Eurasia Daily Monitor — The Jamestown Foundation
Thursday April 20, 2006 — Volume 3, Issue 77
IN THIS ISSUE:
*Moscow protests Jamestown seminar on North Caucasus
*Bakiyev, Putin to discuss U.S. presence in Kyrgyzstan
*Russian ban turns from Georgian wine to mineral water
RUSSIAN REACTION TO JAMESTOWN CONFERENCE REVEALS KREMLIN FEAR OF FREE
SPEECH ABOUT THE SITUATION IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS
On April 18 the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented William
Burns, the U.S. Ambassador in Moscow, a note of protest in connection
with a Jamestown Foundation-sponsored seminar that took place in
Washington on Friday, April 14, “Sadullaev’s Caucasian Front: Prospects
for the Next Nalchik.”
As the Foreign Ministry noted, “in the course of the seminar the
participants called for new terror acts on the territory of Russia.” The
U.S. Ambassador was reminded, “The conduct of such activities on the
territory of the U.S. is incompatible with the international obligations
of the United States in the sphere of struggle against terrorism,” in
particular with UN Security Council Resolution 1624, “Threats to
International Peace and Security,” which the United States played a
major role in developing. “The fact that Washington DC tolerates Chechen
gunmen and separatists is incompatible with the spirit of partnership
that would be necessary for anti-terrorist coordination of the two
countries and it is also harmful for bilateral relations,” according to
the note (gazeta.ru, April 18).
The public discussion organized by Jamestown took place at the
conference facilities of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
in Washington, DC. Five people made presentations, including Glen E.
Howard, president of the Jamestown Foundation; Ivan Sventsistski, an
independent Russian journalist and coordinator of the Yalta Initiative
for Peace in Chechnya; Dr. Andrew McGregor, director of Aberfoyle
International Security in Toronto; Kelly McEvers, an American journalist
who was arrested in Dagestan and deported from Russia at the beginning
of April (see Chechnya Weekly, April 6); and Mairbek Vatchagaev, a
Chechen historian who now lives in France and was previously a spokesman
for Aslan Maskhadov, the Chechen rebel leader killed last year. All the
participants spoke about the deteriorating situation in the North
Caucasus, the rising frustration among the local population, and the
possibility of a rebel attack in any part of that region.
Two officials from the Russian Embassy to the United States attended the
event as observers. They were accompanied by journalists from the
Kremlin-controlled ORT television network. ORT broadcast a story about
the event on the popular 9 pm news program that night. The panelists
were surprised to learn from the ORT story that they had planned new
terrorist acts in Russia during their discussion in Washington.
“The statements that are made in the USA imply that new, large-scale
acts of terrorism in Russia are necessary,” according to the ORT
headline. “As a matter of fact, the presented subject of the event is
‘Perspectives of the New Nalchik.’ These perspectives were treated
with sympathy” (ORT, April 14).
The note of protest from the Russian Foreign Ministry likely had been
prepared in advance so that Russian authorities were ready to condemn
the discussion irrespective of its content. The ORT report about the
conference was needed to provide grounds for a protest to the American
ambassador. ORT and the Russian authorities likely had coordinated their
actions.
Clearly, the Kremlin was enraged just by the title of the discussion:
“Sadullaev’s Caucasian Front.” Unlike in the United States, where the
government encourages public research on terrorism issues and open
analysis of al-Qaeda statements and publications on websites belonging
to Islamic radicals, in Russia such topics are the exclusive prerogative
of the authorities.
The Kremlin is not interested in providing either Russian society or the
international community with detailed information about the Caucasian
insurgency. Instead, officials in Russia use vague terms like
“international terrorism” or “dark forces” to describe the source of
instability in the south of the country. Sometimes some “unknown Arabs”
are mentioned, but never actual insurgency leaders such as Abdul-Khalim
Sadullaev. Nor does official Moscow recognize the existence of the
Caucasian front, preferring to speak about “the criminal underground in
the North Caucasus.”
The Russian authorities do not want to focus on Sadullaev, as his
presence proves that the insurgency across the North Caucasus is
directed from Chechnya by Chechen separatists, not by terrorists from
Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, as official propaganda claims. The
authorities were even angrier about the fact that Vachagaev called
Sadullaev the “Chechen president,” trying to present the rebel leader as
a legitimate figure in the eyes of the Americans. Since Abdul-Khalim
Sadullaev succeeded Maskhadov after the latter’s death last year, the
Kremlin has used a number of devices to hide his name from the West,
fearing that one day Western governments will start to persuade Moscow
to initiate a dialogue with him. Previously they had called on Russia to
negotiate with Maskhadov.
Russian authorities are also afraid of any accurate, thorough analyses
of the situation in the North Caucasus. As it increasingly loses control
over the region, Moscow has tried to make it off-limits to foreigners by
deporting journalists and humanitarian-aid workers. Public discussions
like the Jamestown forum on April 14 are considered as threatening to
the Kremlin as independent, inquisitive journalists who try to enter the
volatile region.
There is one more reason for the Russian authorities’ pained reaction to
the Jamestown event. The Kremlin is watching closely the emerging
dispute between two influential groups in the U.S. government. One,
headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, stands for a pragmatic
approach in U.S. policy towards Russia. The other group, led by
Vice-President Dick Cheney, believes that Washington should be tougher
in criticizing the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is
no accident that the ORT report specifically tried to link Cheney with
the Jamestown Foundation (ORT, April 14).
Many high-ranking Russian officials subscribe to a variety of conspiracy
theories, and Putin’s entourage suspects that “anti-Russian forces”
headed by Cheney are behind the Jamestown conference on the North
Caucasus. The Russian leadership, which has established a “managed
democracy” under which nothing can be done without permission from the
authorities, simply cannot believe that a public discussion on a burning
political issue could be solely the initiative of an independent,
non-partisan organization.
–Andrei Smirnov
MOMENT OF TRUTH IN KYRGYZSTAN FOR U.S. POLICY
American strategic and democratic interests in Kyrgyzstan are
increasingly coming under pressure, one year after the purported
democratic “Tulip Revolution” in that country. Russian influence and
that of local organized crime groups are growing while U.S. influence is
steadily eroding. At the overt level, Moscow relies on President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alikbek Jekshenkulov
to pursue its interests in Kyrgyzstan. Bakiyev, a pro-Kremlin though
weak president, in turn appears to rely on a modus vivendi with
representatives of organized crime in hopes of navigating the chaos that
has engulfed the country since the 2005 “revolution.”
The sequence of events in the run-up to Bakiyev’s April 24-25 visit to
the Kremlin is dramatizing those trends and had impelled the United
States for the first time to speak out publicly in Bishkek about the
country’s direction.
On April 18, Jekshenkulov warned in a Russian media interview that
Kyrgyzstan is asking for a “hundredfold increase” in the rent paid by
the United States for using the Manas air base located near Bishkek. The
issue has been under discussion since autumn 2005 when Bakiyev raised it
at Moscow’s instigation (see EDM, September 22, 2005). The Pentagon-paid
rent has been shared since 2002 among the Manas airport company, the
Kyrgyz Defense Ministry, and local authorities for the rented land plot.
At present, a Kyrgyz working group is preparing “economic
justifications” for the hundredfold-increase demand (Interfax, April
18).
At a joint news conference with Jekshenkulov that same day, Russian
Ambassador Yevgeny Shmagin advised unnamed foreign ambassadors —
apparently meaning primarily the U.S. ambassador — “not to teach our
Kyrgyz friends politics and economics. They [these Kyrgyz friends] have
their heads on their shoulders and are capable to take the right
decisions.” The conference previewed Bakiyev’s upcoming visit to Russia
(Akipress, April 18).
Also on April 18, a Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs communiqué
criticized U.S. Ambassador Marie Jovanovich for “interfering in internal
affairs,” exercising “pressures on the Kyrgyz leadership,” and “going
beyond the scope of diplomatic relations” in her statements. The Kyrgyz
MFA communiqué asked Jovanovich to refrain from making public
statements on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and
“other issues” and to observe the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations. Ostensibly, the MFA communiqué took issue with her public
advice to the Kyrgyz government to join HIPC, a debt-relief program of
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. (Kyrgyzstan’s external
indebtedness is estimated at approximately billion.) (Interfax,
Itar-Tass, April 18).
In fact, the broadside was responding to Jovanovich’s April 17 media
interview, in which she described some aspects of the situation in
Kyrgyzstan with a realism that had been missing from official Washington
evaluations: “Journalists are scared. Members of Parliament are openly
stating that they are scared. Threats against the Central Electoral
Commission are worrisome. Even the police are frightened. Investors and
donors are raising questions about the direction in which Kyrgyzstan is
moving. … The judiciary must be free from corruption. We keep
saying that the state must take decisive measures against organized
crime” (Akipress, Interfax, April 17).
