RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 10, No. 195, Part I, 23 October 2006
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Headlines, Part I
* PUTIN YIELDS NOTHING AT RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT
* HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN NGOS LEFT STRANDED
* ABKHAZ LEADER REAFFIRMS INDEPENDENCE BID
END NOTE: WILL MOSCOW FACE A COLD, DARK WINTER?
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TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT TO SEEK RETURN
TO PRESIDENCY. Ararat Zurabian, the leader of the former ruling
Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh), announced on October 20 that
former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian “will definitely
participate” in the country’s 2008 presidential election, according
to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Zurabian added that Ter-Petrosian’s
return to active politics will “completely change the existing
situation in Armenia,” but noted that he was merely “expressing his
personal view” and admitted that he has not discussed the issue with
the reclusive former president. Although Zurabian made the same
announcement before the 2003 presidential election, Ter-Petrosian
failed to enter that race as predicted and has showed no signs of
returning to politics. The opposition leader further explained that
even without Ter-Petrosian, the opposition party still plans on
putting forth a presidential candidate “in any case,” and hinted at a
possible tactical alliance with other ideologically similar
opposition parties prior to the May 2007 parliamentary elections.
Despite a recent attempt at regaining its lost political standing in
Armenia, the party remains hindered by an internal split between
rival actions divided among a group loyal to fugitive former Interior
Minister Vano Siradeghian and a rival faction aligned with the former
president. RG
ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET. In a statement
released in Yerevan, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Seyran
Shahsuvarian confirmed on October 20 that Armenian Defense Minister
Serzh Sarkisian met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev at
the westernmost section of the heavily militarized frontier along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. The
ministers, meeting at the initiative of the OSCE officials empowered
to monitor the so-called “line of contact” separating both sides,
discussed “issues of mutual concern” related to a recent series of
cease-fire violations along the border and near Nagorno-Karabakh. RG
GEORGIAN SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICIAL RELEASED FROM CUSTODY. A Tbilisi
municipal court ruled late on October 20 to release Zaza Sopromadze,
the director-general of Georgia’s United Fund for Social Security,
from detention after he agreed to post some 50,000 lari ($28,500) in
bail, ITAR-TASS reported. Arrested on October 19 with six other
colleagues, Sopromadze faces criminal charges of “abuse of office,”
fraud, and embezzlement estimated at roughly 570,000 lari ($325,000).
The six other senior officials of the Social Security Fund, including
the deputy head of the fund and several departmental heads, were
sentenced on October 21 to two months pre-trial detention. RG
ABKHAZ LEADER REAFFIRMS INDEPENDENCE BID… EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby on October 21 met in Sukhum
(Sukhumi) with Sergei Bagapsh and Sergei Shamba, who are president
and foreign minister respectively of the unrecognized Republic of
Abkhazia, according to apsny.ru and ITAR-TASS. Bagapsh informed the
EU envoy that the Abkhaz “position remains unchanged” and reaffirmed
the Abkhaz drive for independence. He added that “we do not consider
Georgia a reliable partner in the negotiating process” and argued
that “Georgia is not ready to solve the problem by peaceful means,”
further warning that “Georgia is actively preparing for a war with
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” Both Abkhaz leaders stressed that
Abkhazia is prepared to resume talks with Georgia as soon as that
country complies with the October 13 UN Security Council resolution
demanding that it withdraw from the Kodori Gorge the troops it
deployed there in late July, and also the so-called Abkhaz government
in exile, in order to “make it possible to resume the dialogue” (see
“RFE/RL Newsline,” October 16, 2006). Accompanied by the German and
Finnish ambassadors to Georgia, Patricia Flor and Tery Hakala,
respectively, Semneby said that the European Union continues to “show
keen interest” in a peaceful settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz
conflict. He further argued that an “orientation to Europe will
create conditions for the economic development” of Abkhazia as “close
relations with the EU will give guarantees, which are necessary for
investors” interested in the region. LF/RG
…AND SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER RULES OUT REJOINING GEORGIA. South
Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity reiterated on October 21 his
opposition to any reunification with Georgia, according to Interfax
and ITAR-TASS. President Kokoity characterized the South Ossetian
history as a part of Georgia as one of “our people being threatened
with genocide,” Interfax reported. The South Ossetia leader echoed
the resolve of Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh, who similarly
contended that Abkhazia “can never live with Georgia” as a unitary
state and reaffirmed the Abkhaz drive for independence (see above).
Abkhazia also recently appealed to the Russian parliament for formal
recognition as an independent state (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” October
17 and 19, 2006). RG
GEORGIA REJECTS ANY ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS BY FORCE… Georgian
Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili pledged on October 21 that Tbilisi
will not use force to resolve its conflicts with Abkhazia or South
Ossetia, ITAR-TASS reported. The foreign minister added that the
Georgian government has in fact “prepared a statement that sets forth
the position of the Georgian authorities on a peaceful solution to
these conflicts,” and affirmed that Tbilisi pursues “a clear line
towards peaceful settlement of these conflicts on the basis of plans
drafted by the country’s leadership and approved by the OSCE and
other international organizations.” Bezhuashvili’s remarks follow
recent statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a news
conference after an informal EU-Russia summit in which he blamed the
Georgian leadership for worsening relations between Moscow and
Tbilisi, and accusing Tbilisi of seeking “a favorable climate” for
“solving the problems with South Ossetia and Abkhazia by force
through bloodshed.” RG
…AFTER U.S. RULES OUT SUPPORT FOR ANY MILITARY MOVE BY GEORGIA.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried warned on October 20
that the United States would not support military action by Georgia
to regain control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, stating that there
is “no military solution to any of these conflicts,” ITAR-TASS
reported. RG
OPPOSITION SLAMS GEORGIAN PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR EARLY ELECTIONS.
Opposition parties and political figures expressed outrage on October
20 at President Mikheil Saakashvili’s announcement the previous day
that he plans to submit to parliament a bill on bringing forward by
eight months the date of the presidential election due in January
2009, Caucasus Press reported. Saakashvili reasoned that it would
save “time and energy” to hold the presidential ballot concurrently
with the parliamentary election. Pikria Chikhradze of the New
Conservatives (aka New Rightists) suggested that Saakashvili is
concerned at the dwindling popularity of his United National
Movement, while Zviad Dzidziguri commented that Saakashvili wants to
eradicate the Georgian opposition, Caucasus Press reported. Davit
Usupashvili of the opposition Republican Party suggested
Saakashvili’s proposal was a response to both domestic disillusion
and criticism by the EU and U.S. of his policy. Former Foreign
Minister Salome Zourabichvili accused Saakashvili of seeking to
prevent a redistribution of forces within parliament and to establish
totalitarian rule, Caucasus Press reported on October 21. LF
CLASH ERUPTS BETWEEN HUNDREDS OF KAZAKH, TURKISH WORKERS. A regional
prosecutor in the Kazakh Caspian Sea port of Atyrau, Rakhimbek
Mamyrbaev, reported on October 20 that a mass brawl between Kazakh
and Turkish construction workers left nearly 140 people injured,
Interfax reported. The clash, involving as many as 300 Kazakh and 100
Turkish workers, left 115 seriously wounded and requiring medical
attention. The laborers, contracted for the Tengizchevroil joint
venture, are working on the construction of a plant near the Tengiz
oil field, according to “Kazakhstan Today.” RG
KAZAKH PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER CRITICIZES INDIAN OWNER FOR TRAGIC MINING
ACCIDENT… The daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev on
October 20 accused the Indian-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal of
responsibility for the deaths of more than 80 Kazakh coal miners in
the past three years, RFE/RL reported, citing the weekly “Karavan”
newspaper’s website. In a “Karavan” interview, Nazarbaeva criticized
the Arcelor Mittal group and its executives for failing to ensure
adequate safety conditions at several of the coal mines that they
operate in Kazakhstan. Nazarbaeva, who holds a seat in the
parliament, added that Kazakhstan must improve its labor laws and
called for greater legislative oversight over foreign investors.
After protests over a gas explosion in September that killed 41
Kazakh miners, the Arcelor Mittal group raised the monthly salaries
of its employees to the equivalent of at least $700 and pledged to
address safety concerns in the mines. RG
…AFTER KAZAKH PROSECUTORS ANNOUNCE ANOTHER ARREST. Prosecutors in
the central Kazakh region of Qaraghandy announced on October 19 the
arrest of a fifth coal-mine employee over the gas explosion that
claimed 41 lives in September (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” September 21,
2006), according to “Kazakhstan Today.” The latest arrest, which
reportedly took place on October 14, follows the arrest of four other
mine officials on charges of criminal negligence. RG
PLANNED MEETING BETWEEN KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION CANCELED. A
planned meeting between Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev and leaders
of the opposition was canceled on October 21 after some opposition
leaders objected to the size of the presidential delegation, RFE/RL’s
Kyrgyz Service reported. The meeting was intended to ease tensions
between the opposition and the Kyrgyz president before a planned
opposition rally set for November 2 in Bishkek. Galina Kulikova, the
leader of the Menin Olkom (My Country) party, said that opposition
For Reforms movement leader Temir Sariev was responsible for calling
off the meeting, although “the presidential administration was
prepared” to meet “all the conditions presented” by the opposition
for the talks. Tursunbek Akun, the head of the presidential Human
Rights Commission, blamed both sides and urged them to engage in a
constructive dialogue. RG
KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN SAYS PRESIDENT OFFERED SENIOR POSTS TO
OPPOSITION DEPUTIES. Kyrgyz opposition lawmaker Azimbek Beknazarov
announced on October 20 that he and two other opposition leaders
declined an offer of state jobs by President Kurmanbek Bakiev,
AKIpress and the 24.kg website reported. Speaking to reporters in
Bishkek, Beknazarov said that he was offered the position of Supreme
Court chairman, while former Trade Minister Almazbek Atambaev was
promised the prime ministerial post and Omurbek Tekebaev was offered
his former position as parliamentary speaker. A second opposition
parliamentarian, Melis Eshimkanov, also reported to the parliament
that he was given assurances from an unnamed senior presidential
official that Bakiev would meet with opposition leaders. RG
PLAY BY TURKMEN PRESIDENT OPENS IN ASHGABAT THEATERS. A play
purportedly written by Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov opened in
five theaters in the capital, Ashgabat, on October 21, according to
Interfax. An unnamed Culture Ministry official explained that the
theaters chose to offer stage productions based on Niyazov’s
“immortal works.” In a televised address the same day, Niyazov
appealed to the Turkmen public to not praise him so often, saying
that “it is hard for me to listen to applause meant only for me.” RG
TURKMEN PRESIDENT ADMITS HEART CONDITION. President Niyazov admitted
on October 20 for the first time that he suffers from a heart
condition, the ferghana.ru website reported. In a speech to a “world
congress of ethnic Turkmen,” President Niyazov explained that he is
unable to fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan because he has
to take medication for an unspecified “heart ailment.” Niyazov’s
health has long been the object of speculation, exacerbated by
reports in the state-controlled media that has undergone medical
checkups twice this year. RG
RUSSIA
PUTIN YIELDS NOTHING AT RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT… Meeting with EU leaders
on October 20 in Lahti, Finland, for what Britain’s “Financial Times”
described as a “tense” summit dinner, President Vladimir Putin did
not agree to guarantee Russia’s international contracts, open up its
energy market, or ratify in its present form the Energy Charter,
which Moscow signed with the EU in 1994 and which would require it to
open up access to its pipelines, international media reported (see
“RFE/RL Newsline,” October 20, 2006). EU leaders by and large went to
great pains to present a united front and stressed the importance of
transparency and observing legal norms in developing mutually
beneficial energy ties. But the “Financial Times” added that “the
meeting with…Putin served as an embarrassing reminder to European
leaders that their attempt to build a more equal energy partnership
with Russia has yielded few positive results.” The summit came
against a backdrop of recent Russian moves against Georgia and
Georgians living in Russia, the unresolved murder of critical
journalist Anna Politkovskaya, questionable Kremlin behavior over the
Sakhalin-2 gas production-sharing agreement (PSA) and other PSAs, and
remarks by Putin that appeared to make light of serial rape. French
President Jacques Chirac, who favors strong ties with Russia as a
“counterweight” to the United States, said that “moral issues [and]
economic interests…should not be connected.” In response, Estonian
Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that “we have to take a very strong
position…[and] find a good balance between [human rights] values
and economic interests. It is totally wrong to pay attention only to
[economic] interests.” PM
…BUT OFFERS SOME QUIPS OF HIS OWN… Georgia and human rights
played only a “marginal role” at the October 20 EU-Russia summit at
Lahti, Finland, Germany’s “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” wrote on
October 23. But President Putin stressed that Georgia is to blame for
the current tensions, saying that Russia’s aim is to “avoid
bloodshed.” An unnamed “furious diplomat” told the “Financial Times”
of October 23 that French President Chirac “hung Georgia out to dry”
by refusing to let that issue get in the way of energy discussions.
Putin, whom the London daily described as an “implacable dinner
guest,” sought once again to divide some of the older EU members from
the newer ones by “taking pleasure in appearing to confuse Latvia and
Lithuania.” In a manner reminiscent of Soviet rebuttals of U.S.
criticism of Soviet human rights practices by referring to U.S.
racial inequalities, Putin responded to negative comments about
Russian democracy by noting the extent of corruption in Spanish
municipalities, London’s “The Guardian” reported on October 23. He
left Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi “without words” by pointing
out that “mafia” is an Italian word. Putin nonetheless appeared to
win at least some approval around the table by remarking that the
EU’s most important challenge is to “safeguard Christianity in
Europe.” PM
…WHILE TRYING TO BE UPBEAT. President Putin left the October 20
Lahti EU-Russia summit by saying that he is that even the “most
controversial” differences with the EU can be resolved, RFE/RL
reported. The two sides will hold a full summit meeting in Helsinki
on November 24. The EU hopes to use that session to launch talks on a
new comprehensive cooperation agreement to replace the current
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which runs out in 2007. Putin
said in Lahti that he would like the new accord to be called a
Strategic Partnership Treaty, but also suggested energy issues might
need to be tackled outside of it. The German Foreign Ministry, which
is controlled by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has drawn up a
position paper independent of Chancellor Merkel and her Christian
Democratic Union (CDU-CSU), in which the ministry aims to develop the
EU’s relations with Russia on the basis of an expanding network of
interrelationships (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” September 5 and October 19
and 20, 2006). In January 2007, Germany will take the rotating chairs
of the EU and the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized
countries. PM
EADS WELCOMES RUSSIA AS ‘STRATEGIC’ PARTNER. Thomas Enders, who is
the German co-chief executive of the European aerospace firm EADS,
which is primarily a Franco-German enterprise, has welcomed the
Russian state’s acquisition of a stake in the company, diewelt.de
reported on October 23. Enders says cooperation with the Russian
aerospace industry is of “strategic importance” for EADS. Russia’s
state-owned Vneshtorgbank recently confirmed it holds a stake of just
over 5 percent in EADS, the parent company of Airbus. But German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the management of EADS, which seeks
lucrative U.S. defense contracts, have blocked Russian plans to
acquire blocking rights and a seat on the board (see “RFE/RL
Newsline,” September 20, and October 10, 11, and 13, 2006). He added
that Russia is valuable to EADS not only as a market but as a source
of “multifaceted experience in the development and construction of
aircraft.” Russia’s new United Aircraft Company (OAK) seeks a strong
foreign partnership to modernize Russia’s moribund aerospace
industry, which London’s “The Times” recently described as a
“glorious junkyard.” PM
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE DISCUSSES IRAN, NORTH KOREA IN MOSCOW… U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought support from top Russian
officials in Moscow on October 21 regarding the nuclear programs of
North Korea and Iran, news agencies reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,”
October 18 and 19, 2006). But even before she arrived, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated his opposition to tough
sanctions against Iran. He told the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA that
“any measures of influence should encourage creating conditions for
talks.” Lavrov added that “we won’t be able to support and will
oppose any attempts to use the Security Council to punish Iran or to
use Iran’s [nuclear] program [as an excuse] to promote the idea of
regime change there.” In addition to discussing North Korea, Rice
appealed to Russia and Georgia to reduce the tension between their
countries. PM
…AND MEETS WITH SLAIN JOURNALIST’S FAMILY. During her one-day
Moscow visit on October 21, Secretary of State Rice gave an interview
to “Novaya gazeta,” the newspaper for which critical journalist
Politkovskaya wrote before her recent murder, news agencies reported
(see “RFE/RL Newsline,” October 10, 11, 12, and 16, 2006). She also
met with Politkovskaya’s son. An unnamed senior U.S. State Department
official told “The Moscow News” of October 23 that “we planned this
not as a poke in the eye [of the Putin regime], but [as] an
absolutely necessary and human step.” The official also described the
meeting with Politkovskaya’s family as very emotional for Rice. She
told reporters that “the fate of journalists in Russia is a major
[U.S.] concern. Anna Politkovskaya was a particularly well-known and
well-respected journalist, so I think it’s important to note that.”
In a commentary on the case, London’s “The Economist” wrote on
October 14 that “whoever killed [Politkovskaya], Putin shares the
blame for having made independent journalism both rare and
perilous…. It is not there yet, but Russia sometimes seems to be
heading towards fascism.” PM
HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN NGOS LEFT STRANDED. U.S. Secretary of State Rice
also sought information in Moscow on October 21 about the fate of
several hundred foreign NGOs, which are being forced under new
legislation to reregister under highly complex and somewhat arbitrary
rules in what is widely seen as an attempt to close many of the NGOs,
news agencies reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” September 21 and
October 17 and 20, 2006). She said that “in some cases [the
legislation] is being implemented in ways that is making it difficult
for NGOs to operate, and so I think we have to go over that.” U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried met with federal human
rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to discuss the law and said later
there had been progress. The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”
reported on October 21 that about 400 out of some 500 foreign NGOs
have at least temporarily suspended their operations in Russia
pending word from the authorities as to whether they have been
reregistered. Many smaller NGOs have left Russia altogether, saying
that the complex and drawn-out procedure exhausted their meager
resources. Among the NGOs awaiting word of their fate are Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the institutes
linked to the two major U.S. political parties, namely the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute
(IRI). The Kremlin has linked those two institutes to the 2004 Orange
Revolution in Ukraine and the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia. The
German daily added that Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier has
contacted his colleague Lavrov to ensure that German NGOs are not
subjected to arbitrary bureaucratic obstacles. PM
EXTREMISTS WRECK GALLERY WITH ‘COSMOPOLITAN’ ART. Numerous
ultranationalist young men ransacked Moscow’s Gelman Gallery on
October 21, “The Moscow News” reported on October 23. They beat owner
Marat Gelman and destroyed paintings by the Georgian-born artist
Aleksandr Dzhikia, as well as computers. Gelman later described the
attack as “monstrous.” The attackers divided into groups to perform
specific tasks, the daily “Kommersant” noted. One day earlier, the
artworks were en route to an exhibition in London when police took
them off a plane at Sheremetyevo Airport. One collage showed a
scantily clad President Putin frolicking in bed with a similarly
dressed U.S. President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. An
investigation into the attack is reportedly under way.
Ultranationalists and other far-right extremists see the Gelman
Gallery as “a hotbed of cosmopolitanism and anti-Russian values,”
Vladimir Pribylovsky, president of the Panorama think tank, told the
daily. “Cosmopolitanism” is a Stalin-era anti-Semitic term. Matthew
Bown was transporting the 11 pieces of art from the gallery to his
own gallery London when he was ordered off his plane and questioned
by police. Officials confiscated the artwork, telling Bown he had
been detained because several of the pieces “contain representations
of heads of state.” “Kommersant” described the incident with the
headline: “Art Critics In Black Shirts.” PM
LAWSUIT BEING READIED OVER THEATER HOSTAGE INCIDENT. With Moscow set
to mark the fourth anniversary on October 23 of the Dubrovka theater
hostage taking by Chechen militants, relatives of those who died say
they plan to sue officials for negligence, news agencies reported. At
least 129 hostages and 42 militants died during a bungled rescue bid
at the theater, where the musical “Nord-Ost” was playing. Tatyana
Karpova, co-chairwoman of a group of former hostages and victims’
relatives, said the authorities did not provide proper medical care
to freed captives, among other alleged errors. The militants took
about 800 people hostage, demanding Russia end the Chechen war. Three
days later, special forces pumped a narcotic gas into the theater to
knock out the hostage takers. Nearly all the victims died as a result
of the effects of the gas. PM
MAYORAL ELECTION IN FAR EAST CANCELLED. Electoral authorities in
Dalnegorsk in Primorsky Krai decided on October 21 to drop plans to
hold a mayoral run-off election the following day after the remaining
candidates withdrew, Russian news agencies reported. The withdrawals
came in response to popular anger following the murder of former
mayor and prominent candidate Dmitry Fotyanov, (see “RFE/RL
Newsline,” October 19 and 20, 2006). He was one of at least two
first-round candidates belonging to the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia
party. In other news, in the central city of Samara on October 23,
election officials announced that Viktor Tarkhov of the Party of Life
defeated incumbent Mayor Georgy Limansky of Unified Russia in the
mayoral race there the previous weekend, Russian news agencies
reported. The Party of Life is one of three leftist parties that are
joining together to form a Kremlin-sponsored “loyal opposition” for
the 2007 parliamentary elections (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” October 12,
2006). PM
NALCHIK RAID SUSPECT’S PRETRIAL DETENTION EXTENDED. Rasul Kudayev,
who was detained on October 18 2005 on suspicion of having commanded
one of the detachments of young militants who attacked police and
security facilities in Nalchik five days earlier, is to remain in
pretrial detention for a further six months, until April 17, 2007,
according to kavkaz,memo.ru as reposted on October 20 by
kavkazweb.net. The rationale cited for that decision was the need for
further investigation in light of the “complicated” nature of his
case. Kudayev was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and
held for three years as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba before being released
for lack of evidence. His relatives claim he is a semi-invalid and
was not physically capable of participating in last year’s attacks
(see “RFE/RL Newsline,” October 24, 2005). LF
OSSETIAN YOUTH GROUP WARNS AGAINST ABUSE OF INTERNET. In an October
22 statement posted on the independent website ingushetiya.ru, the
Patriotic Union of Youth of North Ossetia expressed concern that the
Internet is being abused in both North Ossetia and Ingushetia as a
weapon in the dispute over rival territorial claims to North
Ossetia’s Prigorodny Raion. The statement appeals to unnamed “forces
that are trying to destroy the fragile peace in the North Caucasus”
to eschew “manifestations of nationalism, xenophobia, and hate
speech.” The union advocates transferring Prigorodny Raion to
Ingushetia in order to end the dispute (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” August
16 and October 2, 2006). On October 20, ingushetiya.ru reported that
Ingushetia’s two largest Internet providers are blocking access to
its site to users within that republic. LF
END NOTE
WILL MOSCOW FACE A COLD, DARK WINTER?
By Roman Kupchinsky
Last winter, the Ukrainians were left shivering after Russia
cut off gas supplies. This year, there’s a chance it could be the
Russians feeling the freeze.
There are concerns that domestically Russia’s
state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom will be unable to supply
electricity-generating companies with enough gas. If that happens, it
could mean brownouts and blackouts this winter.
Such a scenario nearly occurred last year. Mosenergo, the
majority shareholder in Russia’s Unified Energy Systems (EES)
electricity monopoly, supplies electricity to the Moscow region.
In the winter of 2005-2006, it was faced with a severe lack
of gas to power its generating plants. Gazprom was forced to briefly
limit supplies to Europe in order to keep the lights on in Moscow.
EES head Anatoliy Chubais is concerned. He has placed the
blame for the potential gas deficit squarely on Gazprom, which
controls 25 percent of the world’s gas reserves and 94 percent of
Russia’s natural gas. Chubais has said that Gazprom is unable or
unwilling to supply generating companies in Russia with enough gas
and this has forced them to buy more expensive diesel fuel to power
their plants.
In 2006 alone, the cost of diesel has risen by over 85
percent, while the price consumers are charged for electricity has
remained low.
Gas shortages began during the winter of 2005-2006 and EES
instructed its thermal-generation plants to switch to other fuels —
diesel and coal. In the first eight months of 2006 the use of diesel
increased by 35 percent and coal by 9 percent.
According to Chubais, the gas shortage makes the present cost
of diesel fuel equivalent to a price of $185 per 1,000 cubic meters
of gas. EES buys gas from Gazprom at $46 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Chubais told the “Vedomosti” business daily on September 28
that when he met with Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller to discuss this
problem, Miller told him to switch to other fuels.
EES is also buying electricity from abroad. In October, EES
entered into negotiations with the Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry
to buy excess electricity. According to the October 2 issue of the
“Kommersant” daily, EES has agreed to purchase from Ukraine some 6
billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) to make up for expected shortfalls in
the European part of Russia.
Most experts agree that Russia’s domestic gas shortage is due
to Gazprom’s paltry investments and the company’s desire to expand in
too many directions at once.
With Gazprom’s main gas fields running low, industry analysts
say the company has not done enough to invest in exploration and
development of new fields in the Yamal Peninsula. Instead, the
company, which is $38 billion in debt, has concentrated on noncore
activities such as buying into European energy companies. In
September 2005, Gazprom spent $13 billion to buy oil giant Sibneft in
order to transform itself into an integrated energy company.
It looks like the Putin-Miller team might have overextended
itself. Many analysts believe that Putin’s promise in March to supply
China with 30-35 billion cubic meters of gas by 2025 is unrealistic
as is Gazprom’s decision to develop the giant Shtokman gas field
without the help of foreign partners.
One possible solution to the gas deficit could be the
liberalization of Russia’s gas market — something the European Union
is pushing for.
Chubais believes that the gas market should be liberalized
along European lines and that Gazprom’s pipelines be opened to
independent gas producers. He says that the extra income generated by
these reforms could be used to construct new underground gas storage
facilities.
In September, Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said
that a liberalized gas market in Russia is possible and that it could
encompass over 100 billion cubic meters of domestic gas sales.
However, a liberalized gas market could cause consumer electricity
prices to rise as it would spell the end of Gazprom’s subsidized
pricing system.
The new Russian strategy to expand nuclear power generation
could well be a feasible long-term solution to declining gas
supplies, but in the meantime, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg
should brace themselves for a frosty winter.
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PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: 374.10.523531
Email: [email protected]
web:
Minister Oskanian Speaks on 15th Anniversary of Independence in Washington
DC at Embassy Sponsored Gala Banquet
Speech by
H. E. Vartan Oskanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Armenia
At the 15th Anniversary Celebration
Of Armenia’s Independence
Washington DC
October 21, 2006
I am pleased, honored, and still a little awed by the fact that I can
stand before you, as foreign minister, at the official celebration of 15
years of Armenia’s independence. The fact that we are celebrating in this
important capital, with the representatives of a strong, active,
prosperous, proud and engaged Diaspora, in the presence of several of
Armenia’s ambassadors, is still the stuff of dreams.
It has been 15 years since our independence. This came at the end of a
difficult century and an even more difficult millennium. Armenians take
great pride in their millennia of history. The leitmotifs that run through
our recollections of our past are fraught with a search for silver
linings.
We have outlived the empires of the Babylonians and Assyrians, the
Hittites and Medes, the Byzantines, the Mongols and the Ottomans. We
shared the gods of the Greeks and the Romans, until St. Gregory
illuminated the path to Christianity. We translated the Bible not just
into Armenian, but also into Chinese. We recorded the history of Armenians
and of Western civilization in beautifully illuminated manuscripts. We
welcomed the Crusaders to our Kingdom in Cilicia, and accompanied European
traders to the exotic East. Instead of fortifications, we built
monasteries and centers of learning which have withstood invaders and
earthquakes.
In the 18th century, when first the American colonies, and later the
people of France were upholding liberty, equality and fraternity, our
students and merchants in Europe, were watching and learning. They knew
that they had rights and liberties as subjects of three different empires,
and used the formulations and vocabulary of the leaders of the Western
enlightenment to articulate them. It wasn’t that they wanted to overthrow
those governments which abused or usurped their rights, but to reform
them. It didn’t work.
The Sublime Porte, which ruled over the majority of Armenians, made its
Armenian minority the scapegoat for its own inability to govern. The
Genocide followed. The remnants of the Armenian people who emerged
following the Genocide had independence hoisted upon them in 1918. A
population of refugees, insufficient resources with which to govern and
protect, an elite that did not live in Armenia, and an army composed of
well-meaning patriots – that was Armenia’s first modern attempt at
independence. It was a valiant effort to first wrestle with the social and
existential dangers from within, and later to fight against the direct
physical threats from without. The First Republic of Armenia survived
independently long enough that, when it fell, it fell as a legitimate,
independent, political entity. That entity was subsumed into the Soviet
Union as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.
That was the journey that brought us to today and to the improbability of
our independence – the improbability that this surviving nation would
witness the fall of yet another empire – this time Lenin’s. And that the
homeland would be born again, free and independent.
In Armenia, and in the Diaspora, too, where you are still overwhelmed at
the improbability of Armenia’s independence, you sometimes suffer from the
reverse: because we’ve never really had independence, we sometimes believe
that we don’t deserve to have it or that it will necessarily be taken away
again. I want to tell you that Armenians are not only worthy of
independence, we are also capable of independence, aware of the demands of
independence, responsive to the expectations of independence and accepting
of the burdens of independence.
But we were ready. Armenia’s Democratic Movement, the Environmental
Movement, the Karabagh Movement were not just the product of a changed
Soviet Union, but they also accelerated the transformation of the USSR.
Independence is borne of high ideals. We believed that freedom is the
secret to a prosperous nation, a healthy nation, a fair and just nation,
and a stable future. We believed that freedom isn’t just the right to do
what you want, it’s the opportunity to do what you want, it’s the
opportunity to make choices, the right choices.
We made the basic choice – we chose the way of a liberal society – open
markets and democratic institutions. That was the first choice.
And today, as we celebrate independence, we are celebrating that choice.
We are celebrating in Washington, the capital of the country that proved
that a liberal economy in a democratic republic is a winning combination.
Americans are the people who set out to design a political system that is
built around the individual, his liberties and capacities.
In other words, the American Declaration of Independence is about rights.
It is a testament to the rights of individuals, of peoples, of society.
But no man was ever endowed with a right without being at the same time
saddled with a responsibility.
We are privileged to be the generation that is consolidating independence.
We do have wide and generous opportunities to turn a dream into a country,
a stable country with a promising future.
And to that end, I want to propose a declaration of responsibilities. Our
responsibilities. This generation’s responsibilities. The responsibilities
of Armenia and Diaspora, of all those who call themselves Armenian.
— We have a responsibility to empower our people to confidently
participate in building their democracy.
— We have a responsibility to create an even playing field for every
Armenian citizen.
— We have the responsibility to continue on the diffcult but necessary
path of political and economic reforms.
— We have a responsibility not to take Armenia for granted, but to work
to create an Armenia that makes real the promises of democracy and
freedom.
–We have a responsibility to remember our past, without being bound by
it, because the future is ours.
— We have a responsibility to reach a just and lasting resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on mutual compromise.
— We have a responsibility to make the Diaspora an extension of the
homeland – not a permanent dislocation, not a destructive dispersion.
— We have a responsibility to welcome and embrace every Diasporan who
calls himself or herself an Armenian.
— We have a responsibility to rally every bit of our resources –
individual and collective, private and public.
— We have a responsibility to stand united, to work united, to go forward
united in the face of new challenges, we can win together, and not lose
separately.
These responsibilities come with independence, with freedom, with liberty.
Demanding freedom means recognizing the responsibility to ourselves, for
ourselves. Freedom is also the right to make mistakes, to learn from those
mistakes. It remains for those who have greater experience in freedom to
be patient as we sort out the options and freely choose the one that is
right for us.
We believed that independence may be bestowed, but freedom must be
achieved. Independence meant rights. Liberty means responsibility.
Thank you.

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: 374.10.523531
Email: [email protected]
web:
Minister Oskanian Addresses International Conference by UN University for
Peace in Toronto
Speech by
H.E. Vartan Oskanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
At the University for Peace Conference on
Capacity Building for Peace and Development: Roles of Diaspora
October 19, 2006
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
In this conference of experts, I feel right at home. I am, by default, an
expert on Diaspora. I was born in Syria, the heart of the Armenian
Diaspora, came to the homeland for the first time as a Diasporan student
— and today, I am foreign minister of that homeland which has more of
its nationals living in Diaspora, than at home.
I appreciate the fact that this panel is to tackle the challenges and
opportunities of Transnational Identities. We are in fact transnational
as a consequence of today’s homeland-diaspora relationships. It is not
just those living in diaspora who have this multiple identity, but it is
also those in the homeland whose identity alters, ever so slightly even,
because of the diaspora and its perceptions, expressions of who we are. I
believe the opportunities that this new, multilayered, identity produces
are greater than the challenges.
Diaspora is an old concept that has just come home, that has found itself.
In these days of easy, quick and inexpensive air travel, easy, quick and
inexpensive telephone calls, easy, quick and inexpensive internet access,
being in Diaspora no longer means permanent disconnection, distance,
inaccessibilility and alienation from the memories and experiences of
childhood, from a homeland and a home. Today Diaspora means an extension
of the homeland – not a permanent dislocation, not a destructive
dispersion, but life at a distance, that can even be beneficial.
On the one hand, the Armenian Diaspora experience is the archetypal
example of diasporas. The very first studies of diaspora were quick to
mention Armenians, Jews, and soon after the Africans, as the
quintessential examples.
On the other hand, ours is not the traditional duality. Our history, our
reality, and therefore, the diaspora-homeland relationship is more complex
than that.
Let me explain. The Armenian Diaspora, historically, began as those who
permanently left the traditional Armenian homeland. That’s how the
Armenian community of Lvov, Ukraine, and in Transylvania, were established
in the 12th century. That’s why there are thousands of Armenian graves
throughout south and east Asia from Macao to Bangladesh. That is how it
came to pass that that an Armenian translated the Bible into Chinese. That
is why Martin the Armenian was living in the Plymouth Colony of
Massachusetts in the 1600s. There were also those who left unwillingly,
due to political circumstances. The Shah of Iran, in the 16th century,
moved tens of thousands of Armenian craftsmen, forcibly, to northern Iran.
They lived there for hundreds of years, and left behind incredible
historical, cultural, religious monuments.
Until the early 20th century, the Diaspora was the appendage, while most
Armenians lived on the historic homeland, under some combination of
Russian, Ottoman or Persian domination. It was the Genocide of 1915 that
resulted in a mass exodus from the traditional homelands. The size of the
Armenian Diaspora today is due largely to that wave of settlement. They
were pushed out of their homes, and if they didn’t die along the
deportation route, then they made it to the countries of the Syrian
desert. From there, they emigrated to Canada, to the US, and elsewhere.
Today, the independent Republic of Armenia is based on the sliver of land
that was under Russian, not Ottoman domination, and that managed to
declare independence in 1918, consolidate as a political unit that then
was absorbed into the Soviet Union as one of the 15 republics, and then
emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union as an independent republic.
The size of the Diaspora has grown during the last 20 years as a result of
migration from the Soviet Armenian Republic, and until very recently, the
independent Armenian Republic. Today’s transnationals are this segment of
diasporans – born into the USSR, resident in a third country, while
feeling emotionally tied to the new, independent republic.
Thus, Armenians of the Diaspora have three sources of identity: 1. The
host countries in which they live today; 2. the homeland I represent
regardless of whether that was their place of origin or not, and 3. the
country of origin – the place that offered refuge between the homeland and
the host countries of today.
That is just one characteristic that makes our situation a bit unusual.
The second is that our numbers are the opposite of the traditional balance
– we have 5 million and more Armenians living outside Armenia, and 3
million in the homeland. Thus, the Diaspora is both larger, and older,
than the homeland. The Diaspora is also not monolithic – There are 2
million Armenians in Russia, more than one million in North America. The
experiences, capacities and expectations of these groups are very
different. Yet, they are the same.
The impact of all this on the Armenia-Diaspora relationship is
multilayered. Let me try to describe some of those layers, including
economic ones, and then finally talk about the reality and the potential
for homeland-diaspora relations in the context of political stability and
peace.
First, we have multiple identities, not just dual identities. Our
homeland, the host country, and our country of origin all have a place in
our hearts. The networks, the experiences, the know-how, that come with
intimate knowledge and deep contacts in three places is invaluable. From
the perspective of the homeland, this means that we benefit from even
greater contacts, ties and links. On the other hand, our foreign
relations, our bilateral relations are sometimes complicated by the
diverse and wide-ranging circumstances in those communities. This
complication arises partly from the reality that we may be an old nation,
but a very new nation-state. Our assumptions and actions are based on our
experiences as a nation. The nation-state is, for us, a new phenomenon,
with new, unknown, rules.
Second, a Diaspora as old as ours is highly structured. For centuries, our
communities have been forced to regulate their social and cultural life,
and as a result, churches, organizations, political parties even have a
long tradition of community self-governance, especially considering that
this was a Diaspora whose homeland was not a sovereign state for most of
its history. Therefore, having such structures and institutions with which
the homeland can interact allows for more productive and predictable
relations. At the same time, because the Diaspora is highly structured,
new mechanisms for new kinds of interaction are difficult to create.
Third, you are a member of the Diaspora only when you say you are. In
order to say you are, you must identify with the homeland which defines
it. One wants to identify with that which is strong, beautiful, proud. Our
Diaspora is no longer suffering or starving. Neither should Armenia be. A
developing country, an emerging democracy – these are concepts difficult
to understand. Armenia is no. 82 on the UN’s Human Development Index –
high by regional standards, but not high compared to most of the host
countries. Canada is ranked fifth, for example. Diasporas want homelands
in their image. The challenge is to channel that yearning in a way that
brings the aspiration closer to reality, rather than leading to
unfulfilled dreams and frustrations. It’s the thin line between taking
what you have for granted and having grandiose expectations. Diasporas
cannot, should not, take for granted that which is happening in the home
country. Those difficult processes of political and economic institutional
development are not always transparent processes. And impatiently
comparing them to the stable institutions in their host countries can/will
doubtless produce dissatisfaction.
Finally, the size of the Diaspora leads to high expectations all around —
on the part of the Diaspora itself, the homeland and the international
community. With such a large number of Armenians living abroad, and with
most of them comfortable, professional and settled, it is easy to hope for
investments in large numbers, generally massive and significant Diaspora
involvement and engagement, and resettlement perhaps.
The Diaspora’s charitable and philanthropic giving predates Armenia’s
independence. Refugees, survivors, living in the Middle East received help
and assistance from the Western Diaspora throughout the 20th century. The
Soviet Republic was the recipient of aid and know-how, especially in the
cultural sphere. Then later, after the earthquake of 1988, professionals,
young people, everyone pitched in to help. So, with independence, it was
expected that this kind of engagement would continue in even more
significant ways.
And it is true that there are large amounts of humanitarian assistance –
from individuals and organizations – pouring in. I know that scholars like
Khachig Tololyan and others are constantly trying to put numbers on this
kind of assistance. I don’t have them. But that kind of generosity and
largesse is visible throughout the country. Renovated schools, improved
infrastructure, educational and training programs, health care assistance
– all made possible by donations from the Diaspora. The Diaspora’s
humanitarian engagement is more visible, has quick impact and is easier to
accomplish. The donor feels good, quickly, and is not overwhelmed or bound
by long term obligations.
Individual remittances, too, continue to be significant for Armenia’s
economy. Funds sent regularly to families by individual Diasporans are
often the difference between survival and destitution for many in the
homeland. The numbers are very high – nearly half a billion dollars a year
– but they are from individuals to individuals. They are indispensable for
immediate relief. But not long-term sustainability.
It’s economic investment that fuels long-term sustainability. Diaspora
engagement in IT, tourism, diamond and jewelry production all have
Diasporans at the other end of the network. The significance of this kind
of networking is obvious.
The challenge for homelands is how to increase such high-impact
participation. Helping the homeland in the humanitarian sphere is
comparatively easy. The challenge is to find ways to use diaspora networks
and know-how to bring in lasting cooperation, making it as satisfying as
the easy, quick donation.
Now let me talk about homeland-diaspora relations in the context of
political stability and peace. The Armenia example may be a bit extreme
in that our foreign relations challenges are many. We live in a difficult
neighborhood, and we are faced with problems that Armenia alone cannot
solve. Our neighbors must want solutions as well. Therefore, Armenia’s and
Diaspora’s maneuvering space is unusually limited. On the other hand,
exactly because we live in a difficult neighborhood, where Russia, the US,
Europe and other countries have very clear interests and agendas, the
Diaspora factor has been critical.
If I can somewhat oversimplify and quickly summarize our foreign relations
challenges in three key policy areas, the mostly complementary, sometimes
differing views and needs of homeland and diaspora become clear.
1. On the Resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenians in
Diaspora and Armenia see the opportunity to right a historic wrong.
2. On Genocide recognition, Armenians in Diaspora and in Armenia see the
opportunity to right a historic wrong.
3. On relations with Turkey, again, in Diaspora and in Armenia, Armenians
see the opportunity to right a historic wrong.
We agree with them. But as authorities responsible for people’s security
and prosperity, we also know that all three of these painful, complex
challenges have to be resolved with the future in mind, not the past.
On the Nagorno Karabakh situation, we want a lasting resolution. That must
be based on a respect of the Nagorno Karabakh population’s right to
self-determination, to choose their own future. It must be based on
compromise by all parties. It must be based with an eye to Europe where
borders take on less importance as formerly acrimonious neighbors have
found ways to live side-by-side in peace.
On genocide recognition, for Armenians in Armenia and Armenians in the
Diaspora, there is no difference, although Turkey sometimes likes to
project that there is. All Armenians are convinced that Armenians and
Turks need genocide recognition by Turkey, in order to find closure for
this still painful, still open wound. Armenians are able to distinguish
between the perpetrators and today’s government of Turkey. Armenia, and
the Diaspora are willing and ready to enter into dialog with Turkey and
Turkish society at all levels, without pre-conditions. We need and want,
above all else, normal relations with our neighbor. For this to happen,
Turkey will have to come to terms with its past.
The Diaspora has an important role to play in this process. They are
largely the victims and the descendants of the victims. Yet Armenians are
the ones extending their hands for dialog.
Unfortunately, Turkey has made give-and-take between our peoples and our
states, impossible. In addition to the restrictions on speech, our borders
remain closed. They are the only closed borders in Europe. Nor are there
diplomatic relations between our countries. In other words, there are no
opportunities for new experiences, new memories, new interactions to build
up alongside the old. Instead, there is a lingering security concern about
a neighbor that has not repudiated state violence.
These are the complex foreign relations issues that the Diaspora has the
opportunity to explain. Diaspora involvement, albeit at a distance, in the
resolution of these conflicts and in the search for lasting understanding
is necessary and useful. It is a way for all of us to make the past work
for the future.
Thank you.

Embassy Of The United States
Yerevan, Armenia
Remarks for U.S. OSCE Ambassador Julie Finley — as delivered
OSCE Office in Yerevan — TIP Training Seminar
October 19, 2006, 9:30am
It is very nice to have the opportunity to talk with you. This is an
important training seminar on the fight against Trafficking in Persons.
There is no country in the world–including the United States–which can say
it has solved the problem of Trafficking in Persons. Some may be doing more
or having more success than others, but it is a global problem that we all
share and must fight together.
It is heartening to see the talent and dedication of the people gathered in
this room; however, we remain concerned about the status of the
anti-trafficking program in Armenia. Armenia´s National Action Plan on
trafficking is due to expire at the end of this year, and a new Action Plan
must be drafted to replace it. According to the Foreign Minister earlier
this week, the government intends to upgrade Armenia´s inter-agency
anti-trafficking committee to a more senior level and designate a minister
to coordinate its activities. This would be a most welcome step.
Armenia has been on the United States Government´s Tier 2 Watch List for two
years now. That means, unfortunately, that Armenia’s work in this area has
not been sufficient. And it also means that, by law, the United States State
Department must provide an interim assessment of Armenia´s anti-trafficking
efforts to Congress by February 1st, 2007.
We believe we have been doing our part to help. The United States has funded
a number of anti-trafficking programs through the OSCE Office here, through
International Organization for Migration and through the United States
Embassy directly. These efforts have included support to an NGO victims’
shelter, training for judicial and consular officials, and legislative help,
to name a few examples. We will continue to provide a range of
anti-trafficking assistance to Armenia, but international assistance alone
cannot solve the problem. The Armenian government must be fully engaged.
We are particularly worried about allegations that some public officials may
be in league with traffickers. These allegations were mentioned specifically
in this year´s Trafficking in Persons report, which states . quote . “The
government failed to vigorously investigate and prosecute ongoing and
widespread allegations of public officials´ complicity and trafficking.” end
quote.
Armenia´s position on the Tier 2 Watch List is precarious. If Armenia does
not address the concerns mentioned, it risks a Tier Three ranking. We hope,
however, that Armenia will show the serious and significant efforts needed
to graduate from the Watch List–and, more importantly, be more successful
in putting a stop to this terrible practice.
We hope you find the seminar today to be informative and useful. Thank you
very much for your hard work in the cause of human dignity.

Readers Edition » Print » Atatürk und die ArmenierReaders-Edition
Atatürk und die Armenier
/atatuerk-und-die-armenier/
Artikel von Malte Olschewski vom 22.10.2006, 14:04 Uhr im Ressort Politik,
Vermischtes | 22 Comments
Die Gründe für die türkische Leugnung des Völkermordes 1915/1916. Alle
Aktionen und Abhandlungen, die sich mit dem armenischen Genozid 1915/16
befassen, rufen eine Serie von Apologien, Entgegnungen und Verleumdungen
hervor. Hierbei lässt die Geschlossenheit und das ehrwürdige Alter der
türkischen Ablehnungsfront nach ihren Ursachen suchen. Seit über neunzig
Jahren leugnet die Türkei den Völkermord an den Armeniern. Der tiefere Grund
dafür scheint in der von Kemal Atatürk forcierten Gründungsgeschichte der
türkischen Republik zu liegen.
Zum ersten Präsidenten der Republik gewählt, hat Kemal nach den
Modernisierungen auch die türkische Geschichte reformiert. Er lie� 1931 eine
?Historische Gesellschaft` gründen, die eine glorreiche Vergangenheit zu
konstruieren hatte. In diesem ?Grundriss der türkischen Geschichte` (Türk
Tarihinin Ana Hatlari) werden alle Völkerschaften, die je den Raum der neuen
Republik besiedelt hatten, zu Vorläufern oder engen Verwandten der Türken.
Die Skythen, die Hethiter, die Phryger, die griechischen Ionier und andere:
Sie alle sind zu Prototürken geworden. Die Kurden haben die Kemalisten zu
?Bergtürken` ernannt. Bei der nahezu religiösen Verehrung für Kemal Atatürk
und bei Unverletzlichkeit seiner Prinzipien ist eine Korrektur dieses
Geschichtsbildes bis heute unterblieben. Es erhebt sich auch das Mausoleum
für Atatürk auf einem Hügel in Ankara, der schon den Phrygern im 12.
Jahrhundert v. Ch. als Grabstätte gedient hatte.
Die Armenier widerlegen schon mit ihrer Existenz den kemalistischen
Gründermythos. Die Armenier sind Nachfahren der sehr alten Hochkultur von
Urartu (assyrisch für: Bergland). Urartu rund um den Berg Ararat war ein
Rivale Assyriens und bestand bis ins 5. Jahrhundert v. Ch. Aus der
Bevölkerung Urartus entwickelten sich die Armenier. König Tigran, dem
Grossen, gelang um 70 v.Ch. die Bildung eines grosses Reiches. 313 n. Ch.
nahm Armenien unter König Trdat III. als erstes Volk der Geschichte das
Christentum als Staatsreligion an. Armenien hatte sich ständig gegen Byzanz,
gegen Perser und Arabern und zuletzt gegen die Osmanen zu behaupten. Die
Turkstämme Zentrasiens hatten um 1000 n.Ch. mit einer einer Expansion in
Richtung Westen begonnen. Nach Zerfall des seldschukischen Reiches herrschte
Sultan Osman Anfang des 14. Jahrhunderts über einen kleinen Stamm in
Anatolien. Die Osmanen setzten sich gegen alle Rivalen durch. 1453 eroberten
sie Konstantinopel. 1529 standen sie vor Wien.
Um 1900 waren im Osmanischen Reich 66 Prozent des Handels und 80 Prozent von
Handwerk und Industrie in Händen der Armenier, Griechen und Aramäer. Dem
Land fehlte ein türkisches Bürgertum bzw. eine Mittelschicht. Durch
Auslöschung oder Deportation der Christen sind ungeheure Besitztümer in die
Hände von Moslems gefallen, die dann auch die kemalistische Nationalbewegung
unterstützt haben und die neue Klasse bildeten. Der Aufstieg Kemals zum
Vater der Türken (Atatürk) und die Gründung der Republik sind daher indirekt
mit der Vernichtung der Armenier und Griechen verbunden. Kemal Atatürk soll
den Genozid einmal als ?Schandtat der Vergangenheit` bezeichnet haben. Der
im türkischen Nationalen Sicherheitsrat angesiedelte ?Ausschuss zur
Bekämpfung der Völkermord-Anschuldigungen` will das Zitat nicht gelten
lassen. Vielmehr habe Kemal bei der Parlamentseröffnung am 23.4.1920
erklärt: ?Unsere Feinde haben¦ die eine Lüge darstellenden, angeblichen
Armeniergenozid erfunden.` Allerdings war das Wort ?Genozid` 1920 noch
unbekannt.
Die offizielle Version geht dahin, dass die Deportationen ?kriegsbedingte
MaÃ?nahmen gegen die Sezessionspolitik der Nichtmuslime` gewesen seien. Doch
der jungtürkische Ideologe Nazim Bey hatte, durch ein Telegramm nachweisbar,
gefordert: ?Es ist erforderlich, das armenische Volk vollständig
auszurotten.` Bis heute agitieren türkische Botschaften und Vertretungen,
aber auch in Westeuropa lebende Türken gegen Ausstellungen, Feierlichkeiten
und Schulbücher, in denen der Genozid historisch korrekt dargestellt wird.
So verlangte man von den USA und von Frankreich Korrekturen in den
Schulbüchern. Ankara protestierte gegen die Umwandlung des Potsdamer
Lepsius-Hauses in eine Gedenkstätte. Akten des Theologen mussten versteckt
werden, weil man einen Angriff türkischer Extremisten befürchtete.
Die französische Nationalversammlung hatte am 12.10. mit 106 zu 19 Stimmen
bei 577 abwesenden Abgeordneten ein Gesetz beschlossen, das die Leugnung
dieses Völkermordes unter Strafe stellt. Obwohl das Gesetz als
Vorwahlmanöver nie Rechtskraft erlangen wird, anwortete die Türkei mit einem
Bündel von Sanktionen. In einer Sondersitzung des Parlamentes wurde ein
Boykott französischer Firmen erwogen. Frank-reich soll von allen türkischen
Gro�projekten ausgeschlossen werden. Man überlegte eine Resolution zu
verabschieden, in der französische Repressionen in Algerien als ?Völkermord`
bezeichnet werden. Ebenso sollen in der Türkei keine französischen Filme
mehr gezeigt werden.
Historikerkommission und historische Tatsachen
Eine Historikerkommission zur Untersuchung des Genozids kam bisher nicht
zustande, weil [1] Armenien (Wikipedia) als Vorbedingung die Aufnahme
diplomatischer Beziehungen und die Ã-ffnung der Grenzen fordert. So können
weiterhin historische Tatsachen von der Ablehnungsfront verschleiert,
verzerrt oder uminterprätiert werden. Mit der gleichen Hartnäckigkeit
bekämpft die Türkei auch alle Bestrebungen der Kurden, eine Autonomie in der
Region Diyabakir oder einen Staat im Nordirak zu erreichen.
Als gesicherte Tatsache darf gelten: England, Frankreich und Russland haben
die nicht-türkischen Bevölkerungsgruppen innerhalb des Osmanischen Reiches
unterstützt und gefördert. Die Russen setzten hierbei vor allem auf die
Armenier, die im kaukasischen Grenzgebiet und in den gro�en Städten der
Türkei siedelten. Die Hohe Pforte erkannte in den starken Minoritäten die
Ursache dies Niedergangs und begann mit MaÃ?nahmen einer Osmanisierung. Das
führte zu den Massakern von 1894 und 1896 in Sasun und in Urfa. Nach dem
Kriegsausbruch 1914 hat das jungtürkische Regime mit den Paschas Enver,
Talat und Djemal an der Spitze den schwachen Sultan zu einem Beistandspakt
mit dem deutschen Kaiser veranlasst. Die Armenier lebten damals in Russland,
in Nordostanatolien, in Enklaven und in den gro�en türkischen Städten. An
der Kaukasusfront kämpften armenische Freiwillige auf Seiten der russischen
Armee gegen die Osmanen. Auch hinter den russisch-türkischen Kampflinien
wurden Armenier aktiv. AuÃ?erdem haben die Armenier als Deserteure und Spione
wie auch durch Sabotage die türkische Kampfkraft geschwächt. Im Nordosten
des Landes würde ein Generalaufstand der Armenier drohen, hie� es damals,
obwohl die meisten wehrfähigen Männer mit Kriegsausbruch eingezogen worden
waren. Der türkische Autor Erdem Ilter beschreibt in seinem Werk: ?Ermeni ve
Rus Mezalimi` (Ankara, 1996) das Bündnis Russlands mit den Armeniern.
Das jungtürkische ?Zentralkomitee für Einheit und Fortschritt` beschloss
unter Generalsekretär Nazim Bey schon im Dezember 1914 ein geheimes Programm
zur Behandlung der christlichen Minderheiten im Osmanischen Reich. Die
Armenier sollten aus Nordostanatolien in den Süden deportiert werden. Dazu
war aus Kurden und Strafgefangenen eine Sonderorganisation, die ?Teskilat i
Mahsusa`, formiert worden. Das Zentralkomitee bestimmte Fristen und
Marschrouten. Alles wurde genau vorbereitet und geplant, was für die
UNO-Definition des Genozids von Bedeutung ist. Am 24.4.1915 begann die
Aktion. In Konstantinopel wurden 2 000 Geschäftsleute und Intellektuelle
festgenommen, darunter viele Führer der armenischen Daschnaken-Partei.
Armenische Soldaten, die in der osmanischen Armee dienten, sind entwaffnet,
in Arbeitsbattaillone abgeschoben und später exekutiert worden. Die
Zivilbevölkerung wurde an mehreren Plätzen konzentriert. Die Soldateska
zwang Alte Männer, Frauen und Kinder zu Gewaltmärschen in Richtung Süden.
Hierbei ist es zu ungeheuerlichen Verbrechen gekommen. Augenzeugen wollen
gesehen haben, wie nackte Armenierinnen gekreuzigt wurden. Dem Bischof von
Diyabakir soll man glühende Hufeisen an die Fü�e genagelt haben. Tausende
wurden gefesselt in den Euphrat geworfen. Frauen wurden von den am Wegrand
lauernden Moslems vergewaltigt oder als Nebenfrauen genommen. Viele konnten
sich durch eine Bekehrung zum Islam retten. Hier gilt wie in anderen Fällen:
Der Sachbeweis ist dem Augenzeugenbericht überlegen. Die einzelnen Greuel
werden von Augenzeugen beschrieben, wobei es nur wenig Sachbeweise wie etwa
die Fotos des deutschen Sanitäters Armin Wegener gibt. Durch Sachbeweise ist
gesichert, dass die Türkei hunderttausende in den Tod hat gehen lassen. Die
Türkei führt immer als Entschuldigung Verbrechen an, die armenische und
russische Truppen an der türkischen Zivilbevölkerung begangen haben. Dies
geschah jedoch nicht zu Beginn des Krieges, sondern erst mit dem russischen
Vorsto� 1916. Diese Verbrechen sind als Rache für die Todesmärsche anzusehen
und haben nicht das Ausma� der vorherigen Deportationen durch die Türken.
Wissen der deutschen und österreichische Verbündete
Die deutschen und auch die österreichischen Verbündeten waren informiert.
Pastor Johannes Lepsius suchte Berlin mit Dokumenten und
Augenzeugenberichten zum Eingreifen zu bewegen, da die deutsche
Heeresleitung rund 800 Offiziere als Militärhilfe nach Konstantinopel
entsandt hatte und die Hohe Pforte beeinflussen konnte. Es gibt Berichte
deutscher und österreichischer Diplomaten. Johannes Lepsius hat nach dem
Krieg im Auftrag des Au�enministeriums 444 Aktenstücke über den armenischen
Genozid veröffentlicht. Diese Akten wurden dahingehend manipuliert, da zuvor
all jene Stellen eliminiert worden waren, die auf Mitwissen und Mitschuld
Deutschlands hinwiesen. Dass in den Akten gestrichen und gelöscht wurde,
bedeutet nicht, dass sie, wie die Türkei behauptet, in ihrer Gänze gefälscht
worden sind. Seit kurzem sind die Lepsius-Akten auch vollständig einsehbar.
(Wolfgang Gust: ?Der Völkermord an den Armeniern 1915/1916` Von Kampen,
2005)
Der jungtürkischer Offizier Mustafa Kemal war nach Streit mit Kriegsminister
Enver als Militärattache nach Bulgarien abgeschoben wurde. Während der
Deportationen tobte von Ende März bis Ende August 1915 mit ungeheuren
Verlusten die Schlacht um Gallipoli. Kemal war auf Druck Berlins zum
Kommandanten der Abwehrfront gegen britische, französische, australische und
neuseeländische Truppen ernannt worden. Er hat mit dem Genozid nichts zu
tun, da er noch eine unter-geordnete Rolle spielte und die ganzen Monate an
der Front gewesen war. Er wurde nach Gallipoli als ?Retter` gefeiert und zum
Pascha ernannt. Kemal diente als Kommandant an verschiedenen
Frontabschnitten. Nach der russischen Oktoberrevolution 1917 konnte sich im
Kaukasus eine kleine Republik Armenien bilden, da die Pforte und die
Boleschwiken anderweitig beschäftigt waren. Anfangs lief alles gut.
GroÃ?wesir Halil Pascha besuchte Erewan. Die armenischen Minister Ahoranian
und Chattarian kamen nach Istanbul. Wer an den wachsenden Spannungen schuld
war, ist nicht geklärt. 1920 stie� die türkische Armee unter Kazim Karabekim
im Kaukasus vor. Der Armenierstaat wurde ausgelöscht. Weitere 150 000
Armenier wurden dabei getötet. Darunter waren Zehntausende, die aus den
Deportationen hierher geflüchtet waren. Das Territorium wurde zwischen der
Türkei und Russland aufgeteilt. Am 19.11.1920 wurde die armenische
Sowjetrepublik proklamiert.
Nach dem Waffenstillstand 1918
Mit dem Waffenstillstand im Oktober 1918 und der beginnenden Besetzung durch
die Alliierten hatte Kemal die Truppen aufgerufen, sich als Guerillas in
Anatolien zu sammeln. Er gründete in Sivas ein Nationalkomitee, sodass die
Türkei nun zwei Regierungen hatte. Im Vertrag von Sevres am 10.8.1920
sollten die Osmanen riesige Gebiete verlieren. Kemal hat Sevres nicht
anerkannt und den Kampf fortgesetzt. Er hat Vorstö�e der Briten und Griechen
mehrfach zurückgeschlagen. Er hat dann auch die griechische Bevölkerung von
der Smyrnaküste in die �gäis gejagt. In Izmir weist Kemal als Denkmal mit
herrischer Geste ins Meer. Der von Ruhm umglänzte General und Chef des
Nationalkomitees hat schlieÃ?lich den Sultan abgesetzt und die Republik
gegründet. 1923 wurde im Vertrag von Lausanne die Türkei in ihren heutigen
Grenzen bestätigt.
Den Verantwortlichen für den Kriegseintritt und für die Deportationen war
schon 1919 nach britischem Druck vor Sondergerichten des Sultans der Prozess
gemacht worden. Den obersten Tätern, Talat und Enver Pascha, gelang mit
deutscher Hilfe die Flucht. Talat wurde später in Berlin auf offener Stra�e
von einem Armenier erschossen. Enver suchte gro�türkische Träume in
Zentralasien zu verwirklichen. Andere zum Tod Verurteilte flüchteten zu den
Truppen Kemals, um nach Ausrufung der Republik hohe �mter zu übernehmen.
Sükrü Kaya wurde sogar Innenminister. Bald entwickelte sich in der Türkei
ein quasireligiöser Kult um den Staatsgründer, der bis heute fortgesetzt
wird. Die alewitische Sekte feierte Kemal sogar als ?mehdi`, als Erlöser.
Atatürk starb 1938 an Leberzirrhose.
Artikel aus “Readers Edition”:
Links im Artikel:
[1] Armenien:

Armenian Youth Federation-YOARF Eastern US
80 Bigelow Ave
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel. (617) 923-1933
Fax (617) 924-1933
PRESS RELEASE ~ October 22, 2006
(617) 923-1933
AYF-YOARF Holds Successful Annual Junior Athletic Games
WATERTOWN, Mass. – From September 29 to October 1, junior and senior members
of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Eastern Region gathered in New Jersey
for the annual Junior Athletic Games (JAG), which brings together
participants from the Mid-Atlantic and New England districts.
AYF junior members hailing from New York; New Jersey; Philadelphia; Boston;
Providence; Washington, D.C.; Worcester; and North Andover took to the pool
and track for heated competitions. Attendees, staying at the Marriot in
Saddlebrook, N.J., were divided into two groups, with older juniors ages 10
to 13 competing separately from those in the 14 to 16 age group.
Over 250 members, parents and supporters gathered at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday
for the swimming events. By 1:00 p.m., participants and observes alike
traveled to where the track and field events got underway. Juniors
participated in six track events, as well as team relay races and the field
events of long jump, shot put and baseball throw.
The New Jersey Arsen chapter, who supplied sandwiches, snacks and manned a
concession stand at the track all day, hosted the event. That evening, the
chapter held its Fall Ball at St. Vartanantz church hall, where athletes and
AYF seniors danced to the music of the Aravod Ensemble. During the event,
the New Jersey community provided a kebab dinner, the awards were given out,
and the chapter winners announced.
The Philadelphia chapter finished in third with 61 points, followed by New
Jersey in second with 133 points, and the Greater Boston juniors placed in
first, for the second year in a row, with 165 points. High scoring athletes
were also awarded trophies: Nina Shahikian from Philadelphia for the older
girls (age 14 to 16); Araxi Krafian from Greater Boston for the younger
girls (age 10-13); Katchig Karayan from Albany, Kapriel Cholakian from New
York and Raffi Sarajian from New Jersey for the older boys; and Aram
Tramblian from Washington, D.C., and Armen Arakelian from Boston for the
younger boys.
JAG began in 2000 as an annual event combining the New England and
Mid-Atlantic Summer Olympics featuring only track and field, which were done
separately previous to JAG. The event was held at Camp Haiastan for many
years with the use of local tracks. Swimming events were later added to the
weekend, after feedback from the juniors.
“This year JAG was moved to a different local and given a new flavor. It was
modeled more like the AYF Midwest Summer Olympics. We tried to incorporate
the parents and family into the weekend, bringing it back to AYF tradition,”
said AYF Central Junior Council chairperson Angela Deese. “We had lots of
new parents and many AYF alumni bring their kids to the weekend. It was a
great success and a fantastic effort by the New Jersey community.”
Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) serves as the youth
organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (YOARF). The AYF
stands on five pillars that guide its activities: education, political
awareness, fellowship, athletics and culture. Moreover, the AYF promotes a
fraternal attitude of respect for the diversity of ideas and individuals
amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that
allow members of the organization to work together and realize its
objectives.

California Courier Online, October 26, 2006
1 – Commentary

We Hope Pelosi Will Replace Speaker
Hastert After Nov. 7 Elections
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
2 – Armenian Football Opens Website
3 – Pasadena Police Chief Receives
Armenian National Service Medal
4 – ATG Seed Farmer Honored with Gold Medal
5- Prelacy Announces
Appointments to
Board of Regents
6 – Armenian Community Health
Fair in Glendale Serves 300
7 – UCLA AEF Chair
Offers Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Lectures to Public
8 – Actor Simon Abkarian Will MC
Nov. 12 ANCA-WR Banquet in L.A.
9 – Gov. Schwarzenegger
Appoints Frank Zerunyan
To State Medical Board
******************************************* ***********************
1 – Commentary
We Hope Pelosi Will Replace Speaker
Hastert After Nov. 7 Elections

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

The Congressional elections on November 7 could be a turning point for all
Americans, particularly on the issue of the war in Iraq, should the House of
Representatives, and possibly the Senate, come under the control of the Democrats.
For Armenian Americans, the upcoming elections could finally provide the
opportunity they have been waiting for to remove the chokehold placed by the Bush
Administration and the Republican leadership on the consideration of House
and Senate resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Both Houses of
Congress would have voted in overwhelming majorities to approve these resolutions if
Republican congressional leaders had allowed the people’s representatives to
vote their conscience on these bills.
For the House races, it is in the interest of Armenian Americans to vote for
those candidates who are either members of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues or have pledged to join it after the election. Voters may contact
Armenian lobbying organizations in Washington before Nov. 7, to check the
affiliations of the congressional candidates in their districts. In case neither
candidate in a particular race is a member of the Caucus or a supporter of
Armenian issues, the preference should be given to the Democrat in order toassure a
Democratic majority in the House. Cong. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a long time
friend of the Armenian community, would then become Speaker of the House,
replacing Cong. Dennis Hastert, who not only has broken his pledge repeatedly, but has
actively blocked the Armenian Genocide resolution from being brought to a
floor vote. Given her long-standing record on Armenian issues, it is anticipated
that Cong. Pelosi, should she become Speaker, would
schedule a vote on the Genocide resolution.
Rather than trying to rate thousands of candidates nationwide for 435 House,
34 Senatorial and countless local and state races, I will focus on a few
critical and close ones.
It goes without saying that Armenians should help re-elect the two members
of Congress who are of Armenian origin: Cong. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and John
Sweeney (R-NY). Armenians should also vote for State Senator Chuck Poochigian, a
Republican, who is running for Attorney General of California. He is engaged in a
tough battle against former governor Jerry Brown who has an advantage in
terms of name recognition. Paul Krekorian, a Democrat, is expected to easily win a
seat in the California State Assembly.
Also deserving the Armenian community’s support is Danny Tarkanian, the son
of legendary basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, who is running for Secretaryof
State in Nevada.
The co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues deserve the
community’s special support. Fortunately, Cong. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is expected
to get re-elected easily. The other co-chair, Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), is
involved in a tough race. A recent poll shows him in a statistical tie withhis
opponent. It is critical that the Armenian community nationwide come to his
support financially as well as with votes from those who live in his district. Even
though this goes against the earlier expressed desire of seeking a Democratic
majority in the House, the community cannot and should not abandon its
staunch supporters, be they Democrats or Republicans. By assuring that the
co-chairs, the current members of the Caucus, and new members who will jointhe Caucus
get elected, it is hoped that the Caucus would have at least 218 members of
Congress from both parties which would constitute a majority of the House.
Turning to the U.S. Senate, the key Senator that should be supported at all
cost is Robert Menendez (D-NJ) who placed a hold on the nomination of Richard
Hoagland, the Ambassador Designate for Armenia. Sen. Menendez is in a
difficult race as he was appointed to that seat by Gov. Jon Corzine, just 10 months
ago, after Corzine stepped down from his Senate seat. Menendez is opposed by
Republican Thomas Kean, Jr., an incumbent state senator and son of former
Governor Thomas Kean. The latest poll shows Menendez with a slim advantage over Kean.
The State Department would like nothing more than seeing Menendez lose his
seat, as that would vacate the hold against Hoagland next January. The Armenian
community nationwide, and particularly those residing in New Jersey, shoulddo
everything possible to secure the re-election of Sen. Menendez.
On Nov. 7, members of the Armenian American community should vote for all
those candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, who are supportiveof
Armenian issues. In the case of equally supportive candidates in a particular
race, the preference should be given to the one who is a Democrat in order to
secure a Democratic majority in the House, helping make Cong. Pelosi the next
Speaker, which will enable her to schedule a long overdue vote on the Armenian
Genocide resolution.
************************************** ************************************
2 – Armenian Football Opens Website
YEREVAN – The Yerevan United Football Club has just opened their online shop.
Fans of Yerevan United FC and the Armenian National Team are now able to buy
merchandise online for the first time ever, regardless what country they’re
living in. From team scarfs, t-shirts, or caps, it’s there, and payment is
simple and safe, with swoft delivery.
The website address is
Although the Club was promoted to the Premier League at the end of 2005, club
leaders made a decision to sit out the 2006 season, and return financially
strong in 2007.
The website carries the latest news about the Armenian National Football Team
playing qualifications for UEFA Euro 2008 competition. It is the only
Armenian football website.
So whether you’re a fan of the Armenian National Football Team or Yerevan
United Football Club, or if the browser only wants a temporary tattoo to wear to
the next Armenian function in your area, check out the Yerevan United website
and click on the shop online.
************************************************** ***********************
3 – Pasadena Police Chief Receives
Armenian National Service Medal
Pasadena Star-News
PASADENA – The Pasadena Police Department’s efforts to raise funds for
equipment for the Yerevan Police Department has earned the police chief an Armenian
National Service Medal, officials said Monday.
Pasadena Chief Bernard Melekian is the second person outside of Armenia to
receive the medal.
The award was presented to Melekian during a Pasadena Armenian Peoples’
Advisory Committee fundraising gala earlier this month.
Yerevan police Chief Nerses Nazaryan, acting on behalf of the commander of
the Armenian National Police, presented the award.
“The award was truly a surprise and an honor,” Melekian said, crediting the
Pasadena Armenian group with building bridges between the Pasadena Police
Department and the Armenian community.
“My grandparents and my father, who were survivors of the genocide, always
felt they owed a great deal to this country and to Pasadena.
It was an honor to be involved with a project that helped give something of
value to Armenia,” he said.
PAPAC raised nearly $80,000 for the Yerevan Police Department.
“Yerevan is the capital city of Armenia. I had the pleasure to visit that
city in 2000 and was appalled at the deficiency of equipment that a modern
department needs to do its job,” Melekian said.
************************************************** ************************
4 – ATG Seed Farmer Honored with Gold Medal
YEREVAN – At the second Armenian International AgroForum Conference that took
place in Yerevan on Sept. 22-23, Hovhanness Galoyan, an Armenian Technology
Group farmer from Karnut village, near Gyumri in Shirak Marz, was recognized
by the Government of Armenia for his exceptional achievement in the seed
industry, and received a Gold Medal.
This is the second time in two years that the Armenian Government is
honoring the California based Armenian Technology Group (ATG) a Gold Medal for its
accomplishments in the rural agricultural development in Armenia.
While awarding the medal, the Minister of Agriculture Davit Lokyan praised
the work done by Galoyan and declaring that “this year the average wheat yields
were very low in Armenia (1.5-2.5 MT per hectares),” Galoyan harvested 6-6.5
MT per hectrare.”
A farmer working under the directives of the ATG, Galoyan has mastered the
production of high quality certified wheat seed in Armenia. He is a member of
the Seed Producers Support Association (SPSA) founded by ATG in 1998. The
association has 47 members who are specialized in production of certified high
quality wheat, alfalfa, corn and barley seeds that are appropriate for different
growing zones in Armenia.
This award is the result of a long and dedicated efforts of long term US
based ATG technical farm advisors such as Roger Culver, and Roger Benton who
lived and worked with the farmers in Armenia for over 12 years.
” I am so pleased that our farmers are getting some recognition! They are
the backbone of Armenia’s rural economy,” said Roger Benton, retired UC
Extension Agent and a long time ATG technical advisor and previous in-county director
from his home in California. “ATG farmers worked so hard to help feed the
nation and their families. I remember particularly when our seed growers literally
saved thousands of people from possible starvation and famine, by supplying
clean and treated seed to over 12,000 farmers to plant their winter wheat in
2000. May God Bless them all!”
“ATG supplied the best of Western wheat growing knowledge together with an
initial variety of high quality wheat seed to the farmers of Armenia”, said
Nubar Tashjian, President of ATG. “To the credit of the Armenian farmers, they
readily adopted the Western methods together with the wheat seed and the
benefits realized are history. Those farmers adopting ATG supplied seed and
methodology improved wheat production many times over greatly benefiting Armenia. I
commend the Armenian farmer for his industry and intelligence. I congratulate Mr.
Galoyan for his achievement, a medal well deserved.”
The ATG Seed Multiplication Project has been funded through USDA Foreign
Agricultural Service – Food for Progress.
Other major sponsors are the Lincy Foundation, The Bertha and John
Garabedian Charitable Foundation, PACC and other organizations and individuals in the
United States.
ATG is a California based non-profit, public benefit corporation with
offices in Fresno, Yerevan and Stepanakerd, NK. The organization can be reached at
559-224-1000. Tax deductible donations could be mailed to ATG 1300 E. Shaw Ave.
Suite 131; P. O. Box 5969, Fresno, CA 93755. You can also visit the ATG web
site at and donate on line.
********’*********************************** ******************************
5 – Prelacy Announces
Appointments to
Board of Regents
ENCINO, Calif. – Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, and the Executive
Council of the Western Prelacy announced the new appointment of members to the
Board of Regents of Prelacy Schools.
The newly appointed Board of Regents are: Dr. Armine Hacopian, Sossi
Hovsepian, Marisa Sarian, Avo Kechichian, Dr. Vartkes Tomassian, Chris Keosian, Ara
Bedrosian, George Chorbajian, Mark Guedikian.
At their first meeting on Oct. 16, the new board elected its executive as
follows: Avo Kechichian, Chairman, Dr. Armine Hacopian, Secretary, and Mark
Guiedikian, Treasurer.
Vice-Chair of the Prelacy Executive Council Dr. Hagop Der Megerdichian
attended the first meeting
****************************************** ********************************
6 – Armenian Community Health
Fair in Glendale Draws 300
GLENDALE – The Oct. 14 Armenian Community Health Fair drew over 300 member
of the Armenian community at the St. Mary’s Church in Glendale. It was
organized by the Armenian American Medical Society of California, the Armenian
American Nurses Association, and the Armenian Dental Society of California.
The guest underwent various free screenings, such as blood pressure, blood
sugar, cholesterol, dental exams, breast
exams, spinal checks, bone density tests, and spirometry checks.
The Los Angeles County Office of Women’s Health’s Mobile Van Unit was on
hand to offer free pap tests, clinical breast exams and diabetes testing. The
event was a very crucial ingredient for the multicultural, multilingual public
education campaign. It encouraged many Los Angeles County Armenian women to
seek regular, free pap testing to prevent cervical cancer.
“It’s Not Flu As Usual” brochures distributed by Krikorian Marketing
Group were supporting the County of Los Angeles Public Health campaign that
targets families and individuals, the medical community, businesses, and community
organizations. The brochures, which will be distributed throughout the
community, will be supported by a media advertising campaign that will emphasize the
importance of “Clean Hands” as the best form of preventive care to avoid the
Pandemic Flu. The campaign will be in Armenian, Russian, Arabic and Farsi
languages.
Major sponsors of the Health Fair included Glendale Adventist Medical
Center, Glendale Memorial Hospital & Health Center, Kaiser Permanente, Hollywood
Presbyterian Medical Center, QueensCare, Huntington Memorial Hospital, L.A
County Women’s Health Dept., Krikorian Marketing Group, Comprehensive Community
Health Clinics, Willow Imaging, Verdugo Hospice, ARS Mental Health Services,
and Daylight Adult Health Day Care Center.
The Health Fair was supported by: Abbot, Astra Zeneca, Takeda, Aventis,
GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Otsuka, Novartis, Lifescan, and TAP Pharmaceuticals.
************************************************** ************************
7 – UCLA AEF Chair
Offers Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Lectures to Public
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern
Armenian History is sponsoring two programs the weekend of Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
The first lecture will be held Oct. 30, at 2 p.m., at the UCLA History
Department Conference Room 6275 Bunche Hall (6th floor). Entitled “Ecclesiastical
Head–Imperial Subject: The Armenian Catholicos at the Intersection of Russia’s
Internal and Foreign Policy, 1828-1914,” the presentation will be made by
Professor Paul Worth, University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
The second presentation will be made on Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m., at the Glendale
Public Library by UCLA AEF Chairholder Professor Richard Hovannisian.
Dr. Hovannisian will speak on “The Vanishing Landscape of Historic Western
Armenia: Illustrated Reflections on a Journey into the Past.”
Both presentations are open to the public at no charge. Limited seating is
available.
************************************************* **************************
8 – Actor Simon Abkarian Will MC
Nov. 12 ANCA-WR Banquet in L.A.
GLENDALE – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
(ANCA-WR) announced this week that well-known French Armenian actor Simon Abkarian
will be the Master of Ceremonies for the ANCA-WR Annual Banquet on Nov. 12,in
Los Angeles.
The ANCA-WR Annual Banquet regularly draws over 700 dignitaries, prominent
Members of Congress and state legislators, as well as Armenian American
community leaders and political activists. The annual event is the largest of its kind
and helps raise funds to operate the nation’s largest and most influential
Armenian American grassroots and political advocacy organization.
The Annual Banquet includes an awards ceremony, during which the ANCA-WR
recognizes individuals who have contributed to the awareness and advancement of
Armenian issues. This year, the ANCA-WR will honor Bob Collins, Chief
Instructional Officer for Secondary Education for the Los Angeles Unified School
District, with the Man of the Year Award. Mr. Collins will be recognized for his
leading role in implementing the Armenian Genocide curriculum in the Los Angeles
Unified School District.
The awards ceremony will be emceed by actor Simon Abkarian. Born in Gonesse,
France, Abkarian spent most of his early life in France and Lebanon and wasan
active member of the Armenian Youth Federation. He trained as a dancer with
the Lori Dance Ensemble in Beirut and the Antranik Company in New York. He also
studied mask work at the Commedia dell’ Arte with Georges Bigot in Los
Angeles. He had a lengthy collaboration with Ariane Mnouchkine and the Thétre du
Soleil, playing leading roles in Greek tragedies, where he became known forhis
charismatic performances.
In 2001, Abkarian received the Molière, the highest honor in French theatre
for an actor, for his performance in Une Bête Sur La Lune (Beast on the Moon.
In “Yes”, a Sally Potter film released in the U.S. in 2005, Abkarian plays his
first leading film role in the English language opposite actress Joan Allen.
He also played in Aram (2002), Le Voyage en Arménie (2006), and Ararat (2002),
in which he played Arshile Gorky.
Audiences will soon see Abkarian in his most recent role as “Alex Dimitrios”
in the latest James Bond movie, “Casino Royale,” which will premiere in
theatres nationwide on November 17. He was also a member of French President Jacques
Chirac’s delegation to Armenia last month.
The ANCA-WR Annual Banquet will be held at the Downtown Marriott Hotel, on
333 S. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. The banquet will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a
cocktail hour and silent auction, with the formal program beginning at 7 p.m.
For more information or to reserve a table, call the ANCA-WR office at (818)
500-1918.
********************************** **************************************
9 – Gov. Schwarzenegger
Appoints Frank Zerunyan
To State Medical Board
SACRAMENTO – Frank Zerunyan, 47, of Rolling Hills Estates, has been appointed
to the Division of Medical Quality on the Medical Board of California. Since
2005, he has served as principal and general counsel for the real estate
development firm, Public Private Community Development.
Zerunyan previously was managing partner with the law firms SulmeyerKupetz
from 1995 to 2005, Yacoubian & Zerunyan from 1992 to 1995 and the Law Office of
Frank V. Zerunyan from 1989 to 1992.
Prior to that, he served as vice president of finance for International
Marketing Alliance from 1985 to 1989. He serves on the Rolling Hills Estates City
Council, where he was elected in 2003 and serves as chair of the City’s
Traffic and Safety Committee.
This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per
diem. Zerunyan is a Republican.
************************************** ************************************
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Essegian lived a dream, but someone pinched him
CROWE’S NEST
By Jerry Crowe, Times Staff Writer ([email protected]/)/
Los Angeles Times
October 23, 2006
Delivering in the clutch for the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series
triggered a curious turn of events for Chuck Essegian.
While his two pinch-hit home runs helped the Dodgers defeat the Chicago
White Sox, four games to two, they also might have diminished the
marketability of the journeyman outfielder from Fairfax High.
“I’m not sure,” says Essegian, a 75-year-old retired lawyer looking back
all these years later, “but I think those home runs probably hurt my
career. You know, you kind of get labeled as a certain kind of player.
If you’re a pinch-hitter, you’re a pinch-hitter because you’re not good
enough to play every day….
“It’s a hard tag to live down.”
Essegian was 28 and a veteran of only 80 major league games in October
1959. He made his major league debut only 18 months earlier.
But four years later the former Stanford linebacker was out of baseball
for good, having retired after playing for six teams in six seasons. In
404 major league games, Essegian batted .255 with 47 home runs and 150
runs batted in, including a 21-homer, 50-RBI season with the Cleveland
Indians in 1962.
As a lawyer, he started out as a prosecutor in Pasadena, opened a
private practice in 1977 and retired 10 years ago. These days, he
handles the occasional mediation or arbitration case “just to see if my
brain still works.” A father of three and grandfather to five, he lives
in Canyon Country with his third wife, Holly.
“For one reason or another, I just never played much in baseball,” says
Essegian, who at 5 feet 11 and 200 pounds helped Stanford reach the 1952
Rose Bowl but chose a career in baseball because he believed it promised
a longer, more lucrative career. “It just didn’t work out the way I’d
hoped it would.”
But he treasures the memories.
How many others can say they played in the Rose Bowl /and/ the World
Series? Who else can say his teammates included Dodgers greats such as
reliever Larry Sherry, a fellow Fairfax alum and the pitching star of
the ’59 Series; Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, et
al, /and/ Bob Mathias, a two-time Olympic decathlon champion and
Stanford fullback?
Only one other person, Bernie Carbo of the 1975 Boston Red Sox, can say
he hit two pinch-hit home runs in a World Series.
A Dodger for about six weeks when the World Series opened in Chicago,
Essegian was an unlikely October star. Traded from the St. Louis
Cardinals on June 15, 1959, he spent two months in the minors before an
Aug. 19 recall. In 85 major league at-bats that season, he hit one home run.
But with the Dodgers trailing, 2-1, and two out in the top of the
seventh inning of Game 2 at Comiskey Park, Manager Walt Alston sent the
powerfully built Essegian to the plate to bat for starting pitcher
Johnny Podres. Against Bob Shaw, who was trying to protect the lead and
give the White Sox a 2-0 advantage in the series, Essegian launched a
3-and-1 breaking ball halfway up the left-center-field stands, starting
a three-run rally that carried the Dodgers to a 4-3 victory.
He pinch-hit again in the ninth inning of Game 6, this time with the
Dodgers leading, 8-3, and having nearly completed a remarkable
turnaround from a year earlier, when they finished two games out of last
place in their inaugural L.A. season.
No pressure, right?
Except that this time Essegian batted for the great Snider, who had hit
a two-run home run in the third inning and was destined for the Hall of
Fame.
“On my way to the plate,” Essegian recalls, “Duke was walking back to
the dugout and he said, ‘Not too many guys have ever pinch-hit for me,
let alone in the World Series, so go hit another one.’ ”
Which Essegian did.
While breaking his bat.
“Hey!” third base coach Pee Wee Reese shouted to reporters after the
game. “How about that bunch of muscles called Essegian? He broke his bat
on that homer today, you know. How about that for power?”
But not everyone applauded the crowning blow.
“I can’t tell you how many letters I got from people all over the world
chastising me because I changed their pool scores,” Essegian says,
laughing. “They were counting their money, right? I thought, ‘Well, I’ll
be darned.’ I got letters from Japan, from Canada, people all over the
world, saying, ‘You didn’t have to do that. You had the series won and
you cost me $100 in the pool.’ ”
Essegian, batting for Drysdale, hit another pinch homer on opening day
in 1960, but in February 1961 his rights were sold to the Baltimore Orioles.
He had played in only 76 regular-season games with the Dodgers, hitting
four home runs.
3oct23,1,1648701.story?coll=la-headlines-sports/

Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed Frank Zerunyan to the Division of
Medical Quality on the Medical Board of California.
Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Lisa Kalustian – Chief Deputy Director
300 South Spring Street, Suite 16701
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213)897-0322
FAX (213)897-0319
[email protected]
Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the following appointments:
Jack Baylis, 49, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the State Park and
Recreation Commission. Since May 2006, he has served as the chief executive
officer of the west region group for AECOM, a global design, engineering and
program management firm. From 2000 to 2006, Baylis served in a variety of
positions at CH2M Hill, a global project delivery company, including senior
vice president and vice president. Prior to that, he was president and
chief operating officer of the manufacturing firm Linabond. Baylis serves
on the Los Angeles City Quality and Productivity Commission and is a member
of the Heal the Bay Board of Directors and Ph.D. Advisory Board for the
University of Southern California Center for Sustainability. This position
requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Baylis
is a Republican.
Jody Belgard Akimoto, 48, of Watsonville, has been appointed to the Santa
Cruz County Fair Board of Directors (14th District Agricultural
Association). She has served as an account specialist for the Santa Cruz
County Office of Education since 1985. In 1994, Belgard Akimoto co-founded
the Watsonville Road Angels Car Club which benefits local youth charities.
This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary.
Belgard Akimoto is a Republican.
Alberto Bertoli, 68, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the State
Historical Resources Commission. He has served as director and faculty
member at the Academy of Art University Graduate School of Architecture
since 2004 and architect with Patri Merker Architects since 1997.
Previously, Bertoli was self-employed as a design architect and consultant
from 1991 to 1996 and architect with Arthur Erickson Architects from 1981 to
1991. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the
compensation is $100 per diem. Bertoli is a Democrat.
Wayne Bidlack, 62, of La Verne, has been appointed to the State Board of
Food and Agriculture. He has served as dean of the College of Agriculture
at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona since 1995, where he
also serves as a professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary
Science and the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science. Bidlack
previously was a professor and chair of the Department of Food Science and
Human Nutrition at Iowa State University from 1992 to 1995 and served as
director of the Center for Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition at the
University. For more than 25 years, he has been a professional member of
the Institute of Food Technologists. This position does not require Senate
confirmation and there is no salary. Bidlack is a Republican.
Bryan Brandes, 36, of Temple City, has been appointed to the State
Historical Resources Commission. He has served the transportation and
shipping company Maersk since 1996, currently as the director of California
regional dispatch. Prior to that, Brandes was dispatch and dock supervisor
for Roadway Express from 1994 to 1996. This position does not require
Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Brandes is a
Republican.
Donald Bransford, 59, of Colusa, has been appointed to the State Board of
Food and Agriculture. He has owned Bransford Farms since 1980, which
includes 1,200 acres of almonds, prunes and rice. Previously, Bransford was
a land manager for Zumwalt Farms where he managed over 30,000 acres of land
from 1983 to 1989. He serves on the Board of Trustees and Governing Board
for the Colusa Unified School District and on the Board of Directors for the
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District. This position does not require Senate
confirmation and there is no salary. Bransford is a Republican.
Thomas Deardorff II, 35, of Carpinteria, has been appointed to the State
Board of Food and Agriculture. Since 1999, he has served as chair and
president of the fresh produce business Deardorff Family Farms. From 1997
to 1999, Deardorff served as an attorney specializing in real estate law
with the law firm Songstad, Randall & Ulich. He serves on the Board of
Directors for the Western Growers Association and previously served on the
Board of Directors for the Ventura County Agricultural Association. This
position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary.
Deardorff is a Republican.
Loretta Estrada, 63, of Watsonville, has been appointed to the Santa Cruz
County Fair Board of Directors (14th District Agricultural Association).
She has served on the Board of Directors since 1989 and operates a cattle
and timber ranch that has been family owned since 1854. Estrada previously
served as the food service manager for the Pajaro Valley Unified School
District from 1974 to 2002. She has been a member of the Santa Cruz County
Cattlemen’s Association since 1963, and the California Cattlemen’s
Association since 1965. This position does not require Senate confirmation
and there is no salary. Estrada is a Republican.
Eric Frazier, 44, of Riverside, has been appointed to the California
African-American Museum Board of Directors. He has served as vice president
and senior home loan center manager for Washington Mutual Home Loans since
1997. Frazier previously was vice president and community lending regional
manager for Home Savings of America from 1995 to 1997. He currently serves
as the senior pastor at the North Fontana Church of Christ. This position
does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Frazier is a
Republican.
Bruce Oneto, 82, of Boulder Creek, has been appointed to the Santa Cruz
County Fair Board of Directors (14th District Agricultural Association). He
has served on the Board of Directors since 2001. Oneto previously served
the Park Mutual Water Company starting in 1973 and retiring as manager in
1993. Prior to that, he was an attorney in self-practice from 1968 to 1986
and associate then partner with the law firm Ruffo & Oneto. This position
does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Oneto is a
Democrat.
Carlos Rodriguez, 35, of Victorville, has been appointed to the California
Commission on Aging. He has served as senior vice president and director of
public affairs for the Baldy View Chapter of the Building Industry
Association since 2003. Prior to that, Rodriguez served as a senior account
executive for O’Reilly Public Relations from 2000 to 2003 and a
communications consultant for the State Senate Republican Caucus from 1998
to 2000. He previously was an adjunct faculty member at California State
University, Fullerton and Chaffey College. This position does not require
Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Rodriguez is a Republican.
Jayson Rutherford, 33, of Scotts Valley, has been appointed to the Santa
Cruz County Fair Board of Directors (14th District Agricultural
Association). Rutherford has served the Scotts Valley Police Department
since 1998, where he currently serves as a sergeant. He is a member of the
Scotts Valley Peace Officers Association and currently serves as its
president. Rutherford also is a member of the California Narcotic Officers’
Association and the American Sniper Association. This position does not
require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Rutherford is a
Republican.
Havard Staggs, 66, of Jackson, has been appointed to the California
Commission on Aging. He most recently served as chief executive officer of
Personal Cellular Services before retiring in 1999. Prior to that, Staggs
was president of subsidiary Circadian from 1991 to 1996 and founded the
Joneonme Corporation in 1987, where he served as president until 1991. He
is past-president of the Triple-A Council of California, member of the Area
12 Agency on Aging Advisory and commissioner of the Amador County Commission
on Aging. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no
salary. Staggs is a Republican.
Stuart Yamamoto, 57, of Aptos, has been appointed to the Santa Cruz County
Fair Board of Directors (14th District Agricultural Association). He has
served on the Board of Directors since 2003 and has served as director of
operations for the Dole Berry Company since 2004. Previously, Yamamoto was
ranch manager for the Coastal Berry Company from 1994 to 2004. He is a Board
member and past-treasurer of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American
Citizen League and a member of the alumni council of the California
Agricultural Leadership Program. This position does not require Senate
confirmation and there is no salary. Yamamoto is a Republican.
Frank Zerunyan, 47, of Rolling Hills Estates, has been appointed to the
Division of Medical Quality on the Medical Board of California. Since 2005,
he has served as principal and general counsel for the real estate
development firm, Public Private Community Development. Zerunyan previously
was managing partner with the law firms SulmeyerKupetz from 1995 to 2005,
Yacoubian & Zerunyan from 1992 to 1995 and the Law Office of Frank V.
Zerunyan from 1989 to 1992. Prior to that, he served as vice president of
finance for International Marketing Alliance from 1985 to 1989. He serves
on the Rolling Hills Estates City Council, where he was elected in 2003 and
serves as chair of the City’s Traffic and Safety Committee. This position
requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem.
Zerunyan is a Republican.
-30-

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF HUMAN DIGNITY AND SECURITY PROTECTION OPENS IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Opening of Armenian National League
of Human Dignity and Security Protection took place on October 23
in Yerevan. The League will operate within the framework of the
International League of Security Protection. As Valentin Varennikov,
International League’s Chairman, said at the press conference held
the same day, Armenia is the 13th state joining the International
League. He said that another 20 countries have expressed willingness
to join this NGO. V.Varennikov said that the International League is
anxious about the policy of U.S. that applies dual standards. In
his words, NATO’s position also causes anxiety, as it becomes
an instrument in the hands of a country, U.S., in particular, in
connection with the events in Jugoslavia and Iraq. The International
League considers that the problems should be solved exclusively in a
political way. V.Varennikov said that in the Nagorno Karabakh issue
the International League is for the problem’s political solution. At
that, the solution should be found in consideration of the interests
and wishes of the population living there. V.Varennikov said that
the Azerbaijani Ambassador on Special Commissions has met with him
and said about Azerbaijan’s willingness to join the League. He also
said he would like the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to
be the way they were in the Soviet years.