California Courier Online, October 6, 2005

1 – Commentary

French Insurance Co. Agrees to Pay
$17 Million to Genocide Heirs

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The Califorrnia Courier

2 – NAASR Lecture Will Feature Ottoman
Armenian Photographs in Getty Museum
3- ‘Visual Poetry of the Homeland’ Photo
Exhibit Opens at Ararat-Eskijian Museum
4 – Westside Guild Meeting to be
Hosted Oct. 22 at Zov’s Bistro
5 – L.A. County Supervisors
Back House Resolutions
6 – Catholicos Aram I to Visit Fresno, Oct. 10-12
7 – Settlement Board Communicates
With Claimants in NY Life Case
8 – Montebello-Stepanakert Sister-City
Association Hosts Inaugural Reception
9 – UAF’s 135th Airlift Delivers
$1.8 Million of Aid to Armenia
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1 – Commentary

French Insurance Co. Agrees to Pay
$17 Million to Genocide Heirs

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

The French Insurance Company Axa agreed to pay $17 million to descendants
of life insurance policyholders who perished during the Armenian Genocide.
This announcement was made by Mark Geragos, a prominent Los Angeles
attorney, during the Oct. 2 banquet of the USC Institute of Armenian
Studies honoring Federal Judge Dickran Tevrizian.
Geragos, along with attorneys Vartkes Yeghiayan and Brian Kabateck, had
filed a class action lawsuit in a California federal court against Axa for
failing to pay death benefits for the insurance policies purchased by
Armenians in Turkey prior to the Armenian Genocide. Judge Tevrizian
mediated the $17 million settlement which will be disbursed as follows: Up
to $11 million for the heirs of close to 11,000 life insurance
policyholders; $3 million for various Armenian charities; and $3 million
for attorneys’ fees.A French-Armenian charitable group will process and pay
the claims. Anyfunds leftover after all claimants are paid would be turned
over to the French-Armenian charity.
The Axa settlement follows a similar agreement with New York Life
InsuranceCompany in early 2004. New York Life agreed to pay $20 million
which was to be disbursed as follows: Up to $11 million for the heirs of
2,400 life insurance policyholders who perished during the Armenian
Genocide; $3 million for nine Armenian-American charitable and religious
organizations; $2 million for administrative expenses; and $4 million for
attorney’s fees.
In a lengthy interview with the French Armenian magazine, Nouvelles d’
Armenie (September 2005 issue), Yeghiayan provided several intriguing
details regarding the activities and irresponsible conduct of L’Union
insurance company which was purchased by Axa in 1996.
L’Union started selling insurance policies in the Ottoman Empire in the
1870 ‘s and continued to do so until 1931. Simon Kayserlyan was the
Director of the 51 offices of the firm in Turkey. According to a letter
sent by L’Union to the French Foreign Ministry in 1922, the company had
sold 10,899 life insurance policies by the time of the Armenian Genocide.
In that 1922 letter, L’Union disclosed that it risked losing 42 million
French Francs or $8 million as a result of the deaths of its Armenian
policyholders. The letter also said that not meeting its obligations to the
perished Armenians would tarnish the company’s reputation and prestige.
While New York Life made some attempts in the aftermath of the Genocide to
locate and pay those entitled to receive death benefits, L’Union
categorically refused to make any payments. In the early 1920’s when
French-Armenian refugee centers in Paris wrote to L’Union asking to see the
list of Armenian policyholders, the company reportedly refused, saying that
such private information could not be divulged to outside parties.
In 1928, the High Commissioner for Refugees of the League of Nations asked
several insurance companies to disclose the list of their Armenian clients,
explaining that the heirs of some insurance policyholders were children
living in extremely destitute conditions in refugee camps and that funds
from the insurance benefits would considerably ameliorate their situation.
L ‘Union reportedly responded by saying that it could not comply with the
request, as it was unable to tell which of its clients were Armenians.
Furthermore, the company made impossible demands from the families of
perished individuals in order to avoid paying them. For example, in a June
18, 1925 letter, L’Union told an Armenian claimant to provide a death
certificate and a notarized document from the Turkish Consulate in Athens
proving his relationship to the deceased policyholder. Whereas New York
Life accepted the documents provided by the Armenian Patriarchate of
Istanbul, L’ Union refused to accept such documents, demanding that the
survivors of the
Genocide return to Turkey to obtain the necessary certificates from Turkish
courts. As a result, not a single Armenian policyholder got a penny from
this company. After 1945, the company came up with a new argument for
refusing all requests for payment. It said that due to the 30-year statute
of limitations, it was no longer obligated to make any payments for
policies written prior to 1915.
The Axa settlement has a significant advantage over the one with New York
Life. Thanks to the efforts of the three Armenian attorneys, Judge
Tevrizian and Axa executives, there is a clear reference to the Armenian
Genocide in the text of the Axa settlement, whereas in the New York Life
agreement, the Armenian Genocide is merely referred to as “the tragic
events of 1915.”
The October issue of the French magazine, L’Expansion, reported that the
next insurance company to be sued by the Armenian lawyers for non-payment
of Genocide era insurance claims would be the German firm, Victoria. There
is also talk of a lawsuit being filed against the British insurance
company, Gresham, and various German banks that operated in Turkey and had
taken deposits from Armenians in that country prior to the Genocide.
The next legal step would be to sue the Turkish government for its illegal
confiscation of the personal and real properties of Armenians in Turkey
after the Genocide.
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2 – NAASR Lecture Will Feature Ottoman
Armenian Photographs in Getty Museum
BELMONT, MA – Van Aroian will give an illustrated lecture on “Armenian
Photographs in the Getty Museum,” at the Center and Headquarters of the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), in Belmont,
Mass., on Oct. 13, at 8 p.m.
The program will provide a visual presentation and sampling of the Ottoman
photo collection at the Los Angeles Getty Research Institute, with a focus
on its Armenian flavor and contributions. On a fundamental level this
collection provides investigators with a rare opportunity actually to see
aspects of Ottoman life and culture – a presentation of a world in
transition captured for succeeding generations.
Aroian spent some six weeks in 1999-2001 looking through the Getty’s
Ottoman photograph collection. He first presented the results of his
investigations into the Getty’s collection in an article in NAASR’s Journal
of Armenian Studies .
Aroian earned a BA at Boston University and MA in Middle Eastern Studies at
Harvard University. He was a fellow in Urban Geography at Clark University
and an Urban Planner and Deputy Director of the Worcester Redevelopment
Authority. He later joined his brother in-law, Kevork, and wife Mary
Balekdjian Aroian in importing and retailing Oriental carpets. He is
currently a member of the NAASR Board of Directors.
For more information on Aroian’s lecture or seminar or about NAASR, call
617-489-1610.
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3 – ‘Visual Poetry of the Homeland’ Photo
Exhibit Opens at Ararat-Eskijian Museum
MISSION HILLS, CA – The major photographic exhibition “Visual Poetry of the
Homeland: Photographs of Vahé Peroomian and Ara Meshkanbarian” is on view
at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum (AEM) from Sept. 25, thru Oct. 30. The
exhibition features over 35 color and black-and-white photographs taken in
Armenia and Karabagh by photographers Vahé Peroomian and Ara Meshkanbarian.
The photographs on display cover a remarkable range of time periods,
viewpoints, and subjects. They include architectural monuments such as
Sanahin and Goshavank Monasteries, landscape images of Lake Sevan and Mount
Ararat, as well as less-common subjects such as an elderly lady earning her
daily bread by selling sunflower seeds or a dog resting beside the
butcher’s ax and a “Fresh Meat” sign.
The public is invited to attend “Dialogues with the Artists: Interview and
Reception” on Oct. 9, at 4 pm in the museum. Exhibition curator Ramela
Grigorian Abbamontian will conduct the interview with the artists and then
will open up the discussion to questions from the audience.
“I’m eager to hear the conversations started by these works on display.
They raise many issues such as the meaning of ‘homeland,’ photographing it
as a Diasporan, and the ancient and modern faces of the land,” says
Abbamontian.
Visitors at the Sept. 25 opening were impressed, both with the beauty of
the country captured in these images, as well as with the skill of the
photographers in recreating and interpreting it. Ray Holm and his wife
Roxy Sadoyan-Holm were among the many visitors on Sunday. “The photographs
are very interesting because they give a different perspective of Armenia.
Sometimes you don’t see the oak trees, but here you do,” said Ray Holm.
Another visitor from San Diego County, Ray Tafejian noted, “I’m seeing
something I’ve never seen before. It’s a good cross-section too because it
includes the older, more historical areas, with modern places like the
Central Square.” Indeed, the ancient and the modern meet in these
photographs. The photographs took other visitors back to their roots.
Hrair Shekerjian said, “This is a wonderful exhibition, especially the
photographs of the churches in the mist. They remind me of my Armenian
church heritage and the images I grew up with.”
Space scientist Vahé Peroomian and aerospace engineer Ara Meshkanbarian,
Diaspora Armenians living in Glendale, were impressed and proud of the
country they refer to as the “open-air museum..
The Ararat-Eskijian Museum was founded in 1993 by architect, collector, and
Genocide survivor, Luther Eskijian. His vision to collect, preserve, and
present Armenian culture and history has since been nurtured by devoted
volunteers and members. “Visual Poetry of the Homeland: The Photographs of
Vahé Peroomian and Ara Meshkanbarian” will be on view until Oct. 30, 2005,
at AEM on Saturdays and Sunday, from 1-5pm. “Dialogues with the Artists:
Interview and Reception” will be held on Oct 9, at 4 pm.
The Museum is located on the grounds of the Ararat Home at 15105 Mission
Hills Road, Mission Hills, CA 91345. (818) 838-4862.
Free admission and parking.
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4 – Westside Guild Meeting to be
Hosted Oct. 22 at Zov’s Bistro
LOS ANGELES – The next meeting of the Westside Guild of the Ararat Home
will be held at Zov’s Bistro in Orange County on Oct. 22.
Internationally acclaimed, Zov Karamardian has been lauded as “The First
Lady of Food” by OC Metro Magazine.
As a child, Zov spent time in the family kitchen helping her mother and
grandmother cook Armenian dishes. Karamardian was born in Israel and spent
several years in the Middle East before coming to U.S. with her family.
It was during these first years in California that Zov discovered the
talents of Chef Julia Child. Ms. child became an inspiration for the
young Zov who went on to open a catering business from her home. Not
long after, in 1987, she decided to open a restaurant with the blessing
of Gary, her husband. Soon the mom and pop operation grew to be the
award-winning Zov’s Bistro in Tustin.
Her Bistro & Bakery Cafe is open six days a week and serves breakfast,
lunch and dinner to over 1200 patrons a day. Zov teaches classes at her
restaurant as well as at Sur La Table, a national culinary chain. She was
thrilled when she was invited to be a volunteer instructor of culinary
arts to local high school students.
Zov and Gary continue the family tradition by adding to the roster, their
son Armen who is general manager and their daughter Taleene, the director
of catering and special events.
The Karamardian family has raised money for culinary scholarships and
non-profit organizations. They are graciously underwriting the cooking
demonstration and lunch on the 22nd which means the Westside Guild can fund
the Ararat Home in a greater way.
An integral part of the afternoon will take place after lunch when Zov
signs her newly released cookbook, “ZOV: Recipes and Memories from the
Heart.” The book includes some favorite recipes which she cooked when she
was invited to the prestigious James Beard House in New York. She has a
special way to roast Rack of Lamb with Pomegranates, to cook Golden Lentil
Soup, to grill sumac coated Chicken kebab and to combine eggplant and
avocado with cilantro.
Working on the committee is Diana Hekemian, Andrea Fehring, Marilyn
Bradbury, Joan Agajanian Quinn and Barbara Poladian.
