Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202 393 3434
Fax: 202 638 4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 8, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

HOUSE, SENATE NEGOTIATORS INCLUDE ARMENIA PNTR IN LARGER TRADE BILL
Both Chambers Set to Vote Next

Washington, DC – One of the Armenian Assembly’s highest legislative
priorities -normalizing trade relations between the United States and
Armenia – took a major step forward today as House and Senate conferees for
a key trade measure agreed to attach legislation extending permanent normal
trade relations (PNTR) to Armenia.

“The Assembly welcomes today action to attach Armenia PNTR to the
Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act and thanks House Ways and
Committee Chairman Bill Thomas for including it in this conference report,”
said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “We commend him
and the Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) for their leadership and steadfast efforts to deepen the
U.S.-Armenia trade relationship.”

“The ongoing Turkish and Azeri blockades are two strikes against Armenia’s
ability to prosper as a free-market economy, so any U.S. trade benefits,
such as those resulting from the removal of the trade restrictions, are
helpful,” Hovnanian added. “It is our hope Congress will pass this
legislation at its earliest opportunity.”

PNTR, known as “permanent normal trade relations” would remove a nearly
30-year-old provision requiring Armenia and other countries to periodically
obtain presidential approval for continued access to low tariffs. In so
doing, it would signal an upgrade in Armenia’s status as a trading partner
and should lead to additional trade agreements between the United States and
Armenia

Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) first introduced the legislation known as H.R.
528 in February 2003, which passed the House of Representatives later that
year. The Assembly for its part, helped push the measure through by working
to secure the co-sponsorship of more than 100 lawmakers from both sides of
the political aisle.

“The PNTR bill has been an Assembly priority throughout the 108th Congress
and when enacted will be the first Armenia specific legislation passed since
the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act in 1996,” said Assembly Board of Directors
Chairman Anthony Barsamian. “The efforts of the bill’s sponsor Joe
Knollenberg, along with Reps. William Thomas and Frank Pallone, Jr. also
paved its passage. Key support from Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), the
ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee was also
instrumental.”

Last year, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) along with Senators Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 1557, which was modeled after
the House version of Armenia PNTR. This measure has the bipartisan support
of over 20 cosponsors.

“The Assembly thanks Senators McConnell, Sarbanes and Boxer for helping
strengthen U.S.-Armenia trade relations,” said Hovnanian. “We also greatly
appreciate Senators McConnell and Sarbanes for raising the issue and
discussing the merits of the bill during a pan-Armenian conference held by
the Assembly, AGBU and Eastern and Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.”

During that same conference, the Bush Administration made its first public
endorsement of the trade bill. Ambassador Elizabeth Jones, Assistant
Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, who delivered the
news, said “The U.S. government supports extending Permanent Normal Trade
Relations to Armenia and will support Congressional efforts to graduate
Armenia from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act.”

Last April, Hovnanian together with former Board of Directors Chairman Peter
Vosbikian sent a letter Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman of the
House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, calling for the extension of
PNTR to Armenia and stated that the country is an increasingly important
partner for the U.S. and poised to play a pivotal role as a commercial hub.

The Assembly also designed an aggressive campaign that hinged on the support
of the Armenian community. Part of the strategy included a phone banking
session last summer in which the Assembly contacted Armenian-American
constituents across the nation, urging them to call their Members of
Congress and support Armenia PNTR.

The PTNR issue was also at the forefront of every community forum, in cities
and towns across the U.S. Assembly Board Members and staff provided
legislative updates and answered questions regarding the bill and its
benefits for Armenia. They reminded activists, for example, that although
Armenia acceded into the World Trade Organization (WTO), a 144-member
international trade body, in February 2003, the full benefits of accession
would not be realized unless PNTR was granted. (Participation in the
Geneva-based organization will offer Armenia lower trade barriers and
increased opportunity for trade.) The Assembly touted the government of
Armenia’s economic reforms which led to its entry in the WTO.

