Author: Toneyan Mark

A1 Plus | 17:40:06 | 23-04-2004 | Politics |

STATE-ORDERED TERROR IN JUSTICE-STARVING REPUBLIC

On Friday, human rights activist and the Armenian Helsinki Association head
Mikael Danielyan, who was severely beaten three weeks ago, speaking at a
news conference in Yerevan, called the assault on him as a state order and
state terror.

Danielyan told journalists despite president Kocharyan’s instruction to
trace the offenders, the case investigator had visited him in the hospital
when he couldn’t even speak and his next visit had come two weeks later. The
investigator brought with him a forensic expert, which had nothing to do, as
all trace of violence had almost disappeared.

Mikael Danielyan is convinced neither perpetrators nor masterminds of the
assault to be tracked down and prosecuted.

Speaking on Wednesday’s attack on Socialist Forces leader Ashot Manucharyan
after his article published in Golos Armenii newspaper, Danielyan said those
daring to criticize somebody in government-leaning press, should stay
indoors to avoid beating.

Michael Danielyan said contrary to the authorities attempt to intimidate
him, he remains committed to continue his human rights activist mission of
keeping the world in touch with all illegalities in Armenia, including
illegal arrests, violence against journalists and human rights activists,
committed with impunity.

Interfax
April 2 2004

Foreign investment in Armenian economy up 5.6% in 2003

Moscow. (Interfax) – Foreign investments in Armenia’s economy in 2003
totaled $229.6 million, a 5.6% increase from 2002, the country’s
National Statistics Service told Interfax. Direct foreign investment
increased 8.9% to $153 million.

In particular, investment from Russia jumped 92.2% to $91.8 million,
from the United States 9.2% to $10.7 million and from Greece 55.4% to
$29.3 million. German investments were up 32.5 times at $1.8 million.

Armenia’s communications sector attracted $29.3 million, its food
industry $12.9 million and iron ore extraction business $122 million.

Attack on Armenian rights activist “state terror”, wife says

A1+ web site
1 Apr 04

The chairwoman of the Pen club, Anna Akopyan, who is the wife of the
chairman of the Helsinki Association, Mikael Daniyelyan, has described
the violence against her husband as terror. “I expected it,” she said,
adding that the development was to be predicted from the publications
in the pro-government press.

She said that insults had been published against Mikael Daniyelyan,
but he had not responded as he would not stoop to that level.

Anna Akopyan said that Mikael Daniyelyan had described the accident as
“obvious state terror”. He monitors the authorities’ behaviour and
cannot neglect those in trouble. “In their time the Dashnaks were in
trouble, tomorrow it could be [President Robert] Kocharyan,” the
victim’s wife said.

At the same time she is sure that there are many who speak out against
the authorities now. “But why Mikael? Because he speaks harshly,
pulling no punches.”

Has a criminal case been instituted? “No. I call it state terror,
because it took me four hours to manage to bring policemen to the
scene. They came and found that Mikael was not able to speak and they
said they would come later. They have not yet come,” the chairwoman
of the Pen club said.

One of the journalists asked why this incident was politicized. “Are
not the examples of Mark Grigoryan, Nikol Pashinyan, A1+, Tigran
Ayrapetyan enough? How many examples like this do you need to
convince you that they are all ordered from above?” Anna Akopyan said
in conclusion.

Payvand, Iran
March 31 2004

Armenia, Iran to sign gas pipeline accord early April

Yerevan, March 30, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA — Negotiations with Iran
regarding the construction of a gas pipeline to Armenia reached the
final stage, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsesyan said on
Tuesday.

The sides have already reached accords on the main technical
parameters of the pipeline.

Iranian oil minister is expected to arrive in Yerevan in early April
to sign an agreement on building of a gas pipeline, Movsesyan said.

According to the minister, the construction, due to begin later this
year, will last 20 months and to be completed in 2006. Either country
will be fully responsible for laying its stretch of the pipeline.

According to preliminary estimates, the Armenian section will cost
dlrs 100 million to lay, and the Iranian stretch, slightly more.

According to the draft agreement, Iran will deliver gas to Armenia in
amounts sufficient only for the country`s domestic consumption,
Movsesyan said.

The question of extending the pipeline farther to carry Iranian gas
to Europe was not considered, contrary to allegations by some mass
media.

The gas pipeline from Iran will ensure continuous gas supply to
Armenia and enhance its energy security. So far Armenia has received
gas by the sole pipeline from Russia.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
March 31 2004

OFFICIAL VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN TO BELARUS
[March 31, 2004, 19:17:19]

Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Artur Rasizadeh staying for an
official visit in Belarus, met on March 30 with leadership and
members of the Board of the international public organization
`Congress Of Azerbaijan Communities of Belarus’ at the conference
hall of the Belarusian capital’s `Zhuravninka’ complex.

Following the opening remarks by Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Belarus
Talat Aliyev, Chairman of the Congress of the Azerbaijani communities
of Belarus, 4 times World Champion, 5 times winner of Judo and Sambo
European Championships, Senior Coach of Belarusian judo national
team, Natig Baghirov warmly greeted the Head of Azerbaijan Government
and introduced the Congress Board’s members, its activists – known
scientists, doctors, public figures and businessmen Rahman Ismaylov,
Hasan Abdullayev, Etibar Baghirov, Rauf Sadykhov, Taptyg Abyshov and
others – to him.

In a warm and amicable atmosphere, Prime Minister Mr. Artur Rasizadeh
called on our compatriots to further consolidation following the
policy declared by President of the world Azerbaijanis Heydar Aliyev.
He told the meeting participants of rapid progress in Azerbaijan in
all spheres of life under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev,
and shared the existing plans on intensification of trade and
economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus. Our Belarusian
compatriots, in their turn, assured Premier A. Rasizadeh that they
would further realize the policy of our nationwide leader Heydar
Aliyev and strengthen ties with the historical Motherland.

Mr. A. Rasizadeh presented a canvas with a picture of Baku to the
Congress.

The meeting was attended by first Vice-Premier of Azerbaijan A.
Abbasov, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kh. Khalafov,
high-ranking officials of the Cabinet and diplomats.

***

In the morning, March 31, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Artur
Rasizadeh and members of the governmental delegation laid a wreath at
the pedestal of the monument Eternal Fire on the Victory Square in
Minsk, where state Anthems of Azerbaijan and Belarus have been
performed.

On the same day, the first meeting of Azerbaijan-Belarus
intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was
held at the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
Co-Chairs of the commission are first Deputy Prime Minister of
Azerbaijan Abbas Abbasov and deputy Head of the Belarusian Government
Andrey Kazakov.

The parties discussed topical issues concerning Belarus-Azerbaijan
relations, and defined perspective trends of trade and economic
cooperation between the two countries. As a result, a Protocol
implying realization of a number of joint projects in the spheres of
industry, agriculture, transport, science, culture, sports and
tourism has been signed. The parties also agreed to hold the
commission’s next meeting by the end of this year in Baku. Following
a one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Artur
and his Belarusian colleague Sergey Sidorskiy, negotiations were held
in a broadened format. Mr. Rasizadeh updated the meeting participants
on various aspects of political and economic life in Azerbaijan, told
of the Armenian military aggression against our country, occupation
as a result, of Azerbaijani territories and over million Azerbaijani
refugees from the conflict. After the talks, the parties signed the
following bilateral documents: agreements on free trade, draft
Protocol on joint actions for realization of the agreements reached
during the negotiations between governmental delegations of
Azerbaijan Republic and the Republic of Belarus, Agreement of Air
Communication, and agreement on cooperation in the field of geodesy
and cartography, organization of the use of land, and land cadastre
between the Committee on Land Resources, Geodesy and Cartography
under the Council of Minister of the Republic of Belarus and State
Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Land and Cartography, and
the Protocol on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Belarus and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Republic.

Following the meetings and signing ceremonies, Mr. A. Rasizadeh and
S. Sidorskiy answered the questions from Belarusian and foreign
journalists.

On March 31, Prime Minister A. Rasizadeh visited Close Corporation
`Atlant’, Minsk Motor Car and Tractor factories.

The first official visit of the Head of Azerbaijan Government A.
Rasizadeh to Belarus continues.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/30/2004
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1) Five Armenians Elected to Georgian Parliament
2) Parliament Inquiry Slams Misuse of Loans
3) Coalition Parties Caution Opposition to Practice Vigilance
4) Montana 32nd State to Recognize the Armenian Genocide
5) Never Mind the Bullocks. . . Here is the Skeptik!

1) Five Armenians Elected to Georgian Parliament

TBILISI (Armenpress)–Five Armenians were elected to Georgia’s parliament in
the March 28 nationwide elections. Two Armenians Melik Raisian and Van
Bayburdian, were reelected from a proportional list of the governing
coalition,
while Henzel Mkoyan, Hamlet Movsisian, and Hayk Miltonian were elected by a
single mandate. Six Armenians previously served in Georgia’s parliament.
There was high voter turnout in Georgia’s predominantly Armenian-populated
region of Javakhk, with 90% of eligible voters casting ballots. In the
Akhalkalak region, approximately 30,000 of 33,000 registered voters turned
out;
in Ninotsminda, 17,200 of 18,300; in Tsalka, 9,000 out of 13,000; and in
Akhaltsikha, 11,000 out of 15,000. The majority in all regions voted in favor
of the ruling bloc.

2) Parliament Inquiry Slams Misuse of Loans

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Presenting the findings of a parliamentary commission
studying the use of financial and humanitarian assistance to Armenia, National
Assembly Vice-speaker and commission chairman Vahan Hovhannisian, challenged
government claims that the situation with water supplies in the capital has
markedly improved since the launch of the scheme in 1999.
The interim report was issued by the ad hoc commission of the Armenian
parliament that was set up last September to investigate the use of nearly $3
billion in external loans, grants, and other assistance received by Armenia
since independence.
A $30 million project to improve supplies of drinking water in Yerevan has
failed to achieve its main objectives to due a serious misuse of the funds
provided by the World Bank, according to the commission’s findings released on
Tuesday.
According to the State Committee on Water Resources, the average Yerevan
household currently has running water for more than nine hours a day and will
enjoy the round-the-clock supplies by the end of the year. But Hovannisian,
who
is also one of the two deputy speakers of the assembly, said the official
figure is grossly exaggerated.
He cited the example of the city’s Davitashen district where $5.8 million of
the World Bank loans has been spent. The authorities were supposed to ensure
24-hour supplies there by the beginning of this year. The commission report
says most local residents have running water for between 10 and 12 hours a
day,
despite having installed water meters.
The introduction of meters has been a key element in the government’s
sweeping
reform and restructuring the country’s obsolete water and sewerage network.
Most Armenians have already bought and installed them at their expense. A
typical urban household needed two such devices in their apartments and
paid an
equivalent of $15 a piece. Hovannisian said a water meter was in fact worth
between $5 and $6, accusing the government’s water agency and Yerevan’s
utility
operator of making $6.5 million in “unjustified” profits from their sale.
The commission report also criticizes the fact that 27 percent of the World
Bank funds have been spent on project management, overhead, and logistics.
That
includes $5 million paid to the Italian firm A-Utility that has run Yerevan’s
water and sewerage network since the launch of the project.
Hovannisian said the commission will recommend that the government not extend
its management contract with A-Utility after the project’s completion this
summer. He said the network has failed to reduce continuing huge leaks of
drinking water.
Government officials admit that as much as 60 percent of the water is being
lost before reaching households. They say substantial capital investments are
needed to reconstruct the aging Soviet-era network of pipes.
The publication of the parliamentary report follows last week’s dismissal of
Gagik Martirosian, the longtime head of the State Committee on Water
Resources.
It is not clear if there is any connection between the two developments.
There was no immediate reaction to the report from the government. Officials
at the World Bank’s Yerevan office declined a comment, saying that they have
not yet received the document. They had earlier praised the implementation of
the infrastructure project.

3) Coalition Parties Caution Opposition to Practice Vigilance

YEREVAN (Armenpress/RFE/RL)–Responding to opposition calls to topple
Armenia’s
President, ARF National Assembly faction member Hrair Karapetian, pointing to
the legitimacy of the government, said that attempts to disrupt law and order
would be countered.
“We admonish those announcements whose authors not only insult, but
succeed in
also assaulting and degrading the majority of the population which voted for
the authorities–that assail the president of the republic, as well as those
forces assisting the government. Such announcements seek to only dissolve the
country’s governmental structure, and splinter society to bring about
irrevocable consequences,” Karapetian warned during a special session of
parliament during which factions and individual deputies are able to read out
statements on any issue.
Karapetian offered, instead, the carrying out of political clashes in a
healthy political arena.
“I call on all political forces to sit at the round table and refrain from
making calls disseminating hatred and hostility,” said Samvel Balasanian, the
parliamentary leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party, the Republican Party’s (HHK)
junior coalition partner.
“There is still time and political forces must display the will to address
the
country’s problems through dialogue and political mechanisms,” said Samvel
Nikoyan, a senior lawmaker from the Republican Party (HHK). “We are
prepared to
shoulder responsibility for organizing such a dialogue.”
Opposition leaders, however, said they remain determined to try to oust
President Robert Kocharian with sustained street protests planned for the
beginning of next month.
The opposition lawmakers, who have been boycotting regular National Assembly
sessions for more than a month, showed up to take the opportunity to spread
their tough anti-Kocharian message. They were quick to dismiss the coalition
offer. “We are ready for dialogue with any political force provided that
Kocharian resigns,” said Victor Dallakian of the Artarutyun (Justice)
alliance.

Dallakian added that Artarutyun and the opposition National Unity Party will
jointly start “the process of toppling Kocharian’s regime” before April 13.
“Together we are united and determined to fulfill the people’s will, restore
constitutional order and form a legitimate government in Armenia,” he said.
President Kocharian, through a spokesman, warned that opposition threats to
force him into resignation with street protests are unconstitutional and will
be dealt with accordingly. “The opposition has adopted a baseless and
aggressive position,” the presidential press secretary Ashot Kocharian said.
“The opposition actions carry elements running counter to criminal
legislation. In particular, there are calls for a violent regime change.”
“Unsanctioned rallies are fraught with criminally punishable actions directed
against public order,” the spokesman warned.
The opposition has promised a campaign of demonstrations outside the
presidential palace and parliament building in Yerevan similar to the November
“revolution of roses” in neighboring Georgia. “Kocharian may not resign,
but he
will be unable to control the situation and govern the country de facto,” said
another Artarutyun leader Albert Bazeyan.
Armenia’s leading businessmen have expressed concern at the mounting
political
tensions. In a joint statement issued late Monday, they effectively sided with
the authorities, saying that a destabilization of the political situation
would
have negative effects on the struggling Armenian economy. The statement was
read out by the chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Arsen
Ghazarian.
“I myself see no danger in [peaceful] rallies,” Ghazarian said. “That is the
constitutional right of our citizens. I only hope that that it will be done in
accordance with the law and the constitution.”

4) Montana 32nd State to Recognize the Armenian Genocide

WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Montana became the 32nd US state to recognize the
Armenian Genocide, joining with the Armenian American community and all people
of good conscience in honoring the victims of this crime against humanity,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Governor Judy Martz, in a letter of recognition sent to the ANCA, stated: “I
am pleased to recognize your achievements to bring awareness and
recognition to
the one and one-half million Christian Armenian men, women and children who
were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish
Government from 1915 to 1923.” She went on to explain that recognition of the
89th anniversary of the genocide is “crucial to guarding against repetition of
future genocides.”
On Monday, Montana joined 31 states that have already recognized the Armenian
Genocide through Governor proclamations or adoption of State resolutions,
including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
“I am proud of Gov. Martz’s principled stand recognizing the Armenian
Genocide
and joining with our community in this solemn remembrance. I can only hope
that
our legislators in Washington will take similar action through passage of the
Genocide Resolution in the House and Senate,” said Montana resident and
lifelong ANC activist Yedvart Tchakerian.
Armenian American activist Bob Semonian, a long-time friend of the Montana
Governor, played a key role in introducing the matter to Governor Martz.

TEXT OF MONTANA GOVERNOR’S STATEMENT

April 2004

On behalf of citizens of the State of Montana, I am pleased to recognize your
achievements to bring awareness and recognition to the one and one-half
million
Christian Armenian men, women and children who were victims of the brutal
genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish Government from 1915 to 1923.
The Armenian genocide and massacres of Armenian people have been
recognized as
an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over
3,000 years old. Recognition of the eighty-ninth anniversary of this genocide
is crucial to guarding against the repetition of future genocide and educating
people about the atrocities connected to these horrific events.
I urge recognition of their plight on April 24th, 2004, which is nationally
recognized as a Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

5) Never Mind the Bullocks. . . Here is the Skeptik!

BY SKEPTIK SINIKIAN

For those of you who have been living in a cultural vacuum, I wanted to point
out that the above headline was stripped from the title of one of the few
decent things to come out of Britain–the groundbreaking punk band, the Sex
Pistols. The other notable contribution from the British Isles is the comedy
troupe Monty Python. Save for punk music and the creators of the “Life of
Brian,” all else that has come from England has been an albatross around the
world’s neck.
For starters, take all of the problems in the Middle East or Africa. It was
Britain’s policies of imperialistic expansion starting in the early 18th
century that have resulted in nation states in these regions with borders that
look more like an 8th grader’s geometry homework than actual countries. We’re
still feeling the repercussions of the political meddling of Britain in these
regions to this day. For those of you who are “literacy challenged”, just
watch
“Lawrence of Arabia” to get a layman’s perspective of the mess Britain left
behind in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and environs. And that hot bed of activity
called Israel? Guess who the geniuses were who drew up that map. I’ll give you
a hint. It was the same group of folks that thought Gandhi and his countrymen
in India were too primitive to govern themselves. One more hint? Fine. But
it’s
your last one. They went to war with Argentina over disputed claims to the
Falkland Islands, a group of islands off the coast of ARGENTINA whose main
export is sheep and wool. God knows those Brits need their wool! But I
guess if
you’re going to play the role of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, then you need all
the wool you can get. Oops, I gave away the answer. For those of you still
scratching your heads…the answer was Britain.
What inspired this particular rant against the British wasn’t their past
policies. After all, no nation is a saint and in the world of politics it’s a
“shoon” eat “shoon” world out there. After all, it was Lord Palmerston, 19th
century British Foreign Secretary, who said “There are no permanent alliances,
only permanent interests.” It was a more recent quote by another British
dignitary with a far more callous tone which drove me to embark on this
diatribe. It was with outrage that I read article after article and email
after
email about the denialist comments the British Ambassador to Armenia Thorda
Abbott-Watt made in reference to the Armenian Genocide. She ascertained that
the events of 1915 did not constitute a Genocide. Her statements are a blatant
disregard of the historical facts of the Armenian Genocide, not to mention an
affront to survivors and Armenians throughout the world.
I wrote a letter of complaint to the British foreign ministry but I don’t
expect any results. As an Armenian American who has studied the history of
Armenia, Britain and its relationship with the Ottoman Empire, I’m not
surprised that Britain would hang the Armenians out to dry on this issue. Why
should they act differently than in previous times? The only times when
Britain
spoke out against the ill-treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were
when it was in their own self-interest to do so – to either leverage
themselves
against Russia or to ensure control over the crumbling Ottoman state. What
will
it take to convince Britain to adopt an honorable position on the Armenian
Genocide? Maybe increasing Armenia’s wool production. More sheep may be the
answer but I have a feeling that even this will not change the British foreign
ministry’s sheepish attitude. After all, as long as they control that o’ so
strategically significant piece of real estate known as the Falkland Islands,
they have all the wool they will ever need.
I have no respect for Ambassador Abbot-Watt after her uneducated and
politically motivated statements. But I also understand that she is the
mouthpiece of her government. As such, she is the monkey who dances to the
organ music when told to do so. And to end this column with a quote from Sir
Winston Churchill, you should “Never hold discussions with the monkey when the
organ grinder is in the room.” Having made the obligatory monkey reference, I
say give the Ambassador a ticket to ride all the way back to Britain, because
it’s obvious that she don’t care. Cheerio!
Skeptik Sinikian is a resident of that rebellious former-British colony
recognized by the National Geographic Society as the United States of America.
Despite his disdain for British Ambassadors to Armenia, he still enjoys
English
muffins and English Breakfast tea, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Benny Hill
Specials, “Faulty Towers” and Shakespeare. He can be reached at
[email protected]

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Turkish Ruling Party Bolsters Strength in Municipal Polls

Amberin Zaman
Ankara
28 Mar 2004, 22:04 UTC

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party bolstered its strength
in nationwide municipal polls Sunday capturing some 40 percent of the
vote. The outcome is a ringing endorsement of the conservative party’s
drive to accelerate Turkey’s membership of the European Union and of
its aggressive economic reforms. The Justice and Development Party,
or AKP retained control of key cities, including the capital Ankara,
and the country’s largest city, Istanbul, while registering gains in
regions long dominated by left-wing groups.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had “voted once again
for stability and progress.”

The main opposition pro-secular Republican People’s Party trailed well
behind with about 20 percent of the vote.

Formed by a group of former Islamists three years ago, the AKP swept
to power in November 2002 parliamentary polls with 34 percent of the
vote, giving Turkey its first single party government in 15 years.

Analysts say poll results reflect the huge success of thousands of AKP
run municipalities.

Unlike their pro-secular rivals, AKP mayors have been largely
untainted by corruption and have catered to the needs of the urban
poor, providing free food and fuel for thousands of shanty town
dwellers. Mr. Erdogan, himself, rose to national prominence in the
1990’s as the mayor of Istanbul, who brought water to the drought
stricken city of 10 million.

Fears that the party might steer the country away from the pro-Western
and secular policies introduced by the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal
Ataturk,have proven empty so far.

In a further bid to quell such concerns, Mr. Erdogan did not field any
female candidates, who wear the Islamic style headscarf in Sunday’s
polls. And in a gesture to non-Muslim Turks, the AKP ran three ethnic
Armenians for smaller municipal districts in Istanbul.

At the national level, the AKP dominated parliament has pushed through
a raft of reforms designed to help Turkey open membership talks with
the EU, among them measures to ease bans on the Kurdish language and
stiffening penaltiesfor torture. The changes may have helped the AKP
snatch mayoral seats in five major predominantly Kurdish cities held
by the country’s largest pro-Kurdish group, the Democratic People’s
Party, or Dehap.

How France Defines Terrorism
MensNewsDaily
March 21, 2004

by Bruce Walker

Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Minister of Vichy French, after
President Bush reminded the world that Iraq was much happier without
Saddam Hussein, sniped that there was more terrorism in Iraq now than
before the war of liberation.

The problem, of course, is how Villepin and the government of Vichy
France defines “terrorism.”

Nations, according to the Vichy mentality, cannot break laws or commit
terrorism. This thinking allowed Vichy France to collaborate without
remorse in the Holocaust. Hitler had a regime that was scrupulously
legalistic in many ways.

As one example, in the first election after the Enabling Act, the
National Socialist German Workers Party did not win a majority of
seats in the Reichstag.

Nazis did terrible deeds which violated established international law
or German criminal law but the truly ghastly crimes of Nazism were
committed in violation of moral law, not specific prohibitions of
national or international law.

Indeed, perhaps the most grim fact to concede in prosecutions made for
the Holocaust was that no similar prosecutions were made for the
identical crime of the Armenian Holocaust twenty-five years earlier.

France, pointedly, was the greatest land power in Europe after the
Great War.

It had the military power to punish Turkey for the systematic
extermination of 1.5 million Armenian Christians in the First
Holocaust. The legalistic statism of Vichy thinking refused to condemn
the torture, murder and outraging of the Armenians.

When Arnold Wegner, who from Christian conscience recorded in
photographs the First Holocaust, begged Hitler not to do to Jews what
Turks had done to Armenians, Hitler’s famous response was “Who, today,
thinks of the Armenians?” The official predecessors of Villepin did
not think of the Armenians in 1919.

There were no Nuremberg Trials for the First Holocaust.

If we consider democidal campaigns of monsters who lead governments,
then what sort of terrorism has occurred by these heads of political
parties, governments or ideologies? Evil governments unmolested by
external champions of goodness have been the primary terrorists of the
Twentieth Century.

Communism in peacetime – not in war or in civil war – murdered almost
100 million people who lived within its noxious realm in the last
century. That exceeds all the victims of wars and of other holocausts
and democides combined.

About 20 million people were murdered by odious regimes like Hitler
and Hussein.

This compares with 29 million people murdered in wars, excluding civil
wars.

Almost 6 million people, the equivalent of the Holocaust’s Jewish
victims, died in civil wars which, by definition, is a war to
determine who is the government of a region.

When murder by a government against its subjects is considered
“terrorism” then does Iraq have more terrorism or less terrorism after
Operation Iraqi Freedom? There is much less terrorism, if we reject
the Vichy French notionthat families gassed at Auschwitz are not
victims of terrorism while German soldiers strafed by P-47
Thunderbolts in the campaign to liberate France were victims of
terrorism.

Saddam Hussein killed in so many different ways that it is difficult
to fully grasp the extent of his murders. Some mass graves contain
tens of thousands of dead men, women and children. Some of these Babi
Yar sites – referring to one of the most infamous field exterminations
of innocent Jews by Nazis in the Soviet Union – were known to us
beforehand and some were not.

The gassing of Kurds, the wholesale destruction of Shia, and the
decimation of the Baathist Party itself produce mind-boggling
numbers. Based upon whatwe know now but did not know before Operation
Iraqi Freedom, a very conservative estimate would be that the
terrorism of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist butchers murdered at
least five hundred people each day.

That excludes factors that might well be considered simple murder. The
aggressive war against Iran claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
lives asdid the invasion of Kuwait. The misuse of the “Oil for Food”
program appears likelyto have claimed another hundred thousand or so
Iraqi children. But let us forget this dead and consider only those
who are victims of the Baathist Holocaust.

More people were murdered each day by the Baathist Party in Bagdad
than on the worst day of killing since Operation Iraqi Freedom began,
and that includes the combat deaths of Baathist Party supporters and
of innocent Iraqis. The terrorism of monstrous governments like the
Baathist Party, the Communist Party and the Nazi Party are modern
terrorism.

Organized democide, whether at Tikrit, Trezibond or Treblinka, dwarfs
what pikers like bin Ladin can accomplish. Perhaps Vichy Foreign
Minister Villepin cannot see this because he comes from the nation
whose revolutionary government gave humanity “The Terror” and which
inspired Lenin, Hitler and Mao to match the French bloodbath of
terrorist government. This worst sort of terrorism is precisely what
collaborators like Villepin never see – and never wish to see.

Bruce Walker

Bruce Walker writes regular, orginal, weekly columns for Enter Stage
Right and Conservative Truth. His articles have also appeared in a
variety of print and electronic periodicals, including Christian
Science Monitor, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Law and Order, Legal Secretary
Today, and The Docket. Bruce also wrote a regular column for several
years entitled “Law and You” for The Single Parent, the national
journal of Parents Without Partners. His professional career includes
five years as Executive Director of the Oklahoma District Attorneys
Association, three years as Administrator of the Oklahoma Child
Support Enforcement Program, and six years as Managing Attorney of the
Tulsa Child Support Office.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
March 19 2004

Syrian Arabs fear Iraqi Kurd scenario

Friday 19 March 2004, 22:59 Makka Time, 19:59 GMT

Syrian Qamishli has been the home for Arab and Kurd Syrians

The unprecedented clashes between Syrian Kurds and police last week
have led Syrian Arabs to question whether Kurds in the region are
determined to follow the path of their Iraqi peers.

Syrian Arabs are accusing some Kurd countrymen of trying to give the
United States a pretext to intervene in Syria like it has done in
neighbouring Iraq.

Arabs on the streets of some Syrian cities voiced anger and dismay at
recent violence in the north of the country, saying on Friday they
believed Kurds were trying to stir up trouble.

Unacceptable statement

They also condemned statements by some Kurdish politicians seeking
statehood.

“They are trying to drag the country into a war with the Americans now
after they toppled (Iraq’s) Saddam Hussein,” said Jamal, who works at
a bakery in the northern town of Aleppo, scene of bloody clashes
between Kurds and police this week.

“The Kurds are trying to portray Syria’s (government) as if it is
another Saddam… I don’t think they are mistreated. They are like any
one of us living here.”

Syrian Kurds, who number some two million out of Syria’s 17.6 million
people, want their rights to be preserved in Syria.

Kurds and police clashed in northern Syrian cities a week ago after a
soccer match brawl in a stadium in Qamishli, near the Turkish border.
About 30 people were killed and public buildings were damaged in the
violence.

Disappointment

Human rights activists, who have defended Kurds’ calls for preserving
their identity through Kurdish-language schools and supported
citizenship demands by stateless Kurds, say the riots abused the right
to peaceful protest.

Kurds are thought to number
20 to 25 million in the Middle East

Activist Ammar Kurabi said some people who had been campaigning to
improve the lot of Kurds felt let down.

“We as opposition felt as if the Kurds deceived us. They say one thing
to us about the national unity and Syria being a home for all but
later we see them acting differently,” Kurabi said.

“At first I used to blame the authorities because they dealt with the
situation in a wrong way, but… the Kurds should not have allowed the
situation to reach this stage.”

Kurabi said violent incidents gave the United States a pretext to
“intervene in our country”.

Varying demands

Syria and Turkey have opposed any moves to strengthen Kurdish autonomy
in northern Iraq, fearing it could ignite separatist aspirations among
their own Kurdish minorities.

But Syrian Kurd demands are varied — some say they want equal rights
with fellow Syrians; a few demand statehood and others say about
200,000 stateless Kurds should be given Syrian citizenship.

“We are the sons of this country,” said Rachid Shabban of the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party in Syria, adding that “unjust” state policies
made some Kurds bitter.

“There are some people in this state that are not reading the facts
right. The world is changing and the region is changing, so the Syrian
state has to change. They have to accept others’ rights.

“We don’t want a whole change, but at least as Kurds we want to be
equal,” he said.

“They want a state? They can have this,” said Abou Salim, 70, making
an insulting gesture. “I was a civil servant for 40 years and I never
asked anyone if he was a Kurd….”

“Kurds have rights and they want them. Fair enough, everyone can ask
for more rights, but not make war for (them) and destroy the country,”
said Umm Ammar, a housewife.

More rights

Salam Alou, a Kurd in Aleppo, probably echoed the sentiments of most
Kurds when he said he wanted more rights, not a separate state.

“Syria is our land and home, but the authorities do not listen to us
or others,” he said.

Syria, an east Mediterranean state with an Arab majority, has a wide
ranging ethnic and religious mix that includes Kurds, Circassians,
Assyrians, Armenians, Muslims, Christians and Jews.

“During my military service I had Kurdish mates. We used to eat from
the same bowl and sing together at night,” said Farouq, a taxi driver,
visibly angry at the violence in the north.

“Last month I went to the wedding of one of them and I drove him and
his bride to their house in this car,” he said, banging on the
steering wheel of his yellow cab.

The crisis started last week after tensions between Arab and Kurdish
football spectators, developed into clashes. A Kurdish mob provoked
Syrian nationals when they burnt the Syrian flag and raised the
American one.

CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Cross-Border Media Project Evaluation Announcement

The Eurasia Foundation, a privately managed grant-making organization
funded primarily by the United States Agency for International
Development, seeks an evaluation consultant to conduct a cluster
evaluation of 7 cross-border independent media projects awarded by its
South Caucasus Cooperation Program (SCCP) from 1999-2003. The evaluation
study is scheduled to be conducted by May 14, 2004 with the final report
submitted no later than May 31, 2004.

SCCP seeks to identify and analyze results and impact of the 7
cross-border media projects (19 individual grants) and to explore the
results of these projects. The goals of the study are to identify
additional program areas to improve or expand SCCP’s cross-border
independent media work and identify the niche or role that SCCP is most
suited to fill in the context of other cross-border media initiatives in
the South Caucasus region.

Qualifications
The ideal evaluator will have experience in the field of cross-border
mass media, preferably in similar transition and conflicted societies.
The ideal evaluator will also have experience in evaluating media
projects using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Russian
language skills would be very helpful.

Request for Bids
The Eurasia Foundation seeks bids from individuals or organizations to
conduct this evaluation. After receiving the detailed Scope of Work from
the Foundation, applicants will submit a brief proposal that includes a
detailed description of the evaluator’s qualifications and proposed
evaluation methodology. In addition, the applicant will submit a budget
that should include the following:
1. Fixed compensation rate for the project;
2. Travel costs between the evaluator’s home city and Tbilisi; and
3. All local travel costs, including transport, lodging and meal
allowance.

All expenses must comply with the Eurasia Foundation’s cost and travel
procedures.

The deadline for applications is March 22, 2004. Primary criteria for
selection will be professional qualifications, quality of the proposed
evaluation methodology and cost-effectiveness. The Eurasia Foundation
expects to notify the successful applicant of its decision by March 29,
2004.

Applicants should contact the Eurasia Foundation to receive a copy of
the detailed Scope of Work for the evaluation. Applicants may request an
electronic copy of the Scope of Work by contacting Ms. Lisa Butenhoff
([email protected]) or visiting the Foundation’s offices in Baku,
Tbilisi or Yerevan. The office addresses are listed below. Applications
should be sent by 6:00 pm on March 22, 2004 to Ms. Lisa Butenhoff at the
email address above.
Eurasia Foundation Office Addresses in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia

The Eurasia Foundation
4 Demirchyan Street
Yerevan 375019, Armenia

The Eurasia Foundation
67 Fizuli Street, 5th Floor
Baku 370014, Azerbaijan

The Eurasia Foundation
3 Kavsadze Street
Tbilisi 0179, Georgia