Triggering the interview was the apparent assassination attempt in broad
daylight in Bishkek on April 12 that severely injured Edil Baisalov,
leader of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society (Institute for
War and Peace Reporting [London], April 14, also see EDM, April 14). The
Coalition is an influential pro-American, non-governmental organization
that combines a democracy agenda with moral support for the U.S.
military presence in Kyrgyzstan. The previous day, Baisalov had given an
unsparingly realistic presentation of the situation in the country to
the visiting Richard Boucher, newly appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
On behalf of his and other NGOs, Baisalov told Boucher, “Unfortunately,
the situation has seriously worsened after the revolution. Our hopes
have not been realized.” The state is unable to take measures against
rampant organized crime, Baisalov pointed out. He went on to criticize
Bakiyev for reneging on the promises he had made to the Kyrgyz people,
and also to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit
last fall, that he would transfer some of ex-president Askar Akayev’s
presidential powers to the government and parliament, so as to establish
a constitutional division of power. Thus, “His promises have proven
empty words. We told Mr. Boucher that the president has deceived us
all,” Baisalov announced (Kyrgyz radio, Kabar, April 11).
Jovanovich’s assessment in her interview, while couched in proper
diplomatic language, parallel the substance of Baisalov’s assessment.
Since the March 2005 regime change in Kyrgyzstan, the United States has
preferred to refrain from commenting on the unanticipated consequences
of what it initially portrayed as a triumph of democracy. With the
situation continually deteriorating, and Russia regaining strategic
influence over the country, a reassessment of U.S. policy seems timely.
–Vladimir Socor
RUSSIA CONTINUES TO PRESS GEORGIAN WINE INDUSTRY
After banning imports of Georgian wine and some other food products last
month (see EDM, March 28), Russian authorities now say the ban might
extend to Georgia’s famous “Borjomi” mineral water. Following an order
from Gennady Onishchenko, Russian chief sanitary inspector, about 1
billion liters of Georgian and Moldovan wine have been confiscated from
retail and wholesale depots throughout Russia.
There are rumors that the deportation of multiple illegal Georgian labor
migrants will be Moscow’s next “surprise,” and this move, according to
pundits, might trigger large-scale social disturbances in Georgia
(Akhali Taoba, April 17).
On April 19, the Russian State Duma overwhelmingly voted for a
resolution supporting the ban on the import of Georgian and Moldovan
alcoholic beverages. Although the resolution cites health issues, the
pronounced anti-Georgian rhetoric accompanying the resolution
highlighted the political implications behind this development.
Georgian officials and observers consider the Russian move to be one
more politically motivated attempt to punish the Western-leaning
government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. However, other
analysts argue that the ban on Georgian wine is part of a clandestine
business war, and some Russian companies that own wineries in Latin
America are trying to saturate the Russian market with their products
and push out foreign competitors.
President Saakashvili has declared that saving the Georgian wine
industry must become a top priority. “We all must become publicity
agents for Georgian wine,” he said (TV-Rustavi-2, Civil Georgia, April
15).
The “wine war” has increased existing Georgian-Russian political
friction. Some top Georgian officials have threatened to take Georgia
out of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Georgian Foreign Minister
Gela Bezhuashvili pointedly declined to participate in the April 21
meeting of the CIS Ministers’ Council in Moscow (Kavkaz Press, April
17).
With no Georgian wine flowing into the Russian market, other CIS members
seized the opportunity. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan
reportedly hastened to fill the temporary supply gap — about 12% of the
Russian market — by offering their own wine products to Russian
consumers (Akhali Taoba, April 15).
At a meeting with parliamentarians from the ruling National Movement
party on April 17, Saakashvili reiterated his belief that Russia’s
import ban is a political move. He reaffirmed his readiness for a
“constructive dialogue” with Russia to settle the wine row and reminded
members of the government to promote Georgian wine abroad.
The wine war with Russia will not be settled soon, predicted Kakha
Bendukidze, Georgian State Minister for Reform Issues. “They want us to
pay a political price, which we will not pay” (TV-Imedi, TV-Rustavi-2,
Civil Georgia, April 17). Contrary to the gloomy forecasts by some
Georgian economic analysts, Bendukidze said that Russia’s ban would have
minimal effect on Georgia’s economy and “even in a worst-case scenario
the growth rate will decrease by approximately 0.3%.” He said that
thanks to high levels of wine consumption in Georgia, producer prices
for grapes were unlikely to fall. He acknowledged that local vintners
might see their profits drop, but dismissed fears of an impending
“catastrophe.” He said that the wine dispute might actually benefit
Georgia somewhat, “Because the stronger companies will survive and the
wine industry will become much healthier” (Georgian Public TV,
April 16).
The Georgian government has already granted wine producers a three-month
tax holiday. Despite the optimistic statements from Bendukidze and
Saakashvili, who claims that the “wine war” with Russia marks “a new
stage for Georgia’s political and economic strengthening” (TV-Rustavi-2,
April 17), some Georgian officials and analysts — not to mention
vintners — are concerned about the immediate troubles that the dispute
could create for the Georgian wine industry, agriculture in general,
banking, and the entire national economy. Georgia exports 70% of its
agricultural products, 80% of its wine, and 60% of all Borjomi sales to
Russia. Some sources say that about 30% of Georgia’s GNP comes from
exports of wine and other beverages to Russia. In 2005 Georgia exported
60 million bottles of wine; 40 million of these went to Russia. In 2005
Georgian wine exports to Russia were valued at
million, up from million in 2004 and million in 2003, according to the
Georgian Department of Statistics.
Some Georgian pundits argue that the Russian restrictions, if continued,
will harm Georgian banks, which finance export-import operations and
issue credits for the companies in this sector. Taking into account that
the Georgian financial sector is very small; downgrading the credit
portfolio of many Georgian banking institutions might result in a
banking crisis, according to their forecast. Some analysts argue that in
the near future Russia might allow some Georgian winemaking companies
with 100% Russian capital to resume wine exports to Russia.
Niko Lekishvili, chair of the Georgian Parliamentary Economic Committee,
said that the ban would bankrupt most Georgian wine companies, because
they owe millions in loans and back taxes. “We will lose approximately 0
million annually if the ban continues,” he said (The Messenger, April
3). The ban will also hurt the many peasants involved with wine
production and grape harvesting.
Meanwhile, Georgian media and analysts are guessing about Saakashvili’s
surprise decision on April 12 to assign Defense Minister Irakli
Okruashvili to find new markets for Georgian wine. Most of them link
this move with an anticipated reshuffle in the government (Resonansi,
April 17). Okruashvili demonstrated a remarkable familiarity with wine
issues when commenting on his new task. He said that many Georgian
winemaking firms are weak in marketing and management and several
semi-legal wineries in Georgia should be closed immediately (TV-Imedi,
TV-Rustavi-2, April 12).
Despite the government’s calls to focus on new markets, Georgian
vintners consider restoring the Russian market to be their top priority
(Civil Georgia, April 19).
–Zaal Anjaparidze
The Eurasia Daily Monitor, a publication of the Jamestown Foundation, is
edited by Ann E. Robertson. The opinions expressed in it are those of
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEPUTY MM SPEAKER MEETS WITH DELEGATION OF YOUTH DIVISION OF JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTY OF TURKEY
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 25 2006
First deputy Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan) chairman Ziyafet
Asgarov met April 25 with the delegation of the Youth Division of
the Justice and Development Party of Turkey.
Ziyafet Asgarov touched upon rapid development of the Azerbaijan-Turkey
relations and pointed out the role of the Heads of States in elevating
the relations to the current level. He pointed to the great progress
achieved so far in Turkey-Azerbaijan relationship.
He said Turkey has always shown its loyalty to Azerbaijan towards
the matters of vital importance. According to Z. Asgarov, the joint
activity of fraternal countries in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum oil and gas pipeline projects will be fruitful.
Then, deputy MM speaker spoke of the interparliamentary relations, role
of youth in improving the laws, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and found a need to combine efforts against groundless
Armenian claims on the so-called “Armenian genocide”.
Z. Asgarov highly appreciated the visit of the youth delegation of
the Turkey’s ruling party and expressed confidence that such kind
of visits as well as cooperation between the youth of both countries
will contribute much to development of bilateral relations.
Hakan Tutuncu, head of the delegation of the youth division of the
Justice and Development Party of Turkey, said the delegation attaches
a particular importance to developing the relationship with the youth
division of the New Azerbaijan Party. He said the agreements reached
during the visit will create conditions for the relations to become
more purposeful.
