The blog contains articles and thoughts in English, Armenian and Arabic about Armenian issues, Artsakh-Karabakh issue, Armenian Genocide as well as the life of Armenians and Christians in Iraq and the Middle East.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
مسعود البارزاني يؤكد على ضرورة تولي المسيحيين والتركمان منصبي نائب رئيس الجمهورية ونائب رئيس الوزراء
مسعود البارزاني يؤكد على ضرورة تولي المسيحيين والتركمان منصبي نائب رئيس الجمهورية ونائب رئيس الوزراء
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
تركيا.. تتنمر بوجه الكرد وتتأرنب أمام إسرائيل
تركيا.. تتنمر بوجه الكرد وتتأرنب أمام إسرائيل: "تركيا.. تتنمر بوجه الكرد وتتأرنب أمام إسرائيل"
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
النائب بقرادونيان: على إردوغان الإعتذار من لبنان والأرمن
النائب بقرادونيان: على إردوغان الإعتذار من لبنان والأرمن: "النائب بقرادونيان: على إردوغان الإعتذار من لبنان والأرمن"
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Conference Participants Enthusiastically Support Elective Diaspora Leadership
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
After much anticipation and lengthy preparations, the Institute of Armenian Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) held on November 20 a successful international symposium -- "The Armenian Diaspora: Elective Leadership and Worldwide Structure."
The symposium was attended by 600 enthusiastic participants from throughout the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, and Europe. The speakers were: Dr. Z.S. Andrew Demirdjian, Cal State University, Long Beach, "The Persuasive Power of Numbers: A Call for Political Clout"; Dr. Archalus Tcheknavorian-Asenbauer, Senior UN Advisor, Vienna, "Armenian Unity and International Politics"; Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier, "Proposal for a Popularly Elected Structure to Represent Diaspora Armenians"; Dr. Gaidz Minassian, Foundation for Strategic Research, Paris, "Toward a World Council of Armenians: Why, How, Who?"; Gov. George Deukmejian, "Personal Reflections of California’s First Armenian Governor"; Honorable Grigor Hovhannissian, Consul General of Armenia, Los Angeles, "Welcoming Remarks"; former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, "Maximizing Influence in a World of Nation-States: A Challenge for the Armenian Diaspora"; journalist/author Mark Arax, Fresno, "The Power of Speaking to the Media with One Collective Voice"; Dr. Levon Marashlian, Glendale Community College, "The Necessity and Difficulty of Establishing a Diaspora Congress"; Dr. Stephan Astourian, Univ. of California, Berkeley, "The Traditional Armenian Parties and the Problem of Pan-Armenian Coordination"; Dr. R. Hrair Dekmejian, USC and Dr. Nyree Derderian, Stanford University, "Models and Modalities of Creating a Trans-Diaspora Framework," followed by a round table discussion between the speakers and the audience.
My own remarks were an expanded version of the article I wrote nine months ago, proposing the creation of a democratically-elected structure that would represent all Armenians in the Diaspora.
I stated that a growing number of Armenians have realized that a collective effort is necessary if they are to survive as a dispersed ethnicity detached from its homeland. Beyond the need to preserve the Diaspora’s vibrancy and cultural identity, Armenians share a common quest for justice from Turkey and a firm commitment for the security and economic prosperity of the twin Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. Armenians have finally concluded that they can benefit immensely from pooling their limited resources and jointly tackling common problems facing all Diaspora communities.
As outlined in my February article, I elaborated about the framework of establishing an elected body that would legitimately represent Armenians throughout the Diaspora, except those in Armenia and Artsakh, who already reside in state structures with elected governments. Thus, for the first time in Diaspora’s history, Armenians would elect their own representatives or leaders, on the basis of one-man, one vote.
I also suggested that elections be held by Armenian communities to choose one representative for each group of 20,000 Armenians. The collective body of 350 representatives from all electoral districts throughout the Diaspora would become the entity that can legitimately claim to speak in the name of all seven millions Armenians, outside of Armenia and Artsakh. Popular elections would encourage the silent majority to get involved in community affairs. This would be a dramatic shift from the current situation where a small number of individuals work around the clock, sacrificing their time and effort, while most Armenians, who are unaffiliated with any organization remain disengaged and disinterested. Should such grassroots elections succeed, large numbers of Armenians would feel empowered and energized, having actively participated in choosing their leaders.
The academic symposium held on Nov. 20 is the first of many steps necessary before launching the ambitious initiative of creating a worldwide representative structure. A team of researchers should now explore and determine the optimum mechanisms to conduct such elections, estimate the demography of each community, establish qualifications for both voters and candidates, and recommend measures to prevent voter fraud.
Conference participants were particularly interested in hearing Dr. Minassian’s presentation of a detailed plan unanimously approved by French-Armenian organizations to hold popular elections for a representative leadership early next year. The French experience could serve as a most valuable precedent for other Diaspora communities.
It was made clear at the conference that a single electoral plan cannot be applied uniformly to all Armenian communities. Since each community lives in a unique legal and political environment, it would be necessary to devise an appropriate plan for selecting representatives in each country, in consultations with local leaders.
It was interesting to note that when Prof. Dekmejian asked the audience if they favored an elective Diaspora structure, almost everyone raised their hands, indicating enthusiastic support for establishing a united Diaspora leadership framework.
The proceedings of the symposium could be viewed on the following website:
Monday, November 22, 2010
Azerbaijan frees bloggers-Mr Aliyev bought a donkey for 40,000 euros!!
The bloggers, sporting donkey costumes, discussed the purchase of a donkey by the president. During an official visit to Germany in 2009, Mr Aliyev had bought a donkey for 40,000 euros!! Azerbaijan should be very proud of this president!!!
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/azerbaijan-frees-bloggers
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/azerbaijan-frees-bloggers
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
دعوة الى تحرك أوروبي لوقف مذبحة المسيحيين
دعوة الى تحرك أوروبي لوقف مذبحة المسيحيين: "دعوة الى تحرك أوروبي لوقف مذبحة المسيحيين"
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
مآسي العراقيين تنتقل معهم الى الخارج
مآسي العراقيين تنتقل معهم الى الخارج: "مآسي العراقيين تنتقل معهم الى الخارج"
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
U.S. Documents Reveal Pres. Bush’s Duplicity on the Armenian Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In a highly informative book, "Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and Century-long Struggle for Justice," Michael Bobelian has exposed important, but little known facts about the long history of attempts to get the Armenian Genocide recognized by the United States.
One of Bobelian’s more notable revelations is the apparent contradiction between Vice President George H. W. Bush senior’s promise to the Armenian-American community to acknowledge the Genocide after he is elected President and his administration’s agreement with Turkey to block such an acknowledgment.
While running for President in 1988, Vice President George Bush issued the following statement: "The United States must acknowledge the attempted genocide of the Armenian people in the last years of the Ottoman Empire, based on the testimony of survivors, scholars, and indeed our own representatives at the time, if we are to ensure that such horrors are not repeated." Bush is the only Vice President who has made such a pledge on the Armenian Genocide.
After assuming the presidency in January 1989, however, Pres. Bush ignored his commitment on the Armenian Genocide, and actively tried to persuade the U.S. Congress not to recognize it. Within months of his election, Bush wrote to Senators Bob Dole and George Mitchell, and Congressmen Tom Foley, Richard Michel, Richard Gephardt, Janet Mullins, and Richard Lehman, informing them of his opposition to the pending congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide.
On April 20, 1990, Pres. Bush issued his only "Presidential Message" on the occasion of "Armenian Remembrance Day," without, however, using the term "Armenian Genocide." He spoke about "…the terrible massacres suffered in 1915-1923 at the hands of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. The United States responded to the victims of the crime against humanity by leading international diplomatic and private relief efforts…. On this 75th anniversary of the massacres, I wish to join with Armenians and all peoples in observing April 24, 1990 as a day of remembrance for the more than a million Armenian people who were victims. I call upon all peoples to work to prevent future acts of inhumanity against mankind, and my comments of June 1988 represent the depth of my feeling for the Armenian people and the sufferings they have endured."
Over the years, analysts have offered different explanations as to why recent U.S. Presidents (except for Ronald Reagan) have not kept their promises to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Bobelian revealed that in 1987, a year before Vice President Bush made his promise to the Armenian-American community, the United States and Turkey had signed an extensive military and economic agreement, according to which the American government pledged to oppose any "inappropriate actions," such as the pending congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide.
During the official signing ceremony held at the State Department on March 16, 1987, Secretary of State George Shultz and Turkish Foreign Minister Vahit Halefogluexchanged letters extending through December 1990 the bilateral Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement that had been in effect since March 29, 1980. According to this agreement, the United States made a commitment to provide high levels of military and economic support for Turkey. More significantly, Washington agreed to "vigorously oppose inappropriate actions which would be harmful to healthy U.S.-Turkish relations, to U.S.-Turkish military cooperation or to our efforts to provide security assistance to Turkey based on the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces."
When the 1980 agreement expired in 1985, the Turkish government cleverly dragged out the negotiations for its extension, while escalating its demands from the United States. After a series of diplomatic exchanges that lasted two full years, the Turkish side succeeded in extracting more and more concessions from the U.S., including the commitment to block congressional resolutions on the Armenian Genocide.
Vice President Bush must have known in 1988, when he made his deceptive promise on the Armenian Genocide, that the United States government had already signed an agreement with Turkey in 1987, pledging to "vigorously oppose inappropriate actions" that would damage U.S.-Turkish relations.
After Pres. Reagan’s Proclamation of April 22, 1981 and the two House resolutions adopted in 1975 and 1984 acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish government had good reason to insist on language in the 1987 agreement to block any further acknowledgments of the Armenian Genocide.
The Turkish scheme worked! Breaking his pledge to the Armenian community, Pres. Bush successfully lobbied the Senate in 1990 to prevent the passage of a resolution on the Armenian Genocide.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
مجلس الأمن: الإعتداء على مسيحيي العراق مروعة
مجلس الأمن: الإعتداء على مسيحيي العراق مروعة: "مجلس الأمن: الإعتداء على مسيحيي العراق مروعة"
النمسا تستدعي السفير التركي بسبب تصريحاته
النمسا تستدعي السفير التركي بسبب تصريحاته: "النمسا تستدعي السفير التركي بسبب تصريحاته"
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
طريق إنضمام تركيا الى الاتحاد الاوروبي لا يزال طويلا
طريق إنضمام تركيا الى الاتحاد الاوروبي لا يزال طويلا: "طريق إنضمام تركيا الى الاتحاد الاوروبي لا يزال طويلا"
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Despite Major Shifts in Congress, Armenians Fared Well; Turks not so Well
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Nov. 2 elections were a referendum on Pres. Obama. He had disillusioned most Americans by his failed economic policies and disappointed Armenian-Americans by breaking his promise on the Genocide.
Despite record Democratic losses in the elections, Armenian-Americans succeeded in helping elect their congressional friends on both side of the aisle. Moreover, the newly-elected conservative Congress is expected to be less tolerant of Turkey’s flirtations with Iran and quarrels with Israel.
Indeed, Armenian-American voters made a big difference in several key races. More than 95% of the 152 House members from both parties endorsed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) were re-elected, including the two Armenian-Americanmembers of Congress, Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jackie Speier (D-CA). Meanwhile, several major opponents of the Armenian Genocide resolution were defeated, including Cong.Michael McMahon (Dem.-NY), a staunch supporter of Turkey. He lost to Michael Grimm, a Republican, after a concerted effort by the Armenian and Greek communities in New York.
Five of the six Senatorial candidates endorsed by the ANCA were victorious -- Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Cong. Mark Kirk (R-IL), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues who successfully ran for the Senate. Other important victories were scored by Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) and Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA), both strongly supported by the Armenian-American community.
Although many incumbents lost their seats, 95% of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and over 90% of cosponsors of the congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide were re-elected.
Overall, Armenian-Americans fared well in these elections, mostly because they voted on the basis of the individual record of each member of Congress rather than his or her party affiliation. Otherwise, more of their supporters would have lost and more of their opponents would have won.
How will these elections impact Armenian issues? We must remember that the term of the current members of Congress runs until January 2011, at which time those elected on Nov. 2 will take their seats. Whatever unfinished business Congress had before the election remains on its agenda until January when all pending nominations, resolutions and bills have to be reintroduced.
The first order of business for both Houses of the current Congress is passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution. In the Senate, this bill has yet to be taken up by the Foreign Relations Committee, while awaiting consideration by the full House, ever since its adoption last March by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. As the Democrats lost their majority in the House, this is Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (Dem.-CA) last chance to redeem herself by keeping her own promise on passing this resolution before she steps down as Speaker in January. If no action is taken by then, the Genocide resolution would have to be resubmitted to the House. Even though the next Speaker, Cong. John Boehner (Rep.-Ohio), has opposed the resolution in the past, he may well change his views given the Republicans’ utter displeasure with Turkey’s anti-western policies.
Also of interest to the Armenian-American community are the nominations of Matthew Bryzaas US Ambassador to Azerbaijan -- vacant since September 2009, and Francis Ricciardone as US Ambassador to Turkey -- vacant since July 2010.
Bryza’s nomination has been blocked by a double "hold" from Senators Barbara Boxer(Dem.- CA) and Robert Menendez (Dem.-N.J.). It is highly unlikely that they would lift their hold during "the lame duck" session. The wisest choice for Pres. Obama at this time would be to submit a new nominee to the Senate, thus speeding up the appointment of an Ambassador to Azerbaijan. However, if Pres. Obama insists on resubmitting Bryza’s name in January, he could be delaying the posting of a US Ambassador in Azerbaijan for many months.
Ricciardone, on the other hand, has a better chance of becoming Ambassador to Turkey, asSen. Sam Brownback (Rep.-Kansas), who had placed a hold on his nomination, has just been elected Governor of Kansas. If Sen. Brownback relinquishes his Senate seat before January, and no other Senator places a hold on Ricciardone, he could be confirmed before the new year. Otherwise, Pres. Obama could either re-submit his name or nominate a new candidate in January, when the newly elected Congress convenes for its first session. However, if another Senator places a hold on Ricciardone, Turkey would then be deprived of a US Ambassador for several more months.
Regardless of Ricciardone’s fate, it is anticipated that Turkey would have a rough sailing in the new Congress, because most of the recently-elected Republicans are not too pleased with Ankara’s Islamist regime and its pro-Iranian and anti-Israeli policies.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Friday, November 05, 2010
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Monday, November 01, 2010
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