Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

John Sahag, 53, Stylist Whose Cuts Became Stars, Dies

NYT
By ERIC WILSON
Published: June 26, 2005

John Sahag, a Manhattan hairstylist for many celebrities with a dry-cut
method that challenged the old routine of shampoo, rinse and repeat
at upscale beauty salons, died on June 15 at Calvary Hospital in the
Bronx. He was 53.

The cause was cancer, according to a statement released by the John
Sahag Workshop, the Madison Avenue salon where he developed his
signature technique of building texture by cutting hair in a series
of uneven layers, seemingly on blind intuition.

With his leather pants and unruly mop of hair he was often described as
the industry’s rock star. He created recent styles for the actresses
Jennifer Aniston and Debra Messing, but he is perhaps best known for
the boy cut he gave Demi Moore for the 1990 film “Ghost,” prompting
a trend of short, choppy styles for women.

“John was like the mad professor of hair,” said Edward Tricomi, owner
of the Warren-Tricomi salon, who along with Mr. Sahag advocated a shift
to dry-cutting in the late 1970’s because it gave greater command of
how a style would ultimately look.

“It was the difference from painting by numbers to sketching a haircut
by hand,” Mr. Tricomi said. “You didn’t cut a haircut, you felt it.”

Mr. Sahag, whose original name was Sahag Jamgotchian, was born on
Jan. 2, 1952, in Beirut, Lebanon. He was raised in Australia, where
he started sweeping the floor in a hair salon as a child. At 18 he
moved to Paris, where he learned his craft.

He opened his first salon in New York in 1985.

Mr. Sahag is survived by his father, Atum Jamgotchian; his mother,
Hatum; a sister, Mary; and three brothers, Hoveness, André and Jack.

–Boundary_(ID_bfR/KSOoS+bhJBYA6XcORQ)–

Azerbaijan has over 300,000 drug addicts – TV

ANS TV, Baku
26 Jun 05

[Presenter] Some children turn into drug addicts after being
abandoned. Now, there are over 300,000 drug addicts in Azerbaijan.
But this has nothing to do with children. Drug trade has long been
a serious business in the country. And sometimes the law-enforcement
bodies themselves turn out to be the patrons of this trade.

[Correspondent] There are hundreds of thousands of drug addicts
in Azerbaijan. Although official figures put the number at 18,000,
unofficial figures say there are more of them.

[Mazahir Afandiyev, captioned as coordinator of the South Caucasus
anti-drug Programme] Of course, this figure is ridiculous. There are
over 300,000 drug addicts in Azerbaijan.

[Correspondent] What is appalling is that 75 per cent of Azerbaijan’s
drug addicts take heroin, which is a hard drug.

[Afandiyev] Mathematical calculations show Azerbaijan’s demand for
drugs is nearly 1 tonne [as received].

[Correspondent] Who smuggles drugs into Azerbaijan? Let us look into
this first. Afghanistan accounts for 90 per cent of the heroin and
opium produced in the world, the UN says. The CIS [Commonwealth of
Independent States] countries, particularly Russia, are the main
consumers of the Afghan drugs. The CIS countries use drugs in almost
primitive ways.

However, western countries have gone a bit further, producing
ecstasy pills in special labs. Azerbaijan is geographically suitable
for the transit of drugs. So the drugs produced in Afghanistan
are smuggled into Russia and the west via the South Caucasus,
in particular Azerbaijan. There are four routes for this. The
first route is Afghanistan-Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Europe. The
second route is Afghanistan-Iran-Nagornyy Karabakh (which is an
uncontrolled zone)-Armenia-Georgia-Europe. The third route used for
the transportation of drugs is Afghanistan-Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia. And
finally, the fourth route is Afghanistan-the Central Asia-the Caspian
Sea-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Europe.

[Passage omitted: more details on drug trafficking routes]

The most widely used drugs in Azerbaijan are opiates, heroin,
medicines, hemp, ecstasy, hashish, cocaine and LSD.

Heroine is mostly used in Lankaran District (64.6 per cent).
Azerbaijan’s smallest consumer of heroin is Quba District (47.6 per
cent). Baku’s drug addicts mostly use ecstasy and heroine. Most of the
drug addicts have been injecting drugs into their veins for five years.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

Drugs can be bought on the black markets of Baku, Sumqayit, Ganca,
Lankaran, Calilabad and Astara.

[Israfil Aliyev, captioned as head of a working group of the state
anti-drug commission] In the past, there was a certain Madina [a
female name] in Sovetskiy [a quarter in Baku] or Zeynab in Yuxari
Dagli [quarter in Baku] who used to sell drugs. Things have changed
now. Among the drug traders you may find some people who you would
never think fit the description.

[Correspondent] The most appalling fact is that the number of drug
addicts grows in Azerbaijan, while their age goes down.

[Passage omitted: minor details, cites statistics as saying that the
youngest drug addict is 14-year-old; 10 per cent of schoolchildren
use drugs]

A1plus

| 14:24:38 | 24-06-2005 | Social |

PEOPLE MUST NOT BE TORMENTED

According to Ombudsman Larissa Alaverdyan, her first annual report «gives
the outline of Armenia from the point of view of the defense of human
rights».

During today’s discussion organized in the hotel Congress, the Ombudsman
claimed that the facts represented in the report are not exaggerated, and
all the conclusions are made as a result of investigations. The ombudsman
informed the participants of the discussion organized by the «Cooperation
for Open Society» Initiative that even though there are not numerous
clear-cut examples in the report, a whole set of complaints have been
investigated.

According to her, if all the complaints were included into it, the report
«would overcome all the limits». The report refers to the violation of human
rights in different spheres. «The right of property has been continually
violated last year, and the right of fair trial has also been violated as
the court system of Armenia depends on the executive power», said the
Ombudsman.

Larissa Alaverdyan announced that despite the accusations in her address,
«She will spare no effort ad enthusiasm to eliminate torments from the field
of human rights». «Whatever crime a person may have committed, he ought not
to be tormented in humiliating way», she continued. She also mentioned that
after eliminating death penalty the legislation needs to be improved.

«It is difficult to consider the step (by the President – edit.) replacing
higher punishment by another higher one amnesty», said the Ombudsman. By the
way, many a time has she raised this problem, but there is no reference to
it by high-ranked officials yet.

President of the «Armenian Helsinki Committee» Avetiq Ishkhanyan represented
his considerations about the Ombudsman’s annual report. He confessed that
the report was a pleasant surprise for him, as in contrast to the reports of
the Human Rights Defense Committee attached to the President, it contains
analyses and reasons. But, according to him, it would be better to include
more clear-cut examples in it.

As for the critics of the report by the Justice Minister and the Attorney
General, according to Mr. Ishkhanyan, in means that the report is a good
one. «If the police answered the same way, the report would become better»,
concluded Avetiq Ishkhanyan.

Macomb Daily, MI
June 23 2005

Habitat for Humanity brings Jimmy Carter to Michigan to build

Former president helps with projects in Benton Harbor and the Detroit
area

By Gina Joseph
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Macomb Daily photo by David Dalton
Former President Jimmy Carter shares a laugh with Gov. Jennifer
Granholm at a news conference in Detroit on Wednesday to promote
Habitat for Humanity International.
You can purchase this photo. It will appear tomorrow in our online
PHOTO GALLERY.

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GALLERY” on the left navigation bar of our Home Page, or click this
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The sweet sound of gospel hymns can be heard on Sundays at St.
Elizabeth Holiness Church of God and there’s the odd squeal of car
tires, but mostly the neighborhood along Magnolia Street in Detroit
is quiet. Dead quiet.
“This is beautiful,” said Elizabeth Pollard, referring to the noise
and commotion created by Habitat for Humanity International’s Jimmy
Carter Work Project 2005. The weeklong building blitz is held
annually in the United States and other parts of the world. Detroit
and Benton Harbor were chosen as host cities this year. “I hope this
means I’m going to have some good neighbors moving in.”

Pollard is the pastor at St. Elizabeth and has lived in its upstairs
suite since 1967. She’s seen her neighborhood at its best, and its
worst. Watching from a chair in front of her home wearing a sundress
and her silver hair done up in corn rows, she was seeing her
neighborhood at its best again, alive with new home construction and
people.

“Have you seen Jimmy Carter?” she asked, while looking up and down
the street. “He is supposed to be here, somewhere.”

