TURNING TO RUSSIA, EVEN NOW?
Lragir.am
24 Aug 06
The Communist Party of Armenia condemns repression against Armenia,
killings of Armenians in Russia but separate nationalist actions
cannot be attributed to the Russian people, stated Ruben Tovmasyan,
leader of the Communist Party, August 24. He says it is difficult
to think that followers of Fascism would be born in Russia, which
sacrificed 20 million lives to defeat Fascism, and “nationalist
phenomena would gather momentum”.
Ruben Tovmasyan said this phenomenon is the consequence of the “lack
of education” but he forgot or “forgot” to specify who in Russia
gives birth to and “un”educates Fascists. However, he departed from
the point and said that innocent Armenians are killed in Armenia as
well. It is at least masochism to accuse Armenians of armenophobia, and
Armenians in Armenia were killed during criminal skirmishes. Whereas
in Russia, with which the Communists have close ties, Armenians are
killed for their ethnic identity. Hence, it is at least strange that
the Communist Party is for joining Russia-Belarus. In answer to the
question what external forces they rely on, Ruben Tovmasyan said,
“We do not rely on the United States and the Council of Europe. They
have always cheated Armenians.” But the question was who they rely
on. Maybe with someone they should not rely on, and realizing this,
the Communists decline to give their names.

NEW PARTIES BECOME RICH AT THE EXPENSE OF PEOPLE
Lragir.am
24 Aug 06
Ruben Tovmasyan, the leader of the Communist Party, thinks that the
ongoing negative processes in Armenia “remind a volcano at the bosom
of which there is a constant stir and an eruption is imminent.
A single jerk is enough.”
The leader of the Communist Party stated August 24 at the Pastark
Club that the eruption may be caused by the parliamentary election in
2007. They think the political party which has the biggest experience
and skill in doing revolutions thinks today that speaking about
revolution now is mere words, and “revolutions are not just childish
games”. And though during visits to the regions people told Communists
that they would go back to scythes, only “save us from this system
which squeezes people like a lemon, man stopped being man, you are
someone as long as you have money.” Therefore the Communists will
tell people: free housing, free education, prevention of migration. If
the people do not listen to the Communists, “it is their problem”.
Unlike the parliamentary election in 2003, the Communist Party will
run in the election 2007 alone. “We analyzed our mistakes, drawbacks
seriously. We will not use our potential for others,” states the leader
of the Communist Party Ruben Tovmasyan, adding that cooperation with
other forces is possible in case they accept the conditions of the
Communist Party: struggle for social justice and well-fare of common
people, movement for unification with Russia-Belarus and struggle
against corruption. In answer to the remark of a news reporter that
the other opposition forces state the same except for Belarus,
Mr. Tovmasyan said struggle is not words, and did not tell their
methods and means of struggle but hinted that breaking the windows
of the home of president is not an effective way of struggle against
corruption.
Some parliament forces have expressed their willingness to come
together to hold a fair election. The Communist Party, however,
will not join this initiative since it again thinks that words are
not actions. With regard to this the Communist steps for holding fair
elections were not specified, “We do whatever justice requires.” The
Communists think that the election 2007 will not be fair, and the
Communists will have seats in the National Assembly and will use
these seats to appeal to people. But a parliament elected in an
unfair election cannot legitimate, are you ready to be part of this
fraud? In answer to this question of the Lragir.am Ruben Tovmasyan
said we will not falsify to become part of the fraud. The Communists
believe that over 50 percent of the Armenian population, including
the youth believe that Communists will return, over 60 percent believe
in the return of Socialism. “Great ideas always retreat temporarily,”
reminds Ruben Tovmasyan and analyzes, “Different political parties are
set up with different pompous names. What are these parties doing? They
became rich at the expense of people. Now they want to give part of
this wealth to people to become even richer over the next 5 years.”

POLLUTE TO MEASURE POLLUTION
Lragir.am
24 Aug 06
The government of Armenia adopted a highly important document August
24, which maintains the order, standards, methods, etc. of measuring
the pollution of land in Armenia. After this decision of the government
the Ministry of Health will work out the parameters to find out later
which lands are polluted, where, how, with what, etc.
In other words, the document adopted by the government August 24 will
prevent pollution of land in Armenia, or if it is polluted, we will
learn the degree and cause of pollution. Meanwhile, the Ministry of
Environmental Protection does not know the degree of pollution of
land in Armenia, because it does not hold monitoring for the lack of
parameters, money and laboratories. The lack of a laboratory is the
same as the lack of money. What has changed now that they decided
to have a laboratory? Perhaps the economic state, for now they can
afford it. It appears, however, that the laboratory is no longer a
necessity since the land has been polluted over the past 15 years
without measure and limit. Although, on the other hand, it is logical
that the government adopts the order for measuring pollution with
some delay. For we need to pollute first to measure pollution.

GRAND MASTER ASHOT ANASTASYAN THE SECOND
ArmRadio.am
24.08.2006 16:55
Grand Master of Armenia Ashot Anastasyan, who was sharing the 1st-2nd
places with Azerbaijani Vaghur Hashimov in the 16th international
Chess Festival in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), lost in an extra
round. Thus Ashot Anastasyan took the second place.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EXPERT SAYS AZERBAIJAN NEEDS NO US DEMOCRACY
Yeni Azarbaycan, Baku
23 Aug 06
Excerpt from Nardar Bayramli’s report in Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni
Azarbaycan on 23 August entitled “The USA is a bulwark of neither
democracy nor justice” and subheaded “Vafa Quluzada: ‘Matthew Bryza
does not understand that his Armenian brothers killed our people'”
Countries of the world are planning to contribute to an international
peacekeeping mission in the Middle East to ease tension there. The
process is already under way. In parallel with this, GUAM [an alliance
of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova] states are discussing the
possibility of setting up a peacekeeping force of their own. Political
expert Vafa Quluzada’s conclusion regarding the current situation is
as follows:
[Quluzada] The process of setting up peacekeeping forces is
difficult. Many countries do not want to contribute to the peacekeeping
mission in the Middle East. Some countries agree to commit a limited
number of troops. I think the main reason for [US] Senator [Richard]
Lugar’s visit to Baku was to get Azerbaijan’s consent to send a large
contingent of troops to the Middle East. In general, the situation
in the region is unusual.
[Passage omitted: hostilities may resume in the Middle East]
[Correspondent] GUAM countries are in talks on setting up a
peacekeeping force. If this force is set up, can the troops be sent
to Lebanon?
[Quluzada] If a GUAM peacekeeping force is set up, its first mission
will be in Lebanon.
[Correspondent] In general, what is your expectation of this process?
[Quluzada] The USA and NATO are urging us to cooperate and create an
alliance. I think Azerbaijan should cooperate with the West within
the framework of GUAM. The West should also ally itself with us.
First, the USA should be unbiased and recognize Armenia as an occupying
state. However, on the one hand, the USA supports Armenians, and on
the another hand, it wants us to be their ally. I do not accept full
cooperation unless the USA recognizes Armenian aggression [against
Azerbaijan] and pushes for the implementation of the UN Resolutions [No
822, 853, 874, 884 on the withdrawal of Armenian troops from occupied
Azerbaijani territories]. If this does not happen, I am resolutely
against Azerbaijan’s contribution to the Lebanese peacekeeping
mission. Strangely, the USA wants to get everything without giving
anything. Look, the USA has the largest share in Azerbaijan’s oil and
gas projects. We have made big compromises to the USA due to major
strategy and policy. However, the opposite side cannot appreciate this
properly. I think the USA’s approach is wrong. The USA named a co-chair
[of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza] for the Nagornyy Karabakh
settlement who said here that Armenians are their brothers. However,
Matthew Bryza does not understand that his Armenian brothers expelled
over 1m people from their homes and now they are setting fire to their
[displaced people’s] lands. The US administration does not understand
this reality.
[Correspondent] Some experts believe that by setting up a GUAM
peacekeeping force, the USA wants to secure its regional interests.
