Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

LOS ANGELES TIMES WRITES ABOUT CONCERT OF KOHAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ARMENPRESS
Oct 24, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS: The well-known Los Angeles Times
referred to the concert of KOHAR Symphony Orchestra which took place
recently at "Gibson" Amphitheater. The newspaper writes that led by
artistic director Sebouh Abkarian the KOHAR players started with a
buoyant waltz, stirring evening of Armenian-tinged music.

"Gagik Malkasian’s virtuosic duduk playing and the busy fingers of
kanoun artist Anahid Valesian added Armenian authenticity. Classically
oriented pieces were delivered in well-crafted fashion, and KOHAR
went so far as to open the second half with a surprisingly swinging
number titled "Tetmajazz," the newspaper wrote.

According to it, most of the music was vocal, sung by soloists whose
styles ranged from big-voiced operatic to international lounge. "In
most cases, the singers’ numbers were enhanced by the engaging presence
of eight female dancers led by Sousana Mikayelian. Letters from the
Armenian alphabet were spotlighted across the ceilings and walls,"
the newspaper reported.

Much of the second half of the concert, was strongly-oriented toward
the predominantly Armenian crowd: spirited patriotic songs, pop tunes
and familiar traditional numbers.

The Los Angeles Times also gave information about KOHAR. It wrote that
the orchestra was founded in 1997 by Harout Khatchadourian and his
brothers, who entirely sustain the ensemble and its concerts. Named
in honor of their mother, KOHAR, the founders’ goal with the ensemble
is the "aim of reviving and promulgating the Armenian alphabet and
culture."

‘Z’ CAMP DENIES DARCHINYAN BOUT
By Musong R. Castillo

Inquirer.net
Oct 25 2007
Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Z "The Dream" Gorres will not fight Vic
Darchinyan in an elimination bout for the No. 1 ranking of the
International Boxing Federation on Dec. 1, contrary to what popular
boxing website sportsnut.com reported Wednesday.

"Not true," Aldeguer replied via text when asked of the fight, which
Darchinyan’s agent Angelo Hyder confirmed to sportsnut.com. "We have
not received any offer of the purse or the date of the fight.

"Dec. 1 is out of the question because we have a big promotion on
Dec. 2," he added.

While it is true that the IBF had ordered a Gorres-Darchinyan
eliminator and that they are willing to face the Armenian-born fighter,
Gorres handler Tony Aldeguer Wednesday said that they have not signed
any fight contract.

The winner of the eliminator will be lined up for a possible title
shot opposite Russian super-fly champ Dimitri Kirilov.

Ironically, it would have been the second title eliminator for
Gorres. His last fight against Eric Ortiz of Mexico last Aug. 11 in
Sacramento was also an IBF eliminator. Gorres scored an eighth round
TKO over Ortiz.

The 27-2-1 Gorres lost a controversial 12th round split decision to
Mexico’s Fernando Montiel, the WBO super-fly champ, last February in
Cebu and would like to get back on track to having another title shot.

Washington Post
Transcript [Excerpt]

Rice Testifies Before the House Judiciary Committee on Mideast Policy

CQ Transcripts Wire
Wednesday, October 24, 2007; 3:34 PM

DANA ROHRABACHER, R-CALIF: About the vote that we had here a week ago
or so — two weeks ago on the Armenian question that officially has
enraged the Turks, I think that people should understand — and I’d
like your opinion on this — it’s just that the Turks — that vote in
no way was an anti-Turkish vote.

And I think I speak for my colleagues here.

That vote was a human rights vote and a recognition of a violation of
human rights.

But the Turks should understand and the Kurds should understand that
that in no way would mean that we would tolerate attacks by Kurdish
guerrillas on Turkish soldiers and Turkish civilians.

And, quite frankly, the Kurds should understand that we will support
the Turks’ right to retaliate if, indeed, Kurdish terrorists go across
the border and murder Turkish citizens and soldiers.

Is that our position?

SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Well, clearly, we have said the
PKK is a terrorist organization. And we’ve clearly said that the Turks
should not have to sustain attacks from havens in — across that
border in Iraq.

We have cautioned that retaliation of cross-border raids and the like
and cross-border operations would have a destabilizing effect, and
that has been the course of our conversation. And we’ve encouraged
everyone to work together toward a solution that does deal with the
terrorist problem but doesn’t destabilize northern Iraq.

If I may, though, Congressman, on the Armenian resolution — and I
recognize that it was a difficult vote for some who supported the
administration’s position on this, because I know it’s difficult —
there was a reason that we felt very strongly that this resolution
should not go forward.

This is a very delicate time with Turkey. It is a time when it is
going through a major transformation internally. We have extremely
important strategic interests with the Turks.

RICE: This is something that was a horrible event, in the mass
killings that took place, but at the time of the Ottoman Empire. These
are not the Ottomans.

ROHRABACHER: Right.

RICE: And what we have tried to do instead is to get the Turks and the
Armenians to work together to look to their future.

I had the Armenian prime minister in yesterday. And I said to him,
"You have to understand that Americans, who are always accused of
being too forward-looking, not looking back enough, really do believe
that it’s important that Armenia and Turkey move forward." And I
encouraged him to reach out to the Turks, at the civil society level
and the like.

But I continue to believe that the passage of such a resolution of —
the Armenian Genocide resolution, would severely harm our relationship
with Turkey.

ROHRABACHER: The reason why…

REP. TOM LANTOS, D-CALIF. CHAIRMAN: The gentleman’s time has expired.

Source: le/2007/10/24/AR2007102401683.html

"THE REASON FOR EARLY DEPARTURE OFTHE IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAY BE AN INVASION OF KURDISH REBELS INTO IRANIAN TERRITORY"

Panorama.am
19:25 23/10/2007

The Armenian reporters asked political analyst Sergey Shaqaryants
about the abrupt termination of Iranian president’s visit to Armenia
and his swift return to motherland. In this relation he said that
part of American program may have started to come true, that is, some
Kurdish detachments have violated Iran-Iraq border. In his words,
Iran has earlier said it is ready to withstand Iranian invasion by
Kurdish groups.

"Such attempts were made in 2006, May-June, and the detachments that
violated the border were punished," the analyst said, also saying
that at that time the leadership of Iran met with Kurd leaders of
Iraq Talaban and Barzani and engaged in "great political work."

"This may be the cause why the Iranian president stopped its official
visit to Armenia so swiftly. A Kurdish group that may have entered the
territory of Iran is a danger for the country and in case of threat,
according to rules of Iran, all first persons must be in the country
and take a common decision," Shaqaryants shared this opinion.

MAKING INVENTORY OF MINES INTRODUCED FOR AUCTION TO START BY THE END OF THE YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues related to the current
activities of the Ministry of Environmental Protection were discussed
at the October 23 working meeting of RA President Robert Kocharian and
Minister of Environmental Protection Aram Haroutiunian. They also spoke
about the republican geological fund, necessity of making inventory
and digitalization of mines introduced for an auction. R. Kocharian
also instructed to start those activities by the end of the year,
by simultaneously working out the order of using fund materials.

According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA President’s
Press Office, issues related to decentralization of basin management,
territories under special care were also discussed at the meeting.

DEVELOPMENT ISSUES OF INTER-PARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS DISCUSSED

National Assembly of RA
Oct 23 2007
Armenia

On October 23 Mr. Tigran Torosyan, President of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia had a breakfast-meeting with Dr. Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran. The ambassadors
of the two countries, Mr. Vardan Oskanian RoA Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Mr. Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy of the Republic of
Armenia, IRI Foreign Minister, head of Inter-Parliamentary Commission
Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki, IRI Senior Presidential Advisor Mojtaba Samareh
Hashemi, Nateq-Nouri, IRI Parliament member and other senior officials
participated there.

During the meeting the results of the visit of the President of Islamic
Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Armenia, the development
prospects of bilateral relations and the opportunities of deepening
of the inter-parliamentary ties were discussed.

The sides have expressed satisfaction of the results of the visit,
the Armenian-Iranian productive cooperation considering a very good
example of neighbours’ inter-parliamentary relations.

SEEING CHEAP VOTES IN AN ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’
by Donald Kirk

South China Morning Post
October 22, 2007 Monday
Hong Kong

Turkish sensitivities regarding affronts to the country’s name,
policies and history are legendary. Some years ago in Tokyo, the
Turkish ambassador lodged a formal protest with the Japanese Foreign
Ministry after a mix-up with a taxi driver. When ordered to take
him to the Turkish embassy, the cabbie took him instead to a toruko,
which in Japanese means a Turkish bath – a euphemism for a brothel.

The protest was enough for Japanese authorities to get Turkish baths
in Japan to call themselves "soaplands", pronounced "so-poo-lan-doh",
which sounds a lot closer to what’s going on inside.

Now the Turkish government is infuriated on a much higher level. This
month, the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee
approved a bill denouncing the slaughter and expulsion of Armenians 90
years ago as "genocide". Armenians put the death toll in the order
of at least 1.5 million. Turkey says 300,000 died, most of them
in battle, in freezing weather or from starvation and disease. The
Democrat-dominated committee, sending the bill for a vote by the full
House, has embarrassed the US government. It needs bases in Turkey
to support its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sees Turkey
as a stable Nato ally.

Without minimising the atrocities that occurred, the question is what
is an American legislative body doing passing judgment on a tragedy
and a conflict that happened nearly a century ago that had nothing
to do with the United States?

The claims of members of the House committee that they cannot gloss
over the horrors of the massacre represent the last word in political
hypocrisy. All that is on their minds is that many, if not most,
Armenians are orthodox Christians whereas the Turks are Muslims; the
political brains on the committee see votes in righteously defending
Christians while offending Muslims.

House Democrats have no qualms about undermining the policies of the
Bush government. Nor do they seem concerned about Turkey’s problems
with a restive Kurdish minority, which is in close contact with Kurds
in northeastern Iraq.

If the House committee is so eager to immerse itself in an ancient
conflict, why does it not show similar concern about North Korea?

Three years ago, the US Congress passed the North Korean Human Rights
Act after a great deal of opposition from critics, who believed it
would anger North Korea in the midst of the ongoing nuclear weapons
crisis. Since the passage of that act, however, the US has done little
to turn it into an effective instrument for combating abuses in North
Korea. Although options appear limited, Washington could begin by
raising the human rights issue, assisting refugees and linking aid
to the North to improved human rights conditions.

US policy today calls for dropping references to "human rights" from
all contacts with North Korea. The term is so offensive to Pyongyang
that US negotiators fear the North Koreans would walk out of talks
on nuclear weapons the moment they heard it.

Members of the US House committee were brave enough to join in
condemning Turkey for what happened 90 years ago. Surely they should
have the courage to go after North Korea for more than half a century
of persecution in which millions have been killed, died of disease
or starvation or have frozen to death – the same fates that befell
the Armenians in Turkey.

It’s unlikely, however, that the committee will display such courage.

Perhaps Democrats are waiting for time to pass before addressing
the lessons of history. Maybe in 50 years or so, Congress will look
back on the suffering of North Koreans and pass another righteous
resolution. By that time, so many Koreans will have fled to the US
that opportunistic members of Congress will salivate over the votes
they will get from a bold resolution condemning Pyongyang.

Donald Kirk is the author of two books and numerous articles on Korea
for newspapers, magazines and journals

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GIVES DINNER RECEPTION FOR IRANIAN COUNTERPART

Islamic Republic News Agency
Oct 22 2007
Iran

Armenian President Robert Kocharian gave a dinner reception in honor
of his Iranian counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Monday.

President Ahmadinejad at the head of a politico-economic delegation
arrived in Yerevan for a 2-day official visit on Monday afternoon.

Officials from both countries signed 4 memoranda of understanding
(MoU) and a joint statement after the two presidents’ meeting.

President Ahmadinejad also received honorary doctorate degree and
gold badge of the Yerevan State University Monday evening.

President Ahmadinejad’s Senior Advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Acting Minister of Oil Gholam-Hossein
Nozari and Iranian head of Iran-Armenia friendship group of parliament
Ahmad Nateq-Nouri are accompanying President Ahmadinejad.

DOZENS DIE IN TURKEY BORDER CLASH

BBC NEWS
Karabakhopen
21-10-2007 20:02:07

At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by
Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border – with 32 rebels also killed,
officials say.

The PKK guerrilla group said it had also taken "several" soldiers
hostage.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security
officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting.

Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the
government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance
to do so by parliament.

On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to
allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against
rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.

It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK – the Kurdistan Workers’
Party – as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy.

Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish
soldiers and civilians dead.

Call for unity

In the latest attack shortly after midnight, a large group of PKK
rebels crossed the border from Iraq and launched their attack near
the village of Daglica in Hakkari province, the Turkish military said.

The rebels attacked with heavy weapons, also wounding a number of
soldiers, Turkish media reported.

The Turkish military said it sent reinforcements and helicopters to
the area, and launched retaliatory attacks in which 32 guerrillas
were killed.

PKK sources confirmed the fighting, and claimed more troops were
killed than the official figure of 12.

"There were clashes with the Turkish troops late last night in which
we have killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded 20. We also captured
several," Reuters quoted an unnamed rebel source as saying.

Not far from the scene of the fighting, in south-eastern Hakkari
province, a minibus was later caught in a landmine explosion, also
blamed on the PKK, that injured 10 civilians, the state news agency
Anatolia said.

The prime minister said: "We are very angry."

But he said he was "resolved to deal with these matters in a
cool-headed manner".

He urged the media to show restraint in its reporting of the situation.

Increased pressure

About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq
near the Turkish border, says the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.

There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year,
but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time.

The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public
and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.

The United States, Turkey’s Nato ally, has called for restraint,
urging Turkey to work with Iraq to solve the problem.

The US and Iraq fear any incursions would destabilise Iraq’s most
peaceful area – the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

Iraqi leaders say they are determined to remove the PKK, but have
pleaded for more time.

The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq warned
Turkish MPs that any intervention would be "illegal" and has denied
providing the PKK with any help.

The rebels themselves said they would fight any Turkish forces which
cross the border.

More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting
for greater autonomy for the largely-Kurdish south-eastern Turkey
since 1984.

The Brandeis Hoot, NJ
Oct 19 2007

Dial D for Denial
or How I learned to stop worrying about history and love genocide
By Jon Lange

Someone once asked Marcel Ophüls, a director whose films The Sorrow
and the Pity and Hôtel Terminus changed the way a generation of
Europeans thought about fascist collaborationism, what it was like
spending so much of his time interviewing Nazis. `Oh I get along with
Nazis,’ he responded.`We share something in common: an interest in
the past. I share more with them than I do with most people today who
don’t care about the past.’

Last week, President Bush demonstrated that he cares about past. The
House of Representatives is trying to pass a long overdue resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The massacre and forced
deportation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between
1915 and 1917 marked the beginning of a golden age of mass murder
during which technology and ideology came together in perfect
symbiosis and made it possible to do in a few years something that
used to take centuries viz. exterminate an entire ethnic, religious,
or national group.

Bush has come out firmly against the House resolution. In so doing he
took the standard line that Turkish nationalists have been towing for
decades. The argument goes something like this: Sure, a lot of
Armenians died, but 20 million people died during the First World
War, so we really don’t have to call this particular slaughter
genocide. Bush’s denial of the Armenian Genocide is based on simple
political calculations. The US needs Turkish cooperation to ship
military supplies for its own mass murder in Iraq, and the Americans
want to make sure that Turkey doesn’t invade Kurdistan. Denying
genocide is a price Bush has shown that he is all too ready to pay as
long as this denial furthers US imperialism.

If the Armenian Genocide denier’s argument sounds vaguely familiar to
you, you’re not alone. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes a similar tact when
talking about the Nazi Holocaust. Ahmadinejad famously told NBC’s
Brian Williams, `In the second World War, over 60 million people lost
their lives. They were all human beings. Why is it that only a select
group of those who were killed have become so prominent and
important?’

This kind of hypocrisy and opportunism is exactly what I’ve come to
expect from the Bush Administration, but there is some good news. For
the first time in nearly seven years, Bush and I have something in
common. We both care about the past, albeit in different ways. I
agree with Orwell that we can’t obliterate history for political
purposes. For Bush, on the other hand, history is a tool which he can
use to denounce his enemies and which he can ignore when denial
advances his political goals.

Perhaps this resolution will scuttle the long-standing
American-Turkish alliance. If that’s the case, I say let it drown.
Any relationship build on a foundation of lies is doomed to collapse.
Even the most elaborate diplomatic dance will not resurrect dead
Armenians and no alliance is so essential that we should deny a
genocide in order to protect it.

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