Armenian News

Armenia To Finance Road Project Frozen By U.S.
By Emil Danielyan

The Armenian government has allocated almost $17 million to finance a
massive reconstruction of Armenia's battered rural roads following what
appears to be a politically motivated delay in U.S. funding which was
signalled by Washington last month.

The promised funding is part of $235.6 million in additional economic
assistance which the United States pledged to provide to Armenia in 2006
under its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program. Most of the sum
was to be spent on rebuilding and expanding the country's irrigation
networks. Another $67 million was set aside for capital repairs of about
1,000 kilometers of rural roads that have fallen into disrepair since
the Soviet collapse.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency
managing the global scheme, threatened last spring to freeze the
assistance because of the Armenian government's harsh post-election
crackdown on the opposition. Although MCA assistance to Yerevan has
continued since then, the corporation has pointedly delayed the
disbursement of the first major installment of the five-year aid package
earmarked for road construction. The tranche worth $7.5 million was due
to be released in May.

MCC's governing board reiterated after its last meeting on June 17 U.S.
concerns about the mass arrests of Armenian opposition supporters and
serious restrictions on freedom of assembly placed by the government. In
a statement, the board also stressed the need for an `independent
inquiry into the conduct of the [February 19 presidential] election and
post-election events.' `MCC's Board agreed that recent developments in
Armenia intended to address these concerns were encouraging and will
continue to monitor the situation in Armenia,' added the statement.

The board's next meeting is scheduled for September, meaning that MCA
funding for the road project will not be made available at least until
then.

Citing the delay, the Armenian government decided late last week to
allocate $16.8 million for the start of the project's implementation.
Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian told ministers that the money will lead
to the first `large-scale work' on roads connecting Armenian villages
and small towns. `We must organize the work as quickly as possible so
that we don't miss this year's [construction] season,' he said,
instructing Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsian to inform MCC about the
decision.

The issue is bound to be on the agenda of Foreign Minister Eduard
Nalbandian's first visit to Washington which began on Monday. Nalbandian
is scheduled to meet with senior MCC executives during the four-day
trip.

The Armenian government's extraordinary allocation to the U.S.-funded
infrastructure project was made possible by its better-than-expected tax
collection in the first half of this year. The government raised its
projected budgetary expenditures for 2008 by 13.5 billion drams ($44.4
million). Armenia's much-maligned customs service generated the bulk of
the gain.

The promised U.S. assistance is essential for the success of the
government's efforts to reduce rural poverty and narrow a growing income
gap between Yerevan and the rest of the country. Armenian and U.S.
officials have said in the past the infrastructure projects covered by
MCA would benefit 75 percent of the country's million-strong rural
population.

However, Transport and Communications Minister Grigor Sargsian cautioned
last month that the scale of those projects has been dramatically
reduced by the appreciation of the Armenian national currency and
increased prices of construction materials in recent years. `The 937
kilometers [of roadwork] envisaged by the Millennium Challenge Account
has shrunk to about 330 kilometers,' he said.

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Armenian Genocide Issue Should Not
Become a Political Football
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Much ink has been spilled since June 23, when Pres. Serzh Sargsyan spoke in
Moscow about Armenian-Turkish relations. Given the fact that his statement was
published in distorted form in various publications due to inaccurate or
partial translation, I would like to present my own English rendition of Mr.
Sargsyan's statement which was released by the President's press office in the
Armenian language: "The second issue that I wanted to talk about is
Armenian-Turkish relations. Our position on this issue is clear. There should not be closed
borders between neighboring states in the 21st century. Regional cooperation
could be the best way of establishing stability. The Turkish side is suggesting
the formation of a commission to study the historical evidence. We are not
against the creation of such a commission, but only when the border is opened
between our countries. Otherwise, the commission could become the means of
abusing and prolonging this issue for years. In the near future, I intend to
undertake new steps to boost Armenian-Turkish relations. Most probably, I will
invite Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to watch together the soccer match
between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey."

There was an immediate burst of criticism to Pres. Sargsyan's statement, both
within and outside Armenia. His conditional acceptance of the Turkish
suggestion to form a joint commission to study the Armenian Genocide was viewed by
his domestic political opponents as questioning the facts of the Genocide. The
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a junior partner in the coalition
government, also expressed serious concern. The ARF Bureau, the party's supreme
body, issued the following statement: "The fact of the Armenian Genocide isnot
a subject of discussion, and no high ranking official representing Armenia may
have a different approach." The Armenian Democratic League and the Social
Democrat Hunchakian Party likewise criticized the President's announcement.
However, Pres. Sargsyan's statement was enthusiastically received by U.S. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, his wife, Zeyno Baran, a
Turkish-American working at the Hudson Institute, the Turkish media, and the spokesman for
the Foreign Ministry of Turkey.

To soften the mounting criticism of Pres. Sargsyan's statement by various
Armenian circles, his Press Secretary, Samvel Farmanyan, issued a clarification:
"We are not against any study of even obvious facts and widely accepted
realities. Agreeing to a study does not mean casting doubt on the veracity of facts.
However, the creation of such a commission would be logical only after the
establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the border betweenour
countries. Otherwise, it could become a tool for dragging out and exploiting
the existing problems." In a jab at the main opposition alliance, the Popular
Movement led by former Pres. Levon Ter-Petrossian, Farmanyan stated: "It is
strange that the genocide issue is being exploited by individuals who did
everything in the past to condemn to oblivion that tragic page of our history. The
approach of getting partisan political dividends from this issue is
unacceptable."

Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan also issued a statement
reconfirming that Armenia will continue to seek international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, despite its readiness to accept the formation of an
Armenian-Turkish commission. "The genocide issue remains on our agenda," the Armenian
Foreign Minister said. The ARF subsequently announced that it has received "the
necessary explanation and clarification" from Pres. Sargsyan that the would-be
commission should not determine whether or not a genocide occurred, but simply
research various details of the Armenian Genocide.

Most Armenians are concerned that Pres. Sargsyan is reacting positively to a
proposal by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2005 to form a
commission of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the facts of the Armenian
Genocide. At that time, Pres. Robert Kocharian responded to Erdogan's proposal
by suggesting that all outstanding issues between Yerevan and Ankara be
reviewed by an inter-governmental commission. He also urged Turkey to establish
normal diplomatic relations with Armenia, including the reopening of the border.
Just when tempers on the sensitive issue of Genocide study seemed to be
cooling off, an op-ed column bearing Pres. Sargsyan's signature was published in
the July 9 issue of the Wall Street Journal Europe, titled: "We are ready to
talk to Turkey. The Wall Street Journal, the mouthpiece of neo-cons in the Bush
Administration, has never been a supporter of Armenia, and anything it
publishes is suspect of being contrary to Armenian interests! Pres. Sargsyan's column,
starting with its headline, was defensive and appeared overly accommodating
to Turkey. It raised once again the issue of the joint commission "to
comprehensively discuss all of the complex issues affecting Armenia and Turkey,"
However, it clearly stated that the acceptance of such a commission is predicated on
the establishment of "normal political relations," including the opening of
the border, which would enable discussion of "even the most contentious
historical issues." Interestingly, this was Mr. Sargsyan's second op-ed column in
the Wall Street Journal in the last two years. As Defense Minister, he wrote a
commentary in the Journal's December 22, 2006 issue, titled: "In Spite of
Genocide=80¦."

In his most recent article, Pres. Sargsyan extended an invitation to Pres.
Gul to come to Yerevan on September 6 "to enjoy" together the first-ever match
between the national soccer teams of Armenia and Turkey. Pres. Sargsyan
described the upcoming match as "a new symbolic start in our relations." Inviting the
President of Turkey for an unprecedented visit to Armenia opened the door for
a new round of controversy, at home and abroad. Two prominent ARF leaders
announced last week that their party, despite being part of the governing
coalition, would organize "a protest if Gul arrives in Yerevan in September."
The most unexpected condemnation of Pres. Sargsyan for inviting the Turkish
President to Yerevan came from former President Kocharian who shocked everyone
by publicly criticizing for the first time his own protégé and successor.
Pres. Kocharian said that if he were in charge now, "Turkey's president would
definitely not be invited to watch football in Yerevan."

Despite Pres. Sargsyan's several pronouncements inviting Pres. Gul to Yerevan
to watch the Sept. 6 soccer match, the Turkish President has not yet
responded, except for saying that he is "evaluating the invitation." Nevertheless,
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza has urged Mr. Gul to goto
Yerevan, describing the invitation as an opportunity to achieve "unbelievable
progress" in Armenian-Turkish relations.

Those who wonder why a joint study of the Armenian Genocide generates such
controversy among Armenians, the answer is that the Genocide is a historical
fact recognized by more than 20 countries, the European Parliament, a United
Nations human rights panel, scores of Genocide and Holocaust scholars, Nobel Prize
winners, and others. The establishment of such a commission is viewed by
Armenians as a ploy by Turkey to prolong the denial of the Genocide and discourage
others from recognizing it, while the commission members are engaged in
endless debates and discussions. The mere agreement by Armenia to form such a
commission raises questions about the facts of the Genocide, sends the false signal
that Armenians themselves are not sure if a genocide actually occurred, and
undermines the credibility of all those who have officially recognized it
before such a study. Finally, how would Turkish historians be able to express their
honest opinions on the Armenian Genocide, knowing full well that the mere
mention of the Genocide is a crime under Turkish law?

