OUTRAGE AS KARUA, ALI REASSURE ON ARMENIANS
By Maxwell Masava
Kenya Times, Kenya
June 11 2006
POLICE Commissioner Maj-Gen Hussein Ali yesterday spoke on the
controversial deportation of Armenian brothers and reassured Kenyans
that the fate of the duo was sealed.
He said a report into their stay and activities in the country will
be made public once investigations are complete but explained that
they would never be allowed back into the country either on transit
or as destination.
And Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua asked
Kenyans to remain calm as the government investigate the activities
of the Armenians.
Ali’s remarks, two days after the deportation of the Artur’s alongside
their five accomplices came as leaders and several organizations,
including Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) the Anglican Church
of Kenya (ACK) and the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa
(AIPCA) continued to express outrage over the hurried expulsion and
demanded an explanation from government.
The police boss denied reports that the two brothers, Artur Sargasyan
and Artur Margaryan, had been temporarily expelled alongside five of
their accomplices to cover-up investigations into their activities
in the country.
And speaking in Nakuru, Karua said no stone would be left unturned
in establishing the true motives of the Armenians. And in another
development, a manager at one of the night spots where the Artur’s
loved hanging out denied reports that they had gone without paying
their bills at the club. The manager at Smokeys Restaurant within
Parklands, further refuted claims that a city businessman who was
also an agent of the brothers, Raju Sanghani, had stepped in to settle
the bills before the two and their accomplices were deported.
But speaking for the first time since the deportation of the Armenians,
Maj-Gen Ali said investigations on where they got everything they had,
including luxurious cars, assortment of firearm, military and police
uniforms and police identification cards, would be made public.
His remarks came as an assistant minister for Immigration and
Registration of Persons, Annania Mwaboza instructed the Kenya
Ports Authority management and the police to verify the contents
of a container belonging to the two brothers and currently said to
detained at a Mombasa port.
Although Mwaboza directed that the container passes through security
inspection procedures, an anonymous source at KPA inspection unit
denied yesterday that they were holding any container belonging to
the Armenian brothers. Mwaboza said passports and other permits found
in Artur’s possession were issued wrongly and said any information on
the two brothers ought to be published to dispel further speculations.
SUPKEM and Anglican church demanded a government statement over
the hurried deportation as AIPCA Archbishop Samson Gaitho said the
deportation revealed clearly that there was a cartel in government
playing underhand deals at the expense of the nation’s security.
A statement issued by the SUPKEM chairman, Professor Abdulghafur
El-Busaidy said the drama at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport
where the two brothers threatened to shoot Customs officials was of
serious magnitude than terrorism fears implanted into the minds of
Kenyan population.
Head of the Anglican church in the country, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi
said the security of the country must not be taken for granted and
called on the government to explain the security lapse at JKIA.
Speaking in Nakuru at the ACK Cathedral Parish of Good Shepherd,
Nzimbi said the government must always remain accountable to its people
and added that relevant ministries should respond to questions being
asked by Kenyans.
Mwaboza and Information assistant minister Koigi Wamwere expressed
dismay that the two had been deported without facing criminal
charges. They insisted that the two were not above the law.
Two Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) legislators urged President Mwai
Kibaki to sack ministers and top government officers implicated in
the Armenian saga to redeem the country’s image.
Kisumu Rural MP, Prof Anyang Nyongo and his Rangwe counterpart Philip
OKundi said the saga surrounding the Artur brothers has not only dented
the country’s image internationally but has exposed it to terrorism.
Muhoroni MP Ayiecho Olweny charged that the Artur’s were brought
into the country in order to eliminate perceived enemies of the
government. Without specifying who brought the two brothers, Olweny
claimed they were brought in to target Langata MP Raila Odinga and
other critics of the government from within.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL INFORMS PACE RAPPORTEUR ON POWs, HOSTAGES AND MISSING PEOPLE
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
June 11 2006
Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov met with
visiting delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe led by rapporteur of the organization’s Committee for Migration,
Refugees and Population for the South Caucasus Leo Platvoet.
He thanked Mr. Platvoet, as head of pre-election mission of the
PACE ad hoc Committee, for his unbiased approach to the re-run of
the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, as well as, for positive
appraisal of democratic reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan under
the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and the country’s honoring
of obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, that was
given by COE Secretary General Tarry Davis during his meeting with
high-ranking Azerbaijani officials in Strasbourg.
The Prosecutor General described Mr. Platvoet’s mission as very
delicate question recalling that the Armenian policy of occupation
and genocide against Azerbaijan lasted over 200 years and continues
today with 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories under occupation,
that over a million of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding regions are refugees and internally displaced, and that
the conflict cannot be resolved peacefully because of the Armenian
leadership’s destructive stance. In this context, according to him,
the issue of POWs, hostages and missing citizens still remains topical.
Zakir Garalov informed the visitors that the State Commission on
POWs, Hostages and Missing Persons, registered 4604 citizens of
Azerbaijan as missing, and that investigation formed three year ago
has questioned 1061 POWs and hostages, and fully proved the fact
that during occupation of the town of Khojaly, as well as Mesheli
and Garadgly villages, hundreds of people were brutally killed, taken
hostage and subjected to terrifying tortures. “Everyone proved guilty
of these crimes will appear in our country’s courts, and, if needed,
relating materials will be submitted to the international courts”
he said.
The Prosecutor General noted that not a single prisoner of war is now
in Azerbaijan, and that the country is open for any international
monitoring. “Should Armenian side has some facts, our republic is
ready conduct an appropriate investigation,” he said. He pointed out
the necessity for the Council of Europe Mission to investigate facts
in the uncontrolled territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and suggested the
visitors to meet with family members of the Azerbaijani citizens,
who were subjected to torture in Armenian captivity, and were missing
for their report to be more detailed and objective.
Leo Platvoet expressed satisfaction with the meeting noting that not
a single document on Armenian citizens held captive or hostage in
Azerbaijan was presented to him, as the head of the Mission, during
their stay in Armenia. He added that information provided by Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov and the questions raised by him
will be taken into account in his mission’s future activities.

WEST SHOW OF IRAN ISSUES POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED: ARMENIAN DAILY
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
June 11 2006
The West has always shown the domestic affairs of Iran in line with
its political goals, Armenian daily `Alik’ wrote on Sunday.
Alik editor-in-chief Dernik Malekian Mehr made the remark while
pointing to a news by Western media claiming that religious minorities
in Iran are obliged to carry a badge on their dresses to be distinct
from Muslims.
In line with the West’s anti-Iran propaganda, the Western media publish
news on alleged violation of human rights in Iran every year, he said,
adding this time they have focused on violation of rights of religious
minorities in Iran.
He said minor social and economic problems of religious minorities
in Iran have reduced during the past 27 years after the victory of
the Islamic Revolution.
He added religious minorities were exposed to no pressure in Iran.
The editor-in-chief further stated if religious minorities faced
problems in Iran, they would raise them through their representatives
at Majlis (Parliament) and the MPs did their utmost to settle the
problems.
He added the West has always launched such propaganda against Iran
over the past 27 years but to no avail.
Today, the communities of religious minorities in Iran face no
problem with respect to interaction with the government, he said,
adding there is no room for the West to distort realities in Iran.
Religious minorities, like every Iranian individual, can rought up
their political, social and economic problems with their deputies at
Majlis, he added.
Malekian Mehsr said the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
has always tried to settle problems of religious minorities.
There are, however, problems in Iran which are not limited to just
religious minorities rather all Iranians are faced with them, he
said, adding these problems caused no displeasure between religious
minorities and the Iranian government.

ETHNIC ARMENIAN SHOT DEAD IN MOSCOW, ANOTHER WOUNDED
MOSNEWS, Russia
June 11 2006
Two ethnic Armenians have been shot in Moscow on Saturday night,
Interfax reported.
One of the men died, the other received injuries.
In late April, a young Amernian-born man was killed by a group of
youngsters in a fight at Moscow’s central Pushkinskaya metro station.
17-year-old Vagan Abramyants, a student of a Moscow university,
was standing on the platform with several friends, when a group of
shaved young men dressed in black attacked them, NTV channel said. The
attackers looked like skinheads, members of radical nationalistic
movement.
The nation’s leading pollster, Yuri Levada, said hate crimes were an
outgrowth of deep resentment over migrants and other foreigners who
come to Russia for work or to study – some illegally and many from
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

HOLLAND MOVES TO BAN HOLOCAUST DENIAL
By Hilary Leila Krieger
Jerusalem Post
June 11 2006
When a Dutch family comes back to Holland after eight years of living
in Israel, people tend to assume its members are Jewish.
So says Leon Meijer, and he should know. Meijer, who completed his
doctorate at the Technion, learned that lesson the hard way when his
11-year-old daughter was told by a classmate soon after her return:
“It’s a pity Hitler didn’t finish the job.”
Meijer was shocked not only by the comment, but by the discovery that
the Netherlands has no laws clearly outlawing Holocaust denial.
Now, six years later, he has drafted legislation which would do just
that. Under his proposal, individuals who deny or glorify genocide
with the intent to hurt others could be fined or sentenced to up
to a year in jail. The law would be added to current legislation
prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race and religion.
Meijer, who serves as an adviser to the Christian Union party,
which is sponsoring the legislation, described the measure as more
urgent now that “echoes” of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad’s
denials of the Holocaust could be heard in Holland. “People copy these
kinds of remarks,” he said, also noting that the number of Holocaust
survivors who can personally testify to what happened during World
War II is dwindling.
Though the Christian Union holds only three seats in the 150-member
parliament, Meijer said that his bill enjoys a good deal of support.
Even so, it would take at least six to nine months to approve.
He noted that possible pitfalls include fears that the law would limit
free speech, which is one reason he offered to explain why Holland –
unlike its neighbors – hasn’t banned Holocaust denial outright.
France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovakia,
Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland all have made Holocaust denial
illegal, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Dutch Jewish community leader Ronny Naftaniel said the proposed
law could also encounter political obstacles. Since the law isn’t
limited to the Holocaust but includes all genocide as defined by the
International Criminal Court, objections could arise based on other
conflicts, such as the current crisis in Darfur or the past experience
of Armenians in Turkey.
“I can imagine that there will be political difficulties, but maybe
it will get through,” said Naftaniel, director of the Center for
Information and Documentation on Israel.
Even so, he praised the initiative as “a step forward.” He noted that
there has been prosecution of Holocaust denial under the existing
Dutch anti-discrimination laws on the basis that negation of the
Holocausts insults survivors and their children. But he said that
any move to codify the offense was welcome.
“There are fewer and fewer survivors and even their children are not
numerous anymore, and we think it’s important to keep the symbol of
the Holocaust complete and without debate. It should not be dependent
on the survivors and their children,” he said.
The general climate toward Jews worsened starting in 2000, with an
increase in instances of spitting, name-calling and other forms of
abuse, according to Naftaniel. But he said that the attacks – none
of which were violent – had levelled off in the last few years.
Still, ADL associate national director Kenneth Jacobson said “any
kind of effort for a Holocaust denial law is a way of dealing with
the trend that’s developing and to stop it in its tracks.”
He noted, however, that “all the polls indicate the vast majority of
Europeans” are aware that the Holocaust happened.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTERS DIFFER OVER DEPORTATION DECISION
Reports by David Mugonyi, Jillo Kadida and Michael Mugwang’a
Story By Sunday Nation Team
Daily Nation , Kenya
June 11 2006
The Cabinet appeared split yesterday over the decision by the
Government to deport the two Armenian brothers.
