Chelmsford church land sale could bring housing
By TOM SPOTH, Sun Staff
Lowell Sun, MA
25 Oct. 2004
CHELMSFORD — The cash-strapped St. Vartanantz Armenian Church has
sold eight acres of its 16.6-acre property to raise money for repairs
and hire a full-time priest, church officials said.
Billerica developer Fran McCarthy is planning a 32-unit
affordable-housing development on the St. Vartanantz land, according
to town officials.
Paul Ketchoyian, chairman of the church’s parish council, said the
land sold for $1.5 million, a figure that could increase depending on
the number of units approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Chapter
40B affordable-housing plans fall under the ZBA’s purview.
Ketchoyian said the land could have fetched a larger sum, but the
parish council wanted to choose a buyer that would develop the land
responsibly. (One bidder planned to build 108 condominiums, he said.)
“It boiled down to what we thought was good for the town and good
for the church,” Ketchoyian said. “Anything less (than $1.5 million)
would not solve the problem.”
The income will pay off a mortgage on the church building, and interest
earned will help with upkeep, Ketchoyian said. Money that had been used
for mortgage payments would then be freed up to pay for a full-time
priest, he said. St. Vartanantz currently uses a part-time priest
that visits the church only on Sundays.
McCarthy has not filed plans with the town yet, director of community
development Andrew Sheehan said. McCarthy is currently seeking approval
from MassHousing, a state money-lender for affordable projects.
Ketchoyian indicated that the main access to the property would be
off Walnut Street, and residents in the area have already called the
church with concerns about the proposal.
Ten triplexes and one duplex are planned for the site, Sheehan said.
According to Ketchoyian, the units would be restricted to buyers who
are at least 55 years old.
McCarthy did not return a phone call seeking comment.

PRESS RELEASE
“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Artak Harutyunyan
Tel: 3741 52 09 40
Fax: 3741 52 37 95
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
2004-10-25
On the threshold of the Telethon scheduled on November 25, Yerevan
schools continue their fundraising efforts. On October 22, one more
fundraising event took place in Yerevan. This time the students of
school N132 after Admiral Isakov raised funds to the benefit of the
North-South project. They handed over the money to the “Hayastan”
All-Armenian Fund’s officials during the ceremony organized in the
school.

PRESS RELEASE
Department of Armenian Studies, Haigazian University
Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: Ara Sanjian
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:
HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
invites to a lecture on
The History of the Armenians in the Orontes River Middle Valley
(in Armenian)
by
Hagop Cholakian
(Aleppo)
Friday, November 5, 2004 – 7:30 p.m.
Haigazian University Auditorium – Kantari, Beirut
N.B. Please accept this message as a personal invitation.
Hagop Cholakian is an educator, researcher and poet based in Aleppo,
Syria. His lecture at Haigazian University on the history of the
Armenian communities that have lived since the Middle Ages in the
north-western regions of the territory of modern Syria will be based on
parts of his doctoral dissertation, which he defended at the Institute
of Archeology and Ethnography at the Armenian National Academy of
Sciences in Yerevan in 2002.
Haigazian University is a liberal arts institution of higher learning,
established in Beirut in 1955. For more information about its activities
you are welcome to visit its web-site at <;. For additional information on the activities of its Department of Armenian Studies, contact Ara Sanjian at

Times of India, India
Oct 24 2004
Another elephant dies at Mysore Zoo
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2004 02:35:11 AM ]

