SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES ARE TO REACH THE LEADING POSITION IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS BY THE FALL OF 2006 – ELMAR HUSEYNOV
Author: R. Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 17 2006
Decision about physical pressure on Iran, in spite of what the
definition “pressure” is supposed to mean, will be made no earlier
than fall 2006, after the coordination with such countries as Russia
and Iran. In the given context South Caucasian countries appear in
the leading positions in the international politics, the vice editor
of Russian Newspaper, expert, Elmar Huseynov told Trend , commenting
on the future perspectives of the Iranian nuclear crisis and its
possible effect on the South
Caucasian countries.
“This region is vital for both physical pressure on Iran and for
cutting its international ties,” he said, adding that US will
definitely need to be present in the region in some sense.
Armenian position is also decisive at this point as there are well
developed economic relations between Yerevan and Tehran. “Apparently,
Armenia will finally be forced to join the opposition to Iran,”
he assured, adding that “already this November- December Caucasian
states will be mentioned by Washington in its efforts to solve the
Iranian problem by force.”

GUEST WITH NO FUTURE
by Andrey Semyaninov
Kommersant, Russia
April 17 2006
The first foreign soccer coach in Russia signed his contract on April
14. He is Dutchman Guus Hiddink. Fifteen trainers for the national
teams of seven countries of the former Soviet Union have been hired.
Almost all of them ended up the same.
Photo:
Former Soviet Republics Make Strides in Soccer Independence
Georgia has been the most strident of the former Soviet republics for
soccer independence. It withdrew from the championship of the USSR in
1990, even before the Baltic republics, and hired its first foreign
coach, also from The Netherlands, in 1998. Former Belgian Genk coach
Johan Boskamp was brought in to coach Tbilisi Dynamo. Although he
didn’t speak a word of Georgian or Russian, and the players did not
know any other languages, things went not badly. Boskamp, a protege
of Dutch coach Rinus Michels, believed that discipline was the secret
to success, and with that philosophy, Dynamo became the champion
of Georgia. More accurately, it remained the champion of Georgia,
since it almost always was in any case.
Then the Georgian Football Federation decided to try an experiment,
which it later regretted. Boskamp, while remaining Dynamo coach, was
also made head coach of the national team. Here there were team members
from Western Europe who did speak other languages. When Boskamp began
to berate the stars of Georgian soccer for lateness, missed practices
and drinking, there was a problem. Some of the players were driven off
the team by Boskamp, others refused to play for him. Georgia finished
in last place in the qualifying round for the Europe 2000 championship.
Photo:
Georgia risked taking on another foreign coach in the spring of 2003.
Croat Ivo Susak retraced Boskamp’s path from Dynamo to the national
team. He beat the Russian national team 1:0 in his first match,
for which is became the third foreigner to be awarded the title of
Distinguished Trainer of Georgia (along with French rugby coach Claude
Saurel and Russian figure skating coach Elena Chaikovskaya).
That initial victory over Russia was not repeated at the return game
in Moscow, and Georgia finished last in its group again. President of
the Georgia Football Federation Merab Jordania suggested that Susak
restrict himself to a single team, and he chose Dynamo. For lack of
anyone else, Jordania became the coach of the national team.
The next foreigner to head the Georgian national team was Frenchman
Alain Giresse, who is determined to take the Georgians to the 2006
world championship. In the course of a year under Giresse, the team
made five points in seven games and the Frenchman, who had taken
part in the 1982 world championship, was sent packing. Jordania
couldn’t replace him this time, because he was being held by the
law on suspicion of corruption. In February 2006, another foreign
trainer, German Klaus Toppmoller, who led Bayer to the final of the
League of Champions, came with the promise of taking Georgia to the
2008 European championship.
Armenian also tried making foreigners coach of the country’s best
team and the national team. There are two points to the doubles
appointment. First, the foreigner becomes better acquainted with the
local soccer scene, and he gets two salaries.
Therefore, when Argentine Oscar Lopez arrived in Yerevan in 2002,
he was immediately entrusted with the local Punic club in addition
to the national team. President of the Armenian Football Federation
Ruben Hayrapetyan said at the time that “Lopez is the only person who
can lead Armenia to the next championship of Europe.” The Argentine
also assured Armenian fans that it would only be two years “before
the phoenix arose.” Six months later, Lopez asked for a 150 percent
raise in his two salaries, and the flight of the phoenix was cancelled.
Photo:
Romanian Mihai Stoichita stepped in to earn both of Lopez’s unraised
salaries, and left only good memories behind. He was able to win two
out of the six matches he led (Lopez left at zero for two) then stepped
out again with a polite explanation about family complications. Those
complications turned out to be an invitation from the French club
Bordeaux, but it didn’t hire him any way.
Next Armenia hired two Frenchmen at once, the great player for
Marseille Bernard Casoni as head coach and Bernard Pardo as coach.
Casoni was also known for his role in the corruption case against
Marseille president Bernard Tapie and Pardo for drug smuggling. But
Pardo was of Armenian ancestry. Those are the details that they
are best remembered for. After winning one match and tying another,
they too were fired. In May 2005, Dutchman Henk Wisman was hired in
the two positions. Punic won the championship of Armenia, and the
national team won one match out of eight. The Armenian federation
fired Wisman tow weeks ago.
The closest comparison to Russia’s invitation to Hiddink can be made
in Estonia. They only name Dutchmen coach of their national team in
Estonia. Arno Pijpers worked there from 2000 to 2004, longer than any
other foreign coach in the former Soviet Union. His highest attainment
previous to his Estonian appoint was as assistant to Euro 2000 Dutch
team coach Frank Rijkaard. And he was personally acquainted with
Rinus Michels, of course. Pijpers, who held that “a soccer player
should be taught to work with the ball until age 17, and only then
physically and tactically encumbered,” was simultaneously coach of
the national team and Estonia’s best local club, Flora, which became
the main source of fresh blood for the national team.
Estonia’s has thus been the only post-Soviet team to gain from having
a foreign coach. Nonetheless, the Dutchman’s performance is a source
of conflicting opinion in Estonia. He turned the team around. In the
qualifying round for the 2002 world championship, the team passed
Andorra and Cyprus. But the better adapted Pijpers got to Estonia,
the more scandals came up. By the end of his four-year contract,
Pijpers had spoiled his relations with almost everyone in Estonia. It
was only possible to be picked for the national team from Flora.
