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10/13/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Tension Runs High in Akhalkalak 2) His Holiness Aram I Presides over Holy High Mass at St. Mary's Church in Glendale with Over 1,000 People in Attendance 3) US Says Turkey Exerts Excessive Control over Religious Activity 4) Councilman Eric Garcetti Visits Armenia 5) AYF Eastern Region Members Gather for Annual Seminar 1) Tension Runs High in Akhalkalak AKHALKALAK (Armenpress)--Around 1,000 anti-Armenian Russian-language posters carrying the state emblem of Turkey were found pasted to buildings in Akhalkalak in southern Georgia on Tuesday morning. Signed `The Akhaltsikhe Liberation Army,' the posters ordered local Armenians to move out of the region, to Armenia, USA and elsewhere, otherwise `be slaughtered as your grandparents were in 1915.' Local Armenian organizations and many residents of the town say this is another attempt to terrorize local Armenians and destabilize the mostly Armenian populated region. The local administration convened an extraordinary session with law-enforcement bodies urging them to track down and punish the perpetrators. Akhalkalak, the main town in the predominantly Armenian-populated Javakhk region of Georgia, which borders Armenia, was the site of a protest rally on October 5, after tax officials from Tbilisi closed ten shops for alleged financial irregularities. The shop owners, mostly ethnic Armenians, and about 300 supporters, gathered outside the Akhalkalak's administration building to protest the violation of their rights. Local police dispersed the rally using rubber truncheons and firing shots in the air. The clash between the authorities and the protesters left several people injured. Police efforts to break up the rally prompted more residents of Akhalkalak and nearby villages to join the protest, making the situation even more tense. Giorgi Khachidze, the governor of the region appointed by Geornia's President, managed to calm the angry crowd through negotiations. Khachidze criticized the police for excessive use of force and promised to hold some of them accountable. `In my opinion, they had no right to fire shots, even in the air,' he was quoted by Rustavi-2 TV as saying on October 6. Meanwhile, President Mikhail Saakashvili hailed police actions, saying, `there is no serious problem' and emphasized that law-enforcement officials were merely maintaining order in a region that had been poorly controlled in recent years. Saakashvili and other Georgian officials have tried to downplay the latest events in Akhalkalak, claming that the radical organizations advocating autonomy for the region do not enjoy serious popular support. 2) His Holiness Aram I Presides over Holy High Mass at St. Mary's Church in Glendale with Over 1,000 People in Attendance Catholicos Blesses Stone for New Glendale Community Center LOS ANGELES--Over 1,000 people attended Holy High Mass conducted by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, at St. Mary's Church in Glendale on October 9. The Homenetmen scouts marching band welcomed the Catholicos on his arrival as they played the national anthems of the United States and Armenia. Hundreds of people welcomed His Holiness outside while the church was filled to capacity inside with people eagerly awaiting his arrival. Immediately after his arrival, His Holiness, accompanied by both Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western United States and Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern United States, proceeded to prepare for the day's mass. The procession into the church began when the Pontiff and the surrounding clergy reemerged wearing their special robes and dress for the mass. With the Homenetmen scouts lining both sides, when the procession reached the front church steps, His Holiness conducted a special blessing after which white doves were released and the Catholicos and the procession entered St. Mary's. In addition to the community at large, present were public officials including Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams and representatives from Western Prelacy committees and councils. Also present were representatives from many other community organizations. After services, His Holiness conducted a special service at the property adjacent to St. Mary's Church where there are plans to build a new, modern community center. Nazaret Apanian, representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Aharonian Gomideh stated that the community center plans have been in development during the last few years and that it will house the activities of the various community organizations, especially those serving the youth as well as a Saturday and Sunday school. After brief remarks introducing the project, the Catholicos blessed the soil on which the center will be built as well as the cornerstone that will be used in the building. `Any community center that stands in the diaspora for the purpose of serving the people is a little piece of Armenia,' said His Holiness Aram I. `It is a part of our homeland with the mission of preserving and spreading our Armenian values.' Fresno Mayor Pledges Monument for Armenian Genocide Victims FRESNO--The Mayor of Fresno, California expressed readiness to undertake the building of a Genocide monument in the near future to honor the victims of the Armenian genocide. Mayor Alan Autry made the announcement on the occasion of a visit to the city by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, and as a response to a request by His Holiness. Mayor Autry said that the first step would be to target an appropriate location for the memorial. Fresno Armenian community members embraced the announcement, saying that it is a step in right direction in establishing justice. 3) US Says Turkey Exerts Excessive Control over Religious Activity ARMENPRESS--A recent report by the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) criticized Turkey for exerting excessive state control over minority religions, saying the Muslim country risks eroding the centuries-old Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul, as well as the historic Syriac and Armenian Orthodox churches. The report, which was delivered to the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on September 28, also called on Turkey to clarify the legal status of 55 Protestant Churches that have been unable to register in Turkey and are vulnerable to closure and harassment. `We regret that authorities continue to inhibit the opening of places of worship outside the Sunni Muslim mainstream and systematically disregard the OSCE's 1990 Bonn Document by expropriating the properties of religious groups without compensation,' the US statement said. Concurrently, the European Court of Human Rights is weighing a decision on the property rights of two minority foundations in Turkey. The Soorp Purgich Armenian Hospital Foundation and the Fener Greek Boys High School Foundation filed cases against Turkey arguing that they are in compliance with the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne. The 1923 Treaty affords protection to foundations that provide public services for religious minorities. In both cases, property gifted to the Armenian and Greek foundations were seized as the Turkish courts upheld orders declaring that the bequest violated a decree disallowing non-Muslims from donating real estate. If the court rules in favor of the foundations, hundreds of buildings seized in the past may be returned. 4) Councilman Eric Garcetti Visits Armenia Councilmember Visits Armenian Heartland in an Attempt to Create Sister City Relationship with Yerevan LOS ANGELES--As a part of an official delegation of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR), Los Angeles City Councilmember Eric Garcetti recently returned from a nearly week and a half long trip Armenia, where he met Armenian local and national political leadership. The delegation included Garcetti's staff members Baydsar Thomasian and Lynette Amerian with husband Bruce Bogstad, and ANCA-WR Board members Leonard Manoukian and Vahagn Thomasian. On their arrival, Councilmember Garcetti and the delegation were greeted with a warm welcome by the Armenian officials as well as American expatriates. Local television crews who waited until three in the morning to interview Councilmember Garcetti were also on hand. The following day, the delegation met with several Parliamentary leaders including Levon Mkrtchian, Armen Rustamian and the Mayor of Yerevan, Yervand Zakharian. During these meetings, Garcetti and the Armenian officials discussed creating a Sister City relationship between Los Angeles and Yerevan, and issues that are of concern to both the diasporan and native Armenian communities. `The meetings were all very encouraging about establishing a Sister City agreement with Yerevan and using the Sister City relationship to promote economic, cultural, and political interaction between the two municipalities,' said Councilmember Eric Garcetti. `We looked at cooperation on the issues of law enforcement and we explored possible cooperation around seismic standards for buildings, considering we both live with fault lines in and around our cities.' Throughout the remainder of their trip, as Garcetti and the delegation traveled through the highlands of Armenia, they met with US Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, and the Deputy Minister on Foreign Affairs, Arman Kirakossian. During these meetings, they discussed the possibilities for development and success of both cities, if a Sister City relationship were to be established. Ambassador Evans spoke of his thoughts on creating a program in which the police and fire departments of the City of Los Angeles and Yerevan would work with one another in an exchange of knowledge and ideas in order to promote the capabilities of each. `I am very hopeful of the outcome Councilmember Garcetti's trip to Armenia will have for both the residents of Los Angeles and Yerevan. It will undoubtedly create a relationship in which both cities will benefit from one another,' said delegation member and ANCA-WR Board member Vahagn Thomasian. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean joined Garcetti and his delegation on their visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial. Together, they planted trees in a grove where elected officials from around the world have done the same in remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed by the Ottoman Turkish government. `The truth is that the Armenian genocide took place 90 years ago,' said DNC Chairman Howard Dean.'Over a million people were killed. There is no question that the United States should recognize this.' Dean's visit to Armenia was spurred by an invitation by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). During his short trip, which lasted a few days, he stressed his support of the Armenian American community's efforts to gain recognition for the Armenian Genocide. He also went on to express his support for the congressional resolutions that urges President Bush to `accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide' in his annual message to the US-Armenian community. Garcetti was first elected in 2001, becoming one of the youngest Councilmembers elected in the city's history. He represents the 13th district, which is known as the heart of Los Angeles, and stretches between Hollywood and Downtown and includes the area known as `Little Armenia.' 5) AYF Eastern Region Members Gather for Annual Seminar WATERTOWN--On October 8, members of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Eastern Region gathered in Paramus, NJ, for the organization's annual Senior Seminar. Participants from Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC, attended the seminar, which included lectures on the current status of the organization; an overview of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF); and a discussion on what it means to be Armenian. Lead by AYF regional advisor Zorab Khaligian from Racine, Wisconsin, the group talked about the dimensions of what it means to be Armenian and what types of activities are included in its definition. Khaligian asked the group to put the discussion into perspective. "We have all of this commitment, socialization, but what are we doing with it? Going with the flow and being at events is great, but what about taking the next step? If you remain stagnant, then there will be no AYF," said Khaligian. "We have our monthly meetings to discuss chapter dynamics and the successes or failures that occur within our own cities. It is important for us, however, to take time out to meet with the leaders and active members of other chapters to discuss our organization as a whole," said Philadelphia AYF chapter president Anglela Deese, who attended the seminar. "This year's event was a chance for us to discuss those issues, such as the ways in which we can run the AYF most efficiently and successfully. I believe that a weekend like this helps us take ownership of the AYF; this is easy to do within our own communities back home. But we must remember that we are part of a group of youth striving for the same goal, and as a part of ARF youth, we strive for this goal not only in our own cities, but with the rest of our ungers all over the world," she said. "I believe that this meeting was a successful event for two reasons. First, it addressed important issues that our organization faces and presented solutions. And secondly, the lectures and discussions were different than the usual take on the subjects," said New Jersey AYF attendee Razmig Tchaghlasian. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.