Category: News

ArmenPress
April 2 2004
ARSHILE GORKY’S CENTENARY TO BE MARKED IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: The centenary of Arshile Gorky, one
of the most famous contemporary artists, the founder of Abstract
Surrealism, will be marked in Yerevan on April 15 by a set of events,
initiated by Arshile Gorky Foundation in collaboration with the Union
of Armenian Artists. One of the events will be an exhibition of
pictures and sculptures of Armenian artists. The government has set
up a commission to steer the events. An exhibition of his works will
be organized also at New York Metropolitan Museum. By the way, there
is only one picture by Gorky in Armenia, kept at the headquarters of
the Armenian Church in Etchmiadzin.
Arshile Gorky was born Vosdanik Adoian in the village of Khorkom,
province of Van, Armenia, on April 15, 1904. The Adoians became
refugees from the Turkish invasion; Gorky himself left Van in 1915
and arrived in the United States about March 1, 1920. He stayed with
relatives in Watertown, Massachusetts, and with his father, who had
settled in Providence, Rhode Island. By 1922 he lived in Watertown
and taught at the New School of Design in Boston. In 1925 he moved to
New York and changed his name to Arshile Gorky. He entered the Grand
Central School of Art in New York as a student but soon became an
instructor of drawing; from 1926 to 1931 he was a member of the
faculty. Throughout the 1920s Gorky’s painting was influenced by
Georges Braque, Paul Cézanne, and, above all, Pablo Picasso.
In 1930 Gorky’s work was included in a group show at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York. During the thirties he associated closely
with Stuart Davis, Willem de Kooning, and John Graham; he shared a
studio with de Kooning late in the decade. Gorky’s first solo show
took place at the Mellon Galleries in Philadelphia in 1931. From 1935
to 1937 he worked under the WPA Federal Art Project on murals for
Newark Airport. His involvement with the WPA continued into 1941.
Gorky’s first solo show in New York was held at the Boyer Galleries
in 1938. The San Francisco Museum of Art exhibited his work in 1941.
In the 1940s he was profoundly affected by the work of European
Surrealists, particularly Joan Miró, André Masson, and Matta. By 1944
he met André Breton and became a friend of other Surrealist emigrés
in this country. Gorky’s first exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery
in New York took place in 1945. From 1942 to 1948 he worked for part
of each year in the countryside of Connecticut or Virginia. A
succession of personal tragedies, including a fire in his studio that
destroyed much of his work, a serious operation, and an automobile
accident, preceded Gorky’s death by suicide on July 21, 1948, in
Sherman, Connecticut.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 2, 2004 Friday 8:43 AM Eastern Time
Armenia, Lebanon intend to develop economic cooperation
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenia and Lebanon intend to develop economic cooperation in various
fields, prime ministers of the countries Andranik Margaryan and Rafik
Hariri said after the official visit of the Lebanese premier to
Yerevan.
Upon results of the visit the package of agreements on cooperation in
culture, science, education and agriculture was signed. The premiers
called on business quarters of the countries to actively cooperate.
Difficulties in cargo traffic from one country to another that
resulted in increasing prices for goods is an important problem that
Hariri discussed in Yerevan, he emphasised. “We are searching for
solutions,” the Lebanese prime minister pointed out.
The Armenians have always played a significant role in the
development and prosperity of Lebanon and participated in various
spheres of life in the country, Hariri remarked. They hold posts in
the government, parliament, Central Bank, trade and industry of the
country, the premier noted.
The Middle East settlement should correspond to UN resolutions,
decisions of the UN Security Council and international agreements, it
was said at Hariri’s meeting in the Armenian parliament.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2004
CONTACT: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY RESPONDS TO TURKISH INVITATION FOR DIALOGUE
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly leadership this week told a senior
Turkish official it was ready to resume dialogue, but not during the month
of April and not until a critical assessment of Turkish policy since the
last exchange in June of 2003.

Responding to an invitation by Ambassador Ecvet Tezcan, Assembly Board of
Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian said dialogue without results is
meaningless and therefore it was imperative to “lay out our objectives”
prior to any future discussions.
“The Armenian Assembly of America appreciates your invitation on behalf of
your Foreign Ministry to continue our dialogue begun last June in New York,”
Barsamian said in his reply to Ambassador Tezcan.
“While our organization remains committed to continuing our full and frank
exchanges on issues that presently divide us, the next meeting cannot take
place during the month of April as you propose. As you are well aware, this
solemn month for all Armenians is a time for remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide. Your government’s inexplicable denial policy remains unchanged,
making it impossible to convene this month,” Barsamian added.
Similar meetings with Tezcan in June last year in New York and Los Angeles,
that included in LA representatives from the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU), and the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America,
underscored the community message that Armenian-Americans are united in
their insistence that Turkey deal with the issue of the Armenian Genocide,
establish normal relations with Armenia that are not dictated by the
Azerbaijani position on Nagorno Karabakh and end restrictions and pressure
on the Armenian minority in Turkey.
After the June discussions, then-Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Peter
Vosbikian said while there was no breakthrough, it still provided an
opportunity for a “frank exchange of views” which “at minimum … will
prevent Turkey’s friends from using an outright refusal to meet against us
in their lobbying in Capitol Hill.”
“Turkey now needs to validate its dialogue and positive statements with
deeds on all of the historic and contemporary questions that comprise the
Armenia-Turkey agenda,” Vosbikian said.
But nearly ten months since the last face-to-face encounter, there has been
no change in Turkish attitudes or behavior.
“I know that you concur that dialogue without results is not in anyone’s
interest, and we need to lay out objectives prior to meeting. Your
government’s statements and actions on the Armenian Genocide since last
June, the lack of movement on opening the border with Armenia despite calls
from the Bush Administration and the European Union to do so, and, the
failure to implement minority rights reforms, indicate that our dialogue
must be more urgent and result oriented,” Barsamian said.
“Our organization looks forward to a more focused process that begins to
deal with these and other pressing issues on our common agenda,” Barsamian
added in is response to the latest invitation for a new round of dialogue
with the Turkish side.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2004-033

RosBusinessConsulting Database
April 2, 2004 Friday 8:04 am, EST
CIS output up in Jan-Feb 2004
The industrial output of CIS members increased at the average by 10
percent in January-February 2004 against the same period in 2003. The
strongest output growth was observed in Ukraine (18.2 percent),
Georgia (14.8 percent), Moldova (13.4 percent), the CIS Interstate
Statistical Committee reports.
Industrial output also increased in Belarus (13.2 percent),
Tajikistan (10.6 percent), Kazakhstan (8.9 percent), Russia (8.1
percent), Kirghizia (6.4 percent), and Azerbaijan (4.6 percent). The
only CIS country where the output decreased by 5.5 percent in
January-February 2004 against the same period in 2003 is Armenia.
The information on the output growth in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
is not given.

Armenian National Committee of New Jersey
461 Bergen Boulevard
Ridgefield, NJ 07657
Tel: 201-945-0011
[email protected]
April 2, 2004
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Kim Arzoumanian
[email protected]
NEW JERSEY ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
— Remembrance Program and Memorial Service to be held on April 24; BBC
Documentary “Armenia: The Betrayed” to be shown on April 18
RIDGEFIELD, NJ–The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey is
organizing a program marking the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The remembrance will take place on Saturday, April 24, at Sts. Vartanants
Armenian Church in Ridgefield. A Memorial Service at Sts. Vartanants will
begin at 6:30 pm, and will be followed by a bilingual program in the
adjacent Church Hall.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau Member Hagop Der
Khatchadourian will offer a keynote address in Armenian. Professor Henry
Theriault, Director of Worcester State College’s Center for the Study of
Human Rights, will also deliver an address in English. Members of the
Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) New Jersey “Arsen” chapter will also offer
remarks during the commemoration.
In addition to the remembrance program, the New Jersey ARF “Dro” Committee,
the New Jersey Hamazkayin, the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, and the
Tekeyan Cultural Association are cosponsoring the showing of the BBC
documentary “Armenia: The Betrayed” on Sunday, April 18. The viewing begins
at 2:30 pm at the Hovnanian School, 817 River Road, New Milford.
Joining those in attendance will be BBC reporter Phillip Wearne, who will
field questions from the audience at the conclusion of the documentary. In
addition, Armenian Genocide survivor Rahan Kachian will be honored.
“Armenia: The Betrayed” details efforts to pass the Armenian Genocide
Congressional resolution in October of 2000. Despite garnering wide
bipartisan support, the resolution was pulled at the last minute from floor
consideration by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who cited a letter
from President Bill Clinton expressing opposition to the legislation. The
documentary features interviews with Congressmen George Radanovich (R-CA)
and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Armenian Genocide survivors, and senior Turkish
officials.
Both programs are free and open to the public. Further information can be
obtained by contacting Kim Arzoumanian at [email protected].
The Armenian National Committee (ANC) is the largest Armenian American
grassroots political organization in New Jersey and nationwide. The ANC
actively advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian
American community.
####

RosBusinessConsulting Database
April 2, 2004 Friday
Data on GDP of CIS countries posted
GDP of the CIS countries increased at an average 9 percent annual
rate in the January-February period, the internationals statistics
committee of CIS countries reported. Azerbaijani and Ukrainian GDP
grew at the fastest rate: 10.2 percent. Kyrgyzstani GDP increased at
the smallest rate: 5.2 percent. Belarusian DGP increased 9.5 percent,
Tajikistani GDP grew 8.6 percent and the rate of the GDP growth in
Armenia totaled 7.3 percent.
Data on the rate of GDP growth in Kazakhstan, Georgia and Moldova for
the period have not been published. Russian Finance Ministry
estimates their GDP growth rate at 8.3 percent.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 2, 2004, Friday, BC cycle
Boston arts center displays works inspired by obsession and compulsion
By HELENA PAYNE, Associated Press Writer
A Boston artist has dedicated a museum exhibit to the type of
behavior that causes some to separate their M&Ms into colors, pop
bubble wrap until there is no more plastic to crush and focus all
their attention on the most minute detail out of pure obsession.
The exhibit at the Boston Center for the Arts is called “OCD,” as in
obsessive compulsive disorder. Curator Matthew Nash said it’s not
about an illness but how the creative process can be driven by a
series of obsessions and compulsions.
“You should see my studio,” said Nash, who has shown his art in
Boston, Chicago, New York and Italy.
He is one of the people who separates his Skittles, M&Ms and Reese’s
Pieces into separate containers for each color. He used the latter
two sugary goods to create his art for the OCD exhibit, which lasts
through May 9 and features artists from New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Using the Halloween-like colors in the candies, Nash made a grid that
forms the images of soldiers, planes and other war-related pictures.
“The obsession of this is having bins and bins of M&Ms and hoping
when you’re done it looks like something,” Nash said.
Nancy Havlick has bins with objects separated by color, but they’re
filled with sugar eggs. In an attempt to fuse her multicultural roots
– English and Armenian – with her American upbringing, she decided to
start her own tradition.
With the sugar eggs, Havlick creates “rugs.” Make no mistake, they
aren’t to walk on.
The eggs are colored with a mixture of spices and foods often used in
Armenia, including mahleb, sumac, almonds, apricots, paprika and
rosebuds. She organizes them in decorative patterns on the floor.
“I’m deciding my own tradition. Rather than looking backwards, I’m
forging ahead,” Havlick said, laying one of the eggs in its position.
Havlick said she didn’t recognize her obsession with making sugar
eggs until she realized she has been doing it for a decade. But she
has also realized another fixation: carving out an identity from her
multiethnic past.
In her parents’ generation, Havlick said, it was much more common to
assimilate to the American culture rather than celebrate differences.