Given all the complexities and sensitivities of the Genocide issue, why would
Pres. Sargsyan agree to form such a joint commission? The short answer is
that ever since the February 19 presidential election and the subsequent unrest,
Pres. Sargsyan has been subjected to pressure by Western countries to make
concessions in key foreign and domestic issues, such as the Artsakh (Karabagh)
conflict, relations with Turkey, freedom of expression, corruption, and the
release of prisoners jailed after the March 1 clashes. Pres. Sargsyan may have
possibly thought that by responding positively to some of these Western
"suggestions," he would succeed in gaining the backing of the United States and Europe
to counter his domestic opposition. The problem is that due to his
government's relative inexperience, particularly in the area of foreign policy, Pres.
Sargsyan's statements have antagonized his supporters at home and abroad, thereby
increasing the ranks of his opponents, instead of reducing them.

My prediction is that the planned joint commission will fail to materialize
due to the virtual certainty that Turkey would reject Pres. Sargsyan's
pre-condition of opening the border. Furthermore, Turkey has set its own conditions
for opening the border with Armenia -- the withdrawal of Armenian forces from
Artsakh, recognizing the territorial integrity of Turkey, and ending Armenia's
efforts for Genocide recognition. Even if the two sides manage to overcome
these major hurdles, there would be endless disputes on the formation of the joint
commission, the selection of participants, scope of study, timeline, budget,
access to archives, and even the shape of the table to sit around. Of course,
whichever side is better at spinning these disputes would win the public
relations war and blame the other side for the commission's failure.

Regarding the invitation to Pres. Gul to come to Yerevan for the soccer match
on Sept. 6, there is a good chance that Turkey may send a lower ranking
official instead, in view of the fact that Turkish leaders are facing serious
troubles on the home front. Armenia is not a priority for them at this moment. With
the arrest of several former generals accused of plotting to overthrow
Erdogan's government, and the possibility of Turkey's Constitutional Court to ban
the ruling party and its leadership from holding public office, no one can
predict whether Pres. Gul would be watching a soccer match in Yerevan or the four
walls of his prison cell in Ankara!
Nevertheless, should Pres. Gul or another Turkish leader show up in Yerevan
on Sept. 6, Armenian officials should follow standard protocol for visiting
dignitaries and take the Turkish visitor to the Armenian Genocide Monument to lay
a wreath in memory of the 1.5 million Armenian victims. When former Pres.
Levon Ter-Petrossian went to Ankara on April 21, 1993, he visited the Ataturk
Mausoleum, as protocol required.

It is unfortunate that the highly emotional and sensitive issue of the
Armenian Genocide has been exploited as a political football by all sides. No one
has the right to strike a political bargain over the terms and conditions of
recognizing such a heinous crime. The core issue of the Armenian Genocide should
not be an object of manipulation by Turks or Armenians or anyone else!

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The Straits Times (Singapore)
July 13, 2008 Sunday
Preserving our heritage

These national monuments might benefit from the new National Monuments Fund, said

Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society.


TIME TO UPGRADE?

Al-Abrar Mosque
Location: 192, Telok Ayer Street (gazetted on Nov 29, 1974)
Significance: Built between 1850 and 1855 as an Indian-Muslim
mosque. This building is shown in a 1856 painting by Percy Carpenter
titled 'Telok Ayer Street as seen from Mount Wallich'. Major
renovations were made to the original architecture between 1986 and
1989.

Said Dr Tan: 'This mosque is fairly old and has not undergone any
major renovations recently.'

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SHAKEN BY MRT WORKS?

Hajjah Fatimah Mosque
Location: 4001, Beach Road (gazetted on July 6, 1973)
Significance: Commissioned by a female philanthropist, Hajjah Fatimah,
in 1845. Aside from the steeple-like minaret tower, the mosque has
European Doric pilasters and a Moorish verandah.

Said Dr Tan: 'It would be good...to ensure that with the Circle Line
construction near it, the structural integrity of the building is in
place and the steeple will remain standing.'


WEATHER-WORN?

Armenian Church of St Gregory the Illuminator
Location: 60, Hill Street (gazetted on July 6, 1973)
Significance: Built between 1835 and 1836, it is the oldest Christian
church here and was built by the early Armenian migrants - a small,
pious and wealthy community. Named after a 4th-century monk, the
church is sometimes used for Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox
services.

Said Dr Tan: 'With such an old building like this, you always want to
be careful. The materials used in the past have been subject to
weathering and might not hold up as well. '

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