Author: Tvankchian Parkev

A1 Plus | 18:29:42 | 14-04-2004 | Politics |

MP ALEXAN KARAPETYAN TALKING ABOUT THE RECENT EVENTS

According to Opposition representatives, Robert Kocharyan and Serj Sargssyan
are responsible for the political situation in Armenia and Parliament
Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan bears the responsibility for the events on April
13.

“Parliament Speaker had hosted some criminals in Parliament while 4 MPs were
not allowed to enter there as delegates. The point is that 40 armed men went
out of Parliament building and blocked everybody”, MP Alexan Karapetyan
said.

MP was shocked at a scene. “A mother of a perished war fighter was lying on
the ground with a broken leg. 4 butchers were beating her like they wanted
to kill her. It is unspeakable when someone beats a blooded woman. A few
young people resisted blows and managed to take the woman away. The tragedy
is that a mother had sent her son to liberate Karabakh”.

A1 Plus | 17:39:32 | 14-04-2004 | Politics |

THOSE BEATING JOURNALISTS MUST BE PUNISHED

“Office of General Prosecutor must do its best to call the people who did
violence to account”, USA Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway said over
beating journalists.

“I am sure journalists have the right to obtain information. We all know
that it is sometimes dangerous to be a journalist. But Police must protect
journalists when some criminal elements commit violence towards them”,
Ambassador stated.

ARMENIAN WATER INDUSTRY TO BE HANDED TO PRIVATE OPERATOR

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: The government of Armenia and WorldBank
have concluded negotiations on a fresh credit for handing Armenia’s water
industry (supply of drinking water and sewage network) over to a
private operator, which will be required to restore the entire system.
World Bank Board of Director is expected to consider the $26 million
worth project in May, which is supposed to start in September. The
government has committed to release $3 million from its budget to
support the project. According to Adibek Ghazarian, the head of the
project implementing office, the ultimate goal of the 6 year-long
project is to secure round theclock water supply across the country
and reduction of losses. Ghazarian said a relevant tender will be
announced soon.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 9 2004

Armenian opposition begins open-ended sit-in strike

09.04.2004, 21.00

YEREVAN, April 9 (Itar-Tass) — The Armenian opposition that demands
the resignation of President Robert Kocharyan begins an open-ended
sit-in strike on the square in front of the Yerevan Opera Theatre,
speakers at a Friday rally of the opposition announced.

The rally organizers said that up to 60,000 people participated in
the rally, the police said it was up to 6,500.

The opposition demanded that the authorities set a day of the
referendum before April 12, and pledged to hold rallies at 6:00 p.m.
every day.

A march in the city center followed the rally. The march will not go
to the presidential palace, which is protected by the police, in
order to avoid clashes, Chairman of the Republic Party Albert Bazeyan
said.

CENN – APRIL 8, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline to be Ready by Mid-2005
2. NGO News Line Launched!
3. Western European Governments not Taking Illegal Logging Seriously
4. The International Conference – Environmental Safety: Nature and
Society
5. GIS & Remote Sensing for Wildlife Managers Using the New ESRI
Software ARCGIS
6. Measuring Land Cover Change and its Impact on Endangered Species

1. BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN OIL PIPELINE TO BE READY BY MID-2005

Source: Interfax, April 7, 2004

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline will be ready for use in the
first half of 2005, David Woodward, president of British Petroleum
Azerbaijan, said in Tbilisi on Tuesday after a meeting between an
Azerbaijani delegation and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

He said that at the moment 60% of construction work has been completed
on the Georgian side: pipes have been welded on 150 km of the 248-km
section. “The pipeline will be ready for use in the first half of next
year,” Woodward said.

In turn, Natik Aliyev, president of the State Oil Company of the
Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), said that the pipeline is being built
according to plan and will be completed on schedule. “For us, as for
international financial and oil circles, this has been and continues to
be a priority,” Aliyev said.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project will cost $3.6 billion. The future
pipeline will stretch 1,767 kilometers (443 km through Azerbaijan, 248
km through Georgia and 1,076 km through Turkey) and will have a capacity
of 50 million tonnes of oil per annum

Participants in the BTC project are: British Petroleum (30.1%), SOCAR
(25%), Unocal (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), ENI (5%), Itochu
(3.4%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%), Inpex (2.5%), TotalFinaElf (5%), and
Amerada Hess (2.36%).

2. NGO NEWS LINE LAUNCHED!

NEWS RELEASE
April 5, 2004
Yerevan, Armenia

April 5. The USAID-funded World Learning NGO Strengthening Program is
pleased to announce the launch of NGO News Line, a unique online
initiative available on our website The current
option presents the latest NGO news on a special page exclusively
devoted to news releases from Armenian NGO sector.

On this page all interested Armenian NGOs can not only read but also
share information about their programs and events by getting directly
involved in the News Line update. As soon as the news is submitted to
World Learning’s Information department via email:
[email protected], the NGO information is processed, translated and
posted on the website both in Armenian and English.

We strongly believe that through the News Line public organizations in
Armenia will have the opportunity to spread their message to a larger
audience using this resource and providing better communication and
information distribution services to NGO community.

The World Learning NSP is funded by the USAID and has been operating in
Armenia since August 2000. Working together with NGOs through providing
training, technical assistance and grants, World Learning has helped
them to become broader based and stronger advocates for civil society in
Armenia.

For more information contact
Zara Amatuni
Information & PR Specialist
World Learning for International Development
NGO Strengthening Program, Armenia
24 Moskovian Street, Apt. 1
Tel.: (3741) 543576, 582620, 520851
URL:

3. WESTERN EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS NOT TAKING ILLEGAL LOGGING SERIOUSLY
Brussels, Belgium – A new WWF online report launched today shows that
European governments are not effectively combating illegal logging.

The report rates 12 countries on 9 different steps needed to tackle this
problem, and finds that none of them has achieved a satisfactory
performance overall.

According to the new WWF online Government Barometer, the UK comes out
best – rated moderate to good – and is clearly ahead of Denmark, Germany
and Sweden, which are credited with an overall moderate performance.

Austria, Finland, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and
Portugal are rated poorly.

The survey shows that most governments support efforts at the European
Union (EU) level to outlaw imports of illegal wood, tackle illegal
logging in accession and candidate countries, and follow through with a
proposed voluntary mechanism to keep illegal timber out of the EU.
However, they are failing to implement strong measures in their domestic
markets.

For example, while EU governments purchase about 20 per cent of all wood
products sold in the EU for public works, only six countries (Austria,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, and the UK) have committed to buying
wood from legal and sustainable sources. Of these, only the UK is
monitoring implementation of its public procurement policy.

The UK is also the only country to have a partnership with a
wood-producing country (Indonesia) to combat illegal logging and related
trade.

According to WWF, similar initiatives launched by other EU countries
don’t include clear targets to actively reduce the import of illegal
wood to the participating EU country and cannot be seen as real
partnerships.

“The trade in illegal timber around the world is a multibillion dollar
business, and EU countries, through their buying power, have a key
responsibility in reducing it,” said Duncan Pollard, Head of WWF’s
European Forest Programme. “These countries must speed up their efforts
to tackle an illegal activity that destroys nature, impoverishes local
communities, and distorts markets. There is no excuse for inaction:
commitment is good, but action is better.”

Half of the timber imported into the EU comes from Russia and Eastern
Europe – and a significant portion of this is likely to be illegal.

Previous WWF reports have shown for example that up to 50 per cent of
all logging activities in the Russian Far East and in Estonia, and up to
20 per cent in Latvia and 27 per cent in Northwest Russia, are illegal.

Although available information for most accession and candidate
countries is fragmented, WWF believes illegal logging is a major issue
in these countries. The conservation organization also expects more
illegal timber from Russia to enter the EU via accession countries after
EU enlargement.

With its new online Government Barometer, WWF will continue to monitor
government commitments, attitudes, and actions on illegal logging over
the coming months.

“Governments often make it sound as if they are doing all they can to
curb illegal logging and trade, but the reality is different,” said
Jacob Andersen, WWF Forest Officer. “Our new online barometer will make
it easy for everybody to see who is taking real action and who is simply
hiding behind words.”

For further information:

Helma Brandlmaier,
WWF’s European Forest Programme,
Tel.: +43 676 83 488 217 (mobile)

Louis B?langer,
WWF’s European Policy Office,
Tel.: +32 473 562 260 (mobile)

Claire Doole,
Head of Press Office, WWF International,
Tel.: +41 22 364 9550

NOTES:

The UK has obtained 12 points out the maximum of 18, followed by Denmark
(9), Germany and Sweden (7), Austria, Finland, France, Greece, The
Netherlands and Spain (6), Italy and Portugal (5).

The 9 steps to combat illegal logging used to rate the 12 countries are:

1. Position on the development of a voluntary licensing scheme on timber

2. Position on a EU legislation that would outlaw the import and
marketing of illegal wood
3. Position on a EU initiative that would stop illegal logging in EU
accession and candidate countries
4. Level of collaboration across government departments on the FLEGT
action plan
5. Commitment to ensure public procurement of legal and sustainable wood
products
6. Implementation of commitments on public procurement of legal and
sustainable wood products
7. Participation in partnerships on combating illegal logging and
related trade
8. Effect of participation in partnerships on combating illegal logging
and related trade
9. Level of priority for projects in wood-producing developing countries
to reduce illegal logging

4. THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE — ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY: NATURE AND
SOCIETY

The International Conference was held in St.Petersburg, Russia, on April
2-3, 2004. The Conference was organized by the Center for Environmental
Initiatives, the Russian State Hydro meteorological University, the
Russian Geographical Society, and the Interregional Youth NGO Children
of the Baltic.

St.Petersburg and Vladivostok, Moscow and Yakutiya, Estonia and Moldova,
Finland and Armenia, the USA and Sweden – 12 countries and different
regions of Russia were represented at the conference. The specific
feature of the conference was the fact that its participants represented
different sectors of the society: non-governmental and governmental
organizations, research and educational institutions, and mass media.
The human impact on the environment is so considerable at present that
its consequences are of planetary scale and bring threats to human
civilization. Are there any ways of survival and prosperity? What are
these mechanisms? All these questions are the essence of the problem of
“environmental safety,” and were discussed by the Conference
participants.

Serious attention was paid to nature protection in Russia, where
negative tendencies are observed. The last four years were the time
period when the least number of protected nature areas were established
in Russia as compared to the 50-years history. Never during the last 14
years there were so few nature protection inspectors, so few
environmental impact assessments, and so many environmentally hazardous
projects.

The Conference participants paid special attention to protection of
environmental rights of citizens. These rights include the right for
assess to environmental information, the right for public participation
in decision-making, and the right for assess to justice in environmental
matters. Implementation of environmental rights is of high importance,
especially in Russia. Environmental rights are violated on a broad scale
during construction of new industrial and transports objects, during
construction of new, additional buildings in old centers of cities, and
during destruction of green areas. Protection of environmental rights is
implemented differently in different countries. Therefore, the exchange
of Russian and foreign experience at the Conference was of great
importance.

Erroneous decisions and blind-alley directions of development are
consequences of ignorance and poor understanding of environmental
processes and methods for the problems solutions. Therefore, a
considerable part of discussions was devoted to environmental education,
which must be aimed at themes actual for people and the society.

For example, It is not often that people know, what consumer products
are better for health and for the environment, what is the reason to
save energy and other resources, which packages are less harmful to
nature. Here informal education for youth and adults, joining efforts of
state educational system and NGOs could be of great use. A good example
of such activity is the international school program for application of
resources and energy SPARE presented at the conference.

Environmental problems are usually of transboundary, and sometimes of
global character. Therefore, efficient international efforts are needed
for their solution. The Conference section on international cooperation
permitted the participants to exchange not only opinions on
strengthening the cooperation, but also successful experiences in this
sphere.

Success of the Conference will favor the main Conference goal – to
consolidate the efforts of all spheres of the society to provide
environmental safety and environmental rights of citizens.

The Conference program, abstracts of papers presented at the Conference
and other information about the Conference is available on Internet:

For more information please contact the St.Petersburg Center for
Environmental Information:
Phone/fax: +7 812 3156622
E-mail: [email protected]

Pereulok Grivtsova 10, off. 26, 190000 St.Petersburg Russia

5. GIS & REMOTE SENSING FOR WILDLIFE MANAGERS USING THE NEW ESRI
SOFTWARE ARCGIS
An Introduction to the use of Geographic Information Systems & Remote
Sensing in Conservation and Wildlife Management
April 12-16, 2004

Increasingly, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing –
the mapping of features using imagery acquired either from an aircraft
or a satellite – have become important tools for decision-making and the
applied management of natural resources. Many federal agencies and
NGO’s rely on GIS and satellite data for their work and are starting to
produce their own spatial databases. However, there are few training
opportunities for wildlife managers to learn the application of GIS in
everyday management situations. We are offering a course for wildlife
managers that will provide hands-on experience for the collection of
data, GIS analysis of the data, and map-making using the latest ESRI and
ERDAS software.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This short course will provide wildlife managers with a working
knowledge about the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
and Remote Sensing to the monitoring and management of wildlife and
forest vegetation. Exercises in establishing locations with a Global
Positioning System (GPS), data input into a GIS, and spatial analysis
techniques for GIS will provide hands-on and real world experience
during the course. Based on examples about habitat selection in
songbirds and white-tailed deer, course participants will learn how to:
* Collect GIS data in the field using survey techniques and GPS.
* Differentially correct GPS data.
* Input GPS data into GIS.
* Input field data into GIS.
* Use GIS for management of large data sets from multiple sources.
* Design and perform analysis using GIS data and spatial analysis
techniques.
* Integrate data with ancillary data, such as satellite imagery, aerial
photography, and State Agency databases.

Visit the following web address for more details and registration
information:

The CRC will also be offering an Advanced Course in Conservation GIS and
Remote Sensing April 19-23.
anced_GIS

Contact:
David Zaks
1500 Remount Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
540-635-6535 (GIS Lab)
540-635-6506 (FAX)
[email protected]

6. MEASURING LAND COVER CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON ENDANGERED SPECIES
April 19-23, 2004
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
This one-week advanced GIS and remote sensing course provides
conservationists with an opportunity to learn how GIS and remote sensing
can be used to assess the conservation status of endangered species.
Each participant will be provided with his or her own desktop computer
for all lab exercises. During the hands-on exercises participants will
use the Internet, ArcView, ArcView Spatial Analyst, ERDAS Imagine,
Fragstats, and other spatial analysis programs. Instructors will lead
participants step-by-step through the process of:

* Conduct a regional conservation assessment using GIS to determine
critical conservation areas for an endangered species
* Acquiring multi-date satellite imagery to quantify land cover change
and to map the extent of the remaining habitat
* Using landscape analysis to determine optimal landscape configurations
for conserving the endangered species.

Visit the following web address for more details and registration
information:

Contact:
David Zaks
[email protected]
1500 Remount Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
540-635-6535 (GIS Lab)
540-635-6506 (FAX)

—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

ArmenPress
April 2 2004

KOCHARIAN CONFERS WITH INTELLECTUALS

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert Kocharian
conferred today with members of an initiative group of intellectuals
who had asked him in a letter to set up a presidential commission,
composed of volunteers, to study the current problems of spiritual
and cultural life, develop proposals for their solutions and present
them to the authorized bodies.
The intellectuals praised the government’s policy aimed at
reviving the cultural life saying positive changes in this area are
obvious with a succession of cultural events, reconstruction of
cultural establishments and publication of books.
The president emphasized in turn that the cultural policy must be
extended from the capital to regions, adding that an extensive
project was developed to rehabilitate regional cultural
establishments.
Intellectuals said that concurrently with positive shifts there
are serious concerns over the intervention of low-quality artistic
values and overlooking of younger generation’s upbringing.
Sharing their concerns president Kocharian proposed first an
in-depth look into all relevant problems and search for mechanisms
for effective operation of the commission.

ArmenPress
April 2 2004

RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT REACTS TO ALIYEV’S CRITICISM OF MINSK GROUP

BAKU, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: In a somewhat angry reaction to Azeri
president, Ilham Aliyev’s criticism of the OSCE Minks group for
“failing to develop new proposals for regulation of the Karabagh
conflict,’ the Russian co-chairman of the group, Yuri Merzlyakov
countered that the group has developed new proposals, but cannot
bring the conflicting sides at negotiation table to discuss them.
In an interview with a Baku-based 525 Gazet, the Russian diplomat
said it is impossible to draft proposals that would be welcomed by
all parties and therefore they will continue their efforts, hoping
for the soonest resumption of talks.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
March 31 2004

Fighting illiteracy and ‘aliteracy’
Author aims to make standard Arabic fun for children

By Linda Dahdah

In the late 1980s, Margo Malatjalian, a Jordanian-Armenian author,
came across a report issued by UNESCO showing surprisingly high rates
of illiteracy.

When she read the information, Malatjalian, who lived in Jordan, had
already established cultural centers for children in cooperation with
the Amman municipality and had her own publishing company, Child
World Promotions.

As she had always been active in this field through education
programs, teaching theater and drama, as well as working on Jordanian
childrens’ TV programs, she decided to take some immediate action.

With the help of David Doake, a professor in reading and literacy
development, she embarked on a study that found reading was not part
of tradition in the Arab world.

“There is lots of story telling but reading is not part of our
growth,” said Malatjalian.

Strong willed, Malatjalian decided to go to the root of the problem
by making literacy development her main concern. She started
traveling around the region, praising the importance of early reading
and defending literacy through workshops which targeted children,
teachers and parents.

She comes to Lebanon regularly to lead a series of workshops in
private schools across the country. The main topics? Creating and
using supplementary material from the standard Arabic language
curriculum from kindergarten to the third or fourth grade.

The whole point is “to support the Arabic language by making it more
interesting through the use of new poetry, new and more attractive
stories and literature … by using arts and integrating drama in
education, songs and music,” Malatjalian said.

Rita Nakhle, a third grade Arabic teacher at International College in
Ain Aar, said that Malatjalian’s books were interesting because they
used standard Arabic that was easy to understand. “Plus it is real
poetry, accompanied by nice pictures,” she said.

According to Malatjalian, Arabic becomes difficult when people don’t
read Arabic books regularly.

“There are prerequisites for reading that are hardly met when
cultures are not only faced with illiteracy but also a huge scourge
that lies in the aliteracy of educated people. (aliteracy applies to
people who are able to read but are not interested in reading.)

Nowadays one of the most popular books might be Chef Ramzi’s, and I
don’t think this has anything to do with literature,” Malatjalian
said.

If books are ever bought, what usually sells are detective stories,
cooking, fiction and sex, the author said.

Besides, naturally, children imitate their parents, so when there is
no reading environment inside the house, children will not read.
Moreover, according to Malatjalian, it has been shown that children
who come from a reading household do much better at school.

A whole reading environment should therefore be created – a prime
responsibility of the parents, she said. When the state is not
helping at all, the public should react.

“During my discussions with parents, they said that there’s no help
as there is no public library in Lebanon or perhaps there’s one, but
they don’t even know where it is and how to get there. What prevents
them from organizing reading sessions? We cannot count on the state’s
help so it’s up to each mother and father or others to play his or
her part and act,” said Malatjalian.

Despite a public perception that there is an absence of public
libraries, several were opened in Lebanon over the past few years.

Malatjalian started writing books only in the late 1980s. She took
the initiative after teachers asked her what kinds of books to buy
and read. Encouraged by her own experience with children, Malatjalian
took up her pen to remedy what she believes to be a complete lack of
good Arabic childrens’ literature.

In fact, the author believes that Arabic books are rarely good and
not well adapted. Indeed, most of the time books are translated and
thus promote a foreign culture. When children need to identify with
the hero of the story, this can easily generate cultural conflicts.

Without a doubt Malatjalian’s stories are set up in an environment
that is much closer to the local culture than in any “Martine at the
Beach” or “The Story of Ferdinand.”

Malatjalian’s aim is clear.

It is to create literature, not just books.

“A literature that reflects social, mental and cultural needs.
Besides I want standard Arabic to become a functional language that
people use and that would help them communicate fully in their daily
needs,” she said.

Another obstacle to Arabic reading lies in the differences between
written and colloquial Arabic.

“Colloquial hinders written, standard Arabic, and everybody thinks it
is difficult. It wouldn’t be so if heard right from birth (when
parents read babies stories in standard Arabic),” Malatjalian said.

Focusing on writing what she calls “meaningful” stories, the author
deals with mainstream social issues, such as commitment to the
nation, cooperation, conflict resolution, responsibility and, last
but not least, tolerance. Several books that have not been released
yet also tackle critical issues such as child abuse.

“Several years ago, we tried to talk with parents and religious
figures, but no one admitted to even hearing about it. It is changing
a little. Now at least we are managing to get listened to,”
Malatjalian said.

In this case, her books would serve parents as well as teachers.

“Literature is safe,” she said. “Without it, well-trained teachers
might introduce sensitive issues badly. With such books, they will be
able to take poems as a base to their programs and their discussions.
The subject will even be tackled in a funny way and bit-by-bit they
will be able to tackle even bigger issues,” she added.

In her approach, Malatjalian also points her finger at a major social
issue in our culture: The place of the child in society.

According to her, children are over-protected and this affects their
growth in a very negative way. At the same time, they are not given
enough freedom and opportunity to express themselves.

“They are not even given time to think, as if adults did not have
confidence in them. They are simply not given the chance for venture
and adventure,” said Malatjalian.

Believing in the capabilities of children, Malatjalian attempts to
correct this situation by giving children their own roles in her
books. As such, her stories always aim at empowering them.

Using childrens’ literature and developing their “socio-emotional”
skills will help them learn how to express their feelings of fear,
anger, sadness, happiness and jealousy. “Their natural feelings will
come out,” said Malatjalian. This is also aimed at helping teachers
and parents let children express themselves through art.

Above all else, Malatjalian hopes to change rigid educational trends
by helping to create a healthier environment in which children can
grow.

Nonetheless, one can easily see that even in Europe things started
changing only a few years ago. As Malatjalian said, there is a new
trend in children’s literature: “When writers used to write for the
child inside of them, now the child himself is the one who is
telling the story.”

Returning to the problem of illiteracy and aliteracy, Malatjalian
reminds us that, “we cannot endlessly play the ostrich. When Beirut
is supposed to be the cultural capital of the Arab world with only
one public library, there is definitely something to do. As no Arab
organization will ever take notice of the subject, it is the duty of
the public to act,” she said.

As children are the adults of tomorrow, let’s hope that Malatjalian’s
work will be fruitful and widely received.

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th Street, NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE
March 30, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA ISSUES REPORT CARD ON THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

— Review Reveals Largely Negative Policies on Broad
Range of Issues of Concern to Armenian Americans

WASHINGTON, DC – The 2004 Armenian American Presidential Report
Card, issued today by the Armenian National Committee Of America
(ANCA), gave the George W. Bush Administration low marks for its
record of broken promises, neglect, and opposition to more than a
dozen issues of concern to Armenian American voters.

The ANCA Report Card covers fifteen broad policy areas, beginning
with the President’s broken campaign pledge to recognize the
Armenian Genocide, and extending through more than three years of
policy toward Armenia, the Caucasus, and the surrounding region.
While highlighting certain areas in which the Bush Administration
has taken positive steps, the Report Card, on balance, reveals an
Administration that has fallen far short of the Armenian American
community’s expectations.

“Armenian Americans were profoundly disappointed by President
Bush’s decision – only three months after taking office – to
abandon his campaign pledge to properly recognize the Armenian
Genocide,” said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. “Since then, sadly,
the record shows that the President has broken other commitments to
our community – most notably to maintain parity in U.S. military
aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan – and has actively opposed key issues
of concern to Armenian Americans.”

The Armenian American Presidential Report Card is provided below:

1) Broken campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide

Almost immediately after taking office, President Bush abandoned
his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide. This
promise, which he made in February of 2000 as Texas Governor, was
widely distributed among Armenian Americans prior to the hotly
contested Michigan primary. It read, in part, as follows:

“The twentieth century was marred by wars of
unimaginable brutality, mass murder and genocide.
History records that the Armenians were the first
people of the last century to have endured these
cruelties. The Armenians were subjected to a
genocidal campaign that defies comprehension and
commands all decent people to remember and
acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful
crime in a century of bloody crimes against
humanity. If elected President, I would ensure
that our nation properly recognizes the tragic
suffering of the Armenian people.”

Rather than honor this promise, the President has, in his annual
April 24th statements, used evasive and euphemistic terminology to
avoid describing Ottoman Turkey’s systematic and deliberate
destruction of the Armenian people by its proper name – the
Armenian Genocide.

2) Opposition to the Congressional Genocide Resolution

The Bush Administration is actively blocking the adoption of the
Genocide Resolution in both the House and Senate. This legislation
(S.Res.164 and H.Res.193) specifically cites the Armenian Genocide
and formally commemorates the 15th anniversary of United States
implementation of the U.N. Genocide Convention. The Genocide
Resolution is supported by a broad based coalition of over one
hundred organizations, including American Values, the NAACP,
National Council of Churches, Sons of Italy, International Campaign
for Tibet, National Council of La Raza, and the Union of Orthodox
Rabbis.

3) Failure to condemn Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide

The Bush Administration has failed to condemn Turkey’s recent
escalation of its campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide. Notably,
the Administration has remained silent in the face of the decree
issued in April of 2003 by Turkey’s Education Minister, Huseyin
Celik, requiring that all students in Turkey’s schools be
instructed in the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

The State Department’s 2003 human rights report on Turkey uses the
historically inaccurate and highly offensive phrase “alleged
genocide” to mischaracterize the Armenian Genocide. In addition,
despite repeated protests, the Bush Administration’s State
Department continues to host a website on Armenian history that
fails to make even a single mention of the Genocide.
()

4) The Waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act

The Bush Administration, in 2001, aggressively pressured Congress
into granting the President the authority to waive Section 907, a
provision of law that bars aid to the government of Azerbaijan
until it lifts its blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
President Bush has subsequently used this authority to provide
direct aid, including military assistance, to the government of
Azerbaijan, despite their continued violation of the provisions of
this law.

5) Reduction in aid to Armenia

In the face of the devastating, multi-billion dollar impact of the
Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades on the Armenian economy,
President Bush has, in each of the past three years, proposed to
Congress that humanitarian and developmental aid to Armenia be
reduced.

6) Abandonment of the Military Aid Parity Agreement

The Bush Administration abandoned its November 2001 agreement with
Congress and the Armenian American community to maintain even
levels of military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Instead, the
Administration, in its fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill, proposes
sending four times more Foreign Military Financing to Azerbaijan
($8 million) than to Armenia ($2 million). This action tilts the
military balance in favor of Azerbaijan, rewards Azerbaijan’s
increasingly violent threats of renewed aggression, and undermines
the role of the U.S. as an impartial mediator of the Nagorno
Karabagh talks.

7) Mistaken Listing of Armenia as a Terrorist Country

The Bush Administration, through Attorney General John Ashcroft,
sought, unsuccessfully, in December of 2002 to place Armenia on an
Immigration and Naturalization Service watch list for terrorist
countries. This obvious error was reversed only after a nation-
wide protest campaign. Neither the White House nor the Department
of Justice has apologized for the offense caused by this mistake.

8) Neglect of U.S.-Armenia relations

While the Bush Administration has maintained a formal dialogue with
Armenia on economic issues through the bi-annual meetings of the
U.S.-Armenia Task Force, it has, as a matter of substance, failed
to take any meaningful action to materially promote U.S.-Armenia
economic ties. Specifically, the Administration has not provided
leadership on legislation, spearheaded by Congressional Republicans
and currently before Congress, to grant Armenia permanent normal
trade relations (PNTR) status. Nor has the Administration
initiated any steps toward the negotiation of a Tax Treaty, Social
Security Agreement, Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or
other bilateral agreements to foster increased U.S.-Armenia
commercial relations.

The President neither visited Armenia nor did he invite the
President of Armenia to visit the United States.

9) Failure to maintain a balanced policy on Nagorno Karabagh

The Bush Administration, to its credit, took an early initiative to
help resolve the Nagorno Karabagh issue in the form of the Key West
summit meeting in 2001 between Secretary of State Powell and the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. After Azerbaijan’s failure
to honor its Key West commitments, however, the Administration
failed to hold Azerbaijan accountable for unilaterally stalling the
Nagorno Karabagh peace process.

10) Increased grants, loans and military transfers to Turkey

The Bush Administration has effectively abandoned America’s
responsibility to link aid, loans, and arms transfers to Turkey’s
adherence to basic standards for human rights and international
conduct. The most notable example was the $8 billion loan package
provided to Turkey in 2003 despite Turkey’s refusal to allow U.S.
forces to open a northern front during the war in Iraq.

11) Taxpayer financing of the Baku-Ceyhan bypass of Armenia

The Bush Administration is supporting American taxpayer subsidies
for the politically motivated Baku-Ceyhan pipeline route that, at
the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan, bypasses Armenia.

12 Refusal to pressure Turkey and Azerbaijan to end their
blockades

The Bush Administration has not forcefully condemned the Turkish
and Azerbaijani blockades as clear violations of international law,
nor, outside of occasional public statements, has it taken any
meaningful steps to pressure the Turkish or Azerbaijani governments
to end their illegal border closures.

13) Lobbying for Turkish membership in the European Union

The Bush Administration has aggressively pressured European
governments to accept Turkey into the European Union, despite
Turkey’s consistent failure to meet European conditions for
membership, on issues ranging from the blockade of Armenia and the
Armenian Genocide to the occupation of Cyprus and human rights.

14) Down-grading relations with the Armenian American community

Breaking with the tradition of the last several Administrations,
the Bush White House failed to reach out in any meaningful way to
our nation’s one and a half million citizens of Armenian heritage.
While the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council
maintained their long-standing policy-level dialogue with the
Armenian American community leadership, the White House itself
essentially neglected Armenian Americans as a political
constituency. Perhaps the most telling example of this is that,
during the course of the past three years, despite repeated
requests, the President did not hold any community-wide meetings
with the leadership of the Armenian American community, nor did his
Secretary of State or National Security Advisor.

15) Armenian American appointments

The President appointed Joe Bogosian to an important Deputy
Assistant Secretary position at the Commerce Department, John
Jamian to a key maritime position in the Department of
Transportation, and Samuel Der-Yeghiayan as a Federal Judge in the
Northern District of Illinois.

#####

Edicom, France
Lundi, 29 Mars 2004

Cinéma: les sorties de la semaine

VODKA LEMON
Réalisateur: Hiner Saleem
Interprètes: Romik Avinian, Lala Sarkissian, Ivan Franek, Rouzanne
Hesropian
Nationalité: France
Durée: 1h28

Sept dollars par mois de retraite, une armoire, un vieux téléviseur
soviétique et un costume militaire pour tout capital. Hamo, bel homme
d’une soixantaine d’années vit seul dans un petit village kurde
d’Arménie avec l’un de ses fils et sa petite fille. Une lettre de son
deuxième fils arrive de France. La rumeur court le village:
l’enveloppe serait pleine de dollars Mais Hamo, lui, ne pense qu’à la
belle inconnue du cimetière…