Month: June 2005

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 17-23, 2005
HIGHLIGHTS:
RIGHTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE MEDIA
THIRTIETH “PRESS CLUB” SHOW
“POVERTY IN ARMENIA” PHOTO EXHIBITION
BOOK AND FILM ON TRAFFICKING
RIGHTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE MEDIA
On June 20-22 in Sevan seminar “Rights and Accountability of Media” was
held. The seminar was organized by Yerevan Press Club with the assistance of
the Council of Europe. In the event heads and representatives of media,
journalistic associations of Armenia, foreign experts took part. Opening
remarks were made by YPC President Boris Navasardian, Administrator of the
Council of Europe Media Division Charlotte de Broutelles, Head of Council of
Europe Department of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ara Margarian.
The seminar participants discussed a broad spectrum of issues, related to
freedom of expression, media responsibility and self-regulation. Professor
of French Press Institute (Paris University-2) Claude-Jean Bertrand spoke
about the media accountability systems. Chief Editor of “Azg” daily Hagop
Avedikian presented the situation of self-regulation in the journalistic
community of Armenia. YPC President Boris Navasardian focused on the
coverage of internal and external conflicts by Armenian media, and the
Lawyer of the European Court of Human Rights Mario Oetheimer addressed the
freedom of expression and journalists’ responsibility issues at times of
crises in the context of European standards. The seminar was concluded by a
panel discussion in which the Chief Editor of “Aravot” daily Aram
Abrahamian, YPC Expert Mesrop Harutiunian, CE Experts Claude-Jean Bertrand
and Mario Oetheimer took part. The discussion of how to keep the balance
between the freedom of expression and the right to privacy was based on the
example of two court cases “Von Hannover v. Germany” and “Tammer v.
Estonia”, heard by the European Court of Human Rights.
THIRTIETH “PRESS CLUB” SHOW
On June 20 on evening air of the Second Armenian TV Channel thirtieth “Press
Club” show was issued. The cycle is organized by Yerevan Press Club under a
homonymous project, supported by the OSI Network Media Program.
The subject for discussion of the representatives of the leading media and
journalistic associations of Armenia were the amendments to the Constitution
of the country in the context of proposals made by the experts of the
Council of Europe Venice Commission. By the forecast of “Press Club”
participants, this week Armenian media will pay most attention to the
parliamentary elections in Mountainous Karabagh on June 19; the summer
session of CoE Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg; the return of the
Chairman of Political Council of opposition “Hanrapetutiun” party Aram
Sargsian from a working visit to the USA.
“POVERTY IN ARMENIA” PHOTO EXHIBITION
On June 22 at the “Moscow” cinema in Yerevan photo exhibition “Poverty in
Armenia” was opened. The exhibition was organized by the Caucasus Media
Institute under the homonymous program implemented with the financial
assistance of Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia and the
World Bank. The exhibition presented the works by the head of “Patker” photo
agency Ruben Mangasarian and the free-lance photo journalist German Avagian.
The exposition in Yerevan will be on till June 30, after which it is to be
demonstrated in Kapan and Ijevan cities. It previously was held at the
Caucasus Media Institute and in Gyumri city.
BOOK AND FILM ON TRAFFICKING
On June 22 the presentation of a book “On Nights in Desert” and a
documentary of the same name on trafficking of Armenian women to the United
Arab Emirates was held. The collection of articles and the documentary on
trafficking were the product of a journalistic investigation, conducted
during a year by the Chairman of “Investigative Journalists” NGO Edik
Baghdasarian and journalist Ara Manukian. According to the authors,
assistance to the investigation was provided, in particular, by an American
businessman residing in UAE, who preferred to remain unknown. The
documentary “On Nights in Desert” is expected to be shown on the air of
“Yerkir-Media” TV channel.
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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
375007, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
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LRAPER Church Bulletin
Contact: Deacon Vagarsag Seropyan
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
T: +90 (212) 517-0970
F: +90 (212) 516-4833
[email protected]
THE PATRIARCH MEETS WITH THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL BALLET
On Tuesday, 14 June 2005, in the garden of the Patriarchate, His Beatitude
Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and All Turkey, received members
of the Armenian National Ballet, plus Dr. Gagik Manasyan, representing the
Minister of Culture of the Armenian Republic, and Gamo Hovhannisyan,
Director of the National Theater.
Also present were Yeprem Baghyan, Chairman of the Parish Council of the Holy
Mother-of-God Patriarchal Church; Sinayir Yildizyan, Headmaster of the
Bezciyan Parish School in Kumkapi; and several teachers.
After His Beatitude the Patriarch welcomed the guests, he thanked them on
behalf of Armenians in Turkey for their performance of Aram Khachaturyan’s
Gayane ballet on 13 June in the Ataturk Cultural Center.
The Patriarch said, `Any cultural activity brought to Istanbul from Armenia
not only helps dialogue and mutual understanding between the two countries
but also enlivens the traditional and cultural values of Istanbul
Armenians.’
During the traditional offering of coffee and sour cherry liqueur, there was
warm and lively conversation between the Patriarch and members of the ballet
group. His Beatitude answered questions about the situation of Armenians in
Istanbul today, the history and present condition of the Patriarchate, and
other basic issues.

The Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Shalom College, UNSW
Sydney 2052 AUSTRALIA
Telephone: +61 (2) 9931 9628
Facsimile: +61 (2) 9313 7145
Email: [email protected]
Sydney, Australia – VICTIM COMMUNITIES COME TOGETHER TO EXAMINE HOLOCAUST
AND GENOCIDE
For the first time in Australia, Jewish and Armenian communities will come
together to explore aspects of the Holocaust and Armenian genocide,
coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
During the Jewish cultural festival of Limmud Oz, Professor Deborah Lipstadt
of Emory University and Professor Ronald Grigor Suny of the University of
Chicago will participate in a panel discussion organised by the NSW Jewish
Board of Deputies and the Armenian Genocide Research Unit of the Australian
Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (AIHGS).
In a historic trial in Britain in 2000, Professor Lipstadt successfully
defeated Holocaust denier David Irving in his attempts to sue her and
Penguin Books for libel. Lipstadt recounts the drama in her new book History
on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving.
“Three or four survivor generations on, Armenians and Jews are still dealing
with the legacy, and the denial, of their attempted destruction. The time
has come for the two communities to share their experiences, and to learn
from each other. This event is an important step in that process,” says
Meher Grigorian, a Director of the AIHGS.
The Armenian genocide, which claimed up to 1.5 million lives during and
after the First World War, is still officially denied by the Turkish
government. Professor Suny’s visit comes following the surprise postponement
by Turkish officials of a pioneering conference that was to examine these
historical issues.
The conference was to take place on the 25th of May in Istanbul, organised
by Bogaziçi, Sabanci and Bilgi universities.
Following the postponement more than 150 Turkish scholars formally protested
the decision, claiming it an assault on university autonomy and academic
freedom.
The decision comes as Turkey begins European Union accession talks later
this year.
Professor Suny has authored many books, including most recently:
Intellectuals and the Articulation of a Nation (University of Michigan
Press, 1999) and A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-making in the Age of
Lenin and Stalin (Oxford University Press, 2001).
He has appeared numerous times on the McNeil Lehrer News Hour, CBS Evening
News, CNN, National Public Radio, and has written for The New York Times,
The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, New Left Review,
Dissent, and other newspapers and journals.
The joint communal event will take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday 5 July 2005 at
Shalom College, the University of New South Wales. For further information,
contact Meher Grigorian at [email protected]

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FRIEDENSPREIS DES DEUTSCHEN BUCHHANDELS
Orhan Pamuk ist neuer Preisträger
Er gehe “wie kein anderer Dichter unserer Zeit den historischen Spuren
des Westens im Osten und des Ostens im Westen” nach, hieß es heute in
Frankfurt: Der türkische Schriftsteller Orhan Pamuk steht für den
anspruchsvollen Dialog von Orient und Okzident. Jetzt wird er mit dem
Friedenspreis des Buchhandels geehrt.
Frankfurt/Main/Köln – Ein Werk, “in dem Europa und die muslimische
Türkei zusammenfinden” – dies sei die große Leistung des 53-jährigen
Autors, der auf der Frankfurter Buchmesse den mit 25.000 Euro
dotierten Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels erhalten wird. Der
in Istanbul geborene Orhan Pamuk wuchs in einer gutbürgerlichen
Familie auf und studierte Architektur sowie Journalismus. Er gilt
heute als einer der bedeutendsten Prosaschriftsteller der jüngeren
türkischen Generation. Seine Werke wurden bislang in 34 Sprachen
übersetzt und in mehr als 100 Ländern veröffentlicht.
Auf Deutsch sind unter anderem die Bücher “Die weiße Festung”, “Das
schwarze Buch”, “Das neue Leben” und “Rot ist mein Name”
erschienen. Von der Kritik hoch gelobt wurde zuletzt sein Roman
“Schnee”. Die “New York Times” feiertedas Werk als bestes
ausländisches Buch des Jahres 2004.
Der in Istanbul lebende Schriftsteller sei einem Begriff von Kultur
verpflichtet, “der ganz auf Wissen und Respekt vor dem anderen
gründet”, so der Stiftungsrat zu seiner Wahl. In seinen Romanen “Die
weiße Festung”, “Rot ist mein Name” oder “Schnee” verbinde Pamuk
“orientalische Erzähltraditionen mit den Stilelementen der westlichen
Moderne”.
Er entwickele Bilder und Begriffe, die die Gesellschaft in einem nicht
eng verstandenen Europa gebrauchen werde. So eigenwillig das
einzigartige Gedächtnis des Autors in die große osmanische
Vergangenheit zurückreiche, so unerschrocken greife er die brennende
Gegenwart auf, trete für Menschen- und Minderheitenrechte ein und
beziehe immer wieder Stellung zu den politischenProblemen seines
Landes, heißt es in der Begründung weiter.
Beim Münchener Hanser Verlag, der die Werke Pamuks in Deutschland
herausgibt, mischen sich Freude, Stolz und auch ein wenig Sorge. Wie
die Nachrichtenagentur dpa berichtet, habe Pamuks Lektorin Anna Leube
auf die Nachricht vom Friedenspreis “voller Freude, aber auch mit
etwas gemischten Gefühlen” reagiert. “Die Entscheidung hat angesichts
der aktuellen europapolitischen Lage ja schon etwas Brisantes”,
erklärte sie heute. Nach den Anfeindungen gegen den türkischen
Schriftsteller in seinem Heimatland, “bange ich ein bisschen, weil
Pamuk durch den Preis noch mehr in den Blickpunkt der Öffentlichkeit
geraten wird”.
Der im Februar erschienene Roman “Schnee”, der das Verhältnis von
traditionellem Islam und Moderne in der Türkei thematisiert, ist laut
Leube Pamuks erstes dezidiert politisches Buch. “Früher hat er gesagt,
er wolle kein politischer Schriftsteller sein, aber mit ‘Schnee’ hat
er nach seinen historischen Romanen neues Terrain betreten.” Dabei sei
es für den Autor wichtig, dass “Schnee” “nicht auf die jetzige
Situation anspielt, auch wenn das Thema für uns gerade so aktuell
ist”.
Der Hanser Verlag will demnächst Pamuks erstes auf Deutsch
erschienenes Buch “Die weiße Festung” (Insel Verlag, 1990) neu
herausbringen. Im Herbst 20006 soll dann ein hierzulande bislang
unveröffentlichter Text Pamuks erscheinen: eine Art Erinnerungsbuch an
Pamuks Heimatstadt Istanbul.
Für den Kölner Autor und Publizisten Ralph Giordano (“Die Bertinis”)
ist die Vergabe des Friedenspreises an Pamuk eine ausgezeichnete
Wahl. “Kollegiale Glückwünsche an Orhan Pamuk, Kompliment aber auch an
die Organisation ‘Deutscher Buchhandel’. Mit der Verleihung 2005 hat
sie ins Schwarze getroffen”, sagte Giordano, 82, heute der dpa in
Köln. Pamuk habe sich öffentlich gegen die “türkische Lebenslüge”
gestellt.
Pamuk wird von nationalistisch gesinnten Türken angefeindet, seit er
behauptete, in der Türkei seien 30.000 Kurden und eine Million
Armenier ermordet worden. Sein mutiges Bekenntnis habe den Dissidenten
ins Exil gezwungen, betonte Giordano, der für die ARD 1986 eine
Dokumentation über den Massenmord an den Armeniern produziert hatte.
Giordano verlangte vom “angeblichen EU-Musterschüler Türkei” eine
Anerkennung der Geschehnisse von 1915 als “Völkermord”. Nach Ausbruch
des Ersten Weltkriegs hatten türkische Truppen Armenier in
Hungermärschen in die syrische Wüste getrieben, wobei nach Angaben
internationaler Historiker 600.000 bis 800.000 Menschen ums Leben
kamen.

LRAPER Church Bulletin
Contact: Deacon Vagarsag Seropyan
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
T: +90 (212) 517-0970
F: +90 (212) 516-4833
[email protected]
FEAST OF THE HOLY TRANSLATORS CELEBRATED IN SPIRITUAL JOY
The Feast of the Holy Translators, commemorating Saint Sahag Barthev and
Saint Mesrob Mashdots was celebrated in the Holy Mother-of-God Patriarchal
Church in Kumkapi, Istanbul,
on 16 June 2005, Thursday morning.
Following Matins, the Holy Eucharist was offered by the Very Revd. Fr. Sahag
Mashalian, with His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob II presiding. Members of the
Brotherhood of the Patriarchal See, priests serving in the 38 Armenian
churches in Istanbul, the directors and the Armenian language teachers of
the 17 Armenian parish schools presently functioning in the metropolis,
faithful from Kumkapi and other parishes, attended the Divine liturgy.
His Beatitude delivered his homily in the second part of the Liturgy
emphasizing the significance of the translation of the Holy Bible into
Armenian, at the beginning of the fifth century, and hence, the profound
changes that followed in the history and cultural heritage of the Armenian
people. Mentioning the wordlwide celebration of the 1600th anniversary of
the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Saint Mesrob, the Patriarch
appreciated the many cultural and literary events, celebrating the occasion,
that had been successfully organized by the parish schools in Istanbul
during the first half of 2005. The Patriarch then put a strong emphasis on
the significance of the place of the Word of God in a personal and
collective life of faith. He exhorted the teachers to make ample use of the
religious education lessons in parish schools as a way of imparting the Holy
Tradition and the Orthodox Faith of the Church Fathers.
The Service for the Repose of Souls followed, with Patriarch Karekin I of
Istanbul, of blessed memory, who had passed away on this feast day in 1961,
and all deceased Armenian language teachers and writers of the Ýstanbul
Armenian community, being commemorated.
A luncheon in the garden of the Patriarchate followed, in which almost all
who were present at the Divine Liturgy participated.