Vacation is over, the world is in mayhem, LA Times gets it right!
Well, it was a lovely couple months of relaxation and kef while it lasted. The peak of it all was a 4 day trip to Shushi where all seemed right in the world. I went last week with my interns and we stayed at Shushi Hotel where the staff felt like our family. We traveled to Amaras, climbed from Karin Dag to Shushi, met with the AYF in Stepanakert and passed through the Shouka. My interns absorbed it like it was their own. I felt at home. I didn't want to go back to Yerevan, but it was unavoidable.
So back in Yerevan, I officially have an office. I'll explain more later when the time is right, but I have reached a point in life that seemed impossible... I love my work. Like anything else, nothing is perfect. But the great aspects cast a huge shadow over the rest and I find myself NOT wanting to leave the office at the end of the day. This is a new thing for me.
But not all is well in this region of the world. Everyone in Armenia seems to be on the edge of their seats about the situation in Beirut. Many people are cancelling vacations there, many are waiting for family and friends to arrive from Beirut. I believe a group from Beirut made it out on a bus through Allepo just befor all the roads got bombed between the border of Lebanon and Syria.
This has stirred curiosity on how this will impact Armenia. Will this ignite a mass repatriation movement for Armenians living in Lebanon? Will this start WWIII and leave Armenia vulnerable to Turkish/Azeri aggression? Will Armenia step in and side with Lebanon and the Arab world against Isreal and the US (and Turkey)?
I noticed extra US military uniforms around the Marriott Hotel recently, as well as a sign for "WMD Crime Scene (Session)" or something like that. Perhaps just training, but with increased harsh language towards Armenia from the US, it raises concern. The firing of Ambassador Evans goes without saying. The Senates action to reject the nomination of his replacement was evidence of strong Armenian grassroots advocacy in the US. Good job guys. But this isn't the end, and who knows if the State Department will ever have the guts to say why they fired Evans. It does put their backs against the wall. But otherwise, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair Matt Bryza recently made comments that Armenia's government needs to follow Azerbaijan's example against corruption, which is a rediculous comment to make for a country that claims to be neutral in the NKR dispute (or once claimed). Armenia isn't perfect, but Azerbaijan? And of course, let's not forget the major slash in aid to Armenia down to $50 M. The MCC was not supposed to be granted as a replacement to aid to Armenia.
But my highlight of the week was the LA Times editorial on the firing of Evans. WOW what a great piece. Read the full text below:
From the Los Angeles Times
EDITORIAL
Speak no evil?
July 16, 2006
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU refer to Turkey's 1915-1923 genocide of Armenians, accurately, as "genocide"? In Turkey, you face a possible three-year jail term, even if it wasn't you using the term but a character in your novel. In the United States, you just lose your job as ambassador to Armenia.
The novelist is Elif Shafak, who learned last week she will go on trial for defamation of the Turkish Republic. The former ambassador is John M. Evans, who was recalled from Yerevan in May after referring to the "Armenian genocide" in a speech before a group of Armenian Americans in February 2005. As one State Department bigwig told an Armenian newspaper: "Ambassadors serve the president, and they are obliged to follow his policy. President Bush's policy as regards the mass killings of Armenians is precise."
Precisely what purpose this policy serves is clear: avoid using the most truthful word in the English language to describe an eight-decade-old atrocity for fear of offending a crucial NATO ally. As Bush's proposed replacement for Evans, Richard Hoagland, put it last month during his confirmation hearing, "Instead of getting stuck in the past and vocabulary, I would like to see what we can do to bring different sides together."
Vocabulary may not be the president's best subject — Bush himself has poked fun at his frequent malapropisms — but he's shown he knows the meaning of the word "genocide." Campaigning for the White House in 2000, Bush told Armenian American groups that "the 20th century was marred by wars of unimaginable brutality, mass murder and genocide" and that "history records that the Armenians were the first people of the last century to have endured these cruelties … If elected president, I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people."
It's one of the more blatant of Bush's broken campaign promises. Luckily, the Senate is showing signs of giving this rhetorical appeasement the rebuke it deserves. Half of the senators on the Foreign Relations Committee have demanded that the State Department give an official explanation for Evans' premature recall, and some have hinted that Hoagland's appointment could hang in the balance. They should block the nomination altogether until the ambassador-to-be dares to utter the g-word.
And the Bush administration should have the courage of its lack of conviction and explain forthrightly — not just to Armenian Americans but too all Americans who believe in calling evil by its proper name — why U.S. policy is being dictated by Ankara nationalists.
So back in Yerevan, I officially have an office. I'll explain more later when the time is right, but I have reached a point in life that seemed impossible... I love my work. Like anything else, nothing is perfect. But the great aspects cast a huge shadow over the rest and I find myself NOT wanting to leave the office at the end of the day. This is a new thing for me.
But not all is well in this region of the world. Everyone in Armenia seems to be on the edge of their seats about the situation in Beirut. Many people are cancelling vacations there, many are waiting for family and friends to arrive from Beirut. I believe a group from Beirut made it out on a bus through Allepo just befor all the roads got bombed between the border of Lebanon and Syria.
This has stirred curiosity on how this will impact Armenia. Will this ignite a mass repatriation movement for Armenians living in Lebanon? Will this start WWIII and leave Armenia vulnerable to Turkish/Azeri aggression? Will Armenia step in and side with Lebanon and the Arab world against Isreal and the US (and Turkey)?
I noticed extra US military uniforms around the Marriott Hotel recently, as well as a sign for "WMD Crime Scene (Session)" or something like that. Perhaps just training, but with increased harsh language towards Armenia from the US, it raises concern. The firing of Ambassador Evans goes without saying. The Senates action to reject the nomination of his replacement was evidence of strong Armenian grassroots advocacy in the US. Good job guys. But this isn't the end, and who knows if the State Department will ever have the guts to say why they fired Evans. It does put their backs against the wall. But otherwise, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair Matt Bryza recently made comments that Armenia's government needs to follow Azerbaijan's example against corruption, which is a rediculous comment to make for a country that claims to be neutral in the NKR dispute (or once claimed). Armenia isn't perfect, but Azerbaijan? And of course, let's not forget the major slash in aid to Armenia down to $50 M. The MCC was not supposed to be granted as a replacement to aid to Armenia.
But my highlight of the week was the LA Times editorial on the firing of Evans. WOW what a great piece. Read the full text below:
From the Los Angeles Times
EDITORIAL
Speak no evil?
July 16, 2006
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU refer to Turkey's 1915-1923 genocide of Armenians, accurately, as "genocide"? In Turkey, you face a possible three-year jail term, even if it wasn't you using the term but a character in your novel. In the United States, you just lose your job as ambassador to Armenia.
The novelist is Elif Shafak, who learned last week she will go on trial for defamation of the Turkish Republic. The former ambassador is John M. Evans, who was recalled from Yerevan in May after referring to the "Armenian genocide" in a speech before a group of Armenian Americans in February 2005. As one State Department bigwig told an Armenian newspaper: "Ambassadors serve the president, and they are obliged to follow his policy. President Bush's policy as regards the mass killings of Armenians is precise."
Precisely what purpose this policy serves is clear: avoid using the most truthful word in the English language to describe an eight-decade-old atrocity for fear of offending a crucial NATO ally. As Bush's proposed replacement for Evans, Richard Hoagland, put it last month during his confirmation hearing, "Instead of getting stuck in the past and vocabulary, I would like to see what we can do to bring different sides together."
Vocabulary may not be the president's best subject — Bush himself has poked fun at his frequent malapropisms — but he's shown he knows the meaning of the word "genocide." Campaigning for the White House in 2000, Bush told Armenian American groups that "the 20th century was marred by wars of unimaginable brutality, mass murder and genocide" and that "history records that the Armenians were the first people of the last century to have endured these cruelties … If elected president, I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people."
It's one of the more blatant of Bush's broken campaign promises. Luckily, the Senate is showing signs of giving this rhetorical appeasement the rebuke it deserves. Half of the senators on the Foreign Relations Committee have demanded that the State Department give an official explanation for Evans' premature recall, and some have hinted that Hoagland's appointment could hang in the balance. They should block the nomination altogether until the ambassador-to-be dares to utter the g-word.
And the Bush administration should have the courage of its lack of conviction and explain forthrightly — not just to Armenian Americans but too all Americans who believe in calling evil by its proper name — why U.S. policy is being dictated by Ankara nationalists.
posted by Arsineh at 11:01 PM
3 Comments:
Wow, what a slap of reality, Arsineh! Thanks for the article, I have forwarded it along to some friends.
Completely off topic, but can you briefly tell me what the situation is in Yerevan as far as DSL connections? Are there any cafes, offices that you could tell about? Thanks a bunch,
Hoagland has infact answered the questions posed to him. On Monday he claimed the US does not recognize the Armenian Genocide as such because it does not meet the criterea of Genocide. According to Hoagland it is an "alleged" Genocide because there was no intent by the Ottoman government to destroy the Armenian Nation. Forget about putting a hold on Hoagland, Block Hoaglands appointment indefinately. Such a man is not fit to serve as the representative of the United States, nor is he worthy of stepping foot on our Motherland.
I just know of The Club that has wireless and charge for it. I thought I got a signal at Jazzve, but I think that's just for them to place bets during the World Cup. It's worth a shot, though. Otherwise, hotels have it too, particularly Marriott and Congress where I saw a signal the other day at the pool. You need a username/password that they provide, but the signal is good.
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