Month: November 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:
FORME R PRIME MINISTER SELIM HOSS
VISITS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I
“LEBANON’S SOVEREIGNTY AND UNITY REMAIN ABOVE ALL INTERESTS” SAYS THE PONTIFF
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Selim Hoss visited His Holiness Aram I on
November 6 in Antelias. The Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, Bishop Kegham
Khatcherian, chairman of the Catholicosate Central Committee, Mr. Andre
Tabourian and its secretary, Mr. Tsolag Tutelian, attended the meeting
between the Catholicos and the former Lebanese official.
Hoss presented to His Holiness a document outlining the commitment of former
Lebanese prime ministers to resolve the country’s internal problems.
Discussions focused on the current difficulties Lebanon faces, the post-war
reconstruction activities in the country, the strengthening of internal
unity, the need for mutual understanding and concessions between various
players in the political scene and the economic problems the country faces.
The former Prime Minister expressed his viewpoints on resolving the
difficult situation in Lebanon through the establishment of harmony between
the various Lebanese sides.
His Holiness Aram I also expressed his opinion in this respect, stressing
the importance of strengthening Lebanon’s unity and sovereignty, which can
be accomplished only by considering the interests of Lebanon above all
considerations.
##
View photos here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission 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.

Azad Hye
November 2006
Reported by Acacia Poladian
Tuesday the 17th of October 2006 was an honorable and memorable day for
Souren Antoyan. Organized by Hamazkayin’s Roupen Zartarian and Azadamard
club, the event was dedicated to the Armenian survivor who recently
published his autobiography, “Inknagerdoumi Djampov” (‘on the path of
self-formation’).
The book describes the path taken by Souren in order to fulfill his duty as
a self – devoted Armenian. The title already speaks for itself: It tells the
story of a man who had struggled through deadly and threatening moments in
his life and finally carved out the real life he chose to live, despite the
loss of his family, the separation from his mom and being in the orphanage.
The book points out the story of other national and cultural personalities
who had played a major role in educating Armenian generations. Souren
Antoyan has never thought of pulling back or retreating away from life
threatening situations and always showed the courage to continue overcoming
difficulties. He also took part in building the club and the school in
Ashrafieh (a suburb in Beirut).
Garo Hovhannissian presented the book, then the writer himself thanked all
the people present at the event, during which he received an award.
At the end of the ceremony bishop Kegham Khatcherian, presented Souren
Antoyan as a national hero, and an example that must be followed by every
single Armenian.
Priest Mesrob Kerkezian gave a heartwarming speech about Souren Antoyan.
Born during the Armenian genocide and already 91 years old, he is still
urging Armenians to build their own life path, inspired by his pioneering
work of organizing the Armenian community in Beirut.
See photos at:
621sjl41
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
ARMENIA: YEZIDI IDENTITY BATTLE
New textbooks highlight division within Armenia’s Yezidi community.
By Onnik Krikorian in Yerevan
Yezidis in the western Aragatsotn region of Armenia have taken a dim
view of government efforts, supported by the UN children’s agency,
UNICEF, to bolster minority education in the republic.
At the beginning of September, at an event staged in the Yezidi village
of Alagyaz, government officials said that new textbooks in minority
languages would be distributed to schools in minority-populated
villages, while UNICEF said it would provide stationary and other supplies.
Less than a month later, however, Yezidis in Alagyaz and ten surrounding
villages were complaining. Their language is the Kurmanji dialect of
Kurdish, but the books funded and provided by the government were
instead written in Ezdiki. While the latter is still Kurdish by another
name, the alphabet chosen for publication was in the unaccustomed
Cyrillic alphabet instead of the more usual Latin or Arabic scripts.
“All schools have at present is old Soviet-era textbooks,” said Gohar
Saroava, a young journalist with the Mesopotamia newspaper in Yerevan
and one of the few Muslim Kurds remaining in Armenia. Others, however,
are more outspoken. “These [new] books are a shame and we don’t want to
have this rubbish,” said Torkom Khudoyan, vice-president of the National
Committee of Yezidis of Armenia.

Speaking to IWPR, both UNICEF and Hranush Kharatyan, head of the
Armenian government’s department for national minorities and religious
affairs, confirmed reports that the new textbooks are being rejected,
but said that it was outside their remit to intervene. Critics, however,
argue that the situation should never have arisen in the first place and
allege it is part a continuing attempt to promote a non-Kurdish identity
among Armenia’s Yezidis.
Yezidis are the largest ethnic minority in Armenia, with most having
arrived in the country in the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. Widely
dismissed as devil worship, Yezidism in fact combines elements from
Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Although the Yezidis
are generally considered to be Kurds who resisted pressure to convert to
Islam, there have been attempts to identify them as a separate ethnic
group in Armenia since the last years of Soviet rule.
In 1988, an appeal was made to the Soviet authorities by some Yezidi
leaders requesting that they be designated as an ethnic group. This
coincided with the beginning of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorny Karabakh, as a result of which, thousands of Muslim Kurds fled
Armenia, alongside ethnic Azerbaijanis. Yezidis, however, were spared.
In 1989, the request was granted, and in the last Soviet census
conducted the same year, out of approximately 60,000 Kurds who had been
formerly identified as living in Armenia, 52,700 were for the first time
given a new official identity as Yezidis. The 2001 census put the number
of Yezidis and Kurds in the republic at 40,620 and 1,519 respectively.
Hasan Tamoyan, editor of the Armenian-language Yezidikhana newspaper and
head of the Yezidi programme on Armenian Public Radio, eagerly cites the
last census as evidence that Yezidis are not Kurds. Tamoyan is also one
of the authors of the controversial new school textbooks.
“There are over 40,000 people who identified themselves as Yezidis and
only around 1,500 that identified themselves as Kurds,” said Tamoyan.
“Aren’t you inclined to believe the official data? Is Kurmanji listed as
a language in the census? The Kurdish language is not even mentioned.
There is only the Yezidi language, Ezdiki.”
However, few specialists on the Yezidis outside of Armenia agree.
“The Yezidi religious and cultural tradition is deeply rooted in Kurdish
culture and almost all Yezidi sacred texts are in Kurdish,” said Philip
Kreyenbroek, head of Iranian studies at the University of Goettingen in
Germany and a leading specialist on the Kurds and the Yezidis of Turkey
and northern Iraq.
Dr Christine Allison, a lecturer at the Institut National des Langues et
Civilisations Orientales, INALCO, in Paris currently conducting
fieldwork among Yezidis in Armenia, agrees. “I have met more Yezidis in
Armenia who believe they are also Kurds,” she said, “and with the
exception of two villages in Iraq, Yezidis speak Kurmanji Kurdish. Their
oral and material culture is typical of Kurdistan and pretty much
identical to non-Yezidi Kurds.”
Nahro Zagros, an ethnic Kurdish PhD student from Iraq studying the
ethno-musical traditions of Yezidis at the University of York, concurs.
Zagros says that he also stumbled upon what many consider to be the
artificial division of the community on a recent visit to Armenia. “The
school in Shinkani has refused these textbooks, and teachers from Rya
Taze, Alagyaz, Dirik, Orta Chia, Amri Taze and Jamushlow have also
rejected them,” he said.
The situation in Armenia also differs markedly from that in neighbouring
Georgia, home, according to official statistics, to 18,000 Yezidis.
“There are problems in Georgia, but we [Kurds] are one nation,” said Pir
Dima, a Yezidi religious leader from Tbilisi visiting Armenia in
September. “It’s just that our religion is different. However, the
problem in Georgia is nowhere near as serious as it is in Armenia.
Yezidis here [in Armenia] don’t want Armenians to know that they are
Kurdish because Muslim Kurds killed Armenians as well as Yezidis [during
the 1915 genocide].”
Rostom Atashov, president of the Union of Yezidis in Georgia, told IWPR
his community uses the Kurmanji dialect and the Latin script. “We are
both Yezidis and Kurds,” he said. “We have one language and it is
Kurdish, and if you look at where the Yezidis came from geographically,
it is Kurdistan. In Georgia, we’ve never even debated this problem.
Yezidis are Kurds, and we all believe that.”
Atashov also says he believes that the division has opened up Armenia’s
Yezidi community to the appeal of organisations such as the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, currently fighting a separatist guerrilla
war in Turkey. “The Armenian government doesn’t want to recognise
Yezidis as Kurds so the only people willing to help Yezidis in Armenia
with establishing their identity are groups such as the PKK,” he said.
And that certainly seems to be the case in at least six Yezidi villages
in the Aragatsotn and Armavir regions of Armenia visited by IWPR this
autumn. While many Yezidis openly identified themselves as such, all
also said they were Kurmanji-speaking ethnic Kurds. They additionally
expressed support for the PKK and displayed portraits of Abdullah
Ocalan, the organisation’s imprisoned leader, in their homes, cultural
centres and schools.
In recent years, several PKK representatives have also openly visited
Armenia to tour Yezidi villages. Last year, Yusuf Avdoyan, a Yezidi from
the Armavir region of Armenia, was killed along with six other PKK
members fighting in Batman, Turkey. According to the Kurdistan Committee
in Armavir, his sister has now also joined the PKK and is currently
fighting with them.
Some experts believe that the government has only succeeded in
alienating the Yezidis through its education policies. One academic from
Europe speaking to IWPR on the condition of anonymity said, “The state
seems to be distinctly encouraging the Ezdiki faction and has not
latched on to the fact that Kurmanji and Ezdiki, which were the same
language for the entire Soviet period, are still the same. The most
obvious and cost-effective compromise would be to produce Ezdiki-Kurdish
schoolbooks in a mutually agreed alphabet.”
Kharatyan says that she proposed a solution such as this to resolve this
conflict over language, but was threatened by both sides of the Yezidi
community instead. The government has since said it will monitor the
distribution of the controversial textbooks, but the Kurdistan Committee
is now printing its own textbooks in the Latin script for distribution
to Yezidi schools during the second half of November.
Knyaz Hassanov, head of the Kurdish community in Armenia, told IWPR,
“These books do not concern us. They are not important and we have
decided to publish our own. The overwhelming majority [of Yezidis in
Armenia] consider themselves Kurds, so if 1-2,000 do not feel the same
it’s not significant enough of an issue for us. Besides, it’s also their
right.”
Onnik Krikorian is a British-born journalist and photojournalist who has
written on Yezidis in Armenia since 1998. He has a blog from Armenia at
For Andrei Liankevich’s vivid photo essay on the Yezidis, visit the IWPR
Caucasus website and scroll down the right-hand column
;s=p&o=-& amp;apc_state=henh
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

7 November 2006
Justice Initiative Activities Roundup: September to October 2006
+1 212-548-0157
[email protected]
www.justic einitiative.org
Justice Initiative Intervenes in Armenian FOI Suit
On Oct. 16, the Justice Initiative filed written comments with the European
Court of Human Rights in a freedom of information case against Armenia. The
case, Geraguyn Khorhurd Patgamavorakan Akumb v. Armenia, involves the
alleged failure of an Armenian election authority to provide information on
its decision making processes, as well as data pertaining to the campaign
contributions and expenses of certain political parties. The Justice
Initiative was granted leave by the Court to intervene as a third party in
the case and submit comments on the general principles involved. The brief
argues that the existence of a right to information is well established in
European and international law, and urges the Court to find that Article 10
of the European Convention on Human Rights establishes a right of access to
information held by public authorities. The brief also elaborates on the
close links between access to information, free expression and political
participation.
    & #xA0;       &#x A0;       &#xA0 ;        & #xA0;       &#x A0;       &#xA0 ;        & #xA0; 
___________________
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an operational program of the Open
Society Institute, pursues law reform activities grounded in the protection
of human rights, and contributes to the development of legal capacity for
open societies worldwide. The Justice Initiative combines litigation, legal
advocacy, technical assistance, and the dissemination of knowledge to secure
advances in the following priority areas: national criminal justice,
international justice, freedom of information and expression, and equality
and citizenship. Its offices are in Abuja, Budapest, and New York.

Interview with the Executive Director of the Americans
for Artsakh (AFA) Emil Sanamyan.
Usanogh.com
October 26, 2006
Mr. Sanamyan took over as AFA’s Executive Director this October. From
2000 until 2006 he was a Research Officer at the Armenian Assembly of
America and from 1998 to 2000 he worked in the Office of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in the United States. Mr. Sanamyan was educated at
the University of Arizona in Tucson and George Washington University
in Washington, DC.
Usanogh: When was your organization, Americans for Artsakh established
and how?
AFA: Back in October 2003 a group of American Armenians activists came
together to see what they could do to contribute to the welfare and
development of Artsakh, this truly strategic part of Armenia. Since
then, AFA registered as a not-for-profit organization, launched its
web site at and in March 2005
opened a liaison office in Stepanakert.
AFA’s mandate includes five main elements: to preserve Artsakh’s
freedom, strengthen its democracy, foster economic development, help
its educational system and protect and promote its cultural heritage.
Usanogh: Who was or were the founders of your organization and why did
they establish the AFA?
AFA: The founders of the organization include AFA Chairman Mr. Zaven
Khanjian, AFA Board Members Dr. Hratch Abrahamian, Mrs. Rita Balian,
Mr. Edward Chobanian and Mrs. Savey Tufenkian, and Mr. Hrant
Jamgochian as AFA’s executive director from 2003 to 2006. AFA founders
have a history of leadership involvement in Armenian American
initiatives, including those dealing with Artsakh. They also represent
a true cross-section of the community, and continue to be active in
organizations such as the Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian
Educational Foundation, Armenian General Benevolent Union, Armenian
Missionary Association of America, Armenian National Committee of
America, and Hayastan Pan-Armenian Fund.
Why was establishment of a new organization necessary? In my mind,
this is recognition of Artsakh’s unique strategic value. And I would
argue not just for Armenians, but for the world at large. Physically,
Artsakh is truly one of the most beautiful corners of the world and
certainly of Armenia. Values at the core of Artsakh’s struggle:
freedom, justice, self-determination – are truly universal values.
Finally, for Armenians everywhere, Artsakh means national survival and
revival, political relevance in the world today and a window into the
future. Artsakh has given us the gift of pride through the struggle,
sacrifice and victory. It is only natural that we return the favor
through our modest efforts.
There has of course been considerable Armenian American involvement in
Artsakh, both by individuals and through organizations. Since the end
of the fighting in 1994, this involvement has focused on humanitarian
assistance (including direct Armenian American involvement and via
U.S. government funding secured by our advocacy groups in Washington),
building of a basic road infrastructure (through the Hayastan Fund)
and, more recently, the effort to contribute to sustainable
development of Artsakh’s rural communities.
Certainly, like no other part of Armenia today, Artsakh remains
vulnerable to external threats and continues to demand utmost
attention and care.
Many avenues for involvement remain open. AFA is working to identify
those areas where it can be most effective and secure necessary
resources to address the needs.
Usanogh: How many members does your organization have and where are
they located?
AFA: While AFA has supporters in many parts of the United States, we
have yet to begin to aggressively recruit members. Using this
opportunity I would like to invite your readers to visit
and decide how they would like to
get involved.
Usanogh: What sort of projects did the AFA carry out from the time of
its establishment? What are your future projects?
AFA: Our projects so far included:
-Sponsorship of two seismologists from Artsakh to participate in a
professional conference held in California;
-We helped bring in a very talented young Armenian American from the
Stanford University to teach conflict management to Stepanakert high
school students, a project we hope to replicate;
-We helped equip a high school geography classroom, also in
Stepanakert, another project ripe for replication;
Since 2005, we launched a first-ever survey of agricultural products
available throughout Artsakh, with an eye to identifying the most
promising produce that can be grown locally for both domestic
consumption and export;
Last month, we facilitated a trip by Kathryn Cameron Porter, President
of the Washington-based Leadership Council for Human Rights to
Artsakh.
We are working on a number of other projects, including in education,
agriculture, cultural heritage and strengthening democratic
governance.
Usanogh: Do you have any sponsors and if so, who are they?
AFA: So far, AFA’s supporters are AFA’s sponsors. We have not yet
sought and have not received grants from outside.
Usanogh: Do you have any organizational newsletter or newspaper? If
not, do you plan to have one any time soon? If you do, who is your
editorial staff?
AFA: We have issued press releases on completed and ongoing projects –
they are on our web site and have been circulated through print and
electronic media. As we go forward, we will consider possible
additional ways of communicating with our supporters and the public at
large.
Usanogh: How can one volunteer or become a member of your
organization?
AFA: Once again, I invite your readers to our web site
and welcome your feedback and
volunteer assistance. Ways to get involved are many: spread the word
about AFA, help organize events, contribute to the development of our
web site and our projects. And certainly, we would welcome new members
and their financial support.
Usanogh: Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. We wish
you all the best with your projects.
AFA: Thank you. It was my pleasure.
Source:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
November 7, 2006
___________________
ST. JAMES MARKS 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
By Jake Goshert
Fifty years ago, the founders of the St. James Church of Richmond, VA,
decided not to build an Armenian-style church. Instead, they built a
non-descript sanctuary.
“The reason was that the people were thinking in just 10 or 20 years there
wouldn’t be any Armenians living in Richmond,” said the parish’s current
pastor, Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan. “But today we are celebrating our 50th
anniversary. And who knows, in 50 years maybe we’ll have more people here
and need a bigger church. It’s all in God’s hands. But I believe, and I
pray, that this church will continue to flourish and grow.”
The parish marked its first 50 years with a banquet on Saturday, October 21,
2006, followed by a special Divine Liturgy on Sunday, celebrated by
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern).
HISTORY OF DEDICATION
The Armenian community in Richmond grew in the early 1900s as Armenian
immigrants found work in the region’s booming industrial sector. They had
church services in a rented Episcopal hall, but as the community grew they
hungered for a home of their own.
They began to raise the $45,000 needed to build a church, and by 1956 had
completed their dream. The St. James Church became the first Armenian
Church between Washington, D.C., and Florida.
During the banquet and badarak, which drew 160 people, some of the parish’s
historic leaders were honored. The parish honored the three living
godfathers of the parish, Gerry Sharigian, and brothers Henry and Robert
Magarian.
“The vision and efforts of these early men and women are what laid the
foundation for this church,” said Dr. Michael Vranian in an anniversary DVD
produced by the parish. “This church is truly their living legacy.”
One of the first parish council members, John Baronian, was presented with a
pontifical encyclical and the St. Nersess Shnorhali medal on behalf of His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
“You have ceaselessly undertaken many duties on parish and Diocesan levels,”
the Catholicos wrote in the encyclical. “Through the voluntary services of
faithful Armenians like you, our church becomes stronger, enlightening the
path of our people with life-giving faith.”
Getting involved in the church was a family affair for Baronian, who says
seeing his parents involvement with the church at an early date made him
want to step forward and serve the community.
“I just never not think of not being involved. It’s not a question of why
I’m involved. It’s like getting up in the morning, just something that is
part of me,” he said. ”
The weekend also saw the dedication of a khatchkar for the parish, which was
donated by Baronian in memory of his late wife, Margie.
“In our lives we need examples,” Fr. Karapetyan said. “We need heroes and I
pray that this older generation can serve as a great example for the younger
generation. We have younger people participating in our anniversary
activities and they saw how moving it was when these 85-year-old men came
forward to receive their awards. There were tears in his eyes and he was
filled with joy and pride. It is a great example for the younger generation
to see the dedication of this older generation.”
CHANGING FUTURE
Though the focus of the weekend was the past, it was also a chance to think
about the future of the St. James Church.
“This joyous occasion, during which we reflect on the accomplishments of
this parish over the past 50 years, we also consider the possibilities for
this community 50 years from now,” the Primate said in his sermon. “We have
accomplished much, but we have miles still to go.”
“We have to reflect on and honor the toils of those before us, who built for
us this holy place,” the Primate added. “We have to pause long enough to
reflect on our own lives and ask weather we have led accountable lives
before their memory, before our children, and before our God.”
Fr. Karapetyan agrees that the celebratory weekend energized the community.
No longer is the parish made up of just first-generation immigrants from
historic Armenia. Today the community is made up of second- and
third-generation Armenians, as well as immigrants from throughout the
Diaspora.
And while he is not sure of the future of the parish, he knows the faith of
its parishioners is strong.
“The church stays the same,” he said, noting the demographic changes in the
community. “In its essence the Armenian Church can never change, because it
is based on the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles.”
“This 50th anniversary is a great opportunity for us to acknowledge and
recognize the past,” he added. “It’s a very important legacy that was left
for us. But the anniversary is also an opportunity for us to acknowledge
the present and to look at the future and renew our commitment to the
church. Running away from the church is easy, anyone can do that. The
challenge for us today is to find ways to make the Armenian Church a very
important part of our lives and the lives of our families, to find time to
teach our children about our heritage, our faith, our history, our culture.”
— 11/7/06
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern
Diocese, is joined by parishioners and guests of the St. James Church of
Richmond, VA, during the consecration of a new khatchkar as part of the
celebrations marking 50 years of the parish.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Archbishop Barsamian and Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, pastor
of the St. James Church of Richmond, VA, present parish leader John Baronian
with a pontifical encyclical and St. Nersess Shnorhali medal on behalf of
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
during the parish’s 50th anniversary celebration on October 21, 2006.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): The Primate delivers communion at the St. James Church
of Richmond, VA, during the Divine Liturgy on October 21, 2006, which marked
the parish’s 50th anniversary.

November 7, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: <; ARMENIAN , COPTIC, AND SYRIAC SUNDAY SCHOOL GATHERING On Saturday, October 28, 2006, a one-day gathering of Oriental Orthodox Churches Sunday Schools took place at Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The gathering was held under the auspices of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Bishops, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, H.G. Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and H.E. Mor Clemis Eugene Kaplan of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Following registration, students from each church participated in the Morning Prayer services in their respective language. The Prelates and their representatives then welcomed the students and teachers, conveyed their encouragement and spiritual messages, and invited all the participants to accept Jesus into their hearts, and to be guided by His love. After the group picture and lunch, close to 300 students divided into 20 groups, to take part in an educational session on episodes and parables from the Bible, after which each group presented their specific topic to the others. Father Athanasius Ragheb, Pastor of Archangel Michael Church then presented the students with crosses. The gathering concluded with remarks by the organizing committee, in which they commended the Sunday School directors, teachers, and students, and thanked them for their participation.

Armenian Technology Group, Inc.
1300 East Shaw Ave. Suite 131 ; P. O. Box 5969; Fresno CA, 93755
Tel: 559-224-1000; Fax 559-224-1002; Web Site:
PRESS RELEASE
Date: November 7, 2006
Contact Person: Lucille Gahvejian
For Immediate Release Tel: 559-224-1000
“I Am Impressed!”
Minister of Agriculture Davit Lokyan and
Governor of Shirak, Romig Manougyan
Visit ATG Wheat Seed Farms
Yerevan, Armenia – “I am impressed how ATG is helping our farmers
establish a strong private sector seed industry in Armenia,” said
Davit Lokyan the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture during his recently
visit to the Armenian Technology Group (ATG) wheat field trial plots
in Karnut village near Gyumri. Mr. Lokiyan was accompanied with the
Governor of Shirak Marz, Mr. Romig Manougyan, Deputy Ag Minister
Samvel Avedisyan and Mr. Garnik Petrosyan, Head of the Department of
Agronomy at the Ministry of Agriculture. Joining them were
representatives from the UN, World Bank and other institutions.
The purpose of Mr. Lokyan’s visit was to witness first hand one of the
14 wheat seed production sites around the country that ATG and its
Seed Producers Association farmers have set up their trial
plots. There are up to 30 different new and improved seed varieties
being tested in each of these locations. Others are locations in areas
such as Ararat, Sissian, Armavir, Kotayk, and Tavoush
regions. Minister Lokyan and his entourage were impressed by the trial
plots in Karnut village near Gyumri.
“I have not seen such an organized scientific research conducted on
seed production anywhere in the Republic. It is marvelous!” said
Mr. Lokyan while visiting the seed trial plots and production farm of
ATG farmer Hovhanness Galoyan, who was the recipient of a Gold Medal
during the latest International AgroForum Conference, for his
accomplishments.
The purpose of these trial plots are to research and identify higher
yielding and rust resistant new seed varieties with minimum input, and
after going through extensive cultural adaptation process make them
available to the farmers.
These are on-going technical practices that were transferred to the
local farmers by series of long time ATG technical farm advisories
from the United States, some of whom were stationed in Armenia for
over 12 years! Since the start of the wheat seed program in 1992, ATG
and its farmers have tested over 400 wheat, barley, alfalfa and corn
varieties, and selected the best yielding seeds for the Armenian
farmers.
The program is now totally being administered by the local team of
agronomists headed by Gagik Mkerchyan, a 13-year veteran of ATG in
Armenia and the director of the SPSA, along with his assistants,
agronomist Vaghinag Kamrastyan and Mekhitar Grigoryan have been
overseeing the wheat seed program that ATG transferred to them.
“I am so proud of Gaigk and the work that he is continuing with his
farmers” said Roger Culver, ATG technical advisor and six year
in-country director in Armenia, from his home in Oregon. “He not only
mastered the western knowledge and farming practices that we transfer
to them, but he and his colleagues are training other farmers to
maintain the highest standard and quality control of seed production
in Armenia. We thank the Lord for provided us with such dedicated
individuals.”
“Our goal has been to train and enable the farmers to help increase
their farm production and feed their families” said Varoujan Der
Simonian, Executive Director of ATG. The program inspired the farmers
and gave them hope. It increased production and saved rural Armenia
from starvation during the early years of the Republic. The project
created thousands of jobs, and generated income that otherwise would
not have been possible. “ATG is thankful to all those who continue to
contribute to our mission.”
The ATG Seed Multiplication Project has been funded through USDA
Foreign Agricultural Service – Food for Progress, The Lincy
Foundation, The Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable Foundation,
Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church, organizations and individuals
in the United States.
The Armenian Technology Group, Inc. is a California based non-profit,
public benefit corporation with offices in Fresno, CA, Yerevan,
Armenia and Stepanakerd, Artsakh. Tax deductible donations could be
mailed to ATG 1300 E. Shaw Ave. Suite #131; P.O. Box 5969, Fresno, CA
93755. You can also visit the ATG web site at and
donate on line.
Rural Armenia News Service
Brought to you by ATG, Inc.
(Armenian Technology Group)
For more information about how you can help rural Armenia,
contact ATG at [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
November 5, 2006
Koelner – Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus
Contact: Beth Broussalian
Grant Writing & Public Relations
Tel: 949-929-7211
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
EVENING OF LITERATURE IN COLOGNE, GERMANY FEATURES ORHAN PAMUK’S NOVEL “SNOW”
Pamuk’s Acclaimed Novel to be Read in Five Languages at Original Performance
COLOGNE, GERMANY – Excerpts from the internationally acclaimed novel,
“Snow,” by Orhan Pamuk, will be read in five languages at an original
performance taking place in Cologne, Germany on Friday, November 10,
2006. The readings will be performed by Albrecht Kieser in German;
Hasmik Hagopian in Armenian; Hulya Engin in Turkish; Adnan Dindar in
Kurdish; and Harutuin Harutuinian in Russian. Krikor Manugian, a
local performing artist, is the event’s organizer and moderator.
“Snow” is the most recent book by Pamuk who is the 2006 recipient of
the Nobel Prize for Literature.
This event is part of a grand, two-week literary festival that
celebrates Pamuk’s “Snow” as Cologne’s 2006 `Book for the City.’ The
festival is organized by one of Germany’s largest newpapers, Koelner
Stadt-Anzeiger, and Cologne’s Literaturhaus.
Set in the Turkish city of Kars in the 1990s, “Snow” is epic in
scope. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural
tensions of modern Turkey into a few snowy days in a small Turkish
town and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism,
and a deep sympathy with its characters. Pamuk’s literary style
possesses the intensity and fantasy characteristic of the major
writers of our time.
`My inspiration for organizing this five-language, original
performance is to show that historically Kars has not always been a
city of Turkish people. Quite the contrary, large populations of
Armenians, Russians and Kurds inhabited Kars before World War I.
With this performance, I am using art to create a dialogue among the
people who have inhabited Kars over the centuries. In my opinion,
there are no rules for initiating dialogue. By promoting cultural
awareness, I am drawing attention to the history of the Armenian
people without pointing a finger at the Turks and saying that they
are guilty [of Genocide],’ explains Manugian.
`I was born in Istanbul and am certain that if my parents hadn’t
moved our family to Germany when I was still young, I would be either
dead or in prison. Instead, I have grown up with the basic human
rights all people deserve. In Germany, I do not have to hide my
ethnicity, instead I can organize events like the literary evening
and celebrate my heritage,’ continues Manugian.
`We should not forget our history, but I believe it is wrong to
remain in the past. One of the first words that I learned in
Armenian was `abaka,’ meaning future. I have made it my life’s
ambition to work toward a better future for the Armenian people,’
Manugian concludes.
Although Pamuk is the world’s most famous contemporary Turkish
writer, in his homeland the 54-year old novelist has stirred up
nationalists against him and has been forced to answer to criminal
charges of insulting the nation’s `Turkishness.’ The charges against
Pamuk came after remarks he made about the Armenian Genocide in an
interview in 2005 with the Swiss publication Das Magazin, a weekly
supplement to a number of Swiss daily newspapers. In the interview,
Pamuk stated, “Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody dares to talk about it.”
Pamuk said that after the Swiss interview was published, he was
subjected to a hate campaign that forced him to flee the country. He
returned later in 2005, however, to face the charges against him. In
an interview with BBC News, he said he wanted to defend freedom of
speech, which was Turkey’s only hope for coming to terms with its
history: “What happened to the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 was a major
thing that was hidden from the Turkish nation; it was a taboo. But we
have to be able to talk about the past.”
In addition to winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pamuk has
recently been awarded the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book
Trade, Le Prix Méditerranée étranger, Le Prix Medicis, and the
Ricardo Huch Prize. Pamuk is also an honorary member of American
Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition to “Snow,” Pamuk has
written “The White Castle,” “The Black Book, New Life,” and “My Name
is Red.” To date, his novels have been translated into 40 languages.
The literary evening on November 10 will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the
Lew Kopelew Forum, Neumarkt 18a, 50 667 Cologne. It will include a
slide show presentation featuring photos of the Turkish city of Kars.
Traditional music of the five different nations represented at the
reading will be performed. The event will conclude with a book
signing by the five readers and Manugian, who very recently changed
his name from Kirkor Pehlivan to take the surname of his paternal
grandfather, a freedom fighter in the Armenian Genocide with the
famous General Antranig Ozanian.
To reach the Kopelew Forum directly, please call +49 221 257 6767.
For additional information about this extraordinary event, please
contact [email protected].
###

CONTACTS:
Brian Kabateck Mark Geragos
Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP Geragos & Geragos
213-217-5000 213 625-3900
[email protected] [email protected]
Diane Zakian Rumbaugh
Rumbaugh Public Relations
805-493-2877
[email protected]
PRE SS RELEASE November 6, 2006
NEARLY $8 MILLION IN NEW YORK LIFE SETTLEMENT CHECKS
TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
LOS ANGELES, CALIF.–Settlement checks totaling
$7,954,362.24 will be distributed this week to more than 2,500 Armenian
descendants of victims massacred in the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The
checks are a share of a multi million dollar settlement in a class
action lawsuit brought against New York Life Insurance Company for
unpaid life insurance benefits. In addition, $3 million has been already
distributed to various Armenian charitable organizations (Martin
Marootian, et al. v. New York Life Insurance Company).
The board reviewed thousands of claims and found that 2,515
claims could be traced to Armenians who had purchased life insurance
policies from New York Life prior to 1915.
“We are thrilled that thousands of Armenians will finally
get the insurance compensation they deserve,” says Brian Kabateck,
partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP and one of the lead attorneys
who represented the Armenian heirs. “Armenians don’t give up easily and
this settlement is a testament to that.”
“Although compensation is about 90 years late, we’re still
pleased that Armenians are receiving some of what is owed them,” says
Mark Geragos, partner with Geragos & Geragos, another of the lead
attorneys in the case. In addition to Kabateck and Geragos, Vartkes
Yeghiayan of Yeghiayan & Associates represented the plaintiffs in the
case. All are of Armenian decent.
Letters will be mailed to all claimants. Checks will be
included to claimants awarded compensation. Of the nearly $8 million in
settlement checks, Armenians in Armenia will receive the most ($3.4
million) followed by Armenians in the United States ($2.6 million) and
Armenians in France ($656,413). In all, Armenians in 26 countries will
receive compensation.
For questions about the settlement, contact the settlement
board at 213-327-0740.
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