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
November 9, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
ARMENIAN ISSUES SUPPORTERS TO LEAD IN DEMOCRATIC SENATE
REID, DURBIN & BIDEN POISED FOR KEY POSITIONS
Washington, DC – One day after winning majority control in the House of
Representatives, Democrats took back the U.S. Senate, with Armenian
issues supporters Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Richard Durbin (D-IL)
positioned to serve as Majority Leader and Majority Whip respectively,
in the 110th Congress. Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-DE), also a staunch
supporter, is expected to chair the powerful Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, which oversees policy concerning Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh.
All three Senators have raised awareness of the Armenian Genocide as
cosponsors of S. Res. 320, a resolution reaffirming the U.S. record
which is currently pending before the Foreign Relations Committee.
Reid, Durbin and Biden also voted to maintain Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act in an historic Senate floor fight in 1999 of which, Senators
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) led the effort in
maintaining Section 907 at that time. Sarbanes announced his retirement
from the Senate earlier this year and did not seek re-election. The
Assembly awarded him for his longstanding support of Armenian issues
during the National Advocacy Conference and Banquet in March of this
year.
“The Assembly will continue its bipartisan approach in the Senate and
looks forward to working with our Senate friends, as well as reaching
out to the new class of incoming Senators,” said Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny. “We have much at stake and will continue to promote an
aggressive agenda to ensure a strong, prosperous and democratic
Armenia.”
Ardouny also noted that Reid and Durbin, along with House Speaker-to-be
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who is running for Majority
Leader, have been consistent supporters of Armenian issues. Their
anticipated leadership positions in the next Congress will provide new
opportunities for advancing key issues.
Additionally, Senator John Ensign (R-NV), who introduced S. Res. 320
with Durbin last year, was re-elected for a second term. Supporters of
the resolution who also won re-election include Senators Maria Cantwell
(D-WA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Edward
Kennedy (D-MA), Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
Senate Democrats Russ Feingold (WI), John Kerry (MA), Barbara Boxer (CA)
and Christopher Dodd (CT), who also support S. Res. 320, are positioned
for Subcommittee Chairmanships on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is in line to chair the important State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, a position
currently held by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky
lawmaker, who has been instrumental in securing humanitarian, technical
and economic development assistance for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, is
expected to serve as the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member in the next
Congress.
Several other Armenian issues supporters are slated to chair full
committees, including Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) – Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions; John Kerry (D-MA) – Small Business and
Entrepreneurship; Carl Levin (D-MI) – Armed Services; Tim Johnson (D-SD)
– Select Committee on Ethics; Herbert H. Kohl (D-WI) – Select Committee
on Aging; and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) – Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs. Furthermore, Senators Charles Schumer (NY), Jack Reed (RI),
Dianne Feinstein (CA), Tom Harkin (IA), and Barbara Mikulski (MD) – are
all poised to chair various subcommittees.
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), who has worked against the Armenian
community’s efforts to reaffirm the U.S. record on the Genocide, is in
line to chair the full Appropriations Committee.
Senator George Allen (R-VA), an ardent supporter of Armenian issues,
conceded his re-election bid today, while Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues Members Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
both won seats in the Senate. Brown and Cardin both voted for Section
907 in the House floor fight in 1998 and support Armenia-specific
legislation in the current Congress.
As previously reported, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was re-elected
for a second term, while Republican Rick Santorum was defeated in
Pennsylvania’s Senate contest.
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.
####
NR#2006-098
Editor’s Note: Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the
following link:
/2006-098-1.jpg
Caption: Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) with Board of Trustees
Executive Committee Member Lisa Esayian.
098/2006-098-2.jpg
Caption: Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD) with Board of Trustees
Executive Committee Member Annie Totah at the Assembly’s National
Advocacy Conference and banquet in March 2006.

MOVIE FEATURING SYSTEM OF A DOWN: DETAILS REVEALED
Ultimate-Guitar
Nov 8 2006
artist: system of a down date: 11/08/2006 category: general music news
System Of A Down have lent their voice, music, and support to a
ground-breaking new film called “Screamers”, which had its acclaimed
world debut on November 2, 2006 in Los Angeles, CA as part of the
prestigious AFI Film Festival.
Directed by the award-winning, humanitarian activist Carla Garapedian,
“Screamers” is an internationally produced documentary that covers the
history of modern-day genocide and genocide denial, beginning with
the Armenian Genocide in 1915, and how the world’s inaction lead to
other massacres.
System Of A Down have always worked to spread the message about
official Armenian genocide recognition within the U.S. and other
world powers that have yet to formally acknowledge that it took
place. The band felt compelled to work with this unique project
that hauntingly illustrates how the denial of those crimes lead to
more genocides of the 20th Century – from the Holocaust to Cambodia,
Bosnia, Rwanda…and all the way to present-day Darfur.
Using SOAD’s music as the backdrop to historical footage and current
accounts from genocide survivors, “Screamers” presents some of the
great questions of our time: Can we stop genocide? Do we really mean
“never again?” And how can we take action to prevent atrocities of
this magnitude from happening in the future?
Beginning Friday, January 12, 2006, “Screamers” will be hitting
theaters in markets such as: New York City, Detroit, Washington D.C.,
San Francisco, Fresno and Boston.
al_music_news/movie_featuring_system_of_a_down_det ails_revealed.html?200611081101

ALIYEV: INTEGRATION TO NATO ONE OF THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF AZERBAIJAN POLICY
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Belgium continues, APA reports
quoting to AzerTaj. The president met with NATO Secretary General
Yaap de Hoop Scheffer in North Atlantic headquarters.
The president said that Azerbaijan cooperates with NATO successfully
and Action Plan on Individual Cooperation is an example of it.
“One of the main directions of Azerbaijani policy is to integrate to
NATO, EU and other Atlantic bodies. Azerbaijani peacekeeping forces
actively participates peacemaking processes with NATO servicemen in
Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. My visit is of great importance for
expansion of Azerbaijan -NATO cooperation,” the president said.
NATO Secretary General highly estimated the cooperation with Azerbaijan
in the frame work of Action Plan on Individual Partnership. They also
talked about Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Garabagh conflict. Giving
information about the talks within Prague process, Ilham Aliyev noted
that inviolability of conflict boarders can be solved on the principle
of territorial integrity. Azerbaijan -EU partnership, energy security,
regional problems and others were discussed at the meeting. After the
meeting Ilham Aliyev made speech in council of North Atlantic, later
he made discussions with ambassadors and standing representatives of
NATO member countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“CACOPHONY OF SIGNALS” SPELLS “NOT WELCOME” FOR TURKS
Spiegel Online, Germany
Nov 8 2006
The European Commission slapped Turkey on the wrist Wednesday for
not opening its ports to Cypriot ships. Turkey has about a month to
shape up, or else. The question is: Or else, what?
The same statement that makes beautiful music in Cyprus strikes a
dissonant and portentous chord in Turkey: “Failure to implement
its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in the
negotiations.” Today, the European Commission released its progress
report on Turkey’s EU accession, telling the country it has until
mid-December to open its ports to Cypriot ships, lest it throw its
European dream into jeopardy.
This isn’t the first time Turkey has gotten a slap on the wrist, and
accession talks have always continued to slog forward. The question
now is whether this warning will have consequences — the answer will
come at the Dec. 14-15 EU Summit.
The report does not please Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, but it
also doesn’t surprise him. He dismisses the idea that EU talks could
collapse entirely: “A suspension, a breakdown of consultations,
the train halting at the station, these are not possible,” he told
reporters. Instead, there may just be “a slowdown” of the process.
That’s something the EU and Turkey can agree on. Olli Rehn, EU
Enlargement Commissioner, referred to the EU’s expansion as “a slow,
slow train coming and not precisely up around the bend.” German
newspapers have weighed in on what this means for Turkey’s future.
“The EU has maneuvered the negotiations with Turkey into a dead end,”
writes the Financial Times Deutschland. The business daily compares
the current state of negotiations to a “train crash.” In this head-on
collision, “the conflict surrounding the divided Mediterranean island
[Cyprus] is blocking negotiations” on Turkey’s side, while on the
European end “it is downright fashionable, so they say in Ankara,
to denounce Turkey’s inadequacies.” In France, the National Assembly
recently made it illegal to deny the “genocide” of Armenians under
Ottoman rule during World War I, and in Germany, the conservative
Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber on Tuesday demanded a complete halt to
negotiations with Turkey. For Turkish observers and politicians alike,
this “cacophony of signals means but one thing: not welcome.”
The turning of the tide in Turkish public opinion of the EU is no
good, the paper writes, for those who “wish to build a Europe in
which Muslims have their place.”
With no small amount of cynicism, the Suddeutsche Zeitung writes
that Edmund Stoiber is highly suited to criticizing his Turkish
counterparts, since he resembles them so closely. The similarities
are in their politics: “whatever happens, don’t upset the voter
base; speak many great words, only to give up on them later; haggle,
dicker and gamble until the last second — but then turn around and
question your own agreements.” For the center-left daily, Stoiber is
“the Erdogan from Wolfratshausen.” But Stoiber is worse than Erdogan,
the paper concludes, because his motives are purely personal: “Stoiber
is concerned only with himself and the honorable end of his political
career.” Merkel, by contrast, is “considerably more reasonable” and
diplomatic than her Bavarian friend, even though both conservative
politicians share the same goal of preventing full membership for
Turkey in favor of a privileged partnership. Without this diplomatic
approach, the paper believes that “Turkey would be lost for any form
of partnership with the EU.”
NEWSLETTER Sign up for Spiegel Online’s daily newsletter and get the
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The Handelsblatt, meanwhile, traces much of the current “euro-political
wrangling” to the conflicts within German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
own coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and conservatives. Europe
looks towards Berlin for leadership, the business daily writes,
“but in Berlin, the grand coalition is much too preoccupied with
itself.” In regard to Turkey, that means that while conservative
“Edmund Stoiber has once again called for an immediate end to EU
negotiations” with the would-be member state, his supposed social
democratic partner in government “Kurt Beck has demanded the opposite
with equal fervor.” These constant negative signals have become what
the paper calls a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” borrowing the English
term, that has turned Turkey away from Europe and more towards
Russia. The business paper sees this as a failure of the government
to follow the tradition that has allowed “Europe to become a success,
because governments disregarded the daily trends in strategic moments.”
— Alex Bakst and Joshua Gallu, 4 p.m. CET
,1518,44 7257,00.html

SERGE SMESSOV WAS APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE TO ARMENIA
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
(a1plus.am) – Newly appointed Ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Serge Smessov handed the copy
of his credentials to RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. Smessov
replaced Henry Cuny who has finished his diplomatic mission.
Welcoming the guest, Minister Oskanyan wished him good luck in the
fulfillment of his high mission, reports Trend.
During the meeting the Ambassador mentioned that he is already
acquainted with the CIS region. He also informed that prior to arriving
in Armenia he has had meetings with the Armenian community in France.
Serge Smessov was born in 1947. He graduated from the London Royal
college of defense issues. He has held high offices in a number of
countries including Romania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and others. Smessov
has the diplomatic rank of plenipotentiary minister of second degree.
He has also been awarded a national medal “For merits”. The Ambassador
can speak English, German, Spanish, Russian and Romanian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI PRESIDENT HELD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OSCE HEAD
Author: E. Huseynov
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
On November 8, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with the
Belgian Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Karel De Gucht,
Trend reports with reference to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Belgium.
The sides discussed the co-operation between Azerbaijan and OSCE
and conduct of the democratic reforms in the country. During the
meeting, a special attention was paid to the peaceful settlement of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

