Armenian Organization Updates

[Hovik]

ARMENIA THIS WEEK December 12, 2005

ARMENIA THIS WEEK December 12, 2005

IN THIS ISSUE: Armenia Strengthens its Security and Military Cooperation
with the West; IMF Praises Armenia's Economic Reform Policy; Armenia
Expands Energy Capacity as Russia Plans Gas Price Hike; Mediators Submit
New NK Peace Proposal; ArmeniaNow: Destruction of Armenian Monuments in
Nakhichevan Documented.

ARMENIA STRENGTHENS ITS SECURITY AND MILITARY COOPERATION WITH THE WEST
Armenia's Parliament last week voted 73 to 12 to extend the presence of
the country's peacekeeping detachment with the U.S.-led coalition in
Iraq by another year.

Also last week, the Armenian government presented its Individual
Partnership Action Plan with NATO to the Alliance leadership. The Plan
is due to be approved before the end of the year. It will serve as a
framework for increased Armenia-NATO cooperation and contribute to
Armenia's defense reform. (Sources: Mediamax 12-5, 9; RFE/RL Armenia
Report 12-7; AP 12-8)

IMF PRAISES ARMENIA FOR ECONOMIC REFORM
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated support for Armenia's
economic policies in a study released last week. Presenting the paper,
IMF's Armenia representative James McHugh called Armenia a "reform
leader" in the former Soviet space. The 100-page report, entitled
"Economic growth and poverty reduction in Armenia. Achievements and
challenges," reviews Armenia's recovery and notes that in terms of
economic growth the country has outperformed its fellow low-income
states. "Despite geographical isolation, trade blockades and occasional
political upheaval, Armenia's economic performance during the past four
years has been remarkable," notes the IMF report under the leadership of
Enrique Gelbard, a senior Fund official. Armenia's Gross Domestic
Product has grown on average by eleven percent in the past five years,
accompanied by reduction of poverty and low inflation. IMF credits
Armenia's monetary policies, liberal trade and foreign exchange
regulations for the turnaround. The study further notes that lifting of
existing blockades, particularly on the Turkish-Armenian border, would
have an "extremely positive" impact on Armenia's future growth
potential. (Sources: Armenia This Week 8-1; Mediamax 12-6; RFE/RL
Armenia Report 12-6)

ARMENIA EXPANDS ENERGY CAPACITY AS RUSSIA PLANS GAS PRICE HIKE Armenia
inaugurated its first wind power plant this week and officials confirmed
plans to increase domestic energy capacities that would be independent
of Russian companies, which hold a dominant place in Armenia's energy
market. This progress coincided with the Russian government's decision
to double the price of gas sold to Armenia and Georgia, while also
substantially increasing prices for Ukraine, Moldova and Baltic states.

Russian natural gas currently accounts for about forty percent of all
electricity generated in Armenia, while another forty percent is
generated by nuclear power (also dependent on Russian raw materials) and
most of the rest through hydro power. The Armenian government is seeking
to ease Russia's near monopoly in Armenia's energy sector by
constructing a new gas pipeline from Iran, launching new hydro, wind,
solar and biogas power plants, and considering a possible new nuclear
power plant to replace the existing aging reactor.

Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly, says the new prices
amount to an end to subsidized gas prices for the former Soviet
republics. The debt-ridden company expects to make an additional $3.5
billion a year after new prices come into force.

MEDIATORS SUBMIT NEW KARABAKH PEACE PROPOSAL Envoys from France, Russia
and the United States submitted a new proposal on the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict to Armenian and Azeri officials last week, Russia's
envoy Yuri Merzlyakov confirmed last week. The proposal reportedly
builds on the bilateral negotiations held between Presidents Robert
Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev and their foreign ministers over the past two
years. While details of the proposal have not been officially made
public, past media reports suggested the proposal entails a repeat
referendum on Karabakh's status along with troop withdrawals from most
of the Karabakh Armenian-controlled buffer zones.

A recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), a
non-government think tank, essentially backed this approach, arguing for
withdrawals and refugee resettlement prior to determination of status.
In a response to the ICG paper, Dr. Hayk Kotanjian, a policy advisor to
Defense Minister Serge Sargsian but writing in a private capacity,
argued that if a new referendum on Karabakh's status is to be held, it
must precede any troop withdrawals or population movements. Kotanjian
also argued for a special status of Armenian-controlled districts
between NKR and Armenia. The mediators are due to visit the region later
this week and another Kocharian-Aliyev summit is anticipated some time
in January. (Sources: Armenia This Week 10-17; www.harvard-bssp.org
12-6; Mediamax 12-8, 9)


A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA 1140
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ArmeniaNow.com
September 02, 2005
Monumental Effort: Scotsman wants to prove Azeri policy of cultural
destruction in Nakhijevan By Gayane Mkrtchyan, ArmeniaNow reporter

A Scotsman, Steven Sim, takes out books about Armenian historical and
cultural monuments from his backpack, as well as maps of contemporary
and historical Armenian territories. He says that he is in love with
Armenian monuments, and this love was born in him 20 years ago when he
visited the ruins of Ani, once Armenia's capital, and made his first
photograph there.

Currently on one of his visits to Armenia, Sim was just in Nakhijevan,
visiting the famous Armenian cemetery in Nor Jugha, from where he
returned angry and disappointed. "I was advised to leave the place as
soon as possible unless I wanted trouble," Sim says. [...]

"Generally, the photographs of the monuments of Nakhijevan were
published in numerous books. I was also advised to go and see them by
the chairman of the Research on Armenian Architecture organization Armen
Hakhnazaryan, with whom I have close ties," says Sim.

