Author: Torosian Aram

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY CHALLENGES FORMER SECRETARIES OF STATE OPPOSITION TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 1 2007

The Armenian Assembly of America responded to the letter sent to
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by eight former Secretaries of State in
opposition to H. Res. 106.

The Assembly’s response took issue with the ill-conceived letter,
calling it "inconsistent with the fundamentally tenets of American
values," and asked how many more excuses they could conjure up to
avoid the truth.

The Assembly letter also pointed out key facts that the former
Secretaries failed to discuss, including Turkey’s refusal to allow
the U.S. access to northern front at a critical stage in Operation
Iraqi Freedom, a refusal which cost American lives. The letter
concluded as follows: "Enough is enough. No more lies. No more
deceit. No more denial. By preventing a vote, you not only impede the
democratic process and do a great disservice to the 226 cosponsors
and the millions of Americans that support this resolution, but also
unwittingly encourage a campaign of denial. Is this the message we
want to teach future generations – it is permissible to deny genocide."

In a related development, the Foreign Minister of Armenia also
responded and squarely addressed the false assertions in the
Secretaries’ letter, and reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment for
normalization of relations with Turkey. "Armenia has always been
ready for normal Turkey-Armenia relations. Yet, every initiative
that would lead toward normalization has been rejected by Turkey,"
Foreign Minster Vartan Oskanian stated.

"The Armenian Assembly will continue to push for a concluding
affirmative vote on H. Res. 106 and urges the community to call
upon their Member of Congress to support the resolution today," said
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We must not allow Turkish deniers
and whomever they line up to endorse their deceptions to succeed
in their attempt to derail affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,"
continued Ardouny.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 29 2007

Tancredo withdraws support of Armenian bill

It has emerged that a Republican candidate for the US presidency has
withdrawn his support of two resolutions pending in the US Congress
on an alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman
Turks.

Tom Tancredo, a Republican congressman from Colorado and also a
candidate for his party’s 2008 presidential nomination, withdrew his
status as a co-sponsor for the resolutions "without explanation," the
Armenian-American Political Action Committee (ARMENPAC) announced on
Thursday, suggesting that Tancredo bowed to pressure from the Turkish
lobby.
Also on Thursday in Washington, the US State Department reiterated
that there was no change in the US administration’s position, which
is against passage of the resolutions. Remarks by Tom Casey, deputy
spokesperson for the State Department, came during a daily press
briefing when he was asked to comment on a letter sent by eight
former US secretaries of state to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The
former secretaries of state — James Baker, Warren Christopher,
Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell
and George Shultz — urged Pelosi in their letter to "prevent the
resolution from reaching the House."

Casey referred the reporters to the signatories of the letter, and
added: "They are private citizens. And I assume if they made
representation to Speaker Pelosi on this, they did so because they
believed it was the right thing to do." Meanwhile, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan reiterated strong opposition to the
resolutions in a speech delivered on Thursday at the Council on
Foreign Relations in New York.

"Should this draft reach the floor and the Congress of our ally
passes a unilateral, political judgment of no legal bearing on such a
sensitive and controversial issue, it will seriously impair
Turkish-American relations, with wide-ranging implications in our
overall cooperation," Erdoðan said. Ankara Today’s Zaman

29.09.2007

Today’s Zaman Today’s Zaman

LEADER OF PEOPLE’S PARTY: DASHNAKTSUTYUN ACKNOWLEDGES SERGE SARGSYAN’S IN-LAW GROWS

Lragir, Armenia
Sept 28 2007

On September 28 at the Pastark Club the head of the ALM Holding and
the leader of the People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan advised the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun never to refer to their ideas again after what they have
done in the parliamentary election. According to Tigran Karapetyan,
the ARF Dashnaktsutyun gave bribes. "Everyone gave, so did the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun," Tigran Karapetyan says.

"Mildly speaking, Dashnaktsutyun lies when it says it is not
government," he says. According to him, a party which has appointed
ministers is but government. "It is something else that Dashnaktsutyun
is heavy artillery, it has its own style, to win by itself, without
anyone’s help. And it has always aimed to be government, fully," Tigran
Karapetyan says. He says Dashnaktsutyun wants to take power because it
knows if it fails to take it fully, it will not appoint the ministers
it desires. So why did Dashnaktsutyun support Robert Kocharyan in 1998
and 2003 and has just decided to name president? Tigran Karapetyan
has an answer to this question.

