Author: Zakarian Garnik

PARTICIPANT OF DEADLY ATTACK IN ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT DIES IN PRISON

The Canadian Press
May 17 2010
YEREVAN

Armenia — An Armenian man imprisoned for his role in a deadly attack
on Parliament a decade ago has died.

Armenia’s Justice Ministry says Gamlet Stepanyan died in his cell
over the weekend. It says the cause of death hasn’t been determined,
but that there were no signs of violence.

In the 1999 attack, several gunmen stormed into the building and
killed the prime minister, the speaker of parliament and six others.

Stepanyan’s role was to help the attackers flee the scene. He was
sentenced to 14 years in prison.

ARMENIA SHOULD TURN TO IRAN IF TURKEY CONTINUES SEEKING INVOLVEMENT IN NK CONFLICT: ARAM SARGSYAN

Tert.am
14.05.10

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Turkey testifies to the
fact that some processes are taking place in the region at a quick
pace, and that they will have their impact on Armenia, particularly
on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, leader of the
Democratic Party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan said at a press conference
today.

According to Sargsyan Medvedev’s statement that Russia is ready to
hold consultations with Turkey over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
is a new element in the process as Turkey who supports Azerbaijan
wants to enlarge its involvement in the settlement.

"This should worry the Armenian side," said Sargsyan.

Would Turkey continue to be active over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
resolution, according to Sargsyan, Armenia should, by any means,
turn to Iran and ask for active participation in the process.

EU’S JOB IS NOT TO JUDGE HISTORY, SAYS FULE

Today’s Zaman
May 14 2010
Turkey

The EU enlargement commissioner had said it is not the EU’s job to
judge history with respect to the 1915 Armenian killings under the
Ottoman Empire.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule’s remarks came in answer to
written questions from some extreme right-wing members of the European
Parliament as to whether or not the EU has recognized the so-called
Armenian genocide. Fule said the EU’s job was not to judge history
but to establish peace. He added that the EU is an organization aiming
to institute peace, democracy, stability and welfare in the continent
and is focused on the future.

The parliaments of several European Union member countries including
France, Lithuania and Sweden have recognized the Armenian killings in
1915 as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the allegations, claiming
that both sides suffered during World War I and that the issue needs
to be discussed by historians.

In his response Fule said the European Commission is encouraging
Turkey and Armenia to remain loyal to the normalization process and
has consistently called for the ratification of the protocols set
up between the two countries in a reasonable period of time without
setting any preconditions.

Noting that the complete reconciliation of Turkey and Armenia will
greatly contribute to security, stability and cooperation in the
South Caucasus, Fule said to overcome the tragedies of the past,
vision, courage and dialogue is necessary.

In reply to a question from the EP Christian Democrat deputy Diogo Feio
regarding the trials concerning coup plans Fule said Turkey carries
the responsibility of disclosing the truth to the Turkish public
surrounding the accusations against the Ergenekon suspects. He said the
European Commission is closely monitoring the ongoing investigations
and that the suspects should be tried with the right to security and
liberty of a person and the right to a fair trial protected by the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

TURKEY EXPECTS MORE ACTION FROM OSCE MG

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 14, 2010 – 15:23 AMT 10:23 GMT

Turkey expects more action from the OSCE Minsk Group and the
international community over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Turkish
Foreign Minister said.

"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan conducted a series of talks over the past year on the
initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Thus, the process
has gained new momentum," Ahmet Davutoglu said.

"During his Ankara visit, Mr. Medvedev mulled the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan," he noted.

Davutoglu said the interests of Turkey and Russia in the Caucasus
region converge and "establishment of peace here will benefit both
countries, and the entire international community."

"We hope that these frozen conflicts will be resolved and distrust
eliminated," Davutoglu said, The Journal of Turkish Weekly reported.

WOODROW WILSON CENTER DESECRATES ITS NAMESAKE’S LEGACY..
David Boyajian

com_content&task=view&id=1678&Itemid=1
May 13, 2010 at 09:45 AM

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in horror
at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC;
WilsonCenter.org) is doing in his name. Most Americans are not aware
of the DC-based organization, or that their taxes comprise one-third
of its multi-million dollar annual budget.

The WWC was created by Congress in 1968 through the Woodrow Wilson
Memorial Act to commemorate the late president’s "ideals and concerns"
and memorialize "his accomplishments."

An Investigative Report:

The Woodrow Wilson Center Desecrates

its Namesake’s Legacy

and Violates its Congressional Mandate

By David Boyajian*

Woodrow Wilson. President of the United States (1913-1921)

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in horror
at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC;
WilsonCenter.org) is doing in his name.

Most Americans are not aware of the DC-based organization, or that
their taxes comprise one-third of its multi-million dollar annual
budget.

The WWC was created by Congress in 1968 through the Woodrow Wilson
Memorial Act to commemorate the late president’s "ideals and concerns"
and memorialize "his accomplishments."

The WWC has in several ways, however, violated its Congressional
mandate.

The WWC itself claims that it "takes seriously his [Wilson’s] views."

In fact, it has knowingly disregarded many of his views.

And while it professes "to take a historical perspective," the WWC
often closes its eyes to history.

Case in point: In mid-June of this year, the WWC plans to travel to
Turkey to bestow its coveted Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service
on Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Curiously, the WWC won’t provide this writer with a press release
about it. We know about the award only from the Turkish media and a
call to the WWC’s communications chief.

AN UNDESERVED AWARD

The WWC’s President/Director, former Congressman Lee Hamilton (he
recently announced he would be leaving the organization), says that
Davutoglu "personifies the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow
Wilson Center" and has "catalyzed" Turkish policy.

It is appalling that the WWC would honor a top official of a country
that in so many ways is a major human rights violator. Moreover,
Davutoglu’s own record – including his much- ballyhooed "zero problems
with neighbors" policy – is undistinguished.

But even more to the point, Davutoglu’s policies are the very
antithesis of Woodrow Wilson’s "ideals and concerns."

TURKISH TEMPER TANTRUMS

Let us start with Davutoglu’s eruption against America due to a
US House committee’s approval in March of a resolution (Res. 252)
that reaffirmed the factuality of, and historic US interest in,
the Armenian genocide of 1915-23 committed by Turkey.

Turkey immediately recalled its ambassador. Davutoglu then announced
that the House committee vote was an insult to his country’s "honour,"
as if Turkey’s continuing cover-up of genocide is somehow honorable. A
top official of Turkey’s ruling AK Party threatened the US with
"consequences." Turkey’s relationship with America, he warned, "would
be downgraded at every level … from Afghanistan to Pakistan to Iraq
to the Middle East process … there would be a major disruption."

These were not just nasty overreactions by Turkey. They were also
nonsensical. The US has, after all, reaffirmed the Armenian genocide as
"genocide" at least five times: three resolutions passed by the full
House (1975, 1984, and 1996); an official proclamation (No. 4838) by
President Reagan (1981); and a US legal filing with the International
Court of Justice (1951).

MORE TANTRUMS

Davutoglu threw the same sort of tantrum a week later – withdrawing
his ambassador and making threats – when the Swedish Parliament
recognized the Armenian Genocide and the genocide of Pontic Greeks.

Turkey has thrown similar fits when some 20 other countries, the
European Parliament, a UN sub-commission, the Vatican, and others
recognized the Armenian genocide.

No other alleged "ally" threatens the US as frequently and consistently
as does Turkey.

Thus, far from "catalyzing" Turkey’s policies, the foreign minister is
carrying on his government’s tradition of threats and genocide denial.

If such behavior "personifies the attributes" that the WWC "seeks to
honor," the Center’s standards must be low indeed.

DAVUTOGLU’S DOUBLE STANDARDS

"Turkey will not allow anyone else to evaluate its history," Davutoglu
blustered after the House committee and Swedish Parliament votes.

He seems unaware that countries constantly evaluate other countries’
histories. Davutoglu evidently thinks that Turkey should be uniquely
exempt from the judgments of others.

Davutoglu also seems blissfully unaware that the United Nations,
the US, and many other nations and international organizations have
condemned and continue to condemn various countries’ past (and present)
crimes such as the Holocaust, genocides, bloody revolutions, and crimes
against humanity. These include the genocide now taking place in Sudan.

Not surprisingly, Turkey and Davutoglu have a horrendous record
regarding Sudan.

THE TURKEY-SUDAN GENOCIDE AXIS

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was invited to visit Turkey two years
ago while he was under indictment by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) for "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, blasted Turkey for
inviting the Sudanese dictator. Turkey defiantly proceeded to welcome
al-Bashir with a red carpet, an honor guard, and a 21-gun salute.

True to Turkey’s tradition of genocide denial, President Abdullah
Gul downplayed the Sudanese mass killings, attributing them solely to
"politics … poverty and environmental conditions."

Then last year, after Davutoglu’s appointment, the Turkish government
once again invited al-Bashir, the target of an ICC international
arrest warrant. Only after a huge international outcry was the visit
eventually canceled. Davutoglu, like his country, has a blind spot
when it comes to genocides.

In the meantime, of course, Davutoglu’s Turkey has been busy accusing
other countries – notably China and Israel – of genocide. The hypocrisy
is incredible. Should not Turkey first acknowledge its own genocides
against not only Armenians but also Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds?

Now we know why some have dubbed Turkey and Sudan the "axis of
genocide."

But Davutoglu and Turkey’s failures involve much more than tantrums,
threats, genocide, and hypocrisy.

DAVUTOGLU’S OTHER FAILURES

Despite Turkey’s so-called "zero problems with neighbors" policy,
Davutoglu has largely continued, not "catalyzed," his country’s
failed policies.

For example, there is no end in sight to Turkey’s 36-year long military
occupation of northern Cyprus. "Zero problems with neighbors"?

Turkey’s alleged rapprochement last year with Armenia, which Turkey
has blockaded since 1993, also disproves the WWC’s assertions about
Davutoglu. When he negotiated and signed a set of controversial
protocols with Armenia last year, Turkey said that these would open
a new chapter with its eastern neighbor.

Both countries’ parliaments were then supposed to quickly ratify
the protocols.

Though many Armenians believe that parts of the protocols are contrary
to Armenia’s interests, the Armenian Parliament has been ready to
ratify them.

Davutoglu, however, quickly reverted to his government’s old
precondition: Turkey would neither ratify the protocols nor open
its border with Armenia unless Armenians concluded an agreement with
Azerbaijan regarding Karabagh, the Armenian region that Stalin handed
to Soviet Azerbaijan and which declared independence from Azerbaijan
in 1991.

Turkey’s backpedaling was condemned by the parties that mediated the
protocols – the US, Russia, and Switzerland – as well as the European
Union. Due to Davutoglu’s duplicity, the protocols have stalled and
may die. "Zero problems with neighbors"?

And regardless of one’s views on American policy towards Iran and
Israel, it is known that Turkey’s overheated, undiplomatic rhetoric
is designed primarily to please a Muslim audience at home and in the
Middle East. Turkey’s intemperate language has simply poured oil on
fires and complicated American efforts in the region.

Turkey’s Kurdish problems, both within the country and across the
border in Iraq, remain unsolved. Raids into northern Iraq by Turkish
troops are not a solution.

Even Turkey’s offers to "mediate" regional disputes look rather
contrived given that Turkey has not faced many of its own problems
with neighbors.

"Zero problems with neighbors" is a hollow catchphrase. A more
accurate name would be Turkey’s longstanding "zero Armenians as
neighbors" policy.

Aside, perhaps, from improved Turkish relations with Syria, and a
lot of braggadocio and spin, Davutoglu has "catalyzed" essentially
nothing for the better. He is surely grateful, though, to Lee Hamilton
and the WWC for implying otherwise.

Let us now examine President Woodrow Wilson’s record to see how the
WWC has besmirched his name and violated its Congressional mandate.

DESECRATING WILSON’S IDEALS AND CONCERNS

President Wilson advocated the right to self-determination of all the
nations, particularly Armenia, that suffered under Turkey’s corrupt,
violent yoke.

His and America’s support for Armenians – politically, financially,
and verbally – was immense and is well-documented. Yet the WWC chooses
to desecrate that record by honoring a Turkish official who denies the
Armenian genocide, threatens the American people, plays games with the
protocols it signed with Armenia, and continues to blockade Armenia.

Wilson enunciated his famous Fourteen Points, based on a just peace,
in 1918, before the end of WW I. Point Twelve left no room for doubt:
The non-Turkish "nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should
be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested
opportunity of autonomous development." He was referring to Armenians,
Arabs, Assyrians, Greeks, Kurds, and others.

Unlike the proposed award to Davutoglu, Wilson’s was well-deserved:
He received the Nobel Peace Prize of 1919 because of his Fourteen
Points and his advocacy of the League of Nations.

Reporting to Wilson during the genocide was his good friend and
ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau, Sr. The ambassador cabled
Washington in 1915 that Turkey was engaged in a "campaign of race
extermination" against Armenians. The American Embassy served as a
channel for Armenian massacre reports arriving from various parts of
the Turkish empire. US Consul Leslie A. Davis, who actually witnessed
the genocide in the interior, wrote, "I do not believe there has ever
been a massacre in the history of the world so general and thorough."

At Wilson’s direction, Morgenthau gave to Turkish leaders the
British-French-Russian declaration of 1915 that dealt specifically
with the Armenian mass murders. "All members of the Ottoman Government
and those of its agents who are implicated in such massacres," read
the declaration, will be held "personally responsible" for "the new
crimes of Turkey."

By proposing to honor a genocide denier, the WWC’s Lee Hamilton is
implying that Ambassador Morgenthau and American consuls were liars.

Referring to Turkey’s crimes against humanity, Wilson spoke these
words in Salt Lake City a year after WW I: "Armenia is to be redeemed
so that at last this great people, struggling through this night of
terror … are now given a promise of safety, a promise of justice."

AMERICA AND ARMENIA

In the spring of 1920, under the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres,
the European Allies asked Wilson to arbitrate the boundary between
Turkey and Armenia within the four Armenian provinces of "Erzerum,
Trebizond, Van, and Bitlis." Wilson agreed. He had already sent 50
American researchers to survey the people and land.

In November, the president delivered the US decision: Armenia would
include more than 40,000 square miles within those four provinces and
a Black Sea coastline. Europe also asked America to accept a mandate
over Armenia – that is, physical protection from Turkey while Armenians
got back on their feet.

Though Congress, in a post-war isolationist mood, eventually declined
his appeal for the Armenian mandate, Wilson’s written request noted
that "the hearings conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations have clearly established the truth of
the reported massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian
people have suffered."

The Senate report, Wilson went on, embodied his "own convictions and
feelings with regard to Armenia and its people." Americans, he said,
"have made the cause of Armenia their own" and had responded with
"extraordinary spontaneity and sincerity." These were understatements.

Turkey signed the Treaty of Sèvres but later repudiated it.

Incidentally, had Turkey fulfilled its obligations under Sèvres and
Wilson’s binding arbitration, much of the Kurdish issue would have
been resolved 90 years ago. The treaty stipulated an autonomous
Kurdish zone – just below the Armenian provinces – in southeastern
Turkey and, conditionally, in northern Iraq that may eventually have
become independent.

Under Turkish and Soviet attack, in December of 1920 independent
Armenia was forcibly Sovietized, cut to a fraction of its size,
and became landlocked. The Armenian provinces remain under Turkish
occupation to this day, while Turkey blockades what remains of Armenia.

THE WWC DEFIES CONGRESS

The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 was unambiguous: The WWC
was meant to express the 28th president’s "ideals and concerns"
and memorialize "his accomplishments."

If it proceeds with its award to Davutoglu, the WWC will be reaffirming
its disregard for Wilson’s "ideals and concerns" regarding the
genocide, America’s support for Armenians, and liberating their land
from Turkish rule. Similarly, Wilson’s "accomplishments" – securing aid
for Armenian survivors, US arbitration of Armenia’s boundaries under
the Sèvres Treaty, and more – are being ignored and mocked by the WWC.

The WWC is insulting Armenian Americans and all those who survived
the Turkish nightmare.

If Lee Hamilton’s own claim that WWC takes "a historical perspective"
were true, it would not honor a man – and by extension the Turkish
government – who unashamedly negate the historical record.

Is the Wilson Center seeking to discredit the Treaty of Sèvres on
its 90th anniversary by honoring Davutoglu?

MASSACRING HISTORY

The WWC may try to claim that it has dealt substantially and fairly
with its namesake’s views and accomplishments regarding the Armenian
genocide.

As near as can be determined from a search of the WWC’s public records,
however, that claim would be false. This writer has found very little
about the genocide, and most of that is from a Turkish revisionist
perspective.

Two years ago, the WWC’s Southeast Europe division did host a scholar
who discussed Turkish policy and the Armenian genocide. And twenty-four
years ago, the WWC’s Wilson Quarterly had a one-page piece about an
article published elsewhere that discussed the genocide.

In contrast, four years ago, the Wilson Quarterly published a
sycophantic review praising a widely criticized book by a notorious
genocide denier. And two years back, a former US State Department
official who dealt with Turkey (and is presently an advisor for the
Turkish Policy Quarterly) wrote a mere two sentences about the Sèvres
Treaty – solely from the Turkish perspective – in a WWC-sponsored paper
about Turkey. The Wilson Center’s website contains a nine-year old
article written by a former US Army officer who denies the genocide.

This is a disgraceful record.

A year ago, the editors of the journal Genocide Studies and Prevention
initiated a symposium that critiqued the report of the US-sponsored
Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF). While the symposium used the
WWC’s facilities, the WWC was not a cosponsor, reportedly took little
or no part, and thus cannot claim credit for it.

In any case, nothing can justify the Wilson Center’s proposed award
for Davutoglu.

The question begs to be asked: Does the WWC have any questionable
links to Turkey or Armenian genocide deniers?

TURKISH-TAINTED CORPORATE CASH

A look at WWC’s funding sources reveals that it is up to its neck in
corporate cash, including Turkish-tainted cash.

One major corporation – Boeing – that is a member of the WWC’s
so-called WilsonAlliances wrote a letter to Congress asking it to
defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution (Res. 252).

Two other WilsonAlliances members – BAE and Chevron – have reportedly
lobbied Congress to defeat the Armenian resolution.

Four WilsonAlliances members – Alcoa, Boeing, Bombardier, and Honeywell
– are dues-paying members of the Aerospace Industries Association
(AIA), which has asked President Obama and Congress to ensure that
Res. 252 "doesn’t go to the House floor for a vote." AIA refers to
the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians as merely "the events."

Six WilsonAlliances members – BAE, Bechtel, Boeing, Chevron, Coca
Cola, and Exxon-Mobil – are also dues paying members of the American
Turkish Council (ATC). The ATC calls itself a "business association."

Its membership includes over 100 major Turkish and American
corporations. Among its leadership team of some 100 Turks and
Americans, it is nearly impossible to find even one person who is
not a top corporate executive, former military officer, or former
government official. The ATC has long lobbied against Armenian
genocide resolutions. Former Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, chairman of
its Executive Committee, once told Congress that what happened to
Armenians is "widely disputed."

ATC member Lockheed-Martin Corp., which penned a letter opposing the
Armenian resolution, has also contributed money to the WWC.

DLA PIPER AND OTHER TURKISH LOBBYISTS

DLA Piper is a gigantic, worldwide legal and corporate services firm
that has registered with the US government as a foreign agent for
Turkey. The firm is well-known for having lobbied against Armenian
Americans and is currently setting up an office in Istanbul.

Ignacio Sanchez is a lawyer employed by DLA Piper. He "represents
national and international clients on a broad range of issues …

before Congress" for his firm.

Sanchez also happens to sit on the Wilson Center’s Board of Trustees.

DLA Piper’s contract with Turkey states that its "services shall
include … preventing the introduction, debate and passage of
legislation and other U.S. government action that harms Turkey’s
interests and image."

DLA Piper has partially subcontracted its Turkish role to The
Livingston Group. Headed by former disgraced House Speaker Robert
Livingston, who denies the Armenian genocide and lobbies against
Armenian genocide resolutions, it has been a registered agent of
Turkey.

DLA Piper also has what it terms a "strategic alliance" with The Cohen
Group (TCG), headed by former Defense Secretary William Cohen. TCG
represents large corporations who do business with Turkey. It is an
ATC member, and two of its employees sit on the ATC Advisory Board.

TCG’s Vice President, Marc Grossman, was the US ambassador to Turkey
from 1994-97. Among former diplomats, he is probably Turkey’s biggest
defender.

He has opposed passage of Armenian genocide resolutions. A few years
ago, Grossman reportedly joined Ilhas Holding, a Turkish firm.

It is also known that whistleblower and former FBI translator Sibel
Edmonds has made very serious allegations about the ATC, Grossman,
and Turkey. These have not yet been adjudicated in a court of law.

And whom did the WWC recently select to be one of its "Public Policy
Scholars"? Marc Grossman.

The WWC seems to be quite fond of corporations (and their money),
lobbying firms, and people strongly affiliated with Turkey that in
many cases oppose acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide.

The above barely skims the surface of the Wilson Center’s cozy
financial relationships with huge corporations.

PLAYING WITH GENOCIDE INQUIRIES

We must digress briefly for an example of how former government
officials work their way into genocide inquiries that are best left
to those more suitable.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen (of the Turkish-affiliated TCG)
and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright chaired the Genocide
Prevention Task Force mentioned above.

As private citizens, Cohen and Albright opposed the Armenian Genocide
Resolution. Their appointment to the GPTF was thus justifiably
criticized as incompatible with its very purpose.

The GPTF was jointly convened by the Congressionally-funded,
so-called US Institute of Peace, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum,
and the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD).

The latter is composed of former high-level US State Department
officials. AAD’s chairman is retired ambassador Thomas Pickering. He
was formerly a VP of Boeing, the same company that has beseeched
Congress not to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

The GPTF’s final 147-page report (Preventing Genocide: a Blueprint
for US Policymakers) contained just two miniscule references to the
Armenian genocide. Sure enough, they used the terms "forced exile"
and "atrocities", not genocide. The report was also widely criticized
by scholars.

Incidentally, who sits on the AAD’s Board? If you guessed the
ubiquitous Marc Grossman of the Wilson Center and pro-Turkish TCG,
you’d be correct.

CORPORATE PERKS

The WWC provides many benefits to corporations that contribute money
to its WilsonAlliances. For example, they receive "complimentary use"
of the WWC’s facilities, the Reagan Federal Building, blocks from
the White House. They also get "private customized meetings with
[WWC] staff and scholars to discuss policy issues that are specific
to your business interests."

Did WWC/Turkish-affiliated corporations use "private customized
meetings" to urge the WWC to honor Davutoglu, perhaps in expectation
that it would enhance their "business interests" with Turkey?

Did any WWC/Turkish-affiliated lobbying firm or person ask the WWC
to give Davutoglu an award?

We don’t know the answers to these questions. Only those corporations,
lobbyists, and other figures, together with Lee Hamilton and WWC
personnel, can answer them, preferably under oath.

In a phone message, Sharon Coleman McCarter, WWC Communications
Director, said that the Center is honoring the Turkish Foreign Minister
because of "public service to his country and the world."

Turkey, or some Turks, may like its foreign minister, but, as this
writer has shown, he has certainly done nothing to benefit "the world."

McCarter also claimed that Davutoglu "is in the Wilsonian tradition"
because, like Wilson, he has been in academia and government. If
you teach and then enter government service, you’re automatically
"Wilsonian" and thus a candidate for the WWC award? This is
preposterous.

INSULTING PREVIOUS AWARDEES

Who have the nearly 150 previous WWC awardees been? Mostly Americans:
philanthropists, doctors, members of Congress, former diplomats,
architects, actors, and the like.

They range from James Baker, Dr. Denton Cooley, Betty Ford, Frank
Gehry, John Glenn, and Amb. Howard Leach to Janet Napolitano, Dolly
Parton, Gen. Colin Powell (and his wife), Andrew Lloyd Webber, and
Andrew Young.

There are also some foreign political honorees, such as former Indian
President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and some relatively non-controversial
figures from Brazil and South Korea.

The threatening, blustering, genocide-denying Davutoglu, from a
country with a wretched human rights record, would stand out in the
Wilson Center’s Public Service roster like a sore thumb.

It would be an insult to previous awardees.

For its Public Service Award, the WWC had its pick of thousands
of principled individuals from the US or elsewhere doing vital
humanitarian work, including the recognition and prevention of
genocide. Instead, the WWC has engaged in the worst kind of political
pandering by selecting Davutoglu.

THE SMITHSONIAN AND THE ATC

The rot may go even higher, up to the WWC’s parent, the famed
Smithsonian Institution, three-quarters of whose annual $1
billion budget comes from taxpayers. It, too, is a member of the
genocide-denying American Turkish Council.

The Smithsonian is supposed to be respectful of America’s multi-ethnic
heritage and pay homage to our country’s history, part of which
is Wilson’s support of Armenians and condemnation of Turkey for
committing genocide. There is no good reason for the Smithsonian to be
a member of the ATC, which is primarily a lobby for Turkish-affiliated
corporations. It should withdraw from the ATC.

And what must the WWC do to return to its Wilsonian roots?

REFORMING THE WWC

The WWC must abandon its plans to honor Davutoglu. Those who care
about Wilson’s legacy – members of Congress, ordinary Americans,
and those whose relatives were lost to Turkish genocidal acts –
must contact the WWC and insist on this.

Congress and the Attorney General must launch investigations into
possible conflicts of interest at the WWC, particularly regarding
its corporate and Turkish connections. The WWC director and staff
must testify under oath.

Wilson Center personnel, and those affiliated with it, particularly
scholars, must speak out publicly against pandering to corporations
and lobbying organizations.

Those whose business or personal interests may conflict with their
WWC role should resign.

The WWC must reject all tainted corporate cash.

Recognized genocide scholars should be invited to speak at the Wilson
Center and write in its Wilson Quarterly. The WWC should create a
principled program on genocide.

The WWC must establish a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with those
persons and their descendants who have been victimized by Turkey’s
genocides.

The WWC must return to its Congressional mandate by truly rededicating
itself to Wilson’s "ideals, concerns, and accomplishments" and by
advocating against genocide and for the human rights and dignity of
all people.

# # #

*The author is an Armenian American freelance journalist. He recommends
that readers contact the following to protest the WWC’s proposed
award to Davutoglu, and the WWC’s overly close relationships
with Turkish-affiliated corporations, lobbying organizations,
and individuals:

Woodrow Wilson Center: ~U President/Director:
[email protected] ~U Executive VP:
[email protected] ~U Outreach VP:
[email protected] ~U Public Affairs:
[email protected] ~U Asst. to the Director:
[email protected] ~U Special Asst. to the Director:
[email protected]

Also:

~U Linda St.Thomas, Spokesperson, Smithsonian Institution:
[email protected] ~U American Hellenic Institute (AHI):
[email protected] ; [email protected] ~U Your US Senator:
one_item_and_teasers/contacting.htm

~U Your US Congressman:
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STEPANAKERT TO PREVENT PRESENCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCES IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2010 – 19:36 AMT 14:36 GMT

Minister of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh Movses Hakobyan said
that the NKR Defense Army is efficient and is able to fulfill tasks.

"May 12 marks 16 years of the ceasefire agreement between NKR and
Azerbaijan. Serious incidents have not been recorded at the contact
line of the armed forces up to date," the Defense Minister told
journalists in Nagorno Karabakh.

"The Azerbaijani army just wants to remind of itself through opening
fire at the contact line of the armed forces," Mr. Hakobyan said.

Referring to the OSCE Minsk Group activity, he stated that it acts
within the framework of its competence and it is a consultative body.

A PanARMENIAN.Net reporter quoted Hakobyan as saying that the Minsk
Group is well aware of which side is violating the ceasefire regime.

As for the possibility of peacekeeping forces’ stationing in Karabakh,
Movses Hakobyan said that Stepanakert treats negatively such
statements. "The NKR Defense Army is able to control the situation
and secure the country," the Minister said, adding that NKR will
prevent presence of foreign forces in the region.

PACE PRESIDENT’S AGENDA COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR ARMENIA
ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Asbarez
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, Mevlut
Cavusoglu arrived in Yerevan Wednesday amid controversy because he
refused to visit Dzidzernagapert, forcing Armenian authorities to
change the nature of his trip from an "official" visit to that of a
"working" one and sparking a boycott of meetings by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation.

Cavusoglu met with President Serzh Sarkisian, who expressed hope
that the PACE delegation visit would shape a more objective view of
Armenia and the challenges in the region.

"This visit will provide an opportunity to discuss issues on our
agenda, and I’m confident that it will contribute to the deepening of
cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Council of Europe,
particularly the cooperation between the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe and the Armenian National Assembly," said Sarkisian.

The PACE President said "a close cooperation has been established with
the Armenian delegation to PACE." He also praised Armenia’s progress
in implementing democratic reforms and fighting corruption.

Cavusoglu said that as newly elected PACE President he prioritizes
the deepening relations between the Assembly and member states, and
excludes the use of double standards toward member states to ensure
an objective and balanced attitude toward everyone.

But is Cavusoglu sincere in his assertion of not applying
double-standards?

Upon his election, Cavusoglu, who is one of the founders of the ruling
Justice and Development Party in Turkey and has served in the Turkish
parliament since 2002, expressed his intention to reestablish the
PACE subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been dormant since
2008 after the death of its chairman, Russell Johnston.

However, soon after assuming the PACE presidency, Cavusoglu told the
Azeri APA news agency that "Karabakh is referred to as Azerbaijani
territory in all Council of Europe decisions."

"The Karabakh conflict is one of the most urgent issues in the region
and hinders the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.

I’m saying this not because I’m a Turk, but because this is the truth,"
added Cavusoglu.

However, in a phone conversation with the Armenian Parliament Speaker
Hovik Abrahamian, Cavusoglu refuted the above statements, saying "it
was a result of bad translation and wrong perceptions in Azerbaijan."

In a later interview with the Turkish Haberturk TV, Cavusoglu discussed
the Armenian Genocide in the following manner: "Although Armenia
accuses us of committing genocide, it has no proofs of the fact,
since we have not perpetrated genocide. Armenians themselves have
perpetrated genocide in Khojaly and its history is still very fresh."

His statements before visiting Armenia, coupled with his insistence
on not going to Dzidzernagapert are enough to justify the ARF boycott
of the Cavusoglu visit to Yerevan.

"In effect, Mr. Cavusoglu is making no secret of the fact that he
is visiting Armenia not so much as the head of the PACE but as a
Turkish politician. Given these circumstances, our faction does not
find it appropriate to meet with him," said a letter sent by the ARF
parliamentary faction to Abrahamian Tuesday announcing the party’s
decision to boycott meetings with the visiting PACE leader.

Government sources confirmed that Cavusoglu informed the Armenian
authorities that he would not make the customary visits that all
foreign dignitaries make to Dzidzernagapert.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service Tuesday, ARF
parliamentary faction president Vahan Hovannesian said: "Naturally,
Cavusoglu was always going to be a Turkish president [of the PACE]
and place Turkish interests above everything else," he said. "For no
Turkish politician has reached the level of European broad-mindedness
and will reach it in the foreseeable future."

In a customarily Turkish manner, by praising Armenia’s "progress
in implementing democratic reforms," Cavusoglu exonerated official
Yerevan of all of its past wrongdoings vis-a-vis the March 1 incidents
and gained free reign to govern PACE as he sees fit.

When the Armenian authorities agreed to change the format of the visit
at Cavusoglu’s insistence, they effectively gave the PACE president a
green light, instead of actively working to neutralize this dangerous
and politically-charged approach.

The so-called opposition and ruling parties’ naïvete in moving forward
with meetings plays right into the agenda that Cavusoglu is eager
to advance.

AZERBAIJANI, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2010 – 12:12 AMT 07:12 GMT

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov met Tuesday in Baku with his
Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev to discuss prospects of military
cooperation, the situation in the region and Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement, 1news.az reported.

"The OSCE Minsk Group energies for resolution of the Karabakh
conflict don’t produce results, so talks should be intensified,"
Abiyev said, adding that "all efforts are directed for a peaceful
resolution of the conflict, otherwise the situation in the region
can become unpredictable."

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Armenian Defense Minister, colonel Seyran
Shahsuvaryan, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that a visit of Russian
Defense Minister to Armenia is not planned.

THE US GOVERNMENT FUNDED MCA-ARMENIA PROGRAM DELIVERS WATER AND TRAINING TO FARMERS

NOYAN TAPAN
MAY 10, 2010
AYGEZARD

On May 7 the U.S. Ambassador Marie L.

Yovanovitch and the Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan opened
2.5 kilometers of the 8.5 kilometers that constitutes the Aygezard
gravity irrigation canal scheme (Ararat marz) rehabilitated under
the Millennium Challenge Account-Armenia (MCA-Armenia) Program.

Ambassador Yovanovitch and the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized
the impact of infrastructure rehabilitation on improving farming
practices and attitudes of farmers, including more effective irrigation
practices, transition to higher value agriculture, and ultimately-
increased profitability of Armenian farmers.

In the farm of a farmer Mr. Ashot Abrahamyan was held the opening
ceremony. Mr. Ashot Abrahamyan through hard work and ingenuity, has
struggled to maintain his two hectares of apricot orchards for 20
years, despite extreme scarcity of water. Over 11, 000 rural residents
from Aygezard, Gintver and Nor Ughi communities will benefit from
the rehabilitation of this Aygezard gravity system.

According to the report given to Noyan Tapan, this investment in
Aygezard, is an important part of the 180 million USD worth of
agricultural assistance provided by the US Government to Armenia
through the Compact signed with the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) in 2006. When completed in September 2011, the MCA-Armenia
Program expects to have refurbished major sections of Armenia’s main
canal systems, modernized some of the most urgently needed pumping
stations, introduced new gravity irrigation schemes, re-built tertiary
canals in communities across Armenia and restored sections of the
Ararat Valley Drainage system. The MCA-Armenia Program is also training
nearly 45,000 farmers in improved agriculture practices, delivering
technical assistance to water supply institutions and providing 8,5
million USD in credit to farmers and small agribusinesses in support
of the program objectives.

Information: Millennium Challenge Account-Armenia (MCA-Armenia),
a State Non-Commercial Organization established by the Government of
Armenia, is responsible for overseeing the transparent implementation
of the Compact signed between the Millennium Challenge Corporation
and the Government of Armenia.

May 9, 2010

Donna Henes
Urban shaman, eco-ceremonialist and ritual expert

Earth, Our Mother

Copyright © 2010 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.

Humankind in its infancy clung to the primal comprehension of a maternal
Earth, in the same way that any completely dependent child hangs onto her
mother’s hip. The reality of our utter reliance incontrovertible, we held on
for dear life. Until only five, six thousand years ago, the archetypal Great
Mother, She Who Birthed the Earth, creatrix of all existence, matriarch of
the races of god/desses, reigned supreme everywhere. Homer sang Her praises:
"I shall sing of Gaia, Universal Mother, firmly founded, Oldest of all the
Holy Ones." Foremost in all early religions, the Earth was personified and
identified in many ways, but She was universally regarded with reverence and
deference as a living mother.

Many creation myths describe how Earth was made from Her sacred body.
According to the Apaches, all creatures came from the Earth: "Just like a
child being born from its mother. The place of emergence is the womb of the
Earth." Asintmah, the first woman of the Athapascan peoples of Western
Canada and Alaska, was midwife to Mother Earth. She wove Her a great blanket
of Earth to use during Her confinement and laid it carefully across Her
body. She then reached under this birthing blanket and pulled out a mouse,
and then a rabbit, and then, one by one, She brought forth each of the
Earth’s vast multitude from the loins of the Great Mother.

Earth is often seen as an island floating in the vast sea, very much as an
embryo is suspended in the womb. Falling Woman, the ancestress of the
Iroquoian tribes of the North Eastern portion of North America, was said to
have tumbled out of the watery sky into the waters below. Otter, beaver,
muskrat and sea bird pulled soil up from under the water to create a mound
to soften Her fall and to serve as a solid, dry place between the liquid sky
and the wet depths for Her to stand upon. The body of the
Sumerian-Babylonian Earth Mother, Tiamat, also defined the division between
the watery realms above and below, like a horizon differentiates the heaven
from the deep blue sea. Her title, Dia Mater, "Goddess Mother," gives us the
word, "diameter," the dividing line which stretches across the center of a
circle.

Other myths relate how clay, the flesh of the fertile Earth, is shaped by
the Goddess into living beings of skin and bone and breath, of blood and
brain and flesh. Another version of the Iroquois creation story is that in
which the Great Turtle tosses the mud off of Her back to create the Earth
and all that lives on Her. As She shimmies, shakes and shrugs, each clod
creates a different species of creature. The Shake Dance is still danced by
women in ceremony and at pow wow gatherings. It is a deliciously, sinuous
rendering of the subterranean rhythms of that great grandmother terrapin and
a sensuous celebration of the great landmass which She created, Turtle
Island.

The Shilluk people of the Sudan tell of the divine Juok who fashioned people
from Earth. The white people were made from white loam and the Arabs were
made of brownish soil. The black people were made of the finest and best
Earth, which is the fertile black clay from the banks of the Nile. The Ewe
of Togo say that good people are created from good clay and bad people are
made out of stinking mud. The creator of the Dogon of Mali is Amma, who
created the sun and moon out of clay pots decorated with copper and brass,
and then created the Earth from clay in the shape of a reclining female
figure. Her head faces north, Her feet, south. Her mons veneris is an
anthill, and her clitoris is a termite hill.

The Mesopotamian Goddess, Aramaiti, was known as Mother of the People Made
of Clay. Aruru was the potter who not only fashioned figures from clay, but
also breathed into them the animating energy of the universe. The Assyrian
Goddess, Mami, Mother, formed the first seven pairs of people, the original
male and female fashioned from clay. The Sumerian, Ninhursay, created the
human race from a mixture of clay from Her own body and Her menstrual blood.
This clay-converted-into-flesh myth cycle eventually culminated in the
ass-backward biblical tale of God creating Adam from clay and then creating
Eve from out of Adam’s body.

The biblical name, Eve, means Mother of All Living. Her name is derived from
those of much older Earth Mothers. In India, she was known as Jiva or Ieva,
The Creatress of All Manifested Forms. A Tantric appellation was Adita Eva,
The Very Beginning. The Hittites knew Her as Hawwah, Life, the Persians
called her Hvov, The Earth, and the Anatolians named her Hebat, Virgin
Mother Earth.

Adamah, the original feminine form of Adam, means "bloody clay," although
male scholars usually refer to this generative element as "red Earth."
Hmmmm. Eve means something like, "Mother Earth the Creator" and Adam means,
"Made from Earth." So I ask you, just who gave birth to whom? And who, if
you please, Doctor Freud, is envious of what?