Monday March 31 , 2008

• US Says Ready to Work With New Armenian Leadership

• UN Human Rights Council Passes Genocide Prevention Resolution

Sunday March 30 , 2008

• President Bush to nominate new U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

Thursday March 27 , 2008

• Knesset Panel to Consider Armenian Genocide

Wednesday March 26 , 2008

• White House names new Ambassador to Armenia

• San Francisco Jewish Organization Supports Genocide Recognition

Tuesday March 25 , 2008

• A.R.F. Student and Youth Organizations Hold Conference

Friday March 21 , 2008

• Four Parties Sign Ruling Coalition Agreement

• Armenian American Community Statement

• Armenia May Recognize Karabakh, Kocharian Says

Wednesday  March 19 , 2008

• Jewish Scholars Blast Israeli Ambassador for Misrepresenting Genocide

• ANCA Welcomes US Vote Against Biased Azerbaijani UN Resolution
• Parliament Amends Law on Public Gatherings

Tuesday  March  18,  2008                                       

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian

YEREVAN (Combines Sources)--Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian Monday condemned as hypocritical and detrimental to ongoing negotiations an Azerbaijani drafted resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict passed by the UN General Assembly Friday.
    The non-binding resolution, which was adopted by a vote of only 39 countries, was Azerbaijan's attempt to secure international support for its own desired solution in the Nagorno Karabakh resolution process, Oskanian told a press conference Monday.
    The US, Russia and France voted against the resolution, stressing the importance of continued mediation efforts through the OSCE Minsk Group, which they co-chair. They were joined by Armenia, Angola, India, and Vanuatu. Over 150 countries abstained or did not vote. Only 39 countries supported the resolution, out of organizational affinity with either GUAM or the Organization of Islamic Conference.
    Although the non-binding resolution passed the General Assembly, the rejection of Azerbaijan's position by an overwhelming majority is a barometer for the mood of the international community on this issue, Oskanian explained.
    "I hope Azerbaijan got the message from the international community," Oskanian said. "Taking the lead of the co-chairs, a majority of member states repelled the one-sided approach."
    Oskanian characterized the resolution as hypocritical.
    "On the one hand, in an effort to misinform member states, the resolution included a paragraph that supports the OSCE Minsk Process, while on the other hand, Azerbaijan blatantly ignored the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs position," Oskanian explained. "The co-chair countries had made clear they would not support the resolution and in fact voted against the resolution."
    "Now we wonder what Azerbaijan's next move will be," he said. "We question whether this resolution was intended to derail the negotiating process or whether they got the clear message and will return to the negotiating table to work on a negotiated, compromise solution."
    At a press conference last week, Minister Oskanian had stated that Prime Minister and President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian would be prepared to meet with the Azerbaijani President at the earliest possibility, if the co-chairs find this useful and if Azerbaijan accepts.
    "This opportunity exists," Oskanian said. "The ball is clearly in Azerbaijan's court."
    "Rejecting Azerbaijan's resolution, the international community has indicated its support for the negotiating document on the table today which has successfully managed to reconcile the two seemingly contradictory principles of the Helsinki Final Act--people's right to self-determination and territorial integrity," explained Armenia's Foreign Minister. "This document presents a unique opportunity for Azerbaijanis and Armenians to move forward. This is precisely what sets the Nagorno Karabakh conflict apart in our region and in Europe and makes it different, not only because of its legal and historical context, but also because of the innovative negotiating approach being used to finding a realistic, lasting resolution."
    Oskanian also met Saturday with the co-chairs of the Minsk Group to discuss the possibility of resuming talks, the UN resolution and the situation on the line of contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan
    "The passage of the resolution on Nagorno Karabakh at the UN General Assembly was not a surprise for us," Armenian Presidential Spokesman Viktor Soghomonian said during a press conference Monday. "It's not the first time that documents with no legal authority are adopted, so Armenia is not worried."
    It's a positive sign that over a hundred countries abstained from the vote, he explained. It means that a majority of countries in the General Assembly understood that such a resolution would not contribute to current negotiations and the resolution of the issue, he added.
    The Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was ready to continue active work through the OSCE Minsk Group in order to reach a lasting solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict.
    "Russia, alongside France and the United States is ready to continue active efforts within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group in order to accomplish the basic principles for the settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh," the ministry said in a statement.
    The OSCE co-chair countries voted against the resolution because it was a unilateral, untimely and counter-productive measure by Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
    Azerbaijan has been informed about the Minsk Group position in this aspect, the ministry added.
    "The draft resolution includes some of the basic principles of the settlement that only speak to the interests of Azerbaijan," the statement read. "The final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh has not been mentioned. There is no information on ways to determine the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh by a plebiscite or by free will of the population."
    "Such an approach is unacceptable for Armenia and has aggravated prospects for a speedy resumption of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement after the new Armenian president takes office," the ministry stressed.
    Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said his government will reconsider its relations with the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minks Group.
    According to Azeri news agencies, Azimov said that official Baku was surprised at three co-chairs' stance.
    "Azerbaijan will reconsider and make changes to its relations with the co-chair countries within the Minsk process," Azimov said.
    He welcomed the adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly.
    "Azerbaijan has no intention of moving in the dark any longer," Azimov said. "It should be clear to everyone that the only solution acceptable to Azerbaijan is a solution based on the principle of territorial integrity,"
    He added that the adoption of the resolution did not mean Azerbaijan's intention to change the format of the Karabakh peace talks, Azeri media reported

Saturday  March  14,  2008                                       

Jackie Speier says Bay Area will be 'Epicenter' of Armenian-American Political Action;

Invest in our Youth, says Aram Hamparian

SAN FRANCISCO--At the Bay Area Armenian National Committee's annual "Hye Tad Evening," Armenian-American congressional candidate Jackie Speier talked about the power of her Armenian roots, her record passing laws on issues important to the Armenian-American community, and her commitment to pursue those issues in Congress.
    "When I get elected to Congress, the epicenter of Armenian-American representation in Congress will be right here," said Speier, pointing out that the Bay Area Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is also of Armenian descent.
    Speier and Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, were the Special Guests at the sold-out event, during which Bay Area ANC Chairperson Roxanne Makasdjian outlined the chapter's activities over the past year, calling on the community to continue and increase their participation in political action. The evening also included videos of ANCA Western Region news and clips of the October 10th House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, during which the Armenian Genocide resolution was heatedly debated and passed.
    "I attribute my ability to withstand adversity and survive in the political arena to my Armenian blood," Speier said. Referring to the 1978 Jonestown, Guyana mass murder during which Congressman Leo Ryan was killed and Speier, his young staffer, was shot five times, Speier said, "As I lay on the tarmac shot several times and left to die; I think my ability to survive can be attributed to my Armenian heritage. As you know, Armenians are known for their ability to withstand atrocities greater than anyone can imagine. It's also possible that my stubborn Armenian genes played a part as well."
    Speier also spoke about her early education about the Armenian Genocide. "Growing up I remember my Mother sharing stories about her relatives who were killed during the Armenian Genocide," she said. "And I have read over and over and over again Ambassador Henry Morgenthau's telegram to the Secretary of State, dated July 16, 1915: 'Deportation of and excesses against peaceful Armenians is increasing and from harrowing reports of eye witnesses it appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion.'”
    "We are told by some to forget the Armenian Genocide. We have a Secretary of state that says, 'Get over it.' But we will not forget and we will not get over it. We demand justice, because we know as students of history that our world is more dangerous to everyone if it is allowed to dismiss the Armenian Genocide. We demand justice because we cannot allow the murder of a nation with impunity. If the US is to be the leader of the free world, we need to lead on this issue, not follow the Turkish government's immoral attempts to bury the truth." said Speier.
    Speier criticized the U.S. government for removing the U.S. ambassador to Armenia. "Shame on America for first muzzling and then punishing Ambassador Evans for his speech and his acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide, and then offering a denier of the Armenian Genocide as his replacement," said Speier. She also criticized the government for doing nothing to stop Azerbaijan's continuing eradication of Armenian historical landmarks in Azerbaijan, and it's military threats against Karabagh.
    She reminded the audience that she has been working alongside the ANC for many years, and as a California state legislator, she authored 16 bills related to Armenian issues. In 1989, she advocated for the law mandating the Department of Education to include instruction on the Armenian Genocide in public schools. Every year thereafter, she co-sponsored the resolution commemorating the Armenian Genocide, including the 2005 bill that made the commemoration permanent law. In her final term, Speier introduced a measure that allows Armenian Genocide victims or their beneficiaries to file claims against banks doing business in California, that refuse to pay for deposited or looted assets of Armenian Genocide victims.
    As a member of Congress, Speier said she would also work to provide development and humanitarian aid to Armenia and Karabagh, and help them become more democratic and prosperous. Referring to the recent Armenian government police actions against demonstrators in Yerevan, Speier said, "A democratic government must represent the will of its people, never to oppress or violate their rights."
    Speier said she would rally support for Section. 907 of the Freedom Support Act, limiting aid to Azerbaijan, until it lifts its blockade of Armenia and Karabagh. Section 907 is currently not in effect due to a waiver by President Bush. "Turkey cannot strangle Armenia into submission by circumventing Armenia's territory in every regional infrastructure project. Turkey must include Armenia in these projects, because this is the only way to lasting peace."
    Aram Hamparian gave a rousing speech on the current national work of the ANCA, beginning with praise for the Bay Area ANC. "There is no better chapter in America than the one here in San Francisco," he said, adding that the ANCA is continuing to grow, establishing more chapters across the country. "The ANC is wherever the Armenian Cause and the Armenian communities are."
    Hamparian told about the ANCA's involvement in the presidential elections, working to elicit policy positions from the candidates. "We've all learned through painful experience that political promises are not always honored. But it would be a mistake not to secure as much commitment as possible from the candidates when we have the most leverage, and we have the most leverage during the election season."
    He also spoke about ANCA efforts to bring Armenian-American youth into the political process, by expanding outreach to students, internships, launching Internet blogs, and particularly emphasizing ANCA's Capitol Gateway program, designed to financially and professionally support young professionals in pursuing careers in public service, advocacy, and media in Washington.
    "I see it time and time again," said Hamparian. "The greatest payoff for our community is an investment in our youth. Give them a hand, and they will carry us on their backs tomorrow. They will rise in the State Department. They will rise in the Department of Defense. They will rise in the White House and Congress. They will be the future Jackie Speiers, the future Anna Eshoos. They will be the proud children of our nation that will take our hopes and our dreams with them to very high places. Our Capitol Gateway program is essential for our future."
    Hamparian also said that that the best way for our cause to move forward is for Armenians to take positions of power. "We want to be at the table, all the tables that deal with our future," he said. Instead of asking what public officials can do for us, it would be much more effective to sit down with public officials and ask, 'How can we together toward our common goals?', Hamparian suggested. "We are today under-represented in Washington. There's a limit to what you can do standing outside of a building holding signs and shouting slogans. And there are limits to what you can do, doing the lobbying game. You transcend that wall by getting yourself into the system," said Hamparian.
    On behalf of the Bay Area ANC, Roxanne Makasdjian presented Speier and Hamparian each with a framed large photograph from the 1918 Fourth of July parade in San Francisco, showing Armenian-Americans marching with banners asking for support for America's "little ally."
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ARF Negotiating for Fundamental Reforms

YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia Representative Armen Rustamian Friday hinted at the possibility of closer cooperation the new coalition government if the party's proposals for fundamental reforms are adopted.
    Rustamian's remarks came in response to statements made by Sarkisian on Television earlier in the day that the ARF would be a part of the new coalition government.
    Rustamian said that negotiations between the ARF and the government about implementing fundamental reforms to address the crucial issues facing the country have been going on for a long time.
    But the results of these negotiations are usually made public in a joint statement and only after talks are over, he said.
    "This is why Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian's statement was surprising," Rustamian commented. "But I tend to take it as a good sign, which means that the priorities we have presented to him have been accepted."
    "If our approaches are accepted we are ready for closer cooperation," Rustamian said.
    Sarkisian said his new government would present its political program within the next ten days.
    "I'm sure that the Government to be formed after April 9 will be able to implement serious changes and accelerate the country's development," he said. "I cannot answer the question whether there will be structural changes or not, but serious changes are expected."
    "Great changes are envisaged by the Government's program," he commented. "We have put together a very ambitious program," he added

Friday  March  14,  2008                                           

Anti-Genocide Activists End First Day of Capitol Hill Advocacy

WASHINGTON--Activists from more than a dozen states spread out across Capitol Hill Wednesday for the first of three days of non-stop anti-genocide advocacy, capped with an evening reception featuring powerful remarks by outspoken Congressional human rights leaders, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
    The three day program, hosted for the second year in a row by the ANCA and the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net), puts community human rights advocates directly in touch with dozens of legislators and every single Senate and House office in support of practical legislative initiatives to stop the genocide in Darfur and end Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide.
    The day began with an early morning briefing in the Aramian Conference Room at the ANCA national headquarters and powerful welcoming remarks by Jackie Kanchelian-Speier, a veteran of the California legislature and currently a leading candidate running in the Special Election to fill California's 12th Congressional District. If elected, former State Senator Speier will become the second Armenian American in Congress, alongside Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA). In her remarks, she touched on her long experience in advocating Armenian American issues and urged the gathered activists to remain vigilant and act effectively in seeking to end the cycle of genocide.
    Among the legislators in attendance at the Capitol Hill reception on Wednesday evening were Representatives Jim Costa(D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Laura Richardson (D-CA), and John Tierney (D-MA).
    The expanded program, titled "End the Cycle of Genocide:
Grassroots Capitol Campaign," is taking place from March 12th through 14th. Having completed a full day of meetings, the activists will continue their visits on Thursday and Friday, including a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum.
    The activists called for a broad range of steps to end the Darfur Genocide, among them increased funding for peacekeepers, divestment from Sudan, and support for a comprehensive regional peace, as well, of course, for the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106)
    Activists taking part in the program came from as far away as Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Tennessee, and included community advocates--young and old--from Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Throughout the day, and at the Wednesday night reception, they were able to share their experiences, exchange ideas, communicate with Members of Congress, and add new connections to the growing national anti-genocide coalition.
    Press Secretary Stephen Miller represented Congresswoman Michele Bachman (R-MN), who delivered a strong floor statement Wednesday supporting Armenian Genocide recognition efforts and praising the work of the ANCA in helping to end the cycle of genocide.
    Senior foreign policy expert Greg Aftandilian, representing the office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who serves as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was among several Armenian American Congressional staffers in attendance. Other prominent Armenian American aides included Dean Shahinian, Esq., Senior Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee, Margaret Schumaker who handles Armenian issues in the office of Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone, and Joe Sheehy, Legislative Director in the office of Representative Grace Napolitano. Over 50 Congressional offices were represented throughout the course of the evening.

Armenian Genocide United Commemoration Body

The upcoming April 24 is the 93nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As in previous years, the Armenian nation will commemorate the martyrs of the Genocide. By commemorating, each Armenian pays tribute to his/her ancestors. This has also become a tradition for the new generation, so it can keep alive the torch of the Armenian struggle until its just and complete resolution. Today, the Turkish government not only denies the Genocide, but also spares nothing to revise history in an effort to confuse the world. The more Turkey pursues this policy, the more we, as Armenians, must demonstrate shear will and commitment. Thus, our cause might be symbolically represented by April 24, however, it cannot be limited to the commemorations of that day. This multi-faceted cause demands continuous work, as well as coordination and a united spirit between Armenia and the Diaspora. To mark that united spirit, this year the Armenian Genocide United Commemoration Body has decided to organize a pilgrimage to the Montebello Martyrs Monument. Each participant will be given a chance to place a flower in memory of the victims, and join our brothers and sisters in the homeland, who traditionally make the same pilgrimage to Dzidzernagapert. The body will provide free transportation to those who wish to participate in this program. From now on, this pilgrimage will continue every year, in order to make it a tradition. Our national consciousness demands that every Armenian participate in not only commemorative activities, but also the entire Armenian Cause.

Thursday  March  13,  2008                                        

Karabakh Parliament Reacts to Kosovo Recognition

STEPANAKERT-The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic National Assembly Wednesday adopted a resolution calling on the international community to follow the precedents set forth by Kosovar independence and respect the unrecognized republics right to self-determination.

Below is the translated text of the resolution:
The Parliamentary Factions of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic National Assembly,
Defend the right to free self-determination;
Welcome the stand of the international community in respecting the human and civil rights of the majority of Kosovo`s population;
Underscore that the for many decades the Azeri authorities have been systematically carrying out a policy of discrimination against the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh by imposing civil rights restrictions, ethnic cleansing and deportation, the tragic outcome of which was its prevention exclusively by means of organized self-defense;
Consider that from the moment of the legal collapse of the Soviet Union Azerbaijan has lost all legal and moral rights to exercising governmental authorities over Nagorno Karabakh;
Regret the human and other losses during the conflict and, especially, during the armed struggle;
Hope that through negotiations it would be possible to achieve a mutually acceptable resolution, which would guarantee the international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh`s right to self-determination;
Call on the Parliaments of all States to be consistent in the recognition of states formed on the basis of the right to self-determination of peoples and refrain from double standards.

Vahram Atanessian, Democracy faction
Arthur Tovmassian, Homeland faction
Armen Sargissian, ARF-Movement-88 faction

Wednesday  March  12,  2008                                     

Armenia detains opposition figures after clashes

Tuesday  March  11,  2008                                           

$600,000 Raised for A.C.F. Glendale Youth Center

GLENDALE: More than 400 community members Friday attended a fund-raising event at the for the Armenian Cultural Foundation Glendale Chapter's Krikor and Mariam Karamanoukian Youth Center, during which $600,000 was raised for the construction of the center. The Kazandjian brothers of Glendale donated $150,000.
    Attending the event were representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee, local ACF chapters, Executive Council of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Prelacy Executive Council, St. Mary's Armenian Church Pastor and Board of Trustees and affiliate organizations. Also attending the banquet were California State Assemblymember Paul Krekorian, Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian and Glendale City Council member Bob Yousefian.
    Welcoming remarks were delivered by Christine Hovnanian, who invited the to Masters of Ceremony Hovan Tashjian and Ardashes Kassakhian to lead the day's program.
    A video presentation about the center and the organizations that will be occupying it was presented, followed by musical performances by the Cilicia Chamber Orchestra conducted by Michael Avedissian, and Salpy Mayilian.
    During a special presentation, the Glendale ACF honored three long-time supporters for their dedication to the construction project. Varouj Keoseian, Rouben Amirian and Isahak Kazandjian were each presented silver medallions of A.R.F. founding members.
    Vahik, Harmik, Edik and Armen Kazandjian donated $150,000 in their parents' name. The grand hall of the center will be named Isahak and Janet Kazandjian Hall. The center's main benefactor Dr. Albert Karamanoukian made an additional donation of $25,000 in memory of her sister.
    At the conclusion of the event, Vahe Bozoyan, chairman of the Glendale A.C.F thanked all those present for their continued support and dedication to the center.

Monday  March  10,  2008                                           

Press Release

*Press Release:*

Congressman Adam Schiff to deliver Keynote Speech at ANC Burbank Banquet
The Armenian National Committee of Burbank will host its 3rd Annual Banquet on Sunday, May 18, 2008, at 5:00 PM at ARBAT Banquet Hall, 711 S. San Fernando Road in Burbank. The evening will include a social hour, silent auction, dinner and program.
The Honorary Chairman of the event is Assembly member Paul Krekorian.
This relatively new annual tradition draws more than 300 ANC supporters, who attend to hear updates on various efforts the ANC is undertaking at all levels of government, to listen to political leaders and to simply pay tribute to volunteers who have made the ANC Burbank
one of the most active local affiliates in the country.
At this event, the ANC Burbank is honored to have the Honorable Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative, CA 29th District, as its Keynote Speaker.
Congressman Schiff is the author and an original cosponsor of H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, which passed last year in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The ANC of Burbank is one of the most accomplished chapters of the Armenian National Committee – Western Region, which is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States that advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
The ANC of Burbank promotes and serves the local community by working and developing grassroots programs, such as: voter registration projects, social services, partnerships with public schools on education regarding the Armenian Genocide, and community relations.
For more information, please visit: http://www.burbankanc.org or call (818) 562-1918.

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Azerbaijan Attacks Karabakh Positions - NKR Defense Army Restore Status-Quo

Washington, DC – Last week an Azerbaijani military unit attacked defense positions of Nagorno Karabakh, wounding two Karabakh officers and seizing two military posts near Levonarkh located in the northern part of the Line of Contact. After fruitless attempts to reinstate the status-quo through OSCE mediation, the NKR Defense Army launched a counter-offensive and restored its defense positions causing casualties to the adversary.

This blatant violation of the 1994 Ceasefire Agreement by Azerbaijan follows President Ilham Aliyev’s recent statement that his country had been buying military hardware, airplanes and ammunition and was prepared to attack Nagorno Karabakh again.

NKR Government informed the OSCE representative in the region about the Azeri attack and asked the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-office to urge Baku to stop the offensive and retire to previous positions. However, Azerbaijan ’s refusal to cooperate left no option for the NKR defense forces other than to respond in kind, reclaiming the two military posts after a brief but intensive firefight.

NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for a crisis-monitoring of the area to fully investigate the incident. However, the mission, which was planned for March 7, had to be postponed due to Baku 's refusal to ensure the security of the OSCE personnel.

NKR military intelligence points to increased concentration of Azerbaijani military hardware and personnel close to Levonarkh.

“We urge, once again, the Azeri leadership to refrain from attempts to violate the armistice and also warn that any intrusion by the Azeri military units will receive an adequate response of the NKR Defense Army,” said today’s statement of the NKR Foreign Ministry.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs issued a statement (http://www.osce.org/item/30094.html), in which they called on the conflicting sides to restore confidence along the Line of Contact and desist from any further confrontations, escalation of violence or warmongering rhetoric.

“The Co-Chairs reiterate that there is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The outbreak of hostilities would destabilize the entire region, with calamitous consequences for all involved”, the statement said in part.

In the last several years Azerbaijan has used its vast oil revenues to build up its offensive capabilities aimed against Nagorno Karabakh, threatening the latter with another war. Azerbaijan ’s destructive behavior jeopardizes OSCE mediation efforts and also goes against the U.S. goal of fostering peace and stability in the South Caucasus .

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic remains fully committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict with Azerbaijan and also ready to resume full-fledged negotiations without any preconditions. NKR welcomes continued mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States , Russia and France .

We also call on the United States and the international community to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the recent violation of the truce and to help prevent further escalation of tensions in the region.

The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States is based in Washington , DC and works with the U.S. government, academia and the public representing the official policies and interests of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic , Artsakh.

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Azerbaijan Files a complaint to the EUROVISION 2008 Committee for Armenia STEALING BEST SONGS OF AZERBAIJAN

Watch this video…..this is one of the new 21^st. Century ways of anti Armenian Propaganda/PR that we as people and as an organizations need to learn quickly how to react to these kind of Black PR and appropriate resources and manpower needs to be allocated to monitor and counter on YouTube and other websites.

This video is only ONE example!!! There are hundreds of other video on YouTube that are prepared and disseminated online

Friday  March  7,  2008                                               

ANALYSIS-Riots, standoff destabilize Armenia

YEREVAN, March 7 (Reuters) - A political standoff has destabilized Armenia and threatens stability elsewhere in the volatile Caucasus, even

though soldiers have restored order in the capital after the worst street violence since independence.

President Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency in Yerevan last Saturday after eight people were killed in clashes between police and protesters who say he rigged a presidential election on Feb. 19.

Armenia is a Christian state of 3 million people on the edge of the Caucasus, a major energy route from Asia to Europe.

"Armenia has had a reputation as the most stable country in the region and any sign of instability here is a concern," a Western diplomat said.

The protesters say the election was rigged against former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who accuses Kocharyan and Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan of nepotism and corruption. Sarksyan was declared the winner with nearly 53 percent of the votes.

"He opened a Pandora's box of questions which started to resonate with a lot of people," said Svante Carnell of the Institute for Security and Policy Development in Stockholm.

In Greek legend Pandora, the first woman, opened a box that releases evil and misery on the world.

Kocharyan and Sarksyan are part of a group that has ruled Armenia for a decade and comes from the disputed border region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which threw off Azeri rule during a war in the 1990s.

Witnesses at rallies say Ter-Petrosyan has whipped up anti-Karabakh sentiment to present the government as greedy outsiders, a tactic that

political analysts say stokes tensions.

Badges handed out at election rallies declared: "I'm a true Armenian". In interviews Ter-Petrosyan alluded to the government as "Tartar-Mongols",

who in Armenian stories are portrayed as clan-based Muslim invaders.

"This is a dangerous tactic which could divide Armenians further and lead to more violence," Alexander Iskandaryan, head of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Media Institute, said.

DISSENTERS

The government says the 20-day state of emergency, banning demonstrations and censoring media, is needed to restore stability, hunt for illegal weapons and counter coup plots.

Opponents say the government is abusing its powers to crush dissent and have vowed to resume the daily protests which had regularly attracted 20,000 people since the election, in which Ter-Petrosyan won only 21.5 percent of the votes.

Outside Yerevan's central market, laborers are knocking together shelves in a supermarket looted on Saturday. Dozens of protesters and police are recovering in hospitals.

Mediators from the United States and Europe are trying to bring the sides together but neither has agreed to negotiate.

"There's a chance that the events of Saturday radicalized and polarized the people and there's also a chance of further street protests," Iskandaryan said.

Support from the army is vital for Kocharyan and Sarksyan, political analysts say. The army has been loyal to the government but its support is not guaranteed.

Any uncertainty could dent foreign investment to Armenia which last year hit about $600 million, much of it in the construction and telecommunications sectors.

Despite Armenia's rugged terrain, lack of natural resources and closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan, its economy grew in the last decade, helped by remittances from a huge Armenian Diaspora. More Armenians live outside the country than in it.

In 2007, Armenia's economy grew by nearly 14 percent to around $10 billion and Armenia has an average income per person similar to Egypt or Albania.

But many people, especially in Yerevan, blame the government for the large gap between rich and poor, inflation and high unemployment. One in

four Armenians lives in poverty.

Any leadership weakness in Yerevan could unsettle the fragile peace with Azerbaijan, which said 12 Armenians and four Azeri soldiers died in

clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh this week.

"An unstable Armenia is a big problem and threatens to upset the whole region," Iskandaryan said. "This is a small region where all the countries

and peoples are interwoven."

It could also impact Georgia and Azerbaijan, which host a pipeline that pumps 1 million barrels a day of oil from the Caspian Sea to the West,

a major energy source for Europe.

Instability could spill over into border areas of Georgia where thousands of Armenians live.

Georgia also imposed a state of emergency in November after police crushed protests. Azerbaijan holds an election later this year which could

prompt demonstrations.

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ANCA Warns Congress About Azerbaijani Attacks

WASHINGTON--In the wake of renewed threats this week against Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan's President and Tuesday's military attack by the Azerbaijani military against defensive positions in the Mardakert region in northern Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian National Committee alerted members of Congress and the broader Washington foreign policy community to the growing danger that Azerbaijan represents to US interests in maintaining peace and stability in the Caucasus region.
    According to Reuters news agency, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, known for his inflammatory anti-Armenian rhetoric, stated Wednesday that, "we have been buying military machinery, airplanes and ammunition to be ready to liberate the occupied territories and we are ready to do this."
    These statements were accompanied by renewed attacks by the Azerbaijani army in the area of Levonarkh in Mardakert, leading to as many as eight deaths.
    The Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry has asked that the "OSCE launch a comprehensive investigation of the incident, give an official political evaluation of the Azeri authorities' actions, as well as conduct an immediate crisis-monitoring in the incident zone, in order to prevent similar violations in future."
    In letters circulated yesterday afternoon to Congressional offices, the ANCA called on Senators and Representatives to voice their support for Nagorno-Karabakh's democratic progress and development, to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its belligerent rhetoric and aggressive actions, and to promote peace by expanding the level of dialogue between the US and Nagorno-Karabakh.

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Kocharian, Putin Discuss Armenia Unrest, Bryza Praises Sarkisian

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Armenian President Robert Kocharian discussed the current political situation in Armenia with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putting during a phone conversation Thursday, the presidential spokesperson Viktor Soghomonian reported.
    Meanwhile, a statement by the Armenian government cited Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza as commending Sarkisian for his stated readiness to engage in a dialogue with Armenians critical of the ruling regime.
    “You are a special leader,” Bryza told Sarkisian, according to the statement. “In principle, we support you. I and the U.S. charge d'affaires in Armenia believe that you have the kind of vision and approaches that we want to see in the implementation of joint programs.”
    “We want you to succeed and we want Armenia to succeed,” he said.
    Speaking to the Associated Press news agency on his way to Yerevan from Baku, Bryza said the United States “deplores” Saturday's deadly clashes in Yerevan but stopped short of criticizing the use of lethal force.
    The government statement quoted Bryza as only telling Sarkisian that the emergency rule “can not continue endlessly.”
    “Matthew Bryza agreed with the prime minister in that the state of emergency is really an instrument that allows to ease tensions and direct processes towards a natural course,” the statement said. “He stressed that it is impossible to move along the path of democracy unless there is law and order in the country.”
    Ex-deputy prime minister John Prescott is heading a diplomatic mission aimed at defusing Armenia's political crisis.
    Prescott is visiting as a member of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which he joined in October.
    Sarkisian said on Thursday that last month's presidential election has split Armenian society and told his cabinet members to start “dialogue” with citizens bitterly opposed to the country's leadership.
    “Spite in the society has increased, the society is divided, and in this regard I expect all of you to work actively in that direction,” he said, opening

a weekly cabinet meeting, the first since Saturday's confrontation between security forces and opposition protesters.
    “You should engage in dialogue, you should argue, explain, even if your interlocutor doesn't understand. Even if your interlocutor is blinded by hatred,” said Sarkisian.
    The president-elect at the same time defended the use of force against thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters who had been protesting the official election results on a daily basis and pledged to punish organizers of those unsanctioned protests. “Thank God, our security forces managed to find adequate solutions,” he said.
    “We will make sure that all the guilty are punished,” continued Sarkisian. “I am promising this to all of you by 100 percent. This is not a promise, this is an obligation which I will fulfill.”

Thursday  March  6,  2008                                            

Kocharian Rules Out Early End to State of Emergency

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Armenian President Robert Kocharian told reporters during a press conference Wednesday that the state of emergency will not be extended nor reduced.
    The implementation of the state of emergency was a necessity, he explained. According to Kocharian, had the emergency status not been declared, the number of killed or wounded would have been greater, and the negative consequences of the unrest, heavier.
    The State of Emergency has been in effect since Sunday and it will be in effect for the entire duration of the twenty days, Kocharian said. The State of Emergency will only be lifted, he said, once the participants of the illegal actions are arrested and unable to attempt another action that will destabilize the situation further.
    According to Kocharian, the law-enforcement bodies have a large body of evidence to piece together exactly what happened during Saturday's clashes.
    The volume of the initiated criminal case is "huge," he said and the investigating group will have to "work day and night." Kocharian told reporters that they will be kept abreast of the progress of the investigation by law-enforcement agencies.
    The Armenian President stated that the people included in the criminal case may be divided into three conditional groups: organizers, members of groups who attacked policemen, and participants of the rally who were involved in looting and robbing stores.
    "It is obvious that the level of guilt of the organizers, instigators of unrest and the ordinary participants is different, and the attitude of the law-enforcement bodies to them will be different," he said. "However, it will be the greatest injustice if in the first place the organizers and the instigators of the unrest are not found and held accountable."
    "It is natural that special attitude will be demonstrated towards those who used arms and explosives against policemen," he added.
    Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian has repeatedly turned down proposals by the authorities for a dialogue, Kocharian explained.
    Throughout his rallies Ter-Petrosian rejected any possibility of a dialogue with the authorities, Kocharian stressed, adding, that immediately following the elections, President Elect Serzh Sarkisian stated his readiness to cooperate with all the political forces in the country.
"Everybody responded to the given proposal except Ter-Petrosian," he said.
    "Levon Ter-Petrosian stated that he agreed to go and calm his supporters down, who had gathered at the square in front of the City Hall, if we fulfilled his conditions," Kocharian explained. "The conditions included: taking his supporters through the center of the city to the Opera Square, continuing the rally and receiving guarantees of unhindered conduct of the rally for 15 days. That is to say, it was an ultimatum," he added.
    By the time Ter-Petrosian presented his conditions, the crowd had already burnt a few dozens of cars and attacked policemen.
    "Imagine what would happen, if we allowed that crowd to move to the Opera Square through the center of the city," he said.
    According to the President, the decision on emptying the square from the demonstrators was made as a result of furious resistance of the rally participants.
    "I often ask myself whether or not we should have tolerated the illegal rally for ten days. I think that if the square was emptied on the second day, or the third, we would have avoided the situation we face today," Kocharian told reporters. "But the authorities did not take that step, since recount of votes was in process, and actions with the use of force could have been interpreted as pressure. We planned to take up active action only in case the illegal rallies continued after the verdict of the Constitutional Court," the Armenian President stated," he added.
    Commenting Ter-Petrosian's announcement that he plans to continue the rallies and demonstrations after March 21, Kocharian told reporters that the government will not allow protests to continue if they are staged illegally.

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International Community React to Azeri Attack on Nagorno-Karabakh

YEREVAN, BAKU (Combined Sources)--Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other on Wednesday of triggering an exchange of gunfire in Nagorno-Karabakh that killed up to 16 people, one of the biggest such clashes in several years.
    Both sides gave different accounts of the incident. Azerbaijan said 12 Armenian fighters and 4 Azeri soldiers were killed. Armenia said 8 Azeri soldiers died and 2 Armenian soldiers were injured.
    A death toll of 16 would mark the worst clash in recent years between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a big oil producer and home to pipelines taking Caspian Sea energy to world markets.
    Armenian President Robert Kocharian said Azerbaijan had launched the attack to take advantage of Armenia's tense political standoff after protests against last month's election.
    "It is possible in Azerbaijan they thought the situation in Armenia had distracted the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh," said Kocharian.
    The West and Russia urged both parties to show restraint. "We do not want a war in the region," a U.S. diplomat said in Baku. "We are following the situation very closely and we urge both sides to exercise restraint and avoid any violence."
    President of the NATO Jose Lello was in Baku Wednesday discussing the violation with Azeri officials.
    The ceasefire breach was an "unpleasant incident," he said. Lello said he hoped that stability along the ceasefire line will be restored soon.
    US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mathew Bryza, who was in Baku on Tuesday, was due in Yerevan later this week to facilitate talks between the government and opposition.
    Russia also expressed concern. "The most important thing at the moment is to avoid letting this grow into massive military action in the (region)," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
    Russia's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Vasily Istratov said he was concerned over because the latest breach differed from previous ones in terms of the type of ammunition and armaments used.
    Azerbaijan said Armenia was trying to distract attention from protests in Yerevan by focusing on an external enemy.
    "The Armenian side resorted to provocations on the frontline in a bid to switch the attention of the international community and its own citizens from internal tensions to an external enemy," said an Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman.
    The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry appealed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to intervene and conduct crisis-monitoring in the conflict zone.
    Azeri President Ilham Aliev said this week that his country was ready to take back Nagorno-Karabakh by force if need be, and was buying military equipment and arms in preparation. He said Kosovo's newly declared independence had emboldened Armenians in the mountainous enclave.
    Armenia's Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, confirmed there had been an incident between Azeri and Armenian soldiers but did not give a casualty figure.
    A Western diplomat in Armenia said the latest reports of shooting had to be treated seriously. "This does sound in the terms it's been reported as slightly more than the usual skirmish, but in the current climate it certainly could have been exaggerated,"

Tuesday  March  4,  2008                                              

Fighting Erupts in Karabakh as Azeris Violate Cease Fire

YEREVAN, STEPANAKERT--Azeri Armed Forces violated the cease fire Tuesday when at 5 a.m. local time Azeri forces opened fire on Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Army positions northeast of the Martakert Region, Armenian Defense Ministry reported.
    Azeri forces captured a Karabakh defense position. Karabakh forces responded to the attack and forced the Azeri side to retreat. Fatalities and casualties are being reported on the Azeri side. A senior Lieutenant of the Karabakh Army was also wounded in the attack.
    The exchange of fire escalated and intensified at around 8 a.m. local and fighting continued until 3:40 p.m., when Karabakh forces reclaimed their positions and calm has been restored.
    News reports from Baku said at least two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the clashes. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry declined to confirm or deny the information.
    Armenia's Defense Minister immediately informed the Personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk about the violation of the cease-fire regime.
    Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that Azeri Armed Force were responsible for initiating a "serious challenge to Armenian forces" and suggested more substantial military hardware was involved than had been in any previous violations of the 1994 cease-fire agreement that brought an end to major hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh.
    Oskanian accused Baku of striking at a moment when Yerevan is particularly vulnerable, with the state of emergency in place since government troops and police forcibly dispersed opposition protesters in clashes on March 1 that left at least eight people dead.
    "We condemn this challenge, and we think that this is an attempt by the Azerbaijani side to exploit the current situation in Armenia," Oskanian said. "Perhaps they thought we had focused all of our attention on our internal situation, and that this could provide them with a psychological advantage, but this hasn't proved the case."
    Oskanian also noted that Azerbaijan presented to the consideration of the UN General Assembly a new draft for the resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh. The draft is to be considered for voting on March 14, he explained. According to Oskanian, Armenian diplomats are working to prevent the resolution from being adopted. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are also against it, he added.
    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday in Baku that diplomatic efforts were not enough to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Trend News Agency.
    Aliyev pledged to constantly increase the military budget to buy new military equipment and arms. He said the ultimate goal of this is to 'liberate' Azeri lands.
    Aliyev has used his country's mounting oil wealth to stoke tensions with Armenia. He has funneled more than $1 billion into bolstering the country's defenses. On a trip to western Azerbaijan on March 3, Aliyev told reporters that diplomatic efforts "are not enough," adding that, "to resolve the Karabakh conflict, we have to be strong, we have to be ready to liberate our lands by military means, and we are ready
    Azerbaijan is nevertheless ready for a peaceful settlement, he said, adding, however, that any solution must be based on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He argued that the international community knows this and "Armenia will know soon as well."
    In a related news, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of state, Mathew Bryza, who is also the American Co-Chair in the OSCE Minsk Group was in Baku with Andrzej Kasprzyk the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Tuesday to discuss the violation of the cease fire with Azeri officials.
    According to Bryza, a halt is needed in the talks until the situation in Armenia becomes clear following mass unrest in its capital city Yerevan.
    Bryza said as long as tensions remain high in Armenia no progress could be expected in relating talks.
    "The most important thing for Armenia now is to restore democracy," he said.
    Bryza also said the Kosovo conflict can not set a precedent for resolution of other conflicts as each conflict is unique.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces clash near Nagorno-Karabakh

Associated Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- Ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces exchanged fire for hours Tuesday near the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, officials in the neighboring former Soviet republics said.

A spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh's military force said eight Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, but Azerbaijani officials declined to comment on casualties. A local media report in Azerbaijan said three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed.

The clashes came as Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliev, issued his latest suggestion that his country could use force to regain control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region is inside Azerbaijan but has been under ethnic Armenian control since a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war.

Statements by officials on both sides suggested the fighting was heavier than most of the skirmishes that intermittently break out along a cease-fire line dividing territory held by rival forces.

Armenia's foreign minister, Vardan Oskanian, said Azerbaijani forces attacked Armenian positions northeast of Nagorno-Karabakh early Tuesday, wounding several Armenian servicemen.

Serge Sarkisian, Armenia's prime minister and president-elect, said later that Azerbaijani forces briefly seized positions held by forces of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh, but the ethnic Armenians regained control in a counteroffensive.

Nagorno-Karabakh military spokesman Senor Asratian said eight Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and two of the separatist region's soldiers were wounded.

Deadly Fighting Erupts In Nagorno-Karabakh

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Defends Emergency Rule

RFL - The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) on Monday defended the imposition of a state of emergency in Yerevan , saying that the post-election protests staged by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian were an attempt at coup d’etat.
“We emphasize that the actions taken by the first president and his supporters were an attempt to come power by violent means and that the Armenian president’s decision to declare a state of emergency was a necessity,” the leadership of the nationalist party represented in the government said in a statement.
The statement said Saturday’s deadly clashes between security forces and thousands of opposition supporters were part of Ter-Petrosian’s “scenario consistently prepared in the last several months.” It demanded that the authorities identify and strictly punish organizers of the riots.
Dashnaktsutyun also faulted Armenia ’s leadership for failing to address “objective reasons” for public discontent with the state of affairs in the country which it said was the reason why Ter-Petrosian has attracted a large following since his political comeback in September. It said the authorities should strengthen the rule of law and tackle the public “sense of injustice” in earnest.
Dashnaktsutyun contested the February 19 with its own candidate, Vahan Hovannisian, who won 6.1 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. While alleging widespread fraud, the party recognized Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s victory in the vote and is understood to be ready to join a new coalition government which he plans to form in the coming weeks.

Monday  March  3,  2008                                              

ARF Urges Calm and Dialogue After Unrest in Armenia

GLENDALE--The Armenian Revolutionary Federation called for calm and urged dialogue in Armenia after clashes Saturday with police and opposition demonstrators forced President Robert Kocharian to declare a state of emergency.
   In an interview with Asbarez and Horizon, ARF Bureau member Dr. Vicken Hovsepian said Armenia can overcome this difficult period through constructive dialogue between political forces.
   He also urged Armenians around the world to exercise restraint and calm as Armenia weathers this unrest.
   “Only through political dialogue and a healthy political discourse can Armenia emerge from the current situation. We urge the political forces to begin this dialogue to ensure public safety and national security,” said Hovsepian.
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Armenia Declares State of Emergency

YEREVAN, Armenia - Armenia's president imposed a state of emergency Saturday after police used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse demonstrators protesting alleged fraud in last month's presidential election.

The announcement from the office of President Robert Kocharian came shortly after police broke up the rally of about 15,000 demonstrators. Earlier, police used batons to remove hundreds of protesters who had camped for

more than a week in tents in a square near the city mayor's office.

Tensions remained high into the night. Groups of angry young people were prowling the streets of the capital, calling for others to join them, city residents told The Associated Press. An AP reporter saw cars overturned and the police department said some of its cars had been set on fire. Looters hit stores and kiosks, police said.

"What's going on now is not a political process. It has gone over the edge," Kocharian said in a late-night news conference. "I appeal to the people of Armenia to show restraint and understanding."

Kocharian's office said the state of emergency would remain in effect for 20 days. The measure imposes severe restrictions, including banning all mass gatherings and ordering that news media reports on domestic political matters include only official information.

The order also says police have the right to restrict movement and to search private and public vehicles.

Witnesses said they had seen people injured in the later rally, but there was no immediate official information on casualties. Kocharian said eight police officers were injured.

Kocharian claimed some of the demonstrators were armed and that police said they had been shot at.

The Armenian Health Ministry said 10 people were hospitalized from the earlier clash, but did not say how severe their injuries were nor how many

of the injured were police.

The opposition has protested the results of the Feb. 19 presidential election results and tried to force a new vote. Rallies daily have drawn tens of thousands of people; a few hundred remained at the square each night in tents.

Officials say Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the vote outright. But supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian have rejected the results, alleging fraud.

Sarkisian is a close colleague of Kocharian, who is stepping down because the constitution does not permit him to seek a third term. Opponents allege the government manipulated the vote count, pressured people to vote for Sarkisian and pressured the news media into skewing coverage in favor of him.

The observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there were concerns about the vote count, but it issued a generally positive assessment.

Sustained unrest in Armenia could undermine stability in the volatile Caucasus region. Armenia borders Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan — countries important for producing or shipping oil and gas to Western customers.

"At this important stage in Armenia's development, everything should be done to avoid any escalation of tension," said Finnish foreign minister Ilkka Kanerva, the chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Ter-Petrosian, who was president of Armenia in the first painful years of independence from the Soviet Union, appealed to the Constitutional Court

on Friday to overturn the results.

Security police on Saturday prevented Tar-Petrosian from leaving his residence, but he told reporters that he was not under formal house arrest.

"If he is accused of committing a crime, he should be properly charged and prosecuted in a court of law like anyone else. In a democracy you cannot arbitrarily detain political opponents," said Terry Davis, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, the continent's main human rights body.

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At Least Eight Killed In Armenian Post-Election Unrest

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--At least eight people were killed and hundreds of others injured in the standoff between security forces and thousands of opposition protesters in Yerevan that ended early Sunday following a state of emergency declared by President Robert Kocharian.
   The Armenian police reported the death toll, citing information received from the Ministry of Health. A police statement issued early in the morning did not identify any of the victims, suggesting that all of them were protesters.
   Five of them were identified by Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General later in the day.
   The law-enforcement agency said it is investigating the circumstances of their deaths. It added that 33 police officers and interior troops were hospitalized from the scene of the opposition protest with various injuries. Health Minister Harutiun Kushkian put the total number of people treated in hospitals on Saturday at 230.
   The standoff ended at around 4 a.m. local time after the top opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosian, urged his supporters to go home, citing the state of emergency imposed by Kocharian. "I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent people. That is why I am asking you to leave," Ter-Petrosian said in a message read out to more than 2,000 people that barricaded themselves outside the Yerevan mayor's office.
   According to Reuters news agency, most of the crowd headed away from the square but a group of around 60 people refused to go home and set fire to abandoned police vehicles. Some of them accused the former Armenian president of being a traitor. Gunshots in downtown Yerevan could be heard after that.
   The police statement did not report any high-profile arrests. But it said law-enforcement authorities are taking measures to identify and arrest organizers and participants of the “mass riots.”
   The rally began spontaneously at Saturday noon after Ter-Petrosian was removed from the premises and escorted to his residence following the break-up of his supporters' non-stop sit-in Yerevan's Liberty Square. Thousands of people had been keeping overnight vigils there in protest against the official results of the February 19 presidential election that gave victory to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. Ter-Petrosian, who was Sarkisian's main challenger, rejects those results as fraudulent.
   The opposition leader appealed to his supporters in the early hours of the morning as Armenian army units backed by light tanks and armored personnel vehicles moved into the city center to help riot police disperse his supporters who occupied a major street junction outside the Yerevan municipality and the French Embassy in Armenia. The troops took positions near the area shortly after Kocharian declared emergency rule late Saturday. He pointed to violent clashes that broke out between the protesters and riot police on one of several streets leading to the site of the protest at approximately 9:10 p.m. local time
   “They are using weapons and we are obliged to ensure the security of our citizens,” Kocharian told a late-night news conference. He claimed that opposition supporters provoked the violence by firing gunshots and wounding eight police officers.
   The Armenian military urged Yerevan residents Sunday to comply with a state of emergency imposed the previous night, warning that its soldiers deployed in the city center would “strictly” counter any attempts to stage more anti-governmenr rallies there.
   “I would like to warn all citizens that any attempt to organize or participate in events prohibited under the state of emergency would be adequately and strictly countered by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia,” Colonel-General Seyran Ohanian, chief of the army staff, said in a televised address to the nation.
   “In particular, I am asking you to refrain from attempting to assemble in Yerevan even in small groups,” said Ohanian. The army would step in at the “slightest” sign of such attempts, he added.
   Hundreds of troops backed by armored vehicles continued to patrol key squares and street junctions in downtown Yerevan as of Sunday evening. In particular, they cordoned off the street where riot police fought pitched battles with angry supporters of former President Levon Ter-Petrosian. Troop presence was also strong outside Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian's office and Liberty Square where thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters had been camped for 11 days.
   President Robert Kocharian, meanwhile, visited the site of the protest littered with stones and other traces of the late-night violence. Television images showed him inspecting the charred hulk of a police vehicle set ablaze by protesters outside the Yerevan mayor's office.
   Kocharian's office said the outgoing president also discussed the post-election unrest in Armenia in a phone conversation with Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign and security policy chief. It said Solana expressed his “solidarity with the president and the people of Armenia” and pledged to send a special envoy to Armenia.
   Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a special envoy to Armenia on Sunday in a bid to end the country's worst unrest in a decade.
   "I have sent my special envoy to try to bring both sides to the negotiating table and to find a way out of this crisis through political dialogue," the OSCE chairman-in-office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, said in a statement.
   The envoy, 68-year old diplomat Heikki Talvitie, is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on Sunday.
   OSCE chairman Kanerva condemned the use of force against demonstrators and called for restraint. "I urge the authorities to release those detained, and I again call on the government and the opposition to engage in dialogue", he said. "Everything should be done to avoid further casualties and any further escalation of tension."
   Talvitie intends to meet Kocharian, outgoing Prime Minister and president-elect Serzh Sarkisian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and Ter-Petrosian.
   In a related development, a top Vatican envoy has postponed a visit to Armenia because of the unrest in Yerevan, the Vatican said on Sunday. Secretary of State Cardinal Taarcisio Bertone, who ranks only second to the pope in the Vatican hierarchy, had been due to leave later on Sunday and stay until March 6.
   A Vatican statement said the trip was not cancelled and could take place later. The second leg of Bertone's trip, to Azerbaijan from March 6-9, would go ahead as scheduled.

Monday  March  31,  2008                                        

US Says Ready to Work With New Armenian Leadership

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--The US Government is ready to work with the new Armenian leadership, US Charge d'Affairs in Armenia Joseph Penington said Friday during a press conference in Yerevan.
    The US diplomat said that President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian's approaches show that he is ready to take steps needed to put the country back on its democratic path.
    Penington said that Armenian President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian's recent actions and statements show that he is ready to take the steps needed to put Armenia back on the democratic path. The decision to continue the "Millennium Challenge" aid is dependent on Armenia's democratic development, he explained.
    America's confidence in Sarkisian's ability to continue the democratic developments in Armenia is the main reason why the US government has not frozen Armenia's eligibility for Millennium Challenge funding, Penington said.
    "We believe that it would be fair to give an opportunity to the new administration of Armenia to correct the situation," he said. If we note that positive steps are being taken and the negative trends are being corrected, it will positively influence the decision of the Millennium Challenge Corporation."
    US officials have repeatedly said that the sum's disbursement is conditional on democratic reform and improved governance in Armenia.
    Pennington said the goal is not to slap sanctions on Armenia, but to encourage the government in Yerevan to take action to overcome the aftereffects of the latest developments. The US government, he explained, does not seek to stop funding of projects in Armenia because the beneficiaries are the very segments of the population that need the aid.
    But if the Armenian government does not take genuine steps to improve the situation the MCC program will be cancelled, Penington warned.
    In a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, the head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation John Danilovich earlier in the month warned that the US government agency managing the program could "suspend or terminate" the five-year aid package because of the post-election developments in Armenia.
    No decisions have been made yet to freeze the program, Penington said, adding that the US government is for the continuation of the program.
    Asked by reporters to explain why American President George W. Bush did not congratulate Sarkisian, Pennington explained that the US Department of State congratulated the people of Armenia for conducting a competitive election. He said he could not say why there was not official congratulation from the US president.
    He said the US embassy received an invitation to take part in Sarkisian's April 9inauguration ceremony on, but added that the government has not yet decided who to send to Yerevan.
    He said the bulk of US aid to Armenia after it regained independence from the former Soviet Union was directed to the strengthening of democracy, ensuring the development of a free press, a vibrant civic society, and a fair electoral system. Progress has been made in all these areas, but there were setbacks as well.
    He said people who committed crimes during March 1 unrest must be held accountable, but he denounced the detention of people for their political views. A clear line must be drawn to differentiate between the two, he said.

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UN Human Rights Council Passes Genocide Prevention Resolution

GENEVA, Switzerland (ArmRadio)-The United Nations Human Rights Council Friday adopted an Armenian initiated resolution on the prevention of genocide. The resolution is the first of its kind to be adopted by the UN's Human Rights body.
    The initiative follows an earlier Armenian backed resolution calling for a united approach to detecting and preventing genocide that passed in the UN General Assembly.
    The adoption of the resolution in the Human Rights Council coincides with the 60th anniversary of the UN's passing of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
    The resolution passed with broad support and was co-authored by 58 countries, including all the EU member states, Switzerland, Austria, Argentine, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Norway and others.

Sunday  March  30,  2008                                          

PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUSH TO NOMINATE NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

WASHINGTON, DC – President George Bush today announced plans to nominate career diplomat, Marie L. Yovanovitch as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia , reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

According to a personnel announcement posted on the White House website, the President's candidate "currently serves as Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic . Prior to this, she served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier in her career, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv. Ms. Yovanovitch received her bachelor's degree from Princeton University and her master's degree from the National War College."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080328-6.html

The Associated Press (AP) today quoted ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian as saying: "It's important to have an ambassador in Yerevan, but it's also important to have the right ambassador. Being able to speak truthfully about what we all acknowledge is the historical record, is an important part of a U.S. ambassador's ability to effectively represent our nation's values and interests in Yerevan ."

Prior to official appointment, Ms. Yovanovitch will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for confirmation hearings, followed by confirmation vote by the panel and then the full Senate.

The President's previous nominee, Dick Hoagland, who was proposed twice for consideration by the Senate, faced bipartisan Congressional opposition and two separate "holds" by Senator Bob Menendez over his denial of the Armenian Genocide, before, ultimately, being withdrawn from consideration by the White House.

The last U.S. Ambassador to serve in Armenia , John Marshall Evans, was fired for speaking truthfully in public about the Armenian Genocide, sparking widespread Congressional protests and outrage in the Armenian American community.

The text of today's AP story on this issue is provided below.

Bush nominates envoy to Armenia , after block of earlier choice

By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer

03-28-2008 17:15

WASHINGTON (AP) _ President George W. Bush has nominated a career diplomat to be U.S. ambassador to Armenia

after the last nominee was blocked by Democrats because of a refusal to call the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

Bush announced on Friday the nomination of Marie Yovanovitch, who is currently ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic .

In August, the White House withdrew its nomination of another career diplomat, Richard Hoagland, after Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez held up confirmation hearings.

Menendez could not be reached Friday and his staff did not immediately comment on the new nomination.

Hoagland's predecessor, John Evans, reportedly had his tour of duty in Armenia cut short by the administration because, in a social setting, he referred to the killings as genocide.

The administration has warned that even a congressional debate on the genocide question could damage relations with Turkey , a moderate Muslim nation that is a NATO member and an important strategic ally.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated,

and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Armenian-American groups had sought to prevent Hoagland's nomination unless he made a clear statement affirming the genocide.

One group said Friday, they expect that lawmakers will raise the issue with Yovanovitch.

"It's important to have an ambassador in Yerevan , but it's also important to have the right ambassador," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

"Being able to speak truthfully about what we all acknowledge is the historical record, is an important part of a U.S. ambassador's ability to effectively represent our nation's values and interests in Yerevan ."

It is not clear when the Senate will hold hearings on the nomination.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/bush-nominates-envoy-to-armenia-after/n20080328171609990020?ecid=RSS0001

Armenian National Committee of America

1711 N Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036

Tel. (202) 775-1918

Fax. (202) 775-5648

Email anca@anca.org

Internet www.anca.org

Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian

Thursday  March  27,  2008                                    

Knesset Panel to Consider Armenian Genocide

TEL AVIV (Combined Sources)--The Knesset decided Wednesday that a parliamentary committee will hold an unprecedented hearing on whether to recognize the World War I-era mass murder of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as Genocide, announced the Armenian National Committee of Israel.
    The decision to hold a hearing, which was proposed by Meretz Party Chairman Haim Oron, was approved by all 12-members who attended the session. The government did not oppose the motion.
    The Knesset House Committee will decide whether the issue will be handed over to the Knesset Education Committee, as Oron wants, or to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as requested by Knesset Member Yosef Shagal.
    Oron wants the committee to recognize the Armenian genocide, pointing out that similar recognition has been afforded recently by the French parliament and the United States Congress. "It is appropriate that the Israeli Knesset, which represents the Jewish people, recognize the Armenian genocide," said Oron. "It is unacceptable that the Jewish people is not making itself heard."
    The Meretz Knesset Member added that he raises the proposal every year ahead of Armenian Genocide Day, which falls on April 24.
    Minister Shalom Simhon, who represented the government in the Knesset debate, did not object to sending the issue to committee. Simhon said the Jewish people have a special sensitivity to the issue and a moral obligation to remember tragic episodes in human history, including the mass murder of the Armenians.
    Nonetheless, Simhon added that, "in the course of time this has become a politically charged issue between Armenians and Turks and Israel is not interested in taking a side."
    Shagal warned that recognizing the killings as a genocide could have repercussions for Israel's diplomatic relations with Turkey, as well as the fate of tens of thousands of Jews who live in Azerbaijan.
    Armenian National Committee of Jerusalem representatives attended the session ad later thanked Oron for supporting the Armenian Cause.
    Last year, the Knesset rejected a motion to discuss official recognition of the Armenian Genocide, to which Oron has said: "Stop ignoring and rejecting the catastrophe of another people."
    The Armenian issue has been raised several times in the past in Israel's Knesset, but there has never been an implicit vote branding it as genocide.

Wednesday  March  26,  2008                                    

White House names new Ambassador to Armenia

The Bush Administration has submitted to the Armenian government the name of  Marie L. Yovanovitch as the next Ambassador to Armenia, according to several Armenian and American reliable sources, writes Harut Sassounian,

The California Courier publisher
She is currently serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic.
This is the first step in diplomatic protocol in the nomination of a new U.S. Ambassador to a foreign country. After receiving Armenia’s consent, Pres. Bush would then officially nominate Ms. Yovanovitch as Ambassador to Armenia and submit her name to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and subsequently to the full Senate for final confirmation.
This will be Bush administration’s second attempt to nominate an ambassador to Armenia after its recall of Amb. John Evans for using the term Armenian Genocide.
An earlier attempt to nominate Amb. Richard Hoagland to replace Amb. Evans was blocked by Sen. Robert Menendez (Dem.-N.J.), to protest the dismissal of Amb. Evans and to object to Amb. Hoagland’s poor choice of words in responding to Senators’ questions on the validity of the Armenian Genocide.

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San Francisco Jewish Organization Supports Genocide Recognition

SAN FRANCISCO--The Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, and Alameda Counties has re-iterated its previous support for official recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
    As the Jewish community's public affairs arm, the JCRC represents more than 80 Jewish organizations across the Bay Area. The organization overwhelmingly approved a policy statement re-issuing a 1989 letter to Armenian community leader Bishop Aris Shirvanian, expressing support for the Armenian Genocide resolution pending in the US Senate at that time. Senate Joint Resolution 212 sought to designate April 24th as a national day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
    JCRC's position is particularly significant in light of recent statements by Barry Jacobs, Director of Strategic Studies for the American Jewish Committee, expressing the AJC's official opposition to U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and claiming that this position represents the view of the entire Jewish American community.
    JCRC's new policy statement was approved by a vote of its member organizations in November, approximately a month after the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed House Resolution 106 recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The statement reads in part, "Our historical experience as victims of the Nazi Holocaust, only two decades after the tragedy meted out to the Armenian people, propels our sense of moral duty to recognize and acknowledge genocide suffered by any people as well as to oppose current acts of genocide targeting any ethnic population."
    The Bay Area Armenian National Committee, which met with the leadership of the JCRC on several occasions after the introduction of House Resolution 106 recognizing the Armenian Genocide, applauded the JCRC's position.
    "The JCRC's policy statement is welcomed and encouraging, especially at this time of intensified denial of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the US administration's willingness to support Turkey's dangerous policy of denial," said Bay Area ANC Chairperson, Roxanne Makasdjian. "When genocide denial begins to make its way into our nation's public and political discourse, it becomes critical for responsible civic organizations to publicly affirm their recognition of the truth."
    The JCRC's position reflects the broad majority of opinions encountered by members of Jewish-American organizations, she explained as she expressed hope that the JCRC's action would act as a moral beacon for Jewish American organizations in Washington, DC.
    Last October, the Bay Area ANC joined the JCRC, the Holocaust Center of Northern California, and The Genocide Education Project in hosting a joint community discussion about the history of the Armenian Genocide and issues surrounding its recognition and denial.
    The JCRC's statement quoted from a letter sent by its 1989 chairman, Ephraim Margolin, who wrote that the Senate resolution was "long overdue," and that "being singled out for genocide is a horror that, fortunately has been visited upon very few peoples. We in the Jewish community realize that no bill or even official recognition of the attempt at genocide can ever truly ease the pain of that period in our history. But, for the sake of those who died and for the sake of future generations, to forget would be the ultimate tragedy. We applaud the efforts of the Armenian community to educate those in this country about 'the forgotten genocide.' A bill such as Senate Joint Resolution 212 is an important step in the public education about the attempts at Armenian genocide."

The Following is the JCRC's full statement as well as the text of its original letter of support.

Approved by the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma and Alameda Counties, November 13, 2007:
    In 1989 the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties (JCRC) sent a letter to the Armenian Bishop of San Francisco supporting U.S. Senate Joint Resolution 212 which designated April 24, 1990, as a National Day of Remembrance for the genocidal attacks of 1915-1923 on the Armenian population by the Ottoman regime of the time.
    In recalling the tragic events that occurred almost a century ago, it is not our intent to harm or discredit the current government and people of Turkey. We greatly value our relationship with the Turkish community here and abroad. We also recognize and respect the long history of the Jewish community in Turkey.
    Our historical experience as victims of the Nazi Holocaust, only two decades after the tragedy meted out to the Armenian people, propels our sense of moral duty to recognize and acknowledge genocide suffered by any people as well as to oppose current acts of genocide targeting any ethnic population.  We must do whatever we can to prevent such catastrophes from happening again.
    Therefore, we strongly reiterate our 1989 position expressed in our letter to the Armenian Bishop of San Francisco supporting efforts to educate Americans about the tragic events of 1915-1923.

The Right Reverend Bishop Aris Shirvanian
Armenian Apostolic Church
St. John's Etchmiadzin
275 Olympia Way
San Francisco, CA 94131

November 21, 1989

Dear Bishop Shirvanian:

On behalf of the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula and Marin and Sonoma Counties (JCRC), which represents over 60 synagogues and community organizations in the greater Bay Area, I wish to offer our support for Senate Joint Resolution 212, Congressional Legislation to designate April 24, 1990 as a "National Day of Remembrance of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."  At our last Metropolitan JCRC meeting, a resolution was unanimously adopted to communicate to the Armenian community in San Francisco not only our support for this long overdue legislation, but for continued public education about the tragedy which befell the Armenian people in the early part of this century.
    We have also written to Senators Cranston and Wilson, thanking them for their co-sponsorship of this legislation.
    Nearly all nations have been victimized during the course of history.  Yet being singled out for genocide is a horror that, fortunately, has been visited upon very few peoples.  We in the Jewish community realize that no bill or even official recognition of the attempt at genocide can ever truly ease the pain of that period in our history.  But, for the sake of those who died and for the sake of future generations, to forget would be the ultimate tragedy.  We applaud the efforts of the Armenian community to educate those in this country about "the forgotten genocide."  A bill such as Senate Joint Resolution 212 is an important step in the public education about the attempts at Armenian genocide.
    Please convey to the leaders of the Armenian community our most sincere support for this measure.

Sincerely,
Ephraim Margolin
Chairman
 

Tuesday  March  25,  2008                                         

A.R.F. Student and Youth Organizations Hold Conference

YEREVAN (ARF Youth Office)--Representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Student and Youth organizations from around the world gathered at the ARF Bureau Kristapor Miakaelian center for conference.
    More than 50 members representing Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Greece, South America, the US and Canada attended the conference.
    The Western Region's ARF Shant Student Association was represented by Levon Baronian, while the Armenian Youth Federation of Western US was represented by its chairman Caspar Jivelekian and CE member Tro Krikorian.
    The main objective of the conference was to discuss the role of the Armenian youth and issues facing the Armenian youth within the context of changing communications technologies and youth culture.
    The conference participants also discussed the challenges facing Armenia, the traditional Diaspora and the newly-formed Diasporas communities and the role of the youth in addressing those challenges.

Friday  March  21,  2008                                            

Four Parties Sign Ruling Coalition Agreement (in Armenian pdf)

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Prime Minister and President-elect Serzh Sarkisian pledged to effect "serious changes" in Armenia on Friday as he formalized a coalition agreement with the three major political parties represented in the Armenian National Assembly.
    The document was signed by chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian, chairman of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukian, chairman of the Country of Law Party Arthur Baghdasarian and the chairman of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia Armen Rustamian.
    Sarkisian and the other party leaders said their coalition government will strive to "deepen democratic reforms" in the country and speed up its economic development.
    The Coalition Agreement calls for the formation of an effective government, which enjoys the support of the majority of the people of Armenia, for the strengthening of the rule of, freedom of speech and human rights protection, a "substantial increase in public trust in electoral processes," and a "comprehensive and effective fight against corruption." The coalition also committed itself to significantly boosting living standards in Armenia through job creation and improved business competition.
    "The aim of forming a political coalition is to implement reforms and serious changes in the country," Sarkisian said after the signing of the coalition agreement.
    "These changes will be large-scale," Sarkisian said at the signing ceremony, outlining his coalition cabinet's agenda. "They will be painful for many, many people. And in order to be able to implement these changes in full, we need serious public support."
    Rustamian noted that the document is the product of long negotiations and is primarily a political document.
    "Reaching a consensus for how to address the issues and challenges faced by the country were of utmost importance," he said. "By signing this document, the ARF pursued the rapid easing of the current internal political tension for which political will and desire to move forward are needed."
    "We must strive to live up to the people's expectations and create conditions for work, education and a prosperous life," Prosperous Armenia leader Tsarukian said.
    Baghdasarian noted this is the first time in Armenia's political history that such a comprehensive document has been signed. It is quite a unique document, he noted.
    "The political forces that signed the Agreement received a great number of votes in both parliamentary and presidential elections, which means that the political coalition enjoys the trust of the overwhelming majority of the population," he said. "Furthermore, this is the first time that political parties are assuming responsibility for the activity of the authorities of the Republic of Armenia."
    Also Friday, the state of emergency, which was imposed on March 1 after clashes between demonstrators and police, was lifted. Several hundred people turned to the streets illegally to protest the March 1 event and were met by police attempting to disperse the gathering. There were no clashes reported between police and demonstrators.

Below are excerpts from the coalition agreement:
    Based on the results of the February 19 presidential election, the four political parties represented in the National Assembly will create a political coalition that will seek to guarantee the development of the Republic of Armenia and ensure an atmosphere of social partnership and cohesion in society. The four parties will form a coalition government in order to:
   * Form an effective working authority that enjoys the support of the majority of the society;
   * Deepen the democratic reforms and improve the mechanisms of human rights protection;
   * Formulate and implement a joint Government program through the combination of their pre-election platforms;
   * Secure the country's ongoing development, ensure continued improvements in the quality of life for our citizens,

     and implement far reaching and realistic reforms;
   * Effectively meet internal and external challenges that the Republic of Armenia faces.
     
    The parties of the political coalition resolve to fulfill the outlined objectives of the coalition and assume political responsibility for the activity of the authorities.
    The parties to the political coalition further pledge to make every effort to successfully implement the programs of the coalition government and resolve not to take steps that can directly or indirectly endanger the accomplishment of the aims of the coalition government.
    The coalition agreement comes into force from the moment of signing and will work throughout the National Assembly's term. The agreement be prematurely terminated only in the case that there exists insurmountable and fundamental disagreements between any members of the coalition.
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Armenian American Community Statement

Joint Statement of the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Armenian National Committee of America, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern/Western) and the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Eastern/ Western) on Recent Events in Armenia.
As leading Armenian American organizations, we stand in solidarity with the state and the people of Armenia as the nation confronts the current political crisis.
We are deeply saddened by the violence, divisiveness, and deaths during the post-electoral street unrest in the capital and extend our heartfelt sympathies to all the families of the victims. We condemn all violent acts, including assaults, vandalism, and looting, and expect, consistent with due process of law, that the organizers and perpetrators will be brought to justice.
We urge all parties to work peacefully within Armenia 's civic and legal structures to address their outstanding differences and restore Armenia 's political environment to a state of normalcy in as timely and responsible a manner as possible. We join with all Armenians in reaffirming our people's common commitment to the security of Armenia and Artsakh in a challenging and often dangerous region, and to cooperate toward our shared aim of strengthening an open and democratic Armenian homeland, based upon the rule of law, social and economic justice, freedom of expression and the media, and equal opportunity for all.
As Armenian Americans, proud and vital partners in the future of the Armenian nation, we are ready to cooperate with the newly-elected President and the government.  We remain committed to doing our part to serve our homeland and the Armenian Nation as we have done throughout our long history.  Armenia will continue to inspire and sustain generations of Armenians who have lived, as we do today, beyond her borders.

Aram Suren Hamparian
Executive Director
Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington , DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
anca@anca.org
www.anca.org

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Armenia May Recognize Karabakh, Kocharian Says

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Armenian President Robert Kocharian Thursday said that Armenia would recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic if Azerbaijan does not change its approach to peace talks, Armenia's president said on Thursday.
    Kocharian told a press conference Thursday that the format of the OSCE Minsk Group is the best format for seeking a lasting and a final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but added that Armenia would not cling to it if Azerbaijan continued to seek its dissolution.
    "If they do not want to negotiate with us, that's their prerogative," Kocharian said. "We have always been ready for negotiations since it's the only way to resolve the conflict."
    But if talks break down, the responsibility will rest on Azerbaijan's shoulders, Kocharian added. In the case that talks break down, Armenia may be forced to extend formal recognition to Nagorno-Karabakh and sign a defense agreement with it, he added.
    Kocharian explained that Azerbaijan's latest violations of the cease-fire agreement, their introduction of a resolution in the UN General Assembly, and their current efforts to seek the dissolution of the Minsk Group are all prompted by Kosovar independence. He said Baku is seeking to weaken Armenia and Karabakh and to prevent Kosovo from becoming a precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh.
    There are more reasons for Nagorno-Karabakh to be a sovereign and independent country than there are for Kosovo, he explained. Karabakh declared its independence in 1992 and held a referendum to confirm it. It is a well-established state with fully functional government institutions and the ability to defend its borders, he added.
    According to Kocharian, the latest serious breach of ceasefire by Azerbaijan, pushing through the UN a resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh and its were to check the degree of Armenia' strength.
    Kocharian also said that Russia is firm in its support for continuing talks through the format of the Minsk Group

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Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee Announcement

The Armenian Genocide Communitywide Commemoration Committee, in its first announcement informed the public that the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be marked in our community with various events. We had announced that on Thursday, April 24 a pilgrimage to the Montebello Martyrs' Monument would take place, followed by a wreath laying ceremony and a Memorial Mass officiated by the leaders of the three Armenian denominations.
    On the same day, at 8 p.m., a political gathering will take place at the Glendale Civic Auditorium (1401 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale). Public officials will be present and will address the gathering.
    We call on all our community members and the youth to participate in these events and reaffirm our Cause.

Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee

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Wednesday  March  19,  2008                                       

Jewish Scholars Blast Israeli Ambassador for Misrepresenting Genocide

TEL AVIV--Jewish Genocide scholars professors Yair Auron, Israel W. Charny and Elihu D. Richter wrote an open letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni expressing their irritation on the announcement of Gaby Levy, Ambassador of Israel to Turkey that, “What we [Israel] realized in Gaza, was not a genocide just like the way it was not a genocide carried out against Armenians.”
    The ambassador of Israel to Turkey made a speech following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan criticized Israel's attack on Gaza.
     Below is the text of the open letter:

Open Letter to Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel.

We are writing to express our shock, disbelief and horror at the statements attributed to Ambassador to Turkey Gaby Levy by the website of Sabah News (Turkey) that "what we [Israel] did in Gaza is not genocide just like there is no Armenian genocide." These statements were reportedly in response to comments made by Prime Minister Erdoghan of Turkey criticizing Israel's response to the terror attacks from Gaza. We would like to believe that he was misquoted.
    Ambassador Levy is insultingly wrong in denying the Armenian genocide. There is an overwhelming body of historical evidence from many separate and independent bodies of information to show that the mass atrocities experienced by the Armenians were a result of an intentional policy on the part of the Turkish government at the time. It is precisely this evidence of intent to kill and destroy, in whole or in part, as defined by the UN Convention on Genocide, which is why these atrocities constitute genocide. They were adjudged genocide by Raphael Lemkin, the person who gave the world the word-concept of genocide, and have been so adjudged by any number of impartial commissions and professional authorities, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
    Israel's ambassador is humiliatingly further misdirected on Gaza, where it is Hamas, an organization with a genocidal agenda, which is carrying out terror attacks aimed at killing, destroying and expelling the entire population. Israel is defending itself against the perpetrators of this genocidal agenda. The Grad rockets Hamas is now firing at population centers in Israel come from Iran which has expressed a sworn determination to wipe out the State of Israel.
    Clearly Israel has never embarked on a genocidal program or action in Gaza, but for the ambassador to prove his point as it were by comparing Israel's actions today in Gaza to the known genocidal activities of the Ottoman Turks against the Armenians and other non-Moslem minorities in 1915 and on is self-defeating in the extreme. The aim of Israel's military actions in Gaza is to stop the genocidal terror aimed at the Israeli public. To link proof that Israel is not the aggressor in Gaza with a denial of the validity of the Armenian Genocide is seriously harmful to Israel. Ambassador Levy's mission is not to revise historical truth, but to represent Israel with honor, self-respect, competence and integrity. He has failed the test on all counts. By publicly declaring his denial of the Armenian genocide, he paves the way for denial of all other genocidal threats, foremost of which are those now facing Israel.
    Israel's relationship with Turkey is a matter of vital importance to the two countries. But this relationship does not require public displays of obsequiousness and participation in genocide denial. It does require Ambassador Levy to advise Turkey of the genocidal threats from Hamas, and from Iran, its paymaster.
We call upon the Government to repudiate the remarks attributed to him.

Sincerely,
Prof. Yair Auron, PhD, Dept. of Sociology, Open University of Israel
Prof. Israel W. Charny, PhD (retired Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University), Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, Editor, Encyclopedia of Genocide
Prof. Elihu D. Richter, MD, MPH, Genocide Prevention Program, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine

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ANCA Welcomes US Vote Against Biased Azerbaijani UN Resolution

WASHINGTON--The United States, which serves along with the Russian Federation and France as Co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group charged with leading talks toward a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, voted last week against the passage of a biased and destructive United Nations General Assembly resolution offered by Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
    "We welcome the vote of the United States against Azerbaijan's biased and destructive attempt to undermine the OSCE peace process," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Rather than sincerely committing to the path of peace, Baku's most recent round of venue-shopping sadly is aimed at undercutting the ongoing negotiations--as they have done through their escalating threats
of renewed war and their recent attacks on Nagorno-Karabakh--and, domestically, at distracting pre-presidential election public attention away from the growing popular discontent with President Aliyev's increasingly corrupt and undemocratic government."
    The non-binding UN resolution, introduced by Azerbaijan on February 20th and taken up by the General Assembly on March 14th, demanded the "immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan." Despite concerns expressed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs that the resolution could undermine the ongoing peace process, Azerbaijan persisted in pushing the measure to a vote, which it won with 39 in favor, 7 against, and 100 abstentions. Those voting against the resolution were: Angola, Armenia, France, India, Russian Federation, United States, and Vanuatu.
    Following passage of the resolution, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian characterized the Azerbaijani effort as hypocritical.
    "On the one hand, in an effort to misinform member states, the resolution included a paragraph that supports the OSCE Minsk Process, while on the other hand, Azerbaijan blatantly ignored the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs position. The co-chair countries had made clear they would not support the resolution and in fact voted against the resolution," noted the Minister.
    In response to press inquiries, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan's Public Affairs officer, Jonathan Henick, noted that, "The most efficient structure to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group."
    The UN resolution comes in the wake of several months of increasingly vocal threats of renewed war by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, followed up by recent attacks by Azerbaijani forces against defensive positions in the Mardakert Region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) joined last month with more than 50 of their House colleagues in condemning Baku's war rhetoric.
    "As the Co-Chairs of the Armenian Caucus, we are deeply disturbed by the preventable loss of life along the Line of Contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and
Azerbaijan that took place on March 4th... It is troubling that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has acted on his history of warmongering rhetoric," the Caucus co-chairs asserted, following the Mardakert assaults

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Parliament Amends Law on Public Gatherings

YEREVAN (Armenpress)--With a vote of 91 to 6 and 1 abstention Armenian lawmakers pushed through late on Monday a set of changes and amendments to the law on mass assemblies, processions and demonstrations.
    The draft bill was presented by Rafik Petrosian, a member of a parliament committee on legal issues, who said the move was prompted by the recent standoff between the opposition and the authorities showing that the law has some loopholes and vague wordings.
    "The events in Yerevan on March 1 demonstrated that the existing law has a number of drawbacks which need to be addressed. This is prompted by the lesson we learnt," he told the parliament.
    One of the amendments allows the authorities to ban a rally "if they receive trustworthy police or security service reports that such an action may threaten national security, public order or violate citizens' constitutional rights".
    According to Rafik Petrosian, this amendment is in line with relevant international conventions and Armenia's Constitution.
    Under another change, the organizers will have to inform authorities about their wish to hold a public rally 5 days prior to it, up from the current 3 days.
    Shortly before midnight the emergency session of parliament voted 90-6 to pass the two readings of the law.
    President Robert Kocharian signed the amendments into Law on Tuesday.