Month: December 2008

ARMENIAN REPS IN BAKU TO ATTEND TRACECA EVENT

AssA-Irada
December 3, 2008 Wednesday
Azerbaijn

Armenian representatives will be among participants at the ministerial
conference on the Inter-governmental Commission on the TRACECA
transport project due in Baku on Thursday, the TRACECA Permanent
Secretariat said. The head of Armenias National Secretariat on TRACECA
and representatives of the countrys ministry of communications and
transport have already arrived in the Azerbaijani capital for the
purpose. Three members of the Armenian delegation joined a meeting
held at the Azerbaijan Transport Ministry on Wednesday with the
participation of TRACECA experts. The identity of the Armenian
representatives was not elaborated. We recall that an Azerbaijani
delegation attended a TRACECA event in Armenia several years ago. The
two South Caucasus republics have been facing a conflict for nearly
two decades.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEREVAN TO UPGRADE STAND ON KARABAKH PROBLEM – PREMIER

Interfax
Dec 4 2008
Russia

Yerevan needs to upgrade its stand on the Karabakh problem, Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan told the national parliament.It is necessary
to upgrade the Armenian position on Karabakh. The Armenian Foreign
Ministry has received instructions to that effect.

There are certain problems, as comments of some officials are not
true occasionally. Thus, we need to update the Armenian official
policy on Karabakh, he said.

Fundamentals of the position will be presented to the Armenian
parliament next week, Sargsyan said.

Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov discussed Karabakh settlement
in Helsinki.

The sides stressed the importance of the positive atmosphere formed by
the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in St. Petersburg on June 6 and
in Moscow on November 2 and further negotiations based on the Madrid
proposals and assisted by the cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The negotiations aim to find points of contact and to resolve the
conflict peacefully, says a report of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
received by Interfax on Thursday.

OSCE Minsk Group Cochairmen Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Matthew Bryza
(the U.S.) and Bernard Fassier (France) attended the Helsinki meeting
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.

Distorted comments coming from Azerbaijan and disregard of principles
spelled out by the Moscow declaration on Karabakh are damaging for
the efficiency of the negotiations, Nalbandian told OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly rapporteur on Karabakh Goran Lenmarker.

The latter confirmed the Assembly support to peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN PREMIERS TO DISCUSS ENERGY, NUCLEAR COOPERATION

Interfax
Dec 4 2008
Russia

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian will meet with his Russian
counterpart to discuss cooperation in the fuel and energy sector,
expanding cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and how to
overcome the negative effects of the global financial crisis on the
Russian and Armenian economies.

"Armenian Prime Minister Sargsian will be in Moscow on a working visit
on December 5, 2008, to hold talks with Russian head of government
Vladimir Putin," a source at the Russian government told Interfax.

"At the talks the two premiers are planning to discuss a broad range of
issues concerning Russian-Armenian relations with emphasis on trade,
economic and investment cooperation, as well as the implementation
of large joint projects on energy, processing industry, banking,
construction and transport," the source said.

The talks will focus, in particular, on "cooperation in the fuel
and energy sector," he said. "There are good prospects for expanding
cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including continuing to
ensure safe operation of the Armenian nuclear power plant and studying
the possibility of building a new nuclear power unit," the source said.

Russian companies are "interested in conducting a geological survey
and in joint industrial exploration of uranium fields in Armenia,"
he added.

"Also a number of regional and international issues are expected
to be discussed, including how to overcome the negative effect of
the global financial crisis on the Russian and Armenian economies,"
said the source in the Russian government.

TURKEY NOT TO OPEN BORDER WITH ARMENIA UNTIL AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY RESTORED – STATE MINISTER

Interfax
Dec 4 2008
Russia

The Turkish-Armenian border could be opened only after Armenia gives
up distorting history and restores Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,
Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said.

"We are open to developing relations with Armenia, to open borders,
and to develop trade," Tuzmen told an Azeri-Turkish business forum
in Baku on Thursday.

"We do not oppose developing trade relations, which will have a
positive influence on the development of the whole region; however,
prior to this historians should solve some issues and Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity should be restored," the state minister said.

There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey,
because of the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire. A number of nations
recognized the events, which claimed more than 1.5 million lives as
genocide of the Armenian people. Armenia wants Turkey to recognize
the genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so. Turkey demands that the
Nagorno- Karabakh conflict be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PEACE TREATY ON KARABAKH MUST BE WORKED OUT SHORTLY – LAVROV

Interfax
Dec 4 2008
Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov deems it necessary to work
out basic principles of a peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh shortly.

"We urge the parties to make efforts jointly with the co-chairmen of
the Minsk Group to achieve an agreement within months on the basic
principles of the settlement, and then, on their basis, to pass
over to drafting a comprehensive peace agreement," Lavrov said after
talks between the co-chairmen of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group.

Basic principles of peace treaty on Karabakh must be worked out
shortly – Lavrov (Part 2)

HELSINKI Dec 4

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov deems it necessary to work
out basic principles of a peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh shortly.

"We urge the parties to make efforts jointly with the co-chairmen of
the Minsk Group to achieve an agreement within months on the basic
principles of the settlement, and then, on their basis, to pass
over to drafting a comprehensive peace agreement," Lavrov said after
talks between the co-chairmen of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group.

Lavrov said that the statement, adopted by the Minsk Group, notes
the positive role which the recent talks in Moscow between the
Russian, Azeri and Armenian presidents played in the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

REQUIEM SERVICE IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS
OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN ARMENIA 20 YEARS AGO

A Requiem service was held in the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in
Antelias on December 7 to mark the 20th anniversary of the devastating
earthquake that hit parts of Northern Armenia on December 7, 1988 and pray
for the souls of its victims.

The celebrant spoke about the dreadful event that sent shockwaves through
the Armenian nation globally. He observed that this natural disaster became
an extraordinary occasion for demonstrating national unity, when Armenians
around the world hurried to assist their compatriots in need with a strong
sense of national belonging. He also referred to the humanitarian assistance
provided by the international community, which showed, he added, that
regardless of color, ethnicity or religion, human beings remain true to one
another and care for each other especially in time of need.

His Holiness Aram I, the clergy and the believers attending the Mass prayed
for the souls of the victims, asking the Almighty to protect our nation and
all of humanity from such disasters.

##
PO Box 70 317 Antelias-Lebanon. E- mail: [email protected] ///
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the 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.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance

Contact Person: Christopher Atamian
[email protected]

December 6TH, 2008

SAROYAN READING BY ADAA AND GARTAL AT THE OHIO THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY

On November 19th, the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance and Gartal
marked the 100th anniversary of William Saroyan’s birth with a staged
reading of his play, "A Lost Child’s Fireflies" at the Ohio Theater
in Soho. Michael Barakiva directed the reading. Mr. Barakiva was a
member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is
currently the resident director of the stage musical Dirty Dancing.

The cast included a talented array of alumni from Julliard, NYU and
Yale School of Drama who have been appearing regularly on the New
York stage, TV and film: Maria Thayer, Brian Hutchison, Kelly
Hutchison, Jonathan Woodward, Alicia Goranson (a regular from
Roseanne), Gene Gillette, Kelly Moore, Greg Derelian, Clayton Apgar,
Liza Petrosyan, and Hunter Reid.

The play, published in 1954, and produced only once before in Texas,
follows the lives of six childhood friends from a small town in
Pennsylvania, from 1901-1948, as they fall in love, marry, go to war,
have children, and deal with the lost dreams of their parents.
Saroyan’s simple and touching play gives the audience insight into
the loves and desires of three generations of Americans without
passing judgment–moral or otherwise. ADAA was given exclusive rights
to select the play from the Saroyan Archives at Stanford University.

The audience responded enthusiastically to the cast’s outstanding
reading. Cast and audience members mingled afterwards over wine and
cheese.

This is the second collaboration between Gartal and ADAA. The
reading was produced by ADAA founder Bianca Bagatourian and noted
producer Christopher Atamian.

###

Cast and crew of Saroyan’s "A Lost Child’s Fireflies", presented by
ADAA and Gartal in NYC Nov. 19.

?AID=3D/20081202/OPINION/812020330

Cape Cod Times
Hyannis, Massachusetts

December 2, 2008

Human rights panel flouts mandate

By SHAHKEH Y. SETIAN

The Barnstable County Human Rights Commission, which has done some
good work, claims that it takes human rights "very seriously"
("Commission supports ‘No Place for Hate,’" My View, Oct. 20). The
facts say otherwise.

The commission still defends the national Anti-Defamation League and
its so-called No Place for Hate anti-bias program even though the ADL
denies the Armenian genocide and shamelessly collaborates with a major
human rights violator, Turkey, in lobbying against recognition of that
genocide.

The national ADL’s statement of Aug. 21, 2007, was the very opposite
of the genocide acknowledgment that human rights advocates had long
requested.

It was deceptively worded so that the premeditated murder of 1.5
million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 would not fit the official
definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Genocide
Treaty of 1948. Echoing Turkey’s own denials, the ADL implied that the
Armenian deaths were not intentional but rather merely a "consequence"
of wartime conditions.

The national ADL has yet to retract, apologize for or clarify that
statement, though the ADL and Barnstable County Human Rights
Commission would have you believe otherwise.

Since that time, the city governments of Arlington, Bedford, Belmont,
Lexington, Medford, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, Northampton,
Peabody, Somerville, Westwood and Watertown have shut down their No
Place for Hate programs in response to the ADL’s anti-human rights
actions against Armenians.

Those cities and their human rights commissions realized that No Place
for Hate, which the ADL created, trademarked, sponsored, funded and
certified, had lost its credibility.

While Barnstable County’s commission has been burying its head in the
sand, the ADL’s assault on Armenians has become an international
scandal, widely condemned by both Jewish and non-Jewish human rights
advocates (please visit ).

Had No Place for Hate’s sponsor denied the Jewish genocide and huddled
with foreign lobbyists to persuade the U.S. to not recognize that
genocide, the Barnstable County commission would long ago have
rejected the program and its sponsor. The commission refuses to show
similar respect for Armenians and their genocide.

Frankly, this demonstrates that its seven members, sadly including
those of Jewish descent who share the Armenian experience of genocide
and denial, are giving preferential treatment to the ADL while
discriminating against Armenians. The commission is violating its own
charter, and the county is violating civil rights statutes.

Every No Place for Hate chapter must be recertified annually by the
ADL (local ADLs, by the way, answer to their national office in New
York City). Meanwhile, the Barnstable County commission ignores the
obvious: No civil or human rights program should be subject to review
by a political group that lobbies against genocide recognition.

Every No Place for Hate program, such as those in Barnstable,
Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee and Provincetown, must also have been
formally approved by the municipality’s public officials. It’s
inappropriate for those officials to have implicitly endorsed ADL
policy. Moreover, No Place for Hate often invites ADL instructors
into public schools. No instructor representing a political group
that works to suppress genocide recognition should be lecturing public
school children.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association represents every municipality
and its elected officials. It very publicly ended its umbrella
sponsorship of No Place for Hate earlier this year because of the
national ADL’s unconscionable efforts against Armenians. The
association recommended that No Place for Hate be replaced by the
well-regarded Inclusive Communities program of the National League of
Cities.

Officials in Cape Cod communities with No Place for Hate programs need
to seriously reflect on the civil and human rights principles that led
the Massachusetts Municipal Association to make those decisions and
that led 13 city governments and their human rights commissions to
sever ties with the ADL program. The Barnstable County Human Rights
Commission should do the same.

If the commission doesn’t sever ties with the ADL and rededicate
itself to its mandate of truth, honor and non-discrimination, the
commission must remove the "human rights" from its name.

***
Shahkeh Y. Setian of Mashpee has taught the issue of genocide at Cape
Cod Community College, and has also taught development in minority
communities at Springfield College. She is currently writing a book
about Muslims who saved Armenians during the Armenian genocide.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE

December 8, 2008
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ARMENIAN AMERICANS CRITICIZE HYPOCRISY OF GENOCIDE PREVENTION TASK
FORCE CO-CHAIRS

— Secretaries Albright and Cohen’s Opposition to Armenian Genocide
Affirmation Undermines Credibility of Key Report

— ANCA Confronts Cohen and Albright at Press Conference Announcing
Genocide Prevention Blueprint

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
today questioned the credibility of former Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen to
issue a genocide prevention report, given their longstanding
opposition to Armenian Genocide legislation. The report, unveiled
earlier today at the National Press Club by the Genocide Prevention
Task Force, co-chaired by Albright and Cohen, is designed to
encourage U.S. leadership in ending the cycle of genocide.

