values the United
States was founded on," said Arpi Vartanian, regional director of the
Armenian Assembly of America, an advocacy group.

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian went to Washington on Thursday for
World Bank and other meetings. He also met with Defense Secretary
Robert Gates, though Gates told reporters later that the genocide
resolution was not discussed.

Some Armenians fear the resolution could cause trouble for Armenians
living in Turkey, or the thousands who try to make a living by going
there to buy goods for resale back home.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of the Turks, and maintains a
virtual blockade that has all but crippled Armenia’s economy, which
relies heavily on investment and support from Armenians abroad.

After years of disappointment, suffering and isolation, many
Armenians are not counting on a vote by Congress.

"So many times has recognition of the genocide been promised and so
many times (the promise) hasn’t been fulfilled. (But) one can live
through this," said Artem Yerkanian, a commentator on the state-run
channel Shant.

Kayhan website, Tehran,
Oct 15 2007

US resolutions on Iraq and Armenian ‘genocide’ are Zionist plots

commentary by Alireza Soltanshahi

The Israeli resolutions of the American representatives published by
Iranian newspaper Kayhan website on 15 October

Over the last month, the American House of Representatives has had
two important plans on the Middle East to consider. The first, from
the American Senate, concerned the division of Iraq into three Shi’i,
Sunni and Kurdish regions.

This plan was proposed by Joseph Biden, the chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, and was approved by 75 votes in favour
and 23 against as a resolution or non-binding legislation. The
second, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was a resolution
for recognizing the killings of Armenians in Turkey in April 1915 as
?genocide’. The resolution was approved with 27 votes in favour and
21 votes against, and has now been submitted to Congress for
approval.

Although George Bush and the government bodies ruling America appear
to be opposed to this resolution, the evidence suggests that in order
to put pressure on the Islamist Turkish government, the adoption of
such a policy suits the Bush administration. It is a policy that
previously, in October 2006, was proposed by the Socialists [in
France] and was adopted by the French National Assembly, subsequently
becoming law. Those in France who denied that genocide had been
carried out against the Armenians between the years 1915 to 1919 were
sentenced to one year in prison and a fine equivalent to 45,000
Euros.

In effect, the American House of Representatives, through its Foreign
Relations [as published] Committee, is now approving a bill, like the
one which the French National Assembly approved in January 2001 when
it officially recognized the killing of Armenians as genocide. A
number of people believe that a burgeoning Armenian lobby in France
and America has led to such events, even though the Jewish lobby had
shown itself to be stronger in its support for Turkey and Azerbaijan.
These questions are now quite pertinent: Why is another holocaust
being used as an excuse to lay plots in the Middle East? Who is
really carrying them out and to what aim?

It may appear that the Zionists have no interest in these two
resolutions. Looked at from a different angle, however, another
reality is revealed. We are looking at nationalism in the Middle East
with the pivotal point being Zionist plans. America’s excuse for
dividing Iraq is to create separate areas for the Kurds, Sunnis and
Shi’is, this is not possible, however, if the tribes of the region,
amongst them the Kurds, Turks and Arabs, do not have a sense of a
realization of nationalism. The consequences of such a plan will
create a threat to the territorial integrity of the important
countries of the region, including Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria. This
is obviously in line with the policies of Israel in the region in the
framework of a peripheral strategy.

Much earlier than this, extensive historical research into the actual
event suggests that Jewish and Zionist leaders of the Union and
Progress Party in 1908 and 1909, following the deposition of Sultan
?Abdulhamid, executed plans which Herzl had previously not been able
to realize in ?Abdulhamid’s presence. The killing of the Armenians
was a bitter reality which was orchestrated and executed by infamous
Jewish agents such as Tala’t, Anwar, Zia Gugalb, Shokri, Behaeddin
Shakir, Dr Nazem, Hosayn Jahid, Qara Kamal, Khalil Hasan Fahmi, Javid
and . . . [ellipses as published].

At that time, the spirit of nationalism totally prevailed over the
behaviour and actions of this group, so it was only natural that with
this chauvinistic attitude, not only the Armenians, but the Kurds
also would not be safe from the damaging repercussions of their blind
animosity.

By ratifying these two plans, the representatives in Congress and the
Senate in America have achieved nothing for the American nation or
their national interests; they have merely helped to realize a
Zionist plan. This is assistance, the subsequent damaging results of
which will affect all sides who hope to profit by it.

Dismembering the large countries of the important Middle East region
and aggravating sectarian, tribal and religious differences is a
policy which was previously openly mooted by Zionists such as Martin
Indick, the former US ambassador to Israel. It is surprising then
why, with this Zionist plot being so clear, some people in Turkey and
Armenia go down the wrong road. A new and big American Middle East
will in fact be created after the countries of the region are
dismembered and their power and unity dissolved. There is no doubt
that in order to confront this Zionist policy seriously, the unity
and integrity of the nations of the region are, at this critical
period, more pressing than any other requirement. The Armenians and
the Kurds, who have now been deceived and have fallen into the trap
of the Zionist sedition-mongers through their desire for dominion and
independence, should pay attention to these dangers more than ever
before.

Fresno Bee (California)
October 18, 2007 Thursday
FINAL EDITION

Momentum turns away from genocide measure;

More backers defect from resolution on Armenians, wary of Turkish
fallout.

Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau

There are enough votes to kill a U.S. House resolution that calls the
slaughter of Armenians nearly a century ago a genocide, key
congressional opponents said Wednesday, as one-time supporters
continued to back out.

With White House and Turkish pressure escalating, lawmakers on both
sides acknowledged momentum had turned against the resolution, which
describes the Ottoman Empire massacres of 1915-23 as a genocide. The
Capitol Hill endgame could now conclude by week’s end, some House of
Representatives members predict.

"If it were to run today, it would not pass," Rep. John Murtha,
D-Pa., said at a late-morning news conference Wednesday. "I think the
decision has been made by the members; [the resolution supporters]
don’t have the votes."

Murtha leads the House defense appropriations subcommittee and is one
of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s chief advisers. An adroit vote
counter, he’s been fighting against Armenian genocide resolutions
since he helped turn back a 1987 proposal by a 201-189 vote. He
joined with Florida Democratic Reps. Robert Wexler and Alcee Hastings
in publicly opposing the measure Wednesday.

While not yet conceding defeat, the genocide resolution’s authors
admitted that they were losing altitude. Seven House members withdrew
their co-sponsorship of the resolution Monday, four others did the
same Tuesday and additional defections were considered likely.

The genocide resolution had 214 co-sponsors recorded as of late
Wednesday afternoon. With 432 members of the House at present, the
resolution would need at least 217 "yes" votes to pass if everyone
showed up to vote.

"Right now, we’re below the number of co-sponsors needed to assure
passage," Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, said Wednesday. "I
think the consensus of the Congress is that it would not pass right
now."

Radanovich’s co-author, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., added that "we’re
working hard to gauge where the members are," and he indicated that a
final answer was likely to become apparent by Friday.

The number of undecided House members, Schiff noted, is "still
significant, but that number is declining."

Of the 214 listed co-sponsors, one died in April, one is a Puerto
Rico delegate whose vote won’t count if it affects the outcome, and
one is a lawmaker who has declared it is the "wrong time" for a vote
now.

Others are considered likely to bolt.

"Some of those co-sponsors may not be as solid as we like,"
Radanovich said. "It’s a little iffy."

The Armenian genocide resolution has taken different forms in
different years. But it primarily exists to put the congressional
imprimatur on the term "genocide." Turkish officials dispute the
characterization, saying that many died on all sides.

This year’s version of the resolution states that "the Armenian
genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from
1915 to 1923." An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died, the
resolution states, while 500,000 were expelled, resulting in "the
elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their
historic homeland."

The Bush administration, like administrations before it, opposes the
measure as an insult to a key NATO ally. The U.S. occupation of Iraq
has further intensified White House concerns, as upward of 70% of
U.S. military cargo flowing into Iraq goes through Incirlik Air Base
in Turkey.

"Congress has more important work to do than antagonizing a
democratic ally in the Muslim world, especially one that is providing
vital support for our military every day," Bush said at a news
conference Wednesday.

Resolution supporters say they won’t seek to have the resolution
brought up for a House vote if they know they’ll lose. Although
Pelosi supports the resolution and has previously promised to bring
it up for a vote, on Wednesday she left the door open for retreat.

"Whether it will come up or not, what the action will be, remains to
be seen," Pelosi said.

TURKEY VULTURES

CNNMoney.com
(Investor’s Business Daily delivered by Newstex)
Oct 16 2007

Politics: We earlier ascribed Congress’ move to declare the Ottoman
Turks’ slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide to simple
Democratic incompetence. It may, however, be something much darker.

Based on the actions of Democrats in Congress recently, it’s hard not
to think that they actually want the U.S. to lose the war in Iraq —
and will do almost anything to see it happens.

Unfortunately, they’ve run up against these headlines from Iraq in
just the last couple of days: "Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled"
(Washington Post), "Shiite Leader Makes Reconciliatory Gesture, Visits
Sunni Anbar Province" (Associated Press), and "Iraq Sees Dramatically
Low Death Toll" (Associated Press).

The U.S. sure seems to be winning. Everywhere you go these days you
see — dare we say it? — good news coming from Iraq.

But as Democratic Majority Whip James Clyburn said two months ago
about positive developments in Iraq, any good news is a "real big
problem for us" — the Democrats that is, not America.

This might explain why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided to let
HR 106, a nonbinding resolution that declares the Turkish Ottomans’
murder of Armenians as genocide, to go forward.

The Turks are angered at the intentional insult leveled at them by
Congress for a crime that’s now 92 years old. They’ve threatened to
stop cooperating with the U.S. in Iraq.

That has sent oil prices soaring (yes, you’re paying a "tax" for this
bad policy, whether you think so or not), and created uncertainty
and danger for Iraq’s most peaceful area, the Kurdish north.

Pelosi and her party like to talk about bipartisanship. Well, in
the 1990s, President Clinton faced similar pressure from Congress on
the Armenian genocide. He asked then-Speaker Dennis Hastert, in the
interest of national security, to kill it. Hastert did so, quietly.

Compare that to Pelosi when asked Sunday about the horrible timing
of the resolution: "There’s never been a good time."

Ah, yes. "Never a good time." Pelosi and her pals have trivialized and
impeded America’s defense for almost a year now. Their latest stunt
will hurt our Iraq war effort and cause needless U.S. troop deaths —
while alienating a strong ally in the war on terror.

As former Defense Department official Jed Babbin asked, if the
Democrats are so keen on genocide, why don’t they do something about
Darfur or Burma? Why indeed.

As we’ve noted, 70% of our Iraq supplies are shipped through our base
in Incirlik, Turkey. So is more than a third of our fuel. To say we
badly need Turkish cooperation is an understatement.

Now, not only might they close Incirlik, they might be emboldened
to invade the Iraq’s independent Kurdish region, where separatist
Turkish-Kurdish guerrillas are active.

Democrats have tried desperately to derail the Iraq war — by
voting for "immediate" troop withdrawals, and playing games with
the Pentagon’s budget during a time of war. They called Gen. David
Petraeus a liar. They’ve attacked private sector contractors in Iraq,
like Blackwater and Halliburton. (NYSE:HAL) It didn’t work.

Now, we’re winning the war, and they’re desperate.

Whatever charms their domestic policies might have for you, the
Democrats can’t be trusted with national security. What they’ve done
recently verges on disloyalty at a time of war. We hope voters are
watching, and remember.

‘GENOCIDE’ VOTE HITS CLOSE TO HOME
By Chris Coates

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO
Oct 16 2007

Armenians react to House action

A vote by a House committee Wednesday to condemn the massacre of
Armenians during World War I in Turkey hit especially close for
an Armenian-American whose family tree was nearly wiped out by the
killings of a century ago.

"My parents were the sole survivors in both families," said Amerik
A. Kachigian, 74, a retired Granite City lawyer whose father and
mother fled to the United States after World War I.

He said 73 of his father’s relatives were killed in Armenia and
countless others on his mother’s side, part of an effort by the Ottoman
Empire to force Christian Armenians out of eastern Turkey in the 1910s.

As many as 1.5 million were killed, although Turkish officials since
the country’s founding in 1923 have argued the deaths were a result
of World War I, not an effort to eliminate Armenians.

American officials for decades have also roundly avoided the "genocide"
term, in part to avoid harming diplomatic relations in the region.

More recently, the Bush administration has opposed the genocide
label out of concern it would hurt foreign relations with Turkey,
a major Middle East ally.

That resistance held strong until this week, when the House Foreign
Relations Committee, rejecting concerns from the White House, approved
a non-binding and largely ceremonial move to officially re-name the
killings as "genocide."

Kachigian said the recognition is overdue.

It’s the only truthful thing to do, he said Friday, adding later that
what the Turks did is the very definition of genocide.

"This was a full directive from the top to eliminate all the people
of a certain type," he said. "That’s exactly what they did."

It’s unlikely, however, that the motion will pass the House, and
almost certainly faces a veto.

Andy Hagopian, 84, an Armenian American who has been a vocal proponent
for the genocide label, said he was disappointed that a veto is likely.

"I’m really heart broken," he said. "None of them come through."

Kachigian, who spent decades navigating complex legal documents and
courtrooms, said he understands the resistance to the label — and
expects the bill to get vetoed later.

"I’m American. I can see their point. They don’t want to ruffle up
the Turks. That’s why it’s not going to pass," he said.

He said the pressure puts the United States in a tough spot.

"All of the Armenians want some acknowledgment that this occurred. I
think the just thing to do is pass this thing," Kachigian said. "As
far as the diplomatic things to do, America can’t."

Hagopian said there are already efforts to lobby for the genocide
label.

"If it doesn’t go through, we’ll start on it again," he said. "We’ve
been fighting this battle. We’ve been doing it in the past. We’ll do
it again."

Armenians first came to Granite City in the 1890s for work in steel
mills, settling in the Lincoln Place neighborhood.

They also established St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic
Orthodox Church, where families of survivors still hold memorials
each year for those killed by the Turks.

SERGE SARGSIAN: ALL-ARMENIAN BANK WITH INVOLVEMENT OF STATE TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency
Oct 16 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, October 16. /ARKA/. An All-Armenian bank with the
involvement of the state is to be established in Armenia. This will
be a governmental structure dealing with issues of the Armenian
communities abroad, Armenia’s Prime Minister Serge Sargsian said at
his meeting with the delegation of the World Armenian Congress (WAC)
and the Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) headed by the President
of WAC and the President of UAR Ara Abrahamian.

The Prime-Minister expressed confidence that strong Diaspora and its
consolidation with the homeland will give an opportunity to solve
the most complicated national problems.

In his turn, Ara Abrahamian said that it is time to start doing
things. In this respect, he addressed a number of planned programs,
including the initiative on organizing a major economic forum.

Abrahamian suggested setting up a joint working group for discussing
issues on supporting various programs and doing practical work.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Prime-Minister for the
suggestion to establish closer contacts with the organizations of the
Armenian communities abroad. Abrahamian assured that the business
diaspora will make every effort to meet the expectations of the
homeland as stable and strong Armenian state is the guarantee of the
preservation of Armenian communities abroad.

SPEAKER OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INTENDS TO CONTRIBUTE TO RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY FULL CHAMBER

ArmInfo, Armenia
Oct 15 2007

ArmInfo. The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives insisted
Sunday that she would bring to the full chamber a resolution condemning
the killings of Armenians nearly a century ago as genocide, even as
a Turkish general warned that this could lastingly damage a military
relationship crucial to American forces in Iraq. A House committee
Wednesday passed a nonbinding resolution declaring the killings, which
began in 1915 in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, to be genocide,
and the speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi, said Sunday that "I’ve
said if it passed the committee that we would bring it to the floor."

Pointing to a 20-year history of votes on the Armenian matter being
deferred by war or geopolitical considerations, she said, "There’s
never been a good time." Pelosi made other points: President Ronald
Reagan had referred to the killings as genocide; aging Armenian
survivors will soon be dead; and 23 other countries have declared
the killings genocide.

An ABC-TV interviewer put to Pelosi the tough question at the core of
the debate: What if forcing a vote on the resolution were to endanger
the security of American troops in Iraq?

"Some of the things that are harmful to our troops relate to values –
Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture," said the California congresswoman,
whose district includes thousands of Armenian-Americans. "Our troops
are well-served when we declare who we are as a country and increase
the respect people have for us as a nation."