Author: Basmajian Ani

CONGRESSMAN URGING U.S. PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION TO BALANCE MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 9 2006

YEREVAN, March 9. /ARKA/. Congressman Frank Pallone is urging U.S.
President Administration to balance military assistance to Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Armenian National Committee of America told ARKA News
Agency that the Congressman made this statement speaking Wednesday
in the U.S. House of Representatives. He intends to file motion to
the U.S. Senate’s appropriate committee asking to restore balance of
military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan and proposing greater
economic assistance for Armenia and humanitarian aid for Nagorno
Karabakh.

Pallone thinks it is very important to state to Azerbaijan and Turkey
that ethnic genocide, illegal blockade of sovereign state and constant
aggression against Armenian people are unacceptable.

The U.S. President Administration intends to give $3.5mln to Armenia
and $4.5mln to Azerbaijan in 2006 fiscal year as military assistance.

Under this program $790 thousand and $885 thousand will be allotted
to Armenia and Azerbaijan for military trainings and exercises.

Turkey started transport and economic blockade of Armenia in 1992.

K-TELECOM’S COMPLAINT AGAINST ARMENTEL TO BE EXAMINED ON MARCH 10 AT
COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC COMPETITION

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA State Commission on Protection
of Economic Competition will examine on March 10 the complaint of
K-Telecom (VivaCell) company against ArmeTel. According to the
commission’s press service, according to a letter recieved from
K-Telecom, ArmenTel abuses its dominating position, which results in
considerable losses for K-Telecom and creates an unhealthy competition
atmosphere on the mobile phone communication services market. ArmenTel
announced in late December 2005 that an extremely low per-minute
tariff of 2 drams was set for making calls within the network for
those of its mobile phone communication subscribers who used its
services for over a year. According to K-Telecom, ArmenTel is using
this tariff not only in the mobile phone network but also in case of
making calls to the fixed line phone network. K-Telecom cannot offer
such low tariffs, since the tariff paid by the company to ArmrenTel
for commutation alone is much higher. ArmenTel pointed out in its
explanations that there was not any abuse of its dominating position,
as the move intiated by the company was a special commercial offer to
be valid during a limited period and for a limited conversation
time. To recap, the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission, to which
K-Telecom also applied with respect to the same issue, noted in its
decision that the above mentioned tariff’s use by ArmenTel includes
some characteristics of anticompetitive behaviour.

Artur Aghabekyan: Speaking of War Not Serious

10.03.2006 01:46 GMT+04:00
PanARMENIAN.Net

The Armenian Armed Forces are ready to neutralize any encroachment of
the enemy, RA Deputy Defense Minister, lieutenant general Artur
Aghabekyan told journalists. In his words, speaking of war is not
serious. `However every soldier knows he should be ready to repulse
any local incident or full-scale operations,’ Aghabekyan noted. He
also denied any special measures undertaken due to the recent stirring
up at the Armenian-Azeri contact line. `Moreover no trainings with the
participation of the first-class persons subject to call-up are
scheduled for the next few months,’ he underscored.

ANCA Endowment Fund
888 17th St NW Suite 906
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-0279

PRESS RELEASE
March 9, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-0279

ANCA ENDOWMENT FUND PURCHASES NEW WASHINGTON, DC HEADQUARTERS

— Historic Four-Story Building to Serve as Permanent Home for
Armenian American Advocacy in Nation’s Capital

WASHINGTON, DC – The ANCA Endowment Fund today announced the
purchase of a new national headquarters, cementing the grassroots
organization’s presence in the nation’s capital and creating a
platform for the continued growth of the political power and
influence of the Armenian American community.

“At its heart, this purchase speaks to our respect for our roots –
our enduring historic roots as a people, our grassroots communities
around the country, and the deep roots that we have planted here in
the nation’s capital,” said ANCA Endowment President Ken Hachikian.
“Roots represent our identity – and our strength. Grassroots
advocacy is in our very soul. Our roots have been the wellspring
that has nourished us from our fledgling days, through decades of
struggle, and to our status today as a world-class organization,
recognized internationally as the principled, forceful, and
effective voice of the Armenian American community.”

The four-story building, formerly owned by AOL founder Steve Case,
is located near prestigious Embassy Row, blocks from the White
House and the nation’s leading think tanks, including the Carnegie
Foundation and the Brookings Institution. The newly renovated
structure features the latest in computer, communications, and
networking technology.

“Now is the time to build on our successes,” added Hachikian. “We
look confidently to the future – forging new paths and embracing
new technologies – to generate the political power, influence and
respect that the Armenian American community deserves – and that
the Armenian homeland needs.”

With a proven track record of results and a rock-solid base of
support to build upon, the leadership of the ANCA Endowment is
currently in the planning stages of a capital campaign to cover the
full cost of this state-of-the-art building, expand a broad range
of advocacy programs, and grow the organization’s life sustaining
endowment fund. These efforts will cement the long-term stability
and continuing success of Armenian American advocacy, substantially
reinforce the Armenian presence in Washington D.C., and create an
even more powerful voice for Armenian Americans – in short, provide
a sound footing for the future and a permanent home for the
Armenian Cause in the United States.

#####

Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
March 10 2006

STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR NEWS BRIEFING

MARCH 10, 2006

SPEAKER: TOM CASEY,
STATE DEPARTMENT ACTING SPOKESMAN

[parts omitted]

QUESTION: Is the U.S. ambassador to Armenia having his time there cut
short, maybe his career?

QUESTION: A couple of congressmen have asked Secretary Rice about it;
apparently not got an answer.

He’s supposed to have suggested that the Armenians were the victims
of genocide, which doesn’t happen to be Bush administration policy.

CASEY: I think Sean addressed this a couple of days ago.

QUESTION: I think it’s been brought further up to date, if you
could…

CASEY: I don’t have anything beyond what he said on it. I’ll look
into it for you and see if there’s any change in the situation.

QUESTION: He said ambassadors serve at the privilege of the
president, or something.

CASEY: Yes, and as far as I know, he’s still at post and still
ambassador. I’m not aware that anything has changed that situation.

QUESTION: You can’t — well, all right, if you don’t have anything
further.

CASEY: I think I’ll look into it for you. I haven’t gotten an update
on it, but I’ll try and see if there’s something and we’ll post an
answer for you later.

QUESTION: And also, somebody ghosted an answer from the secretary to
Mr. Schiff and the other congressman.

CASEY: OK. I’ll let you know.

[the rest omitted]

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 11 2006

Amin Zekhov: `Armenia is the Belarus of the South Caucasus’

[ 11 Mar. 2006 12:56 ]

The conflicts in the South Caucasus are topic of discussion in the
north of the Caucasus too. Most of local military and political
experts say it is high time to eliminate all these conflicts.

Some experts think the conflicts should be solved by peaceful way,
without Russia’s mediation. Council member of the Public Organization
Adijei People’s Assembly, military expert, Colonel Amin Zekhov, who
favors the aforementioned opinion, told the Dagestan bureau of APA
that the so-called Abkhazia and South Osetia Republics should
seriously consider their future.
`Georgia is an independent state. So, Russia cannot bombard it. Peace
cannot be achieved by tanks. Russian citizens should live in Russia.
Leaders of Abkhazia and South Osetia should negotiate with Georgia
with mediation of the Caucasus nations’ confederation representatives
not with Russia’s mediation. Russian peacekeeping forces should be
withdrawn from these territories. Abkhazia and South Osetia would
better accept Georgia instead of joining Russia, which will lead to
destruction of their histories and cultures. The peoples of these
republics should take a lesson from us,’ Zekhov said.
The military expert thinks that Azerbaijan is the closest strategic
ally of Georgia in the South Caucasus. Touching on the Nagorno
Garabagh conflict, Zekhov said this problem should be solved by
peaceful way too. Referring to Armenia’s role in the South Caucasus,
Zekhov said: `Everyone knows that Armenia is the Belarus of the South
Caucasus.’/APA/

PRESS RELEASE
ST. SARKIS ARMENIAN CHURCH
300 Ninth St.
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
Contact: Al Amato
[email protected]
Tel: 1-716-870-1682

KEGHAM DZKN. VARTABED ZAKARIAN TO BE HONORED WITH FAIRWELL BANQUET AND
FINAL BADARAK AT ST. SARKIS UPON HIS RETIREMENT AND RETURN TO THE
BROTHERHOOD OF THE ST. JAMES MONASTERY IN JERUSALEM.

