Month: November 2006

FRANCE SHOULD FACE ITS OWN HISTORY
Sabah, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
The Prime Minister of Algeria criticized France’s accusing Turkey of
Armenian Genocide.
Abdulaziz Bilhadim, the Prime Minister of Algeria, reminded France of
their accusations about Turkey regarding the Armenian ‘genocide’. He
said: “you should also face your own history. You should accept your
crimes waged between 1830 and 1962. 1.5 million people died.”
First apologize for the colonies
The Prime Minister of Algeria, reminded of the words of President
Chirac, said: “France should accept its crimes during the colonial
period in order to establish friendly relationships.”
France is being forced to face its own music, after pressing Turkey
to recognize the Armenian genocide in order to become a member of
the EU. Algeria, its colony for years, where thousands of people
were killed, is charging France with a similar accusation; using the
words of president Chirac: “face your own history. Nations grow as
they accept their mistakes.” The Prime Minister of Algeria reminded
of the words of President Chirac, said: “France should accept its
crimes waged during the colonial period in order to establish friendly
relationships.”

IGNORE POLICE SUMMONS, ODM LEADERS TELL RAILA
Daily Nation , Kenya
Nov 13 2006
Key Orange Democratic Movement leaders yesterday asked Lang’ata MP
Raila Odinga to defy police summons to record a statement over claims
that his life was in danger.
The leaders, among them 26 MPs, demanded that the Government first
assures all Kenyans of their security before pursuing individuals it
perceives to be its opponents.
Mr Odinga
Among those who spoke at an ODM rally at Kapkatet in Bureti District
were Mr Odinga himself, Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta, secretary-general
William Ruto, Mwingi North MP Kalonzo Musyoka and former vice-president
Musalia Mudavadi.
The ODM leaders spoke as Mr Odinga was challenged by Cabinet ministers
Musikari Kombo and Njenga Karume over his assassination plot claims.
Politicising security
Speaking to reporters after meeting Ford Kenya officials in Nakuru,
Mr Kombo, the minister for Local Government, told Mr Odinga that the
country had gone beyond the era of assassinations.
“If Mr Odinga is aware of any such move he should have handled it
in a better manner … he should not to be sensational about it,”
the minister said and cautioned politicians against politicising
security matters.
Mr Musyoka
He said Ford Kenya was also concerned about insecurity in parts of the
country and called on the relevant ministries to address the matter.
Defence minister Karume told Mr Odinga to substantiate his claims
that some top Government officials were plotting to kill him. Mr
Karume said a group of MPs from Nyanza who first made the “wild
allegations” should also substantiate their claims or face action
for making alarming statements.
The Government would not sit and watch as leaders made utterances
that could plunge the country into chaos, he said.
“If these MPs know who is plotting to kill Mr Odinga they should
furnish the Government with names. We are fed up with cat and mouse
games. These are serious allegations and must be substantiated,”
Mr Karume said.
But Mr Odinga said it did not make sense to ask him to record a
statement over information he had about the alleged assassination
plot while the Government was yet to act on information he gave on
the alleged mercenaries, the Artur brothers.
Mr Kenyatta.
He said: “A commission of inquiry instituted on the Armenians after
I raised the alarm has not yielded anything and the police now want
me to record a statement”, to which the crowd roared back that he
should not record one.
Earlier before the rally, Mr Odinga told the Nation in an interview
that he would record a statement today at Kilimani Police Station.
He said: “The provincial criminal investigations officer called me
in the morning and we have agreed that I record a statement tomorrow
at 10 am.”
Mr Odinga said police had on Saturday been sent to his rural home in
Bondo to look for him.
“I received a call this morning (yesterday) that police were looking
for me in my Bondo home while I was in Kisumu,” he said.
The ODM leaders argued that it was the responsibility of the Head
of State to marshal the necessary security forces to counter growing
insecurity.
Mr Musyoka, who spoke before Mr Odinga, said: “I am telling my
brother Raila that before he writes any statement, let the police
arrest those who shot at the car which Mrs Nyong’o was travelling in.”
A car in which the wife of Kisumu Rural MP Anyang’ Nyong’o was
travelling, was shot at in Nairobi last week.
Mr Musyoka added: “The police should also explain the purpose of 10
of them who came to my house claiming there was a robbery recently.”
He told Mr Odinga to remain steadfast and resist any attempts by
the police to force him to record a statement saying “kaa ngumu
(stand firm)”.
Mr Odinga on Saturday issued a statement saying there were plans
to assassinate him, backing an earlier statement by a group of MPs
that a move had been hatched to eliminate politicians opposed to
the Government.
He said a meeting was held in the Kilimani area by eight senior
government officials and a person who “resembled” one of the deported
Armenian brothers.
Speakers at the rally said it was hypocritical for the Government
to tell Mr Odinga to record a statement while it had never concluded
investigations into the Armenians.
Mr Kenyatta asked President Kibaki to move fast and restore security
in the country.
“We are not fighting the President but we are assisting him to offer
Kenyans the peace and security that they deserve and what they actually
voted him to do,” Mr Kenyatta said.
The Gatundu South MP said ODM’s sole purpose was to unite Kenyans to
bring new leadership and it was the work of the Opposition to check
the Government.”We (Kanu) were hounded out of office because we were
told that we were corrupt, but corruption has never reached the point
it is now in the country since independence,” he said.
Mr Kenyatta decried tribalism and urged the youth to unite beyond
tribal lines.
Mr Ruto said that ODM meant to bring better leadership for Kenyans
and it was not in any way meant to fight the Government of President
Kibaki.

THE PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN: BETRAYED, PERSECUTED, SACRIFICED
Abe W. Ata
American Chronicle, CA
Nov 13 2006
The Palestinian Christian is an endangered species.
When the modern state of Israel was established there were about
400,000 of us. Two years ago the number was down to 80,000. Now it’s
down to 60,000. At that rate, in a few years there will be none of
us left. When this happens non-Christian groups will move into our
churches and claim them forever.
Palestinian Christians within Israel fare little better. On the
face of it, their number has grown by 20,000 since 1991. But this is
misleading, for the census classification “Christian” includes some
20,000 recent non-Arab migrants from the former Soviet Union.
So why are Palestinian Christians abandoning their homeland?
We have lost hope, that’s why. We are treated as non-people. Few
outside the Middle East even know we exist, and those who do,
conveniently forget.
I refer, of course, to the American Religious Right. They see modern
Israel as a harbinger of the Second Coming, at which time Christians
will go to paradise, and all others (presumably including Jews)
to hell. To this end they lend military and moral support to Israel.
Even by the double-dealing standards of international diplomacy
this is a breathtakingly cynical bargain. It is hard to know who is
using whom more: the Christian Right for offering secular power in
the expectation that the Jewish state will be destroyed by a greater
spiritual one; or the Israeli Right for accepting their offer. What
we do know is that both sides are abusing the Palestinians.
Apparently we don’t enter into anyone’s calculations.
The views of the Israeli Right are well known: they want us gone.
Less well known are the views of the American Religious Right.
Strangely, they find the liberation of Iraqis from a vile dictator
just, but do not find it unjust for us to be under military occupation
for 38 long years.
Said Senator James Inhofe (Rep.,Oklahoma): “God Appeared to Abraham
and said: ‘I am giving you this land’, the West Bank. This is not
a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the
word of God is true.”
Inhofe must have got it wrong. Promises are being made to earthly
Jerusalem that God did not make. The Holy Land was promised to Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, as stated in the Bible.
These are the Palestinian Muslims, Christians and Jews, who have
been living in the land for thousands of years. The Bible never
mentioned that God promised it solely to Jews. Anyone can be a Jew,
but not anyone can be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and
their descendants. James Inhofe and followers are unable to tell the
difference between Jew, Israelite and Israel.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey (Rep.,Texas) was even more forthright:
“I’m content to have Israel grab the entire West Bank … I happen
to believe that the Palestinians should leave.”
There is a phrase for this. Ethnic cleansing.
Silencing us, from seeking your support and enlightening you about
our suffering, goes counter to what Jesus has mandated us to do. We
all know that Muslims and Jews get ceaseless support (political,
spiritual and financial) from Saudi Arabia and America respectively,
while Palestinian Christians get nothing from Australian and other
Western “Christian” governments. (The Pope has been an exception.)
Prior to the 1967 war, the Christian youth at the Lutheran, Baptist,
Methodist and other churches in Bethlehem used to pray and rejoice
and have a good chat with hundreds of American Christian pilgrims. In
particular Texas and California were two places from where many came
to visit the Holy Land. Today only fading memories prevail. Bethlehem
has been vacated by Christian families. The remaining Christians are
paying the price by experiencing curfews which last for weeks. They
remain sandwiched between Muslims and Jews without drawing the
slightest concern from the many so-called Western Christians.
So why do American Christians stand by while their leaders advocate
the expulsion of fellow Christians? Could it be that they do not
know that the Holy Land has been a home to Christians since, well
… since Christ?
Do not think I am asking for special treatment for Christians. Ethnic
cleansing is evil whoever does it and to whomever it is done.
Palestinian Christians – Anglican, Maronite Catholics, Orthodox,
Lutherans, Armenians, Baptists, Copts and Assyrians – have been rubbing
shoulders with each other and with other religions – Muslims, Jews,
Druze and (most recently) Baha’is – for centuries. And we want to do
so for centuries more. But we can’t if we are driven out by despair.
We are equally frightened by those who commit suicide bombings. None
of us Christians have condoned it or even contemplated the idea. Our
commitment to Jesus’ teachings will never shake our resolve in
this matter.
American journalist Anders Strindberg makes a clearer conclusion. He
says Palestinians are equated with Islamists, Islamists with
terrorists. And presumably because all organised Christian activity
among Palestinians is non-political and non-violent, the community
hardly ever hits western headlines. Suicide bombers sell more copy
than people who congregate for Bible study.
What we seek is support: material, moral, political and spiritual. As
Palestinians we grieve for what we have lost, and few people have lost
more than us (the Ashkenazi Jews are one). But grief can be assuaged
by the fellowship of friends.
Abe W. Ata
Abe W. Ata was born in Bethlehem and is a descendant of a
nine-genration Palestinian Christian family. He was a temporary
delegate to the United Nations in 1970 and has lived and worked in
the Middle East, America and Australia. He founded the Victorians for
Racial Equality and is currently a Senior Fellow/Associate Professor
at the Institute for the Advancement of Research at the Australian
Catholic University. He has authored 86 journal articles and 11
books including Christian and Muslim Intermarriage in Australia:
social cohesion or cultural fragmentation (2003).
/viewArticle.asp?articleID=16487

DESPITE DEFEAT, BUSH ADMINISTRATION DETERMINED TO OPPOSE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
By Ali H. Aslan, Washington
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
Matt Bryza, a top-level official from the U.S. State Department,
asserted that the George Bush Administration would strongly oppose
any draft law on the recognition of an Armenian genocide.
However, he added that given the complexity of the new political
environment since the midterm elections, it was hard for them to
precisely foresee any outcome.
Matt Bryza was speaking at the annual convention of the Assembly
of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA) and commented on the
possibility of an Armenian genocide bill introduced to the House of
Representatives, where the Democrats have recently gained control.
He described the new situation as a change in the political reality
and said that it was impossible for the administration to predict
how the new mechanism would operate with regards to the fate of any
proposal for recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Newly ensconced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, promised the
Armenian lobby to support any bill regarding the genocide.
Asked whether President Bush would call Pelosi to ensure that any such
draft would not be put on the agenda, Bryza said that he would make his
own suggestion but was unable to know how the president would proceed.
The Armenian lobby is expected to submit genocide bills to both wings
of Congress following its inauguration.
Meanwhile, in his address at the meeting, Bryza, drew attention to
Russian attempts at being the sole energy supplier to the region and
underlined the importance of Turkish-American strategic cooperation.

ARMENIAN CHURCH IN SWANSEA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
By Teri Maddox
News-Democrat
Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Nov 12 2006
Lisa Bedian drives more than 100 miles round trip to attend services
at Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Swansea.
She was married by its Armenian Orthodox priest last weekend.
“It’s very important to me personally to keep the Armenian culture
and traditions alive,” said Bedian, 49, of St. Charles, Mo., the
granddaughter of Armenian immigrants. “Armenia was the first country
to adopt Christianity (as its national religion) in 301 A.D.”
The church is celebrating its 50th anniversary today with a 10
a.m. service and Divine Liturgy by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.
The service will be followed by a 1 p.m. banquet at the Sheraton Four
Points Hotel in Fairview Heights.
Many church members are descendants of people who survived or died in
what some historians call an “Armenian genocide” that peaked during
World War I, when Armenia was ruled by Ottoman Turks. Hundreds of
thousands of non-Muslims were killed.
“My mother was a survivor,” said 50th anniversary committee chairwoman
Zabelle Vartanian, 65, of Belleville. “My father was already (in the
United States).”
Vartanian’s parents were founding members of the church, organized in
East St. Louis in 1956. The Swansea building was consecrated in 1978.
Today, the church has about 100 members from throughout the St. Louis
region. That includes recent Armenian immigrants escaping political
unrest and religious persecution in Azerbaijan.
“For the Armenian community, this church is a lifeline,” said
Vartanian, a school counselor. “It’s our religious home. It’s our
cultural home.”
The church is led by the Rev. Abraham Ohanesian, who commutes from
Detroit two weekends a month.
“I fly in on Saturday and visit families, take care of issues and
get the altar ready for the Sunday service,” he said.
On Saturday evening, the church dedicated a khachkar (stone cross).
It will be surrounded by a memorial garden, where people can meditate
and remember genocide victims.
The 6-by-3-foot cross was handcarved in Armenia out of native stone.
“It’s a true piece of art,” Vartanian said. “It’s gorgeous.”
Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church is at 400 Huntwood
Road in Swansea, near Wolf Branch schools. Today’s celebration will
include remarks by U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello. For more information,
call Vartanian at 398-4302.

ABOUT THE CHURCH: WHAT IS THE ARMENIAN CHURCH?
Belleville News-Democrat, IL
Nov 12 2006
The Church of Armenia acknowledges as its original founders two of
the 12 apostles of Christ, Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Armenia was the
first nation to adopt the Christian faith as its national religion in
301 A.D., 21 years before the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual center
of the Armenian Church is Etchmiadzin near the capitol of Armenia,
Erevan, and is the seat of the head of the church, the Catholicos.
The Armenian Church does not answer to the Pope of the Roman Catholic
Church.
Since their conversion in the fourth century, Armenians have clung
to their faith and maintained a passionate devotion to Christianity
despite being conquered by many nations of many faiths including
Persians (modern Iran), Romans, the Ottoman empire, Turks and others.
All of these conquerors tried to drive Christianity from this small
nation and impose their respective religions. All of them failed
and the Armenians have held onto their Christian faith for more than
1,700 years.
Armenian Churches exist on six continents around the world.
Where is Armenia? The modern state of Armenia is a former Soviet
Republic located to the east of Turkey, south of Georgia and west of
Azerbaijan. Historic Armenia includes Mount Ararat, the spot where
the Bible says Noah’s Ark landed after the Great Flood of the Old
Testament.
How long have Armenians lived in the metro-east?The first Armenians
may have arrived in the Metro East in the 1890s. Their numbers grew
in the early 1900s, many of them immigrating after they escaped the
Armenian genocide by the Turks from 1915-1923. Nearly 1.5 million
Armenians died during these year, which have been described as the
“holocaust of World War I.”
The Armenian community in this region has grown throughout the years
as the original immigrants married and had families and other Armenian
immigrants came here from Russia, Lebanon, and most recently from Baku,
Azerbaijan. Several hundred Armenian families live in the St. Louis
area. They include physicians, lawyers, educators, professionals and
elected officials among others.
When was the Armenian metro-east church founded? The church was
originally founded in 1956 in East St. Louis. The present building in
Swancea was dedicated in November 1978. Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat
Church is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
What does Shoghagat mean? The word “Shoghagat,” the original name of
the church, literally means “dripping of beams from heaven.” This name
was chosen in 1956 by the Godfather of the church, Levon Bagdasaroff.
Source: Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Church
ntertainment/15994193.htm

MAN KILLED WHILE STANDING NEAR FREEWAY CALL BOX
(CBS) North Hollywood
Nov 12, 2006 5:21 pm US/Pacific
A man using a freeway call box in North Hollywood was fatally struck
at the split between the Ventura (101) and Hollywood (170) freeways,
according to the California Highway Patrol and a media stringer
service.
Eprem Kniazian, 56, was standing next to a call box on the northbound
side of the freeway when a vehicle struck him, north of Vineland
Avenue, according to CHP Officer David Porter.
Four separate accidents occurred in the same general area since
midnight, Porter said. The man’s vehicle was disabled and stopped on
the right shoulder.
The 26-year-old woman who fatally struck him, was arrested on suspicion
of drunk driving and felony vehicular manslaughter following the
accident.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities were notified
of the crash at 3:52 a.m.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The
Associated Press contributed to this report.)
–Boundary_(ID_knaAgZwWYRrvaYoFYlXrKw)–

PARISIAN COURT REJECTED SUIT AGAINST TURKISH CONSUL
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 14:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Parisian circuit court rejected the suit brought
against Turkish Consul Aydin Sezgin. The suit was brought by an
Armenian organization over the posted on the Consulate’s website
material denying the Armenian Genocide. Yet in 2004 the court said that
due to diplomatic immunity Turkish Consul cannot be convicted. After
this the Armenian organization appealed to the Supreme Court,
reports Yerkir.

KOCHARIAN: NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISITING ARMENIA INCREASING
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 15:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2007 the number of tourists visiting Armenia
will exceed 500 thousand, Armenian President Robert Kocharian told
reporters yesterday during the opening ceremony of Multy Rest House
hotel complex in Tsaghkadzor. President Kocharian remarked that the
“development of tourism is impossible if proper attention is not paid
to the ecology issues.”
“No tourist will come to have a rest in unattractive conveniences,”
the President said adding that the ecological state of Tsaghkadzor
has considerably improved.
According to the Armenian Statistical Service in January-September of
2006 over 270 thousand tourists visited Armenia. As compared to 2005
the number of tourists increased with 18.3%, reports newsarmenia.ru.

BORUSEWICZ: KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE SETTLED WITH TWO PRINCIPLES
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.11.2006 16:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Karabakh conflict should be settled taking
into account the principles of territorial integrity and the rights
of nations to self-determination, Polish parliament speaker Bogdan
Borusewicz said. These two principles are opposed in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, which should however be resolved with appliance
of both of them, Borusewicz told a news conference in Baku. “Poland
is not an adherent to conflicts and I am not a representative of
any of the sides. But I think that the conflict should be settled
peacefully and the only way is to follow the directions of the OSCE
Minsk Group, which should determine the steps to be taken for the
conflict resolution,” he added.
Borusewicz also reiterated the proposal he made in Yerevan early
this week. He said Poland is ready to mediate for alleviating tension
between Turkey and Armenia. “Poland enjoys good relations both with
Turkey and Armenia. We can advance initiatives that will reduce
distrust. Our diplomacy can represent Armenia’s interest in Turkey
and Turkey’s interests in Armenia. Despite blockade there is trade
and contacts.
There are also difficulties but we consider that certain conditions
should be created and both sides should demonstrate interest,” he
resumed, reports Day.az.