But will it not cause tough Russian reaction?
[Quluzada] Russia is unable to hinder the setting up of a GUAM
peacekeeping force. Azerbaijan should take necessary steps to maintain
its interests. At the same time, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia should
also protect their interests. I think that the USA acts as an observer
in connection with processes in these countries.
[Correspondent] Vafa muallim [mode of address], you were always
optimistic about US policy. It turns out that you do not rely on the
USA any longer?
[Quluzada] Certainly, I previously considered that the USA was
a bulwark of democracy. I thought the USA would support the newly
independent nations after the demise of the Soviet Union. However, when
the USA decided to export democracy to Iraq, I came to a conclusion
that we did not want this democracy. The USA exported democracy to
several former Soviet states. However, we see Ukraine, Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan are in difficulties. Regrettably, the USA is a bulwark of
neither democracy nor justice.
[Correspondent] Do you think Azerbaijan should make changes to its
foreign policy?
[Quluzada] The best way is to conduct a balanced foreign policy.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev carries out a balanced policy.
This means that Azerbaijan should cooperate with all states, including
Russia and Iran, for the sake of its own national interests. In this
case the USA will see that Azerbaijan has opportunities to pursue a
normal policy in all spheres. We should not defend the USA whoever
it decides to attack. We should not spoil our relations with our
neighbours, on the contrary, we should maintain good relations
with them.

YOUNG BOXERS OF ARMENIA PREPARE FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Noyan Tapan
Aug 23 2006
VANADZOR, AUGUST 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Youth Championship of
Boxing will be held in the city of Agadir, Morocco on September 6-18. 7
boxers of Armenia, who from August 23 to September 3 will held teaching
and training gathering under the guidance of honorary trainer Derenik
Voskanian , will take part in that review. Among the boxers included
in the team are Europe youth double champion Azat Hovhannisian (54
kilograms, Ayntap) and multiple prize winners of the Europe and World
Youth Championships Ara Puluzian (60 kilograms, Etchmiadzin), Samvel
Barseghian (51 kilograms, Sevan), Derenik Gizhlarian (51 kilograms,
Armavir).

STUDENTS IN LEBANON AND IMC WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE CRITICAL SUPPLIES TO LEBANESE RETURNEES
International Medical Corps (IMC)
Aug. 22, 2006
One week after the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people are
returning home to find their communities and houses destroyed.
Particularly in the south, people are finding themselves without
regular power and water. They are in need of bottled water and
prepared food as well as health care. IMC is playing a critical role
in supplying them with the necessary supplies to help them rebuild
their lives.
Last week, half-a-dozen students spent the afternoon in a large, muggy
warehouse in Beirut packing IMC-assembled hygiene kits for displaced
families of southern Lebanon. Each kit contains basic supplies like
shampoo, soap, sanitary napkins and toothpaste and is designed to
last a family of six people one month.
“IMC provided that push to get me started,” Diana Ohanian, a
23-year-old nursing student at the American University of Beirut who
wanted to give back to her community and supervised the project.
Although she felt obligated to help, she did not know how to get
involved.
For Diana, helping provide relief is particularly personal. Her
grandmother came to Lebanon as an Armenian refugee and benefited
from foreign aid. Diana herself hid in a basement for seven days as
a child during the Lebanese Civil War.
“A week without a bath made a big impression on me,” she said.
IMC conducted a needs-assessment survey that showed a lack of financial
resources is not always the biggest problem for displaced people. A
more significant problem is lack of infrastructure.
Wholesale and retail distribution points, as well as distribution
routes, were severely damaged during the recent conflict. IMC’s
surveys are vital to ensure distribution to the appropriate people.
IMC is working to meet the immediate needs of thousands of people
returning to Lebanon every day by providing medical care to those along
the Syria/Lebanon border. Even amid the uncertainty and destruction,
they found a reason to celebrate.
“We were just married one hour ago, in Syria, and vowed to go to our
country in our wedding clothes,” said Jameel, the groom. This made
his bride, Sarah, smile.
Jameel and Sarah fled southern Lebanon when the fighting began and
met in a Syrian camp. Upon meeting, they said that it was indeed love
at first sight. Two weeks later they decided to marry, but wanted
to wait until the fighting stopped. After the August 14 ceasefire,
they chose to salute their country by wearing clothes that represented
peace and joy and to enter their city with an event that would lessen
the sorrow of the wreckage they would face.
Though the real celebration will take place with their friends
and family in Lebanon, IMC team members wanted to celebrate their
wedding before they crossed the border. They played festive music
on the medical team’s van stereo and danced around the wedding
car. IMC distributed chocolates to refugees who wanted to join in
the festivities.
Throughout the month-long conflict IMC used mobile medical units
to reach thousands of displaced people and refugees in Lebanon and
Syria. IMC is providing people with returnee packages which include
items such as hygiene materials, house cleaning products, baby formula,
and powder milk. An estimated 1,200 people have died and more than
4,000 injured since the fighting began in July.

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA TO RESIGN IN SEPTEMBER
RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug. 22, 2006
YEREVAN, August 22 (RIA Novosti) – America’s ambassador to Armenia
announced Tuesday he would be leaving his post in September, after
only two years on the job.
John Evans, who was sworn in as ambassador in August 2004, courted
controversy in 2004 and 2005 for public comments he made on the 1915
Ottoman Empire’s massacre of ethnic Armenians, which the United States
neither denies nor officially recognizes as genocide.
Evans, who was publicly rebuked by the State Department, said: “The
Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.”
The ambassador later said he was expressing his personal viewpoint
and not the position of the United States government.
While the U.S. State Department has said the ambassador’s resignation
was not related to his comments, some members of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee have expressed doubt.
Last month, Senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) sent
separate letters to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressing
concern that the ambassador was fired for articulating a view of the
Armenian massacre not in keeping with administration policy.
The American-Armenian community has also expressed misgivings.
Armenian Assembly of America Executive Director Bryan Ardouny said:
“We have a fundamental policy disagreement with the administration,
and we will not stop work until the U.S. unequivocally affirms the
Armenian genocide.”
On May 23, U.S. President George Bush named Richard Hoagland to
replace Evans as American ambassador to Yerevan. But the Senate’s
Foreign Relations Committee has postponed considering his candidacy
until September.
Testifying before a committee meeting in July, Hoagland, a career
Foreign Service officer and the current U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan,
said: “The State Department has not directed me to make or avoid
specific statements about the tragic events that occurred at the end
of the Ottoman Empire.”
“The U.S. believes that the question of how to characterize these
horrific events is of such enormous human significance that it should
not be determined on the basis of politics, but through heartfelt
introspection among academics, civic leaders and societies,” he said.

OSCE: FIRES IN THE TERRITORIES AROUND NK CAUSED BY WEATHER CONDITIONS
Regnum, Russia
Aug. 22, 2006
The fires in the territories around Nagorno Karabakh have been caused
by weather conditions, says the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. He says that the bigger scale
of fires this year is due to very early heat. At the same time,
Kasprzyk refrains from making conclusions. He says that he is not an
investigator. Besides, he did not see anybody and could not find any
fact revealing the cause of the fires. He says that there have been
fires before though they were not as big.
“I think everybody understands that fires are caused by different
things. It will be enough for you to watch the latest news: fires
in California, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Spain, Portugal,”
says Kasprzyk.
He says that the Azeri side has already asked the OSCE CIO to set
experts to find out the cause of the fires, reports ArmInfo.
To remind, on June 15, 2006 the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry
urged the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE CIO to
hold a monitoring of the contact line with Azerbaijan in order to
give a real assessment of the situation and to see that Azerbaijan’s
charges of arson are just allegations. On July 3-5 the Personal
Representative of the OSCE CIO Andrzej Kasprzyk monitored the border
zone between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, drafted a seven-page
report and submitted it to OSCE CIO Karel de Gucht, who, in his turn,
presented the report to the Azeri FM.

FEAR AND LOATHING IN ISTANBUL
Matt Stone – columnist
Arizona Daily Wildcat, AZ
Aug. 22, 2006
On Sept. 21, UA Near Eastern studies professor Elif Shafak will face
trial in Turkey for “insulting Turkishness” under Article 301 of the
Turkish penal code. Shafak, a prominent novelist and Turkish citizen,
is the victim of an increasing nationalist backlash occurring in
Turkey, a country that just recently began accession talks to join
the European Union.
In a Time Asia article written soon after she was charged, Shafak
illustrated this internal struggle: “Like a pendulum, Istanbul
swings obstinately between cosmopolitanism and nationalism, memory
and amnesia – between a weighty past we can never fully shed ? and
a hopeful future we can only run after but never quite grab hold of.”
Shafak is accused of insulting Turkey in her most recent novel, “The
Bastard of Istanbul,” which will be published in English in January.
In the book, an Armenian character refers to the “Turkish butchers” who
carried out the forced dislocation and related deaths of approximately
1.5 million Armenians living in Turkey from 1915 to 1923.
The Turkish government does not consider the forced migration to be
genocide, but rather, the byproduct of inter-ethnic strife during
the upheaval of World War I. Many scholars disagree.
Regardless, elements of the Turkish judiciary, led most notoriously
by ultra-nationalist prosecutor Kemal Kerincsiz, are defending the
government line by prosecuting those who disagree, like Shafak.
In all, more than 60 writers, journalists and publishers, including
Turkey’s best-known writer Orhan Pamuk, have faced trial in the past
year, many under the onerous and arbitrary fiat of Article 301.
In fact, Article 301 and its hazy application are not the product
of an anachronistic legal regime. Although Turkey’s penal code was
lifted from Mussolini’s Italy, Article 301 was written as a compromise
between internationalists and conservatives during the reforms leading
to EU accession talks. With careless haste to meet EU deadlines,
the Turkish government left openings for more nationalist elements
to sabotage Turkey’s momentum towards EU membership.
As Turkey works its way through EU accession talks, might these
trials and the reaction to them be growing pains? After all, without
Turkey’s official intent to join the EU, trials against writers and
intellectuals would certainly disappoint Western observers, but would
hardly produce the anger and admonishment heaped on editorial pages
across the West.
What is clear is that a struggle is occurring within Turkey between the
conservative old guard and more open-minded internationalists. As Sara
Whyatt, director of the Writers in Prison committee of International
PEN, a writer’s trade association, observes, “It seems to me that
these prosecutions are being driven by a rightwing element within the
Turkish judiciary, which is concerned about the Turkish application
to join the EU.”
Shafak would agree. She has written that a “similar clash of opinions
between the progressive-minded and the close-minded xenophobes is under
way almost everywhere.” That assessment could very well include not
only the neighborhoods of Istanbul, but also the streets of Baghdad,
the banlieues of Paris and the recent American backlash against
Mexican immigrants.
At the UA, support for Shafak has been professional. Provost George
Davis sent a letter on behalf of the UA community to the Turkish
foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, urging the Turkish government to drop
charges against Shafak. Despite a request, the contents of the letter
were not made public.
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies also sent a letter of support,
signed by colleagues and students of Shafak.
Shafak, who is currently pregnant, will stand trial with her translator
Asli Bican and her publisher Semi Sokmen of Metis Publishing House. If
convicted, they each face up to three years in prison.
Such an outcome would be a tragedy on multiple levels; for Shafak
and her colleagues, certainly, but more than that, actual convictions
would set Turkey back 40 years in terms of international respect. EU
accession talks would be dashed. The country itself might backslide
into authoritarianism, ending the Middle East’s greatest experiment
with democracy.
Despite the capriciousness of Article 301, no one has yet been
convicted under its absurd terms. Let us hope that Shafak – an asset
to the UA, Turkey and the world of literature – is not the first.
Matt Stone is a senior majoring in international studies and
economics. He can be reached at [email protected].