ANCA News - Four Ways You Can Help Karabagh‏

---

On March 4th, Azeri forces attacked Armenian defense positions in Mardakert, in what has been described as the worst cease fire breach in 10 years. Karabagh families look for a sound international policy which defends their right to self-determination and ensures a democratic and peaceful way of life. Please take a moment to read the 4 ways you can help Karabagh. Photo credit: www.nkrusa.org

---

1) U.S. REPRESENTATIVES STRESS VIGILANCE AS THE KEY TO ENDING THE CYCLE OF GENOCIDE

Watch the YouTube clips from the Congressional Observance

WASHINGTON, DC – Members of Congress, speaking to anti-genocide activists from around the nation at a Capitol Hill program hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net), urged continued civic education and advocacy to bring about the types of U.S. action and international response needed to end the cycle of genocide.

The activists were gathered in Washington, DC for three-days of Congressional meetings as part of Capitol Hill Advocacy days held from March 12th to 14th. They were joined by local activists from the Greater Washington, DC area.

Nine House Members, among them 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), joined the citizen activists, many offering poignant remarks regarding the importance of vigilance in recognizing past genocides, even as the world works to stop the current genocide in Darfur and prevent future genocides. Read more. . .

---

2) ANCA WELCOMES U.S. VOTE AGAINST BIASED AZERBAIJANI U.N. RESOLUTION

WASHINGTON, DC - The United States, which serves along with the Russian Federation and France as Co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group charged with leading talks toward a Nagorno Karabagh 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 (ANCA).

"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 Karabagh - and, domestically, at distracting pre-presidential election public attention away from the growing popular discontent with President Aliyev's increasingly corrupt and undemocratic government." Read more. . .

---

3) 39 HOUSE MEMBERS URGE INCREASED AID TO ARMENIA; DEVELOPMENT AID TO KARABAGH

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)

WASHINGTON, DC – Thirty-nine House members cosigned a letter this week initiated by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) urging the leaders of the U.S. House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee to support provisions in the FY09 foreign aid bill that advance U.S. interests and American values in Armenia and the surrounding region, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“We want to thank Congressmen Knollenberg and Pallone and all those who joined with the Armenian Caucus in this initiative to promote a balanced and constructive path toward peace and development in the Caucasus region,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Armenian Americans look forward to working hard to help enact the foreign aid priorities outlined in this letter, including, notably, the bipartisan effort to put an end to the artificial diplomatic isolation that the Azerbaijani government has sought to impose upon Nagorno Karabagh by trying to block nearly all U.S. contacts and communication with the people and democratically elected leaders of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic.” Read more. . .

---

4) JOINT STATEMENT ON RECENT EVENTS IN ARMENIA

Read a joint statement by 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) regarding recent events in Armenia.

Four Ways You Can Help Karabagh‏

ANCA ACTION: Armenian Genocide Resolution Send a Free ANCA WebFax to your Rep. 1) House Members Stress Vigilance as Key to Ending Cycle of Genocide 2) ANCA Welcomes U.S. Vote Against Biased Azerbaijani U.N. Resolution 3) 39 House Members Urge Increased Aid to Armenia; Development Aid to Nagorno Karabagh 4) Joint Statement on Recent Events in Armenia 5) BlogWatch: HyeOctane.com highlights the dangerous Sudan-Turkey Alliance

Armenian News - ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT TO BE SWORN IN ON 9 APRIL

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT TO BE SWORN IN ON 9 APRIL
Mediamax
March 18 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 18 March: The National Assembly of Armenia will hold a
special session on 9 April to inaugurate President Serzh Sargsyan.

The decision to this effect was adopted by the Armenian parliament
by the proposal of Speaker Tigran Torosyan today.

The special session of parliament will be held at 1400 [0900 gmt]
on 9 April at the Spendiarov National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

The session will be attended by foreign guests, Tigran Torosyan said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PACE Monitoring Committee concerned about continuing arrests in Armenia

Date: 18 Mar 2008 - 15:42

Meeting in Paris on 18 March 2008, the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) expressed its deep concern about the arrest of more than one hundred people in Armenia and the conditions in which such arrests took place, following the events of 1 March during which eight people died and some two hundred persons were injured.

In the opinion of the committee, the arrest of large numbers of opposition leaders and of three Members of Parliament is inevitably perceived as a crack-down on the opposition by the authorities and will do nothing to ease the tensions in Armenia. The committee called on all sides to refrain from any action that would increase the tensions and to commit themselves to a genuine dialogue to resolve the current crisis.

The committee was informed by its envoy John Prescott of the main conclusions arising from his fact-finding mission to Yerevan, on 7 and 8 March 2008, and called on all sides to accept Mr Prescott's proposals aimed at resolving the current crisis, in particular:

* the recognition by all sidesof the authority of the Constitutional Court and its ruling on the outcome of the Presidential elections;

* the lifting of the state of emergency and the restoring of individual human rights and freedoms;
* the release of all jailed activists who have not committed violent crimes;
* the establishment of an independent inquiry into the circumstances that led to the events on 1 March 2008 and the monitoring of the on-going investigation process;

* the initiation of a dialogue between all political forces, in the following areas:
- reform of the electoral framework with a view to regaining public trust in the conduct and outcome of elections;
- reform of the political system with a view to providing a proper place for the opposition in the decision-making process and governance of the country;

- media reform, especially aimed at the creation of a truly independent public broadcaster.

The Monitoring Committee noted that the dialogue between all political forces could be initiated in the form of round tables under the aegis of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

The committee welcomed the fact that all political group leaders in the Assembly have requested that a debate under urgent procedure be held on the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia during the April part-session of the Assembly (14-18 April 2008).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PARLIAMENT LIMITS RIGHT TO PROTEST IN ARMENIA
by Natalia Leshchenko
Global Insight
March 18, 2008

The Armenian parliament has passed in two readings amendments to the
law on public rallies and demonstrations that allows local authorities
to ban public protests if they have "reliable information" that they
would threaten public order and security. The term for consideration
of applications for public rallies was also extended from three to
five days. The organisers of the rallies have the right to appeal
against their events being banned, and the law-makers also pledged
to send the amended legislation to international experts to scrutinise.

Significance:Armenian is currently under a state of emergency that
is supposed to last at least until 20 March. This was imposed after
the clashes between the police and the public contesting the official
results of the 19 February presidential election. While the authorities
appeared shaky and vulnerable during the post-election protests,
they resorted to a police clampdown on 1 March that left at least
eight people dead, and have regained their grip over the country. The
opposition is dispersed and defeated, with nearly 100 arrests, and
the presidential position, if tarnished by violence and democracy
limitations, is back in the hands of president-elect Serzh Sargsyan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UK AMBASSADOR PRESENTED HIS CREDENTIALS TO ROBERT KOCHARYAN
armradio.am
18.03.2008 15:56

The Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland Charles Lonsdale presented his credentials to RA President
Robert Kocharyan.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office and
expressed confidence that during his activity the newly appointed
Ambassador will contribute to the deepening of Armenian-British
relations. According to Robert Kocharyan, Armenia is interested in
the development of both bilateral relations with Great Britain and
expansion of cooperation in the framework of the process of our
country's European integration.

The President highly appreciated the contribution of the United
Kingdom to the reforms of the governance system and underlined the
active work of the British Council.

Speaking about economic processes, the President said although there
are British investments in Armenia, the unused opportunities are
still more and it is necessary to work in this direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[try to make sense of the following article]

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTRY PRAISES COUNTRIES ABSTAINING IN UN VOTE ON KARABAKH
Day.Az
March 17 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that 100 countries
demonstrated support for Azerbaijan'sterritorial integrity by
abstaining from a vote at the UN General Assembly on 14 March.

In an interview with Day.az website, Xazar Ibrahim said that those
who abstained did not give in to serious pressure by "some forces"
who were opposed to a draft resolution that called for Armenian
withdrawal fromAzerbaijan's occupied territories.

"As you know, not only Armenia but also some other forces had exerted
serious pressure on those countries [whichabstained] to make them vote
against this resolution. However, those countries demonstrated their
position - theirrecognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity -
by not attending the vote at all. In doing so, they createdconditions
for the approval of the resolution," Ibrahim was quoted as saying.

Seven countries, including the USA, Russia and France, voted against
the Azerbaijani-drafted resolution, which theycalled an "unbalanced"
document.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armenian Genocide Survivor Passes Away

106-year old Hayganoush Markarian, was one of last two Bay Area survivors

Walnut Creek, March 13 - One of only two remaining survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide living in the Bay Area, has passed away. Hayganoush Markarian died of natural causes earlier this week at the age of 106. The funeral will take place on Wednesday, March 19th, at 11 am, at St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco.

Last October, Hayganoush's story of survival was presented by Rep. Lynn Woolsey to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in a debate about a resolution officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Rep. Woolsey showed committee members Hayganoush's photograph and urged the committee to pass the resolution, which it did. The resolution now awaits a full House vote.

Markarian was born Hayganoush Azarian on January 24, 1902, in the city of Kharpert, in Eastern Turkey, where most Armenians lived before the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which the Ottoman Turkish government deported and massacred 1.5 million Armenians, half of the Armenian population living on its historic homeland.

Hayganoush lived with her parents, older brother, and four sisters. When the Turkish government began the Armenian Genocide, first through the conscription of Armenian men and boys into special army units, Hayganoush’s brother and father fled into hiding. Her brother, Karekin, dressed as a girl in order to safely cross dangerous areas. He made his way to Russia, then Sweden, and finally to the United States. Her father, Minas, who had been a successful businessman, hid among some of his Kurdish clients, moving from residence to residence to avoid detection. Meanwhile, Hayganoush's mother found a way to keep the rest of the family together in Kharpert during the mass deportations, avoiding massacre until the end of WWI, when they were reunited with Hayganoush's father. Unfortunately, Minas suffered an early death as the result of the difficult conditions he had faced hiding in water wells for long periods of time.

In 1923, Hayganoush's mother moved the family to Aleppo, Syria and married Markar Markarian in 1925. They remained in Aleppo, raising five children, until 1956 when the entire family moved to Lebanon. In the meantime, their eldest son, Armen, migrated to the United States to pursue an education, remaining there to teach. In 1969, the rest of the family moved from Lebanon to the United States to be reunited.

In both Syria and Lebanon, Hayganoush became an active member of the Armenian Relief Society, the oldest Armenian women's organization, established in 1910 in New York City, to provide humanitarian assistance to Armenians in need. She continued her membership until her death this week.

Hayganoush is survived by M/M Armen and Victoria Markarian, M/M Arsen and Alice Gregorian, M/M Zohrab and Elizabeth Markarian, M/M Sinan and Seta Yazejian, M/M Constantine and Nayiri Bouboussis and six grandchildren.

Armenian National Committee
San Francisco - Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 387-3433
Fax: (415) 751-0617
mail@ancsf.org
www.ancsf.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~