The former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy
Carter, 80, and his wife, Rosalyn, arrived in Michigan on Saturday to
kick off the event. Their presence in the state created a wave of
thundering hammers and zipping saws that has played for four days —
not only in Pollard’s neighborhood but also, all across Michigan.

Wednesday, for a brief moment, the noise stopped.

Homeowners

“There’s not much difference between a homeowner and a governor,”
said Carter, who arrived in Pollard’s neighborhood ready to go to
work, wearing blue jeans supported by a leather belt with a silver
horseshoe belt buckle with the initials J.C. in its middle, white
running shoes and Habitat cap. “We all want a better life for our
children and a better prospect for the future.”

Carter said the answer to providing affordable housing in Michigan,
and for that matter throughout the world, is not to abandon a
community, but where possible to ‘rebuild’ a community.

A report by Habitat for Humanity Michigan stated that approximately
500,000 households earn less than 50 percent of their county’s median
income, making decent, affordable housing hard to find. Of these
households, almost 75 percent, or nearly 375,000 families, use more
than half their income for housing, leaving little money for food,
clothing, healthcare, transportation and other necessities.”

Carter told the crowd of volunteers, sponsors, activists and
journalists gathered in Detroit that Habitat for Humanity can’t build
enough homes to solve the building crisis in the world but it can
inspire others to help with the solution.

Carter inspired Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm.

She was very much a part of the building project, visiting homes and
helping with the construction in Benton Harbor. Sitting next to
Carter wearing a Detroit Pistons T-shirt she talked about the
importance of the sponsors such as Whirlpool Corp., Masco Corp., Dow
Chemical Company, Lowe’s, Great Lakes Capital Fund and the Michigan
State Housing, that support such building projects. Then she smiled
and added that 650 state employees took this entire week off to help
build homes. Never before, in the history of Habitat for Humanity has
every member of a state’s congressional delegation pledged to take
part in the building effort.

Proud of this fact was U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

“I love Habitat for Humanity,” Stabenow said. “I’ve been involved
with it for 20 years. I’m pretty good at swinging a hammer. I’ve also
learned how to put up siding and drywall. Just don’t put me on a
roof. I’m not great with heights.”

As a result of the statewide support for the Jimmy Carter Work
Project 2005, Michigan will have 230 new homes.

“We have never seen a state or country come together as complete as
this state has this past week,” Carter said. “So there’s something
special about Michigan.”

With that said Carter went back to work.

He and Rosalyn worked on a home along with several of their children.
Of the grand total, to be finished by Friday, 31 were built in
Pollard’s neighborhood and 24 in Benton Harbor.

Today, the former president and his wife are off to Ontario, where
they will work alongside Canadians on one of three duplexes being
built by the Windsor chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The new homes
are part of a quaint little community that has sprung up along Bruce
Street.

“We built those last year,” said Tammy Moore, Habitat for Humanity
volunteer and board of directors member, while pointing to a row of
foursquare-style homes with beige siding across the street from the
Habitat project.

“Personally, I was too young to know what Carter was like as
president but his devotion and drive for the cause of Habitat fuels
the energy for my wanting to volunteer, as well as local and
international commitments. This build here is a good example. It
brings together Canada and the United States as a North American
community.”

The remaining homes will be completed by the 60-plus Michigan Habitat
affiliates including Macomb County’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity,
which has three homes in Clinton Township presently under
construction. Among Macomb County’s newest homeowners are: Sophia
Waters, a single mother with two daughters; Jackie Pointer, a single
mother with one son; and Andrea Hodges, also a single mother with one
son.

“My house is awesome,” said Sophia Waters. The best part being it’s
permanent.

“We don’t have to worry about moving here or there. I will grow old
in this house. My kids might go to college, but now they will have a
place to come home to.”

The Oakley Street house was part of a Habitat for Humanity Women
Build that included Waters. She helped with the painting, drywall and
siding, but she is most proud of her work in the kitchen where she
and the other ladies on the Habitat team installed a beautiful
ceramic tile floor.

“I could live in my kitchen alone,” said Waters, a press operator and
hi-lo driver for Manufacture Products in Warren. “It’s awesome.”

Unexpected talent

Andrea Hodges was not part of an “all women build,” but, like all
future Habitat homeowners, helped in its construction.

