Suspect in Carnival Crash Charged
WXYZ.com (Channel 7 in Detroit, ABC Affiliate)
May 24, 2006
By Takisha Roberson, web produced by Sarah Morgan
The man accused of plowing his van into a crowded carnival in Southfield
was charged with almost 30 felony counts, Wednesday morning.
34-year-old Timothy Buss faces life in prison for assault with intent to
murder, felonious assault for failing to stop his vehicle after an
accident and property charges.
Buss is accused of driving his minivan into a carnival outside the Alex
and Marie Manoogian Schools and injuring nine children and two adults on
Sunday.
Police said Buss was driving nearly 60 miles per hour at one point. He
was later arrested at his Troy home.
Buss appeared to be close to tears as the judge read the charges against
him. The judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and gave him a
court appointed attorney.
Buss has a history of substance abuse and told the judge he had been
drinking earlier in the day, but alcohol has not been determined to be a
factor in the crash.
ticle/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_4723317,00.html

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
May 26, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
REP. PALLONE CONDEMNS AMB. EVANS FIRING
— Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman
Presses for Answers from the State Department
— “Amb. Evans should be praised, not dismissed,
for rejecting a ‘gag-rule’ imposed by the Turkish
Government on the discussion of the Armenian
Genocide by America’s leaders at home and
diplomats abroad.” — ANCA WebFax to Congress
WASHINGTON, DC – The controversy surrounded the firing of U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans continued to grow this
week with a powerful statement by the Co-Chairman of the Armenian
Caucus, calls for Congressional hearings, and a series of as yet
unanswered inquiries from the national media during the State
Department’s daily press briefing, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
In a May 25th statement on the House floor, Congressman Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) forcefully condemned the Administration for forcing
Amb. Evans to vacate his post for publicly affirming the Armenian
Genocide. He voiced his “fear that the Government of Turkey may
have played a role in this unfortunate event. I strongly believe
they have expressed concern to the White House over Evans’ remarks
last year. In fact, immediately following his remarks, Evan issued
a “correction,” all too seemingly at the behest of the
Administration. We must not allow a third party to interfere in
U.S. diplomacy and refrain from declaring the truth in order to
promote relations with Turkey.”
Congressman Pallone noted that he has yet to receive an explanation
from the State Department, despite having written a letter to the
Secretary more than two months ago requesting a thorough
description of the reasons behind the Ambassador’s recall.
Commenting on similar unanswered letters and questions posed during
Congressional hearings regarding this controversy, he noted that,
“now, the White House has made an ‘official’ announcement but still
has not given an explanation.” He closed by expressing his “hope
that the newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard
Hoagland, will not play the word games of the White House, and
comply with Turkey’s campaign of genocidal denial.”
The White House made the recall of Amb. Evans official this week
with the public announcement of his replacement, Richard Hoagland.
As he has repeated over the past several months, the State
Department spokesperson, Sean McCormack, yesterday, again avoided
answering a direct question about the reasons for Amb. Evans’
recall. In response to persistent questioning, he limited his
remarks to generically praising Amb. Evans’ service, noting his
replacement, and repeating the stock-phrase that he and other
senior Administration officials “serve at the pleasure of the
President.”
The ANCA has called for Congressional hearings to investigate the
firing of Ambassador Evans. Using the ANCA website, activists can
send their legislators a free ANCA WebFax asking them to call for
hearings of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the
House International Relations Committee. These letters call for a
full hearing, featuring testimony from all the key figures involved
in this situation, as well as a thorough examination of the role of
the Turkish Government in exporting its suppression of speech to
the United States.
The ANCA WebFaxes state, in part, that, “Amb. Evans is, in effect,
being punished for honoring his President’s pledge to properly
recognize the Armenian Genocide – a promise that George W. Bush
made on the campaign trail in February of 2000 but abandoned once
in the White House. Amb. Evans should be praised, not dismissed,
for rejecting “gag-rules” imposed by the Turkish Government on the
discussion of the Armenian Genocide by America’s leaders at home
and diplomats abroad.” The letters close by expressing outrage
that the “Administration has lacked the courage to speak honestly –
either to Congress or the American people – about its reasons for
firing Ambassador Evans. Hopefully, these hearings will provide
the transparency that we, as citizens, have the right to expect of
our government.”
Earlier this week, sixty Members of Congress, led by Rep. Ed Markey
(D-MA), sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking
for clarification of the reasons behind Amb. Evans’ recall. Prior
to this letter, Rep. Pallone, Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Grace
Napolitano (D-CA) each independently called on the State Department
to explain reports that Amb. Evans was being recalled because of
his speech on the Armenian Genocide.They have yet to receive any
response to their inquiries.
The Los Angeles Times, in a strongly worded March 22nd editorial,
made direct reference to Amb. Evans’ impending dismissal, calling
on the Turkish Government and U.S. State Department to end their
policies of Armenian Genocide denial.
Following his statements last February, Amb. Evans was forced to
issue a clarification that his references to the Armenian Genocide
were his personal views and did not represent a change in US
policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this statement,
replacing a reference to the genocide with the word “tragedy.” The
American Foreign Service Association, which had planned to honor
Amb. Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,” recognizing
creative thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign
Service, reportedly rescinded the award following pressure from the
State Department a few days before Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Washington, DC to meet with President
Bush.
The full text of Congressman Pallone’s remarks are provided below.
#####
Text of Congressman Frank Pallone’s (D-NJ) remarks
U.S. House of Representatives
May 25, 2006
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the White House has finally made
an announcement of what many of us already knew: Ambassador John
Evans is officially being replaced as United States Ambassador to
Armenia.
“Ambassador Evans has given exemplary service to his country and
was a well-respected ambassador in a region of strategic importance
to the United States. However, as it turns out, Evans was forced
to vacate his post for publicly affirming the Armenian Genocide.
“Reports highly suggest that because Evans declared that “the
Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century”
he is being unjustly penalized for speaking the truth. However, by
employing the proper term last year, the Ambassador was only
building on previous statements by our leaders in government, as
well as the repeated declarations of numerous world-renowned
scholars. Ambassador Evans did nothing more than succinctly repeat
the conclusions enunciated by many before him.
“Mr. Speaker, it is my fear that the Government of Turkey may have
played a role in this unfortunate event. I strongly believe they
have expressed concern to the White House over Evans’ remarks last
year. In fact, immediately following his remarks, Evan issued a
“correction,” all too seemingly at the behest of the
Administration. We must not allow a third party to interfere in US
diplomacy and refrain from declaring the truth in order to promote
relations with Turkey.
“To this day, the Republic of Turkey refuses to acknowledge the
fact that this massive crime against humanity took place under its
control, in the name of Turkish nationalism. Unfortunately, some
90 years later, the US State Department continues to support
Turkey’s denials despite all evidence to the contrary.
“It is unacceptable for this Administration to penalize Evans for
his comments. What he did was courageous and should be viewed as
such, not punished. Ambassador Evans simply articulated the same
message as that of the Administration; however, the only difference
was his assigning a word to define the actions taken against
Armenians.
“Ambassador Evans is in fact an expert on the subject. He has
studied the history of Armenia, and based on his substantial
studies, he was willing to go on the record and define the
systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and
children as genocide.
“Mr. Speaker, in early March, I wrote a letter to the State
Department because I was outraged to see that Ambassador Evans was
withdrawn from Armenia. Based on news reports, the State
Department recalled the Ambassador as retaliation for his
statements.
“Over two months have passed since I expressed my disappointment
and I have yet to receive a response from the State Department. I
specifically asked Secretary Rice for an explanation as to why
Ambassador Evans was removed from his post. Not only was my
inquiry ignored, but other Members’ inquires have also gone un-
answered. Now, the White House has made an “official” announcement
but still has not given an explanation.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that the newly-appointed US Ambassador to
Armenia, Richard Hoagland, will not play the word games of the
White House, and comply with Turkey’s campaign of genocidal denial.
The New York Times editorial on May 16th this year detailed the
dangers to Turkey, and to the world, of that country’s continued
denial of the Armenian Genocide. I just want to read the last
paragraph of that insightful editorial …”The preponderance of
serious scholarship outside Turkey accepts that more than a million
Armenians perished between 1914 and 1925 in a regime-sponsored
campaign. Turkey’s continued refusal to countenance even a
discussion of the issue stands as a major obstacle to restoring
relations with neighboring Armenia and to claiming Turkey’s
rightful place in Europe and the West. It is time for the Turks to
realize that the greater danger to them is denying history.”
Thank you.

The Response to Hatred: A Labor of Love
Artistic monuments destroyed by Azeris live on in
Ararat Sarkissian’s designs
by Sonia Porter
May 27, 2006
Much of Ararat Sarkissian’s art reflects a lifelong fascination with
signs and icons. It’s a fascination that goes to the heart of
symbol-making — its mechanics, cultural underpinnings, and evolution
across the ages. Not surprisingly, history is a powerful constant in
Sarkissian’s paintings and graphics, making for narratives, however,
that go beyond the linear.
Alphabets, pictographs, architecture, urban grids, religious
iconography. All of these spheres are by turns honored and playfully
tweaked in Sarkissian’s work, whose perhaps most salient statement is
about movement and becoming. In his paintings of vanished cities, for
instance, the purpose is not to inspire nostalgia or romanticize a
glorious past, but to convey the transformation of a certain spirit
that may be traced to the vanished space in question.
It is no doubt the quest for such a transformation that these days
finds Sarkissian busy in his Yerevan studio, painstakingly reproducing
khachkars, or cross stones, that no longer exist.
Cross stones have been a central element in Armenian architecture and
decorative art since the 4th century. Consisting of intricate cross
designs carved on rectangular slabs of stone, cross stones can
function as gravestones, free-standing monuments in cathedral
complexes, or integrated sections of church facades and other
structures. Cross stones were also built for a wide range of social
and political purposes. They commemorated war victories, baptisms and
weddings, and were built as offerings to God for good luck and the
redemption of one’s sins.
Ever since the early 19th century, Armenian cross stones have been
casually and often systematically destroyed throughout the occupied
territories of historic Armenia. The obliteration of cross stones
continues today in Turkey, Nakhichevan, and Azerbaijan, where there
was a sizeable Armenian community until the start of the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict in the late 1980s. In recent months, the
razing of Armenian monuments reached fever pitch in Nakhichevan, where
local armed forces destroyed some 3,500 cross stones in the Old Jugha
cemetery. The incident prompted Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian to file a letter of protest with the United Nations.
`The men behind the destruction of these monuments either don’t
realize or don’t care that they’re wiping out irreplaceable pieces of
a rich artistic legacy,’ Sarkissian said. `Their crime is being
carried out not only against Armenian culture per se, but civilization
as a whole. As a human being and an artist, I am saddened and
outraged, but I also believe that I must act.’
Sarkissian’s decision to respond has resulted in one of his most
profoundly-felt projects to date. After pouring over hundreds of
sources such as photographs, cross stone fragments, archeologist
drawings, and illuminated manuscripts, he has begun etching likenesses
of extinct cross stones, then embossing the designs on paper that he
himself makes, using a time-honored technique. The goal is to produce
packages containing 36 designs each — 36 being the number of letters
in the Armenian alphabet. Each package will also include a compact
disc documenting the destruction of cross stones and featuring
Sarkissian at work throughout the reproduction process.
`I wish I could help undo the damage at the Old Jugha cemetery… I’d
love to travel there right now and start rebuilding some of those
lovely cross stones,’ Sarkissian said. `But wishful thinking won’t get
us anywhere.’ He then pointed at his designs. `This project, right
here, is my way of dealing with the brutality in Nakhichevan. I’d like
to believe that, in a sense, I’m rebuilding what has been lost,
through these recreations on paper; I’m helping preserve the memory.’
History, Christian lore, folklore, and a great deal of personal
narratives converge in Sarkissian’s embossed designs. As he explained,
the diversity of themes and styles found on cross stones offers an
important insight into the history and artistic evolution of the
Armenian people.
`Armenian sculptors did not simply carve a cross on a piece of stone,’
Sarkissian continued. `Rather, they expanded the definition of the
design with progressively elaborate compositions.’
Born in Gyumri, Sarkissian studied fine art in his birthplace and
Yerevan, and has become one of Armenia’s most prominent painters and
graphic artists, exhibiting his works in Europe, the United States,
Japan, and Russia. Several of his paintings are now part of museum
collections throughout the world. Sarkissian has also published a
number of catalogues, including monographs on signs, icons, and
archetypes.
—
Ms. Sonia Potter has acted as philanthropic advisor to galleries,
museums and foundations promoting artists, cultural institutions and
humanitarian causes. She may be reached at [email protected]

