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09/16/2004
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1) His Holiness Aram I Meets with Lebanese President
2) Aliyev, Kocharian Vow to Keep up Karabagh Talks
3) NATO Delegation Visits Genocide Memorial
4) Armenian-Americans Join San Francisco’s ‘Sudan: Day of Conscience’
5) Two New ARS Soseh Kindergartens in Artsakh
1) His Holiness Aram I Meets with Lebanese President
BAABDAAccompanied by the chairman of Central Executive Council Andre
Tabourian,
His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia met with Lebanese
President Emil Lahoud on September 15, at the presidential palace in the city
of Baabda.
His Holiness congratulated Lahoud on the recent extension of his presidential
term and added that it is his desire to see the government continue its work
for peace, regional stability, and economic development.
Catholicos Aram I moved on to state that the president must take the lead in
unifying the various ethnic and religious communities of Lebanon, and
strengthening the bond between the government and the country’s citizenry. In
response to the controversy surrounding the proportional decline of ethnic
Armenian deputies in parliament, His Holiness noted, “It is our demand to see
the injustice committed against the Armenian community reversed and
corrected.”
In addition, the Catholicos spoke about his recent trip to South Korea, where
he met with President Roh Moo Hyun.
After commending the Catholicos for his contributions not only to Lebanon,
but
also the international community in general, President Lahoud stressed that
cooperation amongst the communities of Lebanon is of the utmost importance to
his government and assured His Holiness that the Armenian community will
receive proper representation in the country’s legislature.
2) Aliyev, Kocharian Vow to Keep up Karabagh Talks
ASTANA (AFP)–The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday promised to
continue dialogue on the bitter stand-off between their countries over
Mountainous Karabagh. Presidents Robert Kocharian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan held more than three hours of late-night talks in the Kazakh
capital, mediated by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, but gave few clues as
to what had passed between them.
“We need time–the president of Azerbaijan knows our position more
concretely–the process is continuing constructively,” Kocharian said at a
joint news conference with Aliyev.
“Further development can resolve this question; we discussed various
questions
on the path to a resolution,” Aliyev said.
Aliyev had earlier stressed the importance of Thursday’s talks over the
Mountainous Karabagh conflict, which saw the two neighbors fight a war in the
early 1990s and remains unresolved. Aliyev has faced calls at home to take a
bolder stand on Karabagh and the thousands of Azeris who have fled the
disputed
area.
International mediators have urged face-to-face meetings between the two
sides, but with the transition of power in Azerbaijan from Aliyev’s father
Heydar to Ilham, talks have faltered.
The two leaders on Wednesday held two-way talks before joining Putin for more
discussions.
“I am happy to see that you have not lost your optimism. . . and are
continuing dialogue at the highest level,” Putin said as the talks began in
Astana, on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of Commonwealth of
Independent
States (CIS) member countries.
“Hopes are very high, despite the complexity of the problem,” Putin said,
adding that “whatever the result, a meeting of three leaders is always a step
forwards.”
Aliyev thanked Russia for taking part in the summit talks. “Our neighbor
Russia, co-president of the Minsk Group, plays a key part in the settlement,”
he said.
The Minsk Group, comprising France, Russia, and the United States, has been
mediating between the two states for the past decade.
3) NATO Delegation Visits Genocide Memorial
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–A NATO delegation visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial on
Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide of 1915.
Though the visit was not on their official agenda, National Assembly National
Security and Internal Affairs Committee chairman Mher Shahgeldian indicated
that the delegation members requested it. “We spoke about the 1915 Genocide
during our meetings in Yerevan, and the delegation came up with the idea to
visit the Memorial,” he said.
4) Armenian-Americans Join San Francisco’s ‘Sudan: Day of Conscience’
SAN FRANCISCO–Armenian-American community members joined other concerned
citizens at the San Francisco Civic Center to raise public awareness about
continuing massacres in Sudan. The event, “Sudan: Day of Conscience,” was
organized by the Save Darfur Coalition in tandem with several other
organizations, including the Bay Area Armenian National Committee, the
Interfaith Council, Human Rights Watch, the Jewish Community Relations, and
the
United Muslims of America. Reverend Father Avedis Torossian, pastor of St.
Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church, and Reverend Father Sarkis Petoyan, pastor
of St. John Armenian Apostolic Church, were also present to express their
solidarity.
In light of the escalating violence and the looming threat of genocide in
Sudan, representatives spoke about the desperate need to unite and take action
on regional, state, nation, and global levels. Referring to the recent past,
they illustrated the deadly consequences of international indifference to
gross
human rights violations. It was only ten years ago that the genocide in Rwanda
took the lives of 800,000 victims as the world stood by idly, despite the many
warning signs of the atrocities.
In Sudan, government-backed Arab militias, the Janjaweed, have been engaging
in a campaign to displace and wipe out entire communities of African tribal
farmers. Witnesses report that entire villages have been razed, women and
girls
systematically raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water
supplies specifically targeted and destroyed.
There are also accounts of government aerial bombardments of explosives,
along
with barrels of nails, car chassis, and old appliances which are hurled from
planes in order to crush people and property. Over fifty thousand have died
and
over a million have been driven from their homes. Only in the past few weeks
have humanitarian agencies had limited access to a portion of the affected
region.
Representing the ANC, Haig Baghdassarian addressed the several hundred people
gathered; he traced the bloody history of the 20th century, beginning with the
Armenian genocide and the genocides that followed as a result of international
reluctance to take action.
“When will we learn that we cannot tolerate this to happen time and time
again? Perhaps not until, we as Americans, can tell our Turkish allies, that
although we may be friends, we will not allow them to deny history and escape
with impunity for the murder of a nation–and perhaps, not until we as
Americans can come to terms with our own bloody past–and the destruction of
the indigenous peoples of America.”
“But these noble goals may take years or even decades to achieve, and we
cannot stand by and watch yet another genocide occur, whether it’s in central
Europe or in the heart of Africa, or on the very periphery of human
civilization,” said Bagdassarian.
The event demonstrated how a common, tragic event in the histories of the
Armenian, Jewish, Cambodian, and Rwandan people can unite them in trying to
prevent genocide from becoming a dark chapter in the lives and history of
another people.
5) Two New ARS Soseh Kindergartens in Artsakh
WATERTOWN–The ARS Central Executive announced the opening of two new “Soseh”
Kindergartens in the Shoushi and Moushatagh village (district of Kashatagh),
bringing the total number of the organization’s Artsakh kindergartens to 11.
With a staff of 10, the Shoushi Kindergarten will provide 50 children an
elementary education and devoted care, while the school in Kashatagh, with a
staff of six, will be attended by 25 youngsters.
The ARS founded its first kindergarten in Stepanakert, in 1997, offering the
children of Artsakh basic care and elementary education in Armenian culture.
This worthy endeavor has continued for the last 7 years, providing not only to
more than 520 Artsakh children, but also gainfully employing over 100 adults.
The “Soseh” Kindergartens of the ARS gives war widows and young mothers the
opportunity to seek employment outside the house and improve the family income
while their children are being taken care of during the day.
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From: Baghdasarian