Author: Tambiyan Samvel

"ARMENIA MAY BECOME A GOOD MARKET OF ENERGY IN THE REGION"
By Ara Martirosian, translated by L.H.

AZG Armenian Daily #167
14/09/2007

Announced ArmRosgasprom Director General

On September 12 took place ArmRosgasprom Board of Directors meeting
dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of ArmRosgasprom. President Robert
Kocharian, Minister of Energy Armen Movsissian, also representatives
of the main shareholder Russian "Gasprom" were present at the meeting.

After the meeting Gazprom’s Management Committee Deputy Chairman
Valery Golubev and ArmRosgasprom Director General Karen Karapetian
met the journalists.

Valery Golubev spoke about the main achievements of ArmRosgasprom
in the last 10 years. "The first achievement is the high index of
gasification in Armenia, and the index of Armenia’s gasification
is much higher than even Russia’s", mentioned Gazprom’s Management
Committee Deputy.

The next achievement is in the sphere of car gasification. Valeri
Golubev mentioned that gas is more economizing and cleaner fuel than
diesel oil.

The third is the change in the system of gas consumption. If before
the main consumer of the gas was energetics, at present the values of
the gas consumption of population and little and middle enterprises
has increased.

Analyzing the company’s indexes of 2006, the Board of Directors has
recorded that all the economic indexes have increased.

What about the gas price Valery Golubev mentioned that $110 for
thousand c. m. that Armenia pays presently is the lowest price. Only
Belarus’ gas price is lower, but it will increase to $130 for thousand
c. m. in 2008.

Valeri Golubev also mentioned that ArmRosgasprom had already purchased
the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.

Karen Karapetian underlined that ArmRosgasprom could make Armenia a
good market of energy in the region.

Two gas pipelines enter Armenia from Russia and Iran, the 5th energetic
block of Hrasdan is going to be reconstructed, and in case of creation
of oil-refinery in the future there will be a good chance of selling
the produced energy in the region.

At the end of the briefing the Director General of ArmRosgasprom
mentioned that due to gas consumption the population of Armenia saves
about $300 mln annually, and the transport – $180 mln.

The measures devoted to the 10th anniversary of ArmRosgasprom finished
up with the concert of Armenian and Russian popular singers and
musicians in the Republic Square.

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, Ca 91504
Tel: 818-558-7474
Fax: 818-558-6333
Web:

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Celebrates the 80th Anniversary of
the Western Diocese

The Right Reverend J. John Bruno, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of
Los Angeles, invites you to celebrate with Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese.

The 80th Anniversary of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
North America

Evensong Service at 5:00pm, Reception to follow,

Saturday, September 15, 2007 5:00 p.m.

St. John’s Episcopal Church
514 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

PARKING

Handicapped parking only in the church parking lot.

Regular parking at St. Vincents Catholic School (located diagonally
across from St. John’s Episcopal Church).

Parking entrance is on Figueroa St., just north of Adams Blvd.

There will be a security guard to direct cars and monitor parking lots
during the service and reception.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
: September 12, 2007
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AFFIRM SUPPORT
FOR CONGRESSIONAL ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTIONS

— Urge ADL to End Opposition to Human Rights Legislation

Los Angeles, CA – A broad spectrum of Los Angeles area community groups have
joined with national organizations in speaking out in support of
Congressional legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide and in voicing
their disappointment over the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) ongoing
opposition to this human rights legislation, reported the Armenian National
Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR).

The comments come in response to the ongoing controversy surrounding ADL
National Director Abraham Foxman’s recent statements regarding the Armenian
Genocide in which he publicly opposed House and Senate Armenian Genocide
resolutions (H.Res.106 /S.Res.106). H.Res.106 enjoys the broad bipartisan
support of over 225 cosponsors in the House, a clear majority of its
membership, while S. Res. 106 currently has 31 cosponsors.

UCLA History Professor David Myers argued that, "Foxman should follow the
logic of his own statement and take the essential next step of supporting HR
106". The well-respected scholar went on to urge the Southern California
ADL Board to "either announce its support for H. Res. 106 – if not here in
the heart of the Armenian Diaspora, then where? Or else renounce the
organization’s declared mission ‘to secure justice and fair treatment for
all.’"

Jewish World Watch Founding President and Executive Director Janice
Kamenir-Reznik and Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug concurred, stating that "as a
community with first-hand knowledge and experience of the ravages of
genocide, we have a particular moral obligation to stand up and ask our
government to recognize what we know as true: that 1.5 million Armenians
were systematically slaughtered in a government-sponsored campaign of
genocide against them. The Anti-Defamation League’s announcement that it
would finally recognize the Armenian Genocide as genocide is clearly a step
in the right direction. However, we believe that the ADL, the premiere
Jewish anti-discrimination agency in this country, must go a step further
and join in asking our government to do the same." Similarly, Progressive
Jewish Alliance Executive Director Daniel Sokatch noted. "’Never Again’
applies to all people everywhere."

