Noyan Tapan Highlights” N37
September, 2005
September 12, 2005
PAPLAVOK’S REVOLUTIONARY SITTING
By Garin K. Hovannisian
Yerevan–I’d like to think that it used to be just cigarettes, coffee, and
jazz. But our own time is a bit more complicated than this. The tables
unfurled at Paplavok are now stacked with pyramidal fruit platters, French
pastries, and glamorous cocktails. Instead of Vahagn Hayrapetian’s classic
quartet, we are more likely to hear Aramo’s doo-bop improvisations. And the
characters that nightly enliven Yerevan’s famous café have kindled there a
colorful and brave revolutionary culture.
At the table to your left, for instance, you might find a couple of
university students prodding the case of Yektan Turkyilmaz, the Turkish
historian who was locked up for two months in a National Security cell
without trial. Or maybe it’s a group of tourists who’ve come to see with
their own eyes that mythic bathroom where the president’s bodyguards beat
and killed an impious citizen. “Privet, Rob,” he’d said. It could be a
circle of brute-businessmen with appetites as big as their villas or it
could be a group of unsuspicious girls lavished in the latest Louis Vuitton.
But they talk about the same things: October 27, Armen Sargsyan, rigged
elections, and Northern Avenue.
Unlike the musings of the past, however, today’s sizzling political
discussions are not mere laments and longings anymore. In the people’s
sarcasm and metaphor, you hear clearly (for they are no longer in whispers)
the sure notes of revolution.
Democracy. Freedom. Human rights. The Apricot Revolution. These are the
roots of Paplavok’s intellectual lexicon–the trendiest echoes from the
lakeside. With the excited company, the far-fetched music, the lush cuisine,
and the romantic possibilities of night, the fiery exchanges convince us
that a movement is being born.
But it’s already four in the morning, and even the most passionate
provocateurs must go home now. As Paplavok’s revolutionaries disperse and
fall asleep, the new day’s first minibuses begin their rounds. As the sun
casts its first rays onto reality, the people who need the revolution most
prepare for the day ahead. After all, they cannot afford nocturnal
fantasies. They have families to feed and jobs to fight for.
And that’s precisely Paplavok’s revolutionary paradox. On the one end, the
fly-by-night café is perfect for revolutionary beginnings. It’s where the
endless discussion of corruption and redemption has become an art, fashion,
and profession. It’s where the corruption itself has turned up. In
character, Paplavok is the ultimate spark of political change. On the other
end, it’s so far removed from and so incapable of solving Armenia’s
problems. For Paplavok’s post-midnight personalities don’t really need and
so will not join the revolution at all. They’ll design it. They’ll sell it.
They’ll claim it their own. But when in that final push their commitment is
tested, they will back down. The break between the dreamers and the doers is
simply too wide.
Yet revolutions are not built and achieved in one night. In regard to
America’s epic defiance in 1776, John Adams observed that “the Revolution
was in the minds and hearts of the people.” In this important sense, Armenia
‘s own revolution is well on its way. Which doctor or school teacher is not
ready for a complete recognition of his own freedom and citizenry? Who now
is unprepared to accept a tolerant, liberal democracy? Even Arsen, an old
Soviet-friendly cabbie who drives drunken tourists to their hotels on summer
nights, agrees that if a sincere liberal democracy were set up, it would
beat the communist regime he felt so comfortable in. This seems obvious to
him.
The tougher question is: When will the collective wish become a popular
ultimatum? When will the revolution in the mind and heart of people mean a
revolution in their government? One more time. One more instance of mass
corruption; one more serious scandal; one more catastrophe. Something big.
Or, failing that, iconic. Then, then the people will snap! This is what the
Paplavok intellectuals always have claimed. Just one more time, and mark my
words. But this time, it looks more serious. This time, the present
leadership is informed of the pressure. Hence, we have ongoing deliberations
of constitutional reform to which we are all urged to contribute so that we
might feel counted and proud. Hence, we have the release of Turkyilmaz.
Hence, in one day, the 30-dram increase in mini-bus prices is quashed.
But where the government can hold seminars, issue clean verdicts, and manage
its own unworkable fee hikes, it cannot lose elections. If the government
makes the right moves in public–as it seems to be doing–it will survive
for another couple of years. But by the next elections, Armenia’s spiritual
revolution will be far too developed. The authorities will decide on the
means. But the end will not be theirs to negotiate. A revolution will have
taken place, one way or the other.
Much to the distress of its nightly romantics, Paplavok will have had little
to do with it.
Garin K. Hovannisian is a student at the University of California, Los
Angeles and the founder and editor-in-chief of The Bruin Standard.

Sunday, September 11, 2005
**********************************
CONTRADICTIONS
***************************
If we are smart, why do we treat one another like idiots? On more than one occasion I have myself been treated like an idiot by idiots.
*
If we are civilized, why do we behave like barbarians?
*
Am I a failure if I cannot educate the uneducated, teach tolerance to fanatics, and civilize barbarians? And if I am a failure, how successful have we been collectively in civilizing the barbarians who oppressed and massacred us? What if it was the barbarians who, as our lords and masters, were more successful in recreating us in their own image? What if these so-called barbarians are now ahead of us today?
*
Smartass is not smart, and smart is not intelligent; and hurling verbal abuse at Turks or at fellow Armenians (our two national sports) doesn’t even qualify as smartass.
*
It is a universally shared human weakness to prefer flattery to criticism, but it is a dangerous addiction to prefer lies to truth.
#
Monday, September 12, 2005
*************************************
Millions of Armenians believe Turks are guilty of genocide, and millions of Turks believe Armenians are liars, traitors, and killers of innocent Turks. I am not questioning anyone’s credibility here. What I am trying to do is point out the ease with which millions can be brainwashed.
*
Human nature continues to elude me. No matter how hard I try I cannot understand why millions of people are fascinated by individuals who hit a ball with a modified stick.
*
When I was young, ambitious, and hungry for knowledge, I wanted to master all the sciences, arts, letters and languages of the world. I know now that human knowledge is as vast as the ocean and all I can master is one drop of it.
*
Every Armenian should carry a sign with the warning: “Contradict me and make an enemy for life!”
*
As a child I was taught obedience but I was not warned against kissing ass.
#
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
*******************************
The morally superior does not feel the need to assert moral superiority.
*
Asserting moral superiority is the surest symptom of moral inferiority.
*
What separates the civilized from the barbarian is degree of awareness. To share one’s understanding means to share one’s awareness.
*
The barbarian is convinced he knows everything he needs to know even when the idea of civilization is beyond his compass.
*
It is not easy convincing barbarians that they are barbarians.
*
The barbarian does not feel the need to ask questions because he already has all the answers.
*
A religious or philosophical system has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with its power to shape our perception of reality.
*
Faith may also be defined as an advanced and refined form of cobra fascination in which common sense, reason, even the instinct of self-preservation are paralyzed and perverted. How else to explain the fascination of Western intellectuals with totalitarian communism and Stalin? Or terrorists who kill and commit suicide in the name of Allah?
*
All men of faith will agree with me provided I agree with them that their own faith is an exception to this general rule.
*
Americans are suspicious of philosophers but they are more than willing to tolerate the sophistries and perversions of lawyers and politicians. They seem to be unaware of the fact that if it’s not philosophy (love of wisdom) it is bound to be philomoronism.
#
BOOK REVIEW
***************************
By Ara Baliozian
*****************************
THE FACES OF COURAGE: ARMENIAN WORLD WAR II, KOREA, AND VIETNAM HEROES. By Richard N. Demirjian. Introduction by Art Sarkisian. Illustrated. 656 pages. Ararat Heritage Publishing Company (P.O.Box 396, Moraga, CA 94556-0396). 2003. $36.95.
***************************************************
This mammoth compilation based on extensive interviews may come as a surprise to readers whose image of Armenians is that of passive victims of Turkish atrocities during World War I, but not to historians like Toynbee. Speaking of Urartu (ancient Armenia) we read the following in his STUDY OF HISTORY: “Militarily, Urartu was the most effective as well as the most resolute, of all Assyria’s opponents in the last millenium B.C.” Further down: “The Assyrian Empire never succeeded in conquering the rival Empire of Urartu.”
Armenians have played key roles in the military careers of the Byzantine, Ottoman (as Janissaries), and Soviet Empires. According to Steven Runciman, “The Armenians provided many of Byzantium’s most vigorous rulers,” among them Basil I, “a Napoleonic figure” (Oswald Spengler).
In the Middle Ages, the most highly paid and feared mercenaries were Armenians. In Art Sarkisian’s introduction we read, “out of more than 400,000 Soviet Armenians who served during the war, 250,000 were killed, an appalling death-toll for what was then a republic of less than two million inhabitants.” And, “62 Soviet Armenians were promoted and bestowed the ranks of field marshals, admirals and major generals. More than one hundred Armenians servicemen were awarded Heroes of the Soviet Union (equivalent of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor), and two of these received the honor twice.”
Very few of the names in FACES OF COURAGE will be familiar to the average reader. Of the nearly fifty names, I recognized only those of Edward Alexander (diplomat and author), Anne Avakian Bishop (journalist), Vahe “Buck” Kartalian (actor), Carl Mahakian (film and sound editor, producer, and book collector), Moorad Mooradian and Joe Vosbikian (both regular contributors to the ARMENIAN REPORTER), and Barry Zorthian (whose multi-faceted contributions and activities in politics, international affairs, and the media are too numerous to list here). They all tell their own stories, invariably absorbing, sometimes harrowing, and always admirable.
If I were to sum up this volume I would say that it is a heroic enterprise about remarkable heroes that will dispel once and for all the image of Armenians as victims.
Himself a commanding officer of the 334th Military Intelligence Detachment, Richard Demirjian is the author of several other reference works, among them ARMENIAN-AMERICAN/CANADIAN WHO’S WHO OF OUTSTANDING ATHLETES, COACHES, AND SPORTS PERSONALITIES, 1906-1989, and TRIUMPH AND GLORY – ARMENIAN WORLD WAR II HEROES.
#

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
RECORD NUMBER OF ARMENIANS SET TO
WATCH WEBCAST OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VOTE
— Armenians from across United States and around the World
Tracking Progress of Legislation on the Internet
WASHINGTON, DC – Thousands of Armenians from the United States and
throughout the world are expected to watch the live internet
Webcast this Thursday, September 15th (starting at 10:30am EST) of
a key Congressional panel’s consideration of Armenian Genocide
legislation, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
For the first time in nearly five years, the influential U.S. House
International Relations Committee will discuss and vote upon
legislation on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195).
In October of 2000, the panel voted 24 to 11 to approve the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, but the measure was eventually
withdrawn from consideration only minutes before it was to go
before the full House of Representatives.
To watch the live Webcast, visit the website of the U.S. House
International Relations Committee and click on “Live webcast of
meeting.”
Thursday, September 15th – 10:30 am
“We have been tremendously encouraged by the growing number of
Armenians who are taking advantage of webcast technology to watch –
in real time – the Committee’s consideration of legislation on the
Armenian Genocide,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
ANCA. “We join with Armenians throughout the United States in
looking forward to this opportunity to watch the legislative
process in action.”
The Committee meeting will be held at 10:30 am in room 2172 of the
Rayburn House Office Building, on Capitol Hill. Among the other
issues which are set to be considered by the panel during its
September 15th meeting are the following:
* H. Con. Res. 238: Honoring the victims of the Cambodian
Genocide that took place from April 1975 to January 1979.
* H. Res. 38: Expressing support for the accession of Israel to
the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
* H. Res. 388: Regarding the July, 2005, measures of extreme
repression on the part of the Cuban Government against members of
Cuba’s pro-democracy movement.
* H. Res. 409: Condemning the Government of Zimbabwe’s “Operation
Murambatsvina”
* H. Con. Res. 237, Welcoming President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan
to the U.S. on September 20, 2005.
####

PRESS RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Junior Achievement of Armenia
1102 North Brand Blvd. #61
Glendale, CA 91202
Contact: Beth Broussalian Tel/Fax: 858-792-4656
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Street Beat Armenia to Promote SOAD’s “Mezmerize”
JAA Alumni Group to be Exclusive Promoter of New Album in Armenia
YEREVAN, ARMENIA – Raging with its hypnotically dark, dense and arty
style, System of a Down (SOAD) recently released Mezmerize, its third
album and perhaps its hardest-hitting effort to date. Reviewed by
critics as “intense,” “progressive” and “thrillingly original,”
Mezmerize challenges the senses. With their newest album already topping
the music charts in the United States, members of the band,
guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, singer Serj Tankian, bass player Shavo
Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan, are looking to unleash Mezmerize in
Armenia.
SOAD approached Street Beat Armenia, comprised of members of Junior
Achievement Alumni of Armenia, to take the lead in promoting Mezmerize
in the homeland. Armed with SOAD CDs, t-shirts, posters, signs, stickers
and stencils, Street Beat Armenia will be the exclusive promoter of
Mezmerize in the Republic and is currently preparing to launch a media
blitz of Armenia’s television and radio stations.
Robert Shahnazarian, Manager of Core Production at Sony BMG Music
Entertainment, is working with Tankian to record a series of exclusive
interviews that will be distributed by Street Beat Armenia to major
radio and television stations in Yerevan. The interviews will feature
Tankian speaking in Armenian and discussing details of the band’s most
recent venture and future plans. Promotion efforts also will include
distributing printed materials in towns and cities in each region of the
Republic as well as college and university campuses.
“We truly appreciate the opportunity that the band is giving our alumni
to utilize the lessons learned in our classes through this real-life
experience in marketing and teamwork. System of a Down is very popular
in Armenia and have worked hard to gain recognition of the Armenian
Genocide,” comments JAA Executive Director Armine Hovannisian.
In 2002, Ani Movsisyan, President of Junior Achievement Alumni of
Armenia, spearheaded an effort modeled after Streetwise in the US, to
bring the extraordinary music and unique message of SOAD to the
forefront in Armenia. With guidance from Shahnazarian and underwriting
from JAA Founder Cynthia Tusan, Movsisyan and other JAA graduates
together formed Street Beat Armenia. They toured radio and television
stations in Yerevan, distributing information, CDs and posters of the
band. The stations quickly embraced SOAD and began giving more airtime
to its music. Street Beat Armenia’s biggest break came when it was
interviewed on Armenia’s public television station.
“It was such a challenging and, at the same time, exciting task. Being
novices at promoting, we were quick to learn the great art of
persuasion. We worked hard to reach our target audience and developed a
message that was engaging and informative. Getting in contact with radio
and TV stations, scheduling and conducting meetings, and relating
SOAD’s history and international popularity were all thrilling and
rewarding experiences,” shares Movsisyan.
Tusan points out that “Junior Achievement’s mission is all about
providing our youth in Armenia with meaningful entrepreneurial
experiences.” She goes on to say, “The formation of Street Beat Armenia
is exactly that. This year, Margrit Shahnazarian, who originally came up
with the name `Street Beat Armenia’ in 2002, is our volunteer
Project Coordinator. She will maintain close contact with the team to
provide guidance in executing the media blitz and to facilitate
communication with the band.”
Established in 1992, Junior Achievement of Armenia is dedicated to
promoting free market economics, democratic governance, social
responsibility and ethical business practices in the Republic of Armenia
through economic and civic education. With courses in every high school
in the country, JAA-trained educators now reach 170,000 students in
Armenia each year. Nearly 20% of the total population of Armenia has now
taken a JAA course. For additional information, call (818) 753-4997 or
visit

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
September 13, 2005
EASTERN PRELACY PRPARES TO WELCOME
CATHOLICOS ARAM I
HIS HOLINESS WILL LEAD THE COMMEMORATIONS OF THE
75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEMINARY AT ANTELIAS
TWO MAJOR SYMPOSIUMS WILL TAKE PLACE IN
NEW YORK CITY AND CAMBRIDGE
NEW YORK, NY-The Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
is preparing to welcome His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia who this year has embarked on visits to all of the dioceses
within the jurisdiction of the Cilician See, in commemoration of the 75th
anniversary of the establishment of the Seminary at Antelias, Lebanon.
The Catholicos will arrive in New York during the evening of October 19
and will visit various parishes of the Eastern Prelacy until November 1.
Regional events celebrating the 75th anniversary will take place in New
York, Washington, DC, Boston, and Chicago. Highlights of the public events
in these cities follows:
New York City
On Thursday, October 20, the Catholicos will be at St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York City, where he will be welcomed by
the community with a Hrashapar service and Achahampooyr, beginning 7:30 pm.
On Friday, October 21, His Holiness will be at Sts. Vartanantz Church,
461 Bergen Blvd., Ridgefield, New Jersey, where he will preside over the
75th anniversary commemorative program, which will bring together a large
group of Armenian Americans from the metropolitan area. The event will begin
at 7:30 pm.
On Saturday, October 22, an Ecumenical Service and Symposium will take
place at the Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, New York City. The
topic of the symposium which is jointly sponsored by the Eastern Prelacy and
the United States Conference of the World Council of Churches, is
“Challenges Facing the Ecumenical Movement in the 21st Century.” A large
number of top ecumenical leaders will participate.
On Sunday, October 23, a Pontifical Divine Liturgy will take place at
St. Bartholomew’s Church, Park Avenue, between 50th and 51st Streets,
beginning at 1:30 pm. His Holiness will officiate and deliver the sermon.
The Liturgy will not be celebrated in the metropolitan area churches; all
parishioners will be encouraged to attend the service at St. Bartholomew’s
Church. The choirs of the metropolitan area churches will participate.
Following the Liturgy a gala banquet in honor of His Holiness and the
75th anniversary will take place at The Pierre, Fifth Ave. at 61st Street.
The cocktail reception will begin at 5 pm, followed by dinner at 6 pm. The
program will include a short video presentation about the Seminary.
Bus transportation is being arranged from various locations. Please contact
your local parish for information or contact the Prelacy, 212-689-7810.
Washington, DC
His Holiness will then travel to Washington, DC, where on Tuesday,
October 25 he will be officially welcomed by the community at Soorp Khatch
Armenian Church, 4906 Flint Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, and will preside over
the 75th anniversary commemoration, at 7:30 pm.
During his visit to our nation’s capital, His Holiness will make a
number of diplomatic visits as well as attend private receptions.
Boston
His Holiness’s visit to Boston will be marked by several important
events including the 75th anniversary celebration on Thursday, October 27,
at 7:30 pm, at St. Stephen Church, 38 Elton Avenue, Watertown, MA. He will
also visit the St. Stephen Elementary School in Watertown.
On Friday, October 28, His Holiness will attend the opening session of
an international conference dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of the
founding of the Armenian Alphabet, organized by the Eastern Prelacy and
Harvard University’s Center for Government and International Studies and the
Mashtots Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Top
scholars from Europe, Middle East, Armenia and the United States will
participated. His Holiness will open the first session and address the
conference, Friday evening at 7 pm. The conference will continue with
morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday.
Chicago
On Saturday, October 29, His Holiness will travel to Chicago where he
will be officially welcomed by the community at All Saints Armenian Church,
1701 North Greenwood, Glenview, Illinois, and preside over that community’s
75th anniversary celebration dedicated to the Seminary, at 7:30 pm.
The following day, Sunday, October 30, His Holiness will officiate over
the Divine Liturgy and deliver the Sermon at All Saints Church. A banquet
will follow the church service at Fountain Blue, 2300 Manheim Road, Des
Plaines, Illinois.
Visit Web Page
Details of the individual events will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.
For up-to-minute information about the visit, please go to the Prelacy’s web
site, , where you will also find a detailed biography
of His Holiness, photographs, and various messages recently issued by His
Holiness.
# # #
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russia struggles to keep grip in Caucasus
By Fred Weir, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Tue Sep 13, 2005
Murat Zyazikov, the pro-Kremlin president of the southern Russian republic
of Ingushetia, is a hunted man.
Since taking office in 2003, he has narrowly escaped assassination at the
hands of a suicide car-bomber and a sniper, allegedly sent by local Islamic
militants. In the past month alone, insurgents have bombed the motorcade of
his deputy premier and opened fire on his security chief. A year ago,
fighters loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev briefly seized the Ingush
capital of Nazran, killing almost 100 police officers and government
officials.
Mr. Zyazikov, a former general of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB),
shrugs all that off. “Things here are calm and peaceful,” he told
journalists at a meeting in his plush, golden-domed presidential palace.
“These attacks against me and my officials are the work of desperate men who
want to destabilize the situation in southern Russia. They hate the fact
that we are building a worthy life for our people.”
As the war in neighboring Chechnya grinds into its seventh year with no
resolution in sight, conflicts are metastasizing around the troubled north
Caucasus, which has been a zone of tension since it was conquered by Russia
in the 19th century. The region is a patchwork quilt of warring ethnic
groups and rival religions that makes Europe’s other tangled knot, the
Balkans, look tame by comparison.
Many experts say the Kremlin’s grip, iron-hard in Soviet times, has slipped
disastrously in recent years. “The Chechen conflict is spilling into
neighboring republics, escalating the process of destabilization,” says
Alexei Malashenko, an analyst with the Carnegie Center in Moscow.
Zhairakhsky, a sparsely populated district amid the high, snow-capped
mountains of southern Ingushetia, has remained relatively untouched by
conflict. But, says local administrator Yakhya Mamilov, “if you stand on a
mountaintop here and look around, you’ll see wars flaring or brewing in
every direction. It’s impossible to build for the future with any confidence
while these conditions last.”
Rebel fighters from Chechnya, a few kilometers to the east, often take
refuge among their Ingush ethnic kin in Zhairakhsky, locals say.
Further east is the Caspian Sea republic of Dagestan, with 32 constituent
ethnic groups, where Islamist rebels stage almost daily bombings and
ambushes against Russian security forces.
To the south and west two breakaway republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
are locked in long-simmering wars of independence against the post-Soviet
state of Georgia. Just next door on another side is traditionally Christian
North Ossetia, hereditary enemy of the mainly Muslim Ingush, with whom they
fought a savage border war in 1992.
Moscow has tried to maintain its authority by phasing out “unreliable” local
leaders, and replacing them with loyalists like Zyazikov. “This tactic is
not working,” says Alexander Iskanderyan, head of the Center for Caucasian
Studies. “Moscow imagines that exchanging ‘bad’ officials with ‘good’ ones
will change things, but the main trend we see is a steady loss of control.”
Passions in Ingushetia and N. Ossetia are still seething over the Beslan
school massacre a year ago. On Sept. 1, 2004, a squad of 32 terrorists, most
of them ethnic Ingush, drove from Ingushetia and seized 1,200 hostages in
Beslan’s School No. 1, just across the border in N. Ossetia. Three days
later Russian security forces launched a massive assault on the building,
leaving 331 people dead, half of them children.
Zyazikov, and other pro-Kremlin officials, blame the outrage on
“international terrorism.” North Ossetia’s acting president, Taimuraz
Mamsurov, says the Beslan school siege was a deliberate attempt by “certain
forces” to stir up ethnic war between Ingush and Ossetians. “Tensions have
increased (since Beslan), that’s natural,” he says. “But I think we’ve
succeeded in restraining our people from fulfilling that scenario.”
Others doubt the danger has passed. “Everyone here is always talking about
getting ready for war with the Ingush, to get even with them,” says Madina
Pedatova, a teacher at Beslan’s spanking new School No. 8. “I’m terrified of
it, but I’m sure it’s coming.”
Just across the heavily fortified Ingush-N. Ossetian border thousands of
Ingush refugees forced from their homes in N. Ossetia in 1992 live in a
sprawling, squalid refugee camp. Here the hatred is palpable. “The Ossetians
are like Nazis. They drove us from our homes (in 1992) like cattle, showing
no humanity,” says Umar Khadziyev, unemployed, who lives in a small hut with
his wife and three children.
Mr. Khadziyev says he condemns the Beslan attack, with its terrible death
toll of children. But then he adds: “Do you know why the fighters drove past
two Ossetian schools before taking School No. 1 in Beslan? It’s because the
Ossetians used that very school as a prison for our people in 1992. Yes, our
women and children were held there, in that same gym, beaten up and denied
food and water. Nobody talks about that, do they?”
For Moscow, the spreading unrest, fuelled by Islamic extremists in some
republics and ancient ethnic antagonisms in others, poses an almost
nightmarish challenge. After Beslan, President Vladimir Putin warned that
the cost of failure could be “the destruction of Russia.” Says Khadziyev,
the Ingush refugee: “Our grandfathers told us the USSR would collapse one
day. I’m sure that Russia is going to fall apart too.”
Copyright © 2005 The Christian Science Monitor

PRESS RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected] ;Web:
Ambassador Markarian Meets OPIC Executive
On September 13, 2005, Ambassador of Armenia to the U.S. Tatoul Markarian
met with Executive Vice President and COO of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC) Ross J. Connelly to discuss potential cooperation between
OPIC and Armenia. OPIC’s major investment project in Armenia to date has
been the Marriott Armenia Hotel.
Ambassador Markarian stressed the need to work towards increasing U.S.
investments in Armenia, and said he is looking forward to cooperation with
OPIC towards this objective. Mr. Connelly expressed readiness to work
together to further raise awareness of the existing OPIC programs and
potential to promote U.S. investments in Armenia.

Burlington Free Press
Chris Bohjalian
Every family is interesting: Just ask
February 27, 2005
Idyll Banter
By Chris Bohjalian
My uncle died of lung cancer in December, and at his memorial service in
Florida last month, I learned two incredibly cool facts about him that I
wish I had known when he was alive.
Cool Fact No. 1: When he was in the Army in the Korean War, he was one of
the soldiers who escorted Marilyn Monroe through Korea on her USO tour there
in 1954.
Cool Fact No. 2: In the late 1970s, he owned a small chain of yogurt stands
in New York City called “Yeah, Yogurt!” and his Times Square store was
frequented almost entirely by young people watching their weight, which in
Times Square in the late 1970s meant mostly prostitutes. There were,
according to his children — my cousins — some young actors who frequented
the little store, too. But mostly it was prostitutes.
I also learned the considerably less cool fact that he liked Judy Garland.
This is not the first time that I’ve been surprised by minutiae from
someone’s life at a funeral. I even learned things about my own mother at
hers. But in the myriad discussions I had with my uncle over the four
decades that we knew each other, we never once talked about his experiences
in either Korea or Times Square.
Granted, in some of those years I was in diapers and so I probably wasn’t a
fabulous conversationalist.
And in all fairness I did know the basic facts that Uncle Fred had been a
soldier in the Korean War and that he had owned a couple of health food
stores when I was in high school. But when we spoke — and we spoke a lot
because he was one of those rare and wonderful people who actually liked
people half his age — we never spoke about these tidbits from his life and
so I didn’t know the details. Actually, because he was so generous of spirit
and interested in other people, we never seemed to speak about him at all.
When we talked, we were likely to discuss my wife and my daughter, his wife
and children and grandchildren, and football.
Football is, of course, the great life preserver to which all men cling in
times of conversational awkwardness. I don’t honestly know what women do
when there is an uncomfortable pause in a conversation, but men invariably
resort to football. When Uncle Fred was dying this autumn, we never talked
about his imminent mortality or the excruciating pain he was in, but we
talked a lot about the Giants and the Dolphins, which, given their seasons,
at least put us in an appropriately somber frame of mind.
You would think that by the time my uncle died I would have learned my
lesson and made the effort to ask him to tell me about his life. After all,
in the last quarter century I managed not to ask my two Armenian
grandparents a single thing about their lives in Turkey or Armenia or Paris
in the years surrounding the First World War. This was no small
accomplishment, since when I was a child their house always looked like the
Istanbul wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Likewise, I never asked my mother a single question about her sister who had
died of spinal meningitis when the two siblings were in elementary school.
And yet as a novelist and journalist, I ask these sorts of questions of
people who are strangers all the time.
The truth is that too few of us take the time to access these remarkable
sources of history all around us. We might know, for instance, that ol’
Auntie Em liked ice fishing and smelt, but somehow we missed the detail that
she was part of a civil rights march in Selma, Ala., in 1965.
It’s already the end of February, and so I’m a little behind with my New
Year’s resolutions. But here’s one I’ll make before it’s really too late:
This year I’m finally going to sit down with my father and my aunt and ask
them to tell me about their lives.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
GREEK AMERICANS CALL FOR ADOPTION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LEGISLATION
— American Hellenic Institute Urges Committee
Passage of H.Res. 316 and H.Con.Res. 195
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Hellenic Institute (AHI), today,
urged House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde
(R-IL) to work for committee approval of Armenian Genocide
legislation, set to be considered by the panel on Thursday,
September 15, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
In a September 13th letter to Chairman Hyde, AHI Executive Director
Nick Larigakis, explained that, “Americans of Hellenic origin, and
I believe most Americans, have long held that the U.S. Congress
should be on record as recognizing the Armenian Genocide,
commemorating this crime against all humanity, and applying its
lessons to help prevent future atrocities and genocides.” He went
on to note that “Sadly, due to the powerful pressure brought to
bear by the Turkish lobby’s threats and intimidation, legislation
along these lines has been blocked from passage.”
“We want to thank Nick Larigakis and all our friends at the
American Hellenic Institute for their steadfast support for U.S.
recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. “The assistance of our Greek American allies for
this legislation means a great deal to us – here in Washington, DC,
and in communities around the country.”
The American Hellenic Institute strengthens United States relations
with Greece and Cyprus and within the American Hellenic community.
