Author: Tigranian Ani

IS THE US TRYING TO PUSH RUSSIA OUT OF THE OSCE MG? NAGORNO-KARABAKH PRESS DIGEST

Regnum, Russia
Aug 2 2006

OSCE Minsk Group

The Nagorno-Karabakh peace process has not changed much since 1992,
the former advisor of the NK president, the expert of the Caucasus
analytical center Manvel Sargsyan said during the seminar "The Role
of the Expert Community in the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Process" in
Yerevan. "When the OSCE MG co-chairs ‘removed the brackets’ from
the negotiating process, people saw that almost nothing has changed
therein in the past 14 years," Sargsyan said. Today there is only
one global problem on the agenda – to coordinate the positions of
Yerevan, Baku and Stepanakert on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Until this problem is solved, there will be no sense to speak about
progress in the talks," Sargsyan said. (ARKA).

The OSCE MG co-chairs are going to hold one more consultation in
Paris in early August, reports Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov. The
key objective of the meeting is to consider the results of US co-chair
Matthew Bryza’s visit to the region. Merzlyakov says that the co-chairs
do not know yet what decisions they will make and if they will discuss
organizing the next rounds of the talks. "We will decide this when
we meet. I don’t know what assessments the US co-chair will make. By
then he will have had his last contacts and will have talked with the
presidents and he will probably make some assessments. We’ll see and
decide," says Merzlyakov. (Trend).

OSCE MG US co-chair Matthew Bryza will visit Yerevan and Baku for
discussing new proposals for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,
Azeri FM Elmar Mammadyarov said during a press-conference. "We have
been told that he has some new elements and wants to discuss them with
us," Mammadyarov said. He said that Bryza will visit the region from
July 31 to August 1. He said that if Azerbaijan sees any chance for
progress in Bryza’s proposals, it may agree to the next round of the
FM talks. "We have been working on the key principles for two years
already. We have coordinated many of them, but we have some serious
problems left, and if Bryza brings some new ideas that will be able to
set things moving, we will agree to continue the process. If need be,
we may organize a new meeting," Mammadyarov said. (Day.Az).

The new OSCE MG co-chair from the US Matthew Bryza seems to be planning
a small revolution in one separate Nagorno-Karabakh negotiating
process, says Golos Armenii. The daily notes that for already a
month this young co-chair has been appearing with statements and
interviews almost every day and has been actively torpedoing (not to
say terrorizing) the slow negotiating process. In late July tireless
Bryza is going to visit the region once again. We doubt that he
will reverse the situation… but who knows. "Merely arithmetically,
7 months have passed since the beginning of 2006. This is a fact,
but only on the one hand. On the other hand, Bryza has been co-chair
for just a month yet, but people are already talking about him and
about what he says more than they ever have talked about any co-chair
before. They are even discussing his private life. And there are still
5 months left till the end of this year. And what if Bryza goes on
at the same speed?"

One should not pin great hopes on the visit of OSCE MG US co-chair
Matthew Bryza to the region, the charge d’affaires of Russia to
Azerbaijan Pyotr Burdykin says to APA. He says that his visit and talks
will just help him to get deeper insight into the situation in the
region: "The visit may well be followed by a new meeting of the FMs."

Political expert, the member of the board of Soros Foundation
Azerbaijan Ilgar Mamedov gives an interview to Echo daily.

"Which side loses more from the OSCE MG co-chairs’ proposals?

The proposals the new US co-chair made public of late had been
long known to analysts in Yerevan and Baku. They say nothing new in
principle. That is, the very fact of agreement is more important than
the content of the last OSCE MG statement on the key principles. The
co-chairs’ proposals give no clear answers to the sides’ questions.
They fail to answer the key question: whether Nagorno-Karabakh stays
within Azerbaijan or is given some status in the future. And this
is the only key question that separates the sides! On all the other
questions they may agree in some few days. The co-chairs demand that
this problem be solved by the presidents. In fact, these proposals
do not lesser the acuteness of the problem.

Some people say that the parties to the negotiating process are
being pressured. Who is pressured more – Baku or Yerevan? What kind
of pressure is this?

I can say that there is no tough pressure on the conflicting parties.
In fact, no less pressure is put on the OSCE MG itself. This pressure
comes from various academic, semi-academic structures and NGOs. They
demand that the OSCE MG comply with their own standards and principles
– principles that are often unrealistic and abstruse. One such
structure is the International Crisis Group.

Can we say that today the negotiating process is in the worst ever
crisis or there were even worse times?

There have been other crisis times, one of them even ended in
the shooting at the Armenian parliament. The present stage is not
fully critical. New war is hardly possible in the present situation
and, if the OSCE MG helps, will be absolutely impossible. Due to
BTC, Azerbaijan will earn huge money in the coming years and will,
certainly, spend much of it on its fighting capacity in order to regain
control over the occupied lands in the future. Armenia understands
this and is very much interested in resuming war in order to ruin
Azerbaijan’s oil contracts. At the same time, Armenia can’t resume
war itself as it is not sure that it will avoid total defeat.

How will the negotiating process develop in the near future?

Nothing special will happen. In fact, the key objective is not to
allow the resumption of war. I think it is impossible to resolve the
conflict and to sign a peace agreement now. Besides, they in Armenia
have almost started electoral campaign and any peace agreement Robert
Kocharyan will be ready to sign should reflect electoral pre-electoral
plans. Consequently, he cannot sign a document Armenia will not fully
accept. This means that it should be contrary to Azerbaijan’s national
interests, but this is something we will not accept.

You have mentioned the prospect of military resolution of the conflict,
but the general opinion in Azerbaijan is that however much we arm
and threaten, we will not start war, that Azerbaijan is too small
a country…

However, in its time, even smaller Armenia was allowed to do all it
wanted. The people saying that are too static, while the international
situation is dynamic, and there are always chances for military
resolution. I think that Azerbaijan, too, will get such a chance in
the future.

That is, in a new international situation Azerbaijan will always be
able to get a chance to solve the Karabakh problem in military way.
(Echo, with abridgements).

Everything that happened in the Karabakh peace process at that
time: the co-chairs’ statement that they have run out of fantasy,
the statement of Matthew Bryza, the fact that the co-chairs’ report
was placed on the site of the US Embassy in Armenia, but not on the
site of the US Embassy in Azerbaijan – all this seems to be poorly
coordinated steps, political expert Suren Zolyan says to Azg. He says
that if the goal of the co-chairs was to liven up the peace process,
they have failed because the process has died. By saying that they
have nothing more to do and now everything depends on the presidents,
the co-chairs have shown that they lack experience. Zolyan advises them
to go back home so the problem is tackled by those ‘who can.’ At the
same time, he notes that the format of the peace process will hardly
change, and hardly any other structure will say it wants to undertake
such a responsibility as very contradictory signals are being received
from the region. Concerning Bryza, Zolyan says that by his steps he has
proved that he is actually implementing the policy of the US president.

Fourth Power daily believes that by saying that they are stopping
their mission, the OSCE MG co-chairs are most probably blackmailing
Armenia and Azerbaijan: they have let them know that if they continue
wrecking their peace initiatives, they will leave them to deal with
more rigorous UN and NATO. Still, the co-chairs are obviously not
going ‘to wash their hands.’ The daily means the forthcoming visit of
Matthew Bryza to the region. ‘Though this may well be exclusively the
US’ initiative.’ The daily reports Azeri sources to say that during
the visit Bryza will analyze the primary situation and consider the
possibility of a breakthrough in the negotiating process.

Washington has started secret talks with Moscow and Paris for enlarging
the OSCE Minsk Group, Radio Liberty reports Ayna daily (Azerbaijan)
as saying. Referring to diplomatic sources, the daily says that the
US wants to involve the UK, Germany and Turkey in the MG. If the
talks are successful, the conflicting parties will be informed. At
the same time, Ayna doubts that the talks will give any results in
the near future as ‘even though Azerbaijan supports the idea of MG
enlargement, the Armenian side rejects it pointblank.’

Asked by Haykakan Zhamanak daily if there actually are such talks
underway and if the Armenian side is taking part in them, the acting
spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Karapetyan said:
‘We doubt that this information is true. The membership of the MG
can be changed only with the consent of the conflicting parties.’
Karapetyan said that nobody has told the Armenian side anything about
that. However, the strangest thing is that it was not the only report
about possible change of the MG. RIA Novosti has reported the director
of the US and Canada Institute in Russia Sergey Rogov to say that
the US is seeking to push Russia out of the MG.

Views of the sides

The OSCE MG’s proposals could be acceptable were it not for
Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy, Armenian Prime Minister, the leader
of the Republican Party Andranik Margaryan said during the party’s
10th extraordinary congress. Azerbaijan is trying to pressure Armenia
by making bellicose statements and increasing its military budget.
Margaryan confirmed the RPA’s commitment to the peaceful resolution of
the conflict. He specified which settlement principles are important
for his party: Nagorno-Karabakh Republic must be recognized by the
international community, NK cannot stay under Azerbaijan’s control,
NK’s security must be guaranteed, NK must have a common border with
Armenia, change of borders is not a solution to the conflict, NK must
be involved in the peace talks as an equal party. Margaryan said
that the resolution of the conflict should be acceptable for all the
sides. (News-Armenia).

‘The proposed settlement scenario is not acceptable for us, on
the whole, as it mentions the yield of territories and does not
appropriately mention the self-determination right. However, since
Azerbaijan refuses to accept it, we will not say anything either,’
the member of the ARFD Bureau Kiro Manoyan says in an interview
to 168 Zham. Should Aliyev sign the agreement and Kocharyan give
back the territories, ‘Mr. Kiro threatens to exert pressure on the
president.’ Manoyan says that one way to do that will be rallies.

APA reports Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiyev to say during his
meeting with EU Special Representative to the South Caucasus Peter
Semneby that ‘some people have artificially created the Armenian-Azeri
conflict’: ‘On the one hand, Armenia has occupied the Azeri lands, on
the other, it wants to create an atmosphere of mutual confidence with
Azerbaijan. We do not trust Armenia. If Armenia wants to attain mutual
confidence, it must withdraw its troops from the occupied Azeri lands,
refugees must be allowed to go back to their homes, infrastructure
of the occupied territories must be restored. This conflict must be
resolved within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.’

‘Aliyev understands that the document that Nagorno-Karabakh should
belong to Azerbaijan will never be signed. The only way to get NK
is war. But does Azerbaijan need war now?,’ wonders the ex DM of
Armenia, the leader of the National-Democratic Union Vazgen Manukyan.
While speaking in the Partark discussion club, he said that to be
two and even three times stronger does not mean to win a war. When
one starts a war he does not know if he will win it or not. Second,
the Azeri clans are very well to do, they earn billions of dollars from
oil. ‘Why should they risk this all and start an unpromising war? This
does not mean that they will not start it at some time in the future,
but today one should not take this seriously. We should cold-bloodedly
negotiate and develop our state,’ Manukyan said. He believes that all
these years time has been serving Karabakh as everybody understands
that a state living independently for 15 years cannot be annexed to
another state. Things may start moving if Azerbaijan finally admits
that Karabakh cannot be its part, Manukyan said. Asked by Aravot:
‘Which one do you advocate: early settlement or status quo?,’ Manukyan
said: ‘I advocate early settlement but on condition that Azerbaijan
admits that Karabakh cannot be its part.’ ‘All the other issues can
be agreed on. Still, I don’t think we should haste the settlement
process because Azerbaijan refuses to admit this fact,’ Manukyan said.

"The efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be continued
in the framework of peace talks. In this context, the Armenian side
must stop making non-constructive statements concerning the talks and
must put up with the fact that the modern world does not accept the
occupation policy and the policy of ethnic cleansing. As regards,
the summit-level meetings, if the question is about the presidential
meetings, I can say that presently the sides are negotiating in
the framework of the "Prague peace process" – uncoordinated issues
are submitted for the Presidents’ discussion after coordination
by the FMs. Unfortunately, Armenia’s non-constructive position on
some issues, particularly, the return of refugees to their homes,
hinders the negotiating process. Positive resolution requires time. The
international law and international conventions clearly recognize the
right of displaced persons to go back to their permanent residencies,"
Azeri FM Elmar Mammadyarov says in an interview to Trend news agency.

"Today they say that Nagorno-Karabakh will join in the talks only
when the Armenian and Azeri presidents agree on something, but
I wonder why can’t NK join in at any moment? Bilateral format is
violation of the OSCE decisions," the foreign political advisor of
the NK president Arman Melikyan says in an interview to Caucasian
Knot. He says that today’s talks are not "Minsk Process" – the two
presidents are just holding consultations. "We have repeatedly said
that without considering NK’s position the sides will not be able to
attain long-term peace. I am sure that no solution can be implemented
without NK’s consent," says Melikyan.

Melikyan notes that according to Nagorno-Karabakh’s position, NK is an
independent state and this fact must be recognized by the international
community and, first of all, by Azerbaijan. The conflict comes from
Azerbaijan’s unwillingness to recognize the right of the NK people
to build its own state even though two equally legal states have been
formed in the territory of the former USSR: Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
and Azerbaijani Republic. The difference is that the international
community has actively promoted the building of the Azeri state and,
on the contrary, hindered the building of statehood in NK. "We want
this difference to be eliminated, and I think that this is quite
natural. At the same time, our position is getting increasingly
audible at international organizations," says Melikyan.

Tehran Times, Iran
July 30 2006

No quarrel over the pipe: Russian and Azeri presidents

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) — To the surprise of some experts who had been
predicting a chill in Russian-Azerbaijani relations because of the
commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the two presidents
sat next to each other at one of the events of the recent informal
CIS summit.

Meanwhile, the first Azeri oil has already reached the Heidar Aliyev
terminal in the Turkish port of Ceyhan, but over a year later than it
was originally planned.

The BTC pipeline is the biggest non-Russian infrastructure project in
the entire post-Soviet space all along the line – in investment (four
billion dollars), the number of participants, and the potential
geopolitical consequences. Russia’s attitude to it is not
unequivocal. It is happy for its CIS neighbor, but weary about the
political anti-Russian fuss around its commissioning.

During the construction of the BTC, there was talk in the West about
the Kremlin’s destructive propaganda, and its continued attempts to
avert the implementation of this ‘project of the century’. But in
reality, it was back in the early 1990s, when the future project was
only discussed in broad outline, that Moscow refused to take part in
it for routine, non-political reasons. In those remote times Baku
profited much less from its oil exports than from a million-odd
Azeris who were selling vegetables and fruit in Moscow. The Azeri oil
industry was stagnating and investment in it required much optimism.
Besides, the BTC project was not likely to recoup because of low
world oil prices. All figures rested on the dubious estimates of the
Caspian deposits. The risks were too high also because the pipe was
to pass through Turkish areas inhabited by Kurds and Georgian regions
with a predominantly Armenian population. To sum up, Russia’s reasons
for refusing to join in the BTC building were clear and logical. Even
BP, the BTC operator, might have not undertaken it if it had not been
for the powerful pressure from the U.S.

Many of these apprehensions have now become reality. There is not yet
enough oil for the pipe to reach its rated capacity. The
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli deposits, which were supposed to be the BGC
main supplier, produce no more than 20 million tons of oil per year.
This compares with Azerbaijan’s total output of 22 million tons in
2005.

Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral economic ties are making steady
headway. Under the intergovernmental bilateral agreements, more than
two million tons of Caspian oil are pumped into the Baku-Novorossiysk
pipeline every year.

Transneft Vice President Sergey Grigoryev said that he was surprised
to learn that the Azeri exports via Novorossiysk had even grown in
the last few months, after the BTC was put into operation, though
they are still considerably less than the 5 million tons annually
reserved by Transneft.

When asked what will happen if all Azeri oil goes into the new
pipeline, Grigoryev said that such a small loss would be negligible
for his company. Last year it processed almost 454 million tons of
oil, and the share of Azeri oil was no more than 0.55%.

Baku is seeking partners exactly because it does not have enough oil
for the full operation of the first BTC extension. Not long ago
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan invited Russia to take part in
the BTC, but this proposal did not evoke much interest. The BTC rate
of $21 for a ton of oil circulations cannot compete with $15.6 at
Baku-Novorossiysk.

Eager to boost its oil exports, Kazakhstan has decided to go for the
BTC and signed the agreement, which provides for the annual
transportation of 7.5 million tons. In perspective, this figure may
grow to 20 million tons, but not necessarily – Kazakhstan cannot
provide any guarantees. It is also increasing its oil exports to
China, and has much interest in oil supplies to Lithuania and Latvia.
But cooperation with Kazakhstan is not problem-free. Kazakh oil is
more sulfurous as compared with Azeri Light, one of the best crudes
in the world, and hence the price for a barrel is different. Baku is
racking the brains over how to avoid a drop in price and not lose a
strategic partner. But will Astana agree to compensate for lowering
the quality of Azeri brand?

U.S. President George W. Bush, who did not take part in the BTC
inauguration, called it the gates to the world oil market, and
suggested their protection by the ‘Caspian Guards’, for which
Washington intends to pay $150 million.

Under this project, the U.S. will send a ground force to the BTC
countries, and will monitor them from the air and space. Needless to
say, the Kremlin cannot be happy about such close wardship, and the
military presence of third countries in the post-Soviet space.

This amounts to the formation of a new pro-Western bloc on Russia’s
borders. Maybe, this is another reason why Moscow is indifferent to
the BTC as a pipeline for liquid hydrocarbons, and is so worried
about everything around it. Russia is afraid that the BTC may turn
into the Trojan horse on its frontiers.

However, Moscow and Baku are linked by mutually beneficial long-term
economic contacts; there is a huge Azeri Diaspora in Russia; and the
Aliyevs – father and son alike – have traditionally pursued a
multi-vector foreign policy. These factors taken together will
hopefully make bilateral relations stable and predictable, and serve
as ‘an airbag’ in case of collision.

Armenian president, US mediator discuss Karabakh settlement

Arminfo
29 Jul 06

Yerevan, 29 July: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met the US
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, today.

The parties discussed recent developments on a peaceful settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the presidential press service has
told Arminfo.

Bryza will leave for Stepanakert to meet the president of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic, Arkadiy Gukasyan, today. The co-chairman will
return to Yerevan on 30 July, then will leave for Baku on 31 July.

AZG Armenian Daily #142, 29/07/2006

Culture

DAYS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN IN
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR

Digitec 2006 second International IT Exhibition will be held in
Armenia within the framework of IT Days in Armenia in
August-September, 2006. Karen Vardanian, Executive Director of IT
Companies’ Union of Armenia, told the journalists today.

He added that the forum is dedicated to the IT and telecommunication
technologies. Digitec – 2006 will have several sections, in
particular, the sections for computer equipment, telecommunication,
wireless networks, program software. Besides, the forum covers also
the financial-banking spheres, e-management, business and scientific
projects. It is expected that 50 local and 15 foreign IT companies
will participate in the forum. Vardanian stated that 28 companies have
already applied for participation, including Mitsubishi – Electric,
Synopsys, Xalt Scan Code ID, Firm Alpha, Web, Synergy and
other. Besides the American University of Armenia, the
Russian-Armenian University, and the Yerevan State Engineering
University will also participate in the forum.

Vardanian stated that this exhibition is the largest one in the South
Caucasus. He added that various competitions, forums and meetings will
be organized within the framework of the exhibition. In his turn
Bagrat Yengibarian, director of "Incubator Enterprises Fund" informed
that in the course of Armenia-Diaspora Forum it is planned to hold the
International IT Conference on September 20. He said that the
conference will be dedicated to the issue of development of the
wireless WiMAX and WiFi connection networks in Armenia.Yengibarian
added that the representatives of MICROSOFT, SUN Microsystem, INTEL
and ALCATEL companies will participate in the conference. Digitec 2006
is organized by "The Incubator Enterprises Fund" and the Union IT
Companies of Armenia.

Karabakh leader, British baroness discuss bilateral ties

Arminfo
27 Jul 06

Yerevan, 27 July: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic,
Arkadiy Gukasyan, received a delegation led by the deputy speaker of
the British House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox, today.

During the meeting, the president expressed his gratitude to the
baroness for her 61st visit to Karabakh and noted the role of
her traditional visits to the republic, which have allowed Artsakh
[Nagornyy Karabakh] to make many friends and companions, the Karabakh’s
presidential press service told Arminfo.

In turn, Cox informed Gukasyan about the programme of her organization
(?Aid: Confidence-Building) to train doctors and nurses in Artsakh and
spoke about her speech at the British House of Lords on the destruction
of Armenian monuments by Azerbaijanis in Jugha [Azerbaijani exclave
of Naxcivan].

At the request of participants in the meeting, Gukasyan answered a
number of questions concerning the current socioeconomic situation
of Nagornyy Karabakh , as well as prospects of further development.

Writer Magden Acquitted Under ‘Freedom of Expression’

Zaman, Turkey
July 27 2006

Journalist and writer Perihan Magden has been acquitted in the case
brought against her for allegedly discouraging people to perform
their military service.

The Istanbul 2nd Court of First Instance decided on Thursday to
acquit Magden in the case due to "a lack of legal grounds for the
crime in question."

Writer Magden did not attend the final hearing of the trial. The
presiding judge declared that the actions of the writer constituted
criticism within the limits of freedom of expression.

A lawsuit had been filed against Perihan Magden for her criticism of
Turkey’s compulsory military service. Up to three years in prison had
been sought for Magden for the crimes of "prompting, encouraging or
spreading propaganda to deter people from performing their military
service."

In a column she wrote in December 2005, Magden, 45, defended the
position of Mehmet Tarhan, who was in prison for refusing to do his
military service. In her article, she argued that conscientious
objection – for which there is no provision under Turkish law –
was a fundamental human right.

Speaking after the first hearing in early June, Ms Magden stated
that in her article she had only defended conscientious objection as
a human right – a right that is recognized by the United Nations and
other countries. She had added that she was surprised to find herself
in court, forced to defend herself for what she had written.

Under current Turkish law, all Turkish males have to complete a
military service of up to 15 months.

The European Union has repeatedly criticized Turkey for its lack of
progress under freedom of expression for writers and journalists.

Earlier this year, an Istanbul court dropped a case brought against
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk on charges of ‘insulting Turkishness’,
following remarks he had made concerning the killings of Armenians
during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

For further information please visit

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
July 27, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

AMB. TO ARMENIA DESIGNATE RESPONDS TO SENATORS QUESTIONS

Senate Committee to Vote Aug. 1

Washington, DC – As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee weighs the
nomination of Richard E. Hoagland as America’s next Ambassador to
Armenia, the Foreign Service officer says that if confirmed, he will
uphold the President’s policies with respect to the Armenian Genocide,
which neither denies nor properly acknowledges the events of 1915.

Several Committee Members including Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Russell Feingold (D-WI), John Kerry (D-MA) and
Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) submitted a series of questions to Hoagland
following the June 28 proceedings. The lawmakers asked Hoagland to
clarify U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide and to explain what, if
anything, the State Department has directed him to say publicly on the
Armenian Genocide.

"The State Department has not directed me to make or avoid specific
statements about the tragic events that occurred at the end of the
Ottoman Empire, but has rather provided me with information on the
President’s policy which, if confirmed, I will represent faithfully,"
Hoagland stated in his response to Kerry. Hoagland did not deviate in
his response to Committee Members with similar policy questions.

Kerry also asked Hoagland to explain why the Administration refuses to
recognize the crimes as genocide.

Hoagland provided the following: "The U.S. believes that the question
of how to characterize these horrific events is of such enormous human
significance that it should not be determined on the basis of
politics, but through heartfelt introspection among academics, civic
leaders and societies."

Feingold asked Hoagland how he plans to respond to those in the
Armenian community who are upset by Ambassador John M. Evans’
premature departure. Hoagland replied that the U.S. and Armenia have
a deep and robust relationship, stating "this relationship is based on
close ties and mutual interests on a variety of issues. We expect this
relationship to continue and deepen."

In response to a question from Chafee on what he might say to
Armenians and Armenian-Americans on April 24, Hoagland said he will
work to draw attention to the events as the President has done. "I
will work to encourage dialogue between Armenia and Turkey on this
issue and to encourage all parties to examine the historical events of
this time with honesty and sensitivity," he stated.

Hoagland is slated to replace Evans who tendered his resignation after
serving only two years of what is usually a three-year assignment.
Last year, Evans was rebuked by State Department officials after
publicly affirming the Armenian Genocide in the course of his comments
in the U.S. when he said "the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide
of the twentieth century." In making his statements, Evans pointed to
the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), which
concluded that the events could be properly characterized as genocide.

The Assembly launched a nationwide campaign to urge Congress and the
White House to support the historical truth, reinforcing the statement
made by Evans. More recently, the Assembly submitted a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request for all information surrounding Evans’
impending departure.

Last month, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), the Ranking Member on the
Foreign Relations Committee, and Committee Member Rep. Christopher
Dodd (D-CT), sent separate letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice expressing concern over reports that Evans’ tenure was cut short
as a result of his comments on the Armenian Genocide. They asked Rice
to provide answers to several questions concerning Evans, in order to
move forward with the confirmation process for Hoagland.

Jeffery T. Berger, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs,
responded to both letters, reiterating that all U.S. Ambassadors serve
at the pleasure of the President and as advocates of the President’s
policies. The letter to Biden also calls the International Center for
Transitional Justice (ICTJ) study a "significant step toward
reconciliation." President Bush has twice referenced the ICTJ study,
as has Ambassador Evans. The study states that: "The Events, viewed
collectively, can thus be said to include all of the elements of the
crime of genocide as defined in the Convention, and legal scholars as
well as historians, politicians, journalists and other people would be
justified in continuing to so describe them."

"The Government of Turkey has not approached the Administration on
this issue, and the United States and Turkey engaged in no diplomatic
exchanges related to this matter," Berger also noted in his letter to
Biden.

"We have a fundamental policy disagreement with the Administration and
we will not stop working until the U.S. unequivocally affirms the
Armenian Genocide — it is an undeniable truth and the morally correct
position to take," said Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

Hoagland, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently
serves as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan.
Prior to this, he served as Director of the Office of Caucasus and
Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier in his
career, he served as Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy in the
Bureau of South Asian Affairs.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

NR#2006-068

HOUSE AFFIRMS POLICY OF REGIONAL COOPERATION AND REJECTS ATTEMPTS TO ISOLATE ARMENIA

WASHINGTON, JULY 26, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. U.S. House of
Representatives voted on July 25 to help ensure that U.S. regional
cooperation and economic integration is maintained by making certain
that no Export-Import funding is used for a railroad project sponsored
by the Turkish and Azeri governments that seeks to exclude Armenia
from economic and regional transportation opportunities, the Armenian
Assembly of America reported.

Lawmakers approved H.R. 5068, the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization
Act of 2006, which included an amendment by Congressman Joseph Crowley
(D-NY), along with Congressmen Edward Royce (R-CA) and Brad Sherman
(D-CA), ensuring that taxpayer dollars will not be spent on efforts
that would isolate Armenia – which is already facing dual blockades
by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The amendment, which was unanimously approved by the House Financial
Services Committee last month, states that "The Bank shall not
guarantee, insure, extend credit, or participate in an extension of
credit in connection with the development or promotion of any rail
connections or railway-related connections that do not traverse or
connect with Armenia, and do traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan,
Tbilisi, Georgia, and Kars, Turkey."

In a statement submitted for the House record, Crowley said "This
language will assist in promoting stability in the Caucasus region,
help in ending long standing conflicts, and save U.S. taxpayers the
responsibility of funding a project that goes against U.S. interests."

Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who spoke in favor of
H.R. 5068 on the House floor, said "I support the provisions which
would prohibit the Export-Import Bank from funding railroad projects
in the South Caucasus region that deliberately exclude Armenia."

The Crowley-Royce-Sherman provision was modeled after H.R. 3361,
the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act, both of which
the Assembly strongly supports. The legislation, which also has a
Senate counterpart, would prohibit U.S. assistance for the promotion
or development of a railroad that would connect the three countries
and exclude Armenia. The House bill, introduced by Armenian Caucus
Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), along with Co-Chair Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ) and Caucus Member George Radanovich (R-CA), currently
has 87 cosponsors.

The proposed bypass railway is estimated to cost upwards of 0 million
and is expected to take years to construct. The existing line, which
crosses Armenia, is in working condition and could be operational in
a matter of weeks at very little cost. Armenian government officials
have repeatedly said that a new costly railway is unnecessary given
that a railroad linking Armenia, Georgia and Turkey already exists.

"Passage of H.R. 5068 with the Crowley-Royce-Sherman provision,
which was modeled after H.R. 3361 helps ensure that the U.S. will
not be party to the flawed policies of Armenia’s neighbors," said
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

Ardouny also drew a parallel to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
and noted that when the pipeline was first announced, it was in
the context of supporting multiple pipelines but instead all routes
bypassed Armenia.

"This time we must ensure that Armenia is not bypassed," Ardouny said.

Recently, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried reiterated
U.S. policy in the South Caucasus which seeks to promote regional
cooperation and economic integration.

"The U.S. Government strongly encourages regional integration in the
Caucasus, including in our discussions with Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Turkey, and other countries in the region," Fried said. "Removing
trade barriers would improve regional integration and enhance economic
cooperation and development. The proposed railway would bypass Armenia
and thus not be beneficial to regional integration."

Similarly, Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Derse explained that
"Because the proposed railway would bypass Armenia, and thus not be
beneficial to regional integration, we have no plans to support such
a railway financially."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told an Azeri news agency last
summer that, "We are currently working on a new project – a new rail
road Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku..If we succeed with this project,
the Armenians will end in complete isolation, which would create an
additional problem for their future, their already bleak future…"

Meanwhile, a meeting of transport ministers from Azerbaijan, Turkey
and Georgia, slated for mid-June, was postponed following action by
the U.S. Congress to prohibit American companies from participating
in the railway construction. The meeting is scheduled to take place
on July 27 in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The Export-Import Bank is a federal government agency which provides
loans, loan guarantees and insurance to support exports of U.S. goods
and services to international markets.

Escape from Lebanon

Kingston Whig-Standard (Ontario)
July 25, 2006 Tuesday

By Carmen Abrajian

My brother, Mark, his girlfriend, Tala and I flew to Lebanon on July
6. Beirut had been rebuilt and was, according to all accounts, safe
now and beautiful. There were to be many cultural events, and even
concerts with some North American bands, and it was said that the
Beirut of the past had been reborn.

I checked carefully to make sure there were no warnings about
problems in the region and decided that now was the time to go. My
grandparents were bedridden in a Beirut nursing home and would
not live much longer, and I really wanted to see them again. I was
not told that I should register at the Canadian Embassy. In fact,
I had never heard of that, and we blithely went off on our journey,
expecting the time of our lives.

I enjoyed seeing my relatives again. It had been a few years since
I had visited Lebanon.

On July 11, I went with my aunt to the village of Anjar in the Bekaa
Valley, where my father was born. The next day, the Israelis bombed
the airport in Beirut, and my brother and his girlfriend joined us
in Anjar. No one was very concerned because the Bekaa Valley had
always been safe, even during the Lebanese civil war. We assumed the
military action was a small skirmish that would last a day or two;
some prisoners would be exchanged and life would go back to normal.
Tala’s 15-year-old sister, Rona, stayed in Beirut with her grandmother
and her aunt.

By the next day, the bombing had intensified and the roads and ports
were being bombed. Even my relatives who had lived through the civil
war and had been saying, "Don’t worry, it will all be over soon,"
were becoming concerned. Their words changed and became, "Don’t
worry, you’re safe here." We received word that Tala’s sister’s
neighbourhood in Beirut was being bombed and that she had fled to
the mountains. By now, the bombing had reached the area around Anjar,
a Christian Armenian village in the mountains east of Beirut.

The bombing was terrifying. So far, the Israelis had not bombed
the houses in Anjar, but they had bombed the road from the village
and the whole surrounding area. All night and into the morning, we
could hear the sound of planes, then silence, and then a boom that
shattered windows and shook the walls. We could not just hear the
bombs, which were deafening and like nothing I have ever heard before,
but we could feel them. The rumble and crash shook my whole body.

We all became nervous and tense. The slightest thing would have me
in tears, and night after night we could not sleep. The village next
to ours, a 10-minute drive away, was being bombed and was impossible
to reach. The road to the Syrian border had been bombed many times,
and all of the bridges in Lebanon and the road to Beirut had been
destroyed. Our little village was completely isolated.

To make matters worse, there is no bank in Anjar, we had no way to
get to one and our money was running low. Food prices had doubled,
then tripled, and now a bag of oranges cost $48 US. The supply of
meat ran out. The bakery had closed, so we had no bread and no way of
obtaining flour, rice or other staples. Gasoline was being rationed
to those brave enough to venture to the gas station on the edge of
town. We realized that the longer we stayed, the harder it would be
to leave, and our relatives would be hard-pressed to feed themselves,
let alone us.

My brother, Mark, had been trying to contact the Canadian Embassy
in Beirut four or five times a day for five days, with no success.
Luckily, at the first sign of trouble, my mother in Canada had
registered us with the embassy. She received a confirmation for Mark,
Tala and Rona, but no mention of me. She re-registered me but still
received no acknowledgment.

We still had sporadic electricity and heard on the news that Canadians
were to be evacuated in three or four days from Beirut. Could we wait
that long? Could we get to Beirut? The answer to both questions was
no. The road to Beirut had been destroyed. The road to the nearest town
was being monitored and any van on the road was being shelled. The
road to Syria, a mere 20-minute drive away, had been bombed many
times. Workers would fill in the craters and it would be bombed again.

The only respite from the roar of bombs, the flash of explosions and
the bright lights of the fires that were ignited everywhere was in the
early afternoons. I was very afraid that a bomb would hit Anjar, and
we were discussing walking through the mountains to the Syrian border.

Finally, we heard that the road to Damascus, Syria, had been reopened
temporarily, and my brother decided that we should risk the trip. We
tried to hire a taxi, but the taxi drivers wanted between $178 and $200
US per person for the trip. That was completely beyond our means. Not
only could we not get to a bank but the banks were closed in our
area anyway and the ATMs were empty. A friend of a friend offered
to drive us for considerably less money, and less than an hour after
our decision to leave had been made, we were on the road. It was more
than 44 degrees Celsius; five of us and our luggage were packed into
a small car that, like almost all cars in Lebanon, was without air
conditioning. The driver drove as quickly as he could, although the
road was jammed with cars and people heading for the border.

We eventually arrived, safe and sound, to a scene of chaos at the
border. Women and men were pushing, shoving, arguing and yelling.
Women with babies in strollers were using the strollers as weapons
to batter and shove anyone in their way. The desperation to leave
was only too evident.

Women and men were sent to different rooms to get their visas. A Syrian
visa for Canadians and British nationals cost $56 US, but for Americans
it cost $16 US. We had spent about $400 US and we were almost broke.

The first restaurant we found at Damascus airport was out of food,
and we had a long wait for a flight. No one seemed to know when we
could get a flight out, but seven hours later we were on our way home
via Germany.

I am very glad to be home and appreciate much more the safe society
we have here. I do feel irrationally guilty about leaving friends and
relatives in Lebanon behind, although I know that I could be of more
assistance here than there. Tala’s sister, Rona, is still waiting in
Beirut to be evacuated. My two American friends and their parents are
still in Anjar. Another Canadian girlfriend and her fiancé are unable
to leave, as are a family of five in the village next to Anjar who
are from Kingston.

Whatever the reason for this war, and no matter who is the instigator,
the people of Lebanon are the innocent victims. They are guilty only
of having a new and weak government that has not yet acquired the
strength to deal with Hezbollah. It is tragic that a city that was
so beautiful and that had been rebuilt with such love and dedication
should be destroyed. Israel and Hezbollah have to share the blame,
but Lebanon and her innocent civilians are the victims.

Carmen Abrajian lives on Howe Island.

GRAPHIC: Carmen Abrajian (left),her mother Janet and her brother
Mark enjoy better days with Mark’s girlfriend, Tala el-Bakri, on Howe
Island. Carmen, Mark and Tala found themselves stranded in Lebanon amid
the current warfare until they managed to get out via Damascus, Syria.

–Boundary_(ID_xgbhvKrlVTbZc4BmPDn5bQ)–

PREMIERE OF "LAMB" BY TIGRAN MANSURIAN TAKES PLACE AT 15th COMPETITION AFTER OLEG KAGAN IN GERMANY

YEREVAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The premiere of the "Lamb" work by
Tigran Mansurian took place at the 15th festival after world-famous
violin-player Oleg Kagan held on July 1-15 in Germany. The festival
with the motto "Music for a Friend" opened with another work by
T.Mansurian, "Posludia."

As T.Mansurian informed at the July 21 press conference, the "Lamb"
was created by the order of festival organizers. It was also mentioned
that the Armenian composer was the only one who received an order to
create a work specially for the festival.

T.Mansurian cooperates with Munich ECM company. The latter periodically
releases his CDs that are spread all over the world. ECM has released 5
CDs by T.Mansurian and next year will release the CD of the "Lamb." "I
have never seen such attention towards my creation. I am glad that
my works are spread in the U.S., in Europe," the composer emphasized.

According to T.Mansurian, a new creative period started for him
after the independence. "I am an independent person and never wait
for anybody’s honorarium or evaluation. I wish this independence was
given to me some decades ago when I had more opportunities to create
and to introduce myself to the world," T.Mansurian said. T.Mansurian
is convinced that today’s young creators have more opportunities to
gain fame and to present their art in the homeland and abroad.