"It is clear that Serge Sargsyan prevented Dashnaktsutyun from
security agencies. If Serge Sargsyan becomes president, they know
that in ten years, I think the in-law Mikhael Minasyan is growing,
Dashnaktsutyun understands that it needs a breakthrough," Tigran
Karapetyan says. Does he mean that Serge Sargsyan’s presidency will
be worse for Dashnaktsutyun than the present period? Tigran Karapetyan
answers that it will be neither bad nor good, it will be the same. "I
am saying that the ministries have nothing to do, if they had ten
mandates, the ministries will remain theirs," Tigran Karapetyan says.

PARGEV OHANYAN: "DO NOT MAKE ME A HERO"

A1+
[06:16 pm] 27 September, 2007

"Do not make me a hero. I have just done my job", said Pargev
Ohanyan, the judge of the First Instance Court of Kentron-Nork
Marash Communities to his colleagues of the RA Justice Board. "I
have never liked politics and have never been engaged in politics. I
am not an opposition. I am the representative of the authorities",
said Pargev Ohanyan, quoting Socrates: "Judge is the speaking law,
law is the speaking judge. Law has a spirit, and one should not clutch
at the letter of a law, if it contradicts the law’s spirit". Ohanyan
confessed that he had always followed the law. "Never do what you do
not want to do". He had always followed this principle and called on
his colleagues of the RA Justice Board to do so.

These were the last words of the judge, before the Board made its
decision. But before the decision Hayk Alumyan, Pargev Ohanyan’s
advocate presented two decisions to the Court that contradicted the
observation of the Disciplinary Commission referring to the comments
of the Article 22 of the Criminal Code. In the mentioned two decisions
the Appeal and Cassation Courts commented on the law just as Pargev
Ohanyan had done, whose comments the Disciplinary Commission considered
obvious harsh violations.

Alumanyan pointed out that they did not think that Article 22 was
commented incorrectly, otherwise, they would have been appealed against
it and the same article would not have been commented in the same by
the two instances.

The Justice Board rejected both mediations of the advocate. The
first one referred to bringing all cases to the Court, which the
Disciplinary Commission examined "since the observation of the
Disciplinary Commission did not proceed from the case". The second
one was to invite the members of Judicial Department to the Court,
who demanded and started the action.

Hovhannes Manukyan, member of Judicial Board confirmed that there were
no signatures under the observation and no date was mentioned on it.

The decision of the Board is due on 12 October.

AN ECLECTIC MIX: ARMENIAN-AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER COMBINES R&B AND POP ON HER NEW CD, TITLED ‘SPECIAL DELIVERY.’
By Joyce Rudolph

Burbank Leader, CA
Sept 26 2007

Singer-songwriter Maria Akopian believes there’s a fine line between
pop music and R&B, and she said she’s tried to balance these two
genres on her first CD, "Special Delivery."

"I think the texture and style of my voice and singing in general is
very R&B and soulful, but just like mainstream pop music, it’s easy to
catch on to," she said. "The way I write my music is radio-friendly
and easy to like, like pop music. When you hear pop music, it’s easy
to catch on to it."

The Burbank resident, known professionally as "Maria," is Armenian,
but she writes all her lyrics in English, unlike many other
Armenian-American singers, she said.

Her sound and that she sings in English are what make her music unique,
said Arman Lakisyan, owner of Glenoaks Video and Records in Glendale,
where the CD is available.

"It’s very different," he said. "It’s unique as far as the genre goes
of music written by Armenian people. . . .&#8 194;And
the mixing of the music is done very professionally." advertisement

Akopian held a signing event Saturday for the five-song EP CD at
the Sidewalk Cafe in Glendale. She produced the CD as part of Nuzik
Entertainment, a collaboration of four artists, including herself.

The other three artists are Zareh Zatikyan of Glendale, who goes
by the stage name Capital Z; Arnold Nazaryan of Glendale, known
professionally as Apeh Jan; and Narek Ovsepyan of Glendale, who is
also the group’s producer, and known to fans as A. Chilla.

"We try to introduce a new sound that incorporates ethnic and hip-hop
and R&B, so it has an international feel to it with American hip-hop,
R&B and pop," Akopian said.

"The collaboration allows the artists to be involved in every step
of producing a CD, and they organize their own promotional events."

While the music is produced digitally in the studio by the producers,
Akopian writes the lyrics, she said. The recording artists also bring
other producers into their projects, she said.

