Worldwide Faith News (press release)
Sept 16 2004
World Council of Churches – News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 [email protected]
For immediate release – 16/09/2004
PROMINENT WORLD CHRISTIAN LEADERS AND PEACE-MAKERS
AFFIRM THE POWER AND PROMISE OF PEACE
Broadcast quality video messages available, see below.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Orthodox
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, and the head of
the Evangelical Church in Germany, Bishop Wolfgang Huber are among
those supporting an International Day of Prayer for Peace called for
by the World Council of Churches (WCC) within its Decade to Overcome
Violence. The date set for observance is 21 September.
More than a dozen well-known Christian leaders and peace-makers
from all over the world are affirming churches’ and faith
communities’ work for peace and justice in a series of inspiring
two-minute video messages that will be made available at
on Monday 20 September (12:00
a.m. Geneva time).
This year, the WCC’s Decade to Overcome Violence is focusing on the
United States, under the theme “The power and promise of peace”. The
video messages thus also recognize and encourage the struggle of
US churches to witness to peace and justice, both domestically and
internationally.
Personalities joining the International Day of Prayer for Peace
through video messages are:
– Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Anglican
archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
– Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
– Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the council of the Evangelical Church
in Germany
– Aram I, catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Cilicia)
a and WCC Central Committee moderator
– Hanan Mikhail Ashwari, Sydney Peace Prize winner and advocate for
Palestinian rights
– Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of European
Churches
– Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference
of Churches
– Karen Hamilton, general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches
– Israel Batista, general secretary of the Latin American Council
of Churches
– Hildegard Goss Mayr, honorary president of the International
Fellowship of Reconciliation
– Ahn Jae Woong, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia
– Bernice Powell Jackson, WCC president from North America
– Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., president of the National Council of Churches
of Christ in the USA
Within the framework of its Decade to Overcome Violence, the WCC has
called on its member churches – which represent a membership estimated
at about 550 million Christians world-wide – to pray for peace on
21 September or on the Sundays preceding or following that day.
This WCC initiative links to the International Day of Peace declared
by the United Nations General Assembly, a world-wide effort intended
as a day of global cease-fire and non-violence, and as an opportunity
for education and raising public awareness.
The video messages in both webcast and broadcast quality
will be available as of Monday 20 (12:00 a.m. Geneva time) at
Liturgical resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace
are already available at the same website.
See also our press release of 31 August, 2004 at
> press corner > International Day of Prayer for
Peace
Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
[email protected]
Sign up for WCC press releases at

Cambridge Chronicle, MA
Sept 16 2004
Kessler is guest homilist at Holy Trinity
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Celebrate! Armenian Cultural Heritage at Holy Trinity Armenian Church,
145 Brattle St., will open with the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, executive
director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, as guest homilist
Sunday, Sept. 26, at 11:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. Kessler’s topic
will be “Stewardship: Giving Gifts of Time, Talent and Treasure.” A
reception will follow in the Charles and Nevart Talanian Cultural
Hall. Celebrate! Armenian Cultural Heritage is an annual series of
programs and concerts at Holy Trinity.
Kessler became the executive director of MCC in September 1988. She is
the eighth executive director to assume ecumenical leadership in the
council’s 100-plus-year history. She formerly served as the associate
director for strategy and action, a post she held for 13 years.
Her position entails direction and public presentation of the council’s
work in areas such as education and evangelism for Christian unity;
ecumenical worship; cooperation among local councils of churches;
various forums for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue; and social
mission/prophetic witness. In addition, the MCC executive serves as
a diplomatic liaison among religious leaders and denominations in
the effort to promote reconciliation among the churches.
The pastor and parish council of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church
invites the community to attend church services Sunday, Sept. 26,
to celebrate the divine liturgy, beginning at 10 a.m., which will
be followed at 11:30 a.m., by Kessler’s homily on the concept of
Christian stewardship.

A Message of peace on display
By Rosario Teixeira/ Special to the Independent
Chelmsford Independent, MA
Sept 16 2004
The 11th Peace of Art exhibit will be at the Kennedy School of
Government, Taubman Building, Cambridge, from Sept. 24 through 25 in
conjunction with the United Nations Association of Greater Boston
Film Festival.
This year, the event is subject to the theme “Enduring Hope: The
Tenacity of the Human Spirit.”
Chelmsford resident, artist Daniel Varoujan Hejinian is the
creator and founder of Peace of Art. He left Soviet Armenia in 1979
to pursue his artistic freedom in the United States.
He has been in Massachusetts ever since, and in the last 18
years he has resided in Chelmsford.
Peace of Art was previously exhibited at the Chelmsford Public
Library during the month of August. This is a traveling art exhibit
which addresses the universal human condition and it intends to
promote peace, independent of political associations and religious
dogma.
Cambridge is the city known for the place of residence of the
most Nobel Peace Prize winners, champions of peace and social
justice, therefore it was important for Peace of Art to be exhibited
here.
Currently the 10th Peace of Art exhibit is on display at the
Cambridge City Hall, located at 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge,
until Sept. 17.
The exhibit is available for viewing during regular City Hall
hours of operation.
Peace of Art exhibit represents the endurance of the human
spirit and a message of hope permeates through each piece in the
exhibit. In this collection, Varoujan addresses sensitive issues
around the globe, the specks of injustice, blotches of hunger and
homeless, weapons of mass destruction, sickness, despair, repressed
voices that have been silenced, blinded and deafen trying to survive.
It is through the creative process that the artist addresses issues
of his/her time and often the art work not only presents the problem
but points out toward a solution as well. The Peace of Art images
form a mosaic of humanity, reflections of ourselves and our society,
promoting dialogue and challenging the viewer to reach his/her own
conclusions. His paintings speak eloquently, as an inescapable mirror
where we see ourselves and our society.
“Artist Daniel Varoujan Hejinian uses the universal language of
art to communicate the universal language of the human spirit,” said
Pamela Frank, from the United Nations Association of Greater Boston.
In referring to “Peace of Life” she said that “this work speaks
to our changing world and our role as global citizens to value human
life” and it is in line with the theme of the film festival. “Peace
of Life” represents the preciousness of life. In this piece, a blind
man holds his eye ball in between his fingers attempting to see the
magical world. Often we are blinded by the events around the globe,
and we loose sight of the important things and how we can make a
difference.
“[…] it is important to make artwork accessible to as many
people as possible,” said Boston City Councilor John Tobin, chairman
of the Council’s Committee on Arts, Film, Humanities and Tourism.
“Mr. Hejinian’s series of sketches tackle some of the most important
issues of our time: war, fear, intolerance, hunger, violence, and
homelessness. The Peace of Art exhibit is especially important right
now in light of current events around the world.”
For more information about the artist visit
For information about Peace of Art, please
log onto , send e-mail to [email protected] or
call 508-580-3151.

Daily Star, Lebanon
Sept 17 2004
Iranian Christian leads lonely existence
‘I cannot find a wife and do not want a Muslim girl’
By Paul Cochrane
SHIRAZ, Iran: Michael Kolahdozan, 28, is one of two Catholics in
this southern Iranian city that is famous historically for its poets,
wine and proximity to the ancient Achaemenid palace of Persepolis.
The only other Catholic in town is Kolahdozan’s brother.
“He is not really practicing though, and he has a Muslim girlfriend,
so it’s just me and my faith,” he said.
“I go to an Anglican church here as there is no Catholic service.
There is in Esfahan and Tehran, but they are Armenian Catholic
churches, and I don’t speak Armenian,” he added.
“It is a big problem for me as I cannot find a wife and do not want
a Muslim girl,” he said. “The only women I could marry would be in
Tehran, but they are mainly foreigners – I want somebody who can
speak my language,” he added.
Kolahdozan takes his religion seriously, going to hospitals to pray
for the sick and helping out at orphanages.
“It is a good way to atone for one’s sins,” he said, fingering the
cross around his neck that was hidden under his shirt.
Due to a minority of Shiraz being Jewish, Kolahdozan said he identifies
with them and goes to the synagogue occasionally.
“It is interesting to witness how they worship, and see the roots of my
religion. We get on well, the Christians and the Jews here,” he added.
Kolahdozan’s parents now live in Australia, and his sister lives
in London.
“I grew up here and I wanted to stay as I don’t speak English well and
am an Iranian at heart,” he said. “My sister has become so British she
hardly speaks Farsi anymore – I wouldn’t like to loose my heritage.”
Kolahdozan’s father left him a sizeable amount of money, and after
finishing a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Shiraz,
he opened a bookshop with his brother.
“I don’t need to work, but I like books. It is easy work too, and
one reason I wouldn’t like to leave is because I would have to work
very hard in Europe or Australia. I would have a small apartment,
no servant … Life is much easier here even though I struggle
religiously,” he said.