Congressional support for Armenian Genocide legislation (H.Res.316
and H.Con.Res.195) continued to grow this week, with House
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joining Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) in pledging support for
H.Res.316.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
09/13/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Brent Scowcroft Attacks Armenian Genocide Legislation 2) Argentine Foreign Minister at ARF South America Center 3) Second Opposition Youth Leader Detained in Azerbaijan 4) US, Georgia Agreement Includes Repair of Javakhk Roads 5) Armenia, Russia Conclude Military Exercises 1) Brent Scowcroft Attacks Armenian Genocide Legislation American Turkish Council Chairman Sharply Criticizes 'Careless use of Genocide Language' in HRes316 and HConRes195 WASHINGTON, DC--Only days before Armenian Genocide legislation is set to come before a key US House panel, American Turkish Council (ATC) Chairman Brent Scowcroft has warned Speaker Dennis Hastert that even the discussion of the Armenian Genocide on the floor of the US House would be "counter-productive" to the interests of the United States, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). In his September 12 letter, Scowcroft, speaking on behalf of the corporate members of the ATC, accused Congressional supporters of Armenian genocide legislation (HRes316 and HConRes195) of trying to "pull Turkey away from the West. He stressed that "the careless use of genocide language provides an excuse to do so, delivering a direct blow to American interests in the region." "We are outraged that Brent Scowcroft appears to have so compromised his own integrity in pursuit of personal business interests that he finds himself enlisted by the Turkish government in its desperate and patently immoral genocide denial effort," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We are particularly troubled by his baseless comment regarding the 'careless use of genocide language'--a hateful insult to the victims of this crime, a direct offense to the Congressional authors of this legislation, and a repudiation of the US archives, the unanimous judgment of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and the overwhelming evidence documenting this crime against humanity." The ATC has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as the result of a 10-page story in Vanity Fair detailing FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmond's reports that its officials were involved in illegal efforts to defeat Armenian genocide legislation in the fall of 2000. According to the article by contributing editor David Rose, Edmonds claimed FBI wiretaps--including those of the Turkish Embassy and Turkish groups such as the ATC and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)--reveal that the Turkish government and its allies boasted of bribing members of Congress as part of an alleged deal to stop consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. In a related effort, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations has distributed an action alert against both Armenian genocide resolutions. Among the factually unfounded and morally bankrupt points raised by the ATAA in the space of its one-page alert are the following: -The ATAA warns its members: "Inaction on the part of the Turkish American Community will compromise U.S.-Turkish relations, encourage more acts of harassment, violence and terrorism against people of Turkish and Turkic descent, and could potentially lead to territorial and compensations claims against the Republic of Turkey;" -The ATAA urges its members to tell members of Congress that HRes316 and HConRes195 "provide a one-sided, misinformed view of WWI Ottoman history and would deal a great blow to the Turkish American community, and furthermore inflict damage upon the partnership between Turkey and the United States;" -The ATAA stresses that resolutions such as HRes316 and HConRes195 "impede dialogue and reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, discouraging the Armenian side from engaging in scholarly examination of these complicated historical events;" -The ATAA notes that "As the Armenian American lobby acts up again, we have only two choices: we can be passive and allow these allegations to go on, or we can stand up and defend ourselves, our history, and the future of our children here in the United States;" -The ATAA stresses that its efforts are not "anti-Armenian," explaining that "Armenian people are held hostage by the agenda of their country's ultra-nationalist government and extremists in the Armenian American, European and Middle Eastern communities." Text of ATC Chairman Brent Scowcroft's Letter to Speaker Hastert: September 12, 2005 The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert Speaker of the House of Representatives The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker: As Chairman of the American-Turkish Council, I am gravely concerned about plans to debate in the House of Representatives HConRes195, a resolution "Commemorating the Armenian Genocide" and urging the Government of Turkey to acknowledge the culpability of Ottoman Turks for it, and HRes316, a resolution recognizing claims of "genocide" of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Together with ATC's members, I strongly urge opposition to these resolutions and suggest that floor deliberation of them would be counter-productive to the interest of the United States. Whatever people individually decide on the merits of these resolutions, it is important to note the real world consequences of their adoption. When the French Senate passed such a resolution, it cost France over $1 billion in cancelled contracts and lost business opportunities. Enactment of genocide language would jeopardize our ability to achieve strategic interest with Turkey and in the region. Furthermore, it is quite likely that the business interest of several of our American members would be jeopardized by passage of such prejudicial legislation. The American-Turkish Council strongly believes that the events about which HConRes195 and HRes316 speak are matters for historians to decide-not politicians. Unfortunately, these resolutions express, as matters of law and fact, issues that remain widely disputed by scholars, historians, and legal experts. Accordingly, we strongly urge you to review the attached letter that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan sent Armenian President Robert Kocharian on April 10, 2005, seeking to normalize bilateral relations as well as address painful long-standing historical issues. Although Armenian President Kocharian rejected his offer, we are encouraged that Prime Minister Erdogan and his government, by reaching out to Armenia with an offer for an open dialogue on difficult issues involving Turks and Armenians, are taking an historic step. Turkish-Armenian rapprochement is in the best interests of both nations, and the ATC believes now is the time for reconciliation. We sincerely hope that President Kocharian and his government will take the opportunity to reciprocate the olive branch