AMBASSADOR-TO-BE DODGES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE QUESTION
By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers
Scripps Howard News Service, DC
June 29 2006
WASHINGTON — America’s next ambassador to Armenia is a verbal
gymnast. He has to be, to keep his job.
On Wednesday, career Foreign Service officer Richard E. Hoagland
tread prudently through his confirmation hearing.
He picked his way around the word “genocide” in describing the
mass slaughter of Armenians between 1915 and 1923. The events were
“horrific” and “well-documented” and “historic,” Hoagland told the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the genocide word did not
cross his lips.
“It’s a tragedy; everybody agrees with that,” Hoagland said, but
“instead of getting stuck in the past and vocabulary, I would like
to see what we can do to bring different sides together.”
While the highly decorated Hoagland appears a shoo-in for the Armenia
post, his reticence did not sit well with the three senators who
showed up for his confirmation hearing.
“It’s almost absurd to sit here, and you can’t utter the word
‘genocide,’ ” said Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota. “We
have ambassadors who can’t use a word, just a word.”
In regions like the California’s San Joaquin Valley, southern
California, New Jersey and Michigan, well-established Armenian-American
populations maintain both a tangible and symbolic stake in U.S.-Armenia
relations.
“The local community follows with great interest events in Armenia
and also U.S. government policy,” noted Barlow Der Mugrdechian,
lecturer in Armenian Studies at California State University at Fresno.
In particular, Der Mugrdechian said, activists have been tracking
the fate of Hoagland’s predecessor, Ambassador John Evans. The
Yale-educated Evans ran afoul of his State Department superiors when
he acknowledged the accuracy of the phrase “Armenian genocide.”
“I informed myself in depth about it,” Evans told an Armenian-American
audience in Berkeley, Calif., in February 2005. “I think we, the
U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens, a more frank and honest
way of discussing this problem. I think it is unbecoming of us, as
Americans, to play word games here. I believe in calling things by
their name.”
That was contrary to the Bush administration’s policy of avoiding
the term, out of deference to Turkey’s sensibilities. Within a week,
the State Department issued a statement from Evans in which he called
his remarks “inappropriate” and said he “deeply” regretted them.
State Department officials have declined to characterize Evans as
having been fired, but his Armenian tenure was clearly cut short. He
became ambassador in September 2004, and Hoagland was announced as
his replacement in May 2006. By contrast, his predecessors served
three-year terms.
Hoagland previously served as U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan. He has
considerable experience with some dicey parts of the world, including
service as the lead Afghanistan analyst with the State Department’s
Bureau of Intelligence and Research. While in Pakistan in the late
1980s, he worked with the Afghan resistance.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE FORGOTTEN ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS OF MESOPOTAMIA
By Alkan Chaglar
Assyrian International News Agency, CA
June 29 2006
Assyrians have lived in South-Eastern Anatolia, Northern Iraq,
Eastern Syria and Western Iran since times of antiquity. Living
beneath the shadow of poplar and mulberry trees, and amid crimson
poppies swaying in the wind they number no more than a million in
the entire region. Praying as their ancestors had done for over a
thousand years in small earth-coloured churches surmounted by a dome
and joined by a tower with plangent church bells, the community are
descendants of a once great empire.
The Assyrian empire once extended from the Zagros Mountains in the
East to the coast of Lebanon. The Assyrians who are also known more
generally under the umbrella terms for Nestorian Christians are not
‘Christian Arabs’ as some people believe, but speak a Semitic language,
called Syriac. Although semblable to both Arabic and Hebrew, the
language pre-dates both languages and is one of the oldest languages
in the region.
The community has always been entrepreneurial, leading an active
economic role in the jewellery trade in Turkey. Their presence is
quite strong in the rambunctious Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. Assigned
to the role of ‘good jewellers’ the community is often overlooked
by both the government and the media, which tend to focus on the
situation of the more numerous Kurdish population.
