Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

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07/28/2006
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1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination
2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against ‘Pro-Armenian’ Writer
3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia
4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage
5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign
6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass

1. Sen. Reed Presses Rice For Answers on Evans Firing; Hoagland Nomination

WASHINGTON–Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) has indicated that he is not prepared to
support the nomination of Richard Hoagland as US Ambassador to Armenia
until he
receives meaningful responses to a series of questions–including several
specific inquiries concerning the firing of the current Ambassador John Evans,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
In a July 26 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Reed
explained that he is "concerned that Ambassador Evans is being forced to
resign
prematurely." He stressed that he is "particularly troubled" by reports
that he
is being recalled because he properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as a
genocide. "Had the term genocide been coined in the early 1900s, it would have
been used to accurately describe the situation," added the senior Senator from
Rhode Island.
In closing, Senator Reed asserted that he would not be prepared to support
the
nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until he understands the answers to
the following questions:

1. Why is Ambassador Evans being replaced a year before the end of the
customary three-year ambassador term? If he resigned, why would the State
Department accept the resignation of a truly dedicated individual who is
highly
respected by the Armenian community?
2. Has the President or State Department directed, either through written or
oral means, Executive Branch personnel not to use the word ‘genocide’ when
referring to the atrocities waged against the Armenian people by the Ottoman
Empire? What is the justification for such a policy?
3. If it is the policy of the United States to not characterize the
systematic
killing of over 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, please elaborate on why
these events do not meet the definitions of the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
4. During Ambassador Richard Hoagland’s confirmation hearing before the
Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, regarding the Armenian genocide he stated "I
simply have studied the president’s policy. I’ve studied the background papers
on the policy, and my responsibility is to support the President." What do the
background papers say regarding the Armenian Genocide? I respectfully
request a
copy of these background papers so I can better understand the President’s
policy. If that is not possible, I would like to know why.
5. A recent press report outlined Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew
Bryza as saying the following regarding Ambassador Evans, "Ambassadors serve
the President and should follow his policy. President George Bush’s policy on
the mass killings of Armenians is very clear, as he points out in his annual
addresses. If someone disagrees with it, they are at liberty to make their own
decisions, but these should not be divulged. Certainly, our job is also to
advise him, but we must support his policy when it comes to public
statements."
This reporting indicates that Ambassador Evans was asked to resign based on
this prior statements regarding the Armenian genocide. If this is not the
case,
would you explain the statement by Mr. Bryza and its relation to Ambassador
Evans?"

Sen. Reed is the latest Member of Congress to express concern about the
circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Amb. Evans and the State
Department’s policy on the Armenian Genocide. To date, half of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, including Senators George Allen (R-Va.), Ranking
Member Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),
Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Russell Feingold
(D-Wisc.),John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), have already
contacted Secretary Rice or questioned Ambassador Designate Hoagland directly
regarding these issues. Over sixty members of the House have also expressed
concerns to the State Department, with responses side-stepping the core
issues.
On July 18, the ANCA issued a statement opposing the Hoagland nomination,
following several responses to Senate inquiries where the Ambassador Designate
denied the Armenian Genocide.

2. Turkish Court Rejects Lawsuit Against ‘Pro-Armenian’ Writer

ANKARA (Associated Press)–A Turkish court on Friday dropped a lawsuit against
novelist Orhan Pamuk, rejecting a compensation demand by nationalists from the
author for claiming that Turkey had killed more than 1 million Armenians and
more than 30,000 Kurds.
Nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and five other nationalists were seeking
6,000 Turkish Lira ($4,500) each from Pamuk accusing him of "insulting,
humiliating and making false accusations."
Pamuk was quoted as telling a Swiss newspaper that: "Thirty-thousand Kurds
and
1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to
talk
about it."
Kerincsiz had instigated an earlier high-profile court case against Pamuk for
the same comments, but those charges were dropped earlier this year, under
harsh criticism from the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join. Turkey,
however, is still trying dozens of journalists or authors for their
writings or
speeches.
The prosecutor’s office on Friday formally opened a lawsuit against a
University of Arizona assistant professor on charges of "insulting
Turkishness." The case against Elif Safak, a Turkish citizen, was opened after
a court approved the indictment. The case was also initiated by Kerincsiz.
Safak will stand trial because of the words uttered by fictional Armenian
characters in her novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" – a book she wrote while she
was living in Tucson, Arizona. In the book, an Armenian character refers to
"Turkish butchers." No trial date was set.

