ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/17/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM
1) LA Times Calls on Senate to Block Hoagland Nomination
2) Tense Calm in Armenian Areas As Israel Continues to Pound Lebanon
3) G8 Leaders Urge Armenia, Azerbaijan To Cut Karabakh Deal
1) LA Times Calls on Senate to Block Hoagland Nomination
WASHINGTON–A policy editorial published today by the Los Angeles Times,
largest newspaper in the Western United States, marks a major and very public
setback for the US Department of State’s increasingly untenable policy of
complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America.
The editorial sharply criticizes the Bush Administration’s decision to fire
the US Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, for truthfully discussing the
Armenian Genocide.
Noting that half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has already raised
concerns about this matter, the editorial board calls on the panel to block
the
nomination of the ambassador-designate, Richard Hoagland, until he properly
recognizes the Armenian Genocide. They closed their powerfully worded
piece by
stressing that, "the Bush administration should have the courage of its
lack of
conviction and explain forthrightly not just to Armenian-Americans but to
all
Americans who believe in calling evil by its proper name why US policy is
being dictated by Ankara nationalists."
The Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times has a circulation to over 1.2
million households and reaches millions more over the internet.
To join with the thousands of activists around the nation who have written to
the State Department on this matter, visit:
< ertid=8896316&type=CO>http://capwiz
.com/an ca/issues/alert/?alertid=8896316&type=CO
The complete text of the Los Angeles Times editorial is provided below.
Speak No Evil?
July 16, 2006
What happens when you refer to Turkey’s 1915-1923 genocide of Armenians,
accurately, as "genocide"? In Turkey, you face a possible three-year jail
term,
even if it wasn’t you using the term but a character in your novel. In the
United States, you just lose your job as ambassador to Armenia.
The novelist is Elif Shafak, who learned last week she will go on trial for
defamation of the Turkish Republic. The former ambassador is John M. Evans,
who
was recalled from Yerevan in May after referring to the "Armenian genocide" in
a speech before a group of Armenian Americans in February 2005. As one State
Department bigwig told an Armenian newspaper: "Ambassadors serve the
president,
and they are obliged to follow his policy. President Bush’s policy as regards
the mass killings of Armenians is precise."
Precisely what purpose this policy serves is clear: avoid using the most
truthful word in the English language to describe an eight-decade-old atrocity
for fear of offending a crucial NATO ally. As Bush’s proposed replacement for
Evans, Richard Hoagland, put it last month during his confirmation hearing,
"Instead of getting stuck in the past and vocabulary, I would like to see what
we can do to bring different sides together."
Vocabulary may not be the president’s best subject Bush himself has poked
fun at his frequent malapropisms but he’s shown he knows the meaning of the
word "genocide." Campaigning for the White House in 2000, Bush told Armenian
American groups that "the 20th
century was marred by wars of unimaginable brutality, mass murder and
genocide"
and that "history records that the Armenians were the first people of the last
century to have endured these cruelties."
If elected president, I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the
tragic suffering of the Armenian people."
It’s one of the more blatant of Bush’s broken campaign promises. Luckily, the
Senate is showing signs of giving this rhetorical appeasement the rebuke it
deserves. Half of the senators on the Foreign Relations Committee have
demanded
that the State Department give an official explanation for Evans’ premature
recall, and some have hinted that Hoagland’s appointment could hang in the
balance.
They should block the nomination altogether until the ambassador-to-be dares
to utter the g-word.
And the Bush administration should have the courage of its lack of conviction
and explain forthrightly–not just to Armenian Americans but too all Americans
who believe in calling evil by its proper name–why US policy is being
dictated
by Ankara.
2) Tense Calm in Armenian Areas As Israel Continues to Pound Lebanon
BEIRUT, YEREVAN (Aztag, Armenpress)–A tense calm was reported in Armenian
areas of Lebanon, as the Israeli attack on Lebanon entered its sixth day. At
press time, Aztag Daily reported no significant damage or disturbance in the
Armenian areas of the country.
Sources at Aztag told Asbarez that the community is weathering this crisis as
bravely as possible, although citizens are naturally concerned about Lebanon’s
fate.
In an editorial appeal, Aztag has urged the Lebanese-Armenian community to
confront this recent crisis with patience and courage.
"In this situation, Armenian Revolutionary Federation community centers are
making all necessary preparations to provide emergency assistance and to
create
the mechanisms to provide for the needs of the community," stated the Aztag
editorial appeal.
In the event of further escalation of the current situation and a more severe
impact on Armenian areas of Lebanon, the newspaper urged community members to
go to their neighborhood centers and come together "to overcome, once again,
another stage of war."
Armenia’s foreign ministry announced that around 70 Armenian citizens will be
transported from Lebanon to Syria from where they will be flown to Armenia,
reported the Armenpress news agency.
Officials from the Armenian embassy in Lebanon will meet them on the
Syrian-Lebanese border and ensure their safe transportation to Aleppo.
Third secretary of the embassy Arsen Arakelian told Armenpress that Armenian
citizens living in Lebanon were informed about the evacuation and in all
likelihood, there are no Armenian citizens left in Beirut.
"The evacuation is taking place on their own volition. If there are people
who
want to stay here until the end of the crisis, it will on their own will. The
embassy will try to help with everything," he said.
The secretary said that the embassy will continue its daily operation.
In a related story, Aztag newspaper reported that the Hamazkayine "Sevan"
Dance Ensemble of Australia was touring Lebanon and was stuck in Beirut on the
day of its members departure.
"Our final stop over was Beirut and after another magnificent performance in
front of a sold out crowd, we were ready to head home for Sydney. That was
until we woke on the day of our departure to the news that the runways at
Beirut airport had been bombed. We were told by the Australian Embassy in
Lebanon that it was safest to stay at our hotel until further notice," wrote
Levon Demirian a member of the dance troupe.
"Phone calls from concerned parents in Australia have not stopped, but rest
assured we’re in an excellent hotel in the safest area in the outskirts of
Beirut and have plenty of food and drink. Some of the kids are running out of
spending money, but parents are able to send it through Western Union or the
Australian Embassy in case our stay is lengthened," added Demirian.
"The most frustrating and stressful thing at the moment is the
uncertainty. No
one is able to tell us when and how we can leave. Everyone is looking out for
each other and sticking close by," concluded Demirian.
3) G8 Leaders Urge Armenia, Azerbaijan To Cut Karabakh Deal
ST. PETERSBURG (RFE/RL)–The leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) wealthiest
nations on Monday threw their weight behind international efforts to resolve
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to cut a
framework peace deal this year.
"We call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to demonstrate the political will, reach
agreement and prepare their publics for peace and not for war," they said in a
joint statement issued at the end of their two-day meeting in the Russian city
of Saint Petersburg.
The statement, as cited by the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, said the
Karabakh conflict was on the agenda of the G8 summit. "We confirmed that the
Group of Eight supports the mediation efforts of the co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group and stressed the need for agreeing on the basic principles of a
peaceful settlement of the conflict as early as in 2006," it said.
However, the unresolved Karabakh dispute appears to have been overshadowed by
other, more pressing international issues. Reports from Saint Petersburg
indicated that the G8 leaders concentrated on mounting tensions in the Middle
East, Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea’s missile tests and global trade.
Three of the G8 powers — France, Russia and the United States — have
spearheaded international efforts to end the Karabakh conflict over the past
decade, and are believed to have been very close to fulfilling their
mission at
the beginning of this year. However, two rounds of subsequent negotiations
between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan proved fruitless, all but
ending hopes for the signing of a Karabakh peace accord by the end of 2006.
Armenian and Azeri media reports last month said the mediating powers might
invite Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev to the G8 summit in yet
another attempt to break the Karabakh deadlock. But both leaders made it clear
last week that they see no need for such an encounter.
The American, French and Russian mediators, for their part, stated earlier
this month that further Armenian-Azeri peace talks will be pointless unless
Aliyev and Kocharian display enough commitment to mutual compromise. The move
suggested that both Russia and the West are unlikely to step up pressure on
the
conflicting parties.
Speaking in Saint Petersburg on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said
Moscow will not seek to impose any solutions on either party. "We would like
Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a mutually acceptable solution," he said,
according to the Regnum news agency. "I can confirm our position: Russia will
not be imposing a solution neither on Armenia, nor on Azerbaijan. Compromise
has to be reached by the peoples of these countries."
The Minsk Group’s US co-chair, Matthew Bryza, likewise told RFE/RL on June 27
that Washington has no intention to "force people to agree." "You can’t have a
just and lasting settlement if it’s just strong US leverage forcing an
agreement," said Bryza. "The sides have to decide that they’ve reached an
agreement that they truly can embrace."
All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.
ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.
–Boundary_(ID_MszvK09f275/WPza3pGaLA)–