Month: April 2007

Awards to policemen

AramRadio.am
16.04.2007 17:40

On the occasion of the Police Day, on April 13 RA President Robert
Kocharyan signed a decree on awarding a number of employees of the
Police for the contribution to the reinforcement of the public order
and courage demonstrated when carrying out the professional duties,

Medal for the `excellent maintenance of the public order’ was awarded
to Deputy Chief of Police, Lieutenant General Hovhannes Hunanyan.

A medal for courage was awarded to Police Lieutenant Colonel Murad
Baghdasaryan and Police Lieutenant Colonel Gevorg Ghazaryan.

Active Service Medals were awarded to Police Lieutenant Colonel Melkon
Antonyan, Police Senior Lieutenant Arkadia Gevorgyan, Police Senior
Sergeant Alexan Tumikyan, Police Captain Vardan Kharatyan, Police
Lieutenant Colonel Samvel Hakobyan, Police Major Sumbat Margaryan,
Police Captain Kajik Voskanyan, Police Mayor Robert Rafaelyan, Police
Major Zaven Simonyan, Police Sergeant-Major David Vanesyan, Police
Captain Lernik Vardanyan, Police Senior Sergeant Nerses Pirumyan.

On the occasson of teh Police Day Mkhitar Heratsi medals were awarded
to Vardan Movsisyan and Arthur Petrosyan.
From: Baghdasarian

CONSULTATIONS WITH PARTICIPATION OF INTERESTED DEPARTMENTS AND LOCAL
SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES REPRESENTATIVES TO FROM NOW ON FOLLOW VISITS
PAID BY RA PRIME MINISTER TO MARZES

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, NOYAN TAPAN. With results of the visit paid to the
RA marz of Tavush RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsian hold a consultation
on April 16, with participation of representatives of interested
ministries, departments, territorial government and local
self-government bodies. The Prime Minister presented the consultation
participants his approaches and impressions concerning the issues
raised during the meetings with the marz population, listened to the
responses on that occasion. He instructed to study the raised issues
in details and propose effective ways of solution in as a short period
of time as it is possible.

According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA
Government’s Information and Public Relations Department, S. Sargsian
informed the consultation participants that after his working visits
this approach will always be used. He emphasized that those
responsible must be ready to quickly respond and give realistic
solutions to the vital problems the population is interested in.

IT IS PLANNED TO BUILD "NEW KENTRON" IN NORAGYUGH DISTRICT

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The project of Yerevan Kentron
community’s zoning is at the final stage. As Chief Yerevan Architect
Samvel Danielian reported at the April 16 press conference, this
project is based on the project of drawing Kentron’s plan approved as
early as in 1982, in which many changes were made. Drafts of
development of a number of territories of Kentron will be worked out
after the project’s approval by the government.

S. Danielian said that by the draft is it planned to increase
Kentron’s green zones by 95.4 hectares and to incresse the area of
green zones per one resident from current 9.8 sq.m. to 15.3 sq.m. In
the words of the Chief Architect, green zones will increae in the Kond
district, in territories of Cascase complex, territories near Vazgen
Sargsian stadium.

Though there is a necessity to build new constructions in Kentron
community, nevertheless, in S. Danielian’s words, this is imposible
due to territorial limitations. Therefore, a New Kentron will be
created in the Noragyugh district, where hotels, offices of
international organizations, cultural centers, as well as places of
rest and entertainment will be built.