Then, the meeting focused on the issues of mutual interest.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO USA IS NOT PLANNED
Author: Mammadov
Source: Regnum Information Agency
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 25 2006
“Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is not planned to visit
Washington. The assumption made on the ground of answer of Armenian
Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan, I think, is a result
of either wrong translation or partial distortion of his words,”
spokesman for the foreign ministry Gamlet Gasparyan says.
“In an interview to Turkish Zaman newspaper Arman Kirakosyam was
talking not about visit of our president after the visit by Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev, but, pointing out our good friendly relations
with the USA, about a possibility of such visit on the whole,” Gamlet
Gasparyan is quoted as saying by press office of the Armenian foreign
ministry, reports a REGNUM correspondent.
It is worth mentioning that in an interview on April 24 to Turkish
Zaman newspaper, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan
informed that the Armenian president would probably visit Washington in
the next few days. According to the Armenian deputy foreign minister,
the president would probably be the guest of the US administration
within the next few days, “after Aliyev’s visit.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COZY SEDER IN ARMENIA
Federation of Jewish Communitites of CIS, Russia
April 25 2006
YEREVAN, Armenia – Passover events held in the Mordechai Navi Jewish
Community Center brought together a great number of participants
this year. Tables were set with traditional dishes, Passover symbols
laid on a silver keara, sparkling wine glasses and matza, which was
delivered from Israel.
Mrs. Lea Peremysler, the hostess of this home-like Seder, lit festive
candles and recited blessings.
Rabbi Gersh Meir Burstein discussed the traditions of a Passover
night. During this night, Rabbi Burstein helped the participants
feel the unity of the Jewish people and recounted the story of their
deliverance from slavery.
Michael Levitin, a journalist of Forward and World Jewish Digest
magazines of New York, was present at this evening. It was a great
surprise for him to witness a Jewish community celebrating Passover
in such a friendly atmosphere. He acknowledged afterwards that he
hasn’t experienced such Seder in a very long time.
By the end of the feast Rabbi Burstein blessed community members and
shared the afikomen, the last piece of matza, with the participants
of the Seder.

CANADA’S ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ COMMENT SPARKS ROW WITH TURKEY
Agence France Presse — English
April 25, 2006 Tuesday 5:29 PM GMT
Turkey’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that a reference by Canada’s
Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the “Armenian genocide” as fact had
hurt bilateral relations.
“We are appalled by the prime minister’s comments, which give support
to Armenia’s unfounded allegations of genocide,” the ministry said
in a statement.
The statement said Harper’s reference to the “Armenian allegations” as
fact was serious, and that his position on the issue would “negatively
affect ties between Turkey and Canada”.
The ministry called in Canadian ambassador Yves Brodeur to inform
him of Turkey’s “sensitivities” regarding Harper’s declarations,
a Turkish diplomat told AFP.
“Turkey’s views were clearly transmitted to him,” said the diplomat,
who asked to remain anonymous and did not give the date of the meeting.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were slaughtered in
an orchestrated genocide in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey categorically rejects claims of genocide, arguing that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife
when Armenians began fighting for independence in eastern Anatolia
and sided with Russian troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.
The Canadian head of government had on Friday praised commemorations
of the massacres in Armenia during World War I.
He noted that the Canadian Senate had passed a resolution in 2002
recognizing the killings in Armenia as the first genocide of the 20th
century, and the House of Commons had followed suit two years later.
“My party and I have applied those resolutions and continue to do so,”
the prime minister said in a statement.
The Turkish foreign ministry said the two resolutions had led to the
“stagnation” of bilateral relations.
The statement also recalled that a Turkish military attache had been
killed by an Armenian militant group in Ottawa in 1982.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet on Tuesday quoted a diplomat as saying
the prime minister’s comments had led to Canadian companies being
excluded from a forthcoming bid to build Turkey’s first nuclear plant.
Armenians marked the 91st anniversary of the bloodbath on Sunday.

THE PEOPLE VS. BUSH
By Amy Taxin
The Orange County Register
Orange County Register, CA
April 25 2006
Carrying American flags and signs chastising the war in Iraq,
demonstrators outside the Hyatt Regency Irvine Monday sparred on U.S.
policies ranging from border control to foreign diplomacy.
IRVINE – Carrying American flags and signs chastising the war in Iraq,
demonstrators outside the Hyatt Regency Irvine on Monday sparred on
U.S. policies ranging from border control to foreign diplomacy.
But they appeared to agree that President Bush’s speech inside the
hotel was unlikely to sway their views of his administration.
“We’re both on opposite sides – they’re for open borders, we’re
for secure borders,” said Robin Hvidston of Upland, a member of the
border-watching Minuteman Project. “But we’re both here protesting
Bush.”
About 250 people from anti-war, border control, immigrant rights
and other groups rallied for more than three hours before and while
Bush spoke to the Orange County Business Council about his plans for
immigration overhauls and a temporary-worker program.
“We don’t need a guest-worker plan. We already have a lot of workers,”
said Lizbeth Antonio, a 20-year-old UC Irvine student from Chicano
group MeCHA. “We want to see legalization for those who are working
here now.”
Aside from shouting matches between immigration enforcement activists
wearing stars-and-stripes jackets and students calling for a broader
legalization for immigrants, the protests were generally peaceful.
One person, a 16-year-old demonstrator, was arrested for challenging
someone to fight and later released to a guardian’s custody, Irvine
police Lt. Jeff Love said.
The demonstrations in Irvine paled in comparison to the 500 protesters
who greeted Bush in San Jose and the 1,500 who rallied in West
Sacramento since he began his California trip last week.
For a county that is nearly half Republican – and with Bush’s visit
announced only last week – UC Irvine political science professor
Mark Petracca said he might have expected fewer people to rally on
a Monday morning.
“Given the fact it’s Monday and there was virtually no prep time,
I am surprised there were as many” people as there were, Petracca said.
Nearly 60percent of Orange County voters backed Bush in the 2004
election.
At the rally, Armenian students urged Bush to declare the killing of
their ancestors that began in 1915 a genocide. UC Irvine’s Muslim
Student Union, as well as several parents of soldiers and Marines,
criticized the president’s policies in Iraq and Iran.
Roughly half the demonstrators came to voice views on immigration –
the subject of Bush’s speech.
Angel, a 31-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, stopped by to
check out the protests after he saw activists carrying signs like
one that read: “Go Fix Mexico.”
“I wanted to see what the American people who didn’t want the
Latinos here were saying,” said Angel, who asked that his last name
be withheld for fear of deportation. The Register’s policy is to
honor such requests, when including an illegal immigrant’s voice is
important to a story or increases readers’ understanding of an issue.
“I love and respect this country that has given me opportunity,”
Angel said.
Liz Renteria, 68, left her house in Diamond Bar before 4 a.m. wearing
scarves and gloves to fend off the morning chill. “It’s weird because
everyone around me hates Bush,” Renteria, a Bush supporter, said of
the protests. “I wish I could have been closer, but just to see the
motorcade was awesome.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CALL GENOCIDE BY NAME
By Armen Zenjiryan
Ventura County Star , CA
April 25 2006
Ninety-one years ago April 24, the Ottoman Turkish government commenced
a three-year campaign to decimate its empire’s ethnic Armenians. Before
it was over, 1.5 million people – men, women and children alike –
were dragged from their homes and slaughtered.
For those Armenians whose ancestors witnessed the genocide, the wound
is reopened each year on April 24, Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day, because of the failure of the Turkish government to admit
culpability. For Armenian-Americans, the insult is worse. The United
States, Turkey’s NATO ally, characterizes this unambiguous instance
of ethnic cleansing as a mere byproduct of war, no more morally
significant than the usual carnage of battle.
But the evidence for the deliberate extermination of an ethnic minority
is clear, as is Turkey’s calculating attempts to smother it.
Dozens of eyewitness accounts describe the horrors on the Anatolian
plateau during the period when Turkey denies it committed genocide.
Protocols and telegrams exchanged between diplomats and ambassadors
describing mass deportations of Armenians and murder still exist
in Turkish and German archives. The Turkish government officially
denies photographs of Armenian women avoiding rape only by burying
themselves in the sand.
It dismisses as mirages the countless number of Armenians dragged
into the Syrian Desert without food or water.
This amnesia is not universal. Several governments, including France,
Argentina, Greece, Russia and Vatican City, formally recognize the
genocide. To their credit, hundreds of members of the U.S. Congress
call upon the president each year on the anniversary of the genocide
to change his noun of choice from “massacre” to “genocide.”
In doing so, the president would acknowledge that the actions of
the Turkish government were no mere battle against a hostile enemy,
but an atrocious, systematic and deliberate extermination of a people.
Does it matter that President Bush use the proper language to describe
what happened to 1.5 million Armenians? For this president, it should.
We are fighting a war on terrorism, and recently fought a war against
a regime that, like the Ottoman Turkish Empire before it, sought
to wipe out entire ethnic segments of a population. Part of Bush’s
justification for the current war was that tolerating genocide is
unacceptable to any enlightened democracy.
While this is true, continuing to mollify our ally Turkey by remaining
complicit in a conspiracy to mask the truth, Bush undermines his
own principle.
Principles, as the president has often reminded us, matter in war.
The practical effect of the United States’ reluctance to call the
Armenian genocide a genocide is its confinement to the footnotes of
history. This is a strange fate for a crime that international law
expert Raphael Lemkin, who himself escaped the Holocaust, uses as
the archetype for all genocides. To call the Armenian genocide an
act of war between hostile enemies not only distorts its meaning,
but also limits its usefulness when we try to identify the political
and social precursors of genocide.
Denial of genocide is a message of hate and prejudice. Some even
note that denial of genocide is the atrocity’s final act. We share a
universal responsibility to combat each instance of genocide denial; in
fact, to do less is a disservice not only to the victims of yesterday,
but also to the victims of the present and future.
After all, what better proof is there of history’s potential to
repeat itself than when Adolf Hitler himself, nearly 70 years ago,
justified the planned genocide of the Jews by asking, “Who nowadays
speaks of the extermination of the Armenians?”
– Armen Zenjiryan is a first-year law student at Pepperdine Law School
in Malibu. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science from
the University of Southern California in 2004 and served as executive
director of the Armenian-American Political Action Committee prior
to entering law school.

ALLARD, SYSTEM OF A DOWN GROOVE ON GENOCIDE BILL
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News, CO
April 25 2006
Wayne Allard co-sponsored a symbolic bill on Armenian genocide.
Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and members of the heavy metal band
System of a Down would seem to have little in common.
For starters, Allard has shorter hair and wears ties more often.
While Allard is quiet and conservative, the band is, um, not.
But they share concern over Armenian genocide. And on Wednesday the
band will drop in on Allard to thank him for co-sponsoring symbolic
legislation casting a spotlight on the deaths of an estimated 1.5
million ethnic Armenians under Ottoman Empire rule in the early
20th Century.
The Armenian-American band, known for political lyrics, has made
remembering the Armenian genocide a cause celebre.
Its Web site urges fans worldwide to pressure their representatives
to remember crimes against humanity.
So is the band’s music on Allard’s iPod?
“Sen. Allard does not yet own an iPod,” chief of staff Sean Conway
reports.
Even if he did, it’s doubtful it would be loaded with System of a Down.
Its song list includes “F— the System.” One song, “B.Y.O.B.,”
includes the lyrics “Why don’t presidents fight the war? Why do they
always send the poor?”
And then there are profanity- laced songs like “Cigaro,” which includes
bragging references to various male physical attributes.
“Sen. Allard is aware the band is heavy metal and has strong political
lyrics in their songs, but he admires the band members for their
standing up for what they believe in and for their strong support of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution,” Conway said.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, also is among the 26 co-sponsors of the
bill. Salazar spokesman Drew Nannis did not know if band members
planned to visit Salazar’s office.
Band members reportedly plan to meet with numerous members of Congress
as they try to get the bill moved on the congressional agenda.
On Monday night, they were scheduled to join members of the Armenian
National Committee of America and Armenian Youth Federation for a
protest outside the Turkish Embassy.
Today, they are planning to host a congressional screening of the
documentary Screamers, which highlight’s the band’s role in the
Armenian genocide campaign, according to NewAmericaMedia.org.

SENATOR FINDS UNLIKELY SUPPORT FROM METAL BAND
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Scripps Howard News Service, DC
April 25 2006
WASHINGTON — Concern over Armenian genocide is bringing together
soft-spoken Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and one of the loudest heavy
metal bands in the business this week.
The Armenian-American group System of A Down, known for an eclectic
repertoire and rapid, screaming lyrics, is scheduled to visit Allard’s
office Wednesday afternoon.
The visit is to thank Allard for co-sponsoring symbolic legislation
casting a spotlight on the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic
Armenians under Ottoman Empire rule in the early 20th Century.
The band, known for political lyrics, has made remembering the Armenian
genocide a cause celebre, and its Web site urges fans worldwide to
pressure their representatives to remember crimes against humanity.
On the surface, Allard and the band would seem to have little in
common.
While Allard is quiet and conservative, the band is, uhm, not.
Its song list includes the song “F_- the System.” One song, “B.Y.O.B.,”
includes the lyrics “Why don’t presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?”
And then there are profanity-laced songs like “Cigaro,” which includes
bragging references to various male physical attributes and repeated
lines like, “My s_- stinks much better than yours.” (That’s one of
the more family-friendly lines.)
So is the band’s music on Allard’s iPod?
“Sen. Allard does not yet own an iPod,” chief of staff Sean Conway
reports.
“Sen. Allard is aware the band is heavy metal and has strong ‘political
lyrics’ in their songs, but he admires the band members for their
standing up for what they believe in, and for their strong support
of the Armenian Genocide Resolution,” Conway said.

BUSH SEES OPTIONS ON IMMIGRATION
By James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
ktla 5, CA
April 25 2006
In an Irvine speech, he says the U.S. should control its borders but
also be open to a guest-worker program.
President Bush, seeking to jump-start the congressional debate
on immigration, said Monday that “massive deportation” of illegal
immigrants would not work and that the U.S. could remain open to
immigrants while controlling its borders.
In an hourlong presentation to an Orange County business group, Bush
acknowledged the emotions on both sides of the issue. But in a message
clearly directed at the harshest critics of illegal immigration,
he said, “One thing we cannot lose sight of is that we’re talking
about human beings, decent human beings that need to be treated
with respect.”
Bush’s speech in Irvine coincided with the Senate’s return from a
two-week recess, which began the same day that large rallies supporting
immigrant rights were held across the country. More boycotts and
protests are planned for May 1.
Short of calling for all illegal immigrants to be sent to their home
countries, Bush offered something for nearly everyone concerned about
the issue. He insisted that the borders be protected. He supported
a course for some here illegally to gain citizenship. He renewed his
plea for a guest-worker program, opposed by many Republicans.
And he delivered a reminder of the desperate economic needs – to put
food on their families’ tables – that prompt people to risk their
lives and spend thousands of dollars trying to enter the United States.
“You can be a nation of law and a compassionate nation at the same
time,” Bush said.
Noting that U.S. authorities had captured 6 million people trying
to cross the border since he took office in January 2001, Bush
addressed those who want to deport the estimated 12 million people
here illegally.
“Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic,” Bush said.
“It’s just not going to work.”
But he offered no new ideas to break the deadlock that has foiled
congressional efforts to overhaul immigration laws.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president planned
to discuss immigration today with a bipartisan group of senators –
most of whom supported legislation that would create a guest-worker
program, a path to citizenship, and allow many of those here illegally
to work toward citizenship. That bill foundered on procedural measures
this month.
A House bill passed in December concentrates solely on enforcement, an
approach backed by some Senate conservatives who think border security
must come first. Conservatives in the House, which returns from its
recess today, see any legalization program as a reward for lawbreaking.
Bush spoke here just days after the Department of Homeland Security
conducted widespread work-site raids and after Senate Republicans
announced they would seek an additional $2 billion for border security
in the supplemental spending bill being debated this week.
“When you combine this speech with the raids of last week and the
talk in the Senate of adding enforcement money to the supplemental,
they’re saying you can enforce the border and have a guest-worker
program at the same time,” said Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the
Manhattan Institute, a business-friendly public policy center.
Aides said Bush came to Orange County so he could deliver the remarks
in a region where immigration was a key issue.
Costa Mesa was the first city in the nation to seek to train its police
officers in immigration law enforcement, and Orange County Sheriff
Michael S. Carona has sought such cross-training for his deputies.
It is home to Jim Gilchrist, a co-founder of the Minuteman Project,
which Bush has called a vigilante group. And it was the birthplace
of Proposition 187, the 1994 state ballot initiative that sought to
restrict public services for illegal immigrants.
Outside the event at the Hyatt Regency near John Wayne Airport,
about 250 protesters weighed in on a variety of issues – immigration,
the war in Iraq, environmental protection, even recognition of the
Armenian genocide of 1915.
Most of those protesting Bush’s immigration policy said the
president was too soft on illegal immigrants. Barbara Coe, coauthor
of Proposition 187, said Bush “betrayed our trust. He’s put America
up for sale in exchange for cheap labor.”