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TOP STORIES
06/21/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <http://www.asbarez.com/>HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM
1) Azeri Offer of Autonomy for Karabagh is ~QSelf Deception~R Says Oskanian
to UN
2) Ghoukassian Advocates Direct Negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan
3) Armenian American Community Looks to Senate Confirmation Hearing for
Answers
to Ambassador Evans' Firing
4) Turkey Not to Discuss Opening Border with Armenia; Ready to Participate in
Karabagh Talks
5) Report Says Washington Must Mend Ties with Turkey
1) Azeri Offer of Autonomy for Karabagh is ~QSelf Deception~R Says Oskanian
to UN
YEREVAN (Panorama)--Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian attended and
addressed the first session of the newly-formed United Nations (UN) Human
Rights Council. The opening ceremony on Monday was attended by UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan as well as High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise
Arbour.
In his statement, on Wednesday, June 21, Armenia's Minister congratulated the
Council on its inaugural meeting and discussed the importance of the
institution.
"It is as easy to look into our neighbor's living room as our own. To hear
the
screams next door and do nothing will be as difficult as ignoring uproar at
home," he said.
In speaking about Armenia's neighbors and regional security, Minister
Oskanian
noted that "Armenia has and continues to promote stronger international
mechanisms to prevent and eradicate the crime of genocide, and all of its
precursors including efforts, too often successful, at not just cleansing a
region of its indigenous people, but also erasing their memory. Armenians have
survived and gone on to live through each of these attempts. Even today, in
the
21st century, we have watched helplessly as the spiritual and cultural markers
of our people are decimated."
He went on to refer to the destruction of the Julfa Cemetery in Nakhichevan,
Azerbaijan. "This most recent manifestation of organized violence, in a place
where no Armenians live today, and far from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
area,
tells us that neither Azerbaijan's methods nor its intent has changed. Such
unambivalent, callous demolition of culture and history also destroys trust
and
peace."
In speaking about the present state of negotiations with Azerbaijan on the
settlement of the Karabagh conflict, the Oskanian said, "If Azerbaijan's one
step forward, one step back approach in the negotiations was simply alarming,
their recent, desperate offers of autonomy are concrete examples of a retreat
from the letter and spirit of these talks, and clearly not in sync with
international trends. Offering autonomy to a people who have for nearly two
decades been in control of their lives on their own historic lands is at the
very least, self-deception."
2) Ghoukassian Advocates Direct Negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan
STEPANAKERT (Yerkir/Armenpress)--At an international conference called
"Republic of Nagorno Karabagh: Past, Present, Future," Mountainous Karabagh
Republic (MKR) President Arkady Ghoukassian said that there must be direct
negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan.
In his address to the conference, Ghoukassian said that today Azerbaijan
exerts enormous effort to try and change history and deprive Karabagh's people
of the freedom and independence they achieved.
"I am convinced that Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan should negotiate in
order
find a mutually beneficial resolution of the conflict. I want to believe that
this conference will help to show the reality in the region," he said.
"I am glad to hear that you intend to discuss a wide scope of issues
referring
to the history and culture of Nagorno Karabagh, its spiritual heritage,
political and legal matters, prospects of the socio-economic development. I
wish the conference successful and fruitful work," Ghoukassian added.
The conference, which was dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the
declaration
of MKR, began Wednesday at the Artsakh State University. Around 200
representatives from more than 10 countries including Russia, the US, France,
United Kingdom, and Germany will participate in the three-day conference
organized by the MKR Government.
3) Armenian American Community Looks to Senate Confirmation Hearing for
Answers
to Ambassador Evans' Firing
WASHINGTON, DC--Armenian Americans across the US will be closely following the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearings for US Ambassador to
Armenia nominee Richard Hoagland, in hopes of gaining concrete insight into
the
exact nature of the State Department's policy of complicity in Armenian
genocide denial--particularly as it relates to the firing of the current US
Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The nomination hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 28 at 2:30 PM in the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee room, 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
and
is open to the public.
The hearing comes as Armenian American activists across the US continue to
call on Senators to demand a full explanation for the early recall of US
Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans.
Concerned Americans can join the ANCA Congressional Call-in Campaign to urge
their Senators to attend the upcoming hearing and press for answers by
visiting:
capwiz.com/anca/callalert/index.tt?al ertid=8836481&type=TA.
Ambassador Evans, who first took on his post in August 2004, spoke openly and
honestly about the Armenian genocide in community briefings in San Francisco,
and other cities in February 2005. The Ambassador was later forced by State
Department leaders to twice recant his statement. The American Foreign
Service
Association, set to award Ambassador Evans with the Christian A. Herter Award
for constructive dissent, rescinded the decision, according to the Washington
Post, following pressure from State Department officials.
Calls by Members of Congress, the media, and activists for answers to
Ambassador Evans' recall have been ignored or sidestepped by State Department
spokespeople, who have simply repeated the fact that ambassadors serve at the
pleasure of the US President.
In recent weeks, Representative Markey spearheaded a Congressional letter
with
sixty signatories calling for clarification on the recall. In the Senate,
Massachusetts Democrats Edward Kennedy and John Kerry registered a similar
letter of concern. In previous months, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Grace Napolitano (D-CA), and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
have
each publicly called for an explanation for the State Department decision. No
concrete answers have been provided to date.
On June 9, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, urged Senate Foreign Relations
Committee members to demand the truth about the Evans firing prior to
confirming his replacement. "The US Senate cannot, in good conscience,
approve
the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until the circumstances of the
current envoy's highly controversial firing are fully, officially, and openly
explained to Congress and the American people," stated Hachikian. "More
broadly, the Administration needs to honestly explain its policies concerning
the Armenian genocide. This is especially true given that serious questions
remain unanswered concerning the role that the Turkish Government played in
Ambassador Evans' firing."
4) Turkey Not to Discuss Opening Border with Armenia; Ready to Participate in
Karabagh Talks
YEREVAN (PanArmenian/Yerkir)Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in Baku
that the opening of the border with Armenia is not a subject of discussion.
According to him, Turkey wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold talks on the
Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement and achieve progress.
Gul said that the peaceful settlement of the Karabagh conflict will create
serious chances for the establishment of cooperation between Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
He said that Turkey is prepared to participate in talks between the two
countries.
"Turkey is ready to its utmost and endorses measures that promote the
settlement of the conflict," stated Gul.
5) Report Says Washington Must Mend Ties with Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC (AFP)--The United States must strive to repair and redefine its
relationship with Turkey, a key partner in the Muslim world it can't afford to
alienate, said a report released by an independent think tank.
"The growing schism between the West and the Islamic world is one of the
primary challenges confronting American foreign policy and defense
policymakers," said the blueprint, issued by the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR), an independent think tank based in New York.
"As a consequence, the relationship between the United States and Turkey--a
Western-oriented, democratizing Muslim country--is strategically more
important
than ever."
Steven Cook, a fellow at CFR who co-authored the report, said that although
both countries have engaged in diplomatic niceties since their fallout over
the
Iraq war in 2003, they have yet to seriously sit down together to chart a new
course for the future.
The CFR report came ahead of a July 5 visit to the US by Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul, during which he is to meet with his US counterpart
Condoleezza Rice.
US officials said Gul and Rice will finalize a so-called Strategic Vision
document that both agreed on in principle during a visit to Turkey by the top
US diplomat in April.
US-Turkish relations took a nosedive in 2003 after Turkey refused to allow US
troops access to its territory to open a northern front in the war in Iraq.
The decision was a slap in the face for the US government with Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying he believes it probably adversely affected
the
course of the Iraq war.
Apart from Iraq, the United States and Turkey have also diverged on a number
of other important foreign policy issues, including Syria, Iran, and Israel.
"Coinciding with these differences has been a sharp increase in
anti-Americanism in Turkey and marked dissatisfaction with Turkey in
Washington," the CFR report said.
Another sore point for Ankara has been the twin issues of Kurdish
independence
and the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey wants the United
States to take a tougher stand on both issues, but that is unlikely to happen
given the relative stability of the mainly Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
"The problem is that on the issue that divides us the most--Iraq--Turkey
wants
things from the US that at present the US is in no position to deliver," Cook
said.
He said Washington needs to work with its main European partners to ensure
Ankara remains anchored in the West through membership in the European Union
(EU) and strong bilateral ties, Cook said.
"Our concern is a Turkey unmoored in the international system," he said.
"That's not to say that if Turkey does not join the EU it would become an
Islamist nation.
"But it could then seek partners such as Russia and China and from the
American perspective, it is important to keep Turkey in the West."
All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.
ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.
