Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Sept 7 2006
OSCE Office opens training centre to help reduce unemployment in
Armenia
YEREVAN, 6 September 2006 – Reducing unemployment in Armenia’s Ararat
province is the aim of a training Centre that opened in the village
of Zorak today.
Supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and financed by the Italian
Government, the Centre will be run by the local non-governmental
organization Agrari Farmers’ Union. It will provide computer and
Internet classes, offer entrepreneurship training, courses on the
fight against corruption and civic education, and host a library with
books on human rights, elections, the basics of small business and
anti-corruption issues.
“The Centre will help reduce poverty in the area and help refugees
and other vulnerable local residents integrate in a rapidly
developing job market,” said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of
the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “This initiative also contributes to the
implementation of the Armenian Government’s rural poverty eradication
programme.”
The Centre will serve the villages of Zorak, Hayanist, Nizami,
Sayat-Nova and Demirchi.

Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Sept 7 2006
Armenian Professor will Wage war on Worldwide Historians
07.09.2006
Artiom Khachaturian, the professor of Yerevan Slavic University
called the President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov “barbarians’
heir”. According to APA, in last issue of the Political class magazine
Armenian professor noted that Saparmurat Niyazov calling the Saldjug
Empire the Turkman State does not touch nobody’s interest.
“No state protest against Niyazov’s this position. Because no one
wants to call himself as heir of the Barbarian Empire.”
Armenian scholar doesn’t worry to falsify the history of Turkey,
Georgia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan equally with
Turkmenistan. Accused of Ukrainian historians of appropriation
of the Russian history Artiom Khachaturian said that assertions
relating Ukraine is one of the first Slavic states and Kyev Russian
State belongs to Ukraine are groundless. Cited from the history
of Azerbaijan Khachaturian said that Nizami is not Azerbaijanian
poet he is Persian. Noted that Nizami had never written a poem in
Azerbaijani language and at that time there was not any Azerbaijani
State Khachaturain emphasized that the territory of the same name was
an integrated part of Iran. The charges preferred to Turkey relate
fictitious “Armenian genocide”.
Yet historians of Ukraine and Turkey did not respond to the article
ordered by Russian and Armenian circles. In web-sites, particularly
in countries.ru Artiom Khachaturian agitates that Nizami Ganjavi,
Khagani Shirvani was supposedly Persian poet. In addition, Khachaturian
calling killing of numerous Jews by Armenians in Quba nonsense,
noted that international community fed up with the image of full of
suffering of Jews.
–Boundary_(ID_EE8cWgWj8wM15ndDluQfBw)–

English Organization Continues Illegal Activity in Garabagh
Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Sept 7 2006
07.09.2006
In spite of Azerbaijani Government’s discontent, Halo Trust,
English company continues anti mine actions in occupied Azerbaijani
territories. In exclusive interview with APA Nazim Ismayilov, director
of Azerbaijan National Agency Mine Action informed: “In connection
with illegal actions of this organization in occupied Azerbaijani
territories we made protest to international organizations, donors
and the country in which this organization is registered. Recently
I made my protest to the President of this organization at the
arrangement which was held in Switzerland. They call the operations
as humanitarian action.”
Noting that Nagorno-Garabagh is presented as an independent state in
presentation of Halo Trust company, according to N. Ismayilov, the
majority of mine finders involved in the operations in Nagorno-Garabagh
by this organization are former military and scouts: “The Netherlands,
most of all, upholds illegal actions of this organization. They deal
with other actions under the pretext of humanitarian mission.”
N. Ismayilov said that currently 60 million square meter
controlled-territories of Azerbaijan is at mine risky: “They are
expected to be demined by late 2008. The monitoring of international
organizations and Halo Trust company showed that 4 per cent of
occupied territories, about 500 million square meters are at mine
risky.” According to initial forecast of ANAMA, 50,000 – 100,000
mines are buried in occupied Azerbaijani territories and demine there
actions will take 12 years.
–Boundary_(ID_aVDi0bd/R48SzzLKgS1YPA)–

We’re number 1: World Banks says Georgia best reformer this year
By Christina Tashkevich
The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 7 2006
A new report from the World Bank and the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) names Georgia as the country to have made the most
reforms in the world in 2006.
The Doing Business 2007 report, which covered 175 economies and
looked into the ease of doing business, placed Georgia as the 37th
easiest country in which to do business in the world, up from 100th
last year. Georgia improved in six of the 10 areas investigated.
Nine CIS economies implemented a total of 24 regulatory reforms
(Georgia implemented ten) reducing the time, cost, and hassle for
businesses to comply with legal and administrative requirements.
The minimum capital required to start a new business has been
reduced from GEL 2000 to GEL 200 (USD 85) in Georgia. New business
registrations rose by 20 percent between 2005 and 2006.
“Reforms in customs and the border police simplified border
procedures. It took 54 days to meet all the administrative requirements
to export in 2004-it now takes 13,” the report says.
The time to resolve simple commercial disputes in courts fell from 375
days to 285. Georgia also reduced the social security contributions
paid by businesses from 31 percent of wages to 20 percent, making it
easier for employers to hire new workers.
The report also praises Armenia as a significant reformer, Armenia is
the only CIS country in which it is easier to business than Georgia,
placed at 34 in the world. After Georgia, Doing Business 2007 ranks
Kazakhstan at 62, Russia has a ranking of 96, Ukraine and Belarus
are at 128 and 129 in the global rankings.
“More progress is sorely needed. CIS countries would greatly
benefit from new enterprises and jobs, which can come with more
business-friendly regulations,” the IFC’s chief economist Michael
Klein said.
Other countries in the list of global top performers include Romania,
Mexico, China, France, Croatia, and Tanzania. Within the CIS, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia,
and Ukraine each implemented at least one reform to make it easier
doing business. Tajikistan had no reforms and Uzbekistan made it even
harder to do business.
The top 30 economies in the world, are Singapore, New Zealand,
the United States, Canada, Hong Kong (China), the United Kingdom,
Denmark, Australia, Norway, Ireland, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Finland,
Switzerland, Lithuania, Estonia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Belgium,
Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Israel, St. Lucia,
Chile, South Africa, and Austria.
The report notes that globally the most popular reform in 2005-2006
was easing the regulations of business start-up. “Reforms should ease
the burden on all businesses: small and large, domestic and foreign,
rural and urban. This way there is no need to guess where the next
boom in jobs will come from. Any business will have the opportunity
to thrive,” an author of the report Simeon Djankov explained.
He will visit Georgia next week to present the report and Georgia’s
results.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
Sept 7 2006
Father Bear taking Gopher son to Cal
Dr. John Najarian, patriarch of the football-crazy family, is taking
his son Pete to the West Coast to watch Cal’s home opener against
Minnesota.
Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune
Last update: September 06, 2006 – 10:16 PM
Dr. John Najarian reached across the desk of his office in the
Phillips-Wagensteen Medical Building on the University of Minnesota
campus. His right hand swallowed the chubby little mitt that was
extended in his direction.
The doctor will turn 79 in December, and yet the firmness of this
grip indicated that if you have a need to replace a vital organ, he
still would be the man to see.
“I’m in the office full time, and I usually operate one day a week,”
he said. “People say they retire so they can do what they love. I
don’t have to retire. This is what I love.”
Saving lives and training transplant surgeons have some competition
as the passions of Najarian’s life. There is the big, robust family
— wife Mignitte, sons Jon, David, Paul and Pete, their wives and a
current total of 11 grandchildren.
And there is another Najarian passion that shouldn’t be understated:
football.
“His teams are the Cal Bears, the Gophers and the Vikings,” son Pete
said. “Basically, he’s a very good-natured guy, but when his football
teams get beat, he gets angry.
“He was beside himself after watching Cal get whipped by Tennessee on
Saturday night. He was embarrassed.”
The Bears will attempt to reverse that embarrassment in Saturday’s
home opener in Berkeley, but the twist here is the opponent will be
the other college team that Dr. John fully supports: Minnesota.
Najarian’s career as a Cal tackle was from 1945-1948. He was a 6-4,
255-pound lineman.
“I was the second biggest player in the conference,” he said.
“Southern Cal had a 300-pounder. We couldn’t believe that — a
300-pound football player.”
The Najarian sons are two years apart. All played college football as
linebackers: Jon and David at Gustavus, Paul as a four-year letter
winner at Cal and Pete as a four-year letter winner for the Gophers.
“I can’t ever actually remember making a decision to play football,”
Pete said. “It was just something you knew you would do. If not, The
Sheik would’ve been the only one with football stories.”
The Sheik is Dr. John’s nickname with his sons. They put that label
on him one night at the pro wrestling matches in the St. Paul Civic
Center.
“The five of us went to the matches all the time,” Pete said. “Dad
was late one night. The Sheik was walking toward the ring and the
crowd was chanting ‘Sheik, Sheik’ at the same time he showed up.
“The Sheik. It fit.”
Sports and medicine
The Najarian family traces its roots to the Caucasus Mountains. The
Armenians from that area have been famous for living long.
“The story within the family is that my grandfather’s grandfather
died at 136,” Dr. John said. “I have no reason to doubt that, since
the people passing down this information all lived into their 100s.”
John was the middle of three brothers. His younger brother, George,
was John’s teammate at Cal. The brothers were raised in Oakland.
“When I was 12, I had a burst appendix,” John said. “The doctors and
the nurses were so determined to heal me. That’s when I decided I was
going to be a doctor.”
John enrolled at Cal-Berkeley at the same time World War II was
ending. America’s finest generation was coming home — many of whom
also wanted to save lives.
“I got into pre-med, and it was tough to keep up with the competition
and to play football,” Najarian said. “I had a season left of
football in 1948 when I was starting medical school. I told Pappy, ‘I
can’t play. There’s not enough time.’ ”
Pappy was Cal’s legendary coach, Lynn (Pappy) Waldorf. “In 1946, Cal
hired Frank Wickhorst,” Najarian said. “He was an all-time bad coach,
and we went 2-7. Waldorf came in in 1947 and with exactly the same
team went 9-1.”
The Bears had big hopes for 1948, and Waldorf didn’t want to lose his
biggest tackle. “We reached a compromise: I would play only defense,
so I could spend half as much time at practice,” Najarian said. “But
even that was too much. I had to quit. Then, one of our tackles was
hurt in midseason. Pappy said, ‘We need you,’ and that was that.”
Cal went 10-0 in the regular season and went to the Rose Bowl. On
Jan. 1, 1949, before a crowd of 92,000 in Pasadena, Calif.,
Northwestern pulled a 20-14 upset when Art Murakowski was awarded the
touchdown on a 1-yard plunge that put Northwestern ahead 13-7.
“I stripped Murakowski of the ball at the line of scrimmage, and Will
Lotter recovered for us,” Najarian said. “The refs gave them a
touchdown. The next day, there was a photo in the Los Angeles Times
showing the ball was loose a yard before Murakowski reached the goal
line.”
(A close-up view of that photo can be seen with this article on page
3C.)
The touchdown signal came from field judge Jay Berwanger, famous as
the first Heisman Trophy winner in 1935.
“I didn’t know Berwanger made that call,” Najarian said. “I just knew
it was a fumble, not a touchdown.”
Waldorf’s Bears went to three consecutive Rose Bowls from 1949-51,
losing all in narrow fashion to Big Ten teams. The members of those
teams came to be called “Pappy’s Boys.”
They have been holding reunions for a couple of decades in
conjunction with Cal’s home opener. Dr. John will be there again this
weekend, and his son Pete, the Gopher, is going along as a guest.
“We march in before the game, they introduce us as Pappy’s Boys, and
everyone cheers, even if they’ve never heard of us,” Najarian said.
Never enough football
The Najarians can’t get enough football conversation. And here’s
proof, straight from The Sheik:
“We were having dinner at the old Anchor Inn in Bayport a number of
years ago — Mignitte and her five guys. She didn’t get in a word for
two hours. We talked about the Vikings, the Gophers, Cal … nothing
but football.
“The check was paid and a couple of the guys went to the restroom,
and we got in two cars and headed home. We were in the living room,
still talking football, when the phone started ringing. I finally
said, ‘Why isn’t your mother answering that?’
“One of the boys answered, and Mignitte said, ‘Did your party forget
something at the restaurant? Maybe your MOTHER!’ ”
9.html

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 6, 2006 Wednesday
ANOTHER RUBEZH FOR HEADQUARTERS;
Military exercises of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization
are planned in accordance with military-political forecasts
by Vasily Strugovets
ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED HEADQUARTERS OF THE CIS COLLECTIVE
SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION; An update on the activities of the
United Headquarters of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization.