"Albright and Cohen offered some worthwhile solutions today but,
sadly, as two of the main architects of U.S. denial of the Armenian
Genocide, remain very much part of the problem the Task Force set
out to address," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
"Secretaries Albright and Cohen both have long track records, both
as government officials and private citizens, of working to block
American recognition of the Armenian Genocide."

Last year, both Secretaries Cohen and Albright sent letters to
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing Congressional legislation
(H.Res.106 / S.Res.106) aimed to end U.S. complicity in Armenian
Genocide denial through proper U.S. reaffirmation of that crime
against humanity. Secretary Cohen’s firm, the Cohen Group, is a
strategic partner with DLA / Piper, a registered foreign agent
representing the Government of Turkey, paid $1.8 million a year to,
among other things, lobby against Armenian Genocide legislation.
The Cohen Group is also a member of the American Turkish Council,
which has been outspoken in its opposition to Armenian Genocide
legislation.

Secretary Cohen and Albright’s letters may be found on the ANCA
website at:
ohen_106.pdf

"The messengers undermine the message here. Their words are on the
mark, but Albright and Cohen’s political opposition to ending U.S.
complicity in Genocide denial speaks far louder," added Hamparian.

A pointed question by Hamparian asking Secretaries Cohen and
Albright to comment on what they learned about the dangers of
genocide denial and whether this will cause them to stop seeking to
block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide was largely evaded
by the co-chairs. Hamparian’s question and the Secretaries’
answers can be viewed online at:
ses.php?prid=1632

H.Res.106, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) with lead
supporters George Radanovich (R-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Brad
Sherman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), currently has over 200
cosponsors.

On October 10, 2007, the House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted
the resolution, which calls on U.S. foreign policy to properly
reflect the genocide of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and
children from 1915-1923 in Ottoman Turkey. A similar measure in the
Senate, led by Deputy Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and
John Ensign (R-NV), has 33 cosponsors.

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

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES RELIGIOUS
AND ARMENIAN EDUCATION AND THE ARMENIAN CAUSE

Launched on December 2, the General Assembly of the Catholicosate of Cilicia
continued its sessions for a third day in the Catholicosate’s Antelias
headquarters, listening to reports on various priority issues affecting the
Armenian nation and church from the representatives of the people
themselves.

Miss. Houry Azezian and Mrs. Janine Markarian presented reports on religious
education. This important field needs to undergo a re-evaluation coupled
with a review of the curricula of Sunday schools and the incorporation of
modern instruction methods.

Two reports were presented on Armenian education by Mr. Sarkis Giragossian
and Mr. Jirayr Reyissian, who underlined the importance of identity
preservation and the key role of the Armenian school and Armenians teachers
in this highly important task.

The Assembly confirmed that it is not possible to separate religious
education from Armenian education. The participants proposed the adoption of
an education policy based on local environment. The need for preparing human
resources, particularly the training of teachers, was emphasized. The
Assembly also pointed to the need to raise the standards of living of
teachers in this field with a view to making this career option attractive.

Dr. Garo Hovsepian and Mr. Hagop Der Khatchadourian delivered talks on the
Armenian Cause. Focusing on the efforts of His Holiness in the past years,
they expressed great appreciation for the significant steps taken in this
respect. The Assembly reaffirmed the leading role of the Catholicosate of
Cilicia in this area, stating that our Holy See will persistently pursue the
rights of the Armenian nation. Furthermore, the Catholicosate of Cilicia
will also continue its mission to preserve, particularly the cultural and
religious monuments in Western Armenia, Nakhetchevan and occupied part of
Cyprus.

Speaking about the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s efforts in this field, His
Holiness unveiled future plans to pursue and promote the violated rights of
the Armenians at an international level.

In the evening, the Assembly participants attended the concert of the
Catholicosate’s "Shenorhali" Choir held in the "Siran Manoukian" hall of the
Yegishe Manoukian College.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos345.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the 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.