CHRISTIANITY IN PALESTINE: MISREPRESENTATION AND DISPOSSESSION
Electronic Intifada, IL
Aug 2 2006
A view of the Old City of Jerusalem — with both the Haram a-Sharif
and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre visible — from Dominus Flevit
church on the Mount of Olives (Timothy Seidel)
“You are a Christian?” a foreign tourist inquires with marked disbelief
of a Palestinian tour guide in Bethlehem. “When did you convert?”
This response by foreigners, Christian or not, is unfortunately not
uncommon in Palestine. Even in Bethlehem, the origin to which many
trace the very roots of their Christian faith, this disbelief goes
hand-in-hand with tourists’ visits to the Church of the Nativity —
visits that seem to carry with them some image of a time long past
with only archaeological or religious sites remaining with little
consideration for the “living stones” that have continuously borne
witness to this tradition for two millennia.
Many Christians from the Global North have a hard time seeing
and relating to Christianity in the Arab world as living, vibrant
communities of faith with rich spiritual and theological traditions.
This may be partly due to a lack of understanding about the shape
of Christianity in other parts of the world, but may also be partly
due to the often racist and ethnocentric notions of what a Christian
should look like.
Christianity in the Arab world has had a long and lively history,
including in Palestine, where one still finds today communities of
faith that stretch back thousands of years to the very beginnings of
the church, where Arabic is spoken in liturgies and sermons, and where
the church has played an integral role in the development of society,
whether in terms of providing leadership in very difficult times or
in pioneering valuable social services like education.
Today, of the roughly 3.9 million Palestinians living in the Occupied
Territories, less than two percent are Christians. Of the 1.4 million
Palestinians living inside Israel, meanwhile, roughly eight percent
belong to Christian communities. Though small, these communities bear
witness to two millennia of continuous Christian presence in the land
called “holy” by much of the rest of the world.
Greek Catholic (Melkite) Palm Sunday service in Bethlehem (Christi
Hoover Seidel)
Palestinian Christians belong to several traditional communities of
faith, communities that can be grouped into four broad categories.
The first are the traditions of the Eastern Orthodox churches. These
would include the Greek Orthodox communities, claiming a continuous
presence in the Holy Land since the times of the apostles. The second
group is made of up what is sometimes referred to as the “Oriental”
Orthodox churches, such as the Syrian, Coptic, and Armenian Orthodox
communities. A third category consists of those churches belonging
to the Catholic family of churches. In addition to Roman Catholic
communities, referred to in the Middle East as the “Latin” church,
one finds “Eastern Catholic” or “Eastern Rite Catholic” churches.
These churches, though in communion with Rome and recognizing the
authority of the pope, have maintained their own distinctive liturgy
and traditions. Members of such communities as Greek Catholic or Syrian
Catholic outnumber the number of “Latin” Catholics in Palestine and
have a long history of involvement in the Palestinian struggle for
justice. Finally, there are various Protestant communities, including
not only Anglican and Lutheran churches, present since the nineteenth
century, but also independent evangelical churches, including Baptist,
Pentecostal, and more.
Today in Palestine, Christianity is experiencing what many would
consider a crisis. This is not due to the growth of so-called
Islamic fundamentalism or the persecution of “believers” by their
Muslim neighbors, misrepresentations that are unfortunately used
to distract from the realities of occupation. Instead, the plight
of the Palestinian Christian is very much connected to that of the
Palestinian Muslim in that both, whether in the Occupied Territories
or inside Israeli itself, are experiencing daily injustices at the
hands of oppressive and discriminatory policies imposed on them by
the Israeli government.
Palestinian Christians, like their Muslim brothers and sisters, have
experienced a long history of dispossession and have not been immune
to Israeli policies of occupation and discrimination. If anything,
they have felt more strongly the feelings of forsakenness, knowing
full well that many Christians in North America and Europe support
without question the state of Israel in its oppression of their
people. Daily experiences of humiliation at checkpoints, of land
confiscation to make way for the separation barrier, the illegal
occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory, lack of mobility
and access to basic services, unemployment, poverty, and no sense of
hope for a better future for their children have all contributed to
this growing emigration of Palestinian Christians from the historical
land of Palestine.
Like their Muslim neighbors, who are prevented by checkpoints and
roadblocks from making pilgrimage to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem,
Christians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are denied basic
religious freedoms, routinely prohibited from traveling very short
distances to worship in one of the most holy sites in Christianity —
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem, where
the church commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection
from the dead.
A famous ancient mosaic in the Church of the Loaves and Fishes on
the sea of Galilee (taken by Christi Hoover Seidel)
For the Palestinian Christians of Bethlehem, for example, traveling the
six-mile (ten-kilometer) distance to Jerusalem’s Old City is impossible
without special permission. Roughly half of Bethlehem’s residents are
Christian. Church leaders estimate that over 2,000 Christians have
emigrated from the Bethlehem area since September 2000, representing
a decline of more than nine percent of Bethlehem’s total Christian
population. [1]
Rev. Alex Awad, Palestinian pastor of the East Jerusalem Baptist
Church, reminds us that “Palestinian Christians have existed in
the Holy Land since the day of Pentecost and have kept the torch of
Christianity burning faithfully for the past two thousand years.” The
erosion of Christianity in her birthplace, he poignantly observes
“is a loss for the body of Christ everywhere. Can we imagine the Holy
Land devoid of the Christian presence and a church which has been a
faithful witness for Christ since the day the church was born?” [2]
Unfortunately, various reportings of this phenomenon has revealed
stereotypes in North America and Europe that continue to see the
root socio-economic problem for Palestinian Christians as their
Muslim neighbors. It is disconcerting that the portrayal of the
Christian absence in Palestine, for example, is often played off
as the fault of Muslims and not of the illegal Israeli occupation,
as if Muslims are oppressing Christians and that this is the root
of the problem for Palestinians. It is the occupation that has made
life so difficult that many Christians have moved from Palestine. This
continues to be a serious problem, ignored especially by “Christian”
tour groups who while visiting the “Holy Land” seldom bother to even
come to Bethlehem to see these ancient sites, let alone see these
Christian communities and recognize their existence.
These attempts to frame this conflict in such anti-Muslim ways only
distracts (often intentionally) from the burden of responsibility
that sits squarely on the shoulders of the state of Israel and its
intentional violation of international law and the U.S. for its 100
billion dollar financing of this structure of violence and death.
An example of this is a resolution that is currently being circulated
around the U.S. House of Representatives claiming to be concerned
about the plight of Palestinian Christians and their diminishing
presence in Palestine. Yet this resolution makes no mention of the root
causes of this conflict but instead blames Palestinians themselves
for their own victimhood, grossly misrepresenting this situation and
the Palestinian people.
Only recently, while the world fixes its gaze on the ongoing Israeli
assault on the people of Lebanon — both Muslim and Christian — and
gives little attention to Gaza and the Israeli-caused humanitarian
disaster for the million and a half people living there, the Israeli
military has begun uprooting ancient olive trees in Bethlehem’s
Cremisan area, marking out the path of the separation barrier to be
built through one of the regions most valuable heritage sites.
Israel’s wall in the West Bank is effectively annexing a large
percentage of Bethlehem’s agricultural land (Timonthy Seidel)
The Cremisan area is of significant heritage value, home to the only
winery in Palestine and two monasteries. Some of the finest examples
of the regions ancient terraced landscape can be found here. The wall
will carve through these terraces destroying agricultural landscapes
that have survived for centuries. When the wall is completed, Beit
Jala district of the Bethlehem area will have lost access to two-thirds
of its land.
It is not the Palestinian Muslim population that is responsible
for the expropriation of more land for the construction of this
430-mile/700-kilometer separation barrier. It is not the Palestinian
Muslim population that is responsible for the expansion of illegal
settlements and the creation of a “Greater Jerusalem” depopulated of
its Palestinian citizens. It is not the Palestinian Muslim population
that is responsible for the checkpoints that obstruct mobility, nor the
demolition of homes and other forms of collective punishment. It is not
the Palestinian Muslim population that is responsible for the “one big
prison” status of Gaza. It is not the Palestinian Muslim population
that is responsible for this separation barrier that will become the
de facto border of a “Palestinian State” composed of several isolated
islands of land on roughly 40 to 50 percent of the West Bank. It is
not the Palestinian Muslim population that will be responsible for,
absent a viable, contiguous Palestinians state, the “reservation”
life that will parallel the Native North American experience in the
United States. No, it is the ongoing Israeli structure of occupation
and dispossession that continues to devastate Palestinian livelihood
for both Christian and Muslim alike.
At a time when the U.S. Congress is considering the plight of
Palestinian Christians, they are witnessing the destruction of their
community’s land, heritage and livelihood. The people of Bethlehem
have been very clear in their message to the international community,
“If you want to help us, stop the construction of Israel’s Wall.” [3]
Anyone who lives in this society long enough is aware of tensions that
might exist between Christians and Muslims. Palestinians society like
any other society in the world is dealing with its own problems.
But to focus on this internal tension to the exclusion of other
factors is missing the mark and emptying this issue of its context.
It is indeed hard to be Palestinian Christian these days. But it is
also hard being a Palestinian Muslim. The fact of the matter is that
it is hard simply being a Palestinian.
Timothy Seidel is a peace development worker with Mennonite Central
Committee in the Occupied Palestinian Territories where he has lived
for the past two years.
Footnotes [1] For more on these conditions in Bethlehem, see the
report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) and the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Peace Process
in the Middle East (UNSCO), “Costs of Conflict: The Changing Face of
Bethlehem” (December 2004).
[2] See Rev. Awad’s article in “Christian Zionism and Peace in the
Holy Land,” MCC Peace Office Newsletter 35/3 (July-September 2005).
[3] See Open Bethlehem’s report “Bulldozers start work on Wall to
annex Bethlehem’s Cremisan Monastery,” and the Urgent Appeal from
the city of Beit Jala in Bethlehem district.
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BUSH URGED TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY
Aug 2 2006
A Jewish member of the U.S. Congress opposed the nomination of a new
ambassador to Armenia and urged the Bush administration to recognize
the Armenian genocide.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) wrote Wednesday to President Bush that
ambassador-designate Richard Hoagland’s “denial of the Armenian
genocide and lack of compassion for the suffering of the Armenian
people makes him unfit to represent American interests in Yerevan.”