extended by Prime Minister Erdogan. Turkey's strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans places it at the center of American's current and long term strategic interest. As Turkey stands on the threshold of accession talks with the European Union, the US should be doing all it can to encourage positive momentum for Turkey. HConRes195, while purporting to support Turkey's EU accession talks, and HRes316 do exactly the opposite. The resolutions encourage those who would pull Turkey away from the West. The careless use of genocide language provides an excuse to do so, delivering a direct blow to American interests in the region. The ATC believes that legislators should not attempt to resolve historical issues by resolution. Historical commissions, fairly staffed, adequately supported, and afforded full access to the archives, are better suited to attempting the reconciliation that we all support. On behalf of the members of the American-Turkish Council, I strongly urge you to oppose floor deliberation and adoption of any language that would substitute political pronouncements for historical analysis of this highly sensitive issue. Sincerely, Brent Scowcroft Chairman of the Board 2) Argentine Foreign Minister at ARF South America Center BUENOS AIRES--Argentina's Foreign Minister Rafael Antonio Bielsa, who returned from a vist to Armenia less than two weeks ago, was honored at the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)"Armenia" center in Buenos Aires. ARF Bureau member Mario Nalbandian, ARF South America Representative Haroutioun Hovanessian, and other members of the party greeted Bielsa who received applause as he entered the center's restaurant. During his visit to Armenia, Bielsa had meetings with President Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, as well as deputy speaker of Armenia's parliament, Vahan Hovhannisian. A video presentation detailed Bielsa's trip to Armenia, and highlighted the Foreign Minister's readiness to help strengthen relations between the two countries. Armenia's Ambassador to Argentina, Ara Ayvazian told the gathering that the Foreign Minister's trip to Armenia is significant when considering the potential for developing business between the two countries. Ayvazian thanked Bielsa for backing Armenia on a variety of political issues. South America Armenian National Committee Representative Pedro Mouradian pointed to the years-long relationship with Bielsa, and the foreign minister's lasting cooperation. Bielsa outlined his formal meetings in Armenia, preferring to rather reflect on the human elements and emotional impact of the visit. He recalled his feelings when visiting the monument to the victims of the Armenian genocide, and his brief visit with Catholicos Karekin II. As a token of appreciation, the ARF South America presented a piece of artwork to Bielsa. 3) Second Opposition Youth Leader Detained in Azerbaijan BAKU (AFP)--Authorities in Azerbaijan said Tuesday they had detained a prominent opposition youth leader in connection to alleged anti-government activity that received backing from a US democracy group and neighboring Armenia. Law enforcement officers detained Said Nuri, deputy head of the Yeni Fikir youth movement, on Monday, a spokesman for the prosecutor general's office said. "It is likely that charges will be pressed tomorrow," he told AFP. The spokesman said Nuri's detention was linked to the arrest last month of Yeni Fikir's leader, Ruslan Bashirli, who was charged with plotting a Ukraine-style uprising backed by the US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), a democracy pressure group, and money from Armenia's government. Another deputy leader of Yeni Fikir, Fikret Farmazoglu, said Nuri had been detained for "preparing to overthrow the government of Azerbaijan and receiving funds from groups interested in doing this." NDI has denied training Yeni Fikir members to overthrow the government, while Yeni Fikir claims the allegations against it are a government smear campaign ahead of parliamentary elections in November. However, parliament speaker Murtuz Alasgarov, along with representatives of international organizations, realizes that the developments that happened in Georgia and Ukraine can't occur in Azerbaijan, stressing that "the crisis in the Ukrainian government and the situation in Georgia rule out the possibility of a revolution in Azerbaijan." Alasgarov said that during the meetings he held in the United States, representatives of international organizations and parliament speakers expressed confidence that Azerbaijan's November parliament elections will be democratic. Alasgarov said that the officials he met with have 'certain views' on the forthcoming poll, but all of them believe the elections will be free and fair. "The Azerbaijani people know well who they will vote for at the polls," he added. 4) US, Georgia Agreement Includes Repair of Javakhk Roads TBILISI (Armenpress)--The United States signed a five-year $295.3 million agreement with Georgia through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Georgian media reported, citing MCC. US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed the agreement in New York on Monday. A portion of the funds, about $102 million, will be allocated to constructing roads in Javakhk. Of that, 50 million will go to constructing the Akhaltskha-Akhalkalak-Ninotsminda highway. "MCC is proud to be Georgia's partner in its efforts to reduce poverty in the regions outside of Tbilisi," MCC Vice President Charles Sethness said. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who was in New York for the 60th UN General Assembly, thanked the United States for its help, saying, "this agreement is a partnership between our two peoples who share the same values and have the same dreams for their children and believe in the supreme value of liberty," according to Reuters. The agreement aims to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth in regions outside of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. 5) Armenia, Russia Conclude Military Exercises YEREVAN (RIA Novosti/Armenpress)--The tenth joint Russian-Armenian military exercises concluded Tuesday at the Marshal Bagramyan firing range in Armenia. Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) secretary general Nikolay Bordyuzha, Armenian president Robert Kocharian and a legion of top brass traveled to the testing ground some 30 kilometers outside of Yerevan to watch the exercises between the 545th Armenian motorized rifle regiment and the 128th Russian motorized rifle regiment. About 1,037 soldiers, 294 units of military hardware, including missile air defense complex S-300, four Su-25 assault fighters, four MiG-29 fighters, four Mi-24 helicopters and two Mi-8 helicopters took part in the exercise. The 102nd Russian military base was deployed in Armenia in 1995 in accordance with intergovernmental agreements. The base performs combat duty in the region within the framework of the CIS joint air defense system, with S-300 missile air defense complexes, MiG-29 fighters and some 5,000 military personnel. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.