Azeri, Armenian presidents hold long-lasting meeting in Astana
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 16 2004
Baku, September 15, AssA-Irada
On Wednesday, President Ilham Aliyev met with his Armenian counterpart
Robert Kocharian in Astana, Kazakhstan within the summit of the
CIS heads of state. The meeting was initiated by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
The two hour-long meeting was held with participation of the OSCE Minsk
Group (MG) co-chairs and proceeded behind the closed doors. The MG
co-chairs told journalists that the two countries’ presidents came
out with some ideas on the settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict.
Agreement on holding a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents was reached at the Yalta summit of the CIS countries held
in May.
The same day, President Aliyev met with CIS Executive Secretary
Vladimir Rushaylo.
Pointing to Azerbaijan’s active participation in the CIS top meetings,
Rushaylo updated President Aliyev on the issues to be discussed at
the meeting of the CIS council of foreign ministers and heads of
government as well as on preparations for the summit of the CIS heads
of state to open on Thursday.*

Cancellation of exercises in Baku to hurt NATO-Azerbaijan relations – US ambassador
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 16 2004
Washington has expressed its regret with Azerbaijan’s refusal to
allow Armenian officers to attend NATO exercises in Baku.
The US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish told journalists on
Wednesday that “this will somewhat negatively affect Azerbaijan’s
positions in the “Partnership for Peace” program”.
NATO administration decided to cancel the multi-national exercises
in Azerbaijan hours before they were due to start on September 14.
Shortly before the planned exercises, the opposition, public
organizations, the parliament of Azerbaijan voiced their protests
against the Armenian officers’ participation, reaffirming the fact
that Armenia occupies Azerbaijan’s territories.
Harnish mentioned that over the last year Azerbaijan had been making
preparations for the exercises and promised to resolve the problem
of Armenians’ participation in NATO exercises.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

North-South Corridor provides cheaper transit route:India
IRNA, Iran
Sept 16 2004
New Delhi, Sept 16, IRNA — The North-South Corridor Agreement
provides a faster and cheaper transit route for trade to Iran, Russian
Federation and beyond, which will make country`s exports competitive,
says a release of Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry Thursday.
The agreement was signed between India, Iran and Russian Federation
to facilitate movement of goods via the Caspian Sea and Astrakhan
to Russia and adjoining countries of the CIS region. In order to
enhance trade with CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region,
Indian government has undertaken many trade facilitation steps and
trade promotion measures. These include government lines of credit,
inter-banking relations, double taxation avoidance agreement, bilateral
investment protection agreement and strengthening of institutional
mechanisms like joint commission meetings, joint business councils
and trade missions.
Considering the potential that this region offers, the government had
launched focus on the CIS program in 2003 to enhance India`s trade
with this region, it said.
India`s exports to the CIS region, including Russia, have grown from
US$919 million in the year 2002-03 to US$1.020 billion in the year
2003-04, registering a growth of 11 percent.
Under the India Development Initiative, the Department of
Economic Affairs has issued new guidelines for government lines
of credit. Recipient countries have been put under four different
classifications. In the revised policy guidelines the State Bank of
India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank are also being used in
addition to EXIM Bank for channeling the LOCs to other governments.
To promote and facilitate trade, DTAA has already been signed with
Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Armenia and Belarus.
Negotiations are on for signing the same with Azerbaijan. Steps will
be taken for initiating negotiations with rest of the CIS countries,
including Moldova, Georgia and Tajikistan. The government has signed
BIPA with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan,
Russian Federation, Ukraine, Armenia and Belarus.
The government has allowed exports of Indian goods on consignment
basis under the debt repayment route to the Russian Federation. ECGC
has upgraded credit ratings of a number of countries in the CIS region
as well as liberalized its under writing policy to these countries
which will help in promoting exports to this region.
2160/2323/1416

Operations, Professionalism Wow Civilian Leaders
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
Defenselink.mil
Sept 16 2004
SOUTH CHINA SEA, Sept. 16, 2004 — The crew of USS John C. Stennis
treated civilian leaders from throughout the United States today to a
demonstration of what Rear Adm. Pat Walsh, commander of Carrier Group
7, called “raw power” able to project U.S. military force anywhere
in the world at a moment’s notice.
Dee Ruckman, a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas, left, and
Kim Labonte, co-owner and business manager for Labonte Motorsports,
prepare for an “e-ticket” ride to USS John C. Stennis aboard a C-2
Greyhound aircraft. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Moreen Ishikawa, USAF (Click
photo for screen-resolution image); high- resolution image available.
The civilian leaders — a “who’s who” of business owners, chief
executive officers, educators, local politicians and civic leaders —
visited the carrier Stennis, deployed about 200 miles off the coast
of Singapore, during a weeklong trip throughout the Pacific to observe
U.S. military operations firsthand.
The visit is part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a
program created in 1948 to introduce civilian “movers and shakers” with
little or no military exposure to the workings of the armed forces.
Today’s visit began with an hour-long flight from Paya Labar Air
Base, Singapore, to the carrier aboard C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard
delivery aircraft. Most exciting for most of the visitors was the
arrested landing, in which arresting wires brought the aircraft to
a screeching halt within less than the length of a football field
after reaching the flight deck.
Capt. Dave Buss, commanding officer of the Stennis, described the
landing, as well as the catapult off the carrier at the end of the
visit, as “the best e- ticket ride this side of Disney World.”
“I loved it!” exclaimed Bob Heidrick, vice chairman of the Spencer
Stuart executive recruiting firm in Chicago. “It’s the best airline
I’ve ever flown!” quipped Andy Camacho, chairman and CEO of Camacho
Inc. in Los Angeles.
Aboard the carrier, the group members toured the combat direction
center, where Cmdr. John “J.R.” Jones explained the carrier’s
self-defense capabilities.
They visited the carrier air traffic-control center, which controls
and manages the vessel’s air plan and manages its refueling tankers.
They climbed to the primary flight control area, where Cmdr. Dave
Swathwood, “air boss,” and his crew were directing launch-and-recovery
operations.
But a highlight was walking out on the flight deck, watching the
Nimitz-class carrier’s F-14 Tomcat, S-3 Viking and F-18E Super
Hornet aircraft catapult off the deck at about 150 miles per hour,
and arrested landings for other aircraft returning to the carrier.
Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts, said he was amazed by the
capabilities the carrier provides. “It’s so incredible that we’re 6,000
to 7,000 miles off the Pacific coast of the United States, and here’s
a full- fledged airfield operating in the South China Sea,” he said.
Other group members said they were particularly impressed by the
teamwork required to provide that capability. “I’m just speechless.
It’s amazing to see the talent out there,” said Chris Lien, president
of Birdsall Sand and Gravel, Inc., in Rapid City, S.D. “There’s a
choreography going on, and everybody works in such harmony together.”
“It’s just amazing — a choreographed ballet,” agreed Angela Williams,
CEO of Communication Consulting and Coaching based in Mount Pleasant,
S.C. “What I can’t get over is the coordination and expertise required
not only to catapult, but also to land.”
But amidst all the wowing over the high-tech aircraft and their
maneuvers, Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian American
Political Action Committee in Missoula, Mont., joined other members
of the group in saying he was most struck by the professionalism of
the servicemembers behind the high- powered operations.
“The technical capabilities are awesome,” he said. “But as impressive
as that all is, what really stands out to me are the men and women
who make it work.”
Buss told the civilian group that’s exactly the message he hoped they
would take away from their visit and share with their communities when
they return home. “We can buy equipment and technology and do flight
operations, but the most important thing here — and the reason I’ve
stayed in the Navy for so long — is the dedication of the phenomenal
men and women who make all this happen,” he said.
More than half his crew joined the Navy after the United States was
attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. “They wanted to contribute,”
Buss said. “They wanted to do something selfless, and I can’t think
of anything more selfless than what they’re doing out here.”
Irma Flores, chief financial officer for Hospital Klean of Texas,
Inc., said the visit gave her a deeper appreciation of the U.S.
military and the sacrifices servicemembers make every day. “These
people give up their lives and their families to protect the way of
life that so many of us take for granted,” she said. “It’s heartwarming
to see and makes me appreciate them so much more.”

Experts join talks of presidents at CIS summit (adds)
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 16, 2004 Thursday
ASTANA, September 16 — The second round of talks began at the CIS
summit that opened in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Thursday.
CIS delegations have joined the talks of presidents and prime
ministers.
The signing of joint documents and a wrap-up new conference are
planned after discussions.
The struggle against terrorism centres the summit’s agenda.
The CIS presidents will make a statement condemning “the terrorist
attacks of unprecedented cruelty and cynicism on civilian facilities”,
the Russian president’s aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass.
“The heads of state describe the terrorist attacks as criminal and not
unjustifiable regardless of their motives, wherever and by whoever
they are committed. The statement expresses the determination to
fight all forms of terrorism as the UN Charter warrants it,” he said.
“Several documents on which necessary intra-state procedures have
been fulfilled are proposed for signing by the CIS presidents and
CIS foreign ministers without discussion,” he said.
Prikhodko cited documents that change and amend the frame agreement
between the CIS Council of heads of state and the CIS Council of
Heads of Government, and provisions on the Economic Concil and the
Council of Foreign Ministers.
The presidents also will make an address “to peoples of the CIS state
members and the international community in connection with the 60th
anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War”.
An official of the Russian president’s administration told Itar-Tass
that several of the CIS states had put forward a collective
initiative of including in the agenda of the 59th session of the
UN General Assembly a point on announcing May 8-9 Days of Memory
and Reconciliation.
The presidents will be informed at the CIS summit about the progress
of the initiative.
The summit is to pass a decision on sending CIS observers to Ukraine’s
president elections and on declaring 2006 a year of memory of the
Chernobyl tragedy. The nuclear accident at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear
power plant occurred on April 26, 1986.
Besides, the CIS presidents are to decide on sending observers of the
Commonwealth of Independent States to elections to the Belarussian
National Assembly’s house of representatives and to a referendum on
President Alexander Lukashenko’s running for the third term. Belarus
has proposed the observer missions.
One of items on the summit’s agenda is election of a chairman and
deputy chairman the CIS Economic Court.
The status of the court is laid down by an accord signed by Russia,
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan in 1992. These states elect two judges each to the CIS
Economic Court based in the Belarussian capital Minsk.
Its judges are elected for ten years.
The chairman and deputy chairman of the Economic Court are elected
by the judges by a majority vote and approved by the CIS Council of
Heads of State for five years.
The main task of the Economic Court is to ensure universal use of
accords of CIS members.
In the opinion of experts, the Economic Court should become an
effective mechanism for promotion of free trade.

Russia, Armenia leaders meet in Astana
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 16, 2004 Thursday
ASTANA, September 16 — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan had a working meeting on Thursday. The
two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation.
They took part in the 38th CIS summit here on Thursday. Also on
Thursday, Putin had separate talks with Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.