“My mother wasn’t cooking Armenian food. We were having hot dogs and
hamburgers,” she said.
The sugar eggs have become her own way of bridging the past to the
future and “to control the chaotic feelings” of life, she said.
And for her two children, the sugar egg tradition is working. Her
9-month-old son Jonathan’s first words were “momma,” “sugar” and
“eggs.”
Many of the exhibitors wanted their art to express something about
both the creation process and the result.
New York artist Jason Dean wanted to conquer bubble wrap after
working for an animation company where he did a lot of packing.
So he decided to make it an art project and see how much time it
would take for him to pop the largest roll of bubble wrap he could
find: 110 feet by 4 feet. It took about six hours.
That roll and other smaller ones are mounted on a wall of the exhibit
like paper towels above a kitchen sink. There is also a video that
features Dean’s “popping spree.”
“I kept thinking that they were a lot louder,” he said. “It just
sounded like fireworks and I kept thinking that someone is going to
question this odd sound.”
Joseph Trupia, another New York artist, used office supplies to make
drawings called “What I can do in 40 hours” and “What I can do in 8
hours.”
Another work in the OCD exhibit shows 600 photographs of rear ends.
“It was kind of a silly thing to do at first and it became a document
of the process of looking,” said Boston artist Luke Walker of his
gluteus photography.
Norfolk, Va., artist Jennifer Schmidt became fascinated with the
repetition of filling in ovals on test score sheets.
“The idea of the artwork showing evidence of repeated activity is
something we see in a lot of different forms,” said Martha Buskirk, a
fellow at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in
Williamstown, Mass., and author of “The Contingent Object of
Contemporary Art.”
The clinical disorder is even more consuming, said Diane Davey, a
registered nurse and program director of the OCD Institute at McLean
Hospital in Belmont.
“Obsessive compulsive disorder is really defined as someone who has
unwanted or disturbing intrusive thoughts and who engages in a set of
behaviors that are meant to sort of neutralize the thought and help
them to feel less anxious,” Davey said.
Davey said an exhibit like “OCD” might help someone to question his
or her own behavior and seek help if necessary.
On the Net:
Boston Center for the Arts:
OCD Exhibition:

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 2 2004
ARMENIA, LEBANON TO BOOST COOPERATION
YEREVAN, April 2, 2004. (RIA Novosti) — Armenia and Lebanon are to
develop cooperation in all spheres. Several intergovernmental
agreements were signed at the session of the Armenian-Lebanese
intergovernmental commission. It was held as part of the visit to
Armenia by a Lebanese delegation headed by Prime Minister Rafiq
Hariri, the Armenian government’s staff said.
Armenian and Lebanese Culture Ministers Tamara Pogosyan and Ghazi
Aridi signed a business cooperation program in the youth and culture
spheres for 2004-2007. Armenian Education and Science Minister Sergo
Eritsyan and Lebanese Education Minister Samir Al-Jisr signed an
intergovernmental program on science and education cooperation for
2004-2007. Finally, Armenian Agriculture Minister David Lokyan and
Lebanese Minister of Economy Marwan Hamadeh signed an agreement on
agricultural cooperation.
After the signing ceremony Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri said
that his country is interested in the development of economic
cooperation with Armenia and growth of bilateral trade turnover.
The Lebanese delegation headed by the Prime Minister arrived in
Armenia on an official visit yesterday at an invitation from Armenian
Prime Minister Andranik Markarayn. This is Mr. Hariri’d third visit
to Armenia.

