FIFTY HOUSE MEMBERS CALL ON FOREIGN AID APPROPRIATORS TO MAINTAIN
MILITARY AID PARITY TO ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 17 2006
Reps. Pallone and Radanovich spearhead campaign calling for $75
million in U.S. aid to Armenia; Continued Aid to Karabagh WASHINGTON,
DC ­ Congressmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and George Radanovich (R-CA)
were joined by forty-eight of their House colleagues today in
urging the leadership of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee
to support pro-Armenian provisions in the fiscal year 2007 foreign
aid bill, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
[Ho. He. Dashnaktsutyan Washington-ee Hai Tahd-ee Krasenyag].
Members of Congress cosigned a letter, addressed to the panel’s
Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY), which
would strengthen the hand of pro-Armenian members of the Subcommittee,
most notably Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Joe Knollenberg, Steve Rothman
(D-NJ), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and John Sweeney (R-NY). Rep. Sweeney, who
joined the panel last year, is one of only two Members of Congress
of Armenian heritage.
The letter notes that members of Congress are “deeply troubled”
that the Administration’s request for military aid for Azerbaijan
is considerably higher then the request for Armenia. By signing the
letter, legislators will add their voice to the effort to ensure that
the agreement struck in 2001 between the White House and Congress to
keep aid levels to these two countries equal is fully respected. In
addition, the letter calls for a hard earmark of at least $75 million
for Armenia, a one-year $5 million allocation for Nagorno Karabagh,
and the preservation of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
Members of Congress joining Representatives Pallone and Radanovich
in cosigning the letter included: Reps. Tom Allen (D-ME), Robert
Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Howard Berman (D-CA), Michael
Bilirakis (R-FL), Eric Cantor (R-VA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Dennis
Cardoza (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Joseph Crowley
(D-NY), William Delahunt (D-MA), David Dreier (R- CA), Chaka Fattah
(D-PA), Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), Barney Frank (D- MA), Scott Garrett
(R-NJ), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Michael Honda (D-CA), Dale Kildee (D-MI),
James Langevin (D-RI), Sander Levin (D-MI), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ),
Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA),
Doris Matsui (D-CA), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), James McGovern (D-MA),
John McHugh (R-NY), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Martin Meehan (D-MA), Grace
Napolitano (D-CA), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Bobby
Rush (D-IL), H. James Saxton (R-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Joe Schwarz
(R-MI), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Rob Simmons
(R-CT), Mark Souder (R-IN), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Diane Watson (D-CA),
Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
Representatives Knollenberg, Pallone, and Rothman also submitted
individual letters citing their foreign aid priorities for Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh, among other countries.
The House Foreign Operations panel is set to review the FY2007 foreign
aid bill, which will then be considered by the full Appropriations
Committee and then the full U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate
will finalize its own version, which will be reconciled with the
House bill by a conference committee.
–Boundary_(ID_lODDRd2A7qsVVJBsJma0Pg) —

‘Armenian Genocide Allegations is a Complicated Issue’
By Suleyman Kurt, Ankara
Zaman, Turkey
March 17 2006
Published: Friday, March 17, 2006
zaman.com
Daniel Fried, the US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian
Affairs, said the Armenian genocide allegations is a “complicated
issue” and must be examined by the parties in a courageous way.
Fried together with Upper Karabag (Karabagh) problem negotiator Steven
Mann met Turkish Foreign Ministry officials yesterday.
Speaking after the talks Fried said, “Tragedies of the past must be
handled with courage and nations must look at their futures.”
The US diplomat underlined he has no message about the Turkey-Armenia
relations, indicating the US’s attitude towards the issue is
well-known, and President George W. Bush will probably make a relevant
statement on the issue this April as he does every year.
The American official added the issue of Washington’s demand of
opening the Turkish-Armenian border also came to the agenda during
the contacts.

Thousands of Turks expected for rally in Berlin
Hurriyet, Turkey
March 17 2006
Berlin will hold a rally on March 18 to remember Talat Pasha and to
protest Armenian claims of genocide. Up to 500 Turks are expected to
descend on Berlin to attend the “Berlin, Talat Pasha Movement” Rally.
Among the 500 Turkish nationals will be Labor Party leader Dogu
Perincek, Honorary Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals Vural
Savas, Research & Rescue Team (AKUT) Chairman Nasuh Mahruki, former
rector of the University of Istanbul Dr. Kemal Alemdaroglu, Dr.
Zekeriya Beyaz and Dr. Alpaslan Isikli.
Thousands of Turks are expected to attend the rally carrying the
Turkish flag. The Berlin rally will be led by the former president of
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Rauf Denktas. All legal permits
have been obtained for the protest and security measures were taken.

Turk historian to investigate massacres with Armenians?
Kathimerini, Greece
March 17 2006
ISTANBUL (AFP) – The leading Turkish historian who contests the
definition of controversial World War I massacres of Armenians
as genocide, yesterday proposed carrying out joint research with
an Armenian on the issue. “Let’s carry out a project together,
dig up common graves if there are some, to put an end to numerous
demagogical arguments,” said Yusuf Halacoglu, president of the Turkish
History Society, to Ara Sarafian, a British historian of Armenian
origin. Sarafian, a researcher at the Gomidas Institute in London,
England, told AFP that he was interested in accepting the offer. “I
will definitely consider this offer. I don’t want to show skepticism
about this proposal,” he said.

Government and Telasi reach deal on electricity for refugees
By Christina Tashkevich
The Messenger, Georgia
March 17 2006
In a first step to finally deal with GEL 44 million (USD 24 million) in
unpaid electricity consumption by refugees in Tbilisi, the electricity
distribution company Telasi signed an agreement with the Ministry of
Refugees and Resettlement on Thursday.
The agreement calls for the creation of a special commission consisting
of representatives of Telasi, the ministry, the Abkhaz government
in exile, and refugees to study energy supply to settlements were
refugees live and to develop a plan for the debt repayment.
The Georgian government and the Russian company RAO UES, who owns
Telasi, decided to create the commission in 2005. One of the goals of
the commission will be to study how the GEL 44 million debt occurred
in the first place and how it can be reasonably repaid.
Telasi started installing meters in many of the refugee buildings
in an effort to control electricity consumption. The company has
already installed meters for 4,000 refugee families in Tskhneti on
the outskirts of Tbilisi.
“The misunderstanding ended today. We are starting to work
constructively and fruitfully to bring order to the electricity supply
for this type of our customers,” Telasi General Director Yuri Pimonov
said Thursday.
Telasi says in case new debt accumulates they will make a decision
to cut electricity to debtors only after informing the government.
Telasi has already taken such measures last year demanding payments for
electricity not only from refugees but also from state organizations.
The Minister of Refugees and Resettlement Giorgi Kheviashvili said
that the agreement and metering would significantly improve the
electricity supply to refugees. “It will importantly contribute to
both the company’s development and to the normal life of our refugees,”
he said Thursday.
The Telasi press office said Thursday that representatives of the
IDP community would also participate in calculation of electricity
consumption at buildings together with Telasi employees.
Also on Thursday, Telasi said Tbilisi consumers would not feel any
electricity restrictions after the Enguri Hydroelectric Station (HES)
has been taken offline for repairs. On March 15 the station was shut
down and it will remain inoperative for 4 months to undergo needed
maintenance.
The company reported it has enough local and imported sources of
energy to provide the capital with full electricity during the next
four months. The city requires an average of 500 megawatts/hour.
Telasi will supply Tbilisi with 220 megawatt/hour from the ninth
power plant in Gardabani, 90 and 60 megawatt/hour from hydroelectric
stations Khrami 1 and Khrami2 respectfully, 15 megawatt/hour from
Ortachala HES and 110 megawatt/hour from Armenian imports.
However, Telasi also notes future changes in its energy system. The
company will cease the electricity imports from Armenia from March
31. “As the need in electricity consumption is less in summer, the
ninth power plant in Gardabani will work until June 1,” the company
press release said.

Corned beef keeps Levonians in the ‘green’
By: Kathryn Caggianelli, The Record 03/17/2006
Troy Record, NY
March 17 2006
TROY – In early January, the curing process begins. By St. Patrick’s
Day, more than one million pounds of beef brisket will have been
shipped to consumers throughout the Northeast.
Corned beef is a family tradition at Levonian Brothers. The third
generation family-owned business at 27 River St. has been around
since 1947. Corned beef is their specialty.
“St. Patrick’s Day is our Christmas,” President Rob Nazarian said.
Fifty to 60 percent of Levonian’s total corned beef sales for the year
are made by St. Patrick’s Day. That translates into innumerable three-
to four-pound uncooked briskets, ranging in price from $10 to $20,
depending on the grade and cut of beef. They’re sold to area Price
Chopper and Hannaford stores, local independent markets and Big Y
grocery stores throughout New England. Prepared corned beef roasts
are sold to a number of delis, Nazarian said.
“We sell an Angus beef version to Price Chopper. It’s the
highest quality you can get and will run between $15 to $20 for a
three-to-four-pound brisket,” he said.
Other products prepared by Levonian Brothers include roast beef,
pastrami, hot dogs and smoked ham. The company buys meat and poultry
for distribution from midwest manufacturers that include National Beef,
Cargill and Tyson.
In the early 1970s the company expanded its distribution services and
started producing meat products. The move was a marketing strategy
that paid off, Nazarian said.
“We did it to create our own brand. We became more than just the
middle man,” Nazarian said.
Though he wasn’t willing to disclose how profitable the business is,
or how expansion affected the profit margin, Nazarian did admit that
the business is thriving.
So why specialize in corned beef? Doing so required little in terms
of start-up costs. All that was needed was a packaging machine and
injector. The curing solution is a relatively inexpensive mixture of
water, salt and seasonings. All-beef rounds are used, he said.
Corned beef certainly wasn’t a tradition for the Armenian family before
that time. For that matter, corned beef isn’t even a true Irish dish,
Nazarian said.
“It’s a tradition here in the states. In the old days people had
meat and vegetables sitting in cure in their basements. In the spring
they’d clean out their basements and cook up everything that was left
over from the fall harvest,” he said.
The meal later somehow became associated with St. Patrick’s Day,
Nazarian said.
There are some who might not agree with his theory, however.
“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, originally corned
beef and cabbage was a traditional dish served for Easter Sunday
dinner in rural Ireland. The beef, because there was no refrigeration
at the time, was salted or brined during the winter to preserve it.
It was then eaten after the long, meatless Lenten fast,” write chefs
Stephen Block and Stephen Holloway, authors of “The History and Irish
Tradition of Corned Beef,” for The Kitchen Project, an online resource
found at
The same article questions the validity of that claim, however,
because beef was said to be a delicacy that only the rich could afford.
Regardless of its origins, corned beef remains a top seller for
Levonian Brothers.
When brothers Elia Y. and Levon Y. Levonian, and their nephews Elia
M. and Levon M. Levonian, started the distribution business more than
five decades ago when they targeted small, independent markets in
the area. Today the company boasts a staff of 75 and a two-building
facility of approximately 60,000 square feet. Two other nephews,
Gregory L. Nazarian and Ralph Darian worked for their uncles during
college vacations and eventually went on to become managing directors
in 1957 and corporate officers in the 1970s, according to Nazarian.
After graduating from Siena College in 1990 Rob Nazarian, Gregory’s
son, came on board. He went on to become president in 1997.
Rob’s two sisters had no interest in running the business so the job
seemed like the logical path for him to follow, he said.
“We’d like to keep it in the family for years to come but I don’t
have any children yet,” Nazarian said.

Today, Azerbaijan
March 17 2006
Peter Semneby: “I believe in settlement of Karabakh conflict”
17 March 2006 [09:59] – Today.Az
He thinks there is much likelihood that the conflict will be settled
in 2006.
“I will regularly get in touch with the OSCE Mink Group co-chairs to
be sure that initiatives for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict are coordinated in a right way,” European Union special
representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby reported.
“Taking into account the high hopes that failed in the latest meeting
between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents, it is difficult to say
how realistic these hopes were,” Mr. Semneby said.
“I have to visit Azerbaijan and Armenia and exchange of views with
the co-chairs to get full idea of the situation. However, I must
admit that if I had not believed the settlement of the conflict I
would not have agreed to my appointment to this position,” the EU
representative added.
According to him, the basic priority of his activities will be
promoting settlement of frozen conflicts in the region. He said that
there are expectations that the EU will play an important role after
attaining agreements over settlement of conflicts, APA informs.
URL:

Novruz Mammadov: “Vardan Oskanian trying to derail peace talks”
Today, Azerbaijan
March 17 2006
17 March 2006 [15:48] – Today.Az
An Azeri presidential administration official has accused Armenian
Foreign Minister of attempting to derail efforts to settle the
long-standing Nagorno Karabakh conflict, following the latter’s
outrageous statement.
“Vardan Oskanian is trying to disrupt peace talks. As I understand,
his latest statements signal that he wants to negatively affect the
entire peace process,” the head of the President’s Office
international relations department, Novruz Mammadov said, while
commenting on Oskanian’s statement that Nagorno Karabakh “has never
been part of Azerbaijan and is Armenian land”.
The Armenian minister also maintained that if Baku does not recognize
the independence of the self-proclaimed republic, the occupied land
would “never be returned”.
“Azerbaijan reserves the right to free its land from under the
aggressor country’s occupation and this is in line with international
law,” Mammadov said.
He added that Armenia has recently been under pressure with regard to
the conflict resolution, AssA-Irada reports.
URL:

Today, Azerbaijan
March 17 2006
Frank Geerkens: “Restoration of relations might be useful for
Azerbaijan and Armenia”
17 March 2006 [09:38] – Today.Az
He said that OSCE focuses on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict.
“OSCE Chairman-in-Office Belgian Foreign Minister visited the region
and met with the sides on settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,”
said Frank Geerkens, chairman of the second preparatory meeting of 14th
Economic Forum on Enhancement of transport security in the OSCE region.
He said that OSCE focuses on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict.
“Our aim is to play a coordinating role between the two countries. As
for the events and initiatives, these relations are possible within
OSCE in various forms. Restoration of the relations might be more
useful for the sides.”
URL:

Former Soviet territory has hope for recognition
Abkhazia is cut off and struggling
By Tom Parfitt, Globe Correspondent | March 17, 2006
Boston Globe, MA
March 17 2006
SUKHUM, Abkhazia — At first glance the tiny self-declared republic
of Abkhazia on the eastern coast of the Black Sea is an earthly
paradise. For decades its palm trees, warm scented air, and long
beaches drew thousands of holidaymakers from across the Soviet Union.
Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev relaxed on its shores.
Even today, it is famed for its gentle climate, its mandarin oranges,
and its sweeping boughs of yellow mimosa blossom. But look closer,
and there are signs of an uglier past.
Side streets in the seaside capital, Sukhum, are dominated by the
gutted remains of smoke-blackened houses, choked with weeds. In the
countryside not far away, whole settlements stand in silent desolation,
abandoned in a furious war that raged here in the Caucasus more than
a decade ago.
The conflict flared up in August 1992 when the armed forces of
Georgia attacked Abkhazia, a region within Georgia’s territory that
had declared its intent to break away from the country after the
Soviet collapse. Since 1931, when Stalin began a forced colonization
of the region by Georgians, Abkhazians had nursed a desire to wrest
back total control of the territory.
In late 1993, after a year of fighting and atrocities on both sides,
the Abkhazians drove out their enemies — including thousands of
Georgian civilians who were by then a majority of the population —
and declared independence.
Ever since, this scrap of land, home to about 200,000 people, has
led a lonely existence, cut off by an embargo and unrecognized by
any country in the world.
”In the last 13 years, Abkhazia has formed a state with its own
institutions, authorities, army, and democratic development,” said its
de facto president, Sergei Bagapsh, in an interview at his offices
in downtown Sukhum. ”But the world ignores us when we have every
right to gain international recognition.”
Despite its frustration, Abkhazia is one of a posse of unrecognized
former Soviet territories that are now champing at the bit because
of a far-off event in the heart of Europe.
Last month, face-to-face talks between delegations from Kosovo and
Serbia finally began in Vienna. The UN-brokered negotiations will
decide the future of Kosovo, the ethnic Albanian province of Serbia
that has been under UN protection since NATO air strikes forced Serb
troops out in 1999.
European diplomats indicate that Kosovo has a chance to gain full
independence and recognition by the international community later
this year.
That suggestion has prompted a wave of hope for similar recognition in
self-declared territories like Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia’s
other breakaway region, as well as the republic of Trans-Dniester in
Moldova, and the disputed district of Nagorno Karabakh, an Armenian
enclave in Azerbaijan.
Bagapsh predicted Abkhazia’s independence will be recognized ”within
three days” if Kosovo is granted status as a country.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia threw his weight behind Abkhazia’s
cause at the end of January when he said Kosovan independence would
set a precedent.
”We need universal principles to find a fair solution to these
problems,” Putin said in his annual news conference. ”If people
believe that Kosovo can be granted full independence, why then should
we deny it to Abkhazia and South Ossetia?” he asked.
Russia’s support for the Abkhazians, an ethnic group that believes
God entrusted their territory to them for protection, has been key.
Moscow, keen to keep neighboring Georgia weak and hoping to slow
the region’s drift toward the West, supported the Abkhazians in the
1992-1993 war with weapons and air strikes. Thousands of irregulars
from Abkhazia’s ”brother nations” in the Russian North Caucasus
republics — including Chechens and Cossacks — also streamed across
the border to fight Georgia.
But Abkhazia’s victory came at a price. Georgia accused it of ethnic
cleansing and severed all trade. Many buildings were destroyed, and
the republic is desperately poor. Sukhum has no functioning airport,
receives little direct bilateral aid, and its coast is cut off by
Georgian ships. Its critics say it is a haven for organized crime,
which is hard to verify. And its only link is with Russia, which
buys its oranges and sends a trickle of tourists to the republic’s
crumbling resorts.
UN-led talks between Georgia and Abkhazia have borne little fruit
since the end of the armed conflict.
But Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba of Abkhazia said there is hope
that independence for Kosovo will set a vital benchmark that could
alter the course of his stranded republic.
”The international community needs to face up to the fact
that obstacles put in front of people and their aspirations to
self-determination only lead to bloodshed,” he said. ”In that sense,
Kosovo could become a kind of marker that determines a new world
attitude towards these issues.”
At Shamba’s cramped three-room foreign ministry, officials are
following every squeak and whisper of the Kosovo negotiations, which
are due to resume today.
Developments in Serbia are complicated by an increasingly fragile
local situation. Georgia is fed up with what it perceives as Moscow’s
meddling in its internal affairs, and the parliament in Tbilisi,
the capital, is gearing up for a vote in July, when it is expected
to demand the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces that separate
Georgian and Abkhaz troops along the cease-fire line.
While any parliamentary vote will not be binding, President Mikhail
Saakashvili of Georgia is facing growing pressure from nationalists
to rein in his rebellious breakaway republics and rid the country of
foreign interference.
The country’s military budget is rising rapidly, with the United
States providing vital training and equipment.
Officially, the United States is neutral in the conflict, but
representatives of the Abkhazian foreign ministry who returned last
month from a USAID-funded trip to Washington said administration
officials urged them to accept broad autonomy within Georgia rather
than push for independent status.
Viktor Tvanba, an Abkhaz veteran of the 1992 conflict who lives
in Sukhum, said the withdrawal of Russian troops would lead to a
region-wide conflagration.
”The Georgians will surely attack us and then we’ll unleash such a
furious response that we’ll drive them all the way back to Tbilisi,”
the 56-year-old said. ”Any less would be an insult to our dead
relatives.”
As in Kosovo, every call to arms is accompanied by claims to historical
precedence on the territory, which are disputed by historians on
both sides.
The fate of the southern Gali region of Abkhazia where Georgians
dominate remains a major sticking point.
Interethnic strife has led to scores of deaths in the area since
the war, and most refugees who fled during the conflict have been
prevented from returning to claim their property and livelihoods.