Author: Chilingarian Babken

The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 19 2004

Minister in electric seat
Former minister downplays attacks as wintertime pressure
By Christina Tashkevich

This Wednesday turned out to be a very hard day for the Minister of
Energy Nika Gilauri. First he listened to sharp criticism from the
Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania at the government session and then he
was grilled in debates with majoritarian MPs at Parliament.

The majoritarians, representing almost all of Georgia’s regions,
gathered at a meeting of the sectoral economy committee of Parliament
on Wednesday to listen to Gilauri’s speech.

The majority of MPs criticized the minister and even threatened him
with dismissal. “We can seriously influence this sphere,” claimed
leader of Conservatives Zviad Dzidziguri during discussion.

“For example, if there is no [electricity] in a week, let’s raise the
issue of Gilauri’s dismissal,” said Dzidziguri. At the end of the
meeting majoritarian MPs gave Gilauri a 10-day deadline to schedule
regular electric supplies in the regions.

In Gilauri’s defense, the former minister of energy Mamuka
Nikolaishvili told reporters that the Minister of Energy and the
Ministry always is under attack in winter, “because it is hard to
satisfy everybody when you have a deficit in the energy system.”

He pointed out there should be “certain fairness in distributing the
existing, small electricity resources that Georgia has.” He added
further support for the ministry, saying, “I know that the ministry
seriously works on this task.”

Meanwhile Tbilisi may have fewer or even no problems with electricity
this winter. Wednesday evening Telasi started importing 100 megawatts
of electricity from Russia through the Kavkasioni high transmission
line.

In addition Georgia will be getting 100 megawatts of imports from
Armenia. “With imports of 200 megawatts, I think the winter should go
by without problems,” said the General Director of Telasi Dangiras
Mikalajunas on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Gilauri himself commented to journalists after the meeting
with MPs that he “never promised there will be a 24-hour electricity
supply.” The minister says the problems in the sector are very
difficult but added they “can be resolved.”

Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who a week ago also threatened Gilauri
with the axe if electricity supplies were not well managed, again
expressed his dissatisfaction with the electricity supply problems at
the Wednesday government session. He demanded from Gilauri a complete
countrywide energy schedule within one week, saying that he wanted to
know exactly which regions would receive electricity at what time.

“Not only Minister Gilauri but every government member must be
involved in the process of regulating this system,” Zhvania said.

“There are many problems connected with electricity in all regions of
Georgia, and only in some big cities can it be said that the
situation has improved, although I must admit that in Kutaisi the
situation is much better, and the same can be said about Zugdidi. But
in Mtskheta and Mtskheta-Tianeti as a whole nothing has changed.
Nothing has changed besides the demonstrations and my effort to
regulate the schedule there,’ stated the prime minister.

Agence France Presse
18 novembre 2004 jeudi 10:49 AM GMT

Mondial-2006/qualifications – Arménie-Roumanie: Iordanescu très contesté

La presse roumaine critiquait sévèrement jeudi le sélectionneur
Anghel Iordanescu, suite au nul “honteux” concédé à l’Arménie (1-1)
en qualifications au Mondial 2006 (groupe 1), mercredi soir à Erevan,
appelant même à sa démission.

“La honte”, titrait en une le quotidien Jurnalul National, selon
lequel “le sélectionneur, le politicien, le général, l’homme qui
gagne 300.000 dollars par an, Anghel Iordanescu, doit partir”.

“Vous devriez avoir honte”, estime pour sa part Gazeta Sporturilor,
qui juge qu’après sa “performance honteuse à Erevan, la Roumanie a
sérieusement compromis ses chances de qualification”.

“Une honte historique”, titre également Evenimentul Zilei, qui invite
Iordanescu à “s’en aller”, non sans rappeler que le sélectionneur,
candidat du Parti social démocrate (PSD, au pouvoir) aux législatives
du 28 novembre, s’est “occupé davantage ces dernières semaines de la
campagne électorale que de la préparation de l’équipe nationale”.

Selon la presse, Iordanescu a annoncé qu’il ne démissionnerait pas,
estimant que “les chances de qualification de la Roumanie sont
intactes”.

