Author: Nalchajian Markos

10:56 05/03/2010 » Politics
ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian: It’s always the right time to do the right thing

A bipartisan majority today rejected Turkey’s gag rule, setting the
stage for Speaker Pelosi and the full U.S. House to properly
commemorate the Armenian Genocide. The Committee’s message was simple
yet powerful: Turkey doesn’t get a vote or a veto in the U.S.
Congress.

As Americans of Armenian heritage, it holds great meaning to see our
nation move one step closer to putting the painful lessons of the
Armenian Genocide to work in helping to end the cycle of genocide, in
Darfur and around the world.

A moral foreign policy has always been among our strongest assets and
one of the greatest forces for good in the world. Despite Turkey’s
last minute threats and intimidation, Chairman Berman and the House
Foreign Affairs Committee have shown that it’s always the right time
to do the right thing.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenian-Turkish Relations Don’t Exist: Armenian Sociologist

14:27 – 05.03.10

In sociologist Lyudmila Harutyunyan’s opinion, `those trivial
negotiations’ which are taking place between Armenia and Turkey today
cannot be called `relations.’

At a press conference today, Harutyunyan recalled Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s recent statements in which he said, `Turkey
can ratify the Protocols in three days: if, however, three months
later, a conflict breaks out in Karabakh and we are forced to close
the border…?’

In the sociologist’s opinion, `Armenian-Turkish relations have yet to
be created.’

Tert.am

New York Times
March 5 2010

No House Vote Set on Turkey – Armenia Issue – Aide

By REUTERS
Published: March 5, 2010

.WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There are no plans at this point for the full
U.S. House of Representatives to vote on a resolution branding as
genocide the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish
forces, a Democratic leadership aide said on Friday.

Despite appeals from the Obama administration, the House Foreign
Affairs Committee narrowly approved a nonbinding resolution on
Thursday labeling the killings as genocide, prompting Turkey to recall
its ambassador from Washington.

"There are no plans to schedule it at this point," the aide said of
the measure that the administration said could hurt ties with a NATO
ally that is important for U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan
and the Middle East.

Advocates of the largely symbolic measure would have to show
Democratic leaders they have the votes to pass it before it would be
brought to the House floor, another Democratic aide said. Both aides
spoke on condition that they not be named.

The issue puts Obama between Turkey, a secular Muslim democracy that
looks toward the West, and Armenian-Americans, an important
constituency in states like California and New Jersey, ahead of the
November congressional elections.

Turkish leaders reacted with fury after the House committee passed the
resolution on a 23-22 vote, and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
warned of possible damage to relations with the United States.

But Turkey said on Friday that it would push on with efforts to
normalize ties with Armenia despite the vote. [ID:nLDE6240TD]

VOTE COUNTING

An Armenian-American leader said supporters would gather next week to
do a "whip count" of House backers of the resolution that calls on
Obama to ensure U.S. policy recognizes the 1915 massacres as genocide.

Ken Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America,
said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s staff had indicated some time ago
that the resolution would get a floor vote when backers could show it
would pass.

The resolution has 137 co-sponsors, which is one measure of support
and not close to the majority of 217 that would be needed to pass.
There are 432 House members at the moment.

Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks but denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it
amounted to genocide — a term employed by many Western historians and
some foreign parliaments.

The resolution urges Obama to use the term "genocide" when he delivers
his annual message on the Armenian massacres in April, something he
avoided doing last year.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

THE ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY (HOM) "SOSSEE" CYPRUS CHAPTER IS ORGANISING A "MICHINK" LUNCH

Noyan Tapan
March 4, 2010

NICOSIA, MARCH 4, NOYAN TAPAN-ARMENIANS TODAY. On March 7 at AYMA/HMEM
the Armenian Relief Society (HOM) "Sossee" Cyprus Chapter is organising
a Mid-Lent "Michink" Lunch during which will be served an Armenian
traditional home made and delicious vegetarian dishes.

KEY HOUSE PANEL PASSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

Asbarez
se-panel-passes-armenian-genocide-bill/
Mar 4th, 2010

WASHINGTON-Against the backdrop of severe opposition and pressure,
the Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res. 252, cleared a critical
hurdle Thursday, when the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted in
favor of the bill-23 to 22-paving the way for a vote by the entire
House of Representatives.

The passage of the bill elicited immediate reactions, with Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton calling on the entire House to not pass the
measure, and the Turkish government recalling its newly-appointed
ambassador to the US.

Three Genocide survivors and several members of the Armenian-American
community, as well as Armenia’s ambassador to the US Tatul Markarian
and an Armenian parliamentary delegation were on hand when Rep. Howard
Berman, chairman of the committee, opened the hearing at 7 a.m.

In his introductory remarks, Berman underlined the undisputed fact
of the Armenian Genocide, noted that the overwhelming majority of
scholars affirm the fact of the genocide, and urged his colleagues
for vote for it. He added, "It is now time for Turkey to acknowledge
the reality of the Armenian Genocide."

The passage of this resolution by the committee is a tribute to the
hard work of the Armenian-American community against substantial
lobbying by the government of Turkey. We hope that this is the first
step towards the United States of America soon joining Canada in
recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey Recalls Ambassador

Turkey says it is recalling its ambassador to the U.S. for
consultations following a resolution declaring the killing of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I genocide, reported AP.

The move came minutes after the U.S. congressional panel approved
the resolution Thursday.

A government statement said Ambassador Namik Tan was being recalled
with immediate effect.

Bill Author, Adam Schiff, Applauds Win

"A bipartisan majority today rejected Turkey’s gag rule, setting
the stage for Speaker Pelosi and the full U.S. House to properly
commemorate the Armenian Genocide. The Committee’s message was simple
yet powerful: Turkey doesn’t get a vote or a veto in the U.S.

Congress," said a statement by Armenian National Committee of America
chairman Ken Hachikian.

"As Americans of Armenian heritage, it holds great meaning to see our
nation move one step closer to putting the painful lessons of the
Armenian Genocide to work in helping to end the cycle of genocide,
in Darfur and around the world," added Hachikian.

"A moral foreign policy has always been among our strongest assets and
one of the greatest forces for good in the world. Despite Turkey’s
last minute threats and intimidation, Chairman Berman and the House
Foreign Affairs Committee have shown that it’s always the right time
to do the right thing," concluded Hachikian.

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) praised the passage of the resolution
he authored recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide.

"The facts of history are clear, well documented, and non-negotiable.

One and a half million Armenians were deliberately murdered in the
first genocide of the 20th century. If we are to avoid this horrific
crime in the future, we must be willing to condemn genocide whenever
and wherever it occurs." said Schiff. "Today’s Committee passage clears
a major hurdle in moving this resolution forward. I will be working
with my colleagues to ensure floor action for this important bill."

"The Affirmation of the U.S. Record on the Armenian Genocide"
resolution calls on the President to "ensure that the foreign policy
of the United States reflects appropriate understanding" of the
"Armenian Genocide" and to "accurately characterize the systematic
and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide."

Clinton Reaction

Clinton said the full U.S. Congress shouldn’t vote on a resolution
passed by a House committee Thursday.

"We do not believe that the full Congress will or should vote on that
resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,"
Clinton told reporters at a conference in Costa Rica.

After remaining silent on the Thursday vote, both President Obama
and Clinton made an eleventh-hour effort to derail the hearing,
saying that the Genocide issue was a matter to be resolved between
Turkey and Armenia and that the resolution would adversely impact the
Armenia-Turkey protocols now awaiting ratification in the parliaments
of the two countries.

After speaking to Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday,
President Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reach out to Berman.

"Secretary Clinton called Chairman Berman yesterday and in that
conversation the Secretary indicated that further Congressional action
could impede progress on normalization of relations," said National
Security Staff spokesman Mike Hammer.

The conversation took place after the president spoke with President
Gul and "expressed appreciation" for his and Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s "efforts on normalization of relations between
Turkey and Armenia."

The president also "pressed for rapid ratification of the protocols,"
Hammer said, referring to efforts at normalization between Armenia
and Turkey.

"Our focus is on ensuring that we continue to make progress on an
issue that for almost a hundred years has divided two countries,"
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

Below is the vote tally:

Y = 17 (D) + 6 (R) = 23 N = 9 (D) + 13 (R) = 22 Absent = 1 (D) =
1 Total = 46

DEMOCRATS:

(chair) Berman – Y

Ackerman – Y

Faleomavaega – Y

Payne – Y

Sherman – Y

Engel – Y

Delahunt – N

Meeks – N

Watson – Y

Carnahan – N

Sires – Y

Connolly – N

McMahon – N

Tanner – N

Green – Y

Woolsey – Y

Jackson-Lee – abs

Lee – Y

Berkley – Y

Crowley – Y

Ross – N

Miller – N

Scott – N

Costa – Y

Ellison – Y

Giffords – Y

Klein – Y

(27-YES)

REPUBLICANS (ranking member) Ros-Lehtinen – N Smith – Y Burton – N
Gallegly – Y Rohrabacher – Y Manzullo – Y Royce – Y Paul – N Flake –
N Pence – N Wilson – N Boozeman – N Barrett – N Mack – N Fortenberry –
N McCaul – N Poe – N Iglis – N Bilirakis – Y (19 -NO)

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 26 – MARCH 4, 2010

HIGHLIGHTS:

"PRESS CLUB" CYCLE: FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

HEARINGS ON THE SECOND SUIT OF "ARAVOT", NOW VERSUS GOVERNOR OF LORI REGION

PARLIAMENT VOTED AGAINST ABOLITION OF MORATORIUM ON BROADCAST LICENSING
COMPETITIONS

"543210…" BY ZAVEN KHACHIKIAN

"PRESS CLUB" CYCLE: FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

On March 2, another "Press Club" show went on the air of "Yerkir Media" TV
company. The cycle is produced under Yerevan Press Club project, supported
by the Open Society Institute. The guests of the program host, YPC President
Boris Navasardian were Marat Atovmian, member of State-Legal Affairs
Commission of Public Council under RA President, Levon Barseghian, Board
Chairman of "Asparez" Journalists’ Club of Gyumri, and Edik Baghdasarian,
Head of "Investigative Journalists" NGO, Chief Editor of "Hetq" newspaper.
The discussion centered on the fight against corruption in Armenia.

The next "Press Club" show will be aired on "Yerkir Media" on March 9, at
21.15.

HEARINGS ON THE SECOND SUIT OF "ARAVOT", NOW VERSUS GOVERNOR OF LORI REGION

On February 25 in Vanadzor the RA Administrative Court started hearing the
suit of "Aravot" daily founder, "Aravot Oratert" LLC, versus Aram Kocharian,
Governor of Lori Region. The plaintiff demands to hold the inaction of the
Governor, who did not provide information on expenditure of budgetary funds.
The plaintiff’s representative at court is the Freedom of Information
Center.

As it has been reported, earlier a similar suit was filed by the founder of
"Aravot" versus the Governor of Shirak region (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
January 29 – February 4, 2010). On August 19, 2009 "Aravot" daily e-mailed
all Armenian Governors requesting on how the subsidiary funds of 70 million
AMD (about $ 185,000), allocated from the state budget in 2005-2009 to each
region, are expended. Only the Governors of Shirak and Lori regions did not
answer to the request, therefore, the founder of "Aravot" filed a suit with
the assistance of FOI Center.

At the session of February 25 the defendant was told that in 2005 the RA
Government approved the order of usage of e-documents and e-signatures by
administrative bodies. According to the order, the Lori administration was
to answer to the request. The next court session will take place on March
12.

PARLIAMENT VOTED AGAINST ABOLITION OF MORATORIUM ON BROADCAST LICENSING
COMPETITIONS

On February 24 at a regular session the RA National Assembly voted down the
draft law on introducing an amendment to the RA Law "On Television and
Radio". The draft on abolishing the moratorium on broadcast licensing
competitions was initiated by deputies from "Heritage" faction Anahit
Bakhshian and Armen Martirosian. As it has been reported, on September 10,
2008 the parliament passed the amendment to Point 14 of Article 59 of the RA
Law "On Television and Radio", suspending the broadcast licensing
competitions for two years, till July 20, 2010 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
September 5-11, 2008). This raised and continues raising serious concerns of
the Armenian journalistic community and international organizations.
Particularly, they claim that the introduction of the moratorium runs
counter the ruling of European Court of Human Rights of June 17, 2008 on the
suit of "A1+" TV company, depriving the latter to take part in a new
competition.

Meanwhile, at the session of February 24 the majority of deputies voted
against the abolition of the amendment to Broadcast Law (70 – con, 24 – pro
and 3 – abstention).

"543210…" BY ZAVEN KHACHIKIAN

On March 2 at "Academy" Gallery of Yerevan the opening of a 2-day exhibition
of well-known photojournalist Zaven Khachikian and the presentation of his
album was held. The event was organized with the assistance of Yerevan Press
Club.

The album reflects images of children who prove the joy and the sorrow of
the world. According to its author, the play of numbers "543210…" in the
album title denotes the age of Zaven Khachikian, 54, the initially planned
date of presenting his work to the public – 03/02/10 (March 2, 2010).

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
_____________________________________ _______
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

PHONE CONVERSATION OF SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER WITH LEVON TER-PETROSIAN TAKES PLACE ON EU DELEGATION’S INITIATIVE

Noyan Tapan
March 3, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting of representatives of the
Armenian National Congress (ANC) and the delegation headed by Spanish
Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (Spain currently holds the
presidency of the EU) took place on March 2. During the meeting, ANC
coordinator Levon Zurabian spoke about problems of democracy, human
rights protection, political prisoners in Armenia, underlining the
necessity of holding special presidential and parliamentary elections
in the country. The ANC representative David Shahnazarian attached
importance to the international community’s assistance for the release
of political prisoners. Then the approaches of the ANC to the Nagorno
Karabakh problem and Armenian-Turkish relations were presented.

The central office of ANC reports that L. Zurabian handed the first
Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s letter to the EU President.

Later a phone conversation of the Spanish foreign minister with L.

Ter-Petrosian took place on the initiative of the EU delegation.

TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIAN: WHITE HOUSE ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT HINDER ADOPTION OF THE RESOLUTION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmInfo
2010-03-03 20:12:00

ArmInfo. The White House Administration does not hinder adoption
of the Resolution on Armenian Genocide, Murat Mercan, head of the
Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, said in Washington,
Zamantoday reports.

To note, in Washington, Murat Mercan, head of the Turkish Parliament’s
Foreign Affairs Commission, which is having talks with US officials
ahead of the vote, and Sukru Elekdag, a lawmaker and former Turkish
ambassador to the US, spoke to reporters at the Turkish Embassy in
Washington on Monday. "My impression is that the [Obama] administration
is not fighting against it very effectively," Elekdag said, while
emphasizing that Turkish cooperation with the United States was at
risk if the measure passed.

To recall, in Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted
on Tuesday that what is at stake if the resolution is approved is
also the state of bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington.

"Turkish- US relations are experiencing their most successful period
in history," Erdogan said. "I hope that they will not be damaged by
such initiatives. I maintain trust in the leadership and common sense
of President [Barack] Obama, who has been closely following efforts
toward the normalization of ties with Armenia."

The Resolution on the Armenian Genocide was submitted to the US
House of Representatives on 18 March 2009. At present 135 congressmen
support the resolution.

LEVON ARONIAN RANKS 5TH IN FIDE CHESS RATING

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 16:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ FIDE published names of 100 strongest world chess
palyers of March this year. Four Armenian chess players are named in
the men’s rating. Levon Aronian (2782) ranks 5th, yielding to Magnus
Carlsen (Norway), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
and Viswanathan Anand (India).

Vladimir Akopian (2688) ranks 43rd, Gabriel Sargsyan (2675) and Arman
Pashikyan (2652) are 53rd and 83rd respectvely.

Lilit Lazarian (2503) ranks 13th in the womens rating, and Elina
Danielyan ranks 18th (2419). Lilit Galoyan (2380) is 88th. Judit Polgar
(Hungary), Gumpi Korneev (India) and Hou Yifan (China) are the first
three strongest chess players among women.

ARMENIANS DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE JUSTICE FOR GENOCIDE: BOSTON GLOBE

news.am
March 2 2010
Armenia

"The President of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations
Gunay Evinch alleges that the ‘ultranationalist’ Armenian diaspora
is attempting to sabotage the Turkish-Armenian protocols by urging
a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide," The
Boston Globe daily reports.

"This false allegation is nothing more than another Turkish strategy to
drive a wedge between Armenia and its diaspora. Armenians in Armenia
are just as determined to achieve justice for the Armenian genocide,"
the source informs.

Thereafter, the daily refers to the letter by former seven Presidents
of International Association of Genocide Scholars to Turkish President
Abdullah Gul: "The joint historical commission defined by the protocols
is appropriately charged with a broad mandate to discover facts that
will lead to reconciliation based on truth. The goal is to depoliticize
what is really a question for historians. Passing the current House
resolution would torpedo this objective."

"The historians have spoken. Evinch and his Assembly of Turkish
American Associations must cease their genocide denial," the source
quotes Laura Boghosian.