Massis Weekly Online
VOLUME 27, NO. 3 (1303)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2007
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– State Department Will Work To Block A Vote In Congress
– Leaders Of SDHP, ARF And ADL Meet in Paris
– Bush Administration Seeks Drastic Cut In U.S. Aid To Armenia
– Armenian Council of America Sponsors H.R. 106
– Nine Out Of Ten Respondents Consider Corruption A Problem Or A Big
Problem In Armenia
– Clark University Alumnus Establishes Fund For Study Of The Armenian Genocide
– A Journey To Armenia: Land of Contrasts
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– State Department Will Work To Block A Vote In Congress
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul Warns Against U.S. Genocide Resolution
WASHINGTON, DC — Turkey?s foreign minister has warned the U.S.
Congress that passing a resolution condemning as genocide the mass
killing of Armenians early in the last century would harm relations.
Abdullah Gul, speaking after meeting top U.S. officials in Washington
on February 6, said the proposed resolution would be an irritant to
otherwise close cooperation with the United States on issues such as
Iraq. ?Adoption of even a nonbinding resolution in either chamber
would seriously harm our bilateral relations,? Abdullah Gul said
Tuesday as he wrapped up a trip to Washington.
?I see this as a real threat to our relationship,? he said. ?While we
are having cooperation in these difficult fields, while we are
fighting shoulder to shoulder in these fields, while we are supporting
each other and facing these challenges, this resolution, if it is
accepted, I believe that if that happens, it will be a real shock.?
U.S. officials have said they will try to block the resolution.
?In terms of the discussions within the U.S. Congress, look, we
understand very clearly that this is a sensitive issue not only for
the Turkish people but for the Armenian people,? U.S. State Department
spokesman Sean McCormick said. ?We have made our views known on the
potential for a resolution or for a bill.?
Gul’s visit comes at a tense moment for relations between the United
States and Turkey. President George W. Bush?s administration is
alarmed that the suggested congressional resolution could disrupt
efforts to repair strains stemming from perceptions in Ankara that
regional instability caused by the U.S.-led war in Iraq have harmed
Turkish interests. The administration has opposed previous attempts
by members of Congress to pass resolutions recognizing the 1915-1919
killings in Anatolia of up to 1.5 million Armenians as an organized
genocide. A resolution introduced in the House of Representatives in
January is thought to stand a much better chance of passing a floor
vote.
State Department officials say the administration will work with
members of Congress to head off the resolution.
?A congressional resolution would be a tremendous blow to our
bilateral relationship,? said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Matthew J. Bryza. ?We are working harder than usual.?
In meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National
Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, Gul pressured the administration to
block the resolution. But Bush will have to persuade the new
Democratic-controlled congress, which does not need presidential
approval for such a resolution.
Members behind the proposed bill have said they expect a push by the
administration and lobbyists working for the Turkish government to
keep the resolution from a full vote by the House. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, who will decide whether to offer the bill for a full vote if,
as expected, it is approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
has expressed support.
In meetings with Rice and other officials, Gul raised U.S. cooperation
on preventing Kurdish rebels from using Northern Iraq as a sanctuary
and a base of operations against Turkey by terrorists. Gul warned
against suggestions in some U.S. political circles that Iraq be split
into three autonomous regions, which Turkey fears would create an
independent Kurdistan in Northern Iraq and embolden PKK separatists in
southeastern Turkey. ?A soft partition of Iraq is a fantasy,? he said.
?Iraq does not have internal boundaries.?
– Leaders Of SDHP, ARF And ADL Meet in Paris
On Monday February 5th the leaders of the world governing bodies of
the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation and the Armenian Democratic League (Ramkavar party) met in
the Fr ench capitol Paris to discuss national issues of interest to
Armenians.
SDHP was represented by Mr. Setrak Ajemian, Chairman of Central
Executive Committee, the ARF by Mr. Hrant Markarian chairman of Bureau
and ADL by Mr. Michael Kharabian, chairman of the Central Executive
Body.
This meeting was the first of its kind in recent years. During the
several hour-long meeting issues concerning Diaspora communities,
Armenian- Turkish relations and the current situation in Armenia were
discussed.
In conclusion it was decided to establish a permanent working body
also similar meeting will be held in the future to address issues of
concern to all Armenians.
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Central Committee Media Center
– Bush Administration Seeks Drastic Cut In U.S. Aid To Armenia
WASHINGTON, DC — The administration of President George W. Bush has
proposed a drastic reduction in regular U.S. assistance to Armenia,
provoking strong criticism and resistance from Armenian-American
organizations.
The Bush administration?s budget request for the fiscal year 2008,
unveiled on Monday, calls for $35 million in economic aid to the
country, sharply down from the 2006 level of $69 million. It would
also cut U.S. aid to the Armenian military by more than 30 percent to
$3.3 million.
The proposed cuts came just days after the U.S. House of
Representatives set the 2007 aid package for Armenia at about $75
million. The Senate is expected to approve a similar aid allocation
soon.
Armenian-American leaders are particularly dismayed by the fact that
the Bush administration is again trying to change that parity by
asking for $5.3 million in military financing for Azerbaijan.
Administration officials have previously argued that Azerbaijan needs
more such help than Armenia in order to secure its much longer border
with America?s arch-rival Iran and Caspian Sea coast.
The proposed funding cuts seem to stem from a broader reduction in
U.S. assistance to former Soviet republics that began in the late 1990s.
U.S. officials will also point out that Armenia is on course to
receive $235.6 million in additional U.S. aid under Bush?s Millennium
Challenge Account program. Washington says the release of the
five-year aid package is conditional on the democratization of
Armenia?s political system.
Today?s announcement is the first step in a lengthy process. The next
step is for the House and Senate to review the Administration?s
request through committee hearings, the first of which will take place
later this week when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
– Armenian Council of America Sponsors H.R. 106
In the wake of the assassination of prominent Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink in Turkey, House Resolution 106 has been introduced by Rep.
Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) recently urging President Bush to recognize
the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Council of America has pledged its
full support as a key sponsor encouraging Armenian Americans and
various organizations to contact their representative to advocate this
crucial legislation.
?It is important now more than ever for the Resolution to be passed,?
said Peter Darakjian, Director of the Armenian Council of America. ?We
are living in an era where journalists are being murdered for
defending human rights and it is vital that we collaborate all our
efforts in showing that justice will prevail and the Armenian Genocide
will be recognized. Recognition has been long overdue and denial has
been around for too long,? added Darakjian.
In a letter to the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, the ACA
expressed their gratitude for the years of hard work and perseverance.
The Caucus has contributed to issues of concern for the Armenian
American community.
Additionally, various Armenian organizations, including the Armenian
Council of America have been instrumental in prompting the community
to contact local representatives to advance this key legislation which
has received much praise from the media, including the Los Angeles
Times.
?New Hope for Genocide Resolution,? an Op-Ed article in the Feb. 4
edition of the Times reported that since the Democratic Party, which
has been most sympathetic to the Armenian Genocide resolutions, is now
controlling Congress, the chances of the legislation passing is very
likely.
The article also added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San
Francisco) who has been highly supportive of Armenian Genocide
resolutions has earnestly brought the legislation matter to a vote.
?The Armenian Council of America will do everything in its power to
have this legislation passed,? added Darakjian. ?The window of
opportunity has never been wider and the unity in our community is
stronger now more than ever. The assassination of Hrant Dink was a
travesty and an enormous loss to all Armenians and defender?s of human
rights issues worldwide. However, it has made us resilient to blind
ignorance fueled by the Turkish government and increasingly passionate
towards the advocacy of Armenian Genocide recognition and education.?
The support for H.R. 160 has included over 160 members of the House.
Key Congressional supporters include Congressmen Adam Schiff (DCA),
George Radanovich (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI).
– Nine Out Of Ten Respondents Consider Corruption A Problem Or A Big
Problem In Armenia
January 31, 2007, Yerevan ?The corruption perception survey was
implemented by Center for Regional Development/ Transparency
International Armenia (CRD/TI Armenia) with the support of UNDP
Armenia Office from July-December 2006. The results of the survey
revealed that nine out of ten citizens consider corruption as a
problem or a major problem in Armenia. In addition, nine out of ten
respondents stressed that free and fair elections is one of the
solutions to improve the anti-corruption situation in Armenia.
The results of the 2006 survey indicated that the citizens of Armenia
are still very much concerned about corruption. 89.0% of the surveyed
citizens see corruption as a problem or a major problem in Armenia.
40.1% of the respondents considered corruption as crime and 11.81% as
an immoral behavior. In 2006, nearly five times more interviewees
(67.7%) than in 2002 (14%) stated that corruption has always existed
in Armenia. The majority of interviewees (64.0%) believe that the
level of corruption has increased during the last three years.
Most people both in 2002 and 2006 still think that bribery and abuse
of public office for personal gain are the main manifestations of
corruption. They still believe that the state authorities are those
who mainly initiate corruption and that more corruption occurs in the
high level of the Armenian government system.
However, the responses concerning the most corrupt institutions
(structures) have changed since 2002. While the prosecution system was
mentioned again in 2006, the Prime Minister?s Office and the courts
that were mentioned in 2002 were replaced by the Prime Minister and
the Ministers in 2006.
As to the most corrupt sectors and services, the traffic police are
still perceived by the public as very corrupt (68.2%). In addition,
the majority of respondents selected the electoral system (73.9%) and
the tax service (63.3%) as most corrupt, while in 2002 the military
and health sector were given similar marks.
The 2006 survey revealed new sectors to which unofficial payments were
made, as reported by interviewees. These are the State Registrar, the
Office of Enforcement of Court Decisions, foreign embassies,
environment-related services, condominiums, as well as the Register of
Civil Acts, in addition to healthcare, education, traffic police, tax,
customs, cadastre, military, local self-government bodies, notary
offices, which were also mentioned in 2002.
Whereas the majority of the 2002 respondents thought that the main
causes of corruption are poor law enforcement, imperfect legislation
and inefficient control and punishment mechanisms, in 2006 an
increased number of interviewees were inclined to see public tolerance
as one of the major causes of corruption in Armenia.
According to the findings of the 2006 survey, 69.4% of the public is
not aware about the Anti-Corruption Strategy, 84.4% about the
Anti-Corruption Council and 91.4% about its Monitoring Commission, as
well as about Armenia?s international obligations in the fight against
corruption (84.3%).
While prioritizing the solutions to improve the current situation,
89.0% of the respondents pointed to a necessity of ensuring free and
fair elections. They also referred to strengthening law enforcement
(93.9%) and punishment of those involved in corruption (91.9%) as a
key to the success of reducing corruption in the country. Both in 2002
and 2006, the majority of interviewees continue to believe that the
President of the country could play a determining role in reducing
corruption in Armenia. More than half of the respondents felt that
people themselves cannot do anything.
In 2006, 39.0% of the respondents said they could not justify
corruption at all. In 2006, 50.7% of respondents answered that they
would not take bribes since it is unacceptable for them, whereas in
2002 only 17% of the respondents were of the same opinion.
The above data was presented today at the presentation of ?2006
Corruption Perception Survey in Armenia? publication, which took place
in the Congress Hotel. The survey results were presented by the
Chairwoman of the CRD/TI Armenia Ms. Amalya Kostanyan. The event
brought together public figures, representatives of NGOs and
international organizations, as well as mass media. Ms. Consuelo
Vidal, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative,
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of OSCE Office in Armenia, Ms.
Bojana Urumova, Special Representative of Secretary General of CoE to
Armenia, and Ms. Anna Aghadjanian, Head of the Human Rights Division
of the International Organizations? Department, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Armenia were key speakers of the event.
The survey was implemented by CRD/TI Armenia with the support of UNDP
Armenia Office. The organization carried on a similar survey in 2002,
and analogous survey questionnaire was developed in 2006 to ensure a
comparison with the previous data.
– Clark University Alumnus Establishes Fund For Study Of The Armenian Genocide
WORCESTER, MA — On February 9, the Board of Trustees of Clark
University established the Agnes Manoogian Hausrath fund to support a
doctoral student working in an area of Genocide Studies that will shed
light on the Armenian Genocide. The fund was made possible by a
$500,000 gift from Clark alumnus Bill Hausrath ?53 in memory of his
wife . Mr. Hausrath?s mother-in-law was a survivor of the Genocide. As
a child she witnessed her mother?s death as the Armenians were forced
from their homes and made to march into the desert.
Mr. Hausrath has long supported student scholarships at Clark. Growing
up during the Depression his mother saved $.25 every week in a jar.
She worked hard to save what may now seem like a small sum. It was
enough for Mr. Hausrath to enroll as a freshman.
The savings were depleted after his first year but he was able to
remain a student at Clark thanks to a scholarship. He majored in
business administration. Mr. Hausrath is retired and lives in
Wakefield, MA. The Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies was established at Clark University in 1997 as the first and
only institute of its kind. It is committed to offering excellent
undergraduate education and superior graduate training in the hope of
giving shape to a better future: learning to recognize genocidal
ideologies before they take control and identifying strategies for
deterrence. Once devoted solely to Holocaust scholarship, the mandate
grew to include the Armenian
Genocide. With the establishment of the Stephen and Marian Mugar and
Robert Aram ?52 and Marianne Kaloosdian Chair, the Strassler Center
became home to the first endowed professorship in all of North America
specifically dedicated to the study of the Armenian Genocide and the
modern history of the Armenian people.
Professor Simon Payaslian, the first incumbent of the Kaloosdian/Mugar
Chair, is an energetic teacher and scholar. Working under his
instruction, students study the Armenian Genocide as a distinct
subject and as a comparative case. Professor Payaslian recently
published US Policy toward the Armenian Question and the Genocide .
Committed to fresh scholarship about the Armenian Genocide and renewed
efforts to teach about it, Clark is eager to recruit more doctoral
candidates with this focus. The Agnes Manoogian Hausrath fellowship
will help to accomplish this goal. The mandate of the Strassler Center
is clear: to fund graduate student fellowships, acquire research
materials, and hire library staff able to catalogue Armenian language
books in order to attract first-rate students and sustain their
scholarship. Ninety years after the Armenian Genocide, denial of the
historical record continues to be an issue around the globe. The
Center?s Ph.D. candidates are the future professionals who will
advance the frontiers of knowledge and scholarship, and they will
provide the well-researched and intelligent answers to deniers.
Clark University is a private, coeducational liberal-arts research
university with 2,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. Since
its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in the United
States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such
as the International Studies Stream and the accelerated BA/MA programs
with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible students. The University
is featured in Loren Pope?s book, ?Colleges That Change Lives.?
– A Journey To Armenia: Land of Contrasts
By Michèle Simourian
I went to Armenia with many thoughts and emotions. I had long wanted
to see this little country or, at least, what remained of my ancestral
homeland. Those feelings set me up for expectations which, I did not
think, could possibly be met. Reality exceeded those expectations!
A feeling of overwhelming pride and joy came over me as I gazed upon
Svartznots Airport?s Arrival terminal when I landed: a feeling which
never left me throughout my trip even as it was often accompanied by
utter sadness.
How, I asked myself, could Armenia manage this level of modernity,
organization and beauty and the latest in 21st Century technology to
welcome its visitors? I have known through my work with AMAA for many
years that Armenia?s resources are limited, that unemployment is very
high as the economy had suffered enormously after Perestroika and the
1988 earthquake. From those first moments on Armenian soil and
throughout my trip I was faced with constant contrasts and the manner
in which our Armenian brothers and sisters manage to make the
impossible happen!
Yerevan?s Republic Square is gorgeous in its layout. The buildings
surrounding it are magnificent in architecture and warm in color,
built as they are in various hues of cream and ochre tuf stones.
These colors glow even in the rain and lend the square a sunny
appearance.
Here one sees BMWs and Mercedes, bustling well dressed business men
and women, one could be in an affluent European city. Oh, but what I
found when probing beyond those buildings is another greyer world
which seems to have been left behind. It is firmly anchored in the mid
20th century soviet days except that now, it is heartbreaking to see
youths standing in the streets without purpose as factories and work
have come to a standstill for far too many. Laundry is hanging from
lines outside apartments stacked one on top of the other in poor state
of repair and bleak looking. There are no luxury cars here, only old
rusty Russian cars, some as old as twenty years: how do they still
run? The sad feelings I mentioned earlier came as I witnessed the
misery of people struggling to survive. They represent 90% of the
population, I was told, and the contrast could not be more dramatic
between them and the 10% of those seen on Republic Square two or three
blocks away. Just as telling about the class differences as the BMWs
and rusty old cars driving along the same roads, are the mansions
being built next door to houses which look ready to fall down. There
does not appear to be a middle class: just the very wealthy and the
very poor.
What of the countryside? Once again I saw great contrasts between the
stark beauty of the stony, rather arid surroundings leading to Gumri
and the verdant, lush region around Dilijan and Lake Sevan, so like
Switzerland. Just as France?s countryside is dotted with beautiful
castles so is Armenia?s with ancient churches.
There survive some 160 churches which date from the IV to the VI
centuries alone and many more from later periods: these speak volumes
for Armenia?s Christian heritage and its importance to the Armenians.
I was awed by the splendid Gherghard and Khor Virap churches. I was
inspired and never felt closer to God than in their exquisitely simple
and refined interiors, their graceful domes directing the eye
heavenward. The ?Khatchkars? or crosses, such symbols of Christianity
and Armenia, are everywhere and constant reminders of not only our
faith triumphant throughout the ages, but also of the extraordinary
skills of those who crafted them.
The pride of our people is evident everywhere I went. Gloriously
designed monuments have been erected to honor the Armenian heroes
throughout history such as the tombs of Christian martyrs, some
lovingly encased in churches such as St. Gayane or St. Hripsime,
clergy, poets, freedom fighters found in and around ancient
monasteries and the more recent (1970?s) Genocide Monument and Museum.
These resting places reflect the love and respect of Armenians for
those who have left them a heritage so rich in every way. The question
never far from my mind as I marveled at all the magnificent miniatures
at the Matenadaran and so many other treasures of Armenia was: what
does the future hold for this little country so poor now?
On good clear days, as I journeyed to certain parts of Armenia, I had
a constant and most awesome companion in Mount Ararat! It seemed so
close yet was off limits as it is in Turkey. Visible for hours, it
stood there majestic, solid and utterly beautiful!
Its twin snow capped peaks reaching toward Heaven, soaring from its
very flat surroundings, undaunted it seems by its separation from
Armenia as it looks down calmly on the meandering Arax River: one bank
in Armenia and the other in Turkey.
I could not help but see a similarity between the calm majesty of this
magnificent mountain, its survival since the beginnings of mankind,
and the dignity, pride, courage and survival of our compatriots and
ancestors who have never been intimidated by the onslaught of
countless enemies
throughout the ages! They are not today dispirited by the poverty and
the lack of economic opportunities in Armenia: they manage somehow.
Their dignity in their difficult circumstances was evident everywhere
I visited. Some of the homes, schools and AMAA offices I visited
throughout Armenia were poor but without exception immaculate: so were
the children and the parents who picked them up. How do they manage
with electricity still intermittent and salaries so low? It is a
wonder how the people can survive.
Our AMAA offices are mostly in old buildings, one is in a trailer, but
they are equipped with modern tools to communicate, diagnose illnesses
and distribute goods. Modern technology and science are at work to
bring aid to our people. How marvelous it is to see how so much good
can come from limited resources. How this is achieved became very
clear and inspiring as I traveled to the far flung centers which the
AMAA operates: what it lacks in resources is made up by the courage,
compassion and selflessness of those carrying our mission work in
Armenia!
To witness the working of pastors who often handle 3 or 4 churches and
communities under sometimes enormously difficult conditions and hard
to travel roads is to witness Christianity at its sacrificial best.
The Youth Leaders I met, trained at the AMAA Seminary are infectious
in their enthusiasm. They are avid learners under the care of
marvelous visiting professors who come from abroad at great personal
sacrifice. How patient, loving and talented are our teachers in our
after school programs as they teach our youth computer literacy,
foreign languages and skills which will give them a better start in
life. How loving is the care given to hundreds of little ones in our
kindergartens where pint sized tables and beds await them along with a
nutritional meal daily! All these programs helping thousands are
beautifully orchestrated by the devoted staff of AMAA Armenia; it?s
directors and leaders. Love, as they spread the Good News through
their actions, is evident everywhere. The great respect they show for
our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Armenia is a testament to
their Christian Spirit. As I visited the house of a child, one of the
2,800 sponsored children in the AMAA Child Sponsorship Program; I was
moved and inspired by the dignity in which the family receives help
and by its efforts to reciprocate in a warm and welcoming hospitality.
I have always felt proud of my Armenian ancestry, but never more than
on this trip. The present is troubled for the majority in Armenia, but
our people, both those being helped and those bringing help, are
determined and undaunted by it. I have no doubt that with God?s help,
as in the past, the present and the hurdles it presents will also be
overcome!
I have been active in the AMAA for 24 years and, while always
impressed by the work of this admirable organization, I have never
been more so than on this trip! May God continue to bless the AMAA,
our benefactors and volunteers who make its work possible, and
beautiful Armenia.
Michèle Simourian is AMAA Orphan/Childcare Fund Co-Founder.
Past AMAA Board Member
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