The U.S. government has never recognized the 1915-1920 atrocities,
when Turks slaughtered about 1.5 million Armenians, as genocide.
Some say the killing was not organized and occurred in the context
of Turkish-Armenian fighting, making it less than genocide.
.asp?intid=3978

MARGARYAN WANTS POLICE OUT OF RUNDA HOUSE
The Standard, Kenya
Aug 2 2006
By Judy Ogutu
One of the alleged Armenian brothers being probed by the Kiruki
Commission of Inquiry, Artur Margaryan, wants the High Court to order
the removal of police officers from his former rented home.
Through his lawyer, Oscar Avedi, he moved to court under a certificate
of urgency and named Police Commissioner and the Attorney General as
respondents to the suit.
“The applicant most urgently needs the court’s intervention in this
matter where members of the Kenya police have invaded his home and
property and denied him access to the same,” said Avedi.
Margaryan wants the court’s greenlight to seek orders quashing the
Police Commissioner’s decision to send officers to the Runda house.
Lease agreement
Avedi said under the commissioner’s command, the officers forcibly
occupied and took possession of his client’s property after he left
the country in June.
Margaryan has expressed fears that since he is out of the country,
his property could be damaged, stolen or lost as a result of the
alleged illegal occupation.
He said having established huge investments in East Africa, he had
set up a base in Kenya, got into a lease agreement and went on to
buy furniture worth millions of shillings and vehicles.
“As things stand, one of the applicant’s dogs has died as a result
of neglect,” his lawyer said.
Margaryan, who claimed to be a businessman and director of Brotherlink
International and Kensington Holdings, said he was “very attached to
these dogs and they are of great sentimental value”.
Court vacation
The police chief, he claimed, also chased away his employees in his
absence, an action that amounted to trespass and a denial of his
right to quiet enjoyment of property.
Avedi said the police officers invaded his client’s property without
a court order.
Margaryan, who is seeking to stop the proceedings of the Kiruki
Commission, failed to convince the court to hear the case during
vacation.
Avedi told Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch that the commission, chaired by
Shedrach Kiruki, had denied him an opportunity to be heard.
Justice Aluoch directed him to file a further affidavit on behalf
of the applicant to enable her to decide whether to admit the matter
for the court vacation.

MARGARYAN SUES OVER RUNDA RAID
The Nation, Kenya
Aug 2 2006
Story by NATION Correspondent Publication Date: 8/3/2006
Deported Artur Margaryan has sued the police commissioner and the
attorney-general over the raid on his residence in Nairobi’s Runda
estate.
He is seeking orders to compel Maj-Gen Hussein Ali to remove police
officers from his home.
He says one of his dogs had died as a result of neglect and it
would be oppressive if the police continue “to illegally occupy”
his rented house.
Mr Margaryan says in his suit papers that he left the country in June
and since then the police had forcibly occupied and taken control of
his property at the residence.
Through lawyer Oscar Avedi, the Armenian told the court that as
a result of the police action, he had been severely prejudiced. He
feared that his property could be damaged, stolen or lost as “a result
of illegal occupation”.
Temporary orders
But Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch declined to issue any temporary orders
and directed that the application be served on the other parties.
In a different application filed against the Kiruki commission, Mr
Margaryan told the same court through his lawyer that he was willing
to return to Kenya and give evidence before the inquiry if given
the chance.
And for the second time, his bid to get orders to quash the proceedings
of the commission, which is investigating his conduct, failed.
The State submitted in court that no written decision was made by
the commission to deny Mr Margaryan an opportunity to be heard.
Lady Justice Aluoch directed Mr Margaryan to file an affidavit on oath
to state that the commission refused to hear him. This, the judge said,
will help her to decide whether to certify the application as urgent
or not.

ARTUR BROTHERS PROBE RUNS OUT OF WITNESSES
The Nation, Kenya
Aug 2 2006
Story by MUGUMO MUNENE and LUCAS BARASA
Publication Date: 8/3/2006
Prominent people touched by the Artur brothers scandal are unlikely to
be called to give evidence to the commission investigating the affair,
it was revealed yesterday.
National security minister John Michuki testifies during yesterday’s
hearing Photo by Joan Pereruan They include Ms Winnie Wangui –
daughter of well known political activist Mary Wambui – and the
Nairobi provincial CID chief, Mr Isaiah Osugo.
The reason is that the inquiry has simply run out of available
witnesses, according to the team’s assisting counsel, Ms Dorcas Oduor.
She told the commission yesterday that the list of witnesses to
be called had been “exhausted”, and said she would make her final
submissions next Thursday.
For Ms Wangui, lawyer Gibson Kamau Kuria told the inquiry that it
was not necessary for her to give evidence.
He explained: “It will not be necessary for my client to testify
because, going by all the evidence that has been adduced, there is
nothing that she needs to answer to.”
Internal Security minister John Michuki who ordered the brothers
to be deported, did give evidence yesterday, although he was on the
witness stand for only 15 minutes.
Ms Wangui, along with a Mr Alois Omita and a Mr Julius Maina were
named as co-directors of Kensington Holdings Ltd, a company which
was involved in a series of forgeries, according to earlier evidence
given to the inquiry.
Neither Mr Omita nor Mr Maina have been called either, although Mr
Maina was earlier named as the man who claimed to be from State House
and organised the sudden dramatic appearance of the Arturs at Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport, to pretend they had just arrived in
the country.
The conclusion of the evidence yesterday ended in anti-climax after
business and social associates of the Artur brothers and senior
detectives investigating their escapades since March failed to show up.
On Monday, the commissioners asked anyone with information that
would help to unravel the mystery surrounding the two brothers,
who claimed to be descended from Armenian royal family – which died
out around 1,500 years ago – to volunteer their evidence before the
inquiry closed.
The law gives a commission of inquiry powers equivalent to that of
the High Court to summon witnesses and to demand the production of
any reports, documents and information they deem to be important.
Among other key people mentioned at the inquiry and who might have
helped to unravel the facts behind the brothers’ sudden appearance
in Kenya and their mysterious operations here – which the inquiry
was told at one point touched upon State security – was Ms Shirfana
Alarakiya, a Kenyan arrested at the brothers’ rented house in Runda,
Nairobi, along with Armenians Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargsyan on
the night before they were deported to Dubai.
Police witnesses had said Ms Alarakiya was freed as the brothers and
their foreign associates were deported, after the brothers brandished
guns at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when their arriving guests
were challenged by Customs officials.
The Nairobi provincial CID chief, Mr Osugo, was the senior detective
ordered by Police commissioner Major-General Hussein Ali to investigate
the Artur brothers in March, after politician Raila Odinga claimed
there were mercenaries in the country hired to assassinate opposition
politicians.
Held meeting
Not even Maj-Gen Ali, who held a meeting with Mr Odinga before ordering
the investigations, has given evidence about the matter which one
witness said, “was raising national adrenaline levels for nothing.”
The commission was told suspended CID director Joseph Kamau was kept
in the dark on the progress of investigations, but said through his
lawyer yesterday that he too had not found it necessary to testify.
The commission has also been told of the brothers’ association with
a Mr Pattni. It was not made clear which Mr Pattni the two Armenians
may have been dealing with, but Goldenberg architect Kamlesh Pattni
sent a lawyer to the inquiry with instructions to distance him from
the brothers.
Opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta, who publicly stated that he had
information that the Artur brothers had visited State House in February
this year, did not offer this information to the commission.
And when Internal Security minister John Michuki – the man said to
have ordered the brothers’ deportation – took to the witness stand
yesterday, he told the inquiry that the bogus brothers were deported
in the public interest.
Mr Michuki said he ordered police chief Ali to ensure the two were
arrested immediately after he learnt of the rumpus at JKIA.
“I ordered him to commence action in arresting the Armenians,” Mr
Michuki said.
He said Maj-Gen Ali telephoned him at around 4am on the morning of
June 8 and told him of the arrests and, after consultations later
that morning, it was resolved that they be deported.
Mr Sargsyan, Mr Margaryan and two others were kicked out of the
country on June 9.
“That was the best action to be taken at the time,” Mr Michuki said
as he was being led in his evidence by Ms Oduor.
Mr Michuki, the inquiry’s 79th witness was giving evidence at
the hearings being chaired by Mr Shedrack Kiruki, a former police
commissioner, at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
The minister, who said he took his responsibilities seriously and
acted independently, added that his instructions to have the Arturs
arrested and deported were followed to the letter.
Mr Michuki who spent 15 minutes on the witness stand said he was
first told of the airport melee by Cabinet colleague Mukhisa Kituyi.
He said an upset Dr Kituyi telephoned him between 8.30pm and 9pm on
June 8, saying the Armenians had assaulted a custom’s officer and
a policeman.
The Trade and Industry minister also handed his cell phone to the
policeman who confirmed to Mr Michuki that he had been pushed and
assaulted by the Armenians, and then gave the minister further details
about the incident.
“He did not give any impression that he was scared. He spoke normally
and confirmed what Hon Kituyi had said,” Mr Michuki told the inquiry.
One of the Armenian brothers, Mr Michuki said, drew a gun during the
airport scuffle.
The minister said nothing had been referred to him concerning the
Arturs before the June incident apart from a question in Parliament.
Asked by lawyer Ashitiva Mandale for the suspended Kenya Airports
Authority deputy managing director Naomi Cidi why the Arturs were
not arrested and charged in court, Mr Michuki said the deportation
was just one of the Government’s options.
Ms Cidi, who has been accused of smoothing the way for the Artur
brothers, has yet to testify and may be offered an opportunity to do
so tomorrow, if she wishes.
Mr Michuki said: “There were a number of options; doing absolutely
nothing, going to court or deportation. It is my conviction that
the Government was free to take the option that served the public
interest.”
Dr Kituyi, who appeared before the commission last month said he had
just landed at JKIA from an overseas trip moments after the Arturs
had beaten a custom’s official and pushed a policeman.
He said he immediately telephoned suspended the CID chief Joseph
Kamau, Mr Michuki and later Justice minister Martha Karua over the
issue and demanded action.
Dr Kituyi said the scuffle embarrassed the country internationally
and threatened talks with the US whom he had hoped would start direct
flights from JKIA to the US.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

JEWISH VOICES CRY OUT: SAVE DARFUR!
