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BOMBS AND PRAYERS IN OCCUPIED ST. MAMMAS CHURCH
Friday September 3, 2004, Gibrahayer – The Holy Church of Ayios Mammas
became the center of religion and politics during the course of last
week, as one week after it was bombed and burned by “Grey Wolves”
extremists in the Turkish occupied north, it welcomed thousands
of Greek Cypriot pilgrims who crossed to the north for the first
religious ceremony in thirty years.
During the celebrations, Turkish and Greek Cypriots gathered not far
from the Church to voice their desire for peace and reunification
in a peace rally. Earlier in the week, Turkish extremists had held
demonstrations against the opening of the Church saying that “they
did not want to hear the bells of the Church ever again”.
Greek Cypriots are still in search for a unified political line in
post-referendum and post-EU Cyprus where regional real politic and
European democratic norms clash against the reality of 40,000 Turkish
troops, a Turkish pseudo-state seeking recognition, 200,000 refugees
and more than 1,000 people missing in action since the Turkish invasion
of 1974.
MELKONIAN ALUMNI HIRE CALIFORNIA LAWYERS TO FIGHT SCHOOL’S CLOSURE
Wednesday September 1: Cyprus Mail- THE worldwide alumni of the
Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) have hired a group of California
lawyers to challenge the closure of the Nicosia-based secondary school,
they said yesterday.
Under their recently established umbrella body, the Melkonian Alumni
and Friends, a non-profit US foundation, the alumni have hired legal
counsel MacCarley & Rosen of Los Angeles to oppose the planned closure
of the 78-year old Armenian school in June 2005.
This alumni is working in parallel with the local Melkonian Alumni
Associations in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Canada, the US, Armenia,
Lebanon, Australia and elsewhere.
Similar legal actions are also expected to be filed in Cyprus, as
well as other jurisdictions, a statement issued yesterday said.
The loss making MEI, which is sitting on 40 acres of prime real
estate worth around £40 million in the capital’s commercial district,
has been slated to close next year by the New York based Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which administers 22 Armenian
schools worldwide.
The AGBU said last November that the school was not for sale but then
changed tack and announced the closure three months later.
Teachers at the Melkonian have said that last year the school’s
population was reduced from 260 to 210 after the AGBU unilaterally
decided to reduce scholarships to underprivileged children from the
Armenian Diaspora.
By claiming that standards are not up so scratch, staff say the AGBU
is trying to use the them as a scapegoat for their decision to close
the school in order to sell the land and that they are using devious
methods to reduce the student population of the school in order to
turn it into a non-viable school and ultimately to close it.
“The MEI has educated and nurtured more than three generations
of Armenian professionals and leaders and is a unique educational
institution in the Armenian Diaspora,” the alumni statement said
yesterday.
“It provides superior academic training with Western standards to
a diverse group of Armenian boys and girls from different countries
and social backgrounds.”
NO MEDALS FOR ARMENIAN OLYMPIC TEAM
Armenia This Week [email protected] – Armenia’s 18-person team won
no medals, as the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece concluded over the
weekend. Diaspora Armenians fared better winning at least one gold,
one silver and several bronze medals.
Armen Ghazaryan placed fourth in weightlifting, shy of a medal by only
about a pound of his own weight, and Norair Bakhtamyan also placed
fourth in shooting. Four wrestlers, two weightlifters and one boxer
from the Armenia team finished in the top ten of their respective
competitions. Armenia won one gold and one silver medal in 1996 and
one bronze in the 2000 Olympics.
Baku-born Karina Aznavourian won a team fencing gold for Russia,
her second in as many Olympics. Three Gyumri natives, Ara Abrahamian,
Artiom Kiureghian and Mkhitar Manukian, won silver and bronze medals
in wrestling for Sweden, Greece and Kazakhstan, respectively. Another
wrestler, Masis-born Armen Nazarian secured a bronze medal for
Bulgaria.
ARMENIAN AND CYPRIOT PLAYERS HAVING AN IMPRESSIVE RUN AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS
CHAMPIONSHIPS
LATEST RESULTS FROM THE US OPEN
Sargis Sargsian beat Alex Corretja 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1
David Nalbandian Dennis Ven Scheppingen 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri 7-6, 6-4, 6-2
Ex-world number 1 Junior Champion Marcos Baghdatis fought bravely in
the second round against world number 1 Roger Federer but lost 6-2,
6-7, 6-3, 6-1, after defeating in round one the 2004 French Open
quarter finalist Olivier Mutis 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.
POKHAN KHMPAKRAGANI
Dear friends,
I enclose herewith my latest copyrighted article entitled Dreaming
West & Moving East? that focuses on the European Union & Turkey as it
tackles the problems of accession. This three-page article has been
submitted to the Spectator magazine in London, and will also be posted
on the customary hyperlinks. Fyi, and as from mid-September 2004,
I shall have my own website too. dr harry bv hagopian, LL.D, KOG-KSL
In calm water, every ship has a good captain! (Swedish proverb)
Gibrahayer is posting Dr.Harry Hagopian’s conclusions, pokhan
khmpakragani ! You can read the complete article by clicking here
There are those who profess that Turkey’s membership to the EU would
put a stop to its rampant nationalism and curb the stranglehold of
the military establishment on democracy, human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Others also use the ‘religious card’ as an argument in
favour of accession. Turkey must be admitted to the EU, they say, to
prove that Europe is not a Christian club. From a more subjective
perspective, some Armenians also add that such a step would force
Turkey to remove its blockade of Armenia and that EU citizenship
would provide Armenian Turks with freedom of movement.
Notwithstanding those arguments, which could ostensibly be either right
or wrong, the trenchant fact remains that Turkey has not fulfilled
the criteria that would allow its admission into the EU club. I am
not yet convinced that a credible argument could be made today for
Turkey’s EU accession. Moreover, I reject the expedient religious
card since it is tantamount to stating that Israel must be admitted
into the Arab League to prove that it is not a Muslim club.
Four months shy of the cut-off date of December 2004, I recognise that
the political and socio-economic stakes are high, and therefore the
bars must correspondingly be high too. However, I do not live in a
political dreamland either, and I realise that the ultimate decision
for or against accession will be made in the uncompromisingly
introverted political corridors of power – not at the European
Parliament or in the intellectual corridors of a think tank.
Might I therefore suggest two litmus tests? The burden of proof
should rest on Turkey to prove unequivocally that it meets all
the Copenhagen criteria in order to ensure that its accession would
enhance rather than impede the EU. Turkey should also lift the fog of
untruth that surrounds its denial to the Armenian Genocide by assuming
responsibility for the aggregate crimes perpetrated against Armenian
Turks by its predecessor regime.
If this were to happen in a transparent and verifiable way, and
reciprocity establishes its relevance in Armenian-Turkish relations,
I re-iterate a promise I made to a Turkish journalist friend last
week that I would personally welcome Turkey into the EU. But Merhaba
is a sign of welcome that comes with trust and definition. It is not
a giveaway greeting ..! © hbv-H @ 28 August 2004
JUNIOR EUROVISION 2004
Cyprus is choosing its Junior team to represent us in Junior Eurovision 2004.
The contest which will decide our young music ambassadors, will take place on
Tuesday September 7, 2004 from CyBC.
Anna Loizou from Pyla and Rafael Georgiou (Somakian) will be singing “Dosde
ta kheria”.
The winners will be decided by an island-wide televote.
You can vote for Anna and Rafael by participating in the televote and calling
for number 7.
Hachoghoutiun !
NEWS IN BRIEF
– The Azerbaijani Football Federation has sent letters to the UEFA and FIFA,
protesting against holding a football championship in Nagorno Karabakh.
– A court in Azerbaijan sentenced six protesters – who had stormed a
conference of NATO officials in Baku – to terms ranging from three to five
years. They
were demonstrating against the presence of two Armenian officers in the
conference.
– The AGBU, responding to the request of the Karabakh government, has agreed
to sponsor a Chamber Orchestra in Karabakh.
– Hungarian defense ministry deputy state secretary Vanperne Balok Agnesh,
participated in the ceremonial opening of a monument honoring Hungarian war
prisoners who died in Armenia and Armenian soldiers killed in Hungary during
World
War II.
– AGBU leaders, members and friends worldwide will come together this October
in their ancestral homeland on the occasion of AGBU’s 83rd Biennial General
Assembly to review current programs, exchange ideas and discuss new
initiatives.
g i b r a h a y c a l e n d a r
* The Annual General Meeting of The Hamazkayin Cultural and Educational
Association “Oshakan” Cyprus Chapter will take place on Tuesday September 14,
2004
at 8:00 p.m. at A.Y.M.A.
* BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY AT AYMA – Saturday September 11, 2004 at 9:00 p.m.
Entrance 5:00 including two drinks. Music dancing and a lot of fun, just in
time
before the schools begin!
* Armenian Radio Hour on The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation can be heard via
real audio on . Broadcast times 17:00-18:00 local Cyprus time
(14:00-15:00 GMT) News bulletins at 17:15 local time on Sundays, Tuesdays,
Fridays. Armenian Cypriots can also tune in on the following radio frequencies
91.1 FM (Mount Olympus – for Nicosia listeners) 94.2 FM
(Paralimni/Protaras/Agia Napa) 92.4 FM (Larnaca) 96.5 FM (Paphos).
* Every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. (Cyprus time +2 GMT) on CyBC’s Trito, Puzant
Nadjarian presents the “History of the Blues” together with Robert Camassa.
The programme which is now in its second year can also be heard on Real Audio
from the Internet edition of CyBC on . A repeat programme can
also be heard seven hours later at 2:00 a.m. local time.
* AYMA announces that the weekly practices of the football team begin in the
second week of September. Contact the AYMA Sports Committee for more details.
* The Armenian Prelature announces that the next permit for the Armenian
Cemetery visitation at Ayios Dhometios on the Green line, is scheduled for
Sunday
5 September, 2004.
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