ARKA News Agency
April 2 2004
Expanding of economic links is a priority of development of
Armenia-Lebanese cooperation
Armenian dance and poetry party takes place in London
On April 3, RA Prime Minister to leave for Tavush region of Armenia
with two-day visit
1 April
RA President receives the head of USAID Yerevan Office
Compromise between Armenian authorities and opposition must be free,
RA NA Vice Speaker
Azerbaijani Minister’s statement not true
NKR President signs decree on establishing of interdepartmental
commission
The Leader of ULB faction suggests that the statement of the
opposition regarding Government shift be accepted with humor
*********************************************************************
EXPANDING OF ECONOMIC LINKS IS A PRIORITY OF DEVELOPMENT OF
ARMENIA-LEBANESE COOPERATION
YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. Expanding of economic links is a priority
of development of Armenia-Lebanese cooperation. It was stated during
the meeting of RA President Robert Kocharian and Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Khariri. The parties noted high level of
Armenian-Lebanese relations and stressed the importance of activation
of links between business circles of the countries. The parties noted
important role of Armenian community of Lebanon in development of
bilateral relations. The parties also exchanged views on problems and
developments in Middle East and South Caucasus regions. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN DANCE AND POETRY PARTY TAKES PLACE IN LONDON
YEREVAN, April 2./ARKA/. Armenian dance and poetry party took place
in London, RA MFA told ARKA. The party took place in Dartmouth House,
The English-Speaking Union. British Dancer of Armenian origin Shake
Avanesian danced Armenian dances and actor Peter Barker represented
English translations of Armenian lyrics. L.D. -0 –
*********************************************************************
ON APRIL 3, RA PRIME MINISTER TO LEAVE FOR TAVUSH REGION OF ARMENIA
WITH TWO-DAY VISIT
YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. On April 3, RA Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian will leave for Tavush region of Armenia with two-day visit.
The Premier will get familiar with the work of irrigation system in
Parakavar system. He will take part in the opening of gravity
irrigation system in Airum village. The visit also includes meetings
with the citizens of the region, bodies of territorial and local
self-government. On April 4, Margarian will take part in opening of
chess school in Dilijan. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT RECEIVES THE HEAD OF USAID YEREVAN OFFICE
YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian received the
Head of USAID Yerevan Office Keith Simmons, who finished his mission
in Armenia. RA President’s press office told ARKA that the President
handed Simmons a medal of Movses Khorenatsi for personal contribution
in socio-economic development Armenia. Kocharian thanked Simmons for
productive cooperation.
Simmons in his turn said that USAID programs have been developed and
realized along with reforms of RA Government and joint work was very
effective.
Simmons represented the President new Head of USAID Yerevan Office
Robin Phillips. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
COMPROMISE BETWEEN ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION MUST BE FREE,
RA NA VICE SPEAKER
YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Compromise between Armenian authorities and
opposition must be free, RA NA Vice Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian stated
today. `No bridge can built between authorities and opposition if
opposition states that they are ready to political dialogue only
after resignation of the president’, he said. He stressed that
discussions with opposition can be possible only if opposition
expresses versatility. `If opposition does not want it, then all
responsibility for breaking of stability in the country will lay on
it’, he stated. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
AZERBAIJANI MINISTER’S STATEMENT NOT TRUE
STEPANAKERT, April 1. /ARKA/. Namik Abbasov’s, Azerbaijan’s National
Security Minister statement, that Nagorno Karbakh produces drugs are
not true, as NKR Police Press Service told ARKA. As stated by the
Press Service, Azerbaijan follows a policy of discrediting of NKR
during the recent years and new `facts’ reported by the Azerbaijani
Minister are the continuation of this policy. As also said by the
Pres Service, NKR leadership was repeatedly applying to the relevant
international structures with the request to delegate an independent
group of experts to check so called `facts’ reported by the
Azerbaijani side.
Also a number of international organizations offices are accredited
in Nagorno Karabakh and their representatives have a free access to
all regions of NKR as well as to adjacent areas. `However,
Azerbaijan’s accusations never were confirmed by them’, as the
statement mentions. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
NKR PRESIDENT SIGNS DECREE ON ESTABLISHING OF INTERDEPARTMENTAL
COMMISSION
STEPANAKERT, April 1. /ARKA/. Today NKR President Arkadi Ghukasyan
signed a decree on establishing of Interdepartmental Commission on
Information Security and Television Broadcasting of NKR Security
Council, as stated by the NKR President Press-Service told ARKA.
Georgi Petrosyan, Member of the Security Council, Advisor to the NKR
President was appointed as the Commission Chairman. T.M. -0-
*********************************************************************
THE LEADER OF ULB FACTION SUGGESTS THAT THE STATEMENT OF THE
OPPOSITION REGARDING GOVERNMENT SHIFT BE ACCEPTED WITH HUMOR
YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Gourgen Arsenya, the Leader of the United
Labor Party (ULB) faction, suggests that the statement of the
opposition regarding Government shift be accepted with humor. As he
stated in the Parliament, the reality to be accepted with humor,
since the political tension is just illusion. He is sure that the
reality is `a political process and not rebellion’. The Leader
estimated the present situation as a `brigandage’. `Everybody wants
something, but in fact they all want to gain power’, said Arsenyan.
He stated that the Government worries about the situation, since it
doesn’t want the activities of the opposition to bring to social
disorders. According to the leader, the power keeps the situation
under control.
The opposition in the person of the National Unity Party and Justice
Bloc stated of their intention to achieve the shift of Government at
the head of Robert Kocharian, the RA President. The opposition will
declare the day of the civic protest action till April 13. A.H. -0–

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 2, 2004
CONTACT: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY: REFERENCE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CLOUDED BY TURKISH
INFLUENCE
Washington, DC — The Armenian Assembly this week called on Secretary of
State Colin Powell to re-examine his Department’s most recent human rights
report on Turkey, clarify repeated incorrect references to the Armenian
Genocide and unequivocally distance itself from the Turkish policy of
denial.
Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian said the Assembly was
“greatly troubled” by the use of the words “alleged” and “allegation” in
contexts which seem “unquestionably influenced by Turkish assuage clouding
State Department reporting.”
“The Armenian Assembly urges you to re-clarify that the use of the words
‘alleged’ and ‘allegations’ … do not reflect an official Department of
State position,” Barsamian said in his letter.
Under Section 2(a) and again under Section 5 of the Department’s report
entitled “Turkey: Country reports on Human Rights Practices for the Year
2003,” the authors of the report spoke of “the alleged genocide of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire” and “allegations that the Ottomans committed
genocide against Armenians.”
Both sections cited gross violations of human rights in Turkey, including a
demand by the Turkish Ministry of Education that fifth and seventh-grade
students, including Armenians, prepare a one-page essay – in the words of
the State Department report – “arguing that allegations that the Ottomans
committed genocide against the Armenians are ‘baseless.’ ”
The report was released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
and submitted by the Department to Congress by the department of State on
February 25, 2004.
Barsamian said while as far back as 1982 the State Department had clarified
similar language by adding a footnote to explain that it was “not intended
as statements of policy of the United States … Nor did they represent any
change in U.S. policy,” similar errors appeared in the Department’s most
recent human rights report on Turkey.
“In fact,” Barsamian said in his letter to Powell, “prior to 1982, the
Department of State squarely acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and
recommended that Turkey acknowledge the crimes against humanity.”
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2004-034
Editor’s Note: Attached is the text of the Assembly letter to Secretary of
State Colin Powell.
April 1, 2004
The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Mr. Secretary:
The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) is greatly troubled by the references
made to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23 as “alleged” genocide or
“allegations” of genocide in the report entitled: “Turkey: Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices For the Year 2003,” which was released by the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and submitted to Congress by
the Department of State on February 25, 2004.
Specifically, under Section 2(a), the report states:
In June, authorities arrested and indicted teacher Hulya Akpinar for
comments she made during a conference in Kilis Province on the alleged
genocide of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Prosecutors also charged six
other teachers for following Akpinar out of the conference. Akpinar was
temporarily dismissed from duty following her arrest. A Kilis court
acquitted Akpinar and the other six teachers in December [emphasis added].
