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03/31/2004
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1) Justice Minister Assures Punishment for Gyumri Disturbances
2) ANCA Issues Report Card on Bush Administration
3) US General Discusses Armenian Involvement in Iraq, Military Assistance
4) Talabani: Kirkuk Sacred for Kurds

1) Justice Minister Assures Punishment for Gyumri Disturbances

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Armenia’s Justice Minister David Haroutounian announced
in parliament on Tuesday that those responsible for the disturbances at last
weekend’s opposition rally in Gyumri, would be strictly punished,
regardless of
party belonging or their rank, and added that even authorities implicated in
the incident will have to be responsible for their actions.
According to RFE/RL, the Gyumri gathering was disrupted when some
participants
scuffled with several women who raised banners denouncing President Robert
Kocharian’s opponents. Shortly afterwards, several men charged towards the
podium amid eggs thrown in the direction of the opposition leaders. The
confrontation turned into a fistfight that ended with four opposition
activists
taken away by plain-clothes police officers.
Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, also addressing parliament, announced that
the authorities operate only under the rule of law, and responded to claims by
opposition parliament member Hrant Khachatrian that “certain bodies have begun
to hire paid combatants.”
Margarian, speaking of forces that safeguard internal security and stability,
and the army that defends the country from external threats, stressed that, in
spite of opposition claims, the government has no other troops and has not
hired combatants.
Emphasizing the government’s support of any opposition activities within the
framework of the law, Margarian said, “We have no right to limit political
rights or rights of citizens; the consideration, however, is the method the
opposition chooses to realize its goals. If those are outside legal
limitations, then the government has a direct responsibility to protect
internal security and the interests of the country.”

2) ANCA Issues Report Card on Bush Administration

WASHINGTON, DC–The 2004 Armenian American Presidential Report Card, issued on
Tuesday 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 concerning 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 positive steps by the
Bush Administration, the Report Card, nevertheless, 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 US military
aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan–and has actively opposed key issues of concern
to Armenian Americans.”

ANCA PRESIDENTIAL REPORT CARD:

BROKEN CAMPAIGN PLEDGE TO RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Almost immediately after taking office, President Bush abandoned his campaign
pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Made in February of 2000 as Texas
Governor, the promise was widely distributed among Armenian Americans prior to
the hotly contested Michigan primary. It read, in part:
“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, in his annual April 24th
statements, has consistently 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.

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 UN 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.

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.
()

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 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.

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.

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 US as an
impartial mediator of the Karabagh talks.

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.

NEGLECT OF US-ARMENIA RELATIONS

While the Bush Administration has maintained a formal dialogue with
Armenia on
economic issues through the bi-annual meetings of the US-Armenia Task
Force, it
has, as a matter of substance, failed to take any meaningful action to
materially promote US-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 US-Armenia commercial relations.
The President neither visited Armenia nor did he invite the President of
Armenia to visit the United States.

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED POLICY ON MOUNTAINOUS KARABAGH

The Bush Administration, to its credit, took an early initiative to help
resolve the Mountainous 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 Karabagh peace process.

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 US forces to open a northern front during the war in Iraq.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

3) US General Discusses Armenian Involvement in Iraq, Military Assistance

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–A top US general in charge of troops in Europe, ended a
two-day visit to Armenia on Wednesday, addressing expansion of US-Armenian
military cooperation, and Armenian involvement in Iraq’s reconstruction.
“The United States is proud to have Armenia as a friend in the war on
terrorism and, in the future, in the recovery and reconstruction of Iraq,”
Major-General Jeffery Kohler, director of plans and policy at the US European
Command, said after talks with Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and the chief
of the Armenian army staff, Colonel-General Mikael Harutiunian.
“Armenia has offered to provide a truck company and medical personnel [to
Iraq]. Details of that deployment are being worked out right now,” Kohler told
reporters before leaving Armenia, but gave no possible dates for the dispatch
of the small Armenian contingent promised by the Armenian government last
summer. The two sides have since been discussing practical modalities of the
deployment which will be largely financed by the US government.
Armenia did not endorse the US invasion of Iraq last year, and hopes military
involvement now will make Armenian companies eligible for US-funded
reconstruction contracts in the war-ravaged nation. Asked to comment on this,
Kohler said: “I know that the US government has offered any nation that is
supporting the effort in Iraq ability to come in and assist in the
reconstruction.”
Armenia initially announced readiness to commit a team of medical doctors and
a platoon of de-mining experts for the for the US-led occupation force in
Iraq.
Deputy Defense Minister Artur Aghabekian said last month that Armenian
military
drivers are also trained to participate in the operation.
Kohler said another purpose of his trip was to discuss further US assistance
to a special peace-keeping battalion of the Armenian armed force. “The United
States has already provided some equipment and training to the battalion
and we
are looking at ways to advance that and enable that to grow in the future,” he
said.
The US general, who is based in the German city of Stuttgart, praised a
battalion from the platoon that joined the NATO-led peacekeeping force in
Kosovo last month on Armenia’s first-ever military mission abroad. “The
Armenian people should be very proud of how they perform,” he said.
The US military assistance to Armenia was made possible by the suspension of
the decade-long restrictions on US government aid to Azerbaijan following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The US Congress has allocated about $8
million in military funding to Armenia. Most of the money will be used for
upgrading communication facilities of Armenia’s Armed Forces.
Although a similar sum has been budgeted for Azerbaijan, the parity will be
broken based on the Bush Administration’s 2005 proposed budget that calls for
$8 million in military aid to Azerbaijan and only $2.3 million to Armenia.
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage argued in Yerevan last week
that
Baku is entitled to a bigger share of the pie because it is already
involved in
US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Responding to Armenian protests against the aid disparity, the US assured
that
it will not change the shaky balance of forces in the conflict over
Mountainous
Karabagh.
Kohler also stressed that the US will almost certainly freeze its military
cooperation with both nations should the Karabagh war resume. “Although it is
not up to the US European Command, I can almost guarantee that if there is
conflict from either side, our Congress will impose those sanctions again,” he
said.
Kohler added that he will soon pay another visit to Armenian at the
request of
Sarkisian. “The minister of defense has ordered me in many ways to come back
and visit very soon,” he said without elaborating.

4) Talabani: Kirkuk Sacred for Kurds

CAIRO (UPI/PUK.org)–Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani said the oil-rich
center of Kirkuk is as important for Kurds as East Jerusalem is for Arabs and
Muslims.
In an interview with the Cairo daily al-Ahram on Wednesday, Talabani said,
“Kirkuk is a sacred city for Kurds as much as Jerusalem is for Muslim and we
have been struggling for it for more than 40 years.”
Talabani, whose Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has been sharing control of
Iraq’s Kurdistan with Massud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party since 1991,
said past Iraqi governments were ready to recognize the autonomy of Kurdistan,
excluding Kirkuk. “Historically and demographically speaking, Kirkuk was never
part of Iraq but part of Kurdistan.”
Talabani stressed that Kurds do not seek to secede from Iraq but want the
right of autonomy under a federal system to be recognized.
While there is a consensus among most Iraqi political groups about the
establishment of a federal form of government in the post-Saddam Iraq,
there is
disagreement about the nature of such federalism. Without exception, the
non-Kurdish Iraqi majority favors the federalism of the provinces. Iraq is
divided into 18 provinces and, according to this view, each province should
have some degree of autonomy within a federal framework that leaves much of
the
power at the center in Baghdad. Since most provinces, including those in the
north, have a mixture of ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen,
Assyrians, and Christians, this scheme will loosely limit the Kurdish control
over at most three provinces–Sulaymaniyya, Erbil and Dhouk–that have enjoyed
political autonomy since 1991.
By contrast, the Kurds have insisted on regional federalism that would bring
into one region, and one political framework, all the provinces with
substantial Kurdish populations, including the city of Kirkuk. The additional
Kurdish insistence to keep Kirkuk as part of the regional federation scheme
stems from the argument that the city has undergone a process of “Arabization”
under the Saddam regime. The idea of the federation of provinces is rejected,
according to Talabani, because “throughout its history, the Kurdish people
have
struggled to prevent the separation of the Kurdish provinces from each other
and to protect the integrity of the historical Kurdish borders.”
According to Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the Governing Council, the
annexation of Kirkuk into a Kurdish region is not meant to “Kurdicize” the
city
but to remove the relics of its Arabization. According to Othman, the 1959
census has shown a majority of Kurds in Kirkuk and that majority should be the
sole criterion in determining its future.

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Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
March 31 2004

LIVENING UP THE SPIRITUAL AND SECULAR LIFE

The Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church intends opening
chair of theology at Artsakh State University. This was announced by
the head of the Diocese of Artsakh, Parghev archbishop Martirossian.
Yerevan State University has a faculty of theology already, and it is
time to think for this in Artsakh. The Diocese also intends founding
the Student’s Union of Churchgoers headed by ArSU. Similar
organizations already operate in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora,
greatly contributing to both spiritual and secular life. Archbishop
Martirossian added that his cherished dream is introduce at schools
the subject old Armenian language, at least starting with the 3rd or
4th grades. “Every Armenian teenager should be aware of his original
language, the Armenian language that was the language of Noah, which
also has a theological origin. If we fulfill this, it will be a great
achievement, said the archbishop of Artsakh.”

LAURA GRIGORIAN

A1 Plus | 19:51:59 | 31-03-2004 | Politics |

REPUBLIC PARTY VOICING SUPPORT TO “A1+”

“My party and I express support to “A1+” creative staff and all those who
have initiated the rally and the march on April 2 for free speech and press
freedom”, the statement released by “Republic” Party leader Aram Sargssyan
says.

The statement voices belief that all the citizens and political powers
concerned about democracy and the fate of our homeland irrespective of
ideological or political stances or discord will actively partake in the
rally and the march on April 2 for the defense of freedom of speech.

—

Talks on Iran-Armenia gas pipeline reaching final stage, says minister

Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran
31 Mar 04

The energy minister of Armenia Armen Movsisyan has said: Negotiations
are nearing the end on the construction of an Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline.

Movsisyan, referring to the two countries’ agreement on the
significant technical specifications of this project, added: It is
predicted that an agreement on the construction of this gas pipeline
would be completed during early days of the next Christian month April
, when Iran’s oil minister Bizhan Namdar-Zanganeh visits Armenia.

On the basis of this agreement, the gas pipeline carrying Iran’s gas
to Armenia will be completed in 20 months.

US GENERAL THANKS ARMENIA FOR PEACEKEEPING EFFORT

A1+ web site
31 Mar 04

“Armenian people should be proud of their peacekeeping platoon,”
Director of Plans and Policy, Headquarters US European Command,
Maj-Gen Jeffrey B. Kohler has said at Zvartnots airport.

Mr Kohler refused to comment on the brutal murder of the Armenian
officer in Hungary. “I leave it for the Hungarian leaders,” he said.

Kohler said he arrived in Armenia to thank the Armenian authorities
for the military unit sent to Kosovo and for the one to be sent to
Iraq.

“The USA is proud to have Armenia as a partner in the struggle against
terrorism and the reconstruction of Iraq,” Kohler said.

The US AF (Air Force) representative also said that one of the aims of
his visit is to look at new forms of cooperation. “We need time to
properly study the potential of the Armenian armed forces. For the
time being Armenia has voiced willingness to send trucks and sappers
to Iraq.”

ARMENIAN WEB SITE CRITICAL OF OFFICIALS’ FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR RESHUFFLE

Golos Armenii web site, Yerevan
29 Mar 04

Personnel changes in the Armenian police (the chief of Yerevan’s
police directorate, Col Aram Zakharyan, has been promoted to chief of
the department for state protection of the Armenian police; his
replacement as Yerevan police chief is Col Nerses Nazaryan, former
chief of the capital’s Erebuni-Nubarashen police department. The chief
of Yerevan’s traffic police has also been replaced. This post has
been taken over by Markar Oganyan, who until now was in charge of the
State Traffic Police of Yerevan and the republic). Such changes in the
law-enforcement agency and the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office
gave rise to numerous semi-truthful rumours (as published), which
happens whenever those who take decisions do not bother to explain
them.

The opposition press rushed to explain the reshuffle and also the
dismissal of some prosecutors in the capital’s communities and their
replacement by others by the upcoming actions of radicals to change
power. Alas, neither the president, nor the justice minister nor the
new prosecutor-general have so far commented on the dismissal of
prosecutors.

Under the presidential decrees, Akop Babayan has become the prosecutor
of the Erebuni community (replaced Mikael Badiryan), Dzhon Farkhoyan
has become the prosecutor of the Shengavit community (instead of
Aleksandr Garibyan), Gevork Tovmasyan has become the prosecutor of the
Avan and Nor-Nork communities (replaced Armen Sardaryan), Gagik
Khachikyan has become the prosecutor of the Achapnyak and Davidashen
communities (instead of Ovannes Stepanyan).

(Passage omitted: known appointments)

ESCAPE FROM AMERICA MAGAZINE MARCH 2004

March 18, 2004

Armenian Odyssey
Discovering The Soul Of Armenia ~ by Dorothy Aksamit

“Oh”, said the young woman standing beside us at the baggage
queue at the airport in Yerevan, “they’ve changed already”. Blowing
kisses to the two little girls peeking from behind bouquets of roses,
she told us she lived in Kosovo with her husband who is with the UNDP
peacekeeping mission. “I come home every three months, but children
change so quickly.” I agreed it must be difficult and then she said,
“But of course you know our history. It is important that my children
stay in Armenia and speak Armenian.” The young mother assumed we were
visiting our family.

Armenia sees few “pure” tourists: those not affected by the
Diaspora of the 1915 genocide. Most tourists are visiting their
homeland, or travelers on a pilgrimage to the early churches. We were
neither. You might say we came on the wings of words. Carroll, my
husband, and I knew something of the 1915 genocide of the Armenians
orchestrated by the Turks. We had been introduced to Armenia by the
Armenian-American writer, William Saroyan in “My Name is Aram”. Our
interest was further heightened by Bitov’s lyrical “A Captive of the
Caucasus” and the bittersweet memoir of Peter Balakian’s “Black Dog of
Fate”. We were anxious to see the Low Caucasus Mountain Range, the
early churches in this land that in 310 A.D. was the first to accept
Christianity as a state religion and the imposing Matenadaran housing
illuminated books dating to the fifth century.

Our taxi salaamed around potholes as we entered Yerevan, the
capital of The Republic of Armenia. The city, scattered on either side
of a deep ravine, appeared forlorn. Store windows were empty or
sparsely stocked. Huge cranes, their wrecking ball missing, stood idle
beside staring holes of windowless buildings. Incongruously, the only
construction seemed to be the multiple pools of an aquatic park.
Impressions began to change as we passed between startlingly huge
complexes, one a hillside cognac distillery and the other a former
winery, now a museum. Near the center of town broad leafy avenues named
for poets and writers and several impressive statues lifted our spirits.

Gagik Siravyan, our driver/guide, (we had made arrangements with
Levon Travel on the Internet), perhaps seeing Yerevan through our eyes,
said, “We have a beautiful mountain, but you can’t see through the
clouds today.” and he added, “It’s in another country.” And so, even
before reaching our hotel, Armenia had bared its soul. The palpable
longing for home, land and language would become the spoken and unspoken
theme of our journey.

When we reached Republic Square, the scene changed as quickly as a
mouse click, dropping us into another time, another place. Ornate
buildings of rose or yellow tufa ringed the square of joyful people.
Filled with merry-makers, a coach and four trotted around the square.
The cafe crowd, mostly businessmen and Red Cross personnel, sipped beer
and lattes under umbrellas in front of the Hotel Armenia. A band played
beside the gushing fountain, the centerpiece of Republic Square,
formerly Lenin Square during the Soviet occupation. The square pulsated
with the exuberance of youth. Young women in short black dresses with
frilly white aprons teetered above platform heels, their partners, young
men in black jackets with white lace and rose corsages, everyone
celebrating the last day of school and graduation. Our black and white
entry into Yeravan had, by midnight, turned into Technicolor reflected
in the eyes of the young as the grand finale fireworks lit up the sky.
The major sites that we wanted to see lay in the four cardinal
directions and so each day as we cleared the bruised city we quickly
entered a gentle green land of shepherds whose sheep grazed under cobalt
skies. An ancient church at the end of each road drew us slowly and
inextricably into a pilgrimage..

We stopped the first day at the slender Arch of the poet
Yeghishe Charents. Gagik roughly translated the inscription: “You may
look the world over and never find such a mountain as Ararat.” Often
hidden in clouds, I photographed Mount Ararat framed perfectly in the
arch, but alas, only I could find the snow-capped mountain in the
clouds. How frustrating for Armenians, with Ararat heartbreakingly
close but lying in forbidden territory. Armenians must negotiate a trip
to eastern Turkey through Georgia to visit Mount Ararat where Noah is
thought to have moored his Ark. Armenians call their country Hayastan
and trace their descent from Haik, Noah’s great-great-great-grandson.
Afterwards we visited what looked like a small Roman temple, The Temple
of Garni, dedicated to the sun god Mithra, built with funds and slaves
sent by Nero. But I remember Garni as the place where grandmothers sold
roejik. These delicious sweets hang like curtains of brown candles but
are strings of dried fruit, rolled thin and wrapped around walnuts. We
quickly became addicted and stopped everytime we spotted them.
Each morning Gagik scoured roadside markets for picnic
supplies: lavash, parchment thin bread, to wrap around soft cheese,
olives, green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes.

As we approached Geghard, the 10-13 century monastery, a
scene straight out of my Sunday school coloring book sprang to life. A
family group, leading a sacrificial lamb was met by a group of pied
pipers who piped them into the church. The lamb would later be butchered
and a grand picnic held on the banks of the river. Geghard was also the
church where a group of teenagers sang beside the chapel where stones
are pressed into the wall and if the stone sticks your wish will come
true. Gagik said, “They are singing for the freedom of their friends in
Karabakh.” (An Armenian enclave surrounded by Azerbaijan).

Geghard is an architectural wonder. Carved in solid rock,
it is a collection of several churches chiseled from the mountainside as
a sanctuary for the early Christians. Memorable as Geghard is, it’s
Gagik’s song that I remember. He stood in the center of the original
church surrounded by columns and walls carved from one stone and sang
quietly – perhaps to himself, perhaps to his God, but the curved stone
vault increased the volume until, by the time it floated skyward through
the round opening, it was a heavenly chorus.

On a Sunday visit to Cathedral Echmiadzin we discovered that Gagik
was an artist and the son of an artist. In fact his father had helped
restore the frescos in this beautiful Cathedral famous as the site where
Christ descended from Heaven and pointed to the spot on which the
Cathedral should be built. The elaborate service of the Armenian
Apostolic Church was in progress when we arrived. Under vibrant blue and
gold frescos and sparkling crystal chandlers, the gold mitered, black
robed Catholicos moved slowly through the standing crowd dispensing
blessings and accepting offerings. There was incense, a chorus and at
the altar where Christ descended, a motionless prostrate man, obliging
the faithful to lean over him in order to kiss the stone.

Our favorite trip was to Hamberd, a fortress and church high upon
the slopes of Mount Argats. On the slopes, higher even than the fortress
we found the distinctive rectangular steles of the pagans. These stones
(khatchkars) were later inscribed with intricate filigreed crosses and
thousands of them are found all over Armenia.

As we approached the fortress we saw a school bus and a
rollicking party in progress. It was an end-of-school picnic and the
English teacher suggested that while we looked at the fortress and
church she would make coffee.

The teachers second question after, “Where are you from?”
was, “Have you heard of the Genocide?” One of the women offered to sing
for us and we heard for the first time the poignantly beautiful song,
“Your house is in front of my house, but I don’t see you anymore.” The
teenagers then turned up the boom box and the dancing began. We spent a
couple of hours eating grilled chicken, drinking vodka and dancing. An
added attraction was the daring feat of a local youth who scaled the
fortress wall sans ropes or shoes. It was for us a moment in an
Armenian paradise.

The last day we stayed too long at the imposing Matenadaran,
the library that holds thousands of books dating to the fifth century
documenting the history of Armenia. But to those in this shrunken
landlocked country that once spread to three seas, The Matenadaran is
more than a library; it is the depository of cultural history and is
spoken of in reverential tones. It is like scaling a mountain to get to
this lofty mausoleum-like building. On the first terrace is a statue of
Mesrop Mashtots who, as every school child in this land of 98% literacy
knows, created the Armenian alphabet in 405 A.D. On the second terrace
are granite statues of writers and finally inside a wide staircase
leading to the exhibition room. Here are the intricately illuminated
manuscripts bound in leather, ivory and filigreed silver and parchment
books of botany, math, science, geography and astrology. Gagik proudly
pointed to the framed pictures and quotes of William Saroyan who in the
early twentieth century introduced the Armenian people to the world in
his plays and novels. He also shyly told us it was his father who showed
Saroyan around when he visited Armenia.

When we finally reached the Genocide Museum, the door had just
been locked but Gagik explained that we had come from San Francisco to
see the museum. Without hesitation we were ushered into the underground
gallery where grainy photographs depicted the suffering of the Armenians
who were “relocated” from ancestral lands by the Turks. Although in
1915 the word “genocide” was not known, over 1,500,000 Armenians
perished in the world’s first genocide. The Treaty of Sevres, the last
treaty of World War I, granted lands lost in the genocide to Armenia and
demanded punishment of the perpetrators. But by 1923, western powers
caught the scent of Ottoman oil and signed the Lausanne Treaty.
Reparation, restitution, retribution and Armenian dreams slipped into
fields of black gold The remaining sliver of Armenia was incorporated
into the Soviet Union until its breakup in 1991.

After visiting the Genocide Monument, 12 leaning stones
surrounding the eternal flame and the slender sky-piercing shaft
representing the hope of the Armenian people, we sat on the ledge of the
courtyard waiting for a last glimpse of Mount Ararat. This is a true
“court” yard formed by a semicircle of 12 basalt slabs inscribed with
statements by politicians, writers and scientists. Each visitor is a
witness who can make his own judgement regarding the Genocide.

Even though the sky had turned fittingly somber, we hoped for a
last glimpse of Mt. Ararat. It didn’t seem strange to sit silently with
Gagik who actually spoke little English and who in retrospect I thought
of as a spirit guide. Gazing over the rooftops of Yerevan, I thought of
my childhood during the depression on the high plains of the Texas
Panhandle, and my mother’s frequent admonition: “Dorothy, please finish
your dinner. Just think of the poor starving Armenians.” If I had had
any inkling of the starving Armenians, I wouldn’t have been able to
choke down a bite. And I thought of what Peter Balakian had written
about his Armenian grandmother in “Black Dog of Fate”: “She was
history knocking on the door of my heart.”

I gave up on Ararat. I knew the mountain was there but this was
to be a “wasn’t” day. Peter’s grandmother had begun all her stories,
not with “Once upon a time,” but with “A long time ago there was and
there wasn’t.” A few drops of rain fell. And then, like an answer to a
prayer, Ararat “was”. The mystical mountain, ephemeral, hauntingly
near and illusively far, billowy clouds becoming mountains and snow
covered mountains tops becoming clouds. A tantalizing glimpse and it
was gone. But I knew that on whichever side of a man-made border Mount
Ararat lies, there lies the soul of Armenia.

ARMENIAN LEADER APPOINTS DEPUTY PROSECUTOR-GENERAL

Noyan Tapan news agency
31 Mar 04

YEREVAN

On 31 March Armenian President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree
appointing Gevork Danielyan as deputy prosecutor-general of Armenia,
the presidential press service told Noyan Tapan news agency.

The Moscow Times
Thursday, Apr. 1, 2004. Page 9

U.S. School of Democracy

By Boris Kagarlitsky

A recently published report on civil liberties in 2003 by the New York-based
Freedom House organization has recognized 89 countries as “free,” 55 as
“partially free” and 48 as “not free.” The appraisal was based on a system
of half-point gradations, where 1.0 is the best score and 7.0 the worst.
Pretty much like at school, then

It’s no surprise that the worst marks went to North Korea, Cuba, Iraq,
Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan. Russia fell into the
category of partially free countries along with Ukraine, Moldova,
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Indonesia, Argentina, Ethiopia, Nigeria,
Turkey, Venezuela and Columbia are in the same group.

Things become more interesting when we look at the actual figures awarded.
Russia received 5.0, a very poor score. Of all of the European former Soviet
republics, only Belarus fared worse with 6 points. Even Turkey earned a
higher rating, 3.5. According to the Freedom House experts, Tajikistan (5.5)
is freer than Belarus.

But Georgia and Ukraine were rated at 4.0, Moldova 3.5 and the Baltic
republics came out near the top of the class with 1.5 each. Other results of
interest were Mongolia (3.0), Bulgaria (1.5), the Czech Republic (1.5),
Greece (1.5), Japan (1.5), France (1.0) and Germany (1.0). The United
States, of course, scored 1.0.

A real blow for Argentina. Evidently the experts didn’t think they could
classify as truly free a country where the people can kick the parliament
and the president out onto the street.

And a blow for Russia, too. You can’t call Russia a democratic state, but at
least we don’t deny a third of our citizens their rights, like Latvia.
Russian national politics holds a contradictory position, between liberal
declarations of equality and the daily discrimination practiced against the
Muslim minority. But then the Latvian government doesn’t even make these
declarations; it has nothing more important to do than destroy the schools
of national minorities.

The pressure that the authorities in Ukraine put on the opposition is no
less serious than in Russia; the only difference is that in Moscow the
authorities are better at implementing the policy than those in Kiev.

One guarantee for democracy in former Soviet countries is, apparently, an
absence of effective centralized power. Is it really true that
Shevardnadze’s Georgia was freer than Putin’s Russia?

The scores are based on 2003 data, but the “Rose Revolution” overthrew
Shevardnadze in November. Even if the new situation compelled Freedom House
to sharply increase the country’s rating, it’s still somewhat confusing.

Has the increase in freedom since Georgia’s change in leadership been so
marked? The 90 percent of votes that Mikheil Saakashvili received is
evidently considered more democratic than Putin’s official total of 71
percent.

I must confess that I am delighted for Mongolia. But all the same, a few
unpleasant thoughts still linger at the back of my mind. Why, for example,
do the Baltic republics appear in the same category of countries as others
that have a well-established history of economic development? Is it a high
mark for Latvia and Estonia, or a low mark for Greece and Japan? And what
did the Czech Republic do wrong? After all, their political institutions are
identical to those in Western Europe.

When one of my friends saw the results, he reminded me that the teacher’s
marks take account not only of progress, but also of the behavior and
enthusiasm of the students. For example, while Tajikistan has allowed the
building of a U.S. military base, Lukashenko’s Belarus has not. Neither
country has a democracy to be proud of, but now everyone should be aware:
authoritarianism with U.S. bases is not the same as authoritarianism without
them.

If we are all students, then we are learning from the ideologies of Freedom
House, our teacher. But their approach is clear as day. It all comes down to
the principle that U.S. leadership in international affairs is essential to
the cause of human rights and freedom.

With a perfect 1.0 score, the United States is a straight-A student. There
may be irregularities in Florida’s vote count, an extravagant system of
voter registration and an 18th-century electoral system, but none of these
factors matter.

This noble desire of U.S. conservatives to teach the world democracy is most
laudable. Just don’t be surprised when the results are less than successful.

After all, we students are just doing as our teacher tells us.

Boris Kagarlitsky is director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.

© Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Lancaster House, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 9LH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 7130 Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 7140

New Dawn for Armenian Cinema?

Privatisation of state film studio could herald revival of a once-thriving
industry.

By Naira Melkumian in Yerevan (CRS No. 224, 27-Mar-04)

Armenia’s crumbling movie industry looks set to be revived after years of
neglect as wealthy businessmen vie for the right to buy the state film
studio.

Two ethnic Armenian millionaire businessmen – Ara Abramian and Jerald
Kafesdzhan, based in Russia and America respectively – are bidding for the
Armenfilm studio and the right to continue the country’s long tradition of
filmmaking.

Abramian, who chairs the Union of Armenians in Russia, is believed to have
the upper hand at the moment, having offered a seven million US dollar
package – one million for the studio, with a further six million investment
in digital technology.

The privatisation of the studio has prompted a new debate on the state of
the Armenian film and television industry.

Rudolf Vatinian, chairman of the State Theatre and Cinema Institute’s cinema
department and a member of the Armenian Film-makers Union, told IWPR that
Abramian’s bid was especially interesting.

“I think that establishing new links with Russia and the introduction of
digital technology – especially in television production – will revive
viewers’ interest in Armenian cinema,” he said.

The 80-year-old industry has been in steady decline for a number of years,
having reached its peak in the Seventies and early Eighties, when around ten
films a year were produced alongside countless documentaries and made-for TV
productions.

In recent years, however, the output has dwindled dramatically. A social
crisis in the early Nineties, which followed the collapse of the Soviet
Union, led to state assistance drying up almost completely. When funds
stopped arriving from Moscow, Armenia’s fledgling government was unable to
spare any money.

“This lack of finance led to a breakdown in the industry – specialists left
and the technology became badly outdated,” said Vatinian. “This is a shame,
as cinema is the ideal democratic language to represent the Armenian people
abroad.”

For 2004, 600,000 dollars has been earmarked for the state cinema budget – a
tenth of the amount given to the television industry. As a result, the
quality of films produced is low.

Susanna Arutiunian, president of the Armenian Cinema Specialists and
Journalists Association, said, “The state cannot provide for the national
film industry – it does not even have a cinema department, and only one
person is available to dealing with everything.”

Moreover, there is no legal framework to regulate the industry in Armenia –
deliberations on a cinema law have been ongoing for several years.

The low funding has led to a marked deterioration in the technical equipment
used. According to Arutiunian, the Armenfilm studio only has one serviceable
film camera – and there is a long queue to use it.

Filmmaker and director of the Yerevan studio Tigran Khzmalian said, “When
you try to produce a film under such conditions, where you lack the money
for a decent sound recording, the result will be nothing of quality.”

Granush Akopian, chairman of the parliamentary commission for science,
education and culture, admitted, “Armenian film production is in a miserable
state, as it has received very little investment in the last ten to fifteen
years.”

At the moment, only three cinemas operate in the country – all of them in
the capital, Yerevan – and have no difficulty attracting customers.

Tamara Movsisian, spokesperson for one of them, the Moskva cinema, told IWPR
that new and classic movies are in great demand. “In forty years we have
acquired a loyal audience, which takes a real interest in Armenian cinema,”
she said.

Analysts say that the revitalisation of the film industry is especially
important to prevent the next generation from rejecting Armenian history and
culture in favour of formulaic Hollywood films.

“We have rich history, and yet I don’t know of any historical films being
made in Armenia. Instead, the younger generation is growing up watching
foreign films,” said moviegoer Stepan Avakian from Yerevan.

In spite of the continuing economic problems, the sale of the state studio
could herald the beginning of a cinematic revival, and there are talented
young people on hand to take advantage of that.

“Once upon a time, our national cinema had a place in international
filmmaking. Our main objective today is to regain that position,” filmmaker
Mikael Dovlatian, one of the most exciting young directors in the country,
told IWPR.

Naira Melkumian is a freelance journalist based in Yerevan.