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08/14/2006
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1. ANCA Urges Administration to Oppose Deployment of Turkish Forces to
Lebanon-Israel Border
2. Baku Will Not Allow Two Armenian Governments, Says Aliyev
3. Senate Democratic Leader "Extremely Concerned" Over Hoagland’s
Reluctance To
Acknowledge Genocide
4. Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline Faces Corrosion Threat
5. ANCA Telethon Donations Hit $3 Million
1. ANCA Urges Administration to Oppose Deployment of Turkish Forces to
Lebanon-Israel Border
WASHINGTON–In the interest of preventing further regional unrest–and mindful
of Turkey’s violent legacy in the Middle East–the Armenian National Committee
of America this week expressed the Armenian American community’s opposition to
the prospect of Turkish armed forces being deployed between Lebanon and Israel
as part of a future peacekeeping operation.
In an August 9 letter to President George W. Bush, ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian
called upon the Administration to oppose any proposal to include Turkish
troops
in such a deployment, noting that, "Turkey’s presence on Lebanese soil will
only make the current situation even worse." He added that, "as Armenian
Americans–the sons and daughters of a people who endured genocide at the
hands
of the Ottoman Turkish government–we are especially mindful of raising the
legacy of Turkey’s brutal Ottoman rule over the Middle East and unnecessarily
introducing a nation with history of destabilizing behavior into an already
complex and highly sensitive region."
Stressing that, "Turkey’s record of persecution and genocide has left deep
scars in the collective memory of the Lebanese people," Hachikian explained
that, "it would be immensely insensitive on the part of the United States to
promote Turkish participation in an international peacekeeping force that will
need every ounce of credibility and goodwill that it can muster in order to
succeed in such a highly delicate and challenging mission."
The opposition of the Greek American community on this matter was
communicated
to the President last week in a letter from the American Hellenic Institute.
The complete text of the ANCA’s letter to President Bush is provided below.
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to share with you the Armenian American community’s opposition
to any deployment by Turkey of its armed forces to serve as part of
peacekeeping force between Lebanon and Israel. We learned of this possibility
from news reports of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent discussions
in the region.
The presence of Turkish troops would undermine United States’ interests in a
lasting and durable peace. As Armenian Americans–the sons and daughters of a
people who endured genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government–we
are especially mindful of raising the legacy of Turkey’s brutal Ottoman rule
over the Middle East and unnecessarily introducing a nation with history of
destabilizing behavior into an already complex and highly sensitive region.
Turkey’s record of persecution and genocide has left deep scars in the
collective memory of the Lebanese people. The famous Martyrs’ Monument in
Central Beirut is a vivid reminder of the record of mass brutality that Turkey
has left behind in this tortured land. It would be immensely insensitive on
the
part of the United States to promote Turkish participation in an international
peacekeeping force that will need every ounce of credibility and goodwill that
it can muster in order to succeed in such a highly delicate and challenging
mission. Turkey’s presence on Lebanese soil will only make the current
situation even worse.
As Armenian Americans, we are, as you know, profoundly troubled that, more
than eight decades after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of
Turkey continues to deny this atrocity. The Turkish government has compounded
their ongoing attempts to escape responsibility for this crime, effectively
seeking to complete the evil campaign launched in 1915, by, even today,
blockading and seeking to isolate Armenia. In addition, Turkey maintains its
military occupation of Cyprus, more than thirty years after its illegal 1974
invasion. Within its own borders, Turkey is regularly cited as among the
worst
abusers of human rights. In only the past few days, the Turkish military has,
against the advice of US officials, threatened to launch cross border attacks
into Iraq, a move that has the potential of severely destabilizing US-led
coalition efforts to bring peace to this troubled nation.
As you know, Turkey has, in recent years, proven itself an unreliable US ally
on a number of occasions. First and foremost among these was its refusal, in
March of 2003, to allow Coalition forces to open a northern front in the Iraq
War. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has said that the strength of the
current Iraqi insurgency is due, in large part, to Turkey’s rejection of our
request for cooperation in this crucial aspect of the war.
Mr. President, we respectfully call upon you to consider our reservations,
and
those already expressed to you by our friends in the Greek American community,
on this matter of profound importance to our nation’s interests in the Middle
East.
Sincerely yours,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
2. Baku Will Not Allow Two Armenian Governments, Says Aliyev
BAKU (Noyan Tapan)–Azeri President Ilham Aliyev announced Monday that Baku
will not allow a second Armenian government to exist within it territory.
"We are well aware that minorities exist in several countries. We also
know of
those minorities living under self rule. However, those minorities cannot
secede from a government like ‘separatists’ and create a new government,"
referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Aliyev told a group of Azeri
diplomats during a meeting.
A senior aide to President Ilham Aliyev has warned that Azerbaijan could turn
to the United Nations if France, Russia and the United States continue to
"ignore" its internationally recognized sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In televised remarks cited by the BBC on Friday, Novruz Mammadov, head of the
foreign relations department of the Azeri presidential administration, again
indicated Baku’s unhappiness with a peaceful settlement favored by the three
co-chairs of the Minsk Group.
"Unfortunately, we have never heard anything about Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity from them," Mammadov was quoted as telling an Azeri TV channel.
"Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity should have been the mediators’ main
principle… but they are forgetting about that. Just like the whole world,
the
mediators are thinking only about their own countries’ interests."
Another top Azeri official, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov, claimed for
his
part that the mediators are increasingly indifferent to the plight of hundreds
of thousands of Azeris that were displaced during the 1991-1994 war for
Karabakh. He complained that they no longer visit rundown refugee camps
where a
large part of them continue to reside. "This posture by the co-chairs must be
regarded as pressure on the leadership of Azerbaijan," Hasanov said, according
to the Interfax news agency.
The Minsk Group’s existing peace plan calls for a gradual resolution of the
conflict that would enable Karabakh’s predominantly Armenian population to
determine the disputed territory’s status in a referendum. The vote would
almost certainly formalize Karabakh’s secession from Azerbaijan.
Armenia has said that the peace plan is largely acceptable to it.
Azerbaijan’s
attitude to the proposed deal is less clear, with Aliyev having repeatedly
ruled out any solution that would not put Karabakh back under Azeri control.
"Azerbaijan will never–neither today, nor tomorrow and under no
circumstances–agree to Nagorno-Karabakh’s secession from Azerbaijan," Aliyev
told his cabinet on July 31.
While saying that Baku does not object to the referendum option, Mammadov
accused the mediators of being biased against the Azeris. "They are thinking
about the 100,000 ethnic Armenians of Karabakh, but what about the 50,000
Azeris of Karabakh?" he said.
3. Senate Democratic Leader "Extremely Concerned" Over Hoagland’s
Reluctance To
Acknowledge Genocide
WASHINGTON–Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), in a letter to the
Armenian National Committee of Nevada, reported that he is "extremely
concerned" by the reluctance of Richard Hoagland, the Administration’s nominee
to serve as the next ambassador to Armenia, to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide.
Senator Reid’s public stand follows the August 2nd announcement by Senator
Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) that he will vote against the Hoagland nomination
because of the nominee’s refusal to properly recognize the Armenian
Genocide as
a "genocide." Sen. Coleman serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"The opposition of Senator Norm Coleman and concerns raised by Harry
Reid–the
Senate’s Democratic Leader–reflect the growing bipartisan opposition to the
approval of a US envoy to Yerevan who refuses to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We continue to work
in communities around the nation to explain to Senators the damage to
US-Armenia relations–and, more broadly, to America’s standing on genocide
prevention efforts worldwide–that will be done by approving a nominee that
has
actually denied the genocidal intent of the perpetrators of the Armenian
Genocide."
Responding to grassroots concerns raised by Nevada’s growing and increasingly
active Armenian American community, Senator Reid noted that this refusal is
"particularly troubling in light of the State Department’s dismissal of the
last Ambassador to Armenia, John M. Evans following comments he made during a
February 2005 tour of Armenian-American communities in which he recognized the
Armenian Genocide. As you may know, the State Department has offered no
explanation for Evans’ dismissal."
As reported by the Associated Press, Senator Coleman has explained, "As
someone of the Jewish faith, I bring a heightened sensitivity to the
reality of
genocide and mass murder, and the importance of recognizing it for what it
is.
I was brought up believing you never forget the Holocaust, never forget what
happened. And I could not imagine how our ambassador to Israel could have any
effectiveness if he couldn’t recognize the Holocaust."
On August 1, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed consideration of
Ambassador Hoagland’s nomination, following a request by the Committee’s
Ranking Democrat Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.). Also
voicing support for the delay were Senators George Allen (R-Va.) and Barbara
Boxer (D-Calif.). The Committee is set to consider the matter during its
regular business meeting on September 7.
To date, more than half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including
Senators George Allen, Joseph Biden, Barbara Boxer, Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),
Norm
Coleman, Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.), John Kerry
and
Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) have contacted Secretary Rice or questioned
Ambassador-designate Hoagland directly regarding the Armenian Genocide.
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Jack Reed (D-RI), along with over sixty
members of the US House have also expressed serious concerns to the State
Department on this matter.
4. Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline Faces Corrosion Threat
By Stephen Foley in New York
The INDEPENDENT
Environmental groups have warned that corrosion inside a controversial new oil
pipeline controlled by the British company BP could trigger a massive oil
spill
into some of the most environmentally-sensitive areas of the former Soviet
Union.
As BP battles with a crisis in Alaska, where it had to shut down the biggest
oil field in the US, campaigners say that safety flaws discovered there extend
also to a 1,000-mile pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Turkey. And the company
stands accused of a management culture where whistleblowers are ignored or,
worse, hounded out.
BP is accused of ignoring warnings about the effectiveness of a coating it
uses to slow corrosion. Critics say the coating will fail, and corrosion will
quickly cause the pipeline to break open, spilling oil into the wilds of
Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The criticisms come as politicians in Washington plan to bring senior BP
executives before Congressional hearings to face questions on a string of
safety lapses. Corroded pipelines in Alaska caused a 200,000 gallon
oilspill–the region’s worst ever on land–and BP is shutting down the entire
oilfield to conduct repairs. The field represents eight per cent of all oil
produced in the US, and its closure sent oil prices soaring this week.
The debacle comes barely a year after 15 people died in an explosion at a BP
refinery in Texas, for which the company faces a legal bill of more than $1
billion. It is nicknamed "Big Problems" in the US. Platform, an oil industry
monitoring group, says it is only a matter of time before the pipeline through
the Caucasus–from Baku in Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean port of
Ceyhan–also
triggers a disaster.
The pipeline cuts through national parkland and mineral springs in Georgia,
and triggered environmental protests when it was still at the planning stage.
Mika Minio Paluello, of Platform, said: "The public in Alaska is much more
important to BP than the public in the Caucasus, so if the standards are not
even met in the US then there is not much reason to believe that they will be
met there."
Platform says BP ignored warnings from one of its engineering consultants
about the coating used to prevent corrosion. Test results show it is already
cracking at some points, although BP says this is not serious. The project has
been dogged by criticism, and earlier this year The Independent revealed a
string of blunders. Builders cut off villages’ water supplies, flooded
farmland
and allowed oil leaks; there were insufficient checks for pipes buckling in
earthquake zones; welding work failed inspections; and those who complained
were sacked or made to leave.
But in May, oil began flowing through the pipeline and it will carry a
million
barrels a day from the newly-developed oilfields off the Azeri coast. The
industry is desperate for new sources as existing fields mature and as demand
for oil rises.
BP dismissed the idea that it cuts corners and compromises safety. A
spokes-man said: "The pipeline was constructed, and will be operated and
maintained, to a high standard. It is protected against both internal and
external corrosion."
The danger of corrosion in Alaska was brought to the attention of the BP
board
two years ago by a former consultant, who had become a conduit for concerns
from internal whistleblowers. BP is conducting a review of safety and ethics
procedures–including protections for whistleblowers–throughout its US
operations. The company is facing a criminal investigation in Alaska, as well
as tough fines from regulators.
Nick Hildyard, of another environmental monitoring group, The Corner House,
said: "A management culture that treats credible concerns over safety as
something to be resisted serves neither the public nor shareholders. Alaska
shows only too clearly the long-term costs."
5. ANCA Telethon Donations Hit $3 Million
WASHINGTON–Donations to the first ever ANCA Telethon topped the three million
dollar mark, with over 7,500 individual donations coming in from across the
country to expand the level of Armenian American participation in the civic
life of the United States, reported the ANCA Endowment Fund, Inc.
"We are deeply gratified by this broad-based, grassroots investment in our
energetic pursuit of the Armenian Cause," said ANCA Endowment Fund President
Ken Hachikian. "The success of the Telethon–both financially and as a means
of recruiting thousands of new activists–represents both a reflection of our
community’s enduring faith in the Armenian Cause and an important milestone in
the growth of our power, respect, and influence in the nation’s capital.
It is
a clear expression of our community’s confidence in the success of the ANCA’s
grassroots efforts."
The ANCA Telethon, a six-hour May 21 broadcast, was seen in hundreds of
thousands of homes across the United States. The program featured hosts from
across the country, remarks by US elected officials and Armenian American
community leaders, performances by leading Armenian entertainers, and a
variety
of documentaries featuring different aspects of the Armenian Cause. Donations
to the Telethon–during the broadcast and in the weeks that followed came from
all elements of the Armenian American community. The success of the
Telethon is
unprecedented for an Armenian American community grassroots organization. The
program kicked off the ANCA Capital Campaign, designed to raise $5 million in
support of ANCA educational programs and the newly purchased ANCA headquarters
in the nation’s capital.
The ANCA has been expanding its operations in Washington to meet the
increasing portfolio of work needed to pursue vital issues of concern to the
Armenian American community. This year the ANCA moved into its new
headquarters building that was purchased in February, and has been expanding
its broad based community outreach programs including the ANCA Capital Gateway
Program. Funds raised will primarily become part of a permanent capital fund
for the organization.
Since the success of the Telethon, the ANCA has embarked on a number of
national, regional and local initiatives, recently completing its 21st annual
Leo Sarkisian Internship program in Washington, DC, as well as various
regional
and local internship programs. Chapters and activists nationwide are gearing
for the November Congressional elections, with the ANCA "Hye Voter Turnout"
program expanding to educate Congressional candidates across the country about
Armenian American concerns. In September, the ANCA will be hosting a national
conference, geared to bring together activists from across the US to share
their experiences and learn how to strengthen the ANCA grassroots network.
Titled "Grassroots Makes the Difference," the conference, will be held
September 14 to 17 at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Washington. For
more information, or to register, visit:
On-line donations are still being accepted for the ANCA Telethon at
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