Author: Virabian Jhanna

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ARREST OF
ZHAMANAK YEREVAN DAILY’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NEW YORK, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The Committee to Protect Journalists
dislocated in New York informs about the arrest of editor-in-chief of
the Zhamanak Yerevan daily Arman Babadzhanian in its July 7 report. He
faces up to five years in prison for allegedly forging documents to
avoid military service, but the Committee to Protect Journalists and
others are concerned that the charge was prompted by his newspaper’s
critical reporting on government conduct.

Babadzhanian was arrested June 26, just days after the
Armenian-language newspaper published an article questioning
the independence of the prosecutor general’s office, said Seda
Muradian of the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(IWPR), which has followed the case closely. Authorities allege that
forgeries occurred in 2002, but they did not explain the delay in
pressing charges.

Press reports said the prosecutor general summoned Babadzhanian for
questioning as a witness in a criminal case but jailed him instead
on the forgery charge. News reports said that the editor allegedly
confessed to forging documents to avoid the draft, but press freedom
and human rights groups are questioning the prosecutors’ motives.

Muradian, Armenia country director for IWPR, said the prosecutor’s
refusal to grant Babadzhanian preliminary release on bail is very
unusual in this type of case. "Authorities are treating Babadzhanian
as a dangerous criminal," Muradian told CPJ.

On Wednesday, the Yerevan Press Club, Internews Armenia, the Committee
to Protect Freedom of Expression, the Helsinki Committee of Armenia,
and other local press freedom groups sent a letter to the prosecutor
general’s office seeking Babadzhanian’s release on bail. The
groups also challenged the validity of Babadzhanian’s purported
confession. Also on Wednesday, editors of seven Armenian independent
and opposition newspapers issued a statement saying Babadzhanian’s
arrest was intended to intimidate the press.

"We are very concerned that the criminal case against Arman
Babadzhanian may be related to his journalism," CPJ Executive Director
Joel Simon said today.

"We call on Armenian authorities to release him pending trial and
make their evidence against him public."

Akhalkalaki or Gyumri?
by Emil Danielyan

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
July 6 2006

6 July 2006

Armenia is irked by a proposal for a new cross-Caucasus railroad that
would bypass the landlocked and blockaded country. From EurasiaNet.

Plans for the construction of a major railway linking Turkey to
Azerbaijan via Georgia are prompting mounting concern in Armenia.
Officials in Yerevan, fearing the completion of the railway would
further isolate Armenia, have pressured Georgia to pull out of the
multimillion-dollar project. The railway also is facing objections
from the United States and the European Union.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey revealed their intention to pursue
the railway project in May 2005 during the ceremonial opening of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. The presidents of the three
nations said the rail link, estimated to cost roughly $400 million,
would promote regional economic integration and create a new transport
corridor between Europe and Central Asia.

The project essentially boils down to laying an almost
100-kilometer-long rail track between the eastern Turkish city
of Kars and the southern Georgian town of Akhalkalaki. Armenian
officials insist that the project makes no economic sense, pointing
to the existing railroad running from Kars to the northern Armenian
city of Gyumri and on to the two other South Caucasus countries. The
Kars-Gyumri link has stood idle for over a decade due to the continuing
Turkish economic blockade of Armenia.

The Armenian government argues that that Turkey, Georgia, and
Azerbaijan should make use of this Gyumri hub instead of spending
hundreds of millions of dollars on building a new one. As an incentive,
Yerevan has indicated that it would make the Gyumri hub available
without insisting that Turkey lift its economic blockade. "Armenia is
ready to let Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan use the existing railway
line on Armenian territory without Armenia’s participation," Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian reiterated during an official visit
to Tbilisi on 27 June.

The issue was high on the agenda of Oskanian’s talks with Georgia’s
President Mikheil Saakashvili and Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili.
A statement issued by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Oskanian
"stressed the economic and political importance of the operation of the
Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi rail line." Armenian officials took little comfort
in Bezhuashvili’s public assurances that the Turkish-Georgian-Azeri
project is "purely commercial." They fear that the new railway
would deepen Armenia’s economic isolation. Aggressive statements
made recently by Azeri officials, including President Ilham Aliev,
have helped fuel worries in Armenia.

The landlocked country has already been left out of regional
energy projects such as the BTC pipeline, due to the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Influential Armenian lobbying groups in the United States have joined
Yerevan in trying to thwart the project. They were instrumental in
securing a U.S. congressional committee’s 15 June vote to endorse an
amendment that would prohibit the U.S. Export-Import Bank from funding
the railway’s construction. "With this amendment, we are sending a
message to the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan that continually
excluding Armenia in regional projects fosters instability," said
U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley, a member of the Democratic Party
from New York who is the measure’s main sponsor.

The amendment is expected to be considered by the full House of
Representatives later this year. Similar legislation is pending
in the U.S. Senate, and the Bush administration has not voiced
objections to either bill. The ambassador-designates to Armenia
and Azerbaijan assured pro-Armenian U.S. legislators during recent
congressional hearings that Washington is against the construction
of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railroad. Without Export-Import
Bank backing, U.S. companies would likely be reluctant to invest in
the project.

The European Union seems to take a similar view. "A railway project
that is not including Armenia will not get our financial support,"
the EU’s external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner,
said in Yerevan last February.

Turkey and Azerbaijan appear undaunted by U.S. and EU expressions of
displeasure. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul discussed the issue
with Aliev during a late June visit to Baku. The Turkish Daily News
newspaper quoted Gul as telling the Azeri leader on 20 June that
"Armenia can also join these projects if it wants." However, the
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, clarified the next
day that this could happen only after a resolution of the Karabakh
dispute. The Karabakh peace process is currently stalemated.

Tan also downplayed the significance of likely U.S. funding
restrictions. "I think the three countries have enough funds. We can
finance [the railway’s construction] in one way or another," he said.

Baku had hoped to begin work on the railway later this year and
have it completed by 2008. But with Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan
having yet to agree on the sources of funding, this time frame seems
unrealistic. Furthermore, the Georgian government is having what Gul
reportedly described as "serious hesitations." This might explain why
a planned meeting of the transport ministers of the three states, which
had been planned for late June, has been postponed until late July.

The director general of Georgia’s state-run rail network, Irakli
Ezugbaya, publicly questioned earlier in June a feasibility study that
was conducted and released by a Turkish company recently. The Caucasus
Press news agency quoted him as saying that the study failed to predict
the anticipated volume of cargo traffic along the would-be railway.

DISCUSSIONS ON ISSUES OF EDUCATION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
07.07.2006 10:28

Discussions on the new system of graduation exams in Armenia will
be held today at in the Business Center of the American University
of Armenia.

RA Minister of Education and Science Levon Mktchyan and Deputy Minister
Ara Avetisyan will participate in the discussion.

PROSECUTORS SAY WEEKEND ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS ARE HATE CRIMES

MOSNEWS, Russia
July 4 2006

Moscow prosecutors said Monday that they considered the stabbing of
five ethnic minorities a hate crime, following a spate of attacks
on dark-skinned people in Moscow this weekend, The Associated Press
reports.

Four ethnic Armenians and one Azerbaijani were attacked by about 15
assailants at a subway station on Saturday, said Sergei Marchenko, a
spokesman for the Moscow prosecutor’s office. The Moscow prosecutor’s
office initially said only two people were hurt in the attack and
that it was being investigated as "hooliganism," not a hate crime.

Russia has seen a wave of xenophobia and hate crimes in recent years,
with hundreds of attacks reported, including many on dark-skinned
immigrants from former Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountains
region.

Rights activists say hate groups are emboldened by authorities’
mild approach to prosecuting hate crimes, and say that neo-Nazi and
extremist literature is sold freely.

In Yerevan, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian on Monday
condemned the attack, and called on Russia to do more to head off a
rising tide of violent xenophobia in the country. "This is a widespread
and continuing phenomenon in Russia," Oskanian said. "The Russian
authorities need to take serious steps to thwart it, otherwise such
incidents will be a serious threat to Russia itself."

Meanwhile, three suspects in the Saturday stabbing of a Kazakh citizen
were arrested for a racially motivated crime, the Interfax news
agency reported. Also Saturday, two Uzbek citizens were hospitalized
with multiple stab wounds after being attacked in southwest Moscow,
Interfax said.

Alexander Brod, who heads the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, said that
the surge in attacks might be tied to two high-profile conferences that
opened in the capital on Monday before a summit of the Group of Eight
major industrialized nations that begins next week in St. Petersburg.

"On the eve of two such important events, it’s quite possible that
Moscow’s nationalist radicals demonstrated their aggressiveness to
announce their presence," Brod told The Associated Press.

Interfax quoted an Armenian community leader, Ara Abramian, as saying
the attacks were "a direct provocation before the G-8 meeting,"
and sharply criticized Moscow law enforcement for failing to prevent
such assaults. "I can’t understand how big groups of skinheads can
walk around the Moscow metro and freely attack people with (knives)
in the center of Moscow in broad daylight," he said.

PEOPLE LIVING ON THIS LAND MUST SPEAK ON BEHALF OF NAGORNO KARABAKH

Lragir.am
04 July 06

Ashot Bleyan announced July 4 at the Pastark Club that he is ready
to visit Baku again. "I will go to Baku directly, not to be taken
there by other ways. A politician is obliged to step into fire if
the resolution of the question requires that."

In the meantime, Armen Ashotyan, who debated with him, thinks
that the best variant for us is the status quo in the question of
Nagorno Karabakh. "We need to digest these territories, resettle
these territories. If there are only soldiers, there are no farmers,
doctors, teachers, there is no society, it contains certain dangers."

"There cannot be a status quo. It would mean that life stops,"
counters Ashot Bleyan. "If the occupied territories are your homeland,
you are government, go and live there, build houses there. Establish a
branch of the National Assembly and live there, set a model. You have
money and power. Whereas you tell people living in Armenia to leave
their houses and move to live there because I want you to go. This is
adventurousness. Are we captives?" asks Ashot Bleyan. He is convinced
that we turned the question of self-determination of people into
struggle against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. "We did
it. Ashot Bleyan did not do it," noted Ashot Bleyan.

According to him, people who live in that land, should speak in the
name of Nagorno Karabakh. "Honor and glory to the people of Nagorno
Karabakh, who showed that they struggle for the land by living in
that land. We benefited because the people of Artsakh stayed to live
on this land. But there were more people until 1988. I do not think
that it is in my interests that the ethnic Azerbaijanis left Nagorno
Karabakh," announced Ashot Bleyan. And the loss, the greatest loss
for Ashot Bleyan is that "in 1988 250 thousand Baku Armenians became
refugees and now we do not know where these people are. The loss of 250
thousand Armenians of Baku with their property was a destructive loss,
people who could have privatize the oil pipeline. The Mantashov family
came from Karabakh, and at one time they bought Baku with money. We
also lost Shahumyan and Getashen forever."

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1)ARF Calls for Strengthening Of Armenia’s Border Regions
2) Senate Delays Hoagland Confirmation
3) Azerbaijan ‘Against Referendum In Karabakh’
4) Catholic Priest Stabbed in Turkey

1) ARF Calls for Strengthening Of Armenia’s Border Regions

YEREVANThe Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Monday issued an
announcement calling on its rank and file, as well as all Armenians to support
initiatives to bolster and develop the border regions of Armenia. This
announcement comes months before the third Armenia-Diaspora Conference, which
will address the development of border regions as its main agenda item.
Below is the translated text of the declaration:

Dear compatriots,

This year all Armenians will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their
independent statehood. We will celebrate this jubilee, fully aware of its
importance and with the determination to reform, build and strengthen our
Armenian Homeland.
Independence is the utmost privilege, and it is the duty of each of us to
make
Armenia a center for justice, democracy and solidarity.
Coinciding with the anniversary of our state is the third Armenia-Diaspora
conference in Yerevan from September 18-20. It is yet another opportunity to
unite our national potential and to direct it in a consciously organized
manner
toward the political, economic, spiritual and cultural development of the
Homeland, as well as the resolution of pan-national issues and toward
overcomingwith dignity the challenges facing Armenians and Armenia in the 21st
century.
On the agenda of this conference, there will be a very specific issue, with a
strategic goal: to find resources and solutions in order to develop the border
regions specifically, to improve and modernize the infrastructure of villages
and to help the population resolve its social issues.
On its part, the Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation calls upon
all structures, units, individuals in Armenia and the Diaspora, and first of
all its organizational regions and members, to actively participate in the
realization of this program and to undertake specific responsibilities.
Through this step, we will prove that we are able to have a strong and
sovereign Homeland, that we are able to become an influential presence in the
large family of nations.
Let us mark the anniversary of our state through concrete work and
responsibility.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau
July 3, 2006
Yerevan

2) Senate Delays Hoagland Confirmation

WASHINGTONIn the wake of this past Wednesday’s contentious Senate Foreign
Relations Committee nomination hearing for Ambassador to Armenia Designate
Richard Hoagland, panel members John Kerry (D-Mass.), Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.),
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have each submitted a
series of detailed written questions asking the nominee to explain the
guidance
he has received from the State Department concerning its policy on the
Armenian
Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) also sent a letter of inquiry this week
concerning the recall of the current US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans
following his statements affirming the Armenian Genocide.
During the June 28th nomination hearing, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), Sen. Norm
Coleman (R-Minn.), and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) pressed the nominee for an
explanation of the State Department’s guidance regarding the use of the word
"genocide" to properly characterize this crime against humanity. Senators
Allen
and Coleman peppered the nominee with numerous questions and expressed
frustration as the Ambassador-Designate avoided giving direct answers to
any of
the questions, resorting to the use of euphemisms.
Ambassador-Designate Hoagland’s June 28th appearance before the Foreign
Relations Committee was alongside nominees for the US ambassadorships to
Ireland and Switzerland, who were subsequently approved by the Committee and
then the full Senate on June 29th. In contrast, the Committee deferred action
on confirming the proposed new ambassador to Armenia.
"Seven of the eighteen members of the Foreign Relations Committeeover one
third of this influential panelare already on record raising serious concerns
about confirming a new ambassador to Yerevan before receiving a full, open,
and
official explanation of the circumstances surrounding the recall of our
current
ambassador, the instructions given to our prospective ambassador, andmore
broadlythe exact nature of our government’s policy on the Armenian Genocide,"
said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "In light of the seriousness of these
issuesand the lack of responsiveness from the Administrationwe were gratified
that the Committee has wisely delayed action on the new ambassador to Yerevan
until these fundamental questions have been answered."
In the days leading up to the confirmation hearing, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Ranking Democrat Joseph Biden (D-Del.) asked Secretary Condoleezza
Rice for a thorough explanation of the circumstances of the premature
recall of
US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans over his public comments
affirming
the Armenian Genocide. In his June 23rd letter to Secretary Rice, Sen.
Biden, a
potential 2008 Presidential candidate, stated that he would "not be
prepared to
move forward with any Senate action that would prematurely end his [Amb.
Evans’] tenure in Yerevan" until a series of questions concerning Evans’
dismissal and the State Department’s failure to properly recognize the
Armenian
Genocide had been answered. Sen. Biden wrote further to Secretary Rice,
"Recalling an accomplished American diplomat for speaking truthfully about
genocide could feed widespread cynicism about United States’ foreign policy. I
hope that you will carefully reconsider the long-term implications of this
decision on the United States’ ability to promote freedom and respect for
human
life."
Senator Kerry submitted a three-page set of detailed questions to the
Ambassador-Designate. Among his inquiries was the following:
"During your June 28, 2006 confirmation hearing, you stated the following
when
responding to a question on the State Department’s policy on the Armenian
Genocide: "I simply studied the policy, I studied the background papers on the
policy, I know the policy and my responsibility is to support the president."
1. Please describe, in detail, the source, purpose, content, and
conclusions of
all "policy" documents, "background papers," and other materials concerning
the
Armenian Genocide that you reviewed and provide copies of these materials to
the Committee for its review. Turkey has consistently denied that it committed
genocide against Armenians and in fact has jailed several journalists for
stating otherwise, as in the case of Hrant Dink, a Turkish publisher who was
convicted for simply writing about the Armenian Genocide. And the criminal law
penalizing speech on the Armenian Genocide remains on the books in Turkey.
2. What is the Administration’s position on these imprisonments?
3. Do you believe the policy of non-recognition encourages the repressive
actions taken by Turkey?
Senator Sarbanes, who spoke at Wednesday’s confirmation hearing, followed up
today with a set of seven additional questions:
1. How many people died, and during what period, in the Armenian Genocide?
2. What were the causes of these deaths?
3. What actions were taken by US diplomats in Turkey at that time to warn and
report on the events?
4. What steps were taken to punish perpetrators of the Armenian genocide?
5. How does the US define "genocide"?
6. Does the United Nations consider the atrocities against Armenians to be a
"genocide"?
7. Since the Ottoman Empire is long gone, why does Turkey view discussion of
the genocide as a reflection on its own government and people?
Among the questions asked by Senator Chafee was a request that
Ambassador-Designate Hoagland explain "the State Department’s policy regarding
statements by official US government representatives, such as yourself, about
the Armenian Genocide." The Rhode Island legislator also asked if the nominee
had "ever been counseled to not refer to the events of 1915 as the Armenian
Genocide."
Sen. Dodd outlined his concerns in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, stating that he is "interested to learn more about the circumstances
that
lead to his [Evans] departure," noting that "an effort, intended to destroy in
whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, clearly
constitutes an act of genocide."
Last week, House Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsors George Radanovich
(R-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined with Congressional Armenian
Caucus
Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) in urging
Secretary Rice to reconsider replacing Amb. Evans, noting that "allowing John
Evans to continue as Ambassador to Armenia sends a strong message on the
necessity of Turkish recognition, and will be an important step in
establishing
the US position on the Armenian Genocide."
Over the past several months, scores of Senate and House Members have
directed
questions to State Department officials, calling for answers surrounding the
controversial firing of Amb. Evans, including 60 Representatives who joined
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) in a letter to Secretary Rice, Rep. Grace
Napolitano (D-Calif.) who submitted questions to Assistant Secretary of State
Dan Fried, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) who submitted questions to
Secretary
Rice. Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry also asked Secretary
Rice for clarification on the Amb. Evans dismissal. The Administration has
either failed to provide responses or provided responses, which have been
largely perfunctory, citing that Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the
President, but giving no clear insight into the State Department’s decision to
dismiss the career diplomat after 35 years of distinguished service.
The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired Amb. Evans
in response to his February 2005 statements at Armenian American community
functions, during which he properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as
"genocide." Following his statements, Amb. Evans was forced to issue a
statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian Genocide were his
personal views and did not represent a change in US policy. He subsequently
issued a correction to this statement, replacing a reference to the genocide
with the word "tragedy." The American Foreign Service Association, which had
decided to honor Amb. Evans with the "Christian A. Herter Award," recognizing
creative thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service,
reportedly rescinded the award following pressure from the State Department in
the days leading up to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to
Washington, DC to meet with President Bush.
Armenian American response to Amb. Evans’ dismissal has been widespread with
thousands calling on their legislators to take action and demand answers. In a
March 8th letter to Secretary Rice, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian noted that
"if,
in fact, punitive measures are being taken against Ambassador Evans, this
would
represent a tragic retreat from our nation’s core values. It would also
represent a new low in our government’s shameful complicity in the Turkish
government’s campaign of denial. Not only does the State Department
continue to
be publicly silent as Turkey criminally prosecutes its writers and citizens
for
speaking about the Armenian Genocide, it appears the State Department is
following Turkey’s lead by muzzling and punishing an American diplomat for his
speech and his acknowledgment of a genocide that is extensively documented in
the State Department’s own archives."
In Yerevan, a candle-light vigil was held by hundreds of human rights
activists during the June 28th Senate confirmation hearing, as part of the
"Yellow Ribbon Campaign" protesting the firing the Amb. Evans. On April 24th,
tens of thousands had tied yellow ribbons in solidarity with the US
Ambassador,
who had stood with the Armenian people in honoring the victims and
survivors of
the Armenian Genocide.

3) Azerbaijan ‘Against Referendum In Karabakh’

BAKU (RFE/RL)A senior Azeri official said on Monday that Azerbaijan has never
accepted a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would culminate in a
referendum in Karabakh proper, despite Armenian claims to the contrary.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov was quoted by the Turan news agency as
saying that Baku believes such a vote should instead take place on
Azerbaijan’s
entire internationally recognized territory. "That is reflected in the [Azeri]
constitution and the country’s leadership does not intend to revise its
opinion," he said.
In a statement last week, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said at the heart of a
peaceful settlement proposed by the American, French and Russian mediators is
the idea of enabling Karabakh’s predominantly Armenian population to determine
its status in a referendum after the liberation of most Armenian-occupied
lands
in Azerbaijan proper.
The ministry asserted that Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian
agreed
on this formula during their recent face-to-face negotiations. "The area of
disagreement between the presidents has to do with the sequence in which the
consequences of the military conflict are removed," it said.
A separate statement by the mediators made public two days later likewise
said
that Karabakh’s status would be decided in a "referendum or population vote."
But it did not specify where that vote would take place and who would be
eligible to participate in it. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
insisted on Thursday that the framework peace accord put forward by the
mediators makes it clear that the decision on the status is to be made by the
"population of Nagorno-Karabakh."
Azimov was reported to have denied this, accusing Yerevan of "distorting the
content of the talks" and interpreting the referendum idea "in a manner
advantageous to them." He also indicated Baku’s discontent with the mediators’
statement, saying that the French, Russian and US co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group disclosed and "took out of context" only some key points of the proposed
peace deal.

4) Catholic Priest Stabbed in Turkey

ANKARA (BBC)A French Roman Catholic priest has been stabbed by a
knife-carrying
attacker in the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun.
The attack on Father Pierre Brunissen, 74, is the third assault on a Catholic
priest in Turkey in recent months.
Father Brunissen was stabbed in the hip and leg and rushed to hospital, but a
church official said his condition was not life-threatening.
Police detained an unnamed 47-year-old man who they described as suffering
from mental illness.
The man had allegedly made complaints about Frather Brunissen trying to
convert people to his faith.
Reports said he was attacked in a busy street about 1 kilometers from his
church. "I hope this has nothing to with Islamic fundamentalism," Monsignor
Luigi Padovese, the apostolic vicar for Anatolia, told the Associated Press .
"The climate has changed… it is the Catholic priests that are being
targeted."
Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian, was shot dead in his church in the northern
town of Trabizon in February.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the 60-year-old priest’s death.
Witnesses said the youth yelled "God is great" in Arabic before firing two
bullets into Santoro’s back.
Another priest, a Slovenian, was grabbed by the throat, thrown into a garden
and received death threats during an attack in the port of Izmir, the
Associated Press reported.

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PanARMENIAN.Net

Senate Appropriations Committee Voted for $50 Million Assistance to Armenia

30.06.2006 15:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The full Senate Appropriations Committee today voted
to render $50 million economic assistance to the Republic of Armenia
in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, reported the Armenian Assembly of
Armenia.

In contrast, the House approved bill for FY 2007 provides $62 million
in FSA.

In a positive development, initial reports indicate that the Senate
Appropriations Committee reinstated military aid parity between
Armenia and Azerbaijan for FY 2007. The legislation, which allocates
$3.5 million in military financing to both countries, signals that
Azerbaijan’s continued war rhetoric is not welcome and is in fact
counterproductive.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also requested $5 million in
humanitarian and relief assistance to Nagorno Karabakh.

The next step in the legislative process is for the full Senate to
consider the bill after which, the House and Senate will reconcile the
differences in a conference committee.

ISTANBUL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE BRINGs CRIMINAL ACTION AGAINST CATHOLICOS
OF ALL ARMENIANS

Istanbul, June 30. ArmInfo. The prosecutor’s office of Istanbul has
brought criminal action against Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II
for "encroaching on the dignity of the Turks," Trends news agency
(Baku) reports with reference to Turkish media.

The prosecutor’s office says that during his last visit to Istanbul
Garegin II called for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In
response, a group of lawyers filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s
office. Garegin II cannot testify as Armenia and Turkey has no
agreement on cooperation in the sphere of justice. However, if the
prosecutor’s office deems necessary it can instruct all customs points
to detain Garegin II if he enters the Turkish territory.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE
June 30, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

SENATE DELAYS CONFIRMATION VOTE
ON ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE

— Seven Members of the Foreign Relations
Committee Press the Administration to
Explain its Policy on the Armenian Genocide

WASHINGTON, DC – In the wake of this past Wednesday’s contentious
Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing for
Ambassador to Armenia Designate Richard Hoagland, panel members
John Kerry (D-MA), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) have each submitted a series of detailed
written questions asking the nominee to explain the guidance he has
received from the State Department concerning its policy on the
Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee (ANCA).
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) also sent a letter of inquiry this
week concerning the recall of the current U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans following his statements affirming the Armenian
Genocide.

During the June 28th nomination hearing, Sen. George Allen (R-VA),
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) pressed the
nominee for an explanation of the State Department’s guidance
regarding the use of the word "genocide" to properly characterize
this crime against humanity. Senators Allen and Coleman peppered
the nominee with numerous questions and expressed frustration as
the Ambassador-Designate avoided giving direct answers to any of
the questions, resorting to the use of euphemisms.

Ambassador-Designate Hoagland’s June 28th appearance before the
Foreign Relations Committee was alongside nominees for the U.S.
ambassadorships to Ireland and Switzerland, who were subsequently
approved by the Committee and then the full Senate on June 29th.
In contrast, the Committee deferred action on confirming the
proposed new ambassador to Armenia.

"Seven of the eighteen members of the Foreign Relations Committee –
over one third of this influential panel – are already on record
raising serious concerns about confirming a new ambassador to
Yerevan before receiving a full, open, and official explanation of
the circumstances surrounding the recall of our current ambassador,
the instructions given to our prospective ambassador, and – more
broadly – the exact nature of our government’s policy on the
Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "In light of
the seriousness of these issues – and the lack of responsiveness
from the Administration – we were gratified that the Committee has
wisely delayed action on the new ambassador to Yerevan until these
fundamental questions have been answered."

In the days leading up to the confirmation hearing, Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Joseph Biden (D-DE) asked
Secretary Condoleezza Rice for a thorough explanation of the
circumstances of the premature recall of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
John Marshall Evans over his public comments affirming the Armenian
Genocide. In his June 23rd letter to Secretary Rice, Sen. Biden, a
potential 2008 Presidential candidate, stated that he would "not be
prepared to move forward with any Senate action that would
prematurely end his [Amb. Evans’] tenure in Yerevan" until a series
of questions concerning Evans’ dismissal and the State Department’s
failure to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide had been
answered. Sen. Biden wrote further to Secretary Rice, "Recalling
an accomplished American diplomat for speaking truthfully about
genocide could feed widespread cynicism about United States’
foreign policy. I hope that you will carefully reconsider the
long-term implications of this decision on the United States’
ability to promote freedom and respect for human life."

Senator Kerry submitted a three-page set of detailed questions to
the Ambassador-Designate. Among his inquiries was the following:

During your June 28, 2006 confirmation hearing, you stated
the following when responding to a question on the State
Department’s policy on the Armenian Genocide: "I simply
studied the policy, I studied the background papers on the
policy, I know the policy and my responsibility is to
support the president."

1) Please describe, in detail, the source, purpose,
content, and conclusions of all "policy" documents,
"background papers," and other materials concerning the
Armenian Genocide that you reviewed and provide copies of
these materials to the Committee for its review.

Turkey has consistently denied that it committed genocide
against Armenians and in fact has jailed several
journalists for stating otherwise, as in the case of Hrant
Dink, a Turkish publisher who was convicted for simply
writing about the Armenian Genocide. And the criminal law
penalizing speech on the Armenian Genocide remains on the
books in Turkey.

1) What is the Administration’s position on these
imprisonments?

2) Do you believe the policy of non-recognition encourages
the repressive actions taken by Turkey?

Senator Sarbanes, who spoke at Wednesday’s confirmation hearing,
followed up today with a set of seven additional questions:

1) How many people died, and during what period, in the
Armenian Genocide?

2) What were the causes of these deaths?

3) What actions were taken by U.S. diplomats in Turkey at
that time to warn and report on the events?

4) What steps were taken to punish perpetrators of the
Armenian genocide?

5) How does the U.S. define "genocide"?

6) Does the United Nations consider the atrocities against
Armenians to be a "genocide"?

7) Since the Ottoman Empire is long gone, why does Turkey
view discussion of the genocide as a reflection on its own
government and people?

Among the questions asked by Senator Chafee was a request that
Ambassador-Designate Hoagland explain "the State Department’s
policy regarding statements by official US government
representatives, such as yourself, about the Armenian Genocide."
The Rhode Island legislator also asked if the nominee had "ever
been counseled to not refer to the events of 1915 as the Armenian
Genocide."

Sen. Dodd outlined his concerns in a letter to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, stating that he is "interested to learn more
about the circumstances that lead to his [Evans] departure," noting
that "an effort, intended to destroy in whole or in part a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group, clearly constitutes
an act of genocide."

Last week, House Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsors George
Radanovich (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) joined with Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI) in urging Secretary Rice to reconsider replacing Amb. Evans,
noting that "allowing John Evans to continue as Ambassador to
Armenia sends a strong message on the necessity of Turkish
recognition, and will be an important step in establishing the U.S.
position on the Armenian Genocide."

Over the past several months, scores of Senate and House Members
have directed questions to State Department officials, calling for
answers surrounding the controversial firing of Amb. Evans,
including 60 Representatives who joined Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA)
in a letter to Secretary Rice, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) who
submitted questions to Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried, and
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who submitted questions to Secretary Rice.
Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry also asked
Secretary Rice for clarification on the Amb. Evans dismissal. The
Administration has either failed to provide responses or provided
responses, which have been largely perfunctory, citing that
Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President, but giving no
clear insight into the State Department’s decision to dismiss the
career diplomat after 35 years of distinguished service.

The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired
Amb. Evans in response to his February 2005 statements at Armenian
American community functions, during which he properly
characterized the Armenian Genocide as "genocide." Following his
statements, Amb. Evans was forced to issue a statement clarifying
that his references to the Armenian Genocide were his personal
views and did not represent a change in U.S. policy. He
subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a
reference to the genocide with the word "tragedy." The American
Foreign Service Association, which had decided to honor Amb. Evans
with the "Christian A. Herter Award," recognizing creative thinking
and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service, reportedly
rescinded the award following pressure from the State Department in
the days leading up to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s visit to Washington, DC to meet with President Bush.

Armenian American response to Amb. Evans’ dismissal has been
widespread with thousands calling on their legislators to take
action and demand answers. In a March 8th letter to Secretary Rice,
ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian noted that "if, in fact, punitive
measures are being taken against Ambassador Evans, this would
represent a tragic retreat from our nation’s core values. It would
also represent a new low in our government’s shameful complicity in
the Turkish government’s campaign of denial. Not only does the
State Department continue to be publicly silent as Turkey
criminally prosecutes its writers and citizens for speaking about
the Armenian Genocide, it appears the State Department is following
Turkey’s lead by muzzling and punishing an American diplomat for
his speech and his acknowledgement of a genocide that is
extensively documented in the State Department’s own archives."

In Yerevan, a candle-light vigil was held by hundreds of human
rights activists during the June 28th Senate confirmation hearing,
as part of the "Yellow Ribbon Campaign" protesting the firing the
Amb. Evans. On April 24th, tens of thousands had tied yellow
ribbons in solidarity with the U.S. Ambassador, who had stood with
the Armenian people in honoring the victims and survivors of the
Armenian Genocide.

KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA UNRELATED TO ETHNIC STRIFE – MIN
by Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 28, 2006 Wednesday 11:37 AM EST

Killings of ethnic Armenians committed in Russia of late were not
related to motives of ethnic strife and were rather hinged on selfish
mercenary motivations, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev
said Wednesday as he addressed a conference of Russian Interior and
Armenian police officials.

He recalled that four Armenians were killed in the first quarter of
the year and Russian investigators solved two of the murders.

"Operatives and investigators didn’t expose any evidence of ethnic
or confessionary strife or any other problems related to religion,"
Nurgaliyev said.

In both cases, mercenary motivations underpinned the criminal acts,
he said.

Nurgaliyev also denounced many mass media publications on the issue
as fakes.

"There’re many people who try to use friendly relations in their
petty political purposes and under-the-carpet struggling," he said.