Some ministers criticised the Government for failing to charge Mr
Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargsyan with any crimes.
Two ministers even differed in a public function on the decision to
deport the two and their four associates.
Also joining in the condemnation was the Law Society of Kenya which
said the two brothers should have been charged in a court of law for
assaulting custom officials and sneaking into the country uncustomed
goods.
Defence minister Njenga Karume and his Youth Affairs counterpart
Mohammed Kuti disagreed in public over the handling of the matter.
Mr Karume said the Government was justified to do whatever it felt
was right and did not need to explain its actions to anyone.
“People do not understand that the Government can do anything with
anyone and you do not have to understand,” the minister said when
asked if it was right to deport the two before taking them to court.
Kabete MP Paul Muite said Mr Karume’s comment simply worsens the
situation for the Government.
Dr Kuti said the two brothers, just like any other person living in
Kenya and who commits a crime, should be subject to the country’s law.
“We need to get rid of these two individuals as fast as we can. But
the bottom line is that due process of the law has to be followed,”
said Dr Kuti.
The two ministers were speaking after presiding over the opening
session of The Careers Workshop for secondary school students in Kiambu
district at Kanunga High School in Mr Karume’s Kiambaa constituency.
Planning minister Henry Obwocha said although he had not followed
the incident closely, he believed in the rule of law.
He told the Sunday Nation: “In my view the law should have taken
its course.”
And Local Government minister Musikari Kombo also condemned the action
by the Artur brothers who threatened airport staff.
Mr Kombo said it was sad that foreigners or even Kenyans could go to
the extent of drawing guns on government officers.
Immigration assistant minister Anania Mwaboza laid blame on the Office
of the President.
He said it was the OP which should answer any questions regarding
the presence and activities of the Armenian brothers, including the
breach of security.
Mr Mwaboza also faulted the decision to deport Mr Margaryan and Mr
Sargsyan, saying they should have been subjected to the full force
of law and charged in court with a criminal offence.
But the Kenya Airports Authority declined to comment on why the
foreigners were given unfettered access to any airport in the country.
Personal assistant to KAA managing director George Muhoho, Mr Dominic
Ngige, said the matter was being handled by the police.
Kanu secretary general William Ruto asked Mr Muhoho to explain to
Kenyans where the Artur brothers got the security passes.
Kisumu Town East MP Gor Sunguh asked President Kibaki to resign for
failing to protect Kenyans, including civil servants.
LSK chairman Tom Ojienda said the Government’s deportation the Armenian
brothers at the centre of mercenary claims violates the rule of law.
The law of the country must apply to anyone who commits an offence
unless he or she enjoys diplomatic immunity, he said.
The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims urged the Government to institute
an urgent public inquiry into the presence and activities of the
brothers.
The council said it was time the Government came clean on the presence
of the two and what connections they had with the top leadership in
the country.
Former Director of Public Prosecution Philip Murgor said the chaos
caused by the two Armenian brothers at the JKIA was a true reflection
that the administration of justice and law enforcement was in the
hands of people who are totally compromised by dubious characters
behind the Armenian saga.
He said the Police Commissioner Major Gen Mohammed Ali, CID boss
Joseph Kamau, Internal Security minister John Michuki and Immigrations
minister Gideon Konchella ought to be sacked for failing to advise
President Kibaki appropriately on the matter.

FOUND: SECRET HOAD OF IDS FOR ARMENIANS
Story By Dominic Wabala
Daily Nation , Kenya
June 11 2006
Dramatic details emerged of the items recovered by police from the
Runda Estate house of the deported Armenian brothers.
Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan had Kenyan passports as well
as appointment cards to the Kenya police force. They were ranked as
Deputy Commissioners of Police.
In addition, they had cards giving them unrestricted access to all
airports in Kenya.