Furthermore, under Section 5: National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities, the report
states:
In April, the Education Ministry issued a circular urging all schools to
have their fifth- and seventh-graders prepare a one-page essay arguing that
allegations that the Ottomans committed genocide against Armenians are
“baseless.” The country’s Armenian schools were included in the
distribution. Leaders of the ethnic Armenian community criticized the
measure, saying it put psychological pressure on Armenian students. The
Ministry also asked schools to organize conferences on the issue, and
police arrested seven teachers for comments made at one such conference (see
Section 2.a.) [Emphasis added].
As you can imply, in Section 2(a), the wording of the paragraph is
unquestionably influenced by Turkish assuage clouding State Department
reporting. The use of the word “alleged” in this paragraph could not have
been “accurate and objective,” and may have been a reference to how the
Turkish government framed the issue and do not reflect U.S. policy.
Moreover, in Section 5, by not putting the word “allegations” in quotations,
you have given credence to Turkish claims, and thus again clouding the
“accurate and objective” reporting of the Department of State.
In response to the August 1982 Department of State Bulletin in which the
State Department used the word “alleged” four times in references to the
1915 Armenian Genocide, the September 1982 and April 1983 Department of
State Bulletin, under the “Editor’s Note,” retracted those statements
confirming that they “were not intended as statements of policy of the
United States. Nor did they represent any change in U.S. policy.”
Both then-Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Lawrence S.
Eagleburger, and then-Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Department
Spokesman, John Hughes, “reemphasized” the “aberration” and reaffirmed to us
that “[p]olicy statements which are a part of the public record remain there
and speak for themselves.”
This April 24th will mark the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of
1915, an incontestable historical fact, during which 1.5 million
(three-fourths) of the Armenian people living in the Ottoman Empire were
“exterminated” en masse and the few that remained (half a million) were
uprooted from their homelands of more than 2,500 years and deported under
extreme conditions into exile. The U.S. Archives is replete with Department
of State documents describing the premeditated “race extermination” of the
Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-23. Moreover, there is the
fact that the Armenian Genocide was soon thereafter confirmed by yet another
branch of the U.S. Government, in Senate Resolution 359 dated May 13, 1920,
in which it resoundingly stated: “the testimony adduced at the hearings
conducted by the sub-committee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
have clearly established the truth of the reported massacres and other
atrocities from which the Armenian people have suffered.” Finally, on
January 28, 1975, a Joint Resolution by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America, H.J. Res. 148, designated
April 24, 1975, as “National Day of Remembrance of Man’s Inhumanity to Man.”
In fact, prior to 1982, the Department of State squarely acknowledged the
Armenian Genocide and recommended that Turkey acknowledge the crimes against
humanity. This position was again clouded by Turkish influence on
Department of State employees who are in charge of preparing reports on the
Armenian Genocide.
Contemporaneously and more importantly, the International Center for
Transnational Justice (ICTJ), which was asked to determine the applicability
of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention to the Armenian Genocide,
released a report finding that the 1915 mass slaughter of Armenians fits the
legal definition of genocide. One of the key findings in the ICTJ report
concluded that “the Events, viewed collectively, can thus be said to include
all of the elements of the crime of genocide as defined in the Convention,
and legal scholars as well as historians, politicians, journalists and other
people would be justified in continuing to so describe them.”
Finally, as part of the groundbreaking conference held in September 2000 by
the Library of Congress and the Armenian National Institute in cooperation
with the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the prestigious Cambridge University Press,
early in 2004, released a vital new publication, entitled America and the
Armenian Genocide of 1915, covering all facets of the leading American
response to the Armenian Genocide, which encompassed the first international
human rights movement in American history.
On this upcoming solemn occasion, the Armenian Assembly urges you to
re-clarify that the use of the words “alleged” and “allegations” in the
above mentioned Department of State report do not “reflect an official
position of the Department of State,” and further urges you to displace
error with truth: that the Armenian Genocide is not an “allegation” but is
an irrefutable historical fact, unwavering to political vicissitudes.
Sincerely,
Anthony Barsamian
Chairman,
Board of Directors
Armenian Assembly of America