Emotions Run High on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Tempers flared at what started out as a normal think tank discussion but that quickly dissolved into a heated debate that reflected the intensity of emotions surrounding the question of Nagorno-Karabakh—a disputed territory within the borders of Azerbaijan that ethnic Armenians and Azeris claim as their own. Two high-level officials from the self-styled Nagorno-Karabakh government came to the U.S. Institute of Peace yesterday to argue their case for creating an independent republic out of the Armenian-occupied territory—a de facto status Nagorno-Karabakh has taken since a referendum held in 1991, although the territory is officially recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan by the rest of the world, including Armenia. Ashot Ghulian, the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament speaker, said the area meets the moral, historical and, most important, legal standards for declaring independence, including a democratically elected government and the imminent passage of a national constitution. “Nagorno-Karabakh’s legal existence is completely in conformance with international law,” Ghulian said, stressing that Nagorno-Karabakh’s movement for independence was established before the recognition of Azerbaijan in 1991. That sentiment was echoed by Georgi Petrosian, Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign minister, who argued that the problem was not an ethnic conflict but rather an issue of self-determination and rights stemming from before the fall of the Soviet Union. “Our main goal is to be able to conduct normal relations and live normal lives and we will defend that right with all possible means,” he told the audience, which included Armenian Ambassador Tatoul Markarian. However, those claims drew fierce condemnation from the many native Azeris in the crowd, who denounced the men’s justifications for independence and instead pointed to the international legitimacy granted to Azerbaijan and its right to keep its territorial integrity intact. They argued that moral and historical reasons are not sufficient for different ethnicities to seize land from recognized nations—a slippery slope that would create a dangerous precedent and lead to chaos around the world. They also cited the fact that Azerbaijan is willing to grant the ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh a high degree of autonomy and self-rule, but the people have refused this offer because their ultimate goal is to link Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia—which would result in the resumption of full-blown war. Although there was no formal declaration of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there was large-scale combat between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces in the late 1980s and early 1990s that left an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 dead. A Russian-brokered ceasefire signed in 1994 put a stop to the fighting, but by then ethnic Armenians had gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as swaths of Azeri territory outside Karabakh, creating a buffer zone connecting Karabakh with Armenia. In addition, more than 1 million people fled their homes. The Azeris have yet to return to areas of Azerbaijan now under ethnic Armenian control, and vice versa, the Armenians who fled Azerbaijan during the conflict have not returned there. This seemingly intractable circle of conflict led both sides of the audience attending the Nagorno-Karabakh debate to lob similar charges against one another, accusing the other side of “propaganda” and aggression, and insisting that each of their peoples who became refugees had the right of return. At one point, when an Armenian participant quoted Azeri President Ilham Aliyev as saying that his country should “suffocate” Armenia, he asked where the peace was in those words? The question drew an angry outburst from an Azeri member of the audience, who asked where the peace was in pictures that he brought depicting what he alleges are slain Azeris at the hands of Armenian troops. Speaking through a translator, Foreign Minister Petrosian then chided the moderators for not keeping the discussion civil; however, Daniel Serwer of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) rebutted the foreign minister with a warning that in the tradition of free speech, there will be things said that both sides might not agree with, but that everyone “must learn to listen to” nonetheless. Based on the heated exchanges at the USIP event, hopes look dim for any immediate resolution to the peace process, although at least there’s no shortage of opinions on the issue. In fact, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Hafiz Mir Jalal Pashayev was scheduled to speak later that day at a farewell address at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where no doubt the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh is sure to come up, although you’ll have to wait for the next Diplomatic Pouch to learn more about that. Georgi Petrosian, Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign minister (center), spoke at a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace on the prospects of peace for the disputed territory that both ethnic Armenians and Azeris claim as their own. See: Letter to the Editor in Response to this Article

‘Watchdogs’ Asleep on the Job Diplomats, journalists, government officials and other prominent Washingtonians turned out at the Lebanese ambassador’s residence to toast an iconic reporter who’s sounding the alarm on what she sees as the decline of her own profession. “Watchdogs of Democracy,” the newly released book by Helen Thomas, a staple of the Washington press corps for more than 60 years, blasts what it describes as the erosion of journalistic ethics and the press corps’ complacency toward governmental manipulation of the news. Thomas, who has covered nine U.S. presidents and is one of President Bush’s most ardent critics, charges that under the current administration, journalists have behaved more like lapdogs than watchdogs in the face of a White House that steers “message management into outright government propaganda.” The bleak tone of the book, however, did not deter the high spirits at the celebration and book signing, where the still-revered—at least in some circles—Thomas was swamped with praise and autograph requests. “Helen is the most powerful Lebanese woman in the United States,” said Rima Al-Sabah, wife of the Kuwaiti ambassador, of Thomas, whose family left Lebanon and settled in Detroit in the 19th century. Also speaking of Thomas’s Lebanese roots, Farid Abboud, the ambassador of Lebanon, noted that although her parents couldn’t read or write, Thomas and her eight siblings were all taught to do so. “She is a typical daughter of Lebanese immigrants who have succeeded in this country,” he said, adding that the bipartisan embassy hosts Lebanese-Americans of all political stripes, although, he quipped, “You might guess what Helen is.” Sam Donaldson also had some light-hearted banter for his colleague, saying that he managed to read the entire book while waiting in line for an autograph, and that Thomas “taught me everything I need to know about interviewing presidents: You treat them all like criminals.” On more serious note, Donaldson praised Thomas’s forthright and admirable coverage of nine different administrations, reflecting on her philosophy that the only way to question presidents is “sharply and directly and with respect.” He recalled one anecdote during the Carter administration when Thomas was planting a tree from Lebanon, and she was asked to shovel in some of the dirt—to which she responded, “I thought I heard presidents of the past, present and future say, ‘Shove her in!’” Thomas herself offered some brief but humble remarks, joking that after her book is released, she may have to invoke her Lebanese ancestry for asylum. But she concluded that no matter how her profession evolves, “our holy grail is the search for truth wherever it leads us, and I’m here to criticize the press and the presidents.” Helen Thomas, left, held a book signing for her new book, “Watchdogs of Democracy: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public” at the residence of the Ambassador of Lebanon and Mrs. Farid Abboud. (Front page) Helen Thomas, left, signs a copy of her new book for Rima Al-Sabah, wife of the Kuwaiti ambassador.

Serving Morocco’s Rural Communities The High Atlas Foundation and Moroccan Ambassador Aziz Mekouar hosted a reception at the ambassador’s residence to honor two people whose contributions have directly improved the livelihoods of hundreds of Moroccans. The purpose of the fundraiser was not only to benefit the High Atlas Foundation, a nonprofit organization that establishes development projects in rural communities of Morocco, but also to remember Kate Jeans-Gail, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. Jeans-Gail died in a car accident along with her mother in 2003, and the High Atlas Foundation is trying to raise $25,000 to build a fruit tree nursery in her name in the southern Moroccan village where she lived and worked. The project would be “a living tribute to her zest for life and love for the Moroccan people,” said Jason Ben-Meir, who serves on the Board of Directors of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), a nongovernmental organization that was created in 2000 by Peace Corps volunteers. The event also paid tribute to former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel, who continues to serve Morocco through his contributions to HAF’s programs, which include projects in tree planting, portable water, women’s cooperatives, irrigation, food production, education and health. Ambassador Mekouar, who was also recognized for his ongoing support of HAF, said he would be happy to host 10 of these receptions because “we’re talking about changing the lives of people and changing the country itself. Can you imagine $1,000 means 1,000 trees—it’s unbelievable.” Indeed, philanthropist and HAF contributor Charles Dahan pointed out that donating $1 to plant a single tree can double the income of poor Moroccans living in the highlands. One project, for instance, which planted 20,000 apple, cherry, plum, pear and walnut trees in 22 villages, has resulted in an average increase of 150 percent in household income for the villagers. Ben-Meir said these types of projects “will endure for generations” and the support of ambassadors Gabriel and Mekouar “has lead to tangible results for hundreds of Moroccan families in rural areas.” The High Atlas Foundation hosted a reception to pay tribute to former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel (shown speaking), as well as Kate Jeans-Gail (shown on the front page with her mother Victoria), a former Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco who died in a car accident with her mother in 2003.

Foreign Policy Experts Urge Congress To Keep International Affairs Budget Intact Hundreds of people turned out for a roundtable discussion at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that featured an impressive lineup of foreign policy all-stars as they touted the importance of U.S. global engagement. Participating in the event—which was hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and moderated by NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell—were former U.S. secretaries of state Gen. Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright as well as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, all of whom advocated for an increase in funding for the U.S. international affairs budget, particularly during this critical juncture of U.S. relations with the rest of the world. “The international affairs budget is a fundamental tool in our fight against global terrorism and in our effort to promote global stability,” argued Powell, who also serves as an honorary chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Advisory Board. “The diplomatic, economic and humanitarian efforts funded by this budget help ensure that the U.S. has the capabilities to meet these challenges.” Bolstering the budget has been the primary objective of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign (USGLC), a broad-based coalition of nearly 400 businesses and organizations that lobbies for a robust U.S. international affairs budget, which funds the country’s many humanitarian, economic and diplomatic programs around the world. That budget, however, currently faces a potential congressional cut of $2 billion from President Bush’s requested increase for fiscal 2007. The USGLC warns such a cut would “leave our diplomatic frontlines and other vital international programs dangerously underfunded. These cuts are particularly disturbing when the U.S. already spends 15 percent less today on international programs in real terms than at the height of the Cold War.” And despite Congress’ stated desire to tighten its financial belt, a slash in global spending is also unwarranted, the group contends, because the international affairs budget only constitutes around 1 percent of the total U.S. federal budget (around $35 billion). “The United States must adequately invest in the international affairs budget in order to meet the new and evolving global challenges of the 21st century,” Albright said. “These programs provide our country with the ability to respond to fragile situations around the world and help prevent future crises—they should not be shortchanged.” Adm. Giambastiani agreed with Albright’s assessment: “The Pentagon recognizes the need to invest more robustly in America’s international civilian capabilities,” he said. “These development and diplomatic efforts not only help prevent conflicts before they reach American shores, but also provide much needed civilian capabilities to support the Joint Warfighter and assist the military in carrying out its mission in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other operations around the world.” The roundtable discussion was the highlight of a two-day conference with the theme “Meeting the Global Challenges of the 21st Century,” hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and the Center for U.S. Global Engagement. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was one of the foreign policy experts participating in a roundtable discussion on the U.S. international affairs budget hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.

Showcasing Sisterly Love If your summer travels happen to take you through Union Station this month, be sure to get a glimpse of a free new exhibit featuring 83 original works of art by youth from around the world that runs through July 15. “The Sister Cities International Showcase of Young Artists” features original works of art by people ages 13 to 18 centered around the theme, “What does global citizenship look like?” The vibrant display, which illustrates how young people view the world and their role as members of a global society, coincides with the Sister Cities International 50th anniversary conference being held in Washington from July 13 to 15. The event will bring together 1,200 delegates from around the world to honor outstanding sister city programs, advocate for legislation that will expand the number of international exchanges, attend the National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy, and plan new ways to reach out in peace and understanding. Begun in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to strengthen partnerships between the United States and communities abroad, Sister Cities International now represents more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries. To coincide with the Sister Cities International 50th anniversary conference, Union Station is featuring an exhibit on global citizenship by young artists ages 13 to 18.

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