St. Sarkis Church of Niagara Falls will bid farewell to the Very
Rev. Fr. Kegham Zakarian, longtime Pastor of the three Parishes of
Western New York on Friday evening, March 17, 2006 at 7:00pm with a
Banquet at the Niagara Clubin his honor. Hayr Soorp will celebrate
his last Badarak at St. Sarkis on Sunday, March 19. For over 20 years
Hayr Kegham has travelled between Syracuse, Rochester, and Niagara
Falls to keep the flame of the Armenian Church alive in these
communities. On this occasion a Choir is coming down from Toronto,
Canada as well as people from all over Western New York and Canada to
honor our beloved Vartabed. Hayr Soorp will be returning to the
Monastery of St. James in Jerusalem to live out his Priestly life in
the place he was ordained a member of the Brotherhood. He plans to
remember all his parishioners and friends at the EASTER Divine Liturgy
in Jerusalem. You may send greetings to Hayr Kegham at
[email protected].

DIYARBAKIR MAYOR: KURDISH ISSUE ISN’T JUST TERROR PROBLEM

New Anatolian, Turkey
March 13 2006

The Kurdish problem is not solely an economic, security or terror
problem, Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir yesterday told a Kurdish
conference at Istanbul’s Bilgi University.

The controversial two-day conference on the Kurdish problem organized
by the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa) was held at Istanbul’s Bilgi
University over the weekend.

The conference, entitled “Looking for Civil and Democratic Solutions
I: Turkey’s Kurdish Problem” brought together academics, writers,
journalists, former deputies, and lawyers to discuss the Kurdish
problem in Turkey.

Addressing a panel on identity rights, social and cultural dimensions
of the meeting, Baydemir said that the Kurdish problem is an economic,
social, political and cultural problem.

“In order to solve the problem, a civilian project, a roadmap
which will include all these details should be developed,” said the
southeastern city mayor.

Author Muhsin Kizilkaya told the same panel that being a Kurd is a
somewhat dangerous issue in Turkey, while French Rouen University’s
Assistant Professor Salih Akin suggested to the panelists that Kurdish
should be accepted as a second official language in Turkey.

Ankara University’s Prof. Baskin Oran said that Kurds reject minority
concept but demand minority rights in Turkey. Oran underlined that
Kurds are not a minority in Turkey but a fundamental and founder
element.

Nationalists protested Saturday at the opening of the conference.

Small groups of demonstrators greeted participants with banners
reading: “The Turkish Republic is a whole – it cannot be divided”
and “No imperialist plot can separate our Kurdish brothers from us.”

Nationalist protesters said the conference was one-sided and
antidemocratic.

The Kurdish problem is still largely a taboo subject for public debate
in Turkey.

On Saturday, panelists called on the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) to lay down its arms. The most well-received speech on Saturday
came from Democratic Society Party (DTP) Co-Chairman Ahmet Turk.

Turk said that he believed the Kurdish problem can be solved within
the unitary state structure through a democratic political project.

Turk also urged a political pardon, suggesting that it’s not enough
to just call for people to give up their arms.

Bilgi University, in Istanbul, last year also hosted a conference on
so-called Armenian genocide — another controversial topic in Turkey.

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:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2005

Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian, ANCA
[email protected]
Harout Mardirossian, ANC ~V France
[email protected]
Laurent Leylekian, European Armenian Federation (EAFJD)
[email protected]

TIME-EUROPE PUBLISHES APOLOGY FOR
DISTRIBUTING GENOCIDE-DENIAL DVD

— Prints Full Page Letter from ANC-France and Other Human
Rights Groups Demanding that TIME take Concrete
Steps to Reverse the Profound Damage it has Caused

— ANC-France Considering Legal Action

WASHINGTON, DC ~V Responding to months of protests organized by
Armenian National Committee branches around the world, TIME
Magazine’s European edition published, in its October 17th issue, a
brief apology to the Armenian community and all its readers for its
dissemination earlier this year of a 70-minute DVD advertisement
denying the Armenian Genocide.

TIME’s apology was printed alongside an extensive letter to editors
of TIME-Europe by leading Armenian, Jewish and human rights
organizations. This response was published under France’s “right
to reply” laws, which require a publication to provide editorial
space to those unfairly attacked in its pages. The controversy
over this issue began on June 5th, with the dissemination of a DVD,
funded by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, which featured denialist
propaganda as part of a print and electronic advertisement package
promoting tourism in Turkey.

Joining the Armenian National Committee of France in writing to
TIME-Europe were the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations
of France, J’Accuse, Le MRAP and the Memoire 2000. In the letter,
they noted that:

“As representatives of French associations whose aim it is to fight
against racism, anti-Semitism and to preserve the memory of the
Armenian Genocide, we were shocked and disappointed to see that you
chose to include in your June 6, 2005 issue of TIME-Europe a DVD
spreading such the grotesque denial of the Armenian Genocide, and
leveling so many hateful allegations against the Armenian people.”

The letter was printed on a full page in the print edition and can
be read in its entirety on-line. Its authors identified specific
instances in the DVD of genocide denial, and stressed that, just as
TIME-Europe would rightfully not accept hateful Holocaust denial
advertisements, it should not have circulated similarly false
materials denying the Armenian Genocide. The letter concluded by
calling on TIME-Europe to take three specific steps to rectify the
situation it had created, including:

1) Disclose what, if any, official standards TIME Magazine employs
in accepting or rejecting advertising. For example, would TIME
have accepted a similarly hateful DVD denying the Holocaust.

2) Distribute, free of charge, a DVD prepared by the European
Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) documenting
the history of the Armenian Genocide and the modern-day
consequences of this crime.

3) Donate the advertising revenues from this campaign to nonprofit
organizations raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide and
other instances of genocide.

Following the letter, TIME-Europe printed an apology for the
dissemination of the DVD, stating that they had failed to properly
review the DVD to establish its full contents before distributing
it to their subscribers.

“TIME regrets distributing the DVD and we are very sorry for the
offense it has caused. The so-called documentary portion of the DVD
presents a one-sided view of history that does not meet our
standards for fairness and accuracy, and we would not have
distributed it had we been aware of its content. Unfortunately, the
DVD was not adequately reviewed by anyone at TIME because it was
believed to be a benign promotion piece. We have since changed our
review process so as to guarantee more vigilance in future. We
apologize to the Armenian community, and to our readers.”

The letter was published according to the France’s “right to reply”
law, first adopted in 1898, which compels a newspaper or magazine
to allow an individual who has been defamed to provide a response
of equal length. The law was later expanded to audio-visual
material as well, with certain restrictions.

ANC of France Chairman Harout Mardirossian commented that the TIME-
Europe apology and printing of the letter to the editor was the
“the first result of a joint effort and long-term engagement by
associations fighting against racism, anti-Semitism and for the
defense of the memory of the Armenian Genocide.” Mardirossian
added, however, that the effort to rectify the situation has not
ended, noting that, “If TIME Magazine thinks that this “right of
reply” will settle the score on this issue, it is seriously
mistaken. A one-paragraph response does not match the outreach of
a 70 minute DVD and cannot address the humiliation and degradation
felt by Genocide `survivors and their descendants as a result of
this denialist propaganda.” continued Mardirossian.

In an interview with the Armenian Weekly, Mardirossian did not rule
out legal action in the TIME-Europe case, stating that “We, along
with our partners [J’Accuse, Mémoire 2000, Council of French
Armenian Organizations, Union of French Jewish Students] are ready,
if necessary, to initiate a lawsuit against TIME, as well as the
authors, producers and distributors of the DVD.”

Mardirossian added that the ANC-France had successfully taken on
similar anti-defamation cases in the past, including a recent court
victory against French encyclopedia company, QUID, whose 2002, 2003
and 2004 editions included historically inaccurate references
denying the Armenian Genocide. The recently published 2006 edition
of the QUID encyclopedia has removed all revisionist references,
and correctly characterizes the events of 1915-1923 as genocide.

In the months leading up to the TIME-Europe apology, the ANC of
France teamed up with the Armenian National Committee of America
and European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD)
in initiating an international letter-writing campaign to TIME-
Europe calling for swift action in response to DVD. Thousands
responded to the call to action, expressing grave concern that TIME
had sacrificed journalistic principles for a million dollar
advertisement campaign.

A parallel effort to address the TIME-Europe DVD misinformation
issue has also been pursued by the Switzerland-Armenia
Organization, based on violations of Swiss law.

To read the complete letter to the editor and the TIME-Europe
response, visit:

rticle/0,13005,901051017-1113684,00.html

[Scroll down to the article titled “Turkish Tourism DVD”]

#####

–Boundary_(ID_A/Gpf+wrnxL2eqnCa4UfF Q)–

SWEDISH ACADEMY SET TO ANNOUNCE 2005 NOBEL LITERATURE PRIZE
By Matt Moore

The Associated Press
10/13/05 03:37 EDT

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) – A Syrian poet and a Turkish writer facing
prison appeared to be the favorites of Nobel watchers to win the
2005 Nobel Prize in literature as the world of publishing and writing
waited for the Swedish Academy to announce this year’s winner.

On Thursday, Syrian poet Adonis, whose real name is Ali Ahmad Said,
who fled Lebanon in the 1980s and now lives in Paris, was the best
guess among Nobel watchers, nearly all of whom have no connection to
the academy.

Even online betting Web site Ladbrokes gave him the best odds, 7-4,
just ahead of Americans Joyce Carol Oates (7-1) and Philip Roth,
and Swedish poet Thomas Transtromer (both 9-1).

But the secretive academy, which has not even said if it has picked
a winner, was keeping mum ahead of its 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) announcement
even as some pundits wondered if it would honor a nonfiction writer,
something it last did in 1953 when former British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill won for his historical writings.

Other nonfiction writers mentioned ahead of the prize announcement
include Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski or Belarus’ Svetlana
Alexievich.

Fiction writers, however, remained the top choices, including Turkey’s
Orhan Pamuk, who faces prison after he was charged with insulting
Turkish identity for supporting Armenian claims that they were the
victims of genocide under the Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Other contenders include South Korean poet Ko Un, Canadian author
Margaret Atwood, the Czech Republic’s Milan Kundera, Belgian poet Hugo
Claus, Italian poet Claudio Magris and Indonesian novelist Pramoedya
Ananta Toer.

Others, however, said the academy could look inward, citing Transtromer
and Danish poet Inger Christiansen.

Margaretha Fahlgren, a literary professor at Uppsala University,
said Transtromer, a perennial favorite, would bring the prize back
home to Sweden. The last time Swedes won was in 1974 when Eyvind
Johnson and Harry Martinson shared the prize.

“I believe the prize will be for work of imaginative literature,
of fiction,” Fahlgren told The Associated Press.

Whatever the academy decides, it will likely have two immediate
consequences: increased book sales and controversy.

Last year’s winner, Austrian feminist Elfriede Jelinek, drew such
ire that a member of the academy publicly blasted his colleagues for
picking her.

Knut Ahnlund, 82, who has not played an active role in the academy
since 1996, resigned Tuesday after he wrote in a signed newspaper
article that picking Jelinek had caused “irreparable damage” to the
award’s reputation.

The academy, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III to advance the Swedish
language and its literature, has handed out the literature prize since
1901. Its current members, who serve for life, include several writers
as well as linguists, literary scholars, historians and a lawyer.

If a candidate receives more than half of the votes, the winner is
picked and announced on a Thursday in October.

On the Net: