Independent on Sunday (London)
May 23, 2004, Sunday

BOOKS: HUNT THE LUSTY FUNDAMENTALIST;
A FAST-MOVING TURKISH FARCE DELIGHTS STEPHEN O’SHEA WITH ITS

by STEPHEN O’SHEA Snow on the shores of the Bosphorus near Turkey’s
Ortakoy mosque MURAD SEZER/AP

It comes as a surprise that political prescience should be yet
another of the many gifts of Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. Praised as
a virtuoso of the postmodern highwire – in the company of Borges,
Calvino and Eco – Pamuk has delivered intellectual delights without
bothering his readers too much about the times in which they live. My
Name is Red, the Impac winner depicting a 16th-century aesthetic feud
among Ottoman miniaturists, was hailed as a work of idiosyncratic
genius, as was The White Castle, which involves a Muslim master and a
Christian slave switching identities. Now, with Snow, composed before
11 September 2001, Pamuk gives convincing proof that the solitary
artist is a better bellwether than any televised think-tanker.

Set in easternmost Anatolia in the 1990s, the novel deals with the
present- day shouting-match between East and West – a subject that is
second nature to any native of Istanbul like Pamuk. A meeting of
Noises Off and The Clash of Civilisations, the work is a melancholy
farce full of rabbit- out-of-a-hat plot twists that, despite its
locale, looks uncannily like the magic lantern show of misfire,
denial and pratfall that appears daily in our newspapers. How could
Pamuk have foreseen this at his writing desk four years ago? Even the
beatings and humiliations seem familiar.

The show takes place during three eventful February days in Kars, a
shivering has-been of a town hard by the border with Armenia. A
snowstorm has cut off the place, prompting an itinerant theatrical
troupe to stage a coup in the name of old-fashioned Kemalist secular
values. Their leader, a thoughtful drunk whose fame rests in his
resemblance to Ataturk, is concerned about militant Islamists and
Kurdish separatists in Kars, as well as a rash of suicides among the
city’s pious headscarf-wearing girls. Enter Ka, a poet returned from
exile in Germany, to report on the suicides for an article to appear
in “Republic” (ie Cumhurriyet), a leading Istanbul newspaper read by
Westernised “white Turks” like himself.

What Ka finds, as the snow settles on streets lined with dilapidated
Tsarist-era mansions, is a city of articulate rage. Angry at being
poor, provincial and despised by the godless, the townsfolk confront
Ka and disabuse him of his reflexive feelings of superiority, the
most memorable harangues spouted by a youth with dreams of becoming
“the world’s first Islamist science-fiction writer”. The Western
newcomer, who has spent the past 20 years not writing poetry,
masturbating, and collecting political refugee cheques in Frankfurt,
is enchanted at finding himself stuck in a tendentious backwater
straight out of Turgenev and Dostoevsky, to whom he refers liberally.
Ka’s muse returns and his libido revives.

At his hotel, run by an old socialist with two beautiful daughters,
the inevitable boulevardier complications arise, one of the love
triangles pitting the atheist poet against a lusty fundamentalist. Ka
goes out repeatedly to meet this hunted Islamist mastermind – who
came to national attention over the murder of a game-show host – to
negotiate matters political, sentimental, and, in the end,
theatrical: whether one of the inn-keeper’s daughters will remove her
headscarf on stage. As the intrigues mount and become ever more
deadly before the final betrayal, Pamuk gives us a florid wink by
letting his characters take a break every afternoon to watch a
Mexican soap opera on television.

In Turkey, the novel was criticised for its use of caricatures. Not
those of the foolish pasha of tired European travel writing, but the
Turk- on-Turk variety: the spent leftist, the brainless policeman,
the head- scarf passionaria, the miserable Anatolian. True, Pamuk
trades on stereotypes. But the strength of Snow lies in its failings.
The less believable the characters, the more true-to-life they
appear. It is to Pamuk’s credit that he saw this sad farce coming
before the rest of us.

Stephen O’Shea is the author of The Perfect Heresy’ (Profile). His
book on Islam and Christianity in the medieval Mediterranean world
will appear next year

NEIGHBORS

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)
May 20, 2004, Thursday

Meagan Estep has been invited to join Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor
Society for juniors and seniors at West Virginia State University.
Estep is co-captain of the WVSU cheerleaders and is also the girls’
track coach at Poca High School. She is a member of honor societies
Kappa Delta Pi and Phi Eta Sigma, with a 3.85 grade point average.
Estep is the daughter of Perry and Judy Estep of Scott Depot.

Noah Walters was selected to receive the 2004 Concord Book Award and
a $ 500 scholarship from Concord College. Walters was selected as the
most outstanding student in the junior class at South Charleston High
School. He is the son of Bill and Debbie Walters of South Charleston.

Rebekah Horn received a bachelor’s degree in English writing recently
from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. She is the daughter of
Jim and Diana Horn of St. Albans.

Crystal Allene Cook has been awarded a yearlong Fulbright Scholarship
to Yerevan, Armenia, where she will study the Armenian language,
culture and literature. Cook is a 1989 graduate of Winfield High
School. She earned a degree in European culture and history,
with minors in English, Russian and German language from Columbia
University in New York City in 1993, followed by a master’s degree
in education in 1994. Cook is presently a professional writer living
in Hollywood, Calif. She is the daughter of Amy Cook of Eleanor and
Dan Cook of Hurricane.

Holly Rhinehart, daughter of Karen Smith Rhinehart of Davis Creek and
Robert Paul Rhinehart of Ocoee, Fla., will receive her master’s degree
in reading education from Marshall University Graduate College this
month. Rhinehart graduated from George Washington High School with high
honors. She is also a summa cum laude graduate of West Virginia State
College with an elementary education degree. Rhinehart will graduate
from Marshall with a 4.0 grade point average. She is a fourth-grade
teacher at Sissonville Elementary School.

Brian L. Hager received the juris doctor degree on May 8 from the
Washington and Lee University School of Law. While at Washington and
Lee, he was editor in chief of The Washington and Lee Law Review,
a member of Omicron Delta Kappa honorary leadership fraternity and a
member of Phi Alpha Delta. He graduated cum laude. Hager is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Hager of Winfield.

Metro West always welcomes submissions for the Neighbors column. Send
brief news summaries, along with good photographs, to Metro West,
c/o Charleston Newspapers, 1001 Virginia St. East, Charleston, W.Va.
25301. Please include a daytime telephone number.

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA OUTLINES CASE FOR HOLDING GENOCIDE RESOLUTION VOTE

— Urges Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist
to Heed Congressional and Constituent Calls for Action

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
again this week, urged the Congressional leadership to take note of
the overwhelming bipartisan support for legislation marking the 15th
anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the Genocide Convention
and schedule a vote on the Senate and House Genocide resolutions
(S.Res.164 and H.Res.193).

In an ANCA update sent to Members of Congress, ANCA Government
Affairs director Abraham Niziblian outlined ten key reasons why Senate
Majority Leader Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert should place
the Genocide legislation on the Congressional docket for action.
The complete Memorandum follows.

The Genocide resolution was introduced in the Senate in June, 2003 by
Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ). Its companion House
measure, H.Res.193, led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA),
Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted unanimously by
the House Judiciary Committee last May and has 111 cosponsors. The
resolution cites the importance of remembering past crimes against
humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and
Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. Support
for the measure has been widespread, with a diverse coalition of over
100 ethnic, religious, civil and human rights organizations calling
for its passage, including American Values, National Organization
of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the
National Council of La Raza.

#####

===================================================
An Update on the Congressional Genocide Resolution
======================================= ============

It has been more than a year since Representatives George Radanovich,
Adam Schiff, and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co- Chairs Frank Pallone
and Joe Knollenberg introduced the House version of the Genocide
Resolution, H.Res.193, in April of 2003. Senators John Ensign and
Jon Corzine introduced the Senate version, S.Res.164, in June of 2003.

If the House and Senate leaderships do not schedule votes on their
respective Genocide Resolutions, this human rights legislation will
die with the end of Congressional session this November.

The key question, with less than six months before the end of the
Congressional session, is – “Why have House Speaker Dennis Hastert
and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist not scheduled votes on the
Genocide Resolution?”

Provided below are ten compelling reasons why the Genocide Resolution
deserves a vote:

1) The Genocide Resolution seeks to prevent future genocides

At its heart, the goal of the Genocide Resolution is to prevent future
genocides. This legislation stresses the importance of remembering
and learning the lessons of past crimes against humanity, including
the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan
genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. Supporters of
this legislation recognize that silence in the face of genocide only
encourages those who would commit such atrocities in the future.

2) The Genocide Resolution strengthens America’s commitment to the
Genocide Convention

The resolution strengthens America’s commitment to the universal
values of the Genocide Convention and calls on the United States to
commemorate the 15th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the
Genocide Convention. The law implementing the Convention, known as the
Proxmire Act, was named after the Wisconsin Senator who led a tireless
20-year campaign to attain U.S. adoption of the Genocide Convention.
Senator Proxmire, noted for his unswerving commitment to human rights,
delivered over 3,200 speeches during his Senate career to ensure
passage of this measure.

3) The Genocide Resolution was unanimously adopted by the House
Judiciary Committee

On May 21, 2003 the House Judiciary Committee adopted the Genocide
Resolution without a single dissenting vote. The report prepared by
the House Judiciary Committee described the Armenian Genocide in the
following terms: “Beginning in 1915, the Islamic Turkish state of the
Ottoman Empire sought to end the collective existence of the Christian
Armenian population. From 1915 through 1918, during World War I,
the Ottoman Empire subjected the Armenian people to deportation,
expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and starvation. The
atrocities were renewed between 1920 and 1923. It is estimated that
one and a half million Armenians were killed out of over two million
Armenians who had lived in the Ottoman Empire.”

4) The Genocide Resolution has broad, bipartisan support

This measure has been cosponsored by 39 Senators and 111
Representatives.

This March, a bi-partisan group of over sixty (60) U.S.
Representatives co-signed a Congressional letters Speaker Dennis
Hastert to bring the Genocide Resolution, H.Res.193, to a vote in the
U.S. House. The letter, which was initiated by Genocide Resolution
author Rep. George Radanovich, stressed that: “As we saw in Rwanda
a decade ago, and as we witness today the signs of a possible new
genocide emerging around the world – as a government and a people
– we must make sure that we apply the lessons of past genocide to
prevent future crimes against humanity. Sadly, even as we confront
new genocides, we still have among us those who – against all facts
and morality- deny the Holocaust or seek rewrite the history of the
past atrocities. These hateful deniers dishonor the dead and threaten
the living. They make the world a more dangerous place by emboldening
future potential perpetrators of genocide to believe that their crimes
can be committed with impunity. Adolf Hitler confirmed this with his
chilling remark to his military staff prior to launching the Holocaust:
“who, after all, remembers the annihilation of the Armenians.”

5) The Genocide Resolution has been endorsed by a coalition of over
100 organizations

Support for the Genocide Resolution has been widespread, with a
diverse coalition of over one hundred (100) ethnic, religious, civil
and human rights organizations calling for its passage, including
American Values, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy,
National Council of Churches, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and
the National Council of La Raza.

6) Pulitzer Prize winning author supports adoption of the Genocide
Resolution

Samantha Power, the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of “A Problem
from Hell” – America and the Age of Genocide, supports the Genocide
Resolution. Ms. Power, who formerly served as Executive Director
of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University, has said that, “For
too long American leaders and citizens have reflexively uttered
the phrase “never again” without taking concrete steps to give the
slogan meaning. This legislation marks the beginning of a twenty-
first century campaign to get the U.S. government to commit itself
politically and operationally to prevent future genocide.”

7) Over forty (40) legislators participated personally in the Capitol
Hill Observance of the Armenian Genocide

On April 28th, over 40 Senators and Representatives participated in
the Armenian Genocide Observance on Capitol Hill, which attracted
hundreds of Armenian Americans who traveled to Washington, DC from
around the nation to thank their legislators for supporting the
passage of the Genocide Resolution.

8) One hundred and ninety-one (191) members of Congress asked President
this April to recognize the Armenian Genocide

One hundred and sixty-nine (169) U.S. Representatives and twenty-
two (22) U.S. Senators co-signed Congressional letters this April
urging President Bush to honor his pledge to properly recognize the
Armenian Genocide in his annual April 24th remarks.

9) National Genocide Resolution postcard campaign

Over 75,000 Armenian Americans and other friends of Armenia have
participated in a national postcard campaign urging House Speaker
Hastert and Senate Majority Leader to bring the Genocide Resolution
to a vote in their respective houses of Congress. In California alone,
this postcard campaign has been publicly endorsed by the Mayor of Los
Angeles Mayor James Hahn; State Controller Steve Westly; Attorney
General Bill Lockyer; Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi; Los
Angeles Supervisor Mike Antonovich; Fresno Mayor Alan Autry, and a
many others.

10) Benefit concert supports passage of Genocide Resolution

The multi-platinum selling, Grammy Award nominated band “System Of
A Down” played a sold-out benefit concert in Los Angeles on April
24th for the Armenian National Committee of America and other groups
supporting the Genocide Resolution.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (in Spanish)
May 20, 2004, Thursday

SEMBLANZA Charles Aznavour, “dinosaurio” de la cancion francesa,
cumple 80 anos Por Sabine Glaubitz (dpa)

Paris, 20 may

En realidad Charles Aznavour tenia previsto dejar de actuar. Eso fue
hace alrededor de dos anos. Sin embargo, el chansonnier frances aun
no parece preparado para despedirse de los escenarios.

Por un lado, se siente demasiado joven (“Solo tengo cuatro veces
veinte anos”), y, por el otro, el cantante, nacido en Paris como hijo
de refugiados armenios, se moriria de aburrimiento.

“Todavia me divierto de la misma manera, quiza incluso mas que antes.
Y ademas, que haria en casa si no canto? La jubilacion seria morir de
aburrimiento. El escenario significa para mi una sensacion de placer
fisico incomparable”, dijo el artista, que hasta fin de ano estara de
gira promocionando su nuevo disco “Je voyage” y que incluso actuara
el sabado en Paris en su 80 cumpleanos.

En mas de 50 anos, este “dinosaurio” de la chanson francesa grabo
unas 800 canciones. Cientos de sus discos antiguos salieron en CD y
se venden tanto como las producciones mas nuevas, entre las que
figura “Plus bleu que tes yeux”, un duo con la fallecida Edith Piaf,
posible gracias a la tecnologia, “Etre” o “Jazznavour”.

“Las historias que cuento en mis canciones no pasan de moda”, explica
el mismo su exito.

Con su incomparable voz aspera y rota, Aznavour canta sobre el amor,
la familia, la juventud y los marginados. A los sordomudos les dedico
la cancion “Mon emouvant amour”, cuya interpretacion acompana con
lenguaje de sordomudos, y “Comme ils disent” fue uno de sus primeros
temas sobre homosexuales.

Algunas de sus canciones mas apasionadas, como “Apres l’amour”,
fueron prohibidas por la Iglesia catolica, que consideraba que iban
demasiado lejos.

El artista, que hace alarde de una energia sin limites, incluso
transformo sus fracasos privados en canciones con una mirada
romantica. “Mes emmerdes” es el titulo que escribio cuando tuvo que
trasladar su residencia a Suiza – donde sigue viviendo – debido a un
escandalo impositivo.

Aznavour, que siempre se definio como “frances de origen armenio”,
dedico numerosas canciones a Armenia, como por ejemplo “Pour toi,
Armenie”, que lanzo en 1989 como apoyo a las victimas del terremoto y
que ocupo el primer lugar de las listas francesas de grandes exitos.

Tambien su homenaje a los inmigrantes, “Les emigres”, que suele
cantar al principio de sus conciertos, recuerda que el compositor e
interprete proviene de una familia de inmigrantes.

Ya de pequeno el artista, nacido como Varenagh Aznavourian en el
Barrio Latino de Paris, presentaba en el restaurante ruso de sus
padres canciones y poemas armenios.

Durante la guerra, actuo en teatros y vendio diarios para apoyar
economicamente a sus padres. Ya en aquel entonces sabia que solo
queria una cosa: ganarse la vida como artista.

“Siempre estuve seguro de que queria ser cantante, actor y autor”,
dijo Aznavour, que participo en mas de 40 peliculas para las que en
gran parte compuso la musica.

La Orden de Comandante de la Legion de Honor – la distincion mas
importante de Francia – que le fue entregada hace pocos dias refleja
que Aznavour es uno de lso representantes mas populares de la chanson
francesa de postguerra.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Observer/Guardian (UK)
May 23 2004

The world wars that time forgot

BBC director of news Richard Sambrook on a documentary series that
features people for whom war is part of daily life

Sunday May 23, 2004
The Observer

Every minute of the day two people die somewhere in the world as a
result of war. Not only do most of us not know who dies, we hardly
know the wars that claim their lives. For many of those caught up in
conflict it is because of a decision they have made: to join the army
or a rebel group. For many others, there is no choice and little
hope.
Take the Hmong fighters deep in the jungles of Laos and still
persecuted for helping the Americans in the Secret War. The father of
a young family surviving on sawdust noodles and moving daily to
escape attack says: ‘One day the leaders of the international
community will come and rescue us. If they don’t nothing will
change.’ As I say, faint hope.

Television often portrays wars as exceptional and highly charged
events. The reality for hundreds of thousands of ordinary people is
anything but exceptional – it is part of how they live their daily
lives and encompasses boredom and drudgery alongside death.

How as journalists and broadcasters can we help people to understand
these conflicts and how they affect ordinary lives? One Day of War,
the first programme in the new series of BBC2’s This World, follows
individual fighters in 16 conflicts over the same 24-hour period. It
is a new approach, intended to be less remote than conventional
foreign affairs coverage, allowing viewers to get to know, if only
slightly, the individuals at war and their hopes, fears and
motivation. Of paramount importance to This World editor Karen
O’Connor and series producer Will Daws is to convey the fighters’
stories in their own words and to show the full 360 degrees of their
lives; the struggles but also their concerns for family, trying to
feed themselves and their sense of humour.

The day chosen was 22 March, when Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin was
killed by the Israelis. That made the day’s headlines, but much else
didn’t.

We meet Grace, an 18-year-old fighter with the New People’s Army in
the Philippines. She wanted to be a teacher, but couldn’t afford the
fees. She joined the rebels on New Year’s Day and now has two
choices: kill or be killed.

On the Black Sea a Georgian navy captain is trying to cadge fish off
passing ships to feed his crew as they sail an improbable rustbucket
to blockade the Abkhazian rebels. ‘I love work, I love women, I love
beer,’ he declares, but as night falls his discomfort and the danger
grow. In Nepal we accompany a 24-year-old woman Maoist rebel on her
first active mission armed with a flintlock rifle more suited to the
Napoleonic wars. ‘Ideology is our weapon,’ she suggests, but in a
quieter moment talks lovingly of the grandmother who raised her and
who she misses at night.

And in Somalia we follow a child soldier collecting money at
roadblocks to fund his militia. He takes us to the house where his
parents were killed by a mortar. It was better when they were alive,
he tells us. He could play football and go to school. He longs to do
something positive for his country, but charm and aspiration are not
enough to survive in Somalia.

In Chechnya, Russian troops on mine-sweeping duty used to put wooden
crosses at the side of the road where a colleague had fallen. ‘Now no
one bothers. We have to have a collection to buy a coffin to send
them back to Moscow,’ says one. Nine hundred Russian troops have died
in Chechnya, plus, it is estimated, 15,000 rebels and 100,000
civilians.

Last February I met the 16 teams who were going out to film One Day
of War as they gathered in London for safety briefings and final
logistics. They comprised a highly experienced group of cameramen and
producers, all motivated by the idea of contributing to a unique
film, a snapshot of the world in a way that had never been attempted
before. They are largely unknown to the audiences who benefit from
their work. The risks to them were considerable, and I salute their
courage and professionalism.

This project and its approach are the latest extension of what the
BBC has seen as part of its core mission since it began broadcasting
in 1922. ‘Let nation speak unto nation’ is emblazoned on the BBC
crest. ‘Making sense of the world’ is how BBC News has more recently
defined its purpose. Once a team of seven or eight people would be
needed to film overseas and ship – literally – the film back to
London for developing and printing. Today we can broadcast live from
anywhere on the planet. Last year we saw live coverage of fighting in
Iraq. But it doesn’t follow that instant communication in a
globalised world makes our understanding any deeper.

Napoleon is said to have once declared: ‘If you had seen one day of
war, you would pray to God that you would never see another.’ Two
hundred years later, there are some corners of the world, little
discussed and under-reported, where that still holds true.

I believe the BBC’s commitment to world affairs, and its scale, make
it the only broadcaster that could attempt a project as ambitious as
this – venturing deep into the jungles, deserts and mountains of the
world, finding the most remote and dangerous conflicts, and allowing
the people there to speak for themselves. The film reminds us of half
forgotten names: Nagorno Karabakh, the FARC, the Hmong. While we
carry on with our lives, jobs, children, moving house, they carry on
fighting, sometimes for 40 or 50 years. If it sometimes seems
pointless we should make a little effort to get to know them and to
understand. There is a reason they go on – and in One Day of War they
tell us why.

thisworld

· ‘One Day of War’ will be shown on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursday

Fixing Foreign Aid
Monday, May 24, 2004; Page A22

Washington Post
May 24 2004

IN MARCH 2002, President Bush announced an expansion and renovation
of U.S. foreign assistance. He proposed the Millennium Challenge
Account, which would ultimately channel to poor countries $5 billion
a year, a sum that would reflect a 50 percent expansion in existing
aid programs. The new money would be spent in a new way: It would go
to a short list of countries with sound policies, rather than being
spread around dozens of places where corruption or political disorder
undermines progress. Two years on, Mr. Bush’s idea is not attracting
the funding that he talked of. But his initiative has created an
improved model for U.S. foreign assistance.

The new model works by measuring the quality of poor countries’
policies in three areas. The first concerns governance: Do citizens
have civil and political rights? How bad is corruption? Is the
government effective? The second category is investment in people,
particularly in immunization, other health programs and primary
schooling. The third is the quality of economic policy, measured
partly by indicators like the inflation rate but also by the number
of days it takes to start a business and “regulatory quality.” The
Challenge Corp., the government entity formed to administer the new
aid program, has measured 77 poor countries against these benchmarks.
The top 16 have been invited to apply for grants.

Nobody pretends that these measurements are perfect; quantifying the
“rule of law” is tricky. But the indicators are nonetheless the best
available: They have been taken from respected outside institutions,
such as the World Bank and Freedom House. Some might wonder, for
example, why Armenia, a country with poor political and civil rights,
was chosen, but Armenia’s strong scores in economic management,
rule of law and “government effectiveness” suggest that aid dollars
will be well spent there. Why did Uganda and Vietnam, two development
stars of the 1990s, fail to make the grade? Because their political
scores were even worse than Armenia’s.

The question now is how the aid will be spent in the selected
countries. High-performing poor countries tend to be the darlings
of donors, so finding worthwhile projects may be a challenge. One
solution may be to stay away from health and education, which attract
the most outside backing, and go for power, water and roads. But
infrastructure projects require engineering studies, environmental
assessments, social-impact evaluation — in short, they take time
to get off the ground. Another solution may be to pour money into
government budgets, so that the quality of government personnel and
spending is strengthened, but this approach may not appeal to Congress,
which likes backing discrete projects.

Supporters of the Millennium Challenge Account worry that it is
underfunded. When he laid out his plan two years ago, Mr. Bush said
he wanted $1.6 billion in the current year, double that in 2005 and
then $5 billion a year thereafter. Instead, Congress appropriated $1
billion for the current year, and the administration has requested
only $2.5 billion for next year; the eventual $5 billion target seems
distant. But the chief danger to Mr. Bush’s project is that, in an
effort to wring money from Congress, his administration will make
unrealistic promises about how quickly aid can be disbursed and how
measurable the results will be. That will only breed cynicism when
the promises go unfulfilled. Fighting poverty takes patience.

Honors and awards

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA
May 24 2004

John A. Swanson, founder of the Southpointe software firm Ansys Inc.,
is the winner of this year’s John Fritz Medal awarded by the American
Association of Engineering Societies.

The medal, established in 1902, is considered one of the highest
awards in the engineering profession. Previous winners include Orville
Wright, Alexander Graham Bell and George Westinghouse. Swanson earned a
doctorate in applied mechanics at the University of Pittsburgh in 1966.

A University of Pittsburgh mathematics student, Sevak Lazarian,
placed 12th out of more than 3,600 undergraduates from 479 colleges
and universities and won $1,000 in the latest William Lowell Putnam
Mathematics Competition.

The annual competition is the most prestigious math contest for
undergraduates; on the first Saturday each December, students take
a six-hour test.

Originally from Yerevan, Armenia, Lazarian attended Moscow Institute
of Physics and Technology before coming to Pitt in 2001. He has
been accepted into the graduate math program at the University of
California, Berkeley.

Another Pitt student, Dorian Croitoru, received an honorable mention.
He plans to pursue his graduate studies at Pitt.

Roots of Anti-Semitism Misunderstood
by: Adam Sabet

New University, (UC Irvine) CA
May 24 2004

Throughout the history of Western journalism – as with most other
journalism – there has been a substantial outpour of falsified
information, none more consistent than the misuse of the term
“anti-Semitism.” Since the rise and fall of the Third Reich, people of
Jewish descent (and later Israelis) have used the term to exclusively
depict people who look down upon the Jewish peoples and would rather
have them exterminated.

Had any of the numerous journalists or Israelis who have used this term
paused to study the meaning of “Semitism,” they would be surprised
to learn that a Semite is a member of a group of Semitic-speaking
people of the near-East and Northern Africa. Jewish people are but
one of many of the Semitic peoples, including the Arabs, Arameans
(lingual ancestors of Arabs and Armenian), Babylonians, Carthaginians
(biological ancestors of present-day Moroccans and Algerians),
Ethiopians, Hebrews and Phoenicians (present-day Lebanese). As such,
there are only four remaining Semitic subgroups: Hebrew/Jewish, Arab,
Ethiopian and Armenian. Through this purely lingual definition –
the only one that is academically legitimate – Arabs cannot be labeled
as anti-Semitic. Thus, for any Westerner (or Israeli for that matter)
to refer to Yasser Arafat or any other Arab leader as an anti-Semite is
by definition impossible and an improper use of the English language,
lest that Arab seeks self-destruction as well.

In terms of ethno-racial labeling, a Semite would be defined by a
person’s geo-biological heritage–they must be able to trace their
lineage to the Middle East. Using such a definition, a Jewish convert
of European descent could not accurately be identified as Semitic.
Also, Israelis with fair skin, blue eyes and blond hair cannot be
accurately viewed as more Semitic than their olive-skinned, brown-eyed
counterparts (regardless of religious following). Such a claim would
be similar to a seemingly white person claiming to be black based on
perpetual indoctrination of such a belief or some ancient hereditary
claim.

For too long has this term been improperly used and perhaps ingeniously
so. Though this may seem a moot point, the exclusive use of the term
Semite to refer to those of Jewish descent or Israeli nationality
does have great philological value. By claiming Jews or Israelis to
be the remaining Semites of the world evokes greater sympathy from
an otherwise indifferent ear.

Thus this error in definition has allowed the media to portray
anti-Semitism to be on the rise in Europe, invoking the memories of
the fascist days of the World War era. The so-called “anti-Semitic”
sentiment of the European nations is thus labeled by their condemnation
of Israeli incursions, and the rise of such sentiments among their
publics in light of the Palestinian (another Semitic people) plight and
perpetual state of vulnerability. During the World War era, however,
true anti-Semitism was on the rise as Europeans commonly upheld the
belief that Semites (along with all other minorities) were inferior
to those of self-proclaimed “pure Aryan” descent.

Had the commonly used definition of Semitism been accurate, then
countless Western journalists and Israelis would still be using the
term out of context in regards to public European admonition of Israel
and any Arab leaders, including Yasser Arafat. Though some Arabs may
wish to see the absolute removal of Israel from once-Palestinian lands,
most accept Israel’s right to exist and have not hatred for all Jews,
but rather for the occupying and brutally oppressive nature of Israel
towards Palestinians. Anti-Israeli sentiment, in this regard, is often
haphazardly confused with anti-Semitism. However, just as during the
Cold War the United States was anti-communist and not anti-Slavic,
most Arabs who have been wrongfully accused of anti-Semitism are in
reality merely anti-Israeli; that is, their enemy is the country’s
policies and not its people nor followers of the Jewish faith.

The difference between hatred for all Jews and a hatred of Israel
must be clarified as the lack of differentiating the two results in
demonizing those who are against Israel as being no better than Hitler.

As with all long-hidden truths, this one must be revealed somewhere.
For too long have the other Semitic peoples sat idly while they were
slowly being excluded from their ethno-lingual heritage. I find such
an exclusion not only ignorant, but insulting as well; as a modern
Egyptian-American, to deny my Semitic roots is worse than denying my
Pharaonic ones, as I am culturally entrenched in Semitism and not
the ways of the ancients. For all the Armenian, Arab and Ethiopian
readers out there: Whenever you hear the misuse of the term that is
used to define your peoples, please correct the speaker.

Adam Sabet is a third-year political science major.

‘Decisive’ Opposition Action Again Postponed
By Emil Danielyan 24/05/2004 11:12

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
May 24 2004

The Armenian opposition announced late Friday yet another postponement
of its promised “decisive” offensive against the government,
effectively admitting its failure so far to boost attendance at its
rallies and promising to “rethink” its strategy.

Opposition leaders assured several thousand supporters in Yerevan
that their two-month campaign against President Robert Kocharian
will resume with a fresh momentum two weeks later. They also remained
uncompromising in demanding Kocharian’s resignation. “We reaffirm our
resolve to continue our struggle for the establishment of democracy
and the rule of law in Armenia,” the Artarutyun bloc and the National
Unity Party (AMK) said in a statement read out to the crowd.

“During these two weeks we will completely reassess the situation,
regroup our forces and starting from June 4 will hold permanent
rallies, marches and sit-ins until Robert Kocharian’s resignation,”
Artarutyun’s Albert Bazeyan said.

The opposition leaders said during their previous unsanctioned rally on
May 14 that they will stage another march towards Kocharian’s official
residence on the city’s Marshal Baghramian Avenue if they mobilize
“a critical mass of supporters.” One of them, Victor Dallakian,
admitted on Friday that they have yet to achieve that.

“If all of the people standing here stay [on Marshal Baghramian Avenue]
throughout the night there will be a critical mass,” Dallakian told
RFE/RL. “But they won’t. We must make sure they do. Everything must
be well prepared.”

“We will go [to the presidential palace] only once,” he added.

The opposition supporters already marched up the avenue but were
stopped from approaching Kocharian’s residence by heavily armed
riot police on April 12. There were still between 2,000 and 3,000 of
them on the street in the early hours of April 13 when the protest
was violently broken up by baton-wielding security forces using
water cannons, stun grenades and, according to some eyewitnesses,
electric-shock equipment. Scores of demonstrators were arrested and
seriously injured.

Artarutyun and the AMK have since repeatedly promised to lay another
siege to the presidential palace, but have avoided doing that so far.
Some local commentators have concluded that their campaign has lost
momentum. But the opposition leaders disagreed, with Bazeyan claiming
that the street protests have weakened the ruling regime and Dallakian
alleging that Kocharian is “widely hated” by the population.

Another prominent oppositionist, Aram Sarkisian, sounded, as always,
even more self-confident. “Dear people, I wish you patience. We
will indeed remove Kocharian with our rallies and his departure is
imminent,” he said.

Armenian opposition suspends protests until June 4

Interfax
May 24 2004

Yerevan. (Interfax) – The Armenian opposition intends to suspend
its protest activities until June 4, prominent opposition leader
and former prime minister Aram Sarkisian said at a rally in downtown
Yerevan on Friday evening.

“If our arrested friends are not released by this date, we will march
to President Kocharian’s residence and explain our demands to him,”
Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian said hurrying could harm the opposition’s struggle for a
change of power in the country.

“The opposition should not hurry its actions,” he said. The Friday
rally in Yerevan was organized by two forces represented in the
parliament, the Justice bloc of parties and the party National Unity.

The organizers claimed that the rally gathered about 30,000 people,
while the police said there were no more than 4,000.