Month: October 2006

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

DURI NG A MEETING IN ANTELIAS

BISHOP HUBERT EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR THE ARMENIAN CAUSE AND ARAM I
DEMANDS MORE FROM GERMANY IN THIS RESPECT

The president of the EKD Council Bishop Wolfgang Hubert expressed his
support for the Armenian Cause following a meeting with the Catholicos of
Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I, in Antelias on October 14. The Bishop visited
Antelias with an official delegation representing the German Churches and
the Ambassador of Germany to Lebanon, Dr. Marius Haas.

His Holiness and the Bishop, two long-time friends, made the focus of their
discussions the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and in that context,
the issue of Turkey’s membership in the European Union.

The two spiritual leaders also discussed various issues including the
importance of Christian-Muslim dialogue in a new world situation as well as
the necessity of strengthening Christianity in the Middle East.

On the Lebanese front, Bishop Hubert talked about his impressions from his
meeting with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora the same day.

The Bishop considered his third visit to Antelias to be historical during a
luncheon organized after the meeting in his honor. Bishop Kegham
Khatcherian, Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, members of the Cilician
Brotherhood, ministers and Members of Parliament, representatives of
Armenian political parties and organizations and members of ecumenical
committee attended the luncheon.

After welcoming his guests, the His Holiness Aram I commended the brave
position adopted by the German churches in recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. Addressing Bishop Hubert and the German Ambassador, however, His
Holiness stressed that the Armenian nation demands more from Germany as a
defender of human rights.

The Pontiff presented to the German Bishop a copy of "Voices from Germany",
a German book grouping the statements of about 50 German theologians,
politicians, intellectuals, Genocide scholars and human rights activists.
The book was published in Antelias on the occasion of the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

Speaking about the pursuit of the Armenian Cause, the German Spiritual
leader assured that he feels with the Armenians their pain and their
timeless pursuit of justice.

The Bishop also talked about the strong leadership and the great
contribution that His Holiness Aram I brought to the global ecumenical
movement and to the World Council of Churches in particular. "In the field
of ecumenical affairs, one should go thirty years back to trace the start of
our friendship. His Holiness Aram I’s seriousness towards the movement and
its mission is worthy of praise," he said.

Following an exchange of gifts between the two spiritual leaders, the German
delegation visited the Memorial of the Armenian Genocide in the
Catholicosate, where Bishop Hubert prayed for the souls of the one and a
half million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to look into new prospects for
cooperation between the Armenian and German nations, as well as with the
Armenian and German protestant churches.

##
View photos here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

The Home Forum>Kidspace
from the October 17, 2006 edition

Right at home in Armenia
By Donna Scaramastra Gorman

Arpinka lives with her mother and her grandmother in a one- bedroom
apartment in Yerevan, Armenia (pronounced Ar-MEEN-yuh). The apartment
is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It’s small, but it’s
neat, with handmade lace curtains on the windows. Decorative rugs
hang on the walls much as your family might have pictures on the walls.

Arpinka is 8 years old. Her mother, Liliya, works as a nanny and
makes $10 a day – but that’s considered a good salary in Armenia,
where it is very difficult to find a job.

ARMENIAN GIRL: Arpinka, 8, lives in the city of Yerevan. She is in
the third grade, and she speaks Armenian and Russian, and a little
English, too.

Before her mother found work, the three of them lived with Arpinka’s
aunt, her uncle, and her cousins, Katya and Rubik. Arpinka is happy
to live in her own apartment now, but sometimes she misses her cousins.

Armenia is a tiny country. It is south of Russia, east of Turkey,
and north of Iran.

Like most Armenian schoolchildren, Arpinka speaks both Armenian and
Russian – and even a little English. She is in the third grade at
school, where her favorite subjects are math and English. The school
is close to her apartment, so she walks there by herself each morning.

After school, Arpinka helps her babushka – that’s "grandmother"
in Russian – make blini, which are thin pancakes, or varenniki –
dumplings stuffed with meat and cabbage or potatoes. She can even
make an omelet by herself.

Arpinka likes to cook. But instead of a stove, her family has one
Bunsen burner – which is like a camping stove. Because of its open
flame, she has to be very careful when cooking.

>From their kitchen window, Arpinka can see all the way to Mt. Ararat
in the neighboring country of Turkey.

The mountain used to be part of Armenia, and for Armenians, it is
considered a sacred place – some people say Noah’s ark mentioned in
the Bible is still somewhere on Mt. Ararat.

The snowcapped mountain looms over her city, and as the day passes,
Arpinka likes to watch it seem to change colors in different types
of light.

When Arpinka grows up, she wants to be a dentist or a fashion
designer. She hasn’t decided which yet.

But she won’t graduate from school until she is 17 years old, so she
has plenty of time to make up her mind.

For now, she enjoys playing with her cousins. Katya, who studies at
the music conservatory, is teaching her to play the piano, and Rubik
teaches her how to play chess.

On weekends, Arpinka goes to the market with her mother. The market
is outdoors, and the vendors sell cheeses, vegetables, bread, and
spices – everything you could need for a meal.

The meat at the market hangs on hooks. In warm weather, watermelons
are piled up in the road. Tomatoes and cucumbers are stacked neatly
together on tables.

NAME YOUR PRICE: Sellers present a variety of cheeses at an indoor
market in Yerevan, Armenia, where Arpinka lives with her family. Many
Armenians shop at markets such as this one.

Instead of paying a set fee for each item she buys, Arpinka’s mother
haggles or bargains with the vendors over the prices. Other shoppers
do this, too.

It is the custom in Armenia. Arpinka’s mother says it helps her save
money .

The market is crowded, so Arpinka stays near her mother while she
shops.

Back home, her mother and grandmother can vegetables for the winter
and turn berries into jam. They’ll store all of the bottles and jars
on their balcony, where it is cool year round.

If the weather is nice, Arpinka can play with the other neighborhood
kids in the courtyard of the apartment building.

Sometimes, when her mom isn’t working and it’s not too hot, the two
of them take a bus to the top of a hill overlooking the city. There
is an old amusement park there, and they can walk in the shade or sit
by the fountains. They can even buy ice cream from one of the vendors.

At night, Arpinka, her mother, and her babushka curl up together
to sleep.

Arpinka doesn’t like to sleep – there’s too much she wants to do. But
soon they all fall asleep, in the shadow of Mt. Ararat.

s02-hfks.html

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2006
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: [email protected]

ASSEMBLY CONTINUES ADVOCACY MEETINGS AND PROMOTES LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AS
CONGRESS RECESSES

WASHINGTON, DC – With Congress in recess until after the November
elections, the Armenian Assembly stepped up its advocacy efforts,
meeting with several lawmakers to promote Armenian-American concerns.

Board of Trustees Executive Committee Member Annie Totah, along with
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny, met with Senator Maria
Cantwell (D-WA) to discuss the U.S.-Armenia relationship as well as key
issues such as reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. Cantwell who is
serving her first term in office, is a cosponsor of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution (S. Res. 320).

Totah and Ardouny also met with Armenian Caucus Member Representative
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), an avid supporter of Armenian issues including
the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act (H.R. 3361) and
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H. Res. 316). This past summer Maloney
spearheaded a letter to the European Union expressing concern regarding
Turkey’s ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide. In her letter, Maloney
urged the European Commission to consider Turkey’s stance on the
Armenian Genocide and the ongoing blockade which impairs the regional
stability of the South Caucasus in consideration of its membership into
the European Union. Maloney is a Ranking Member of the Joint Economic
Committee as well as a member of the Financial Services and Government
Reform Committees and serves as a co-chair of the Hellenic Caucus. Totah
and Ardouny thanked the Congresswoman for her strong support of the
Armenian community.

Additionally, Totah and Ardouny met with Armenian Caucus Members Joseph
Crowley (D-NY), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Edward Royce (R-CA), and thanked
the Representatives for their support of H.R. 3361, a bill prohibiting
U.S. funding for a rail link that connects Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi,
Georgia; and Kars, Turkey while bypassing Armenia. They also commended
the lawmakers for sponsoring an amendment ensuring that no Export-Import
money is spent on efforts that would isolate Armenia from economic and
regional transportation opportunities. A similar amendment was adopted
by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee with strong
Assembly support.

"We thank Senator Cantwell for her receptiveness to the concerns of the
Armenian-American community, and we look forward to working with her and
her staff in promoting Armenian concerns," said Totah. "Additionally, we
thank Representatives Crowley, Maloney, Royce and Sherman for their
continued support and work on the federal level for the Armenian
community."

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

###
NR#2006-093

Editor’s Note: Photograph available on the Assembly Web site at the
following links:

3/2006-093-1.jpg

Caption: Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) flanked by Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny (left) and Board of Trustees Executive Committee Member
Annie Totah.

3/2006-093-2.jpg

Caption: Board of Trustees Executive Committee Member Annie Totah (left)
with Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

93/2006-093-3.jpg

Caption: L to R: Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Board of Trustees
Executive Committee Member Annie Totah and Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny.

/2006-093/2006-093-4.jpg

Caption: Executive Director Bryan Ardouny (left) with Congressman Edward
Royce (R-CA).

93/2006-093-5.JPG

Caption: Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) with Board of Trustees
Executive Committee Member Annie Totah.

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

PART ICIPATION IN THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GERMAN PROTESTANT CHURCH IN
BEIRUT

The German Protestant Church in Beirut celebrated the 150th anniversary of
its founding on October 15 with an ecumenical service conducted by Bishop
Wolfgang Hubert, Chairman of the EKD Council.

Representatives from the Christian communities of Lebanon, the General
Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches, the Lebanese Culture of
Minister and the Ambassadors of Germany and Switzerland attended the
service.

His Holiness Aram I delegated Bishop Nareg Alemezian, the Ecumenical Officer
of the Catholicosate of Cilicia to attend the event on his behalf. Bishop
Alemezian also conveyed the Pontiff’s greetings to Reverends Frederike and
Uve Weltzin and the officials of the community.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SOLDIER WOUNDED BY AZERI SNIPER DIED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 14:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian soldier Alexander Papakhchayan wounded by
an Azeri sniper died in the Erebuni medical center in Yerevan October
16. As RA Defense Minister’s Spokesman, colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan
told PanARMENIAN.Net, 19-year-old Alexander Papakhchayan was wounded
in the chest.

Investigation is being carried out.

ANKARA HAS NO REASON TO BE ASHAMED OF ITS HISTORY, TURKISH FM ASSURES

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 14:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Turkish government "uses all the possibilities
of international law up to bringing in suits" to prevent final
ratification of the French bill calling for imprisonment for the
Armenian Genocide denial, Turkish FM Abdullah Gul told parliament
today. He remarked that "France insists that historians should deal
with the disputable moments of its history on one hand and tries
to legalize Armenians’ claims lacking historical basis on the other
hand. "Turkey will lose nothing but France’s image will be damaged,"
Gul said.

The Turkish FM also assured that "Turkey has no reason to be ashamed
of her history." "We are a nation sure of its past. The government has
opened the archives, including military and secret ones for everyone
wishing to investigate the events of 1915. Moreover, the parliament
has decided to form a commission that will examine the archives of
third states of that period," Gul said.

Turkish parliamentarians voiced opinion that by adopting the bill
the French parliament "limits one of the fundamental freedoms of any
European state – freedom of speech," "We hope that the ratification
process will be stopped and the French will regain consciousness,"
Gul underscored, reports ITAR-TASS.

TOTAL’S SELL DECREASES 30 PERCENT AFTER THE ARMENIAN BILL
Ummuhan Sumbul, JTW

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Oct 17 2006

Ummuhan SUMBUL (JTW), ANKARA – The passing of the controversial
Armenian claims denial bill in the French parliament has prompted
strong reactions in Turkish business circles. The French company
Total Oil has been the target of the boycott. The Company informed
the journalists that the sell has decreased about 30 percent in a week.

Several businessmen and companies announced they would suspend business
partnerships with French companies. The number of Turkish markets
which do not sell French products has radically increased yesterday.

Associations Continue to Call for Greater Boycott

Some French companies operating in Turkey include Total, Elf,
Carrefour, Danone, Tefal, Michelin, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Lacoste,
L’Oreal, Lancome, Christian Dior, Onduline, Lafarge, Chryso, Air
France, BIC, Cartier, Sheaffer, Le coq sportif, Alcatel, AXA, Gunes
Insurance, Basak Insurance, Basak Emeklilik Societe General Bank,
Turkish Economy Bank, Sanofi and Servier.

Consumer Union yesterday called all Turkish consumers inside and
abroad not to buy French products. However the Union also warned the
Turkish consumers not to boycott the French-Turkish companies which
have great investment in Turkey. The CarrefourSa Market Company
therefore was removed from the boycott list. "CarrefourSa invest
great in Turkey and create emploment here. If we boycott CarrefourSa,
it means we would boycott Turkish businesmen and workers" one of the
Union representative said.

Armenians claim that the communal clashes in 1915 was genocide, while
Turkish Government has never accepted these claims. Turkey says the
Armenians died due to the communal clashes, bad weather conditions,
war curcumstances, famine and epidemic diseases. Turkish historains
also say that more than 520,000 Muslim Ottoman citizens were massacred
by the armed Armenian groups. Armenia now does not recognise Turkey’s
and Azerbaijan’s national borders and occupies almost 20 percent of
Azeri territories.

17 October 2006

TUSIAD: Let us Reply with Reforms

TUSIAD called the French bill "a big mistake."

"A proper reply to be given to France would be to accelerate
political reforms to include freedom of expression particularly and
proceed toward our goal of full [EU] membership as a country holding
memberships talks with the European Union," the association stated.

TOBB: They won’t be Invited for Bids

Rifat Hisarciklioglu, chairman for the Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), said public administrations in Turkey would
not invite French companies to bids after the passing of the bill.

"The French National Parliament made a mistake. Responsibility for
this process falls on it," Hisarciklioglu said. The TOBB chairman
thinks France failed in the test of law and conscience and described
the developments as a black page in its history.

RF DUMA WORKING GROUP TO VISIT RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.10.2006 14:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Russian State Duma working group led by deputy
chair of the defense committee Mikhail Babich will visit the Russian
military bases in Armenia October 17-20. The Babich administration said
the delegation includes defense committee member Nikolay Bezborodov,
members of the committee on CIS Affairs Konstantin Zatulin and Vasiliy
Teterin and the RF Defense Ministry’s representatives. The delegation
members will meet with the administration of military units of the
Russian Armed Forces in Armenia and attend the military base in Gyumri
and the aviation base in the Erebuni airdrome, reports Interfax.

PASADENA POLICE CHIEF GETS HONOR FROM ARMENIANS

Pasadena Star-News, CA
Oct 17 2006

PASADENA – The Pasadena Police Department’s efforts to raise funds
for equipment for the Yerevan Police Department has earned the police
chief an Armenian National Service Medal, officials said Monday.

Pasadena Chief Bernard Melekian is the second person outside of
Armenia to receive the medal.

The award was presented to Melekian during a Pasadena Armenian Peoples’
Advisory Committee fundraising gala earlier this month.

Yerevan police Chief Nerses Nazaryan, acting on behalf of the commander
of the Armenian National Police, presented the award.

"The award was truly a surprise and an honor," Melekian said, crediting
the Pasadena Armenian group with building bridges between the Pasadena
Police Department and the Armenian community.

"My grandparents and my father, who were survivors of the genocide,
always felt they owed a great deal to this country and to Pasadena.

It was an honor to be involved with a project that helped give
something of value to Armenia," he said.

PAPAC raised nearly $80,000 for the Yerevan Police Department.

"Yerevan is the capital city of Armenia. I had the pleasure to visit
that city in 2000 and was appalled at the deficiency of equipment
that a modern department needs to do its job," Melekian said.

"I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH" (video)

A1+
[08:14 pm] 17 October, 2006

The songs of Varduhi Vardanyan will always sound for his relatives
and friends despite the car crash which put an end to her life. Those
who were present at her last concert in Martouni will always remember
her words, "I love you very much".

Let us remind you that on October 15 on Sevan highway Varduhi
Vardanyan’s car got out of the road and turned over. As a result of
the accident the singer died on the spot.

We are representing you a part of the video of her last concert. In
order to watch it, press the button "video" (540 kb)

The video was given by TV Company "Zangak" of Martouni.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress