Category: News

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 27 2004
Iran boosts exports of natural gas to neighbor states
Islamic Republic hopes to expand future sales to Asia, Europe
TEHRAN: Iran, which holds some 15 percent of the world’s natural gas
reserves, is boosting exports of gas to its neighbors in the hope of
picking up sales to Asia and Europe in the future.
“In the short term, we are looking to export our gas to neighboring
countries, but we are also working on exports of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) to Asia and Europe,” said Rokneddin Javadi, director of
Iran’s National Gas Export Company. “The issue is that the projects
to export to neighbors, such as those across the Persian Gulf, can be
completed in two years. But an LNG export project needs five years.”
He said Iran to sign within the next two weeks a contract to supply
15 million cubic meters a day by pipeline to the UAE.
Javadi said Iran was also in talks with Kuwait and the UAE for two
other similar contracts, hoping to export 1.5 billion cubic meters to
the two countries each year. Also expected later this year are
contracts with Armenia and other former Soviet republics in the
Caucasus, covering the sale of 3 billion cubic meters annually.
A 25-year contract with Turkey allowed Iran to sell 3.5 billion cubic
meters there in 2003. That figure is expected to rise to 5 billion
cubic meters in 2004, if a contractual dispute can be worked out.
Iran is counting on this figure to jump dramatically if it can get
LNG exports by tanker moving further afield, notably to the
potentially huge markets of the Indian subcontinent, China and
Europe.
Key statistics
Iran’s natural gas reserves of 26.6 trillion cubic meters are the
second largest in the world after Russia’s. The country’s reserves
are located in onshore and offshore structures, with South Pars
attracting most of foreign investment into the sector. Geologically
related to Qatar’s 380 North Field, South Pars has been divided into
25 development phases and is estimated to hold 8-10 percent of world
reserves. The Iranian government plans to use South Pars to jumpstart
a market in natural gas exports to Europe and Asia that can rival
Qatar.
Tehran would like to double production to around 190 billion cubic
meters per year by 2005. But the ambitious target will require
building five liquefied natural gas plants with annual capacity of at
least 30 million tons per year. Companies interested in Iranian gas
include BG, BP, Reliance Industries of India, TotalFinaElf and
Petronas of Malaysia. Other uses for natural gas include reinjection
into ageing oil fields that have been damaged after years of
overproduction and damage from the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88.
By Siavosh Ghazi, Agence France Presse

Capital News 9, NY
April 27 2004
Remembering the Armenian genocide
4/26/2004 4:38 PM
By: Edward Muir
Starting in 1915, about 1.5 million Armenians were killed at the
hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It was the first genocide of the
20th century, but not the last. Local Armenian-Americans want to make
sure it’s not forgotten.
Ed Kebabjian of Loudonville said, “Both my grandfathers were killed
by the Ottoman Turks.”
Kebabjian was one of more than 30 local Armenian residents who came
to the steps of the Capitol to remember the 89th anniversary of the
start of the massacre. Almost everyone there had some family
connection to the genocide. Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian heard
first-hand accounts about it from his grandmother who escaped.
He said, “I heard stories about how they hid under bridges as the
soldiers came in trying to capture them, how her parents were killed
and tortured.”
Congressman John Sweeney is one of just two Armenian-Americans in
Congress. He said the Armenian massacre was a precursor to genocides
later in the 20th century.
Sweeney said, “The Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda are all the unwanted
stepchildren of the Turkish massacre of the Armenians.”
And because history repeats itself, people at the commemoration said
it’s important to remember the massacre, no matter what nationality
you are.
Kebabjian said, “It seems as though we never learn, so it’s very
important that we continue to remind Armenians and non-Armenians that
genocide is not to be tolerated.”
It’s a statement that holds true for any century.
;SecID=33

PRESS RELEASE
Federation of Armenian Organisations in Netherlands (FAON)
24 April Committee
Contact: Mrs. I. Drost
Tel: +31- 6 242 725 74
Information:
Email: [email protected]
April 22, 2004
Recognition Armenian genocide in The Netherlands a step closer
THE HAGUE – On April 21, 2004, several hundred protesters urged for
recognition of the genocide of 1915 on Armenians in Turkey and expressed
necessity for Turkey to recognize the genocide before a date is set for
negotiations regarding accession of Turkey to the EU.
The Chairman of the Fixed Comission for European Affairs of the parliament,
Mrs. S. Dijksma, received the petition given by a survivor of the Armenian
genocide in the presence of MPs Van Bommel (Socialist Party), Huizinga
(Christian Union) and Van Der Staay (Reformed Party). Next a petition was
offered to the Dutch government at the Ministry of General Affairs. The
door and mailbox remained closed at the Turkish embassy. The demonstrators
had no other choice but to leave the letter on the doorknob.
During the demonstration on Plein square in The Hague MPs of the CDA
(Christian Democrats, PvdA (Labor Party), GroenLinks (Green Left) and SP
(Socialist Party) spoke to the demonstrators. In their speeches the MPs
underlined the importance of recognition of the Armenian genocide. Moreover
it became clear that the fraction of these parties, who together form the
majority in parliament, factually recognize the genocide. With this the
recognition in the Netherlands of the genocide on 1.5 million Armenians in
the latter years of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire has come a step closer.
Although the views of the parties and that of the 24 April Committee
concerning the recognition of the Armenian genocide are closely related,
there is a difference in the role recognition should play in the
decision-making of a date for negotiations with Turkey on the potential
accession of this country to the EU. In the next few weeks thoughts will
continue to be exchanged betwwen the 24 April Committee and the MPs.
The demonstration was the first in a series of activities that the 24 April
Comitte of the Armenian Federation has organized with the aim for
recogntion by Turkey of the Armenian genocide of 1915.
The yearly solemn commemoration of the Armenian genocide will be held this
April 24 from 1pm onwards at cemetery De Boskamp in Assen at the Armenian
memorial. After laying a wreath, a ceremony will be held in the auditorium
of the cemetery. Among others, Freek de Jonge, Paul Scheffer and Leen van
Dijke will speak, as well as the ambassador to Armenia in the Benelux,
Vigen Chitechian.
24 april Comité
voor erkenning en herdenking van de Armeense genocide 1915
Het 24 april Comité is een orgaan van de Federatie van Armeense
Organisaties in Nederland (FAON)
Informatie:
Contactpersoon: mr. I. Drost, Tel. 06 24 27 25 74
E-mail: [email protected]
Den Haag, 22 april 2004
P E R S B E R I C H T
Erkenning Armeense genocide in Nederlands Parlement stap dichterbij
Den Haag – Enkele honderden demonstranten hebben op 21 april 2004 met een
petitie aan de Tweede Kamer, aan de regering en aan de Turkse ambassade
erkenning geëist van de genocide op Armeniërs van 1915 in Turkije en de
noodzaak benadrukt dat Turkije deze genocide erkent, voordat er sprake kan
zijn van een datum voor onderhandelingen inzake toetreding tot de EU.
De Voorzitter van de Vaste Commissie voor Europese Zaken van de Tweede
Kamer, Mw. S. Dijksma, nam in aanwezigheid van de kamerleden Van Bommel
(SP), Huizinga (CU) en van der Staay (SGP) de petitie in ontvangst uit
handen van een overlevende van de Armeense genocide. Vervolgens werd een
petitie aangeboden aan de Nederlandse regering op het ministerie van
Algemene Zaken. Op de Turkse ambassade bleven de deur en de brievenbus
dicht. De demonstranten konden niet anders dan de brief op de deurknop
achterlaten.
Tijdens de demonstratie op het Plein spraken kamerleden van CDA, PvdA,
ChristenUnie, GroenLinks en SP de demonstranten toe. In hun toespraken
onderstreepten de kamerleden het belang van erkenning van de Armeense
genocide. Tevens werd duidelijk dat de fracties van deze partijen, die
samen een meerderheid vormen in de Tweede Kamer, de Armeense genocide
feitelijk erkennen. Hiermee is de erkenning in Nederland van de genocide op
1,5 miljoen Armeniërs in het najaren van het Turks-Ottomaanse Rijk een stap
dichterbij gekomen.
Lagen de opvattingen van de partijen en die van het 24 april Comité wat
betreft erkenning van de Armeense genocide dicht bij elkaar, meer verschil
was er wat betreft de rol die erkenning al dan niet moet spelen bij de
beslissing over een datum voor onderhandelingen met Turkije voor evantuele
toetreding van dit land tot EU. Hierover zal de komende tijd nog nader van
gedachten worden gewisseld.
De demonstratie was de eerste in een reeks activiteiten, die het 24 april
comité van de Armeense Federatie de komende tijd organiseert met het oog op
erkenning door Turkije van de Armeense genocide van 1915.
De jaarlijkse plechtige herdenking van de Armeense genocide vindt op 24
april a.s. vanaf 13.00 uur plaats op begraafplaats de Boskamp in Assen bij
de Armeense gedenksteen. Na een kranslegging en plechtigheid, wordt een
bijeenkomst gehouden in de aula van de begraafplaats. Hierbij zullen o.a.
Freek de Jonge en Paul Scheffer , alsmede de ambassadeur van Armenië in de
Benelux, het woord voeren.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 26 2004
Armenians, Jews mark genocide in Jerusalem
‘the world must recognize that this took place. That is the first
step’
Historian says political pressure has prevented 2 key countries – the
United States and Israel – from recognizing the crime
By Omar Karmi
Special to The Daily Star
JERUSALEM: It was, according to most, a good turnout. Nearly 1,000
people came to commemorate the Armenian genocide on April 24; a
pleasant, sunny day that belied the solemnity of the occasion.
Armenians, mostly from Jerusalem, but also from Jaffa, Haifa,
Nazareth and as far away as North America, congregated at the
Armenian Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem where mass was held.
Prayers were recited, hymns from the Armenian liturgy were sung and
amidst the incense and candle smoke, some were moved to tears.
“Today we are remembering the diabolical scheme that started the
murder of almost the entire Armenian nation,” said Elie Dickranian,
70, headmaster of the Armenian Secondary School in Jerusalem.
On April 24, 1915, some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community
leaders were arrested and later killed by the Ottoman authorities in
Constantinople (Istanbul) accused of cooperating with Russia, then at
war with the Ottoman Empire.
This day has come to mark the beginning of the “diabolical scheme,”
when Armenians say Ottoman Turks slaughtered some 1.5 million people
in massacres that carried on until 1923. Turkey denies the charges of
genocide, acknowledging only that Armenians were among the many
victims of war as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
It is because of this denial – by Turkey and many other countries –
that the events of those years came to be known as the “forgotten
genocide,” something Armenians worldwide are trying to change.
“At least the world must recognize that there was a genocide,” said
Angela Dikbkian, 24, who works in a local travel agency. “That is the
first step. Maybe my great-grandchildren will be able to return to
their land and get restitution. That remains a dream for the future.”
There have been some successes along the way. On April 21 the
Canadian Parliament voted 153-68 to support a motion declaring the
events of 89 years ago as genocide. France and Switzerland have done
the same, angering Turkey so much that in 2001 the country canceled a
large defense contract from France.
But two countries other than Turkey matter more to the Armenians in
Jerusalem: the US and Israel, both of whom consider Turkey a
strategic ally, and are loath to alienate the country.
“I can understand the US feels Turkey is a great ally,” said
Dickranian, “but the truth is a greater ally to America.”
The United States came close in 2000 to doing what Canada did in
2004. Yair Auron, a Israeli historian and specialist on the Armenian
genocide, claims that not only Turkish but Israeli pressure played a
part in the motion not being adopted then.
Auron, a professor at Tel Aviv’s Open University and author of two
books on the Armenian genocide, The Banality of Indifference: Zionism
and the Armenian Genocide, and The Banality of Denial: Israel and the
Armenian Genocide, was among the crowd at Saturday’s commemoration
event.
“I feel it is my duty as a human being and … a Jew to protest my
government’s attitude,” he said. “Most Israelis don’t know about the
genocide and I can feel from Armenians that they are very hurt by
this because they feel Jews especially should understand.”
Auron, who said he was almost successful in lobbying the Israeli
Education Ministry to include the genocide as part of its holocaust
curriculum in 1994 – only to see the project deemed too pro-Armenian
and subsequently dropped – believes there are two reasons for the
Israeli position.
“One is political; Israel considers Turkey its most important
regional ally. And another has to do with the concept of the
uniqueness of the (Jewish) holocaust. Some people feel that if
something like the Armenian genocide is studied it would detract from
the uniqueness of the holocaust.”
In fact, the Armenian commemoration fell only a week after Israelis
commemorated their Holocaust, while on May 15 Palestinians will mark
the nakba, or catastrophe, of 1948 that left several thousands of
unarmed Palestinians dead at the hands of Jewish militias, and some
800,000 homeless and destitute.
The similarity between the three peoples’ histories is not lost on
Dickranian.
“Of course there is an analogy between the three people. They have
all suffered the same trauma. The only difference is that Israel and
Armenia exists, while Palestinians are still striving (for their own
state).”
The Armenian community does its best to stay out of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, even though their links to the
Palestinians are longer and deeper. The Armenian presence in
Jerusalem predates Muslim rule, and the community always enjoyed
protected status from their Muslim rulers in Jerusalem.
Many Armenians lost property in West Jerusalem in 1948, and Armenians
fought against the Jewish militias to defend the Old City. Since the
occupation in 1967, the Armenian Patriarchate has also lost land to
Israeli confiscations, and suffers from the same difficulties that
other non-Jewish institutions have in obtaining building permits.
Armenians have been killed and imprisoned alongside Palestinians in
both intifadas.
Nevertheless, Armenians are, in the words of Dickranian, a
“negligible” ethnic minority and, while he hopes an eventual
political solution to the conflict will also address the property
they have lost, “we try not to interfere.”
The commemoration ended at the Armenian graveyard in the Old City.
There, around a monument to Armenian soldiers who fought with the
British against the Ottomans, a final hymn was sung and children held
aloft a banner driving home the message: “World Silence: Complicity
to the Crime.”
“In,” said Dickranian, unable to hide his headmasterly instincts. “It
should be ‘Complicity in the Crime.'”

Arutz Sheva, Israel
April 26 2004
Armenian Genocide Remembered in Jerusalem
11:50 Apr 26, ’04 / 5 Iyar 5764

(IsraelNN.com) April 24 is the day Armenians mark the Ottoman Turkish
massacres of their people that were carried out from 1915 to 1925.
Armenians say 1.5 million people were killed in what was in effect an
attempt at genocide.
This year, about 1,000 people – Armenians and others – from
Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Nazareth and overseas marked the anniversary
Saturday at the Armenian Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Armenian Orthodox Christian prayers were recited, with incense and
candles lit in honor of the occasion.

Pasadena Star-News, CA
April 26 2004
Consecration of stones, lives
Armenian church officials bless sanctuary foundation
By Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer
PASADENA — Sixteen foundation stones were blessed Sunday in
preparation for their inclusion in the new sanctuary at St. Gregory
the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, 2215 E. Colorado Blvd.
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and Pastor Zaven Arzoumanian presided
over the 30-minute ceremony, which featured singing and chanting as
each stone was consecrated.
The $2.2 million sanctuary is scheduled for completion in November,
said Nicholas Lambajian, sanctuary building chairman. It will be the
largest Armenian church in Southern California and, at 85 feet, the
tallest church on E. Colorado Boulevard, Lambajian said.
“It will be in traditional Armenia style, covered with traditional
Armenian materials imported from Armenia, and built by Armenia
craftsmen,’ he said.
Besides the sanctuary seating 550, the building will house meeting
rooms and a full commercial kitchen. If the building is finished by
November, its consecration will coincide with the 40th anniversary of
the church at the E. Colorado Boulevard location, Lambajian said.
“The consecration of the cornerstones for the new church is also the
consecration of our spiritual lives … a rebirth in our spiritual
lives,’ Derderian said. “We were strengthened once again in our
commitment, in our calling to serve God, our community and this
beloved country, America, which has blessed us in many ways.’
Arzoumanian said the church is the foundation upon which Armenians
base their faith “and our foundation is the indestructible armor
against all kinds of enemies.’
Shoghig Giragosian, parish council vice chair, said the Armenian
Church is 1,700 years old and has survived several periods of
persecution.
“The rebuilding of this church shows that at this day and age not
only has our nation and people survived, but so has our church and it
came back stronger and better.’

Kathimerini, Greece
April 26 2004
Armenian genocide
Government and parliamentary officials yesterday attended a ceremony
in Athens to honor the memory of the estimated 1.5 million Turkish
Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. In Thessaloniki,
hundreds of Armenians marched on the Turkish consulate to demand that
Ankara recognizes the genocide.

The Hindu, India
April 26 2004
Eljanov shoots into sole lead
Dubai, April 26. (PTI): Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran, yet again
slipped to joint second spot after drawing with GM Artashes Minasian
of Armenia, in the seventh round of the Dubai International Chess
Championship at Dubai Chess and Culture Club here.
GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, shot into sole lead following a
hard-fought victory over GM Alexei Federov of Belarus.
Eljanov on six points is closely followed by top seeded Liviu-Dieter
Nisipeanu of Romania, Azerbaijani World Junior Champion Shakhriyaz
Mamedyarov, Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova, Alexander Goloshchapov of
Ukraine, Norwegian whiz-kid Magnus Carlsen, Minasian, Sasikiran and P
Harikrishna who all have 5.5 points each in their kitty.
With just two rounds remaining in this $41,000 tournament, another
pack of 8 players is in contention for top honours with 5 points
apiece.
The Indian IM norm aspirants suffered a setback in their quest as
Parimarjan Negi and Manthan Chokshi went down fighting against
Russian GM Alexey Kuzmin, and Armenian GM Karen Asrian, respectively.
Also losing was National Champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly who failed to
counter the bubbling energy of 13-years old Carlsen and IM D V Prasad
who fell back on a 50 per cent score after losing to Goran Dizdar of
Croatia.

PRESS RELEASE
Adhoc Armenian Committee for Tibet China Negotiations
Viken L. Attarian
Dollard-Des-Ormeaux
Quebec CANADA
514-244-7575, [email protected]
AD HOC ARMENIAN COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF TIBET CHINA NEGOTIATIONS SECURES
THREE ADDITIONAL MP SIGNATURES AND DECLARES SUCCESS
Montreal, QUEBEC, CANADA April 23, 2004– The Ad Hoc Armenian Committee in
Support of the Tibet China Negotiations has secured three additional MP
signatures to Mr. Sarkis Assadourian’s in support of their cause. The MPs
who have signed just prior to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Canada
are Harvey André, Yolande Thibeault and David Price.
“We are grateful to these three new MPs who have signed on, bringing the
total of supporting Members of Parliament to 165 “, says Mr. Azad
Chichmanian, a member of the committee, “hundreds of emails and letters were
sent through our committee to achieve this objective and we have been
successful. The Prime Minister has actually met with His Holiness as a
result of the effort of all Canadians and we are proud to declare our
successful campaign to be officially closed”.
“Our special thanks go to those Canadian-Armenians who have listened to our
call and have responded postitively, and to all our friends who have worked
in the background to achieve this success” says Mr. Viken L. Attarian,
another member of the committee. “This is a particularly moving moment for
Armenians because in this same week, the Canadian Parliament, following in
the footsteps of the Canadian Senate, has officially recognized the Armenian
Genocide. Armenians, as a nation who have suffered a great historical
injustice, have reached out to our fellow Tibetans and actively worked in
support of human rights. It was our duty to do so as Armenians, as
Canadians and as human beings”.
For Further information please contact Viken L. Attarian at 514-244-7575.

Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago
April 20 2004
‘I had no heart. We were animals’
The quotation above is from a Hutu peasant recounting the day ten
years ago when he actively participated in the killings. At interview
he was probably about 45 or so had somewhat bloodshot eyes, and a
saddened countenance. He went on to explain that the Government had
decided to kill the Tutsis and they had been handed over to the gangs
of killers who had been transported to the killing fields-a Roman
Catholic church! Apparently there were also similar slaughters in the
Seventh Day Adventist church. The skulls and bones now adorn these
churches. He admitted to killing a ten-year-old child and when
questioned by the interviewer about killing a child when he himself
had a child of the same age, he simply shook his head-I had no heart.
We were animals. After watching the BBC account of then and now I
still found it impossible to determine from physical appearances who
was Hutu and who was Tutsi, any more than I could tell Catholic Irish
from Protestant Irish, or a Muslim from a Hindu in India, or Jew from
Palestinian.
There are two things that struck me about this brief exchange. We
were animals and the government handed them over for killing. Poor
maligned animals. All life on the planet of course competes for the
resources necessary for continued existence and all animal life is
dependent on plant life. There are few plants that can kill animals
when eaten. This is simply the self-defence mechanism of production
of toxins in their tissues. Some may also trap animals to obtain
essential nutrients in nutrient poor conditions. Few animals kill
members of their own species although it is known in some cases,
especially where there may be severe overcrowding or deprivation.
Rats in overcrowded cages often develop aberrant behaviour and kill
cage mates, including their young.
In contrast, the human species currently kills, has killed and will
continue to kill, not only at the one-on-one killing level, where
states at least try to regulate and punish individual killers, but
also in group or state interactions. To the innocent who has had her
head bashed in with a club in a church in Rwanda, or to a mother and
child being torn apart by shrapnel from an American smart bomb in
Iraq, or to a group of Jews being marched into the gas chambers, or
to Armenian families being marched into the desert, or to West
Africans being enslaved and killed by both Arabs and Europeans, or
Hindus and Muslims mutually slaughtering each other in 1947, it is
all the same-the behaviour of an aberrant species. If the species has
been indeed “created” as many believe, the design was obviously poor.
Animals do not really behave in this way.
But there is a possible explanation. We have only to look at our
nearest relative, the chimpanzee, an animal with whom we share the
bulk of our genes, some 99 per cent. Jane Goodall, the primatologist,
has spent decades studying the behaviour of chimpanzees in the wild.
Much of what had hitherto recorded of the behaviour of chimpanzees
and other apes had been based on observations of the animals in
artificial environments of zoos. Much of the general behaviour of
chimpanzees is described in her book, Reason for Hope-A Spiritual
Journey. Although very much a personal narrative, she does toward the
end describe what the account is really about. It is about her
personal journey, as she states, from evil to love, drawing on
childhood perception of the architects of the Holocaust, the German
slaughter of millions of Jews. But the science is there in the book
and may also be seen in countless other field studies on chimpanzees
in Africa.
Chimpanzees are not the clownish creatures they are often made out to
be. Their basic social unit is essentially an extended family
grouping that may be as large as 50 or so individuals more or less
male-dominated, with one top male and several sub-dominants, females
organised in some sort of hierarchy, juveniles and infants, more or
less occupying a measurable expanse of territory supporting the
group. But there is much more to the science of the behaviour of
chimpanzees. Chimpanzees can be murderous as a group when they raid
other territories in a primitive sort of warfare, killing other
chimpanzees. Internally, in a group, individuals may be bullied,
ostracised, expelled or even killed. Infanticide has also been
recorded. Leadership of a group is under constant threat from
sub-dominants. There is even the behaviour of male bonding when the
males go of together on a hunt, even at times when their normal food
supply is abundant. There are even different regional “languages”. It
is not difficult to make comparisons with human behaviour.
The other thing that struck me was the excuse given by the Hutu
interviewee-it was a Government decision to kill the Tutsis,
reminiscent of the attitudes seen with all genocide. The individual
justifies killing simply as being caught up in the process. The fact
that murder is known in all societies, some being more murderous than
other, and that genocide, deliberate or incidental, is the norm in
human society, suggests that human social organisation is not
genetically ordered as is seen in highly social species such as ants,
bees and wasps, and termites. In the science of ethology or animal
behaviour the term behavioural plasticity refers to the degree of
variability of behaviour of a species in response to external
stimulus. Social insects demonstrate no plasticity. Anyone who has
kept dogs will demonstrate considerable behavioural plasticity, even
within a litter. Certainly chimpanzees demonstrate plasticity of
behaviour, both in the wild and in captivity. The range of human
behaviour suggests the greatest degree of plasticity of behaviour of
any species known to science.
There is nevertheless one aspect of social behaviour in vertebrate
animals that warrants some comment. This is schooling, flocking or
herding, seem amongst many fishes, birds and mammals. Social grouping
of animals as they go about their individual lives does offer some
advantage mainly against predation. In primates, however, this type
of behaviour is the exception rather than the rule. Primate grouping
is generally the family grouping. This raises the question of group
leadership. Certainly in chimpanzees leadership is by the dominant
male, until his displacement and the size of groupings is regulated
by natural processes.
Humans, however, have conquered disease and starvation (they think),
the natural population regulators and numbers exceed six billion,
unprecedented for a mammal. It should therefore not surprise anyone
that given genetic programming, plasticity of behaviour, inheritance
of learned behaviour and numbers, herding, a product of conditioning
and culture, becomes the norm of human behaviour, not rationality.
This behaviour can lead to exploitation of the herd. Simply follow
Martin Daly’s Sunday Express commentaries over the past few weeks to
understand the phenomenon. In conflict for power by the dominant male
or males, individual members of the herd suffer. Millions are
sometimes massacred by the herd. Jane Goodall and others suggests
hope in “spiritual and moral values”. Rationality, however, might
save the species. Some hope indeed.