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, Ca 91504
Tel: 818-558-7474
Fax: 818-558-6333
Web:

AGBU Hosts Genocide Commemoration

DATE: Saturday, April 21, 2007
LOCATION: AGBU-AYA Nazarian Center, 6844 Oakdale Ave, Canoga Park
Time: 8:00 – 10:00 PM

Please Join the AGBU-AYA San Fernando Valley Chapter in remembering
the Armenian Genocide of 1915

– Opening ceremony by the AGBU-AYA Antranig Scouts with Anthems
performed by the AGBU-AYA Hye-Herosner Marching Band
– Performances y the AGBU-AYA Sardarabad Dance Group
– Participation of top bands Sight of Sound and Silent Noise
– Special guest appearance by famous vocalist, Daniel Decker
– Inspirational words by distinguished speakers

FREE ADMISSION

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
April 16, 2007
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: [email protected]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY MEETS WITH NEVADA SENATORIAL DELEGATION

Las Vegas, NV – The Armenian Assembly’s Western Office led a community
meeting with the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
and Senator John Ensign (R-NV) in Las Vegas, Nevada to discuss issues
critical to the Armenian-American community.

Western Office Director Lena Kaimian, along with Parish Council Member
Fredrick Gregoryan and Ladies Guild Chair Olga Gregoryan of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of Las Vegas, Jerry Guederian who serves as
Armenian Council of America’s Nevada Representative and community
activist Gerard Costantian, discussed the importance of congressional
passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution pending in the Senate and
House (S. Res. 106 and H. Res. 106 respectively) as well S. Res. 65
condemning the murder of Hrant Dink. Additional topics included the
Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations requests for Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh, military parity and the importance of lifting the Turkish
blockade and regional transportation corridors. 

"We are fortunate to have such an active community in Las Vegas and
the strong bipartisan support of the State’s Senators," said
Kaimian. "We look forward to expanding these relationships, and hope
that S. Res. 106 will be scheduled for a vote in the Senate," Kaimian
added.

The group commended the long-time support of both Senators, and
thanked Ensign for introducing S. Res. 106 along with his Senate
Colleague Richard Durbin (D-IL). Fredrick and Olga Gregoryan also
provided an update on the activities of Nevada’s growing community.

"As an Assembly intern alumnus and a concerned Armenian-American, I
strongly support the Assembly’s advocacy agenda and goal to strengthen
the U.S.-Armenia relationship," said Costantian. On a similar note,
Guederian stressed the importance of activism on legislative issues
and reaching out to lawmakers.

The Armenian Assembly 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#2007-046

Armenian National Committee of South Bay
c/o Christopher Yemenidjian, Chair
Gardena, CA 90249
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Contact: Christopher Yemenidjian
Email: [email protected]

South Bay Community of California to Commemorate Armenian Genocide

South Bay, CA – the South Bay Armenian Community is organizing a
commemoration event for the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on
Friday, April 20th at the South Bay Armenian Community Center. The event
is cosponsored by Armenian National Committee of South Bay, the ARF Aram
Manougian Chapter, the AYF Potorig Chapter, the ARF Potorig Badanegan
Chapter, Homenetmen, ARS Arax Chapter, as well as the ARS Armenian
Friday School.

The commemoration will address key issues such as the importance of
basic human rights, the cultural genocide taking place in Javakhk,
current resolutions in Congress, and how individual members of the South
Bay community can contribute to helping with all local and national
issues.

"The South Bay ANC has recommitted itself reaching out to the local
Armenian community and working to engage them in the civic life of the
South Bay community," said Christopher Yemenidjian, Chairman of the
South Bay ANC. "The Armenian Genocide will forever be a defining point
in our cultural experience and I hope that through this commemoration we
can recommit ourselves to promoting a greater understanding between
communities from different backgrounds and stand united to confront such
human rights atrocities today and in the future."

The program will include a tribute to Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink,
who was assassinated earlier this year outside of his newspaper’s office
in Istanbul, Turkey for his efforts to address the Armenian Genocide in
Turkey. The event will also feature a candle light vigil, video
presentations, and a program from the ARS Armenian Friday School.
Former ANCA-Western Region Executive Director and current Glendale City
Clerk, Ardashes Kassakhian will deliver the evening’s keynote address.

The event will begin promptly at 7:30pm at the South Bay Armenian
Community Center, 2222 Lomita Boulevard., Lomita, CA 90717. The event
is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact
the South Bay ANC by e-mailing [email protected].