Jewish Herald-Voice, TX
Aug 2 2006
Being taught at a young age never to be silent, Danielle Tobias,
Abby Klein and Leore Tobias came from Houston to participate in the
Save Darfur! rally.
Temperatures well into the 90s greeted two busloads of Houstonians
and other Texans as the red granite of the Texas Capitol building
was transformed into a glistening backdrop Sunday for a rally to call
attention to the murder of more than 400,000 in the Darfur region of
western Sudan.
Of the more than 800 people attending the rally, the majority were
college students from The University of Texas and the Texas Hillel.
More than 100 members of Houston’s Jewish community, including
children, teens and college students also attended.
As the crowd assembled on the capitol steps, Austinite Greg Klyma
performed his original music for Darfur. Student-staffed tables were
available as part of a national letter-writing campaign, encouraging
President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Texas
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Senator John Cornyn, Louise Arbour,
high commissioner for human rights and United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan to stop the genocide.
Also on the grounds were exhibits of artwork from children in
Darfur, a photo exhibit and opportunities to donate to the cause
and buy T-shirts. Representatives of the White Rose Society
() were present.
The rally, the brainchild of UT Hillel students Heather Zidow and
Jonathan Panzer, was co-sponsored by 30 Austin-area multicultural and
faith-based associations, the majority being synagogues and Jewish
organizations, and a dozen Houston Jewish organizations. The event
was one of 19 held across the United States and Canada, organized as
part of the Save Darfur CoalitionÕs effort to draw attention to the
ongoing conflict in that region of Africa. The Coalition represents an
alliance of more than 160 faith-based, humanitarian and human rights
organizations, with the Jewish community in the forefront.
Houston co-sponsors included the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston’s
Community Relations Committee; Anti-Defamation League; American Jewish
Committee; Congregations Beth Yeshurun, Brith Shalom, Emanu El, Or
Ami and United Orthodox Synagogues; Holocaust Museum Houston; Houston
Hillel; Houston Rabbinical Association; Jewish Community Center;
and the Jewish Herald-Voice. The rally was held simultaneously with
the national rally in Washington, all with the intent of bringing
visibility and awareness to the ongoing Sudanese genocide.
The conflict in Darfur was ignited initially when armed forces and
Arab, government-backed militia known as Janjaweed, began fighting an
uprising of African rebels in 2003. Civilians of the same ethnicity as
the rebels continue to be killed as part of a campaign that includes
rape, arson, murder and starvation.
Opening the rally was master of ceremonies Alex Merced, who introduced
co-chairs Heather Zidow and Jonathan Panzer. ÒJust two months ago,”
Zidow began, “Jonathan and I were sitting at a [B’nai BÕrith Hillel
Forum on Public Policy] conference in Washington, D.C., when we
learned about the 400,000 Darfurians who had lost their lives and
the millions more who had lost their homes simply because they were
Africans instead of Arabs. I was appalled, not only by the flagrant
violations of human rights that were occurring every day, but also
by the fact that I, an educated American citizen, didnÕt even know
this was happening. Flying back from that conference, Jonathan and
I decided that we were going to do something about it.Ó
When Heather and I got back to Austin, we formed a committee to
help us plan the rally,Ó Panzer explained. ÒThe committee that was
formed represents such diverse groups as Texas Hillel, the Muslim
Student Association, the McCombs Diversity Council and the Armenian
Culture Association.
In the past few weeks, our committee has given talks across campus,
sold over 500 Darfur shirts, and gotten over 700 students to sign
postcards to President Bush. We are educating our fellow students,
we are raising awareness and we are telling our leaders that we demand
stronger action.
But this is only the beginning,Ó Panzer continued. ÒToday, as we join
with hundreds of thousands rallying in cities from San Francisco to
D.C., our message goes far beyond The University of Texas, far beyond
Austin and far beyond the borders of our great state. We are making a
statement to the world that the American people will no longer stand
for this injustice.
Following the genocide in Rwanda, Senator Paul Simon said, ÔIf every
member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people
back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, then I think the
response would have been different.Õ Well, hereÕs our chance to make
that difference. Today, as we write letters to our representatives,
sign petitions and postcards, and support Doctors Without Borders teams
in Sudan and Chad, we are sending a clear message to our political
leaders that the American people care about this crisis and will not
rest until the murder, rape and violence end,Ó Panzer said.
Religious leaders from Austin and around the state encouraged
the crowd not to leave the rally feeling indifferent about the
situation in Darfur. Speakers included Rev. Emilee Whitehurst,
director of Austin-area Interreligious Ministries; Chaja Verveer,
Houston Holocaust survivor; State Representatives Elliott Naishtat
and Mark Stramp; State Senator Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso; Nelson
Linder, president of the Austin chapter of NAACP; Houston Rabbi Barry
Gelman of United Orthodox Synagogues; a statement read from Imam
Safdar Razi of the Islamic Ahullbayt Association of Austin; Houston
Rabbi Brian Strauss of Congregation Beth Yeshurun; Judy Yudof of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Council and Alan Potash, director,
AustinÕs Anti-Defamation League.
Daniel Garang, a 24-year-old Sudanese refugee living in Houston,
was one of the featured keynote speakers. He is one of more than
100 Sudanese refugees living in Houston and one of the ÒLost Boys
and Girls of Sudan,Ó a group of young, orphaned refugees forced from
their villages by war.
When Garang was 6 years old, his family was attacked, and his father,
mother and two uncles were killed. He fled into the forest, where he
joined other orphaned children in a struggle for survival. Many were
killed and eaten by wild animals. Those who survived did so on a diet
of wild berries. After a month, he reached the area of Panyidu on the
Sudan-Ethiopia border. There, the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees provided the children with food, shelter, medical treatment
and schooling. Without their help, Garang states, the children would
have died of hunger. Nelson Linder, president of the Central Texas
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, stated,
Anytime people are being slaughtered anywhere in the world, it is
a threat to the soul of the world. This is not just a Sudanese problem.
If this can happen there, it can happen anywhere.Ó
Rabbi Gelman told the crowd he was able to be there with three of his
four children because, during the Holocaust, someone of a different
faith had enough courage to save his wifeÕs father. ÒYears down
the road, are we going to be able to stand here with children from
Darfur?Ó Rabbi Gelman asked. ÒWill they be able to stand up here
and say, ÔIÕm here with my children because people who practiced a
different religion, came from a different part of the world, were
a different color and race and they stood up and they raised their
voices? The answer to that question is up to us!Ó
Every single day,Ó Rabbi Gelman continued, Ò500 people die in Darfur,
because of delay.Ó He acknowledged the many college students who put
studying for finals aside and not delaying their help. He concluded
by enjoining the audience to cry out: ÒSave Darfur Now!Ó
Rabbi Strauss spoke of the genocides from 1915 to 1923, when more than
1? million Armenians were murdered in Turkey; from 1933 to 1945, when
more than 6 million Jews and 5 million others were murdered during the
Holocaust; from 1975 to 1979, when more than 2 million Cambodians were
murdered; from 1993 to 1995, when hundreds of thousands of Bosnian
Muslims were murdered; in 1994, when 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were
murdered. He added: ÒInnocent men, women and children were killed
for no reason. The world did not do enough. Too many people were quiet.
Hundreds of thousands of black Muslims have been killed in the
Darfur region of Sudan,Ó Rabbi Strauss continued. ÒToday, hundreds
of thousands of lives are at stake. Innocent men, women and children
may be killed if the world will not stop it Ð if too many people
are quiet.Ó
The crowd chanted with the rabbi: ÒWe will not be quiet!Ó
Simultaneously, in Washington, thousands took part in the ÒMillion
Voices for DarfurÓ campaign to generate one million postcards for
delivery to President Bush, who recently pledged to push for additional
UN and NATO help to protect the people of Darfur. Elie Wiesel addressed
the crowd: ÒWhen we needed someone to help us, nobody came.Ó
Jewish Houstonians who took advantage of the CRCÕs two buses were
privileged along the way to hear the personal stories of two of the
refugees who are part of HoustonÕs Sudanese community. Daniel Garang,
founder of the Houston Sudanese Education and Leadership Organization
(SELO), and Emanuel Kuol.
Garang explained SELOÕs mission: ÒFor educational and charitable
purposes to promote education, job training and leadership skills
in the Sudanese community, without regard to ethnic or religious
background. SELO works, in particular, with those vulnerable
individuals, students and community members desiring to accomplish
their educational and career goals. By working directly in the
Sudanese community and with the greater Houston community, SELO can
build individual capacity for growth through educational development,
job training opportunities and leadership development.Ó
Emanuel Kuol, a Bible college student, who first came to Ft. Worth by
way of the Refugee Service of North Texas, was overcome with emotion
by dayÕs end. ÒThe first time I met a Jewish person was at the rally.
I was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the Jewish
community. I donÕt have words to express my feelings.Ó
Houston riders also were touched by three brothers from the Leuth
family: Wei Wei, Deng and Malaat, who contracted polio. ÒMalaat
is in a wheelchair,Ó Garang said, because the government of Sudan
has denied him his future [by not providing a polio vaccine].Ó The
brothers and their family, including their mother, two other brothers
and one sister, came to Houston after their father was killed.
You have saved my life and the life of other Sudanese and I know you
are going to save the life of the Darfur children,Ó Garang said to the
rally audience. ÒIt is very sad when I look at what the government of
Sudan has done. They kill those people because they are African. When
I ran through the bushes, I said Ôwhy, why do they kill me? What do
I do wrong?Õ
But still, the government of Sudan is killing. The world is too
slow to respond. Today, in a matter of three years, 400,000 people
are dead in Darfur. ThatÕs why I come with you today, to find out
what we can do to save the lives of innocent children.
In 2001, when I first came, President Bush said he would not see
genocide on his watch. When are we going to respond? Together we can
make a difference and put an end to the genocide in Sudan.Ó
Vicki Samuels contributed to this report.
–Boundary_(ID_9JGfUTEB2zWQOsDrFJrKvg)–

ZEKI KARABAYIR: “AZERBAIJAN SHOULD KNOW THAT TURKEY WILL NOT ACT AGAINST ITS CONCERNS”
Today, Azerbaijan
Aug 2 2006
“Opening of Turkey-Armenia border is not work of Gars municipality
head, government, even state,” this statement was given by AKP Kars
parliamentarian Zeki Karabayir.
Expressing attitude to the opinion of Naif Alibayoglu “Turkey should
open borders with Armenia”, Gars municipality head said that Armenia
has not followed the rules pursued against it.
“Armenia has not withdrawn from their claim that means that it has
not freed the territories occupied. Besides it, through Diaspora it
made impact on Turkey for recognizing alleged “Armenian genocide”.
Opening of the borders is significant composition of government and
even state policy. This is not the work within responsibility of
municipality head.”
Zeki Karabayir added: “How much can Armenia with 3,5 mln population
impact on foreign trade turnover of Turkey? As concerns the opinion
of Turkey’s losing Russia market , it is not true. Our trade turnover
with Russia increases year after year without Armenia. For example,
in 2005, trade turnover between Turkey and Russia was 16~Zbillion
dollars, increase of this figure is considered to be 25~Zbillion
dollars in 2008. Azerbaijani nation should know that the state of
Turkey will not act against concerns of Turkey.”
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

U.S. CONFIRMATION ROW SHOWS POWER OF DIASPORA LOBBIES
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 2 2006
By Julie A. Corwin
The U.S. Senate on August 1 decided once again to postpone
its confirmation of the man designated to serve as the new U.S.
ambassador to Armenia. Richard Hoagland has raised concern among some
lawmakers because of his refusal to characterize the mass killings
of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century as genocide.
WASHINGTON, August 2, 2006 (RFE/RL) — U.S. Senator Joseph Biden,
recommending that Hoagland’s confirmation be postponed until a future
date, summarized his doubts about the official White House stance on
the genocide debate.
“I know that the administration’s not likely to change their policy,”
he said. “But there was genocide in Armenia, and it’s very difficult
to deny history.”
Issues & Influence
In all, nine of the 18 members of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee have pressed Hoagland to clarify U.S. policy on the Armenian
genocide debate.
It might seem surprising that so many U.S. lawmakers are prepared to
weigh in on the politically loaded debate over whether the Ottoman-era
killing of Armenians by Turks constitutes genocide.
The prominence of the issue is due in large part to the efforts of
two powerful lobbying groups — the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA).
The logo of the Armenian National Committee of America (courtesy
graphic)There are lobbying groups representing the concerns of nearly
every diaspora community in the United States. The Armenian lobby is
one of the most successful.
Bryan Ardouny is the executive director of the AAA. He says the issue
remains high on the group’s agenda.
“We will continue to press forward with the ultimate goal of having the
United States, on record, reaffirming the Armenian genocide,” he says.
Record Of Success
The Armenian lobby has scored other victories as well.
Both the AAA and the ANCA were instrumental in persuading lawmakers
to block U.S. financing for a proposed railway that would link Turkey,
Georgia, and Azerbaijan but circumvent Armenia.
They also played a role in legislation passed in 1992 that excluded
Azerbaijan from a list of former Soviet republics available for U.S.
aid.
The exclusion, meant to censure Baku for what was termed “offensive
use of force” against Armenia and the ethnic Armenian exclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh, remained in force until 2002, when U.S. President
George W. Bush granted the first in a series of annual waivers of
the provision.
Fingerprints Not Required
Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National
Committee, says his lobby also helped remove Armenia from a U.S. list
of countries considered sources of potential terrorists.
“A few years ago the Justice Department placed Armenia on a [terrorism]
watch list,” Hamparian says. “This meant citizens from Armenia would
need to register and be photographed and fingerprinted and all the
rest. And we were successful in just the course of a couple of days
in getting Armenia taken off that list.”
So what makes the Armenian lobby so successful?
Yerevan, to a greater degree than Baku, is dependent on the largely
loyal U.S. lobby groups to advance its agenda in Washington.It’s
not a matter of strength in numbers. There are fewer than 2 million
Armenian-Americans living in the United States, a country with a
population of nearly 300 million.
But diaspora members like Hamparian say the community is bound by a
common belief in the power of political participation.
And although the majority of Armenian-Americans are concentrated on
the East and West coasts of the United States, Hamparian says the
community is represented and active in almost every congressional
district across the United States.
A Study In Contrasts
The success of the Armenian lobby runs in sharp contrast to that of
Armenia’s South Caucasus neighbor, Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, like Armenia, has its own congressional caucus — a group
of U.S. lawmakers who pursue common legislative objectives.
But while the Armenian caucus is highly active, its Azerbaijani
counterpart is considered far less effective.
The Azerbaijani lobby’s biggest victory to date has been the annual
presidential waiver on U.S. aid restrictions. Beyond that, however,
it has had little influence.
Facing The Giant
Glen Howard is the director of the Jamestown Foundation, a public
policy group that monitors developments in the former Soviet Union.
He compares the Azerbaijani and Armenian U.S. lobby groups to David
and Goliath — but says there’s reason to believe Azerbaijani-Americans
will catch up.
“The Armenians have been practicing and organized for a very long time,
much longer than the Azerbaijanis,” Howard says. “But then again,
the Turks 40 years ago did not have a lobby, and it took them quite
a while. But they eventually reached a level stage where they can
compete and hold their ground with the Armenians.”
Just as the Turkish lobby squares off against the Armenians on the
genocide issue, many Azerbaijani-Americans would like to increase
their influence in the debate over Nagorno-Karabakh.
