Author: Tumanian Talar

ARMENIANS DEMAND JUSTICE, NOT RECOGNITION
By Harout Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier

AZG Armenian Daily
05/12/2007

The National Herald, a Greek-American weekly, published a lengthy
interview with this writer last week on the issue of genocide
recognition. This column was prompted by the ideas expressed in
that interview.

The Armenian Cause is not about genocide recognition, but the pursuit
of justice which entails that the Armenian victims receive reparations.

Remembering the Genocide is also about keeping the hope and dream
alive for succeeding generations of Armenians — that some day,
they will regain their historic lands.

Armenians need to rethink their approach to the pursuit of their
cause and present their demands in a more effective manner. The
House of Representatives has already adopted an Armenian Genocide
resolution twice in 1975 and 1984. Pres. Reagan issued a Presidential
Proclamation in 1981 that refers to the Armenian Genocide. More than
20 countries, the European Parliament, a U.N. human rights panel and
many genocide and Holocaust scholars have acknowledged the Armenian
Genocide. Therefore, continuing attempts to seek genocide recognition
from the international community is no longer necessary and distracts
from the pursuit of more significant Armenian political objectives.

Armenians have been saying for decades that they have three demands:
"Recognition" of the genocide, "Reparations" for losses, and "Return"
of their territories — in that sequence. They have repeated these
three R’s so often that even Turkey’s leaders, who closely monitor
Armenian statements, have learned them by heart.

Consequently, Armenians and Turks now have the same distorted view of
what the Armenian Cause is all about. Both sides mistakenly believe
that once the Genocide is recognized by Turks and others, Armenians
will proceed to make demands for reparations and lands. This is the
main reason why Turks so adamantly refuse to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide. They fear that acceptance of the Genocide would obligate
them to pay reparations and return the usurped Armenian lands.

And knowing well the sequence of the three R’s, Turks cleverly refuse
to acknowledge the Genocide — the first demand — thus preempting
the remaining two Armenian demands.

Armenians should not fall in the Turkish trap of getting stuck on
demand number one. Since genocide recognition has already been
accomplished, they should immediately proceed to the second and
third demands.

There is no prerequisite that the Turks — or the U.S. or anybody else,
for that matter — first acknowledge the Genocide before Armenians
can take legal action.

Armenians should present their demands to appropriate national and
international courts, regardless of whether the Turks recognize
the Genocide.

Is justice served when someone murders your family, and the criminal’s
descendants who still live on your property simply admit 100 years
later that such a crime actually occurred? Would you just thank the
murderer’s descendants for acknowledging the crime or would you press
to get your family’s stolen property back?

The acknowledgment of the Genocide by Turks or others is not an
occasion for Armenians to jump for joy.

Genocide is an undeniable fact. Armenians know it happened. The
civilized world knows it happened. Many Turks also know it
happened. The acknowledgment of a historical fact cannot be viewed as
a demand. Justice requires that the criminal be punished, reparations
paid, and the ill-gotten fruits gained through genocide returned to
their rightful owners.

Obviously, the Turks are not going to voluntarily return the
Armenian lands even though Armenians have a just claim to those
territories. Nobody gives an inch of land to anyone unless forced to do
so. So how does such a claim become reality? It can be done by keeping
the hope and dream alive and passing them on to the next generation,
the way the Jews did by proclaiming "Next year in Jerusalem" for two
thousand years. The just demand for the recovery of their historic
lands can disappear once Armenians lose all hope and unilaterally
give up their dream.

There is no country in recorded history whose borders have remained
unchanged. Mighty empires have come and gone. Likewise, the Republic of
Turkey will not have the same borders forever. No one knows what can
happen in the next 30 years or 300 years, but if Armenians relinquish
their claims now, they would have lost the chance of recovering
anything forever. Armenians must continue to remind their offspring
for generations to come that those lands which were unjustly stolen
from them will eventually return to their rightful owners.

Rather than demanding genocide recognition, Armenians should seek
justice.

OSKANIAN RECEIVES CSTO SECRETARY GENERAL

A1+
[01:33 pm] 05 December, 2007

December 5 Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received the
Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) Nikolay Bordyuzha at the RA Embassy in Moscow.

The parties discussed issues related to the process of accomplishment
of the documents signed during the sittings of CSTO structures in
2007, including the question of holding the next sitting of the CSTO
regulatory bodies in Yerevan under the presidency of the Republic
of Armenia.

The interlocutors emphasized Armenia’s active participation in the
activity of the CSTO, expressing confidence that the appointment of a
new plenipotentiary representative to the CSTO will ensure Armenia’s
involvement and promote the rise of efficiency of this multilateral
cooperation.

The parties also turned to the issues cooperation of Foreign
Ministries of the CSTO member states within regional and international
organizations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
November 25, 2007
Phone: 610-642-6633
[email protected]

GREENWICH COMMUNITY LEADERS COMMIT TO THEIR LOCAL YOUTH

Harry and Edna Keleshian, together with Dan and Sara Mushegian, want
to see a leadership-oriented generation of young diasporans with strong
ties to the Homeland within their local community. Not wanting to leave
their desire to chance, they sought out Birthright Armenia, so the two
could work together to sponsor their parish youth on trips to Armenia
for public service and to reawaken their love of all things Armenian.

Thanks to a generous pledge from these two Greenwich, CT families, an
all expense paid trip to the Homeland through Birthright Armenia awaits
an applicant from Fairfield or Westchester County. The co-sponsors
are anxious to find interested youth, 20-32 years of age, from either
St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church in White Plains, or the
Armenian Church of the Holy Ascension in Trumball, CT, to get the
ball rolling. Included in the offer is a travel fellowship that covers
roundtrip airfare to Armenia, in-country orientation, job placement in
the field of the volunteer’s choosing, two months of homestay living,
Armenian language instruction, weekly seminars and social events with
local youth, educational excursions and so much more.

Birthright Armenia, now in its fourth year of operation, envisions a
trip to Armenia for volunteerism or for study an integral part of life
for every young Armenian – a rite of passage. Such experiences have
a striking impact on young diasporans, as it enhances their sense
of belonging to the Armenian people, and creates a strong bond of
understanding and appreciation that is critical in the years ahead
to widen the bridge between Armenia and the Diaspora.

"We commend these families of great vision, as they recognize the real
pay-off could be 10 years down the line, but the benefits reaped will
be many-fold the original investment," says Birthright Armenia founder
Edele Hovnanian. "We get one shot at making a mark upon our youth
when they are in their impressionable 20’s, just as they are trying
to define who they are. I’ve seen so many of our participants return
permanently tattooed with a new and strengthened Armenian identity
as a result of their immersion-style experiences in Armenia. It is
too great an opportunity to miss, and is not easily replicable," she
adds. Dan and Sara Mushegian know this first-hand, as they have had
two children, Aram and Setta, complete rewarding community service
experiences in Armenia, which accounted for a few months of their
lives but has now become a lifetime commitment for both of them.

The Keleshians and Mushegians hope their philanthropy will serve
as a model for other forward-thinking individuals across the U.S.,
who will adopt the same sponsorship concept within their own local
communities or parishes, thereby getting a large, cross-section of
youth to Armenia through Birthright Armenia sponsorship to cultivate
a new generation of leaders.

If you are interested or know of someone within Fairfield or
Westchester County who might be interested in applying for the
Keleshian/Mushegian scholarship, please contact the Birthright Armenia
office at (610)642-6633 or [email protected].

Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland
and diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of
Armenia’s daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through
work, study and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed
sense of Armenian identity. For more information, or to make an online
donation, please visit our web site at

# # #

SERBIA THREATENS TO IMPOSE ECONOMIC AND TRAVEL BLOCKADE ON KOSOVO

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.11.2007 13:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serbia threatened to impose an economic and travel
blockade on Kosovo if the breakaway province declares independence,
as a last-ditch attempt to negotiate a settlement deadlocked and
appeared doomed to fail.

International mediators’ failure to forge a compromise before a
December 10 UN deadline raised the likelihood that an increasingly
impatient Kosovo will declare statehood sometime early in 2008,
throwing the Balkans into fresh turmoil – and possibly violence.

Top officials from the rival sides both conceded they remain far
apart. Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority demands full independence,
while Serbia insists the southern province remain part of its
territory.

"Hopefully, in a time not too long from now, we will be able to take
our decision," Kosovo’s president, Fatmir Sejdiu, told reporters
in the Austrian spa town of Baden, where the closed-door talks at a
castle hotel wrap up Wednesday.

Sejdiu shrugged off Serbia’s fierce opposition to statehood for Kosovo,
saying the province "will not be held hostage" to those who object.

As the talks mediated by the U.S., European Union and Russia hit
what looked like an insurmountable stalemate, there were ominous
statements from the Serbian side suggesting ugly and possibly
bloody confrontations could await Kosovo if it declares independence
unilaterally as many expect.

Serbia will impose a "complete economic and travel blockade" of
Kosovo, including cutting off electricity supplies to the province and
banning ethnic Albanians and their goods from crossing the borders,
a high-ranking Serbian official said on Tuesday. The official spoke
on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss
the issue.

In Baden, Serbia’s minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said
Serbia would respond "like any country in Europe would react if its
borders would be in danger."

And Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said: "Whoever decides to make such
a unilateral act will have to bear the consequences for whatever
will follow."

Serbian President Boris Tadic insisted there was room to compromise
and offered Kosovo self-governance, which the Albanian side rejected.

"The way these negotiations started, they must end, and that is in
the U.N. Security Council," said Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav
Kostunica. He denounced any unilateral declaration of independence as
"completely unacceptable" and a violation of international law.

Although Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia, the southern province
has been run by the UN and NATO since 1999, when the Western military
alliance launched an air war that ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan
Milosevic’s crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

Critics, including Russia – an ally of Serbia that insists the
U.N. Security Council have the final say on Kosovo’s future – contend
a unilateral declaration of independence would plunge the Balkans
back into turmoil and set a dangerous precedent for other separatist
movements worldwide.

Kostunica said his government would swiftly pronounce Kosovo’s
statehood "null and void, illegal, which it is." Asked about specific
punitive measures under consideration, he said only: "If it happens,
you’ll see."

Hashim Thaci, a former rebel leader who is Kosovo’s incoming new
prime minister, played down the chances of renewed violence.

"No more war, no more killing, no more violence in the region –
that is our commitment," he said.

Sejdiu repeated Kosovo’s pledge to respect and protect the rights
of the province’s beleaguered 100,000 minority Serbs, most of whom
live in isolated enclaves and in constant fear of reprisal attacks
by Albanians.

Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Russia’s representative to the mediating
"troika," said Moscow would insist that talks continue after December
10. But officials questioned why.

"The positions of both sides have remained the same," Sejdiu noted.

The closed-door talks in Baden close out four months of bitter meetings
between the rival sides since the collapse last summer of a blueprint
for eventual independence drawn up by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari.

Ahtisaari’s plan called for internationally supervised statehood for
Kosovo. But Moscow threatened to veto the proposal at the Security
Council, prompting the EU, U.S. and Russia to mount another attempt
at a negotiated settlement, the AP reports.

ACCORDING TO CONSUELO VIDAL, THERE IS CONCERN THAT ARMENIAN ECONOMY WILL ALSO SUFFER FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

Noyan Tapan
Nov 28 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. There is concern that Armenia, first
of all the country’s economy, will also suffer from the climate change,
the UN resident coordinator and the UNDP resident representative to
Armenia Consuelo Vidal stated at the November 28 presentation of the
UNDP Human Development Report 2007/2008 "Fighting Climate Change:
Human Solidarity in a Divided World". According to her, the climate
change is a complex rather than an environmental problem that endangers
development of the humanity.

She said that as a result of climate changes, the poorest countries
and nations will undergo regression.

In the words of C. Vidal, a rise of the temperature by 2 degrees
in Armenia will result in an annual 15-20% decline of water flows,
expansion of desert and semi-desert areas, a decline in precipitations,
in the number of cattle and the amount of crops.

The RA deputy minister of environmental protection Simon Papian stated
that it is evident from the fact that the 2007-2008 UNDP report pays
special attention to the climate change that the mankind’s concern
about this problem is growing. According to the latest report of the
intergovernmental group on climate change, the average temperature
of the lower layer of the atmosphere has risen by 0.7 degress, while
the ocean level – by 17 centimeters.

He said that Armenia that joined the Kyoto protocol in 2002 is
fulfilling its obligations. A program on energy efficiency of the city
heating and hot water supply system is being implemented under the
convention. It is also envisaged implementing a program on reduction
of greenhouse gases in the transport sector. As of August 1, 2007,
10 projects on waste management, agriculture, energy, industry and
deforestation have been developed in Armenia, and these programs are
at various stages of implementation.

According to the UNDP Human Developemnt Report, about 262 million
people suffered from climate disasters in 2002-2004. A rise of
temperature by 3-4 degrees may result in permanent or temporary
displacement of 330 million people and destruction of 30-40% of the
animal world.

357 THOUSAND HA FOREST TO BE CUT DURING TEGHUT MINING

Panorama.am
17:48 29/11/2007

During the mining of Teghut mines, 357 thousand ha of forest will
be cut, and the water basin will go down by 4.73 percent. The mine
will bring $100 million proceeds annually. This was said by Hovanes
Nikoghosyan, environmental department head of Mountain Metallurgy
Institute during a discussion on Teghut mines. In his words, the
proceeds will total some 3.2 bln drams according to initial estimates
and 1700 new employment places will be opened during the commissioning.

Asked by Tatul Manaseryan, ex deputy of parliament, if the information
that some 100 people have refused to provide their land is true, Sahak
Karapetyan, representative of Valex Group said: "105 people refused to
leave their land but by the government decision November 1 these areas
are considered territories of public interest and the land will be
alienated." He also said the compensation will be in accordance with
the market prices. Tatul Manaseryan recalled that 200-250 villages
disappeared due to such actions during the Soviet era and now that
number is 300. To that, the representative of Vallex group said that
the community residents will not leave their homes, on the contrary,
they will increase in numbers since new employment places will open.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: IT DEPENDS ON COMPETENCE AND HONESTY OF JUDGES WHETHER IDEOLOGY OF JUDICIAL REFORS WILL BE DISCREDITED OR NOT

Noyan Tapan
Nov 30, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian president Robert
Kocharian met with newly-appointed judges and chairmen of courts in
connection with the formation of the new judicial system.

He said that the last stage of the organizational part of court
and legal reforms has approached, which made it necessary to
hold a meeting. "There are many reforms, and it is important that
judges understand their meaning correctly and become the bearers
of the ideology of these reforms. In fact, today we already have
the Constitution and the appropriate legislation for creation of an
independent judicial system, and we must also stipulate it in practice
by our work. Considerable work has been done in the past two years.

It would not be correct to say that everything is perfect. It is
natural that some shortcomings will be revealed and corrected in
the next one-two years, but I am sure that the ideology of these
reforms is correct, and it depends on our work and the competence and
honesty of judges whether this ideology will be discredited or not,"
the president said.

According to him, the constitutional amendments allowed to implement
the second stage of court and legal reforms aimed at ensuring the
independence of the judicial system, which is also important in terms
of strengthening democracy. "There can be no democracy without a fully
functioning and independent judicial system," he stated, adding that
it may seem strange but constitutional changes are boycotted by those
who speak most frequently about democratization.

In the words of R. Kocharian, the process of reforms will show when
and how they should continue, and in case of success, the police will
be reformed next, after which other structures will undergo reform.

The president stressed that great attention will be paid to these
reforms, and in order to ensure a natural process, the chairman of
the Cassation Court should respond quickly to all arising problems.

Robert Kocharian congratulated the newly appointed judges and said that
he has great expectation that they will strengthen the implemented
reforms and encourage their continuity by their honest, conscientios
and competent work.

Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
Nov 28 2007

About the principles of structural criticism

The base of general principle of structural criticism is
argumentation, as the means of its criticism. The structural
criticism is directed first of all to revelation of generality
between a criticizing question and criticism. And here there are a
number of simple and understandable rules. – the criticism reveals
attitude towards not the author and the work, not the political
figure and officials, but attitude towards the subject of their work,
the result of their work, – aspire to criticize the important, but
not the secondary, – not to return to moral side of the work, if it
doesn’t offer a subject of the main problem, – not to criticize
concrete persons, if it isn’t about official mistakes, – no to
discuss whispers, slanders, intrigues, but to base upon checked
facts, – to get to revelation of initial causes and to suggest new
ideas, new technological methods for overcoming criticizing
shortcomings, – and the main – the form of structural criticism
proceeds from the positions of a criticizing question as a solidarity
with one common main work, where there are looking differences. In
the end, for whom and offensive to be the criticism, its capability
of functioning is conditioned by only so far forth it can find out
and contribute to the process of getting to truth. It’s just the
structural criticism.

IF NOTHING CHANGES, CASE SENT TO COURT

Panorama.am
20:19 01/12/2007

Tomorrow the date of examining the documents of "Mataghis" case
expires. Note that RA military prosecutor announced about the
completion of the case, and the criminal case with its 24 volumes
examination were sent to advocate Hayk Alumyan. Note that Hayk Alumyan
is now in the charge with the case, as Zaruhi Postandjyan is assigned
as a Parliament deputy.

Armenian Government must answer to the application sent by Human’s
Rights European Court till January 14.

Note that in September 23, 2004 the advocate of "Mataghis"case sent
a protest to European Court of Human Rights’.

Note that by the decision of RA Court of Appeal three young people –
Razmik Sargsyan, Musa Serobyan, and Arayik Zalyan were discharged
from prison. They were accused for murdering two soldiers in Mataghis
military unit and were in Noubarashen jail from 2004 April. Syunik
region First Instance Court sentenced them for 15 years, appeal court –
life imprisonment, and Court of Appeal – assigned extra examination.

WHY THEY DID NOT JOIN LEVON TER-PETROSYAN

Lragir
Dec 3 2007
Armenia

The leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party Arthur Baghdasaryan was
nominated for the presidential election on December 3 and addressing
the conference of the party tried to explain why the Orinats Yerkir
Party did not join Levon Ter-Petrosyan, a question which interested
both the members of the party and the rest of the society.

"Not only we do not consider the country as a bandit state, we
appreciate Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s contribution to state building,
but also we are against his approach to demolish the system of public
administration fundamentally," Arthur Baghdasaryan says, adding that
we have gained sovereignty and independence of Armenia, "more or less,
we have built a country the flag of which waves in many capitals of
the world."

Even though the Orinats Yerkir did not pick up this invitation to join,
the Orinats Yerkir is ready to cooperate with all the healthy forces
which are ready to carry our reforms in the country. As to why the
Orinats Yerkir cannot support "the other pole aspiring to reproduction
of government at any price", Arthur Baghdasaryan considers it as a
question which has a distinct answer – this government has led the
country into a state when it is not competitive any more.