Speech #1030009437

Even though it was one of the more prosperous of the former Soviet republics. it is declining rapidly into the dark ages as Armenia tries to function on 20 percent of their normal fuel supplies. All factories are closed down. schools are closed until spring for lack of heat and to prevent the spread of disease. electricity is only on for a few hours a day. Bread is rationed at 250 grams a dayit was 500 grams during World War IIand the hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees who have been expelled from Azerbaijan and NagornoKarabakh are in danger of dying of exposure or starvation. The list of atrocities seems endless. from SerbIanlike ethnic cleansing to the possibility of opening the Medzamar nuclear powerplant before it is completely repaired. A letter to the editor of the New York Times describes the plight of Armenians in NagornoKarabakh: "the story of a minority group attempting to preserve its way of life. its language. its religion and culture from a death decreed from the central government in Baku.