These Southern California Jewish American leaders and organizations added
their voice to a broad range of organizations which have called for passage
of Armenian Genocide legislation, including the American Federation of Jews
from Central Europe (New York, NY), the American Jewish World Service (New
York, NY), Americans for Peace Now (Washington,D.C.), the Center for Russian
Jewry with Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (New York, NY), the Jewish
Social Policy Action Network (Philadelphia, PA), Jewish War Veterans of the
USA (Washington, D.C.), Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Wyncote, PA),
the Union for Reform of Judaism (Washington, D.C.), Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter
Ring (New York, NY) and the Zionist Organization of America (New York, NY)

Earlier this week, the Jewish community of Armenia joined the global call
for ADL to support the Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolutions.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), the Chairwoman of the
Armenia’s Jewish Community, Rimma Varzhapetian-Feller stated that the
failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide paved the way for the Holocaust
and stressed that a Congressional resolution could help prevent future
genocides.

Leaders in California’s prominent Greek American community also voiced
serious concern over the ADL’s morally unjustified position. "Abraham
Foxman’s refusal to support passage of H. Res. 106 properly acknowledging
the facts of the Armenian Genocide betrays the years of service that the ADL
has devoted to educating the world about the facts of the Jewish Holocaust.
Being selective when it comes to proper genocide acknowledgement is simply
absurd. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire were
massacred alongside the Armenians. We urge the ADL to take the moral high
ground and support this critical piece of legislation in respect for all
victims of genocide," remarked Aris Anagnos, Vice President of the American
Hellenic Council of California.

Local leaders in the Armenian community also expressed strong disappointment
over the ADL’s lack of support for Armenian Genocide recognition
legislation. "The ADL’s position is extremely unfortunate – opposing the
resolution is completely illogical and unacceptable," remarked Glendale ANC
Executive Director Elen Asatryan. We applaud Rep. Schiff for his efforts to
bring the ADL National leadership to the right side on this core human
rights issue, we can only hope that Mr. Foxman will take Congressman
Schiff’s advice to heart by supporting Armenian Genocide recognition and
returning to his organization’s true mission of fighting racism and
bigotry."

"Watertown has set a strong example of standing up for the truth – and
standing up against both individuals and groups that, sadly, preach
tolerance while practicing division and denial," remarked La Crescenta ANC
Chairman Arick Gevorkian. "The resolution is a critical component of the
process of acknowledging and recognizing truth that deserves the support of
all groups who are working to end genocide," he added.

Darfur activists also spoke out urging the ADL to support the resolutions.
"To recognize the Genocide and to stop short of supporting the Resolution
turns a noble quest for justice into a game of politics. The Armenian
Genocide is not up for debate, and therefore, the Resolution must be passed
in order for justice to be served for all victims of genocide and
mass-atrocities," stated Pastor Vazken Movsesian, Priest at Saint Peter
Armenian Church and Youth Ministry Center in Glendale, California.
Movsesian is also the Director of In His Shoes Ministries, a mission and
movement which rallies support for the suffering in the world, and has
traveled to Africa to help end the cycle of genocide.

Sarah Czuleger, member of the University of California, Santa Barbara
Chapter of STAND, an anti-genocide student coalition, stated that, "as an
organization committed to ending the cycle of genocide, we call upon the ADL
and all community and civic organizations to support the Armenian Genocide
resolutions in Congress."

"The Darfur Action Committee of UC-Irvine strongly supports the passage of
H. Res. 106. In solidarity with worldwide Save Darfur Coalitions, the Darfur
Action Committee understands the moral and humane importance of recognizing
the first genocide of the 20th century. In order to take action and provide
aid for the people of Darfur, the international community must first heal
the past. Our hearts and efforts stand with the Armenian community in this
incredibly imperative issue," stated Anita Issagholyan, co-chairwoman of the
Darfur Action Committee at the University of California, Irvine. We urge ADL
to join us in solidarity of human rights, genocide recognition and justice
for all mankind by supporting the Armenian Genocide resolution," she added.

The ADL controversy was sparked by Foxman’s April statements in the Los
Angeles Times denying the Armenian Genocide and opposing Congressional
Armenian Genocide legislation. These statements precipitated a groundswell
of civic activism in Watertown, Massachusetts, leading to the unanimous
August 14th Town Council decision to disassociate from the ADL’s "No Place
for Hate" tolerance program. Within 48 hours, the New England Regional ADL
called on the national leadership to speak truthfully and honestly about the
Armenian Genocide and support Congressional Armenian Genocide legislation.
Foxman, who had claimed ignorance of the facts of the Armenian Genocide and
opposed its Congressional reaffirmation in subsequent interviews with the
Boston Globe and a number of Jewish American publications, fired Tarsy,
precipitating the resignation of several ADL New England Regional Board
Members. Following widespread outrage by the New England area civil rights
activists, Foxman issued a "Statement on the Armenian Genocide" where he
concluded that the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian people in 1915
were "tantamount to genocide" but said that the ADL remained opposed to
Armenian Genocide legislation. Soon thereafter, he rehired Tarsy and pledged
that the ADL would review its position on the legislation during a November
national meeting.

New England "No Place for Hate" communities, unsatisfied with both Foxman’s
statements and his continued opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
continue to call for ADL support for this legislation and to urge towns to
suspend or sever their ties with NPFH until the ADL revises it position.

For complete coverage of this controversy, visit:

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots public affairs organization in the
Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated
organizations around the country, the ANC-WR promotes awareness of issues of
concern to the Armenian American community.

THE YEAR ASSIMILATION TOOK A BACKSEAT
By Yair Sheleg

Ha’aretz
Mon., September 10, 2007
Israel

The most noticeable aspect of the first international gathering of
the Jewish People Planning Policy Institute (JPPPI) in Jerusalem
two months ago was the change in focus of Jewish concern – from the
issue of assimilation, which was the crux of all Jewish conferences in
recent years, to the physical threat to the Jewish people’s existence,
especially the Iranian threat against Israel.

The Iranian threat also seems to have been the most important item
of Jewish news for the entire year of 5767: the existential threat
has returned to the headlines, and concern over assimilation
has increasingly turned into a luxury left for educators and
philanthropists.

Now, says Prof. Sergio Della Pergola, one of the JPPPI’s heads,
this change of focus could also affect another important issue –
the question of Israel’s centrality in the Jewish world.

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"If the threat of assimilation is the focus, the claim for Israel’s
centrality is very significant," Della Pergola says. "But if the
existential threat is the focus, Israel loses part of the argument
in favor of its centrality to the Jewish people, as the best place
to assure the future of the Jewish people."

This change was all the more evident in recent days, following
the release of a study by Prof. Steven Cohen and Prof. Ari Kelman,
which indicates the decline in the identification of American Jewish
youths with Israel: Only 48 percent of non-Orthodox youngsters felt
that Israel’s destruction would be a personal tragedy for them, and
only 54 percent feel comfortable with the very existence of the state.

On the other hand, fear among Jewish communities in Europe (especially
France) of the substantial growth of the continent’s Muslim population
has led to increased immigration to Israel, and to a rise in the
acquisition of apartments and in visits by French Jews. (French
Jewry constitute the third-largest Jewish community in the world,
after the United States and Israel.)

American-Jewish identification with Israel suffered several other major
blows this year, in a series of public attacks claiming that the Israel
lobby in the U.S. works to ensure Israel’s interests at the expense
of American ones, with the war in Iraq being the primary example.

These claims were raised in an article (and also in a recent book)
written by prominent researchers Steven Walt and John Mearsheimer,
but it had an even more dramatic impact when former U.S. president
Jimmy Carter made similar claims in his own book, and in a series
of lectures he gave on the topic. Carter embarrassed the Jewish
establishment so badly that, for the first time in a long while,
an American president was labeled "anti-Semitic."

Despite the fact that concern over Israel’s future has become
the primary Jewish concern, assimilation continues to be a major
worry. Another study conducted by Steven Cohen that was published
this year indicates that two types of Jewish communities are evolving
in the U.S.: those with two Jewish spouses in one household, who are
therefore certain of their Jewish identity; and those households with
intermarried spouses (43 percent of the community’s young people),
where the number of those who light Shabbat candles is equal to those
who set up a fir tree on Christmas.

There were numerous efforts in 5767 to cope with assimilation. A
$25 million donation from the Jewish millionaire Sheldon Adelson
injected new momentum to one of the major undertakings in this area,
the Taglit birthright project, which sends young Diaspora Jews on a
free 10-day trip to Israel.

According to participants and research evidence, these visits usually
succeed in deepening their interest in both Israel and Judaism.

In addition, Adelson promised – following complaints by Taglit
officials that due to budgetary limitations they are only able to
bring a third of Jewish students to Israel – to issue an open check
to fund whatever number of students the organization’s workers manage
to enlist.

In order to deal with these simultaneous crises, former president
Moshe Katsav formulated the concept several years ago of the Jewish
Parliament, which was to gather the brightest Jewish minds from
across the world for discussions and decision-making. However,
Katsav’s downfall this year has led to the collapse of the program.

While Akiva Tor, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Diaspora department
who served as Katsav’s Diaspora Affairs adviser, says that the new
president, Shimon Peres, is interested in reviving the effort, it
remains unclear if and when this will happen.

Tor adds that there is a noticeable gap between the general picture
of a decline among Diaspora Jewry – especially in the U.S. – and the
success of certain groups within it in reviving themselves.

Most notable in this respect is the continued recovery and growth of
the Orthodox Jewish community, as opposed to the weakening of the two
more liberal streams of Judaism, the Reform and Conservative movements.

Yet even among these two streams there are signs of interesting
processes to renew their agenda, even though such a tendency is still
not necessarily reflected in quantitative terms: The Reform movement
has increased its commitment to learning Torah, kashrut and other
traditional elements.

At the same time, the Conservative movement – which in recent years
experienced a substantial decline in popularity – took two dramatic
steps this year: for the first time in many years, it appointed a
prominent academic researcher of American Jewry, Prof. Arnold Eisen,
as head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the movement’s main
rabbinical and academic learning center, instead of handing the
position to a rabbi.

Eisen has already welcomed another revolutionary process led by the
Conservative movement’s Va’ad Hahalakha: approving same-sex marriages
as well as ordaining homosexual male and female rabbis.

This year, two prominent Jewish organizations experienced considerable
turmoil. For one of them, the World Jewish Congress, the turmoil had
been going on for several years, following the exposure of charges
of embezzlement by the previous chairman, Dr. Israel Singer, who
was instrumental in leading the Jewish campaign for the return of
Holocaust victims’ assets.

While it seemed as though the WJC had survived the ordeal – following
the New York State Attorney General’s report acquitting Singer of
criminal fault – the story took an interesting turn this year when
the WJC president, millionaire Edgar Bronfman, suddenly announced
he had discovered that the charges were true, and ordered Singer’s
immediate dismissal.

At the same time, Bronf-man announced his own resignation, and was
replaced by another Jewish millionaire, Ron Lauder, in the hope that
this would finally calm the situation at the WJC.

The organization’s European branch also had a tough year, thanks to a
scandal involving racism. The former president of the European Jewish
Congress, Pierre Besnainou of France, was pushed out in favor of a
Russian Jewish financial baron, Moshe Kantor.

The scandal involved the disclosure of a memorandum written by
Steven Herbits, the WJC’s secretary-general who has since resigned,
stating that Besnainou’s loyalty could not be counted on because he
is a Frenchman and a Tunisian, and "works like an Arab."

Until his deposal, Besnainou was the first senior WJC official of
Middle Eastern descent.

The second organization in turmoil is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL),
which became embroiled in a conflict between its self-determined
goal of fighting racism and hate crimes, and its association with
and loyalty to Israel.

Americans of Armenian descent asked the ADL to join their fight to gain
official American recognition of the Turkish massacre of Armenians
during World War I as genocide. However, this claim contradicts the
position of the government of Israel, which is very careful not to
anger the Turks and risk Israeli interests in maintaining good ties
with Turkey.

ADL National Director Abraham Foxman found himself maneuvering
between opposition to the Armenian request for help in their
political struggle, and recognition that the Turkish massacre was
indeed genocide.

Here are a few other things that happened in 5767:

b Jewish oil baron Ronald Stanton donated $100 million to Yeshiva
University, the flagship institution of modern Orthodoxy in the
U.S. The donation is considered the highest ever given to a Jewish
organization.

b The Catholic Church again approved the use of a mass that includes
a prayer for the conversion of the Jews.

The move created tension in Jewish circles, and a sense that the
current pope, Benedict XVI, is reversing the policy of his predecessor,
John Paul II, who strove to deepen the rapprochement between Jews
and Catholics.

b Florida marked the opening of the Ben Gamla Jewish School, which
is not run by one of the American Jewish movements or communal
institutions, but by a private company called Academica. The director
is an Orthodox rabbi, Adam Segal.

MASKARGO SEES MODERATE GROWTH NEXT YEAR
by Tamimi Omar

The Edge Daily, Malaysia
10-09-2007

HONG KONG: Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo) expects to
see moderate growth next year, underpinned by the recovery in the
air cargo industry, forging of partnerships with other airlines and
further enhancement of its services.

Its newly appointed managing director Shahari Sulaiman said that next
year’s air cargo growth outlook would be about 5% to 5.2% from 4% this
year, which would assist MASkargo to achieve "single-digit growth"
next year.

However, he said that net profit performance this year would likely
"be flat" due to the slower global air cargo growth. MASkargo made
a pre-tax profit of RM179 million for its financial year ended Dec
31, 2006.

Shahari said the cargo industry forecast was based on the projections
made by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other
analysts.

"For the first six months this year, IATA and other analysts said
growth would be 5%, but instead it was only 2.5% due to the issues
of imbalanced demand," Shahari told The Edge Financial Daily in an
interview here.

He explained that there was greater demand from one destination,
leaving the plane empty on its return flight home. To overcome the
problem, Shahari said MASkargo was looking to sign more agreements
with other airlines within its existing routes in an effort to increase
its revenue.