The next step in the legislative process is for the House-Senate conference
report to go the floors of both Chambers for a final vote. The Armenian
Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization
promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. It is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2004-090

Market Wire (press release)
Oct 7 2004

Legendary Casper’s Hot Dogs Chain to Close Flagship Location on
October 22

Historic Bay Area Eatery Closes Doors After Over 60 Years of
Operation

OAKLAND, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 10/07/2004 — Casper’s Hot Dogs, one
of the Bay Area’s oldest, family-run fast-food chains, has announced
that it plans to close its flagship store in Oakland, California on
October 22nd.

Originally opened in the early 1940s, the Casper’s on 1st Avenue has
been a favorite hang out and eatery for area neighbors. When the
store was moved from its original building to the current location at
1240 1st Avenue in the late ’40s, it quickly became a mainstay for
professional athletes, judges, and rock stars due to the store’s
close proximity to The Oakland Coliseum and the Henry J. Kaiser
Auditorium which is across the street.

“We just don’t see the activity that we used to down in that part of
Oakland,” says Ronald Dorian, one of several third-generation owners
of the Casper’s family and co-General Manager. “But it doesn’t seem
all that long ago that it was a busy location,” he adds.

This closure is particularly sad because of the recent loss of
92-year-old Rose Agajan, the last founding member of the partnership
that started the chain, which included Rose and her husband Paul, and
their partners, Stephen and Ardam Beklian — all immigrants who had
survived the Armenian Genocide.

The Casper’s story began in 1934, when several Armenian families
moved from Chicago to Oakland to sell their hot dogs from stands
along Telegraph Avenue and Fruitvale Boulevard. After gaining a
reputation for serving extra long frankfurters in freshly steamed
buns, a freestanding store was opened on 1st Avenue.

Longtime Casper’s employee Dolores Larkin was hired to work at 1st
Avenue almost 50 years ago and still remembers the prices: “The hot
dogs were only 25 cents, drinks were 10 cents, and chips were 5
cents,” remarks Larkin. She is currently the manager of the Casper’s
Hot Dogs restaurant in Pleasant Hill, located at the corner of Vivian
Dr. and Contra Costa Blvd.

“I still get phone calls at the store from people who have just
landed at Oakland Airport and want directions to the 1st Avenue store
because they’ve heard about our famous hot dogs and want to find out
for themselves if they’re as good as their reputation,” says Paul
Rustigian, another third-generation owner and co-General Manager with
Dorian.

Today, there are 10 Casper’s throughout the Bay Area, including
locations in Oakland, two in Hayward, Dublin, Walnut Creek, Pleasant
Hill, San Pablo, Richmond, and Albany. The “Casper Dog” has become so
popular throughout the years, that they have won many “Best Of”
awards in the Bay Area, including Best Fast Food Restaurant in the
Bay Area from the listeners of KABL radio station.

Oakland’s Mayor Jerry Brown remarks: “Casper’s hot dogs, with their
unique fixings, have been an East Bay fixture for 70 years. We lament
the closing of the 1st Avenue location but are heartened by the fact
that the delicious Casper’s dogs we all know and love are still
available at nine other locations.”

Norman Tuttle, a longtime Oakland lawyer adds: “Whew! We are glad
that only one Casper’s is closing! We discovered Casper’s when we
moved to the East Bay in 1950 and have always thought of them as the
great American hot dog.”

For additional information, interviews and photos, please contact
Caroline Rustigian at (310-399-5525) or [email protected].

About Casper’s Hot Dogs

Casper’s, the award winning hot dogs west of the Rockies, have been a
California favorite since 1934. At the Casper’s restaurants, this
tasty old-fashioned style hot dog is made from a street vendor recipe
and garnished with mustard, relish, freshly cut tomatoes and onions,
and made to your order on a feather-light, steamed bun. Casper’s has
restaurant locations in Oakland, Hayward, Dublin, Walnut Creek,
Pleasant Hill, San Pablo, Richmond and Albany. In 1989, the partners
opened SPAR Sausage Company and began production of their proprietary
hot dog for wholesale distribution, and now deliver the Bay Area
delicacy to club and grocery stores throughout the western region of
the United States. The family expanded their manufacturing facility
in 1997, and SPAR is now housed at 688 William Street in San Leandro
()

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Fox Sports, Australia
Oct 7 2004

Carroll the latest gain
By Grantlee Kieza
October 8, 2004

GENERATIONS of immigrants were reborn to a new life in America,
passing by New York’s Statue of Liberty and its message of hope:
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to
breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

But that’s America and we have a different motto out here.

In Australia, we’re not so much interested in the huddled masses but
in hulking football forwards or weightlifters with thighs bigger than
Texas or rugby rookies looking for a fresh start. We don’t want the
tired and poor, we want the energetic who are going to win gold.

Don’t worry about wretched refuse, either, we want people who can run
fast, leap high, punch hard and, in the case of Tonie Carroll, who
don’t mind switching camps.

Carroll’s selection as a Kangaroo utility for the Tri-Nations
tournament makes him the fourth league player to represent both Anzac
nations and brings league full circle after the first great Kangaroo,
Dally Messenger, was seconded to the New Zealand team for a tour of
Britain in 1907.

Two years later, Con Sullivan emigrated from New Zealand to play for
North Sydney and in 1910 made his Test debut for his adopted country.

Balmain’s Bill Kelly, a dual international in New Zealand, toured
Queensland and NSW in 1912-13 before his Australian call-up in 1914.

Like another hard-hitting Queenslander, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Carroll
was born in New Zealand but built a ferocious reputation in the
Sunshine State.

He said he had been asked to play for New Zealand every year since
playing in the black jumper at the 2000 World Cup but had declined
because he wanted to play for Queensland in the Origin series.

“I was born in New Zealand and I did play for them in 2000,” Carroll
explained, “but I’ve been here since I was six, so I think I’ve
earned my stripes.

“The most important thing for me was State of Origin.

“I’ve got a few phone calls from [the NZRL] this year, but I said no
and I’ve got to stick to my decision.”

Over the years Australian rugby union has also benefited from players
shifting loyalties with the arrival of Argentine strongmen Topo
Rodriguez and Patricio Noriega and, more recently, Tiaan Strauss and
Clyde Rathbone from South Africa.

But the Kiwis got one back on us when they scooped up Steve Devine
from Boggabri for the All Blacks.

While our national economy was built around the export of wool and
wheat, we’re now just as famous for importing talent. And not just
Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson.

Back in the 50s immigrants were credited for making us a richer
society, giving us souvlaki, spaghetti and goulash instead of fish,
chips and chops. Now they add to our reputation for sporting
greatness.

At the Manchester Commonwealth Games two years ago, Australia’s
immigrant athletes won more medals than most countries.

Twelve Aussie immigrants won 22 medals between them for Australia,
including 15 gold.

If they had entered as a team on their own, the Australian immigrants
would have finished fifth on the medal table among 72 nations taking
part.

Wrestler Mushtaq Rasem Abdullah won bronze after spending two years
in a UN refugee camp in Jordan after fleeing Baghdad.

Shooter Lalita Yauhleuskaya, who left Belarus for the land Down Under
in 1998, won three gold and a bronze and Armenian weightlifters
Yourik Sarkisian and Alex Karapetyn each won three gold.

Our athletics ranks soared in the years surrounding the Sydney
Olympics with the arrival from Belarus of world pole vault champ
Dmitri Markov and Russian husband and wife duo, Tatiana Grigorieva
and Viktor Chistiakov.

In cricket, some of our finest have worn the colours of the oldest
enemy, with Albert Trott, Sammy Woods and Billy Murdoch chief among
England’s best buys, while Kepler Wessels was a key figure in
Australian cricket before going home to South Africa.

In more recent times, England has fielded Martin McCague and Alan
Mullally, who were both raised in Australia, and the Hollioake boys
who were born here.

American basketballers Ricky Grace, Scott Fisher and Cal Bruton have
all played for Australia while boxing’s favourite Aussie import
Kostya Tszyu competed at the Seoul Olympics and won a world amateur
title under the flag of the Soviet Union.

When Tszyu first fought in Sydney in November, 1991, it was 30C and
sunny every day. When he went back to Russia it was -30C and there
was so much snow he could hardly see a thing.

He didn’t take much convincing to come back for good.

Imprint, Canada
Oct 8 2004

Pro-life speaker stirs debate
Christine Loureiro – Imprint staff

Stephanie Gray, pro-life activist and executive director of the
Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform visited campus on October 4 to
present a lecture on behalf of the Genocide Awareness Project, a
controversial exhibit on display at universities around Canada which
attempts to present similarities between abortion and the genocides
of the 20th century, the Holocaust in particular.

Gray, who has come to UW on a previous occasion to debate UW Prof.
Jan Narveson on the topic of abortion, presented “Echoes of the
Holocaust” to an audience of about 50, beginning a half-hour past the
advertised start time of 4:00 p.m. due to a booking conflict with the
lecture hall. Her mandate was to show what she called the “double
standard” of abortion by applying identifying factors of genocide to
abortion practices.

Students began to protest the lecture and its theme prior to October
4. One community member left a modified event poster outside Imprint
prior to the event, with obscenities scrawled across the front. The
poster used two quotes, one from the German Supreme Court in 1936
that denied personhood to Jews, and another in which the Supreme
Court of Canada reissues a denial of legal rights to unborn children
in 1997.

UWSFL President Theresa Matters brought Gray to UW because of her
track record as an “articulate and professional speaker.

“She received positive reviews during her last visit to UW in 2002,”
said Matters. “We originally wanted her to debate an abortion
advocate – similar to the event in 2002, however

no abortion advocate was available or willing to debate.”

UWSFL held the event “to raise awareness of the humanity of the
unborn,” continued Matters. “Too often when a woman faces a crisis
pregnancy, rather than offer help many just suggest an abortion. With
increased awareness of the humanity of the unborn we hope that
everyone will be more willing to be supportive of women facing
unexpected pregnancies – thus leading to fewer abortions.”

Feds Clubs Director Rick Theis approved the event, but, he said,
UWSFL did not receive any special Feds funding for the event.

“The nature of the lecture was to draw a correlation between the
manipulation of language in cases of genocide and the manipulation of
language in issues surrounding abortion,” said Theis, who spoke with
Gray to clarify the nature of the event.

If students have a problem with the event, he continued, they are
encouraged to bring it forward. Feds hopes the talk stimulates
discussion.

Matters echoed this sentiment, stating, “We respect every
individual’s right to uphold their own opinion. As a result, we
encourage those who disagree with us to voice their opinions

in a spirit of dialogue on campus.”

The arguments were framed in a very academic fashion. None of the
arguments were religious in nature, and focused solely on working
towards proving her thesis of abortion as genocide.

Gray began her argument by examining the principle of a fetus as a
living human – the basis of her argument. She then delved further
into the debate by comparing the context of abortion to other
genocides, examining the word genocide and looking at what she called
the “role of power and selfishness in mass killings.”

The basis of the lecture was a list of five identifying factors of
genocide, which, Gray stated, was not exhaustive and included various
forms of genocide the world has seen in the past century.

Gray showed how the list of factors was applicable in genocides such
as that of the Armenians in 1914, the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge
oppression in Cambodia and the more recent problems in Bosnia and
Rwanda. In all cases, Gray argued, victims were subject to
dehumanizing rhetoric, the value of life was based on form, function,
and the feelings of others, medical experimentation was conducted,
the killing was of a systematic nature and there was a massive loss
of life.

Abortion compares to these atrocities, Gray argued, because of
literature calling fetuses a “coercer, which violates bodily
integrity and liberty,” parasites and spongers and comparisons to
animals. Among other arguments, Gray stated that the Nazi “lives
unworthy of life” euthanasia program is similar to the quality of
life argument made by some pro-choice supporters. Gray compared
embryonic stem cell research to “rationalizing health care on the
backs of the innocent,” comparing it to Nazi scientific experiments.
Gray also called the federal funding and ready availability of
abortion systematic and said that the lack of law regulating abortion
in Canada was “open season on the unborn in this country.” Finally,
Gray’s statistics showed that abortions number approximately 105,000
per year in Canada; she stated that one out of every four pregnancies
ends in abortion. She puts global yearly estimated abortions at 46
million per year.

Two main protests were heard from audience members: some students
disagreed with Gray’s anti-abortion arguments, while others were
offended at her comparing abortion to the Holocaust. The most vocal
audience members, who at various times through the lecture let their
opinions be audibly known, posited that death in childbirth and the
prevalence of illegal, unsanitary abortions prior to the legalization
of abortion are two important reasons to have a pro-choice stance.
These two did not wish to make their names known to Imprint.

To audience member Kenneth Rose, a Jewish student at UW who objected
to Gray’s comparison of abortion to the Holocaust, Gray argued that a
trend exists whereby to communicate the severity of one act of
genocide, it is often compared to genocides of the past.

Gray named her speech “Echoes of the Holocaust” because of Holocaust
Memorial Museum Director Walter Reich’s dubbing ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia “very loud echoes” of the Holocaust.

Matters hopes that students who attended the lecture were challenged
on the abortion issue.

“In a university environment it is most important that students are
repeatedly challenged on pertinent societal issues,” she said. “With
over 100,000 abortions in Canada per year, we hope that every student
will take the time to decide if this is the best solution to an
unplanned pregnancy.”

“It is important to note that at no point did Stephanie Gray state
that the

Holocaust and abortion in Canada were identical,” she continued, in
an e-mail interview with Imprint. “Instead she noted that there were
similarities between the two, hence the word `echoes’ in the title
[of the event]. The key similarity is the denial of personhood.”

Newark Star Ledger, NJ
Oct 7 2004

American dancers stay in step with their Armenian ancestors

BY ROBERT JOHNSON
Star-Ledger Staff

Dreams of their ancestral homeland — far-off Armenia — motivate the
dancers of the Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble, a lively group that
draws many of its members from churches and communities in New
Jersey. The ensemble will bring its latest folk-dance spectacle,
“Journey Through Dance,” to the Bergen Performing Arts Center in
Englewood on Saturday.

Though she was born in the United States, Joyce Tamesian-Shenloogian,
who has directed Antranig since 1986, says she feels a special bond
with the country that her grandparents fled during World War I.

“It’s not the Bahamas. It’s not Hawaii,” Tamesian-Shenloogian allows,
referring to the mountainous republic in Western Asia. “But it’s
yours. There’s something that always pulls you back there.”

Tamesian-Shenloogian, a graduate of Montclair State University’s
dance department, joined the Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble when
she was 17, generally an age when many Armenian-Americans become
members of the company. Performing with the ensemble seemed a natural
step for her, after spending years in after-school programs studying
the Armenian language (which has its own 38-letter alphabet) and
learning about her roots.

Like these after-school programs and other cultural groups, including
choral and dramatic societies, the Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble
exists under the umbrella of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, a
national organization based in New York City. Tamesian-Shenloogian
says the ensemble performs every couple of months.

Antranig, which numbers 30 dancers ranging in age from their teens to
their 40s, rehearses at St. Leon’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Fair
Lawn and recruits fresh talent from the Armenian communities in
Tenafly, Livingston and Union City. Although the ensemble toured
Armenia in 1989 and plans to return there next year, most of the
younger members have never seen their dances performed in their
native setting.

The ensemble maintains an important link with the homeland, however,
in the person of choreographer Gagik Karapetian, a former principal
dancer with the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia. Tamesian-Shenloogian
calls him Armenia’s answer to Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Karapetian has been working directly with the Antranig Ensemble since
1988, weeding out the foreign influences that had crept into the
immigrant group’s repertoire. Many Armenian families, including
Tamesian-Shenloogian’s, followed a circuitous route to America, first
settling in Middle Eastern countries whose own cultural traditions
affected their practices.

Thanks to Karapetian, “Journey Through Dance,” which received its
premiere this summer at Lincoln Center in New York, will be authentic
in every detail, including the vivid costumes and the graceful,
“flowerlike” hand gestures that Tamesian-Shenloogian says typify
Armenian women’s dances.

“They’re allowed to do more. They’re not stoic,” she says, comparing
Armenian women with their counterparts in Georgia, another region of
the Caucasus. The men, for their part, look bravely defiant, adopting
a solid stance called the “Kotchari,” in a dance of the same name.
Though Armenia is a small country, with fewer than 4 million
inhabitants, it has a rich history and more than 200 regions from
which Antranig draws its repertory.

While the dancers perform traditional steps arranged in geometric
patterns, or pantomime humorous skits, the audience will hear the
recorded sounds of ancient Armenian instruments, from the tootling of
the duduk to the plucked strings of the kemenche and the powerful
rhythms of the dahoul drum.

While sharing their traditions with Americans of all backgrounds, the
members of Antranig are able to tap something deep within themselves.
Says Lena Jinivizian, a Rutgers University student and Antranig
dancer quoted in the company’s program: “I couldn’t imagine my life
without the passion and energy that Armenian dance brings out of me.”

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
October 9, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

ASSEMBLY HAILS HOUSE PASSAGE OF ARMENIA PNTR BILL
Senate Set to Vote Next

Washington, DC – One of the Armenian Assembly’s highest priorities –
normalizing trade relations between the United States and Armenia – won
passage in the House of Representatives late last night as part of a
comprehensive trade measure, known as the Miscellaneous Trade and
Technical Corrections Act

“The Assembly welcomes tonight’s action passing Armenia PNTR and thanks
House Ways and Committee Chairman Bill Thomas for his crucial support,”
said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “We commend
him and the Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) for their leadership and steadfast efforts to deepen
the U.S.-Armenia trade relationship.”

“The ongoing Turkish and Azeri blockades are two strikes against Armenia’s
ability to prosper as a free-market economy, so any U.S. trade benefits,
such as those resulting from the removal of the trade restrictions, are
helpful,” Hovnanian added. “It is our hope the Senate will pass this
legislation at its earliest opportunity.”

PNTR, known as “permanent normal trade relations” would remove a nearly
30-year-old provision requiring Armenia and other countries to
periodically obtain presidential approval for continued access to low
tariffs. In so doing, it would signal an upgrade in Armenia’s status as a
trading partner and should lead to additional trade agreements between the
United States and Armenia

Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) first introduced the legislation known as
H.R. 528 in February 2003, which passed the House of Representatives later
that year. The Assembly for its part, helped push the measure through by
working to secure the co-sponsorship of more than 100 lawmakers from both
sides of the political aisle.

“The PNTR bill has been an Assembly priority throughout the 108th Congress
and when enacted will be the first Armenia specific legislation passed
since the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act in 1996,” said Assembly Board of
Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian. “The efforts of the bill’s sponsor
Joe Knollenberg, along with Reps. William Thomas and Frank Pallone, Jr.
also paved its passage. Key support from Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY),
the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee was
also instrumental.”

Last year, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) along with Senators Paul
Sarbanes (D-MD) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 1557, which was
modeled after the House version of Armenia PNTR. This measure has the
bipartisan support of over 20 cosponsors.

“The Assembly thanks Senators McConnell, Sarbanes and Boxer for helping
strengthen U.S.-Armenia trade relations,” said Hovnanian. “We also
greatly appreciate Senators McConnell and Sarbanes for raising the issue
and discussing the merits of the bill during a pan-Armenian conference
held by the Assembly, AGBU and Eastern and Western Diocese of the Armenian
Church.”

During that same conference, the Bush Administration made its first public
endorsement of the trade bill. Ambassador Elizabeth Jones, Assistant
Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, who delivered
the news, said “The U.S. government supports extending Permanent Normal
Trade Relations to Armenia and will support Congressional efforts to
graduate Armenia from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act.”

Last April, Hovnanian together with former Board of Directors Chairman
Peter Vosbikian sent a letter Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman
of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, calling for the
extension of PNTR to Armenia and stated that the country is an
increasingly important partner for the U.S. and poised to play a pivotal
role as a commercial hub.

The Assembly also designed an aggressive campaign that hinged on the
support of the Armenian community. Part of the strategy included a phone
banking session last summer in which the Assembly contacted
Armenian-American constituents across the nation, urging them to call
their Members of Congress and support Armenia PNTR.

The PTNR issue was also at the forefront of every community forum, in
cities and towns across the U.S. Assembly Board Members and staff
provided legislative updates and answered questions regarding the bill and
its benefits for Armenia. They reminded activists, for example, that
although Armenia acceded into the World Trade Organization (WTO), a
144-member international trade body, in February 2003, the full benefits
of accession would not be realized unless PNTR was granted.
(Participation in the Geneva-based organization will offer Armenia lower
trade barriers and increased opportunity for trade.) The Assembly touted
the government of Armenia’s economic reforms which led to its entry in the
WTO.

The next step in the legislative process is for the Senate to vote.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2004-093

Newark Star Ledger, NJ
Oct 7 2004

A bracing libation for some
‘Vodka Lemon’ serves up an intoxicating — and cryptic — Armenian
love story

BY LISA ROSE
Star-Ledger Staff

Set in the snow-cloaked barrens of Armenia, “Vodka Lemon” centers on
characters who are suffering such financial hardship, they must
peddle family heirlooms to put food on the table.

The situation may be bleak, but the mood is anything but somber. The
movie has a surrealist streak and a musical tilt, much like the gypsy
epics of Balkan director Emir Kusturica (“Underground”).

The very first image is of an elderly man in a rickety bed being
towed through the tundra, fastened to the back of a truck. When he
reaches his destination, he’s handed a glass for his false teeth and
props himself up in bed to play a reed instrument. The haunting hail
of notes is a funeral dirge, performed for a group of mourners
gathered around a grave site mounded over with snow.

It’s a good 20 minutes before it’s revealed who’s being buried and
how it relates to the main plot. Some audience members might not have
the patience to try to decode the enigmatic opening scenes. But those
who stay with it and surrender to the icy reverie will find that the
scattered pieces coalesce into a sweet, intoxicating love story
steeped in cultural tradition.

The main character, Hamo (Romen Avinian), is a widower maned with
silver hair and hunched with melancholy. Living on a meager military
pension, he rues the rise of capitalism, reasoning that under the
Soviet regime, at least his family’s basic needs were tended to. He
visits the grave of his late wife every day, and in his daily ritual,
he seems to be lamenting the fall of communism as well.

One day Hamo crosses paths with Nina (Lala Sarskissian), a woman who
works at a roadside bar that specializes in the title beverage. She
has just lost her husband and also lives in squalor, unable even to
pay bus fare to work. After trading a few tentative glances, Hamo and
Nina begin a courtship, expressing affection through kind gestures
rather than words.

At heart, the film is a romantic comedy, albeit a highly cryptic one.
Writer-director Hiner Saleem (“Absolitude”) delivers lots of long
sequences in wintry settings featuring people not talking. A man on
horseback trots randomly through scenes, a surly bus driver bursts
into velvety pop ballads and a gravestone etching magically shifts
shape.

“Vodka Lemon” won’t suit everyone’s taste. It’s certainly not for
those who prefer movies on the more linear end of the narrative
spectrum. Yet there is no small amount of splendor to be found in its
frozen panoramas and charm in its idiosyncratic storytelling.

Rating note: The film contains strong language, sexual content,
violence against animals and pervasive alcohol abuse.

Interfax
Oct 7 2004

Baku concerned over Armenians settling in Nagorno-Karabakh

Baku. (Interfax-Azerbaijan) – Azerbaijan has accused the Armenian
authorities of trying to artificially change the demographic
situation in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region by settling its
citizens in the area.

“Azerbaijan thinks that the goal of this policy is to change the
demographic situation in the region and build on the results of
ethnic cleansing as a result of Armenia’s aggression against
Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Metin Mirza told
a news conference in Baku on Thursday.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry is working with certain
international organizations in an effort to put this issue on the
international agenda, he said.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov met with the heads of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s missions in
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in Baku earlier this week, Mirza
said.

“During these meetings, Mammedyarov told the missions’ heads that
Azerbaijan is opposed [to Armenians settling in Nagorno-Karabakh]. It
was noted that due to the present situation, it is necessary to
continue to keep a close eye on this issue and to do everything
possible to prevent Armenians from settling in Azerbaijan’s occupied
territories in an artificial manner,” he said.

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 8 2004

Larsi closure affects Georgian-Armenian relations
By M. Alkhazashvili

Following the Beslan tragedy, Russia closed the Larsi border crossing
in the Kazbegi region: it is still not possible for either people or
goods to cross the border from Georgia to Russia at this checkpoint,
and it remains unknown when the checkpoint will be reopened.

The closure of the Larsi border crossing has caused enormous problems
for Georgia, and for Armenia too. According to Georgian Customs data,
the damage to Georgia as a result of the border closure already stood
at GEL 2.5 million by October 1, and that figure continues to rise.
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports that it has had an even greater
impact on the Armenian economy.

The head of the Russian Federation council Sergei Miropnov stated
that Russia’s decision to close Larsi checkpoint will be met by
Armenian side with understanding. Mironov stressed that this decision
was not aimed against Armenia’s interests.

Russia has not closed the Roki tunnel, however, which connects Russia
with South Ossetia, and this is now the only route from Georgia into
Russia.

It is through the Roki tunnel that for years smuggled goods have
found their way onto the Georgian market. Georgia has repeatedly
called for Russian authorities to jointly control the tunnel, but in
vain.

What this means today is that transportation which used to pass
through Larsi must now pass through the Roki tunnel. While there are
few complications passing from South Ossetia to Russia, however,
entering South Ossetia from Georgia is more difficult, as the route
is tightly controlled by Georgian border guards, police and customs.

Although Russia claims the move is to prevent further terrorist
attacks, few in Georgia believe this, and see the closure as intended
solely to put pressure on Georgia. They believe that the redirection
of traffic from Kazbegi to South Ossetia is intended to reopen the
smuggling route and to create tension between Georgia and Armenia.

While it is unclear whether smuggling has actually increased since
the Larsi closure, it does seem that Georgian-Armenian relations are
being affected.

According to Armenian sources, the Georgian side does not allow
transportation to pass from Roki tunnel, although recently three
passenger buses and two trucks with supplies for the Armenian nuclear
electric power station were allowed to pass through the Roki tunnel
after some negotiations.

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 8 2004

Yerevan comes out from the shadows

According to the Russian newspaper Red Star, the Minister of Defense
and Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia Serzh
Sarkisian gave an interview to the republic’s public TV in which he
shed light on some aspects of military politics.
Much attention was paid to Armenian-Russian relations. According to
the Minister of Defense, Russia was and is the main strategic ally of
Armenia. Serzh Sarkisian denied all allegations that Armenia does not
want to deal with Russia and wants to enter NATO. He called all the
rumors about this “political commotion.”
“I never wished nor wish now for Armenian to enter NATO. Owing to the
fact that we participate in the Organization of Agreement on Joint
Security, many issues, which should not be announced, are being
positively discussed and decided,” he noted. Nevertheless Armenia is
actively participating in different projects and programs of the
North-Atlantic block.
According to Sarkisian, start of Armenia’s cooperation with NATO is
simply taking advantage of opportunities. As he thinks, the aim of
cooperation with NATO is that Armenia wants to become a full member
of the European family.
“We will continue to intensify our cooperation with the alliance and
think that this cooperation is a component part of national
security,” Sarkisian said. As for cooperation with Western partners,
he noted that Armenia is obliged to send its military specialists to
Iraq. “By its participation, Armenia must contribute in the
establishment of stability in Iraq,” he noted. Concerning the
Karabakh conflict, Sarkisian stated that Armenia has no wish to renew
military actions with Azerbaijan. He said that Yerevan is not
interested in reducing Azerbaijan’s participation in the NATO program
“Partnership for Peace.”