Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

U.S. Department of State
13 April 2005

Congressman Applauds Turkish Efforts on Religious Freedom

Helsinki Commission Co-chair Christopher Smith addresses hearing
Turkey’s current government has taken “significant steps” in support of
religious liberties, according to Christopher H. Smith, the co-chairman of
the U.S. Helsinki Commission, who addressed a hearing on religious freedom
in Turkey April 12.
Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey, said he applauded Turkey’s
efforts to bring its legal system into conformity with Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on religious freedom.
However, “there are important areas still requiring close attention and
urgent action,” he added, citing in particular Turkey’s system of regulating
religious groups, the loss of important religious properties through
government expropriations, and the difficulties meeting openly that
protestant and evangelical groups are experiencing.
“I urge the Government of Turkey to continue its good work and redouble
efforts to fully respect the rights of individuals and their communities to
freely profess and practice their faith,” he concluded.
Also testifying at the hearing were: Merve Kavakci, former member of the
Turkish Grand National Assembly; Rev. Fr. Vertanes Kalayjian, Armenian
Orthodox Church; Van Krikorian, Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission;
Barry Jacobs, American Jewish Committee; and
Jeff King, President, International Christian Concern.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, which is also known as the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, is an independent federal agency that
monitors progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The
Commission is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives, and one
official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
Following is the text of Smith’s prepared statement:
(begin text)
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Washington, D.C.
April 12, 2005
BRIEFING: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY
Statement by Hon. Christopher H. Smith
Co-Chairman
Helsinki Commission
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today’s briefing will examine the
situation faced by Muslims, Protestants, members of the Armenian Orthodox
Church and the Jewish community in the Republic of Turkey. Last month we
highlighted the serious problems experienced by the Greek Orthodox
Ecumenical Patriarchate. We plan to hold a Commission hearing soon on Turkey
to discuss human rights issues overall, Ankara’s efforts to meet EU criteria
for accession, and that country’s implementation record as a longstanding
OSCE participating State.
First, I do applaud efforts by Turkey to bring its legal system into
conformity with OSCE commitments on religious freedom. The current
government has taken significant steps to improve conditions for the
enjoyment of religious liberties, steps that were unthinkable just a few
years ago. At the same time, as we learned last month about the Greek
Orthodox Church, there are important areas still requiring close attention
and urgent action.
Turkey’s system of regulating religious groups remains problematic,
especially the ban on headscarves in public institutions and the secular
government’s strict control of Islamic teaching and practice. While the EU
has rightfully focused much attention on the religious freedoms of
non-Muslim religious groups, it has been virtually silent regarding the
rights of Muslims to practice their faith. As Members of the Helsinki
Commission have consistently urged every prime minister over the past
decade, the right of women to openly manifest their religious beliefs,
including in public places and schools must be fully respected. While the
President of Turkey recently approved legislation to allow thousands of
students expelled from universities to return, including women who violated
the ban on headscarves, the ban nevertheless remains. The time has come to
end this injustice
The Armenian Orthodox Church has suffered the loss of important properties
through government expropriations. Similar to the situation of the Greek
Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the Armenian Orthodox
Church has lost much under current laws that enable the government to assume
direct administration of properties that fall into “disuse” when the size of
the local community falls below a certain point. In addition, the Armenian
Patriarchate continues to seek recognition of its legal status. Last
September, Turkey did adopt regulations to improve the way the size of a
religious community is gauged and to give communities with legal status the
ability to acquire new property. However, the loss of property has done much
damage to the church and the legislation does not allow for the reclamation
of properties unjustly expropriated by the State.
Protestant and evangelical groups are experiencing problems in meeting
openly, despite reforms that purportedly allow non-Muslim religious
communities to build churches and buy property. Groups without legal
standing or unable to afford these options cannot meet in other locations,
such as private homes or rented facilities, as authorities have actively
sought to close these meeting places under the pretext of zoning laws. Worse
yet, the reforms are enforced in varying degrees depending upon the will of
the local officials. I urge the government to explicitly allow for the
holding of religious meetings in rented facilities or private homes.
Turkey has a special relationship with the Turkish Jewish community dating
back to the Ottoman period, when Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish
Inquisition were welcomed and given refuge. After the November 2003 bombings
of two Jewish synagogues, not only did Prime Minister Erdogan publicly
denounce the bombings, but he also met with Jewish leaders, reportedly a
first in the history of the Republic. At the same time, there are disturbing
reports that “Mein Kampf,” Hitler’s notorious work outlining his
anti-Semitic world view, has become a bestseller in Turkey. I urge the prime
minister and other leaders in Turkey to speak out publicly against resurgent
interest in such racist materials.
In closing, Turkey has done much to earn a date to begin negotiations with
the European Union. I urge the Government of Turkey to continue its good
work and redouble efforts to fully respect the rights of individuals and
their communities to freely profess and practice their faith.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: )