41, Leningradsky Prospekt, Moscow – the address of the Warsaw Pact
headquarters for many years. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, the
CIS Headquarters for Coordination of Military Cooperation was
quartered here. It is the turn of the United Headquarters of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty Organization now.
The Collective Security Council met on April 28, 2003, in Dushanbe
and ordered “establishment of the United Headquarters” due to the
necessity to set up headquarters of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization, a structure responsible for military security of
members of the Treaty. The decision was made to have the United
Headquarters numbering 55 staff officers established by December 31,
2003.
The Collective Security Council ruled as well that Russia was to be
represented by 34 officers (because it subsidizes the budget of the
CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization 50%), and the rest of the
members by 4 officers each. “It was the Committee of Chiefs-of-Staff
that distributed representation,” said Major General Sergei Chuvakin,
the then secretary of the Committee that existed within the framework
of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization. “Member states
themselves decided what positions its national quota would include.”
“Were the member states interested in any particular positions and
functions they entailed? Sure, they were,” Chuvakin continued.
“Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were particularly interested in the
structures responsible for military-technical cooperation and
personnel training. Their wishes were granted. Colonel Alymkulov of
Kyrgyzstan is deputy chief of the Department of Military-Technical
Cooperation; Lieutenant Colonel Dostiyev of Tajikistan is deputy
chief of the Department of Personnel Training. Other positions in
these departments are held by representatives of Armenia, Belarus,
and Russia.”
Departments of tactical planning, tactical and combat training, and
joint (regional or united) systems are most international of all. All
of them are staffed with officers of all six countries. Now that
Uzbekistan is back in the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization, its officers are also expected to turn up. According to
what information this newspaper has compiled, Tashkent has not
decided yet what positions in the United Headquarters it would like
its officers in. Insiders do not expect any trouble because rotation
within is permitted. In the meantime, representatives of Uzbekistan
are not all who are expected at 41, Leningradsky Prospekt. This
August (with a delay extending into eighteen months, in other words),
Belarus has finally assigned officers to the United Headquarters. It
happened when Belarus became chairman of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization.
“The United Headquarters is the permanent working body of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty Organization and its Council of Defense
Ministers. It is responsible for preparation of suggestions and
fulfillment of military decisions within the framework of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty,” said Colonel General Ivan Babichev,
Senior Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the United Headquarters.
On the decision of the Council and in accordance with the Protocol
dated May 25, 2001 (on the order of formation of forces and means of
collective security framework of members of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization), the United Headquarters may be
transformed into an international body of military command to
coordinate interaction between regional groups and united systems,
and military-technical cooperation within the framework of the
general collective security system.
Functions of the United Headquarters include:
– work on theoretic postulates of military strategy, conceptual bases
of establishment of the collective security framework (regional
collective security systems) and their development;
– generalization and evaluation of information on military-technical
situation in collective security regions;
– work on suggestions concerning combat composition of troops
(forces);
– work on suggestions concerning tactical infrastructure of
territories of the member states;
– coordination of joint use of objects of military infrastructure.
And many more similar tasks. The United Headquarters includes all
necessary divisions and departments to handle them all.
Joint complex exercise Rubezh’2006 took place on the territory of
Kazakhstan between August 23 and 27. Units of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, and Tajikistan were deployed in the exercise.
The United Headquarters includes the Directorate for Coordination of
Combat Training Planning. August is the period when the structure is
traditionally busy. Rubezh exercises are essentially the main test
for Central Asian Regional Group of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization composed of units and formations of the Russian,
Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tajik armies.
“This was the first Rubezh exercise where coordinated efforts of all
three branches of the military (Ground Forces, Air Force, and navy)
were drilled. This was the first time for the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization and its armies when forces were simultaneously
landed by air and from the sea,” Chuvakin said.
