“Armenian Americans who are stakeholders should take this opportunity to learn more about the candidates running to represent them.” said Rostom Sarkissian, Chairman of the ANC Hollywood. “By casting your vote our community has a voice in selecting neighborhood council members whose advisory role addresses important quality of life issues that affect our lives.”

Stakeholders are individuals who live, work, go to school or use other types of services in the communities represented by the council.

The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council is divided into 5 districts and each district will elect 2 representatives. An Armenian-American, Christina Amerian-Khanjian is running for district B. Residents aged 13 and above, can cast their votes on Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hollywood Lutheran Church: Hoick Hall, 1733 New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90027.

In East Hollywood, four Armenian-Americans are running for different positions; Sam Kbushyan and Lucy Varpetian are running for re-election. They are joined by first time candidates Shahan Suzmeyan and, Edgar Makhshikyan. Unlike the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council, only 1 candidate is elected in each district in East Hollywood. Hollywood area residents aged 16 and above can cast their ballots on March 20 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.at Los Angeles City College Faculty and Staff Center, 855 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90029.

The elections for Central Hollywood, Hollywood United and Hollywood Studio District Neighborhood Councils will take place on May 13. The candidate registration deadline is March 15. Active and engaged residents in these communities who are interested in becoming candidates can learn more by clicking HERE.

The Armenian National Committee of Hollywood advances the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.

Encino Neighborhood Council Public Safety Representative, Tonya Barseghian, organized CERT, which is offered to the public free of charge. CERT teaches emergency skills and trains for hazards including fire safety, search and rescue team organization, and disaster medical operations. Trainees who graduate earn a Certificate of Completion, along with an emergency survival kit free of charge.

“The responsibility for preparedness lies within each individual. The Public Safety Committee encourages all members of the community to take advantage of this informative and valuable opportunity,” notes Barseghian.

“We commend Tonya Barseghian on the significant work she continues to carry out during her tenure as Public Safety Representative. It is always encouraging to see Armenian Americans make such a positive difference in the general welfare of their communities, such as Encino,” remarked Armenian National Committee of the San Fernando Valley-West Executive Member, Shant Hagopian.

CERT training classes are being held on the following Tuesdays: March 9, March 16, March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13, and April 20, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm., at the First Presbyterian Church of Encino, located at 4963 Balboa Blvd., in Encino. For registration and additional information, please email Tonya Barseghian at tbarseghian@ucla.edu or call (818) 817-6998.

The Armenian National Committee of the San Fernando Valley-West advances the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian American community and promotes increased Armenian American civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.

ANC-WR Government Relations Director Lerna Kayserian Shirinian, LA City Councilmember Paul Krekorian and ANC Crescenta Valley Chairwoman Romina Der Bedrossian.

LOS ANGELES—The Armenian National Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR) met with newly-elected Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Krekorian at his City Hall office to discuss issues of concern to the Armenian American community. The meeting was led by ANC-WR Government Relations Director Lerna Shirinian and ANC Crescenta Valley Chairwoman Romina Der Bedrossian.

“It was a great pleasure to meet with Councilmember Krekorian,” stated ANC Crescenta Valley Chairwoman Romina Der Bedrossian. “I look forward to working with his office on a variety of issues that concern our community in the Sun Valley and Tujunga regions,” she remarked.

During the meeting, Councilmember Krekorian encouraged youth to get involved in the political process and welcomed them to serve as interns in his office. Krekorian pledged work with the Armenian American community in organizing various community events and projects.

Councilmember Paul Krekorian is the first Armenian American electred to the Los Angeles City Council. He represents the 2nd Council District of Los Angeles, which stretches from Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills to Big Tujunga Road in the Verdugo Hills. It includes the communities of including the communities of Lake View Terrace, La Tuna Canyon, North Hollywood, Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sunland, Sun Valley, Tujunga, Valley Village, Valley Glen and Van Nuys. Council District 2 is home to thousands of Armenian Americans, the largest concentration of the community in the City of Los Angeles.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

“I see some commentators suggesting that the Turkey-Armenia normalization process is dead or that a funeral should be held for the burial of the protocols. We consider these comments as literary and romantic affectations,” the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier this week, referring to comments in the wake of a US House committee’s adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution.

“The normalization process has by no means died. Ever since the protocols were signed between Turkey and Armenia, the normalization process has continued along its natural course,” the source said, warning against what he called the “third-party interventions” of the US congressional committee. He said such interventions could have a detrimental impact on “the natural process.”
The US resolution, which Ankara expects will not reach the House floor, and the normalization process “must” definitely be dealt with as two separate processes which are independent from each other, he stressed.

“Authorities restricted the right of citizens to freely change their government in [the May 2009] mayoral elections in Yerevan,” the U.S. State Department said late Thursday in an annual report scrutinizing human rights practices around the world.

“During the year authorities subjected citizens, particularly those considered by the government to be political opponents, to arbitrary arrest, detention, and imprisonment for their political activities; lengthy pretrial detention also continued to be a problem,” concludes the report.

“Authorities continued to use harassment and intrusive application of bureaucratic measures to intimidate and retaliate against political opponents. Authorities used force to disperse political demonstrations and constrain citizens seeking to publicize them. Police beat pretrial detainees and failed to provide due process in some cases.”

Ill-treatment of criminal suspects in police custody has long been regarded as the most frequent form of human rights violation in Armenia. According to the State Department, the illegal practice has continued unabated, with the Armenian police and other security bodies “regularly” beating and bullying detainees to extract false confessions.

“Witnesses continued to report that police beat citizens during arrest and interrogation while in detention,” says its report. “Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported similar allegations; however, most cases of police mistreatment continued to go unreported because of fear of retribution.”

The extensive report also says “numerous” Armenians claimed to have been mistreated by security offices to falsely incriminate dozens of opposition members arrested following the February 2008 presidential election and the ensuing street violence in Yerevan. “Most or all of these arrests appeared politically influenced to varying degrees,” it says.

As a rule, Armenian courts dismiss torture claims made during the opposition-related and other trials. The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which compiled the report, appeared to attribute this to the broader lack of judicial independence in the country. Armenian courts, it said, “remained regularly subject to political pressure from the executive branch.”

“The [Armenian] law provides for the presumption of innocence; in practice, however, this right was frequently violated,” says its report. “According to court statistics, the courts rendered only seven acquittals out of a total of 2,407 verdicts handed down during the year, for an acquittal rate of approximately 0.3 percent.”

The Armenian judiciary was also criticized this week by the main democracy watchdog of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In a long-awaited report, the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded that at least some of the trials of the arrested oppositionists were not fair because of a pro-government bias shown by judges.

The Armenian government and judicial authorities have yet to react to the criticism. The main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) on Friday portrayed the ODIHR report as further proof of its view that “justice was not applied” to the jailed oppositionists.

The State Department noted that approximately 13 individuals jailed in connection with the 2008 vote and post-election unrest remained incarcerated as of the end of 2009. It charged that Armenian law-enforcement bodies continued to “arbitrarily detain individuals due to their opposition political affiliations or political activities” and restrict freedom of assembly. “Police regularly used force to break up the daily gatherings of supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian in downtown Yerevan,” argued the department.

The report goes on to describe the disputed municipal elections in Yerevan as “significantly flawed.” The State Department used the same phrase to assess the authorities’ conduct of the last presidential ballot.

The department further deplored a lack of “media pluralism” in Armenia and “multiple attacks against journalists” reported last year. “Corruption remained widespread, and authorities did not make determined efforts to combat it,” it added.

The report prompted diametrically opposite comments from Armenia’s leading pro-government and opposition parties. Galust Sahakian, the parliamentary leader of President Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia, said his assessment of its findings is “very negative.”

“It does not correspond to reality,” Sahakian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “It’s a biased report which I think not only fails to help Armenia’s public and authorities but may also have bad consequences.”

But Armen Martirosian, a leader of the opposition Zharangutyun party, strongly disagreed. “The facts contained in the report are absolutely true,” he said. “I’m saying this … as a person who has felt all these problems this on his skin.”

WASHINGTON (Combined Sources)—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday invited President Serzh Sarkisian to visit Washington next month, in a telephone conversation that appears to have centered on the stalled rapprochement talks between Turkey and Armenia, reported RFE/RL.

Sarkisian’s office said Clinton phoned the Armenian leader to invite him to an international summit on nuclear energy security that will take place in Washington in mid-April. It said she expressed hope that the two sides will use the occasion to “continue discussing issues on the bilateral, regional and international agenda.” It gave no further details, according to RFE/RL.

The phone call came the day after Sarkisian suggested that Turkey will not unconditionally normalize relations with Armenia anytime soon and again threatened to annul the U.S.-brokered protocols signed by the two nations in October.

The invitation to Sarkisian comes months after the conference had already been scheduled without an invitation being sent to Armenia. The summit will come ahead of April 24, the international day of commemoration for the Armenian Genocide.

The invitation to Sarkisian is seen by many as the administration’s latest attempt to give Obama an excuse once again not to recognize the Armenian Genocide in his April 24 address.

According to the order, Francois E. Durmaz, also known as Mahmut E. Durmaz and Robert C. Pribilski raised more than $20 million from retirees, through a company named USA Retirement Management Services, or USARMS, and funneled part of the money to Turkey. The money, collected on promises that it will be invested in Turkish Eurobonds, was also diverted to “a stamp collection, Web pornography and cryogenically frozen umbilical cords,” according to the SEC.

The court order also alleged Turkish real estate company Marlalı Gayrimenkul Yatırımları is also involved in the scheme.

Hurriyet said the company, based in the Umraniye district of Istanbul according to Turkish Commercial Registry, could not be reached because its phone number was unlisted.

In its complaint to the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, the SEC said between 2005 and 2010, over 120 investors purchased nearly $20 million of USARMS’ promissory notes. The money was collected through “real estate seminars” conducted by Durmaz and others, who promised annual returns of 8 to 11 percent to investors.

“Defendants are operating a Ponzi scheme,” the complaint said. “In the five years … USARMS has generated no income from Turkish Eurobonds. Rather, defendants make purported interest and principal payments to investors using new investors’ funds.”

Money Transfers

The document claimed that in addition to transferring investors’ money to a Pribilski and Durmaz-controlled Marlalı Property Investment Company LLC, the defendants have transferred nearly $7.2 million to Sibel İnce, Mehmet Karakuş, Marlalı Gayrimenkul Yatırımları and a company named Gülen Enterprises, Inc.

“As of Dec. 31, 2009, of the $20 million USARMS promissory notes purchased by investors, only approximately $900,000 remains in financial accounts controlled by defendants,” the document said.

According to a table accompanying the complaint, the defendants disbursed more than $1.2 million to “relatives and/or Turkey.” The money disbursed for “personal use” stood at nearly $5 million. The document claimed that part of this amount was used for “Durmaz’s stamp collection, vacations, access to Web-based pornography and the cryogenic preservation of umbilical cord stem cells.”

Durmaz, 39, resides in Los Angeles, California and Streamwood, Illinois, according to the SEC complaint, while Sibel İnce, a 37-year-old relief defendant, resides in Laguna Beach, California and is listed as Durmaz’s spouse.

A call by Bloomberg to USARMS’s Los Angeles office was forwarded to a woman who identified herself as Mary and declined to comment. An Internet phone directory had no listings for Durmaz in Los Angeles and Streamwood or for Pribilski in Lisle, Illinois.

Istanbul Company Involved

The SEC could not figure out that Marlali Gayrimenkul, based in Istanbul, is a company and named it as a person, adding that its “age is unknown” and it “resides in Istanbul.” The firm received wire transfers of nearly $6 million from USARMS and Marlalı Property, according to the document. Mehmet Karakuş, another relief defendant residing in Istanbul, received wire transfers of nearly $925,000 from Marlalı Property, according to SEC. Gülen Enterprises, a California corporation, received $970,000, the SEC said.

Marlali Gayrimenkul made it to real estate pages of Turkish press in February two years ago, when it announced the cancellation of a $50 million property project in the southern city of Adana due to the mortgage crisis in the U.S.

The SEC requested a temporary restraint order, an asset freeze, an order to appoint a receiver over all entities controlled by Durmaz or Pribilski, prohibition of the destruction of documents and prohibition of the defendants from traveling outside the U.S.

Ponzi schemes typically rely on money from new participants to pay profits to earlier investors. Since the frauds rely on new clients, rather than investment returns, they tend to collapse when funding dries up.

The annual report acknowledged some improvement, but noted continued reports of torture cases, unlawful killings by security forces and poor prison conditions.

“The overly close relationship of judges and prosecutors continued to hinder the right to a fair trial. Excessively long trials were [also] a problem,” the report said. “The government limited freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws and through the application of tax fines against media conglomerates.”

The State Department also noted limitations on Internet freedom, noting that telecommunications providers were ordered to block access to certain Web sites on numerous occasions.

“Some religious groups were restricted from practicing their religion openly, owning property and training leaders,” the report said. “Violence against women, including honor killings and rape, remained a widespread problem. Child marriage persisted, despite laws prohibiting it. Some cases of official corruption contributed to trafficking in persons for labor and sexual exploitation.”

Freedom of the press

Noting that the country’s Finance Ministry had levied nearly $3.9 billion in tax fines against the Dogan Media Group, Turkey’s largest media group, the State Department said the fines nearly equaled the total value of the company’s assets.

“The fines raised some observers’ concerns, because the group’s editorial line had been considered critical of the government and the prime minister,” it said. The State Department also noted the October progress report of the European Commission, which said the fines “undermine the economic viability of the group and therefore affect the freedom of the press in practice.

“Other observers described the fine as having a chilling effect on journalists and reported that the government was using it to silence opposition,” the State Department added. “The government maintained that the fine, which observers alleged could cause the corporation to go out of business, was a legitimate exercise of the Finance Ministry’s taxation authority and that it had no political motivation.”

The report cited positive developments as well, including a substantial decrease in the number of prosecutions and convictions based on Article 301, which prohibits insults to the Turkish state; the formal launch of a 24-hour Kurdish-language state television station Jan. 1; broadcasts in Armenian on state television for half an hour twice a day starting April 2; new regulations as of Nov. 13 allowing for 24-hour private television stations to broadcast in languages other than Turkish, new prison regulations in November allowing prisoners to speak languages other than Turkish with their visitors; and approval in September of a university department to teach the Kurdish language, among other “living” languages.

Discrepancy on torture

The State Department also took notice of a discrepancy between official and non-official figures on torture. According to a report by the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Presidency, three torture and 54 cruel-treatment cases were reported in the first six months of the year. However, according to the Human Rights Association, there were 655 reports of torture in the first nine months of the year, an increase over the previous year.

“A number of human-rights observers claimed that only a small percentage of detainees reported torture and abuse because most feared retaliation or believed that complaining was futile,” the report said.

In regard to the ongoing Ergenekon arrests over alleged military plots to topple the government, the U.S. State Department said a total of 250 people had been indicted by year’s end. “Some opposition politicians, members of the press and critics of the government considered many of the indictments to be politically motivated,” it said. “Others claimed that the arrests had reduced the fear and pressure on journalists and human-rights activists across the country by removing threats against them.”

Speaking at the NATO-sponsored Rose Roth seminar in Yerevan on Friday, Bernard Fassier said: “Azerbaijan’s victory in the event of renewed war is impossible, because I know about the bravery of the Armenian and Karabakh warriors.”

Fassier said he believed a new war would not bring benefits to Azerbaijan and instead cause substantial harm to its financial interests and oil trade.

“International investors investing in the economy of Azerbaijan will not want to have their funds at risk and abandon investment,” he said, adding that any bellicose statements from Azerbaijan will be “dangerous for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.”

“The people must understand that the neighbors are doomed to live next to each other”, he added, stressing that the use of force and the launching of a new war are not possible solutions to the Karabakh conflict.

“All the warlike statements are not only useless but also dangerous for the peace process. We are talking about peaceful coexistence between two peoples, but such statements hamper this,” Fassier said.

The French co-chair also condemned the latest statement by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, who warned about the inevitability of a military solution to the Karabakh conflict and vowed to start a new “Great War in the South Caucasus”.

The French mediator recalled the announcements of the Azerbaijani authorities that the Minister’s statement is his personal opinion and he bores the direct responsibility for them.

“We believe that the more parties will refrain from such statements, the better for the process”, said Fassier.

When asked whether he thought there was a connection between the Karabakh conflict and Kosov, the French diplomat said the two had nothing in common.

“Therefore, the reoccurrence of the same scenario is impossible,” he said, referring to Kosovo’s recognition by the west. Karabakh’s independence has not yet been recognized.