Sim fulfilled his dream two weeks ago. He went to Turkey, and from there
to Nakhijevan (which is under Azerbaijan rule), then he took a train to
Jugha to see the khachkars of the cemetery on the road, as the railway
directly passes by the cemetery. But he was quickly spotted as a
foreigner. Sim says that controllers strictly prohibited him from taking
photographs or even to look out of the window. [...] "Before reaching
Jugha two of the controllers left the compartment and I had time to look
through the window. I was taken aback, because there was not a single
standing khachkar (stone cross) there. All of them were lying, facing
the ground, or ruined. Meanwhile, 10 years ago I saw from across the
border 2,000 standing khachkars."

The Jugha cemetery situated on a territory of 1,600 sq. meters is
located on the west side of Jugha - on three hills. [...] In 1648,
according to the data of traveler Alexander Rodes, it had 10,000
well-preserved khachkars. In 1903-1904, after the construction of a
railway, along with the destruction of a number of the town's monuments
also destroyed were part of the cemetery's khachkars. During that time
there were 5,000 standing and collapsed khachkars registered. According
to the data of 1915 and then 1928-29, there were up to 3,000 khachkars
and a few thousand flat, two-edged, cap-shaped tombstones. In 1971-1973,
only 2,707 were preserved in Jugha, and in the cemeteries of churches
and the All-Savior monastery and elsewhere there were 250 khachkars, and
1,000 tombstones. Sim says that a great part of the cemetery situated on
a hill next to Jugha does not exist anymore. The khachkars on the other
two hills are turned upside down.

In 1998-1999, Iranian-Armenian architects photographed evidence that the
Azeris were using bulldozers to destroy the last vestiges of Armenian
culture in the territory across the Arax. "What I saw was real
savageness, but I cannot say that they did not leave anything, since
there are still lying khachkars," says Sim.

After Jugha he decided to go to see the current condition of the
churches that he saw in books. He took a taxi from Nakhijevan to the
town of Abrakunis to see Surb Karapet Church (1381). Sim photographed
from the same spot, the same scene that he saw in the books, but without
the church.

"They razed it to the ground, they did not leave even the slightest
thing reminding of the church, it was totally cleared. When I asked the
locals where the village church was, they showed the empty territory
situated near the entrance. The only thing that reminds of the existence
of a church in the past was the pieces of brick buried in the ground,"
says Sim.

After Abrakunis he went north and visited the villages of Khanega,
Ilandagh (Odzasar) and Khachi Sar. There he also found ruined and
destroyed Armenian monuments and churches. The following day he took a
bus to Ordubad to go to on to Agulis from there. However, the police
prohibited him from going to Agulis. They even prohibited him to leave
the center of the town.

"I did not oppose the ban, as tension was already obvious. Officially
the purpose of my visit there was to see Islamic and Armenian holy
places. In Nakhijevan they treat foreigners with suspicion. It does not
matter whether you are an Armenian or a representative of another
nationality. In Ordubad, too, every Armenian thing was destroyed," he
says.

Thereafter, Sim went to one of the remotest regions of Nakhijevan [...]
to the village of Shorut. What Sim saw there brought him to one
conviction: "It is a special state policy being implemented throughout
Nakhijevan."

Nothing is left of the churches once situated in Shorut - the churches
of Patriarch Hakob, Grigor Lusavorich, Surb Stepanos, Surb Astvatsatsin,
nor the khachkars dated 924-926. The villagers claim that there were no
Armenian churches there. The oldest of them even began to speak Armenian
with Sim to try to identify his nationality.

Having visited Turkey and Azerbaijan, studying the Armenian monuments
Sim says: "I don't think that there is a central government program in
Turkey to destroy monuments. There, it is even possible to purchase
travel guides telling about numerous Armenian churches. But a special
state policy of destruction is being implemented in Azerbaijan. In
Turkey, after 90 years of staying empty, there are still standing
churches today, meanwhile in Nakhijevan, all have been destroyed within
just 10 years." [...]

"I raise my voice of protest and want everybody to listen to me. If such
monuments are being destroyed, then it is an evil deed directed against
all of mankind," Sim said on a visit to ArmeniaNow newsroom.

"The khachkars of Jugha are cultural values of international importance.
Once, the problem was raised at UNESCO, however Azerbaijan did not
receive its representatives, which shows that they are hiding the facts.
And the photographs are very, very important. It will be possible to
prove the truth through them.

[Hovik]

Eight Senators Cosponsor S. Res. 320 to Reaffirm the Armenian Genocide!

Eight Senators Cosponsor S. Res. 320 to Reaffirm the Armenian Genocide!
************************************************** ********************
Tragically, in this day and age, the terrible act of genocide still exists. As
a community, all efforts must be made to put an end to these crimes against
humanity and reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Last month, Senators John Ensign
(R-NV) and Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced S. Res. 320,
an Armenian Genocide resolution that would reaffirm the U.S. record on this
crime against humanity. This measure:

"(1) calls on the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United
States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues
related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of
the failure to realize a just resolution; and

(2) calls upon the President, in the President's annual message commemorating
the Armenian Genocide issued on or about April 24 to accurately characterize
the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide
and to recall the proud history of United States intervention in opposition to
the Armenian Genocide."

*************
Action Needed:
*************
Currently, Senators Allen (R-VA), Boxer (D-CA) Durbin (D-IL), Ensign (R-NV),
Feingold (D-WI), Kerry (D-MA), Snowe (R-ME) and Sununu (R-NH) have signed on in
support of this measure. However, in the hope of securing consideration of this
measure, your assistance is needed to garner more cosponsors. Pease call,
email, or write your Senators today and urge him/her to co-sponsor S. Res. 320.

Do Not Let History be Rewritten...Take Action Now!
Urge Your Senators to Cosponsor S. Res. 320 - Click Here:

http://capwiz.com/aaainc/issues/alert/?alertid=8273841&type=CO

*******************
Contact Information
*******************
1. Send a pre-written letter to your Senators by entering your zip code in the
"Contact Congress" box on our website at <http://www.aaainc.org/> and hitting
"Go!"

2. Draft a personal letter to your Senators.
The heading for your letters should appear as:

The Honorable full name
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator last name:
To find your Senators' fax numbers, enter your zip code in the "Contact
Congress" box on our website at <http://www.aaainc.org/> and press "Go!" or
call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to
your Representative.

3. Or... call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be
connected to your Senators. If you do not know the name of your Senators, enter
your zip code in the "Contact Congress" box on our website at
<http://www.aaainc.org/> and press "Go!"
*********************************
Sample Letter
The Honorable Full Name
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Last Name:

I am writing to urge you to cosponsor S. Res. 320, the Armenian Genocide
resolution introduced by Senators Ensign and Durbin. This important bipartisan
bill reaffirms the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide and recalls America's
intervention to save those that survived.

As you may know, the Armenian Genocide was perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish
government from 1915 to 1923, massacring 1,500,000 Armenian men, women, and
children, deporting an additional 500,000 survivors, and practically
eliminating a 2,500-year Armenian presence in its historic homeland. These
horrific "crimes against humanity" must not be forgotten.
(Tell your story)




Notice: The information contained in this electronic communication is
confidential, may be privileged and is intended only for the use of the
addressee. It is the property of the Armenian Assembly of America. You are
hereby notified that any unauthorized review, use, dissemination or copying of
this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited, and may be
unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us
immediately by facsimile (202) 638-4904 or by telephone at (202) 393-3434, and
destroy this communication and all copies thereof. Thank you.

[Hovik]

Armenia This Week 12/19/05

Armenia This Week
December 19, 2005
IN THIS ISSUE: Armenia Protests Azeri Vandalism in Nakhichevan; Nagorno Karabakh Reports Economic Growth; Turkish Writer Orhan Pamuk on his Prosecution

AZERI GOVERNMENT RESUMES ANTI-ARMENIAN VANDALISM
Eyewitnesses on the Iran-Azerbaijan border last week observed and recorded a group of Azeri soldiers destroying the remnants of an ancient Armenian cemetery in the Azeri-controlled region of Nakhichevan. Armenian leaders called on UNESCO and the international community to pressure Azerbaijan to halt the destruction. The new wave of vandalism came on the same day as the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told his country’s scientists to step up efforts to rig the historical record, painting Armenians as without a historical claim to Karabakh and formerly Armenian-populated regions now under Azeri control.

In a statement last Thursday, the Armenian Embassy in Tehran, citing the Armenian Church Diocese of Atrpatakan (northwestern Iran), reported that some 100 Azeri soldiers armed with hammers, shovels and heavy equipment destroyed and removed centuries-old Armenian khachkars (cross-stones) that survived a previous bout of vandalism three years ago. Experts at the time likened the assault to Taliban’s destruction of the Buddhas’ monument in Afghanistan. Armenians historically constituted a majority of the population of Nakhichevan, but the last remaining Armenian villages in the area were ethnically cleansed in the late 1980s.

Historians recorded some 10,000 khachkars at the 1,600 square meter site of the Old Jugha cemetery in 1648, many as old as the 8th century. Up to 2,000 intricately carved stones still remained at the site prior to the 2002 vandalism. The public outcry at the time appears to have temporarily halted the destruction at the Jugha site, which can be clearly observed from across the border. But as Steven Sim, a Scottish expert on Armenian architecture, who traveled through Nakhichevan last summer found, other medieval monuments in other parts of the region have been raised to the ground. Because destruction took place even in the most remote regions of Nakhichevan, Sim concluded there was a special state policy being implemented.

Aliyev in effect confirmed the existence of such a policy as he addressed the Azeri National Academy of Sciences last week. He told the scientists that their priority should be to popularize throughout the world the notion that “the Armenians came to Nagorno Karabakh… as guests” and, in accordance with Aliyev’s logic, had no historical presence in the region. Aliyev promised additional state funds for such propaganda through internet and print publications.

This is not the first time the Azeri ruler has expressed an interest in history. Last year, the Azeri state television showed the 43-year-old Aliyev yelling at octogenarian historians for failing to remove all references to ethnic Armenian individuals and place names from the first-ever national encyclopedia. The effort to erase all traces of Armenian history, written or architectural, is complimented by threats from other Azeri officials to remove all ethnic Armenians from the Caucasus region within the next two decades. (Sources: Armenia This Week 3-28, 6-6-03; ArmeniaNow 9-2; Azertag 12-14; Armenian Embassy in Iran 12-15)

KARABAKH POSTS ECONOMIC GROWTH
Karabakh’s Gross Domestic Production is expected to grow by over 15 percent this year totaling $114 million, the republic’s Finance Minister Spartak Tevosian reported last week. The growth includes a 44 percent increase in capital construction and 18 percent in foreign trade, over January-September of 2005. Minerals and raw materials, along with precious stones and metals accounted for two-thirds of all exports. Last month, officials also reported an eight percent rise in employment. There are currently 36,500 people employed in civilian jobs in a republic with a population of about 140,000. Most of the working force is engaged in agriculture (22 percent), trade (20), construction (12), industry (11) and communications (11).

The biggest investment in the local economy has so far come to the recently-established copper-gold mining and processing plant at Drmbon, in Karabakh’s Mardakert district. According to its director Artur Mkrtumian, $15 million has been invested in the plant since 2002, providing for employment of 930 people and about $1.5 million in taxes in the first half of 2005.

Also last week, NKR’s National Assembly adopted the 2006 budget, which plans for $56 million in revenue and $61 million in spending. (Sources: Mediamax 11-2, 12-6, 7, 8, 12; Arminfo 11-16; Azat Artsakh 12-15)

Note to Readers: The next issue of Armenia This Week will appear on January 9, 2006. Happy Holidays!

