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08/11/2004
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1) “Yerkir” Editor Calls Azeri War Statements Absurd
2) Armenian, Azeri, and Turk Delegations Clash at Youth Festival
3) Longtime ARF Activist Avedis Ispenjian Passes Away
4) Shelling Clouds Russia, Georgia Talks On Separatist Row
5) Local Public Official Urges Leaders of His Own Party to Support Schiff
Amendment
1) “Yerkir” Editor Calls Azeri War Statements Absurd
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Responding to the recent hostile statements
made by
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, ARF Armenia Supreme Body member and Editor in
Chief of “Yerkir” newspaper Spartak Seiranian said the appeal “to declare war
on Armenia and liberate Karabagh” was made to incite the public.
On August 5, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported that the chief
spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, Colonel Ramiz Melikov, publicly
stated that “within the next 25 years there will exist no state of Armenia in
the South Caucasus.” He added: “Modern Armenia is built on historical
Azerbaijani lands…I think that in 25-30 years’ time, its territory will
again
come under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.” Seiranian called such statements
“absurd,” adding it is meant for the uneducated people.
According to Seiranian, if Azeris believe they have such military force that
can fight and win, one should not forget that the Armenian fighters are also
ready to die for their homeland. “The Azeri warrior isn’t ready to die for
Karabagh, as he knows very well that Karabagh isn’t his land; on the contrary,
the Armenian fighter knows that he defends his homeland, and that’s why he
will
go to all lengths,” he said. Seiranian, recalling the victory of Armenian
troops in the Karabagh war, stated confidently that if the situation recurs in
the future, the outcome would not be any different.
2) Armenian, Azeri, and Turk Delegations Clash at Youth Festival
BARCELONA–The 3rd World Youth Festival is currently underway in Barcelona,
Spain with the participation of 10,000 young people from around the world.
The Festival–the only event completely designed by and for youth
organizations from all over the world–provides a unique opportunity for
regional youth platforms and organizations from all over the world to share
ideas and projects.
The ARF Youth delegation is participating as well, with two representatives
from Lebanon’s Zavarian Student Association. Aware of the festival’s purpose
and confident that today’s youth will work together to bring about new
perspectives and justice on various issues, the ARF Youth delegation used
their
designated poster board to inform the festival participants about the Armenian
genocide. The Turkish and Azeri delegation angrily demanded that the pictures
and information on the genocide be removed from the poster board; however, the
ARF Youth delegation refused, resulting in commotion.
The festival’s organizing committee, composed of various international youth
organizations including the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) of
which the ARF Youth is a member of, devoted a considerable amount of time to
the situation during their August 10 meeting. The IUSY representative
supported
the Armenian delegation and their work during the meeting, describing it as a
basic human right to express their views and opinions.
The end result was that the Azeri and Turk demand would not be met as
doing so
would defeat the purpose of the festival.
In response to the decision, and in addition to appealing to their embassies
to mediate the situation, the Azeri and Turk delegates prepared their own
display boards and placed them next to the ARF Youth’s poster board as a sign
of protest.
The ARF Bureau Youth office officially appealed to the festival’s organizing
committee stating, “The ARF Youth is confident that participating in the World
Youth Festival would provide a unique platform to be ‘seen and heard’ as
stated
in the festival’s goals…the latest developments, however, show otherwise, as
certain groups or delegations try to pressure our representatives from being
‘seen and heard.'”
Referring to the latest statements by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry asserting
that “in 25-30 years’ times its territory will again come under Azerbaijan’s
jurisdiction,” as well as the killing of an Armenian officer by an Azeri
during
a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest, the ARF Bureau Youth Office
demanded that the organizing committee guarantee the safety of the Armenian
youth delegation.
The ARF Bureau Youth Office expressed gratitude to the IUSY representative
for
being resolute on the issue and supporting the Armenian youth.
As of August 11, the situation remained calm as the ARF Youth representatives
carries on its work without any hindrances.
