ASBAREZ Online [04-06-2005]

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04/06/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Glendale Elections Come to Climactic End 2) School Board President Krikorian Secures Sweeping Victory 3) Clerk Candidate 'Ardy' Kassakhian Triumphs in Historic Election 4) MKR Recognition is Armenia's Number One Foreign Policy Priority 5) Kidnapped Romanian Journalists Freed 6) Marchers Complete More Than a Quarter of the 215 Mile March For Humanity 7) Head of Passports and Visas Pushes Dual Citizenship 8) Armenian Ambassador to US Meets with Condoleezza Rice 1) Glendale Elections Come to Climactic End GLENDALE--Of the nineteen candidates vying for open seats on the Glendale City Council, only four went home victorious as the final numbers were released six hours after the polls closed. With 8,362 votes (10.4%), Attorney Ara Najarian will join incumbent council members Bob Yousefian (7230 votes--9%), Frank Quintero (7119 votes--8.8%), and Dave Weaver (6574--8.2%) on the city's new council as it convenes later on this month. "This was one of the toughest campaigns I've ever been in, worked on or even seen," Yousefian told the Glendale News Press. "It was very costly and very divisive. I'm hoping that starting tomorrow, things will calm down and go back to normal. I'm hoping that things will become more civil." Despite the loss, Anahid Oshagan was touched by the sincere support she received from wide-range of people. "I deeply appreciate the outpouring of support during this campaign; I was overwhelmed by the energy and dedication of not only those close to me, but also people from all walks of life who put their life on hold to join me to try to make Glendale a better place to live." Voters demonstrated their confidence in current Glendale School Board President Greg Krikorian by reelecting him by a sizable margin with 11649 votes. His nearest competitor, incumbent school board member Chakib "Chuck" Sambar, who was also reelected to the board, trailed Krikorian by over 3000 votes. Coming close to claim the third open seat on the Board, College Professor Nayiri Nahabedian trailed Joylene K. Wagner by over one thousand votes. In the treasurer's race, incumbent Ronald T. Borucki defeated his only opponent, former Glendale Community College Board of Trustees Phillip Kazanjian, with 64% of the vote. A banker of 34 years, Borucki had received the support of numerous community groups including the Glendale Chapter of the Armenian National Committee. All three of the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees incumbents--Armine G. Hacopian, Victor King, and Anita Quinonez Gabrielian--were reelected by comfortable margins, with King leading the pack with 14,070 votes (30.2%). Hacopian came in second with 13,203 votes (28.3%). 2) School Board President Krikorian Secures Sweeping Victory Nearly one out of every two Glendale voters cast their ballot on Tuesday for Krikorian Marketing group founder and co-owner of Business Life and Senior Living magazines, Greg Krikorian. Krikorian, who currently serves as the Glendale School Board's president, is already mapping out his second term's agenda for the city's schools. "I'm truly honored to represent our communities and all the children of the Glendale Unified School District," Krikorian told Asbarez. "I'm extremely proud of not only myself but also the Armenian community. It gives me great pride to continue to serve our cause. But, we still have a long road ahead of us. Far too many times, we, as Armenian Americans, get elected to office, but forget who put us there. I'm a man of my word, and I fulfilled one of my responsibilities to our youth by honoring Armenian Christmas as a day off for our children and staff." With the results of more than one thousand provisional ballots still unannounced, Krikorian expects to receive as many as four-hundred additional votes. "Having such an overwhelming response with over 12,000 votes, with such a large field of candidates is truly an honor. The victory was the result of our grassroots campaign. We worked with the entire community to serve all aspects of Glendale and La Crescenta. During the next four years, I'd like to continue strengthening our schools while addressing the budget crisis, and further assisting the Armenian community by strengthening lines of communication between parents and the Board, and creating elective Armenian language courses at Crescenta Valley High, and Clark Magnet schools. Ultimately, my reward is educating our Armenian youth and giving them a sense of responsibly to never forget their responsibility of carrying the torch for Hai Tad," Krikorian said. 3) Clerk Candidate 'Ardy' Kassakhian Triumphs in Historic Election GLENDALE--Not one to accept a political hand-me-down position, Ardashes "Ardy" Kassakhian became the first clerk since 1929, to reach the office by election, on Tuesday, not appointment. Combining his passion for public service and enthusiasm for the political process, he ran a successful campaign, winning the position by a landslide. The charismatic, yet humbled Kassakhian delivered his victory speech at the Rusty Pelican. "We ran on three campaign issues--accessibility, outreach and education, and new technology," Kassakhian said. "These are not going to be overnight changes. We will have to work with other city departments and people who have been in office many years. I will serve as long as it takes to get the job done." Still reeling from his decisive victory from the day before, Kassakhian pointed to all the volunteers and supporters who helped make his win all the more heartwarming. "The outpouring of support from a wide cross section of our community is encouraging, and the hardwork of getting elected is done. The even more important job of serving all of the people of Glendale, with the excellence they expect and deserve, must now began." Kassakhian received 27.3% of the vote, beating out Paulette Mardikian, who had 13.7% of the votes, and George McCullough, who received 16.6%. 