MYSORE: Six weeks after the death of three animals in Mysore Zoo that
kicked up a storm, an eightyear-old female elephant was found dead on
Friday. The elephant, which was to have been India’s goodwill
ambassador to Armenia, is suspected to have been poisoned, much like
the other three.
The death of the elephant, Komala, comes as a shocker especially
since it had been provided round-the-clock security just to ward off
mischievous elements. Sources said the elephant refused food on
Thursday night. The next morning, she collapsed all of a sudden and
died. A post-mortem was conducted in the evening. Speaking to the
Sunday Times of India, Zoo executive director Manoj Kumar suspected
foul play. “It could have died due to the same reason as the other
two jumbos.” The hint is at poisoning.
Laboratory tests conducted on the elephants, Ganesha and Roopa, which
died in September, confirmed poisoning and the needle of suspicion
was pointed towards animal keepers. Came close on its heels was the
death of Lingam, an endangered lion-tailed macaque. All these three
deaths occurred within the space of a week and days after the
incumbent assumed office.
Sources expressed shock how Komala could have been poisoned despite
it being provided security, which indicates a telling lapse on the
part of those manning the cage. A complaint in this regard has been
lodged.
Following a request by the Central Zoo Authority to locate a female
elephant to partner a tusker in a zoo in the Armenian capital of
Yerevan, Mysore Zoo zeroed in on Komala that was born here. This
followed a direction from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who wanted
to gift a female elephant to Armenia as a goodwill gesture.
After a visit by officials of the CZA and Armenian embassy, Komala
was separated from her parents and accorded a special treatment. She
was to have left for Armenia by month-end. But that union and journey
were not to be.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA
Miami Herald, FL
Biloxi Sun Herald, MS
Aberdeen American News, SD
Bradenton Herald, FL
Oct 24 2004
YEREVAN, ARMENIA: THINGS TO SEE AND DO
– Visit the ”closed bazaar,” a football stadium-size indoor market
on West Mashtots Avenue, brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables
displayed like gleaming jewels.
– See the rare document museum, the Matenadaran, which houses an
extraordinary collection of ancient manuscripts, some dating to the
ninth century. An English tour guide — a paltry $2.50 above the
regular $4 admission fee — will heighten your experience by
explaining the relevance of what you’re seeing. Highlight: A huge
15th-century book relaying Armenia’s history. It was ripped in half
and smuggled out of the country by two peasant women, at great
personal peril, during the 1915 genocide. Both women, and both halves
of the book, survived.
– Make time for the museum dedicated to Sergey Parajanov, a master of
modern cinema and director of The Color of the Pomegranate. Through
collages, mixed media and paintings you can glimpse into his complex
mind. Alas, there are no film clips.
– Learn the difference between brandy and cognac at the Yerevan
Brandy Company, which offers free factory tours. Armenia is famous
for its brandy and this is the place to go if you want to witness how
spirits are distilled and aged. Located about five minutes by car
from the city center on Admiral Isakov Ave.
– Stroll through the Vernissage, a festive outdoor market that
operates each weekend near Republic Square. Here will you’ll find
accordions, old toasters, Russian nesting dolls, obscure car parts,
compasses, jewelry, and strolling musicians.
– Visit Tsitsernakaberd, the somber site of the Genocide Memorial,
and the Museum of the Armenian Genocide. Tens of thousands of
Armenians make a pilgrimage here each year on April 24, the national
day of commemoration and mourning. Otherwise, it is a fairly deserted
place — fitting for the solemn contemplation that it inspires.
It is located at 46 Kievan St. in the Tsitsenakaberd Park, northwest
of the city center.