Akopian has two favorite songs on the new CD – "Wicked" and "Imagine."

She favors "Wicked" because the words are hard-hitting.

"It’s unexpected from me by my fans," she said. "It’s about the
people around me becoming jealous of my success. It’s a very emotional
song. [Fans] are used to me singing soft songs. I like it because of
the beat especially. It’s a mid-tempo hip-hop beat."

Her second favorite is "Imagine."

"I think it’s a very truthful song, and people can relate to it,"
she said. "It’s very easy on the ears and has a beautiful sound to
it – almost euphoric. As far as the vocal production, it’s one of
best that I have arranged."

She’s been writing lyrics for 10 years and singing since she was 5.

"I sing because I feel it’s my God-given talent, my passion, my life,"
she said. "When I wake up, I think about my music and how to get my
music out there."

Her motivation in everything she does is what impresses Zatikyan.

They met while attending Glendale Community College in 1998.

"Maria is an incredible artist," he said.

"She is one of the most motivated people I know. She never ceases
to amaze me, with her ability to maintain a relationship, going to
school full time, and now teaching full time and constantly evolving
as an artist. I’m honored to have her as part of my team."

/2007/09/26/entertainment/gnp-songwriter26.1.txt

NATO CAN’T PRESS ON TURKEY TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2007 14:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "All NATO member states should have good relations
with neighbors. Turkey and Armenia should themselves normalize
relations," NATO’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central
Asia, Mr Robert Simmons said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"The Alliance can’t exercise push and pressure policy.

Turkey is a NATO member country; Armenia participates in NATO
programs. Our organization can’t influence on relations between the two
states. I am hopeful that Armenia and Turkey will normalize relations
what will result in opening of the border," he said.

LOCAL NEWS

Scituate no-hate program may be dropped

By JENNIFER MANN
The Patriot Ledger

SCITUATE – A Scituate selectman has called for the town to withdraw
>From the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program because of
the group’s position on the Armenian genocide.

If a majority of the selectmen agree, Scituate will become the latest
local community to pull out of the No Place program to rebuke the ADL,
which has not explicitly denounced as genocide the killing of 1.5
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. That killing began during World
War I.

Last week, Newton became the fourth Massachusetts community to sever
ties with the league.

Scituate Selectman John Danehey raised the issue during the
selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night. Because it was not an agenda item,
selectmen limited the discussion and decided to vote on the matter in
two weeks.

Danehey, whose children are part-Armenian and whose wife’s Armenian
grandmother survived the genocide, said sending a message was
important.

Scituate joined the No Place for Hate program within the last two
years. The program asks local communities to take steps against hate
crimes and bias.

”I’m not saying we should not have a No Place for Hate program, but I
think we should continue it in our own way,” Danehey said.

Armenian leaders have called on communities to separate themselves
>From the ADL until the organization recognizes the mass killings.

Under mounting public pressure in recent weeks, the league’s national
director, Abraham Foxman, called the massacre ”tantamount to
genocide.” The group stopped short of endorsing a congressional
resolution calling it genocide.

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger

Transmitted Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Source: 6/news/news02.txt

ARMENIAN PREMIER UNRUFFLED BY AZERBAIJAN’S GROWING MILITARY SPENDING

ArmInfo, Armenia
Sept 12 2007

Yerevan, 12 September: The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group will
arrive in the region by the end of this week to meet the presidents
of Armenia and the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, Armenian Prime Minister
Serzh Sargsyan said in parliament while answering MPs’ questions.

Sargsyan expressed confidence that today there is no serious threat
to Nagornyy Karabakh’s security, even if we take account of the
development of Azerbaijan’s economy which has been growing at the
expense of oil resources. "If we are more careful and try to analyze
statements by the Azerbaijani leadership, we will see that they have
not achieved their goal," the prime minister noted.

Sargsyan recalled that [Azerbaijani president] Ilham Aliyev had
pledged that the 2007 military budget of the Azerbaijani Republic
would equal the entire budget of Armenia.

"They failed to do this. Armenia’s budget in 2008 will total 2.5bn
dollars and Armenia’s military expenditure will equal the entire
budget of Armenia in 1998. I have information that Azerbaijan’s
budget in 2008 will total 6-6.5bn dollars from which 1bn will be
military expenditure. The Armenian leadership, and in particular,
the president are doing everything possible to ensure a balance of
forces in the region," Sargsyan said.