PanARMENIAN.Net
Oskanian and OSCE Ambassadors Discussed Karabakh
Settlement

26.05.2006 16:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ May 26 Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met
with Spanish Ambassador to the OSCE Carlos Sanchez De Boado
accompanied by permanent representatives of Germany, Norway and
Liechtenstein in the OSCE. Mr. De Boado said his visit bears a
familiarization nature in view of Spain’s upcoming presidency in the
OSCE. The parties discussed the implementation of the OSCE programs in
Armenia and the further activities. Voicing content with the opening
of the OSCE office in the Syunik region they said it will promote the
socio-economic development of the region and solution of environment
problems. Besides, the interlocutors touched upon the possible
perfection of the electoral legislation. By the guests’ request Vartan
Oskanian briefed on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process
and the Armenia-Turkey relations.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Serge Sargsyan Not to Participate in CIS Defense Ministers’ Meeting in
Baku

26.05.2006 17:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sagsyan will not
participate in the meeting of the CIS Defense Ministers to be held in
Baku, RA Defense Minister’s Spokesman, Colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
To note, earlier, the Azeri Defense Ministry confirmed that the
Armenian MOD head will not take part in the summit, which will be in
all attended by Defense Ministers of 10 states.
The agenda has not been ratified yet, though the target is to
strengthen cooperation and exchange of experience between the Defense
Ministries of the CIS member states.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Peter Burdykin: Vladimir Zhirinovsky `Expresses His Personal
Viewpoint’
26.05.2006 17:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Acting Charge d’Affaires of Russia in Azerbaijan
Peter Burdykin said the statement by Russian State Duma Vice-speaker
Vladimir Zhirinovsky on the possibility of Nagorno Karabakh’s
independence `doesn’t reflect the position of the RF leadership.’
Burdykin remarked that `a parliamentarian expressing his personal
viewpoint does not express the position of the state.’
He said the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement is a very subtle
issue and even mature members of the Russian and U.S. foreign
departments read their statement from paper, reported Day.az.
To remind, Russian State Duma Vice-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky stated
that unrecognized republics, which were formed in the territory of the
former Soviet Union, will follow the path of Montenegro, Russian State
Duma Vice-Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky had stated. `Abkhazia,
Transnistria and Karabakh will follow the path of Montenegro.
Referendum on declaring independence in Montenegro is a precedent in
the international law,’ he told journalists in Moscow before the third
congress of the Union of Armenians of Russia. `Time will come and
resolutions on referendums will be adopted in the South Caucasus,
e.g. Karabakh will acquire independence,’ Zhirinovsky added.
`Karabakh is fully entitled to become an independent state and for
Baku not to feel hurt, it may not join Armenia, having allied
relations with it,’ the Russian State Duma Vice-Speaker said.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Peter Semneby: Priority of My Work to Engage As Far As Possible with
Conflict Resolution

26.05.2006 18:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `I see an enhanced role for the EU in conflict
resolution in the South Caucasus,’ European Union’s new special
representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated in an
interview with Thomas de Waal, the Caucasus Project Coordinator and
Editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Mr. Semneby has
suggested that the EU could in future lead a peacekeeping mission if a
solution to the Nagorno Karabakh dispute is found. `I want to use his
mandate to work on the region’s unresolved conflicts,’ he said.
`It’s no surprise that the main priority of my work is to engage as
far as possible with conflict resolution,’ he said.
Semneby emphasized that the European Union has no formal role in the
detailed negotiations over Abkhazia – where the United Nations plays a
mediating role – and in South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh, where that
role is played by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, OSCE.
However, the idea of an international peacekeeping force is known to
be under discussion in the current Karabakh talks, and should there be
a breakthrough, an international body will be asked to lead it. This
is where the EU could step in.
`We will be expected to make a major contribution when a solution is
found, and we are looking into the possibilities we have, both in
terms of post-conflict rehabilitation and also – if the parties should
so desire – in terms of contributing peacekeepers. And possibly even
leading a peacekeeping operation,’ said Semneby. `I should mention
that this is very hypothetical at this stage. This is only one of
several options, but it’s one that is being considered.’
A recent report by the International Crisis Group entitled `Conflict
Resolution in the South Caucasus: The EU’s Role’ was scathing about
the low profile the European Union has adopted on conflict resolution
in the Caucasus until now.
`[The EU] does not participate directly in negotiations on Nagorno
Karabakh, Abkhazia or South Ossetia,’ said the report, published in
March. `In and around Nagorno Karabakh, it has done little for
conflict resolution. It has rarely raised the South Caucasus conflicts
in its high-level discussions with partners and has employed few
sanctions or incentives to advance peace.’
A subtle change in language in the mandate assigned to Semneby,
compared with that of his predecessor Heikki Talvitie, means the EU
special representative is no longer asked to `assist the resolution of
conflicts’ but to `contribute to the resolution of conflicts’.
Semneby said this linguistic change was small but important, calling
it `a political signal that the conflicts are very high on the
agenda’.

