Author: Khoyetsian Rose

CATCHING UP WITH…WATERTOWN HALL OF FAMER JOHN SIMOURIAN
By Frank Santarpio

Watertown TAB & Press
Wicked Local Watertown
Oct 09, 2009 @ 03:19 PM

WATERTOWN —

As a Watertown High student-athlete, John Simourian knew how to
succeed in and out of the classroom. Success still follows him around.

The 1953 Raider graduate and 1993 Watertown High Athletic Hall of
Famer, who started Lily (named after his mother) Transportation
Corp. in 1958, remains chairperson and CEO of the one of the largest
transportation and distribution services in the country. It is a
multimillion-dollar operation.

For those who remember Simourian, that kind of remarkable success is
not a surprise.

"He was so focused and so smart," said Bob Kaprielian, Watertown
High Athletic Hall of Fame chairperson and teammate of the 1952
Class B Raider championship football team. "I believe the incredible
discipline and focus he developed from sports has carried him through
life and has made him what he is today."

Simourian was the leader and catalyst of the 1952 state championship
team. He quarterbacked the Raiders to the title and earned
all-scholastic honors. What was even more remarkable is he never
played quarterback until high school.

Well-regarded Raider coach Joe Zeno lost his previous signal caller
to graduation and told Simourian he would be the guy. The former
running back took the new assignment in stride.

"I was actually honored when I was asked," Simourian remembered. "I
looked forward to the challenge."

Simourian didn’t just tackle challenges on the gridiron. He also
played three seasons of ice hockey and was even better at baseball.

Simourian captained the 1953 Raider baseball squad while also enjoying
two all-scholastic seasons. He was also given the prestigious Fred
Ostergen award his senior year, which was given to the most outstanding
player in all of Eastern Mass. His class, not surprisingly, voted
him the school’s best athlete.

Nine questions with John Simourian

1. What Watert ach, Joe Zeno. He was the best coach at any level or
any sport.

2. Who was your favorite athlete growing up?

A. I had three. Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Doak Walker.

3. What is the last book you read?

A. "The Elephant and the Dragon" by Robyn Meredith.

4. What is your all-time favorite movie?

A. "Casablanca"

5. What is your all-time favorite song?

A. "September Song" by Kurt Weill and "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison

6. What is your favorite vacation spot?

A. Woods Hole, Mass.

7. What is your favorite food?

A. Armenian and French foods are my favorites.

8. What person would you most liked to have met?

A. Jesus Christ

9. If there was a moment in life you could go back and change,
what would it be?

A. I wouldn’t change a thing.

There were no athletic scholarships back then, but Simourian wouldn’t
need anything like that to get to college. As a member of the National
Honor Society and one of Watertown High’s top academic students,
Simourian was accepted to continue his education at Harvard University.

As a student-athlete in Cambridge, Simourian continued to excel. As
a student, he would once again be one of their top students while
achieving remarkable athletic accomplishments.

As a member of the baseball team, the first baseman was named
to the all-New England team three years in a row from 1955-1957
while also claiming All Eastern Mass. Intercollegiate honors his
senior year. Later, he would be recruited by the Milwaukee Braves
organization.

As a valuable three-year member of the Crimson football team, the
quarterback was named the team’s MVP his senior season, while also
being given the Bingham Award for being the school’s best athlete
that season.

As a Harvard athlete, Simourian was well respected by all of his
teammates. One of those guys was the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who
played on the offensive line on one of Simourian’s teams.

Simourian admired Kennedy and was saddened to hear of his rece id. "He
was a friend, and I enjoyed staying in touch with him throughout
the years."

After graduation, Simourian became an officer in the Navy, and then
went to Harvard Business School before becoming the president of
Lily Transportation in 1961, just three years after the founding of
the company.

Simourian, though, knows how valuable playing sports in Watertown
was to his success.

"Sports are a very good teacher in life," Simourian said. "You
experience ups and downs and wins and losses, and that is what you
have to expect in life. Sports also taught me the value of teammates
and to never underestimate their importance. Sports also teach you
to work hard. You need to work hard to succeed, and sports certainly
helped me learn that."

