Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
November 13, 2006  
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY CONGRATULATES ARMENIAN CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS ON THEIR ELECTION VICTORIES
Plan To Introduce Armenian Genocide Resolution Next Congress
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today congratulated Congressmen
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Co-Chairs of
the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, on winning re-election
to the House of Representatives and welcomed their confirmation to
introduce an Armenian Genocide resolution in the next Congress.
“We will be preparing to introduce an Armenian Genocide resolution with
our colleagues Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and George Radanovich
(R-CA) next Congress,” said Pallone and Knollenberg. “With this
legislation we hope to once and for all reaffirm the historical truth
that the Ottoman Empire carried out a campaign of race extermination
against Armenians from 1915-1923. Proper recognition of this horrific
event is the first step in preventing future crimes and gives meaning
to the phrase Never Again.”
The Congressmen have also informed the Assembly of their intention
to spearhead a special Capitol Hill event commemorating the 92nd
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in April, which they have also
done in the past. During the 90th anniversary, the co-chairs organized
a pan-Armenian commemoration.
“The Assembly congratulates Congressmen Pallone and Knollenberg
on their success and thanks them for their sustained leadership,”
said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “We look forward to
working with them and the entire Armenian-American community and all
supporters of genocide prevention to secure passage of an Armenian
Genocide resolution in the House.”
Ardouny also noted that over 90 percent of Armenian Caucus Members
who stood for re-election on November 7, retained their seats.
Their bipartisan support will be necessary to advance a resolution on
the Armenian Genocide, as well as other Armenia-specific legislation.
“We are pleased that the majority of Members on the Armenian Caucus
were re-elected and look forward to working with them to strengthen
relations between the U.S. and Armenia, prevent attempts by Turkey
and Azerbaijan to isolate her, and once and for all reaffirm the
U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide,” said Pallone and Knollenberg.
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR#2006-099
Editor’s Note: Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following links:
9/2006-099-1.JPG
Caption: Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI), right, and Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.
099/2006-099-2.jpg
Caption: Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) flanked by Board of Trustees Executive Committee Member Annie Totah and Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.
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ARMENIAN LOBBY IN U.S. STEPS UP PRESSURE ON BUSH
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
The Armenian lobby in the United States has urged the American
administration to withdraw Richard Hoagland, appointed Ambassador to
the Armenian capital Yerevan.
Hoagland’s appointment is not welcomed by the Armenian lobby because
of his denial of the so-called Armenian genocide.
After the Democrats swept away the Republicans in last week’s elections
to take the majority in the House of Representatives and Senate, the
Armenian lobby has stepped up pressure on the U.S. administration of
George W. Bush.
If the lobby succeeds in preventing Hoagland from being ambassador in
Yerevan, it would prove that Armenian lobby has the power and political
clout to influence the U.S. president, a diplomatic source said.
This is seen as a “rehearsal” step before new draft bills on the
genocide are brought onto Congress’s agenda.
Even if the Senate blocked Hoagland’s appointment, President Bush
could appoint the ambassador bypassing the Senate.
The Armenian lobby disapproved of Hoagland because he had not referred
to an Armenian genocide in a speech given to the Senate in the past.

ANALYSIS: 99-PERCENT VOTE NOT QUITE SO CLEAR-CUT (SOUTH OSSETIA)
By Tony Halpin of The Times
The Times, UK
Nov 13 2006
The Times Moscow Correspondent examines the implications of the South
Ossetian vote for independence from Georgia
The 99-per cent vote in favour of independence for South Ossetia,
almost Soviet in the scale of its declared certainty, deepens the
bitter rift in relations between Georgia and Russia.
The breakaway region of Georgia openly declares that independence
is only a stepping stone to unification with Russia, an ambition
the Kremlin has quietly encouraged by issuing passports to South
Ossetian residents.
Moscow says that the popular mood reflected in the vote should be
respected, even if it will not break ranks with the international
community by recognising the result of the referendum.
However, the poll of 55,000 eligible voters was not as clear-cut as
South Ossetia’s pro-Moscow leadership would have the world believe.
Villages inhabited by 14,000 ethnic Georgians were effectively
denied the vote because only those with South Ossetian passports
could participate.
They want to restore ties with Georgia, severed after a separatist
war in 1992. Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili accuses Moscow
of trying to annexe part of his country and has vowed to reclaim
South Ossetia.
South Ossetia is one of several so-called “frozen conflicts” in the
former Soviet Union whose fate now appears tied up in a much larger
game of diplomatic chess over Kosovo. The UN protectorate is expected
to be offered independence from Serbia when a deadline for settling
its status expires next month.
Russia supports its Slav ally Serbia in opposing independence.
President Putin warned in September that Russia would veto any
solution that treated Kosovo differently from South Ossetia and
Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Yesterday’s vote strengthens Russia’s case by underlining the UN’s
difficulty in giving precedence to the principle of self-determination
over the territorial integrity of member states.
Similar disputes are simmering in Moldova, where the pro-Moscow
Transdniester region held an independence referendum last month,
and in Nagorno-Karabakh, where the ethnic Armenian majority have
asserted their independence from Azerbaijan.
South Ossetia’s referendum comes as relations between Georgia and
Russia are already at their lowest ebb since the break-up of the
Soviet Union. Moscow has cut all transport links, imposed a trade
embargo, and refused to issue any new visas to Georgians after Tbilisi
arrested, then expelled, four Russian military officers as alleged
spies in September.

POPE’S SCHEDULE FOR TURKEY VISIT RELEASED
The Universe, UK
Nov 13 2006
By The Universe: The Vatican press office has published a general
outline of the itinerary and agenda for Benedict XVI’s upcoming
apostolic trip to Turkey.
The Pope will kick-off the visit with a trip to the Mausoleum of
Ataturk, “Father of the Turks,” who proclaimed the Turkish republic
in 1923. He will then attend a welcome ceremony as well as a courtesy
visit to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
The Pontiff will then meet with the deputy prime minister before
meeting with the president of religious affairs, Ali Bardokoglu,
Grand Mufti and the country’s highest Muslim authority.
The following day, Benedict XVI will travel to Smyrna, the country’s
third-largest city, known as “The Pearl of the Aegean,” from where
he will go to Ephesus, the city where the Apostle Paul lived and was
captive, and where, according to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary
and John the Evangelist also lived.
The Pope will then fly to Istanbul where he will pray at the
Patriarchal Church of St George, before having a private meeting with
Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
On the morning of November 30, the Pope will take part in the Divine
Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul. He will
then deliver an address and sign a joint declaration.
After the ceremony, he will lunch with Bartholomew I in the
patriarchate. In the afternoon, he will visit the St. Sophia Museum.
Then Benedict XVI will then go to the Armenian Apostolic cathedral,
where he will pray and meet and greet Patriarch Mesrob I.
The Pope will also meet with the Syro-Orthodox metropolitan and the
chief rabbi of Turkey before meeting with the members of the country’s
Catholic bishops’ conference.
The Pope’s final appointment on Friday December 1, will be to preside
over the celebration of Mass in Istanbul’s Cathedral of the Holy
Ghost where he will deliver a homily.

ALGERIA TO FRANCE: RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN GENOCIDE
Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
Algerian Prime Minister Abdulaziz Belkadem has called on France to
“accept that it carried out genocide” in Algeria, an announcement
that carries particular weight as French Interior Minister Nicolas
Sarkozy leaves today from France for a 2 day visit to Algeria.
Belkadem recalled French President Jacques Chirac’s statement that
“Countries are called on to accept the dramas and mistakes that
they have led the way to” in reference to Armenian claims against
Turkey, and said “We call on France to accept that what it carried
out was a genocide during the years between 1830 and 1962 when it
occupied Algeria. This identification of genocide includes not only
genocide itself, but the attempt to wipe out our cultural and national
identity. They need to remember that in addition to massacring people,
they also erased the cultural wealth of a country.”
Meetings between the central-right Sarkozy, who is seen as a likely
candidate for president next year, and Algerian officials are now
expected to take place in the shadow of these calls for genocide
recognition on the part of France.

SOUTH OSSETIA VOTES FOR INDEPENDENCE
Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Nov 13 2006
Voters in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia have
overwhelmingly backed its independence.
Preliminary results indicate 99 per cent of people voted “yes” to
independence, while in a presidential poll 96 per cent supported
Eduard Kokoity, the current South Ossetian leader, Bela Pliyeva,
the head of the election commission, said.
South Ossetia’s leadership has described the referendum as a first
step towards international acceptance.
No country is expected to recognise the result of Sunday’s vote,
although Russia has given de facto backing to the South Ossetian
leadership and urged Georgia to accept the outcome.
Konstantin Zatulin, a member of Russia’s parliament who was in
Tshkhinvali to observe the referendum, said: “We need to move towards
recognising reality.”
Disputed regions
“South Ossetia is a reality, like Transdnestr, Abkhazia and Nagorny
Karabakh,” he added, referring to other disputed former Soviet regions.
Only 55,000 people were elligible to vote in the referendum
Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, has repeatedly rejected South Ossetia’s
calls for independence and accused Moscow of trying to annex both
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway region.
No independent international monitors observed the polling, which
has been widely criticised.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the secretary-general of the Nato military
alliance, said “such actions serve no purpose other than to exacerbate
tensions in the South Caucasus region”.
‘Unhelpful and unfair’
The head of the 46-nation Council of Europe called the referendum
“unnecessary, unhelpful and unfair”.
“The results will not be recognised by the international community,
the vote did nothing to bring forward the search for a peaceful
political solution,” Terry Davis, the secretary general of the human
rights organisation, said.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) called
it “counterproductive”.
Election officials said more than 90 per cent of the 55,000
eligible voters turned out for the the second vote on the province’s
independence since 1992.
South Ossetia declared independence after a war with Georgian forces
in 1991-1992 that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced tens
of thousands.

“IF THE CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT, I COULD TRY SKIN SHOW” – TULIP JOSHI
Joginder Tuteja
IndiaGlitz, India
Nov 13 2006
Tulip Joshi, who made a dream debut in Yashraj films “Mere Yaar Ki
Shaadi Hai’ and followed it up with critically acclaimed performance
in ‘Matrubhumi’, will be making a comeback again in ‘Shunya’ opposite
Nasseruddin Shah. The film is written by Anurag Kashyap. Apart from
that, she would also be seen in a glamorous role in ‘Hostel’, which
is directed by Manish Gupta. Gupta was the writer of ‘Sarkar’ and ‘D’.
Tulip has been inundated with offers off late. She has recently signed
a multiple film deal with Sanjay Gupta ‘White Feather films’.
She would begin the first film with them in portraying an author backed
role in the short story ‘Dus Kahaniyan’ which will be on floor later
this month. This would be followed by another big project from the
production early next year.
Tulip seems quite confident of making a come back in Bollywood. Says
Tulip, “I have an unusual face because of my mixed origin (her father
is Gujarati & her mother is a Lebanese-Armenian), therefore I can carry
an Indian & a non-Indian look. At one end I have acted in a Yashraj
film ‘Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai’ and on the other end I have also done
a hard hitting film like ‘Matrubhumi’. I can adopt myself easily in
glamorous as well as non- glamorous role. And I want to cash on this!”
She adds, “The film industry is so addictive and gets you like a bug.
Once it’s in, it’s difficult to get out. And I’m so happy to be back
again and will be thoroughly focused in my career. Having said that,
I would also add that I don’t mind doing ‘item’ numbers since I’m
just happy being part of films. But I don’t believe in nudity and
won’t indulge in skin show just for the heck of it, though if the
character is important, I would try and figure it out”.
Besides being associated with Sanjay Gupta banner, Tulip has also been
in talks with big banner producers. She will be making an announcement
on another biggie soon!!
rticle/26825.html

27TH SESSION OF INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES IN SAINT PETERSBURG
National Assembly, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
On November 14 the delegation headed by the President of the National
Assembly Mr. Tigran Torosyan will leave for Saint Petersburg to
participate in the works of IPA CIS plenary session and commissions.
Mrs. Hermineh Naghdalyan, member of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission
on Social Policy and Human Rights, Mr. Gagik Minasyan, Chairman of
the CIS IPA Permanent Commission on Economy and Finance, Mr. Grigor
Ghonjeyan, member of the CIS IPA Permanent Commission on Political
Issues and International Cooperation are in the delegation.
Within the framework of the 27th session of Interparliamentary
Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, on November 15 a
scientific-practical conference will take place in Saint Petersburg on
the theme “The Improvement of Cooperation between CIS Member Nations
in Counteracting the Current Challenges and Threats of Security.”
On November 16 a meeting of four Caucasian countries in the
Tavricheskiy Palace is envisaged to hold with the participation of the
presidents of parliaments of Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan.
On November 17 the President of the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan will leave Saint Petersburg for San
Marino to participate in the session of the PACE Standing Committee,
where the issue of approving the Stability Pact for the South Caucasus
will be discussed.

NEW PIPELINE IN THE PIPELINE
By Christina Tashkevich
The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 13 2006
As part of the government’s plan to ensure the country’s energy
security, a USD 45 million rehabilitation of the North-South gas
pipeline is about to begin, announced Millennium Challenge Georgia
(MCG) on November 8.
“Preparatory works are over and the actual rehabilitation is about to
begin,” CEO of MCG Fund Lasha Shanidze told The Messenger. He said
the overall rehabilitation of the pipeline will be completed within
two years.
The project is part of MCG’s larger USD 49.5 million energy
infrastructure rehabilitation project. In 2005, the board of directors
of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approved USD 295.3
million in its compact with Georgia. Other projects in Georgia include
road rehabilitation in Samtskhe-Javakheti, agribusiness development
and development of infrastructure in the provinces.
An Azeri company and two Georgian companies-Didgori and
GeoEngineering-have been selected to repair the pipeline. Shanidze
points out that this is a chance for Georgian companies to “show
their competencies” and gain experience in participating in such a
large-scale project.
The MCG says that the pipeline’s rehabilitation will reduce the amount
of losses through leakage, thus saving approximately USD 30 million
annually. It also will increase the reliability of energy supply,
reduce health hazards to the population from emissions and reduce
environmental hazards. The rehabilitation will also increase the
capacity of the pipeline.
Shanidze says in the beginning, those sections of the pipeline that
are the most hazardous and requiring urgent repair will be fixed.
Minister of Energy Nika Gilauri noted last week that conditions in the
energy sector have dramatically improved and that rehabilitation of
the North-South gas pipeline is an important step forward in Georgia’s
aspiration to achieve energy security.
MCC resident country director Colin Buckley praised Georgia’s
achievements in preparing for implementing MCC projects.
“Georgia has really done a remarkable job in getting the MCC
compact enforced to begin with, and this is the next step, which is
implementation. It’s to Georgia’s credit that things are advancing
on schedule and we look forward to having all of the five projects
under way relatively soon,” he said.
The North-South gas pipeline serves as the only gas supply route from
Russia to Armenia. The gas corridor reaches from the Georgian-Russian
border to the Georgian-Armenian and Georgian-Azeri borders with a
total length of 235 km.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY RE-EXAMINES GENOCIDE DEFINITION
Swissinfo, Switzerland
Nov 13 2006
Photo: A demonstration in 1994 ahead of a vote on the anti-racism law
(Keystone Archive)
A senior justice ministry official says the current anti-racism law
needs to be re-examined to modify a clause on genocide.
The head of the Federal Justice Office, Michael Leupold, argues that
a judge is not in a position to decide on the definition of genocide.
The debate on Switzerland’s anti-racism legislation came to the fore
after Justice Minister Christoph Blocher, a member of the rightwing
Swiss People’s Party, announced during a visit to Turkey in October
that he wanted to change the law.
Any act of denying, belittling or justifying genocide is a violation
of Swiss anti-racism legislation.
The law prompted investigations against two Turkish citizens, including
a historian, for allegedly denying the 1915 Armenian massacre.
In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, Leupold said
there could be no question of abolishing the anti-racism law but
certain changes were necessary.
For Leupold it is up to historians and not judges to decide on the
definition of genocide. He added that it was not clear whether the
current law infringes on the freedom of speech.
However, Boël Sambuc, vice-president of the Federal Commission on
Racism she was shocked by Leupold’s comments.
“The law is very clear and Switzerland also signed an international
convention aimed at preventing genocide,” she told public radio.
What’s this? Federal Commission against Racism One expert group
Leupold added that judges should seek assistance from an international
institution or that the relevant clause be struck from the law
altogether.
His comments echo a statement by Justice Minister Blocher who said
the anti-racism law needed to be clearer and less ambiguous.
A working group re-examining the legislation is made of one person
so far, according to Leupold.
He added the he had not been asked to exclude the president of the
Federal Commission against Racism from the group.
The controversial head of the government-advisory committee has
publicly accused Blocher of telling lies.
Geneva prison
In a separate issue, Leupold announced that the justice ministry was
ready to consider a financial contribution to upgrade the overcrowded
prison of Champ-Dollon outside Geneva.
He said the federal authorities were willing to pay just over a
third of the planned costs estimated at SFr68 million ($54.8 million)
which the Geneva cantonal parliament is due to consider next year.
Champ-Dollon is notorious for being Switzerland’s most overcrowded
jail. It contains more than 500 inmates, but its normal capacity is
set at 270.
A series of hunger strikes over alleged police brutality and slow
justice, suicides, and a fire in the prison have caught media attention
over the past few months.
In April human rights campaigners described the situation in the
prison as potentially explosive.
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