The Armenian National Committee of America is largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.

###

Armenian National Committee of Texas
c/o Vatche Hovsepian, Chair
Houston, TX 77082
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Contact: Vatche Hovsepian
Email: (818) 500-1918

Genocide Denial in Texas University Exposed

— SMU Withdraws Sponsorship after Learning of Conference’s True Purpose

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, April 14, 2007 the Armenian community of Texas
rapidly mobilized to counter Genocide denial in their own university
system. A conference on "Turkish-Armenian Dialogue" (officially
entitled "International Conference on Turkish-Armenian Dialogue") slated
to take place at Southern Methodist University (SMU) was discovered
early last week by the ANC of Texas. Similar to the UT-Austin
conference two weeks ago entitled "Ottoman Diversity and
Multiculturalism," the conference was an all day event. As the
conference was to take place in their backyards, activists in Texas set
out set the record straight on the conference and its purpose.

With local, regional and national collaboration involving grassroots
activists, the ANCA, ANCA-WR, and the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian
Church joined forces with the Armenian community of Texas to counter the
attempts of genocide denial making inroads at SMU and the university
system of North Texas. These attempts by genocide denialists coincide
with local efforts to build support for the Armenian genocide
resolution, H. Res. 106 which awaits a vote in the U.S. Congress.

In a few short days, these combined efforts, buttressed by an ANCA
action alert asking activists from across the nation to contact SMU
requesting that the university withdraw its support regarding this
misleading conference, resulted in an official withdrawal of all
credible speakers and the removal of SMU sponsorship of the
genocide-denial masked as dialogue event. No local, national or
international Armenian presence was invited to the event, except for the
Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, who is bound under the repressive laws
of the Republic of Turkey, including Article 301 under which Hrant Dink
was charged and convicted prior to assassination this year in Istanbul.

Local Armenians achieved official withdrawal of SMU’s Office of the
Chaplain and University Ministries’ sponsorship and the Chaplain to the
University, Dr. William M. Finnin, Jr. Several other speakers also
withdrew per learning that the speakers list of the conference included
many denialists. Community and ANCA activists ventured into the
conference itself, opening the very beginning of the conference by
expressing disapproval from within the audience for all attendees to
hear. Activists delivered statements which highlighted the lack of
Armenian participation in an event billed as dialogue which concealed
genocide denial agendas, Article 301 which acted to prevent the only
Armenian presence on the panel and general anti-Armenian propaganda.
The organizers were unable to cite a single Armenian community member,
religious figures outside Turkey or scholars who were notified of the
event.

The official letter of withdrawal by William M. Finnin, Office of the
University Chaplain was read by a Texas Armenian ANC activist to all
attendees present in an audience numbering 400 people. Additionally,
the organizers attempted to intimidate a local North Texas professor of
Armenian origin who calmly and professionally asked a question about
whether the written questions were filtered. When the organizers turned
the security on this professor, other attendees at the conference voiced
loud disapproval at the questionable treatment of a Texas Armenian
professor in a conference labeled as a "dialogue".

During a lecture on the Armenian Identity in Diaspora by Turkish
sociologist Dr. Huseyin Cakillikoyak, the Armenian Genocide was outright
denied three times in addition to the damage of the deportations. The
Diaspora identity in the US was defamed unabashedly and one Texas
Armenian silently turned their chair around to the speaker to silently
show the backwards nature of the discussion at hand. Most voted with
their feet, and all efforts were successfully made to reveal the charade
of genocide denial masked in academic speech.

The Armenian community of Texas will continue to coordinate efforts
locally and beyond to pursue the truthful, just path of official
recognition of the Armenian genocide through H. Res. 106 and shall
remain vigilant regarding the coordinated efforts of the Turkish
government to fund genocide denial propaganda conferences at
universities and or on Capitol Hill.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.

###

Photo caption #1: His Holiness Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan, bound by
Article 301 of the penal code which prohibits any mention of the
Armenian Genocide as an insult to Turkishness, reads his censored
speech.

Photo caption #2: One of the very few Armenian American attendees to the
conference explains to the conference organizers and the participants
about the lacking merits of the conference and calling the conference a
Turkish Monologue of Armenian Genocide Denialists.

Photo caption #3: Turkish organizers try to justify their attempt to
start dialogue but were unable to name a single Armenian scholar or
individual that they approached for conference participation.

Developer buys city church

NashuaTelegraph.com (Nashua, New Hampshire)
April 13, 2007

By Albert McKeon, Telegraph Staff

NASHUA – After waiting more than two years to clear legal challenges and
receive necessary religious blessings, a real estate developer has
purchased St. Francis Xavier Church, a building widely viewed as the
architectural jewel of the French Hill neighborhood.

The $1 million sale, finalized in December, officially ends more than a
century of ownership by the Roman Catholic Church. The deal clears the
way for developer Vatche Manoukian to donate the Chandler Street
property to the Armenian Orthodox Church, his attorney Andrew Prolman
said Thursday.

But Manoukian has to wait a year, until Dec. 22, to bequeath the church
to the leaders of his faith, Prolman said. The Internal Revenue Service
requires a year of ownership before Manoukian can transfer the property
as a donation, Prolman said.

`It’s in a holding pattern right now,’ Prolman said. `It’s for tax
purposes, and it also allows the Armenian Orthodox Church to get a
business plan together.’

The sale shouldn’t surprise anyone who has observed the multilayered
deliberations over the towering Norman basilica-style building.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester closed the church in 2003,
citing a dwindling parishioner base, low tithing and the nationwide
clergy shortage. A large group of parishioners initially protested the
shuttering, but it soondiminished in size, with only a small handful of
them in the end.

While the group – known formally as the St. Francis Xavier Church
Foundation – took its protest to court, the Catholic diocese and
Manoukian entered a purchase-and-sales agreement in May 2004. The
parties had tried to conceal Manoukian’s identity on the document, but a
black marker didn’t entirely block off his name.

Manoukian, a landlord and developer, had to wait for the Hillsborough
County Superior Court to resolve the dispute between the diocese and
protesters. The group argued parishioners – and not the diocese – owned
the building because it was their predecessors, French-Canadian
immigrant mill workers, who funded its construction by saving their
nickels and dimes.

The state Supreme Court declined to hear the case in February 2006,
giving Manoukian the green light to buy the property.

But then he had to obtain blessings from three leaders of the Armenian
Orthodox Church, Prolman said. Eventually, the Armenian Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the head of the church in Armenia and the
leader of the Eastern Diocese of America all came on board, he said.

In eventually donating the church, Manoukian has identified a
parishioner base that will make the building a vibrant place of worship,
Prolman said.

Manoukian is the controlling principal of Mile High Real Estate. He has
declined to comment on the transaction for more than two years and
didn’t return a phone call Thursday. Prolman said Manoukian prefers not
to speak publicly about the sale.

The Chandler Street property is assessed at $1.6 million. The purchase
included the church building, an adjacent rectory that had long ago held
classes, a garage, and a parking lot used by BAE Systems, Prolman said.

When the Catholic diocese deliberated the future of the church earlier
in the decade, estimates on repairing the roof and Vermont-marble
exterior walls – both diminished by harsh winters – started at $1.5 million.

Manoukian has allowed a Latino Christian group to meet in the church
basement for some time, Prolman said.

ll/article?AID=/20070413/NEWS01/204130351

Turkish honour killings

A dishonourable practice

Apr 12th 2007 | DIYARBAKIR AND VAN
The Economist print edition

Despite a government crackdown, honour killings persist in Turkey

WITH his soulful eyes and timid smile, Murat Kara, a 40-year-old
stocking seller in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, is an
unlikely murderer. Yet 13 years ago he pumped seven bullets into his
younger sister. His widowed mother and uncles told him to kill the
17-year-old after she eloped with her boyfriend, staining the family’s
honour. Mr Kara resisted for three months because "I loved my sister
and didn’t believe she deserved to die." But then the neighbours
stopped talking to him, the grocer refused to sell him bread, the
local imam said he was disobeying Allah, and his mother threatened to
curse the milk she had breast-fed him. So he gave in.

The killing of women by male relatives who believe they have
dishonoured the family-eg, by getting pregnant outside wedlock or
wearing revealing clothes-has haunted Turkey for centuries. Bowing to
pressure from the media, feminist groups and the European Union,
Turkey’s mildly Islamist government has launched an unprecedented
campaign against honour killings, disarming even its fiercest critics.

State-employed imams now declare honour killings "sinful" in the
Friday sermons they deliver across the country. Tens of thousands of
army conscripts and police recruits are taught that violence against
women is bad. Brooking the ire of his conservative constituents, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, told a gathering of foreign
Muslims that "discrimination against women is worse than racism." Nor
is this mere talk. Turkey’s penal code has been tweaked to stiffen
penalties not only for those who commit honour killings but also for
those who plan them. Had Mr Kara, who got seven years thanks to a
judge who deemed he had been unduly provoked, killed his sister today,
he would in all probability be serving a life sentence.

The trouble is that, despite the government’s efforts, honour-related
crimes show little sign of abating. A parliamentary report last August
found that 1,091 such crimes had been committed in the past five
years-over four a week. Only three of 51 honour killers interviewed
for another study said they had any regrets.

In a society where female chastity is venerated and the motto "my
horse, my gun and my woman are sacred" is common among men, "this
should not come as a surprise," notes Zozan Ozgokce, a female activist
who runs an EU-funded project in Van to counsel abused women. Fatma
Sahin, a deputy from Mr Erdogan’s AK Party who drafted the
parliamentary report, blames the deeply entrenched patriarchal and
feudal system in the Kurdish provinces, where many of the murders
occur. Rampant poverty and illiteracy have been exacerbated by the
forced eviction of millions of Kurdish villagers by the army in its
war against PKK rebels in the 1990s.

With refugee families of up to 20 or more crammed into tiny slums,
incest and rape have shot up, says Handan Coskun, a social worker in
Diyarbakir who is investigating links between female suicides and
honour crimes. One survivor said she was ordered to take her own life
(and locked in a room with a bottle of bleach) by her father, who
sought to disguise his daughter’s failed murder as suicide. She
managed to escape; less fortunate souls have been found dead with
their wrists slit or hanging from a rope.

In Diyarbakir and elsewhere in the south-east, new efforts are being
made to protect vulnerable women through emergency hotlines and
shelters for abused women. The first government-run refuge opened its
doors outside Diyarbakir two years ago. Many of the residents are
pregnant teenage rape victims, who risk being killed by relatives who
blame them (and not their rapists) for their plight.

Still, male accomplices or perpetrators are often targeted, too. And
honour crimes are not a uniquely Kurdish phenomenon, says Leyla
Pervizat, an Istanbul-based expert. This is especially true of the
fiercely conservative Black Sea region where "after the men are
killed, their penises are cut off and stuffed in their mouths," she
adds laconically. What gives her hope is that the number of those
willing to tip off the authorities about a planned murder is
growing-so more lives are being saved. And many of the whistleblowers
are male

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN FOOTBALL HIGHEST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP STARTS ON APRIL 14

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian Football Highest League
Championship started on April 14. The following results were
registered in the first tour: Gandzasar – Ararat 1 to 0, Pyunik – Ulis
5 to 0, Shirak – Banants 0 to 0 and Kilikia – Mika 1 to 2. The matches
of second tour are fixed for April 21 and 22.