3) Longtime ARF Activist Avedis Ispenjian Passes Away
The family of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Western Region sustained a
tremendous loss on the morning of Wednesday, August 11 when longtime party
activist Avedis Ispenjian passed away at the age of 75.
A devoted member of the ARF, Ispenjian had served on the party’s Central
Committee’s both in Lebanon and the United States. Ispenjian played an active
role during the Lebanese civil war, when he represented the ARF during
political negotiations.
Avedis Ispenjian’s memory will not fade, and his life’s work will serve as a
source of inspiration to future generations.
4) Shelling Clouds Russia, Georgia Talks On Separatist Row
MOSCOW (AFP)–Georgian troops and separatist forces in South Ossetia exchanged
sporadic shelling and gunfire Wednesday, clouding talks between Russia and
Georgia on calming disputes on the status of the pro-Russian region.
“The situation is worrying,” said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
after
signing a joint communique with his Georgia counterpart Georgy Baramidze, RIA
Novosti reported. Baramidze said during a following press briefing that
“Russia
and Georgia must become predictable neighbors.”
But he conceded the two sides discussed “uneasy matters” while his top deputy
in Tbilisi accused the Russian of opening fire on Georgian troops.
Officials said six people were injured in the cross-border shooting which has
grown more frequent as Georgia’s new president, Mikhail Saakashvili, tries to
win back control over his fractured republic.
“The attack came from armored personnel carries that carried the emblem of
Russian peacekeepers” in the region, he said.
All three sides accused each other of launching the attacks first.
“We held negotiations to cease fire, and fighting would stop for 20 minutes,
but then it would resume again with greater force,” Russian defense ministry
spokesman Nikolai Baranov told Rossia television.
The Caucasus republic, once the Soviet Union’s richest, fell into pieces
after
the superpower’s breakup in 1991, with three regions–Ajaria, South Ossetia
and
Abkhazia–seeking either independence or rule from Moscow.
Saakashvili has won back Ajaria, a key pocket on the Black Sea that oversees
oil trade, with its leader leaving for self-imposed exile in Moscow in May.
But his strategy for the other two regions, which have few ethnic links with
Georgia, is unclear.
Military threats from Georgia have been followed by vows to resolve the
situation through dialogue, while Moscow issues increasingly aggressive
statements as it grows more sensitive to Saakashvili’s drive for military and
economic assistance from the United States.
5) Local Public Official Urges Leaders of His Own Party to Support Schiff
Amendment
LOS ANGELES–Prominent Los Angeles attorney and Rolling Hills Estates City
Councilmember Frank Zerunyan has issued an open letter to Congressional
leaders
urging them to end their opposition to the Schiff Amendment. The letter also
strongly encourages the leadership to bring House Resolution 193 to a vote.
“[Mr. Speaker] let the American people through their Representatives decide
the
fate of the resolution. Demonstrated to our allies the true meaning of
Democracy. I expect this of you and the leadership in Congress,” wrote
Zerunyan.
The Schiff Amendment, which was passed voice vote on July 15, 2004, would
prevent the Republic of Turkey from spending US foreign aid dollars to lobby
against legislation pending in Congress that recognizes the Armenian Genocide.
One day after the Schiff amendment was successfully offered to the House
Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2005, House Republican
leaders issued a statement demanding that the [Schiff amendment] be dropped in
conference. The leadership also threatened not to bring House Resolution
193 to
a vote despite its popularity in the House of Representatives. The Resolution
has more than 110 co-sponsors and was successfully voted out of the House
Judiciary Committee on May 21, 2003.
“Councilman Zerunyan’s open letter to Congressional leaders provides a
thoughtful foundation for these very leaders to end their opposition to the
Schiff amendment and House Resolution 193,” commented ANCA-WR Executive
Director Ardashes Kassakhian. “The Councilman’s words provide a compelling
case
for our many Republican friends in Congress to convince Speaker Hastert and
Majority Leader DeLay to support the Schiff amendment and a vote on the
resolution.”
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in
coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout
the
United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively
advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress