Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

TAB EDITORIAL: THE RIGHT DECISION

Newton TAB, MA
GateHouse News Service
Wed Sep 19, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT

Newton – For years, a sign hung in the window of the Executive Office
at City Hall proudly broadcasting one of the priorities of Mayor
David Cohen’s administration: Newton is a place where respect for
individual and group differences is actively encouraged, and where
there is "No Place for Hate."

The city was one of the earlier communities in the state to receive
certification from the Anti-Defamation League declaring it a No Place
for Hate community. And, with the Human Rights Commission’s vote last
week and Cohen’s subsequent decision yesterday, Newton becomes one
of the first communities to sever ties with the program.

The ADL program was initially designed to encourage municipalities
to build understanding and respect for differences, and to inhibit
tensions and hate crimes.

Over the years, the city has held a number of programs as part of
its No Place for Hate campaign, including vigils, a rally protesting
anti-Semitic and antigay messages, an essay contest, lectures, movies
and discussions.

In short, No Place for Hate has defined how many of us in Newton see
our city.

Cohen made the right decision in opting to pull out of a program that
is practically endorsing hypocrisy. ADL National Director Abraham
Foxman continues to play with words when he says that the consequences
of the Armenian massacre of WWI were "tantamount to genocide." In
too many instances, the media is letting him get away with his subtle
distinction that allows him to sidestep directly labeling the tragedy
a genocide.

But Newton – along with Watertown and Belmont – is calling Foxman
on his ambiguity. Cohen said in his statement that he supports the
Human Rights Commission in its insistence that the national ADL take
definitive action, including endorsing a congressional resolution
appropriately labeling the genocide.

The launch of the No Place for Hate program is indicative of the
excellent work the ADL has done over the years. We are proud that
Newton has participated in the program, and we are equally proud that
our community severed ties in order to make a very important statement.

The TAB applauds Mayor Cohen and the Newton Human Rights Commission
for making what was likely a very complicated and difficult decision.

BELMONT WITHDRAWS FROM ADL PROGRAM
By Alex I. Oster, Globe Correspondent

Boston Globe
September 18, 2007
United States

BELMONT – The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously yesterday to end
the town’s membership in the No Place for Hate program, sponsored by
the Anti-Defamation League.

Selectmen voted 2 to 1 against a clause in the resolution that
would make membership in the program conditional on the ADL’s clear
acknowledgment that the massacres of Armenian Turks were genocide and
upon its support of congressional legislation that would officially
acknowledge the genocide.

Dissenting members said it was not their place to influence national
politics. But Selectman Paul Solomon, who supported the second clause,
said Armenians "have lived in the shadow of this horrendous event,
and continual denial is a personal affront to them all."

Many Armenian groups view the ADL’s lack of support for the
congressional legislation as hypocritical, considering it is a civil
rights organization.

Watertown, Arlington, and Newton have also ended their involvement with
the program, while Needham’s Human Rights Commission is waiting to take
action, pending ADL response to the commission’s concerns. Bedford’s
Board of Selectmen decided yesterday to wait until November to decide
on membership. More than 50 towns and cities in Massachusetts remain
members of No Place for Hate.

Debate among the three male members of Belmont’s Board of Selectmen
did not run smoothly last night. After a selectman raised objections
to the second clause of the resolution, David Boyajian of Newton –
credited by many with starting the exodus with a letter published in
the Watertown TAB & Press – accused the selectmen "of being prejudiced
against Armenians and treating them as second-class citizens."

Board of Selectmen chairman Angelo R. Firenze tabled the matter after
the crowd became unruly, but a calming speech by a local resident
caused selectmen to revive the measure.

DASHNAKTSUTYUN NAMED TWO CANDIDATES AT ONCE

Lragir.am
17-09-2007 19:45:13

The delegates of the General Meeting of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun held
a news conference in the evening of September 17 at the Palace
of Culture of Stepanakert. They said the ARF Dashnaktsutyun will
nominate president for the Armenian presidential election of 2008. The
candidates are two: Member of Parliament Vahan Hovanisyan, ARF Bureau,
and Armen Rustamyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s Supreme Body representative.

The party will choose one to run in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, the ARF hang a sign on the Palace of Culture of Stepanakert,
which runs: President is Our Old Friend.

ANC-WR TO PARTICIPATE IN ï~^"SONGS FOR DARFURï~^" GENOCIDE RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT

armradio.am
14.09.2007 16:29

On September 15, 2007 the Armenian National Committee-Western Region
(ANC-WR) will host an information and activism booth at the ï~^"Songs
for Darfurï~^" benefit concert. Supported by a coalition of grassroots
organizations such as the Save Darfur Coalition and Stop Genocide
Now, the benefit concert will be held at the Topanga Community House
Fairgrounds located at 1440 N. Topanga Cyn. Blvd., Topanga, CA.

The concert will feature live music, guest speakers, poets, literature,
art, and dancers. Concert goers will also be able to partake in the
Camp Darfur interactive experience. Camp Darfur is a mock refugee camp
intended to humanize the suffering of Darfurï~^’s genocide victims.

All Proceeds from the concert will benefit the United Nations High
Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) refugee camps at Kounoungo and Mile in
Chad in order to provide much needed relief to thousands of survivors
of the genocide in Darfur.

In harmony with the purpose of ï~^"Songs for Darfurï~^" and in an
effort to combat genocide denial, the ANC-WR will be hosting a booth to
help raise awareness about community efforts and will provide concert
goers with opportunities to promote justice for the Armenian Genocide
and stand up against the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

ï~^"Although the United States government has publicly acknowledged
that what is going on in Darfur is genocide, more can be done to put
an end to it,ï~^" said Allen Yekikan, an ANC activist who will be
coordinating the ANC-WR booth at the event. ï~^"As Armenian-Americans
fighting for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, we cannot
stand idly by while millions of people suffer the same fate.ï~^"

Darfur is a western region within Sudan, a northeastern African
nation. Since 2003, the Janjaweed, a Sudanese government sponsored
militia, has been carrying out a genocide in Darfur, Sudan. So far,
the genocide in Darfur has claimed over 400,000 lives and has resulted
in the brutal displacement of millions of people, who face the scourge
of death on a daily basis and are in desperate need of foreign aid
to ensure their survival.

Earlier this year the Armenian National Committee and the Genocide
Intervention Network organized a national advocacy day in Washington
D.C. urging members of congress to support pending Armenian and Darfur
Genocide-related legislation. While more recently, the ANC-WR joined
Jewish World Watch, the Olympic Dream for Darfur, and the Save Darfur
coalition outside the Los Angeles Consulate of the Peopleï~^’s Republic
of China to urge China to use its relationship with Khartoum to help
end the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

ï~^"When it comes to confronting genocide, itï~^’s not just important
for us to speak the truth but to act on it as well,ï~^" said ANC-WR
Community Relations Director Haig Hovsepian. ï~^"We look forward to our
community joining us at ï~^’Songs for Darfurï~^’ and becoming active
participants this effort to confront the specter of genocide today.ï~^"

–Boundary_(ID_YiMi/wFNdpL5y BDL3ajV5Q)–

NEW CAMPING SITE TO BE BUILT ON MOUNT ARAGATS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
13 Sept 2007

YEREVAN, September 13. /ARKA/. In near future on one of the flanks
of Aragats mount in Armenia construction work of a new camping site
will start, said Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development
Ara Petrosyan in Yerevan, on Thursday.

"The second tourism base for winter sports will become an alternative
to the one operating in Tsakhkadzor camping site," he said.

Petrosyan said that at present projecting is being done, in which
specialists from France participate, and the work on forming relevant
infrastructures on Mount Aragats will start in near future.

In this connection he pointed out that the development program
of Tsakhkadzor as camping site allowed prolonging tourism season
in Armenia.

"Due to this, the number of tourists preferring to go in for downhill
skiing also in winter time has increased," he said.

On February 1, 2007, the RA Government proclaimed Tsakhkadzor a
tourism center. Earlier Ara Petrosyan said that this will allow the
Government and the authorities to use the status of a tourism center
during the bilateral negotiations or implementation of corresponding
programs by international organizations, as well as to demonstrate
the Government’s definite approach to the tourism sphere, which is
announced as a priority in Armenia.

AMD 180mln (about $530ths) was allocated from the state budget in
2007 to develop tourism in Tsakhkadzor.

FILA PRESIDENT RAPHAEL MARTINETTI: WRESTLING IS UNLIKELY TO CREATE RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA BUT WILL ALLOW MEETINGS BETWEEN THESE COUNTRIES

APA
15 Sep 2007 15:06

"Wrestling is unlikely to create rapprochement between Azerbaijan
and Armenia but will allow meetings between these countries," said
FILA President Raphael Martinetti at a press conference in Baku.

He said he is aware of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

He added that the licensing world championship in Baku will be open
for any wrestlers.

"We have had meetings with Azerbaijani and Armenian sides. We have
reached agreement. There should be no hostility in sport. Azerbaijani
and Armenian wrestlers may be rivals but not enemies. Under FILA rules,
every country is entitled to have presence in the world championship,"
he said.

He added that the International Olympic Committee has thanked FILA
for paving the way for Armenian wrestlers’ presence in Baku.

"I am glad that the contest will take place in Baku.

Baku seems ready for this. This championship will be the most
magnificent event for FILA. Azeri wrestlers have great achievements. I
would also say that the new changes in rules have been hailed by
wrestlers, media and FILA leadership," he said.

Raphael Martinetti got angry when asked one more question about
Armenians’ presence in Baku.

"I see we so much talked about hostility. Please, ask questions about
the wrestling. I believe that Azerbaijan will provide the full security
of the contest," he said.

He added that there are women wrestling in more than 100 countries.

"there are not women wrestling in only some countries like Qatar
and Kuwait. We plan to develop women wrestling in the future. We are
negotiating with the IOC. Greco-Roman style is not suitable for women,"
he concluded.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext. 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

Minister Oskanian’s visit to Brussels

At the invitation of the Boghossian Foundation, Minister Vartan Oskanian
traveled to Brussels to participate in the launch of the Boghossian
Foundation’s plans for a cultural center bridging east and west, to be
located in Brussels.

On September 13, Minister Oskanian joined the President of the Belgian
Senate as well as dozens of ambassadors and Belgian officials who had come
to celebrate the renovation of the Villa Empain, a Belgian architectural
masterpiece, that will serve as a center of dialogue and cultural exchange.

Following remarks by Jean Boghossian of Belgium, who together with his
brother Albert of Switzerland, have founded the Foundation, the Minister was
welcomed by Armand de Decker, President of the Belgian Senate, who spoke
extensively about Armenia’s contributions to the patrimony of world culture,
as well as the place that the Villa Empain holds in the city’s architectural
and social history.

Minister Oskanian concluded the formal program with comments about the
importance of the Boghossian initiative, especially in light of the Armenian
tradition of dialogue and bridge among civilizations and cultures. The
entire text of the Minister’s remarks appears below.

PRESS RELEASE

Minister Vartan Oskanian’s Remarks at the Boghossian Foundation Villa Empain

Brussels, Belgium
September 13, 2007

Today I am proud to witness the Boghossian Foundation come forward as a
catalyst for a serious exploration of common ground among people. The
Boghossian story is the typical Armenian journey — from Armenia to Lebanon
to Belgium and Switzerland. Armenia, an old nation with a new state, has
been a champion and symbol of dialogue and cooperation through the
centuries. As the Villa Empain becomes the center of shared creativity, the
"embassy" of oriental cultures in the capital of Europe that you want to
make it, you will have realized your dream, and all of us from Brussels to
Yerevan will profit from your vision.

As a small people, serving as the perennial buffer between empires, on the
most trampled path on earth, Armenians have become living witnesses of the
benefit of dialogue between and within cultures. We have been engaged in
that international exchange for ages. Today, we in Armenia are among its
greatest promoters, especially in our neighborhood. Our Diaspora, living as
it does across borders, is both the means and the beneficiary of
international exchange.

As I started to think about Jean and Albert and what they are daring to do
here, I realized that diplomats and artists have much in common. We are both
the beneficiaries of dialogue, and perhaps because of that, we feel
compelled to continually search for non-traditional ways to approach the
overarching issue of our time: living at peace in a pluralist world.
Diplomats and artists, like the societies which we represent, live in
neighborhoods that are not going to change, with memories that are not going
to go away, and with experiences that are irreversible. Instead, we look for
ways to break the barriers of the past because we remain convinced that
between cultures and countries, conversation must come first, in order for
there to be any understanding at all.

To do our job, we rely on symbols and signals. We are both guided by rules,
although we try to find creative, new ways of expressing and protecting
universal truths. But finding the new, doesn’t mean negation of the old, as
you are showing us here.

This renovated building will embrace its history. The Villa Empain has seen
empires come and go. It has witnessed the making of modern Europe. With the
exquisite renovation that is planned for it, the diversity and quality of
its materials, its refined details and the coherence of the whole will be
underscored. But it is the programs and the exhibitions that will, like the
Villa itself, become a part of the patrimony of our shared cultures, of our
diversity and quality, while celebrating the coherence of our whole.

Congratulations. I look forward to seeing the building completed and the
program fully operational.

On September 14, at invitation of the Heinrich Boll Foundation of Brussels,
Minister Oskanian met with representatives of leading think tanks and policy
institutes in Brussels, to speak about Armenia’s foreign policy challenges,
regional issues, Armenia’s bilateral relations generally, and especially
with its neighbors and with the EU.

Those present asked about the specific situation between Armenia and its
four neighbors, the current situation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
Armenia’s European integration processes,

Armenian group opposes ADL stance

By Patrick Ball
Bedford Minuteman
Thu Sep 13, 2007, 11:16 AM EDT

Bedford, Mass. –
By Patrick Ball
Staff Writer

A group of Bedford residents of Armenian descent plan to ask selectmen
to reconsider the town’s participation in the No Place for Hate
program.

This call to action is in response to the Anti-Defamation League’s
national stance on the Armenian Genocide, which is a position the
group believes conflicts with the mission of the No Place for Hate
program.

"It isn’t an Armenian issue. It is an issue of what the program is all
about," Val Asbedian said. "It’s a matter of sending a message to the
ADL and the way we do that is to tell them their position is
inconsistent.

"Though we support the program, we don’t support that they’ve taken a
position inconsistent with the objectives of the program," he said.

Asbedian is among a group of Armenians, who have gotten onto the
selectmen’s Sept. 17 agenda and are currently putting together a
package of material about the nature of their request.

Asbedian and the group of a half-dozen Bedford residents are of the
belief that the ADL saying the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by
the Ottoman Turkish during WWI was "tantamount to genocide," but
adamantly opposing to a Congressional Resolution on the issue is
contrary to the No Place for Hate program’s mission.

He said they are currently reviewing letter to the selectmen on the
subject, drafted by the Violence Prevention Coalition, which also acts
as an advisory council for the No Place for Hate program. And they
plan to ask the selectmen to "take a very strong position."

Town Manager Rick Reed said that the selectmen being asked to take
stance on this issue is "not the type of thing that would warrant a
public hearing."

Sue Baldauf , VPC Chairwoman, said she will distribute the selectmen’s
agenda to VPC members once the agenda is finalized and will invite all
members who are available to attend.

One selectman, who Baldauf met with last week, expressed concern
because it is a good program, in terms of what it does for the town.

"I think that there’s a little question of why we’re even discussing
this because this is an international issue and the selectmen deal
with local issues. I think that’s something they’re struggling to
figure out," she said.

"That’s a concern I share. There is enough to deal with locally," said
Baldauf, the director of Bedford Youth and Family Services. "It’s hard
to respond to other things when I’m trying to deal with this as well."

Many of the Armenians planning to attend Monday’s meeting also
appeared before the VPC on Tuesday, Sept. 4. There, they suggested
Bedford should withdraw from the No Place for Hate program sooner
rather than later, and that the ADL waiting until November to discuss
the issue is a stall tactic.

After the meeting, the VPC held a vote, and decided to draft a letter
to the New England regional ADL board. The coalition has not yet
decided whether to send the letter before or after the selectmen make
a decision.

Baldauf had already been trying to sort through the issue by talking
with the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the ADL and other No
Place for Hate coordinators throughout the state, and said she
abstained from the vote because she felt it should be a committee
statement, and did not want to influence the issue.

The letter summarizes the VPC mission and the No Place for Hate
program’s mission. It and says the VPC believes the ADL’s stance
relative to the Armenian Genocide to be contrary to the mission of the
VPC and NPFH and that the VPC expects the ADL to unambiguously
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to endorse the congressional
resolution. Unless the ADL does so, the letter states, the VPC
recommends the town suspend participation in the NPFH program.

The ADL plans to review the issue of the Armenian Genocide at a
national meeting in November. There is no time frame mentioned in the
letter’s draft.

Source: 089

PRESS RELEASE
Date: September 10, 2007
Armenian National Committee of New York
P.O. Box 770-693 Woodside, NY 11377
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 646-468-9061

ARMENIANS, JEWS PROTEST ABE FOXMAN’S APPEARANCE IN NEW YORK
Activists join for rally in front of 92nd Street Y, call for
unequivocal ADL stance on Armenian Genocide

NEW YORK, NY-On Thursday, September 7, 2007, nearly 70 protesters
gathered in front of the 92nd Street Y here to protest the
appearance of Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-
Defamation League. Organized by the new Jewish youth publication
Jewcy.com, the rally also included dozens of Armenian activists who
joined in pointing out the ADL’s hypocrisy in its approach to the
Armenian Genocide.

For more than one hour, protesters waved placards such as "No Place
for Denial" along with cartoons of Foxman saying "It’s Not Genocide
Until I Say It Is." During this time, protesters loudly denounced
Foxman and called upon the ADL to reverse its position against H.R.
106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, which is now before
Congress. The rally took place directly across the street from the
92nd Street Y, where Foxman and former US Presidential Advisor
Stuart Eizenstat were appearing on a panel addressing "Modern Anti-
Semitism." Attendees entering the hall seemed often surprised at
the gathering, which vociferously denounced the ADL for its
equivocation on an issue it should be championing.

Following the rally, Jewcy.com Associate Editor Michael Weiss
addressed the crowd stating: "An organization founded to combat
bigotry and racism now denies one of the first genocides of the
20th century is beneath contempt." Weiss was joined by Doug
Geogerian, Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of New York,
who thanked JEWCY, the Jewish and Armenian communities for their
support on this important issue. Protesters also distributed
hundreds of flyers to attendees as they left the 92nd Street Y
following Foxman’s appearance.

In recent weeks, the ADL has been under pressure from a series of
grass-roots protests, led by the Armenian National Committee along
with progressive Jewish figures. As a result, last month it backed
away from its longstanding policy of complicity in Turkey’s denial
of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian and some Jewish leaders remain
concerned; however, as the ADL continues to use equivocal,
euphemistic phrasing, and has continued to openly oppose the
Armenian Genocide Resolution–H.R. 106–now under consideration by
the US Congress. At the same time, Mr. Foxman, has added to the
controversy by apologizing to the Turkish government for any
difficulty this turnaround has created for the Turkish government,
while failing to offer even a token expression of regret to
Armenians for the ADL’s longstanding, public record of genocide
denial.

To date, the rally has received coverage from several local and
international media outlets. For more information, please check
and .
####

Photo Caption:

Photo #1: Protestors at the demonstration
Photo #2: Eli Valley, JEWCY Magazine contributor

NATO HOPES FOR FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2007-09-10 12:49:00

The NATO hopes for conduct of fair presidential election in Armenia,
Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said at the meeting
with RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.

As the NATO’s Headquarters told ArmInfo, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
personally congratulated Armenia’s FM with conduct of transparent
parliamentary election in the republic and said that the "election
have become a step in the right direction". Moreover, the Secretary
General of NATO said that the first year of implementation of Armenia’s
Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO and he encouraged further
effort in defence and security-sector reform.

To recall, Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan met the
Secretary General during his visit to Brussels on 4 September.