Author: Vardanian Garo

COMPLEMENTARY ART UNBINDS TURKISH AND ARMENIAN ARTISTS
VercÝhan ZÝflÝoÐlu

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
May 8 2007

Turkish and Armenian photographers have displayed the daily life of
Yerevan and Istanbul and exhibited them first in Yerevan, then in
Istanbul, Diyarbakýr and Tbilisi. 18,000 frames of a total of ten
artists, have been collected in the photography album under the title
"Merhaparev Yerevan-Istanbul"

ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News

While the conflicts about opening the border between Turkey and
Armenia cannot be solved, the `candid steps of art` have long gone
beyond the two countries’ boundaries. Clicking on the shutters,
Turkish and Armenian photographers have displayed the daily life
of Yerevan and Istanbul, spoke about being "Armenian" and "Turkish"
with people in the street.

Artists of both countries say that they are impressed by the interest
they received in Armenia and Turkey, where they went for the first
time. The photographs have so far been exhibited first in Yerevan,
then in Istanbul, Diyarbakýr and Tbilisi.

Ozcan Yurdalan, one of the Nar Photos Agency photographers, who
undertook the leadership of the project, says that the exhibition
especially received major attention in Diyarbakýr. During the process,
the exhibition will travel all around Anatolia and the world, with
the support of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Association.

The photographs will explain the geographies they travel, about the
two people who adopted Anatolia as homeland for themselves beyond their
identities, without politics and strategies for thousands of years.

The works, chosen from among 18,000 frames of a total of ten artists
from Turkey and Armenia, have been collected in the photography album
under the title "Merhaparev Yerevan-Istanbul." One side of the album
is in Armenian, and the other side is in Turkish.

And the title means "hello" in both languages. There are also
explanations in English in the catalogue about the works of the
artists.

It is necessary for both communities to perceive and become close to
each other again without external interference, to be able to step
into a common peaceful future and for the trauma between the two
peoples to be overcome.

No doubt, the Chief Editor of the Agos Newspaper Hrant Dink’s desire
was this, too, who passed away as a result of an assassination. Ozcan
Yurdalan says that Hrant Dink also attended the opening of the
exhibition in Istanbul and said "I support you from the heart". And
he denotes that Dink was quite affected in the formation process of
the exhibition.

Art, without any doubt, can prepare a ground with its candid side,
for the two people to get closer. This is why Nar Photos from Turkey
and Badger Photokorzsagalutyun from Armenia have gotten ready to do
this project. Garen Mirzoyan, Nelli Þismanyan, Rupen Mankasaryan,
German Avagyan and Anahid Hayrabedyan from Armenia came to Istanbul
for the first time in May last year. And Mehmet Kacmaz, Serra Akcan,
Tolga Sezgin, Ozcan Yurdalan, and Kerem Uzel went to Yerevan. Both
groups dived into the daily life on the city streets for one week,
took photos, were guests at tables, directed their questions that
had been hanging in their heads for years to ordinary people.

Ozcan Yurdalan from Nar Photos and Rupen Mankasaryan from Badger
Photokorzsagalutyun come together with a common thought and express
their opinion with the following words, "As we see in recent events,
although we have been living together for centuries, we almost
don’t know each other at all. Apart from the historical origins,
the conflicts in between emanate from oblivion. There is a serious
discontinuity between Turkey and Armenia, in fact there are attitudes
that sometimes become animosity. We want peace in our countries and
region. Contact and touching would contribute to the direct solution
of the problems between the two communities."

The healing role of art in accords:

Mehmet Kacmaz and Ozcan Yurdalan summarize the mission of Nar Photos
as, "We see photographs as a tool of expression, and we also want to
have a share in the overcoming of problems." Artists of both groups
mention that photographs are a universal language.

During the evolution of the project, meetings were held in Kars,
Tbilisi and Armenia by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Association. Ozcan
Yurdalan says, "The basic subject of these meetings was the healing
role of art and culture in regions of accord." Yurdalan mentions that
the Caucasus is a quite problematic region, and says that Nar Photos
came up with a suggestion during these meetings for the project to
be formed.

Mehmet Kacmaz says that differences enrich, and they give meaning to
our living together, and adds that he came back from Yerevan enriched
in terms of differences and similarities, by saying "however similar
the Armenian and Turkish societies may be, they also have as many
differences." He mentions that the photographers from Nar Photos and
Badger Photokorzsagalutyun did not interfere with each other during
the shootings, but the resulting works are a product of the same
perception and understanding.

In the catalog named "Merhaparev," that include black and white
photographs, various segments from the daily lives of the two countries
are depicted, from everyday life to art, religion and sports.

–Boundary_(ID_rDFM5qD8E1bIN65LFJBFRg)–

Long’s road back has twists, turns

Eager for return after surgeries, staph infection

The Tennessean
05/08/07

By PAUL KUHARSKY, Staff Writer

When Titans defensive tackle Rien Long ripped up his right Achilles
tendon last summer during an innocuous drill on the first day of
training camp in Clarksville, he knew it would be a treacherous road back.

What he couldn’t have known then was that a staph infection months later
would complicate things even further. In fact, doctors later told him
there was one 24-hour stretch where they worried he might lose his right
foot.

Titans veterans have been working out together since March 19, but today
they are on the field for their first official minicamp practice of the
offseason.

Long won’t be with them. He will still be patrolling the outskirts of a
football practice, an outsider wishing he could be part of things.

"You’ll see some creepy dude salivating on the sideline, wanting to get
back out there," Long said. "That’ll be me."

Long will continue lonely rehabilitation work, eager to be part of the
next series of sessions, in June, though he may not be ready to go full
speed until training camp opens in late July.

An effective interior pass rusher, Long might be an important piece for
a defense looking to move up the league’s defensive rankings. The Titans
ranked dead last in 2006.

Despite Long’s account of the staph infection and resulting treatment,
Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said "at no time" was losing the foot a concern.

"It was a highly unusual thing, a difficult injury from a coping
standpoint," Fisher said. "He had a setback before he had the staph
infection. As we speak right now, most of it’s behind him… He should
be good to go without any issues at all by training camp."

Like many of his colleagues around the NFL, Fisher has become
increasingly reserved in talking about injuries, even during the offseason.

No medical officials connected to the team were available to discuss Long.

Sliced

Long said he was told most serious Achilles injuries render that area of
the foot looking like something blew up inside, but his was different –
a clean slice that he was told would actually make it easier to repair.

But the first setback prompted a second operation, likely setting the
stage for the complications.

Long said he somehow aggravated the Achilles while going up some stairs.
When doctors checked it out, they decided it needed to be
"re-tightened," Long said.

According to Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt infectious disease
specialist with no specific knowledge of Long’s case, repeat surgeries
at the same anatomical site severely limit or stop blood flow to the
scarred area, thus increasing the possibility of staph infections.

Williams said staph is a bacterium that 20 to 30 percent of all people
carry in their nasal cavities or even on their bodies, and infection is
a risk in any surgical procedure.

When the infection occurred, Long said he felt and saw something was
wrong. A day later, he wasn’t feeling very well.

The area that had been surgically repaired was especially sore. He was
given antibiotics and told to report back if it got worse.

It did.

"That next day it was nasty; it was purple, just oozing stuff," he said.
"It was just disgusting, swelled up. It felt like someone was holding a
lighter behind my Achilles."

He was rushed into surgery to clean it out.

Only after the fact did he learn just how dire his situation might have
been.

"They told me (there had been a point where) we’d have to wait and see
in the next 24 hours if my foot would still be attached to my body,"
Long said.

"They didn’t know if they were going to have to cut it off or not.
Luckily it just ate away the skin and we caught it early enough, it
didn’t get into the Achilles or anywhere else…"

"Wow. I went from ‘I can’t wait to get back for next season’ to being
thankful I’ve got a foot to walk on."

Setback

The second surgery and the subsequent infection completely altered
Long’s recovery schedule.

When Long got out of the hospital, doctors hadn’t closed the gap in the
back of his leg.

Schaffner, the uninvolved Vanderbilt doctor, said such wounds typically
cannot be closed, as they must heal from the bottom up.

Long said he carried around a medical device that he described as a mini
vacuum cleaner, whose constant suction literally helped hold things
together.

He was on such a strong antibiotic, he said, it "felt like it was giving
me a heart attack."

"It was wild; I could see my Achilles when they changed the bandage or
the suction sponge," he said. "I could move my Achilles, and it was
pretty cool to see that, it was all the way down."

Then came grafting in December, when skin from his hip was used to fill
in the hole left when skin was lost to the infection. There was a second
skin graft, then a third in February with some sort of synthetic, Long said.

A freak injury on the first day of training camp was bad enough.

Additional surgery, the infection and subsequent treatment stretched out
an injury that might have been resolved in January.

"It set him back… but he’s progressing now," Fisher said. "We were
concerned, he was concerned, but he’s got most of it behind him."

Pushing for it

So tired of work on an elliptical machine in the Titans’ training room.
Long said got to a point where he was pleading for permission to run.

Few football players relish the chance to do short sprints, 100-yard
runs and to begin agility work like Long has.

The skin is still healing, Long said, but he has functionality of the
repaired muscle.

"The Achilles is fine; I’m running around doing normal stuff," he said.

Just back from a vacation in Costa Rica, Long has cleared his head.

The 2006 season was supposed to be a breakthrough year for him. If he
continued to emerge as a consistent pass-rushing force, he might have
positioned himself for a significant payday as an unrestricted free agent.

Instead, everything got pushed back a year, and he signed a one-year
deal to return.

"I can’t wait to get back on that field and do what I used to do," he
said. "It’s like I got held back. It’s like I’ve got to repeat the
fourth grade. I’ve got to do it over again."

Reach Paul Kuharsky at 615-259-8024 or [email protected].

apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/SPORTS01/70508 0342/1002/MTCN0302

MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES OF NKR WILL BACK BAKO SAHAKYAN’S CANDIDACY IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

ArmRadio.am
08.05.2007 16:45

The Democratic Party of Artsakh, Free Motherland, Dashnaktsutyun
and Movement-88 Parties have declared today that they will back the
candidacy of Bako Sahakyan, Chief of the NKR National Security Service,
during the presidential elections on 19 July, Mediamax reports.

It is noted in the joint communiqué issued by the four parties that
after consulting on the given issue the parties "came to an agreement
on the foreign and domestic policy principles for the coming few
years."

–Boundary_(ID_gx8BrXPBLVS1uPAWL 65hQA)–

RPA IS ALWAYS READY TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY, GALUST SAHAKIAN SAYS

YEREVAN, MAY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Republican Party of Armenia will
make majority in the new National Assembly: this is not a forecast,
but the result of our party’s political capital." Stating this at the
May 7 press conference, Chairman of NA RPA faction Galust Sahakian
gave assurance that the people will appreciate the party as it
appreciated during the elections of 2003. He said that today RPA in
difference to another parties has a "stable electorate."

G. Sahakian especially emphasized that RPA is always ready to assume
responsibility. "Everybody takes the way of threatening, it’s our
party that has always been responsible. We are responsible for
everything, both bad and good." In response to the question, whether
it comes that old friends betray, he said: "Both an old and new friend
can betray."

As regards activization of some opposition forces in the recent
period, G. Sahakian stated that the appeals voiced by the opposition
do not correspond to people’s moods: "The people’s fate is decided by
the very people and not by some political force."

AZERBAIJAN LEADER’S TALK OF KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PRINCIPLES ANGERS ARMENIA

The Associated Press
Published: May 4, 2007

RAMANI, Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan’s president on Friday laid out what
he said were basic principles for the resolution of his country’s
dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, angering Armenian leaders
who disputed his suggestion that they have assented to the terms
he described.

Aliev’s remarks appeared more likely to deepen distrust between the
nations than to bring them closer to resolving the dispute over the
territory, which is inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled by
Armenian and local ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year war that
ended in 1994.

Tensions remain high between Armenia and Azerbaijan, former Soviet
republics in the Caucasus, and more than a decade of coaxing from
international media tors led by the United States, Russia and France
has yet to bring an agreement on the status of the territory.

Aliev said the basic principles of a settlement were the unconditional
return of seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that are
also under ethnic Armenian control and he return of refugees to
Nagornko-Karabakh, followed by the determination of its political
status.

Aliev, speaking to refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in the settlement
of Ramani, outside Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, said there was general
agreement on the principles, which he suggested were the basis for
settlement talks shepherded by the international monitors.

Today in Europe Sarkozy increases his lead in France; Royal warns
of unrestLabour set back in Scottish votingTurkish ruling offers
possible solution The details of settlement talks are usually kept
under wraps out of the concern that revealing them could hurt delicate
efforts to resolve the dispute, which raises strong emotions in
both countries. Aliev said he was discussing them publicly because
the Armenian side had broken confidentiality and made misleading
statements.

His words drew a swift and angry response from Armenian officials,
particularly sensitive about the issue ahead of parliamentary elections
later this month, with parliament vice-speaker Vaan Ovannisian calling
accusing him of "obvious lies."

"There is no such agreement," Ovannisian said.

Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian cast doubt on Aliev’s statement
that there was agreement on the unconditional return of all seven
surrounding districts. In the past there have indications that Armenia
would agree to the return of five of the districts on condition of
independence for Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Let him say what he wants, we have already announce our position,"
Sarkisian said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetian said that Armenia’s
position has been and remains "based on the recognition of the
principle self-determination for Nagorno-Karabakh," according to
a ministry statement. "Other questions that are on the negotiating
table, that are under discussion, are secondary and will follow from
recognition of the basic principle," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Avet Demourian contributed to this report
from Yerevan, Armenia.

ELECTORAL ROLLS WILL BE READY ON MAY 10

A1+
[07:35 pm] 02 May, 2007

"Once Armenia had 2 million 328 747 voters. Today the number has
decreased to 2 million 301 662," says Colonel Alvira Zakaryan, the
head of the RoA Police Passport and Visa Department. The data was
revealed after clarifying the RoA electoral rolls.

The final number of the Armenian voters will be made public on May
11. In Ms Zakaryan’s opinion, the difference won’t be great.

Electoral rolls will be fixed in the 1916 electoral districts on May
10. "Electoral rolls won’t be subjected to further changes. I call
on citizens to apply to the passport service, and restore their right
to vote in case they find inaccuracies," Alvira Zakaryan adds.

YEREVAN MAYOR ASSURES THAT ZOOLOGICAL PARK TO HAVE WELL-PLANNED APPEARANCE IN 3 YEARS

Noyan Tapan
May 02 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Opening of the new season of the Yerevan
Zoological Park took place on May 1. Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian
participated in it.

As the Mayor mentioned, during the recent 15 years no reconstruction
and restoration works were done in the zoological park having history
of about 60 years because of what the park does not correspond to
necessary standards.

Y. Zakharian promised that citizens of Yerevan will have a well-planned
zoological park in 3 years. Money at the size of 27 mln drams will be
given for forming project and estimate documents for putting the park
in good order, and 450-500 mln drams will be given to build new cages.

The Mayor stated that the expenses envisaged in 2004 for general
operation, keeping of the park made 100 mln drams, and those made 160
mln drams in 2006: 180 mln drams will be allocated for that purpose
this year.

The park has not been completed with new types of animals, but owing
to an agreement reached with the Moscow Mayor’s Office, the park
will periodically be completed with new types of birds and animals
starting from 2007.

The scars of Genocide of 1915 remain deeply embedded in Armenian history and
in the US conscience: US Congresswoman

Arminfo Agency
2007-04-28 17:30:00

Senators and Representatives joined Armenians around the world this
week in commemorating the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in statements on the floors of their respective chambers of Congress,
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) told ArmInfo.

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. Our voices, as well as those of Armenian
-Americans across the Nation, are essential in the effort to bring
needed attention to such a historic tragedy. The Armenian -American
community has made tremendous contributions to our country, and their
efforts and passion will help ensure that those who lost their lives
will not be forgotten… I will keep fighting to ensure that the
Armenian Genocide is appropriately recognized," said Congressman
James R. Langevin.

"Once the genocide ended, many survivors rose above their anguish and
terrible experiences to rebuild their lives. Armenian communities
began to flourish as numerous immigrants found a new home here in
the United States, as well as in my home state of California. Even
though their communities discovered solace and success in America,
the scars of genocide remain deeply embedded in their history and
in our conscience… Together we can educate, commemorate, remember,
and stand united in promoting a clear message that the United States
does not condone, nor does it tolerate acts of genocide," Congresswoman
Hilda L. Solis noted.

"The writer Milan Kundera once wrote that ‘The struggle of man against
power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.’ There are those
that would deny the Armenian Genocide… In commemorating the Armenian
Genocide we collectively engage in that struggle of memory against
forgetting… to reaffirm our commitment to prevent such things from
ever happening again, and to strive towards making a better future
for the Armenian people," Congressman Edward J. Markey said.

"Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term ‘genocide’ in 1944, and who
was the earliest proponent of the United Nations Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, invoked the Armenian
case as a definitive example of genocide in the 20th century. The
time is now for the Administration to describe what occurred as a
genocide. There is no option for continued denial… Now more than
ever, as the world is gripped by unrest and terrorism, the memory of
the Armenian Genocide underscores our responsibility to help convey
our cherished traditions of respect for fundamental human rights and
opposition to mass slaughter," emphasized Congressmen John Conyers,
Jr. "I have always supported the Armenian community. In 2003, I had
the opportunity to visit Armenia and to plant a tree at the Genocide
memorial. We must never forget the horrors that took place 92 years
ago. Let us never forget the 1.5 minion Armenians who perished in 1915
and 1916. We know such mass murder is not a tragedy from a distant
past, but a continuation of the failing to recognize these barbaric
acts before they are executed," stressed Congressman Joseph Crowley.

UCLA Library Receives National Endowment for the Humanities Grant for
Near Eastern Manuscript Project

UC Los Angeles, CA
April 28 2007

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the UCLA Library
a grant for a project to catalog, digitize and provide online access
to the Caro Minasian Collection of Near Eastern manuscripts.

The collection forms a rich repository of Islamic learning and contains
more than 1,500 manuscripts in Arabic and Persian dating from the 14th
to the 19th centuries on astronomy, government, history, language and
grammar, law, literature, philosophy, religious practice, and science.

The grant, in the amount of $346,117, was awarded as part of the NEH
Preservation and Access program, which supports efforts to preserve
and provide intellectual access to humanities collections. These
collections may include books, journals, newspapers, manuscript and
archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings,
and objects of art and material culture.

"We are honored that the National Endowment for the Humanities
has chosen to fund this important project," said UCLA University
Librarian Gary E. Strong. "The materials in the Minasian Collection
are extraordinary for their intellectual content and their importance
to scholarly research, and this project also supports our efforts,
in partnership with an international group of institutions, to provide
coordinated access to Near Eastern manuscript collections worldwide."

"The Minasian Collection is one of the most important collections of
Arabic and Persian manuscripts of its kind, certainly in the U.S.,
if not internationally," said Hossein Ziai, UCLA director of Iranian
studies and professor of Iranian and Islamic studies. "Much of the
content of its manuscripts has never been systematically studied;
thus, access to such a unique collection will undoubtedly lead to
groundbreaking scholarship."

The project has four components, the first of which will involve
creating metadata records for all works in the collection. These
records will form the basis for traditional catalog records and
archival finding aids; more importantly, they will facilitate the
sharing of data and image files and will allow for annotation,
transcription and other scholarly activities.

The second component will entail digitizing more than 300 of the most
significant manuscripts in the collection. Totaling some 55,000 pages,
these digitized manuscripts, together with those in the collection
that had been digitized previously, will create a collection of 470
digitized manuscripts, totaling approximately 92,000 pages. This
digital collection will support preservation of and access to these
rare manuscripts and will also serve as a model for future digitization
projects.

The project’s third component will be to create a search-and-retrieval
system that supports discovery, display and navigation by users in
English, as well as Arabic and Persian, the principal vernacular
languages represented in the collection. Future plans include
development of a virtual research environment in which scholars can
manipulate, annotate, transcribe and share manuscripts and information
about the manuscripts in non-Roman scripts and which also would allow
these scholarly activities to be captured, preserved and made available
for ongoing exchange.

For the final component, project managers will meet with scholars,
archivists and librarians from other institutions with major Near
Eastern manuscript collections to plan a service to provide access
to Near Eastern manuscript collections worldwide.

About the UCLA Library and the Minasian Collection

Ranked among the top 10 research libraries in the U.S., the UCLA
Library system is a campuswide network of libraries serving programs
of study and research in many fields. Its collections encompass
more than eight million volumes, as well as archives, audiovisual
materials, corporate reports, government publications, microforms,
technical reports and other scholarly resources. Nearly 80,000 serial
titles are received regularly. The Library also provides access to a
growing collection of digital resources, including reference works,
electronic journals and other full-text titles and images.

The Minasian Collection is housed in the Charles E. Young Research
Library Department of Special Collections, recognized as one of the
country’s top collections of primary resources in the humanities and
social sciences. Its holdings encompass rare books and pamphlets from
the 15th through the 20th centuries; extensive manuscript holdings;
drawings, including original architectural drawings; early maps and
atlases; and photographs, prints and paintings. Collections also
contain artifacts, audiotape and videotape recordings, oral history
transcripts, phonograph records, postcards, and posters.

The Minasian Collection was created by Caro Minasian, an Armenian
physician from Isfahân, Iran, who began collecting in 1935. His
collection reflects the interests of the middle-class, educated
inhabitants of Isfahân, whose families at the time he collected these
works had preserved them as texts that represented the scholastic
milieu of the post-classical period.

Acquired by UCLA in 1968, the Minasian Collection includes manuscript
materials in Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Ottoman Turkish and Urdu. The
Arabic and Persian manuscripts, which this project focuses on,
represent approximately two-thirds of the collection. A separate
project to promote access to the Turkish collection is underway,
and the Library hopes to launch similar projects focusing on the
Armenian and other materials.

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National
Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature,
philosophy and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich
classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas
to life through public television, radio, new technologies, museum
exhibitions and programs in libraries and other community places.

-UCLA-

.asp?RelNum=7894

–Boundary_(ID_aVJssNWvm0NY3/sE7 1fM0Q)–

Courting Lobbyists
By Kate Ackley and Tory Newmyer
Roll Call Staff
April 23, 2007
Everybody loves lobbyists when they’re asking for their money.

But it’s not just Members and fundraisers looking for some K
Streetcash these days.

The Congressional Federal Credit Union has stepped up a membership
drive this month putting the sell on federally registered lobbyists.

`What may surprise you is that you too are eligible to join the Credit
Union! ‘ reads an April letter from the credit union’s Kerry Terryto
lobbyists around town. `If you are a registered lobbyist with the
U.S. House of Representatives, then you are eligible for membership.’

The credit union’s Liz Santos said the letter does not signal a change
in policy – lobbyists have long been able to join the credit
union. But, she said, `It’s not very often, honestly, that we reach
out to the lobbyists, which is why we’re trying to cover all areas of
the credit union membership.’

Talking Turkey. A delegation of Turkish parliamentarians fanned out
across Capitol Hill last week to step up the pressure against a
proposed Congressional resolution on Armenian genocide. The nonbinding
resolution would label as genocide the killings of Armenians, starting
in 1915, by the former Ottoman Empire, and the Turks are pulling out
all the stops – meeting with several Members of Congress as well as
administration officials.

`The resolution does not do justice,’ Onur Ã-ymen, a member of the
Turkish Parliament, said last week during an editorial meeting with
Roll Call in between Hill visits. `We believe at the end reason will
prevail.’

The Turkish officials said their main message to their
U.S. counterparts is that if Congress passes the resolution, the
U.S. government will pay a hefty price.

`There will be public pressure [to retaliate],’ said YassarYakis,
adding that it is not a threat. The resolution could spur Turkey to
stop letting cargo shipped to U.S. forces in Iraq come through the
country, end contracts with American defense companies and hurt other
U.S. commercial interests there.

They took that message to Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), James Clyburn
(D-S.C.) and Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), as well as Sens. Dick Lugar
(R-Ind.), David Vitter (R-La.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), according to
the Turkish officials.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the Democratic chairman of the
Congressional Armenian Caucus, said that the Turkish officials’
lobbying blitz amounts to denial. `Denial is the last phase of
genocide,’ Pallone said. He added that he tells his colleagues, who
might be concerned about retaliation from Turkey should the resolution
pass: `Don’t listen to the bully because it’s the bully that did the
genocide. If you’re going to be bullied around by the country that did
the genocide then essentially you’re going along with thegenocide.’

On Tuesday, a date widely recognized as Armenian Genocide
Commemoration Day, members of the Armenian Caucus are planning an
event with Armenian groups to shine the spotlight on the effort. `We
continue to have an increasing number of Congressional co-sponsors for
this, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), signed
on,’ said Elizabeth Chouldjian, communications director for the
Armenian National Committee of America. `Sadly the Turkish government
is continuing its worldwide campaign of Armenian genocide denial with
this delegation being the latest manifestation of that.’

Going Solo, Global. After 20 years at BKSH & Associates, Riva Levinson
has set off on her own, launching KRL International to focus on a
range of clients either from, or with an interest in, the developing
world. `It was just the right time,’ she said of the move.

Levinson, who headed the international practice at BKSH, has already
signed up a few clients: the governments of Liberia and Nigeria and
the Iraq Memory Foundation.

The work with Liberia continues a decade-long relationship Levinson
has fostered with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s
first elected female president.

She also has logged considerable time on Iraq, working for four years
with the exiled opposition and then traveling to Baghdad in 2003 to
help the new government set up its communications operation. Now she
is lobbying Congress to support the Iraq Memory Foundation, a virtual
museum dedicated to documenting the crimes of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Joining the firm as director is Molly McKew, who was most recently the
research program manager for the American Enterprise Institute’s
foreign and defense policy studies department. Levinson said they plan
to `growthe business as the business grows.’

Having Heart. The American Heart Association is kicking off its lobby
day Tuesday with a HEART for Women Act rally on the National Mall to
gin up support for a bill that would increase awareness for heart
disease in women. Paige Hemmis of the ABC show `Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition’ will be on hand to lend support for the bill. `She
actually has a heart murmur herselfand worked association’s Jessica
Collins. On Tuesday evening, the group wrapsup the day by sponsoring
its Go Red for Women Congressional reception.

K Street Moves. With climate change issues in the Congressional
spotlight, the American Wind Energy Association has hired Gregory
Wetstone as its senior director for government and public
affairs. Wetstone formerly worked as environmental counsel for the
House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, and he also was
U.S. director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.