“The Rubezh series began in 2004. We have never planned them as only
exercises of the Collective Rapid Response Forces,” Chuvakin
continued. “What with the tasks the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization is facing, the exercise is always complex. It means
maintenance of military security of member states and prevention of
terrorism, trafficing, and illegal immigration. That is why we use
both the Collective Rapid Response Forces in the exercises and
whatever other forces or means that are considered as necessary. Plus
tactical teams (or even units) from other security structures –
Internal Troops, Emergency Ministry, secret services… As for the
naval component, the Council of Defense Ministers ordered deployment
of means that do not belong to the Collective Rapid Response Forces.
In this particular case, the matter concerned the Marines and ships
of the Russian Caspian Flotilla. Kazakhstan deployed its aviation,
naval assets, infantry, and auxiliary units.”
In June 2005, the heads of state signed an accord on personnel
training for armies of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization. Personnel for national armies are to be trained on
territories of other members of the Organization free of charge.
“Needless to say, the matter concerns Russia first and foremost,”
said Colonel Aleksei Selyukov, Chief of the Department of Personnel
Training. “On the other hand, military colleges with adequate
teaching facilities and instructors exist in Kazakhstan and Belarus
as well. Their potential is also used within the framework of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty Organization. Kazakhstan is already
training officers for the Kyrgyz army and Belarus for the Armenian.”
In November 2005, the Council of Defense Ministers compiled the list
of military colleges for joint personnel training. “The list includes
45 military educational establishments in Russia, 6 in Belarus, and 3
in Kazakhstan,” Selyukov said. “Plus one in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan each. Now that Uzbekistan has reactivated its membership
in the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization, the list may be
expanded some more. Uzbekistan has retained fine potential in this
sphere since the Soviet era. I’m talking about two Tashkent command
military colleges and the one in Samarkand.”
Source: Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer, No 33, August 30 – September 5,
2006, pp. 1, 3
Translated by A. Ignatkin
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 6, 2006 Wednesday
NEXT YEAR ARMENIA WILL CONTINUE INCREASING ITS MILITARY BUDGET
Serzh Sarkisyan, Defense Minister and Security Council Secretary of
Armenia, announced that next year Armenia would continue increasing
its military budget. Sarkisyan announced this during a visit to the
military gymnasium named after Monte Melkonyan in Yerevan. Sarkisyan
added that the military budget of Armenia would be increased
simultaneously with growth of the GDP. According to him, the military
budget will amount to 3.5% of the GDP of Armenia.
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, September 04, 2006, p. 6
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Brantford Expositor (Ontario)
September 7, 2006 Thursday
Novel spurs man’s search for family
by Elizabeth Yates
Marsha Skrypuch’s curiosity has had a life-altering payoff for
Brantford’s Carl Georgian, whose dad’s life is explored in a new book
called Aram’s Choice.
Kevork Kevorkian, whose Anglicized name was George Georgian, was an
Armenian refugee who came to Canada in 1923. His experience as a
Georgetown Boy – 100 youngsters rescued by the Armenian Relief
Association of Canada – is portrayed in Skrypuch’s novel for young
readers, Aram’s Choice.
After meeting Georgian some 17 years ago and hearing his father’s
story, Skrypuch set off on a stream of research into the Armenian
genocide that has fueled three books so far, with more yet to come.
Meanwhile, Georgian, now 70 and retired from a multi-faceted career
that included teaching in the Arctic, is undertaking his own
exploration of a fascinating family history,
It’s a complicated story, set half a world away.
Around 1915, during the Armenian genocide, Kevork’s father, Hanna,
separated from his mother, Turfanda. He had been conscripted into the
Turkish army; she left Armenia, moving around the Middle East as a
refugee for a few years before remarrying and then relocating to
Uruguay, one of few countries to welcome Armenian immigrants, in
1928.
The boy was raised by an aunt for a while, kept safe at a monastery
during the years of slaughter. When conditions improved, he returned
to live with his father. But when Hanna remarried, he sent Kevork
away – to join thousands of Armenian refugee children in Greece.
That’s where Aram’s Choice begins, as a visitor comes to tell the
children some will be taken to Canada: a land where the boys will
find peace, jobs and plenty.
In real life, Kevork spent about four years at Georgetown Boys’ Farm
– where the denizens were forbidden to speak Armenian – before going
to work for a farmer near Hagersville. He was treated well there
until his indenture ended, Georgian reports, and then moved on to
another farm in Dunnville. Eventually, Kevork become a well- known
figure in the community, spending 40 years working as milkman for the
local dairy.
“In Dunnville, they used to say you could set your watch by when
George came to your house,” says Georgian.
Meanwhile, Turfanda had apparently been searching for her son and
eventually made contact by letter. The pair were to reunite, but she
died in 1967, just as he was making arrangements to visit.
“Even on her deathbed, she was kissing a picture of my father,”
Georgian was later told by relatives.
Contact information for the family in South America was lost after
Kevorkian died in 1985, says Georgian, who began researching his
heritage after retiring from Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and
Universities in 1996. Since then, he has located descendants of
Turfanda’s three brothers, who came with her to Uruguay. That branch
of the family now lives in Brazil.
Hanna Kevorkian, meanwhile, had moved to Syria with his second bride;
their relations are located in the Middle East and now in Toronto. “I
see them all the time.”
A married father of two and grandfather of four, Georgian has
discovered a new appreciation for his Armenian heritage while digging
into these tangled roots. He has learned the language and studied the
history of the ancient people who once occupied a vast region of Asia
Minor.
“It’s a really amazing story. And I’m just getting into it now.”

Senate committee approves nominee for US envoy to Armenia
Agence France Presse — English
September 7, 2006 Thursday 7:07 PM GMT
WASHINGTON, Sept 7 2006 — A US Senate panel on Thursday approved
President George W. Bush’s pick for ambassador to Armenia, despite
an uproar among some lawmakers over the sacking of the previous envoy
after he made comments about Armenian genocide.
The nomination now goes to the full Senate confirmation, following
the 13 to five vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Efforts by the White House to win quick approval for its nominee,
Richard Hoagland, hit a snag after a bipartisan group of senators
balked over the firing of Ambassador John Evans, who had served less
than two years in the post.
Evans was posted to Yerevan in August 2004 for what was supposed to be
a three-year term, but was removed for declaring in February 2005 that
“the Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century”.
He made the statement during meetings with Armenian-American groups.
Several lawmakers voting against Hoagland expressed frustration
with the George W. Bush administration’s refusal to use the word
“genocide” to describe events in Turkey between 1915 and 1917, when
an estimated 1.5 million Armenians are said to have been killed or
died after being forcibly driven from their homes.
“I think this vote is bigger and more important than just Ambassador
Hoagland and that’s why I intend to vote no,” US Senator John Kerry
said a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee just before
the vote.
Kerry accused the administration of caving in to pressure from Turkey.
“There’s sort of a game being played here,” he said, accusing the
Bush administration of “revisionism” on the issue.
“The Armenian genocide was a genocide,” Kerry said.
The Democratic senator added: “For us to allow an ambassador to be
recalled because he uttered the word ‘genocide’ is to kowtow, it’s
to cave in, to those who change history.”
“We’re not going to allow revisionism … We honor history and we
honor the truth.”
Armenians throughout the world have pushed for official recognition of
those killings as genocide, but Ankara argues that 300,000 Armenians
and at least as many Turks died in an internal conflict sparked by
attempts by Armenians to win independence for eastern Anatolia and
secure assistance for their bid from Russia — Turkey’s age-old
nemesis.

Agence France Presse — English
September 7, 2006 Thursday 6:58 PM GMT
Italian climber dies on Mount Ararat: agency
ANKARA, Sept 7 2006
An Italian woman has died on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey and a
second mountaineer is missing, the Anatolia news agency reported on
Thursday.
The Italian, whose identity was not immediately known, was part of an
11-strong team which reached the 5,136-metre (16,850 feet) summit on
Tuesday and was caught in a blizzard at a height of around 4,200
meters while descending, officials in the province of Agri told
Anatolia.
The woman died after she lost her footing and fell, while a second
member of the team, whose details were not immediately known, was
missing, the agency reported.
The mountaineers contacted the local authorities by mobile telephone
and a search-and-rescue team was dispatched to help them.
The group had not notified the authorities of their expedition,
officials told Anatolia.
Mount Ararat (Agri in Turkish) is located in Turkey’s easternmost
region, where the borders of Iran, Armenia and the Azerbaijani
exclave of Nakhchivan meet.
Most of it is a closed military zone and mountaineers need special
permission from the Turkish authorities for expeditions on the
mountain.