Living in five mostly Muslim states in the Middle-East has often
put the Assyrians in the line of fire. According to F.P.Isaac in the
early part of the 20th century the Ottomans, faced with the break-up
of their empire, expelled thousands of Assyrians, matters did not
improve much in the secular Republic of Turkey which followed. From
a presence of 130,000 Assyrians in the 1960s the number has dwindled
down to 5000 today, of which only 2000 of which reside in South
East of Anatolia. Faced with ‘greater problems’ the Turkish state
policy has done little to include the Assyrians in recent years to
feel apart of the secular state that Turkey purports to be. This has
fuelled the steady immigration of the community abroad.
Life is not much better for the Assyrians in neighbouring countries
either. The Iraqi Chaldean-Assyrian minority was one of the prime
targets of the Ba’athist party for their role in collaborating with
the British during their occupation of Iraq. Today in post-Ba’athist
Iraq Assyrians find themselves the target of Islamic fundamentalists
and insurgents who hold them to blame for the actions of the
‘Christian occupiers’, the Americans and the British. Faced with
growing Arabisation and Kurdification of northern Iraq, Assyrians
have been making a steady exit from Iraq to neighbouring Arab states
and from there to the West.
In Turkey, Assyrians are recognised as a religious minority and not
as an ethnic minority like the Armenians, this might seem as a simple
difference in terminology but in fact it is quite a crippling status
for the community. Unlike the Armenians, Assyrians still cannot teach
in their own language, so this indigenous community is left manacled by
the state. Being prevented from teaching one’s ancestral language to
future generations of that community has been one of the key factors
forcing this community to leave the country in recent decades.
Fortunately, the EU factor in Turkey coupled with the end of the
worst fighting between the PKK and Security Forces is beginning to
provide short term benefits to small minorities like the Assyrians,
as the government in Ankara seeks to harmonise many of her own policies
with those of the EU. Conditions are now improving for the community,
which was previously on the brink of extinction in the region. An
interest in Assyrian culture and its benefits for tourism is currently
been explored and even the Turkish governor now visits the community
to offer his support. Five years ago during the height of violence
between the PKK and the Turkish security forces this would have not
been possible.
With funds from the European Union, Istanbul Bilgi University opened
an Assyrian cultural centre in the town of Midyat on the 29th of
April 2006 for the first time and last year the city of Mardin hosted
the first international symposium of Mardin history. Some Assyrians
from the diaspora have repatriated to their ancestral region in
recent years.
However, many of the children of those returning diaspora can
only speak Syriac and have little knowledge of Turkish, but faced
with an absence of Syriac classes, they are prevented from a proper
education. The absence of schools that teach Syriac is preventing the
existing group from learning their community’s language while on the
other hand encouraging the new arrivals to forget theirs.
Without downplaying the positive reforms in Turkey, the state, which
strives to be secular and a “garden of different flowers” needs not
only to be cognizant of the diversity of their country but needs
to put this into educational policy. Policy makers can encourage
the teaching and use of minority or regional languages without being
detrimental to the use of official languages. It should be government
policy to promote, protect, and preserve the Indigenous languages of
the republic, this would be mutually beneficial to both the ethnic
group and the state in whose confines they reside.
While Assyrians are faced with uncertainty in Iraq and Iran, where
insurgents are keen to destroy multiculturalism, Turkey should
set a precedent by not just promoting multi-faith communities but
multi-lingualism as well. Language like religion is a fundamental
part of a community’s identity; it is used to transmit a community’s
history, poetry, music and literature that will be forever lost without
it. Like other minorities elsewhere without schooling in their own
language, the future generations of Assyrians will be bereft of a
future and unequal in their rights as Turkish citizens.
The Turkish state needs to extend full citizenship to all her citizens.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

JUSTICE FACTION CONCERNED ABOUT LATEST STATEMENT OF OSCE MINSK GROUP CHAIRMEN
Noyan Tapan
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The latest statement of the Co-Chairmen
of the OSCE Minsk Group is extremely worrying. Grigor Harutyunian,
member of the NA Justice faction, member of the People’s Party of
Armenia, stated this at the June 29 meeting with reporters.
According to him, it is directly stated in the document about the
return of 5 liberated regions, a special approach regarding Kelbajar
and Lachin, and holding a referendum or a general voting on Karabakh
status without indication of a particular date. The deputy considered
it especially unacceptable that the document envisages the opportunity
to hold a referendum in the territory of Azerbaijan.
According to Harutyunian, the statement that the co-chairmen exhausted
their proposals makes one assume that either the format of negotiations
will change, or a military solution of the problem is possible.
According to the speaker, the moment of publishing the statement of
the Minsk Group co-chairmen was not chosen by accident and was directly
related to a meeting of G8 scheduled for July in Saint Petersburg.
G. Harutyunian said that the published document does not envisage
compromises, and in fact Armenia is obliged to make unilateral
concessions. The deputy reminded that in 1998 when Robert Kocharian was
the NKR President, the NKR authorities viewed the problem’s solution in
the context of establishing an independent state having a connection
to Armenia in the territory of 8 thousand sq.m. In today’s proposals
of the Minsk Group, which are mainly agreed on with the leaders of
the two countries, the matter does not concern any more 8 thousand
square meters.
Harutyunian said that today Armenia needs legitimate authorities more
than ever in order to cope with outside and domestic pressures. At
the same time, he noted that the people has lost its resistibility
and readiness to struggle as a result of the wrong policy of the
authorities. This explains the people’s indifference to the published
Karabakh settlement version.
As regards the response of political forces, in the words of
Harutyunian, the Justice faction presents its assessments: “But
if you think that we are going to hold demonstrations and protests
outside the embasies of the co-chair states, I should remind that it
is clearly said in the statement that this is a version mostly agreed
on with the presidents of the two countries.”
Harutyunian noted that a change of power according to the 1998 scenario
is not ruled out in Armenia in connection with further developments
in the Karabakh conflict settlement process, because the resignation
of the Armenian or Azerbaijani president may provide a basis for a
new stage in negotiations.

“DIRECT AGREEMENT” TO BE SIGNED BY ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT, ARMENIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS, EBRD AND DEG
Noyan Tapan
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. At the June 29 sitting, the
Armenian government approved the “Direct Agreement” to be signed
by the Armenian government, Armenia International Airports CJSC,
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and DEG
company (Germany). According to the RA Government Information and
PR Department, the government authorized Artyom Movsesian, Head of
the Main Department of Civil Aviation adjunct to the RA government
to sign the agreement on behalf of the Armenian government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR PRESIDENT ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO CONTACTS OF DIASPORAN YOUTH WITH ARTSAKH
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On June 29,
NKR President Arkady Ghukasian received the delegation of pupils
of Manukian-Demirchian college (Los Angeles, USA) of the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU).
As Noyan Tapan was informed by NKR President’s Acting Spokesperson,
Arkady Ghukasian attached importance to contacts of the Diasporan youth
with the historical homeland and especially with Artsakh and mentioned
that Artaskh’s future will greatly depend on it. The President also
pointed out to AGBU’s traditional and recently also Manukan-Demirchian
college’s active participation in various humanitarian programs
implemented in the territory of NKR and expressed confidence that
such visits will become traditional.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“DIASPORA FIRST OF ALL EXISTS OWING TO ARMENIAN NATIONAL CULTURE,” BULGARIAN ARMENIAN TRANSLATOR HAKOB ORMANCHIYAN SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The “One Nation, One Culture”
all-Armenian cultural festival must be aimed to crystallize
the national culture. Razmik Tamraziants, the Chairman of the
“Austro-Armenian Cultural Company” expressed such a confidence in
the interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent. According to him,
Diasporan Armenians, especially young ones relates to the Armenian
culture very little, and events being organized in Armenia must give
them possibility to contact with the national culture. The Diasporan
Armenian figure arrived in Armenia to participate in the festival at
the invitation of the RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Issues finds
that “a spiritual tie among Diasporan Armenians and Armenians of
Armenia is created by similar events as well.”
According to Bulgarian Armenian translator Hakob Ormanchiyan, the
national culture first of all unites world-spread Armenians. “We must
perform our national song and dance everywhere as the Armenian culture
is our national pride, and Diaspora exists first of all owing to that
culture,” he mentioned.

“ONE NATION, ONE CULTURE” FESTIVAL HAS NO AIM TO TURN INTO A PROFESSIONAL REVIEW,” RA PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT VIGEN SARGSIAN SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. “The “One Nation, One Culture” second
All Armenian Cultural Festival has no aim to turn into a professional
review. Our goal was to bring to Armenia the Armenian cultural groups
functioning in different colonies of the Diaspora, for them to get
to know their national culture, as well as their homeland better.” RA
President’s Assistant Vigen Sargsian declared this at the concluding
conference of the “One Nation, One Culture” festival held on June
29 at the National Academy of Sciences of RA. According to him,
Armenia should undertake all possible measures for preservation of the
Armenian nation in the Diaspora, for strengthening the Armenia-Diaspora
contacts.
According to V.Sargsian, they are already discussing the issue that
not only amateurish groups, but also solo performers, professional
groups known all over the world can take part in the “One Nation,
One Culture” third All Armenian Cultural Festival.
V.Sargsian also said that “Armenia-Spyurk” forum will be held in
September in Armenia and the fourth Pan Armenian Games will be held in
2007. According to him, the retraining courses of Diasporan teachers
organized in Armenia every year have a special importance, as the
Armenian language cannot preserve in Spyurk without these teachers.
RA Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Hasmik Poghosian, Executive
Director of the “One Nation, One Culture” Foundation Tamar Poghosian,
as well as Diasporan intellectuals took part in the conference.
According to the participants of the festival, though the festival
had some shortcomings, they are impressed and inspired. “We had
many difficulties but I hope these shortcomings will be taken into
consideration and will be organized at a higher level at the next
festivals,” representative of the Austrian Armenian community Levon
Demirian said.

NO ‘GENOCIDE’ IN ARMENIA
The Moscow Times, Russia
June 30 2006
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators failed to persuade Richard Hoagland,
the nominee for the post of U.S. ambassador to Armenia, to describe
the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians last century as “genocide.”
“I have not received any kind of written instruction about this,”
Hoagland said Wednesday. “I simply have studied the president’s
policy. I’ve studied the background papers on the policy. And my
responsibility is to support the president.” The administration of
U.S President George W. Bush does not question that Turkish troops
in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire killed or drove from their
homes 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915.

CEREMONY OF GIVING PRIZES OF PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC TAKES PLACE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The ceremony of giving
prizes of the President of the republic, awarded on April 15 by RA
President Robert Kocharian to a group of art and science figures,
took place on June 28.
The Republic President’s prize was awarded for 2005:
to Hambartsum Khachatrian and Sergey Hayrapetian in the sphere of
development of natural sciences, to Stepan Meschian in the sphere of
technical science and information technologies, to Feliks Yeghiazarian
and Varazdat Haroutiunian in the sphere of art, to Mesrop Shatakhian
in the sphere of medicine, to Feliks Aharonian, Vardan Sahakian,
Ashot Akhperjanian in the sphere of development of physics, to
Alexander Topchian in the sphere of literature, to Sergey Sarinian
in the sphere of development of the humanities.
The President’s 2005 Youth prizes were also awarded: to Hripsime
Davtian, Artur Hovhannisian and Syuzanna Avetisian in the sphere
of art and cinema, to Hasmik Simonian in the sphere of literature,
the President’s Youth Prize in the nomination of the high art of
instrumental performance in the sphere of classic music is awarded
to Martin Yavrian.
RA President Robert Kocharian also singed on April 15 a decree on
awarding prizes in 2005 to people having a considerable contribution
in the affair of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Verjine Svazlian and Edgar Hilzenrat (Germany) were also awarded
prizes.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s Press Office, the
prize was today given to Verjine Svazlian as well, and the President
handed the prize to Edgar Hilzenrat at the May 5 conference of the
“Hayastan” (Armenia) all-Armenian fund.

VARTAN OSKANIAN: DOCUMENT PROPOOSED BY CO-CHAIRS IS NOT A PERFECT ONE, BUT THERE ARE ENOUGH SOLID AND BALANCED PROVISIONS, WITH RIGHT TRADE-OFFS ON THE MAIN ISSUES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “The actual
negotiating document on the principles that is on the table today
is all-encompassing. It covers all the principles affecting the
resolution of the conflict. It includes the core issue of status of
Nagorno Karabakh, territories, refugees, security issues, peacekeeping
and every other conceivable issue that is necessary in order to
arrive at a lasting resolution of the conflict.” The Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian stated this, when commenting, at the request
of the mass media, on the June 22 statement of the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs. In his words, “only after full agreement on all these basic
principles would the parties, as the actual negotiating text says, “in
cooperation with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group to begin work
on the elaboration of an agreement on the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. In other words, the agreement on principles will
be comprehensive. The final agreement may envision implementation
over time.”
Asked about what the co-chairs’ “special modalities” for Kelbajar
and Lachin are ( “the principles include the phased redeployment of
Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno Karabakh,
with special modalities for Kelbajar and Lachin districts”), Vartan
Oskanian replied:
“This formulation is indeed very broad, and for a reason. This
issue has two layers. One is the issue of Lachin, where the actual
negotiating text on principles provides clear language stating that
there will be “a corridor linking Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia.” For
Armenia, it’s very clear that this corridor must have the same status
as Nagorno Karabakh. The second layer is the issue of Kelbajar. For
Armenia, this also is clear: based on security concerns, Kelbajar can
be returned only after the referendum is conducted and the final status
of NK is determined. Azerbaijan’s position is different on Kelbajar.
That’s the disagreement that the co-chairs are addressing in their
statement.
The co-chairs’ language in the actual negotiating text, with regard
to this issue, is generally in line with our approach.”
The co-chairs say that there will be a referendum / popular vote
“to determine the final legal status of Nagorno Karabakh,” but they
don’t say who will vote. According to the Armenian foreign minister,
” the actual negotiating text on principles clearly specifies that
“the final legal status will be determined through a referendum /
population vote by the population of Nagorno Karabakh.”
The co-chairs also say “certain interim arrangements for Nagorno
Karabakh would allow for interaction with providers of international
assistance.” In the words of V. Oskanian, “this is only one element
of a much more detailed section in the actual negotiating text
which addresses interim status for Nagorno Karabakh.” “We think the
co-chairs have emphasized international engagement, because that’s
a major problem for the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Their current,
unrecognized, de-facto status, has not allowed them to benefit
from the generosity of international organizations. In the actual
negotiating text, the provisions address such rights as control over
their political and economic viability and security, upholding their
personal privileges and freedoms, the right to democratically elect
officials to govern Nagorno Karabakh, the authority to effectively
legislate and administer the internal affairs of Nagorno Karabakh,”
the Armenian foreign minister noted.
In response to the question about what Armenia’s overall assessment
of the content of the document is, Vartan Oskanian stated: “This not
a perfect document. For anyone. However, there are enough solid and
balanced provisions, with the right trade-offs on the main issues –
status, territories and security – that we are prepared to continue
to negotiate on the basis of these principles. In today’s context,
Azerbaijan’s rhetoric about autonomy and desperate calls for
militarization surprise us. We have at hand a real opportunity to
resolve all issues, including the much-maligned issue of refugees. But
Azerbaijan must revert to real situations and real opportunities,
rather than illusory maximalist hopes. Today, we hope that Azerbaijan
will realize that we have a chance to resolve the conflict and achieve
a lasting peace.”