Jordan Times
Sunday, October 24, 2004
A spat in the Old City
By Omar Karmi
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – On Oct. 10, Armenian Archbishop Nourhan Manougian,
second in the Armenian Church hierarchy here, led a procession from the
Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
to mark the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
>From somewhere among the onlookers, a young Yeshiva student suddenly stepped
forward and spat at the bishop. The robed clergyman slapped the man back.
The Jewish student grabbed a chain, with an ancient religious pendant, from
around the bishop’s neck, tore it off and broke it. By this time, the entire
Armenian procession had piled in, and the Yeshiva student escaped relatively
unscathed only after the intervention of the Israeli police.
If it hadn’t happened, you couldn’t have made it up. But this was just
another day in Jerusalem, and not too far out of the ordinary either,
judging by the Oct. 12 headline in the Israeli daily Haaretz, `Christians in
Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them.’
`This is not an unusual incident,’ an Armenian Church official told The
Jordan Times. `We all get it. Last week, a Greek Orthodox priest heard a tap
at his window. When he opened it, someone spat in his face.’
But the Armenians are particularly exposed to such incidents, said the
official, who preferred to remain nameless. Not because of their creed, but
for logistical reasons. `If the Greeks go to the Holy Sepulchre, it’s just
around the corner. It’s the same for the Latins. But the Armenian Quarter is
right next to the Jewish Quarter, and we have much further to go. Hence,
there is more opportunity for spitting.’
What’s with the spitting? The Yeshiva student in question in this incident,
Natan Zvi Rosenthal, said afterwards by way of explanation that he had
always been taught that Christianity was `idol worship.’ Rosenthal’s
explanation comes in various guises. George, a resident of the Armenian
Quarter, said he had once been told that wearing a cross was `a
provocation.’ `One [Jewish] neighbour told me that Christians had persecuted
Jews for 2,000 years, and that’s why some feel it is appropriate to act like
this.’
An Israeli police spokesman on Oct. 19 said this was the first such incident
that the police had dealt with in two-and-a-half years. He conceded,
however, that the incidents are not always brought to the police’s
attention.
Certainly, they are happening with enough frequency for some to question
whether it constitutes an anti-Christian phenomenon. Daniel Rossing, former
adviser to the Israeli religious affairs ministry on Christian affairs and
director of a Jerusalem centre for Christian-Jewish dialogue, told Haaretz
on Oct. 12 that there has been an increase in the number of such incidents
recently, `as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the
country.’
The incidents have made many Christian clergy wary and, according to sources
in the Franciscan Church, it has been unofficial policy for Franciscan
clergy to only wear civilian clothes in West Jerusalem for the past 10 years
to avoid any incidents. The Franciscans have also suffered from garbage
being thrown into the garden of their monastery on Mount Zion. There have
been other recent acts of vandalism. A week after the Armenian incident,
Stars of David were spray-painted on the entrance to the Monastery of the
Cross, not far from the Israeli parliament in West Jerusalem.
The Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral, located near the Israeli police
headquarters in the Russian Compound also in West Jerusalem, has suffered
similar vandalism.
The Armenian Church official also told of several incidents, two in which
the Armenian superior at the Holy Sepulchre Church, Archimandrite Samuel
Aghoyan, had been spat in the face by religious Jews in the Old City.
On Oct. 17, Rosenthal offered an apology to Archbishop Manougian, who in
turn said his religion compelled him to accept it. For the time being,
Rosenthal has been banned from Jerusalem’s Old City for 75 days, and,
according to the Israeli police spokesman, he could still face charges of
assault. The spokesman said he was not aware if there were any other charges
the student could be convicted of, but that a `smart lawyer’ could probably
find some.
Israeli politicians of the left and the right, meanwhile, have come out
strongly against the incident, and the Armenian Church official says he
wouldn’t be surprised if Rosenthal would receive a prison sentence.
`I don’t think the Israeli government, for a number of reasons, can appear
not to be able to protect the holy sites in Jerusalem. It doesn’t look good
for them in any future negotiations over Jerusalem, and it doesn’t look good
to their Christian supporters in the West.’
Sunday, October 24, 2004

The Star
Sunday October 24, 2004
Dutch request change of venue for World Cup qualifier
ANDORRA: Holland have requested to FIFA that their World Cup qualifier
against Andorra next month should be played outside of the tiny Principality
for security reasons.
The Dutch, in a letter sent to football’s world governing body and the
Andorran football federation, have asked for the match to be switched
because they claim the security of the players cannot be guaranteed.
On Monday, an Andorran federation spokesman had said the Nov 17 fixture
would be played in Andorra with 60,000 euros being spent on improving the
press box and flood lighting.
The Andorrans are in Group One along with Romania, the Czech Republic,
Holland, Finland, Macedonia and Armenia.
The Dutch previously played Andorra in March 2001 in a World Cup qualifier,
beating them 5-0 in Barcelona.
Andorra won their first ever match and secured their first points on
Wednesday last week with Macedonia playing the role of fall-guys in the 1-0
World Cup defeat.
The closest they had come before to any sort of success was in qualifying
for Euro 2000 when they were only just beaten 1-0 by France in a match
played in Barcelona. – AFP

