Category: News

ARKA News Agency
July 21 2004
NKR President Arkady Gukasian receives group of French compatriots
Armenian-Georgian relations are one of constituents of regional
stability
RA Parliament Speaker and Georgian Foreign Minister discuss expanding
of bilateral relations
RA President and German Ambassador in RA discusses issues of mutual
cooperation
RA PM and US Ambassador to RA discuss issues of Armenian-US
partnership
*********************************************************************
NKR PRESIDENT ARKADY GUKASIAN RECEIVES GROUP OF FRENCH COMPATRIOTS
YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. NKR President Arkady Gukasian received
group of French compatriots. Delegation consisted of the President of
`Europe de la Memoire’ Organization Alexis Govchian, Member of Board
of Commercial Council of Organization of Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Samson Ozararat, representative of Armenian Community of
Nice Grikor Adjerkhanian and Director Executive of EU Chamber of
Commerce in Armenia Ovanes Igitian. The parties share the impressions
on Nagorno Karabakh and exchanged views on several issues considering
links between Nagorno Karabakh and Diaspora. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS ARE ONE OF CONSTITUENTS OF REGIONAL
STABILITY
YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. Armenian-Georgian relations are one of
constituents of regional stability, RA Government press office told
ARKA that this was stated by RA PM Andranik Margarian during the
meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabashvili. Margarian
expressed satisfaction with high level of Armenian-Georgian
interstate relations, based on mutual trust and cooperation and on
the friendship of the two people.
Talking about provision of regional stability Margarian stressed the
interest of Armenia in stability of Georgia.
During the meeting Zurabashvili represented internal political
developments in Georgia, namely situation in Ajaria, Abkhazia, South
Osetia and relations of Georgia with Russia and Turkey.
The parties also discussed actual problems of Djavahk. Margarian
expressed hope that the authorities of Georgia will continue
concentration on settlement of socio-economic, educational and
culture problems of Armenians of Djavahk. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PARLIAMENT SPEAKER AND GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS EXPANDING
OF BILATERAL RELATIONS
YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. RA Parliament Speaker Arthur Baghdasarian
and Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabashvili discussed expanding
of bilateral relations, RA NA told ARKA. The parties noted the
importance of regional cooperation and involvement of South Caucasus
countries in mutual economic programs, stressed the necessity of
activation of the parliaments in international structures and
participation in South Caucasus parliament initiative.
Baghdasarian noted the steps taken by Georgia on the way of
democratization of society and expressed confidence that they will
contribute to improvement of life conditions of Armenians living in
Georgia. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT AND GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN RA DISCUSSES ISSUES OF MUTUAL
COOPERATION
YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian met today the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to RA H.E.
Hans Wulf Bartels that is completing his three years long mission in
Armenia. As RA President Press Service told ARKA, RA President highly
appreciating Bertel’s contribution into the development of
Armenian-German relations, Kocharian mentioned that during the
Ambassador’s activity there was realized a whole package of
interesting programs. Bartels expressed his gratitude for the support
rendered during his mission in Armenia. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
RA PM AND US AMBASSADOR TO RA DISCUSS ISSUES OF ARMENIAN-US
PARTNERSHIP
YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. RA PM Andranik Margarian met today the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of US to RA John Ordway
that is completing his mission in the country. As RA Government
Public and Press relations Department told ARKA, PM highly
appreciated the Ambassaodr’s activity in RA as well as his efforts
aimed at stimulating the Armenian-US relations. The Head of the
Armenian Government also mentioned the essential progress targeted at
more active political and economic ties as well as the cooperation in
the international structures. As one of the results of the
cooperation he mentioned including RA in Millennium Challenge
initiative.
Presenting the program of working out and discussion of the
Millennium Challenge Armenian Program, Margarian assured that in
September as per the developed plan, the Program would be submitted
to the US Government’s review. He also expressed a hope that the
Armenian Program would catch the attention of the US Government,
while its implementation would contribute to considerable extent into
accomplishment of the strategic program for elimination of poverty.
In his turn as said by John Ordway, he considers the development of
the Armenian Program in the frameworks of Millennium Challenge an
evidence of cooperation of two countries and one of the most
important initiative for Armenia. He also expressed a hope that the
Program will continue successfully during the activity of new US
Ambassador. T.M. -0–

[Congressional Record: July 19, 2004 (Extensions)]
[Page E1413-E1414]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr19jy04-20]

CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
______

HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 19, 2004
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a treasured
institution in the Armenian-American community and in my Congressional
District, the “Armenian Weekly Newspaper” which is celebrating its
70th Anniversary of publication this year.
Since 1934, the English-language Armenian Weekly has been published
by the Hairenik Association of Watertown, Massachusetts, located in my
district. The Association also publishes the Armenian Weekly’s parent
publication, “The Hairenik,” which is the longest running Armenian-
language newspaper in the world.
Mr. Speaker, this past April we gathered to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of World War I, and what is
sometimes called the “Forgotten Genocide.” The Armenian Weekly plays
an invaluable role in helping all of us to remember that tragic period,
but more importantly, to celebrate the lives of the survivors and their
wonderful and enduring culture.
In September of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson spoke of his vision of
a future Armenia. He said, “Armenia is to be redeemed . . . So that at
last this great people, struggling through night after night of terror,
knowing not when they may come out into a time when they can enjoy
their rights as free people that they never dreamed they would be able
to exercise.” Since the rebirth of the Armenian national following the
collapse of the former Soviet Union, the Armenian Weekly has run
numerous stories on issues and events affecting the politics and
economy of the Republic of Armenia, and the efforts of the Armenian-
American community to support its struggle to survive and prosper.
Mr. Speaker, two of our most cherished freedoms in the United States
are freedom of speech and freedom of the press. For seventy years now,
Armenian-Americans have been
[[Page E1414]]
celebrating those freedoms through the Armenian Weekly Newspaper. In
addition to its extensive coverage of news events of interest to the
Armenian-American community, over the years, the paper has printed
numerous short stories, essays and poems. For example, the stories that
initially brought noted Armenian-American writer and playwright William
Saroyan to national attention were first published in the Armenian
Weekly.
I congratulate Editor Jason Sohigian and everyone associated with
this remarkable publication and I wish the Armenian Weekly Newspaper
many more years of service and success.

Grand Traverse Herald
July 21, 2004
Name search finds shared history
Local resident forms network celebrating Armenian heritage
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Culling page by page through the phone book recently, Leslie
Narsisian-Voss was honoring her roots.
The Blair Township resident decided to found the Northern Michigan
Armenian Network and was searching for area residents who shared her
Armenian heritage. She patiently searched out the distinctive last names of
her ancestral homeland, mailing out between 50-60 flyers announcing the
group’s inaugural meeting.
Sunday afternoon, ten people descended from the southwestern Asian
nation gathered at the Traverse Area District Library to celebrate their
culture.
They nibbled on distinctive Armenian dishes such as bourma, a pastry
of phyllo dough layered with walnuts and honey, listened to Armenian music
and shared stories of their ancestry. Attendees also checked out Armenian
travel books, looked at samples of the currency, the Dram, and viewed photos
of one person’s travels to Armenia.
“This is the most enthusiastic group of people,” Narsisian-Voss said.
“I had calls from approximately seven or eight more families who wanted to
come but this was not a good day for them.”
“I know this will take on a life of it’s own,” she added.
Rose Megregian of Elk Rapids came to the United States as an infant
with her parents after World War I, fleeing turmoil in that region. The
family prospered in Detroit, her father landing a job with Ford Motor
Company. Megregian became an American, following a trajectory of
assimilation shared by many immigrants of that era.
“I went to kindergarten and didn’t speak any English, we spoke
Armenian in the home all the time,” she noted, adding that she learned
school routines by watching and soon picked up the language.
Megregian said that the Armenian written language is unique. Created
1,600 years ago, it provided a written form of the spoken language used in
that region for millennia. Armenian is a phonetic language where each of the
36 letters represents a sound; for example, there is letter for a soft r
sound and one for a hard r sound. Letters are not combined to form another
sound as they are in English.
Megregian is thrilled to find the group because she fears she is
losing her language after years of not speaking it regularly.
“I didn’t have anybody to speak it to here,” she said.
Narsisian-Voss has ambitious plans for the group, possibly including
language lessons as well as ethnic dinners. With an upcoming trip to Armenia
schedule for spring, she is determined to improve her language skills.
“My grandma never spoke English to me, I grew up in a very thick
Armenian home,” Narsisian-Voss noted. “This connection is like a network, it
is good to know other people that share a similar heritage.”
Armenia is a small, landlocked country whose inhabitants can trace
lineage in the area to thousands of years before Christ’s birth. One of the
world’s oldest civilizations and the world’s first Christian nation, Armenia
embraced the religion in 301 A.D. Today, 94 percent of the nearly 3 million
people are Armenian Orthodox. The country celebrated 1,700 years of
Christian heritage in 2001 by welcoming Pope John Paul II.
A former Soviet Republic – the Soviet Army annexed the fledgling
republic in 1920 – the citizens voted for independence and formed the
Republic of Armenia in 1991.
The country’s location east of Turkey, north of Iran, south of Georgia
and west of Azerbaijan contributed to a tumultuous history fraught with
persecution of Armenian culture and genocide. Over the centuries, Armenians
have fled to all corners of the world. Residents of these enclaves carefully
preserved their heritage, culture and language.
“Every country in the world has a community of Armenians,”
Narsisian-Voss said. “My anthropology professor went to China on a
sabbatical and found a community there. They spread out after the genocide,
they had to.”
For more information on the Northern Michigan Armenian Network,
contact Narsisian-Voss at [email protected]

Azerbaijan to make no territorial integrity compromises – president
Turan news agency, Baku
21 Jul 04

Xudat, 21 July: “The Karabakh conflict remains Azerbaijan’s most
painful problem. For many years Azerbaijan has been trying to resolve
this issue peacefully. But regrettably, the talks have yield no
results,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said today when
addressing the personnel of a military unit of the Xudat border
detachment on the Azerbaijani-Russian border.
According to him, the activities of the mediators have yielded no
results either. “As for various calls and proposals, they do not
reflect the reality,” Aliyev added.
“Azerbaijan’s cause is fair. Our lands are under
occupation. International legal norms, justice, economic opportunities
and potential are on our side,” he said.
Aliyev spoke about major work in the sphere of military
build-up. According to him, sufficient funds have been spent and will
be spent on this sphere in the future.
In several years Azerbaijan will turn into an economically strong
state and its military “superiority” will intensify even further. “In
these conditions, we cannot have a positive attitude to some calls,
particularly, with regard to compromises,” Aliyev said.
“Compromises are impossible on the issue of territorial integrity. I
have repeatedly said that we will not compromise on the issue of
territorial integrity. Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity will be
restored. The possibilities of achieving this peacefully have not been
exhausted yet. However, we have to be ready to liberate our lands
militarily at any moment. We have everything for this: the unity of
the Azerbaijani people, the people’s complete readiness for action, a
strong army and the will of the Azerbaijani leadership and people,” he
added.

AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION URGES AUTHORITIES TO REFUSE FROM MEDIATORY
ACTIVITY OF OSCE MINSK GROUP IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONLFICT
YEREVAN, JULY 21. ARMINFO. Azerbaijani opposition bloc
Democratic-Azerbaijan BDA urges the country’s authorities to refuse
from the mediatory activity of OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.
According to INTERFAX-AZERBAIJAN, representative of the political
council included in BDA “Party of Civil Solidarity” Samir Asadli, the
orgnaization has distributed a relevant document. “Concrete acts are
expected from OSCE Minsk Group and not unfounded statements. The
co-chairs do nothing to settle the Karabakh conflict,” the statement
says. That is why the Azerbaijani authorities should refuse from OSCE
services and try to settle the problem by themselves, the BDA
statements says.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT MOHAMMAD KHATAMI WILL DISCUSSED SETTLEMENT OF
KARABAKH CONFLICT IN BAKU
YEREVAN, JULY 21. ARMINFO. In the course of his visit to Baku, Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami will discussed settlement of the Karabakh
conflict with the Azerbaijani authorities, the 525th newspaper
reports.
According to the source, the visit is fixed for Aug 4-5. At present,
the visit’s program and the agenda of bilateral negotiations are being
specified through diplomatic channels. During his visit, M.Khatami
will hold a tete-a-tete meeting with Ilham Aliyev, as well as an
enlarged meeting. Discussions of both regional and bilateral and
international issues are expected. As a result of the negotiations,
more than 10 bilateral documents are expected to be signed, as well as
a joint press-conference of the two presidents will be held.

CHAIRMAN KOLBE’S STATEMENT ON THE SCHIFF AMENDMENT
July 16th, 2004 – –
Washington, D.C. – Foreign Operations Appropriation Subcommittee
Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) issued the following statement on the Schiff
Amendment.
`Yesterday during the late night deliberations on the FY05 Foreign
Operations bill, the House adopted by voice vote an amendment by
Representative Adam Schiff. I allowed this because I determined that
the amendment had no practical effect and simply restates current law
prohibiting the use of federal fundsto lobby Congress. As the chair
of pending conference committee on the Foreign Operations bill, I will
insist this meaningless language be removed in conference.’

###
;PressRelease_id=3D412

Game of Life: Kasparov on Fischer – in full
20.07.2004 The news of Fischer’s arrest in Japan came as a shock to Garry
Kasparov, who was in a holiday camp working intensely on the games of his
greatest American predecessor. In today’s issue of The Wall Street Journal
Kasparov assesses Fischer’s chess career – for a public that was being exposed to
his current situation. We now bring you Kasparov’s full article.
In the prestigious Wall Street Journal Kasparov has paused to assess
Fischer’s chess career – for a public that is exposed only to his current
unfortunate situation. The article is a must-read for Fischer fans and foes- a
succinctly argued summary of the fate of the great chess hero. It also bodes well
for the fourth of his six-volume series on the game’s great players, a volume
that, as Kasparov tells us, will contain 55 Fischer games discussed on 250
pages.
() Our thanks to _The Wall Street Journal_
() for giving us permission to reprint this article in
full.
Fischer’s Price
By Garry Kasparov – The Wall Street Journal
July 19, 2004; Page A10
The stunning news of Bobby Fischer’s detention in Japan came at a
moment in which the American former world chess champion was already
very much on my mind. I am currently finishing the fourth of my
six-volume series on the game’s great players and it is precisely this
volume of which Robert James Fischer, forever known as Bobby, is the
star.
This project has involved going over hundreds of Fischer’s chess games
in minute detail. It also means trying to understand the man behind
the moves and the era in which he made them.
Despite his short stay at the top there is little to debate about the
chess of Bobby Fischer. He changed the game in a way that hadn’t been
seen since the late 19th century. The gap between Mr. Fischer and his
contemporaries was the largest ever. He singlehandedly revitalized a
game that had been stagnating under the control of the Communists of
the Soviet sports hierarchy. When Bobby Fischer rocketed to the top
of the chess world in the early 1970s he was a fine wine in a flawed
vessel. His contributions to the game, both at the board and from a
commercial perspective, were nothing short of a revolution in the
chess world. At the same time, his brittle and abusive character
showed cracks that deepened with his every step toward the highest
title. Today, it is hard to imagine the sensation of Mr. Fischer’s
success when he wrested the world championship away from Boris Spassky
in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972. In the middle of the Cold War, the
Brooklyn-raised iconoclast took the crown from the well-oiled Soviet
machine that had dominated the chess world for decades. And this after
he barely showed up for the match at all, and then lost the first game
and forfeited the second!
Partially due to Mr. Fischer’s outrageous behavior leading up to and
during the “match of the century,” the international media coverage
was incredible. The games were shown live around the world. I was
nine years old and already a strong club player when the
Fischer-Spassky match took place, and I followed the games
avidly. Fischer, who had crushed two other Soviet grandmasters on his
march to the title match, nonetheless had many fans in the Soviet
Union. They respected his chess, of course, but many quietly enjoyed
his individuality and independence.
After the match ended in a convincing victory for the American, the
world was at his feet. Chess was on the cusp of becoming a
commercially successful sport for the first time. Mr. Fischer’s play,
nationality and natural charisma created a unique opportunity. He was
a national hero whose popularity rivaled that of Muhammad Ali. (Would
the secretary of state have called Ali beforea fight the way Henry
Kissinger called Mr. Fischer?) Sales of chess sets and books boomed,
and tournament prize funds soared. With Bobby Fischer in the lead,
chess was headed for the popularity of golf and tennis.
With glory, however, comes responsibility and tremendous pressure. Mr.
Fischer couldn’t bring himself to play again. He spent three years
away from the board before the precious title he had worked his entire
life for was forfeited without the push of a pawn in 1975.
Astronomical amounts of money were offered to lure him back. He could
have played a match against the new champion, Anatoly Karpov, for an
unheard of $5 million. Opportunities abounded, but Mr. Fischer’s was a
purely destructive force. He demolished the Soviet chess machine but
could build nothing in its place. He was the ideal challenger — but a
disastrous champion.
The conventional wisdom says that Bobby Fischer was a guileless and
petulant child who just wanted his own way. I believe he was conscious
of all his actions and the psychological effect his behavior had on
his opponents. The gentlemanly Mr. Spassky was ill-prepared to deal
with the belligerent American in Reykjavik. In 1975, Mr. Fischer’s
challenger was the young Mr. Karpov, whom I would later meet in five
consecutive world championship matches.
Unable to even contemplate defeat, Mr. Fischer left chess. Bereft of
the only thing he had ever wanted to do in his life, he turned his
destructive energies inward, espousing a virulent anti-Semitism —
despite his own Jewish heritage.
The Fischer drama had a final act in 1992, when, almost 50 years old,
he was brought out of seclusion by the lure of millions to play a
rematch against Mr. Spassky in war-torn Yugoslavia in violation of
international sanctions. The chess was predictably rusty, although
there were a few flashes of the old Bobby brilliance. His mental
stability, however, had atrophied even more during the 20 years of
solitude. Later, Mr. Fischer’s profane remarks would span from
accusations of Jewish conspiracies to a welcoming of the events of
9/11.
Despite the ugliness of his decline, Bobby Fischer deserves to be
remembered for the great things he did for chess and for his immortal
games. I would prefer to focus on not letting his personal tragedy
become a tragedy for chess.
An entire generation of top American players learned the game as kids
thanks to Mr. Fischer. Today’s flourishing scholastic chess movement
could be harmed as his woes and beliefs make headlines around the
world. People may believe that this is what happens when a genius
plays chess — instead of what happens when a fragile mind leaves his
life’s work behind.
Mr. Kasparov, the world’s top-ranked chess player, is a contributing
editor at the Journal.
* _Kasparov on Fischer in the Wall Street Journal_
()
(free registration required)

May 23, 2004
Press Contacts:
Anneliesa Clump Behrend (202) 707-9822
Helen Dalrymple (202) 707-1940
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT:
400 VOLUNTEERS TO COLLECT VETERANS STORIES ON THE MALL, MAY 27-30
National World War II Reunion Gives All Who Served a Chance to Tell
Their Story
The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library of Congress will
participate in the National World War II Reunion on the National Mall
in Washington, DC during Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30. The four-day
event will include ceremonies and activities produced by the
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the American
Battle Monuments Commission. One of seven pavilions and two
performance stages on the Mall during the Memorial Day weekend, the
Veterans History Project Pavilion (located near the National Air and
Space Museum) will collect memoirs and stories onsite from those who
experienced the war overseas and on the home front.
The National Reunion coincides with the American Battle Monuments
Commissions dedication of the National World War II Memorial on
Saturday, May 29. The Veterans History Project invites all veterans
and civilians who served to visit the Veterans History Project
Pavilion on the Mall during the weekend and to contribute their
stories to the archives of veterans histories, which is part of the
Librarys American Folklife Center.
The National World War II Reunion will be the largest-ever gathering
of World War II veterans, said Diane Kresh, coordinator of the VHP
volunteers at the Library of Congress. Our aim is to collect as many
stories as possible over the four-day period. These stories will find
a permanent home in the archives of the Veterans History Project along
with the oral histories of veterans from other wars already in our
collection.
In an unprecedented effort, the Library of Congress will collect
on-the-spot interviews from World War II veterans and civilians who
served in support of them during the four-day weekend. In teams of
two, Library of Congress staff will roam the National Mall to record
the wartime experiences of World War II veterans and home front
workers.
Volunteers from high schools, universities, civic groups and other
organizations will also conduct interviews on the Mall. Participating
volunteers will be from schools throughout the region including
Connelly School of the Holy Child, Potomac, MD; Georgetown Day School,
Washington, DC; Rutgers University’s Oral History Archive, NJ;
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Potomac, MD; U.S. Senate Page School,
Washington, DC; and West Virginia University, Perley Isaac Reed School
of Journalism, Morgantown, WV. These schools join the other 150 public
and private schools around the country already participating the
project.
In addition, more than 30 hours of panel discussions will take place
at the VHP Pavilion during the four days. Topics, times and
participants are below. Check the Web site at for
complete details.
Former Prisoners of War: Richard Francies, Enso Bighinatti, Jimmie
Kanaya and Marty Higgins
1 p.m. on May 27 and 11 a.m. on May 28
Reunion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 1st Battalion
(Lost Battalion) of the 141st Regiment of the 36th (Texas) Division
2 p.m. on May 27
Hispanic-American Experience During World War II: Frank Medina, Miguel
Encinias and Evelio Grillo
1 p.m. on May 30
Japanese-American Experience During World War II: Warren Tsuneishi,
Jimmie Kanaya, Marty Higgins and Frank Sogi
4 p.m. on May 28
Navajo Code Talkers: Sam Billison, Sam Smith, Keith Little
3:15 p.m. on May 27 and noon on May 30
Tuskegee Airmen: Lee Archer, Charles McGee and Thomas Lowery
2 p.m. on May 28 and 2 p.m. on May 30
D-Day Veterans: Sam Gibbons 11 a.m. and Tracy Sugarman, Bob Powell and
Brig. Gen. Alvin Ungerleider
2:15 p.m. on May 27
Wartime Journalists: Paul Green, Barrett McGurn, Jack Pulwers and
Col. Peter Sweers
3 p.m. on May 30
Women in the Military: Maj. Gen. Jeanne Holm, Miriam Ownby, Martha
Putney, CW04 Elizabeth Splaine, Cdr. Ruth Erno
3 p.m. on May 28
Red Cross in WWII: Ruth Belew, Helen Colony, Mary ODriscoll
4:15 p.m. on May 27
Women in Military Medicine: Maj. Jennifer Petersen, Anna Busby, Marian
Elcano, and Martha Leierer
11 a.m. on May 30
Memories From the Home Front: Marion Gurfein, Helen Sudyk, Elizabeth
Olson and Venus Ramey (Miss America 1944)
Noon on May 27
Other WWII Veterans: Sen. John Warner (R-VA) and Adm. J. L. Holloway;
noon on May 28 and Robert Bloxsom, Jerry Brenner, Joseph DeLuca, John
Sudyk and George Zavadil
5:15 p.m. on May 27 and 4 p.m. on May 29
Special Appearances: Fayard Nicholas; 1 p.m. on May 28; Venus Ramey
(Miss America 1944); 5 p.m. on May 28. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), Rep. Amo
Houghton (R-NY), Everett Alvarez, Jr., Gail Buckley, Lt. Gen. Julius
W. Becton, Francisco Ivarra
Each of the participants tells the American story through his or her
unique story and memories. Riki (Ruth) Belew from Laguna Woods,
California, worked with the American Red Cross in clubs for the troops
in North Africa: near Algiers, in Oran, and at the Casablanca Officers
Club. After crossing the Mediterranean in the nose of a B-17 bomber
during a terrific storm, she began service at a series of Red Cross
clubs in Italy. She remembers being stationed near a staging area on
the outskirts of Naples and dancing with hundreds of men a night.
Navajo Code Talker Sam Billison of Window Rock, Arizona, enlisted in
the Marines in 1943 and was sent to signal school at Camp Pendleton,
California, immediately after boot camp. He landed on Iwo Jima on the
second day of the battle to take the island, and with other Code
Talkers transmitted more than 800 error-free messages during 26 days
of fighting. Following the war, Billison served as a school principal
for many years and was elected to the Navajo Tribal Council.
Francis X. (Frank) Medina from Kansas City, Missouri, was a 20-year
old tail gunner in the 459th Bomb Group of the 756th Bomb Squadron,
when he was shot down over northern Italy in July 1944. Hit by
anti-aircraft fire, the crew of nine bailed out; all but Medina were
captured, and he was believed to be missing in action. On his own in
unknown territory, he was befriended by Italians who helped him link
up with the partisans with whom he was active for eight months. In
1945, Medina was rescued by the British. In the Library of Congress
Whittall Pavilion (Jefferson Building) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May
27-29, the Veterans History Project will be providing special
hospitality, information about the Project, and a tour of the Library
of Congress to invited Congressional constitutents while they are
visiting Washington, DC, for the World War II Reunion.
Prior to the World War II Reunion, on May 23, volunteers will
videotape members of Rolling Thunder Virginia Chapter 3 as they wash
the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in preparation for the
Memorial Day weekend. The roving interviewers will also be collecting
oral histories at the Pentagon parking lot from 7 a.m. – noon on
Sunday, May 30, where Rolling Thunder motorcyclists assemble for
Rolling Thunder Inc. XVII/Ride for Freedom.
Visitors to Washington are invited to view the Library of Congress
American Treasures exhibit that is featuring special objects from the
Veterans History Project collection, From the Home Front to the Front
Lines. The exhibit highlights experiences of World War I, World War
II, Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans with first-hand accounts
of war through letters, photographs, diaries, albums, maps, flags and
newspaper clippings. The American Treasures exhibit is located in the
Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., and is open Monday
through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In addition to the American Treasures exhibit and through July 10, the
Library of Congress hosts the first comprehensive exhibit of Winston
Churchill material in the United States. More than 200 items ranging
from the 9-year-old Churchills report card to handwritten notes passed
between Churchill and Averell Harriman as they rode to the 1942
Churchill-Stalin conference will be on display. Presented in
conjunction with the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, England,
the exhibit is located in the Thomas Jefferson Building and is open
Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Authorized by legislation passed in 2000, the Veterans History Project
is being carried out in the way that Congress envisioned: with
grandchildren interviewing grandparents, veterans interviewing each
other, and students conducting interviews as part of classroom
assignments. The success of the program relies on volunteers rather
than professional oral historians to collect stories and
artifacts. AARP is the founding sponsor of the project, with more than
1,000 other organizations also participating.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to
making life better for people 50 and over. It provides information and
resources; engages in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy;
assists members in serving their communities; and offers a wide range
of benefits, special products and services for its members.
To learn more about the Veterans History Project, to submit your story
online, or to view a schedule of panel presentations and other reunion
activities scheduled over the four-day weekend, visit
Note: For biographical information on the veterans speaking in the
Veterans History Project Pavilion and to speak with veterans from the
Veterans History Project, contact (202) 707-9822 or (703) 470-4275.
# # #

The Farce of the Fence
By Jonathan Eric Lewis
?ID=3D2333
July 21, 2004
With Tuesday’s United Nations General Assembly vote that
condemnedIsrael for building an anti-terrorism fence to save innocent
lives, it is finallytime for a nationwide discussion in this country
as to whether the United States wants to continue to lend any
legitimacy to the United Nations. This is, after all, an organization
that has dictatorships like Cuba and Sudan on its Human Rights
Commission and that regularly singles out the world’sonly Jewish State
for condemnation, while turning a blind eye to the persecution to
minority groups throughout the Arab world such as the Iraq’s
indigenous Assyrian Christians or Algeria’s long suffering Kabyles.
This is an organization that wants the money of American taxpayers and
yet allows the most anti-American regimes in the world to define that
amorphous farce that has become `international law.’ At a time when
the Sudanese government is committing genocide against Black Africans,
when Kurds are denied their most basic rights in Syria; when Armenians
and Azerbaijans live in a situation that could easily once again erupt
into savage violence in which Armenian civilians are targeted for the
most horrific violence, and when the Palestinian Authority is in an
anarchic state, the community of nations chooses to spend an
inordinate amount of time condemning and vilifying the only democracy
in the Middle East, a country that many in the Arab-Islamic world
would like to see obliterated by Iranian nuclear weapons.
Although General Assembly rulings are not binding and are, in the
parlance of the United Nations, `expressions of sentiment,’ the
Palestinian Authority and its supporters will use this diplomatic
farce in order to incite violence against Israelis. As Gaza begins to
look less like Egypt and more like Somalia, one would think the
Palestinians would want to use their diplomatic influence in the
United Nations in order to provide safety and security for their own
people in the face of rising crime and gangster-land violence. One
would think that the Palestinian Authority might like to explain to
Francewhy several French aid workers were recently kidnapped in
territory in which their police forces are essentially terrorist
organizations. One would think the Palestinian Authority would
realize that its position at the United Nations is more intact than
its very legitimacy among many Palestinians and act accordingly.
Not surprisingly, however, the Palestinian Authority has used its
international voice to condemn Israel and to win a propaganda war.
Islamic extremists throughout the region will laugh at the precedent
set by both the International Court of Justice and the United Nations
General Assembly, for they know that someday they too will be able to
use the `rule of law’ to prevent democratic societies from defending
their own citizens against an enemy that hides among civilians and
intends to inflict massive casualties on innocent men, women, and
children. Islamists are not concerned about tomorrow, so much as
preparing the groundwork for a long-term jihad against the West.
Sadly, the United Nations has once again helped them in their task.
Let there be no mistake about it: in its fury to condemn Israel, the
United Nations has drastically weakened the struggle against global
terrorism. For instance, if Israel is not permitted to use non-lethal
force to protect its citizens from mass murder, why should any
European state be allowed to take similar drastic, but non-lethal
measures, if and when they are faced with a campaign of nihilistic
terrorism launched from their own territory against their own
citizens? And if the General Assembly is so devoted to Palestinian
self-determination, on what grounds can they deny it to the Abkhaz or
the Karabagh Armenians?
The fact that the Palestinian Authority chose to make a mockery of
international law in order to convince the world that Israel’s
self-defense against terrorism and the protection of its Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim citizensis worse than terrorism itself belies an
important fact, namely, that outsideof their rhetoric and propaganda
meant to defame (and eventually destroy) Israel, the Palestinian
leadership has no vision of what it wants. Think of it.
Outside of the sloganeering of `Free Palestine’ and `End the
Occupation,’ have you ever heard a Palestinian official discuss his or
her vision for a Palestinian state? We have heard pro-Palestinian
propagandists label the anti-terrorism fence an `apartheid wall,’ but
we have never heard what they would do if the fence were to be taken
down. Are we to believe that, if there weren’ t a fence, the
Palestinian leadership would use their diplomatic victory to encourage
international investment into the Palestinian territories so that they
could build world-class scientific institutions or centers of
interfaith discussion?
In light of the United Nations General Assembly ruling, it is time for
all Americans of goodwill to discuss whether they want their hard
earned tax dollars to be spent for an organization that allowed Saddam
Hussein to build elaborate palaces from money meant for the Iraqi
people; that refuses to condemn China for its illegal occupation of
Tibet; that turns a blind eye to the persecution of innocent
Christians in places like Egypt and Indonesia; andthat spends hours of
time and millions of dollars to defame Israel, a country that has long
been a vital ally and friend to the United States and a state which,
unlike Egypt or Saudi Arabia, does not promote hatred of America and
Americans in its media.
It is time for all Americans to decide whether they will put their
faith in an organization that condemns Israel for building a fence to
prevent terrorism, but one that has, throughout the past several
decades, turned ablind eye to regimes that have killed Middle Eastern
Christians with impunity. Without taking a position on the resolution
of the Arab-Israeli conflict, one that will almost certainly result in
the creation of an authoritarian Palestinian state in all of Gaza and
much of the West Bank, one has to seriously consider the moral
implications of United Nations resolution that calls upon Israelto
dismantle an anti-terrorist fence, but one which does not specifically
call upon the theocrats in Iran to stop building nuclear weapons which
they hope to one day use against Israel and, if they could reach it
with their ballistic missiles, the United States.
It is this mockery of international law and common decency that will
make it that much more difficult for the United States to protect its
own citizens from religious fanatics who have no agenda aside from
killing and destroying societies that respect freedom and pluralism.
It is a sad day indeed, for we all know that the liberal-leftist
elites that dominate our universities will laud this United Nations
ruling and condemn the United States for refusingto go along with the
show. Our enemies are once again laughing, for they know they have
scored a victory against law, justice, truth, and human decency.