4) MKR Recognition is Armenia's Number One Foreign Policy Priority STEPANAKERT (Armenpress)--Speaking in the capital of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR), the Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly's Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, said that the number one priority of Armenia's Foreign policy is for MKR to gain international recognition [as a sovereign nation]. "That process must never be viewed as something other than the advancement of democratic principles among the public, specifically because the starting point in gaining international recognition is democracy," said Armen Rustamian during a meeting with ARF youth organizations and journalists. He stressed that will of the people--both in fostering democracy and safeguarding the principals of self-determination--must be conveyed in accordance with international standards. "At the end of the day, the catalyst for both is the public's determination; both are so intertwined that to attempt to realize one without the other is not only unrealistic, but also impossible. To put it another way, the world will not recognize any republic--no matter how 'guaranteed' its right to self-determination is," noted Rustamian. 5) Kidnapped Romanian Journalists Freed BUCHAREST (Armenpress)--Three Romanian journalists, among them one ethnic Armenian, held hostage in Iraq since last week have been freed, Rompress news agency reported. Journalist Marie-Jeanne Ion and her cameraman Eduard Ohanesian, from Prima TV and Sorin Miscoci of the Romanian newspaper Libera, were taken hostage March 28 along with their guide, Iraqi-American Mohamed Munaf, on the outskirts of Baghdad. A video of the visibly frightened hostages was broadcast March 30 by the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera. The reports of their release came as the arrest was announced of a Syrian-Romanian businessman who said he had been in contact with the kidnappers. "A Syrian-Romanian, Omar Hayssam, was arrested yesterday on the request of prosecutors," said a spokesman for the Romanian president's office, Adriana Saftoiu. On March 29, Hayssam had told Romanian television stations that he had been "contacted by the kidnappers," who had demanded an undisclosed ransom, which he had refused. Hayssam is close to an Iraqi-American businessman, Mohamed Munaf, who was kidnapped at the same time as the three Romanians. Munaf had funded the trip to Iraq by the three journalists and served as their guide in Baghdad. But Romanian media had later questioned Hayssam's credibility. 6) Marchers Complete More Than a Quarter of the 215 Mile March For Humanity CHOWCHILLA--California marchers, walking in solidarity with the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide on its 90th anniversary, passed the 65 mile point and arrived in Chowchilla Tuesday. The determined group of 14 Armenian youth from Pasadena, Walnut, San Fernando Valley, and Fresno sleep in church halls and eat from a lunch truck accompanying them on their 19 day trek. As a way to focus on why they are marching, every morning a marcher tells the story of a family member who survived the Genocide. The selfless youth plan on walking to Sacramento, where they will join a large rally at the Capitol Building, organized to thank the California state legislature and those of 35 other states for officially recognizing the Armenian genocide. An interesting addition to the group of marchers, ranging in age from 18 to 27, is the participation of Sanan Shirinian and Zabel Ekemekjian. Shirinian is a 16 year old junior at a private Armenian high school in Los Angeles. She worked tirelessly to take 20 days off school not so she can take a vacation, but to do her part for her cause. "My great grandparents were survivors of an attempt to kill all Armenians," said Shirinian. "I decided to walk so I can let the world know about the wrongs the Turks did against my ancestors and to bring justice to an unpunished crime." Ekmekjian, whose father survived the Genocide, is a 63-year-old grandmother from Moraga, Calif. who felt that she must use her own body to raise awareness about the crimes committed against her father and his family. "Our family was split apart because of the Genocide," said Ekmekjian. "I have never met my aunts and my cousins, I know they exist and that they live in Iraq, but I don't know who they are because they lost contact with my father after escaping the massacres." Defying sore muscles, blistered feet, and aching legs, the marchers will continue to walk an additional 150 miles, rain or shine, until they arrive at their destination on April 21. The Genocide began in 1915 and lasted for more than six years, claiming the lives of more than 1.5 million men, women and children. While many nations recognize and condemn the crime committed against the Armenian people, the Turkish government has denied it for the past 90 years. For more information about the March For Humanity, the marchers, their shelter, and pictures, please visit 7) Head of Passports and Visas Pushes Dual Citizenship YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The head of Armenia's visa and passport department Alvina Zakarian, argued in favor of granting dual citizenship to Armenians from diaspora, saying many diaspora Armenians seek Armenian citizenship, while maintaining their original citizenship. "While dual citizenship admittadly has both positive and negative effects, the positive will outweigh the negative consequences," she stressed. She also revealed that there has been a change in the law to grant issuance of passports to one-day old infants, in order to accomodate international travel with children. Under the old law, only citizens who reached the age of 16 were eligible to receive passports. 8) Armenian Ambassador to US Meets with Condoleezza Rice WASHINGTON (Armenpress)--Armenia's newly-appointed Ambassador to the United States Tatul Margarian met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on April 5, to present a copy of his credentials accrediting him as Armenia's Ambassador to the US. During his meeting with Rice, US-Armenia bilateral relations and regional developments and challenges were discussed. Margarian voiced his readiness to put forth every effort to enhance partnership between the US and Armenia. Ambassador Margarian expressed gratitude for the US Government's continuous support of Armenia since independence and for its constructive involvement in the settlement of regional problems. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. 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