EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]
March 14, 2006
Regarding U.S. Ambassador John Evans
On March 13, U.S. Department of State Acting Spokesman Thomas H. Casey
responded to a question regarding the status of U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans.
Question: What is the status of US Ambassador to Armenia Evans? Was
he recalled for statements acknowledging the Armenian “genocide”?
Answer: U.S. Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the
President. Ambassador Evans and his capable team have the full
confidence of the Administration.

Iran Started a Clandestine War in the Caucasus and Central Asia
13.02.2006
Ulugbek Djuraev, AIA Central-Asian section
Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security Gholam-Hossein
Mohseni-Ejeie During the last two months, Tehran’s secret services
have boosted their work in the countries of the Southern Caucasus
and Central Asia, AIA high-ranking source in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in one of the Central-Asian countries inform. According
to him, relevant data is received “through the internal channels
of counterintelligence, and to some extent from our diplomatic
missions in a number of neighboring countries of Central Asia and the
Southern Caucasus”. In this context, security servicemen even held a
“prophylactic conversation” last week with the employees of the MFA
central apparatus. The diplomats were notified about the rise in
activity of Iranian secret services. As a consequence, a new, more
severe regime of control and report about any contacts between the
MFA employees and the official or private representatives of Iran
was tacitly introduced.
Methods
According to information that our source has at hand, within the
economic and scientific delegations from Iran, lately there are more
and more those having connection to Iranian Ministry of Intelligence
and Security.
Moreover, in January – February this year, secret servicemen working
in the region under the cover of diplomatic and economic missions
boosted their activity as well. Simultaneously, there were cases
when the representatives of Iranian companies showed interest in
strategic and military facilities that have nothing to do with
their professional activity. This phenomenon was registered as an
“occasional” emergence of the Iranians, as a rule equipped by photo
or video cameras, near such facilities (for instance, near the US
military base in Kyrgyzstan), or in their talks with local officials,
representatives of private companies, and journalists.
At the same time, Iranian military intelligence makes efforts to boost
its cooperation with the similar bodies in Armenia and Turkmenistan. As
far as the former is concerned, this task is mainly entrusted to
the military attaché of Islamic Republic in Yerevan, Colonel Bizhan
Hamzeil Hashame. The same mission in Ashkhabad is carried out by the
officers of the Iranian General Staff.
Goals
As one could expect, the regional activity of Tehran’s secret services
concerns mainly the South-Caucasian and Central-Asian politics of
the USA.
> > From the point of view of confidential information, Iranian > >
representatives pay most attention to the regional contacts of the
Americans in political and military sphere, in particular – to the
Pentagon, CIA, and NATO officials’ visits to the countries of the
region. The Iranians also have a particular interest in all contacts
of the employees of the local US embassies, and in the activity of
US academic circles and humanitarian foundations.
Iranian special services’ primary purpose is to collect information
about possible use of the states in the region for military,
intelligence, and propaganda activity of the USA against the
Ayatollahs’ regime. In addition, Iranian secret servicemen, same way
as the diplomats, have to work with the local elites, to guarantee
neutrality of the South-Caucasian and Central-Asian governments in
case of an operation against Iran. In a number of states, and in
particular in Azerbaijan and Armenia, special attention is paid to
work with journalists.
Central Asian Back Land
A lot of tendencies in South-Caucasian and Central-Asian politics serve
Tehran’s interests. First of all, it is Armenia’s and Georgia’s growing
aspiration to end their dependence on the Russian energy supplies,
as well as weakening of the Western influence in Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan in course of the last two years. Moreover, Tehran widely
exploits regional elites’ concerns that destabilization in Iran might
negatively impact on the economic and political situation in their own
countries (either as a result of joint economic projects’ dismantling
(in particular in energy and transit trade sphere), or as a result
of the regional ethno-political map’s recast).
Regardless of positive aspects in the regional situation (from Iran’s
point of view), Tehran shows concern as to a possible American economic
and political pressure upon the South-Caucasian and Central-Asian
republics. Nor lesser concern of the Iranians is caused by a
situation when it is enough for the Americans or the Israelis to
“play” on personal economic interests of certain rulers and their
entourage, in order to change the geopolitical priorities of the
whole states. Iranian leadership, for example, views Turkmenistan as
an important strategic partner in Central Asia. However, the Iranians
show concern about the influence that the Israeli businessman Yosef
Maiman (head of Merhav company, and former Mossad officer) has on the
President Niyazov. Tehran representatives are sure that this influence
is based mainly upon extremely rich gifts and profitable commercial
services that the Israeli businessman renders to the President himself,
and to his confidants.
Situation in almost all the other Central-Asian countries does not
cause any Iranian concern. According to the Iranians, Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan are too much tied to Russia and China, economically
and politically, to cooperate with the USA. Even is Astana, in
order not to spoil its relations with Washington, is ready to have
formal contact with Pentagon, Tashkent won’t agree to do it after
the American-Uzbek confrontation that followed the Andijan events in
May 2005. Neighbouring Tajikistan, though taking advantage of the US
generous economic aide (in 2005, it totalled in about $60 million),
won’t support the Americans in case of any operation against the
Ayatollahs, because of its traditionally close ties with Iran. This was
vividly demonstrated during the last visit of the President Rahmonov
to Tehran that took place in January, in the midst of confrontation
between Iran and the West. While his Afghani colleague cancelled his
visit to
Emomali Rahmonov meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Tehran, the Tajik President made it clear to everyone that he is not
going to give up strategic partnership with the Ayatollahs.
However, while Dushanbe’s loyalty is not questioned by Tehran, the
situation with Kyrgyzstan hides a potential threat to Iran. The
President Bakiev, who came into power last year as a result of
an overturn, initially quite rapidly endeared the Iranians. His
announcements as to the necessity of the American military base
withdrawal from the Kyrgyz territory served as a pretext to such
positive attitude. However, as soon as Washington showed readiness
to agree additional financial aide to Bishkek ($200 million), the
Kyrgyz leader momentarily satisfied all the American wishes. Thus,
it was not incidentally that Tehran paid special attention to the
fact that in the budgetary project for the new financial year the
White House reduced financial aide to all the CIS countries, except
for Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.
The Iranians fear that these and if needed – additional means will
allow Pentagon to use its Kyrgyz base not only in the Afghan campaign,
but also to carry out operations against the Islamic Republic. Tehran,
in its turn, tries to hold its own bargain with Bishkek. As was
announced two months ago by the new Iranian Ambassador in Kyrgyzstan,
in addition to the loan that was agreed in autumn 2004 (50 million
euro), his government is ready to agree this republic 200 million
euro more, on the most advantageous terms.
The Caucasian Front
In the context of a potential Iran-American conflict, the Southern
Caucasus represents a considerably bigger danger to the Islamic
Republic, rather than the countries located to the east of the Caspian
Sea. Out of five Central-Asian republics only Turkmenistan borders
Iran, while in the Caucasus it has common border with two of the
three states of the region – Azerbaijan (611 km. long) and Armenia
(35 km). Moreover, northern Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan form a
unique ethno-cultural space – a historical living area of Azerbaijan
ethnos (30 million of its adherents live in Iran and 8 million in
Azerbaijan). Since the beginning of the 1990s, Baku openly – and from
the middle of the last decade – secretly, has patronized activists of
the separatist movement of the Iranian Azerbaijanis. A common border
connecting these two states, residents of one nation settled from both
sides, and also the traditional friction between Baku and Tehran,
have created favorable conditions for using the “Azerbaijani card”
for destabilization in Iran.
As it is known, this month Condoleezza Rice asked the consent of
Congress for allocation of an additional $75 million for subversive
actions in the Islamic Republic. In this connection, the White
House and Langley see a special value in the ethnic factor (Persians
hardly make up more than half of the Iranian population). However,
plans for provocation of interethnic tension in the Islamic Republic,
with a view toward a possible overthrow of the Ayatollahs’ regime,
can be realized only with the revival of Azerbaijani separatism,
as its potential supporters form the largest ethnic minority in Iran.
The threat from the northwest in many respects is caused by the fact
that the USA has much more influence in the Southern Caucasus than
in Central Asia.
Georgia, ruled by a graduate of Colombia University in New York,
Mikhail Saakashvili, serves as the main American bridgehead in the
region. In its foreign policy as a whole, and in particular concerning
Tehran, Tbilisi is guided exclusively by Washington. The events of the
end of the previous and beginning of the current month bear eloquent
testimony to that. Despite his aspiration to end power dependence
on Russia, under American pressure Saakashvili refused the import of
Iranian gas. Currently the Pentagon considers the Georgian territory
the most suitable bridgehead for US Air Force operations in case of
military conflict with Iran.
Owing to the extreme strain in relations with Moscow, and the refusal
of cooperation with Tehran, Tbilisi has almost deprived itself of an
opportunity to reject Washington’s claims on the usage of Georgian
airfields. In fact, today America is the main and almost the only
patron of Georgia on the issue of integration into international
economic institutions, cooperation with NATO and the EU, and also in
solving the South Ossetian and Abkhazian conflicts. This month, the
ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Tbilisi, Hossein Aminian Toosi,
expressed confidence that “the Georgian government will not agree to
the use of its territory in military actions against Iran”. However,
in the present situation, such a statement is just another testimony
to the true fears of Tehran.
As for Azerbaijan, the situation is not so unequivocal, as in the
Georgian case. However, it does not relieve Baku of Tehran’s suspicions
about possible cooperation with Washington. Ilham Aliyev from first
day of his rule was compelled to maneuver between two geopolitical
blocs competing for influence in the Southern Caucasus. On the
one hand, Azerbaijan is clamped from the south and the north by
the large regional powers – Iran and Russia. Both neighbors have
many opportunities to destabilize the situation in the republic, in
particular, using the separatist moods of the Lezghins in the north
(Moscow), and the Talish minority, and also the pro-Iranian Islamic
elements in the south (Tehran). These threats force Baku to reckon
constantly with the wishes of the Kremlin and the Ayatollahs. On
the other hand, commercial interests of the Azerbaijan ruling elite
are closely connected to the western, in particular American, oil
companies, and that, in its turn, provides the USA with rather weighty
influence in this republic. Besides, though the White House is not
interested in destabilization in Azerbaijan, (this was especially
evidenced by the American reaction to the November elections to
the local parliament), at any moment it can change its position. If
Aliyev-junior appears too intractable, or is going to refuse flatly to
cooperate with the Pentagon on the Iranian direction, Washington would
have an opportunity to support actively the Azerbaijan pro-Western
opposition, using a technique already tried in the other CIS countries.
The fact that Aliyev really understands the threats from his closest
neighbors and transatlantic partners is confirmed by the events
of this month. On the one hand, the key figures in the Azerbaijan
Government declare over and over again that the republic’s territory
“cannot be used for a hypothetical US attack on Iran” (the Head of
Defense Ministry Safar Abiyev) and that “this question is not on
the agenda and cannot be on it” (the Head of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Elmar Mamedyarov). On the other hand, Aliyev gave his final
consent to placing in Azerbaijan of the two American radar stations,
one of which will be directed toward Iran. The same month, the
Iranian Ambassador in Baku, Afshar Soleymani, declared that Tehran
“completely trusts the Azerbaijan leadership’s assurances on the
impossibility of using the territory of the republic for military
actions against Iran”. However, if such confidence were absolute,
there would be no reason to speak of it publicly.
Armenia is considered the only strategic partner of the Islamic
Republic in the Southern Caucasus. The Iran-Armenian partnership is
stipulated by the confrontation of Yerevan with Baku and Ankara,
and also by permanent tension between Teheran and Baku. The value
of connections with Iran is dictated for Armenia, first of all,
by the prospect of ending up with dependence upon power supply from
Russia through the Georgian territory. Now this task is one of the
prioritized, from the point of view of Yerevan, against the background
of diversion in January of the North-Caucasian gas pipe, and the
forthcoming increase in prices of Russian gas in April. Besides, a
strategic partnership with Iran appreciably strengthens the position
of Armenia in the Karabakh conflict.
In the regional strategy of Teheran, the importance of connections
with Yerevan is stipulated by interaction in the field of security. It
especially concerns the efforts of the Ayatollahs’ regime to prevent
spreading of American military-political influence in the Southern
Caucasus.
In this context, the main support for the Islamic Republic from the
Armenian side is provided by the representatives of the military
command. They see in the Iranians a valuable ally in case of renewal
of military actions against Azerbaijan (if negotiating process
will finally fail). However, the political leadership of Armenia
prefers to limit relations with Iran to questions of power and trade
cooperation. Official Yerevan does not wish at all to look like an
ally of Tehran, against the background of growing criticism over the
Iranian nuclear program from the side of the USA and the EU.
Crisis in relations with Russia also compels Armenia to distance
itself from excessively close partnership with the Islamic
republic. Firstly, in its rapprochement with Ankara in 2004-2005,
Moscow did not even try to take care of the interests of its only
South-Caucasian ally. Secondly, despite the harshest consequences for
the Armenian economy, Russia unequivocally decided to raise prices
for gas exported to this republic starting in April of this year. The
Armenians are especially angered with one irritating circumstance,
that soon they will have to pay for Russian gas exactly as much as
Ukraine and Moldova, which have pro-Western orientation and undermine
positions of the Kremlin on the post-Soviet space. Thus, the actions
of Moscow force Yerevan to search for new foreign policy partners.
It would seem that a natural choice in such a situation should become
even greater strengthening of partner relations with Iran. However,
many representatives of the Armenian establishment are afraid that
in that case, Yerevan risks remaining with nothing. If the military
conflict between the USA and Islamic Republic would take place, and
Armenia won’t turn away from its southern neighbor, and as a result
will suffer twice. On the one hand, its relations with the West will
worsen, and, on the other, all the joint Armenian-Iranian projects
will be cut short, harming first of all Armenian plans on acquiring
energy independence from the Russian sources.
Against this background, Tehran’s fears that the United States will
take advantage of this situation are quite reasonable. Guaranteeing
the Armenians economic assistance and support in the Karabakh question,
the Americans can try to draw them to their side before the beginning
of the Iranian campaign.
The fears of Teheran are supported by data on the activity during
the last months of some influential representatives of the Armenian
Diaspora in the USA, supporting Yerevan’s reorientation on Washington.
Priorities of Iranian Intelligence
An analysis of the situation in Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus,
in view of potential threats to the national security of the Islamic
Republic, allows determining key directions of regional activity of
the Iranian secret services.
They have two main tasks in Central Asia. The first consists
of neutralizing American – Israeli influence on the leadership
of Turkmenistan. An important role in reaching this goal may be
played by the creation of optimum conditions for strengthening the
Iranian-Turkmen economic cooperation, following the personal interests
of the highest leaders of this republic.
The second task consists of gathering information on military-political
contacts of Kyrgyzstan with the USA, and also data on any changes in
staff and technical activity at the American base in this republic. It
is possible, that in the case of a conflict, a complex of preventive
measures directed toward the breakdown of activity of this base will
be prepared.
Activity of the Iranian special services in the Southern Caucasus
represents a greater value for the Islamic Republic’s security
than their actions in Central Asia. Most likely, for work in this
direction the greatest means are to be allocated and the best staff
of the Iranian special services is to be used.
Besides, they have much stronger positions in the southern Caucasus
than in Central Asia. It is stipulated by several factors. A large
community of Iranian political emigrants are living in Azerbaijan
(by various estimates, about 200 – 300 thousand) and many Iranian
students are studying in the local high schools (last year their
number exceeded 200). The Iranian secret services actively use both
for their own ends. Besides, on the territory of Azerbaijan, Tehran
oriented Islamic radical elements operate.
In neighboring Georgia, intelligence structures of the Islamic Republic
also get the assistance of some representatives of the local Muslim
community (its number reaches about one million, and almost half
of them are ethnic Azerbaijanis). In parallel, representatives of
the Iranian secret services closely cooperate with their Armenian
colleagues, primarily in the Azerbaijani direction. Thus, today in the
South – Caucasian region, rather favorable conditions for performance
of the tasks, which stand before the intelligence community of Tehran,
are created.
In Georgia the main task of the Iranian special services consists of
tracking the activity of the Pentagon and the course of the work on
restoration of the airfields built during the Soviet period, which are
suitable for military purposes. In this connection, the carrying out
of sabotage actions directed to the disruption of repairs is possible.
In Azerbaijan, the main task of the Iranian special services consists
of prevention, by all means, of using territory of the republic in
military actions against Iran. Various measures in this case can be
undertaken: from influencing public opinion through mass media, up
to diversions and acts of terrorism against American and governmental
facilities, and also attempts to destabilize the republic with the help
of radical Islamic elements and the Talish national minority. It all
depends on the degree of probability of an American – Iranian military
confrontation, and the readiness of the Azerbaijan authorities to
assist the United States. In any case, the confidential services of
Teheran will pay greater attention to the Iranian political emigrants
who live in Azerbaijan, their contacts with fellow tribesmen in
the native land, and also with the representatives of American and
Azerbaijani intelligence.
In Armenia the main task of the Iranian special services consists in
preventing in every possible way the reorientation of the republic
to the West. This can be promoted by activating contacts with
the local mass media and politicians, and also by strengthening
the pro-Iranian lobby in the business and military circles of the
republic. In parallel, the secret services of Tehran should trace
the activity and visits to the republic of representatives of the
Armenian Diaspora from the USA and the countries of Western Europe.
The Regional War of Special Services
Activating of the Iranian secret services might very well provoke
a similar response on behalf of the USA, and, as a consequence,
of traditional contenders for influence in the region – Russia and
Turkey, and also of China in Central Asia. Inveterate territorial
disputes between the republics, which have arisen from the ashes
of the former USSR, and also numerous interethnic and religious
contradictions are a fertile field for a war among the intelligence
services in the Southern Caucasus and in Central Asia. As a result,
a new spark of secret confrontation between the leading participants
of the “Great Game” will inevitably cause even greater aggravation of
an already tense situation in the region. It is quite possible that
the whole chain of the allegedly non-connected dramatic events of
the last weeks (as, for example explosions on the Russian – Georgian
gas pipeline or interethnic collisions in Northern Kyrgyzstan),
is actually a result of an already unraveled clandestine war.
–Boundary_(ID_48QbL27F0zaXdG5a0KyjLA)–

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICANEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]
March 13, 2006
U.S. Government Donates Personal Protective Equipment to Support
Armenia’s Preparedness to combat Avian Influenza
On March 13, 2006, U.S. Ambassador John Evans met with Armenian
Minister of Agriculture Davit Lokyan to officially mark the donation of
1,500 set of personal protective equipment from the United States of
America to the government of Armenia. The equipment, which includes
coveralls, latex gloves, protective boots, goggles and masks,
is designed to be used by individuals involved in avian influenza
surveillance and response efforts. The bulk of the equipment, 1,125
complete sets, will be given to the Ministry of Agriculture to support
Armenia’s efforts to develop an active agricultural surveillance
program. The remainder of the equipment, 375 complete sets, will be
given to the Ministry of Health for use as needed by laboratory staff
and health care workers. This donation is part of an on-going effort
by the United States to assist the Armenian government in responding
to the threat of avian influenza.
The United States has also provided and continues to provide technical
and other types of assistance to support this effort.
Avian influenza is a global threat that does not respect
national boundaries. No country is immune, and every country has
a responsibility to be prepared. The United States government is
actively engaged with foreign partners around the world to combat
this threat. This donation is evidence of our commitment to assist
Armenia in responding to the threat of avian influenza.
More information on avian influenza as well as advice for American
citizens living in Armenia can be found on the U.S. Embassy’s website
at
rch/news031306.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
14-03-2006
Minister Oskanian Receives Nikolai Bordyuzha
Secretary General of Collective Security Treaty Organization
On March 13, Minister Oskanian received Nikolai Bordyuzha, Secretary
General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), who
was in Armenia on a working visit.
During the meeting, the two discussed the present situation in the
CSTO region, and future prospects for increasing the efficiency and
further developing the organization.
Further, they focused on the prospects of cooperation with other
international organizations. In this respect, Secretary General
Bordyuzha briefed the Minister on his visits to the Central Asian
states and to UN headquarters.
The Minister and the Secretary General also discussed issues having
to do with the preparation of upcoming meetings of CSTO institutions
as well as the Council of Collective Security in Minsk.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
San Francisco – Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 387-3433
Fax: (415) 751-0617
[email protected]
Contact: Roxanne Makasdjian (415) 641-0525
HRANT DINK & RAGIP ZARAKOLU VISIT THE BAY AREA
006.htm
San Francisco, March 4, 2006 – The Bay Area Armenian National Committee
hosted it’s annual “Hye Tad Evening” at Treasure Island, with special
guests from Turkey Agos Armenian Weekly editor, Hrant Dink and Belge
Publishing House owner, Ragip Zarakolu.
Hrant Dink is the publisher and founding editor of the only bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper, the Agos Weekly, established in 1996.
Dink thanked the Bay Area ANC for invited him to speak. Speaking in
Armenian, he said, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet
the Armenian community here,” and that he was happy to have had the
chance to meet and talk with Hye Tad committees all over the world.
Dink grew up in Malatia, attended Armenian school in Istanbul, and
studied Philosophy and Zoology at Istanbul University. Through his
writings, publications, and public statements, Dink has been an
outspoken advocate for the democratization of Turkish society, and
for the need to break the silence about the Armenian Genocide.
Dink recently went on trial facing three years in prison for “insulting
the Turkish state,” because of remarks he made when asked how he felt
in primary school when reciting the Turkish oath, “I am Turkish,
I am honest, I am hardworkingâ~@¦” Dink said that although he was
honest and hardworking, that he was not a Turk, but an Armenian.
Although finally acquitted in that case, he was later convicted of
“insulting the Turkish identity” because of an article he wrote about
the impact of the Armenian Genocide on the Diaspora.
Although his suspended sentence requires that he not repeat the crime,
Dink said, “I will not be silent. As long as I live here, I will go
on telling the truth,” and vowed that he would appeal to Turkey’s
supreme court and to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
“If it is a day or six months or six years, it is all unacceptable
to me,” he said. “If I am unable to come up with a positive result,
it will be honorable for me to leave this country.”
Dink now faces new charges for attempting “to influence the judiciary,”
because of his comments about his conviction.
Despite the government pressure being exerted on people who are
speaking out, Dink said, “It was a dream 10 years ago to imagine seeing
the publication of books and articles [on the Armenian Genocide].
There is no doubt that there has been some positive change.”
“People are starting to defend their rights,” said Dink, “and Turkey
is now living dangerous, but if successful – hopefully, great changes.”
“The activities of the Diaspora, the Genocide resolutions passed
by other countries every year, have contributed to the growing
consciousness in Turkey,” said Dink, who also attributed much of the
growing recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey to the Kurdish
struggle for national rights there.
“The government used to say, ‘We don’t have Kurds or a Kurdish problem.
Those people fighting up in the mountains are actually Armenians,'”
said Dink. “And to prove their assertions, they would publish
photographs in newspapers showing the uncircumcised corpses of the
defeated fighters. The Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was referred to
as ‘The Armenian Bastard.” Dink said that one of the first things his
paper did was to prove a certain priest who appeared in a government
newspaper photo with a Kurdish leader, was not in fact, an Armenian
priest, as was claimed.
“We said we’re going to speak in their language,” Dink said of the
decision to publish Agos in Turkish as well as Armenian, against the
protests of many in the Armenian community. “Since then we began
to speak about our history and to counteract their lies. We said,
‘Now, it’s our turn.'”
Dink said that the process of democratization in Turkey can no longer
be turned back. “There is a movement to talk about the past and a
desire to know what happened to Armenians, ” he said. One of the
unexpected consequences of this movement was that many people in
Turkey are now revealing that their ancestors were Armenian.
“On the other side, the Turkish government has responded with more
propaganda,” said Dink, citing the fact the four years ago, new
textbooks were distributed to all the schools which inserting extreme
historical revisionism, claiming that Armenians massacred the Turks.
Comparing the small number of books on the Genocide now being
published, with the millions of government textbooks denying
the Genocide, Dink said, “My hope is that those 3,000 books will
vanquish the governments’ millions.” He said that the process of
Armenian Genocide is going to take place from within the country,
starting from the general population. He said that outside pressures
for change must find a partner from within the country, or there is
a danger for extreme nationalism. Dink described a new ideological
movement within Turkey which brings together the Turkish and the
Islamic identities to form one unifying identity. But he also pointed
out that the nationalist groups and Islamist groups are competing
with one another in speaking against the United States, and as a
result the attacks against Armenians have increased.
Nevertheless, Dink expressed optimism about Armenian Genocide
recognition. “One day they will recognize that the Armenian Genocide
has to be addressed. But they will try to delay it and water it down
as much as possible.”
Regarding Turkey’s entry into the European Union, Dink said, “Turkey
is like a young man in love with a European young woman. But by the
time a union can actually take place, the man will be old and the
woman will be ugly… But love is the important thing. It keeps men
young, because they try to look better, act younger, take care of
themselves. Joining the European Union is not the important thing,
but being in love is important.” Dink also expressed his hope that
one day Armenia would join the European Union.
Ragip Zarakolu is the owner of Belge Publishing House. Through the
publication of books deemed subversive by the Turkish authorities over
the past three decades, Zarakolu has stood out as a courageous citizen
giving voice to countless victims of injustice whose stories have
been silenced, denied, and banned by successive Turkish regimes. The
first book on the Armenian Genocide which he published in Turkish was
Yves Ternon’s, Le Genocide des Armeniens, under the title, Armenian
Taboo, in 1994. Later came Vahakn Dadrian’s Genocide as a Problem
of National and International Law. When Zarakolu was acquitted of
charges against him for that publication, the door was then open for
a more free discussion of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey.
Among Zarakolu’s other translated publications about Armenian and
non-Armenian human rights issues is Migırdich Armen’s “Heghnar’s
Fountain,” Franz Werfel’s “Forty Days in Musa Dagh,” Avetis
Ahoranian’s, “The Fedayees,” Tessa Hoffman’s Talaat Pasha Trials in
Berlin,” Peter Balakian’s “Black Dog of the Fate,” and the most recent,
the Turkish translations of Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story.
Because of his work, Zarakolu spent three years in prison in the
1970’s. His wife also spent several years in prison.
Zarakolu told about his first exposure to the Armenian Genocide,
when his mother, a witness to the deportations, told him about being
kept in the house, while hearing Armenians being taking away outside.
“My mother said, ‘The Armenians were crying outside, and we were
crying inside,” said Zarakolu. Referring to Turkey’s involvement in
WWI as a “stupid, adventurous war of the Ittihadists,” Zarakolu said
his mother lost both her parents, and that she also was able to save
two Armenian girls from deportation, but that the government later
removed those girls from their home.
Zarakolu also spoke admiringly of Sarkis Cherkezian, an Armenian
Genocide survivor born in a Syrian refugee camp, and who just passed
away at 90 years of age.
“We learned many things about the realities of what happened to the
Armenians, ” he said of his close relationship to Cherkezian. He said
it was because of people like Cherkezian that he is able to write.
Zarakolu discussed the initial years of the Belge publishing
house, during which his work was not only banned but received little
attention. “We had a press conference for our collection of writings of
the first reports on the Armenian Genocide, but there was no coverage
in the press,” said Zarakolu.
Since then he has withstood a constant barrage of criminal charges,
further imprisonment, confiscation and destruction of books,
the bombing of his publishing house, and heavy government fines
and taxes. His publishing house has endured more than 40 criminal
indictments. Zarakolu is currently being tried for publishing George
Jerjian’s History Will Set Us Free, and Dora Sakayan’s An Armenian
Doctor in Turkey: Garabed Hatcherian: My Smyrna Ordeal in 1922.
Economic means permitting, Zarakolu hopes to publish the Turkish
editions of the Blue Book from the United Kingdom, Arnim Wegner’s
Testimonies, Captanian’s Testimonies of 1915 and a Selection of
Zabel Yeseyan’s Works, as well as a Photographic Documentation of
the Armenian Deportation to the Syrian Desert.
###
Picture Caption: (Left to Right) Bay Area ANC member Khajag Sarkissian,
Agos Editor Hrant Dink; Belge Publishing owner Ragip Zarakolu; Bay
Area ANC Chairperson Roxanne Makasdjian
–Boundary_(ID_RAwhkbDVz/ukuEyHKz9bmA) —

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
THE THIRD PAN-ARMENIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE IN ANTELIAS
The preparatory works for the third Pan-Armenian Writers’ Conference to be
held in Antelias on April 6-9 are underway, according to a press release by
the preparatory Committee.
In consultation with the presidency of the Union of Writers of Armenia, the
Committee has already sent invitations to all the writers in Armenia,
Nagorno Karabakh and the Diaspora. More than 90 writers from Armenia,
Nagorno Karabakh, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, France,
Germany, Greece, Switzerland, England, Australia, Georgia, the United States
and Canada have already accepted the invitations.
All writers can participate in the conference. Interested individuals can
contact the preparatory Committee for more information on the following
address:
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax : (+961-4) 419 724
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE CHAIRMAN
OF THE CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DIALOGUE COMMITTEE
His Holiness Aram I received the chairman of the Muslim-Christian dialogue
committee, Mir Hares Shehab, on March 14. The two discussed the internal
situation of Lebanon particularly within the context of the ongoing
political dialogue in the parliament.
Hares Shehab passed some information on to His Holiness and expressed his
opinions on various issues. His Holiness welcomed all initiatives that aim
to establish close cooperation between Lebanon’s communities, strengthen the
country’s internal unity and its independence and sovereignty. His Holiness
expressed hope that the initiative and the resulting discussions on various
levels would soon yield to practical results.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206
T | 818-243-6222
F | 818-243-7222
E | [email protected]
Contact : Sarkis Kotanjian
For Immediate Release
March 15, 2006
Armenia Fund Rebuilds Water Main System for Marmarashen
Lebanese Affiliate Finances Project
Yerevan, Armenia – Armenia Fund’s Lebanese Affiliate – Armenia Fund
Lebanon – will finance the implementation of the Marmarashen water
main system in the Ararat Region of the Republic of Armenia. The
Ararat region is home to the most fertile soil in Armenia and accounts
for the republic’s fruit, vegetable, and grain based products and
exports. The region has become the breadbasket of the republic.
Over the past years, due to a lack of funds and maintenance, the
Marmarashen town’s water main has ceased to operate properly. This
has resulted in the exodus of the local population to neighboring
regions. Responding to this water crisis, Armenia Fund will design
and install a new water main system. The new plan will include the
placement of pipes and a special internal network designed to meet
the potential needs of the town and region.
Presently, only twenty families reside in the Marmarashen town, as
a result of the water crisis. According to urban planning experts
working for Armenia Fund, the town will be able to properly sustain
100 families, after the water problem is solved.
This marks a milestone for the Lebanese affiliate, being a newly
revived branch of the Fund and embarking on a major project in the
Republic of Armenia.
Armenia Fund, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation
established in 1994 to facilitate large-scale humanitarian and
infrastructure development assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Armenia Fund, Inc. is the U.S. Western Region affiliate of “Hayastan”
All-Armenian Fund. Tax ID# 95-4485698

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
March 15, 2006  
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
MAJOR ARMENIAN ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN ASSEMBLY’S WASHINGTON CONFERENCE
Washington, DC – In less than two weeks, the Armenian Assembly will
host a major pan-Armenian conference in the nation’s capital to
convey to Washington decision makers that non-partisan leaders and
organizations in our community are united in purpose and priority.
The Assembly’s National Conference and Banquet, March 26-28, will be
co-hosted with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the
Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church and in partnership
with leading Armenian-American organizations. They include:
* Apostolic Exarchate for Armenian Catholics
* Armenia 2020
* Armenia Tree Project
* Armenian American Chamber of Commerce
* Armenian American Cultural Association, Inc.
* Armenian Church Youth Organization – Eastern Diocese
* Armenian Church Youth Organization – Western Diocese
* Armenian High Tech Council of America (Armentech)
* Armenian International Policy Research Group
* Armenian International Women’s Association
* Armenian Missionary Association of America, Inc.
* Armenian Network of America, Inc.
* Armenian Students’ Association of America, Inc.
* Birthright Armenia
* Knights of Vartan
“The Armenian community’s leading advocates will be in full force at
this Conference, thanks in part to the active participation of these
grassroots organizations,” said Assembly Board of Directors Chairman
Anthony Barsamian. “It is critical that we present our common voice
to those in the executive and legislative branches that make the
policy decisions that directly impact Armenia and Karabakh.”
The National Conference and Banquet will open on March 26 with a
welcoming reception at the U.S. Botanic Garden featuring special
guest, NKR Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian. Assembly leaders
will convene earlier that day for their annual Trustees Meeting.
The following day, participants will take part in a day-long series
of briefings and training culminating with the National Banquet that
evening at the Mayflower Hotel.
The National Conference will feature Armenia’s Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia,
Ambassador Daniel Fried and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD),
as well as a panel with the American Red Cross, the Peace Corps and
Habitat for Humanity. The Banquet that evening will feature a special
tribute to Armenian-American veterans and will include remarks by
Senator George Allen (R-VA) and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.
The Assembly will also be awarding Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) for
his outstanding public service and his commitment and dedication to
Armenian issues.
This unique event will also include special reunion events for
Armenia Mission participants and Assembly Intern Alumni on March 26
and 27 respectively.
In an effort to encourage Armenian youth to attend the Conference,
the Assembly is offering a special student package which includes
registration, two nights’ hotel accommodations and admission to the
Banquet for only $100. For more information on the Conference, or to
register, please contact Assembly Development Deputy Director Rita
Mullane at (202) 393-3434 ext. 234 or [email protected].
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. The Armenian General Benevolent Union is the world’s largest
philanthropic organization devoted to education, cultural and
humanitarian efforts. Both are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organizations.
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) is the
spiritual and administrative head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
the Eastern United States. The Eastern Diocese and its counterpart,
the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, exist under
the authority of the ancient Mother See of the Armenian Church in
Holy Etchmiadzin.
####
NR#2006-023
–Boundary_(I D_oTFPSdhJKO1uJJssoqSMVg)–

Sunday, March 12, 2006
*********************************************
Speaking of Lord Byron’s involvement in the Greek war of liberation, John Mortimer writes: “He had found, like many of those who have struggled for great liberal and liberating causes and beliefs, that the difficulty isn’t so much fighting the enemy as stopping your friends murdering each other.”
*
“If we have free speech,” Milton tells us, “truth will look after itself.” It follows, where there is censorship, there must also be lies.
*
Somewhere in his MANDATE FOR ARMENIA (Kent, Ohio, 1966) James Gidney writes that the mandate was rejected because the prevalent view in Washington was that Turks and Armenians were two Middle-East tribes that had hated each other for centuries and to get involved in such an environment would amount to looking for trouble. In other words, Armenians and Turks were seen as variants of today’s Sunnis and Shias in Iraq. Which brings to mind the adage that the only thing we learn from history is that we can’t learn from history.
*
Recycling propaganda enhances our prestige (in our own eyes) as it lowers our IQ (in the eyes of others) in addition to certifying our status as perennial dupes.
*
I have said this before and it bears repeating: the victims were innocent. But not all Armenians were. One does not have to read Turkish historians or Turcophile apologists to know this but our own pre-Genocide writers like Baronian and Odian (both available in English) whose works make it abundantly clear that the Armenian communities in the Ottoman Empire were at the mercy of loudmouth charlatans who spoke with a forked tongue, very much like our Turcocentric dime-a-dozen pundits today.
#
Monday, March 13, 2006
***************************************
QUESTIONS / ANSWERS
*********************************
WHY DO YOU CONSISTENTLY STRESS THE NEGATIVE AND IGNORE THE POSITIVE?
Because my job as a critic is to expose contradictions. A typical example of contradiction is saying one thing and doing the exact opposite.
*
READING YOU ONE WOULD CONCLUDE THAT ALL ARMENIANS ARE SOVIETIZED OR OTTOMANIZED CHARLATANS.
The written word is not a perfect medium of communication. Even the word of God has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by learned theologians throughout the centuries. What I have been saying is that the nation is at the mercy of Ottomanized or Sovietized charlatans. I have at no time said, suggested, or implied that we are all of us charlatans.
*
WHY IS IT THAT I DON’T RECOGNIZE MYSELF IN YOUR WRITINGS?
The obvious answer to that question is that what I write does not apply to you.
*
I DON’TCARE WHAT YOU SAY, I AM AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PROUD ARMENIAN.
Can you really be proud of our countless victims, or the present regime in Yerevan, or the assimilation rate in the Diaspora, and the emigration rate in the Homeland? I say about pride what Camus once said about charm – that it is “sh**.”
*
ARE YOU SUGGESTING WE SHOULD ALL HANG OUR HEADS AND SPEND THE REST OF OUR LIVES BEING ASHAMED OF OURSELVES?
No, because that would amount to accepting our present situation as a permanent condition ordained by God or some other immovable or irresistible force. I want my fellow Armenians to share my outrage, to say enough is enough. I want decent Armenians to spend less time saying, Yes, sir! I have at no time denied the fact that there are many decent Armenians. For all I know they may even be in the majority, in the same way that the majority of Germans under Hitler, or Russians under Stalin, or Italians under Mussolini, or Muslims today are decent folk. But they are not the ones who run things, set policy, make headlines, and shape the destiny of the nation.
*
I HAVE NEVER SAID YES, SIR! TO ANYONE. ON THE OTHER HAND, HOW DO I GO ABOUT SAYING NO, SIR!?
You can begin by sending an e-mail to the editors of our Turcocentric weeklies and saying there is more to life than Turks and massacres, which shouldn’t cost you a penny or more than a minute of your time. I am reminded of the great American reformer, Saul Alinsky, who once said that to demand and introduce social change doesn’t have to be hard work; sometimes it can even be fun.
##
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
**************************************
Kieslowski: “We are ashamed of being weak, hence our solitude.”
*
If only one among a hundred writers is silenced on political or religious grounds, the worth of the other ninety nine is diminished if only because it reduces their status to that of conformists and yes-men.
*
Malcolm Muggeridge: “Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.”
*
Roger Martin du Gard: “Our whole damned civilization has got to go before we can bring any decency into the world.”
Something similar could be said of our entire culture of lamentation and Turcocentrism.
*
Nietzsche: “I may be a bad German, but in any event I am a good European.” And I say, what’s the use of being a good Armenian if it also means being a bad man?
*
I once met a prominent Armenian poet, educator, and author of several textbooks who called the Nobel Prize a Zionist conspiracy. Next he said his former students now living in America number in the thousand. Which may explain the popularity of the Zionist conspiracy theory among Armenians.
#
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
**************************************
My childhood ambition was to excel in a specific field so that I would enjoy the respect of my fellow men, make a living, and provide for my family. It was my misfortune to choose literature, and Armenian literature at that – a field in which the better you get the more you are abused. But by the time I discovered that however, it was too late, I had reached a point of no return. I now do my utmost to earn as much contempt as I can, and I am glad to report I am doing just fine, even if the better I get, the worst my prospects get.
*
Whenever an odar editor rejected my work, I would ask myself, “What am I doing wrong?” Whenever an Armenian editor rejected my work, I would ask, “What am I doing right?” Odar editors wanted more sex and action; Armenian editors, more lies. Odar editors wanted to entertain their audience; Armenian editors wanted to brainwash theirs.
*
Paul Valery: “My first word was NO; it will also be my last.”
*
Nothing unites dishonest men more readily than the appearance in their midst of an honest man.
*
Perhaps I was lucky enough to have a father who was educated enough to read newspapers but not arrogant enough to propagandize or speechify. If anything, he was a collateral damage of speechifiers and sermonizers.
*
I propose the following epitaph for our sermonizers and speechifiers: “Here lies a charlatan the size of whose ego exceeded only by the length of his forked tongue.”
#