3. Bryza Arrives in Armenia

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza
was scheduled to arrive in Armenia Saturday and leave for a visit to the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the same day.
A US embassy official informed Armenpress that during his regional visit the
co-chairman will first visit Yerevan from where he will leave for Stepanakert
and return back on Sunday. He will leave for Baku Monday.
During his visit, Bryza will meet with the Armenian President Robert
Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Karabakh President Arkady
Ghoukassian. At the meetings they will discuss current developments in the
Karabakh conflict regulation process./

4. ARF Juniors Begin Armenia Pilgrimage

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–The opening ceremony of the first ever ARF Junior
Organization’s (Badanegan) Armenia Pilgrimage was scheduled to take place
Saturday at the Yerablur national cemetery with more than 150 participants
from
nine countries.
This annual event will last through August 5 and the juniors will stay at
Aghavnadzor and make trips to different regions in Armenia.
Speaking at a news conference at the ARF Bureau headquarters Program Director
Tatul Harutiunian said the program’s goal is educational.
The slogan of the program is "Armenia is my Homeland." He noted that the
program will strengthen relation between the Homeland and the Diaspora.
Juniors
from Armenia, Javakhk and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will also participate in
the program.
Saro Ter-Petrosian, the head of the Canadian delegation, said when selecting
the participants, they have chosen those who had never been in Armenia before.
Harutiunian said that a larger number of participants was expected, but the
current crisis in Lebanon prevented many from attending.

5. Nevada ANC-PAC Supporters Honor US Senator John Ensign

LAS VEGASSupporters of the State of Nevada’s largest Armenian American public
affairs organization hosted a fundraising event for the reelection of United
States Senator John Ensign on Friday, July 21.
A dinner-reception honoring the Senator was hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Levon &
Zaruhi Gulbenkian. Mr. Gulbenkian, who serves as a Board Member of the Nevada
ANCA Chapter, was joined by over fifty local community members in supporting
Senator Ensign’s campaign. The Nevada legislator is the Vice Chairman of the
Senate Republican Steering Committee, the group that shapes the party’s
legislative agenda.
On behalf of the Armenian National Committee-Political Action Committee, Ara
Bedrosian presented Senator Ensign with the Nevada ANCA Freedom Award in
recognition of his leadership in advancing the cause of human rights and
genocide recognition. The Senator was commended by a number of Nevada
Armenian
leaders for his outstanding advocacy on behalf of the growing
Armenian-American
community in the state. Bedrosian, a Los Angeles based lawyer, formerly served
as a Congressional aide in Washington to Republican members of Congress.
"Since his election to the US Senate in 2000, Senator Ensign has twice
drafted
and authored resolutions that reaffirm the commitment of the American
people to
recognizing the Armenian Genocide and to ensuring that its lessons are applied
in preventing future crimes against humanity. No other Senator, since Bob
Dole, has twice authored such Genocide resolutions," stated Hriyr Dadaian, Las
Vegas ANCA Board Member. "John Ensign is our community’s best friend, his
leadership on human rights issues is deeply appreciated, not only by Armenian
Americans in Nevada, but by Armenians throughout the country," Dadaian added.

6. House Adopts Amendment Blocking US Subsidy for Railroad Bypass

WASHINGTONThe Armenian National Committee of America, this week, welcomed the
adoption by the House of Representatives of an amendment to block US taxpayer
funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and
Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process,
undermine
the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through
Armenia.
The amendment, spearheaded by Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY), Ed Royce
(R-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), and adopted as part of the Export-Import Bank
Reauthorization Act of 2006, prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing
any assistance "to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related
connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and
Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia." The measure
was
adopted unanimously by the House Financial Services Committee in June of this
year.
The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open
Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House
(H.R.3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S
2461) by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors;
the
Senate version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul
Sarbanes (D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the "The
exclusion of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the
South Caucasus," noting that such actions "undermine the United States policy
goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region."
"We thank Congressman Crowley, his Financial Services Committee colleagues Ed
Royce and Brad Sherman, as well as the authors of the South Caucasus
Integration and Open Railroads Act – Joe Knollenberg, Frank Pallone and George
Radanovich – for securing the adoption by the House of this measure protecting
American taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad
project that – at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan – has been proposed
solely for the purpose of excluding Armenia," said Aram Hamparian, Executive
Director of the ANCA.
In debate leading up to the adoption of the bill, Representatives Crowley,
Knollenberg and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) each cited the importance of barring US
funds from this ill-advised Caucasus venture which would exclude Armenia. Rep.
Crowley noted that, "for over 10 years, Armenia has fought an illegal blockade
imposed on them by the countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan. These two countries
continually exclude Armenia from regional development… Exclusion of one
country in regional projects only fosters instability. Having Export-Import
Bank support a railway project which excludes Armenia is not the way to
include
all countries in regional development."
Rep. Knollenberg noted that "the design for the new rail line defies
logistical and geographical logic, and intends to prevent future economic
development from reaching Armenia. The proposed rail link would cost between
$400 million and $800 million and would take years to construct, even though a
perfectly workable rail link that goes through the city of Gyumri, Armenia
already exists and would be fully operational with a few minor repairs. Mr.
Speaker, I commend my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee
that
included this provision into this bill and I urge support for passage of H.R.
5068."
Rep. Maloney joined her House colleagues in noting that, "as a proud
member of
the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and the representative of a large
and vibrant Armenian-American community, I support the provisions which would
prohibit the Export-Import Bank from funding railroad projects in South
Caucasus region that deliberately exclude Armenia."
A proposed new Caucasus rail line – at the urging of Turkey and Azerbaijan –
would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project have sought, even at the
planning stages, to secure US financing for this undertaking, prompting
Congressional supporters of regional peace and stability to preemptively block
such attempts.
In October of last year, the European Commission voiced official
opposition to
the proposed Caucasus railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the
Commission’s Directorate General for Transport and Energy noted that its
construction was both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing
railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official
export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to
assist in
financing the export of US goods and services to international markets.

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LEVON ARONIAN TO TAKE PART IN DORTMUND INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

YEREVAN, JULY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. A Men Chess Highest International
Tournament will start on July 29 in Dortmund, Germany. World Cup
Holder and World Olympic Champion Levon Aronian (Armenia) is among the
8 strongest participants. The tournament to be held in a circular
order will finish on August 6.

iBerkshires.com, MA
July 28, 2006

Piano Virtuoso Karen Tchougarian to Perform (Aug 4)

Armenian piano virtuoso Karen Tchougarian will bring his
distinguished and international talent to EPOCH Assisted Living at
Melbourne on Friday, August 4, at 3 p.m. EPOCH Assisted Living is
located at 140 Melbourne Road.

Tchougarian studied at the Komitas University in Armenia and the
University of Arkansas. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts from
the Manhattan School of Music and has won many performance
competitions, including the 1999 Artists International Auditions. As
the winner, Tchougarian made a fully sponsored debut at Carnegie
Hall. Tchougarian will perform a full range of music from classical
to movie scores to jazz and waltz.

PRESS RELEASE

ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY of EASTERN USA, INC
80 Bigelow Ave, Suite 200
Watertown, MA 02472
Contact: Vartouhie Chiloyan
Tel: 617-926-3801
Fax: 617-924-7238
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

ARS Eastern USA Announces 2006 Benefit Raffle Prize Winners

WATERTOWN, MA – The Armenian Relief Society Eastern USA Board of Directors
announced the winners of their Annual Raffle which was drawn at the Convention
Banquet held at the Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel in King of Prussia, PA on Friday,
July 14, 2006.

1st Prize 2 tickets for the ACAA Armenian Heritage Cruise
Sossy Jeknavorian Chelmsford, MA

2nd Prize Widescreen Digital Plasma TV
Melika Komrokian
Norristown, PA

3rd Prize Laptop Pentium IV
Alec Hermes
Waltham, MA

4th Prize 2 roundtrip tickets to Disneyworld
Vahak Medzadourian Ridgewood,NJ

5th Prize Necklace with Diamonds and Pearls
Mary Barghamian Cliffside
Park, NJ

Over 2,700 tickets were sold throughout the Armenian communities east of the
Mississippi. Proceeds from the benefit raffle support the educational and
humanitarian programs and projects of the ARS.

The ARS extends its deepest appreciation to all those who purchased raffle
tickets and congratulates all the winners.

A Katrina-Like Outpouring for the Mideast?

Inside Higher Ed, DC
July 27, 2006

By Wick Sloane

Imagine. No interruption of study and research for all students and
faculty in the Middle East shut out in this latest war. Lebanon.
Israel. Gaza. Iraq. Everyone.

John Waterbury, president of American University of Beirut, who was
stuck in the United States when war broke out, is in Washington seeking
federal aid and hopes to soon be on his way back to his campus. I’ll
bet he and all his Middle East colleagues would welcome help from us.

Never mind U.S. visas for now. We have the Web, satellites, cell phones
and air drops. Imagine seeing on CNN: classes and seminars and students
studying in the rubble. Now. On all sides of all borders. People from
around the world showing life will go on. Saturday, I listened to a
friend describe the ballet precision of his evacuation from Lebanon
last week. With thousands of others. The U.S. government can do such
things. Punch the "Reverse Route" button. Of course, this is difficult.

Hurricane Katrina was an act of God. American higher ed scrambled
to help. This Middle East war is of man. (And Yale at that, given
higher educations of U.S. leaders Bush, Cheney, Bolton and Bremer,
at least.) Are U.S. colleges and universities planning to help there,
too? Mustn’t we try?

AU-Beirut, a U.S. chartered institution, is closed for classes. I
telephoned the New York office, on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, as it
happens. Steve Jeffries, the AUB vice president there, knew of no
unified offers of help yet. "Right now, we’re working on humanitarian
and medical issues," he said. Students, faculty and staff in Beirut,
calling the situation the Challenges, are helping anyone they can with
blood drives and shelter and medicine for the wounded and the refugees.

The American Council on Education’s president, David Ward, offered
empathy but no call for help in his regular newsletter to presidents
last week. The National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities may be too busy howling in self-interest about a proposed
national database of student academic records.

Enough. Something must be happening.

I wrote to a few of the higher ed presidents and panjandrums I know.
These places claim a tax benefit for producing leaders, not just
wealth. Roger Mandle, president of Rhode Island School of Design, has
told me several times that the field of design has to move to illumine
intractable social issues. What would solutions here look like?

I wrote Rick Levin at Yale and Morty Schapiro at Williams, my
schools. Ruth Simmons at Brown, where I pay tuition. Mike McPherson,
president of the Spencer Foundation. Roger Mandle. Clayton Spencer
at Harvard and John Strassburger, president of Ursinus College. What
plans are under way? What is the obligation of U.S. higher education
here? AU-Beirut has not heard, so far, from American higher ed.

No reply so far from Levin at Yale, whom I met when I was a student
and he a professor at the School of Management. Schapiro, of Williams,
says he is trying to come up with some ideas.

Ursinus College, in Philadelphia, may be the only place to have
an offer.

"Ursinus could offer free housing, board and tuition for the fall
semester for up to five students if not more," said Strassburger,
the Ursinus president. "We probably could come up with salary for a
school in residence teaching some Middle East subjects for the fall
or the year."

Strassburger over the weekend e-mailed an Ursinus faculty member
and alumnus, the retired Ambassador Joseph Melrose, recalled to
the Lebanon desk at the U.S. State Department. Acknowledging the
complexity, Melrose, speaking for himself, replied that American
colleges and universities should plan for transfers from those able
to get a visa. "I would also encourage you all to continue to reflect
on what might be done for Lebanese students in the future. It would
be refreshing to have at least a skeletal plan in place."

I keep thinking of the one-time Columbia University President Dwight
D. Eisenhower, who said, "I like to believe that people in the long
run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments.
Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days
governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."

Even knowing what help might work, for now, is vexing. Looking around,
at least two of the Web sites for Lebanese colleges didn’t work at
all. The sites that work show the enormous need.

"Due to the present conditions of our dear and bleeding country,"
the Web page of Haigazian University, Beirut, announced the end of
classes for now. "Offices and other functions of the University will
continue with as little interruption as possible, whenever possible.
May God keep you all in His Grace." (The university’s name, the site
reports, honors Armenag Haigazian, an Armenian educator with a Yale
doctorate, who passed up escaping to the United States to continue
teaching and then died in the Kharpert prison.)

Lebanese American University has closed classes in Beirut and Byblos.
The Web site goes on: "We urgently ask each and every employee to
be very conservative in their usage of the utilities, especially
electricity and water, so that we can deal with the expected shortages
of these very essential resources, in an optimized manner."

At the Yale Web site? Nothing on the Middle East. But this, ironic,
headline: "Yale president says U.S. should adopt more open attitude
in attracting int’l students."

No "Out of the Office" autoreplies to my presidents’ and panjandrums’
e-mail. So far, only replies from Williams and Ursinus. I just tried
Joe White, president of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana,
and Jim Duderstadt, emeritus president of the University of
Michigan. I’m sure those two will have far better ideas than mine.

In May 1977, I was in the hospital lobby at American University Beirut,
visiting with a friend whose husband was a doctor there. The hospital
was neutral. Around me were fighters from all sides of the civil
war, with submachine guns. The American University Hospital treated
everyone. A precedent for U.S. higher education today?

I’d left Jerusalem that morning over the Allenby Bridge, the back
door of the Promised Land, to Amman. Then, in service taxis up
through Damascus into Lebanon and in Beirut by dinnertime. I’d spent
an afternoon in Jerusalem with an American Quaker missionary, who’d
been there for decades. Why was the Holy Land always in such trouble?

This has always been a tough place, he reminded me. "You have to
remember that God has sent his best people here to this region three
times, and the place is still in trouble. All I know is that we can’t
give up."

While I was walking my dog this week, a young friend, Kirsten Nyborg,
stopped to talk. Harvard 2006, now an intern for Campus Crusade for
Christ. Would she give her Harvard a nudge? "That’s pretty bad," she
said of the silence. "We’ll put this out on our listserv, too. We’ll
send everybody – Junior Year in Beirut for All. Bring a rake. We’ll
get things cleaned up." And she jogged off.

What’s become of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Yale ’63, who
evacuated Iraq ahead of the U.S. troops. ("L" for "Let’s disband
the Iraqi army and not collect the weapons first."?) According to
the Yale alumni directory, Bremer is managing director, Marsh Crisis
Consulting. Perhaps Rick Levin should give Bremer a call?

Wick Sloane is chief operating officer at Generon Consulting in
Massachusetts and former chief financial officer of the University
of Hawaii system.

07/27/sloane

40 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ARMENIAN PROVINCES VISIT COUNCIL OF EUROPE
INFORMATION OFFICE AS PART OF "YEREVAN IN 5 DAYS" PROGRAM

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS: As part of "Yerevan in 5 Days: Youth
Civil Education" program, carried out by the USAID and Academy for
Educational Development (AED), 40 young people from the Armenian
provinces were hosted today in the Council of Europe Information
Office.

Boyana Urumova, Special Representative of the Council of Europe
Secretary General, presented to the young people the activity of the
organization, talked about its priorities and also referred to the
relations between Armenia and the Council of Europe.

The young people also got acquainted with the web site of the Council
of Europe Information Office and watched a film telling about Armenia
and the Council of Europe.

Within the framework of the program on July 25 the young people met
with the Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian.

VIKTOR SOGHOMONIAN: PRESIDENT POSITIVELY ESTIMATES SERGE SARGSIAN’S JOINING RPA

YEREVAN, JULY 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANDS TODAY. President Robert
Kocharian positively estimates the fact of RA Defence Minister,
Secretary of the National Security Council under RA President, Serge
Sargsian’s joining the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and heading
the party Board. President’s Spokesperson Viktor Soghomonian declared
this answering questions of Armenian media.

In the words of the President’s Spokesperson, "the joining of the
politician enjoying authority to RPA, as well as consolidation of
a number of other state figures is greeted and can have a positive
impact on the political sphere which is far from being perfect for
the present."

Viktor Soghomonian also emphasized that "we deal with a positive
phenomenon, especially if we remember that over the past years we
more often witnessed processes of parties’ splits than consolidation
of different political forces or individuals around an ideology."

Turkish Speaker protests to Dutch counterpart on draft Armenian genocide bill

Anatolia news agency
25 Jul 06

Ankara: 25 July: Turkish Speaker of parliament Bulent Arinc has
sent a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives Speaker Frans
Weisglas expressing his dismay on a draft law that, if accepted,
would make any rejection of the so-called Armenian genocide a crime
in the Netherlands.

Arinc’s letter pointed out that, if the Dutch House of Representatives
vote in favour of the draft, this would put barriers in front of those
willing to conduct historical research on and/or debate historical
events.

Bulent Arinc stressed that allegations of a so-called Armenian genocide
are sensitive issues for the Turkish people and government.

"All documents we possess prove that there has not been a genocide,"
noted Arinc. "What took place was a re-location and deportation of
a portion of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 during
a time of war," remarked Arinc.

According to Arinc, the draft law will also hurt Turkish-Dutch
relations.

"Turkey’s call to Armenia to jointly study historical documents has
not received a positive response. Although the Netherlands should
support Turkey’s call to Armenia, it is acting in a way that will
have a negative impact on bilateral relations," expressed Arinc.

MOODY ASSIGNS ARMENIA Ba2 RATING

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS: The governor of the Central Bank of
Armenia, Tigran Sarkisian, said today the Moody’s Investors Service
had assigned on Monday a Ba2 foreign and domestic currency ratings
to the government of Armenia.

He said Moody made its decision based on continued GDP growth rates
of around 10% per annum or above since 2001, the subdued inflationary
pressure due to the appreciation of the national currency dram and
to a cautious monetary and fiscal policy stance.

Sarkisian said the rating was given in light of the progress made by
the country since 1995, the year that marked the end of the seven-year
contraction that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"We believe that over the medium term, there is sufficient scope
for further GDP growth such that it will help alleviate poverty
and reduce unemployment, both of which remain high in Armenia,"
Moody’s Vice President Sara Bertin was quoted as saying in a press
release. "Moreover, the rating is supported by the limited level and
favorable maturity structure of Armenia’s foreign-currency denominated
debt," she said.

She said that with a 23% debt-to GDP ratio at the end of 2005, the
country compares well to its peers.

Ninety percent of the debt is owed to multilateral lenders on
concessional terms representing a long maturity and associated minimal
debt-servicing cost.

"We have also taken note of the high level of dollarization and the
country’s lack of financial depth," said Bertin.

"Moody’s assigns a very low probability that the conflict between
Azeris and Armenians might resume over the short to medium term,"
said Bertin. "As long as a credible and sustainable solution has yet
to be found to the conflict, uncertainties remain over the countries
of the South Caucasus. Due to their borders with Iran, countries such
as Armenia and Azerbaijan are potential strategic partners for the
United States, Russia and Iran," she said.

Tigran Sarkisian said this rating allows Armenia to have its own place
in the international financial markets and gives foreign companies and
private businessmen to have a clear idea of Armenia and its economy
and is essential in their deciding whether to invest here or not.

The governor said five local commercial banks have already asked the
Moody’s for their, possibly higher individual l ratings.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

STATE DEPARTMENT MISLED SENATE ON
TURKISH COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT AMB. EVANS

— Signed Statements Contradict State Department’s
Official Denial

— Justice Department Records Reveal Repeated Contacts
by Turkey’s Foreign Agent with the State Department
Concerning Remarks by the Ambassador to Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC – In yet another troubling development concerning
the controversial nomination of Richard Hoagland to serve as U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia, Department of Justice records have revealed
that the State Department has misled the U.S. Senate regarding its
communications with the Turkish government concerning the February
2005 public affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

In a letter, dated June 28, 2005 written on behalf of Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), the Ranking
Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the State
Department denied that the Turkish government had even approached
the Administration on this issue. However, official Foreign Agent
Registration filings by the Turkish government’s registered foreign
agent, the Livingston Group, document that, in the days following
Ambassador Evans’ February 19, 2005 remarks, one of Turkey’s agents
communicated on at least four different occasions with State
Department officials concerning the envoy’s statement and his
subsequent retraction.

"With each new revelation, we see more clearly the corrosive impact
that the Administration’s complicity in Turkey’s denial is having
on our own core values as Americans," said ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian. "This latest failed attempt by the State Department to
mislead the Senate adds to the many compelling reasons to block the
confirmation of a new Ambassador to Armenia."

Consistent with the pattern of unresponsiveness that has come to
characterize the Administration’s actions on the Hoagland
nomination, the only answer the State Department chose to provide
in response to Senator Biden’s four questions was a misleading one.
His other inquiries – including an official request for an
explanation of why Ambassador Evans was being replaced prematurely
– remain unanswered.

On June 23rd, as part of Ambassador Richard Hoagland’s confirmation
process to replace Amb. Evans in Yerevan, Senator Biden wrote a
letter asking Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a series of
questions including the following: "Has the State Department
received any communication – written, electronic, or spoken – from
the Turkish Government concerning Ambassador Evans?"

Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Jeffrey T.
Bergner responded on behalf of Secretary Rice with the following
assertion: "Please be assured that allegations that the U.S. is
removing Ambassador Evans under pressure from the Government of
Turkey are simply untrue. The Government of Turkey has not
approached the Administration on this issue, and the United States
and Turkey engaged in no diplomatic exchanges related to this
matter."

However, Justice Department filings by the Livingston Group reveal
that a day after Amb. Evans’ statements on the Armenian Genocide
were publicized in an ANCA-San Francisco press release dated
February 24, 2005, a Turkish agent communicated with the State
Department concerning his statements. On February 28, 2005, one
business day after the agent’s first phone call, Ambassador Evans
issued his first public retraction – noting that his mention of the
Armenian Genocide was made in a private capacity. Later that same
day, the Livingston Group reported three additional calls between
one of Turkey’s agents and State Department officials including the
Deputy Chief of Mission-designate at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to
discuss Ambassador Evans’ retraction. The very next day on March
1, 2005, Ambassador Evans issued a public correction of his
retraction – removing entirely any mention of the Armenian
Genocide.

In addition to the Justice Department filings, several Turkish
press accounts reported that officials of the Government of Turkey
communicated their concerns to the State Department regarding
statements made by Ambassador Evans:

1) Turkish Press

On March 3, 2005, Turkish Press reported that, "Turkey’s Ambassador
in Washington Faruk Logoglu reacted to this. Ambassador Logoglu
reminded his interlocutors in the State Department that the United
States did not recognize ‘Armenian genocide’ noting the expression
in Evans’ apology was unacceptable. Justifying Turkey’s warning,
US State Department made Evans to issue a ‘correction’ for the
apology." ("Evans Had to Correct His Statement Again After Using
‘Genocide’ in His Apology," Turkish Press, March 3, 2005)

2) Anadolu News Agency

On March 4, 2005, the Anadolu News Agency reported that, "The
Turkish ambassador to Washington Faruk Logoglu reacted to this
message and the Washington administration approved Turkey’s demand
and made Evans correct the message of apology. Logoglu reminded the
US State Department that the US does not recognize the Armenian
genocide, but the term was used in the message of apology of the US
Yerevan Ambassador. Logoglu noted that a term that is not accepted
by USA could not be used in a statement of policy." ("Double
Genocide Correction from US Yerevan Ambassador," Anadolu News
Agency, March 04, 2005)

3) Turkish Daily News

On May 27, 2006, Turkish Daily News reported that, "’After his
remarks last year that caused reaction at the State Department and
by Turkey, Evans was given a second chance, but he continued to
deviate from the official U.S. policy, working almost as a part of
Armenian groups that have a specific agenda,’ one U.S. analyst
familiar with the matter said on Thursday. ‘As a result he was
recalled.’" ("US Envoy Fired Over ‘Genocide’ Claims," Turkish Daily
News, May 27, 2006)

The ANCA has circulated relevant sections of the Justice Department
FARA filings to Congressional offices.

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