“I’ve done the painting, I worked on the siding and I helped put in
the windows. I would’ve never known I had that kind of talent,” said
Hodges, a nursing assistant at Martha T. Berry in Mount Clemens. For
the past year Hodges has rented an apartment, but after attending a
Habitat for Humanity information meeting decided it was time to start
paying on her own home instead of one owned by someone else.

“In order to qualify for the program, families must have an income
that’s 50 percent below the median income for the surrounding area,”
said Daniel Wiiki, executive director of the Macomb County chapter of
Habitat. Participants must also contribute 250 hours of “sweat
equity” toward the building of their homes. Once completed, the owner
purchases the home at cost for a considerable savings.

“We sell the home with no interest,” Wiiki said. “The family can be
in the home with payments as little as $400 a month.”

Patriarch visits

Watching everything unfold in Detroit was the Catholics and Supreme
Patriarch of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II. Wearing a long
black robe and a Masco baseball cap His Holiness — equivalent in
Armenia to a pope — walked the grounds asking questions. Then, to
the surprise of Zara Tonapetyan of Yerevan, Armenia, who is the
resource development coordinator of Habitat for Humanity Armenia, he
went to work painting a room in one of the houses.

“To see the Patriarch building and actually painting the walls. It’s
lots of enthusiasm,” Tonapetyan said. “Have you ever seen a pope
building a home? It is inspiring.”

Tonapetyan said 40 percent of the population in Armenia is without
heat, water and basic living conditions. That’s why she and the group
stopped in Detroit. They have built 122 homes in different areas of
the country but more is needed.

“We have earthquake in 1988,” Tonapetyan said. “It destroyed two
cities and now these people are homeless. Then there was the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. It brought 100,000 refugees to Armenia.”

Karekin visited Michigan to make people, more importantly the Diaspra
population, aware of the situation. Diaspra refers to Armenians who
live outside of the country.

“We are very glad to be here to see how the volunteers with joy are
building houses and how they support cities,” said Karekin. “People
from Armenia and other nations are coming together, building the
houses and friendships, which is a blessing for the families and the
volunteers.”

When all the work is done everyone will rejoice and to celebrate the
fruits of their labor a traditional dedication ceremony will be held.
The keys to the homes will be given to the family. That’s when it all
hits home for Ken Bensen, president for Habitat for Humanity
Michigan, who has been with the ecumenical Christian ministry based
in Americus, Ga., for 20 years.

“The best part for me is knowing that on Friday there will be 238
families who will have decent and affordable housing and in addition
to that, there will be volunteers who will have sore muscles and
bruises but their hearts will be filled with joy,” said Bensen.

Independent Bangladesh, Bangladesh
June 23 2005

Burden of memory

CHARLES TANNOCK

It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their
plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the
Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.

Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering
and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral
homelands. But many members of today’s thriving global Armenian
Diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral
historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.

It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey’s southeastern
provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed
place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in the
genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a long
history of violence between their own separatist forces and the
Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of
discrimination and forced assimilation.

All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to
fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots now taking place
in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of
1915, ordered by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and
carried out with the help of the Kurds, is another wound that will
not heal, but one that must be treated if Turkey’s progress toward
European Union membership is to proceed smoothly.

Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most
progressive people in the East, but in the nineteenth century Armenia
was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit
II organized the massacres of 1895-97 but it was not until the spring
of 1915, under the cover of the First World War, that the Young
Turks’ nationalistic government found the political will to execute a
true genocide.

Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in
public hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus
deprived of their leaders, and soon after were massacred, with many
burned alive. Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven
months of 1915, with the majority of the survivors deported to desert
areas in Syria, where they died from either starvation or disease. It
is estimated that 1.5 million people perished.

Recently, the Armenian Diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face-up
to its past and recognize its historic crime. Turkey’s official line
remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated
claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat
against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during
the First World War, or as a result of disease and hunger during the
forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly
suffered similar casualties.

Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to
besmirch Turkey’s honor and impede its progress towards EU accession.
There are also understandable fears that diverging from the official
line would trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred
against Germany.

For many politicians, particularly in America, there is an
unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its
record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country. But,
despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe
– ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech
and conscience – Turkey still punishes a crime against national honor
any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic truth.
Fortunately, this article of Turkey’s penal code is now due for
review and possible repeal.

Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and
government, mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally
opening the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession
negotiations are due to begin this October, has agreed to an
impartial study by academic historians, although he has reiterated
his belief that the genocide never occurred. In France, the
historical occurrence of the Armenian genocide is enshrined in law,
and denial of its occurrence is regarded in the same way as Holocaust
denial.

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of the
Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade embargo
by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic of
Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity.

Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on
continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined
the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This is
not healthy for the development of Armenia’s democracy and weak
economy. Nor does Armenia’s continued dependence on Russia bode well
for regional co-operation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling
in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan. There is only one way forward
for Turkey, Armenia, and the region. The future will begin only when
Turkey – like Germany in the past and Serbia and Croatia now –
repudiates its policy of denial and faces up to its terrible crimes
of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.

Charles Tannock is Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament’s Human
Rights Subcommittee.

Karabakh President stresses importance of elections there
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 18, 2005 Saturday 12:02 AM Eastern Time

YEREVAN, June 18 — Sunday’s election to parliament in the
self-proclaimed republic of Nagorny Karabakh has international
significance for the territory, Karabakh’s President Arkady Gukassian
said Saturday.

“I urge all the political forces and candidates for seats in parliament
to honor the choice the people of Karabakh will make and to continue
pooling efforts for the sake of state construction, to work towards
international recognition of our state and towards its flourishing,”
Gukassian said.

He warned that any encroachments on law or attempts to destabilize
the situation after the election whoever may make them.

“Any such actions will be assessed in due manner and all their
initiators and accomplices with be punished as specified by our laws,”
Gukassian said.

Karabakh is an Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan and it has
been in conflict with the central govenment in Balu since late 1980’s,
which sometimes took the form of bloodlettg hostiliies.

US STATE DEPARTMENT
15 June 2005

Principles in U.S. Declaration of Independence Remain Powerful
John Evans, U.S. envoy to Armenia, discusses U.S. principles of freedom
The principles of freedom and democracy contained in the American
Declaration of Independence have echoed down through the centuries, and the
power of those principles is bringing change to countries around the world,
said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans in a June 10 speech in
Yerevan, Armenia.
“The idea that ‘all men are created equal’ and are ‘endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights’ was put forward as a universal claim. It
has been cited by revolutionaries seeking to break the bonds of oppression
from South America to Africa to Asia,” Evans told an audience of more than
100 students and faculty of the American University of Armenia.
Having unleashed these revolutionary ideas into the world in 1776, he said,
the United States “has never wavered in its basic commitment to them. And
the spirit of democracy that we attempt to live by, that we try to
demonstrate in our daily lives and in our political life, is contagious.”
“It is primarily the power of those principles and ideals, and not the power
of today’s American Government and its embassies, that is bringing change to
countries around the world,” Evans said.
He noted that in the wake of the so-called Rose, Orange and Tulip
revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, some conspiracy theorists
have suggested that the United States is busy fomenting revolution.
“These allegations are, of course, entirely unfounded,” the ambassador said.
“The United States Government is not embarked on a campaign to destabilize
the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, which we count
among our friends. The United States does not advocate mob violence in the
streets or unconstitutional or illegal activities of any sort.”
He said the United States gives material support to governments, parliaments
political parties and nongovernmental organizations “to help them
establishment of conditions in which democracy, and free and fair elections
in particular, can flourish.”
Evans quoted President Bush, who said in a speech in May that there are
always setbacks in the transition from tyranny to a free society, but those
countries that succeed do so because they are able to establish free
institutions. “So to help young democracies succeed, we must help them
build free institutions,” the president said.
“Far from giving up on this part of the world, and making the condescending
assumption that populations of the newly independent states of the former
Soviet Union are somehow ‘not ready’ for democracy, the United States has
persisted in its encouragement of the development of true democratic
institutions,” Evans said.
He noted that in Bush’s second inaugural address, the president said “it is
the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic
movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate
goal of ending tyranny in our world.”
Evans explained that “this is not a call to revolution in the streets;
rather it is a challenge to all citizens of the world to engage in the hard,
daily work of perfecting the democratic institutions of their own
countries.”
As for Armenia, he said, the task of building democracy “has been well
started,” but that work still needs to be done in building and strengthening
the institutions that make a democracy function.
“The United States remains committed to helping Armenia — its government,
courts, parliament, political parties and citizens — build, strengthen and
refine the free institutions of which President Bush has spoken,” the
ambassador said.
Following is the text of Ambassador Evans’ speech on “The Continuing Effect
of the American Revolution”:
(begin text)
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans
Remarks at American University of Armenia
Yerevan, Armenia
June 10, 2005
THE CONTINUING EFFECT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
I am delighted to be with you this evening at the American University of
Armenia. There is nothing more important to the development of any society
than education, and this relatively new university is already making a solid
contribution to this old, but newly independent land, the Republic of
Armenia. I am proud that the United States Government supported the
establishment of this institution, and continues to support its quest for
full accreditation. The State of California, among the fifty states of our
Union, is a proven leader in public education, and this university’s
connection with the University of California seems to me a most appropriate
and fortunate one.
This evening I want to address a subject that has been much in the news
following the Rose Revolution in Georgia eighteen months ago, the contested
elections in Ukraine last fall, and the recent events in Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan. I have borrowed the title of my talk from the eminent British
historian Arnold Toynbee, who delivered a lecture in Williamsburg, Virginia,
a cradle of the American Revolution, forty-four years ago today, on June 10,
1961. Toynbee entitled that lecture “The Continuing Effect of the American
Revolution.” The subject was relevant then, and it is newly relevant again
today. I will state my conclusion here at the outset: the principles of the
American Revolution continue to reverberate down through the centuries to
our own day, but it is primarily the power of those principles and ideals,
and not the power of today’s American Government and its embassies, that is
bringing change to countries around the world, and to this region in
particular.
There has been much loose talk and conspiracy theorizing in the post-Soviet
media about the so-called Rose, Orange and Tulip revolutions and what
brought them about. There has been considerable speculation about what
country in this region might be “next in line” for a revolution in the
streets. One hears and reads that U.S. embassies have been turned into
headquarters for fomenting such revolutions, that millions of dollars have
been channeled to groups plotting to seize power. I have not yet heard it
alleged that the United States has sent anyone into this part of the world
in a sealed train, but it would not surprise me to hear such a thing.
These allegations are, of course, entirely unfounded. The United States
Government is not embarked on a campaign to destabilize the newly
independent states of the former Soviet Union, which we count among our
friends. The United States does not advocate mob violence in the streets or
unconstitutional or illegal activities of any sort. To the contrary, we
believe whole-heartedly in the principle that the citizens of a democratic
state should choose their new leaders via the ballot box, through free and
fair elections. And we are unabashed about saying so. We also are
unashamed of the fact that we have extended material support to governments,
parliaments, political parties and non-governmental organizations in this
part of the world to help them establish the conditions in which democracy,
and free and fair elections in particular, can flourish. Far from giving up
on this part of the world, and making the condescending assumption that
populations of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union are
somehow “not ready” for democracy, the United States has persisted in its
encouragement of the development of true democratic institutions. The
people — the voters – of Armenia and other countries in this region deserve
no less.
But let us go back for a minute to the eighteenth century and the American
Revolution, and to Arnold Toynbee.
It has been said that the division between the English-speaking peoples of
the world that took place in the last quarter of the eighteenth century was
a tragedy for mankind. Be that as it may, one effect of the American
Revolution was to alienate Americans from their English cousins. It is
indicative that Toynbee was only the second Englishman to be invited to
address the annual Prelude to Independence celebration in Williamsburg.
John Kennedy was our new president at that time, and Toynbee’s main purpose
was to explore the question of whether the United States would prove true to
the principles of its own revolution, as Kennedy had recently indicated in
his inaugural address that it might. Toynbee pointed out that every
revolution since 1776 had owed something to the American Revolution. He
warned that if America did not choose to lead humanity toward a more free,
just and democratic future, others would claim that right. He noted, in
1961, that the majority of mankind was suffering not only from political
injustice, but from social and economic injustices as well. He called on the
United States to take the lead in what he called the “American-born world
revolution of our time.”
Let us look back at the American Revolution itself. The men who made the
Revolution were educated men, lawyers mostly, steeped in the thinking of
John Locke and other theoreticians of what was, at that time, the most
advanced political culture in the world. They were Englishmen still, very
hesitant, for the most part, to break with the Mother Country until a series
of ill-advised actions taken by the Government of Lord North drove them to
the extreme expedient of declaring their independence. England herself had
gone through a bloody civil war and the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688.
Many, if not most, of the principles of the American Revolution were already
established in English precedent. But like most revolutions, the American
Revolution had its origin not only in the thinking and writing of
philosophers and intellectuals, but in a spark provided by a real political
crisis. In the American case, it was the imposition of taxes and customs
duties, on tea and other goods, that ignited the conflict. The high-handed
actions of the British Crown and Parliament revealed and made actionable
their lack of accountability to the citizens they presumed to govern. “No
taxation without representation” became the fighting slogan of the American
Revolution.
The men who made the American Revolution were, with the possible exceptions
of John and Sam Adams in Boston, Thomas Paine in Philadelphia and Patrick
Henry in Virginia, not hot-blooded or inclined to violence. It took several
years for the trans-Atlantic dispute over taxes and import duties to reach
the point of no return. But when the first shot rang out at Lexington and
Concord in the spring of 1776, it was indeed, “a shot heard ’round the
world.”
Although it began as a dispute over taxes and import duties, the American
Revolution ultimately gave voice to certain principles that were said even
at the time to have universal applicability, and which have, indeed, proven
to have universal appeal. It is those principles, and not the machinations
of the American foreign policy apparatus, that account for the “continuing
effect of the American Revolution.”
Toynbee noted in his speech in Williamsburg in 1961 that Britain herself was
actually the first country to profit from the liberalizing impetus of the
American Revolution. France’s Revolution may have been stimulated in part
by the American example, but its excesses had a chilling effect on most of
Continental Europe. Once recovered from the trauma of dealing with
Napoleon, Great Britain went on to adopt the Reform Bill of 1832, and the
19th century saw Britain become the leading example of a limited
constitutional monarchy — albeit without a written constitution, which
eloquently demonstrates that the spirit of democracy, and the daily
implementation of democratic principles, may well be more important than
what is written down on paper.
The American Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776 in
Philadelphia contains principles that have echoed down the centuries. The
idea that “all men are created equal” and are “endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable rights” was put forward as a universal claim. It has
been cited by revolutionaries seeking to break the bonds of oppression from
South America to Africa to Asia.
Having unleashed these revolutionary ideas into the world, the United States
has at various times taken greater or lesser interest in propagating them
overseas, but it has never wavered in its basic commitment to them. And the
spirit of democracy that we attempt to live by, that we try to demonstrate
in our daily lives and in our political life, is contagious.
The idealist and student of American history Woodrow Wilson was perhaps the
most outspoken of our Presidents on the desirability of “making the world
safe for democracy,” as he put it. But in our own time, President Reagan
and President Bush have renewed the call for liberty that first was heard in
the Declaration of Independence. In his Second Inaugural Address, President
Bush stated clearly that “it is the policy of the United States to seek and
support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation
and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” This
is not a call to revolution in the streets; rather it is a challenge to all
citizens of the world to engage in the hard, daily work of perfecting the
democratic institutions of their own countries, to make governments fully
accountable to their citizens, to reinforce the rule of law and to ensure
respect for the individual. This challenge is in many ways more demanding
than a simple call for revolution, because it asks of each of us that we
contribute our time, efforts and skills in the arts of public discourse to a
never-ending struggle.
Let me quote Professor Toynbee once again. As he put it, in an echo of
Winston Churchill’s famous phrase, “…democracy has proved itself by
experience to be the least unsatisfactory of all political regimes that have
been devised so far.” But he went on to say that “Democracy, in the sense
of representative self-government. . .has been indigenous in only a few
countries; and, even in these countries, it has taken ages of time, and
successions of efforts and sacrifices to bring democracy to maturity.
Democracy is difficult to achieve and to maintain, because it requires for
its successful operation the active cooperation of a large contingent of
able, experienced, and public-spirited citizens. . . The supply of citizens
of the kind that is democracy’s lifeblood has never been sufficient even in
the handful of countries in which democracy is indigenous and more or less
effective.”
This, of course, is where education comes in, and where a university of this
kind can play a major role. Not that democracies should be run by
intellectuals, but an educated citizenry that can engage in civilized debate
and think about the important issues facing society, and not just about
where the next meal is coming from, is essential.
The job of building and perfecting democracy is never completely done. As
President Bush said recently, “the path to a free society is long and not
always smooth.” Speaking at a dinner of the International Republican
Institute recently, the President recalled the history of our own country,
noting that “the American Revolution was followed by years of chaos” and
that “it took a four-year war, and a century of struggle after that, before
the promise of our Declaration [of Independence] was extended to all
Americans.” And, the President said, “No nation in history has made the
transition from tyranny to a free society without setbacks and false starts.
What separates those nations that succeed from those that falter is their
progress in establishing free institutions. So to help young democracies
succeed, we must help them build free institutions to fill the vacuum
created by change.”
Let me relate what I have been saying — and what the President has said —
to the Republic of Armenia.
The job of building democracy in the Republic of Armenia has been well
started. The main principles of freedom and democracy have found their
expression in the Constitution and major legislation that is now on the
books. But what still needs work is the job of building and strengthening
the institutions that make a democracy function as it should. The United
States remains committed to helping Armenia — its government, courts,
parliament, political parties and citizens — build, strengthen and refine
the free institutions of which President Bush has spoken. Over the next few
years, and in particular in the time remaining before the elections of 2007
and 2008, the United States will work actively with our Armenian partners to
help make those institutions as good as they can be, for the good of the
people of Armenia, and for the advancement of freedom in the world. As
President Bush said on May 18, “This is the challenge of a new century. It
is the calling of our time. And America will do its duty.”
Thank you for your attention.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: )

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER ANDRANIK MARGARYAN RECEIVES WORLD BANK VICE-PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, June 15. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
received World Bank Vice-President Shigeo Katsu. The WB President
presents Armenian PM the results of negotiations with Armenian
Ministers of Regional Administration and Finance and Economy,
during which issues related to local self-government system and
rural infrastructures were discussed. He noted that real changes were
made as a result of reforms implemented for recent years in various
sectors of the country’s economy. Katsu expressed the WB’s readiness
to continue its programs in Armenia. In his opinion, time came to
embark on elaboration of short-and long-term programs, in particular,
in infrastructures area.

The WB Vice-President also stressed the importance of either WB-funded
programs or those expected from Millennium Challenge American
Corporation and other international organizations.

Margaryan, in turn, said Armenian Government obtained certain
experience of cooperation with the World Bank for recent years. In
his words, this experience should be used for future programs
implementation. The PM thinks interaction with the WB produces
positive results already visible in reforms being implemented as
part of Strategic Program on Poverty Reduction. The Armenian Premier
expressed hope that the cooperation will be successfully continued.

M.V. -0–

TOP UK OFFICIALS VISIT ARMENIA

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: The UK embassy in Armenia said Sir Brian
Fall (United Kingdom Representative to the South Caucasus) and Simon
Smith (Head of Eastern Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office in London) have arrived on a three-day visit to Armenia on
June 12.

The embassy said the visit is the first part of a preparatory tour of
countries in the South Caucasus before the United Kingdom assumes the
Presidency of the European Union on 1 July. It will include calls
on President Robert Kocharian, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian,
Trade Minister Karen Chshmaritian and Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham
Gharibjanyan, as well as members of the opposition and NGOs working
in the fields of democracy and governance.

The objective is to have an exchange of views on issues which will
be discussed between Armenia and the European Union during the course
of the British Presidency. These are likely to include in particular
efforts to reach a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
and developments following the extension of the European Neighborhood
Policy to Armenia.

Sir Brian Fall was previously the United Kingdom Special Representative
to Georgia. His remit was extended in 2002 to cover the South
Caucasus. The embassy said his appointment underlines the commitment
of the British Government to play an active part in the efforts of
the international community to prevent or resolve conflict, and to
establish a stable basis for peace and prosperity in each of the three
countries and in the region as a whole. Simon Smith was appointed Head
of Eastern Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2004.

Turkish Press
June 13 2005

Press Scan

MILLIYET

TUZMEN POSTPONES HIS VISIT TO SWITZERLAND

Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen has postponed his scheduled visit
to Switzerland after opening of a legal procedure against Turkish
Institute of History (TTK) Chairman Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu about
his statement rejecting the so-called Armenian genocide.