Simourian first became interested in sports as a very young Watertown
lad. Back then, there were no video games or iPods to occupy the
time. It was good old-fashioned physical activity, and Simourian
seemed like a natural.

"As a kid growing up in Watertown, that is what you did,"
Simourian recalled. "Everyone seemed to play ball. It was fun back
then. The biggest difference in sports today is that there is no
specialization. People in my day played different sports. Today it
seems like most people are just interested in playing one."

Along the way in his remarkable journey, Simourian married (Michelle)
and had two children. He is incredibly proud of both of his kids,
who both played sports in high school, and feels extremely fortunate
for the household he was gifted with. His son, John Simourian II,
a graduate of Bates College, became president and chief operating
officer of Lily Transportation in 1986.

"I have a great family and a great wife," Simourian said. "I always say
an important way to become successful is to choose your mate wisely."

As chairman of his company, Simourian remains busy at work but also
finds time to enjoy activities like working out, swimming, jogging
and traveling. He continues to look back at his life with no regrets.

"I happy and successful, you need some breaks along the way and some
great people behind you. I have been lucky enough to have both."

Simourian doesn’t have much time to go back to Watertown much these
days, though he will occasionally take part in the Watertown-Belmont
Thanksgiving game. However, he will always be grateful for growing
up in the area.

He said his favorite part of being a Watertown athlete was "playing
sports in such a great place with such great people."

I will always have great memories from Watertown. Those were some of
the best days of my life."

ACCUSED IDENTITY THEFT SCAMMERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY

San Diego 6
10/09 5:52 pm

SAN DIEGO – A group of mostly Russian and Armenian nationals,
accused of stealing between $600,000 and $700,000 in a series of
identity-theft scams, pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiracy, grand
theft and other charges.

Deputy District Attorney Sharla Evert told Judge David Szumowski that
the 11 defendants were involved in a life insurance scam in which more
than 40 people were signed up for life insurance they didn’t want;
a tax refund scam using visiting students; a scam using counterfeit
credit cards to buy merchandise at Louis Vuitton stores in San Diego;
and a check-writing scam using students.

Arrested and charged with 19 felony charges were: Karen Karapetyan,
48; Khackik Karapetyan, 25; Ruslan Kipnis, 33; Armen Astsaturov 36;
Gariy Agadzhanyan, 32; Andrey Babkin, 20; Mikhail Margis, 21; Igor
Muratov, 21; Elizaveta Chernova, 21; Arman Eritsian, 31; and Davit
Karapetyan, 22.

Some of the defendants are in the United States on work visas and
have been placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds as
a result of their arrest. Others are part of a group that brought
Russian citizens to the U.S. and helped them obtain jobs as pedicab
drivers, prosecutors said.

Szumowski ordered all of the defendants held on $750,000 bail and
scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct. 26.

PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA, RUSSIA, AZERBAIJAN MEET IN CHISINAU
Marianna Gyurjyan

"Radiolur"
09.10.2009 17:52

On October 9 President Serzh Sargsyan participated in the sitting
of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent
States in Chisinau.

During the sitting the CIS leaders discussed issues related to the
ways of overcoming the consequences of the global economic crisis,
integration processes in the humanitarian field, etc.

The Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan had a trilateral
meeting on the margins of the CIS summit. The Presidents discussed
issues related to the process of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict.

ARFD ORGANIZES MARCH AND RALLY AGAINST ARMENIAN-TURKISH INITIATED PROTOCOLS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 9, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. On the initiative of the ARFD Supreme
Body and with participation of a number of other NGOs and political
organizations a march against Armenian-Turkish initiated protocols will
be organized on October 9 from Yerevan Republic Square. According to
a report by the ARFD Armenian Supreme Body Information Department,
the protesters will move from Baghramian Avenue to Tsitsernakaberd
Memorial Complex where a rally will take place.

CIS FOREIGN MINISTERS COUNCIL ENDORSE EVENTS DEDICATED TO 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN WW II

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.10.2009 11:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Future activities of the CIS, cooperation in
humanitarian sphere, joint action in international organizations
in the field of security were discussed during Summit of Heads of
CIS Foreign Ministers on October 8. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian attended the summit. Ministers endorsed and submitted for
approval to the heads of the CIS the action plan dedicated to he 85th
anniversary of Victory in World War II.

The foreign ministers also approved the agenda of the Council of CIS
Heads of State on October 9.

CELEBRATING WORLD SIGHT DAY IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
08.10.2009 16:22

On October 8, 2009, the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) medical team
visited the Abovian penitentiary for women to help those with limited
access to eye care on the occasion of the World Sight Day, celebrated
each October as a public awareness initiative to draw attention to
blindness prevention worldwide.

This year the World Sight Day is dedicated to gender and eye
health. Nearly two-thirds of blind people worldwide are women and
girls, and in several countries their access to eye care is more
limited than men’s. In this light, the AECP, the Republic of Armenia
Ministries of Justice and Health, and USAID/Armenia collaborated in
a joint initiative to raise public awareness of eye health care and
provide assistance to women in detention.

As part of this effort, the AECP team examined about 200 women and
girls in the Abovian penitentiary, prescribed appropriate medical
treatment, provided eye glasses and delivered a special presentation
for the imprisoned on basic eye diseases and their symptoms. In
addition, public education brochures on eye diseases and eye care
hygiene were distributed.

"According to global research data, equal access to eye care could
substantially reduce blindness in poor countries. Meanwhile, the data
collected by AECP show that, fortunately, Armenian women do not face as
serious gender bias as other countries=2 0when it comes to receiving
eye care," said AECP Country director Nune Yeghiazaryan. She noted
that according to 2003-2007 data, 73,832 patients (56.8 per cent)
from the 130,000 examined by the AECP were women. As well, 52 per
cent of the 5,645 Armenian citizens who received surgery on the
AECP Mobile Eye Hospital were women. "For this reason we decided to
help the women who have more limitations in their access to eye care
and live in a stressful environment," she said. Last year, the AECP
collaborated with the Department of Criminal-Executive Institutions
of the RA Ministry of Justice and visited several prisons, screening
more than 1000 prisoners, of which 782 were provided with eye glasses.

Within the framework of the World Sight Day 2009, the AECP
state-of-the-art Mobile Eye Hospital commenced operations in Aragatsotn
marz on October 6.

The AECP medical group will examine about 60-80 patients per day and
will remain in the marz until October 26.

THE EU AND THE AUTOPSY OF THE CAUCASIAN CONFLICT
Denis Sinyakov

REUTERS
12:2101/10/2009

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fedyashin) – The
long wait for the European Union’s report on the Caucasian conflict
is finally over.

It appears that both sides are to blame.

Georgia first started the conflict, while Russia fuelled separatist
attitudes, provoked Tbilisi, and used Georgia’s actions against South
Ossetia to further its own interests and occupy part of Georgia’s
territory.

These are the main conclusions of the long-awaited, 900-page EU report
on the August 2008 war.

The European Commission ordered the report on the causes and course
of this five-day war almost nine months ago, and received it only on
September 30.

The report’s publication has been delayed since last July.

In theory, the report does not openly specify who is to blame for
what, because its objectives did not include assigning blame to any
party. But it is clearly impossible not to draw such a conclusion from
the document’s 900 pages of facts. It is clear from a brief summary
of the report (a more detailed analysis will take much longer) that
Georgia was the first to pull the trigger. But Russia also played
its part. Moscow was ready for such a scenario, and used Mikheil
Saakashvili’s mistake to move into not only into South Ossetia but
also Abkhazia.

In summary, the main conclusions are not sensational, except of course
for the first official admission that Saakashvili started the war
(although his personal contribution is not mentioned). But it is clear
from the timing of the events that Russia and some other countries
were telling the truth.

The conflict set the Baltic and Polish contingent of the EU at
loggerheads with the Western members. Rehashing the conflict is a
thankless task. It is obvious that no matter the report’s conclusion,
one of the sides will not like them. As the authors of the report admit
themselves, they have done all they could to filter the existing facts
as much as possible, abstain from dogmatic conclusions and a search
for culprits, and assess the war without emotion or political bias.

One can take this as one will. However, when experts submit their
work to diplomats, the results sometimes undergo amazing change. It
is common knowledge that the authors of the report were pressured
by various parties, particularly by the Saakashvili government. The
Georgian president’s Integration Minister Temuri Yakobashvili even
said a couple of months ago that two of the experts were on Gazprom’s
payroll. A day before the report’s publication, Georgian officials told
Western journalists at a special briefing that the main conclusion
of the report was that Russia is guilty of war crimes and ethnic
cleansing, and that some Russian units had even entered South Ossetia
in advance, thus provoking Georgia’s shelling of Tskhinvali.

Yakobashvili announced that it does not matter who started the
war and blamed Russians for their attempts to reduce the debate to
this issue. The main point is that Russia was preparing for the war
in advance.

This sounds a bit odd in light of the fact that the Georgian president
has always maintained that Moscow attacked South Ossetia and Georgia
had to repel this aggression. Nevertheless, Tbilisi had previously
claimed that it was "restoring constitutional order" in Tskhinvali and
"restoring its control over the city," and later that the shelling was
necessary to protect Georgian villages against separatist attacks. Only
later did Georgian officials begin talking about "Russian aggression."

But Saakashvili has given so many different explanations for the
start of the war that he has even confused his own minister. All the
more so since the Georgian president has always been very sensitive
to any reports on this war.

The report was prepared by the Geneva-based International Independent
Fact Finding Mission into the Conflict in Georgia (IIFFMCG), which
is officially completely independent of Brussels. The Mission is
headed by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, who has written several
books on the Caucasus and its recent conflicts, and is considered an
expert on this subject. Her group included about 30 European experts
– former ambassadors, defense ministers, other military officials,
and historians. They had to collect a huge amount of information and
testimony, systematize all of it, and then present it so as not to
offend anyone or rekindle more hostility either in the Caucasus or
in Europe.

Geneva seems to have been created to smooth out rough edges and
neutralize acids. It can take in some very unpleasant people and
produce something more or less neutral and civilized. Of course,
you could say this is sugarcoating the facts, but this is part and
parcel of any political debate, and is absolutely necessary in some
situations.

It follows from the report that although Georgia started the conflict,
it has already punished itself, while Russia is also responsible for
exploiting the prelude and the aftermath of the war.

If we omit some details, the conclusions are generally correct. It
is clear what Georgia has done. And nobody is arguing with the fact
that Moscow used the events before and after the war to further its
own interests. It would have been criminal and irresponsible not to
use an opportunity to protect a small nation against an attack from
the country that had been trying to destroy it since the end of the
first Georgian-Ossetian war in 1992. It would have been strange to
expect Moscow to be indifferent to all the commotion on its southern
border. Perhaps this would have been possible under Boris Yeltsin,
but not now that South Ossetia and Abkhazia have enjoyed de facto
independence for almost 15 years.

It would be useful to remember that this conflict did not come as a
bolt from the blue. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned his then
counterpart Condoleezza Rice that Saakashvili had been preparing to
resolve the issue of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by force. He issued
this warning three times — two months, one month, and two weeks
before the Georgian invasion of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

It is still necessary to analyze the details of the report, but
judging from the main conclusion, Saakashvili will now face more
problems with his political legitimacy and shaken reputation. Be
that as it may, the report has refuted his main argument that Russia
unleashed the conflict. Let us recall that at first he accused
Moscow of sacrilegiously timing its aggression with the opening of
the Olympic Games.

After the report, PACE is very likely to reconsider Georgia’s proposal
to deprive Russia of its voting rights in that council. The vote on
the Tbilisi-proposed resolution is due Thursday, October 1. It will
be very awkward to support this resolution after Geneva’s autopsy of
the Caucasian conflict.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

SARKISIAN ON LAST LEG OF DIASPORA TOUR
Aza Babayan

845572.html
07.10.2009

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian arrived in southern Russia on
Wednesday on the last leg of his weeklong five-stop tour of major
Diaspora Armenian communities that also included France, the United
States and the Middle East.

In Rostov-on-Don, like during his previous meetings in Paris, New
York, Los Angeles and Beirut, the Armenian leader will try to allay
the possible concerns among the local and close Armenian communities
over his dramatic rapprochement with Turkey that culminated on August
31 in the initialing of two protocols envisaging the establishing
of diplomatic relations and opening of the border. The protocols are
expected to be signed by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey
in Switzerland on October 10.

Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatian earlier told RFE/RL
that the meeting in the southern Russian city will bring together
some 50 leaders of Armenian organizations in Russia, intellectuals,
leading entrepreneurs and other representatives of the sizable
Armenian community.

Unlike other places where Sarkisian was visiting, no protests were
expected in Rostov-on-Don. However, a number of Armenian organizations,
including "Russian-Armenian Cooperation", the "Ararat" Union, the
"Yerkramas" newspaper editorial staff, had issued a call ahead
of Sarkisian’s visit for the Armenian authorities not to sign the
protocols.

The organizations said Turkey is setting preconditions to Armenia
in the protocols that, in particular, contain a clause that commits
Armenia to recognizing the existing Turkish-Armenian border. They
also challenged another clause of the protocols that calls for
the establishment of a panel of historians to review historical
discrepancies between the two peoples that primarily include the
1915-1918 genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Sarkisian, who is completing his unprecedented tour on Wednesday,
was greeted in France, the United States and Lebanon with protests
staged by some members of the local Armenian communities opposing
the current protocols.

The latest protests were held in Beirut as he arrived there on Tuesday
for a meeting with representatives of the large communities of the
Middle East and Lebanon – Lebanon Armenians protest against proposed
signing of Armenian – Turkish protocols, Beirut, 06Oct2009the broader
region. Thousands of Lebanese Armenians reportedly staged protests
against the Armenia-Turkey protocols.

During his meetings in all four cities, Sarkisian attempted to persuade
Diaspora Armenians that the protocols do not harm Armenian state and
national interests, but, on the contrary, open new opportunities for
resolving the centuries-old feud between the two neighbors.

The leading Armenian organizations in the world have expressed
conflicting views on Armenia’s dramatic rapprochement with Turkey that
Sarkisian initiated last year by inviting his Turkish counterpart
Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to attend a football match between the two
countries’ national teams. Since then, the governments of the two
countries agreed a road map to normalizing bilateral relations and
are now believed to be on the verge of signing a deal.

Some Diaspora leaders have expressed serious concern about key points
of the two draft protocols. They are particularly critical of the
planned creation of a Turkish-Armenian panel of historians that
would look into the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire. Critics claim this provision is tantamount to questioning
the fact of the Armenian Genocide and could hamper the process of the
international affirmation of the genocide advanced by Armenian lobbyist
and advocacy groups in the West and elsewhere in the world for decades.

Diaspora groups also object to another protocol clause that commits
Armenia to recognizing its existing border with Turkey. They argue
that it would preclude future Armenian territorial claims to areas
in eastern Turkey that were populated by their ancestors until the
1915-1918 massacres.

There are also lingering concerns in and outside Armenia about a
possible linkage between the Armenian-Turkish normalization and the
separate internationally mediated talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan
around the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

In Lebanon on Tuesday Sarkisian held a meeting with more than a hundred
representatives of national organizations and structures of large
Armenian communities of the Middle East, Egypt, Iran and the Gulf
countries, according to the information reported by his press office.

Before the meeting, Sarkisian met with Beirut-based Catholicos Aram I
of the Great House of Cilicia, the number two figure in the Armenian
Church hierarchy, who added his voice to the lingering concerns
over the protocols in a letter sent to Sarkisian two weeks ago. The
two reportedly discussed the current stage of the Armenian-Turkish
normalization and issues regarding the initialed protocols.

Sarkisian’s office also reported that during the meeting in Beirut
representatives of the Armenian communities in the region highly
evaluated Sarkisian’s initiative to listen to the opinions of the
far-flung Diaspora about the dramatic thaw in relations with Turkey.

In Beirut, Sarkisian also reportedly provided explanations to various
aspects of the protocols as well as answered questions raised by the
meeting participants.

"The current unnatural situation that exists between Armenia and Turkey
does not suit either us or Turkey. The establishment of diplomatic
relations and the opening of the border will create a platform, a more
or less bearable environment, for continued dialogue and negotiations,"
the Armenian leader emphasized.

Sarkisian also stressed that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
which some in Diaspora communities fear could be slowed down or
halted altogether in view of the Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, is
"not only a matter of the restoration of justice, but also a major
circumstance from the viewpoint of the security of Armenia and the
Armenian people." "It is a necessity," the president stressed.

Sarkisian also dismissed concerns that the Armenian-Turkish
normalization will increase Turkey’s role in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, its ethnic ally in the
region.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will get a solution only when we
see that we’ve got what our people have struggled for since 1988,"
he underscored.

Armenian and Turkish officials are expected to sign the protocols on
October 10 in Switzerland. The agreement will then go to the respective
parliaments for ratification.

>From Roston-on-Don Sarkisian is scheduled to leave for Moldovan
capital Chisinau where he will participate in the summit of leaders
of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and on the
eve of the summit, on October 8, will meet with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev for another round of talks on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group
cochairman from Russia, Yuri Merzlyakov, stated in Baku on Tuesday
that no document will be signed by the two countries’ leaders during
their meeting in Chisinau.

ON UNDERCURRENT OF SARGSYAN-ALIYEV MEETING IN KISHINEV
By Ivan Gharibyan

News.am
15:59 / 10/06/2009

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are completing their regional visit,
which has proved to be the "poorest" both in interesting public
statements and in the traditional information leakage. One gets the
impression that the aim of the visit was informing the Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Nagorno-Karabakh public of the lack of connection
between the Armenia-Turkey normalization and Nagorno-Karabakh peace
processes, rather than preparing an Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential
meeting in Kishinev, Moldova.

The Kishinev meeting scheduled for October 8 is surrounded by an
interesting aura, making one to seek for new implications of the
international mediators’ official statements and actions. Their
assurances that the Sagsyan-Aliev meeting will not result in any
document being signed is evidence of their eagerly seeking to rule out
any obstacles to the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations
at the crucial moment and save the Armenian authorities from one
more "headache" — they are being criticized for their new foreign
policy as it is. The recently appointed U.S. Chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group Robert Bradtke dodged the question by pointing out some
progress in the negotiations and expressing hope for greater progress
at the Kishinev meeting.

What may the long-awaited progress mean? A joint statement on the
necessity for revising the Madrid Principles by the Russian, French
and U.S. Presidents made it obvious that the OSCE MG Co-Chairs can
only progress in this direction. Moreover, an interview given to
NEWS.am by Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov
suggests that the revised Madrid Principles are ready, but will be
submitted to the Presidents at the "right moment," rather than at
their meeting in Kishinev. At this point there emerges a question:
with the negotiations exclusively progressing to the final agreement
on a number of points of the Madrid Principles, what is the purpos
cording to Merzlyakov, the revised Madrid Principles will not be
submitted to them? It is purely logical that the purpose of the
Kishinev meeting is to ascertain the Armenian and Azeri leaders’
attitude to the revised Madrid Principles, which is impossible without
the documents being submitted to the Presidents.

Considering the Azerbaijani authorities’ "talent" for torpedoing the
negotiations for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh process by
setting impracticable terms to the Armenian side at the crucial moment,
the international mediators decided to neutralize the inevitable effect
of the overlapping terms on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. This
can account for the mediators’ refusal to speed up the process to
prevent any detriment to the other, as American strategists designated
it, "parallel" Armenia-Turkey normalization process, which, in turn,
is supposed to have a positive effect on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process.

WAS IT NOT THE SAME BEHAVIOUR ON MARCH 1?

413.html
14:46:14 – 05/10/2009

Interview By Arman Galoyan

Interview with the member of the Armenian National Congress,
Matenadaran scientific worker Arshak Banuchyan

The fact that on October 10 the Armenian and Turkish protocols will
be signed seems already determined. What do you think about the
protocols and in particular about the commission setup to study
historical issues?

I do not think it has been determined only now. Just from the
beginning, when the protocols were released it was clear that no
discussion aims at making changes in the pre-signed documents. In
order to make changes there are neither relevant legal mechanisms
nor such possibilities are set by the documents.

In essence, the Congress gave the most balanced and political
assessment of the protocols. Moreover, during the last one year and
a half, the Congress and its leader, have repeatedly voiced about
dangers in home and foreign policies as well as in the Karabakh
issue which did not awake either the government or intellectuals and
political figures engaged in lauding the government in TV. Open the
books of the Armenian first president "Armenian-Turkish relations"
and "Return," published in May of the current year. You will see
that all the current dangers have been predicted there. During the
latest rally, the leader of the Congress, the first president of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan pointed out the only solution to this
situation. It is new presidential election, new legitimate government
able to solve the situation, to correct the mistakes. Even, in order
to disperse the fear of political forces terrified by new elections,
he said he will not promote his candidature. To hint to the president
to resign proceeding from national interests is also a manifestation
of political will. Of course, it is understandable that there will be
no resignation. And the political forces who are against the protocols
instead of arousing a national wave demanding resignation focused the
public’s attention on the discussions. Foreign Minister’s resignation
demand and the signature collecting action promoted the signing of the
protocols. And to dwell on the details of the texts of the protocols
is just a material of thinking exercise. Just the point on setting
up the commission of historians is enough to refuse these protocols.

Many intellectuals in different scientific institutions command these
protocols, while rumours are spread that in reality they are against
them. What would you say in this connection?

If they command the protocols being sure that they do not contain
any precondition, or the fact of genocide is not being disputed,
they have to understand that after in case of a failure, they are
not freed from responsibility. And if they just refute the genocide,
they commit the same crime what those who perpetrated the genocide
did. The same goes for those who being against the protocols, only
complain in the corridors of scientific institutions but do not voice
it. Did they not have the same behaviour after the March 1 events?

It is a common truth: one gets the right to control the destiny
of people through election by the same people. This is not just a
phrase. When taking decisions, the same government feels the support
of the people and communicates with the world being more powerful
with this support. The government, which is not trusted in its
country naturally, cannot resist external repression and in order
to lengthen its power, it has to make concessions in connection
with national-public interests. The whole public machine with its
judicial, tax and other levers persecutes those who try to voice their
complaints. Unfortunately, instead of reconciling with its own people,
the government causes a deeper split between the leadership and the
people. While in the present stage, and in general, we need national
unity around the interests of our country. I feel very sorry for
those intellectuals in the corridors, who keeping silence, in essence
"please" the government.

In your opinion, will they manage to set up the commission of
historians? Who will be its members?

I do not think anyone will dare to participate in the works of such a
commission. Anyway, no one knows. I cannot exclude that someone with
demagogic explanations will not participate in it.

The government insists that there is no precondition in the protocols
and the opposition affirms the opposite.

In general, I think that the setup of the commission of historian
is one of the hidden mines in that protocol which will worsen the
Armenian and Turkish relations. I think the day when the hidden points
of the protocols will appear in the Karabakhi process is not far
either. Is there any sense to speak about a document which is going
to be presented in different ways by different sides. Recently, one
of the lauders of the protocols said in TV that "if Turks explain the
protocols this way, we will explain them that way". They have to be
asked who is going to decide which of the explanations is right. Who
is the judge?

Time, which is the only incorrupt judge, will not let restore the
missed possibilities neither will give time to correct the mistakes.