Author: Nalbandian Eduard

ANTI-GEORGIAN CAMPAIGN "EMOTIONAL" SAYS RUSSIAN PAPER
By Ekaterina Basilaia

The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 26 2006

The Russian authorities have attempted to justify their month long
anti-Georgian campaign, that has seen businesses closed and schools
asked to provide lists of Georgian pupils, as an "emotional" response;
meanwhile, Georgian citizens continue to be deported.

Despite the disruption and distress caused to many ordinary people both
in Georgia and Russia by the closure of transport and postal links,
Russian officials have downplayed these moves, and denied that they
constitute a blockade of Georgia.

The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, says the
cutting of trans;port links is not a severe sanction. "Russia is
accessible by many different routs and people can come here anytime
they want, like the young Georgian Sambo wrestlers who arrived last
week to attend a sports event," Lavrov stated, as quoted by IBK.ru
news agency.

Furthermore, reports in the Russian media suggest that the campaign
against "illegal Georgian migrants" has abated.

Russian daily paper Vedomosti argues that "the number of deported
illegal Georgian migrants has decreased.

"The last plane with deportees flew to Georgia a week ago and the
total number of deported Georgians from Russia totals 800 people,"
the paper claims.

According to the paper the crackdown on "Georgian criminals" has
started to decline as well, and most of the casinos and restaurants
owned by Georgians have now reopened.

Two casinos that were shut down in Moscow, the Golden Palace and Golden
Palace Weekend, and three casinos in St. Petersburg, Olympia, Konti
and Nevada are already operating, and Kristal, one of the biggest
entertainment centres in the Russian capital, will reopen soon.

But Lavrov’s recent statements suggest the economic sanctions on
Georgia are not likely to be lifted any time soon.

Paper quoted an unnamed source close to president Putin’s
administration saying that the aggressive anti-Georgian policy was
implemented on an "emotional basis."

"However, now there is an understanding that the pressure should be
lifted," the paper quotes the Kremlin insider as saying.

Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has continued its attempts to stop the
persecution of Georgians on "ethnic grounds".

The ministry issued a statement on Tuesday saying it had handed over
materials "on the violation of Georgian citizens’ rights" to the U.N.

High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international
organizations.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s consul in the Russian Federation, Zurab Pataradze,
says Georgian deportees from Russia have been arriving via three
different routes from Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The last group
of deportees arrived from Armenia on October 25 and another 100 are
expected to be delivered to the country late at night tonight.

In a promising development, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
issued a statement on October 24, saying that the foreign ministers
of Georgia and Russia agreed to hold bilateral meetings in Moscow on
November 1-2 on the sidelines of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization foreign ministers’ summit.

TURKEY’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS MORE EUROPEAN THAN FRANCE’S, BABACAN

Turkish Press
Oct 25 2006

BRUSSELS – "The attitude Turkey has assumed against so-called Armenian
genocide allegations is more European than the attitude of France,"
Turkish State Minister & Chief Negotiator for EU talks Ali Babacan
who spoke at round-table meeting organized by think-tank institution
"Friends of Europe" in Brussels said on Thursday.

Regarding EU’s enlargement process and Turkey’s EU process, Babacan
said that Turkey is ready to cooperate in every type of projects to
eliminate misunderstandings in EU as well as in Turkish public.

Babacan wanted EU to assess Turkey’s membership in long-term by taking
into consideration the economic and social transformation. He added
that Turkey’s EU membership should be based on logic and realities,
not emotions.

"When the issue is considered from EU’s point of view, Turkey’s
membership will strengthen EU’s global actor role. If EU wants to be a
big actor in global level, it can achieve it easily through Turkey’s
membership. Turkey can have important contributions to extension of
peace and prosperity in Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle
East," Babacan noted.