BALARUS READY TO ASSIST IN SIGNING FINAL DOCUMENT ON NK CONFLICT
Today, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
Official Minsk realizes the essence of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
“Belarus supports the treaty on violability of borders signed in
1975 and meets commitments took upon it,” said Nikolay Paskevich,
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan,
APA reports.
The ambassador considers that the efforts of changing the borders
result in blood, loss and torture. He noted that OSCE Minsk group
performing mediating mission, was formed as a result of the conference
held in Minsk and announced that official Minsk is ready to pave the
way for signing final document on Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
“The problem of refugees is familiar to our country. After the accident
in Chernobyl atomic power station the country faced with the problem
of refugees. The accident caused the damage of $235bn; this figure
is 32 times more than Belarusian budget for 1985. We understand the
problem of refugees most of all. I hope Nagorno Karabakh conflict will
be solved peacefully, according to the international legal norms,”
the ambassador said.
URL:

AIR ARABIA TO FLY YEREVAN
Trade Arabia, Bahrain
Nov 8 2006
Air Arabia, the first low-fares airline in the Middle East and North
Africa, will fly direct from Sharjah to Yerevan-Armenia, which is
one of the latest additions to the Middle East carrier’s destinations
portfolio.
Yerevan is the fifth new destination announced by Air Arabia in the
last few weeks and promises to attract many travellers as it is only
three hours away from Sharjah airport and therefore a very convenient
attraction for nature inspired week-end breaks.
Yerevan is the capital of Armenia and counts 1.2 million inhabitants,
which is 40 per cent of Armenia’s total population. Travellers will
be enchanted to walk through one of the only cities in the world to
have its authentic birth certificate and thus, proving it is one of
the oldest on earth, said a spokesman.
As a tourist destination, Yerevan will provide UAE travellers the
possibility to walk in a green city, visit numerous monuments from
previous Soviet Union Republic, shop in traditional boutiques and
markets, attend performances at the Yerevan Opera-pride of the city
and discover the beauty of the Mount Ararat, capped with snow and
reflecting the beauty of a city that shines with pink because of its
tuf stone.
“Yerevan is a unique destination for us as it is still uncharted
territory for many residents and travellers. We are very proud to
bring our passengers the opportunity to discover historical cities
and learn more about destinations that are out of the ordinary.” said
Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia.
Air Arabia flies to over 30 destinations across 20 countries,
including recent additions like Chennai and Thiruvanthapuram in India,
Latakia in Syria and Katmandu in Nepal carrying over two million
passengers.

DIVISIONS OF ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES BROKE CEASEFIRE REGIME AGAIN
Author: Sh.Jaliloglu
TREND< Azerbaijan Nov 8 2006 On November 7, the divisions of the Armenian Armed Forces shot the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces with machine-guns the whole day. The enemy was made silent with response shots, Trend Regional Correspondent reports. It should be mentioned that the explosions are heard often in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenians, but the local inhabitants do not know the reasons of the explosions.

ARMENIAN GOVT. OFFERS 10% IN ARMENTEL TO RUSSIA’S VIMPELCOM
TREND< Azerbaijan Nov 8 2006 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia will sell VimpelCom [RTS: VIMP] the remaining 10% in one of the country's two telecom companies on condition it abandons further expansion plans, a minister said Wednesday. The Armenian government has offered its stake in Armentel to VimpelCom, which has already closed a deal to buy the other 90% from Greek telecom group Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) for 341.9 million euros ($434.5 million), Communications Minister Andranik Manukyan said, reports Trend. VimpelCom, which outpaced the Russian mobile market leader MTS [RTS: MTSS] at the tender to buy 40% of the Armenian cellular telecommunications market, undertakes to pay the Armenian company's liabilities of about 40 million euros ($51 million). The deal is to be closed by the end of 2006, VimpelCom said in a news release. Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) purchased Armentel in 1997 for $142.5 million and has since invested $300 million in the company, whose earnings in 2005 stood at 110 million euros ($140 million). Armentel has about 600,000 fixed-line and 400,000 mobile service subscribers, and operates in the GSM 900 and CDMA standards.