“These situations are incomparable. For example, the Kosovo issue is a conflict inside one country, while the Karabakh conflict takes place inside one country and is simultaneously a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Asked about Russia’s involvement in the negotiations process, Fassier said: “The mediators exchange information, including the most confidential and secret”.

“The mediators exchange information, including the most confidential and secret,” he added.

“All of Russia’s initiatives on Karabakh conflict settlement are completely coordinated with all the mediators of the OSCE Minsk Group, he said.

Russia, which serves alongside the US and France as a co-chair of the group, hosted a meeting in January between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan where the two leaders agreed on a preamble to a framework peace accord known as the Madrid Principles.

“They help us get out of a difficult situation”, said the mediator. “Russia understands that one of the sides cannot impose its position, and the solution must be sought together.”

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian (R) meets with his visiting Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, in Yerevan, 12 March 2010.

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk commended Armenia on Friday for seeking to forge closer ties with the European Union under the bloc’s Eastern Partnership program which his country helped to launch last year.

“Armenia is investing a lot of energy and effort in that program,” Tusk said during a working visit to Yerevan that ended of his tour of the three South Caucasus states.

All of those countries as well as Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova have been included in the scheme that offers participants deeper integration with the EU in return for political and economic reforms. The Eastern Partnership was devised by Poland and Sweden in 2008 and approved by the 27-nation bloc in May last year.

Meeting with Tusk, President Serzh Sarkisian described the program as one of “the two main pillars” for strengthening relations between Armenia and Poland. The two countries are “developing on the basis of the same values,” he said, according to his office.

“I want to stress that Armenians and Poles have a lot of trust in each other,” Tusk told journalists after talks with his Armenian counterpart Tigran Sargsyan. He cited a long history of contacts between the two peoples.

The talks between the two premiers focused on ways of boosting the presently modest scale of Polish-Armenian economic relations. They resulted in the signing of an agreement on bilateral economic cooperation and promotion of mutual investments. The two governments will set up a joint commission for that purpose.

“We have reached agreements on concrete business projects that will be at the center of the inter-governmental commission’s attention,” said Sargsyan.

Tusk said the two sides have already identified “several areas of economic cooperation” such as chemical industry, manufacturing and energy. He said Poland is also interested in studying the Armenian experience of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Karabakh parliament speaker Ashot Ghulian (R) meets Joao Soares, president of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in Yerevan,

STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)–Ashot Ghulian, the speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s parliament, on Friday brushed aside talk of an impending end to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, saying that attempts to “hasten” its settlement would be counterproductive.

Ghulian specifically criticized an upbeat statement made on Thursday by Goran Lennmarker, the Karabakh conflict rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Speaking during an international seminar in Yerevan, Lennmarker said the conflict may well be resolved in the near future. “There is a possibility of real compromise,” he said. “I think the difficulty now is more inside the [conflicting] countries to get public support [for compromise.] The solution, in a way, is there.”

“You have probably noticed that officials like Mr. Lennmarker have been saying in the last few years that this year is going to be decisive for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” scoffed Ghulian. “But the process does not seem benefit or suffer from that.”

The Karabakh leader said attempts to artificially speed up the negotiating process are fraught with a “danger of making very big mistakes.” “As long as the full-fledged participation of the Karabakh side is not ensured, the Karabakh side will have no expectations that the problem can be solved very quickly,” he said, reaffirming a long-standing view of the authorities in Stepanakert and Yerevan.

Lennmarker made clear that he is against the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s direct involvement in the Karabakh peace talks at this point. “I say no, see to it that you will fulfill it now in the present format, as soon as possible,” he said. “Because otherwise, I am very afraid [a peaceful settlement] will be delayed.”

Speaking at the Yerevan forum, Bernard Fassier, France’s top Karabakh negotiator, made a similar point, arguing that former Armenian President Robert Kocharian himself decided to represent the NKR in the talks in 1998. But he said the Karabakh Armenians will return to the negotiating table at a later stage in the peace process.

Ghulian made the comments in Yerevan as he spoke to journalists after meeting with Joao Soares, the visiting president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. He gave no details of the meeting, saying only that it was “very useful” and “very pleasant.” Soares, for his part, made no public statements.

Like other Karabakh leaders, Ghulian avoided clarifying whether the Karabakh government agrees with the essence of the basic principles of Karabakh peace proposed by the French, Russian and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Karabakh Armenians have serious misgivings about the proposed peace formula.

Ghulian’s skepticism about peace prospects is in tune with statements made by Armenia’s leaders in recent months. In a January interview with RFE/RL, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian cautioned against excessive expectations from the negotiating process in the coming months. “I see no point in artificially accelerating the process, and I think everybody agrees with that,” he said.

President Serzh Sarkisian greets Goran Lennmarker (L), chairman of the Swedish parliament committee on foreign affairs, in Yerevan, 12 March 2010.

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenia’s leaders thanked Sweden’s parliament on Friday for adopting a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

President Serzh Sarkisian hailed the development at a meeting with Goran Lennmarker, the visiting chairman of the Swedish parliament’s foreign affairs committee. He said “recognition of and condemnation of crimes against humanity is the best way to avert such crimes.”

Speaking to RFE/RL earlier in the day, Lennmarker endorsed the resolution which was opposed by the Swedish parliament but passed by a 131-130 vote. He said he would have voted for the measure had he not been absent from Stockholm during Thursday’s vote.

Lennmarker, who is better known in Armenia as the Nagorno-Karabakh rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, visited on Thursday the Yerevan memorial to up to 1.5 million Armenians killed in what many historians consider a genocide.

Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian also welcomed the resolution strongly condemned by Ankara. “I think that with its historic decision Sweden’s parliament … will also contribute to peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” Abrahamian said in a letter to his Swedish counterpart, Per Westerberg.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned, meanwhile, that the Swedish vote “can hurt relations between Turkey and Armenia.” He appeared to refer to the fence-mending agreements signed by the two estranged nations last fall.

The Turks were already fuming over a similar resolution that was approved last week by a key committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Reuters news agency reported that Turkish parliamentary speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin said on Friday Western countries whose assemblies have passed such resolutions should “look in the mirror, if they want to find criminals.” He mentioned no specific country.

“Our ‘friend’ Sweden has stabbed us in the back with one vote!” read a front-page headline in “Sabah,” a leading Turkish daily.

Fatih Altayli, editor-in-chief of “Haberturk” daily cited by Reuters, was more sarcastic: “Soon, there will be no Turkish ambassadors left abroad and no foreign country our officials can visit.”

Arizona ANC members with Rep. Giffords

TUCSON—The Armenian National Committee of Arizona visited the office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on March 2nd as the House Foreign Affairs Committee prepared to mark-up the measure on March 4th. The meeting was led by ANC of Arizona Chairman Yervant Baltajian, who was joined by community activists and constituents Ani and Artie Ehranjian and Sevag Boyadjian.

“We appreciate Congresswoman Giffords’ support of H. Res. 252 and her ability to stand strong against Turkey’s gag rule,” said ANC of Arizona Chairman Yervant Baltajian. “We look forward to building a stronger relationship with the Congresswoman and working closely with her on issues of concern to the Armenian American community.”

Activists discussed a broad range of concerns to the Armenian American community and updated the Congresswoman’s staff, Gabe Zimmerman, on the Armenian Genocide Resolution – H. Res. 252 and the importance of ending the cycle of genocide.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She supported H. Res. 252 during the markup of the resolution on March 4th. She also voted for the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2007.

 “Congresswoman Giffords joined her colleagues in sending a powerful but simple message: Turkey doesn’t get a vote or a veto in the U.S. Congress,” stated ANCA-WR Government Relations Director Lerna Shirinian. “We look forward to working with the Congresswoman on this and other initiatives to help end the cycle of genocide,” she added.

H.Res.252, introduced in March of 2009 by lead sponsors Adam Schiff and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), currently has over 137 cosponsors. A parallel Senate measure, spearheaded by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and John Ensign (R-NV), has 13 cosponsors. Efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide have been welcomed by a broad range of coalition partners from the Greek, Jewish, Christian and genocide-prevention constituencies. Following a year-long mobilization of the ANCA and Armenian American grassroots activists across the country, H.Res. 252 passed the House Foreign Relations Committee on March 4th with the leadership of Chairman Howard Berman.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

The Swedish parliament

STOCKHOLM—The Parliament of Sweden on Thursday, recognized the Armenian Genocide after a long debate with a vote of 131 to 130. This prompted Turkey to recall is ambassador to Sweden, reported Armenian National Committee of Sweden chairwoman Suzanne Khardalian.

“I have been instructed to go back to Turkey,” said Zergun Koruturk, Turkey’s ambassador to Sweden. “It is logical. I am very, very disappointed,” reported the Stockholm News.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also cancelled his planned visit to Sweden.

“We strongly condemn this resolution, which is made for political calculations. It does not correspond to the close friendship of our two nations. We are recalling our ambassador for consultations,” Erdogan said in a statement on his website.

The decision comes just one week after the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to adopt the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252), by a vote of 23-22 – despite last minute opposition from the Obama Administration and over intense lobbying by the Turkish Government.  A similar measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, S.Res.316.

“Twice in just one week, we have seen legislative bodies – the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the United States and the full Parliament in Sweden – take a strong stand against Turkey’s threats against an honest affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “We congratulate the Swedish Parliamentarians – particularly those who defied party politics and foreign intimidation – to send a clear message that genocide must be condemned whenever and wherever it occurs.”

The resolution mandates Sweden to officially describe the large-scale murders of Armenians and other ethnic groups in Turkey in the early years of the last century as genocide.

The motion was supported by members of five of the seven Swedish parliamentary parties including the Left Party, whose foreign policy spokesperson Hans Linde told The Local newspaper on Thursday that the time had come for Sweden to take a stand on the issue.

The governing center-right coalition opposed the measure, but it passed because a handful of center-right lawmakers sided with the left-leaning opposition, which had proposed the resolution.

“First, to learn from history and stop it from repeating and second, to encourage the development of democracy in Turkey, which includes dealing with its own history. The third reason is to redress the wrongs committed against the victims and their relatives,” added Linde.

The committee in its comments on the motion argued for an open debate on the issue. It also stated that the persecution of the Armenians and other ethnic groups in 1915 would have constituted genocide according to the definition adopted by the United Nations in its 1948 genocide convention if it “had it been in force at the time.”

The resolution adopted today (by 131 for, 130 against) has previously been refused by the Swedish Parliament. The change can be attributed to a change of policy by the Social Democrats, who at their last party Congress, October 30, 2009, adopted a policy of recognizing the genocide carried out against the Armenians, Assyrian/Chaldeans, Pontic Greeks and Roma and others during 1914-1918 in the then Ottoman Empire. The Swedish Christian Social Democrats, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Social Democrat party members of Assyrian origin played important roles in obtaining this policy change.

Turkish Ruling party leader Suat Kiniklioglu

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Turkey is extremely unlikely to ratify its fence-mending protocols with Armenia at this juncture, a senior Turkish lawmaker and deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Thursday.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service in Yerevan, Suat Kiniklioglu made clear that Ankara continues to make the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on a Karabakh settlement. He said the passage of an Armenian genocide resolution by a U.S. congressional committee has rendered Turkish ratification of the protocols even “more difficult.”

“[Ratification] is very difficult right now,” Kiniklioglu said, speaking on the sidelines of an international seminar organized in the Armenian capital by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. “It’s almost impossible. Especially after [the progress of the House Resolution] 252, it’s almost impossible.”

Turkey has strongly condemned the draft resolution approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4. It calls on President Barack Obama to “accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide.”

Kiniklioglu headed one of the two Turkish parliamentary delegations that traveled to Washington last week to lobby against the bill’s passage. They were present at the committee debate and vote on the measure along with fellow parliamentarians from Armenia.

“Neither the Turkish parliament nor any other parliament should be judging on other peoples’ history,” Kiniklioglu told RFE/RL. “We continue to propose the history commission that was part of the protocols, and I think that’s the best way to go about. Turkish-Armenian relations do not need the American Congress to be approved or to be condoned. I think Turks and Armenians are mature enough to resolve their problems on a bilateral level.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has publicly warned Washington against exploiting the genocide bill to pressure Ankara to validate the U.S.-brokered agreements envisaging diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and the opening of their border. U.S. officials have repeatedly called for a speedy and unconditional ratification of the protocols.

Kiniklioglu indicated that the Turkish government, which has a clear majority in parliament, persists in linking the ratification with an Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement on Karabakh. “In our view, there is a connection [with Karabakh,]” he said. “You can not normalize [relations] with a country when there is an abnormal situation going on right next door to you.”

“All sides, especially the American side, the Minsk Group, are working on the Karabakh issue,” said the lawmaker. “I hope something positive will come out of it because as soon as something positive comes out, I think we will push the protocols through the parliament.”

Meeting with Davutoglu in Kiev late last month, President Serzh Sarkisian threatened to walk away from the deal if the Turks fail to honor it “within the shortest period of time.” U.S. and European Union officials have likewise said it should be ratified within a “reasonable” timeframe.

“I think eventually it will happen, but we should not put artificial deadlines on the process and should continue in a determined fashion towards finalizing the reconciliation process,” countered Kiniklioglu.

“I am on the optimistic side,” he said. “One year ago or two years ago, there were no protocols whatsoever. Right now we have two documents that outline in detail how the normalization should take place. I think it’s still a success.”

“True, they are still awaiting ratification by the Turkish and Armenian parliaments,” added the AKP vice-chairman for foreign relations. “But I think if we show enough patience — and hopefully there will be some movement on Karabakh, we don’t know — I’m confident that normalization will eventually take place.”

Kiniklioglu went on to describe the Armenians and the Turks as “very similar people” who can put an end to their long history of mutual hostility. “This is my fourth visit to Armenia,” he said. “I have lots of friends here and I see more and more commonalities and similarities between us.”

PARIS (RFE/RL)—President Serzh Sarkisian has suggested that Turkey will not unconditionally normalize relations with Armenia anytime soon and again threatened to annul the universally welcomed agreements signed by the two nations last October.

In an interview with the French daily “Le Figaro” published on Thursday, Sarkisian also warned that Ankara’s reluctance to ratify them is swelling the ranks of Armenians opposed to his conciliatory policy on Turkey.

“Our desire to establish normal relations is great,” he said. “However, recent statements from Turkey make me think that they will not ratify the protocols in the foreseeable future.

“We had warned that if we become convinced that the Turks are using the normalization process for other purposes we will take appropriate steps. In that case, we will withdraw our signature from the protocols.”

According to Sarkisian, the two governments agreed to put the protocols into practice “within a reasonable time frame and without preconditions” when they inked the deal in Zurich in October 2009. “We have said that Armenia would ratify the protocols immediately after their ratification by Turkey,” he said. “And yet Turkey keeps putting forward preconditions for their ratification, the most important of them relating to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Sarkisian again avoided setting any deadlines for the Turkish ratification. Officials from his administration implied earlier that the Turkish leadership has until the end of March to endorse the agreements or face their unilateral repeal by Armenia. However, the latest indications are that Yerevan is ready to wait at least until the April 24.

Sarkisian told “Le Figaro” that his Turkish policy has caused “a great deal of concern among Armenians around the world.” “As a result of the dragging out of the normalization process, the number of [Armenian] supporters of the protocols is increasingly dwindling,” he warned.

The Armenian leader also reaffirmed Yerevan’s strong support for the passage of a U.S. congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian massacres as genocide. “But the U.S. Congress and State Department hardly make decisions based on our views or wishes,” he added.

On a related matter, in what was his second visit abroad in less than two months, former President Robert Kocharian met with his former French counterpart Jacques Chirac in Paris on Wednesday, his office confirmed the next day.

A spokesman for Kocharian, Victor Soghomonian, declined to divulge any details of the meeting. He told RFE/RL only that the ex-president is paying a “private visit” to France and will return to Armenia “in the coming days.”

The trip coincided with Sarkisian’s official visit to Paris.

Kocharian, who has kept a low profile since handing over power to Sarkisian in April 2008, already visited Tehran in late January for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Both his office and the Armenian Foreign Ministry insisted that the ex-president met them in his private capacity.

Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov

BAKU (News.az)—Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov challenged Armenia on Thursday, days after his country signaled that it is generally in support of the most recent iteration of the Madrid Principles, based on which the Karabakh peace process is being negotiated.

“Azerbaijan has already announced that it accepts the updated Madrid principles. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will invite the foreign ministers to Paris to discuss the updated guidelines. Then we will define the direction of our future efforts with the co-chairs,” said Mammadyarov, who was speaking Thursday at a meeting of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states in Baku.

“We believe that the updated version of the Madrid principles creates an opportunity for the discussion of a comprehensive agreement. In my opinion, first of all, it should be accepted by the Armenian side. But the Armenian side claims that there are some points that they cannot accept. We are now working on that,” he said, without elaborating on the matters in question.

“The only question to the leadership of Armenia is whether they are ready or not,” challenged Mammadyarov.

“As far as I know, during the meeting of presidents [Serzh] Sarkisian and [Nicolas] Sarkozy, the French president reiterated his full support for the updated Madrid principles. Let’s see what news comes from the Armenian side,” added Mammadyarov.

He said that no meeting was scheduled for the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents at present.

Mammadyarov also found time to address last week’s vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which approved the Armenian Genocide resolution.
 “If members of Congress discuss the events of 100 years ago, they should also assess the recent genocide of 20 years ago that happened in Khojaly. In this sense, I do not believe that such an action would promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” expressed Mammadyarov.

“On the whole, the action has a negative impact because we believe that if the Congress adopts one-sided resolutions, despite the fact that Armenia occupies 20 percent of Azeri land resulting in one million refugees and internally displaced persons, this poses the greatest threat to security in the region. Therefore, we consider that the issue of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, if discussed in Congress, should address not only the historical aspect, but also the current situation,” he added.

He said Armenia and the Diaspora must work together to realize Armenia’s national and democratic goals. “Recognition, restoration, reparation, recognition of Mountainous Karabakh, the rule of law, no political prisoners, equal economic opportunities… All these are part of the same agenda.”

In her welcoming remarks, Bay Area ANC chairwoman Roxanne Makasdjian noted the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution on March 4th. She said the vote was more important than previous ones. “Considering all that has happened over the past year – the unprecedented pressure exerted by the Turkish government, their increasing grass-roots activism here, lobbying by military corporations like Boeing and others, and especially the fact that Armenia has sent a message through the signing of the Protocols, that it will accept the formation of an historical commission to  “define” the events of the past… Considering these major obstacles, this victory was more hard-fought, more powerful, and possibly more important, than all the others.”

Bay Area businessman and benefactor, Hank Torian, for whom Khachatourian Armenian Center was named, was honored as the Bay Area ANC’s “local hero.” “It’s a wonderful event,” said Torian, who praised the work of the ANC.

Raffi Hovannisian, a California native who was the first Foreign Minister of Armenia, is the founding director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies in Yerevan, leads the Heritage political party, and founded the Armenian Bar Association, in addition to having served in many other professional capacities in Armenia and the Diaspora.

Hovannisian decried the Armenian government’s signing of the Protocols, which establishes an historical commission and validates territorial borders of the Bolshevik-Kemalist treaties of 1921. “This isn’t about the past. This is about the future,” said Hovannisian. “This is about national security for Armenia. This is about the right for Armenia to maintain a right for future generations.”

Recalling his time as foreign minister, from 1991 to 92, Hovannisian said that at the time he was representing Armenia in talks regarding Armenia’s participation in the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Turkish government was demanding similar concessions from Armenia, which Armenia refused. “And now they want Karabakh, too,” he said. “They have the nerve to talk about Armenia’s occupation of Karabakh, when the Armenian homeland has been torn asunder by their predecessors.  Where are the Armenian leaders who say, “No!”?

Hovannisian paid tribute to those who have contributed to the Armenian Cause by helping to deliver the victory in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “…defeating not only the Turkish lobby and the Turkish state, but the big businesses of the U.S. who do business with Turkey, and doing it with the complete non-participation and passiveness of the Armenian government.”  He said the resolution was not only about the Armenian Genocide. “The integrity of the American record is in question.” He also noted the Massachusetts Democrat on the foreign affairs committee who, along with others, voted against the resolution citing the Protocols between Turkey and Armenia.

“It was a good battle,” said Hovannisian, “But the main challenge between truth and falsehood lies before us.” He said that Armenia and the Diaspora must stand together on this issue.”

On the topic of Karabakh, Hovannisian said Armenia must recognize it as the second independent Armenian state. “It’s high time that the Armenians around the world demand that Armenia recognize Karabakh, and that we rally around a unity of that nation, within its constitutional frontiers and perhaps prepare for war.  It’s one of the scenarios one must never rule out.”

Hovannissian criticized the fact that Karabakh’s liberated territories are largely unpopulated, as well as Armenia’s lack of democracy, having had no free and fair elections since 1995. He condemned Armenia’s holding political prisoners and said “the feudal law of the middle ages continues to today.”

“Is this the nation of our dreams?,” said Hovannisian. “Do we live today in an Armenia with the values that our parents and grandparents conveyed to us, in search of a free and independent Armenia?  We have to have the courage to be very self-critical about ourselves, and hold Armenia to the standard of not a third-rate country somewhere in some ocean, but to hold ourselves to the highest standards of democracy, of rule of law.”

Hovannisian encouraged those in attendance to make the choice to help improve Armenia’s future. “Realize your potential. Live in reality, but never ever surrender the dream.”

Mariam Sukhudyan's press conference

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)—Law-enforcement authorities in Armenia said on Thursday that they have formally closed a highly controversial criminal case against a youth activist who helped to trigger a scandal about alleged sexual and other abuse at a Yerevan school for disabled children.

They also announced criminal proceedings against a former school teacher who was accused by some of his students of sexual harassment.

The announcement came the day after Sukhudian publicly received an award from the U.S. Embassy in Armenia for her civic activism and volunteer work at the state-run boarding school located in Yerevan’s southern Nubarashen suburb. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch praised the 30-year activist of the SOS Teghut environment protection group for exposing “neglect and abuse of children” there.

The award and Yovanovitch’s remarks effectively challenged an accusation of “slander” that was leveled against Sukhudian by the police department of the Erebuni and Nubarashen districts last year. The department claimed until now that she had persuaded a teenage schoolgirl to falsely incriminate the teacher, Levon Avagian, for “personal gain.”

In a written statement, the Office of the Prosecutor-General said a prosecutor monitoring the high-profile case has instructed the Yerevan police to drop the charge and that the latter has duly executed the order. It said the Erebuni police had “interpreted evidence collected earlier in a peculiar way.”

“Besides, there has been collected new evidence, the analysis of which has not substantiated the accusation leveled against M. Sukhudian,” said the statement. More importantly, it announced that the police have launched a new criminal investigation into “obscene acts against minors” possibly committed at the Nubarashen school.

Avagian, the teacher at the center of the scandal, was previously cleared of any wrongdoing as recently as one year ago. Nonetheless, he quit the school about the same time.

Sukhudian told RFE/RL that she received a copy of the police decision to stop prosecuting her on Thursday. “They said they were looking for me and only found me today,” he said, adding that the document was dated March 9.

Asked whether she believes it was the result of the demonstrative U.S. support for her case, Sukhudian replied: “There is no doubt that the publicity that this case has received and the embassy’s intervention have made them sober up. Things just could not coincide in this way.”

Sukhudian added that she and other young people who worked at the school as volunteers in 2008 will closely monitor the new police probe and continue to press the Armenian authorities to improve conditions there. “It is absurd that those children remain at the mercy of the same school personnel,” she said.

Sweden's parliament building

STOCKHOLM—The Parliament of Sweden on Thursday, recognized the Armenian Genocide after a long debate with a vote of 131 to 130.

The resolution mandates Sweden to officially describe the large-scale murders of Armenians and other ethnic groups in Turkey in the early years of the last century as genocide.

The motion was supported by members of five of the seven Swedish parliamentary parties including the Left Party, whose foreign policy spokesperson Hans Linde told The Local newspaper on Thursday that the time had come for Sweden to take a stand on the issue.

“First, to learn from history and stop it from repeating and second, to encourage the development of democracy in Turkey, which includes dealing with its own history. The third reason is to redress the wrongs committed against the victims and their relatives,” added Linde.

The committee in its comments on the motion argued for an open debate on the issue. It also stated that the persecution of the Armenians and other ethnic groups in 1915 would have constituted genocide according to the definition adopted by the United Nations in its 1948 genocide convention if it “had it been in force at the time.”

The Swedish parliament voted on the issue before, even approving a report in 2000 recognizing the disappearance of as many as 2.5 million Armenians, Chaldeans, Syrians, Assyrians and Pontian Greeks beginning on April 1915 as genocide. But the recognition was later withdrawn “on a technicality,” explained Linde.

Asbarez will provide more in-depth coverage of this issue.

The honor was given on the occasion of Jansem’s 90^th birthday at his exhibit in the Matignon Gallery in the French capital.

Speaking to Sarkisian after the ceremony, Jansem said that although he lives in France, he has “always been in Armenia with his mind and heart.” It’s for this reason, he added, that he “can’t help crying every time he visits Armenia.”

The Armenian artist said he is said that his sons and grandsons do not speak Armenian. He last visited Armenia ten years ago, but follows its developments closely, he said.

Sarkisian, for his part, sought to reassure Jansem that “maintaining the Armenian spirit is the most important for staying an Armenian.”

The Armenian President explained that this is why Armenia created the Ministry of Diaspora, which “actively cooperates with Armenian communities on issues of maintenance of the Armenian language and culture.”

According to the presidential press office, Sarkisian also signed a decree awarding the Order of Honor to Italian-Armenian filmmaker Tonino Guerra for his “contributions in the reinforcement of the Armenian-Italian cultural ties, his great role in world cinematography.” Guerra’s honor was also given to him on the occasion of his 90th birthday.”

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

The vote, last Thursday, by the House Foreign Affairs Committee to approve H. Res. 252—the Armenian Genocide Resolution—has increased Turkey’s usual banter and has sent the Obama Administration into a tailspin, in the end showing how truly uncommitted this White House and State Department are to truth and justice and how committed they are to unequivocally advancing their agenda.

The fate of the resolution is unclear. Proponents and supporters on both sides are pledging that they will push forward and insist on a floor vote, pending they have enough of them.

From recalling its ambassador to threatening to close access to Incirilik air base, Turkey has upped the volume on its usual cries for attention. Joining the chorus more vocally this time around is Azerbaijan.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the resolution a farce and has signaled that its ambassador to the US, Namik Tan, would not return to Washington until there is a final determination on the fate of the resolution. This was coupled with more fervent threats by Turkish ruling and opposition parties that the Armenia-Turkey protocols are dead.

Turkish writer Ahmet Altan writes in the Turkish Taraf newspaper:

“Why is the ‘Armenian Genocide’ a matter of discussion in American, French and Swiss parliaments and not in the parliament of the Turkish Republic ? Why can’t we, ourselves, discuss a matter that we deem so vital that we perceive the difference of one vote as a source of humiliation?

If you cannot discuss your own problems, you deserve to be humiliated. If you keep silent in a matter that you find so important, you deserve to be humiliated. If you try to shut others up, you are humiliated even more. The whole world interprets the killing of so many Armenians, -a number we cannot even estimate properly- as ‘genocide.’”

Altan goes on to assert that what happened to the Armenians does constitute Genocide and the sooner the Turks come to terms with it, the better it would be. Ironically, for speaking the truth, Altan could face criminal prosecution in the very country that is such a critical ally to the US, which, in its turn, is such an advocate for human rights, democracy and justice.

On the domestic front, a day after the vote, the Associated Press reported that “…a senior Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said there was an understanding with the Democratic leadership in Congress that the resolution would not go to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

A Democratic aide at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office told Asbarez in an email that he could not confirm the anonymous Obama administration official’s claim.

In an article posted on “The Hill” Monday, an aide for Rep. Adam Schiff, the author of the resolution said, “Rep. Schiff is not aware of any agreement with the administration on a floor vote. Rep. Schiff is committed to whipping votes and will not request a floor vote until he is confident he has the votes to get it passed.”

“Secretary Clinton has been clear that further Congressional action with regard to House Resolution 252 could impede progress on normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, and thus we oppose it. As the Secretary has said, we continue to believe that the best way for Turkey and Armenia to address their shared past is through their ongoing effort to normalize relations,” Paul Oglesby, a press officer at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the State Department wrote in an email to an Asbarez inquiry.

Really, Madame Secretary? Since when has the US shied away from taking definitive positions on unresolved issues between two states or parties? Was the US silent when Georgia instigated an all-out war with Russia in 2008? Or, has it been allowing the sides to “address their shared past” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Vietnam? Korea? And, the list goes on…

It should be evident that the US’ keen interest in the protocols is not to necessarily advance peace in the region, but rather, among other things, it is a vehicle for US energy domination in that part of the world and an opportunity to expand US military interests.

Finance Minister Tigran Davtian signed a relevant agreement with the head of the Yerevan office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The London-based institution will finance one-third of the project.

Under the agreement, another 5 million-euro loan, repayable in 15 years, will be provided by the European Investment Bank. The European Union will allocate the remaining 5 million euros in the form of a grant. The government formally pledged to guarantee the repayment of those loans last August.

Officials said on Wednesday the money will be used for badly needed capital investments in the subway network built almost 30 years ago. In particular, the Yerevan metro plans to partly replace its aging fleet of rail cars, install new water removal pumps and upgrade its electricity supply systems. Use of electricity by the network is due to shrink by half as a result.

The metro, which has only one line consisting of ten stations, received 1.7 billion drams ($4.4 million) in government funding for capital repairs in 2008 and is expected to remain heavily dependent on state subsidies in the foreseeable future. Its limited reach has always put it in a disadvantaged position vis-à-vis other public transportation means, notably privately owned minibuses. Only an estimated 60,000 Yerevan residents presently use it on a daily basis.

Yerevan’s existing architectural master plan calls for the construction of four new metro stations by 2020, which officials say would cost some $160 million. The metro’s chief executive, Paylak Yayloyan, told RFE/RL that the government is negotiating with the Asian Development Bank to secure funding for one of those stations.

PARIS (RFE/RL)–French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged more intensive efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a quick implementation of the Turkish-Armenian normalization agreements during talks with his visiting Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, on Wednesday.

The two leaders met in Paris on the second day of Sarkisian’s official visit to France. None of them made any public statements after the meeting. Their joint news briefing scheduled beforehand was canceled for unknown reasons.

Official Armenian and French sources said the talks touched upon bilateral relations, the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

A spokesman for Sarkozy said the French leader called for “developing the dynamic” of the ongoing work on the “basic principles” of a Karabakh settlement put forward by the U.S., Russian and French mediators co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group.

The mediators hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will iron out their remaining differences over the proposed framework agreement in the course of this year. Armenian leaders have indicated, however, that a breakthrough in the peace talks is still not on the horizon.

Sarkozy, according to his spokesman, urged the conflicting parties to reinvigorate their search for a mutually acceptable deal. “One should take the necessary steps that will lead to a lasting peace and would be beneficial not only for the two countries but the whole region,” he was cited as telling Sarkisian.

Sarkozy was also reported to say that Armenia and Turkey should have “the courage to move forward and use this historic opportunity” to normalize their relations. The spokesman said he specifically stressed that a speedy ratification of their fence-mending “protocols” is expected not only by France but the broader international community.

Sarkisian’s office gave no details of the two presidents’ discussions on Karabakh and Turkey, in a written statement issued later in the day. It said only that Sarkozy praised the Armenian leader’s “efforts aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region.”

“Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirmed his country’s intention to develop relations with the Republic of Armenia in all directions and stressed that France has been and remains Armenia’s friend, always standing by its side,” read the statement. He also spoke of a “sincere sympathy towards Armenia and the Armenian people” existing France, it said.

Sarkisian, for his part, described France as his country’s “reliable partner and ally on the international stage. “President Sarkisian noted with satisfaction that French-Armenian relations are dynamically developing in all areas,” his office said.

The Elysee Palace spokesman said the two men discussed ways of boosting bilateral economic ties and welcomed in that regard the French telecom giant Orange’s recent entry into Armenia. He said France is not satisfied with the current volume of French-Armenian commercial contacts and hopes that they will increase in the near future.

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The U.S. Embassy in Armenia publicly honored on Wednesday a young Armenian activist controversially prosecuted after publicizing alleged sexual and other abuse at a Yerevan boarding school.

Mariam Sukhudian, a leader of the environment protection group SOS Teghut, received the Women of Courage Award from Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch at a high-profile ceremony attended by Armenian politicians, civic activists and other public figures.

Speaking at the ceremony, Yovanovitch confirmed that the award is an appreciation of Sukhudian’s work at the public school for children with special needs located in Yerevan’s southern Nubarashen suburb. “When she arrived at Nubarashen Special School Number 11 and found neglect and abuse of children in its care, she acted to stop it … not for her own benefit, but for justice and the welfare of all children in Armenia,” said the ambassador.

A separate statement by the Embassy lauded the activist’s “courage” and “determination to act in order to right a wrong, in spite of the personal sacrifices it entailed.”

Sukhudian, 30, was among about a dozen young people who worked as volunteers at the boarding school in April-June 2008. In their subsequent public statements, they accused the school administration of failing to ensure the minimal standards of teaching and hygiene and routinely ill-treating and students.

They also cited some schoolgirls as alleging sexual harassment by one of their teachers. Sukhudian videotaped one of those girls, Diana Amirkhanian, and alerted Armenian media about her claims. The school administration strongly denied the allegations.

An ensuing police investigation cleared the school administration and the teacher in question, Levon Avagian, of any wrongdoing, saying that Amirkhanian withdrew her allegations. The police then accused Sukhudian of persuading the girl, who graduated from the school in June 2008, to falsely incriminate her teacher for “personal gain.” The activist was formally charged in August 2009 with “false denunciation,” a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Facing a mounting public outcry against their actions, the police last October dropped that charge and replaced it by a less grave accusation of “slander” that carries heavy fines and a prison sentence of up to three years. Sukhudian said at the time that a police investigator offered to drop the criminal case altogether if she pleads for an official pardon. She said she rejected the offer.

Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service shortly before Wednesday’s ceremony, Sukhudian agreed that the award, the first of its kind ever given by the U.S. mission, is a clear signal to law-enforcement bodies dealing with the case. “That is certainly a message, in my opinion,” she said. “I think law-enforcement authorities are now entangled in this fabricated case and don’t know what to do.”

“I am still accused of slander because of speaking out against vicious practices at the Nubarashen school,” said Sukhudian. But she predicted that the accusation may well be dropped soon.

The case against Sukhudian has been condemned by Armenia’s leading human rights organizations. They say Armenian boarding schools, which are primarily supposed to educate for orphans and disabled children, have long been notorious for their lack of transparency, poor sanitary conditions and ill-treatment of students.

Sukhudian is also known for her active participation in street protests staged by SOS Teghut and other local environment protection groups against controversial mining projects devised by private firms and approved by the Armenian government.

“I’m a little ashamed of receiving this prize because in other countries [civic activism] is a normal thing,” the activist told RFE/RL. “People do it instinctively, not out of patriotism or because they have some supernatural abilities. I’m also a little ashamed that I will receive it not from my country but a foreign government.”

Sarkissian’s works point to the past and bridge a gap between the then and now, the past and present. He juxtaposes old photographs, letters, and pictures with vivid colors and metaphors of our present times. His works are culturally and historically saturated. His process includes several layers of silkscreen, brush strokes, and spatula applied paint.

Peter Frank expressed in Sarkissian’s 2006 catalogue: “Above all, Sarkissian’s is an art of transition, a demonstration of the flow of human experience from the felt to the known, from the intuited to the studied, and back again. Sarkissian’s paintings are at once wholes and sums of parts, and they “talk” to us in several visual languages at once.”

Each creation tells a personal and universal story. Allow yourself to explore and discover Sarkissian’s works at the historic Fine Arts Building, 811 W. 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. For more information call Caroline Lais-Tufenkian 818-288-4635.

GLENDALE—Chamlian Armenian School held its annual award ceremony the morning of March 2, to recognize students who have shown outstanding effort and commitment in their studies by maintaining a grade point average of 3.75 or higher. Vice Principal, Rita Kaprielian, welcomed parents into the auditorium and opened the ceremony.

Principal Vazken Madenlian addressed the students by offering them inspiring words about the importance of hard work and success . He encouraged all of the students to use this celebration as a motivation to work even harder. He left the student with the message of learning from their successes and failures as they continue to grow as individuals.

Nayiri Nahabedian, board member of the Glendale Unified School District and a candidate for the State Assembly seat, served as the keynote speaker. She discussed the endless opportunities that exist for students who put in the effort and dedication to achieve their goals. She encouraged students to work hard and to honor their parents who have sacrificed to give them so many opportunities. Her remarks drove home the message that Armenians have shown their resilience and commitment as a community, and it is the students’ responsibility to ensure that the same characteristics will be carried on to the future generations.

The crowd erupted into cheers as the sixty three students’ names were called.

Among the many organizational agenda items, the committee discussed the successful completion of its 2009 projects and plans for the upcoming 2010 campaign. Also during the weekend, 200 people attended a cultural event hosted by the LCO-Belgium chapter in the Haydoon in Brussels, where a presentation of LCO projects throughout the years was made.

This summer of 2010, LCO volunteers will be restoring the Church in the village of Yeghvart, in the Syunik region, on the Azeri-Armenian border. The project began in 2007 and will continue until its completion in 2010 or 2011. Yeghvart has been subject to several invasions, which has resulted in destruction of the village on a number of occasions. Despite the state of the Church, LCO initiated and organized a number of baptisms with the assistance of priests from Kapan. The remains of Prince Thoros, who was a lieutenant and friend in arms of David Beg, are found in the cemetery adjoining the Church.

During the 2009 campaign, more than 30 volunteers from Armenia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States spent their summer in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh on community development projects. After several years, LCO volunteers helped in the completion the entire third floor of the Shushi Central Regional Hospital in Artsakh. The hospital serves the medical needs of the inhabitants of the Shushi region and since the cease-fire was in a state of disrepair. LCO helped to renovate patient, delivery, and surgery rooms to meet the growing medical needs of the population. In the summer of 2009, the Shushi Hospital celebrated its opening, and the first surgeries were performed by guest physicians from Armenia and France, in the renovated rooms.

Additionally, for the past several years, LCO volunteers worked in two villages in the Vardenis region of Armenia, Azad and Shatvan. Located southeast of Lake Sevan near the road that leads to Kelbajar, the villages are mainly populated by Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan. LCO-USA repaired the schoolhouses in the villages. “Before, Armenia felt quite distant to me. But living with “native” Armenians, I found a home, I found my people in a village called Azad”, said 2009 volunteer Anoosh Gasparian from London. During its campaign in the village, the ruins of a 17th century church were discovered in Azad. LCO will start the restoration process of the church in 2011.

The Armenia Chapter of LCO has conducted the “Faith and Heritage” program for the last eight years. Its mission is to stimulate and encourage the youth of Armenia to safeguard and preserve, along with their Diaspora brethern, the heritage left in their care.

For over 30 years, LCO has been one of the earliest volunteer groups in Armenia and Karabakh working to restore, renovate, and rejuvenate the historical monuments and sites of our nation. It has performed this mission through its summer campaigns, by volunteers of every age from the Diaspora and Armenia.

To help our mission or join in our summer volunteer program, you may reach us at www.lcousa.org and www.landandculture.co.uk.

The conference will be held on the UCLA campus in 1200 Rolfe Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The event is open to the public at no charge. Parking will be available at Parking Lot 5, Sunset Blvd. at Royce Drive (Fee). For more information, email Professor Richard Hovannisian:  hovannis@history.ucla.edu

We provide the event schedule below:

Morning Sessions:  9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

An Introduction to the Conference

The Armenian Community of the Konia Region in the Seljuk Period
Peter Cowe, UCLA

The Armenian Communities of Asia Minor: An Overview
Richard G. Hovannisian, UCLA

The Armenian Community of Adabazar
Dawn MacKeen, Journalist and Author,
Los Angeles

Refreshments

The Armenian Community of Bardizag
Ara Melkonian, Independent Scholar, London

From Bandirma and Erminikoy to Armash:
Armenians in the Marmara Region
Osman Köker, Birzamanlar Publications, Istanbul

Lunch Recess: 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Afternoon Sessions: 2:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Laura Farnham and Schools for Armenian Girls, Adabazar & Bardizag
Barbara Merguerian, Armenian International Women’s Association

The Emergence and Role of Theater Among Armenians of Asia Minor
Hasmik Khalapyan, Yerevan State University

The Musical Culture of Kutahia’s Armenian Community
Arpi Vardumyan, Matenadaran, Yerevan

Refreshments

The End of the Armenian Communities of Asia Minor
Simon Payaslian, Boston University

Armenian Communities of Asia Minor as Seen Through the Photograph
Ruth Thomasian, Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives

Discussion

BY TOM VARTABEDIAN

When she wasn’t breaking records in the AYF Olympics, she was displaying strong leadership skills at chapter meetings and at the Central Executive level.  As an active member of an Armenian church, her heritage and religion drew no compromise, thanks to a vibrant family and community circle.

Today, she resides in Porshrunn, a cozy coastal town in southern Norway not far from Oslo with her Norwegian husband David Johnsen and four sons, desperately trying to keep her identity intact and pass this very same culture to her loved ones in a land where any semblance of Armenian is remote.

“It was a difficult adjustment at first, not knowing anyone, not speaking their language and having moved to a community of only 25,000 residents, ” she admits. “I had lived in Boston for many years so the transition wasn’t easy. Tiny but quaint. When you’re 30 years old and no kids, quaint wasn’t what I was looking for.”

Literally, the town contained one main street, one theater, a fish shop, a few restaurants and other small businesses. The word “supermarket” was unknown. Grocery shopping was done at a tiny mom and pop store, similar to a market her uncle Mal operated in Rhode Island.

“At the time, I found it boring and truly longed for people, noise and action,” she recalled. “I desperately needed to feel the hustle and bustle of a city which I would find during a 3-hour trek to Oslo. Friends told me to be patient. They said my life would change once I started a family. All the things I complained about as a newlywed, I now appreciate and value more. Norway is a great place to raise your children and reminds me of what America perhaps was when my folks grew up.”

Varadian met her husband in the states in 1985 while vacationing. They started a long distance, transatlantic relationship until they wed four years later. It was a traditional Armenian wedding in Providence with 150 guests as the community turned out to wish the couple well.

“Looking back at it, I wouldn’t have blamed David for running off in fear,” she recalled. “Twenty years later, we’re still happily married with four boys. Just as I opened David’s eyes to my life as an Armenian, he opened mine to a world beyond. Today, I have the best of both worlds. Our children actually have three — their Norwegian culture, their Armenian and we can’t forget they are also American. They have citizenship in both countries.”

Close friend Steve Elmasian remembers the wedding as if it were yesterday. The two were AYF teammates and have remained in touch over these two decades.

“Christine may be half a world away,” said Elmasian. “It wasn’t easy saying good-bye to a young lady with so much to offer our community. She went to Norway, returned for a while, but decided that was where she wanted to raise her family.”

Born to Haig and Anahid (Karentz) Varadian, an AYF Olympic king and queen, Christine attended Cranston High School where she excelled in gymnastics as well as academics (Rhode Island State Honor Society).

Her athletic/scholastic prowess continued at the University of Rhode Island where she secured a business management degree. Gymnastics shared a similar passion with track & field, especially in the long jump with a personal best 17’6”.

She wound up an illustrious AYF career with 84 points – 10th on the all-time scoring list—and among the most prodigious female athletes of her generation. Her long jump record (16’10”) still stands after 32 years.

“Being raised Armenian, this was my life,” she maintained. “It is the foundation for who I am and though I live an ocean away, it will never disappear.”

Her mom concurs. Though she would love to see her four grandsons more than once a year, she’s accepted the inevitable and yields to her daughter’s happiness — a life she chose to assume.

“I’ve been to Norway several times,” said Anahid. “Her life is full as an English teacher and her boys are busy with various projects.”

Christine could very well be a “stranger in paradise.” With her 16-year-old fraternal twins, a 13-year-old and 10-year-old, she manages to return annually to her Cranston home and visit with family and friends.

“My kids know about their heritage,” she confirms. “I have strong roots and family to thank for that. As we head to Rhode Island each summer, they are exposed to their Armenian side, whether it’s family, church or camp picnics. With facebook and e-mail, they manage to keep in touch with their ethnic side.”

Shortly before his death, Haig Varadian purchased a bigger computer screen so he could see his grandchildren better. He wanted the biggest screen money could buy.

“With technology the way it is today, we manage to stay connected,” Christine brought out. “I Skype my family and friends often and with a video camera, it’s almost like being there.”

Compared to life back home, Norway provides a more sedate atmosphere for Varadian. Winters are long and dark. Norwegians do very well in Winter Olympics competition. They are born to ski. Schools are never closed to snow storms. The ground is covered from October to April.

The Armenian side became immediately evident.

“Soon after I moved here in 1989, someone knew of some Armenians in Oslo and I made contact,” she remembered. “Before the boys came along, I grew involved in gatherings like Armenian Christmas and April 24th remembrances. We would lay a wreath on the gravesite of Frithjof Nansen. He helped Armenians a lot during the genocide.”

Another was a female Norwegian missionary named Bodil Bjorn who also helped during the genocide. A bust in her honor was unveiled in the town of Kragero. Another with Armenian connections was playwright Henrik Ibsen. He grew up in the town where Varadian now resides and there stands a small museum five minutes from her home.

To her surprise, there is a book in Armenian featuring one of Ibsen’s plays. One year, an Armenian theater group came to Oslo and performed “A Doll’s House” in Armenian at the National Theater.

More recently, a national paper published an article about how Norway and Armenia bore commonalities and how the two countries should work closer in the spirit of cooperation. It spoke of Frithjof Nansen and his help with Armenians in the past. An Armenian government official visited Norway this year in a fact-finding mission.

Since Varadian lives several hours away from the capital city, she remained only partially involved. The Armenian community hails from places like Armenia, Syria, Iran and other countries.

“I was the only Armenian-American at the time,” she said. “There were 70 families of Armenian descent living in Norway. I’ve carried a tremendous amount of guilt living here. Being away from your loved ones has been a heavy weight to bear.”

One prominent resident is Dr. Boghos Yacoubian who hails from Syria and comes from a strong ARF and ARS family background.

“He recently lost his dad as well,” said Varadian. “We shed tears together and understood one another’s sympathy during this time of bereavement. That remains the downside of living so far away.”

Two of Dr. Yacoubian’s children joined one of Christine’s sons in staging an Armenian-Norwegian performance here recently. Aleksander Varadian Johnsen, the 13-year-old, is a talented theater student who has been on stage for six years. At such a tender age, he writes songs and sings.

His picture is often seen on programs, billboards and store windows, especially after securing the lead role in “Oliver Twist” with an adult theater group that toured several cities.

The trio also included Harout Yacoubian, 12, a young violin virtuoso, and his sister, Maria, 9, another violinist. The three represented the local School of Arts in Round 4 of Norway’s National Melody Grand Prix, held in Skien.

Norway won last year’s European Song Contest and is gearing up once again to choose a finalist to represent its country this May in Oslo. Armenia will be among 30 countries to compete in this year’s extravaganza after finishing 10th in 2009.

The year Varadian moved to Norway, she found herself greeting 30 Armenian children devastated by the earthquake. They were invited to a neighboring town with a large water park. As a conscientious Armenian, she felt a strong urge to reach out.

“Communication was limited,” she traced back. “I didn’t understand their dialect and they couldn’t speak English. But the smiles said more than words.”

She stayed with the contingent for two days and offered a helping hand wherever needed.

During the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Armenia competed for the first time as a nation with two former Providence AYF colleagues Joe Almasian and Kenny Topalian entered in the bobsled.

Christine’s brother Paul was instrumental in putting the “dream team” together for Armenia. Both were there, joined by their parents and sister Diane, along with several other Oslo Armenians waving the Tricolor.

Luck was on Christine’s side while getting acclimated. On foreign soil, away from her family with no language skills or job, it all changed overnight when she received a call from a high school in desperate need of an English teacher. It turned into a blessing in disguise for the newlywed.

With no experience, she was hired full-time and pursued a second degree in education, much like her late dad who recently had a science wing dedicated in his memory at Cranston High School.

As a working mom with four active children, Christine Varadian Johnsen wouldn’t have it any other way today.

“My closest friends here are English-speaking,” she points out. “We have an American Club, though many of us are from places like Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. All of us married Norwegians and landed in Telemark. We share a lot of laughs, celebrate our national holidays together, support one another and joke about the silly differences between this country and our respective homelands. We’ve developed a special bond as foreigners living together in Norway.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres (left) and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku

BY ANNA ZAMJC

When 13 years ago the late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Baku, it was considered a bold and politically risky decision. No red carpets were rolled out, and the meeting was purposely kept low-key. 

Today, however, no such precautions are needed, as visits of Israeli leaders to Azerbaijan are no longer matters of domestic controversy. However, the peculiar relationship of the two countries continues to elude easy characterizations. Some external observers see it as a typical marriage of convenience, while others tend to take it as an alarming threat.

Although Azerbaijan is a predominantly Shi’ite Muslim country and a majority of ethnic Azeris live in neighboring Iran (a ferocious enemy of Israel), Baku routinely shares intelligence with the Jewish state, buys its arms, and considers it trustworthy in security matters, completely contradicting stereotypes about a “clash of civilizations.”

Further, the informal alliance seems to undermine the geopolitical game that the strongest actors — Russia and Iran — are determined to play in the region.

Given how advanced bilateral relations are and how strong the mutual trust appears, it might sound surprising that 18 years of diplomatic contacts have not produced a single official treaty between Israel and Azerbaijan. Moreover, Azerbaijani authorities remain vague to this day about the widely anticipated potential opening of an embassy in Israel.

Why? The answer can be found in Iran.

Thorn In The Side

“Today, everyone understands why Iran wants to block the Azerbaijani-Israeli rapprochement by any means,” Baku-born former Knesset member Yosef Shagal, a major champion of Israeli-Azerbaijani ties, said in an interview with RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service. “It is one of the most important strategic priorities of the Islamic republic. Tehran is perfectly aware of the following: the stronger the connection between Baku and Jerusalem, the more weakened Iran will be.”

Iran, which aspires to be a regional leader, would like to see Azerbaijan play by its rules. But Azerbaijan, whose secular system is a thorn in the side of the Islamic regime, not only refuses to conform to Tehran’s dictates but has also crossed a red line by befriending the sworn enemy of Iran’s president.

Azerbaijan has always felt threatened and continues to feel threatened [by Iran] from an ideological, economic, and political point of view.“Very characteristic in this regard is the reaction of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to the official visit of Israeli President Shimon Peres to Azerbaijan in…2009. In hysterical tones, the Iranian leader demanded that the leadership of Azerbaijan immediately cancel the visit of ‘the head of the Zionist entity’ and ‘the main enemy of Muslims,’” Shagal recalls, adding that all Tehran’s efforts proved counterproductive as Peres was received in Azerbaijan with the highest honors.

“It is worth noting the dignity and tact with which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recommended that his Iranian counterpart refrain from giving advice to a leader of a sovereign state on to whom to show hospitality and to whom to refuse it,” he added.

Although Iran may not be in a position to keep Israel and Azerbaijan completely apart, it has been successful in one respect: Despite numerous calls from the Jewish state, Azerbaijan has still not opened an embassy in Israel because of pressure from Tehran.

This creates a sort of diplomatic asymmetry as it has been 16 years since Israel established its embassy in Azerbaijan. However, Baku has thus far been reluctant to reciprocate. The advanced contacts with Israel have already put a grave chill on Baku’s relations with Tehran, and provoking Iran with an embassy in Israel could prove too costly for Azerbaijan, even triggering a backlash from other Muslim states.

“Repeated efforts by Baku to find out how its southern neighbor would react to opening an Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel have always encountered Iranian ultimatums,” Shagal says, stressing that it would not only be Iranian-Azerbaijani relations that would suffer a massive blow, but Baku would eventually have to pay the price in the area that is of vital importance for the Caucasus republic: Nagorno-Karabakh.

“If Azerbaijan opens an embassy in Israel, then Iran will declare on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) a refusal to support Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia, and would also disavow all the efforts of Azerbaijan and its supporters in the OIC for the restoration of its territorial integrity and the return of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Shagal says.

Influence Stability

Alexander Murinson, an independent researcher and academic writer who follows developments in Israeli-Azerbaijani relations, is also afraid that Baku could face difficulties once it decides to open the embassy.

“Iran can cause trouble for authorities in Azerbaijan and influence the stability of the country. So obviously that’s another way of Iran trying to influence the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan,” Murinson says.

“Azerbaijan has always felt threatened and continues to feel threatened [by Iran] from an ideological, economic, and political point of view. Iran obviously has a religious network in Azerbaijan that could undermine the secular nature of the current regime in Azerbaijan,” Murinson adds.

Despite those dangers, the IzRus portal reported last month, quoting Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Michael Lavon-Lotem, that Baku will soon open an embassy in Tel Aviv. Murinson warns that this might be mere posturing, like a similar announcement in 2006. But he believes that this time it could be for real.

“That development has been expected for many years, because the relationship is thriving both in terms of economic trade ties and also in the military field,” Murinson says. “It might be an indication that some agreement has been reached on very deep strategic cooperation between the two parties that may not have been publicized.”

A potential embassy would certainly be a culmination of Israel’s long-term efforts to persuade Baku to formalize relations and could boost Israel’s position abroad.

“For Israel, which is now faced by tremendous diplomatic pressure around the globe for many reasons, when a Muslim country, especially a Shi’ite country, makes this kind of announcement, it indicates for Israel that it has a friend in the region. In such an environment, Azerbaijan making this diplomatic move [would] create a very important, positive dynamic for the state of Israel,” Murinson says.

What’s In It For Baku?

Aran Amnon, an expert on the Middle East who lectures at City University in London, adds that Israel might be now particularly interested in strengthening ties with Baku as the threat of Iranian nuclear capacity takes center stage in Israeli foreign policy.

“Israel has an interest in trying to improve its standing with as many countries as possible, especially those who may be directly affected by Iran and might by persuaded to be supportive of Israeli efforts,” Amnon says.

But in international relations, every nation acts on its own interests. The gains seem obvious for Israel, but why should Baku be willing to take the risk? Murinson links the potential switch to the new dynamics that were created by Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and the deteriorating relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

In fact, Baku has a lot of other reasons for being interested in deepening ties with Israel. Israel is an important source of military equipment, and reportedly it was Israel who helped Baku rebuild its army after the heavy losses it suffered during the war over Nagorno-Karabakh. The military aspect of the relationship has been present ever since.

“During the visit of Simon Peres, a very important contract was signed which included construction of a plant in Azerbaijan that would produce unmanned aerial vehicles. By doing so, Azerbaijan would become an important producer of very advanced systems in the region — even Russia doesn’t have advanced unmanned aerial vehicles,” Murinson says, stressing that the lack of such systems proved problematic during the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

Israel plays an important role in Azerbaijani security arrangements. The electronic fence around Baku’s international airport was built by Israeli companies. Reportedly, Israeli firms are supplying equipment to ensure the safety of Azerbaijan’s energy infrastructure, and there were also rumors that Israelis provide security for Azerbaijan’s president on his foreign visits.

Last but not least, Azerbaijan is the home of an ancient Jewish community, which remains an important aspect in mutual contacts.

“We estimate that there are approximately 25,000 Jews living in Azerbaijan,” Mark Levin, the executive director of National Conference of the Soviet Jewry says. “Azeri Jews have lived side by side with their non-Jewish neighbors for centuries, and they are treated very well.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left) and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian meet in St. Petersburg last month -- no room for Nagorno-Karabakh?

BAKU (News.az)—A Russian military analyst is predicting that a new war in the South Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan has become inevitable because of the rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey.

Speaking to the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe, Pavel Felgenhauer described the threat of war as real and dangerous and added that Azerbaijan would go to any length to prevent the ratification of agreements between Armenia and Turkey to normalize relations—including war.. ‘Today there is a real threat of a destabilization of the situation,’ he said, adding that he believed the desire to avert war no longer exists for Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan will take this step even if the resumption of hostilities was not in its favor,” he explained. “The aim of the step is not to return Karabakh but to prevent ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols.”

“Before, neither Baku nor Yerevan wanted the worsening of the situation. Today, everything has changed,” Felgenhauer said. “Aliyev’s administration has set a serious objective for which it may risk and start hostilities again.”

‘The situation is no longer frozen and anything can happen now,’ he said.

When asked about the endorsement, Assemblymember Fuentes remarked, “Nayiri has an impeccable record when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable people in our society. During a time when social services are being cut to the bone, we need someone with her insight and sensitivity to defend these people during this time of crisis.”

“I have tremendous respect for what Senator Padilla and Assemblymember Fuentes have done for the San Fernando Valley,” said Nahabedian. “Working together, we can bring jobs back to the Valley and reform our dysfunctional state capitol.”

Nahabedian has, over the last weeks, earned significant support from highly-regarded lawmakers such as Senator Padilla, Assemblymember Fuentes, Councilmember Krekorian, Senator Carol Liu, and Assemblymember Anthony Portantino; from influential organizations such as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the National Organization for Women; and from Andrew Westall, a major Democratic candidate for AD-43 who recently ended his campaign and endorsed Nahabedian.

The California Nurses Association also announced late last week its endorsement of Nahabedian. The endorsement, along with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, further shows that labor leaders in California have lined up to support Nahabedian’s candidacy.

When asked about the endorsement, Malinda Markowitz, a member of CNA Council of Presidents, praised Nahabedian’s dedication to public health and work on improving access to health care.

“Nurses know Nayiri’s commitment to community health in California,” said Markowitz. “She has a long record of fighting to ensure working families have access to essential health services. She has been a principled public servant, and as an Assemblymember she will bring the leadership needed to get things done in our State Capitol.”

Nahabedian thanked the California Nurses Association for their endorsement and reaffirmed her commitment to public healthcare.

“As a social worker and child advocate, I have seen how the problems of health care accessibility profoundly affect every aspect of life for working families,” Nahabedian said of her endorsement. “As the next Assemblymember, I will work to protect Medi-Cal and fight to ensure that patients who experience health problems won’t face financial ruin.”

California’s 43rd Assembly District spans the cities of Burbank and Glendale, and also includes portions of Los Angeles. The seat was recently vacated by Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian. A special election primary is scheduled for April 13th, with a general election to follow on June 8th.

WASHINGTON–Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian gave voice Monday to the profound moral outrage of Armenian American voters over the decision last week by President Obama, who had earlier this year abandoned his own pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide, to launch a White House drive to block proper Congressional commemoration of this crime against humanity.

In a letter, sent today to the White House, Hachikian noted: “Mr. President, in attempting to enforce Ankara’s gag rule on U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide – both within your Administration and now in Congress – you have, very sadly, signaled to all the world that our silence on genocide can be bought in exchange for perceived geopolitical advantage or compromised under threat from a foreign power. Your policy is now fully complicit in Turkey’s campaign of Genocide denial.”

Despite threats and intimidation from the Turkish Government and a last-minute Obama Administration attempt to block the measure, the House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) on March 4th, paving the way for a vote on this genocide-prevention legislation by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

The full text of Hachikian’s letter is provided below. It may be viewed in PDF format by CLICKING HERE.

March 8, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing, on behalf of Armenian American voters, friends of the Armenian American community, and genocide-prevention advocates from across our nation, to share our profound disappointment over your recently launched campaign to block Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Your Administration’s efforts to undermine the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, coming, as they do, in the wake of both your broken pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide and your abandoned promise to “strongly support” the Armenian Genocide Resolution, represent a stark departure from the commitments you made to the American people during your campaign for office. Rather than honoring your words, you are, today, using the full force of your Administration to attempt to block Members of Congress from doing exactly that which you yourself promised, namely properly commemorating this crime against humanity.

As you recall, as a U.S. Senator, you sharply criticized President Bush’s policy of non-recognition and opposition to Congressional commemoration as “inexcusable.”  In fact, while in Congress you were joined by then-Senators Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton in formally calling on President Bush to properly mark this crime against humanity, noting that full U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide serves “the best interest of our nation and the entire
global community.”  While running for the presidency, as early as January of 2008 and as late as four days before the 2008 election, when the “soccer diplomacy” between Armenia and Turkey had already begun, you assured voters that you both strongly supported passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution and would, as President, recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Compounding your betrayal of your campaign promise to call upon Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide – which you explained was “not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence” – is the intense pressure that your Administration has applied to the impoverished, blockaded, and land-locked country of Armenia to accepting one-sided, pro-Turkish Protocols that call this very crime into question.  Your Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who pledged to recognize the Armenian Genocide during her own campaign for the White House, has, in a statement that is both profoundly offensive and lacking in any moral or historical basis – publicly put your Administration on record as supporting the Turkish government’s long held position that third party nations should not speak about the Armenian Genocide.

Mr. President, in attempting to enforce Ankara’s gag rule on U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide – both within your Administration and now in Congress – you have, very sadly, signaled to all the world that our silence on genocide can be bought in exchange for perceived geopolitical advantage or compromised under threat from a foreign power. Your policy is now fully complicit in Turkey’s campaign of Genocide denial.

In promising American voters a principled course of action as a candidate and then, under foreign pressure, pursuing exactly the opposite course as President, you have transformed the broad support you enjoyed during your campaign among Armenian American voters into outrage and anger toward both you and also, fairly or unfairly, the party that you are leading into the November elections.

I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to encourage you to honor your as-yet unfulfilled pledge to remain actively engaged with Armenian American leaders.  As it stands now, more than a year into your Administration, despite the considerable personal attention you have devoted to Armenian issues and your multiple discussions with Turkey’s leaders about the Armenian Genocide, you have not even once met with the American citizens descended from the survivors of this crime.  As a first step toward addressing this imbalance, I would respectfully recommend that you call a
meeting, at your first opportunity, with our broad-based community leadership.

Sincerely,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman, Armenian National Committee of America

Barack Obama and his pliant Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton – who are now campaigning so pitifully to prevent the US Congress acknowledging that the Ottoman Turkish massacre of 1.5 million Armenians was a genocide – should come here to this Lebanese hilltop village and hang their heads in shame. For this is a tragic, appalling tale of brutality against small and defenceless children whose families had already been murdered by Turkish forces at the height of the First World War, some of whom were to recall how they were forced to grind up and eat the skeletons of their dead fellow child orphans in order to survive starvation.

Jemal Pasha, one of the architects of the 1915 genocide, and – alas – Turkey’s first feminist, Halide Edip Adivar, helped to run this orphanage of terror in which Armenian children were systematically deprived of their Armenian identity and given new Turkish names, forced to become Muslims and beaten savagely if they were heard to speak Armenian. The Antoura Lazarist college priests have recorded how its original Lazarist teachers were expelled by the Turks and how Jemal Pasha presented himself at the front door with his German bodyguard after a muezzin began calling for Muslim prayers once the statue of the Virgin Mary had been taken from the belfry.

Hitherto, the argument that Armenians suffered a genocide has rested on the deliberate nature of the slaughter. But Article II of the 1951 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide specifically states that the definition of genocide – “to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” – includes “forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”. This is exactly what the Turks did in Lebanon. Photographs still exist of hundreds of near-naked Armenian children performing physical exercises in the college grounds. One even shows Jemal Pasha standing on the steps in 1916, next to the young and beautiful Halide Adivar who – after some reluctance – agreed to run the orphanage.

Before he died in 1989, Karnig Panian – who was six years old when he arrived at Antoura in 1916 – recorded in Armenian how his own name was changed and how he was given a number, 551, as his identity. “At every sunset in the presence of over 1,000 orphans, when the Turkish flag was lowered, ‘Long Live General Pasha!’ was recited. That was the first part of the ceremony. Then it was time for punishment for the wrongdoers of the day. They beat us with the falakha [a rod used to beat the soles of the feet], and the top-rank punishment was for speaking Armenian.”

Panian described how, after cruel treatment or through physical weakness, many children died. They were buried behind the old college chapel. “At night, the jackals and wild dogs would dig them up and throw their bones here and there … at night, kids would run out to the nearby forest to get apples or any fruits they could find – and their feet would hit bones. They would take these bones back to their rooms and secretly grind them to make soup, or mix them with grain so they could eat them as there was not enough food at the orphanage. They were eating the bones of their dead friends.”

Using college records, Emile Joppin, the head priest at the Lazarite Antoura college, wrote in the school’s magazine in 1947 that “the Armenian orphans were Islamicised, circumcised and given new Arab or Turkish names. Their new names always kept the initials of the names in which they were baptised. Thus Haroutioun Nadjarian was given the name Hamed Nazih, Boghos Merdanian became Bekir Mohamed, to Sarkis Safarian was given the name Safouad Sulieman.”

Lebanese-born Armenian-American electrical engineer Missak Kelechian researches Armenian history as a hobby and hunted down a privately printed and very rare 1918 report by an American Red Cross officer, Major Stephen Trowbridge, who arrived at the Antoura college after its liberation by British and French troops and who spoke to the surviving orphans. His much earlier account entirely supports that of Father Joppin’s 1949 research.

“Every vestige, and as far as possible every memory, of the children’s Armenian or Kurdish origin was to be done away with. Turkish names were assigned and the children were compelled to undergo the rites prescribed by Islamic law and tradition … Not a word of Armenian or Kurdish was allowed. The teachers and overseers were carefully trained to impress Turkish ideas and customs upon the lives of the children and to catechize [sic] them regularly on … the prestige of the Turkish race.”

Halide Adivar, later to be lauded by The New York Times as “the Turkish Joan of Arc” – a description that Armenians obviously questioned – was born in Constantinople in 1884 and attended an American college in the Ottoman capital. She was twice married and wrote nine novels – even Trowbridge was to admit that she was “a lady of remarkable literary ability” – and served as a woman officer in Mustafa Ataturk’s Turkish army of liberation after the First World War. She later lived in both Britain and France.

And it was Kelechian yet again who found Adivar’s long-forgotten and self-serving memoirs, published in New York in 1926, in which she recalls how Jemal Pasha, commander of the Turkish 4th Army in Damascus, toured Antoura orphanage with her. “I said: ‘You have been as good to Armenians as it is possible to be in these hard days. Why do you allow Armenian children to be called by Moslim [sic] names? It looks like turning the Armenians into Moslims, and history some day will revenge it on the coming generation of Turks.’ ‘You are an idealist,’ he answered gravely and like all idealists lack a sense of reality … This is a Moslem orphanage and only Moslem orphans are allowed.’” According to Adivar, Jemal Pasha said that he “cannot bear to see them die in the streets” and promised they would go “back to their people” after the war.

Adivar says she told the general that: “I will never have anything to do with such an orphanage” but claims that Jemal Pasha replied: “You will if you see them in misery and suffering, you will go to them and not think for a moment about their names and religion.” Which is exactly what she did.

Later in the war, however, Adivar spoke to Talaat Pasha, the architect of the 20th century’s first holocaust, and recalled how he almost lost his temper when discussing the Armenian “deportations” (as she put it), saying: “Look here, Halide … I have a heart as good as yours, and it keeps me awake at night to think of the human suffering. But that is a personal thing, and I am here on this earth to think of my people and not of my sensibilities … There was an equal number of Turks and Moslems massacred during the [1912] Balkan war, yet the world kept a criminal silence. I have the conviction that as long as a nation does the best for its own interests, and succeeds, the world admires it and thinks it moral. I am ready to die for what I have done, and I know that I shall die for it.”

The suffering of which Talaat Pasha spoke so chillingly was all too evident to Trowbridge when he himself met the orphans of Antoura. Many had seen their parents murdered and their sisters raped. Levon, who came from Malgara, was driven from his home with his sisters aged 12 and 14. The girls were taken by Kurds – allied to the Turks – as “concubines” and the boy was tortured and starved, Trowbridge records. He was eventually forced by his captors into the Antoura orphanage.

Ten-year-old Takhouhi – her name means “queen” in Armenian and she was from a rich background – from Rodosto on the Sea of Marmara was put with her family on a freight train to Konia. Two of her two brothers died in the truck, both parents caught typhus – they died in the arms of Takhouhi and her oldest brother in Aleppo – and she was eventually taken from him by a Turkish officer, given the Muslim name of Muzeyyan and ended up in Antoura. When Trowbridge suggested that he would try to find someone in Rodosto and return her family’s property to her, he said she replied: “I don’t want any of those things if I cannot find my brother again.” Her brother was later reported to have died in Damascus.

Trowbridge records many other tragedies from the children he found at Antoura, commenting acidly that Halide “and Djemal [sic] Pasha delighted in having their photographs taken on the steps of the orphanage … posing as the leaders of Ottoman modernism. Did they realise what the outside world would think of those photographs?” According to Trowbridge’s account, only 669 of the children finally survived, 456 of them Armenian, 184 of them Kurds, along with 29 Syrians. Talaat Pasha did indeed die for his sins. He was assassinated by an Armenian in Berlin in 1922 – his body was later returned to Turkey on the express orders of Adolf Hitler. Jemal Pasha was murdered in the Turkish town of Tiflis. Halide Edip Adivar lived in England until 1939 when she returned to Turkey, became a professor of English literature, was elected to the Turkish parliament and died in 1964 at the age of 80.

It was only in 1993 that the bones of the children were discovered, when the Lazarite Fathers dug the foundations for new classrooms. What was left of the remains were moved respectfully to the little cemetery where the college’s priests lie buried and put in a single, deep grave. Kelechian helped me over a 5ft wall to look at this place of sadness, shaded by tall trees. Neither name-plate nor headstone marks their mass grave.

New York–On March 7, over 300 Armenian Americans gathered at the New York Hilton to discuss “Armeno-Turkish Relations: Pitfalls and Possibilities,” at a public forum organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation New York and New Jersey committees.  The event featured insights by a diverse panel of speakers including former US Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans; Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America, Ken Hachikian; Chairman of Armenian Education Foundation in Modern Armenian History, Dr. Richard Hovannisian; and, Emeritus Professor of History at University of Michigan, Dr. Dennis Papazian.

“We appreciate the views and analysis of each of our panelists, as we explore the serious implications of the Turkey-Armenia Protocols for the Armenian nation,” stated ARF New York’s Raffi Mahserdjian, who opened the forum.  “We look forward to hosting similar events in the future to tackle fundamental issues facing our community in the New York-New Jersey area and around the world.”

Prior to the presentations, community leaders were invited to a reception hosted by Mrs. Virginia Davies in honor of the panelists.  The event was made possible by donation from Ms. Sue Aramian. ARF New Jersey’s Ani Tchaghlasian served as Mistress of Ceremonies, moderating the program which focused on the ramifications of the Turkey-Armenia protocols, signed last October amidst great controversy and marred by Turkish Government preconditions designed to secure Armenian concessions in the Nagorno Karabagh peace process and derail international Armenian Genocide affirmation efforts.  Panelists also discussed Armenian-American efforts to affect policy in the United States as well analyses of the power dynamics at play in the Caucasus region.

Amb. Evans addressed issues in the Protocols themselves and the steps taken throughout the process.  He commended the Armenian Government impulse to engage in the process, arguing that establishing diplomatic relations with a neighboring state and seeking an open border is normal. He noted, however, that the preconditions set by the Turkish Government had been clear from the very beginning. One of the major flaws that Amb. Evans pointed out is that the Protocols are supposed to be based on international principles yet the document completely omits the words “self-determination” while including “territorial integrity.” Additionally, Amb. Evans cited the troublesome lack of transparency and proper public education in the effort.

Hachikian spoke to the uneven balance of power between Turkey and Armenia – economically, militarily, and geographically and how Turkey has used this reality to punish Armenia, citing the illegal blockade as just one example.  Hachikian stated, “What we have here, I would argue, is an abuser-abused relationship that is ultimately based upon threats and a bed of lies”.  Hachikian also spoke to the heightened Obama Administration opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution following passage by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week. “This position is morally and practically equivalent to the US being explicitly complicit in Turkey’s genocide denial posture,” argued Hachikian.

Dr. Hovannisian spoke to the preconditions that are implicitly referenced in the Protocols. “Even though the words Armenian Genocide or Treaty of Kars are not mentioned, we know they clearly run through every aspect of the document.” He also argued that the Diaspora should have been more involved with the process since it addresses Armenian-Turkish reconciliation – an issue pertinent to Armenians worldwide.

Dr. Papazian spoke to the power dynamics that exist in the Caucasus region, explaining that it is not just Armenia-Turkey relations that must be considered, but also the roles of Russia, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, as well the interests of Europe and the United States.  Papazian argued that to be effective we must be able to understand all the geo-politics involved. In regards to the Protocols, he noted that despite the imperfect nature of the agreement, Turkey should not be allowed to secure a public relations victory for supporting the effort.

A lively question-and-answer session followed the presentations.

As I watched a somber looking candidate allow caller after caller restate and amplify messages of hate and division within the Armenian Community, the question about the community winning on April 13 began to disturb me more and more.

I needed to do something. We had seen this happen in elections in Glendale. I recalled that in prior elections negative messages within our community became more and more vicious. Our competitors siezed the opportunity and division to win more seats on the Glendale City Council. The outcome of the efforts to divide Armenian voters and our community was a decrease in the number of councilmembers of Armenian descent from three to one. Our community’s influence and clout declined.

As these thoughts of what happened in Glendale during the past two election cycles began to bother me more and more, I realized that our competitors had figured out how to beat us.

Divide and conquer.
We were making it easy for them to win. All they had to do was encourage more than one candidate of Armenian descent to run for each seat. These candidates would not only split our community’s votes, but they would reduce Armenian turn-out by spreading negative messages within the community. They would sow confusion and disagreement, pitting one Armenian voter against another.

As my wife, daughter and I watched caller after caller twist the truth with the candidate nodding his head in approval, we could not help but feel helpless and angry. My wife asked, “Don’t they realize what they are doing?” Perhaps the callers don’t realize what they are doing, but those who will benefit from the division are counting on it’s continuation and growth.

Now that there are two Armenian Democrats and one non-Armenian Democrat trying to win the most votes to proceed to the June 8 run-off or, possibly, get elected on April 13, it is too late to prevent those who want to divide our votes from succeeding.

Community organizations and leaders will urge us to vote for the candidate of Armenian descent with the best chance to win. I am sure they will point out that both candidates are descent individuals with histories of service to Armenian youth, elderly, and the Armenian Cause. I am sure they will tell us that any candidate of Armenian descent cannot win with just Armenian community votes.

Why? Because obviously a candidate cannot win by counting on just 16 percent of the registered voters.  That’s the percentage who are Armenian-Americans. The fact that a candidate cannot just rely on Armenian votes becomes even more obvious when there are two of them in a three person race.

However, we can overcome this disadvantage and help our community win. No matter who gets elected our community can win by producing an unexpectedly large turn-out for the April 13 Special Election. Our competitors will realize that dividing our community will no longer work. They will realize that this time we did not let negative messages keep us from voting. They will realize that we will not let them confuse us and dissuade us from exercising our right. They will realize that our community can win.

In the coming weeks, I and a handful of other ANC volunteers will share with you our thoughts on what we can do to get a very large number of Armenians to vote and make sure that our community wins.

David Miller also said Turkish warnings that its passage by the full House of Representatives would seriously harm Turkey’s strategic relationship with the United States and set back its rapprochement with Armenia should not be taken seriously.

“I am delighted that for once the House of Representatives has refused to be bullied either by Turkey or by the U.S. administration,” he told a panel discussion at the London School of Economics (LSE) late last week. “I think it is absolutely splendid news.”

Miller, who served as Britain’s first resident ambassador in Yerevan in the mid-1990s, dismissed retaliatory measures threatened by the Turkish government. “The Turks, of course, will make a terrific fuss, as they always do when this sort of thing happens, but that’s the reaction of a bully,” he said. “We went through this with the French recognition.

“There was a tremendous hoo-ha: withdrawal of ambassador and cancelled defense contracts … This lasted for about three or four weeks before they got back to normal.”

“I should be very interested to see whether Turkey is serious about its threats to eject U.S. troops from Turkey, not to play the game in Afghanistan and so on and so forth,” added the retired diplomat. “Personally I think they will bluster, they will threaten and in the end nothing will happen.”

The comments flew in the face of the British governments’ long-running refusal to term the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire as genocide. British Foreign Office documents disclosed by a renowned UK lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, recently shed more light on this stance.

One such document, cited by the “The Guardian” newspaper in December, advised British ministers in 1999 to bear in mind “the importance of our relations with Turkey”. “Recognizing the genocide would provide no practical benefit to the UK,” it said.

Another memo drawn up in 1995 urged Douglas Hogg, then a Foreign Office minister, not to attend a memorial service for the Armenian genocide victims, and sought to promote the idea that historians disagree on what happened in 1915-1918. Accordingly, the British government excluded Armenians from official ceremonies marking Britain’s Holocaust Memorial Day.

Robertson, who served as first president of the UN war crimes court for Sierra Leone, condemned that policy in a report released last December. “Parliament has been routinely misinformed by ministers who have recited [Foreign Office] briefs without questioning their accuracy,” said the report.

“There is no doubt that in 1915 the Ottoman government ordered the deportation of up to 2 million Armenians … hundreds of thousands died en route from starvation, disease, and armed attack,” it added.

As part of that policy, one of Miller’s successors as ambassador to Armenia, Thorda Abbott-Watt, publicly stated in 2004 in Yerevan that the Armenian massacres did not constitute genocide. The statement provoked a storm of protests in Armenia and its Diaspora, leading the Armenian Foreign Ministry to send a diplomatic note to London.

Miller spoke at the LSE panel discussion, also featuring a member of the U.S. House of Lords and a British-Armenian historian, following the screening of a documentary on the British government’s 1916 Blue Book that detailed the mass killings and deportations of Ottoman Armenians.

The 700-page book has been a major source of reference in the decades-long Armenian campaign for international recognition of the genocide. The Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan has a special plaque dedicated to its main author, Lord James Bryce.

Turkey reportedly asked the British parliament in 2005 to declare the Blue Book “invalid and baseless as a historic document.”

MOSCOW (Combined Sources)—“Today, it is impossible to see Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,” said former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev over the weekend in an interview with the Russian service of RFE/RL on the occasion of the anniversary marking his landmark Perestroika reform initiatives.

“An agreement should have been reached, and we would have resolved the problem in the 1980s” Gorbachev said, explaining that he proposed an autonomous status to the then leadership of Azerbaijan.

“For example, I proposed republic status for Nagorno-Karabakh. The then Azeri authorities — I think [Abdul-Rakhman] Vezirov – were on the verge of agreeing, but the plan failed. Maybe the problem could have been resolved at that time, but we cannot imagine Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan now,” Gorbachev said.

“I think measures should have been taken to grant status to Nagorno-Karabakh. Economic assistance should have been rendered as well. People should have been able to communicate with Yerevan. We allocated funds for Karabakh later on, but I do not know how they were spent.” explained Gorbachev.

He lamented on the condition of Nagorno-Karabakh in the years leading up to the unification demonstrations in 1988, explaining that communication was virtually impossible and non-existence.

“There are now new calls for war. But a new war must be prevented in Nagorno-Karabakh. Negotiations are the only way out. War must be ruled out; otherwise, the great powers will be involved,” he said.

The former leader’s think tank, the Gorbachev Fund published a report on the 22nd anniversary of Perestroika, in which experts pointed out that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was among the chief causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“As long as the situation does not get any clearer we will not send back our ambassador to Washington,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by state-news agency Anatolian. He did not elaborate.

“America should not let go of a strategic ally like Turkey over such an issue,” he said.

An infuriated Ankara recalled Ambassador Namik Tan on Thursday, shortly after the panel narrowly approved the non-binding resolution.

The move now opens the door for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The Obama administration has, however, vowed to stop the resolution from going further in Congress, fearing damage to ties with Turkey.

Erdogan over the weekend called the committee move “a comedy stunt” and blamed the vote on a combination of “unbecoming” voting procedures in the US Congress and a change of attitude by the “Jewish lobby” to back the action.

“The Jewish lobby in the US supported this resolution,” he said.

The resolution calls on Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the genocide and to label the mass killings as such in his annual statement on the issue.

1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Turkish government during World War I in a planned campaign of extermination. Though international genocide scholars, historians, and the official US record on the matter confirm the truth of the crime, Turkey vehemently denies any wrongdoing. The government in Ankara leverages its hired lobbyists and the threat of damaged ties to fight against any form of US recognition of the genocide.

Ankara is worried that if the genocide is officially labeled as such by Washington or others, this could possibly open the door to legal claims for restitution and reparation by the Armenian people.

In a bid to appease Turkey, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday the administration would “work very hard” to stop the resolution from going before the full House.

Meanwhile, the opposition nationalist MHP Party has called on parliament to take steps against Washington’s use of the Incirlik air base on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Incirlik plays a key role in logistical support for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Turkey has also said the resolution could jeopardize a fragile drive by Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations and open borders.

Following US-backed bridge-building talks, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal last October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border.

But the process has already hit the rocks, with Ankara demanding that Yerevan agree to drop its support of international genocide recognition before the protocols are ratified.

The Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States – welcomes the March 4, 2010, vote by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives to adopt the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252). The AYF leadership and its membership are grateful to Committee Chairman Howard Berman for standing up to the Obama Administration, Turkish lobbyists, and the Turkish Government and championing this vital genocide-prevention measure.

Chairman Berman and the House Foreign Affairs Committee remained firm in recognizing the Armenian Genocide, which has been extensively documented in US archives. By labeling the crimes perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian race between 1915 and 1923 as a genocide, the House Foreign Affairs Committee stopped modern-day Turkey’s gag rule which attempts to prevent free speech in the US.

This vote sends a simple message to the government in Ankara that it may be able to outlaw discussion about the Armenian Genocide in Turkey, but it cannot outlaw and gag the US Government from talking about historic events. Even though Turkey spends millions of dollars annually to spread misinformation about the Armenian Genocide, the decision by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee sends a signal to Turkey that it does not have a vote or veto in our Congress.

The vote to approve H.Res.252 also signals that Armenian-Americans have come one step closer to being able to use the painful lessons of the Armenian Genocide to help the US and world powers in ending the cycle of genocide.

The stage is now set for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the full US House of Representatives to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian-American community has been and continues to encourage the passage of a similar bill in the Senate of the United States and proper acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide by US President Barack Obama, whose campaign promise to Armenians was to stand by the truth.

For full congressional passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, there is much work ahead. Armenian-Americans must now mobilize their communities and ensure their elected representative co-sponsor the Resolution. The time is now to become active by calling, e-mailing, and writing letters to your congressional representatives. Also encourage all your family members and Armenian and non-Armenian friends to reach out to their representatives and to reach out to their friends to create a viral campaign to set the record straight, affirm the Armenian Genocide as such, and end Turkey’s gag rule.

Visit the anca.org/endthegagrule web page for more information about this historic campaign, to find contact information for your local representatives, and to read important facts to convey to your congressmen, senators, your family and friends.

April 24, 2010 marks the end of the 95th year of the Armenian Genocide.Knavishly plotted, cruelly organized and executed by Turkey, the first genocide of all mankind still remains unpunished and unsolved.

As a result of this profane and cruel act, not only one a half million innocent Armenians were killed and executed, but an immense economical and cultural dynasty was lost.

Above all, a big part of our homeland was taken from us. The Armenian people will never stop demanding and fighting for its rights.

April 24 is a day of a Just Cause for each and every Armenian. Just like every year, on April 24th of this year, we will commemorate the 95th year of the Armenian Genocide and the living memory of our martyrs, sending our message to the world at a live political gathering.

Armenians in all continents will be as one, and will remind the world about the unforgettable nature of their just causes and demands. In Southern California, on April 24, 2010, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. a political gathering will take place around the Statue of Montebello.

This gathering is organized by a committee formed of southern California active Armenian political parties, denominations, benevolent and compatriotic unions.

Further details of this event will by given by upcoming press releases.

We appeal to every Armenian to come and join the crowd around the Statue of Montebello on  that day with their families, to show our unity to the whole world and make them hear our voices and demands.

Armenian Genocide 95th Year United
Commemorative Committee

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–A group of Armenian parliamentarians met with the chairman of a U.S. congressional committee the day after it approved a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, it emerged on Tuesday.

Koryun Nahapetian, one of the four lawmakers that traveled to Washington last week, said they discussed with Howard Berman, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, further progress of the resolution and, in particular, chances of its inclusion on the full House agenda.

“Berman could not give a clear answer because it is obvious that right now the answer to that question remains uncertain,” Nahapetian told a news conference in Yerevan. “But we hope that the next step will be taken before the current House of Representatives completes term in office.”

Artak Zakarian, another member of the Armenian parliamentary delegation representing the ruling Republican Party, was cautious on that score. He acknowledged that “as was the case before” the measure, strongly condemned by Turkey, may well not reach the House floor in the months to come.

Echoing statements by other senior Republican Party figures, Zakarian suggested that Washington will use the resolution to press the Turks to ratify the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements with Armenia. “Whether the full House will discuss the matter depends on Turkey’s further actions,” he said.

Responding to an uproar from Turkey, the administration of President Barack Obama has urged Congress to drop the matter now. “The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only one vote in the House committee and will work very hard to make sure it does not go to the House floor,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said over the weekend.

The Armenian delegation met U.S. lawmakers and attended Thursday’s House committee debate on the genocide bill to underline Yerevan’s support for its passage. “Our presence really influenced members of the U.S. House of Representatives,” claimed Nahapetian. “They became convinced that Armenia and all Armenians around the world have a common position on the recognition of the Armenian genocide.”

YEREVAN–The chairman of Armenia’s Parliamentary committee foreign affairs, Armen Rustamian, has sent a letter to his American counterpart, Howard Berman, thanking the democratic representative for his principled stand on the Armenian Genocide recognition.

The letter was sent on March 5, a day after the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, which Berman chairs, voted to adopt the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252). It thanked Berman for bringing the resolution to a vote in committee and supporting its endorsement.

“I wish to extend to you our heartfelt appreciation for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s markup of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252), yesterday,” Rustamian’s leader read. We greatly appreciate your efforts and the efforts of all those who voted in favor of the resolution. The Committee has set the stage for the resolution to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives.”

In the letter, Rustamian also reiterated Armenia’s “complete support for the adoption” of the measure  a day after the resolution passed committee by a vote of 23-21.

“The Armenian people in our homeland, in the United States and around the world, remain grateful for the hard work that you and your colleagues, including, of course Congressmen Adam Schiff and George Radanovich, have devoted over the course of many years to secure U.S. recognition and official commemoration of this crime,” Rustamian said. Armenia aspires for the universal recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and sees it both as a restoration of historical justice and as a way to improve the overall situation in the region, while also preventing similar crimes in the future.”

The letter, which Rustamian urged Berman to share with his colleges, also stressed that the resolution would provide a positive impetus for a just reconciliation process to take place between Armenia and Turkey.

“I am confident that the affirmation of U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide not only would not hamper, but on the contrary will contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue between Turkey and Armenia,” he said.

The full text of the letter is presented below:

March 5, 2010
The Honorable Howard Berman
Chairman
Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Berman:

I wish to extend to you our heartfelt appreciation for the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s markup of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252), yesterday. We greatly appreciate your efforts and the efforts of all those who voted in favor of the resolution. The Committee has set the stage for the resolution to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

I wish to reiterate our complete support for the adoption of this measure affirming the commitment of the United States to the cause of genocide‐prevention. As we have discussed during our meeting in Washington, D.C., Armenia aspires for the universal recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and sees it both as a restoration of historical justice and as a way to improve the overall situation in the region, while also preventing similar crimes in the future.

The Armenian people in our homeland, in the United States and around the world, remain grateful for the hard work that you and your colleagues, including, of course Congressmen Adam Schiff and George Radanovich, have devoted over the course of many years to secure U.S. recognition and official commemoration of this crime. I am confident that the proponents of this process are also rightly convinced that the lack of affirmation of U.S. official recognition of the Armenian Genocide has thus far in fact served to make Turkey’s position in the issue of resolving the Armenian‐Turkish relations more uncompromising.

I am confident that the affirmation of U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide not only would not hamper, but on the contrary will contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue between Turkey and Armenia. On this issue we do differ with the recent announcement made by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, that “it is [not] for any other country to determine how two countries resolve matters between them, to the extent that actions that the United States might take could disrupt this process.”

In fact, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian immediately issued a statement saying, “We highly appreciate the decision by the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States House of Representatives to adopt Resolution 252 on the recognition of the Armenian genocide. This is another proof of the devotion of the American people to universal human values and is an important step toward the prevention of the crimes against humanity.” A clear and principled stance by the U.S. can only assist in developing awareness that the recognition of the Genocide is not at all a demonstration of anti‐Turkish sentiments, but a necessity emanating from the need to condemn this crime against humanity. Furthermore, any durable improvement of Armenia‐Turkey relations must rest upon a foundation of shared respect for truth and justice.

Finally, President Serzh Sargsyan and his administration have time and again declared, that any kind of relations with Turkey cannot put into question the veracity of the Armenian Genocide and the fact that the Armenian people have been dispossessed of their homeland, and the necessity to have these facts recognized and condemned by all of humanity. Also, contrary to Secretary Clinton’s assertion, the President of Armenia holds the position that “the relevant sub‐commission to be established under the [Armenia‐Turkey] intergovernmental commission is not a commission of historians.”

We are convinced that the adoption of H.Res. 252 by the U.S. House of Representatives will be the best testament, on the one hand, to the fact that the recognition and condemnation of a crime against humanity has a universal value and should not be solely a matter of bilateral relations, and, on the other hand, would reiterate that for the United States normalization of Armenia‐Turkey relations should take place without preconditions, including the precondition set by Turkey regarding recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Please share the contents of this letter with your colleagues in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and with other Representatives who you think would be interested in this matter.

Once again, thank you for your friendship with the people of the Republic of Armenia and for all your support and assistance over the years.

Sincerely,

Armen Rustamyan
Chairman
Standing Committee on Foreign Relations
National Assembly of Armenia

Sincerely,
Armen Rustamyan
Chairman
Standing Committee on Foreign Relations
National Assembly of Armenia

In celebration of the ARS Centennial, 100 participants are being targeted to participate in the healthy and fun activity to help raise funds for local and global ARS programs.

Transportation will be provided for participants from the Glendale area. A luncheon will be held at the ARS headquarters upon return to Glendale from Dodger Stadium. Check out arswestusa.org or call (818) 500-1343 for additional information.

The boxes include mostly educational and fun toys, school supplies and new clothing for the ARS Sosse Kindergartens in Artsakh (Karabagh) and needy children in Armenia. Other than items for children, the boxes also include clothing for their teachers.

Numerous individual and group donor contributions are included. Some groups started new traditions of sharing their gifts through the ARS, others have been doing it for many years. Donations for local children were already distributed during early January. The community support makes it difficult to note every contribution, so we are providing two examples.

Homenetmen Ararat Chapter girl scout troop #5, who are 11 to 18 years old, hosted a long-term toy and clothing drive starting in late October. Over four months, on a weekly basis, scouts from other “Ararat” Chapter troops generously contributed to their drive. The girl scouts delivered the donations to the ARS headquarters, where Jasik Jarahian, General Manager, hosted a reception for them.   

“We hope to make this an annual event” wrote Elena Mirzaians, one of the Homenetmen Ararat Arenoush troop 5 members, who added “We send our deepest thanks to ARS for all of their work and for making this possible.”  

Continuing many years of tradition, gifts also arrived from Fresno. The AYF “Kevork Chavoush” Chapter, with the help of other AYF chapters, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Students Organization of Fresno State, completed another successful toy drive. Chapter members, while visiting Armenia, were deeply moved by the children in the orphanages and learnt not to takes things for granted. Sevag Jierian, the AYF chapter chairperson, noted that they take the toy drive very seriously and that they have touched people’s hearts.

It is encouraging that young members of our society have been instilled with such attitudes, which inspire them to give of themselves to gain the joy of giving, especially, when it comes to helping children. For the ARS with a century-old tradition to serve those in need, it is a pleasure to observe educational toys and supplies helping to build self-esteem, making learning a joy, and bridging the gaps between the Diaspora and the homeland. We are grateful that as a member-agency of the UAF, the ARS is entrusted with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the new generation, locally and globally.

LOS ANGELES–A photo exhibition and sale, displaying the everyday life of Armenians in Javakhk will be held on Friday March 19 at the Glendale Youth Center (211 West Chestnut Street, Glendale, CA).

The professional photos that will be displayed and auctioned depict an Armenian reality in Javakhk and provide a deeper look into the everyday lives of the people, their tradition, labor, courage, religion and love.

The event’s goal is to continue raising the money needed to purchase two cars for the Javakhk Armenian youth organization, which has faced difficulty in organizing activities in Armenia over the years due to a lack of transportation. All proceeds will be donated through the Armenian Youth Federation’s Western Region, which is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.

The youth in Javakhk have a desire to share learning experiences with other Armenian youth in the region. Unfortunately, a lack of transportation prohibits them from participating in summer camps, educational opportunities, and life enhancing experiences in Yerevan and Kharabagh.

With community participation and support, exhibit organizers say they hope to bridge the gap between Armenians living in Javakhk, Armenia, and Kharabakh–a division which shouldn’t exist.

More information about the event is available here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=488217530580&ref=ts

ANKARA (Hurriyet)–Turkey’s trade minister has canceled a trip to the United States in response to a U.S. House panel vote last week that recommended the House of Representatives recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Zafer Caglayan was scheduled to depart for the U.S. on March 19 with a large business delegation, Hurriyet reported. The governmental decision was made Monday during consultations with the country’s ambassador to Washington, who had earlier been recalled in a show of protest.

Ambassador Namik Tan attended a coordination meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday and met Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, diplomatic sources told Hurriyet.

Although Davutoglu said the consultations will continue for the next few days, it is unclear when the ambassador will return to Washington.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ decision as “a comedy stunt.”

“As long as the situation does not get any clearer, we will not send our ambassador back to Washington,” he said. “America should not let go of a strategic ally like Turkey over such an issue.”

Erdogan blamed the vote on a combination of “unbecoming” voting procedures in the U.S. Congress and a change of attitude by the “Jewish lobby” to back the resolution.

“The Jewish lobby in the U.S. supported this resolution,” he said, adding that it represented “an attitude change” by Israel’s supporters in contrast to the past.

All sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Building 10, Room 250 on the MIT campus. The sessions are free and open to the public. No registration is required. For more information, email bedross@mit.edu.

The schedule is below.

Opening Remarks
10 a.m.
Bedross Der Matossian (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Session I: “Woodrow Wilson and the Armenian Question”
10:15-11:30 a.m.
Chair: David Engerman (Brandeis University)
Presenters: Christopher Capozzola (MIT), “Woodrow Wilson Views the World—The World Views Woodrow Wilson”; Suzanne Moranian (Armenian International Women’s Association),
“America’s Foreign Policy and the Armenian Genocide: 1915-1927”; and Gregory Aftandilian (independent scholar), “Sympathy but Lack of Political Will: The Wilson Administration’s Response to the Armenian Genocide and Its Aftermath”.

Session II: “The Cold War and the Armenian Genocide”
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Chair: David Ekbladh (Tufts University)
Presenters: Richard G. Hovannisian (UCLA), “From Turkey to the Soviet Union and Back”;
Michael Bobelian (author, lawyer, and journalist), “The Truman Doctrine and America’s Abandonment of Wilson’s Principles”; and Dennis R. Papazian (University of Michigan-Dearborn), “Captive Nations as Pawns in the Cold War”.

Lunch Break
1-2 p.m.

Session III: “Post-Cold War Period and the Obama Administration”
2-3:30 p.m.
Chair: Jens Meierhenrich (Harvard University)
Presenters: Simon Payaslian (Boston University), “Genocide Recognition and the Political Economy of U.S. Foreign Policy”; Rouben Adalian (Armenian National Institute), “Morality, Policy, and Diplomacy”; and Marc Mamigonian (National Association for Armenian Studies and Research), “Turkish-Armenian ‘Reconciliation’ and the Road to Obama’s ‘Medz Yeghern’”.

Coffee Break
3:30-4 p.m.

Keynote Address
4-5 p.m.
Richard G. Hovannisian (UCLA), “Humanitarianism versus Pragmatism: The United States and the Armenian Question”.

Concluding Remarks
5 p.m.
Christopher Capozzola (MIT)

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two diplomats exchanged views on a number of issues on their shared international agenda.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, for its part, issued a statement saying: “The officials discussed a number of topical issues on the Russia-Armenia partnership, as well as international and regional issues. The parties made a point of the Karabakh conflict settlement.”

Guerrero was fighting for the first time in the United States and in his first bout with left handed fighter, but was not phased by the spotlight and showed spunk in challenging Darchinyan with aggression through out the affair.

As the fight wore on Darchinyan, the WBC and WBA super flyweight title holder, was able to pepper Guerrero with barrages of punches and opened a cut on the challenger.  

Though the champion was the clearly the stronger fighter, Guerrero would not fade into the night, taking everything Dachinyan delivered, and even giving back what he could.

Darchinyan seems en route to a rematch with world-class Filipino super flyweight Nonito Donaire, who defeated Vic via stunning knockout in 2007.

Many years ago, I was asked to speak by our local Armenian Relief Society (ARS) chapter on the occasion of Mother’s Day. I was a young mother myself at the time, raising two young children, and working excruciatingly long hours. Had it not been for my mother, I’m not sure how I would have survived that period in my life. Naturally, my speech was dedicated to her and to all Armenian mothers.

I don’t remember exactly what I said that day except that I considered my mother to be the anchor of my life, the one person on the planet who loved me unconditionally and always, always had my back. I recall looking out in the audience and seeing my Mom sitting beside my daughter, her eyes full of tears ready to tumble down her cheeks, and hoping that I would be to my children what she was and continues to be for me—a source of unfaltering guidance, wisdom, and faith.

Back then terms such as women’s rights, equal access to resources, stereotyping of women, rigid gender roles, domestic violence, or discrimination were not part of my consciousness when I thought about women or mothers—Armenian or otherwise. Those were issues that, I believed, had been resolved for my generation by the women’s movement of the 60s.

As I have gotten older, my perception of the Armenian woman has changed; moving to Armenia shifted the ground beneath my feet. Today, more than ever, I am confounded by the “Armenian woman.” Who is she? What does she represent? What is her opinion? Why is she absent in leadership positions within institutional diasporan structures and in decision-making bodies in all three branches of government in the homeland? Where is her political activism? What is her role in the nation-building process?

Today, we live in an era of global mobility with a capacity to transfer knowledge, technology, experiences, and skills. The Armenian Diaspora, I would argue, is sophisticated and well organized, with a bank of highly trained professionals and experts in a variety of disciplines, and more economically powerful than Armenia itself.

Highly skilled diasporans living in foreign lands can serve as living bridges of knowledge and experience, and can help initiate a national discourse on issues affecting the nation. Effective diasporan organizations, networks, or movements can help shift the brain drain from the homeland to a brain circulation.

From alleviating to elevating

While diasporan women’s organizations came to Armenia immediately after independence and carried out projects and implemented plans, their imperative, in general, was not to elevate the role of women per say, but rather to provide services that would alleviate a woman’s burden. A noble and worthy venture indeed, but this did not serve to germinate the seeds for social mobilization that would have demanded and perhaps secured resolutions to some of the crippling problems faced by women in the homeland.

While they gave of their time and energy, they did not demand a more instrumental role in the rebuilding of institutions and the creation of networks that would have helped generate an atmosphere for constructive change. Why did they alleviate instead of elevate?

It must be noted that institutions in the homeland weren’t always welcoming. They wanted assistance from diasporans organizations with no strings attached. This attitude did not lend itself to developing cooperation and an exchange of new ideas. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia was poised to ease through the transition period and move toward institutionalizing democratic values and principles in the country, taking into consideration the high rates of literacy, a well-trained work force in the technology industry, and a vibrant, well-developed diaspora.

The opposite occurred. Fire-sale privatization after independence led to huge transfers of public wealth to private hands, widening the seemingly insurmountable divide between the rich and the poor. This concentration of wealth accumulation led to the current policy of neo-liberalism where everything is up for sale to the highest bidder. Women were left out of the game, the rules of which were imposed by the ruling elite, mostly men, and their access to resources was severely restricted.

Gender equality in Armenia is not considered to be a critical issue and its Soviet legacy has served as an impediment to the advancement of women, primarily in the political sphere. During the Soviet era, gender parity was ideological and imposed. With independence, women were relegated back to their traditional, culturally defined roles, which have marginalized their involvement in all aspects of governance and conflict resolution.

While Armenian women in the diaspora were individually breaking new ground and progressing in their respective careers and disciplines, collectively they continued to remain outside of leadership positions in diasporan organizations. If we accept the premise that these women could have served as bridges of knowledge, experience, and expertise to their sisters in the homeland, then the absence of a woman’s movement on the ground in Armenia is evidence that this did not happen. The deficit of women’s presence in decision-making bodies in the diaspora is therefore reflected in the lack of any stirrings of a developing movement in the homeland.

Another factor that impeded Armenian women in the diaspora from galvanizing to secure a role in decision-making bodies for themselves was the nature and essence of the diaspora itself. Living and working in foreign lands, and being influenced by the societies in which they existed, did not lend itself to conditions upon which to build a movement that would have assured their leadership position in diasporan structures.

At first glance, one might be inclined to believe that a key factor is that diasporan women’s groups did not evolve out of social reform movements like they had at other time periods and in different countries. They evolved to support the nation, the homeland, and its people. Their purpose was not about affecting social and political change for women; it was about survival, plain and simple. It is unfair therefore to have expected diasporan women’s organizations to help mobilize a meaningful women’s movement in the homeland after independence in 1991.

However, the existence of women’s organizations like the ARS, which is celebrating its centennial this year, in and of themselves, was an expression of emancipation when they were created. After all, it took the Armenian woman, who had been and would be instrumental in the survival of the nation, out of the home and gave her a purpose outside of tending to the immediate needs of her family.

If the existence of organizations like the ARS was progressive, even revolutionary, 100 years ago, why then are women absent in leadership positions today?

Over the years, the dynamic in the diaspora shifted and became more and more insular, hence the current dominant conservative paradigm. The “hayabahbanum” (defending/preserving Armenianness) ideology placed constrictions on the Armenian woman and mother. Her predominant role was to educate her children in the Armenian language, to struggle against the forceful winds of assimilation, and ensure the perpetuity of the nation.

After all, gender equality in the diaspora was never a critical or pressing issue either. There was always an abundance of collective national tragedies that required attention from both men and women. So women went from progressive emancipation to a conservatism model that emphasized stability and continuity.

A movement needs activists who believe that devoting their time and energy will help instigate societal change. They motivate others to take action but don’t do so in a vacuum. They help their members develop skills, give them the necessary tools to carry out programs, and they have a well-defined strategy with a clear objective. How were diasporan women supposed to consolidate their energy and develop programs to realize their objectives when they were as diverse as the countries in which they lived?

With the amount of information at our disposal and with the number of professional Armenian women in the diaspora, we can be more innovative and creative in trying to find ways to share experiences and transfer the knowledge that we have to a hopefully willing population in the homeland. We cannot remain victims to our own forbearance. A well-known sociologist once wrote, “Women are not passive targets of policies or the victims of distorted development—they are shapers and makers of social change.”

As the Armenian Relief Society celebrates a century of dedication, devotion, and steadfast commitment to the nation’s needs, perhaps we should use this moment in our collective history to initiate a national discourse about a new and progressive role for Armenian women in the diaspora and in the homeland.

By consolidating our energies, developing new models for development, advocating for greater participation, and utilizing our talent, we can and must become the shapers and makers of social change.

Maria Titizian is a founding member of the Women’s Coalition of Armenia. She is vice-president of the Socialist International, represents the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun at the Socialist International Women, and has recently been appointed as the director of the Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation. Maria repatriated to Armenia in 2001 with her family and is currently working as a writer, editor, and translator.

Editor’s Note: Maria Titizian is a founding member of the Women’s Coalition of Armenia. She is vice-president of the Socialist International, represents the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun at the Socialist International Women, and has recently been appointed as the director of the Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation. Maria repatriated to Armenia in 2001 with her family and is currently working as a writer, editor, and translator.

GLENDALE–The Armenian Youth Federation Western Region (AYF-WR) has begun accepting applications for the 2010 session of its Youth Corps summer program in Gyumri, Armenia. The program is open to all youth over the age of 18 who are motivated and enthusiastic about helping the Homeland. The deadline to apply is April 12, 2010.

The application is available at: www.ayfwest.org/youthcorps.

“Imagine your summer filled with breath-taking landscape, food that entices your senses, monumental structures, endless laughter, meeting locals that will offer everything in their household to you, and taking on the responsibility of being a mentor to a group of children thousands of miles away,” said 2009 Youth Corps participant Sanan Haroun. “Reality transcends imagination when you find yourself at Youth Corps’ Camp Gyumri.”

The program gives young Armenians in the Diaspora a unique opportunity to connect with Armenians in the Homeland while volunteering at a summer day-camp operated by the AYF for underprivileged youth in Gyumri. Last summer, Youth Corps volunteers served as counselors at Camp Gyumri, overseeing a group of nearly 150 campers. This summer, Camp Gyumri will continue the program’s 15 year tradition of empowering young Diasporans to take on a more direct role in the nation-building process in Armenia.

More information about the AYF Youth Corps program is available by calling (818)507-1933 or e-mailing youthcorps@ayfwest.org The current issue of Haytoug Magazine spotlighted Youth Corps’ 2009 program, the story is available online at Haytoug.org.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), with chapters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, has grown to become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth organization. Inspired by the past and motivated by the needs of the future, the AYF actively strives to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of all Armenian youth.

Making Sense of Genocide

Turkey needs to come to grips with its bloody past so it can move forward in its relations with Armenia and the U.S.
March 8, 2010

An estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the final throes of the Ottoman Empire. That blood bath, carried out by the Turks between 1915 and 1918, was genocide, and should be called by that name. In approving a nonbinding resolution to make this the official U.S. position, Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) and other members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee were responding to constituent demands that the United States take a moral stand. Now, Congress and the Obama administration must decide whether such a symbolic act also serves the strategic interests of the United States. For the moment, just like presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton before him, Barack Obama appears to be saying no.

It is important for the United States to stand for historical truth on the Armenian slaughter. Even more important is that Turks themselves come to terms with their brutal history. From Germany to South Africa to Argentina, there are many examples of countries that have confronted their violent pasts honestly.

Instead, Turkey recalled its ambassador for consultations after the 23-22 House committee vote, saying the resolution offends the country’s honor and warning of negative consequences for U.S.-Turkish relations, as well as for the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with the Republic of Armenia. A more productive approach would be for the Turks and Armenians to adopt the protocols hammered out last year to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their shared border. The U.S. vote must not become a pretext for further stalling.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama was unequivocal in his support for labeling the killings a genocide. As president, however, he has the unenviable task of weighing that position against the need for Turkey’s support in Afghanistan, in stabilizing Iraq and for United Nations sanctions against Iran. Turkey is the only Muslim country in NATO, and it currently sits on the U.N. Security Council.

We understand that any U.S. administration must nurture the vital strategic alliance with Turkey. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who coaxed Turkey and Armenia into signing the protocols last year, noted that the agreement established a commission to examine their bloody history and argued that “it is not for any other country to determine how two countries resolve matters between them.” That’s true, but we also understand Armenian fears that such a commission could whitewash history.

The goal is Turkish and Armenian reconciliation, putting to rest the ghosts of the past. That is in the U.S. interest as well as that of both peoples. For it to happen, the onus is on Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.

Socialist International Vice President Maria Titizian (center) at the panel discussion at the UN.

UNITED NATIONS—A leading member of Armenia’s sole socialist party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, spoke as a keynote speaker on March 3 during a panel discussion, focusing on the global agenda on women, organized by the Social International Women in conjunction with the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Maria Titizian, who serves as the Vice President of the Socialist International, spoke about women in the CIS and their role in the transition from Soviet communism to democracy. Her remarks came days before the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8.

This year’s session of the CSW, began on March 1 and will conclude on March 12. It marks the 15th anniversary of the UN-sponsored Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing.

The SIW panel, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN, was titled “Beijing +15 What Next?” It focused on the Beijing Declaration of 1995 and featured many other distinguished speakers, from the President of the SWI to the Greek Ambassador to the UN. Also among the speakers was Valentine Berberian of the Armenian Relief Society.

Titizian’s speech to the panel, titled “Transition to Democracy: Women in the CIS 15 Years After Beijing”, can be read by CLICKING HERE.

Transition to Democracy: Women in the CIS 15 Years After Beijing

BY MARIA TITIZIAN
March 3 2010, New York
Vice President Socialist International
Member Armenian Revolutionary Federation

The Declaration and Plan of Action that was born from the Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing 15 years ago in 1995, outlined areas of critical concern for women.

Some of those concerns -  the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women; inadequate conditions of health; violence against women;  the effects of armed conflict on women;  inequality in economic structures, policies and in access to resources;  inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels;  insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women;  and lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women, continue to persist in developing and emerging democracies of the former Soviet Union.

Many countries that underwent Communist revolutions or were “sovietized” granted women equal rights and benefits in one stroke, often long before women in Western societies obtained such rights. However, this Soviet legacy has served as an impediment to the advancement of women. Because gender parity was ideological and imposed during the Soviet era, with independence, women were relegated back to their traditional, culturally-defined roles, which have marginalized their involvement in all aspects of public life, governance and conflict resolution.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic reforms by the former Soviet republics included cuts in social programs such as government-funded child care. In addition, unemployment caused by these economic reforms has affected more women than men. The smash and grab capitalism of the early 90s in transition countries, which led to huge transfers of public wealth to private hands created a chasm between the rich and the poor. This concentration of wealth accumulation led to the current neo-liberalist policies of the ruling elite rampant in the region where everything is up for sale to the highest bidder. Women were left out of the game, their access to resources severely limited.
Challenges facing women in the CIS differ from those in other developing regions of the world because the transition period still continues – causing instability, inconsistent development, insecurity, etc.

The shift from authoritarian rule to democracy did not automatically bring with it justice and equality – most people in the region believed that these would naturally occur. Societal conditions worsened and today, most regions in the CIS continue to grapple with ethnic strife and tension – displacement, economic adversity, dismal living conditions, migration, violations of rights, poverty, etc.

Labor market discrimination, domestic violence, and other forms of inequality and oppression continue to be serious impediments to the progress of women’s rights. While their current status and situation derives from Soviet society, women face a reality quite different from their past.

Problems women face is quite regional; gender patterns in some parts of the CIS may not be present in other parts. Significant differences in development patterns between men and women reflect the different demographic trends in the region.

These problems have been compounded by the global financial crisis.

According to a UNDP report in 2009, development progress in the CIS has declined as a direct result of the global economic and financial crisis. The Millennium Development Goals Report states that in almost all areas, the two groups of countries that are part of the CIS – one in Asia and the other in Europe – have experienced a very different pace of progress.

Cultural traditions and norms, stereotypes and expectations of gender roles have placed societal pressures on women and their role in all aspects of society. This is a trend that is very apparent in the three countries of the South Caucasus – Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Gender issues here, as in most transition countries, can be viewed as part of a broader issue of values or value-systems. As long as violations of human rights are prevalent, then gender rights and equality will continue to be compromised.
In the overriding majority of transition countries or newly independent states of the CIS, promoting and calling for gender equality was and is viewed as something imposed by international aid agencies which will destroy culture, traditions and the classical view of the family. And in the South Caucasus, the subversion of women is viewed as part of Caucasian mentality.

The South Caucasus has had its own particular share of crippling problems, from ethnic strife, war, economic volatility, and political turmoil.

The effects of wars in the region – the Armenia and Azerbaijan war over Nagorno Karabakh, and the recent Russian-Georgian war has created new pressures. Tensions still run high and there is an absence of any dialogue on the level of civil society. A dangerous arms race has led to unacceptable levels of military spending causing further strain.
And yet, while women have been greatly impacted by these continuing tensions, they also continue to be significantly underrepresented in decision making positions that influence peace-keeping, preventive diplomacy and peace negotiations. Women’s role can help promote non-violent forms of conflict resolution and reduce the incidence of human rights abuse in conflict situations.

Fifteen years after Beijing, which broke new ground and helped set a global agenda, women in the CIS continue to be underrepresented in all forms of governance and decision-making bodies.

However, Beijing also helped shape global perceptions, and responsibilities which have left their mark in transition countries – the three countries of the Caucasus have all adopted national action plans on the status of women and are now taking steps, albeit tentative ones, towards addressing some of these issues.

Beijing + 15: What is next for Transition Countries?

1.Domestic violence was one of the critical areas of concern included in the plan of action and a persisting problem in the region. It is imperative to examine and highlight the economic costs of violence against women: by analyzing the financial impact on business, the state, societal groups and individuals, it can emphasize the need for including domestic violence within the criminal codes of these transition countries, (currently only Georgia includes domestic violence in its criminal code) seek budgetary allocations for programs from awareness to prevention. These analyses will illustrate the cost of violence against women within the court system, health care pressures, and social service costs.

2.Increase the participation of women in conflict resolution at decision-making levels. Work to reduce excessive military expenditures. Strive to create conditions, through international mediators or third parties to convene meetings between civil society organizations, to help create dialogue and discourse. Women’s groups can have a monumental influence on conflict resolution processes – they have been victims of torture, rape; they have lost fathers, husbands and sons in armed conflict regardless of their nationality. These common bonds can lead to dialogue which can help forge a future where neighbors can live together in peace.

3. Implementing the Beijing Platform for Action is mainly a responsibility of governments, but also of public institutions, the private and civil society sectors at the community, and national, regional and international levels. The Platform acknowledges that significant progress will depend on building strategic partnerships and involving all stakeholders in the efforts towards change. Therefore sharing experience between women who have been able to register significant advances in terms of gender parity, addressing and combating of domestic violence with women in transition countries can serve to set a new regional agenda. Bridges of knowledge and expertise must be built through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

4. Investing in Women: a new discourse must be developed in transition countries of the CIS. Governments in partnership with Civil Society organizations dealing with gender issues and international structures need a broader and more comprehensive agenda for mobilization. Women’s role in decision-making bodies must be at the forefront. In the South Caucasus, women’s representation in parliament is dismal: 11.4 percent in Azerbaijan, 8.4 percent in Armenia and 5.1 percent in Georgia. While women were very active during the national liberation movements of their countries in the early 90s, today their roles have reversed to a more traditional one, respective cultural stereotypes playing a negative role in their participation in political processes.

5.Women as Actors: “Women are not passive targets of policies or the victims of distorted development – they are shapers and makers of social change.” The perception of rigid gender roles must be shattered through social mobilization and political will. It is true that in this region, women’s social positions have implications for their consciousness and activism; however a broad, global agenda can help mobilize women to find their voice and begin to see themselves as true shapers and makers of social change. This needs to come about through a transfer of knowledge, awareness and seeking to dismantle negative cultural images and representation of women.

Democracy, the protection of human rights, freedom of speech and social justice are values and instruments that can help create an atmosphere where women will have their place in society. Fifteen years after Beijing, in an ever-changing and fast paced world, women and men, governments and civil society, the affluent and the disadvantaged must continue striving to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, must adhere to a global agenda which must be broad enough to address region-specific issues. Global organizations like the Socialist International Women have a tremendous role to play – I have seen the impact of their policies and mission, which have helped my country to begin the process of progressive change for women.