A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA

1140 19th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 393-3434 FAX (202) 638-4904

E-Mail [email protected] WEB http://www.aaainc.org

The New Yorker
Posted 2005-12-12
COMMENT: ON TRIAL
by Orhan Pamuk
(Translated by Maureen Freeley)
In Istanbul this Friday—in Sisli, the district where I have spent my whole life, in the courthouse directly opposite the three-story house where my grandmother lived alone for forty years—I will stand before a judge. My crime is to have “publicly denigrated Turkish identity.” The prosecutor will ask that I be imprisoned for three years. I should perhaps find it worrying that the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was tried in the same court for the same offense, under Article 301 of the same statute, and was found guilty, but I remain optimistic. For, like my lawyer, I believe that the case against me is thin; I do not think I will end up in jail.

This makes it somewhat embarrassing to see my trial overdramatized. I am only too aware that most of the Istanbul friends from whom I have sought advice have at some point undergone much harsher interrogation and lost many years to court cases and prison sentences just because of a book, just because of something they had written. Living as I do in a country that honors its pashas, saints, and policemen at every opportunity but refuses to honor its writers until they have spent years in courts and in prisons, I cannot say I was surprised to be put on trial. I understand why friends smile and say that I am at last “a real Turkish writer.” But when I uttered the words that landed me in trouble I was not seeking that kind of honor.

Last February, in an interview published in a Swiss newspaper, I said that “a million Armenians and thirty thousand Kurds had been killed in Turkey”; I went on to complain that it was taboo to discuss these matters in my country. Among the world’s serious historians, it is common knowledge that a large number of Ottoman Armenians were deported, allegedly for siding against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, and many of them were slaughtered along the way. Turkey’s spokesmen, most of whom are diplomats, continue to maintain that the death toll was much lower, that the slaughter does not count as a genocide because it was not systematic, and that in the course of the war Armenians killed many Muslims, too. This past September, however, despite opposition from the state, three highly respected Istanbul universities joined forces to hold an academic conference of scholars open to views not tolerated by the official Turkish line. Since then, for the first time in ninety years, there has been public discussion of the subject—this despite the spectre of Article 301.

If the state is prepared to go to such lengths to keep the Turkish people from knowing what happened to the Ottoman Armenians, that qualifies as a taboo. And my words caused a furor worthy of a taboo: various newspapers launched hate campaigns against me, with some right-wing (but not necessarily Islamist) columnists going as far as to say that I should be “silenced” for good; groups of nationalist extremists organized meetings and demonstrations to protest my treachery; there were public burnings of my books. Like Ka, the hero of my novel “Snow,” I discovered how it felt to have to leave one’s beloved city for a time on account of one’s political views. Because I did not want to add to the controversy, and did not want even to hear about it, I at first kept quiet, drenched in a strange sort of shame, hiding from the public, and even from my own words. Then a provincial governor ordered a burning of my books, and, following my return to Istanbul, the Sisli public prosecutor opened the case against me, and I found myself the object of international concern.

My detractors were not motivated just by personal animosity, nor were they expressing hostility to me alone; I already knew that my case was a matter worthy of discussion in both Turkey and the outside world. This was partly because I believed that what stained a country’s “honor” was not the discussion of the black spots in its history but the impossibility of any discussion at all. But it was also because I believed that in today’s Turkey the prohibition against discussing the Ottoman Armenians was a prohibition against freedom of expression, and that the two matters were inextricably linked. Comforted as I was by the interest in my predicament and by the generous gestures of support, there were also times when I felt uneasy about finding myself caught between my country and the rest of the world.

The hardest thing was to explain why a country officially committed to entry in the European Union would wish to imprison an author whose books were well known in Europe, and why it felt compelled to play out this drama (as Conrad might have said) “under Western eyes.” This paradox cannot be explained away as simple ignorance, jealousy, or intolerance, and it is not the only paradox. What am I to make of a country that insists that the Turks, unlike their Western neighbors, are a compassionate people, incapable of genocide, while nationalist political groups are pelting me with death threats? What is the logic behind a state that complains that its enemies spread false reports about the Ottoman legacy all over the globe while it prosecutes and imprisons one writer after another, thus propagating the image of the Terrible Turk worldwide? When I think of the professor whom the state asked to give his ideas on Turkey’s minorities, and who, having produced a report that failed to please, was prosecuted, or the news that between the time I began this essay and embarked on the sentence you are now reading five more writers and journalists were charged under Article 301, I imagine that Flaubert and Nerval, the two godfathers of Orientalism, would call these incidents bizarreries, and rightly so.

That said, the drama we see unfolding is not, I think, a grotesque and inscrutable drama peculiar to Turkey; rather, it is an expression of a new global phenomenon that we are only just coming to acknowledge and that we must now begin, however slowly, to address. [AAA: Article cut to fit the page.]

Notice: The information contained in this electronic communication is confidential, may be privileged and is intended only for the use of the addressee. It is the property of the Armenian Assembly of America. You are hereby notified that any unauthorized review, use, dissemination or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited, and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by facsimile (202) 638-4904 or by telephone at (202) 393-3434, and destroy this communication and all copies thereof. Thank you.

[Hovik]

ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK Monday, January 9, 2006

ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK Monday, January 9, 2006

HOUSE MINORITY WHIP STENY HOYER TO ADDRESS ASSEMBLY'S NATIONAL
CONFERENCE IN DC The Assembly is pleased to announce that longtime
Armenian issues supporter and House of Representatives Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will be among the keynote speakers at the Assembly's
National Conference and Banquet in Washington DC, March 26-28.

The biennial event, which will be co-hosted by the Assembly, AGBU and
the Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Church, will also
include Administration officials, as well as key House and Senate
supporters.

"We're delighted that House Minority Whip Hoyer, who has been actively
engaged with Armenian issues since the days of the Helsinki Commission,
has agreed to brief participants at this Conference," said National
Banquet Chair Annie Totah. "We look forward to hearing his insights as
we prepare to make our voices heard on Capitol Hill."

The three-day Conference is an opportunity for Armenian activists to
sharpen their advocacy skills, brainstorm issues facing the community
and most importantly, meet with Members of Congress. For the first time,
the event will also honor Armenian-American veterans of the Armed
Forces, and the Assembly encourages their active participation in this
event.

All events, including the Assembly's annual Board of Trustees Meeting on
March 26, will be held at the historic Mayflower Hotel in downtown
Washington.

The Assembly is also offering a special student stipend which includes
two nights' hotel accommodations, Conference registration and banquet
admission.

For more information on the National Conference, please contact
Grassroots Director Nancy Yerian Hiteshue at [email protected] or
Development Deputy Director Rita Mullane at [email protected] or call
(202) 393-3434.

CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS VOICE CONCERN OVER DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN KHACHKARS
The Assembly commended the Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus, Reps. Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), for sending a joint
letter to Ambassador Pashayev of Azerbaijan expressing their concern
over the destruction of Armenian monuments in the medieval cemetery of
Old Julfa, Nakhichevan in Azerbaijan.

On December 15, 2005, eyewitnesses recorded approximately 100 armed
Azerbaijani soldiers using heavy equipment to break into the cemetery
and engage in the barbaric destruction of Armenian khachkars
(headstones).

This is the second recorded incident since 2002 that the Old Julfa
Cemetery has been vandalized. By then, most of the 10,000 original
centuries-old kachkars were already destroyed.

The Congressmen urged Azerbaijani officials to stop the vandalism and
immediately take measures to remedy the situation.

They concluded their letter by calling upon Azerbaijan to uphold its
responsibilities and obligations as a member of the United Nations, the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of
Europe by protecting and preserving this endangered treasure of world
cultural heritage in its custody.

ASSEMBLY EXTENDS INTERN APPLICATION DEADLINE The Assembly's application
deadline for the 2006 Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program in
Washington has been extended to Monday, January 30, 2006.

The application deadline for the Yerevan program remains February 15.
Both programs offer college students of Armenian descent the opportunity
to intern in those respective cities while taking part in a full
schedule of educational, social and cultural activities. Partial and
full housing scholarships are available to qualified students on a
competitive basis. Internship applications are available on the
Assembly's Web site at www.aaainc.org/students/Internship.php.

For more information on the Internship programs, or assistance with the
application process, please contact Internship Program Manager Alex
Karapetian in Washington at (202) 393-3434 ext. 245 or via email at
[email protected].

CALLING ALL MEMBERS...
The Assembly will publish its 2007 membership directory this fall which
will include the contact information of those individuals who have paid
their 2006 membership dues. If you do not wish the Assembly to
publicize your personal information in next year's directory, please
contact Deputy Director for Development Rita Mullane at (202) 393-3434
x234, or via email at [email protected].

OFFICE CLOSING: Assembly Offices in the U.S. will be closed on Monday,
January 16, 2006 due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

Calendar of Events

3/26: Annual Board of Trustees Meeting; DC
3/26 - 3/28: National Conference & Banquet; DC
10/11 - 10/22: Trustee Mission to Armenia & NKR

************************************************** *****************
A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA 1140
19th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 393-3434 FAX
(202) 638-4904
E-Mail: [email protected] WEB http://www.armenianassembly.org
************************************************** *****************

You are invited to The Armenian Assembly New England Next Generation
Group Reception and Briefing

Wednesday, January 18th 2006
Sonsie Restaurant
327 Newbury Street
Boston, MA
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Wine, Beer and Hors d'oeuvres will be served

Executive Director Bryan Ardouny will give a Capitol Hill update and be
available to answer questions.

All members between the ages of 21-39 are welcome to attend. If you are
not a current member you can become one at a minimum of $100 a year.

RSVP to Noel Tashjian by email: [email protected] or
[email protected] or by phone: (781) 438-1141

[Hovik]

ARMENIA THIS WEEK January 9, 2006

ARMENIA THIS WEEK January 9, 2006


IN THIS ISSUE: Oskanian Outlines 2006 Priorities; Study: Armenia
Improves, Leads Region in Economic Freedom; Jewish newspaper on Genocide
education


OSKANIAN OUTLINES 2006 PRIORITIES
In a year-end interview to Yerevan's Kentron TV station,
Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian discussed the prospects for
the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenia's energy
security, and the country's commitment to reform and democratic
development.
On Nagorno Karabakh, Oskanian outlined a potential for
significant progress in negotiations, including the possibility of an
agreement based on an 'all-inclusive' approach to issues that are
fundamental to the resolution of the conflict, including the status of
Nagorno Karabakh and predicative to it, elements of the settlement with
critical security and military-technical value. According to Oskanian, a
successful process would involve a comprehensive vision for the
settlement, to be implemented over an extended period of time, under
international peacekeeping.
"Any solution that secures today's de facto status of Nagorno
Karabakh and provides a prospect for its de jure transformation in the
near future is worth seriously considering," he stated. Oskanian,
however, suggested a measure of caution on assessing the chances of an
agreement in 2006. "In the past, we've been in similar situations ...
when we expressed great optimism, because there had been real progress,
but then the process went backwards," he concluded.
In the same interview, Oskanian addressed the urgency of an
energy security policy review for Armenia, to provide for a more
diversified architecture of its sources and supplies of energy, given
the vulnerabilities of Armenia's geographic position and its long-term
development needs.
Commenting on Armenia's progress in democratic development, the
Minister underlined the critical importance of preparing for and
ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections in 2007 and 2008, to
consolidate what has already been achieved in that direction. "Our
European integration processes have moved further along, and the
fundamental stipulation is our democratic development. And the basic
test of democracy is elections," the Minister said.
Minister Oskanian concluded by summarizing Armenia's
accomplishments in the past year and expectations for 2006 in a message
of optimism: "We are a people that has had 3000 years of history, but
only a decade or so of statehood in the last 500 years. After all that
we have been through, after all we have achieved against all odds during
these almost 15 years of independence, this can only be cause for
optimism." (Source: www.armeniaforeignministry.am 12-28)

STUDY RANKS ARMENIA AT TOP OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM LIST
Armenia is 27th among 157 countries, ranked in the annual study
of economic policies by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage
Foundation and published this week. Since last year's review, when it
was ranked 42nd, Armenia has made significant progress in areas reviewed
in the study, including the balance of wages and prices, government
intervention, informal market and fiscal burden of government.
Overall, Armenia is the second most-improved country over the
period the study was first launched in 1995. It is now ranked just
behind Belgium (22) and Lithuania (23), and ahead of developed economies
of Norway (30), Israel (36), Italy (42), France (44), and well ahead of
its neighbors Georgia (68), Turkey (85), Russia (122), and Azerbaijan
(123).
The study authors argue that more open economies create greater
opportunity for private sector-driven growth and public prosperity.
Armenia appears a case in point. Although Armenia is landlocked and
blockaded by two of its four neighbors, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
has grown at an average of eleven percent over the past five years. Over
the same time, the number of people estimated to live in poverty has
fallen by about one-third. (Sources: Armenia This Week 1-10-05, 9-19-05;
www.heritage.org 1-3)


************************************************** ****************
A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA 1140
19th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 393-3434 FAX
(202) 638-4904
E-Mail [email protected] WEB http://www.aaainc.org
************************************************** ****************

The Jewish Advocate
Thursday December 29 2005
Editorial
Teaching genocide

Last week, members of the Armenian Assembly of America filed to
intervene in a lawsuit brought earlier this year by the Assembly of
Turkish American Associations against the state's Department of
Education for teaching in its history curriculum "one side" on the
Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1915.

Lawyers for the Turkish group have argued that teaching both sides is a
matter of academic freedom and freedom of speech.

These are specious arguments.

We in the Jewish community should be especially concerned with attempts
to deny accounts of historical atrocities that are well documented.

Historians estimate that more than 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey were
killed in 1915 as part of a genocidal campaign, recognition of which has
long been championed by Holocaust survivor and Boston University
professor Elie Wiesel.

Under pressure from the European Union and international historians, the
Turkish government has been urged to reconsider its official account of
the episode: that there never was a systematic campaign to kill
Armenians, and the deaths that occurred were the result of inter-ethnic
strife, disease and famine during the turmoil of World War I.

Teaching about genocide is vital to preventing its reoccurrence. The
Armenian genocide deserves a place alongside the Holocaust and other
historical atrocities in the curriculums of our students.

The lawsuit by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations threatens
to open the door to revisionist historians. Our community has a special
stake in making sure that denial of genocide is not given a voice in our
public schools. Any genocide - whether it be the Holocaust, Darfur or
the Armenian genocide - deserves to be recorded and taught, not only for
the memory of all the victims who suffered, but for our children's
future. Only through education and remembrance can we even attempt to
stem the tide of hatred and violence.

http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/editorial/?content_id=

671

[Gavur]

Subject: Letter to Groong

From: Assembly <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 09:46:36 -0500
Subject: Letter to Groong

Dear Editor:

The Assembly categorically rejects the defamatory nature of
several recent articles published by Regnum, a Russian-based
online news service. These false claims are without merit and go
beyond the realm of fair play and professional journalism. They
represent an attack against the entire Armenian-American community
and it is troubling that any Armenian anywhere in the world would
lend his name to such political garbage.

Take for example, baseless accusations that the Armenian Assembly
"decreed to fight Armenian nationalism" or recommended that a visa
be denied to a certain Armenian citizen. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Ironically, the only time the Assembly intervened
with any government with regard to that individual was to help
gain his release from a Soviet prison in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, our organization has a proud record built over 30 years
of non-partisan advocacy in support of Armenia and Karabakh as
well as issues that matter to Armenians around the world. From the
start of independence, we have worked to promote public and civil
society initiatives while simultaneously maintaining the Armenian
Assembly's policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of
Armenia. We understand that not everyone agrees with our policies,
and those with more selfish goals have spared no effort to stop
our work; again and again, they fail.

The Assembly is not, as has been libelously alleged, involved in
"ethnic espionage." The Assembly has a stated policy to ensure
that our homeland is strong, prosperous and democratic - not weak
and torn apart. We have fought and continue to fight for
international and universal affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide. We have worked to ensure the strongest possible
relationship between the United States and Armenia as well as the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and our work is appreciated as
unprecedented and unparalleled by those who understand it.

The Assembly has spearheaded the creation of the Armenian Caucus
in Congress to promote Armenian issues and values, spearheaded
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to make sure that
Azerbaijan would not get a free hand, and spearheaded the
Humanitarian Aid Corridors Act, which prohibited assistance to
Turkey and any other country while they blocked humanitarian
assistance to Armenia. These achievements only scratch the surface
of what we have done and continue to do as Armenian Americans.

We have publicly testified in support of policies to help Armenia,
promoted better trade benefits for Armenia, and battled the
campaign to deny the Genocide. Additionally, we established the
Armenian National Institute dedicated to legal study, academic
research and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide and founded the
Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial, located in the heart of
America's capital.

We are not, as some are deceitfully claiming, an agent or an
instrument of the U.S. government. The Assembly represents the
interests of a vast constituency of Armenian-Americans, on whose
collective behalf it conducts organized advocacy before the
U.S. government and the public, especially including matters of
importance to our Homeland. Again ironically, our investigation
into the published attacks indicates that their authors might
hardly get a passing grade on either the identity of those they
represent, or the quality and ethics of such representation.

As we begin this New Year, the Assembly, Armenia, Nagorno
Karabakh, and the Diaspora all face great opportunities and
challenges, from the NK peace negotiations and universal
affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, to U.S.-Armenia relations
and fighting the Turks in Federal Court in Massachusetts, among
other critically important issues. As such, we will not be
distracted by these scurrilous attacks. Those behind these ancient
tactics should know that and move on to more productive and
honorable activities if possible.

We look forward to the challenges ahead and to a year of promise
and growth for the Armenian people and nation.

[Gavur]

Annual Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide Observance To Be Held April 26th

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANNUAL CAPITOL HILL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
OBSERVANCE TO BE HELD APRIL 26TH

-- Community Invited to Participate in Annual Capitol Hill
Tradition

WASHINGTON, DC - Members of Congress will join Armenian American
community representatives from across the country on Wednesday,
April 26th to honor the memory of the victims of the Armenian
Genocide at the 11th ANCA Capitol Hill Observance marking this
crime against humanity, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

"We are pleased, once again, to welcome our friends in Congress,
all Armenian American groups, our entire community, and our
coalition partners from across the country to join with us for the
annual Capitol Hill Observance of the Armenian Genocide - now in
its eleventh year," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. "We look
forward to building on the tradition of this yearly program in
bringing together Armenian Americans and their elected
representatives in support of decisive Congressional action toward
a just resolution of the Armenian Genocide."

As in years past, joining with Armenian Americans and elected
officials at the program will be survivors of the Armenian
Genocide, members of the diplomatic community, and leaders of civil
and human rights organizations. The Armenian National Committee of
America Eastern Region, Western Region and Washington headquarters
cordially invite community members from across the U.S. to
participate in the Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide Observance.

For further information, contact the Armenian National Committee of
America Washington office at (202) 775-1918 or the Eastern or
Western Region headquarters at (901) 428-1918 and (818) 500-1918
respectively.

[Hovik]

Armenian Genocide Workshop Held For Montebello High School Teachers

Armenian National Committee, San Gabriel Valley Chapter
420 West Washington Blvd.
Montebello, CA 90640
Dontact: Viken Pakradouni
Tel: (562) 833-5906
Fax: (310) 553-6287
email: [email protected]

Armenian Genocide Workshop Held
For Montebello High School Teachers

MONTEBELLO, Calif. - Seventeen High School World History teachers
from the Montebello Unified School District were given new teaching
tools to teach about the Armenian Genocide during a day long Workshop,
held Wednesday January18, 2006, at the Montebello Armenian Center.

Organized by the San Gabriel Valley Armenian National Committee
(SGV ANC), the Seminar was conducted by the staff of the Facing
History and Ourselves, (FHAO) headed by Dan Alba, the Director of
the Los Angeles Region of FHAO. Facing History is an international
educational organization that helps teachers and students link history
to the moral choices they face today.

Welcoming the participants to the Seminar were Bill Whitmore, the
Director of Secondary Education at MUSD, and Viken Pakradouni of the
SGV ANC. The teachers came from the three regular high schools of the
District, Montebello High, Schurr High and Bell Gardens, as well as
the Vail High continuation school.

Starting at 8:30 a.m., FHAO Program Associate Eftihia Danellis led
the seminar. Also addressing the educators was Armenian Educational
Foundation Professor of Modern Armenian History at UCLA, Professor
Dr. Richard Hovannisian.

Keyed toward participation by the teachers into breakout sessions,
rather than lectures, the morning session included the showing of the
10-minute documentary film clip about the Armenian Genocide from the
ABC-TV series "The Great War," and documentary materials about the
1915 crime against humanity.

The seminar included the participants going to two of four stations,
and being exposed to survivor accounts, media coverage of the 1915
Genocide, eyewitness photos taken by German Army medical officer Armin
Wegner, and a graphic depiction of maps containing evacuation routes,
deportation and deaths in the Ottoman Empire.

Following a synthesizing session, the whole group broke for lunch,
which was provided by the Armenian Center.

Resuming the seminar, the whole group reviewed the range of choices
available to those aware of the genocide at the time, and discussed
various eyewitness testimonies, including a filmed clip by Peter
Balakian, and the US Ambassador to Turkey during the period Henry
Morgenthau, and others.

At the beginning of the workshop, each teacher was provided with
two books. The first was the Facing History resource book, "Crimes
Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians." The
second book was the ANC-commissioned book by Prof. Simon Payaslian
"The Armenian Genocide: A Handbook for Students and Teachers."

Following the seminar, one of the high school teachers evaluated the
workshop as one of the "best workshop in a very long time." Others
noted, "Excellent, very informative." One of the educators observed
he had learned "just about everything related to the Armenian
Genocide." Most of the teachers pointed out to Prof. Hovannisian's
contribution as "tremendous." All the participants reported they were
extremely pleased with the quality of the speakers and the program in
general. The teachers reported they teach a total of 2,273 students in
their daily history classes. The educators' evaluation also revealed
their interest in transmitting the information and methodology into
their classrooms.

Although this was the first such Genocide Workshop in the Montebello
School District, Facing History and Ourselves has conducted similar
workshops in Glendale and Pasadena, as well as school districts in
New Mexico and other parts of the country. A four-day institute on
the Armenian Genocide will be presented June 25-30 in the Bay Area
for about 20 California teachers.

One of the educators at the Montebello Seminar underlined the benefit
of such a workshop to local teachers. "I was shocked to discover that,
while the history department teachers in our school know about the
Armenian Genocide, they had never taught about it because they felt
they lacked the knowledge and tools to teach it," said Elizabeth
Kocharian, a World History teacher at Bell Gardens High School.

"I am grateful to the ANC for co-sponsoring this event. This is an
important historical occurrence, which must never be forgotten and
must be taught to all students, regardless of nationality."

The Montebello Unified School District assumed half the cost of the
workshop, with the other half underwritten by the SGV ANC. "We are
thankful to the School District for seeing the importance of such
a program and supporting it wholeheartedly," Pakradouni said. "And,
we must not forget to thank the Facing History and Ourselves Director
and staff for putting together such a professional and informative
program to benefit the students and teachers in our district."

The San Gabriel Valley ANC is exploring additional avenues to expose
the lessons of the Armenian Genocide to other school districts, and
possibly opening the program to American history, as well as other
social studies

[Hovik]

News From Armenian Arts Council, Inc.

NEWS FROM ARMENIAN ARTS COUNCIL, INC.

13651 Ludlow Avenue, Oak Park, Michigan 48237-1350


For immediate release: Contact: Khachig Kafafian

(248-941-3615



ARMENIAN ARTS COUNCIL LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS PROGRAM FOR METRO DETROIT YOUTH



Oak Park, Michigan – Following a hugely successful Super Bowl XL, Detroit Armenians can look forward to more great things happening on the cultural front.



In December 2005 a new nonprofit, nonaffiliated group was formed -- the Armenian Arts Council, Inc. – to meet the needs of Armenian youth in Southeastern Michigan who wish to pursue their interests in the arts.



As stated in its Bylaws, the Armenian Arts Council’s mission is “…to promote and develop Armenian arts, culture and heritage through public performances, exhibits, classes and any and all other appropriate means.”



Programs are being planned to provide professional instruction and training in Armenian dance, dramatic arts, folk and classical music (vocal and instrumental), the visual arts, and related areas, and to showcase those talents and achievements in public performances and exhibitions.



“Armenian youth need to be challenged by participation and performance in the arts, just as they are in academic subjects and sports,” said Armenian Arts Council Chairman Khatchig Kafafian. “They need to be involved in a program that will be a source of pride, where they learn about their heritage and bond with their Armenian peers.”



The first project of the new group is to develop talent for the creation of an Armenian folk dance ensemble in Southeastern Michigan.



Mr. Varuzhan Movsisyan will bring his years of training and experience in Armenian dance as director of the dance program, which will offer instruction for young children, teens, and adults. Classes will be held in two suburban Detroit locations - Farmington Hills and Birmingham.



Registration will take place on Saturday, February 18 and Saturday, February 25 from 11am-4:00 pm at A Children’s Place, 32175 Folsom Road, Farmington Hills.



All are invited to come and meet the director and council members. Help us make Michigan a hub of Armenian culture!



For more information, please contact Khatchig Kafafian at (248) 941-3615 or via email at [email protected].



ATTENTION READERS: If you know of Armenians with talent, please contact the Armenian Arts Council for the purpose of creating an Armenian cultural network in Michigan.

[Hovik]

Stanford, Harvard and Crescenta Valley Students Aid Village Schools in Armenia throug



January 21, 2005

For immediate release from

Fast For Armenia

PO Box 19373, Stanford, CA 94309

[email protected]

559.974.4323







Stanford, Harvard and Crescenta Valley Students Aid Village Schools in Armenia through the Second Annual Fast For Armenia

By Anahid Yeremian



In 2004, a handful of Armenian students from Stanford University embarked upon an ambitious program to supply schools in the remote villages of Armenia with the basic supplies they need to educate Armenia’s future. They were inspired by the promise their grandparents and great grandparents, survivors of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman empire in 1915, made to their perished families to create a new Armenian nation, empowered with knowledge and the tenacious desire to excel.



The pilot program called on people around the world to fast on April 24 and donate the money they would have spent on food to Fast For Armenia. This money would then buy school supplies for students in Armenia. In its first year, Fast For Armenia used the raised funds to provide textbooks and opportunities for the children in two schools in the Aragatsotn and Karakert regions of Armenia.



The response from the Armenian and non-Armenian international community was overwhelmingly positive. This year students from Harvard University and Crescenta Valley High School in Los Angeles joined the Stanford Armenian Students Association generating innovative ideas to do even more. They inspired fellow students not only to fast on April 24 but also to buy the commemorative tri color wristbands marked with the words “Remember the Forgotten.” This phrase asks us to remember not only those who were annihilated in the 1915 Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Turks, but also the Armenians who narrowly escaped annihilation by Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1990, and are currently living in the remote border villages of Armenia. This effort by university and high school students became an international cause, garnering support from people all over the world who donated and purchased wristbands to provide a tangible solution to Armenia’s tragic past and vulnerable present.



Because of the great outpouring in 2005, Fast For Armenia supported seven village schools with textbooks, desks, and laboratory and gym equipment totaling $11,700. These schools include those in the border villages of Akhbradzor and Vanevan in the Vartenis region in the north east, the Antarout village on Mt. Aragats, the Shvani Dzor school near the southern border of Meghri, the Vaghatur school on the south east border near Goris, the Vaghatin school in the south west border near Sisian, and the special art school in Sisian. All together over 900 students in Armenia benefited this year from the international effort of Fast For Armenia. The gratitude and excitement that these children express for the support extended to them by the international community through Fast For Armenia is truly rewarding and inspiring. We invite our friends and patrons to visit these remote villages during their trips to Armenia and to experience the contagious excitement that radiates from the children.



Next year Fast For Armenia will continue with even more intensity, incorporating other university student organizations who will accept this vision as their own, and inspire people all over the world to fast on April 24, purchase the tri color “Remember the Forgotten” wristbands, and make donations for Armenia’s future. Next year Fast for Armenia hopes to complete the needs of the currently selected schools and reach out to more schools in Armenia and Artsakh. In addition to textbooks, desks, chalkboards, and laboratory equipment, the program will also purchase other necessities for less fortunate children in the remote regions of Armenia to promote the academic advancement.



Two non-profit, tax-deductible organizations, Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America and the National Foundation for Science and Advanced Technology in Armenia have joined forces with Fast for Armenia to provide outstanding administrative service. For more information on Fast for Armenia, to make donations, or to purchase our tri color wristbands visit www.fastforarmenia.org





Please join us in this amazing effort to open doors and invest in the future of Armenia.