Babacan said, "democratic institutions in Turkey are functioning
better than those in several EU member countries. Also in economic
aspect, Turkey is important with its location as a bridge between
Asia and Europe as well as being a natural road between Europe and
oil rich Iraq, Iran, Caspian basin and Central Asia. Turkey will have
contributions to EU with its young, qualified and educated population."

Regarding adoption the draft law criminalizing denial of so-called
Armenian genocide by French Parliament, Babacan said that Turkey’s
attitude towards the issue is more European than the attitude of
France. "Parliaments are not responsible of making decisions about
history. We proposed establishment of a commission to research the
allegations. We opened all documents and military archives and wanted
the same thing (from Armenia) but we did not receive a positive
response," he added.

Babacan noted, "Turkey, by leaving the history to historians, assumed
a more European attitude. French draft law contradicts freedom of
expression which is one of the most basic values of EU."

CAUCASUS LIKE KARABAKH

Lragir.am, Armenia
Oct 25 2006

For Russia the Caucasus is the same as Karabakh for Armenia, stated
Member of Parliament Hmayak Hovanisyan October 25 at the Hayeli Club,
speaking about the Russian-Georgian relation. According to him, Russia
uses the wrong methods to react to the hostility that began from the
"spy games" by Georgia, but this reaction is appropriate and logical
because Georgia offended Russia by striking its strategic interests.

Hmayak Hovanisyan says the point is that they are trying to oust Russia
from the region through Georgia but they have forgotten that all the
Russian commanders were "baptized" in the Caucasus, the Caucasus was
the theater of all the great historical battles of Russia. "Russia
needed an idea of mobilization, and this idea has emerged," Hmayak
Hovanisyan says.

He thinks that Georgia offended Armenia as well by announcing that
the actions of the spies were coordinated in Yerevan. Therefore,
Hmayak Hovanisyan is surprised that Armenia did not give an adequate
response despite the statement, though an impertinent one, by such
a friendly member of parliament as Zatulin, says Hmayak Hovanisyan.

According to him, the goal of integration with European and Western
organizations is justified, whereas the tactics chosen by Georgia is
wrong. Hovanisyan advises not to choose this tactics, be realistic
and remember that 80 percent of transfers exceeding the budget of
Armenia twice are made by the Armenians working in Russia.

AZERBAIJAN BECOMES RUSSIA’S NATURAL ALLY

Lragir.am, Armenia
Oct 25 2006

The current Russian and Georgian relations show that Georgia is
escaping the Russian influence and this is inevitable. In this
situation, Azerbaijan becomes Russia’s natural ally in the Caucasus,
stated the leader of the Christian Democratic Union Khosrov Harutiunyan
at the Hayeli Club. He supports his opinion by an analysis which
starts with an explanation of the importance of the Caucasus for
Russia. According to Khosrov Harutiunyan, the Caucasus is important
for Russia for it is a bridge connecting with other regions. In this
context, if it loses Georgia, Azerbaijan becomes the shortest and the
most logical way, concludes the leader of the Christian Democratic
Union.

In this connection he reminds the construction of the North-South
railroad, openly negotiated by Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. In
addition, it does not occur to any Russian official to invite Armenia,
their strategic partner to these negotiations, Khosrov Harutiunyan
says. "If we continue to refer to Russia as our strategic ally, the
strategic importance of Armenia will not increase. This is the reality,
and we have to accept it and plan our short-term and long-term moves
in this context," says the leader of the Christian Democratic Union.

He thinks that Armenia should move from complementarism to a clear
policy of European integration. "It is impossible to determine the
security of the country by setting up ties with a separate power,
and in this context the European Union, the family of the European
nations is the best environment for the collective security, and the
process of European integration should become a priority for Armenia.

I want to emphasize that instead of complementarism, today there
is every possibility to move from complementarism to Europe without
offending anyone, without encroaching on anyone’s strategic interest,"
says Khosrov Harutiunyan, adding that if he were not convinced that
it is possible, he would not have said that. According to him, it is
only necessary to choose the right tactical stages.

LIPPONEN HOLDS A NEWS CONFERENCE

Turkish Press
Oct 24 2006

ANKARA – The Party of European Socialists (PES) group co-chairman,
Finnish Parliament Speaker Paavo Lipponen said that he would meet
secretary general of Socialist Party in France to discuss the bill
(aims to criminalize denial of so-called Armenian genocide) which
would be voted in the French parliament this week.

At a news conference in Ankara, Lipponen noted that they had concerns
that if the draft law is approved in the French parliament, it will
yield some unfavorable results in both EU and also Turkey.

Indicating that so-called Armenian genocide would not be a criterion or
condition for Turkey in its EU accession process, Lipponen underlined
that relations between Turkey and Armenia must be normalized.

Replying to a question, Lipponen said that he would convey concerns
regarding the matter to secretary general of Socialist Party in France.

Stressing that PES supported Turkey’s EU accession process, he noted
that they did not consider "privileged partnership" for Turkey,
but full membership.

"I’m sure that Turkish government is resolved to keep fulfilling
reforms. EU appreciates the progress in Turkey," Lipponen said.

Lipponen noted that Turkish parliament would make a decision regarding
the fate of Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), stating that
however they hoped that something would be made on this article.

In regard to Cyprus issue, Lipponen noted that this matter could be
solved under the UN.

Responding a question, Lipponen stated that Justice & Development
Party (AKP) has become "a reform party", stressing that AKP achieved
important success in Turkish economy.

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
October 24, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

NANCY PELOSI PLEDGES TO SUPPORT CONGRESSIONAL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a
longtime supporter of Armenian American issues who is expected to
become Speaker if the Democrats win a majority in the House this
November, pledged today to support Armenian Genocide legislation
next year during in the 110th session of Congress.

In a statement released to Harut Sassounian, Publisher of the
California Courier, Congresswoman Pelosi stated that:

"I have supported legislation, including H.Res.316, that would
properly acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. It is imperative that
the United States recognize this atrocity and move to renew our
commitment to eliminate genocide whenever and wherever it exists.
This effort enjoys strong bipartisan support in the House, and I
will continue to support these efforts in the 110th Congress."

Sassounian’s weekly column appears internationally in more than a
dozen newspapers, as well as in the widely read Huffington Post.

"Nancy Pelosi’s powerful words and principled actions underscore
the stark difference between her and Dennis Hastert, who, during
his tenure as Speaker has consistently prevented a bipartisan
majority from voting in favor of U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Congresswoman Pelosi’s statement is consistent with her past record
of energetic and principled support for U.S. recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, dating back nearly 20 years. Since her election
to the House in 1986, she has worked closely with the Bay Area
Armenian National Committee, enjoying warm relations with the
Armenian American community in the greater Bay Area.

"The principled stand of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi comes
as no surprise, and we’re proud that she confirmed it again today,"
said Bay Area ANC Chairwoman Roxanne Makasdjian. "The Bay Area
Armenian community has long known and respected Congresswoman
Pelosi’s leadership on genocide prevention, from her advocacy of
Armenian Genocide recognition, to ending the genocide taking place
today in Darfur."

Speaker Hastert (R-IL), despite his pledge in August of 2000 to
schedule a vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, pulled the
measure from the House floor in October of that year, only moments
before it was set to be adopted by a broad, bipartisan majority.
He has, in every year since, actively blocked legislation properly
commemorating this crime against humanity.

In July of 2004, following Congressman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA)
successful effort to secure the adoption by the U.S. House of an
amendment recognizing the Armenian Genocide, Speaker Hastert joined
with other members of the House leadership in vowing to block the
final adoption of the measure. In remarks posted at the top of the
Speaker’s website on the day after the amendment’s adoption, the
Speaker stated that, "Turkey has been a reliable ally of the United
States for decades, and the deep foundation upon which our mutual
economic and security relationship rests should not be disrupted by
this amendment." He and his leadership colleagues also vowed to
block any future consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
by the full House of Representatives.

Speaker Hastert has received an "F" rating from the ANCA, while
Minority Leader Pelosi has consistently received "A" grades from
the ANCA for her principled support for Armenian American issues.

Speaking at a Capitol Hill observance in April of 2005, the
California Congresswoman countered those who have cited Turkey’s
strategic position as reason to oppose Armenian Genocide
legislation, stressing that:

"First at the time of the Iron Curtain, [they cited] the strategic
location of Turkey, after that it was the Gulf War and Turkey’s
strategic location . . . Turkey’s strategic location is not a
license to kill."

In May of 2001, during her remarks at the ANCA’s annual Capitol
Hill Armenian Genocide observance, Congresswoman Pelosi noted that:

"The sad thing about that tragedy is that it is a tragedy twice.
Once in the course of the Genocide and secondly in the fact that we
cannot get the United States to pass a resolution memorializing and
acknowledging the terrible things that happened then . . . This
Armenian Genocide is a challenge to the conscience of our country
and the conscience of the world. We will not rest until we have
recognition of it."

Speaking on the House floor in April of 2001, she reminded her
colleagues that:

"Our alliance with Turkey should not deter us from learning the
lessons of past mistakes. If we ignore the lessons of the Armenian
Genocide, we are destined to repeat those same mistakes. The
horrible conflicts in Sudan, Sierra Leone, and East Timor remind us
that we must do more to prevent the systematic slaughter of
innocent people. We must learn from the past and never forget the
victims of the Armenian genocide."

In April of 1999, in a statement on the House floor, the
Congresswoman stressed:

"As we enter the Third Millennium of the Christian Era, it behooves
us to remember. If we ignore the lessons of the Armenian Genocide,
then we are destined to continue our stumblings through the long,
dark tunnel of endless ethnic-cleansings, genocides, and
holocausts. Let us, then, remember to remember."

In remarks marking the Armenian Genocide on the House floor in
April of 1998, she explained that:

"On April 24, 1915, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire set out to
annihilate the Armenian minority. Over the course of the next eight
years, the Turkish government systematically murdered 1.5 million
Armenians and deported 500,000. By the end of 1923, the entire
Armenian population of Anatolia and Western Armenia was either
murdered or deported . . . While a growing number of Americans come
to understand the horror of this episode in history, the
perpetrators continue their denial."

In her April 1997 remarks to her House colleagues, the San
Francisco-based legislator reminded Members of Congress that:

"In 1944, noted jurist and scholar, Raphael Lemkin looked to a
previous generation when he coined the word `genocide’ to describe
the systematic annihilation of the Jewish people by the Nazis.
Lemkin was thinking of the Turkish attempt in 1915 to extinguish
from this earth the ancient community of Armenians living within
the Ottoman Empire. Ironically, Hitler had also referred to the
extermination of the Armenians when he spoke of his plans for the
Jewish people in 1939: `Who, after all, speaks today of the
Armenians,’ Hitler said."

In June of 1996, speaking in support of a Congressional measure,
authored by Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA) to cut aid to Turkey
until it ended its denial of the Armenian Genocide, Congresswoman
Pelosi argued that:

"Passage of this [Radanovich] amendment will serve to deter the
Turkish government from pursuing their unconscionable cover-up of
this internationally recognized crime against humanity."

In his most recent column, Sassounian criticized the current
Speaker as someone who "not only has broken his pledge repeatedly,
but has actively blocked the Armenian Genocide resolution from
being brought to a floor vote." He stressed that, "On Nov. 7,
members of the Armenian American community should vote for all
those [House] candidates, regardless of their party affiliation,
who are supportive of Armenian issues. In the case of equally
supportive candidates in a particular race, the preference should
be given to the one who is a Democrat in order to secure a
Democratic majority in the House, helping make Congresswoman Pelosi
the next Speaker, which will enable her to schedule a long overdue
vote on the Armenian Genocide resolution."

TURKISH NOVELIST WINS NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
By Jennifer Howard

The Chronicle of Higher Education
October 20, 2006 Friday

The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to the
Istanbul-born novelist Orhan Pamuk, "who in the quest for the
melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for
the clash and interlacing of cultures," the Nobel Foundation announced
last week. Mr. Pamuk is a visiting professor of Middle Eastern studies
and writing at Columbia University.

Born in 1952 into a well-heeled family of engineers, Mr. Pamuk has
written 10 books, including the novels Beyaz Kale (1985; translated
into English as The White Castle in 1991); Benim Adim Kirmizi (1998; My
Name Is Red, 2001), and Kar (2002; Snow, 2004), which "becomes a tale
of love and poetic creativity just as it knowledgeably describes the
political and religious conflicts that characterize Turkish society
of our day," the Nobel Foundation said.

"In his home country," the foundation wrote in a statement announcing
the award, "Pamuk has a reputation as a social commentator even though
he sees himself as principally a fiction writer with no political
agenda. He was the first author in the Muslim world to publicly
condemn the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. He took a stand for his
Turkish colleague Yasar Kemal when Kemal was put on trial in 1995."

In 2005, in a case that attracted widespread international attention,
Mr. Pamuk faced prosecution by the Turkish government "after having
mentioned, in a Swiss newspaper, that 30,000 Kurds and one million
Armenians were killed in Turkey," the foundation noted. Those charges
were subsequently dropped. Another Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak,
faced similar charges last month; that case also was dismissed.

Mr. Pamuk’s work has been handsomely recognized over the years both
in his home country and abroad. His early novels won several Turkish
and foreign literary prizes. More recent accolades include France’s
2002 Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the 2003 International
Impac Dublin Literary Award for My Name Is Red, and the 2006
Prix Mediterranee Etranger for Snow. Mr. Pamuk has also written a
nonfiction meditation on his hometown, Istanbul: Hatiralar Ve Sehir
(2003; Istanbul: Memories and the City, 2005), which anatomizes "the
melancholy he sees as distinctive for Istanbul and its inhabitants."

A graduate of Istanbul’s Robert College, Mr. Pamuk early on harbored
dreams of becoming an artist. He studied architecture at Istanbul
Technical University and journalism at Istanbul University. From
1985 to 1988, he was a visiting researcher at Columbia University,
and was briefly at the University of Iowa. He is an honorary member
of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

ARMENIAN OFFICIALS LOOKING AT ESTONIA’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Baltic News Service
October 23, 2006 Monday 3:07 PM EET

Health officials and experts from Armenia are about to get familiar
over the next two weeks with the reforms carried out in the Estonian
health care system, first and foremost the with introduction of the
system of family doctors.

The training program for the Armenians who will be in Estonia from
Oct. 23 to Nov. 4 is arranged by the Praxis center for political
studies and it will include presentations of Estonia’s health care
policy, legislation and structure of the health care system, comparing
the periods before and after 1998, along with the health insurance
system and the promotion of the skills of medical workers.

The presentations will be made by representatives from the Social
Affairs Ministry, the National Health Insurance Fund, Tartu University,
Jarva County Government, the Social Affairs and Health Care Board
of Tallinn, the Estonian family doctors association and the patients
association, spokespeople for Praxis said.

The Armenians also will look at family practices in Tartu and the
Jarva County.

TURKEI VERURTEILT FRANZOSISCHEN ARMENIER-BESCHLUSS / GUL: SCHLAG GEGEN WERTE DER EU
Von Gerd Hohler

Frankfurter Rundschau
19. Oktober 2006

Retourkutschen

Kamran Inan, ehemaliger Minister und langjahriger Vorsitzender des
außenpolitischen Ausschusses in der turkischen Nationalversammlung,
will den Legion d’honneur nicht langer tragen. Der 77-jahrige
Polit-Veteran steckte den Orden, der ihm einst von Prasident Francois
Mitterand uberreicht worden war, jetzt in einen Briefumschlag und
sandte ihn an die franzosische Botschaft zuruck. "Nach der feindseligen
Entscheidung des franzosischen Parlaments gegen mein Land kann ich
die Auszeichnung nicht behalten", schrieb Inan.

In der franzosischen Botschaft am Paris Caddesi in Ankaras
Diplomatenviertel Kavaklidere sind schon mehrere solcher Umschlage
eingegangen. Gerade viele frankophile Turken fuhlen sich tief
getroffen von der umstrittenen Armenier-Entscheidung der franzosischen
Nationalversammlung. Sie verabschiedete vor einer Woche ein Gesetz,
das es unter Strafe stellt, den Volkermord an den Armeniern im
Osmanischen Reich zu leugnen. Ob das Gesetz jemals in Kraft tritt,
ist einstweilen ungewiss. Aber schon die Billigung des Entwurfs in
der Nationalversammlung habe "tiefe Wunden" im turkisch-franzosischen
Verhaltnis hinterlassen, klagte Außenminister Abdullah Gul jetzt im
turkischen Parlament, das den franzosischen Volkermord-Gesetzentwurf
verurteilte: Mit der Zustimmung werde den politischen, wirtschaftlichen
und militarischen Beziehungen beider Lander "irreparabler Schaden"
zugefugt.

Die Entscheidung der Nationalversammlung, so dozierte Vize-Premier
Gul, sei "ein Schlag gegen die Werte der EU". Die Franzosen stunden
"an einem historischen Scheideweg": Entweder werde es "das Land
Voltaires und Montesquieus, oder es folgt einer kolonialistischen
Tradition". Die Vorhaltungen des turkischen Außenministers gipfelten
in der dusteren Prophezeiung, Frankreich verwandele sich in "ein Land,
wo Leute im Gefangnis landen, weil sie Meinungen außern" – ein Vorwurf,
mit dem sich bisher die Turkei konfrontiert sah.

Umso genusslicher drehen viele turkische Politiker nun den Spieß um.

"Wenn die uns weh tun, dann sollten wir ihnen auch weh tun", fordert
Sukru Elekdag, Abgeordneter der kemalistischen Opposition. Ihm reichen
keine Boykottaufrufe gegen franzosische Waren. Bußen sollen die,
die er fur die eigentlich Schuldigen halt: Jene 70 000 Armenier,
die bisher als illegal Eingewanderte in der Turkei geduldet wurden,
will Elekdag deportieren lassen. Eine Forderung, der sich bereits
ein namhafter Regierungspolitiker, der fruhere Außenminister und
derzeitige Vorsitzende des EU-Ausschusses im turkischen Parlament,
Yasar Yakis, angeschlossen hat.

Trotz der aufgeregten Debatte legt sich der Sturm bereits. Mit
Wirtschaftssanktionen wird die Turkei wohl warten, bis das Gesetz in
Kraft getreten ist – falls es dazu kommt. Die franzosische Regierung
will es im Senat stoppen. Auch Ankara kann nicht daran gelegen sein,
den Konflikt auf die Spitze zu treiben. Ohnehin befindet man sich
in schwierigen Verhandlungen um die Beilegung des Zypernstreits,
der die EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen gefahrdet. Da braucht man keinen
neuen Kriegsschauplatz.

–Boundary_(ID_ZyY+bTB4crZMHDjJ hsxtvA)–

PRESIDENT GHUKASSIAN MET WITH ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
Oct 20 2006

On October 15 NKR President Ghukassian met with the foreign minister
of Armenia Vardan Oskanian visiting Stepanakert. They discussed the
current stage of the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict
and the prospect of a resolution. They also discussed the results
of the OSCE mission, which monitored the state of environment of the
areas along the Nagorno-Karabakh – Azerbaijani border.

AA. 20-10-2006