"We can expand coverage by working together with other airlines and
enter new markets without incurring extra cost," he said.

Shahari said that MASkargo was in talks with Air Uzbekistan to expand
coverage of both airlines. He added that the deal would be formally
signed in Uzbekistan’s capital Tuscan by year-end.

He said that under the proposed partnership, MASkargo would be
transporting Air Uzbekistan’s cargo to European and Asian countries,
while Air Uzbekistan would transport MASkargo’s cargo to Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) countries.

The CIS is an international organisation consisting of eleven former
Soviet Republics, which are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and
Uzbekistan.

Turkmenistan discontinued permanent membership as of Aug 26, 2005,
and is now an associate member.

"The CIS has never been a market for us, but with this agreement we can
transport the cargo to Tuscan and they will out load to destinations
within the CIS.

This will bring in incremental revenue for us," Shahari said.

He said MASkargo could also take advantage of further liberalisation
in the Asian region looking to further increase its presence. "Growth
in the intra-Asian region will be around 6% to 7%, so that is where
we can make money," he said.

Shahari said MASkargo would leverage on information technology (IT)
expertise to have a more efficient and more personalised products for
its clients. "We are heavily invested in IT as a management tool to
assist our business. With this, we can evaluate the actual value of
our customer and design the right package for his needs."

MONTH OF ARMENIAN ART LAUNCHED IN HEADOFFICE IN WASHINGTON

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
10/09/2007 10:24

YEREVAN, September 7. /ARKA/. Month of Armenian Art is launched in
the headoffice of the World Bank in Washington on the 16th anniversary
of Armenia’s independence.

The Press Service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that within
the Month samples of Armenian modern art, more than 40 sculptures
and pictures of Armenian artists are to be exhibited in the hall of
WB Headoffice. The exhibition is open for public.

Among the participants of the opening ceremony are the Director of WB’s
Art Program Marina Galvani, Armenian Ambassador to USA Tatul Margarian,
representatives of U.S. State Secretariat and the World Bank.

The Month’s events are sponsored by the Armenian Embassy to USA and
the Art Program of WB.

ARMENIAN TEAM LEFT FOR MALTA

A1+
[12:46 pm] 10 September, 2007

The team of Cyprus beat the Armenian national football team 3:1 within
the framework of the Cyprus-Armenia friendly meeting. The score was
opened by Michel at the 31st minute.

Four minutes later Armenian footballer Robert Arzumanyan equaled the
match. It is noteworthy that central back Arzumanyan has scored three
goals at the preceding four meetings.

The next two goals were scored by the Cyprus players Okas and
Konstantinu.

Obviously, Yan Porterfield’s absence greatly affected the Armenian
team. Our footballers who had displayed excellent football at the
previous three meetings were unexpectedly beaten by a comparatively
weaker team of Cyprus.

Porterfield was unable to attend the meeting because of a serious
illness and Ton Johns and Vardan Minasyan shared his responsibilities.

After the meeting the Armenian team left for Malta to participate
in the Armenia-Malta friendly meeting scheduled for September
12. On September 9, Malta caught football fans unawares playing the
"Euro-2008" Malta-Turkey try-out in a draw – 2:2.

zaman
10.09.2007

Armenia plans nuclear plant near Turkish border

A new nuclear power plant being built in Armenia on
the site of an existing facility will end up costing
about $2 billion, Armenian Energy Minister Armen
Movsisyan has said.

"The project’s feasibility study is being carried out
by Armenia, Russia, the US and the International
Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. The old nuclear power
plant is to be rebuilt within four-and-a-half years,"
Movsisyan was quoted as telling the Parliament on
Friday. He said the construction of the new plant,
located in the town of Metsamor, near the Turkish
border, would require a complex refit, including the
installation of seismic safeguards.
The Metsamor nuclear reactor, which is composed of two
WWER-440-230 units, each with power levels of 408
megawatts, is located not far from the capital of
Yerevan, 16 kilometers from the Turkish border. The
Armenian government decided to open the second unit in
the reactor in 1993, due to high energy needs, and
thus the second unit was started up in 1995. The
Metsamor reactor provides up to 40 percent of
Armenia’s electricity needs and is predicted to
continue doing so until 2016. Since Yerevan decided
upgrade the reactor the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency
(TAEK) has been involved in following related
developments and taking the necessary precautions from
the Turkish side.

Movsisyan also stressed that Armenia must have a
permanent source of nuclear power and that the new
Armenian nuclear power plant must be operational until
alternative sources are found. He said that "many
foreign countries now understand that Armenia must
have a nuclear power plant." "Only a new Armenian
[nuclear power plant] can become an alternative to the
one now in use," he said.

10.09.2007

Ankara Today’s Zaman with wires

PanARMENIAN.Net

Aliyev regime doesn’t shun lies
07.09.2007 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Invention of `genocides committed by
Armenians against Azeris’ can serve as example of
cheap falsification of Eastern Transcaucasia’s modern
history by the Aliyev regime in an attempt to `create
a counterbalance’ to the crimes committed against
Armenians in the 20th century, director of the
institute of national and strategic studies at the RA
defense ministry, adviser to the defense minister,
political scientist, senior expert of ethnic and
national security political sciences, major general
Hayk Kotanjian said in an interview posted at the
defense ministry’s web site.

`In 1988, by Heydar Aliyev’s initiative the Azeri
government passed the law `On genocide against
Azerbaijanis.’ Thus, denial of the Armenian Genocide
was decorated with absurdity. `The drama of Azeri
public is that it’s duped every spring and involved
into mourning events dedicated to a genocide that had
never taken place.

Baku intellectuals gibe at this dishonest and
dangerous way of `political consolidation of people.’
They do know that massacres of Armenians took place in
the beginning of the 20th century. They do know about
the pogroms of the peaceful Armenian population in
Sumgait in 1988 and in Baku in 1990. The Aliyev regime
does not shun vulgar lies.

The recent campaign of commemoration of victims of
`genocide’ allegedly committed by Armenians against
Mountain Jews meant to cause a clash between Armenians
and Jews. Blasphemously distorting the historical
truth, Aliyev’s manipulators present the mass burial
places of Armenians as the `victims of genocides
committed by Armenians.’
The purpose is to poison the centuries-long neighbor
relations between Armenians of Shirvan and Mountain
Jews and to incite Israel and the Jewish lobby against
Armenia,’ Hayk Kotanjian said.

Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts
47 Nichols Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 10, 2007
Contact: Sevag Arzoumanian
Tel: 617-233-3174

LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL URGES BELMONT SELECTMEN TO CUT TIES WITH ADL

— Hearing Participants Cite ADL’s Opposition to Armenian Genocide
Recognition

BELMONT, MA – Over 100 residents applauded the Belmont, MA Human
Rights Commission September 6th decision to unanimously call on the
local Board of Selectmen to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL), citing their ongoing opposition to Armenian Genocide
recognition, reported the Armenian National Committee of Eastern
Massachusetts (ANC-EM).

Belmont Human Rights Commission (BHRC) Chairwoman Laurie Graham
presided over the town hall meeting which featured a groundswell of
poignant statements by residents of Armenian, Jewish and diverse
backgrounds citing that opposition to Armenian Genocide recognition is
offensive to local citizenry and runs counter to the most basic
principles of a local program promoting tolerance and human rights.

`We applaud the Belmont Human Rights Commission for standing up for
truth and human dignity by rejecting ties with the ADL – an
organization opposing Armenian Genocide recognition,’ stated Aram
Kaligian of the ANC-EM. `In Belmont and cities across Massachusetts,
we are seeing democracy in action – our diverse communities speaking
out, collectively, to support U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian
Genocide, in our ongoing struggle to stamp out genocide around the
world.’

Excerpts from the BHRC hearing can be viewed online at:
of-belmont-human-rights.html

Belmont Armenian American community activist Lenna Garibian, a grand
daughter of genocide survivors, stated that the question at hand was
not about the reality of the Armenian Genocide but about the moral
imperative to speak openly and honestly about this crime against
humanity. `No Armenian should sit with a revisionist Turkish
historian… to discuss whether the genocide happened or not. The
world knows. Turkey knows. [ADL director] Abe Foxman knows. This was
a genocide," explained Garibian who went on to note that HRC decision
`sets a good tone moving forward, that Belmont will not tolerate an
equivocation of the truth, of justice."

That sentiment was echoed throughout speeches given during the
evening, with emphasis on ending Genocide and Holocaust denial in all
forms. Massachusetts State Assemblywoman Rachel Kaprielian cited the
resurging trend of Holocaust denial worldwide as survivors pass away
and a political gap between the younger and older generations
widens. `The survivors see what is coming down the road, just as their
parents saw it,’ explained Kaprielian. `You have so much power and
ability to say to our government, `This is fact’, while there are
still survivors alive,’ continued Kaprielian.

Speakers also focused on U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide,
and overall commitment to ending this crime against humanity. Belmont
resident Joyce Barsam quoted author Samantha Powers from her Pulitzer
Prize winning book A Problem From Hell, stating `If only America had
been made of more upstanders, instead of bystanders- America would be
in a very different position today.’ Barsam continued, stating `I am
asking this committee to be upstanders instead of bystanders of the
Armenian Genocide. We hope you stand up for the truth and the human
rights that you are commissioned to support.’

Expressing concern about the ADL’s opposition to Armenian Genocide
legislation citing the safety of Jews in Turkey, Belmont resident Lisa
Sedrakian argued that `if Jews are affected in Turkey, it will be the
Turks to blame, not the Armenian-American community.’

Watertown Town Council Member and sponsor of the resolution severing
her town’s ties with the ADL Marilyn Petitto Devaney was forceful in
her demands that the National ADL end its campaign against the
Armenian Genocide Resolution. `I want the National ADL to stop
lobbying to kill the Genocide Resolution [in Congress and the House],
as they have done for years. This could be the year we prevail.’

Dr. Jack Nusan Porter, former Rabbi, Director of the Spencer Institute
and a member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars,
who has been an outspoken opponent to the ADL’s opposition to Armenian
Genocide recognition, stated `I fear for the future of the ADL. I
think this could tear it apart. You must send a powerful message to
sever ties with the ADL now.’

ANC Eastern Massachusetts Representative Aram Kaligian was clear in
the Armenian American community’s request of the BHRC members. `We
urge you to stand with the Armenian American and Jewish American
communities in helping the ADL national leadership come to the right
side on this issue,’ explained Kaligian, calling for unambiguous
affirmation of the Armenian Genocide and support for Armenian Genocide
legislation. Kaligian went on to urge attendees to `get the phone
numbers of the Town Selectmen here, and call them and let them know
how you feel about the ADL’s attempts to cast doubt on the tragic
events of 1915. . . And if you think that you might feel a little
uncomfortable calling up a stranger and telling him how you feel about
the denial of the Armenian Genocide, I want you to remember the
stories your grandparents told you about how they walked through the
desert. . . They had the courage to live through these atrocities,
the least we can do is have the courage to pick up the phone and call
our Town Selectmen and demand that they not tarnish the memory of our
grandparents.’

The BHRC voted overwhelmingly to sever ties with the ADL – a decision
considered seriously by two Belmont Selectmen present at the
proceedings. According to the Belmont Citizen Herald, Selectman Paul
Solomon said `he was in total support of the HRC’s position. `This is
in advance of the [selectmen’s discussion], but I will support their
stand.” Selectman Dan Leclerc stated he was `in the process of
processing [the decision.]’

The BHRC vote to sever ties comes as cities affiliated with the ADL’s
`No Place for Hate’ tolerance program throughout Massachusetts
reconsider their ties to an organization with a history of Armenian
Genocide denial and which continues to oppose Congressional Armenian
Genocide legislation (H.Res.106 /S.Res.106). Watertown was the first
to disaffiliate with the tainted NPFH program, followed by a
suspension of ties by Arlington, and decisions by the towns of Newton,
Needham, Newburyport, Bedford to cut ties if the ADL does not alter
its policies on the Armenian Genocide.

For complete information about the Abe Foxman / ADL controversy
surrounding the Armenian Genocide visit

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Memo rable Remarks from the Belmont Human Rights
Commission Hearing on Severing Ties with the ADL
Due to its Opposition to Armenian Genocide Recognition

Commissioner Conny Williams (Belmont)
Belmont Human Rights Commission
`I am suggesting that we sever our ties because
we think the ADL is inconsistent in its
proclamation of being against human rights
violations and of fostering No Place for Hate. I
would not want to express this with any
reluctance….The pain that I feel is that an
organization that is sponsoring this program
[NPFH] could take this stance that it has taken.’

Rachel Kaprielian (Watertown)
Massachusetts State House Delegate
`In communities like Belmont, like the other
communities that have NPFH, it isn’t just about
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, it’s
acknowledging all genocides. Here, now, in the
future. This is an important moment in time. It
would be such an incredible experience to see a
resolution passed when there are still survivors left on Earth.’

Marilyn Petitto Devaney (Watertown)
Member of the Watertown Town Council
`I was asked by the Local NPFH committee in
Watertown to give them 90 days. The Armenian
community has been waiting for over 90 years and
they [ADL] have deprived the Armenian people from
the right to their history. Years ago there was a
resolution in Congress to recognize the
Holocaust. Who would be against that, who would
deprive them from having that resolution, but the
ADL has. They said [the ADL] that to have a
resolution in Congress would be
counterproductive. That resolution for the
Holocaust wasn’t counterproductive and this isn’t.’

Michael Collins (Belmont)
Belmont Against Racism Board Member
`We are very pained by this because on one hand
we have been people who have supported the goals
of the NPFH campaign, but having listened to
everyone here tonight we are going back to our
board and recommend that we would be supportive
of the Town severing its relationship with the
ADL, as much as we really want the work to continue.’

Dr. Jack Nusan Porter, (Newton, MA)
Director of the Spencer Institute and a member of
the International Association of Genocide Scholars
`People ask me `why would Abe Foxman want to do
this?’. I can tell you why. Abe Foxman sees
everything through the prism of Israel. The
Turkish government has played a kind of a
political blackmail and has influenced him
[Foxman] by saying that Israel will be harmed.
The Turkish Jewish community will be harmed. This
is blackmail, this is utter nonsense. The state
of Turkey could never enter the EU if it harmed
the head of a single Jew in Turkey and if it hurt
Israel. But it still uses these tactics and these
arguments and they work! My view is that you have
to send a powerful message now before the
November meetings in which you state
categorically that you want to sever ties with
the ADL at this moment. It’s not a question that
you are against No Place for Hate. We all are in
favor of this wonderful program, but you only
want to sever the ADL’s connection to it. If the
ADL changes its position you can always go back to the ADL connection.’

Aram Kaligian (Belmont)
ANC Eastern Massachusetts Representative
`We urge you to stand with the Armenian American
and Jewish American communities in helping the
ADL national leadership come to the right side on
this issue. We urge the Belmont No Place for Hate
committee to sever its ties with the
Anti-Defamation League until such time that the
organization properly and unambiguously
acknowledges the Armenian Genocide and supports
congressional affirmation of this crime against
humanity. Anything less would jeopardize efforts
to protect and uphold the civil rights and
dignity of the Belmont’s Armenian-American citizenry.’

Lenna Garibian (Belmont)
`I have two daughters at home, one is 7 the
other is 5. The thought of them – the image of
them wandering the desert together alone, without
me or my husband to protect them, terrifies me.
The thought of the two them holding on each
other’s hands, not knowing what to do, hungry,
weak, and scared—until one of them lets go of
the other, chills me. And the thought of one of
them having to live with that guilt for the rest
of her life, like my grandmother did, so enrages me.’

`For these reasons, it is impossible to accept
anything less than unequivocal genocide
acknowledgment and support from the ADL and
NPFH. However commendable some of its programs
are, the NPFH program has no business in this
town while the ADL holds to its position. And
finally, no, I cannot offer patience, to this
process, so that Mr. Foxman can return in
November with the right spin on the Armenian Genocide.’

David Boyajian (Newton)
`The question may appear to revolve around the
Armenian Genocide but it does not. It could be
about any genocide. It could be about any issue
of human rights that your sponsor distorted for
its own political purposes. The issue is simple:
if you, as a human rights commission are as
serious about human rights as your mission
statements say you are, you will sever ties with the ADL without delay.’

Luder Sahakian (Needham)
As the premiere human rights defender in the US,
the world community would have expected the ADL
to rigorously uphold settled history. Instead,
the ADL has for over 15 years consciously placed
politics over principle, it has parroted Turkish
policy, been complicit in genocide denial and
continues to oppose congressional resolutions
affirming the reality of the Armenian genocide. .
. The ADL has depleted its moral authority and
legitimacy and cannot be expected to credibly
sponsor and manage any anti-hate program so long
that it exercises a form of hate itself.’

Rev. Harutunian (Belmont)

`When the Armenians came to this country they
found a land of opportunity, particularly here in
Massachusetts. This country has offered us so
much, but one thing that the United States till
now has not offered has been that this would be a
land of healing for the Armenian people. Because
when you’re victim of a violent crime whether
it’s an individual, subgroup or a nation, until
the story is validated, accepted, affirmed, and
responded to with appropriate outrage, he crime
continues to scar [them] and that’s truly the
story of the Armenians. I can’t imagine a
community like this […] wanting to be associated
with an organization that is actively hurting our
own people in this community. I strongly ask you
to reconsider the association that we have with them.’

Lisa Sedrakian (Belmont)
`There can be no reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians without Turkey’s recognition of the
genocide and its acceptance of the Ottoman
government’s role in perpetrating that
genocide. There can be no reconciliation without
truth. I cannot stand by when the US its
relationship with Turkey based on ignoring the
truth about the Armenian genocide. We should
have the ADL’s true commitment and conviction
behind their position on the Armenian Genocide
before we, the town of Belmont, have a relationship with them.’

Joyce Barsam (Belmont)
`Every person in this room has a story, an
odyssey of how we happen to be here instead of
living in Turkey. I want to bring to the
committee’s attention a very important
distinction that Samantha Powers made in her book
`A Problem From Hell’. `If America had been made
up of more upstanders instead of bystanders, we
would be in a very different position today’. I
am asking this committee to be upstanders instead
of bystanders of the Armenian Genocide. We hope
you stand up for the truth and the human rights
that you are commissioned to support.’

Jirair Hovsepian (Belmont)
`The ADL has been operating in a selective manner
by which to defend human rights. It would pick
and choose which human rights issue to defend and
which to ignore, or even sidestep or diminish
some issues of human rights violations of the
magnitude of the Holocaust such as the Armenian
genocide. It would politicize a human rights
issue, while its `ultimate purpose is to secure
justice and fair treatment to all citizens
alike'(quoting from the ADL 1913 charter). The
ADL has lost the moral ground and cannot be
trusted to guide and protect the human rights
values of all our fellow citizens in Belmont.’

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Note to editors: Pictures available upon request