PanARMENIAN.Net
EU Lacks Knowledge about South Caucasus, Peter Semneby
Says
26.05.2006 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are
all members of the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy,
a development that Semneby said was deepening their
relationship with Brussels and would also entitle them
to increased aid. `We’re talking about hundreds of
millions of euros for each country. The EU will also
step up its representation in the countries, which
will mean there will be a larger degree of visibility
in the South Caucasus,’ European Union’s new special
representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby
stated in an interview with Thomas de Waal, the
Caucasus Project Coordinator and Editor at the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
`I will also spend some time trying to explain to the
public in the South Caucasus what the EU is about.
There is not a whole lot of knowledge to begin with.
To the extent that the EU is known, there are still a
lot of misunderstandings about what [it] is about.’
`I think there is also lack of knowledge in the EU
about the south Caucasus and its particular problems
and about the importance of this region for the EU,
and if possible this is something I would like to
engage on.’
Asked about the hopes of many people in the region who
dream of joining the EU one day, the special
representative was careful to reiterate that the
European Neighborhood Policy `does not contain a
membership perspective’.
`It does mean that the countries can achieve a lot of
the benefits of EU membership by working on the
implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy,’
he went on.
`There is a problem – and I am the first to admit that
– that since the membership perspective is not there
as a big carrot at the end, this deprives us of one of
the most powerful levers we had in encouraging the
countries of Central Europe to carry out painful reforms.’

PanARMENIAN.Net
Turkey Laid Basis of Karabakh Conflict, Armenian Historian Considers
26.05.2006 18:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Presentation of monograph `Turkey and the Karabakh
Conflict in late 20th and early 21st century’ by candidate of
historical sciences Hayk Demoyan. According to the author, the work
leads t two major conclusions. Turkey has laid the basis of the
Karabakh conflict and the Ankara’s formal position on Karabakh makes
it a party to conflict and doesn’t give a right for mediation.
The monograph is dedicated to the analysis of Turkey’s official
position on the Nagorno Karabakh settlement. For the first time
materials about using of the Turkish and Azeri territories by the
international terrorism network, attraction of thousands of hirelings
from Chechnya and Afghanistan to the Karabakh conflict zone and role
of official structures in these processes.
`Armenian, Russia, English, French and Turkish sources were used for
the monograph. These documents proved that Turkey rendered military
and political assistance to Azerbaijan during the Karabakh war,
Demoyan said.
The book `Turkey and Karabakh Conflict’ was published in the Russian
language with the assistance of the Armenian Defense Ministry. In the
words of Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekyan, Hayk
Demoyan’s monograph will become a handbook for the Armenian military,
reported Yerkir.

A1+
2-MINUTE FIRE IS NOT A VIOLATION OF CEASEFIRE
[04:13 pm] 26 May, 2006
`The death of a soldier is already too much for us, especially if the
soldier on temporary military service died from the shot of a sniper,’
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE CiO
said in an interview to the agency `Trend’. He also mentioned that
periodically tension is noted on the border.
The interesting thing about the interview is the way the OSCE
representatives record the facts about the violation of ceasefire,
that is to say, the criteria of violation. `We do not have clear facts
about the violation of ceasefire. We take the figures made public by
the Ministries of Defense. The fact of violation of ceasefire is
recorded if there are victims or if the fire lasts at least 20
minutes,’ Andrzej Kasprzyk mentioned.
He voiced confidence that the current year can be that of the
settlement of the conflict as there are no elections in either country
this year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress