REMEMBERING 9/11 BY EXAMINING ITS POLITICAL FALLOUT
Metropolis Magazine, NY
Sept 19 2005
The Lower Manhattan Community Council’s history is intimately tied
to the rise and fall-and now the future-of the World Trade Center.
Before September 11, the community arts organization founded by David
Rockefeller had its offices and studios on the 92nd floor of the WTC’s
North tower. When the building collapsed, it took with it one of the
LMCC’s own: resident artist Michael Richards, who was in his studio
working on a sculpture dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen.
The LMCC drew upon its Downtown history and authority for What Comes
After: Cities, Art, and Recovery, a series of cultural events held
September 8-11 in Manhattan. The programming and discussions-and a
concurrent month-long series of exhibitions- focused on remembering
and rebuilding after tragedy. They also were the city’s first genuinely
challenging arts events examining the WTC attacks and their political
aftermath.
It was inevitable that official remembrance ceremonies for 9/11’s
victims would cede ground to a more vigorous examination of the
attacks’ implications and consequences, and a more thoughtful
consideration of the future. For the LMCC, this meant, among other
things, confronting the reality that in this new climate of fear,
some artists’ work is labeled unpatriotic. For example, “A Knock at
the Door…,” an exhibition that opened the series and runs through
October 1 at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and
Art and the South Street Seaport’s Melville Gallery, assembles a
collection of works that test the limits of free expression to the
point of running afoul not only of political pieties, but also the law.
The most celebrated example is the work of Steve Kurtz of the Critical
Art Ensemble, who was detained by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism
Task Force in May and charged with bioterrorism for his research on
genetically modified organisms. His case is represented in a video
screen showing news footage about his arrest along with a selection
of materials confiscated by the FBI. Others, like Hackett of the
Madagascar Institute–who manufactured a bomb for the exhibition that
can be set off with his cell phone–stretch the limits to the point
of being scary.
Diamonda Galas’s Defixiones, Orders from the Dead, an operatic mass
performed twice over the weekend at Pace University’s Schimmel
Auditorium, indirectly placed the attacks in the context of the
massacre of Armenians, Assyrians, Anatolians, and Greeks in Turkey
from 1914 to 1923. Her incantations, sung in a half-dozen tongues,
were like a vision of multiculturalism gone to hell, refusing to
assume a common language for the expression of grief. At one point
Galas, shrouded with scarves and holding a microphone in each hand,
raised her arms to cast a shadow that eerily recalled the image of
the Abu Ghraib prisoner that was wired with electrodes. The gesture
forced one to acknowledge that the war in Iraq is also part of the
legacy of 9/11, whether you agree or disagree with its legitimacy or
role in the struggle against Islamic extremism.
Not all of the series’ events were full of sound and fury, however.
Korean-born artist Chang-Jin Lee achieved a more soothing note in
her Homeland Security Garden installation, where she displayed in
plexiglass cases on Astroturf-covered pedestals a collection of objects
associated with safety. Ranging from the humorous–a package of Plan
B birth control pills–to the poetic–a Bible turned to Genesis with
all of the instances of the word “garden” highlighted–and accompanied
by Arabic music, the installation managed to produce a sense of peace
and harmony.
Yet there was little consolation to be found in “Design of Recovery,”
one of a half-dozen roundtable discussions examining arts and culture
after catastrophe. Israeli architect Eyal Weizman, former World
Monuments Fund manager Jon Calame, Lebanese architect Jad Tabet,
and former director of Manhattan’s City Planning office Vishaan
Chakrabarti discussed strategies for transforming buildings that
served as tools of colonial occupation, historic bridges destroyed by
bombs, and districts decimated by civil war into functional symbols of
renewal. But the examples of perfectly good housing torn down in Gaza;
the Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina rebuilt in the-still
divided city; and the Beirut neighborhoods razed to make way for
ill-conceived redevelopment suggested that no matter how much one
rebuilds, the catastrophe remains.
For all of the bureaucratic drama surrounding the future plans for
the World Trade Center site, the LMCC’s success in claiming space
in Lower Manhattan for politically challenging cultural events could
be regarded as a signal: an indicator that the city is finally ready
to start thinking seriously about what kind of monument to erect in
9/11’s memory. If not for the ongoing presence of New York Governor
George Pataki, who serves as a sort of feudal landlord over the site,
perhaps we could scrap rebuilding plans and start all over–again.

A “PARALLEL CIS” IN DEMOCRATIC PACKAGING
By Vladimir Socor
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Jamestown Foundation
Sept 19 2005
Representatives of Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Karabakh
held a conference on “A Parallel CIS” on September 15-16 in Moscow. The
gathering differed from previous ones in that it was overtly sponsored
by officials of Russia’s executive branch of power.
Modest Kolerov, head of the Russian Presidential Administration’s
Directorate for Interregional and External Ties (mainly responsible
for liaison with pro-Moscow groups in Eurasia) and Konstantin Zatulin,
Director of Russia’s government-sponsored CIS Affairs Institute,
were the hosts and keynote speakers.
Perhaps because the unprecedented official involvement could be seen
as provocative enough, the organizers chose to invite low-profile
secessionist personages this time. Participants included a “deputy
minister of foreign affairs” of Transnistria, a counselor to Karabakh’s
president and one to its “ministry of foreign affairs,” the rectors of
“state universities” from all the four territories, and heads of these
territories’ resident missions in Moscow. Several “ministerial”-rank
officials were also listed initially as participants. Abkhazia’s
leader, Sergei Bagapsh, was officially reported as being in Moscow
during the conference, although he was not listed among conference
participants. Conferees also included elements of Kolerov’s usual
clientele of pan-Slavist and pan-Orthodox groups from ex-Soviet-ruled
countries, the Balkans, and the Near East. Some of these were supposed
to provide illustrative examples of unrecognized enclaves striving
for international recognition.
Kolerov’s and Zatulin’s keynote addresses both introduced a novel
theme to Russian policy on conflict resolution. They portrayed
the secessionist territories as well on their way toward becoming
functioning democracies, with representative institutions and
regularly held elections. Kolerov and Zatulin argued that international
recognition would help complete that purported development and would
correspond with “democratically expressed” aspirations in these
territories. The thesis, in a nutshell, is that stabilization through
recognition would promote democracy and guarantee human rights. This
argument seeks to exclude the issue of Russian troops from discussion
at this stage, reserving the Russian “military guarantees” to be
discussed as part of the political settlements. “First democratization,
then negotiations toward political settlement,” Kolerov said. For
his part, Zatulin suggested that the “parallel CIS” of unrecognized
territories was already more effective than the officially existing
CIS and could lay a groundwork for international recognition.
This line of argument corresponds with the Russian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs’ new tactic to seek international recognition of the
secessionist authorities in two stages. The first stage would involve
international monitoring and recognition of elections to secessionist
territories’ legislative bodies as democratically valid. The next
stage would see recognition of the executive authorities that issued
from those elections. Political settlements of the conflicts would
then be negotiated on that basis with Russia’s clients in a far
stronger position than they had been. Moldova and Transnistria are,
at the moment, the first object of this experiment in which Russian
diplomacy seeks Western acquiescence. In a message to the participants
in the conference, Transnistria’s leader, Igor Smirnov, optimistically
stated, “We are drawing closer to recognition with every passing day.”
Kolerov cautioned the secessionist leaderships against the “tactical
mistake” of overemphasizing “historical connections with Russia”
when addressing international public opinion. “Of course, you can
continue to mention that, but it is no longer important for the West.”
Instead, they should use human-rights and democracy arguments in
the quest for recognition, as “no one can ignore such arguments,”
Kolerov advised. At the same time, Kolerov offered a catch-all
definition of “Russia’s compatriots (sootechestvenniki) on either
side of post-Soviet conflicts,” whose rights and interests Russia
“has an obligation to guarantee.” Those compatriots include “all
persons born on the territory of the former Soviet Union or the
Russian Empire,” irrespective of ethnicity, in the recognized states
or the unrecognized ones. This sweeping definition reflects Moscow’s
goal to act as “guarantor” of conflict-settlement and post-conflict
arrangements, overseeing the constitutional setups in what are now
the unrecognized states and the recognized ones as well. Again (and
as usual), Moldova is the first target of this new Russian policy.
The Abkhaz and South Ossetian representatives indicated that the
goal of international recognition is, to them, an intermediate stage
toward accession of these territories to Russia. Transnistria’s
representatives (evidently taking geography into account) spoke more
vaguely of becoming part of some “community” around Russia. Karabakh
representatives only spoke of achieving independence from Azerbaijan.
The leader of Armenia’s Democratic Party, Aram Sarkisian (not to be
confused with the identically named ex-prime minister who is now an
opposition leader) criticized Armenia’s leadership for “distancing
itself from Russia” and defended the population of Armenia and Karabakh
against any such imputations.
Representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy also
led a discussion on the role of the “national dimension” of Orthodox
churches in consolidating “national identity” in these territories.
This may presage a more active role than has hitherto been the case
for Russian Orthodox clergymen and the Moscow Patriarchy in supporting
secessionist authorities.
(Regnum, Interfax, RIA, September 12-16; Kommersant Daily, September
16)

ARMENIANS, GEORGIANS TO COOPERATE ON RADIO TRAINING PROJECT
International Journalist’s Network
Sept 19 2005
Radio journalists in Armenia and Georgia have until September 28 to
apply for a training program that will bring them together to work
on team reporting projects. The Media Diversity Institute (MDI)
is organizing the program, scheduled for October 1 to 10.
MDI says it will select eight participants for the program, four
each from Armenia and Georgia. Their base will be Yerevan during
the program, as the journalists will travel around Armenia to do
their reporting.
Before embarking, the team will decide what the topic of their
reporting will be. But it should be related to diversity issues, such
as those faced by minority groups, refugees or disabled people. As
MDI says, the subject can be “basically any group that is generally
marginalized by the mainstream media.”
The journalists will produce their programs together and make them
available for free to stations in their home countries. Although
the training will be conducted mostly in Russian, the programs will
be produced in Armenian and Georgian and translated into English
for editing.
Interested radio journalists should send their CV and letter of
interest to their local MDI country coordinator. Armenian journalists
should contact Artur Papyan at [email protected],
telephone +374 (1) 53 00 67, or visit 9B Ghazar Parpetsi str., 375003,
Yerevan. Georgian journalists should contact Elena Aladashvili at
[email protected] or visit 10 Chovelidze St.,
Room No. 304, Tbilisi.
;CId=303580&CIdLang=1

NEW PREMISES OF ARMENIAN EMBASSY WILL BE INAUGURATED IN ABU DHABI
Azad-Hye, United Arab Emirates
Sept 14 2005
AZAD-HYE (Dubai, 14 September 2005): Marking an important development
in the Armenian-UAE relations, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
visits the UAE to attend the ceremony of laying the foundation of
the new premises of the Embassy of Armenia, which will take place
in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Abu Dhabi on Saturday 1st
October 2005.
The plot has been donated by late President His Highness Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan Al Nahyan, during Kocharian’s visit to the UAE (April 2002).
This event will mark the beginning of a donation campaign within the
Armenian Communities in the Gulf countries, aimed at concentrating
the required amount for erecting the building (which happens to be
exactly next to the new futuristic building of the US Embassy).
It is worth mentioning that the Armenian Community of the UAE supported
economically the opening of the Armenian Embassy in the UAE and had
covered most of the expenses during the period 2000-2002
The Embassy was officially opened with a flag hoisting ceremony on
24th September 2000, at its temporary premises opposite Hamdan Post
Office on Khalifa Street in Abu Dhabi. The flag was raised by visiting
Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vardan Oskanian, and the first
Charge d’Affaires, Dr Arshak Poladian, flanked by young Armenians in
traditional attire.
The ceremony was attended by UAE Foreign Ministry Undersecretary,
several diplomats, UAE officials and Armenians in the country.

RULER OF SHARJAH VISITS ARMENIA
Azad-Hye, United Arab Emirates
Sept 14 2005
AZAD-HYE (Dubai, 14 September 2005): His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan
bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE)
Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah is expected to pay an official
visit to Armenia from 19-21 September 2005. This is the highest ranking
official from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to visit Armenia. His
Highness has been the Ruler of Sharjah since 1972 and is educated at
the Universities of Cairo and Exeter (England), having a PhD degree
from the later. In Armenia he will be bestowed with honorary doctorate
from prestigious Armenian university, as a token of appreciation for
his contribution to the well being of the Armenians in his Emirate
and his continuous attentiveness to develop the relations between
Armenia and the UAE, on cultural and other levels.
Dr Sheikh Al Qasimi will attend the opening ceremony of the Sharjah
Cultural Week in Armenia (19-23 September 2005), an event that will
further develop the existing warm relations between the two sides. A
delegation of 20 artists from Sharjah will introduce to the Armenian
public the traditions and recent cultural achievements of Sharjah. It
is worth mentioning that Sharjah is considered as one of the most
culturally oriented cities in the Arab World. In 1998 it was designated
by UNESCO as the cultural capital of the Arab World.
Sharjah International Art Biennial is a well known event worldwide.
The Sharjah Cultural Week is taking place within the framework of
cultural exchanges between Armenia and Sharjah. The details of this
cooperation has been discussed in December 2004 during the visit of
the Minister of Culture of Armenian Hovig Hoveyan to Sharjah, who
attended, together with Dr. Sheikh Al Qasimi and Dr. Arshak Poladian,
Ambassador of Armenian to the UAE, the opening ceremony of the Armenian
Cultural Week in Sharjah (11-17 December 2004).
During the above visit to Sharjah the Minister of Culture Hovik Hoveyan
was awarded two rare breed horses. Both Arab horses contributed to
the development of horse-breeding in Armenia. Dr.
Sheikh Al Qasimi will take with him this time two more horses, thus
enabling to enlarge the circle of rare horse breeding in Armenia.
(Click Read More).
Dr. Sheikh Al Qasimi will meet also the President of Armenia, whom
he hosted in Sharjah previously on 21 April 2002, during Kocharian’s
official visit to the UAE. His Highness will be congratulating Armenia
on its independence day (21 September).
The only Armenian church in the UAE has been constructed on land
donated by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi. The permission
to build the church was granted in 1997. The project began at the
end of the same year and was completed in one year time. It was
was officially consecrated in the Al Yarmook district of the city of
Sharjah in November 1998 by His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Holy
See of Cilicia. The built-up area of the church is 400 square metres,
while the whole project (together with adjacent parts, including the
Community Hall) covers a total area of 1200 square metres. The church
has been large enough to serve the 3000 Armenians who live in the
Northern Emirates (Dubai, Sharjah and other emirates except Abu Dhabi
which is located relatively far). This one million dollar project has
been financed by the members of the Armenian community in the country.

PATRIOT GAMES FOR YOUNG GEORGIANS
By Natalia Antelava
BBC News
Sept 19 2005
President Mikhail Saakashvili is a great supporter of the camps
Seventeen-year-old Nino drops herself into a deep trench, clutches
her Kalashnikov and squints against the bright mid-afternoon sun.
“Attention! Fire!” the instructor’s voice barks into the loudspeaker
behind her, and Nino’s fragile figure shudders as she empties the
magazine into the air.
“That was so cool,” she laughs as she jogs away from the trench,
handing the gun to the next girl in line.
Amid breathtaking mountains and pine forests at the Bakuriani
resort, hundreds of other young men and women, dressed in a bright
orange-and-blue uniforms, load their guns and wait their turn to shoot.
These are the Patriots – Georgia’s answer to the former Soviet
Pioneers.
They are aged 15 to 20, come from poor backgrounds and do well in
school. And their prize is 10 days at a camp, all expenses paid by
the Georgian government.
Presidential visits
By the end of September, 15,000 young men and women will have graduated
from four camps across Georgia. For Maka Chichilashvili, like many
here, it has been a summer like no other.
“Georgian women are really tough, it’s in our nature to be real
fighters,” Maka says. “So it’s always been my dream to learn how to
fire a gun. But the best here is that I’ve made so many friends. It’s
the best way to spend the holiday.”
It’s not about war at all. We are meeting people, we are making
friends. It’s about peace more then anything else
Irakli Khachidze
The idea came from Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili – part of
his effort to rebuild Georgia after the peaceful revolution he led
two years ago.
On his frequent visits to the camps, he proudly wears the bright orange
uniform, plays football with the Patriots and checks on quality of
the canteen food.
As a former Soviet Pioneer himself, President Saakashvili says this
is as different as it can get.
“These camps are about people taking ownership of their country. They
are not run by an occupying force like the Soviet camps were. It’s
theirs, and it teaches them that their country is theirs too,” he says.
“Two years ago, no one in Georgia liked the national flag, or knew
the lyrics of the national anthem. Revolution, and the fact that
people changed the government, also changed that.”
In Bakuriani, every day starts and ends with the new national anthem.
In between, it is guns, sports, leadership training and even safe
sex education.
But in Georgia – situated in the volatile Caucasus, with two unresolved
conflicts in the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia –
the military instruction has raised hackles among the president’s
critics.
Football and firearms are on the agenda for the young Patriots
“It’s all part of the militaristic rhetoric of this government,” says
Tinatin Khidasheli, member of the opposition Republican party. “I
would rather see the kids getting a proper education than learning
how to fire guns.”
But the Patriots say they have not come to the camps to learn how
to fight.
“Knowing how to fire a gun is useful, no question,” says 19-year-old
Irakli Khachidze. “But it’s not about war at all. We are meeting
people, we are making friends. It’s about peace more then anything
else.”
Gela Onaidze, who runs this camp, says the point is to create a
new kind of national pride, free of the heavy ideology of the USSR,
or the ethnic tensions that followed its collapse.
Camp romance
That is why the young Patriots come from all ethnic backgrounds and
are free to choose many of their activities.
“We have ethnic Armenians, Russians, even Ossetians and Abkhaz,”
Gela says. “And this is the first time in the history of independent
Georgia that young people have come together from all over the country
and been taught how to get along.”
And some, he says, get along almost too well, bringing unexpected
outcomes.
“I’ve already got six weddings to go to in September,” laughs Gela.
Around him, the Patriots are preparing for an evening of fun after
a long day at the shooting range. As a silver moon climbs over the
tents, figures in orange and blue dart about the camp. Some are
playing sports, others are preparing for dinner.
And on a wooden bench next to a tent a group of young men, arm in arm,
break into song. It is a traditional Georgian song – a patriotic one,
of course.

THE US ADMINISTRATION DISAPPROVES OF THE ADOPTION OF THE GENOCIDE RESOLUTIONS AT THE US CONGRESS
DeFacto News, Armenia
Sept 19 2005
The US State Department official representative Adam Erely stated
the US decision concerning “forced resettlement and murder of 1.5
million Armenians” had not been changed.
Adam Erely noted, “The US policy on the issue has not been changed.
The US President voiced it in his speech made on April 24 having
stated the US grieved about forced resettlement and murder of 1, 5
million Armenians in the last years of the Osman Empire considering
the event to be one of the greatest tragedies in the history of
mankind”. However, he added,”the US administration does not support
voting on the Resolutions at the House of Representatives and we go
on stating it”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA PM: ARMENIA SUPPORTS EFFORTS AIMED AT REFORMING UN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 16 2005
YEREVAN, September 16. /ARKA/. Armenia supports the efforts aimed at
reforming the United Nations; RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
said in his speech at the 60th session of the UN general Assembly,
press-service of the RA Government reported ARKA News Agency. Armenia
attaches importance to enhancement of the role of the General Assembly,
creation of the Human Rights Council, and especially at increasing the
effectiveness of the working methods of the Security Council. “We are
confident that the reformed United Nations Organization will be in a
position to successfully address today’s ever-increasing challenges”,
Margaryan said.
It is five years now that the Heads of State and Governments adopted
the Millennium Declaration thus assuming responsibility to reach
the development goals as outlined in the Declaration. By joining the
Declaration Armenia included the development goals in its long-term
strategic programs. By the decision of the Government and with
the assistance of international organizations Armenia adopted a
Poverty Reduction Strategy Program, which envisages measures aimed
at implementation of MDGs and is in compliance with the strategic
development of the country. A.A. -0–

MARGARYAN: ARMENIA STRONGLY CONDEMNS TERRORISM AND ALL ITS MANIFESTATIONS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 16 2005
YEREVAN, September 16. /ARKA/. Armenia strongly condemns terrorism
and all its manifestations, RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
said in his speech at the 60th session of the UN general Assembly,
press-service of the RA Government reported ARKA News Agency. He said
that terrorism remains the biggest scourge facing humanity. He pointed
out that the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 in the United States,
then in Beslan, Madrid, London and other parts of the world testify
that states should unite their efforts to commonly address this evil..
“We commend measures undertaken by the Secretary-General aimed at
prevention of possible acts of genocide in the future”, Margaryan
said. In this connection he gave importance of inclusion in the Outcome
Document of the High-Level Meeting the concept of responsibility to
protect populations against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing
and crimes against humanity.
“The international community should redouble its efforts to prevent
possible genocides. Armenians, as a nation that survived the first
genocide of the 20-th century, know well the horrible consequences
of the policy of genocide”, Margaryan said. A.A. -0–

US Congress committee passes 2 resolutions on ‘genocide’ of Armenians
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 19 2005
Baku, September 16, AssA-Irada
The US Congress committee on international relations has passed two
resolutions on the so-called “genocide” of Armenians after approving
relevant draft laws.
In the resolutions, Turkey and the Bush administration are urged to
recognize the “genocide”, according to the US Assembly of Armenians.
The first resolution was approved by 35 Congressmen, with 11 voting
against it, while the second one was approved by 40 Congress members.
The Greek community in the United States backed the two resolutions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan stated in a meeting with
his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon in New York that Turkey needs
support from the Jewish Lobby in connection with the mentioned issue.*