But while the Armenian diaspora comprises several generations and
maintains close, nationalistic ties with Armenia proper, the U.S.
Azerbaijani community is less rooted — many Azerbaijani-Americans
are first-generation. They are also more diverse, with many coming
not from Azerbaijan, but Iran.
Divergent Views
Bedir Memmedli, a member of the Washington-based Azerbaijan Society
of America, says the views of the Azerbaijani diaspora diverge on
some points — but do come together on a few key issues.
“There are a lot of common issues we all share — for example, the
occupation of Azerbaijan by our neighboring Armenia. There is also
the oppression of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran, cultural discrimination
against Azerbaijanis in Iran,” Memmedli says.
“These are common issues that we are all concerned about. But there
are also some specific issues — for example, those Azerbaijanis
from the Republic of Azerbaijan, they usually ask or try to have
their voices heard regarding such issues as putting more investment
in Azerbaijan’s economy.”
Lobbies Vs. Leaders
The Azerbaijani lobby may be struggling for influence with U.S.
lawmakers. But Washington is somewhat more receptive when it comes
to the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev.
The logo of the Azerbaijan Society of America (courtesy
graphic)Aliyev, who presides over an ascendant oil-fed economy and
geographic proximity to Iran, in April visited the White House for
talks with President Bush.
Aliyev’s Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, has yet to receive
a similar invitation. Yerevan, to a greater degree than Baku,
is dependent on the largely loyal U.S. lobby groups to advance its
agenda in Washington.
How To Help?
Richard Giragosian, an independent security analyst and regular
contributor to RFE/RL, says the two diaspora communities have “very
different” perceptions about ties to their home government.
“From a political standpoint, the diaspora for Armenia is seen as
a pillar of support for the state, and for the regime, in terms of
lobbying leverage. And the diaspora, for the Armenians, is almost an
element of state power, or an element of foreign policy,” he says.
“Interestingly, in Azerbaijan’s case, it’s the exact opposite, where
Azerbaijan seeks to co-opt its diaspora, because it basically sees it
as a potential threat to the regime — the youth, and the diaspora.
And it seeks basically to co-opt any potential for revolutions of fruit
or flower” — a reference to the Orange, Rose, and Tulip revolutions
in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan.
It isn’t a guarantee that Azerbaijan will benefit from a U.S. lobby
that acts in lockstep with Baku. Giragosian says officials in Armenia
sometimes feel the nationalistic zeal of the Armenian-American lobbies
leaves Yerevan with less leverage in terms of foreign policy.
This is particularly true on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, where, he
says, Yerevan sometimes feels the diaspora has been “more a liability
than an asset.”

CENTRAL BANK: THREAT TO 3-PERCENT INFLATION RATE LOOMING LARGE IN ARMENIA
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug 2 2006
YEREVAN, August 2. /ARKA/. Threat to 3-percent inflation rate retaining
are looming large in Armenia, the Central Bank of Armenia said Tuesday
in its report.
At the same time, taking into account economic developments in the
country, the CBA finds double-digit economic growth is very likely.
The bank mentioned higher-than-expected oil and metal prices, possible
further weakening of dollar and geopolitical situation deterioration
in the world among outside risks. “Imported wheat prices may grow
because of the poor crop expected this year in Russia and Ukraine”,
the report says.
Besides outside risks, there are inside ones, the CBA board members
say in their report.
Faster-than-expected growth in construction and services areas can
constitute risks for 3-percent inflation as well.
The Central Bank also pointed out that the state budget large-scale
expenditure will have lag impact on inflation growth and will be seen
in the first half of 2007.
Increased consumer prices for water, in turn, may negatively impact
inflation rate within 12-month period.
That’s why the bank doesn’t rule out additional changes in interest
rates in coming months.
In particular, the central Bank decided Tuesday to raise refinancing
interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to annual 4.25%.
National Statistical Service of Armenia says inflation in Armenia
was recorded at 3.6% in July 2006, compared with December 2005.
Consumer prices index made 106.8% in July 2006, compared with the
same month a year earlier, and 100.8% in Jan-July, compared with the
same period of 2005.
State budget has planned 3-pecent inflation rate for 2006. M.V.-0—

DATE OF MEETING BETWEEN AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN FMS OR PRESIDENTS NOT
DEFINED YET – FOREIGN RELATIONS CHIEF WITH PRESIDENT’S ADMINISTRATION
TREND Information, Azerbaijan –
Aug 2 2006
The date of next meeting between presidents or foreign ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia is not defined yet, Novruz Mamedov, foreign
relations chief with President’s Administration, told Trend in an
exclusive interview.
Commenting ended visit of US co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
Bryza to Azerbaijan, Mamedov said this was just a familiarization
visit to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region, aimed at repeat studying
the parties opinions and following “taking certain steps”.
“In this connection Mr Bryza held talks with president and foreign
minister of Azerbaijan and then with their peers in Armenia. After
that, having learned the parties positions, he is going to discuss
the matter with his colleagues in Paris”, said Mamedov.
Regardless of that last time OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs performed with
different statements, the main position is that the conversation
process linked to the conflict settlement is to be continued,
he concluded.