Assyria Times, CA

Senator Obama’s Letter to Protect Iraq’s Forgotten Minorities

9/23/2007 2:02:00

By AssyriaTimes Staff Writer

Not so often it happens that an American Senator
remembers the minorities in Iraq. During past four
years of Iraq’s war, U.S. reporters, politicians, and
leaders have indeliberately proven how deliberately
they skip mentioning Iraq’s minorities because of the
sheer fact that, `They are minority! You know?’ If you
don’t believe the words of this humble writer, just
ask yourself when was the last time I heard on CNN or
Fox or even read on NY times, the words Assyrian or
Yezidi? The answer is obvious.

But in his letter written on September 11, 2007,
Senator Barack Obama proves to be different than the
biased ones. He stands for the forgotten minorities of
Iraq among them the indigenous Assyrians and demands
answers and results from the U.S. State Department.
Shall we call him brave and fair? Yes, we shall.

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

September 100, 2007

Dear Secretary Rice:

I am writing out of concern for Iraq’s Christian and
other non-Muslims religious minorities, including
Catholic Chaldeans, Syriac Ortodocx, Assyrian,
Armenian and Protestant Christians, as well as smaller
Yezidi and Sabean Mandean communities. I know that the
fate of these communities was the subject of a recent
letter to you from the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom.

These communities appear to be targeted by Sunni,
Shiite and Kurdish militants. The U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees reports that Christians, now
less than 4 percent of Iraq’s population, make up 40
percent of its refugees. And according to the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
"violence against members of Iraq’s Christian
community occurs throughout the country, and the
Commission has raised particular concern about reports
from Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, and the northern Kurdish
regions."

Such violence bespeaks a humanitarian crisis of grave
proportions. The severe violations of religious
freedom faced by members of these indigenous
communities, and their potential extinction from their
ancient homeland, is deeply alarming in light of our
mission to bring freedom to the Iraqi people. In
addition, such violence may be an indicator of greater
sectarian violence. Such rising sectarian violence and
the Iraqi internally displaced people and refugee
crises potentially could serve as catalysts for wider
regional instability. These crises demand and urgent
response from our government.

In that regard, I request that you provide responses
to the following questions:
1) Is it State Department’s view that Iraq’s Christian
and other non-Muslim minorities face particular
threats because of their religion? Do they face a
level of threat and abuse disproportionate to their
representation in the Iraqi population?

2) Has the State Department or our embassy in Baghdad
sought out members of these communities to inquire as
to what the United States could do to enhance their
protection?

3) What steps, if any, has the State Department taken
to urge the Iraqi government to provide protection to
Iraq’s Christians and other non-Muslim religious
minorities?

4) Has the Iraqi government been responsive to request
for such protection?

5) Do you have reason to believe that any Iraqi
security forces or other government forces or
personnel are involved in violence against such
vulnerable populations?

6) What mechanisms are in place to ensure that
U.S.-trained and equipped Iraqi Security Forces do not
use U.S.-provided assistance for sectarian purposes?

7) What plans have the Agency for International
Development and State Department developed to increase
humanitarian assistance to Iraq’s internally
displaced?
I thank you in advance for the consideration of these
questions, and I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

Prime News Agency, Georgia

September 22, 2007, 5:18 pm

Dukhobors Residing In Samtskhe-Javakheti Region
Leaving Georgia

Tbilisi. September 22 (Prime-News) – Dukhobors
(`Spirit Wrestlers’) residing in the South Georgia
leave Samtskhe-Javakheti region and depart for Russia
referring to language related problems, social
difficulties and oppression by the local Armenians.

About 400 Dukhobors live in Samtskhe-Javakheti region
today. Most of the Dukhobors live in the village
Spasovka, Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

The meeting with Dukhobors was held within the
framework of the program on "Negotiation of Existing
Information Vacuum in Relation to Samtskhe-Javakheti
Region" for Georgian, Armenian and Azeri journalists
implemented by NGO "Institute for War and Peace
Reporting" and OSCE mission to Georgia.

The journalists met with the teachers and pupils of
the Russian school located in the village Spasovka. 5
Georgian and 65 Russian pupils study in the Russian
school. The main problem of the school is
non-existence of central heating and low salaries.

Three Azeri, two Armenian and six Georgian journalists
participated in five-day program.

The participants of the program held meetings with
representatives of NGO and governmental forces.