Also found in their house were assault rifles and pistols with serial
numbers indicating they belonged to the presidential security unit.
They also had jackets, caps, boots and face masks similar to those
issued to the police Quick Response Unit.
As police investigations continued, two Tanzanians who had been held
following the early Friday morning raid at the home were also deported,
while a woman identified as Ms Shivana Atarakyia was released after
questioning.
Police were still pursuing leads into where the Armenians had kept
two suitcases they fled with from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
after defying orders to have them inspected.
The hasty deportation was condemned by Cabinet ministers as details
emerged that a well-connected political activist had attempted to
persuade Police Commissioner Hussein Ali not to carry out the raid.
Other sources said the raid was delayed for about two hours – from
11 pm to 1.30 am – as a senior Cabinet minister tried to persuade
the police chief not to carry it out. Eventually, the police boss
issued the order and the gate was pulled down setting off the search,
arrest and subsequent deportation of the two brothers.
The brothers’ connections to people in government seemed to have
been confirmed beyond doubt with the recovery of certificates of
appointment as deputy commissioners of police, a post equivalent to
that of a provincial police officer.
A certificate issued to one of the brothers bore his photo but with
the names A.M. Johannes.
Another certificate of appointment issued to the brothers had earlier
been confiscated by a senior police officer. Such certificates,
which used to be given to members of the disbanded Police Reserve,
can only be issued with authority of the Commissioner of Police,
a unit commander such as the CID boss, or a provincial police chief
as laid out in the Force rules and regulations.
Two Kenyan passports – number A1031196 bearing the name Darkisyan Artak
and number A0131195 issued to Sarkissyan Arman – were also recovered
at the home. It was not immediately clear how the two could have got
their hands on the two passports which were signed by the principal
immigration officer as is required.
An airport pass – allowing Mr Margaryan full access to all areas of
the airport – was also recovered. Such passes are only issued with
the authority of the Kenya Airports Authority boss, Mr George Muhoho,
or the airport security chief. Such passes are not commonly issued
to non-KAA staff. Not even cabinet ministers have them.
Mr Muhoho was unavailable for comment but his personal assistant,
Mr Dominic Ngige, declined to explain how Mr Margaryan could have
been issued with unlimited access to the airport, saying it was a
matter to be addressed by the police.
The 13 vehicles including Toyota Harriers, a Mercedes Benz, a Subaru
Legacy, a Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Pajero, an assortment of Toyota
saloon cars and a white Volvo, remained in the compound although the
Officer Commanding Gigiri Police Division Patrick Lumumba said their
authenticity would be verified.
A Mercedes Benz with GK plates is suspected to belong to a well
connected political personality.
After conducting a search in the compound and an adjacent empty plot,
police recovered two AK-47 assault rifles with 101 rounds of ammunition
in a magazine specifically for use by the General Service Unit in
banditry and cattle rustling prone areas, and four Ceska automatic
pistols with 146 rounds of ammuntion.
They had serial numbers which closely matched those issued to the
Presidential Escort.
Police conducting the raid were taken aback when they reported their
find to their superiors on open-radio frequencies. Instead, the
policemen were given a tongue lashing when they tried to inform their
bosses of the items they had found at the Runda home. “Why should you
say such things on the radio? Don’t you have a better way of passing
such information?” one officer was reprimanded by a mystery voice.
Twenty-four orange reflective jackets, the same number of face masks
and 18 black caps, all branded with Rapid Response, similar to the
ones used in the Standard/KTN raid, were also recovered, as were two
pairs of jungle boots, three bullet-proof jackets, two combat T-shirts,
four combat jackets, two combat trousers and two scarfs.
The detectives also recovered 16 pairs of number plates including GK,
diplomatic and private motor vehicle registration numbers; three combat
Infra Red cameras, 12 Motorola communication handsets, 11 chargers,
one CCTV monitor, 10 CCTV cameras and two safety jackets.
Three computers similar to those snatched by the QRU officers during
the Standard/KTN raid were also later recovered in a Subaru car parked
in the compound.
And, as the drama of the Arturs and their two deported accomplices,
Mitri Tashci and Alecsandra Pak unfolded, detectives from the
Anti-Motor Vehicle Theft Unit (Flying Squad) and the Special Crime
Prevention Unit continued with investigations and searching the
compound yesterday.

MURDER OF ARMENIAN INVESTIGATED IN MOSCOW
ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 11, 2006 Sunday 08:07 AM EST
The prosecutor’s office of the Moscow northeastern administrative
city district is to bring criminal charges against a driver of the
Noginsk meatpacking factory who shot to death a citizen of Armenia
and injured his compatriot on Saturday.
A police spokesman told Itar-Tass that the driver was detained on
Saturday evening on one of Moscow streets.
During a quarrel with the two Armenians, he fired a handgun shot into
the chest of one, 44, who died on the spot.
He injured with a shot in the chest the other 24-year-old Armenian,
who was taken to a city hospital.
Investigators are examining circumstances of the incident.

WITH ARONIAN LEADING THE WAY, ARMENIA TAKES THE OLYMPIAD
By Robert Byrne
The New York Times
June 11, 2006 Sunday
Late Edition – Final
After capturing third place in the last two Olympiads, Armenia’s men’s
team leapt to victory at this year’s event, held in Turin, Italy,
from May 20 to June 4. The team, which had an undefeated score of
10-3, was heavily reinforced by its new first board, Levon Aronian,
who is now third in the FIDE ratings.
The Soviet Union, and then Russia, won all the Olympiads from 1952
to 2002 except the one in 1976, which it boycotted, and in 1978,
when it lost to Hungary. But this time the Russians were way out of
the running, losing four matches outright.
The Chinese showed off their solid play by taking second place,
although some commentators felt they had benefited from a good helping
of luck. The United States broke a tie for third place with Israel.
In the 11th round, Vlastimil Babula of the Czech Republic, playing
against Karen Asrian of Armenia, thought to free his game early and
headed into what was really a weakened game with great endgame trouble
ahead. He had to skip any thought of conserving his material because
the only way to do that was to enter into a bad endgame, one in which
his opponent would have two bishops and considerable advantage in
space. He tried to defend his knights with his rook, but in the long
run, his remaining knight became completely immobilized.
In the final stages, Babula desperately gave up his knight, but when
he saw that he would have to lose his rook too, he called it quits.
With 5 e6, Black introduced the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian
Defense. It was named after the Dutch resort where a prestigious
tournament was held in 1923. Players like Max Euwe helped to establish
it as a solid, reliable defense.
The purpose of 9 Nb3 was to avoid an exchange of knights to keep the
game complicated.
With 9 a6, Black prepared a queenside advance, his standard strategy.
And with 10 a4, White put an obstacle in the way.
With 10 Na5 11 Nd2, Asrian again escaped a knight exchange.
Perhaps, instead of 13 b5, 13 Rfb8 might have been better. Babula
did not spot Asrian’s clever underlying combination.
After 15 Nb5, if 15 Bb5 16 Bb5 Qc2 17 Qb1, Black would save a pawn
but concede a strong bishop pair in the endgame to Asrian.
After 16 Qc1 Qc1 17 Rfc1, the threat was 18 Nc7.
And after 19 Nc4, Asrian’s threat was to win material with 20 Nb6.
After 27 Rd8, the material was still even, but Babula could hardly
move.
And after 43 Rh6, Babula saw that 43 Kf5 44 Nd6 Kf4 45 Rf6 Ke3 46
Nf5 would lose and gave up.

GOP LEADERS BLOCK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL FROM HOUSE FLOOR
by Michael Doyle Bee Washington Bureau
Fresno Bee (California)
June 9, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
Washington
Republican leaders are refusing to allow an Armenian genocide
resolution to reach the House floor, where it almost certainly
would pass.
The Capitol Hill blockade frustrates Armenian-American activists,
including several in the San Joaquin Valley.
“The GOP leadership objections reflect the Bush administration’s
policy of supporting Turkey,” Barlow Der Mugrdechian, lecturer in
Armenian studies at California State University, Fresno, said Thursday.
House “Speaker [Dennis] Hastert’s refusal to schedule a vote is an
affront to supporters of the resolution.”
Without leadership go-ahead, the genocide resolution approved
overwhelmingly 10 months ago by the House International Relations
Committee will remain dormant.
But as House action Thursday showed, Armenia’s congressional allies,
too, will sometimes steer clear of a House fight.
In a telling political decision, lawmakers decided not to press
Thursday for an amendment liked by Armenian-Americans but loathed by
the White House and the Turkish government. Discretion, in this case,
may have been the better part of political valor.
“We’re operating under a tough scenario right now,” said Rep. George
Radanovich, R-Mariposa. “There’s not a lot that’s likely to change
the administration’s mind.”
The latest maneuvering over Armenian politics involves the $21.3
billion foreign operations bill considered Thursday by the House.
Despite its foreign focus, it is a bill that also targets domestic
constituencies.
The bill, for instance, urges the Bush administration to accept
the California State University’s proposal for providing overseas
agricultural training.
The bill likewise promotes the University of California’s affiliation
with the American University of Armenia.
Various politically favored nations are boosted, from more than $2.3
billion in aid provided Israel to a special visa program aiding
Ireland. The targeting helps sustain votes for foreign aid, which
historically can be a hard political sell.
“This is moving forward with strong, bipartisan support,” noted Rep.
David Dreier, R-Covina, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.
Armenia fares particularly well.
The bill provides $62 million in economic aid to the country of 2.9
million residents. Though a decrease from last year’s $75 million,
this still is more per person than most any other country. The U.S.
aid amounts to about 20 cents for every Armenian.
For neighboring Mexico, U.S. aid amounts to less than a penny per
resident.
“As long as Armenia suffers from blockades, continued and robust U.S.
assistance will be required,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D.-N.J. Pallone
is co-chairman of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, which now claims
140 members. For lawmakers from the San Joaquin Valley, home to tens
of thousands of Armenian-Americans, caucus membership is expected.
Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Jim Costa of Fresno are
Armenian caucus members, as are Republicans including Radanovich and
Rep. Devin Nunes of Visalia.
Periodically, Armenian caucus members use the foreign aid bill to
chastise Turkey, Armenia’s historical antagonist. A decade ago, for
instance, Radanovich won House approval of an amendment limiting aid
to Turkey unless the country conceded the Armenian population was
the target of genocide between 1915 and 1923.
Congressional negotiators later dropped the provision, as they have
dropped similar provisions in the past.
This history was revived this week, as lawmakers and Armenian-American
organizations weighed whether to bring up another Armenian-related
amendment — for instance, language punitively targeting Turkey’s
lobbying expenditures.
Ultimately, lawmakers and staffers feared they might lose any
strongly worded amendment. They would face opposition both from
Republican leaders and the Bush administration, as well as members
of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, who don’t like their
spending bills tinkered with.
Even if the House passed an amendment, moreover, congressional staffers
calculated it would simply be stripped out in the House and Senate
negotiations, and Radanovich said Republicans didn’t want to put
President Bush in the position of making that call to Congress.
The question — ultimately answered in the negative — then became
whether to pursue a politically difficult vote for the sake of a
short-term symbolic victory.
Elizabeth Chouldjian, spokeswoman for the Armenian National Committee
of America, downplayed the significance of the decision and stressed
that “there are tons of different options” for taking up important
legislation later.
“These efforts are closely watched,” Der Mugrdechian said.
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (202)
383-0006.