TOP STORIES
06/21/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <http://www.asbarez.com/>HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM
1) Azeri Offer of Autonomy for Karabagh is ~QSelf Deception~R Says Oskanian
to UN
2) Ghoukassian Advocates Direct Negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan
3) Armenian American Community Looks to Senate Confirmation Hearing for
Answers
to Ambassador Evans' Firing
4) Turkey Not to Discuss Opening Border with Armenia; Ready to Participate in
Karabagh Talks
5) Report Says Washington Must Mend Ties with Turkey
1) Azeri Offer of Autonomy for Karabagh is ~QSelf Deception~R Says Oskanian
to UN
YEREVAN (Panorama)--Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian attended and
addressed the first session of the newly-formed United Nations (UN) Human
Rights Council. The opening ceremony on Monday was attended by UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan as well as High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise
Arbour.
In his statement, on Wednesday, June 21, Armenia's Minister congratulated the
Council on its inaugural meeting and discussed the importance of the
institution.
"It is as easy to look into our neighbor's living room as our own. To hear
the
screams next door and do nothing will be as difficult as ignoring uproar at
home," he said.
In speaking about Armenia's neighbors and regional security, Minister
Oskanian
noted that "Armenia has and continues to promote stronger international
mechanisms to prevent and eradicate the crime of genocide, and all of its
precursors including efforts, too often successful, at not just cleansing a
region of its indigenous people, but also erasing their memory. Armenians have
survived and gone on to live through each of these attempts. Even today, in
the
21st century, we have watched helplessly as the spiritual and cultural markers
of our people are decimated."
He went on to refer to the destruction of the Julfa Cemetery in Nakhichevan,
Azerbaijan. "This most recent manifestation of organized violence, in a place
where no Armenians live today, and far from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
area,
tells us that neither Azerbaijan's methods nor its intent has changed. Such
unambivalent, callous demolition of culture and history also destroys trust
and
peace."
In speaking about the present state of negotiations with Azerbaijan on the
settlement of the Karabagh conflict, the Oskanian said, "If Azerbaijan's one
step forward, one step back approach in the negotiations was simply alarming,
their recent, desperate offers of autonomy are concrete examples of a retreat
from the letter and spirit of these talks, and clearly not in sync with
international trends. Offering autonomy to a people who have for nearly two
decades been in control of their lives on their own historic lands is at the
very least, self-deception."
2) Ghoukassian Advocates Direct Negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan
STEPANAKERT (Yerkir/Armenpress)--At an international conference called
"Republic of Nagorno Karabagh: Past, Present, Future," Mountainous Karabagh
Republic (MKR) President Arkady Ghoukassian said that there must be direct
negotiations between MKR and Azerbaijan.
In his address to the conference, Ghoukassian said that today Azerbaijan
exerts enormous effort to try and change history and deprive Karabagh's people
of the freedom and independence they achieved.
"I am convinced that Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan should negotiate in
order
find a mutually beneficial resolution of the conflict. I want to believe that
this conference will help to show the reality in the region," he said.
"I am glad to hear that you intend to discuss a wide scope of issues
referring
to the history and culture of Nagorno Karabagh, its spiritual heritage,
political and legal matters, prospects of the socio-economic development. I
wish the conference successful and fruitful work," Ghoukassian added.
The conference, which was dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the
declaration
of MKR, began Wednesday at the Artsakh State University. Around 200
representatives from more than 10 countries including Russia, the US, France,
United Kingdom, and Germany will participate in the three-day conference
organized by the MKR Government.
3) Armenian American Community Looks to Senate Confirmation Hearing for
Answers
to Ambassador Evans' Firing
WASHINGTON, DC--Armenian Americans across the US will be closely following the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearings for US Ambassador to
Armenia nominee Richard Hoagland, in hopes of gaining concrete insight into
the
exact nature of the State Department's policy of complicity in Armenian
genocide denial--particularly as it relates to the firing of the current US
Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The nomination hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 28 at 2:30 PM in the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee room, 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
and
is open to the public.
The hearing comes as Armenian American activists across the US continue to
call on Senators to demand a full explanation for the early recall of US
Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans.
Concerned Americans can join the ANCA Congressional Call-in Campaign to urge
their Senators to attend the upcoming hearing and press for answers by
visiting:
capwiz.com/anca/callalert/index.tt?al ertid=8836481&type=TA.
Ambassador Evans, who first took on his post in August 2004, spoke openly and
honestly about the Armenian genocide in community briefings in San Francisco,
and other cities in February 2005. The Ambassador was later forced by State
Department leaders to twice recant his statement. The American Foreign
Service
Association, set to award Ambassador Evans with the Christian A. Herter Award
for constructive dissent, rescinded the decision, according to the Washington
Post, following pressure from State Department officials.
Calls by Members of Congress, the media, and activists for answers to
Ambassador Evans' recall have been ignored or sidestepped by State Department
spokespeople, who have simply repeated the fact that ambassadors serve at the
pleasure of the US President.
In recent weeks, Representative Markey spearheaded a Congressional letter
with
sixty signatories calling for clarification on the recall. In the Senate,
Massachusetts Democrats Edward Kennedy and John Kerry registered a similar
letter of concern. In previous months, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Grace Napolitano (D-CA), and Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
have
each publicly called for an explanation for the State Department decision. No
concrete answers have been provided to date.
On June 9, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, urged Senate Foreign Relations
Committee members to demand the truth about the Evans firing prior to
confirming his replacement. "The US Senate cannot, in good conscience,
approve
the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until the circumstances of the
current envoy's highly controversial firing are fully, officially, and openly
explained to Congress and the American people," stated Hachikian. "More
broadly, the Administration needs to honestly explain its policies concerning
the Armenian genocide. This is especially true given that serious questions
remain unanswered concerning the role that the Turkish Government played in
Ambassador Evans' firing."
4) Turkey Not to Discuss Opening Border with Armenia; Ready to Participate in
Karabagh Talks
YEREVAN (PanArmenian/Yerkir)Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in Baku
that the opening of the border with Armenia is not a subject of discussion.
According to him, Turkey wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold talks on the
Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement and achieve progress.
Gul said that the peaceful settlement of the Karabagh conflict will create
serious chances for the establishment of cooperation between Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
He said that Turkey is prepared to participate in talks between the two
countries.
"Turkey is ready to its utmost and endorses measures that promote the
settlement of the conflict," stated Gul.
5) Report Says Washington Must Mend Ties with Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC (AFP)--The United States must strive to repair and redefine its
relationship with Turkey, a key partner in the Muslim world it can't afford to
alienate, said a report released by an independent think tank.
"The growing schism between the West and the Islamic world is one of the
primary challenges confronting American foreign policy and defense
policymakers," said the blueprint, issued by the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR), an independent think tank based in New York.
"As a consequence, the relationship between the United States and Turkey--a
Western-oriented, democratizing Muslim country--is strategically more
important
than ever."
Steven Cook, a fellow at CFR who co-authored the report, said that although
both countries have engaged in diplomatic niceties since their fallout over
the
Iraq war in 2003, they have yet to seriously sit down together to chart a new
course for the future.
The CFR report came ahead of a July 5 visit to the US by Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul, during which he is to meet with his US counterpart
Condoleezza Rice.
US officials said Gul and Rice will finalize a so-called Strategic Vision
document that both agreed on in principle during a visit to Turkey by the top
US diplomat in April.
US-Turkish relations took a nosedive in 2003 after Turkey refused to allow US
troops access to its territory to open a northern front in the war in Iraq.
The decision was a slap in the face for the US government with Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying he believes it probably adversely affected
the
course of the Iraq war.
Apart from Iraq, the United States and Turkey have also diverged on a number
of other important foreign policy issues, including Syria, Iran, and Israel.
"Coinciding with these differences has been a sharp increase in
anti-Americanism in Turkey and marked dissatisfaction with Turkey in
Washington," the CFR report said.
Another sore point for Ankara has been the twin issues of Kurdish
independence
and the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey wants the United
States to take a tougher stand on both issues, but that is unlikely to happen
given the relative stability of the mainly Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
"The problem is that on the issue that divides us the most--Iraq--Turkey
wants
things from the US that at present the US is in no position to deliver," Cook
said.
He said Washington needs to work with its main European partners to ensure
Ankara remains anchored in the West through membership in the European Union
(EU) and strong bilateral ties, Cook said.
"Our concern is a Turkey unmoored in the international system," he said.
"That's not to say that if Turkey does not join the EU it would become an
Islamist nation.
"But it could then seek partners such as Russia and China and from the
American perspective, it is important to keep Turkey in the West."
All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.
ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.