Space is limited so guests are asked to make their early reservations with
Louise Arklin at 818-368-3463.
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5 – L.A. County Supervisors
Back House Resolutions
LOS ANGELES – Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced that the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved his motion
supporting House Resolution 316 and House Concurrent Resolution 195,
recognizing the Armenian tragedy of 1915-1923 as genocide, and enhancing
genocide awareness.
HR 316 seeks to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity relating to human rights
and ethnic cleansing associated with the Armenian Genocide.
Also approved by a 35-11 vote was HCR 195 by Cong. Schiff that commemorates
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 and urges the Turkish government to
acknowledge the culpability of the Ottoman Empire and establish
rapprochement with the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people.
The Board of Supervisors will send letters in support of HR 316 and HCR 195
to the leadership of the House, the U.S. Senate, and the California
Congressional delegation.
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6 – Catholicos Aram I to Visit Fresno, Oct. 10-12
FRESNO – Catholicos Aram I will begin his three-day Pontifical visit to
California’s Central Valley on Oct. 10 with a 5 p.m. Hrashapar and Acha
Hampouyr at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church where he will be
welcomed by Pastor, Rev. Vahan Gosdanian, and the Board of Trustees.
At 6 p.m., the Pontiff will meet with Holy Trinity Youth Group/Sunday
School and local Armenian students at the Church’s gymnasium.
Catholicos Aram I will visit the Fresno City Hall at 8:30 a.m., the
following morning, and meet with various officials. At 9:45 a.m., he will
travel to the Armenian Community School at 1444 Wishon Ave. Later that
morning, the Armenian religious leader will visit the Fresno Pacific
University, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave.
The Pontifical Banquet will be held the evening of Oct. 11 at the Holy
Trinity Church Hall.
On Oct. 12, the Catholicos will visit a farm (North and Clovis), following
by an 11 a.m. trip to the California Armenian Home. Before his departure,
the Pontiff will visit the First Armenian Presbyterian Church, 430 S. First
Avenue.
The public is invited to attend all events. Admission charge for the
Pontifical Banquet at Holy Trinity is $50; 25 and under, $25. Advance
purchase of tickets is required.
For additional information, contact the Holy Trinity Church at (559)
486-1141.
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7 – Settlement Board Communicates
With Claimants in NY Life Case
LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund Board this week sent
letters and questionnaires to close to 4,000 claimants in the Marootian v.
New York Life Insurance class action case. The letters and questionnaires
will allow those claimants who have already submitted a timely claim the
opportunity to provide additional evidence substantiating their claims.
“These questionnaires will give all claimants a chance to document their
claims fully, so that the Board will have all of the information it needs
to assess the claims,” said Parsegh Kartalian, staff director of the
Settlement Fund Board.
The Marootian case was filed in US District Court by the heirs of Armenians
who had purchased life insurance from New York Life in the Ottoman Empire
prior to 1915. The heirs contended that when the policyholders were
murdered by Turks during the Armenian Genocide, NY Life did not pay the
policy benefits to the victims’ heirs. Last year, lawyers for the heirs
and lawyers for NY Life agreed to a settlement of the class action suit.
Under that settlement, NY Life agreed to pay up to $11 million to the heirs
of the policyholders, together with $3 million to specified Armenian
charities, and $4 million for attorneys’ fees and $2 million for
administrative expenses.
The settlement agreement also provided for creation of an independent
Settlement Fund Board, which is responsible for evaluating all of the
individual claims for payment by the heirs. This independent panel is not
associated with the lawyers for the heirs or New York Life, and instead
reports directly to the U.S. District Court. Appointed by the State
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, the Settlement Fund Board consists
of three members of the Armenian community of Southern California: attorney
and law professor Berj Boyajian; attorney and Burbank Board of Education
President Paul Krekorian; and physician and health care activist Viken
Manjikian. Board members serve without salary and volunteer their time to
ensure that each claim is evaluated fairly and independently.
In June 2005, the Settlement Fund Board opened an office in Los Angeles and
hired claims analysts, led by staff director Kartalian. The Board’s staff
has been engaged in sorting, classifying and organizing the nearly 4,000
claim files that had been received as of the claims deadline, and
organizing the initial communication with the claimants. The staff will
then make initial evaluations of those claims, based on the supplemental
evidence provided by the claimants, and make recommendations to the Board.
The Board ultimately will make the final decisions on each of the claims,
and will distribute the funds after the entire claims review and evaluation
process is completed and after approval of the US District Court.
The Board is making periodic written reports to the Court to ensure that
the public and all interested parties are fully informed of the process.
All of the financial accounting records relating to the Board and its
functions are filed with the Court and are available for review by the
public.
AISF Letters and Questionnaires are posted on the AISF website
ArmenianInsuranceSettlementFund.com. All documents and complete
questionnaires must be sent to the Armenian Insurance Settlement Fund Board
Office at: 900 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 614, Los Angeles, California
90017, and post-marked no later than November 7, 2005.
If the mailing address or contact information has changed, claimants are
urged to call the AISF Office immediately to update their records. If they
do not, all future correspondence will be sent to the address written on
the notice of claim form. AISF will not be responsible for any lost or
undeliverable mail.
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8 – Montebello-Stepanakert Sister-City
Association Hosts Inaugural Reception
MONTEBELLO, Calif. – With a flourish, the Montebello-Stepanakert
Sister-City Association held its inaugural reception, Sept. 25 at
Montebello City Hall. The Sunday afternoon event provided not only Armenian
delicacies, wine, dance and music, but also food for thought for the more
than 120 community members who attended.
Raising funds for the upcoming projects planned by the non-profit
Sister-City Association was the objective of the event, organizers said,
but the goal was not monetary.
“We wanted the participation of not only Armenian-Americans, but of the
general population of the city,” said Serge L. Samoniantz, the Committee
Chairman, and the MC for the reception. “We succeeded beyond our
expectations.”
Joining Montebello City Mayor Bill Molinari were Councilpersons Bob Bagwell
and Norma Lopez-Reid – both active members of the Sister-City Committee,
along with Police Chief Garry Couso-Vasquez – and several other officials,
including district representatives from U.S. Congresswoman Grace
Napolitano, and State Assemblyman Ron Calderon.
Also supporting the event with their presence were two Armenian-American
councilmen of neighboring cities: Kirk Cart-zian of Downey, and Martin
Semonoff of Brea.
Before the brief program began, the guests mingled, viewed the extensive
display of photos and rugs from Stepanakert, and tasted the Armenian
delicacies offered in the foyer of the Montebello City Hall.
Samoniantz opened the program by acknowledging the officials present, and
explained the reasons and purpose of the Montebello-Stepanakert Sister City
program. He noted that the program had been initiated by the San Gabriel
Valley Chapter of the Armenian National Committee, with the encouragement
and assistance from the Montebello Armenian Center, as well as the
financial support of the local ARF “Dro” Gomideh.
Detailing the composition of the Sister-City Committee, he observed the
diversity and the breath of support it had secured from the local community
in the short time it had been in existence. “That’s the object of this
sister-city project: bring the community together for the common good.”
Over 24 volunteers from all walks of life participate in the monthly
meetings at the Montebello Armenian Center.
Samoniantz also noted the long and proud history of Armenians in
Montebello, and highlighted the fact that in the mid-sixties, Montebello
was the first, and so far, the only city in the United States, in which a
monument to the 1915 Armenian victims of the Turkish Genocide was erected
on public land. “Montebello became an inseparable part of the Armenian map
then, and the city has justly earned the appreciation of all Armenians for
what it has done.”
Mayor Molinari read and presented the Committee with a proclamation from
the city, and in a pleasant and unexpected surprise, made a personal
contribution of $500 to the Sister-City Committee.
Following the Mayor’s presentation, Montebello businessman Nazareth
Sadorian, the chairman of the non-profit Association, spoke of the great
strides Armenians have made in the city, and their numerous contributions
to local charities and institutions. He also said that the Sister-City
affiliation will allow greater interaction between the city and Armenians
in Stepanakert, broadening the bond between the two.
Also invited to speak was Raffi Hamparian, board member and former chairman
of the Armenian National Committee, Western Region. In his brief yet
powerful address, Hamparian underlined the need for the community to keep
their involvement with each other and the nation at large.
The sister-city affiliation will allow for cultural, educational, health
care and business opportunities between the people of Montebello and the
residents of Stepanakert, who are recovering from their long struggle for
independence from Azerbaijani rule.
Music was provided by Greg Hosharian, and selected female performers from
the San Fernando Valley ‘Nairy” Hamazkayin Chapter presented three short
Armenian dances to the guests.
At the end of the program, three carpets made by the Stepanakert Rug
Factory were auctioned off, with the spirited assistance of Councilperson
Norma Lopez-Reid. The carpets were donated to the Sister-City Committee by
Hovig Mahseredjian, owner of Hye Keer, of Reseda, Calif. He privatized the
Rug factory in 1999, the first such privatization in Karabagh, and now
provides employment for 50 families in the area.
Capping off the program, Samoniantz invited all the guests to attend the
Montebello City Council meeting on Oct. 26, starting at 7 p.m., where the
councilmembers will formally vote for the affiliation with the City of
Stepanakert.
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9 – UAF’s 135th Airlift Delivers
$1.8 Million of Aid to Armenia
GLENDALE – The United Armenian Fund’s 135th airlift arrived in Yerevan on
September 30, delivering 1.8 million of humanitarian assistance.
The UAF itself collected ($712,
000) of medicines and medical supplies for this flight, almost all of it
donated by the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
Other organizations which contributed goods for this airlift were:
Mekhitarist Congregation of Armenian Fathers ($684,000); Nork Marash
Medical Center ($86,000); Shushi Music School Society ($43,000); Armenian
American Cultural Association ($43,000); Foundation Semra ($33,000) and
Fund for Armenian Relief ($32,000).
Also contributing to this airlift were: Howard Karagheusian Commemorative
Corp. ($23,000); Armenian Missionary Association of America ($20,000);
Armenian General Benevolent Union ($13,000); Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church ($12,000) and AmeriCares ($12,000).
Since its inception in 1989, the UAF has sent $415 million of humanitarian
assistance to Armenia on board 135 airlifts and 1,237 sea containers.
The UAF is the collective effort of the Armenian Assembly of America, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary Association of
America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and the
Lincy Foundation.
For more information, contact the UAF office at 1101 North Pacific Avenue,
Suite 301, Glendale, CA 91202 or call (818) 241-8900.
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**
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OFFICE OF THE NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC IN THE USA
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 223-4330
Fax: (202) 315-3339
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:

PRESS RELEASE
October 3, 2005

FIFTY-NINE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE PRESIDENT BUSH TO SUPPORT NKR
ASPIRATION TO LIVE IN FREEDOM

On the occasion of the 14th anniversary of Nagorno Karabakh’s
independence, over fifty Members of Congress joined with the
Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), in sending a letter
to President Bush, calling attention to `the important progress
being made by the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh,
towards freedom, peace and prosperity.’

The September 28 letter outlined the difficult road taken by the
Artsakh people to secure their freedom and to build a democratic and
economically viable country. It went on to cite the parallels in
the U.S. and Nagorno Karabakh commitment to freedom and democracy.
The congressional letter said, in part: `A de-facto independent
state, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is a country of proud citizens
committed to the values of freedom, democracy and respect for human
rights. We, as Americans cherish and defend these same values at
home and internationally. . . Above all, the Unites States should
unequivocally support the right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to
decide their own future.’ The full text of the letter is provided
at the end of the release.

`We thank our congressional friends for defending the values of
freedom, democracy and prosperity,’ said NKR Representative in the
United States Vardan Barseghian. `These universal values are dear to
the people of Artsakh as we continue building a rule-of-law,
democratic country, contributing meaningfully to peace and stability
in the strategic South Caucasus region.’

`We call on the United States and other nations to recognize the
independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, thereby affirming the
right of the people of Artsakh to live in freedom without fear of
violence, oppression, and persecution,’ stressed Barseghian.

The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States is
based in Washington, DC and works with the U.S. government, academia
and the public representing the official policies and interests of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

* * *
(The following is the full text of the congressional letter sent to
President George W. Bush on September 28, 2005)

September 28, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to draw your attention to the important progress being made
by the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh, towards
freedom, peace and prosperity. The United States has played a
critical role in Nagorno Karabakh’s progress, offering crucial moral
support for the Nagorno Karabakh democracy movement, providing
desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and working for peace
within the OSCE Minsk Group. As we champion freedom for all peoples
around the world, we should also continue supporting the aspirations
of people of Artsakh to live in freedom, particularly in the
strategically important South Caucasus.

The path to freedom has not been easy for the people of Nagorno
Karabakh. Following a peaceful demand by Karabakh’s legislative
body to reunite the region with Armenia in 1988, Azerbaijan launched
an ethnic cleansing campaign against individuals of Armenian decent.
As a result, thousands of ethnic Armenians were killed, while some
400,000 fled Azerbaijan to escape killings. On September 2, 1991,
the people of Nagorno Karabakh, consistent with the laws in force at
the time, declared their independence. The Declaration of
Independence noted Azerbaijan’s policies of discrimination against
the Armenian people, the resultant need to restore friendly
relations between Armenian and Azerbaijani people and respect for
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In response, Azerbaijan
launched an all-out war against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which
killed thousands, destroyed Nagorno Karabakh’s economy and forced
some 450,000 Azeries to flee from territories around Nagorno
Karabakh. The consequences of a devastating war and an ongoing
Azerbaijani blockade have all failed to break Nagorno Karabakh
people’s determination to live in freedom.

Since their independence, the people of Nagorno Karabakh have
steadily progressed on the path of democracy and conducted regular
elections, which were praised by international observers as free,
fair and transparent. While strengthening its democratic
institutions, Nagorno Karabakh has also successfully transitioned
from a Soviet-inherited centrally-planned economy to a market
economy. Despite significant setbacks, Nagorno Karabakh has largely
restored its infrastructure and introduced reforms to encourage
private enterprise and foreign investments.

The United States is proud to support a nation whose citizens are
eager to enjoy democratic rights and freedoms, develop their
economy, and create a better future. The U.S. direct humanitarian
assistance to Nagorno Karabakh has contributed significantly to
rebuilding Karabakh’s war-torn economy. Yet, more needs to be done.
Humanitarian assistance to Nagorno Karabakh should be continued and
also expanded to include a development component to meet the
challenges of Karabakh’s fledging market economy.

With its democratically elected government, capable armed forces and
an independent foreign policy, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic clearly
satisfies the international criteria for statehood. Throughout its
14-year history of independence, Nagorno Karabakh has proven to be a
reliable partner of the international community. Nagorno Karabakh
has contributed meaningfully to peace and stability in the strategic
South Caucasus, a goal the United States shares.

A de facto independent state, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is a
country of proud citizens committed to the values of freedom,
democracy and respect for human rights. We, as Americans, cherish
and defend these same values at home and internationally. We stood
with Nagorno Karabakh when its people challenged the legacy of the
Soviet totalitarianism, contributing to the democratization of the
former Soviet Union and to the end of the Cold War. This policy
should continue through expanded dialogue with the democratically
elected leadership of Nagorno Karabakh and an increased U.S.
humanitarian and development assistance. And above all, the United
States should unequivocally support the right of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh’s to decide their own future.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.

Sincerely,

[signed]

Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Howard Berman (D-CA),
Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Capuano
(D-MA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Ben Chandler (D-KY), Jim Costa
(D-CA), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Anna Eshoo
(D-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Scott Garrett
(R-NJ), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rush Holt
(D-NJ), Michael Honda (D-CA), Steve Israel (D-NY), Jesse Jackson
(D-IL), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Mark Kirk
(R-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sander Levin (D-MI), Nita Lowey (D-NY),
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Thaddeus McCotter
(R-MI), James McGovern (D-MA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Martin Meehan
(D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Candice Miller (R-MI), Grace
Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone, Jr.
(D-NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), George Radanovich (R-CA), Mike Rogers
(R-MI), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Bobby
Rush (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Joe Schwarz (R-MI), E. Clay Shaw
(R-FL), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Hilda Solis
(D-CA), Mark Souder (R-IN), Ted Strickland (D-OH), Christopher Van
Hollen (D-MD), Peter Visclosky (D-IN), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), and
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

* * *

NOTE: A PDF version of the letter is available upon request.

This material is distributed by the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic in the USA on behalf of the Government of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic. The NKR Office is registered with the U.S.
Government under the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Additional
information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington,
D.C.

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10/03/2005
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1) EU, Turkey Clinch Deal to Launch Entry Talks
2) Mountainous Karabagh Independence Marked on Capitol Hill
3) Deputy NA Speaker Hovhannisian Says Europe Must be Tough with Turkey
4) Young ARF members rally against Turkey’s EU bid

1) EU, Turkey Clinch Deal to Launch Entry Talks

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters)–Turkey and the European Union (EU) clinched a historic
deal to launch membership talks on Monday, despite deep public skepticism over
whether the wealthy Western bloc will ever be able to absorb the Muslim
nation.

The opening ceremony was delayed until close to midnight by nearly two
days of
fierce wrangling over Austrian and Turkish objections to the EU’s proposed
negotiating mandate, reflecting profound distrust on both sides.
`We reached agreement, I am going to Luxembourg,’ Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul told reporters as he left the headquarters of his ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara to fly to meet the 25 EU foreign
ministers.
Austria eventually accepted that the shared goal of the negotiations would be
accession, not the lesser `privileged partnership’ which many conservatives
and
Christian Democrats across Western Europe had sought.
In return, the EU made clear that its capacity to embrace the vast, poor
NATO ally strategically located on the borders of Europe and the Middle East
would be a key factor in the pace of Turkey’s integration, as well as Ankara’s
progress in meeting strict criteria.
Negotiations are expected to last at least a decade and at least two EU
members, France and Austria, have promised their voters a final say on Turkish
accession in referendums.
Turkey now faces a marathon effort to transform its political, economic and
social system and implement 80,000 pages of EU law.
Turkey had held up a deal for hours in a final wrangle over Cyprus after
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had overcome Austrian demands to offer
Ankara a status short of membership.
Gul’s plane waited on the tarmac at Ankara airport and frustrated EU foreign
ministers cooled their heels, most of them in the dark on the details of
Straw’s negotiations.
The United States lent a hand to try to rescue the stalled talks after Turkey
objected to a clause which hardliners in Ankara said could affect its ability
to keep Cyprus out of NATO.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Turkish Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan to assure him that the proposed EU negotiating framework would
not impinge on NATO.
`We are basically saying: cut whatever deal you can get at the EU and don’t
worry that somehow it ties your hands at NATO–because we don’t think it
does,’
a State Department official said.
Failure to start the talks would have dealt a blow to political reform and
foreign investment in Turkey and would also have deepened a sense of crisis in
Europe, after defeats for the draft EU constitution in France and the
Netherlands, and the failure in June to agree on a long-term budget for the
bloc.
But the tortuous nature of the final deal could leave a bitter taste on both
sides, foreshadowing years of touch negotiations to come in an atmosphere of
mutual disenchantment.

2) Mountainous Karabagh Independence Marked on Capitol Hill

Baroness Caroline Cox, Members of Congress, Armenian-American Community Mark
Fourteen Years of Freedom, Democracy and Economic Development

WASHINGTON, DC–Members of Congress and leading human rights activist, British
House of Lords Vice-Speaker Baroness Caroline Cox, joined together on Capitol
Hill September 28 to mark the 14th anniversary of the Mountainous Karabagh
Republic’s (MKR/Artsakh) independence. Over 100 Armenian-Americans,
Congressional staff members and human rights advocates attended this
unprecedented event, hosted by the Office of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic
in the USA, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Assembly of
America (AAA) and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) in
cooperation with the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.
During the two-hour event titled `14 years of Mountainous Karabagh’s
Independence: Progress Toward Freedom, Democracy and Economic Development,’
participants highlighted the great strides the Mountainous Karabagh Republic
has made since shaking off foreign oppression.
`Fourteen years have passed since the day when the people of Karabagh said a
firm NO to continued foreign oppression,’ said MKR Representative to the
United
States Vardan Barseghian in his opening remarks.
`Fourteen years of ongoing struggle to survive and prosper against
overwhelming odds. Fourteen years of serious achievements. Fourteen years of
success. Many formally recognized countries would wish to be able to say this
about their recent history, but only a few can.’
Making the case for international recognition of MKR independence, Barseghian
stressed that the Mountainous Karabagh Republic now meets all of the
traditional, internationally acceptable requirements for statehood, such as
control over a defined territory, a permanent population, democratically
elected government, capable armed forces, and the capacity to conduct
international relations, including participation in peace negotiations and
functioning representative offices in Moscow, Paris, Washington, DC and
elsewhere.
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
stressed
the progress Mountainous Karabagh has made since declaring its independence in
1991, and the pivotal role of US humanitarian assistance in the region.
`Progress is the key word here,’ stated Rep. Knollenberg. `The people of
Karabagh continue to make progress despite the challenges they face. I
think in
the future they will continue to make progress with the support of the US
Congress and from the United States.’ He emphasized that in Karabagh `the
economy is working, the democracy is functioning and they continue to have
successful elections, which are more open and free than [those in] some
countries in the region.’ Knollenberg also commended the Office of the
Mountainous Karabagh Republic in the USA and its staff for keeping Members of
Congress abreast of ongoing developments in NKR.
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
reminded
participants that `often times when Karabagh is mentioned in the media, they
forget to mention that it became independent legally under international law
and under Soviet law… We need to keep stressing that this truly is a democracy
that has an elected president and does so in a very transparent way.’ Rep.
Pallone also pledged continued Armenian Caucus support for Mountainous
Karabagh’s democratic aspirations. `We will continue to urge the Bush
Administration, or any other administration, and State Department that they
need to be more supportive to Karabagh,’ he said.
Representative George Radanovich (R-CA) stressed the important role the
Armenian-American community plays in educating Congressional leaders about the
vital concerns in Mountainous Karabagh. `Your presence here [on the Hill]
helps
us to better the relationship between [our] two countries,’ explained Rep.
Radanovich, as he congratulated Mountainous Karabagh’s 14 years of
independence.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) concurred, stating `I want to express my admiration
for the Armenian-American community, which has been a wonderful example to the
other Americans about how you take democracy seriously . . . and how you do it
for the moral principle. Thank you for insisting we take this principle of
self-determination, that we so fiercely defend in America, and apply it
elsewhere.’ Rep. Frank went on to remark about Azerbaijan’s continued attempts
to deny Mountainous Karabagh freedom. `I don’t understand… and this is
directed
to the government of Azerbaijan: Governing when people are willing to be
[governed] can be difficult; I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go
through the aggravation of governing people against their will. It really just
is a dumb thing to do. . . I do not understand why any government anywhere
would want to hold people against their will.’
California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff noted that he supports `independence for
MKR because it is both consistent with American values and because it makes
practical political sense.’ He praised the growing democracy in the region,
stating that `even though they have been politically and militarily challenged
by Azerbaijan and its powerful ally Turkey, the people of Karabagh have
continued to build all the requisites of statehood.’
The final Congressional speaker of the evening, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY),
summed up the sentiments of previous speakers, stating `the people of
Mountainous Karabagh have the right to assert their independence and freedom;
they have that right and they should be provided the opportunity to do so…
I am
very proud to be with you to assert my unity with you and your enterprise.’
Armenian Ambassador to the US Dr. Tatoul Markarian noted, `self-determination
for Mountainous Karabagh is the key to achieving real freedom and to bringing
long-term peace and prosperity in the region. Karabagh’s conflict’s
distinction
from other conflicts in Eurasia is acknowledged by the international
community.
We understand that settlement of the conflict requires serious compromise from
all parties. Meanwhile, I am convinced, and it is widely shared, that any
solution to the conflict will be based on the fact and the right to
self-determination of the people of Mountainous Karabagh, which the core and
the final settlement must take into account.’
World-renowned human rights activist and an outspoken champion of Karabagh’s
right to self-determination, Baroness Caroline Cox gave the keynote address.
Baroness Cox, who recently returned from her 60th trip to the region, provided
an eye-witness account of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing campaign, pogroms and
outright war against the people of Mountainous Karabagh and spoke passionately
about the incredible progress–both democratic and economic–Karabagh has made
since the 1994 cease-fire accord. Through a powerful slide presentation, the
Baroness gave Members of Congress, staffers and attendees a first-hand view of
reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts throughout the country.
Lady Cox concluded her remarks by urging the international community to
respect the rights to freedom, justice, and democracy of the people of
Mountainous Karabagh.
`It is high time for the international community to address the challenges
raised by the conflict of the principles of self-determination and territorial
integrity. Surely, there must be some recognition of the rights of a
vulnerable
minority, threatened by a repressive state with attempted ethnic cleansing or
genocide, to have the right to claim their independence in order to survive…
The time for recognition of the rights of the people of Karabagh for
self-determination is NOW for the sake of justice, peace and, in due course,
the economic prosperity and stability for all who live in the region.’
`If any people in the world today deserve the right to self-determination and
the recognition of independence, it is the people of Mountainous Karabagh,’
said Baroness Cox.
Among speakers at the program were ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian and
AAA Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. Hamparian stressed the significance of
NKR achievements and thanked Members of Congress for their ongoing support of
Artsakh’s freedom, democracy and economic development.
`Today, as Armenians, we thank the US Congress for years of moral, financial,
and political support for Mountainous Karabagh,’ said Hamparian. `In turn, as
Americans, we thank the people of Mountainous Karabagh, first, for their
courage and leadership in sparking the democracy movement that spread to other
republics and eventually helped to end the Soviet threat to the free world,
and, second, for today being on the front lines in the advance of freedom
worldwide–an enduring goal of the American people.’
Ardouny concurred by saying: `We have heard this evening about the importance
of freedom, liberty and democracy fundamental principles that guide us today
just as they did over 200 years ago during the founding of the US
Constitution.’
`Mountainous Karabagh is a geographical fact. It is a political and moral
fact
[Karabaghtsis] are the first people of the former Soviet Union to launch a
freedom movement and set out in principle to institutionalize freedom,
responsible government, and human equality as is evidenced today,’ said
Ardouny, drawing a parallel with what American statesman Adlai Stevenson once
said about the US.
Providing first-hand knowledge of the most recent election held in
Mountainous
Karabagh was Dr. Aleyda Kasten, who traveled to NKR last June as one of six
members of the American Independent Monitoring Delegation. Dr. Kasten, who
also
observed presidential elections in the United States and last year’s
presidential election in the Ukraine, testified that over 75% of eligible
citizens of Karabagh turned out to elect the Republic’s Fourth Parliament
since
independence. `This was a tightly contested ballot that left no single
party in
majority control of the legislature. We, as a group, did not observe
irregularities during voting or vote count. We were struck by the people’s
determination to democratically decide their future. We can honestly say that
from our observations the elections were carried out freely and
transparently,’
said Kasten.
MKR Representative Barseghian closed the event by saying that `during its 14
years of independence NKR has shown demonstrable progress toward freedom,
democracy and economic development values championed by the United States and
shared by the people of Karabagh. As the United States supports and promotes
freedom and democracy for all peoples around the globe, we call on the US to
also continue to support the aspirations of the Karabagh people to live in
freedom, security and prosperity.’
On behalf of the people of Artsakh, Barseghian thanked the Government of the
United States and the American people for their ongoing aid to rehabilitate
Mountainous Karabagh’s war-torn economy and the shattered lives of its
citizens
and called on the US to play a greater role in its conflict mediation efforts
by encouraging the government of Azerbaijan to negotiate directly with the
leaders of Mountainous Karabagh and to respect the will of the people of
Karabagh to live in freedom.
`This event would not have been possible without the strong support of the
two
Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus, Representatives Pallone and Knollenberg,
Ambassador Markarian, the Armenian Assembly and the Armenian National
Committee,’ said Barseghian. He also thanked Tim Delmonico from Rep. Pallone’s
office and Craig Albright, legislative director for Rep. Knollenberg, for
their
invaluable input.
`The Mountainous Karabagh Republic is strong and successful because it has
committed friends like you,’ concluded Barseghian.
The Office of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic in the United States is based
in Washington, DC and works with the US government, academia and the public
representing the official policies and interests of the Mountainous Karabagh
Republic.

3) Deputy NA Speaker Hovhannisian Says Europe Must be Tough with Turkey

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The deputy speaker of Armenia’s parliament Vahan
Hovhannissian told a press conference on Monday that if Europe seeks stability
and peace in the South Caucasus, it must be tough with Turkey, and request
implementation of certain criteria before granting it full membership to the
European Union (EU). These would include a resolution of the Cyprus and
Kurdish
issues, as well as recognition of the Armenian genocide, he stressed.
What is most incredulous, Hovhannisian said, is Turkey’s occupation of an EU
member country, which it refuses to recognize.
Hovhannisian pointed to Turkey’s non-compliance on a myriad of issues and its
tough stance with Europe, saying that this sets a `dangerous example for
Azerbaijan,’ which is also showing signs of refusing to cooperate, this time
with the OSCE and Armenia.
He said that though European political forces understand Turkey’s refusal to
recognize the Armenian genocide is dangerous, he explained that Armenia must
nevertheless aggressively advance the issue. `We must share our position with
the Europeans; we cannot rely on Euro officials.’

4) Young ARF members rally against Turkey’s EU bid

YEREVAN (YERKIR)–Armenian youth rallied in Yerevan on Monday, calling on the
European Union to cancel EU accession talks with Turkey.
Over 250 members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Youth
Organization rallied outside the British embassy in Yerevan, and then marched
to EU offices. The talks were scheduled to begin later in the day.
The demanded that talks with Turkey be postponed until the country accepts
its
role in the Armenian genocide, ensures basic rights of its citizens, and stops
oppressing its ethnic minorities.
In their letters to EU member-states and the UK Embassy in Armenia, they
called for negotiations with Turkey to be postponed, `in the name of democracy
and human rights… as long it as it [Turkey] refuses to acknowledge the
Armenian
genocide and continues using violence against its minorities.’ The UK
presently
holds the EU presidency.
Zinavor Meghrian, a member of the ARF youth that the Republican Party of
Armenia voiced its support for the protest and that 5,000 people are expected
to stage a similar protest in Europe, organized by the Armenian European
Federation.

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Investment Opportunity in Armenia

BISNIS: Construction Industry Update
October 3, 2005

In today’s message you will find:

— BISNIS Search for Partners (1)
— INTERFAX NEWS DIGEST

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BISNIS Search for Partner Lead (1):

1. Company: Mehrabyan Medical Institute

Description: Private educational establishment Mehrabyan Medical
Institute seeks a U.S. investor for a hotel construction project. The
project envisions the construction of an international standard, elite
youth-student hotel. The hotel will be a six-story building plus
basement, with a parking lot situated in front of the hotel and a
playing ground for volleyball, basketball and other sports behind it. A
recreation complex (a large pool, sauna, training hall, a body massage
room, jacuzzi and a bar) and an entertainment complex (disco and bar
karaoke) are situated in the basement. A two-story restaurant for 150
persons, administration, travel agency and conference hall are to be
situated on the ground floor. The Mehrabyan Medical Institute plans to
provide co-financing and management of the facilities once the hotel is
commissioned.

Web site:

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Lead Link:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INTERFAX NEWS DIGEST

NOKIAN TYRES TO PUMP EUR 21.5 MLN INTO RUSSIAN FACTORY EXPANSION

ST. PETERSBURG. Sept 23 (Interfax) – Nokian Tyres signed a contract
worth 21.5 million euros with Finland’s YIT Construction Ltd to expand
its new tyre factory in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region, Nokian said in a
press release.

The contract covers the construction, by the end of July 2006, of two
factory premises measuring 20,255 square km and a 16,600-sq m warehouse,
the release said.

Nokian Tyres opened the EUR52-million tyre plant in Vsevolozhsk on
September 22.

Copyright (c) 2005 by Interfax Information Services B.V.
c/o Interfax-America, Inc., 3025 S. Parker Rd., Suite 737, Aurora, CO
80014, USA.
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[email protected]
Internet:
Reproduction without permission of the copyright holder is strictly
prohibited.

Note: Articles by non-U.S. government employees express the views of the
authors and should not be construed as a statement of U.S. government policy

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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BISNIS ExpoLink Eurasia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
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fm
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For industry-specific information, please go to Construction Industry
page at

+++++++++++++++++ Provided by: ++++++++++++++++
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U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-3729
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e-mail: [email protected]

UNITED ARMENIAN FUND
1101 N. Pacific Avenue # 301
Glendale, CA 91202
Tel: 818.241.8900
Fax: 818.241.6900

30 September 2005

UAF’s 135th Airlift Delivers $1.8 Million of Aid to Armenia

Glendale, CA – The United Armenian Fund’s 135th airlift arrived in
Yerevan on September 30, delivering 1.8 million of humanitarian
assistance.

The UAF itself collected ($712,000) of medicines and medical supplies
for this flight, almost all of it donated by the Catholic Medical
Mission Board.

Other organizations which contributed goods for this airlift were:
Mekhitarist Congregation of Armenian Fathers ($684,000); Nork Marash
Medical Center ($86,000); Shushi Music School Society ($43,000);
Armenian American Cultural Association ($43,000); Foundation Semra
($33,000) and Fund for Armenian Relief ($32,000).

Also contributing to this airlift were: Howard Karagheusian
Commemorative Corp. ($23,000); Armenian Missionary Association of
America ($20,000); Armenian General Benevolent Union ($13,000); Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church ($12,000) and AmeriCares ($12,000).

Since its inception in 1989, the UAF has sent $415 million of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia on board 135 airlifts and 1,237 sea
containers.

The UAF is the collective effort of the Armenian Assembly of America,
the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Missionary
Association of America, the Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of America and the Lincy Foundation.

For more information, contact the UAF office at 1101 North Pacific
Avenue, Suite 301, Glendale, CA 91202 or call (818) 241-8900.

Armenica.org
October 2, 2005
Editorial: Turkey Swings Back and Forth

By Ake Daun

Turkey’s negotiations with EU start on October 3. Confronted with the
demands for freedom of speech, the Turkish government has turned on its
heel. The conference in Istanbul, entitled `Ottoman Armenians during the
decline of the Empire’, which was stopped shortly before its opening on
May 25, was instead rescheduled for September 23-25.

In May, the minister of justice described the conference as `a stab in
the back of the Turkish nation’. The participants were risking
prosecution. In August, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül declared instead:
`Turkey does not avoid discussing the Armenian Question. We have nothing
to fear. Let the Turkish general public discuss this issue under calm
conditions and draw its own conclusions’.

On Thursday, September 22, just before the opening, the conference was
stopped once again. The denial of the Christian minority genocide in
that beginning of the 20th century has been official policy since 1920s.
The Armenian Question has been as taboo as the Kurdish one. At the same
time the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk is charged with the crime against
the `Turkish national identity’. He has mentioned the Armenian
Genocide.

But in order to mark its change of position, the Turkish state has
decided to spend one and a half million (US Dollars) on the
reconstruction of the Armenian church of Sourp Khatch on the Akhtamar
Island, a architectural treasure from the old Great Armenia. The measure
is a sensation, keeping in mind the large number of churches in the old
Armenian areas which have been left to fall into disrepair.

Regardless to the fact whether a positive social change is politically
forced on or not, it should be confronted with respect ` without malice!
It will be a gift from history to the next generation, which will be
spared to bear the legacy of its forefather’s inability.

It is though problematic that Turkey has several contradictory centres
of power. When the conference was stopped with threat of prosecuting the
participants, the organizers decided to move the conference from the two
state universities of Bosporus and Sabanci to the foundation owned Bilgi
University which could be excluded from the court jurisdiction. The
court decision had met by government’s anger, who, at the prospect of
starting the EU membership negotiations, did not wish for any new
spanner into the works. Foreign Minister Gül bitterly noted that `few
countries in the world are so skilled in damaging themselves so much.’

But the lawyers have not given up so easily. According to the Internet
edition of a Turkish newspaper, the same group who threatened the
organizers of the conference with legal actions, now asked the Chief
Prosecutor to raise charges against 17 of the involved people in the
conference at the Bilgi University. Among the names on the list are also
Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gül, who have been forced to
join those who committed crime against the `Turkish national identity’.
The quite peculiar situation seems to have aroused ` or actually is
asserting more clearly than ever that the Turkish foreign policy is
driven only partially by its government.

>From government’s direction there is, at the prospect of the EU
negotiations, a more conciliatory posture than before. A similar opening
has not been given in the Cyprus question, which could put a stop to the
EU entry. Turkey does not recognise Cyprus as a state. It is difficult
to consider this as a negotiation manoeuvre. That a member country would
not recognise another member country is as imaginable as unrealistic.

With some knowledge about the Ottoman Empire the posture of Turkey is
more comprehensible. The Greeks were actually involved in the same
history which resulted in the Armenian Genocide. Both were Christian
minorities in the mighty Turkish state. The other subjected Christians
were the Assyrian-Syrians and the Chaldeans. They carry on the same
memory. Even the Greeks are waiting for Turkey to make up with its
bloody past.

The history ` which has a much longer political background history ` is
in short the following: In 1878 Turkey was forced to give up Cyprus to
Great Britain, one of many decisions which altered the history of the
Ottoman Empire. In 1960 Cyprus became an independent state, ruled by
Greek-Cypriot president and a Turkish-Cypriot vice president. The mere
fact that these two could not fall into each other’s arms should have
been realised much sooner.

Let us study Eastern Anatolia from a different hypothetical perspective,
i.e. the old Armenian nucleus area in Turkey. Imagine that it has become
an independent state with an Armenian president and a Turkish vice
president (yes, as unrealistic as Cyprus!). Then imagine that the
country, after internal conflicts, have been divided in an
Armenian-Anatolian part and a Turkish-Anatolian part. Imagine that the
Turks had made the Turkish part to a federal state within Turkey and
nine years later declared it as an independent state, illegal according
to the UN Security Council.

And finally. Imagine that our virtually Armenian-Anatolian government
have applied for EU membership and has received it in 2004. What would
EU had said if Turkey then refused to accept the demands of EU about
recognition of this Armenian ruled country, already an EU state?

Turkey had most likely reacted in the same recalcitrant manner as the
country has done in the reality in regard to Cyprus. Does this long
grievous history belong to the kind out of the possibility range of the
diplomats? Maybe all the factors which decide the outcome already in
place. I do not think so.

________________________________________________________________________
Ake Daun is professor in ethnology at the Nordiska musset and Stockholm
University. Daun’s speciality is within the field of European culture.
He has been editorial writer for Dagens Nyheter and the TCO newspaper
and is often consulted expert and lecturer in ethnical issues.

US weighs in on Turkey-E.U. talks over NATO
By Saul Hudson
Mon Oct 3, 6:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States helped rescue Turkey’s bid to join
the EU on Monday in an unusual intervention in European affairs prompted in
part by American concern the bloc was interfering in NATO.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan to prod Washington’s large Muslim ally to accept negotiating terms
with the EU and begin accession talks.
Turkey acquiesced at the eleventh hour after the superpower’s top diplomat
emphasized to Erdogan that the rules for joining the EU could not oblige him
to drop his objection to Cyprus’ membership in NATO, as Ankara had feared.
“Our view is that EU processes shouldn’t affect or be brought into NATO
processes,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Despite wariness across Europe, the United States has long supported
Ankara’s ambitions to join the EU because Washington hopes anchoring Turkey
in the region’s institutions could encourage more integration between Muslim
states and the West.
But Monday’s high-level intervention also showed U.S. determination to
thwart any EU attempt to use the bloc’s power to exert greater influence
over NATO — a transatlantic alliance traditionally dominated by Washington.
Rice acted in part because close ally Britain, which holds the EU
presidency, needed help to save the talks and in part because Washington
wanted to send a signal that NATO was independent from the bloc, a senior
State Department official said.
Another State Department official said that although Turkey signed up to a
framework for joining the EU that included agreeing not to block Cyprus’ bid
to be a NATO member, European countries did not always follow through on
such pledges.
“We are basically saying (to Turkey): cut whatever deal you can get at the
EU and don’t worry that somehow it ties your hands at NATO — because we
don’t think it does,” said the official, authorized to speak to reporters
anonymously.
CYPRIOT CALL
Rice also called Tassos Papadopoulos, the Greek Cypriot leader of the tiny
divided island, who is involved in a decades-old territorial dispute with
Turkey.
She demanded he refrain from using his government’s ambitions to join NATO
as a wedge between the EU and Turkey, a senior State Department official,
said.
Papadopoulos agreed not to make it an issue, said the official, who asked
not to be named because the conversation was private.
The Bush administration is sensitive to any moves it perceives as an EU
effort to undermine its sway in Europe through its dominance of NATO.
At an EU-U.S. meeting in Brussels this year, Rice did not attend a dinner
after bitter wrangling over wording that Washington insisted on in a
conference statement praising NATO’s role in Iraq, a State Department
official said.

Aravot (Morning), Armenia
Sept 27 2005

DO THE COCHAIRMEN LIVEN UP?

We got 3 news about the cochairmen of OSCE Minsk group. All three are
from the Azerbaijani sources. First the Foreign Minister of the
neighbor country E. Mamediarov informed that the meeting of Stiven
Mann, Bernar Fasie and Yuri Merzlyakov was held in Vienna in these
days during of which «the place and format of next negotiations of
the Karabakh conflict will be determined». Then the US Ambassador in
Azerbaijan Rino Harnish informed that the American cochairman of the
OSCE Minsk group Stiven Mann would arrive Baku. And finally the
Russian cochairman of the same group Yuri Merzlyakov according to the
Azerbaijani source declared that the cochairmen seriously worried
about increasing expenses of Armenia and Azerbaijan
for military proposes.

PR Web (press release), WA
Sept 28 2005

Arpa International Film Festival Opens with “Khachaturian” and “One
Dollar Curry”

Beginning on Monday, October 3, 2005 the Arpa International Film
Festival kicks off its 8th annual event at ArcLight Cinemas,
Hollywood. More than 50 features, documentaries, shorts and animated
films from 18 different countries will be presented through Thursday,
October 6.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 28, 2005 — Beginning on Monday,
October 3, 2005 the Arpa International Film Festival kicks off its
8th annual event at ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood. More than 50
features, documentaries, shorts and animated films from 18 different
countries will be presented through Thursday, October 6.

This year’s nominated feature films are Jodi Binstock’s `Call
Waiting’, produced by Don Roos; Vijay Singh’s `One Dollar Curry’;
Tahmineh Milani’s `Unwanted Woman’; and Rene Gabri’s `Love &
Suicide.’ Nominated documentaries are Peter Rosen’s `Khachaturian’;
Carmen Labaki’s `Armenians of Lebanon’; Aaron Weisblatt’s `Between
Two Worlds’; Gary Null’s `The Drugging of Our Children; and Hagop
Goudsouzian’s `My Son Shall be Armenian’.

2005 Arpa Official Selection includes the work of Caroline Aaron,
Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ed Asner, Catherine Bell, Eric Bogosian, Dan
Bucatinsky, Vikram Chatwal, Erica Christensen, Andy Dick, Jenna
Elfman, Isaac Hayes, Roger Kupelian, Danica McKellar, Michael Moore,
James Oxford, Timilee Romolini, Jane Seymour, Diego Velasco, and
Sevag Vrej. Joanelle Romero will receive the Armin T. Wegner Award
for `American Holocaust – When It’s All Over I’ll Still Be Indian’,
an examination of the link between Adolf Hitler’s treatment of German
Jews and the U.S. government’s “ethnic cleansing” of American
Indians.

Arpa is a resource for international filmmakers who address the
issues of diaspora, multi-culturalism and global empathy. The
non-profit art organization has grown into a dynamic forum for world
cinema in Los Angeles.

The festival concludes with a gala awards ceremony at the Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel on Friday, October 7.

For more information, please visit or call (323)
663-1882

EUROPA (press release), Belgium
Sept 28 2005

Speech by Mr Olli Rehn

Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enlargement

“Accession negotiations with Turkey: the journey is as important as
the final destination”

European Parliament Plenary Session
Strasbourg, 28 September 2005

Introduction

Let me first extend a warm welcome to the new observer Members of
Parliament from Bulgaria and Romania. I am very happy to see that you
are participating in the work of this House, and I am looking forward
to cooperating with you in the future.

This debate about Turkey is timely. We are on the eve of the date
fixed by the European Council for starting accession negotiations
with Turkey. This opens a new phase in the EU-Turkey relations.

The reasons which led the EU to decide to open accession negotiations
with Turkey are unchanged: the EU needs a stable, democratic and
prosperous Turkey, in peace with its neighbours, which takes over the
EU values, policies and standards.

The start of the negotiations will give a strong push for those in
Turkey, who want to reform the country to meet the European values of
rule of law and human rights; they are also a way for the EU to have
leverage on the direction of these reforms.

The conditions set in the December European Council conclusions are
met: First, the six pieces of legislation, including the penal code,
identified by the Commission in last year’s Recommendation entered
into force on 1 June. Second, Turkey signed Additional Protocol to
Ankara Agreement on 29 July.

Additional Protocol

In this context, I would like to thank the chairman of the Committee
of Foreign Affairs and the rapporteur, Mr Elmar Brok, for putting
forward the recommendation to give assent to the conclusion of the
Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement.

Let me make some comments in light of the developments in recent
weeks.

We regret the fact that Turkey had to issue a declaration upon
signature of the Additional Protocol. This obliged the EU Member
States to react and to lay down the obligations which we expect
Turkey to meet, in a statement adopted on
21 September. It stresses that:

– the declaration by Turkey is unilateral, it does not form part of
the Protocol and that has no legal effect on Turkey’s obligations
under the Protocol;

– the EU expects full, non-discriminatory implementation of the
Additional Protocol, and the removal of all obstacles to the free
movement of goods, including restrictions on means of transport;

– the opening of negotiations on the relevant chapters depends on
Turkey’s implementation of its contractual obligations to all Member
States; failure to implement its obligations in full will affect the
overall progress in the negotiations;

– recognition of all Member States is a necessary component of the
accession process; accordingly, the EU underlines the importance it
attaches to the normalisation of relations between Turkey and all EU
Member States, as soon as possible;

– and finally, in the context of this declaration, the European
Community and its Member States agree on the importance of supporting
the efforts of the UN Secretary General to bring about a
comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem in line with relevant
UNSCRs and the principles on which the EU is founded, and that a just
and lasting settlement will contribute to peace, stability and
harmonious relations in the region.

Negotiating framework

Right before the start of accession negotiations, the Council should
adopt the negotiation framework proposed by the Commission. This
framework forms a solid basis for rigorous and fair negotiations with
Turkey.

Political reform

I have carefully read your joint motion for a resolution and I share
many of your concerns. I also agree with you that there is an
important link between the pace of negotiations and the pace of
political reforms.

I will spare no effort to repeat time and again that starting
accession negotiations marks only the beginning of a very demanding
and complex process: Turkey will need to continue and accelerate its
process of internal transformation and its transition towards a fully
fledged liberal democracy respectful of human rights and minorities.

Turkey’s reform process is ongoing. Important legislative reforms
adopted earlier have now entered into force, leading to structural
changes in the judiciary. The human rights situation has improved,
but significant further efforts are required.

There have been recently some encouraging signals. The acknowledgment
by Prime Minister Erdogan of the existence of a `Kurdish issue’ is a
landmark. His trip to Diyarbakir suggests the importance the
Government attaches to the economic and social development of the
South East of Turkey.

The academic conference on the Armenian issue could finally take
place in Istanbul last week-end, with the support of the government
and despite last-minute attempts by an administrative court to cancel
it. These attempts were strongly condemned by PM Erdogan and Vice-PM
Abdullah Gül. This is a step forward.

However, in order to be fully credible, Turkey’s commitment to
further political reforms should be translated into more concrete
achievements for the benefit of all Turkish citizens.

Despite the efforts of the authorities, implementation on the ground
remains uneven. On the one hand, there are signs that the judiciary
is enforcing the reforms. Several positive court judgements have been
made in relation to cases on freedom of expression, freedom of
religion and the fight against torture and ill-treatment.

On the other hand, there have been contradictory decisions,
particularly in the area of freedom of expression where, for example,
journalists continue to be prosecuted and, on occasion, convicted,
for expressing certain non-violent opinions.

The case of Orhan Pamuk is emblematic of the difficulties the Turkish
authorities face to ensure effective and uniform implementation of
the reforms and of the struggle between the reformers and the
conservatives in Turkey.

The respected novelist is prosecuted by a district judge of Istanbul
under art 301 of the new Penal Code for `denigrating Turkish
identity’. Yet, an earlier investigation by another prosecutor was
dropped following a different interpretation of the same Penal Code,
which states in the same article, 301 that expression of opinion with
the purpose of criticism does not require penalties!

The Commission made already very clear that its assessment of the new
Penal Code, in particular on the doubtful provisions related to
freedom of expression, would depend on how actually these provisions
are implemented.

The prosecution of Mr Pamuk raises serious concerns in this respect.
If this is indeed the direction taken by the judiciary in Turkey,
then the Turkish Penal Code will have to be amended in such a way
that freedom of expression is not subject to the very particular
beliefs of some district judge anymore, but simply follows European
standards as we all know them.

Another problem: fundamental problems encountered by non Muslim
religious minorities persist. There is an urgent need to address
these in a comprehensive manner via the adoption of legislation in
line with the relevant European standards. A draft Law on Foundations
is currently pending in Parliament but we have made it clear to the
Turkish authorities that the current draft still falls short of EU
standards.

On these issues, the Commission will continue to monitor closely the
progress in meeting the Copenhagen political criteria fully. We shall
make a detailed analysis in our Regular Report, to be published on 9
November.

I want to add that we shall propose a revised Accession Partnership
which will list the priorities that Turkey needs to meet, including
in the political area. This will serve as a roadmap for future
political reforms and as a yardstick against which to measure future
progress.

Conclusion

L’Union Europénne se trouve à un moment crucial, dont nous ne devons
pas sous-estimer l’importance. En ouvrant des négociations d’adhésion
avec la Turquie, nous prenons une option forte sur la poursuite de la
métamorphose politique, économique et sociale de ce pays. Ce faisant,
nous respectons nos engagements à son égard.

J’adresse à la Turquie le message que nous devons construire des
relations basées sur une confiance réciproque. Je fais confiance aux
autorités turques pour qu’elles s’embarquent dans ce voyage avec une
attitude ouverte et que le Trois Octobre fournisse l’occasion d’un
nouveau départ. La démonstration d’un engagement sans ambiguïté ni
arrière-pensées envers la transformation démocratique et les valeurs
européennes sera certainement le meilleur atout de la Turquie pour
gagner le soutien de l’opinion publique en Europe.

Au cours de la période à venir, la Turquie aura l’opportunité de
démontrer qu’elle est sérieusement engagée à intégrer les valeurs
européennes. Les pays qui souhaitent adhérer à l’Union doivent en
effet partager notre vision de l’Europe et notre conception de
relations internationales basées sur la démocratie, l’état de droit,
les droits de l’homme et la solidarité. Ils doivent également
partager nos normes, que ce soit entre autres dans le domaine social,
environnemental ou industriel. Si l’Union Européenne prend un pari
sur leur adhésion future, c’est parce que nous croyons aussi que
c’est dans notre meilleur intérêt et que c’est pour le bénéfice de
nos concitoyens. Je m’engage personnellement devant cette Assemblée à
mettre en `uvre rigoureusement nos critères et conditions.

Comme je l’ai dit à de nombreuses reprises, le voyage est aussi
important que la destination finale. Bien que l’objectif commun des
négociations soit l’adhésion, de telles négociations sont de par leur
nature même ouvertes quant au résultat. Mais c’est dans notre intérêt
réciproque que ce processus soit encadré dans des principes clairs et
rigoureux tels que ceux prévus dans le cadre de négociation. Ceci est
la meilleure garantie d’un succès.