Itar-Tass, Russia
Oct 24 2004
Armenian president meets with Armenian community in Tbilisi

TBILISI, October 24 (Itar-Tass) — Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan, currently in Georgia on an official visit, met with
representatives of the Armenian community in Tbilisi on Sunday.
The meeting was held behind closed doors. `Robert Kocharyan is
satisfied with results of the visit and the state of bilateral
relations,’ Van Baiburt, co-leader of the Armenian community in
Georgia and Georgian parliament member, said after the meeting.
`We discussed problems of the Armenian community in Georgia, which
Armenia can help to resolve, including the delivery of textbooks for
Armenian schools,’ he noted. Bilateral trade, economic and cultural
cooperation was discussed, as well.
Armenians make 5.6% of the Georgian population. According to the
population census of 2002, Georgia has 4.44 million population, 84%
of them Georgians, 6.5% Azerbaijanis and 1.5% Russians. Georgia has
Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani schools.

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Oct 24 2004
Guns Found at Concert Attended by Georgian, Armenian Presidents

Georgian Security Ministry officials found a sniper rifle and a
Kalashnikov assault rifle late on October 23 in the concert hall in
downtown Tbilisi, one hour prior to the show, which was later
attended by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his
visiting Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian.
Security Ministry officials say that the investigation in ongoing and
decline to comment who is the owner of the guns.

Sunday Business Post, Ireland
Oct 24 2004
Same old story for Poland as economic woes continue
24/10/04 00:00
By Constantin Gurdgiev
Recently, while boarding a Dublin flight in Venice, I found myself
behind a group of Poles at the non-EU passport counter in the
airport.
A yuppie couple was having a heated debate.
“We should be in the other line; we are in Europe now,” argued the
boyfriend, pointing to the counter for the EU citizens departing the
Schengen zone.
“This one is shorter,” was his girlfriend’s curt response.
Six months after the pomp on the Phoenix Park lawn, when eight
eastern European flags were surrendered to the line of Irish guards,
Poland still remains in no-man’s land – with one foot on each side of
the EU’s paper curtain.
Any traveller landing in Warsaw today would agree that the EU’s
‘Great Hope’ never grew out of themid-1990s.
Warsaw is still full of grey Soviet-style buildings, a few
haphazardly-built modern high rises and shabby stores selling cheap
goods. Compared to its eastern rival, Moscow, it appears to be more
of a provincial capital than a European one.
The majority of experts on eastern Europe agree. According to Nouvel
Observateur magazine, after a short period of rapid economic growth
in the first half of the 1990s, Polish society came to a grinding
halt by the end of the century.
Two heavy anchors continue to hold Poland in its “post-colonial”
slumber – a preoccupation with its nationhood at the crossroads
between Russia and Europe, and a lack of will to implement structural
reforms.
Many Poles still blame Russia for their current state. Yet, 15 years
after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, Estonia, the Czech Republic,
Slovenia and Lithuania have implemented significant economic reforms,
bringing them in line with the EU 15 in terms of productivity and
income.
Even Russia is booming, at an average 7.1 per cent growth per annum
over the last five years.
Meanwhile, Poland remains mired in nationalist politics and socialist
economics. Since 1990, its economy has grown at the annual rate of
2.6 per cent.
At the same time, budget deficits routinely reach 6 or 7 per cent of
GDP, while government debt grew to the current 51 per cent of GDP.
According to a ‘New Europe’ report that was published last month, it
will take 60 years for Poland to reach the EU15 average per capita
income.
Political instability remains a persistent problem – the latest
change of government, in May, was marred by a corruption scandal
involving the country’s prime minister.
Radical nationalist parties on both sides of the political spectrum
enjoy growing popularity, just as they did during the EU membership
referendum that was won with the help of a direct appeal from the
Vatican.
An unreformed court system – ranked on the same level as Burkina
Faso’s – means that commercial disputes are settled within 1,004 days
on average.
Not surprisingly, endemic corruption has meant that 32.7 per cent of
Polish firms are involved in bribery, compared to 29.2 per cent in
Russia and 22.7 per cent for the eastern European accession states.
In terms of business fears of organised crime, Poland fell from 74th
to 96th place worldwide this year, according to a report by the World
Economic Forum.
The main causes of economic stagnation in Poland are labour market
rigidity and lack of reforms. In the early 1990s, unemployment
reached 40 per cent, prompting the government to introduce drastic
policies to reduce labour force participation rates.
Incentives for early retirement, plus generous disability and
unemployment benefits, have led to a situation where the average
working wage buys the same standard of living as benefits to the
unemployed.
The resulting fiscal deficits have translated into rising taxation
and growing debt, while unemployment has returned, following an
initial drop, rising from 15 per cent in 1995 to 20 per cent last
year.
At the same time, while its competitors among the accession states
lowered their personal income tax (PIT), corporate taxes (CIT) and
Vat, Poland retained its high income tax structure of 1991, and
reduced Vat exemptions.
Compared with Slovakia’s 19 per cent flat rate of tax for all
categories of income, Poland has a maximum rate of 40 per cent on
PIT, 27 per cent on CIT (reduced to 19 per cent this year) and 22 per
cent on Vat.
The cost of the Polish welfare state is staggering: roughly 48 per
cent of the population employed in the private sector supports an
army of unemployed, retired and state employees. Moreover, large
numbers of young Poles are moving west in search of jobs.
Perverse incentives in the labour market, coupled with a halt to
privatisation reforms, have spelt disaster for foreign direct
investment. Over the last three years, investment in Poland has
shrunk by 5.5 per cent per annum – a decline matched only by Ukraine
and Macedonia.
At the same time, the pace of privatisation has slowed down, leaving
the state in control of over 25 per cent of the economy. This is the
highest degree of state interference amongst the accession states.
In recent years, Poland has lost out on such large-scale projects as
expansions by Peugeot, Hyundai and Toyota, which have gone instead to
the more investment-friendly Slovakia. Foreign investors are weary of
Poland’s unstable political climate, its low labour productivity and
its over-regulated markets.
Trade unions, with a penchant for militancy, protect high
minimum-wage laws and draconian restrictions on firing workers. Even
accounting for Poland’s EU membership, the country’s investment risk
is on par with Russia’s.
Not surprisingly, in terms of quality of business environment, Poland
falls below Russia and has the second lowest score of all accession
states, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
In terms of economic freedom, Poland ranks below even Armenia and
Albania as the 56th best economy in the world.
The most worrisome sign is that Poland’s reforms did not accelerate
in advance of the accession, or after it. The WEF has ranked Poland
as 60th in terms of competitiveness, below unstable and corrupt
states such as Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Uruguay and Panama.
Instead, the political will and the economic necessity to adopt the
required changes have been reduced by Poland’s entry into the EU.
Right now, there is a serious threat that generous EU funding flows
and CAP subsidies will insulate Polish domestic producers from the
pressures of international competition.
As a large economy operating within a growing EU, the country needs
radical domestic reforms, considerably more privatisation and a
rethink of its social welfare policy.
As an agrarian economy with more than 20 per cent of the population
employed in agriculture, Poland needs to move in the direction of New
Zealand, with pro-market reforms in this sector. But, given the
current political climate in Warsaw, none of this is likely to happen
any time soon.
Constantin Gurdgiev is a lecturer in economics at Trinity College
Dublin and a director of the Open Republic Institute, which describes
itself as Ireland’s only independent non-government policy
organisation.