Author: Tigranian Ani

Critics’ Forum

Theater
Bogosia n Double-Play
By Aram Kouyoumdjian

To describe a play as “talky” seems rather silly; dialogue, after
all, serves as a foundation for drama. Eric Bogosian’s plays,
however, are “talky.” They don’t unfold as intricate narratives.
They don’t have much plot. Bogosian is far less interested in what
his characters have to do than in what they have to say. In fact,
the need to talk, to rant, to spew words with ferocity often defines
the figures who populate Bogosian’s solo performance works.

The preoccupation with talk spills over into Bogosian’s full-cast
plays, two of which were revived in recent Los Angeles productions.
The teens and twenty-somethings of “subUrbia” have little to do but
talk, as they loiter outside a convenience store. And words are
tantamount to currency in the aptly-named “Talk Radio.”

By all indications, the brief incarnation of “subUrbia” at the
Hollywood Fight Club should have been a disaster. The venue itself,
located in a strip mall, boasts a playing area for which “stage” is
too strong a word. At the matinee I attended, the sun shining
through the storefront windows asserted its own “lighting design” on
a set that could not have cost more than a latte.

Unexpectedly enough, the show worked. Sort of. Well, it worked as
much as it could have in the face of such impediments. It worked
mostly because of a committed cast that generated honest and
energetic performances to offset some of this middling production’s
shortcomings.

The play’s minimal plot finds its young suburbanites in front of a 7-
Eleven, their usual hangout, when a former friend from high school,
who has found fame as a rock star, returns for a visit. This
auspicious reunion offers potentially life-altering choices for the
locals. After all, dreams are still alive for some of them, like
the aspiring artist Sooze (Stacy Michelle Gold), even if they’ve
proven paralyzing for the idealistic Jeff (Beau Hirshfield) or
disillusioning for the jaded Tim (Jeremy Rodriguez).

For the most part, Bogosian’s script sounds authentic in recreating
the language of youth (although its slips are all-too-painful to the
ear). The language of youth, however, is fickle and ever-changing,
so a number of references in “subUrbia” had been updated for this
production in order to keep the text, now a dozen years old,
relevant.

Fortunately, the script had an ally in director Frank Krueger, who
achieved a sense of urgency whenever necessary (the “roughhousing”
among the characters turned quite physical) but knew to allow
quieter sequences to unfold at the appropriate pace. Still, he
never missed the play’s funnier elements (drawing a hilarious,
albeit over-the-top, performance from Brad Robinson). One only
wished he were better equipped with the resources to have production
values consistent with his vision.

Crisp production values were on full display in the Gangbusters
Theatre Company’s staging of “Talk Radio,” which had a limited run
at Theatre 68 in Hollywood. This early play from Bogosian’s canon,
virtually devoid of plot, dramatizes an hour from the talk show of
controversial (and fictional) shock jock Barry Champlain the night
before his show is to go national. Scenic designer Danny Cistone’s
meticulous replica of a broadcast studio provided the perfect
setting in which Champlain, winningly portrayed by Christian
Levatino, would expose his callers’ demons while struggling with his
own.

In a strong ensemble, Jonathan Burbridge stood out as Champlain’s
call screener, perfectly balancing Levatino’s intensity with a
casual portrayal punctuated by both laughs and poignancy. Equally
worthy of mention was Matt Mann, riotous in his scene-stealing turn
as a drugged-out fan who finagles his way onto Champlain’s show.

The play, however, belonged to Levatino, who constructed a complex
character in Champlain, even as he unleashed Bogosian’s words with
all their intended fury. In Levatino’s hands, Champlain’s rage was
explosive and profane, his introspection solemn and quiet. One
could not help being struck by the depth of his performance, which
revolved, for significant stretches of time, around a microphone.
But Levatino practically gave life to this inanimate object in
developing an organic, even visceral, interaction with “callers” who
never appeared onstage.

Director Leon Shanglebee confidently helmed the edgy work, managing
to keep focus where the script meandered. Even in its deviations,
however, Bogosian’s raw, intense, and kinetic writing always
maintained tension and commanded attention.

All Rights Reserved: Critics Forum, 2006

Aram Kouyoumdjian is the winner of Elly Awards for both playwriting
(“The Farewells”) and directing (“Three Hotels”). His performance
piece, “Protest,” was recently staged at the Finborough Theatre in
London.

You can reach him or any of the other contributors to Critics’ Forum
at [email protected]. This and all other articles published
in this series are available online at To
sign up for a weekly electronic version of new articles, go to
Critics’ Forum is a group created to
discuss issues relating to Armenian art and culture in the Diaspora.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 15, 28 April 2006

A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team

******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES
* PERIOD SET FOR NEXT ELECTIONS
* CONSEVATIVE RIVALRIES HEAT UP
* HAMAS-LED GOVERNMENT GETS FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
* IRAN CELEBRATES ‘ARMY DAY’
* IRANIAN SUBS TO BE EQUIPPED WITH RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILES
* RUSSIA DEFENDS IRANIAN NUCLEAR PLANT PROJECT
* MOSCOW TALKS ON IRAN DEADLOCKED
* STUDENT GROUP WANTS CHANGES IN NUCLEAR POLICY
* AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT WELCOMES IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER
* TEHRAN DIGS IN AS LATEST NUCLEAR CLAIM ELICITS ‘CONCERN,’ SKEPTICISM
* U.S. MEDIA REPORT MULTIPRONGED OFFICIAL APPROACH TO IRAN
* DRUG CONTROL ISSUE EMPHASIZED AS NEW ‘CRACK’ GAINS POPULARITY
* RATE OF AIDS REPORTEDLY FALLING IN IRAN
********************************************* ***************

PERIOD SET FOR NEXT ELECTIONS. Deputy Interior Minister for Political
Affairs Ali Jannati announced in Tehran on April 17 that the next
Assembly of Experts and municipal-council elections will take place
simultaneously, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. He
said the elections will be held in the month beginning on October 23,
although a precise date has not been selected. Jannati went on to say
that the Interior Ministry wanted to delay the Assembly of Experts
election until February 2007, but because the assembly rejected the
delay the Interior Ministry decided to move up the date of the
council elections. (Bill Samii)

CONSEVATIVE RIVALRIES HEAT UP. An intense rivalry between
conservative parties in Iran is being overshadowed by the nuclear
issue, as well as global concern over the country’s support for
terrorism and its interference in other countries’ affairs. This
rivalry will become more intense as autumn elections for an 86-member
clerical body — the Assembly of Experts — and for municipal
councils approach, and these elections will affect the issues that
interest the international community. RFE/RL discusses the current
status of party politics in Iran, with a focus on the conservatives.
The Islamic Revolution Devotees Society (Jamiyat-i
Isargaran-i Inqilab-i Islami) — which President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
helped create and of which he is a central council member — is
emerging as the vanguard of the new conservative movement in Iran.
The society’s central council will hold its first session of the
new (Iranian) year soon, “Sharq” reported on April 4, and Central
council member Mujtaba Shakeri said that after electing a
secretary-general and other leaders, subsequent sessions will be
devoted to determining the party’s program for the coming year.
The Devotees Society held its third congress in early March,
but Ahmadinejad was not in attendance. The president was in Malaysia
at that time, but “Sharq” suggested on March 4 that his absence could
be traced to the society’s failure to support him in the first
round of the June 2005 election (the Isargaran backed Mohammad Baqer
Qalibaf;
e/2005/11/a4f01612-219e-4f62-9c8b-
5854e9f883ba.ht ml).
Most of the standing members of the society’s central
council were reinstated, according to “Sharq.” The newspaper names
President Ahmadinejad, legislator Fatemeh Alia, Ali Darabi, Abbas
Darvish-Tavangar, Economy and Finance Minister Davud Danesh-Jafari,
legislator Hussein Fadai, legislator Nafiseh Fayazbakhsh, Lutfollah
Foruzandeh, Hadi Imani, Ahmad Moqimi, Elias Naderan, Ahmad Nejabat,
Abdul-Hussein Ruholamini-Najafabadi, Reza Rusta-Azad, Mahmud
Saber-Hamishegi, Alireza Sarbakhsh, Mujtaba Shakeri, Sediqeh Shakeri,
Masud Sultanpur, Mustafa Tavakolian, and director of the hard-line
daily “Siyasat-i Ruz” Ali Yusefpur.
The Devotees Society split away from the older and more
traditional Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces shortly
before the June 2005 presidential election. Such conservative
disputes were perhaps most apparent when the legislature rejected
four of President Ahmadinejad’s prospective cabinet nominees.
Mujtaba Shakeri, a member of the Devotees central council, noted in
the October 4 “Etemad” that the new fundamentalists (commonly
referred to as “osulgarayan”) do not have a firm grip on power yet.
“[They] are only present at the lower and middle-ranking posts of the
government and the parliament,” he said. Shakeri said some two weeks
later that the Devotees Society has yet to reach consensus on its
relationship with the Coordination Council, ISNA reported on October
17.
Intrafactional disputes persisted, and Tehran Mayor Mohammad
Baqer Qalibaf referred to this problem when speaking to the Devotees
Society late in the year. Qalibaf warned that challenging the
president will have the long-term effect of undermining him and the
fundamentalists, “Kayhan” reported on December 3. Differences of
opinion are natural, he continued, but are acceptable only up to a
point.
Mohsen Rezai, secretary of the Expediency Council, also
referred to the harmful impact of the conservatives’ disputes. In
a speech to the Devotees Society, he noted that the two conservative
wings have grown closer, “but a disagreement and a gap are still
evident among them,” “Farhang-i Ashti” reported on January 3. “This
is extraordinarily threatening.” Rezai chastised the older generation
of conservatives — whom he called the “revolutionary forces” — for
their failure to respond to public demands when they were in power.
When the new generation of fundamentalists seized the
political initiative by dominating the municipal council elections in
2003, the entity that grabbed headlines was the Islamic Iran
Developers Coalition (Etelaf-i Abadgaran-i Iran-i Islami). A
Developers-dominated Tehran council, in turn, selected Mahmud
Ahmadinejad as the capital’s mayor. The Developers Coalition
continued its success in the 2004 parliamentary elections, and then
Ahmadinejad became president. The Developers Coalition was not a
hierarchical organization, and this became apparent shortly before
the June 2005 presidential election.
In late January 2006 the Young Developers (Abadgaran-i Javan)
submitted an organization application. This entity is distinct from
the Developers in the legislature — two of its founders are members
of the Tehran municipal council, “Iran” reported on January 23, and
council chairman Mehdi Chamran said the new entity could leave the
current political elite behind. An editorial in “Sharq” on January 23
said creation of this entity changes the nature of fundamentalism.
Iranian fundamentalists, the editorial explained, reject modernity
and its symbols and defy progress, but by submitting to the rules of
party activity they are joining the modern world.
The Young Developers held its first congress in early March
in Tehran. Tehran council member Hassan Bayadi — spokesman of the
Young Developers — denied that this group is connected with the
Devotees Society, “Sharq” reported on March 4, but said it seeks good
relations with all the fundamentalists. Bayadi went on to say that
the Young Developers backs the president’s administration,
“Farhang-i Ashti” reported on March 5.
The existence of the Young Developers and the fact that its
congress was held at the same time as that of the Devotees Society
underlines the conservatives’ disputes, according to a March 4
analysis in “Etemad-i Melli.” An editorial in “Sharq” on March 6
described a “new scene of conflict where one Developer stands against
the other,” and it described three factions — in the legislature, in
the municipal councils, and the president. As for the Devotees
Society, according to the “Sharq” editorial, Secretary-General Fadai
sees himself as the creator of the Developers Coalition.
Representatives of the Islamic Coalition Party, which is one
of the oldest conservative organizations and is a member of the
Coordination Council, dismissed reports of the council’s demise
in February and March. Asadollah Badamchian, a member of the Islamic
Coalition Party’s central council, went so far as to say that the
reformist movement is dead, and he hopes “our movement would never
experience the same fate,” “Etemad” reported on February 28.
It is notable, therefore, that some six weeks later leaders
of the Islamic Coalition Party met with counterparts from the leading
non-clerical reformist organization, the Islamic Iran Participation
Front. Two years had passed since their last meeting, “Farhang-i
Ashti” reported on April 9. The newspaper ascribed this development
to the fact that the reformists are marginalized and the
conservatives resent what they see as an inadequate share of the
spoils. Discussing the same meeting, “Etemad” reported on April 9
that the more radical aspects of the right and left wings seem
irreconcilable from a distance. The parties agree on factors such as
the constitution and the Islamic Republic system, and their
differences turn into healthy competition at the negotiating table.
This meeting may be more representative of the
reformists’ attempt to get back in power. “Siyasat-i Ruz” — the
mouthpiece of the Devotees Society — reported on April 9 that the
emphasis on the fundamentalists’ divisions is just one of the
reformists’ tactics. The reformist front sees the upcoming
council elections as an opportunity for it to begin its revival, just
as they were a beginning for the fundamentalists in 2003.
Domestically, reformists also intend to adopt a more populist
approach, strengthen their relations with the clergy, and pay greater
attention to traditional values in an effort to attract public trust.
And on the foreign front, the reformists will show themselves as
supporters of peace, democracy, human rights, and international
dialogue. (Bill Samii)

HAMAS-LED GOVERNMENT GETS FINANCIAL COMMITMENT. Foreign Minister
Manuchehr Mottaki announced on April 16 — the third day of a
conference hosted by Tehran on support for the Palestinian Intifada
— that Iran will provide the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority with
$50 million in aid, state television reported. Mottaki added that
Iran will encourage other Islamic countries to contribute.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya praised the
financial pledge, the Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center
reported on April 16, and spokesman Ghazi Hamad noted Iran’s
“courage” and challenge of “American hegemony.” “I think Arab states
ought to learn from Iran and stop being at America’s beck and
call,” Hamad added. The Palestine Information Center noted that
Minister Mottaki did not say “how and when” the payment will be made.
Confronted by inflation and unemployment, Iranians quoted by Reuters
said they would prefer that their government spend the money at home.
(Bill Samii)

IRAN CELEBRATES ‘ARMY DAY.’ Iran marked Army Day on April 18
with parades in different cities of infantry, air force personnel,
Basij members, and commandos, as well as armored and naval units,
state media reported. Missiles and tanks were also on display. The
parade in Tehran was attended by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad,
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander Yahya Rahim-Safavi, Defense
Minister Brigadier General Mustafa Mohammad Najjar, and other
officials. During the parade in Khuzestan Province, a provincial
television correspondent reported, marines, commandos, engineer
units, military police, and national police also participated.
Speakers at that parade included Ayatollah Mohammad Ali
Musavi-Jazayeri, the provincial representative of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Amir Beyzavi, the senior armed
forces commander in the south.
Speaking at the Army Day parade in Tehran, President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic is not a threat to any country,
state television reported, and it seeks “peace, security, and
progress for all other nations.” Ahmadinejad said Iran’s enemies
are aware of the “courage, faith, devotion, and commitment to Islam”
of the armed forces. The armed forces, he continued, can defend the
country and “cut off the hand of any aggressor and brand their
forehead with the stain of regret.”
Basij units staged military exercises in the Isfahan Province
localities of Khomeinishahr and Nain on April 19, provincial
television reported. The report said the aim of the exercises —
named Sepahian-i Muhammad (Muhammad’s Guards) — is to defend the
“values and sovereignty of the auspicious system of the Islamic
Republic of Iran.” Early April exercises in the Persian Gulf elicited
international concern. (Bill Samii)

IRANIAN SUBS TO BE EQUIPPED WITH RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILES. A
delegation of Russian shipyard officials is visiting Bandar Abbas, on
the Persian Gulf, to discuss the overhaul of diesel submarines,
Interfax reported on August 20. Iran purchased three Kilo-class
submarines from Russia in the 1990s. The Russians are from the
Severodvinsk-based Zvezdochka shipyard, and the repair and
modernization mentioned by their representative entails equipping the
subs with Club-S missiles that have a 200-kilometer range. The Club-S
is a naval cruise missile that comes in antiship and land attack
versions, and it reportedly is resistant to electronic
countermeasures.
General Yury Baluyevsky, who heads the General Staff, said in
Moscow on April 19 after talks with U.S. General James Jones, who is
NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, that Russia will carry
out its agreements to sell arms to Iran, RIA Novosti reported.
Baluyevsky added: “I do not think that [the crisis regarding the
Iranian nuclear program] will turn into a war. Russia will not
propose the use of its armed forces in a [possible] military conflict
on either side.” (Bill Samii, Patrick Moore)

RUSSIA DEFENDS IRANIAN NUCLEAR PLANT PROJECT. Sergei Kiriyenko, who
heads the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), said on April 20 in
Bishkek that “every country in the world, including Iran, has the
right to develop nuclear energy peacefully,” news agencies reported.
He added that “the international community has the right to demand
unconditional guarantees of compliance with the nonproliferation
regime so that nuclear weapons are not built again. The goal is to
combine these two principles.” Kiriyenko defended Russia’s role
in construction of the Bushehr nuclear plant, saying that “all [spent
nuclear] fuel will be returned to Russia, so this cooperation
presents no problems for or threats to the [nuclear] nonproliferation
regime. This cooperation is exclusively for peaceful purposes. Since
it meets fully all international norms, we are continuing our work in
accordance with rules, norms, and signed agreements.”
In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin wrote
on the ministry’s website () that “every country
has the right to decide for itself with whom and in what way it
cooperates with other states.” He added that the Bushehr project
complies fully with international rules and norms.
In response to a recent U.S. appeal to Russia to cease
nuclear cooperation with Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kamynin
said on April 20 that “only the UN Security Council is authorized to
make binding decisions on suspending cooperation with a state in any
sphere,” RIA Novosti reported. He added that “the Security Council
has made no decisions on suspending nuclear cooperation with Iran.”
Kamynin said on April 21 that Moscow will consider approving
sanctions against Tehran only if there is firm proof that its nuclear
program is not entirely peaceful, ITAR-TASS reported. (Patrick Moore)

MOSCOW TALKS ON IRAN DEADLOCKED. On April 17, Andrei Denisov, who is
Russia’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations, said in New
York that his country backs a diplomatic solution to the Iranian
nuclear crisis, and he called on Tehran to observe a moratorium on
uranium enrichment until April 28, when the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) is slated to make a report to the Security
Council, RIA Novosti reported.
Political representatives of the foreign ministries of China,
France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States
discussed the Iranian nuclear issue in Moscow on April 18 but failed
to reach agreement, international media reported. U.S. Undersecretary
of State Nicholas Burns said afterward that the participants
recognized the “need for a stiff response to Iran’s flagrant
violation of its international responsibilities.” The Russian Foreign
Ministry said in a statement that “it is impossible to address the
international community’s concerns about Iran [by] using force or
sanctions,” Interfax reported.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on April 19 that the
meeting produced no breakthrough. He repeated Russia’s earlier
call for Iran to observe a moratorium on uranium enrichment until
April 28, when the IAEA is slated to make a report to the Security
Council. He noted that all participants in the April 18 talks called
on Iran to make “urgent and constructive moves” aimed at complying
with IAEA decisions, starting with stopping the enrichment work.
(Patrick Moore)

STUDENT GROUP WANTS CHANGES IN NUCLEAR POLICY. The Office for
Strengthening Unity (Daftar-i Tahkim-i Vahdat), Iran’s largest
pro-reform student organization, has issued a statement calling for a
“temporary suspension of all nuclear activities” in the country,
RFE/RL reported on April 18. The statement criticized negotiations
that would locate the country’s uranium enrichment and spent fuel
storage in Russia. It said in the statement that the hard-line by
Iranian officials on the nuclear issue has put the country in a
dangerous situation. In a further slap at the confrontational
diplomacy of the Ahmadinejad administration, it called for the
restoration of international confidence and renewal of support for
Tehran from international organizations. (Bill Samii)

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT WELCOMES IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER. Ilham Aliyev
welcomed a visiting Iranian delegation led by Defense Minister
Mustafa Mohammad Najjar on April 20, the Azertac news agency
reported. In a meeting with the Iranian defense minister at the
presidential palace, Aliyev discussed the recent expansion of
bilateral economic, energy, and political agreements and reviewed
plans for defense cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran, ITAR-TASS
reported. In turn, the Iranian defense minister announced that Iran
stands “ready to provide” any assistance necessary to “develop
Azerbaijan’s military,” ANS-TV reported. Aliyev is also due to
meet with his Iranian counterpart during an upcoming Economic
Cooperation Organization summit next month. A new, significant level
of military relations between Azerbaijan and Iran was initiated in
2004 with the visit to Baku of then Iranian Defense Minister Ali
Shamkhani, and a reciprocal visit to Tehran by Azerbaijani Defense
Minister Safar Abiev last year that resulted in the signing of an
intergovernmental agreement on defense cooperation. (Richard
Giragosian)

TEHRAN DIGS IN AS LATEST NUCLEAR CLAIM ELICITS ‘CONCERN,’
SKEPTICISM. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in Washington
on April 17 that, if true, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s
announcement of research on the use of advanced P-2 centrifuges to
enrich uranium would be “a very serious concern,” Reuters reported.
Some analysts are skeptical about such Iranian claims, “The
Washington Post” reported on April 17, while others suspect the P-2
centrifuges are part of a secret military nuclear program. In past
dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tehran
has claimed that experimental work on the advanced centrifuges ended
in 2003.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Institute for Science and
International Security’s comparison of satellite imagery from
September 2002 through March 2006 indicates that Iran is expanding
and also burying some of its nuclear facilities, according to the
ISIS website () on April 14. Halls at the
Natanz site’s Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and its Fuel Enrichment
Plant were buried under concrete and dirt and could be 17 meters
underground, the ISIS claimed, and there is evidence of a new tunnel
entrance at the Isfahan uranium-conversion facility. (Bill Samii)

U.S. MEDIA REPORT MULTIPRONGED OFFICIAL APPROACH TO IRAN. Iran’s
strong support for “rejectionist” Palestinian groups and the news
that it will provide the Palestinian Authority’s Hamas government
with $50 million came on the heels of Iran’s announcement that it
has successfully enriched uranium. Such developments concern the
United States and other countries over what they see as a growing
Iranian threat. Washington insists it will pursue diplomacy to
resolve the problems, but RFE/RL notes that the military option and
“democracy promotion” are also being considered.
An April 15 report in “The New York Times” discusses the
“newly created office of Iranian affairs in the State Department” and
notes the ongoing review of grant applications from groups seeking to
change the Iranian political process. This project would expand if
Congress approves the State Department’s mid-February request for
$85 million to fund scholarships and increase Persian-language
broadcasting. An anonymous “State Department official” added that
groups applying for grants are “squabbling” over who would most
effectively promote reform in Iran, “The Washington Post” adds.
Also, the website of “The New Republic” on April 10 talks
about the creation of the Iran-Syria Operations Group (ISOG), which
reportedly will form policy and bypass the Iran desk at the State
Department, a significant development.
These institutional divisions are reflected in an April 13
report in “The New York Sun,” which asserts that “the State
Department has quietly explored funding for an Iranian student radio
station.” It appears from this report that some in the State
Department have approached Congress to divert some of the funding to
private broadcasters, while the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
and the House of Representatives’ appropriations team that deals
with foreign aid want the funding to go to Radio Farda — which is
jointly run by RFE/RL and the Voice of America (VOA) — and the
VOA’s television broadcasts.
There are suggestions, furthermore, that the Defense
Department should be involved with broadcasting to Iran.
The military approach to the Iranian problem has received
substantial attention lately. William M. Arkin, who specializes in
National and Homeland Security for “The Washington Post,” writes on
April 13 that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has been planning for
the possibility of a full-scale war with Iran since at least May
2003. An analysis referred to as TIRANNT (Theater Iran Near Term) and
an invasion scenario called Karona are just two related efforts, as
is the Hotspur 2004 wargames of July 2004. The TOY Study (TIRANNT
Out-Year) is based on a war between Iran and the U.S. in 2011, and it
looks at the outcome of a conflict between U.S. Army division-sized
formations and Iranian ground units. The Army Concepts Analysis
Agency’s BMD-I study, (Ballistic Missile Defense–Iran) studies
the number of Iranian missiles that could penetrate a coalition
missile defense.
The possibility of using military might to counter the danger
of Iran’s nuclear efforts caused a major news splash roughly one
week ago. Reports in “The Forward” (April 7), the “New Yorker” (April
17), and “The Washington Post” (April 9) asserted that the United
States is making preparations for a possible military attack on Iran
in order to eliminate the potential nuclear threat. “The Washington
Post” put the military plans in the context of “a broader strategy of
coercive diplomacy,” adding that options range from limited air
strikes on nuclear facilities to bombs and cruise missiles that also
target Intelligence and Security Ministry, Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps, and other government facilities. The ultimate objective is
“regime change,” the “New Yorker” added, and U.S. special-operations
forces are in contact with Iranian ethnic minorities that oppose the
regime, it reported.
U.S. President George W. Bush on April 10 rejected the media
reports. “I read the articles [about Iran] in the newspapers this
weekend,” Bush told an audience at the School of Advanced
International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington,
D.C., according to Radio Farda. “It was just wild speculation, by the
way. What you are reading is wild speculation, which…happens quite
frequently here in the nation’s capital.” Bush stressed that the
United States does not want Iran to be armed with nuclear weapons,
Radio Farda reported, but he also insisted that this does not mean
going to war. “The doctrine of prevention is to work together to
prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon…. I know we hear
in Washington [that], you know, prevention means force. It
doesn’t mean force necessarily. In this case, it means
diplomacy.”
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National
Security Council, said in an April 10 interview with the Al-Jazeera
TV network that news reports of U.S. contingency plans for attacking
Iran with nuclear weapons represent “psychological warfare,” Fars
News Agency reported. “These [kinds of] threats are only expressed by
parties who are totally incapable of acting on their promises,”
Larijani said.
Iranian state radio carried a commentary on April 10 that
attributed the media reports — particularly that in the “New Yorker”
— to psychological warfare. The commentary added that just a few of
author Seymour Hersh’s reports and analyses come true, and this
specific one has been described as “idiotic” by British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw. Such articles, the commentary continued, are
meant to undermine calm in Iran. They also are meant to undermine the
impressive accomplishments displayed at the previous week’s naval
exercises in the south, the broadcaster concluded.
It is not just Tehran that is talking about mind games. “The
Forward” quotes former intelligence officers such as Graham Fuller of
the CIA, who note that this could be disinformation and psychological
warfare. (Bill Samii)

DRUG CONTROL ISSUE EMPHASIZED AS NEW ‘CRACK’ GAINS
POPULARITY. As the neighbor of Afghanistan, the world’s biggest
producer of opium, Iran for years has had to contend with high levels
of drug smuggling and drug abuse. Tehran has applied different
strategies to contend with drug-related problems, and in recent
months it has tried new ones. Yet the drug-abuse problem continues,
and the drug of choice is increasingly compressed heroin (crack),
rather than opium or normal heroin. Meanwhile, Tehran is very active
in multilateral drug control initiatives, and it also engages
Afghanistan on a bilateral level in its effort to confront narcotics.
Iran emphasized supply reduction and interdiction for many
years as it tried to contend with the flood of narcotics coming from
Afghanistan in the 1990s and the first half of this decade. This
approach was matched with an emphasis on the punishment of people
involved with drugs, from addicts to smugglers. Imprisonment was
common, and individuals holding more than 30 grams of heroin or 5
kilograms of opium could be executed. To this day, the bulk of the
Iranian prison population comprises individuals arrested for drug
offenses. For example, 31 percent of the 46,930 people imprisoned in
the December-January period were addicts, Justice Minister Jamal
Karimirad said in “Farhang-i Ashti” on February 22, and another 40
percent were imprisoned for drug-related offenses.
Not everybody is convinced of the wisdom of this approach.
Ayatollah Hassan Marashi, who previously served on the High Council
for Judicial Development and in the judiciary, said many people who
become drug dealers do so out of economic necessity, “Aftab-i Yazd”
reported on January 28. Arresting and imprisoning such people is
counterproductive because their families only sink deeper into
poverty and sometimes turn to prostitution. “Punishment does not
correct people’s behavior,” he said. “We pay no attention to the
causes and we merely pursue the effects.”
Nonetheless, arresting addicts continues to be government
policy. Fada-Hussein Maleki, secretary-general of the Drug Control
Headquarters, announced a nationwide plan to round up addicts that
would begin in the new Iranian year (after March 21). Maleki
explained that some 3,000 of the addicts on Tehran’s streets are
sick, and the overall plan is to detain and treat up to 550,000 of
the most dangerous intravenous drug users, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on
January 26.
Meanwhile, consumption habits are changing. The United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) 2005-07 “Strategic
Program Framework” for Iran that was released in June notes that
opium (smoked, injected, or consumed in tea), opium residue, and
cannabis are the commonly abused drugs. Abuse of heroin is on the
rise, according to the UNODC, and it is sniffed, smoked, or injected.
Six months later, Abdullah Roshan, Tehran’s deputy
governor for political and security affairs, said the price for
compressed heroin (crack) has fallen and it is supplanting regular
heroin as the drug of choice for addicts, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on
27 December. Roshan added that 700,000 tablets of the drug ecstasy
had been confiscated in Tehran in the previous nine months.
Iranian officials routinely say there are 1.2 million drug
addicts in the country, and an estimated 800,000 people abuse drugs
occasionally. The UNODC says roughly 2 percent of the country’s
68 million residents abuse drugs. The State Department’s Bureau
for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs says in its
“International Narcotics Control Strategy Report — 2006,” which was
released on March 1, that an estimated 3 million Iranians abuse
opiates, with 60 percent of them addicted and the remaining 40
percent being casual users. “The latest opiate seizure statistics
from Iran suggest Iran is experiencing an epidemic of drug abuse,
especially among its youth,” the report says.
As it has tried to come to terms with the scale of the
drug-control problem it faces, Tehran has become increasingly active
in multilateral drug-control bodies — such as the Dublin Group and
the Paris Pact — and it works closely with the UNODC. The Dublin
Group was established in 1990 as an informal coordination body that
meets to exchange views on international drug affairs (production,
trafficking, and abuse), make recommendations on ways to contend with
these problems, and coordinate members’ approaches to these
problems. Dublin Group members are the European Union, Australia,
Canada, Japan, Norway, and the United States, and the UNODC
participates in its meetings.
The Mini-Dublin Group for Southwest Asia includes Dublin
Group members’ diplomatic representatives in Iran, and its
meetings are attended by Iranian officials. The Mini-Dublin Group
works on the drug situation in Iran and related policy initiatives.
In addition to serving as a venue for analyzing priorities,
coordinating cooperation, and making recommendations, these meetings
serve as a venue for interacting with Iranian drug-control
authorities.
Lesley Pallett, chief of the Drugs and International Crime
Department at the British Foreign Commonwealth Office, described the
Mini-Dublin Group as a “key point of contact” between the Iranian
authorities and the international community when she was in Tehran in
September.
At a December 5 Mini-Dublin Group meeting in Tehran, Iranian
officials stressed the importance of creating a “security belt”
around Afghanistan, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Iranian drug-control chief Fada-Hussein Maleki said the United
Kingdom should be able to secure Afghanistan’s borders, with
cooperation from the country’s neighbors, because British troops
are present in Afghanistan. Maleki also praised the activities of the
UNODC in Iran and said the cooperation of France, Germany, Italy,
Iran, and the United Kingdom is increasing.
The Paris Pact is another multilateral drug-control group
with which Iran is involved, and Tehran hosted a Paris Pact
roundtable on September 13-14. The Paris Pact started with a meeting
of 55 countries in the French capital in May 2003, when they agreed
on the need for strong and coordinated border-control activities and
law enforcement along the main drug-trafficking routes. UNODC
subsequently launched the Paris Pact Initiative, with support from
France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Counternarcotics enforcement experts, as well as delegations
from 20 countries, the EU, the Economic Cooperation Organization,
Interpol, and UNODC participated in the September meeting in Tehran.
Opiates trafficking and drug-control activities in Iran were
discussed, as were the need to strengthen regional and international
cooperation on drug control in Iran. One of the newer initiatives
mentioned at this event was the Nomak Project, which collects and
analyses information on Southwest Asia heroin trafficking.
The UNODC has been working with Iran for approximately one
decade and has had an office in Tehran since the late-1990s.
According to its “Strategic Program Framework” for 2005-07, its
objectives are to assist Tehran in reducing narcotics trafficking,
contribute to prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation in connection
with drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, and to promote the rule of law. UNODC
has established quantifiable indicators for measuring the success of
its efforts. Roberto Arbitrio, head of the UNODC office in Tehran,
told the September Paris Pact meeting that the strategy for Iran was
developed in collaboration with the Mini-Dublin Group and with
Iranian authorities.
Brigadier General Hamid Maleki, a counternarcotics official
from the Iranian police, told the Paris Pact meeting that his country
has spent more than $900 million to secure the frontier with
Afghanistan and Pakistan by building border posts, watch towers,
barbed-wire fences, and trenches. Iran also trains Afghan border
guards and counternarcotics personnel, equips border posts in
Afghanistan, and provides motorcycles.
In mid-March, furthermore, the Iranian parliament authorized
the government to lend $20 million to other countries for demand
reduction and counternarcotics activities.
Iranian officials insist that the international community do
more to defray the associated costs, because Iranian efforts prevent
drugs from reaching Europe. For example, Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh,
the Iranian ambassador in Vienna, said in a December 10 meeting with
UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa that international aid to Iran is
“insufficient and trivial,” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
reported.
Absent more assistance, Iran works directly with countries
that are fighting drugs, particularly Afghanistan. Drug-control
personnel from Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan met in Rawalpindi on
December 6 to exchange information, Associated Press of Afghanistan
reported. Afghan Counternarcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi visited
Iran on January 3 to meet with his Iranian counterpart, discuss
cooperation, and inspect the border, Mashhad radio reported.
Ezzatollah Wasafi, the governor of Farah Province in Afghanistan,
visited Iran on January 14 and said he secured Tehran’s pledge to
help his administration’s poppy eradication efforts, Mashhad
radio reported. On February 28, Afghanistan signed an agreement with
Iran, China, and Pakistan on border security in an effort to control
smuggling, AFP reported. Qaderi and Maleki met again in Vienna on
March 18, during the meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
(CND), IRNA reported.
While some officials are critical of what they see as
inadequate international assistance, others believe something more
sinister is behind the drug-abuse problem in Iran. Ayatollah Mohammad
Emami-Kashani said in his February 24 Friday prayers sermon in
Tehran, “Another instance of their conspiracy is narcotics,” state
radio reported. He did not identify the alleged conspirators but
continued: “They plot methods of importing drugs into our country and
promoting such ugly deeds among our youth so as to destroy the
backing of Islam and Islamic ideology…. They hatch plots to ruin
our young people.” (Bill Samii)

RATE OF AIDS REPORTEDLY FALLING IN IRAN. Mohammad Mehdi Guya, who
heads the Health, Treatment, and Medical Education Ministry’s
infectious disease department, said (on an unreported date) that as
of March 21 there were some 13,040 Iranians with AIDS, “Aftab-i Yazd”
reported on April 17. The figure was at 12,557 as of November, he
added. This marks an overall increase, he continued, but the
infection rate actually has fallen compared to the previous year.
Guya said being infected with AIDS can be attributed to individual
behavior, so education and media outreach are important in combating
the disease. (Bill Samii)

****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

The “RFE/RL Iran Report” is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services.

Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
p
Back issues are online at

SCHOOLCHILDREN AND THEIR DISABLED FRIENDS TOGETHER

Lragir.am
27 April 06

On April 27 an exhibition of children’s pictures entitled “School
for Everyone” was opened at the exhibition hall of UNDP. The event
was organized in the framework of the Global Call for Education,
which is an international campaign for the achievement of the second
goal of Millennium Development – Achievement of universal elementary
education by 2015. This is the fourth annual exhibition in the world,
held within the last week of April. This year about 80 countries of
the world joined the campaign.

In Armenia the disabled children also participated in this event. 15
schools of the regions of Armavir, Vayots Dzor, Tavush, and Yerevan
took part in the contest of pictures and essays. Out of 1000 works 54
pictures and 39 essays were chosen in the first round of the contest.

In the second round 5 pictures and 3 essays were chosen. The UN
Children’s Fund gave prizes to all the children who participated in
the contest. The schools received certificates.

THE MOSCOW-TBILISI RAILWAY LINE: THE ARMENIAN PERSPECTIVE AND THE ABKHAZ HURDLE
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger, Georgia
April 27 2006

A quadripartite Russian-Georgian-Armenian-Abkhaz consortium will be
responsible for taking care of the restoration-rehabilitation work
that needs to be done on the Abkhaz section of the Tbilisi-Moscow
railway line. This project is estimated to cost between USD 150-250
million and it is up to the consortium members to find this money.

In December 2005 a Russian-Georgian intergovernmental economic
commission agreed to tackle this project.

Then the governments of the two countries ordered their railway
departments to create a joint Georgian-Russian consortium to oversee
the restoration of the Abkhaz railway. After this was done, the two
sides agreed to create an international consortium. Even as early
as December 2005 it was clear that both Armenia and Abkhazia would
become members of the consortium. The opening of this railway has a
vital importance for Armenia, which has closed borders with two of
its neighbors – Turkey and Azerbaijan. This rail link will finally
provide the country with a relatively efficient way to trade on a
large scale with its regional strategic partner, Russia.

The fact that Abkhazia is represented in the consortium as an
independent entity is an expression of Georgian goodwill. The
consortium’s quotas are distributed as follows: Russia – 50 percent;
Georgia – 30 percent, and Armenia and Abkhazia have 10 percent each,
the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe reports.

The participation of Armenia and separatist Abkhazia in the consortium
was initially met with controversy in Georgian society, although
many observers strongly support the idea that the Abkhaz side is
represented in the consortium as a separate unit.

“This is very profitable for Georgia because Sukhumi will once again
see that the Georgian side is ready to consider their interests,”
explained Paata Zakareishvili, a conflict resolution specialist,
as quoted by the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe.

The most problematic issue connected with the reopening of this
railway is that of customs control. The Abkhaz side is categorically
against the opening of a Georgian customs office in Psou on the
Abkhaz section of what Tbilisi considers to be the Georgian-Russian
border. At the same time the Georgian side is just as unbending and
has stated repeatedly that they will not compromise towards the issue.

“We will not discuss the border question – for us it is a closed
issue. We will continue to take part in tariff negotiations, and how
the revenues from this railway should be divided. As for the border,
negotiations surrounding this issue are ruled out. Psou is on the
Georgian-Russian border and that’s that,” declared Irakli Alasania,
presidential assistant for the resolution of the Abkhaz conflict,
the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe reports.

1000 ARMENIAN BIGGEST TAXPAYERS TRANSFER OVER AMD 61.2BLN TO STATE BUDGET IN 1ST Q 2006

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 26 2006

YEREVAN, April 26. /ARKA/. 1000 biggest taxpayers in Armenia
transferred over AMD 61.2bln to state budget in the 1st Q 2006.

According to the list placed on the State Tax Agency’s official
Internet site, tax receipts made about AMD 33.7bln and customs AMD
27.6bln.

Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Plant, who has paid AMD 5bln over a period
between January and March, is placed atop the list. The second biggest
taxpayer is ArmenTel Telecommunication Company with its AMD 3.8bln. The
company is followed by ArmRosgasprom CJSC with its AMD 3.2bln.

Flash and Kah Petrol Service oil traders, who injected AMD 1.9bln
and 1.67bln in the state budget, ranked 4th and 5th.

Armenian Electric Networks (AMD 1.34bln), Armenian-Canadian Grand
Tobacco (about 1.1bln), Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (AMD 1bln),
MIKA Armenia Trading (AMD 655mln), Armenia-International Airports
(AMD 530mln), Coca Cola Hellenic Bottlers Company (AMD 300mln),
HSBC Bank Armenia (AMD 175.8mln), Armenian Railway CJSC (173.6mln and
Armenian Savings Bank (161.3mln) are included in the list of hundred
largest taxpayers of Armenia. ($1 = AMD 447.36).

PHOTO EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN MONUMENTS OPENED IN WASHINGTON

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.04.2006 00:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A photo exhibition dedicated to the state of Armenian
historical and cultural monuments in Turkey and Nakhichevan opened
in the Armenian Embassy in Washington on April 24. Several dozens
of photos testify of consistent destruction of Armenian churches and
other historical monuments. The exhibition organized by an organization
studying the Armenian architecture functions under the slogan “cultural
genocide” and draws the attention of the international community to the
necessity of protection of Armenian cultural and historical monuments.

Opening the exhibition RA Ambassador to the U.S. Tatul Margaryan
highly assessed the activities of the Armenian architects and
noted that it’s very important today to preserve the tradition of
the Armenian architecture for the coming generations and raise
the issue of barbarian destruction of the Armenian khachkars in
Nakhichevan. The exhibition will function 10 days. It has already
been attended by hundreds of Americans including officials, reported
the RA MFA press office.

PACE President calls for a new impetus for a Europe-Russia partnership

Strasbourg, 26.04.2006 – On the eve of a visit to St Petersburg, the
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),
René van der Linden, today called for a new impetus for a partnership
between Russia and the rest of Europe.

“When I became President of the Assembly in January 2005, I stressed the
importance of ensuring constructive and friendly relations with Russia.
Now is the time to give this an extra impetus. We must strengthen mutual
trust and confidence, cooperate on an equal footing as the key to
success, build on stability and durability, shoulder our
responsibilities in solving conflicts and consolidate peace. A
partnership is therefore absolutely vital”, René van der Linden said
today.

On 27 April, he will take part in a special session of the State Duma of
the Russian Federation to celebrate its first centenary. On this
occasion, the President will hold a series of bilateral meetings in
particular with the President of the State Duma, Boris Gryzlov, the
President of the Council of the Federation, Sergey Mironov, as well as
with the Speakers of the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Moldova. The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, will
also attend this special session which will take place in the
Tavrichesky Palace, where the first State Duma sat from 1906 to 1917.
René van der Linden will deliver his address at 5 pm (the verbatim
text will be available on the PACE website ().

The next day, 28 April, the PACE President will be co-chairing the
“International Conference on European Parliamentarianism: Past and
Present”, to be jointly organised by PACE, the CIS Interparliamentary
Assembly and the State Duma. One of the topics to be discussed at the
conference is “international standards for democratic elections”. The
conclusions of this event will be presented at a press conference at
4.30 pm (Tavrichesky Palace).

This will be the fourth time the President of the Assembly has visited
Russia since his election in January 2005. The visit is taking place
just before Russia takes over the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe, on 19 May 2006.

Press Contact : Francesc Ferrer, PACE Communication Unit
Mobile +33 6 30 49 68 22, E-mail : [email protected]

Press Release
Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Ref: 241a06
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax :+33 3 90 21 41 34
[email protected]
internet:

The Parliamentary Assembly brings together 315 members from the national
parliaments of the 46 member states.
President: René van der Linden (Netherlands, EPP/CD); Secretary
General of the Assembly: Mateo Sorinas.
Political Groups: SOC (Socialist Group); EPP/CD (Group of the European
People’s Party); ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe);

EDG (European Democratic Group); UEL (Group of the Unified European
Left).

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apost. Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Prelate, Western United States
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, 91214
Tel: 818-248-7737/8
Fax: 818-248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

On the 91st Anniversary of the Genocide

THE PRELATE PRESIDES OVER CEREMONIES AND
PARTICIPATES IN MEETINGS

On the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Clergy of
the three denominations of the Armenian Church, along with the Consul
General of the Republic of Armenia, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,
representatives of Armenian political, benevolent and cultural
organizations, public officials, Prelacy Executive Council members, and
thousands of people commemorated the Genocide with requiem services, Holy
Mass, and public gatherings.

Holy Mass in Glendale’s St. Mary’s Church

In the morning of Monday, April 24, 2006, a special requiem service took
place at Montebello’s Genocide Monument with the participation of H.E.
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate, Very Rev. Fr. Andon Saroian of the Armenian Catholic Church, Rev.
Joe Matossian of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and members of clergy.
Among the attendees were Honorable Gagik Giragossian, Consul General of the
Republic of Armenia, A.R.F. Bureau representative Dr. Viken Hovsepian, and
representatives of the Armenian political organizations.
Following requiem, Holy Mass took place at Glendale’s St. Mary’s
Church under the auspices of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate,
with the participation of clergy from the three Armenian denominations.
During the Mass, remarks were made by Rev. Joe Matossian and Very Rev. Fr.
Andon Saroian.
Remarks were then made by Archbishop Mardirossian, who stressed
that the Armenian people, as faithful Christians, remain firm in their
demands and with God’s Will continue on their path towards victory.
At the conclusion of Holy Mass, guests and parishioners joined the
procession of clergy and choir members to the khachkar dedicated to the
memories of our martyrs, where requiem service was conducted.
The service ended with the singing of `Giligia’ and the national
anthem of Armenia `Mer Hayrenik’.

Public Gathering at Montebello’s Genocide Monument

In the afternoon of Saturday, April 23, 2006, a political meeting took place
at the Genocide Monument in Montebello with the participation of the three
Armenian denominations, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a representative of
Califorina Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, Armenia’s Consul General Gagik
Giragossian, and representatives of various Armenian organizations.
The gathering, organized by the Genocide Recognition Joint
Committee, began at 4:30 p.m. under the auspices of Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Very Rev. Fr. Andon Saroian, and
Rev. Joe Matossian. Also participating in the gathering was Recep Zarakolu,
member of a human rights group in Turkey.
The emcee of the event was Senator Jackie Speier. Remarks were
made by Mayor Villairagos, Governor Schwarzenneger’s representative,
Congressmen Adam Schiff and Jack Scott, City Council member Eric Garcetti,
and others. Mr. Recep Zarakolu also made remarks.
Following the official program, requiem services took place.

Glendale City Council Commemorates Genocide

On Sunday, April 23, at 2:00 p.m. Glendale City Council
commemorated the Genocide at Alex Theatre in Glendale. Representing the
Prelate was Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian, who was joined by Rev. Gomidas
Torossian of Glendale’s St. Mary’s Church.
Opening remarks were made by Glendale City Council member Rafi
Manoukian, followed with remarks by Mayor Dave Weaver, Council member Ara
Najarian, and Congressman Adam Schiff.
During the event, Michael Hagopian’s documentary on the Armenian
Genocide was shown. At the conclusion of the program, students of the
Vartan and Siranoush Kevorkian Dance School performed dances fitting the
solemn occasion.

CEASEFIRE VIOLATION BY AZERIS: THREE ARMENIAN SOLDIERS WOUNDED

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.04.2006 21:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 26 at 11.40 local time the Azeri side broke
the ceasefire. As result, an Armenian soldier Harut Manucharyan, aged
19 and called up in 2005 was wounded. Presently his health state is
satisfactory. April 25 at about 8.40 soldiers Narek Hovannisyan and
Gor Abrahamyan (both 1986 year of birth) were wounded. Their health
state is also rated as satisfactory. As RA Defense Minister’s Spokesman
Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net, the Armenian party did not
commence fire in response in both cases.

The reports of the Azeri media on the ceasefire violation by the
Armenian side as usual do not correspond to reality.

REMEMBERING THE ARMENIANS
By Richard Senate

Ventura County Star , CA
April 25 2006

Monday, Armenians all over the world marked the anniversary of a
terrible crime. On that day in 1915, the Turkish government began
the systematic murder of the Armenian people.

It was their solution to what they saw as the “Armenian Problem.”

This mass killing took place in the middle of World War I when few
were interested in the plight of a group of people in faraway Turkey.

The Turks believed that the Armenians were disloyal in the war and
saw the best way to solve the problem was the complete elimination
of this minority.

The edict of April 24, 1915, ordered the arrest of all Armenian
leaders. After they were taken away, they were never seen again. This
was only the beginning.

Next, the Armenians were forced to leave the cities and homes to
points south. These were elaborately planned death marches where
thousands were brutalized and killed. They were forced along a track
that avoided rivers and wells so the despised Armenians would die in
the desert. The victims endured unspeakable cruelties that rival the
fate of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Even after the war ended in 1918,
the killings went on until 1920. It is estimated one-and-a-half million
died in this, the first holocaust of the 20th century. Even today,
Turkey refuses to accept the fact that this crime ever took place.

It is recorded that when Adolf Hitler contemplated the destruction of
the Jews, one of his henchmen asked if this action might cause world
reaction. It is said Hitler replied: “Who remembers the Armenians?”