A1Plus

| 21:29:08 | 11-04-2005 | Social |

MEETING TOMORROW

`We demand to make public the list of the free frequencies and announce a
free and transparent competition’, 3000 citizens have already signed under
this demand.

In the grove near the Komitas monument the collection of signatures in
defense of `A1+’ continued today. By the initiative of different
non-governmental organizations actions have been organized for the lat 10
days by the same demand. On the noticeboards in the grove many people have
written their wishes. Some of them called fro uniting saying that it must be
started from the problem of `A1+’. Someone else reminded about the
importance of free press advising to distinguish it from oppositional press.

The organizing of actions will be concluded tomorrow, on April 12, at 6:00
p.m. by the meeting in the grove near the Komitas monument. April 12 is
peculiar also by the fact that it was this day a year ago that the
authorities acted so cruel against the peaceful demonstrants who used their
Constitutional right of freely expressing their opinion.

ANSA English Media Service
April 12, 2005

TURKEY: INTELLECTUALS APPEAL AGAINST NATIONALIST WAVE

(ANSA) – ANKARA, April 12 – A group of 200 Turkish
intellectuals have published an open letter expressing their
concerns about the nationalist wave flooding the country, which
they believe risks heightening the internal tension with the
Kurds and giving an impetus to the external opposition to the
controversial Armenian genocide of 1915.

“Using recent events as pretext, attempts are being made to
hamper the peace process and the pacification of our country,”
the appeal, signed by academics, writers, artists, journalists
and heads of non-governmental organisations, published in
several Turkish newspapers, says.

The intellectuals backing the appeal refer to recent
incidents singalling a certain revival of nationalist moods,
which took place in Trabzon, on the Black Sea, between
nationalists and members of the Association of Solidarity Among
Families of Inmates (TAYAD).

Five TAYAD members were recently taken in custody by the
police accused of inflaming public feelings after escaping a
nationalist lynching by a crowd that wrongly took them for
supporters of a banned Kurdish rebel movement. Local media said
the crowd had mistaken the TAYAD members for followers of the
Kurdish PKK movement thinking the youths were thinking of burn a
Turkish flag at the time of the Newroz [spring New Year]
celebrations.

Nationalist feelings have been running high in Turkey since
young pro-Kurdish supporters tried to set fire to a Turkish flag
last month in the Mediterranean port city of Mersin. That
incident unleashed nationwide rallies in defence of the flag.

Another incident took place in Trabzon on Sunday where the
police intervened to protect and save some thirty TAYAD
activists who were staging a protest against the lynch attempts
from the previous days and who were attacked and roughed up by a
group of some 200 nationalists.

The Trabzon incidents are related, according to those
launching the appeal, to the wave of nationalist rallies and the
counter reaction to fly the Turkish flag in all Turkish towns in
the wake of the burning of the national flag in Mersin by a
group of youngsters who, the local press press said, could have
been inspired by Kurdish PKK movement militants.

“The reactions to this incident tend to verge on racism and
nationalism, not without the support of state officials,” the
200 intellectuals claim in their appeal focusing the attention
on the mass hysteria caused by both Kurdish and Turkish
nationalism.

The authors of the appeal also asked for the immediate
dismissal of the deputy governor of the Turkish town of
Sutculer, who recently who ordered the seizure and destruction
of works by novelist Orhan Pamuk for making a reference to the
massacre of Armenians. Pamuk said in an interview that in 1915
“nearly one million Armenians were massacred (by the Ottoman
government at the time, editor’s note) thus giving arguments to
the international community, contrasting with Turkey’s decisive
position, in support of the fact that this massacre was actually
“a genocide”.

The books, however, did not end on the pyre as it seemed none
of Pamuk’s books could be found in the local libraries. Still,
the steps taken by the high-ranking official tarred Turkey’s
image in the eyes of the European Union, with which accession
talks are due to start on October 3.

“These methods remind of the Nazi period,” the Turkish
intellectuals stressed in their appeal, calling upon the
government to distance itself from the incident by dismissing
the deputy governor. (ANSA)
krc

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04/11/2005
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1) Turkey to Debate Genocide Denial Strategy
2) Erdogan Refutes Existence of Kurdish Minority in Turkey
3) President Meets with Students, Discusses Genocide Recognition
4) Armenian Communities of Turlock and Modesto Give Warm Welcome to Marchers
5) Armenian Collegiate Student Groups Join Forces for Genocide Awareness,
Justice

1) Turkey to Debate Genocide Denial Strategy

ALGIERS (Combined Sources)–Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stated that
Turkey’s action plan to counter the Armenian genocide will be discussed at the
Turkish parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists accompanying him on a trip to Algeria, Gul confirmed
that he would take the floor at a special parliamentary session, scheduled for
Wednesday, to detail Ankara’s strategy, Anatolia news agency reported.
“Like it or not, Turkey has fallen behind on this issue,” Gul said. “Turkey
should have been more active and addressed this problem with courage to better
inform the international community.”
Asked if a United Nations committee could be formed to look into the issue,
Gul expressed that the UN is a political organ and not one that deals with
legal matters. “The UN may make mistakes in voting. Individuals raising their
hands to vote may vote wrongly based on political gains and interests. History
has many examples of voting that proved to be fallacious.”
Noting the existence of a strong Armenian lobby in the US, Minister Gul
remarked, “Every year, around this time, lobbies of the Armenians and Turks in
the United States work hard. There has never been a period when the Turks
disregarded Armenian attempts in the United States. We, as Turks, have an
ethical and moral obligation to inform the world about certain allegations.”
According to Gul, “enlightening US congress members” is a task that should be
done by all Turkish citizens and friends of Turks.
On April 24, Armenians will mark the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the
World War I massacres, which has already been acknowledged as genocide by
several countries, including France–home to a large Armenian diaspora.
Ankara worries that the Armenians are using the anniversary to step up their
campaign, particularly in the United States, whose traditionally close ties
with Turkey are today markedly strained amid differences over Iraq. Some
European Union politicians also maintain that Turkey should address the
genocide claims and mend fences with neighboring Armenia as it prepares to
launch membership talks on October 3.
Gul noted that “something which never occurred and bears no truth has
become a
tool of propaganda to win hearts in the West.”
“We must work with full force to create extraordinary efforts to illuminate
the truth,” commented Gul.

2) Erdogan Refutes Existence of Kurdish Minority in Turkey

OSLO (AFP)–Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuted the existence
of a Kurdish minority in Turkey on Monday, saying, “There is no concept of a
‘Kurdish minority’ in Turkey. The concepts of ‘Kurdish’ and ‘PKK’ should
not be
mixed up.”
Prime Minister Erdogan, who is currently on a state visit to Norway, met
Turkish citizens at the Oslo Military Museum Meeting Hall.
Differentiating between the Kurds and the PKK, Erdogan said, “Kurdish people
are citizens of the Republic of Turkey. On the other hand, PKK is a terrorist
organization. It is a serious mistake to characterize all Kurdish people as
members of PKK.”
“We have three red lines: ethnic nationalism, regional nationalism, and
religious nationalism. We will try everything to prevent them. There are some
western circles trying to divide our country,” he said.
Claiming that Kurdish people are one of the components of forming Turkey,
Erdogan said, “The most important thing is to understand each other. We should
not allow those who try to divide our country.”

3) President Meets with Students, Discusses Genocide Recognition

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Speaking to the students and faculty of the Yerevan
State
University’s Economics Department on Monday, President Robert Kocharian
stated,
“The recognition of the Armenian genocide is a top priority for us. No state
entity has to date, however, raised the issue of territorial claims.”
During his talk, Kocharian told students that future statesmen will determine
the legal ramifications stemming from the recognition of the genocide
committed
against the Ottoman Armenian population, adding that any expectations
resulting
from such claims should not be too far removed from reality if disappointment
is to be avoided.
“We must be steadfast in our pursuit to gain international recognition of the
Armenian genocide,” Kocharian concluded.

4) Armenian Communities of Turlock and Modesto Give Warm Welcome to Marchers

TURLOCK–The March For Humanity grew close to 100 in number over the
weekend as
AYF members from Fresno and Los Angeles traveled to Turlock, California to
join
the group of marchers, who have now completed half of their journey from
Fresno
to Sacramento.
After spending two nights at the United Methodist Church in Merced, the
marchers were given a warm welcome over the weekend by the Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church and the Armenian Community of Turlock and Modesto.
Arriving at the Turlock Adult Day Healthcare Center, the marchers received a
standing ovation and were greeted by representatives of the local Armenian
television program “Ararat.” After a brief rest, they enjoyed a delicious warm
meal prepared by the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church Ladies Society.
During dinner, Kurt Vander Weide, Turlock City Council member and Field
Representative to California Assembly member Greg Aghazarian, visited the
center and congratulated the marchers.
As the night drew to an end, close to 100 children of genocide survivors
participated in a candle light vigil in memory of the 1.5 million souls that
perished during the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman regime in 1915. The
participants sang “Godoradsn Ankout” and observed a moment of silence in honor
and memory of Pope John Paul II.
The Armenian families of Turlock and Modesto graciously accepted the marchers
into their homes that evening so that they may shower before embarking on
their
next stretch of road. They spent the night at the Turlock Adult Day Healthcare
Center, whose management kindly granted the marchers full access to its
facilities.
The marchers sent their best regards and gratitude to the Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church, the chairman of the parish council Hagop Karakashian,
superintendent of the Armenian Language School Daniel Aydenian, the Ladies
Society of the Holy Cross Armenian Church, the management of Turlock Adult Day
Healthcare Center Vigen Mirzakhanian, and to council member Kurt Vander Weide.
Also inspiring the marchers and reminding us all that kindness still
exists in
the world, a homeless woman saw the March For Humanity van and approached it,
telling the marchers that she has heard about them and would like to support
them by donating all she had: $3.

5) Armenian Collegiate Student Groups Join Forces for Genocide Awareness,
Justice

LOS ANGELES–Local area Armenian college students will gather to commemorate
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The All-Armenian Student
Association’s Genocide Recognition Committee, a coalition of collegiate
Armenian student groups, has been busy organizing two major events set to take
place this month–an educational panel presentation on genocide and denial,
which took place on April 7 at Cal State Long Beach, and the annual
candlelight
vigil, which will take place this Thursday, April 14, at UCLA.
The UCLA campus’ Bruin Plaza will serve as the site for the 2005 All-ASA
Candlelight Vigil. Hosted each year at a different college campus, this year’s
vigil will feature a reenactment of the genocide death march, performances by
UCLA students, and the premiere of an educational video commissioned by the
committee. The event will also feature UCLA Professor Paul Von Blum, a
specialist on media and genocide, as well as rapper Knowledge from the Axis of
Justice, a non-profit, social justice organization formed by Tom Morello of
Audioslave and Serj Tankian of System Of A Down. Local student and community
groups have been invited to participate and table at the event.
The panel presentation and the vigil will not be the first genocide-related
event of the year for many of the committee’s participating organizations. The
UCLA Armenian Student Association has also been addressing the impact of past
genocides on current affairs. In February, it co-hosted a similar panel
presentation on genocide denial as coalition student groups concerned about
the
genocide in Darfur. The event drew over 150 students and members of the
faculty.
“When groups of people are systematically oppressed and targeted for
destruction, it is our duty as humans to do something. Genocide and denial
seems to run hand in hand,” noted Matthew Sablove, a member of the Darfur
Action Committee at UCLA. “Students can lead the way for social justice as
well
as social change to stop the current genocide in Darfur.”
Earlier in November, the USC Armenian Student Association, another Genocide
Recognition Committee participant, co-hosted a reception and book signing
featuring Colgate University Professor Peter Balakian and his NY Times
Bestseller, Burning Tigris. The event was held in conjunction with the opening
of USC’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library exhibition documenting the Near
East Foundation’s relief efforts–commonly cited as an example of one of the
first world-wide humanitarian relief efforts in the global age–to help
survivors of the Armenian genocide.
The committee also addresses issues regarding education about the Armenian
genocide such as its proper inclusion in human rights-related curricula and
exhibitions such as the local Museum of Tolerance.
“The Museum of Tolerance issue is a continuing source of concern to the
student community,” explained Arineh Der Petrosian, president of the Glendale
Community College Armenian Student Association and representative to the
committee. In 2003, college students protested the lack of a permanent and
prominent exhibit on the Armenian genocide at the museum. The GCC ASA
supported
their efforts by collecting 1,500 signatures in support of this initiative.
“As of today, there is still no permanent exhibit. We think it is important
that the student community continues to work on this issue. The lack of an
adequate and prominent acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide in a place
like
the Museum of Tolerance only serves to embolden deniers of all genocides.”
“The panel and the vigil being organized by the committee are critical not
only because they mark the April anniversaries of such tragedies as the
Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide, and Holocaust, but also because we are
living in a world today in which genocide is being committed, specifically in
Darfur,” emphasized Raffi Kassabian, chair of the committee and president of
the UCLA Armenian Student Association. “I think this is a clear illustration
that if people continue to turn a blind eye or deny such atrocities the cycle
of genocide will continue to turn.”

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A1plus

| 17:38:41 | 08-04-2005 | Sports |

CHESS “OSCAR”

The best chess-player of the world was decided for the 10th time. Every
year he gets the special chess Oscar. The best chess-player of 2004
has been recognized Vishvanatan Anand who wins the title for the 4th
time. Garry Kasparov is only the 2nd.

As a result of the survey of 445 experts from 75 countries Anand
won about 1500 points more than Kasparov. Kasparov who has recently
finished his career as a chess-player did not manage to leave with
victory. Let us remind you that Kasparov lost the last game of his
career to Topalov, although it did not hinder him to win the Linnares
Competition.

Two members of Karabakh Freedom Organization imprisoned for attempt to colour monument of English soldier

08 April 2005 [16:34] – Today.Az

Yesterday two members of Garabagh Freedom Organization imprisoned (GFO)
who were trying to dye black colour the monument put to the memory
of English soldier in Martyrs’ Alley, as protest to the insulting of
Azerbaijan flag the associate of Great Britain company Alan French.

Manaf Kerimov and Nemat Shahverdiyev (he is also member of New
Azerbaijan Party) were taken to 9th police department of Sabail.

APA has been informed from the GFO that, for their freedom it
was applied to the department. The members of GFO are kept in the
department yet.

Dole Shares War Story in Memoir

Former Senator Says Battle Scars Help Him Connect With
Today’s Veterans

The Washington Post
Sunday, April 10, 2005; Page A05

By Eric Pianin, Washington Post Staff Writer

On Christmas Day 2004, former Senate majority leader Robert J. Dole
had a chance encounter at Walter Reed Army Medical Center with Craig
L. Nelson, a 21-year-old soldier who had been seriously wounded by
a bomb in Baghdad.

Dole tried to comfort Nelson and his family as the National Guardsman
from Bossier City, La., lay paralyzed from the neck down, hooked up
to a respirator and a bunch of tubes.

“It was like seeing a mirror image of myself 60 years earlier,” Dole
recalled. “He was tall and muscular, about 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches,
and about 185 pounds, almost identical to my World War II height
and weight. For a moment I was back there in a similar hospital bed,
encased in plaster, unable to move, paralyzed from the neck down.”

Sixty years ago this week, German shrapnel or machine-gun fire ripped
through Dole’s right shoulder as the young Army second lieutenant
desperately tried to drag one of his men out of the line of fire in the
mountains of northern Italy. The fragments ripped apart his shoulder,
broke his collarbone and right arm, smashed down into his vertebrae
and damaged his spinal cord.

That incident, in the waning days of World War II, left Dole’s
strapping, athletic body irreparably shattered. It would take years
of surgery and therapy — and enormous willpower — before Dole could
pull his life together and launch a political career that took him to
the pinnacle of leadership in the Senate and now a premier lobbying
job in Washington. Dole’s war story is a familiar one, and it became
an important motif of the Kansas Republican’s failed presidential
campaign in 1996 when Dole tried to shed a dour, taciturn image.

But as recounted by Dole in his new memoir, “One Soldier’s Story,”
the tale assumes a fresh resonance as the toll of U.S. troops killed
or maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to mount. More than 1,700
U.S. troops have been killed and 6,316 wounded so seriously they will
never return to duty.

Dole opens his book with a tribute to Spec. Nelson, who died four days
after the visit. Dole and his wife, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.),
are frequent visitors to Walter Reed — where Dole himself was
hospitalized late last year with internal bleeding caused by a fall
after hip replacement surgery. Advocates for disabled veterans say
Dole, 81, is an inspiration to many of the wounded soldiers struggling
to overcome their disabilities.

Col. James K. Gilman, commander of the Walter Reed Health Care System,
says that many of his patients who are amputees quickly bond with
Dole. “They clearly recognized him, and they had an appreciation for
someone like him. . . . To watch what [Dole] did with his life after
being very seriously wounded and given a permanent disability —
it gives them a bond that I don’t have with them. It’s special.”

“In a sense, you can say his story is their story,” said David
E. Autry, a spokesman for the 1.3 million-member Disabled American
Veterans.

Seated yesterday morning in the VIP suite of Alston and Bird LLP,
the downtown law and lobbying firm where he works, Dole obligingly
whistles a bar from “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” or at least tries. That
is the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune that Dole says helped him
get through the darkest days of his wartime convalescence, the tune
he whistled the first time he ventured alone outside his parents’
modest house in tiny Russell, Kan., after the war and walked to
Dawson’s Drugstore to get a chocolate milkshake.

Today, Dole, as usual, looks good and well-tanned. The onetime pitchman
for Viagra is meticulously groomed and dressed, with his pinstriped
suit pants neatly creased, his tassled loafers polished and his hair
newly coiffed.

Dole is sensitive about his appearance and still, after all these
years, self-conscious about his deadened right shoulder and his
left arm and hand that have limited mobility and utility. He avoids
looking at himself in the mirror — frequently recalling how shocked
he was when he first saw himself after being wounded and looking like
“a scarecrow in a body cast.”

His right arm hangs limp, emaciated and 2 1/2 inches shorter than the
other arm, his fingers molded into a ball. For years he has shaken
hands with his left hand, which most people have assumed is fine.
Actually, he reveals in his book, “I have no more feeling in those
fingers today than I did in June 1945
. . . After shaking hands with a few too many folks,.
my left hand starts turning black and blue.”

Dole launched his book project after he discovered that his two
sisters had kept about 300 family letters dating to the mid-’40s,
including many that Dole had written as a student at the University
of Kansas and during his time in the military.

He said that he tried to frame the story “so that it wouldn’t be a
‘poor Bob Dole,’ a kind of pitiful thing.” He said he was eager
for disabled veterans — especially young soldiers who had fought
in Iraq and Afghanistan — to understand that “you can be in pretty
bad shape and still have a good life and do a lot of good things —
and you don’t have to be a senator.”

Dole said that many of the disabled veterans he has met at Walter
Reed are fairly upbeat and do not complain about their fate.

“I don’t know what’s in the mind of a young man or his mother today
when they’re out there [at Walter Reed] with two limbs gone,” he
said. “What are they thinking? ‘The whole thing was a mistake?’ I
didn’t get that impression.”

Dole paused. “But I’ve got to believe that when the parade is past,
that’s the hard part,” he said.

Dole’s war story reads like a Jimmy Stewart movie: About two years
after Pearl Harbor, Dole enlisted, leaving behind the University
of Kansas, his fraternity house and a girlfriend. After boot camp,
he was accepted into an officer’s training program, but for a while
it looked as though the war would end before he saw any action. But
by the spring of 1945, Dole’s number was called and he shipped out
as a second lieutenant.

Dole was a platoon leader in the legendary 10th Mountain Division in
Italy and led his men in an attempt to flush out entrenched Germans
on Hill 913 in the Italian Alps. On April 14, 1945, as the young Dole
scrambled to rescue his wounded radioman, “something terribly powerful
crashed into my upper back behind my right shoulder,” he recalled.

“For a long moment I didn’t know if I was dead or alive,” he wrote. “I
lay face down in the dirt unable to feel my arms. Then the horror
hit me — I can’t feel anything below my neck.”

Dole’s long road to recovery led him through field hospitals,
veterans facilities, and the old Percy Jones Army Hospital in
Battle Creek, Mich., which was the Army’s premier facility for
neurosurgery, amputations and deep-X-ray therapy. At Percy Jones he
met and befriended two other future U.S. senators, Daniel K. Inouye
of Hawaii and Philip A. Hart of Michigan. He also met his first wife,
Phyllis Holden, an occupational therapist.

One of the country’s top orthopedic surgeons at the time — Armenian
refugee Hampar Kelikian, or “Dr. K” — repeatedly operated on Dole
without ever charging him. And Dole’s strong-willed mother, Bina,
played a central role in helping Dole through his long, agonizing
convalescence and keeping up his spirits.

Yesterday, Dole recalled that his mother sobbed uncontrollably the
first time she laid eyes on him after his return from Italy. He had
never seen her cry before. “She cried once,” he said. “But then she
bucked up.”

PASSPORT VALIDITY TERMS TO BE PROLONGED FOR 5 MORE YEARS IN CASE OF THEIR FITNESS FOR USE

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, NOYAN TAPAN. It would be right to introduce the
institute of double citizenship through constitutional reforms. Alvina
Zakarian, Chief of RA Passport and Visa Department, expressed such
an opinion during the April 6 meeting with journalists. According to
her, the ban on double citizenship in the current Constitution creates
great obstacles for RA citizens abroad in issues of getting education,
job, etc. A. Zakarian said that by the decrees of RA President RA
citizenship was given to 25 former citizens of other countries and
126 persons were deprived of RA citizenship in the first quarter of
the current year. In 2004 RA citizenship was given to 248 persons and
425 persons were deprived of RA citizenship. In the first quarter of
the current year 28 foreign citizens were given residence permit for
a 3-year term, 156 persons for a 1-year term, 644 foreign citizens
were given a special residence permit. According to A. Zakarian, 53
469 passports were printed in the first quarter of 2005, including
1633 passports for 16-year-old under age persons. And in 1995-2004
2 mln, 676 thousand, 240 passports of RA citizens were printed. It
was mentioned that unlike the first batch of passports that are more
vulnerable from point of view of protectability the passports of the
second batch have a number of protective features. It’s planned to
enter photos to the passports by a digital method from the beginning
of 2006. A. Zakarian also reported that though the passport validity
term is 10 years, according to the respective government decree,
the term is prolonged by 5 more years in case of its fitness for use.

AMBASSADOR OF ITALY IN AZERBAIJAN VISITSED MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

AzerTag
[April 07, 2005, 14:46:00]

Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Ismet Abasov has met the
ambassador of Italy in the country Ms. Margarita Costa.

The Minister warmly welcomed the guest, has expressed condolence
in connection with death of the head of the State of Vatican, the
outstanding personality, Pope of Rome John Paul II. The Minister has
noted, that Italy being one of the active members of the European
Union, since first day has recognized independence of Azerbaijan,
has supported the fair cause of Azerbaijan in the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The trading links between our countries
extend, the volume of commodity circulation grows, he said. Italy is
ahead among the trading partners of Azerbaijan, and this country is
one of the basic consumers of the country’s oil.

Minister of Agriculture has emphasized that visit of the President
of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev to Italy, the business forum
carried out within the framework of visit has given a new pulse to
development of links, has expressed to the ambassador gratitude for
sympathy to our country in his report on business environment in
Azerbaijan he made at the Forum.

At the meeting, discussed were questions of cooperation in agrarian
sector, necessity of coordination of joint activity. It has been
marked that the company of Azerbaijan “Gilan” and the Italian
company “Betven  TMCI Padovan” have agreed upon construction in
Gabala a cannery in budget cost of 5 million Euros. The Company of
the friendly country ” Societa Consoirza Progetto Bufala di Caserta”
carries out activity in the field of processing production of buffalo
in Azerbaijan. As a whole, 20 million Euros will be enclosed in
this branch.

Ms. Margarita Costa has thanked the Minister for warm reception and
the condolences, has expressed satisfaction with level of relations
between two countries. The ambassador has promised that during her
diplomatic activity in the country she would do every effort for
development of the Italian-Azerbaijani relations.

–Boundary_(ID_ZgNE0yq8LwgUY0EFWD78cw)–

Emediawire (press release), WA

All Press Releases for April 6, 2005

Armenian Government Invites Decker to Perform at Memorial Concert
Commemorating 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Government has officially invited U.S. world musician
Daniel Decker to perform at the Memorial Concert in Yerevan, Armenia
on April 23 to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide. Decker will sing Adana,” a song that tells the tragic
story of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians during WWI. It is a
collaboration between Decker, who wrote the song’s lyrics, and Ara
Gevorgian, one of Armenia’s premier composers.

Syracuse, NY (PRWEB) April 6, 2005 — American singer-songwriter
Daniel Decker () today announced that the Armenian
government has extended an official invitation to him to perform the
song “Adana” at a special Memorial Concert it is hosting to commemorate
the 90th Anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The concert
will take place at the Opera and Ballet Academic Theatre in Yerevan,
the capitol of Armenia, on Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.

The Armenian Opera Orchestra, and Ara Gevorgian, one of Armenia’s
premier composers, will accompany Decker’s performance at the
Memorial Concert. Armenia’s President, Robert Kocharian, will
be attending. Also in attendance will be the head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians.

The song “Adana” tells the story of the Armenian Genocide, during
which soldiers of the Ottoman Empire forced 1.5 million Armenians into
starvation, torture and extermination because they would not renounce
their Christian faith. The song is a collaboration between Decker,
who wrote its powerful lyrics, and Gevorgian, its composer. “Adana”
is already played at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia,
whenever visiting foreign dignitaries visit.

Decker met Gevorgian by chance on a trip to Armenia in 2002. They first
collaborated with Decker writing the lyrics to a song the composer
had written for Armenia’s National Independence Day. “Noah’s Prayer”
chronicles the biblical story of Noah and his spiritual journey on the
ark to Mt. Ararat. With Gevorgian and the Armenian Opera Orchestra
accompanying him, Decker performed “Noah’s Prayer” live in 2002 during
a nationally televised outdoor concert with Mt. Ararat looming in the
background. Armenia’s President Kocharian, as well as ambassadors from
countries around the world, attended the event. After the concert,
President Kocharian approached Decker to shake his hand and personally
thank him for his participation.

The television broadcast transformed the song “Noah’s Prayer” into an
immediate hit and Decker into an instant celebrity in Armenia. The
song was repeatedly featured on Armenian radio and television, and
Decker gave numerous performances and press interviews. On his last
visit to the country in 2004, a reporter and television crew followed
him everywhere he went for three days.

It was the day after the 2002 concert that Decker heard Gevorgian’s
composition entitled “Adana.” Decker felt it was perfect to tell the
story of the Armenian genocide, an issue that moved him deeply, so he
arranged to meet Gevorgian the next day. “Before I could tell him my
idea to write the about the genocide, he said, ‘Please choose “Adana,
and please write about the genocide.'” Decker later discovered that
“Adana” is the name of the city in present-day Turkey where one of
the first massacres of the Armenian people took place. Thus, a second
collaboration was born.

“I wrote ‘Adana’ not only as a way to draw international attention
to a terrible tragedy, but as a source of healing to the Armenian
people,” explains Decker. Neither modern day Muslim Turkey, nor the
United States, an ally of Turkey, has formally recognized the Armenian
Genocide. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to perform with
Daniel again,” says Gevorgian. “Daniel has done a great thing for the
people of Armenia. When you listen to ‘Adana,’ you know that he was
meant to write the lyrics of this song to bring greater international
awareness to the Armenian Genocide.”

In addition to the work Decker has done to garner attention for the
genocide, Decker has also been working with relief organizations in
Armenia to bring aid to the poorest regions and to those that have
been hit the hardest, children and the elderly.

Both “Adana” and “Noah’s Prayer” can be found on Decker’s latest
recording entitled, “My Offering,” available on his website. With a
musical journey that has taken him to England, Puerto Rico, Canada and
Armenia, this CD reflects Decker’s love and appreciation of the many
cultures he has experienced. Along with his unique piano stylings,
the CD “My Offering” is a rich fusion of world music influences,
with flamenco guitars, Armenian duduk, Brazilian samba, Latin jazz,
and special performances by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

For more information about Decker, please visit
Please direct press inquiries to Anne Sharp at
(818) 994-2309.

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