Mais le président de la Fédération roumaine de football (FRF) Mircea
Sandu a pour la première fois évoqué au retour d’Arménie la
possibilité de remplacer Iordanescu par un entraîneur étranger.

“J’ai soutenu Iordanescu et je le soutiens toujours, mais il n’est
pas exclu de résilier son contrat à l’amiable. Une décision sera
prise dans le courant de la semaine”, a-t-il déclaré.

La Roumanie occupe actuellement la 2e place du groupe 1, avec 10
points en cinq matches, derrière les Pays Bas (10 points en quatre
rencontres).

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
November 17, 2004, Wednesday
17:15:22 Central European Time

INTERVIEW: Armenia hopes to join E.U. in 20 years, says minister

By Leon Mangasarian, dpa

Berlin

Armenia hopes to join the European Union within 20 years and has no
objections to its arch-rival Turkey joining the bloc if Ankara meets
strict membership terms, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan
said Wednesday. “We would like to be a European Union (E.U.) member
… the sooner the better,” said Oskanyan in an interview with
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa, after talks between German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder and Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Berlin.
Oskanyan said the path used by the 10 mainly east European nations,
which joined the E.U. earlier this year, showed Yerevan the blueprint
it had to follow. “More needs to be done but a lot will depend on
Armenia,” he said, adding Armenia had to reform its legislature,
institutions and democratic system as well as fight corruption to be
on track for possible E.U. accession negotiations. But he stressed
the process of completing reforms to meet E.U. standards was highly
positive in itself and that the journey toward joining the Union was
just as valuable as the final prize. Asked when his country expected
to join, he said: “Maybe in 15 or 20 years.” Turning to Turkey’s bid
to join the E.U., Oskanyan said his government had no objections but
was noting with concern that the E.U. seemed to have watered down
some of its criteria in the case of Turkey. Armenia, he said could
not understand how Turkey could be recommended for E.U. membership
talks while its border to Armenia remained closed. Oskanyan also
noted that Turkey’s penal code banned any mention of the term
genocide in reference to the killing of Christian Armenians by Moslem
Turks during and after the First World War. Armenia and many
historians say the killings amount to a genocide as between 800,000
and 1.5 million Armenians died during this period. But Turkey has
always rejected this and insisted a smaller number of Armenians were
killed during the war when they rebelled against Turkish rule.
Nevertheless, Oskanyan said Armenia had “no problem” with Turkish
E.U. membership because this would lead to European standards of
minority rights and full freedom of speech in Turkey as well as an
E.U. member state bordering on Armenia. He said Turkish recognition
of “genocide” was not a precondition for normal ties between Ankara
and Yerevan. Turkey is expected to get a green light at the scheduled
December 17 E.U. summit in Brussels to begin accession talks. Turkish
leaders admit it could take until 2019 before their country becomes a
full member. Turning to an uneasy truce over the mountainous
Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and mainly Moslem Azerbaijan
which has held since their war over the region ended in 1994,
Oskanyan complained that Azerbaijan was backtracking on moves aimed
at a final accord. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bitter war over
Nagorno-Karabakh in which an estimated 35,000 people were killed and
some one million became refugees. Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic
Armenian region but lies within the internationally recognized
borders of Azerbaijan. The Armenian state supports ethnic Armenians
in Nagorno-Karabakh and it military occupies about 16 per cent of
Azerbaijan. Oskanyan said his government wanted the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to continue to mediate the
dispute, and he opposed recent moves by Azerbaijan to shift talks to
the U.N. dpa lm emc

The Jerusalem Post
November 16, 2004, Tuesday

Churches urge pilgrims to visit

by Etgar Lefkovits

In an unprecedented move, the leaders of the Christian communities in
Israel on Monday signed a joint proclamation urging Christian
pilgrims to visit the Holy Land.

The declaration, “A Call to All People of Faith: Visit the Holy Land
Now,” initiated by the Tourism Ministry, was signed by senior
representatives of the Greek, Russian, and Armenian Orthodox
Churches, the Vatican’s chief representative, and by the Evangelical
International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.

That the diverse, and often feuding, branches of Christianity came
together for one common goal was not lost on the crowd.

“There are many things that divide us and many things that unite us.
For all of us, this is the Holy Land,” Father Pierre Battista
Pizzaballa, the custodian of the Holy Land, said at the Jerusalem
signing ceremony.

“A visit to the Holy Land is one of the most important and
significant things Christians can do at this time,” said Rev. Malcolm
Hedding, executive director of the International Christian Embassy in
Jerusalem.

The declaration comes following four years of violence which has led
to a dramatic drop in the number of Christian pilgrims, as well as to
an ever decreasing number of Christians living here.

Calling a pilgrimage to the Holy Land “a unique enrichment and
spiritual joy,” Papal Nuncio Msgr. Pietro Sambi said that pilgrims
offer both spiritual and material encouragement to the small local
Christian communities and that such visits create an atmosphere of
peace which could contribute in defusing the political situation
between Israelis and Palestinians.

While the number of tourists is at its highest since the outbreak of
violence, the percentage of Christian pilgrims remains comparatively
low. Some 60 percent of the record-breaking 2.67 million tourists who
visited in 2000 were Christians, while only 29% of the projected 1.5
million tourists who will visit this year are Christian, Tourism
Minister Gideon Ezra said.

The only glitch in an otherwise perfect PR ceremony came when the
Armenian representative, Bishop Aris, said it was unrealistic to sign
a proclamation which stated that it is “as safe coming to the Holy
Land as to other parts of the world,” and suggested modifying the
text in accordance with the reality on the ground.

“This is what Madonna said,” Ezra said. “Because of the IDF, the
fence, and God, it’s safe here.”

GRAPHIC: Photo: TOURISM MINISTER Gideon Ezra meets with
representatives of the various Christian communities yesterday.
(Credit: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post)

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, November 15, 2004

In this issue:

U.S.-Armenian security cooperation

Millennium Challenge program

Azeri propaganda and military build-up

Economist on Armenian Genocide and Turkey

ARMENIA CONFIRMS PLEDGE TO U.S. AMID FRESH ANTI-ARMENIAN TERRORISM IN IRAQ

Armenian leaders reaffirmed their commitment to contribute to the
U.S.-led forces in Iraq despite anti-Armenian terrorism in Iraq,
significant domestic opposition and delays associated with rotation of
the U.S.-allied forces out of Iraq. Last week, a car bomb went off
outside the Armenian school in Baghdad. While no casualties were
reported, the school which has 200 students has been closed
indefinitely. Iraqi Armenian community leaders have appealed to the
Armenian government against sending servicemen that would be seen as
helping U.S. forces, fearing new, more deadly attacks. While sharing
these concerns, Armenian officials argued that Armenia could not expect
to benefit from stability accorded by the U.S., without contributing to
it even in modest ways.

Peacekeeping and other cooperation issues were high on the agenda of
Armenia’s Chief of General Staff General Mikael Harutiunian who just
completed a week-long visit to the United States. Gen. Harutiunian held
talks with the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff General Richard
Myers and other Department of Defense officials. He also visited the
National Defense University in Washington, DC, the U.S. Joint Forces
Command and NATO Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia,
U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida and the state of Kansas whose
National Guard is cooperating with the Armenian military. During the
visit, the U.S. awarded Gen. Harutiunian with the Legion of Merit, a
prestigious U.S. medal given to foreign officials and officers who have
made a significant contribution to bilateral relations.

Earlier this year, the Armenian government made a decision to send a
military transportation company, engineers and medics to Iraq, a move
that must receive parliamentary endorsement. In an interview last week,
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian said that the government has not yet
requested parliamentary approval due to recently announced changes in
the Polish-led international division where the Armenian unit is due to
serve. Poland, which after the U.S. and Britain has the third largest
force in Iraq, is planning to scale back its deployment, while Hungarian
forces, which are part of the Polish-led division, are due to be fully
withdrawn. (Sources: Armenia This Week 8-2, 10-4; Armenian Embassy in
U.S. 11-9; R&I Report 11-4; Nezavisimaya Gazeta 11-11; RFE/RL Arm.
Report 11-11)

ARMENIA’S MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE AID ELIGIBILITY RENEWED

The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) last week renewed
Armenia’s eligibility to receive Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 funds under the
performance-based foreign assistance program. Armenia and Georgia remain
the only former Soviet countries eligible and their governments’ reform
efforts are considered sufficiently advanced to qualify under MCC rules.

None of the $1 billion slated for FY 2004 have been disbursed since
Armenia and fourteen other countries were first selected last May.
Armenia’s Finance Ministry submitted a draft of its proposal to the MCC
last month and is currently updating it with input from non-government
experts. MCC’s Stephen Groff, who was in Yerevan this Monday, said the
Corporation urges all eligible countries to take their time and prepare
quality proposals. (Sources: ; Armenia This Week 5-7,
9-20; Noyan Tapan 11-15)

NO PROGRESS ON NK, AS AZERBAIJAN DUE TO STEP UP “INFORMATION WAR”

Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian this week expressed pessimism over
the potential progress in talks with Azerbaijan on the future status of
Karabakh. He said that Azerbaijan’s refusal to negotiate directly with
Karabakh’s duly elected leadership or to work towards building mutual
confidence in the region might present insurmountable obstacles for the
peace process. Last week, Azerbaijan again declined Armenia’s offer to
sell electricity to Nakhichevan, the Azeri-controlled exclave
experiencing severe energy shortages. Instead, Azerbaijan is stepping up
what its officials have described as “information war” over Karabakh.

Benefiting from high oil prices, Azerbaijan is also increasing its
military spending, budgeting close to $250 million for defense next
year. Armenia’s defense budget for 2005 is projected at just under $100
million. Karabakh Army Commander General Seyran Ohanian said this week
that while the Azeri army was continuing to improve and was hiring
outside advisors, NKR had the necessary capability to monitor and
balance these efforts and, should it become necessary, undertake
operations across the Line of Contact.

Azeri officials last week dismissed U.S., French and Russian criticism
of its efforts to force a debate on the Karabakh conflict in the United
Nations’ General Assembly (UN GA) with support from Turkey, Pakistan and
other members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Meeting
last week with Ambassadors of OIC states accredited in Baku, Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev thanked them for their support against Armenia.
Aliyev is also reaching out to African countries to win their support.
According to an investigative report in an independent Azeri news
magazine, Aliyev, following unexpected rendezvous’ with Presidents of
Djibouti and Gambia, last month hosted the Ivory Coast’s embattled
President Laurent Gbagbo. According to the magazine’s sources, Gbagbo
flew into Baku to discuss arms purchases there in circumvention of UN
sanctions.

Aliyev’s Yeni Azerbaycan Party and Parliament member Samed Seyidov,
speaking in Washington last week, attempted to justify his government’s
tactics by claiming that Azeris displaced in the Karabakh war were
“pushing” his government to be more aggressive. He then repeated his
government’s propaganda figure of “1 million” displaced and presented a
fictitious map showing Azerbaijan’s entire territory covered in refugee
camps.

In fact, Azerbaijan’s own statistics show that the number of its
internally displaced (IDPs) is well below half a million. Tens of
thousands of them were long kept in squalid conditions to be showcased
to visiting foreign delegations. U.S. officials have urged the Azeri
government to “allow IDPs to leave squalid camps, integrate locally, and
begin building a new life.” Finally last month, the Azeri Deputy Prime
Minister Ali Hassanov announced that the five remaining IDP camps are
due to be closed next year. (Sources: Armenia This Week 6-17-03, 6-14,
7-19, 11-1; Azerbaijan Central Election Committee Oct. 03; Monitor
10-23; Regnum.ru 10-29; Day.az 10-30; U.S. Mission to OSCE 11-4; Arminfo
11-8, 9, 12, 13, 15; Azertag.com 11-10; R&I Report 11-5; RFE/RL Armenia
Report 11-15)

Visit the Armenia This Week archive dating back to 1997 at

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The Economist
November 11, 2004

Human rights in Turkey

Haunted by the past

A human-rights commission embarrasses the government

ANKARA – “HAPPY is he who calls himself a Turk!” That breezy slogan,
emblazoned on mountainsides and offices from the Aegean to the
Euphrates, was devised by Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey,
as he set about forging a fresh identity for his people. The idea was
that former subjects of the Ottoman empire – whose native language might
be Arabic, Albanian or Kurdish-would find a new togetherness as citizens
of a unitary republic. And in case people hesitated to embrace the joys
of Turkishness, there were harsh penalties for those who asserted any
other sort of identity.

For most of the past 80 years, these principles have been sacrosanct.
But if Turkey is to have any hope of joining the European Union, some
taboo topics of history, identity and language must be discussed openly,
without fear of prosecution. In a burst of zeal three years ago, the
government-led by former Islamists-set up a panel to take a broad look
at questions of human rights and identity, and to suggest how things
could be improved. But Turkey’s masters got more than they expected. The
board’s report, released this month, said things that were almost
unsayable, triggering a sharp backlash.

For example, the report implies that if the Lausanne treaty of 1923-the
basis of the Turkish state and its foreign relations-had been fully
implemented, bloodshed between Turks and Kurds might have been avoided.
To justify this argument, which is explosive in Turkey, however mild it
might seem elsewhere, the report cites article 39 of the treaty, which
allows Turkish nationals to use “any language they wish in commerce, in
public and private meetings and all types of press and publication.”

It also says that articles which supposedly protect non-Muslim
minorities have been read too narrowly: as well as covering Jews,
Armenians and Greeks, these articles should have been applied, for
example, to Syrian Orthodox Christians. More controversially still, it
suggests replacing the term “Turk” with a more inclusive word to cover
all ethnicities and faiths, such as “Turkiyeli”-“of Turkey”.

It was more than some Turks could bear. Even as Ibrahim Kaboglu, the
jurist who heads the board, was reading the report at a press
conference, a fellow member snatched it and tore it into shreds. Both Mr
Kaboglu and Baskin Oran, a political scientist who wrote the report,
have been bombarded with threatening phone calls and mail. “Fraternal
blood will be spilled,” warned one. Another called for a military coup.
Prosecutors in Ankara are investigating claims that both academics may
have committed treason. Ilker Basbug, a top general, has joined the
fray, saying Turkey’s unity should not be tampered with. The government,
frightened by the reaction, has washed its hands of the report and
denied commissioning it.

It is possible, though unlikely, says Husnu Ondul, a human-rights
lawyer, that the two authors may be prosecuted under an article of the
new penal code approved in September, which provides for up to ten
years’ jail for those who engage in unspecified “activities” against the
“national interest”. What might such activities be? In a footnote, the
law deems “anti-national” anyone who advocates withdrawing Turkish
troops from Cyprus, or terming “genocide” the killing of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians in 1915. If the aim was to stifle discussion of
this second issue, it failed: at a conference in Venice last month,
historians from all countries involved took a broader, more cool-headed
look at the 1915 tragedy than would be possible in Turkey-now or, it
seems, any time soon. And what about the 100,000 Turkish-Cypriots who
voted (vainly) in April for a UN plan that would have removed most
Turkish troops from Cyprus: was that a crime?

Gul: If the EU Fails Us, We’ll Go Our Own Way

Zaman Online, Turkey
Nov 10 2004

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has said if Turkey doesn’t
receive a satisfactory decision from the European Union (EU) summit
on December 17th, “we’ll leave it alone and go our own way.”

At a Parliamentary Budget Commission for Foreign Ministry meeting,
Gul said the progress report on Turkey released by the European
Commission on October 6th was a great achievement for the country,
but that the Foreign Ministry is continuing its efforts to achieve
an affirmative decision at the December 17th summit.

“At the end, we’ll have done everything in our power. If we are not
satisfied with the outcome, we’ll leave it alone and go our own way.
We never have never said we would enter the EU unconditionally and
agree to everything,” continued the Foreign Minister.

He emphasized it is out of the question to recognize the Cypriot Greek
administration as part of the process. As for the Greater Middle
East Project, Gul said, “This project could have a hidden agenda,
but if we become active in it we can prevent any wrong doings instead
of watching [the process].” The Foreign Minister also reiterated his
wish for normalization in Turkish-Armenian relations.

11.10.2004
Suleyman Kurt

Tajik minister to meet counterparts from CIS security bloc in Moscow

Asia-Plus news agency
10 Nov 04

Dushanbe, 10 November: Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov will
leave for Moscow next Friday 12 November.

Nazarov is going to attend a scheduled meeting of the Council of
Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
member states there, the Tajik Foreign Ministry’s press centre said.

“The agenda of the forthcoming session of the Council of Foreign
Ministers is not known yet,” the press centre said.

The CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan.

Behind the breakthrough

Baltimore Sun
November 9, 2004

By Harry J. Gilmore

Fifteen years ago today, determined throngs of East Berliners breached the
Berlin Wall, and the United States and its allies helped facilitate the
safe
movement of Berliners through the wall that historic night. This story is
being told for American readers for the first time.

With the defeat of the Nazi regime, the victorious Allies divided Germany
and Berlin into four zones (sectors, in the case of Berlin). The victors
were unable to agree on Germany’s future, and two German states were
created, the Federal Republic of Germany in the west and the German
Democratic Republic in the east. Although the Soviet Union made its sector
of Berlin the East German capital, the United States and its allies did not
recognize East Berlin as part of East Germany and zealously insisted on
their four-power rights in Berlin, including the right to maintain
garrisons
in the city.

The allied ambassadors to Germany retained the residual authority of the
former military occupation commanders and high commissioners, and each
allied sector in Berlin was headed by a commandant. Each commandant had a
civilian deputy. I was the U.S. minister and deputy commandant that
historic
night. The United States held the rotating allied chairmanship that
November, so I was Governing Mayor Walter Momper’s point of contact with
the
Allies.

In the months before Nov. 9, 1989, there had been a steady crescendo of
peaceful and increasingly massive demonstrations for freedom in East
Germany, especially freedom of travel. Shortly before 6 p.m., East German
press spokesman Guenter Schabowski emerged from an emergency leadership
meeting to announce new travel regulations, making it possible for East
Germans to travel abroad at any time, via any checkpoint. Asked when these
new regulations would take effect, Mr. Schabowski vainly searched his
briefing materials for guidance and then indicated they were valid
immediately.

His statements were broadcast throughout Berlin and East Germany. Soon,
East
Berliners began to gather at the checkpoints along the wall. At Bornholmer
Strasse, they shouted that they had heard Mr. Schabowski and were
determined
to cross into West Berlin. The guards had no instructions, and about 10:30
p.m. let the most vociferous of them cross. This news was immediately
broadcast to virtually every household in Berlin and East Germany, and the
ranks of those seeking to cross spread like wildfire. By 11:30 p.m., the
East German border guards let everyone pass. Soon, all of the Berlin
checkpoints were open and legions of East Berliners were flooding into West
Berlin.

Mayor Momper and his staff had been monitoring the situation closely since
Mr. Schabowski’s news conference. After meeting with his government to
review preparations for a large influx of East Berliners and other East
Germans, Mr. Momper made a brief live TV appearance and drove to the
busiest
area of the wall.

He urged West Berlin Police President Georg Schertz to take every
measure to
bring order to the surging crowds, including the cluster of West Berliners
who had climbed onto the wall at the Brandenburg Gate. Mr. Schertz reminded
Mr. Momper that the West Berlin police were not permitted to approach the
sector boundary or the wall. This was because the wall had been carefully
constructed to stand just inside East Berlin. At that point, Mr. Momper
telephoned me to request urgent Allied authorization for the West Berlin
police to approach the wall and control the checkpoints.

In accordance with established procedures, and because of the acute
political sensitivity of West Berlin police encroaching or crossing the
sector boundary, I should have consulted our British and French allies and
higher U.S. authority before responding to Mr. Momper’s request. But this
would have taken far too much time.

From frequent conversations about possible contingencies, I knew that the
U.S. commandant, Maj. Gen. Raymond Haddock, would favor immediate positive
action. I also was sure that the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Vernon
Walters,
and President George H. W. Bush would want us to do everything possible to
ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of Berliners seeking to pass
through the wall. I was confident, too, that our British and French allies
would share this view. I therefore assured Mr. Momper on the spot that the
Allies would take immediate steps to provide greater latitude to the police.

When I hung up, I called General Haddock, who immediately concurred. I then
gave appropriate instructions to the public safety adviser, Frank Collins,
our official liaison with the West Berlin police. Within minutes, we had
given the police the flexibility they needed to establish order at the
wall.
Amid the teeming, surging crowds, no one was seriously injured at the wall
that night.

Our British and French counterparts gave their full support. Although I
would have preferred to inform my Soviet counterpart in East Berlin
personally and immediately, I decided not to risk complicating the already
delicate situation. He and I were in regular contact before and after the
wall opened, and he had indicated that the Soviets, under Mikhail S.
Gorbachev, intended to keep their troops away from demonstrators and crowds
so long as they were not provoked.

I am telling this story now because I want to put it on the record while I
can. I look back on our role that historic night with deep satisfaction. I
think of heroic Berlin Governing Mayors Ernst Reuter and Willy Brandt as
well as President John F. Kennedy and Gen. Lucius Clay, father of the
1948-49 Berlin Airlift. I also think of the many American soldiers, airmen
and civilians who stood firm over the nearly 50 years of our commitment to
the divided city.

The words of Mr. Brandt in the days after the wall fell still ring in my
ears: “What belongs together is now growing together.”

Harry J. Gilmore, the first U.S. ambassador posted to post-Soviet
Armenia, was U.S. minister and deputy commandant of Berlin from 1987 to
1990.

,1,3886468.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines

The Boston Globe
November 4, 2004

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL TO SPEAK HERE

A top adviser to the president of Armenia will talk with
Watertown’s Armenian-American community Nov. 12 about the country’s
latest efforts to control corruption. Bagrat Yesayan, who chairs
Armenia’s State Commission on the Monitoring of Anti-Corruption
Strategy Implementation, was appointed in September 2003 to create a
plan to combat corruption, particularly after parliamentary elections
last year. Yesayan is working with the Council of Europe’s Group of
States Against Corruption, which will monitor the campaign’s
effectiveness in January. The free talk will be held at the Armenian
Cultural and Educational Center, 47 Nichols Ave., beginning at 8 p.m.
– Christina Pazzanese

Once again about Balakian’s The Black Dog of Fate

By Hovhannes Yeranian

Yerkir/arm
October 29, 2004

This is the forth article Yerkir publishes about Peter Balakian’s
wonderful novel. However, it is impossible to capture the literary and
aesthetic value of the book even through a series of articles. What we
are most concerned with in this article is the starting point of the
novel.

Balakian’s book on the Armenian Genocide, which is the best piece on
genocide I have ever read, is based on his childhood memories. The
strangest and the most important thing to note here is that during his
childhood the author knew nothing about the greatest tragedy of his
nation. His family escaping from the Genocide settled in USA and did
their best to protect the child from any knowledge of the terrible
tragedy so that it would not poison his life.

I was born and grew up in the former region of Masis which was
populated with Azeri Turks. There was a small river that divided our
village. It was the border river of our childhood, our Araks beyond
which the Turks lived. I spent my childhood fighting them. We used to
cross the river, defeat the Turk boys on the other side and set up our
flag with red pioneer neckties.

At night the Turk boys used to destroy our flags and tear our
neckties, so the next day our fights would start anew. That was when I
understood that we needed border guards to guard at night what we had
conquered during the day.

Of course, sometimes we had to escape, sometimes we lost our
fights. The enemy outnumbered us as it has always happened throughout
centuries. Some of my friends were injured in those fights. But it
wasn’t these losses that mattered. What mattered was the losses that
were growing in our hearts.

Balakian spent his childhood playing baseball and listening to
rockâ=80=99n’roll. How could such a childhood inspire the best book
on the Armenian Genocide? At first sight there seems to be a mystery
here. There was a family secret, the buried pain that was destined to
cause a revolution in the poet’s worldview.

His childhood was not humiliated by the pain of incurable wound as was
my childhood. This is why the best film and the best book on the
greatest painof our nation were created on the other side of the
ocean. These are the night guards of our daytime victories.

These examples suggest a very important conclusion – we have to be
very careful when we inevitably introduce our children for the first
time to thetragedy of our nation.

This is a very difficult task because none of the answers I suggest to
my son’ s question why they managed to do this with our nation seem to
be convincing and logical to him. Peter Balakian came to ease this
task for us. You can give The Black Dog of Fate to your children to
read without worrying about the answers you might have to find once he
reads it.