Players from other teams were taken on only for Pijpers throw them
out with a bang. Flora and national team members were subject to
an unbearable prohibition of profane language. Pijpers ceaselessly
criticized members of the Estonian Football Association on television
and in the papers. The prickly Pijpers then let it be known that his
salary would have to be raised by a third – if, that is, they wanted
him to sign a new contract.
Guus Hiddink Hopes to Put Russia on the True Path
“He just couldn’t stand it that some damn Estonians had the nerve
to break it of with him,” vice president of the Estonian Football
Association Aivar Pohlak recounted. “There are no two ways about it.
Hiring Pijpers was a big mistake for Estonia.”
The biggest winner from that mistake was Pijper’s assistant and former
Dutch soldier Jelle Goes, who became head coach. They are happy with
Goes, with whom the team has passed Luxembourg, Lichtenstein and,
importantly, Latvia.
Pijpers found work in Kazakhstan. The Dutchman mentioned his training
under Rinus Michels, promised to make the Kazakh national team feared
throughout Europe and was made coach of the national team and local
leader Zhenis at the same time.
The Azeri national team has tried to improve the performance of
its national team with a foreign coach as well. In 2004, Carlos
Alberto, who coached the world champion Brazilian team in 1970, was
hired. But the gulf between Pele and the Azeri players unhinged Alberto
somewhat. In June 2005, when Azerbaijan lost to Poland 3:0 at home,
its fifth loss with only two ties besides in the qualifying round,
Alberto made a gesture that was later described as “shaking his fist”
at the reserve referee. Alberto got a double whammy when he was fired
right in the stadium for the loss, and the FIFA disqualified him and he
could no longer work in Europe. His losing streak continued in Brazil
then, where he led a club into the second league, for which he was
fired, but not before getting in trouble with the local federation
for insulting a referee.
Foreign trainers did not help the national team in Latvia very much
either, although they found a way to put the good qualities of the
foreign specialist to good use there. (The Russian team won’t be able
to do the same with Hiddink.) The Latvian team was led by Englishman
Gary Johnson from 1999 to 2001. His assistant was Alexander Starkov,
who later became head coach of the team, sensationally taking them
to the Championship of Europe in 2004 before moving over to the
Russian Spartak.
The former Watford coach maintained good relations in his homeland,
and six Latvian soccer players found work on English teams while
Johnson coached the Latvian national team. Those players’ careers
depended on Johnson completely. To work in England, a soccer player
has to demonstrate his professional qualifications by paying in no
less than 75 percent of their national team’s matches in a calendar
year. The qualified players in the English premiere league later
fired Johnson when he was unable to beat San Marino at home.
The fashion for foreign coaches even reached Central Asia before
it hit Russia. German Heinz-Jurgen Geode rose through Uzbek soccer
gradually. He started as coach of the national youth team. Then he
became a consultant for the national team when the team was striving
to participate in the 2006 world championship.
Like most of the other foreign coaches in the former USSR, Geode had
worked with a famous coach in the past. He was an assistant to Udo
Lattek on Schalke 04, although he had worked independently only in
the championship of Iran. It was more prestigious and more profitable
to work for Uzbekistan. Just as a consultant for the national team
he earned at least $50,000 a month (according to local rumor). Like
many coaches, consultants and so on working abroad, he brought a
brigade of assistants with him from Germany. According to Geode, they
followed him to Uzbekistan without any expectation of remuneration –
purely for the sake of the rebirth of Uzbek soccer.
Team Members Have Shown More than One Coach that They Can Go Their
Own Way
Geode’s happiness became complete in January 2005, when he was finally
officially appointed coach of the Uzbek national team. But he did
not remain in that post for long. Within two months, Geode and all
his associates were dismissed for “obvious miscalculations.”
Uzbekistan had only tied one match out of three in the final round of
the Asian zone before the championship of the world. Rumor also has
it that they didn’t pay the Germans when they tore up their contract.
Three months later, Geode had been replaced by Englishman Bob Houghton,
who was best known for becoming coach of the Swedish Malmo at age 32
and taking it to the champions’ cup final in 1978/79. In the succeeding
26 years, Houghton’s best job had been with the Saudi Arabian club Al
Ittihad and in China, where was assistant to Boris Milutinovich. At
the time of his appointment, the Uzbek team had lost one match and
tied another.
Not all was lost though. They had to beat Kuwait at home and then
Bahrain and Trinidad and Tobago on aggregate. The Englishman cleared
the first hurdle. He almost made it across the second, but fell victim
to outrageous fate. The hosts won the first Uzbekistan-Bahrain match
1:0 and even made a penalty goal, but the Japanese referee not only
refused, in violation of all the rules, to count it, because of a
technical error, but he refused to allow the team another try. The
Uzbeks appealed to the FIFA, but with fatal results. The FIFA agreed
that the referee’s mistakes were egregious and ordered a rematch,
which ended 1:1. The return game ended 0:0 and Bahrain, even though
it lost 1:3, continued on. Houghton’s contract was not renewed. He
had been considered only a temporary appointment. He was replaced
by Russian Valery Nepomnyashchy. Nepomnyashchy, while not exactly
from distant shores, was as much a cosmopolitan as the rest of the
foreign coaches in the former Soviet Union. In his 20-year career,
he had only worked in Russia for three months.
Hiddink compares well with the other hapless foreign coaches. He has
participated in the final stage of the world championship twice, and
will do so again soon. He led his native Holland to the quarterfinal,
Korea to the semifinal, and in two months he will try to achieve
success with Australia. He has also repeatedly participated in the
League of Champions and has been with Real.
He has somewhere to go back to too. He has been in the PSV Eindhoven
system for more than 20 years. His globetrotting has not been in
search of cushy jobs in exotic locations but at the behest of soccer
headhunters.
Hiddink won’t try to establish himself artificially in this exotic
location. He will work on the Russian national team (as he does
on the Australian) on a rotational basis. There is an upside and a
downside to this approach, but the potential for conflict is greatly
reduced. Local coaches ever like a foreign colleague, and the local
candidates for the post have already made angry denouncements of the
very ideas of a foreign coach on the Russian national team.
Therefore, the farther from the public eye a foreigner remains and
the less he becomes involved in local soccer, the better it will be
for him, the fewer the opportunities will be to get at him.
Hiddink, like the majority of the unsuccessful coaches, does not know
Russia. Nor is it necessarily true that he understands the mentality
of the players. Like his predecessors, he too will be forced to choose
from just 30-40 Russian citizens who are able to play soccer at that
level. That number is continually falling, and the hiring of Guus
Hiddink may be a final attempt to avoid the fate of the Georgian and
Armenians teams.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
April 17, 2006
___________________
APRIL 30 GATHERING IN WASHINGTON, D.C., TO CALL ATTENTION TO KILLING
IN DARFUR
The Save Darfur Coalition, a coalition of organizations including
religious institutions such as the Armenian Church, will hold a
rally in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2006, to call attention to
the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
The Rally to Stop Genocide will feature leading voices in the
effort to stop the genocide in Darfur, including a broad spectrum of
prominent faith leaders, political figures, human rights activists,
celebrities, survivors of the Holocaust and genocides in Cambodia,
Kosovo, Srebrenica, Rwanda, South Sudan and Darfur.
The rally will run from 2 to 4 p.m., with participants asked to
gather at 1:30 on the National Mall, between 3rd and 4th Streets
in front of the U.S. Capitol. The Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America (Eastern) asks all members able to attend to join the rally.
Before the rally, Fr. Tateos Abdalian, pastor of the Holy Trinity
Church of Cheltenham, PA, will celebrate the badarak at the St. Mary
Church of Washington, D.C.
Armenians are also asked to take part in a related postcard campaign,
in which organizers are aiming to flood the White House with messages
to prompt action against the Darfur genocide.
“We, the Armenians who have suffered a lot like other nations, we have
to be a part of this demonstration and send cards as much as possible
to President Bush to stop this genocide,” said Bishop Vicken Aykazian,
legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese, who will be unable to
attend the protest because of a previous commitment in the Midwest.
“We encourage all our Armenian communities around greater Washington
to attend.”
In the Sudan, the Janjaweed — a government-backed nomadic Arab tribe
— has raped, killed, and burnt the homes of black, non-Arab residents
in the nation’s Darfur region since 2003. The violence is an attempt to
get them to leave their lands, which the Arab government has promised
to the mercenaries. According to reports by the World Food Program,
the United Nations, and the Coalition for International Justice,
3.5 million people are now hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced
due to violence, and 400,000 people have died in Darfur so far.
The Diocese has been advocating for increased international pressure to
stop the violence. Along with coordinating a Diocesan-wide fund-raising
effort to provide relief supplies to the refugees of the violence,
Bishop Aykazian has also taken part in protests outside the Sudanese
embassy in 2004, during which several leading protestors were arrested
for civil disobedience.
For more on the protest and the postcard campaign, visit
— 4/17/06
# # #

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
April 17, 2006
___________________
ARMENIAN CHURCH JOINS IN NEW ECUMENICAL ORGANIZATION
A new ecumenical organization was born in Atlanta, GA, during a meeting from
March 28 to 31, 2006. And the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) was there to help this “new born baby” make it on its own.
The new group, Christian Churches Together, brings together more than 60
churches, which claim to represent 120 million American Christians. It is
the first-ever group to combine Evangelicals, mainline Protestants, racial
and ethnic Protestants, Roman Catholic, and the various Orthodox and Eastern
churches.
The official formation of the group follows years of discussion amongst the
members.
“Its mission is to enable churches and Christian organizations to grow
closer together in Christ in order to send out Christian witness in the
world,” said Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the
Eastern Diocese, who represented the Armenian Church at the gathering.
“From its beginning, Christian Churches Together has given a priority to
prayer and worship in order to build a relationship of trust and to be
discerning challenges that need to be addressed in society for more faithful
Christian witnesses.”
The first focus of the new organization will be combating poverty in the
United States. During their meeting, the religious leaders engaged in a
Biblical reflection on poverty and spoke with “those who have experienced
poverty first-hand as well as those with academic experience,” Bishop
Aykazian said.
The vision of Christian Churches Together in the U.S. began with a diverse
group of Christian leaders, who gathered in the fall of 2001 and expressed a
longing for an extended Christian conversation in America. During the
movement to create this new ecumenical organization, Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese, was asked to participate from the
beginning. He appointed Bishop Aykazian to represent the Armenian Church in
the ongoing discussion.
“I am very happy Bishop Akyazian has been following this organization’s
formation,” the Primate said. “Bringing all the churches together is a
wonderful opportunity to create one voice for all Christian churches as we
tackle important issues in society.”
— 4/17/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of
the Eastern Diocese, far right, takes part in a panel discussion during the
meeting March 28 to 31, 2006, during which a new ecumenical organization,
Christian Churches Together in the United States, was founded.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Leaders from various Christian churches, including the
Armenian Church, gather in Atlanta, GA, from March 28 to 31, 2006, for
discussions leading to the formation of a new ecumenical organization,
Christian Churches Together in the United States.
# # #

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee of Toronto
45 Hallcrown Place
Willowdale, Ontario
M2J 4Y4
Contact: Lori Avakian
Email: [email protected]
91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide – Commemorative Events
This year marks the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a year
in which important strides have been made to further international
recognition of the Genocide. The Armenian National Committee of Toronto
(ANCT) is determined to make 2006 stand out as one of action. ANCT’s
focus this year is on Genocide education, as well as your role and
responsibility to raise awareness and recognition in today’s society.
The ANCT is hosting the Genocide commemoration on April 23rd 2006
and supporting the events listed below, which we urge you to attend
and publicize enthusiastically within your circle of friends and
colleagues, in order for the Armenian Cause to extend beyond the
confines of the Armenian community.
We would appreciate it if you could make a concerted effort to
be present.
Date: Friday, April 21st, 2006
Time: 5:30 pm.
Location: Hart House, Debates room auditorium, downtown UofT.
Event: “Armenian Orphan Survivors: The Georgetown Boys” – A documented
history of survival and resettlement underlying the emergence of
Diaspora in Canada. Lecture to be given by Lorne Shirinian, a professor
at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Event hosted by University
of Toronto’s Armenian Student Association.
Date: Friday, April 21st, 2006
Time: 8:00 pm.
Location: Queens Park, In front of Ontario Legislature Buildings.
Event: Candlelight Vigil, Organized by UofT, York and Ryerson ASAs,
ARF Youth Organization of Canada and ACYOC.
Date: Sunday April 23rd, 2006
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Armenian Community Centre, 45 Hallcrown Place. (Victoria
Park and Hwy 401)
Event: Commemoration of the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. There will be a Tribute to the Genocide Victims at 4:30
with the official commemoration at 5:00. Organized by the ANCT and
the ARF YOC.
Date: Monday, April 24th, 2006.
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: Turkish Embassy – 197 Wurtemburg Street, Ottawa
Event: Rally in Ottawa in front of the Turkish Embassy. Departure
at 6:30am from the Armenian Community Centre, 45 Hallcrown Place,
Willowdale, Ont.
____________________________________________ ________________________________
The ANCT is part of the largest and the most influential
Canadian-Armenian grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world,
the ANCT actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian
community on a broad range of issues.
To be on the mailing list and receive the latest news and upcoming
events, go to and on the bottom right corner of the
page submit your email.
You may contact the ANCT at [email protected].

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY POSITION ON MASS. GENOCIDE DENIAL CASE REINFORCED BY SIXTH CIRCUIT COURT RULING
Washington, DC — A recent U.S. Sixth Circuit Court decision virtually
echoed the language used by the Armenian Assembly in its amicus curiae
(“friend of the court”) brief in the Massachusetts Genocide Denial
Case, when it ruled that a state, has in effect, broad discretion
in determining the appropriate framework on policy issues of public
interest.
Ruling that the state of Tennessee can put on its license plates any
message it chooses, the Court said that the tags are “government
speech” and “not a public forum,” and that nothing in the First
Amendment prohibits it.
It went on to say: “Although this exercise of government one-sidedness
with respect to a very contentious political issue may be ill-advised,
we are unable to conclude that the Tennessee statute contravenes the
First Amendment,” Judge John M. Rogers said in his ruling.
Last month, the Assembly filed an amicus brief in response to a
lawsuit brought by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations
(ATAA) and others who are attempting to rewrite history with respect
to the Armenian Genocide. The brief states in part: “There is no
First Amendment basis for objecting to the government’s choice in a
curricular guide simply because it expresses a viewpoint with which
the plaintiffs disagree. Indeed, the fundamental flaw in plaintiffs
suit, and the reason why it must be dismissed, is that the Curricular
Guide is government speech and there is no First Amendment basis for
objecting when the government chooses to speak.”
Citing a Fifth U.S. Circuit Court decision, the Assembly brief
further says, “The Supreme Court repeatedly has emphasized that the
government may speak and that there is no basis for a First Amendment
claim objecting to the government’s expressive choices.”
The Assembly brief also said: “As the Fifth Circuit recently declared:
The government undoubtedly has the authority to control its own
message when it speaks or advocates a position it believes is in the
public interest.”
“. . .the Curricular Guide is speech by the government, and the law
is absolutely clear that government speech inherently does not violate
the First Amendment,” the brief continues.
The ATAA lawsuit seeks the right to inject genocide denial materials
into the Massachusetts school curriculum and claims that doing so
is a violation of the “freedom of speech” protection of the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
####
NR#2006-034
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
FOREIGN MINISTER VARTAN OSKANIAN ADDRESSES ASSEMBLY’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON
Minister Welcomes Signing of MCC Compact & Announces Rural Poverty Plan
Washington, DC – During a major speech at the Assembly’s National
Conference last month, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
thanked the U.S. for including Armenia in the Millennium Challenge
Cooperation (MCC) Compact, a five-year $235 million agreement which
will help the country reduce rural poverty.
Oskanian, who joined Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for
the signing of the Armenia Compact on March 27, told Conference
participants that that Armenia will launch a rural poverty plan that
builds on its partnership with the MCC. The Foreign Minister urged the
Armenian Diaspora to join this effort and help eradicate poverty in
the homeland. He also thanked the Armenian Diaspora for its efforts
in strengthening the U.S.-Armenia relationship and said Armenia is
fortunate to receive
The National Conference, a three-day advocacy push led by the
community’s major non-partisan organizations – the Armenian Assembly
of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the
Eastern and Western Diocese of the Armenian Church – brought hundreds
of committed Armenian activists to the nation’s capital to advocate
on behalf of community issues.
Below is the full text of Foreign Minster Oskanian’s prepared speech:
I want to thank you for the invitation to speak here today. I
especially appreciate the fact that in this hall are members and
activists from the Assembly, the Armenian Church, the AGBU, and
individuals – all of whom are here to plan together, to work together,
to register successes together.
Since independence, we have indeed registered successes together –
significant US assistance to Armenia, trade privileges, military
assistance parity, progress in genocide recognition and education
efforts, a better understanding by opinion and policy makers of
Armenia’s geographic, historic and economic limitations.
If I think back, I don’t know where Armenia would have been without
the Diaspora. The dedicated, focused efforts of the Armenian Assembly
of America have resulted in a support base that is essential for
Armenia. We know we can always depend on the real, sincere, deep
commitment of the Assembly leadership and the dedicated work of the
Assembly staff.
In Yerevan, we are very aware that for you to be able to promote
Armenia, its policies, its future, Armenia must be the kind of
place that you can and want to promote. The Diaspora will promote
and support an Armenia that reflects its own best dreams, values and
ambitions. The Armenian-American Diaspora will promote and support
an Armenia that is a friend of the United States.
And we are. Despite the huge geographic distance between Yerevan
and Washington, we are partners in the war on terror, in supporting
the non-proliferation of weapons, in searching for global peace thru
regional security, in supporting the rule of law, as well as democratic
and economic freedoms.
Not only are we ideological partners, but we share the values that
have made America. We want those values to be not just aspirations
for the citizens of Armenia but solid realities, to be comfortably
taken for granted.
The US is the country that makes it possible for individuals to
reinvent themselves – to relocate, to take on new careers, to pursue
new challenges and new directions.
Armenians have been a people who have reinvented themselves throughout
the centuries on every continent. The challenge in this century is:
for the first time in history, will we be able to reinvent ourselves
on our own land?
Do we want to become a country where every man and woman assumes
they have a right to speak their mind, to cast their vote, to affect
change? Of course we do.
Do we want to become a country where we can take the impartiality
of judges, the decency of policemen and the ethics of teachers for
granted? Of course we do.
Do we want to become a country where you pay taxes to the system
rather than fees to the official? Of course we do.
Do we want to become a country where the difference in rich and poor
is only a matter of time and not a matter of destiny? Of course we do.
Do we want to become a country where each person believes that he or
she can individually reinvent themselves? Of course we do.
That is the Armenia we want. That is the Armenia you want.
How do we get there? You are blissfully unaware of the difficulties
and travails of the process of becoming a democracy because Americans
live in the only country to have been born democratic. America was
built from the ground up, democratic institutions were defined and
created as you went along. As such, you have the good fortune to be
able to take this system for granted.
The entire process of nation-building has been different for us,
since we had to undo an existing system and build a new one. That is
why we have welcomed the various US programs which have supported our
institutional, democratic and economic reforms. We also appreciate that
in anticipation of the elections of 2007 and 2008, the US has proposed
additional, targeted assistance so we can hold normal elections and
rise to the next level of democratic development.
But democracy is more than elections. Democratic institutions and
processes are not just ends. They are also means to creating the
necessary political and economic environment which lead to distributed
growth and dignified development. The cruelties inherent in the process
of massive economic readjustment which we have been making have led
to a sense of powerlessness on the part of ordinary citizens. So,
democracy is a tool for development, just as economic development is
a facilitator of democratization.
This afternoon, I will be attending the signing of a
visionary instrument that drives both economic development and
democratization. The Millennium Challenge Compact is intended to
bolster development in countries where the society and leadership
comprehend their political responsibility to nurture and sustain
democratic practices. This is the single largest government investment
in Armenia’s economy. It consists of $235 million over 5 years. Before
I tell you what we’re going to do with the money, let me tell you
why we were fortunate enough to receive this grant.
The US government chose Armenia as one of the potential recipients
because Armenia is needy. That’s no secret. But there are lots of
needy countries in the world. Why Armenia? Because the US government
determined to contribute to the budgets of those countries that are
themselves attempting to grow in the right direction – to govern
justly, to encourage economic openness and to invest in people.
Armenia is. And being made eligible for the MCC is evidence of
this. Simply put, Armenia is a part of the MCC because not only is
there plenty about our society that needs to be put right, but because
we are on a path that is right. This farsighted program provides a
generous push in the direction that we have chosen for ourselves.
I said to Ambassador Danilovich when the decision was made, and I say
this to you now, Armenia has the honor and the obligation to build
on the confidence that has been placed in our government and our
people. And so, even as we spend these funds to turn mud into asphalt
and to give farmers the irrigation water that is their lifeblood,
we will work to make sure that good governance and the principles of
an open and fair society take root in our homeland.
In the 21st century, philanthropy is more than charity. It is
about finding lasting solutions to deep-seated social and economic
problems. That is what the MCC intends to do. And so I am going to
use this opportunity to say to the Diaspora loudly and clearly that
that is what the Diaspora should do as well.
Before I ask you to do more, and I’m going to do just that, let
me thank you for all that you have done. The Armenia – Diaspora
collaboration has been invaluable in this decade and a half of
upheaval, confusion and learning. The value of the Diaspora is in
its ingenuity, non-conformity, its belief in a dream, its access to
networks, its ability to be international and national all at the
same time, and its tremendous resources.
I am now going to ask you to partner with Armenia – even more deeply
and broadly and seriously than you have already done -in addressing
Armenia’s domestic and international challenges.
Look, most of you have been to Armenia. It is clear that not all
Armenians have been able to share in the double digit growth of which
we are justifiably proud. As soon as one leaves Yerevan, the statistics
become reality: One out of every two Armenians still lives in poverty,
mostly in Armenia’s rural areas. Half of those living in poverty,
live on less than one dollar a day. Yet, these rural men and women
represent a critical portion of Armenia’s economy.
If we want to ensure that these rural communities are not destined
to remain stagnant, permanent pockets of poverty, that Armenians are
not born into a cycle of poverty, then we cannot allow development to
simply take its course. Even at this current fast pace, it will take
decades before we reach the average European level of prosperity. We
must take practical steps to intervene, to take a short-cut towards
an improved quality of life for our rural citizens.
This is the first time that I am announcing from a podium that at the
next Armenia Diaspora Conference, we will be launching a Rural Poverty
Eradication program – a kind of Diaspora Marshall Plan for Armenia.
The Millennium Challenge Account has indeed taken on the renovation
or construction of two of the most expensive infrastructure sectors –
roads and irrigation canals.
Imagine that a village will, in a few years, have irrigation water
and roads.
But imagine that there will be no drinking water, no health care,
no school, no gas or electricity in that village.
Imagine children growing up in a 21st century rural community without
access to telephone, television or internet.
Now imagine what we could do together if the Armenian government,
Armenia’s business community, international organizations, and you,
the Armenian Diaspora came together to leverage the MCC contributions
and to build on the MCC momentum. Imagine a country where development
is comprehensive, even, fair and just.
Imagine an Armenia whose borders are secure because its border
communities are stable, where cross-border interaction is possible,
where out-migration is minimal. Imagine a day in the village filled
with pride and satisfaction, rather than tears and frustration.
As investments and growth spread through Yerevan, this program will
coordinate information about the many wonderful, generous programs
that are already being implemented in rural Armenia by Armenian
and international organizations and individuals. This program will
work to remove the real and artificial obstacles to productivity,
and will help identify access to markets and finance to make the
village economically sustainable.
If you are wondering whether those with personal interests will allow
this kind of access and transparency, join me in challenging those
who obstruct. Rally the forces of the diaspora and the international
community and see if we can’t replace obstacle with opportunity.
Through this program, we will approach every individual, organization,
parish, family and business in the Diaspora and will solicit your
participation. Your time, your money, your expertise, your contacts
– they are all needed so that the infrastructure is rebuilt and a
village is reinvented. This program will strive to bring a new look,
a new ethic, new hope to each rural community in Armenia, starting
with the border villages first.
In plain language, by eradicating poverty you will be eradicating
hopelessness. You will bring prospect and possibility to
the most vulnerable in our society. Hope, faith and confidence
transform economically empowered citizens into politically empowered
citizens. And it is they who will be the best defenders of their votes,
their voices and their rights in meetings, elections and throughout
the governing process.
These are the major domestic challenges that Armenia faces
today. But our foreign policy challenges are no less difficult and
complicated. Fundamental among them are relations with our neighbors,
transportation, energy diversification and conflict resolution.
Our agenda with the US today is very broad and diversified. We have
transcended from being a one issue country and our relations today
are built on mutual respect and interest. Armenia needs America. And
America needs Armenia as a reliable partner in the region.
This year we’ll be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence. 15 years of independence,15 years of statehood, 15 years
that Armenians around the world have had an Armenia that is theirs,
to which they belong, that they represent.
No longer are we just Armenian-Americans, but now, we are, whether we
want it or not, whether we feel it or not, perceived as being piece
of that country, that place. Our identity has changed.
The Diaspora exists, it will continue to exist, and you will need
Armenia, not to substitute but to complement what you have.
The Republic of Armenia exists, it is independent, and it is ours. It
still needs its Diaspora, more than ever. We must cooperate, not
compete, in order to turn the Armenia of our dreams into the Armenia
of our future.
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. The Armenian General Benevolent Union is the world’s largest
philanthropic organization devoted to education, cultural and
humanitarian efforts. Both are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organizations.
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) is the
spiritual and administrative head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
the Eastern United States. The Eastern Diocese and its counterpart,
the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, exist under
the authority of the ancient Mother See of the Armenian Church in
Holy Etchmiadzin.
NR#2006-033
Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following link:
/2006-033-1.jpg
Caption: Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian addressed Armenian activists
at the Assembly’s National Conference last

An Interview With British Journalist Robert Fisk
A meeting with the Middle East correspondent of The Independent of London
Horizon Weekly, Canada
April 14, 2006
By Aris Babikian
Earlier this year renowned British journalist Robert Fisk recently published
`The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East,’ an
outstanding book on the recent history of the Middle East. In a 50-page
chapter on the Armenian Genocide, Fisk deftly condensed the 90-year-old
history of the Genocide with fairness, rendering justice to the victims and
to the survivors of the first genocide of the 20th century. The extensive
chapter covered the history, the circumstances, the betrayal, the cover up,
the denial, and the political intrigues behind the Armenian Genocide.
During his visit to Toronto to promote the book, we met him to discuss his
views on the Armenian Genocide.
Aris Babikian: Reading your chapter `The First Holocaust’ on the Armenian
Genocide, I was amazed by your ability to encapsulate the complex history of
the Armenian Genocide in 50 pages. Can you tell me how did you stumble on
the Armenian Genocide? What was your motivation in exploring the calamity?
Robert Fisk: The book is partly about the First World War and the results of
that war. I realized, because my father was a soldier in the First World
War – he took part in the Gallipoli landing, that the Armenian Genocide took
place in a context of that war, not a civil war.
When I first arrived to Lebanon in 1976, during the civil war there, I
become aware of the Armenian Community. Armenians were playing this
difficult role, being neither with the Christian Falange nor with the Moslem
and Palestinian militia. So I started to meet Armenians, at that stage – in
`76. There were still Armenian Genocide/ Holocaust survivors then. I call it
Holocaust with capital H, just like I call the Jewish Holocaust with capital
H. At that stage the Armenian Genocide was not my main issue. I was
covering the civil war. But then I went to Anjar. I saw this Armenian city.
I learnt about Mousa Dagh, and gradually while covering the Lebanese war,
the Iraq-Iran war, the Iranian Revolution, I noticed that always there were
Armenians on the periphery. The Armenian Community invited me to visit their
community centres in Tehran and in Northern Syria, in Kamishly. As the years
went by I learnt more and more about the Armenian Genocide and came to
realize clearly it prefigured the Jewish Holocaust, as well. It was a while
before I realized how closely it prefigured the Jewish Holocaust . . . the
fact that the rail cars, the box cars to transfer the Armenians by rail, the
fact that German diplomats had seen the Armenian Genocide, and later the
same scenes popping up in Eastern Europe – the killing of the Jews by the
Wehrmacht or the SS . . . it is clear lines of direct contact between that
Armenian Genocide and the second genocide of that century.
Then I went to the Syrian Desert and to Deir ez Zorr. This was in 1993. It
was a major photo story. I went with French photographer, to do pictures on
the Genocide and what had happened in the northern Syrian Desert. The story
is in the book. We went looking for this hill called Halgada. We knew about
it from an old Armenian lady . . . the location of where her family was
killed, next to the Khabur River. But there was nothing next to the Khabur
River. It was only when we got to the top of the hill that we realized the
Khabur River has moved about a mile to the east since 1915. Perhaps because
of the number of bodies in it. There must have been heavy rainstorms; I was
wondering around what must have been once an island in the river. Isabel
[the photographer] was walking down a newly cut hillside. She said: `Robert,
Robert come here.’ I went across the top of the hill. At first I thought
she was in trouble. As I walked towards her I saw the side of the hill was
lined with skeletons. Some of them with bits of materials on the bones. They
were tied together. I used my car key to pull the skull . . . there were
teeth of young people, of women and children, as well as men. So, we found
the killing fields.
Later on they took me up to these caves where the Turks had lit bonfires
outside to set the smoke into [the caves] and to asphyxiate Armenians in the
world’s first gas chambers. We made a huge report on this and, off course,
endured the usual hate mail from Turkey. At that time, we are talking about
1993, it wasn’t normal for British newspaper or any newspaper to do a big
investigation on the Armenian Holocaust. I saw it as an outrageous
injustice. You know the Jews of Europe have quite rightly received
compensation for their Holocaust. The Germans have owned up and constantly
apologized for that Holocaust. But the Turks don’t want admit to the
Armenian Genocide. They paid nothing, and they went on saying that it was
the fault of the victims and that there was no Genocide, anyway. I still
think that unless there is full acknowledgment by the Turkish authorities
that their Ottoman Turkish predecessors carried out the Holocaust/Genocide .
. . I think the outrageous nature of the denial of this Genocide–as a
political issue – is almost as deplorable as the actual genocide originally.
It’s outrageous that the American press, which exposed the original
Genocide, should have spent so many years recently giving the Turkish point
of view and denials. It is a shameful piece of journalism. Can you imagine
running a story saying that 6 million Jews died in Europe and many Germans
say it did not happen. We will never write that; we will never dream of
that.
AB : As a journalist, why you think that the international media has a
double standard when it comes to the Armenian Genocide – even though some of
these newspapers, you mentioned the New York Times, and here in Canada the
Globe and Mail, have plenty of archives on this issue.
RF: You know, the Globe and Mail carried an article by me about the Genocide
and deleted the word `Genocide’ and included `tragedy.’ When I talked to
them I was told that it was done by an editor… as if that is an excuse.
AB: Why do you think so much of the international media has a double
slandered on this topic?
RF: Because Turkey is in NATO and because the media have this balancing act.
They don’t associate the Genocide with the Holocaust. That is why I call it
the Armenian Holocaust. Also, because journalists think they are giving
balance to everything. Anyone who denied anything gets in the newspaper his
denial. He gets 50% of the story. Which is ridiculous. We wouldn’t allow the
Germans to deny the Jewish Holocaust; why would we allow the Turks to deny
the Armenian Holocaust? And it is also the gutless sense of American
journalism, to go along with the authorities. The attitude is this: since
the U.S administration is not prepared to call it a Genocide that’s
sufficient for us not mess with our Turkish allies our, NATO ally. Right? We
need them for their air bases. So, why upset them? Look what happened to
France. The moment the National Assembly brought the Armenian Genocide to
the table and said it happened, they lost so much, so many economic
agreements [between Turkey and major French companies] including weapon
agreements were cancelled. Lockheed and Boeing are not going to support the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. So it is very much an economic thing.
The fact that the New York Times, which exposed the Armenian Genocide in the
first place, should now spend so many paragraphs to Turkish denials is
amazing.
AB: Do you think that the concept of uniqueness of the Holocaust in certain
circles within the Jewish community and the Jewish diaspora has anything to
do with the issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide?
RF: We know that Shimon Perez has publicly stated it was not Genocide. It is
in my book. He was admonished, quite rightly so, by Israel Charny, the
Holocaust scholar. He [Charny] does not want to be associated with the Perez
statement. Mr. Charny is a very moral man. Over and over again, even the
Israeli ambassador to Yerevan announced that it was not Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide issue is very straightforward. It happened, and people
are denying it and those who deny it are wrong. I told the San Francisco
Bay Area Armenian Community four, five years ago, that there was one way to
turn the story around – changing the narrative back to reality. It’s for
Armenians to honour those brave Turks who helped Armenians during the
Genocide. Here are these brave Turks . . . we dare the Turks to honour their
brave men…
AB: You are right. Many Turks did help Armenians during the Genocide.
RF: I have suggested to Armenians to do what the Israelis do – honour brave
Gentiles who saved Jews. Let’s honour Turks who helped the Armenians, who
upheld the honour of the Turkish nation when the Turkish Government was
destroying its own Armenians. I don’t know what the Armenians have done
[about this idea]. The Turkish Government will have a big problem if this
becomes a major issue. Are they to honour brave Turks who upheld the honour
of their nation or are they to despise them and honour the men who destroyed
the honour of the nation by killing the Armenians? These are major moral
issues. I don’t think at the moment that Armenians have really looked on
this issue the way they might. But again, it’s for Armenians to decide. I am
not Armenian.
AB: When it comes to Armenian Genocide denial, you least expect the Israeli
state to be a party to denial. Their policy on such a moral issue is ironic,
considering the Jewish Holocaust and its deniers.
RF: Israel puts Israel first as Armenians put Armenians first. But the fact
that you have someone like Shimon Perez adopting the Turkish line on the
Armenian Genocide is astonishing. It is not astonishing because the Israelis
demand the uniqueness of the Jewish Holocaust. It is unique in terms of
numbers but in terms of structural, political, direct physical relationship
the Armenian Genocide is Genocide as is the Holocaust. It was a clear
attempt to eliminate the Armenian people as a people, as a nation. It was
similar to the Holocaust. Turks managed to do their best to thrash
Morgenthau. But look at all the other reports. Look at the photographs. Look
at Armin Wagner’s pictures. I point, in my book, documents never quoted
before – from Britons, showing the women walking naked to Deir ezz Zor.
British readers wrote to me, with their long-dead fathers’ notebooks,
written in their handwriting about this material. They were never published
before. They did not tell a lie. They were not dreaming when they wrote in
their notebooks.
AB: Is it the economic, military, intelligence alliance between Turkey and
Israel that makes Israel join Turkey in denying the Armenian Genocide?
RF: And Turkey and the United States.
AB: There are many righteous Jews in support of Armenian Genocide
recognition.
RF: Yes there are. Armenians who live in Jerusalem and speak Hebrew call it
the Armenian Shoah, the Hebrew word for Holocaust. The Jerusalem Post wrote
fine articles about the Armenian Genocide. And The Jerusalem Post being
pretty right wing Israeli paper.
AB: You now see many countries coming forward, acknowledging the fact of the
Genocide. Even Germany recently passed a very strong resolution, even though
they did not use the word Genocide.
RF: You are getting there. You are getting there, slowly but surely.
AB: Can we conclude that these current alliances and denials are not based
on moral or historical facts but on short-term political and economic
factors?
RF: Of course. Of course.
AB: There are some Europeans who are using the issue of Armenian Genocide as
a pretext to block Turkey’s entry to the European Union. Under the
circumstances, wouldn’t it be wiser for the Turkish Government to come to
terms with the Armenian Genocide issue?
RF: Of course it would. You know, an increasing number of Turks are
admitting it. I gave a lecture in Sabanci University [Istanbul] a year ago
and mentioned the Armenian Genocide. A former Turkish army colonel stood up
at the end and said: `You are right.’ When I was covering the Turkish
earthquake, in 1999, I talked to large number of seismologists and civil
servants. During a big dinner gathering in Istanbul, I raised the Genocide
issue. `You are absolutely right. It happened. We did it. We should
acknowledge it,’ they all said.
AB: Why is it that they do not come forward?
RF: Because of ultra-nationalist arrogance. Because the ultra-nationalist
elements in the Turkish society, which identify with Moustafa Kamal Ataturk,
altough Ataturk himself, in interviews, said that the people responsible for
the Genocide should be hanged. He knew it had happened. `Our Christian
citizens,’ he called Armenians. There is a newspaper interview with him
which I have a copy in English.
AB: Is it the Los Angeles Examiner interview?
RF: Yes.
AB: You know, some Turks now deny that Ataturk did give such an interview.
RF: I have the original. I have seen the original newspaper and I have a
photocopy. It is real, of course.
AB: Recently we have witnessed some Turkish scholars and intellectuals
questioning the Turkish Government’s policy of denial. Some have been
threatened, blackmailed . . .
RF: They have suffered for it. They have suffered for it.
AB: What do you think of this phenomenon? How far it will go?
RF: They cannot be stopped. Once you open the door to discussion, you cannot
close the door again. People lose their fear. If any element loses its fear
you can not inject fear into it again. Once historical scholarship loses its
fear . . . you cannot lock it back again. So, it is out of the bag. The door
is open. You can only move forward. You can not go back. Even if you lock up
all the scholars it becomes bigger strain and there will be more scholars.
It is little bit like water coming under the door. You can seal the bottom
of the door, but eventually it will come from the top of the door. Why it
happened [Turkish scholars researching the Armenian Genocide]? I don’t know.
I hate journalists who talk through the top of their heads on subjects like
that. I am sure it’s like the situation in the U.S. where Turkish
scholarship has contaminated American universities through the system of
Turkish Government sponsorship of chairs of Turkish studies. So more and
more Turkish academics, younger academics, have been trained to work abroad
and learn the necessity of starting scholarship outside the politically
accepted dogma. I will give you practical example. A young Turkish girl who
must remain anonymous. She was a student who came to work in America. And by
chance she lived in a U.S. city with a large Armenian community. She started
to take an interest in the Genocide. Until then she had believed that what
had happened in 1915 was a civil war. Armenians had suffered; Muslims had
suffered. Then she started interviewing Armenians. And talking to Armenians
she realized that there was a genocide. She started cataloguing the stories
of the Armenians in Turkish. Two years ago she turned out in southeast
England, to talk to a very old lady who had seen children set on fire by
Turkish gendarmes. I interviewed her. She is in my book. In the book I
mentioned the letter she had received from a Turkish woman who said that she
was so sorry for what her people had done. That Turkish woman is preserving
the Genocide records in Turkey in Turkish.
So it is out. You cannot go back no matter how the nationalist opposition
fights it.
AB: What do you think of the Turkish integration into the European Union?
Will the Genocide recognition play a big role whether Turkey is admitted?
RF: The problem around the European issue is this: Europeans who don’t want
Turkey in the European Union will use the issue of the Armenian Genocide not
for your view but for there’s. You might think they would stand up for
freedom of information and force the Turks to indulge in the truth. They
will be working from the principle that the Turks will not recognize the
truth. Therefore, they will keep them out of the European Union. That is a
big danger for Armenians. You will have `friends’ of the Armenians who
demand Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a condition of entry
to the European Union, in the hope that the Turks would refuse to recognize
and thus Europeans will be able to keep Muslim Turkey out. That’s about
their interests. My theory is that if Turkey joins the European Union many
Armenians, who have European passport, can claim compensation for the
property taken from their ancestors.
AB: Did you receive complaints about your writings on the Armenian Genocide?
RF: Yes. I have received anonymous phone calls from Turks; probably calling
from London, saying `why do you hate the Turkish people?’ I had one or two
complaints from the Turkish Embassy sent to my paper. But we reply most
vigorously to them, saying `don’t waste our time writing letters and saying
the truth isn’t the truth.’
AB: Armenians in the diaspora are facing an uphill struggle, lobbying to
bringing this matter to the attention of the international community.
RF: You have done a lot better than the Palestinians. The Armenian diaspora
is very wealthy, compared to other minorities whose history has been denied.
AB: What do you think of the reconciliation talks between Turks and
Armenians, without Turkish Government’s acknowledgment of the Genocide?
RF: It sounds strange to me. Unless the Turkish Government recognizes the
Genocide what you got to reconcile about?

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Microsurgery
58 Abovyan St.
Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Gevorg Yaghjyan MD, PhD
Secretary General
Tel: (37410) 560636
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Intensive Course in Facial Surgery
Yerevan, April 21-22, 2006
Armeni an Association of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery and
Microsurgery(AAPRSM), as well as the Yerevan State Medical University
will organized an Intensive Course in “Facial Surgery ”
The symposium will take place on April 21-22, in the Conference Hall
of the Yerevan State Medical University. About 60 ENT, maxillofacial
surgeons and reconstructive surgeon from different hospitals of
Yerevan will attend.
The symposium will be lead by Dr. Artavazd Sahakyan MD, PhD – the
president of AAPRSM and invited lecturer Dr. Der-Sarkisian Raffi MD
from Boston Facial Group
Dr. Der-Sarkisian board certified Facial Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgeon, Assistant Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck
Surgery Boston University School of Medicine
Author of many articles abstracts, and book chapters
The lectures will be dedicated to Reconstruction of the Nose, Scalp
and Lip, as also in the using a technologies in reconstructive surgery
of the face .
The goal of the symposium is to present the latest information,
the experience and knowledge of the international faculty members to
Armenian doctors.
Symposium is open for all doctors, resident and student upon the
registration on the web site:
We hope that the program of this kind will be continued in the future
and help to enhance the professional level of local specialists
through the gained theoretical knowledge and discussions.
AAPRSM is a non-for-profit organization of medical professionals,
aimed at improving the health care system of the community and
advancing medical sciences in Armenia.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRESS RELEASE +++ PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 17, 2006
Contact: Armen Carapetian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
DEIRMENJIAN’S DIVERSE BACKGROUND LANDS HIM SEAT ON LA HUMAN RELATIONS
COMMISSION
— ANCA Activist Chosen to Serve on Commission’s Advisory Committee
LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti has
appointed Raffe Deirmenjian to serve on the city’s Human Relations
Commission Advisory Committee that strives to promote positive race
and human relation in the increasingly complex and multicultural county
of Los Angeles, reported the Armenian National Committee of America –
Western Region (ANCA-WR).
Deirmenjian, a member of the West San Fernando Valley ANCA, has
worked diligently to have the Armenian Genocide included in the Los
Angeles Unified School District’s curriculum, and during a time of
racial conflict at local Grant High School, worked with students and
administrators to successfully settle the conflict. ANCA-WR Chairman
Steven Dadaian described Deirmenjian as an ideal candidate for the
position.
“Having worked closely within the ANCA, Raffe has the necessary
background in not only managing human relations, but also grasping
the ideals that help to overcome prejudice, bias, and other divisive
attitudes that can lead to inter-cultural tension,” said Dadaian.
The Commission teams with law enforcement, schools, cities,
community-based organizations, youth, academics, policy makers,
businesses and other leaders, to bring key players together to resolve
immediate inter-cultural conflicts.
“It’s rare to find a person with such a diverse background,” stressed
Dadaian who points to Derimenjian’s current position as a Second Vice
President of Wealth Management at Smith Barney, who also carries
education in political science and business marketing and has five
years of hands-on experience on Wall Street, coupled with consistent
and practical public policy experience within the ANCA. “He fits the
ideal profile to serve on this Commission whose mission is to lay the
groundwork for a long-term campaign to eradicate unfair practices,
while working within the system,” remarked Dadaian.
Also appointed to the Human Relations Commission Advisory Committee
were Vicky Ortega, Karen Hallock, Al Garcia, and Jose Roberto
Hernandez.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns
of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
#####