SEN. FEINGOLD ADDS VOICE TO GROWING CONGRESSIONAL CALLS FOR ANSWERS ON AMB. EVANS FIRING
WASHINGTON, JULY 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Concerns continued
to grow this week regarding the circumstances surrounding the firing
of U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans, as Sen. Russell Feingold
(D-WI) becomes the ninth member of the influential Senate Foreign
Relations Committee to call for clarification of the State Department
policy on the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
In a written statement submitted as part of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee hearing on Ambassador Designate to Armenia Richard
Hoagland, Sen.
Feingold noted that, “I want to express my deep concern about the
Administration’s reluctance to acknowledge the acts of genocide
that were committed against the Armenians almost a century ago. The
Administration’s continued failure to recognize these tragic events
is troubling to me and to those who share my belief that we should
speak honestly about, and insist on accountability for, past crimes
against humanity and genocide.”
Amongst specific questions to the Ambassador Designate, Sen. Feingold
asked:
Why was Ambassador Evans removed as Ambassador to Armenia?
What is the Administration’s policy towards acknowledging the Armenian
genocide and what boundaries have been set for your position as
Ambassador to address or speak about the Armenian genocide?
Do you anticipate that the departure of your predecessor, Mr. Evans,
will harm U.S.-Armenian relations? How do you plan to respond to
those in the Armenian community who are upset about his departure?
Sen. Feingold’s concerns are shared by half of the influential Senate
Foreign Relations Committee members – including Senators George Allen
(R-VA), Ranking Democrat Joe Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT),
John Kerry (D-MA) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) – who must first approve
Amb. Evans’ replacement prior to a full Senate confirmation. The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed action on Ambassador
Designate Hoagland, while quickly voting for the incoming Ambassadors
to Switzerland and Ireland, who were before the Committee the same
day as Ambassador Designate Hoagland.
During the June 28th nomination hearing, Sen. George Allen (R-VA),
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) pressed
the nominee for an explanation of the State Department’s guidance
regarding the use of the word “genocide” to properly characterize
this crime against humanity. Senators Allen and Coleman peppered
the nominee with numerous questions and expressed frustration as
the Ambassador-Designate avoided giving direct answers to any of the
questions, resorting to the use of euphemisms.
In addition, Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone
(D-NJ), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have urged
Secretary Rice to reconsider the decision to recall Amb. Evans. Over
the past several months, scores of Senate and House Members have
directed questions to State Department officials, calling for answers
surrounding the controversial firing of Amb.
Evans, including 60 Representatives who joined Rep. Edward Markey
(D-MA) in a letter to Secretary Rice, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
who submitted questions to Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried,
and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who submitted questions to Secretary
Rice. Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry also asked
Secretary Rice for clarification on Amb. Evans’ dismissal. The
Administration has either failed to provide responses or provided
responses, which have been largely perfunctory, citing that Ambassadors
serve at the pleasure of the President, but giving no clear insight
into the State Department’s decision to dismiss the career diplomat
after 35 years of distinguished service.
The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired
Amb. Evans in response to his February 2005 statements before
American audiences in the United States, during which he properly
characterized the Armenian Genocide as “genocide.” Following his
statements, Amb. Evans was forced to issue a statement clarifying that
his references to the Armenian Genocide were his personal views and
did not represent a change in U.S. 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 decided 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 in the days leading up to Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington, DC to meet with
President Bush.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383,x109
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
AGBU MELBOURNE LAUNCHES ONLINE ARMENIAN HERITAGE CENTRE
Melbourne, Australia — With funding support from the Australian
government, AGBU Melbourne launched on April 24, 2006 the online
Armenian Heritage Centre (), entitled
“Recollections,” the only Australian Armenian oral history website. The
well-attended ceremony of over 120 guests took place at the Glen
Waverly Community Center.
With the goal of promoting the Armenian identity, culture and history
in Australia, detailed interviews were conducted on family backgrounds;
reasons for relocation; experiences of leaving their countries of
origin; resettlement in Australia; involvement in the local Armenian
community; and the broader questions of identity.
Nine months later, the full transcripts of second and third generation
immigration stories of 40 Australian Armenians from Melbourne and
Sydney are now available online for research or general interest.
To request copies of the digital video and/or audio extracts
at a nominal processing and duplication fee, please complete
the form available on the Armenian Heritage Centre website at
For more information, please email
[email protected] or write AGBU Armenian Heritage Centre,
P.O. Box 5230, Mordialloc, 3195, Australia.
For more information on AGBU and its worldwide Chapters, please
visit

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/12/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Sen. Feingold Adds Voice to Growing Calls For Answers 2) Russia to Keep Georgian Border Closed Despite Armenian Protests 3) Dink Sentenced to Six Months, Turkey Warned by EU 4) European Parliament Postpones Vote on Turkey 1) Sen. Feingold Adds Voice to Growing Calls For Answers WASHINGTONConcerns continued to grow this week regarding the circumstances surrounding the firing of US Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans, as Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) becomes the ninth member of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee to call for clarification of the State Department policy on the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America. In a written statement submitted as part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Ambassador Designate to Armenia Richard Hoagland, Sen. Feingold noted that, "I want to express my deep concern about the Administration's reluctance to acknowledge the acts of genocide that were committed against the Armenians almost a century ago. The Administration's continued failure to recognize these tragic events is troubling to me and to those who share my belief that we should speak honestly about, and insist on accountability for, past crimes against humanity and genocide." Among specific questions to the Ambassador Designate, Sen. Feingold asked: n Why was Ambassador Evans removed as Ambassador to Armenia? n What is the Administration's policy towards acknowledging the Armenian genocide and what boundaries have been set for your position as Ambassador to address or speak about the Armenian genocide? n Do you anticipate that the departure of your predecessor, Mr. Evans, will harm US-Armenian relations? How do you plan to respond to those in the Armenian community who are upset about his departure? Sen. Feingold's concerns are shared by half of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee members including Senators George Allen (R-VA), Ranking Democrat Joe Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) who must first approve Amb. Evans' replacement prior to a full Senate confirmation. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed action on Ambassador Designate Hoagland, while quickly voting for the incoming Ambassadors to Switzerland and Ireland, who were before the Committee the same day as Ambassador Designate Hoagland. During the June 28th nomination hearing, Sen. George Allen (R-VA), Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) pressed the nominee for an explanation of the State Department's guidance regarding the use of the word "genocide" to properly characterize this crime against humanity. Senators Allen and Coleman peppered the nominee with numerous questions and expressed frustration as the Ambassador-Designate avoided giving direct answers to any of the questions, resorting to the use of euphemisms. In addition, Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) have urged Secretary Rice to reconsider the decision to recall Amb. Evans. Over the past several months, scores of Senate and House Members have directed questions to State Department officials, calling for answers surrounding the controversial firing of Amb. Evans, including 60 Representatives who joined Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) in a letter to Secretary Rice, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) who submitted questions to Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who submitted questions to Secretary Rice. Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry also asked Secretary Rice for clarification on Amb. Evans' dismissal. The Administration has either failed to provide responses or provided responses, which have been largely perfunctory, citing that Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President, but giving no clear insight into the State Department's decision to dismiss the career diplomat after 35 years of distinguished service. The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired Amb. Evans in response to his February 2005 statements before American audiences in the United States, during which he properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as "genocide." Following his statements, Amb. Evans was forced to issue a statement clarifying 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 decided 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 in the days leading up to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Washington, to meet with President Bush. 2) Russia to Keep Georgian Border Closed Despite Armenian Protests YEREVAN (RFE/RL)Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said on Wednesday that Moscow will try to address Armenia's concerns regarding the closure of Russia's main border crossing with Georgia but stopped short of promising its speedy reopening. The issue featured large during Levitin's one-day visit to Yerevan that involved talks with President Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian. The two men apparently reiterated Yerevan's serious concerns about negative consequences of the effective shutdown of the Georgian-Russian land border which serves as one of Armenia's few external trade routes. "This issue was included into our memorandum signed today," Sarkisian told a joint news conference after the talks. "We agreed that after Mr. Levitin returns to Moscow he will report the matter to the leadership of the Russian Federation." Levitin said the Russian government will discuss, among other things, ways of compensating Armenia for the losses incurred as a result of the border closure. Levitin also assured reporters that the border crossing at Upper Lars was not closed by Russia as part of its clearly punitive economic measures taken against Georgia's pro-Western government in recent months. He repeated Moscow's claims that the move was necessary for repairing roads and border control facilities on the Russian side of the mountainous area. Such work can only be carried out during summer months, he said, declining to announce any time frames for its completion. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan complained at the weekend that the Russians failed to notify Yerevan about the unilateral measure, condemned by the Georgian government, beforehand. He said the border closure created a "very severe" situation for Armenia companies exporting goods to Russia and other parts of the Soviet Union via the Upper Lars crossing. "The Armenian side was not told in advance that Upper Lars will be closed," admitted Levitin. He said the Armenian leaders asked him to make sure that they have prior knowledge of such Russians actions in the future. Levitin and Sarkisian met in their capacity as the co-chairmen of an intergovernmental commission on Russian-Armenian economic cooperation. They reported and welcomed a sharp increase in the volume of bilateral trade during the first four months of this year. The Russian minister also discussed the ongoing official inquiry into the causes of the May 3 crash off the Russian Black Sea coast of an Armenian airliner that killed all 113 passengers and crew on board. The Airbus A-320 of Armenia's largest airline, Armavia, plunged into the sea under still uncertain circumstances as it tried to land at the Russian resort city of Sochi. A Russian aviation official accompanying Levitin said Russian investigators have already examined the plane's two black box flight recorders recovered from the Black Sea and other factual evidence and will present their findings later this month. "We have all the facts to fully and objectively establish the cause," said Tatyana Anodina, head of the Interstate Aviation Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States. "I think that all the materials will be made public in full by the end of July." 3) Dink Sentenced to Six Months, Turkey Warned by EU ANKARA (Combined Sources) Turkey's high court Tuesday handed down a six-month prison sentence to Hrant Dink, the editor of bilingual Turkish and Armenian weekly, Agos. The editor was convicted last year for an article criticizing Article 301, which punishes the public denigration of Turkishness or state authorities. This is the first final judgment based on the controversial article, reported the BBC. The European Commission lamented Wednesday a Turkish court ruling against an ethnic Armenian journalist for "denigrating the Turkish national identity," warning the case could cloud Ankara's EU hopes, the Agence France Presse reported. Commenting on an appeal court ruling on Dink, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called on the Turkish government to bolster freedom of speech in the country. "I am disappointed by this judgment which limits the exercise of freedom of expression in Turkey," he said, following Tuesday's court ruling, the first such judgment based on article 301 of Turkey's new Penal Code. He noted that ruling "will set the trend for lower jurisdiction to follow when applying article 301 in the future," adding: "This is all the more serious since there are still a number of similar court cases pending. I would therefore urge the Turkish authorities to amend article 301 and other vaguely formulated articles in order to guarantee freedom of expression in Turkey," he said. Rehn underlined that freedom of expression is a key principle of the EU's so-called Copenhagen political criteria, which Ankara must adhere to if it one day wants to join the currently 25-nation bloc. "In any case, the Commission will review the situation in light of the Copenhagen political criteria in its upcoming Progress Report," Rehn said, referring to an annual report on Ankara's EU preparations due in October. Turkey began EU entry talks last October, but the negotiations are likely to take at least a decade and Ankara has been warned there is no guarantee of eventual membership. Rehn is expected to issue a report on Turkey's progress by early November, but he has already warned that membership talks, which began last year, could soon grind to a halt. There was international outcry when Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's best known novelist, was prosecuted under the article. His offense, like that of Dink's, was speaking about the Armenian Genocide. While the case against Pamuk was dropped on a technicality, Hrant Dink could go to prison if he commits a similar offense in the next five years. The human rights group Amnesty International says several other writers, publishers, artists and activists are charged with denigrating Turkishness. 4) European Parliament Postpones Vote on Turkey BELGIUMThe Vote on the draft resolution on "Turkey's progress toward accession" which should have been voted on Wednesday by the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament was postponed due to practical reasons, reported the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (ANC of Europe). The major reason for delay was the late translation of the numerous amendments. These amendments were submitted only on Monday afternoon to the various political groups, which did not leave time to them to prepare for the vote. The European Parliament resolution will finally be voted on the first week of September 4 to 7 by the Foreign Affairs Committee and eventually on the last week of September in the plenary session. On Monday, members of the leading European Parliament factions offered to introduce the Armenian Genocide issue and opening of borders with Armenia without any preconditions as the items of the agenda of the EU-Turkey talks. The EU can freeze talks with Turkey on EU accession, stated Finnish Premier Matti Vanhanen, whose country assumed the EU presidency on July 1, the Associated Press reported.. "There is always an opportunity to stop the talks. I think Turkey knows it," Vanhanen remarked. The Finnish Premier also underscored that official Ankara should fulfill all conditions for continuing talks on EU accession, specifically normalize relations with EU member Cyprus. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Journalist’s Sentence Confirmed in Turkey
NRC Handelsblad (Dutch Daily Newspaper)
12 July 2006
Istanbul, 12 July- The Turkish Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink because of “insulting the
Turkish identity”. In October last year Dink was given a suspended
prison sentence of a half year by a lower court. In his newspaper
“Agos” he had written that Armenians should distance themselves from
hating Turks, saying that it “poisons your blood”. Earlier this year
Dink told NRC Handelsblad that his intention had been to say that
Armenians should face the future instead of the atrocious past of the
Turkish Genocide of the Armenians. But according to the court Dink’s
pronouncements came down to saying there is poison in Turkish blood.
(AFP – Dutch News Agency)

Flavors to savor
Armenians determined to keep traditional culture, cuisine alive
By Rosemary Ford
Eagle-Tribune
What exactly is Armenian food? It’s a question many people –
Armenians included – can find difficult to answer.
Armenia has been tested through the ages, and as a result, the
culture, including its culinary traditions, has at times become
convoluted.
The country lies at a crossroads between the Middle East, the
Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. Over the centuries, its people have
found themselves under the rule of various empires – Roman,
Byzantine, Arab, Persian and Ottoman.
The stories that accompany the takeovers are fraught with suffering,
most horribly during the Armenian genocide that resulted in the
deaths of more than 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 at
the hands of Ottoman Turkey.
The country finally gained independence – ultimately from the Soviet
Union, in 1990.
But before and after the genocide, many Armenians left their
homeland. The survivors and their relatives, including those who
landed here in the Merrimack Valley, have had to work to keep
Armenian traditions alive.
Among local immigrants is Sossy Jekavorian of Chelmsford, a member of
St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church of the Merrimack Valley in
North Andover, and a local general when it comes to marshaling the
troops to prepare Armenian food for church functions.
“Our lives haven’t been that easy, but we have done well,”
Jekavorian said.
Despite their tribulations, Armenians know how to celebrate, she
said. The fact was evident at a recent church festival, where about
350 people, some Armenian and some not, turned out to drink up the
culture through food and music.
“I am Italian and I am married to an Armenian, and I love the
food,” said Maria Annaian of North Andover. “It reminds me of
Italian food, all the Mediterranean flavors and spices. And the
Armenians love to eat – just like the Italians do.”
Rose Gentile of Salem, Mass., who comes from an Armenian background,
traveled to the North Andover church for the celebration.
“We were brought up on it,” she said of the food. “We love it.”
The staple of the festival, and of most Armenian tables, is rice
pilaf. But the pilaf’s form can vary greatly depending upon who is
serving it.
“It’s a competitive thing – they all have to have the best rice,”
Annaian said.
“It’s like potatoes to the Irish, or pasta to the Italians,” said
Violet Garabedian of Methuen.
Jekavorian finds that traditional recipes, for Armenian grape leaves,
or tolma, for instance, vary from family to family, as they did from
village to village.
Some people make them with meat, others without. Some add pine nuts
or tomato paste. And some people use jarred grape leaves, while
others insist on picking their own.
“You learn from the older (cooks), and you make your own recipes,”
Jekavorian said.
Jekavorian took an Armenian recipe for a bean salad spiced with
lemon, olive oil and herbs, and added her own twist with fresh corn
and Chinese noodles. She often serves it to family and fellow
church-goers, with whom it’s a big hit.
Such evolving recipes that bring American influences into traditional
ethnic recipes aren’t unusual at all, according to Irina Petrosian
and her husband, David Underwood, authors of “Armenian Food: Fact,
Fiction and Folklore.”
The Indiana couple spent more than a year in Armenia. Petrosian said
the people there still are trying to discover what Armenian cuisine
is, since so much tradition went by the wayside during the
occupations and genocide.
“Through food, they are trying to forge their own identity,” said
Petrosian, who was raised in Armenia and has been living in the
United States for six years.
“They are trying to find what is Armenian, because what was Armenian
was lost.”
For Underwood, the trip to Armenia was a chance to spend a year
eating great food, the kind he doesn’t taste too often in the
states.
“It reflects their ancient culture,” he said. “These dishes have
been prepared and served since prehistoric times. It’s a real joy to
get their food. It’s all natural. It’s really tasty.”
Underwood said its such natural flavors that make the food extra
tasty – and accounts for an unusual phenomenon.
“Children there eat cucumbers the way children here eat candy,” he
said.
In “Armenian Food,” Petrosian and Underwood offer recipes, stories
and legends about Armenian food, tracing certain traditional cuisines
to their origins with the help of ethnographers, historians and more
than a few Armenian grandmothers.
Such spoken and written words will help keep alive the
too-close-to-lost Armenian traditions.
“It is very important, especially for our young people,” Jekavorian
said. ne.com/entertainment/cnhinsfood_story_193051
044.h tml?start:int=0

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 25, 12 July 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES
* NEW ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPAIGN IN IRAN
* IRANIAN NUCLEAR DECISION NOT FORTHCOMING
* IRAN DEVELOPS NEW LINE OF MISSILES
* ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND IRAQI SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT VISIT IRAN
* IRANIANS AMONG CASUALTIES IN IRAQI SUICIDE BOMBING
* IRAN ATTACKS KURDS IN IRAQ
* TEHRAN ATTRIBUTES ETHNIC STRIFE TO FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
* IRANIAN MINORITIES EXPERIENCE HOUSING DIFFICULTIES
* UNPAID WORKERS PROTEST IN NORTHWEST IRAN
* TRUCK CRASH SHAKES SHIRAZ
* INTELLECTUAL LABELED U.S. AGENT
* JOURNALIST THREATENS MASS HUNGER STRIKE TO FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS
**************************************** ********************
NEW ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPAIGN IN IRAN. The Students’ Justice-Seeking
Movement and the Students’ Headquarters for the Support of
Palestine will raise funds in Tehran for Israel’s annihilation,
Fars News Agency reported on July 6. The first collection will take
place after the Friday Prayers on July 7. On July 8, according to
Fars, “Global Slumber and the Need to Support Palestine” will be
shown at the Kosar Hall next to the Mellat Bank in Tehran.
In Isfahan, fundraising has commenced at 80 local Basij
Resistance Force bases and 92 student Basij bases, provincial
television reported on July 5. Colonel Moradi, commander of the Basij
in the town of Shahreza, said he expects the fundraising drive —
called Labayk Ya Khamenei (We are ready to give a positive response
to your call O’ Khamenei) — to raise some $55,000.
A July 5 statement from the Isfahan Province Islamic
Publicity Coordination Council called on people to participate in
anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rallies after the July 7 Friday Prayers,
Isfahan Provincial television reported. According to the statement,
“Usurper Israel has realized its own futility and worthlessness and,
supported by criminal America, it has increased the fire of its
grudge and bloodthirstiness to maximum and is continuing its
indiscriminate murder of the oppressed people of Palestine.” (Bill
Samii)
IRANIAN NUCLEAR DECISION NOT FORTHCOMING. The visit to Brussels of
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, which was scheduled for July 5,
was postponed for a day for security reasons, according to Iranian
news agencies. Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali
Larijani was scheduled to meet with EU High Representative for Common
Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and an anonymous “informed
source” said the presence of Israeli assassins in Brussels led to the
delay, Mehr News Agency reported. An unnamed Iranian “security
official” said the alleged hit teams were backed by Israel and
“certain European states,” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
reported. Iranian Speaker of Parliament Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel gave a
less precise explanation, telling state television, “A technical
reason, rather than a political issue, has been behind the
postponement of the visit.”
Larijani attended a dinner with Solana in Brussels on July 6,
AFP reported. Larijani said Iran will not respond right away to the
international community’s proposal that purportedly calls on Iran
to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities in exchange for various
incentives until international inspectors confirm that the
country’s nuclear program has no military applications. Solana
delivered the proposal to Tehran in early June. Larijani said the
response would not come either at that evening’s dinner or on
July 11, when talks with officials from the countries behind the
proposal are scheduled to take place. Tehran has said repeatedly that
it must consider the proposal carefully, but also has said that the
proposal is vague in some key areas.
Tehran’s slow response to the international nuclear
proposal has led to calls for it to act with greater haste.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Muhammad el-Baradei said on
July 6 in Ankara, “We hope that Iran will respond promptly and
positively, we hope, to the offer that was made by the six
countries,” Radio Farda reported. He added, “we need to get the
parties to start the negotiations, and the earlier we get the parties
to the negotiating table the better for everybody…. I hope that
Iran also understands that the international community is getting
somewhat impatient, and the earlier they can provide an answer the
better for everybody.”
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on July 6
in Paris, “We call on the Iranians to give a rapid response to our
offer. It is important that we receive rapid, concrete answers,” AFP
reported.
European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said on July 5 in
Brussels that there is “disappointment” in “Iran’s slowness,”
Radio Farda reported.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on July 4 in London,
“What I’d like is a response [to the international offer of
incentives] as soon as possible because I don’t really see what
more there is to talk about,” Radio Farda reported. Blair voiced
concern that Tehran might harbor the false hope that it can “divide
the international community.” (Bill Samii)
IRAN DEVELOPS NEW LINE OF MISSILES. Defense and Armed Forces
Logistics Minister Mohammad Mustafa Najjar said on June 28 in Tehran
that Iran is among the top six countries in the production of
armor-piercing missiles, IRNA reported. He went on to say that
country’s defense industries are part of national development
plans for the next two decades. (Bill Samii)
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND IRAQI SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT VISIT IRAN.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian on July 6 concluded a two-day
visit to Iran during which he met with his counterpart, President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad, international news agencies reported. Kocharian
was accompanied by Energy Minister Armen Movsisian, Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian, and Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Kirakosian. The
Iranian and Armenian sides signed seven memorandums of understanding;
most related to energy issues, but several dealt with legal matters
and cultural preservation. Noyan Tapan and the Armenian “Lragir”
newspaper reported on July 6 that the most important topic of
discussion was the construction of a natural-gas pipeline connecting
the two countries. RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported on July 6
that another important topic was connection of the two countries’
electricity grids.
Mahmud al-Mashhadani, speaker of the Iraqi parliament, met
with Ayatollah Abbas Vaez-Tabasi, head of the Imam Reza Shrine
Foundation and the provincial representative of Iran’s Supreme
Leader, during a visit to the western Iranian city of Mashhad on July
6, IRNA reported. During the meeting, al-Mashhadani said the United
States is occupying Iraq because it wants to create a “Greater
Israel,” IRNA reported. Al-Mashhadani added that the United States
and Israel are working against stability in Iraq, and he attributed
the rule of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to the United
States, saying, “Saddam was appointed in Iraq by the United States
itself to help it materialize its arrogant goals.” Al-Mashhadani
called for a greater Iranian role in his country’s
reconstruction. Al-Mashhadani arrived in Iran on July 3 at the
invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel. (Bill
Samii)
IRANIANS AMONG CASUALTIES IN IRAQI SUICIDE BOMBING. Thirteen people
were killed and another 41 were wounded on 6 July when a suicide
bomber’s vehicle exploded between two buses carrying Iranian
pilgrims in the city of Al-Kufah, which is north of Al-Najaf,
Al-Sharqiyah Television and Reuters reported. Munther al-Athari, the
head of Najaf’s health service, said eight of the dead were
Iranians, Reuters reported. Islamic Republic of Iran News Network
Television reported that five Iranian pilgrims lost their lives and
22 others were wounded.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi
condemned the incident and blamed the U.S., Islamic Republic of Iran
News Network Television reported. He described this as a barbaric act
that only benefits Iraq’s enemies. He added, “The wrong policy of
the American occupiers and their refusal to accept responsibility in
Iraq have led to the growth of terrorism and ruthless behavior in
that country; and the terrorists by counting on America’s
erroneous approach, continue their crimes.” (Bill Samii)
IRAN ATTACKS KURDS IN IRAQ. An Iranian army spokesman announced on
July 1 that Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces sustained heavy
losses when Iranians attacked their positions in the northern Iraqi
town of Sidikan, Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam television
reported. The spokesman said the attack was in response to PKK
activities near the Iranian city of Salmas. The next day, a statement
from the PKK-affiliated People’s Defense Forces (HPG) said
Iranian and Turkish armed forces suffered great losses during clashes
with the HPG, Roj Television reported. The HPG statement claimed that
18 Iranian soldiers and two local militiamen were killed near the
Iranian towns of Marivan and Baneh on June 28. Turkish personnel
reportedly were killed on June 29. Two HPG members lost their lives
as well, it claimed. (Bill Samii)
TEHRAN ATTRIBUTES ETHNIC STRIFE TO FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT. Minister of
Intelligence and Security Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei
said on July 2 in Tehran that his agency has countered many
conspiracies by Iran’s enemies over the last 10 months, state
television reported. He said the United States has the greatest
motivation to act against Iran, Mehr News Agency reported, and he
indicated that the U.S. intervention is motivated by Iran’s gains
in military power. Mohseni-Ejei also mentioned the funds for
democracy legislation requested by U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice in February, and added that, in fact, much more
money than that has been spent by Washington to destabilize Iran.
Mohseni-Ejei claimed that the United States has dispatched many spies
to Iran since the election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in June
2005. Referring to the continuing ethnic disturbances in the
northwest, southwest, and southeastern parts of Iran, Mohseni-Ejei
said ethnic groups in these areas deserve more attention because the
United States is trying to exploit them.
On July 1, in Mahabad, legislator Alaedin Borujerdi said
government investigations show that the United States and Britain are
behind unrest in the Khuzestan and Sistan va Baluchistan provinces,
IRNA reported. (Bill Samii)
IRANIAN MINORITIES EXPERIENCE HOUSING DIFFICULTIES. UN special
rapporteur Miloon Kothari released a report on housing on June 29,
and part of that document focused on Iran. According to the report,
Kothari visited neighborhoods in and around Tehran, as well as the
Boyerahmad va Kohkiluyeh, Fars, Kerman, Kermanshah, and Khuzestan
provinces, and he heard testimony relating to Ilam and Sistan va
Baluchistan provinces. Rural land is being expropriated and its
inhabitants evacuated to make way for agricultural and petrochemical
projects, the report notes. “In some regions, these expropriations
seem to have targeted disproportionately property and land of
religious and ethnic minorities, such as Baha’i cemeteries, but
also houses” — some 640 Baha’i properties, including cemeteries
and shrines, have been confiscated since 1980. People are not fairly
compensated. There are “allegations of procedural irregularities and
bias against ethnic and religious minorities” in cases of
expropriation. Minorities face “disproportionately poor living
conditions” — for example, Arabs, Kurds, and Muslim Sufis have
“extremely unsatisfactory” living conditions in Kermanshah and
Khuzestan. Laws relating to inheritance are harmful to minorities,
according to the report, and favor Muslims. (Bill Samii)
UNPAID WORKERS PROTEST IN NORTHWEST IRAN. Employees of a china and
porcelain factory in the northwestern city of Tabriz staged a protest
on June 27 against five-months of wage arrears, the Iranian Labor
News Agency (ILNA) reported. During that time, workers told ILNA,
they only received a onetime payment of 500,000 rials (roughly $57).
The factory’s managing director told ILNA he would pay the
employees as soon as he can, but there has been a slump in demand for
the products. (Bill Samii)
TRUCK CRASH SHAKES SHIRAZ. A truck carrying 8,000 liters of gasoline
crashed into a high-voltage electricity pole in the city of Shiraz on
June 26, and fuel that leaked into the sewage system exploded, state
radio reported. Gholam-Hussein Monshi, an official with the city
sanitation department, stressed that the underground sewage system
was not damaged because the gas leaked into surface canals only, IRNA
reported. Fars Province Governor-General Ebrahim Azizi said the blast
killed one person and injured four others, IRNA reported. More than
20 cars were reported damaged. The Shiraz emergency hospital reported
that six people who fell into the canal received immediate medical
treatment.
In eastern Iran on June 26, 22 people lost their lives when a
bus and a truck crashed head-on, Reuters reported. The accident took
place on the highway connecting Birjand and Nahbandan. (Bill Samii)
INTELLECTUAL LABELED U.S. AGENT. Minister of Intelligence and
Security Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei discussed the cases
of jailed intellectual Ramin Jahanbegloo and former Tehran
parliamentary representative and student activist Ali Akbar
Musavi-Khoeni on July 2, Radio Farda reported. Mohseni-Ejei said
Jahanbegloo was trying, at U.S. instigation, to bring about a
nonviolent, “Velvet-type” revolution in Iran. The investigation into
Jahanbegloo’s case is continuing, Mohseni-Ejei added, and he
claimed that the United States is training members of NGOs at
overseas locations. Turning to Musavi-Khoeni, Mohseni-Ejei said the
former legislator’s participation in a women’s rights rally
on June 12 was illegal and that is why he was arrested, Radio Farda
reported. Most other people arrested then have been released, but
Mohseni-Ejei did not explain this inconsistency. (Bill Samii)
JOURNALIST THREATENS MASS HUNGER STRIKE TO FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS.
Dissident Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji has threatened to organize a
hunger-strike “movement” in several Western cities if the government
does not release three Iranian political prisoners as soon as
possible and unconditionally. The most prominent of the three is
noted scholar and author Ramin Jahanbegloo, who is accused of working
with the United States to bring down Iran’s Islamic regime
through a nonviolent revolution. Former reformist legislator and the
head of the alumni association of Iran’s main reformist student
group, Ali Akbar Musavi-Khoeni, and bus-driver union leader Mansur
Osanlu are the others.
Akbar Ganji reiterated his call for Iranian officials to
release Ramin Jahanbegloo, Mansur Osanlu, and Ali Akbar Musavi-Khoeni
during an interview with Radio Farda on June 30 while he was in
Germany.
Ganji said that Osanlu and Musavi-Khoeni represent Iran’s
intellectual, workers’, and student movements whose members, he
says, have been under pressure.
He said they should be freed and he has called on all
freedom-loving Iranians and human rights defenders to join him.
“We’ve called on the regime to free these three prisoners
immediately,” he said. “If they will not be freed soon, I have
planned with some friends a hunger strike against the Iranian regime
in England, in France, in Germany, in the U.S. and across the world
to bring the world’s attention to the vast human rights
violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Ganji — one of Iran’s most prominent investigative
journalists — was freed in March after spending more than five years
in prison because of his critical articles.
During his jail term he remained defiant and on at least two
occasions he went on a long hunger strike to protest his conditions.
Ganji has been on a European tour for the last month and has
condemned human rights abuses in Iran wherever he speaks.
“Iran’s Islamic regime is continuing its political
repression and human rights violations like before,” he said. “One of
the tools for political repression is arbitrary and illegal arrests.
They arrest people because of their opinions and because of dissent.”
Ganji noted that many human rights activists and
intellectuals have called for the release of Jahanbegloo,
Musavi-Khoeni, and Osanlu.
He added that since Iranian authorities have not paid
attention to these calls, a general hunger strike seems to be the
only way to press for their release.
In recent weeks several separate statements have been issued
by activists and intellectuals in protest of the detentions of the
three men.
In the case of Jahanbegloo, personalities such as Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Literature Prize winner J.M.
Coetzee, acclaimed Italian writer Umberto Eco, and prominent
historian and author Timothy Garton Ash have joined the call for his
release.
Jahanbegloo is a well-known philosopher who has published
several books in French, English, and Persian on issues as ranging as
intellectual thought in Iran and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and his
nonviolent resistance.
He has been detained since April 27 without access to a
lawyer.
Minister of Intelligence and Security Hojatoleslam
Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei said on July 2 that Jahanbegloo is one of
the people who was arrested “in line with the U.S. effort to
instigate a velvet [or] soft revolution in Iran.”
Some of Jahanbegloo’s colleagues and friends have
expressed concern that he could be under pressure to make forced
confessions.
This method has been used — though largely unsuccessfully —
by Iran in the past to discredit critics.
There is also growing concern about Musavi-Khoeni, who was
arrested in Tehran during a June 12 women’s rights gathering.
Seventy men and women were arrested for attending the protest
against legal gender discrimination. All have been freed except for
Musavi-Khoeni.
Former legislator Fatemeh Haghighatjoo tells RFE/RL that
Musavi-Khoeni’s case is being reviewed by the hard-line
revolutionary court.
“This is a matter of concern because it is possible that they
will bring new charges against him such as espionage or toppling the
regime,” he said. “During his term in the parliament he worked hard
for the closure of secret and illegal prisons; he also defended the
rights of political prisoners. These are among issues that can lead
to new cases against him especially because he has been a defender of
student rights and also the rights of women and workers.”
Human rights activists are also worried about the fate
Osanlu, the president of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus
Company.
He has been in jail since last December on unspecified
charges. He reportedly helped organize demonstrations against bus
drivers’ work conditions.
On June 30, the student website advarnews.com reported that
student leader Abdullah Momeni welcomes Ganji’s call for the
release of Osanlu and other prisoners.
Momeni is quoted as saying that Ganji’s resistance while
imprisoned provides a lesson for all Iranians who are longing for a
change.
He added: “I think students and those close to the students
have the capacity to express their readiness for a protest.”
Iran’s most prominent living poet, Simin Behbehani, has
also expressed support for Ganji’s initiative.
Behbehani told Radio Farda that any action that would lead to
the release of Iran’s political prisoners is “necessary.” (By
Golnaz Esfandiari; Radio Farda correspondent Nazi Azima contributed
to this report.)
**************************************** *****************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The “RFE/RL Iran Report” is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
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Back issues are online at

Russian Transport Minister Arriving in Armenia Today
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.07.2006 16:32 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Transport Minister, Co-Chair of the
Armenian-Russian intergovernmental economic commission Igor Levitin
is to arrive in Armenia on a working visit on July 11. The Transport
Minister is accompanied by Head of the Interstate Aviation Committee
Tatyana Anodina. During the visit, the Russian delegation is scheduled
to meet Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Secretary of the National
Security Council, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan, as well as other
top officials of the Armenian government. During the meetings issues
of bilateral cooperation and investigation of the A-320 crash near
Sochi on May 3 are to be discussed, reports IA Regnum.

OSCE MG Optimism on Solving Karabakh Issue in 2006 Groundless
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.07.2006 16:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Optimism of the OSCE MG on solving the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict in 2006 is groundless, Director on Political Affairs
of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau Kiro Manoyan told journalists today. He
attributes this especially to the position of the Azeri party. At that
Manoyan believes that the circumstance that 2006 is not an election
year both in Armenia and Azerbaijan is a positive one. “There will
be elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2007 and 2008 and making
concessions will be harder,” he said.
Manoyan remarked that official Baku is not initially disposed to
solving the conflict by compromise. “For the Azeri President talks are
a tool to gain time and find means to enhance the military potential
of the country,” he said, reports Novosti-Armenia.

Holding Referendum on Karabakh Status Compromise in Itself
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.07.2006 17:01 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Joining Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia is an ideal
solution to the NK conflict, Director on Political Affairs of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun Bureau Kiro Manoyan told journalists today. In his
words, the principle of joining NK to Armenia underlay the talks
since 1998.
Manoyan also noted that the latest proposal of the OSCE MG rests
on that principle and the Armenian party holds negotiations around
it. Kiro Manoyan noted with regret that official Stepanakert and
Yerevan consider the territories making the Nagorno Karabakh security
zone from the point of view of concession. He added that holding a
referendum on the future status of Nagorno Karabakh is a compromise
in itself, reports Novosti-Armenia.

Merzlyakov: No Framework Agreement on Karabakh Bargaining Table
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.07.2006 17:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is still no framework agreement at peaceful
negotiations on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
reportedly said Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chairman of OSCE
Minsk Group. Merzlyakov said mediators have offered the parties to
coordinate the problem settlement principles prior to developing
the agreement on their basis. Besides, co-chairmen do not use in
negotiation process such terms as “stage-by-stage”, “package”,
“universal” and so on, Merzlyakov remarked.
The further state of the negotiation process, the Russian diplomat
went on, will get defined after the first regional visit of Matthew
Bryza as US co-chairman of OSCE Minsk Group. “At the moment I am just
not ready to state the situation. It will get clear when he comes
there and listens to the parties’ opinions”, he added. Merzlyakov
added that Bryza’s visit to the region had been originally scheduled
to later July or early September.
Answering the question about the preparation to the next meeting
between foreign ministers or presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
Merzlyakov said: “The co-chairmen’s latest statement says the parties
shall put forward their initiatives. We are always alongside, we ill
always help. But in the coming months we are not going to undertake
anything,” reports Trend.